Puzzling thoughts:
Hi folks! C-Moe here, back after a short hiatus due to a run of Jeffrey Wechsler Friday crossword puzzles - which our elucidative blogger Lemonade714 so cleverly recapped. But my vacay is over; and it's back to my usual schtick as I amuse and educate those readers who come here wanting to learn more about today's puzzle.
Bruce Haight - who's no stranger to cruciverbalists - has teamed up with Blaire Bas - once again - to provide us with some Monday merriment. Oh wait? Did someone forget to tell Bruce and Blaire that this is Friday, and the puzzle "kneeded" to be more difficult?? Just kidding, of course, but overall I was "knot" very challenged by either the fill or the clues. But that didn't mean it wasn't enjoyable; it most certainly was!
First off, how many of you recall that Bruce - and his stepdaughter Blaire - debuted as a duo here back on August 5, 2020?? They gave us a "WELL-ROUNDED" quartet of celebrities (LUCILLE BALL, MINNIE PEARL, KEITH MOON, and ALICE MARBLE) that day. As you might also recall, Blaire is Bruce's 22 year old stepdaughter who was sheltering in place and doing online classes at UCSB ("Go Gauchos!") during the early days of the pandemic. She was an all A's student at last report; perhaps she has graduated, and maybe did so "___ cum Laude". Hope that Bruce and Blaire will stop by today and add their comments
The entries:
18-across. More desirable entanglement?: BETTER KNOT. As is the case with all of today's entries, the common thread is the addition of a "silent k" to a word beginning with the letter "N" ... and producing a punny result
23-across. Political upheaval around the castle?: KNIGHT SHIFT. I am guessing this also has something to do with (32-down. Activity with castles: CHESS), as the KNIGHT stands right next to the CASTLE (aka, ROOK)
39-across. Need something warm and fuzzy?: HAVE A KNIT TO PICK. No nits to pick with this puzzle, Bruce and Blaire
52-across. Something small, sad, and a-pealing?: LITTLE KNELL.
61-across. Understood the routine?: KNEW NORMAL.
So if I had to be a betting man, I'd say that Rich wanted to get Bruce and Blaire's collaboration in before he retired as LA Times editor, and that's why this ended up on a Friday. Glad that he did.
Or maybe is it because the letter "k" indicates that something is Kosher, and since today is the beginning of Passover, maybe the extra "K" means that this puzzle is no longer treif??**
Let's explore the rest ...
Across:
1. Autumn bloomers: MUMS. Bloomers as in flowers, not pants
5. Toy similar to a Transformer: GOBOT. My son played with these back in the 1980's
10. Lift for a run: T-BAR. CHAIR wouldn't fit
14. Too many to name, for short: ET AL.
15. Rage: WRATH. I had a HS classmate named Lee Rath. He was always calm and peaceful
16. Westchester college: IONA. Westchester County (New Rochelle, NY) school of higher learning: IONA College. A private Catholic college founded in 1940. Their teams' nickname are the Gaels
17. Con: RUSE. ANTI also fits
20. Last name in diets: CRAIG. As in Jenny CRAIG. When her advice on dieting no longer was successful she started a classified advertising website (CRAIGslist) ... although that last "fact" might be a RUSE
22. Like some ice cream holders: CONOID. A word with which I was not familiar, but it makes perfect sense
26. Club __: MED. Founded in Paris in 1950 as "Club Méditerranée SA", Club MED specializes in "all-inclusive" vacations. Since 2013, Club MED has been owned by the Chinese conglomerate Fosun Group
29. Ireland coat-of-arms image: HARP.
30. "The Raven" woman: LENORE.
32. Sleep on it: COT, while you are doing this: (31-down. Afternoon refresher: NAP.)
35. Ruhr refusals: NEINS. The "Ruhr" is an industrial region in Germany. We often see the city named "ESSEN" used with a "Ruhr" clue
38. French menu preposition: AVEC. Frawnch word meaning "with"
43. When many plan to take off: Abbr.: ETDS. I'm not a big fan of using a plural for abbreviations; except when the puzzle is one that I am submitting!!
44. Lewis with 12 Emmys: SHARI. She was a ventriloquist who hosted a kid's TV show back in the early days of television. Learning moment for sure about the 12 Emmys. I didn't even know that the Emmys were around back then
45. Very foreign gp.?: ETS. Another abbr pl
46. 1862 battle site: SHILOH. The Battle of SHILOH was one of the earlier "major" battles of the Civil War (or The War Between the States, depending on your preference)
49. Advance: LEND. MOVE also fit
51. ID theft target: SSN.
60. Cookie with stripes: SAMOA. Girl Scout cookie
65. Aquatic diver: LOON. CSO to Boomer and CC - the Minnesota state bird
66. "Primal Fear" actor: GERE. Richard GERE
67. Worked around home?: UMPED. I liked this clue. Umpire's "work" around "home plate"
68. Dried-up: ARID.
69. Superior: BOSS.
70. Some old rulers: TSARS.
71. Tourney advantages: BYES.
Down:
1. Pfizer rival: MERCK. Drug manufacturer - MERCK SHARP and DOHME
2. Option for one who's lost: U-TURN. Could be when the driver of the car says: (58-across. "Got me!": NO IDEA.
3. Kenyan native: MASAI. All perps. The MASAI are a nomadic people of East Africa
4. Seasonal transport: SLEIGH. Santa drives one, so I've heard
5. Hudson Riv. crossing: GWB. Short for: "George Washington Bridge" which connects Fort Lee, NJ with NYC (Manhattan)
6. You can dig it: ORE. A little tune for your enjoyment ... "Grazin' in the Grass is a gas, can you dig it"
7. Cookie quantity: BATCH. If one BATCH of Girl Scouts Cookies = one BOX, then their bakery produces about 200 million BATCHes each year, approx
8. 10th-century emperor: OTTO I. This might be referred to as "forced fill", as the name OTTO I is not on the tip of many tongues in everyday conversation. But without accepting it, this puzzle could've had a major roadblock
9. Patriots' org.: THE NFL. Is either Bruce, Blaire, or Rich a New England Patriots fan? Not MY favorite team! I root for the OTHER NFL TEAM with 6 Super Bowl victories
10. __ bar: TIKI. We encountered one of these recently when Margaret and I went to Turf Paradise Race Track in Phoenix; they had a TIKI bar located near the rail
11. Type of film in which seven actors have played the lead: BOND MOVIE. Off the top of my head: Connery, Moore, Lazenby, Craig, Brosnan, Niven, and Dalton. Can anyone guess in which order they fell?
12. Tijuana time span: ANO. Doce meses, and a CSO to Lucinda
13. Double-crosser: RAT.
19. __ learning: ROTE. Any football fans recognize this former SMU and NYG player??
21. The Gold Coast, now: GHANA. This Gold Coast; not THIS Gold Coast
24. It's quite a slog: TREK. A CSO to our own Picard; this board's biggest TREKkie
25. Short rides: SPINS. Does anyone say "let's take a SPIN" these days?
27. Standing: ERECT. Adjective form; a verb form clue might read: "Construct"
28. Flattens: DECKS. And no one ever said, "FLATTEN the halls with boughs of holly ..."
33. Court recitations: OATHS. "Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?" "I do"
34. Banquet offerings: T.V. DINNERS. Excellent clue, although I don't think that Banquet can call them "T.V. DINNERS! Back when I was a kid, I might have had one of these for supper, but back then they were produced by Swanson ... remember??
36. Medical research org.: NIH. National Institutes of Health. From their website: "The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is made up of 27 different components called Institutes and Centers. Each has its own specific research agenda, often focusing on particular diseases or body systems. Find contact information for each Institute and Center at https://www.nih.gov/institutes-nih/nih-institute-center-contact-information"
37. Stable area: STALL. Most Friday clues have multiple words that can fit into the grid; likewise, most Friday words have multiple clues that can describe them. This week, for example, I decided not to STALL, and finished working on my blog with days to spare
40. Night sch. subject: ESL.
41. Nursery sight: TREE. See my comments for 37-across ... BABY fits, too, doesn't it??
42. Pen output: OINKS. How interesting that a pig pen produces an "OINK" whilst a Bic pen produces "INK"
47. Ken who directed many "This Is Us" episodes: OLIN. This has become Margaret and my favorite weekly "soap". Brilliant writing and acting; amazing use of flashback and future scenes while staying in the moment. If you've not followed this show, I highly recommend it. This is the last season but it can be found streaming on Hulu I think
48. Holed up: HID OUT. As opposed to "holed out" (a golf term), where the answer might've been "TAPS IN"
50. Forensic facility: DNA LAB. Sure, why not?!
53. Agreement list: TERMS. The TERMS of my Agreement with C.C. were that I would faithfully blog every other Friday puzzle, and accept no compensation! And I asked, "Where do I sign?"
54. Southeastern city on its own bay: TAMPA. CSO to Wilbur Charles and tinbeni; two of our Cornerites who reside within the greater TAMPA BAY area. Am I missing anyone else?
55. Georgia campus: EMORY. CSO to my son-in-law who is their percussion instructor
56. Sarge's superior: LOOIE. According to dictionary dot com: "What is meaning of looie?
a lieutenant of the armed forces. ˈlu i / PHONETIC RESPELLING. 🎓 College Level. noun Slang. a lieutenant of the armed forces
57. Secures, as a contract: LANDS. When a clothing supplier loses a contract with a certain retailer, would they call that a LANDS' End??
59. Is behind, maybe: OWES. Moe OWES only on a vehicle he purchased a couple years ago. All other bills are paid off monthly
61. Org. seen in some 11-Downs: KGB. "No politics" rule here at the Corner is preventing me from saying a lot about this erstwhile Soviet Union spy organization ...
62. Modern prefix: NEO.
63. Atmo- kin: AER.
64. Gp. based in SLC, Utah: LDS. Also known as the Mormon Church, founded by Joseph Smith in 1830. The Corner also asks us not to discuss religion here ... but since this is the last clue and I've offered no Moe-kus (until now) ...
The NYFD
Formed a faith-based church that's called:
The Ladder Day Saints
Here's the grid:
What are your thoughts?? BTW, the IRS has given taxpayers until Monday the 18 April to file their taxes. It used to be the 15 April. Did I miss something??
**(A last minute addition to my blog) So, on second thought, perhaps because April 15 marks both Good Friday AND the beginning of Passover, the IRS granted us the weekend to complete our taxes; if we haven't already done so. And while I am not Jewish, I did find this little ditty to provide for all of our Cornerites who are part of "the Tribe". I hope you'll find it entertaining as well as harmonious. Chag Pesach Sameach! Oh, and I hope someone will explain some of the parodies within this compilation... ;^)
Like C-Moe, I'm not familiar with the term "conoid" either, but that's what the perps revealed. Also like our esteemed chairman, I found the puzzle unusually easy for a Friday, but still fun. FIR so I'm happy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThis one was more romp than struggle. Went sideways with LOAN/LEND and LEAKS/OINKS, but that's why I keep my trusty Wite-Out nearby. I'll take a CSO with OTTO I. (Sorta like I, Robot?) Shari Lewis was a pretty good ventriloquist -- some didn't even try to keep their lips from moving. (Edgar, I'm lookin' at you.) Wasn't aware of her 12 Emmys. CONOID? If you say so. Thanx Blaire, Bruce, and the irrepressible C-Moe.
OWES: Nope. Got out of debt in the mid-90's, and we've carried no long-term (longer than a month) debt since. During that period we bought three new vehicles and a house without going into hock.
No KNITS to pick for this puzzle today. Don't want the WRATH of others falling onto me. I cruised through the puzzle with only one change- HIDDEN to HID OUT- and two unknowns filled by perps- GOBOT & GERE. I'd never heard the term CONOID but it seemed okay.
ReplyDeleteI always look at both 1A & 1D before I write anything and when I saw 'Pfizer rival' my first thought was "really?" I dealt with all the major drug companies, so I narrowed it down to LILLY, GLAXO, & MERCK.
MERCK won out due to having the MUMS and Jenny CRAIG, a NOLA girl named Genevieve GUIDROZ who married a CRAIG. But KNOT the CRAIG in the BOND MOVIE.
46. 1862 battle site: SHILOH. The Battle of SHILOH was one of the earlier "major" battles of the Civil War (or The War Between the States, depending on your preference) The THIRD name many Southerners use is "The Northern Invasion" since it was almost entirely fought in the South. But that was 160 years ago and we weren't around.
The IRS changed the due date for filing to the 18th because Friday is a holiday (Good Friday).
ReplyDeleteFIR, enjoyable, yet very tough Friday puzzle and a nice theme.
ReplyDeleteThis was slow and steady solve for me - amusing theme answers. I thought at first the would all have KNI as I solved 22A and 39A first but it was just adding the silent K to N with a variable third letter.
ReplyDeleteA few switches occurred with 7D cookie quantity going from dozen to BATCH and loan to LEND (noun to the verb for 49A Advance), and 48D went from hidden to hiding to HID OUT.
Thank C-Moe and Blaire & Bruce for the entertaining puzzle and blog.
CM - enjoyed the final clip - I am a big Billy Joel fan and have enjoyed attending both Jewish and Christian Seders over the years
I got the Knack of this one just under 10 minutes.
ReplyDeleteSeveral clues were stumpers (Masai, Looie, etc.), but the perps seemed to fill them in.
Parsing the beginning of TVDinners puzzled me for a little while, as did seeing "tiki" bar crossing "tbar."
TGIF.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI agree that this was on the easy side for a Friday, which I attribute to the obvious theme. Despite this, I still got tripped up by Bed/Cot, Lieut/Looie, Dupe/Ruse, and Crib/Tree. These errors could be avoided if I checked perps first, something I usually did when I solved in ink on paper. I needed perps for Gobot, Masai, Otto I, and Lenore. I liked a lot of the cluing, myfavorite being Pen Output=Oinks. B and B gave us plenty of fun duos today: Cot/Nap, Knight/Chess, Looie/Loon, Batch/Samoa, Neins/Avec, ETDs/ETs, GWB/KGB, and TV/Movie. Many CSOs today, also: CEh and BigE (Merck), Lucina (ESL and Ãno), Ray O and IH (Med and NIH), ATLG (Emory), Florida Fellows (Tampa), Picard (Trek ), and DO (Otto).
Thanks, Blaire and Bruce, for a top Knotch solve and thanks, Moe, for an excellent expo and visuals that seemed larger than usual. Did you do something differently?
FLN
Vidwan, I enjoyed your calculus joke, even though I am Math illiterate. It reminded me of an episode of TBBT with Sheldon schooling Penny in Math.
Anon T, I also enjoyed the Julia Child video. I’d be interested to see if she had a recipe for “true” Steak Tartare.
Have a great day.
NW gave me trouble right off. I inked study, thought of crams and had no IDEA re. The bloomer. And my diet guru was adkin thinking the S was a possessive. MERCK was my first guess but it wouldn't fit with my nonsense (dUpE /RUSE)
ReplyDeleteIronically my brother was a missionary to Kenya for 40 years so MASAI dropped. And given the K theme I got back to MERCK and GHANA is an AFR country I'm familiar with. I HAD SLEIGH and ETAL all the way.
My last fill was the G on GWB giving GOBOT.
With all the K's we needed an UMP(To BOSS things)
I'll take the obvious CSO 's with TAMPA and LOOIE plus UMP and ?(It'll come) Got it, Patriots. And of course as a typical Pat's fan I was originally a NYG fan of Kyle Rote among others.
And a CSO to Picard with TREK
It's all yours C-Moe
I found it relatively difficult mainly because of NW. TV DINNER and the K's filled a lot of space.
NELL was a Dickens character but one of the books I never got to. It's said that when the ship carrying the latest chapter arrived in port folk were yelling " Tell us about Little Nell!"(She was in her death knell)
YR will tell us which Dickens
WC
Well, I didn't find this as easy as some of you (Subgenius, DO, Big Easy, Anon, IM), and a Natick for me broke my recent string of successes. FIW, thanks to not knowing GWB and GOBOT. I had an R which seemed to fit. Oh well, I learned something (k)new. That brings up my slowness to get the theme. And my persistence trying to make "dozen" work in the place for BATCH as well as thinking "bell" would be at the end of 52 Across. Gradually it did all fill in and was mostly correct. I'm satisfied.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Blaire and Bruce, for the puzzle. (K)nicely done. And good to have you back on the job today, C Moe. Lots of entertainment as usual.
FLN Thanks, Anon T, for the Julia Child link. Very funny!
Hope you all have a special holiday weekend.
An enjoyable puzzle and a top notch review.
ReplyDeleteI do remember Swanson TV Dinners. Salsbury Steak, anyone?
The Billy Joel parody was new to me. It was very well done.
Another treif reference:
Robin Hood Men In Tights
I had a tough time with the puzzle and because of other Emerg situation I had to give it up and read the review blog
ReplyDeleteSorry but the clues were too punny for me and the answers were too tricky and I am under Thd gun coz of April 15th .
So Thd first CW I gave up on in many years
Thanks Bruce and Blair
And thanks to Chairman Moe for such a clear explanatory blog
The tax deadline for the IRS has been moved to Monday. April 18 th this year is not because of any religious holiday which would never be a problem … but that Wash DC the City Gov has declared the April 15 Patriot and Independence Day … a legal holiday …. So the IRS moved the filing deadline to the next business day…..
Have a good weekend all
PT2:
ReplyDeletedesper-otto: so sorry to forget your CSO
IM: not sure why the images are so huge as I didn't do anything different. Maybe because I used fewer than normal, they appear larger??!
And although I left this off of the original blog, I thought my Christian friends should have a little smile so I'm adding it here ...
Since Sunday is Easter, thought I'd repost this limerick from a few years back:
Easter baskets were all in plain view.
We peeked in; 'cause it’s just what we do.
Removed marshmallow treat
As the one thing we’d eat;
If we’re caught? Not one Peep out of you!
Wasn’t as easy as some thought. Enough of a challenge for a Friday.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-After decades of excellence, Husker FB fans now accept the (K)NEW REALITY
- Critics consider LENORE, the narrator's lost love, to be a representation of Poe's own deceased wife Virginia.
-My great grandfather, James McManimie served int Fifteenth Iowa Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War. He first fought at SHILOH and then thirty-six more battles after that, losing his right eye in one battle.
-The LOONS were a prominent part of this wonderful movie
-Following Sean Connery as BOND was/is a formidable task
-TV Dinners can give you over 100% of your fats and salt in one setting. Great when I was a kid!
-Butch and Sundance HOLED UP in the Hole-In-The-Wall Pass in Wyoming
-My son-in-law’s architectural firm LANDS a big share of Nebraska school projects
-Nice job, Mister Chairman.
This was KNOT a breeze for me! North Central had me stuck with unknown GOBOT and OTTO I. I do know the GWB from my youth. But never saw it abbreviated that way. SE a challenge, too, with LOOIE, SAMOA, EMORY. FIR! Very clever theme!
ReplyDeleteMoe, Wilbur Charles, Irish Miss Thanks for the shout out about TREK which I indeed appreciated!
Here my fellow Sierra Club hike leader Gerry Ching led us on a hike at LOON POINT.
Enjoyable beach walk loop. I don't think we saw any LOONs, though.
GWB made famous by a certain NJ governor. I will refrain from any politics. It is listed as the busiest motor vehicle bridge in the world.
Never heard of LITTLE NELL. Am I the only one?
Picard, "Little Nell" is the main character in Charles Dickens' "The Old Curiosity Shop" one of his signature (melo)dramatic tales. I'm not the biggest Charles Dickens fan but do appreciate his artistry.
ReplyDeleteWhen Little Nell asked her grandfather just how cold it was, he replied, "Colder, Nell!"
ReplyDeleteConoid?
ReplyDelete(Even spell check doesn't like it...)
I await in amusement for some Anon to chime in...
Me? I enjoy a good puzzle! (if I can solve it...)
Thank you Wilbur Charles for explaining that Nell is from Dickens.
The only "Knell" I am familiar with was from Dudley DoRight. (see beg8nning @ 1:30, & no, I did not watch the whole thing...)
Ah yes, Shari, Lewis.
reminds me of The Lamb Chop Song... (& yes, I did watch the whole thing...)
Thank you Blaire and Bruce. Comments mentioned thus far seem to indicate this was a walk in the park for many, but KNOT for me. But I persisted and had it all KNIT up in the end. I was oK with he theme and found it very helpful.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you CMOE for an excellent and very KNOWlegeable review.
Some fav clue/fill:
22A CONOIDS. Weren't they from a small town in France?
30A LENORE. The lost love of EAP, my hometown poet.
61A KNEW NORMAL. There was a KOLD NORMAL? Oh yes, and it's back.
65A LOON crossing 56D LOOIE would be a LOONIE, a CSO to CandadianEh!
Cheers,
Bill
Word of the Day Pesach
ReplyDeletePart of Speech: Noun, proper
Meaning: Passover, Jewish holidays beginning on the 13th of Nissan and continuing for eight days, begins this evening. This year it runs from sundown tonight to sundown April 23 by the Gregorian calendar. It commemorates the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt.
Notes: The highlight of the celebration of Pesach is the Seder, a special supper held on the first night or the first two nights of Pesach. All of the food has meaning: only unleavened matzo (flat bread) is eaten and green vegetables are dipped in a vinegar or salty water to symbolize the suffering of the Israelites crossing the desert. Children recite passages and answer questions to show that they have learned the significance of Pesach, which they will pass on to their children.
In Play: The Haggadah is the story of the Exodus from Egypt, which everyone at the Seder table reads. The story of the Exodus is told four ways, each emphasizing a different aspect of the Exodus and its importance for the Jewish people. According to the synoptic gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, the Last Supper that Jesus attended was a traditional Seder. The gospel of John places it the day before the Seder, on the day of the slaughter of the sacrificial lamb.
Word History: Today's Good Word is the Hebrew Pesah "Passover" from the verb pasah "to pass over". Those of us here at alphaDictionary hope the homes of all our Jewish friends are filled with peace and love during this Pesach season.
For more info see Word of the Day
Thanks Chairman Moe - nice write-up! It is certainly an honor to be in one of the last three puzzles edited by Rich Norris........
ReplyDeleteHi Y'all! Thank you, Blair, Bruce, Rich & CMoe for excellent work.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this challenge altho several clues/fills gave me fits. I NAP often on a recliner but never on a COT. Spelling of LOOIE & CONOID (not CONicle). WRATH took ESP. DNK: OLIN, GOBOT.
DNK: SAMOA had stripes. But wanted dozen before BATCH.
"Secures as a contract" = LANDS. Coincidently, this week I received a LANDS contract
by special delivery for which USPS needed a signature before leaving it. Took three days to make connections because they knocked but didn't wait long enough for the old lady to get out of her recliner & open the door. The second day the other carrier didn't bring it when I was waiting for her. Finally, the third day I managed to get to the porch as she was getting back in her truck & yelled at her. The sender paid $5.13 for this.
OWES: like several others, only monthly bills paid as soon as received. No debts.
Fun Friday. Thanks Bruce and Blaire, and CMoe.
ReplyDeleteNot so easy for me today. Although I got the KN theme, I FIWed with Robot and RBG.
I thought it was Canadian disadvantage, but I think it might just be distance/knowledge of NYC disadvantage. I had NO IDEA.
Pfizer rival for Covid vaccines would be Moderna. MERCK rivals for other MEDs. Their Vioxx recall was one of the largest. MERCK Manual is well- known too.
I am only familiar with SAMOA cookies through CWs. Did anybody else automatically think of Oreo? (No stripes, didn’t fit!).
I also know Banquet TV DINNERS through CWs. Ours were Swanson.
Hand up for dozen before BATCH.
EMORY today, not ALA to keep this Canadian on her toes.
Thanks waseeley for noting LOON crossing LOOIE.
I loved that Bruce and Blaine were saying their BYES to us (and Rich) appropriately in the bottom corner.
Wishing you all a blessed day.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteI agree, most of this puzzle was pretty easy. However, the top center gave me pause. I'm not familiar with the George Washington Bridge and GO BOT never occurred to me. So a DNF there.
At the bottom I fared much BETTER since I'm familiar with LITTLE (K)NELL of Dickens fame.
I love SAMOA cookies!
Seven actors have played BOND? I did not know that.
CSO to D-OTTO.
A woman at our church could be a descendent of the MASAI. She is tall, stately and ERECT and always wears colorful garb. When I spoke to her she told me she is from Jamaica.
Last night the service was a surprise because it was much abbreviated. Instead of 12 men having their feet washed, it was only three. Our pastor is young (mid 30s) and likes to streamline events I've noticed.
Tonight's service is usually short except for honoring the cross. Everyone walks up to the cross to kiss it and that takes a long time. The church has been packed for these services.
CSO to Canadian Eh at LOON and one to my cousin's wife LENORE.
Have a peaceful Good Friday, everyone! Thank you, CMOE, Bruce and Blaire!
A fine Friday PZL from the Bas/Haight team, chaired by (who else?) Chairman Moe.
ReplyDeleteThe "KN" reps were fun. Hard to pick a favorite, as they were all good.
Nice to be reminded of the lost LENORE. Poe had a way of making women's names memorable.
It's been a while since I thought of SHARI Lewis.
~ OMK
_____________
DR: Four diagonals, three on the near end, and one in opposition.
The far side yields an anagram (11 of 15 letters) that takes a minor prize for redundancy.
What else can we expect from a visit, but...?
"BROTHEL SINS"!
FIW, same error as AtlGranny. Erased tea for NAP and share for SHARI (anyone else think of Sherry Baby by the Four Seasons?).
ReplyDeleteI always heard it a bit differently that Big Easy - SHILOH was an important battle of the wah of nawthin aggression. Also a sweet song by Neil Diamond about an imaginary childhood companion.
This was very difficult for me, more Saturday-like. I worked on it on and off most of the day. Actually, puzzle work was interrupted by naps. I started getting a runny nose last night, and that continues today, along with lethargy. No fever, but just to err on the side of caution I ordered a COVID test kit from the US Government. I'm sure it will be here in just a few...days. Feeling too bad to finish taxes, so I filed my 4868 extension.
Thanks to B&B for the fun challenge, and to C-Moe for the excellent review.
Chairman Moe may have found this puzzle to be Monday easy but I sure didn't. I made many stumbles and errors and had to look up more answers than I would like to; I could not solve it without good ole Google.
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised so many found this puzzle difficult. I won't say it wasn't challenging, but it filled in good time and with a good deal of deep thinking. It looks like B&B are a good team!
ReplyDeleteGood Friday services tonight, all very solemn sans music and we'll process out of the church in silence.
Congrats to all the speed solvers who FIR! This was the first cw in a while in which I crashed and burned. NW was the biggest problem - I confidently inked ATKIN (duh, it's AtkinS) and wouldn't budge, and MUM just didn't register - oh, chrysanthemums, the name I always use, and it then confirmed MERCK. If I had filled in MASAI (saw them dance, staged for tourists, when I went on a safari years ago), instead of trying to remember an obscure native tribe - Bantu?, it would've avoided the write-overs in that corner. Kept "hidden" for too long instead of HID OUT, but finally got the aha when I changed it.
ReplyDeleteThanks to C-Moe for the recap, and to Tony (FLN) for the Childs video. Always watched her Saturday afternoon programs on PBS. My fav was when she was showing how to make coq au vin, and the chicken, not ready to take the heat, slid onto the floor. With her famous giggle, she picked up the unruly bird, slapped it back on the counter, and continued her instructions, never missing a beat.
ReplyDeleteA Correction:::
The Tax deadline Day, The April 15, this year is because April 16th, is the District of Columbia's DC, Emancipation Day to commerate the April 16th, 1862 Emancipation Proclamation, the Proclamation of the Emancipated Compensation Act which ended slavery in the District.
All State and Federal employees within DC, have the day off.
Since that day the 16th, occurs on this Saturday, the April 15th is the lieu day off, hence etc. the IRS moved the deadline to the next business day, on Monday, the 18th.
I misquoted the wrong proclamation, earlier.
But, to get technical, some deadlines still have the April 15th deadline .... specially the Statute of Limitations.
I completed the CW eventually, with help.
Have a good weekend, all.
Picard, you have a busy lifestyle, and a very active life. That will be of great help, when you will, as do all of us, get older in life... I wonder if you eat the goose necked clams,.... which you have numerous pictures of .... which I believe are considered a delicacy by some afficianados.
There are many Hudson crossings. Since I'm in the Capital District, the George Washington Bridge was not my first thought. I am not familiar with the GWB abbreviation and only got it from perps--then, aha!
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Hi All!
ReplyDeleteNope. I shot myself in the foot pretty good and needed C.Moe's grid for a nudge at 5d and to lose 'dozen' (hi PK!) for BATCH.
Thanks for the puzzle Blair & Bruce; I enjoyed the challenge.
Great job w/ the expo, C. Moe. LOL @10:17's limerick
The Friends of Distinction song is the bumper / intro music for GardenLine (a call-in show every weekend morning). I never knew the name of the song. I dig it.
WOs: ATKIN[s] (Hi TXMs!) -> CRAIG, elNORE -> LENORE, ETaS, Loan->LEND, KNEW the drill(?), LOuIE
ESPs: yep, sure did.
Fav: The clue for and music evoked by TV DINNERS [ZZ Top]
LOL DR, OMK.
Nice pics, Picard. Thanks for sharing.
CED - thank you for The Song That Never Ends. See, BOSS man likes to prank us with 10 hour videos (ala RickRoll, you didn't lock your computer, or just to end meetings early ;-)) and now I have ammo.
Cheers, -T
I don't know exactly what is in the air today but it triggered allergies so badly that I could not go to church. Didn't even leave the house all day. Yesterday I noticed that all the Palo Verde trees are in full bloom so that's likely the culprit. They have full blooms on every branch and are the only plants blooming right now. Ahchoo! Ahchoo! Ahchoo! Luckily I keep many tissues on hand.
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