google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, February 10, 2021 Catherine Cetta

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Feb 10, 2021

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 Catherine Cetta

Theme -- I can't do much better than the unifier, so let's start with that.

 56 A. Relatively unknown quality items ... and what can be found in 16-, 26- and 42-Across: HIDDEN GEMS.  Typically something great that most people don't know about.  Here, it's literally precious stones hidden in the theme fill.

16 A. Arose to catch the proverbial worm: GOT UP EARLY.  Arise before dawn - or, in my case, before 9:00 a.m.  Do that that and you might be able to catch an oyster with a perfect PEARL.  This is a small, spherical, usually white object that forms around a grain of sand inside the shellfish.  Pearls are commonly strung together as a necklace.


 


26 A. Award won twice by Adele and Kelly Clarkson: BEST POP ALBUM.   Awards in several categories are distributed annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regard to album sales or chart position."  The 2020 winner was Billie Eilish for When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?   An OPAL is a soft hydrated amorphous form of silica (SiO2·nH2O); its water content may range from 3 to 21% by weight, but is usually between 6 and 10%. The gemstone opal shows a variable interplay of internal colors, 

42 A. Philanthropist who was a Time Person of the Year co-honoree in 2005: MELINDA GATES.  In 2000, she and her husband Bill Gates co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the world's largest private charitable organization as of 2015.  Read more about her here.  "AGATE is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, consisting of a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate dates back to Ancient Greece in assorted jewelry and in the seal stones of Greek warriors." [Wikipedia]

Hi, Gang, JazzBumps here. These are all gems of the minor variety; no diamonds in the rough here.  Lets see what else of value we can discover in today's puzzle.

Across:

1. Not imagined: REAL.  No matter how wild your flights of fancy, there is always the REAL world to come back to.

5. On: ATOP.  

9. Arthur of tennis: ASHE.

13. Country quarters: INNS.  Establishments for the lodging and entertainment of travelers, generally smaller than hotels and with fewer amenities.

14. Be behind: TRAIL.  Lag

15. Skier's need, maybe: SNOW.   For several varieties of down-hill or cross-country skiing

18. Presidents' Day event: SALE.  Many holidays really.

19. Ivy League student: ELI.  Specifically at Yale U.

20. Dynamic prefix: AERO.  Designed to reduce air drag and/or wind resistance.

21. Sushi bar brews: SAKES.  A fermented rice beverage

22. Ristorante favorite: LASAGNA.  Layers of noodles, meat and cheese, usually with a tomato based sauce. 

24. "Holy smokes!": ZOWIE.  Golly!

30. Monks' wear: COWLS.  Long, hooded garments with wide sleeves, sometimes, just the hood. 

33. Total drubbing: ROUT.  Like a bad Super Bowl game.

34. Flatow of "Science Friday": IRA.  [b. 1949] A radio and television journalist and author.
 
35. Opposite of home: AWAY.  

36. Dozen dozen: GROSS.  That's 144 of anything.

38. Craftsy etailer: ETSY.  An American e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items and craft supplies. 

39. Tiny, for short: LI'L.  Little, for long

40. "Not long": SOON. Li'l bit of time.

41. Guilty and not guilty: PLEAS.  Formal statements by or on behalf of a defendant or prisoner, stating guilt or innocence in response to a charge, offering an allegation of fact, or claiming that a point of law should apply.

46. Spectrum maker: PRISM.  Could be a brand name product or service, but not this time.  A PRISM will divide white light into color components, based on wave length.




47. Comment after a missed shot: NICE TRY.  Condolence or sarcasm?

51. Characteristic: TRAIT. A distinguishing quality of a person or thing.

53. Shred: IOTA.  Tiny amount

54. Tint: HUE. Coloration

55. "I didn't mean to do that": OOPS.  Utterance after an accident.

59. Unmitigated joy: GLEE. Originally, the specific joy of music and singing.

60. Seller, usually: OWNER. Or his/her agent.

61. Its symbol is Fe: IRON.  Elemental metal.

62. Some cameras, for short: SLRSSingle Lens Reflex.

63. Amorously pursues: WOOS

64. Fiddling emperor: NERO.  While Rome burns.

Down:

1. Orion's left foot, some say: RIGEL.  Rigel is a blue supergiant that is the brightest star in the constellation Orion (the Hunter). Due to its measured size and brightness it is expected to end in a supernova one day. 

2. __ Gay: ENOLA.  a Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber, named after Enola Gay Tibbets, the mother of the pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets. On 6 August 1945, piloted by Tibbets and Robert A. Lewis during the final stages of World War II, it became the first aircraft to drop an atomic bomb.

3. Naysayers: ANTIs.  Those with negative viewpoints.

4. Pelican State sch.: LSU.   Louisiana State University.

5. Biblical mount: ARARAT.  Legendary landing place of Noah's Arc. 

6. Tropical root vegetable: TARO.  A food staple in African, Oceanic and South Asian cultures.

7. Squeaky-wheel need: OIL.  Lubricant.

8. Tissue layer: PLY.  A single layer of any multiple layer construction, such as ply wood.

9. Attack: ASSAIL.

10. Hazard in many old Westerns: SNAKE BITE.  

11. Opening: HOLE.   An aperture or gap.

12. Lambs' moms: EWES.  Female sheep.

14. New drivers, typically: TEENS.  People between the ages of 13 and 19, inclusive.

17. Novel units: PAGES.  Not new and unusual things, but the two-sided papers bound into books.

21. Whack at a mosquito: SWAT.

23. With skill: ABLY.  

24. Family outing destinations: ZOOS.

25. Numbered piece: OPUS.  A separate composition or set of compositions by a particular composer, usually ordered by date of publication.

27. Outlet insert: PRONG.  A slender pointed or projecting part: such as a fang of a tooth ora point of an antler, or an electric plug.

28. Celestial bear: URSA.  Either the URSA MAJOR or URSA MINOR constellation.

29. First Black MLB team captain, 1964: MAYS.  Willie Howard Mays Jr., [b 1931] nicknamed "The Say Hey Kid", is an American former professional baseball center fielder. He spent almost all of his 22-season Major League Baseball career playing for the New York/San Francisco Giants before finishing his career with the New York Mets. [Wikipedia]

30. Not nervous: CALM.  Serene.

31. Something Mommy needs to kiss?: OWIE.  Booboo.

32. Computer screen background: WALLPAPER.

36. Odin and Thor: GODS.  In the Aesir.

37. Wander: ROAM.  

38. "Need anything __?": ELSE.

40. Sulky state: SNIT.

41. Pie nut: PECAN

43. Flowery van Gogh work: IRISES.   You can see it here.

44. Battery terminals: ANODES.  And Cathodes

45. Solution strength measure: TITER.  Determined by 2 conflicting methods.  Read about it here.

48. "Over __!": THERE.   A 1917 song written by George M. Cohan that was popular with the United States military and public during both world wars. It is a patriotic song designed to galvanize American young men to enlist and fight.

 

 49. Something from a mill?: RUMOR.  People who start and spread rumors.

50. Type of survey question: YES/NO.  As opposed to multiple guess.

51. Duds: TOGS.  Clothing.

52. Dinner table staple: ROLL.  A small, usually round or oblong individual loaf of bread served as a meal accompaniment (eaten plain or with butter)

53. License plate fig.: ID NO.  Identification Number.

56. "__ come?": HOW.  Said when asking how or why something happened or is the case.

57. Iconic WWII island, briefly: IWO.  An island 750 miles south of Tokyo. It was the site of an iconic WW II battle in February and March of 1945.



58. Winning game cry: GIN.   From a card game, not a martini, alas.

So goes another Wednesday.  Hope it was valuable.

Cool Regards!
JzB




48 comments:

OwenKL said...

Monday easy! I did need the reveal to get the theme, which I liked, but didn't help me any.

Saint Peter GOT UP EARLY
To mind the GATES so PEARLY.
To usher in
A load of GIN
For after-choir martinis.

For munchies with my ganja,
ZOWIE, I love LASAGNA!
Meat and pasta PLIES
With cheese synchronize --
But boy, does it put pounds on ya!

{B+, B+.}

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Not only did I 16A Got Up early (4:00 am) but I saw the gems after the first two theme entries. OTOH, not having had enough sleep, I hastily entered Score before Gross, silly me. I also went astray at Romp/Rout, but everything else fell into place, although Ira and Titer needed perps. Nice big CSO to the Louisiana contingent at LSU. Trail/Trait was the lone duo, I believe.

Thanks, Catherine, for a mid-week treat and thanks, JazzB, for your always informative and detailed summary.

Have a great day.

Wilbur Charles said...

The not so Li'l Abner

And of course there's the slightly overweight orchid growing NERO Wolfe.

Titer was unknown to one who took Chemistry 60 years ago. Titration would have been a portmanteau in those days.

Relatively easy Wednesday as opposed to the Thursday I finally and agonizingly finished last night. But it could have been a foggy brain on my part.

Thanks jazz for the enlightenment

WC

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

As soon as I saw "soft hydrated amorphous form," I knew that JzB was at the controls. For some odd reason, it reminded me of Poe's "silken sad uncertain rustling." Anyone else try BARN for those "Country quarters," or RICE for that "Dinner table staple?" IM, you missed the ZOOS/WOOS and OWIE/ZOWIE pairings. In fact that Z was my final fill after an alphabet run...a l-o-n-g alphabet run. Didn't notice those GEMS on the way through, but that's par for the course. Thanx, Catherine and JzB.

PRISM: Both the Prizm and Spectrum were old Geo models.

YAY, d-w got a confirmation/invitation for her second Covid shot. She was concerned that she didn't have an official appointment. Next Tuesday is the day.

Hungry Mother said...

FIR with no write-overs. A very easy mid-week offering. After the reveal, I noted the GEMs in my already filled themers. I don’t think of a pearl as a gem, but that’s me. My wife still wears the black pearl we bought her in Tahiti on our 25th Anniversary cruise 30 years ago.

Irish Miss said...

DO @ 6:48 ~ Thanks for pointing out the Zoos/Woos and Zowie/Wowie duos. I’ll blame my bleary-eyed, lack-of-sleep solve, due to that 4:00 am arising time. 🤭

ATLGranny said...

OOPS, I did it again, FIW the first word. Did not notice that REAd was not the best fill for "not imagined" and Delaware (?) state university, if it exists, isn't in the Pelican State (second time for that recently!) OK, Louisiana. I'll try to remember that from now on.

I struggled and had WOs in the POP ALBUM area because of entering artist first, solving from the end. Perps finally cleared it up and OPUS was a surprise. Otherwise I had a clean grid and enjoyed the puzzle, Catherine. Found the GEMS after the reveal. Thanks, JazzB, for explaining so well.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Easy enough for a Wednesday. The GEMS quickly came out of hiding after the reveal. Theme was best part of the puzzle IMO. Favorite clue was 'outlet insert' for PRONG. No strikethroughs; FIR.
Fe - comes from the Latin for IRON - ferrum.

YR - I replied to your Mick question later yesterday. The short answer is the OstFrieslanders (NW Germany) use the word Mügg for the German Fliege (house fly). Not a big leap between Mügg and Mick vowel-wise speaking and the glottal stop.

Thanks JzB for the intro.

inanehiker said...

This was a quick run - and actually saw the GEMS before the reveal!

D-O - pointed out the other pairs for IM - glad I perused the last entries before posting mine. I had WOWIE before ZOWIE - but that would have made WOOS in the down which is also the answer 63 A - so it was changed to ZOOS.

Thanks JzB and Catherine!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-REAL world return – 50F two weeks ago, now below 0F
-Not guilty can mean, “I’m innocent!” or “You can’t prove it!”
-My treadmill calls for a messy lubricant about every three weeks.
-“Get out of the way!” is sometimes replaced by, “Make a HOLE!”
-“Every science teacher that knew TITER, raise your hand. Not so fast, Gary!”
-D-O, I as on that same long alphabet train
-My lovely dental hygienist had some torturous PRONGS on her instruments yesterday for this too infrequent flosser

Shankers said...

Easy enough for a Wednesday. Titer was unknown and didn't look right, but made sense with the Gates crossing except I tried Melania before Melinda. And, Prius before Prism. I also liked zowie and owie. Smooth fill for a nice mid-week FIR.

billocohoes said...

ATL Granny, yes Delaware State U (Go Hornets!) is an HBCU (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) across US-13 from Dover International Speedway.

I have a PRISM in my eyeglasses - the top of the lens thicker than the bottom to correct for vertical cross-eyedness.

Oas said...

Enjoyable quick romp . Only bugger was TITER . Never heard of it but it had to fit with the rest. Thanks Catherine Cetta and J B . Good job.
Cheers Sunny but cold

Ron in LA said...

Can we lose "owie" once and for all?

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Now who could Arthur of tennis possibly be..hmmm? . Mommy, don't infect that OWIE with a kiss. ZOWIE (cuz OWIE isn't bad enough). Had wOWIE first. I guess holy smokes wasn't incense. But a lot of OW's..perhaps the theme? OWNER, HOW, COWL, SNOW?..NOPE well Hidden Gem of a theme. Nice job Catherine C. and review Jbz.

Outlet insert..PRONG ? Oh a plug!
🔌 Excellent misdirection 😁

There was a long-ago closed local clothing store called "Sturdy TOGS", only time I've seen that word used.

I knew it was MELINDA GATES from PBS PSA's but couldnt get the name Melania out of my head ('nuff said about that). The RUMOR mill is back. Forgot that SAKES are brewed not distilled.

Prius to PRISM. Then figured it was a type of Chevy PRIZM with a model called a Spectrum . DO explains

Guilty or not guilty, ______ decide......PLEAS
Early Vietnam capital....HUE
Olympian menagerie ruler..ZOOS
Donkey brew....ASSAIL
Lamb to Mom and aunts "Where are ____ going?"....EWES

Realized this morning.....
Mom would have been 100 today. 😇

NaomiZ said...

He made the BEST POP ALBUM,
Full of HIDDEN GEMS.
It was his finest OPUS.
"NICE TRY" said his mean friends.

Thanks to Catherine for the puzzle, Rich for the edit, JzB for the review, and OwenKL for the inspiration.

Yellowrocks said...

GEM of a puzzle. The G in gem and gin was my last fill. After that I found the gems. Interesting expo, Jazz.
Spitz, thanks for the info.That is probably close to how mom pronounced it. PA Dutch is a dialect of German. From class I learned Fliege.
PRIUS before PRISM.
I dredged up Titer from ITE. Strange how what we remember and can dredge up varies within one sitting.
Opinion varies on the justification of the A Bomb's use, but even justified I would not want the Enola Gay named after me.
Nice break today with no snowfall.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Oh, yes, I dug out the HIDDEN GEMS after the solve. NICE one, Catherine and so ABLY reviewed in detail by JazzBumpa!

Hand up for NOT knowing TITER but I do know IRON is Fe.

There is a magazine called TOGS (with pricey items) which occasionally lands in my mailbox.

Hikers here must be cautious or a SNAKE BITE could occur.

I believe it's the Franciscan and Trappist monks who wear COWLS, maybe others, too.

Speaking of Trappists, that was an answer on Jeopardy last night when Thomas Merton was cited. Also a photo of lady astronaut Mae Jemison who was in a recent puzzle!

Have a fabulous day, everyone!

CrossEyedDave said...

Since after a quick across and down, I managed to find the 1st complete answer and the reveal.
So I decided not to forget to look for the theme this time and dig out an Opal.

gOtuPeArLy

(Hmm, the circles seemed to be missing?)

It wasn't until finding the Opal in the 2nd answer that I realized my mistake...

Here are 38 more photos with hidden gems,
I managed to find them all except for the jelly beans.
Can you see what I might be missing?

waseeley said...

Is it REALly Monday already? Or maybe Rich GOT UP too EARLY this morning and got his DOWs mixed? Thank you Catherine for a glittering puzzle and JB for sharing your STRING OF PEARLS, ABLY reviewing Catherine's OPUS.

5D Glad to see this "Biblical Mount" was the resting place for a boat not a beast for a change.

42 With AGATE we have a GEM hidden within a GEM, as CHALCEDONY is a form of "crypt-crystalline" quartz. That is "hidden crystals" that can only be revealed with a powerful microscope. Due to its fine-grained texture it is also used in carved jewelry. Its layers of contrasting colors make it ideal for the carving of CAMEOS.

A truly DAZZLING puzzle!

Cheers,
Bill

CrossEyedDave said...

Spoiler alert!

Re: jellybeans

You have to enlarge the picture in order to see
The cartoon character on the darker pink jellybean
About 5 o'clock from center.


Also, the naked motor scooter driver is not really naked.

And!
Having to scroll thru the blog again to post this,
I accidentally saw yesterday's blog ending with the broken mug
And only just now realised it is Van Gogh with a broken "ear."

unclefred said...

After three days of wrestling with my printer (yes, it was turned on, had paper and ink, was on the same WIFI) and threatening it with a hammer (it still wouldn’t print) downloading new drivers, I got a MSFT notice about a critical update: problem solved. So I did three CWs today. From two days ago, I confidently penned in “BREASTMILK” resulting in massive o/w with “BABYBOTTLE”. Today’s CW was (for me) the easiest of the three. WOWIE: ZOWIE and DYE:HUE for o/ws. Thanx, Catherine for a fun CW that I even got the theme. Very nice write-up, thanx, JzB!! FIR in 23, a good Wednesday time for me lately. Used to b faster. Used to b younger, too! I am not the first to say it: life is not fair. When I was young and had the energy, strength and coordination to do most anything and go anywhere, I had no money, and my nose was tied to the grindstone 24/7 just to keep body and soul together. Now I am very comfortable financially but am too poopered out to do much! Rats!!

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

A CSO to yours truly @ 36-Across. Just check my email address and you’ll see why. Appropriate too, that the clue number for this answer would be divisible by 12! Nice to see that the clue for this did not focus on the one negative meaning of the word ... as in the following Moe-ku:

Read your recap Chairman
And it seemed a bit too lewd.
Moe, don’t be so GROSS

ps: I’ll try not to be, but I come by it naturally!! 😂😂

Catherine Cetta -> liked the puzzle and theme. My only write over was ROBES/COWLS. OOPS! But aside from that no other mistakes. I had to look for the HIDDEN GEMS. The last intersection to fall was the TITER/MELINDA GATES

JazzB -> I recognized the Glenn Miller tune but was unaware of the title (String of PEARLS). Thanks for the learning moment

NICE TRY made me think of another, similar phrase used by golfers whenever a fellow competitor misses one on the green by the smallest of margin ... they’ll say NICE PUTT. And for the record, whenever a golfer says “NICE PUTT”, it never goes in the HOLE

I GOT UP EARLY today for a change ... off in a bit go on a hike in the desert, and take advantage of a glorious day here

oc4beach said...


Good Wednesday level puzzle. JzB's tour was spot on.

Like others I GOT UP EARLY (for me, maybe not others) but I didn't finish the puzzle until after noon.

I don't think I've ever said ZOWIE, so it required perps.

If the clue had been singular, my Family outing destination would have been PARK instead of ZOOS.

I get to see my cardiologist today to see how much time I have left on my pacemaker battery. They originally said it would last 10 years, but at each appointment it dropped faster than predicted. It appears to be running "Hot" and wearing out more rapidly. So, after 4 years it was down to 7.5 years total. This year at the 5 year mark since it was installed we'll see if it drops further.

Have a great day everyone and please wear your masks.

Spitzboov said...

Re Gross - - Nothing wrong with that. In German gross or groß means great, large, tall or grand, among others. A Großadmiral is equivalent to a 5-star (Fleet Admiral).

Chairman Moe said...

12+144+20+3 x sq. root of 4
————————————- + (5x11) = 9 squared + 0
7

Does the above math equation look like a limerick? Well, despite not being able to use two of the proper symbols, it goes something like this:

A dozen, a GROSS, and a score,
Plus 3 times the square root of four,
Divided by seven
Plus five times eleven,
Equals nine squared, and not a bit more!

Do the math ... weird, huh?

Misty said...

Delightful Wednesday puzzle, Catherine--many thanks. And very enjoyable commentary, JazzB.

There were so many clever clues.I loved getting INNS for "Country quarters," and LIL for "Tiny, for short" (of course I had put in WEE). Arthur ASHE sure shows up in puzzles a lot. It's so sad that he's gone--I'm sure he would have loved turning up in puzzles so often. Had to look for the HIDDEN GEMS after I learned the reveal, and there they were! Lots of fun

Have a great day, everybody.

LEO III said...

Thanks, Catherine Cetta and JazzBumpa.

FIR, and I even found the gems too. I actually printed out the puzzle as soon as it was available on the LAT website, so I finished it long before JzB’s fine expo. I chose NOT to wait for him and got some sleep.

I also thought it was a fairly easy Wednesday puzzle, but I’ll take it! ZOO was my last fill also - after the alphabet run.

Working the down clues first, I saw GATES fairly early, knew BILL wouldn’t fit, but WILLIAM wouldn't work. Oh – MELINDA! No, I didn’t confuse her name.- but only because I really didn’t pay that much attention to the other one’s name. That’s NOT political! I just don't pay much attention to all the hype about the first ladies.

47A --- If I’m the one who misses the shot, it's DUMMY!!!

I think TITER was my only perp.

Willie Mays --- "The Catch"

The Catch

Read the details here:

Details

I had never seen an aerial photo of the Polo Grounds. Wish I could have seen a ballgame there.

Thanks for the shout-outs (or is it shouts-out) yesterday. I too misspelled FAERIE. Bah!

Wilbur Charles said...

“Make a HOLE!” in the military is for when an Officer is passing by.

"I would not want the Enola Gay named after me*." How times have changed. I think the bomb was called Fat Boy.
"47A --- If I’m the one who misses the shot, it's DUMMY!!! Where I came from it was "Alice!"

WC

*That was my first thought too, YR

Ps, TTP wherefore art thou? We love you, come back. Plus I want some Evan Birnholz Wa-Post talk(although I've got a bunch stacked up)

AnonymousPVX said...


A Wednesday solve that almost flew by, zero issues.

“ANTIS” do not have negative viewpoints, they are simply opposed....” I’m anti child abuse” hardly represents a negative view.

Funny about the printer problem mentioned above, I just today had to replace the “print head” in my all in one Canon. A simple procedure that totally solved the double image it was printing, all for $100....what else can you do, a replacement all in one is hardly economical.

I just got my COVID appt.... April 7. I guess we’ll see if that happens on time.

Stay safe.

Wilbur Charles said...

PPs, speaking of moderators I seemed to have gotten away with my portmanteau

AnonymousPVX said...


Also, the bomb dropped by the Ebola Gay on Hiroshima was Little Boy, Fat Man was the second bomb, Nagasaki. They were actually 2 different kinds of bombs.

AnonymousPVX said...


ENOLA Gay, the damn text editor made it Ebola.

OwenKL said...

CED Several of those I didn't get. With the jelly beans, I think their might be a brown m&m just up-right of center. addenda: Sponge-bob's buddy might be on that pink one, or it might be just glare and mottling.

Chris I've run across another limerick like that before.

OwenKL said...

* there

Anonymous said...

Hello, everyone! With the Covid restrictions I have more time to do puzzles so I'm working on late week puzzles and, very slowly, getting better. I do well Mon.-Thurs.

Thank you, Catherine, for the fun puzzle and thanks, JzB, for the expo. I found the theme after JzB told me about it.

The most appropriate clue/ans 15a Skiers need, maybe. SNOW Last week the forecast for Mon./Tues. was to expect 1"-3" of snow. By this past weekend the forecast was for 2"-4". Yesterday morning we woke up to 10"!!! Heavy snow! It's the most snow we've gotten in one storm since 2008! The school district closed and didn't require remote learning so neighborhood kids were outside all day, playing. Good to see. So far this afternoon we've gotten another 1 1/2" and could have 3" by morning. Enough!

DH and I were lucky last week to get appointments for the vaccine and were scheduled for the second one at that time. No problems for either of us after the shot.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Jayce said...

Been pretty much riveted to the TV today. Will now do the puzzle and read all your comments.

Jayce said...

Zip zoop and done. A nice, fun puzzle. Enjoyed reading all your comments. Be well.

Michael said...

Unclefred @ 12:49:

Yes, GBS said it best: "What a pity that youth is wasted on the young!"

CrossEyedDave said...

OwenKL,
Let me know the numbers of the ones you didn't get...

The hardest I think is the family pictures on the wall.
At 1st I thought there might be something in the reflection,
But in the middle is a picture of the actor Steve Buscemi,
Known for Armageddon, The Big Lewbowski, and pulp fiction
And definitely does not belong.

The kid and the dog sinking into the couch cushions
Mirrors the homer Simpson picture above them...

The couple on the pier/dock are kissing 8n their reflection!

The camping pic shows a bear 8n the background upper right.

Etc...


Ol' Man Keith said...

Good pzl! Well placed at Humpday!
~ OMK
____________
DR:
We have a 3-way diagonal cluster on the far side.
The central and bottom diags are not rich for anagrams, but the top line uses ALL 14 letters (minor-Jackpot!) to pay tribute to those among us who take the greatest pleasure in a daily stroll. I am speaking of the...
"WALK SENSUALIST!
(With or without the aid of a wheelie-walker.)

SwampCat said...

PVX, thanks for correcting the Fat Man/ Little Boy error here. I cringed! Enola Gay/ Little Boy.

Also, thanks for pointing out that ANTI isn’t always a bad thing.

Clever puzzle. Fun expo. Thanks Catherine and JzB!!

Vidwan827 said...


Thank you Ms. Catherine Cetta for a very nice puzzle, and Thank you, JazzB for a very nice write up. I don't think of Pearls as gemstones, and Agates are pretty common, but the CW puzzle was very nice.

Thank you Cross Eyed Dave for those 38 gems . some of which I failed to understand, until you pointed them out. Cute ! Nice puzzles after solving the CW.

I am very familiar with titer and titration, from jr high, and I have come across other forms of titration in metallurgy and even blood sera samples. Titration is just a form of calibration where determining actual values of an unknown specimen, maybe expensive, difficult or economically prohibitive.
So, you compare it or react it with another reactant of known value or concentration, to evaluate its strength.

I came across the word 'titre' while reading, a non-fiction book, by Antonia Fraser, the eminent british historian, on the (many - ) mistresses (!) of Louis XIV. !

Apparently, his Chief Mistress, say, the Madam, Marquise de Montespan was Louis the 14th's, ..... Mistress-en-Titre ....

How did he determine that ?
Did he 'titrate' her against a known calibrated "mistress" specimen ??

See Mistress - Titre, Wikipedia ... Warning: Mature, porno portrait, in the chapter.

Have a good evening, all.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Late to the party. The puzzle and the recap were both well worth the time to solve/read. Thank you Catherine and JazzB. One minor nit is that I could have done without ZOWIE. Either David or Jim Bowie would have been a reasonable substitute and perhaps one was there before the edits were performed.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks Catherine for the quick Wednesday puzzle. Theme was a fun post puzzle-puzzle.

Thanks for the expo JzB and the link to TITER.

WO: N/A
ESPs: TITER, COWLS, TOGS
Fav: clue for PLEAS

{B+, A}

Thanks for pointing out some of the GEMs in the pictures, CED. I missed the bear and the Simpsons' picture.

Cheers, -T

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Catherine and JazzB.
I’m late to the party after a busy day. I FIRed in good time and found the theme after I reached the 56A reveal. (OPAL for Katie again today).

Was I the only one who until then was trying to make a theme out of PEARLY and GATES, and wondering why I had St. Popa and not St. Peter in 26A!?!

I could never forget TITER (I spell it Titre) after the nerve-wracking wait to find out if my titration results in University Chemistry lab were correct . . . and would result in a pleasing mark or the need to spend another three hours in the lab!

Wishing you all a good evening.

waseeley said...

Vidwan827 @7:33pm. I know it when I see it, and that ain't porno Vw.

waseeley said...

CED @5:37 That "dog" looked like a kangaroo to me.