The Theme That Wasn't There (or Was It?)
This looks like a first for Michelle Kenney in the LA Times. But she has been mentored by Jeff Chen, one of the best in the business. For a snapshot of how she came to be here check this link at XWord Info.
Today's theme seems subtle and multi-leveled. At the simplest level the themers and the reveal are concerned with some common state changes in water, one of the most abundant substances on the planet. At a deeper level they seem to hint at state changes to our body politic, something that constructors don't normally deal with in these grids. But we reviewers have to tread lightly on such matters, so to stay out of trouble I'll try to stick to literal, rather than historic-metaphoric treatments of the themers and the reveal.
17A. Ended corruption:
DRAINED THE SWAMP. The first attempt to do this was a long, long time ago, and we
don't seem to have made much progress:
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| Anger! |
48A. Made everything clear: LIFTED THE FOG.
63A. Historical turning point ... and, as three words, a literal description of 17-, 27- and 48-Across: WATER SHED MOMENT. Let us hope that we are not on the verge of an historical turning point.
I hope I haven't read too much into this. Now, let's turn our attention to the present moment, solving the rest of this puzzle.
Across:
1. Rearmost, as decks: AFT.
4. Winter wear: PARKA. A relative of the Anorak and today's Inuktitut lesson. A CSO to CanadianEh! (and you too Ray - O).
9. App with pics, familiarly: INSTA. As in Instagram, an
American photo and video sharing social networking service. The Corner
is my social media, but if you're interested in Instagram
this will tell you all about it.
14. Lead-in to gender: CIS. Gender used to be a simple
thing. Now, not so much.
15. Brown and Yale: IVIES. Ivy League universities.
16. Auctioned autos, often: REPOS. Repossess for failure to keep up the payments.
20. __ fire: CEASE. Not likely any time soon.
21. Tofu source: SOYA.
22. First Nations tribe: CREE. The Cree are a North American Indigenous people. They live primarily in Canada, where they form one of that country's largest First Nations. That's another one CanadianEh!!
23. Shindig: GALA. GALA sounds a little highfalutin for a "Shindig" to me. Not for an apple though.
25. "__ in the Boys Room": 1973-'74 hit: SMOKIN. Passed on the videos as all the smoke was FOGGING up my glasses. But here's the Brownsville Station album:
32. Actor Somerhalder of "Lost": IAN.
Ian Joseph Somerhalder (born December 8, 1978) is an American
actor, model, activist and director best known for playing Boone Carlyle
in
Lost, a scifi/supernatural TV series.. Ian got his start in the TV series The Big Easy, a
CSO to our very own. Here he is ...
33. Lizard-approved coverage?: GEICO.
34. Place to get clean: REHAB.
38. Shakespearean verb: DOTH. And its negative DOTHN'T, language common during the reign of Elizabeth I.
40. Intense anger: WRATH. I think we covered that in 27A.
42. What some queens do: RULE. Britannia may RULE the waves, but its current monarch, Elizabeth II, is having a rough time trying to RULE over a very UNRULY family.
43. Boston suburb named for an English county: ESSEX. Many
places in the US were named by people nostalgic for the old country.
And many were taken from place names used by the indigenous peoples.
45. Common conveyances for Calvin and Hobbes: SLEDS. Calvin and Hobbes first appeared like a bright meteor in the skies of the comics world on November 18, 1985. It was a sad day in December 31, 1995 when Bill Watterson finally hung up his pen:
47. Depression Era pres.: FDR.
51. Nielsen of "The Naked Gun" films: LESLIE. And speaking of Queen Elizabeth:
|
|
Ian (not George) |
34. Place to get clean: REHAB.
38. Shakespearean verb: DOTH. And its negative DOTHN'T, language common during the reign of Elizabeth I.
40. Intense anger: WRATH. I think we covered that in 27A.
42. What some queens do: RULE. Britannia may RULE the waves, but its current monarch, Elizabeth II, is having a rough time trying to RULE over a very UNRULY family.
 |
| Queen Elizabeth II |
45. Common conveyances for Calvin and Hobbes: SLEDS. Calvin and Hobbes first appeared like a bright meteor in the skies of the comics world on November 18, 1985. It was a sad day in December 31, 1995 when Bill Watterson finally hung up his pen:
51. Nielsen of "The Naked Gun" films: LESLIE. And speaking of Queen Elizabeth:
54. Caesar's 18-Down: VIDI. Veni, VIDI
Vici. I came, I SAW, I conquered.
Here's the backstory.
55. Swift steed: ARAB.
56. Sushi pairing: SAKE.
60. Brief but sharp pains: PANGS.
66. Timberlake's old crew: NSYNC. Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor who got his start with the boy band NSYNC. Here's his Mirrors (at first his high tenor made me think it was an alto doing the singing).
55. Swift steed: ARAB.
56. Sushi pairing: SAKE.
60. Brief but sharp pains: PANGS.
66. Timberlake's old crew: NSYNC. Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor who got his start with the boy band NSYNC. Here's his Mirrors (at first his high tenor made me think it was an alto doing the singing).
67. "Trade discount" quintet: AEIOU. Somehow I've lived most of
my adult life not thinking about the fact that there are "parts of speech"
(the latter phrase not one of them), that contain all of the vowels in
order. It turns out that there is a cottage industry that is tracking
down and cataloguing these words and phrases.
This article has a bit of the recent history.
68. Portuguese saint: SAO. In last Friday's puzzle it was clued as "Brazil map word".
69. Sleeping giant: SERTA. Not SEALY. Not even close.
70. Grabbed forty winks: SLEPT. I do this every day around Noon. In fact it's about that time. See ya later.
71. Oil additive brand: STP. Helps your vehicle's engine maintain Standard Temperature and Pressure.
Down:
1. "Back in Black" group: ACDC. For those of you who are not into heavy metal, you might dig this version:
68. Portuguese saint: SAO. In last Friday's puzzle it was clued as "Brazil map word".
69. Sleeping giant: SERTA. Not SEALY. Not even close.
70. Grabbed forty winks: SLEPT. I do this every day around Noon. In fact it's about that time. See ya later.
71. Oil additive brand: STP. Helps your vehicle's engine maintain Standard Temperature and Pressure.
1. "Back in Black" group: ACDC. For those of you who are not into heavy metal, you might dig this version:
2. Kindle __: FIRE. It's how you start a FIRE. Derived from the word KINDLING, the small sticks you light first. Well actually you use TINDER first. But that's a dating APP. Oh wait! Maybe Michelle meant this, a tablet that can also be used as an E-reader:
You can get one on Amazon. I can't say any more as it would violate our policy on product advertising.
3. Modern-day wand wielders: TSA AGENTS. Modern day MAGI? Arthur C.Clark once said that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".
4. Source of Yuletide coziness: PINE LOG. OAK LOGS are much less likely to create a chimney fire.
5. "__ Maria": AVE. The first words that the Angel Gabriel spoke to Mary in Luke 1:28. I don't think they were in Latin though. Probably Hebrew.
6. Divests: RIDS.
7. Low-carb, high-fat diet: KETO. I am not a dietitian, nor I do I play one on TV, so you should take the following articles with a grain of salt (unless of course you have HBP): Ketogenic diet and Paleo vs. Keto Diet.
8. Pale: ASHY.
9. Apr. addressee: IRS. It'll be here before we know it.
10. Often-hazed member: NEWCOMER.
11. Lively quality: SPARK.
12. Marisa of "The Wrestler" (2008): TOMEI. The Wrestler is a 2008 American sports psychological drama film starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood. Rourke is an over the hill wrestler and Tomei, a pole dancer at a local club, is his love interest. You can find an interesting YouTube interview with Marisa about her challenges in making the film, but I won't include it here.
13. Sawatch Range resort: ASPEN. The Sawatch Range, a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains of North America, is located in the center of the U.S. state of Colorado. It has 243 named mountains with Mount Elbert both the highest and most prominent. The range hosts several other ski resorts in addition to ASPEN. Hi MalMan!
18. 54-Across, here: I SAW, i.e. VIDI.
19. Verb that sounds like multiple vowels: EASE i.e. EEEZ.
24. Not lots: A FEW.
26. Damage: MAR.
27. __ one's time: be patient: BIDE. Please be patient. We're getting there.
28. Vietnam neighbor: LAOS. Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia.
29. Top spot: FIRST.
30. E to E, e.g.: SCALE. One of my few regrets in life is that, despite being a big music fan, I never learned to play a musical instrument (although I do warble a bit). But I can Google, and here is a link I surfed up on the E Major SCALE and one on the twelve notes of Western music.
31. Carried: TOTED.
35. Arrogance: HUFFINESS.
36. Canadian shoe retailer: ALDO. The ALDO Group branded as ALDO, is a Canadian multinational corporation retailer that owns and operates a worldwide chain of shoe and accessories stores. The company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun in 1972 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. And that's a "hat trick" for CanadianEh!
37. Scary floater: BERG. Clever clue. Definitely not a MOTE in your eye.
39. Recklessly determined: HELL BENT. I'm HECK BENT on getting this review finished.
41. Many a flat-screen: HDTV. What is HDTV?
44. Top of many a dial: XII. This reference may escape some of our Gen Zers. Do we have any Gen Zers?
46. Begin a naval deployment: SHIP OUT. A CSO to our beloved Spitzboov, who has deployed to better shores.
49. Own (up): FESS. Could also be clued as "CON follower".
50. Wax-coated cheese: EDAM. A CSO to Chairman Moe for a recommended wine pairing.
51. Targets of much fertilization: LAWNS. And weed killers, thatchers, and mowers, oh my!
52. Rub off: ERASE.
53. Woodland deity: SATYR. Wild and crazy guys.
57. Light-bulb moments: AHAS.
58. Ship stabilizer: KEEL. I wanted GYROSCOPE, but it was too long. There turn out to be LOTS of definitions for KEEL, but "RED OCHER"?
59. Falco of "Nurse Jackie": EDIE. Nurse Jackie, is an American medical comedy-drama television series that ran from June 8, 2009 to June 28, 2015. The show starred Edie Falco (atoning for abetting the Sopranos?) as the title character, Jackie Peyton, an emergency department nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City. For Jackie, "every day is a high wire act of juggling patients, doctors, fellow nurses, and her own indiscretions."
61. Pesky insect: GNAT.
62. "No más!": STOP. Today's Spanish lesson. Okay, okay! I'll skip the next two clues.
64. Early TV maker: RCA.
65. Swabbie's tool: MOP.
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| Amazon Fire |
3. Modern-day wand wielders: TSA AGENTS. Modern day MAGI? Arthur C.Clark once said that "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".
4. Source of Yuletide coziness: PINE LOG. OAK LOGS are much less likely to create a chimney fire.
5. "__ Maria": AVE. The first words that the Angel Gabriel spoke to Mary in Luke 1:28. I don't think they were in Latin though. Probably Hebrew.
6. Divests: RIDS.
7. Low-carb, high-fat diet: KETO. I am not a dietitian, nor I do I play one on TV, so you should take the following articles with a grain of salt (unless of course you have HBP): Ketogenic diet and Paleo vs. Keto Diet.
8. Pale: ASHY.
9. Apr. addressee: IRS. It'll be here before we know it.
10. Often-hazed member: NEWCOMER.
11. Lively quality: SPARK.
12. Marisa of "The Wrestler" (2008): TOMEI. The Wrestler is a 2008 American sports psychological drama film starring Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, and Evan Rachel Wood. Rourke is an over the hill wrestler and Tomei, a pole dancer at a local club, is his love interest. You can find an interesting YouTube interview with Marisa about her challenges in making the film, but I won't include it here.
13. Sawatch Range resort: ASPEN. The Sawatch Range, a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains of North America, is located in the center of the U.S. state of Colorado. It has 243 named mountains with Mount Elbert both the highest and most prominent. The range hosts several other ski resorts in addition to ASPEN. Hi MalMan!
18. 54-Across, here: I SAW, i.e. VIDI.
19. Verb that sounds like multiple vowels: EASE i.e. EEEZ.
24. Not lots: A FEW.
26. Damage: MAR.
27. __ one's time: be patient: BIDE. Please be patient. We're getting there.
28. Vietnam neighbor: LAOS. Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia.
 |
| Laotian Flag |
30. E to E, e.g.: SCALE. One of my few regrets in life is that, despite being a big music fan, I never learned to play a musical instrument (although I do warble a bit). But I can Google, and here is a link I surfed up on the E Major SCALE and one on the twelve notes of Western music.
31. Carried: TOTED.
35. Arrogance: HUFFINESS.
36. Canadian shoe retailer: ALDO. The ALDO Group branded as ALDO, is a Canadian multinational corporation retailer that owns and operates a worldwide chain of shoe and accessories stores. The company was founded by Aldo Bensadoun in 1972 and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. And that's a "hat trick" for CanadianEh!
37. Scary floater: BERG. Clever clue. Definitely not a MOTE in your eye.
39. Recklessly determined: HELL BENT. I'm HECK BENT on getting this review finished.
41. Many a flat-screen: HDTV. What is HDTV?
44. Top of many a dial: XII. This reference may escape some of our Gen Zers. Do we have any Gen Zers?
46. Begin a naval deployment: SHIP OUT. A CSO to our beloved Spitzboov, who has deployed to better shores.
49. Own (up): FESS. Could also be clued as "CON follower".
50. Wax-coated cheese: EDAM. A CSO to Chairman Moe for a recommended wine pairing.
52. Rub off: ERASE.
53. Woodland deity: SATYR. Wild and crazy guys.
57. Light-bulb moments: AHAS.
58. Ship stabilizer: KEEL. I wanted GYROSCOPE, but it was too long. There turn out to be LOTS of definitions for KEEL, but "RED OCHER"?
59. Falco of "Nurse Jackie": EDIE. Nurse Jackie, is an American medical comedy-drama television series that ran from June 8, 2009 to June 28, 2015. The show starred Edie Falco (atoning for abetting the Sopranos?) as the title character, Jackie Peyton, an emergency department nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City. For Jackie, "every day is a high wire act of juggling patients, doctors, fellow nurses, and her own indiscretions."
 |
| Edie Falco |
62. "No más!": STOP. Today's Spanish lesson. Okay, okay! I'll skip the next two clues.
64. Early TV maker: RCA.
65. Swabbie's tool: MOP.
Here's the grid:
And thanks as always to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
Cheers,
Bill
52 comments:
Word of the Day: akimbo
Pronunciation: ê-kim-bo
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: (Standing) with the hands resting on the hips, elbows bent and sticking out (as in the photograph).
Notes: This adjective is unusual in two respects: it follows its noun, rather than preceding it, and it is used mostly in one expression "with arms akimbo": She stood with arms akimbo, daring him to approach her. There are no nouns, adverbs, or verbs associated with this word; it is the purest of lexical orphans.
In Play: The arms akimbo posture usually connotes truculence or defiance: "Mama's standing at the door calling you with arms akimbo. You're in trouble." (You hear kids saying it all the time.) This connotation has led to a wider range of usages where truculence or defiance alone are intended: "Courtney's eyes went akimbo when she saw her husband talking with his old girlfriend."
For more on this word see the Alpha Dictionary.
What ever happened to Bill Watterson?
And if that's still not enough ...
Good morning!
D-o got the dewatering theme and finished in good time, Wite-Out-free. Yay. LESLIE Nielsen was a master of deadpan comedy. (...and don't call me Shirley!) Fun puzzle, Michelle and Jeff. Iluminating expo, Waseeley.
FIRE: We've got both an Amazon Fire and a Kindle Paperwhite in our household. It really doesn't make sense that the Fire tablet can do so much more than the Paperwhite, which can only display books. Yet, the Paperwhite costs three times as much. Still, I prefer reading on the Paperwhite, because it's so light weight, and the newer version is water-resistant.
I vaporized this one in 6:24.
Good, solid puzzle -- without any circles!
Knew Tomei instantly, but stalled spelling the last two letters.
I missed the reference to the vowels in "Trade Discount," and don't mean that "facetiously."
FIR, but erased rein for RULE, and dele'ed, then steted, FDR. DNK IAN, and only sorta knew ESSEX. Must be hard to live in a place so influenced by our one-time oppressors. Glad I live in an all-'Merican place like Norfolk, with our neighboring Suffolk, Portsmouth, Gloucester and Isle of Wight, all in the 'Merican state of Virginia.
I finally made peace in the middle-east. Since I can't spell, I had rei(g)n, waffled between FOG and lid, thought that the Great Depression might have been before FDR, but all that confusion melted away when I finally grokked REHAB.
Since at the time I had T___ for "scary floater", I couldn't help thinking of the scene with the floating Baby Ruth bar in Caddie Shack.
When I was in high school I smoked Marlboros. The pack declared "vini vidi, vici". I learned what it meant in Latin class. I never smoked in the boy's room; I stood outside the door with the rogue teachers who were smokin' too.
People in SUSSEX, MA work the puzzle with their PARKA pens.
I was wary when I saw that Jeff Chen was today's co-constructor, but I'm glad I decided to try it. Welcome, Michelle. Couldn't work in Kenney's as today's shoe retailer? Oh wait - that's Kinney's. And thanks to Bill for the fun tour.
Yes, a Thursday FIR without too many WOs! One of my early theme fills was "BLurted it out" which perps eventually changed to BLEW OFF STEAM. A FEW and WRATH took some time but GEICO cleared that area of problems. The theme was fun, Michelle. Thanks for the puzzle. Come back soon! Jeff, thanks for guiding her.
Another successful review, waseeley (and Teri). Thanks for all the links and extra info, especially about Watterson's retirement. Calvin and Hobbes books were enjoyed by one of my grandsons years later.
DO, you sound back to normal now. Hope that's true. And I hope everyone has a splendid day today!
Re. My last Thurs post: God skipped over the Balaam's Ass incident. That could have been fun
And, did this thinking it was Wednesday and like last week may have been easier. But my difficulty levels seem opposite to the majority
My scary floater was orca. FDR RULEd that out.
Re. 49D: Or ____ Parker
PARKA pens for the Bostonians, good one Jinx
WC
Didn’t exactly vaporize the CW as anonymous did, but I did manage to ice it with a FIR in a few ticks over 10 minutes as the difficulty level seemed more apt for a Tuesday for me. Not nearly as tough as the last Jeff Chen collaboration (Skipping Stones) from January 7th. Hope to see more of Michelle’s work in the future after reading the little blurb.
I see how the theme all relates but it didn’t really help with the solve, my only unknowns being IAN and ALDO (Canadian Eh! ~ I asked a question of you yesterday but it was later in the day and you probably didn’t see it)
Jinx ~ your first thought about a scary floater reminded me of an old limerick:
There once was a fellow named Clyde,
Who fell in an outhouse and died.
Along came his brother who fell in another,
And now they’re interred side by side.
Bill ~ as always I enjoyed your detailed synopsis, especially your musical links, and the photo of EDIE Falco was very easy on the eyes also. As far as “Drain the Swamp”, in bygone days a developer would drain what we now refer to as “wetlands”, fill it in and build something on the site, not so today as any destruction of wetlands must be replicated elsewhere as to not alter the ecosystem. Politically, it doesn’t do much good to drain a swamp if you replace it with a cesspool, and that’s all I have to say about that. Good day to all!
Good Morning:
This was a fun theme with an Aha reveal. Only unknowns were Ian and Aldo and no w/os. Numerous duos today: Serta/Slept, AC/DC/*NSYNC, Parka/Spark, Fire/Pine Log, Spark/Fire, Mop/Stop, Log/Fog, Few/New, TSA/IRS, Ease/Erase, I Saw/Vidi, HDTV/RCA, and Sao/Lao(s), plus a Triple Crown, Aft/Keel/Ship Out. We also have a mini A Team with Parka, Insta, Soya, Serta, RCA, and Gala. Nice CSOs to Misty and Moi (RCA), DO and dear Spitz (Aft, Keel, and Ship Out), and CanadianEh (Cree and Aldo).
Thanks, Michelle and Jeff, for a Thursday treat and thanks Bill (and Teri) for an outstanding write-up, filled with fun facts and fun frolicking. You outdid yourself today, Bill, with the many enjoyable visuals and links. Thank you for your efforts.
FLN
Lemony, thanks for the trip down Memory Lane. Your thoughts and feelings are shared by many, if not all of us. 🤗
Have a great day.
ATLGranny, thanx for asking. Yes, I'm almost back to normal. Canceled my Tuesday M-o-W route, but I'm planning to drive my Thursday route later this morning -- 12 clients, 11 stops, 46 total miles. Only 44° and clammy -- mizzable weather in these parts. Tomorrow's gonna be worse.
Good morning. It was a slow start today in the North before I was able to get up to speed. TOMEI and ASPEN were unknown as clued; never heard of the Sawatch Range. From what I've read, PINE LOGS shouldn't be regularly burned in a fireplace. Too much pine tar and creosote buildup in the chimney.
Never noticed the WATERSHEL MOMENT until I filled 'watershed moment'. No AHA moment. Kinda unusual that the word 'moment' was in a clue crossing a fill containing that same word.
Most of the neighborhoods around here are filled with houses where they DRAINED THE SWAMP. That's why you see lots of flooding the NOLA area. The water has to be pumped out. No drainage goes into the Mississippi River, only away from the river.
ALDO-only other unknown today; I haven't been looking for shoes in Canada lately, or ever. But I do remember the ALDO CELLA wine commercials from about 40 years ago.
STP- whatever happened to Bardahl? No Andy Ganatelli.
IAN- he's got more hair than this Big Easy. BTW I saw the movie years ago but didn't know there was a TV show by that name.
DOTH- Daffy Duck 'doth' talk that way
CIS- last I checked there were only two genders. Ask TSA AGENTS or buy a plane ticket. Take off your glasses, remove your hat, show your Passport or other ID.
Jinx- if you eat a Baby Ruth watch out for the chocolate that breaks off when you bite it. The one in Caddyshack didn't have that problem.
Testing Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Michelle and Jeff, and waseeley (and Teri).
I FIRed eventually, with two areas of inkblot (and big gasp at 17A and the No Politics rule).
I got the theme (sorta); I saw it as SHEDding WATER by DRAINing, BLOWing OFF, and LIFTing the various waters (STEAM, FOG, SWAMP (SWAMP was an outlier as it is not a state of water).
First inkblot was caused by trying to enter BLOW One’s STack, and running out of spaces. Second was by hazing a NEW CadEt before a NEWCOMER. All corrected by perps.
We had WRATH, not ire to BLOW OFF STEAM.
I noted EASE and CEASE, which are pronounced differently.
Thanks to OwenKL’s correction of my language issue* the other day, I got SAO immediately. (SAO* Paulo in Portuguese Brazil).
Double dupes today with Kindle FIRE crossing CEASE fire, and AHAS (lightbulb moments) crossing WATERSHED MOMENT. (Hi Big Easy.)
I had AHAS when I finally parsed TSAAGENTS, and saw the vowel progression in the words Trade discount (thanks waseeley). (I was trying to figure out what those initials stood for in relation to a trade discount). LOL Anon@7:23
I thought of Octave for E to E, but it would not fit.
I was thinking of a phone dial , but XII is at the top of the sundial. Before all of us, not just GenZers.
A hat trick of CSOs for me today! Wow, thanks waseeley. I will need my PARKA today with our cold weather. CREE nations are farther west (mostly the Prairie provinces, eh LfromAlberta?); we have more Mohawk here. I thought of Bata before ALDO, but Bata closed around 2000. They do have a shoe museum in Toronto. Can I take a fourth CSO with SLEDS (associated with our Inuit population, but also in use here by our kids on our snow-covered slopes). And LESLIE Nielsen was born in Canada (Saskatchewan).
Yes, I thought of Spitzboov with AFT (not Stem from the other day) and KEEL, as well as SHIP OUT. IM saw them too.
YooperPhil, I answered you this morning, but on yesterday’s posts.
Wishing you all a great day.
Hola!
Thrilling Thursday puzzle from Jeff Chen and Michelle Kenney, thank you both.
Those long spans, once they fill, make the rest of the puzzle collapse like dominoes. It then remains only to connect the downs. The FOG lifts quickly after that.
I always like a return to the classics. VENI, VIDI, VICI, oh, but only VIDI made the cut and was even translated, I SAW.
PINE LOGs are rarely used here though many homes do have fireplaces and sometimes the smell of burning LOGS wafts through the air.
ALDO as a first name is the only one I'm familiar with and have never bought shoes in Canada so that brand is unknown to me.
This puzzle was easier than I surmised once I saw who the co-constructor was.
Thank you, waseeley, for the WATERSHED MOMENTS in your narrative.
Have a good day, everyone!
Musings
-The puzzle was fine but I’m in a bit of a FOG about the gimmick
-Yes, shindig and GALA would appear to be slightly different
-REHAB – My brother said, “Stopping drinking a very easy, I’ve done it dozens of times!”
-A late week IAN clue today
-FDR and Queen Elizabeth II’s father and a famous menu when they met
-I have ordered some very esoteric things from AMAZON recently because they are not available in town
-Only 10% of the iceBERG sticks above the water but that’s enough to sink very large vessels
-If I hear a loud noise in the classroom, it’s hard to get a student to FESS up as to what happened
-42-yr-old Marisa played a very attractive stripper in that movie
ALDO as a supermarket chain in the US. Why go Canadian? [not that I have anything against our northern neighbors]
AEIOU clued as Trade... is oblique at best. "Run of letters" would work. Or "Vowels."
Marisa Tomei's Academy Award for her portrayal of Mona Lisa Vito in MY COUSIN VINNY is worth remembering.
I don't see politics in water, but that's just me.
Good morning. One guess at who slept in. Then my laptop internet connection dropped. Reboot.
Nice puzzle today. Veni, vidi, vici.
Great job, Bill.
I've always remembered a statement about water that one of my favorite middle school teachers made. He said that there there was just as much water on the planet as there had always been. He said that it may be in different physical states, but the total amount of water never changes.
Bill, I don't know about wine pairings 'cuz I very rarely drink it. You've definitely asked the right person, but I'd like to chime in.
In this highly informative Epicurious video that cheese lovers might enjoy, Anne Saxelby demonstrates how to properly cut a number of different types of cheeses. She does talk about food pairings and IIRC, some wine pairings, with the different cheeses.
I watched this a few weeks ago, and seemed to recall that she covered EDAM, but no, the closest she got to it was Gouda. The entire video is over 42 minutes long, but I've queued it up to start at 16:40 with Gouda.
How To Cut Every Cheese | Method Mastery | Epicurious
So many cheeses. So little time.
Scary Floater - DW was having vision problems in one of her eyes. Our lovely and caring optometrist made an after hours house call as no appointments were available. The good Dr gave her an eye test and examined her eyes with this $20K (DW asked) portable diagnostic tool. Bonus, I got my annual vision test also. No need to change my prescription, but cataracts are forming. The charitable Dr is unavailable locally for a month or so every year as she travels to poorer, undeserved areas in Central and South America countries to provide eye care and glasses.
Canadian Eh, FLN, Chuck Norris doesn't do push ups. He pushes the earth down. Chuck Norris makes onions cry. Poison ivy itches after Chuck Norris touches it. Chuck Norris can send texts using rotary dial phones. Chuck Norris can unscramble eggs. Chuck Norris can slam a closed door. Chuck Norris eats rice with one chop stick. Chuck Norris can slice a hot knife with a stick of butter. Chuck Norris can lift up a chair with one hand. While he's sitting on it. Chuck Norris solves the Wordle on his first answer. Every time. The last was my attempt at a Chuck Norris joke, given the latest internet sensation, harkening back to a time when absurd facts about Chuck Norris was an internet rage.
Thursdays are usually toughies for me, but I still enjoy them as I did the one today.
Many thanks for the treat, Michelle and Jeff, and always like your write-up, Bill.
As soon as I got "AVE Maria", I also got the IVIES Brown and Yale.
Fun to see that SERTA mattress right next to SLEPT.
For some reason, HELL BENT fell into place right after DOTH and ESSEX.
Irish Miss, thank you so much for remembering that my now 92 year old Dad worked for RCA his entire career. He started in the fifties, at the same time as color TV.
Have a great day, everybody.
Bill Seeley Thank you for your review. Except for DRAIN THE SWAMP I am not getting the political angle. Could you please say a bit more?
Did anyone else try SPUNK before SPARK? Kind of got the WATERSHED theme, but I am still not totally sure. Just got that SWAMP, FOG and STEAM theme answers involve SHEDding WATER. FIR!
This was the FOG and SWAMP scene I encountered at the state reserve near our home on Sunday.
That photo is unretouched. Very other-worldly!
From Yesterday:
Jinx Indeed I have a photo of ENOLA Gay at the National Air and Space Museum.
AnonT Thanks for looking up MORRO. My search turns up "nose" as the meaning in English. What do you think Lucina
Jayce, AnonT, Bill Seeley, Michael Thanks for the nerdy CLI comments. Yes, I remember CLI as CLear Interrupt in assembly code on the Motorola microprocessors I used to program. Motorola processors were so much superior to Intel, but Intel had better marketing. I still use Command Line Interface on my PC for many purposes. I am guessing that underneath Windows 10 is still MS DOS?
CrossEyedDave I am still curious what made you mention Heathkit to Vidwan?
Picard @11:52 AM Beautiful photograph!
I'll have to pass on further discussions of the theme. I saw strong associations between each of the themers and the reveal and recent events in our country. To elaborate would would violate Corner policies.
Canadian Eh! ~~ thanks for your reply, I’m thinking that if you found a Canada geared puzzle meh, I would probably deem it the same way. A Montreal paper may publish one, but would most likely be le Francais, which would do me no good being uni-lingual. 😊
Not too many thoughts about the puzzle today.
"Cis"gender - I only recently became aware of "cisgender" as opposed to "transgender" but now I'm more "woke" (as they say) about it).
A fairly easy puzzle, I thought, especially for a Thursday, and I fir.
Oh, the computer DID let me publish, after all (at first, it was obstreperous).
So, a few more thoughts:
(1) "Cease" and "fire" - a cute pairing
(2) As others have said, I wasn't familiar with "Aldo" as a shoe brand, but the perps made it clear.
(3) I've had "insta" as short for "instagram" so many times that now I'm used to it.
(4) That's about all for today, folks.
Musings 2
-CISGENDER – I just had a class and a study hall with a group of sophomores. One of them was named Ash and was dressed all in black, had on a black mask and had her bangs down over her eyes. Ash never said anything but had a sketch pad on the table. I complimented they and went over it in great detail and I mentioned how I loved the detail and imagination of the drawings and Ash was so happy to explain her work to me for 20 minutes. Ash told me I was a favorite of hers and that she has loved hearing me talk about space over the years. On the way to lunch I told another teacher about Ash and the teacher mentioned they was non-binary and very reserved and the teacher was pleased Ash had opened up to me and was going to make a sketch just for me.
-"There but for fortune goes my child"
-I am trying to use the pronoun correctly.
Hi Y'all! Enjoyed the puzzle by Michelle & Jeff Chen. Easier than expected from Chen. Thanks, Bill.
Hand up for finding political meaning in all the theme entries.
Arrogance = HUFFINESS? Never would have guessed that. Thanks, perps.
Hand up for missing the vowels as part of Trade Discount. Puzzled over that one a while.
Talked with a very handsome CREE guide at a buffalo jump in Alberta, Canada, so knew they were there.
I thought Sawatch Range was in a different state, so surprised when ASPEN became apparent.
PK, you went to a buffalo jump in Alberta ?
A lot of people seem to be totally unaware that those large beasts can jump higher than a house. I always find that to be an amazing factoid.
Yooper, I went on a similar quest a few months ago. There's a page on The Globe and Mail website under the Arts section that has some supersized Canada Day and Victoria Day puzzles. They were cryptic or British style puzzles, so I didn't try them. Not my cuppa.
Thank you, Michelle K. and Jeff C., for this morning's exercise! I didn't get the theme, usually don't remember to look for it. I always enjoy every write-up, they are always so full of interesting tidbits related to the puzzle. Thank you, bloggers! And thank you to all the commenters. This site is definitely a positive part of my days.
I saw the 2D/ 20A "fire" dupe but didn't notice the 63A/57D "moment" dupe.
W.Os, oCtav/SCALE, iRATe/WRATH, EASy/EASE Not too bad for a Thursday.
71A Oil additive brand/STP. Now that Maggie has been diagnosed with intestinal cancer, we know her digestive system doesn't work as well as it should. The vet suggested I put her on the STP diet:sweet potato/tilapia/pasta! Low fat, easy to digest. That worked for a week. Now we're saying, whatever she'll eat she'll get.
Sunny, cold, windy here. We got out for a short walk. I'd prefer that the temp get up into the 30's but Mother Nature didn't ask for my opinion.
Have a great day!
Yes CanadianEh, we are well acquainted with Cree people in western Canada. We live in the vicinity of Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump, which sits on the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Nation. This nation extends into Montana. One of our city parks is named Indian Battle Park, in commemoration of the last battle between two Indian Nations in Canada, the Cree and the Blackfoot. Apparently they still don't like each other.
The puzzle was solvable, but certainly not a speed run. We are middling solvers at best, but always enjoy the challenge. I appreciate Canadian clue/answers, but understand that they are more of a challenge for our southern neighbours.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR but with a few w/o's: Picard, I had SPUNK/SPARK, FYI. I also had AERIE/FIRST; and NEOPHYTE/NEWCOMER
Anthony Gael Moral @ 11:37 - I know what you mean about misleading clues. I am in the midst of having three "Friday" puzzles accepted for publication this year, and the editor of that spot has insisted that my clues for Friday - and even Thursday puzzles - be more difficult. It's interesting to learn that there is an entire lexicon of words and phrases that have the vowel run of A - E - I - O - U used just once, and in order
TTP @ 11:39 - that video on cheese was fascinating! I went back to view a few others; thanks for sharing.
To waseeley: With regard to the CSO to me about wine pairings and EDAM . . . it's interesting that I focused more on pairing wine with main courses/side dishes than with cheese. Even though I passed the Sommelier "test" I never actually served in that capacity in either a restaurant or in the wine trade. And while I do trust my palate to make pairings, I have dropped the snobby trait that is attached to most Somm's. My thought now is that if you like a particular wine, just drink it! If it doesn't pair that well with a food, who cares? YOU like it! And that's what matters
TSAAGENT threw me off until the perps came through
Not sure that I had a 57-Down when the puzzle solved; but that's ok. It was enjoyable solving and reading the eluciditory recap. Thanks Michelle, Jeff, and Bill (Teri)
Hi All!
Thank you Michelle & Jeff. Bit of a challenge (I was the challenge!) but I got 'er done.
Thanks for post-puzzle read, Waseeley (& Teri). I think you're over-thinking the theme (or I'm missing it) -- simply water being shed in some way (drained, blown, lifted). Regardless, fun expo and now I know what STP stands for.
WOs: I was addressing SRS (grads) in Apr., filled NEWoOBie [sic] 'cuz I was thinking Otoe, EASy
ESPs: ALDO, IAN
Fav: SERTA / SLEPT or HELL BENT? Decisions, decisions.
Nit: Kindle FIRE | CEASE fire(?) [Hi C, Eh!]
FLN - C, Eh! - TTP's LOL quip fits with the Chuck Norris meme universe.
AnthonyGM - Are you maybe thinking of Aldi?
Re: Calvin & Hobbes - how you doin' BillG? Jordon?
Neat FOG photo, Picard.
MS-DOS died with Windows 98. The Command Prompt in Win10 is from the NT-line originally developed as a successor to OS/2.
Jinx: LOL PARKA (Parker) Pens.
Back to work.
Cheers, -T
Wordle: 5
Phil - Love it!
TTP - I apologize for forgetting it was you, not Picard, who knew Enola Gay. I get my favorite Cornerites mixed up.
Big Easy: "Take off your glasses, remove your hat, show your Passport or other ID." Only if you are a 'Merican. If you are an illegal immigrant, all ya gotta show to fly commercial is a Notice to Appear. Bet you won't hear that on NPR. Its like September 11, 2001 never happened.
C-Eh, when a tourist is trying to get to that museum and stop to ask "where's ALDO", do you folks know she isn't trying to find British children's books? (HG, I know it would be a "she", because "hes" don't ask for directions, no matter how lost we get.)
Bill: Excellent write-up. Good Job!
Fave today, 54-A, VIDI ... but I prefer my VENI, VIDI, VEGGIE ...
"I Came, I Saw, I Had a SALAD."
Hope everyone is having a wonderful week.
A "Toast-to-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!
TTP- thanks for explaining the Chuck Norris reference. I was not familiar with all the jokes about him.
Picard- great photo, and yes it did look surreal.
YooperPhil- I’ll keep doing the LAT CW, recognize my Canadian disadvantage (but none today!), and whine about it here. At least you all are learning alternate spellings.
LfromAlberta- glad to have you chime in. Also, interesting to hear of PK’s familiarity with a buffalo jump in Alberta.
TTP, a Buffalo jump refers to a cliff that the indigenous hunters would force the Buffalo to run over as they were hunting them. (Although apparently Buffalo can jump as high as six feet in the air - but over a house?!? Sod house on the prairie maybe LOL).
Pat- caring thoughts as you navigate this stage with Maggie. Pets are family!
Dash T @ 2:17 --> I also was thinking ALDI for 36-Down, but having just shopped at one a few days ago I don't recall seeing shoes for sale there, so I kept the final letter blank until the FOG LIFTED
I also agree with you about the CEASE fire and Kindle FIRE crossing. It's interesting how some editors will be OK with having a word used in the puzzle be a word in another clue.
CIS and CEASE in the same corner was an interesting, "near homophone"
AnonT- thanks for furthering my education with those hilarious Chuck Norris memes.
Jinx- the shoe museum in Toronto is actually the Bata Shoe Museum, but I love your Where’s ALDO (Cockney accent?).
I’ve been in that museum and it is quite interesting.
well, that was fun...
Picard,
Desperate-Otto mentioned Heathkit,
Followed by Jinx,
To which Vidwans exact words were:
"Desper-Otto, You must have been one heck of an electrician/kit hobbist !! I admire you. I always wanted to build things, as a teenager, generally inspired by kits, encouraged by cut out coupons, on the back of certain old comic books and Popular Mechanics, 1958-64, but alas, my adult mentors were very discouraging. Now, when I have the funds, I am too old, and the enthusiasm is waning ..."
This struck a resounding chord in me. As a youth, I never had the funds to purchase anything
As expensive as a "Heathkit." Even if it was hundreds of $ less than the equivalent off the shelf item.
But not deterred, I scrounged whatever people threw out, and managed to assemble quite a few Gerry-rigged
Masterpieces of working junk in my day. I even once did brain surgery on a TV by replacing the tuner with one found in the
Garbage. Sure it looked like Frankenstein, but it worked!
(No tv to a kid is a great motivator...)
After that, there was no looking back,
I was going to build my own motorcycle from the junkyard jetsam.
(In a way, I did! Long story)
Anywho,
Back to the puzzle!
Aldo sounded familiar,
Last month was Aldi versus Trader Joe's,
But, no watershed moment...
"Scary floater"
1st thought=Portugese man O'war
2nd thought=16 letters, not going to fit an many crossword puzzles...
From late last nite,
Anon-T,
Thanks for the "hard mode" Wordle explanation.
It makes me realize that I have been going through
My entire life doing things "the hard way."
Speaking of making it harder on myself,
I was doing today's wordle on hard mode
(In dark mode-still no Batman words)
When I realized that hard mode prevents you from
Not using already found letters,
But it does not stop you from using vowels already known
To not be in the word!
I've been doing it twice as hard!
Thank you Michelle Kenney and Jeff Chen for a very involved yet interesting puzzle. I enjoyed it very much.
Thank you Waseely, for the very philosophical blog and your numerous links. I couldn't click on all of them, or I never coulda/would've come here. You have many, many interests and it shows. Especially on music, which I am a complete blank state/idiot on.
I thought of Ronald Reagan while Draining the Swamp ... something to do with keisters, as well. On another subject, I do hope to see the movie, Inside Out ... one of these months... my daughter took her elementary school kids to see it ... so I guess its important. I've read about it, but I have to see where I can rent it.
Picard, your picture on Fog and Swamp, is absolutely stunning. Sometimes, we just have to be in awe of nature.
TTP, your observation on the fixed amount of water in the world, is very pertinent. Although with the large amount of water electrolysis going on; some of the water maybe in its elemental constituents.
I am also reminded of the scientific fact, that there is only a fixed amount of Air, in this world, ... and that because of the stupendous power of gaseous diffusion ... the next breath you take .... will have some molecules from the last breath of George Washington/Abraham Lincoln/Adolf Hitler etc. ( ...and hopefully, No COVID viruses riding on them .... )
Have a nice day, you all.
Not refresh8ng before posting said:
TTP!
A buffalo can jump over a house?
are you sure....?
learning moment...
Well whattaya know, they are more agile than I expected!
A little easier than I expected for a Thursday as I FIR! Having chosen one over the other I was pleased to see my alma mater for once. Trade discount was new to me, but enjoyed the referral to the study of similar verbiage. Best to all!
I liked this puzzle. Didn't understand the AEIOU entry until reading all about it here. Thanks to you all for your comments; I learn a lot from you all.
PINE LOG seems kinda green painty.
I don't think I'll ever understand things like CISgender and non-binary.
Take care, all.
And here is a case of American disadvantage on Jeopardy last night.
Stumped
CED- great Buffalo links.
CrossEyedDave @2:36 PM IIRC this puzzle spanning Heathkit thread originated with PC (Paul Coulter)'s cluing of Tuesday's puzzle with "'Highest point': ZENITH", which H2LAH illustrated with an old ZENITH TV. As often happens here the thread (which now goes bare) was co-opted by the Corner techie CABAL into a discussion of the Heathkit/Zenith-89 PC (not Paul Coulter).
CrossEyedDave @3:01 PM The Lakota didn't kill more buffaloes than they could use (meat, hides, bones). The buffaloes in this song were slaughtered to eliminate the Lakota.
Ta ~ DAH!
Tough but doäble PZL from the Kenney/Chen team!
Needed one "confirmation" lookup--to be sure "SMOKIN'" was the gerund actually used.
Paused before going with FDR because we are more inclined to think of Hoover (HCH) as the president associated with the Depression.
In fairness, we should think of FDR as the "Depression-ending" president.
Hoover may have been blamed unfairly for the Depression, as he did not cause it. But he certainly allowed it to get worse and worse by relying on do-nothing free market policies to lead us out.
It is widely believed that FDR and the Dem party rescued the country by introducing New Deal programs and Social Security--all the so-called "Socialist" programs that some now love to denigrate.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Four diagonals, a 3-way near to hand, and an extra on the far end.
The central diag yields an anagram (11 of 15 letters) with a mixed message.
It tells of a confused status, one in which an itchy-scratchy situation is thought to be muddled in its message.
Yes, of course, this is referring to a...
"FLEA PIT, ASEA"!
Chairman Moe, I'm glad you liked that video. I've bookmarked it and it's in my recipe folder for future reference. It was that good, IMO.
I was kinda sorta concerned about the title though. You never know when Cross Eyed Dave is going to skip the video, and I thought he might read How To Cut Cheese and go off on some odoriferous tangent. :>)
Vidwan, I assume your wife made it home from Akron or wherever she went in all of that snow. The return trip must have been slow. I watched local news clips from the Cleveland and Youngstown TV stations. Even with fully manned crews, they couldn't keep up. Ashtabula got over pummeled and made national news coverage. Our snow is just about all melted, but we got only about 3/4 of an inch.
I must apologize to all. PK's remark gave me the perfect segue to the dad joke. Of course the bison can jump higher than a house. The house can't jump. I got the oldest of the three Girl Scout neighbors with it a few weeks ago, but with her dog.
Some added notes;
I may be among the few people on this blog to have 'met' Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes fame .... I didn't actually meet him, but I saw him at a festival in Chagrin Falls, OH ( ESE of Cleveland )close to my home. I was told not to approach him since he was well known as a very private person, even then. His father was a councilman of the town, but apparently he ( the father, that is ) never campaigned for the job. I have great respect for Bill W., because he turned down an offer of over $ 300 million, to turn his characters into merchandise.
Scary FLOATERS: I am not a doctor, and don't play one on TV or... anywhere. BUT, if you see a lot of floaters, you should see an Opthalmologist, RIGHT AWAY ! Speaking from experience, three times over ... If you see red floaters (!) ... even if you close your eyes ... then you probably have a detached retina, or worse... which means an operation within 4 to 8 hours, and a two month bed rest. This is especially if you have high myopia.
Canada Eh!, thanks for reminding me about BATA - the Canadian shoe company.
Growing up in India, I was always in awe of their shoe stores, and to purchase a pair of Bata shoes was a priviledge. It was very much an international shoe company, as the Wiki article shows. I hope to visit their museum, in Toronto, some day.
I had a tough time with today's Wordle. 6 tries.
Thanks for the great recap, waseeley. For a while I thought that I was reading something by Cat - and that is meant as a sincere compliment. I was a big fan of Watterson and his work and have long admired the choices he made. My kids grew up reading his strips which probably explains all the "stuff" they dish back to me to this very day...either it was that or the Carlin tapes I would play for them while driving the kids to grammar school. "Now, you can't repeat any of this to your teacher. Or your mom."
CED, TTP & CanEh, I was on a bus tour of the western Canadian Provinces when we went to the buffalo jump. Some of the women on the tour were really bummed by the idea of driving the buffalo over the cliff. I thought it was probably a necessity to feed a large number of people. One thing our Cree guide said was, after the butchering & processing was done, the area was burned to cleanse & purify the site. The ashes from the burning turned the moccasins black & gave some tribes the name "Blackfeet".
We had neighbors in Kansas near our farm who raised buffalo and sold the meat. They used telephone poles for fence poles and higher & stronger fencing materials because of the powerful animals. They are never really domesticated or docile like cattle may be. We had Mexican veterinary student exchange guests one summer. One of their favorite things was to go see the "boofalo" who obliged by sticking their tails in the air and stampeding over the hill out of site.
Correction: "out of sight."
Vidwan. Floaters are are more common than people realize and are not all signs of serious eye problems. I have expeienced them as long as I can remember and two things do need running to the doctor. Very large ones and red ones.
I found this to be like all of Jeff Chen's work entertaing, challenging in places, and ready for prime time. Thank you Bill and the new team of Jeff and Michelle.
P.S. I have relatives living on PEI
FIR and got the theme. I thought this puzzle was fairly easy for a Thursday. I didn’t race through it, but I did finish it in good time.
Thanks, Michelle and Jeff. Thanks for the nice expo, Bill and Teri.
Loved the photo, Picard! Great job shooting directly into the sun!
FLN, I always solve with paper and pen and Wite-Out --– never pencil and never online.
I am a paper and pencil devotee. In fact, I have never solved a puzzle on line.
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