Puzzling thoughts:
FIR with a w/o in 12-Down, Gulf War support gp.: USA/USO
Otherwise, this was a pretty easy solve; lots of three-letter words (15, altogether if I counted correctly) and 26 four-letter words. That's a lot for a Friday puzzle. But there weren't a lot of abbr's or proper names, so the fill was clean. 4 twelve-letter "themers" which used "THE" at the beginning of the phrase
I chose "Stuck in the Middle" as the theme, despite the fact that the puzzle had no reveal. I suppose that if this puzzle gave you fits, you could also have been "Stuck in the Middle": (a one-hit wonder by Stealer Wheels)
All four of the phrases - literally - had the key word in the middle of the phrase, and omitted the word "IN". How so, you ask?
20-Across. Naivete personified, literally: THE BABE WOODS. The word "BABE" is in "THE WOODS". The phrase, "BABE IN THE WOODS" refers to ones naivete or innocence
33-Across. Abandoned, literally: THE LEFT LURCH. "LEFT IN THE LURCH" is an old phrase meaning abandoned.
Fun Fact: (according to Dictionary dot com) This expression alludes to a 16th-century French dice game, lourche, where to incur a lurch meant to be far behind the other players. It later was used in cribbage and other games, as well as being used in its present figurative sense, by about 1600
41-Across. Low, literally: THE DOWN DUMPS. "DOWN IN THE DUMPS" means being in a depressed mood, or low; but NOT this:
And last, but not least, 56-Across. Metaphor for a sitting-pretty situation, literally: THE MADE SHADE. Definitions dot net says: "In a condition characterized by comfort, success, easy living or general well-being. Etymology: Possibly from a children's rhyme: "ice-cold lemonade, MADE IN THE SHADE, stirred with a spade, by an old maid."
But if I had to "Moe-ku" this:
Producing sun tea
In a forest is tough; can't
Be MADE IN THE SHADE
I did a cursory check on the constructors: Dick Shlakman, 82 years young, is a retired lawyer and corporate executive from Plano, Texas. Fred Geldon, who appears to be much younger than Dick, has been published in the NY Times; as has Shlakman. This may be their first collaborative puzzle
The grid:
Across:
1. Ketch pair: MASTS. Moe-ku two:
The sailing boat stalled
When no wind blew. The MASTS failed
If you ketch my drift
6. Pre-weekend letters: TGIF. Appropriate for today's puzzle
10. Damson or Mirabelle: PLUM. I forgot another "w/o"; I had PEAR/PLUM. Damson and Mirabelle are types of PLUMS
14. On the lookout: ALERT. Not as tough a clue as I would expect for a FRI puzzle
15. Decimated sea: ARAL. Crossword staple
16. "All __": RISE. What a judge might say, or what fans of the NY Yankees say when THIS guy comes to bat (sorry WC for the Yankees reference, but clearly a CSO to tinbeni)
17. "It's the truth!": NO LIE. Do you think that Moe enjoys blogging? NO LIE!!
18. Old comics character who said, "We have met the enemy and he is us.": POGO. Moe-ku three:
Walt Kelly's comics
Are layered with sarcasm
It's his POGO schtick
19. Apple product: IPOD. My missed guess in 12-down also led to this being IPAD at first
23. It's needed, but often "not included": AA CELL. Great clue, although recently most of the items that I buy that need an AA CELL (or two) are included
24. Many a Nora Ephron film: ROM-COM. Nora Ephron shows up often in crossword puzzles. Some of her more famous "ROM COM's" can be found here
28. Old speedster: Abbr.: SST. More "crossword-ese" fill, but a good clue; not sure that this one has been used for SST
29. Ice cream holder: TUB. I tried CUP first but that didn't cross well
31. Bother: AIL. When I googled "bother" synonyms, the word AIL did not appear. When I googled AIL synonyms, "bother" DID appear
32. Co-founder of Artists Against Fracking: ONO. Another different way to clue Yoko ONO
36. Angry: SORE. It takes a lot to get me SORE (angry), but when I (42-Down; Hammer-strikes-thumb reaction), I'm likely to utter an OATH. And it will probably be more of an expletive!
39. Doce meses: ANO. 12 months = one year. Year in Spanish. CSO to Lucinda
40. Equal: PEER. Good clue
46. Medium power: ESP. Or as we crossword folks might say: Every Single Perp
47. Give a hand: AID. CLAP didn't fit
48. Tennis strategy: LOB.
49. Rte. finder: GPS. Global Positioning System
52. Presumes: POSITS. Not an oft-used word but great crossword fill
54. Feature of some Birkenstocks: T-STRAP. Not their most iconic feature; this one can be had for a cool $125. I think they throw the left sandal in for free
60. Modern diary: BLOG. This recap, e.g.
63. Like father, like son?: MALE. Another great clue, although with gender identity, this clue might not fly at some point in the future
64. Accord creator: HONDA. Good play-on-words; if "accord" were a verb the words "yield", "award", and "grant" would fit
65. Bridges of Los Angeles County: BEAU. BEAU Bridges is an American actor who was born in Los Angeles County California some 81 years ago; a year younger than one of today's constructors
66. Fourth letter in a famous mnemonic: ERIE. HOMES is a mnemonic (device such as a pattern of letters, ideas, or associations that assists in remembering something) for the 5 Great Lakes: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, ERIE, and Superior
67. Like Barbara Bush, vis-Γ -vis Jenna: OLDER. Barbara Bush is Jenna Bush's grandma, and she was OLDER. Elton John used the words "OLDER than me" in this classic:
68. Lincoln or Jackson: CITY. Another great clue! Lincoln, Nebraska (CSO to Husker Gary) and Jackson, Mississippi. Two of the 50 state capital CITYs
69. Twice-monthly tide: NEAP. Another familiar crossword word
70. Works in a garden: WEEDS. HOES wouldn't fit
Down:
1. Rays that can live 50 years: MANTAS. Unlike these Rays that have been "alive" for only 24 years
2. Island exchanges: ALOHAS. Goodbye? Hello? Yes, ALOHA means both. Enjoy this old Beatles hit
Clecho (of sorts): 61-Down. Island greeting: LEI.
3. Handpicked: SELECT. Not a verb; an adjective
4. "Survivor" group: TRIBE. The 42nd "installation" of Survivor (the CBS series) begins soon. The participants are divided into "TRIBES" as they try to Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast their fellow TRIBE-mates.
Fun Fact: Moe used to be a fan of "Survivor", but no longer. I think it's interesting that the "grand prize" is still just $1,000,000. But then I checked what $1M back in the year 2000 (approx when Survivor first aired) would be worth today. Surprisingly it's only a bit more than $1.6M, so maybe the prize amount is still an incentive
5. Cat burglar's asset: STEALTH. Moe-lick:
The cat burglar desired more wealth
So they paid more attention towards health.
Just by losing some weight
Burglar muffled their gait
And improved their potential for STEALTH
6. It's broken at many races: TAPE.
7. Become: GROW. Number 22 on this website's list of synonyms for "become"
8. Classic stage betrayer: IAGO. Crossword staple. Constructors LOVE four-letter words with three vowels; if they're proper names, even better. ISAO AOKI is another example of two proper names each with three vowels
9. Request for maximum speed: FLOOR IT. How many of us would've answered this correctly if the clue were: "#1 song title on Kadooh's EP album"?? CanadianEh! are you a fan?
10. Light bender: PRISM. An optical PRISM is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that are designed to refract (bend) light. At least one surface must be angled
11. Sass: LIP. Fun Fact: According the "The Idioms" dot com, the phrase "none of your LIP" originated in medieval English times when people spoke more literally. There is an argument that the phrase could have originated in the American region, but it does not have a confirmed literary source to trace this fact. The mannerism of speaking is from earlier than the 1800’s and reflects the fact that “shut up” in that time was stated as “none of your lip”. The times called for using more words than what we would use currently to express something
13. Pill, say: MED. Don't we always ask, "Did you take your MEDS"? Not sure I've ever heard the word "pill" referred to in the singular ...
21. Word with collar or chip: BLUE. What are BLUE chips worth in Vegas? The denominations of the chip colors are:
White or BLUE chips are one dollar
Red chips are five dollars and are called nickels
Green chips are twenty-five dollars and are called quarters
Black chips are one hundred dollars
Purple Chips are five hundred dollars and are called Barneys
Of course BLUE chip is also a stock market term meaning a corporation with a national reputation for quality, reliability, and the ability to operate profitably in good and bad times
And as for BLUE collar? Well, as many of you might recall, yesterday was the Chairman's birthday. He shares the date (2/17) with this BLUE collar guy:
22. American Girl purchase: DOLL. Click here for more info
25. Abs are part of it: CORE. Moe's CORE (don't I wish!):
26. Some time ago: ONCE. "ONCE upon a time ..."
27. Comic Jay: MOHR. Scenes from one of his earlier movies, Jerry Maguire
30. Lacking pizzazz: BLAND. I first thought about using "blasΓ©"; similar meanings yet different
31. On the wrong side (of): AFOUL. Moe-ku four:
The rogue hen got loose;
Laid eggs outside the nest box.
Was clearly AFOUL
33. Rocker Nugent: TED. Theodore Anthony Nugent (December 13, 1948 [age 73 years]) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and activist. He initially gained fame as the lead guitarist and occasional lead vocalist of The Amboy Dukes, a band formed in 1963 that played psychedelic rock and hard rock. After dissolving the band, he embarked on a solo career.
34. One who may go deep: END. Cooper Kupp (an END, or wide receiver) went just deep enough to help the LA Rams secure their first Super Bowl win for the team as based in LA. When the franchise was located in St Louis, the Rams won the Super Bowl in 1999
35. Good times: UPS. In this context, UPS is not an abbreviation. Had the clue read:" 'What-can-brown-do-for-you' company", then UPS would be an abbreviation
36. Aerobic bit: STEP. STEP aerobics are still quite popular
Another workout reference is found at 38-Down (Gym set: REPS)
37. Quite: OH SO. But here in the greater Phoenix, AZ area, the letter combination "OHSO" can also refer to this. O.H.S.O. is an acronym for "Outrageous Homebrewer's Social Outpost"
43. Guys with gifts: WISE MEN. Cute clue. But why does my mind wander into a comic hole when I see the words "WISE MEN"?? Can Moe possibly break both the "no religion" and "no politics" Crossword Corner rules in one comment?? Let's try:
The Supreme Court ruled that there could not be a nativity scene on Capitol Hill. This was not for religious reasons. Rather, no one was able to find three WISE MEN anywhere in the nation’s capital. They also had no luck finding a virgin. There was no problem, however, finding enough asses to fill the stable
44. Particle in a beam: MOTE. Your Dictionary dot com defines MOTE as: "a speck or a very small piece of something. An example of a mote is a particle of dirt or dust"
45. "Sesame Street," e.g.: PBS SHOW. Only the second time this fill has been used in a major crossword puzzle. We often see the three-letter, "PBS"; but PBS SHOW? Only once before
49. About half of Trenta, at Starbucks: GRANDE. Well, as perhaps one of the few coffee drinkers who is NOT a fan of Starbucks, Chairman Moe could've been fooled by this clue. But somehow he came up with "GRANDE".
If it had been clued: "Rio___", we could've given a CSO to OwenKL
50. Protected, in a way: PADDED. I guess using the clue, "Word with bra or cell" didn't pass muster
51. "Femme Fatale" artist, 2011: SPEARS. Britney SPEARS. All that needs to be said about her has already been said or captured in YouTube or TikTok videos
53. PC fixer: IT GUY. I had IT REP at first, so technically, another w/o for C-Moe
55. Oar fulcrum: THOLE. Moe-ku five ... a stretch, perhaps!
Sailor with a lisp
Was blessed by priest when he said:
"Save my rotten THOLE"
57. HBO's "__ of Easttown": MARE. I'm not an HBO subscriber so this one was not familiar to me. According to IMDb, "MARE Sheehan, an office police investigator in a small Pennsylvania town, investigates a brutal murder as she tries to keep her life from falling apart." This show/series debuted last year
58. Latin "others": ALIA. As in the abbreviated phrase, "et al", where 'al' = ALIA (others)
59. Like some pockets: DEEP.
60. "Doctor Who" airer: BBC. Series on BBC. Series 13 "Teaser Trailer"
62. Bit of horse feed: OAT. I was thinking ORT when I first read the clue. Could ORT be used instead of OAT, and would it be used correctly? Let's let WikiDiff decide
Thanks again to Dick and Fred for the Friday fun-filled puzzle; thanks again for all the birthday greetings yesterday. Next orbit around the sun will see the Chairman turn 70 ... ouch!
FIRight. I was on the right wavelength today, and after 1A/1D was corrected from SAILS/SKATES to MASTS/MANTAS, I fairly breezed thru the rest.
ReplyDeleteLoved the theme! I don't know any generally accepted name for those puzzles, but I do enjoy them. And the gimmick helped me get the themers after the first with very few perps.
A raindrop fell in the ARAL SEA,
And it thought to itself, "Oh, mercy me!
I'll soon dry up,
Be home by sup,
One doesn't tarry in the Aral Sea!"
A crossword word that you'll often see
Is the sequence E, R, I, and E.
Vowels, it has a lot,
That's not why it's hot --
There's a contest: "Best Clue for ERIE!"
(That's eerie.)
{A, B.}
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteUSA! USA! USA! DNF. DNF. DNF. Rats. Saw DAMSON, read DANSON and inked in TEDS. Oops. Got the theme almost immediately (no, really) and it actually helped with the solve allowing this one to come in under the 10-minute mark, even though d-o finished it wrong. our IT GAL is going to be upset again today. Thanx, Dick and Fred, for your excellent adventure, and C-Moe for the erudite expo.
DEEP : Deep pockets -- the favorite patient of the periodontist. I dumped mine a few years ago. She actually charged $500 for use of her surgical suite (ie: dentist's chair). Yes, Holly, I'm lookin' at you!
Jeopardy had ARAL as an answer the other night.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the two other "Capital Cities" named for presidents?
They were the "Devil" RAYS until …*
DOLL was four perps. A very perpable xword
Big W/O was leno/MOHR. Also pbS/BBC(it helped that PBS was taken). Also, I started with bloNDE for the Starbucks jargon thinking extra cream.
MARE, another 4-perper. Not about a horse I see
Who was that jungle girl in early Dr Who?
The themes helped a lot.
Greatly enjoyed the write-up, C-Moe. A mere 70, eh?
WC
& c. Moe's remark about religion and politics
Wilbur, how 'bout Washington and Madison?
ReplyDeleteCute theme. Caught the gimmick early. THE BA...... was all I needed for BABE IN THE WOODS. I saw that the IN is missing. It helped the solve. So fast for a Friday. Only MOHR and MARE were new to me. One bad cell. DUH. ONA instead of ONO. I never thought of YOKO. I now remember her as an environmental advocate. MOHR vs MAHR was a 50-50 chance.
ReplyDeleteRemember to take your pill (singular). I wish. But yesterday my PC told me that my labs are great.
Many dogs eat ORTS. I never heard of horses eating them.
What ails you? What bothers you? It could be emotional or mental pain.
LOL the Nativity scene. I will have to remember that one.
I hate "reality" shows like Survivor and Bachelorette. They portray a dog eat dog world.
I know a teen who thinks the idiom is doggy dog world.
I am stalling on a project I do not want to tackle. A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. If I can force the first 15 minutes my mojo will kick in.
Finished in 8:07, or maybe I should write: 8:finished07.
ReplyDeleteEasy side of a Friday, I thought.
Was dumbstruck by the Beau Bridges clue, and T strap crossing T hole.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a simple yet refreshing theme, well executed. I needed perps for Plum and Spears, as clued, as I never heard of either of those types of plums and I know none of Britney’s songs, only her topsy-turvey life. My only w/o was Ouch/Oath. Nice pairings were Aloha/Lei, Deep/End, Ups/Down, Mare//Oat, Oat/Oath, and the triple Guy/Male/Men. CSOs to CC (Blog), Keith (Iago), Lucina (Ano), and All Blog Geeks (IT Guy).
Thanks, Dick and Fred, for a fun Friday and thanks, Moe, for the fact-filled and humorous review. You outdid yourself with the Moe-kues today, quantity and quality-wise!
Have a great day.
D-O, I thought of Washington, but WC is probably referring to State Capitals, so Jefferson City, MO.
ReplyDeleteA PRISM need not have a flat surface, I have prisms in my eyeglasses, the top of the lenses thinner than the bottoms to correct a slight up-down cross-eyed condition.
Compared to most Friday’s this puzzle was a THE WALK PARK, as I managed a FIR in 14:49, probably not good enough to get me on the podium in this crowd, but about half the time for me on a typical Friday. Speedy Solver is my favorite to bring home the gold on this one. DKN MOHR, or what a Birkenstock was but the perps helped on those. Didn’t we see IT GUY just a few days ago?
ReplyDeleteDick and Fred ~~ thanks for the Friday challenge, enjoyed the theme and clueing!
C-Moe ~~ I always look forward to your Friday critiques and the accompanying Moe Licks, always informative and well illustrated. And happy belated b/day to you!
I see that I'm not the only one who thought it was a t-hole. Learned today that it's actually called a thole . Maybe there's still hope for the old dog.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, I had posted the pronunciation, but I put it inside lesser-than/greater-than symbols, and it disappeared. Due to a diminishing number of requests, here it is: ΛthΕl
ReplyDeleted-o ~~ hand up for always thinking that it is T HOLE and not THOLE. Learning moment of the day for me.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but erased very for OHSO. DNK the PLUMs (how about "Damson or Stephanie" as a Saturday cluing?), bother/AIL, "Femme Fatale", THOLE, MARE, or "Dr. Who": what?
ReplyDeleteToo manny TUBs of ice cream will make you a TUB. I know first-hand.
I think I have been attempting crossword puzzles for about 15 years. I don't remember seeing IT GUY as fill until the other day, and now again today. Kind of like the talking points the political gasbags (on both sides) recite when they get on TV. Somehow, the memo goes out.
I knew that BEAU was the frogman's son, but I was floored to find out he is 81.
Thanks to Dick and Fred for the fun, if easy, Friday grid. So Dick was EDS general counsel. I took my Project Management Professional examination at EDS in Plano. Tough eight hour exam taken with #2 lead pencil and lotto-style answer sheet. And I used to see H. Ross' helicopter fly overhead while I was anchored in Lake Texoma's Butterfly Cove. EDS also owned the billing system GTE Wireless licensed to survive Y2K. Their IT team was among the best I've worked with. And thanks to our Chairman for another informative, fun review.
FIR Friday with an interesting theme. With the first themer, I thought the phrase was missing "in the" in the middle (the babe in the woods) but the other themers showed me it was more clever than that. Beginning the themers with THE was a big help in getting the fill. Had some WOs like Pear/PLUM and OucH/OATH. Noticed IT GUY returned and the new clue for ERIE. All in all an enjoyable puzzle. Thanks, Dick and Fred.
ReplyDeleteThanks, C Moe, for your expo and fun Moe-kus. Sounds like you are making the most of your 60s before next year's decade change.
TGIF everyone, do enjoy the day!
Fabulous Friday.. (No DOWN DUMPS today!) Thanks for the fun, Dick and Fred, and CMoe.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time for a Friday, and saw the missing Ins.
Is PLUM an Easter Egg for THE MADE SHADE? (as in PLUM POSITION)
I waited for USO to decide between iPad or POD.
Is it IT GUY or gal today? The MALE perped and we females get THE LEFT LURCH again!
I was AILed again by slight dupes: Deep in clue for END. and DEEP pockets, plus IT GUY and those WISE MEN who were “guys with gifts” (great clue). I must stop being so anal about the discarded dupe rule.
I smiled at the new clues for ERIE and ONO.
We had Prost (for Prosit) yesterday, and POSIT today.
I noted some pairs: PBS/BBC, AID/AIL, LEI/ALOHAS, MASTS/THOLE, REPS/ STEP (IM et ALIA have already noted some of them).
FLOOR IT crossing LURCH brought a smile.
I’ll take a CSO at 13D. CMoe, I have never heard of fellow-Canadian Kadooh. Not my favourite music genre.
LOL, Yooper Phil re THE WALK PARK, and Anon@8:18 re T. STRAP T HOLE.
Wishing you all a great day.
Still trying to figure out if I am missing something "in" this theme...
ReplyDelete(I would love to hear the from constructors )
FLN
East and west Gotland?
Where? I don't see them...
Anon-T
Oh yeah, that's going to be a rabbit hole!
I shifted thru his video list and found his 1st
Why is this song shitty posted about a year ago,
and the 1st comment said:
"You should get together with Beato and post why this song is OK videos!"
Thanks Dick and Fred for a Friday struggle, and in the END an FIW. I ran AFOUL of the theme, and had I spent more time analyzing it I just might have pulled this one off. I fell apart smack dab in the center, but no OATHS from me as there was lots of fun fill.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks MOE for another fine review and an excellent anthology of poetry.
Some favs:
48D ESP. Great clue. I always thought it stood for Extra Sensory Perception, but today I found that it was crosswordese for Every Single Perp. On the Corner you learn a new thing everyday!
70A WEEDS. The part of gardening I don't like. Of course some of them you can eat, e.g. Purslane.
4D TRIBE. Saw the very first episode of Survivor while I was on a gig in Austin. Haven't seen another since.
43D WISE MEN. Also a great clue. Loved your multi-tasking violation of Corner rules MOE (I counted three). This one's definitely share worthy.
55D THOLE. I'd not heard of this. Wanted LOCK, but it was too short.
60D BBC. I've watched only a few of the post Sylvester McCoy Doctors. But I've watched every episode of the pre-Sly Doctors at least 3 times.
Cheers,
Bill
Wilbur Charles @6:37 AM Leela.
Word of the Day: obverse
ReplyDeletePronunciation: ahb-vΓͺrs
Part of Speech: Adjective, noun
Meaning: 1. Opposite, alternative, reverse. 2. Pertaining to the face or front of a coin, paper note, or other flat object. 3. (Botany) Narrower at the base than at the top when speaking of leaves.
Notes: If you have trouble keeping the meaning of today's Good Word straight, it's because it is a contranym, a word that may be used as its own antonym. It can mean "front" or "back" depending on the context. In fact, it may be used as a noun meaning "the face of a coin" or "the opposite of a view or fact". It has an adverb, obversely.
In Play: Obverse may be used as an adjective or noun in referring to flat objects: "The obverse (side) of the American quarter has a bust of George Washington; the verso (side) has a representation of one of the fifty states." It may be used as its own antonym elsewhere: "The obverse (idea) of Lord Acton's observation works just as well: powerlessness corrupts, and absolute powerlessness corrupts absolutely."
Word History: Today's Good Word was snitched from the Latin contranym obversus "turned against, directed toward", the past participle of obvertere "to turn toward or against".
See Alpha Dictionary for more info.
NO LIE, I got the gist today at the BABE 'in' THEWOODS. Only a few unknowns that got filled by perps. GRANDE- I don't drink coffee but have learned some of the Moby Dick character's coffee shops sized from crosswords, but don't what size they actually are. SPEARS- not familiar with that song. "MARE of Easttown"- no HBO at my house. Jay MOHR- unknown.
ReplyDeleteWISE MEN- definitely not in D.C. I agree with The Chairman.
ONO- I love celebrities who no nothing about a subject leading a protest movement. Without fracking in ND, TX, & NM the US would be importing fuel from Putin. $6.00/gal.
THOLE- I knew it and filled it immediately. T-STRAP gave me trouble because I really didn't knew either GRANDE or SPEARS.
Oh, and BARBARA BUSH is also the OLDER twin sister of Jenna Bush.
I never could see why using the same word in one of the clues and again in one of the answers is a no-no. No prob.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the gimmick more when I saw "THE WOODS" had BABE stuck IN between THE and WOODS. Does that help?
Musings
ReplyDelete-OH SO clever!
-Plum is not the homicidal professor today
-A lesser man would post, “Be ALERT, the world needs more LERTS”, but I won’t
-If you drop the TAPE, don’t run out to retrieve it! (:14)
-MED – If I don’t take my Omeprazole in the morning, I will know about it in the middle of the afternoon
-Wise men?
-Emergency for IT GUY in an office? Annoying. In a school with nothing else for a bunch of 14-yr-olds to do? Yikes!!
-Nice job, CM!
Big Easy @ 10:46 —> good catch on Barbara Bush being the twin sister of Jenna. That completely escaped me
ReplyDeleteMaybe next time the answer to 53D will be ITGAL...there's a lot of us out here...
ReplyDeleteEasy for a Friday. Helped when it became obvious THE started the clued answers. Too bad the theme answers didn't all rhyme like MADE-SHADE. I C, Barbara is the elder twin not GRANNY. Cleverrrr!!
ReplyDeleteIn the Lurch, "You rang?" π±
Inkovers: REO/SST , sails/ MASTS.
Who didn't put Leno (the cw car guy) for comic "Jay" without perps? (Sheesh, I guess just me).
Once the ARAL sea disappears will it disappear from puzzles too?π€ SORE, at least not ired. Hoping there's another season of "MARE of Easttown"....Batteries "Not included"... cool way to make something out of a meaningless jumble of letters, AACELL.π
My "Particle in a beam" is the photon. MED is an abbrev, but none in the clue. So those are PLUM names. I PLUM forgot.π
One small STEP for exercise. POSITS is a CW favorite I always forget.
Where you do the time.....PRISM
Goose or duck.....AFOUL
Sexy actress male counterpart.....ITGUY
Provided housing....PADDED
Thanks for learnin' us so much C. Moe.π
Heading halfway to Boston (Prime Outlet food court in Lee) to meet our DD and SIL Saturday to pick up the grand kids. Staying with us next week. π
Hola!
ReplyDeleteFun Friday! Thank you Mssrs. Shlakman and Geldon!
Strange to see MED singular. It's usually MEDS.
Of course, I had LENO before MOHR though I have seen MOHR before in my puzzle book.
CSO to our very own Crossword Corner BLOG.
I'll take a CSO at HONDA which is named Axolotl.
I am OLDER than all my siblings.
Chairman Moe you outdid yourself with all the Moekus. Good job on the entire narrative, too.
Also, Owen. I don't always note it, but I enjoy your poems.
PBS is my favorite channel.
TGIF. Not that it makes a difference to me. Enjoy your day, everyone!
This struck me as pretty easy for a Friday puzzle. I got the first theme solve, and the others followed the same pattern. At first I had "ouch" instead of "oath." And I didn't know if the artist was "Eno" or "Ono" but the perps cleared that up. In the end I FIR, so I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteYR@11:05- I am learning to ignore the “same-word” dupes now that it is pretty obvious that they are no longer a no- no. But until then, it was affecting my solving, since I would eliminate some answers thinking that they were dupes.
ReplyDeleteNow I know better, but I still have a nose-wrinkle. That will pass.
Just for interest sake, have any of our constructors had a definitive word about the rule changes? Or were the rules always subject to Rich’s discretion?? I learned them here in my early CW-solving days, but I am not aware that they were ever written down or “set in stone”.
Yellowrocks@11:05
ReplyDelete"Oh fer cryin out loud"
That is EXACTLY what Chairman Moe said!
(I feel like such a ninny...)
I can only think
I saw "stuck in the middle with you"
and was thinking, "good song" I have to learn that one!
And went humming along oblivious to everything...
Oh Well...
I got off to a flying start with this CW, then bogged down a bit, but eventually FIR. W/Os LENO:MOHR, ETAL:ALIA. Although I’ve rowed many a boat, I somehow didn’t know….or didn’t remember….the word THOLE. Needed perps. DNK MARE either, don’t subscribe to HBO. As most said, the theme was sussed early, which helped. The clue Lincoln or Jackson reminded me of a great song by John Prine: “Egg and Daughter Night”. Fun to listen to. My previous recommendation of Janis Joplin didn’t go over well with this crowd, but I bet everyone will enjoy this song. BTW, it’s usually the bailiff that calls, “All Rise”, not the judge. Thanx for a fun CW, DS&FG. And thanx for a fun write-up. C-MOE.
ReplyDeleteWhile I have seen many editors change clues, as many as half or more of them, I have never known an editor who has published one of my puzzles (24 in all, including collaborations) to substantially change the grid, and, as a result, so many entries except for the theme entries. As Fred and I initially submitted it, the top and bottom three lines across contained three 4 letter entries. As published, it is a five, four, four structure as required by symmetry. Large amounts of the center are also quite different in structure and fill. And the "as published" version contains more three letter words than the submitted version. When Fred and I finished the theme and entries, it never occurred to me that it would become a Friday puzzle, and we filled the grid at what we thought was an appropriate Wednesday level of difficulty. If any of you are interested in comparing the original grid and clues in the "as submitted" grid and with the published version, email me at the email below and let me know whether you would prefer it to be sent in PUZ, PFD, or AcrossLite.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, my previous comment was brought to you courtesy of my brand new smartphone. I'm so happy about that!
ReplyDeleteHere's that link to unclefred's song.
ReplyDeleteDick Shlakman @ 1:22
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by. I hope you liked the recap and comments as much as we enjoyed your puzzle.
I clicked on your name but there is no email attached. I’d love to try your original version. I use Across Lite.
Please email me: ca_12_dozen at yahoo dot com
An excellent PZL from the Shlakman/Geldon team!
ReplyDeleteNeatly explained by Chairman Moe. I would never have seen how the theme's preposition worked without his aid.
How interesting to read Mr. Shlakman's revelation at 1:22 today.
I am surprised to learn that a grid can be changed so substantially. I can only say that if the changes attained symmetry, I am in favor. Without symmetry, we have no diagonals. (Please see my "Diagonal Report" below*).
Fave clue? 65A "Bridges of Los Angeles County." I used to drive those architectural ones.
~ OMK
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* DR: Four diagonals, three near to hand and a fourth on the far side.
The near main diag offers an anagram (11 of 15 letters) that seems to be a reminder of Count Leo Tolstoy's belief in the value of faith and how it was personified by the Russian peasants who were blessed with...
"HUMBLE SOULS"!
67 A stump the chump. I put twins. Didn't fit. So I left that section til the end. Other than that, pretty easy. I remember Pogo, it was on the front page of the Sunday comics under AL Capps comic
ReplyDeleteOMK, the puzzle that Fred and I submitted was symmetrical and did not need to be changed to achieve symmetry. If my posting implied otherwise, the implication should not have been there. I only meant to indicate that when Rich changed the length of the words on the top three lines, he necessarily had to do so on the bottom three lines. Dick Shlakman
ReplyDeleteA Rich History (from Stratford to Los Angeles)
ReplyDelete(The Globe Theater, London: around 1595)
Hey, Shakespeare, Willie, yeah you... I'm Rich (Sir Richard Change-Γ -lot)...you can call me Richie, That play you wanna perform "Romeo & Juliet"? cute, but I don' like it, I'm gonna change it, make it better, maybe even 90٪ of it.
I know you worked yer butt off on it but too bad. Yah wanna see it performed? yah gotta put up with the changes. Naw, there ain't no discussin' nuthin'. Queen Bess says dems da rules
And Willie if yah know what's good fer you...say how much you appreciate me makin' all these changes, call 'em "improvements", in yer write up...yeah.
(excerpt from: "Shakespeare Shake Down: Who Really Wrote my Plays")
π³
D-O @1:29, thanx for linking the song. I used to know how to do that, but have forgotten. I hope cornerites enjoy the song. A real tragedy to lose John Prine to C-19. He managed to survive a near-fatal throat cancer, which took part of his voice-box, hence the raspy voice. A pretty fair piece of his neck on the right side was also excised. To survive that and then succumb to C-19....what a shame. Cornerites can listen to some of his earlier, pre-cancer work to appreciate the difference in his voice. Losing John Prine is a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteDick @1:22 PM I'd like a copy too. Maybe I'll get it right this time! You can email me the .puz version (readable by Across Lite) at the email in my profile. TIA
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this puzzle and especially enjoyed the theme gimmick.
ReplyDeleteHand up for entering USA and IPAD at first; I had to turn on red letters to learn that the right answer(s) required O instead of A.
BATTERIES or even BATTERY didn't squeeze into that AA CELL space. The only thing in our house that uses a single AA battery is the clock on our mantel.
I stumbled badly trying to think of that "Fourth letter" in the famous mnemonic and the only thing I could think of was ELLE, or even *shudder* EEEE, since I already had E--E. Ohhh! ERIE is a word, not a letter, so it confused me.
LW and I watched only the very first season of Survivor.
Moe, I love your "no religion" and "no politics" paragraph!
Good wishes to you all.
I am mortified! My collaborator just sent me a copy of what was our final submission and it is identical to the one that was published Friday with the most minor exception of one word. There were so many revisions that I pulled up the wrong one to compare with the "as published" puzzle, and I pulled up an earlier submission, believing it to have been the final one. My bad. Dick Shlakman
ReplyDeletewaseeley, because of my idiotic blunder in mistaking the version that I thought we had sent as our final version, and comparing that version to the as published version, I came up with my comments about the differences between the two and offer to send the so-called as submitted version to anyone who asked for it, as you did. Once my Collaborator pointed out to me that the version we submitted and the version Rich published were virtually identical as far as the grid went, I went back and realized that the version that we really did submit as our final version became so because of requirements for revision that Rich imposed on the version I thought was our final when I was looking through these comments.Dick Shlakman
ReplyDelete