Stuck in the Middle
Today is the 6th appearance of constructor Dan Margolis on the
Corner, and here's a
bit of bio
from a review of his first four puzzles for that "other newspaper".
As this is a Thursday, this puzzle should have a theme, but Dan
seems to have hidden it well. There are no clearly identifiable themers,
no stars, no circles, no reveal, and no real pattern discernible in the
cluing. However the usual suspects, the 4 longest fills, seem to contain
what statisticians might call a "measure of central tendency", in this case the
MEDIAN, which is the value separating the HIGHER half from the
LOWER half of a data set, e.g. the count of clues in this puzzle.
20A. Often euphemistic words for lacking employment:
IN BETWEEN JOBS. The good news is that
the number of people in this situation continues to go down
(at least on the day this review was written).
27A. Manhattan attraction:
CENTRAL PARK.
The park first opened for public use in the winter of 1859
. It was designed by
Frederick Law Olmsted, who also designed the
Sudbrook Park
neighborhood about 4 blocks from my home. Central Park has hosted many
events over the years, including this one (here are the lyrics):
53A. Just plain folks: MIDDLE AMERICA. I used this 2 weeks ago and it feels just right for this clue:
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American Gothic Grant Wood 1930 |
Just in case you were holding your breaths, the median value for the total clue counts in this puzzle is 37.5. The total number of clues was 74, thus 37 are below the median and 37 are above it. Where the below and above values are equivalent, the MEDIAN is the average of the two.
Now on to some useful information:
Across:
1. Guttural interruption: AHEM.
5. Hook or Kirk: Abbr.: CAPT. The dastardly pirate and one of
PICARD's predecessors.
9. Logician's "E": ERAT. As in Quod Erat Demonstrandum -
Latin for "which was to be demonstrated." The
Legal Information Institute defines this as "Often abbreviated as
'Q.E.D'., the statement may appear at the conclusion of a text
to signify that
the author's overall argument has just been proven" (emphasis
added). Don't believe that for a moment! In the words of a
former President, "Trust, but verify".
13. Rope fiber: SISAL. One of three common fibers for making
rope, the others being HEMP and JUTE. SISAL is the
strongest of the three. HEMP can be pretty strong too, but not as
a fiber.
15. Confidently say: AVER.
16. Earned: MADE.
17. Vintage hue on a photo app: SEPIA.
18. Digital media brand: ROKU. Pretty much all we watch these
days. ROKU carries all of the major content providers (a.g.
ACORN, BRITBOX, HBO, NETFLIX, etc.) and charges a nominal monthly fee to get them
to you. There may also be a monthly fee for some of the content
providers
19. Plains people: OTOS. Also spelled OTOES, also called
OTOE MISSOURIA,
North American Indian people of the Chiwere branch of the Siouan linguistic
family, which also includes the languages of the closely related Missouri and Iowa
tribes
23. __-pitch softball: SLO.
25. I-5 state: ORE. The fill for this was not in vein.
26. Liberia neighbor: GUINEA.
Guinea is a country in West Africa, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. It's known for the
Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, in the southeast. The reserve protects a forested mountain range rich
in native plants and animals, including chimpanzees and the viviparous
toad. On the coast, the capital city, Conakry, is home to the modern Grand
Mosque and the National Museum, with its regional artifacts.
32. Former Romanian president: ILIESCU. Ion Iliescu (Romanian pronunciation: [iˈon iliˈesku] (
listen); born 3 March 1930)
is a Romanian politician and engineer
who served as President of Romania from 1989 to 1996 and from 2000 until
2004.
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Ion Iliescu Looks like a Positive guy |
36. Buster Brown's dog: TIGE. Hand up if you remember the cartoon, which first appeared in 1902. TIGE, was an American Pit Bull Terrier, thought to be the first talking pet to appear in the comics, and, like that of many of his successors (e.g. HOBBES), his speech goes unnoticed by adults. Here's Buster Brown and Tige (Tige's the one on the right):
I recall only the Buster Brown who appeared in the early TV show Andy's Gang. My meme from that one was "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy!"
37. Flat sign: TO LET. The Brit equivalent of "Apartment to Rent".
39. Alternatively: ELSE.
41. Mosaic piece: TESSERA. A TESSERA is an individual MOSAIC piece. This art form dates back at least to 3500 BC. Perhaps mosaics began as a way of recycling broken glazed pottery. By cutting the shards into regular shaped pieces, they could be re-assembled as images on walls. Some of the most beautiful mosaics in the world are made from "micro-tesserae", e.g. the images on the walls of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which are virtually indistinguishable from oil paintings. Here is "The Altar of the Navicella", which derives its name from the Gospel narrative of Jesus walking on the water. Peter is on the left, sinking in the waves as his faith fails him. This mosaic was copied from a painting by Giovanni Lanfranco (1582-1647):
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| The Altar of the Navicella |
43. Pricing word that rhymes with its opposite: STEEP rhymes with CHEAP.
47. Axis foes: ALLIES. Lest we ever forget.
51. Guffaw sound: HAR.
52. Cue preceder?: PEE. PEE and CUE are homophones for the letters P and Q.
57. Cream additive: ALOE. A frequent crossword additive, with three creamy vowels.
58. It may be wild: RICE. Buying, cooking, and recipes.
59. Union station?: ALTAR. The number of ways that constructors can hitch this fill into a crossword is amazing.
62. Midday refreshers: NAPS.
63. Inland Asian sea: ARAL. The depletion of this lake began in 1960 due to the diversion for agricultural use of the two main rivers feeding it.
64. Hospital cry: NURSE.
65. "Time spent with __ is never wasted": Colette: A CAT. Hello Hahtoolah!
66. P.D. ranks: DETS. DETECTIVES, an abbreviation implied by the clue.
67. Thai money: BAHT. The Thai baht, like the pound, originated from a traditional unit of mass. Its currency value was originally expressed as that of silver of corresponding weight (now defined as 15 grams).
Down:
1. Jenny's offspring: ASS. HINNY didn't fit.
2. Hustle, quaintly: HIE.
3. Threat to national security: ESPIONAGE. More than we know, I suspect.
4. Water __: MAIN.
5. "Breaking Bad" bad guys: CARTEL.
6. Swear: AVOW.
7. Short dog, for short: PEKE. 10 Fun Facts about the Pekingese. This puzzle is starting to go to the dogs.
8. 1969 film remade in 2010 with Jeff Bridges in John Wayne's role: TRUE GRIT.
9. Smiley face with hearts for eyes, e.g.: EMOJI. 😍
10. Betray: RAT ON.
11. Sun-dried brick: ADOBE.
12. Thompson of "Westworld": TESSA. Rumor has it that "Westworld" is pretty racy. As we don't subscribe to HBO, I've never seen it.
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Tessa Thompson |
21. Historic time: ERA.
22. Zap: NUKE. I had a lot of nightmares about being NUKED when I was a child, but it wasn't by a microwave oven.
23. Shoo relative: SCAT. SCAT has a lot of other meanings, some musical, and some that don't smell so good.
24. Kosher: LEGIT. This usage is slang for OK or legal. The term from which it's derived implies "fit or proper as it relates to Jewish dietary law".
28. "__ chic!": TRÈS. You can still get a FIR if you omit l'accent grave.
29. Dish from which paella evolved: PILAF. Here's a recipe for RICE PILAF (you can even use 58A). Here's one for PAELLA. It's more involved, but makes a great MAIN course for dinner guests:
30. Sierra Nevada, e.g.: ALE. I prefer "60 min. Dogfish IPA" myself. I'd take you to their website, but they discriminate against
draft age Cornerites who are not yet old enough to drink alcohol.
33. Genesis son: SETH. SETH was Adam and Eve's 3rd son,
born after CAIN the eldest, who murdered his brother ABEL.
Things did not get off to a good start in Genesis.
34. The "her" in Shakespeare's "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale / Her
infinite variety": CLEOPATRA. From Anthony and Cleopatra,
quoting Enobarbus, a friend of Mark Antony, implying that Cleopatra is
overwhelmingly attractive to men not so much because of her beauty as because
of her fascinating unpredictability and range of moods. Richard Burton found
that out the hard way.
35. "I can help": USE ME. I'm not touching this one.
37. Buzz-creating promo: TEASER AD. IMHO, all ads are
TEASERS, some are just BUZZIER than others.
38. The NBA's Magic: ORL. Orlando Magic. Circa 12/4/2021
it looks like
they could use more Magic.
40. Duel tool: ÉPÉE. Another piece of vowelful fill often
inserted in crosswords, but you wouldn't want one inserted in you. You get
extra credit if you fill les accent aigus.
42. Kid-lit poet Silverstein: SHEL.
Sheldon Allan Silverstein
(September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist,
songwriter, and playwright. He was best known for his cartoons, songs, and
children's books.
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Shel Silverstein |
43. Iraqi neighbor: SYRIAN. The citizens may be neighbors, but I'm not so sure about the states.
45. Slangy alternative to walking: WHEELS.
46. Swiss river: AAR. The AAR (or AARE) river is a tributary of the High Rhine and the longest river that both rises and ends entirely within Switzerland.
47. Range name: AMANA. ANDES didn't perp.
48. New Hampshire state flower: LILAC.
49. Parkinson's treatment: L DOPA. Looks simple enough, but it's a very important player in he metabolism of the brain:
50. Latin "in other words": ID EST i.e., "That is to say".
54. Suffix for the rich: AIRE. A MILLION here, a BILLION there, and pretty soon you're talking REAL MONEY.
55. Future doc's exam: MCAT. The Medical College Admission Test® (MCAT®) is a standardized, multiple-choice examination designed to assess one's problem solving, critical thinking, and knowledge of natural, behavioral, and social science concepts and principles prerequisite to the study of medicine.
56. Black card, maybe: CLUB.
60. Bat wood: ASH.
61. No longer working: Abbr.: RET. Don't let anyone tell you that when you've retired you won't have anything to do! My secret is to take a 62A every day.
Here's the grid:
Cheers,
Bill
Notes from C.C.:
Happy birthday to the incomparable Hahtoolah (Susan), whose posts always brightens our days. Behind her witty comments and funny links, there are hours of hard work. Thanks for all you do, Susan!
50 comments:
My curse is back. FIWrong. My midday refreshers were NiPS < NAPS, and I didn't notice what that did to the perp. BTW "midday" was an easter egg to the theme.
Flat sign had me searching for a name for ♭ instead of a sign for a flat. SFAIK, the only name for the ♭ symbol is "flat sign".
TESSA and TESSERA were both unknowns.
AVOW+AVER was mildly diabolical. I put AVOW for both, then waited for perps. Easier to do electronically than with a pen.
We had MAPS to cat: M.CAT, A CAT, CAP'T, SCAT. And rhymes at BHAT & ERAT.
They say the price one can get for a heap,
Because of a shortage, may be quite STEEP.
Supply chain dips
Mean auto chips
Are scarce, and so cars are not CHEAP!
CAPTAIN HOOK would always start, and stop
When he heard the gator go "tick-tock"!
He would fear
Danger was near!
CAPTAIN KIRK's warnings were from Mr. Spock!
{A-, A-.}
Good morning!
Got 'er done, not as fast as yesterday, but once again the Wite-Out got a rest. Got the central idea of the theme. No reveal to miss is a bonus for d-o. Didn't know where Guinea was located, and certainly didn't know that Conakry was its capital. Thank you, perps. TESSERA, however, came bubbling up from some dark recess. This one was just right for midweek. Thanx, Dan and Waseeley.
NUKE -- Didn't play any role in my little boy fears. I was afraid of the Reds, and was certain they were riding the freight that rumbled through our little town at 9 every night.
Happy birthday, Hahtoolah. I enjoy your illustrative efforts every Tuesday.
FIW, penciling in legal instead of LEGIT. Like OKL, didn't know TESSERA. Actually caught the theme w/o a reveal.
Thanks to Dan for a fun, Thursday-worthy puzzle, and to Bill for the fun review. HBDTY, Ha2la. Every time I read one of your reviews I wonder how long it took you to assemble it.
We are finally safe and sound in Silver Springs, FL. It's been a weird couple of weeks. When we went to NC for Thanksgiving, I discovered that our automatically-retracting steps weren't working, our clothes drier wasn't working very well, and that the water heater wasn't working on AC. No hurry, I can manually extend the steps and bungee cord them back, the clothes dry eventually and the water heater works fine on propane. As we left for Florida my good (Tag Heur) watch quit. No problem, I have a standby Casio in the RV. As we drove toward Florida we reached Savannah, then alarms went off in the RV and the brake air pressure gauges both read low. Problem - I don't have a work-around for that. Had it towed to a shop and drove back to Norfolk. (While I was waiting for the tow truck, two of my three emergency warning triangles got hit by passing traffic, maybe preventing being sideswiped.) Got notified Monday that it was fixed, so we drove back, stopping in SC for the night. Picked up the coach yesterday and completed the drive. I'm glad to finally be here, but I have a long to-do list.
Jinx, ain't RVing fun?
HBD Susan! 🎂 I 🧡 your reviews, and really look forward to Tuesdays!
Quite a slog, but FIR.
I finished this middle-themed puzzle in 10:44, if you know what I "mean."
Several unknowns (Tessera, the former Romanian president, LDopa, etc.), but they worked themselves out. Good Thursday puzzle, and review.
Good Morning:
It took me a while to see the theme and Bill’s explanation confirmed it. We had some fun duos with Avow/Aver, Tessa/Tessera, Ass/Ash, Cat/Rat, and the three little kittens, Scat/Cat/MCAT. My w/os were Cheap/Steep and Let Me/Use Me. Needed perps for Iliescu. Dan gave us the A Team today: Sepia, Guinea, Tessera, America, Era, Tessa, Cleopatra, Amana, and L Dopa. Nice CSOs to Ray O and Inanehiker (MCAT) and Hahtoolah and HG (Cat). (Loved Colette’s quote.)
Thanks, Dan, for an enjoyable change of pace theme and thanks, Bill, for the fact-filled, fun expo and thanks to Teri for aiding and abetting our erudite Sherpa.
FLN
Inanehiker, Congratulations on James’s arrival.
Have a great day.
Second day in a row that forgetfulness strikes! Happy Birthday, Susan, may your day be the Cat’s Meow! 🎂🎉🎈🎊🎁
Happy Birthday, Susan!
I remember the Buster Brown kids show well with the riotous kiddies. High point was Pluck your magic twanger, Froggy
Yep, talk about 50s and early 60s childhood trauma. Imminent nuclear evisceration. We would hide in the closet when the alarms went off.
Well I didn't know the Romanian and had Iniescu. Worse I thought there was something similar to a tilde called a TOLdT. We abstainers* don't keep up with the new beers(but kept me away from NiPS). AND seemed to be an abbreviation of Andes.
Big FAT FIW
Hbd to hahtoolah she of the wonderful write-ups.
WC
* speaking of… Hurrah to Jinx for finally getting to central FLA. Actually I'm going to have to look it up on the map
I thought the theme was just the synonyms, in between, central, half way, and middle. Dan, did it really involve math?
Sierra Nevada is one of my favorite IPAs, but it took a while to climb off the mountain.
Jinx, Wow! What a trip! You had a jinx following you. I am glad you finally made it.
Happy birthday, Susan. Thank you for all the hard work in making your blogs so scintillating, humorous and fun. Have a wonderful day.
Remember this ad jingle? Does your shoe have a boy inside? What a funny place for a boy to hide! Does your shoe have a dog there too? A boy & a dog & a foot in a shoe. Well, the boy is Buster Brown & the dog is Tige, his friend, & they're really just a picture, but it's fun to play pretend. So if boys and girls like you want some fun, get the shoe with the picture of the boy & the dog inside so you can put your foot in, too. Buster Brown shoes!
I wish the ads had jingles today. In the old days my students used to sing them. Great for brand recognition. I still remember many of them after several decades.
I needed a perp or two to spell Iliescu.
Pluck you magic twanger would have kids snickering these days.
I hate the repeated teasers for news stories coming up. By the time you finally get to the article, it is anti-climactic.
Not much time this morning with helping new mom to get used to the nursing routine.
Thanks for all the warm wishes- I didn't see the thread until this morning. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable delivering my own grandchild unless he came precipitiously - I would definitely be a step up from the dad or the EMT! But to clarify from yesterday- my daughter labored at home for much of the evening but then went to the hospital for the final stage and delivery. Her provider was a certified nurse midwife working with a collaborating OB/GYN group of docs for back up. I was grateful that she chose that option because at first she was talking about delivering at home with a direct entry level midwife - but after a frank discussion about all the emergencies that can arise after a perfectly normal labor - she switched to the other option. No one but my SIL could be in the hospital with her due to the hospital's COVID restrictions- so we were at her house getting ready for the arrival. So sweet to welcome them home
Enjoyed today's blog - thanks Bill and for the puzzle Dan.
Happy birthday Susan!
Yesterday I was surprised that it took me 19 minutes to FIR, as I thought I zipped through the CW. I resolved to double-check the time I write down as start and finish times. Today I thought I zipped again and was surprised the OTHER way, to find an 11 minute FIR. And I am sure the time was right! I cannot typically do a Thursday CW in 11, so this is a real aberration for me. A positive one! Thanx DM for the fine CW; I especially liked clues 37A, 52A, and 59A. When PEE perped in at 52A I thought, “Wait! What? Who pees on cue?” but unlike yesterday carried on with the solve instead of stopping to ponder. DNK TESSERA, all perps. Thoroughly enjoyable CW, thanx, DM. And thanx too for the terrific write-up, Bill. Don’t think your time and effort goes in appreciated! HBD Susan!! And thanx to u 2 for all u do for the blog.
Supposed to say “Don’t think your time and effort goes unappreciated”. Damn auto-correct!!
I didn't FIR it today. Had to turn on Red Letters when I had about 90% of it filled in. Good puzzle though. Nice tour by Waseely.
Happy Birthday Susan.
I remember Buster Brown and his dog Tige. And, as kids, we all did snicker at "Plunk your magic twanger, Froggy,"
I did know ILIESCU, but wasn't sure of the proper spelling. Perps prevailed.
Initially I had headingHOME before I had to make it HALFWAYHOME. Perps again.
TESSA and TESSERA were unknowns today. I had to decide whether to put in a T or an S at the end of ERA_, so it was a T.
My son is a beer snob. He prefers Dogfish Head IPA 120. When I drink beer, which isn't very often, I just drink beer.
Jinx: Glad you finally made it to Florida.
Have a great day everyone.
Hola!
Happy birthday, Susan! I hope you can celebrate safely. I, too, enjoy your well illustrated and entertaining commentary.
Cute clue for ALTAR.
The ARAL sea will never be depleted as long as it's in CW puzzles.
Sigh. I had one blank cell because I could not recall he L in ILIESCU/ALE. Sierra Nevada? Really?
My grandmother had a PEKEinese, a parrot and a canary. She could whistle the same as the canary.
I love the fragrance of the LILAC.
Ironically, RAT ON, pronounced as one word, rah-TONE, means rat in Spanish.
Interesting to see CAPT at the top and DETS at the bottom.
Enjoy a wonderful day, everyone! Every day is a gift.
Thank you Dan Margolis for a charming, not-too-difficult puzzle, that I really enjoyed. In fact, it was faster than yesterdays', but who's counting...
Thank you Waseely for your very interesting and illuminating ( idea wise -) review. When I saw the statistical terms turn up, I knew it had to be you...
Happy Birthday, Hatoolah, and best wishes and blessings (from the one above) , and thank you for The Terrific Tuesdays, and may you never get older than your picture. I hope, you'll get called to SCOTUS, and real soon, although your favorite is, alas, no longer there.
I was confused by Sierra nevada = ALE, because .... but, I do know Bud Lite and Miller Lite.
AMANA also set me back a couple of seconds, I could not think of any ranges with an 'A'.(ALPS, ANDES ?)
Was Iliescu a An-ion or a Cat-ion ?
Waseely, your detailed descp of AGAR, got me thinking ... IF. I used it to culture E Coli, (CW favorite-) and used the result to thicken my soup, and ate it ... I could get dysentery and diarrhea, aided by the laxative inherent in Agar, and also lose my apetite, and thus go on a serious diet .... and lose weight, all at the same time.
Seriously, I have used Agar agar in milk puddings ... it is also called China Grass in India, and it is considered a vegetarian alternative to animal gelatin ( Jello etc.). Plus, it sets at room temperature - no need to refrigerate it. Altho I prefer to use Jello more often.
TESSERA was a lucky guess, I have a jigsaw puzzle by Tesselz (brand name)... and each jigsaw piece is the same size, and the same shape. (Other than the border pieces.) A unique experience. Tesselations have an important use in mathematics, not merely recreational ones.
The 2 most imp people involved, that I can think of, are Sir Roger Penrose, Nobel Prize winner 2020 - e.g. The Penrose triangle
and the Dutch artist, M. C. Escher, whose copious art works. on mutiple tesselations, have astounded mankind.
Have a nice day, all.
Bill Seeley Thank you for the KIRK shout out! I am a fan of both KIRK and PICARD.
I am very familiar with TESSERA from TESSELATIONS by Escher and Penrose. Thanks Vidwan for pointing this out. I have been with Penrose a number of times.
Enjoyed the MIDDLE theme. I have a friend Jeanie Class whose MIDDLE name is "MIDDLE". Making her Jeanie MIDDLE Class.
PAELLA is one of my favorite foods. As long as it is just seafood and leaves out the pig meat.
Here my friend Nimita hosted a PAELLA feast at her house a few months ago!
Nimita learned her PAELLA skills from living in Spain for many years.
We have some historic ADOBE buildings in our town. I recognize the BUSTER BROWN dog from BUSTER BROWN Shoe Stores long ago. I always found the dog creepy looking. Just me?
From Yesterday:
Jayce Thank you for the dream quote relevant to ASIAN PRIESTS. I had heard it before.
Vidwan I am not sure the dream view of reality is something I believe. I can be a very down to earth engineer and scientist most of the time. But I am open to the possibility of other dimensions of reality. I think the Hard Problem of Consciousness is a real problem for current science.
Glad you were amused by my paradoxical observation about integers and integration. It was meant to be like the observation: Why do we park in a driveway and drive on a parkway?
Wilbur Charles Thanks for looking at my FANCY PANTS Solstice Parade outfit!
Musings
-Doing a puzzle while being a real sub is not easy. OTOE not OTOS and not seeing TEESA/TESSA kept me from a got ‘er done.
-Some of the cluing and fill provided a real challenge.
-Got to actually teach this hour and hope to read all your comments soon.
Musings 2
-Karma?
-Tuesday, we had a FIRE AND RAIN theme
-A good friend and former colleague I have not seen for months is a big James Taylor fan and the puzzle jogged me to write him and sure enough he was going to the Omaha concert that night.
-Last night he wrote to tell me that the last song James Taylor sang was You Can Close Your Eyes
-This was the song he was playing for his wife this past spring on the night she died and he said it was a very emotional moment for him.
-Amazing!
I found this CW a fairly difficult Thursday slog as it took over 25 minutes to get it correct, not exactly a quaint hie, my last fill being the C in RICE, where I had had wild RIDE. I should have known the future doc’s exam as it has appeared quite often as of late. Never really got the theme until I had MIDDLE at about 80% complete. The R in TRUE GRIT had me plug in TIMES SQUARE at first, and with HOME completed I inserted HEADING instead of HALFWAY. But after those major gaffes I was able to recover. Thank you DanM for the fair challenge and I hope to see more of your work in the LAT.
Thanks Bill for your very thorough synopsis, I certainly learn a LOT from the bloggers on this site, and for that matter the commenters too! New word you taught me today...viviparous, don’t think I’ve ever encountered it, at least never in a puzzle.
Have a great b/day Hahtoolah! Looks like the consensus is that everyone really enjoys your Tuesday expos, myself included!
Lucina @11:19 AM I thought about riffing on RATON, but thought again. I have fond memories of taking my first IBM PC course in BOCA RATON, "the mouth of the RAT". Odd name for a river and such a tony town. There were yachts everywhere.
YellowRocks @10:11 AM I did try to get in touch with Dan re the theme, but he didn't respond to an FB "Friend" request. As he is a software applications instructor (i.e. GEEK) and as the themers were all pretty much exact definitions for MEDIAN, I exercised my reviewer's license and ran with it. I find discovering and explaining the theme the hardest part of reviewing.
One square wrong today so FIW. I didn't notice I left OTOe and TEeSA! (Hi, Husker Gary!) Otherwise everything went smoothly for an enjoyable puzzle, Dan. I didn't think about the theme, but waseeley explained it well in his helpful review. Thanks to you both.
Jinx, I sympathize with your travel troubles. Too often things take longer than expected.
Happiest of birthdays, Hahtoolah! As you can see we are all your fans.
A day with many interruptions, so off to the next project now. Hope your day goes smoothly, everyone!
Vidwan @11:42 AM He looks like a CATION to me. Nice smile
Hi Y'all! Thanks, Dan, for a challenge! Thanks, Bill, for explaining the theme even if I didn't get what you were talking about with the math. I had no clue about the theme.
Inanehiker, congratulations on the new grandson and thanks for answering the questions about the birthing. Living in the country & having seen births, if I were your daughter, I would have rather had you deliver my baby than go to the hospital in a covid pandemic.
Lucina, I had a friend who had been a busy & successful midwife in a group practice in Denver. She came back to our rural area when her mom had health problems. She met strong resistance from the all-male doctors who would not allow her hospital privileges and refused to give her back up while delivering in homes. She ended up painting houses for a living altho she was a registered nurse also.
Cool PZL, Mr. Margolis!
Neat write-up, waseeley!
HBD, Hahtoolah!
~ OMK
____________
DR: Another 3-way in opposition.
The central diagonal offers quite a few anagrams, but I have chosen one (11 of 15 letters) that includes a favorite word.
In order to make sense of this phrase, we must imagine a wedding in a church that prides itself (oh, the sin!) on rigging its equipment and devices (think mechanized statuary, baptismal founts, etc.) for smooth operation.
But then, when a certain area goes out of alignment, should this not be interpreted as a warning to reconsider the rite-in-progress?!
I speak of a serious...
"ALTAR JUDDER"!
And now (bear with me), if we want to turn this into a Jackpot Anagram, a full 15 of 15 letters (!), we need only imagine that said altar is itself rigged to sound a siren with a tone pitch in medium range to alert the congregation to the danger of the equipment breakdown.
In this case (admittedly far out), we would have an...
"ALTO ALTAR JUDDER"!!
Just noticed another string of related words: PEE, PEKE, EPEE; and going a bit further afield, STEEP and the sound of SEPIA.
This afternoon we had a Hanukkah party with latkes and matzo ball soup. There was a very talented Borscht Belt type entertainer. Music, jokes, tap dancing, juggling. Many more gentiles than Jews attended.
BTW, last week I made our family's potato pancakes. Delicious. Their origin is German, but these are very like latkes.
After the party I organized the decoration of a Christmas tree for our floor. Every other floor has done one already. A few days ago I looked into the custom and found the staff would deliver an artificial tree supplied with lights to us, but residents needed to trim it. I borrowed decorations from a disabled friend and rounded up a bunch of other friends to decorate the tree. It was a nice social time.
I had to struggle a bit with this puzzle. Nevertheless, I enjoyed solving it. My personal Natick, and last square to fill, was the crossing of TESSE-A with O-L.
Happy birthday, Hahtoolah. I am also a big fan of yours.
PK, yesterday you said, "The high point of my day: I called out the Final Jeopardy answer and was right. All three of the professors in the special Jeopardy tournament got it wrong. Yay!" I missed seeing Jeopardy yesterday. Do you remember what the answer was and what the professors answered? Thanks.
Wherever?
Learning moment:
If Jenny=Ass
I was sure hinny would be pronounced h"i"nnie...
(Had to look it up...)
Happy Birthday Hahtoolah!
From last night:
(Usually it's a hangover...)
Enid Blyton!
Vidwan, I have mentioned her on the Blog several times before
And was shocked to hear she was banned from libraries!
I only knew of one Enid Blyton book, and it is a favorite
Memory as hearing it takes me back to being 6 years old
And sitting on the floor with other kids as the librarian read to us
(Circa 1960)
Had to look her up
To remember all the controversies.
I am pretty sure this one book had awoken my imagination
And spurred me to read voraciously. I suggest you read it to
Your grandchildren, and leave out any references to
Spankings or golliwogs if you find them offensive.
The Magic Faraway Tree
Can be read for free from this link.
Jayce ~
Yeah, they all had it wrong last night.
The "answer" was (paraphrasing) "Genl. MacArthur said his death by violence was a bitter anachronism..."
The profs answered JFK and MLKjr. The correct "Question" was "Who was Gandhi?"
It struck me that these profs had a weird sense of time. MacArthur died before MLK's death, and just after Kennedy's. But then I forget that everyone is so much younger nowadays. Of course they were too young to have followed MacArthur's dates.
But then again, I didn't know the answer. I mean, who thinks of MacArthur and Gandhi at the same time?!
~ OMK
Thank you, OMK. Your last question is a good one.
Rain is in the forecast! It might happen tonight as it is already overcast. It's snowing in Flagstaff and all across the northern areas so of course, skiers are happy.
We are going out to eat. I am much too tired to cook then tomorrow we shall decorate and bring out the wrapped presents from the spare bedroom. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas in the Dale household!
Death by violence at the hands of a Hindu fanatic. Ultimate irony
Death of Ghandi
WC
Good evening, Crossword friends: Thank you for all the birthday wishes. Glad you enjoy my Tuesday commentaries. Unclefred, very funny typo!
I am spending my birthday in New Hampshire this year and it was 19F when I got up this morning! I'm not used to those low temperature.
QOD: Even if you do succeed, most people wouldn’t notice anyway. ~ John Malkovich (b. Dec. 9. 1953), American actor
The Dale household seems like an active, fun place to be!
Hahtoolah, whew, 19F is cold!
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Dan and waseeley (& Teri).
I filled this CW earlier while waiting in Toronto, and only had a chance to check it out now.
A few inkblots, but officially a FIW because of the cross of TO LET and ALE. I had the AL and hurriedly made SierraNevada an ALp (and I should have known better). That gave me the unknown TOLPT (the sound of my flat tire!); oh we’re in Britain again with Caffs and Flats. LOL!
My bhat spelling was corrected to BAHT by perps. ILIESCU spelling was mostly perps.
Ergo changed to ERAT. (logician not mathematician)
I loved the cross of AVOW and AVER, our CW favourites (and the clues differentiated them well).
We had TESSA and TESSERA.
Happy Birthday Hahtoolah!
Glad you arrived safely Jinx.
YR-What a great time you are having in your new location.
Good evening all.
Hi All!
Technical DNF - I had to lookup ILIESCU.
Thanks for the puzzle Dan. It was a head-scratcher.
Great expo, waseeley - loved the music up-top.
WOs: CAP'n, heading HOME (hi Oc4!, esau ->SETH
ESPs: SISAL, AAR, TESSA, TESSERA
Fav: AVOW | AVER xing was cute
Pop will tell you the rich kids had Buster Browns; that's gotta be how I knew TIGE.
{B+, A}
Shoulda stopped at DR#1 :-)
Happy Birthday Hahtoolah! I hope you're day is sparkly as your Tuesday expos.
Congrats on the new addition to the family, inanehiker!
H-G: Nice story about your friend who went to the Taylor concert.
Glad you finally made it Jinx.
Unclefred - LOL PEE on Cue.
Enjoyed reading everyone.
Cheers, -T
OMK & Jayce, I don't know how I came up with Mahatma Ghandi, but I did. I think I remembered that MacArthur quote from reading of Ghandi's life & death. I was only 7 when he died. His image came to mind immediately. Those professors were definitely younger than I.
You made a lucky connection, PK, between Mac and the Mahatma! I was pretty familiar with the general's career, but I sure missed that one.
Please save the "h" in Gandhi to the end of his name.
~ OMK
I offer a goof in solving, not seen so far.
58A may of course be a wild RIDE. so that 55D would be an MDAT, an MD's Aptitude Test.
In the plethora of acronyms, abbreviations, and such, MDAT seems almost logical for a test for doctor, but wrong.
hahtoolah:
19 F. Oooh. That is cold!
Jayce:
We do enjoy ourselves.
YR:
How wonderful for you that your residence is so enjoyable. But of course, I am sure you are a major contributor to the festivities.
Lucina:: You must be a very passionately, family oriented, work-driven person .... to hear of all your activities, and cooking for dozens of guests, and the plethora of presents being gift wrapped !
About 30 yrs ago, when my two daughters were little, we used to take them to the malls and the toy stores, where they brought their own presents, and then they brought the gift wrap, and gift wrapped their own presents themselves. Which they would delightfully place under the Xmas tree, and duly open on Xmas morning.
So, the presents were not quite a surprise, since they knew exactly what they were getting, and they loved the presents - since they had chosen those, themselves... No disappointed faces there. !!
**********************
Michael, as above, if you are still here at the blog ... MDAT ...there is exactly such a similar exam, a national Medical Dental College Test, in Pakistan. It is called MDCAT ... (the ) Medical / Dental College Admission Test. ( To prevent a confusion with the american MCAT. I suppose ... )
**********************************
PK and Old Man Keith ... both Gandhi and Ghandy are known legal surnames in India, with a caveat. As I mentioned, some days ago, gandhi is a profession - of a grocer, or a sort of pharmacist.
Gandhi is the common surname for mostly, some gujrathi's who are from western India. Their other surnames are the famous Patel, Shah, Mehta, Desai etc. - all professions.
M.K.' Mahatma' Gandhi was spelled accordingly.
Ghandy ( notice the 'y' ending ...) is a surname of some Zoroastrians/Caucasians, who are indians, but originally fled from Iran, 6 centuries ago. They also speak the gujrathi language, but follow their own religion. They use some indian surnames, like Ghandy, but spell and pronounce it differently.
The most famous indian zoroastrians I can think of are Zubin Mehta ( LA Philharmonic ex-director) and Freddie Farrokh Balsara ( Lead singer, the Queen rock group ).
Happy Birthday, Susan!
Glad you’re home safely, Jinx!
Thanks for a nice Thursday puzzle, Dan. Gonna have to order in a new supply of Wite-Out, though.
Nice expo, Bill.
FIW! Boo! Hiss! Had LEGAL, instead of LEGIT. Didn’t know TESSERA, and I couldn’t remember whether BB’s dog’s name was TAGE or TIGE. The kid’s voice in the radio ads could have said either one, and I never saw it written. Also, what Michael about RIDE instead of RICE.
Trailer for sale or rent
Rooms to let, 50 cents
Roger Miller --- “King of the Road”
“Breaking Bad” --- Another one I’ve never seen. One of my Facebook friends posted a list of about 100 network TV shows earlier this week, asking her friends who could beat her low mark of having only seen 21. I did! There was only ONE that I had seen even a minute of, and that was only in reruns. Note to Hollywood and your sponsors: I couldn't care less!
Viwan:
Thank you for the compliment though I am sure most people on this Blog care for their families as much as I do. My drive for a successful Christmas is rooted in the fact that we had no festivities as children and I want to make the most for my grandchildren especially.
During his last months on this earth, my father was very ill. I have memories of men walking into our home carrying green oxygen tanks for him. We were forced to install a telephone because of his illness. He was ultimately hospitalized and our mother spent every waking moment there with him. Less than a month later, in January, he died. The years following his death were bleak. I was ten years old and my siblings ranged from 9 years to six months. Our Christmas memories from that time are not happy ones. So I try to create the opposite for my family.
Dear Vidwan:
"Michael, as above, if you are still here at the blog ... MDAT ...there is exactly such a similar exam, a national Medical Dental College Test, in Pakistan. It is called MDCAT ... (the ) Medical / Dental College Admission Test. ( To prevent a confusion with the american MCAT. I suppose ... )"
So it looks like my diagnosis of geriatric discombobulation is wrong, after all! Thanks!
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