Saturday, August 29, 2020, Gail Grabowski
Today's constructor is our former MS English teacher Gail Grabowski. Her puzzle is another pinwheel style like Joe Deeney's from last Saturday and has only 27 blocks
Once I got a toehold in the NE, I was sailing along and then some major speed bumps in the SE had me struggling to finish. Gail's cluing was just abstract enough to keep me searching for fill but that is what makes Saturdays so challenging.
Let's see what Gail has for us today:
Across:
1. Followed: ADHERED TO
10. Charlie Parker genre: BEBOP - My grandson is named Parker in Charlie's honor
15. Carpenter's accessory: NAIL APRON - Also used for holding cash for garage sales and admission money
17. "Perhaps": I'M NOT SURE - My thoughts as I use this new blogger site
18. Convene again: RESIT.
19. Wild: MAD - I'm just WILD/MAD about golf
20. More than a little: SOME.
21. Language class subject: TENSES - I blog this puzzle, I blogged this puzzle, I will have blogged this puzzle. Very appropriate for our English teacher
22. Changed by time: AGED - Coopers making barrels to produce AGED whiskey
24. Took in slowly: NURSED - Many whiskey drinks need to be NURSED if you are going to be able to drive home safely and legally
26. Volatile letters: TNT.
27. Sports artist Neiman: LEROY - Husker coach Bob Devaney in LEROY's distinctive style
29. Comics socks: POWS - This took me a while
30. Start to fill?: AUTO.
31. Green: NEW
33. Diner's grazing spot: SALAD BAR - These may never come back
35. Checked out: SCANNED.
39. Bass product: PALE ALE - Shoes? No. Fish? No. Music? No. Oh, it's ALE
42. It sells in advertising: SEX.
43. 11-time Gold Glove-winning shortstop Vizquel: OMAR - Making plays like this
44. Bring (out): TROT.
46. Instrument with an end pin: CELLO - Now it makes sense
50. Noir sleuth: TEC - Private eye, P.I., sleuth, deTECtive, etc.
51. Frequent fliers: JET SET.
53. Be overly sweet: CLOY - I'm more used to hearing it as a participle as in, "The cloying movie made it hard for me to stay to the end."
54. Did some course work: COOKED - Somebody COOKED that soup. Fun clue, Gail.
56. Release: EMIT.
58. Shuttle __: BUS - Here comes a Disney Shuttle BUS to pick us up at All Star Sport Resort
59. Douze mois: ANNEE - French - Douze (twelve) mois (months) is a ANNEE (year) The double EE made me uneasy for a while
60. Now: AT PRESENT.
62. What a hitchhiker aspires to be: RIDER.
63. Enclosure for dangerous underwater cinematography: STEEL CAGE - That's all that protects this diver from an 18' Great White
64. Clothes closers: SNAPS.
65. One who won't give: HARDLINER.
Down:
1. __ shelter: ANIMAL.
2. Crash or crush: DAMAGE.
3. Get in the way of: HINDER.
4. "Don't Bring Me Down" gp.: ELO - The 3-letter house band for crossword puzzles
5. "Aw, nuts!": RATS.
6. Japanese electronics giant: EPSON.
7. Devise: DRUM UP - We've all seen this way to DRUM UP a Mouse Trap
8. Capa wavers: TOREROS - Three TORREROS with the Matador
9. Gender-neutral pronoun: ONE.
10. Revealed: BARED.
11. Bremner of "Black Hawk Down": EWEN.
12. Low-pitched wind: BASS TUBA.
13. Avenue after Reading Railroad: ORIENTAL - Even on this earliest known version if you look carefully
14. Seller of Lab supplies: PET STORE - Not for my science lab but for a Lab dog
21. Model 3 autos: TESLAS.
23. "Conspiracy Theory" director Richard: DONNER.
25. Trade: SWAP.
28. Aches: YENS.
30. Commercial bigwig: AD EXEC - Do you know the unusual wife of this TV AD EXEC? (*answer below the write-up)
32. Soaked: WETTED.
34. Co-star of Meryl in "It's Complicated": ALEC - Meryl did star with ALEC Baldwin in that movie but this is a picture of our cousin, and my former student ALEC Bohm, whose first MLB homer was a 443' shot for the Phillies last week.
35. Toys that run on tracks: SLOT CARS - The SLOT CARS here are being propelled by bikers!
36. "Door's open": COME ON IN.
37. Amazon predator: ANACONDA.
38. Projectile with a flight: DART - It always seemed funny to me that the bullseye is not highest possible score on a throw
45. State of mind: TEMPER - Effective teachers have a more easy-going TEMPER
47. New England retailer since 1912: LL BEAN - The flagship store in Freeport, Maine
48. Room for leisure activity: LOUNGE.
49. Bed occupant: OYSTER.
51. Shows disapproval, in a way: JEERS.
52. Ready to pack it in: TIRED.
55. Stay fresh: KEEP.
57. Snitch: TELL - Should I snitch on that guy who snitched a candy bar?
60. Shade of gray: ASH.
61. It may be natural: Abbr.: SCI.
* AD EXEC Darren Stevens was married to Samantha Stevens who was Bewitched
Comment below:
Would an ANACONDA eat an OYSTER?
ReplyDeleteNot while ensconced in its calcium cloister!
But squeezing tight
With his might,
He might break in to something moister!
A craftsman wears the APRON of his trade
It marks the proficiency that he's made.
It KEEPS things neat
If he should meet
And join a festive craft parade!
{A, A.}
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteCouldn't get anything in the great white northwest. Found a toehold in the northeast and worked my way back around. I felt really sure about PETSMART and SHARK TANK. Wite-Out, please. I've heard of a TOOL BELT, but never a NAIL APRON, especially since nails are usually shot from a gun these days. ANIMAL and HINDER finally broke things open in the NW, and suddenly it was finished. Better time than yesterday. Thanx, Gail and Husker.
I do these earlier in the week because I can and because I don't want the pressure. This was a typical Saturday for me with a lot of white and difficulty finding solids.
ReplyDeleteI had the sharkCAGE and loser/LINER. CLOY was the fill that finished off SE.
Of course I knew Vizquel but my recall is terrible but strangely I must have heard of DONNER.
One bad box all week (CBS/PBS)
FIR in Saturday finishes off the week in style.
WC
FIR, no write-overs. Some years ago, my brother decided to marry on New Year’s Day in Freeport, Maine. After a previous Thanksgiving in Maine when it was 10 below, I had sworn never to venture up there during the winter. Of course I had to renege and attend. I gave myself two quests: a day in which I ate lobster at all three meals and celebrating the new year in LLBEAN, famously open 24 hours a day. I found a restaurant that served lobster crepe for breakfast, then lobster roll for lunch, then lazy lobster for dinner and the first quest was completed. After the rehearsal dinner and after party, I made my way to LL Bean at about 1am on New Year’s Day. I expected the store to be filled with outdoor nerds throwing confetti and blowing horns. Instead, I faced a skeleton crew of bored cashiers in an otherwise empty store. I bought a duck call, went outside a blew it a few times before heading back to the hotel. I still return to Acadia, in the summer, as often as I can.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGot most of it but just couldn't pierce the 9 letter stack in the NW in a reasonable time. I never heard of a NAIL APRON either, so hard to guess the unknowns. Had Nikon vs. EPSON, for example.
Had 'shark' before STEEL CAGE. Note that Gail bookended the NW and NE outside downs with ANIMAL and PET STORE, resp.
TESLA Model 3 - Had a ride in my son's new one 3 weeks ago.
Low pitched wind - - This guys voice goes dow to B flat 1, about 58Hz. Legend of the Twelve Robbers - Alexey Gribanov. (The lowest note comes at the end.)
13 minutes 17 seconds, which is fast for me for a Saturday. Oddly, didn't "feel" fast.
ReplyDeleteOmar Visquel is the best shortstop since Ozzie (maybe even better than Ozzie, but I know that is blasphemous to many).
I had shark cage before steel cage, and had a hard time letting go of that, especially once I had the "s" confirmed by "ash." Cloy, Ewen, annee, and Mr. Donner were new and unknown to me.
Acadia NP is beautiful, but haven't been there in the winter.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteGail never disappoints, themeless, daily themed, or Sunday themed, she always delivers a fun, sometimes very challenging solve. I had lots of delays with this offering because of several unknowns: Nail Apron, Omar, ELO, Epson, Ewen, and Donner. I know Epson by name but was unaware it was Japanese. The clue for ELO had me thinking of an organization of some sort. (I’ve often mentioned my total ignorance of pop music.) The NW corner was the last to fall, but fall it did, finally. I liked seeing the two musical instruments, Cello and Base Tuba, but I didn’t, and still don’t, like Wetted. It may be acceptable but it sounds clunky to my ear. Hand up for Shark before Steel.
Thanks, Gail, for another enjoyable solve and thanks, HG, for an outstanding summary and eye-popping visuals and links. I especially enjoyed the picture of the gigantic tuba and, also, the never-seen-before round Monopoly board. Several of the visuals are blank, which happens to me frequently, but if I go back later, they’ll appear in normal fashion. Does anyone know why this occurs?
Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteIt was nice that we got Gail all by herself today. It was a puzzle that really challenged me. Officially a DNF because after I had only half of the puzzle filled in, I had to turn on Red Letters.
Gary provided the background for the unknowns that stumped me today. Good Job.
The NW and SE were the last to fall today. ADHERED TO was one of the last that filled in.
I had ENO before ELO and SHARK CAGE before STEEL CAGE among other errors that were filled in by perps.
I think Gary is right that we may not see SALAD BARs again. However, I'm hopeful that sometime after there are vaccines that will end this madness, that buffets and salad bars will return along with the restaurants that are not surviving at the moment.
I wanted WE'LL SEE before I'M NOT SURE, but it was too short and obviously wrong. My kids and my secretary knew that when I said WE'LL SEE, it meant NO!
I liked that Gary's picture for AGED was of a barrel cooperage. My cousin with the same name as mine owns and operates the Adirondack Barrel Cooperage in upstate New York. He makes great barrels. (I think I have mentioned and linked this before.)
We are getting the remnants of Laura today with some much needed rain.
I hope all are doing well and please wear your masks.
Definitely felt stretched by this puzzle especially in the NW, but other than that area slow and steady won the race!
ReplyDeleteJzB would know more, but I thought that BRASS TUBA was a brass family instrument rather than the wind family....is the brass family a subset of the wind family?
Thanks HG and Gail for a fun morning!
Funny I was reading OCDs comment about getting remnants of Laura - when I had a big crack of thunder and the rain started here!
Good morning Gary & all. I worked this puzzle at 12:30 this morning and got stumped in the SW due to sloppy penmanship. Maybe it could have been due to the muscle relaxer & pain-killers (that didn't kill any pain) I was taking for sciatica but my 'k' looked like a 'p' on COOKED and nothing looked correct for 55d. ANNEE & Douze mois were both unknown (je ne parle francais). KEEP was never in the picture and PEEP for 'stay fresh' couldn't have been right. Left the square blank. UNCLE.
ReplyDeleteThe rest was filled rapidly for a Sat. and I'M NOT SURE why I left COOPED instead of COOKED. EWEN Bremner, OMAR Visquel & Richard DONNER were all filled by perps. Only writeover was changing DARN to RATS for 5D.
Hungry M., ACADIA Louisiana is pretty torn up right now but those Cajuns in SW LA will come through okay. They survived being thrown out of Canada years ago.
Gary- your cousin's round-tripper was great. I would hate to do his income tax return. A CPA friend's nephew was a pitcher for Cleveland and he had to file tax returns for each state the team played in and even for some cities. But the starting salaries back then were almost $500,000 so he could afford it. And that human powered SLOT CAR track looks like a great exercise program.
WSJ says today, Aug. 29, is Charlie Parker's 100th birthday. Probably why Gail and Rich ran this puzzle today.
ReplyDeleteAfter a fairly easy Friday this was an usually easy Saturday. If I finish at all it's after a couple hours of frustration, but today well under an hour with some brief breaks. Some lucky WAGs helped like crossing 2 unknowns DONNER (a reindeer?) with OMAR et alia (alii)
ReplyDelete"Capa waver" was one of the last to go..perpwalked..a clumsy clue IMO mixing Spanish and English.. SWAP crossed POWS (swop backwards). Made sure I spelled it EPSON not "EPSOm" although I was mind searching a more Asian sounding name for a bit. Shark changed to STEELCAGE. SALADBAR: A COVID victim
Erroneously think of SW as Arizona and New Mexico. NM has a stylized sun on its flag so was looking for a word with sun in it for a while. Model 3 autos are not the antiques I was considering perpwalked uber modern TESLAS. Have heard the term cloying so I guess CLOY must be a word. I was thinking brass not woodwind:"reeded" like our CW OBOE friend as queried by Inanehiker for that unreal gigantic tuba
An is French for douze mois (12 months) referring to a unit of time. ANNÉE is not a measure of time but refers to the events, happenings or the quality of a year. Same with day: jour, journée...morning: matin, matinée...evening: soir, soirée (same in Italian: matino/matinata...giorno/giornata....sera/serata). 5 credits toward your CW foreign language requirements
No nonsense on Sunday so have to make up for it....
Simon's pieman unit offering.......AWARE.
Gave birth to a furry cub......BARED.
Knighthood for a lady....DAMAGE.
A blow to hearthrob Justin's head....BEBOP.
Seasonal employee.....TEMPER.
A sweater made from burlap....COURSE WORK.
"How many little Indians?" "______ " the chief...TENSES.
Oc4beach. Embarassed to say was unaware of the cooperage only a few miles north in Remsen NY. Plus workers and some.of your family are neighbors in Utica, Whitesboro (my home) and Rome NY.
Rainy coldish weekend. So inside, camp fireplace going. Finish "Mobituaries" a colorful fun read I recommend.
Persistence. What a great test today. First to fill was the NE, then the SW came into focus leaving lots of white in the NE and SE. I had raw before new for the green clue, Petsmart before petstore, ravage before damage at 2D, shark before steel. Got annee with perps. Didn't think of the number one as a pronoun. Thought tuba was a brass instrument, not a wind. Favorite answer was oyster for bed occupant. Anon @ 8:56--great time for this monster. I just might frame this one to prove to my kids and grandkids that gramps still has his faculties. Phoenix smashed the old record of most days of 110°+ which was 33. We are so proud of our new benchmark of 50!! After all, aren't records made to be broken?
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Remsen, some of my paternal-side relatives left Remsen back in the 1850s and moved to Wisconsin. I've never been able to figure out how they got to NY in the first place. They don't show up on any ship passenger lists, but they were already in the Mohawk Valley by the 1780s. Maybe they sneaked in from Canada. I'll probably never know.
ReplyDeleteWow...so long winded...sorry...
ReplyDeleteSpitz..interesting..when trying to decide whether Santa's reindeer's 🦌 name was DONNER or DONDER The source said originally DONDER (German: thunder) but then it was changed to Donner when the language changed the word from donder to donner
DO..Any New England roots? many early 18th cent.New Englanders looking for land in Ohio could not cross the wide Hudson so they travelled along the north shore of the Mohawk river which is too wide as well where it dumps into the Hudson but narrows toward its western source. When they reached Old Fort Schuyler the river was narrow enough to ford. Some settlers stayed. Utica built up as well a surrounding towns.
ReplyDeleteAs usual sport names leave me in the outfield. Was positive it was shark cage.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ray-O-Sunshine capa was awkward clueing
Wilbur at 7:29 how do you get early access to these puzzles?
AZ getting a surge of moisture from Baja that will hopefully bring much needed rain. Just to make sure I had my car washed this morning!
Finished in fast time for Saturday.
ReplyDeleteStill have (and use) my 50 year old leather NAIL APRON from my former house building days.
Wanted sax instead of TUBA. Was this clue a no brainier for JzB?
LEROY Neiman should be easy for any sports fan.
Had to change drat to RATS, oWEN to EWEN.
Weejuns could have fit for Bass product.
SLOT CARS & ANACONDA Anchored the SW.
Struggled a bit in the SE.
Shark became STEEL. I had already filled CAGE. TaLk changed to TELL.
Thanks G.G. and H.G.
MO
Ray-O, could be, but don't think so. The oldest record I've located shows that 4th Great Grandfather was a member of Clyde's New York Regiment during the Revolutionary War. 3rd Great Grandfather lived near Canajoharie, and 2nd Great Grandfather was born there in 1799. Great Grandfather was born nearby in 1820. I suspect he was adopted by a Remsen family, and married one of their daughters. The had two sons before the family relocated to Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteBigE, I scribble too and have suffered for it. I'm in downtown Ocala where the sign said DINER and my car turned in. So, anybody heard from Jinx?
ReplyDeleteAnd it has the obligatory blackboard with a ' fish and grits' special. Home fries are perfect and (made from scratch) biscuit properly burned*
And the very next word I read is "Hungry"(M). You read my mind.
Boy would I have loved to have that CPA issue. When I was nearing 40 and the Redsox needed a Lefty in the bullpen I had a thought "Gee if I got in shape …'
Combine de mois par annee= How many months in a year? Per linguee.com
And at the risk of being overlong here is "Acadie"→ Louisiana per HWL
This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids of eld, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.
Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean
Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest
*Okay, crusty. Much like clams with bellies fried in Boston where thyScots would say "If there's NAE grit, there's nae clam!"
WC
Yuman, the Sunday TB-Times has an insert of the week's puzzles. "A gift and a curse"* as I forget what I did Tues- Wed
ReplyDeleteWC
Name the speaker? Hint we had COWL awhile back
I've solved the week by Wednesday but I save Saturday for Thursday.
Ray - O - - Donner is German; donder is Dutch. Thursday is Donnerstag and Donderdag, respectively.
ReplyDeleteI assume the spelling got muddled around until it was standardized.
Well, Saturdays are always toughies for me, but I got a great start on this in the Northwest, of all places. Got ANIMAL instantly (couldn't think of any other kind of shelter), then Wild had to be MAD and 'Changed by time' had to be AGED, so by then DAMAGE and HINDER filled in and that took care of the rest. I loved having ANIMAL on one side of the north, and PET STORE on the other. A fun start, many thanks, Gail!
ReplyDeleteBut the south was quite a bit tougher for me, and I only got a bit here and there. Still, loved getting CELLO which gave me OYSTER, but only after I also got CLOY and BUS. Didn't we just have ROSETTA or ROSETTE in a puzzle recently. The things one learns here--lots of fun.
Husker Gary, your pictures were amazing! I've never heard of SLOT CARS and just couldn't believe the picture.
Fun poems, Owen, many thanks.
Have a great weekend, everybody.
Another hand up for Shark CAGE before STEEL Cage. Another thumbs down for CAPA (but we've all seen worse). As with others here the NW was the final quadrant to fall. Probably because I kept thinking of "Followed" as a time-related clue and not a behavioral clue.
ReplyDeleteLONESTAR could have been the answer to a "Spaceballs" -related clue. But that's just my particular/peculiar perspective.
I am still unsure of what a pinwheel construction is but that was (coincidentally?) how this one was solved. Initial toeholds in the NE and then working clockwise with the entire right side of the CW solved, then across the bottom and then up the left side to the NW.
I progressed steadily without too much trouble until I reached the Great Lakes which I saved until last. Fooled by CAPA wavers. Didn't like the mix of English and Spanish. Didn't know EPSON was Japanese. Two red letters. Nevertheless I enjoyed today's puzzle and Gary's blog.
ReplyDeleteOKL,I liked your poems.
FLN, Moe fine haiku. Keep 'em coming. The more the merrier.
ReplyDeleteRay-O: I definitely have relatives in the Utica area. I don't know if you've heard of her, but a cousin of a cousin is a popular musician in Western NY. If you get a chance, check out Maria Aurigema. She plays in a lot of venues in NY and Canada.
Ouch! Gail really clobbered me today. Don’t know why, but I just could not get going. Finally finished but it took red letters and Mr Google to do it. Felt like a newbie at this, I did.
ReplyDeleteIM, you can attribute your problems with disappearing pictures to the innate animosity of inanimate objects.
That’s it. I’m going back into my cave to lick my wounds. Maybe tomorrow...
Stay well.
Oc4: Checked Maria out. Unfortunatley unknown to me. Actually "Western" NYS is usually West of Rochester on to Buffalo. Went to an outdoor HS graduation party in Remsen 2 weeks ago with precautions. On a beautiful farm with breathtaking country side and rolling corn planted hills. But the surrounding farms had spread manure/fertilizer the day before. That was definitely breath-taking!!. 🤢
ReplyDeleteDO: Canajoharie on the southern bank of the Mohawk. Home to the now closed/crumbling Beechnut Baby Food and Bubble Gum factory. As teens we used to fish in a spot along the shore where a pipe would dump waste from the factory reeking of peppermint that would attract fish for miles.🎣
Meant Gum not Bubble Gum
ReplyDeleteTough but fair today.
ReplyDeleteGood work, Gail Grabowski!
I enjoyed the 75% I got.
That's when I decided to cheat. But just once y'know?
Ah, the pitfalls of temptation. It is hard to look at one answer when all the others are adjacent.
But in the end I managed to save a few last blanks for me to finish* on my own.
~ OMK
___________
* PS. I think it's what the Tampa zoo keepers call "mental stimulation."
Like many of you, I had trouble with the NW , but unlike you, I finally gave up and read Husker Gary's expose'. ADHERED TO, NAIL APRON, I'M NOT SURE, and MAD just wouldn't come. A couple of scattered letters in that area were right but didn't help enough. I had sUsSED in place of NURSED, but the rest of my puzzle looked great, so I'M NOT MAD at Gail today. It was fine.
ReplyDeleteWe're getting some sun now, but temperatures are bearable. I like it better than daily rain like earlier. I wouldn't do well in Seattle!
Irish Miss, Re: Sporadic Links,
ReplyDeleteI have noticed this also, just the other day I was going to report
to Vidwan that his link came up 404, but when I went to check if 404 was the
right code, the link came right up no problem?!
I hope Anonymous-T can weigh in on this as it is a puzzle.
Here is just one link on the matter.
However, if you asked me, my (unscientific response?) would be
that I can never forget a Cloud Chamber in action that I once saw at the Liberty Science Center. It showed that multiple times per second we were being hit with
high energy invisible subatomic particles & cosmic rays.
Here is an example.
If you dig deeper,
Astronauts on the Moon reported seeing flashes of light
that happened to only one person at a time.
Scientists theorize that this was caused by these same sub atomic
particles passing thru the Astronauts brains.
Just imagine what would happen if one of these high energy particles
came crashing through your computer (or anywhere in the internet) just as
you requested a link?
So, if you asked me, I would say, "insufficient shielding."
(but then there are always those pesky, hard to stop neutrinos...)
I've seen that when loading a page with lotsa links, the browser may just give up trying to load them. This happens most often on a slow internet connection. Reloading the page will usually cause the missing links to pop up.
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteIt's that late already? Well, I did this puzzle in several time spans, doing some house cleaning in between. Thank you, Gail and Gary! Finished the SW first when COMEONIN and ANACONDA emerged followed by the rest of the strand. From there I moved upwards, got ADHERED TO and NAILAPRON which is new to me, too. I've heard of a tool APRON, though.
I like the word CLOY though not it's meaning and laughed when OYSTER bed appeared.
I'm very surprised to see TUBA as a wind instrument. It certainly seems like a brass one. Maybe Abejo can enlighten us.
DONNER was the last fill because I had RAW at NEW but then it didn't make sense.
Since ROSETTA was in place, STEELCAGE emerged nicely with HARDLINER next. The SE corner was already filled so the endings were there, too. I had a hard time with TROT/TEMPER because WETTED was unacceptable for a long time.
this was ultimately fun, so thank you again, Gail!
I hope you are all well and surviving whatever nature throws your way.
Ray O @ 1:16 ~ Before we met, my husband was in HR at that Beechnut plant in Canajoharie.
ReplyDeleteCED @ 1:41 ~ My problem is not what you’re describing, it’s what DO @ 1:58 is referring to. HG is to blame because of the scads of links and visuals! Only teasing, HG, I love seeing everything you add to the commentary!
Like most, I solved this clockwise from the NE, and had a lot of trouble on the way. Bebop was a good start. Pale ale was not a fooler. Sex was a pretty easy wag. Working around: Of course it had to be shark cage....but it wasn't. A lot of wags and erasures completed about 3/4 of it, then back to the NW which had the sole solid entry of ELO. It all worked out for a correct completion, but it tweren't easy and likely took over an hour . Thanks Gail, and thank you Gary.
ReplyDeleteThere does seem to be a lot of resistance to nail apron. I've owned two leather ones similar to the one pictured, and have also worn a lot of canvas lumber yard "freebies" in my younger years. Tool belt is a more common term for the leather version, but nail apron is/was a very common phrase, so there was no hesitation as the perps dictated that fill. But even that didn't come easy. Overall, tough, but fair, IMO.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Gail for the puzzle; it was a noodler. I never could crack the NW [before] even with random guesses [aftermath].
//yes, I had sussed for 'Took in slowly' 'cuz I'm not always quick on the uptake. :-)
(he says, NURSing an iPALE ALE).
Last thing, Gail. How'd you get away with Bass beer & BASS TUBA? {-T channels Steve}We should be told.
Thanks HG for stopping the (ink) bleeding (from my pen). I was near-sure TAY was 9d 'cuz I'm woke by half; ONE never occurred to me [I was thinking ADdeDonto @1a, the O in [after]. Fantastic expo; I know you spent serious time on it.
//I hope Alec got his HR ball!
WOs & ESPs - see puzzle-pics above.
Um, wait, that doesn't help with ESPs. ANNEE was certainly ONE. EWAN another.
Fav: LONE STAR. Not only a CSO to D-O, TXMs, LEOIII (and, once, TTP), it always elicits "Though it's a part of the LONE STAR State..." [China Grove - The Doobies].
Runner-up: Natural SCIence [RUSH: 8:04]
{A & A} //nice to see you!
Misty - after our Laura scare, all I could think of was STORM shelter.
//I kept looking for an __ in front of Shelter so I could ink Gimme. [Stones 6:48]
//Oh, and yes - Leopard Spot was rosette yesterday.
@8:56 - Ozzie was my hero. I played shortstop in little league and emulated his hard-nose play best I could. However, this was way above my 10yro ability. :-)
HungryMother - you have a warp'd sense of fun :-)
//I did Crab Cakes at every meal once when I was working in DC but hotel'd in MD.
Yuman - Tribune drops the week's puzzles to subscribing papers & people every Sunday. WC's paper (TampaBay Time, as WC said) publishes them all at once.
Ave Joe: I too have two (canvas) NAIL APRONs (that's what they're called?) around here somewhere. But, yeah D-O, it's the pneumatic-gun we (Youngest & I) use.
Oh, that reminds me. PK & Lucina - It's done! Youngest & I finished her laptop stand this morning.
CED - I got the 404 also. I will go back and check.
I've patented a device to the sub-atomic particles out of you and your cat's brain. (and KEEPs your cat from controlling you!)
Lawsuit pending :-)
Cheers, -T
I liked this puzzle. Hand up for SHARK CAGE before STEEL CAGE. The only shelter I could think of at first was HOMELESS shelter, but obviously that didn't fit. Only got ANIMAL after a few perps.
ReplyDeleteSpitzboov, how did you like the ride in your son's TESLA Model 3? What do you think of the car?
Man oh man, that is one bigassed tuba!
Irish Miss, it often happens to me that some visuals are blank at first and show up later, but in my case I can attribute it to having a slow internet connection so they take a long time to download. In your case, I don't know. Sorry.
Yuman, I hope you get that anticipated rain. The Phoenix area too.
Misty, from yesterday, I distinctly remember having read your posting. And yes, by golly, it sure did disappear later.
Gary, loved the SLOT CAR gif. And that gigantic tuba.
There was a movie called LONE STAR. I liked it a lot.
Ol'Man Keith, keep on resisting those temptations :)
Wikwak, I trust your wounds will heal from all that licking.
Good wishes to you all.
Well, today was a real adventure! I started the puzzle around 2AM (as soon as the local rag updated its website from yesterday), and I finished it around 4PM. Mind you, I didn’t work on it for all 14 hours. I did other things today and kept going back and plugging away at it, and poco a poco I not only finished it, but I FIR with absolutely no lookups. For me to be able to do that with a Saturday Gail Grabowski puzzle is a miracle! Used lots and lots of Wite-Out though.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gail and Gary!
First fill was OMAR. I’m with you Anonymous about the Ozzie/Omar debate. Gotta give a slight edge to the Wiz, though. I never saw Omar do a back flip on his way out to shortstop. Plus, he was my daughter’s favorite player. (YES, -T! THAT’S what I’m talking about! (Had the comment written way before I got down to your link. Usually, though, he did a clean backflip.)
At one point I settled on ROSETTA, but then it wasn’t working well in the neighborhood, but once I got everything else straightened out, it went right back. Southeast was the last part to fall. I have only been to New England (CT and MA) once in my life, and that was “a long, long time ago” (as Don McLean said). Didn’t even think of LLBEAN until I saw that it WAS the correct New England retailer. Anything less obvious would have sunk me. Of course, we see their TV ads ALL THE TIME down here in frigid southeast Texas!
Doing crossword puzzles TENSES me up, since I then have to come here and explain myself.
AGED --- Definitely!
Not only did I have SHARK before STEEL, I threw in DIVER between them. See why the SE was so much trouble!
Jayce @ 1721 - It rode nicely; what you'd expect in that price range. It's the quiet which is most noticeable. He loves it and that's all that matters to me. He had a 250 mile trip each way, and since there was no overnight involved he had to use a supercharge fill-up each way encumbering a 40 min stop in each direction. Very sophisticated computer handles all the nitty gritty.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Spitzboov.
ReplyDeleteJayce (17:21) - I’ll get over it. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI tried. Really, I did. I got maybe 10 answers, then lost patience and quit to read HG's excellent review. Thanks, Gail, for the challenge. I just wasn't up to it. Thanks, HG, for my Saturday education.
ReplyDeleteI did get ANIMAL Shelter, spent a couple hours there today and one of my favorites got adopted; PET STORE, been in one often. Fav:46a Instrument with an end pin/CELLO. Played one from Grade 4-12. Have no idea what to do with one anymore.
We were supposed to get remnants of Laura yesterday but she stayed to our south.
Have a nice evening and a great Sunday!
Re. "A blessing and a curse" vis a vis a COWL.
ReplyDeleteThat's Adrian Monk's trademark saying re. his gift of seeming clairvoyance about finding clues and deducing murderers
Thanks, Gail and HG. After seeing your pic of nail apron, it all makes sense - always see Home Depot/Lowe's clerks wearing them but never knew what they were called.
ReplyDeleteWEES, SHARK b4 STEEL, RAW b4 NEW. Never heard of Richard, the director or the movie, needed perps for several, but FIR in the end, and was glad it was not a speed-run.
-T, that's a pretty impressive laptap table you and Youngest built. How old is she? Power-washer and now furniture builder? Laughed at your CAT'S [brain] link, and howled reading the comments. Ozzie Smith, at age 40 doing back flips-wow.
I was on -T's wavelength re ____ SHELTER, and my NW was pretty much blank except for ELO, EPSON, TOREROS and ONE. I was thinking FOLLOWED along the lines of stalking for a long time and not obeying - duh.
Anon-T, Alec hit the ball into the pond beyond center field and the ground crew had to get fishing to retrieve it and return it to him. He's a great kid!
ReplyDeleteGood evening, folks. Thank you, Gail Grabowski, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.
ReplyDeleteWell, this is the first Saturday puzzle I have gotten through without help in a long time. Started difficult, but one word at a time. Once you get a foothold, the rest come easier.
Tuba question: Yes, a tuba is a brass instrument, but it takes wind to make a sound. So, it is a wind instrument as well. That tuba in the photo is the biggest one I have ever seen.
Owen KL: I caught your masonic reference in your poem. Very Good!
Misspelled ROSETTA stone on the first pass. That slowed me down. Once I fixed that I did better in the SE.
Liked OYSTER bed. Even though I do not like oysters.
Liked BASS TUBA at 12D.
Anyhow, I am going to run. See you tomorrow.
Abejo
( )
Another late visit to the Saturday party. Thanks for the fun, Gail and HuskerG.
ReplyDeleteThis was a workout for me with many inkblots and two Google searches.
Like others, the NW was the last to fill. I wanted Came after before ADHERED TO. I thought of many shelters - bomb, BUS (needed that for 58A “ shuttle”.
The bench will not be long enough for all of us who entered Shark CAGE! And definitely not room to social distance!
Hand up for Raw before NEW; then I wondered if 19A “wild” might be raw - ok MAD.
I smiled at AGED crossing DAMAGE. Favourite was the clue for OYSTER.
LEROY and DONNER were my Google searches.
My wind instrument was a Clarinet, but BASS TUBA was lower. I LIUed and apparently there are two categories of wind instruments - brass and woodwinds; clue was ok.
I wanted A lot or Lots for “more than a little”, but it was only SOME.
Wishing you all a good night. We were fortunate to only get a windy day today and a shower tonight after our weather warnings.
Anon-T:
ReplyDeleteI am so impressed!!!!!! That is a classy looking table.
Abejo:
Thank you for answering the question about the tuba. And I am surprised you can run. Good for you!
Jayce, many thanks for confirming that my posting the day before yesterday disappeared. Nice to know I didn't just imagine it.
ReplyDeleteTXMs - I was thinking along the lines of 'ensued' at 1a's Followed.
ReplyDeleteShe'll be 18 next week. Youngest want'd to learn so I showed her what little I know. The top is two 6" biscuit-joined boards. She cut the 45s, drilled most the holes, and screwed things up [wait, that sounds wrong :-)]. I showed her how to use a square and play with the NAIL gun (used to set the bottom frame b/f screws).
She did most the sanding & all the staining herself.
It didn't turn out too bad -- it's level!
Lucina - LOL @ Abejo joggin' :-)
//You're still getting our positive vibes Abejo!
HG - They went fishing; that's funny. I LIU, Alec has a respectable .257 in 35 at-bats. Sucks his rookie year is a Covid-shortened season.
I didn't fall into the Shark-trap 'cuz I already had TIRED [Blazing Saddles]
Lurk tomorrow.
Have a blesse'd night, -T
Oh, oh! I just got the meaning. I have to RUN. As in, it's time to go. What a jumble we make of our language.
ReplyDelete