Vowels on Parade.
17-Across. Arrest: TAKE INTO CUSTODY.
33-Across. Kind of in jest, kind of not: HALF SERIOUSLY.
39-Across. Vintage Burger King slogan: HAVE IT YOUR WAY.
60-Across. Mixed drink recipe directive: SHAKE VIGOROUSLY.
and the unifier:
45-Down. Sextet featured in order in this puzzle's theme answers: A E I O U Y. I like the idea of Y being an honorary vowel.
Across:
1. Sunbather's goal: TAN.
4. Beach dwelling support: STILT. Many houses in Grand Isle, Louisiana are built up on stilts. Appropriate for today's puzzle since
Tropical Storm Claudette just swept through the area.
9. Move in the breeze: SWAY.
13. Somber notice: OBIT. This is not the kind of obituary you want.
15. "War and Peace" and "Gone with the Wind": SAGAS. Guess
which of one of these sagas I have read.
16. It has a same-named river on its southern border: OHIO.
20. Squirrel morsel: ACORN.
21. "__ you special!": AREN'T.
22. GM's Mary Barra, e.g.: CEO. Mary Barra (née Mary Teresa
Makes; b. Dec. 24, 1961) has been the Chief Executive Officer of General Motors since 2014.
23. Type of equation: LINEAR. Easy, right?
25. WWII conference site: YALTA. It is also known as the
Crimea Conference. The meeting of Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin took
place in February 1945 near the end of WWII.
27. "Soft embalmer of the still midnight": Keats: SLEEP. A
poem by John Keats (Oct. 31, 1795 ~ Feb. 23, 1821).
30. Bully: MEANIE. Was George Meany (Aug. 16, 1894 ~ Jan.
10, 1980) a Meanie?
35. Comic Margaret: CHO.
|
| Margaret Moran Cho (b. Dec. 5, 1968) |
37. __ shop: golf course store: PRO.
38. Brown bar order: ALE.
46. Show one's face: EMERGE.
47. Dwelling that sounds like two letters: TEPEE. TP has
other meanings, too.
48. Ship deck guards: RAILS.
|
| Not the intended use for ship rails. |
50. Nonliteral language features: IDIOMS.
54. "The __ of the moral universe ... bends toward justice": MLK
Jr.: ARC.
56. Parking employee: VALET.
59. Temple text: TORAH.
|
| Torah scrolls at my shul. |
63. "This is for you": HERE.
64. PR pro's concern: IMAGE.
65. "Carpe diem" acronym: YOLO. You Only Live Once. // Not to be confused with 12-Down. Toy similar to a
spool: YO-YO. National Yo-Yo Day was Sunday, June 6, 2021.
66. Like a one-star sudoku: EASY. I would still find a one-star sudoku a
challenge.
67. May 8, 1945, briefly: V-E DAY. Also known as Victory in Europe Day.
68. Fed. research org.: NSF. Non-Sufficient Funds for some research projects funded through the National Science Foundation.
Down:
1. Utter: TOTAL. This clue and answer will rile some people
up. Think of: That is an Utter mess and That is a Total mess.
2. Beaded calculators: ABACI.
3. Coolpix digital camera maker: NIKON.
4. Fig. whose last four digits are often requested: SSN. As
in the ubiquitous Social Security Number.
5. "See ya!": TA-TA!
6. Horror film aide: IGOR.
7. Cagney's TV partner: LACEY. Cagney and Lacey was a television show that ran in the 1980s.
8. Word from the Japanese for "harbor wave": TSUNAMI. Also
the name of a sushi restaurant in southern Louisiana.
9. Inebriate: SOT.
10. "Your guess is as good as mine": WHO CAN SAY?
11. West Wing worker: AIDE. As in an Aide in the White
House's West Wing.
14. Mother with a Nobel Prize: TERESA. As in Mother Teresa
(née Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu; Aug. 26, 1910 ~ Sept. 5, 1997). She was
born in what is present-day Madeconia, but is best known for her work in
India. She was made a Saint in the Catholic Church in 2016 and is now
known as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
18. Collectively: IN ALL.
19. Canonized fifth-cen. pope: ST. LEO. Pope Leo I, also
known as Leo the Great, was Pope from September 440 until his death in 461.
24. Game official: REF. As in a Referee.
26. Upsilon preceder: TAU. It's Greek to me.
28. Notice: ESPY.
29. 1995 Reform Party founder: PEROT. H. Ross Perot (né
Henry Ross Perot; June 27, 1930 ~ July 9, 2019) was a billionaire businessman
who ran as an independent presidential campaign in 1992 and a 3rd party
candidate in the 1996 presidential race.
31. Unwell: ILL.
32. Pupil's place: EYE.
33. Futuristic sci-fi vehicles: HOVER CARS.
34. Bounder: ROUÉ.
35. "Evita" narrator: CHE. Che Guevara (né Ernesto Guevara;
June 14, 1928 ~ Oct. 9, 1967) was a physician who turned Marxist
Revolutionary.
36. Easter entrée: HAM. Here is one theory of why Ham is eaten on Easter.
40. Memorable period: ERA.
41. "Enough already!": I GIVE!
42. City that merged with Jaffa in 1950: TEL AVIV. Jaffa is sometimes written as Yafo.
43. Troy, N.Y., campus: RPI. As in the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Some in our crossword family are graduates of this institute
of higher learning.
44. Joined with: WED TO.
49. Gooey gunk: SLIME.
51. Welles of "War of the Worlds": ORSON. Orson Wells (né
George Orson Wells; May 6, 1915 ~ Oct. 10, 1985) was an American film
director, but also a radio host. In 1938, he narrated a radio adaption
of H.G Wells' novel The War of the Worlds about an alien
invasion. Many people believed that the Earth was being invaded by
extraterrestrials. Interesting to have two Wells (different spellings)
involved in this tale.
52. Shopping meccas: MALLS.
53. Just __: almost: SHY OF.
54. Tennis legend Arthur: ASHE. Arthur Robert Ashe, Jr. (July 10, 1943 ~ Feb. 6, 1993) makes frequent guest appearances in the
crossword puzzles.
55. Ostrich kin: RHEA. Everything you wanted to know
about Ostriches vs Rheas but didn't know to ask.
57. "Zounds!": EGAD.
58. Roman garb: TOGA.
61. Critical: KEY.
62. "Star Wars" heroine: REY. Rey Skywalker appeared in some of the more recent movies of the Star Wars Series.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
|
| 'Tis the season |
64 comments:
FIRight with no issues. accidentally read the reveal before I had any of the theme phrases filled in, so no fun trying to figure it out. Not sure if I would have been able to anyway, since only 1 of the 4 were pure matches.
AEIOUOY
AEIOUY
AEIOUAY
AEIOOUY
I shouldn't nitpick, since I probably couldn't do any better, but it still seems less than usual quality.
High-heeled shoes are much like STILTS.
Your footing SWAYS and even tilts!
Your feet EMERGE
With unfit curves --
Why can't HOVER shoes be built?
You only live once, they say, YOLO.
The lucky ones live life as a PRO!
But the hoi polloi
Mix sad and joy,
Up and down, life is more a YOYO!
{B, A-.}
Good Tuesday puzzle. Took me 5:05, and I'm not speaking fAcEtIOUSlY.
Good morning!
This one got tougher toward the bottom, but never really difficult. The theme seemed to be "all of the vowels, in order, so long as you ignore the other vowels." Still, it was a nice walk in the park. Thanx, Mary Lou, Jeff, and Hahtoolah. (Cute ACORN cartoon.)
STILT: I used to have to drive to Grand Isle, Fourchon, and Venice, LA to catch helicopter transport out into the Gulf. It wasn't the end of the world, but you could see it from there.
LINEAR: Did you look at equation #5 in Hahtoolah's example? Of course, as Tom Lehrer says, the purpose is to understand the process, not to get the right answer.
YALTA: Februrary 1945 wasn't really "after WWII," Hahtoolah, though the heads of state discussed what should happen once the war was over.
Good Morning everyone! I just wanted to check in and thank all of you for the comments I receive on Monday. As you know, I am spending early Mondays at the bowling center in the winter and the golf course in the summer months. In the evening I read all the comments for that Monday and I just wanted to check in on Tuesday to let you know my appreciation. I hope the nasty weather in the Chicago area did not affect our friend TTP as well as the heat wave that blasted away in Southwestern USA which could be perilous to readers of the L.A. Times. Temperature is in the 50s presently here in Minnesota but our weatherman says 90s will be back in a day or two. Fore!!
Good Morning, Crossword friends. I wish I could share some of the rain we are getting with those of you in need of hydration.
D-O: There is a lot less land now in the Grand Isle, Fouchon and Venice area. Louisiana loses about a football field of land an hour. The State recently build up a lot of land at Grand Isle. It was a major project of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. I really feels like the end of the world as one drives down there.
It will be another hot one today, so stay cool!
QOD: It’s amazing what you can get if you quietly, clearly, and authoritatively demand it. ~ Meryl Streep (née Mary Louise Streep; b. June 22, 1949), American actress
FIR, but tomes-->SAGAS and ARt-->ARC. DNK bounder-->ROUE.
If you drive along the OHIO in OHIO, you will find a lot of rivah houses built on STILTS.
"Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us" and "two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun" may be cornball jingles, but they are both better than watching a REAH's cousin run on a treadmill.
Der Bingle and The Divine Ms. M left out my favorite part of "On a Slow Boat to China":
"A twist in the rudder
And a rip in the sail
Drifting and dreaming
Throw the compass over the RAIL."
Jimmy Buffett didn't miss it.
I'm so old that I remember when MALLS really were shopping meccas. Our biggest (dead) mall was used as a mass vaccination site this year. Now we have a lot more vaccine than people who want to be shot.
Jinx, your "Der Bingle" comment reminded me of the 1945 Andrews Sisters song, Rum And Coca Cola. At songlyrics.com they've got,
"In old Trinidad, I also fear
The situation is mighty queer
Like the Yankee girl, the native swoon
When she hear Der Bingo croon"
Apparently they were too young to remember "Der Bingle" Crosby.
Musings
-A fun puzzle, great theme and two constructors who always have time to visit with me
-STILTED houses exist here on the banks of the Platte too
-SWAY – A death move in golf! Turn don’t SWAY.
-Many debate whether the very ILL FDR should have gone 14,000 miles to YALTA just months before he died
-Spanish IDIOM – No pegar ojo – To not strike an eye – Not being able to sleep
-Did PEROT cost H.W. Bush the 1992 election? (10:00)
-I once heard ORSON say he sat next to Adolph Hitler at a dinner and was so unimpressed with him that he can’t recall much about him
-MALLS, shopping? They’re being torn down, er, repurposed around here
-A chilly 59F today for golf league. Summer is coming in like a lamb!
Interesting puzzle - but I'm with D-O in it being a very loose rather than tight theme. I'm glad the theme answers were all in before the reveal, because I would have thought that most of them wouldn't qualify!
One erasure was having to change from NIH to NSF with the plural of MALL not being in Latin LOL!
Thanks Susan and Mary Lou & Jeff!
Equation solved correctly: x=1/2
Good morning. I find that the puzzles lately are so very good. The construction is so thoughtful and creative. I really enjoy the themes. Who would think aeiouy? So very good IMO. Didn’t know Mary Barr but CEO was an easy guess. Thanks for the YOLO explanation. Other than that I did well. Saint Teresa of Calcutta is very inspiring to me. Her portrait hangs in our church and I really adore her and her works. As for obituaries, I’m leaving soon for a third funeral this month. So sad but such is life.
Good times ahead though. Son number 1 is going to Pinehurst tomorrow for 3 days of golf, a friend’s 40th birthday party. Me and my husband are leaving for Cape Cod on Sunday, our annual trip was canceled last year. And son number 2 is traveling home to us end of July with his wife and our granddaughter for our daughter’s engagement party we are hosting at our home. First time my husband will be meeting granddaughter in person. So very happy traveling has opened up! Sorry for going on and on. Haven’t felt this happy in a long time. And one more final thing. Both husband and I got weather alerts on our phones last night to seek shelter in our basement, tornado warning. Scary. Lots of lightening and rain, some wind,, that’s it. We don’t live in a place where tornadoes usually occur. Crazy weather..Have a great day..
Good morning everyone.
Got it all quickly and saw the theme at the reveal; 45d. No strikethroughs or look-ups.
RPI - CSO à moi; also IM's neighbor. Constructor Pawel Fludzinski is also an alum.
TSUNAMI - Is an example of a monoclinal wave.
Thanks Hahtoolah for the intro.
Another fun FIR for Tuesday. Thanks, Mary Lou and Jeff. Needed the reveal to understand the themers after they were filled. A couple of WOs as usual but easily fixed with perps: appear/EMERGE and HALF jokingly, before I saw it was too short. New clue for IDIOMS took me a minute but perps helped.
Thank you for the review full of information and humor, Hahtoolah. Always a joy to read, bringing a smile to my face this rainy morning. Hope everyone is doing well! Nice to read your happy news, Lizza. Enjoy!
Good one with Facetiously.
Good Morning:
I had no idea where this was headed until filling in the reveal. Granted, the themers had extra vowels, but I still think it was quite an achievement, especially because the phrases were all strong, in-the- language expressions. We had several fun duos with Cho/Pro, Key/Rey, Eye/Shy, All/Ill, YOLO/Yo-yo, Day/Rey, and Cho/Che. We also played the O game with Ohio, Yo-yo, CEO, Cho, Pro, YOLO, To, and St. Leo. I never heard of NSF but perps confirmed it. It’s always fun to see RPI because I think of Spitz.
Thanks, Mary Lou and Jeff, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Hahtoolah, for another sparkling commentary and visual spectacular. There were many fun and humorous cartoons today, but my top three favorites were the Nutty Squirrel, the Easter Hams, and the Hurricats! Too funny!
FLN
Jayce and Lucina, I am relieved to hear that my misgivings about Us were validated. At the end of the two hours, my thoughts were of Bill G’s oft repeated mantra stating that if he didn’t like the characters, he wasn’t interested in the story. I was especially turned off by Albie and his insufferable girlfriend and I found the parents whiny, self-centered, and cloying. Despite those reactions, I did enjoy the scenery.
Looking forward to having A/C again, as of tomorrow.
Have a great day. I hope everyone came through the storms unscathed.
I forgot two things:
Owen, A+ on both
Lizza, your happiness is contagious! Thanks for sharing.
Hola!
Ooh, Hahtoolah, how I wish your wish would be possible. Our last rain was long, long ago.
Mary Lou and Jeff are two masters of Puzzle Construction and they gave us a masterpiece with no obscure names, made up phrases or even sports!
Sigh. But I FIW at AEIOUs and forgot all about Y. I'm not sure I ever knew the carpe diem YOLO acronym.
Our local MALL here in Scottsdale (Fashion Square) is thriving whereas all others have become ghostly places. Some have been torn down or repurposed.
Have a lovely day, everyone! I'm meeting a friend for lunch.
FIR today, but didn't see the theme. Overall an enjoyable puzzle. Hahtoolah, your grid explanations and graphics crack me up. That OBIT is definitely funny.
Only one WO today. I had TONGUE IN CHEEK before perps started causing doubt for 33 Across. Ultimately changed it to HALF SERIOUSLY.
It's sort of sad that many malls are going the way of Main Street America and going out of business. Our local mall lost all of it's original anchor tenants (J.C. Penney's, SEARS, Macy's and BonTon) and looked to be heading toward demolition. However, 3 new different types of tenants (Dunham's Sporting Goods, Rural King and Gabe's) plus a casino are moving in and it looks like it will survive. Many of the smaller tenants had left also but some small new ones are starting to come in now that there are new anchor tenants.
IM: I hope you can stay cool until you get your AC fixed.
Have a great day everyone.
FIR with no problem. I don’t remember VE day, but I do remember VJ day. On the latter, my dad, my brother, and I were on the way to a camping trip. My father asked if we should turn back to be with my mother on this momentous occasion, but the two boys voted “no.” NSF awarded me a fellowship which paid for my Ph.D
LOL the only lines in the algebra graphic that relate to each other are lines 2 and 3. Having taught H.S. algebra, that graphic would totally confuse every single kid (and 95% of adults)!
I liked the theme of AEIOUY. Easy peasy.
I always have to think for a while on these modern acronyms like YOLO, BOGO, GOAT, etc.
OwenKL, I can relate to your first poem today especially the "unfit curves" part. My stilts (high heels) from workdays left their mark with a bunion! I enjoy your poems.
The puzzle was a breeze today. I also questioned NSF for 68 Across, but the perps confirmed it.
Thank you Mary Lou and Jeff, and thank you Hahtoolah.
Thank you Mary Lou and Jeff for a very interesting puzzle. I noticed the vowels in order, so I guess that is an achievement, as well.
Thank you Hahtoolah for your cartoons - I don't know where you get them !
But, they are always very enjoyable.
The VE day info was very interesting.
I noticed Charles De Gaulle was reluctant, in his Paris victory speech, .... to name his allies, by name of country ... he kept saying 'the United Nations' ...
Did you know, that
1. Russia declared war on Japan, just 8 hours before the japanese surrendered, on VJ Day ?
And still took over the Kurile Islands, that they retain to this day...
2, That Brazil declared war on Germany, 8 hours before the german surrender...
3. That, though India, as a british dominion, contributed greatly ( and involuntarily ) in material ( or materiel ) and manpower, for both world wars, it does not celebrate the ends of WW I or WW II.
I know, the afore said is politics ... but it is also facts of History.
Finally, on your Quote of the day. Much, as I greatly admire Meryl Streep, I think President Harry S. Truman's quote is more inspiring ....
It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.
Have a nice day, all.
From history.com: On August 8, 1945, the Soviet Union officially declares war on Japan, pouring more than 1 million Soviet soldiers into Japanese-occupied Manchuria, northeastern China, to take on the 700,000-strong Japanese army..
This is 6 days before VJ-Day, 1945.
FIR but a blotchy mess with many inkovers stake/STILT, Lacie/LACEY, short/SHYOF, epics/SAGAS. I don't know/WHOCANSAY. Utter was utterly misunderstood for "say or talk". I don't think I would have caught on to the theme if the clue/reveal wasn't so obvious: AEIOU and sometimes, why? ...
Between MArY LOU GUIzzO and JEff ChEn they have all the vowels 😲
Zounds an oath: "God's wounds"
Thought idioms were local expressions. Haven't seen ABACI in a while. STLEO and of course CW regular Arthur ASHE dropped in. So inebriate is a noun. 🤪
Cicadas EMERGE after 17 years so shouldn't there be a new group every year that have been underground for 17 years? Or according to the OT..Noah spake to the 2 cicadas after they left the Ark: "Enough with the buzzing, don't want to see you for another 17 years." Gen 6-11...
CSO to Irish Miss Troy's RPI, my BIL is an alumnus..a head engineer for Ford living in an uppity suburb of Detroit.
Sign on a PRO shop: Amateurs keep out. How do you text or make a phone call or play "candy crush" on that Nikon Camera?
Can't go anywhere in a rowboat without _____ ORSON
Bridal veil often....LACEY
Summer cooler....AIDE
Be close to.....LINEAR.
Another sudden dip in the temperature from 81 to low 60s. Wearing shorts with a flannel shirt. 🥶 (No, I am NOT wearing socks with sandals)😡
Great funny stuff H2LH.
I noticed all the Ys at the end of the theme answers, but did not catch the theme until the reveal. I feel like we have had this theme before? Still enjoyable!
Hahtoolah Thank you for that amusing OBIT!
desper-otto Way interesting about that LINEAR equation. It was off to a bad start with the misspelled word "elimiate" and then it just got the math wrong.
Here we were in JAFFA.
JAFFA is a beautiful little city that combines the old and the new as you can see. Our guide was showing us her photos of rockets landing there in less happy times.
From Yesterday
AnonPVX, Husker Gary, Token Creek, AnonT Thank you for the varied comments on the experience of ballooning without a tether! I have done it with a helium balloon in SAN DIEGO and in a hot air balloon here in Santa Barbara, but both were tethered.
Can any of you recommend any especially good places to do the real thing without a tether?
Wilbur Charles Yes, I enjoyed the ELEMENTS puzzle. As you say, it fit part of my recommendation: If you are going to have obscurities, cross them with obscurities from a different field! In that case I indeed had no idea about the people, but got the elements. But it failed the test when it crossed two proper names from the sports field.
Neat Tuesday puzzle, many thanks, Mary Lou and Jeff--I liked it very much. And neat commentary, as always, Hahtoolah, thank you for that too.
I love seeing Arthur ASHE turn up in puzzles nearly every day. He died too young and I wish he could have seen how often he is remembered here. Nice to see ORSON Welles turn up this morning too. Oh yes, and Margaret CHO.
Have a good day, everybody.
Nice photos of Jaffa, Picard. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Y'all! Really great theme & puzzle, Mary Lou & Jeff. Always a fun & informative expo at the hands of our Susan. Thank you all.
I just sat & laughed with delight when I saw the reveal and all the vowel progressions.
Susan, that OBIT you shared is one of the most mean-spirited write-ups I've ever seen, but probably the most truthful. As a genealogist and former newspaper editor I read a lot of them. Reminded me of an obit that crossed my desk. The woman was a relative who had been married 5 times, widowed three times & divorced twice. Her brother was deeply ashamed of this for some reason. The woman had lived in a distant city but had grown up in our area. Her brother's obit gave her maiden name only, no marriages & listed her two local children. I knew she had been proud of her five husbands, if no one else thought they were great, so as editor, I added them all in to the OBIT with their demise, etc. However, the funeral home published the brother's OBIT on the funeral card. Her children later came to me and thanked me for publishing the husbands' names because otherwise they appeared to be illegitimate.
Boomer, re your appreciative post: you are welcome and much appreciated. Glad we've got to know and enjoy you.
FIR in an unimpressive 18, but FIR none-the-less. As usual, did not see the theme until Hahtoolah ‘splained it. I liked this CW a great deal, thanx MLG & JC! Like IH @7:59 my only W/O, NIH:NSF. Thanx to John E @8:15 for providing the correct solve. I also took the time to solve the equation and came up with x=0.5, then couldn’t figure out what that stuff Susan put in there was all about, and questioned whether I’d completely lost my math skills. But there were two answers for x which really left me confused. So thanx, John E. And thanx Hahtoolah for the fun write-up. Except for the equation bit.
Lucina perfect time for Pinehurst, they'll play usga greens(hopefully rough is trimmed) great tournament that I missed *
Also, great time for the Cape. W or E of Hyannis?
Re. NSF, We had KITING just recently. There's a science to it but now there's Payday Cash a usurer paradise. They have machines to do debit on checks now.
I didnt get the HAMs pic. Oh, the pigs look like HAMs?
Owen, #2 a solid W. Yes, #1, too
The cornerstones of MALLS were the big dept. stores, now replaced by Amazon. I suggest pet stores and whole foods . Ok, gambling? Can't beat that
Perfect "No muss, no fuss" xword
Re. "Credit". There are two lists for every project: The Credit list and The Blame list. They remain inviolate, regardless. Anon-T, agree?
It was the truce between Japan and Soviets(1941?) that enabled Russia to pull 250,000 troops from the East to save them from Germany
WC
Too cheap to upgrade my Roku
So many wonderful graphics. so little time.
Thanks, Hahtoolah.
Thanks, Jeff.
I'd say "hello" Mary Lou but you're probably tired of that one. So, thanks.
Enjoyable blog, Susan. I especially liked the squirrel cartoon.
An idiom is merely "a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., rain cats and dogs, see the light )." Many idioms are not just local, but are understood country wide. Some are even cross-cultural.
interesting idioms
I well remember VJ DAY. I was seven years old. When victory was announced there was a cacophony of church bells. Our church bell was rung by pulling a rope that extended from the bell in the steeple though a hole in the ceiling of the vestibule. My dad would pull the rope down and let it rise again, repeat, repeat. I foolishly grabbed the rope as the heavy bell pulled it back upward. I skinned the top of my right hand palm from the base of my little finger to the base of my index finger. Ouch! A thick bandage did now allow me to write the first two weeks of school.
It seems to me that "Aren't you special" is almost always snarky.
I watched many Cagney and Lacey reruns. Tyne Daly played a tough cop. On Broadway she play an entirely different role as Gypsy Rose.
Time for our show by a Marilyn Monroe impersonator.
Okay, I’m a “math guy” I guess, and if you’re going to print an example of solving a linear equation it should be correct.otherwise why bother?
Odd to see Jeff Chen (1) on a Tuesday and (2) co-write a totally solvable grid.
No write-overs today.
Also no issue with multiple vowels, still a clever construction.
See you tomorrow.
Wilbur @ 12:16 ~ I believe you meant to reply to Lizza. The Pigs are a takeoff on the statues on Easter Island, ergo, ham for Easter dinner. 🐷
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR with nary a W-O. After seeing the reveal in 45-Down I realized just how difficult this puzzle must’ve been to create. And yes, I too saw the added O’s and A in three of the entries, but given that all five/six vowels were there, and in order, that’s an minor nit.
As always, Susan, it’s a delight to read your recap
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Mary Lou and Jeff, and Hahtoolah (what an OBIT😮).
I FIRed in good time (hand up that the bottom was slower to fill than the top), and got the Vowel theme. I saw outliers with an extra O in 70A and 60A, and an extra A in 39A but that is a very minor nit in such an excellent construction. (Oh I see OwenKL and others beat me)
This Sunday, I will have been WED TO DH for 40 years. Party will have to wait until we can have more than 10 in the back yard!
Our MALLS are still almost closed except for banks, pharmacies, stores with a direct exit to the outside. Still only patio dining.
But I got my second shot last week and vaccination rates are rising as vaccine supply increases. Not many people are SHY OF the vaccine HERE. Hopefully things open up soon.
Off to do some deliveries for our seniors’ group. Everyone loves the porch visits.
We had a good rain yesterday and cooler temps today.
Wishing you all a great day.
I consider Y a vowel. When I was in school, we were taught "...and sometimes Y and W." I think there are two words in English that use W as a vowel, both obscure Welsh terms. While Y is overwhelmingly used as a vowel. Today's discussion led me to look up how often Y is a consonant, and I found THIS interesting article.
I liked this puzzle okay. I liked Hahtoolah's commentary better. Solved it all without having to look anything up or use red letters, which I like to be able to do.
Picard, Albuquerque used to host a large annual event of hot air ballooning. I don't know if they are still doing it or whether the balloons are tethered. Check it out.
Good wishes to you all.
Thanks Mary and Jeff for an AVOWELEDLY delightful Tuesday morning and thanks Hahtoolah for your, as always, colorful explanation of the LONG and the SHORT of it.
As usual I solved insouciantly without a clue as to the theme. I was simply TAKEN INTO CUSTODY by this puzzle and was VIGOROUSLY UNSHAKEN by Mary and Jeff's valiant attempts to take them even HALF SERIOUSLY.
As for favs:
13A OBIT Seriously Susan where did you find that clip?! It reminds me of a new PBS series on dysfunctional families making the rounds of the Corner chatter, that I definitely don't intend to see.
20A ACORN Just finished binging a decidedly LOW KEY detective series on Acorn called Witstable Pearl. Tonight we'll be back to view the next installment of a decidedly HIGH KEY series called Line of Duty on BritBox.
30A MEANIE Be on the lookout for "Blue Meanies" sighted in a "Yellow Submarine" near you.
47A TEPEE you are likely to encounter a TYPO of TEPEE in the very near future.
65A YOLO So as the Scouts say, "Be Prepared" and "Do Your Best".
5D Alternately an Indian consulting firm. But I much preferred H2LAH's BODACIOUS riff on this FILL. Or should that be FILLS?
19D ST LEO Speaking of LEOS, has anyone seen our LEOIII lately?
28D ESPY Also the "Excellence in Sports Performance" awards. And here are this year's winners.
62D REY I haven't followed any of the later Wars (or are they earlier?), so the link was a great way to play catch up.
Thanks and Cheers,
Bill
Vidwan @10:27 AM Thanks for the HST quote. I never knew its origins, but it was one of my watchwords when I worked in IT. We also called it "Bottom-up management".
Picard @11:32 AM Great pics from Jaffa Robert. I was surprised by the sign with "I remember and I demand". And I for one will never forget.
Hey Wilbur 😊. We stay at a lovely resort east of Hyannis in Brewster, on the bay, not the ocean. End of June is usually a lovely time to be there. Thanks
AnonPVX @12:56 PM To paraphrase my old physics teacher, perhaps "She was just making sure that everyone was paying attention".
CEh! @1:36 PM Congrats on your Ruby Red anniversary! Are we all invited?! :-)
This what our curriculum taught about w as a vowel.
"W is a vowel only when it teams up with an a, e, or o to spell a single sound—as in the words draw, few, and low. So the letter w is a vowel only in the two-letter teams aw, ew, and ow." Some opinions may vary.
E is a vowel in day, honey, boy, guy, likely, etc. Same idea.
Picard, great Jaffa pics.
A fine PZL from the Guizzo/Chen team, well followed-up by Hahtoolah!
Arthur ASHE learned to play his brilliant tennis at the country club where his father worked and where, as a young Black man, he would otherwise have been denied access--the same country club where I was once a guest but, when I learned of its racist policies, joined those in public protest.
~ OMK
___________
DR: Three diagonals on the near side (NW to SE).
The main (central) diag gives us an anagram (13 of 15 letters) that obviously designates a conman, a grifter, one who rarely smooths his shirt or buttons his coat.
No names here; we don't wanna be political. But you can probably guess it's a favorite villain, a major ...
"FRAUDSTER SLOB"!
Picard @ 11:29 am
Many years ago my daughter, DW and I took a sunrise flight in a hot air balloon with about 15 other balloons in Phoenix over the Sonoran dessert and hills, Deer Valley. One of the most spectacular adventures we ever experienced. I delayed responding trying to locate the incredible pictures I took with no luck.
I googled "Phoenix and hot-air ballooning" and there are a number of companies in operation.
🎈
Picard, here are the time and place of the upcoming 2021 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Event
Dates: Sat, Oct 2, 2021 – Sun, Oct 10, 2021
Location: Albuquerque, Balloon Fiesta Park Source
PK: That was a mean-spirited Obit, but as you noted, you see all kinds of things. We had knew of elderly couple who lived near us. The couple were very big in their church. About 20-something years ago the husband died. There was an obit in the local paper and a funeral and a burial. All quite normal. Several weeks after the man was buried, there was another obit/memorial in the paper. It seemed that the man had been married and divorced and had 3 grown children. No one in town knew he had been married before. It seems the 2nd wife waited until after the burial to inform her step-children that their father had died. She apparently thought that would be the end of it all. Instead, the children wrote a very loving memorial to their father and noted that he would visit them several times a year and that they retained a close relationship with them. They did point out that they had just learned of their father's death, as they had not previously been informed by the wife of his passing, thus were unable to properly attend his funeral. I can only imagine the 2nd wife's reaction to this and how it diminished her in the community.
PICARD: AND, in addition to what Jayce said, they also offer hot air balloon RIDES. Spectacular site.
Summer is the best time for glider flight because the heat in the desert makes for some spectacular updrafts. Fall, winter and spring are great for ballooning, because the cooler air makes ambient air denser, which aids balloon flight. Phoenix has vendors for both.
I've never ballooned, even though DW thinks I would love it. My concern is that if anything happened at altitude that would compromise the heating system, disaster awaits. Seems to me that if the envelope starts to cool, the balloon starts to descend into denser air, which would make the envelope get smaller, which would accelerate the downward movement, which would accelerate the compression of the envelope, repeat until your goose is cooked. I know it is a very simple system that even F Troop could manage (IT IS BALLOON!!!), but since it is mechanical, failure IS an option.
Jinx : We crewed for a HOB company for 4 years. All balloon pilots are lisenced by the FAA. Go through check ride once a year and balloons and equiptment are inspected. Pilots take thier responsibily very serious. Go with a reputable company. At least that's how it was done here in Token Creek. We flew 4 balloons almost 7 days a week all year.
waseeley - thanks for the congrats. I also have a special birthday coming up in July; ruby is my birthstone. Maybe I should ask for a double ruby present😮😁
Unfortunately my American friends cannot cross the border; our party will have to be virtual🎉🎶🎁💐👍🇺🇸🇨🇦
So, CanadianEh, is your birthday on Tuesday? If so (and I dare say you've heard this a million times before) will it be a Ruby Tuesday?
Picard, did you see all the comments directed to you about ballooning?
Jayce- 😁😁 no I am a Wednesday’s child.
TC - I know that I'm irrational in my fear. But it sure seems like there are a lot of accidents in balloons that make the news. Could be because an accident in a Cessna 172 isn't big news unless it lands on a freeway or an apartment building. And I'm not afraid of soaring, even though I know those systems are much more complex and the forces are much greater.
Fascinating pics of Jaffa, Picard. How long ago? I think Jaffa was involved in Crusader wars
Lizzy this should put you in the mood for Old Cape Cod
IM, duh, "Easter" Island. Clever.
WC
A series titled Mrs. Wilson is currently playing on PBS. It is based on a true story of a man with multiple families. The actress, Rita Wilson, who portrays one of the wives, is a member of the extended family.
Thank you Wilbur so very much 😊. What a very lovely song.
Jinx: HAB accidents happen in Albuquerque at the yearly Fiesta because there about 600 balloons in the air at the same time. Not all the pilots are of the same skill level or familiar with the area. Because of the location of the mountains, you can launch your balloon, ascend and land at the same spot you launched from. They call it the "Albuquerque Box."
Balloons mainly fly at dawn and before dusk because the winds are more gentle. High winds. no fly.
Hi All!
Thanks for the Tuesday fun, Mary Lou & Jeff. I didn't catch the theme until the reveal.
Wonderful expo, Hahtoolah - loved the comics, esp. the CAT5.
That OBIT was LOL - that'll teach you to die first. :-)
WO: WED[d]ed
ESPs: REY, ROUE
Fav: WHO CAN SAY and HOVER CARS provided some serious sparkle.
{B+, A} //thanks for the Y article YR, thanks for the IDIOM link.
I like the DR, OMK.
WC - yeah, unless you change companies, the lists don't change :-)
Cool pix, Picard. I liked that one guy's shirt about refusing to be enemies.
C, Eh! I wrote it down but, in case I forget by Sunday, Happy Anniversary.
Enjoyed reading everyone today.
Cheers, -T
Susan: enjoyed your 2nd OBIT tale. Then we had the local drug dealer who was murdered. His family published an obit making him sound like the most upright, kind, and beloved citizen. I had left the paper or it would not have been published. The editor at the time, told me she wasn't going to refuse it because she was afraid of reprisal from that rowdy, crooked bunch. She figured everyone would think it was funny. I said, "Yeah, but there goes your credibility."
CanadianEh! I too, wish you an early Happy Anniversary and congratulations on making things work for 40 years. May you reach your "golden".
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