Today we are visited by Josh M. Kaufmann, who appears to be making his
LA Times debut by asking us an existential question in the reveal to this themed puzzle:
58A. Head-scratching words ... and, phonetically, a feature of the four
longest Down answers:
WHY ON EARTH? We've all seen this before, but now might be a good time to be reminded of it again:
Josh answers this question with 4 Down clues, often a giveaway to a visual theme. In this case the theme puns on two homophones: the letter Y and the reveal word WHY, the former perched atop a synonym for the word EARTH.
3D. Big name in travel guides:
LONELY PLANET. Lonely Planet is an Australian travel guide book publisher. Founded in 1973, the company had sold 120 million books as of 2011. Their books look like a great way to find your way around Sagan's pale blue dot.
13D. Newspaper rival of the Bugle in the Spider-Man universe:
DAILY GLOBE. This clue takes us off of the planet and enables us to explore the fantasy world inside our mind.
21D. Oz, for one:
FANTASY WORLD. Here's the moment when Dorothy tells Toto "We're not in Kansas anymore":
24D. Anaheim attraction:
DISNEYLAND. This attraction was a FANTASY of Walt Disney originally designed and built under his supervision in 1955.
1. "Leaves of Grass" name: WALT. Written by another WALT with a fantastic imagination, Leaves of Grass is a poetry collection by American poet Walt Whitman. Though it was first published in 1855, Whitman spent most of his professional life writing and rewriting Leaves of Grass, revising it multiple times until his death. Perhaps the most famous poem from it is his ode to Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd", added after Lincoln's assassination.
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| Walt Whitman Frontispiece to the Leaves of Grass |
5. Links to a social media post: TAGS. Everything you might want to know about TAGS, HASHTAGS, and CATEGORIES.
9. Ivy, e.g.: Abbr.: SCH.
12. They're better boosted than inflated: EGOS.
13. Actor Willem: DAFOE. William James Dafoe born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including the Volpi Cup for Best Actor (Venice Film Festival), in addition to receiving nominations for four Academy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and a British Academy Film Award. Dafoe plays the hired assassin J. G. Jopling in the Wes Craven comedy/drama Grand Budapest Hotel. Here's the ski chase scene where he is being pursued by the heroes Gustav H and Zero, and at the very end almost turns the table on them:
14. NCAA's "Tide": ALA. I tried RED first, as in CRIMSON TIDE, but it didn't perp.
15. Where many blood cells are produced: BONE MARROW. Some more facts about blood.
17. Witty retort: MOT. French for "word". Usually proceeded by BON, literally "good word" or idiomatically, a response to a zinger. The phrase MOT JUSTE means "just the right word".
18. French film: CINE. Where we get our word CINEMA:
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| etymonline.com |
20. Neutralize: DEFUSE.
22. Indigo plant: ANIL.
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| Dictionary.com |
23. Pleased: GLAD.
25. Challenges requiring nerve: DARES. Dares usually involve risks.
26. Like some Sundays: LAZY.
27. Aleppo's land: SYRIA. Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. with an official population of 4.6 million in 2010.
29. Alliance acronym: NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which is much in the news these days.
30. Champs-Élysées lunch choice: CREPE. The Champs-Élysées being the boulevard in Paris, France. Everything you need know to make a variety of French crepes.
32. Carrying process: GESTATION. This normally takes about nine months. When our IT projects used to run behind schedule and management started piling on more help, we'd tell them: "Nine women can't make a baby in one month!".
34. Break in the action: LULL.
36. German pop star who sang "99 Luftballons": NENA. I have a sneaking suspicion that these were just the perps needed to make the themers 24D and 21D plus the fillers 28D and 33D work. So Josh googled it and came up with "NENA". As luck would have it, just like the band, he got one HIT. Here it is (in the original German (English lyrics)), complete with audience participation).
37. The very beginning: SQUARE ONE. Sometimes we have to go back there.
41. Russian rulers: TSARS. A modern TSAR is currently pursuing a disastrous effort to make a comeback (see 29A).
45. Go left, say: TURN.
46. Does as told: OBEYS.
48. First name in fashion: YVES. Yves Saint-Laurent (1 August 1936 – 1 June 2008) or simply YSL, was a French fashion designer who, in 1962, founded his eponymous fashion label. He is regarded as being among the foremost fashion designers of the twentieth century.
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| Yves Saint-Laurent |
49. Wild party: RAGER. In the 60's we called them "Happenings".
51. "Enchanted" movie girl: ELLA. In case you're considering showing streaming this for your grandchildren, here's a capsule review, complete with trailer. See also 46A for Ella's problem.
52. Gradually withdraw: WEAN.
53. Playground retort: ARE TOO. We start learning BON MOTS early.
55. Droop: SAG.
56. "The Hobbit" creatures: ORCS. ENTS would have fit, but 21D needed this meany:
 |
| An Orc named Grishnakh |
57. Buffet server: URN. A buffet served is a buffet urned.
61. Brief moment: SEC. An eternity compared to a NSEC, shorthand for NANOSECOND. Here's Admiral Grace Hopper, the inventor of COBOL, explaining just how short that really is ...
62. Fix: AMEND.
63. Protected, at sea: ALEE.
64. Word with devil or dog: SLY.
65. Brooklyn ballers: NETS. As most sports are played with balls, I don't understand why the honorific "baller" was bestowed upon Basket ball players. Anyway, as one might expect The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Here's the rest of their story.
Down:
1. Online group study: WEBINAR. These are older than you think, in more ways than one.
2. Fret (over): AGONIZE.
4. Mao __-tung: TSE. This Chairman is becoming crosswordese.
5. Style of some surf and turf: TARTARE. Raw fish I love; I'm not so sure about raw meat.
6. Cont. south of Western 31-Down: AFR. Unless you perped this, you'd have to fill 31D first.
7. "Glad that's settled!": GOOD. "Well, as long as we all agree on it".
8. Stitched up: SEWED. Also Brit slang for someone who is framed for a crime.
9. Katana-wielding warrior: SAMURAI. Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. Not someone you'd want to mess with.
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| Samurai warrior |
11. Slams, slangily: HATES ON. Its more subtle cousin is THROWING SHADE.
16. Inbox list: Abbr.: MSGS.
18. Advanced math subj.: CALC. The key word in the clue is "Advanced" and as this is not a subject that I'm qualified to explain, here's a CSO to Jayce, Picard, et al, for help with any technical comments on this. However I did find this entertaining cartoon on the history of Calculus in a series called "Maths by Lisa". It traces Calculus' origins back to the Greeks, provides visual explanations of what it's all about, and resolves the controversy over who actually developed it. It's about 10 minutes long:
28. Joined the clean-plate club, say: ATE. My Mother enlisted the whole family.
31. See 6-Down: EUR.
33. Queen's subject: ANT.
35. Celestial feline: LEO. A CSO to LEO III.
37. Big name in blue jeans: STRAUSS. As in Levi Strauss. Also my chance to slip in a piece of music by the Waltz King JOHANN STRAUSS II. I'm positive you'll recognize this:
38. Bicker: QUARREL.
39. Reason for pacing: URGENCY.
40. Half or full holds: NELSONS. A nelson hold is a wrestling hold executed by one person from behind the opponent, generally
when both are on the mat face down with the opponent under the
aggressor. One or both arms are used to encircle the opponent's arm under the armpit, and secured at the opponent's neck.
42. Turned aside: AVERTED.
43. Arrives at: REACHES. Just a few more clues and we'll arrive at the end of this review.
44. W-2 IDs: SSNS. Tomorrow is the deadline for filing your taxes!
47. Wise one: SAGE.
50. Atkinson of British comedy: ROWAN. Rowan Sebastian Atkinson CBE (born 6 January 1955) is an English actor, comedian and writer. After watching at least two dozen clips of Mr. Bean (they're very addictive) I started to get hungry and settled on this one ...
54. Woeful cry: OH ME.
59. Still: YET.
60. Roadside help letters: AAA. American Automobile Association. We rate them⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. They've almost never failed to get us back up and running. Given that your battery will probably die about once every 5 years and the replacement is free with basic membership, they're a great deal. The only exception we found was that they don't replace "charging batteries" for hybrids (the battery that starts the car, not the one that stores a charge when you're decelerating). Here's what you need to know.
And as always, special thanks to Teri for proofreading and for her constructive suggestions.
waseeley
Cheers,
Bill
Notes from C.C.:
Melissa sent me these two sweet pictures. She said "this was a little performance at jaelyn's school - she was the dance leader for an adorable 'Nine to Five" song and dance. Harper was there to cheer her on".
Harper is Jaelyn's little sister. You can see more of their pictures here.
DNF. Two bad cells on a mid-weeker.
ReplyDeleteARE TO a & aH ME instead of ARE TOO & OH ME.
Natick at A.C + NE.A, didn't have a clue either way. for ANT + NENA.
I did get the theme before the reveal. First looked at BONE MARROW, GESTATION, SQUARE ONE, WHY ON EARTH, but couldn't see any pattern there, so checked the verticals and the theme jumped out at me!
Something about her Mandela worried ELLA.
She was thirty-one, but didn't have a fella.
She crashed a royal ball
In the Prince's hall --
No more cinders, she was now a Man'd-Ella!
I wonder if, in Jupiter's stormy sea,
Would Zeus make a Jovian decree
"There are PLANETS four
No less but no more,
And some asteroids", those include you and me!
{C+, B+.}
Welcome Josh. This appears to be his first publication in any puzzle forum and I enjoyed it. These days all the new constructors give titles to their puzzles and Josh did that with his reveal. Based on the less common double "N" at the end of his name, I would guess this puzzle was made by an Elon Magna Cum Laude graduate who has already served in the Peace Corps, but this is just speculation.
ReplyDeleteIt was well done and Bill you did a very educational and entertaining expo. Thank you both
Word of the Day maundy
ReplyDeletePart of Speech: Adjective, noun
Meaning: 1. The ceremony of washing of the feet of the poor. 2. The alms associated with that ceremony. Today is Maundy Thursday, a traditional Christian celebration of the Last Supper, a Passover meal, probably the last Seder of Jesus Christ.
Notes: Historically Maundy Thursday was celebrated by the sovereign's washing the feet of the poor as Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper. More recently this ceremony has been replaced by giving alms, or "Maundy Coins", to the poor. Maundy is celebrated on the Thursday before Good Friday and Easter.
In Play: Today's Maundy coins are given ceremoniously to as many senior citizens as the sovereign has lived years. They are given Maundy coins as a reward for Christian service to their communities. The British sovereign gives each recipient two small leather purses on Maundy Thursday: one containing ordinary money, the other, specially struck silver Maundy coins, the same number in pence as the sovereign's age.
Word History: As Jesus washed the feet of his disciples at the Last Supper, he said, "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you." John 15:12. Unfortunately, this 11th Commandment is too often forgotten today, perhaps explaining the fading interest in Maundy Thursday. "New commandment" in Latin is mandatum novum. The Latin phrase over time was reduced to the single word mandatum, which descended to Old French as mandé, at which point it was borrowed by English. Over even more time, it reduced to today's Good Word. (May we all today remember Christ's famous "maundy" and apply it to everyone we know
For more info see Word of the Day
Bill's comment: While "sovereigns" may have abandoned the practice of the washing of feet, I can assure you that it is still alive and well in the celebration of "The Lord's Supper", which commemorates Christ's last Seder. This evening, which marks the start of the Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter) bishops and pastors around the world will wash the feet of 12 parishioners, who represent Christ's twelve disciples. As a recipient of this grace once or twice myself, I can assure you that the feet washed will have been thoroughly scrubbed and pedicured!
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWell, d-o managed to miss the theme and failed to read the full reveal clue...again. Saw the "WHY ON EARTH?" and said to myself, "OK, AFR and EUR and maybe ALA." Bzzzzt. Needed my trusty Wite-Out to change COL to SCH and DISARM/DEFANG/DEFUSE. Is it NETS, METS or JETS? Let the perps dictate. At the end of the day the puzzle was filled correctly, so that's something. Nice debut, Josh. Enjoyed your expo (and the Calc primer), Waseeley. (This year's tax deadline is April 18th.)
CALC -- Took three semesters in college. Never used it, and after almost sixty years couldn't tell you the difference between integral and differential calculus.
Waseeley, are you saying that the priest/pastor gives you a pedi? Are you supposed to tip?
ReplyDeleteROTFL!
DeleteI certainly had no idea, while I was doing the puzzle, what the gimmick was. Even after I got the reveal, it took me a minute to see it, but I finally understood. FIR, so I'm happy.p
ReplyDeleteWell, I managed to FIR in another award winning time of ~37 minutes. DNK WALT, LONELYPLANET, DAILYGLOBE, RAGER, so needed lots of perps all around. Why would someone name a travel guide “Lonely Planet”? Who would want to buy a guide that would make sure you were lonely no matter where on earth you went? Only W/O AHME:OHME. Thanx for this mental workout, JMK. Bill, you had such an interesting write-up today, it took me almost an hour to investigate your many links. So, Walt Whitman wrote “Leaves of Grass”, and following the link, I learned he spent his life re-writing it, over and over. I read a bit of his work, again following your link, and can see why he re-wrote it so often. The link to Admiral Grace Hopper is pretty interesting too. It shows how intelligent she was, and also how humorless the brass was in her audience. Thanx for the extremely entertaining write-up, Bill.
ReplyDeleteunclefred @6:19AM. Thank you for the kind words. Many many years ago Teri attended one of Hopper's lectures at a local community college and received one of the Admiral's "nanoseconds". We must have lost it on one of our moves and an original might actually be worth something today. We could however recreate it on based on the instructions in the video. It would make a great teaching tool for the grands.
DeleteTook 10:28. Good puzzle. Short on time - got to run.
ReplyDeleteFIW, missing eMEND x ROWeN. But according to writingexplained.org "To amend something is to change it for the better. To emend something is to fix an error." So there, smarty pants! Erased trig for CALC. I also liked frosh CALC so much I took it twice. As Jimmy Buffett sang, "I got so bored with my homework, I turned on the TV.The beauty contest winners were all smiling through their teeth. Then they asked the new Miss America Hey babe can you add up all those bucks? She looked puzzled, then just said 'Math Suks'."
ReplyDeleteI thought of Deacon Blues at "NCAA's Tide", but it wouldn't fit.
I confuse DEFOE with that guy who hawks gold on TV.
Remember when Gary Johnson cratered his presidential hopes when he didn't know Aleppo? It was a gotcha question, but he should have been able to handle it.
Along with "9 women can't GESTATE a baby in 1 month", I tell students about a problem encountered in the early days of timeshare computing. "Thrashing" happened when the computer spent more time switching users in and out than it did working on the users' jobs. It can happen with humans too, when extra people are thrown into an endeavor without a solid plan on how to utilize them. Administrivia can eat up potential gain.
The most recent travel guide I bought was "The Grown-Up's Guide to Running Away from Home". Got me thinking about retiring to Costa Rica.
Thanks to Josh for the workable puzzle that at first seemed to be very difficult. And thanks to Bill for the interesting review.
FIR. Fun puzzle, bit of a workout, but most enjoyable!
ReplyDeleteCreative theme - congrats to Josh on his debut!
ReplyDeleteI originally thought NCAA's Tide would be the crosswordese BAMA- but not enough letters- so the shortened ALA of Alabama.
I always have to wait for perps to remember if it is an A or E in Willem DAFOE's name versus the E in Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe.
I don't do CALCulus on a regular basis now - but I use the concepts of CALCulus all the time. I remember when the lightbulb went off while studying it in high school- that this is math that really explains how the natural world works!
Thanks for the fun write-up Bill!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis came within a whisker of being a DNF due to the brick wall I hit in the SW corner. I held onto Lean (Go left, say) far too long and couldn’t come up with Strauss, Quarrel or Urgency. So, I needed every ounce of P and P to finally remove Lean and that opened my eyes and led to a FIR. I found this a difficult solve until I got some toeholds and, then, it was just chipping away here and there, until the aforementioned corner. I thought the cluing was cleverly tricky and I was at sea not knowing Nena, The Lonely Planet, The Daily Globe until I had some helpful perps. Biggest learning moment was that there is a Surf and Turf tartare. I love Steak Tartare, but never associated it with raw fish. NATO is a timely entry and Anil is an old-timey entry which was a staple when I first began solving. BTW, I filled in the reveal with only one themer completed, an unusual occurrence for me. I’m pressed for time so no duos or other observances today, except a big CSO to Leo III (Leo).
Thanks, Josh, and congrats on a challenging debut and thanks, Bill, for a very educational review, as usual, and thanks to Teri for her participation. I’ll be back to check the links later. Thanks, also, to Melissa for sharing the photos of sweet Jaelyn and Harper and to CC for posting them. Jaelyn looks like quite the performer.
Have a great day.
OH ME, I found Josh's debut puzzle a tough one to FIR today. Never heard of either LONLEY PLANET or DAILY GLOBE. That made guessing perps harder. I'm also not familiar with the term HATES ON. But there's no sense of URGENCY when I try to complete crossword puzzles. I never noticed the theme and _HY ON EARTH was already filled by perps before I added the W from the unknown comedian ROWAN.
ReplyDeleteGESTATION- I was thinking SUBTRACTION or ADDITION first.
NENA- heard the song but not her name-perps or is it the band's name?
WALT & DISNEY LAND in the same puzzle today.
d-otto- I enjoyed my calculus classes (at LSU the first two courses were 5-hour credits; class every day) but never got to use it because I was lucky enough to get a management job at age 21 and never needed to use it.
My memory of “Happenings” in the 60’s was the simultaneous performance of artistic genre before an audience. I remember one where a jazz quartet played while an artist painted. They watched and listened to each other and that influenced the music and painting. It was fascinating! Other events included dance, poetry, (like the “beats” in San Francisco), theatre, and singing. Fun experimental arts that sometimes were exciting and sometimes fell flat, but never a wild party.
ReplyDeleteTHE HOBBIT DOES NOT CALL THEM ORCS!!!!!!!!
ReplyDelete(nor does it feature ents in any capacity)
The Hobbit features goblins, which are identified as orcs elsewhere in Tolkien's work, but that is not what they are called in The Hobbit.
Anon @9:31 AM You are right. ORCS are like goblins on steroids and don't appear in Middle Earth until the LOTR. The Hobbit is really a prequel that doesn't treat the whole panoply of creatures in ME. Josh was mistaken about that (or was it Rich?). But the conjecture about ENTS was my bad.
DeleteYour debut puzzle was challenging, Josh, but ultimately I FIR. Thanks! Big slowdowns in the NE and SW before perps started filling in. As for the theme, I had WHY ONE...... and started noticing ONE in a couple of long crossers but so luck in GESTATION. Finally I read the reveal clue carefully and saw Down answers were involved. Then I got it. A few WOs were SAMaRAI/SAMURAI, did TOO/ARE TOO, and Seer/SAGE. It's been a long time since I had a perfect grid. Sigh....
ReplyDeleteWaseeley, you and Teri make a good team for writing the review. So full of extras! Thanks!
C.C., thanks for the pictures of Melissa B's granddaughters. I hope you and Boomer are getting through this busy week OK. I'll add my thanks to Rich as he nears retirement this week. And finally, Subgenius, you are "happy" today instead of "satisfied?" Is that better?
Hope everyone has a happy day!
ATLGranny@9:48 - I'm happy to be satisfied, I guess. In any case, it's a pleasing sensation to get the puzzle right, as I'm sure you know, as you usually do, too.
ReplyDeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-A very nice challenge. I FIR and got the world synonyms but mentally blew by the “Y” on top.
-Fans of Breaking Bad will remember the significance of WALT Whitman and WALTER White
-My kids really dug to get the MARROW out of the chicken BONES from the wings we dissected
-My newfound (from 23andMe) cousin and I have exchanged a flurry of MSGS
-The Manhattan Project workers certainly felt a sense of URGENCY
-When our kitty reaches a point where the ALEE zone of the house ends, she wants back inside
-Oh my, anonymous breathlessly posts his/her time and then says “gotta run”! Roses? What roses?
-Loved the write-up, especially the math/science videos!
Hola!
ReplyDeleteNice one, Josh. Thank you. WALT got me started and it was off to the races after that. I thought Dorothy might be the answer in OZ but FANTASY WORLD fit.
A couple of wite-outs: SAMaRAI to SAMURAI and NATO from OPEC. Otherwise a clean grid.
I'll take a CSO at SEWED which I did for at least 20 years or more of my life from age 13.
My mother used ANIL on all white clothes when she washed.
These days SQUARE has a different connotation when used to collect payments.
Yes, today is Maunday Thursday. During the Service, the priest will wash the feet of 12 men to recreate and commemorate when Jesus washed the feet of the apostles. I love the ritual of Holy Week services.
Have a grace-filled Maundy Thursday, everyone! I shall pray for all Cornerites at tonight's services. God knows who you are even if I don't mention you by name.
Thank you, Bill and Terri!
ReplyDeleteCC:
Thank you for posting the cute photos of Jaelyn and Harper. Such cuties!
The Hobbit creatures were originally goblins. JRR came up with ORCS later. Ents are LOTR tree tenders.(As has been noted; I've taken too long to post)
ReplyDeleteFor 6D I was thinking of Ellery Queen and DETective* fiction.
STRAUSS (duh) finally broke open the SW, along with the rare xword Q on SQUARE ONE(Hi IM). There was a Z and X but no J to complete the pangram
Re. URGENCY.. Anyone have to use the girls bathroom. I usually think ahead
There's CALCulus, Honors CALC, and then there was the class of pre-req 800 in Math Achievement SAT. The least dedicated (Moi) took the back road to ECON*. The first group took another year to join me.
Like Gary I "blew by the “Y” on top." The PLANETs were obvious
WC
*Appears so often I gave it caps
Maundy Thursday. In the small Episcopal churches around here, the entire congregation, except for a few who opt out, come forward a few at a time, during the singing of hymns, to have their feet washed, and then turn to wash the next person's feet, male and female. "So, ye ought to wash one another's feet." This will be skipped again this year due to Covid. At the end the Eucharist service, the altar guild will strip the altar and the chancel of all paraments, candles, and decorations, dim the lights and the congregation will leave silently.
ReplyDeleteI believe, in larger congregations a set number of people sign up or are appointed to represent all of us, not necessarily 12 or male.
Well, Thursdays are toughies for me, as was this one, but I still enjoyed it--so, many thanks, Josh. And Bill, your commentaries are always a pleasure, thanks for those too.
ReplyDeleteHad to laugh at EGOS--better boosted than inflated. How true.
Glad I remembered that Aleppo's land was SYRIA.
Of course, Russian rulers are TSARS. The problem is always getting the right spelling.
Loved seeing the picture of handsome YVES.
Sweet picture of those little girls, C.C.
Have a great day, everybody.
Brilliant theme, cleverly constructed! I was getting a feeling for it when I saw PLANET and GLOBE.
ReplyDeleteJinx Hand Up ROWAN/AMEND a WAG. Could have been ROWEN/EMEND. Lucky WAG to FIR.
Very happy to see EARTH getting attention as we approach EARTH Day next week. EARTH Day started in part because of the 1969 Santa Barbara Oil Spill here in our little town.
Here is my article on our 50th Anniversary celebration of EARTH Day in 2020.
Bill Seeley Thank you for that wonderful history of CALCULUS video! I had never realized the roots go back so far. So many great minds contributed. I took CALCulus in high school and again in college. I even took a special class in the version invented by Liebniz. Liebniz used "infinitesimals" instead of limits. They are "hyper-real" numbers that fill space between the real numbers. Just as the real numbers fill space between the integers.
But I really came to understand CALCulus when I was teaching high school physics before grad school. I did not want to scare the students, so I told them I was going to show them some "cool tricks" to solve the physics problems. I taught them CALCulus without telling them! They got it!
From Yesterday:
Jinx Thank you for validating that OATHs should be affirmations based on perjury law, not on religious references.
Busy day, back in New Jersey...
ReplyDeletePuzzle was tough, and I never really saw the "Y" on the Earth parts names until the write up.
It is the little things that trip me up, like 63. Protected, at sea: ALEE
Instead of looking for the "Y" over Earth parts, I spent an inordinate amount of time wondering why the above clue included "at sea?"
I mean, "protected" would have been enough for a late week puzzle. And being "Alee" means sheltered from the wind, behind some kind of land mass, which really means you are not "at sea" at all, but in port, harbored, etc... am I the only one that this drove nuts?
Waseeley, thank you for the detailed write up, and great links. But being CrossEyedDave, I have to examine each and every link in detail, which means that while 99 Luft Balloons was playing, I could not watch another link, which made reading the write up quite time consuming.
I'm not complaining, rather I'm explaining why on earth I am so late to the party....
CED, "alee" is used in sailing to mean the downwind side of the boat. "Helm's alee" means that I have pushed the tiller to the leeward (pronounced "looard") side of the boat and we are going to tack. (The other side is "windward", pronounced 'winard'.)
ReplyDeleteI saw Adm. Hopper at a seminar once. By then she also had a picosecond. Among her other points were that 'A ship can be safe by staying in a harbor, but that's not why ships are built" meaning you have to be willing to take risks, and that "You cannot manage men into battle" (you have to LEAD them), and the well-known "It's better to ask for forgiveness than ask for permission"
ReplyDeleteAH!,
ReplyDeletethank you Jinx, that explains it!
(i guess the Cats out of the bag that I am not much of a sailor.)
You may not know it, but like Picard, i have taken many pics, and videos in my time.
Unfortunately, some one hacked my YouTube account and put my sailing attempt videos into a compilation, (& even added music!) you can watch it here...
(you dont have to watch all of it, it's just a bad joke that didn't float well...)
Willem Dafoe,
forgive me, but I was not familiar with that ( amazing) skiing video...
I know him more from later movies, like, John Wick, (1st movie) or,
especially, the first Spider Man movies, where he played The Green Goblin.
To show what an accomplished Actor he is, imagine, playing a scene, with yourself, when you are consumed with multiple personalities due to madness...
note: in the opening scene, the building shown is where I lived in 1966, on the 14th floor, in a furnished studio apartment, for $140-month. in those days nothing was locked, and we used to climb the roof shingles to hang out in that green bell tower thingie just for future Imp lessons...
Hmm, i tried to append this with his blooper reel of trying to capture the character, but I just cant seem to find it right now...
bill Cohoes @3:09 PM. Sounds like the good Admiral was trying to economize on copper. Grace said that an NSEC was 11.8 inches long , so a PSEC would be 0.0118 inches long. Sounds like it would be easy to lose.
ReplyDeleteA nice puzzle, enjoyable to solve. I still wrinkle my nose at MOT (not bon mot) being described/clued as a "witty" statement. My Waterloo was at the crossing of OH ME and NETS, where I had put OH MY and NYTS; I had to turn on Check Grid to find it. I also agree about the ORCS mis-clue. Other than that, I liked the puzzle. Thanks to Josh Kaufmann for making it.
ReplyDeleteExcellent write-up, waseeley. Thank you.
Good wishes to you all.
Thanks, Bill, for the entertaining and informative recap. The calculus presentation was more enlightening than those presented by any teacher or professor I ever listened to.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed this PZL, esp. the "Y" theme. Thanks to Mr. Kaufmann, and for Waseeley's follow-up!
ReplyDeleteHow many of us would have made that connection between all those "Y"s on top of WORLD/GLOBE/LAND/PLANET?
Truly Crazy, these XWD constructors!
I don't think of the ANT when asked for the subject to a Queen. The Bee is more likely to spring to mind.
That crossed with the unknown NENA perp, so I only penned the "N" in lightly... and therefore one square earned me a "DNF-light."
Nice looking kids, C.C.
~ OMK
Hmm,
ReplyDeleteSounds like from the comments that I should watch the Calculus video I saved,,sooner rather than later...
Thank you for the Admirals explanation of Nsec...
Definitely a different viewpoint that explains a lot...
Prior to today, my view of Nsec was K-Pax's Prote, explaining light travel as "Adios/Aloha."
Note:
K-Pax was a severely underrated film.
Even the trailers trash this film into oblivion...
Imagine, if you will , a completely incapacitated mental patient, suddenly perfectly functional, except, he claims to be an alien...
His psychiatrists deal with him based on what they know about mental illness.
He deals with them based on being a traveler, amongst unknown interesting situations.
It is a suspense thriller that wil wrack your brain...
Unfort7nately, the movie is not currently available free to watch, but it should be...
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteThanks Josh for the puzzle (nice debut!) and thanks Bill for your impeccable recap. I saw "part" of the reveal (Earth) but never caught the "Y" on it. Looked back and sure enough, all of the EARTHs were topped by a "Y". Glad you caught that, Mr Seeley, as I would not have ...
Too late to add much else; I FIR with the allowable "ink-overs"
I just put the "finishing touches" on Friday's blog. It's not your "typical Moe" but close
Very well written article, Picard. Plus, CED has kept us amused.
ReplyDeleteAh, Friday, eh, C-Moe ? I finished early. Bruce Haight et amie so you know you'll be entertained
WC (ps, CALC brought back memories of freshman year at BC- the CALC prof started to write on the blackboardwith his cigarette*)
* Yes, teaching while smoking though rare wasn't that remarkable
My organic chemistry prof smoked a cigar in class only AFTER he asked if any of the students had any objections. Nobody had the guts to tell him not to to.
DeletePlus ça change....
ReplyDeleteOne of the soldiers' names for Russian troops these days is ORCS. So, today's Ukrainian lesson: Смерть оркам.
Hi Y'all! Enjoyable puzzle & expo, thanks, Josh & WES.
ReplyDeleteLiked the theme but missed the Y until Bill explained it.
DNK: RAGER, WEBINAR, NENA, DAFOE.
Feet washing reminded me of my nephew's wedding years ago. The couple wanted to include washing each other's feet in the ceremony to represent their humility of service to their mate. They came to his mother for a receptacle to use for the water. She offered them her biggest Tupperware bowl, but they turned up their noses at Tupperware not being special enough. So mom went out and bought a silver-plated punch bowl for big bucks. Bride was delighted. (So much for humility.) Then during the wedding no one could see the water bowl during the ceremony -- Mom was annoyed. She asked me how she was ever going to use the thing as a punch bowl for her guests after it had washed feet.
Thursday toughie. Thanks for the fun, Josh and waseeley (and Teri).
ReplyDeleteI’m late to the party after an official a DNF. But I did see the Y on all the EARTH synonyms.
Plenty of inkblots, and a slowdown 8n the SW (hand up for Did TOO before ARE).
But the NE corner was my Waterloo.
This Canadian wanted Uni for that Ivy, but I had the S from SAMURAI. Although I knew “Tide” was for Alabama, I entered ASU and stuck with it. (I now have Googled and updated my data bank that Tide refers to University of Alabama, while Alabama State University is another entity.) Sigh.
It didn’t help that I moved from Declaw to DEFANG (hello d’o) and refused to let go of that tiger’s tail.
Elsa and Anna are from Frozen; ELLA is from Enchanted. Having granddaughters helps. (Melissa, what sweethearts!)
I must tell you about my Canadian thought process with 2D and 26A. My Sundays were Easy (like Sunday mornings!) and that gave me Agonise, which I chalked up to American spelling using the S instead of the Z. But CALC forced me to LAZY, and I smiled broadly to think that you were all using the proper spelling!
Wishing you all a good night.
billochoes at 3:09 wrote, that he once heard Adm Grace Hopper said, that ships are safer in the harbor during a storm ...
ReplyDeleteWhile I cannot locate a link, and despite tha fact that I am not a seaman, leave alone an Admiral, I have always read that the older ships, thro the 1930's ...
Always LEFT the harbor and sailed for the open seas, as protection, if they sensed a storm was coming ....
... despite what 'common sense' would dictate....
Maybe someone else can opine on this tomorrow.
I have read this, in litreature, far too many times to think of this as a typo error.
I had a good time with the puzzle, so Thank you Josh M Kaufmann. ( I always thought the final double 'nn' was indication of recent emigration from Germany, or the russian eastern Euro coutries ...)
I had heard of the 99 Luft ballons over 20 years ago. but I still had to read the english lyrics.
I was confused by Queens subject ... I thought it was the 'Queens English' which is spoken by the elite and broadcasters in UK, or attempts to as ESL' ... both were wrong....
Thank you Bill Waseely for an enjoyable cartoon and video filled blog !!
Calculus is taught in junior high schools in other countries, I learnt the basics of differentiation and integration in the ninth grade. The Cambridge Senior school Certificate exams in Maths, the 'O' Levels, ... has 4 sections in Calculus, in their Math exam papers.
Its a kinda late, so you all have a great day tomorrow !
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the puzzle, Josh, congrats on the LAT debut, and cute theme that helped 21d.
Great expo waseeley; enjoyed the STROUSS.
Any kid of the '80s would know NENA. A) it was the first pop-song we ever heard in another language B) it's theme was hope even as WWIII begins.
BTW, when singing the translation, it was all phonetic as she didn't know English.
The video.
Cute kids, mb. Thanks for sharing the snaps!
WO: mAN [behind the curtain?], DEFang
ESPs: WALT, ANIL
Nit: 7d's clue "Glad..." / 23a = GLAD
Fav: (and I'm sure CED will agree) ROWAN "The Blackadder" / "Mr. Bean" Atkinson.
{B, B+}
3d - Rick Steves was too short.
Calc & Diff-E are pre-requisites for the rest of the maths encountered in EE.
I enjoyed reading everyone today!
Cheers, -T
D'Oh! I just found the TARTARE clip I meant to link. Enjoy Julia Child. Cheers, -T
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteI'm REALLY sorry,
THANK YOU Melissa Bee .... for the review blog ....
... I have been working hard to catch up on my work, and my mind is getting confused.
Calculus reminds me of a very famous story ... If anybody ELSE can track down the source of this story, please write down on the blog and be sure to let me know. ( I know where I got it from ...)
Two professors from a small college are out on a trip, and stop by at diner in a small town for lunch.... One of thwm is an optimist (O) and the other is a confirmed pessimist - P
The pessimist P tells O that american kids are being given a 'dumbed down' education, and that their skills, especially in Maths, are very low indeed, ....
... and could even lead to the downfall of the american civilization.
The Opt O disagrees, and says kids in america are being taught just fine, ... they just do not get a chance to use their advanced Math knowledge...
At that point. the Pess P gets up to go and use the restroom.
While he has gone, Prof O calls their waitress over, and gives her a $20 bill and promises her another #20 ... if she can cram up and rememberjust ... one formula... one by 3 ... x cubed. ......
(1/3 x*3 )
After he has repeated this several times, the waitress goes away, back to work, repeating ....... one by 3,..... x cubed ... again .... and again..... and again.
When Prof P comes back out of the restroom, O tells him, that he's convinced that the waitress knows Calculus !@#@!! .... and immediately calls the waitress over, and asks her, "What is the integral of X squared. dx ? "
The waitress repies, " one third, x cubed ".....
As Prof O smiles at Prof P and grins long and deep, the waitress walks away ... but returns in a minute, and says, " Well, its not technically correct, unless you also add the integration constant".....
Good night, all.
I’m kinda proud of myself tonight. For some reason, this puzzle was solved quadrant by quadrant, with the NW the last to fall. Only excellent proofreading (I saw a little mess down at the beginning of the reveal, but rather than being 26A and disregarding it and chalking it up to my ignorance, I investigated further and figured it out and saved the day) gave me an FIR. .
ReplyDelete58A was a recurring question from my parents.
Got the theme and the reveal, but it did take a few minutes to see the Ys on top.
Welcome and thanks, Josh! Nice puzzle!
Thank-you, Bill and IM --- and LEO III happens to have been born a Leo, for better or worse!
In spite of the 18th being the tax deadline this year, I cheated and got mine in early this year. Finished it about nine hours ago...
How much did you make?
How much did we take so far?
Send us the rest of it!!!
I remember “99 Luftballons,” but it took perps to get NENA.
Calculus and math in general are what made me a history major!