A Horse is a Horse, of Course, of Course! What color is your horse?
17-Across. French national observance: BASTILLE DAY. Everything you wanted to know about a Bay Horse.
46-Across. Start without hesitation: PLUNGE INTO. Everything you wanted to know about a Pinto Horse.
And the unifier:
63-Across. Roughhouse, and a hint to each set of circles: HORSE AROUND. The circles spell out different types of horses. I know absolutely nothing about horses.
Across:
1. Smacked into: RAMMED.
7. Window framework: SASH.
Anatomy of a Window.
11. Cabernet, e.g.: RED.
14. 1998 PGA Player of the Year Mark: O'MEARA. Mark Francis O'Meara (b. Jan. 13, 1957), is a professional golfer. He is unfamiliar to me.
15. Snowman's smoke: PIPE.
16. Pitching stat: ERA. As in Earned Run Average.
19. Objective: AIM.
20. Davis of "Dr. Dolittle": OSSIE. Ossie Davis (né Raiford Chatman Davis; Dec. 18, 1917 ~ Feb. 4, 2005) was married to Ruby Dee. He portrayed Grandpa Archer Dolittle in the 1998 film.
21. Pitcher sans arms: EWER. Maybe this explains the difference between a Ewer and a Pitcher.
22. MLB semifinal: NLCS. The penultimate round of the Major League Baseball games before the World Series games are National League Championship Series and the American League Championship Series.
23. Army NCO: SSGT. As in Staff Sergeant.
25. Harold's "Ghostbusters" role: EGON. Egon Spengler was one of the ghostbusters in the 1984 film of the same name. He was portrayed by Harold Ramis (né Harold Allen Ranus; Nov. 21, 1944 ~ Feb, 24, 2014).
27. Humanities degs.: MAs. As in Master of Arts degree.
34. PC take-out key: DELETE.
36. McCarthy lawyer Roy: COHN. Roy Cohn (né Roy Marcus Cohn; Feb. 20, 1927 ~ Aug. 2, 1986) made his name as chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy (né Joseph Raymond McCarthy; Nov. 14, 1908 ~ May 2, 1957) during the Red Scare.
37. Longtime label for Elton: MCA.
38. Georgia airport code: ATL. The Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport is located in Atlanta, Georgia, hence, its ATL airport code. Hi, ALTGranny!
39. Kind of lamp: HALOGEN.
41. Sitcom co-star of Betty and Estelle: BEA. Bea Arthur (née Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 ~ Apr. 25, 2009), Betty White (née Betty Marion White; b. Jan. 17, 1922), and Estelle Getty (née Estelle Scher; July 25, 1923 ~ July 22, 2008) were three of the four stars of The Golden Girls. I never watched this show, but Betty White just celebrated her 99th birthday.
42. Plan (out), as a route: MAP.
43. Computer operator: USER.
44. Collect copiously: RAKE IN.
49. West end?: -ERN. As in Western.
50. Coarse file: RASP.
51. Burgundy brainstorm: IDÉE. Today's French lesson.
53. Future junior: SOPH. Today's Sophmore is Tomorrow's Junior in High School or in College.
55. Bit attachment: REIN. This fits in well with today's theme.
58. Surrey town known for salts: EPSOM. Epsom salts are a chemcal compound known as Magnesium Sulfate. It is believed to have health benefits.
62. Moody genre: EMO.
65. "Fill 'er up" fluid: GAS. I can't remember the last time I went to a full-service station. I always have to fill up the gas tank myself.
66. Knock about: ROAM.
67. Rummages (through): RIFLES.
68. Cal.'s northern neighbor: ORE. Oregon is north of California. A new clue with a different meaning for the usual item found in a mine.
69. New newts: EFTs. A crossword staple.
70. Turn down: REFUSE.
Down:
1. "__Cop": ROBO. RoboCop was a 1987 Sci-Fi film.
2. Reddit Q&A sessions: AMAs. Ask Me Anything.
3. Handle carelessly, with "with": MESS.
4. "La Danse" painter Henri: MATISSE. Henri Matisse (né Henri Émile Benoît Matisse; Dec. 31, 1869 ~ Nov. 3, 1954) painted many versions of dancers.
5. Natives for whom a Great Lake is named: ERIES. This makes me think of our friend, Abejo.
6. NFL's Cowboys, on scoreboards: DAL. As in the Dallas Cowboys.
7. Gush forth: SPEW.
8. Adjutant: AIDE.
9. Eschew punishment, in an old saw: SPARE THE ROD.
10. "Listen up!": HEY!
11. Integer, e.g.: REAL NUMBER.
12. Clapton who sang "Layla": ERIC. Eric Patrick Clapton (b. Mar. 30, 1945).
13. River blockers: DAMS.
18. Jared of "Dallas Buyers Club": LETO. Jared Joseph Leto made an appearance in the puzzle last Tuesday.
22. "__ any drop to drink": Coleridge: NOR. "Water, Water everywhere, nor any drop to drink" is a line from the Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (Oct. 21, 1772 ~ July 25, 1834).
24. Like fat-repellent cooking paper: GREASE PROOF.
26. Fixin' to: GONNA. The first time I heard someone say "I'm fixin' to ...." I thought something was broken.
27. Copper or nickel: METAL.
28. Useful in many ways, as flour: ALL PURPOSE.
30. Some kind of a nut: ACORN.
31. Collie or cocker spaniel: DOG.
32. Strand at a ski lodge, say: ICE IN. Sorry, Tin!
33. Indian bread: NAAN. You, too, can make your own naan.
34. Like many cellars: DAMP. Not too many houses have cellars in Louisiana.
35. Tough guys: THUGS.
40. Floral necklace: LEI.
45. Lawn warning: KEEP OFF!
That's one way to say it.
47. "Don't think so": NAH!
48. Utensil sticker: TINE.
52. À la King?: EERIE. Think of the horror writer, Stephen King (né Stephen Edwin King; b. Sept. 21, 1947). He was born in Portland, Maine and is a graduate of the University of Maine. He was there several years before I attend, so we weren't classmates.
53. Utah lily: SEGO. It is a pretty flower.
54. "A Jug of Wine ... " poet: OMAR. Omar Khayyam (1048 ~ 1122) was a Persian mathematician, poet, philosopher and astronomer.
56. Q.E.D. word: ERAT. Today's Latin Lesson. QED is stands for the Latin phrase: Quod Erat Demonstrandum, which literally means "what was to be shown".
57. Doctrines: -ISMS.
59. "Star Trek" helmsman: SULU. Hi, Picard!
60. Change for a five: ONES.
61. Gds.: MDSE. Goods and Merchandise.
63. Charlemagne's domain: Abbr.: HRE. As in the Holy Roman Empire, which was neither Holy nor Roman.
64. LAX listing: ARR. As in Arrival.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
Thanks, Hahtoolah. Great job with the illustrations. As someone who's perpetually trying to lose a few pounds (ok, who am I kidding, it's more than a few,) I particularly enjoyed the woman taking AIM at her bathroom scale.
ReplyDeleteI think I've mentioned my daughter Neena's love of horses, which started when she was a toddler and I owned a pick-your-own blueberry farm where the neighbor kept his daughter's horse in our barn. Later, Neena's horse Tinkerbell was a PINTO, also known as a Paint. By the age of six, she was fearless going over jumps, but man, watching her go flying over them used to terrify me that she'd get hurt. She did one time at age ten, but not from falling off. Not sure if I've told this story before, but she was in the stable's paddock, scolding another horse for "bullying" Tink. I was out of view, having a catch with my son Dan, when Neena's friend came running to tell me she'd been kicked in the head. I rushed her to the nearest hospital, where they airlifted her to a trauma center. Let me tell you, there's nothing so frightening as watching your little girl soaring off in a helicopter strapped to an external litter. Neena recovered fully, thank goodness, and still loves horses, so this one's for her.
Fun puzzle and great expo, today.
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Montana
Good Morning, Crossword friends. How wonderful that you stopped in, Paul. What a horrifying experience you and your daughter had with a horse. Glad she is fine now and it didn't diminish her love of horses.
ReplyDeleteQOD: Maturity is only a short break in adolescence. ~ Jules Feiffer (né Jules Ralph Feiffer; b. Jan. 26, 1929), American cartoonist
To PLUNGE INTO things is human,
ReplyDeleteLike the BASTILLE in the French Revolution!
But oft to REFUSE
Will save you the blues --
The U.S. Capitol was the ROAD TO RUIN!
(Some now claim they were just HORSING AROUND!)
We needed a ROBO-COP to clean up that MESS.
Stop the insurrection, make an arrest!
An ALL-PURPOSE cyborg
To stop the riot horde
Make them KEEP their feet OFF the desk!
I hope this isn't considered too political. I think everyone except a few ultra-extremists agrees January 6 was a Bad Thing.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteOverslept this morning, but had the circles, saw the horses, and consider that a big win. PLUNGE INTO seems awkward; dive, yes, plunge, not so much. Thanx for the outing, Paul (Scary story!), and for the expo, Hahtoolah. (Loved that "stick a fork in it" illustration.)
{B+, B.}
ReplyDeleteFIR, with some write-overs: MAS 4 bAS, PLUNGEINTO 4 PLouGhINTO, GREASEPROOF 4 GREASEPaper. I accidentally noticed the theme and actually used it twice. I was trying to ignore the circles as usual, but failed. Refreshingly easy grid. I was surprised to see REALNUMBER appear. What other kinds are there? Imaginary and infinite, to name a couple. I was never enamored with imaginary numbers, but infinite numbers such as “c” and “aleph-null” caught my fancy. You haven’t lived until you’ve faced the continuum conjecture.
ReplyDeleteMy *, FLN, referred to my having a Doc for each day. So I see my previous week's comment. Last Tuesday I mentioned Miller of TB, whose miracle reception at the last seconds of first half was the difference. The cold weather must have got to #12
ReplyDeleteJust enough crunch from Paul to make this interesting. I forgot to check the circles. Back to FIR-dom.
Mark O, was a mentor to Tiger. Had a great short game hence his success in the Masters.
Great write-up per usual from Hahtoolah. AMAS was a learning moment, all perps for me.
Coming from the Jesuit world QED was very familiar. "That which has been demonstrated" we were told. They also told us that everything west of Worcester was the land of the barbarians. Then again I thought the Mason Dixon line separated NY and NJ. I lived there in the winter of '67 and finally got a liner for my trenchcoat.
WC
Circles are on the ends (“AROUND” the rest of) the answer.
ReplyDeleteThe way it was organized, it was said the HRE wasn’t really an empire either.
Last I knew, New Jersey still didn’t allow self-serve gas pumps so you still have to say fill’er up.
A puzzle with a horse of a different color...
ReplyDeleteFIW...by one letter...crossed EGaN.with NaR. (NAR as CW variant of "nary"?) Otherwise a puzzle easy to PLUNGEINTO. Plus fun to HORSEAROUND with equine colors and markings. My brother owned a PINTO, the exploding Ford subcompact, not the horse. His didn't fortunately. Actually why doesn't a corn cob PIPE catch on fire? 🔥
Lake Superior? A Native American tribe better than the restivus? EWER! Old friend, ewer missing for awhile! Was watching Monday's PBS "Antiques Road Show" on DVR last night, a EWER worth $ 4-5,000.
We had dank recently so perpwaited for DAMP. Frequently get my ELTS and ents confused. Thought EPSOM was a last name.Think of RAKEIN as referring specifically to money.
Mom did SPARETHEROD. She used an old barber strap instead. It was kind of heavy so she only managed a couple good well-aimed and connected swings before she got too tired to bother. YEOW 😳
French fête of fish pilfering...BASTILLEDAY
Boring lecture....REALNUMBER
Apply Freezone to remove ____ ACORN
Protected from a Travolta/John musical _____ GREASEPROOF.
Another frigid one.
Good Morning.
ReplyDeleteI must have snow brains this morning. I made so many mistakes in the middle, both spelling errors and letter reversals. Eventually, ROAD TO RUIN actually took me down the right path. Thanks, Paul, for keeping me on the straight and narrow this morning. Also i
t's nice to have you stop by.
Hahtoolah, I thought I would need to work my way through your explication today to locate the errors of my ways. But I cleaned my work up on my own, so I was able to enjoy all your extras. I was not familiar with AMAS. Good to learn something new. Also thanks for last weeks post of the Nubble Light. When we are in Maine, we stay in York. :-)
Enjoy a sunny day, even if it is snowing. Be well.
Thanks, Paul, for the puzzle, for stopping by, and for the story. My son once got hit in the head with a metal crate by a fellow kindergarten student. Just thinking about watching the stitches get put into his eyebrow still makes me cringe. I can only imagine what you went through.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Hahtoolah, for the write-up, the great graphics and the very good advice.
Finished the puzzle before grasping the theme. GREASE PROOF and GONNA were the last to fall.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteCompleted the solve easily. I charged INTO 46a too quickly with 'chargeINTO' but then saw the PINTO forming so changed it to PLUNGE INTO.
DAMP - akin to German Dampf (steam), L. German Damp, Dutch damp (vapor)
HORSE theme - Looked for Clydesdale and Frisian; no joy. :-)
My Dad had a pair of work horses (Tom and Dick). Post-war tractor availability made work horses obsolete.
I'll bet my money on the bobtail nag, somebody bet on the bay.
Anyone tired of what seems to be a recent uptick in "spread out" circle themes in the LAT lately (e.g., HORSINGAROUND today, JUMPINGBEANS yesterday, PULLED PORK last week)? IMHO, some random circles takes the fun out of it and it's more of a "oh well, gee whiz" than a fulfilling "aha" moment when you crack the theme.
ReplyDeleteHahtoolah: I am always amazed with your write-up & numerous links.
ReplyDeleteOne thing about living in the Tampa Bay Area ... we are never in the condion if being ICE IN.
And this area has gone completely NUT's over the up-coming Super Bowl.
Two ticket's can be acquired for only $ 34,000. (You have to buy at least "a-pair, No "single ticket" ...)
Kris and I will be watching at home ... with our own bathroom and reasonable priced beer.
One good thing ... the NFL is giving out 7,500 free tickets to Health Care Worker's.
(Our "True Hero's).
GO BUC's
Cheers!
"Icein" seems off. Iced in sounds more accurate.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous 9:23 - yes, I agree. I think this type of theme is one of my least favorite. I don't think there's much of a trick to choosing a few types of a category (here, horses) and finding phrases that can fit inside the splayed words. I mean, how many phrases start with B and end with AY? There must be dozens. (BANNER DAY, BE THAT WAY, BOBBY FLAY, BOXING DAY, BREEZEWAY, BISCAYNE BAY, BORN THIS WAY, BLACK FRIDAY, BAD HAIR DAY, etc.)
ReplyDeleteI thought the SE corner could have been improved. With only one themer running through it, and with that theme having very common letters, there must be a better option than a fill with MDSE, ARR, EPSOM, and SULU. (I have nothing against EPSOM or SULU by themselves, but if they force you to use MDSE and ARR, the juice isn't worth the squeeze.)
The same can be said for the middle south. HRE, ISMS, EFTS, and ERAT in the same section? Was GREASEPROOF that irreplaceable to justify the fill? I'm sure the constructor wanted to keep REIN in, and that is a clever wink, but for my taste, it's not worth the sacrifices necessitated.
I liked the "horse of a different color" theme, evident very early on. EGON and LETO were all perps. I had LETO before I got to the clue. Usual Tuesday time.
ReplyDeleteI often talk about plunging into a project. Some people plunge into things head first without planning. Look before you leap.
Hahtoolah, thanks for your always entertaining blog. My favorite cartoon was Charlene all fired up about her diet.
NJ has mandatory gas attendants. I don't find that this slows things up that much. I really like having the attendants, especially in cold or rainy weather and when I am dressed up. I miss them when I travel to other states. Often the credit card reader on the pump is on the blink and I have to go inside. That really slows things up. Even worse is having to go inside to pay in advance. As you see, my vacations are often on "Country Roads."
It's beginning to snow just now. We have had only one real snow event so far. Unusual for NJ.
At last I have a car with the gas cap on the passenger side. Where there are only two lanes at the pump it helps to have every vehicle entering in the same direction.
YR
FIR but it was a lucky guess that made it possible. Did not trust the M in OMEARA and AMAS. Neither were known to me, but M seemed more likely than H or L. GREASE PROOF and MAS tricked me too, Hungry Mother. Saw the circled themers and by the second knew we were not looking for bodies of water. ATL was easy for me, flying in and out of that airport since 1970. Lots of helpful long fill. Thanks Craig for a good Tuesday puzzle. Thanks again Hahtoolah for information with a smile. Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteUnusually warm day here now. Storm passed through early morning but no power outage this time. Enjoy your day and stay well.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI agree that the circles are usually theme give-always, but I guess they’re necessary in early week puzzles. Even though you see the basic theme, the revealer phrase is usually still a surprise. Paul gave us a lot of nice, long fill, in addition to the themers. I never saw Ghostbusters but somehow knew Egon. Eerie and Eries were reminders of our dear Abejo. No unknowns and no w/os made for an easy solve.
Thanks, Paul, for a Tuesday treat and for stopping by. Happy to hear that your daughter “got back up on the horse.” Harrowing experience for both of you. Thanks, Hahtoolah, for a scenic summary and, while I liked all of your visuals, the final Housekeeping Tip sign made me laugh out loud. That’s vintage Erma Bombeck, IMO.
We’re expecting 3-5” of snow, starting around noon time. Cant complain because other than that one storm in early December, we haven’t had much snow and, up until the past several days, our temps weren’t too bad, at least for January.
Have a great day.
Oh wait! Craig was yesterday! And Paul was nice enough to stop by. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeletePaul, I enjoyed the HORSE play and found them easily. I've never been around horses much but I have a photo of myself with my late dad on one. He is holding onto me and I must have been about two years old since it was before we moved to Phoenix.
O'MEARA emerged with perps.
ALL PURPOSE held me up for a long time because I had MFS degrees but the light finally flashed. MAS could have been more.
REIN above HORSE evoked a smile.
Alas, I wrongly filled SaGO instead of SEGO which never sounds right to me.
Thank you, Hahtoolah, for your usual humorous review. I also think of Abejo when ERIE appears.
We are experiencing real winter weather especially in the northern part of the state where snow is drawing hundreds of people to ski and go snow boarding. Here we have rain and hail.
Enjoy the day, everyone!
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Paul (thanks for dropping by) and Hahtoolah (LOL re Get Well cards).
ReplyDeleteI FIRed and saw the theme in good time. Easier than yesterday IMHO.
CSOs to TINbeni, ATLGranny, Picard with SULU, and of course Abejo (RIP) with ERIES.
There were a lot of names today (OSSIE, EGON, COHN, LETO, OMEARA) that might have given some solvers a problem; but perps were fair. Everyone knows BEA and ERIC! and SULU by now.)
I had Snow IN before ICE IN. (Sherry@9:35- "Strand" in clue requires present tense "Ice" in answer rather than past tense, "ICED".
Hahtoolah, thanks for explaining AMAS. It perped but I was not familiar with "Ask Me Anything".
Ray-O- yes, after our previous CW, I hesitated between Dark and Dank, and then MAP forced DAMP.
BAS changed to MAS; one level up for those degrees.
Of course you all know that change for a five in Canada will be Loonies and Toonies, not ONES.
The road from Kirkland Lake, Ontario to Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec (Hwy 117), was known as the "ROAD TO RUIN". (Not sure if the phrase is still used)
Wishing you all a great day. We are getting snow!
Always love a PC puzzle, but hate circles. They're annoying as hell. Oh, speaking of hell who didn't have road to hell first before road to ruin at 29A? Didn't know Egon but it filled itself and a nice FIR albeit a bit sticky for a Tuesday. Rain, rain rain in Phoenix with no end in sight and tons of snow in the high country, especially Flagstaff. We set a record for the coldest afternoon temperature in over 100 years yesterday which was 36°. Actually it's rather nice for a change considering 110° isn't that far away.
ReplyDeleteThank you Paul and thank you Susan. I loved the theme, as I have two horse crazy granddaughters. I'm going to send their father Susan's links on horse colorings. Also, perhaps I'm reading a second level of meaning into the theme answers related to recent events, but YMMV. IMHO they certainly weren't just HORSING AROUND.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like I won the NATICK lottery at the intersection of 2D and 14A with a SWAG and thus FIR. There was a bit of crunch in the NW due to the aforementioned NATICK, but the rest of the puzzle was a smooth CANTER.
21A EWER - the cluing for this, "sans arms", seems to conflict with Susan' illustrative link and my own experience making EWERS as a potter. I'd add that if they intended for storing liquids they can also have a LID. This can be a bit tricky for the potter, as the forming of the spout can interfere with the LEDGE used to set the lid. "DE-CANTER" would be a better term for a pitcher "sans arms". WHOA Silver!
36A COHN - In addition to being Joe McCarthy's lawyer, ROY COHN may be better known to the current generation as an early mentor of our previous president.
I especially liked the poetic references, which brought back pleasant memories ...
68D from OMAR Khayyam's famous "Rubaiyat" of QUATRAINS.
"A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,
A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou
Beside me singing in the Wilderness--
Oh, Wilderness were Paradise enow!"
I used to recite sections of this poem to my future Dw when we picnicked while dating.
and
22D I think I had to memorize a lengthy portion of Coleridge's poem for recitation in HS. It begins:
"It is an ancient Mariner,
And he stoppeth one of three.
'By thy long grey beard and glittering eye,
Now wherefore stopp'st thou me?"
The term "... an albatross around his neck" comes from this poem. Just went back to read a bit of it, and like the Wedding Guest the Mariner "held ... with his glittering eye—" I was compelled to reread all of it: Link The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Longish.
Bill
Musings
ReplyDelete-I awoke to the sound of my neighbors blowing the 8” of snow off my drive. We ran errands for them when they were in Covid quarantine. I told them what they were doing was unnecessary but appreciated.
-I remember Canadian Jay Silverheels riding a PINTO in a famous 50’s WESTERN alongside Kemo Sabe
-Mark O’MEARA proved you don’t have to be in great shape to play winning golf
-My first car was, “Fill up the OIL and check the gas.”
-DAL hasn’t been a real factor in the NFL for at least 25 years
-I was nearly ICED IN in Chicago with 125 kids returning from Orlando
-Susan, I enjoyed your write-up that had some nice math references.
-Me too, Hungry - If you’re 10 ‘ from a spot and you get halfway there every five seconds, you will never reach it
-Lovely puzzle, Paul, and a scary story!
Husker, our H.S. math teacher used a similar example with a boy and girl 10' apart. But he reasoned that they'd soon be close enough for all practical purposes.
ReplyDeleteOops, I intended to say I am happy with the gas cap on the DRIVER'S side. Having it on the other side also made pumping my own gas more inconvenient.
ReplyDeleteWaseeley - This was written long before Jan 6, but now that you point it out, the theme answers BASTILLE DAY, PLUNGEINTO, and ROADTORUIN do seem evocative of recent horrible events.
ReplyDeleteJust heard from my daughter, after I sent her a link to this page. She said that dedicating this puzzle to her was very sweet and that I made her day.
Fun Tuesday puzzle, Paul, and many thanks for stopping by. So glad your daughter enjoyed seeing her scary story posted. Hahtoolah, your pictures are always a delight-thanks for that too.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed working my way through this puzzle, and thought I had nailed it. But sports clues often make things tough for me, and this morning I guessed O'LEARY for the PGA player but it turned out to me O'MEARA--aarrghh.
Well at least I got my Humanities degree--MAS--and that SOPH who would go on to be a Junior. And the long answers and circles all fell perfectly into place for me. I especially liked seeing Henri MATISSE in the puzzle. Also nice to get BASTILLE DAY.
Have a good day, everybody.
FLN
ReplyDeleteAnonymous T, Those must have been some really tight jeans!
Becky
ReplyDeleteNo issues at all with this Tuesday crossword.
I wouldn’t go to the SB if they paid me...I like my seat, my TV and my (clean and lack of a line) bathroom. The food is better here as well. And I like the company better (I live alone).
Stay safe.
Nice puzzle, Paul, and fun write-up, Hahtoolah. Paul, your experience with Neena had me shivering...thank God she was okay and still loves horses. It was sweet of you to dedicate this one to her!
ReplyDeletejust horsing around...
ReplyDeleteTa ~ DA! : But just by the skin of my teeth.
ReplyDeleteThe Natick in the NW corner (AMAS crossing O'MEARA) made me resort to a WAG. Only lucky that I guessed right.
And I had to change BAS to MAS at 27A. Otherwise, this was a pleasant, user-friendly pzl from Mr. Coulter.
And brilliant responses--explanations & illustrations--from our Hahtoolah today! Brava!
Lotsa actually funny cartoons. And some beautiful photos of HORSEs.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Just one diagonal--in opposition--today.
It yields a full house Jolly-Palooza, a rare anagram making use of ALL 15 of its 15 letters.
We all know the saying, In vino veritas, right? Well, this one's for teetotalers.
Instead of alcoholic honesty, today we have ...
"ORANGEADE SOOTH"!
It only works in this country.
In Britain, this would have to be ORANGE SQUASH SOOTH, as they have no idea what "-ade" is in aid of.
Tsk.
Epsom can also be considered part of the horse theme. Epson Downs is a class one race course in Surrey, England.
ReplyDeleteI too miss the gentle Abejo. Wonder why he is associated with eries.
FIR!! Wonderful, fun CW, thanx Paul! Only two letters as write-overs, and that was due to carelessness, not wrong answers. Lo and Behold: I even got the theme which for me is a rarity! Paul, I thoroughly enjoyed this CW. Thanx again. Hahtoolah, as always a fabulous write-up. Really nice u included the Matisse “La Danse” illustration. I finally got called last night with an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine!! I’ve been trying for a month at least, signed onto four different sites. I’m not sure which one came through for me, but think it was the state site since they had my name and email address spelled wrong and the state site was the only one I signed up for over the phone, which would make it prone to spelling errors. Anyway, next Monday, Feb. 01, at 9:45am I get my jab #1, if all goes well and they don’t run out of vaccine. At 76 y.o. and with several medical issues, I really hope this works out. Stay safe, everyone!
ReplyDeleteVery nice puzzle. Thanks, Paul and Hahtoolah.
ReplyDeleteI got through this one rather quickly. The long fills and the reveal were easy.
I made the same mistake Lucina made, for a FIW. Don’t think there are many palm trees in Utah, but AMO can certainly be moody.
HG --- likewise, John Daly.
C-Eh! --- Took me awhile to get the “Road to Ruin” joke.
FLN --- No, Becky, flipping open a Zippo and lighting it was always a two-step process for me, BUT, I could do it with one hand --- flip it open and spin the wheel with my thumb. I never mastered –T’s trick. Probably would have set myself on fire!
Sasses,Abejo lived near Lake Erie.
ReplyDeleteMy wife Betsy grew up riding horses too. Her equestrian career came to an end when a fellow competitor had a fatal spill from a horse. Parents went gun-shy.
In 2012 Louis Oosthuizen shot an albatross* in 2012. It turned out unlucky as Bubba Watson made a miracle shot to edge him out. I started a poem about it referring to the time. I just remember the line "The greens were emerald".
I smoked for six years, picked it and a ZIPPO up in the Corps. I have a five minute story on how I gave up but a ten minute one on picking up the habit.
WC
Good afternoon all. Figured this one out today for a FIR. Thanks Paul and thanks for the 'splainin' Susan. Ray O, my mom's rod was a tennis shoe. My brothers and and I, being boys, pushed her to far. Never a good idea. My younger brother always got a break because by the time she got to him she was tired.😅.
ReplyDeleteI saw the price of tickets for the SB and really???? Home a much better option. Go TB.
I liked this puzzle and the long answers. When I was changing DANK to DAMP I only changed the K to a P but forgot to change the N to an M, leaving NAP in place. I'll count that as a FIW.
ReplyDeleteGood to read you all.
Hi Y'all! Always good to see Paul & one of his fun puzzles. Susan, you do a fun blog. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteLiked horses but never owned one. Liked finding them in the puzzle. Thought the long phrases were interesting and very doable.
Couldn't get EERIE from ala King. Took ESP then wondered why it was right. Thanks, Susan.
DNK: AMAS, OMEARA, EGON, SULU, LETO. Perp & WAG.
Rain all day yesterday topped with a snow crust late last night. Driveway was warm enough to clear itself. Not going anywhere tho.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteNW was last to fall; wanted mall-Cop (1d) and jAMMED (1a) and the names! Fortunately, I knew Ask Me Anything.
Thanks Paul for the fun Tuesday puzzle dedicated to your daughter (scary story!).
Thanks for the wonderful expo Hahtoolah - LOL The Betty White / Lego pic.
WO: LEa -> LEI
ESPs: OMEARA, OSSIE, COHN, ET- ->ARR, NOR
Fav: ACORN's clue "Some kind of (kinda) nut" cracked me up.
Sparkle - long downs were nice.
Obligatory RUSH Link [Bastille Day - 4:40 (lyrics only so WC can turn down sound & stay :-)]
Best of Egon [7:43]
{A, A}
Fun DR OMK - got all 15.
sasses - IIRC, Abejo seemingly split his time between CHI & ERIE, PA. ERIE became a Shout-Out to him.
HungryMother - imaginary numbers: I'm a fan; made the math in EE classes much easier.
From the I've always wondered file:
YR - what's the reason NJ keeps the full-service only?
C, Eh! - Does Canada have a coin shortage?
I was in a gas station the other day and there still is a sign there that said 'please use credit/debit card or have exact change due to coin shortage'. I knew that was a thing in the first month or two of C19, but still?
LEOIII - I could do the one-handed Zippo trick 3 out of 5 time. Becky - I was in HS & late '80 ergo Levi 501s :-)
TIN - That's a ridiculous price for a ticket to anything. Home on the couch sounds good to me. (Think the health care workers know better than to attend a super-spreader event?)
Well, I just got back from my physical. Um, guys over 50, yeah - that was my 1st time. 8-o !
I don't know what it is about me and HORSES. Two times of 3 I've ridden, the saddle slipped and I was under the horse. One time, with me under, the beast took of and was headed to jump the fence! Fortunately the owner was able to call him back before the jump. That was my last time on a horse :-)
Cheers, -T
Another day another puzzle with gibberish in the circles.This was almost a fun puzzle.What's less fun is being "Naticked" by proper names crossing proper names on a Monday.
ReplyDeleteHahtoolah, CanadianEh Thank you for the shout out regarding SULU.
ReplyDeleteOnce again here is my article on SULU actor George Takei speaking here in Santa Barbara on his extraordinary life. Including a link to my photos.
From Yesterday:
Thank you for all of the kind words of appreciation regarding SMOKEY BEAR.
Did anyone look at the video I posted of the surfer girl playing a UKE? I know someone who can play guitar while unicycling, but I think she beats him.
From Sunday:
Here we are in front of SID GRAUMAN's CHINESE THEATER in Los Angeles.
And thank you Yellowrocks for the real live letter in my mailbox today!
Picard - I watched the surfer playing the UKE - liked her rainbow strap too.
ReplyDeleteDid you see my Saturn V clip FLN? Ray-O made me LOL today when he mentioned Antiques Road Show; that's what the IBMer said to the interviewer re: going-price of a memory core from the rocket.
Cheers, -T
AnonT Thank you for letting me know you watched the UKE surfer girl. LEOIII let me know he watched her also via email.
ReplyDeleteYes, I did watch some of the Saturn V computer clip. I am in awe of the engineers of that era. I was just teaching myself electronics at the tail end of that era. Going to surplus electronics sales. On occasion I actually salvaged parts from rockets launched at Wallops Island in Virginia.
They squeezed so much out of every bit of data and every milliwatt of power. And those hand woven core memories were a thing of art and beauty. I admired those at one surplus electronics shop and was pleased that another engineer also appreciated the beauty.
By the way...
Paul Coulter I enjoyed your HORSE AROUND puzzle today. I am not sure why circles anger people so much. I have my own pet peeves, but I am happy with any way to introduce creativity and learning into the puzzles. My only puzzle peeve is crossed Natick proper names.
AnonT- I don’t recall that we had a coin shortage even back in March/April. Everyone was encouraged to use credit or debit cards; some stores had no cash in the till, but I think it was to prevent handling the cash and then passing on the virus. Then views changed about how the virus was spread, and we didn’t need to wipe down our groceries. Of course, we all got used to shopping online with our credit cards, and now even in person, I like to just tap my credit card to pay. I probably have some of the same change in my wallet from March.
ReplyDelete