23. Feeling caused by reading too many self-referential articles?: META FATIGUE. Metal fatigue.
25. Where movie actors rehearse Southern accents?: DRAWL LOTS. Draw lots.
50. Overhead support for a small army?: ANT AIRCRAFT. Antiaircraft.
54. Urban pedestrian's maneuver?: TAXI DODGE. Tax dodge.
88. Insult humor in a cornfield?: CROW ROAST. Crown roast.
91. Trust that a supervised job will lead to full-time work?: INTERN FAITH. Interfaith.
118. Legume farmer's concern?: PEA DEMAND. Peak demand.
121. Sailing one small ship after another?: BARK HOPPING. Bar hopping.
The title captures the missing links part nicely, but in the second halves, those are "found".
Quite a bit of restriction on David's grid despite the light themeage (80 squares). They have to follow a strict L/I/N/K order and the two pairs are placed in the same row.
Across:
1. Worrier's agenda: CARES.
6. Audibly amazed: AGASP. And 11. "Zounds!": EGAD.
15. Ingredient in some pancakes: SPUD. Potato pancakes.
19. Musical genre that means "work" in Italian: OPERA.
20. Wrist bones: CARPI.
21. Nautilus captain: NEMO.
22. "A-Hunting We Will Go" songwriter: ARNE (Thomas). We often get the "Rule, Britannia" reference.
27. Left: EXITED.
28. Often-improvised light source: TORCH.
30. Soybean paste: MISO. This brand is very good.
31. Factor of DX: CII.
32. Spray: AEROSOL.
34. Walk proudly: STRUT.
36. Lobster __: NEWBURG. Never had this.
38. When doubled, a dangerous fly: TSE.
39. "Yo ho ho" beverage: RUM.
41. "Poison" shrub: SUMAC.
43. Get top billing for: STAR IN.
44. Prodigy: PHENOM.
47. Unrestrained episode: SPREE.
49. Goddess of peace: IRENE.
56. Noise: SOUND.
57. Narrow victory margin: HAIR.
58. Infielders: BASEMEN.
59. Performer with a record 21 Oscar nominations: STREEP. Do you like "The Bridges of Madison County"?
61. They hang around: LOITERERS.
63. Try: STAB.
67. Rite lead-in?: AMI. Amirite?
68. Fútbol cheer: OLE.
70. Chicago's __ Center: AON.
71. Shamus: TEC. Detective.
73. Ostrichlike bird: EMU.
74. Edit __: MENU.
76. Seamy component, as of politics: UNDERSIDE.
81. Digits in a clumsiness metaphor: THUMBS. All thumbs.
83. Big league members: NATIONS. This refers to the League of Nations, right?
85. R-rating reason: GORE.
87. Savory jelly: ASPIC.
93. Transplant, in a way: RE-POT. The gardening centers here are open now.
94. Demeter's Roman counterpart: CERES.
96. Cat pickup spot: SCRUFF.
97. Very: EVER SO.
99. 1972 missile pact: SALT I.
101. Pig thief of rhyme: TOM. Oh, hi, "Pig thief"!
102. Estonia, once: Abbr.: SSR.
105. Winner's flag: PENNANT.
107. Fallback strategy: PLAN B.
109. Perfectly detailed model: REPLICA.
112. Gnome cousin: ELF.
113. Floral neckwear: LEIS. My fresh lei from JimmyB.
115. Follow: ENSUE.
117. Cheer for: ROOT ON.
123. Violin music word: ARCO.
124. Hudson-to-Niagara River canal: ERIE.
125. Not yet realized: UNMET.
126. Shilling's five: PENCE.
127. Fraction of a min.: NSEC. Nanosecond.
128. Stare blankly: GAPE.
129. Shows the way: LEADS.
130. Biblical mounts: ASSES.
Down:
1. Act aggressively toward: COME AT.
2. Very tops: APEXES. Heard a lot of "apex" from Governor Cuomo the past few weeks.
3. Hang it up, so to speak: RETIRE.
4. Muse with a lyre: ERATO.
5. Hotel amenities: SAFES.
6. Do something: ACT.
7. Pace of walking: GAIT.
8. Rival of Sparta: ARGOS. That's Gerard Butler.
9. Dramatic growth periods: SPURTS.
10. Bakery shell: PIE CRUST.
11. Finish: END.
12. Microbe: GERM.
13. With full force: AMAIN.
14. Searches for a well, say: DOWSES.
15. Actor Mineo: SAL.
16. Obtained with effort: PROCURED. I just don't understand this "reagents" shortage. Why can't we make more?
17. Indefatigable: UNTIRING.
18. Appointed one: DESIGNEE.
24. Worshipper: ADORER.
26. Best time for beachcombing: LOW TIDE.
29. Camel's fat-storage site: HUMP.
33. Afternoon date, maybe: LUNCH.
35. Seafood sauce: TARTAR. Boomer likes it with fried fish.
37. Industry bigwigs: BARONS.
40. Aesopian conclusion: MORAL.
42. Stop: CEASE.
44. Glass unit: PANE.
45. Pitcher Nomo with two no-nos: HIDEO. Literally "hero". In this baseball card, the last two characters are Hideo. Their surname comes before the given name also.
46. Spring month in Porto: MAIO. May.
48. Bring to bear: EXERT.
50. Indian tea region: ASSAM.
51. "Ask somebody else": NOT ME.
52. Italian city known for a shroud: TURIN.
53. Providence athletes: FRIARS. The Providence Friars.
55. "No more for me": I'M SET.
58. Well-meaning: BENIGN.
60. Dwarf planet since 2006: PLUTO.
62. How-__: manuals: TOS.
64. Adagio and presto: TEMPI.
65. Gamut: AMBIT.
66. Kyle or Kurt of NASCAR: BUSCH.
69. Early computer: ENIAC.
72. Badinage: CHAFF. I did not know the meaning of "badinage".
75. Still eligible for a full refund, as clothing: UNWORN.
77. Pill bottle info: DOSES.
78. Catch in a sting: ENTRAP.
79. Pair in jigs?: DOTS. The dots above letter j & i.
80. Put up: ERECT.
82. Mil. flying branch: USAF.
84. Gallery event: ART SALE.
86. Miscalculation, say: ERROR.
88. Galette cooker: CREPE PAN. Steve probably has one at home.
89. Merrymakers: REVELERS.
90. Feature of a gravy-covered sandwich: OPEN FACE.
91. Port straddling the Bosporus: ISTANBUL. Googles results show that Bosporus comes from a Thracian word meaning "passage of the cow."
92. Uno, por ejemplo: NUMERO.
95. Magazine with a pronoun title: ELLE.
98. Large size of the '80s that now sounds tiny: ONE MEG.
100. Half-baked: INSANE.
102. Sedate protests: SIT-INS. So stunned by some of the protestor signs. Tim Walz is our governor who's just a quiet doer. Guess what this guys says?
103. Wall fixture: SCONCE.
104. Roams freely: RANGES.
106. Sparkly headgear: TIARA.
108. Myanmar, once: BURMA.
110. Family nickname: POPPA.
111. Bounding gaits: LOPES.
114. Cut off: SNIP.
116. __ out a living: EKED.
119. Holliday nickname: DOC.
120. Snider of Twisted Sister: DEE.
122. Elevs.: HTS.
C.C.
FIR.
ReplyDeleteGood morning Cornerites.
Thank you David Alfred Bywaters for your enjoyable Sunday CW. I sussed the theme at 50 A 'cause ants are antiaircraft.
Thank you C.C. for your excellent review.
Ðave
I found this puzzle really tough going. There were some obscure words like AMAIN, AMBIT, and CHAFF (with this definition).
ReplyDeleteAnd I felt some of the clues were more confusing than they needed to be. I guess a NSEC is technically a fraction of a minute, but they are so far off in scale that it sounds weird. It's like saying a second is a fraction of a month. I've never heard anyone refer to potato pancakes as SPUD pancakes. Is "amirite" some kind of slang for "Am I right"? I'm not familiar with that.
I don't understand NATIONS=big league members. CC mentions this could be related to the League of Nations, but I don't understand the "big" part. I thought it might be a reference to Major League sports, but I couldn't make that work, either.
I liked the ONEMEG clue. It's amazing how much computing has changed over time!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteThis theme would've been hard to suss without the circles. If you didn't have 'em, you might still be scratching your head. Very creative, though. I agree with Anonymous RE "Amirite?" I took "big league members" to be a league of big things -- NATIONS. DOTS showed me that it was INTER, not INNER FAITH. The one which made no sense to me, based on the clue, was BARK HOPPING. I get the BARK/barque, but not the "hopping." Thanx, D.A.B. and C.C.
ONE MEG: My first computer, back in the late '70s, had three 100K diskette drives. I thought that was a lot. In the early '90s I installed a 5GB "shared" drive in our network. I thought that was big. My music server has a 2TB hard-drive; I thought that was huge. Now Kingston offers a 2TB thumb-drive. Where will it stop?
BADINAGE: Is there also a goodinage?
FIR in typical Sunday time for me, a little under 45 mins. I must say though, that I agree completely with Anon @ 5:16's delineation of the issues with this puzzle. I say that with the full knowledge that I couldn't construct a crossword puzzle if my life depended on, and that Mr. Bywaters has given us some gems in the past. I just found this effort wanting. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteOn a completely different note, were you all aware that DOTS and "feet" have the same amount of letters? Just sayin'.
Roast leg of lamb tonight, Lyonnaise potatoes, ratatouille, and cauliflower gratinee. I think I'm getting my mojo back.
Cya!
Hi Y'all! Thanks, DAB for the challenge! Thanks, C.C., for another great blog. Great LEI picture. You look like a very wise teenager.
ReplyDeleteHand up for AM I RITE. LIU. Slang changes so fast these days, it is impossible to keep up with the new stuff. Don't try.
Lots of learning opportunities today: DNK: AON, SALT I pact (vaguely remembered when it perped in), ARGOS, HIDO, MAIO, AMBIT, ENIAC, CHAFF.
Just tried for the 5th day to order groceries from the store which has delivered all my food for two years now. Computer takes the order but won't go past "Reserve Time Slot" -- None available in the immediate future. I called the store at two different numbers: the person answering one didn't know what to say other than "keep trying". The other number didn't answer. The virus is just beginning to heat up in this city. Our great Governor shut down the state early. I agree with her decision. Meanwhile I just ate my last slice of bread, last egg was yesterday, no milk for the past ten days. Still have meat, fruit, veggies. So will survive another week at least. I have a half bag of rice that's been in the freezer for probably 10 years -- wonder if it is safely edible still?
Jinx, FLN, thx for the link. All this time I thought that was John Lennon probably because of the artistry. I really identify with the lyrics, the denial can come from both sides.
ReplyDeleteAnd if course the whisper where "Big boys don't cry..." The ultimate dissimulation (disengenuousness).
And... I completely missed that song during the 70s. And 80s,90s.. But in Florida there's no Sports Radio worth listening too nor 50s station so the best I could do was Classics which means 70s,80s.
WC
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis theme was quite different and very clever, IMO. The fill was pretty straightforward, so I had only two w/os: Ulnae/Carpi and AOL/AON. Oops, I forgot one: Pea Season before Pea Demand. There were several CSOs: Our two Toms, neither a pig stealer, I hope, Abejo and the ubiquitous Erie, Inanehiker at Doc and Doses, and, I believe, Jayce was in the USAF.
Thanks, David, for a leisurely Sunday solve and thanks, CC, for a thorough summary. I enjoyed the book, The Bridges of Madison County, but in the movie, I thought Clint Eastwood was too old for his character (based on the book) and as talented as Meryl Streep is, I couldn't fully accept her as an Italian transplant, living in the Midwest.
Bluehen, your dinner menu sounds scrumptious. Nice to hear that your Mojo is back in business! 👨🍳
Stay safe, all.
Did the one-hoss shay have METAL FATIGUE?
ReplyDeleteThat it did, but all at one speed.
The standard norm
When fatigue takes form
Is parts DRAW LOTS to go to seed!
If IRENE is the Goddess of Peace,
She should have some peace this week!
We're all indoors,
So can't fight wars --
(Unless it's toilet rolls we seek!)
{B+, A-.}
ReplyDeleteIM, I have to agree with you that the two main characters in "The Bridges of Madison County" were hard to accept because they were so miscast. The second worst miscasting of Clint Eastwood's career. The worst? The lead in "Paint Your Wagon". Can you imagine Rowdy Yates from "Rawhide" SINGING "I talk to the trees, but they don't answer me."? C'mon. There is only so far I can willingly suspend my disbelief. An even worse example of miscasting? Lee Marvin from the same movie "singing" "I was born under a wandrin' star". Absolutely atrocious movie.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the kind words re: tonight's menu. Swing on by. Dinner's a 6:00p.
I had questions about some of today's answers, so went to WEB's LAT page, and copied the following from there:
ReplyDelete45 Pitcher Nomo with two no-nos : HIDEO
Hideo Nomo is a former professional baseball pitcher from Osaka, Japan. After achieving success in Japan, Nomo became the first Japanese-born player to appear in Major League Baseball in the US. Nomo threw two no-hitters while playing here in the Majors. He is the only Japanese-born player to have thrown even one no-hitter.
65 Gamut : AMBIT
An ambit is an outer boundary or limit, a circumference. The term can also be used to mean the sphere or scope of influence. “Ambit” comes from the Latin “ambire” meaning “to go around”.
In medieval times, the musical scale was denoted by the notes “ut, re, mi, fa, sol, la”. The term “gamma ut”, shortened to “gamut”, was used to describe the whole scale. By the 1620s, “gamut” was being used to mean the entire range of anything, the whole gamut.
88 Galette cooker : CREPE PAN
A galette is a flat, round bakery item in French cuisine. The term “galette” includes items such as pancakes and crepes, and even large cookies.
DNF, losing P&P and looking up ARNE. Finished fairly easily after that lifted the fog in New England. Erased soya for SPUD, TAXI dance for DODGE, nose for HAIR (don't touch either), robes for SAFES, assignees for DESIGNEES, ART show, then fair, for SALE, and ekes for EKED.
ReplyDeleteBob Seger supposedly wrote Her STRUT in tribute to Jane Fonda. I liked her in Barbarella.
Bill Gates denies that he ever said "640K ought to be enough for anyone." My first HDD was a whopping 10 Megabyte model for my Apple II, which I still have - mainly because I'm too lazy to post it on EBay. Its first mass storage medium was cassette tape.
"Obtained with effort" implies difficulty, but PROCUREment is a routine process. I guess technically drinking coffee is "waking with effort" too.
Anyone been to the bar in Maui with the grumpy owner who posted a sign "If you aren't ordering you're LOITERing, so you're leaving." He also used to yell at any tourist who put a foot on a chair.
I didn't like Bridges. Guy goes out to EKE out a living, and his wife can't manage not to cheat while he does so. There is a lot of that around here. Brave men and women who go to sea for six months or longer sometimes come home to find that their spouse has found someone else. There are bars that seem to attract that crowd. Sad, me thinks.
I liked this one more than the other early Cornerites. Thanks for the fun (except for TEC). And thanks to CC for the tour.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteInteresting theme. Cute, and probably hard to execute, but I found the solve a bit distracting. Got it all, and felt it was a medium difficulty for a Sunday. Liked seeing sconce.
LOPES - Akin to L. German and Dutch 'lopen'
PENNANT - Also found in a Maritime signal flag bag.
ERIE Canal - The clue is right in that the Canal terminates at the Upper Niagara River. Shipping then proceeds south via the Black Rock Canal and lock which lifts it 5 more feet over the Onondaga Escarpment to L. Erie., (Due to high velocities, the Niagara near the Peace Bridge is too dangerous to navigate by commercial shipping and untrained or underpowered recreational boaters.)
Musings
ReplyDelete-Four circles in the middle of nowhere connecting clever nonsense phrases with a gimmick and that gimmick was another gimmick. Wow!
-Mini theme – Hang it up, Finish, Stop, Cut off, Left, No more for me
-I learned what common object is called a TORCH in England by watching British movies
-Because he couldn’t get top billing, Steve McQueen passed on Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid. Hello Robert Redford.
-Poor hitting BASEMEN have to be darn good with their glove
-Oh, Shamus is another word for a deTECtive and not multiple orcas
-Who learned this Aesopian MORAL – “It is a mean nature which affects to dislike that which it is unable to obtain”
-NOT ME - Bob Dylan musically advised, It Ain’t Me Babe
-One of my DOSES is ½ a pill every other day
-I guess you need to know what a Galette is to know that C R _ _ _ P_ _ is not CROCK POT
Bluehen @ 9:22 ~ Thanks for the invitation; too bad you're so far away! I never watched Rawhide and I never saw Paint Your Wagon but I couldn't accept Clint Eastwood or Lee Marvin singing, no matter what the song was.
ReplyDeleteIM: you expressed my sentiments about Bridges of Madison Co. There just did not seem to be enough chemistry between the two actors to denote the grand passion that lasted a lifetime. I did like the book too, although the next book by that author was pretty lame.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter called and offered to get my groceries. I had asked her to get me milk a couple weeks ago and she forgot all about it, she said. Hope she remembers today.
I really liked this one. I soon found the missing letters in the circles in the adjacent word. It helped the solve. I did not see that the circles spelled LINK. Delightful.
ReplyDeleteA perp or two gave me CARPI. Of course! I had carpal tunnel surgery which left no scar following the natural palm line. It alleviated the numbness and clumsiness in my fingers.
I knew AMBIT as sphere of influence. AMB-- suggested ambit might mean gamut. Thanks for the origin of GAMUT, OKL.
Please help me peel these SPUDs, sister. I'll make potato pancakes. I like puzzles that use inferences like this, rather than being a straight vocabulary test. As a kid, potato pancakes were my favorite potato dish. I was married before I heard of latkes and saw how similar they are to our potato pancakes.
PROCURE LIU, many dictionaries say that procure means to get something with care and effort. I think it is not accurate to say I stopped by the market to procure a loaf of bread. Well, maybe these days with the stores being out of bread quickly and having to wait in line and get there early in the morning.
Only BUSCH, HIDEO and FRIARS were new to me. Perps and wags to the rescue.
I learned AMAIN when I LIU while reading poetry. Wreck of the Hesperus by Longfellow.
Down came the storm, and smote amain
The vessel in its strength;
She shuddered and paused, like a frighted steed,
Then leaped her cable’s length.
For those interested here is the full poem.
Poem
I thought Hesperus was the name of an old beat-up car in a children's book.
ReplyDeleteYR, guess it is just a case of technical lingo not matching the vernacular. Happens a lot. (Legal briefs are never brief.)
ReplyDeleteAn alternative origin for the word "opera" is the plural of the Latin word opus, the musical term used for a single work, e.g. Beethoven's 16th String Quartet, his Opus 135. The 1st operas consisted of a collection of works, lengthy series of solo arias only loosely held together by a plot. These eventually developed into the musical dramas that we think of operas today. I'm not aware of any operas that have been assigned opus numbers, which would be a contradiction in terms.
ReplyDeleteI too had a problem reconciling "badinage" (never 'eard of it!) with "chaff", which is usually defined as the stuff that gets thrown away after threshing wheat. Good humor, like good bread, should never be thrown away.
Fun Sunday puzzle, David, although as usual, I needed a little cheating to get it all done. It helped that I got a bunch of names early on--ERATO, NEMO, STREEP, and IRENE--and they led me to other words. ERATO gave me OPERA, NEMO gave me END and GERM, STREEP gave me TURIN and PLUTO. And so it went--the fun of doing crossword puzzles. RUM and MORAL was another fun cross, although they sure don't have anything to do with each other. And it's fun to see EMU come up in puzzles over and over again. So, many thanks, David. And I always enjoy your food pictures, and that sweet picture of you this morning, C.C.
ReplyDeleteI was going to ask you to share your dinner with PK, Bluehen. But am so happy to hear her daughter will help her out.
Have a nice Sunday, everybody.
I truly enjoy Sunday puzzles. Although they are larger, they are much less difficult than Friday and Saturday. This morning I was able to eat breakfast and watch Mass on t.v. while working the puzzle in a FIR 40 minutes. However, doing a xword and watching Mass at the same time seems almost blasphemous. Years ago I remember Lee Marvin singing a song from Paint Your Wagon on the Ed Sullivan Show. It was cringeworthy at the very highest sense of the word. Now on to the NYT puzzle.
ReplyDeleteOwen, I forgot to say I enjoyed your helpful explanations.
ReplyDeleteDespite some great fill, I didn't enjoy this puzzle. The theme was clever but really detracted from the puzzle for me - crowroast, barkhopping? Oh well.
ReplyDeleteJB2
Badinage, frivolous banter.
ReplyDelete"Stiff corporate types don't tend to be too fond of badinage, or playful conversation, during important meetings, but sometimes a witty joke about the manager's ugly tie is just the right thing to lighten the mood." In Japan, even when we American teachers were in a room alone killing time, waiting for the officials to arrive to begin a meeting, the Japanese thought our playful badinage was not professional.
Why does chaff means playful banter? Perhaps because chaff is the worthless part that is separated from the grain. Lighthearted teasing and banter are not really worth much.
I have often seen raillery and persiflage used this way, too.
Again I decry the cultural stigma and disapproval against using such words in every day speech. Only people who read a lot are acquainted with them. What a waste!
In crosswords whimsical phrases and puns are most often not in the language. They are a kind of joke.
META FATIGUE, ANT AIRCRAFT, CROW ROAST and BARK HOPPING are not to be taken seriously. I look at Crossword puzzles as a lighthearted game.
Had fun with the creative theme - except I thought the BARK HOPPING clue and answer were lame- bark is an archaic term for a boat and I still don't get the changed phrase. CHAFF meaning banter was a new definition for me and "badinage" was also an unknown - so perps had to handle that.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the SO, Agnes, and I agree with you that "The Bridges of Madison County" didn't live up to the book - more so than most movies. They (especially Clint) weren't the right age and the chemistry was missing. Of course I am one of those people who should have a t-shirt reading "The Book is Better"
I had a few erasures with LINGERERS before LOITERERS, and I also had ASSIGNEE before DESIGNEE.
Thanks CC for the blog and David for the creative puzzle!
Heading out for a walk - our weather is much like HG's - Friday raw, cloudy, windy with a high of low 40s - today sunny with a high in the upper 70s - never boring!!!
Thanks for the expo, C.C. I couldn't figure out "JIGS".
ReplyDeleteI use a regular skillet for crêpes, although the French use a flat-top to make them.
Probably the most famous bark in the USA is the USCG training ship Eagle. It usually visits Norfolk at least yearly, and is open for tours. Probably not this year. We took the Eagle from Germany as reparations for WWII.
ReplyDeleteA classic week in the Crossword Corner for me, with easy strolls early in the week, challenges on Friday and Saturday, and finally defeat in the northeast on Sunday. I am the Latke Queen at Chanukah, but never guessed SPUD for an "Ingredient in some pancakes." Misspelled NEWBURG (as Newberg -- shellfish being unkosher), didn't know ARNE, am weak on Roman numerals and arithmetic, etc. Still loved the theme and the thrill of going "A-Hunting." Maybe I'll enjoy a "Narrow victory margin" next time. Thanks to all of the constructors and bloggers this week.
ReplyDeleteWelp, I got 87% through the puzzle on line today (the LA Times Games site) when, for no apparent reason, the web page "refreshed" and started over again from the beginning. Although the page said I had finished 87% of the puzzle, the puzzle nevertheless came up completely blank rather than containing what I had already filled. I.e. I couldn't "resume" from where I left off. No way was I going to fill it all in aging from scratch, so DBF due to computer glitch.
ReplyDeleteHowever, after reading CC's explanation and all your comments, I think I probably would not have been able to solve it anyway.
Wishing you all a good day.
Thanks for the kind words, for those of you who have any. And as for those of you who haven't, well, I forgive you.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, here are my original theme clues, many of which the editor has changed--some, I think, for the better (DRAWL LOTS is much improved, and maybe my CROW ROAST was a little gruesome), some not (I prefer my BARK HOPPING dog).
META FATIGUE: Feeling aroused by overindulgence in self-referential irony?
DRAWL LOTS: Speak with a Southern accent a great deal of the time?
ANT AIRCRAFT: Overhead support for an insect army?
TAXI DODGE: Urban pedestrian's maneuver?
CROW ROAST: Extreme locavore's menu item?
INTERN FAITH: Belief in eventual remunerative employment?
PEA DEMAND: Legume farmer's concern?
BARK HOPPING: Multitasking dog's activity?
If anyone wants more of my puzzles, I have a website: davidalfredbywaters.com
Inanehiker @ 12:50 ~ I could wear that same T-shirt, with maybe, just maybe, a few exceptions. For the most egregiously poor adaptation of a novel to a movie, I would nominate "The Bonfire of the Vanities." Tom Hanks, as a Master of the Universe, was a casting choice as questionable as Clint Eastwood in The Bridges.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone understand what Dr. Birx was saying yesterday (or maybe Friday) about the merging of "suspected" covid19 cases with "confirmed" cases? She was explaining the peak in the data, and said the data would be revised when they have time to assign the cases to the appropriate date. I can't remember if she was talking about "cases", "deaths" or both. My concern is that if it is cases, that would likely reset the "days with declining cases" counter for entering stage 1 reopening. We hit our "new" peak for new cases on Friday.
ReplyDeleteI think that our Governor Klanrobes will use any excuse to keep Virginia closed as long as he possibly can.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteWow! I almost missed the party but how very interesting to read all your disparate comments.
This puzzle was labor intensive but not overly difficult. However, I stumbled at META. I had AUTO which caused many problems. Familiar fill like SPUD, TORCH (flashlight, Gary), NEWBURG (never had it), SOUND, STREEP,ERECT, etc., etc. helped to finish the surrounding cells. CARPI is akin to carpel tunnel so that was a good guess. I'm sure the good doctor knew it.
CERES and IRENE appear in puzzles quite often. CSO to my beautiful niece IRENE as well as my daughter's godmother.
Thank you, Owen, for the origin of GAMUT, and YR for the AMAIN reference. Good learning moments.
I loved the Bridges of Madison County and have watched it several times. I believe the chemistry between the characters is exactly what moves me. Yes, there is immorality involved but sadly that is what dramatic plots often thrive on.
Thank you, C.C. and DAB. I love that photo of you, C.C.!
Stay well, everyone!
Jinx:
ReplyDelete"any excuse"? Isn't the fact that people are dying in record numbers a good reason?
I, too, find that The Bridges of Madison County left me cold. (No chemistry there.)It is the only Streep movie I would say MEH about.
ReplyDeleteIn almost every book I have read I found the book was much better than the movie. The only exception was The French Lieutenant's Woman. Meryl was great and the plot was clearer in the movie.
My nephew's MIL who was in an assisted living place died yesterday from Corona. She leaves behind a blind husband.My nephew has taken him in for now.
One of my four sisters has been in the hospital for 10 days now. She took a very large intentional overdose of aspirin and is having serious ill effects from it. She is also on suicide watch. For the last few years she has been tending toward dementia with poor judgement, slow processing and poor self care. This difficult period requires extra coping skills from all of us. Sis is very independent and doesn't want to admit she needs help, although I am sure that on some level she senses she is not making it. I think this dilemma is her biggest stressor, very scary and frustrating for her. She is very difficult to help. She doesn't do well on the phone and no one can visit. I am afraid she will have to fail even more spectacularly before accepting help.
Hello- I noticed the missing letters but not that the letter had shifted to the adjacent fill. Duh! I was totally clueless on Shamus & Badinage; just filled TEC & CHAFF from perps with a WAG for the C intersection. Never heard of them. Demeter & CERES-ditto.
ReplyDeleteBARK HOPPING- a ship unknown to me, as well as a Crown ROAST. But everything filled in the end.
AMI-rite? That's just WRONG IMHO. RIGHT is correct; rite- Uhuh. Maybe a 'rite of spring'.
Seamy component of Politics- UNDERSIDE- there is no "Overside" in politics. It's all lowlife knife fighting.
Reagents shortage- a friend of ours boyfriend is the brewmaster at a brewery here in NOLA. Since the brewpub is closed he is making sanitizer for the hospitals, fire & police depts.
ONE MEG- My first PC had 30Megabytes and cost over $1,700. Complete with floppy discs, character printer, keyboard, & mouse. I think my phone has 56Gigs.
I was bitten on the back side of my ear lobe by a TSE TSE fly while on safari in Zambia. Much milder than the green head bites i’ve had at the Jersey Shore. FIR after a long slog. In retrospect, a very well-crafted puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI thought the theme answers were very clever. Regarding BARKHOPPING, we used to raft up several sailboats together and “hop” from one to another during parties, so that clue made perfect sense.
ReplyDeleteI remember CHAFF as a word from “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”.
I’m with Lucina regarding Bridges of Madison County. I loved the book and the movie and thought Streep and Eastwood were just right together. BTW, he co-wrote the love theme music for the film and plays piano , guitar and trumpet.
Thanks for a delightful puzzle, David and a terrific guided tour, C.C.
Lucina, the death rate shouldn't be a determiner of when to reopen. It is like driving forward while looking solely in the rear view mirror. I think the Task Force's entrance requirements for Stage 1 opening are a smart compromise, if the data are applied validly. As I'm sure you know, those focus primarily on new infections, availability of testing materials and processing, and hospital response capabilities. My concern is that they just threw all of that old data into present statistics, skewing the run rate and delaying reopening. Maybe the data they give the governors tells them the information with and without the combined data.
ReplyDeleteThey never promised us that social distancing would cut the number of infections, just the rate of infection. It is great that we have apparently avoided overloading health care facilities during this occurrence, but it is at the cost of a longer outbreak. We are starting to see social unrest, and reports of increased domestic abuse and substance abuse are starting to roll in. Extending the opening process will have unrecoverable negative consequences, financially, physically and mentally.
Everything's a tradeoff.
Lobster NEWBURG was the agent for a character in a modern crime series. Was it the one about the "honest" burglar?
ReplyDeleteThat wasn't the AOL Center but BENIGN saved me there. And GORE was not porn. Nor was REPOT Graft. ARGOS? Because Athens wouldn't fit.
Thankfully, by the time I got to ANT(I) AIRCRAFT I grok'ed the theme.
I got HIDEO Nomo confused with Hedeki Matsui. But OLE was solid.
Badinage is what some of us engage in if not here in other blogs. eg Batting the breeze .
It wasn't ONE rEG or LEG finally the V8
can.
The Amorites were the original Canaanites. But DAB has it with I not O.
YR, you put it very well. I think for some my Boston-style badinage chafes.
Amazingly, I not only "got" the theme but it was crucial to my second straight FIR.
Can't wait to see Bobbi's take. Suspect she'll see more CHAFF than wheat.
WC
Jinx:
ReplyDeleteThank you. I do see your point and I understand. To reply more extensively I would wade into political waters which naturally I won't do here. All I can say is that I and all of you who have lived through many decades have seen some terrible situations in our country and the world (WWII, e-bola, AIDS, recessions, etc.)which have been handled with competence at the highest level. That is not the case today and that's all I will say.
Lucian amen.
ReplyDeleteOh, well, another glob of esoteric snobbery this week. HATED this grind and tossed it - not even half filled. Why?? Literally, took my noon blood pressure (doctors' orders) and it read 180!! Highest it's been since my heart attacks! As you know, I eschew on line "chest sites", using my reference library instead (thus improving my data base). After looking at the answers, I stopped after reaching TWO DOZEN misclued entries! WOW! A World Record?? I won't even attempt to solve the rest of this mishmash for fear of a heart episode. PLEASE, LAT Editors, do your job and at least question some defs with the constructors instead of merely checking their spelling prowess!
ReplyDeleteIt's as if the guy in charge is saying that if everyone pisses in one corner of the swimming pool, we'll all be fine.
ReplyDeleteSuddenly, the rooster that has claimed credit for the sunrise looks more and more like a turkey every day.
Good evening, folks. Thank you, David Alfred Bywaters, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteReally liked this puzzle. Took me forever to finish.
My favorite canal showed up today, ERIE.
Really liked the theme once I figured it out. My last was DRAWL LOTS. Had trouble getting SPUD. ARNE was easy.
I won't go over everything, but great puzzle!
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
My nephew and his wife are scrambling to care for his blind father in law after my nephew's mother died. The best laid plans, etc. My sister's family,including me, are scrambling to care for her.
ReplyDeleteI am doing my best not to pass this burden on to my older son. I was very lucky in fiding Alan such a great place.This current financial crisis limits my personal life choices. I am surprised that many of my contemporaries leave this important issue to chance. There are many woeful stories about the next generation. All we can offer is our best.
Oh,I missed Bywaters' commentary. So, LAT editors do check the defs as well as spelling!?!? Well, surprise, surprise! The amount of negative commentary this week might give everyone a sense that the natives are restless. Why? Those of us who enjoy the mental wrestling match as a challenge are the ones complaining. This puzzle was more like a pro "rassling" match for those solvers who like mayhem over clear and precise logic, brutally convoluted thought processes over mind improving revalations and clever double entendres over in-your-face skullduggey and subterfuge. Let's get back to a level plying field where these puzzles please the long-term solvers!
ReplyDeleteBOBBI can you give some examples of incorrect definitions or otherwise incorrect clues?
ReplyDeleteYR:
ReplyDeleteHow sad that your sister and other family members are going through such hardships. I hope relief will be one the way.
Whoever said crossword puzzles should be logical? Where would be the fun in that! I enjoyed this one and the challenge it provided.
Some of us long time solvers like this type of challenge.
ReplyDeleteI've been solving LAT puzzles for nearly 50 yrs! Only do Fri,Sat., Sun. Due to work commitments. The clues I refer to are the "Theme Clues". When you must go through THREE steps of logic (the defined set of two words, the letter omitted and where to put it in the new word). Without the answers to those theme clues a large puzzle is impossible to solve.Please understand that people are under a lot of stress, especially seniors who live alone. We use these puzzles to keep our minds sharp. At least I don't appreciate the time I wasted today struggling with today's mess. Have a ❤️..PLEASE!!!
ReplyDeleteIt's worth noting that most of the comments are from people who finished the puzzle -- or came close to finishing, like myself -- and enjoyed it. Merely coming up with words to match straightforward definitions is hardly a challenge, and rarely the goal of a crossword puzzle. It's a PUZZLE, people. Lighten up.
ReplyDelete