Why do I always get the fishy puzzles? And today's is shell fishy to be exact. Thank you Bryant White for a very clever puzzle with lots of sparkly grist on which to hang internet bling. The puzzle has two cryptic reveals, pointing to a graphic that only finally emerges in the circles near the very bottom of the grid.
Here are the reveals:
34A. Red variety of this puzzle's circles: MANHATTAN.
RED
circles? My newspaper is B&W, How can this be. Wait and see ...
6D.
White variety of this puzzle's circles: NEW ENGLAND. They
were BLACK actually - I can't even HIGHLIGHT WHITE. But
it's getting warmer ...
3D. With 9-Down, crispy go-with for this puzzle's circles: SALTINE. Or the related OYSTER CRACKERS for us hypertensives. Fishier still ...
9D. See 3-Down: CRACKER. Lots of synonyms for this: YEGG, HACKER, and some that are not so PC.
Here's the grid:
Following the highlighted circles starting in 36A from left to right and down the rows below, a BOWL emerges, which you can use for a serving of either MANHATTAN or NEW ENGLAND CLAM CHOWDER. Complete with SALTINE CRACKERS at 3D and 9D respectively. Notice that Bryant tosses in some COD at 9A and AHI tuna at 65A. Throw these in the bowl and you've got the makings of a SEAFOOD CHOWDER (see C.C.'s Blog Recipes)
Here are the rest of the clues.
Across:
4. He's Santa in "Elf": ASNER. Before playing global altruist
SAINT NICK, Ed Asner played
LOU GRANT, a hard-bitten newspaper man.
9. Fish-and-chips fish: COD. ENGLISH carry-out, with
FRENCH fries not potato chips. Do you smell something fishy?
12. Andean stew tubers: OCAS. Speaking of POTATOES,
OCAS
are their up and up competition.
14. Geoffrey of fashion: BEENE.
15. "You have a point": TRUE. The one at the end of the answer.
16. Hanukkah moolah: GELT.
Money, gold-foil clad chocolate actually, given as presents during the
Jewish festival of Hanukkah. It is typically given to children and sometimes
teachers, often in conjunction with the game of
Dreidel.
17. Cut with sharp teeth: SAW UP. A tree must be SAWN
DOWN before it is can be SAWN UP. I wonder what
Sir Isaac would have thought of that?
18. Greasy spoon sign: EATS.
19. Board game endings: MATES.
Le Roi est mort, vive le Roi! He lives to play another day!
21. Dudes: MEN. They don't make very good
RANCHERS though.
22. Sonora flora: CACTI. Prickly subject.
23. Jungian inner self: ANIMA. Well ... half of the inner self. Also a Latin noun for BREATH or SOUL.
24. Anti-apartheid org.: ANC. Founded by
Nelson Mandela, a truly remarkable human being.
25. Actor Werner of "Fahrenheit 451": OSKAR. The film, based on
the SF novel by Ray Bradbury, was a vehicle not only for Werner, but for Julie Christie as well. Werner was also in one of my all time favorite movies,
Jules and Jim in1962. Fahrenheit 451(the ignition temperature of
paper), takes us to a post-literate society in the future where
"firefighters" burn books instead of putting out fires. In 2018 HBO did
a new adaptation of the novel , and it seems to have been roundly panned.
26. Element #50: TIN. The integer indicates "Atomic Number";
TIN is the only 3 letter element name.
27. More squalid: MANGIER.
30. Scrape (out): EKE.
31. Crackerjack: ACE. A TOY in every box!
32. Restricted road area: BUS LANE. HOV would fit too, but
doesn't perp.
33. High-__ image: RES. Cyber jargon for the
PIXEL DENSITY ("Picture Elements") of an image.
36. Larry __, former Phillies All-Star shortstop who was 2001 N.L. Manager of
the Year:
BOWA. Larry has not yet made the trip to Cooperstown. A CSO to
any FANS who might want to hazard a guess on his prospects?
39. Meat-eating aids: TINES. They put the TEETH in
FORKS.
40. River to the Baltic: ODER. The "River of Peace" marking
the border between Poland and Germany, and the only 4 letter river flowing
into the Baltic.
44. "Invisible Cities" author Calvino: ITALO.
Marco Polo makes them visible in the mind's eye of Emperor Kublai Khan.
46. Copper orgs.?: PDS. Police Departments.
47. Happy, but not cheerful or upbeat?: DWARF.
48. Spoonful, say: DOLLOP.
50. Was in the cards: LOOMED. A tangled NET unfolds ...
51. Group with rackets: MAFIA. No, not this one ..
53. Long __: JOHNS. It's that time of year. Tell me
about it Boomer!
54. Slightly cracked: AJAR. When a door is not a door it's ...
56. Glass-half-empty sort: CYNIC. After all of these centuries
Diogenes is still looking for an honest man. As I am only a
half-cynic, I still hope he finds one.
58. Computer giant: DELL. IBM is too short. ACER didn't perp. Which leaves MICHAEL S. DELL,
who revolutionized the PC computer industry in 1984 by allowing
customers to buy directly from the manufacturer at considerable cost
savings. He came by his fortune honestly, except for a little tiff with
the SEC: see PENALTY in the Wiki link.
61. "Amen!": WORD. So be it.
62. Memorable mission: ALAMO. This is not a big place. How
the Texans held the Mexicans at bay for so long is miraculous. I have
visited San Antonio many times and it's my favorite city in Texas. So
much to see and do there and in the surrounding country side.
63. Director Kazan: ELIA. Makes frequent appearances in crossword
puzzles.
A real cinema giant.
64. "I'm up for it!": LETS. Let's not and say we did.
65. Sashimi selection: AHI. My favorite way to eat this is in a
dish called
TEKKADON. Yummy!
66. Initial request for an answer?: RSVP. We'll be taking your
comments immediately after this review.
Down:
1. Church doctrines: DOGMATA. Plural of DOGMA.
2. Airline on "Lost": OCEANIC.
4. Washboard __: ABS. The hunks go for 6-pack ABS.
That's nothin' - I've got at least a 12-pack!
5. Sailor's skill: SEAMANSHIP. Requires strength, courage, a
knowledge of how to keep the ship ship-shape, and an in-depth knowledge of the
sea. On the old sailing ships sailors were masters of rope work and
specialty knots. The once popular craft of
MACRAMÉ
came down from sailors.
7. Doesn't mumble: ENUNCIATES. Dw says I
mumble. I guess I need to E-NUN-CI-ATE more.
8. Press in a gym, say: REP. What you do to get 6-pack
ABS. Or maybe someone who is trying to sell you a gym membership.
10. Scene not meant to be seen: OUTTAKE. "Left on the cutting
room floor." Some of our constructors complain about this too.
Flip the words and you can also get 9A that way.
11. Wish list items, e.g.: DESIRES. Hmm. I don't see that
in MASLOW's Hierarchy ...
13. Stern's opposite: STEM. Also "Science Technology English and
Math". Did I get that right? Apologies to Dash T!
15. They're often in hot water: TEAS. Don't get me started on
this. It's not HOT water, it's BOILING water! I've
yet to be served a proper cup of tea in the USA. I take that back.
The old Gypsy's Tea Room in Westminster, MD knew how to do it.
20. Bossa nova ancestor: SAMBA. Literally Portuguese for
"new trend" or "new wave" Someday
I'm going to get my TAXONOMY of Latin dances down pat. Hard to do though when
you've got two left feet.
22. Chick of jazz: COREA. While Corea is primarily thought of as
a jazz pianist, like Keith Jarrett he is a pianistic POLYMATH (the GERSHWIN bit is in the second half):
28. Family member: AUNT.
29. Tolkien's Quickbeam et al.: ENTS. For my money the most endearing creatures in MIDDLE EARTH But while LOTR takes place in our minds, this takes place on EARTH.
34. Adaptable ducks: MALLARDS. Mallards are the most adaptable of ducks, perhaps due to their escape and release from captivity, and have moved into habitats that once belonged to other duck species. They aren’t picky about nesting locations and often benefit from a close proximity to people.
35. "I get it now": NO WONDER. A major problem of our time.
36. Two diamonds, possibly: BID. Bridge? Hands up from all you Bridge players. I was introduced to it too late in life.
37. Ioway relative: OTO. The state of IOWA derives its name from the former tribe. The OTOE are from the same language group (Chiwere: Jiwére). They appear often in crosswords, as their name is very GLUEY.
38. Store whose first three letters come from its founder's name: WALMART.
41. Ones "in distress": DAMSELS. Not all of them are in distress. If they are young, unmarried, attractive DAMES, they are in high-demand in the novels of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. But beware the ENTAIL!
42. Before, before: ERE.
43. "Mayberry __": '60s sitcom: RFD. I watched the old "Andy Griffith" show, but don't think I caught this one.
45. Body blow reaction: OOF.
47. Simpson outburst: DOH.
49. 12-point type: PICA.
50. El Pollo __: chain in the U.S. and Mexico: LOCO. I love TEX-MEX, but there are no "El Pollo Loco" restaurants in Maryland that I know of. So they specialize in crazy chickens? A CSO to Cornerites in the SW who would weigh in on this chain. My grandchildren have a cat they call "POCO LOCO" (more than a little I think). When we visited last he surprised me when he jumped into the front seat of the car on our arrival. I think it was the CRAB DIP.
52. "The Clan of the Cave Bear" heroine: AYLA. I Wiki-ed the plot summary of this book and it confused me. In it AYLA, a Cro-magnon has a child (DURC) by BROUD, a Neanderthal. The ability to produce FERTILE offspring is a defining characteristic of a SPECIES. Another CSO to anyone who has read this or any of the 5 SEQUELS. Does DURC ever have any children? I.e. does AYLA ever become a GRANDMA?
53. Hendrix at Woodstock: JIMI. One of the greatest guitarists of our time (Andre Segovia, Julian Bream, and Eric Clapton excepted of course). Here he is playing his "Foxy Lady" at Maui in 1970 (see 59D for the sequel called "Foxy Elf"):
54. Leather-work tool: AWL. A standard blade on a Swiss Army Knife.
55. Film noir coffee: JOE. In NORDIC noir it gets ICED.
57. "I'll pass": NAH. Think I'll pass on this one.
59. Tyler who played Arwen in the "Lord of the Rings" films: LIV. This puzzle is book-ended by ELVES at the beginning and end, with a DWARF in the MIDDLE. We're not in Kansas anymore FRODO!
60. Catcher behind the plate?: LAP. Shouldn't that be BELOW the plate?
waseeley
74 comments:
Lately, I've been able to solve Thursday puzzles, but not today without help.
Hope everyone is healthy.
Montana
This one left me in a complete blank. Perhaps my mind wasn't at full function but I could make no headway. I feel for the non-Sports crowd for what my BOWA must have been all perps but for me a gimme.
But then others perhaps knew ITALO(Calvino) and Geoffrey BEENE. And of course 3d ref. to 9d ref to circles theme.. so with9/10 blank I did other things. Which included a cup of what I thought was decaf at McDonald's. Or someplace.
Because some hours later I picked it up and rapidly filled it out including the Bridge BID of two diamonds (probably a wierd convention).
And of course for this NEWENGLANDer a hearty bowl of CLAM CHOWDER (Never MANHATTAN style*)-NO WONDER I was able to FIR.
Why do I persist in this Salsa dance? Is there such a thing? And I wanted HOV for that LANE (once I could come up with it). Amazing how the NW fell like dominoes with a clear head.
This composed on Wed night. Anxious to see MaloMan's take.
WC
*Typical Boston snobbery re. CLAM CHOWDER in FLA. Tomorrow I'll have lunch at a place and have Maryland Crab, MANHATTAN Style. Up north they take a their chowder seriously especially the pronounciation
And Pilate is still looking for the Truth. I can just see the two of them shaking their heads in bewilderment.
When ENUNCIATE worked it really got me going. When MEN replaced BRO I tried to fit helM(smanship) into the long down.
That's Engineering and Math. I suspect you knew that MM*.
From the link it appears Tolkien indeed "understood" trees.
I read the first two of the Clan series so I finally recalled AYLA.
WC
*All along I thought this was MaloMan. My apologies, waseely. The suggestion has been made before that the authors introduce themselves at the beginning. I fully understand the reluctance to change.
You blew my cover WC. I was hoping I could blame this one on MM! :-). That said, the lack of emphasis on readin' and writin' in our schools is a pet peeves of mine.
DNF because of a natick. Never heard of bREEN, and washboard I firs thought of road, then jug band instrument, then the original use for laundering, and never got around to AbS.
I got thoroughly confused on this one because I got fixated (in Across Lite) on the down clues for all the across squares, and was perplexed at so many having successive clechos. I also wondered if the black squares were supposed to be something in addition to the soup bowl, but never came up with anything.
Good morning!
Had the circles and saw the bowl of chowder when I'd finished. It didn't play any role in the solve. TIN, 3-letter element, check. DELL was a gimme; I'm sittin' at an All-In-One, though that's a misnomer because the keyboard is separate. The Heathkit H-89 was a true all-in-one back in the early '80s. Anyone else try PEAS before TEAS? How 'bout BIB before LAP? "Was in the cards" DOOMED before it LOOMED. Yes, it was a good Wite-Out day. Thanx, Bryant (is he new?) and Waseeley.
DOGMATA: Back in catechism days the minister got upset when I called 'em the Ten Suggestions.
AYLA: Waseeley, I don't recall if Durc had any kids, though he was eventually matched up with a mixed Cro-Magnon/Neanderthal female. Ayla had plenty of sex when she wasn't busy inventing the needle, fire-starter (flint), spear-thrower, and taming a baby cave lion and a wild horse. Plus, she had learned the complete pharmacopeia of the Neanderthals and was an experienced healer. She was a woman for all seasons.
A CLAM there was from MANHATTAN
A CYNICAL mollusk with a hat on.
"I reject that I am
As 'happy as a clam'
Because I'm not from the Island of Stratton!"
A CACTUS got lost in NEW ENGLAND
Said "This climate is bad as the dickens!
My spines are a-droop
From this salt-water goop,
The only thing good here is fishin'."
{B, B+.}
(Spell check doesn't like 'Stratton', and suggests I mean 'Castration'.)
The key to a word game like Scrabble
Is to know how to spell without babble.
But in an oral situation,
The key to ENUNCIATION
Is to put the emPHAsis on the correct sylABble!
{A.} The last two lines are something my Dad often said.
Oh, my! It's Staten Island, isn't it, not Stratton Island! I've lived in the NW, SE, and SW, but never been anywhere near the NE. That's my excuse, and I'm sticking to it!
Very creative puzzle - it was a slow solve at first - but once the CHOWDER part of the theme filled in the circles it went very fast after that!
Thanks Waseely and Bryant!
Happy birthday Janice and happy blog anniversary to CC and the rest of the bloggers and technical assisters as well as to us who get to enjoy it!
I'll say that I was lost on the theme because both NEW ENGLAND and MANHATTAN CLAM CHOWDER are total unknowns in gumbo country. It was only after I had filled the SW and saw BOWL OF CLAM in circles that I learned that. Both types were 100% perps.
The NW wasn't much easier with two words that were unknown-DOGMATA & OCEANIC. Ditto for OSKAR Werner, Larry BOWA. I had no idea what the clue "Ioway relative" meant; didn't know the tribe ended in Y.
Waseeley- I always liked Keith Jarret's style of playing. As for guitar players there are so many good ones but the electric guitars kinda mute the players' individual 'touch' as opposed to acoustic instruments. I don't know they man's name but the best guitar player I ever heard (in person) was playing with Miles Davis at a concert back in the 70s.
Enjoyed the CSO at 26-a, TIN.
Never caught on to the theme ... just enjoyed the solve.
Hope everyone is "Safe-N-Sound."
I'm stuck here with a beautiful sunny day and 68 degrees.
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Happy 13th birthday to the blog. Thanks to all who made it so enjoyable.
Hola!
Happy birthday, Janice!
Unless I am greatly mistaken, Bryant White must be from NEW ENGLAND! I am not a CHOWDER fan but am aware of the controversy surrounding the RED and White. The BOWL shape at the bottom is clever and once I saw all the connections the puzzle made sense. I can't say I've ever seen a theme so completely interconnected with so many clues.
CSO to Spitz at SEAMANSHIP.
AYLA is a daunting character in The Clan of the Cave Bear of which I read three and I agree with all that d-otto said.
Normally BOWA would have stumped me but the perps were helpful.
I admire anyone who ENUNCIATES and as I age the slurring of words is so much more noticeable especially in the younger generation. It's annoying asking them to repeat themselves but the only way to understand them. Another problem is priests from other countries. We have one from Nigeria and he might as well be speaking his native tongue for all I understand when he speaks.
Thank you, wasseely, for revealing not only the crux of the puzzle but that you are from Maryland where our new president also lived.
Have a happy day, everyone! More rain here!
FIR but started with an inkover..MS-NBC/DOS. ..."scene not meant to be scene" Obscene? "They're often in hot water" started to write in Teen.
Red and white varieties? First thought was flowers so almost filled magnolias for MANHATTAN.. Besides the different color is there a difference between the way a New Englander and a Manhattanite both drop the R in Chowdah ( linguistically non-rhoticity, aren't I the smaht one) .
MANGIER, a prop in a Christmas play? Mange(y) usually refers to animals not objects, caused by a skin disease....I remember COREA from an earlier puzzle.
So you can adopt a MALLARD? Oh, sorry adaptable ducks....Seems RSVP is no longer considered an abbrev. BOWA, the obligatory unknown sports clue plus OOF!! obligatory onomatopœia. (Where's the obligatory Enoun answer? )The plural of Dogma is DOGMATA not dogmoms? (like stigma/stigmata) all Greek to me.
Long jumps/JOHNS, doomed/LOOMED, Beane/Beene. The Spanish chicken fast food chain reminded me of Los Pollos Hermanos from "Breaking Bad".
Have heard of the dwarf Happy but never knew about his co-dwarfs Cheerful and Upbeat bringing the total to 9 not 7. They own a diamond mine and yet all live in a crowded cottage...go figure
Gelds maybe?.....DESIRES
Leaves the convent.....ENUNCIATES
Polluted river with a horrible ___ ...ODER.
Sir Elton and Glynis (one s)....JOHNS(two S's?)
Buon Compleanno Madama Defarge 🎂🎁
Delightful group picture 😊
Great write up Waseeley. Extensive research and information. Wonder if Bryant White prefers that style Chowdah.🤔
Musings
-To paraphrase Yogi Bear (say it with me): “More challenging than the average puzzle!”
-I’ve never heard of/had/seen MANHATTAN Chowder
-“I want to buy a brand new Chevy Silverado.” “But you can’t afford it!” “TRUE, but…”
-GELT is definitely not TREF
-A internet image of our church was pixelated and so I asked my professional photographer friend to send me a HI-RES picture I knew he had and he sent me this beautiful image
-On September 1, 1939, Hitler crossed the River Of Peace with very unpeaceful intentions
-Alternant: LONG JOHNS are a favorite pastry of mine
-DOGMAS was one letter short, oh, now I see
-You have to ENUNCIATE very carefully to get SIRI to understand you
-I O WAY, I O WAY, That’s where the tall corn grows!
-Bon anniversaire Madame DeFarge!
BE @9@:11AM The first time I heard Jarrett was a recording of the complete Shostakovich "Preludes and Fugues". I first came to realize Shostakovich's genius through Jarrett. Only later did I discover that he was a virtuoso jazz pianist.
Guitarists Segovia and Bream were definitely in a class by themselves. Bream died this past year I think.
A beautiful image of a beautiful church Gary.
Good morning everyone.
Thought it would be daunting, at first, but then the CLAM CHOWDERS and SATINES came out of the kitchen and it came together pretty well. Only error was I misspelt CYNIC with an 'I'. Liked the ALAMO clue. Unknowns BEENE, AYLA, and OSKAR perped in. A few brain teasers, but I enjoyed the romp. BZ
Big CSO to Lucina @ CACTI.
GELT is Yiddish - From German and Dutch Geld.
ODER - RE: 4 LTR river to Baltic. The Neva river near St. Petersburg also drains into the Gulf of Finland which is part of the Baltic.
Happy Birthday to Mme DeFarge.
Happy Birthday to C.C.'s Blog.
Good Morning:
I loved this unusual theme and the clever graphic achievement. I’ve never seen Dogmata before, and I’ve never read Clan, so Ayla needed perps. I had Dingier before Mangier but the rest was smooth sailing. Thought of Tin immediately and also Spitz and DO at Seamanship. Although I’m a New Yorker, I prefer New England Clam Chowder (and I don’t drop the R, either!)
Thanks, Bryant, for a tasty Thursday treat and thanks, Bill, for the very interesting summary. You have a distinctive voice and the ability to impart information without being pedantic, but with a few winks, nods, and nudges, here and there!
Happy Birthday, Janice, hope it’s a special day. 🎂🎉🎁🎈🎊
Happy Anniversary, CC, and many thanks for creating, nurturing, and maintaining this home for us to enjoy every day. Your hard work and devotion are greatly appreciated. Thanks, also, for the dedication and efforts of those who so generously enlighten and entertain us each day:
Boomer, Hahtoolah, JazzB, Melissa, MalMan, Bill, Chairman Moe, Lemony, HG, and DO, who has pinched-hit a few times. (I hope I didn’t forget anyone.)
Happy Feast of St. Agnes Day to Moi.
Have a great day.
This was certainly a Thursday-worthy challenge. The NW filled in rapidly then in the center I had Beane before Beene. Sawup at 17A was a bit iffy I thought. Had to do an alphabet run to get Bowa and even with bid completing itself, and despite being a bridge player, I couldn't see the connection with the clue right away. Duh. Oh yeah, a two diamond bid. My favorite clue by far was for Happy the dwarf. Clever, fun theme and a Happy FIR.
Surprisingly I got the puzzle done and used the circles to fill in some of the other clues. Enjoyed the puzzle and waseeley's write-up.
I did try to put BOSTON in place of the BOWL OF clam chowder. I thought that New England Clam Chowder could be called Boston Clam Chowder. New Englanders, am I correct on that assumption?
I also tried TEETH for Meat Eating Aids because KNIVES didn't fit. Perps to the rescue.
Never was a fan of clam chowder of any type. Mainly because they have clams in them. A good Amish Corn Chowder however is preferred. Oyster Stew also ranks right down there with Clam Chowder. I think the texture of the clams and oysters has something to do with my dislike for them. However, having lived in the Free State for many years, Maryland Crab soup is a delight, except for the occasional pieces of shell that may be present.
Our Christmas CACTI are still in bloom. Some of them started before Thanksgiving. A coworker used to read the weather forecast for Phoenix every day and would water here office cactus if it rained in Phoenix.
Cold again this morning, 21°. So the snow from yesterday is still on the ground along with some of the snow that fell the week before Christmas.
Have a great day everyone, and please wear your masks.
"her" not here. Fat Fingers this morning.
@10:07 I sit corrected on the ODER SB!
Irish M ☘
Our family parish growing up was St Agnes church in Utica. Because of extensive ethnic population inner city shifts it had been sold and is now Lighthouse Baptist Church. After having dinner at one of the old neighborhood Italian restaurants I noticed services were about to held. I went in and told the pastor about my connection. He was very gracious and took me on a tour. Among other changes the enormous sanctuary crucifix was replaced by a projection screen, the tall stain glass windows were covered. All statues gone
Except St Agnes. Her statue remained, had been literally carved and sculpted as part of the lunette above the convent entrance.
I heard myself say "you go girl" ��
happy birthday Madame Defarge.
happy birthday Blog!
Re: puzzle,
I had questions about how stern possibly relates to stem,
(But then I am very rarely shipshape.)
tips to keep your home Bristol fashion.
I love a puzzle that makes me hungry for questions...
Great puzzle, Mr. White, and terrific write-up, Waseely! Happy birthday to the blog! The circled letters helped me see the theme and FIR with a few WAGs.
I enjoyed being reminded of AYLA in "Clan of the Cave Bear." It appealed to my fantasy of living in a world where nature is pristine, and human beings are few and far between. D-O gave a nice review of Ayla's exploits.
Thanks to all of you for allowing me to play along.
Grate Puzzle.
( no, thats not a spelling error.)
Fun visual theme, on hindsight, but no help in the clues , riddled with PPP's.
Take a BOWA, for that.
RayOSunshine, you're a word genius, and so knowledgable on everything, I have to Google half your comments, to understand and learn about them. That's a sincere compliment. Thank you.
Woohoo! Woohoo! Some how I got the entire bottom bowl of this clever puzzle without any cheating, and was thrilled to have the BOWL OF CLAM CHOWDER appear. Woohoo! The upper part was much tougher, I'm afraid, and took some cheating--not unusual for a Thursday puzzle for me, but I still enjoyed it. So, many thanks for this delightful treat, Bryant. And thank you for your helpful summary, Waseeley.
Dear C.C., thank you, thank you, thank you for founding this blog 13 years ago. If my memory serves me, I think I was one of your early members, and have looked forward to coming here every morning after doing the puzzle, ever since. And then we got the additional gift of having Boomer join us. So happy anniversary, Blog, and thank you again, C.C.
Happy Birthday, Madame De Farge.
And happy St. Agnes Day, Irish Miss.
Have a good day, everyone.
Got ‘er done, but a bit messy. 4A I had ALLEN and 27A MESSIER. SEAMANSHIP saved the day. Once I had BOWA and ITALO that gave me BOWL and I wagged the rest of it because the number of letters fit. That helped with MANHATTAN and NEWENGLAND, SALTINE and CRACKER. Very clever CW Bryant, congratulations! It was a struggle for me, but eventually (33 minutes) I got it....with a lot of messy write-overs. Thanx for the challenge!! Terrific and fun write-up Waseeley, thanx for all the time and effort u obviously put into it!!
Nice and crunchy, but finding a bowl of yummy clam chowder got me through it. The New Englanders are stuck on "My version of clam chowder is the only one," like people in some states feel about chili or barbeque. I like both versions of clam chowder if the they are well made and the clams are tender. It is good to broaden your horizons, but I can't warm up to corn chowder.
I liked the first four books of Clan of the Cave Bear. Like most series, it got repetitious after that. Ayla was an unbelievable wonder woman who kept inventing so many new things and teaching herself so many new skills. Impossible. I believe these skills and tools developed over a large amount of time. Also, after a few books, descriptions of the sex act in great detail ad nauseum became annoying.
Mangy also can mean shabby and worn. I wish he would throw that mangy old sweater in the trash.
Happy birthday Madame deFarge. It is nice to have you chiming in again.
Thank you CC for all your caring and hard work to give us this wonderful blog.
BOWA was unknown, ITALO was buried deeply, but finally surfaced.
I liked the visual bowl.
Thanks for the great write up, Waseeley
YR
Ray O @ 11:20 ~ “Our family parish growing up was St. Agnes church in Utica” evokes poignant memories of Troy’s 12 parishes that are now down to 4. My family parish was St. Michael the Archangel until an arsonist caused it to burn to the ground. It was rebuilt, but not within the city limits. I’m happy to hear that St. Agnes is still alive and well in Utica, if only figuratively, literally! 😇
Happy Anniversary, Crossword Corner! Happy Birthday, Madame DeFarge! And Happy Saint Agnes Day! What a beautiful puzzle -- the grid art is terrific. And this Bostonian will not get into what is the preferred CHOWDAH.
There seems to be some controversy about which is better: New England or Manhattan clam chowder. There shouldn't be; New England style clam chowder is definitely better; simple as that. (As long as the clams are tender.)
I beg to differ on 49D. Having taught typing way back in the late 60's and early 70's, pica and elite were big deals. Elite is 12 characters and Pica is 10 characters per inch.
I want to report that the three poinsettias I received for my birthday (12/6) still look fresh! The potted CACTI I have in the patio received some rain the last two days so if anyone has some and is waiting for that event, it happened.
Surprisingly got a FIR today, but it was slow going. Put in yams for OCAS and sailors for DAMSELS early on. Big mistakes. At some point the theme came together for me and those long fills really sped things up. I didn't know Larry BOWA, but the circled BOWL confirmed it with the help of MALLARDS.(Interesting info about them, waseeley!) The T in ITALO and OTO was my last fill, only helped by my suspicion it was related to OTOE. The author's first name was a WAG, after an alphabet run. But, most of the puzzle wasn't messy with WOs. Thanks Bryant for the challenge and Waseeley for the entertainment and information. Thursday fun.
Happy Birthday young Madame Defarge and even younger Crossword Corner! Tomorrow my DH and I are scheduled for the vaccine. Hooray! Things are looking up. Hope you all are well.
Was riveted to the TV all day yesterday. Then saw it was a puzzle by Steve and C.C. so I did it today. I loved it.
Today's puzzle is pretty doggone good, too. I very much enjoyed solving it and I admire the construction.
Happy birthday, Madame Defarge. Happy birthday to the blog.
LW and I are scheduled for our first Covid shots in a couple of weeks. And our second Shingles shots. (Not the same day.)
Good wishes to you all.
Puzzling thoughts:
I liked the non-symmetry (regarding the black spaces) of today’s puzzle. And would you believe that my pen-on-paper grid has but one insignificant write-over? Just one? It’s true! I had EDER/ODER; otherwise not a single drip or error.
Thanks to Bryant and Bill (W.A.) for a fun romp today! Thanks for the JIMI Hendricks clip.
Happy Birthday to Madame D and The Blog; a great CSO to Tin in Tarpon Springs.
SAW UP, DOGMATA, and AYLA were perp-i-traitors. TINES and TEAS seemed a bit awkward, but when you have a puzzle with this many moving parts I totally give a pass. And for the absence of black square symmetry, the symmetrical placement of SALTINE and CRACKER, and MANHATTAN crossing NEW ENGLAND were brilliant.
Moe-kus mañana. It’s my turn to blog ...
Pica has a pitch of 10 cpi (characters per inch), often translating to a font size of 12 points.
Elite has a pitch of 12 cpi, often translating to a font size of 10 points.
The clue asked about 12-point type. I believe they're talking about DTP point (Desk Top Publishing)
I would like to chime in on the chowders, the best is neither Manhattan (tomato broth) or New England (milk broth).
The best chowder is the least known and hardest to find, Rhode Island clam chowder...with a clam broth. Yum.
Biden did not live in Maryland to my knowledge, he grew up in Pennsylvania and then moved to Delaware and served as Senator for that state.
Nice Thursday puzzle with just the right amount of crunchy goodness.
Happy birthday to the birthday girl and to the blog.
Stay safe.
Never could stand clam chowder, so I was at a loss from the get-go.
So one is RED and the other WHITE?
Oooh, NOW I get it.
Good thing I didn't need to crack the theme in order to solve the pzl.
Ta ~ DA!
Clever enough without the distracting theme. Too bad, it couldn't make room for at least one diagonal.
I'm going to shoot for a positive note here, before signing off. WARNING: This is going to be political, but I am hopeful it is NON-controversial, sufficiently fair to be allowed here.
I merely wish to offer Congratulations to Mr Biden and Ms. Harris on their first full day of serving our nation as president and VP.
Mr. Biden called for national unity in his inaugural address yesterday, and I think we would all like to see that.
It is certainly a formidable challenge, one that will require a meeting of minds on an epic level, throughout our country.
May our blessings be upon them.
~ OMK
I was absolutely enthralled by Amanda Gorman yesterday.
Well, in spite of Wilbur Charles’ warning last night, I did fairly well today. I DID NOT get a FIR, but I did better than I thought I would.
Scanning through and highlighting the theme clues, I saw BOWA right away, which became my first fill.
Self: “Oh, three of the circles! Let’s work on them, while we’re here.”
Other self: “OK, give it a whirl!”
There they were, all the circles filled in, which begat the solutions to the four verticals, which further begat a plethora of perps leading to a fairly quick romp (well plod, for me) through the rest of the puzzle.
Alas, being me, I finished up with a few errors in the end (the worst wanting PROW instead of STEM), and messing up OSKAR/TEAS. Hey, I was watching Julie Christie!!!
No CHOWDER controversy for me! I DON’T LIKE WARM MILK! I don’t want NO CREAM OF NUTTIN’!
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Bryant and waseeley.
Yes, I found this crunchy (like those SALTINES) for a Thursday.
I required a few Google helps to get some traction - BOWA, RFD (stands for Rural Free Delivery!), LOCO, Ioway?? (after my Mohawk dissertation the other day).
I started thinking the theme might be types of Onions with the Red and white clues. Then I saw the CHOWDER in the SE and the CW broke open. (I prefer New ENGLAND.) Kudos to waseeley for noticing the extra seafood (COD, AHI) in the CW.
Some misdirection with DWARF, STEM (I wanted Soft thinking of a voice). MANGIER makes me think of a dog, not a squalid room.
And can someone please explain Amen=WORD. (I know it is a word but so is every other thing I have typed here. Amen means So Be It as waseeley noted. Is this a DOH moment for me?)
ENUNCIATES made me think of Amanda Gorman yesterday. And apparently she has overcome a speech impediment.
I agree with waseeley about American TEAS. Have I told you about my order in a Georgia restaurant when the waitress asked if I wanted Sweet; I replied "yes", since I use sugar in my tea, but then it dawned on me that I was going to receive Ice Tea. Sure enough!
Maybe we should add this recipe to the Blog Recipes LOL!
How to make proper Canadian/English tea:
1. use fresh water (filtered if needed) and bring to a full rolling boil
2. pour about 1 cup of this boiling water into teapot (china not metal please, or a Brown Betty is even better), swish around to warm the pot and discard
3. add tea (leaves, or I like Red Rose teabags, one or two depending on how strong you prefer) and immediately pour boiling water to top of pot
4. cover with tea cozy to retain heat, and let steep for 3-5 minutes (depending on how strong you prefer)
5. pour into a china cup (not a mug or Styrofoam cup!), add milk (not cream!) (a true Brit will add the milk to the cup before pouring the tea) and sugar as you prefer,
6. ENJOY.
Ray-o- you were in rare form today. Thanks for my belly-laugh for the day.
Montana- glad to hear from you.
IM - Happy Feast of St Agnes day
MadameD - Happy Birthday
Happy Birthday to the Corner. Thank you C.C. for all your work and guidance over the 13 years; thanks also to all who make it happen every day. I joined in 2013 but lurked for a couple of years before that. (Sorry I am over my limit today!)
Wishing you all a great day.
d-o, you can now officially cancel your subscription to the Comical. I got tired of waiting for those jerks to FINALLY post the paper online sometime after 0200. I had been going to the source (the LA Times itself) for the Sunday puzzle, so about a week ago, I thought I’d take a chance on the daily version's being out there earlier than the Comical, like shortly after midnight. Voila! There it was, easier to print out and much better formatted.
I stand corrected on my post on font size.
OMK, no politics in your Biden post. But there's a no-relgion DOGMATA here. And, CLAM CHOWDER is a religion in Boston, Cape Cod and I'll include RI to humor PVX.
Yes, leave MANHATTAN Style to the NYers(and Stratton Island). Now to determine who has the best there's only one way, and again PVX leads the way. We taste them. ALL.
I stumbled upon the best at a work lunch at an Inn. They have contests and debates all the time. I've never tried CC down south for fear of excommunication.
IM, we pray to St Anthony when we lose something (don't knock it, it works). What do we pray to St Agnes for? I did Saturday xw early this morning and if there's a patron Saint of xwords I would have been on my knees. And if there's a Saint Decorum he'll be needed Saturday when we dis-cuss
But there's hope. If Wilbur can FIR anyone can.
WC
Btw, I found today's very tough until the theme broke then it filled fast.
RayO, I agree. BOWA opened it up but as obvious to the baseball aficionados it was surely obscure to normal people. lol
Lots of stuff to like in this one. FIR, but a bit of a slow go. I think CP/M was an earlier ancestor of MS-DOS. I remember using CP/M on early personal computers and programming chips like the Z80 and 8086 in binary and assembler code. ELIA Kazan has been popular lately in the crosswords. I sat in Saturday matinees as a kid and wondered who he was and why he appeared last on the credit list preceding movies. This was in the 40s.
SB @2:36PM And here I've always thought that a pika is a small, mountain-dwelling mammal found in Asia and North America.
HM @3:21 I remember using CP/M (Control Program for Microcomputers). It was developed by Gary Kildall who later went on to found Symantec. Legend has it that Kildall could have been Bill Gates had he not blown IBM when off when they approached him about using CPM/86 for their new PC. He had planned to go hang gliding that day and told them he'd get back to them. Not a game you played with IBM.
Timorous on Thursdays @ 11:55 am
Thanks for the compliment but are sure you mean me?
The CWs can be enjoyable and challeging but I find most new information and fascinating facts come from work of the commentators who through research and humor provide the reveals and explanations
Not to leave out the comments from the Cornerites from many different backgrounds.
Join the fun..dont limit yourself to just Thursdays. No need to be timorous, Timorous. And remember "flattery will get you everywhere"
Waseely @ 0645: "That said, the lack of emphasis on readin' and writin' in our schools is a pet peeves of mine."
And don't forget to add "thinkin'" to that litany! I see some people around for whom that is greatly absent.
Well it's obvious I'm losing it and really, really need to verify facts when I cite something. Thank you, AnonPVX. I know President Biden lived in Delaware not Maryland and don't know why I wrote that and I also know that he was born in PA.
To C-Eh's tea recipe pf 2:56, may I add a few steps?
(6) Add 1 tsp. pf lemon juice.
(7) Add 1 tsp. of honey.
(8) Add 1 shot of bourbon or scotch whiskey.
(9) Now you can ENJOY!
Hi everybody,
I apologize for being out of touch for so long. I still try to do the CW puzzles each day but it's been hard for me to get up the enthusiasm to post about the puzzles or just post the random ideas flit through my brain. But I saw the photo that CC posted of Barbara and me a couple of days ago and it helped me overcome my ennui.
As you may have guessed, Barbara lost her battle with cancer. She passed away Christmas morning. It was a blessing for her but it was difficult for us to see her struggle. I have been feeling really sad and lonely too. Fifty five years of married life is a long time. There are so many times I see something on the Internet or TV and think, "I'll bet Barbara would enjoy that." Or I find myself worrying that I've got the TV turned up too loud or …
Luckily, Tim, Bonnie and grandson Jordan are within a half hour and they visit fairly often.
Staying in touch with all of you will be helpful if I can just overcome my down mood. I know I haven't explained my feelings very well but maybe this post will be a start. We'll see...
And while we're talking about CP/M, don't forget that, first, the entire OS would fit on the first track of a 5.25" floppy. and, second, it was comprehensible by mere humans like me [compare with the current Mac OS, at dozens of megabytes].
Dear Bill:
I've been there, too ... my wife ran out of platelets 5 years ago ... and there is a hole in the universe. The only way out is forward.
I hope this isn't too 'religious' for the Corner: may God never forget Barbara! May His angel keep you in the shelter of his wings!
Michael
Hi All!
DNF - CaREA xing aSKAR and I-ALO xing O-O both needed a T.
Thanks Bryant for the interesting puzzle; I liked the grid-bowl.
Thanks Wasseley for the entertaining expo to forget my woes - enjoyed JIMI.
El Pollo Loco is pretty good; been there a few times for lunch with my work-MATES.
WOs: I SEE -> TRUE
ESPs: OCAS, BEENE, ANIMA, BOWA, ODER, RFD (Rural Free Delivery - I LIU), C-REA, LIV, AYLA
Fav: Clues for DWARF was evil; ALAMO's more so :-)
{B, B+, A+ //Car Talk's Click & Clack said 'emPHAsis on the correct sylABble' oft too}
Bill G - I'm so sad to learn of your loss and pain.
A little Scott Joplin for you.
Happy Birthday MdF!
Happy Anniversary to C.C.'s Crossword Corner!
C, Eh! -- "Word" and "Word-up"* are agreements like Amen.
For lunch today, I had Sunday's stew with SALTINES.
One of the best Clam Chowders I've eaten was in a sourdough bread bowl while walking on the boardwalk in Monterey. The Chowder on SFO's Fisherman's wharf three days later didn't live up.
I also had a really good cup of Chowder at Legal Sea Foods in Cambridge, MA.
Never heard of MANHATTAN Chowder.
Now I'm hungry. Time for more stew :-)
Cheers, -T
*I'm glad I watched the Key & Peele 'word-up' sketch all the way through - it got a little too gross to post.
Bill G, I am happy to be one of the many blog friends you have on here. God bless you.
Bill G., so sorry to hear about your tragic loss.
I haven't faced that sort of a loss yet, but in the back of my mind, I realize, it is all inevitable.
My sincere condolences, and prayers that God gives you the strength and courage to overcome it, and move forward. Keep Faith and Hope.
Bill G. - - Thanks for letting us know. I became concerned when I realized you were not posting. Deepest sympathy for your loss.
Eight years ago this week, we lost our only daughter to cancer. She was 46. It's tough at first, but life goes on. I always treasured the support and friendliness expressed to us at this blog site.
Bill G, never never be reluctant to post your problems . Many of us here have suffered as you have. Prayers from here. Your are cherished.
I liked this puzzle. I think Segovias name is Andres. He is Spanish not French. One of my heroes.
Owen, You are in fine fettle!!!!
Thanks all for the pleasure.
Spitzboov my condolences. It’s hard.
Dear Bill, Barbara has been on my mind for about a month. I am sorry for the loss, but glad her suffering is past. We are all here for you during this difficult time. You are in my thoughts and prayers. You will always be part of our coterie of virtual friends.
CanadianEH your comment about tea reminds me of when my British friends would come and stay with me. We went to a Dunkin Donuts one day and Ellie ordered tea, and asked if she could have some cream in it. The girl behind the counter asked, “Cream in your tea? Are you SURE?” Ellie says, “That girl looked at me like I was DAFT!” I had to explain to Ellie that living in South Florida 99% of the tea we drink is ICED TEA and very few people put cream in it. I told her, “If u want hot tea, that’s what u hafta say ‘Hot tea, please!’ or it is assumed u r ordering iced tea!”
Very late to the dance. Another busy day that included some time with a gallon of Henry Rubberized Roof Patch in anticipation of rain actually arriving in SoCal next week.
WC @ 6:28, yes waseeley and I are now sharing the Thursday (alternating) recaps.
Happy B'day to Mme De Farge and to the Blog. Happy Feast of St Agnes to I.M. ;-)
Bill G, so sorry for your loss and, yes, it seems like a good start.
Hi Y'all! Great puzzle & visuals within.Thanks weseeley--didn't know you blogged, so a pleasant surprise. didn't see the bowl until you 'splained.
thank you CC and all your helpers for making this a warm and personable place far beyond just a puzzle.
Happy birthday, Madame on the 21st day of year 21.
BillG: My sympathy in the loss of Barbara. Thinking a big comfort hug to you. I went thru that loss 24 years ago so know about grief. Hang in there!
What happened with Abejo? Last knew he was in treatment. Is he okay?
PK - Abejo passed last September. He has been missed. -T
Bill G:
I can't tell you how sorry I am about your loss. You cared for Barbara and spoke of her with such tenderness it was obvious how much you loved her. She has been on my mind for some time and I meant to inquire about her. My own DH has been gone for 27 years but I still think of him. Please know that your friends are here for you and you can post anything that will help you.
Dear Bill,
I just saw your sad message this evening, and it breaks my heart. What a terrible loss.
It will take a long time to recover, but I'm so thankful you have family nearby to help you.
I lost my sweet Rowland over five years ago, and I still spend time saying a daily prayer of thanksgiving for the wonderful years I had with him. But the sadness of the loss is always there.
Take good care of yourself, and we will be thinking of you and praying for you.
Dear Bill G, I’m so very sorry for your loss. Keep the faith.
Requiescat in pace, Barbara.
This community is amazing.
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