Themeless Saturday by Craig Stowe
Another Canadian drops in for the first Saturday puzzle of what will hopefully be a much better year!
Previous remarks from Craig:
As always, thanks to Rich et al. for accepting my work and improving on it. I am always amazed when a puzzle is published.
I've posted a bit about myself before but in case you missed it... I was born and raised in a small town in Newfoundland, Canada (you'll find two Newfoundland references in Craig's puzzle) but have lived in Toronto, Ontario since 2000 (you are all welcome to visit anytime; shout out to all my Canadian neighbours!) I work as a kitchen porter in a rather large hotel, which is even less exciting than it sounds. I solve and construct crosswords in my spare time.
Cheers!
Across:
10. Band wind instruments: JUGS - Briscoe Darling always played one on The Andy Griffin Show
14. "Is everything resolved now?": ARE WE GOOD?
15. Peel out, maybe: GUN IT.
16. 1994 Chuck Norris movie: HELLBOUND.
17. Pope's "An __ on Criticism": ESSAY - The manuscript as sent to the printer in 1711 along with notes to the printer
18. Apiece, in scores: ALL - 74 ALL. Looks like OT!
19. Art Deco icon: ERTE, 35. Eastern nurse: AMAH and 55. Grandson of Abraham: ESAU three cwd stalwarts
20. Reconcile: ATTUNE
21. Entertainer with a desk: CLASS CLOWN
23. Spectrum: SCALE - The visible spectrum of radiation is on a scale from about 400 nanometers to 700 nanometers
25. Neologism: COINAGE - A neologism is literally a new word or phrase that is coined. Our constructor Chuck Deodene is also a reader for the Oxford English Dictionary and is always on the lookout for these.
27. Megan of "The Blacklist": BOONE.
28. Robert __, unsuccessful 1987 Supreme Court nominee: BORK - His treatment by the senate became a neologism in 1982
29. Poet's preposition: THRO - I hath ne'er slept THRO an alarm
31. Without delay: RAPIDLY.
33. Drop: DESCEND - They DESCEND the same in the vacuum of the Moon
36. Pac-12 team since 2011: UTES - On March 3rd of this year, the UTE Indian tribe signed an agreement to let Utah University continue to use UTE as a mascot
38. "Me __!": THREE.
39. Tools used on the way up: ICE AXES - This autographed replica of Sir Edmund Hilary's ICE AXE he used to summit Everest can be yours for $5,000. When Sir Edmund was signing these, I'm sure someone said 42. "Just one more": ALMOST DONE.
41. Island birthplace of Pythagoras: SAMOS - 14 hrs via ferry and an hour by plane from Athens
44. Poor: SUBPAR - My golf game is SUBPAR because I can't shoot SUBPAR scores
46. Jazz phrase: RIFF - $8 at Amazon
46. Jazz phrase: RIFF - $8 at Amazon
47. Electrify: ZAP.
50. Sanctions: OKAYS - Sanctions is a contronym
51. Small driers, to Brits: TEA TOWELS.
53. "Jay __ Garage": Emmy-winning reality show: LENOS.
54. Reveres: VENERATES - Jay VENERATES cars
56. Refuse to budge: STAND FAST - General McAuliffe told the Germans this when they demanded he surrender at Bastogne during the Battle Of The Bulge
Down:
1. "Funny not funny": HA HA - Sarcasm 101
2. Russian city: OREL (Oryo) - Just a nice drive SSW of Moscow on the M-2 and E-105
3. Dudley Do-Right's love: NELL - Can you pick her out?
4. Symbol of Athena: OWL - Athena and Glaukopis
5. Rose up: REBELLED.
6. Hellenic gathering places: AGORAE - Ruins of ancient AGORAE can be found on Samos
7. Creams: ROUTS - The Nationals did Cream/ROUT the Mets in this game
8. "Rhinoceros" playwright: IONESCO - Bio of Eugène Ionesco
9. Cookbook directive: ADD.
10. "Pay attention and see how it's done": JUST WATCH ME - "Final words for some"
11. One who didn't get what they deserved: UNSUNG HERO - Every Doctor, EMT, Nurse and first responder!
12. 17th-century sculptor Bernini: GIAN - GIAN Bernini's design of St. Peter's Square includes Doric columns that represent the embrace of the Mother Church
13. Ocular woe: STYE.
15. Board: GET ON.
20. Matching in many ways: ALIKE - This animal and the background look so much ALIKE it is hard to pick him out (*answer at bottom of write-up)
21. Offer to a customer: CAN I HELP YOU? Jack Benny could never shake this guy
22. Wood lots: CORDS.
24. Manilow hit featuring Tony and Lola: COPACABANA - Live on GMA
26. White-tailed fliers: ERNES.
27. Hood accessory: BRA - A GAT is an accessory for the wrong kind of hood. This BRA is what I had for the hood on my Mazda Miata.
28. Units usually prefixed: BYTES.
30. Poetic tribute: ODE.
32. Vegas hotel that once had a King Tut's Tomb replica: LUXOR - It is said that the light at the top of LUXOR's pyramid can be seen by pilots 30o miles from Vegas.
34. Home of the Cardinal: STANFORD - In 1971 STANFORD abandoned its Indian mascot for the Cardinal
37. Where the Boss' band once rehearsed: E-STREET E-Street runs northeast through the New Jersey shore town of Belmar. According to Springsteenlore, the band took its name from the street because original keyboard player David Sancious's mother lived there and allowed the band to rehearse in her house.40. Corral: AMASS - Politicians have just finished the season of trying to (insert appropriate verb) votes
41. Give in a bit: SOFTEN.
43. Mythical hunter: DIANA - ORION gives way to a lady hunter
44. Exclusive: SOLE.
45. Bari __: low-pitched strings: UKES - A portmanteau of baritone and ukelele
48. Porters, e.g.: ALES.
49. Sibilant "Hey!": PSST - Sibilant means hissing so...
51. Sharp offerings: TVS - Sharp's first color TV in 1960
*A wolf is peeking around a tree just to the left of the center of the picture.
A mathematician from SAMOS I.
ReplyDeleteDecided for a prize he'd vie.
To find a use
For a hypotenuse:
"It's acutie, and SO AM I!"
{B-.}
Good morning! (Ooofda!)
ReplyDeleteMAY I HELP YOU really slowed me down on this one. Thinking NELL was TESS and CORDS were ACRES also added to the solving time. COPA CABANA and UNSUNG HERO were nice. The looming DNF was avoided; d-o didn't exactly GUN IT to the finish line, but at least he crossed it. Yay. Thanx, Craig and Husker. (Should we attribute that Miata to middle age crazy?)
STANFORD -- For some reason it's not a cardinal, it's The Cardinal.
Another late start for the Corner on this second day of 2021. Thank you, Craig, who is both an accomplished constructor and a kitchen porter.
ReplyDeleteHG. your write-up was not subpar, but isn't that another contronym?
I did not know GIAN nor Bari __: low-pitched strings: UKES
We used to have our own LUXOR commenting and stirring controversy here/
Have a great day
Gary, how in the world did you get in and out of the Miata? I am short and they are not easy for me.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning
ReplyDeleteI found some of the cluing a tad odd but, overall, I enjoyed the solve and a lot of really lively fill, such as, Can I help you, Just watch me, Copacabana, etc. My favorite C/A was Entertainer with a desk=Class Clown. Several unknowns slowed me down: Samos, Gian, Ionesco, and Stanford and Ukes, as clued. I also went astray at Awe/Zap and Orion/Diana (Hi, HG). My major boo boo, though, led to a FIW, thanks to spelling Honoraria incorrectly. Had I checked the downs, I think I would have thought that an Awl was an odd symbol for Athena. Then again, maybe I wouldn’t.
Thanks, Craig, for a just-right Saturday challenge and for sharing your thoughts and thanks, HG, for the usual entertaining and enlightening expo.
Have a great day.
FIW. I thought a BRo could be an accessory in the hood. Tough slog, unhappy ending.
ReplyDeleteHusker Gary: Nice write-up & links. Very informative.
ReplyDeleteYour Miata BRA looked just like the one I had for my 1972 Prosche 914-6.
Well I actually made it to Midnight January 1st, 2021 (1st time in 6 years).
Hope everyone had a "Safe-n-Sound" Holiday.
Cheers!
FIW 😒...TEATOWELS did me in which makes no sense. Owls are birds not mammals they have no ..oh wait.. wha?...uh.... nevermind!...I put heatovens (so how do I 'splain. hvs, vaf?) Eventually inked over Orion/DIANA to no avail. Additional inkovers, ....letfall/DESCEND, hawks/ERNES, (CW frequent fliers 🦅), awe/ZAP.....wood lots contain CORDS.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the rest...not too shabby Saturday.
I haven't seen AMAH, an old CW staple, for eons, æons even. DW gets restaurant giftcards for volunteering at church. It fit but perps forced an inkover.
Did not understand BRA till I saw the picture...is that a size 100ZZZZ?
Lots of STYEs lately. Was sure "entertainer with a desk" had to be a late night TV host (LENOS, Carsons, O'Briens etc?) wrong!
GIAN Bernini. Gian is a contraction of Giovanni (John) used as part of a combined first name like Gianluca (Luke), Gianpaolo (Paul). The sculptor is Gian Lorenzo (Lawrence)
HADES yesterday.. was HELLBOUND today. If the Boss's band rehearsed in Allentown there were too many letters.
So which conservatories offer degrees in classical JUG music and theory?
The unfriendly IT guy's bark is worse than his ___ BYTES
The towers of Notre Dame de Paris will need to be ____ REBELLED.
Only sing in the shower, can't carry _____ ATTUNE
Have a great weekend....
This solve came in spurts - and then pauses. Eventually FIR. Since I didn't know the "Blacklist" actress - the BRA answer took a bit.
ReplyDeleteBarry Manilow's "COPACABANA" gave a nice long start to that section.
STANFORD also gave a nice start to that section as well. D-O - when they got away from the Indians as a mascot they went for a neutral color name for the athletic team: The Stanford CARDINAL - mimicking the Harvard Crimson, Cornell Big Red, Dartmouth Big Green. At first they had the student body vote on it - but the name that won was the Robber Barons which, though apt, was nixed by the Regents. The mascot at the football games is the Tree - which came about from the tree that is on the seal of the school - which is the Palo Alto - a very old (1000+ year old) redwood on the border between the school and the city.
http://www.paloaltohistory.org/el-palo-alto.php
Thanks HG for the blog and Craig for the puzzle (and stopping in)
Hola!
ReplyDeleteFinished in good time for a Saturday, thank you Craig Stowe. I'm glad to see the constructor's name correctly attributed by the newspaper. Things are looking up!
I jumped around quite a bit before getting a toehold and that was in the SW corner since I had COPA CABANA, Barry Manilow's almost theme song. AMAH is standard crosswordese but BOONE was a pure guess.
Thanks to the nerdy techs on this Blog I have learned BYTES and ALMOST DONE, DIANA beat out Orion. I remember a speech by Lady DIANA's brother in which he referred to her as the Hunter so luckily a few things are still clinging to my fast eroding memory.
JUGS are a mystery as clued but GIAN was solid and most of that long fill completed itself quickly, too. DNF on TEA TOWELS. I wanted HEAT something and left a blank cell at ALES which I really wanted but didn't think it was right.
Over all I am pleased with my performance on this because it was not easy! I'm always glad to see classical references like an ESSAY from Alexander Pope and playwright IONESCO. I believe Misty will like those as well. Maybe OMkeith, too.
Have a good, relaxing Saturday, everyone! For me, it's time to put away the decorations and take down the Christmas tree. It's over!
Thank you, Gary for your treatise and nice interview with our constructor.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteI experienced pretty much what IM did. Missed SO AM I. Had Orion before DIANA. UKES and JUGS came from fill. HONORARIUM is in my vocabulary and I have kidded people in the sense that HG mentioned.
GIAN Bernini - We've seen some of his works including the baldacchino in St Peter's and they are spectacular.
A good Saturday workout, and another fine unpacking by Husker.
This was another unsolvable puzzle until it wasn't. Very little came immediately to mind but nothing proved to be un-figure-out-able. We kept chipping away et voila, c'est fini bien. My mom was a WAC so, WAF was pretty easy. Ray is spot on with our old friend AMAH. Maybe next Saturday we'll see SNOOD or other Maleska-era acquaintances. We first headed down the talk show path before getting CLASS CLOWN. Valerie nailed E STREET and watching the PAC-8 turn into the PAC-12 over the years helped with UTES. Al Stewart's "Roads to Moscow" taught me OREL. Imagine that, a rock song about what we called The Eastern Front. A great song if a bit of an anomaly. Now back to watching Betty Boop, Popeye and Tom & Jerry on the tube. Thanks, Gary for yet another great recap.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I eventually figured out it was DIANE and not ORION, the bottom right section stumped me and I gave up. Also I had some single letter unknowns.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite answer: ME THREE!!
Inanehiker, thanx for the info on Stanford. Learning moment. i take it you must have attended there.
ReplyDeleteLots and lots of white that slowly came together. Started with giftcards at 1A a d scope at 23A. Classclown came immediately although I was the furthest thing from one. Eventually it was a DNF due to the NE not being able to think of jugs at 10A and attune at 20A. Also, I had distend at 33A which made matters worse. Tomorrow will be a better day. So says Annie (my granddaughter).
ReplyDeleteSlow going but, but a cup of coffee and some rum balls helped fire up some brain cells.
ReplyDeleteI am tired of my own cooking and take out, so my husband and I are thinking of trying a meal delivery service. Right now both Home Chef and Hello Fresh have some great introductory deals with many options to choose from. Have any of you tried these companies?
Took a while for the NW corner, but finally got it. Good, challenging Saturday; getting the four long phrases was the key for me.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-D-O and Lemon, That Miata was indeed a vehicle for my mid-life crisis. My body of 30 years ago got in and out pretty easily.
-Lemon 2 - SUBPAR as a contronym. “Ah should’a seed it!”
-Before FB halftimes became a congregation of “experts” bloviating for a half hour, I always enjoyed the Stanford Marching Band as they dressed randomly and ran helter-skelter to the next formation!
-Seeing Ohio State rout Clemson last night was fun. Having a team in the hunt that lives north of the Mason-Dixon line is something NCAA FB needs.
Like Hungry Mother, "I thought a BRo could be an accessory in the hood." That gave me oMAH instead of AMAH, but I couldn't remember exactly how that was supposed to go. FIW! A very challenging solve. Thank you, Craig, HG, and solvers all.
ReplyDeleteYuman, we used "Purple Carrot" for a few months, probably a couple of years ago. They delivered exactly the amount of ingredients needed to make dinner, along with recipes. It was fun but also frustrating because at that time, the recipes told you what to do, step by step, without explaining the end goals. We would wind up with a main dish, a salad, and a sauce, and be surprised. I need to be told, here is how you make the salad, here is how you make the sauce, etc. I've been told they have improved the instructions. We don't make any of those recipes now, but at least it broke up the routine. It couldn't hurt to try one that appeals to your tastes!
ReplyDeletePuzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteI did this one on line a few days ago and can’t recall the exact words and areas that tripped me up, but I’m pretty sure that I had to look a few answers up. Lots of interesting fill in this one which is indicative of themeless xword puzzles
Noticed COIN again (in COINAGE)
SO to yours truly with CLASS CLOWN 🤡
HG, great visuals today on the recap; as to your comment about the College Football playoffs and championship game, I’m not sure I agree that there has to be a team from any particular region of the country represented. While it’s nice that Ohio State is from “the North”, I would like to see a larger group of playoff teams; perhaps even extending to 8 or 16 teams. I think Ohio State played last night's game with a huge chip on their shoulder. Not sure if we’ll see the same from them vs Alabama ...
Super Saturday. Thanks for the fun, Craig (welcome fellow-Canadian!) and HuskerG.
ReplyDeleteThis CW was above my paygrade (or I was SUBPAR) and my numerous learning moments with Mr. Google took some of the enjoyment out of it.
For a Canadian constructor, I did not see any Canadian advantage. (OK, I did know TEA TOWELS! What on earth do you Americans call them??). And NELL. But this Canadian has enough problem keeping up with the current American political figures, let alone an unsuccessful Supreme Court nominee from 1987! And you know that I do not know all the PAC-12 schools.
Craig - I am wondering about those 2 Newfie references. (I have a neighbour from St. John's.) Maybe JUGS & UKES for a kitchen party?? Or SOLE to eat (but should be Cod!). Or ICE AXES for those Floes? Or UNSUNG HEROES for those folks in Gander (but they are now Sung Heroes in Come From Away!). Please drop by and enlighten me. Plus, if you tell me the hotel in Toronto (Royal York, Westin, Novotel, Sheraton, Intercontinental?), I may visit when our lockdown is over LOL.
If Craig is of a certain age, He must have thought of Trudeau the elder with "JUST WATCH ME". I think I have linked this before (start around 5:44 for the context).
JustWatchMe
Of course I had May I HELP YOU before CAN. Every English teacher has drilled into my head that CAN means "am I able and knowledgeable to help you", whereas May means "will you allow me to help you". But of course the meanings are now blurred and interchangeable. Right YR?
Wishing you all a great day.
Not your fault, Canadian Eh! .... but the video you linked, JustWatchMe , is not 'available' in the US. ( I guess we haven't paid our bills ...)
ReplyDeleteHG, it took a long look before I saw the wolf in your picture for 20D.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your write-up, and benefitted from your explanations. (Stanford Cardinal; and while I’ve been to St. Peter’s I didn’t know of Bernini)
While difficult, this was a very enjoyable puzzle, with easy phrases (CAN I HELP YOU and JUST WATCH ME) once the perps helped to reveal them.
Thank You Mr. Stowe, for a very challenging puzzle and HuskerG for a very interesting review.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year ( again) to all our Cornerites.
The puzzle was quite difficult, but for a Saturday, only to be expected. I concentrated instead on learning a lot. which I did.
On your picture on UTES, the utes of the Utes, are all in the center of the field...
HONORARIA ... as an aside, whereas senior medical doctors, after completing their residencies, here in the US, are generally called Attendings, as in Attending Physician, ... in the UK, they are often/ sometimes called Honoraries, and are paid an honorarium. There is nothing "honorary" about this, ( ofcourse, excepting for the honorable work they do ) since it is their main profession and the honorarium is their salary, often fairly generous. But, old habits and traditions, die hard.
They are now mostly called Registrars, and then, Consultants. Surgeons are often called (say) Mr. Smith, after he became, a Dr. Smith, ..... after they have the FRCS ( Fellow of the Royal college of Surgeons ) , because Mr. Smith supposedly, denotes a gentleman, whereas Dr. Smith was traditionally, considered a tradesman ... See Wiki, for details.
Sanctions on South Africa, by the UK, is a big theme of 'The Crown' in Season 4, Episode 7,... on Netflix. P.M. Thatcher versus The Queen...
On 20 Down, ALIKE, and the camouflage picture, I cannot help. but post some links on one of my favorite camouflage artists, Bev Doolittle.
ReplyDeleteBev Doolittle, Artist
Picture number 2 .... Five Hidden Horses
Doolittle, Picture number 3 .... Horses and Indians ....
Thanks HG for the amazing write-up. I didn't think this puzzle would be particularly difficult but things always seem easy when you have the answers in front of you. Rich really amped up the cluing and helped a lot editing the middle section of grid. We were trying to avoid the crosswordese but some of it was inevitable. Much thanks to Rich for his help.
ReplyDeleteCanadianEh: I think HG was referring to my last themeless in September which had two Newfoundland references; COME FROM AWAY and CAPE Spear. I haven't been to visit my parents since the summer of 2019 so I'm guessing my first trip will be to Newfoundland whenever the Atlantic bubble pops. I too am surprised our southern neighbours aren't familiar with TEA TOWELS as an everyday item.
I used to work at the Chelsea Hotel but haven't worked since last April. I changed positions to a stores clerk in the purchasing department a couple of years ago, I can't wait to go back! I miss normal life so much.
Stay safe everyone!
ReplyDeleteThe last link wont show, so, here's yet another print of Bev Doolittle, the Camouflage Artist.
Two Indians, and lots of Horses
It shows two indians, in camouflage, trying to steal a horse....
ReplyDeleteFinally, Bev Doolittle's Magbus Opus... 24 separate paintings, form a composite of HIDE AND SEEK, ... and each painting has a horse, or two hidden inside.
Click on the paintings to enlarge it.
A 24 Horse composite of HIDE AND SEEK
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteWell, 2021 is not starting off great puzzle-wise. Only about half-way done before the cheats flew... ORELL, IONESCO, GIAN, SAMOS, [peek at HG's grid] Ah! not STeaDFAST.
Thanks Craig for the puzzle / learning-day and for stopping in. So sorry to hear of your (understandable under C19) job change.
Thanks HG for the salving expo and going above&beyond with another constructor interview.
Fav: E STREET. I was filling while listening to CBC's Day6 programme [hey, it's a Canadian show] on The Boss.
FLN - Lucina, I know you visit Carmel; I've been a few times too (remember the family bike-ride from Monterey to Carmel on Father's Day from HELL? (I was literally at Wit's End) :-)). No idea that if I JUST went 20 miles farther south I'd have seen Big Sur.
C, Eh & Mr. Stowe - um, kitchen TOWELS(?). Though, I have been binge-watching Midsummer Murders and shoulda known TEA (they seem to have tea or booze in every scene!)
//clue made my try to think of a name for the little appliances (dual-washer/dryer) in those tiny flats.
Quite by accident, I was at St. Peter's Square in '18 with DW. We had tickets for the Vatican Museum Tour (included Sistine Chapel) but arrived at the wrong end of The Vatican (thanks iPhone directions!). Took us another 20+ minutes to walk around back.
Quite on purpose, we stayed at the LUXOR in the late '90's for DW's friend's 'white-trash wedding.' (Yes, at that chapel). The inclinator seemed a (very) modernized version of the one in St. Louis.
Now, to go find Vidwan's horses...
Cheers, -T
Anon-T:
ReplyDeleteAlas! Since my friend, Claire, moved away from Carmel I have not been there nor do I expect to go any time soon. Our other friend, from whom Claire was renting her house, sold it for $$$$ and now lives in a condo so there is no incentive for us to visit. However, she had mortgaged the house several times so did not realize any profit from it.
In Rome our guide explained to us that Bernini was the architect but having read so much about Italy, Rome, the Medicis, etc., etc., I was familiar with that information.
Claire now lives in San Rafael not too far from Carmine who has lived there a long time and I was expecting to visit next week, in fact, and just yesterday cancelled that trip. Who knows when travel will again be safe.
Tony, I have an image in my mind's eye of you rounding that corner in your bicycle. At Wit's End!
Would have had a perfect Ta ~DA!--if I had only recognized DIANA hiding behind my answer of GIANA!
ReplyDeleteGIANA?!! Who the heck was that?
Nobody, apparently. And yet the "G" made so much sense; it rendered the longish perp above as ALMOST GONE rather than ALMOST DONE.
Damn. I'm sure there was a hunter in the long ago past or in the wide, wide world of fable named GIANA. Maybe spelled variously as JIANA, GHIANNA, JEE-ANNA, CHANA, etc. etc.
* * * *
There! I found her. An easy Google hunt produces my prey--JAINA! Lady JAINA Proudmoore!!
AHA! Since this answers the clues in both directions, it means today's Xwd has...
"Alternate Facts"!
~ OMK
FIW today after several tries. Finally gave up and read Husker Gary's expose to see what I was missing. Oh, TEA TOWELS! (known as dish towels, used to dry dishes back in the day, where I grew up) and STANFORD. Couldn't get that and nearby RIFF and SAMOS. So, 7 wrong squares today, but it could have been worse. Many WAGs turned out fine. Thanks, Craig, for the puzzle and dropping by.
ReplyDeleteSo far during the holiday season I have shown I have lots of room for improvement. That should have been my New Year's resolution, but even when wrong, I enjoy doing the puzzles and always learn something new. And I did see the wolf after a while, HG. So onward to the Sunday puzzle!
Ah, yes, the entertaining CLASS CLOWN! We all remember (or WERE) one! As a teacher for 35 years they were both a "bane" or a "boon" disrupting or "lightening up" the class atmosphere. My two most memorable became an Emmy Award winning actor and another was an Assistant Superintendent of a large school district - you just never know. An enjoyable romp of 45 minutes today. Only four reference searches. Now I gotta take the Christmas �� down!
ReplyDeleteCanadianEh!
ReplyDeleteAtlGranny beat me to it on DISH TOWELS or KITCHEN TOWELS for what you more elegantly call TEA TOWELS.
ATLGranny - I've solved one or two Saturday puzzles on my own this, er last, year. I think of Saturdays as my learning day (and many times Thursdays too(?) WTFrog?) But you're right, the play is always fun.
ReplyDeleteLucina - Medicis... I kept hearing that name when we were at Villa Casagrande in Figline (don't say to the taxi driver --after getting off the train from Rome-- "Fig Line"; that's not how it's pronounced... ask me how I know :-))
Unknown: HG gave us the example of the greatest CLASS CLOWN (George Carlin) ever but... David Lightman [War Games] was pretty funny too.
I wasn't a good CLASS CLOWN - sometimes a gag would land but usually I needed a few edits and didn't come up with 'em until a few hours later. You know that revelation?
Cheers, -T
Good evening everyone! Thanks, Craig S., for a suitably challenging Saturday offering, and thanks, Gary, for wrapping it all up with a bow.
ReplyDeleteThis was a long solve that took a couple of red-letter cheats to finally fill it all in. I remembered “Rhinoceros” from high school English class, but struggled with spelling IONESCO correctly. No problem with TEA TOWELS since we watch quite a few British TV shows. DH is a fan of Jay LENO’S Garage, so that filled quickly. JUST WATCH ME made me think it would be amusing to see “Hold My Beer” as a CW answer some day – don’t remember ever having seen it, but I may be wrong.
Well, back to work putting away Christmas decorations and getting the house back in order following Daughter, SIL and grandkids’ visit. Loved having them here, but it can get pretty chaotic with three kids (ages 8, 4 and 18 mos.) and four adults in the house. (BTW, we all did pre-visit COVID testing and kept outside contact to a minimum.)
Wishing a very Happy New Year to all our Corner denizens!
Vidwan - Thanks for letting me know about my link. I sometimes have the same issue here where YouTube won’t allow a video on this side of the border. Maybe when the COVID border closure is over . . . LOL,
ReplyDeleteTry https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/10/13/history-oct-13-1970-how-far-would-you-go-just-watch-me/
Sorry, it is hard to link properly on my iPad.
Craig - thanks for dropping by and clarifying that HG’s quote was from a previous interview. I missed noting that.
The last 9 months have been hard for so many workers. I am glad to be retired. Hopefully you are getting CERB help.
That Atlantic bubble was quite effective.
I know The Chelsea but I have never stayed there. I was at U of T when it was being built (originally for student housing I believe).
Thanks to AnonT, ATL Granny, Lucina, for giving me the American version of TEA TOWELS. I have heard Dish towel.
Yes AnonT, I thought of the appliance at first too.
D-O - yes I attended there and was a campus tour guide for 2 years so I have lots of fun facts running around in my head!
ReplyDeleteMy grandma always call TEA TOWELs - the towels made of muslin or flour sack material and embroidered around the edge with a picture embroidered in one corner. They were always the best for drying dishes!
I read "Adam's grandson" and had ENOS
ReplyDeleteNo way to comment on BORK without politics. Except a WAG from Boston said his hometown was about three things: Sports, Politics and Revenge
What do they call something like SUBPAR in which the lack of a space reverses the meaning. Ok, contronyms** it.
Were "Nuts!" his exact word(s)?
OREL was the last perp to get my FIR(I'm on another streak after Sunday's disaster). Plus the A in DIANA and the B in BOONE
And, what's the name of his(Dudley's) villainous archenemy?
"JUGS are a mystery as clued but GIAN was solid". Talk about the diversity of the blog. eg It was as the reverse for me
"This was another unsolvable puzzle until it wasn't"- perfect desc MaloMan
I'm reading a biography of John Wooden. UCLA, USC and a few others left the old Pacific Conf in the 50s, eventually realigned to form the PAC-8 then added four more.
I agree that the long fills, once grok'ed, were very helpful. I'd rate it a typical Saturday difficulty. There were hanging fruit to establish footholds.
And better late than never. Methinks I forgot to post my missive for yesterday.
WC
.
*Snidely
** I see others picked up on that
Ok, this never got posted Friday. Too much running around. We had a water leak which burned out the pump to the well.
ReplyDelete****
As Tin will attest, Tarpon Springs celebrates Epiphany by tossing a cross in the water whence the young Greek boys* dive for it. I think the grand poobah of Orthodox Church presided one time
"Nenikekiam” (“Victory! Victory! Rejoice, we conquer!”) Pheidippides' last words
I didn't catch that meaning of Major. The lost rank, generally the LtCol's gopher
X could have referred to AXIS(Oops, short a letter)
Now if the dash showed the $$cost of PEALing out vs steady accel…**
Ah, that Krok. I worked for Howdy Hamburger. I would total the order in my head (1966)
How to spell SCHUSS? Let me count the ways. I had UfO??? Xword 3ltr confusion.
Only 30 minutes L214? Must have skipped a few links. But... Keep them coming C-Moe, loved it.
WC
*I think girls have started diving now, too
**Oops, PEAL/PEEL was Saturday word. Almost gave it away