Themeless Saturday by Debbie Ellerin
SISTER ACT: In this picture she is seen with her sister and fellow LA Times puzzle constructor Sheryl Bartol. Here are Debbie's comments on our Saturday exercise:
Hi Gary -
Here you go...
This puzzle started with ZEITGEIST, which I thought was an interesting word, crossing with ZIGZAGGED. I liked the grouping of Z’s.
I was happy with how most of the longer entries came together, like DUNEBUGGY, ENTOURAGE, RIDESHARE, GO ON STRIKE. I didn't realize until now how many women's names sound like two letters - that could be tricky.I like the editor’s new clues for UNITS (Hands and feet) and MEMOS (Nonmusical notes). I’m glad that my clue made the cut for CRANE (BIrd at a construction site?) Hope you all enjoyed solving it.
As for me, your humble blogger, I got my start in the SE, moved right along and then as indicated in the grid, 11. Some scoops threw up a real speed trap. I had EDIE for 38. Woman's name that sounds like two letters which gave me the Scoops fill ending in SIDES which seemed possible. I hung on to that for dear life since I had no shot at ANCHO. Sigh, so as the Bard tells us: All's Well That Ends Well
1. TV's "Ozark," e.g.: DRAMA - It certainly looks dramatic to me
6. Comedy club regulars: MC'S.
9. Dodge: AVERT.
14. Pool service?: RIDE SHARE - No swimming or pocket billiards. Below is a scene from a great 1989 movie that featured a hilarious RIDE SHARE segment. Name this movie (Rotten Tomatoes = 91%) with Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal. *Answer at the bottom of the write-up
16. Bright, loyal breed: BOXER.
17. 1998 Academy Honorary Award-winning director: ELIA KAZAN - His IMDB
18. Dried chili pepper: ANCHO - The ANCHO Chili (wide chili) is the dried version of the Poblano Chili (chili of the people). That makes two chilis I did not know
19. Reason to shake: DEAL - Did you ever welch on a childhood bet/DEAL by saying, "We didn't shake on it!"
20. Brilliant: GENIUS.
22. Sky cat?: LEO - WARNING ASTRONOMY LESSON AHEAD: The stars of the big dipper can be used to find other points of interest in the sky including the backwards question mark that is LEO.
23. "Madam Secretary" star: TEA LEONI - I enjoy her work
25. Make calls at home, maybe: UMP - The pitcher and catcher both thought the UMP blew the call on this wicked curve ball
26. More shrewd: CAGIER.
29. Curling spots: RINKS - The U.S. Olympic Curling Team Trials will return to RINKS in Omaha this year
31. Bike chain alternative: U-LOCK - It looks much more secure than using a chain to lock up the bike.
32. Word from the German for "spirit of the age": ZEITGEIST - ZEIT (German for time) and GEIST (German for ghost or spirit). Old TV shows vividly demonstrate the change in ZEITGEIST from my yute to now!
36. Corner piece: ROOK - It always starts in a corner
37. Guinness orders: PINTS.
38. Woman's name that sounds like two letters: EVIE - Not EDIE it seems.
39. Ride in the sand: DUNE BUGGY - You can rent one in Las Vegas if you're willing to 41. Drop, as dough: SPEND $299
42. Lionsgate premium cable subsidiary: STARZ.
43. Prince Harry's dukedom: SUSSEX - The Duke and Duchess of SUSSEX don't seem to take this royalty stuff as seriously as the Queen
44. NBA on __: TNT.
46. Dry deliveries: DEADPANS - Nobody does it better!
49. Game of luck: WAR - Top player wins this "battle" shown below
50. Generated again: REGREW - Five creatures that can regrow body parts
51. Little elephant: CALF.
55. "Hotel du Lac" author Brookner: ANITA - Even I figured out this was the Lake Hotel
57. Chaotic situation, in slang: GOAT RODEO - Speaking of my life...
59. Finish, as a tat: INK UP - Maybe I could take this one for a test drive
60. Posse: ENTOURAGE.
61. Putin's denials: NYETS.
62. "The Partridge Family" actress: DEY - She and David Cassidy were a big item during the run of that show
Down:
1. Scott in a landmark Supreme Court case: DRED - Not a great moment in American jurisprudence
2. Upset: RILE
3. 1998 hit from the Sarah McLachlan album "Surfacing": ADIA - Here ya go!
4. Singer's voice, e.g.: MEAL TICKET - Sinatra's MEAL TICKET lasted over 60 years
5. Part of AMA, on Reddit: ASK - Me Anything
6. Yiddish fortune: MAZEL - Tov means "good" so MAZEL TOV is...
7. Bird at a construction site?: CRANE - They have a great view but how do CRANE operators go to the bathroom?
8. Asset on the corporate ladder: SENIORITY - INTEGRITY fit when I had _ _ _ _ _ R I T Y but is that always a necessary asset?9. Taking down a peg: ABASING.
10. Word in many German names: VON - Snoopy frequently flew his Sopwith Camel in combat with Manfred Albrecht Freiherr VON Richthofen.
11. Some scoops: EXCLUSIVES - As you read earlier I was trying to think what SIDES could be scooped before I saw that Debbie was referring to a media scoop!
12. Take up again, in a way: REHEM.
13. Brownie bunch: TROOP.
15. Horrible comic?: HAGAR.
12. Take up again, in a way: REHEM.
13. Brownie bunch: TROOP.
15. Horrible comic?: HAGAR.
21. Hands and feet: UNITS - One foot = three hands
24. Cry of dismay: EEK
27. Baseball brother: ALOU - The brothers ALOU are in our lineup frequently
28. Walk out: GO ON STRIKE - I'm sure Debbie did not mean GOON STRIKE!
30. Tallies: KEEPS SCORE.
32. Didn't go straight: ZIGZAGGED - Part of Debbie's harvest of "Z's"
33. Lang. of Belize: ENG - You might be surprised that English is an official language in these countries
34. Geometry calculation: SINE - If you know the SINE of 39°, you can find the depth of the water (d) using a 30 long anchor chain. **The solution is below
35. Acronymic term for some local talks: TEDX - Here 'ya go!
37. Baby food, usually: PUREE - That's probably what I'll get in the Old Teachers's Home
40. Undeserved charges: BAD RAPS - My good friend has a pit bull named Dexter and says the breed gets a BAD RAP.41. Bask: SUN.
43. Took care of: SAW TO.
44. "When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade" writer: TWAIN - Sam Clemens and I would get along very nicely on this score
45. Household helper: NANNY.
47. Modern delivery vehicle: DRONE.
48. Boglike: PEATY.
52. Scott of "Big Little Lies": ADAM - Here's his IMDB. I'm more familiar with the Australian golfer with this name
53. Danish toy maker: LEGO - Go barefoot and you have two LEGO finders
54. Ones at odds: FOES.
56. Mild rebuke: TUT.
58. Hurricane component: RUM - The recipe uses two different types of RUM and is served in a, uh, hurricane glass
52. Scott of "Big Little Lies": ADAM - Here's his IMDB. I'm more familiar with the Australian golfer with this name
53. Danish toy maker: LEGO - Go barefoot and you have two LEGO finders
54. Ones at odds: FOES.
56. Mild rebuke: TUT.
58. Hurricane component: RUM - The recipe uses two different types of RUM and is served in a, uh, hurricane glass
*That RIDE SHARE occurred in When Harry Met Sally
**
FIRight. The NE corner gave me problems, tho. ABASING doesn't fit my understanding of taking down a peg, nor AVERT for dodge. I kept wanting rOvER before BOXER finally occurred to me. Never heard on ANCHO before. And had EDIE (E-D) before EVIE (which I'd pronounce ev-E before E-V). And all that left 11d E_ _LU SIDES, so I was trying to think of a description of a mashed potato scoop! Besides all that, I also wavered between VON/VaN and had REnEw < REHEM (tricky clue on that one). Other w/os (I'm glad online solving doesn't leave blots as long as they're done before resorting to red letters) geldt < MAZEL, right turn < ZIGZAGGED, area < SINE, cOnS < FOES.
ReplyDeleteProud of myself for knowing TWAIN (I just saw this as a meme a couple days ago, tho I still thought of Hemingway first) and ENGlish for Belize (it was in yesterday's Quiz). Also HAGAR, despite the great misleading clue (comic strips are one of the fields I specialize in)!
EVIE signed up for a RIDE SHARE pool,
ReplyDeleteTo show she was prudent, and not a fool.
Imagine how she felt a dummy
Her ride was -- a red DUNE BUGGY!
But kids thought her coolest teacher in school!
Historians will judge our recent ZEITGEIST:
Republican think the years were God-kist!
The Democrat side
Thought it a GOAT RIDE!
Which will they favor? It's hidden in mist.
{A-, A.}
I liked this puzzle. A bit tricky in some spots, but that's okay. The entries didn't feel like the same old answers, particularly the longer ones. And I liked that there were 3 Zs and 2 Xs but it didn't feel forced at all.
ReplyDeleteI liked the intersection of ZIGZAGGED and ZEITGEIST. If Debbie could have gotten ZIGGURAT in there, too, that would have been perfect!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteSlowed down with RIDES HOME so 6a was just _ _ S for some time. Got 'er done, though, and in good time, too. Yay. DEAD PAN made me think of old timey TV comedian Jack Benny. I've always heard GOAT ROPIN' rather than GOAT RODEO. Still, this was a very nice effort from both of you -- Debbie and Husker.
Happy to report that d-o is finally back online after the tech replaced the cable segment from the box out back to our house. Not happy to report that Consumer Cellular has probably "kicked" me up to the next $data$ tier. Also not happy that our coffee maker gave up the ghost this morning. But those are minor nits -- things could be much worse, so I'm not complaining.
FIR, plodding from a few knowns to the rest, step by step. Very nice offering today with some great cluing. Loved it.
ReplyDeleteZipped through this one pretty quickly, which of is unusual for a Saturday. Guess I was on the same wave length as Debbie, and got several of the long answers early. It’s 8:30 and my excitement for the day is done.
ReplyDeleteFIR today without too much trouble. Some answers came quickly (ZEITGEIST and ZIGZAGGED) and others took time (GOAT RODEO and MEMOS). I kept thinking about music even though I was admonished not to, thinking of the notation for rests. Goat rodeo was a learning moment. Like others I started with EdIE and the only chili pepper thing ending in o that came to mind was adobO, which didn't work out, so EXCLUSIVES came slowly.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Debbie, for a puzzle I didn't have to spend all day figuring out. And thanks to Husker Gary for his helpful and entertaining additions. And now on to my next project. Hope you all have a great weekend!
An up and down fill this morning to FIR. DRED Scott & MCS were the only gimmes up north. ADIA looks liked a misspelled AIDA and came through perps after a WAG for ELIA KAZAN. The south took some time to complete. GOAT RODEO is a new expression for me. I'd always heard "herding cats". INK IN changed to INK UP.
ReplyDeleteANITA Brookner & ADAM Scott- unknowns. I do know of the golfer.
Hurricane- changed EYE to RUM. They taste like Jello.
BAD RAPS- every con in the clink got a bad rap. Just ask them.
U-LOCK- unknown to this bicycle rider. The bike 'chain' propels the bike; I have a wire cable to lock mine. Never seen anybody use a chain to secure a bicycle. You would just need to pop a link to break the chain.
I vaguely remember learning the trig ratios in Algebra-I and looking up the values in the back of the book. Mention logarithms to younger students and they give a blank stare. Calculators have made people stupid. GIGO.
Excellent puzzle - bonus points for working in all the Zs without sacrificing the fill around them. Took me 11:06, which is quick for me for a Saturday. I didn't think I'd get a Yiddish word or a German word, but they seem to be well assimilated in the English language.
ReplyDeleteThe Anita was unknown to me. I'd prefer "ink in" to "ink up."
FLN: "One who studies excessively and is disliked by fellow students because of it; a swot.". Or one who doesn't need to study and is disliked. That didn't have a name but was true.
ReplyDeleteTwo quick comments before the write-up: GENIUS sb "Brilliant (one) and the plural DEADPANS is odd. And…
I had so much trouble with SE that I neglected to fix BADRunS. The problem was INK on/UP and TUT/noT
Agree, Debbie, I had EdIE and I was trying to fit SIdES(#HG)
BTW, unseen I prefer Debbie's clues.(MEMOS,UNITS) but I'd have preferred Early Economist" for ADAM(Scott). And the golfer. The P&P made SE fiendish or easy but I should have grok'ed CALF
I'll guess SinS
DEAL was cleverly clued
I had just enough perps for TEA L
GOAT RODEO was brand new
ASK was three perps
No Gary, hardly an asset almost vv
DRONE was a V8 that got me Tom Brady(GOAT)
WC
Clue No. 11-D is a foul. "EXCLUSIVE" is part of the definition OF "scoop"; thus "some" scoops are not exclusive; "all scoops are exclusive.
ReplyDeleteReally fun puzzle imo. Just the right amount of crunch. And a great write-up by Gary as well.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of goat rodeo and like Gary, had Edie before Evie dawned.
Stay safe and well everyone.
JB2
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a pretty straightforward offering which I finished well below average Saturday time. The fill was nice and clean (Except ink Up) but I needed perps for Goat Rodeo (completely unknown) and Adam (Scott), even though I saw every episode of Big Little Lies. My only w/o was Evade/Avert. I liked Calf over Rodeo, the Dred/Dead duo, and the mini-mini critter theme with Goat, Calf, and Boxer.
Well done, Debbie, thank you and thanks, HG, for a really entertaining and informative commentary and links. Coincidentally, Billy Crystal was on CBS Sunday Morning talking about his new movie, Here Today, with Tiffany Haddish. He is as self-deprecating and amusing as ever, just a tad bit older than when he met Sally! 😉 The Stone Crab is another creature that can regrow a body part, namely, the claw.
Speaking of CBS Sunday Morning made me think of Bill G. Hi, Bill, stop by and say hi to the gang! 🥰
Have a great day.
I liked ZIGZAGGED and ZEITGEIST as fill. Two good words, especially ZEITGEIST. Never heard the term "GOAT RODEO", but it fit. Shouldn't "INKUP" be "INKED" as the clue implies past tense. Took me longer than usual (24 min) but still a good exercise.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but another hand up, here, for EDIE before EVIE and the NE as the last to fall.
ReplyDeleteOK puzzle. Too many uncleaver misdirections. among them: pool service, reason to shake, dry deliveries, chaotic situation and singer’s voice.
DeleteI was thankful for ZEITGEIST as an early fill and interested to learn it was Debbie's starting point in construction. FIR with some struggle in the NE where I shared the challenges of HG and others.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous at 9:25 AM says that *all* scoops are EXCLUSIVES. Not so! Ice cream scoops, mashed potato scoops, pooper scoops ...!
Learned GOAT RODEO today and would love to use it. Peace out!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHad mozel for מלוז; finally saw that it should be an A for MAZEL, and was able to suss RIDE SHARE. And it was done. Several false starts, and it took awhile. But I was in no hurry; in fact I enjoyed wallowing in this puzzle. Thanks Debbie. ZEIT GEIST gave me ZIGZAGGED. VON was the first fill. Had 'evade' before AVERT. Consumed more wite-out than usual for a Saturday, but got it done eventually. FIR.
ZIGZAG - Our squadron would sometimes practice ZIGZAGGing (as an ASW tactic). Always a time to be especially alert to make sure the ships in company turned when you did. Didn't know GOAT RODEO then, but that's what we wanted to avoid.
SINE - Husker's diagram of anchoring reminds me of scope; the length of anchor chain / depth of water. 5:1 or more is usually recommended.
BZ to Deb and HG for providing a fun morning. Much appreciated.
Today is VE Day.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteGreat fun today! Thank you, Debbie! I like puzzles that not only force me to think but are humorous as well. It's GENIUS!
ZEITGEIST is a brilliant fill!
ZIGZAGGED is another one! The plethora of Z's made this more interesting than usual for a Saturday.
CRANE as clued is also amusing.
ELIA appears often in puzzles but I believe it's the first time I've seen his full name on the grid. ELIA KAZAN
ENTOURAGE is technically a posse but seems too elegant when I think of posses in Western movies.
Owen, I can't believe that living in New Mexico, where chilies originate, you've not heard of ANCHO! Yum! Yum! I really miss my mother when it comes to cooking green chile.
I'm so disappointed in my new white-out pen: it's runny and makes a mess! I had to change AVOID to AVERT, INK IN to INK UP and RACK to ROOK. I like a neat looking puzzle.
TWAIN surprised me because I was sure it was T. S. ELIOT, he who wrote CATS, not the stage play but the book. I bought a copy when visiting in New York one year.
REHEM really brings back memories. In the past every pair of pants I bought needed that alteration. Fortunately, these days pants are available in short lengths.
Today is my friend, Mark's, birthday. He was born on the actual D-day. I'll take him out for a steak dinner tonight.
Thank you, Gary! Your narrative with illustrations is like icing on the cake!
Enjoy a sensational Saturday, everyone!
Oops! VE Day not D Day. Thank you, Spitz!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI liked Debbie's puzzle with the Z's and a couple of X's.
HG took us on an informative journey through the grid today.
I did have to turn Red Letters on to finish the last 5% of the puzzle, so an official DNF. But it was fun anyhow.
I've heard of GOAT RODEO and Goat Yoga. But didn't know what either one was all about. I had GOAT and so I put in RODEO because it fit. I'd like to know what the big deal is with GOAT Yoga. I don't think that anyone who is very familiar with how goats smell would want them walking all over them.
Is Prince Harry still the Duke of SUSSEX since he seems to have shunned the British Royal family? Seems like he wants to be an American.
I've heard of and had ANCHO chilies but thought they were spelled ANCjO. Didn't fit.
I like a little heat in certain dishes, but DW doesn't, so chilies are not on the menu at home.
Perps filled in ANITA and ELIA KAZAN, and helped with a bunch of other words today.
Have a great day everyone.
A big part of the Saturday challenge is resist thinking outside the box for every clue. TV's "Ozark" is simply a DRAMA etc. But of course mixed in are some real outside-the-box clue/answers: I stubbornly held on to eye for "Hurricane component" way too long obviously unsuccessful at shoe-horning in surrounding perps. Once corrected the SE corner eventually fell.
ReplyDeleteDid more alphabet runs than a kindergarten class but finally FIR (I've listened to many TED talks and they're obviously not local so I thought TEDX must be wrong, fairly obscure fill)
avoid or evade..nope AVERT. thought SINE was a trig not a geometry calculation. (math always my Achille heel). My 12 yo granddaughter's name is Eve Marie, DW calls her EVIE. ADAM Scott: no wonder he's so good-looking, he's part Italian. Then there's Harry, the SUSSEXy Duke.
Does PETA know about the GOATRODEO? ANITA Bruckner (who?)...AMA no idea, corporate ladder? nepotism too short.
What the first pope's mother called him..PEATY
Anti-union attack...GOONSTRIKE
Horror flick sequel...SAWTO
"white guys" downfall: "can't dance" and ____ BADRAPS
Husker G great job...and....I wanna know as soon as scientists figure out how an axolotl grows a new brain!! 😁
ReplyDeleteWell this Saturday grid was crunchy to the max. It took some back and forth to get the solve.
Write-overs…ROIL/RILE, ANCRO/ANCHO, EVEY/EVIE, WESSEX/SUSSEX, INKED/INKUP, SEA/RUM.
That Hurricane drink cannot hold a candle to a Rum Runner, and a Long Island Iced Tea beats them both.
Stay safe.
No locals from NOLA would ever buy a hurricane, let alone drink one. Strictly for tourists.
Delete
ReplyDeleteAlso, I never heard of a Goat Rodeo, like others it was “herding cats”.
Tough but not crazy tough... just right for a Saturday. And now I'm introducing "goat rodeo" to my pals at work. Great puzzle!
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle went swimmingly until I drowned in the Great Lakes. RIDES HOME instead of RIDE SHARE blocked a couple of answers.
ReplyDeleteNaomi Z. is right on about not all scoops being exclusives.
One definition of abase is "to make someone lower, either by making him feel humiliated or by actually demoting his position," in other words take down a peg.
There is a lot to like in this puzzle, but it was a DNF for me, as I had to look up ANITA Brookner's and ADAM Scott's names. Never heard of GOAT RODEO. At least I knew TEA LEONI, and I have made ANCHO from poblano chilis a number of times. Now DW just buys ancho seasoning as a powder in a spice jar.
ReplyDeleteTechnically, a SCOOP is a piece of news published by a newspaper or broadcast by a television or radio station in advance of its rivals. It has to do with who got the story first. However, I have heard TV news anchors (here's looking at you, Norah O'Donnell) sometimes introduce a story as "exclusive" when they really mean they published it first, ie it was a scoop.
Good wishes to you all.
A tricky Xwd today from Ms. Ellerin.
ReplyDeleteThe NE corner will trap many of us, as the first (top) word in that sector offers several different fills in response to the clue ("Dodge"). Combine that with the double possibilities for 9D ("Taking down a peg") and for 11D ("Some scoops"), and only the lucky will survive.
Oh, and then there's that GOAT RODEO stuff. Not your typical slang....
The rest offered much fun.
Congrats to the finishers!
~ OMK
___________
DR: Only one diagonal--on the near side.
Its longest single word anagram (11 of 15 letters) advises us how best to solve today's tricky Xwd.
And that is...
"DISCERNINGLY"!
Oops! Make that 12 of 15 letters.
ReplyDelete~ OMK
Musings
ReplyDelete-Debbie politely wrote to say she liked the write-up and the comments but reminded me that while she was educated at Michigan, it was Boston winters that she fled after 30 years.
-Debbie also said that she talks to her sister Sheryl, who is also retired and lives in Chicago, almost daily and that she has a third sister who also lives in LA. Third sister does not puzzle!
-Remember when movies were smart and entertaining like When Harry Met Sally? They seem to have gone the way of the dinosaurs.
OK, not Sleepless in Seattle
ReplyDeleteAxolotl will replace yesterday's 'Natick', CO*
I found this a very difficult Saturday(thx PVX). Who said "If it sounds wrong it is wrong " as in Badruns and Aninu -eg keep on solving.
I'd think more than one reporter can be given a scoop thinking it was "exclusive". As I type I'm agreeing with Anon.
Until I read Jayce. Hmm.
OMK, spelling AVERT like the tennis player didn't help.
WC
*I've already forgotten that word
Speaking of ELIA KAZAN, I just caught the last part of On the Waterfront on Turner Classic Movies. I had never seen it, only knew bits and pieces. Now I want to see it from the beginning. Next movie is Bullit with Steve McQueen and the ever lovely Jacqueline Bisset. Another one I've never seen but will have to record it because I will have to get ready for dinner. Why aren't there any more good movies like that?
ReplyDeleteHowever, it seems that Billy Crystal has a good new one which I plan to see this coming week.
I love good movies and I'm so glad the theaters are open again and it is okay to mingle with people! Covid-19, BE GONE!
Oh, almost forgot. One of my granddaughters wanted to go to GOAT yoga for her birthday so they took her. It is offered at one of the many still existing farms here and I am told it was fun for them. Not my cup of tea!
ReplyDeleteLate to the party. Had a sister and b.i.l. for lunch (shrimp and vegetarian pizzas) and then went to the cemetery to visit our Mom's grave for the first time since she passed in December. So I'll keep this brief.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Debbie and Gary for a great puzzle and review. Worked on it on and off throughout the day and answers slowly emerged. Dw helped me finish it for an FIR.
A few favs:
ZEITGEIST crossing ZIGZAGGED.
11D Some scoops: EXCLUSIVES.
57A "WAS MY FIRST GOAT RODEO".
36A Corner piece: ROOK.
45D PEATY
Gotta go help Dw get dinner together.
Cheers,
Bill
Lucina ~. Glad you got to see at least part of On the Waterfront. It is a beautiful film, tough as nails, and an extraordinarily smart response by Kazan to those who took a black-and-white view (visual pun intended) of his response to HUAC.
ReplyDeleteI was never a fan of HUAC, but neither could I fall in line with the Kazan-haters.
Life is far more nuanced than either the PC or extremists ever recognize.
~ OMK
I add my agreements to the comments about mixed usages in this puzzle's clues. I'll put on my teacher's hat (32 years of teaching) and agree that an "exclusive" can only be singular unless applied to a newspaper's ability to have them over the years. After digging DEEP in my Slang Dictionary, I finally found "goat rodeo" with an "arch." after it (archaic). The accepted def. of ABASE is a much greater "take down" than "a peg" - it alludes to destroying the basis of an argument. I realize that Saturday puzzles are about creatively stretching definitions to stymie the "unwashed" solvers who aren't MENSA members but sometimes the constructors take brief steps beyond the pale.
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteWhat HG said... EDIE blocked my fill of EX_LU SIDE. DNF / Cried Uncle.
Thanks Debbie for the puzzle and thank you HG for the fun expo. I'd sport that temporary NASA INK.
//re: movies - money, HG, it's all about the $$
WOs: eVade -> AVERT, Eye -> RUM (Hi BigE!), calculated a SIdE b/f SINE, and Baio -> ADAM was forced by perps.
ESPs: ADAM (obviously), DEY, ELI KAZAN (lucky WAGs), TEALEONI (ibid).
Fav: ZEITGEIST is a fun word.
{A, B+}
GOAT RODEO == Herding cats [PVX beat me to it]
Glad you're back in business D-O. ISPs can be such a PITA.
Been doing yard-work all day so time for a nap while the Girls are out shopping.
Cheers, -T
Nothing but white for the longest time. Finally got a toehold in the sw, and kinda worked backward from there. ANCHO is new to me. For me, this CW was a real tough nut to crack, and I’m proud to eventually get a FIR in 36 minutes of busting my brain. Only one W/O: TEDS:TEDX. Thanx Debbie for challenging the grey matter, and thanx HG for the fine write-up! Today and tomorrow is the air-show here in FLL. I’ve seen it four or five times and at my age struggle to try to stand on the beach in the blazing sun snd 90*F for three or four hours, so I didn’t go to the beach. I live very close to the beach, and the ear-splitting low flying jets would occasionally fly directly over my house. That’s enough for me.
ReplyDelete-T : PITA in now on my (short) list of abbs.
ReplyDeleteYou know you created a wonderful puzzle when the comments are so diverse. WC- a sinle word cannot be a Natick, just an unknown, The rule is "never cross and obscure proper name, with another obscure name" or words to that effect. Ray-O, Adam Scott the actor is "good looking?"
ReplyDeletePVX, how about an iced Tea Leoni? Isn't having shrimp and veggie pizza oymoronic, I know shrimp are not plant food? BE good to see you up and about and commenting with vinegar, I mean vigor. HG, there many great moovies being made but they are not necessarily being shown in theaters. I have seen 4-5 very well done movies, some as witty as Harry and Sally and some like THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO SEVEN disturbingly presented. If you want a watch list email, and I amsure all the Corner will have suggestions
Uncle F, I live near the beach in Pompano and Tuesday and Wedesday's preparation and practice runs were spectacular, loud and enough to satisfy me this year. Seeing planes flying so close together and so close to the groud, exciting but..
ReplyDeleteTokenCreek said... @7:13:
ReplyDelete"-T : PITA in now on my (short) list of abbs."
Yes, a well-known crossword term: Pain In The Assumptions