Hi Gary,
I'm excited to make my LAT debut with a themeless puzzle! I'm an MD/PhD student based in St. Louis, MO and I've been constructing crossword puzzles for a couple of years. This was one of the first themeless grids I ever successfully built, though it went through several revisions before submission. I initially constructed this in the midst of the 2018-19 NFL season, so I started in the center with a football-shaped collection of black squares [NOW I SEE IT! hg] and the football-related entry CALLED AN AUDIBLE. After filling the center (anchored by the fun stack of READS PALMS / GREEN ROOF / MAKE IT RAIN), I tackled the NW/SE corners, and finally the NE/SW corners. I'm happy with the stack of K-CUP POD / BE ASSURED / RELAY RACES, although STOPPED in the opposite corner isn't quite as sparkly.
I can definitely say that my themeless constructing philosophy has changed since when I made this puzzle, as evidenced by the themeless puzzles I've since published for free on my indie blog, Sid's Grids. Nowadays, I try to maximize the number of long slots (8+ letters) in my themeless grids, and find juicy entries for each of them, while keeping the short fill clean. This LAT grid has only twelve long slots, and many 7-letter slots with neutral entries like IMPINGE and RESEALS — I don't think I would submit it today. But I hope there is enough color in the longer entries here to make for an entertaining solve. (I'm at least glad that the short fill is reasonably smooth.)
Hope solvers enjoy the puzzle!
- Sid
Across:
1. Stress marks: ACCENTS - These ACCENT marks show to place the stress on the penultimate syllable
8. Result of melted crust: MAGMA.
13. Kind of cable: COAXIAL - Our city is trenching everywhere to replace the old copper COAXIAL cable
14. Little one on a slide: AMOEBA.
16. Make an impression (on): IMPINGE - Flooding definitely did IMPINGE on my golfing last summer
17. Nephrology focus: KIDNEYS - My nephrologist friend Dr. Lund has established his practice on the ground floor of an historical house here in town. He and his family live in the fully remodeled upstairs
19. "Mind your own business": DON'T JUDGE - Walk a mile in their shoes
21. "Immediately!": STAT.
22. Poppycock: PAP.
23. Split between personalities: RIFT - A ten-year RIFT developed between Don and Phil and then they had a reunion concert in England in 1983
26. First woman to land a triple axel in competition: ITO - Regular and slo-mo with Japanese commentary
27. Super Mario __: BROS
29. Back in: RETRO - These are the same shoes I wore when Eisenhower was president except girls wear them now
30. Sponge (up): SOP.
31. Shipbuilder's starting point: KEEL - Laying the KEEL for the Titanic in 1909 in Belfast, Ireland
32. Heckled: JEERED.
33. The Zugspitze, e.g.: ALP - Germany's highest mountain
34. Changed plans at the last second: CALLED AN AUDIBLE - Sid's seed entry. Peyton Manning famously yelled OMAHA before he CALLED AN AUDIBLE
37. Ryder Cup team: USA - Current players for 2020
38. Iberia hub: MADRID - Non-stops out of MADRID
39. Renaissance faire quaff: MEAD - The majority of its fermentable sugar comes from honey
40. "Gentleman" singer: PSY - Korean techno-pop song with a lot of tasteless pranks. Google if you must
41. "Challenge accepted!": IT'S ON.
42. Proving field?: MATH - What we MATH peeps did to get degrees
43. Brita competitor: PUR
44. Defaulter's risk: REPO.
45. A, in the key of D: SOL - Here 'ya go, sing it with me: Do, Re, Mi, Fa, SOL, La, Ti, Do
46. Kind of will: ORAL - It's better in writing
48. Subject in the film "Ghost": AFTER LIFE - A fun movie speculating about the AFTER LIFE
53. Sound measure: DECIBEL - Some claim K.C. Arrowhead Stadium is the loudest NFL stadium at 142.2 DECIBELS
56. Sun-on-skin concern: AGE SPOT - Last Saturday, Michael Wiesenberg had "50. Too much sun, they say: AGER"
57. Warp, e.g.: DEFORM.
58. Zips again, as a Ziploc bag: RESEALS - I prefer the ones with a slide
59. Night lights: STARS.
60. Foe of Stalin: TROTSKY - Stalin's simple solution was to send a member of his secret police to kill TROTSKY who was in exile in Mexico
Down:
Sid's mini-theme: ROCK
1. __ rock: ACID.
45. "Like a Rock" rocker: SEGER - Chevy Truck's anthem
51. __ rock: FOLK - A prime purveyor this genre is next:
8. Repeated phrase in the coda of James Taylor's "Shower the People": MAKE IT RAIN.
2. Perry with five Emmys: COMO - Mellow, non-rocker Perry COMO won five in the late 50's
3. Commander in brief?: CAP'N.
4. It's taken on the way out: EXIT POLL
5. Deadly agents: NINJAS.
6. Prepare to go after a fly: TAG UP - You can TAG UP and try to go after a fly ball is caught but don't do it on Bo Jackson! Bo wags his finger at the guy who tried it!
7. Downhill traveler: SLED.
9. "What __ missing?": AM I.
10. Krishna, e.g.: GOD - All you need to know
11. __ room: MEN'S
12. "We did wager, didn't we?": A BET IS A BET - Derek Jeter paid off a $100 lost bet in pennies
15. Islamic leader: AYATOLLAH Khomeni Some say his hostage taking 18. Prevented: STOPPED Jimmy Carter from being reelected
20. Eco-friendly housetop: GREEN ROOF - University of Nebraska professor Richard Sutton tending his GREEN ROOF in Lincoln
24. Neurologist who redefined "libido" to fit his theories: FREUD Here 'ya go!
25. Broadway barber: TODD - Sweeney TODD
27. "I promise you ... ": BE ASSURED - "You will not have lunchroom duty for more than one year." Yeah, right!
28. Contests with four legs: RELAY RACES - When you're handing off to Usain Bolt for the last leg, you're in pretty good shape
29. What a chiromancer does: READS PALMS - New word for me
31. Single-serve coffee container: K-CUP POD.
32. Singles network logo with a partly outlined Star of David: JDATE - Mazel Tov
35. Islamic leader: EMIR
36. "Ready!": I'M ALL SET
42. Beyond that: MORE SO.
47. Raise: LIFT.
49. Sharp-tasting: TART.
50. Pub orders: IPAS.
52. E-tailer with a "Vintage" category: ETSY - Here 'ya go
54. Feathers on a runway: BOA.
Comments for Sid?
68 comments:
Good morning!
Sid sent me into a skid this morning. I did pretty good, except for the California coast. I guessed PUR, but not _SY. Don't think I've ever heard of a KCUPPOD, and I sure didn't get it. DNF. Dang. Thanx for the humiliation, Sid, and for baring it to the world, Husker.
COMO: This was my first thought, but I held off as long as I could. After all, it was a long time ago. Remember Frank Gallop? He was the voice from the rafters on Como's TV show.
COAXIAL: AT&T has made two runs of fiber optic cable just two tenths of a mile from our house. But we still have copper service which isn't even modern enough to support DSL. End result: $93/month for internet service from the cable company.
A BET IS A BET: Husker, I read somewhere that a penny is acceptable debt payment only in small quantities -- like 50. Above that nebulous amount, the payee may reject the form of payment.
Sid, fun puzzle. Solved it in 40 minutes, good time for me on a Saturday. No dreck today. i needed perps and wags for chiromancer, PSY, MAKE IT RAIN and J DATE
Our imaging center and our physical therapy center have K CUP PODs. At PT a certain man would pocket all the K CUPS. When he was there the staff would lock up the K CUPS PODs and we would have to ask them for one.
HG, always informative blog. Dr. Lund has a very interesting house.
I held off on COMO for a little while, too. That was my first thought. A blast from the past.
The "football" section in the center was my last to fill. It took me some time to parse changed plans at the last minute. Oh ho! Football.
Time to get ready for our Saturday porch visit.
FIR with a “typo” at BEASSUREr. Write-overs: EXITPOLL 4 EXITtOLL, FOLK 4 punK, IPAS 4 aleS, GREENROOF 4 solarROOF, JEERED 4 tEasED. Nice outing, just about difficult enough.
My KIDNEY disease is called IGA Nephrology. Ten years into my sobriety it was diagnosed with the words "You don't drink, I hope". It's a SE Asia malady but not recognized by the VA. It's gone benign*, thankfully.
The Mario BROS movie was a blast. What movie theme music played in the elevator calmed the Coopers down**?
Or .. When Peyton faked calling an audible. Re. Ins. Ads, I prefer Limu
Ah, I should let it go, so he beat my Pat's a few times, I never questioned his greatness.
Re. Iran-Carter. I was just saying that exact thing. Anybody married to a political opposite?
KCUPPOD had 3 Natick/WAGs which perped in for my FIR.
YR, we're even. The AUDIBLE was a 'snap' but I couldn't believe the POD was real. Good example of what you were saying FLN.
WC
*c my Jumble post late FLN
** Lara's theme from Dr Zhivago
Ps, Gary did you "forget" to post the completed xword? Also, terrific write-up; thank you for the effort.
Re. Xword difficulty. I solved both Thursday back to back and actually thought Fri was harder notwithstanding California.
My FIR will leave me jaunty the rest of the day and erase the horrific blunder of the BOGEe/PONe FIW
Well this was a challenge mostly in the Northwest as I wanted the "Commander in Brief" to be PREZ or PRES and wouldn't let go even though I had EXIT POLL. And the 4 letter ____rock could have been "glam" "punk" "hard" "FOLK" "soft" "jazz" along with ACID - lots of subgenres of rock when I didn't have any of the letters for a foothold.
I actually got CALLED AN AUDIBLE right off the bat, though I wasn't sure if it would stay, because I learned of using the phrase for last minute change of plans from my millennial son. The day after our older son's wedding we went for brunch down in Minneapolis/St Paul before taking people to the airport. We were going in 4 different cars and the millennial son got there first and saw that it was very crowded. He then went on Yelp and found another brunch place 4 blocks away that had immediate seating and did a group text that said "Calling an audible" and the name of the alternative place....half of us (all under 30) understood what he was saying and fortunately the rest were sharing cars with that half and made it to location #2.
Thanks HG for the fun blog and James Taylor link - one of my favorites. And congrats to Sid for your LA debut and the interesting puzzle!
Sid, great puzzle! It was challenging, but that's going to happen on a Saturday! I had EXITtOLL for EXITPOLL, and therefore had tAP for PAP. I knew tAP didn't make sense with the clue, but it took me a very long time to figure out that the "t" was the problem rather than one of the other letters.
WC, I think it's IGA nephropathy. I know someone who has it. I'm glad you're doing okay.
Just to second the clarification by Anonymous at 8:35 - WC's kidney disease if
called IgA Nephropathy - and to further clarify - it is NOT a SE Asian malady. It is more common in people of Western European and Asian background than black, and some families have a genetic type. No one knows why people get it.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/iga-nephropathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20352268#:~:text=IgA%20nephropathy%20(nuh%2DFROP%2D,filter%20waste%20from%20your%20blood.
Musings
-Just back from our great, but tiny, doughnut shop. It felt so odd because everyone kept trying to move in the small space but remain “socially distant”.
-I am now all set with my K-CUP POD coffee. I’m going to follow Sid’s link to Sid’s Grids and work another one of his constructions today.
-Wilbur, I did post the completed puzzle at the start of the write-up. I do this when the shape of the puzzle is relevant as it was for Sid’s football grid.
A DNF today. Other than SLED I couldn't get a toehold in the NW. I couldn't get I AM A Rock out of my head instead of ACID Rock. Compounded it by filling ROT instead of PAP.
The rest of the puzzle took about 20 minutes to fill correctly.
RIFT- many bands have spats due to egos and money. Bon Jovi and Gene Simmons (KISS) had the right idea from the beginning. They owned the bands and hired who they want.
Converse AllStars- yup, we had them for our HS Basketball players.
PSY, MAKE IT RAIN, J-DATE- unknowns filled by perps.
Anon@835… thx. You're right. And thx inanehiker for that excellent link. The East Asia comment was made by the Tufts specialists. Personally, I think I got it from a blood transfusion at age 21.
Aaarrggghhh!!!! I just found Gary's inset of the completed xword, the football and.. FIW. I was so concerned with the Natick Kpod that I overlooked that I'd inked NINbAS; hastily writing DON'T BUDGE. Aaarrggghhh!. Did I tell you I had problems at Marine Basic?
Gary, I blog on Android and with the gifs I think I was resetting and slipped past(passed) the football.
WC
Good Morning:
This started out slowly but getting a lot of the long fill opened it up, allowing me to finish in a respectable 31 minutes. I held on to Luke (Perry) much too long as Perry Como never entered my mind. I liked a lot of the cluing; it was misleading or fun word play, but nothing devious. My favorite entry was Called An Audible.
Thanks, Sid, for a successful Saturday solve and thanks, HG, for the detailed and delightful summary and, as usual, the dazzling visuals.
I spent 5 1/2 hours in the ER yesterday being diagnosed and treated for injuries from a fall. I had a grocery order delivered by Shop Rite that included the largest, heaviest watermelon I’ve ever seen. After I brought all the bags in, I tried to get the melon and could hardly lift it. I never did get a good grip on it and as I stepped up to go in the house, the sheer weight and cumbersome grip caused me to lose my balance and I went down hard on the sidewalk. I hit my forehead and thought for sure my glasses were smashed, but they weren’t. It happened so fast and really stunned me but judging by the blood spurting out of my hand, I guess I tried to break the fall with my hand.
I was so shaken and without any thing to help me get up, I just laid there for several minutes, in pain and despair. I called out for help several times but, with the heat, no windows were open and no cars or people came by. I finally dragged myself, on my fanny, backwards using the uninjured hand. It took me a long time to get back inside the house and reach a chair to pull myself upright. There was blood all over my clothes, hand, and forehead. I called my niece but it went to voice mail and the mail box was full. I called a neighbor, a retired nurse practitioner but got her answering machine. I was almost ready to call 911 when I remembered another neighbor who is a retired RN. She came right over and drove me to the ER but she couldn’t stay with me because of the restrictions. I didn’t want her to, anyway, because I knew I’d be there for a long time.
I had a CT Scan of my head and neck, three x-rays of my hand, 3 more of my wrist, and three of my elbow which had contusions. Thankfully, no broken bones, no concussion or bleeding of the brain, etc. My hand, however, was a mess. After about 8 shots of Lydocaine (sp?) or whatever they use, the PA cleansed it thoroughly, debraded (is that the right word?) and then put in a total of ten stitches in two different places. One area couldn’t be stitched because there was no skin left there to stitch. That will have to heal on its own. I had to have a tetanus shot, also. Adding to the unpleasantness of the whole ordeal was a man down the hall, whom I’m certain was destined for the Mental Heath ward, shouting non-stop F-Bombs in numbers that would rival any Martin Scorsese movie.
I’m sore all over today, especially my hip which didn’t bother me yesterday. I have a painful goose egg on my forehead plus abrasions, painful elbow, and a painful hand that looks very ugly. I’m going to ask my neighbor later on to change the bandage. Other than that, Irish Miss, did you enjoy the play!
Abejo, sincere thoughts and prayers for your upcoming treatments.
Have a great day.
Great end of the week. FIR with inkovers... Imam/EMIR, rot/PAP, roll/POLL, believeme/BEASSURED
Sid, you're an MD/PhD student and you have time to construct crosswords while watching football games? Impressive!! At your age how do you even know who Perry COMO is? He started as a barber 💈 but not exactly like like Sweeney TODD. They had different uses for the throat . 🗣
Did anyone get PSY without perp fill?
My paucity of sports knowledge always embarrasses my athletic son. TAGUP: I guess is not a school yard game and I never heard (inaudible?) of CALLEDANAUDIBLE. JDATE an unknown too
Stalin's enemy started with a T ended with Y almost put TolstoyInstead of TROTSKY!!
Sœ tœdæy the œne-celled critter is æn AMŒBA.
These will give you a TART face too:
Replaces marine animal performers.... RESEALS
Place for date of birth on a form......AGESPOT.
Child's leg joints ..... KIDNEYS.
"You said you'd drive the get-away car!"......ABETISABET.
Good morning.
It seemed as if every answer I entered was correct. Only two answers had to be changed. That's amazing for me for a Saturday. They were EXIT tOLL before EXIT POLL, and BElieve me before BE ASSURED.
15:43 with no help.
In other news, DW is sleeping in, and I had two firsts in the kitchen this morning. # 1 - Successfully made my first three egg omelet (and didn't brown the egg)
# 2 - Made my first ever Western omelet (or Denver omelet, if you prefer).
Okay, so I made an omelet and it's really only one accomplishment.
Abejo, I read your update in yesterday's comments. Best wishes for you as you progress through the treatments.
Big Easy, you comments were edited and reposted.
Cool it with your political comments. Nobody wants to hear them one way or the other.
Just because somebody (Gary) mentioned a political figure, it is not an invitation to publicly deride or denigrate those people or parties that you personally don't agree with.
IM, what a disaster. I just bought a big, heavy watermelon. In fact, "So, Irish Miss, how'd the watermelon taste?"
They were harvesting them across the street from my new digs in Dunellon. They use school buses, opened up.
IM, condolences and prayers. Stay safe and your sense of humor will get you through this.
Love Wilbur
Irish M. Just read how you were almost done in by watermelon. What an experience! Thankfully no fractures. You might want to see a plastic surgeon about your severe hand injury. Hope it's not your crossword hand. (Joking of course)... Let us know how you're healing.
Irish Miss, how awful ! I hope you are feeling better as each hour passes.
Abejo, just read your update FLN. Radiation amd chemotherapy both. Heavy stuff. Keep comfortable and good outcome.
IM, really sorry to hear of your ordeal. Sounds really painful. If anyone asks, just tell 'em you went ten rounds with a watermelon. Maybe, in the future, you can convince the Shop Rite folks to bring the heavy stuff into the kitchen for you.
Musings
-Irish, what a story! Is the delivery person forbidden to bring the groceries into your house? I hope you are healing and stipulate the size of future melon deliveries! :-)
I had to turn on Red Letters with only half of the grid filled in, so officially a DNF. However, I did enjoy the puzzle and it was nice to see AMOEBA spelled correctly today. Great write-up by HG.
I got the first three rows immediately and thought it was going to be a walk in the park. Wrong.
Some of my mistakes were EXITDOOR before EXITPOLL, IMAM before EMIR, ROT before PAP and NEONS before STARS. PSY, ITO, ALP and SOL were totally filled in by perps.
Irish Miss, I hope you heal quickly. Other than the Lidocaine I hope they gave you something to take for the pain when you got home. I always have my cellphone on my belt so that if something happens, I can get in touch with someone. My daughter's father in law fell off his roof and did a lot of damage to himself. If it wasn't for his cellphone in his pocket he would have laid in the bushes for hours because no one could see him where he landed.
Abejo, good luck with your upcoming treatments.
I hope everyone has a great day.
Bottom 2/3's fairly quick to fill. Entire north not so much, but got er done.
Changed rot to PAP. A maj to SOL
We have a renewal of the recent ameBA or AMOEBA discussion.
Don't think Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars ever went away.
Great review by HG on a nice Sid submission.
MO
Good morning everyone.
Thanks for including Sid's detailed note on the construction. Any comment on (I count) 8 cheater squares? Maybe to help with the football 'look'?
Very daunting at first and thought of taking a 'bye'. But a few firm entries like ALP, TROTSKY, and DECIBEL tickled my interest. Parsing some of the longer phrases like DON'T JUDGE, and A BET IS A BET added to the difficulty but also the dimension of the solve, so it was still fun. I did like the long downs.
Neat clue for CAP'N. Applies to a ship. Cap'n could be any rank; O6 and below, but he/she is the commander of the vessel.
Questioned the EMIR clue. Kind of like saying Christian leader for president or PM. (But it does seem to track with the definition in Merriam-Webster). MMMV
Abejo - Best wishes for a good outcome from your treatments.
FIR, and the "no dreck" comment, above, is spot on. Even Amoeba was correctly spelled today. Many thanks to the cruciverbalist designer.
Hola!
Sid Sivakumar, please BE ASSURED that your puzzle was enjoyable to solve and in a relatively short time, too.
I started in the SW corner and worked my way up, quadrant by quadrant then was surprised to see how quickly it filled.
MADRID made me smile. It's such a beautiful city.
I have absolutely no idea about CALLED AN AUDIBLE and it makes no sense to me. In fact I couldn't bring myself to fill that D in AUDIBLE and left it blank.
I remember Leon TROTSKY was in Mexico because he was in the movie about Frida Kahlo.
Just this past week I encountered JDATE in a puzzle and here it is again! Before that I had not heard of it.
Irish Miss:
What a terrible ordeal! I'm glad you finally found someone to help you and I agree with the suggestion that perhaps the groceries be delivered inside your home. If it's against the rules, surely they could make an exception for you.
Did the watermelon survive? You may not even want to eat it after what it caused you to go through.
Gary, as always, your narrative and graphics enhance the joy of solving! Thank you.
Have a glorious day, everyone!
Irish Miss, You had a horrible ordeal. I wish you a quick recovery.
I forgot to say that like others, COMO seemed to far in the past for the EMMYs and I filled it with trepidation but it worked.
Spitzboov
Zugspitze, wiki says the highest mountain. In Germany. Isn't "Zug" also the word for "train"?
26 Across: Actually, Tonya Harding was the first woman to complete a triple axel in competition in 1991. Midori Ito completed the triple axel at the Olympics in 1992. Here’s Wikipedia: “Only three women have completed the triple axel during the Olympics: Ito in 1992, Japanese skater Mao Asada in 2010 and 2014, and American skater Mirai Nagasu in 2018.[20] Tonya Harding was the first American female skater to complete the triple axel in competition, at the 1991 U.S. Championships; it was another 10 years before another female skater attempted it.[21] As of 2019, 11 women have successfully completed the triple axel in competition.” The clue should read “Olympics” not simply “competition.”
OMG!
Irish Miss!
I am so sorry to hear your tale of Woe!
(& actually may give watermelons a wide birth in the Supermarket from now on...)
But,
they say when you fall off the horse,
you have to get right back on!
So I hope this helps,
Also, may I suggest you attack that watermelon with,
(hmm, I was going to say a knife,)
(but you should stay away from sharp, or rounded objects for a while.)
ANywho, punch a hole in the dang thingie,
& fill it with Vodka...
& get back on that Horse!
IM - I'm sorry to hear of your travails . Hope your cuts scrapes and bruises heal well. (Hopefully you're not on warfarin.)
Ray - O - - Zug does mean train, also 'pull' or 'tug'. Frpm Wiki: The name of the Zugspitze is probably derived from its Zugbahnen or avalanche paths. In winter avalanches sweep down from the upper slopes of the massif into the valley and leave behind characteristic avalanche remnants in the shape of rocks and scree. Near the Eibsee lake there are several plots of land with the same root: Zug, Zuggasse, Zugstick, Zugmösel or Zugwankel.[33] Until the 19th century the name der Zugspitz (male gender) was commonplace. It was described as die Zugspitze (female gender) for the first time on a map printed in 1836.[35] The spelling Zugspitz is still used in the Bavarian dialect.
Lucina, I thought Trotsky went to Mexico for asylum. I didn't realize he went there to be in a movie. :)
Vicious. I've never gone through so many alphabet runs in my life. Sometimes you are on the instructor's wavelength, sometimes not. The NW took forever. I started with Como, then changed it to Katy, then back to Como. After a long, persistent slog it all came into focus for a FIR, but cost too much in terms of time. I am in awe of those who found this an easy jaunt.
Constructor, not instructor. Darn autocorrect.
A really fun and doable puzzle. Sussed it out and fir. Thank you Sid.
Never got the solve in the NW, despite having SLED.
1A...Thought something to do with skin.
2D. Perry COMO...I’m 67 and had no clue.
3D. Had CINC, tried CMDR. CAPN? Not unless CRUNCH was in the clue.
4D. Had ____ROLL because of 22A ROT.
5D. NINJAS? C’mon, Ninjas are assassins.
6D. TAGUP? Maybe if the clue was RUN after a fly. Maybe.
16A. IMPINGE? I had an impingement in my shoulder, had nothing to do with an impression, it was interference.
So no fun for me today.
See you Monday. Stay safe.
Ninjas were sometimes deadly agents of assassination. Wiki says, "The ninja were stealth soldiers and mercenaries hired mostly by daimyōs. Their primary roles were those of espionage and sabotage, although assassinations were also attributed to ninja"
I became interested in ninja when Kenny was into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Because I am interested in Japanese history and customs I LIU the actual ninja. Kenny's mom is Japanese.
Impinge is not solely medical. Another meaning is have or make an impression on something "Social pressures that impinge on one's daily life." What the recent protest movements are about.
WC, sports may not be in my wheelhouse, but luckily with several sports enthusiasts in the family, I have heard many of the terms, players, team names and stadiums. With half the perps in place I saw CALLED AN AUDIBLE. I got TAG UP right away, having played pick up softball in my youth. "The tag-up rule requires baserunners to hold their base until an opposing player catches a ball hit in the air or the ball drops. If the opponent catches the ball, the runner must return to touch the base(tag up) and then has the choice of remaining on the base or attempting to legally advance. If the ball lands in fair territory, the runner does not have to return to the base to tag up; in foul territory, the ball is dead and the runner cannot advance. "
I still skim the sports pages and used to read People magazine in waiting rooms to get a leg up on crosswords
Poor dear, IM, ouch! You must be hurting all over. I hope you heal quickly, especially your damaged hand. A tip might be to ask for the smallest watermelon available or to buy chunks of watermelon by the pound. I buy the chunks having no one to share watermelon with.
Alan fell this afternoon and gashed his head. He is alone in ER. No visitors allowed.
d-o:
LOL! I guess I should have said, "Leon TROTSKY was portrayed in the movie.. . . ."
Healing thoughts to Irish Miss and Abejo!
DNF today's puzzle in the northwest. Wanted to write in COAXIAL, but was stuck on Katy instead of COMO. Had EXIT POLL, but the rest was too difficult. Obviously I need to know more about sports to play this game. Would never have guessed TAG UP. I did fill in CALLED AN AUDIBLE, but have no clue what it means.
I must be the only one here of the Hebraic persuasion. We encourage the kids to use JDATE instead of Tinder or OkCupid.
Best wishes and healing thoughts for Abejo, Irish Miss and Alan. Anybody else?
As Lester Holt says each night, "Take care of yourself and each other."
Thank you all for the kind words of sympathy. Up until the pandemic, Shop Rite delivery personnel would carry all bags right in to the kitchen counter but, now, they can’t come into the house and you agree that if you’re not home at time of delivery, they can just leave everything on your front doorstep without any recourse for theft, spoilage, etc. I don’t have a problem with these rules, except no one ever even rang my bell to alert me of delivery. I just happened to notice all the bags at about 11:40 am. Delivery window was 11:00-12:00, so I’m not sure how long the order sat there. The driver is supposed to call or text when he is on his way but I don’t text and these young drivers don’t make phone calls, so I’m in the dark about specific timing.
I tried to order watermelon slices, which is what I always buy at Hannaford, but there was no option for this on the App. As far as size, none were given; you just order 1 watermelon. As I said earlier, I have never seen such a large and heavy one. Yes, it did survive the smash to the sidewalk but there is no way I’m going to attempt to dissect it. I wouldn’t trust myself with the knife. I will never order one again, though.
I did a more thorough examination of my face and discovered a good-sized shiner and more bruises on my forehead. I wasn’t given any prescriptions for pain, just told to take Tylenol. So far, other than the hip pain, the rest is fairly tolerable. I hate taking strong meds if I can avoid them, but I won’t be a martyr, either, if I really need them. My nurse practitioner neighbor is coming over at 4:00 to change the dressing.
My sister, her daughter and SIL are coming later on so I’ll ask Dave to carve up that green beast sitting on my counter.
Thanks, everyone, for your caring concern and, CED, your two videos brought a smile to my 🍉 battle-scarred face! Thank you.
Lucina hand up CALL AN AUDIBLE makes no sense and I also struggled to fill that cross with unknown TODD. I did push myself to do to FIR. Interesting to learn that this was the centerpiece of the puzzle. Cross pile of proper names in the West was also a struggle. IMAM wanted to stay for too long, hand up for that. Learning moments.
COAXIAL Cable is the skeleton for our most elaborate Solstice creations.
Here my friend Laura Smith works on one of her truly wondrous creations with COAXIAL Cable
And here is the magnificent final beast in the parade.
Today our Solstice Parade is happening "virtually" by piecing together many separate performances recorded on video.
Here is our Virtual Solstice Parade happening today!
Happy Solstice!
NaomiZ, you're not the only one. Lemonade is another, and I'm sure there are others. Some of us, though, are just not persuadeable.
Abejo so sorry you have to go through all of this. Good that your medical team has a plan and we are all wishing the best for you.
Sorry my email did not get to you. I sent it to the address in your profile:
abejoyek (at) yahoo.com
Is that correct?
What is happening?
!st IM falls & winds up in the ER,
now Alan?
You know how things happen in threes!
Hmm, I fear another Crossword "A" word coming on...
Apophenia!
Be careful out there,
& watch out for Watermelons!
& proof I am just trying to cheer you up...
Hmm, what does persuadable mean in that context Tom? NaomiZ, we have a few other Jews who comment; Hahtoolah and I are both bloggers and proud to be Jews. Realistically, talking religion is one of C.C.'s "no no" rules.
I enjoyed the puzzle and then like HG, went to Sid's website and his traveling puzzle making and doing some of his other puzzles, many of which were harder, that I once again forgot to post. I like puzzles that visual elements.
I am impressed how quickly we had A CORNER DIAGNOSIS for WC.
Anon, good catch on the triple axel and a CSO to our past figure skaters CLEAR AYES who left this plane of existence and ROBIN who moved on.
Gary, I really impressed that your 50+ year old Converse look to be in such great shape.
Continued healing prayers for ABEJO and new ones for IM; be careful all.
Lemonade, I meant that some of us lack a persuasion.
I confess I am a bit surprised at the number who apparently did not remember PERRY COMO. Looking at his LENGTHY CAREER and continued popularity on shows like The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as well all of the Christmas specials and the 1001 episodes of his own show, he was up there with Frank and Dean and Mel and Pat and well you get the idea. I had the pleasure of meeting the man in the 80s after he had moved to Jupiter, Florida and along with Florida native, BURTON L. REYNOLDS hired my late brother Barry to help them obtain a license for an S&L in Jupiter. He was not a big man and soft-spoken but very nice. He and his wife are buried in Tequesta, Florida.
Thank you for the response Tom but I never considered it to be something I was persuaded to believe. It is just part of who I am. Interesting.
I liked this puzzle a lot and hope to see more of Sid's work soon. If I may say, Mr. Sivakumar, I think you make a superb puzzle.
Abejo - thanks for the update - will continue our prayers from afar.
Agnes - sorry to hear of your spill! Hope you mend quickly! I highly recommend you get a mobile medical alert because even carrying a cell phone with you, you can have it fling out of your pocket with a fall. Unfortunately most people don't get them until they have an incident like this (including my mom who I talked to for 2 years about it - but didn't get one until after she fell in her walk in closet and lay there for 17 hours with a broken hip until her neighbor noticed she hadn't gotten her mail or paper!) The one I had Mom get you just wear like a wrist watch it looks like a FitBit. (if you don't want to do that - low tech alternative is to put your cell phone in a passport pouch you wear around your neck- but that is cumbersome!)
Enjoyed reading Mr. Sivakumar's explanation of his process--and found his pzl most engaging.
Ta~ DA!
Tough, but doable. My only fear was that KCUPPOD might be my mis-reading of a perp or two, but happily I stuck w/ it.
Irish Miss ~ Oh, No! What an awful ordeal. I can picture you lying there in pain--and no one answering your calls. Thank goodness you had enough residual strength to get yourself to safety and to the ER.
I had my own ER experience just a few days ago, but nothing as bad as yours. I hope you will heal well & soon and be able to put this behind you.
Please know you have all our love.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Sorry to report there are no diagonals today. The pzl was so much fun otherise I truly missed searching for an anagram.
“don’t judge” reminds me to never criticize anyone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes. Then you can criticize them all you want, because you are a mile away and you have their shoes!!
:-)
Ha ha ha!
Lemonade714, NaomiZ, Hahtoolah and me, M.M., too.
Lemonade:
I well remember Perry COMO but I didn't think that EMMYs went that far back. My research indicates they were conceived in 1948 and the first awards show was presented in 1949.
??????????
Can't find anything in the daily comments. What's going on with Abe Joe?
Hi Y'all! Big challenge, Sid! Lots of "snow fields" all over the place. Lots of flashing red-letters with much that I tried. Finally filled it and felt proud. Sorry, I won't be going to your free site. I have enough frustration elsewhere.
Great commentary, Gary. Thanks for Sid's bio which tells me why I'm not on his wave length. I like having the grid at the top.
Knew PSY by sound but not how he spelled it. Tried sye, cie. Then red-lettered the darn thing.
BAh before PAP.
Had AUDIBLE for a long time before CALLED AN filled. Thought it had to be wrong. Actually checked to make sure the red-letter checker hadn't turned off somehow. Not into football at all.
Dear Agnes, such an ordeal! So glad the head wound wasn't worse and didn't knock you out. A fall like that is one of the most dreaded nightmares of we older ladies who live alone. Very plucky of you to figure out how to get yourself to safety and keep trying until someone was available. As for someone bringing in the groceries. My daughter even leaves them on my porch bench because she doesn't want to chance bringing in any stray virus she picks up at the store or elsewhere. I had a bad few minutes yesterday with the wind blowing my screen door when I was carrying two gallon jugs of milk and trying to step up into the house. Didn't go down tho I was sure I would. Yay! Hugs for you and prayers for rapid healing!
Abejo: your prescribed treatment sounds much like my that of my SIL who has lived several years with lung cancer. Best wishes for you.
Irish Miss. You mentioned hip pain. I assume you had an x-ray taken and no fx. If the pain doesnt improve alert your primary. Some hip fx's don't show up right away.
Remember when the most dangerous thing our parents warned us about watermelon was
"Don't Eat the White!!" 🍉🍉
Hi All!
Though it took me a cheat to get going it was still a fun puzzle. Thanks Sid! Congrats on the debut and cool on the pig-skin in the grid [no, I didn't see it either]. Reading the comments, I think you can tell that we can tell you put in good thinking holistically.
Thanks HG for reaching out to Sid to get that back-story. Loves me some inside baseball. Fun expo too.
Cheat: I kept wanting Matt Perry [wiki] which conflicted with COAXIAL. A peak at HG's grid told me Coax was right and I inadvertently saw ACID. "OK, no more peeks -T," I told myself.
FIW: RETRy | TyDD
WOs: MANT..., nope MAGMA. hull->KEEL, EXIT door, Main room b/f MENS. A, in D was not Maj nor Min (Hi OMaxiN). Oh, and hi BigE! @ ROT.
ESPs: we don't have time for that...
Fav: IT'S ON (like Donkey Kong)
IM - Funny (peculiar not haha), I got a watermelon yesterday. I swear it was grown on deuterium oxide -- more like heavywater-melon.
So sorry to read of your pain(s) - that's so awful. And then that no one could help you get back up? That's just tragic. Reminds me of when Lucina fell a few years ago.
Some Dewars and Gillbles are in order. Wishing you a quick mend. Take care.
YR - Alan too?!? Let us know how he does.
unclefred - head it before but didn't expect it... Thanks for the laugh!
So, I was on the phone (facetime) with my BRO (Colorado - not Army) and he said the girls had gone to the store and he was just chillin' with a beer playing guitar... He finished his beer:
"I shouldn't have a 3rd beer."
"If you do it's nap time."
"I'm gonna CALL AN AUDIBLE" *phssst*
I held my puzzle to the camera. "Dude, look at 34 across in the middle"
Good times.
Y'all have a great eve!
Cheers, -T
Irish Miss, Saturday puzzles are so difficult for me, that I decided some time ago just to skip them and focus on Sudoku, Kenken, and Jumble, and other puzzles laying around.
So, I just checked into the blog right now and was stunned and aghast to hear of your terrible, terrible, accident, and the long wait until you were finally able to get help. And then, to hear of the numerous wounds, including the devastating ones to your hand. What a terrible experience, and you are amazing to check in with us today at all--thank you, thank you for that.
Your will be in my prayers for a good recovery all week and I hope you get good care.
Please take good care of yourself, and much love, Misty.
Hondo:
Last night Abejo posted:
Good evening, folks. Thank you, Pam Amick Klawitter, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.
Puzzle wet well. Caught the theme easily.
Haven't much time tonight. Ready to hit the hay. Had a big day today.
Saw my two new doctors and got the scoop. Radiation and Chemo for six weeks. Starting next week. Hope it goes well.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
----
It's going to be a long row to hoe for him but I'm sure he's in good hands (and spirits).
-T
Ray-O: My grandpop had a pot belly which he claimed came from swallowing a watermelon seed. You bet we were careful not to eat any watermelon seeds.
Hondo:
Abejo informed us he has lung cancer and thus the need for treatments.
:-)
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