Puzzling Thoughts:
Or maybe the theme should be: "A real piece of work" - as in weird, complex, different, and interesting! Jamey Smith - a U of Texas Longhorn - was last seen here at the Crossword Corner a couple of Saturday's ago. He's had a few themeless puzzles at the LA Times, and has been published in both Universal Crossword and the Wall Street Journel
Today's puzzle - while not themeless - did not need a reveal. As you complete the puzzle you notice the use of proper names (specifically, artists) as homonyms in the longest "across" entries. Using 5 of these entries (total of 55 letter spaces) forced Jamey to use a plethora of 3, 4, and 5-letter words in the grid. Typical Friday puzzles earn their "toughness" from longer words/phrases, but Jamey's earned toughness from the unusual puns. Would you like to see how he arrived there?
17-Across. Spanish artist's portrait of an American president?: DALI MADISON. The pun is for first lady Dolley Madison, wife of President James Madison. (See the image above) Had Jamey chosen a different tactic, could he have tried:
Clue: Spanish artist's favorite device to move furniture? SALVADOR DOLLY
31-Across. Swiss artist's painting of a bird?: KLEE PIGEON. A clay pigeon is a mechanically thrown target used in shooting skeet or trap - as the imbedded image describes. I wish Jamey had tried this, though:
Clue: Who carried Dutch artist to his grave? PAUL BEARERS. Moving right along ...
37-Across. American artist's condiment rendering?: SARGENT PEPPER.
Any Beatles fan out here?
But if Jamey really wanted a laugh, I would've suggested this:
Clue: What would you call an American artist who covers Beatles songs on the loo? JOHN SINGER
45-Across. American pop artist's drawing of an ulna?: HARING BONE
These just keep getting cheesier, don't they??!! I wasn't aware of Mr. Haring, but I do know a herringbone pattern. In an alternate universe perhaps Jamey might try:
Clue: American pop artist's family reunion? KEITH AND KIN. (they can't ALL be winners!!)
61-Across. Mexican artist's poinsettia painting?: KAHLO FLOWER. Ha, ha!! Cauliflower - which some pronounce "kaa·luh·flau·ur" - was Jamey's ploy for this entry, by using the similarly pronounced artist, Kahlo. But I would've thought that this "dad joke" about her might've made the cut:
Clue: Amazon Prime's offer to Mexican artist who ordered servant's clothes? FRIDA LIVERY
OK, enough already Moe!! Please just the facts for the remainder?!
I'll try ...
Across:
1. Westernmost African capital: DAKAR.
6. Ballroom dance: RUMBA.
This also inspired a Moe-ku:
What makes perfect sense
At a vacuum convention?
Dancing the ROOMBA
11. World's oldest natl. channel: BBC. I occasionally watch the BBC; my favorite is the Graham Norton show. His signature finale is to have audience members tell a story from the Big Red Chair ...
14. Historical 1960 John Wayne film, with "The": ALAMO. I didn't know that "The Duke" made a movie about rental cars
15. Ewoks' forest moon: ENDOR. All perps for this one. The only thing close to "ENDOR" that I recall is Samantha's mother, ENDORa:
16. Notable period: ERA. One of Jamey's twenty 3-letter words/abbr's in today's puzzle
19. What Marcie calls Peppermint Patty: SIR. #3 of 20. Peanuts comic strip characters:
20. Tokyo beer brand: ASAHI. How do you say "beer me" in Japanese? Bīru watashi You can't spell watashi without ASAHI
21. Up and about: MOBILE. [left blank on purpose for one of y'all to offer a pun]
23. "Just like that!": BAM. #4 of the 20 3-letter words, and Emiril Legasse's favorite comment
25. Charges too much: SOAKS. Another meaning of "charges too much" is: GOES INTO DEBT
28. Loaf: IDLE. Did I mention that this puzzle contains eighteen 4-letter entries?
29. Skill-measuring method: EXAM. #2 of 18
34. Do well on the test: GET A "B". That was about my average for four years at Pitt. I think I graduated with a 3.14 GPA. My personal reward was having a piece of pie
36. Press start?: PERMA. An abbreviation of PERMAnent press
42. Temple reading: TORAH. But only for the Jewish students at this Philadelphia school?
43. Vegas natural: SEVEN. A term used in the casino game, Craps. Rolling a SEVEN (or eleven) is considered a "natural". As wikipedia dot com confirms: "in craps, a natural is a roll of two dice with a score of 7 or 11 on the come out roll. This will lead to a win for the players who wagered money on the Pass or Come bet, but a loss for players betting Don't Pass or Don't Come"
50. Betray the gang: SING. As in "rat on" or "snitch"; a reference to a stool pigeon in a gang who "SINGS" when the cops interrogate
51. Dutch __: OVEN. I really wanted to use a certain definition /description for Dutch OVEN, but I'm running out of gas right now and need a brief break ...
52. Merciless: STONY. OK, I'm back. STONY for merciless? I wonder what the Thesaurusaurus has to say about this? Hmm. Not there. Guess that's why this made for a Friday clue
54. Elton's john: LOO. See my "daffy-nition" for 37-Across in the opening monologue for this recap
55. Opinion: BELIEF. Something you all should state in the comment section below this blog!
58. 66-Across arrival: GUEST. 66. 58-Across booking: INN.
60. Nectar collector: BEE. I think I lost count of the 3-letter words ...
67. Kids' refrain: EIEIO. "Old MacDonald had a farm ..." (Try to get THAT tune out of your head today!!)
68. Top-notch: PRIMO. This word would be good first guess at WORDLE. In fact, I might try using it someday
69. Kid: TOT. I'm back on track; #SEVEN of the 20 3-letter words
70. Cowgirl's ride: STEED. Merrium-Webster's defines STEED as: "a horse used or trained for riding; a spirited horse". I suppose "cowgirl" in the clue was added to make us overthink, perhaps?
71. Perceive: SENSE. I SENSE that this is the last of the "across" clues/answers for today's puzzle
Down:
1. __ joke: DAD. Pretty fitting for today's puzzle, don't you think??
2. __ mode: A LA. Pie à la Mode (literally "pie in the current fashion"/ "fashionable pie") is pie served with ice cream. The French culinary phrase à la mode used in the name of this American dessert is also encountered in other dishes such as boeuf à la mode (beef à la mode). Hmm; I've never tried beef à la mode, but since the milk in ice cream comes from cows, I imagine it would taste just fine
3. Greek olive named for its place of origin: KALAMATA. "Kalamáta is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regional unit, it lies along the Nedon River at the head of the Messenian Gulf." Wikipedia
4. Côte d'Azur comrades: AMIS. Frawnch. AMI is a male friend; AMIE is a female friend. AMY is my daughter's name
5. Canning tomatoes: ROMAS. These:
6. Phone timesaver: REDIAL. For those who wondered how this could occur before cell phones:
7. Cambridge, colloquially: UNI. As in Cambridge UNIversity. Had this been clued as: "college in Cambridge", we could've used: MIT
8. Checkup pros: M.D.'S. Medical Doctors
9. Sailing spar: BOOM. Not too many puzzles ago we had the phrase: BOOM MIC. Many use the word "BOOM" in the phrase "lower the BOOM" which is a term for acting suddenly and forcefully
10. River through Florence: ARNO. Italy. Interesting that this river also goes through Pisa; it does "lean a little", doesn't it?
11. Not relevant to: BESIDE. Moe-ku #2:
M.D.s who practice
Non-relevant cases have
Good BESIDE manner
12. S.O.S alternative: BRILLO. As in the scouring pad
13. Turn recklessly: CAREEN. Does the ARNO river CAREEN, or is that the wrong definition?
18. "I see now": AH OK. I've heard of AOK and AH YES, but AH OK seems a bit "forced"
22. King Kong and Lady Kong: BIG APES. Yes they are
23. Beseech: BEG. My old mantra: "it is far better to BEG for forgiveness, than it is to ask for permission"
24. Plot lines: AXES. I couldn't find any images to post that weren't too graphic
26. Served in a chafing dish, say: KEPT HOT. Chafing dishes are usually found at all-you-can-eat buffets; but with the pandemic a lot of buffets in restaurants were shut down
27. Trickle: SEEP. But you never hear the term "SEEP-down economics", do you?
30. Bond holding?: MARTINI. Shaken, not stirred
32. TSA __Check: PRE. Explained here. A big time-saver for frequent fliers
33. Little devils: IMPS. I qualify for this definition. I'm barely 5'6" tall, and quite the little devil!!
35. Commercial letters after Bug or Weed: B-GON. Shouldn't we Round Up all weed killers and eliminate them?! ;^)
38. Small amount of work: ERG. Another 3-letter crossword staple
39. Slaps the cuffs on: NABS. NABS is also the term used to identify packaged snack crackers. But I noticed that these are made by Lance. Wouldn't you think they were made by NABisco??
40. Villain in Stephen King's "The Dark Half," e.g.: EVIL TWIN. I always think of EVIL TWIN as a "Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde" sort of thing
41. Silver State city: RENO. Nevada is known as "The Silver State". RENO is a casino town located near Lake Tahoe
44. Park __: airport facility: 'N GO. A popular alternative for frequent fliers. I wonder if there's a PRECheck for these facilities, too?
45. Halfling of Middle-earth: HOBBIT. I've worn out my HOBBIT limerick; I'm sure that many of you can recite it from memory ...
46. Olay rival: AVEENO. A must have for those of us who live in the desert. Great for adding moisture to the skin
47. Let up: RELENT. Hey Moe! Are you going to RELENT with your DAD jokes today? Not now. Moe-ku #3:
A lot of Christians
Let up before Easter. It's
Known, as to RE-LENT
48. Errant, as a field goal: NO GOOD. Don't ask Buffalo Bills' fans about errant field goals in their Super Bowl appearances
49. Sufficient, in texts: ENUF. Meh
53. Sounds from pounds: YELPS. Or, the name of an on-line restaurant rating app that shows dog-friendly venues
56. Barely makes, with "out": EKES. Eek!!
57. __ accompli: FAIT. FAIT accompli: "a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept it." Like my blogs?
59. Ticked: SORE. IRED fits, too, but I like SORE better
62. Texter's chuckle: HEE. ENUF!!
63. Rest: LIE. Or in golf terms; play the ball as it LIEs. Right, Husker Gary?
64. Half a mammal?: EMS. There are 3 "EMS" in the word mammal. One half of six = three. Your mathematics lesson du jour
65. Sushi garnish: ROE. Last DAD joke: What do sushi fishermen sing as they troll for the catch? ROE, ROE, ROE your boat ...
The grid:
What are YOUR puzzling thoughts??
45 comments:
FIRight! Today is Friday, right?
I enjoyed today's theme. Art appreciation is one of my minor areas of knowledge. I recognized all the artist's names, tho not familiar with all their works. Is KLEE pronounced like "clay"?
A wealthy prince of DAKAR
Casts about near and far!
Who'll help him stash
Bundles of cash?
How gullible do you think you are?
I used to live in MOBILE, Alabama.
A beautiful, but flat panorama.
The biggest bulge,
Was a palmetto bug!
They gave me quite a dilemma!
{A-, A-.}
That second l'ick is true. And I think those huge, scary flying bugs were the main reason I didn't regret leaving!
Good morning!
_A_A_ for a western Africa capital -- gotta be RABAT, right? Have I ever mentioned that I hate it when I get 1a wrong right out of the gate? ROMAS to the rescue. Couldn't relate AXES to "Plot lines" -- was pronouncing it wrong. Thought PINTO or PAINT for that "Cowgirl's ride" before STEED marched in. This was a suitable challenge for a Friday. Thanx, Jamey and C-Moe.
SARGENT PEPPER : Did the Beetles spell it SARGENT or SERGEANT? Neither, it was SGT.
Yesterday was too busy with a trip to the safe deposit box, a flat tire repair, and an M-O-W route that included a 10-mile construction detour. I've decided today will be a day of rest, relaxation, and maybe a little March Madness.
Word of the day: CAREEN as in Chris' write-up today careened from one xtreme to another.
Not only did you outdo yourself with links and limericks and puns (multi-lingual ones included!), but by the time I was through reading your intro I no longer know which fill was the themers.
The puzzle did not seem hard for a Friday but Jamey's puns were a stretch in places. Cramming 5 themers a 13, 2 11s and 2 10s (55 spaces) did not leave much room for much beyond the 3/4/5 letter words referenced by Moe.
My evil twins are always actual twins, often undisclosed until the end to make sense of bizarre behavior, dopplegangers need not apply.
Thank you Jamey and Chris
FIW. Did not remember Dakar and did not know kalamate.
Took just under 15 minutes to fill in the blank canvas.
Upper middle was the trickiest spot for me. "oh, ok" and "uh, ok" before "ah, ok." Those missteps prevented Madison from eventually coming into the, um, picture.
FIW, missing KALAMATo x SoRGENT PEPPER and PRIMe x ReE. Erased lol for HEE, fate for FAIT, ask for BEG, ah so for AH OK, arne for ARNO, and mast for BOOM. A sloop's BOOM is the horizontal, solid (aluminum or carbon fiber on modern boats) spar that holds the bottom of the main sail. Because it sweeps across the cockpit during tacks and jibes, it is critical that people avoid it during these maneuvers. I tell newcomers that it is called a BOOM because that's the sound it makes when it hits someone's head. People have been killed by the boom, although more die from going overboard.
When I was growing up, GET A B on an EXAM wasn't doing well.
"Cowgirl's ride" evoked Big and Rich's country music hit "Save A Horse [Ride a Cowboy]".
I knew that S.O.S was the pad beacuse of the recent puzzle that required us to know that there were only two periods in the brand name.
Thanks to Jamey for the fun challenge that I was almost up to. And thanks to C-Moe for the witty tour.
Right off the bat I inked MAtiSse*. Then I had to recall a prez beginning with MA.. With DALI I had the theme. Just the idea of knowing names of artists , shudder
Also, ENow/ENUF; sIt/LIE; lol/HEE
FIW. I had bAD and BAHAR. KALAMATA=UNK
In Boston I liked to go down to the Charles River and watch the shad ROE
Enjoyed the Mo-kus today. Did you say this one was easy?
What was that joke, again?
WC
Good morning. Thank you, Jamey and Chairman Moe.
A tough nut to crack today mostly because I didn't know of SARGENT and HARING, but after getting DALI MADISON, the scheme was understood. Perps for the win !
Moe, you were in fine form today.
I love KALAMATA olives. DW can't stand them.
Wordle - Instead of using the same old starting word(s) every day, try limiting yourself to a 5 letter word found in the LA Times crossword. Yesterday I started with olive. Got it in 2. Today I'll use either STONY or GUEST.
I haven't lost a Wordle since # 232, when I had the STILL, SHILL, SWILL, SPILL debacle. The answer was SKILL.
17.35 million March Madness brackets submitted. After the first day of the tournament, only 743 remain perfect. Who were the .004 % that picked St. Peters over Kentucky ? And why ? Sorry, Jinx, I know you are a fan. Kentucky was in my Final 4. D'OH !
Good Morning:
Compared to yesterday’s challenge, this was a stroll through the park. The theme was obvious immediately and, therefore, easily led to Klee, Sargent, and Kahlo, if you knew their nationalities. Haring was an unknown but easy to guess, knowing the theme. Other unknowns were Endor and Hobbit. Sargent Pepper and Dali Madison were the strongest but the others were a stretch, IMO. I was tripped up by Arcs/Axes and Samba/Rumba. This was dance week with Tango, Paso Doble, and now Rumba. Some fun duos were Uni/Exam, Inn/Guests, Bee/BBC, Bee/Flower, and Seven/Reno. CSOs to CED (Imp(s), Hahtoolah, Lemony, Picard and MalMan (Torah), Jinx (Boom), and all Academics (Uni and Exam). Mini O parade with Alamo, Brillo, Loo, Primo, Reno, and NGO.
Thanks, Jamey and thanks, Moe, for a rollicking ride this am. You brought your A+ game today and hit it out of the park!
Delayed St. Paddy’s Day celebration tonight at my sister’s. ☘️ Lots of food, fun, and festivities!
Have a great day.
Thank you very much for all the explanations of today's answers. Ok, this kind of puzzle is hard for me because Japanese is my first language not English. Homophones, onomatopoeia, slangs, proper nouns and idioms are difficult for me. But I have an edge in Japanese. Today, there is beer ASAHI, which is a staple nowadays in crossword puzzles. Asahi is originated in Japan but now is brewed all over the world. Well, I don't know the expression "Beer me". If it means give me a beer, a proper Japanese would be "Watashi wa beal" like Yoda SPEAK.
「わたし は ビール！」 CC knows for sure!!
Friday FIR, helped by the theme which I got with the first one. Thanks, Jamey, for the punny puzzle. I enjoyed it. Unlike Jinx I was fooled by S.O.S and and first filled "mayday," fixed by perps to our familiar BRILLO. Also had some slowdowns in the SE. ENUF said.
C Moe, you came through with your usual excellent review crammed with plenty to smile at and learn from. Thanks!
Nice l'icks, today, OwenKL. I'm very familiar with those big bugs! IM, enjoy your delayed family gathering tonight. Hope everyone has something to look forward to this weekend!
Well I managed to paint this in 23:52 for a FIR with only a couple brush overs, which far exceeded yesterday’s failure. Thank you Jamey for the Friday workout, clever theme and nice clueing. I always seem to get mixed up with KALAMATA (olives) and Calamari (squid) so I had DACAR and had to correct the C to K as my last fill. KALAMATA olives are my favorite and a must in a Greek salad, always disappointed if they toss in ripe olives instead.
Chairman Moe ~~ another stellar write up, very much liked your other possible entries for this grids theme! Only a constructor thinks along those lines! Coincidentally, just yesterday I went to the DALI Museum in St. Pete FL, 96 works by DALI and 73 by Picasso (on loan as a temporary exhibit). Not really into art, but Dali sure was a prolific master of detail, I don’t really understand the cubism of Picasso, couldn’t make much sense of his work.
Irish Miss, our Americanized St Paddy's Day repast will be tomorrow, replete with corned beef, potatoes, carrots and cabbage. My Betty Crocker International Cookbook calls that a New England Boiled Dinner when onions (and possibly turnips) are added. Either way, much anticipation !
I forgot to mention that KAHLO FLOWER was my favorite. Her name has been in the news here lately as the Immersive Frida Kahlo exhibit opened in Chicago a couple of weeks ago.
Cauliflower family members are some of my favorite veggies. Cabbage, Brussell sprouts, broccoli... Made Cream of Cheese Broccoli (sans cheese) soup last Saturday. DW adds cheddar and scallions to her servings. I could make it every other week and she wouldn't complain.
I'm making braised celery for a lunch side dish today. So simple and so good. And good for you.
Owen, it's Saturday. In Canberra. :>)
Waseeley has probably seem many palmetto bugs this last week as he is just south of MOBILE, AL for the wedding.
MitziMouse, welcome back.
I wasn't sure about a couple of the names. Like others here, I never heard of "Haring." I wasn't sure how to spell "Kalamata" either so the end of it was basically a WAG. And I'm not familiar with what a "park NGO" is either. But somehow, through P & P, I FIR, so I'm happy.
Looking back on C'Mos commentary, I see now that "Park 'ngo, is basically "Park and go" so I get it now. I didn't before.
Here is what our friend Jamey told me about this puzzle:
Hola Gary (as our friend Frida might say)
Thanks for writing. Glad I could bring a smile to your face.
I was surprised when I learned this would appear on a Friday. I had envisioned it to run earlier in the week, so in many cases my clues were easier. Here’s the original theme set:
’60s line dance as imagined by artist Salvador?
Bird in the hand of artist Paul?
Spicy subject for artist John?
Something to chew on from artist Keith?
Gardener's pride à la artist Frida?
Don’t know if you do the NYT but FYI I have a Tuesday coming up there week after next. It’s been a nice change to break out of my themeless pigeonhole lately! (Speaking of pigeons)
Jamey
TTP @ 9:54 ~ Your menu for tomorrow is normally what my sister would prepare but due to some health issues, she is opting for a less demanding menu. We’re just going to have corned beef sandwiches or Reubens, with sides of Cole slaw, pickles/olives, chips, etc. her daughters will do the bulk of the preparations, including cooking 10-12 briskets for the crowd of 30-35. Enjoy your feast! Sláinte! ☘️
IM, wow, that works out to 2-1/2 - 4 lbs of brisket per person! Super-sized, I'd say.
I did have a couple of nose wrinkles at things like
"k"lee pigeon crossing oh o"k", and texters chuckle being "hee."
( have you "ever" encountered anyone texting "hee?")
(Bloody unfair IMHO...)
I did like the S.O.S. Alternative!
NOW I know why Chairman Moe wanted me to stick around for Fridays puzzle!
Moe, all I can say is you remind me of this British Beer commercial....
I seem to have scooters on the brain lately
because this is how I get around.
(Great for going fishing when DW has the car)
It's not an Alfa Romero, but it is definitely foreign, and after 6,000 kilometers
has a nasty habit of leaving nuts and bolts behind where ever I go...
Anywho,
When the clue was "cowgirls ride" I naturally thought "scooter!"
No, really!
I will leave you with this little ditty as proof that scooter should be the corrrect answer...
CED, it's not "Oh Ok", it's Ah Ok", just FYI.
WAIT!! WHAT??? Can it be? YES!! When I got a FIR I wrote down my finish time and calculated my time on the CW and thought, "That can't be!!" But it IS!! My next thought was, "I musta written the start time wrong!" but then remembered looking at the clock on the wall and starting to write down the start time, but thinking, "Wait! That clock is always two or three minutes off", so I looked at my iPhone. So it's true!! The CW seemed to go very quickly, and I really DID FIR in 10 minutes!! FAR beyond my abilities. Write it down as an extreme aberration. For the first and undoubtedly only time ever, I even beat Anon!! I happened to remember Dakar, somehow, and it was off to the races. No W/Os!! Thanx, JS, for this big ego-boosting CW. Somehow, I was EXACTLY on the wavelength. AND got the theme immediately. Must confess to many lucky WAGs. Thanx too to CMoe for the excellent write-up. Owen mentioned palmetto bugs. They are called that because it sounds so much better than "gigantic disgusting cockroach".
Musings
-K A _ L O/_ E E. I had no chance on KAHLO and TEE looked better than HEE. CAULIFLOWER, duh!
-John Wayne lost a lot of his own money to get The ALAMO made
-SOAK – That reminds me, I filled up both my vehicles with gas this week
-MOBILE – Does ambulatory sound pretentious?
-_ORA_ has two religious reading options. However this was for a temple and not a mosque.
-My friend hit REDIAL over and over and still did not get Garth Brooks tickets
-My new M.D. is a lovely former student who is thirty years younger than I am and she filled me with confidence when we reconnected this week.
-CAREEN – Remember the ski jumper in the Wide World Of Sports opening?
-KEPT HOT – I can smell the sterno from here
-Moe, my foot wedge can overcome that annoying “Play it where it LIES” stuff. :-)
"Stony"? Yeah, sure thing. Plus more gimmicky nonsense.
PT2:
CED, your Jim Stafford clip had me LMAO 🤣. Brilliant!!
d-otto, I wondered if 1-across was going to trip you up today … 😀
MitziMouse, yes, “beer me!” is a colloquial saying for “may I have a beer”. Thanks for clarifying the translation
HG, I hope Jamey will stop by to say “hi” to us all. Interesting how his original clues were edited
YooperPhil, wow! First time I’ve been referred to as a constructor. Thanks for the compliment!
Jason, a week ago you asked me to “have fun” with today’s blog. I took you literally! 😜
Fun Friday toughie for me, but many thanks, Jamey. And neat commentary, Moe, thanks for that too.
Had to laugh to be reminded of Marcie calling Peppermint Patty SIR.
My favorite clue, and today's picture, was 'Bond holding' turning out to be a MARTINI.
I got those three 'EMS' for 'Half a mammal' instantly!
Have a great weekend coming up, everybody.
DO @ 11:06 ~ Not really, as some briskets weigh 3 lbs., some weigh 4 lbs. but they shrink a lot when cooked. I will say, though, there won’t be too many leftover slices as there are several men in the family who have big, and I mean big, appetites. 😉
IM, I guess I was thinking of Texas-sized briskets. The wee ones go about 8 lbs. The normal ones weight about 12 lbs.
Husker, please report on your confidence level when that lovely former student doctor wants to give you a prostate exam.
TTP, rhanks for your condolences. They had a lot of talent on this team, but it seems like when they had both their point guards (Wheeler and Washington) out at the same time, they shuffled everyone's roles a little, then when those guys came back they couldn't get their mojo back. In my view, Oscar Tshiebwe was their only consistent player, and he played great again last night. Seems like a great person, too. Fluent in 5 languages, and wants to be a success so he can support those close to him back in Congo.
Uncle Fred, WAY TO GO!
CED, you must mean S.O.S without the third ".". Also, when I worked in Caracas those scooters were everywhere. Those that were there long enough to rent a car were warned that if you hit a scooter, other riders would likely surround the car, pull the driver out and beat him/her.
Hola!
Thank you, Jamey for the fun today! I did fairly well but I disappointed myself in a few places. Not being a drinker or a fan of horror is a big disadvantage. I got ASAHI wrong as well as ROE. Should have given that one more thought. My guess at EVIL TWIN, though, was right.
As I've said before, I love puns and this was fun!
IrishMiss: your planned festivities sound like a great time.
Sadly, I misread 58A as "rival" instead of "arrival" so made a mess of that. Big DNF. Also had BAD joke and BAKAR. Another DNF. NO GOOD!
AVEENO may be a good lotion but it is way overpriced, even at WalMart.
Frida KAHLO had a strained relationship with Diego Rivera but she married him anyway.
Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!
D-O, It was a treat to see after all these years and since she is in Internal Medicine, I suspect I will supply no surprises for her. I looked up her 1989 J.H. yearbook and remember her very well. There is some comfort in the fact that she is a Fremont person who is very likely to stay here.
d-otto @ 12:31 —> I was thinking exactly the same thing!
d-otto and IM —> this is one of my favorite Young Sheldon episodes about beef brisket: https://youtu.be/od6Zq5T57R0
FLN- Jinx- thanks for the BANG explanation. Never knew it. I guess my first computer's printer from 1970 (52 years ago) didn't need it. It was so fast "The IBM 1132 line printer was the normal printer for the IBM 1130 computer system. It printed 120 character lines at 80 lines per minute." Bigger than a washing machine.
Mr. Smith's puzzle had some hard clueing (for me) but after the KLEE PIGEON I caught the name change. But being ignorant of most artists I was not familiar with either SARGENT or HARING. The EVIL TWIN was also unknown but perps took care of those three.
Park 'N GO was an unknown. In NOLA it's either Park 'N Fly or US PARK at the airport.
TTP-KALAMATA olives- my favorite type. AND DW like them too.
MitziMouse- as for 'beer me' the only place I've ever seen it is in a crossword puzzle. Give me a cold one.
Gary- the groups I played with always said you could move the ball a scorecard length but only moved it if were in mud or close to a tree root. I was in the rough so much that I learned how to hit it off mulch, pine straw, or high grass as well as a clean lie. Neither shot was that good.
BRILLO, easy since we discussed the missing final period a while ago in "S.O.S"... (CSO Jinx).. Always forget the Japanese beer brand. "Opinion' (I may be right, you may be right). BELIEF ( I am right, you are wrong). Isn't AVEENO used for an oatmeal bath? (Italian avena, "oats"). Don't "tick" me off even suggesting ...ired, a 4-letter word in my book.🤬
Anyone suss MARTINI without perps? Didn't know know the "Pop artist" ....and who is "Lady Kong"?**...PRIMO (It. "first" Primo Ministro, Prime Minister). Côte d'Azur comrades, communistes too long....KEPT trying to force ketchup into the space but perp-blocked
FIR, inkovers: scams/SOAKS , ask/BEG, steer/STEED, (cowgirl ride? shocked, thought this was a family puzzle 🤣😃🤭🤭)
C. Moe, you out "shined" me with yer punz..😄
What Verdi's "La donna" is....MOBILE
What do you do with pickles? ____ ...IDLE
King Kong's ** Lady Kong maybe, _____ Wray....FAIT
More obscure...DAKAR
Pop artist subject....DAD
the park N GO near the Syracuse airport charged half the rate of the airport garage (that SOAKS travelers), and had the car warmed up and washed when returning on the 4 minute shuttle. Unfortunately closed 3 years ago.
IM; Belated celebration."Lots of food, fun, and festivities!" (Festivities ≈ Booze? 😉)
RUMBA bothered this old head. I am used to spelling it RHUMBA.
Bad cluing? Well, I checked the dictionary, and my old way of spelling is preferred for the "ballroom dance" version, while the non-"H" spelling is reserved for the native Cuban dance.
I enjoyed the theme. I did pretty well on this Friday toughie from Mr. Smith. Over 90% completed by moi.
I got caught in the mid-west sector at 34A. I couldn't see past ACE IT for "Do well on the test." That screwed the perps.
(No, I wasn't a straight "A" undergrad, but even before grade inflation I did better than the Chrmn, so for me to "do well" had to top a "B.")
~ OMK
___________
DRL: No diagonals. I hope we are not back to last week's desert--the long run of no diags!
SubGenius@11:20
Ooh,
Ok then...
Thanks for the FYI
(Did I mention I lost my bearings?)
Still got a few marbles,
But there might be a hole in the bag...
Actually, this is the reason I cannot construct crosswords.
There is no way in (heck) that I could try to justify Ahok (one word)
As "ah, ok." Just to complete a puzzle.
(I would have rewritten the whole dang thing first....)
Jinx@12:37
I have 3 girls.
I always add as many periods as I think the blog will allow...
A missing period can be cause for concern...
(Just ask any girl...)
Jinx@12:37 Cont...
Rather long tale, don't bother reading if u don't want a PSA...
Riding a scooter in Fla.
(Or anywhere)
Requires extreme bravery
(Or stupidity)
Between the old ladies going straight thru red lights oblivious,
to kids racing their sports cars, it's a real crapshoot..
Just last month, I pulled out of my complex onto a 2 lane road.
My (curb) lane was empty, but there was one car in the left lane.
I did not realize that a kid in a sports car followed me out of the complex.
(He wasn't there a second ago)
Even with no traffic in my lane, I floored the dang thingie
to get it up to the 45mph limit.
I must have only gone 40 yards before I came upon the next turning lane
Into the next complex, and was completely surprised to find a sports car
Passing me on the right in the turning lane!
Because there was a car from the next complex waiting to turn into
Traffic, I had to panic brake to let this idiot cut in front of me to avoid
A very ugly scenario...
(I am too old for this crap...)
Big Easy - I typed what I was thinking, but not what I meant. I should have said that "for as long as I can remember, newspaper editors and typesetters have called the "!" a BANG. My mom worked at the local weekly fishwrapper doing advertisement art. She was doing "cut and paste" before computers came to news rooms.
I remember reading about the incredible line printers, when the best I had seen was a Model 33 Teletype.
My first computer (an Apple II) couldn't do lower-case letters, so I had to buy an IBM PC (not a Jr) to log into the company timeshare minicomputer. During logon to that system, a backspace didn't backspace, and could be used as a password character. After logging on, "backspace" worked as expected.
Moe @ 12:46 ~ Believe it or not, I have never had plain brisket, only corned beef brisket. I also never ate cabbage until I was in my 30s.
Ray O @ 1:47 ~ Festivities = Booze? Maybe a wee drop or two and some off-key Irish lilts and some Irish Jigs for good luck! I’ve told this anecdote before but we have some new Cornerites who might get a chuckle out of hearing it. One St. Patrick’s Day, when a niece was about 8 or 9, a Nun asked everyone in her class what their ethnic background was and my niece’s serious reply was “I’m half Lebanese and half Leprechaun.” ☘️
Loved the art theme! I knew all the ARTISTs except HARING. A bit of a WAG with that crossing AVEENO. FIR. It is always intriguing what is obscure for some and a gimme for others. Notably, food:
Hand up I love KALAMATA olives. I think DW is good with them. Yesterday was BASMATI. It is the only rice I buy. As noted by Vidwan it is very FRAGRANT, indeed. Although I don't eat much rice since my stomach surgery in 2019.
Irish Miss Thank you for the shout out regarding TORAH.
Here my rabbi friend Elihu was carrying a TORAH to his new temple.
Elihu was one of the first people I met when I came to UC Santa Barbara. I was surprised he became an orthodox rabbi. The lady with the guitar in the photo is also one of my juggling partners. Small town here!
From Yesterday:
AnonT Thank you for the kind words about the photo of us with the VAN GOGH self portrait. And thank you for the information about the Escher exhibit in Houston. My niece and a good friend have both moved to Austin. We hope to visit there. Perhaps we can make a loop and get to Houston, too! As a teen my mother took me to an Escher exhibit in DC. I was hooked for life. I think he died about when we went to that exhibit.
Hi Y'all! I filled 'er! Groan! Enuf said!
So much food discussed here doesn't come in my Stouffer Frozen Dinners.
I got a kick out of this puzzle. It was fun.
LW and I started our annual TurboTax filing today, and, as always, were pretty badly unprepared, in spite of our promises to ourselves that we will be ready next time. Unnecessary stress ensued.
Interesting reading from all of you.
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Jamey and CMoe (loved your alternate themers).
I found this CW to be a workout, but with P&P I finished and saw the theme.
Of course this Canadian needed a
Google check to get that President (and confirm his wife) when I had only the M . . . SON.
We have had KAHLO before here, but I was slow to remember her (and I pronounce it caul EE- FLOWER).
I noted BAM and BOOM (hand up for Mast at first).
Like Jayce, I am loading up Turbotax tonight. But I am not planning to do any more today. CRA doesn’t require mine until May2.
Wishing you all a great day.
Hi All!
Late to the party 'cuz we went to the MC Escher exhibit followed by dinner.
Thanks Jamey for the puzzle; cute theme.
Mighty-fine expo, thanks C. Moe.
HG - Thanks for the email from Jamey.
WOs: loll -> IDLE, LOL-> HEE
ESPs: ARNO, KAHLO,
Fav: EVIL TWIN [TMBG]
Half of mammal? Is that mammal a giraffe and we're measuring the size of meteors? :-)
{B+, A}
TTP - my standard starter, STAKE, let me get it 2 today.
unclefred - you said it! Palmento bugs are a nice way to say "nasty flying cockroaches the size of your pinky." And congrats on the quick solve. Took me ~1.5h.
Picard - I learned today that Escher died in '72. His works, like Relativity, that he's known for, didn't come 'till late in his life (1965ish). Early on (and before Fascism took over), the Dutchman was happy painting Italian scenics at his studio in Rome where he lived for ~13 years. If you get to Houston before September, I'll happily go to the exhibit (again) w/ you.
How was the food & family, IM. Sounds like it should have been fun!
Cheers, -T
I watched the AARP Awards for GRownups and was pleased that one of the only films I have seen, BELFAST, won the best picture award! It is definitely deserving. Another good one, but no award, is Death on the Nile, an Agatha Christie mystery.
I love movies and hope that more good ones come along. No horror, sci-fi or animation for me.
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