Good morning, Cruciverbalists one and all! It's time to rise and shine. Let's shake out those cobwebs and continue our perpetual search for answers. It might be a good idea to start by opening our eyes.
Today's puzzle setter is Grant Howell. This writer was unable to find any LAT puzzles with his byline so this might be his LAT debut. If that is incorrect, I hope that he will accept my sincere apologies. If true, welcome, Grant!
THE AYES HAVE IT. Or, the eyes have it. Or, in this case, the I's (or the i's) have it. How does one write the plural of the letter I? We? Is?
At four places in the grid our constructor has replaced the word "eye" in a common idiomatic expression with the letter "I". He reveals this substitution at . . . .
54 ACROSS: Payback phrase altered to provide a hint to solving four other puzzle answers: AN I FOR AN EYE. Although an eye for an eye seems vengeful, the original intent was to restrict retribution to the value of the loss.
. . . . and the substitution is employed as follows:
20 ACROSS: Good-looking: EASY ON THE IS. Easy on the eyes. Nice to look at.
39 ACROSS: Vegas loser, often: SNAKE IS. Snake eyes. In dice play, (e.g. backgammon or craps) a pair of ones, a single pip on each die. The odds of doing this are one in thirty-six. When shooting craps, if you roll Snake Eyes you lose instantly.
11 DOWN: Affectionate idiom that originally referred to a pupil: APPLE OF MY I. Apple of my eye. As the clue says, the phrase originally referred to the "aperture at the center of the human eye" - the pupil.
29 DOWN: Perch perspective: BIRDS I VIEW. Bird's eye view. These days, perhaps, a drone's camera view.
. . . . and here is how the rest of the clues and answers appear to our eyes . . . .
1. Big drink of water: GULP. SWIG would have fit the allotted space but would not have worked out.
5. Choice: PLUM. In this case, not the fruit itself but, rather, something that is desirable.
9. Pesky crawler: ROACH. My father claimed that, as a child growing ip in NYC, he had learned to identify the gender and species of almost any roach. There is no substitute for experience, I suppose. My mother told me that I was named for my maternal grandfather. Maybe not.
Joey The Roach
14. Like most eggs: OVAL.
15. Making people wait, maybe: LATE. In the context that was presented, I first thought of RUDE. The E worked. Nothing else did.
16. Wolf pack leader: ALPHA.
17. Self-named 2000s sitcom set in Texas: REBA.
18. Somewhat: A TAD. Until we check the surroundings, we never know if it will turn out to be A TAD or A BIT or A FEW or A DAB.
19. Landlocked Asian country: NEPAL.
23. Awesome, in slang: LIT. I was totally unfamiliar with this use of LIT. It used to mean drunk. Thanks, perps.
24. Chinese toy: PEKE. A bit of misdirection intended to lead us to think of a kite, or of Chinese Checkers or maybe even something to do with the balance of trade. Instead, we get a small, or "toy", dog. In this case, a Pekingese or PEKE.
Wasabi. Best In Show. 2021 Westminster Dog Show
25. Works a wedding: CATERS. I first thought of USHERS. Ushes? Too few letters.
27. Prince in a can?: ALBERT. The old prank. Phone a tobacco store and inquire of whoever answers, "Do you have Prince Albert in a can?" "Yes." "Well, then, please let him out!"
30. Classic film involving a split personality: PSYCHO. Alfred's vision is deservedly a classic. So is Mel's.
32. Chow __: MEIN. MEIN is the Chinese word for noodles. Chow means fried. Lo means tossed.
33. Wind heard in Dion's "Abraham, Martin and John": OBOE. More misdirection. I kept running through the lyrics in my head trying to find something Mariah-like. Instead we got instrumentation. You'd think that I'd be on to this trick by now.
35. "The Metamorphosis" author: KAFKA.
38. Bag or ball lead-in: AIR. An AIR bag is a passive safety device in an automobile. An AIR ball is a shot in basketball that completely misses the basket, the rim, and the backboard.
41. Early 11th-century year: MII. 1002 A.D. More i's.
42. Couldn't say no: HAD TO.
44. Help to withdraw: WEAN.
45. Many a gospel song: HYMN.
46. Run-scoring out: SAC FLY. A baseball reference. SACrifice FLY.
48. Lao-tzu follower: TAOIST.
The Tao of Pooh
50. "Peer Gynt Suite" dancer: ANITRA. ANITRA is the daughter of a Bedouin chief and she steals Peer Gynt's money after he attempts to seduce her.
52. Put on: WEAR.
53. Rainbow mnemonic surname: BIV. Roy G. BIV. Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet.
60. Jennyanydots' creator: ELIOT. From T S Eliot's poem Cats.
Jennyanydots - As portrayed in what some consider
to be the worst movie ever made.
62. Farm house: COOP.
63. "The Favourite" actress Stone: EMMA.
64. The "A" in CDA, to an Idahoan: ALENE. Coeur d'ALENE is a city in Idaho with a population of roughly 55,000 people.
65. Automaker Ferrari: ENZO. The last name is eponymous.
Enzo Ferrari
66. Verbal quirks, like "y'know": TICS. A frequent, often unconscious quirk of speech. Below, The Waco Kid Exhibits a TIC.
67. Coolidge's VP: DAWES.
68. Texter's sign-off: TTYL. Talk To You Later
69. "Right now!": STAT. When used in a medical context. We often see the editing mark STET.
Down:
1. 2000 presidential runner-up: GORE. Albert Arnold Gore.
2. Pigmented eye layer: UVEA. Appropriate for today.
3. Some yellow dogs: LABS.
4. New parent's purchase: PLAY PEN.
5. Mr. Krabs' nemesis: PLANKTON. A SpongeBob SquarePants reference.
Plankton and Mr. Krabs
6. Dunkin' Donuts offering: LATTE. In a wonderfully clever bit, Merl Reagle anagramed Dunkin to Unkind Donuts. Now re-branded as, simply, Dunkin' the chain seems to be trying to be though of as more a purveyor of coffee than of donuts.
7. U.S. territory until 1896: UTAH. The UTAH Territory included what became the State of Utah, most of what became the State of Nevada, and parts of what became the States of Colorado and Wyoming.
8. Ancient Persian: MEDE. The MEDEs established an extensive empire in the 7th Century BCE.
9. Pillages: RANSACKS. Via Middle English from Old Norse. Literally, house seek.
10. Cry after un gol: OLE. Today's Spanish lesson with significant global overtones.
12. Committee leader: CHAIR.
9. Pillages: RANSACKS. Via Middle English from Old Norse. Literally, house seek.
10. Cry after un gol: OLE. Today's Spanish lesson with significant global overtones.
12. Committee leader: CHAIR.
13. Stops: HALTS.
21. Above, to a bard: O'ER. Variant of OvER.
22. Like some stares: ICY. We also get ICE T today at 55 Down.
26. Lil Wayne's "__ Carter III": THA. The sixth studio album released by Lil Wayne (2008).
27. Asian nurse: AMAH. A nursemaid frequently appearing in crossword puzzles.
28. Princess from Alderaan: LEIA. A Star Wars reference. LEIA Skywalker Organa Solo. Alderaan is the name of a planet.
30. Stir: POKEY. Another bit of misdirection. Hmmm, MIX IN? BLEND? Both have five letters. Nope. A riff on two slang terms for jail.
31. "I __ red door and I want it painted black": Stones: SEE A. A straight-forward fill-in-the-blank clue.
34. Cry buckets: BAWL.
36. Basinger and Cattrall: KIMS. I was unable to find a photo of KIM Basinger and KIM Cattrall together. Like Batman and Bruce Wayne?
37. "If it __ broke ... ": AINT. . . . don't fix it. Another straight-forward fill-in-the-blank clue.
39. Ancient dialogues subject: SOCRATES. Plato wrote approximately thirty-five dialogues in most of which SOCRATES is the main character.
Bill & Ted's Take on the Subject
40. Worldwide anti-crime group: INTERPOL. Officially, The INTERnational Criminal POLice Organization.
43. Ankle pic: TAT. A few alternative locations for a TATtoo come to mind.
45. Charlotte NBA team: HORNETS. The professional basketball team.
45. Charlotte NBA team: HORNETS. The professional basketball team.
47. Autograph seeker: FAN. An ardent devotee or enthusiast.
49. Duracell size: AAA.
49. Duracell size: AAA.
50. Draw __ on: aim at: A BEAD.
51. Wafer brand: NILLA.
52. Light-headed: WOOZY.
55. Very cool rapper?: ICE T. Ice is very cool, as in cold. ICE T is a well-known rap artist.
56. Type of type: FONT. Clever clue.
57. Radiate: EMIT.
58. Disco hit with arm motions: YMCA. As someone who has been known to wear a "Death Before Disco" T-shirt, I cannot bring myself to use the original here. Subsequent to the last administration, most of the really good spoofs are too political for this blog. So, let's go with something nerdy.
DMCA
59. Towards sunrise: EAST
61. Phone button with no letters: ONE.
. . . . and on that note (or tone) . . . .
____________________________________________________________
56 comments:
If Franz KAFKA would approach
Cinderella's story, he might broach
A different call
To reach the ball --
He'd have her travel in a gilded ROACH!
A TAOIST lama in NEPAL
Built a monastery tall!
The path was steep
But breathing deep
Was hard, there was no air at all!
{A-, A-.}
Good morning!
Got the theme early on, and that helped with the subsequent themers. Wanted SLUG before GULP appeared. That photo of Wasabi looks like one of Señor Wences' "hand" puppets. Do they really call Coeur d'Alene "CDA?" It takes just as long to say CDA. Nice debut, Grant. Very informative tour, Mal-Man.
DAWES -- He was the only Vice President to compose a top hit song. Click on the link to see what his Melody In A Major became in 1958.
ANITRA -- Very pretty piece of Grieg's music. It's one of my favorites.
Excellent commentary! Cleared up a few ?? I had.
Thanks for your post, pics & links.
AN I FOR AN EYE was the
Hammurabi code
of Babylon.
I reluctantly gave up RUDE too. I woke up to REBA on the tube(after NBA-Did Suns win?). Watched 3 minutes *
I was on your beam with ushers too.
The OBOE was featured in She's LeavingHome OK, I thought it was OBOE.
Among synonyms for Kafkaesque I see macabre, Orwellian, grotesque...I get the cartoon now.
Is xword-time wise or foolish?
Foolish me thought of the new Rainbow (coalition). The Suns game ad had two men kissing
My Frawnche helped with CDA. We live in the mnemonic age
I knew that VP began with a D. Mr S wants to talk politics, I told him "fermez la bouche"
Duh, POKEY as in jail. V8 cans are flying this morning
Bill and Ted was funnier than I thought
I inked necco, a famous Boston candy. Big sign as one entered Charlestown
Creat l'icks today, Owen
WC
* Of REBA.
Took 10 1/2 today. Got the theme when there just weren't enough spaces for "eyes".
I'm usually not a big fan of the gimmick type theme - but this first theme answer was so obvious that it sped the solve along!
I had not heard CDA before until a month ago, I was reading a book for book club about an Olympic level skier who was from there and they were always referring to it as CDA after the first few mentions in the book. Nothing is wasted when gleaning random info to answer a crossword!
Took a minute with NILLA because I glanced at the clue and thought it said water brand so waiting for a fill like Dasani LOL!
Thanks MM and to Grant! Congrats to Grant if it a debut!
I see the Suns blew it. My Phoenix niece is a big fan as well as her bball playing son. Homecourt prevails again
WC
For a themed puzzle this theme was impossible not to get. I was LATE filling the LATTE area as I had no idea who Mr. Krab was and filled PLANKTON after I 'let Prince ALBERT out of the can'.
My last fill was the cross of the unknown ANITRA and the brand of 'water'. I couldn't get it until I realized it was 'wafer', not water. News print, ugh. Other times 'rn' and 'm' look the same. Couldn't think of a brand of bottled water spelled _ILLA. Then I reread the clue.
ELIOT was perped. No idea about Jennyanydots. Ditto for THA.
PEKE for Chinese toy is pretty standard fill.
Well, aye have places to go today so eye am outta here
I thought USHERS before the perps made it CATERS.
Good morning everyone.
Wafer looked like 'wafer' to me, too. Solve went well, otherwise. Theme crystalized with APPLE OF MY I. Phrases were quite common so that mitigated the difficulty a bit. CAD was a learning but knew of Coeur d'Alene in reference to Idaho. Thought POKEY had an absolutely sterling clue.
Thanks MM for the hot wash-up.
Musings
-Oh so clever! If you did this in pen with no mistakes, you’re a good man Charlie Brown!
-Somewhat unusual cluing for PLUM and POKEY
-Frequently being LATE sends the message: “My time is more important than yours”
-My uncle “rolled his own” with PRINCE ALBERT tobacco until he died of lung cancer
-L _ _ A/M _ _N made me, uh, move my vowels
-Obscure ANITRA and MEDE had solid crossing help
-As a basketball player Michael Jordan may have been the best ever. As an owner of the HORNETS, not so much
-Disco like YMCA was fun and harmless with a great beat.
-My favorite Grieg piece featuring OBOES and other reeds
-Nice job, MM. D-O, what a great story about Dawes.
Cant believe I FIR. WAGs at KAFKA x THA and ANITRA x SOCRATES. I wanted to chow down before I had my chow MEIN, my COOP was a barn first, I was dizzy before I was WOOZY, and I glowed before I EMITted.
SNAKEIS is not usually a loser. It loses only on the comeout roll (or the first roll of a "pass" bet, but if you know what that is you already know that), and there is only a 1:36 chance of rolling it then. It is usually a "who cares, roll again" toss. I miss craps. I hope the new casino in Norfolk will offer the game. Or maybe I hope it doesn't.
The little auxiliary hulls on trimarans are called AMAHs.
In early days of telephone dials, the phone companies used words to help customers remember numbers. For example, 784-5555 was printed STate4-5555. A "1" was dialed only to place a toll call, or to access special features. Special features were calls like "114" for Information (became Directory Assistance) and "116" for Repair. So they couldn't assign letters to the poor, lonely "1". Advances in telephony caused the "specials" to be renumbered "411" and "611" and provided for others like "911" and "511".
I have a converter to change audio to CDA format, which is the native protocol for CD players. Not all CD players can handle other formats.
I got the theme early on. I found the SW corner difficult.I should have had Nilla. I was thinking of crackers or candy. CDA/Alene was all perps.
Alan watched Reba reruns endlessly. We play her songs in the car.
Dizzy before woozy.
Jennyanydots. Strange very long name for a cat. Got Eliot from E-I
-T. Oh, it must be a cat.
Gimme, four letter wind, oboe.
Learned awesome is lit.
We used to call a tall person a long drink of water.
FIR again, thanks to a helpful theme. I got the trick with the first themer, unusual for me. It sped things along. WOs were down/MEIN, orso/A TAD, iris/UVEA, and Audi/ENZO (major car ignorance excuse). PLUM and MEDE crossing was my last fill. I flirted with PLUs but that seemed less likely. Perps fixed many words, including KAFKA. Lots of fun today, so thanks and welcome to Grant. Many thanks also to MalMan for your review. I am a FAN of yours.
Enjoyed reading the comments so far and look forward to more. I learn so much from you all and am reassured when I see where others have had problems. Hope everyone has a jolly day!
51 down clue: "wafer brand"
Nilla is not the brand. Nabisco is the brand. Nilla, vanilla is the type of wafer. Thought the clueing was clever for most of the puzzle.
Good Morning:
I loved this theme, execution, reveal and the low three letter word count, especially compared to yesterday’s offering. However, even seeing (pun intended!) the theme almost immediately, there were several troublesome areas that slowed me down: Plankton, Anitra, Alene, Dawes, and Eliot, as clued.I had Dewey at first and was thinking that was a learning moment until Socrates filled in. Other w/os were Glow/Emit and Saw A/See A. I join Inanehiker, BigEasy, and Spitz seeing Water instead of Wafer. Some cute duos: Wean/Wear, Late/Latte, Labs/Peke, and Icy/Ice T. We also had an A Team with Alpha, Reba (Hi to Alan), Kafka, Anitra, Emma, Tha, AAA, See A, YMCA, and Nilla. I love seeing Enzo because it reminds me of the wonderful book, The Art of Racing in the Rain and its canine narrator, Enzo, named after Mr. Ferrari.
Thanks, Grant, for a challenging, thoroughly enjoyable solve and, if a debut, congrats and thanks, MalMan, for your fun, eye and ear candy links and visuals which I can only imagine as they didn’t show up but, hopefully, will on a return visit. At least I was able to enjoy your commentary. Nice job, as usual.
Have a great day everyone. The track at Saratoga opens today under clear and sunny skies, unlike yesterday’s thunder and lightening deluge. Our county has been declared a disaster due to flooding and wind damage. My area wasn’t adversely affected.
I loved the theme, and it helped me finish fairly quickly. My favorite answer was SNAKE I'S
Had lots of trouble with the SW but eventually guessed the letters correctly. Thought DEWEY at first. Tried NECCO but BEV was absolutely wrong. SOCRATIC dialogs (always laughed at Bill and Ted calling him So-crates so I know always know how to spell his name)
I had to read KAFKA in German for H.S. German classes. He wrote some REALLY weird stories.
Oh, and TTFN - ta ta for now.
IM, in an effort to solve the problem that you just referenced, some of us "recappers" recently made changes as to how visuals are placed into the write ups. I can confirm that today's visuals appear on a Windows PC, an Android cellphone, and a Chromebook lap top. Did they fail to appear on an Apple/IOS device?
Fun theme! The SW corner stack of acrosses of
SACFLY
ANITRA
BIV
ELIOT
ALENE
DAWES
was a tough one.
d-o, that's interesting trivia about DAWES! My favorite version of that song is by Carmel from 1987, as shown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5qywkiBlHY . It's interesting to see a young Emma Thompson and Alfred Molina in that video!
Thursday toughie. Thanks for the fun, Grant (congrats on your debut) and MalMan.
I got the theme (although at first I was putting the E in the square (with no room for the yes). But I soon saw the Is.
But I needed Google help in that SW corner. I was going to plead Canadian disadvantage, but I see some of you Americans did not know DAWES(hand up for Dewey), CDA, BIV, ANITRA, ELIOT (as clued). I tried to pull NILLA out of my learned CW memory, but got Nella. I did know GORE😁👍
I had Rad before LIT. Don’t know my modern slang.
I thought the APPLE/pupil connection was an Apple for the teacher from the pupil. I must read up.
I thought of DJs at that wedding (they all play YMCA😁)
THA was all perps.
Yes Bob Lee, I waited for perps to decide between TTYL and TTFN.
Welcome back AnonT. Glad you had a good time.
Wishing you all a great day.
DO @ 6:53 ~ Thanks for the memories that that song evokes.
MalMan @ 10:35 ~ Yes, I use an iPad. On my return visit, several showed up immediately and a few more slowly materialized. Better late than never and they were worth the wait. I never saw that Mel Brooks spoof before; he was one in a million! I think everyone knows I’m a dog lover but I have to say Wasabi looks more like an ET than a canine. Sorry, Peke fans!
Nilla is a brand.
Wiki says,"Nilla is a brand name owned by Nabisco that is most closely associated with its line of vanilla-flavored, wafer-style cookies. The name is a shortened version of vanilla, the flavor profile common to all Nilla-branded products. Originally sold as Nabisco Vanilla Wafers, the product's name was changed in 1967 to the abbreviated form Nilla Wafer."
Nabisco is a company.
Wiki says,"Nabisco (/nəˈbɪskoʊ/, abbreviated from the earlier name National Biscuit Company) is an American manufacturer of cookies and snacks headquartered in East Hanover, New Jersey. The company is a subsidiary of Illinois-based Mondelēz International."
Like many of my Cornewriters say "this was a hard puzzle till it wasn't". After the "Apple" clue the theme was obvious. Eye struggled thru but FIR with nary an inkover.
Have no idea where eye pulled ANITRA from..must have been tucked away in my CW cerebral lobe from an earlier puzzle (but Lil Wayne' s who? ...)
Perch 🎣 perspective, not from a fish? wrong critter. . Taking in all species, most eggs are round (spherical), inclooding us hoomin beans.
Ankle pic: my SIL has a single TAT on his ankle to cover up a scar. Classic split personality movie: couldn't jam in "The Three Faces of Eve". POKEY means stir? okaaay.
HORNETS...basketball team name?...hmm the NETS part is OK...but...otherwise wouldn't be good choice for women'steam...🙉🤭
Laid seige to and starved out the NW corner last (OK, OK, eye'll stop!!)...wanted N(ecco) for wafers but it wouldnt work with BIV,(Roy G.) NILLA!! (the other CW wafer)
How the kid competed at the picnic.....RANSACKS
Tell to play a gospel song ____...HYMN
A CW digital baseball glove....EMIT
Can eye take a ____ at the Chinese toy?...PEKE
Not Martin's or John's, but Abraham's son.....ATAD
No rain predicted today...means I'll hafta mow the lawn (weeds? they're just as green as the grass!).
Grant, r u related to Thurston Howell III?
meant to add...
I found this Biblical explanation/derivation of the "Apple of my eye" fascinating
Thank you Grant for a Thursday FIR and a puzzle worth OGLING, and congrats if this is your debut. And thank you MalMan for another great expo, especially the YMCA spoof.
I tend to overlook themes, but I "I"ed this one right away, and given that the themers are in common parlance it was very helpful.
50A Thanks for the backstory on ANITRA. The Peer Gynt suite is played often, but I don't think the play has been performed much in the States.
33A My favorite AIR with this WIND is Emil Moriconi's Gabriel's Oboe from the film The Mission.
37D In a very different context (i.e. whether or not to invade Iraq) Powell warned that "If you break it, you've bought it" (a.k.a. The "Pottery Barn" caveat). And I think we've yet to make the final payment on all those shards.
36D Both Kims are very 20A. My only regret MM, is you didn't find a solution to your dilemma by squeezing them both in.
48D Fess us MalMan. Can we assume that just because this video is called DMCA, that it doesn't vioLATE the DMCA? :-) Full disclosure - Cornerite reviewers have to constantly scrutinize all of the internet bling that we ornament the reviews with for DMCA violations.
Cheers,
Bill
Malodorous Manatee Thank you for your detailed review. Special thanks for noting that "the original intent [of AN EYE FOR AN EYE] was to restrict retribution to the value of the loss." I have been reminding people of this for decades after hearing it from a rabbi. The world would be so much better if this was understood!
RayOSunshine Thanks for the learning moment about APPLE OF MY EYE. It reminds me of the belief that there was a jewel in the eye of the toad.
ATLGranny Hand up I considered PLUS before PLUM but went with PLUM to FIR.
Last night we went to Circus Vargas and watched this skilled contortionist DRAW A BEAD with a bow and arrow in an entirely new way.
I was grateful that Circus Vargas was letting people take such photos and videos. Cirque du Soleil is very uptight about this.
Lovely CW, thanx, GH. Like so many others I got the theme immediately with first theme clue. Fill moved right along except for the dead center. Could not remember “SEEA” for Stones clue. Completely fooled by STIR. Was the wind called “Moriah”? Won’t fit! Wind = ?????. Oy. Very long time to eventually fill the middle. Coulda finished the CW in 15 or so but spent another 15 scratching my head over the middle. Finally OBOE dawned on me, which gave me PO?EY and the light bulb lit: POKEY (DOH!) so, overall, FIR with no W/Os but took an agonizing 31 minutes due to being stumped in the middle. Great CW, though, thanx again GH. And also the usual expected outstanding write-up, thanx, MM. Thanx especially for the eye diagram. I know the term UVEA but never really knew exactly what part of the eye it is. Now I know: it’s actually several parts rolled into one. Learning moment for old unclefred.
From Yesterday:
Wilbur Charles Thank you for taking the time to look at my ESTES PARK photos. Yes, that Satirical World Art Museum is worth a visit. But it is not really a museum. It turned out to be a gallery for selling political cartoon art of Jose Peres who I was not familiar with.
I am new to the Home Owner Association thing. I can see an upside and a downside. They want to be sure our AIR CONDITIONER does not make too much noise to disturb the neighbors and that can be a good thing. Sometimes people need to be reminded that their personal choices affect others. We will find out in two weeks if it is approved... and how I feel about our HOA!
LEO III Thank you for explaining that crazy scene in my first photo at ESTES PARK! It was my first and only time there and I had no idea what I was seeing there. Now I know it is the Stanley Hotel and made famous in The Shining. I don't think I will be watching that movie, though!
Hola!
My goodness! I can't believe so many commenters before me but I guess I'm A TAD LATE! The puzzle took a bit longer than normal though i saw the i theme.
Hooray for me! I remembered SACFLY from previous puzzles!
Only two w/o's, WAIL before BAWL and ERNO before ENZO though I know it well from the book, The Art of Dancing in the Rain (Hi, IrishMiss). I must have been WOOZY. Oh, no, NECCO then NILLA, too.
MalMan, thank you for INTEROL which I did not know meant INTERNATIONAL POLICE.
EMMA Stone is from Phoenix and a fine actress.
New learning for me, CDA though ALENE emerged from perps. My first trip to Idaho will be next month when we go on our planned road trip. I just hope the fires won't interfere. So tragic!
Spitz, my take on POKEY is slow but yes, I've seen it as stir, jail, too.
Peer Gynt Suite is one of my favorite pieces, especially "Morning."
On my many visits to Charlotte, NC, I viewed the NORNETS playing. My two nephews are avid sports fans. The younger one was training for the Tour de France bicycle race when he contracted MS. He was on the verge of a great career but how life changes in a flash.
Thank you, Grant Howell. I enjoyed your puzzle and thank you, MalMan for the amusing and informative review.
I hope you are having a great day, everyone!
Picard:
Welcome to the HOA family of ownership! I found that the best way to deal with the HOA is to join it and so I have been an officer in ours for many years. That way I have a say in the decisions.
per Merriam:
Stir : PRISON
POKEY : JAIL
In a MASH episode, Radar reads a letter from home where some mutual acquaintance is in the POKEY.
……………………………………………………
In another episode, Frank Burns sprinkles "draw A BEAD on" into his lines.
This Thursday grid had its moments.
Write-over….USHERS/CATERS.
ROY G BIV…I was reading about the color spectrum in some article. As it turns out, there is no “indigo” and never was. The color in the spectrum was made up. There is no real color between the Blue and the Violet. Look it up! I was rather surprised myself.
I was going to carp about 15A until I realized “making people wait” was referring to what one causes when they are…late. Can’t fool me, haha.
See you tomorrow.
I always wondered about Indigo (not the girls, the color),
MM
Secretary/Treasurer of the Paradise View Homeowners Association
Hi All!
Congrats Grant on your LAT debut. I liked it.
Fun expo MManatee; thanks for Brooks, SO-CRATES (BobLee & I learned to spell the same way :-)), & The Stones!
WOs: (whoot! I could solve in ink again!) Edward was in the can; TTfn; hand-up for NECCO.
ESPs: ALENE, DAWES, MEDE, AMAH, THA
Fav: c/a POKEY
Lit - as in 'on fire', 'happening', 'off-the-rails', 'excitingly good.'
Like, the Home Run Derby was LIT! [BIL caught me (and my new pal (behind me)) on TV].
No SACFLYs there.
{A, A+ (hiked St. Mary's Glacier Tuesday; at 10,500ft -- thin AIR. Had to stop 3x for a breather)}
WC - After reading the Hammurabi Code, I'm glad we've (somewhat) evolved.
LOL - YMCA spoof, MManatee. I had to look-up the guy that made it 'cuz he said 'rooter' not 'route-r', so I figured he's UK. Click 'about' and you'll see, yep, he is.
Some serious nerd-humour there.
HOA - I just color inside the lines (where the busybodies can see)
Thanks for the welcome home, C, Eh!
We had a blast over the weekend. Friday was dinner at the house. Saturday was at the pool and then watching (CEO) Bro play in his "dad band," aka, Red Pinto Wagon* [Bro's the one in the hat]
Sunday was another day at the pool after visiting Golden (no, we didn't go to Coors' plant). Monday was 1/2 work & HR derby.
Tuesday was the hike and All Star Game. If you get a choice between HR Derby in the outfield or the All Star game, opt for the former... 5/5 stars for fun.
Y'all have a great afternoon. It's back to the grind for me.
Cheers, -T
*for the RPW Pop had -- it was Bro's first (borrowed on the weekend) wheels.
Super puzzle...everything Irish Miss et al said! Thank you Grant, Rich, et al!
I think "stir" is British slang, so this might really be a multinational clue/fill pairing. As the Brits came first, perhaps the clue derives from that popular dance where you "put your left leg in, and stir it all about".
-T An American geek I used to work with used to refer to IP packet switches as "route-ers". At first I thought he was being pretentious, but he was way too scruffy for that.
I often have heard both stir and pokey in movies about American incarceration in theaters and on TV. Gimmes.
Welcome back Anon T. It sounds like a terrific trip.
OMK, the second one was A+.
I liked our condo HOA until just before I moved. The board borrowed a major amount of money incurring a huge dues increase lasting many years. They informed us and took a straw poll after it was a done deal. Many of our homeowners are in the construction business and had valid opinions about the project. Too late! The work needed doing, but they just dropped it on us. I am glad the large dues increase did not deter my buyer. What a hoo-ha.
This one stumped me big time. So many answers I didn't know and was unable to figure out. The I FOR AN EYE gimmick was pretty LIT, though. Congratulations Grant Howell.
A neat Friday PZL from Mr. Howell!
I got stuck in the middle, misunderstanding the "wind" reference in 33A.
I can't count the number of times I re-played that old song in my head. Wasn't there a mention of an "Ill" wind, or an "Omen"?
Dang, I felt foolish peeking at the fill!
Heading out to dinner this evening. It is the 90th birthday for my mother-in-law!
I am envious of her svelte figure and athletic ability. Females in her family live well past 100, so this doesn't mean quite as much to her as it does to the rest of us!
~ OMK
____________
DR: Just one diagonal today, on the near side.
With few vowels, it offers little in the way of anagrams. I could manage to find a phrase with 11 (of the available 15) letters. This might be a command uttered by the leader of Earthly forces in response to an assault on humans by ETs.
Imagine, if you will, that our general has a mixed lot of units under his authority--including such aggressive creatures as lions and tigers. But today he has decided to counter the ETs by calling out...
"ATTACK BY MEN!"
YR, thanks for clearing up NILLA. And thanks to maloman for his usual thorough and entertaining write-up. Same for MelissaB yesterday. We're blessed.
WC
What is a "WAG"?
Lakai4Star, WAG = Wild Ass Guess
@Lakai4Star - Wild A** Guess.
Welcome to The Corner. Cheers, -T
Thanks!!
Late to the corner, and haven't read all the comments. But just wanted to say I really enjoyed your Thursday puzzle, Grant--many thanks. And what a great array of pictures, MalMan, many thanks for those too.
Enjoyed all the animals in today's puzzle, LABS, HORNETS, ROACH, and ALPHA the Wolf, among others. And great writers like ELIOT and KAFKA.
Had a fun meeting with a friend, wine, conversations, memory--lovely visit.
Have a good day, everybody.
I loved this little crossword puzzle. It was a pleasure to work on it. Thank you Grant Howell!
YR, I started wondering about the ‘brand’ of the wafers in 51 down, but decided not to over-think it and wrote in VILLA. That worked. I didn’t know THA, 26-down, but perps filled it. ALENE and DAWES were new to me, but seemed reasonable , especially knowing Couer d’Alene is in Idaho.
Re: HOA’s — My experience in an HOA, back in the day, was that the HOA officers used to have to threaten to quit to get short-sighted owners to agree to pay the very large price of earthquake insurance . In California it would be irresponsible to sit on the Board and not buy this insurance IMHO.
There is no Indigo?
so what is
This?
or
This
"Brought to you by the supporters of Roy G. Biv. 🌈
😄
Ray-O -, the second of the two links worked. The first returned this message: "Requested URL must be a parseable URI, but possibly incomplete to be a DynamicLink."
This started out challenging until my brain finally started working. I got 1A, then was clueless until row 3. Tried the downs and had somewhat better luck, and things started to gel. Got the theme with the second one. Thank you, Grant H., for the work-out. Thank you, MalMan, for the expo,links and fun.
Hand up for WAtER/WAFER. Once I read the clue correctly I know the answer and it opened up that corner.
Fav: 39D Ancient dialogues subject/SOCRATES. I've been spending time with a shy/timid/under-socialized dog at the shelter named SOCRATES. He's learning that going for walks, being loose in a fenced yard, coming inside and getting attention from humans is a good thing. SOCRATES You have to scroll down the page to see his bio.
On to Friday! Hope I can do better tomorrow. Have a great rest of your day.
MalMan
I got the same message for the first link.
Two of my sisters, Yoli and Marge, came unexpectedly for lunch today and I was so pleased to seen them. Since Marge moved to a distant place (Gilbert) in the far southeast, I rarely see her. Yoli stays with her so I don't see much of her either. However, since I live near the airport I usually see her on her arrival and departure. We had such a nice visit.
Anon-T:
It's good to know that you are home safely and had a good time.
Mal and Lucina...Dunno what happened.
It was a picture of an Indigo plant.
😊
Hi Y'all! Fine puzzle, Grant. Great info, MalMan
Got the theme on the 1st one, so that helped.
DNK: U.S. Territory until 1896 was UTAH. Thought it would be some island. Duh! Also DNK: SAC FLY, DAWES, CDA, MEDE.
Saw/heard REBA in concert many years ago. Good show.
Late today because my brother & his wife came for a visit. Hadn't seen them for over a year altho we talk on the phone & message frequently. Lot of laughs which I badly needed. Got caught up on a lot of happenings.
My HOA is voluntary but over 80% of the people belong, as it's only $100/year. But the $500 for 24hr sheriff detail is paid on the property tax bill, no choice. Also no crime. We are not gated but there's only two ways in and our cameras get every license plate and send it to the sheriff's office.
The main problem with our HOA is that all the officers have been doing it for over 25 years and we can't get anybody to take our place. Nobody wants to volunteer to do anything.
BigE
That is our problem, too. One member moved away and no one has stepped up to take her place. We should have an odd number but have only four. It's not a good way to run a Board. Two of us have been at it for over 30 years. Who knows what will happen when we are gone????
Hi !
To those who have been told that Indigo is not a color - or rather a primary color ...
here is One possible, and a very reasonable explanation why it is not on some color wheels ... whatever happened to Roy. G. Biv....
Further reading, as an essay, to RayO Sunshine's color link, is The rest of the story of Indigo, per wikipedia
Although the detailed article in Wiki, only touches upon certain points, in its efforts to be comprehensive ...
1. It does mention why Sir Isaac Newton chose indigo in his rainbow spectrum ... he wanted SEVEN colors, because for some reason, seven seems to be a lucky number...
.... despite the fact that the color is very hard to distinguish, amongst its neighbors.
2. The wiki article does not mention the sad and disasterous association of Indigo and India. One of the main sources of indigo, is the Indigo plant which is endemic to India ...
During the days of the British rule in India, in the late 1880's or so, the britishers forced the indian farmers to grow indigo, under severe penalties, approaching extremely cruel slavery.
The indigo plant depletes the soil, of its minerals and fertiliser, , is not a foodstuff and cannot be consumed ... Eventually a german chemist named Baeyer, discovered the chemical way to synthesize indigo, at one-half the cost , ....
and the plant indigo lost its value.
But this caused a famine in Bihar and Bengal where more than 12 million people died, something like the Irish potato blight famine.
I am not going to link this unfortunate event of history, but you can google it should you want ot do so.
good night.
And I will claim a CSO for Roy G. Biv.
>> Roy
Ray-O: there was a '.' at the end of your URL.
Indigo Plant.
I love watching bands like The Beatles, The Who, and The Rolling Stones from their early days... It always looks like they had to hold back so much to stay in the 'main-stream' of the day.
Here's RUSH tearing into Paint It Black leading into Spirit of Radio.
Cheers, -T
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