David debuted here in 2016 and has more than 20 LAT publications. His first 10 were all Fridays and all written up by yours truly. Since then I have cut back and missed many Friday DABs though I did blog one about the time of his third anniversary last December. This time he uses animal species and repurposes them by using some common phrases that made them sound classier. The "-ine" suffix works for more than animals but boy there are many animals. A sampling: accipitrine – hawk, eagle; aedine or anopheline – mosquito; alcelaphine or antilopine – antelopes; anatine – ducks, geese, swans; anguine or elapine – snake; anserine – geese; aquiline – eagle; assinine – donkey; avine – birds; bovine – cattle; cancrine – crab; canine – dog; cervine – deer; cetacine – whales; columbine – doves, pigeons; corvine – crow; delphinine or delphine – dolphins; equine – horse; elaphine – deer; elaphantine – elephant; ermine – weasel; feline – cat; hippotigrine – zebras; hircine – goat; hominine – human; lacertine – lizards; leonine – lion; leporine – rabbit, hare; leopardine – leopards; lupine – wolf; lutrine – otters; lyncine – lynxes; macropine – kangaroos; meline – badgers; murine – rodent; noctilionine or pteropine – bats; ovine – sheep; pavonine – peacock; phocine – seals; piscine – fish; porcine – pig; rusine – deer; sciurine – squirrel; serpentine – snake; ursine – bear; vulpine – fox.
The theme:
17A. Horse sense?: EQUINE AWARENESS (15). Literal.
23A. Cattle call?: BOVINE SUMMONS (13). Literal.
39A. Cat's paw?: FELINE EXTREMITY (15). Literal.
49A. Fox hole?: VULPINE CAVITY (13). Literal.
61A. Hog wash?: PORCINE ABLUTION (15). Literal.
He presented them with three grid-spanners and two 13s. Also, he snuck in MELANIN, REUTERS, BLUEBELLS, and DIRTY MIND as fun fill. Both in blue are new to the LAT. So on to the grid.
Across:
1. Abate: EBB. And flow.
4. Brit. detective's rank: INSPector. They are often the foils for the unofficial detectives such as LESTRADE from Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and JAPP from Christie's Poirot. A perhaps little known fact, DAVID SUCHET the iconic Poirot got his acting introduction to Agatha Christie playing Japp opposite the dreadful Peter Ustinov portrayal of Poirot.
8. Gastropod associated with traditional mail: SNAIL. Rhyme time.
13. It may result in an RBI: DBL. Double.
14. Staircase post: NEWEL. My first mother-in-law (may she rest in peace) was born with Newell as her maiden name.
16. Lead-in for jet or Tax: TURBO.
20. Tiny fraction of a min.: N-SEC.
21. Gas pump choice: DIESEL. Counterintuitive? Is diesel gas? Doesn't come out of a different pump?
22. Witness: SEE. With cell phones, we see so much.
26. Act part: SCENE. This is from the mid 16th century (denoting a subdivision of a play, or (a piece of) stage scenery): from Latin scena, from Greek skēnē ‘tent, stage’.
28. Piper's son of rhyme: TOM.
TOM, TOM, THE PIPER’S SON
Tom, Tom, the piper’s son,
Stole a pig, and away he run,
The pig was eat,
And Tom was beat,
And Tom ran crying down the street.
29. Afflicted: ILL.
30. Force oneself (on): IMPOSE. Very controversial words.
35. Gds.: MDSE. Goods equal merchandise, with these days is merch.
42. Lob: TOSS. I assume it started in tennis, which was interesting because I had a Professor of English, a former Davis Cup player from New Zealand, named JOHN LOBB. I often babysat for his daughter Hannah. When we played tennis, I seldom returned a serve.
43. Least strict: LAXEST. Nothing to do with the airport.
44. Bread grain: RYE. But it can make ergot, he said wryly.
45. Actress Thurman: UMA. She appears considerably more often in puzzles than in movies.
47. "¿Cómo está __?": USTED. Good morning Lucy.
56. Lincoln, familiarly: ABE. No politics.
57. Inventor Tesla: NIKOLA. Didn't I just discuss the rivalry with Edison?
58. Austen's aspiring matchmaker: EMMA.
64. Online financial services pioneer: E-LOAN.
65. "Nature's soft nurse," to Shakespeare: SLEEP. Henry IV
"O gentle sleep,
Nature’s soft nurse,
how have I frighted thee..."
66. "You're __ me": NOT. Good thing for both of us.
67. Wasp's assault: STING. No comment; too political.
68. Collections: SETS. Also Tennis divisions.
69. MASH staff: DRS. Doctors, such vital people in these difficult times.
Down:
1. Paradise: EDEN. I recently met a lovely young lady named Eden, I wondered if she had eaten an apple.
2. Backyard parties, briefly: BBQs. With no open restaurants, they are very popular here. They often need charcoal 53D. Briquettes: COALS.
3. Flowers named for their color: BLUEBELLS. Also PROTECTED in Britain.
4. Place to stay: INN. But not OUTT.
5. "Then live, Macduff; what __ fear of thee?": Macbeth: NEED I.
A double dose of Will S. JW must be proud.
6. Suffix with boat or cox: SWAIN.
7. Small bird with a small-sounding name: PEWEE. He has a very self-confident look. Cutie.
8. Sailor's guardian: ST ELMO. Fire sale?
9. Cloistered female: NUN.
10. Riposte to "Am not!": ARE SO.
11. "A Doll's House" dramatist: IBSEN. All you need to KNOW.
12. Doesn't prevail: LOSES.
15. Highlands miss: LASS. With all due respect to Owen and Moe
An indolent cleric frae May
His roses allowed to decay.
His wife, more alert,
Bought a powerful squirt
And said to her spouse : "Let us spray".
18. Wikipedia's globe, say: ICON.
19. News service since 1851: REUTERS.
24. Blood carrier: VEIN.
25. Campbell jingle letters: MMMM. Good!
26. Go (through) carefully: SIFT.
27. Egyptian queen, familiarly: CLEOpatra. I seriously doubt she was ever called that, though it sounds like a good name for a psychic.
31. Skin pigment: MELANIN. Melanin is a complex polymer derived from the amino acid tyrosine. Melanin is responsible for determining skin and hair color.
32. Spherical legume: PEA. Princess and a...
33. Tic-tac-toe loser: OXX.
34. Jeanne d'Arc, e.g.: Abbr.: STE. French abbreviation for a female saint. Joan of Arc.
36. Lascivious mental state: DIRTY MIND. Too un-pc.
37. Ophthalmologist's concern: STYE. Weird next to...
38. Looked at carefully: EYED.
40. Has arisen: IS UP. Too religious.
41. Needle case: ETUI. Not "et ui."
46. One of the 3M Company's M's, originally: MINING. Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing. CSO to Boomer and C.C.
48. Editorial reconsideration word: STET.
49. Absorbs nicotine smokelessly: VAPES. Uggh.
50. Letter-shaped fastener: UBOLT.
51. "Vive __!": LE ROI. Long live the King!
52. Manages to attain, with "out": EKES.
54. Edward who wrote, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?": ALBEE.
55. Parking lot employee: VALET. I always get so embarrassed dressing in the parking lot.
59. Secure in a harbor: MOOR. Poor Othello.
60. Hill-building insects: ANTS. Are they talking Capitol Hill? No, too political.
62. Soup holder: CAN. Cannot.
63. Increases: UPS. The ante. and the number of the final down clue is also the number of theme squares in this 15x15. 63 is impressive. Have a very safe 4th of July; Thank you DAB and C.C. forever.
FIR, no write-overs, very easy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning, folks. Thank you, David Alfred Bywaters, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteThank you, again, for the card, Agnes. Meant a lot.
Could not sleep last night so I got up ( off the floor ) and worked the puzzle. It was easier than most Fridays, IMHO. Caught the theme as I worked through the puzzle. Some strange words. Perps helped.
Thank goodness I knew what ABLUTION Meant. To wash with water.
ETUI, an old stand-by. We need some of those sometimes. Same for ST ELMO.
Anyhow, I am going to put a little water on my garden before it gets to be 90 degrees.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Before I forget, I wanted to mark the passing of another constant figure in my life - HUGH DOWNS who was in my TV from KUKLA,FRAN and OLLIE JACK PARR CONCENTRATION The Today Show 20/20 . He was 99 and I am afraid the cynic in me asks now that we have two legends die in their 90s who will be number 3 to close the book?
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteGot the theme and finished in excellent time, so life is good. Odd to see both UPS and IS UP. TTP and I will take the CSO at TOM. Thanx, D.A.B. and Lemonade.
BLUEBELLS: Immediately made me think of this Nanci Griffith song, though it's about Bluebonnets rather than Bluebells. Such is the way the mind works. Here on the Texas gulf coast we see fields of Bluebonnets in the spring, and our ice cream comes from the BlueBell creamery.
DIESEL: Lemonade, around here there are three grades of gasoline plus diesel served up by the same pump machine. Gasoline comes out of the hose on the right, and diesel out of the hose on the left. Money goes into the hole in the middle.
D-O, I know that they come from the same pump but my question is: both gas(oline) and diesel fuel are distilled from petroleum. But diesel is not gas, so isn't its pump a diesel pump? Just a random thought
ReplyDeleteI think it's a matter of semantics. One man's gas is another man's indigestion.
ReplyDeleteIsn't gas a liquid?
ReplyDelete(Yeah, I know it's gasoline, but it's still odd to shorten it that way.)
As the others said, another easy Friday. Finished in under 9 minutes.
I'm sure tomorrow's will have several stumpers.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteEasy enough theme to glom on to. Thanks Lemon for listing other 'ine' animal suffixes. Quick easy solve for a Friday. FIR.
Had RNs befor DRS; the only wite-out.
DIESEL - A bit of a non-sequitur v.-à-v. the clue. But also had no problem with it and agree with others about usage. The phrase 'gas-up' applies to refuelling generally regardless of the specific fuel taken on. I've heard jet pilots use it when taking on jet fuel which is essentially kerosene.
EDEN - Three of our children were 'launched' during our sojourn in EDEN; a Town in Erie Co., NY.
DIESEL has been holding it's price while gas inches up week to week. You save a dime in reg at Sam's but a quarter on diesel.
ReplyDeleteI had a world class serve but nothing for the rest of my tennis game.
36D goes with those OGLEs and LEERs of xword-dom
I agree with Abejo, a relatively easy Fri solve.
WC
I hope I am remembering correctly that one of Splinter's favorites parts of his review was to figure percentages of correct letter fills. I'll leave it to others to determine my percentage. I entered soLUTION instead of ABLUTION.
ReplyDeleteThank you DAB and Lemonade.
MO
Musings
ReplyDelete-After failing to make the gimmick harder than it was, I zipped right along
-Isn’t Clouseau everyone’s favorite INSP?
-An ornamented NEWEL post can be a problem for sliding down a bannister
-IMPOSE -A take from Robert Frost
-PEWEE – Friday cannot pass without learning. I played Pee Wee baseball growing up
-MMMM – David turned chicken manure into chicken salad!
-DIRTY MIND -Freud on the subject (apocryphally)
-Vive Le ROI – Now there’s a Frenchman who really admires Dale Evans’ husband
Anon seems to always mention how long it took to finish the puzzle. One of my favorite things in the morning ( if I have the time) is to have a cup of coffee or two and do the puzzle. I like to take my time and enjoy it. Timing myself would take the joy out of it. Just an observation. That said...I agree that this was pretty easy for a Friday.
ReplyDeleteI filled this one steadily without jumping around, down the left half and then down the right half. Absolutely nothing unfamiliar. Cleo, Emma, Uma, Tom, Ibsen, Mining all gimmes. So easy for a Friday.
ReplyDeleteI like the animal names. Fun, DAB. Thanks, Lemonade for giving us others, some I knew and some I didn't.
Gasoline is defined as a liquid. Both are dispensed from a machine commonly called a gas pump. No prob.
CED, still laughing about last night's post. If you walk a mile in his shoes you'll be a mile away and have his shoes.
SWAMPCAT, FLN. We all are very compliant here, thank goodness. I am reacting to the news and photos from elsewhere, especially among the young. We all are interconnected and their thoughtlessness can spread everywhere, even here. They are harming the whole country, both health wise and economically.
I have heard no complaints from my sister who went to live in a nursing home in June. She has difficulty using the phone and has long since given up the computer, so we have little contact.
ReplyDeleteUnlike some others, it took a few extra minutes for me to finish today's puzzle. I did get the theme eventually which helped finish it.
I liked DAB's theme and other fill and Lemon's treatise on the grid was well written, but methinks the gas pump issue is a nit to pick. A certain level of Poetic License is allowed in CWs.
Missteps along the way: MOOINGSUMMONS vs BOVINESUMMONS before I had figured out the theme. I had HITEST before DIESEL, ERR before DBL and NIcOLA before NIKOLA.
Another beautiful day in the neighborhood today. I hope it's nice where you are.
Be safe and wear your masks.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis is the second Friday in a row that my puzzle notes begin with “Way too easy for a Friday.” I absolutely loved this delightful theme, but the cluing was mostly Monday/Tuesday level, which led to a much too easy and fast solve. I’d like more of a challenge from a late week puzzle. Then again, I’d better be careful what I wish for being that tomorrow is Saturday! My only unknown was Pewee, but no w/os. I liked seeing two playwrights with Albee and Ibsen and the duo of Is Up and Sleep, but I wasn’t keen on OXX or MMMM. CSOs to Lucina (Nun), DO and TTP (Tom), CC and Boomer (3M) and Steve (MMMM!)
Thanks, David, for a fun, if too easy, solve and thanks, Lemony, for the wise and witty commentary.
Abejo, just know that we’re always here for you.
Have a great day.
FIR in a bit less than 12 minutes per the Shortyz app. I never like to see NSEC as fill and DBL was a bit weak but, please pardon the redundancy, those are minor nits to pick.
ReplyDeleteI had not known that Hugh Downs was part of the Kukla Fran and Ollie show. Todah rabah, Lemonade, for adding that to the ol' data base.
I have a friend who used to ride a Harley Davidson. They have groups of riders who form HOG (Harley Owners Group) chapters. My friend's nickname in his chapter was "Diesel". Yep, he once put that fuel in his tank. A costly, not to mention highly embarrassing, error. Diesel is definitely not "gas" (gasoline). Of course, gasoline is not a gas, either, it's a liquid. Fuel Pump Choice would have been a better choice for the clue.
I really liked the theme, esp. since I knew all the "INE" words off the top of my head. Wow--look at that list of them. I always mix up ovine (sheep) vs. bovine (cattle).
ReplyDeleteBOATSWAIN looked weird to me, as I thought it was always BOS'N, but apparently it is two slightly different positions.
ETUI and NEWEL was new to me--I've only been doing the daily xword for the last few weeks.
At first I had SOLUTION instead of ABLUTION, but corrected with the crosses.
After I finished, I kept looking at MMMM then it dawned on me it was the Campbell Soup jingle.
Google says: Boatswain and Bos'n refer to the same position. Usage Note: The word boatswain is pronounced as a single word with two syllables (bō′sən). People with sea legs have a long tradition of spelling the word as bosun, bo's'n, and bos'n to reflect the salty pronunciation.
ReplyDeleteWelcome Bob Lee. You will be seeing ETUI often in the LAT, also UMA and much other well worn crosswordese.
Lemonade- you looked up all the family names or you have the mind of a savant. I knew the first three-equine, bovine, & feline- and porcine but VULPINE for fox was unknown. I'd seen DAB's name in some of WSJ's Saturday puzzles.
ReplyDeleteAfter EQUINE was in place the theme was an easy guess- or " the jig IS UP. PEWEE is an AVIAN specie I'd never run across, along with E-LOAN & BLUEBELLS (ice cream anybody?). ABLUTION is not a very common word but I got it.
DIESEL- there is usually ONE diesel option at every gas(oline) station, designated by the GREEN handle. I've never used it except in a boat.
Without a 'DIRTY MIND' at some time by somebody, we wouldn't be here.
YR- my policeman son said the chief has changed some schedules for tonight and tomorrow because they are expecting unauthorized block parties for tomorrow. You know the story, only other people can catch a disease but not me.
Malodororous Manatee- HOG is the stock symbol for Harley-Davisdon.
Everyone agrees this was way too easy for a Friday. I had to check the calendar to make sure. No write-overs and the theme made it fun. Like Anon I, too, time myself. Maybe it stems from being a runner...always trying to improve. I see nothing wrong with it. My son would call it OCD. Each to his own I say. Happy 4th to all. Have a safe, healthy weekend.
ReplyDeleteAdd an e and you have PEeWEE Reese of Dodgers and occasionally xword fame
ReplyDeleteYR, perhaps your sister can read a letter or a CNA could read it to her. Enclose a SASE and have a Home person mail it back with a quick msg?
"Then again, I’d better be careful what I wish for being that tomorrow is Saturday". Hint: Jeremy Lin is the constructor. Have fun.
At BP the green handle is reg and the other is diesel. Fu'runners, ya gotta luv'em
WC
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, David & Lemonade (wow! thanks for all those other animal names).
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time and saw the animal theme early in the solve.
I LOLed at the visual imagery of a PORCINE ABLUTION!
I had a couple of stumbles/holdUPS: forgot the Cyrillic spelling of NIKOLA (EKES changed the C to K); I pencilled in Ox, oX, oX and waited for perps to decide.
My soup (MMMM Campbells) was in an Urn before CAN was needed. Does anyone remember the Campbell soup doll? I still have mine with the cute fat cheeks like the one in the link; of course the outfit is worn out, but the grandchildren love to play with it.
CampbellSoupDoll
Plenty of literature today: Austin's EMMA, Doyle & Christie's INSP, IBSEN, ALBEE, Shaw's ST(E) JOAN, and Shakespeare's SCENE, SLEEP, NEED, Antony and CLEO. There even is a novel by American author Augusta Jane Evans called ST ELMO.
I too noted EYED beside STYE. I missed the possibly Taboo IS UP and UPS (but definition is slightly different so maybe OK??)
We started with EBB and ended, not with Flow, but UPS (abate and increases).
Wishing you all a great day (and a wonderful July 4th tomorrow in case I don't get here).
George, I am not a species savant, and copied and pasted the information with just a little editing.
ReplyDeleteMy diesel/gasoline comment was not intended to be a criticism but an observation. Sometimes where you see trees, I see leaves.
That doll is creepy C-Eh!
ReplyDeleteWell, I was going to Woohoo my getting this wonderful Friday David Alfred Bywaters puzzle without a single erasure or mistake, until I saw how many folks found it too easy for a Friday. Drat! And here I thought my Prevagen might be kicking in. So, who cares, and actually, it probably helped that there were so many delightful literary items, as CanadianEh pointed out--Ibsen and Albee and Austen and Shakespeare. I taught a fair amount of Ibsen, including "A Doll's House," back in the day. So, my warm thanks, David, for giving me a great crossword morning! And thank you, too, Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteHave a great weekend coming up, everybody.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteSo easy as you all have commented! I zipped through it before even drinking half a cup of coffee. Thank you, DAB.
And thank you, Lemonade! What an interesting list animals you posted.
Having watched so much British TV, I am familiar with INSPector and Chief INSPector.
In Charlotte, NC, near where my sister lives the local post office is in NEWELL. I have often walked to it.
My daughter's cat is named CLEO.
I also like to see the literary refernces: IBSEN, EMMA, ALBEE and the MOOR, (Othello).
Canadian Eh!
I'm so impressed that you have your Campbell's Soup doll!
I hope all are enjoying a peaceful day!
ReplyDeleteAs others have noted, this Friday grid filled quickly.
No write-overs today.
Rant alert below, warning.....
Here in SC, Governor Dum-Dum is moaning about how no one is using “common sense” in terms of masking up, which he foolishly refuses to mandate, because it would be “impossible to enforce”. I guess it’s a good thing all the other laws are so easily enforced, as no one talks on the phone while driving, goes through stop signs, etc. Laws that are there precisely because common sense is so rare. Meanwhile, cases are literally spiking here...you should see the graph...but the Governor refuses to act. The word “coward” keeps popping up. Plus this guy used to be the Federal attorney, you’d think he’d have a clue. I think he lacks...common sense.
End of rant.
And on to Saturday. Stay Safe, use your....set yourself...common sense.
I should have been the assinine entry. Thought I FIR with no inkovers but actually FIW. Put VoLPINE crossing with oBOLT ( fox is volpe in Italian).
ReplyDeleteOtherwise I agree WOs... fairly fast easy earlier-in-the-week type puzzle
You MOOR a boat, "secure" is a verb here. Now it makes sense.
"Who's Afraid of Lupine Virginia." Kidding aside excellent powerful play/film of familial self-destruction.
Isn't there a quote? "A DIRTY MIND is a terrible thing full of waste?"
Rocking back and forth...... SWAIN.
The old one went dry. Need to dig a _____...NEWEL
User of a west coast airport____.....LAXIST
4000 soup loving ancient Romans......MMMM
C U on the 4th. Stay safe.
.
Yes, it is always a good thing to remember to ask oneself if the clued answer is likely to be a noun, a verb, or both. Along with "singular or plural" it is part of my crossword mantra.
ReplyDelete...and, yes, the green handle is not always the diesel fuel especially outside of the USA.
This must have been an easier than usual Friday puzzle because I got most of it on my own! Thank you, DAB, for the fun challenge and Thank You, Lemonade, for the fun write-up!
ReplyDeleteNIKOLA Tesla: an interesting book about Tesla, Edison and Westinghouse is The Last Days of Night. It's a novel based on fact about the rivalry between them and how our electricity was developed and delivered to us.
Happy 4th weekend to all. We will celebrate by staying home, dog-sitting for our daughter and doing lots of nothing.
Hi everybody,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Adele (8:44). I have avoided keeping track of my solving times. I enjoy the more relaxed approach.
I worked on this puzzle late last night. I finished OK but I exerted a lot of effort trying to unpuzzle the theme answers. I eagerly opened up the blog this morning to see the clever theme explanation I had missed. What? Just literal?? I guess I was trying too hard and almost outsmarted myself...
Take care of yourself, and each other...
I was going to buy a copy of "The Power of Positive Thinking," and then I thought: What good would that do?
Red meat is NOT bad for you. Now, blue-green meat, that's REALLY BAD for you.
ReplyDeleteTo all the DIESEL commenters: In some parts of the country the DeCaf Coffee pots in restaurants and mini-marts are orange, in some other parts the top of the pot may be green and sometimes red. Although putting diesel in a gas tank is more serious than drinking regular coffee when you need Decaf, it can drive some people up the wall.
Puzzling Thoughts:
ReplyDeleteThanks for a clever puzzle, DAB, and an equally excellent recap, Jason.
WEES, this seemed too easy for me for Friday; yet, I FIW by making ABLUTION “ABLATION”, and UPS, APS. Otherwise, my puzzle grid is prist-ine
FFR (for future reference) a CSO to any clues and solves referring to 3M, can also be directed to yours, truly. I worked for the “MINING” for 25 years ... old timers @ 3M will refer to the company as “the Mining” ...
Lemony, clever poem! I’ve heard similar versions ...
My haiku du jour is actually a throwback to 2018. Not sure if I posted it here, back then:
My punny haiku du jour is targeted to 1970's Rock fans; it's in 5-7-7 format:
Vulture in Kansas
Has a stubborn child. "Eat your
Carrion, my wayward son."
Happy 4th!
I inadvertently fueled up with a diesel/gas mix years ago in my small home town. The gas station supplier screwed up and filled the regular tank with diesel, and I filled my car up from that tank. I've no way of knowing what the ratio was, but it's pretty likely it was well over 50% diesel. The car didn't run well at all..... But it would run. And the station owner stood behind it and drained the tank and lines, then refilled my tank with gas. No harm done, and no expense on my part.
ReplyDeleteAnd the car it happened to? From yesterday, it was a '73 Vega.
Bill G, have you been working on your standup routine? Ray-O-Sunshine get you started?
ReplyDeleteLike Bill G I guess I was over-thinking the theme. I kept looking for sorta sound-alike puns, since EQUINE AWARENESS could conceivably be twisted into "a keen awareness." But none of the others worked, so I guess the single word "Literal" really is an explanation after all.
ReplyDeleteMore later.
PEWEE reminds us that the little ones are the feistiest.
ReplyDeleteFriday fun!
This reminds me of last week, when I was surprised by a truly do-able pzl on a Friday.
Same this week. No problems, no hitches in solving today--and plenty of rewards in the smart theme answers.
TA ~ DA!
Sadly, though, no diagonals--to carry secret anagrams. (Boo. Hiss.)
Misty ~ Let me know if your Prevagen produces any real results. I'm a skeptic, but always open to fresh evidence.
In re. IBSEN, I have taught him too, and supervised plenty of scene work but, strangely, never had occasion to direct or act in his work. My favorites are Enemy of the People (which really needs to be re-set in every country in which it's played) and, of course, Hedda Gabler.
~ OMK
"67. Wasp's assault: STING. No comment; too political." Huh???
ReplyDelete"40. Has arisen: IS UP. Too religious." Huh???
"60. Hill-building insects: ANTS. Are they talking Capitol Hill? No, too political." Huh? No, "they" are simply talking about an insect, nothing more. From whose mind did the association with Capitol Hill arise? (Oops, I said "arise"! *gasp*)
Sorry, I just don't get it.
OMKeith & Misty:
ReplyDeleteI tried Prevagen and after taking one tablet I threw out the rest. It gave me a buzz but not a good one.
Good Afternoon, All. Thanks for the doable xword, DAB and thanks for 'splainin' Lemony. WEES, except for one issue, which no one mentioned so I accept it is on me. I could not pull the trigger on "Vapes" for 49D as absorb nicotine smokelessly didn't compute as much as a patch or gum which wouldn't fit. Every time I see a vaper, I see "smoke". LIU and technically it isn't cigarette smoke but it isn't water vapor either. It didn't help that I didn't know the "ine" words for the different animals occupying the SW corner. Ablution was an unknown. DNF. Happy 4th all.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Jayce @ 1653. Why too political.? Tongue in cheek, mayhap?
ReplyDelete________________________________________
At the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown they played "The World Turned Upside Down"
According to the WSJ, clothing optional parks and resorts in Florida and elsewhere are requiring that in addition to not needing to bring any clothes, members need to bring a face mask and wear it at all times. This has caused at least one manager to tweet, "If you're wearing a face mask, are you really nude?" Another member from New River near Phoenix, observing that nudists are known for the friendliness, said "and you put a mask on and you can't share that friendliness as easily."
Good afternoon, everyone! Agree with others that this was early-week level of difficulty, but quite enjoyable nonetheless. Many thanks, David! Great write-up, Lemon, especially the info that David Suchet once portrayed Inspector Japp (but not very well, by his own admission).
ReplyDeleteThe solve went along smoothly, including the nicely done theme. However, I carelessly FIW at 49A, putting in VoLPINE and ending up with an o-BOLT where a U-BOLT was needed. (Pretty sure an o-bolt is not a thing.) Got a chuckle out of the SNAIL mail clue/answer.
From yesterday – back when we were dating, DH owned a ’72 VEGA. We and some friends drove it from Cincinnati to Ft. Lauderdale and back, leaving trails of billowing smoke after each climb through the mountains along the way. Used about as much oil as it did gas. Surprisingly, that car held together long enough for the two of us to repeat the trip the following year.
Forecast is calling for temps in the 90’s and rising humidity for at least the next 10 days. Looks like we’ll be hunkering down in the AC for the duration.
Stay cool, stay safe, and have a great Fourth!!
Yes, I thought today’s puzzle was a little easier than a usual Friday puzzle, BUT I still managed a FIW! Grrrrrr!
ReplyDeleteIt was an interesting outing, though. Looked at the grid and saw all the spanners and figured I was sunk. I hoped the perps from the shorter words might give me a chance and started with them. Wrong! Got some of them correctly, but missed some of the others, BUT they were enough for me to figure out the theme (which I loved), so I was able to make a huge dent in the filling in some parts of the theme answers. Howsomever, with those fills, I was unable to make heads or tails of some of the perps I had already inserted! Grrrrrr!
Since I am out of white out and haven't replaced my stock (and since I’m always smart enough to print out two or three copies of the grid), I got a clean sheet, filled in the parts of the theme answers and perps that I thought were correct, and I was off to the races. Mind you, I still messed up: Couldn’t decide exactly what the fox is, and I cannot remember ever running across “VULPINE” as an adjective or anything else, and I was OK with an IBOLT, so….
Oh well. Tomorrow’s another day.
Later….
Jayce, I guessed that the references were likely:
ReplyDeleteWasp = could be taken as White Anglo Saxon Protestant
Has Risen = a possible reference to the Christian Resurrection
Hill = what happens on Capitol Hill stirs strong emotions
All topics that we are cautioned to avoid here (and I had one posted deleted a while back to the moderators are serious about that, I do believe. Belief, hmmm.....
No discern-able results yet on Prevagen. Unless I see some improvement, it'll be the end of this dosage.
ReplyDeleteOh, yes! VAPES threw me off too (but it did not cause my crash and burn). I originally chose CHEWS. That might not be SMOKE that the vape peeps are exhaling, but it surely looks like smoke to me. Most NO SMOKING venues also prohibit VAPING.
ReplyDeleteA nudist asked to wear a mask to prevent disease is no different from the nudist who wears a hat to prevent recurrent head and neck skin cancer.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the movie "Finding Forrester"? I'm watching it again since many years back. It's one of Barbara's favorites for sure. It features Sean Connery and Rob Brown with F. Murray Abraham and Anna Paquin. It got very good reviews by people other than Barbara and me too.
ReplyDelete"Jamal Wallace is an inner-city kid from the Bronx who has an aptness at basketball and a genius at writing. While always a C student, Jamal comes to the attention of a prestigious New York City prep school when he scores highly on his standardized tests. While Jamal is given a heavy load at his new school, both he and the school know that the real reason they took him on is for his prowess on the court. Befriended by fellow student Claire and helped along by Pulitzer Prize winning author and recluse William Forrester, Jamal pursues his dreams on and off the court while overcoming obstacles placed by his bitter literature teacher. As Jamal is shaped by Forrester, he finds that he is changing the old writer as well, forcing him to confront his past, and his future."
Working backward...R-O-S; the mask is to protect others. I do not know any study the virus comes through the epidermis.
ReplyDeleteMM... yes, you saw through my silliness. I understand that words can hurt, but some of it is ridiculous. תודה רבה for the Hebrew. בבקשה.
VULPINE: FOX LUPINE: WOLF
To some degree the mask is to protect others but moreso the person wearing the mask from inhaling viral laden droplets. If you know or suspect you are infected you should be self quarentining not out and about in a mask.
ReplyDeleteאל תזכיר את זה
ReplyDeleteSo if a nudist wears sandals is he/she not nude?
ReplyDeleteLoved this easy puzzle and Lemonys always delightful explanation. Thanks, All!
ReplyDeleteHowever the comments have left me I the dust! Adele, I also solve for pleasure and want the solve to last as long as possible.
Y’all have fun!
Jayce
ReplyDeleteThe original question was if a nudist has to wear a mask is he/she no longer considered nude. As you point out there are nudists who wear footwear and as I pointed out those who wear headgear. Still happily nude. A mask should make no difference and may be life saving.
I reviewed my comments and no where did I say or imply the virus penetrated the skin. That wasn't even included in the discussion. This kind of misinformation is part of the problem as well.
We had Govenor of Mass named "Volpe"
ReplyDeletePVX, people talk and text on phones and even run redlights in FLA. But they are wearing the masks. Probably because they're mandatory at stores.
MaloMan, one also has to take into consideration the pronunciation of the clue. Which would indicate verb or noun.
Oc4, your haven't seen ol' Wilbur on reg coffee .
Leo, better print a half dozen xwords tomorrow.
WC
Btw, solving earlier this week I wanted to mention that Friday seemed unusually easy but am trying not to comment on future xwords. Plus, one man's easy is another's difficult.
וואו נחמד
ReplyDeleteSpitzboov.
I remember Governor John Volpe very well. He was a good man who did lots to benefit Massachusetts and the nation. I cannot say more without being too political.
WC --- You've got that right!!! Hopefully, I'll surprise myself. One can always hope.
ReplyDeleteRe. Volpe...elected (re?) as a republican in that heavy democratic state says it all.
ReplyDeleteWC