Saturday Themeless by Kyle Dolan
Dear Gary,
Thanks for your note, and I hope you're keeping safe and in good health. Looking forward to reading your writeup of the puzzle.
I made this puzzle over a year ago, and it was accepted by Rich Norris in June of this year. The seed entry was SMART WATCH, which I thought would make a good 1-Across. Overall I'm pleased with how the grid turned out, particularly getting full names EVE ENSLER and ROSA PARKS in opposite corners, as well as the stacked duo of ALL-NIGHTER and SLEEPS EASY--an irony that won't be lost on anyone who's ever crammed for a final exam (raises hand). Rich did make one grid change at the crossing of GLUERS/GAR, which was originally CLUERS/CAR (he wouldn't accept CLUERS).
The published puzzle has 53 clues that are originals or bear a close resemblance to what I submitted, including 14-A, 45-A, 61-A, 30-D, 47-D and 49-D. Interestingly, the clue at 35-Down is Rich's and has a very different connotation compared to my submission, which was [Action film effect].
Best regards,
Kyle
1. Apple product: SMART WATCH - Dick Tracy's imagined device of my 1950's comics has come to be a real device
11. Collector's frame: CEL.
14. Mozart's Queen of the Night, for one: COLORATURA - COLORATURA the ornamentation of a vocal piece of singing in opera with runs, trills and leaps usually performed by a soprano. If a soprano is as 28. Virtuoso: ADROIT as the fabulous Kathleen Battle, it sounds like this
15. Cover on the road: PAVE.
16. Guacamole, e.g.: AVOCADO DIP.
17. "Agreed!": AMEN.
18. Tiny and unimportant: DINKY - Some DINKY toys of my childhood
16. Guacamole, e.g.: AVOCADO DIP.
17. "Agreed!": AMEN.
18. Tiny and unimportant: DINKY - Some DINKY toys of my childhood
19. "The First __": NOEL - Tunes such as these have been put away until around October 1. 2021.
20. Must: NEED.
21. Make a narrow escape?: SEEP
22. In itself: PER SE.
26. Field pair: OSCARS - Sally has won two OSCARS (Norma Rae and Places In The Heart) but ya gotta love someone who wears high heels to the ceremony and then 23. Slips into: DONS tennis shoes for the rest of the night.
31. Tie with the dealer, in blackjack: PUSH - Dealer and player both have 18
32. La Liga cheer: OLE - I don't remember when this shout of bullfighting ring moved over to soccer (futball) fields as well
34. Like Dorothy Parker's humor: DROLL
35. Red state?: FIT - Here's a FIT being thrown with the resulting red state of a face
38. Some "SVU" roles: DA'S.
39. Cut out: OMIT.
41. Model builders, at times: GLUERS.
42. Bauhaus founder Gropius: WALTER - What is Bauhaus?
41. Model builders, at times: GLUERS.
42. Bauhaus founder Gropius: WALTER - What is Bauhaus?
44. Not peripheral: MAIN.
45. Chateau Montelena's home: NAPA - Just northwest of NAPA, CA near Calistoga, CA
48. Spring break destination, briefly: BAJA - BOCA didn't make the cut here
52. Word of resignation: ALAS.
53. __ Eats: UBER - Have bike, will deliver
54. Rambled: RAN ON.
55. Calamitous: DIRE.
56. Obviously full of anticipation: SALIVATING.
58. Art store supply: INKS.
59. It may be pulled before a final: ALL NIGHTER, you thought you had 1. Gobs: SCADS of time
60. Thing in the Roman Senate: RES - RES Nullius means "thing no one owns". Like a wild animal
61. Has a clear conscience, maybe: SLEEPS EASY.
Down:
2. Oddly, trailers may precede one: MOVIE - Show time is 7:00 and you're still in the parking lot? No problem, trailers and ad will push that curtain to 7:20.
3. Like many a horror film victim: ALONE. - Jamie Lee Curtis recreates her mother Janet Leigh's ALONE scene in the shower scene from Psycho
4. Low tide formation: ROCK POOL - An alternate name for a Tidal POOL
5. A server may carry one: TRAY.
6. Gum, after use: WAD
7. Makes up: ATONES.
8. Elizabeth I was the last one: TUDOR - Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Elizabeth II is a first cousin 13 times removed to Elizabeth I.
9. Really could use, with "for": CRIES OUT.
10. Unfortunate: HAPLESS.
11. Diner patron played by Stephen King in "Mr. Mercedes," e.g.: CAMEO ROLE - Here he is as the scene is being setup where he plays a chef that gets killed.
12. "The Vagina Monologues" playwright: EVE ENSLER.
13. Takes interest, maybe: LENDS.
15. Bear that can bark: PANDA - Rough translation, "Hey Mom, get off me!"
22. Call counterpart: PUT
25. Captain, at times: PILOT - A copy of Samuel Clemens' Steamboat PILOT'S License from 1859
27. Dog topper: CHILI - I had to quit thinking about what garment a well-turned-out pooch might DON
28. Sum up: ADD.
29. Begin to set boundaries: DRAW A LINE.
30. First woman to lie in honor in the U.S. Capitol: ROSA PARKS - A sterling example of DRAWING A LINE IN THE SAND
31. Compost bin remnant: PIT.
33. "Cloverfield" characters: ETS - Yikes!
35. Highly energetic sort: FIREBALL - LIVE WIRE was my first choice
37. What a city dweller may do on a building roof: SUN BATHE - Of course I'm going to link to the Drifters's version of the song Carole King co-wrote
40. Jellyfish: MEDUSAS - Hey, I'm not allergic to learning!
43. Burns with a light touch?: LASES - Progressive steps of LASER tattoo removal
44. Oceanic: MARINE.
45. Point from which a recovery can begin: NADIR - I hope Husker FB is there
47. Animated Disney bibliophile: BELLE - from Beauty And The Beast
50. Slangy craving: JONES - Derivation
51. Gritting one's teeth, maybe: ANGRY.
54. Old dance hall tunes: RAGS - Nobody did it better
57. __ pass: VIP.
FLN, OMK the situation is hypothetical but if not planned well innoculations could see such a dilemma.
ReplyDeleteDuh, Sally Fields. I've seen that clue answered with OXEN. And there's PUSH. Last time it was WASH, which caused an inky mess
WLTER(Gropius) and EVE ENSLER were complete unknowns. Perps were friendly. ANITA was another one.
Clearwater Beach didn't make the cut either.
Ah ALL NIGHTERS of my 'ute. I took asthma medication before my Econ final and was aided by "mellow" music. I couldn't think of the group so I googled "mellow music groups". Still no luck but ironically Fleetwood Mac was right there and I had it. I give you The Fleetwoods
It was the staircase scene (Psycho) that got me(shudder)
CHILI ends with I not e. I hope this is the NADIR for the Pat's. I fear it's not.
VIP (Pass) was slow dawning. An anon will object to lack of "abbr" tag.
Thanks Gary. Doable but typical Saturday xword
WC
Ps, not a single sports question, eh
46A. Debar vs disbar
ReplyDeleteAs verbs the difference between disbar and debar
is that disbar is (legal) to expel from the bar, or the legal profession; to deprive (an attorney, barrister, or counselor ) of his or her status and privileges as such while debar is to exclude or shut out; to bar.
ReplyDeleteTough puzzle for me today. Took just over an hour to work it out. Don't think I've ever had to work through so many possible meanings and possible answers to get to the ones that would work with perps. Even then, when answers would work out and agree with perps, I had to stop and figure out why they worked. e.g. OSCARS. Why ? Oh ! Sally Field. D'OH !
At the end, I spent about 25 or 30 minutes in that NW corner trying to undo my muddled mind from the mess created by throwing in wrisTWATCH and pettY, and finally got my AHA moment that it should be SMART. That was the beginning of the end to a hard fought victory.
Gotta say I absolutely loved it ! Great themeless Kyle. Please visit often.
Not too shabby on your part either, Husker Gary. Another very enjoyable read, and I for one appreciate your reaching out to the constructors and sharing their comments about the puzzle.
Way back when, in what seems ages ago in the pre-pandemic times of yore, we would play for skins money on the course. If there was a tied low score on a hole, someone usually said, "One tie, all tie" or "PUSH." It is recorded with P for PUSH on the scorecard.
I made AVOCADO DIP, pico de gallo and black beans to accompany my chicken fajitas Thursday. ALAS, I had to toss the pan grilled bell peppers. They were iffy to start, and cooking them didn't help.
Spitzboov, while solving, I watched an early morning program on Christmas markets in Germany, France and Switzerland. In typical German word forming fashion, the website listed for more information was Europeanchristmasmarketsontv. I got a kick out that.
Bill, FLN, no problem. Sounds like you had a good time at the Christmas gathering.
Also from yesterday, it seems that most if not all the hard copy papers are getting their act together by crediting the correct constructor. Except for perhaps the LA Times, owned by Nant Capital, Norman Pearlstine, executive editor. Seems odd that the problem hasn't been fixed, especially after Ol' Man Keith wrote them a letter.
Obviously, complaining about it here hasn't helped, but why would it it ? It's not as if C.C.'s blogspot is being funded and monitored by the LA Times. Perhaps some key person or people have contracted the virus, and the subs are doing all they can do to keep up ? The online versions have always been correct as far as I know.
Wilbur, when I first read your comments about the "200 doses" it appeared to me that it was pure speculation. Given the challenges, there will most certainly be mistakes, but we have to have faith and trust the professionalism of those administering the vaccinations and the decisions they are making.
A student there was from Detroit
ReplyDeleteWho at testing found himself quite ADROIT.
He needed no ALL NIGHTER
When exam times were nigher,
He'd SLEEP EASY knowing he was alright!
{C.}
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteGotta love me a pzl that is a) themeless and b) sportsless and c) Wite-Out-free. Whoopee! Didn't quite snap to who the two Oscar Fields were, but got 'em. D'oh. Thanx, Kyle and Husker.
DRAW A LINE: Evokes Sheldon citing Picard, "This far and no further!"
TTP, Pan grilled? Isn't that plain ole fried? Or did you skip the oil, and the result was blackened? BTW, the potato dumplings were scrumptious -- perhaps our best ever. I was out by 7:45.
TTP, re. "200" (doses). Yes, pure speculation. Just the way my mind works. Plus, knowing how the bureaucratic mind works.
ReplyDeleteAnd "wrist" was a w/o for me too. I had that Fleetwoods link playing since I posted and it morphed into a Brian Wilson concert.
D-O, I was thinking of you re. "Sportsless". I'll bet that won't be the case tomorrow
WC
Wilbur, with careful research I was able to partially identify the baseball player who Waseeley posted in his blog Thursday. I figured out that he probably played for the Blue Jays.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteD-O, I have a couple of those grill pans that have the ridges, Actually three, if you count the Rachael Ray griddle / grill combo that covers two of the stove top burners. That one is used primarily on the flat top side for pancakes. The Le Creuset grill pan is the best of the three.
I forgot about your Christmas tradition of making the potato dumplings. Have you posted the recipe and pics ? DW's mom and SIL made them fairly often, but they were especially great at the Christmas meals with the gravy from the rouladen and the turkey gravy.
Between Bill mentioning ham hocks (miss the best-ever ham hocks and greens I used to eat at a place over on Lockwood in the second ward), making me think of pork shanks at Mader's, and your dumplings, you've got me SALIVATING to make a drive up to Milwaukee just to eat at Mader's. Have you ever been there ? Mader's Menu.
That too will have to wait for a few months.
FIR but it was intimidating at first. SMART WATCH was slow to come as was COLORATURA. I thought of AVOCADO DIP immediately (one of my favorite things) but was afraid to write it in. Tried ManowAr before MEDUSAS and that complicated seeing UBER. Otherwise areas filled in gradually. I too wondered about OSCARS but Sally came to mind just as I was about to read Husker Gary's explanation. Thanks also, HG, for the comments from Kyle. I liked the puzzle a lot. OLE, few sports references, indeed!
ReplyDeleteKeep warm and safe, everyone. We are about to bundle up to hike up Stone Mountain this morning. Brrrrrr!
Nope, never made it to Mader's. Actually, never spent much time in Milwaukee. I do remember Jim Mader, mornings on WIBA Madison.
ReplyDeleteD-O, the BlueJay here in 1993 was Joe Carter . He was involved in two big trades: first from Cubs to Indians that worked out for both and then to Padres for Sandy Alomar that was big for the Indians.
ReplyDeleteWC
Thank you Kyle for the very good puzzle and, especially, for taking the time to share the insights and the history of its evolution.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Gary, for the recap and its great Hahtoolah-esque graphics. I enjoyed the Dick Tracy reference (which I have previously reflected on, myself), Mark Twain's pilot's license and the photograph of Bernard Schwartz's daughter.
The solve was steady with one aha moment leading to then next like dominoes falling. My favorite kind of solving experience. For me, the toughest answers were EVE ENSLER and COLORATURA. Field Pair for Oscars also caused a bit of head scratching but then I liked it, I really liked it.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI flew through the upper two-thirds and hit a brick wall in the bottom third, especially in the SW corner. My major obstacle was being so sure that Alpe was the correct answer to the Chateau’s location. This made very slow-going for Nadir, Lases, and Inks to parse until I finally gave up and eventually figured out Napa. My other pauses were the unknown Walter, Anita, Medusas, and Belle, as clued. I also stumbled on Jigs/Rags, Draw Lines/Draw a Line, and Live Wire/Fire Ball (Hi, HG!). I wasn’t fond of Gluers, but I guess it’s better than Cluers. Overall, the cluing was tough, but mostly fair, and the fill was Saturday worthy.
Thanks, Kyle, for a definite challenge and thanks, HG, for another command performance. Loved all of the links and visuals, particularly Pavlo’s salivating canines and the “whistle blower” coach.
DO @ 6:52 - You answered my question re the dumplings before I could ask it! Glad all your hard work paid off.
FLN
SansBeach, nice to have you back.
SwampCat, please chime in more often, I miss your comments.
YR, how nice that you finally got the chance to socialize with your new friends. I’m happy that you’re happy! š
I hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas as best as circumstances allowed.
Have a great day.
Have a great day.
I wasn’t nagging, just not paying attention! š
ReplyDeleteFIW with bad Wags, bush - bit (PUSH - PIT) (do pits work in a compost heap?)... BAJA (California? a spring break destination? Is that "Where the Boys Are" now?) Had bama - -mones. Should have remembered JONES.
ReplyDeleteAs someone š pointed out yesterday NOĆL is sometimes anglicized NOWELL. The giant š¼ used to be part of the š¦ family, not a š».... "Call" counterpart is apparently not beck. Last time I goofed up Red State the answer was OWE....a Red State having a FIT seems quite apropos. Tidal POOL, yes, but ROCK POOL...meh..
Kraut/CHILI (or both) as dog toppers....bauhaus? Gropius? Perwalked WALTER as well as NAPA, the Montelena locale.. ALAS: usually woe, today resignation . Isn't it DisBAR?. Thanks for 'splainin' Bob B
Jellyfish: first attempt was "mollusk" then somewhere from the oceanic depths of my college MARINE biology classes popped MEDUSAS. "Field Pair" (Sally's "you really like me" 2 OSCARS) was typical Saturday misdirection, perpwalked
Heard the expression but no idea what a COLORATURA is (apparently not a hair salon "dyer")
UBER Eats (you can eat in the car? š³)
Coupe......TUDOR
Slow and steady wins the ....RES
Ban from the tavern....DEBAR
With all the restrictions hope everyone managed a Merry Christmas š
This was generally smoother than expected for Saturday - although I started a bit slow thinking that the Apple product would have to start with an I.
ReplyDeleteWEES about EVE ENSLER being solved by perps - I had heard of the play but had no idea of the playwright - at first I thought it might be Wendy Wasserstein, but she won the Tony for "The Heidi Chronicles" and good that it didn't fit or I would probably still be stuck up in the NE corner.
I thought of COLORATURA more as a type of soprano who sings the roles that require that type of music like Joan Sutherland, Renee Fleming, Beverly Sills. One of those roles was Mozart's Queen of the Night from the Magic Flute.
Thanks HG for a fun blog and taking the time to contact Kyle about his creative puzzle!
The Toronto Blue Jay in question from earlier this week is 2015 AL MVP Josh Donaldson.
ReplyDeleteHappy Boxing Day, everyone.
ReplyDeleteHard to get it started. Finally caught FIRE with GAR, BAJA, and MEDUSAS. Three wite-outs - - had raved before RAN ON, onion before CHILI, and wrist…… before SMART……. Quickly got EVE ENSLER with 9 perps. Eventually, the fill bloomed over the rest and it was done. FIR. Woo-hoo.
I thought GLUERS was a gluey clue.
PERSE - is an Oceanid nymph, one of the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. Perse was one of the wives of the sun god, Helios.
Captains on aeroplanes are PILOTS, too.
Thanks Kyle for pushing our limits.
Thanks HG for sharing Kyle's note and your enlightening intro.
I started out with unrealistic expectations thinking this was very hard for a Monday. By the time I realised this is Saturday I ran out of P&P and quit.
ReplyDeleteAren't CWs supposed to be fun? What a slog. Too many obscure clues or unknown names for my liking. That said, I stayed with it to the bitter end finally sussing Jones in the SE and Eve Ensler in the NE. A FIR, but not one that will be remembered for any positive reasons. My brain is hurting badly right now. I need to watch sports for a few hours so I don't have to think.
ReplyDeleteI liked this puzzle, Kyle, and am happy that the LA Times got your name right! Thanks to Husker Gary for the excellent review. Loved the Pavlov cartoon! Also thanks to Rich, without whose improved clues this puzzle might have been impossible.
ReplyDeleteMy first inclination for spring break was Cabo, and I had to broaden my outlook for BAJA. I also wanted SLEEPS well before SLEEPS EASY. Here, when the tide goes out, we may find a tide pool among the rocks, not a ROCK POOL. This was certainly Saturday level. Since I was able to FIR at one sitting -- and there were no sports teams or heroes -- I consider it to be fair and fun.
Well, got ‘er done....eventually! 38 minutes. Five of that was staring at the center, which I had correct but was sure was wrong because I couldn’t see a connection between “Red state?” and “FIT”, nor could I see how PIT fit 31D. And not being a gambler....at all...I didn’t know “PUSH”. I guessed and got it all right, but was sure it was wrong. Also slowed myself down a bit by spelling it AVACADODIP. Once I got the O in there.... EVEENSLER was all perps, as was WALTER. Only one letter write-over is EXCELLENT (for me) for a Saturday. Overall, fun CW, thanx, Kyle!! And outstanding write-up, thanx HG!!
ReplyDeleteOh, and COLORATURA was another all perps. Never heard that word before.
ReplyDeleteSouth Florida SunSentinel got the constructor’s name right today for the first time in weeks!
ReplyDeleteThanks Spitz
ReplyDeleteI told DW that today was Boxing Day
and she punched me in the nose! š
Also today is the day "Good King Wencelas went out".. the feast of St Stephen.
Well, Saturdays are always toughies for me, but that doesn't keep me from enjoying them. Kyle, thank you for checking in with us, and--good news--the Los Angeles Times actually put you down as the constructor this morning, rather than someone else. And neat commentary, Husker Gary--thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteLoved seeing ROSA PARKS, and got OSCARS, but 'Sally' didn't pop up as 'Field' until I read Gary's commentary. Loved seeing ALL NIGHTER over SLEEPS EASY. And, by the way, BAUHAUS means 'building house' in German, I think.
Have a good post-Christmas Saturday, everybody.
I struggled, but slowly got it done. My Uber Eats, was Good Eats, cooking show with Alton Brown.
ReplyDelete“Happy Boxing Day” my cat’s favorite holidayš»
"...the feast of St. Stephen"
ReplyDeleteNow I've got the Grateful Dead song looping through my brain. Thanks! No, really. I love that song.
ReplyDeleteThis was a toughie, but it’s Saturday and is supposed to be.
I do agree that a few years ago I probably would have felt similar to ANON.
ALSO.....
rock pool
/ĖrƤk Ėpo͞ol/
noun
noun: rock pool; plural noun: rock pools; noun: rockpool; plural noun: rockpools
a pool of water among rocks, typically along a shoreline.
I know them as tide pools as well, but there are other terms, obviously.
Seems like a Monday today, the Friday holidays are sure to mess one up.
Hola! Happy Boxing Day! Happy day after Christmas!
ReplyDeleteMy newspaper also had the correct constructor, Kyle Dolan, so all is right with the world, my world, anyway.
What a great puzzle, just the right challenge for a Saturday. It took me a bit longer than usual because of Chateax Monteluna and I've been there just didn't recall the name! We did not tour it because it costs $20 and having seen many wonderful castles in Europe, not to mention the Hearst castle which is free to tour, we decided against going in. I hope the fires missed it because it is a grand building.
My daughter has a SMART WATCH so it took only a few letters to fill that and ALL NIGHTER evoked many of those while either writing the last pages of a term paper or studying for an exam. I had no idea about EVE ENSLER or WALTER Gropius or what bauhaus is (thank you, Misty for the translation). I shall return to Gary's explanation later.
I love AVOCADO DIP or AVOCADO in any form including sliced into a salad.
A few days ago some people decided to SUN BATHE at the pool. We concluded they are out of town visitors and likely from the northern parts. Some people here move out of their townhouse and rent it for exorbitant sums of money.
I am happy to say that my SLEEP is always EASY though right now I am suffering from a change in routine and it has taken longer than usual to recoup. That's old age for you!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I certainly did. Our Christmas Eve Mass was at 10:00 P.M. which is a much better time than midnight. Our pastor gave us one of his rousing sermons. He is young and highly energetic, in fact you could say he is a FIRE BALL. Earlier my daughter and her family had been here for dinner and took their presents home. Christmas Day I went to their house for breakfast and the grand opening. They loved all the gifts.
I didn't read yesterday's comments so I shall catch up with those later.
Enjoy the day and be happy to be alive! I am!
Always enjoy reading your comments.
DeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteBig Fat DNF... Another Learning Saturday (but at least I knew ENSLER & JONES'n'* :-))
Thanks Kyle for the grid and submitting to HG's interview. Thanks HG for the fun expo and reaching out to Kyle.
I still didn't get OSCARS (Best Actor / Actress == two fields?) until... Thanks HG & TTP for turning on that light-bulb.
My grid was only 1/2 filled before 1st cheat [not an iMAc anything...]
I kept wanting iMAC TWITCH [Turn down your speakers b/f clicking!] but, while each are a thing - they're different companies (unless I missed an acquisition). Aha, SMART Watch [Smart Pahk commercial :-)].
WOs: I was Awake before ALONE, CRIEdOUT, & oilS -> INK after cheats; fax pas [sic - should be faux pas but I'm dyslexic in French too :-)] before a VIP pass (that I got pre-cheat).
WO that never was... Good Eats. //Watched a lot of Alton Brown this week b/f making my first Christmas Prime Rib. Hi Yuman!
Fav: CAMEO ROLE - I thought clue was looking for a (yet another!!!) name but it wasn't.
{B+ I knew that kid in Discreet & Continuous Signals class; played with his calculator the whole time (getting it to play Mary had a Little Lamb!) and then corrected the professor 5 steps back - "Shouldn't that be a negative i?" }
MManatee - here you go: St Stephen [live in '78 - 7:54]. Great song.
I enjoyed reading / commiserating (for my fellow DNFers) everyone today.
Have a wonderful afternoon!
Cheers, -T
*CRIES OUT for a cigarette/cigar/any nicotine :-)
FIR, but a long journey. It’s in the low 50s this afternoon on the Space Coast of Florida, so I had a lot of time for the solve. Eking it out is an apt description of my activity. Quite a worthy challenge for me.
ReplyDeleteI woke up to hear my name. Yes, it was tough. Last to fill for me was FIRE BALL/FIT/PIT/PUSH. Hand up had no idea what FIELD had to do with OSCARS until reading the review by Husker Gary. We can walk to TIDE POOLS from our home. Never heard them called ROCK POOLs. Never heard that use of JONES. Nor that BELLE.
ReplyDeleteWALTER was a gimme due to this Tom Lehrer song.
The song is about Alma Mahler GROPIUS Werfel who "managed to acquire as lovers practically all of the top creative men in central Europe." Has anyone else heard the song?
I should also mention that DW and I did the BAUHAUS tour in Tel Aviv.
Thank you for sharing. This is one of Tom Lehrer's best parodies IMO. Certainly a predecessor of Second City and SNL!
DeleteIMHO, getting a puzzle not on my wavelength or at my patience level that day does not make it a bad puzzle written by a bad constructor. Many here enjoyed this offering. Many were successful. These puzzles must appeal to a wide variety of tastes and skill levels. To each his own.
ReplyDelete- T Thanks for link. Listening concurrently. I first saw the band perform St. Stephen live at the Fillmore West in 1970... and at a few other venues over time.
ReplyDeletePicard - Of course! That was on TW 3 which I think of as the "new" album. I have that album and both "An Evening Wasted With" and, the true treasure on the original 10 inch format LP, "Songs By". I really should buy a turntable! Do they still use Shure cartridges? On CD, I have the "Revisited" release which includes some tunes that he wrote for The Electric Company kids show.
Lucina, was it Fr. Parks? If so, I agree he is quite a fireball.
ReplyDeleteI assume "Bauhaus" is a canine abode in the German esthetic
ReplyDeleteShankers:
ReplyDeleteYes! Fr. Parks is our pastor and I love him! He is indeed a FIREBALL.
My daughter and S-I-L gave me some shoes that I want to glue onto my feet they are so comfortable! They are made of felt and absolutely HUG my feet. I was surprised to learn they are from Target.
I finished the puzzle today with fewer cheats than usual. Was this easier or am I slowly getting a bit better? I'd go with the former.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kyle, for the challenge. The Cincinnati Enquirer never lists the constructor so they are never wrong about who it is. Thank you, HG, for the expo.
Fav clue/ans: 8D Elizabeth 1 was the last one. TUDOR Currently I am reading Phillipa Gregory's "The Queen's Fool", and I have just finished the section where Mary has been crowned Queen and she talks about the devious and untrustworthy Elizabeth.
From a high temp of 20* yesterday we have rebounded into the mid 30's. Feels much better.
I hope you have a great weekend.
UBER Eats allows us to “eat out” at home twice weekly. We also use InstaCart to do our grocery shopping on Monday and Friday mornings.
ReplyDeleteWe tip big because we appreciate the delivery people helping to keep us safe in our home.
TERRY and others: We can't tell what you are replying to. Can you please clarify?
ReplyDeleteTa ~ DA!
ReplyDeleteNice to meet a Saturday pzl and "get 'er done."
But I had to face to fact of my aging *#@! memory. I couldn't recall the name of the Vagina Monologues playwright.
Rats! I needed five of the perps to align before it came back to me!
Nice, too, to see the LA Times give proper credit to Kyle Dolan. Let's cross our fingers and hope they keep on printing the constructor credit correctly.
Anyone wonder why the Dry Tortugas are called "Dry"?
I did, so had to look it up. Interesting!
~ OMK
ReplyDeleteI'll admit that I am not as hep as some of you cool daddyo's, and I'm going to admit that I have no idea who Tom Lehrer is and never heard of him until one of you mentioned him and linked something from him within the last few months. I'll further admit that I've never taken the time to actually watch any of the links that some of you have linked. Mea culpa.
But now this is getting weird. I was looking at the online TV Guide to see what channel I should turn to to watch the San Francisco 49ers and Arizona Cardinals game (apparently it's not being shown here) and lo and behold, what do I come across but this:
Tom Lehrer - Live in Copenhagen 1967
today, 4:30 PM on LAKE 21, 1 hr 30 min 2019
A rare concert recording of Tom Lehrer performing 17 of his best-known songs... More About Tom Lehrer - Live in Copenhagen 1967
This reminds me of the time that I learned of Phil Ochs here. Everyone seemed to know of him but me.
I have about 40 minutes to decide if I should tune into that channel at 4:30... Is it a must see ?
Inquiring Minds, "Terry" has done that repeatedly for the last few years, and despite being told repeatedly that no one knows who she is replying to, she continues to do it.
I can tell you from the blog tools that she was responding to a comment by Irish Miss
TTP, I would say "yes". Or, at least, record it for viewing at your leisure. If you had ever caught the TV Show "That Was The Week That Was" then you had come across the work of Mr. Lehrer. As for being "cool", his work, and devotees, are really was far more nerdy than hip. After all, he was a professor who taught both mathematics and political science. He also claimed to have invented the jello shot.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I misspoke when lazily typed TW3. It should have been TW TY TW
Virtuoso is a noun, adroit is an adjective. Enough said
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteMalodorous Manatee, ok then, I will tune to that channel and watch.
I've been enjoying one of the local classic rock stations doing their annual A to Z broadcast of about 2000 songs. They started before Christmas day and will finish (I think) after New Year's day. They are only in the D's now.
You can refresh this page or press the listen live to hear it over the interweb. Some really great classics and oldies. "Move over Beethoven. And Tell Tchaikovsky the news", said Chuck Berry (but I like the ELO version better.)
http://wdrv.tunegenie.com/onair/
Heck! I was sure I had gotten this one , but I messed up PER SE/PUT. I also spent quite a bit of the time choosing the first “E” for EVEENSLER (all perps), as I don’t remember ever seeing her name.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I thought it was a GREAT puzzle. Thanks, Kyle and Gary!
Wanted ABC instead of WAD for gum. You know, Already Been Chewed.
Didn’t even see JONES. Good thing. I wouldn’t have known it.
AVOCADODIP was my first fill, naturally. Almost every day, my breakfast is a mashed up avocado with a little bit of Konrico Creole Seasoning and course ground black pepper, spread on both halves of a toasted bagel. My sister got mad at me when I was at her house, because I didn’t add onion, jalapeƱo, tomato and other stuff in it. I don’t have time for all that! Gotta get to the crossword puzzle!
The ONLY reason I knew WALTER Gropius was because of Tom Lehrer. You beat me to the link, Picard. I was looking for a video of it, but I couldn’t find one. I did find this tidbit, which throws a little more light on the subject (in case anyone is interested). I wasn't able to post the link, but here is the address:
https://hyperallergic.com/491972/the-untold-story-of-alma-mahler-and-her-relationship-to-the-bauhaus/
It's kinda a long read.
Daughter#1 insisted we do the puzzle together,
ReplyDeleteeven though I told her Saturdays were tough.
While we had the red letters on, we did not look up
or hit reveal for anything, and finished in 49 minutes
with a score of 750. (whatever that means...)
Hard as it was, with many a questionable clue,
it did give us 49 enjoyable puzzling minutes together.
Good Eats b/4 Uber...
Which reminded me that Daughter #2 attempted to make Latkes
for her boyfriend. They were overcooked and greasy,
just the way I remember them...
A curiosity, Alton Brown (Good Eats) has a recipe
for Latkes, & it includes 2 tablespoons of instant potato mix???
It also calls for a 1/4 cup of Schmaltz?
(don't you have to be Jewish to have Schmaltz?)
If anyone knows if this is a legit ingredient, pls let me know...
Anywho,
I saw an easy Potato pancake recipe that I sent to Daughter#2
(because i want her to make it so I can taste it...)
& it really does have some very interesting tips.
but I can't help but think it is going to come out more like a Knish,
(which is not a bad thing...)
If anyone has tried this easy recipe, let me know how it came out pls!
Wilbur ~ FLN: Hypothetical!!
ReplyDeleteYou had us up in arms. All my friends were trying to track down the origins of your alarming Cri de coeur!
Kerek@4:03 ~ Sometimes adjectives are used as nouns.
One may properly refer to "an ADROIT."
My first fill was GAR, thanks entirely to years of Xwd solving.
Can't remember why I knew WALTER. Maybe the Tom Lehrer song, though I don't consciously recall it.
Probably from various art classes ages ago.
ROSA PARKS was a trick clue, wasn't it? We all heard recently that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was the "first woman to lie in State in the Capitol." Turns out ROSA beat her by being the first to "lie in Honor."
Words make a difference. Especially to lawyers and politicians. The next woman will probably be the first to "lie in Peace" for her constituents.
~ OMK
Merriam Webster says in part: In English, virtuoso can be pluralized as either virtuosos or virtuosi, and it is often used attributively ("a virtuoso performer").
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteTTP @ 3:54 pm
The 49er/Cardinal game in on Amazon Prime
Ahem,
ReplyDeleteIf you feel that cooking potato pancakes "the easy way"
may be too unManly for you, you can do what I do.
I have been searching for years for ways to make (pizza)
but particularly Bread in the woods with out a proper oven.
I have seen countless methods, but today, when I saw this guy,
I realized he may be onto something...
The above is one of the best rock, bread baking ovens I have seen.
In fact,
I take great enjoyment in watching these Manly cooking
adventures on Youtube down the basement
while DW is upstairs making Dinner...
Too hard for me.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of gender related household responsibilities
ReplyDeleteAways found it interesting that when it comes to landscaping..."traditionally" flowers are in the ladies' domain but the lawn is up to the guys. Except for size both need water, weeding, fertilizer.
Likewise again in most households traditionally kitchen cooking done by the ladies but grilling done by the guys. Just food over a flame
Accent on Traditionally
ReplyDeleteI take part of it back. Well just a little bit of it back. I have heard that "Elements" song before, but the rest were all new to me. Turns out that 1.5 hour program on Lakeshore PBS was a fund raising drive. Despite the interruptions, I did enjoy it, although those 1967 Danes sure had an interesting manner of applause, and the fund raising drive parts interrupted the mood. Turned off my radio station at the onset, and he had my undivided attention for the duration. I'll look for other of his songs on YouTube. I never saw that show, That Was the Week That Was, but they did reference it a few times as they were commenting about Tom Lehrer. As well as "Electric Company" which I remember a bit of, but don't recall any specifics.
Thank you "Kyler Murray." I was able to watch the last 7 minutes of the game on Prime. Sorry to see you get injured on that last passing attempt, and too bad for your team that you threw that interception a few moments earlier that might put your AZ Cardinals out of the postseason. My friends that are Chicago Bears fans will be pleased, but they too have a tough row to hoe.
Now it's the Dolphins and the Raiders coming up on the NFL Network.
Saints 52, Vikings 33. Nuff said. Drew threw for 80,000 yds, most in history, with 11 broken ribs! Kamara ran for 6 SIX TDs. Tied record. How come we don’t get no respect?
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, the puzzle. Above my pay grade, but a fun challenge. Thanks Kyle.
Since I’m fussing’. Use Alton Browns latke recipe. Don’t cut corners!!!
Pool
Agreed. One cannot go wrong with Alton Brown's latke recipe (or his turkey fryer derrick). Steven Raichlen also has a darned good latke recipe as does Meathead Goldwyn (Amazing Ribs).
ReplyDeleteI've commented before that I just can't guess whether a xword, esp Sat, is "difficult"(or not). I didn't think it was in the top 50% level of Sat difficulty but 50% seemed to find it close to the 80% scale of difficulty.
ReplyDeleteThere was a comment by an anonymous that was a perfect description of an La-Times Saturday xword. Or as another anon put, keep practicing, we all had problems with Saturday xwords.
Re. No Sports. Fair enough. I remember one from several Saturdays back that had a ten letter sports question that gave me a big head start.
.Then again there's GROPIUS and EVE ENSLER. Leave it to Anon-T to know Vagina Chronicles
Finally, Owen "C"???? I grade it a solid W
. WC
Btw, TTP if you want some exciting football try the Coastal vs Liberty on ESPN.
ReplyDeleteCoastal keeps coming back and is 8 down with five minutes left on
ESPN
DeleteOk, that NFL game(Miami-Raiders) was pretty wierd too. Chanticleers got robbed by refs twice.
ReplyDeleteWC
WC @ 9:45pm, I nearly spit out my wine - can't wait for Anon-T's response! LOL
ReplyDeleteThis is going to go in many directions...
ReplyDeleteSwamp - Who Dat? Who Dat?
//Texans are sunk so... back to my adopted Louisiana team...
Da Bears are out too :-)
CED - Did you see this guy catch a trout w/ a mouse trap? #SideLinks
TxMs: Here you go :-)
WC - DW is PhD English. Feminine and Post-Colonial studies (? I don't know either :-)) was her focus but Vagina Monologues is something that's SEEP'd in.
Not only is DW pretty and brilliant, she/we don't, Ray-O, fall into the stereotypical gender roles. Sure, she thinks she can cook but, um, how do I put this...
A recipe to her is a HS science-class experiment - all you have to do is follow it and there are the expected results.
Um, No.
I've watched enough food-porn and practiced for years to know... Food is art. Take a bit from here and a little from there and build a flavor.
I'ts more like DW's poetry (and painting!) than an essay.
Ray-O: IMHO, I'm a pretty good cook. Sure I screw up on occasion but even then it's not so bad.*
TTP - Your Tom Lehrer "Electric Company" aside made do a double-take. Wait, is that the same Electric Company that came on after Sesame Street in my ute?
Oh, wow... 'Tis! The origins of my warp'dness . [57:44]
//They updated the Electric Company [:57] that I watched with the Girls when they were younger.
Have a wonderful eve!
Cheers, -T
*Ok, I did make a ham-bone bean soup once that was so salty (was I that hungover that I needed serious salt?) that it was uneatable.
WC @ 9:45p, in all fairness, I've never heard of Gropius (what a name, but don't know the correct pronunciation), but perps filled in his first name. I've read articles about the Bauhaus movement. Also, never heard of "The Vagina Monologues", but have no interest in modern playwrights. So another instance of perps to the rescue. FIR, after I reread the clue "...lie in honor..." - Rosa Parks.
ReplyDeleteI too thought fruit pits shouldn't be put in a compost bin but LIU. It's OK, but it will just take longer for them to decompose.
Fun puzzle - challenging Saturday puzzles are the best. Thanks, HG, for your always informative and humorous recaps. Loved the Pavlov's dogs/wind chimes cartoon!
Anon-T @ 10:57: Aha, I suspected it had to do with your exposure to your DW's Ph.D studies! As far as your creative cooking vs DW's "follow the recipe" formula, could that be because your Italian roots? I'm more of an adaptive cook (or was).
ReplyDeleteCED and Anon-T: I'm in awe of where in the heck you find these off-the-wall links...or whatever made you look for them in the first place. Maybe "awe" is not the correct description of the latter.
Re Texans: I'm so glad O'Brien (coach/GM/play caller) is gone (years too late). As one NFL exec was quoted: "He's the gift that keeps on giving."
TXMs - you think CED & I have nutty links...
ReplyDeleteOh, wait, yeah.
Call/PUT made me think of Trading Places. An analysis [NPR's Planet Money].
That's the trail of neurons - goofy to.. is ther something to that(?)...
Cheers, -T