Theme: "Extra Bedrooms" - BR is added to each familiar phrase.
23A. Toaster oven user?: BROWNER OPERATOR. Owner operator.
34A. Barbecue guests?: BROIL COMPANY. Oil company.
52A Fraternity news contacts?: BROTHER SOURCES. Other sources.
76A. Really dangerous edge?: INVISIBLE BRINK. Invisible ink.
93A. Structural pieces for a tiny Christmas village?: POCKET BRACES. Pocket aces.
110A. Ship's rope?: NAVIGATION BRAID. Navigation aid.
16D. Dirt at the stable?: BRIDLE GOSSIP. Idle gossip.
58D. Fight among poor pool players?: SCRATCH BRAWL. Scratch awl.
I bet many of you immediately guessed the theme after scanning at the title.
Amazing
grid work today. Heavy themage, but only 140 words and 69 black
squares. No cheater squares. No surprises, since Roland Huget is also an
accomplished themeless constructor.
Across:
5. Monthly bill: CABLE.
10. Keep time, in a way: CLAP. Had to ask D-Otto. He said "You clap along to the music."
14. Mosey: AMBLE.
19. Locale of the Tomb of Akbar the Great: AGRA. Akbar the Great
was the third Mughal emperor (1556 to 1605). He was the grandfather of
Shah Jahan, the guy who commissioned Taj Mahal. Shah Jahan was the fifth
Mughal emperor (1628 to 1658). So ornate.
20. Set boundaries for: LIMIT.
21. Tanning target: HIDE.
22. "The Sound of Music" matriarch: MARIA.
26. Steinbeck migrants: OKIES.
27. Mounted security system component: SENSOR.
28. Dr. Al Robbins on "CSI," e.g.: CORONER.
29. Stressed out: ON EDGE.
30. Coil of yarn: SKEIN.
32. Pearly coating: NACRE.
33. "1984" working class: PROLES.
38. Milwaukee MLBer through 1965: BRAVE. And 90. Red or Card: NLER. National Leaguer. Cardinal.
39. Student in English class?: NOUN. OK, "student" is a noun.
40. Shed item: TOOL.
41. Certain hip-hop dancer: B BOY.
43. Breakfast choice: EGGS. Not for me. I just need carbs.
46. "Wanna __?": BET.
47. Section that doesn't include the sax, surprisingly: BRASS. There are three straying BR's. Can you locate the other two?
49. Looks rudely at: OGLES.
51. Team golf event: PRO-AM.
55. Hindu title: SRI.
56. Fred Flintstone's boss: MR SLATE.
59. Geeked, so to speak: EAGER.
60. Rachel Brosnahan's "Marvelous Mrs.": MAISEL. "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel".
62. First name in design: COCO. Chanel.
63. Winter Palace rulers: TSARS.
66. Really ticked: IRATE.
68. Little bit: MITE.
69. Use Listerine, say: GARGLE. I use Scope. Listerine is so strong.
71. Deep sleep: SOPOR.
73. Progressive decline: ATROPHY.
75. It shares a small border with BC: IDA. British Columbia.
80. Abate: LET UP.
82. Idyllic places: EDENS.
83. Drake production: RAP CD. Drake also has an impressive Birkin bag collection.
84. Pre-holiday time: EVE.
87. It might be picked: LOCK.
88. Holiday desserts: PIES.
89. iPad assistant: SIRI.
91. Tribe also called the Wyandot: HURON. Here's the Wiki info:
"In the early 17th century, this Iroquoian people called themselves the
Wendat, an autonym which means "Dwellers of the Peninsula" or
"Islanders". The Wendat historic territory was bordered on three sides
by the waters of Georgian Bay and Lake Simcoe. Early French explorers
referred to these natives as the Huron, either from the French huron
("ruffian", "rustic"), or from hure ("boar's head"). According to
tradition, French sailors thought that the bristly hairstyle of Wendat
warriors resembled that of a boar."
97. Storied: FABLED.
99. Writer __ Rogers St. Johns: ADELA.
101. Slow-moving tree dweller: SLOTH.
102. Words on some Québec road signs: ARRETS. Stops.
103. Creative kind of thinking: LATERAL.
106. Tía's mom: ABUELA. Grandma.
109. Author Calvino: ITALO. Hahtoolah might have dived into his books.
112. Pisa landmark: TOWER. Hi Gary & Picard!
113. Neglect: OMIT.
114. The "five" in "take five," e.g.: BREAK.
115. Impressed?: APED. Did an impression.
116. "The Planets" composer: HOLST. Gustav Holst.
117. Spoil, with "on": DOTE.
118. Taps feed them: SINKS.
119. Red ink: LOSS.
Down:
2. Fairy tale baddie: OGRE.
3. Removes, as wrinkles: IRONS OUT. I have not ironed anything for ages.
4. Abrasion result: RAW SKIN.
5. Service leader: CLERIC.
6. Half of a vacation rental app: AIR. 34. The other half of 6-Down: BNB. Airbnb.
7. Admired coll. guy: BMOC. Big Man on Campus.
8. Slimming surg. procedure: LIPO.
9. Timeless: ETERNAL. So excited that J-Lo and Ben Affleck are back again.
10. Uncertain: CHANCY.
11. Soda bottle size: LITER.
12. Cherish: ADORE.
13. Word in many rates: PER.
14. Supreme Egyptian god: AMON RA. Sometimes it's AMEN RA.
15. Create a new look for: MAKE OVER.
17. Feudal subject: LIEGE.
18. Relaxes: EASES.
24. Yule tune: NOEL.
25. Color at the stable: ROAN.
29. Nashville attraction: OPRY.
31. Jots down: NOTATES.
35. Future fish: ROE.
36. Dance in a pit: MOSH.
37. Mug for a selfie: POSE.
38. Winter pear: BOSC. Pretty sweet. My favorites are still Korean pears.
41. Like a darker purple: BLUER.
42. Immortal catcher with "-ism" associated with his first name: BERRA. Yogi.
44. Nephew of King Arthur: GARETH. Sir Gareth. Shout-out to constructor Gareth Bain.
45. The __ Company: Walmart foe in 2000s lawsuits: SMILEY. Wiki says It holds the rights to the smiley face in over 100 countries". Wow.
47. Maidenform purchase: BRA.
48. No-good: ROTTEN.
49. Mexican mama bear: OSA.
50. "Make it happen, sister!": GO GIRL. Need "you".
51. Free TV spot: PSA.
52. Place for a post: BLOG.
53. "Wheel of Fortune" action: RE-SPIN.
54. Ipecac, for one: EMETIC.
56. Jimmy __, Saul's real name on "Better Call Saul": MCGILL.
57. Truckers' competition: ROADEO.
61. "No harm done": I'M OK.
64. Remark to the audience: ASIDE.
65. Gift to a Valentine: ROSES.
67. La Brea formations: TAR PITS.
70. Backtalk: LIP.
72. Delivery room docs: OBS.
74. Boxing match unit: Abbr.: RND. Round.
77. Style of expression: VEIN.
78. Composer Satie: ERIK. Or "Crossword editor Agard". MM solves USA Today every day. TTP occasionally. You won't find grids cleaner than USA Today.
79. Unfurnished: BARE.
81. Luau instruments: UKULELES. And 89. Hieroglyphic beetles: SCARABS. Great fill.
84. One who finesses the tab, facetiously: EL CHEAPO.
85. Notch shape: VEE.
86. Hesitant sounds: ERS.
88. Whale groups: PODS.
90. One with inborn talent: NATURAL.
92. One might begin, "Oh, yeah?": RETORT.
93. Small dress size: PETITE.
94. Couturier Cassini: OLEG.
95. Shuts out, in baseball: BLANKS.
96. Stark heir on "Game of Thrones": ROBB. Robb Stark is played by Richard Madden.
97. Religious belief: FAITH. Two of Boomer's aunts are Faith and Charity. His mom is Hope.
98. Threepio's pal: ARTOO.
99. Enterprise competitor: ALAMO.
100. Lifeboat crane: DAVIT. Like this.
104. Bell town in a Longfellow poem: ATRI. Have not seen entry for a long while.
105. Property claim: LIEN.
107. "None of it is true!": LIES.
108. Puts in: ADDS.
110. Auction gesture: NOD.
111. Furniture wood: OAK.
C.C.
FIWrong. Had all the right words, but messed up on the spelling of UKuLeLES + HuRON + ARReTS.
ReplyDelete"Progressive decline" is an oxymoron.
In a NOIR Western, on CABLE T.V.
The black hat AMBLED to the hero-to-be.
CLAPPED his hand on his shoulder.
Said, "You'd best not be bolder
Than that last sheriff, who's now fricassee!"
(With respect to Samuel Taylor Coleridge.)
In AGRA did Shah Jahan
A stately mausoleum decree
Where Yamuna, the sacred river ran,
Thru Uttar Pradesh, India's land,
Down to the great Ganges.
So on the river's sandy ground,
With tombs and TOWERS were girded round;
And there were gardens bright with founts
Where blossomed such as Paradise should see;
And FABLED fields too fecund for counts,
Enfolding pools reflecting scenery.
{A-, A+ but only because of my collaborator's genius.}
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteForgot to look at the title, but sussed the theme with the first themer. RESPIN took some time -- it's been awhile since we've watched Wheel of Torture. D-o was smugly tripping along until he got to Florida. Didn't understand "Red or Card;" didn't know ABUELA; thought "Impressed" would be AWED. As a result, EL CHEAPO never occurred or appeared. Bzzzzzt. DNF. Ya got me, Roland. Thanx for the tour, C.C. (The others are BREAK and BRAVE.)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Roland Huget, and thank you, C.C.
Caught the added BR at the first theme entry and then looked at the title. That made the other themers easier.
The D in ADELA/DAVIT and the B in ABUELA/ROBB almost got me. Those two letters were the last to fill and seemed most likely
AMON RA was all perps. Ditto MCGILL.
Two bell town clues used to be quite common. Longfellow's ATRI and Hersey's "A Bell for Adano"
There was a period of time I couldn't access the USA Today. But I am back to solving both the USA Today and the Universal puzzles pretty much every day. However, when other priorities arise, I'll skip a day or a few days and catch up on those later. They usually only take seven to nine minutes each, but occasionally over ten. I also solve the Sunday Washington Post (Birnholz) every week, and still binge solve at Best Crosswords.
I really like what Erik Agard is doing over at the USA Today. His clue editing has definitely amped up the difficulty.
For those that don't / haven't solved there in a while, give it a whirl. C.C. has two puzzles there every week. Wednesdays and Sundays. You GO GIRL !
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteBelated Birthday greetings to Ray-O-Sunshine.
I had the same experience as D-O. The SE was festooned with meh cluing which spoiled an otherwise fine puzzle. But there was a lot of good stuff so the time spent solving was worthwhile. ABUELA was new to me so; a learning.
BRAID - I know the ? indicated a stretch, or play on words, Rope may be braided. but it is still "rope". BRAID would only be used as a modifier IMO.
ARRÊT - The circumflex indicates the former inclusion of an S in the spelling. So if you write 'arrest', you get a word we know that means to bring to a stop.
To wit. Today's:
ReplyDeleteLA Times 41:01
Birnholz 27:39
USA Today 8:09
Universal 6:43
I'm never going to be a speed or competition solver, but those times are ok for me.
C.C. and Erik threw us a softball today at the USA Today. C.C.'s puzzles are always so clean, so I think Erik probably doesn't always amp hers up.
Last Wednesday the 12th though, there was a clue, "Classic budae-jjigae meat" and last Sunday the 9th had a clue "Had some tteokboki" that gave me some pause. Both clues required perps to get the answers.
Erik doesn't always give us plain-jane vanilla clues, even for common answers, and I like that.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteHave we seen Roland Huget before on Sunday? I'm familiar with his weekday puzzles.
This was not the usual Sunday slog; it filled much faster than normal though I started in the basement and AMBLEd up the staircase. ADELA Rogers St. Johns caught my eye and I proceeded from there. ABUELA surprised me and I'll take a CSO on it along with all the other grandmothers here on the BLOG.
Drat! I misspelled UKULELE as UKelele and missed HURON. That would have made more sense than HeRON. SOPOR was another miss. I had SOPeR. I do know SOPOR.
I've never seen Breaking Bad so MCGILL was all perps.
Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, I enjoyed the play.
Thank you, C.C. for shedding light on the theme which I more or less got but I thought there must be more to it than BR. Okay. Bed Rooms.
Enjoy your day, everyone!
Owen:
ReplyDeleteLove it!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThe theme was evident immediately and helped with the solve, although after yesterday’s experience, this was a stroll in the park. Unlike most Sundays, there were only a few unknown proper names, to wit: Mr. Slate, McGill, and Robb. I never saw any of those TV shows. I had Oleg before Coco, and then Oleg shows up later. My favorite themer was Bridle Gossip and I liked the duos of Edens/Eve, Nod/Pods, Lien/Lies, Lip/Lipo, and Eve crossing Vee. Several CSOs today: Madame Defarge (Skein), Aside (OMK), ERs and OBs (Ray O and Inanehiker), and Lucina (Abuela).
Thanks, Roland, for a pleasant solve and thanks, CC, for guiding us through the grid.
FLN
A belated Happy Birthday to Ray O; hope you celebrated in style. 🎂🎁🎉🎈🎊
One of my nieces became a mom for the second time on Thursday. They now have a boy and a girl. She suffered with the same condition that Princess Kate experienced and spent most of her pregnancy in bed, fighting round-the-clock morning sickness. (I hope she doesn’t go through it again.)
Have a great day.
Musings
ReplyDelete-We baseball fans got payback for knowing yesterday’s EEPHUS PITCH – AMON RA, ITALO, ADELA, HOLST, GARETH, ROBB
-LIMIT – A good thing to set if you’re going to Las Vegas
-Trying to pull a con on a drug kingpin’s ABUELA got Jimmy McGill into a lot of trouble
-SKEIN – The vowel order is always an issue
-The Pisa Tower is not the only leaner
-In 1911 it was determined that the Leaning Tower’s lean was progressing at .05” PER year
-When the tab came, our EL CHEAPO principal usually had to suddenly go to the men’s room
-TTP, those Korean dishes sound like some of Stella Zawistowski’s cluing
MAISEL crossing GARETH? It took WAGs to get those two. Both unknown. And a Mexican grandmother? ABUELA- that's pushing it. But I finally FIR for once. The added BR was an easy on to see but the SCATCH BR-AWL was the hardest. I knew what an AWL was (I've got one) but never heard of the term "scratch awl".
ReplyDeleteADELA, SMILEY, McGILL, ROADEO, ROBB- perps for those unknowns
CORONER-a guess, never seen CSI or Better Call Saul.
RE-SPIN- does the wheel "tilt"?
Sptizboov- you know there are "no ropes on a boat"
That particular phase of CSI with Dr. Robinson, Grissom, et all, was the best one, IMO. Although I liked Miami, too.
ReplyDeleteLast night I found an old episode of Criminal Minds and recalled how much I used to like it. Apparently high school girls also like it. My granddaughter, who is a senior, was wearing a "future Mrs. Spencer Reid" t-shirt. Apparently Matthew Gray Gubler has a large following among teen age girls.
That was a toughie, Roland, but thanks to C.C.'s review, I know that I FIR. Like D-O, I took a while to trade AwED for APED, and the last area to fall involved Better Call Saul and the Flintstones. Whew!
ReplyDeleteNot sure if our local blazes make national headlines, but there has been a wildfire in the Pacific Palisades since early Saturday, and TOPANGA canyon was evacuated.
Amusing theme, but too many crossed obscure clues and answers for my taste. Would have FIR except for a careless mistake from being worn down by the rest of it. Stuck with EGGO instead of EGGS and figured OMILEY was the name of the unknown COMPANY. Learning moment
ReplyDeleteCC Thank you for the PISA shout out!
Husker Gary Thank you for the PISA learning moment!
Yes, here again I was at the TOWER of PISA.
More memorable for me was what happened on the train as we left. I smelled something burning. I went to the conductor and said the word I knew from Spanish and it turned out to be correct in Italian, too: FRENOS.
Here the conductor used a fire extinguisher on the brakes of the train heading out of PISA.
It caused a delay, but they kept on going.
From Yesterday:
ReplyDeleteYellowrocks, Spitzboov, Lucina, desper-otto Thank you for the validation of hearing SKOSH actually used. No one answered regarding having seen the Levi's ad?
Yellowrocks Yes, I thanked you for the learning moment about the Japanese origin of SKOSH the day before, but my post was probably too late for you to see it.
OwenKL and CrossEyedDave Thank you for the comments regarding the SURINAME Toad video. I am very sorry if anyone was creeped out. I learned about this when I was a child and found it fascinating: The SURINAME Toad carries its eggs on its back and the tadpoles hatch out from there! I think it is a beautiful case of a mother caring for her young in a unique way!
The seed pod is very familiar to us because of our own Lotusland park here. I am not sure, but I think that photo is a lotus, not a water lily seed pod.
Yippee! I got it! FIR, despite nearly giving up. I got GARGLE quickly but the other words nearby were hard to get. Finally got LOCK, IDA and ROADEO to see the rest. The theme helped, other than for SCRATCH (BR) AWL which was an unknown TOOL to me. All in all a good Sunday puzzle. Thanks, Roland. And thanks C.C. for clarifying things (APED).
ReplyDeleteWe are having nice weather. Hope you all are enjoying your Sunday.
Big Easy @ 1110 - - From the Haze Gray and Underway Org. : Rope (vs. line) – Natural or synthetic, woven, braided, or twisted (or some combinations), it is called ‘rope’ as long as it is on the spool. As soon as you unroll a piece and cut it off, it becomes ‘line.’
ReplyDeletePleasant Sunday puzzle, many thanks, Roland. And your comments are always a delight, C.C.--thank you for those too.
ReplyDeleteI got lots of little areas here and there, and most of what I had turned out to be correct. Nice to see MARIA in the puzzle--great Julie Andrews role. But she didn't become a matriarch until she married, did she?
Cool poems this morning, Owen, thanks for those.
Have a great Sunday, everybody.
For any of you who have an intense desire to learn more about ship's rope here is an informative link:
ReplyDeleteNSTM 613 Rev 4 Wire and Fiber Rope and Rigging S9086-UU-STM-010
Thank you Mr. Huget for a challenging and involved crossword puzzle.
ReplyDeleteIt was an enjoyable solve.
Thank you C.C. for an informative and delightful review.
I did not try to suss out the theme, but came to this blog for an easy answer.
RE: 19 Across. Tomb of Akbar the Great ... AGRA. I did not know this, but had suspected it.
BTW, less than one percent of tourists who visit Agra, actually go and visit Akbar's tomb.
They are only interested in the Taj Mahal.
Agra was the early Mughal capital of the Empire, but was later abandoned because of lack of drinking water faciiities, despite the fact that the Jamuna river flows through it.
I may have mentioned this earlier, but .... 'Akbar' or 'Akhbar' itself, means 'Great' .... as in the Islamic credo 'Allah ho Akbar' = God is great. Thus Akbar the Great, means Great is Great ... His given name was Jala- luddin ... Akbar was his self assumed title.
I would like to link up A Dancing scene, from Mughal E Azam ( Mughal of the Universe )- a 1960 movie, involving Akbar and his crown prince, Jehangir ( given name Khurram ) and Anarkali, a dancing girl - and mistress of the crown prince.
The dancer, Anarkali, manages to really rile up the King, and embarass his son .... with her sassy and contemptuous behavior ! The king, Akbar, gets absolutely furious.
This song-dance scene is one of the best of any indian movies, ever.
The song can be translated as 'So what if we made love, we didn't steal anything from anybody'. The crown prince,shown, is an actor, Dilip Kumar ( born 1922, still alive ! ) , one of India's best known actors. The movie was Mughal-E-Azam (1960), the song, 'Pyar Kiya to darna kya'.... and the story of Anarkali ... all three of these are on Wiki and Youtube, for more info, should you be interested.
DNF The theme was clever but the fill just ruined it.So much sketchy fill.Too many Naticks for me.It's really best to avoid crossing not-universally known names, especially at letters that can't be easily inferred.
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all! Thank you, Roland, for a doable puzzle. Thank you, C.C. I wish we got more of your puzzles on the LAT site.
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't an easy puzzle for me, but comforting because it filled more easily than the last two days. I read the title then forgot to look for the theme. Didn't even notice all the BRs. I had been cold all day, so BR might have looked like a statement on the weather.
Never heard of SCRATCH AWL. DNK: MAISEL, ARRETS, HOLST, AMON RA, GARETH, SMILEY, MCGILL, ROBB, ALAMO, ATRI.
Listerine, a gimmee. Use it daily.
Had trouble spelling SOPOR when comas didn't work.
Not "dean" but BMOC.
Learned ABUELLA as a girl when a Mexican family moved into our neighborhood for a short time.
Last night I virtually attended a mass & award ceremony for graduates at Loyola University, New Orleans. My granddaughter graduates today Magna Cum Laude with University Honors. I think I caught a glimpse of her in the crowd, but couldn't tell for sure since everyone was masked. I did see my daughter (grad's aunt) & her husband. (I think.) Sad to not see her lovely face.
I really liked this puzzle, many thanks to Roland Huget, and I didn't have to look anything up! However, I still FIW and also DNF. I had divot instead of davit, and there were a couple of empty cells. I remember in school teachers used to say, "Be sure and check your work." Well, I didn't today.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone question the clue for 47A? Section that doesn't include the sax, surprisingly
The sax has always been and always will be a reed/wind instrument. Am I right?
Becky
Got the "BR" theme right away but the defs that used it were WAY out of my wheelhouse! Ferinstance: who says "broil some steaks" any more??? Or calls a toaster oven (how arcane!) a "BROWNER"?? As a long time English teacher these puzzles give me a pain in the brain. Mr. Huget receives a D+ for today's entry.
ReplyDeleteBecky @ 3:02 PM
ReplyDeleteI think because a sax is made of brass rather than wood, the clue can work. Of course it has always been a reed instrument so that's the section for it, not tooting along with trumpets in the brass section.
Very fun puzzle! I blanked a bit over Fred Flintsone's boss because for some reason I was *sure* it was SLATELY -- I think I was getting him confused with George Jetson's boss whom I believe was SPACELY -- anyway, once I got the "MR" I slapped my head and FIR. Thank you Roland and C.C.!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHG, they do sound like some of Stella's clues. I like it when constructors and editors mix it up a bit.
PK, congrats are in order for your granddaughter and all the work she put in ! They say nuts don't fall far from the tree. Should make a grandma proud. I feel for you. I had to watch my great grand niece graduate from high school on YouTube last year.
You are correct, Kelly. I think George Jetson worked for Spacely Sprockets, but Fred Flintstone definitely worked for Mr. Slate.
PK:
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your granddaughter's graduation with honors! You must be very proud of her.
It is an outstanding achievement for you and your family.
Spitzboov:
Thank you for all the lessons you provide about ships, etc. I have absolutely no experience with sailing and find it fascinating though I would be terrified to be in the middle of the ocean on a ship! For some reason the very thought scares me.
Widwan:
That video is riveting! And thank you for the back story. Not only is the dancing amazing to watch, but the background is fascinating. When it comes to ornate decorations I believe India has the corner on it. Even here in the U.S. Indian homes are unusually ornate. There is only one that I know of in north Phoenix and it really stands out among its neighbors for its grandeur.
I haven't read CC's write-up or your comments yet. I liked this puzzle and the BR-added theme. A couple of bonus BRs include BRA, BRAVE, BREAK, and BRASS.
ReplyDeleteSo the thing that might be picked was not NOSE, but LOCK. The service leader was not PASTOR, but CLERIC.
Not being a Spanish speaker I did not knew ABUELA, not being at all familiar with "Game of Thrones" I did not know ROBB, and not being familiar with baseball slang I didn't know the term BLANKS, nevertheless the A and B crossing them seemed to be the best guesses.
So ARRETS is/are words on some Québec road signs? Like STOPS are words on some US road signs? The word (singular, one word) on the signs is ARRÊT, or STOP. There are many ARRÊT and STOP signs, but none of them say ARRÊTS or STOPS.
So, LIEGE is a feudal subject? I thought he was a lord and his subjects called him "My liege."
Now I'll read what y'all had to say.
Wow, PK! Congratulations to your granddaughter and the whole family!
ReplyDeleteBecky, I agree that it is not surprising that the sax is not included among BRASS instruments and that it has always been categorized as a reed/wind instrument.
ReplyDeletePK, congratulations on your granddaughter graduating today Magna Cum Laude with University Honors.
Vidwan, thank you for your instructive and interesting comments.
Owen, excellent verses today!
Drake's new gig is as a stand-in for Jake from State Farm
ReplyDeleteGary , it's the pop-cul P&P that's my Achilles heel. Also, stuff I know but can't pull out of the recesses of my cranium. Sherlock said he eschewed arcane knowledge that wasn't detection useful, like Astronomy.
I imagine someone has mentioned that SCRATCH AWL is a homonym for Scratch-all(lottery tix). I've never won a nickel
SMILEY is the British Intelligence guru of TTSS*
FIR today. I thought the SCRATCH Clue would begin with BR but GARGLE precluded that. Guessed the MR and finally remembered SLATE.. No idea on Saul.
finally grok'ed EL CHEAPO. Neat clue.
WC
*He's a Goethe aficionado
Also. This is the musical MARIA I recall
Thanks for the nice comments about my granddaughter. I just finished watching her receive her diploma via internet. Haven't seen her in person for several years, so it was a treat. Oldest grandchild.
ReplyDeleteLucina - - You're welcome.
ReplyDeleteBTW - ABUELA was a learning; don't recall having seen it in puzzles before. German is 'Oma'; haven't seen that either.
PK - Congratulations on your granddaughter's scholastic achievement. You should be proud.
Congratulations Pk on your granddaughter's success !
ReplyDeleteI have only known two people, both girls, who graduated Magna cun Laud.
And a niece in Chicago, who graduated Summa cum Laud...
Thank you Lucina and Jayce for your kind words.
The movie Mughal E Azam, ( Greatest Mughal of the Universe -) was made in circa 1960, when Technicolor was very expensive, and this scene was the Only one in the movie, in color. The rest was black and white.
The story is of Anarkali ( flower of the pomegranate ), a dancer and mistress of Akbar's son, the crown prince. Akbar forbids the relationship, and supposedly, has her buried alive ... they did things like that in those days...
However, in this movie, he has a change of heart and exiles the entire family to lands far, far away ....
If you read Anarkali, in Wiki .... you find out that the myth was just that ... a legend, and a myth. However there is a magnificent Tomb of Anarkali, in Lahore, Pakistan...
So, who knows what is the truth ?
In real life, Anarkali, acted by actress dancer - screen name, Madhubala ( real name Mumtaz Begum) died in 1969, age 36, of a ventricular septal defect ( Hole in the heart - hereditary, genetic ).
The crown prince, Salim, later Emperor Jehangir, actor Dilip Kumar, is still alive, age 99.
BTW, the entire movie Mughal E Azam, can be watched for free, on Youtube.
.... About 3 hours long....
Dear Spitz @ 12:51
ReplyDeleteYour rope and cable specifications remind me of a time when sitting as CQ (Charge of Quarters, a US Army name for the night watch). and there was nothing to read except ARs (Army Regulations), but I found tucked away in the verbiage the MILSPEC (Military Specification) for chicken noodle soup -- so many noodles per can, only so much chicken fat, the mean density of chicken pieces, etc. and onward for (IIRC) FIVE pages!
Michael - Good story.
ReplyDeletePicard, I invariably check your links and enjoyed the toads and especially your Pisa pics. I meant to mention that earlier.
ReplyDeleteYes, ABUELA means grandmother and might also be ABUELITA, little grandmother. The suffix -ita, -ito, is a form of affection. Abuelo is grandfather.
ReplyDeletePuzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteMy bad pun today as I saw RAP CD just under BLUER. Too bad they didn’t cross cause you’d have RAP CD in BLUE
My apologies to Gershwin ...