Theme: What's in a name? The first name of a well known person is repurposed as the second word of an unrelated in-the-language phrase, and humor ensues.
17 A. Make Todd stay home after a "Meet the Press" blooper?: GROUND CHUCK. Literally, this is GROUND up meat from the front part of the cow, with a high fat content. CHUCK Todd is the regular host of "Meet the press" an hour-long Sunday Morning public affairs program. Being grounded is a stay-at-home punishment for bad behavior. Does he deserve it? You decide.
25. Refuse to let Wood exhibit "American Gothic"?: BLOCK GRANT. A BLOCK GRANT is money from central government which a local authority can allocate to a wide range of services. GRANT Wood pointed the famous picture cited in the clue.
38. Make Garfunkel pay for breaking a recording contract?: FINE ART. ARThur Ira Garfunkel is an American singer, poet, and actor. He is best known for his partnership with Paul Simon in the folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. A FINE is a punishment for malfeasance. FINE ART is creative art, especially visual art whose products are to be appreciated primarily or solely for their imaginative, aesthetic, or intellectual content.
49. Donate twice as much as Gates?: DOUBLE BILL. A DOUBLE BILL a program of entertainment with two main items or personalities. To DOUBLE somebody is to do twice as well or twice as much in some endeavor. William Henry [BILL] Gates III is an American business magnate, software developer, investor, author, and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen.
60. Maneuver Phillips into telling how he got the "Dateline NBC" job?: CORNER STONE. This is the STONE that forms the base of a corner of a building, joining two walls. Presumable the most important item in the base of the structure. STONE Stockton Phillips is an American television reporter and correspondent. He is best known as the former co-anchor of Dateline NBC, a news magazine TV series.
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here to anchor today's episode. I truly love this theme. Less enamored with the rest of the puzzle, though, which is rather over-endowed in the proper name department. Let's see what else we can report on.
Across:
1. Andre with eight Grand Slam wins: AGASSI. Andre Kirk Agassi [b 1970] is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors.
7. Russell of "The Americans": KERI. Keri Lynn Russell is an American actress. She portrayed the titular character on the drama series Felicity, which won her a Golden Globe Award, and Elizabeth Jennings on the FX spy thriller series The Americans, which earned her nominations for several Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.
1. Andre with eight Grand Slam wins: AGASSI. Andre Kirk Agassi [b 1970] is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is an eight-time major champion and an Olympic gold medalist, as well as a runner-up in seven other majors.
7. Russell of "The Americans": KERI. Keri Lynn Russell is an American actress. She portrayed the titular character on the drama series Felicity, which won her a Golden Globe Award, and Elizabeth Jennings on the FX spy thriller series The Americans, which earned her nominations for several Primetime Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.
11. Indian state in the Western Ghats: GOA. Goa is a state in western India with coastlines stretching along the Arabian Sea. Its long history as a Portuguese colony prior to 1961 is evident in its preserved 17th-century churches and the area’s tropical spice plantations.
14. Lanai furniture material: RATTAN. a type of material that is used in wicker weaves. Rattan is a naturally growing vine like species that is native to tropical regions of Australia, Asia, and Africa. For production use, the skin is peeled away and utilized for weaving purposes.
15. "You said it!": AMEN.
16. Furthermore: AND. Not only that, but. . . .
19. Untruth: LIE. Mendacity.
20. Large planter: URN. A tall, rounded vase with a base.
14. Lanai furniture material: RATTAN. a type of material that is used in wicker weaves. Rattan is a naturally growing vine like species that is native to tropical regions of Australia, Asia, and Africa. For production use, the skin is peeled away and utilized for weaving purposes.
15. "You said it!": AMEN.
16. Furthermore: AND. Not only that, but. . . .
19. Untruth: LIE. Mendacity.
20. Large planter: URN. A tall, rounded vase with a base.
21. Barnacle spot: KEEL. A barnacle ia a marine crustacean with an external shell, which attaches itself permanently to a variety of surfaces. Barnacles feed by filtering particles from the water using their modified feathery legs. In shipbuilding, the KEEL is the main structural member and backbone of a ship or boat, running longitudinally along the centre of the bottom of the hull from stem to stern.
22. Hoofbeat sound: CLOP.
23. "Breath, __, Memory": Edwidge Danticat novel: EYES. The novel deals with questions of racial, linguistic and gender identity in interconnected ways.
29. LEGO buys: KITS. A set of parts to be put together to make a finished object
31. Long-necked waders: HERONS. Any of various long-necked and long-legged wading birds (family Ardeidae) with a long tapering bill, large wings, and soft plumage. I was lucky to get this picture of one.
32. Iberian peninsula country: SPAIN. Along with Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar, and a sliver of France.
35. Bigelow or DuVernay: DIRECTOR. Film makers
37. "__ we meet again": 'TIL. Short for "until."
41. Regret: RUE.
42. Hands over: ENTRUSTS.
44. Luxor's country: EGYPT.
46. Folklore monsters: TROLLS. Large creatures from Scandinavian mythology, typically living in caves or mountains. They are cruel and hostile to humans and other living things.
47. Lavish party: GALA.
51. Family nickname: PAPA. Bumpa doesn't fit.
55. MLB stat: RBIS. Runs Batted In.
56. Retain: KEEP. Hold as one's own.
58. Filing aid: TAB. A small flap or strip of material attached to or projecting from something, used to hold or manipulate it, or for identification and information.
59. "You got it": YES. Agreement
64. "Mangia!": EAT. Italian.
65. "Motor Trend" topic: AUTO. A motor car.
66. Pad of paper: TABLET. A writing pad.
67. Med. caregivers: RNS. Registered Nurses.
68. Cook up: BREW. Devise a clever or devious story, excuse, or plan.
69. Uses delaying tactics: STALLS.
Down:
1. Quarrel: ARGUE. Make a fuss
2. "Lincoln at Gettysburg" Pulitzer winner Wills: GARRY. Garry Wills [b 1934] is an American author, journalist, and historian, specializing in American history, politics, and religion, especially the history of the Catholic Church. He won a Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1993.
3. Square things: ATONE. Make amends. Here, "square" is a verb, not the adjective you might have expected.
4. Disco __ of "The Simpsons": STU. Stuart Discothèque, usually known as Disco Stu, is the owner of Stu's Disco. He is a disco aficionado and is usually featured wearing a rhinestone-encrusted leisure suit from the 70's and sports an Afro. The son of Doo-Wop Steve and Public Domain Debbie.
5. Went to the bottom: SANK. [Glub]
6. Behind, so to speak: IN DEBT. Failing to make payments, as due.
7. "The Two Fridas" painter: KAHLO. Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón [1907 - 1954] was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. The painting is a double self-portrait.
8. Bird that won't fly away: EMU. The second-largest living bird by height, after its ratite relative, the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus Dromaius.
9. __ room: REC. A place dedicated to fun and games.
10. HP product: INK. Stuff you can print with.
11. Valor: GALLANTRY. Courageous behavior, especially in battle.
12. Bowlful often topped with melted GruyËre: ONION SOUP.
13. Skilled (at): ADEPT.
18. Animator's sheets: CELS. Transparent sheets of celluloid or similar film material, which can be drawn on and used in the production of cartoons.
22. Gator kin: CROC. Large aquatic reptiles in the Crocodilia order. They have mostly different habitats.
9. __ room: REC. A place dedicated to fun and games.
10. HP product: INK. Stuff you can print with.
11. Valor: GALLANTRY. Courageous behavior, especially in battle.
12. Bowlful often topped with melted GruyËre: ONION SOUP.
13. Skilled (at): ADEPT.
18. Animator's sheets: CELS. Transparent sheets of celluloid or similar film material, which can be drawn on and used in the production of cartoons.
22. Gator kin: CROC. Large aquatic reptiles in the Crocodilia order. They have mostly different habitats.
I give you now Professor Twist,
A conscientious scientist,
Trustees exclaimed, "He never bungles!"
And sent him off to distant jungles.
Camped on a tropic riverside,
One day he missed his loving bride.
She had, the guide informed him later,
Been eaten by an alligator.
Professor Twist could not but smile.
"You mean," he said, "a crocodile."
-- Ogden Nash
24. Need a lift, maybe: SKI. The lift gets you to the top of the hill so you can SKI back down.
26. __ seed pudding: CHIA. A custard like desert made from chia seeds and some type of milk, with optional flavorings and toppings.
27. Golden State Warriors coach Steve: KERR. Stephen Douglas Kerr [b 1965] is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. He is an eight-time NBA champion, having won five titles as a player as well as three with the Warriors as a head coach.
28. Storybook sister: GRETEL. Sibling of Hansel. The two children are abandoned in the forest where they are captured by a witch who intends to fatten them up and eat them. Gretel outwits the witch and kills her, and the children escape with her treasure. Arya Stark doesn't fit.
30. Completely: IN FULL. With nothing omitted.
32. Sault __ Marie: STE. Sault Ste. Marie is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 14,144 at the 2010 census, it is the second-most populated city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette.
33. Speckled legume: PINTO BEAN. A variety of common bean. In Spanish they are called judías pintas, literally "speckled bean". It is the most popular bean by crop production in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, and is most often eaten whole, or mashed and then refried.
34. Humanitarians: ALTRUISTS. Those who are concerned with or seeking to promote human welfare.
35. __ Plaines, Illinois: DES. A city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport.
36. Jobless, in a way: Abbr.: RETired. Having left the work force to to age or infirmity.
39. Archipelago part: ISLE. An individual island in a chain.
40. Govt. crash investigator: NTSB. National Transportation Safety Board.
43. Steals from: ROBS. Unlawfully taking property from a person or place by force or threat of force.
45. Opening: GAP.
47. High spirits: GLEE. High spirited joy. In Old English this was the specific joy resulting from song. Possibly related to the group of Germanic words in gl- with senses of "shining; smooth; radiant; joyful"
48. Phone notifications: ALERTS. Messages sent to help you see information that could potentially save either your life or someone else's.
49. Laundry appliance: DRYER. For your laundry.
50. "No need to remind me": I KNOW.
52. Ring-shaped reef: ATOLL. A coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon.
27. Golden State Warriors coach Steve: KERR. Stephen Douglas Kerr [b 1965] is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. He is an eight-time NBA champion, having won five titles as a player as well as three with the Warriors as a head coach.
28. Storybook sister: GRETEL. Sibling of Hansel. The two children are abandoned in the forest where they are captured by a witch who intends to fatten them up and eat them. Gretel outwits the witch and kills her, and the children escape with her treasure. Arya Stark doesn't fit.
30. Completely: IN FULL. With nothing omitted.
32. Sault __ Marie: STE. Sault Ste. Marie is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 14,144 at the 2010 census, it is the second-most populated city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette.
33. Speckled legume: PINTO BEAN. A variety of common bean. In Spanish they are called judías pintas, literally "speckled bean". It is the most popular bean by crop production in Northern Mexico and the Southwestern United States, and is most often eaten whole, or mashed and then refried.
34. Humanitarians: ALTRUISTS. Those who are concerned with or seeking to promote human welfare.
35. __ Plaines, Illinois: DES. A city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 60,675. The city is a suburb of Chicago and is located just north of O'Hare International Airport.
36. Jobless, in a way: Abbr.: RETired. Having left the work force to to age or infirmity.
39. Archipelago part: ISLE. An individual island in a chain.
40. Govt. crash investigator: NTSB. National Transportation Safety Board.
43. Steals from: ROBS. Unlawfully taking property from a person or place by force or threat of force.
45. Opening: GAP.
47. High spirits: GLEE. High spirited joy. In Old English this was the specific joy resulting from song. Possibly related to the group of Germanic words in gl- with senses of "shining; smooth; radiant; joyful"
48. Phone notifications: ALERTS. Messages sent to help you see information that could potentially save either your life or someone else's.
49. Laundry appliance: DRYER. For your laundry.
50. "No need to remind me": I KNOW.
52. Ring-shaped reef: ATOLL. A coral island consisting of a reef surrounding a lagoon.
53. Group of jurors: PANEL. A small group of people chosen to give advice, make a decision, or publicly discuss their opinions.
54. Helps in a heist: ABETS. Encourages or assists (someone) to do something wrong, in particular, to commit a crime or other offense.
57. Jr. challenge: PSAT. The Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test is a standardised test administered by the College Board and cosponsored by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation in the United States.
60. Pinot alternative: CAB. Short for Cabernet Sauvignon, a red wine made from a variety of black wine grape of the same name from the Bordeaux area of France, now grown throughout the world.
61. Sharing word: OUR. Yours and mine.
62. GPS display: RTE. Route - a way to get from here to there.
63. Scheduling abbr.: TBA. To Be Announced.
So concludes another Wednesday. Have a happy middle of the week.
Cool regards!
JzB
55 comments:
DNF. Six naticks and misspellings, most across the center.
Nice theme. From the first one completed, it helped with the rest.
Come listen round to hear the GALLANTRY
Of Sir Eele and a damsel's cat in a tree!
He rode tall in the saddle,
Armored for the battle!
Plucked the cat from a branch, to the damsel's GLEE!
The loving couple met at a GALA.
They fought like they were in Valhalla!
Every ARGUMENT ended
When darkness descend,
Make-sex is the best -- until he became a PAPA!
{A-, B-.}
I thought it was a clever theme, which I had no trouble sussing after the first one. Other than that, I don't have much to say about this puzzle, except that it seemed easier than yesterday's. FIR, so I'm happy.
Good morning!
Despite the plethora of proper names, this was the easiest offering so far this week. Fastest, too. Only needed Wite-Out to correct IN TOTO to IN FULL. (Look at the perps, d-o.) Thanx for the amusement, Lynn, and for the erudite expot, JzB.
Double BIll: I took this to mean invoicing twice as much as the bill should actually be.
Block Grant: Back in the '70s a downtown hotel in Cedar Rapids had a Grant Wood Room for its restaurant. Wood lived in Cedar Rapids for most of his life.
GARRY: The spelling evoked long-time TV personality Garry Moore.
FIR, but erased wicker for RATTAN and eta for RTE. Wise travelers double-check the RTE suggested by the GPS. Lots of DNKs, but for a change the perps were fair and saved the day.
EGYPT is Luxor's country. Its county is Clark, as in Las Vegas.
HP seems to have adopted the old Gillette marketing theme - Give them the razor, sell them the blades. HP printers are inexpensive, but the INK and toner...
DES Plaines is the home of my ATF Italian restaurant, Romano's. It's easy to find the city - just drive around north of Chicago, and if you look up and DES planes, you are there.
Thanks to Lynn for the fun hump day puzzle. And thanks to JzB for the tour.
Took 6:41 today.
Wanted to spell Rattan with only one "t".
I am unfamiliar with the novel, and yes, the proper name trend continues.
FIW. The crossing of 2 proper names (not good form for puzzles) did me in. Took a WAG and put M instead of K.
Good Morning:
Seeing LL’s byline means a fun and satisfying solving experience and today’s was just that in spades. Having had no w/os and no unknowns led to a quick and enjoyable solve. I loved the theme and the strong, in-the-language themers. Lynne treated us with beaucoup pairings, too: Robs/Abets, Goa/Egypt, Atoll/Isle, Cab/Auto, Tab/Tablet, Tab/TBA, Emu/Herons, Double/RBIs, Rte/Ret, Gala/Gallantry, Bean/Soup, and Lie/Rue/Atone/Amen. Also, CSOs to Vidwan (Goa), DO and Jinx (Keel), MalMan (Ski), Misty (Cab), Lucina (Ste and Amen), and Keith (Director).
Thanks, Lynn, for a mid-week treat and thanks, JazzB, for the tour de force expo.
Have a great day.
YES, a FIR Wednesday! Thanks, Lynn, although I had a slow start and several WOs. Perps fixed my problems, though as DO said, I should have looked at the perps sooner: Rtd/RET, ALaRmS/ALERTS, and atoll (written in wrong squares)/I KNOW. The themers were clever and helpful. Like DO, my first thought for DOUBLE BILL was overcharging people. I enjoyed the fresh fill, Lynn.
JazzB, I soon figured out it was you writing the review today and enjoyed your comments and extra information. Nice heron picture, too. Thanks!
The proper names weren't a problem for me today because perps confirmed the ones I wondered about. I noticed GALA, PAPA, ABETS, and KITS were back today.
Hope you all have a good start to the day!
A fun and clever theme today. Too many proper names for my liking. FIR with just two white-out moments.
I agree this was easier than yesterday, but I still have a mile to go to get as good as I used to be. It's the names of TV show and sports figures that kill me. I did know CHUCK, AGASSI, BILL, ART, but none of the others. At least it took less than an hour today!
Musings
-What a fun theme. FINE ART caused a chuckle here on the soggy Great Plains
-D-O, I would have known this GARRY too
-A blue HERON joined us on the back nine yesterday
-Murders In The ___ Morgue never seems to get a turn at bat
-PAPA is my much-loved grandfatherly nickname
-I’m certain that this fond childhood TABLET memory is now considered to be racist
-My favorite Podcaster loves KERI Russell and that helped with KAHLO. Don’t tell Jeffrey Wechsler!
-Being RET led me to meeting a lovely woman from Minneapolis and a wonderful hobby
"Well-known"? Right off the bat I didn't know Messrs Todd and Wood(ntso Phillips). On the latter my first thought was Tiger
A couple of Sports clues beginning with AGASSI who is a product of the Bradenton,FL Sports Camp.
With the K my first thought was a barnacle on the knee
Re. TROLLS*. Re. Lincoln. I was at a rally where the Speaker unwisely mentioned Abe in a positive light. The redneck Tampa crowd gasped and went deathly silent
I tried Disco Sam first
More later
WC
** Bilbo'd thought pilching a purse would win renown
He'd snuck into the troll's kiosk without a sound.
He hadn't expected a purse to be talking,
Or the hazards of troll pick pocketing.
He'd spurned his saner Baggins brain
Now he was in the clutches of the larger of the Twain
Of giant trolls. "You had to press, your luck,you fool!"
"You were sent to reconnoiter, not to steal a jewel".(From the Bilbo and Smaug saga at the J-blog)
Got all the unifiers, able to complete. I counted at least 16 proper names. Way too many for a Tues.
Enjoyed the amusing theme. STONE Phillips grew up in the St.Louis area and went to Parkway West High School which was a big rival for Jefferson City HS where our kids went. Neat to see a long word like GALLANTRY in the answers.
I had a small area that had to be redone - my kids were big LEGO fans and they always called them SETS instead of KITS- that led me to put in ENTIRE which then had to be changed to IN FULL.
As clued with humanitarians - ALTRUISTS are those who promote good to humanity. One of my senior research papers in college was about altruism - which occurs in other species as well as humans. It went contrary to natural selection/survival of the fittest where an animal- human or otherwise- acts in a way to help another with no benefit to them (and sometimes even to their detriment)
Thanks JzB - I thought at first it wasn't you with no links to music! and thanks Lynn for a clever puzzle!
Oops my bad, Too many names for a Wed. Lol
Easy, fun theme. I missed the K in Keri and Kahlo. To me it was an unfair Natick. The other wrong cell, an E, was my fault. I didn't know EYES and was looking at ATON_ as a single word. Shoulda had it. The rest was easily perpable and guessable.
Off to the dentist AGAIN, a six month long odyssey.
My master's thesis was about altruism in children.
Too many proper names and too many pro sports-related answers. The torrent of proper names in the LAT xword puzzles is a problem.. That seems to be a trend and seems worse since Patti Varol took over as editor.The editors need to put a stop to that. Don't accept such puzzles with so many names, trivia, and the usual exclusionary sports minutae .
Cute theme today. After the first one the rest became obvious.
Like DO, I took Double Bill to mean invoicing twice.
There were a bunch of proper names, and some that I didn't know. Plus the natick at KERI and KAHLO, that was as Yellowrocks said, was a little unfair. WAGS and PERPS filled in the unknowns.
I haven't been here very much for the last 6 months due to some major health issues. My atrophied pancreas barely functions and can never be fixed, but the doctors have developed a regimen of medications that will keep me kicking for the foreseeable future. However, it has altered my lifestyle greatly, especially the way I eat. After losing a lot of weight, I'm regaining some strength and have put a few pounds back on (however, I could do without the weight)
So, I'll be checking in more frequently now. Not every day, but occasionally.
Have a great day everyone.
Thank YOu Lynn Lempel for a very nice and enjoyable Wednesday puzzle, which was a pleasure to solve. The names were not totally familiar but I was able to suss them, with ease. The theme immediately became self evident, and was very helpful.
Thank you Jazz Bumpa for your to-the-point blog review, and because of, not too many links, was very instructive.
Inane Hiker, your point of altruism amongst other animals ( including mankind - ) is very important, instructive and should be duly noted.
You Tube has several instances of altruistic animal behavior .... especially amongst our closest relatives, like chimps, apes and gorillas !!@!!
Although, often. elephants and some lions and lionesses show such behaviors.(rarely -).
I would like to think that it has to do with a clump of genes, inherent in us ... and people like MOther Theresa had a plethora of them.
GOA, a state smaller than Rhode Island, was taken over, by force, in Dec 1962, by the indian army, under Govt of India orders. I will not deal with the wise-ness of that decision, or its need or necessity, but thank goodness, it is still an autonomous state, with its own culture etc.,
I visited it, only in Dec 2019, before the pandemic really hit. They have their own language, a portugese creole, admixed with 3 other indian lang.s, a laid back - easy going way of living, and their own cooking styles and freedom of religion and a unique culture.
They get over 30 percent of ALL tourists to India, despite having none of the important tourist attractions, except for the sun and the beaches, - the tourists mostly come from Israel, and the russian satellite nations, including Ukraine.
They have no controls on alchohol production ( altho' I don't drink -) and that liqour,
called Feni ( Pheni ) ... is made, variously from, coconut juices, cashew nut apples, and other local products, ... and is often smuggled into the rest of the country. I also saw the embalmed body of St Francis Xavier, in a 400 yrs old open casket. He actually died in mainland China.
BTW, ... Ghats in India, means ( among other things -) a mountain, or more so, as in mountain passes between mtn ranges. There are ranges of mtns on the SoEastern and SouthWestern indian peninsula, along the entire coasts, and the mtns and their passes near the coasts are called Ghats.
Have a nice day, and a great week, you all.
Thank you Lynn for a Wednesday walk in the park (certainly easier than yesterday). The theme was a big help.
And thank you Bumpa for your clear explication of this puzzle. Nice explanation of the theme.
A few favs:
25A BLOCK GRANT. We'll be learning more about BLOCKS tomorrow!
31A HERONS. Great Blue Herons are common in the marshes and streams of the Chesapeake Bay and are particularly majestic in flight. Nice pic JzB!
46A TROLLS. They are also widespread on the Internet.
2D GARRY. Wills taught classics and humanities at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore from 1962 to 1980 and I recall attending a few of his public lectures, although I don't recall the topics.
4D STU. Our streaming services don't carry the Simpsons and almost everything I know about them I've learned through Cwds. I did however pay for Series 20 Episode 6 ""Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words", in which the Simpsons return the favor. I believe you can still purchase this episode through YouTube.
7D KAHLO. Frida was also married for a time to the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera.
22D CROC. The Nash poem reminded me of a not so funny story of a wilderness guide who was snatched from a kayak by a crocodile and dragged underwater during an expedition in the Congo in 2010.
Cheers,
Bill
inanehiker @9:19 AM ALTRUISM is not the only thing that goes contrary to NS/SOTF, but to say more would violate the "No politics, no religion" rule.
p.s. In case you've forgotten, Lynn is one of the featured constructors, along with C.C. in Patti Varol's puzzle compendium "Women of Letters". Here's how to get a copy.
On a more philosophical note, I did not do yesterday's puzzle nor comment on it - because I got some very sad news of the passing away of the only son of some friends of ours. He died unexpectedly in an unusual accident.
The death of a child, next to the death of a beloved parent, and especially a spouse, is the most traumatic experience that most of us will ever face.
These are some of the perils of living to a ripe old age ....
Sorry, for sharing this gloomy news.
While it was an easy puzzle to FIR and the theme was obvious from the start this puzzle was CHUCK full of TOO MANY PROPER NAMES in fills and clues.
GROUND CHUCK? Good reason to not watch television news on any network. All biased and ratings driven stories, facts be damned. Lester Holt is the only on air personality at both NBC & MSNBC with any journalistic integrity. Having never watched 'Dateline' I can't say anything about STONE Phillips.
I was on the receiving end of such news from a close friend once. It is almost impossible to find words to comfort someone this has happened to.
Hola!
Thank you, Lynn and JazzBumpa! I really like the play on words of which this puzzle had a plethora. And I don't mind the proper names as long as either I know them or can work them out. Today most of the names were familiar including CHUCK Todd, Andre AGASSI, ART Garfunkel, BILL Gates and Frida KAHLO but mot Steve KERR. I would have known Deborah KERR.
I guess I owe my growth and development to PINTO BEANs. In my childhood, often that was the only thing we had to eat. Today that is still one of the cheapest foods available. ONION SOUP has never appealed to me.
Vidwan: I am sorry to hear the sad news of your friends' son. It is heart wrenching to lose a child and not only your friend's but also the children in Texas. Also thank you for the information about GOA. It adds a bit more to my learning about India which to me is still quite mysterious.
Please stay well and safe, everyone!
Well, this was a Wednesday toughie for me, but still fun--thanks, Lynn. And enjoyed your helpful commentary, JazzB.
Liked seeing that FINE ART in the middle. Maybe they should hold a GALA to celebrate.
Do CROCs and HERONs get along? I suspect not.
Would be fun to have a chance to visit both SPAIN and EGYPT.
Fun verses today, Owen and Wilbur--many thanks.
Welcome back, oc4beach, and stay healthy.
Sorry to hear your sad news, Vidwan.
Thanks for the CSO, Irish Miss. I'll raise a glass of Merlot to you tonight.
Have a good day, everybody.
I usually find proper names in the puzzle to be unknown to me. Lucky for me that I knew all four theme names CHUCK, GRANT, ART and BILL. Clever theme construction. FRIDA KAHLO is a regular visitor to the puzzles and a name worth knowing. Once you know her unique face you will see it on t-shirts and on other popular kitsch.
Now that we have GALA again, I will add that I pronounce it "Gay-La".
Here I got to see a CROC in northern Australia that was clearly not pleased at our presence.
Yes, we really were that close, but we were in a boat.
From Yesterday:
Jinx, Yellowrocks, Jayce, Bill Seeley Thanks for taking the time to follow up on the print mess saga.
If I understand correctly, Yellowrocks and Jayce encountered the same mess that I did. Yes, I have tried Chrome and Firefox. It seems to be a bug in the LA Times site. Interesting that no one has bothered to notice or fix it in almost two years.
Lucina Thanks for the answer about the camels. Yes, I guess they can be smelly. Yes, I also saw many camels in Morocco, but did not ride any there.
AnonT Thanks for the kind words about my PETRA photo. Yes, the camel people tried to scam us, too. But they just succeeded in making a pleasant experience into an unpleasant business deal. I set the price before getting on, showing them what I was going to pay them in US dollars. That is what I gave them and it was more than they usually get. We were already on the ground when they tried to claim we had agreed on a higher price.
I was experienced in other Muslim and Arab countries with their idea of "business". It gets really tiring and annoying and creates utterly unnecessary ill will. It seems to be a form of entertainment for them.
CanadianEh Thank you for the kind comments about my HORCHATA and PETRA experience. The natural beauty of PETRA is enough reason to visit. But the human-built structures in solid rock make it indeed a wonder of the world.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Thought today was Wednesday!
oc4beach, we have missed you. Sorry about your diagnosis. Glad you have found medications that help a bit to keep you going. You will be in my thoughts.
Picard, after getting that weird print preview I unsuccessfully tried to find ways to avoid it. Soon I discovered that just ignoring it and going ahead and pressing print worked. I hope that works for you. That preview still pops up every time, but I don't care.
Research has different points of view regarding altruism. Because some bloggers object, I will leave it to the individual to look it up. It would have made an interesting discussion. Almost everyday I find apropos points of view that I am loath to discuss here.
We took camel rides in Egypt. The camel drivers were very persistent about taking photos of us for a fee. However, they had no trouble getting the camels to set us down for no extra charge, even if we refused photos. When one camel mouthed the breast of a large busted friend we razzed her all day that the camel thought it was a cantaloupe. One of us took that memorable photo.
Puzzling thoughts:
DNF/FIW, due to the KERI/KAHLO - Thumper
This week's Monday has been, so far, the toughest puzzle to solve for me; then Tuesday; and today's (Wednesday) was the easiest, despite my not finishing. I've done Friday's (which if I recall is no tougher than today; maybe even easier). It'll be interesting to see what's in store for tomorrow
Blogger alert: even though we bloggers get a full week's worth of puzzles ahead of time, I always wait until the "day of" to solve them, unless it's the Friday's that I recap
They say that change is "good". And for a lot of things I agree. But crossword puzzles? I prefer the previous lead up, when the more difficult puzzles appeared as the week progressed. But that might just be me ...
I too knew enough of the proper names to finish the puzzle with no problems.
After a friend suffered excruciating pains when a gall stone migrated to her pancreas, she was told by her doctor that the pancreas was the diva of our organs and she had made it mad.
Everglades National park in Florida is the only place in the US where crocodiles and alligators naturally reside.
There are always so many interesting tidbits to be learned following this blog.
Thank you all of you who elaborate on various subjects that arise from the puzzles. I’m just adding my little voice.
Picard, I get the e-newspaper. It includes a little scissors tool, which I use to cut an image of the CW, which I save as a pdf, then open the pdf and print it. I've never had the problem you describe. As to the CW, yes, I did FIR in less time than yesterday, but still found it annoyingly full of proper names. The five theme answers required knowledge of a proper name, along with 7 other clues. It's getting ridiculous when three names intersect: KERI, KAYLO and CHUCK. I knew only CHUCK. I did enjoy watching "The Americans" a few years ago. My God-daughter was one of the associate producers. I dredged a guess of K in the KERI/KAHLO crossing, just lucky to maybe remember or maybe just guess, I'm not sure. Anyhow, DNK GARRY GAO STU KAHLO KERI or KERR. So....a 24 minute struggle. LL thanx (I think) for your efforts in creating this headache. JzB, thanx for the outstanding (as always!) write-up.
CAB didn't fool me today. TBA not etA
Owen, two fab W's today. Sir Eele??
KS, I met the same Natick and went for Meri/Mahlo. No FIW on pure Natick. Wilbur rules
Sports clues? I count AA and (Steve)KERR(In the NBA semi finals again with SF) Second is obscure like KERI/KAHLO
WC
Yellowrocks, unclefred Thanks for your further explanations of your printing experiences.
It seems that I can indeed print directly to my fancy HP printer directly. Even though the preview is all messed up. But I want to save it as a PDF first so I also have the puzzle saved on my computer. That is what does not work.
My guess is that no one who runs the LA Times game page cares about such a bug. I will continue to do my workaround which is just to do a screen shot and save that. Thanks, everybody!
Again alot of unknown proper names for a humpday.. Russell, Indian State, Willis, Danticat, Coach Steve, GARRY but a fun pun theme made easy as the second word (name) was familiar in each case.
A CW URN is usually clued with coffee
Inkover: Gretyl/GRETEL (come on, it's obviously not Hansyl). "Leggo" my Lego <>>sets or KITS. With cheese and a crouton it's French ONION SOUP, n'est-ce pas?
Party on! Around here we say gayla. PINTOBEAN ("pinto", painted in Sp and It). Lots of ABETing in our puzzles lately.
"Square things" clever clue for ATONE.
Good lanai furniture is ______ to the core...RATTAN
Lyft alternative ....CAB
Vestigial non-inclusive prayer language...AMEN
And adding insult.to injury....🙄
Writing down Arthur's name....SPELLINGBEA
For Halloween we should dress up like Sinatra....LETSBEFRANK
.....(sorry couldn't help myself 😇)
"MANGIA bene, ridi spesso, ama molto"
Picard, I'm sure you've already thought of deleting your copy of pdf reader, and downloading a new version, so try saving the file as a jpeg instead of a pdf. It prints equally well and may eliminate your problem.
It just occurred to me that Spanish alphabet doesn't have a K. I wonder if Frida descended from the INKAS?
Ray - O @2:18 PM Last night we streamed architect and film maker Francesco da Mosto's Shakespeare in Italy (Acorn and Prime). It attempts to answer the question of where Shakespeare disappeared to for 7 years in his early 20s, and notes that not only are many of his plays preceded by Italian originals, but also that he had a remarkable local knowledge of the cities in which these plays are set. The plays explored in episode 1 include Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing (with an interview with Emma Thompson), and Othello. We'll probably watch episode 2 tonight. In English and Italian with subtitles. I'm sure you'd love it.
I also truly love the theme today. So cool how it changes the adjective into a verb.
Almost a Natick for me was the letter crossing GARR- and E-ES. The only letter that made sense, which it took me an alphabet run to reveal, was Y. Tada!
As inanehiker did, I entered SETS instead of KITS, which led me to put in ENTIRE which then had to be changed to IN FULL.
Good wishes to you all.
Delightful PZL by Lynn Lempel, MC'd by JazzBumpa...
Fave? The first one, GROUND CHUCK!
I did not enjoy the proper names, but found them maybe more tolerable than our host. They didn't require much head-scratching.
~ OMK
____________
DR: One diagonal, far end.
its anagram (14 of 15 letters) could be a terribly biased desecration,
or something as mild as a profanity printed in italics.
I refer, of course, to a...
"SLANT SACRILEGE"!
Speaking of GRETEL, I am surprised the QAnon gang have not identified (not yet!) the Witch as a liberal Dem.
She is, after all, fattening up children (along with Tom Hanks?) in order to eat them.
~ OMK
Waz...sounds fascinating....thanks
Hi Y'all! Amusing theme, thanks, Lynn. Interesting expo, JzB. Thanks.
This puzzle took me 18:46 minutes -- over 7 minutes less to fill than Ella's opus yesterday & I sure enjoyed it more.
DNK: KERI/KAHLO cross & had to red-letter the "K" finally. Also DNK CHUCK, EYES, GARRY.
Did know STEVE KERR. See him on TV a lot lately watching the NBA Playoffs, including last night. Golden State Warriors is my favorite team this year. KERR is back coaching after being off a couple weeks with positive COVID.
Picard @2:06 ~
I get the LA Times too, and when I go to the digital (eNewspaper) edition (using Safari as my browser), I just forward to the puzzle page and click directly on the crossword.
This isolates the XWD and brings it directly into print mode.
Just relying on the default settings, I have never had a problem printing. No bugs encountered this way.
I have not read all of your posting on the subject, but could it be the editors are unaware of your issue because they have not been called to access the XWD in your way?
~ OMK
Picard, "save to pdf" a different problem than you first reported. When I save to pdf the preview loses its lines, but when I enlarge the preview by spreading my fingers they come back and the grid looks normal.
You need to be aware that no business warrants that their web site will work with every combination of browser, pc model, OS version, graphics hardware, firewall settings and antivirus software. I have seen weird problems that occur with Win10 Home, but not with Win10 Enterprise (and vice versa). If I could sit with you I would try it with my laptop over your network. If it worked on my computer, I would make a list of the differences between our machines, and analyze those. (Actually, the first thing I would do is double-check that you have the latest updates on Win10 and the drivers for all your machine's hardware, but I'm sure you have already done that.)
Anyhoo, UncleFred's workaround sounds good too, unless you are stubborn like me and just want to find the problem. Wish I still lived in LA - sounds like a fun problem to troubleshoot.
Hi All!
Thank you Lynn for a fun & finish-able puzzle. Thank you JzB for the fine extended review; I enjoyed the Nash.
WOs: 3d is going to be plural so enter an S, right? [bzzt] I was thinking Da(h)li at KAHLO. Acai got started before (much later) CHIA went in
ESPs: KERI |KAHLO, GOA, EYES, KERR
Fav: Mangia!
I also really liked the DOUBLE 9-stacks - each with a positive attribute and food.
KAHLO |KERI took ESP + an ABC run. When I got to K, I then remembered Frida KAHLO and a story about her lesser-known works.
This morning while solving & listening to the news, I heard something about Golden State and Steve (did they say carl?). Apparently, the news is about this last night [turn your speakers down]
{A, B+}
Funny DR, OMK.
Vidwan - so sorry to hear the sad news. Happened to a friend of mine (his 9month old first born) and I was so at a loss for words, I wasn't there for him. Just say anything is what I've later learned.
Nice to see you oc4. Sorry to hear about your woes but good to know the meds have it under control.
LETS BE FRANK wins but they're all cute, Ray-O.
Jinx - funny re: Luxor 'cuz I read county more than once.
Gotta run. Cheers, -T
Wilbur This may be the first time I'e used Sir Eele over here, but
I've got 2 or 3 stories about him on JH. However I spelled his name wrong today. It should be Sir Reele (surreal).
Add to that correction, I see I really messed the second l'ick up. It should read--
The loving couple met at a GALA.
They fought like they were in Valhalla!
Every ARGUMENT ended
When darkness descend
Make-up sex is the best -- until he became a PAPA!
Disliked the preponderance of proper names with the Keri/Kahlo natick requiring most of my time to stop the puzzle clock.
Appreciate all who voice disapproval of this type of clue and hope creators and editors that may read this excellent site’s blogs take heed of comments on this matter.
NY Times puzzles have become easier to solve than the LA Times. Interesting reversal!
Wait'll you see Tomorrow's
Then again it may just be my Yellowrock syndrome*
WC
* YR remember you said your solving acumen wasn't what it used to be? Or are you back to your old self
Steve KERR really slammed into Congress today. He let it be known during his session with sports reporters that he is fed up (he's not the only one!) with political "leaders" for tolerating the mayhem that bedevils our country.
Then he canceled the rest of his session.
~ OMK
FIW! Didn’t know (among other things) KERI/KAHLO. Stuck an M in as my last fill. Guess I wasn’t the only one.
Oh well. I was lucky to get everything else right. Like others said, I really liked the theme. It didn’t take me long to figure it out, and I chuckled to myself at every one of the theme answers.
Thanks, Lynn and JazzB!
I like the flavor of onion soup, but I don’t want any cheese or soggy bread in it. I don't like soggy bread! Period!
Just printed out Thursday's puzzle. Get ready, all you circle lovers and haters!
I really like a challenge and it sounds like tomorrow will offer it.
Sigh. It appears that my traveling days may be over. Walking has become very painful so I just cancelled my trip to San Rafael/San Francisco which was supposed to happen June 1st. It saddens me but then I have had a lifetime of good trips and seen places of which I had only dreamed and read about. Age 84 is probably a good time to stop. Darn you, diabetes!
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