 |
Debbie Ellerin Sheryl Bartol
|
Hi Gary,
Thanks for reaching out. By way of background on me, I live in Evanston, IL and learned to construct puzzles from my sister (and sometimes co-constructor) Debbie Ellerin. In retirement, in addition to constructing an occasional puzzle, I spend my time working with a homeless agency in my community “to end homelessness, one person at a time”. I also love traveling with my husband and three kids (and look forward to getting back to it post-pandemic), and competing in my family’s fantasy football league.
I am excited about my debut LA Times puzzle and my first themeless puzzle. I started the puzzle with the entry PROMPOSAL after being intrigued by the elaborate prom invitations devised by my children’s high school classmates. Other early longer entries were FORCEQUIT and MANOAMANO, which I thought were unique phrases. As I completed the fill, I was drawn to some words with personal connections. I am not sure if these clues survived the editing process, but I associate UPPER with the area of Michigan, that was home to my husband’s family. CREPE and EDAM were related to some of my travels, and I clued DESPERADO and HER with references to favorite Eagles and Beatles songs. The clue for APU came from my son Andrew who is a big Simpsons fan! All those hours of Simpsons watching finally paid off :)
Take care,
Sheryl
Now let's explore what the other of these two lovely sisters has to offer today with her LA Times and themeless debut:
Across:
1. Program shutdown of last resort: FORCE QUIT - If I push Command + Option + Esc, I get this window that allows me to FORCE any open program to QUIT if I choose it and hit Return
15. Shares secrets with: OPENS UP TO - Kids who do this to teachers can put the teacher in a difficult position
16. Champs-Élysées lunch choice: CREPE - Shown below is the Crêpe salée chèvre miel et crêpes sucrées Nutella et spécialité banane (Savory Crêpe with goat cheese and honey and a sweet specialty Nutella and banana Crêpe) from the Creperie Framboise Champs-Elysees (White circle on map just off the Champs-Elsysse)
 |
| The CREPE dish mentioned above The restaurant very near the Champs-Élysées |
17. Spring roll wrapping: RICE PAPER - The steps showing the ingredients placed on RICE PAPER and rolled up with the finished product at the top
18. "The Tetons and the Snake River" photographer Adams: ANSEL - The master of b/w photography
19. Hardware item: T-NUT - 65 of them at Menards
20. "The Office" actress Ellie: KEMPER - Her IMDB
22. Zip in your step: PEP.
23. "__ Majesty": "Abbey Road" track: HER - A 23-second "throwaway" song that was "hidden" 14 seconds after the last track on Abbey Road.
24. Hung in there: PERSEVERED.
26. Cool: RAD - The verb synonym FAN didn't cut it
27. Rewards: DESERTS - Get what you deserve as "just DESERTS"
29. Pan flying: PETER - I was watching this at Grandma Opal's house the night my youngest sister was born
32. Aquatic diver: LOON.
34. Hawaiian staple: TARO.
35. Iowa college town: AMES - A 3-hr drive from my home to AMES for a Husker FB game (Huskers are 86 - 17 -2 against the Cyclones)
36. Hills complement: DALES - For me the Army Song will always start, "Over hill, Over DALE" but I'm not sure any more.
37. Cylindrical cheese: EDAM.
38. Word on a door: PUSH - Don't you all know the classic Far Side cartoon about this?
39. "A Holly Jolly Christmas" singer: IVES - Can you OD on a song?
40. Wed on the sly: ELOPE.
41. Home of the Curve, the Pirates' Double-A team: ALTOONA
43. Milk purch.: GAL.
44. "Bye!": SEE YA LATER - Yeah, we all know the next word in the Bill Haley and The Comets' song
47. Clean Water Act org.: EPA.
50. Support: AID.
51. Ill-__: like a poor clay model: SHAPEN.
52. Cultivated: GREW.
53. Ruler's domain?: ROOST - I know who rules the ROOST here!
57. Get used (to): INURE - How do you INURE yourself to this violence?
58. Senior's elaborate ask: PROMPOSAL - Last week it was 21. Down in Erik and Leslie's puzzle
School dance invite portmanteau: PROMPOSAL - It appears Brooke said Yes
60. Crumbly toppings: STREUSELS - Cinnamon coffee cake with STREUSEL topping!
Down:
1. Tenth word of the Gettysburg Address: FORTH - Yeah, I had to figure out if Fourscore is one word or two
2. Speak up: OPINE.
4. Tech review site: CNET - CNET's best products for 2020
5. Medium claim: ESP - A medium with true ESP would be, uh, rare
6. Shook: QUAKED - The building on flexible pads doesn't SHAKE/QUAKE as much
7. Michigan's __ Peninsula: UPPER - You take the 5-mile long Mackinac Bridge, as seen here from the International Space Station, to get there from the lower Michigan peninsula
8. They may follow bullets: ITEMS - This is an actual Power Point slide with bullet ITEMS that appeared sequentially (with sound of course) as I talked on planets with 7th graders.
9. Undermines: TORPEDOES - A principal that didn't like me TORPEDOED a proposal I was making to the school board at the last minute. It passed anyway.
10. Close ones: SCARES - Wow!
11. Item near a sugar bowl, perhaps: URN.
12. Eagles title antihero: DESPERADO - Elaine's boyfriend was a huge fan of this song
13. Cop's surprise: SPEED TRAP - Hey, you were warned!
14. Site with many pans: YELP.
21. Ties up: EVENS - Carlton Fisk would not have gotten to hit his historic, game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 in the 1975 World Series if pinch-hitter Bernie Carbo had not hit a 3-run home run to EVEN the score in the 8th
24. Putt-putt standard: PAR - PAR is 2 on every Putt-Putt® golf hole
25. Share around the campfire, say: RETELL.
26. Work on hooves: RESHOE - My farrier friend also works on giraffe hooves
28. "Have __": SOME.
29. Tevye, to Tzeitel: PAPA - She and her sisters don't want PAPA or Yente to make a match for them
30. Mayonnaise and salad dressing: EMULSIONS - A definition and a picture of EMULSIONS
31. Tried: TESTED OUT.
32. Illumination with a blob: LAVA LAMPS - They do a great job of showing how the heat inside the Earth melts rock to a liquid or LAVA which makes the LAVA rise to the surface and erupt. Plus the kids think they are cool!
33. Bullfight holler: OLE.
36. "Empty Nest" actress Manoff: DINAH Her IMDB
40. Cup handle: EAR.
42. World metaphor, in Shakespeare: OYSTER - I doff my hat if you know the play and the speaker of this line: "Why then the world's mine oyster, Which I with sword will open" (*answer below the grid)
43. Mapping subject: GENOME - Here 'ya go!
45. Disassembled: APART.
46. Domingo, e.g.: TENOR - A wonderful three minutes of the Three TENORS singing Nessum Dorma (A wonderful 50. Bizet's "Habanera," for one: ARIA from Puccini's Turandot). Left to right - Placido, Jose and Luciano.
47. Remove entirely: ERASE.
48. Correctional: PENAL.
49. Some mil. absentees: AWOLS.
52. Scientifically engineered crops, for short: GMOS - A good cartoon explanation
54. "Sold out" sign: SRO - The Husker VB sellout streak is at 268 at the 8,000+ seat Devaney Coliseum and the Standing Room Only tix ain't cheap!
56. Toon shopkeeper who once worked a 96-hour shift: APU - Apu Nahasapeemapetilon - The Kwik-E-Mart proprietor in The Simpsons.
*Pistol speaks the line to Falstaff in The Merry Wives Of Windsor
73 comments:
Is 27 across supposed to be desserts?
A surprisingly smooth Saturday solve. FIR in 15+ minutes, which is over 5 minutes faster than Mr. Christian's puzzle yesterday. Fewer false starts and erasures than most weekend puzzles. Thanks Sheryl and DO.
Chef Wendy, thanks for the tip on steaming hard boiled eggs. I'll try that today. Along the same lines, do you know if it really helps to center the yolks if you leave the eggs on their side overnight? I've heard that sitting upright in a carton is very unnatural for an egg, and that is why the yolk is sometimes off-center. The fix is to turn the carton on its side in the fridge overnight. True?
Unknown @ 6:01, you would think so, right ? Take the link at 27A in Husker Gary's expo of the puzzle for the quick explanation.
Wow, Gary ! You are not only a super solver and blogger, but also a sleuth !
Sheryl, congrats on your LA Times and debut and your first themeless ! We had PROMPOSAL here recently, and it was the first time I had ever heard of that portmanteau. Guess I'm out of touch. But not out of touch with The Simpsons. Nailed APU. That program never fails to amuse me.
Speaking of programs, I'm more familiar with End Task that is used on PC's rather than FORCE QUIT that's used on a Mac. Same diff.
Nailed ALTOONA. It's southwest of oc4beach. The team is named for the famous Horseshoe Curve railroad tracks.
DESPERADO - Desper-otto ! Exactly how did you come up with that nom de plume ?
All of a sudden I'm having a yen for Cinnamon coffee cake with STREUSEL topping.
I've been to the UP, but we just drive north through Wisconsin. Closer for us to go that way.
Perfect gif for SCARES !
All in all, a great start to the day. A challenging but solvable Saturday puzzle and another debut with fresh clues and answers, followed by another excellent review. Thank you, Sheryl and Gary !
And it was Hal Smith's 3 run honer in the 8th inning in 1960 that set up Mazeroski's game winner. Smith put the Pirates ahead by a run but the Yankees tied it in the top of the 9th on a miraculous running play by Mantle.*
Neither Carbo nor Smith got revered like the other two.
I left my xword insert behind on my travel north so I was forced to solve online. And yes, it was easy for a Saturday. I recognized PROMPOSAL and GMOS but had an inadvertent** 'A' so when I filled the last box there was no "congrats". I quickly corrected before the proctor noticed but should I call this an FIR or FIW .
We haven't had the jury convened** for awhile. YR, Misty,PK, Lucina etal ??
FORCEQUIT as opposed to UNPLUG IT. The latter a box short. I'd think there'd be an icon for it. I suppose the user can set one up. I liked the Microsoft version just before Windows.
WC
*Mantle dove back into first on a sharp ground ball avoiding a game ending double play
** That's my story and I'm stick'n with it
Good morning!
This was an almost-Wite-Out-Free Saturday -- just SHAPEd/SHAPEN. Had just learned PROMPOSAL, and here it comes again. DALES, CSO to Lucina. This was a very fast Saturday -- even MANO A MANO came trippingly off my gel-point. Thanx, Sheryl (nice solo debut) and Husker (on a real computer you'd use CTRL-ALT-DEL to access Task Manager).
DESPERADO: One of the few songs I used to play from memory. TTP, in my ute the neighborhood kids called me Otto (my last name begins Utto...). So, I did a mash-up. I can't help that the Eagles misspelled it.
STREUSEL: The latest items to go missing at Wally-World are the miniature blueberry muffins with STREUSEL topping. They go great with morning coffee. Well, they used to.
UPPER: I used to visit my aunt and uncle at their summer cottage on Lac Vieux Desert. The border between Wisconsin and UPPER Michigan goes right through the lake.
GENOME: I can't believe the genetic manipulation that can be done now with CRISPR technology. It's like magic. But, should they do it?
RETELL: "...and in the morning, there it was hanging on their car's door handle -- the hook."
Like for many of you, this was a quick solve for me. I solved without stopping until I got to the final corner in the NW. I put the puzzle aside to cook breakfast. Then I finished easily. I never heard of FORCE QUIT, but the perps helped. I don't have a Mac, I just unplug the dang thing. The UI gave me QUIT and the H in HER gave me FORTH and then FORCE. That made plenty of perps to finish up. SOAPY before SUDSY.
I miss campfires.
Gary I loved the Three Tenors and the scary near accident. Excellent review. Sheryl fresh clues were appreciated.
I must be missing something. What does our jury need to decide?
FIW, had SHAPEd, even though I knew that GEdOME was wrong and I’ve had four different DNA tests. On the bright side, I knew ALTOONA, where my father was born, from many trips to the nearby Horseshoe Curve. Back when one could walk on the tracks, I put a coin down for the train to run over. It must have been in the 50s. I only traveled the Curve once where I could see it from the windows; I traveled it once as a newborn and don’t remember seeing it.
Well after last Saturday's fiasco by Erik, this puzzle by Sheryl was relatively easy. I started slow in the NW with only CNET and ESP filled. But the NE opened it up with ANSEL & DESPERADO (I like Linda Ronstadt's version). I wanted persistent for PERSEVERED but Desperado killed it. The SE was easy because the previously unknown PROMPOSAL was in last Saturday's puzzle.
I finished the puzzle back in the NW with FORCE QUIT. My Android Samsung has 'Force STOP', not QUIT. Whenever you get a new 'free' phone the first thing you should do is to uninstall all the 'CrapWare' Apps. If you can't, I just do a FORCE STOP. Also go to all the apps and remove notifications and permissions for the apps you'll never use. I learned that years ago in a CNET article.
SPEED TRAP- there are two small towns near me that have them; radar & cameras. You don't go one mph over the posted limit. Then there's NOLA. They have plenty of them everywhere.
KEMPER & DINAH were perps. SEE YA LATER.
FIR in reasonable time for a Saturday. FORTH anchored the NW. GENOME the SE. Thought of LAVALAMPS first, but the clue did not seem plural. So, I needed to correct LAVAlight.
Beatles & Eagles are 2 favorites. Guess I need to remove the Abbey Road LP from its frame, and put it on the turntable again.
Enjoyed this puzzle, Sheryl's note, & Gary's post.
MO
Unknown, Merriam Webster has a more satisfying explanation and history of "just DESERTS". Learning moment for me, too.
Two linemen smashing into each other is the correct example of MANOAMANO, which does not mean "one on one" or "man to man", but "hand to hand", so up close and personal. Two guys don't go mano a mano in a golf match or a pistol duel.
WC, I see the problem. Filling in all the cells and not getting a "congrats" would signal that you have a mistake, about the same as getting a red letter. Technically it would be a DNF.
YR, to make it brief: if, solving online, does filling the last box not result in a "congrats" is it an automatic FIW? Red-letters I'd say automatic FIW but what's the verdict on this case.*
Part of the problem is the last box gets filled without realizing it's the last box.
WC
* This may be moot as many never solve in line. Tbtimes isn't publishing in Saturday during the pandemic so it was my only option.
Good morning everyone.
CSO to D-O @ DESPERADO.
In hindsight, the puzzle was relatively easy. After ESP and ANSEL, worked my way up from the bottom and right to left. Wanted 'soapy' before perps pointed to SUDSY. We had PROMPOSAL a short while ago so that helped. Eventually got it all without AID. FIR. Nice mix of fill. Thanks Sheryl for sharing your thought process with us.
STREUSELS - Means 'crumbles' in German.
CREPE - Can't wait for IHOP to re-open and offer their CREPES with lingonberries.
LOON - Another allusion to Canada. :-). (Also Minnesota.)
REF 27 ACROSS
DESERT IS A DRY AREA
THE PROPER ANSWER SHOULD BE JUST "DESSERTS."
I really enjoyed this one.This seemed to me to be an entertaining and clever puzzle. Really excellent. I found this to be the best puzzle of the week.Thank you for this fine puzzle.
Dessert has two s’s because you always go back for more !
DESERT - - Deserts here is the plural of desert, meaning "that which one deserves". "Desert" is now archaic and rarely used outside this phrase. The spelling just desserts is non-standard. It is sometimes used as a pun in, for example, restaurant names.
Hola!
What a swift Saturday solve! Thank you, Sheryl Bartol. Interesting to learn of the two sisters, both of whom are constructors.
So, what jury are we forming?
PETER Pan started me of on this jolly journey and it was finished before I realized how little time it took.
Yes, I noted the DALES CSO. Thank you, Desper, and also for the interesting origin of your avatar name.
As for the "just DESERTS" I think the Merriam Webster article explains it well. I, of course live in the other definition of that word, the arid Southwestern DESERTS.
And I always appreciate a little Spanish in the grid so MANO-A-MANO was welcome.
The clue for TORPEDOES is so literal it makes me cringe!
For Michigan's UPPER peninsula, for a minute I thought it might have a proper name with which I wasn't familiar.
Twice in my life I have run through a SPEED TRAP and paid dearly for it.
Thank you, Gary, for your super Saturday sampler, especially the music and of course the graphics.
I remember "Empty Nest" and DINAH Manoff; it was a really funny show.
CSO to Canadian Eh! at LOON.
Have yourselves a celebratory weekend, everyone!
Greetings and thanks to Husker for the fine rundown. Would that I could be so lucky to deserve "only" deserts, my favorite places on Earth. I would be happy to eat just desserts in any desert provided me.
On another note, I thought this would be the appropriate place to ask whether anyone has made use of the program Crossword Compiler 10 to create puzzles? I'm looking for things to do and I've always thought creating crossword puzzles would be great, so I've been on the Amuselabs site taking my initial stabs, but I'd like to get a little more serious. Has anyone ever tried the Crossword Compiler program?
Oops! OFF instead of "of" in "Peter Pan started me off"
I think it was Will Weng, the former NY Times crossword editor, who said something along the lines of, "It's your puzzle. You decide what the rules are." We aren't in a formal competition. I personally count an adjustment after not getting the "congratulations" as a win, because I would otherwise double check the answers, and this saves me the trouble of having to do that. I find the double-checking to be pretty tedious, and I really like solving online for that reason.
Usually, the error is a typo. And when it's not, if I've still figured the issue out on my own, without any assistance (except the missing "Congratulations"), I still count it as a win. To me, the missing "Congrats" feels like a hint ("wait, there's more...") more than spilling the beans, because it could apply to any one of 180 or so squares. I still feel like I accomplished something by finishing. So it's a FIR with an asterisk, but still a win. Your mileage may vary, of course!
So Wilbur Charles, I would say you did the puzzle! Feel good about it!
I'm with Lucina - this was a faster than normal Saturday - but it had some creative answers!
The Mackinac Bridge to the UPPER peninsula of Michigan (Yah to the U-P!) sponsors a bridge walk every year on Labor Day weekend - where the bridge is closed except for pedestrians. One way is 5 miles - if you go there and back they call you a "Double Crosser". Alas it has been cancelled this year.
http://www.mightymac.org/bridgewalk.htm
Ellie KEMPER is more recently known for being the star of "The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" on Netflix . It's a sweet funny show about her being rescued from a doomsday cult that has been living in isolation for the last 15 years and she has no clue about anything cultural since she went in as a young girl.
PROMPOSAL - twice in a few weeks! My math/science-y son had an elaborate scavenger hunt for his prom date which ended with her shooting darts into balloons that made invisible ink show up with the invitation!
Thanks HG and Sheryl for a fun morning!
I forgot to say that the balloons contained a dye (biodegradable) that dripped down on the paper with the invite!
Welcome aboard Sheryl. You presented a Dessert for us in your puzzle today where we usually get our Just Deserts. I managed to get it done in reasonable Saturday time. Gary provided additional Desserts in his tour of the Grid.
As TTP said, Altoona is about 40 miles SW of where I live. The Curve is Altoona's minor league team, but it may be in jeopardy of disappearing with the MLB plan to eliminate teams. It looks like our team, the Spikes, is definitely going to disappear. Why can't the MLB leave things alone? It's all about the money I guess.
The wife (a born and raised New Yorker) of a good friend from Altoona refers to the town as Altooner. It sort of grates on his nerves every time she says it.
When I saw Cylindrical Cheese, I wanted Provolone, but it was way too long, so EDAM it was. I like them both, actually I like most cheeses.
Like others, I wanted FORCE SHUT before FORCE QUIT, SOAPY before SUDSY, PERSISTENT before PERSEVERED, NAIL before TNUT, and I didn't know KEMPER or DINAH. Perps to the rescue.
Yesterday, when our Governor, Tom Wolf, was going to allow some counties to enter the Green Phase of our shutdown, our Centre County commissioners declined the offer. So, we're still in the Yellow phase for an extra week or two. The Green phase allows restaurants, salons, and barbershops to reopen, somewhat, but they aren't fully open. There are still a lot of restrictions. However it would be nice to get a barbershop haircut.
Abejo: The 4 counties in your PA stomping grounds get to go to Green next week.
Stay safe everyone and enjoy the holiday.
Truth be told "Desserts just didn't fit, so I crafted the puzzle and gave an advantage to people who are poor spellers. It was easier and I was running out of time."
Good Morning!
This is my first successful Saturday in a very long time. Ah, so much better than yesterday's DNF! It's six weeks since my surgery, so maybe my fried brain is returning to its old self. And I mean OLD.
Thanks, Sheryl. What a treat AND from a "fellow" Evanstonian. My favorites today were TORPEDOES and PROMPOSAL. The former because it was a great clue and the latter because I was remembering when the invite was still pretty subdued. It often required a little help from this teacher, but nothing like the extravaganza today. I taught at ETHS--wonder if your kids are there. . . .
Gary, Thanks for another fabulous Saturday. Great links.
I could sure use a haircut. I have an appointment for June 7, but we'll see what Gov JB has to say. He opened salons for facials (5-29) on Thursday and then said no on Friday not until some time later. Really affects my SIL. He also said (DuH) I guess if people are going back to work I have reopen Day Care Centers. Well, at least he doesn't look like many of our governors here in the Land of Lincoln--on the way to prison. My better half needs a haircut more than I do. He looks so like the 70's, only grey since we're now in OUR 70's. He's still cute though. ;>)
Have a sunny weekend. Maintain your distance and smile a whole bunch. We can see it in your eyes with that mask on!!
As a teacher who works to teach spelling in the convoluted, complicated English language, justifying "deserts" for "desserts" is a low blow. I realize that my students will never try a crossword like this anyway, though, so I guess it ultimately matters little.
OOPs!
Nice CSO to our D-O!
Sheryl, congrats on your LA Times debut. Nice straightforward puzzle. Hope to see more!
Leaving now to ride along NU beach and Sheridan Road. Enjoy the day!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Sheryl Bartol, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.
Went slowly, but picked up as I got a few easy ones.
ANSEL was easy. I really like his photography.
ASTOR was easy. I remember that he was one who died on that ship. I believe his wife and child survived.
Liked ROOST for 53A. Very clever.
Not familiar with CNET. Perps.
I was really stuck on DESERTS. Just did not look right, the spelling. I put it in anyway. After I was finished I looked t up in my Webster and sure enough it is a legal word referring to REWARDS. Learning moment for me.
Supposed to be warm today with some storms later. We will just go with the flow.
Sheryl Bartol: If you read this we have a Crossword corner regular who lives in Evanston. We, in the chicago area, get together about once a year to talk crosswords and other stuff. You should join us sometime.
My wife is going to go shopping with me for a pair of shorts. All that I own are way too big for me, since I have lost 40 lbs.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Were it not for the NW corner this would have been the fastest Saturday in quite a while. Alas, I stared and stared and stared until, miraculously, the dam broke for an ultimate FIR. I wanted scrapes for 10D but too long, and persisted for 24A but that was too short. Didn't know Kemper or GMOs either. Favo(u)rite clue was Pan flying. CanadianEh, where are you?
9mile- Crossword Compiler is used by the vast majority of constructors. It's a fabulous tool.
Jerome
n. [often plural] deserved reward or punishment. (Webster’s New World) ��
I commented on the WAZE Clue a few days ago re. One of its appeals is SPEED TRAP Alerts. I think there's a button to be pressed when Smokey is on the prowl. From I75 to I10 there's a diagonal route via Gainesville but also unfortunately, Stark. The latter uses speeders as a form of taxation.
So, I ended traveling an extra 20 miles to avoid it. "Just don't speed?". They would have tricky mph changes partly hidden. Mr S had distracted me by signing along to Duke of Earl but a Sixth Sense told me to slow down and the cop passed me, obviously looking FOR me.
Angry look on his face.
In NH they used spotter planes*. Same, same except it was "Legend in my Time" by Roy.
Anon@935, thanks for the support but I'm afraid YR is right. Last week if I missed the "congrats" I'd have quickly spotted STEIN. So…. I'll have to leave a sure box open and then check every across and down before filling the last box.
I agree, that checking is laborious. How about grading instead of pass fail? A is perfect B for a red letter etc. And of course, Mr Weng's advice: Just have fun. So….
FIR =} FIW. A-
So…. Here's Crying. Sniff
WC
*In the LOON Mtn area
Way interesting learning moment that Just DESERTS is the correct spelling!
Here Merriam-Webster gives the history.
Apparently this term predates the invention of the word DESSERT and it is "etymologically related". This was my last fill as I was sure it was wrong. I was mistaken. So I FIR.
During our Christmas travels we visited our friends' horse ranch where we got to watch one get the RESHOE treatment.
My friend has a unique horse SHOE that is made of a polymer and is glued to the HOOVES. Much kinder to the horse in every way. He also makes software for veterinarians to analyze X-rays. Some of the photos show the X-rays being taken.
Not sure I would have FIR if not for having PROMPOSAL recently. Did anyone else try SHAVES before SCARES?
A solid and satisfying challenge. And another amazingly well illustrated Husker Gary review. Thanks!
Sheryl, great debut.. If only because you were kind to produced a fairly easy Saturday puzzle. The only unknown KEMPER which I perpwalked. Had you (too many letters) changed to SEEYAHLATER.
Also soapy/SUDSY, orate/OPINE, tool/TNUT.
DO/DESPERADO got a well deserved cameo.
Pan flying was clever. Had me head scratching.
FIR.....but sheesh PROMPOASAL again? Speaking of neologisms. Our HS Junior prom was held in our elegant Boys' GYM, lavishly strewn with sawdust. Our senior Ball held at a country club. My BALLPOSAL went some thing like this "when-I-asked-her-she-said-she ‐was-waiting-to-see-if-the-captain-of-the-football-team-would-ask-her-first-he-never-did-so‐she-went-with-me.....
Loser....so...more moan worthy alternatives...
Sliced open a handbag......PERSEVERED
Lamenting Tevye.....OYSTER
Michigan peninsula street drug...Upper
Single fish sushi .....ALTOONA
Chris Cuomo's brother Andy said we can now gather in groups of 10 or less but still social distance. That will be easy as our family will be swatting away the clouds of Adirondack black flies. 🦟🦟🦟
Have a safe Memorial Day weekend.🌞
From Yesterday and Before:
Husker Gary thank you for explaining how my COUPLES YOGA photos raised your curiosity. Glad you enjoyed them! As I noted, I have more of them from other festivals, so I may share some of those as the opportunity arises.
As for the ones that are not G Rated, you can email me by clicking on my blue profile link.
AnonT glad you got to enjoy the creative humor of Get Smart. As a child I was able to enjoy it at one level. But as I got older I came to appreciate the depth of the parodies of films, music and books that were at the heart of the show.
So, who did the write-up yesterday? It shows it was CC, but I am guessing it was someone else?
I very much appreciated the creativity of yesterday's puzzle. Thought I would end with a DNF in the top center with the crossed sports answers and other proper names. But I did WAG to FIR. I especially appreciated seeing MACH. He was brilliant in so many ways. He already had the conceptual idea of General Relativity before Einstein. I could say more.
I also enjoyed seeing MILO and the Phantom Tollbooth which I loved as a child. It is one of those "children's books" like Alice in Wonderland that is worth reading even if you are a grownup.
Picard:
It was desper-otto subbing for TTP who Blogged yesterday.
Picard, hand up for SHAVES. Interesting that they use modern adhesives much like those late night ads. And...
That was DESPER-Otto at the helm. Fine job.
WC
One S or two.
Easy way to remember:
Desert/dessert—Only the course served at the end of a meal, usually sweet, has the double SS. It comes from a French word, desservir, meaning "to clear the table.
All the other meanings of desert are spelled with one S.
1.A desert island, or uninhabited island, is an island, islet or atoll that is not permanently populated by humans
2. Just deserts, receive the appropriate reward or (more usually) punishment for one's actions.
"Those who caused great torment to others rarely got their just deserts"
3. Desert (verb) abandon (a person, cause, or organization) in a way considered disloyal or treacherous.
"We feel our public representatives have deserted us"
4. Desert (verb) to abandon (military service) without leave
5. Desert (noun) arid land with usually sparse vegetation
Sheryl, your puzzle seemed impossible but yielded in good time. That's the way I like it!
Like many others here, I learned the proper spelling of "just DESERTS" and appreciated the link from billocohoes. Amazed that some solvers are insisting on "desserts" even after explanations have been given.
I did think the plural LAVA LAMPS was ill suited to the very singular clue "illumination with a blob." If we have multiple lamps, shouldn't we at least have blobs?
Hungry Mother, my father was also born in Altoona, which is the only reason I know that city name. When we get back to traveling, it's on our list. The better half and I want to visit all 50 states together.
Good Afternoon, all. Usually nothing to report on Saturdays but todays' xword did give me a chance for a FIR...but noooo! DNF. Northwest corner did me in. I couldn't force, force quit (had quit). Initially wanted ctr alt del. I kept going over the fore scores and seven years but lost count and couldn't get to forth. Had bolt for tnut, the usual deal stoppers for me. Will say that once Sheryl in her intro put me on forcequit I was able to complete the NW corner fairly easily. Thought the Beatle song was Her but tried to wait for a perp. I, too had trouble putting the "D" in deserts but it had to be. Streusels seemed strange spelling wise. Emulsions was unknown but my wife clued me in. Thanks Sheryl for a somewhat doable puzzle for me and thanks Husker for the review.
Sucks being still closed down somewhat. The VFW's are not able to do their programs to honor the veterans. Have a wonderful day.
I usually don't do this but Altoona is not far away in Florida and Georgia has an Altoona and lake and I remember my travels across PA and seeing the sign up there. Probably lots more of them. :o)
This Saturday grid started tough in the NW, so I went elsewhere and worked my way back up, successfully.
Write-overs...ORATE/OPINE, RADARTRAP/SPEEDTRAP, SANTO/TENOR, ENURE/INURE.
Still happy for the solve..
As for the “jury”, IMHO if you have the red letter thing turned on, then it’s going to tell you your mistake. If you want full credit, turn it off and figure it out. But I don’t solve online, hate that, so I check my work before I’m “done”.
And that’s it from me, see you Monday, stay safe.
Also...my Lava Light is the Red was with the Yellow fluid...I still love it.
And I’m with SansBeach...if someone provides the explanation, you don’t even look but still carp...geez that’s annoying.
Great puzzle and write-up. Thankyou Sheryl and Gary.
My favorite clue was Pan Flying/Peter. I was named for the Wendy in the book, and my mother used to call me Wendybird, also from the book. Hence my “handle” here.
As a Michigan native, I used to wonder why the UP was part of Michigan rather than Wisconsin, since a bridge is required from lower Michigan while tou can just drive there frim Wisconsin. Turns out it was part of a political deal many years ago, and the infighting was called “The Toledo Wars”.
Fingers crossed our local beaches in south county don’t get over crowded during this lovely holiday weekend.
I’m late, I’m late, I’m late! A typical morning that had me going from one thing to another, getting sidetracked, as usual.
Anyway, this was a nice diversion that had just enough bite to entertain but not frustrate. Actually, I finished in 19:20 which is below usual Saturday time. I had Reshod/Reshoe and Tern/Loon and only one unknown with Dinah. It was fun to see Promposal again and I also liked the GMOs crossing Grew and the Tenor/Aria duo. Nice CSOs to our resident Desperado, DO, CC at Taro, and Lucina at Dales.
Thanks, Sheryl, for a satisfying Saturday solve and for sharing some background info and thanks, HG, for all the facts, links, and visuals, especially the performance of one of my favorite arias, sung by three of my favorites tenors, and conducted by the one and only, Zubin Mehta. Nessun Dorma was played throughout much of the movie, “The Killing Fields”.
Stay safe, all.
I loved this excellently conceived puzzle. Some excellent cluing in this puzzle, as well as some wonderfully fresh fill. Weird to see PROMPOSAL again. My favorite clue was for ROOST.
Yep, Picard, I had SHAVES for "Close ones" and thought I was so clever. I also had to change TOOL to TNUT and SOAPY to SUDSY. ("Don't call me Bugsy! Call me Ben!") As for the word on a door, once I got PAPA ("Tradition!") and therefore knew the word was not EXIT, I put in PU-- and waited to see if it would be PUSH or PULL. Gary, I love that Far Side cartoon.
Wendybird, thanks for explaining why the Upper Peninsula is part of Michigan and not Wisconsin. I have always wondered (but not wondered enough to look it up).
Good wishes to you all. Stay away from anybody out there who isn't wearing a facemask.
Although I managed to solve FORCE QUIT, I did want to gripe about it! Grew up with DOS, and then Windows. Isn't that the lingua franca? Sheryl must be an Apple gal.
After 2 DNFs, it was nice to FIR.
I don't care about the words or title, DESPERADO is just a pretty piece of music.
WEES about SOAPY, SHAVE.
Perps gave GENOME, but I couldn't see it. And I know the word!
> Roy
IMHO,
FIW, Finished It Wrong
is filling in all letters with no TADA
(or finding out later on the Blog you got it wrong.)
FIR is exactly that, Finished It Right.
(without help!)
(No TADA is help in my opinion.)
DNF Did Not Finish, requires at least one empty space...
IMHO...
According to the New York Times, Yuma is the number two hot spot for COVID 19. Projected models show we should peak the first week of June. I wish our governor had waited to open Arizona until the cases reached a plateau, and were decreasing. Like everywhere else we have a percentage of people that refuse to wear mask and social distance, so we will continue to isolate. Our HOA opened our pool today to no more than 10 people. So far,folks have been obeying. We have an extreme heat warning next week of 110 so we shall test the theory heat kills COVID 19
Force quit was interesting,
but I have never had to use it on my Ipad or Iphone.
However, I have to use Ctrl+Alt+delete to
bring up the Task Manager all the time using Windows...
Since I use Windows for gaming,
having my PC as fast as it can be is a time consuming obsession.
These means ANYTHING using RAM that it not needed gets shut down.
Histories are deleted regularly, & an occasional reboot mandated...
(when was the last time you shut down & rebooted your Ipad/Iphone?)
(hmm, I thought so...)
This has also revealed some interesting facts:
When I reboot, I immediately start Task Manager ASAP
while the Dang Thingie is still loading oodles of Crap!
Goto Processes,
see what Apps are running.
(yes, there are Apps that start running even though you did not ask for them.)
How many background processes are running?
(A lot!)
But why is Garmin express running,
(I threw out that GArmin GPS when I got a new car...)
Dropbox? ( I deleted that App!) but a part is tied to Facebook
& cannot be deleted! (End Task with a vengeance!)
Adobe update services that have already been replaced with new ones????
PlaysTV??? an App I tried, didn't like, & deleted...
&, the most evil of them all, Teamviewer!
Unfortunately, I need nice horrific Program on occasion
as it allows you to see anothers computer (& make changes)
& allows others (preferably trusted) to make changes on your PC.
It has been invaluable in helping other Gamers (& me)
with problem fixes...
But it is evil,
on start up, end task will stop it,
but it comes back! sometimes up to three times!
You need to hit it with a Stick to stop it!
I am sure it is not the only program that Task Mgr cannot always stop...
Tomorrow: Why Facebook is evil!
Approached this Saturday puzzle with some trepidation. Usually Saturdays put me in my place. but FIW in pretty good time. SHAPED gave me GEDOME which was wrong of course, but I was so happy to be able to just about finish that I didn't even notice until reading the review.
Thanks, btw, for the "Far Side" comic, made me L out L. School for the gifted indeed.
I'm glad I wasn't the only one who put SOAPY instead of SUDSY. Though I did think as I was writing it in that hair isn't soapy, really, I mean who washes their hair with soap? Shampoo-y didn't fit but URN gave me SUDSY. Which speaking of, who has an URN next to their sugar bowl? And what do you keep in it? Are ashes a secret ingredient for CREPES?
I liked the various "pan" clues. For 29A I visualized skillets flapping about in the kitchen, and thought of food for a site with many pans. Silly.
Perhaps this will be the last time we'll see PROMPOSAL. Not entirely happy memories from my own prom, funny story that I'll tell y'all over a beer sometime.
And am I the only one who can't give up on Spam as a Hawaiian staple? Come on, constructors, give us some Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam!!!! It only ever appears as unwanted emails, but Spam is so much more! Has anyone ever tried Scrapple, btw? A very disgusting breakfast "meat" with many of the same ingredients as haggis. My Dad, raised in Kansas, loved it.
Who knew there was no 'R" in PERSEVERED? I didn't.
HuskerG ~
I shoulda known the source of the OYSTER metaphor, but I couldn't think of it.
Bad Keith!
Good job, Ray-O-Sunshine, transferring it to Fiddler's Tevye!
Yes, all-in-all, an EZ solve for a Saturday pzl. The long fills responded well to my first impulses.
Got some house cleaning to do.
~ OMK
____________
DR: A single diagonal recto.
Unfortunately, today’s anagram possibilities are severely limited because of the paucity of vowels in the diagonal.
Only 2 "A"s.
Still, I found one that may raise a smile or two.
Context first: I seem to recall an old Peanuts strip in which Lucy is facing off with our hero, saying,
“The tops of your feet are getting fat, Charlie Brown.”
Whether this is a false memory or not, it jibes with today’s anagram, which I take as a reference to our favorite large-headed cartoon children--
those pre-teens with…
“FAT SCALPS”!
Okay, I am relatively new here. Can someone tell me what FIR means on the blog? Finished In ...?
FIR - Finished It Right. (Some may think it means finished in record-time.)
Thank you, Spitzboov.
Yes! Can't eat a desert.
P.S.
Any good rant like the above
would be amiss if I did not mention
that Task Mgr has two more useful features.
Click startup
to see what starts up on startup...
(sounds like a no brainer...)
I saw Garmin listed as enabled, & changed it to disabled.
But, PlaysTV, another notorious deceiver,
as it IS MARK AS DISABLED, but starts up anyway.
Teamviewer, is not even on the list in start up!?!?
This means the start up list is woefully incomplete,
or has blind spots...
Click Services:
This is a good place to disable the multitude of Apps
& services that think they need to be started on startup!
& marking them disabled, means diddly, because you can always
start them from desktop. (you just can't turn them off!)
Did I mention that FaceBook is Eeeevil!
(hmm, I wonder if discussing Facebook might be construed as political...)
It seems I have opened a Pandoras box of Oration
with the Task mgr. But I have to continue with a
caution...
Do Not shut down things you do not know what they are!
Seems kinda silly, since no one on a crossword Blog gives diddly
about this subject, but giving advice is full of caveats...
Yes, there is stuff you do not want running.
But Google ANYTHING BEFORE you turn it off!
Alas,
I have disconnected my Printer more than once in my Obsessions
(Oh, so that's what a Spool does...)
Coming from the PA Dutch country, I like scrapple, especially scrapple sandwiches. When Alan asked for a scrapple sandwich at a PA place that sold scrapple he was told they didn't sell that. I told them just put a slice of fried scrapple between two pieces of bread. OHHH!
I was surprised to find that our local breakfast place here in NJ has scrapple.
Urns at coffee hours, dessert tables and conferences are frequently accompanied by sugar bowls and creamers.
Wilbur Charles, I’ve often driven US-301 with its numerous SPEED TRAPS thru Lawtey, Starke and Baldwin. Recently the FL State Police took over enforcement from Alachua County because of their using radar as a revenue source. But if anyone asks “where’s Waldo?” I can say “I know, I know, it’s where Rte 23 leaves 301 for Gainesville
CED, I agree Facebook is evil. I won't go within 10 miles of it. So far I have remained untainted.
Our vacation confirmations from WV have included in their driving directions the warning that speed limits are strictly enforced to the letter in nearby small towns. Upon arrival we discover that this applies only for vehicles with out of state licenses.
Super Saturday. Thanks for the fun, Sheryl and HuskerG.
I don't always do the Saturday CW, but I had time tonight to try it, and I FIRed quickly.
Did we all think of Soapy before SUDSY? And do all of us Seniors now have PROMPOSAL firmly embedded in our memory?
I had just DESERTS in my memory from a previous CW and resultant discussion with YR. (It was way back on July 3, 2018)
Canadian milk purchases are in Litres not GALlons. (But you all knew that!)
Favourite clues today were for PETER and ROOST.
My first thought for "World metaphor, in Shakespeare" was STAGE (as in All the world's a stage) but it was too short.
My door had Pull before PUSH. No wonder I am always tugging.
Ok, I'll take a CSO with LOON.
Shankers, thanks for missing me. I have posted late many days this week, and if you haven't gone back to read the late posts, then you may not have seen mine. (Hope you see this post as it is fairly late also)
Wishing you all a good evening.
Billicoes, just up the road from Romeo.
Hmm, as I recall, that day in Stark I was driving with NH plates.
Then again I got stopped in NH with a rented car with Mass plates and when I showed NH license cop got mad, then after I explained, gave me a warning.
WC
Hi everybody.
That's my favorite "Far Side" cartoon. Another favorite shows two deer talking, one with a bulls eye on his chest. The other one says, "Bummer of a birthmark Hal."
I love scrapple.
Jayce, thanks for the good wishes yesterday. Back at you.
I have been enthralled most of the day with a Downton Abbey marathon on PBS! Oops. Break is over.
//warning: >20 lines 'cuz I took all day in between stuff
Well Hell - It's already Sunday and I can't get the solve [ink on PAPER]...
(and you thought you were late?, IM)
Looks like everyone else FIR *hangs head in shame*
:-)
I was so proud of myself for remembering two SSes in Desserts ['cuz give me more cheesecake!] that I never realized I failed to ink two 'E's...
On the plus side, I learnt the origin of Just Deserts [EVENS though some have to RETELL their 'but but' butts...]
And then YR piles on the learning. Thank you YR.
inanehiker - I heard of Unbreakable Kimmy [didn't know the actor and there's my DNF] and, IIRC from the NPR program the other day, Tina Fey is a writer on that. I'm gonna have to find it.
Speaking of finding something on TV....
I pay, I donno, what? 250?/mo.
+$ for streaming 'channels'...
Why the F* do I need to pay another $14 for The Blues Brothers?
[I intend to torture my children this weekend]
See, I had to watch Falsettos last night so... Fair Play, no? :-)
//It was actually really good tragedy.
Oh, the puzzle!
Yes, Sheryl, it was fun. Love'd me @1d [counted Four Score and Twenty on my fingers] on a Saturday to help OPEN UP the puzzle. Sure I failed, but it's Saturday and I learned something [see: DESERTS].
And PETER's clue was really cute.
Great expo HG. I expect no less from you :-)
Thanks for explaining ASTOR(?).
Re: Far Side. I had a buddy that went to CMU; He Photoshop'd said comic to read MIT.
//buddy was USAF 1LT who didn't have a TV and brought a bottle of vodka over to watch Clinton's "State of the Union Baby!" as a drinking game. Ah, DOD / grad-school days were fun.
I so wanted A Stage @42d that I preemptively found a link. [RUSH re-purposing The Bard].
Abejo - look for wrangler's cargo shorts - there's even a side-side pocket that fits your iPhone perfectly. +elastic band. #DadShorts :-)
Good on you for dropping 40.
9mile - I have Crossword Constructor. It is a bit clunky but, as Jerome mentioned, very good at what it does. Be prepared to pay extra for dictionaries.
//Note: I still continue to grid myself into corners I can't get out of. I need more PERSEVERance [really? Only two Rs? No wonder I suck at constructing :-)]
Vermontah - I'll buy the beer to hear your PROM story.
Funny thing... DW was my date.
Lucina - I wanted a nice Keeping Up Appearances tonight to go w/ my NAAN [good stuff - we got takeout a second time!]
Cheers, -T
FINALLY got a moment to tangle with this entry. Toughy but fun. Finished in record time for me for a Saturday puzzle. AsA native Spanish speaker would use only use "Mano a mano" for a physical competition. Americans have broadened the meaning to include face to face arguments
Puzzling thoughts:
Much more enjoyable than last Saturday.
Ended up FIW due to using the word TORNADOES instead of TORPEDOES.
Came up with a silly pun in haiku form:
Late night pie eating
Caused an all night stomachache
Got my just desserts [sic]
Post a Comment