Puzzling thoughts:
Frequent contributor Joe Deeney is our constructor on this 365th day of 2021. Joe ushers out the year with a clever quintet of Magazine names - some popular and well-known; a couple not so much - that are found in somewhat common phrases.
I (8-Across: Focus[ed] on winning a contest?) STARE[D] at the blank grid for quite awhile before getting a foothold, but I didn't cheat (even though I had all of the answers). I FIR with several w/o's as will be explained in the recap below. Here then are the five themer's:
17-Across. Magazine article?: TIME PIECE. TIME magazine has been around forever (actually, since March 3, 1923), and annually honors their "Person of the Year". The 2021 recipient is Elon Musk. And as my theme suggests, with this honor, Musk is certainly a mag(azine) "wheel". As a single word, TIMEPIECE might refer to a watch or clock
24-Across. Magazine employee?: PEOPLE PERSON. Probably my favorite of Joe's quips, as folks with whom I'm acquainted would call me a "PEOPLE PERSON"
PEOPLE Magazine first appeared on March 4, 1974, with Mia Farrow as the cover girl pitching her upcoming movie "Gatsby". Some of the other "mag wheels" that were featured in the first issue included: William Peter Blatty, Gloria Vanderbilt, Richard Petty, and Jim Croce
37-Across. Magazine revenue?: WIRED MONEY. Joe shifts gears on us by placing the Magazine name second in this well-known phrase. Wiring MONEY has become so much easier now with the advent of on-line banking. I prefer to use PayPal. MONEY Magazine first appeared on the newsstands in October, 1972. There was no specific "mag wheel" featured on the first issue's cover; instead a list of three articles.
Unlike TIME and PEOPLE (which are weekly's), MONEY is published monthly. TIME, Inc was its first publisher.
52-Across. Magazine ad?: CRICKET PITCH. OK, now it gets a bit tricky . . . did Joe throw us a curve ball or is Moe over-thinking this one? CRICKET is an illustrated literary magazine for children published in the United States, founded in September 1973. It was meant to be "The New Yorker for kids". I never heard of it. PITCH magazine has several references when Googled. Maybe if Joe stops by he can elaborate for us
Nevertheless, a CRICKET PITCH in real life looks something like this:
61-Across. Magazine founders?: "O" PIONEERS!. "O", The Oprah Magazine has been a newsstand staple since its debut in April, 2000, but the last print issue was in 2020; it's digital now. The magazine is usually abbreviated to just "O" as seen here on one of its cover photos. Camille Cosby graced the cover of the premier issue, and is thus, the "mag wheel" for "O".
Per Wikipedia: O Pioneers! is a 1913 novel by American author Willa Cather, written while she was living in New York. It was her second published novel. The title is a reference to a poem by Walt Whitman entitled "Pioneers! O Pioneers!" from Leaves of Grass
Here is the grid, with the magazine names highlighted in red:
Across:
1. Feel compassion (for): ACHE. Empathy is a trait of many PEOPLE PERSON(s) who feel compassion, or ACHE for another
5. Uncomfortable spot: ZIT. Odd clue; other synonyms for ZIT(s):
13. Arctic trout: CHAR. Note the trout-like mouth
14. Word with rock or rain: ACID. I needed a few perps; I knew that FRAGGLE couldn't fit - too many letters!
16. "The Thunder Dragon Kingdom": BHUTAN. Most of what you want to know about BHUTAN
19. Pitching in: AIDING. First of my w/o's; I had ADDING
20. Egyptian leader before Sadat: NASSER. Gamal Abdel NASSER Hussein: an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the 1952 overthrow of the monarchy and introduced far-reaching land reforms the following year. Wikipedia
21. Hockey trophy namesake: ART ROSS. Second of my w/o's; I had (Lord) STANLEY first. The ART ROSS Trophy is given to the NHL player who has the highest point total (goals + assists) during the regular season. Been an award since the late 1940's. Wayne Gretzky won the trophy an NHL-record 10 times, including seven in a row from 1980-81 through 1986-87. Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux are next with six each
23. Go (for): OPT. VIE also fit
28. Fail to hold it together: WEEP. One of my favorite covers of this Billie Holiday classic
30. Iris part: PETAL. PUPIL fit, but technically that is a part of the EYE, not the IRIS
31. Japanese national sport: SUMO. Learning moment.The Grand SUMO Tournament begins in about 10 days. A throw-back haiku:
Japanese wrestler
Named Maurice was served. Someone
Wanted to SUMO
32. Enter noisily: TROMP IN. Exit noisily: TRUMP OUT
35. Swear: ATTEST. I ATTEST, this is just a test
40. Submit: ACCEDE.
43. FBI director before Comey: MUELLER. MUELLER reflects on his 12 year run as FBI director
46. Atomic theory pioneer: BOHR. Niels Henrik David BOHR was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum theory, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr was also a philosopher and a promoter of scientific research. Wikipedia
47. Blues and Jazz, e.g.: TEAMS. St Louis BLUES and the Utah JAZZ are TEAMS in the NHL and NBA, respectively
50. Days of anticipation: EVES. How timely! Tonight is one of those
56. "__ had enough!": I'VE. How many of you thought of Earth, Wind, and Fire? This wasn't one of their bigger hits, but it made YouTube! The 1970's rocked!
57. Supreme Court appointee between Stevens and Scalia: O'CONNOR. Sandra Day O'CONNOR is an American retired attorney and politician who served as the first female associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. She was the first woman nominated and, subsequently, the first woman confirmed. Wikipedia
58. Firm up: HARDEN. If Joe had stayed with the NBA in clueing this, we'd have had this dude:
60. Captures: SNARES. As a percussionist, my son-in-law plays these:
64. See to: HANDLE. It's my job to HANDLE this blog twice a month
65. Shaving mishap: NICK. No shaving mishap for this NICK:
66. Chip in?: ANTE. Moe-ku:
Dispensary has
A poker room. You ANTE,
And hope to win pot
67. Baker's starter component: YEAST. Said baker was having problems getting baked goods to market. A reporter asked him if it was due to the recent shortage of flour. His response was, "That's the YEAST of my worries . . ."
68. Look at intently: EYE. EYE seems less invasive than OGLE; a word we often see for this clue
69. Certain survivor's malady, for short: PTSD. According to the National Institute of Health: "Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event. It is natural to feel afraid during and after a traumatic situation. Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to help defend against danger or to avoid it"
Down:
1. Commercial imperative: ACT NOW. This is the perfect ad for this phrase:
2. Growing fad?: CHIA PET. Oddly enough I got this play-on-words clue straight away. ACT NOW and you can buy one of these!
3. Pet with cheek pouches: HAMSTER. Was there a CHIA PET version of this lovable little guy?
4. "__ Tu": 1974 hit: ERES. ERES tu is Spanish for Is it You
5. Democratic Republic of the Congo, once: ZAIRE. I knew it was ZAIRE but ZIT didn't look right, initially, in the across position
6. __ the kicker: call a time-out moments before a field goal attempt: ICE. 63-Down. Not very welcoming: ICY. Tinbeni, not pleased!
7. Facial spasm: TIC. I wonder if this spasm is what causes a 65-Across??
8. Overseas county: SHIRE. Oxford Dictionary defines it as: "a county, especially in England". Used in reference to parts of England regarded as strongholds of traditional rural culture, especially the rural Midlands. Was referred to in the Lord of the Rings trilogy
9. Like Leeds Castle, architecturally: TUDOR STYLE. Staying with England, the next clue describes this:
10. Contested: AT ISSUE. What would a crossword puzzle about magazines be without the word "ISSUE"??!
11. Coerced payments: RANSOMS. Here is another way to clue "RANSOMS" - it's a wild garlic. Much nicer than a coerced payment methinks . . .
12. Lang. of Belize: ENG. When a colony, it was known as British Hondurus. One of the many places that Moe has visited outside the U.S. Here are a couple of pictures taken at the Xunantunich Archaeological Reserve which is on the border of Belize and Guatemala. It's a Mayan ruin that dates back to the period of approx. 700-1000, A.D. The second pic is of me at its apex. It was quite a hike to the top!
15. Passed out: DEALT. Once again, I initially had DEALT in this spot, but it didn't fit with STANLEY in 21-Across. Once ART ROSS emerged, DEALT was DEALT back in
16. Sight in the skies above Gotham: BAT PLANE. Gotham (Bruce Wayne's home town) should have given it away for me, but this was one of my last entries to the grid. I knew of the BAT MOBILE but not a BAT PLANE. I was more of a Marvel Comics fan as a kid; not DC
18. Cheerleading asset: PEP. Sure, let's go with PEP! A CSO to our Houston area puzzlers
22. Blues-rocker Chris: REA. I'm sure most of y'all have heard this song before
25. Role for Ronny: OPIE. Actor/Director/Producer Ron Howard
26. Remain undecided: PEND. I usually think of the word PENDing; not PEND. But Your Dictionary dot com uses PEND in a sentence thusly: "To PEND is to await or depend upon a decision occurring in the future. When your future is hinging upon the results of a courtroom trial, this is an example of a time when your future will PEND on the trial.
27. "I was being sarcastic!": NOT. Great clue, eh Moe? "NOT"!
29. Sources of juice: POWER CORDS. Moe-ku:
Wood-burning stoves are
Fueled by logs stacked 4' by 4'
Are these (called) POWER CORDS?
33. Fielder prefix: MID. A MIDfielder is a position in soccer (football). In the well-oiled soccer team machine, MIDfielders are the gears that keep the defensive and offensive lines connected and moving smoothly. This key role often sees the most action and moves the most during a game. Midfielders play both defensive and offensive roles and must be accurate passers. According to one source, this guy is the best MIDfielder in the world right now
34. False purpose: PRETENSE. Dictionary dot com says: "a claim, especially a false or ambitious one". Spot on
36. __ Aviv: TEL. We recently had some photos appear on this blog of Picard pedaling along the Mediterranean whilst in TEL Aviv. Moe was there - for a business trip - back in 2008
38. First year of the next millennium: MMMI. Hmmm (note the 3 m's). Spoiler alert: none of who are reading this will be alive in the year 3001
39. Get rid of: OUST. I usually think of the word OUST to mean something more forceful than "get rid of". As in, "the bouncer OUSTed the drunk from the bar"; or, "the rebel forces OUSTed the Prime Minister from power"
40. Robin Roberts' network: ABC. Robin René Roberts is an American television broadcaster. Roberts is the anchor of ABC's Good Morning America. She formerly worked at ESPN as both a reporter and sportscaster. Now, for those who are baseball fans, check out THIS Robin Roberts
41. Solar eclipse phenomena: CORONAE. Unlike several Mexican beers; you would call those CORONAS
42. Certain Mexican-American: CHICANA. CHICANO could've fit, too. Interesting find from Huffpost dot com: "Originally wealthier Mexican-Americans used the term CHICANO/CHICANA as a pejorative, a way to describe Mexican-Americans of lower social standing (likely with some racial overtones). But it wasn't until the outbreak of the civil rights movement in the 1960s that the term “Chicano” became popular"
44. Clear: EVIDENT. This is EVIDENT as the driven snow - to paraphrase!
45. Goes back: REVERTS. One of the 12 7-letter entries that Joe used today. This word's origin: "from Old French revertir or Latin revertere ‘turn back’. Early senses included ‘recover consciousness’ and ‘return to a position'
48. WWII command: ETO. European Theater of Operations - this abbr. is becoming a bit too "crosswordese" for my liking, as many of the new generation of puzzle solvers are unfamiliar with this term, outside of crosswords. In looking at the puzzle, Joe might have used ETE (French word for summer) and O'CONNER (Fictional character Brian in Fast and Furious) instead, but I'm not an editor . . . and probably for good reason!!
49. Protective garment: APRON.
51. Intuited: SENSED. How many of you have SENSED that this recap has run its course?!
53. Prepared to speak to a tot, maybe: KNELT. Having just returned from a trip to visit my 19-month old grandson, I knew this clue/answer immediately
54. Fail in the clutch: CHOKE. This is a clever clue, for me at least. I saw the word "clutch" in the clue and immediately thought of this
55. Chewie's pal: HAN. Not sure why Joe chose "Chewie's pal" as opposed to "Chewbacca's pal" for the clue. HAN is not a nickname for the character in Star Wars
59. Gather: REAP. Again, a word used a lot in crossword puzzles due to its versatile combination of vowels and consonants
60. Short: SHY. When I first saw this clue I was thinking "height". As I am 5'6", I know all about being short; "vertically challenged" is one of the few PC terms I've embraced!! ;^) But in this clueing of the word, I thought Joe was referring to short as "not having enough money". As in, "I can't leave a tip for you because I am a bit SHY right now."
62. Treat on March 14: PIE. The word PIE - a homophone for the word PI - is a celebratory treat served on March 14. Why? Because March 14 can also be written numerically as "3-14". Pi (a mathematical constant, approximately equal to 3.14159, is defined in Euclidean geometry as the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter) as a number is usually abbreviated 3.14
And with that, we are done. It's been a slice! I hope you all have an enjoyable celebration tonight of the passing of 2021 to 2022. See you next Friday . . .
43 comments:
FIWrong by 3 cells, 2 naticks that I WAGged, one a misspelling that crossed one of the naticks. ErES + CHAr (I kept hearing the melody of ERES TU every time I looked at that, but couldn't recall the words), and ArTRoSS + rEA were the two naticks, and I misspelt TUDeR STYLE.
The theme was cute. Took until the second was discovered that I got it, but that helped with the rest of the themers.
Wrote some comments yesterday, but was waiting for some poetic inspiration before I posted it. Inspiration never came, so I never posted it. Today, again, Erato is AWOL, so I'll post my comments first, and hope Erato returns before too late in the day.
Good morning!
This turned out to be a worthy challenge. Even d-o managed to trip to the magazine theme. WIRED (Conde Nast, 1993) and MONEY are both magazines -- maybe that's why that themer was placed dead center. That ART ROSS trophy was a mystery. It looks sorta like a Dalek. Don't remember a BAT PLANE, but BAT SIGNAL was too long. My "starter component" started out as FLOUR. Wite-Out, please. Enjoyed the outing, Joe, and also the expo, C-Moe.
Hope everyone celebrates sensibly tonight. We'll be staying in and going to bed early.
Watched Death to 2021 yesterday on NetFlix. Most of it was so-so, but I was cracked up at their remembrance of AUKUS -- the US, UK, Australia trilateral pact to help Australia acquire nuclear submarine technology. As you'll undoubtedly remember, France got its undies in twist over that deal. Of course, France couldn't become a part of the pact, because then it'd be FAUKUS. (Heading to my room...)
Wow, with zero fanfare the Barnacle announced: "please be advised that you...will automatically be charged $29.99 on approximately January 16 2022. You are enrolled in a continuous subscription..." That's a slight (OK, 50%) increase from the $19.95 monthly rate for digital-only in 2021. That newspaper has a death-wish!
FIW, with BaUTAN and AdDING masking the obvious S(hi)RE. Erased care for ACHE, stanley for ART ROSS, pupil for PETAL, and being American, outfielder for MIDfielder.
March 14 not only has its own food, it has its own song: John Lennon wrote "Give Pizza Chance" just for the occasion (at least that's what I always heard).
I'll bet a million dollars that the next millennium will be celebrated on 1/1/3000, even though it doesn't really start until 1/1/3001. If I'm wrong, look me up and I'll pay up. Should be worth about one of today's quarters.
My BIL came home from 'Nam with severe PTSD. Now he has prostate cancer. He thinks it is from Agent Orange, even though he was in his seventies when he was diagnosed. Who am I to argue?
FLN, I didn't know about the attack on the Liberty Bell, or that it was no longer open to the public.
Verizon just informed me that my unlimited data plan has used up 90% of its data. Seems that my laptop data usage via my phone's mobile hotspot isn't unlimited. No more YouTube or Facebook until I get home.
Thanks to Joe for the fun puzzle, even though I managed to mangle it. My favorite was Blues and Jazz for TEAMS. I wanted something on the order of "genres". And thanks to Moe for the kus and other mirth.
Good Morning:
This was a clever theme even though it jumped right off the page with the first entry. I feel kind of silly after learning that Cricket is a magazine for children and not for fans of the physical game, but not as silly as I felt when I finally figured out that the entry was O Pioneers and not what I originally thought, Opinioneers which didn’t make any sense viv a vis the other themers. Like others, I had Stanley before Art Ross and Bhutan, as clued, needed perps. As Moe pointed out, Issue was an Easter Egg. Other goodies included Ice/Icy, Dealt/Ante, Pet/Hamster, Nick/Tic, and the rhyming trio of Shy/Eye/Pie. Yesterday, Chica, today Chicana. Hola, Lucina!
Thanks, Joe, for a Friday fun fest and thanks, Moe, for providing more fun and knowledge with your outstanding review, links, photos, etc. Well done, Chairman!
FLN
Anon T, I hope I can live up to your expectations! 😇 Congratulations to Eldest on those two Summa cum Laude degrees!
Jinx, I don’t think there is any cause for alarm regarding these calls putting my financial information in jeopardy. They are mostly from legitimate insurance companies who claim they’re responding to a request for quotes or information. I think the worst is over as the calls went from 30 to 18 to just 6 yesterday.
TxMs, I never answer the phone if I don’t recognize the number. And, as you said, where are the efforts to control or prevent these intrusive calls? What I don’t understand is how the equipment and technology to spoof names and numbers is available to any Tom, Dick, or Harry who wants to prey on people.
Have a safe and sound New Year’s Eve.
An end of the year FIR today! With TIME and PEOPLE entered, I saw what the theme was and even recognized the two magazines in the center spot. There were WOs, of course, the first being beard/PETAL. OK, I was thinking of the bearded iris. The NE corner was a slow area since I didn't know ART ROSS, but finally it filled. My last entry was MID, having been misled by confidently entering TROoP IN. I tried "out" fielder before perps nixed that. Lots of twists and turns in this puzzle. Thanks, Joe!
Thanks, C Moe , for your generous review full of explanations, Moe-kus, and personal takes on the puzzle. You add a lot to our enjoyment.
And hoping you all enjoy saying goodby to 2021 and welcome to 2022!
Read 9D as overseas country, had China far too long.
You can still find a manual CHOKE (and a carburetor) on lawn mowers and snow blowers. My dad's '51 Chevy had a manual choke; by the 1960's cars had automatic chokes, until carbs were phased out for fuel injection.
Stevenson, a famous British spy (A Man Called Intrepid) famously extracted BOHR from the clutches of the Nazis*
Before Wilbur DEALT the cards he made sure everyone had ANTED and no one was SHY
WC(FIR BTW)
*In LOTR STRIDER extracted Frodo from the SHIRE and clutches of the Nazghul. In both cases the alias was Underhill
Took me 11:38 to finish the magazine today. Was confounded at Opioneers (my first themer), then Cricket Pitch (my second) didn't do anything to help. I remembered "Wired" as a magazine, which then shed some (reading) light. Still, the top-right corner was tough, but made some sense when "a tissue" became "at issue."
Happy 2022, everyone!
FLN:
Lucina: Chick is short for Chicken. Chicken was a term used mostly by men to refer to young women in the workforce around the turn of the last century. Edna Ferber uses the term a lot in many of her short stories.
As noted, WIRED is (was) also a magazine.
In keeping with a bad year I ended on a bad note today. No PRETENSE here; I bombed in two places on Deeney's puzzle. I had Metropolis and Gotham City mixed up and refused to get AIR PLANE out of my mind, even though I had the rest of the area filled correctly. The ARRROSS, AHUTAN & IIDING would never change to ART, BHUTAN, AIDING. I lost that STARE contest.
BAT PLANE, CRICKET Magazine, Chris REA, and ART ROSS Trophy were unknowns. Never heard of a Bat Plane.
But my dumbest mistake was at 61A. I stuck with ONION magazine and had ONIONEERS and my brain was thinking St. Pat's day, not PIE day. O Magazine never entered the gray area of my head.
English Lit Major- How about W.C. Fields "My little CHICKadee".
Happy New Year to all and hope next year is a good one.
Hi Y'all! A real challenge, thanks, Joe. Moe, thanks. MOE-Joe, I needed more of that to do the puzzle. Thought the theme was quite a stretch to include WHEEL. DNK: MONEY, CRICKET or PITCH were MAGAZINES.
Tried "pity" before ACHE.
Wanted BAT signal/signs before PLANE. Hand up for not knowing there was a BAT PLANE.
Couldn't spell BHUTAN right. Forgot the "H".
DNK: ART ROSS, Chris REA.
Thanks for the great recap, Chairman. I doubt if anyone is going to SUMO. Then, again, I had no trouble at all (no perps required) with the "word with rock" clue so my judgement might be clouded. Perhaps, when the Sunshine comes through the Windowpane, things will be less Haze-y.
Happy Hogmanay, everyone!
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Joe and CMoe.
TIME constraints forced me to Google a couple of unknowns for the finish in the NE (BHUTAN, TUDOR).
But I saw the magazine theme ( although I thought 61A could also be parsed as OPION- EERS, as in OpEd).
Nassar changed to NASSER with PEP.
Hand up for Stanley. ART ROSS would be a secondary trophy.
My fielder was Out before MID.
Troop in changed to TROMP.
We had DEALT and KNELT.
My first thought was that March 14 was the EVE of Ides. LOL.
Same with bribes before RANSOMS.
Chica yesterday and CHICANA today. This Canadian is learning Spanish.
I’ll read you all later.
Happy New Year’s EVE.
FLN -Ray-o- I say ZEEbra . . . but it starts with a Zed! We Canadians like to blend our British and Americanisms.
Oy, very, very tough CW for unclefred. Too many unknowns to list. Multiple W/Os. A real mess when I FINALLY managed to FIR in 45 loooong struggling minutes. “Hockey trophy namesake” is definitely w/o question STANLEY. Isn’t it called the Stanley Cup? I was SO sure that was correct it buggered up the NE forever, as I struggled endlessly to fill with STANLEY my only “for sure” answer. Oy. When EVENTUALLY ARTROSS perped in, I was “Who the f___ is THAT?” Never heard of him. The hockey trophy is called the Stanley Cup. Period. Like d-o, I also confidently entered FLOUR. Then KNELT perped in and POWERHOUSE (first fill there) and I started to wonder about FLOUR. POWERHOUSE became POWERCORDS, (clue called for a plural, unclefred, geez!) and yeast perped in. No clue who Robin Roberts is, I watch CNBC not ABC in the morning. Like I said, this entire CW was a real struggle. Thanx JD, for the mental workout. And thanx Chairman Moe for the outstanding write-up. Please know that your time and effort are appreciated. Happy New Year to all!!
Thanks Joe, Thanks Moe. Great puzzle, great struggle (but FIR), and great review (loved the bling and loved the KUEs.
14A ACID. Started with HARD, but it made further progress even HARDER.
17A TIME PIECE. Not a big fan of big wheel ELON, a major despoiler of both "Earth and Sky", another Magazine.
37A WIRED MONEY. This is actually a double-whammy as WIRED is also the name of a high-falutin' techie MAG.
52A CRICKET PITCH. Thanks for the PITCH PLAN MOE. I've only seen it at ground level in countless BRITBOX shows. My Mother's twin Arthur was a CRICKET player during his English 'ute, and wanted to start a league in the US when he got here, but couldn't field a team. The inscrutable rules of Cricket make those of American Baseball look like child's play.
46A BOHR. Bohr and Heisenberg were at odds over the meaning of Quantum Mechanics, a dispute that physicists are still arguing about today. Michael Frayn wrote a remarkable play about this dispute called "Copenhagen" (Bohr's birthplace, and also the name of his interpretation of QM). the play was eventually made into a movie starring Stephen Rea as Bohr, Daniel Craig as Heisenberg, and Francesca Annis as Margretha Bohr Here's the trailer.
33D MID. One of my grandsons is a MIDFIELDER for his soccer team. It can be a confusing game, but the rules are as bad as Cricket.
60D SHY. Gee MOE we're the same height! But I think I'm ahead of you on width. New Year's resolution - "get back to hiking!"
And a Happy New Year to you all!
Cheers,
Bill
Word of the day: Hogmanay
Pronunciation: hahg-mê-nay
Part of Speech: Noun, proper
Meaning: Hogmanay is not a pig resort but a Scottish festivity celebrated on the last day of the year. Children traditionally stroll about the neighborhood on this day asking for presents. Today's Good Word also refers to the gifts given or received on Hogmanay. More recently it has become a raucous New Year's Eve party in many Scottish cities at which revelers sometimes do behave a bit swinishly.
from the alphaDictionary
Musings
-I learned CRICKET is a magazine and laughed out loud at the cleverness of O PIONEER which was the novel written by a very famous University of Nebraska alum
-Netflix’s The Crown does a great job of showing NASSER’s taking over the Suez Canal and Anthony Eden’s inept handling of the situation
-EDEN had Israel invade Egypt under false PRETENSES after NASSER OUSTED the Brits from the canal
-All science teachers have taught the BOHR atom
-James HARDEN has been described as the NBA’s laziest and most selfish player
-In Anglo-Saxon an officer of the law was called a SHIRE Reef. That evolved into…
-Yesterday CHICA (and Chiquita from me) and today CHICANA
-Most Americans don’t realize our fight versus Hitler started in Africa not the ETO
-CHOKE – Some field goal kickers in the weeks ahead will live with that title for a long time
-Subbing for a math teacher on March 14 is way cool
-Idiot neighbor’s fireworks will wake us at midnight.
Wilbur Charles @ 8:31 AM There is also some speculation that Bohr was tipped off about his imminent arrest by his old colleague Werner Heisenberg, who by then was a major player in Germany's efforts to develop an atomic bomb.
Thanks for an enjoyable Friday toughie, Joe. And always enjoy your commentary, Moe.
Only the southeast corner worked for me this morning, with EVES and I'VE helping me get EVIDENT and REVERTS and then HARDER and, Yeah! O PIONEERS.
Okay, I also got PEP for that cheer-leading asset, and thought PEOPLE PERSON was a cute response for Magazine employee.
Have a great New Year's Eve coming up everybody, and a great 2022 beginning tomorrow.
I found the puzzle enjoyable "because" it was so hard.
The sea of white was gradually filled in with many an "aha" moment.
Reading (MM's) Writeup, I couldn't help but think of possibilities.
Like, if "MAD" were in the puzzle, could it have been clued
As a theme reveal? Would that have been the first 3 letter fill
To do so? (I have never seen a 3 letter reveal before...)
Also, could "mad magazine" be used as a reveal for a
Jumbled word "magazine" puzzle?
Hmm,
I also want something in the sky over Gotham to be "bat signal,"
but I couldn't get it to fit...
Hey! Wait a sec! they forgot my favorite magazine!
Really no excuse for ice/icy. Ice could have been ire. Icy could even have been ick. Editor shouldn't have let this go through. Otherwise a good set of theme answers.
Puzzling thoughts 2:
Thanks for the kind words re: my recaps. I do enjoy writing them and it’s allowed me to learn a lot more about the constructors as well as some of the new crossword language
Bill S —> in addition to being vertically challenged we also share another thing: my partner Margaret also proofreads my blog for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and fact checking. She knew that WIRED was also a magazine, but I decided not to edit that part of my recap, as it’s nice to read comments from y’all; I figured somebody else knew, too!
Be safe out there tonight, but have some fun! I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ll be happy to welcome a New Year. 2021 has had a lot of moments I think we’d all rather forget …
See you next Friday …
Have any Washington Post subscribers who use that site to work on the puzzle found a way to avoid the ads before the puzzle loads? Seems as if those who pay for content should not have to sit through ads.
Hola!
I just had a long telephone conversation with a friend to whom I failed to send a Christmas card and she was worried about me. I said, worry about my mental condition if I forgot to send you a card!
Ergo, it took me a much longer TIME to finally put the finishing touches on the grid. I thought it neat that BHUTAN made it in. Likely the first time it's in a puzzle.
Back in the 60s I had a student of Egyptian descent, though she lived in Mexico, who debated endlessly about NASSER.
Hand up for wanting BAT SIGNAL but PLAME fit.
I see (St.) NICK is still hanging around.
O PIONEERS was one of the books required reading in American Lit class.
Oops. DNF. I missed OPIE thinking of Ronald Reagan instead of Ron Howard.
HAN Solo was Chewie's pal on their galactic adventure.
I love reading all your comments. Wishing everyone a wonderful 2022!
NorthwestRunner
I print out the puzzle from the Washington Post so ads are not a problem for me.
Happy New Year's "Day of Anticipation" 😊
Sorry for the scriptural diarrhea cuz I have the day off and every time DW asks me to do something I say "In a sec, not finished with the CW blog yet" 😇
Came close to FIW but the R was a lucky WAG REA, ARTROSS. So what's the Stanley Cup for? 🤔
Once I got TIMEPIECE I figured the theme was a mag name used as a object. (like"O" for Oprah's).. So there must be a "CRICKET" or "PITCH" (lol) magazine (ball game or entomologist review?..lol).. IMHO woulda been more interesting and Friday challenging if both answers were two mag names that together were also a phrase or object. (WIRED, MONEY)
POWERCORDS: not a fruit. out or in "fielder" wouldn't work. The only "role" I could think of for "Ronny".. "I'm wasn't really a President, but I played one in the White House" ..oh that "Ronny"!
When a monarch or dictator is tossed out ..they may exclaim with the CW "Owie!" ..the original deriving from Old English OWST (OUST) 😆. Did Nasser OUST the last pharaoh? WOS: wanted the BAT-Signal in the sky.🦹♂️
Inkovers: doled/DEALT, genre/TEAMS (clever),
"Arctic trout", (cold fish?) CHAR? (burnt fish?) "Treat on March 14"... wha??..Cæsar's last supper's dessert?? (Another EVE). ..CORONA was too short, wait "phenonmena" is plural so it's CORONAS (one or two cervezas and I'm ready for a nap) but no..a Latin plural takes a Latin plural: CORONAE. Nicely consistent.🤗
lotsa end of the year nonsense for an equally inane year....🙄🙄🙄
After repeated physical assaults, Curly and Larry decided to _____....SUMO (not U, MO)
"Enough talk about your atom Neils, you can be such a" ____...BOHR
The "Messiah"?, George Fridiric, you can't _____ the "Messiah"!! ...HANDLE
One of Adam's ribs became _____ ..EVES
Source of most flora.....ACCEDE
Sneezing aid....ATTISSUE
Like a MAG-wheeled Coupe...TUDORSTYLE
Broke the escalator....STARED
Feigns....PRETENSE
Moe, thanks for the all the info, I learn from both the CW and comments.
Envy your extensive travel experience. 🧳✈🚗 🚉 🛳 🐎
THANKS TO the Chairman for explaining why PIE is appropriate for March 14.
We tend to have PIE every other day in my home, so I must make an effort to remind myself next March 14 to be sure to have PIE on that very day.
A neat-enough PZL from Mr. Deeney.
It had me going, until I cheated once,
twice--
and then an attitude of What-the-hell-it's-New-Year's-Eve! took over...
HAPPY NEW YEAR Everybody!
(Dang!
Once again the above statement felt political!)
~ OMK
Ray @1:07
(Forgive me for not typing your full name. I'm a one finger typist, and it requires too many Cap shifts.)
Anyway, I loved your puns & plays-on-words (SUMO &c). Well-conceived & actually funny! Thank you!
~ OMK
OMK...Thanks for your vote of confidence but I'm sure many of our invisible colleagues would demand a recount...🤬
When I opened my phone just now I see the incomparable Betty White passed away at 99,
What an incredible career and early TV pioneer ...
Hi Cornerites!
Big Fat DNF - I simply could not unlock the NW w/o a peek at C. Moe's grid. Oh, ACHE not carE Unclefred told you every other trouble I had. [how does he know???]
Thanks for the puzzle, Joe. Thanks for the excellent re-cap and homage to Houston's TEAMS*, C. Moe. WEES said about WIRED [thanks for saving me a link, Waseeley].
WOs: wrong PEdAL, HBO -> AbC, KNEel -> KNELT
ESPs: DNF ++BHUTAN, O PIONEERS [oh, "O"], ART ROSS
Fav: I kinda like WEES: AT ISSUE(s) to go w/ the theme.
No one insisted on ORGANIC for a growing fad?
BOHR's model, while not 100% right, makes chemical valence calculations easy.
{muse OutOfOffice for the holidays?}
FLN - HC: I recall the story of the whack-job taking a whack at The Bell. Interesting to hear you're in his sphere. Do you know the 'real' story?
FLN - IM 1) you can do a Saturday w/o complaints #MyHero 2) I had to turn off my "don't ring unless in contacts" iPhone feature so I could get the call when I was to pickup DW from Dr's office. In that short time, I had two offers to buy my house (in cash!), one 'your warranty is about to expire', and a caller I shut down just by answering as Lucina. #Hola
These calls originate overseas using US SIP numbers but US law doesn't apply (yet).
D-O: DW & I started watching Death to 2021 b/f her surgery; what I saw was a cute lampoon (not LOL just kinda funny). Is it worth the full viewing time? I still get the Dead Tree version of The Chronicle. Biz section is good (if you're in O&G) but yeah, $$$ for both me & MIL's service.
BigE - LOL The Onion. I think I'd have preferred it too.
CED - LOL your comic. Glad to have you back.
Jinx - exactly. PEOPLE love round numbers and details such as "there's no year zero" be damned. //well, that and Pope Greg mussed with the calendar years ago. We don't even know what season it is any more (80F today should be 31F by Sunday!)
.If anyone wants to keep BOHRing folks with talk of Quantum Mechanics, I'll bring up Schrödinger - he was a cool cat. //or was that a cat in a cooler? I'm uncertain.
Cheers, -T
*I know Harden left Houston but, in my head, he's still the face of The Rockets; I'll get over it.
HG @10:30a - if you saw him play live (I have a few times) there's no lazy running the court. And, I suppose someone can call it selfish... but if you're the go-to guy in the clutch - Harden makes the 3.
Didn't refresh b/f posting say...
Ray-O: you just made me sad. Betty White was an icon of fun TV. I loved her from MTM on.
Sigh...
At least she could still play with Legos b/f she died.
-T
I asked the librarian for a book about Pavlov's dog and Schrodinger's cat. She said that it rang a bell but that she wasn't sure if it was there or not.
Moe, you have already grasped one of the intracies of blogging; what to leave out. It also what makes having 10 regular and 2 extra bloggers ready to entertain important. You often get better crowd discussions on topics you do not over-write. Cool beans and you know I exist in the same lower story world, and still don't realize it until I see a picture of me next to a regular sized person.
Happy New Year to all; many of my new relatives are well into another calendar year. Be well and screw you Covid!
JC @ 3:50
A few of our regulars emailed me after I first began doing these blogs to caution me that I might get "burned out" if I try too hard to add ALL that I can find out about each and every clue/entry. I am blessed to have an appreciative partner who enjoys seeing ME enjoy doing the puzzles, and then blogging them. Perhaps with COVID it's been "easier" to spend the time, as we have certainly not delved back into a normal routine. Being retired also makes this an easier task.
With regard to the "shortness" comment - I agree! I have never thought of myself as being abnormal in stature; but as you said, seeing pictures of myself next to someone who's 6' tall, for example, does show the difference.
Fortunately, at age 68 (almost 69) I have shrunk by only 1". My dad was 5'4" and mom was 5'2". Mom is still alive and kicking (at age 93) but is now only 4' something. Whenever WE have a picture taken together I feel like a giant!!
Yeah, f*** COVID and any of the greek letters! I wish I were a PI RHO maniac and could just set this damn virus on fire!! Best to you and Oo for 2022; I hope and pray you will find a remedy to your failing eyesight; but in the meantime, I (and I'm sure others) will look forward to YOUR blogs this coming year. Peace!
Just an update re: being so busy.
Whole family got together for Xmas because we are all vaxxed,
And we all have home tests being done beforehand.
Best friends next door were to join us making a grand gathering of
About 18 people, give or take a few fiancé's etc...
(Also a lot of cooking involved, tricky since the main oven died)
Next doors son #3 tested positive upon arriving home Friday,
And considering their 91 year old grandfather just returned home
Fr9m a heart valve replacement, everything pretty much went into
Quarantine.
Here is the FYI part.
Their son went back home, and never had, or has any symptoms.
Everyone next door is still testing negative a week later.
Our daughter#1 got a sore throat Saturday, I drove her
Home Sunday, and Monday she felt sick, but had no fever
And tested negative. Wednesday she tested positive...
She is recovering, and we are quarantineing,
Now, daughter #1 had two vaxes, but no booster.
We are all boosted.
Today daughter #2 tested positive, we tested negative,
And no one else at h9me so far has any symptoms.
Which brings to mind,
How is Boomer doing?
What was his vaccination status, and did he have symptoms?
I am very worried about everyone. I am so saddened by the passing of Betty White who was just extolling the virtues of her healthy body. It is too many who have died in 2021.
On this shabbat I am sending a healing prayer to all at the Corner and to the world. It should not hurt. Be well all and talk to you next year...
Thank you Joe Deeney for a challenging puzzle, that I enjoyed ... and I even got the theme, athough I was not familiar with the book, O pioneers ... by Willa Cather ... although I do have a 1981 half ounce gold (bullion) US Mint coin with her name and picture ...( which has no particular extra-numismatic vaue ).
Thank you Chairman Moe for your elucidating review and lots of links, and especially the various music videos. Much obliged.
I hope Boomer is doing as well as can be, and there is peace and joy in the Burnickel household.
May I offer the best wishes to all you people in the blog and elsewhere, and may this coming year bring peace and joy and happiness to all.
I just finished an argument with my eldest who lives ten miles from the LIberty Bell (which is in Philly), .... but she lives in Cherry Hill, New Jersey ... about HG's friend's brother who damaged the bell with his hammer. She had never heard of the incident.... so she disputed it, that it ever happened ....
So, we looked it up, and sure enough it happened on April 6, 2001 ... long before my daughter moved here, by a Mitchell Guilliatt, then aged 26,...from Omaha, Nebraska.
I told my daughter and my wife that I have great faith and confidence in statements made by my 'friends' at the blog !! It may not be Gods word, but I would trust them more than any parson or politician, ... any day.
Talking of Neils BOHR, .... One of his and Werner Heisenberg's students, .... Mr Piet Hein, a Danish physicist, invented a set of wooden block puzzles, which he called the Soma Cube .... which I happen to have a dozen of such cubes.
YOu can make them yourself, with a 3 x3 x3 = 27 cubic blocks of wood, available at any craft or woodworking store. Or buy them, or the puzzle itself, on Ebay or Amazon.
It is endless hours of fun, and is relatively easy to make and there are 240 solutions, so even you can stumble onto one of them ...
BTW, Soma is a sanskrit word for an ancient intoxicant, possibly some sort of alchoholic drink .... Aldous Huxley also used the word in his Brave New World book.
HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!!
Finally one good thing happened today. All of the big logs that fell in my yard last week, have been chain-sawed into moveable pieces. About half of them & many smaller branches were loaded for a trip to the forestry dump. Bad news is that the dump was closed today, so the job couldn't be finished. But I am elated to have half of the mess out of the yard. Had fun with watching three strong men pitch logs chunks that I probably couldn't lift. More interesting than watching TV, I told them.
Happy New Year!
Thank you Lemonade for your prayers and healing thoughts and good wishes, and may they also apply to you, and OO, and your extended family, as well.
While we all cannot live forever, nor would we want to, but we can hope that we can live in peace, and joy and some modicum of happiness.
CED, sorry to hear of your family's COVID problems, and hope you will all recover and grow stronger through the experience. Thanks for all the fun you bring to the blog.
Where I am currently staying in NJ, all the houses across the road, in the neighborhood .. all have COVID quarantines ... and this afternoon an epidemiologist friend drew a right-skewed normal statistical curve on a napkin to explain why the covid testing modes are all screwed up. The dusease antibodies, and the infectious state lasts much longer than the symtomatic episode periods....
RayO, thank you for your laconic and engaging humor. I will never look at the CW answers with that jaundiced eye again.
Thank you Waseely for some very perceptive answers. Makes me think all the time, for which I am grateful. That trailer on the Neils Bohr movie, was beyond my understanding, Sorry.
Thank you Lucina for jeepong us down to earth and being grateful for the simple things in life.
Thank you Anon T for all the info you bring and best wishes to your family and brilliant daughters.
Thanks to all on this blog for letting me be a part of your lives, as you have been to mine.
Thank you PK for all the interesting info and news you bring to the blog, which brings a smile from me.
Have a Happy New Year .... I thought you could use the logs in your fireplace ...
Vidwan, bless you for your kindness. No fireplace in my little house. Some of these logs are a foot in diameter and would make good seating, but I can't keep them.
I am hearing of so many folks who got together who are now sick. My 12-yr-old great nephew was sick along with 4 other members of his family. Stomach virus. They got over it. Nephew got worse and was rushed to the hospital. They aren't saying covid & aren't sure what it is. They sent him home today so he wouldn't catch anything else in the hospital. His dad is a physician's assistant so the care at home is good.
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