Title: Jack London presents The Call of the Wild
When I was growing up two of the books which I read which moved me were the above and its companion Novel WHITE FANG.
Jack London really made me feel I was in the mind of the both animals.All of which has little to do with this second LAT puzzle publication by this COUPLE who were married April 3, 2021. Their first was here at the LAT in 2019 in a well received effort. Their other publications were earlier in the week puzzles one at the NYT, and I sense Rich put this here because he really liked the theme. It is a classic single definition for all of the themers, but with more room for creativity. It also evidences that talent with the inclusion of sparkling MICDROP, ODD JOBS, CAL STATE, SLOTHFUL, BINGE WATCH and TATA FOR NOW. They are such a happy looking pair I hate to add a negative note but this does not play as a Friday puzzle with only 40 black squares, 52 three and four letter words leaving an average word length of less than 5 letters. YMMV.
17A. Call of the wild?: HOWLING WIND (11). The balance of a first word gerund and a second word noun carries through and made the theme special.
27A. Call of the wild?: BABBLING BROOK (13). The puzzle also has classic symmetry- line 3/line 13 and line 6/line 10. To really appreciate the concept, it helps to anthropomorphize the nouns, picture the water babbling like a baby.
43. Call of the wild?: WEEPING WILLOW (13). Here, out in nature - the wild - we have a tree crying.
58A. Call of the wild?: ROARING FIRE (11). We finish with our camp fire roaring at us, "more wood, more sticks."
Fun for me, but now on to the rest...
Across:
1. Nike competitor: ASICS. I always want to put a "B" in front, even their logo begs for something else.
6. "Don't mind __": IF I DO. FIDO jumped out, but there was no noble canine soliloquy to follow.
11. Popcorn buy: TUB.
14. Shroud: CLOAK. This synonym works both for the noun and the verb.
15. Schlepped: TOTED. A bissel Yiddish.
16. Toon storekeeper who was once in a barbershop quartet: APU. The only toon storekeeper I know who also has a three letter name...
6. "Don't mind __": IF I DO. FIDO jumped out, but there was no noble canine soliloquy to follow.
11. Popcorn buy: TUB.
14. Shroud: CLOAK. This synonym works both for the noun and the verb.
15. Schlepped: TOTED. A bissel Yiddish.
16. Toon storekeeper who was once in a barbershop quartet: APU. The only toon storekeeper I know who also has a three letter name...
19. Kennel club category: TOY. This GROUP. I may be ready for an Affenpinscher...I have never had my affen pinched.
20. Postings at ORD: ETAS.
21. Some are considered essential: OILS. There is much debate about these as well but THESE appear on most lists.
22. Pair to wear: JEANS. I like the rhyme, this time.
24. Wielder of the hammer Mjölnir: THOR. At this point I consider Thor one of us based on the number of Corner appearnces he has made.
26. Sourdough unit: LOAF. Bread, man.
32. Popular chip: FRITO. Corn, man.
34. Arrests: NABS. Cheese and Peanut Butter? LINK.
35. Density symbol, in physics: RHO. The Greek letter ρ (rho) is used in math as a variable and in physics to represent density.
36. "Superman" surname: LANE. Fooled you, it is not Kent!
37. Vacancy sign: TO LET. These SITES are enticing but if I rent our condo, then what do we need to pay for a place to live?
39. Uppity sort: SNOB. The word 'snob' is said to have arisen from the custom of writing “s. nob.”, that is, 'sine nobilitate,' after the names of children of untitled parents in certain English schools.
40. Person who's usually good?: EGG. Probably a humorous antonym of bad egg - “someone whose behaviour is reprehensible or irresponsible; a rogue.”
41. Informal title used seven times in "Bohemian Rhapsody": MAMA. Listen and count?
42. Chap: BLOKE. Cheerio!
47. Zippo part: WICK. Not Keanu.
48. Barack's 2012 opponent: MITT. There can be no real comments about this long term political fixture but here is a BIOGRAPHY.
49. Influencer's concern: BRAND.
51. New Orleans' __ Du Monde: CAFE. This New Orleans landmark and tourist destination, is known for its café au lait and beignets. It also is a CSO to many at the Corner.
53. Try to get the attention of: HAIL. Like a cab.
57. Chow down: EAT. So appetizing.
61. Story __: ARC. Entertainment products.
62. Heart, for one: ORGAN. Yes.
63. What captions can capture: AUDIO. For those who cannot hear or who prefer reading about the action.
64. "I've seen better": MEH. The call word of the Corner.
65. "Get Out" Oscar winner Jordan: PEELE. He has had a most interesting CAREER so far.
66. Endow, as with talent: BLESS.
Down:
1. Want a lot, with "for": ACHE. Baby, I ache for you...
2. Schedule space: SLOT.
3. __ caucuses: IOWA. Part of the presedential selection process.
4. Sch. with 23 campuses: CAL STATE. HERE they are, not part of the University of California group.
5. What powderhounds do: SKI. Never hear the word, but powder hounds made it very inferable.
6. Celeb of the moment: IT GIRL. I see it in a more historical context.
7. Turkey, e.g.: FOWL. I do not think the clue is fair to this animal.
8. Medical suffix: ITIS. Meaning inflammation...
9. Super Bowl party site: DEN. Do people still have dens? Great room, family room?
10. Big part of the gig economy: ODD JOBS.This is a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.
11. Casual parting: TATA FOR NOW.
2. Schedule space: SLOT.
3. __ caucuses: IOWA. Part of the presedential selection process.
4. Sch. with 23 campuses: CAL STATE. HERE they are, not part of the University of California group.
5. What powderhounds do: SKI. Never hear the word, but powder hounds made it very inferable.
6. Celeb of the moment: IT GIRL. I see it in a more historical context.
7. Turkey, e.g.: FOWL. I do not think the clue is fair to this animal.
8. Medical suffix: ITIS. Meaning inflammation...
9. Super Bowl party site: DEN. Do people still have dens? Great room, family room?
10. Big part of the gig economy: ODD JOBS.This is a labor market characterized by the prevalence of short-term contracts or freelance work as opposed to permanent jobs.
11. Casual parting: TATA FOR NOW.
12. In the know about: UP ON. I finally stumbled upon this fill.
13. Bargains: BUYS.
18. Gamer more likely to get pwned: NOOB. A new player may be "pwned" wnich has origins in video game culture and is a leetspeak derivation of the word "owned", due to the proximity of the "o" and "p" keys.
23. Inner __: EAR.
25. "Last Week Tonight" airer: HBO.
26. Pride letters: LGBT. Lesbian Gay Bi-sexual Transsexual.
27. Catch up on, in a way: BINGE WATCH. My new favorite way to watch TV.
28. Relative challenge for some: IN-LAW. Mother-in-law?
29. Half a 2010s dance craze: NAE.
30. "Yeah, sure": OH OK.
31. Asian beef city: KOBE. Many fake kobe burgers sold in the US.
32. Passed (by) fast: FLEW.
33. Latest thing: RAGE. I think anger has been around for a very long time.
37. Drop precipitously: TANK. Often related to a team deliberately losing.
38. Texter's "Wow!": OMG.
39. Lazy: SLOTHFUL. Poor sloths get such a bad rap. There are many LAZY animals.
41. [I'm out]: MICDROP. In case you missed it yesterday in Joseph's write-up. it's back!
42. Classic sandwich, for short: BLT. PBJ last time?
44. One standing in an alley: PIN. For Boomer, sadly it is often the 10.
45. "Really, no damage": I'M FINE.
46. Property claim: LIEN. A little law reference for me.
49. Gymnastics event: BEAM. Jim?
50. Like a double rainbow: RARE. I wish I had my pictures organized as well as Robert as I have many double rainbow pics
51. Guinea pig's pad: CAGE. Poor little guys are not pigs and not from Guinea but they are particularly suited for MEDICAL RESEARCH.
52. Disappearing Asian sea: ARAL.
54. Staffer: AIDE.
55. Van Gogh subject: IRIS.
56. Some summer newcomers: LEOS. Babies born under the sign.
59. Resource in the board game Catan: ORE. So much MORE.
60. Dubious "gift": GAB. You get it from the Blarney Stone. Does the Blarney Stone work? The Blarney Stone is, well, a stone that's essentially said to have special powers. If you haven't heard of it before it might sound a bit strange, but kissing the Blarney Stone is said to give you “the gift of the gab”, or a persuasive speaking ability.
59. Resource in the board game Catan: ORE. So much MORE.
60. Dubious "gift": GAB. You get it from the Blarney Stone. Does the Blarney Stone work? The Blarney Stone is, well, a stone that's essentially said to have special powers. If you haven't heard of it before it might sound a bit strange, but kissing the Blarney Stone is said to give you “the gift of the gab”, or a persuasive speaking ability.
Gee, another week gone by and another write-up in the books. A nice Friday debut for this married couple team who can disect a puzzle and make it come to life. Please stop by and join our party. Thank you guys and thank you all who write and all who read. Lemonade out
Notes from C.C.:
Happy
80th birthday to dear Jayce (John), who speaks fluent Chinese and
understands the little quirks of the language. Here's a picture of Jayce
and his wife on their wedding day. 祝你生日快乐, Jayce!
FIR, but erased bag for TUB, pine for ACHE, byby for TATA, inon for UPON, and esp for GAB. DNK Mjolnir, powderhounds, pwned, last week tonight, Catan, PEELE and NAE.
ReplyDeleteWoke up early. At first I thought I was just excited about going home from this brief camping trip, but I guess I was hearing all the HOWLING, BABBLING, WEEPING and ROARING awaiting me in this fun grid.
Yesterday DW and I watched the Tivo'd "chip wars" episode of "The Food that Built America." Interesting that both started in the depression as cheap calories for the masses, and that Lay's and FRITO became cooperating businesses years before actually merging. Now part of Pepsico, IIRC.
Thanks to Jennifer and Victor for the fun puzzle. My favorite was "some summer newcomers" for LEOS. I do think that Rich got it out of order - this one felt like a Thursday puzzle, while yesterday's felt like a Friday. And thanks to Lemony for another interesting tour through it.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI liked it. No Wite-Out required. The non-theme 8s and 10s in the downs were very nice. (Was shocked while looking over the completed grid when I dyslexed CALSTATE into CASTRATE.) Thanx, Jennifer (There was a Top-40 Jennie-Lee in my ute.), Victor and Lemonade.
I think I was too young when I tried to read The Call Of The Wild. I didn't like it. Tried White Fang the following year, and really liked it.
FIW. This was the most difficult Friday although they never are in retrospect.
ReplyDeleteBag/tin/TUB;TOp/TOY and inON*UPON. I thought schlepped was nosED missing ITIS. As I type I see my brain isn't what it used to be.
I should have known APU from xwords. I actually worked out a lot of empty squares inc SE w LEOS etc.
I labored off and on all day as I have xwords available. I'd come back hoping to get a box inked.
WC
I always enjoy seeing the wedding picture of Jayce and his bride, and feel embarrassed that I am not fluent in Thai. Maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday and many more
Happy Birthday, Jayce. Guess I missed it the first time through the blog -- or maybe C.C. hadn't posted it yet. At any rate, I enjoy reading your often laconic posts.
ReplyDeleteFIR but it was a slog. Typical Friday.
ReplyDeleteI "Bucked" this one in 9:41.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it felt like a Thursday-level, and I too really enjoyed the book, "The Call of the Wild" as a kid.
Jeesh I must have missed the Jayce wedding pic. Handsome couple. Hbd
ReplyDeleteAnybody try ESP for that dubious gift? Or a lion that ROARs in the wild? I tried to fit slattern in < SLOTH.
Yesterday we had Bond today it was ODDJOB
To get CAL STATE I had to fix BuBBLE*. Why was IOWA so slow coming. I had cloth<CLOAK. The only solids were MITT,THOR and ARAL. Slog doesn't come close.
WC
FIW today due to sloppiness and an unknown name. Had WOs similar to WC with TUB and fell for Kent/LANE. But my first error was putting Ok OK instead of OH OK. My sloppiness was leaving adELE/PEELE when the perps didn't work out. Must be more patient. Theme was fun and gettable. Thanks Jennifer and Victor. And thanks Lemonade for clearing things up.
ReplyDeleteHappy special Birthday to Jayce. Enjoy the new decade!
A big family gathering starts tomorrow so I may not have much free time for puzzling for a while. It will be too warm for a ROARING FIRE but we'll enjoy being together. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. TATA FOR NOW.
I should've had more fun solving this. I just didn't.Theme was fine - definitely not challenging. Problem here was the fill made this a slog. It drained my enthusiasm quickly.Shame for such a fun theme to be sabotaged by such unpleasant cluing.
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday Jayce. I would think learning to speak any of the Chinese dialects would be easier than learning to read or write it. C.C.- you had a head start. And the puzzle...
ReplyDeleteI started badly, thinking CLOUD for Shroud before CLOAK made it on the grid after I changed the first theme fill from HOWL LIKE A DOG. I really thought 'pwned' was a misprint in the newspaper. NOOB was all perps. After BABBLING BROOK was filled the others were easIer fills. My gift of ESP became the 'Gift of GAB'. But it took some thinking to get MIC DROP and BINGE WATCH. My Gymnastics event was TEAM and the Influencer's concern was TREND.
CAFE du Monde- a local NOLA coffee stand across from Jackson Square. They've opened a few more restaurants in the area.
HBO & APU- just a WAG for those two Xword staples. PEELE and "Get Out", Catan and ORE, and NAE- unknowns filled by perps.
CAL STATE- for those who aren't 'accepted' to CAL. My cardiologist's daughter just graduated from CAL-Davis. They must admit out of state students for the money because I'm sure there are many qualified tax-paying CA residents who want their children admitted.
Emile O'Touri- IMHO your 'unpleasant cluing' is what makes the puzzle challenging. If not, it wouldn't be a 'puzzle'; just a boring fill of regurgitated memorized facts. Not fun.
TATA FOR NOW!!!!
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday to our NOOBY Octogenarian, Jayce. Hope your day is special.
Hard to get it started, but then it slowly took hold. The dam broke upon getting the theme phrase BABBLING BROOK. Realizing the theme fills all contained gerunds, I was able to pre-fill the ING's. In hindsight, it was not so hard for a Friday. CAL STATE was in yesterday's WSJ, so that was cake. Favorite clue was for INLAW. No help needed. FIR.
Saw as the ISS FLEW by last night at 1904 local time on an utterly cloudless, clear night, with Jupiter ascending in the SE.
Happy Birthday, Jayce!
ReplyDeleteW.C., I started to go with ESP but checked the impulse when checking the perps so the backspace key was not needed.
Time for a beignet.
Thank you Jennifer & Victor for a very FIRable Friday puzzle. The theme was very helpful, what with all the gerund/noun pairings and the various sounds of nature. Made me feel like I was out in the woods!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you Lemony for an informative and colorful review.
A few favs:
21A OILS. "Essential oils" are actually "essences" of whatever their source is, e.g. various flowers or herbs. Their purveyors let slide the fact that you don't actually need them to maintain good health. Some "fatty acids", closely related to oils are in fact essential to good health.
60A AUDIO Unless you're specialist in English dialects, AUDIO CAPTIONS (subtitles) are essential when watching British mysteries, and to figure out "who done it".
6D SKI a CSO to my partner in crime MalMan, who pulled off his latest caper just yesterday.
33D RAGE does seem to be the RAGE these days. ☹
Cheers,
Bill
And HBD to Jayce! Thank you C.C. for the picture of he and his lovely wife. Not only is he bi-lingual, but also a consummate scientist and engineer.
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Jennifer and Viictor, and Lemonade (thanks for the reminder of the Jack London novel and the Canadian Yukon).
ReplyDeleteWell this CW was a workout, but I eventually got all the Calls of the Wild. But officially a DNF because after I cleaned up the NW corner, I forgot to fill in my blanks in the NE. (Hand up for Tin and In ON). A little more P&P would have given the win.
Many inkblots today, starting with that NW mess caused by entering Pine and Pumas. That gave me Mega caucuses (what does this Canadian known about your politics!) and a Unit in my schedule space. That left me looking at Night_ _ WIND. You see my dilemma! And of course, this Canadian did not know the university; but I did try SCa.
Then I had a ROARING Lion before FIRE (I was on safari rather than camping) hello WC. All we were missing were the S’mores.
I smiled at ARC crossing those RARE double rainbows. We had MAMA crossing IN-LAW (yes, great clue).
Hand up for thinking of Kent before LANE perped.
FRITO! Is not Gibbles the popular chip here? We like Old Dutch (out of Winnipeg).
FOWL is appropriate for me as this is Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and I have a turkey thawing in my frig.
Happy Birthday Jayce.
Wishing you all a great day.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Today’s constructors
-Slow NW start as PUMAS/PINES seemed fine to me
-Chad and Jeremy’s Willow Weep For Me brings college memories rushing back
-The world’s most famous shroud may or may not be a fake
-JEANS – Friday is JEANS day where I am subbing today
-Gee, I wonder who would wield a famous hammer?
-We went to a funeral yesterday for daughter’s FIL. She said some IN-LAWS attended that still carry grudges against the deceased
-Name that tune: “Charleston was once the RAGE, uh huh History has turned the page, uh huh”
-Happy Birthday, Jayce!
HBD, Jayce, and wishing u many more! Thanx JL&VG for this thoroughly enjoyable, fun CW. Although it took me 28 to FIR, and I struggled with the NE (BAG/TIN/TUB/???) for 11a, I held off on filling until I got the perps, and avoided an inky mess. W/Os HOWLINGWOLF:HOWLINGWIND, MEET:BEAM. I got the theme with BABBLINGBROOK, and enjoyed all the pleasant outdoorsy sound memories. Also, thanx Lemonade for the excellent and fun write-up.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday Jayce, and hope for plenty more for the future. ( I hope I can reach your milestone ...) I enjoy your posts and am in awe of your eclectic skills and knowledge, especially on earthquakes and seismiology. I am also impressed on your knowledge on knowing the chinese language, and the script(s) ... I am aware that the language has thousands of alphabet / characters ...
Why are there no chinese spelling bees ?
Because by the time each character is verbally spelt and described, the judges doze off ...
Thank you Jennifer and Victor, for a very challenging puzzle. I throughly enjoyed it, and the theme. Thank you Lemonade for your always thoughful and charming review.
Lemon, I now know why you are a true word wizard ... your blog sent me reeling... you had me at Gerund ( must start 'looking' up that word ...)
At 19 Across TOY,... Affenpinscher ... your story of not having your 'affen' pinched, made me spill my coffee...
BTW, do you have any monkeys in your household ? ... other than possibly, your grandkids ... ;-)
... Because Wiki says the word 'affe' is the german word for monkey ( possibly 'monkey faced' ) .... dog.
I know of many oils which have 'essences' and yet, are not known as conventional essential oils. One particular strong stench oil is mustard oil ... which the FDA has banned in the US, against internal consumption.( long story ..) However, it is routinely carried by indian stores as 'For External use Only' ... which the indian consumers blithely ignore, and use as a staple cooking medium. ( I dont.)
Even a few chefs in NYC use it as a final flavor to a dish.
Finally,(!) I hadnt heard of Catan, but I would like to recommend a card game for 8+ yr olds, called Sushi Go, its involved, but a fairly simple game, and we've enjoyed it.
have a nice day, and a good weekend, all.
Friday toughie, but still enjoyable--many thanks, Jennifer and Victor. And thank you too, Lemonade, for your always helpful commentary.
ReplyDeleteSeems like I always get the middle-top first in the tougher crossword puzzles, with IF I DO instantly, and TOTED coming right after that. Then the FOWL came quickly, but it took a bit longer before the IT GIRL filled in.
The toughest one for me was MIC DROP--made no sense until the very end. On the other hand I kept thinking IOWA caucuses can't be right, but it was.
Thanks for pointing out those clever crossings, CanadianEh.
Happy birthday, Jayce.
Have a good weekend coming up, everybody.
The NW was last to fill, as I don't know
ReplyDeleteStates, sneakers, or powderhorns that well.
You could say the NW was "shrouded" in mystery for me...
Learning moment: Nabs
Never heard of it. Had to poke around to realize that
National biscuit company=Nabisco=nabs.
(So, what do you call the ones you make at home?)
happy birthday jayce!
And,
just in case you prefer cookies over strawberries...
call of the wild?
Well, I'm still learning...
Well, excuse me.
Too much coffee,
nature calls...
What made this sort of easy for a Friday is ING was a giveaway as part of the fill for all the long answers. But why not add a couple more clues call of the Wilde: "Oscar's first use of the telephone."....call of the Wilder "Billy's more crazy phone conversation" 😅
ReplyDeleteReversed the pride letters at first 🏳️🌈....MICDROP again?.... This time I perpwaited the BLT (not "pbj") sangwidge. 🥪
Have seen double rainbows 🌈 but never a complete ARC. So "pwnd" is not a typo in our local newspaper.🙄.. Never heard the term "powderhounds" (cocaine addicts?). Board game called "Catan"? c'mon!.. go on!. Someone get Milton Bradley on the line!!! 😆
My skull often has a very high RHO value.🙄
inkover: meet/BEAM.
Once I finished off the basement, DEN it became my mancave where I BINGEWATCH, my new vice. Stayed up last night till 1 AM lured by each new episode of "Squid Game" till it ended. 🦑
Larry's but not Curly's or Moe's intro....IMFINE
Eponymous canine autobiography...I FIDO
Donkey attacks...ASICS.
Incoherent Shields....BABBLINGBROOK
Happy 80th BD Jayce ...
(I thought "Chinese" was not a language? Mandarin? ..My Mom was born in Canton, New York near the St Lawrence river but never learned Cantonese)..
anyhoo...
Another glorious Autumn day!!. TTFN!
Hmm,
ReplyDeleteThis Nabs th8ngie clearly requires more research...
So far, luci's morsels led me to
a farm girls dabbles...
This was a fun theme - made easier by all the first words of the theme answers ending in ING
ReplyDeleteI first played CATAN when my kids learned how to play the game in college 10 + years ago- at the time it was called Settlers of CATAN - but the name has now been shortened to just CATAN.
I have recently played "Sushi Go" with my great niece and nephew - definitely a step up from the Candyland phase- but not difficult to figure out the rules!
Thanks Lemonade and Jennifer & Victor- for a fun morning off!
HBD to Jayce!
Hmmm, let's see.
ReplyDeletePeanut butter and chocolate? check
Peanut butter and Ritz? check
Never thought of it, but I am definitely going to have to try that Dabble idea!
Loved the puzzle, the clueing, and the theme, but FIW. I looked up two or three of the answers.
ReplyDeleteI especially like that all these forces of nature, i.e., the wild, were given anthropomorphic vocalizations or calls. I was asking myself what human-like sound does the wind make. I finally got howling.
Jayce, a very happy birthday to you. I enjoy your posts.
Two days ago the term ICU was apropos to our situation. My younger sister had a stroke that evening and could not walk or talk. It was good my niece, who lives with her, was home. She immediately called 911 and help arrived quickly. My sis was airlifted to the hospital. Along the way she was given medicine to break up the blood clot in her brain. They were prepping her for surgery when they realized the medicine was working well and so there was no need for surgery. The next day sis was talking, walking and speaking. The hospital gives a great prognosis and, pending more tests, will send her home soon. It seems a good result for a scary episode.
YR - Hope your sister will have a good outcome. She was very lucky to be given the ant-clot medicine quickly. They say the first 3 hours are very critical. Best wishes.
ReplyDeleteGerund? Had to look it up. My whole education is science. I obviously let the English language part slide. I though “howling wind” “howling” would be an adjective, modifying a noun, “wind”. Gerund? Geez. No wonder I struggle with CWs.
ReplyDeleteMusings 2
ReplyDeleteI once was sitting high in the south end zone at a Husker game where we were demolishing Kansas for the nth game in a row. A brief shower came up and then it gave way to a beautiful sunny fall day and we got a brilliant rainbow in the north because, as you know, the sun must be behind you to see a rainbow. That rainbow ran from red to violet (top to bottom) and there was also a secondary rainbow that was violet to red and there was also a faint tertiary rainbow that was back to red to violet. All eyes were on the sky by that time. Example
-The aforementioned RAGE lyric was sung by Sonny and Cher in The Beat Goes On
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFIR but with multiple WO’s:
AT ALL/ IF I DO; OKOK/OHOK; IM GOOD/IM FINE (and Ray-O, I HOWARD at your pun regarding the Stooges!); SINK/SANK/TANK; SPED/FLEW.
I first solved BABBLING BROOK and WEEPING WILLOW, so while I “got” the theme, what with all of the clechos, I thought there might be an alliterative pattern. So of course I put in WAILING WIND before realizing that there was no way that a four-letter “nature” item, beginning with the letter “R” could follow ROARING.
Thanks to Jennifer and Victor for the puzzle and to L714 for the fun and fact-ful recap
Gymnast scored a “ten”
On the four-inch wide device.
Her parents just BEAMed
I'd say the clue for 50 Across is wrong (Like a double rainbow: RARE.) because all rainbows are double rainbows. Wikipedia says:
ReplyDeleteA secondary rainbow, at a greater angle than the primary rainbow, is often visible. The term double rainbow is used when both the primary and secondary rainbows are visible. In theory, all rainbows are double rainbows, but since the secondary bow is always fainter than the primary, it may be too weak to spot in practice.
Loved this PZL! Thanks to the Lee/Galson team!
ReplyDeleteWooHoo! FIR!
It is the kind of XWD that makes us feel smarter than we are--just for catching onto the clever cluing allusions and misdirections.
40A had me wondering whether the "Person" isn't just as often "bad"...?
HBD, Jayce!
許多快樂的回報！
~ OMK
____________
DR: A single diagonal today, running NE to SW.
It gives us a couple of anagrams, from which I grudgingly choose the short one (10 of 15 letters) that honors a disgruntled soul.
But if I borrow the top letter directly above our diagonal (the "U" of TUB) I can bring our anagram up to 15 letters, giving us TWO words, each a synonym of the other, and each an expression of the unhappy nature of the same sad personality.
I refer to a ...
"GR(U)MP MALCONTENT"!
unclefred- "Gerund? Had to look it up. My whole education is science." So is mine and I remembered the name but that's about all.
ReplyDeleteRay-O-Sunshine- "(I thought "Chinese" was not a language? Mandarin?)". That's why I wrote 'dialects'. I don't know if Mandarin & Cantonese are distinct languages or dialects of a common language. I always wondered it the written characters meant the same in both.
unclefred @1:39 ~ You'll find lot of arguments, but not with me.
ReplyDelete"Howling, when treated as a noun, as in "I heard the eerie howling!", is indeed a gerund.
When treated as a present participle, as in the phrase "HOWLING WIND" (What is the wind doing? It is howling!), it functions as an adjective.
~ OMK
Just wanted to Cher the answer to H. Gary's puzzler. "The Beat Goes On." When I was in high school I volunteered at the local college radio station. They usually played opera, classical and sometimes jazz, but one year they set aside a weekend where the student "employees" got to program the station. Of course it turned into a rock 'n roll station that weekend. One of the Station IDs I helped engineer started with the clip from that song "And the Beat Goes On" with a chorus of "GO! GO!" clipped from God only knows where (gogo was really big at the time), then a student announcer saying "Radio WMKY". So it was "And the beat goes on GO! GO! RADIO WMKY!" I sent so much time putting that short clip together more than 50 years ago that I'll never forget it.
ReplyDeleteBig Easy ...re: is Chinese a language. I was referring to the comment that Jayce speaks fluent Chinese.
ReplyDeleteA patient's translator corrected me once when I asked her if she was speaking Chinese. Mandarin was her response.
From the infallible internet..."Chinese is an umbrella language term that encompasses multiple dialects/languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Hakka, and more. When you look at it closely, there are actually over 200 dialects of Chinese! ... When people are talking about “speaking Chinese,” they are most likely to be referring to Mandarin.
On a more serious note. I thought "White Fang" was a biography about Phyllis Diller's Caucasian husband.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteDNF at the crossing of NA- and sOL-T 'cuz I put in SANK instead of TANK and never rethank it. D'Oh!
Thanks for the swell puzzle Jennifer & Victor; some really fun fill.
Thanks for the expo, Lem. Interesting note about 's. nob.'.
WOs: N/A (no, honest!)
ESPs: NAE should be one
Fav: CAFE Du Monde or Key & PEELE?
Sparkle: BINGE WATCH, TATA FOR NOW, IF I DO, NOOB, I'M FINE, ODD JOBS (nice Bond catch, WC)
YR - Amazing medicine story. I wish someone got to a buddy of mine that quickly (he's ok but not his old self - certainly not as quick w/ a joke). Thank goodness it all worked out and your sister is fine. Scary.
Long walk to the DR, OMK :-)
Ray-O: I got a broken link on Autumn.
CED - it's powderHOUNDs. (Snow is called powder by the SKI-people).
Also, I think you are reading 32a at 34a. 'Arrest' is the clue for NABs (or is that an elaborate joke just to get you to peanut-butter/Ritz/chocolate dip?)
Happy Birthday Jayce. I always enjoy reading your posts when they're longer than "I liked this puzzle." :-)
Cheers, -T
We gave granddaughter Catan for her 10th birthday. She had the Junior version, but wanted the more challenging game.
ReplyDeleteYR- thankful that your sister was treated quickly.
Jinx - your splicing story reminded me of...
ReplyDelete//nothing puzzle-propos follows:
Before DW switched to English, her major was RTVF (radio,tv,film). She had to put together a commercial for a class and, because "you're technical" got me to help.
I was in heaven with all the studio equipment (before all-digital mixing ('90 or '91)).
"Our"* commercial was promoting Pink Floyd coming to Monroe, LA [they weren't, it was just for a class] with tracks of a Rush audience roar, DW speaking, & Run Like Hell's intro [@1:31]. I think we had a total of 6 or 7 tracks that we dubbed into on. Took us all night but it was the most fun I've ever had doing DW's homework.
//can't tell you how many times I read her draft-dissertation(s).
Cheers, -T
*it was my idea for the rock concert promo :-)
I liked this puzzle a lot. Things I liked include the nifty theme, cool fill such as ODD JOBS and SLOTHFUL. and neat-o clues such as "Pair to wear" for which I filled PANTS, then SOCKS, before getting steered to JEANS. I didn't even see the clue and answer NAE because I had already filled the acrosses, but I wouldn't have known it anyway.
ReplyDeleteMIC DROP again? Sheesh.
I don't think Boomer would consider that a PIN stands in an alley. Not an alley, man.
Wilbur Charles, yep, I entered ESP at first.
Big Easy, yes, it is much easier to learn to speak and understand the language and quite difficult to learn to read and write it.
Desper-otto, laconic, eh?
To me ASICS will always be Integrated Circuits, another kind of chip. When Fry's Electronics stores were still in business it was fun to point out they sold chips and chips.
Thank you all for the happy birthday wishes and the compliments and the cakes! It's been a very good day today. A special dinner tonight.
If you ask a person from, say, Hong Kong, he/she will tell you that Cantonese is definitely Chinese. I'm of two minds as to whether it is a dialect or could be considered a different language from Mandarin, because the two are mutually unintelligible. And although they use the same writing system they have such different vocabulary that reading a Mandarin text is distinctly different from reading it in Cantonese. Think of maybe the difference between German and Dutch (hi Spitzboov). Or maybe Russian and Ukrainian.
Here's wishing you all a good day.
Yellowrocks, I am also glad your sister was treated quickly and will likely be okay.
ReplyDeleteIt has been pointed out to me that I misidentified the syntax of our theme. The first words, all ending in ING modify the noun, second word and thus are verb/adjectives - participles. They are not gerunds which are verb/nouns and stand alone. I really am forgetting so much.
ReplyDeleteHee hee, Ol’Man Keith, thanks for wishing me many happy rewards :)
ReplyDeleteI HATED THIS PUZZLE --- THIS MORNING! After signing off last night, I took a quick tour through it and went to bed with the grid as blank as it was when I printed it. Took another quick look at it while eating breakfast this morning, and still no joy
ReplyDeleteHowever, after working on it ALL DAY at work and getting what I think might be my first Friday FIR, I LOVED THIS PUZZLE!
I'm SO easy!
Thanks, Jennifer and Victor. Thanks, Lemon!
When WEEPINGWILLOW, then BABBLINGBROOK finally fell after long stare downs, I finally figured I had a chance. Pretty much the rest of the day was filled looking for and finally finding something to latch onto in a particular section, and then being able to knock out almost everything around it.
Unknowns, were ASICS, APU, RHO (until I saw that I was looking for the Greek letter R), PEELE and NAE. Perps to the rescue!
Never even thought of KENT. I was trying to fit in Supie’s Krypton name (Kal-El), which wouldn’t fit, of course. Finally got FLEW, and, Oh! Lois!
I once had KOBE beef at a Japanese restaurant here in Houston, or at least that is how it was advertised and priced. MEH!
Happy Birthday, Jayce!
Hi Y'ALL! Enjoyed the theme & puzzle, Jennifer & Victor! Took eleven minutes less time than Thursday's solve. Yay! Great expo, Lemonade.
ReplyDeleteNW was last to fill. Couldn't get enough perps to do much for a long time. Hand up for think "powderheads" sniff cocaine.
Don't understand MICDROP or what influencers do at all. THE slang changes so much so rapidly.
Just read a book where the heroine went to CAFE DuMond. A gimmee.
Happy Birthday, Jayce. I always look for your posts. Enjoyed seeing the pic of you and your lovely bride. Do you have some Chinese heritage? Wondered how & when you learned Chinese?
YR: Prayers that your sister continues to recover from her stroke. Always scary.
Got 38min?
ReplyDeleteBrian May [Queen's GUITARist] discusses mixing Bohemian Rhapsody [get to ~19m area].
//BTW, if you didn't know - May holds a PhD in astrophysics and is a professor now.
LEOIII - LOL! Kal-El was my 1st thought too.
PK - Mic Drop is a "Yeah, I just (did/said) that. Boom!"
[translation: I'm outta here; you're welcome... As mic hits the floor].
Jayce - glad it was a good day today as you begin your 81st trip around the sun.
Cheers, -T
AnonT: Sure 'nuff? Thanks for the explanation.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteHappy Birthday, Jayce.
PK, a good overview on influencers, even if you simply scan the highlights: What is an Influencer ?