18. Hot cereal brand since 1893: CREAM OF WHEAT. I haven't had this since not liking it as a kid. I have developed a fondness for oatmeal, though. HEAT is a 1995 taut psychological drama about an obsessive detective and a brilliant thief whose fates are linked in the aftermath of a high-stakes securities heist.
38. Page on a novelist's website: ABOUT THE AUTHOR. Where the author introduces him/her self, work and persona. Here are some tips. THOR is a Marvel super-hero fantasy movie from 2011.
52. Military sanction: ARMS EMBARGO. A restriction or a set of sanctions that applies solely to weaponry, and may also apply to "dual-use technology". ARGO Is a Warner Bros. Pictures' and GK Films' dramatic thriller. Based on true events, "Argo" chronicles the life-or-death covert operation to rescue six Americans, which unfolded behind the scenes of the Iran hostage crisis--the truth of which was unknown by the public for decades.
Hi gang - JazzBumpa here to unpack the rest of the puzzle. Let's get to work
Across:
1. Top banana: MR. BIG. Somebody in a position of power - especially in the criminal world.
6. Egg size: JUMBO. Bigger than large eggs weighing 2.5 each.
11. Wrap with feathers: BOA. A long, thin, decorative scarf.
14. Like some close ball games: ONE RUN. A baseball game [I vaguely remember such things] won by a single run.
16. Ancient market: AGORA. In ancient Greece, an open public place for gatherings or markets.
17. Objective: AIM. Desired outcome.
20. "Baby Cobra" stand-up comedian Wong: ALI.
22. Implant: EMBED. Attach to the inside of something, Frex: into a blog post, like a picture or MOVIE TRAILOR. Are these terms really equivalant?
24. Sit-up targets: ABS. The ABdomnal muscles.
30. Got another opinion from: RAN PAST. I RAN my symptoms PAST another doctor.
33. Subway critter: RAT. Underground rodent.
34. Sail support: MAST. On an appropriately equipped ship.
35. Scandinavian coastal feature: FJORD. A long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs, as in Norway and Iceland, typically formed by submergence of a glaciated valley. Which, I suppose explains why they aren't found in the tropics.
36. Patio-brewed drink: SUN TEA. A beverage made by steeping the leaves in water under direct sunlight instead of boiling water.
43. Took a curious look: PEERED. To look keenly or with difficulty at somebody or some thing. I'm peering at the word "curious" in the clue.
44. Birthstone after opal: TOPAZ. A gemstone that is an orthorhombic crystalline form of aluminum silicate, found in a variety of colors.
46. Most-traded Latin American currency: PESO.
49. Part of a cage: RIB. In human or animal torsos.
50. Venezuelan herder: LLANERO. A South American herder. The name is taken from the Llanos grasslands occupying western-central Venezuela and eastern Colombia. The Llanero were originally part Spanish and Indian and have a strong culture including a distinctive form of music.
55. Word between surnames: NEE. In marriage announcements.
56. Mean: CRUEL. Willfully causing pain or suffering.
57. Motor-assisted rides: E-BIKES. Electric powered bicycles.
60. Women's History Mo.: MAR. In late April, it is now history.
67. DOJ bureau: ATF. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
68. 21-Across carrier: SHARK. Vide supra.
69. Dress like a judge: ENROBE.
70. Rapper Lil __ X: NAS. Any "iRapper" who came to prominence during the "iGeneration" of Gen Z that lack traditional musical talent. Typically these people gained fame on SoundCloud thru younger Gen Z'ers and are considered entertainment clowns by those born before 1986.
Yeah - I had to look it up.
Evidently also a specific person. This is getting confusing.
71. Handy bags: TOTES.
72. Manage: GET BY. Do OK, under the circumstances. Relatable.
Down:
1. Soft shoe: MOC. Short for moccasin: a soft leather slipper or shoe, strictly one without a separate heel, having the sole turned up on all sides and sewn to the upper in a simple gathered seam, in a style originating among North American Indians.
2. Mil. time off: RNR. Rest and Relaxation.
3. Smug brew "expert": BEER SNOB. Someone who considers themselves to be superior to non-craft and quite a few craft drinker due to the beers he chooses consume. He or she also loves to flaunt his or her knowledge of the beverage despite evidence otherwise.
I'll note that I scored a 6 pack of Smithwick's Red ale at Trader Joe's last week. It's complex - hoppy but not too much so with a rich malt finish.
4. "Dies __": hymn: IRAE. The Day of Wrath, a 13th century [possibly much older] liturgical chant of uncertain origin, based on a latin poem about the last judgement.
5. Garland, at birth: GUMM. Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922 – June 22, 1969) was an American actress, singer, and dancer known as Judy Garland. During a career that spanned 45 years, she attained international stardom as an actress in both musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist, and on the concert stage.
6. Talk endlessly to: JAW AT. Blah, blah, blah.
7. "I hate it": UGH. Expression of disgust.
8. One of the Pep Boys: MOE. The others are Manny and Jack.
9. Half a bikini: BRA. A garment worn to conceal and/or support the bosom.
10. Hall partner: OATES. Music duo I never liked very much. IIRC, Sting, of the Police, did, though, so YMMV.
11. "__, black sheep ... ": BAA BAA. Have you any wool?
12. Mideast fleet: OILERS. Ships loaded with a product whose value has declined rather disastrously.
13. In the center of: AMIDST.
15. Gaming rookies: NOOBS. Derived from Newbie - a greenhorn or tyro.
19. __ party: FRAT. College fraternity shindig.
23. Carson's sidekick: MCMAHON. Ed [1923-2009] was an announcer, game show host, comedian, actor and singer.
24. Yelp alternative: ARF. Canine commentary.
25. Westernmost Mexican state, familiarly: BAJA. California, to make it complete.
27. Made level, with "up": TRUED. As in carpentry or construction.
28. "Big Eyes" singer Del Rey: LANA.
31. Request a hand?: PROPOSE. Ask for one's hand in marriage. Other body parts come at no extra charge.
32. For two, in music: A DUE. French, maybe?
36. Biblical queendom: SHEBA. The history is not clear.
37. Bluesy James: ETTA. I had her last time, too.
39. Stretch in office: TERM.
40. Salt Lake daily, familiarly: TRIB. Tribune more formally.
41. Available schedule hour: OPEN SLOT.
42. Burger order: RARE. True - I don't order one very often.
45. Kravitz of "Big Little Lies": ZOE. [b 1988] She is the daughter of Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet.
46. Video game with a maze: PACMAN.
47. List of slips: ERRATA. Mistake catalog.
48. Gargamel foes: SMURFS. Small blue humanoids.
50. Rainbow flag letters: LGBT. Lesbian, Gay, Bi-, Trans- . . . There are some more symbols now, to be more inclusive, but I don't remember what they are
51. Tours can be found on it: LOIRE. French city on a river.
53. Horror film loc.: ELM ST. Nightmares there.
54. Gives a strong impression (of): REEKS. Not in a pleasant way.
58. __ the Conqueror, Marvel supervillain: KANG. A mysterious time-traveling villain with alternate versions in various story lines.
59. Celt's land: EIRE. The Emerald Isle.
62. "Now I get it!": OHO. Eye opening exclamation.
63. Chocolate factory fixture: VAT. A big, open container. Caution is advised.
64. Anger: IRE. The island of anger is Ire Land.
65. Recede: EBB. As tides or hair lines.
66. King of Spain: REY. Literal.
That wraps up another Wednesday in the year of the great plague. Stay home, stay safe, stay healthy.
Cool regards!
JzB
Notes from C.C.:
Hahtoolah (Susan) and I made today's USA Today puzzle, edited by the genius Erik Agard. You can solve it here. Congrats, Susan! Thank you for the idea. Thanks for making it happen.
68 comments:
Good morning!
DNF. There, I got it out of the way. Saw YELP only as the website, and couldn't see RAN PAST if my life depended on it. Bzzzzt, thanx for playing; have a lovely ceramic dalmatian. I don't follow the movies, and after the reveal figured that the last words of the four theme answers were the names of movies I'd never heard of. D'oh. Perhaps Eliot was right, "April is the CRUELest month." Thanx, Bruce and JzB.
NAS: Really? I felt better when I was ignorant and thought he was a single person. Now I know it's a somewhat generic term, and I'm still ignorant.
GUMM: Based on the dates provided, she died at 47. Could she really have had a career spanning 45 years? Apparently so. Wiki: "Baby" (as she was called by her parents and sisters)shared her family's flair for song and dance. Her first appearance came at the age of three, when she joined her elder sisters Mary Jane "Suzy/Suzanne" Gumm and Dorothy Virginia "Jimmie" Gumm on the stage of her father's movie theater during a Christmas show and sang a chorus of "Jingle Bells". (Yes, Boomer, that theater was in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.)
BEER SNOB: That N started out as an L, and I was ready to raise my hand. I'm a connoisseur of what's on sale, preferably as a 30-pack.
First, let me congratulate C.C. on her "Double Down" puzzle in yesterday's WSJ. As for Bruce's puzzle, I stumbled to a finish. But from years of solving puzzles I stuck to it like a REMORA on a SHARK. I couldn't understand how PRO LOSE fit the 31D clue until I changed LEERED to PEERED. Oh, PROPOSE.
Even after finishing I didn't understand 'ending letters' and MOVIE TRAILER connection T,S,R,O= SORT I know of the movies CARS & ARGO but not HEAT & THOR.
LLANERO- a new word for me; KANG, Lil NAS, ZOE-filled by perps.
SUN TEA- I remember Dandy Don Meredith's commercials for Lipton's.
D-otto, 'Yelp alternative'- never used Yelp and kept thinking of some other website. Oh, wrong 'yelp'; it was the dog's yelp. ARF
Beer SNOB- restaurants will open with outdoor seating May 1 in LA and if they really want customers to come they should give away draft beer before it gets stale; after sitting for a couple of months it want last long. The coffee SNOBS have been able to get drive-thru coffee but not the beer SNOBS- except in the land of drive-thru daiquiri stands- New Orleans.
Took over 7 minutes today, although it should've been quicker if I had been able to see that instead of a rare steak, I ordered a "raze" one. Not having a (figurative) clue about a llanero, it was tough for me to see. Tough, like cheap, raze steak.
Moving the word FOUR in the reveal would have made it clearer. What the FOUR ending letters of the other longest answers comprise.
FIR, slightly longer time than normal. I needed perps to spell MC MAHAON. I was held up a bit by LBGT instead of LGBT. When it is vertical instead of horizontal the mistake is hard to spot. EBIKES and NAS were all perps.
I liked seeing llanero.
FIR, but some write-overs: OHO 4 aHa, TRAILER 4 TeasEs, REEKS 4 smaKS. Yes, I can’t count. My wife and I were the only masked people as we walked among the other people out for exercise this morning.
Hello all,
At first I was lukewarm about this theme, but the more I thought about it, the more credit I think it deserves. I agree wholeheartedly that the revealer's clue was lacking, however.
Re: NAS
"Nas" is the stage name of Nasir Jones, a rapper from New York. His debut album, "Illmatic", which came out in 1994, is considered one of the best rap albums ever. For a time, Nas and Jay-Z had a bitter public feud (a la Tupac and Notorious BIG, although in this case the feud was essentially over who was the best rapper in New York in the wake of BIG's death). Nas released a "diss track" called Ether that insulted Jay-Z in a variety of creative ways, leading to "ethering" becoming a verb meaning, essentially, to humiliate someone.
Fast forward to today: "Lil Nas X" is a rapper who took his stage name as a tribute to the original Nas (who, fyi, is still touring and releasing albums). Their styles are very different, however; in fact, Lil Nas X is one of the first openly gay rappers.
I have the weeks worth of puzzles and did this(laboriously) last night. The north went smoothly and I thought it was the easiest yet of the week. Then I completely stalled with no footholds south of the Mason Dixon line.
I was looking for a Q on that Rainbow Flag and missing the crossing J. Nice to see that there really were two LL's in that herder. LOIRE was tricky. Strangely ELM ST got me going.
EMBED reminds me of the tendency of 1. The British Secret Service hiring gifted Oxfordonians and the latter succumbing to the temptation of EMBEDding "secrets" in their works. Tolkien, Asimov, Lewis and specifically LEN Deighton* immediately come to mind.
Thx D-O, I perped ARF and just thought it was another website for folk to bark at merchants. I read the reveal literally and thought it was the last letter of the long answers. I knew you wouldn't get it either, D-O, but I guess you did. I may have to watch ARGO. And maybe do the USA Today xword. When I drove shuttle I could cadge UT from the hotels along with a bagel and coffee.
WC
*You'd have to be a JFK assassination buff - it's mainly Hook,Line and Sinker. The character "Dodo" got me going. Plus, I read that MI5 "solved" the assassination but the report they sent to FBI was buried or burned.
If I saw ARGO instead of just GO, I may have figured out the reveals. But the other three are not obvious movie titles, at least for me.
DNF. I failed to change May to MAR. Should have noticed the clue was abb.
Liked yelp-ARF; PACMAN; SMURFS.
Some blanks filled by perps such as NOOBS & NAS.
Not a fan of necessary clue fills like UGH or ohno or yuk, but at least they are usually only 3 or 4 letter fills.
Totally missed the 4 Movie Trailers
Hungry Mother. We will also wear masks in public until something breaks this virus.
Thanks B.H.
Oatmeal yes. As a pup, we shortened that word to just oats. CREAM OF WHEAT not so much.
Great review JzB.
MO
Good morning everyone.
A challenge for me but FIR. Never did suss the theme but; no matter, the blanks got filled in. Some cool clues such as for RIB cage and for ERRATA. Got LLANERO from the perps but knew they like LL's to start words down there. Managed to drag REMORA out of the dusty cobwebbed attic of my memory. I love CREAM OF WHEAT, but, like JzB, I exclusively favor oatmeal, (Old-Fashioned, with blackstrap molasses) now.
Got LOIRE when the RE dropped.
Thanks JzB for a stellar intro.
Thanks JazzBumpa! Loved all the movie trailers in your write-up! My original submission had WORKING WOMEN with OMEN on the end but Rich nixed it because it was technically "The Omen" - strict! HEAT was not known to me but it has huge stars, and THOR was not known to me but Marvel stuff is huge. If you haven't heard of ARGO and CARS you need to get out more, but maybe not for a few more weeks....don't go in any crowded movie theaters!
Re. ETHER. Sorry, Nasirites, I have dibs on that word from my late night posts being in said "ether". Speaking of rap and it's audience: Hamilton, the wildly and cross- generationally popular musical is mostly rap. So, done right, it's art. I put it ahead of Christian* music and Country and hard rock. Heck, I have Sirius and just do Beatles, 50s and Mad Dog.
Cream of wheat. Northern grits, no? My friend from JerYork loves grits. Whodathunkit.
WC
** I'm not talking about real Christian songs and hymns. eg Rock of Ages etc Just that stuff Golden Corral plays.
Creative theme - I definitely need the theme reveal to get it - but the puzzle was smooth!
I always forget whether it is EMBED vs enbed. I think of it when a journalist EMBEDs with a military unit during a conflict. In 2003 NBC's David Bloom died in Iraq while EMBEDded when he developed a blood clot in his leg (DVT) that traveled to his lung giving him a pulmonary embolism. It was thought he developed it after long hours sitting in cramped vehicles.
Lil NAS X - had one of the most popular crossover pop songs of 2019 "Old Town Road" a blend of country and rap performed with Billy Ray Cyrus (Miley's dad of "Achy Breaky Heart" fame). After the original music video - Columbia Records made a mini-movie (5 minutes) of it that looks like an old western which is really funny. I thought of YR ,though not square dancing, with the seniors line dancing club at the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2Ov5jzm3j8
Thanks JzB for the fun blog and all the great music links and to Bruce for a fun puzzle!
As was said by Wheels42, Lil NAS X is definitely referring to a specific person. That other, more generic definition about an "iRapper" is an entry from someone who doesn't like him.
Lil NAS X had the biggest song of 2019, "Old Town Road." It was the biggest-seller and the most-streamed, and it was also nominated for the Grammy for Record of the Year. It's kind of a novelty song - a country-rap hybrid. I don't know if it's actually good per se, but it's kind of compelling in a weird way, and it doesn't sound like anything else. Supposedly, one reason why Old Town Road was so popular was because, in today's meme-focused world with a short attention span, it was helpful to its streaming numbers that the song is so short. The original version is less than 2 minutes long.
I think Lil NAS X is going to be yesterday's news pretty quickly.
Here's a link to the remix featuring Billy Ray Cyrus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7qovpFAGrQ . It's a little longer: 2 minutes and 37 seconds. I'm curious what people here think of the song.
I agree with Yellowrocks that the theme clue should have made it clearer that we were looking at the last four letters of the long answers.
I've been a waitress at times. You would be surprised that some people do order rare burgers, even though it is has been pointed out repeatedly that they are not safe.
We had a chef who went ballistic when very well done steaks were ordered. He said don't blame me if they are tough and dry.
YELP/ARF was cute.
Cream of wheat, oatmeal, grits are all on my NO NO list. I'll just have a cup of coffee, please. I rarely eat any cereal. Once in a great while I will have raisin bran without milk.
FTD is the only internet site that doesn't accept my credit card. They always send me to BOA to get it verified.
Musings
-First word? No. Second word? No. Both words? No. OHO, it’s the last part of the second word. Fun!
-Grandson still has a complete set of “still-in-the-box” CARS vehicles
-If it’s a ONE RUN game, I prefer 9 – 8 over 1 – 0
-Please AIM!
-Some EMBEDED journalists have lost their lives doing their job
-CRUEL? Elvis tells us “Don’t Be!”
-Having my friends at this blog helps me GET BY
-When I was a teacher NOOB, no one offered me any help. Therefore I reach out to rookies
-My childhood friend is now a multimillionaire living on BAJA California on the Gulf of California side
-Robert Byrd’s nine consecutive TERMS in the U.S. Senate allowed him to spend a lot of your money in West Virginia
-I recently had ZOE Kazan (Elia’s granddaughter) in my Saturday blog.
-Congrats to Susan and C.C. That will be my next stop today.
Anon, I watched that Old Town Roadvideo. It didn't do much for me, but then, nobody cain't tell me nothin'. Was that Brad Pitt playing in the band?
FIR with extra ink for corrections. Some clumsy or esoteric clues for a Humpday puzzle. Forgot the nickname of the SLC paper when my subscription ran out. And
doesn't everyone know the Pep Boys on a first name basis? Li'L NAS? My own fault but stuck with icetea way too long.
As usual my small brain did not figure out the theme although I've seen all the films. *hanging head in shame*
By coincidence my wife who is obsessed with shredding all our secret documents sent me out yesterday for a new one at Walmart . Anyone who has seen Argo will appreciate the fact I chose one that cross shreds in case there are any Iranian kids hiding in our dumpster.
ADUE is not French...due is Italian for 2. (DU-eh)
Are Spanish and Welch the only languages with words that can start with double LL's?
And do sheep grazing in the S. Cal. Peninsula say "Baj Baj"?
Baa, baa, black sheep, have you any wool?
Yes sir, yes sir, three bags full!
One for the master, ( the landowner )
And one for the dame, ( the Virgin Mary.i.e.the church)
One for the little boy
Who lives down the lane. ( the tax collector)
Mom would ask "Who wants CREAM OF WHEAT? I'd say "AH." My brother would say Baj!
Remember when PACMAN was high tech compared to Pong. EBIKE not just a contemporary term for a non fossil fuel motocycle.
Applogies I see I RAN PAST my time....tomorrow is THOR's Day. See you then.
Good Morning,
It's only Wednesday, eh? I had some trouble with this one. I finished, but with a lot of erasing. Last to fall were PROPOSE and KANG, so I was stuck in those environs. Leered before PEERED didn't help either. Thanks, Bruce, for the mental floss and for stopping by.
Nice tour, JazzB. Thank you. Your links are excellent.
In case you need a reminder about social distancing, my eldest grandson in Dallas sent this:
During the Coronavirus outbreak, remember to remain at least 10 feel away from others. If you're wondering how far that is, picture a Bears wide receiver and then imagine where Trubisky actually threw the pass. That distance is about 10 feet.
Yep, I'll let myself out. Have a sunny day.
Good Morning:
This was not a typical BH puzzle with tricky wordplay and playful themes, but I enjoyed the solve, anyway. It took me far longer than it should have to come up with the movie titles, but I blame this on the vagueness of the reveal clue. Not knowing how many letters were involved was a definite stumbling block. That said, there was much to like: Mr. Big abutting Jumbo, Mast/Past duo, and the plethora of words ending in A: Boa, Remora, Tea, Bra, Baa Baa, Baja, Lana, Sheba, Etta, and Errata. Perps were needed for Pac Man, Smurfs, and Leandro. My only w/o was Kong before Kang. Nice CSO to Chairman Moe.
Thanks, JzB, for the detailed summary and the numerous links and photos. The only theme movie that I have seen is "Argo", but I have heard of the other three. "Heat" looks way too violent for my taste, despite the impressive cast.
Congrats the Susan and CC; I look forward to solving their collaboration.
Stay safe, all.
Haste makes waste, so they say.
Congrats to, (not the) Susan and CC.
Forgot to thank Bruce, so Merci, Mr. Haight!
Ray - O, you'll have to ask Lloyd about that.
I wanted to try the Hahtoolah - C.C. collaboration, but I can't get past the commercial. The spinning "loading" circle just keeps spinning.
DO this Old Grey Head respextfully submits
Lloyd is a name originating with the Welsh adjective llwyd, most often understood as meaning "grey" but with other meanings as well. The name can be used both as a personal name and as a surname.
But llet's keep llooking
Oops, I thought it was "of London."
You mean Llondon?
One account I read is that when William the Conquerer visited Wales he was greeted with cries of "Bell-ee, Bell-ee", eg King! Anything was better than the hated Saxons.
I was playing Dies Irie and then played Lana's tune on top. Nice mix and Wrath and Forbidden Fruit mixed well too.
It's hard NOT to get your Burger rare these days not to speak of DeCaf, UNsweet tea etc. People would rather a tough steak to steak tartar. My friend from HS liked his meat virtually raw.
I cashed SW miles for Texas Roadhouse gift cards and the family is big on their burgers. I RAREly touch red meat. Mostly turkey and fish. Lost 25 lbs
WC
d-o, this is anon@9:42. These are the listed special guest stars for the Lil Nas X video: Special guest appearances from Chris Rock, Haha Davis, Rico Nasty, Diplo, Jozzy, Young Kio, and Vince Staples. No, I don't know who half those people are, either.
(Some of those people only appear in the full-length video, which has a pretty long non-musical sequence before and after the song.)
Bruce might be one of my favorite constructors. Always fair, fun and just the right amount of crunch. It took some perps here and there, but ultimately FIR. DNK Gumm and Smurfs but filled in easily. Loved the Yelp clue too. Remote and shark came instantly. Don't care one wit for rap. Does that make me an old fuddy duddy?
Should have been remora above. Sorry.
These last six weeks my burgers, coffee, unsweet tea and everything else are made exclusively by yours truly. I do get exactly what I want, but I miss having someone to cook for and I miss eating out. The hardest part of social distancing is eating every meal alone. Breakfast is the best because I am doing the puzzle and looking forward to a chat here on the Corner.
Thanks Bruce and JzB for being a bright start to my day.
I was on the right wavelength. That seldom happens, but made this all the more fun for me. Thanks, Bruce. PROPOSE was my favorite for Request a hand.
Jazz, great write up.
I’ve enjoyed all the discussion of Lil Nas X. His Old Town Road has had many incarnations. The lastest, at least for me, was a commercial during the Super Bowl with Sam Elliott, one of my favorite people. Sam is playing himself, a sleepy ole cowboy, and Lil Nas rides into town on a shiny black stallion decked out in silver. They “fight” a duel to the music of Old Town Road. The prize is whatever they are advertising...Doritos I think. Billy Ray Cyrus is watching from the porch of a saloon.
The final parry is Lil Nas back on his fancy horse. The horse dances. Sam looks at his broken down nag...and the nag shakes his head.
And Lil Nas X rides out of town on The Old Town Road. It was such a spoof of everything.
This was a bit of a mystery to me as I did not know the names of these movies. I was able to FIR, but the theme didn't really work for me. Learning moment about REMORA and SHARK. Hand up I was also mystified by ARF and YELP for a long time.
BAJA begins just a five hour drive from here. But it continues far beyond that, across varied climates and topographies. I have shared some of my BAJA photos before.
Here are some of my BAJA whale watching video clips that I don't think I have shared before.
Hola!
Thank you, Bruce and JazzBumpa! Good puzzle, good commentary.
LL is a character in the Spanish alphabet and has its own section in the dictionary just like any other character. It is pronounced like Y so LLANERO sounds like YANERO. Some might be more familiar with LLANO, the South American plain.
I liked this puzzle as well as any puzzle that forces me to think. MR BIG followed by JUMBO then BOA (constrictor) gave it an extra edge, I thought.
My mother made SUNTEA every day in summer. As soon as she was up, she filled the gallon jar kept for that purpose and set it outside filled with several TEA bags.
ARGO is a riveting MOVIE. Even though the outcome is known, the tension builds.
AHA changed to OHO when MOVIE and TOTES appeared.
A RARE hamburger? I can't even imagine it.
Ed MCMAHON sang and danced? I knew him only as the announcer on the Johnny Carson Show.
Some historians believe present day Yemen was the kingdom of SHEBA and others think it was in east Africa.
LANA means wool in Spanish and a slang term for money.
Have a beautiful day, everyone!
Tough for a Wednesday. But finished it eventually without realizing that ARF is not a website.
I wanted NABOB vs MRBIG, LARGE vs JUMBO, ONEONE vs ONERUN and DEA vs ATF. Perps set me straight. Perps also helped fill in other unknowns such as ARF.
LEERED to me would be a curious look. PEERED is just a look. Took a minute or two to clear up that stumbling block.
I grew up eating oatmeal and CREAM OF WHEAT. Still like them both in the winter. Stirring in some brown sugar makes cream of wheat even better. It's one thing that I can eat when I have an upset stomach. I like grits too, but never had them until I lived in Florida. I think the magic grits scene in "My Cousin Vinny" is one of the funniest parts of a very funny movie.
Supposedly our part of Pennsylvania may start opening on May 8, but they haven't figured out the details on how to do it. Probably a little soon, but we'll see.
Hopefully all of you are staying safe.
From Yesterday:
Lucina thank you for sharing your life story about wearing a HABIT and going on to a very different life. Wow! Your daughter must have started having babies quite young, so she made up for your delayed start. Good for you!
Wilbur Charles thanks for the reminder that I had shared the PIANO DUET Piano Boys before. I have more photo and video sets of them, so I may use those in the future.
Regarding Roddenberry, how did that come up here? Thanks for asking!
But the answer is that in the original Star Trek Roddenberry had to comply with rules set by the NBC network censors. Roddenberry was an atheist and he was far ahead of his time when it came to equal rights for women and minorities. He was constantly battling the corporate "suits" to get his vision PAST them.
In The Next Generation he owned all of the rights and no one had control over his creation. Which is why the version with PICARD was even more edgy than the original in its ideas.
Wilbur Charles I will add one more thing: Interesting that you watched some of Star Trek from Vietnam.
Roddenberry was a military veteran and he knew the horrors of war. One of his main messages in the original Star Trek was his opposition to the US war in Vietnam. "The Prime Directive" in Star Trek is never to interfere in the affairs of other societies.
That is what ultimately got the show cancelled.
Well, Wednesdays have begun to be toughies for me, but still enjoyed this one. Thanks for checking in with us, Bruce. BOA got me BAA BAA, and AGORA got me UGH and BRA and even JAW AT after a bit. ABS got me BAJA, and so it went. ETTA got me TOPAZ, and I could swear that IRELAND in one of its multiple terms (e.g. EIRE) shows up in nearly every puzzle these days. Kind of fun, actually. So, thanks again, Bruce, and you too, JazzB, for your always interesting commentary.
Have a good middle of the week, everybody.
FLN,
Learning moment:
Methinks I finally know the meaning of "Wherefore art thou, Romeo."
(Why? I looked it up...)
FIR'd the puzzle online, but never saw the Theme.
Online, I can only see the top half, or the bottom half
of the puzzle at one time. (Also, a fish that sticks to a 68A
is even harder to visualize.)
Oh Well, at least I did not have this problem...
Hmm, 1D, soft show is not Tap?
I must be older than I thought...
Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Bruce Haight, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.
Puzzle was not easy. I could not catch the theme. The only one of those movies I had seen was ARGO.
Easily got CREAM OF WHEAT, but I never liked it. Do not like grits, either.
Some people order RARE hamburgers. Ever hear of Steak Tartar?
ERRATA came easily, but PACMAN and SMURFS did not.
LLANERO made sense to me.
Never really met a BEER SNOB, but I have been called a TEA SNOB, by my wife. Oh well.
Madame DeFarge: Nice tro see you.
Been raining here for about a day. Everything is soaked. Still raining. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Forgot to congratulate C.C. and Susan on their puzzle!
JzB, I should have complimented on the write-up , I liked the links and TRAILERS.
Picard, I never watched Star Trek except through a window. I was a TV snob- I remember at BC (Ed MCMAHON'S Alma mater) my Math major buddies, 750+ SATs talking Beverly Hillbillies and Superman. Later I thought BH was hilarious. I even got over my Hobbit snobbery.
"Ignorance=Contempt before Investigation".
WC
Irish Miss.....LEANDRO?
Picard...Star Trek was almost cancelled in its 2nd season, but a letter writing campaign gave it a 3rd season. So they put it on Friday night, the “death zone” for tv shows. Then it was cancelled for poor ratings.
I like my oatmeal/grits/cream of wheat with maple syrup.
This Wednesday go had some grit to it.
Write-overs...ARMYEMBARGO/ARMSEMBARGO, OPENSPOT/OPENSLOT.
I’ve seen all 4 films, and they are all worthwhile viewing.
And on to Thursday, day of Thor.
Anonymous PVX @ 2:10 ~ The blame for the misspelling goes to Autocorrect and the blame for careless proof-reading goes to Moi. 🙃
EIRE - anagram of Erie; can't get away from it.
Ed MCMAHON The American television personality and decades-long sidekick to Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show” served as a flight instructor in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II but did not fly on combat missions. While working as a television host in Philadelphia, he was recalled by the Marines to serve in Korea in February 1953. McMahon piloted unarmed Cessna O-1E Bird Dogs on 85 artillery-spotting missions over enemy lines until the cease-fire later that year. McMahon, who sometimes flew five missions on the same day, earned six air medals.
He remained active in the Reserves for a total service of 25 years and retired with the rank of Colonel.
A good pzl from Mr. Haight!
It was a slow go... but it went. Ta ~DA!
Hadn't realized "Top Banana" had any other but a theatrical meaning.
Live and....
I think I get all of my advanced education via Crosswords.
~ OMK
Puzzling Thoughts:
My ERRATA consisted of LEERED/PEERED; ARMY/ARMS. RAN PAST never filled in, because _ROLOYE just didn’t register!
Thanks Irish Miss for the CSO. I guess I’m not only a Stooge, but also a car parts store owner!
Wasn’t MR BIG a character on Sex and the City?
CREAM OF WHEAT triggers a gag response in me; as do sweet potatoes. Just thinking of them makes me want to retch (TMI!)
Whenever THOR fights
In street scenes, it always seems
That he BATTLES CARS.
16x15 grid today ... FWIW, I’m in the process of creating a couple of xword puzzles ...
Just did the USA Today puzzle. CC and Susan, great job! Lots of fun, and quite clever, although I had never heard of the final theme answer. Very gettable through perps, which is the key to avoiding frustration and to a good puzzle!
I have been cogitating all day about instances where implant and embed are nearly synonymous.
The fertilized egg is implanted or embedded in the uterus.
Colorful stones can be implanted or embedded in the concrete of a walkway.
This pandemic has implanted or embedded a sense of fatalism in some people's psyche.
.
SPitzBoov,
Thank you for the Ed McMahon Service record.
(I had no idea!)
OMK Said:
I think I get all of my advanced education via Crosswords.
~ OMK
Hmm,
I agree, we do learn a lot here...
So, in future, in addition to cakes (on Birthdays)
I will be giving out Diplomas to
anyone who FIR's!
I will get enrobed for the occasion...
(but you don't have to tell anyone it is a bathrobe...)
Oh, & I did the USA Today puzzle,
but I have 3 blank spaces that are vexing me,
(that I intend to go back to...)
Rats! No diploma for me,
(maybe I can get a GED later?)
Hi everybody.
Coincidence? I made Cream of Wheat for breakfast this morning. I started out with a couple of pats of butter melting on top. After I've consumed those yummy parts, I mix in a bit of brown sugar and add a bit of half and half. I like breakfast. Tomorrow? Maybe a couple of eggs, a small amount of pork sausage and a half a toasted English muffin.
I felt this puzzle was okay. FIR without help. Didn't get the movie names.
The term LGBTQ seems "off" to me. Doesn't Q include the others? Like saying Cotton, Wool, Polyester, Silk, Fabric.
Now I'm going to work C.C. and Susan's puzzle.
Good wishes to you all.
By the way, on a technical note:
On Sunday I observed that while I was working the puzzle on the LA Times games website my Edge browser kept consuming more and more memory and CPU power, bogging everything down. Today I did the puzzle at the Washington Post website and observe that little such resource hogging has happened. Both sites are powered by the "PuzzleMe" engine, so the difference likely lies elsewhere. I suggest the webmasters carefully vet the ads to make sure they are not larded up with excess code such as scripts which take CPU processing power. Also, since each ad is replaced by another ad, it's possible the ads that are replaced fail to release back the memory they have used, so each new ad sucks up more memory. It has been a common mistake to "malloc" memory space and then forget to release it when you're done.
This also happens when I do the puzzle on my iPad, so I don't think it is a problem with Edge or with Windows.
In the first trimester of my long ago pregnancy I could eat only CREAM OF WHEAT the entire three months. Any other food would gag me. At the end of three months, like a miracle, all went back to normal and I could eat everything but spicy food.
Picard:
My daughter was 19 when her daughter was born. She dropped out of college then a few years later went back to school and graduated with a Master's degree.
Hoo boy. FIR but it was a challenge. Somehow I just didn’t enjoy this one, but Bruce is one of my favorite constructors and I look forward to his next one. JazzB, I always enjoy your writeups and there was no exception today.
Favorite today: YELP/ARF.
Been a long busy day; I think I’m headed up for a nap to get rested up for bedtime later.
Bye.
Jayce, I seldom run out of ink by solving one dead trees!
Swampcat,
Your not thinking of the near future...
Where the ink that you paid for comes out of the
pen, & every so often pops out an Ad by your inks Sponsor
onto your repurposed dead tree...
one such Ad might read:
Did you pay your monthly Oxygen Installment?
(I was going to say water, but they already make you pay for that...)
Hi solvers!
"perps" = perpendiculars! I figured that out all by myself!
But "FIR?" Help please!
Ah, Wednesday, the last puzzle of the week when I feel kind of smart. By Saturday I'm a drooling, illiterate mess. Did ok on this one, totally missed RANPAST and SUNTEA. Kept trying to fit Sangria in there for sun tea, don't know why. You can mix Sangria on your patio, I guess.
Lots of words in Catalan start with a double L. The pronunciation is kind of funny, though, not like Spanish which sounds like a y or a j, depending on the region. In Catalan it sounds like llth.
I never knew Judy Garland's real name was Gumm. Learn something new every puzzle, I guess.
I went to 99 once and ordered a burger, "how would you like that done," they asked me. I said "rare please," and the server said "we only cook burgers medium or well done because of health concerns." So why ask me?
Oh, try Cream of Wheat with a splooge of real Vermont maple syrup on top. Yummm!
DR
page i Errata
i Erratum
I once gave chuckles to to the group I was with and the server when I ordered my burger “as rare as you can make it legally. “ It came medium
LGBT discussion in Wikipedia, including the ever-longer varations and the alternatives. Personally, I prefer LGBT+ from the variations. (Just my personal preference; don't mean to offend anyone.)
Wednesday workout. Thanks for the fun, Bruce and JzB.
I'm late to the party (60 posts already!). This CW required P&P and had several inkblots.
I was debating between large or small eggs, but small gave me Meh for 7D "I hate it" and I ran with that. But BRA was apparent and required a rethink. JUMBO finally appeared.
Then I had MOVIE SpoILER for 61A (Kong seemed as good as KANG) and that slowed down the solve and the theme. I was looking at HEAT or EAT, SCARS or CARS, THOR or OR; the movies dawned as TRAILERS not spoilers.
The SE was the last to fall; I needed Google help with Gargamel to get SMURFS . . . and then the unknown NAS (although I think he has appeared here before) and ATF (this Canadian had trouble again with the American bureau!).
LLANERO was a lucky WAG. I wondered if it should be Llamero (does that Venezuelan herd Llamas!
I smiled at BOA crassing BAA BAA (and so close to BRA), and RIB crossing TRIB.
People have had trouble here finding OPEN SLOTS for grocery orders that aren't two weeks into the future.
Vermontah - FIR means Filled in Right (vs. FIW - Filled in Wrong). For more info, on main blog page at right under Olio, see Comments Section Abbreviations.
Wishing you all a good evening.
Vermontah,
Ack! Canadian Eh beat me to it...
(Canadians are always on top of US statesiders...)
it's under Olios/ (see Abbr)
(everything is a puzzle here...)
Note that the Olio/Abbr is soon going to be replaced:
Updated version...
DON'T Panic!
& just be glad the abbr's are not in French...
When I drove a shuttle I had a group that were going to an LGBT function. They discussed Q and seemed to define it as Queer but not with the meaning it would have had 50 years ago. Anyway...
I looked it up Here
Hi All!
Thanks Bruce for the puzzle - sparkly! I guess being pedantic (re: THE Omen) is an editor's job :-)
And thank you JzB for the fine expo.
WO: TRUEs up.
ESPs: GUMM, IRAE, LLANERO, KANG, ADUE, LANA, spelling of MCMAHON
Fav: clue for PROPOSE [hi Swamp!]. Took forever for the penny to drop and it was totally worth it. MdF - my last to fall too.
Sparkle - '80s vibe w/ PAC MAN & SMURFS, Cream of WHEAT crossing OAT[e]S, BEER SNOB. Clue for ARF - evil misdirection; I liked it.
Found the MOVIES after the reveal filled. OHO, theme wasn't just AT, GO, OR, and RS(?)
Seriously, no one else wanted LLAMAER even for even a second?
Vermontah - FI[R|W] is Finished It [Right|Wrong]
Ray-O: Good choice on the shredder. Ribbon shreds are too easy to put back together (assuming your time is worth the info) comparatively.
@YR - your post made me think how maternal grandfather went to the same three restaurants after grandma died (he almost never ate out before). It's where people knew him and he needed that. Glad to be your eFriend here.
Lucina - remember McMahon w/ the Publisher's Clearing House over-sized checks?
5d - I kept wanting GALE for Judy Garland 'cuz I know I learnt it at The Corner (and crosswords). OHO, that's her character Dorothy's surname.
Julia Child makes a very rare burger [6m. Letterman]
Hope everyone is holding up OK. I keep finding work takes more and more and more time each day. I finished little after 1 this morning b/f realizing I'd not gotten back to The Corner.
Cheers, -T
CED - of course we Canadians are on top! 😃
If this blog was Canadian based, those abbreviations would have to be in both English and French. But your hilarious link is in Spanish I think ( Lucina can confirm?) not French.
AnonT -Did you see my post about LLamero? Llamaer is even funnier.
Yes, it's Spanish.
Didn't refresh before posting...
C, Eh! LOL LLamero.
Jayce's "as rare as you like it" was the last thing I read before drafting / submitting. One day... One day.... I'll learn. Refresh!
ibid everyone responding to Vermontah.
This might seem political so... skip a bit?
I just spent >1 hour trying to de-misinform my dear mother who gets all her news from [insert WTF??!?? here] over the internet. The virus, as she learned yesterday, is now gone because it's getting hotter. Also, you can endoscope uv-light into people's lungs.
Oh, and Pope Frank and Bill Gates are in cahoots about something w/ the W.H.O.
I love my Mom but...
G'Nite -T
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