google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, March 3, 2022,Jeffrey Wechsler

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Mar 3, 2022

Thursday, March 3, 2022,Jeffrey Wechsler

  

Today Jeffrey Wechsler invites us to step back a bit and look at the starred themers from a distance.  Each is a common word or phrase that when prefixed by the reveal words (70A & 71A) "THE WHOLE", takes on a whole (or slightly) different meaning:

1A. *Common delivery: PACKAGE.  I use UPS for my package delivery. 
But if we're talking about the THE WHOLE PACKAGE, you can't have the GOOD, without some of the BAD ...

From the film Before Midnight

8A. *Bagel partner: SCHMEAR.  A schmear is a generous slathering of cream cheese on a bagel. The word itself has Yiddish origins, derived from the root for spread or smear.  But here we're talking about THE WHOLE SCHMEAR, when EVERYTHING is just NOT ENOUGH  ...
21A. *Rolled Mexican dish: ENCHILADA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  THE WHOLE ENCHILADA really is EVERYTHING.  Not all that different from 8A.
If this one makes you hungry, here's a recipe for "Creamy Key Lime Chicken Enchiladas".
 

Our own recipe uses shrimp, re-fried beans, creamed corn, sour cream, Mexican cheddar, and spicy homemade salsa verde.
 
44A. *Skeet, e.g.: SHOOTING MATCH.  Shooting at clay "pigeons"THE WHOLE SHOOTING MATCH is sadly a timely answer.  It implies risking everything for a venture that is bound to fail. The phrase is among many other 20th century neologisms that had their origins in The Great War, the "War to end all wars".

57A. *Object: THING.  It doesn't get any BIGGER than THE WHOLE THING.  Carl Sagan called it the Pale Blue Dot, ultimately encompassing the whole Universe.  Peter Gabriel celebrates THE WHOLE THING in his album Big Blue Ball (lyrics):

69A. *Opera, literally: WORKS.  The plural of Opus and today's Latin lesson. It is no exaggeration to say that OPERA  encompasses almost THE WHOLE of WORKS of  art (poetry, drama, orchestral music, vocal music, ballet, costumes, stage sets and stage craft).  Richard Wagner referred to his operas as "GesamtKunst" ("total art").   Had he had the technology available in the 20th century, he would have made his operas as movies.

Here's Jeff's reveal: 

70A With 71-Across and each answer to a starred clue, all of it: THE and 71A See 70-Across: WHOLE.

Here's the grid:


Now let's get on to the rest of  THE WHOLE PUZZLE:

Across:

15. Rank: ECHELON.  Here are the ranks of the British peerage.  The Earl of Grantham is so so.

16. West End attraction: THEATRE.  Today's British spelling lesson (Hi CanadianEh!)

17. Old racing vehicle: CHARIOT.  I was twelve in 1959, it was a snow day, and a buddy and I decided to walk 8 miles to the Hippodrome Theater in downtown Baltimore to see the film Ben-Hur.  Here's the CHARIOT race:


18. Tell a tale: NARRATE.   William Shakespeare, considered by many to be the greatest narrator of all time told this tale of ambition, the lust for power, and ruthlessness:

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury

Signifying nothing.
— Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17–28)

19. Sight from the Eiffel Tower: SEINE.

The Pont Rouelle is in the foreground

20. Like the Tin Man, after meeting Dorothy: OILED.  It felt so good!  Now, if he only had a heart.

27. Tuba's flared end: BELL.

30. Reduced, with "down": TONED.

31. To whom the rhinoceros was "prepoceros": NASHFrederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by The New York Times the country's best-known producer of humorous poetry.  Oh, and here's everything you want to know about that prepoceros rhinoceros.
 
Ogden Nash
35. Natural resource: ORE.

36. Made with skill: CRAFTED.

38. Gp. in a 1955 labor merger: CIO.  The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL–CIO) is the largest federation of unions in the United States. It is made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 12 million active and retired workers.
39. "Erin go __!": BRAGH.  Today's Irish lesson.  Erin go Bragh ERR-in gə BRAH), sometimes Erin go Braugh, is the anglicisation of an Irish language phrase, Éirinn go Brách, and is used to express allegiance to Ireland. It is most often translated as "Ireland Forever."

41. Grissom of NASA: GUSVirgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was a USAF pilot and a member of the Mercury Seven selected by NASA as Project Mercury astronauts to be the first Americans in outer space. He was a Project Gemini and an Apollo program astronaut. As a member of the NASA Astronaut Corps, Grissom was the second American to fly in space.  
Gus Grissom
Grissom once said this: "If we die, we want people to accept it. We're in a risky business, and we hope that if anything happens to us it will not delay the program. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life."

42. High landform: RIDGE.

47. Steinbeck's Tom Joad, e.g.: OKIETom Joad is the protagonist of the Steinbeck's novel The  Grapes of Wrath.  He is long gone, but Bruce Springsteen still remembers him.

48. Sturdy trees: OAKS.

49. Bring bad news to: SADDEN.

52. Jumps back, say: REACTS.

56. Pace: CLIP.  From The Free Dictionary:
61. Type of drive on the Enterprise: WARP.  Einstein tells us that this is impossible, but not all physicists are convinced.

62. Modify, as sails: RERIG.  A CSO to Jinx.

64. Singer DiFranco: ANIAngela Maria "Ani" DiFranco; (born September 23, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter.  She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk, funk, hip hop and jazz.  Here's Both Hands from Ani DiFranco,  her debut album (lyrics):


65. Hawaii's Pineapple Island: LANAIThe smallest inhabited island travelers may visit in Hawaii.  A CSO to MalMan - he and Valerie are visiting as I write this.  I hope he's taking lots of pictures.

66. Put up or straight up: ERECT.

67. Org. overseeing broadband: FCC.  The Federal Communications Commission.  The term BROADBAND refers to high-speed communications services, as opposed to POTS ("Plain Old Telephone Service").  From the user's perspective broadband communications connotes Internet accessIn 2003 security researcher Barrett Lyon started a project called  Opte to visualize just what the FCC is up against.  Do those images remind you of anything?

68. Moving: ASTIR.

Down:
1. Bench press targets: PECS.

2. Pine (for): ACHE.

3. Trendy cupful: CHAIMasala chai is a tea beverage made by boiling black tea in milk and water with a mixture of aromatic herbs and spices.  Originating in India, the beverage has gained worldwide popularity, becoming a feature in many coffee and tea houses.

4. Bit of succotash: KERNEL.  The corn bits anyway.

5. Not from around here: ALIEN.

6. Viscous stuff: GOO.

7. MD treating rhinitis: ENTEars Nose and Throat. Also a tree shepherd of Middle Earth.

8. RR stop: STN.

9. When doubled, a dance: CHA

10. King from whom Mary and Joseph fled: HEROD.  Not a good person.  In the aftermath of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus' flight into Egypt, the Gospels record that Herod ordered the slaughter of all male children in Bethlehem under the age of 2, as he saw the newborn child as a future rival for his throne.   This is contested by many Bible scholars, whereas other consider it quite plausible.

11. Contralto Anderson: MARIANMarian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993, aged 96) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throughout the United States and Europe between 1925 and 1965.  Here she sings "Sometimes I feel like a motherless child":


12. List abbr. used as a substitute: ET AL.

13. Prado contents: ARTE.  More Spanish.  The Prado is an ART museum in Madrid, Spain.

14. Clarinet, for one: REED.  Yes Virginia, there are other WIND instruments.

22. WNBA position: CTR.  As Women's National Basketball Association is abbreviated, so is the position of Center.

23. Philly's signature sandwich: HOAGIE.  Mark your calendars for May 5th, National Hoagie Day.  For those of you who need a refresher on deli sandwiches, feast your eyes on these.

24. Not at all serious: IN FUN.

25. "Don't dawdle, people!": LETS GO
26. Drink ending: ADE.

27. Short cut: BOB.  As in a DO.

28. Isn't right: ERRS

29. Jacob's first wife: LEAHLeah was the daughter of Laban and sister of Rachel.   Many of the stories about the sisters center around their turbulent relationship, as they were both wives of Jacob.

32. Band with an electrical symbol in their logo: AC DC.  The Muppets are back with AC DC's Back in Black!

33. [How unfortunate]: SIGH.

34. Long-handled tool: HOE

36. Lose with a triple bogey, maybe: CHOKE.  Here are some of the worst golf CHOKES of all time (some schadenfreude to cheer up you duffers).

37. Critter on a Ring Dings box: DRAKEDefinitely got this one with perps.

40. "You chose wisely": GOOD PICK.  As my old buddy Jerry used to say about me, "Even a blind pig finds an acorn now and then".

43. "No winners, no losers": ITS A WASH.
45. Bit of color: TINT.

46. Helgenberger of "CSI": MARGMary Margaret Helgenberger (born November 16, 1958) is an American actress best known for her role as Catherine Willows in the CBS police procedural drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000–13).
Marg Helgenberger

49. Phillips __: SCREW.  As opposed to slotted screws.  When Teri proofs this, she's going to remind me that I need to buy some Phillips head screws for the door to the sun room.
Phillips Head Screws
50. Old Olds: ALERO.  I commuted to Bloomington, Illinois for a year and half and the rental place always stuck me with the last car on the lot, a PURPLE ALERO that I took to calling BARNEY.

51. More grim: DIRER.

53. "The Divine Comedy" division: CANTO.   The Divine Comedy was written by Dante Alighieri (c. 1265 – 14 September 1321), an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. Its three books: The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso, are each divided into 33 verse CANTOS.  There is a also a prologue, making a total of 100 CANTOS, for a total of over 14,000 lines.  Dante wrote the work during his exile from his native Florence.  He was never able to return there and died in Ravenna, Italy.
 
Dante Alighieri
54. Follow: TRAIL

55. Cross site, often: SPIRE.  The part of a church roof that rises above a city skyline or a village's rolling hills, pointing sharply up toward the sky, is its spire. Many church spires have a cross at the very top. Other buildings — religious or secular — can also have spires, though it's most common to see one on a Christian church.
Spire with Cross

58. Axe part: HAFT.  The handle.  My oldest grandson is adept at throwing axes and embedding them in a massive slab of oak mounted on a tripod 50 paces away.
 

59. Foot part: INCH.

60. "Well done!": NICE.

63. Classic muscle cars: GTS.  The term "muscle car" is defined by Merriam-Webster as
The term GT is a little murkier and appears to have originated with the 1930 Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 Gran Turismo and stands for Grand Touring car.   According to this British site, the best place to buy muscle cars is in America.  A CSO to Jeffrey or Dash T to stop by and straighten this mess out.

65. "The __ allows it, and the court awards it": "The Merchant of Venice": LAWAnd it is by the LAW that Portia turneth the tables on Shylock and saveth Antonio.  And thus Jeffrey hath his Shakespeare!

As always, special thanks to Teri for proof-reading and constructive criticism.

waseeley

Cheers,
Bill

 

Notes from C.C.:

1) Thanks again for filling in yesterday, Lemonade!

2) Amazing puzzle and writeup, Jeffrey and Bill! 

3) I'm excited to share with you this "Golden Girls" puzzle I made for the Washington Post. It's edited by Patti Varol, who generously helped me with the theme set. Let me know how your solving goes. Make sure you check the link every Wednesday. Next week's puzzle is co-constructed by someone you all know and talk about on our blog from time to time.

55 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIRight. It's Thursday?
The theme was good. Such a variety of themers. As is usual with this type of gimmick, I didn't get it until the reveal.

That day the CHARIOT, low did swing.
It came to Earth as on angel wings!
An ALIEN stepped out.
The army tried to rout.
They sent a tank as warning, and it ate THE WHOLE THING!

The ALIEN said he came in peace,
It didn't want fear to increase.
It just wanted some ORE,
Then we'd see it no more.
Its WARP drive was dry, would we refuel it? Please?

It could CRAFT its own crystal
With just a SCHMEAR of raw mineral.
Just a spoonful or two
Of dilithium would do.
From the PACKAGE of rocks his fuel he'd distill!

{B+.}

waseeley said...

Word of the Day immolate

Pronunciation: im-ê-layt

Part of Speech: Verb

Meaning: 1. To kill as a sacrifice, especially by fire. 2. To sacrifice something of high value.

Notes: This word brings to my mind a photograph of a Buddhist monk immolating himself by fire in protest over the Vietnam war. But this word is more closely related to sacrificial fire than protest. Someone who immolates is an immolator who commits immolation. The adjective is immolative.

In Play: This is no word to play with: "The British in India tried to end the practice of suttee, whereby the wife was immolated on the funeral pyre of her husband." However, fire does not have to be involved: "Weiner immolated his political career with not just one, but two sexting scandals—the second as he ran for mayor of New York."

Word History: English created today's Good Word from Latin immolatus, the past participle of immolare "to sacrifice" originally "to sprinkle with sacrificial meal", as Romans did before immolating sacrificial animals.

For more info see Word of the Day

Bill's comment: Dr. Goodword's timing today is uncanny ...

Here is Brunhilda's Immolation Scene, the incredible conclusion of Richard Wagner's mammoth 4 opera saga Der Ring des Nibelungen.

waseeley said...

OwenKL @3:56 AM Nonsense. {A++}!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This one went faster than yesterday. Wite-Out got a rest. I thought ALERO had been relegated to the dustbin of crosswordom. CIO always reminds me to Garrison Keillor's schtick about organizations on Prairie Home Companion. Enjoyed the challenge, Jeffrey, and the expo, Waseeley.

unclefred said...

Very nice CW, JW, thanx for the entertainment. I like that the reveal was the very last thing, and I didn’t get it until then. W/Os AÇAÍ:CHAI, RESET:RERIG. Although modifying sails is to RESET. RERIG is to change sails. DRAKE was all perps since I don’t know what Ring Dings are. Very entertaining write-up, Bill, thanx for all the effort u so obviously put into it. Owen, an A+ on your efforts today. I finally got the isoboard delivered yesterday and hope the start on the roof today or tomorrow.

Subgenius said...

When I got to "enchilada" I sussed out the theme. I didn't know "opera" meant "works." And at first I thought "isn't right" was "ain't" (as it often is) but I soon changed it. FIR, so I'm happy

Anonymous said...

Took 9:05 today to get the whole magillah.

Like my dear Uncle Fred, I didn't know what Ring Dings were, but eventually I remembered that a drake is a duck, and thus a "critter."

Also, I cringed at the clue (or any clue) that began "Contralto...." If I'm being honest, I took a few moments trying to figure out how I cram "cheese steak" into a space made for "hoagie."

KS said...

What a workout, but FIR.

inanehiker said...

Nice theme and layout - as expected for a JWex puzzle. Lots of options for him to choose from for the theme answers -it made me realize how much we like to use THE WHOLE at the front of phrases: nine yards, shabang.

I definitely filled DRAKE by perps - with the D to start I thought the animal might be a Dingo for the tie-in with Ring Dings but didn't know if that might be too much of an overlap with the clue and answer, so I held off on fill for the perps.

My husband is actually reading "The Divine Comedy" with an online reading group - 100 days of Dante - it started in the fall and ends at Easter - they have readings about 3 times a week and then a professor from a handful of colleges rotate giving a <10 minute talk about the CANTOs that are being focused on.
https://100daysofdante.com/

Thanks Bill and Jeff

ATLGranny said...

What a NICE puzzle today! Thanks, Jeffrey. I managed to FIR, and saw the way the theme worked only after the reveal. My most WOs were in the SE, but Jeffrey's misdirections caused a sprinkling of them everywhere: SCHMalz/SCHMEAR, pareE/SEINE, altar/SPIRE, for example.

Thanks waseeley (and Teri) for your excellent review. As always, you cleared up any remaining questions I had about the fill as well as offering much more.

Good job today with your long poem today, OwenKL!

FLN I too enjoyed your goat videos, Picard, especially since I recently saw pygmy goats cavorting next door while hired to eat unwanted greenery.

Time to get ASTIR. Hope you all have a NICE day!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This was a departure from JW’s usual word play wizardry but just as enjoyable nonetheless. I’m a big fan of hidden themes and especially those that save the reveal until the very last entries. My only w/o was Ledge/Ridge which was kind of a silly entry but I had the _ _ dge and Ledge just popped into my mind. Some nice pairings include: Bell/Spire, Okie/Oaks, Pecs/Oiled/Toned, Sadden/Ache, Chai/Cha, and Good/Nice. CSOs to Lemony (Ade), Hahtoolah and Lemony (Law) and Keith and CanadianEh (Theatre).

Thanks, Jeffrey W, for a fun solve and thanks, Bill, for your mini Master Class! Those subs, etc., looked scrumptious, BTW. Thanks to Teri, as well.

I get my second iron infusion at 11:00 am today and I’m hoping I won’t have the reaction that I had last week.

Looking forward to solving CC’s puzzle later.

Have a great day.

BobB said...

I most remember Helgenberger as K C Kloski on China Beach. Never watched much CSI.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Easier than usual Thor's day challenge
Inkovers: ITSAdraw/WASH, SCHMEar/E, KERNaL/E. Last to go were WARP and WASH. Didn't figure out the fun theme till I finally got THE WHOLE (in my head filled in).🙄

1A. "Common delivery" got me thinking of obstetrical sonograms..I almost wrote in vaginal 🤰 but perpchecked. So today it's STN , not STA. Opera is WORK, singular (opere WORKS, plural...OH'-peh-reh). Opera Lirica. Lyric Opera. CHA, "when doubled a dance", tripled when done.

The most renowned Drake

"cross site" Lenten thoughts but Golgotha and Calvary wouldn't fit. Kelly Bundy: "Church? you mean the building with the t on top?"

Does one put relish on a "Helgenberger"? 🍔THÉÂTRE for Canada Eh (the othre spelling.)

Toss your bustier Erin, go _____ less!, !.. BRAGH
The guy who climbed the Eiffel Tower was in____ ...SEINE
Playground retort....CANTO
After the fire what the computer expert encountered....ITSAWASH

Waz, remind me to stay out of the way of your grandson. 🪓 😲😃

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, confidently filling mauai. UNTIE! I knew MAW was a word, and CAuTO seemed as good as any. My natural resource was oil before ORE, and had ITS A DRAW before I WASHed that answer.

Fred, I had to think about RERIG too. But I can hear myself telling the crew "lets RERIG - Put up the reacher and drop the chute". If we're talking about modifying a particular sail, it would be REcut, not RERIGged.

I have never heard of a sailor call "cotter rings" by their name. They are always called "ring dings".

I have a friend who calls one type of screw "plus" and the other type "minus". I like it, and have started using it too.

Thanks to JefWech for the head-scratcher. And to Bill for the interesting review. I really went down the rabbit hole on the golf CHOKEs.

Anonymous said...

I found the puzzle a bit boring today and the solve unrewarding for me. Nice write-up however.

desper-otto said...

Maybe CHA could be clued as "Ching preceder."

Big Easy said...

A Wechsler and Sessa puzzle in the same week. Love it. I FIR but never noticed THE WHOLE. The "whole SCHMEAR" is something I've never heard. The whole WORKS makes sense but I never knew where the word Opera originated or meant.

unclefred-RERIG- I wanted to 'trim the sails' but was one letter short. You wanted RESET.
DRAKE and Ring Dings were both unknowns. Never heard of either but after looking a the photo they certainly look like Hostess DING DONGS.
MARG was also an unknown filled by perps.
CANTO was filled by perps; I wouldn't have known it. Thank you perps.

Well that THE WHOLE SHABANG for my comments.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Inane @ 7:52

Wish I'd known about the Dante reading group back in September. I checked out the site. Doesn't look like I can go back to the beginning and catch up though 😒

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Jeff and waseeley.
Technically a FIW today - I WAGged MARk incorrectly which gave me THINk for “object”, which had me scratching my head.
But I did get the theme with the reveal. NICE! (Although I am not familiar with THE WHOLE SCHMEAR)

I saw a plethora of CHs and CKs in the top section, and wondered at first about an ACHE ACK theme.
(PACKAGE, SCHMEAR, ECHELON, CHARIOT, CHAI, CHA, ENCHILADA, MATCH, GOOD PICKS, INCH, CHOKE, ACHE.)

You know that this Canadian smiled broadly at THEATRE! But I needed perps for FCC.
What is our Canadian musician, DRAKE, doing on Ring Dings (what are they?)? Oh, thanks for the photo waseeley.

Another SCREW and driver option is the Canadian inverted Robertson. Square indent instead of Cross (SPIRE?!).

FLN- good to hear from you AnonT.
Wishing you all a great day.

CrossEyedDave said...

Dang it all Big Easy!

I was hungry at "enchilada,"
but now you've really done it...

(Hmm, I wonder if I crumbled those chips on top of an enchilada...)

Double Dang it all!
This video made me realize that stymy is a five letter word!

P.S.
I google searched "the whole dang thing...

billocohoes said...

So National HOAGIE Day is on Cinco de Mayo?

YooperPhil said...

E. Sessa and J. Wechsler back to back for a midweek treat by two of the best! Yesterday’s theme went right over my head but today’s was easier to suss, although I didn’t need the theme to FIR in 18 minutes, had one correction as I didn’t see the plural for muscle car and had GTO, which made WORKO wrong.

Bill ~~ as always, an excellent informative write-up, which I always spend wayyy more time on than actually doing the puzzle. I remember when Gus Grissom and 2 other astronauts died in a fire while training for an Apollo mission, a sad day in NASA history. Saw Ben Hur when I was six, but that chariot race has stuck in my head ever since. As to RERIG, in the construction industry if you are lifting heavy items with a crane and said items have to be in a certain position, it may take several tries to balance a load, pick it up a little, if not correct, set it back down and RERIG till you get it right. Enjoyed reading the ten biggest chokes in golf, reminded me of my major choke on the golf team in high school, usually shot in high 70’s low 80’s, till the year end regionals where I blistered the course in 102 😂🤦🏻‍♂️

waseeley — I think a more apt screen name for you on here would be TheProfessor.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A Jeff Wechsler six-themer delight!
-THE WHOLE PACKAGE in MLB – Throw, catch, run, hit for power, hit for average.
-Don’t we wish pols would TONE DOWN the rhetoric and work for the common good
-Yes, YP, Gus and two others died on the launch pad during a test in the horrible Apollo 1 fire in 1967
-Marian Anderson had a wonderful relationship with America’s best first lady
-I watched Dustin Johnson CHOKE to lose the 2015 U.S. Open from my hospital bed
-The Titanic had three enormous propellors. I’m sure Spitz would have said it was a “triple SCREW”
-Nice job, Bill.
-C.C.’s Golden Girls fun puzzle took me a while because I did it on my iPhone. To quote Poe, “Nevermore”

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Whoa...Was about to head to WORDLE and a male ROBIN has just landed on our deck. There's at least a foot of accumulated snow. Bright red breast against white snow, striking

He'll need a shovel and ice pick to dig for worms.

Anonymous said...

I had a hard time getting started on this puzzle, but after finally getting a couple downs in the NE, it started to fall. For a Thursday Jeff W., this wasn't too hard. Thank you, sir, for the exercise. Thank you, Bill, for the great expo! I needed you to point out the theme.

W/O's: STa/STN, gaIt/CLIP. Not bad for an end of the week puzzle.

Never heard of The Whole SCHMEAR, and rarely of The Whole PACKAGE. I am familiar with the other sayings.

I chuckled at ENCHILADA! That's what I made for dinner last night. We'll have the left-overs tomorrow night.

I'm off in a couple of hours to get my teeth cleaned. I don't expect anything unusual.

Have a great day!

Misty said...

Neat Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Jeffrey. And always enjoy your commentary, Waseeley, thanks for that too.

Got started with NARRATE, to tell a tale. Nice start.

All my time on Irish literature got me "Erin go BRAGH".

I loved seeing OKIE and OAKS next to each other.

I put ARCH for that foot part and was puzzled that it didn't work. Oh, not that kind of foot, but the one that has an INCH.

Owen, I too think your verse today deserves an A+.

Irish Miss, hope you'll feel okay after your procedure today.

Have a great day, everybody.


waseeley said...

CrossEyedDave @10:10 AM You are wicked Dave. I don't touch the stuff, but Teri will love it.

Phil @10:13 AM Never thought about what would be involved in RIGGING a load - very interesting. BTW my Dad was in construction. He was a foreman for the VA Hospital in downtown Baltimore.

Re my handle. I originally started logging into the Corner just to check my answers and I just wanted a user-id that was unique (when I was in IT I had dozens of them). By the time C.C. collared me it was too late. If I had my druthers it would be my hero JOEKNECHT, but it was already taken on Blogger. It passes on Amazon though - they're not as high class as this Crowd. 🙄

Husker @10:26 AM I'm with you on America's Best First Lady.

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR with zero ERRS or write-overs

First thing that caught my eye was the grid pattern - left/right symmetry rather than a full pinwheel

Wechsler always entertains but this almost felt Monday-like in difficulty. I wonder if the editors slotted this on a Thursday just because it’s Jeffrey Wechsler

Bill W —> thanks for the fun explanation of the puzzle; we have a few similar comments (my recap’s tomorrow) but I won’t edit them

CED - LOL @ the Wordle video

RAY - O: I has a haiku/Moe-ku all set for the Erin go … but you beat me to it! No worries, I have a few in tomorrow’s recap

I wonder if JW had SHABANG as a possible entry for 8-across, but it got edited out? The letters fit …

See you bright and early on Friday … I might sleep in if y’all don’t mind … have fun solving … it’s a …

Irish Miss said...

Misty @ 11:57 ~ Thanks for your best wishes. I didn’t have any adverse reactions to the infusion because they adjusted the flow speed by half. However, it took 5 attempts to find a viable vein, the last one being in the back of my hand. I may change my handle from Irish Miss to Pincushion Miss, or Bruise Miss, or Band-Aid/Gauze Miss! Not a pleasant experience, to say the least.

desper-otto said...

I've never in my whole life as a person seen "shabang" -- it's always "the whole shebang."

Wilbur Charles said...

IM, you forgot the CSO to (Cap'n) Picard on WARP

I had a major CHOKE in a Senior year bball game. Blew two potential tieing scores. Relegated to mopup the rest if the year. Should have just quit.

The D Johnson ('15)CHOKE wasn't one of the top 15?

Inking alas/SIGH and ensue/TRAIL messed up the East after a fast start
.
I agree on As for Owen's 3-parter

WC

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Moe @ 1:03

There's also... ball of wax....nine yards

I've seen shabang and shebang, (maybe one is the British/Canadian spelling 😃)

Don't let anything impede Moeku

EXPRESS YOURSELF

Sandyanon said...

To Desper Otto and all,
I have also only seen shebang, so I googled both and was informed that both are used and acceptable, but that shebang is by far the most common and is the spelling cited by major dictionaries.
So I guess that shebang wins - not that it's a contest!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Today's PZL from Mr. Wechsler brings us a most unusual Diagonal Report.*
Otherwise, it was fairly easy for a Thursday, but it had the one tricky fill at the nexus of 46D with 57A to give me pause. MARG (instead of MARGE) and the colloquial THANG (not THING) required commitment and confidence before I could claim victory.

All I recall from the one time I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower was the Trocadero--and of course Paris itself.
I don't even remember the SEINE, but obviously it must have been there!
~ OMK
____________
* DR:
. Yes indeed, a most unusual find today--four diagonals, consisting of only TWO per side!
Usually when we have four diags, it means one side has a 3-way, and the other only one.
I cannot remember a time when there were two diagonals on a side. I have grown so accustomed to seeing either one or three that I thought it a mathematical requirement of a 15x15 grid's symmetry.
Obviously, it is not, but today's pattern is extremely rare. Leave it to a master like Jerry Wechsler to show us how to break the rule.

The 15-letter diag on the near side gives us today's anagram (13 of 15 letters).
Can you remember how much patience was required to persuade a young reader not to pronounce the first letter "when we...

"ENUNCIATE 'GNAW'"?!

waseeley said...

C.C. @03:30 AMish. I got a horseshoe on your puzzle. Didn't know ANY of the "Golden Girls" but perped all but DANA VOLLMER. I would have gotten her had I not misread 37D as a request for a brand name rather than simply a description of the drug's action. Fun puzzle with Thursdayish cluing.

Wilbur Charles said...

Waseeley, you got "Bageled", eh?

Irish Miss said...

Wilbur @ 1:57 ~ Apologies to Picard but I know little to nothing about Star Wars and Star Trek so that C/A went right over my head.

Jayce said...

Nifty puzzle. I really liked it. Also liked your writeup, waseeley, and spent a lot of time reading the articles you linked.

I hate that Marian Anderson is always labelled as a contralto. I've heard her sing, and her voice is definitely soprano. But she can sing in the lower registers also, her range is so broad. The reason the opera impresarios didn't want to call her a soprano is because the sopranos almost always are in leading roles and they didn't want Ms. Anderson to have any of those roles. So they arbitrarily declared her voice to be contralto, thus relegating her to roles such as prostitutes and other "low class" characters.

I enjoyed the Golden Girls puzzle, too.

Good wishes to you all.

waseeley said...

Wilbur Charles @1:57 PM Actually it was I who missed the CSO to Picard on WARP.

waseeley said...

Wilbur Charles @3:04 PM. Bageled? Break it to me gently.

Jayce said...

Nifty puzzle. I really liked it. Also liked your writeup, waseeley, and spent a lot of time reading the articles you linked.

I hate that Marian Anderson is always labelled as a contralto. I've heard her sing, and her voice is definitely soprano. But she can sing in the lower registers also, her range is so broad. The reason the opera impresarios didn't want to call her a soprano is because the sopranos almost always are in leading roles and they didn't want Ms. Anderson to have any of those roles. So they arbitrarily declared her voice to be contralto, thus relegating her to roles such as pr0st!tutes and other "low class" characters.

I enjoyed the Golden Girls puzzle, too.

Good wishes to you all.

Jayce said...

Yep, it was that word that did it. Sheesh.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Very late to today's party. I am presently getting settled from the last trip while simultaneously getting ready for the next one. Seeing to things at home and at work and visiting with children and grandchildren is taking up almost all of my time. Still, there must be time to do the puzzle. Thanks for the great Thursday write-up, Bill.

Chairman Moe said...

Ray-O:

Rallying cry for
Liberated Irish Miss:
Erin go Bragh-less

Sorry Agnes!! 🙄🤭🤐

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

wow..IM...I had no idea...😲

Wilbur Charles said...

Waseeley, in baseball parlance a bagel is a shutout or.. Go for a Bagel: When a batter goes hitless at the plate.

WC

Lemonade714 said...

The real WHOLE SHABANG STORY . CMoe...

Lemonade714 said...

I am surprised that there has been no comment on the tragedy of Gus Grissom and his crew dying on the launch pad during a practice because NASA had no escape hatch available from the inside.

He would have walked on the moon first

Anonymous said...

Who is Jerry ?

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

JW on a Thursday might as well be anyone else's Friday. I struggled to get over the finish line. Theme helped fill out the center; SW was last to fill.

Thank you Waseeley for the might-fine expo. I enjoyed the Opte video.

WOs: HaROD, BaLL->BELL | Aint->ARnt->ERRS
ESPs: MARIAN, MARG, ARTE, DRAKE, ANI, LANAI
Fav: WARP drive.

{A+}
Cute DR, OMK. BTW, you may want to RE-check your 59d... It arn't ARCH 'tis THING.

Lem - YooperPhil mentioned Gus' fiery death. A grey-beard I knew at JSC had a large photo of the Gemini crew (including GUS) w/ signed "thank yous" to him. Grey-beard also golfed with Buzz!

IM - Ouch! 5 tries to hit a vein?!? After 2, I'd have said "go get someone else."
//I was not a great phlebotomist [Army Reserves] and would ask for help on older-folks (I was 20 then, so anyone over 60... :-))
Also, please, for the love of all that is pure, do not mixup Star Wars|Trek. One is fantasy [wars] and the other SciFi.

Ray-O: LOL 'T on top.' After pre-K/K Montessori, we sent the girls to a Methodist School for a couple of grades before we moved:
How was school today?
Eldest: "Fun. We made glitter ts in religion class."

Enjoyed reading THE WHOLE lot of yous today.

Cheers, -T

unclefred said...

The mention of Gus Grissom reminded I was touring Cape Kennedy Space Center with a friend the day of that horrible fire in the capsule, when Gus and two other astronauts lost their lives. In the middle of our tour, it was announced that the Space Center was closing, and we weren’t told why, just unceremoniously escorted off the Space Center. It was only watching the news on TV later that we learned of the fire in the capsule.

Anonymous T said...

D'Oh! I just finished C.C.'s WaPost pzl. One bad square at 24d xing 36a. Otherwise, a very fun grid, C.C.. Thanks. -T

LEO III said...

I came close yesterday with a Dr. Ed puzzle, but today I actually got my first FIR for a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle. It took me all day (I was on the road today --- first haircut since October --- MANY cancellations between then and now, and I looked like a shaggy dog). I also had a few other stops to make.

Thanks, Jeffrey and Bill and Teri!

Luckily, I’ve never heard of Ring Dings. They look like something that I would thoroughly enjoy, but that I shouldn’t eat. I shan’t be looking for them in the grocery store.

HOAGIE --- I’ll stick with a Philly CHEESESTEAK, thank you very much!

And I’ll ALWAYS eat THE WHOLE ENCHILADA, but it MUST have meat inside it. I don’t do plain cheese enchiladas, which apparently means I am not a real enchilada connoisseur.

Lemon, there were a couple of mentions about the Apollo tragedy.

Anonymous T said...

LEOIII:

I promised DW I'd get a haircut b/f she returns from NOLA [some international studies conf. - she scoped the hotel pre-C19].
I too am a mop-top'r, I am.
//my trainer says don't 'cuz I look 'swave' :-)

Re: Ring Dings... I wish I could remember the comedian who introduced me to the knock-off(?) Hostess' Ding Dongs. His was a throw-away line (and I thought then he was IN FUN poking) but Ring Ding stuck w/ me.

No cheese? At the neighborhood Cantina I'll get a cheese ENCHILADA w/ verde SAUCE [verde sauce was not included in Tuesday's(?) pzl!] and another w/ shredded chicken and/or beef. I'd like tres, thank you :-).

How's everything at HOU airport museum? Still busy?

Cheers, -T

Ol' Man Keith said...

Anon T ~
Thank you! I hadn't realized until reading your post that I incorrectly subbed ARCH for INCH.
All these hours, I have been thinking the theme included "THE WHOLE THANG"!

(Hmm. Actually, I sorta preferred it that way...)
~ OMK