Theme: Here You R at Last! - Letter R is added to end of each common noun phrase.
16. West Coast footballer on an RV vacation?: ROAMING CHARGER. Roaming charge.
26. San Fernando counterfeiter?: VALLEY FORGER. Valley Forge.
52. Indecisive European?: BELGIAN WAFFLER. Belgian Waffle.
C.C. here, Lemonade will be with you on Sunday blogging another Jeffrey's grids.
I feel I'm missing something. Simply a R addition? A set of *GE to *GER entries will be tighter. First two entries, plus Badge/BADGER, or WAGE/WAGER.
More often we see 11's on Row 3/13. With this grid, 14
on Row 3/13 with edge blocks work out nicely. Loved the parallel 9's in
Down slots.
Across:
5. Hustle and bustle: RUSH.
9. Just: MERE.
13. Lake near the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: ERIE. ARIA, ARIE, OREO, all vowel-rich.
14. __ rug: AREA.
15. Bean sprout?: IDEA. Good old clue.
19. "As Good as It Gets" Oscar winner: HUNT. Helen.
20. Deer madam: DOE. Nice clue.
21. Considerable: GRAVE.
22. "Sex Education" actor Butterfield: ASA. Don't know him. But I like this new clue angle.
23. Mischief maker: ELF.
24. Used crayons: COLORED.
29. Mystery writer's middle name: ALLAN. 10. Mystery writer's first name: EDGAR. Edgar Allan Poe.
30. Emotional shock: JOLT.
31. Show stoppers: ADS. TV shows.
34. Times Square gas: NEON.
35. Parking unit: SPACE.
37. Property attachment: LIEN.
38. Minnesota senator Klobuchar: AMY. Played a prominent role in the inauguration. Her father was a columnist for the Star Tribune.
39. Unctuous: OILY.
40. Tailor's dummy, e.g.: TORSO.
44. Goal of regular exercise: FITNESS.
47. Omaha Beach craft: Abbr.: LST. Landing Ship, Tank.
48. Boiling blood: IRE.
49. Disney princess with red hair and a green tail: ARIEL.
50. Prefix with center: EPI.
51. Colony members: ANTS.
56. Opposite of exo-: ENDO. Prefix meaning "inner".
57. Spanish rivers: RIOS.
58. Big name in razors: ATRA. Gillette.
59. Pond plant: REED.
60. Shortfin shark: MAKO.
61. More than half: MOST.
Down:
2. Steel, e.g.: IRON ALLOY.
3. Italian automaker since 1899: FIAT.
4. Like the yin side: Abbr.: FEM. Feminine. Cucumber is Yin, but ginger is Yang. You eat more Yang food in winter. Yin in summer.
5. Xeroxed: RAN OFF.
6. Exhort: URGE.
7. Flash: SEC.
8. "So there!": HAH.
9. Funhouse fixture: MIRROR.
11. Superman player: REEVE. Christopher.
12. Like some jugs: EARED.
17. Without thinking: IDLY.
18. Shoelace end: AGLET.
19. Caribbean metropolis: HAVANA.
23. Dark time for poets: EEN.
24. Nile threat: CROC. Learning moment for me. Saw it during your trip, Anon-T? This is often a clue for ASP.
25. Eye rudely: OGLE.
27. Office PC nexus: LAN.
28. "Love Train" group, with "The": O'JAYS.
31. O'Hare arrivals: AIRLINERS.
32. Former name of an arid-region Afro-Asian rodent: DESERT RAT.
33. Sleeps soundly?: SNORES. I used to poke Boomer when he snored
too loud. Now his snoring is music to my ears. Neuropathy, shoulder
pain often keeps him awake.
35. Poses: SITS.
36. Furthermore: PLUS.
37. Captain's journal: LOG.
39. Marks in ancient manuscripts: OBELI. Plural of "obelus""
40. Dynamite stuff: TNT.
41. Basis of monotheism: ONE GOD.
42. Westernmost Texas county: EL PASO.
43. "Yeah, right!": AS IF.
44. __-Castell: office supply brand: FABER. Sorry. Never heard of this brand.
45. Ryan of "The Beverly Hillbillies": IRENE.
46. Piña colada garnish?: TILDE. The squiggle over Piña.
50. Furry Endor critter: EWOK.
51. Choir member: ALTO.
53. Equip: ARM.
54. Actress Vardalos: NIA.
55. Relatives, slangily: FAM.
C.C.
66 comments:
"City near the Mount of Olives: JERUSALEM"
This seems wrong. The Mount of Olives is within the city of Jerusalem. Under what definition is it not within the city?
I remember a WWII Movie "The Desert Rats". Saw it as a tot and liked it because there wasn't a single woman in it. eg no romance.
Oh my. When I corrected the Disney Princess from Arwen to ARIEL I neglected the final n/L change and OBELI was unknown no matter how it was spelled. I guess I have to mark it FIW.
I naturally thought the garnish would be a twist. That was a neat clue for Piña
WC
Mount of Olives is just outside Jerusalem, n'est-ce pas?
Good morning!
Today wasn't difficult, but it turned into a real Wite-Out workout with lotsa incorrect WAGs: Imp, Bethlehem, Iron Metal, Copied, I Bet. Got 'em all fixed, and finished in good time, so life is good. We got both EDGAR and ALLAN, but no POE. Thanx, Jeff (You're still da man!) and C.C.
No, the Mount of Olives is squarely within the city of Jerusalem by any definition I'm aware of and however you come down on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
I liked your "... R at Last" title, C.C. Fits well. I also liked your observation that Jeff's crossword puzzle might have been improved with badge(r) and wage(r) in lieu of ANGLER and WAFFLER for consistency. I see a crossword editing position in your future.
Also meshing nicely was IRON ALLOY intersecting ERIE. Freighters brought plenty of tonnage of iron ore from the Mesabi Iron Range west of Duluth, across Lake Superior and finally down to Lake Erie for smelting and steel production in Cleveland, Youngstown and Pittsburgh. Minnesota had the iron ore, and the plentiful coal needed for smelting it was proximate to the Steel Valley. There's an excellent docudrama miniseries available on Amazon Prime entitled "The Men Who Built America" (Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Astor, Ford and Morgan) about the Gilded Age and the men that not only transformed industry but in the process, America itself. I think the miniseries has also been shown on The History Channel.
I've watched "As Good as It Gets" with Jack Nicholson and Helen HUNT a handful of times. An interesting movie to me. Two masterful performances. She deserved the Oscar. I think he was the perfect casting fit for the neurotic and quirky character.
Ear worm ahead: Escape
C.C. I imagine that by now Boomer has seen the video of the drone flying at Bryant Bowl. I found this footage and interview on YouTube that he might find interesting. Has Boomer ever had occasion to bowl there ? Drone video of Bryant Lake Bowl in Minneapolis
Today's puzzle took 9:41. The theme didn't interfere with the rest of the puzzle, so this counts as a good one to me. Unknowns to me were Faber, Irene, and obeli. I didn't care for "tailor's dummy, e.g." for "torso," but the "tilde" clue was fresh.
Much easier than last week's Friday puzzle. I liked that the added R changed the meaning of the originals, making good puns. My favorite clue was bean sprout=idea.
The TILDE clue was devilish but great. I needed all perps.
It is hard to remember the second A in ALLAN. It is usually Allen or my dear ALAN.
FLN We are seeing fewer and fewer skeins of migrating geese. Our grassy suburban lawns and corporate campuses with plenty of water nearby entice a huge number of year round resident geese. They have it too good here. Also many no longer know how to migrate. When Canada geese were a rarity and only temporary guests I liked them. Now they are pests. I find their copious leavings disgusting.
Naomi, I am sorry to hear your shot left you feeling poorly. I hope you feel well soon.
An extra day off for me, replaced with the daunting task of a 100+ word Sunday. I know HG has handled that challenge before, but primarily its C.C. bailiwick. (I love that word).
As C.C. said, the theme was very straightforward and I hope Jeff stops by and tells us if there is a hidden level, because I do not see one.
I have used 44. __-Castell: office supply brand: FABER and loved the O'Jays near O'Hare where they read some OBELI.
Be well all and remember you get an extra hour to sleep before coming to read my first Sunday blog
Up until the mid 19th century Jerusalem was very small, just the Old City within the walls. I have toured the Old City. It certainly does not contain the Mount of Olives. The New Testament says Jesus entered Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives. However, from the mid 19th century and going forward the city was greatly enlarged. Today the Mount of Olives within the city limits.
CC, I recently posted a comment that included the offer to send a few pictures of me covering my gf's outside fridge in contact paper to prevent rust: how to do it, how it turns out, to anyone who would like by contacting me at fredmitchel@gmail.com. Since then I have for some reason received 21 emails from frequent commenters at this blog which consisted of the comments they posted here. None mentioned anything about the fridge. I don't understand why I am getting comments forwarded to me. If any of the 21 people meant to ask for fridge pictures, try contacting me at unclefred33304@yahoo.com, instead of my blog listed email. In the meantime, if none of the 21 people actually wanted to contact me, perhaps there is something gone wrong on the blog?
Good morning everyone.
Easy enough solve but got 2 ltrs. wrong in the NW anyway. Sigh. Thought ERIE would be a good guess. Liked the theme. Liked how EDGAR and ALLAN both got in there.
LST - Top speed ~ 11 knots; Rough riding due to boxy shaped hull configuration. I spent a few days aboard USS Greer County (LST-799) circumnavigating Catalina Island.
EEN - Means 'a' or 'one' in Dutch and L. German.
Didn't know Castell, but Eberhard FABER (the New York, then Pennsylvania branch) has been making American pencils for over 100 years
OBELI was unknown
Fred, Nothing wrong with the blog.
Robots crawl blog sites and other social media sites looking for email ids. They will also harvest other avatar or user names, and then send you spam mail that appears to be people you may be chatting with online.
Don't open any links in any of those emails. Just delete them. Don't post your email id in the comments. Just suggest that if someone is interested, they should go to your avatar profile and use the "Email Me" button.
Hi all. Another fun puzzle by Jeff Stillman . Thanks for an enjoyable not too difficult Friday solve. I liked the theme as it sped up the fill once I saw VALLEYFORGER. Enough crunch to put the thinking cap on.
Got held up a little at OBELI and FABER and IRENE (SSO to big sister who lost her hubby to Covid last year).
Caught on to BELGIAN after WAFFLER appeared . Mcd’s coffee still warm and a pleasant sunny spring day starting. Two thumbs up all around.
Cheers
Unclefred , last week it happened to me . My inbox filled up with e mails of all of the cornerited blogs for one day. I have no idea how that happened but think I might have triggered it when I tried to access older comments. I had to redo my google account in order to continue posting comments . Seems to be ok now.
Musings
-A clever puzzle, a C.C. write-up (great title) and golf at 11. Life’s good.
-Jeff hurried us along with JIFF, RUSH and SEC
-SPACES where one parks and sits for lunch are kind of understood at school
-Principals were upset with you if you RAN OFF more than your share of copies on the metered Xerox
-OBELI continues a string of learning for me
-I’m more familiar with FABER on these writing instruments
-The opening of our golf course was delayed a day so the crew could dispose of goose droppings
-Yes, Lemon, blogging a Sunday puzzle is a two-sandwich chore!
Anon @5:53AN Jerusalem was a walled city. The Mt of Olives was not within the walls.
Lemonade said: "you get an extra hour to sleep"
I think you meant 'lose an hour'. Morning will come an hour earlier.
Unclefred, I have never had an outdoor fridge. I would like to read your answers to some of the comments and questions posted here.
I thought repurposing the meaning of the roots of the -er words was of sufficient interest as a theme.
E'en - even as evening or as even though.
Poetic contractions are contractions of words found in poetry but not commonly used in everyday modern English. Also known as elision, these contractions are usually used to lower the amount of syllables in a particular word in order to adhere to the meter of a composition.
Many of these poetic contractions originate from archaic English. By the end of the 18th century, contractions were generally looked down upon in standardized formal writing. This development may have been influenced by the publication of Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755).
I have seen Hallowe'en in print.
GUARD Well, it must out; the corpse is buried; someone E'en now besprinkled it with thirsty dust, Performed the proper ritual--and was gone.
Even now- at this particular time.
SPRING ahead - lose an hour
FALL back- gain an hour
Yup, just when it was starting to get light at 6AM. Wham!
After last Friday, this was a piece of cake. Everything filled in quickly, and the theme was pretty obvious. Some clever clues too.
Figured out the theme pretty quickly and the solve also went quickly...for a Friday.
Thanks for pinch hitting today, C.C. To answer your question at 1 Down, I was there in July, 1967. I vividly remember visiting the ancient (3,000 year old) desecrated Jewish cemetery at the Mount of Olives. According to Wikipedia, "During the Jordanian rule, the Jewish cemetery suffered systematic damage to gravestones and tombs. . . In the late 1950s, the Jordanian army used tombstones to build military camps." Citation:
Wikipedia Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetary
The memory has proved useful over the decades in sifting through the contemporary rhetoric.
After starting badly at 1A it was smooth sailing for the rest of the puzzle Didn't know yin was FEMinine. JIF-peanut butter; JIFFY pop-popcorn. JIFF-okay I see it but never heard anybody say it. 'In a SEC', not 'in a JIFF', just 'in a JIFFY'. But the first four downs on the left-HAVANA, JERUSELEM, IRON ALLOY, & FIAT- were gimmes. Caught the added R in CHARGE-R and filled -ER to the ends of 26A, 41A, & 52A without looking at the clues.
OBELI-new to me; thought it might be part of an OBELI-SK.
DESERT RAT- so what's the NEW name but that's what the British army referred to themselves against Rommel's Afrika Corps.
FABER- heard it before but didn't remember it until after it was filled by perps.
ROAMING CHARGE- way back when in the Stone Ages (analog days) of cell phone use there were dozens of small cell phone carriers that would try to extort roaming charges if you hit their tower- even though you were using you phone your own carrier's territory. I refused to pay any of them and my cell provider always removed them. It was a racket. One time I was charged THREE times by outside carriers for three calls that I made from the same table in the same restaurant within a 15 minute period in downtown New Orleans.
I've lived in Jerusalem and I know that the Mount of Olives is outside the old city walls, which means it formerly was not part of Jerusalem. But the clue makes no reference to the past, and is technically not correct.
Why not "Mount of Olives city" or any number of similar clues that are technically accurate?
Fantastic Friday. Thanks for the fun, Jeff and C.C.
I FIRed and saw the "added R" theme in good time for a Friday.
Just a few inkblots.
Imp changed to ELF. (Does that describe CED too?)
Ado was too short. RUSH fit (AnonT will link one of their songs I'm sure!) Plus we had JIFF, and SEC (as in Just a ___ if somebody is Rushing you). (hi HG)
I wanted JOLT at 1A but it was needed at 30A - slightly different meaning (as in lightning JOLT).
Another clue for ERIE. I learned AGLET in my early CW-solving days and haven't seen it for a while.
Hand up for wanting Asp before CROC fit the spot. I had Alga in my pond before REED, a Shag rug before AREA, and Copied before RAN OFF (hi d'o).
Waited for perps to decide between Leer and OGLE.
I was thinking of Erle Stanley Gardner as the mystery writer but nothing fit or perped.
Okay, it was Poe.
GRAVE=considerable was a bit of a stretch for me.
I smiled broadly when TILDE perped as the garnish!
Wishing you all a great day.
Yellowrocks @ 9:14" I have not received any comments or questions about my outside fridge, but I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. I have had three outside fridges now, the first two turning into still functioning rusty eyesores within just a few years. The Contact paper proved to be a good solution. Direct any questions you may have to me at fredmitchel@gmail.com
TTP @ 8:39 you are probably correct about getting my email address snagged by a robot, since every single one of the 21 comments included some link to click on, which, fortunately, I did NOT click on.
OAS @ 8:59 thanx for the comment. I'm hoping this was a one-day phenomenon that disappears w/o me having to take any other action.
Hello TTP,
Thanks for the message. I had not seen the drone video of Bryant Lake Bowl, but as you may have guessed, I have bowled in the center. Bryant Lake bowl is right on Lake Street in Minneapolis with limited parking and the lanes are dressed with a limited amount of oil. However the Minneapolis Star Tribune ran a tournament there annually. It was a scratch tournament but one way to get your name in the paper. It was a four game tournament and I will always remember one year when I posted a score of 832 which put me in the top 10 of about 500 bowlers. The newspaper no longer sponsors the tournament so I have not bowled there in years. Two of my Graybar friends used to perform in a Comedy Club presentation at Bryant Lake in the bar stage area at Bryant Lake. I am not sure if that is still going on.
FIR and found the theme easy and helpful. I ran by ponds occupied by Nile CROCs while running on a golf course in Botswana. I also encountered warthogs, waterbucks, and, most scarily, a pack of painted hunting dogs. OBELI new to me.
A surprising FIR , after missteps and WOs aplenty, especially in the NE corner. Actually all across the top I had some changes. But I did catch onto the theme at VALLEY FORGER and BELGIAN WAFFLER came easily. The others needed more time. Perps to the rescue in many places. Thanks Jeff and C.C. for today's brain exercise.
A few times I have had posts pop up in my inbox when I have checked by mistake the Notify Me box to the right near the bottom of the blog where you comment, publish, preview, etc. Unchecking the box stops it. Hope you all have a great weekend coming up!
Thank you Jeff Stillman for a very nice puzzle and an interesting theme, and thank you CC for your delectable blog. Enjoyed the read.
Faber Castell is, in my opinion, one of the Cadillac of office products, and I would gladly pay extra to buy and use their products. They are a class organization. Even their color pencils, for my grandkids, are among the best. Their pencil erasers are worth every penny, and I use plenty of those for my misteaks(?). I even have a bunch of Faber Castell slide rules in my office collection. and I can even faintly remember how to use them ....
The original City-fort of Jerusalem is (was ) very small, like Vatican City... about 1 or 2 sq. miles. The Mount of Olives is just outside, and to the west, of the fort. behind the Western Wall and Temple Mount ( Al Aqsa mosque, and Golden Dome ). But now the city is a 100 times larger, and 90 percent of the museums, hospitals, universities, govt bldgs and embassies, are in the metropolitan area, of modern Jerusalem.
As a counterpoint, would you consider Ellis Island, to be a part of New York City.... or outside of it ??
have a nice day, all.
By the way, C.C. Forgot to Mention that I was published in Jim Klobachar's column late in October of 1987. I let him know that I received a ticket for honking my horn on the evening that the Twins won the World Series vs, the Cardinals. I reported to the ticket bureau in Minneapolis and pleaded guilty and the fine was cancelled.
CE, My thoughts, too. "Hand up for wanting Asp before CROC fit the spot. I had Alga in my pond before REED, a Shag rug before AREA, and Copied before RAN OFF (hi d'o).
I was thinking of Erle Stanley Gardner as the mystery writer but nothing fit or perped."
I was okay with grave, although it seems a second order match, not exactly one to one.
Unclefred, the questions were in the blog itself that day. One was how does it breathe?
I think for many of us our only relation to The Mount of Olives is in the Hebrew and/or Christian Bibles. So with that frame of reference it seemed reasonable to us. Anon is correct that the clue should have said something like long ago.
Like others have said, this Friday was fun and pleasurable, especially in relation to last week's. Very small nit with the Mount of Olives clue.
Was fortunate enough to travel in Egypt, Jordan and Israel. The Mount of Olives is a fascinating place, as are many, many other sites in Jerusalem.
First Pfizer injection yesterday. Really lifted my spirits.
Be safe and well.
JB2
Cant preview comments they disappear..hmmm. weren't THAT bad
TTP @8:39: holy-moley, before reading your email I gave away ANOTHER email address!! Rats!! Thanx for the comment, and suggestion.
Finally a Friday puzzle I was able to FIR in reasonable time. Nice puzzle from Jeff. It was also nice to see C.C. on a Friday. Good job 'splaining.
When I got the BELGIAN WAFFLER, I went back and added the R to the other three entries. That made it a lot easier to fill the puzzle in.
I would have preferred JIFFy rather than just JIFF, but it was acceptable.
COLORED was a good answer. I gave my wife and adult kids (~50 years old) crayons and adult coloring books for some recent Christmas presents. I had never thought about it for adults, but I found out there a lot of adult themed coloring books. They really enjoyed coloring. Apparently there are health benefits to coloring. Watching a little kid intently coloring can be fascinating. If you've got crayons, use them.
I had IMP before ELF, LILY before REED and CUT A before AREA. Perps to the rescue.
Beautiful day in the neighborhood so far today. Hope it's nice where you are.
Back on track...
Exceptionally easy 4 a Phriday but alas looks like I FIW,😬 had an E for Allan and therefore LeN instead of LAN cuz I didn't bother to check the perp. Fun theme. Do citizens of Valley Forge call themselves that? (Just realized our Adirondack place is inhabited by Old Forgers.... "but it looked like the Mona Lisa." 🖼
Shoulda knowed EARED from prior puzzles but put ewers first . Bean sprout, sleeps soundly, clever clues. Visions of a recent puzzle dancing in my head led to: cut a/AREA rug. Didn't realize yin/yang was sexual. Considerable = GRAVE? "Sex Education" was a fun series.
More biblical answers the closer we get to EASTER but Gethsemane wouldn't fit. Always wondered if the Mt. of Olives was real squishy..Got my critters confused: Ents/EWOK. IMHO Christopher Reeve most closely looked the the comic book than any other actor 🦸♂️
Follow main conferederate general's orders....OBELI
Single out main confederate general ..... IDLY.
Invite Ms. White....HAVANA
A frequently used crayon, the ______ COLORED
Dyslexic monotheistic deity demise....DOGONE..... (how about a tritheistic dyslexic cavalier, "Three Dog Knight")
okay, okay..I'll stop now
.
Finally quit worrying about my email and worked on the CW, a thoroughly enjoyable, witty, Friday joy. I agree entirely w/ Yellowrocks: “easier than last Friday”. Last Friday was a BEAR. An ANGRY bear. Anyway, FIR today in 29, about usual for my Friday time of late. I got the theme immediately upon getting ROAMINGCHARGER which was a big help with 26a, 41a, and 52a. One WO, IMP:ELF. OBELI all perps. Thanx for a terrific thoroughly enjoyable Friday CW, Jeff!! And thanx for the terrific write-up, CC!! As for Christopher Reeve, he is why I don’t ride horses. After all, if they can kill Superman, what chance do I have?
Fun theme which I got quickly. Only snag was GRAVE. Hand up with CanadianEh this seemed off. Can someone explain how this is CONSIDERABLE?
CC Thank you for your explanations and review. And thanks for asking who here has visited JERUSALEM. Yes, I am another here who has been to JERUSALEM and the MOUNT OF OLIVES.
Here are a few of many photos of us in and around JERUSALEM
The second photo in the set shows the MOUNT OF OLIVES. You can see how close it is to the Western Wall of the Temple which is sacred to the Jewish people. In the first photo I am putting a message in the Western Wall.
Uncle Fred et al. I never use my gmail account...happen to check it last week and it was filled with mail from cornerites with just their blog comments as well. Not wanting anyone to think I was ignoring them I replied (oops sorry). My email if anyone is interested is the AOL mentioned in my blog profile
I also get this message in my aol email every time I post a comment. Happening for the last month or so...
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Your message to crosswordc@gmail.com has been blocked. See technical details below for more information.
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The response was:
550 5.7.26 Unauthenticated email from aol.com is not accepted due to domain's DMARC policy. Please contact the administrator of aol.com domain if this was a legitimate mail. Please visit https://support.google.com/mail/answer/2451690 to learn about the DMARC initiative. e17sor2172759ybp.117 - gsmtp
Yellowrocks, thank you for your kind expression of concern. It was actually JAYCE who was feeling poorly after his second vaccine jab, and I hope he feels much better today.
I thought Jeff's puzzle was terrific. Keep 'em coming! Thank you, C.C., for teaching us, and for providing the space for us to learn from each other; thank you, Rich, for editing and all that that entails; and thank you, Cornerites, for your wit, wisdom, and companionship.
Boomer,
I figured you probably bowled there or at least knew of it. They had a different video clip of it on the World's Greatest Newspaper TV station this morning. 832 on drier lanes for a 4 game set is really good. Really dry lanes are my bugaboo. I have to start on the left, throw to the right, and pick up the speed to keep the ball on the right side of the pocket. That's not my game. Too many washouts.
Unclefred,
Going forward, when entering your email address in blog comments or other social media sites, it's advisable to break it up or spell it out. So fred mitchel at gmail com or somesuch. Or hyphenate it and add a sentence informing the reader to remove the hyphens. The spambots are less likely to grab your email address. You will see variations of bot defeating tricks when reading group forums where people help each other with issues and are looking for a private response. I saw one the other day where the guy put a space between every other letter in his id.
Also, I was going to ask you WHY you put refrigerators outside in the first place, but then I thought of a friend who lived on a channel connected to the intercoastal waterway in Bayou Vista, near Galveston. He had a fairly large commercial ice maker that sat in the open storage area under his house (the houses are all elevated on piers). He used it to fill up his coolers and the ice chest on his boat. Running that ice maker in the Texas heat probably cost a small fortune, but he was a boater and a fisherman. And everyone knows what a boat is, right ? A void in the water into which one throws money. :>)
"Before you accept the position, I want you to understand that there are grave pressures and responsibilities that will accompany the title and salary. As the IT Security Manager, you will not have time to frequent crossword blogs during meetings, and you will have periods of time where you will be expected to come in to work at all hours of the day, 365 days a year. If our systems are compromised by a failure due to your security implementations or non-performance, you will be terminated." Capice ?
Picard asks how GRAVE can be "considerable." My thought was of GRAVE consequences, which are, of course, considerable, or significant, or profound.
Tough Friday puzzle, but still fun--many thanks, Jeff. And thanks for subbing, C.C., always enjoy your commentary.
My favorite clue was 'Bean sprout' for IDEA--cracked me up. Confidently put in EWERS for JUGS, and couldn't believe this answer was EARED--another fun Jeff joke, it seems. And, like others, I had IMP before ELF.
Thanks for the reminder about the time change, everybody. And have a great weekend.
Ray O, You are going to get rejection notices because:
(All 4 conditions must be True to cause the error)
1) You are signed into your Google Account
2) You are posting your comments as Ray-o-Sunshine (Google Account)
3) Your email address in your Blogger Profile is not the same as your email address in your Google Account.
4) A copy of your comments is being sent to C.C.'s Crossword Corner email ID
So you have options:
1) Change your Google Profile from your AOL email ID to your GMAIL id. (I know this option is not what you want to do, and you don't have to.)
2) Remove your AOL email ID from the Blogger Profile and just indicate it in the Occupation field
3) Post your comments using the Name/URL option (not the best solution)
4) Do everything as you normally do, accepting the fact that you will get rejection notices, and just go ahead and delete them,
Horseshoes, handgrenades, and I suppose TNT is where close counts...
Hi All.
FIW at a bOLT @30a. No harm, I had fun.
Almost a FIW-ger at ROAvING CHARGE but that's not really what valence-electrons are called (right HG?)
//oh, and which rove is it?
Thanks Jeff for the fine Friday puzzle. I did think about the 'GER' progression C.C. pointed out but, imagining Agatha's Poirot WAFFLing, was worth it.
Thanks for picking up Friday's duties C.C.. Interesting about the Yin/Yang foods (do I assume Yin/FEM foods are lighter for summer fare?)
WOs: parking brakE -> SPACE, can never get the dang i/e rule (LeiN) write ;-)
ESPs: [see: Names!] and what's an OBELI, I mean really, what is that? [BigE! - Duh!, OBELIsk. Makes sense now. Thx.]
Fav: (C, Eh! is way ahead of me...) RUSH. [Documentary Trailer]
Runner-up: TILDE's c/a
//TTP, don't do that to me - it's going to be hours before that personal-ad is out of my head. :-)
Once, I had dinner near the Nile (nice little fish-house; the catch was still on ice and you just pointed), but never saw a CROC (nor ASP) there.
uncleFred - see what TTP said. Web-spiders scrape sites like this and SPAM all the name@sites.tld they find. Posting your email will only get you more Hormel.
Oh, and I did ask how you let the fridge breath and not get rust around the compressor.
Also, if you ever click the "notify me on posts" you'll get an email whenever someone (even crufters TTP cleans up later) posts.
Learned AGLET watching cartoons w/ the kids.
No one's mentioned ELP's JERUSALEM from their album Brain Salad Surgery.
There. Now TTP's linked ditty is out of my head :-)
//and where the heck did you get the help-wanted ad I replied to?; pretty much sums up my job/life :-)
Cheers, -T
Good Afternoon:
I liked the theme a lot but this was not a Friday-difficulty level puzzle, IMO, especially with the rampant definition-style cluing. There were a handful of very clever clues, but the majority were much too easy, requiring little thought. Asa, O’Jays, Obeli, and Faber, as clued, were all unknown, but perps solved all. I liked the Fem/Fam duo and seeing Edgar and Allan together. As Good As It Gets is one of my favorite movies. I especially liked Verdell, the Brussels Griffon who stole Melvin’s heart and soul.
Thanks, Jeff, for a fun solve and thanks, CC, for pinch hitting once again.
FLN
Jayce, glad you’re getting back to normal, if somewhat slowly. I had the same reaction to my second shot, but on a much less severe scale and minus the fever. It took over a week for the soreness in my arm to go away. But, as we’ve all said, a small price to pay for the protection and peace of mind we now have.
Have a great day.
Thanks TTP
I'll just ignore (option 4) though odd it is just happening recently.
Invariably when I change to improve I make things worse. 😬
roaming charger?
valley forger?
obtuse angler?
Belgian Waffler?
I heard they speak with forked tongues, but this guy is bats!
And mischief maker= CED b/4 imp b/4 elf...
Jayce, sorry to hear that you're feeling poorly, but I can't imagine that the Covid shot would cause two-week delayed reaction. Maybe it's more likely that you're suffering from the plain ole seasonal flu.
This was a pleasant Friday solve that went quickly.
Had FAIR b4 MERE, that was it for write-overs.
It’s supposed to be 80° here today, I put the shorts back on.
Stay safe.
Almost finished this one with a flourish, except that I got 4D wrong. Damn! I missed FEM and went with FER, hoping it was an abbreviation of something.
I would have had FEM if the cluing hadn't settled for "yin" as its opposite.
Honestly, the editors should have gone with "masc."
Ah, but that would have been too easy...
I understand GRAVE for "Considerable," but it's one of those examples where the cluer just wants to go as far afield as possible to avoid being at all helpful.
I spent one lovely summer in EL PASO, so that was a gimme. I really enjoyed the bicultural life. The border was wide open then--in the mid-'60s. Lotsa fun going back and forth. All the elegant restaurants were on the Juarez side.
Dressing up was in, white dinner jackets and lovely gowns. Felt like scenes from Casablanca.
La Cucaracha instead of the La Marseillaise....
And, finally, I'm with desper-otto. Where was POE?!
~ OMK
____________
DR: A 3-way on the far side.
The central anagram (12 of 15 letters) celebrates a special phase of childhood--when the kid has finished erecting a treehouse and wants to finish things off with a true coming-of-age flourish, he or she applies for a...
"TREE MORTGAGE"!
Hola!
Good afternoon, friends! Late to the party because I went for my regular blood draw and afterward back to bed since I got up too early. At no time did I RUSH.
Fun and quick puzzle by Jeff Stillman and illuminating review by C.C. Thank you for that. I did not realize the theme was simply adding R but couldn't see another one.
I loved As Good As it Gets and have watched it numerous times. Agree with Irish Miss about Verdell, the dog, who was adorable. The cameramen must have thought so, too, because Verdell had many spot on shots. Helen HUNT deserved the Oscar!
Hooray! I loved seeing EDGAR and ALLAN!
RIOS crossing EL PASO was interesting since a river is a passage of sorts.
Those cute EWOKS emerged again.
For a long time I misread fun house as farm house and couldn't solve the mystery until I peered closely and read it correctly to get MIRROR.
I hope you are all enjoying the day!
Add an S and you get the original Super man, George.
Are we going to see amygdala one of these days?
Picard, enjoyed your Jerusalem pix and your wedding dance in your 'formal' shirt. You missed getting into an UHARA discussion yesterday.
PVX, I confess to putting jeans on twice this winter. 8 am Beach mtg. First time a good samaritan-ette gave me a blanket. Up Ocala way it occasionally gets actually cold. When I was 24 in NC I wouldn't admit to cold. 40s was T SHIRT weather. My cargo shorts have a place for cell and wallet
WC
Btw, TTP, did that employer mention compensation for those odd, extra hours?
Greatest corporate invention was the term "Work Ethic" eg Work long hours for free. My father migrated from the Telephone Pole all the way to Executive. He hated to see workers carrying home work for the night. Of course social media evened the score later
"As Good As it Gets" seems to be a forerunner to (Adrian)Monk. I enjoyed the Trailer
. WC
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR with several w-o's:
COPIED/RAN OFF; KIN/FAM; AIRPLANES/AIRLINERS; GREAT/GRAVE; HAD ALLEN/ALLAN before LAN perp'd it
Thanks CC for swapping FRI for SUN with Lemonade714. I recently had a Wechsler to blog and next time I get one, I'll swap, too
Moe-Ku:
Xerox Copier
Loves the story where the dish
RAN OFF with the spoon
C. Moe - your WOs were my first thoughts on every fill but AIR LINERS. I kept reading O'HARE thinking there's supposed to be another vowel in ORD... It's gotta be Bugs Bunny, right?
Fun Ku.
LOL DR OMK - what's the APR? :-) I don't know how you put those together everyday.
CED... Yeah you imp :-) Fun links.
WC /TTP - CyberSecurity never gets any love. We're like the guys who work backstage;
We're only noticed when things go south / screw-up the show.
If we do our jobs right, the suits wonder why they pay us
//I mean, we've never been hacked and this Security-guy / insurance is expensive so...
And Hurricane season is nigh... Pay the man Shirley.
Speaking of work: Fridays. I'm supposed to get OFF at noon Friday to try to recharge.
I was all ready to go and get my tomato & pepper plants for tomorrows gardening. (started packing up early at 11:45; I was ready).
But NOoooo! [Think Steve Martin]
Whatever wasn't working today was Security's fault (it wasn't).
I was online for another 3 hours.
//but we got everything working again.
I need a nap now.
Cheers, -T
I enjoyed this puzzle and was amused by the puns. BELGIAN WAFFLER particularly made me laugh. I did not know OBELI at all. IMP became ELF, SHAG became AREA, and (water) LILY became REED. Took me a minute to realized "Used" was a verb and not an adjective.
I love the term DESERT RAT. When my mother was still alive and living in Tucson we got to know several people who called themselves desert rats; quite colorful folks they were, too. Mom's neighbor was an especially tanned, leathery-skinned fellow who didn't wear a hat or anything when out in the summer sun. When I asked his how he could stand it he said to me, "I'm half plant."
Anonymous T, thank you for your work, and keep up the good fight.
Feeling totally better today. Took my wife grocery shopping today; she got some corned beef and Guinness Stout for you-know-what.
Good wishes to you all.
It's raining! It's pouring! What a wondrous event here in the DESERT! It's been going on since last night so it should yield a nice amount. Thursday I planted some flowers in my outdoor pots, too.
Jayce, so sorry you were feeling poorly and that I misdirected my concern. I am glad you are in the pink again.
Since Covid has restricted our activities here I have been waiting for months to see a certain birding presentation. Things are lightening up and I signed up to go today. Just before I was going to attend, David called me about the income taxes he is helping me with and I forgot all about birding. After that it was too late, so I went for a walk in this lovely weather. Then two of my sisters called me. The older one is thinking of joining a continuing care community like mine. I love it here.
Naomi and others, I agree. "You are in considerable trouble" is almost the same as "You are in grave trouble." Just a hair off.
Almost time for Jeopardy. Any preferences about the guest hosts so far?
Wilbur Charles Thank you for the kind words about my JERUSALEM photos. And I am glad you enjoyed our SWING DANCE wedding video. That shirt was actually the chosen formal wear. My friend who officiated for us said it is the standard wedding wear for the homeland of my DW. Who was I to argue?
I followed every word of the UHURU/UHURA discussion. Learning moment about how UHURU came from a book that lovely UHURA actress Nichelle Nichols was carrying at her audition. And another learning moment of how UHURU became UHURA at the whim of Roddenberry. Lucina He apparently shared your feeling that a beautiful lady's name should end in A rather than U.
CrossEyedDave Thank you for those learning moments!
You have inspired me to share some Earthquake EPICENTER photos. The October 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake got a lot of international attention because it affected San Francisco and shut down the World Series there. It killed 68 people and caused a major freeway to collapse. But the EPICENTER was actually in the very poor community of Watsonville. My best friends from graduate school had just moved there.
Here are a few of my photos from the EPICENTER area in Watsonville when I visited my friends there two months later.
It is hard to capture the extent of the damage. Some neighborhoods had already been scraped clean by the time I visited. Tragically, many of these wood frame houses would have survived except the builders saved a few dollars and failed to bolt them to the foundations.
NaomiZ and Yellowrocks Thanks for weighing in on GRAVE and CONSIDERABLE. Still seems off to me! We have AGLET fairly often but I keep forgetting it. That cross called for a lucky WAG to FIR.
Picard I was watching that World Series Game. Among other memories is that the sportscasters kept saying that the Loma Prieta Bridge had collapsed. Having lived in the East Bay for a while I knew they were wrong and kept screaming at the television, as if they could hear me, "It's a double decked freeway, vehicles are sandwiched, you talking heads (actually I called them by some other descriptor)."
Jaycee @ 5:38 "Feeling totally better today. Took my wife grocery shopping today; she got some corned beef and Guinness Stout for you-know-what." Happy to hear that you are feeling "totally better". I have started preparations for "you-know-what" by opening a bottle of Green Spot Irish Whisky - with luck there will still be some left by the 17th. Slainte!
Picard, IIRC, bolting houses to their foundations was a relatively late requirement in California. As one company notes,
"If your house was built before 1950, it is indeed just sitting on your concrete foundation. IT IS NOT ATTACHED IN ANY WAY!
This means that in even in a small tremor, your house can go sliding off into your driveway. The Mudsill is the wood that rests directly on top of the foundation. Until the 1950’s builders did not bolt the Mudsill to the foundation, leaving it vulnerable to sliding during earthquake tremors."
The two houses in your photos look to me to be pre-1950 units.
Malodorous Manatee Thank you for your memory of the Loma Prieta Earthquake. I was sitting in my office at work 300 miles away and felt it. I ran down the hall calling out that we were having an earthquake. I turned on the radio and was shocked to find it was so far away.
I was also shouting at the radio when they said it had been felt as far away as Sacramento which was much closer than where I was.
My brother was living much closer to the EPICENTER. He was on a city bus in Palo Alto and he thought the driver had run the bus over something really nasty; it was bouncing all over the road.
Michael Thank you for the explanation about the building codes in California. Which just goes to show that if something is not required by law it probably won't happen. It was so sad to see houses that would have been perfectly intact. But they slid off the foundation and broke in two. I am guessing those bolts would have literally cost a few dollars. And most of the people in this area were agricultural workers who were already living on the edge.
My friends talked of how people who still had a home would not sleep indoors for weeks because of the powerful aftershocks.
Malodorous Manatee, I toast your Green Spot Irish Whisky!
Lucina, hooray for the rain!
Picard, I also clearly remember that Loma Prieta earthquake.
Yellowrocks, thank you.
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