Theme: The Cruciverbalist's Lament.
16A. "No idea": HOW SHOULD I KNOW?
26A. "No idea": I'M STUMPED. Interesting word, "stump". There are a ton of different meanings beyond the tree stump. You stump up for something when you pay, a politician stumps on the campaign trail. This batsman has just been stumped playing cricket:
38A. [No idea]: SHRUG. Note the brackets around the clue to indicate a gesture.
51A. "No idea": IT BEATS ME
60A. "No idea": I DON'T HAVE A CLUE
Paul sings us the song of the sad crossword solver today. Five theme entries indicated by the common clue, and together forming a tide of woeful ignorance.
The puzzle itself was pretty straightforward (for me, anyway). There's some good stuff in the fill and some nice long entries in the downs to keep things entertaining. Nice job from Mr. Coulter. Let's go for a wander:
Across:
1. Indian noblewoman: RANI
5. Pressure meas.: P.S.I. Pound force per Square Inch. There are many kinds of measurements of pressure - newtons, pascals, atmospheres, all kinds of goodies.
8. Little lies: FIBS
12. Like port, usually: AGED. Technically, a wine can only be called a port if it's made in Portugal's Doura region. There are a few very good California "port-style" wines. The Fairbanks brand is not amongst them, so steer well clear, the same goes for their "sherry". First law of wine - don't cook with something you wouldn't drink.
13. W. alliance since 1948: O.A.S. The Organization of American States, comprising all 35 independent states of the Americas, including the USA.
14. Southwestern grassy plain: LLANO. Here's one in Columbia:
19. Make a minister: ORDAIN
20. Soft drink nut: KOLA
22. Flings: CASTS
28. Cost of preventing deterioration: UPKEEP
30. Adhesive: PASTE
31. Protein-rich bean: SOYA
32. Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo __: EPSTEIN As GM of the Red Sox, he delivered the first World Series to Boston in 86 years, ending the "Curse of the Bambino" championship drought. What is less commonly-known is that the GM post was first offered to Billy Beane of "Moneyball" fame, who was tempted by the eye-watering salary offered by owner John Henry but elected to stay at Oakland.
John Henry should be feeling pretty good this week - he is also the majority owner of Liverpool F.C. in England, who just sealed their first championship win in the Premier League era, and their first title for 30 years dating back to the 1989/90 First Division championship. But I digress.
37. Blueprint detail, for short: SPEC.
39. Charity: ALMS
43. Wearing away gradually: ERODING
45. Greek earth goddess: GAIA. Thank you, crosswords past!
46. Autocrats of old Russia: TSARS. Is there a preferred spelling of TSAR vs CZAR? I'm not sure if one is closer to the Cyrillic original "царь" than the other.
49. 100 agorot, in Israel: SHEKEL. I'm sure if this clue was written the other way around not many people would know "agorot".
56. Dancer Castle: IRENE. Here she is modelling in 1917.
57. Strait-laced: PRIM
58. Storywriter known for irony: O. HENRY. The "O" doesn't really stand for anything, although when asked in an interview for a French newspaper, William Porter told them it was the inital for "Olivier" and it became a "fact" that the full name was "Oliver Henry".
66. Pasta often served alla vodka: PENNE. Food! Just a splash is needed to give the sauce a little bite.
67. Louis XIV, par exemple: ROI
68. Unnerve: FAZE
69. Hides the gray, maybe: DYES. Not me, I proudly sport my gray.
70. "Atlas Shrugged" writer Rand: AYN. OK, so this clue I thought was badly done - SHRUG is part of the theme, I'd have avoided reusing the root in an unrelated clue. "The Fountainhead" is an equally well-known Rand work, so I'd have used that instead. Minor nit.
71. Mattress spring: COIL
Down:
1. "Go team!": RAH!
2. Back in the day: AGO. Not my favorite. I don't associate "ago" with "back in the day".
3. Still in the package: NEW. Garage sale or eBay win - NOS - "New Old Stock", or BNIB - "Brand New In Box."
4. Fake __: ID'S
5. Not up to snuff: POOR
6. Mecca native: SAUDI
7. Religion of Mecca: ISLAM. Nice pairing of these two answers.
8. Low-tech fire starter: FLINT. In my youth, I lived in Winchester, a historic city in the south of England. The old city walls were made of flint cobbles, and we used to have fun striking sparks by bashing two pieces against each other. This is the Great Hall, flint-built; with the c1400 Round Table hanging on the wall. Not a bad wall decoration!
9. Breed: ILK. Breed? Not really, more fiefdom. I refer you to many "of that ilk" references. Instead of the belabored "Lord Clackmannan, of Clackmannan" which is a tad redundant, it was rendered "Lord Clackmannan, of that ilk". I bet you didn't expect to learn that when you woke up this morning?
10. Supervisor at a financial institution: BANK MANAGER. "Back in the day", you knew you were in trouble if you got a letter from the bank manager, usually "politely" pointing out that you had overdrawn your account.
11. Busybodies: SNOOPS. Bank Managers also.
15. Young hooter: OWLET
17. One may wind up on a fire truck: HOSE. Nice clue.
18. Bad-mouth: DIS
21. Beverage suffix: -ADE
22. Use bad words: CUSS
23. Informal pricing words: A POP
24. Largest of the Inner Hebrides: SKYE. Here's a little musical interlude - "Over the Sea to Skye". Quite a few different lyrics were set to this music. The Saltire looks grand against a blue sky.
25. Japanese ritual with an iron pot: TEA CEREMONY
27. Org. with an Odd News web page: U.P.I. United Press International, the Washington-based wire service.
29. Baja bread: PESO. Not tortilla? Nope, not enough room.
33. Scholar's deg.: PH.D
34. __ Lanka: SRI
35. Winery cask: TUN
36. French toast maker's need: EGGS
40. Victoria, for one: LAKE. The name should be reverted to the original Lake Nyanza, there's been way too many names lost to colonial flag-planters. Do you have a flag?
41. Appearance: MIEN
42. BOGO event: SALE. "Buy One, Get One". A cunning marketing ploy. Always hooks me, line and sinker, even though I hear the soundtrack in my head: "That's cunning! Stick a tail on it and call it a weasel!".
44. Cape Town's country: Abbr.: R.S.A. The Republic of South Africa. Probably another candidate for returning to pre-Colonial naming.
46. Pointed end: TIP
47. Narrow piece: STRIP
48. Tolerated: ABIDED
50. Breezy greeting: HIYA!
52. Big name in raingear: TOTES. Has the "totes adorbs" run been exhausted? Hard to keep up with the language sometimes.
53. "Use your inside voice": SHH!
54. Comedian featured in Jerry Stiller's "Married to Laughter": MEARA. Anne, Jerry's wife.
55. Official representative: ENVOY
59. Horse rider's strap: REIN
61. Shreveport-to-Little Rock dir.: N.N.E. Ah, back to the random-place-to-random-place chestnut. One moment of reprieve last week, but reverting to type with this one. Let's just agree to use the literal clue "Compass Point" from hereon. It's lame fill, and why pretend otherwise?
62. Ozone-depleting chemical: CFC. Also the initials of the soccer team I support in England, Chelsea F.C.
63. Language of Southeast Asia: LAO
64. Special forces weapon: UZI
65. Unagi, e.g.: EEL. A freshwater eel, in this case., which is what the "for example" bit is all about. All unagi are eel, but not all eel are unagi. ウナギ in Japanese.
And with the final clue making me Food! happy, here's the grid!
Steve
16A. "No idea": HOW SHOULD I KNOW?
26A. "No idea": I'M STUMPED. Interesting word, "stump". There are a ton of different meanings beyond the tree stump. You stump up for something when you pay, a politician stumps on the campaign trail. This batsman has just been stumped playing cricket:
38A. [No idea]: SHRUG. Note the brackets around the clue to indicate a gesture.
51A. "No idea": IT BEATS ME
60A. "No idea": I DON'T HAVE A CLUE
Paul sings us the song of the sad crossword solver today. Five theme entries indicated by the common clue, and together forming a tide of woeful ignorance.
The puzzle itself was pretty straightforward (for me, anyway). There's some good stuff in the fill and some nice long entries in the downs to keep things entertaining. Nice job from Mr. Coulter. Let's go for a wander:
Across:
1. Indian noblewoman: RANI
5. Pressure meas.: P.S.I. Pound force per Square Inch. There are many kinds of measurements of pressure - newtons, pascals, atmospheres, all kinds of goodies.
8. Little lies: FIBS
12. Like port, usually: AGED. Technically, a wine can only be called a port if it's made in Portugal's Doura region. There are a few very good California "port-style" wines. The Fairbanks brand is not amongst them, so steer well clear, the same goes for their "sherry". First law of wine - don't cook with something you wouldn't drink.
13. W. alliance since 1948: O.A.S. The Organization of American States, comprising all 35 independent states of the Americas, including the USA.
14. Southwestern grassy plain: LLANO. Here's one in Columbia:
19. Make a minister: ORDAIN
20. Soft drink nut: KOLA
22. Flings: CASTS
28. Cost of preventing deterioration: UPKEEP
30. Adhesive: PASTE
31. Protein-rich bean: SOYA
32. Chicago Cubs President of Baseball Operations Theo __: EPSTEIN As GM of the Red Sox, he delivered the first World Series to Boston in 86 years, ending the "Curse of the Bambino" championship drought. What is less commonly-known is that the GM post was first offered to Billy Beane of "Moneyball" fame, who was tempted by the eye-watering salary offered by owner John Henry but elected to stay at Oakland.
John Henry should be feeling pretty good this week - he is also the majority owner of Liverpool F.C. in England, who just sealed their first championship win in the Premier League era, and their first title for 30 years dating back to the 1989/90 First Division championship. But I digress.
37. Blueprint detail, for short: SPEC.
39. Charity: ALMS
43. Wearing away gradually: ERODING
45. Greek earth goddess: GAIA. Thank you, crosswords past!
46. Autocrats of old Russia: TSARS. Is there a preferred spelling of TSAR vs CZAR? I'm not sure if one is closer to the Cyrillic original "царь" than the other.
49. 100 agorot, in Israel: SHEKEL. I'm sure if this clue was written the other way around not many people would know "agorot".
56. Dancer Castle: IRENE. Here she is modelling in 1917.
57. Strait-laced: PRIM
58. Storywriter known for irony: O. HENRY. The "O" doesn't really stand for anything, although when asked in an interview for a French newspaper, William Porter told them it was the inital for "Olivier" and it became a "fact" that the full name was "Oliver Henry".
66. Pasta often served alla vodka: PENNE. Food! Just a splash is needed to give the sauce a little bite.
67. Louis XIV, par exemple: ROI
68. Unnerve: FAZE
69. Hides the gray, maybe: DYES. Not me, I proudly sport my gray.
70. "Atlas Shrugged" writer Rand: AYN. OK, so this clue I thought was badly done - SHRUG is part of the theme, I'd have avoided reusing the root in an unrelated clue. "The Fountainhead" is an equally well-known Rand work, so I'd have used that instead. Minor nit.
71. Mattress spring: COIL
Down:
1. "Go team!": RAH!
2. Back in the day: AGO. Not my favorite. I don't associate "ago" with "back in the day".
3. Still in the package: NEW. Garage sale or eBay win - NOS - "New Old Stock", or BNIB - "Brand New In Box."
4. Fake __: ID'S
5. Not up to snuff: POOR
6. Mecca native: SAUDI
7. Religion of Mecca: ISLAM. Nice pairing of these two answers.
8. Low-tech fire starter: FLINT. In my youth, I lived in Winchester, a historic city in the south of England. The old city walls were made of flint cobbles, and we used to have fun striking sparks by bashing two pieces against each other. This is the Great Hall, flint-built; with the c1400 Round Table hanging on the wall. Not a bad wall decoration!
9. Breed: ILK. Breed? Not really, more fiefdom. I refer you to many "of that ilk" references. Instead of the belabored "Lord Clackmannan, of Clackmannan" which is a tad redundant, it was rendered "Lord Clackmannan, of that ilk". I bet you didn't expect to learn that when you woke up this morning?
10. Supervisor at a financial institution: BANK MANAGER. "Back in the day", you knew you were in trouble if you got a letter from the bank manager, usually "politely" pointing out that you had overdrawn your account.
11. Busybodies: SNOOPS. Bank Managers also.
15. Young hooter: OWLET
17. One may wind up on a fire truck: HOSE. Nice clue.
18. Bad-mouth: DIS
21. Beverage suffix: -ADE
22. Use bad words: CUSS
23. Informal pricing words: A POP
24. Largest of the Inner Hebrides: SKYE. Here's a little musical interlude - "Over the Sea to Skye". Quite a few different lyrics were set to this music. The Saltire looks grand against a blue sky.
25. Japanese ritual with an iron pot: TEA CEREMONY
27. Org. with an Odd News web page: U.P.I. United Press International, the Washington-based wire service.
29. Baja bread: PESO. Not tortilla? Nope, not enough room.
33. Scholar's deg.: PH.D
34. __ Lanka: SRI
35. Winery cask: TUN
36. French toast maker's need: EGGS
40. Victoria, for one: LAKE. The name should be reverted to the original Lake Nyanza, there's been way too many names lost to colonial flag-planters. Do you have a flag?
41. Appearance: MIEN
42. BOGO event: SALE. "Buy One, Get One". A cunning marketing ploy. Always hooks me, line and sinker, even though I hear the soundtrack in my head: "That's cunning! Stick a tail on it and call it a weasel!".
44. Cape Town's country: Abbr.: R.S.A. The Republic of South Africa. Probably another candidate for returning to pre-Colonial naming.
46. Pointed end: TIP
47. Narrow piece: STRIP
48. Tolerated: ABIDED
50. Breezy greeting: HIYA!
52. Big name in raingear: TOTES. Has the "totes adorbs" run been exhausted? Hard to keep up with the language sometimes.
53. "Use your inside voice": SHH!
54. Comedian featured in Jerry Stiller's "Married to Laughter": MEARA. Anne, Jerry's wife.
55. Official representative: ENVOY
59. Horse rider's strap: REIN
61. Shreveport-to-Little Rock dir.: N.N.E. Ah, back to the random-place-to-random-place chestnut. One moment of reprieve last week, but reverting to type with this one. Let's just agree to use the literal clue "Compass Point" from hereon. It's lame fill, and why pretend otherwise?
62. Ozone-depleting chemical: CFC. Also the initials of the soccer team I support in England, Chelsea F.C.
63. Language of Southeast Asia: LAO
64. Special forces weapon: UZI
65. Unagi, e.g.: EEL. A freshwater eel, in this case., which is what the "for example" bit is all about. All unagi are eel, but not all eel are unagi. ウナギ in Japanese.
And with the final clue making me Food! happy, here's the grid!
Steve
Note from C.C.:
Evan Birnholz, constructor for the Washington Post, just released below information:
"I am very proud to announce the release of "Grids for Good"!
This is a collection of 42 crosswords and variety puzzles by 44
different constructors to raise money for coronavirus relief and as well
as organizations fighting against institutional racism."
I'm one of the constructors. Go to "Grids for Good" for those great puzzles and support charitable causes. The puzzles are available in PDF and puz formats.
Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no FIBS.
ReplyDeleteI'll not write untruths with pen TIP or nibs.
HOW SHOULD I KNOW who?
Why? I HAVEN'T A CLUE.
When or where, you'll have to ask His Nibs!
Was it ORDAINED from on high?
If not, IT BEATS ME, says I.
All I can do is SHRUG,
And don't let it bug.
I'M STUMPED, but don't let it FAZE my eye!
{B, B-.}
Thanks, Steve. Owen - Good to see your limericks again. Today's are very much on point.
ReplyDeleteAs submitted, I had the first four theme answers clued as ( ) - the last one I DON'T HAVE A CLUE was intended as a revealer. Literally, they don't have a clue, and they mean, "I don't have a clue." I wonder, would this have struck your funny bone or struck you as plain dumb?
A new puzzle and visit from our always PC constructor. This was a fun solve; the phrase NO IDEA is a running joke between Oo and me whenever her almost perfect English wanders off into the unintelligible. I have learned to decipher most of them by now including my favorite PICNIC which somehow means PREGNANT to her. Notwithstanding that fun, I love the idea of the NO CLUE you presented.
ReplyDeleteI agree that unless you have been to Israel, or collect foreign coins AGOROT would be a total unknown.
Even success does not help people like JOHN HENRY .
The lasting damage caused by CFC into the atmosphere is what triggered the OZONE DEPLETION
I also like the clue for HOSE and have watched the EDDIE IZZARD CONCERT that Steve keeps using countless times and laughing every time.
Thank you, Paul and Steve. Your FLINT LINK did not open automatically but did when I clicked on it.
A very easy Thursday, 11 minutes. Once you see the theme, it goes fast.
ReplyDeleteNot much of a challenge today, but not complaining. Back when I could fly to Europe, I had a fun family trip exploring Scotland and Ireland, the highlight of which was our stay in the Isle of Skye. So beautiful and an ancestral home for a sept of Clan MacArthur. I think we should be writing Putin instead of TSAR.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteVery smooth solve this morning -- except for HIHO, HIYO, HIYA. AGOROT sounds like he should be a character in LOTR. Nice positioning with SAUDI beside MECCA. Lemonade, I noticed the same thing about Steve's photo link. That's one giant dart board! Thanx for the outing, Paul, and for the expo, Steve.
I ventured out yesterday and was shocked to see even fewer Texans wearing face masks than two weeks ago. It's getting worse, people, not better.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteBelated birthday greetings to HM.
Agree with earlier posters about solving easiness. Neat theme. Liked the [SHRUG] in the middle.
No searches and no erasures were needed. I think the 2 long downs helped knit the fill together making it a tad easier.
Have a great day.
Mondayish, but fun. No stumpers. Epstein had great perps.
ReplyDeleteI loved hiking on the Isle of Skye for a week. HM, beautiful place, indeed.
Good thing Paul was looking for shekel instead of agorot.
That breed of boss and bosses of that ilk are close in meaning.
I am dismayed at the lack of masks and social distancing in other areas. We are so careful around here. It is scary that people from less vigilant areas can come here and start our Covid curve upward again.
Those who do not follow the guidelines greatly increase the number of cases and greatly slow the return to a somewhat normal economy.
I didn't know that JH owned Liverpool? He amassed his fortune in Futures* trading.
ReplyDeletePure guess in FAZE/dAZE. In a daze would imply having been fazed. Actually, CdC didn't seem right. FARE/URI** would have been less of a Natick.
ILK has a negative connotation but literally only means "of that sort". Safire pointed that out, once.
I like BOGO but beware "Buy 2 get 1 free". Their formula:3/2x*2=Y or a 3 for $10 on Tuesday is $4.99*2 Wednesday.
I've been stacking up Evan Birnholz Wa-Post Sunday xwords.
Paul it would have struck me as "Shortzian"
*As in Atl-10 Sch. Or perhaps, Lamar Odom's alma mater. Of Kardashian notoriety
** All I can think of is insider information. No accusation ever made vs John H. His was algorithms .
Interesting link from lemonade re. JH
WC
I like Paul Colter's puzzles, and when you pair one with an erudite review from Steve, life is good. PC's puzzles tend to remind me of the old Saturday Silkies, crunchy but doable in the end, which makes the "Tada" even more satisfying. In this case,sussing the theme early on helped to speed up the solve - a little over 14 mins. I enjoyed your comments this morning, Paul, and I really wish I could have had a chance to solve this puzzle as you say you first envisioned it. I'm sure the lack of a clue for the themed answers would have confounded me to no end, or at least until I solved the reveal, and then to quote an old beer commercial, "Brilliant!" Add my thanks to both Paul and Steve for excellent work.
ReplyDeleteI've been away for a while holed up in a den of depression ever since the one year anniversary of DW's passing. I'm clawing my way back up into the light. I still do the puzzles and lurk at the corner, I just don't have much to say nowadays. To all of the people whose birthdays I haven't acknowledged, I'm sorry and please know that I think kind wishes for your future. To all of those in pain, either emotional or physical, my healing thoughts and prayers are with you. Godspeed.
Time to change subjects. I'm going to put my Francophile on tonight and cook Poulet a la crème, rice soubise, ratatouille, and haricot vert. That'll knock me out of my funk.
Cya!
To BlueHen
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you are coming back. I lost my dad on June 5 and though it was expected and actually a relief, the grief still hits. My wife passed about 9 years ago and I still cry over vibrant memories and songs. I am remarried and very happy but love, in all its forms, shows up. Luckily my wife understands and actually loves me more for honoring my past love(s)
We all heal in our own good time. No rush.
Cook your Poulet tonight and I’ll toast your health
Bless you
Nice easy one for me for a Thursday. I cruised right along until the bottom part.
ReplyDeleteHOSE seemed too obvious. What else would go on a fire truck starting with HO--?
I'd never heard of TUN for a wine cask. Also never heard of agorot but SHEKEL an easy fill.
My personal favorite idea for using CFC's is to make them on the planet Mars and cause a runaway greenhouse effect which will make it habitable. Elon Musk's favorite -- crash a comet into the planet. Duck!
Well Steve, I'M STUMPED because I've never heard of 'stump' being used to pay or what being 'stumped' in cricket. But I wasn't stumped on filling the puzzle. Theo EPSTEIN was the only unknown filled by perps.
ReplyDeleteNNE- not 'random-place-to-...' for me, as I grew up in Shreveport. But it's in flyover country to all the pseudo-intellectual snobs on the coasts.
PSI- back in the day when I was taking the final exam in Physical Chemistry the professor wrote one of the problems expressed in 'torr'. There were only four of us in the class and none had ever heard that term. He told us we could always use the book and discuss anything while taking the test. TORR wasn't even in the book. I went to his office and he said that it was 1/760 Atmosphere. Pascal, Bar, PSI, mmHg or Hg in inches & torr- always a pain converting them.
YR- the cornerites have been around long enough to use common sense, unlike many people.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Rich seems to have put a very easy puzzle late in the week
-Only STUMP UP and Cricket STUMPED were new to me
-I wonder if I could differentiate a $10 wine from a $1,000 one
-A Big Mac in Tel Aviv is around 10.88 ₪ (1 shekel = $.29)
-Did anyone else read O’Henry’s The Ransom Of Red Chief in school?
-I and sixteen others of my ILK are playing golf at noon today
-My Aunt Betty and Uncle Virgil were known as SNOOP and BLAB in our small town
-The dreary 10-day forecast for the Isle of SKYE
-Natives referred to it as Lake Nyanza to the Brit who renamed it for Queen Victoria
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a fairly easy and straightforward theme with little resistance other than a Coca nut instead of a Kola nut. I liked the side-by-side entries of Saudi and Islam. I don’t equate Unnerve with Faze, though, but that could be just my personal usage. CSO to our Oas at OAS and to Lemony at Ade.
Thanks, Paul, for a Thursday treat and for stopping by. I think your original theme presentation would have added a level of difficulty to the solve which, IMO, would be more apt for a Thursday puzzle. As it was, I completely missed Shrug as part of the theme until Steve pointed it out. So, Steve, thanks for giving me the complete picture and thanks for the always enjoyable and informative commentary.
Bluehen @ 7:45 ~ I’m happy to hear from you because I always enjoy your comments, particularly when you include your dinner menu! Tonight’s sounds yummy and my rusty French understands everything but the Rice Soubise. Bon Appetit! Please join us often, if not daily.
Anonymous @ 8:13 ~ Your message was very poignant and heartfelt. Condolences on the recent loss of your Dad. (My father died 46 years ago today.)
Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteGood morning. Thanks, Paul. Thanks, Steve.
I think the only correction was the initial C in KOLA. Pretty fast for a Thursday.
Paul, I liked your idea of not having any clues for the theme answers. That would have made it more Thursday-like , but I guess editors get the final vote.
LLANO is also a small town in LLANO County, Texas in the Hill Country. I've camped on the banks Inks Lake reservoir near Burnet (burn it) which was formed with the construction of the dam on the (Texas) Colorado River
Still in the package - my replacement keyboard from Amazon. Will keep it awhile, just in case.
I have some New Old Stock PC Jr. parts in a box in the basement.
Who is John Henry ? The Cubs are owned by the Ricketts family.
To quote my friend, who lived south west of New Orleans, "If you stir your gumbo, we know you are a yankee, from someplace way up north, like Shreveport." I still have the LSU hat he gave me over twenty years ago.
FLN, Malodorous Manatee, It was a black Yamaha 400CC that looked like this: http://www.revmoto.net/ViewVehicle.aspx?id=26174
Both of my brothers had the shaft drive 750s. I rode on the back of one of them up to the Yamaha dealer about 30 miles away. They talked me into buying it, then and there. I had never driven a motorcycle before, but learned to drive it on the way back home. My mother was not pleased. Got my license endorsement a couple of weeks later. It was my primary mode of transportation. The first time I had to lay it down was when a guy pulled out in front of me as I was approaching a stop sign. It was my favorite uncle, leaving the local bar. He never noticed and I never told him about it.
Sold it to a friend when I moved to Houston, but ended up riding there from time to time. My buddy that bought it never got his endorsement, and got pulled over for having a fake sticker on the license plate. He was using the red part of a Marlboro box as the sticker.
I had lots of "ideas" headed for a perfect FIR with no inkovers until like IM...spelled KOLA with a C. So one correction. Like Bob Lee never heard of an agorot but figured it was part of a SHEKEL.
ReplyDeleteMany explanations of the difference between soy and SOYA online. Take your pic. (Almost put fava.) Never heard of CFC but knew aerosols were poking holes in the ozone layer.
Always thought PENNE derived from italian for "feathers" (penne) but actually from "pens" (also penne) because of the slanted pen shape tip. (BTW italians call a ball-point pen a "biro" after the Hungarian inventor László Bíró.) I understood "penna" but when asked to borrow a "biro" I had at first had no idea. Languages: almost fell into the Baja bread trap when the first letter P suggested Pan..(not enough letters).
My favorite O.Henry tale. "The Gift of the Magi" (while nibbling on an Oh Henry candy bar 🍫 ?
Bad ideas:
Tree to Lumberkack: "Don' bother_______ already"....IMSTUMPED
Most teenagers and moons go through a______....FAZE
In Spain the ____ falls ____ly on the llano..... REIN/MIEN
Back from camp. Kids and grandkids packed and heading home. Hope to see them a few more times during this unpredictable summer.
We're back to the disappearing Preview function
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't that earthshaking
WC
Wilbur Charles - "Shortzian" - now there's a word you don't see often, but thank you very much. Likewise to the other posters for their votes of confidence. I forgot to mention that my clue for IDONTHAVEACLUE was: "No idea" and what 16, 26, 38, & 51 might say about the parentheses following 16., 26., 38., & 51.
ReplyDelete"The Cruciverbalist's Lament ... Five theme entries indicated by the common clue, and together forming a tide of woeful ignorance." Steve, your explication slayed me. FIR and enjoyed the puzzle, but would have been really exultant upon solving if Paul's original () clues had been published. I enjoy little twists of that ILK.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteNot much time left to post as I have a doctor's appointment soon.
Thank you, Paul Coulter and Steve! I finished the puzzle in quick time. Easy but fun.
Loved seeing O.HENRY in the grid. I have a collection of his short stories.
I am one who DYES her hair. No gray for me.
Does everyone know that the LL in LLANO is pronounced like Y? yano.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
First the first time in several years, no newspaper this morning, and so no puzzle, no sudoku, kenken, or Jumble. Called the LA Times, and thankfully got a delivery about 45 minutes later, but that still made for a messed up, busy morning. Still, got most of the puzzle and found it fun--many thanks, Paul, and thanks for checking in. And always enjoy your comments, too, Steve.
ReplyDeleteOn a day when I was feeling really out of it because of the newspaper problem, the theme commented perfectly on my feeling a bit stupid this morning. But the fact that I got a lot of it meant that it was a kind and gentle Thursday puzzle after all, so I have lots of gratitude. I mean, I got SAUDI and ISLAM, and SHEKEL--but it kills me that I didn't get O HENRY. But I got ROI and AYN, and even PENNE, though I'm not much of a cook anymore. Oh, and SOYA too. Enough said. Thanks again and have a good day, everybody.
This news article is unnerving. Covid 19 does not phase these kids.
ReplyDeleteidiocy
Easy enough except for stubbing my toe in the middle of the west coast . I got SOYA and SPEC, but UPKEEP and CASTS kept getting Twisted around for some strange reason. Just a blind spot!
ReplyDeleteThanks Paul. I liked your original theme/clue better. Steve, loved the tour.
Owen, I laughed! Thanks
Wow, I never thought of it as Yoyds of London.
ReplyDeleteD.O., on a serious note, I've always wondered why you never hear LLAMA pronounced with a Y. Probably just intentional ignorance. Sorta like San Jacinto.
ReplyDeleteTerrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Paul & Steve.
ReplyDelete(yes, add my vote to a preference for your original cluing with an AHA reveal).
Straightforward solve today with two inkblots - yes I fell for the bread trap, and had pita before PESO. I did smile to see PESO and SHEKEL, plus a BANK MANAGER to deal with them.
I had Urn before TUN (and also rejected Vat).
I noted the SHRUG theme answer and the Atlas Shrugged clue - nose wrinkle!
Encouraging thoughts for those of you (BlueHen, Anon@8:13, Irish Miss, AnonT, and others I'm sure) dealing with grief, whether due to recent or past losses. "Grief is the price we pay for love." Please keep chiming in here for contact.
Wishing you all a great day.
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle Paul. Steve, as usual, provided the guidance needed to totally understand the puzzle.
Like some others I made a few missteps along the way but was able to correct them before I got to the end. I had FAVA before SOYA, COLA before KOLA, and I didn't know EPSTEIN (Since I'm not much of a baseball fan I could get banned from the Corner) Perps were instrumental in fixing the errors and for giving me the foothold I needed for the theme answers.
YR et al: I've noticed the partial lack of mask usage in Central Pennsylvania also. Some people give you a look just defying you to say something to them about not wearing a mask. Just this week our governor issued an edict mandating the use of masks when anyone is outside of their homes. We'll see if it makes a difference. I hope so. I wear a mask and gloves when I go out, even just going to a DQ drive through.
My sister called and said her husband (79 Years Old) fell again within two weeks and this time fractured his hip. Surgery is scheduled for this afternoon.
Wear your masks and be safe out there.
Finally...
ReplyDeleteA puzzle that was within my Wheelhouse...
ReplyDeleteA nice Thursday grid by PC.
No write-overs today.
Hey, Mr. Big Easy, I live on the coast, didn’t care for your “pseudo-intellectual snobs on the coasts” comment at all. Maybe you could keep your hate to yourself? I‘m wondering what the reaction would be if I said something as distasteful....because there’s just not enough of your type of talk going on right now. And let me guess, it’s on me because I’m too sensitive.
And on to Friday. Stay safe.
Fairly easy puzzle - especially for a Thursday and from Paul coulter!
ReplyDeleteHad to change hook to HOSE (I know, pretty lame) and tub to TUN, which I’ve never heard of. Expanding my vocabulary yet again.
EPSTEIN was a slam dunk (wrong sport) since we are HUGE Cubs fans.
Thanks for the tour, Steve.
Yes, the aversion to masks is mystifying. Result is Dana Point and other So. Cal. lovely beaches will be closed for the holiday weekend. Get a clue!
Joe, Merriam-Webster lists both pronunciations: ˈlä-mə is first, ˈyä-mə second. But there's only one pronunciation for San Jacinto: san-jə-ˈsin-tō. That's why the locals refer to the college as San-Jack. Ain't no H anywhere to be found. Sorry, Lucina.
ReplyDeleteThe commentary for 5 Across is incorrect. The newton is not a unit of pressure, it is a unit of force. Newtons per square meter is a unit of pressure. Otherwise, and excellent puzzle and commentary.
ReplyDeleteGood Afternoon, All. Back from trying to encourage a few tasty friends into the boat on the Gulf. Sometimes they won't accept a dinner invitation. Red snapper has an extended season this year. Thanks Paul for the fun xword and the visit and thanks Steve for 'splainin'. I, too, had sometime in Shreveport and drove to Ohio on leave through Little Rock as that was the only interstate back when. The obscure destinations give some of us of lesser solving skill a chance to reason out directional clue. Compass point would just be a whole in the puzzle until the perps filled in...just saying. FIR today with a few write-overs. C at Kola and couldn't remember if LR was NNE or ENE. Duh. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteMisty ~ Glad you got your paper--even though late.
ReplyDeleteYou and I have been through this several times with the L.A. Times. The company seems to be having a rough time maintaining its gig delivery service.
I was lucky today, but I expect the problem isn't going to go away soon.
Ta ~DA!
Today's pzl struck a nice balance between chewiness and do-ability. Nice to hear from Mr. Coulter, but too bad he left no room for diagonals.
My favorite clue was for 36D. I fell for it at first, wondering whether it referred to a particular sort of wine glass or champagne flute for "à votre santé."
~ OMK
Llama is one of those loan words that has been changed by its adoption into a new language. The Spanish say yama, the English and Americans say lama. Many words change their pronunciation, meaning, nuance, or spelling when they are adopted.
ReplyDeleteSteve M, a unit of force is what I learned about Newton, but I love fig newtons. LOL. Yummy. However, the product was named after the city of Newton, Massachusetts, and contrary to popular belief, has nothing to do with Sir Isaac Newton.
I bemoan the lack of a civic sense of all of us in this country weathering a crisis together as during Pearl Harbor, WW II, 9-11. Most of us seem to live in their own self centered bubble. "This is my right, the heck with you." What civic responsibility are we teaching our young and practicing among ourselves? If we don't hang together at this time we shall all hang (suffer, perish) separately. There are many examples of kindness and courage now, but the self centered attitude is amazing.
Yellowrocks ~ I bemoan along with you. When we feel an urge to confront, we would do better to turn to a nice chewy Xwd challenge. Better to hone some of that mental sharpness on a cruciverbal page rather than against fellow citizens.
ReplyDeleteI have a hunch we brandish our rights--too often at the expense of others--because we have relatively few of them. Other first world countries have constitutional rights we lack, such as a right to a free college education, right to lifelong health care, etc. We don't have these.
Ah, but we do have the right to bear arms.
~ OMK
OMK, almost all of my shirts are short-sleeved. I'm definitely a bare-arms kind of guy.
ReplyDeleteTTP, thanks for the link to the photos of your motorcycle. Your friend's failure to get his endorsement reminds me a a small problem our ex-governor, Arnold, had here in California. It seems that Mr. Schwarzenegger was on his motorcycle and was pulled over on Mandeville Canyon Road for some reason or another. It turned out that he had not bothered to get an M endorsement (written and skills tests required at the DMV) on his driver's license either.
ReplyDeletePuzzle-wise, FIR. I agree with comments above that it was relatively quick going for a Thursday puzzle. EPSTEIN could have been clues in an alternative fashion given current events.
Not easy to get that motorcycle endorsement, M.M..
ReplyDeleteIt took me three DMV visits & tries to pass it.
I didn't know that Arnold story. You caused me to look it up. Turns out the ex-Governator got off on a loophole in the law. He was driving his HD-Hog with his son in a sidecar.
Apparently, that made his bike into a three-wheel vehicle--and so exempt from the 2-wheel motorcycle law.
We should all have that man's legal staff.
~ OMK
Ol'Man Keith, my favorite clue in today's puzzle was 29 D "Baja Bread." I had only a half second of wondering what sort of baked goods they have in Baja before I yelled PESO, of course!
ReplyDeleteI got my motorcycle license on Guam in '68. The worst part of the driving test was the slow test. There were two parallel lines on the pavement 10 feet apart. To pass the exam you had to cross both lines...in 10 seconds or longer. The cop conducting the exam graciously offered his Harley Hog to anyone who wanted to try the slow test on it. I passed...both his offer and the exam.
ReplyDeleteA happy 4th of July eve eve, everybody.
ReplyDeletePLEASE take care this weekend--and do not congregate w/o masks. We all should have learned our lesson, now that we're dealing with these awful Memorial Day surges.
If you are among the few who insist on defying the communal rules, please practice your independence at home, and don't insist on doing it in your neighbors' faces.
We thank you in advance.
~ OMK
desper-o ~ Yes! The slow test is always the hardest.
ReplyDeleteI finally passed at the 19th Ave DMV in Costa Mesa.
We had to navigate slowly around the tightest circle I ever imagined. It is tough enough maintaining a tight curve, but a circle is truly endless.
In real life, in a dozen years of biking after that test, I never encountered so tough a problem.
Arnold said he was determined to be a good boy and get his proper endorsement.
I wonder if he passed--yet.
~ OMK
desper-o:
ReplyDeleteLloyds of London is English and would not follow the Spanish alphabet! Ll is actually a character in said alphabet. So, no, it would not be pronounced "yoyds".
Well, Workday Thursday, so I’m late to the party again; however, since we’d had no visitors earlier today, I was able to work on the puzzle. Then BAM! Got busy, so a few hours later, here I am.
ReplyDeleteAt first glance, I shuddered, but I was actually able to work my way through this one pretty quickly. In fact, I was really proud of myself, until I came here and gave myself a FIW, due to three little ticky-tack errors. On all three of them, I actually talked myself out of the correct fills. Hrumph! For a Thursday, though. it was a real success for me!
Later....
Ol' Man Keith, when I took the Motorcycle Foundation Safety Course in 1999 I was the only student in the class who did not already own a bike and ride regularly. It turns out that if you pass the MSF course then the California DMV gives you a free pass on the skills test portion licensing requirements. I took the class to learn a few things but most of the other, experienced, riders in the class were there just to get that waiver. I passed the written part on the first try (with a few good guesses on the exam), was not required to take the skills test at the DMV and am please to have carried an M endorsement for twenty years during which time I have only been "separated" from the bike once and that was fifteen miles south of Deadhorse, Alaska in six inches of fresh gravel on a 600-plus pound sports touring bike. But, that is a story for another day.
ReplyDeleteYR @ 2:16.
ReplyDeleteI’m so sorry you’ve had that experience of selfishness during the quarantine. My experience has been just the opposite. I find everyone is being extremely careful to make other people safe. Almost everyone I see has some kind of mask and keeps a good distance apart.
I realize I don’t go everywhere...no rock concerts , protests, bars... But ordinary people I see are taking care of each other. Maybe it’s Southern hospitality but I hope it’s more universal than that. We were late in opening up and have partially closed again since the virus cases have increased. Masks are now mandatory. But it’s the caring I
I’m so sorry you’ve had that experience during the quarantine. My experience has been just the opposite. I find everyone is being extremely careful to make other people safe. Almost everyone I see has some kind of mask and keeps a good distance apart.
I realize I don’t go everywhere...no rock concerts , protests, bars... But ordinary people I see are taking care of each other. Maybe it’s Southern hospitality but I hope it’s more universal than that. We were late in opening up and have partially closed since the virus cases have increased. Asks are now mandatory. Buts it’s the caring I see.
I was at the hospital this week for lab work. There is an unwritten rule that no more than one person can be in an elevator. When the big service elevator come to my floor there was a man already in it. I of course stepped back and said I’ll wait.
He said, oh, it’s a big elevator. If I hug this corner and you hug that corner, we should be okay. We both laughed. It’s just one more example of people trying to keep other people safe.
I’m sorry your experience has been different.
Sent from my iPad
TTP- my WIFE calls me a Yankee because I'm from North Louisiana. She's lived in NOLA all her life.
ReplyDeleteAnonPVX- I'm not spewing hate at anybody but many people who live in the NE or the West coast look down at the people in the rest of the country. I didn't make up the term 'flyover country'. They feel superior only because they live in big cities and look down on people who don't - hicks, rubes, yahoos, rednecks- I didn't make up those terms either. But we are not thin-skinned and it doesn't bother us.
Whoa,
ReplyDeletefor a non-political Blog,
this went South fast...
(no pun intended...)
I agree, that Big Easy can say some (unusual?) things
at times. But, we are here to mix the pot so to say...
Besides, you do not know a man until you walk a mile in his shoes...
Now, you should never say anything mean about a person
unless you have walked a mile in his shoes.
After that,
you can say what you want,
because you are a mile away,
& you have his shoes...
No, you do not have the "right" to not wear a mask. You do not have a right to behave in a manner that could make others sick. As some famous person once said, "Your rights end at my nose."
ReplyDeleteI had a cousin named Lloyd.
I'm a west-coaster and former east-coaster, and I am neither a snob, an intellectual snob, nor a pseudo-intellectual snob. I have dug ditches and rooted sewers, picked beans, ridden bucking broncos, and cleaned horseshit from stables. I am also fortunate to have gotten educations at Yale, Villanova, and Stanford, as well as Sturgis South Dakota (population then about 7000) grade school and Tomah Wisconsin (another very small town) high school. I feel as at ease among CEOs as I do among bean pickers, carpenters, sheet rockers, painters, and plumbers.
I also immensely enjoyed Mr. Coulter's puzzle today and his visit to this Corner. Agree with Steve about SHRUG. Loved the clue for HOSE; "wind up" indeed :)
TTP, I really like that Yamaha motorcycle. I would love to have had one. But, no regrets, I was very happy with my 1957 Zundapp Super Sabre, which I had to give up when I got married.
Good wishes to you all.
CED, I think I’m in love!
ReplyDeleteBIG E may have been referring to MidAtlantic state experts in Native American bread making
ReplyDeleteEast coast Sioux dough Intellectuals
Big Easy, I was born, raised and educated in California in an era when all we "knew" about the Southeast was what we saw on the TV newscasts (marches, dogs, fire hoses, etc.). It was not a particularly thorough portrait. When I got out of grad school I went to work for a company that was doing business throughout the Southeast. I did a lot of traveling in Alabama, Louisiana, and Georgia, and met a lot of people. Many of them talked "funny" but I quickly noticed that, hanging on the wall behind their desks, was, often as not, a diploma from Harvard Law School. Okay, I quickly realized, the stereotypes were just that, once again.
ReplyDeleteI believe Kipling had a few thoughts on this topic:
ReplyDeleteIf you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!
Oh my! So much to reply to. M.M. I think your experience with the South East was typical. So many misconceptions. We still live with them.
ReplyDeleteAve Joe. I have thought of Kipling all day through these posts! Good for you!
Well, it’s been an interesting day.
WC, my maladroit post several back was a function of preview. I hit preview to delete something . The preview was perfect.
ReplyDeleteThen I hit publish and it was a mess. I thought about trying to undo the mess, but thought it might make the whole mess worse. Sigh....
Lucina ~
ReplyDelete"Lloyds" is actually a Welsh name, not an English one.
Bowing to the convenience of the majority, the double consonant is usually pronounced in Britain as a single English "L." But in Wales, and of course when speaking Welsh, it is an entirely different sound.
In Welsh, it is a voiceless consonant, formed by allowing air to escape around the sides of the tongue. Some refer to this as a "lateral lisp," rendered in cartoons by Daffy Duck.
Sorry, I don't mean to sound pedantic. I write on behalf of my Welsh grandmother.
~ OMK
Eleanor Roosevelt - No one can make you feel inferior without your consent
ReplyDeleteGood evening, folks. Thank you, Paul Coulter, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.
ReplyDeletePuzzle was a good one. Theme appeared. Good one.
Got a card from Agnes, today. Thank you!
Now I am heading for bed (the floor). See you tomorrow.
Abejp
( )
Kipling's "If"
ReplyDeleteIn sixth grade I memorized it for a talent show since I have no other discernible talents. Some of my classmates presented songs, dancing, piano playing, etc. My teacher suggested the poem to me and I've been a fan of Kipling since then.
O.M.Keith:
Thank you for that information. I didn't know Lloyd is Welsh.
Re. "If you can make one heap of all your winnings
ReplyDeleteAnd risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;"
Did I ever mention that I had Oakland in the Miraculous Reception" game in 1972?
The worst case scenario was Pittsburgh kicks a field goal, wins the game and Raiders best the spread. I had a bad weekend: lost Friday in a safety, Sat c above, and Sunday a 13 point lead with under two minutes.
I never forget those things , Rudy.
WC
Preview is working again 😀
Delete