Theme: Plant Kernels. Things you can plant to get a new plant.
17. *Devoted ESPN viewer: SPORTS NUT. ESPN is a TV network devoted to various athletic events. A NUT is a perhaps overly-avid fan. A NUT is also a dried fruit or SEED having a hard shell.
23. *Spec for sandpaper or salt: COARSE GRAIN. This refers to particle size, which you can read about here and here. A GRAIN is also the SEED of a plant that is harvested for human of animal food.
36. *Quarry that supplies aggregate: GRAVEL PIT. This is an an open-pit mine for the extraction of loose rock fragments. A PIT is also the single shell of hardened endocarp with a SEED inside, found in drupaceous fruits, such as the cherry, peach or olive.
54. *Garden walkway component: PAVING STONE. A flat stone or brick used to make a hard surface to walk on outdoors. A Stone is another name for the hard central portion of a drupaceous fruit, as above.
62. Last player selected for a Wimbledon ranking ... or part of each answer to a starred clue: FINAL SEED. This would be the statistically weakest player in the competition. Read about it HERE.
In each of the theme entries, a SEED is identified that can be planted to bring forth the next generation of plant. It is the last word of the entry, hence final.
Hi Gang. JazzBumpa here. I've proven myself to be not much of a gardener, so let's just move right along.
Across:
1. Chess result: DRAW. The technical difference between a DRAW and a stalemate is that in a DRAW, both players agree that further play would not result in a victory for either player, while a stale mate is a situation where one side's king is not captured, but has no legal move.
5. "NASCAR on NBC" analyst Earnhardt Jr.: DALE.
9. Metalworker: SMITH.
14. Cancun coin: PESO.
15. A party to: IN ON. Knows about.
16. Island near Maui: LANAI. Hawaiian Islands
19. Uneasy feeling: ANGST. An unfocussed feeling of dread or anxiety, typically about external conditions.
20. Word after box or law: OFFICE.
21. Bullish sound?: SNORT.
22. Wail: CRY.
27. Coll. near the Rio Grande: UTEP. University of Texas at El Paso.
29. Hard rain: SLEET. Precipitation falling in hard particles - almost like SEEDS.
30. Dance class topic: STEP.
31. First name in skin care: ESTEE. Lauder, née Josephine Esther Mentzer [1906 – 2004] was an American businesswoman. She co-founded her eponymous cosmetics company with her husband, Joseph Lauter (later Lauder). [Wikipedia]
33. Caddie's offering: CLUB. An iron or wood.
35. Make a wrong turn, say: ERR. Go off course
40. Guys: HES. Does anyone encounter this plural form outside of a crossword puzzle?
43. Jai __: ALAI. A sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker cesta.
44. Quebec's __ Peninsula: GASPE. The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River to the east of the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, that extends into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
5. "NASCAR on NBC" analyst Earnhardt Jr.: DALE.
9. Metalworker: SMITH.
14. Cancun coin: PESO.
15. A party to: IN ON. Knows about.
16. Island near Maui: LANAI. Hawaiian Islands
19. Uneasy feeling: ANGST. An unfocussed feeling of dread or anxiety, typically about external conditions.
20. Word after box or law: OFFICE.
21. Bullish sound?: SNORT.
22. Wail: CRY.
27. Coll. near the Rio Grande: UTEP. University of Texas at El Paso.
29. Hard rain: SLEET. Precipitation falling in hard particles - almost like SEEDS.
30. Dance class topic: STEP.
31. First name in skin care: ESTEE. Lauder, née Josephine Esther Mentzer [1906 – 2004] was an American businesswoman. She co-founded her eponymous cosmetics company with her husband, Joseph Lauter (later Lauder). [Wikipedia]
33. Caddie's offering: CLUB. An iron or wood.
35. Make a wrong turn, say: ERR. Go off course
40. Guys: HES. Does anyone encounter this plural form outside of a crossword puzzle?
43. Jai __: ALAI. A sport involving bouncing a ball off a walled space by accelerating it to high speeds with a hand-held wicker cesta.
44. Quebec's __ Peninsula: GASPE. The Gaspé Peninsula, also known as Gaspesia is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River to the east of the Matapedia Valley in Quebec, Canada, that extends into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence.
48. Racecourse shape: OVAL.
50. Ready for bed, briefly: IN PJS. Wearing pajamas.
53. Long-running CBS series: NCIS. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
57. Malarkey: ROT. Nonsense.
58. Pachelbel work: CANON.
50. Ready for bed, briefly: IN PJS. Wearing pajamas.
53. Long-running CBS series: NCIS. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
57. Malarkey: ROT. Nonsense.
58. Pachelbel work: CANON.
59. Treasury secretary Janet: YELLEN. Janet Louise Yellen (b. 1946) is an American economist, public servant, and educator who has served as the 78th United States secretary of the treasury since January 26, 2021. She previously served as the 15th chair of the Federal Reserve from 2014 to 2018. She is the first woman to hold either role.
61. Sahara features: DUNES. Big piles of sand, with random GRAIN size, I suppose.
65. Locale: VENUE. The place where something happens, especially an organized event such as a concert, conference, or sports event.
66. Heck of a hike: TREK. A long arduous journey, especially one made on foot.
67. Dell rival: ACER. ACER Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation specializing in advanced electronics technology.
68. Brings in: REAPS.
69. Actor Grant: CARY. (b. Archibald Alec Leach [1904 – 1986] was an English-American actor. Known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men during the 1940s and 1950s. He was well trained.
61. Sahara features: DUNES. Big piles of sand, with random GRAIN size, I suppose.
65. Locale: VENUE. The place where something happens, especially an organized event such as a concert, conference, or sports event.
66. Heck of a hike: TREK. A long arduous journey, especially one made on foot.
67. Dell rival: ACER. ACER Inc. is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation specializing in advanced electronics technology.
68. Brings in: REAPS.
69. Actor Grant: CARY. (b. Archibald Alec Leach [1904 – 1986] was an English-American actor. Known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor, light-hearted approach to acting, and sense of comic timing, he was one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men during the 1940s and 1950s. He was well trained.
70. Drive-__: THRU. As, frex, fast food restaurants.
Down:
Down:
1. MLB rally killers: DPS. Double Plays.
2. Researchers' publications: REPORTS.
3. To date: AS OF YET. Up until now.
4. Klingon officer in the "Star Trek" franchise: WORF.
5. '70s hot spots: DISCOS.
6. Strengthen, as glass: ANNEAL. Controlled cooling to prevent residual localized stresses. Not so much strengthening as preventing weaknesses.
7. Seuss' Cindy __ Who: LOU. Who was no more than two.
8. Suffix with exist: -ENT. Having reality.
9. Language student's challenge: SLANG. A type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, and are more common in speech than writing. All rules are off.
10. Medieval estates: MANORS. A large country house with lands; the principal house of a landed estate.
11. Thankless sort: INGRATE.
12. Preferable, gastronomically: TASTIER. Yum!
13. Major success: HIT. As a movie, stage play or popular song.
18. Half a mint?: TIC. The front half of a Tic-tac. It is far past time to banish "Half a-" clues for the next half a eternity.
21. Contrived plot: SET UP. Otherwise known as foreshadowing?
22. Alert for an actor: CUE. A thing said or done that serves as a signal to an actor or other performer to enter or to begin their speech or performance.
24. Checkout printout: RECEIPT. Paper strip with items, prices and the total.
25. Unload, say: SELL.
26. "Morning Edition" airer: NPR. National Public Radio.
28. Alternative to Margie: PEG. Nicknames for Margaret.
32. Noted period: ERA. As, frex. Jazz.
34. Important: BIG. As a business deal or sports event.
37. Square up: ALIGN.
38. Hotel shuttles: VANS.
39. Light earth tone: TAN. Ocher doesn't fit.
40. Short flight: HOP. Skips and jumps not included.
41. Hurricane mandate responder: EVACUEE. Of whom there are now many.
42. Tropical grassland: SAVANNA. A mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. {Wikipedia]
45. Sudden stop sound: SCREECH. As of a vehicles brakes.
46. Trailblazer: PIONEER. A person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area of knowledge.
47. "C'__ la vie!": EST. In French, c'est la vie means "that's life," borrowed into English as idiom to express acceptance or resignation, much like "Oh well."
49. Umpire's pregame request: LINE UP. List of starting players.
51. Olympic star Jackie __-Kersee: JOYNER. [b 1963] She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in heptathlon and long jump at four different Olympic Games from 1984 to 1996. She now is an active philanthropist in children's education, racial equality and women's rights
52. Deceptive: SNEAKY.
55. Wine qualities: NOSES. A wine tasting term used to describe how wine smells in the glass. Different wine varietals produce different aromas. The nose is also affected by how the wine is made and stored.
56. Building wing: ELL. An extension at right angles to the length of a building
60. Challenge for an atty. wannabe: LSAT. Law School Admission Test. It is presumed to test the skills necessary for success in the first year of law school.
9. Language student's challenge: SLANG. A type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, and are more common in speech than writing. All rules are off.
10. Medieval estates: MANORS. A large country house with lands; the principal house of a landed estate.
11. Thankless sort: INGRATE.
12. Preferable, gastronomically: TASTIER. Yum!
13. Major success: HIT. As a movie, stage play or popular song.
18. Half a mint?: TIC. The front half of a Tic-tac. It is far past time to banish "Half a-" clues for the next half a eternity.
21. Contrived plot: SET UP. Otherwise known as foreshadowing?
22. Alert for an actor: CUE. A thing said or done that serves as a signal to an actor or other performer to enter or to begin their speech or performance.
24. Checkout printout: RECEIPT. Paper strip with items, prices and the total.
25. Unload, say: SELL.
26. "Morning Edition" airer: NPR. National Public Radio.
28. Alternative to Margie: PEG. Nicknames for Margaret.
32. Noted period: ERA. As, frex. Jazz.
34. Important: BIG. As a business deal or sports event.
37. Square up: ALIGN.
38. Hotel shuttles: VANS.
39. Light earth tone: TAN. Ocher doesn't fit.
40. Short flight: HOP. Skips and jumps not included.
41. Hurricane mandate responder: EVACUEE. Of whom there are now many.
42. Tropical grassland: SAVANNA. A mixed woodland-grassland ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of grasses. {Wikipedia]
45. Sudden stop sound: SCREECH. As of a vehicles brakes.
46. Trailblazer: PIONEER. A person who is among the first to explore or settle a new country or area of knowledge.
47. "C'__ la vie!": EST. In French, c'est la vie means "that's life," borrowed into English as idiom to express acceptance or resignation, much like "Oh well."
49. Umpire's pregame request: LINE UP. List of starting players.
51. Olympic star Jackie __-Kersee: JOYNER. [b 1963] She won three gold, one silver, and two bronze Olympic medals in heptathlon and long jump at four different Olympic Games from 1984 to 1996. She now is an active philanthropist in children's education, racial equality and women's rights
52. Deceptive: SNEAKY.
55. Wine qualities: NOSES. A wine tasting term used to describe how wine smells in the glass. Different wine varietals produce different aromas. The nose is also affected by how the wine is made and stored.
56. Building wing: ELL. An extension at right angles to the length of a building
60. Challenge for an atty. wannabe: LSAT. Law School Admission Test. It is presumed to test the skills necessary for success in the first year of law school.
61. TiVo, for one: DVR. Digital Video Recorder.
62. Agcy. concerned with fraud: FTC. The Federal Trade Commission.
63. Gershwin brother: IRA. The Lyricist for brother George's compositions. After working with other partners, they wrote almost exclusively with each other from 1924 until George's death in 1937, composing over two dozen scores for Broadway and Hollywood.
64. R&B's __ Hill: DRU. Not a person, rather an American R&B group mostly popular during the 1990s, whose repertoire included soul, hip hop soul and gospel music. The group was founded in Baltimore in 1992 and is still active.
And so we end on a note of high musical drama. Hope you enjoyed the tour.
Cool regards!
JzB
48 comments:
A wahini from the isle of LANAI
Tried to hula to DISCO one day.
The poor island miss
Gave her story a twist --
Not romance, she danced JAI ALAI!
A SPORTS NUT may experience pure ANGST
When their team's in the cellar and tanks.
But rather than leave,
There may be a reprieve
If their cheerleaders wear tight tees and Spanx!
A cross-over between Star TREK and DUNE
May finish up a little too soon,
If a sandworm emerges,
And from Enterprise purges
Mister WORF, and a red-shirt platoon!
{A, B+, A-.}
Fln my Sisters of St Joseph didn't wield the ruler(nor yardstick) but were ready to throw me out. One more strike a la the 3 strike rule. But we moved, all was forgiven.
How do you folks pronounce VENUE. I've been saying ven-oo a la Francaise. Or is ven-you the usual pronunciation?
DPS, duh. Froze on that one.
I see we have a CSO to Picard with WORF. Later we have TREK. Who are those wierd Breens? There was a Joseph Breen who was the Hays Code tenacious enforcer.
Essentially easy Wednesday with little ANGST except in that NE corner. Hastily inked now/YET(AS OF)
WC
Ingenious l'icks today, Owen
Nice fun CW, thanx, Mark. FIR, with only one W/O, STORTSFAN:SPORTSNUT. I was right on Mark’s wavelength, and buzzed right thru this one. Thankfully, I waited for perps before inking MATE into 1A. JzB, thanx for the terrific write-up. I especially enjoyed the Rob Paravonian Pachelbel rant; very funny, and educational at the same time. I never realized all those songs incorporated that canon. I liked your illustration of a drupe, too. Now, where’s my coffee?
Good morning!
Up early again. Tried SPORTSfan before figuring out the theme. It was obvious that JzB was at the helm, with 64-dollar words like "endocarp", "drupaceous", and geographic references like "Gaspesia" and "Matapedia" -- heck, you need an encyclopedia. Needed the expo to realize that 62a was a reveal rather than a themer. Failed to read the whole clue...again. Thanx, Mark and JzB.
RECEIPT: Gotta show it to the checkout person at Wally-World if you've got unbagged or alcoholic items in your cart. I'm well-trained.
PEG: Wondered why it was a nickname for Margaret, so LIU. The original Maggie morphed into Meg which then morphed into Peg.
Wilbur, forgot to mention that I say ven-yue, not ven-oo, But I do say coo-pon rather than cue-pon.
FIR, but my eraser had to come off vacation to change "men" to HES. Forgot to look for a theme, even though I circled he asterisks to make it easer to come back later.
VEN-you and COO-pon for me.
I needed ESP for GASPE, but even I knew EST. DNK canon, worf, or dru.
Thanks to Mark for another gem. Favorites were "hard rain" for SLEET and "alternative to Margie" for PEG, which is also one of my favorite Steely Dan songs.
Good morning.
Fun puzzle today. Mark's puzzles are always so clean. Enjoyed the review, JzB.
Still, another one cell error. My "Cancun coin" was a PESP. "Missed it by thaaat much"
"Klingon officer in the "Star Trek" franchise" - Only would have got WORF if I had not had that typo. Coincidentally, 55 years ago today, the first episode of Star Trek aired on TV.
Tried to make a mess of the NW corner. Started with MATE. Then entered 'thus far" for "To date". When it wasn't working out, I changed to DRAW, and AS OF now. Finally YET.
CARY Grant for Irish Miss !
Jackie JOYNER Kersee is one of my 2 favorite all time female athletes. Toss up with Babe Zaharias Didrickson.
"Last player selected for a Wimbledon ranking" - Caught on the news that a couple of teenagers are upsetting some big names in the US Open. Notably, Canadian Leylah Fernandez has knocked off #3 Naomi Osaka and #5 seed Elina Svitolina. She has now advanced to the semifinals match against #2 Aryna Sabalenka.
Been busy. Out of my routine, especially for early morning solves. A few things from the last few days.
- Enjoyed your solo crossword at Universal, Chris. Great job. Fun to solve. Didn't recognize the song, so the rap artist was the last to fill. I think you should create MANY MORE. Liked the theme.
- Mena Suvari's breakout role that got her noticed was in American Pie. That earned her the role as the teenage temptress in American Beauty. Both movies were in 1999.
- Dash T, Texas DPS (Dep't Public Safety - not Double Plays) once sent me a letter to tell me that if I didn't slow down, they were going to revoke my license. That was after the 2nd time I got two speeding tickets in one day. The last of those was going to visit with my sister and family in Central Texas. I was about 5 miles away, on a wide open country FM road when a Texas Highway Patrol officer pulled me over. I knew him. He was our neighbor with the ranch across the road from my sister's house.
Musings
-A fun humpday exercise before I don long pants and a jacket for golf this chilly morning
-HES? No. HE’S yes.
-OVAL race course – I remember Wide World Of Sports featured a figure 8 demolition derby course
-DP’S – A pitcher’s best friend
-FORE!
Good morning everyone.
Another easy solve. No strikethroughs. FIR.
Margaret ; MARGE ; PEG - -- Our daughter was named Gretchen. Had an aunt named Grete whom everyone called Heetje.
TREK - Borrowing from Afrikaner. Compare Dutch ' to pull' , trekken L. German trecken.
Have a great day.
WC, I've a wide street pronounced a-ven-oo but never an arena pronounced ven-oo
JzB, thanks for explaining why my daughter didn't want Pachelbel's CANON played at her wedding
Good Morning:
This was a pleasant solve with a well-concealed reveal, at least for me. The presence of Cary Grant added to my enjoyment, as noted by TTP. Wasn’t familiar with Worf, Dru, or Lou, as clued, but perps saved the day. Favorite answer besides Cary was “In PJs”. Also liked Peg as I have a sister Peg (Margaret).
Thanks, Mark, for a mid-week treat and thanks, JazB, for the grand tour. Loved the CG clip. Eva Marie Saint was stunning and Cary was just Cary! [Sigh!]
Have a great day.
Thanks Mark for a slightly crunchy but FIRable Wednesday (all those NUTS I guess). And thank you Ron for a really great review. To anyone who has gardened SEEDS are remarkable creations, containing all that is needed to produce not just fruits, but copies of themselves, with just the addition water, sunlight, fertilizer and TLC (oh yeah, and lots of weeding!).
58A I do feel the need to come to the defense of poor JOHANN PACHELBEL, who was certainly not a "one hit wonder", but rather a victim of the modern entertainment industry. During the Baroque Era he was an important, popular and widely respected composer and organist and his works endure today, not just in the movies, but in churches and modern concert halls. Here's his Arietta with Variations in F Major.
Cheers,
Bill
Thanks, Mark and JzB. Just a couple of backspace keys while solving this morning to change initial thoughts to what the puzzle required. A long day ahead getting everything ready, and the desk cleared, for a week on the road.
FIR, but agree the NW corner was problematic. Had to do an alphabet run to get the D and W in DRAW, not knowing the sports and Star Trek terms. Speaking of SPORTS, I also put fan/NUT. The theme was fine with GRAIN a little slower to come to mind. COARSEness didn't fit. Thanks, Mark, for today's puzzle. And thanks, JazzB, for your review. Enjoyed it!
As to pronunciation, I say CUE-pon and VEN-you, but DUKE is dook to me. The CANON song was fun, JazzB. Hope you all have a fun day this Wednesday.
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Mark and JazzB.
I FIRed (in 17 minutes online because our newspaper was soaked from the rain😮👎).
The NE corner was the last to fall.
Hand up for Mate before DRAW, Iron before CLUB, and trying to fit COURSEness before GRAIN.
This Canadian got GASPE with no hesitation (but I’ve never heard it called Gaspesia).
(I pronounce them as COO-pon and VEN-you.)
I remembered YELLEN after a few perps.
I happily filled in TSEP and was proud of myself for remembering Texas State El Paso. Shame-facedly changed it to University of Texas El Paso UTEP with perps🤔😮. One of these times I will remember it properly. (AnonT and our other Texans will just laugh.)
I thought of IM with CARY.
We had DUNES crossing SAVANNA.
I have an ACER computer and a CANON printer.
Wishing you all a great day.
Yes TTP, Canadians are excited about our young tennis players.
“Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 12 seed, joined fellow Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez in the U.S. Open semifinals on Tuesday after his opponent Carlos Alcaraz of Spain retired in the second set.”
(Felix is 21 and Leylah had her 19th birthday on Monday.)
Yes, Avenue I pronounce the usual way but seeing VENUE I automatically pronounced it in the French as in je suis venue te chercher(I've come to look for you).
Now I understand the odd looks. I remember a friend telling me how good the "Hores devores" were at the restaurant. Talk about odd looks
WC
FIR with lotsa perps and questions.. Thought ESTEE Lauder made perfume. WORF? DPS? (displaced persons?).. Inkover: sob/CRY
Other wise no fuss, no muss. (What's muss?)
Took a couple beats to parse the theme, Nut, Grain, Stone, Pit, are all Seeds . JzB, are drupacious fruits, fruit that droop?
Serfs had to mind their _____ MANORS
QB protest...ANNEAL
Fall veggie and fruit activity....CANON
Janet's ______ about interest rates again....YELLIN
Lair occupant....ALIGN.
Find another chair....RECEIPT
A reimbursed travel expense....GASPÉ.
In the mountains the leaves, they are a-changin' already.🍁🍂
Hi Y'all! Enjoyable puzzle & review, Mark & JzB.
Last fills were !a & 1d, the D & W in DPS/DRAW/WORF. Only played chess a few times many years ago. No patience for games then.
Also DNK: GASPE or DRU Hill.
CUE-pon, VEN-you.
Fun Wednesday puzzle, many thanks, Mark. And helpful commentary, as always, JazzB--thanks for that too.
Like Desper-otto and others, I too put MEG before PEG.
ESTEE shows up often in puzzles, doesn't she? Nice to see CARY Grant here this morning.
WORF and JOYNER were unknowns. But most of the tougher clues were surrounded by manageable ones, which is always a help. Made this a nice puzzle.
Have a great day, everybody.
Went through this grid rather quickly for the solve.
Write-overs….SPORTSFAN/SPORTSNUT.
See you tomorrow, maybe.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIW with a couple of WO’s. Thanks Mark the Mentor McClain for a fun puzzle today
I too thought of IM when CARY (Grant) appeared
My better half Margaret dislikes any and all nicknames, so Maggie, Meg, Peg, Peggy, et al are not part of our lexicon.
COO-pon and ven-YOU. And while we are in this mini debate about pronunciations, Margaret and I have agreed to disagree that her name is pronounced with three syllables - Mar/gar/et - not two - Mar/gret. Any thoughts along those lines??!! 🤪
Meant to say I FIR (right). No mistakes other than the two WO’s
Moe, surely you have tried "Hotlips" as a nickname for Margaret. Or more formally, "Major Hotlips". I usually opt for Mar/gret, but I have a cousin who calls herself Mar/gar/et, so that's what I use to refer to her.
If someone spells her name Zzyx but pronounces it "Prudence", she's Prudence to me. As long as she doesn't roll her eyes when she hears me try before she lets me know. (You don't want to know how I butchered "Levesque", the name of a bigwig at Lucent years ago. I learned it was la/VECK, fortunately before I actually met him.)
René Lévesque was a premier of Quebec in the 80's. In the news a lot. Jinx's pronunciation is correct.
A good humpday PZL, enjoyable throughout.
The sandpaper/salt clue did me in, but I place the main blame on that TIC perp. My wife eats the mints in our family.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Just one diagonal, on the far side.
Not a very inspirational anagram (13 of 15 letters), this describes me, or one aspect of my life. I do think about changing this status, but just have not had the gumption to follow through.
I am still a...
"NONVEGETARIAN"!
When my oldest niece was born in 1974, my SIL and BIL named her Megan, a name up to that time I never heard before. They claimed it was Irish a combining of Margaret and Ann.
it's super popular now with many different spellings
Wiki says...
"The name Megan is a girl's name of Welsh origin meaning "pearl". Megan originally evolved from Meg, which itself derived as a nickname for Margaret. Margaret ultimately comes from the Greek word margarites, meaning "pearl." Megan is no longer a common nickname for Margaret—it is most often used as a full name." ...
margarita ≈ pearl or daisy in Italian) 🌻
Jinx @ 2:00:
The closest I get to using any M*A*S*H* reference to Margaret is when I use my "Major Winchester" voice, and enunciate all three syllables: "Mah - gah - ret"
I like Mark McClain's puzzles and this one is no exception. Except that I started off with MATE and, although very familiar with Mr. WORF, ended up wondering for too long which Klingon's name began with an E. WORF finally won out over MATE and thus was born the DRAW. I had forgotten a DRAW is possible in chess.
I love love love Pachelbel's Canon ever since I first heard the recording of it by the Jean-Francois Paillard chamber orchestra, which remains, to me, the definitive performance of it.
I red-facedly confess the first person I thought of for "Actor Grant" was Hugh, but IRA Gershwin and Jackie JOYNER-Kersee showed me the error of my ways.
Thank you for your informative and dryly humorous write-up, Jazzbumpa.
Good wishes to you all.
Oh, CUE-pon and VEN-you.
Whew, I'm all Pachelbelled out!
Not me. I didn't think of any other Grant than CARY.
(Sure, Hugh is OK, & so is Richard too, but--Really? ....C'mon!)
I've just been enjoying watching CARY on TCM. Suspicion is an old favorite--the youthful CARY in his comic, charming prime. What a dazzling range. The film's ending is preposterous, but who cares?
And I caught To Catch a Thief finally! How strange that I missed it entirely when it came out in the early '60s.
This is the cool, suave CARY, effortlessly acting circles around the rest of a brilliant cast. She's no Kate Hepburn, but Grace Kelly almost keeps up with him.
("Almost" is always a wide margin with CARY.)
~ OMK
UTEP, my alma mater
‘81 BS Biology
‘83 BS Civil engineering
Hi All!
What was your SEED for this one, Mark? :-)
Nice fun puzzle with only a few stumbles. Thanks
Lively expo, Jazz. Thank you for the RobPRocks "Pachelbel Rant."
WOs: AS OF now, Cindy LOo, wrong line at ALIne
ESPs: LANAI, CANON (as clued), DRU, JOYNER, GASP-E (I bet that's not how it's pronounced :-))
Fav: TREK's WORF [5:18]
{B, B+, A}
I will join you in searching out meat, OMK; cute DR.
CUE-pon; Ven-YOU; DoooK.
Too bad Lucina isn't here for her CSO @5a...
SO that's why it's called a margarita pizza! Thanks Ray-O.
Chess - of all the folks I've faced, only my little Bro (ARMY) can play me to a DRAW.
C,Eh! If it makes you feel better, UTEP didn't come straight to mind as I had 'now' b/f YET.
TTP - I don't understand why, if there's open concrete ahead, you can't just punch it...
Oh, right - DW was right there: "Not with our kids in the car," "Be a good role model for our new driver," "You're going to get a ticket," she said. :-)
Cheers, -T
Didn't Refresh b/f Posting say...
Biology to CivE? That's a jump EdD.
//is it 'cuz one doesn't bleed? That's why I like working with computers ;-)
OMK (and IM) - a faux Cary Grant stars as the imaginary friend of the gay protagonist in Touch of Pink.
DW & I watched it years ago and still quote "Not enough air pushing through the windmills of [his/]her mind," when someone's slow on the uptake.
If you haven't seen the movie, the send-up to GRANT is pretty fun.
Cheers, -T
AnonT- in true Canadian fashion, it is pronounced GASP-eh’! 😁😁😁
LOL, C, Eh!... perhaps I'll say it right if I encounter GASP-eh? again.
Personal note:
OK, so, I was a 92B (med lab tech) in the Army. Served during Desert Storm and worked at the blood-bank in Ft. Hood to DRAW and ship blood to Iraq.
That's not the story...
DW got an Rx yesterday for (vitamin) B-shots. I had to administer the poke.
The longest 8 minutes ["NO!!!, I'm not ready yet!" / Me: "Have another sip of wine..."] of today.
//and it was only 1ml through a 24 gauge needle! :-)
I really feel for those that have to give medical care to loved ones. They trust you and you are going to have to hurt them just a bit.
The anticipation was worse than the shot.
//I know, I hate Drs offices too :-)
Cheers, -T
Anon T....
My bad. It's 20 lashes with a wet fettucine....it's spelled Margherita not Margarita
When I lived in Italy in the 70s all pizzas were personal pan style. I thought the pizza Margherita was called that because the mozzarella cheese on top was arranged like a daisy...wrong..
An often recounted story holds that on June 11, 1889, to honour the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, the Neapolitan pizzamaker Raffaele Esposito created the "Pizza Margherita", a pizza garnished with tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil, to represent the national colours of Italy as on the Flag of Italy. 🇮🇹
We should call it Peg's Pizza here
FIW --- AGAIN! I’m getting tired of making careless one square mistakes. Today’s was not paying attention and slapping in COURSE, instead of COARSE. I didn’t know ANNEAL at all. Other than that, no real problems.
Got the reveal, though. BIG WHOOP!
Thanks, Mark and JazzB!
As Edward Duarte can attest, technically, UTEP IS NEAR the Rio Grande, but to say so is a bit of an understatement. I’d say it’s maybe somewhere between 500 and 1,000 yards. I-10, US 85 and TX 375 (each a separate highway!) and the railroad tracks are all crammed between UTEP and the river, through the narrowest part of the pass. Were it not for all the fences, one who had a few too many could conceivably trip and fall and roll all the way into the river.
I’ve always thought of SLEET as freezing rain.
Posted early today, and have just now come back to read the comments. So for me it's COO-pon and VEN-you. Chairman Moe, I pronounce it Mar-ga-ret.
Early this morning when I posted it was time for coffee. Now, it is time to take my handful of pills and go to bed.
Ray-O:
And may Sister Mary Beat-your-Knuckles with a noodle says...
Dang. I thought I learned something new today.
One of the best pies I ate was in one of the Cinque Terre towns. It looked like a sick baby's diaper but was absolutely delicious. Basil Pesto Pizza.
LEOIII - the only time I spent in El Paso was at Ft. Bliss.
The base's name fails to describe the hell-hole it is.
//actually, one morning, during PT, I got to watch the sun come over the mountains. It pop'd up just like Looney Tunes' cartoons!
I also saw a tarantula crawl over a shrub as I was doing pushups at White Sands - we both kept eyes on each other. S/He(?) was pretty cool.
Good night Unclefred.
-T
Ray-O @ 11:12 --
The oaks here in the Willamette Valley (coastal Oregon) have been turning red for about a week now. Sure hope that presages an early and plenteously aqueous winter.
And to add to your list:
When you're about to be knighted, the queen requires .... ANNEAL
-T --- I actually lived there twice. The first time was when my dad was stationed at Fort Bliss, and the second time was the penultimate stop of my Tour of Texas, when I was a working stiff. Luckily, I didn't have to do any pushups in the desert sand, although I did see my share of tarantulas.
I still have some friends there. I used to visit them, when I made my annual pilgrimage to visit my sister in Vegas. It was my halfway point, coming and going. She has moved back east, so I haven't been out to West Texas in quite a while. Loved LEGALLY running 80 mph between Kerrville and the El Paso County line. Set the cruise, lash the steering wheel and take a little nap! (Well, not really, but there are places....)
Of course, I kinda love driving Texas anyway. Most folks hate it, but not me! Duh!
Trying to wrap up the day say...
If no one re-checked FLN - dig this posted today @7pm-ish:
RichProulx said...
"Thanks for the kind invitation Lemonade714! I am very grateful to Rich for publishing this puz. Other outlets were wary of a pandemic-related theme. Ol' Man Keith you are right about the pronunciation. The story goes that when my ancestors immigrated to Canada in the late 17th century they were illiterate farmers. "Prou" basically meant "peon". Unable to sign their name in ledger, the official drew a line and they made their mark by drawing a big "X". Voila! A couple of extra letters that the French don't pronounce. In French Canada, "Proulx" is as common as "Smith" in the US."
Thanks RichP for stopping by The Corner. -T
My dad was an orderly at Beaumont hospital
YES!
Nicknamed “Harvard on the border”
Love science but no career future in biology, so I have an environmental (enter biology here) interest in civil engineering
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