Themeless Saturday by Stella Zawistowski
Our "renaissance woman " is back with another fun Saturday entry. This picture is of Stella and a fellow alto who both sing in the Oratorio Society of New York. You can see she has an abiding interest in the arts and you might remember that I posted a video of her and the Oratorio Society singing The Messiah in a beautiful rural setting. Here's Stella's input:
Thanks for the kind words! I'm drowning in puzzle- and trivia-related work at the moment so I can't give an extended commentary, but you can say this:
I seeded this puzzle around CINCINNATI CHILI. I'm not from Ohio, but my husband is, and upon trying CINCINNATI CHILI for the first time, my reaction was "where have you been all my life?" If you would like to make it at home, I'm partial to this recipe from Melissa Joulwan. I serve mine over standard-issue spaghetti, not spiralized zucchini noodles as she suggests.
My only bad cell was DAN_ON/SA_IE where instead of guessing an incorrect vowel, I chose a wrong consonant. I always enjoy Stella's puzzles and her unique perspective!
Across
1. Possible cause of price cuts: GLUT - When there is a GLUT of oil, gas prices are cut
5. Sensitivity symptom: ITCH.
9. Bucks' gp.: NBA.
5. Sensitivity symptom: ITCH.
9. Bucks' gp.: NBA.
12. Overdo, perhaps: POUR ON - Some coaches POUR it ON even when their team is way ahead
14. Greeting or parting word: CIAO - CIAO : Italy :: Aloha : Hawaii
15. Larter of "Heroes": ALI.
14. Greeting or parting word: CIAO - CIAO : Italy :: Aloha : Hawaii
15. Larter of "Heroes": ALI.
16. One might be involved in a gag: TONGUE DEPRESSOR - Clever cluing and so true for me
19. Finish in a winery: AFTER TASTE - The TASTE that lingers in the mouth or which is left on the palate AFTER a wine is tasted or spit. Its synonym is Finish.
19. Finish in a winery: AFTER TASTE - The TASTE that lingers in the mouth or which is left on the palate AFTER a wine is tasted or spit. Its synonym is Finish.
20. Gossamer: LACY - "It was just one of those nights, Just one of those fabulous flights, A trip to the moon, On gossamer wings, Just one of those things." Ya gotta love Cole Porter!
21. Talk with one's hands: SIGN - American Sign Language
22. Conductor Klemperer: OTTO - Here ya go. We lowbrows know Werner Klemperer who played Colonel Klink in Hogan's Heroes
24. Again and again, in verse: OFT
27. Composer of "furniture music": SATIE - Furniture music, or in French musique d’ameublement, is background music originally played by live performers. The term was coined by Erik Satie in 1917
29. Decision-making board with no members: OUIJA.
29. Decision-making board with no members: OUIJA.
33. Haydn oratorio, with "The": CREATION - I wonder if Stella's group has performed this piece
36. Sauce named for a city: CINCINNATI CHILI - Stella's seed entry
Cincinnati chili is a Mediterranean-spiced meat sauce used as a topping for spaghetti or hot dogs; both dishes were developed by immigrant restaurateurs in the 1920s. In 2013, Smithsonian named it one of the "20 Most Iconic Foods in America"
51. Great American Ball Park team: REDS - and this makes sense in Cincinnati's ball park
38. Fancifies: ADORNS.
40. "... a __ sorrows and acquainted with grief": "Messiah": MAN OF - Stella certainly has sung this lyric from Handel's Messiah
41. Pound parts: PENCE.
42. Bobs and weaves: DOS - HairDOS
43. Lean meat source: BOAR.
43. Lean meat source: BOAR.
45. Shows interest ... or a lack of it: NODS.
47. __ Minor: ASIA - Not Ursa this time
50. Certain cookie vendor's reward: MERIT BADGE.
50. Certain cookie vendor's reward: MERIT BADGE.
57. Semana seventh: DIA - Semana is week and DIA is day in Spanish and so 1/7 of a week is a day. Talk about Saturday cluing!
58. Pre-owned: USED.
59. Digs: IS INTO - It's pretty obvious Stella IS INTO music!
60. Stock thriller character: SPY.
61. Queens, e.g.: BEDS.
62. Within: Pref.: ENTO.
Down:
1. Slip: GOOF.
2. Broadway theatre dedicatee Alfred: LUNT - Here ya go
3. Drives: URGES.
4. Travelers' aids, briefly: TOURIST INFO - Want some on my town?
5. Lays on, as buttercream: ICES.
6. Sneak, in a way: TIPTOE.
7. Insert indicator: CARET - There are several places below where FDR inserted text into his "Day Of Infamy" speech using the ^ CARET
7. Insert indicator: CARET - There are several places below where FDR inserted text into his "Day Of Infamy" speech using the ^ CARET
9. Org. in 2018's "First Man": NASA.
10. Like-minded group: BLOC - Party line votes?
11. Like a screened-in porch, say: AIRY.
12. Car-wash-sponsoring org., maybe: PTA.
13. Black numbers?: NET GAINS - as opposed to red numbers of debt
17. Prominent figure in the Reign of Terror: DANTON - I'd heard of the other two
11. Like a screened-in porch, say: AIRY.
12. Car-wash-sponsoring org., maybe: PTA.
13. Black numbers?: NET GAINS - as opposed to red numbers of debt
17. Prominent figure in the Reign of Terror: DANTON - I'd heard of the other two
23. Connected (with): TOUCHED BASE - Before I took my first group of kids to KSC, I had to TOUCH BASE with my department head, the activity director, the principal and then the school board. Nobody said no!
24. Certain razor namesake: OCCAM.
25. 2002 title role for Salma: FRIDA.
26. Carpenter's joint component: TENON.
28. Open-mouthed: IN AWE.
30. Tale in which Hector and Achilles duel: ILIAD - Hector was the runner-up.
31. __ shot: JELLO - I had _ _ L _O. Wanna guess what this child of the 50's put?
32. Horned zodiac animal: ARIES.
34. Agile performer: ACROBAT.
35. Twice-baked cookies: BISCOTTI.
37. Astringent in red wine: TANNIN.
41. Like some bio majors: PRE-MED - PRE-MED Timeline
44. Get to chuckle: AMUSE.
46. Observed, maybe: SAT IN - The superintendent SAT IN on one of my NASA presentations this week
48. Short cut?: SNIP.
49. Words from Dr. Watson: I SAY - What other detective has an "associate" who uses the same phrase? (*Answers below)
52. Effort: DINT.
53. Command in BASIC: GO TO - Bare bones idea:
10 Clear the screen
20 Enter your answer, N
30 If N = 100, GOTO 50
40 If N <> 100, GOTO 10
50 You are correct!
54. Musician whose name is a number in reverse: ENO - What fresh cluing for our old friend
56. Pitmaster's application: RUB.
*That is Captain Arthur Hastings who is an assistant to Hercule Poirot in Agatha Christie mysteries
48 comments:
DNF. This one got me decisively. After many passes, I filled in the bottom 2/3rds, but the top third showed a lot of red and white when I gave up. Did finish it with red letters on, but that doesn't count.
A young man who felt normal URGES
Wanted to have the urge purged.
But the OUIJA recommended
Wasn't what he intended,
So he had to stop himself on the verges!
A psychiatrist took umbrage with a doctor,
About overlooking a factor
In the nation's malaise,
From med exam days --
He should USE uppers to counter TONGUE DEPRESSORS!
{C+, B-.}
I started this Thurs night and was whiteboarded. I decided to sleep on it but not optimistically. Woke up at 5am and squares started to fall.
I actually inked CINCINNATI CHILI but it didn't want to perp. Then there was the gag which was no joke except to the Doctor.
I'd also inked agape/INAWE. Amazingly I knew DANTON but originally had suPRESSOR. Also it wasn't Herb Alfred but Mr LUNT. Nor GafF/GOOF.
ISAY (speaking of Doctors) was said by Nigel not Sherlock's trusty Doctor
Clueing was excellent; I wonder if folk found it difficult which it was until it wasn't
WC
Good morning!
This one felt very "Silkie-like," and that's a compliment. Found no traction in the NW, but found footholds in the NE, and circled around. The cluing was fiendishly fun. Fell into the AGAPE/IN AWE trap, but that was the only Wite-Out moment. The train came into the station almost 5 minutes ahead of schedule, so life is good. Nicely done, Stella. Enjoyed the expo, Husker.
My uncle had a Cole Porter selection along with Gershwin. And a guy named George Feyer
I wondered about that J in OUIJA until JELLO Shots perped. Actually just the O
Re. MERIT BADGE… Doesn't GSA do car washes?
"The little row
We had to HOE
Oh boy that's hard
If we all could wear green glasses now
We'd see how green that grass is...
In our own,
Back
Yard*
I'd never heard of FRIDA.
Use of GO TOs was considered spaghetti code by COBOLers
WC
** Bob Emery theme song from 50s show
Good morning. Thank you, Stella and Husker Gary
A great puzzle with great clues that brought assorted aha moments, smiles and chuckles.
However, I'll call this crossword my "Euro figures fail"
I did not know the name of the composer of "furniture music" (a Frenchman, SATIE), the name of the "Reign of Terror" figure (a Frenchman, DANTON), and although it looked to be the only possible answer with CREATI in place, I simply whiffed on the name of the Austrian composer's oratorio.
So I was missing the TI in SATIE, the TO in DANTON and the ON in CREATION.
One more error. Even though it made no sense for the clue, I had cASH SALE rather than WASH SALE. It was simply a case of "seeing" the words cASH SALE and not really paying attention to the clue. If I'd have had that W, then I would have got IN AWE and went with CREATION.
And then maybe the T in SATIE because it would have been the only other letter left. Oh well. I still enjoyed the puzzle.
Two references to The Queen City. Pat and JavaMama get the CSOs for those.
Nice write-up, too.
I was amused that yesterday Moe gave us the dimensions of bed sizes, and today Husker Gary gives us the same.
I'll have to try that CINCINNATI CHILI recipe, but I'll likely cut it by half. Have everything handy but the coconut aminos, so I'll substitute a little soy sauce. I usta make two alarm Texas chili, but the wife likes milder chili, and with beans, so that's what we have. This might be a good compromise from time to time.
Beans? TTP, say it isn't so.
D-O,
I know, right ? It's a travesty.
I was feeling smug after finally getting the NW fill. Lots of WOs there. Next I proofread, saw a blank square and filled the T in SATIE and DANTON. I was familiar with SATIE which helped. Good feeling catching that in time. Upon reading Husker Gary's super Saturday review I saw my overlooked error: aFT and aCCAM. Drat!
But, I really enjoyed doing this puzzle and thank Stella for the opportunity. And a recipe to try!
I also had "cash" before WASH SALE at first, TTP. My main slowdown at the top was thinking the phrase ended in "present" instead of DEPRESSOR. GLUT and GOOF helped finish the NW. I liked the combination AIRY and LACY.
CIAO everyone. Have a super day!
FIR, but quite a workout.
I have been a LA Corner troll for many years and had hoped to read where someone would note my issue, but alas, no one has. I'm a life time Girl Scout with way over 50 years. At no time have I ever heard 'merit badge' used by GSUSA. Thus, the clue was faulty. Even in the write up, GS patches were displayed, not merit badges.
I have no problem with the fill; it's the clue.
Quite a lot of clever misdirection in today's puzzle, but that's pretty standard for a Saturday. I particularly note "gag" which you'd think would be a joke but in this case refers to a certain reflex. And I remember "BASIC," on of the few programming languages I ever mastered. I also liked the cleverness of "decision making board with no members" for Ouija (board). FIR at the end, so I'm happy.
Good Morning:
I agree with DO on this being a Silkie-like solve. My only w/o was Endo/Ento but I needed perps for Danton and Satie, as clued. I thought the cluing was spot on with its deviousness tempered by fairness. Stella gave us some playful pairings with Airy/Aries, Go To/Is Into, Eno/Ento, Amuse/Goof, Tenon/Tannin, Beds/Reds, and Glut/Gains/Wash, and plenty of CSOs, to boot: Moe (After Taste and Tannin), Ray O and Anon T (Biscotti and Ciao), DO (Otto), Lucina (Frida and Dia), HG (NASA), and Ray O and Inanehiker (Pre Med and Tongue Depressor)
Thanks, Stella, for a challenging but highly doable offering and thanks, HG, for another top-notch review. As usual, half of your links and graphics are not visible but, as usual, I’ll make a return trip to check them out.
Lemony made a statement on Wednesday that resonated with me at the time and has stayed with me because it captures the essence of my own feelings. He said “After thirteen years I have learned much about my fellow regulars from their comments.” It truly amazes me that I know more about most of you than I do about some people I’ve known for years. CC has created a very special community and I’m so appreciative of our close-knit and caring “family.”
FLN
Bill G, it’s always a pleasure to see you and I hope you’ll join us on a regular basis.
Lucina, I hope you’re feeling better and that this is the end of your dental woes, not to mention your car issues.
Have a great day.
I actually tried puSH* Sale, thinking Puts and Calls in which case the Investor might have purchase a "Put" enabling to cash out if original gains were lost
From Investopedia:
"With a call option, the buyer of the contract purchases the right to buy the underlying asset in the future at a predetermined price, called exercise price or strike price. With a put option, the buyer acquires the right to sell the underlying asset in the future at the predetermined price."
DNF, surrendering to the Google god for SATIE and CREATION. Still managed to get IN AdE wrong, missing even after an alphabet run. Should have known SATIE - there are some guys from Chicago that do variations on a theme of his. I thought that Ikea must be involved somehow.
I did know CINCINNATI CHILI. Cincy was the nearest big town to where I grew up. My mom would take us three kids shopping, sticking with my two sisters and giving me a two-hour free roam time. I had to report to the largest of the downtown fountains at the appointed time. Mom would be arrested for child endangerment these days, but it developed my self confidence and independence. While downtown we would always go to Chock Full o'Nuts and a nearby chili emporium, but I can't remember its name (Skyline, maybe?). Later we would go to a Reds game in Crosley Field.
ACROBAT - The daring young man on the Adobe trapeze.
I've written this before regarding POUR ON: The losing team controls when enough is enough. As long as the trailing coach is telling his players to play their hardest and never give up, the leading coach has an obligation to keep his team motivated and playing hard. The trailing team is trying to embarrass the leading team into blowing a big lead, and sometimes they do. Coaches work hard to get their players to never take a single play off, whether in practice or in a game. 'Course it makes sense to put the reserves in when the outcome is no longer in doubt, if nothing else than to keep the A-team from getting injured. But those players should be expected to play their hearts out as well. When the trailing team takes a knee, goes to four corners or other run-out-the-clock tactics, the leading coach is obliged to reciprocate.
Thanks to Stella for the fun puzzle. I enjoy chasing the illusion that I might actually be able to complete a crossword, even though it is just beyond my abilities. And thanks to HG for another interesting review.
A tough puzzle that ultimately fell with four or five changes of "working guesses".
I knew the other two, too.
Never got all the NE corner and beyond. TONGUEDEPRESSOR and AFTERTASTE not on my wavelength today. If I got one of them, may have been able to slog through the rest.
After going through the puzzle, both across and down, it looked like my back yard, a sea of white space with only a few bushes sticking up through the snow. Red Letters helped but it still took alphabet runs to finally fill in the blanks. So this was an official DNF.
I did like the longer clues especially TONGUE DEPRESSOR.
I like all types of chili including those with kidney beans in it. However, I do eat the beans first so that I can enjoy the rest of the chili sans beans. I even like Wendy's chili even though it is made with leftover hamburger patties that were never sold. When I make it I either put in some cocoa powder or dark chocolate. It makes for a different flavor.
I hope everyone came through the freezing rain/ice/sleet/snow storm that we had from Texas to Maine. I cleared the ice off of the truck by using the remote start and then going out and chipping the rest of it off with a long handled snow scraper. I put salt down on the driveway and sidewalks which are solid ice. Maybe tomorrow it will melt enough to shovel.
Have a great day everyone.
Agree with Anon at 9:09, BSA has merit badges, not GSA, and selling cookies gets you a patch. Knew Satie and Haydn's Creation as the group I am in is singing it this Spring (if Spring ever comes) Today was tough, not Gossamer, so I FIW, but fiddle dee dee, tomorrow is another day!
I started my morning doing the crossword in our local paper I got stuck on the down clue “sketch” crossing “synthesizer inventor”
“Moog” crossing “limn” ? Never heard of either one. Moved on to “Wordle” finally got it on the fourth try. Moved on to today’s puzzle and DNF too many unknowns. Cincinnati Chili? Due to our “cold” desert weather I just made a pot of chili with my secret ingredient, a can of pumpkin purée. Try it, it adds fiber, nutrition, and thickens it, but you can’t taste the pumpkin.
My brain has had enough “puzzling” for today, time for a walk.
I knew this would be a challenge with Stella as constructor - but it fell into place with P&P
I'm with D-O and IM on getting a Silkie feeling with this - especially when the whole NW was the last to fill. I had a few changes from one reasonable answer to the reasonable answer that was correct :) OUNCE changed to PENCE as far as parts of a pound, the Queens were BEES before BEDS, the BEAR meat was changed to BOAR.
I've been to CINCINNATI and eaten the CHILI at Skyline- the cinnamon and chocolate (or cocoa) makes it a unique flavor. The 2 way to 5 way options on spaghetti and with the option of making it a coney with a hot dog - everyone can find the additions they do or don't want (eg onions, beans, cheese)
OCCAM's razor is the story all med students are told to try to help them not to get off track with weird and wild diagnoses when a simpler one would suffice.
Thanks HG and Stella!
It is now sunny here - but after shoveling the snow off unfortunately the 12 hours of rain before the snow left a 1/4-1/2 in layer of ice underneath - making everywhere a skating rink! It hasn't gone above freezing but it is hoped to by this afternoon!
Thank you Stella for a tasty Saturday puzzle that wasn't too puzzling for a FIR. Surprisingly I found it a bit easier that yesterday's R OUT.
And thanks Husker for another informative and well illustrated review.
I wouldn't exactly call this puzzle THEMELESS, as Stella sparkled it with lots of great tunes and musical references.
Some favs:
16A TONGUE ... The first of many clever clues. Perps got me PRES ... early on, so I completed that with PRESENT and looked for a prefix resembling an exploding CIGAR. But eventually 19A AFTERTASTE gave me the F in 1D which followed GOOF and the NW caved.
22A OTTO. Klemperer was a Jew who converted to Catholicism, but then later came back to Judaism. As both religions were persecuted by the Nazis, he fled Prussia for the US in 1933. Here he is conducting a snippit from the finale to Beethoven's Nineth.
27A SATIE. DNK "Furniture music". All you Chicago fans will like this.
29A OUIJA. Did you know that the OUIJA board was invented in Baltimore?
33A CREATION. Here's the overture.
35A BUGLER. This time ELK is part of the clue, not the fill.
40A MAN OF. He was despised ..." Here's Laura McAlpine, mezzo soprano and David Briggs, organ (long).
41A PENCE. He was in the news just yesterday.
50A MERIT BADGE. Sweet clue!
55A INSTRUMENTATION. I had INSTRUMENT ..., but didn't know how to play it in the SE until I filled 52D by DINT of much EFFORT. BTW INSTRUMENTATION, aka "arranging" is often a separate step in composition, with the initial structure of the piece being worked out on a PIANO. Some composers who started their careers as pianists, e.g. Mussorgsky, Satie, and Gershwin, often left the instrumentation of their works to other composers. Some of the greatest arrangers of other's works were Nicholai Rimsky-Korsakov, Ottorino Respighi, and Ferde Grofé. E.g. the latter arranged Gerswhin's Piano Concerto in F.
31D JELLO. POLIO?
32D ARIES. I was looking for an actual ovine, like a RAM or a SHEEP. Originally from the Latin AIRES (RAM).
49D I SAY. * Hercule Poirot. Arthur Hastings.
Cheers,
Bill
Word of the Day: genre
Pronunciation: zhan-rê
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: 1. A category of artistic work (art, music, literature) distinguished by style, form, or content, as poetry, short stories, novels are genres of literature. 2. A class, type, or category of anything that is distinguished by particular features.
Notes: The trick in successfully employing today's Good Word in your conversations, of course, is pronouncing it correctly. If you know a little French, you're golden, but if you don't, follow our pronunciation advice above carefully. The plural is genres [zhan-rez] and, like any recent arrival from another language, genre has no derivational family as yet.
In Play: Genre is still most closely associated with the arts: "Enrico, is that old car you've been working on a means of transportation, or a new comic genre of junk-yard sculpture?" Despite its newness, though, today's word is already spreading outside the world of art: "Belle O'Donnaugh brought her own genre of management practices to the office of the president and we are all still adjusting to them."
See Alpha Dictionary for more info.
Oh and I'm not sure if it is a regional thing - but referring to Anon at 909 comment: I was in Girl Scouts from 1-8 grade and we always earned "badges" that went on our sash. We had patches on our uniforms for various other things
Seeing Stella Z’s byline on a Saturday is a little intimidating in itself, knowing there’s a chance of the dreaded FIW, I believe I was stumped by her last Sunday offering a few weeks ago and had to throw up the white flag. A very talented constructor whose style reminds me of another whiz at their craft, Jefferey Wechsler. One can always expect a few obscure clues pertaining to the arts which is sort of a weak spot for me. Have they ever collaborated on a CW? I’m sure that would be a doozy! Thank you Stella for the challenge which required a LOT of thought and took me 48:45 to FIR.
A lot of unknowns in this one, FRIDA, LUNT, DANTON, CREATION, ALI, WASH SALE, MAN OF, and I was unfamiliar with what gossamer was. Major help from perps for sure! Got hung up on AGAPE for a long time, and it would have helped if I coulda remembered if CINCINNATI had two N’s or two T’s.
Gary ~~ very nice illustrative write-up, always learn a lot from your Saturday narratives!
Bill S ~~ you sure have a vast wealth of knowledge and you are very good at imparting it. I see in your bio that you had a career in technology, if I had to guess I would have thought “college professor”.
Hola!
Thank you, Stella, for the Saturday challenge! I almost finished it but hit a Natick at SATIE/INAWE/DANTON. I thought I knew all the prominent names from the French Revolution but DANTON is unfamiliar. I love The Scarlet Pimpernel movie and have watched it several times. Elizabeth Montgomery and Richard E. Grant are superb in it as is John Shaw on whom I instantly had a crush. I own the movie so I can watch it anytime.
As most Saturday puzzles, this one took me a long while (no red letters on newspaper) but finally finished with the above errors.
OUIJA/JELLO was an interesting crossing.
CSO to desper-OTTO!
One of my nieces is a big fam of FRIDA Kahlo.
TOURIST INFO is something with which I am quite familiar and one of the first things I want to learn when visiting a foreign country especially unusual customs.
IrishMiss
Thank you. I'm happy to say that my car is in good shape and running smoothly. And after a good night's sleep my teeth are also doing well. I have to go in for a check up on the 10th. Last evening Mark made me some hot tea and we had a light supper. No AFTERTASTE was noted.
AIRY/LACY is amusing.
I have tasted CINCINNATI CHILI and I have to compare it to southwest CHILI and for me it is not hot enough. I don't like just spice, I like some heat. Our chile here is made with blended red chile pods and pork meat.
Have a sensational Saturday, everyone! It's 59 degrees and sunny. The landscapers' noise is gone so they must have finished their work.
Thank you, Gary. I also learn much from your narrative and enjoy the graphics as I'm sure I've mentioned before.
oops. FAN of Frida Kahlo, not fam.
The bottom 2/3 was quickly solved. The NW was a bear. Finally tongue depressor dawned on me, but I spelled it with -er not -or. That messed up BLOC. Two bad cells and one LIU.
CASH SALE instead of WASH SALE. I have used WASH for money in and the same money out, a wash with no effect on the bottom line. I never combined it with sale.
Looked up SATIE. I know many things about him and I like his music, but furniture music stymied me.
Fun puzzle. I am pleased with my "almost" solve.
"Occam's razor, the principle (attributed to William of Occam) that in explaining a thing no more assumptions should be made than are necessary. The principle is often invoked to defend reductionism or nominalism." To me it sounds like a relative of the KISS principle, Keep I Simple Stupid.
While Girl Scouts earn many kinds of badges are they officially called Merit Badges?
"While the Boy Scouts call them merit badges and Girl Scouts refer to them as just badges, the concept is largely the same. To acquire a badge, each Scout needs to complete a set of specific requirements." But a badge for selling cookies?
First clouds of the week have cleared, sunny again and there's probably no way Ill fill in more than the 2/3 of the puzzle I now have unless I work another hour or so...heading to the beach. Ergo a DNF on porpoise.🤨
Inkovers: eer/OFT,pork/BOAR (seriously?) agape/INAWE (DO), hive/ITCH, biscuit/BISCOTTI
Got the CINCINNATI part but held off on CHILI...didnt figure CHILI to be a "sauce" couldn't understsnd why "biscuit" wouldn't work with the "i" in MERIT BADGES.
Semana 7th..I couldn't decide between domingo or sabado In European countries and most of Latin América the calendar week starts on Monday not Sunday. both wrong anyway!...DIA. ENdO or ENTO?
"Razor"..what was Mr. Gillette's first name? "Reign of terror figures", could only come up with Marat, Robespierre and our own Madame Defarge.
The only Klemperer I knew was Warner. Capt. Klink from "Hogan's Heroes". Does tje TANIN create the AFTER TASTE?
Beach activity.....TANIN
Veep who almost had his parts pounded...PENCE
Inspiration....AMUSE
Was unable to carry out....DINT
So Stella, you win, I'll have a "Stella" (Artois) toast to you at dinner
Werner Klemperer
Although I ended up with all the right letters in every cell, I can’t claim a FIR, since Google filled far more s
cells than I did. A typically tough Saturday CW. After 15 minutes of scratching my head and filling maybe 1/4 of the cells, I gave up and turned to Google. Sigh. I must say SZ put together a very nice, very challenging CW, with some especially witty clues, as others have mentioned. 16A was a real gem, a very nice misdirection that took many perps to finally suss. Thanx, SZ. And thanx too to HG for the excellent write-up. I can’t imagine all the time put into creating the CW….or all the time put into the write-up. Again, thanx to you both. I notice nobody is posting their Wordle results here anymore. After seeing all the postings I finally bit and have been working it the last few days. Today was a loooong thought process, but eventually got it on the third line. Has it been declared a no-no to post the Wordle here, since I don’t see it anymore?
Well, shoot, here is my Wordle from today. Between line two and three was a looooong think. Someone tell me if posting Wordle here has become a no-no, please, and if so I won’t post it in the future.
Wordle 231 3/6
🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
oc4beach, inanehiker, et al that got all that rain, be careful out there on that ice.
Yesterday there was a story on the news about a Univ of Chicago college student that wandered nearly a third of a mile out onto Lake Michigan. It's still unclear as to why.
Waseeley, as I was struggling with the Satie and Haydn clues, I knew they would have been in your wheelhouse. The only way I've ever heard of Satie is from crosswords and perps.
We aren't going to make the Cincinnati Chili today; she already had pork chops out for a new recipe she wants to try.
However, we did make the soft chewy pretzels and pretzel bites this morning. They are so good. Far better than those freezer box brands like Super Pretzel, and more far betterer and gooder than they sell in the mall food courts.
We used the the following recipe with the King Arthur unbleached bread flour and followed the recipe exactly, with the exception that we were out of unsalted butter. So good ! A bit more work, but mucho deliciouso !
Hot Buttered Soft Pretzels
Even with 8 large pretzels, we had enough dough left over to make about a dozen pretzel bites. Sadly, only 3 large pretzels remain. Unbelievably good.
An entertaining PZL from Ms. Zawistowski.
Despite the lack of diagonals, it held my interest 50% to 60%. After the half-way point, I began to cheat, checking first to confirm fills I already had, then a little later descending into out-and-out grabbing an answer here and there.
My first fill? 2D--Mr. Alfred LUNT, of course!
Fave clue? 16A, playing on the meaning of "gag."
Worst fill? 39A. I got WASH SALE through perps, but had no way otherwise of tapping into an obscure IRS reference.
What investments we have are all channeled through intermediaries who, I guess, need to know that stuff.
Good news late yesterday. Our dear dog, Maggie, came through her spinal surgery with flying colors! She should be home in a coupla days.
~ OMK
Strenuous Saturday Solve from Stella. (I groaned/grinned when I arrived here to see the constructor.) Thanks for the fun, Stella and HuskerG (those kids get a great opportunity to learn from your presentations).
I finished with three Google helps to open the blocked areas that I had. The unknowns for me were SATIE, DANTON (Robespierre wouldn’t fit!), FRIDA.
Pig Out changed to POUR ON.
Ounce wouldn’t fit, but PENCE did.
I was Agape (lightly inked in case it was Agawp or Agawk!) before IN AWE. (Sometimes I wish we had (2 Wds..) clueing.)
4D didn’t seem “briefly” when I looked at the number of spaces, but INFO was.
Our razor was OCCAM not the usual ATRA!
DH confirmed REDS and NBA for me.
This Canadian has never heard of CINCINNATI CHILI, but I did smile to see it with REDS.
Maybe our computer nerds could tell me is DOS and the BASIC GO TO have any connection!?
I love BISCOTTI.
FLN, PK what a COPTER story!
Wishing you all a great day.
Unclefred- I think that we should acknowledge that our Wordle discussions, postings have become annoying to some of our fellow-Cornerites. Since Yuman and I were the ones to introduce it here, I think I can safely say that those of us who enjoy it, should avoid sharing about it here daily.
I can share my results with family and friends privately, or on Facebook, but really the enjoyment is mostly for myself.
When I asked last week if our discussion was bothersome, it was because I wondered if I had opened a Pandora’s box by introducing it here. So, let us consider that “the tribe has spoken” and avoid it here now. Thanks.
Lucina- glad you (and your car) are feeling better. I hope that things improve from here.
OMK- glad to hear that Maggie’s surgery was successful. Pets are such a large part of our lives.
OMK, great news about Maggie. Make sure she gets a nice reward. Just because! 🤗
OMK @2:26 PM YIP, ARF, WAG!
So, Jinx were you a Ray Jablonski fan or was Wally Post more your type. Of course Big Klu was everybody's fav
And… Some NBA team blew a 34 point 2nd half lead last week re. Pour it on/let up
Re. PENCE vs Ounce. The former is usually plural as clue indicates eg 8 pence
I just had an interesting internet trip from OUIJA to Bill Wilson to a Psychology Today (2020) article tracing psychedelics and addiction treatment
I suggest that blogspot.mywordle be created like Owen did with Jumble
WC
I loved this puzzle and every minute of the struggle to solve it. Much of the clever cluing made me smile and chuckle. The hardest part was the NW where I had SALE for too long, which of course played Hobbe with that whole area. When I finally realized it might be wrong I took it out and soon things started falling into place. I entered BOAR, then changed it to BEAR, then changed it back to BOAR when I realized ADORES should be ADORNS. Thanks to Stella Zawistowski for a terrific puzzle.
Thanks to you, Gary, for a terrific review.
Thanks to you, waseeley, for the links to such terrific music.
I'm glad Maggie came through her surgery with flying colors, Ol'Man Keith.
CanadianEh, the main connection between DOS and BASIC is that DOS was Microsoft's operating system for many personal computers for several years and that Microsoft also produced a version of the BASIC programming language to run on it.
Good wishes to you all.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIW with several w/o’s. It was hard for me to get a foothold today; starting with 1-across (SALE/GLUT)
I stayed with OUNCE/PENCE so IN AWE was never going to materialize
GYMNAST/ACROBAT; URSA/ASIA; BEES/BEDS
A couple CSO’s to me, I suppose, at TANNIN and AFTER TASTE as they were wine-related. Got both of those without help!!
Have a nice weekend all;
The funniest reference to TANNIN that I recall was in the movie, The Birdcage where Nathan Lane talks about it. He rocked that role.
OMK:
How wonderful that Maggie came through the surgery in good form.
I, too, am slowly returning to feeling normal.
I am very late to the always entertaining and educational pairing of Stella and Gary. But before I talk about the puzzle, is it possible that you all do not know that WERNER KLEMPERER-COLONEL KLINK was the son of the Conductor.
Stella always includes challenges and I did not know DANTON (born October 26, 1759, Arcis-sur-Aube, France—died April 5, 1794, Paris), French Revolutionary leader and orator, often credited as the chief force in the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of the First French Republic (September 21, 1792). He later became the first president of the Committee of Public Safety, but his increasing moderation and eventual opposition to the Reign of Terror led to his own death at the guillotine.
The SKYLINE CHILI near my house has finally closed after 46 years. The STORY OF SKYLINE is tied to CINCINNATI CHILI . I ate at our local restaurant twice; the first time I thought the food was watery and inedible. The second time was a Thanksgiving even when we had eaten at some else's house and no leftovers. Nothing else was open, Saved? No still inedible.
Very pretty picture of HAYDEN PANETTIERE . We have seen ALI LARTER before.
Canadian Eh!, thank you for your thoughtful decision regarding Wordle. I enjoy it very much but am not the least bit interested in how many trials it took others.
~ Mind how you go...
Hi All!
DNF - The NW & N. California was too much for me to crack. Entering 'Push it' @12a didn't help nor did thinking AGED (in OAK) for 19a or a prop needed to pull off a gag...
At least I filled 36a with only 'C___________ILI' inked -- so I got that going for me :-)
Thanks for the puzzle, Stella; it was a nice distraction during bits of down-time today.
Mighty-fine expo and nice NASA photo of you, HG. Thanks for that and the behind-the-scenes from Stella.
WOs: Visual cueS->ArtS->AIDS, OUIJi
ESPs: DIA, DINT (as clued) is all I filled.
Fav: BISCOTTI and espresso == yum!
{C+, B+}
FLN - Nice to read you BillG. I too miss Prairie Home's stories; the music(?), not so much :-)
Waseeley - thanks for the link to PHC - there was a side link to The Writer's Almanac. I didn't know he was still doing TWA -- I guess that also got "canceled" from NPR(?).
OMK - Thanks for the good news re: Maggie.
Lucina - Glad to read you're on the mend too.
C, Eh! DOS* is an operating system that is capable of running a BASIC** language interpreter. Other operating systems (C64OS (Commodore64, Windows, macOS, etc) can also run a BASIC interpreter.
//*DOS == Disk Operating System
//*BASIC == Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. GOTO x, where x is another line of code, is just one of many BASIC commands.
//to add to Jayce, Microsoft's BASIC was called qBASIC aka Quick BASIC
C, Eh (again? :-)) - well said re: Wordle. I thought it was fun to put the little BLOCks at the end of a post for us to brag/kvetch with an image but...
WC - I'm not sure setting up a Blogspot for Wordle would be worth it -- it's not like there's much to discuss in a solve.
I didn't know why (until ILU today) I'm always inclined to put two-Ls in chilli. Turns out, most of us who grew up in Springfield, IL do because of Dew Chilli Parlor . [cite and cite] //hey, Butchek! Mike's dad is a buddy of Pop.
FWIW - two-Ls is also the British spelling [cite].
What's the bigger influence (N. America or UK English) -- One or Two L's, C, Eh?
Cheers, -T
Dear -T: Who'd'a thunk it? Cans of chilli via the 'Net! Just amazing.
AnonT- if you are still reading, the one-L chili won out in my area of Canada.
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