Theme: THE BIGGEST WORD YOU EVER HEARD
1. See 62-Across: SUPER.
10. Colombian city: CALI.
18. Horrible: ATROCIOUS.
29. Like Ben Franklin's religious beliefs: DEISTIC.
42. Delicate: FRAGILE.
52. Atonement: EXPIATION.
60. Hats: LIDS.
62. After 1-Across, skilled childcare worker ... and a hint to putting
together this puzzle's circles: NANNY.
Move the circled sections around a bit, to get
SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS, from Mary Poppins.
Seeing 1A SUPER and 10A CALI made this jump out pretty quickly.
SUPER NANNY was a reality show that lasted five seasons from 2004
to 2011.
Melissa here. This appears to be Mr. Dalal's debut on the corner, ambitious
to get all those pieces in the grid. Mary Poppins was the only of
Walt Disney's films to receive a Best Picture nomination (in 1965). Julie
Andrews received an Oscar for Best Actress. The 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks was based on the production of Mary Poppins, the author of the
book, P.L. Travers, and her meetings with Walt Disney. Great production,
IMO.
Across:
6. Spanish for "tar": BREA.
14. "Pokémon: The Series" genre: ANIME. Not sure if those cards are
still popular. My kids dabbled a little in the mid-90's. My late FIL
always pronounced it "Pokey-MAN."
15. "The __ Not Taken": Frost: ROAD.
16. Household paint no longer contains it: LEAD.
17. Mani-pedi tools: FILES. Most of those mani-pedis are being done
at home now.
20. Hillary and Norgay's conquest: EVEREST. Sir Edmund Hillary and
Sherpa Tenzing Norway were the first (known) to reach the summit
on on May 29, 1953.
Did Hillary or Norway reach the top first?
22. Allow to use: LEND.
23. Word after sun or speed: DIAL.
24. Supplement: ADD ON.
27. To some extent: PARTLY.
32. Pseudonym: ALIAS.
33. Pequod sinker: WHALE. Pequod is a fictional 19th-century Nantucket whaling ship that appears
in the 1851 novel Moby-Dick by American author Herman
Melville.
34. Huge mythical bird: ROC.
36. Protected inlet: COVE.
37. Mollusk's home: SHELL.
38. Prefix for tone or chrome: MONO. Made me think of this tune ...
39. One of 20 digits: TOE.
40. Then, to Pierre: ALORS. used as English speakers might say “so,” or “well.”
41. "Hired" workers: HANDS.
44. Bit of wit: BON MOT. A witty remark.
45. Cast a ballot: VOTED.
46. Hipbones: ILIA.
47. "The road was a ribbon of moonlight over the purple __": Noyes:
MOOR. The third line from the narrative poem The Highwaymen by
Sir Alfred Noyes. The metaphor compares “the road” to a “ribbon of
moonlight” in an attempt to paint a mental image for the reader. An
exceptional rendition of the poem was recorded by folk singer Phil Ochs
on his 1965 album, I Ain't Marching Anymore.
56. Web surfing tool: MODEM.
57. Deleted, with "out": EXED.
58. Dunkable cookie: OREO.
59. Perpendicular to the keel: ABEAM.
61. Fork-tailed seabird: TERN.
Down:
1. Combination target: SAFE.
2. Degree offerer: Abbr.: UNIV. University.
3. Construction machine: PILE DRIVER. Used to drive piles into soil to provide foundation support for
buildings or other structures.
4. Retired female professors: EMERITAE.
5. Tightly closes again: RESEALS.
6. Cookout choice: BRAT.
7. Rubbish: ROT. Sounds so dignified.
8. Singer's asset: EAR.
9. Hubbub: ADO.
10. Customer: CLIENT.
11. Near-eternity: AEON. Also spelled eon.
Wikipedia.
12. Commend: LAUD.
13. Passports, e.g.: IDS.
19. Not quite worthy of a cigar?: CLOSE. "Close, but no cigar" is a
saying from the practice of giving cigars as prizes at carnivals in the US in
the 20th century; this phrase would be said to those who failed to win a
prize.
21. Like a fox: SLY.
24. Stuck (to): ADHERED.
25. Bargains: DEALS.
26. Herb used in potato salad: DILL. This is mashed potato
week for most of us in the U.S. It's the first thing my family agreed to
when picking a menu. Not just regular mashed potatoes,
thanksgiving mashed potatoes. A little potato to hold together the
butter, cream and four kinds of cheese.
27. Formal agreement: PACT.
28. Detached: ALOOF.
30. "Somewhere in Time" band: IRON MAIDEN.
31. Deeded apartment: CONDO.
33. Entire: WHOLE.
35. Amount paid: COST.
37. Narrow cut: SLIT.
38. One of Canada's Prairie Provinces: MANITOBA.
40. Athenian marketplace: AGORA.
41. Male ascetic: HOLY MAN.
43. Steers clear of: AVOIDS.
44. Recycling receptacle: BIN.
47. XLV years before the Battle of Hastings: MXXI. I always need
all perps for these - even if I did know what year the Battle of Hastings
was.
48. Columnist's page: OP-ED.
49. Archaic "soon": ANON.
50. Signify: MEAN.
51. Primetime award for which Betty White has received 21 nominations:
EMMY. What a treasure she is. Now and then.
52. Electric swimmer: EEL.
53. Tyke: TOT.
54. Guinness' land: Abbr.: IRE. Guinness beer.
55. Above, to a bard: OER.
Notes from C.C.:
Happy birthday to Picard! Glad you're still here.
 |
| Picard and Ed Asner |
Can someone explain the clue? I have no idea what the connection of the long word to super nanny is.
ReplyDeleteCompletely overlooked the theme. I thought the circles were jumbled words to be put together. In my haste I may not have even read the NANNY clue which would have tied it all together.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe I needed perps for ALORS. I have a friend who goes by (Mi)SHELL.
HBD to Picard who spotted the CH,CH on Sunday.
CSO to Misty at EMIRITAE.
WC
Anon@618. One of the songs from Mary Poppins" had the word "SUPER CALI FRAGIL ISTIC EXPIA LID OCIOUS in it.
And if course said Ms Poppins was a SUPER NANNY
DeleteConfidential to Irish Miss - Thank you for the card and have a very HAPPY Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteYes, the word was in the circles, but you had to jump around like a fart in a mitten to find it. It would've been much more elegant for the circled segments to appear in order. But, as a debut offering, this was a heck of a lot better than I could do, so "Well done, Ardeshir." Thanx for the tour, Melissa Bee.
Betty White: It tickled me that Melissa thought she was a treasure "now and then." OK, I'm easily tickled. Do you remember her from the '50s show, Life With Elizabeth?
HBD, Picard. Think of some covid-free fun for today and "make it so."
Now that's a simile I hadn't heard before D-O!
DeleteConfidential to everyone else. A sportswriter for our local Minneapolis Star Trib, Mr. Patrick Ruesse always names a "Turkey of the Year" in his column tomorrow. I borrowed the idea and write my own suggestions as Randy Ooney on mnbowling.com. You can visit it at mnbowling.com and find my column high on the right side of the web page. Enjoy and have a Happy Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteD-O No, but I certainly remember her "Sue Ann Nivens" on WJM TV with Minneapolis' most memorable actress, Mary Richards -- I mean Mary Tyler Moore.
ReplyDeleteLike D-O I thought how perfect it would have been to have the word come together in order, but I also know I would not have thought of nor been able to create this crossword. Welcome Ardeshir.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteGot it done without mishap. FIR. Today's puzzle had lots of circles which our paper printed. Finished the puzzle and then peered at the circles wondering what was going on. Finally connected SUPER with the other circles and, voilà, saw the SUPERCALI…… expression. Still wondered about having to jump around to get it. No matter; it was fun to work on. Good job, Ardeshir.
Happy Birthday to Picard.
I do not know our constructor, but I am familiar with the name ARDESHIR DALAL. I also located this modern person ARDESHIR 3
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice debut, Ardeshir! I enjoyed the puzzle even as I FIW. Reading the clue as XLV after the Battle, I forced McXI in the space, though by then I knew the theme. It niggled at me but I left it. Got the theme when I filled FRAGILE, but missed the Super Nanny connection. And I had watched the show years ago! Thanks M Bee for straightening me out. And for the EVEREST link. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteSitting cozily in my favorite chair, waiting for the medical wheels to start rolling to treat my fractured wrist. (My assumption of a sprain was wrong.) Tomorrow turkey and trimmings will be dropped off by local daughter and SIL. DH's kitchen skills have not risen to that level yet!
Wonder what tomorrow's puzzle will bring... gobble gobble?
Enjoy the holiday time!
Hola!
ReplyDeleteMan, this was fast! A Wednesday whiz! I finished it in almost no time.
BREA should reconcile all those who comment on the La BREA tarpits being repetitive. No guessing, I assume.
CSO to Canadian Eh at MANITOBA and another to Misty at EMERITAE.
My newspaper had the circles today and I quickly saw how they connected to SUPER NANNY, Mary Poppins.
I don't recall ever seeing DEISTIC in a puzzle. DEIST, yes.
Needed five perps for ALORS but knew BONMOT. French is not my strong suit.
DEALS/DILL amused me.
FRAGILE also brings to mind The Christmas Story which will soon air for 24 hours.
Thank you, Melissa and Ardeshir Dalai for the convoluted but fair theme.
Today is a traditionally busy day but I hope you all can relax and enjoy it.
Happy birthday, Picard! I hope you chime in and tell us how you will celebrate.
ReplyDelete7:40, but missed the "M" at the corner of "MXXI" and "Moor". I dislike both clues.
ReplyDeleteAmbitious attempt by the constructor.
Easy, fun humpday challenge. Great debut Mr. Dalal. Inkovers Irl/IRE (humbly submit IRE is incorrect). What say ye IM?
ReplyDeleteHate doing arithmetic especially with Roman numerals so waited on the perps for the battle date...lol
Obvious theme....I guess live-in floating baby sitters can just make up words. ☂️
So it's translated "The tar tarpits" (filled with tartar sauce)..oh LAUD!
When is an eon not an eon? When it's ÆON! (Just to make trouble I posit that æ is a single letter, should occupy only one CW square with an appropriate perp). Like I've previously proposed: accented letters should have the same accented perps.
Ilii? or ILIA...I always forget which, so say right and left ilium. (Grammatically incorrect...but gets the point across)
Eternal peace...EVEREST.
Gomer's chauffeur....PILEDRIVER.
Before Covid sports venues were ____ PACT
Young Margaret Thatcher.....IRONMAIDEN
Crime family leader....ADDON.
A scammer's goal...CONDO.
Happy Thanksgiving Eve.
Who can forget Henrik Ibsen's play. "Be-Hedda Gobbler"?
Have birthday, Picard. I hope you are doing well. I miss your comments and your pics.
ReplyDeleteWhen I saw SUPER CALI in the circles I knew the theme. I expected the syllables to be in order, but then I decided the mixed up order is best. It adds a little crunch.
A new wing to the school where I taught was being built right next to my second grade classroom. For days there was a piledriver constantly pounding within 15 feet of my window. Some days it was so nerve-wracking I took my students and their books out in the hall in a different wing where we all sat on the floor. Other weeks the scene outside our window was fascinating to the kids. We would take small breaks to watch and then try to ignore the workers.
The only time I saw or heard EXPIATION was in religious classes in the phrase "expiation (atonement) for sins." I was a Christian Ed. major.
I learned ALORS in the comics. A French Canadian trapper was always saying, Alors.
Dunkable cookie. So many cookies are dunkable. Maybe I will make a few traditional cookies this year. Or maybe not. I will have less kitchen equipment.
No white outs. Everything worked but I didnt get the theme. Thanks for the info.
ReplyDeleteI remember Betty White on the Al Jarvis radio show, "Make Believe Ballroom". I think it was on KMPC.
ReplyDeleteEd Asner was 91 the other day.
Loved it. At first I also thought the circles letters were a jumble, but gave up on that as I kept filling in.
ReplyDeleteDEIST-- puzzled me and then looked at all the circled letters and it came to me in a flash. And that I had to jump around to say the word actually made it nice since if it was in order then it might have given the theme away too soon.
Thanks for a fun puzzle!
Good morning Cornerites.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ardeshir Dala for your enjoyable Wednesday CW. I FIR in 21 38 min.
Thank you melissa bee for your excellent review.
I plan to have an update on Carol at supper time. My thanks to the posters yesterday at 700, 750, 755, 815, 839, 844, 1009, & 1110 AM
130, & 413 PM
130 is new to me. Thanks ATLGranny.
413 will have it;s own post.
Ðave
On November 24, 2020 at 4:13 PM, Dan said...
ReplyDeleteHunky Dave!
Thanks for the link. Had fun working the puzzle "sitting in the back" on the way to Phoenix.
Sorry to hear about Carol. Hope she’s doing well!
Hogs & Quiches
Some words of explanation:
Dan is my nephew who is a pilot for Southwest. "Sitting in the back" means he was deadheading to Phoenix. Back when he could come in our building, he would schedule flights so he over-nighted in Louisville. We would work CWs together, but he had not worked one on line by himself. He is sharper than a tack and even posted.
Dan has a brother and sister. Once when I visited them, they perverted Uncle David into Hunky Dave.
The Closing Hogs & Quiches sounds a lot like Hugs and Kisses.
Ðave
Congratulations to Ardeshir Dalal on his debut - done with a fine Wednesday construction.
ReplyDeleteI was at the perfect age to enjoy Mary Poppins in the theater. I was tickled by the magic word employed by Super Nanny Mary Poppins. In our early research of longest words we determined Super****ious replaced Antidisestablishmentarianism as the longest word in the English dictionary. But now with the internet, Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia pops up. Who knew?
Ray-O - - said: Eternal peace...EVEREST. Haha. There's a Funeral Service in the Buffalo area called: AMIGONE.
ReplyDeleteWonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Ardeshir (congrats on your debut) and melissab.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time and found the SUPER NANNY theme (hand up for thinking it should have been in better order).
I saw the CSO to Misty (EMERITAE) (just right of UNIV); I’ll take a CSO with MANITOBA although I am in Ontario ( at least it is Canada eh!).
I’m not French- Canadian but ALORS was no problem.
I noted all the archaic words today - AEON, ANON, OER, LAUD.
Hand up for just waiting for perps for that Roman date. Another hand up to agree with Ray’o re abbr. for Ireland. Olympic abbr. is IRL - but it was a different clue for the overworked IRE.
THE BRAT today was not a TOT.
Happy Birthday Picard!
ATLGranny- 😮 your wrist was broken! Heal well . . . and let DH and family help you💕
Wishing you all a great day. Stay safe over your Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteGood morning. That was fun. Thank you, Ardeshir and thank you, Miss B.
Happy Birthday, Picard !
I saw all the circles and decided to see if I could fill in all of the other empty squares without reading any of the clues for the circled answers, horizontally or vertically. To explain a little bit more, that meant I couldn't read 1A's clue, nor 1D through 5D, 10D through 13D, etc. That amped up the difficulty substantially.
Got most of them except in the center with ALORS and the error of "ADD to" instead of ADD ON. Along the way, it became apparent what some of the words with the missing letters (due to being circled) would be. For example, _ESALES would need an R, ALOO_ would likely be an N or a F, and _RON MAIDEN would certainly be an I. When I couldn't get make any more progress, I started solving the clues with the circles. As Melissa wrote, "SUPER and 10A CALI made this jump out pretty quickly."
Loved reading, "Not just regular mashed potatoes, thanksgiving mashed potatoes." I can relate !
Boomer, I read that article under the pen name "Randy Ooney" who quickly covered some of the major sporting events. I guess the cancellation of the annual battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe had not been announced when you submitted the article.
Atl Granny, sorry to hear that your wrist has a fracture and is not just sprained.
I believe that Oas mentioned he was from MANITOBA. He used to comment almost daily. We haven't heard much from him since his B.I.L. passed due to Covid-19. But I'm sure Ontarioan Canadian Eh would be happy to take the shout out.
D-O, I don't remember that '50s show with Betty White and never saw it on reruns.
She's always a favorite and a scene stealer for me. Loved her in "The Proposal" with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds. We've watched that one multiple times. The movie was supposed to be (primarily) set in Sitka, Alaska, but was actually filmed in Massachusetts.
From yesterday, D4E4H Dave, sorry to hear about your friend, Carol, and I hope she's recovering.
My mother used to solve crossword puzzles. I started when she was in her sixties and I was in my thirties. Early on, we were working on one together and, for the first time, I knew an answer that she did not know. It was Phil OCHS. Thanks for putting that in the recap, Melissa.
ReplyDeleteWelcome, Ardeshir! I finished this puzzle quickly, jumping from 1 to 62 Across to see if I could get the theme, and having made progress in the southeast, jumped around some more and saw the theme emerging. Lovely clues and answers without celebrities! I thought it was terrific.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Melissa, for the excellent tour. Happy birthday, Picard!
Musings
ReplyDelete-Starting with a cross reference to the reveal wasn’t great but I ignored 62 Across to see, like OCD me always does, if I could ferret out the theme without help. I did just that and laughed out loud as the phrase came together!
-Haven’t you ever thought back about “The Road Not Taken”? Me too.
-The Hillary/Tenzing story was great. Armstrong/Aldrin were told who would go first.
-PARTLY sunny and PARTLY cloudy are the same (3/8 – 5/8 of the sky covered) except PARTLY sunny doesn’t work at night
-MONO – My audiologist had to send my left hearing aid in to get fixed yesterday
-Charlize Theron played the world’s most beautiful SAFE cracker in The Italian Job
-The Dream Team of Robert Shapiro, Sara Caplan, Johnnie Cochran, Carl Douglas, Shawn Chapman, Gerald Uelmen, Robert Kardashian, Alan Dershowitz, F. Lee Bailey, Barry Scheck, Peter Neufeld, Robert Blasier, Tanner Brinton and William Thompson had only one CLIENT in a celebrated 1995 trial.
-ADHERED – I’m stuck on Band-Aid cuz Band-Aid stuck on me
-Happy Birthday, Robert!
-So sorry, Atl Granny. I hope it’s your non-eating hand!
Happy Birthday to Picard! Hope you have settled in your new place well.
ReplyDeleteWaiting for the update on Carol later today, D4. Interesting story about your witty nephew.
D Otto: fart in a mitten? Another learning moment on the blog....
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI thought this theme was delightful as presented. I didn’t pay attention to the circles as I solved, so it wasn’t until Nanny was filled in that I went back and filled in Super and then, Eureka! Seeing all those words blend together and visualizing Mary Poppins and her magic umbrella was smile inducing. I liked Whale crossing Whole and the duos of Maiden/Man, Mean/Abeam, and Ear/Toe. Best visual entry was Brea (Tar) directly above Road. No w/os but had to wait for perps for the dreaded Roman Numerals which I always deliberately avoid. Nice CSO to Misty and Ferm (Emeritae) and CanadianEh (Manitoba).
Thanks, Ardeshir, for an enjoyable and cheerful theme and Congrats on your debut and thanks, Melissa, for the in-depth summary and nifty links. I agree that Betty White is a national treasure, and she’s an animal lover, to boot. Love to see some recent photos of Jaelyn (sp?) and Harper.
Happy Birthday, Picard, hope it’s a special day. 🎂🎉🎊🎁🎈Ed Asner is another treasure, despite the fact that “He Hates Spunk”.
Boomer @ 6:33 ~ You are most welcome. Don’t eat too much 🦃 tomorrow! (On second thought, eat as much as you want! 🍗)
Ray O @ 8:56 ~ My first instinct was to say IRE because that’s the usual spelling in crosswords but, doubtful Thomasina that I am, I checked with Mr. G. and found the correct abbreviation is IRL, so you are right. Learning moment for all. ☘️ BTW, your use of Ye reminds me of my paternal grandmother who lived with us for a while and whose accent, at times, needed the Closed Captioning option.
Have a great day.
Reading over my comments, to clarify, I meant Doubting Thomasina.
ReplyDeleteThe boy actor in the movie died of mysterious causes in Africa
ReplyDeleteI met Dick Van Dyke, we have the same arthritis doctor.
ReplyDeleteI keep writing and forgetting to hit Publish after Preview.
ReplyDeleteThe key to deistic is the part of speech.
DEISM, noun, certain belief system
DEIST, Noun, person who believes in that system.
DEISTIC, adjective, signaled in the clue with LIKE.
I did the first three episodes of the Lou Grant Show before I was fired. For not having the right chemistry with Bobby Walden. Ed Asner is a lovely man, if a bit irascible.
ReplyDeleteBecky
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Ardeshir for a nonsense (as in the song) puzzle - loved it!
Great post-game analysis mb. Love me some Paul Simon.
I make 'smashed potatoes' - 5lb un-pealed cubed(ish) russets boiled. In a big-ass bowl -- stick of butter, diced onion, 3 cloves minced garlic, and then dump the cooked & drained boiled potatoes in. Cover - that cooks the onion & garlic. Smash with a smasher, add 1/2c (or more) of cream, salt & white pepper to taste. You don't need gravy :-)
WOs: ATROC---ty, sales->DEALS, MMXI (?WTF :-)) -> MXXI
ESPs: ALORES
Fav: CLOSE but no Cigar was cute.
Happy Birthday Picard! Nice shot w/ Betty White's Lou Grant.
D4 - Thanks for explaining Dan FLN. I was very confused... Who'd talk to you like that??? Welcome to The Corner Dan.
Let us know how Carol is doing tonight.
ATLGranny - so it is broken? Oy! Take it easy (I know you want to get in the kitchen; don't.)
I would link the song with PILE DRIVER in it, but Quite Riot is... uh, meh (and not in this crowd's taste anyway :-))
//Lyrics: I'm an axe grinder / PILE DRIVER / Mama says that I never, never mind her...
I wanted LOCK at 1d. Here's the lockpick and practice kit I got for Eldest.
Y'all have a fun afternoon... It's back to work for me.
Cheers, -T
Woohoo! Woohoo! So exciting to see Univ. just before EMERITAE! So being a retired female professor has some cool benefits! And thank you, Wilbur and Irish Miss, for thinking of me.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks for a terrific puzzle, Ardeshir! I loved the Mary Poppins theme and when I came to the end, with SUPER NANNY, I instantly got the SUPERCALIFRAGILE . . . circle answer (even though I didn't quite spell it right when I wrote it out.) Delightful movie, one of my favorites of all time. And, Melissa, I liked your picture of the ROC. Also wonderful to see that sweet double picture of Betty White, another favorite of mine.
.
Am not always great on geography, but remembered the La Brea tar pits and Mount
EVEREST.
Happy birthday, Picard.
And have a happy Thanksgiving tomorrow, everybody!
SUPER NANNY- I filled it but didn't read the clue for 62A since it was filled by perps. Didn't pay attention to the circles either. Never heard of the show but I've never watched any of those pseudo-quasi- 'reality' shows either.
ReplyDeleteGood morning. What a neat theme. Not much trouble completing the puzzle after changing a few fills. ALONE to ALOOF, ANON to AEON, and MOON to MOOR (unknown). I'm not familiar with the IRON MAIDEN song but enough perps were in place to fill it; ditto for ALORS-100% perps.
"CLOSE but no cigar"- I'd love a dollar for every time I've heard that on a golf green.
DW uses DILL pickles in potato salad.
MXXI + XLV = 1066
Becky- what did you do on the Lou Grant Show? Curious.
Thank you Ardeshir Dalal for a very nice puzzle, and Melissa Bee for a very interesting review.
ReplyDeleteMBee, the name of the Nepali sherpa is correct as in the clue ... Tenzing NorGay. It is not Norway, as in the scand. country. ;-)
Although this makes it more difficult to remember, just think, mountain climbers, like ala Sound of Music, are Happy and Gay ( as in the original meaning of the word ....). Thus Norgay.
Plus, not to berate it, Norway sounds like they lost their (path), but since they reached the top, they must have found The Way ... ;-)
Re: The constructor, Ardeshir Dalal ...
Lemonade, you did the search, exactly as I did ! Some minds think alike ... ;-)
When I saw the name Ardeshir Dalal, I knew he was from the indian subcontinent, immediately.
Ardeshir, is a persian name, Ardeshir the 1st, was the founder of the Persian Sassanid Empire 180 - 242 AD.
But the last name Dalal, is an indian ( more as in Gujrati, Western India ) name. Thus an indian connection. Most likely, a Parsi (Zoroastrian religion) immigrants to India since circa 8th cent. They are a highly urbanized affluent, community, heavily in Bombay, and the western coast of Gujrat. Ironically, since they are mostly, racially iranian/persian, they are true caucasians. unlike most indians.
Both the first and last names, are somewhat common in that community, so there must be a lot of Ardeshir Dalals. The Sir Ardeshir Dalal, that you first discovered, was one the first ICS officers under the British, and had a distinguished career in the Govt. and in private industry .... but he's been dead for 70 years. The Emeritus Prof. of Economics, is more likely to be a constructor.
Dalal, the last name, .... comes from the name of a profession, like a broker-dealer or a financier. More as in a Commission Agent. This profession while not unique to India, such a name is probably unique.
To give an example, suppose a farmer, has loaded a harvest of loose cotton, in his bullock cart, and has driver 50+ miles to the nearest wholesale market or ginning mill, to sell his crop. The crop is fragile, perishable and the farmer needs money for his family.
The Buyer, is willing to buy this seasonal crop, but because of a paucity of funds, and deplorable lack of banking facilities, cannot afford to pay for it immediately.
The Commission Agent, steps in. ... he knows and accepts the buyers credit, and accepts an IOU ( or possibly, a hypothecation ) from the buyer, and pays cash ( at a discount -) to the farmer, who can then ride his bullock cart, back to his village. The ComAgent thus, may be a broker and the financier. Such Agents, were like mini merchant banks, and often the discounts were steep (>25%) and very, very profitable, after the IOU was redeemed, at a later date.
Such professionals and firms, exist even today, despite the advances in rural banking in India.
BTW, the name Dalal is now just a common surname, irrelevant to ones actual profession.
End of rant. Many apologies for the length of the post.
Ah nuts!
ReplyDeleteI never looked at the circles to see the big word...
I did the puzzle online, and while puzzling how to spell Emeritae,
the TADA banner popped up in my face, & I totally forgot...
Here is a silly theme link with
no disrespect intended.
It's just that all the Nanny links were just not funny...
Happy Birthday Picard!
I thought it would be fun to find an image of Captain Picard on a unicycle
for (you know who's) birthday, but alas, Patrick Stewart is not that agile...
But guess what! His Doctor Rides!
Anonymous-T,
Yes, locks are just another puzzle for us puzzlers...
Here is a Saturday version that might interest your Daughter.
Vidwan - no need to apologize. Very informative.
ReplyDeleteMy friend Sommy (actually, his name is 20+ characters long; had to cut-n-paste it out of a saved Notepad file every time I'd book our flights to a consulting gig:-)) taught me most what I know of Indian culture (that's not from Forester...). My current friends from India (all DBAs :-)) keep teaching me more. I find it fascinating - one of the oldest civilized places on the plant -- until someone showed up with a flag [Eddie Izzard] :-)
Becky - fun story! Do tell...
CED - I stumbled on Lock Picking Lawyer from Legal Eagle's YouTube [no link - politics rule]. There was one (lock (ERAs) where I was like "Whaaa?" A magnet? I've got to get one to play with.
Cheers, -T
Thank you CC and everyone else at Crossword Corner for the birthday wishes today!
ReplyDeleteWay cool image of me celebrating, CrossEyedDave!
Thank you Wilbur Charles for sharing my David Bowie "Ch-ch-ch-changes" reference from Sunday. Did anyone but me understand that the "Ch-ch-ch-changes" theme was a reference to the David Bowie song "Changes"?
As for celebrating, my dear wife Merlie (AKA "Jig") had this wonderful artistic greeting for me in the hallway outside our bedroom.
The highlight of each day is the wonderful salad that she prepares for me every evening. This was quite a memorable tribute to these creations!
YAHB Picard. Beautiful veggies. Is DW a gardener? I make my DW a "kitchen sink" salad most evenings.
DeleteTerrific, fun Wednesday CW, thanx Ardeshir! I, too, figured out the theme very early, but the out-of-order-ness made me question my conclusion for a bit. Got ‘ER done in 22 minutes. Good time for a Friday CW!! Too bad it’s only Wednesday. The older I get, the slower I get with CWs. Well, with everything, truth told. Only one write-over, PATH:ROAD. (DOH!!) Needed perps for most of IRONMAIDEN; not my kind of music. I’m Pink Floyd. Very nice, entertaining write-up, thanx Melissa!!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fun theme - sort of like a rebus - not sure how the theme answers were going to connect to getting the words to the song in!
ReplyDelete"Mary Poppins" was one of the first movies I went to ever but definitely the first in the big downtown movie theater with the large marble staircase with a red carpet runner going up! The next year the "Sound of Music" came out - so I thought Julie Andrews was in all the movies (2 for 2 in my short experience) We used to dance around the house singing "Supercali...." I'm sure we drove our mom crazy!
Thanks Melissa, congrats Ardeshir, and HBD Picard!
ReplyDeleteNice Wednesday puzzle.
So...no turkey for me...went to a couple of grocery stores, the smallest portion was 2 turkey tenderloins, which wouldn’t have been bad but I much prefer dark meat. I will be having the “usual” veggies and stuffing, along with a Patti LaBelle Sweet Potato pie (which I have already sampled). But the main course will be a Rib-eye Cap Steak that I got from Kansas City Steaks. I’m already looking forward to it.
Enjoy the day and the FB games if so inclined...the only one worth watching is the late one, IMHO.
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteNot often that such an involved puzzle as this one gets solved without any write-overs or mistakes.
I started off a bit bothered that the first and final “across” words would be the reveal. But as I slogged through the WHOLE idea became rather clear. All of the circles got filled in as SUPER CALI FRAGIL ISTIC EXPIA LID OCIOUS was recognized as Mary Poppins imaginary word. SUPER NANNY almost feels “made up”, too ...
This had to be a difficult one to construct. Kudos to Ardishir and also melissa for the good fun!
WHALE crossing WHOLE was cool ... PILEDRIVER seems like a new word for x-word puzzles
I’m noticing that my verbosity is reduced when it’s my week to do a blog (see ya Friday)
Happy Birthday Robert!
FIR, saw the theme and knew the parts. EXPIATION is a nice word with too many letters for SB. I spent a summer in LA as a lab tech in a cancer research project at UCLA, so I knew BREA, although I’ve never been to the pits.
ReplyDeleteDO @ 6:36, the "now and then" referred to the *pictures* of Betty White - she's always been a treasure. I don't remember Life With Elizabeth - but I have seen her in game shows going back to the 1950's, like What's My Line, and I've Got a Secret. She was quite good on Password - smart lady.
ReplyDeleteAtl Granny - ouch! Hope you heal quickly.
Happy Birthday, Picard!
Becky, I remember your episodes. Lou Grant was streaming on Hulu for a while, was sad when they took it off.
Irish Miss, you're so sweet to ask. Will get something current to C.C. soon :)
Nifty puzzle. Nice to see fill such as EMERITAE and EXPIATION. Thanks for the fun, Ardeshir.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Picard.
Melissa Bee, I got the before and after meaning of "now and then." It was just that the way you phrased it tickled me.
ReplyDeleteDO, i thought as much, after pushing publish ;).
ReplyDeleteThanx Ardeshir for a fun and surprisingly smooth puzzle and to MB for an informative analysis.
ReplyDelete1A I immediately jumped to 62A and then back to 1A, disappointed that "au pair" wouldn't fit, but stuck in the NW 'til I got 1A filled via perps
6A swagged BREA, which I'd always thought was Spanish for "Saber toothed tiger".
I knew CALI for 10A and by the time I got the ATROCIOUS answer for 18A I sussed the theme (unusual for me), but of course had to wait to the end for all the fragments to float (by umbrella ☔?) gently into place.
Got MOOR for 47A as we had to memorize this evocative and tragic poem in grade school, and that moonlit road still glows in my mind.
My hand's up for not doing the math to answer 47D. With all of the EXPIATION perps falling into place, it was not worth the effort. The limitations of Roman numerals are a principal reason why the west remained in the Dark Ages while the Arabs enjoyed their Golden Age of Science and math, e.g. the invention of Algebra. It wasn't until western Scholastics began translating Arabic works into Latin that the Middles Ages began in the West and later blossomed into the Renaissance.
The fact that various of fragments of the theme clues were scrambled didn't bother me as they are nonsense to begin with. But to anyone who has not seen the movie I'm sure it wasn't a SUPER NANNY, but a SUPER NATICK!
A CSO to inanehiker @2pm for his cute story of his first two trips to the movies.
Waseeley, inanehiker isn't a he; she's a doctor in the midwest.
ReplyDeleteThank you D-O and apologies to I-H. I should have guessed that a guy couldn't write such a tender memoire. And further apologies to all the tender guys on the Corner!
DeleteBill
Anon-T,
ReplyDeleteHoly Moley!
I had to go back and watch Clip 1184
just to see the exploded view of that lock mechanism...
I see he used my favorite tool to get inside the lock
(a hammer)
& I'm thinking, a little TNT wouldn't hurt...
Oh well,
All well that ends well...
ATLGranny @ 7:59 ~ I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I was sorry to hear that your wrist was broken. I do hope you can manage to enjoy your Thanksgiving, despite the impairment.
ReplyDeleteDave @ 9:58 ~ Dan sounds like a loving and caring nephew, not to mention witty! Hope we hear good news about Carol soon.
Picard @ 12:59 ~ Your wife is not only thoughtful and loving but very creative and talented, as well.
Jayce @ 4:05 ~ Before I posted my comments this morning, I played WWF. My opponent, a young lady in Australia, played the word “Wifty” which I had never seen or heard before, so I messaged her that we use a word Nifty which has a positive connotation, unlike Wifty, which the WWF’s dictionary (not always accurate) defines as Vague, Imprecise, Unclear, while Merriam~Webster defines it as Scatterbrained, Eccentrically Silly, a synonym for Ditzy. (Spell check rejected it.) Apparently, nifty was in my mind because I thanked Melissa for today’s “nifty links”. Then, lo and behold, you echo with “Nifty” puzzle. Made me smile! 😉
CED @ 4:33 ~ That last link is precisely why I’m nominating you for the “Imp of The Year Award.” 😈
Thanks for the additional birthday kind words and good wishes!
ReplyDeletewaseeley yes, my DW indeed is an extraordinary gardener. We just have a small patio, but she grows vegetables, flowers and lots more in that small space. But we get even more vegetables at the Sunday Farmers Market which happens across the street from us.
CrossEyedDave I missed the Gates McFadden image of her on the Star Trek set riding a unicycle. What a treasured find! I am going to share it with my friend Dr Lisa who is also a unicycling doctor in Los Angeles.
Irish Miss yes my wife indeed is all of those things. Yes, I remember the "spunk" line delivered by Ed Asner. In real life he is one of the most generous and caring people I have ever met.
For some reason that photo does not render in the Chrome browser, but I do see it if I use the Firefox browser.
Irish Miss, interesting about mifty. A neat-o word!
ReplyDeleteJeez, I meant wifty.
ReplyDeleteJayce, right after I posted that comment, I ran across nifty again reading John Guzzetta’s constructor comments on his today’s NYT’s collaboration with Jeff Chen. Neat-o, indeed!
ReplyDeleteSheesh!
ReplyDeleteYou electrocute one magical Nanny,
& you're branded for life!
You know, it is not often that you discover
what childhood influences have shaped your life.
As CrossEyedDave, sharing silly links for your amusement,
I have often thought I was influenced by things like,
Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, (Gilligan's Island?)
But it was just today, a few hours ago,
that I discovered what influenced a tender 8 year old
to become the Imp you all know today...
I had all but forgotten this hidden, secret from our past.
Something that even Hans Conried has even omitted from his
IMDB lifetime achievement list.
A show that has created what I am today...
Fractured Flickers...
(be sure to watch why Hans uses an ouiji Board at the end of his
interview with Ursala Andress...)
Yes, wifty is kind of neat, as are some of the other Aussie words that my opponent uses. She once used the word rouse in a way that didn’t jibe with my definition, so I asked her what it meant and she replied that it means to scold someone. It’s fun to learn the different meanings and unfamiliar words.
ReplyDeleteRebecca "Becky" Balding has been a semi-regular poster here. She had a very distinguished acting career both on stage and on television. Here is her IMDB DATA . She was always delightful in her performances and has been equally charming here.
ReplyDeleteUm, Er,
ReplyDeleteI may be digressing a little here,
but one thing Fractured Flickers taught me
was, Lay it on thick...
Here is a lovely Barbara Eden interview
before anyone ever heard of I dream of Jeannie...
& in case you don't know who Hans Conried was,
& since we are so concerned with words and their usage
here on the Blog,
maybe this will refresh your memory
Pretty easy and fun solve today. Like some others, I saw the SUPER... quickly, which helped. Had most of it done before I had to go to work for a few hours this afternoon (we're shorthanded, and guess who gets called first), but I had to wait until I got home to sort out a couple of nits and proofread.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, Ardeshir; thanks Melissa B.
Sorry, I DO NOT like soggy cookies!
I had actually Googled and reread "The Road Not Taken" recently. It might have been back when we were discussing Garmin and roadmaps. If and when my cameras and I ever get back out on the road, I plan to stay off the interstates as much as possible.
HBD Picard!
Happy Turkey (or whatever you're having) Day, everyone!
A final CSO to Melissa Bee: thank you for the Phil Och rendition of The Highwayman. I had completely forgotten about it. It came out the year I graduated HS. A perfect union of artist, song, and poetry. Remarkable.
ReplyDeletePicard - Merlie's Birthday art made me think of VeggieTales [39m - watched that all the time w/ kids to warp them - sure it oft had a religious message but both creators were influenced by Monty Python (who warp'd young me :-))].
ReplyDeleteNo, I did NOT catch the CH-CH-Changes you referenced but, then again, I just lurk Sundays. I do love me some David Bowie.
LEO3 - DW's friend (who's now also an English professor) wrote a poem called "A Road not Taken, Taken" in response to Frost. Her N. Louisiana Southern Sensibility BON MOT always came through.
I also have one of her's called "Flashing the Missionaries" - it ends with the imagery of her on a bike letting the breeze give the Mormons a glance under skirt -- hilarious.
CED - Fractured Flickers looked like a precursor to Rocky & Bullwinkle. I've got research to do [OMG - it is! - your IMDB link even shows the connection!]
//Rocky & Bullwinkle warp'd me but good too.
Oh, if you're interested, I've recommendations on lock-picks -- also slight of hand books :-)
Finally, CED, I showed Youngest and her (sufficiently warp'd) friend (they were Face-Timing) your Mary Poppins clip - their reaction was priceless!
Cheers, -T
*Consults notes*
ReplyDeleteFLN - Old Okie: So sorry to hear about your run of 3 going to the hospital. Are you really doing better now? God Speed.
//BTW, Eldest is in Norman and told me about the ice-storm; some kids' cars were dented but good by fallen tree branches.
Wishing you (and all!) good health this Holiday.
Cheers, -T
I just completed it rather quickly and when I started to solve the circles that came pretty quickly too and I LOVED IT!! I showed my wife and she too thought it was very clever. I have done these xwords for many years and this ranks very high with me. I think of you as one of the very best and certainly a supporter of your colleagues so I write this to you hoping you will show it to them and especially the blog community and Ardeshir.
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle is a great tribute to Mary Poppins and those of us who believed in her when we first saw her in the movies and also Walt Disney, may he rest in peace, and Julie Andrews. I wouldn't know how to go about this but maybe because you are sort of in the entertainment business and with a major newspaper you could have this puzzle sent to Ms. Andrews I think she would get a special kick out of it and I would love to see her reaction to how after so many years people still think of her and her special word so fondly.