Every time I blog - or solve - a David Alfred Bywaters' puzzle I am impressed by his use of common words and phrases, and offering the solver a decent chance to FIR (finish it right). I decided today to tap into my inner Husker Gary, and reach out to DAB in an email. He may stop by later to offer more insight to this particular puzzle. He has a website that offers not only puzzles, but also a blog about his other love, Victorian novels. And while I can't say that I am a big lover of Victorian novels (or any other novels, for that matter), he is; and if you are, then I highly recommend opening up that tab while you're there, visiting.
I mentioned to David that I, too, am a big lover and user of puns, both in my blog, comments, and even in a few of the puzzles I've had published. So now, "TERN" about is fair play! Let's get started with the explanation, though forgive me if I might appear to be "winging it"!
Today's puzzle - though quite worthy of a Friday or late-in-the-week puzzle - started out fairly easy. I used perps to assist me, and looked at the plethora of 3-letter entries to get a foothold. And while there're over 20 3-letter's used, very few were abbreviations: MRI, HMS and ATT. The rest were all real words. That was my first sign that this puzzle was well-constructed. And though I cheated a bit by reading through the clues to "look" for a reveal, I discovered there was none. These longish entries would be the unifiers in the solve. For example:
17-Across. Bird's perspective?: ORIOLE VIEW. This was my first "theme" solve, and I saw the similarity to the more common phrase, "AERIAL VIEW". The use of the word "ORIOLE" made me think of my title for this puzzle, that this is for the birds. And speaking of "birds" and "ORIOLES", I couldn't help but compare that the baseball team from Baltimore nicknamed the ORIOLES have an aerial view of sorts. Unfortunately (forgive me, waseeley) their "view" lately has been from the bottom, looking up! The ORIOLES, aka the "Birds" have languished in last place in their division four of the last five years. This certainly is not the organization I knew growing up, just 50 miles north of Baltimore. Their 1966 team, and their 1969-1971 teams were stellar
26-Across. Nurtured by a bird?: GROUSE FED. Ha! GROUSE FED! Who wouldn't choose a sirloin steak that was GROUSE FED? Well, maybe if it were GRASS fed instead. And as your head Stooge, here is a snippet from one of our (The Three Stooges) shorts, "Pop goes the Easel"
38-Across. Amorous bird?: TANAGER IN LOVE. Does the early bird who clicks on Moe's links get the earworm??
51-Across. Bird painting?: OWL FRESCO. OK. Moe "got it" but had to dig a little to "get" the clue. Al fresco - the common phrase - means "in the fresh air", which is why diners love to choose a restaurant with outdoor tables. Be aware, though, that in Italy if you were to ask your waiter to dine "al fresco" it could translate that you prefer eating "in prison"!
AnyHOO, the word "FRESCO" can also mean this, according to Wikipedia: FRESCO is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting becomes an integral part of the wall.
So DAB's clue to create the pun was spot on. He wasn't flocking with us . . .
60-Across. Bird-wrestling move?: THRUSH HOLD. HaHa. I'm sure if I looked hard enough I would've found a THRUSH carrying its mate over the threshold, but in keeping with the clue, I found this instead:
5 - count 'em - 5 punny bird phrases. Could David have used these five instead?
1) Bird's disappearing act? BLACKBIRD ERASER
2) What do you call the act of an old bird who marries a younger one? ROBIN THE CRADLE
3) Op-ed from a shore bird? ERNEings REPORT
4) Bird-owned sardine factory? CANARY ROW
5) Unit of bird communication? TERN SIGNAL
Please add your own in the comments section below; "fowl" language is allowed! Here's the grid, and then on to the rest of the clues:
Across:
1. Pageantry: POMP. Confirmed by the Thesaurussaurus
5. Italian sports cars, briefly: ALFAS. ALFA Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian premium car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. They are now a part of Fiat Chrysler
10. Showed up: CAME. Past tense of come
14. Garage mechanic's goal, maybe: PURR. I should probably leave the cat cartoons and videos to CED, but this one describes the clue perfectly:
15. Dance studio fixture: BARRE. This entry could've also been clued: "Leaf-peeping destination in New England". But David doesn't use many proper name entries in his puzzles. Which of course prompted a Moe-ku:
Vermont ballet group
Gives ballerina lessons:
BARRE in Barre
16. Product of Queensland: OPAL. A fiery gemstone found in abundance in Australia
19. Place in the woods?: NECK. Clever
20. Child: TOT. First of the 3-letter entries; no abbreviation here
21. Pt. of AAA: ASSOC. So David decided to abbreviate a 5-letter, instead!! American Automobile ASSOCiation
23. Put off: REPEL. Also part of the word "repellent". The mosquitos have been quite active here in the VOTS this year
30. Take a good look at: EXAMINE. A refreshing change from some of the other "look at" clues that are associated with LEER, OGLE, et al
32. Convert to something better: PARLAY. As in betting. Often a gambler will PARLAY a wager to increase the payout. For example:
33. Respectful title: SIR. I notice that Millenials and Gen-X'ers will often address me as "SIR"
34. Muscly: TONED. "Muscly" is not a word too often used in crossword puzzles, but when it is, I see the synonyms "ripped", "strong", and "bulked" as clues. But as I dug deeper, the word "TONED" more often refers to a female physique
37. Shock, in a way: TASE. I'm of the belief that the words TASE or TASER are becoming "no-no's" to some puzzle editors given recent events. I've never been TASED nor would I want to. Here is a brief clip of some celebrities who got TASED voluntarily
42. Scots Gaelic: ERSE. Perhaps the one bit of crossword-ese in today's puzzle
43. Composer expelled from the Paris Conservatoire in 1882: SATIE. From Wikipedia: Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (17 May 1866 – 1 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire but was an undistinguished student and obtained no diploma. In the 1880s he worked as a pianist in café-cabaret in Montmartre, Paris, and began composing works, mostly for solo piano, such as his Gymnopédies. He also wrote music for a Rosicrucian sect to which he was briefly attached. A brief bit of Gymnopédies:
44. Impressed word: OOH. I'm impressed that I entered OOH instead of OHH
46. In one's slip?: MOORED. Another fun clue with misdirection. Anyone else think of this:
49. Sizable snit: TANTRUM. According to kids health dot org, TANTRUMs are a normal part of child development. They're how young children show that they're upset or frustrated. Tantrums may happen when kids are tired, hungry, or uncomfortable. They can have a meltdown because they can't get something (like a toy or a parent) to do what they want
54. Main points: GISTS. Clearly, Chairman Moe gives your readers more than just the GISTS of the puzzle!!
55. Park __: BENCH. PLACE also fits. I always seemed to land on that space in Monopoly; especially when another player owned it, and had a hotel there
56. Verizon rival: ATT. Fourth of the 3-letter entries; first abbr
57. "__, Can You Hear Me?": "Yentl" song: PAPA. I would've preferred this song reference; recorded by the original group, Undisputed Truth:
65. Round figure: OVAL. OK, I'll go with this. Nice mis-direction, but an OVAL is round. As is an OPAL - see 16-Across
66. Couldn't sleep __: A WINK. Where did the term "winks" originate for sleep? Here, perhaps?
67. Vase-shaped pitcher: EWER. A word used in "still life"; not so much in "real life"!
68. Hollow: DELL. Because "farmer in the hollow" would not have fit the song!
69. Uses light surgically: LASES. As in LASER surgery; also rhymes with TASES - see 37-Across
70. Causing head-turning, perhaps: SEXY. Another song
Down:
1. Dr.'s network: PPO. Oops - forgot that this 3-letter is an abbreviation, though no one ever calls this network: Preferred Provider Organization. Where you choose your medical provider(s), not the network
2. CSNY's "__ House": OUR. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young's hit tune
3. Med. scan: MRI. Magnetic Resonance Imaging
4. President __: PRO TEM. An abbreviation of the Latin, "PRO TEMpore" which means "for the time being". A member of the U.S. senate and usually a leader of the majority party who is chosen to serve as presiding officer of the senate in the absence of the vice-president. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) is our current one
5. Be an accessory to: ABET. Not to be mistaken with 32-Across, PARLAY, which is A BET
6. Loo: LAV. Loo is British; LAV is American. CAN fit; HEAD did not
7. Religious brother: FRIAR. FRIAR Tuck is the one that came to mind; a cartoon image:
8. Kid's retort: ARE SO. AM TOO fit. Are these phrases used whilst having a TANTRUM??
9. Clinches: SEWS UP. Sports metaphor. The Atlanta Braves SEWS UP the National League title to play for the World Series . . . which they won, BTW
10. Piece that often includes one or two cadenzas: CONCERTO. Per Wikipedia, in music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing virtuosic display. During this time the accompaniment will rest, or sustain a note or chord; a technically brilliant sometimes improvised solo passage toward the close of a CONCERTO
11. Mimic: APE. Easy Friday clue/entry
12. Bud: MAC. PAL fits, too
13. Caribou cousin: ELK. A trio of 3-letter "down" clues; none abbreviated
18. Literature's Dolores Haze, familiarly: LOLITA. I was a toddler when this book was published in 1955, so this was a learning moment for me. Wikipedia states: "LOLITA" is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a French middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert, is obsessed with an American 12-year-old girl, Dolores Haze, whom he sexually molests after he becomes her stepfather. "Lolita" is his private nickname for Dolores
22. Spanish she-bear: OSA. Lucina may comment on this further, but I associate the letter "A" at the end of a Spanish proper noun to indicate the female gender; an "O" represents the male gender. A Spanish "he-bear" would be OSO
23. Follower of hi or lo: RES. Or, what the "defintion" of "definition" is. HI RES, or LO RES
24. Airline seating for the able-bodied: EXIT ROW. It usually comes with extended leg room, but a narrower seat, as the distance between the row in front of it is too far to allow for a pull-down tray table, and the EXIT ROW seats have a tray built into the arm rest
25. Sun screen: PARASOL. Arts and Culture dot com says: "Generally, an umbrella has a curved handle to allow for easy grip and storage. A PARASOL, however, (in Latin para for “shelter or shield” and sol “sun”) is typically constructed from more delicate fabrics such as lace, cotton, silk, linen, canvas and plastic ..."
26. Preservers of proclivities: GENES. I LOVE alliterative clues! Proclivity means: "a tendency to choose or do something regularly; an inclination or predisposition toward a particular thing". Your GENES are units of heredity which is transferred from a parent to offspring and are held to determine some characteristic of the offspring
27. Alters the taste of: FLAVORS. Adding salt, e.g.
28. Depart cautiously: EASE OUT. Dictionary dot com says: "Extract or remove someone or something gradually or gently. For example, He carefully EASEd the car OUT of the garage, or we were trying to EASE him OUT of office without a public scandal
29. Alter the color of: DYE. A DYED Easter Egg, for example, alters the color of the egg, unlike salt which would alter the taste of it
35. Historical segment: ERA. David could've use the abbreviation for Earned Run Average, but he must've known that I would be counting the abbr's in this puzzle!!
36. "Same here!": DITTO. Indicated by the (")
39. "Throw it indoors" toy: NERF BALL. They first appeared in 1970
40. Actress Long: NIA. David also does not like to use many proper names in his puzzles. NIA Talita Long is an American actress who has received such accolades as three NAACP Image Awards and a Black Reel Award. Long is best known for her roles in the films Boyz n the Hood, Love Jones, Soul Food, The Best Man and its sequel The Best Man Holiday, Big Momma's House and its sequel Big Momma's House 2. She "arrived" the same year as the NERF BALL
41. Horse race margin: LENGTH. In Horse Racing, a "LENGTH" roughly refers to the length of the horse itself. So, if a horse wins "by a LENGTH" it is approximately 8 feet - see the photo below. This horse officially won by three-quarters of a LENGTH
42. Soul-baring pop music genre: EMO. Could be another abbr., as the term refers to an EMOtional expression through confessional lyrics (Wikipedia)
45. "__ Pinafore": HMS. Her Majesty's Ship. The comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore had a few PARASOLs as props
47. Before, to a bard: ERE. A contraction; not an abbreviation. Perhaps I should've focused on a more abbreviated blog, given my attention toward abbreviations today!!
48. Employee benefit option: DENTAL. My Medicare Advantage plan includes full DENTAL coverage
50. Some church donations: TITHES. One-tenth. Many churches ask their parishoners to TITHE when their annual gift-giving campaign begins. It helps them to prepare and cover expenses as well as charitable contributions
52. Dumb sound?: SCHWA. Examples of a SCHWA: the "a" in balloon; the "e" in problem; or the "i" family. The clue confirms this, as none of those vowels are stressed in the pronunciation of the word
53. Nickname akin to Topher: CHRIS. Hey! A SO to yours, truly! Though I never used nor thought of using "Topher" as a nickname for CHRIStopher. As I said to David in my email, had he found a way to use CHAIRMAN or MOE in the puzzle, this would have truly been serendipitous. Picture of me when I still had hair on my head
56. Sets as a price: ASKS. The "ASKing" price is usually used in auctions as a starting place. eBay is notorious for these, though some auctions allow you to offer a better, or "best" price
57. Pea place: POD. A bit of a misnomer; isn't there just one "P" in POD?
58. Many a Monopoly prop.: AVE. Short for AVEnue. There are 17 of them in the game, Monopoly. Don't believe me? Then look it up!! ;^)
59. Chum: PAL. MAC and BUD fit, but they were already used as either a clue or an entry
61. French article: UNE. Frawnch for "one"
62. Be indebted to: OWE. "Neither a lender nor borrower be". I have very few debts and pay off my credit card balances monthly
63. First name in supervillains: LEX. As in, LEX Luthor from DC Comics
64. Drip-__: DRY. This symbol on a laundry tag on clothing; something that you should hang to dry, not place in the clothes dryer
Please add your thoughts and comments below. Ending with a limerick, with apologies to Longfellow:
Listen my children, especially daughters
This did not show on any police blotters.
If Paul Revere had just chose
To sum up this blog in prose
He'd say: "One if by land, and two if Bywaters"
Notes from C.C.:
1) Happy
birthday to Rich Norris, editor of the LA Times Daily Crossword and the brain behind many terrific clues and theme entries. Here
is Rich with his wife Kim from a past ACPT tournament. Both of them are
super fast crossword solvers.
 |
2) Happy birthday also to Lemonade's beautiful wife Oo. This is a picture from their 2017 trip to Thailand.
55 comments:
What a songbird sees may be an ORIOLE VIEW,
If it came from a drone, 'twould be an aerial view.
In Shakespeare's Tempest
A spirit and pest
Could fly up in the storm to get an Ariel view!
A gem from QUEENSLAND is the shimmery OPAL.
Usually polished to fit jewelry as an OVAL.
If glued to an art car,
It would be expensive by far!
But what fun to drive in an oval opal opel!
{B, B+.}
Good morning!
This one was Friday-worthy, crossing into 10+ minute territory. Took me awhile to snap to the "sounds like" theme. C.C. has mentioned that these are the themes she finds most difficult. Tried FRere for FRIAR, but that was my only Wite-Out moment. Thanx for the creative puzzle, D.A.B., and for the excellent review, Chairman Moe. (ERA could also have been an ABBR for the Equal Rights Amendment.)
SATIE: My favorite of his pieces is the haunting Gnossienne No. 4, as interpreted by Loussier.
RES: Have you noticed that TV personalities have been showing up in moire-patterned clothing that would have driven a lo-RES TV camera crazy in the olden times.
Drip DRY: Don't think I've ever seen that symbol on my clothing. I guess blue jeans aren't Drip DRY.
OWE: We paid of our former house in the mid-90s, and have been debt-free with no long-term (longer than a month) debt. Since then, we've bought another house and three vehicles without going into hock. If we can't pay for it, we don't buy it.
Oops, forgot, happy birthday to Rich and Oo.
FIR, but erased gee for OOH and pal for MAC. DNK cadenzas (thought of office set containing credenzas), Topher, and only sorta knew what SCHWA means.
The Police referenced LOLITA in "Don't Stand So Close to Me":
It's no use, he sees her
He starts to shake and cough
Just like the old man in
That book by Nabokov
Where I grew up, "hollow" was pronounced "holler".
I like what the Brits would call "alters", or "alter tops". So SEXY, unless worn by someone of my age and/or gender.
I got all the theme transformations except ORIOLE VIEW. Dumb me.
I wanted "Tommy Can You Hear Me". That wouldn't fit, so I pinballed to PAPA.
Thanks to DAB for another fun Friday grid. My favorite pun was OWL FRESCO. And thanks to C-Moe, you handsome devil.
C.C., Oo asked me to thank you for posting that picture from our 2017 trip to Thailand to recognize her birthday. She is missing going to visit her family. I thank in advance all who send her birthday wishes.
This was one of the most straight forward Fridays ever. My only unknowns were VOTS Valley of The Sun and why there are pairs of ditto marks under CALL as one " would work and why does someone call the maid?
HBDTY Rich Norris, thank you David and Moe
CSO to Anon-T on ALFA
The use of Pt for part threw me. I inked route. DAB wanted to indicate abbrev but wouldn't AAA suffice?
I also tried wow/OOH. Also FRere/FRIAR. And AmtoO
I grok'ed LOLITA from the L and A. She seduces him, BTW. Or should I say IMO
I've developed a PROCLIVITY for xwords and their write-ups
Do NYT CVers consider Rex a Supervillain?
Let me extend my happy birthday to Rich and Oo.
I found this tres difficile but footholds and perps saved the FIR. If online, "Congrats" would've shocked me
WC
I got bottom 3 but ORIOLE VIEW and FED threw me. Vaguely familiar with tanager
Thank you, DAB, for this FIR Friday, full of fun and fowls. Had blanks for the birds until I got to THRUSH HOLD, where I entered thresh at first before catching on. The others soon came along after that. I did think of breastfed before grassfed was mentioned by C Moe. Had doctORS/ FLAVORS for alters the taste of. Perps to the rescue. Same for REfEr/REPEL. In general, though, a tidy grid today. Thanks, C Moe, for all the extras including your handsome photo!
Happy birthdays to Oo and Rich. Enjoy! I wondered about the ditto marks, too, Lemonade. And I liked your second poem today, OwenKL. We have the same debt-free plan, DO.
FLN: I have also discovered Fredrik Backman, Anon T, and have enjoyed three of his books (Us Against You as well as the two you've read). I am resisting reading the others quickly as I want to look forward to them.
Hope you all are looking forward to today!
Thanks to Chairman Moe for the kind words, incisive analysis, and link to my website! Do have a look, solvers and readers everywhere!
I at one time projected a 21x21 version of this puzzle, with TANAGER IN LOVE balanced by CURLEW BRACKET (Bird tournament diagram) and this additional pair:
PIGEON ROTATION: Bird dance move?
VULTURE CAPITAL: Bird money?
But I thought better of it—thereby adding another small item to the growing debt of gratitude I'm owed by the world in general.
Musings
-…and we’ll have pun, pun pun (pun, pun) ’til the crossword cells are all filled in. A little DAB’ll do ya!
-Subbing today but don’t start until 9:30am.
-CAME – “80% of success in life is just showing up”
-Ads for sports gambling, like PARLAYS, have surpassed insurance commercials as my least favorite
-PPO – A lovely, young lady came to our house to talk about a PPO Medicare Advantage Plan. It worked for Joann but I have one med that made it not work for me.
-A former colleague (not PAL) is soon going to jail for having a LOLITA
-FLAVORS - _ _ A _ _ _ S also yields SEASONS
-I always EASE OUT into traffic because you have to assume some idiot will run the stop light/sign
-Secretariat won the 1973 Belmont Stakes by 31 LENGTHS
-My neighbor started by ASKING $435,000 for her unremarkable house. She finally was glad to get $365,000. What you are selling is only worth what someone is willing to pay.
-Happy Birthday to Rich and Oo!
-Nice job, Moe! David, even your rejects were wickedly funny!
A very fun Friday play on bird words, thank you David. I figured out the theme but didn’t equate ORIOLE to AERIAL or GROUSE to GRASS till reading C-Moes expo. Not sure when or how I discovered this blog, but it has certainly has been enlightening and educational in many aspects, and definitely enhances the whole experience of doing CW’s. Thanks to all the constructors (alas, I’ll never be one), the bloggers who parse the puzzle each day, the editor, and of course the commenters who are invariably interesting! Wishing everyone a great weekend!
Puzzling thoughts:
HBTY, Oo and Rich Norris. Many happy returns!
L714: I agree with your comment re the DITTO marks; one would suffice
WC: LOL re Rex Parker as a CV’ers super villain 😂
OwenKL: limerick #2 gets a 👍🏻
Thank you David A for an absolutely FOWL FRIDAY FIR, of which I loved every FEATHER. I picked up on the bird references right away, but didn't get all the puns until MOE gave them FLIGHT. I'm afraid I have to agree with him that the Orioles have been for the BIRDS for the last several seasons. But there's always next Spring!
I also agree with MOE about the great fill in this and previous Bywaters' puzzles we've seen here, e.g.
1A POMP. Our Victorianist's specialty, crossing with PRO TEM, PIERCE being a letter shy.
5A ALFAS. A CSO to Anonymous -T. Speaking of whom, today's Google Doodle is devoted to VERMEER.
10D CONCERTO and ELK were givens, but NECK of the WOODS to tie them together was a master stroke.
34A TONED. Malware Bytes didn't take too kindly to the link to the "female physique" MOE!
38A TANAGER. Favorite bird.
43A. SATIE. Made "Blood Sweat and Tears" famous.
51A OWL FRESCO. My favorite, a pun on AL FRESCO: paintings done on FRESH plaster, the most famous example being the ceilings and walls of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel.
60A THRUSH HOLD. Best cartoon.
45A HMS. The Brits take their G&S very seriously. After performances, they have critiques with various audience members chiming in their two cents worth. One of my sisters and I saw a performance of HMS Pinafore in the Peak District in England and ended up closing the cast party at 2 AM in the morning, then had to get up at 5 AM to catch a plain back to the states.
HBD Rich and thanks for putting up with all our whining. Somebody has to take the heat for clues that we can't fill.
Cheers,
Bill
A CSO to David. Have you stopped doing you Saturday puzzles? I like to use them to lick my wounds when I DNF the LA Times Saturdays.
Oh, and HBD Oo. Take care of that irascible buddy of yours. We are praying for him daily.
Good Morning:
Sorry to say but this was Thumper territory for me.
Moe, I enjoyed your commentary very much; you do have a way with words! Kudos for the Moekus!
FLN
Bill G ~ What a pleasant surprise to see your post. Please join us often as your voice is missed.
Anon T ~ I loved A Man Called Ove. (CSO today with Alfas!)
TTP ~ I remembered that Ray O was going to Florida but I thought he’d be back by now. Time is so elusive so I guess I was wrong.
Happy Birthday to Rich, our guiding light and to Oo, Lemony’s shining light! 🎂🎉🎁🎈🎊
BTW, I received two emails from the same benefactor yesterday, awarding me $700,000.00 simply because I deserve it. I wonder what I did to deserve such a generous reward!
Have a great day.
Happy Birthday, Lemonade!
Happy Birthday, Rich!
The TANAGER IN LOVE bit, and Gary's musical link, brought back memories of "Each time I steal a hubcap it almost breaks my heart."
The Four Preps - Teenager In Jail
I had to resort to cheating to fill the grid, so DNF for me, FIR for Google. The “sounds like” theme finally lit up with TANAGERINLOVE, then saw the first two, and helped with the last two. I’m not so sure SCHWA is a “Dumb sound?” Anyway, very challenging (for me) CW, definitely Friday level. The more I had to cheat to fill the grid, the longer it took, so ended up spending 39 minutes to fill the grid. Thanx for the brain buster, DAB. And thanx for the excellent write-up, CM. HBD to Rich and Oo!
Hola!
Happy birthday, Rich! And than you for the priceless puzzles you provide for us every day!
Happy birthday, Oo!
CSO to Anon-T at ALFAS. SCHWA is dumb in the sense of not pronounced.
I hardly need to say how much I liked this puzzle so full of puns! Thank you, DAB!
Perhaps I'm the only one here who has never read LOLITA so did not know her name is Dolores Haze. I finally worked it out with perps. Only had to changed DEFER to REPEL.
FRIAR Bob, a Franciscan Brother, is a good friend to our group. He occasionally joins us for lunch if we are in Tucson. He is in charge of the Old Mission, San Xavier del Bac.
Yes, OSA is a female bear, oso, the male.
Best clue, IMO, for GENES. Favorite pun is OWLFRESCO.
Alter the color of my hair with DYE? I won't lie.
Thank you, CHRIS, for an excellent commentary and handsome photo!
have a fantastic Friday, everyone! Mani, pedi day today.
Oops. I meant to say, "thank you" Rich.
unclefred, the SCHWA is the "uh" sound of the U in DUMB, also the E in THE.
Hi All!
Kinda off today. Had Jury Duty and got dismissed earlier than some. Something about too many in the room / C19 (C21d?)... Anyway,
DAB - what a fun puzzle! Theme was cute x2, but the cluings...? OOH - very nice with lotsa sparkle. Thanks for the grid and for popping in.
C.Moe - you have way too much time on your hands... I enjoyed all but the DELL link :-)
HBD Rich! Thanks for bringing these gems to fruition with your editing might.
WO: I started, @28d, fASE [sic] OUT
ESPs: NIA | SATIE.
//But don't think I knew everything else out-of-the-box. Perps played heavy in most 'gets.'
Fav: (WC, IM, Lucina & Waseeley caught it :-)) ALFA [my '86 Spider]
Anyone else (Hi Jinx!) read 'Credenza' > 8 times? And think "They're two pieces?" :-)
Love CSN&Y's OUR House but Madness had a more upbeat pad in the '80s.
{B+, A}
Lem - Extend my HBD wishes to Oo. Oo - you keep making Lem keep after his health.
YooperPhil - glad you found us and are having fun at The Corner.
D-O: 8 more years and I'll be in the 100% paid-for (except for rental house) club. Heck, if oil stays >$80 bbl that might be only 5 years :-)
Jinx - Gordon Sumner (Sting) was a teacher for a few years. Makes me wonder how true to life the song is. //HG says it is so for a MAC he know(?!)
ATL Granny - does my (FLN) summary of Backman's story telling ring true?
Or am I just dense not cluing in earlier? :-)
I have an LOL link for PARLAY but...
Google 'Ralphie May Tsunami' at your own risk. [TV-MA]
Cheers, -T
I FIR on Friday! I soon saw we needed birds to replace sound-alike phrases. Interesting. I got the fill before I realized what they replaced. Without that realization the the puzzle would have been meh.
Fun puzzle and blog.
Happy birthday to Oo and Rich.
I have never heard or seen TOPHER for Christopher, all perps.
You might call the maid if you were going to be on vacation for a while. I did.
I understood the dittos as call the maid, call the boss, etc. In my list I would omit all the "call" words and just listed the person.
Dumb sound- the U in dumb is a schwa. The A in schwa is not. Sorry, DO. I wrote this before you posted.
I hear Satie's works on NPR. Lovely selection, DO.
Thanks for a fun experience, DAB and Moe.
After dental surgery I have a red spot between my nose and my lips. I tell people it was from my red hot lover. LOL. I also have a wide red stripe going from the left nostril to below the corner of my mouth. It was a bloody, extensive operation, but modern dentistry made it only a little painful. The red, caused by blood beneath the skin, is starting to fade today. I had brushed my teeth three times and combed my hair five times since the operation without any evidence of this. Then when I attended a ZOOM meeting yesterday I saw I was a frightening monster.
MOI @9:34 AM The "Peak District" has no "plains", so we caught a plane instead.
@waseeley, I was going to ask if your plain trip was "great."
Phil @8:45 AM A word to the wise - this place can be very habit forming. You start off making a comment here and there and the next thing you know, C.C. has you blogging! 🙃
D-O @11:56 AM Yes, the amber waves of grain were beautiful. 🌾🌾🌾
Fun Friday puzzle with a neat bird theme, many thanks, David. And nice commentary, Chairman Moe, thanks for that too.
Nice to see LOLITA in the puzzle--even though I didn't remember her other name either.
Have a friend from high school whose first name is Christopher. His nickname has always been TOPPER--very close to TOPHER.
Clever poems, Owen.
Liked your verse, Jinx.
Nice to have you on the blog, Yooper Phil.
Happy birthday, Rich.
Have a great weekend coming up, everybody.
Anon T @ 11:29 AM
I would agree with you about Backman's books. I have immediately reread the two you have with great interest, finding the hints and extra things I missed the first time, rather like watching a movie again. The Swedish culture and his characterizations are also draws for me.
Thanks to everyone on here for being so welcoming, the Corner is now part of my daily routine, nice to share thoughts with such an eclectic group of people who have the same love (well, OK, maybe it’s an addiction but at least it’s my BEST addiction :) for the mental challenge of solving puzzles, and along the way being educated in many regards, the bloggers are always good at taking small parts of the puzzle and making it a earning experience.
waseely @12:06 ~~ not ready to join the ranks of bloggers, but I certainly appreciate you etal that are the professionals at it!
Great puzzle and blog today. Thanks.
And Gary, I couldn't agree with you more about sports gambling ads and odds on the screen. We really want more addiction? While they're at it, why don't they bring back tobacco ads?
** learning experience
Hello everyone.
Finished it but had 2 red letters. OK theme I guess. Had to stretch your imagination to get the vowel sounds. Had 'dale' before DELL.
Liked the MOORED clue. Also liked NECK ('a the woods.). UNE came easily from the perps.
Happy Birthday to Oo and Rich.
A perfect Friday PZL from Mr. Bywaters!
Loved seeing the reference to HMS Pinafore! That was the first live performance of a G&S operetta I saw as a child.
I must have been 9 or 10 years old. and I couldn't believe how wonderfully all the "sisters and the cousins / whom he reckons up by dozens" could remember all those lines!
And how they presented them with bright teeth and flashing smiles--it was magical!
Flash forward twenty years, and it was the first G&S I ever staged--to conclude my first season in Richmond VA.
SCHWA is NOT the sound in the clue word "Dumb" itself.
That is normally a stressed vowel sound, the same vowel as in the words "fun" and "sun," indicated in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) by an inverted "V."
The SCHWA occurs only as an UNstressed vowel, as Chairman Moe notes correctly. But while the vowel in the clue word can be unstressed in rhythmic or rapid conversational speech, it is most commonly stressed.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Two diagonals, one on each side.
We have an overload of consonants today, in both diags. This narrows the anagram possibilities considerably. But I managed to find a two word combo (14 of 15 letters) that describes what sometimes happens in dance contests when hoofers in the style of Astaire and Bojangles take a few snorts to "steady their nerves."
They are sometimes marked down by judges because they...
"TAP TOTTERINGLY"!
Super puzzle, and thank you, David Alfred Bywaters for keeping it a 15x. :-)
Happiest of birthdays to Oo and to Rich!
I just realized, as I was typing my note above, what it was that determined my life in the theater (as distinct from working in film).
It was only a community theater production, but at my young age it was truly wonderful.
That performance I saw of HMS Pinafore put its stamp on me forever.
I had of course seen my share of movies as a kid, and I loved them--especially the cartoons that we were shown before every Saturday matinee.
But nothing on the "big screen" could compare with the excitement I felt breathing the same air as the live performers. To be in the same space, the same room as the artists, sharing in the moment of their fresh spirit & energy--nothing was comparable!
In a way, it is the same phenomenon as being in the presence of a personality who has high energy. You just can't resist being pulled in to their orbit. Nor would you want to resist, for they are expressing the fullness of life.
~ OMK
Phil @12:43 PM We wish it were an "earning experience", but I think it's only Rich who's making big bucks (and worth every penny of it!).
With Google's help I was able to recall the TOPHER I knew-Grace, the star of That 70s Show(Eric Forman)
He left the show prematurely prior to its last season. A mistake for him and the Show itself. I enjoyed that show.
WC
Super smooth solve today with LOLITA being the only guessable unknown. I noticed the 'bird' theme after GROUSE FED. Wanted FRERE before FRIAR took over.
I don't think I'd ever seen the word 'Muscly' in print before but TONED was an easy fill. Reminds me of the way Popeye pronounced 'muscles'.
EXIT ROW. I think SWA is the only airline that doesn't charge extra; first come, first served going down the aisle.
Admittedly the pandemic and the politics of the last few years have made me rather isolated, but where have they been hiding this MAGNIFICENT MACHINE ? I am more upset about not driving now ...Please, car buffs, fill me in.
For those of you who can't get enough of D.A.B. (and who can?), he has 207 puzzles posted on his website, plus reviews of Victorian novels, another of his specialties.
I liked this puzzle very much. It made me think and it made me laugh. Especially loved the clues for NECK and MOORED.
Happy birthday Rich and Oo.
In my dictionary the pronunciation of dumb is written with a schaw.
I looked it up.
Fun Friday. Thanks DAB and CMoe.
I FIRed in good time and saw the Bird theme (follow-up to the Byrds from yesterday).
But OWL FRiEze held me up.
This Canadian had no idea about PPO.
I had to come here to figure out CHRIS and Topher.
My horse won by a nose, but LENGTH fit. NECK might have worked there too.
Happy Birthday to Rich and Oo.
Good evening all.
I enjoyed this puzzle, and reading this blog. I drop in occasionally to find an explanation for something that I don't "get" -- but I usually do the puzzle in the evening so all of you puzzlers have probably closed up by now.
But if anyone is still on, a Q: How do you know who is writing the blog? I get the impression that it's not always the same person.
(And I also loved A Man Called Ove - the book more than the movie.)
Helen of Marlowe:
On the side bar panel is a list of the contributors.
Monday is Boomer (C.C.’s husband Doug)
Tuesday is Hahtoolah (aka Susan)
Wednesday’s are melissa b and JazzBumpa (Ron)
Thursday’s are Malodorous Manatee (Joseph) and waseeley (Bill S)
Friday’s are Lemonade714 (Jason) and yours truly, Chairman Moe (Chris)
Forgot that Husker Gary does Saturday’s and C.C. does Sunday’s blog
Zhouqin "C.C." Burnikel is the creator and master of ceremonies for this blog. Back in January of 2008 (almost 14 years ago) she decided she liked discussing crossword puzzles and learning more about solving them so she began this blog. For a while she wrote every day and responded to any comments herself. Her interactions caught the attention of other puzzle lovers including constructors and editors and they provided some insight and more in depth discussions which led to a larger readership. As time passed C.C. was getting too many comments to respond on her own and sought help from some her posters. After two years, she had made friends with Don "Hard G" Gagliardo, an established puzzle master. Together they created lots of puzzles, until C.C. started doing it on her own. She has become one of the all-time most prolific and succesful in the business. She also has mentored many into creating a puzzle and having it published, including many of her bloggers.
As for the bloggers, that has been an also evolving format, but C.C. picks everyone who blogs. Many do it for years, many for fewer years, but she has always found willing volunteers. We are unpaid except for our personal joy in the project and our diverse egos. There is a set roster for each week which C.C. establishes and which is subject to people not being able to do their appointed day. She has drafted her husband a very skilled bowler yo come on board and blog Mondays and pinch hit where needed.
Keep reading and come play whenever you want. Lemonade out.
Helen of Marlowe - Nice of you to join us.
I usually check the blog one last time around 11-1130 pm Eastern time. In the morning I check previous day comments before plunging into the day's blog. I believe many others do, too. At the least it's a courtesy to our West Coast friends.
Thank you Lemonade, Chairman,and Spitzboov -- For a year or so, I've been occasionally popping in here to pick up an explanation for something that I don't get, even after it's filled in. Such as yesterday's "darn" for "relative of rats" -- I thought the word "rats" should have been in quotation marks if it's referring to the word instead of the thing -- so I come here and see what's been said.
I love reading the comments here. We pick the newspaper up out of our driveway mid-morning (night owls) and it's after dinner that I pick up my blue ball point pen and start the puzzles (xword and crypto). Thank you for the explanations - you've made me feel welcome!
Helen
Thank you David Bywaters for a nice and challenging puzzle and Chairman Moe for a fine and fun review. It took some time, but I had no real problems.
Happy Birthday LA-CW Editor Rich and Mrs. Lemonade, Oo.
Could OOH have been a SO to Oo .... ?
I was familiar with the word FRESCO from Ajanta Ellora Caves frescoes, Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India, 5th century A.D..
C-Moe loved the cartoon ... Tweety vs. Woodstock ... the artist had to draw a lot of ..... "famous cartoon characters".... in that picture !!!
Lemonade, I notice you are having fewer typos than you normally do, so maybe your sight is improving some ?
I was going to have my sixth surgery on my left eye last month, because the IOC lens....
( put to clear the cataract, which was caused by the SF6 used for the multiple detaches on that retina...) .... had slipped into the ground floor of the eyeball ...
But I have finally decided to leave the eyeball alone, leave well enough alone, as it is, and make do with one good eye. I have long reconciled myself to that.
I railed at God, because I had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet ... Who said that ...?
Have a good weekend all.
Hello, Helen, and welcome!
Lemonade, I've forgotten to tell you that that photo of you in Thailand always reminds me of Yul Brunner in The King and I.
Mmmm. My home right now smells of banana bread which I just took out of the oven. I can't eat those bananas fast enough so of course they end up in bread.
Hi Y'all! THank you, DAB, it took a real "bird brain" to come up with this theme -- and I mean that in the best possible way. Very chuckleworthy. Thank you, Moe, for your mighty efforts.
Hand up reading cadenza as a piece of furniture. Also had my horse race won "by nose" or some term with NECK before LENGTH perped in.
I've never read LOLITA, either. I think I'm the only one couldn't get into "A man called OVE" and quit part way in. Think it was hitting too close to home to be enjoyable at the time.
DNK: PPO
Happy Birthday, Rich. Happy Birthday and thanks for taking good care of our Lemonade, Oo.
Helen, some bloggers are polite enough to introduce themselves at the top of the blog. But if they don't, on my laptop there are 2 lines at the bottom, just ahead of the comments:
Posted by Whoever at 3:30 A.M.
Labels: Blogger, Constructor, day
I don't know if that's available on a phone or tablet. The time is nearly always 3:30 Pacific Time.
Back when I had been here a year or two, I asked to join the roster, but CC very wisely ignored me. With my bipolar dysfunction, I would have been an unreliable addition, as I'd already demonstrated with my "daily" l'icks.
Owen, I think it’s 3:30am CST when the blog goes “live”. I had to rethink the time as we just had time change. AZ had been two hours behind MN until this past weekend
Keep the l’icks coming.
Lucina, Margaret made banana bread earlier this week. We add walnuts to ours. Great treat for breakfast!
CMoe:
I know some people like banana bread with walnuts but I find them bitter. If I have pecans on hand I add those but not today. It is yummy anyway! It will be good with coffee in the morning.
PK:
I read the OVE books but can't say I liked them as well as others. The writing is a bit too stark for my taste.
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