Theme: ABOUT FACE (58. Military command, and a hint to each set of circles). Face parts are hidden in the theme answers. (Added later: The face parts are reversed in each theme entry.)
17. Trite: HACKNEYED. This one is easy to see. The others need to be anagrammed.
24. Exodus participant: ISRAELITE. Ear.
35. Desirable vocal quality: RESONANCE. Nose
50. Environmental catastrophes: OIL SPILLS. Lips
Boomer here.
Doog gninrom enoyreve. Happy first week of August from smoky Minnesota. The weatherman says that Canada is on fire and of course we are on the border of that great country. Most of us are wishing Jose Berrios well in his new Blue Jays uniform also.
Across:
5. Laundry brand: TIDE. Did Proctor & Gamble get the name from the Ocean?
9. Surveys, as a crowd: SCANS. I've been SCANning Target field
from my TV chair and even though the Covid restrictions have been
removed, no one seems to be showing up for this team, including me.
14. XXX: CHIS. THIRTY did not fit.
15. Bad doings: EVIL.
16. App with personalized celebrity videos: CAMEO.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/F2QAD2XUEVHCXAIZEYTGQMHDHE.png)
19. Two-tone treats: OREOS. I am not allowed because of diabetes. I do manage to sneak in a chocolate chip cookie once in a while.
20. Thompson of "SNL": KENAN.
21. Overwhelming fear: TERROR. Well My PSA is a bit too high. It is not overwhelming fear, but I will have to listen to the doctor next week.
23. Vine variety: PINOT.
27. Corp. attention grab: PR STUNT. I guess I cannot call this a
PR Stunt, but CC and I got our Pfizer shots at the first opportunity.
Now our governor is bribing the unvaccinated people with $100 dollars of
federal money. I wrote my congressman, I will let you know if I hear
back.
29. They're sometimes slashed: PRICES. Not at the gas pump. We are right around $2.99 per gallon here.
30. West in old movies: MAE.
31. Start over: RESET. I call that a Mulligan.
34. Nicknames for grandmas: NANS. I have only heard NANA.
Reminds me, C.C. and I visited Interlachen, an exclusive golf course in
Edina, MN, for the 2006 U.S. Women's Open which was won by Annika. Now
there is a senior Woman's Open I watched on TV and the NANAs still have
it.
38. "Anybody __?": ELSE.
41. Divided Asian peninsula: KOREA. North and South. Our car came from South. Nothing but trouble comes from the North.
42. Hosp. crisis area: ICU. Filling up with Covid patients again. I sincerely hope that everyone in our blog venue is safe and healthy.
45. Exactly right: DEAD ON.
48. Ron of "Hellboy" (2004): PERLMAN.
53. Composure: POISE.
54. Arnold Palmer ingredient: ICE TEA. I am sure there is
another ingredient also. I miss Arnold. We have acquired some of the
post office's commemorative stamps honoring Arnold.
55. Wasteland: HEATH. I think this is also a candy bar I am not supposed to eat.
56. Do some housework: CLEAN.
61. Jazz but not Bulls: GENRE.
62. Dance partner?: SONG. Cloudy, the sky is gray and white and cloudy, sometimes I think it's hanging down on me. Simon and Garfunkel.
63. LAX postings: ETAS.
64. Start to twine?: INTER. Intertwine.
65. Family ___: TREE.
66. Burden for many students: DEBT. Not just students.
Down:
2. Super Bowl LIV performer: SHAKIRA.
3. Driving need?: LICENSE. We have a state congressman who lost
his Minnesota License so he got one from Wisconsin. Now he was stopped
for a traffic violation and he is in trouble.
4. Start of an iconic JFK quote: ASK NOT. what your country can do for you.
5. Prom attendee: TEEN. Prom has been a long time ago for me.
High school reunion #55 is coming soon. It's really been 56 but it got
covided back one year.
6. Wall climber: IVY.
7. Tries to lose: DIETS. I never tried to lose. Once diabetes hit me, the pounds just fell off and I had to buy new clothes.
8. Senior: ELDER.
9. Ball game official: SCORER.
10. JFK daughter who inspired a Neil Diamond hit: CAROLINE. Sweet.
11. Miss __: AMERICA. Is Burt Parks still around ??
12. Liberal start: NEO.
13. Distress call: SOS. Steel wool cleaning pad.
18. Disposition: NATURE.
22. Knock sharply: RAP. I do not like the music.
23. Meas. of concentration: PPM. Parts Per Million.
24. "There, there": IT'S OK.
25. Big __ Conference: TEN. It is now the BIG 14.
26. One of a sisters trio: ESS. Letters in sisters.
28. Vintage video game console: NES. Home of Super Nintendo. I got hooked on the Legend of Zelda.
32. Ambient musician Brian: ENO.
33. Rain delay sights: TARPS. The Tarps are back at Target
Field. While we had the air-conditioned Metrodome, tarps and jackets
were not needed. This summer has been a run of 90+ degree days and I
bet they wish they had the dome back.
35. Post-world-war paranoia: RED SCARE.
36. Formerly named: NEE. I don't have a "NEE", but I've been called other names.
37. "Magic" flier: CARPET.
38. Long-ago Tokyo: EDO. I don't follow the Olympics much. They don't have bowling as one of the sports.
39. Garden garland: LEI. Somewhere, over the rainbow. Judy.
40. Notable: SALIENT.
42. Copy: IMITATE.
43. On-the-go game show: CASH CAB. I never watch this. It's a terrible show.
44. Avignon article: UNE.
46. Season's first game: OPENER. They cannot sell beer at Target Field this year. The Twins lost the Opener.
47. Coll. hoops tourney: NIT.
49. Lounged: LOAFED.
51. Bare minimum: LEAST.
52. Work: LABOR. Labor Day is about a month away.
55. Enormous: HUGE. There's a huge number of three letter solve words.
56. Sci-fi film FX: CGI. Computer-generated imagery.
57. Dance judge Goodman: LEN.
59. Hydrogen's atomic number: ONE. "ONE is the loneliest number" Harry Nilsson, then the Beatles.
60. N.J. winter hrs.: EST.
Boomer
I wonder if Hercule Poirot
ReplyDeleteEnjoys a glass of fine PINOT.
Or would he
Prefer ICE TEA?
Or milk to dunk an OREO?
The EYES are sunk inside their sockets,
The EARS protrude like fins on rockets.
The NOSE extends
To hold pince-nez
And kisses may become LIP-lock-ets!
J.F.K. said, "ICH ein a pastry!"
And, "ASK NOT, don't be too hasty!"
But his daughter fine
Sweet CAROLINE,
Say little more than just "Namaste!"
The ISRAELITES were TERRIFIED,
From the Egypt army they had to hide!
But Moses HACKED
A sea in half,
And that was how he turned the TIDE!
{A, B+, B*, A-*,**.}
* point off for historical inaccuracy
** point added for horrid pun.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWell, Suddenlink finally got its act together after crashing at 5PM yesterday. It was still down when we went to bed. On the positive side, we got no solicitor phone calls on our VOIP line last night.
This one came together in about the same time as yesterday. No problem with the solve, but failed to read the complete reveal, and never noticed the reversed face components. [Sigh] Thanx, Sean McGowan (is this a debut?) and Boomer.
LABOR: Labor Day is weeks away, but schools around here will open for business next Monday. This weekend will be sales-tax-free for clothing, school supplies, and such. For those of a "certain age" it's a good weekend to stay home.
Good Morning, Well, last week I had an appointment at the VA and they extracted some blood from my arm. The lady remembered me from the last time I was there for a blood draw, and I told her to go ahead and use the same hole. The result could have been better, (Prostate Specific Antigens was 33), but I spoke with my doctor yesterday and he said to keep playing golf and bowl and we'll keep an eye on it. Now he will send me three months worth of expensive pills. Thank you to all those taxpayers including me. The VA charges me $8.00 per month for the pills and a little more for the blood draw and consultation.
ReplyDeleteThe theme isn't just anagrams for facial features, they are facial features in reverse. Thus the "ABOUT FACE".
ReplyDeleteFIR, but had to erase umpire for SCORER. Never heard of the CAMEO app, SHAKIRA, Ron PERLMAN, LEN Goodman, or that HEATH means "wasteland." Didn't we have "wasteland" yesterday Brings to mind The Who's "Teenage Wasteland." Cool song.
ReplyDeleteMy two sisters and my mom were CHI Omegas. I still remember a lot of the songs, to wit: "A CHI oh girl who wears her hair acurl, will steal your heart away..."
Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could find a leader today who would champion "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"? Doesn't matter which party, I would back her or him unconditionally. It's the first political speech I can remember. I remember waiting excitedly for LBJ's speech, and was disappointed by his "Great Society" theme. (In fairness, it was a heavy lift to follow JFK. I think that only Reagan and Obama have had comparable oratory skills since.)
I'm so old that I remember when the NIT was a really big deal. The NCAA tourney had only 16 teams, so it was never certain which team was the best in the country. IIRC, there wasn't a shot clock nor three-point shots back then.
Thanks to Sean for the fun puzzle. My favorite was ESS for "one of a sisters trio." And thanks to Boomer for another interesting, punny review.
I turned this around in 8:32.
ReplyDeleteBrian (above) is right, that the theme answers are in reverse - well, except for eye.
I like "Cash Cab."
I don't like circles in crossword puzzles.
CHIS(×××)????
ReplyDeleteOREOS next to HACKNEYED fit
The K in KENAN/SHAKIRA was pure WAG
And Anaki repeated her 2006 win.
Some Corp exec saw Arnold drinking ICE(d)TEA with lemonade and presto, Annie had another couple $million.
Gotta go, play later as our much missed buddy Anon-T would say
WC
I just couldn’t get on the wavelength and ended up with a big DNF. How is XXX = CHIS? I don’t get this one. What is CHIS? I’m sure this is a fine CW, I just couldn’t get motivated by it.
ReplyDeleteCould someone please explain the XXX, 14 across?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Friendly reader,
ReplyDelete"X" is how you write the Greek letter "CHI"
I like Cash Cab because of the randomness and unpreparedness of the contestants.
Yes Jinx the shot clock and three-point shot didn't enter college basketball until the mid-1980s, after some experimental seasons.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis presented more of a struggle than the average Wednesday due to the ambiguous cluing for many of the entries. I saw the facial features early on (how could you miss them with the circles?) but the revealer was an Aha twist with the military connection. As Boomer mentioned, there were numerous three letter words, but there were also many fun pairings: One/Une, Edo/Eno, Ess/EST, Ten/Len, Neé/NES/Neo, and the triple anagram, Neo/One/Eno. I also liked the two JFK quotes and the inclusion of Caroline. There was even a CSO to our peripatetic (and missed,) Moe at Pinot.
Thanks, Sean, for a mid-week challenge and thanks, Boomer, for another pinch-hit home run, a Grand Slam at that! If you like chocolate chip cookies, crispy rather than chewy, my favorite brand is Tate’s. They are expensive but worth the cost, IMO. They might not be available in your area but if they are, give them a try. Your mention of Heath bar stuck home as that was one of my childhood favorites. Thanks for the humor, as well as the nostalgia.
Owen, IMO, today’s 4 offerings are the best ever!
FLN, Anon T, enjoy your visit with Pop!
Off to my ophthalmologist later and the dreaded dilation drops. Fingers crossed for a good report.
Have a great day.
Best wishes, IM, for that good report.
ReplyDeleteThe puzzle solved a bit slower than usual for a Wednesday due to a few unknown proper nouns but, because I had at least heard of them, they were figure-out-able. Now that it is solved it's time to start the rest of today's activities.
FIR day again. Nice puzzle, Sean, though the NW started out with only ISLA, LICENSE, and MAE for the longest time. Thank also to Boomer for helping out today. I needed your explanation for PPM.
ReplyDeleteMain WO was anybody home/ELSE. Anybody ELSE do that? The theme gradually came to me after EYE, which is spelled the same forwards and backwards. The reveal added to the fun. Anyway, nice debut, Sean, with some SALIENT fill.
OwenKL, nice work today. Happy travels to our Cornerites on the go. And a good day to all.
Jinx, FLN: Glad you got ARC working with your new TV. I keep DirecTV not only for the DVR, but also for its reliability. My Internet service from Soddenlink is iffy: It was down last night from 5PM until 11:40. We record programs from the local channels for watching later. This week, it's mostly been NBC's Olympics coverage -- we can watch 5 hours in less than 2 by FF through the ads and skipping events we don't care much about. With 4 HDMI ports on your TV, I'm surprised you have to go through a plug/unplug routine. Or does your TV have fewer ports?
ReplyDeleteGood morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteABOUT, FACE. I can still do a proper about, face as learned on the military parade ground, so I thank the Almighty for keeping me fit enough.
Solve was a bit sticky, but I got all except the NW straightaway. Had 'renew' before RESET. Wanted 'baler' twine, but INTER was obvious, too. Finally got the NW when PINOT and PPM were though of. And then LICENSE perped. Voilà and it was done. FIR.
ICH - L. German 'ik'; Dutch 'ik'. Berlin lies at the edge of the Low German continuum, so, a century or so ago, a lot of them would have said 'ik'.
Have a great day.
D-O, I only have 2 USB ports, one ethernet port, a USB connector, an F-connector for cable, and an optical coax for audio out. I now remember that I bought an HDMI 2x1 switch for my RV, but ended up not using it. Probably won't use it here, either. I think I'll try connecting my PC to the TV via my home network in case I decide to watch a DVD.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-We went to the fabulous Omaha Zoo yesterday with grandchildren and walked 7 miles while there. The sign at the entrance said “MASKS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IN INDOOR VENUES”. I SCANNED the crowd and saw five masks all day.
-XXX was a fun clue
-KENAN Thompson emceeing Celebrity Jeopardy is a hoot
-POISE – “If you can keep your head while those around you are losing theirs, you probably don’t know what is going on” :-)
-JAZZ – I listened to my grandson’s very talented combo last night. He said the melody is a jumping off point and then the rest is riffing or improvising.
-Sweet Caroline is now featured as a sing-along at athletic events at all levels. “Bum, bum, bum…”
-Burt Parks at The Miss AMERICA pageant and Jerry Lewis on the MD telethon are now only a memory
-The Big 12 is now back to being the Big 8
-NEE – Brides retaining maiden names or adopting a hyphenated name make sense to me
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Sean and Boomer. (Yes, we are happy to have the Jays home again, and Berrios is a welcome addition for a playoff run.)
ReplyDeleteI agree that this CW had a bit of crunch for a Wednesday. I got the theme easily, but had to resort to Google to fill the NW corner. (Looking up SHAKIRA (that half-time performance with Lopez was memorable!).and KENAN gave me a toehold.
Hand up for the plural clue forcing a change from Nana to NANS.
Anyone else have Family Ties before TREE. (CSO to PK who has done some Geneology, as have I)
EDO again to celebrate the Olympics.
This Canadian had to “mispell ” LICENSE and LABOR.
CASHCAB was unknown.
We had UNE and ONE.
Hope all goes well IM.
Boomer, same re that PSA.
Wishing you all a good day.
So my 12 y o granddaughter's still asleep and DW went to breakfast with friends. Daughter is walking the dog so I get some CW time in. 😊
ReplyDeleteWas sure it would be a DNF but after returning to the puzzle after answering some EMs the AM caffeine began to kick
in and surprised myself with an FIR plus the anatomy found ABOUTFACE (a no brainer).
Wanted phobia before TERROR, test before DEBT, sing before SONG but perpwaited all three.. Took awhile to figure out tres X's (the guy who does the Dos X's commercial is irritating.) Never heard of CAMEO or CASHCAB (competition for Lyft and Uber?). DW always orders an "Arnold Palmer" with lunch made with Iced Tea (they stopped adding a golf teefor garnish, choking hazard) and lemonade..WEES.
Anyone "home"? "here"? ..nope ELSE
PRSTUNT is a clunky answer for a crunchy clue (or vice versa)....Avignon article? (Pope forgot his hat?)
Thinking "rem" for sleep "concentration"
Many cute clues for OREOS....On our trips to Massachusetts to visit the kids we pass a herd of OREO cows
Deceased mafioso....DEADON
Produced by the sun but not electric power.... ISRAELITE.
Password...HACKNEYED
Baked bread...LOAFED
Rented out..LEAST
Granddaughter's still asleep....sheesh..🙄
ReplyDeleteI agree with Irish Miss on this puzzle. Thanks again to Boomer for leading the charge through the grid.
Perps were very instrumental in filling in many of today's unknowns, including CHIS, CAMEO, KENAN, PINOT, etc., and MOSES was way to short for the Exodus participant.
I did have a little issue with NANS vs. NANA, but I did like the Sisters Trio.
Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie day as noted by IM. Celebrate. Although there are some very good commercially made cookies out there, I prefer home baked ones. I like them soft, but if they ever get hard, there is always a glass of milk to dunk them in.
After I finished the puzzle I finally understood the theme, but it was no help in filling in the puzzle like yesterday's circles were.
IM, I hope all goes well with your ophthalmologist. Last month my Dr. found the pressure in my eyes to be too high, so now I'm on bedtime eyedrops to reduce the pressure, which is working.
Have a great day everyone.
FLN Thank you Ed for an unexpectedly crunchy Tuesday puzzle - I had the wrong PLAN for 9A and ending up drowning in MEDICARE forms. The only consolation was the HAHTOOLIAN HILARITY, which made it all worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you today Sean for what I'd hoped Monday would have been, i.e. a fast filled FIR. And thank you Boomer for pitch hitting with another laconic, punnishing recap.
20A Did some research on KENAN: he has two distinctions: (1) he holds the longevity record for appearing on SNL and (2) the show is older than he is!
And speaking of longevity: 27A PR STUNT re Boomer's comment about accepting bribes for getting the JAB, I think the UNVACCS should all hold out for Darwin Awards.
30A I think it was West who said that "I was Snow White as a girl, but then I drifted".
54A An "Arnold Palmer" is really supposed to be alcohol free. But there is a spiked (or should I say "sliced"?) version called a "John Daly".
61A Clever clue and a CSO to our JzB. As for who gets the CSO for "Bulls" I won't say, although I think several here qualify, including yours truly.
Cheers,
Bill
p.s. Brewster Rocket invented a new space age acronym: UFBs - "Unidentified Flying Billionaires".
CHI is the Greek letter that looks like an X. Yeah, that was an obscure clue.
ReplyDeleteI loved the theme reveal. When I spotted EYE EAR NOSE, I thought for sure THROAT but then it was LIPS? I got the ABOUT FACE last and loved it!!
Who remembers the ISRAELITES song from 1968? That's all I'm humming right now-> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxtfdH3-TQ4
When I had the E at the end of IsraelitE, I thought for sure that "one of the sister's trio" answer was EYE (for the 3 witches who shared one eye in Greek mythology). A bit bummed it wasn't the answer.
Great puzzle today. Thanks!
54Across:
ReplyDeleteWhen one adds ice to tea, it becomes ICED tea, not ice tea.
I usually don’t order Arnold palmers, I usually ask for a Tiger Woods.
ReplyDeleteTTP, I didn't have the chance to thank you for your help until late yesterday, which you may not have seen, so thank you again! I really appreciate your help! And thank you Hahtoolah as well! People here are so nice and helpful to each other, it's a wonderful place to be!
ReplyDeleteSomeone asked last week how do you embed a link in a comment?. Thanks to OwenKl for jogging the deep recesses of my brain to help me remember how to do it.
ReplyDelete1. Start by keying the following string where you want the link to go (or cut/paste it from a place you've saved it):
<a href="url">Link text</a>
2 Open a separate window to the page you want to link to, highlight the contents in the address bar (starts with "http"), and copy it to your scratchpad (Ctrl-C).
3. Return to the comment editor and highlight the string url (without double-quotes) and press Ctrl-V to replace it with the scratchpad contents, i.e. the URL address.
4. Overwrite "Link text" with what you want the highlighted link to read.
Click on Preview - you should see a the highlighted "Link text" in your comment. Right click on the link and select "Open in a new window" - you should see the desired page. Close it to return and finish your comment.
Cheers,
Bill
If all of the above is still looks like a bunch of "technobabble", you can always just copy/paste the URL directly into your comment. The reader can then highlight it, right click and select "Search google ..." to display the page. This is a bit more work for the reader, but less work for you.
Fun Wednesday puzzle, Sean--many thanks. And always appreciate your commentaries, Boomer.
ReplyDeleteI loved seeing the backward LIPS and EAR and EYE turn up in the circles, and then nice to get the ABOUT FACE theme answer. Got the JFK quotes but thought they would be continuous--not separate. And yes, also nice to then have CAROLINE appear. Cute that the wall climber turned out to be IVY.
Have a good doctor visit, Irish Miss.
And have a good day, everybody.
MalMan, CEh, oc4beach and Misty, thanks for the well wishes. I did get a good report, thankfully. I do have AMD but, fortunately, it reached a plateau several years ago and there has been little or no progression. Naturally, I consider myself blessed and am very grateful. Glaucoma runs in my family but, so far, that hasn’t become an issue for me. I’m a very happy camper! 🤗
ReplyDeleteThank you Sean Mc. for a very nice Wed puzzle, and Boomer for your charming review.
ReplyDeleteBoomer, since you mentioned it, your PSA does seem to be rather very high, even a score of 10 is considered worrying. I had much less, and my Gleason score was under 7, .... but since that area is generally considered inoperable / or operations therein, really reduce the quality of life, the treatment options are fairly limited. Although Prostate C's are generally slow growing, there is always that chance of metastatis. Certain radiation treatments, like IMRT and EBRT are available, but ofcourse only your doc would know best.
So, I decided on proton therapy, a three month excersize. That has given rise to certain other non-c complications, although much less morbidity, that I have to put up with, now. Prayers and best wishes for your recovery and a good prognosis.
OC4b, best wishes for a good ophth test. Certain types of Glaucomas are often caused by a higher than normal ocular pressure, although there are low ocupressure glaucomas as well. The worse problem is that the effects of Glaucoma ( the rod and cone destruction - ) are generally irreversible.
The different and newly invented ocupressure lowering drops meds being trademarked has increased exponentially. Twelve new formulations in the last six months ! Sometimes you need combinations, both at night and early morning. Although there are the good oldfashioned remedies from the last 50 years, new fangled invented drugs are flooding the market. The moment a drug loses its patent, five new drugs come into the market.
Prayers and good luck for a good prognosis.
Crunchy for a Wed. Thank you perps for the unknowns- SHAKIRA, CAMEO, KENAN, PERLMAN, & LEN Goodman- total blanks for those A&E fills. I've never seen CASH CAB; only seen it advertised but I wouldn't have filled it without the perps.
ReplyDeleteONE is the Loneliest Number? Three Dog Night for that SONG.
NANS & ESS- took a while for the ESS to register. Plural for NANAS.
DEBT- drunken sailors in D.C. How will it be paid off?
Meas. of Concentration- tempted to fill 'mol' for molality. Molarity wouldn't fit either. The ppm, ppb & % by volume (Miller Lite) is what the media uses. Takes math to convert.
EDO? No bowling? There's everything else. Synchronized swimming & diving, team archery, horseback riding, skateboarding, BMX bicycles, BB pistol & BB rifle shooting, surfing, rock climbing, every which way to beat people up- (judo, karate, taekwando, boxing, wrestling, Greco-Roman wrestling & fencing),- baseball, softball, trampoline, mountain biking, sailing, and three-on-three basketball. Surely there's room for bowling & cornhole competition. And the competitors could drink beer while they play.
A very pleasant PZL, much appreciated.
ReplyDelete~ OMK
____________
DR: Two diagonals, one to a side.
The main diagonal offers a strange anagram, one that uses roundabout language to refer to the physical manifestation of ankle-length breeches.
Also known as...
"PANTS INCARNATE"!
Welcome to your puzzle debut SEAN McGowan .
ReplyDeleteI loved the clecho, which are not supposed to be next to each other, and JFK continues our presidential parade
Thanks Sean, and Boomer for always being there for C.C.
I remember JFK's "Berliner" declaration.
ReplyDeleteAt the time, much was made of his incorrect usage of the German article "ein." He should have said, "Ich bin Berliner," meaning "I am (a citizen of) Berlin."
But he followed English practice and inserted an article, saying,
"Ich bin ein Berliner,"
which is equivalent to saying, "I am (the pastry known as a) 'Berliner'."
It is a kind of jelly donut.
Fortunately, his audience was not composed of language nit-pickers (er, no disrespect to the French), and they appreciated JFK's intent.
~ OMK
ReplyDeleteThis was a bit of a Wednesday slog.
I thought the nickname was NANA, and the plural would be NANAS. NAN is nothing I ever heard or said.
Write-overs…NANA/NANS, EMULATE/IMITATE, TEST/DEBT.
Glad to hear that we are enjoying our LG TVs.
See you tomorrow.
Anon.@3;24
ReplyDeleteKinda like saying "I am Napolean or Bismarck" rather than I am a napoleon or bismarck.
(No one bothered to check his speech?)
And did not know Sweet Caroline was dedicated to Caroline Kennedy.
Agree Bowling, ancient sport, should be in the Olympics but not a lot of countries imbibe. Balls would have to be checked for doping, and what if they don't have your size in bowling shoes?
I enjoyed this puzzle and the theme. I got lazy and looked up KENAN Thompson in order to get the "K" rather than do a mental alphabet run. Without that "K" I would not have been able to get SHAKIRA, especially as I was looking for a generic Olympic performer/athlete, such as "figure skater" or "wrestler," rather than the name of a specific half-time performer.
ReplyDeleteYes, THROAT would have been cool after EYE, EAR, and NOSE, but I sure was unable to come up with a phrase with TAORHT in it.
Interesting to read about hooking up an LG TV set to an AV sound system. LW and I love our new LG and are glad our hookup is simple: just an optical cable to a ZVOX sound box. Easy.
Our son bought a Sony Bravia OLED TV about 6 weeks ago and a portion of the screen "burned out" i.e. went totally black after about a month. They fixed him up with a new replacement very quickly, which was nice. They even took the broken TV away so he didn't have to deal with it. He did have to dismount it from the wall, though, and mount the new one. He says it was not at all difficult. By the way, this is the same guy who, while we were shopping for a new TV, advised us against getting an OLED screen (burn-out problems, he said) and against buying a Sony (overpriced, he said). Irony?
Good wishes to you all.
Hey folks, today's constructor here joining the party after a kind invite from Jason. Thanks Boomer for the kind review, and everyone for the comments! This is my first published puzzle ever (cheers to the Crossword Constructor group on Facebook) so I've really enjoyed seeing the responses.
ReplyDeleteAs for the puzzle itself, I wasn't super happy with the ICETEA entry — I definitely would spell it ICEDTEA — but sometimes you gotta make sacrifices. Hopefully my next puzzle I can get even cleaner fill! Hope everyone has a great week :)
Sean, thanks for accepting my invitation. The ICE TEA vs. ICED TEA debate began long before you ever thought about puzzles. As the people her have said, the words seem to elide, so it sounds the same no matter how it is written. Next time tell us about yourself, where you are from, career, family, shoe size...Gary is better at this than I am.
ReplyDeleteOwen, I very much like your sockets rockets verse.
ReplyDeleteHey Jason, of course, I should have done a quick intro! I may be a little late in the day, but better late than never (I'll be sure to do it next time too!):
ReplyDeleteI'm a 27-year-old writer that currently lives in Chicago, though I'm originally from Downingtown, a suburb outside of Philadelphia. Copywriting pays the bills, but my real passion is comedy writing — you can find my jokes in The New Yorker's Shouts & Murmurs vertical, and I also contribute jokes to ClickHole (a website parodying BuzzFeed that was originally an offshoot of The Onion). I started doing crosswords as a kind of mental warm-up (read: procrastination) from writing jokes, and eventually got into it enough to try my hand at construction. Other than xwords and comedy, I'm a big film buff and hiker!
Jayce, glad you got set up so easily. If you don't care about surround sound the optical coax will provide great quality without all of the fuss.
ReplyDeleteBoomer @ 7:03 --
ReplyDeleteYep, my doctor also says, "We'll keep an eye on it" ... but for the prostate??!!?? (Sometimes it is better to not examine idioms too closely.)
ReplyDeleteThank you Sean for your posts and your introduction. It is always a delight to see the diverse variety of 'regular' occupations of our genius constructors. Writing jokes seems to be a very difficult and challenging pastime .... I generally happen to steal mine from other sources, all the time.... I am always in awe of the writers of successful comedy series', I do hope they are well paid, because we almost never hear of them. Seinfeld, TBBT and Golden Girls come to mind. Good luck for the future.
RayOSun, glad to know you're still with us, and here, despite your peripatetic travels and grandsitting ( atleast you're not grand standing ...) I lived in Rochester NY for 6 years, and found it surprising that you travelled EAST from Utica to go there ... ;-)
I found your tee garnish in the Arnold Palmer drink joke very funny. I explained it to my wife, then explained what a tee was ....
What a guy from the 'hood thought of Romeo and Juliet .... IT SOK
Homeless man's retirement plan ... SHAK IRA
Nuns making indian bread ...NANS
Meds when you've got very dry skin .... OILS PILLS
How to tie down a donkey .... AS KNOT
Verse in Noel ... CAROLINE
Good night.
NIT was big for me and my peeps in the 70s through 85.
ReplyDeleteSkipped first two reunes then made them all til 2017. 60th next year
NEO,NES, ENO in a row; what's next? Oh, EDO.
We can thank Dean Smith and his 4 Corners for the shot clock and… he and the Duke floppers prompted the 3pt line as driving became hazardous
10 weeks of drill at Quantico - its cool at dusk when various DI's sing cadence acapella
If there's NAE crunch there's NAE cookie
Got distracted since starting this post. Better late
WC
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sean for the fine Wednesday puzzle and congrats on the world-premier puzzle.
Comedy writing, eh? I've got to check this out.
Boomer, thank you for stepping in for extra duty - fun expo.
//...lost the OPENER? >groan< :-)
WOs: Dived b/f DIET, KENeN, NANa, put an S thinking ORs or ERs b/f ICU became apparent. Family TiEs. K, I thought CAMEO would have a cute "internet name" like Kameo...
ESPs: SHAKIRA, PERLMAN, LEN, NIT as clued
Fav: Let's go with Steppenwolf's Magic CARPET Ride.
{A, B, B+, A}
LOL DR! Thanks.
IM - Nice to hear a good report from your Dr.
Yes, I am having fun with Pop. Oh, and he got a cactus bloom tonight.
Waseeley - yes, KENAN Thompson has been with SNL for 18 years (and counting).
BigE - EDO: There is no room for bowling nor cornhole....
And, please, don't call me Shirly. :-)
Cheers, -T
Just finished Thursday xword. You're a mean old grinch, Susan Gelford. But you left just enough footholds for po, po Wilbur to survive.
ReplyDeleteI have the Olympics on but not NBC
Actually USA*. 14 year old just dove.
Good to see you're having fun -T, 17 hours ago I mentioned you. Oops, there goes that 14 yr-old and she pulled a Nadia
I just took my midnite and a smidge of Tylenol PM- get going melatonin.
Cheers
WC
*That's U A, ??? I'm used to ABC, CBS etc