The Third Rock from the Sun. The rearrange the letters in the circles and you get the word EARTH.
17-Across. Creator of unique gallery pieces: NICHE ARTIST.
24-Across. "Louder, please": I CAN'T HEAR YOU.
51-Across. Free on request: FOR THE ASKING.
63-Across. Motorcyclist's state-of-the-art gear: SMART HELMET.
And the Unifier:
39-Across. TV soap for 54 years ... and a hint to the puzzle circles: AS THE WORLD TURNS.
The unifier was my last fill. I don't know soap operas. My grandmother used to watch The Young and the Restless, so that is the only one I am familiar with. I had heard of As The World Turns, however. The circled letters spell the word HEART, so I was trying to come up with a soap opera that includes some reference to a heart. I laughed when I realized that letters in the circles also spell EARTH.
Across:
1. Pete Seeger's instrument: BANJO. Pete Seeger (May 3, 1919
~ Jan. 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. You
can learn to play the Banjo with Pete Seeger.
6. Biblical song: PSALM. The biblical Book of Psalms is made
up of religious verses and songs, many of which are attributed to the biblical
King David.
11. Chocolate dog: LAB. The Labrador Retriever, not the
candy.
14. Hunter in the night sky: ORION. When you connect the
stars, it is easy to see the constellation.
15. Radio station, e.g.: AIRER.
16. Physicians' gp.: AMA. As in the American Medical Association.
19. Jake Tapper's channel: CNN. Jack Tapper (né Jacob Paul
Tapper; b. Mar. 12, 1969) is the Chief Washington correspondent for CNN.
He is also the host of a weekly show on the channel.
20. Adam's first home: EDEN.
21. Neptune's domain: SEA. In addition to being the name of
a planet, Neptune was the Roman god of the sea. The Greek counterpart
was known as Poseidon.
22. "Amen": SO BE IT.
27. Cry out loud: SOB.
30. Make a choice: OPT.
31. Ctrl+Z, in Windows: UNDO.
32. Ruin's companion: WRACK.
34. Blonde or pale beverage: ALE. Your guide to Beers and Ales and a CSO to Lemonade's son.
35. Slime: GOOP. Also the name of a company founded by
Gwyneth Paltrow.
43. Mug for a selfie: POSE.
44. Nile viper: ASP. Legend has it that an ASP killed
Cleopatra.
45. Race prelims: HEATS. Ever wonder why the term Heat?
46. Behaves: ACTS.
48. One of two for a downhill run: SKI. Because just 1 ski
would be a snowboard.
50. Movie filming site: LOT.
56. Playground bully, e.g.: ABUSER.
57. Butter square: PAT. How much is a Pat of Butter?
58. Waikiki Beach location: OAHU. I would really like to be
on the beach about now.
62. "Little Birds" author Anaïs: NIN. Her full name
was Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmel (Feb. 21, 1903
~ Jan. 14, 1977). She was a French-Cuban diarist and novelist. She
is best known for her short stories and erotica. Little Birds falls into the latter category. It is a collection of short
stories. Although the book was published in 1979, it was written in the
1940 when she was known for writing pornography. She pops up in
crosswords with some frequency. In fact, she visited us just yesterday.
66. First day of spring, in Hanoi: TET.
67. Conical plains shelter: TEPEE.
68. Car alarm sound: BLARE.
69. Biblical beast of burden: ASS.
70. Scornful look: SNEER.
71. Modern storage units: BYTES.
Down:
1. Tibia or humerus: BONE. One from the leg and the other in
the arm.
2. Dry as a desert: ARID. I love this photograph. If
you look closely, you will see that the "camels" are actually their shadows.
The photo is looking directly down on the camels.
3. Naughty's opposite, to Santa: NICE. A NICE CSO to our
dear Argyle.
4. First of 21 Popes: JOHN I. Apparently, there is
considerable confusion as to the actual number of Popes named John. The number varies according to how one counts, and there were
numbering errors in the middle ages.
5. Number that's its own square root: ONE. When was the last
time you needed to know the square root of a number?
6. Mother or grandmother, e.g.: PARENT.
7. Occupy, as a desk: SIT AT.
8. Phoenix MLB team, on scoreboards: ARI. The team is known
as the Diamond Backs.
9. Eased: LESSENED.
10. "The Wind in the Willows" amphibian: MR. TOAD. The Wind in the Willows is a classic children's novel. It was written in 1908 by Kennety
Grahame (Mar. 8, 1859 ~ July 6, 1932). The novel focuses on 4 anthropomorphised animals: Mr. Toad, Rat, Mole and Mr. Badger.
11. Cagney's TV partner: LACEY. Mary Beth Lacey and Chris
Cagney were NYPD officers in a detective serise that ran in the 1980s.
Lacey was played by Tyne Daly (née Ellen Tyne Daly; b. Feb. 21, 1946).
Cagney was actually played by several actresses, but for most of the
series, was portrayed by Sharon Gless (née Sharon Marguerite Gless; b. May 31,
1943).
12. OB/GYN procedure: AMNIO. As in an amniocentesis, which is a medical procedure used to diagnose chromosomal
abnormalities, fetal infections and sex determination.
13. African language group: BANTU.
18. "Instantly!" letters: ASAP.
23. Irish accent: BROGUE. You, too, can learn to speak with
an Irish Brogue.
25. Pepsi rival: COKE. I don't drink much soda, but I would
go with Coke.
26. Main body of the Constitution?: HULL. My favorite clue
of the puzzle. The USS Constitution, also known as Old Iron Sides
, is sitting in Boston Harbor.
27. Give and take: SWAP.
28. Thereabouts: OR SO.
29. Ones hanging out in caves: BATS.
33. Ignores the rules: CHEATS.
34. Dada co-founder: ARP. Our old friend Jean Arp
(né Hans Peter Wilhelm Arp; Sept. 16, 1886 ~ June 7, 1966) is back.
We haven't seen him in quite a while.
36. Like some traditions: ORAL.
37. Not fooled by: ON TO. I am not fooled by this clue and
answer.
38. Hissed "Over here!": PSST!
40. Guys in the fishing business, e.g.: WATERMEN. Waterman
is the name of a company that makes fine writing instruments.
41. Mount of Greek myth: OSSA.
42. Pizza crust order: THIN. Yummers!
47. Places for ribs: CHESTS.
48. One doing axels: SKATER.
49. Kin's partner: KITH. Kith and Kin is becoming a
crossword staple.
51. Fruity soda brand: FANTA. Lots of fruit flavors.
52. Village Voice awards: OBIES. The Obies are the
Off-Broadway Theater Awards.
53. Littlest littermates: RUNTS.
54. "Shop 'til you drop" affair: SPREE.
55. "Wowie!": GOLLY.
59. Amo, amas, __: AMAT. Today's Latin lesson.
60. "Take it!": HERE.
61. Tribe with a state named for it: UTES. Can you guess the
State?
64. Impersonate: APE.
65. Tidal flow: EBB.
Here's the Grid:
But please, do not light your cat's whisker's on fire!
Notes from C.C.:
Happy birthday to Jazzbumpa (Ron), who's been entertaining us with his wit
and wisdom for many years. Ron spends enormous time on his each write-up,
explaining each theme in details and trying to extract every bit of
wordplay. He's also quietly endured many blog glitches over the years. Just
a few weeks ago, he lost his whole write-up due to a Copy/Paste glitch and
had to start all over again. Thanks for all you do for us, Ron.
63 comments:
Happy Birthday, JazzBumpa. May your day be extra special.
QOD: Everyone has a photographic memory; some just don’t have the film. ~ Steven Wright (né Steven Alexander Wright; b. Dec. 6, 1955), American comedian
Good morning!
Guess who couldn't see the relationship between HEART and As The World Turns? Yup. Still, I liked Dr. Ed's puzzle. It came together in a flash...well almost. Had to change FOR THE taKING to ASKING. Enjoyed your expo, Hahtoolah. (I laughed right out loud at that bat named Guanita.)
ASS: It's usually the Biblical beast, but I learned on Jeopardy! yesterday that the unicorn appears multiple times in that book.
ORAL: Tom Lehrer taught us that the Inca invented gargling, and passed it down from father to son as part of their oral tradition.
WATERMAN: For many years Parker pens were the quality American pen, and the company was a major employer in Janesville, WI. The company was sold, that plant was closed in '09, and all Parker pens are now made overseas.
RUNTS: The latest addition to our menagerie is RUNTY. When it came time to list her name on the vaccination card, d-w chickened out and wrote RUmby. I still call her RUNTY.
Happy Birthday, JzB. Too bad there probably won't be any Christmas concerts this year.
Hah, finally managed to get the crossword in before the late evening! (I usually do it more about 10-11 pm...)
I always--rather selfishly--like puzzles that reward knowledge of Latin, so the Amo, Amas, AMAT clue pleased me.
Two soda-related clues seems like a lot! I was also genuinely surprised to see Anais NIN two days in a row.
I didn't work out the significance of AS THE WORLD TURNS until I read the blog, but I think it's clever now that I see it.
Is a SMART HELMET a real thing, I wondered? I've just googled and apparently it is. They have Bluetooth connections so you can talk on the phone to your buddies while you ride. I guess it's safer than holding the phone up to your ear!
Finished in 5:15 today.
I tripped-up spelling brogue, and still have a hard time accepting "watermen."
Good morning.
Thank you Ed, and thank you, Hahtoolah
No issues. Paused on AIRER. Saw HEART and the saw HEART scrambled. Didn't pay attention to the progression and didn't pay attention to the reveal clue.
Not familiar with "WRACK and ruin". Wrack, as in wrack my brain, yes. Just looked up wrack and ruin. I get it.
HA ! That cartoon Hahtoolah posted for SIT AT could have been my nephew after we moved from the Rice dorm to a townhouse as the school year was about to begin. He would spread out all of his books and binders across the living room floor in front of the TV. He had the upstairs bedroom and entire loft area. My room was across the living room floor, so I had to manage to cross the obstacle course every day. Family referred to us as Felix and Oscar.
Many happy returns Ron and many more concerts ahead.
Susan, what a fabulous tour- wow! I really like the new etymology site. I also enjoyed seeing the old phrase WRACK AND RUIN which can be traced to a line in Milton's Paradise Lost (1677) which goes: "And now all Heav'n Had gone to wrack, with ruins overspred." Wrack, meaning damage, devastation or destruction, is a word that goes all the way back to Old English (it is first cited in the 10th century). (macmmillan dictionary blog).
Anon, even great constructors like Dr. Ed need to find some glue watermen is not unfair.
So JAMIE why are you happy for Latin?
FIR and also thought HEART was being mixed. I’ve seen NIN’s name in many puzzles but never knew who she was (and thought she was a he). Now that I know that she’s a pornographer, I might have to take a look. I always liked birds. Am I mixing up ornothologist?
Clever puzzle today from Ed Sessa one of the master constructors. JOHN filled in for the Pope, but I was confused because Pope John the 23rd was one of the most famous who was pope in the late 1950s- early 60s heading the group that put together Vatican II.
I didn't have much issue with WATERMEN - a word more commonly used in UK - where we would say RIVERMEN - those who worked on rivers, maybe due to living near the Mississippi and Missouri rivers!
My mom was a big fan of "As the World Turns" - many a memory of her shoo-ing us outside or for naps so she could have a coke, a cigarette and watch "her show." The free range parenting of the 60s!
Thanks Susan and Ed!
HBD to JzB!
"Free range parenting" -- hadn't heard that one before. I like it.
Happy Birthday, JzB !
FIR, but....like many others saw only HEART changing. Wondered about the connection but EARTH never occurred to me until Hahtoolah explained in her rich review. Again I tried to be careful to have a clean grid like AnonT but as I revolved around the puzzle, I wrote in the state UTah, so two WOs there. Aargh! Then to compound the mess, changed my SPREE entry to fit in FOR THE taKING, never checking the perp OSSt. Before too late I thought of ASKING and corrected that last area. Hi, DO. But FIR all the same. Thanks Ed for Tuesday fun!
Happy Birthday, JazzB. Hope you find some musical joy during the holidays. We've been enjoying occasional outdoor visits from our ATL family and their black LAB/German shepherd mix puppy. Hope you all have a frisky day!
Good morning everyone.
Happy Birthday to JzB.
Another easy solve. Seeing how the theme worked, I could prefill several letters in the 2 lower sets of circles. FIR.
EDEN - Over the weekend one of the other puzzles had EDEN clued as a town near Buffalo. We lived there for 13 years and 3 of our children 'started out' there. Happy times.
ORION - Of the 58 stars commonly used in celestial navigation, 4 are in ORION: Betelgeuse, Bellatrix, Rigel, and Alnilam.
Thanks Hahtoolah for another fine and delightfully whimsical intro.
Happy Birthday, JzB !
Once again, the award for Best Graphics In A Blog Post goes to....Hahtoolah. This is a weekly occurrence.
Having been owned by two different Chocolate Labs, having been a 5-string banjo player
and having put over 100,000 miles on motorcycles I got to smile a few times during the solve.
Minor frowns were elicited, however by NICHE ARTIST and GOLLY. All in all, fair enough.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAZZ. My "First Sunset Toast" is to YOU! !
Hahtoolah: Excellent write-up & links. Very informative.
Fave today was 8-d ... ARI are my initials.
Hope everyone is safe & sound.
Cheers!
Today is the eleventh anniversary of the day CBS announced the cancellation of "As the World Turns." So, while the constructor may have been thinking of "EARTH" "turning," he may also have been thinking of "broken" "HEARTs" -- a staple of soap opera plots, of course, but also the feelings of the cast, crew and lifelong fans like me when we heard the news.
Hi Gang -
Thanks for the birthday wishes.
As was mentioned, not Christmas concerts this year.
In fact, no performances at all in 2020.
But better days are coming.
We just don't know when.
Cheers!
JzB
Good Morning:
An Ed Sessa puzzle + An Hahtoolah Expo= 🤗
I, also, jumped to the Heart theme and was trying to think of a Soap with Love or Romance in the title. I never saw any soaps, but am familiar with the titles. After a few revealer crosses filled in, Earth, jumped right off the page. I liked AMA crossing Amnio and the cute duos of Asp/ASAP, Asp/Ass, Or So/Osso, and Sob/So Be It. My only w/os were Set/Lot and Gloo/Goop. (I think Gwyneth Paltrow is a tad off the wall). We also had a mini critter theme: Lab, Runts, Asp, Ape, Ass, Mr. Toad, and Bats. My niece had brother labs; Mudsy was chocolate and Sudsy was yellow. CSO to Pat.
Thanks, Dr. Ed, for bringing us some much needed Earthly joy and thanks, Hatoolah, for another eye-popping and enlightening review. I don’t know where you find such apt and humorous visuals, but I certainly appreciate and enjoy them, especially that thin crust pizza pic! I also liked the Mennonite car alarm and, as with DO, Guanita tickled my fancy. I wonder if my fancy is anywhere near my tibia or my humerus.
Happy Birthday, Ron, hope it’s a special one. 🎂🎊🎉🎁 Thanks for the time, effort, and dedication that you give to the blog.
Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate it.
If any of you have access to Apple TV, I highly recommend Greyhound with Tom Hanks. It’s about WWII’s Battle of the Atlantic, and had me on the edge of my chair for most of the movie. (I don’t subscribe to Apple TV, but when I bought my new iPad in January, I received a free one-year subscription. Some of the content is free but most isn’t. I think this is only the second film I’ve watched.)
FLN
My favorite Woody Allen films are: Crimes and Misdemeanors, Match Point, and Midnight In Paris. The first two are compelling dramas and, as we all know, MIP is a Rom-Com.
Have a great day.
I thought the theme was 4 HEARTS!!. At least FIR, no inkovers, quite str8forward.
Stat, now!! Instantly. ASAP. (As soon as possible) could mean **yawn** mañana.
Do SMART HELMETS remediate numbskulls?
I still think the ancient Greeks had quite an imagination seeing star figures by creating the first giant "connect the dots" game. I'm happy if I can find the Big Dipper (mamma bear?)
Gram (Mom's mom) who hardly spoke English never missed an episode of "Love of Life" or "Search for Tomorrow" 50's soaps.
"AS THE WORLD TURNS" was originally intended as a series about Galileo's trial
FLN. TTP ....Don't refer to other puzzle answers/themes on this blog.. Gotcha, my bad. For my penance:
Pleasant French town....NICE
Off the _____ (not custom tailored) ...WRACK
Tree felling tool ____ ACTS
To be given to a royal biblical beast of burden...FORTHEASKING
One utilizing stomach muscles..ABUSER.
Imaginary orange ocean _____ _____ FANTA SEA.
Ed McMahon: "Heeeeere's _____ !" JOHNI
Happy Birthday Ron (the picture 'splains part of your pseudonym)
Happy 🕎 (a toast with a gin and tonica)
Great write up, Susan. Your QOD was so funny. I enjoyed the amazing camel shadow photo. Your illustrations are fabulous.
I too thought the reveal was HEART and wondered what that had to do with WORLD. EARTH is obvious and so much better. We should have pondered longer.
I do not shop for fun. I do like online shopping better than actual. When I was on crutches for 12 weeks and could put no weight on my foot, I became a virtual shopper,
When I joined the all female exercise gym, Curves, all the ladies were talking about people they all knew. saying "I hope she dumps him," etc. It was so personal. It turns out they were talking about soap characters.
In my youth I was taught to calculate square root without a calculator. I was good at it. I no longer can calculate it that way. In the same way Spellcheck is affecting my formerly fine spelling.
I can identify with the illustration of the fractured rib. I fractured several ribs in an auto accident in early August, more than four months ago. Surprisingly I still can feel a mild tenderness there when I touch the area.
Happy birthday, JzB. Too bad you lost your blog that you labored hours over. I am chagrinned when I lose my small posts.
PS. So many these days use ASAP as "I want it right now!!" Our principal phrased many strong commands as mere off-hand suggestions. I have seen others use ASAP when they mean STAT..
Hola!
Happy birthday, JZB! I hope you will celebrate.
Thank you, Ed Sessa and Hahtoolah! FAbulous puzzle and review.
I also finished in a flash. It seemed like no time had passed and it was done.
Apparently Pope JOHN Paul 23rd was not included in the count of popes named JOHN or am I mistake?.
I used to love going on a shopping SPRE but no more. I tire easily.
If I do eat pizza, and it's rare, I like a THIN crust.
TaTa! Until later. Have a fine day, everyone!
And I thought it was HEART(Too, eh Hahtoolah*?) How many watch Soaps?. We got into General Hospital circa 85-92. I also liked comic strip soaps like Rex Parker**
I started to spell it HELMuT as in HELMuT the German name.
Little chilly on the Gulf beaches today. Tin will need an anorak for his walk on Honeymoon Island.
I've always liked Balaam's ASS. When I read it as a kid I wasn't sure what end of the donkey was talking hence the expression: "Talking out of his …"
Aaarrrggghhh!!!. BYTES not BYrES. And my Latin is ETTU,IPSO, and Veni… I was thinking AMor.
I remember Pope JOHN XXIII. Re. The link. If you want conspiracy try. Barbara Thiering
I'm pretty much allergic to cola but I'll grab a swig now and then for the taste.
Lori Laughlin's crime was less CHEATing than doing it sloppily. That stuff has been going on for decades.
Pizza talk again. I like it thin and crosscut. And, I like it with pineapple on top with ham or better, turkey.
WC
*Oops, make that JazzB. Oops, nope Hahtoolah after all. After all it is Tuesday (I think). But HBD JazzB now that I have you. Btw what you said is true for you too. The write-ups are the raison d'etre of solving.
** Yes I know Rex Morgan, Judge Parker. Speaking of write-ups.
Ps, HM. Chuckles.
Good morning Cornerites.
Please enjoy Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba at 8:53.
“Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba is my strongest recommendation for a must-see new band on the rise. The West African harp-lute (KORA) may be dreamy and poetic solo, but Cissokho uses it to stoke a bluelight basement party in Kaira Ba…
Diali’s natural charisma as a vocal performer may come from his centuries-old griot heritage, but he will also put you in mind of Marvin Gaye, James Brown, and other griots of New World soul.”
– SYLVIA PFEIFFENBERGER, ONDA CAROLINA
Thanks,
Ðave
Speaking of chuckles, YR I like your Curves-Soaps story. And re. RIBS: Drew Brees broke a bunch three weeks ago and may play this Sunday. His replacement has been pretty darn good though. Poor Jameis Winston, wouldn't he love to play against his old team and the Coach who canned him. Said Coach,(Arians) seems to have a penchant for INTs eg. maybe it wasn't JW after all.
WC
Musings
-I agree, Ron, Dr. Ed’s EARTH turning made for a big laugh here as well. HBD and nice job!
-I could see a NICHE ARTIST going on a SPREE in a junk yard
-This fruit predates the apple and may have been what Eve ate in EDEN
-CTRL + Z saves me when I accidentally delete an entire blog on which I had spent considerable time
-We took a selfie for our Christmas letter but our kitty would only POSE for one shot
-A sociology professor took us outside and had the women of the class erect the TEPEE because that’s who did that chore in Native American culture in Nebraska
-Mr. Clements must have done a good job in 8th grade math as I can still find square roots by hand
-HULL generated a snicker as well
Ray-O wrote, "FLN. TTP ....Don't refer to other puzzle answers/themes on this blog.. Gotcha, my bad."
That's not what I said, was it ?
No, not at all. Not sure how you interpreted it that way. At all.
What I said was, "Ray-O, It's not an issue, but we have a practice of writing SPOILER ALERT before revealing any answers just in case other readers haven't had the chance to solve yet. For example, Wilbur and I might exchange a couple of comments about the Evan Birnholz Sunday puzzles, but not reveal answers or themes until ample time has passed."
I think the practice of using SPOILER ALERT started way back when when Eastern and Central time zone Jeopardy watchers were commenting on the outcome before Mountain and Pacific time zone viewers even had a chance to see Jeopardy.
So you can spill the beans if you can't find a way to avoid it, but please use SPOILER ALERT so as to not spoil the fun for others.
Thank you Ed Sessa for an easier and fun filled CW. Thank you Hahtoolah for your charming, amusing and always fascinating blog. The toons make my day !
HBD to JaZZB. Have a happy, non-cacophonous day ! ( new word, for me ...)
The puzzle was very easy, and I even knew about the soap opera, which I've never seen. My niece, who is an all business, and no nonsense type, calls it, As the stomach turns.
Re: Anais Nin, the diarist, .... Hahtoolah, I just realized that to get into the CWs, you've got to have a 3 or 4 letter name and some claim to infamy. So, if you wrote an erotic blog, and changed your avatar-name to Hah, or Lah .... or Olah ... you too, could get into the LAT CW...
Btw, George Olah was an actual, Hungarian-American, jewish, Nobel Prize winning chemist. I met, er, once passed by him, at CWRU, about 17 years before he actually won the prize. My lame claim to fame.
The National Geographic Camel silhouette Photo seemed so contrived, and photo-shopped, until I saw the actual Youtube video. It is magnificent ! The camels all walk in straight lines, in single files, perpendicular to the passing sun rays, that the shadows are as clear as a Snellen Eye chart.
So, FLN, Ants are not the only creatures that walk in a single file.
I think camels walk in single file, to cut down on the wind resistance, and .... they can all blame the leader, if they get hopelessly lost.
Wiki- The numbering of Popes John does not occur in strict numerical order. Although there have been twenty-one legitimate popes named John, the numbering has reached John XXIII because of two errors that were introduced in the Middle Ages. First, Antipope John XVI was kept in the numbering sequence instead of being removed. Then, the number XX was skipped because Pope John XXI counted John XIV twice.
I could do square root by hand up until I retired 20 years ago. I haven't thought of it at all since. I am sure it would not take much to relearn it.
We have had square dancers in our classes who dropped out for many years when they had young children. They seem to remember nothing and then, all of a sudden, it comes right back, They just have to walk through a step once or twice and they have it down.
My sister and I visited a very elderly teacher in the town where we grew up. She mentioned many people I used to know more than 60 years ago and hadn't thought of since. To my surprise, after a while I recalled many deeply buried memories.
Thank you, Ed, for the excellent puzzle, and thank you, Hahtoolah, for explaining it all! I saw HEART "turning" and wondered where the turning WORLD was. D'oh! Speaking of whom (D-O), the "unicorn" that appears in the King James version of the Bible is a poor translation from the Greek text, rather than from the original Hebrew, which is usually translated "wild ox." When we light the first Hannukah candle on Thursday night, we'll be remembering human heroes, not mythical creatures! Chag sameach -- happy holidays.
Very funny about shortening our names to just 3 letters!
I just heard that Chuck Yeager died. He was 97. What an interesting life he lead.
Delightful Tuesday puzzle, Ed--many thanks. And Susan, your wonderful pictures always delight and amaze me--thanks for those too. I especially appreciated your picture of ORION in the sky. It was the first time I understood why the shape of that constellation might suggest an archer or a hunter.
Like others, I too thought the theme was HEART and didn't get EARTH until I came to the blog. And for the second day in a row, the LA Times spelled ANAIS NIN'S name ANAS. Can't understand why, but we're stilling getting the answer even with the misspelled clue, thank goodness.
Happy Birthday, JazzB.
Have a good day, everybody.
HBD Jzb
Would I be presumptuous to say the puzzle made my day?
The Pickles Comic mentioned
a valuable new use for Xword Puzzles today:
see 12/8/20 if the wrong day comes up
(I blame the Earth turning, but it's just a link glitch...)
Mentioned years ago that Fanta Orange Soda was a childhood fav of mine.
Then years later I found out it was invented in Nazi Germany Circa WWII
due to embargoes of supplies. Then today I found out the name is derived
from a German word. I quote Wiki:
using only ingredients available in Germany at the time, including beet sugar, whey, and apple pomace—the "leftovers of leftovers", as Keith later recalled.[2][3] The name was the result of a brainstorming session, which started with Keith's exhorting his team to "use their imagination" (Fantasie in German), to which one of his salesmen, Joe Knipp, retorted "Fanta!".[3]
Lucina,
Did you check the late, late comments on Sunday?
Irish Miss,
I sent you back A Thank You card
for your Ecard. Sorry for the delay, but so much "stuff" came
up in the original email, I thought it was Spam.
(There must be 20 links to all the Sponsors products...)
I know there is not supposed to be Religion (& politics)
discussed on the Blog, but I hope you don't mind this
"Holiday Greeting" from me (non-denominational...)
You see, I asked one of my Daughters (#2) what she was doing with
all her camera equipment in the living room, & she advised she was making
(or participating) in a video. When she sent it to me, I liked it so much,
I thought you might like it also...
Trivia:
The opening collage has pics of all my family including my M.I.L.
(& maybe even me, I didn't look that hard.)
@ 2:50 Daughter#2 sings in our backyard in September.
You can see the water fountain/birdbath behind her.
@ 3:27 Daughter#1 is in the Brady Bunch Collage center left...
Actually, family wise, there are Easter Eggs (non-denominational kind)
all thru this video...
Enjoy,
Happy Holidays!
By the way, Rivella in Switzerland is also a soft drink made from whey (cheesemaking byproduct), sugar and flavorings. It has been very popular since the 1950s there but didn't catch on in the States when it was introduced here. Maybe they got the idea from Fanta originally?
That video of Here I Am, Lord is absolutely wonderful! That song always makes me cry a bit, this one really did! Thank you so much, CrossEyedDave. That's also a really nice bird bath.
Becky
Puzzling thoughts:
What on EARTH??!!
What Irish Miss said: (paraphrasing) A Dr Ed Sessa puzzle and a Hahtoolah recap = a fun day!
Hands up for seeing HEART before EARTH as the revealer. Loved how the letters in the EARTH turned in complete harmony. Very clever and I’m sure, not easy. As Lemony714 said, the WATERMEN entry got a pass today especially in a puzzle this involved. As do the plethora of “THE”s scattered in three of the long fills
Damn you Ray-o-Sunshine! I had a Moe-ku all set for “an ocean of orange pop”, but your FANTA SEA beat me to it
Guess I’ll have to revert to an oldie today:
When asked to review
ORION’s Belt, I said “Meh,
I’ll give it 3 stars.”
⭐️ ⭐️⭐️
Hi All!
Happy Birthday JzB! Sorry your busy season isn't. Enjoy your day.
Thanks Dr. Ed for a fine puzzle. EARTH == WORLD went 'whoosh' about 4' over my head -- hand up for Heart justified by lots of Heart-break in them thar Soaps (right Becky? :-))
Such a fun kick-off to the after-party Hahtoolah! Thanks for all the comics.
WO: GlOP. Rest assured ATLGranny, it was a non-messy WO :-)
ESPs: N/A
Fav: GOLLY! [Jive subtitle - Airplane. Brother and I still laugh our butts off when someone says "Shiiii" er, 'GOLLY!'
Runner up: I CAN(T) HEAR YOU [TMBG - on a wax cylinder; listen closely and you'll hear a car ALARM warning].
FLN - WC: Thanks for the Movie correction. Jayce: Giulia has been out the shop for little over two weeks now -- not that DW's gone into the office. Funny thing, when they did the tune up the put in the wrong plugs(?). We are now a service bulletin.
Jamie - many of us are up late (I went to bed at 2a) and even more of us read the night before before posting.
D-O: I practice "Free Range Parenting" more than DW. However, I do insist they have their cell phone with them (and ANWER WHEN I CALL!) This is the pendulum-reaction to "Helicopter Parenting" of Gen-Y/Z's parents.
Spitz - ORION is my favorite constellation because it's so easy to get children to identify it and that little bit of understanding makes them more interested in space.
Never heard of a Quince - thanks for that HG.
Thanks for the Camel video Vidwan!
IM - I was wondering if you were going to comment on that THIN crust. You didn't disappoint :-) WC - cross-cut?: wedges or squares?
Ray-O: you can mention them just NO SPOILERS. //Never mind, TTP just said that.
Happy Hanukkah!
Cheers, -T
Quince jam is excellent if you can find it. Right up there with Elderberry. My daily spread is orange marmalade; usually Chivers.
Got woken up this 6 AM to the dreaded beep, every 60 seconds. Smoke alarm battery. Of course, it’s the one on the vaulted ceiling. Ladder, new battery, climb...carefully, remove, replace, test, put ladder back, and back to bed.
I read years ago that the batteries go at night especially if you lower the temp at bedtime, which I do. Last time it was the one in the front room...which also has the vaulted ceiling.
Another Sessa gem today. And no issues with it at all.
Happy Bday, JZB.
Lemonade714 - I study Classics, so Latin is in my field!
CED @ 12:40 ~ I was just glad you received it, even if the sentiment was for a previous day’s commentary. Thanks for posting that beautiful montage and choral video. Your daughters have angelic voices and that was a very moving song.
Anon T @ 1:40 ~ Great minds and all that. . .,eh? 🍕🍕
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Ed and Hahtoolah.
Did anybody see EARTH instead of Heart? LOL! I wondered what Heart scrambled had to do with WORLD TURNS.
Short post today as I have chores to do; I'll read you all later.
Quick solve today even if I didn't get the theme. Just a couple of inkblots - Utah changed to UTES, Meets changed to HEATS.
I did an alphabet run through Hall (room to sign the Constitution?), Hell (maybe!), Hill (Congress part of the Constitution?) until I reached HULL and had a lightbulb moment and chuckle. Clever clue.
I noted 33D "Ignores the rules" crossing 46A "Behaves".
We had Tibia, humerus BONES plus ribs in CHESTS.
Yes, my nose wrinkled at WATERMEN but some gluey fill might be necessary.
Happy Birthday JazzB.
Happy Hanukkah to those who celebrate it.
Good day to you all.
I have no beef with WATERMEN. It seemed so normal to me and is found in many novels. I got it with just the W.
-Dozens of watermen, seafood processors and state and local officials gathered at the seafood company A.E. Washington Post Mar 3, 2020
-He slid smaller oysters and shells back into the bay, as watermen on several other nearby boats did the same in southern Maryland. Seattle Times Dec 23, 2019
-Struggling watermen in Maryland say oyster sanctuaries haven’t worked and a new law that permanently protects five oyster sanctuaries around the Chesapeake Bay will hit them hard economically. Washington Times Dec 23, 2019
-Will was a waterman, with oyster beds on the Patuxent River near Solomon’s Island and on the Eastern Shore near Hooper’s Island. Washington Post Nov 28, 2019
CED - OK D#2 was easy to spot #fountain. Is D#1 the one with the "scrunchy" hair or the one with the lamp and picture behind her? Nevertheless, very nice. Thank you.
If Eldest (she's double-major Vocal & Psychology - wants to do music as therapy(?)) has an on-line recital this year, I'll link it. She's not bad either - when she does Ava Maria, Pop SOBs.
Shifting gears -
Has anyone repaired their own pneumatic nail gun? Both my brad-nailer and finish-nailer will not hold air / fire a nail. I watched a video and it doesn't look too hard but he did double-time his putting everything back together segment - seems like he had issues lining things up. New o-rings are only ~$20(ea), new guns are ~70ea... Oh, and there's a Porter-Cable dealer/repairman only 13mi away.... Hummmm.
Cheers, -T
Dash T, yes, I borrowed my neighbor's framing nailer, and it needed to be rebuilt. I went ahead and bought my own framing gun because I was in a pinch, but ordered the kit for his. Took his apart and rebuilt it one evening. Maybe an hour. Works like new. No big deal.
CEDave:
Your girls are amazing and the whole choir performance is absolutely beautiful. I love the song to begin with and that rendition really moved me. Thank you for posting.
And yes, I just went over to Sunday and saw the gorgeous cake! Thank you. It gives me a warm feeling to think about my birthday again. And it's not over yet. This coming Sunday I'll have two events! One is from my friends and the other is at my daughter's home. Yea! Yea! I don't even mind being 83.
Ampm-T:
I loved your cactus cake, too! It's fantastic! Thank you.
I'm glad I went back to Sunday.
Anon-T,
That "scrunchy hair"
Has been my bane for many years.
Worst nightmare scenario had to be
Ballet performances that required her hair to be in a bun.
Thank God DW did the bun for actual performances,
But I had to do it for every rehearsal!
Oh the tears!
Dash T, I remembered I'd saved the business card of the company when I ordered the repair kit from Amazon. Had everything i needed and a couple "just in case" o-rings, so I was impressed. Went to find it. Then I looked up the order in my Amazon History. It was June 2018, when I was staining my house, and I needed to build the platforms so I could work safely up high. That was why I was in the pinch. Borrowed his framer and it would only shoot a nail every 4th or 5th time you pulled the trigger. That's pretty frustrating when you are trying to hang a 12' 2x6 ledger by yourself and your gun won't fire !
Paslode 219235 F350 Power Master Plus Repair Kit - bought from Professor Foam on Amazon. The kit was $13.51 then, but now shows $32.00 and none available. Talk about inflation !
I'm gittin'in all kyna trouble. First with TTP then the Chairman...("damn you" ? 😖 a bit strong? Musta slipped by T)
Anon T; fixing a high powered ballistic tool which is just short of requiring a license to own and endorsed by the NRA? Be careful where you point that thing. The 😳
CEDave
Thoroughly enjoyed the incredible choral performance. Thanks for uploading and making it available.
CED - Tears your's or D#1? :-)
Don't take the "scrunchy" wrong. If DW doesn't iron her hair after a shower, it gets pretty scrunchy too. I like it when I can really get my fingers in there for a kiss.
I forgot to mention when Eldest belts Bohemian Rhapsody [Queen] --- stops everyone in their tracks at the local Cantina's karaoke night.
Ray-O: No licence required :-) //story follows:
Pop is a handy man. Sometimes he hires on his Brother (a retired Union Carpenter) or the guy down the street, aka Mongo as an extra set of hands.
Pop was working with Mongo (who has a weak stomach) putting up crown-molding and shot a brad right through his own finger.
Pop immediately reached down to his tool-belt, pulls out pliers, and removes the brad from his index-finger; you know, before the pain sets in. Mongo threw-up.
Mongo: "You need to see a doctor!"
Pop: "I'll just rinse it out and wrap it up. That's what Dr. LaFata (yes, lots of Italians :-)) would do anyway.
And that's what he did.
TTP - Amazon is on it's way with the new O-rings. I took it apart 'cuz #time and I figured out what the brad-nailer needs -- the O-ring kinda crumbled, so, you know, that's a clue :-)
Cheers, -T
Ray-o:
Sorry, forgot the emoji! I meant to say that great minds think alike ... or sumpin like that ...
🤪😜😃
Just an FYI..re nail gun et al. Something my Dad would've done too...but..
Highly recommended that a sharp object traumatically imbedded in a body part should not be removed. Can cause serious tissue damage/hemorrhage. Let the ER docs decide when and how to do it safely.
Neat pzl. I liked discovering (for the first time in all my born years!) how EARTH anagrams as HEART.
Just never noticed before.
HBD, JzB!
Just came back from buying our Christmas Tree. Settled for a six-footer this year. Going smaller. I'm no longer able to climb the ladder to decorate it.
Tree selection was small. Prices were taller. My wife was depressed by the lack of choice. I was happy to settle, happy that we'll get that delicious smell in the house. It will be delivered this afternoon.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Just one diagonal today, on the back end.
Its anagram refers to a period of time back in the day, when it was customary among families to bathe only once a week, generally on Saturday (so as to be clean for the Lord on Sunday).
In those days, the stretch of time between Sunday morning and Friday date night was known as the...
"BATHLESS ARC"!
When young sparkers went a-courting, Saturday evening was their "walking-out night."
Friday was out, for olfactory reasons.
OMK - Love the DR!
CED - Mask'd Eldest - I have no idea what she's singing. //audio is echo-y too :-(
Your kids & mine should get together for some kinda thing ? //YouTube seems to restart the timer, so, YMMV.
Ray-O: That would explain the weird bend in his finger (or is he flipping me off?).
But, hey, he just turned 70 this year - won't need that finger much longer anyway - *rim-shot* //this is what our family does to each other humor wise - keeps us grounded :-)
Cheers, -T
Heyyyy Tony....Yours truly just turned 70 this year!! Plan to keep my fingers for awhile.
Kept ignoring calls from "Social Security". DW who deals with them for our daughters disability SSI said they never call just mail so I thought it was a scam call. I finally answered last week. It WAS SS. They wanted to confirm my address to stsrt sending checks. I didn't realize know I HAD to start getting checks at 70 and and couldn't defer any longer
Looking at that first SS check that came today drove home: You are officially old now perthe US government 😲😳
A tinknocker was installing HVAC duct work in my addition and sliced the cuff side of his hand open. Bad. At least it looked that way.
"You need to get to the immediate care place, asap !"
"You have any Hydrogen Peroxide ?"
He then came back from his van with a small tube of super glue and squeezed it into and onto the wound and them pinched it shut with his fingers. Twenty minutes or so later he was back to working.
TTP - at risk of over posting today (I'm taking every afternoon off to burn some vacation time ~122 hours to go!) New Skin is what Pop put on my 9yro thumb when I sliced it open with a utility knife. //Don't whittle a stick towards you! Lost one corner of my Totin Chip card on that one.
It may have been super glue, but he promised! :-)
Ray-O: You and Pop have many years ahead. I just poke at him. Things like..., He looks like Bill Clinton with his frosty-white mop [68th B-Day pic]. He, #[redacted - politics/vote] hates that :-)
Oh, and he also looks like a Don you don't want to cross.
Cheers, -T
Dash T, no worries about over posting. Not counting anything. This moderator only starts deleting when people start posting partisan political comments or start denigrating a religion. Converse all you want. Oh, and spam. And personal attacks. They get deleted as well.
Nice puzzle today. FIR. Thanks Dr. Ed and Hahtoolah. HBD, JzB!!!
I got the reveal early, but like many of you, I saw only HEART, not EARTH.
Didn’t know WRACK, but perps got it; had SET before LOT and PAD before PAT.
It’s always AMO, AMAS or AMAT; what happened to AMAMUS, AMATIS and AMANT??? No respect!!!
COKE??? Blah!!! Been drinking Pepsi since I was 10 years old. My sister and I spent most of that summer with our grandmother in Wilmington (NC), while Mom and Dad were home packing up for another change of station. Every afternoon, our cousins and I would walk up to the grocery store (no such thing as a convenience store) for our once-daily-allowed soft drink. I forget whether they were a nickel or a dime, but everyone else bought a six-ounce Coke (no cans back then). For the same price I bought a 10-ounce Pepsi. Made sense to me.
Another story: Years ago, my father was in the hospital with his first hip replacement. Same sister (the only one I have) and I flew in for the momentous occasion, and we had Mom at the hospital much of the day visiting him. When lunchtime came, the three of us went downstairs to the food joint, which had fountain-dispensed Pepsi instead of Coke. Mom (a lifelong Coke drinker) refused to order Pepsi, so she got something else, probably ice tea. Next day, my sister and I left Mom upstairs with Dad when we went down for lunch, and we brought a Pepsi back for her. She never knew the difference. (Before you tell me that YOU can tell the difference, I must admit that there wasn’t a spring chicken among us, and I seriously doubt that I could tell the difference in a blind taste test).
I always thought it was “WRECK and ruin”! Hmmm. Way back when I was a yute my parents made me go to Sunday school. I hated it, but had to go. We had to take turns reading verses from the Bible. My verse was “Jesus saddled his ass and rode into Bethlehem.” and I burst out laughing, which was NOT a hit with the Sunday school teacher. Oh well, she needed more of a sense of humor, anyway. This seemed to me like Monday come on a Tuesday this week, as it was a quicker solve (for me) than yesterday! I really enjoyed this CW, very much fun! Thanx, Ed!! Hahtoolah, I don’t know how u do it: another terrific write-up! I finished binge-watching “The Morning Show” on Apple TV+ last nite. I really, REALLY recommend this series, almost everything about it is excellent! Story line, acting, production quality, music, all GREAT. Only negative: too much of people whispering or talking under their breath, requiring me to crank the volume to MAX to be able to hear it. This seemed to improve as the series went on. Anyway, if u haven’t watched it you should. Stay safe, everyone.
Dear Leo III:
"It’s always AMO, AMAS or AMAT; what happened to AMAMUS, AMATIS and AMANT??? No respect!!!"
Hey, don't forget AMABIMUS!
Dash T, that New Skin works. Don't know about Boomer, but I know a number of bowlers that either keep it in their bowling bag or in their locker.
"The Scout’s “Totin’ Rights” can be taken away if they fail in their responsibility." - Makes sense to me.
Unclefred, your bursting out laughing probably caused a few others to chuckle or bite their lips !
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