Hello, Cornerites, Chairman Moe here, bringing your "nacho" usual take on a Jeffrey Wechsler, Friday LA Times Crossword Puzzle. I promise not to be too cheesy today as I "shred and slice" through the clues, and I won't "whey" you down too much with a lot of images and videos. And hopefully no explosions as I'd hate to be responsible later for cleaning up any "de Brie".
So, after quickly getting the theme: (56-Across, with 58-Across, "savory base for a canapé ... and the function of a black square in four puzzle rows?": CHEESE CRACKER) maybe the following compilation of Cheez-it commercials had me thinking that the title for this puzzle should've been "WHO CUT THE CHEESE", but I erred on the side of civility and maturity for a change!
Did you see how the black square in four puzzle rows "cracked" the cheese? Yes? "Gouda" for you! In "queso" you didn't, please allow me to "kraft" a few comments:
Let's start with the grid, so we can see how JW cleverly cut the cheese. I've highlighted the cracked cheese names in red, along with the unifier:
16-Across. African Queen, for one: STEAMER with 17-Across. "Don't doubt my abilities!": I CAN SO, leaves us with AMERICAN. American Cheese as Wikipedia describes is actually a processed cheese made from Cheddar, Colby or similar. It's processed to have a very low melting point, making it perfect for grilled cheese sandwiches
22-Across. Longtime senator Thurmond: STROM with 23-Across. Battery parts: ANODES, leaves us with ROMANO. Wikipedia provided this info on Romano cheese.
34-Across. Extravagant: BAROQUE with 38-Across. Lot: FORTUNE, leaves us with ROQUEFORT
Moe-ku:
Camembert, Brie, and
ROQUEFORT were found on same plate.
A fromáge à trois?
47-Across. Like some ornate doorways: ARCHED with 50-Across. Fixes tears: DARNS, leaves us with CHEDDAR. With its origins from the village of CHEDDAR, this cheese type accounts for nearly 1.3 million tons of production in the US alone. That's about 10 lbs per person, on average. And please be careful when slicing a piece . . .
Let's see what else is on the plate besides cheese . . .
Across:
1. Adopted gradually, with "in": PHASED. I wasn't fazed by this clue ...
7. Sandpiper family birds: SNIPES. Crossword Tracker shows that the clue: "Blade" actor SNIPES (Wesley) hasn't appeared in any puzzles for several years. Guessing it's due to his tax evasion and personal issues, perhaps
13. One of two sound recommendations for a light sleeper?: EARPLUG. My better half wears these (both one and two) as she tells me that I snore in bed. I can't refute that as I am usually asleep at the time . . .
15. Shunned one: PARIAH. According to Britannica dot com, the word PARIAH — originally derived from Tamil paṛaiyar, “drummer” — once referred to the Paraiyan, a Tamil caste group of labourers and village servants of low status, but the meaning was extended to embrace many groups outside the so-called clean caste groups, with widely varying degrees of status. Some sites I looked at even gave it a harsher meaning . . .
18. January temps, often: TEENS. Would December "temps", as in "temporary workers" also be called TEENS? As in those high school kids who work part-time during the Holiday season? Oh, Jeffrey meant as in the "temperature"! Here in the Phoenix "Valley of the Sun" our January temps are only in the TEENS if you're using the Celsius measurement ...
19. Do lunch?: CATER. Cute clue. A CATERer is a person who provides a meal. Why not do lunch?
21. London's __ Gardens: KEW. In the village "Richmond Upon Thames", about 30 miles from downtown London. Open all year . . .
25. History: PAST. Our Thesaurus cites "PAST" as the fourth synonym for "history". A Friday-fitting clue
26. Short on manners: RUDE. Not me, today! My blog won't be RUDE or CRUDE
27. Fraternal order: ELKS. The Benevolent and Protective Order of ELKS is an American fraternal order founded in 1868, originally as a social club in New York City
31. Coil in a garden: HOSE. If the answer was five letters in length, would "snake" fit this clue?
32. Prepares for takeoff: TAXIES. According to the aviation industry, the verb, "to taxi," as it relates to a moving airplane on the ground, dates to about 1911. ... The word may allude to driving around like a taxicab, as others surmise, or it may relate to the fact that flight instructors gave rides to new students in the "taxi" airplane
39. Buttonhole: ACCOST. Another Friday clue; somewhat obscure. To buttonhole (informally) means to attract the attention of and detain (someone) in conversation, typically against his or her will. "Reporters buttonhole (ACCOST) officials coming out of the press secretary's office". ACCOST sounds a lot worse to my ears than buttonhole . . .
40. Function: WORK. This exact cluing of the word "WORK" has not appeared in the LA Times for a couple of years.
Again, Friday-worthy
41. Campus figure: DEAN. A crossword staple
42. Storytelling singer Guthrie: ARLO. Another popular crossword "name"; today's clue with a bit more detail. ARLO Guthrie's website home page uses the storyteller description
43. Declared: SAID. To declare: say; past tense: SAID. SAID appeared in Monday's puzzle . . .
51. Firepit residue: ASH. Our firepit is gas fed and has igneous rocks. No ASHes
54. Speak publicly: ORATE. Entymonline dot com says that the word ORATE (orate (v.) 1600), means "to pray, to plead," from Latin oratus, past participle of ōrare "speak, pray to, plead, speak before a court or assembly" (see orator). The meaning "make a formal speech, talk loftily," used humorously or contemptuously, emerged c. 1860 in American English as a back-formation of oration.
55. Advice from colleagues, say: INPUT. I will occasionally ask for INPUT from my fellow bloggers whenever I get stuck on a puzzle; any INPUT from y'all is always welcome!
60. Afternoon service: TEA SET. Seems a bit stuffy! I rarely drink TEA and definitely don't have a SET
61. One held for ransom: HOSTAGE. Was this history's most infamous HOSTAGE victim? Sad story
62. Force (upon): IMPOSE. As upon one's will, e.g.
63. Allowed paid use of: LEASED. Our house is currently LEASED. There are benefits to both owning and leasing ones residence
Down:
1. Pre-euro coin: PESETA. The basic monetary unit of Spain (until replaced by the euro), equal to 100 centimos.
2. Critics who can't be pleased: HATERS. Taylor Swift line in the tune "Shake it Off"
3. Childish denial: ARE NOT. MAKE ME also fit, as did 17-Across today, I CAN SO
4. Jerk, e.g.: SPASM. A "tic", or muscle reflex
5. West __: upscale store: ELM. West ELM website. There are lots of these on-line upscale shopping sites nowadays. Wayfair is one from whom I've purchased
6. Sufficient grounds for action, in law: DUE CAUSE. As a legal definition of "due": Meeting special requirements; sufficient: "We have DUE CAUSE to honor them". If that's not clear, the preceding definition says "In accord with right, convention, or courtesy; appropriate." And in the same dictionary you'll find "cause" defined as grounds for action; motive; justification ... now, if I could just recall the name of the dictionary and give proper credit . . .
7. Used bugs, perhaps: SPIED. Did James Bond EVER check into a hotel room that wasn't infested with bugs? "From Russia with Love" clip
8. Shell material: NACRE. Abalone shell image:
9. Rollover acronym: IRA. Individual Retirement Account
10. __ lady: gin and grenadine cocktail: PINK. Not my "cup of tea". Grenadine syrup is a cocktail mixer made from fresh pomegranate juice reduced with sugar—like simple syrup with a hint of citrus flavor and stunning red color. When mixed with Gin it produces a PINK color. PINK lady is also a type of apple. I do like these
11. Fluency: EASE. Thesaurus lists this as the seventh of synonyms. Friday's are like that ...
12. Make an appearance: SHOW. I guess you could say that the horse that ran third in a race "made an appearance" (WIN, PLACE, SHOW)
14. Starbucks size: GRANDE. For the record, I LOVE coffee; I also dislike Starbucks. I think their coffee is not worth what it sells for. But, they're among the highest grossing businesses ($26.5 billion) and employed over 350,000 persons, pre-pandemic. GRANDE is the Italian word for "large", and at Starbucks this relates to a 16 oz. cup. Their original sizes were called "short" and "tall" (8 oz. and 12 oz. respectively). VENTE (Italian for "twenty") is the name of the cup size larger than GRANDE. Need more info? Here is a link
18. Baking powder amt.: TSP. I do a lot of the cooking in our house, but very little baking of breads/pastry. So in looking up "baking powder", King Arthur had a few recipes. I pulled up the one in the link and noticed that it calls for a TBSP of baking powder, not a TSP . . . what we bloggers don't do to make sure that the clues match the answers!!
20. Sock part: TOE. I've never seen the need nor attraction for having socks such as these. But I do get a kick out of the cartoon Pickles. This one also mentions a "TOE"
24. Hot message: SEXT. Moe-l'ick (a remake):
The new pastor was heard to disparage
As engaged couple showed him their phone message,
"Is that all you kids got?
Those don't seem very hot!
I will only perform same SEXT marriage."
26. Beat decisively: ROUT. One could say that in Super Bowl(tm) LV, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ROUTed the KC Chiefs
28. Lucy of "Kill Bill": LIU. I was about to "LIU" and then I realized . . .
29. Tennis great Rosewall: KEN. Kenneth (KEN) Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won a record 23 tennis Majors, including 8 Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record 15 Pro Slam titles; overall, he reached a record 35 Major finals.
30. Orlando-to-Miami dir.: SSE. 3-1/2 hours (in really good traffic conditions) according to Google Maps, if you follow Florida's Turnpike (and use SunPass). Any of our FL folks care to comment??
31. Main bases: Abbr.: HQS. Short for "Headquarters". The word has been around since the 1600's, from the "most important or principal" meaning of head and quarters, originally "military dwelling place," and later "lodgings."
32. Deere rival: TORO. I usually associate the (John) Deere Corporation with farm equipment and TORO Corporation with lawn mowers, but specifically for riding lawn mowers, they do rival one another. This guy seems to like the Deere machine better
33. Ararat craft: ARK. Noah's ARK, not the ARK of the Covenant. Mount Ararat is one possible location of where it came to rest; Mount Tendürek is the other. Most cruciverbalists have heard of Ararat, though
34. Shoddy: BAD. Shoddy merchandise is indeed BAD
35. Top player: ACE. One of many popular 3-letter words in x-word puzzles
36. TV pioneer: RCA. Is it really possible that RCA has been defunct now for about 35 years? Am I THAT OLD? Another fact I learned is that RCA designed and developed the iconic test pattern image below. I guess since I do remember the image appearing on our first TV set, I am officially "OLD"!
37. Actress Chaplin: OONA. Crossword constructors LOVE using 4 letter words which contain 3 vowels. Especially in "Down" fills
38. Utter nonsense: FOLDEROL. Wow! I haven't seen nor used this word in ... well, a long time. Crossword Tracker cites the use of it in the LA Times in this puzzle
40. Deplorable sort: WRETCH. Informally, perhaps, but the origin of the word suggests either the Old English "wrecca" which means a banished person, or the German "Recke" which means warrior or hero
42. "Eureka!": AHA. Supposedly, Archimedes was so thrilled and excited with a discovery that he immediately hopped out of his bath and ran onto the streets to tell the king, shouting loudly 'Eureka!' Which discovery was it, though? Watch the video below and you'll find out!
43. Some decafs: SANKA'S. I think it works with an apostrophe, but as a plural? Not so sure. SANKA brand decaffeinated coffee has been around for a long time. If you remember RCA, you'll remember SANKA
44. Lanvin scent since 1927: ARPEGE. For the curious, click here
45. Accustomed (to): INURED. Normally used to describe an unpleasant "custom"; as in, "the people of Syria are INURED to violence and war"
46. Summer hrs.: DST. Daylight Savings Time. We don't have that here in Arizona
48. Blush wines: ROSES. Technically, spelled Rosé, but I rarely see diacritical marks in Crossword Puzzles. PINK and Rosé, both appeared in today's puzzle. As your resident Sommelier I could wax poetic about rosé wines, but the simple statement is that the majority of them are produced from red grape varietals. It is the pigments in the grape skins that give wine its color. In order to produce a rosé, the skin contact during the fermentation process lasts for mere hours rather than for a couple of weeks, and the resulting color is more "blush". So yes, Virginia, you can actually make a rosé from Cabernet Sauvignon!
49. Minos' kingdom: CRETE. An island/emirate south of Greece. Apparently it's a "hot spot" for earthquakes
50. Formal decrees: DICTA. Plural of "dictum"
51. When Lear disowns Cordelia: ACT I. Sure, why not?!
52. Young passenger on the 33-Down: SHEM. SHEM was one of the sons of Noah in the Hebrew Bible as well as in Islamic literature. The children of Shem were Elam, Ashur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram, in addition to daughters; this, according to Wikipedia among other sources.
SHEMP, on the other hand, was my brother:
53. Rattletrap: HEAP. Well, since we had RCA and SANKA in today's puzzle to bring back memories to we OLD folks, why not "rattletrap: HEAP", too? And whilst I did not verify the origin of the word "rattletrap", many of the images I saw were of Jeeps; specifically, Army Jeeps. Which of course brought to mind this Moe-ku:
I dislike Army Jeeps.
Riding around in them, just
Gives me the Willys.
57. Spanish "that": ESO. Masculine:ESO; Feminine:ESA I thought of the feminine spelling at first
59. Enzyme suffix: ASE. And how fitting that in a puzzle about CHEESE, we would end our recap with a suffix (ASE) that has several applications in the production of CHEESE
I hope that I met all of your "grate" expectations. Thanks for staying a-"rind". . .
52 comments:
FIRight. A few days ago we had LESSEE, which I tried to spell as LEASEE. So today my last entry, when I didn't get a ta-da, was to change LEsSED to LEASED. English is sometimes inane.
AMERICAN and CHEDDAR come from cow milk.
ROQUEFORT and ROMANO come from ewe milk.
I don't know any CHEESE
That originates from trees.
I guess a herd of almonds are hard to milk.
The best way to get rich is your folks.
You can inherit a FORTUNE when they croak.
Or you can get rich by WORK
If you your duty never shirk.
But if art is your talent, go for BAROQUE!
{B, B+.}
Is it really worth using totally obscure stuff like OONA, SANKAS, FOLDEROL plus forced stuff like ARENOT + ICANSO (together) to make a theme work?
Good morning!
desper-otto reporting for duty. Power is finally working, as is Soddenlink. Water never failed, and pipes never broke, so life is good. By 9AM today the freeze should be over. We used to say that it wouldn't freeze after Valentine's Day. No more.
This JW puz was a real romp. It came together in normal Wednesday time. Tried END before ELM, but that was the only Wite-Out moment. Thanx to C-Moe for his cheesy comments.
Starbucks: I once sat in one at the Phoenix Airport, but have never had one of their concoctions.
TORO: A friend from Iowa took a position with Toro in Mpls and spent the rest of his career there.
ARPEGE: Thought of My Sin first, but it was too short. Plus, it came out in 1924, not 1927.
Test Pattern: Misspent many hours in my ute watching the test pattern, waiting for Howdy Doody to come on at 3PM.
I usually enjoy offerings from Mr. Wechsler, but I have answer the anonymous post at 5:58 in the negative. Today's took me 9:11. I didn't know Ken the tennis great, Arpege, and missed the theme (oh, black spaces separating different cheeses), which is fine since I didn't know roquefort or canape. I didn't care for DST, SSE, ASE, ESO, etc., but I did like the misdirection with "teens."
We have a new candidate for worst clue, "Lanvian scent since 1927".
Hola!
Theme? There's a theme? I was sure today was Saturday so was not expecting a theme! Thank you, CMoe, for a fine demonstration of the CHEESEs. This was by far my fastest solve of a Jeff Wex puzzle!
American English does not use apostrophes for plurals but other countries seem to do so.
d-o:
It's so good to hear from you! You must be the only person in Texas who survived with no water or electrical problems but you told us earlier you have a generator.
I hope the best for your fellow Texans but it sounds dire in the news casts.
Enjoy your Friday, everyone! Now I have to convince myself that today is Friday.
When I saw a Jefferey Wechsler byline on a Friday I figured I was looking at a good half hour or more with a couple walkaways to regroup my thoughts, but I managed in 14:54 so that made my day! Don’t understand Anonymous’ comments at 5:58, pretty much standard clues that usually help in solving. Vaguely remember hearing of Arpege, but don’t know if I’d recognize it if I smelled it, so I had to look it up to save everyone else from doing so....”Like most classic florals, Arpege opens with effervescent aldehydes and citrus notes, and bring a champagne-like fizz to most fragrances but in this particular perfume, they simply add a soft, velvety sheen to the proceedings that shimmers rather than bubbles”. Say what??? Sound more like a review of craft beer :) Thanks Jefferey and Rich for the fun challenge, and to Chairman Moe ~~ Who Cut the Cheese? Theme title of the year!!
FIR, but didn’t notice the theme. I95 is the key to timing around Miami. It can be brutal. I’m in Melbourne and my Google Maps estimates 3.5 hours to Miami. A granddaughter might attend UM in the fall, so I’ll be making the drive.
FIR a Friday Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle! Woohoo, as Misty would say. My slow area and only WOs was the SE where entering mends before DARNS complicated things. Then when I fixed that I filled in DogmA in spite of planning to write in DICTA. What?!
WC had mentioned last night that the theme was tricky. After I found the cheeses, it took some time to see what the black squares were doing but another look at the reveal explained it. No issues there for me. In general I found the puzzle enjoyable and manageable. Many years of trying to solve the LAT puzzles have paid off. Thanks, Jeffrey, and many thanks to C Moe for the witty review. A good start to the weekend.
Thanks for the progress reports, DO, AnonT, and Hahtoolah. Hope everyone is getting the help they need.
Good morning everyone.
My favorite is ROQUEFORT. Did not bother sussing the CHEESES until after I finished. Pretty clever. An easier Jeff solve today but it still had his charm. BZ. Perps helped to spell LIU. No wite-out was needed. FIR.
In the Navy, SNIPE means: Crew members in the engineering rates; someone who works in the engineering spaces and seldom is seen topside when underway. MM's (Machinist's Mates) and BT's (Boiler Technicians) are ultimate snipes. In today's modern gas turbine fleet, also includes GSM (Gas Turbine Specialist, Mechanic), GSE (Gas Turbine Specialist, Electrician), and EN (Engineman). It is believed that true snipes cannot stand direct sunlight or fresh air, must have machine oil in their coffee in order to survive, and get nosebleeds at altitudes above the waterline. It is also firmly believed that fresh-air sailors who venture into SNIPE COUNTRY are never seen again.
An access hatch leading to spaces where the engineers work is called a SNIPE hole.
Dang, Spitz, you make them sound like Morlocks preying on the topside Eloi swabbies.
Good Morning:
If anyone or anything can brighten this pandemic-weary soul, it’s a JW Friday puzzle. As I have noted before, I really like this type of theme because I am totally in the dark until filling in the revealer and, even then, it’s sometimes hard, but fun, to find the separated words. I thought Roquefort was especially impressive. Contrary to other opinions, I found much of the fill fresh and lively, especially Baroque, Wretch, Arpege, Hostage, and, my favorite, Folderol. (IIRC, commercials for Arpege were “Promise her anything, but give her Arpege.” I never heard of West Elm but Mr, G tells me there is one in a surburb of Albany. Live and Learn. I was looking for an animal before Shem appeared. Another RCA shout out to Misty!
Thanks, Jeffrey W, for a tasty Friday treat and thanks, Moe, for adding your knowledge and humor to the mix.
DO, glad you’re back in business and all is well. Still waiting to hear from Leo III.
Have a great day.
Musings
-A fabulous gimmick! I wonder what the seed entry was for our friend Jeffrey.
-If you have an air fryer, it great for grilled cheese sandwiches
-We are in the group that was PHASED in for our first shot yesterday. No ill effects so far.
-The HMS Bounty had two KEW gardeners onboard to assess flora of the South Pacific during the 1789 mutiny
-A recent Satruday Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle had this fun cluing 29. Plural used for people but not animals: ELKS
-My friend married a woman from Crete, NE. He called her an EX-CRETIAN
-Fun job, Moe!
Chairman Moe: Excellent write-up & links.
I once lived in Orlando (For about 20 months) and use to drive to Miami for business,
Yup, 3.5 hour drive (as you said in your write-up) seems about right.
It is "Flat-as-a-pancake" and you see lots of Orange Trees and Cows.
D-O Glad to hear that you are OK.
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
Is anyone else just damn tired of the constantly negative "Anonymous" comments? Sheesh. Get over it, already. As Mom used to say, "If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all". At least, say something nice once in a while, Anonymousers? Would it kill ya? How 'bout if you solve and blog elsewhere, if things "here" are so bad? Sheesh, again.
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Jeffrey and CMoe (great puns today!).
I arrived here to discover that it was a JW CW and was pleased that I finished so well. I got the theme and found the CHEESES (although I had to search for the right rows). (And we Canadians don’t have AMERICAN cheese; we just call it processed cheese.)
But I FIWed with Pesata which gave me Taens for those January temperatures. TEENS presumes Fahrenheit (again American); most Canadians would be happy with TEENS in Celsius in January😁
NW and SE corners were the last to fill.
Rented changed to LEASED, Writs to DICTA.
Thinking of those salty droplets, I had Wipes before DARNS to fix the holes. Tricky clue with an AHA moment.
I debated whether the young passenger on the ARK was going to be one of an endless possibility (lamb, calf, roo), but it was one of Noah’s begats. (LOL, auto- correct wants beggars)
We had “Utter nonsense” today, not Stuff and . . , FOLDEROL took a moment to spell properly HOSTAGE changed and A or E dilemma to O😮
Yes, CMoe, I was prepared to measure the Baking Powder in Tbsps. but it depends on what you are making But perhaps another baking ingredient (salt, cinnamon) that is only measured in TSP could have been used in the clue. Perhaps Rich doesn’t do much baking!
Wishing you all a great day.
I didn't see the the theme until I came to thaw Corner. Very clever.
FIR. Seemed on the easy side for a Friday J.W. puzzle. Never heard of the word FOLDEROL.I'll add that one to my list of words I will try to use today to annoy my friends. Didn't see the theme. Had to come here to see what the gimmick was.
I only have time to Brie-flee check in as I have a very busy day ahead of me. It includes receiving my second Moderna injection if the weather has allowed the distribution logistics to occur as planned. I do hope that all of the Curd-les have been cleared as I have Grate expectations.
Nacho ordinary Friday puzzle. The recap gave me a Gouda laugh or two.
Cheese the day!
I enjoyed the puzzle. This a fine puzzle for our family. We say our middle name is CHEESE. I almost always have at least four types of cheese in my fridge.
As DO said, I found it to be Wednesday level. Only West Elm was new to me.
I am surprised when people who solve in 9 minutes+ carp about the unusual words. I like finding new info that is solvable with perps and wags. Besides, Oona, Sanka (the last S was inferable), are not, and I can so have appeared often in crosswords.
I like folderol. My mother used to use it for trivial or nonsensical fuss.
Yes baking powder biscuits take one tablespoon of baking powder, but most other things I bake take teaspoonfuls.
Buttonhole and accost seem quite common to me. He buttonholes (accosts) everyone he meets to expound on his political views.
I researched desk chairs at Wayfair maybe five or six times. I decided I didn't need a new one, but I keep receiving many, many ads from Wayfair.
You can say, "That appliance doesn't function. It doesn't work."
Yes, I hate socks with separate covers for each toe, like a glove. I can't even stand a thong between my toes.
I remember those TV test patterns from my youth, when there were only about three channels and they did not broadcast 24/7. And then there was that annoying tone when they were off the air.
Thanks for the great expo, Moe.
YR
C-Moe, thank you for your clever, funny intro. This JW puzzle could easily have been flip-flopped with Wednesday's Jeremy Lim offering. Very straightforward for Friday. Weird how sometimes the eyes focus on the wrong puzzle number. When I filled in Shem at 52D it didn't make sense because I was looking at 32D instead of 33D. Shem on a Toro?? Need to get my eyes checked.
A really "cheesy" JW puzzle and CMoe's write-up was our PUNishment for the day. Really enjoyed the puzzle and tour.
I didn't see the broken cheese's until CMoe 'splained it. Interesting way to break cheese.
I had some of the same corrections as others plus my own unique screw-ups, like MEND before DARN, and I had BMOC (Big Man On Campus) before DEAN.
Before we got our first TV set in 1952 I would go to a neighbor's house to watch Howdy Doody at 5:30 pm each night. I had to leave a few minutes before it ended because we ate supper at 6:00 pm EXACTLY and being late wasn't an option. As soon as we finished eating, Dad would go to the country club to try to get in 9 holes of golf before it got too dark.
BAROQUE and FORTUNE were mostly filled in with perps.
I don't frequent Starbucks on a regular basis unless I'm meeting friends or SCORE clients. Usually I will go to Panera. Their coffee is OK but I like their pastries better than you can get at Starbucks.
I hope everyone is safe and warm, and please wear your masks.
Thanks to Jeffrey for a challenging, but doable puzzle which I actually FIR. And thank you CMOE for an unusually MATURE (i.e. fully groan) review, which I think would pair nicely with an AGED bottle of Ripple Red.
I started off blocked in the NW, so sped east and SPIED a chink in Jeff's armor. I was no longer BUGGED by the puzzle and found smooth sailing the rest of the way. The theme clues were SPREAD from the BLAND to the SHEEPISH and the BLUE to the SHARP, but I finally managed to CRACK them.
7A I first heard of SNIPES as a TENDERFOOT scout, bushwhacking thru the underbrush with an open paper bag, yelling "SNIPE, SNIPE, SNIPE", with the First Class guys snickering along the trail. They never told me they were SHOREBIRDS!
31A Love snakes in the garden. They're good for what voles you.
60A I'd don't blame ya' CMOE. AMERICANS just don't know how to make a proper cuppa tea. Make mine milk, no sugar.
34A Loved BAROQUE. What's not to like about the RED PRIEST and PDQ BACH?
39A Coleridge's Mariner IMPOSED himself on his listener for an Epic length of time.
20D Hahtoolah give you those socks CMOE?
24D We had the TAME version of this SMS just yesterday.
42D CMOE - the very interesting TED talk on the "real" story behind Archimedes' Principle didn't show up on my cell phone, but did on my desktop. Get in touch with TTP about what you can do to fix it in the final blog draft.
Cheers,
Bill
CEh! @9:32 AM My theory on the measure was that it wasn't plural and only had three letters so it had to be TSP. Just sayin'
Oh and my favorite clue/answer was SHEM. Sorry about your Bro Moe.
waseeley @ 11:30
Shemp's stomach ached and
Head Stooge suggested he take
A Bro Moe Seltzer . . .
Clever puzzle and theme, even though it didn't help the solve.
I'd agree with the two Anon's @9:28 and @10:29. I do these things for fun and a little learning, not competition. Let's lighten up. It seems the regulars accept the critiques as well as the praises, though, so all are welcome. I prefer it when I can learn a few new things, but when it gets up to 10 or more, it gets awfully hard to solve. Just five today:
SNIPES - thought those were imaginary animals you sent summer campers to hunt!
CANAPE - never had one, but cheese crackers filled itself in
WEST ELM - maybe heard of dutch elm disease but that's it ;)
ARPEGE - not sure I'll ever need to know that, except here
FOLDEROL - didn't even realize it was in the puzzle until I came here, since ESP solved it
I find it remarkable/entertaining how we all know different things. Some folks know their canape's and Kew Gardens, yet KEN Rosewall was well known to me and not others. I would have preferred a more contemporary player like Ken Anderson, but I know we're not all tennis nuts.
Thanks to all the Cornerites who keep this going!
Woohoo! Woohoo!(thanks for the shout-out, Granny!). No, I didn't get everything, but I got much more than I ever do on a Friday, and so I loved this puzzle--many, many thanks, Jeffrey! And your commentary was a pleasure, Chairman Moe.
Nice to see names I knew--ARLO, OONA (Chaplin's daughter?), STROM, and Lucy LIU. And Dad's lifetime work company RCA (thanks, Irish Miss). But I wouldn't have found all those great CHEESEs without help from Moe. Fun all around, which is great on a Friday.
Enjoyed your poems, Owen.
Have a good weekend coming up, everybody.
Must have gone thru the top third of across and downs
Before I even found a space I could fill, usually not a good sign.
But little by little it came together with lots of "aha" moments.
My favorite kind of puzzle...
Hmm,
Do I dare link a cut the cheese joke?
Pink lady reminded me of these pink ladies.
It never occurred to me, could the group name have referred to the drink?
I knew folderol from somewhere,
Somewhere in my youth,
It was on a musical tv show...
having trouble finding the exact link right now....
folderol = balderdash
I thought this a pretty easy puzzle for a Friday. But fun!!
Becky
Ah, of course!
It wasn't impossible to find where i heard folderol and fiddle dee Dee,
it was the words from the song "impossible."
It was also around the same time I learned how to use a tv test pattern.
To make adjustments to the old boob tube...
Well this is an oddity....a JW that almost solved itself.
Not a complaint. Always happy to get a JW solved.
Today was supposed to be my COVID shot...it’s been postponed, not by me. It seems the unexpected cold in...can I say it?.. yes, Texas, has affected the shipment of vaccine to Walgreens. They will call me “sometime next week” to reschedule. CVS, Publix, Walmart all booked up.
This isn’t political, it’s news of the pandemic. I hope no one else is similarly affected.
In other news, TORO has recalled some of its snowblowers for “amputation risk”....it seems the hand control doesn’t shut off the auger. No injuries reported yet.
Stay safe.
An especially clever Wechsler for this Friday!
Very neatly put together. I missed the several cheeses sprinkled throughout. I wasn't on the lookout for them, as I was enjoying the solves. This was tough enough to keep the interest, and easy enough to be solved--a perfect combination!
The only loss was in diagonals. It looks like the grid pattern needed for the theme prevented diagonals from forming top to bottom.
Ah, well...
I'm off now--to get my 2nd COVID shot!
~ OMK
Blog readers using iPhone and Android phones can always scroll down to the bottom of the blog's home page:
https://crosswordcorner.blogspot.com/?m=1
and then press "View Web Version" to see the videos in the write-up.
As well, they will also see C.C.'s helpful links, interviews and blog archives that normally don't appear when looking at the "mobile" version.
Blog readers using tablets, laptops and desktops can copy the URL above and paste it into a new tab if interested in seeing what the blog looks like to blog readers using smartphones.
Chairman Moe, it doesn't appear that Blogger is ever going to fix the bug. To make videos visible on phones, select the HTML tab of Post editor and remove every occurrence of the statement:
class="BLOG_video_class"
and then press the Update button.
When I was a camper I was mystified by the snipe hunt for newbies. I come from a bird loving family and knew you can't find a snipe in the woods at night. The way the others were laughing I knew it had to be a joke. Not especially funny or fun looking for in the dark. The snipes were imaginary creatures.
Hey, Shankers @ 10:53. Shem on a Toro! Ha, ha. It's a visual thing. So funny! Thanks for the image.
Quick 'n' Fun for a Friday but still managed to FIW crossing L. DUElCAUSE with lATER. Sufficient grounds for action?..not suable from a recent puzzle? Doesn't come off as official enough. I should have noticed the mistake and corrected it.🤨. Plus the cheese references? I would have received a grate F those cheeses even though I know 'em, like 'em and edam all 😙
My coil in a garden HOSE is more a tangled kinked mess.. So Sp. that is masculine ESO this time. Orlando to Miami, a drive I've actually taken. Afternoon service wasn't "matinée" or "vespers" but Canada Eh puts out her TEASET
Saw the same doubleteening as Moe: January temps: great clue the answer TEENS can mean kids working during the Christmas/New Years break or frigid winter temperature. Never hoid of west ELM or Ken the tennis player
Coupla inko'ers; ICANto/SO, pesata/PESETA. Remembered ARPÈGE, that was Mom's favorite. By reflex I put Uma for "Kill Bill" .
Speaking of FOLDEROL : (BTW thought it was 4 L's)
"You'll have to pay for our extravagant dinner cuz I'm ____ !"....BAROQUE
Regretted....RUDE.
Buy Guthrie folk CDs now while prices ____ ARLO.
Is anonymous @ 9:28 complaining about his own comments? I know Anonymous T and PVX but are the other anonymi all one person with Multiple Personality Syndrome 😳
Ray-O, for the last full week plus today, there were over 75,000 page views of the blog with nearly 35,000 visitors.
As Taylor Swift sings in the video that Moe linked at 2D, "Haters gonna hate, hate, hate", and 9:28 was referring to the comments by 5:58 AM...
"Genesis 11:10 records that SHEM was 100 years old at the birth of Arphaxad, two years after the flood". I don't think of 98 as "young". That's even older than STROM!
Cretians: "a stupid, vulgar, or insensitive person : clod, lout" comes to us from one of the few jokes in the Bible, in Titus 1:12, "One of Crete’s own prophets has said it: 'Cretans are always liars'."
That anonymous guy at 9:28 AM who said "Sheesh" is not me.
I liked this Friday Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle. It was not as hard as I expected it to be, but was definitely as high quality as I expected it to be.
Changed West END to ELM, a name I did not know but now do. Also changed ARE TOO to ARE NOT. Wanted something like MATINS or VESPERS at fist, before getting off the religious service line of thought.
I like the word FOLDEROL. My mom loved ARPEGE perfume and always mispronunced Lanvin as if it were two words.
Speaking of pronunciation, I'm sure Lucy LIU doesn't mind that we Americans pronounce her last name as "Loo." Maybe she herself pronounces it that way. But the spelling "Liu" implies that her family name was originally pronounced sorta-kinda like "Lee Yo." In fact try this: say "Lee Yo" really fast and smash the two syllables together into one syllable so that it comes out sort of as "L'yo." That is closer to how her grandfather probably pronounced it.
Count me in as one who loves coffee but dislikes Starbucks.
Chairman Moe, thank you for your wonderful write-up. Entertaining as well as enlightening.
Good wishes to you all. You too, Vidwan :)
TTP @4:43PM Sounds like a lot of the visitors are repeat offenders!
Gush gush!!! A wonderful Wechsler!
I FIR. (That never happens!) And I loved all the cheesy fills. Did I get the black squares? Of course not! But that didn’t distract from all the fun. Thanks JW for the pleasure you always give us.
Moe, thanks for the tour.
Ray-o, I’ve always thought the snarky Anons are all one unhappy person. How sad.
I don't normally favor the Starbuck stores or kiosks, but it is my exclusive brand of choice at home; usually their French Roast. Our local grocery seems to have it on sale many weeks of the year so we keep a stash on hand to tide us over to the next sale.
Lake Erie news. The Lake appears to be 90% + iced over now. See this Ice Chart.
Very clever CHEESE CRACKER theme. It even helped with the solve when I saw CHEDDAR to give me DARNS to FIR.
Am I the only one who thought of this CHEESE Shop skit from Monty Python?
How about CHEDDAR?
Well, we don't get much call for it around here, sir.
OwenKL Thank you for the Epimenides Paradox that a person of CRETE is saying that Cretans are always liars. I hope that when Paul said this in the Bible it was meant as a joke rather than that he was dense?
Here is the CRETE Paradox from a Catholic perspective, citing Star Trek as a reference.
From Wednesday:
Becky Thank you for the kind words about our adventures and hikes. We did one yesterday that was a bit death-defying. DW is hurting from it today.
AnonymousPVX and Jayce Thanks for the validation regarding KANG and KODOS and Star Trek and the Simpsons. Total learning moment for me, too!
CrossEyedDave Thanks for looking at my satellite map of the BAT cave location. We have also been to the "real" BAT cave in Los Angeles where BATman was filmed.
From Yesterday:
Hand up it should be SNOW PEA in a stir fry. DW is growing SNOW PEAs for us on our little front porch. A huge treat! She can grow anything anywhere.
Hi All!
Whoot! Finally nailed a Friday JW w/ out cheats, Googles, etc.
Thanks JW for a doable-Friday (watch, everyone will say it was easy :-)). I had to hunt for the cheeses after the grid was inked. Cute - theme evoked Monty Python's Cheese Shop sketch (Picard beat me to the punch).
Wonderfully witty expo, C. Moe. Time permitting, I'll click the other 1/2 your links :-)
WOs: West_ End -> ELM, ACCOuT [sic] -> ACCOST. 50d is plural so an S went in -- oops Latin; then I wandered (and lightly ink'd the R) if it was carta.
ESPs: KEW, KEN, SHEM, FOLDEROL, ARPEGE
Fav>: I would have gone with TEENs if C.Moe didn't have to explain it...
Anyone notice the stacking TAX/FOR/WORK? I'm sure ARLO would have SAID something in song.
{A, B+}
D-O: Good to read you! I figured it was just your Internet; like when you dropped offline during Harvey.
LeoIII - You're still unaccounted for....
Fourbucks ruined coffee and I don't mean just the roasting. Coffee used to be the cheapest and most abundant drink and suddenly it's $4 and large doesn’t mean large. When DW & the kids drag me to one, I always put on my 'grumpy-man' face and say "just give me the biggest normal coffee, black."
On a lighter note, Starbucks portends The End of The Universe. [Louis Black (clean) 4:34].
Enjoyed reading everyone today!
Cheers, -T
Anon T..didn't even have to open Louis Black's Starbucks link. Its hilarious and almost known it by heart.
Visiting Batcaves is a great way to introduce a new viral pandemic.
I learned to play Bridge in university from a student from Crete in the student union. Smart Alec me I said , so then you are a cretino (cretin) a common Italian disparagement. He corrected me.."Cretese"
Wasn't it STROM Thurmond who said "A billion here, a billion there, it starts to add up". Has it become a trillion?
I actually liked SANKA. I guess if I had more than one I'd have several SANKAS.
Coming up with ARPEGE was big. Somewhere buried but retrievable.
Ah, Blush not blueish.
I like the Cafe AMERICANo at Starbucks. Decaf of course. When they don't have brewed decaf available they don't charge extra.
Did you notice that dessert came with the CHEESE? Two boxes*.
Don't know Ken Anderson the Tennis player but remember Kenny the basketball player. I saw KEN Rosewall and Roy Emerson vs ASHE and ? in 1965 at Longwood (Brookline MA-US Doubles when the facade of Amateur Tennis ruled. Rosewall was the Senior of the Aussie quartet that ruled Tennis prior to Borg, McEnroe etal.
Picard, I remembered that sketch cuz Anon-T linked it once. At least once. Stay safe on those hikes.
WC
*Did you see the ST*RUDE*EL. OK, I just noticed the extra e.
Well, -T, here I finally am! Thanks for thinking about me.
Weather first: The power was out for 21 hours Monday --- OFF at 0300 and back on just before midnight. It went off again at 0945 Tuesday and came back at 2000 Wednesday, off again at 2130, then on for good at 2200.
Yes, I slept in my sweatpants, sweater and hoodie --- under two comforters. Cats everywhere on the bed too!
The worst part is having a tankless water heater. No electricity = NO hot water. First thing one does when the power comes back is JUMP INTO THE SHOWER!!! I wouldn’t trade the tankless for anything in the world, though, especially here in SE Texas where the builders LOVE to put the 20 - gallon hot water heater in the attic. Don’t get me started!
Yeah, it must have been an easy JW puzzle, because I FIR. No, I did not see the CHEESE CRACKERS. Very nifty! Thanks JW and ChMoe.
Don’t like Starbucks either. My brother and sister-in-law go there at least once a day – usually twice. Meanwhile, my sister runs across the street to McDonalds for her coffee. Me? Keurig, thank you very much, but only because it’s easier than the (I have no idea where it is) electric percolator. Instant??? Never!!!
I have heard FOLDEROL, but I cannot remember where. Apparently, Frazier used the word, but if it wasn’t on CHEERS, I don’t know. I never watched the spinoff.
Gotta work tomorrow. Luckily, the museum (building was opened in 1940) had no damage. We were worried about the water pipes. Tomorrow was supposed to be Open Ramp Day, but we’ve pushed it to next Saturday. However, a flying club was scheduled to fly in, and they can’t come on the 27th, so yours truly gets to spend the day out on the ramp anyway. Luckily, the temperature should get up into the mid-50s, and the wind is going to shift around to the SE and stay under 10 mph, so it will be bearable. We KNOW how to dress for it!
See you Sunday!
WC --- No, Sir, that was Everett Dirksen. I remember it well!
Leo, I will trust your memory. Was it Strom who said "We don't have the votes" re. Clinton Impeachment.
Btw, there's hope for my fellow cruciverbalists, Wilbur just solved Saturday. About an hour. Typical Saturday. Craig Stowe.
I haven't checked answers.
Good luck
WC
Dash T @ 7:18
That Lewis Black video was hilarious! Do u know the two Houston Starbucks of which he speaks? BTW, I’m like you. If I HAVE to drink their coffee I drink it black or with a bit of half and half. None of those “froo-froo” drinks for me!
WC --- Best I can find, it was Charlie Rangel who said that about not having the votes (to prevent Clinton's being found guilty).
"We're not giving up, but we don't have the votes," Rep. Charles B. Rangel said (D-N.Y.). "They're in control."
Others might have said it too. Remember, that mess went on for a long time. I really don't remember that particular quote.
I did remember Dirksen, though. It has been quoted so often, and I find myself thinking it at times when I'm shopping in various stores.
It must be catching: a Wechsler cwd. longer causes immediate twitching and paralysis! (Aka to doctors as 'Tremor Wechslerensis')
Starbucks is corporate, for sure, but after getting out of the clinic at 4 p.m. today (full fasting from midnight due to anesthesia), I told my son to directly go to the one in North Albany, because McD's doesn't serve breakfast past 10 a.m., plus Starbuck$$ has a great chocolate mocha.
And for IM's information also, my pharmacy is ... the Elm Street Pharmacy, but SW Elm Street in Albany, OR.
"A Bro Moe Seltzer . . ." World Class!
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