Puzzling thoughts:
Do you see what I did there with the "theme" image? No? Well, then perhaps you didn't "get" the gist of today's puzzle
So, Moe, what IS the gist of today's puzzle? Good question! First off, did your puzzle come with circles? If not, good luck solving. But please allow me to "reveal" for you what each entry means:
17-across. Something heard around Chicago, literally?: WEACCENTST. The word "ACCENT" is in the "MIDdle" of the word "WEST". So in this example, the literal something heard around Chicago is a Midwest Accent. This, maybe? Hope some of our Chicagoans will confirm or deny ...
26-across. Hurdle before spring break, literally?: TEEXAMRM. Midterm exam
40-across. Passport or Pilot, e.g., literally?: SISUVZE. Honda's entries in the Midsize SUV market
51-across. Frog that carries fertilized eggs on its back, literally?: WITOADFE. Total unknown for Moe. Had to Google. Midwife Toad
64-across. Reason to buy a sports car, for some, literally?: LICRISISFE. Midlife crisis. Moe had his midlife crisis in 2008 when he bought his Audi A5 which sort of qualifies as a sports car
So back to the original image and Moe's question, "Today's blog, literally?" = Midyear review. Well, it's not quite midyear, but close. The "actual" midyear occurs the first week of July. Let's examine the rest of the clues and fill
The finished grid:
Across:
1. Taper or fade: COIF. d-otto, did this one slow down your solving of today's puzzle? It did mine. I never once thought of the words "taper" or "fade" to refer to a hair style/haircut, or COIF. Meh
5. Many: A LOT. Could have been clued: "what a real-estate developer offers for sale"
9. Charcuterie board selection: EDAM. I had MEAT for the longest time. EDAM is a cheese selection that certainly could appear on a charcuterie board. Meh
13. Invocation syllables: ABRA. As in ABRA CadABRA?? I would use the word "incantation" instead of "invocation", but that might be picking nits. I think it's time for a song:
14. Tropical evergreen: CACAO; 16. Chanel scent: COCO. Kind of cool to see these side-by-side. CACAO is the raw, unprocessed version of COCOA. And COCO is a homophone of COCOA. And a scent created by COCO Chanel. I wonder if it smells like chocolate?
19. Like AOL software, originally: ON CD. AOL is a throwback internet service provider; computer software used to be only available ON CD (or floppy discs, if you go back further). Nowadays software for computers is generally downloaded as a file
20. EDM instrument: SYNTH. At first glance, I thought this was a CSO to CanadianEh!, as I thought EDM was somehow an abbreviation for EDMonton. But as I solved it (via perps) and googled for today's write-up, I found this
21. Bug: GET TO. I am trying really hard not to let clues/answers such as 20-across GET TO me
23. Digital thermometer?: TOE. Clever clue. Dip your big TOE into a bathtub, e.g., to see if the water temperature is OK
24. Acorn producer: OAK.
28. Baby __: ASPIRIN. I take one of these each evening; I'd suspect several other of our regulars do, too
32. Inflexible: RIGID.
33. One of 28 Monopoly cards: DEED. This came to me immediately; inDEED!
34. Dermatologist's concern: WART. Hmm, what other four letter words relating to the SKIN could've fit here? Oh, SKIN! That fits. Or zits? Cyst? Feel free to add any others that may have come to mind in the comment section below
37. Overalls material: DENIM.
39. Brooding sort: HEN. Hah!
42. Scooby-__: DOO. Debuting on CBS in 1969, the cartoon character Scooby-DOO has quite a following. As a senior in HS, I wasn't that much of a fan at the time, but I did watch it
43. Locked account?: DIARY. Clever clue. Did this film about a DIARY come to mind?
45. Snowballs or paintballs: AMMO.
Noteworthy blogger
Was armed, and ready to fight.
He said, "I AMMO"
46. "Yeah, try again": UM, NO. As a newbie constructor, I often ask myself (about a potential word entry) "WWMRD?" Not sure that this entry would've been in his lexicon, but I could be wrong ...
47. Regional plant life: FLORA. They go together with FAUNA
49. Cup holder site: ARMREST. I can't imagine driving a car without a cup holder. I can imagine that some car shoppers may ultimately decide on which cars have the best cup holders before purchasing
54. NYC member of "The Squad" in Congress: AOC. The Crossword Corner Blog rules strictly prohibit me/us from discussing politics; so, with regards to AOC (Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez), I will just say "Thumper"
55. Frozen over: ICY. Not something that we folks who live in the desert SW are very familiar with
56. 48-Down song with the line "But when I call, you never seem to be home": HELLO. 48-down. 56-Across singer: ADELE. To be fair, having what I call "conditional clues", are fine. I might prefer them when the two clues are easily recognizable, but the words ultimately perped for me. I know who ADELE is, but the lyrics to her songs are not as familiar to me. Fast forward to 1:32 of this video to see the clued line in the lyrics
58. Shake __: SHACK. "HANDS" is what I entered at first. Shake SHACK restaurants aren't to be found in Arizona, which might explain why I am unfamiliar with them. Are they any good?
62. Snatches: NABS.
66. Grasp: GROK. Not sure why this cartoon came to mind when I saw the word "GROK"
68. Gas lighting?: NEON.
69. Hot: SEXY. I might have used this image before ...
70. Transcript stats: GPAS. Grade Point AverageS. Have I mentioned before that making an abbreviation plural is a pet peeve of mine?
71. Lip: SASS.
Down:
1. Crow's cacophony: CAWS. Shouldn't this have been clued "Crows' "?
2. Heed: OBEY.
3. Setting of the graphic novel "Persepolis": IRAN. Perps filled this in. Not familiar with this book
4. Bit of info: FACTOID.
5. The "A" of LGBTQIA+, for short: ACE. Asexuality, defined: "Sexual attraction, in basic terms, means you find a specific person sexually appealing and want to have sex with them. Asexual people, who might use the term “ACE” or “aces” for short, typically don't experience sexual attraction or want to pursue sexual relationships with other people" [Healthline dot com]
6. Scott who turns into Ant-Man: LANG.
7. Valence electrons, often: OCTET. "In chemistry and physics, a valence electron is an electron in the outer shell associated with an atom, and that can participate in the formation of a chemical bond if the outer shell is not closed; in a single covalent bond, both atoms in the bond contribute one valence electron in order to form a shared pair." [Wikipedia] Not sure I understand the OCTET answer
8. Have a trying experience?: TASTE. TASTE = to try
9. Green prefix: ECO.
10. "I'm not even here": DONT MIND ME. Last used in a major xword puzzle 6 years ago
11. Squeezeboxes: ACCORDIONS. As The Who says, "Mama's got a squeeze box ..."
12. Internet hookup: MODEM.
15. Mammal that uses kelp as a blanket: OTTER.
18. Crust: CHAR.
22. Rust: OXIDE.
25. Fuzzy fruit: KIWI.
27. Grow old: AGE.
28. Adult __: ADHD. [Mayo Clinic] "Adult ADHD symptoms may include:
Impulsiveness
Disorganization and problems prioritizing
Poor time management skills
Problems focusing on a task
Trouble multitasking
Excessive activity or restlessness
Poor planning
Low frustration tolerance
I might have a few of these traits ...
29. "Suit yourself!": SEE IF I CARE. What I might say with obscure clues!
30. Shark cage?: PENALTY BOX. Hah! San Jose Sharks NHL Hockey Team. But ... the PENALTY BOX is rarely - if ever - referred to as a "cage"
31. Ingenuity org.: NASA. Odd clue and answer; but ... it does fit
35. Coquito liquor: RUM. [Wikipedia] "Coquito meaning "Little Coconut" in Spanish is a traditional Christmas drink that originated in Puerto Rico. The coconut-based alcoholic beverage is similar to eggnog, and is sometimes referred to as Puerto Rican Eggnog." And, it contains "RUM"
36. Rating for "Euphoria," briefly: TV MA. Another TV show with which I am not familiar
38. No longer relevant: MOOT.
Mount McKinley was
Renamed Denali. It was
Then, just a MOOT point
40. Cab alternative: SYRAH. Cab, as in Cabernet. But SYRAH is an actual grape varietal, so this clue makes no sense. Cab is an abbreviation for either Cabernet Sauvignon or Cabernet Franc; SYRAH is NOT an abbreviation. Meh
41. First name in the Harlem Renaissance: ZORA. "As a leader in the Harlem Renaissance ZORA Neale Hurston was a revolutionary in helping to protect the rights of African Americans. She was known during the Harlem Renaissance for her wit, irreverence, and folk writing style. Hurston was though most well know for her popular novels" [see link for source of the quote]
44. Piglet pal: ROO.
46. Tide pool sights: URCHINS. Just don't get stung by one
50. Zen garden growth: MOSS. And here, I only thought MOSS grew on the north side of trees
51. Boneless appetizer: WINGS. I like my WINGS with bones and in a "Buffalo" sauce. But these are definitely "boneless"
52. Hurl: FLING. VOMIT also fits! ;^)
53. Yosemite peak free-climbed by Emily Harrington, familiarly: EL CAP. Short for "EL CAPitan"
57. Black-and-white predator: ORCA.
59. Well offshore: ASEA.
60. Corp. bean counters: CFOS.
61. "Steak House" dressing brand: KEN'S. Originated at KEN'S Steakhouse in Framingham, MA. CSO to Wilbur Charles? I like their Vidalia Onion dressing
63. Chicago WNBA team: SKY.
65. "__ my pleasure!": IT'S. IT'S my pleasure to be your bi-weekly Friday blogger! And speaking of Friday, allow me to end with a Friday Moe-ku, and a CSO to all of our Sunshine State posters:
Floridians love
Fish Fry Fridays, 'cause they get
A grouper discount
Please offer YOUR thoughts below ...
Note from C.C.:
Chair Moe (Chris) made today's Newsday crossword. Click here to solve and give him your feedback.
54 comments:
DNF. It's Friday. Beyond a certain point, I just turned on red letters.
I liked the idea of the gimmick, but don't think it was well executed. That may just be sour grapes because I didn't get some of them. I did get MID TERM EXAM, MID LIFE CRISIS, but not MID SIZE SUV, TOAD MID WIFE, and hardest of all was MID WEST ACCENT, I so expected NOIⒸⒽⒾⒸⒶⒼⓄSE .
FACTOID has an interesting history. It originally meant what we would today call fake news.
Farmer Jack went out each morning
In his DENIM overhauls
Crows were often masticating
His corn that grew so tall.
So he set out mirrors and firecrackers
To keep the birds in check.
No more would the crows be snackers --
A classic example of CAWS and effects!
{B+.}
I certainly had a hard time with this puzzle, until I figured out the missing "mid." And it was still quite a slogfest. Nevertheless, through P and P and some fortuitous WAGs, I FIR, so I'm not only happy I'm relieved.
Good morning!
Nope. C-Moe, d-o did think of hairdos, but with CAWS and OBEY in place, he went with COMB instead of COIF. Yes, I hate it when 1a./1d. aren't immediately gettable. (Is that a word?) Also went with MANGO instead of CACAO. Stuck with both too long, pushing this one into overtime. Ultimately the NW required a "peeky" to finish. Resounding DNF. Failed to arrive at the destination, but enjoyed the journey. Clever theme, Rebecca. Excellent job as tour-guide, C-Moe.
SYNTH -- Wasn't familiar with EDM as "electronic dance music" but did understand the SYNTH as synthesizer.
Baby ASPIRIN -- Used to take one daily. When medical guidance changed my doctor agreed that I should stop. With upper G-I issues, the risk/benefit wasn't justified.
GROK -- Robert Heinlein invented this word back in '61 in Stranger In A Strange Land. I was in H.S. at the time, and a big Heinlein fan.
MidWEST ACCENT -- If you call a water fountain a "bubbler," it's a sure bet that you're from Wisconsin.
Mid life crisis was the only obvious theme clue/answer...
But I still wonder, should this have been a Wednesday puzzle?
Of course, many people stuck in the middle of this puzzle May just want to take a Thumper attitude...
But, I am ok with it because...
DNF. Filled 54 entries, 53 correctly (grip for GROK). Didn't get MIDWIFE TOAD or MIDWEST ACCENT, but got the others. I thought that Johnny Carson was the personification of the MIDWEST ACCENT, and Chicagoans don't sound anything like him.
BTW, as the Corner historian, I feel it is my job to remind my fellow Cornerites about how Chicago was founded. Many years ago there was a group of New Yorkers who, as a group, decided that they really liked New York's overcrowding and crime, but the weather just wasn't adequately crummy. Voila! Chicago!
Thanks Rebecca for the puzzle and the clever theme. Maybe a little less PC BS would have better held my interest. And thanks to C-Moe for the fun review. I'll try your grid later.
Finished today's puzzle in 11:38, without experiencing any sec(pain)tion.
Like our Chairman, I am not a fan of the clues for Abra or Octet.
I thought "Lang" was obscure, and I've seen a couple movies with Ant-Man.
I originally spelled "accordions" as "accordians," but luckily Scooby-Doo said "ruh roh."
I do love references to "El Cap," and other sights in our US National Parks.
Oh joy, circles.
On a Friday nonethless.
But still, TGIF.
Mr. Anonymous, who does not like circles.
FIW with placing Lane instead of Lang and failed to see my error. I assumed 21A was eat at, just didn't look. As always the circles annoy me. I didn't need them when I picked up on midterm exam.
Good Morning:
Thumbs up for the clever theme and some of the cluing. Thumbs down for some of the cluing and the nails-on-the-blackboard unnecessary proper name cluing for simple, common nouns, especially Ace, Sky, Deed, Hello, Shack, and Moss. I finished w/o help but felt no satisfaction, only irritation and frustration.
Thanks, Rebecca, for a fun theme and thanks, Moe, for your fine expo and chuckles. I could almost see you biting your tongue several times. I felt the same urge.
Have a great day.
I came here to learn and vent. Thanks for the education. Having said that:
Shark cage? = penalty box? Um, no. If anything, the cage is the goal, as announcer Doc Emerick often referred to it.
I'll bite my tongue on the others.
Sorry, but my doctor advises strongly that I let this out. As a podcaster said recently, they're not wings if they're boneless. They're just nuggets or something -- and much more pleasant to eat without those annoying bones -- to me.
I really enjoy this type of puzzle and clueing, for me it is definitely worthy of a Friday as far as difficulty goes, it should be the toughest themed of the week to solve and it took me one walkaway and 37:02 of brain wracking WAG’s and perps to FIR. I grasped the theme after I got liCRISISfe, and it definitely helped me with the rest of the grid. I took note of the circles on this one which I usually don’t do, but I probably wouldn’t have solved it without them. Thank you Rebecca for your masterful construction! Not sure who came up with the clues for DIARY and PENALTYBOX, but very clever. Like others said, I haven’t heard of the box referred to as a “cage” but I do think the constructor/editor has poetic license to use clues like this.
Chairman ~~ another outstanding review with all the info and humor! The other word for dermatologist’s concern would be “acne”, although I know that there are some constructors who won’t use it in a puzzle. I am very familiar with ICY, as the lake I live on is frozen over for five months a year. I tried to download your creation for Newsday but the link just provided a blank space 🤷🏼♂️. There is a pangram today in USA Today.
Figured the theme early, but the rest was still a slog.
My MIDLIFECRISIS car was a flaming red 2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible. Still have it even though the rocker panels are rusting out a second time.
Much of the beginning of the Youtube video was not about the Midwest ACCENT but about word usage. I did notice he dropped the "g" in recognize.
Winthorpelll,
Well, at least we can still rant...
I agree that with no reference to San Jose Sharks Hockey team, the clue is VERY vague....
on the other hand...
my only complaint to the constructors/editors is...
I mean, what's next? a new clue for "egg."
Just before I gave up on this puzzle, the west and middle sections began to fill. The east side had gone quickly as did figuring out the themer MID TERM EXAM. I was pleased to get a FIR, Rebecca, and I thank you for this Friday puzzle.
My only remaining question when I read your excellent review, C Moe, was the meaning of ACE. I didn't know EDM either but assumed it stood for some kind of electronic music when I filled SYNTH. Thanks for all your help and amusements today.
And a big thank you to CED for the fun links today! Hope everyone has a fun Friday. TGIF, as this hot week comes to an end.
Mor you seemed a little grumpy today much like your namesake but you delivered a fine review anyway.
I too was a big Heilbronn fan
It is Friday an wish you all a great weekend..
Racking up a string of DNF. The north was undoable, even correctly filling COIF, CAWS, FACTOID , and OCTET. LANG, ACE, SYNTH, ABRA,IRAN, and CHAR were unsolvable as clued. EDM, Scott and Ant-man-zero knowledge of either. No way to ever get to MID-WEST-ACCENT (another Honda?) I managed to get the rest of the puzzle filled and figured out the theme at MID-SIZE-SUV. I went to check out both the Pilot and Passport Hondas before I got my new Toyota Highlander last week, with two Cup holders in the ARMREST.
Baby ASPIRIN- we sold two brands- Bayer and St. Josephs before the FDA made them remove BABY from the label and change to to LO-DOSE.
SYRAH is new to me. ZORA was a WAG.
ACCORDIONS- I've got the Who Album but think 'daddy' was squeezing other things that weren't musical.
Look like C.C. has beat me to it, but here's my two cents:
Just an alert to Cornerites that our very own Chairman (today's reviewer, alias Chris Gross) has a puzzle today over at Stanley Newman's Daily Newsday Crosswords. If they ask you to pay-to-play, the puzzle is a freebie at this site (don't tell Stanley I sent you).
Capsule review:
Thank you MOE.
WARNING. If you TITT on the today's LAT puzzle (a solver's LI(CRISIS)FE), don't expect an easy slog for this one either. While we weren't looking, Chris has obviously upped his game quit a bit. However after much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I did manage a FIR.
Cheers,
Bill
p.s. I'll be back later to pontificate about Rebecca's puzzle, but my grandson is coming over to help with some yard work, so I've gotta go.
ATL Granny @10:32 --> the term "ACE" is a nickname associated with people who identify as asexual. If I understand correctly, someone who is asexual is not attracted to anyone of either sex (M or F), but they may engage in having sexual intercourse for no reason other than the pleasure they derive from it. TMI??
Lemonade714 @10:34 --> I try to be cute, cuddly, comical, and sometimes curmudgeonly when I write my blog. I'd like to think I achieved at least three of the four today! ;^)
MOOT means debatable; it may be irrelevant because it is moot. Only sayin'.
SHAKE SHACK? Not where I come from.
GROK? Webster's: "...the only word from Mars"
Just how often are valence electrons 8 in number?
Chicken wings have bones whether or not they are served pared from the bone.
I don't buy ELCAP as a true abbreviation. EL CAP is missing an R.
AGM, so you call it EL CRAP?
Difficult especially since I punted on MID. That would have helped with the Honda Pilot which I own . Worse, having _ACAO and having the 'evergreen " just recently I put M Iike the island(Macau)
COIF was one of many clever clues:TOE,URCHINS and of course GROK.
I was Stuck in the Middle
My cardio doc switched me from baby ASPIRIN to Alloquil
Actually, C-Moe my first thought was acne
You want "meh"? Try ICY
Mr S suggested "inert" for the valence clue along with A bit /LOT. And…
If my son was around I might have gotten ACE. "Tom Seaver fe." would have worked for me.
Never heard of SYRAH but GROK'ed onto CAB as a wine clue since Uber,Lyft etc didn't fit
And there I was thinking URCHINS were the little imps playing in the pools left as the tide EBBs
Enough of WC
Ps, C-Moe 's mehs are my favs. TEHO
So three wrong squares which is a moral victory on this one. So much white even after an hour. But as Valvano said "Never give up!"
Wow, another real toughie to bust unclefred's chops. First try early this morning garnered 5 fills in 16 minutes. I gave up, went back to sleep, and later, after my morning coffee, gave it another go. After another 21-minute struggle, I finally managed to FIR in a total of 37 minutes. (Hello, YP @9:12) DNK SYNTH (because I didn't know what EDM stands for), ZORA, GROK, or SYRAH. Also, WMOS, starting off with a tough clue at 1A/1D, was a big frown. Eventually, I figured out the VERY clever theme, and things started to fall in place. Still, a long difficult slog. Thanx RG for busting my chops. Thanx too to ChMoe for the outstanding write-up.
Hi All!
Whew! I was hung up on the west-coast for some time until [see WOs].
Enjoyable puzzle, Rebecca. Thanks.
Nice add-ons to the them, C.Moe! Thanks for the expo, fun Mo-kus, and the double-entendre Squeezebox.
//The Girls made me watch Ant Man... OMG it was funny.
WOs: GRab->GROK, ICe->ICY, UhNO->UM, NO, ACCORDIaN
ESPs: HDHD (no abriv clued?), IRAN as clued, ZORA
Fav: inking DIARY took nearly ESP but the aha-haha was worth it.
{A}
FLN - PK, if you click C, Moe's EDM link today, you'll see DROPs used in context of releasing music.
Yooper - It was LI CRISIS FE that clued me in too.
Bill-O - Mine is an Alfa-red '86 Spider Veloce :-)
CED - LOL Stealers Wheel's' "Stuck in the Middle with Ewe" (thanks WC!) and boneless chickens!
Y'all have a wonder Friday!
Cheers, -T
I liked the clever MID theme, but was not too fond of many of the clues. Too much of a guessing game, like Adult what? Or Baby what?
I agree with C-Moe about the Syrah clue. I got it but late since I kept looking for an abbreviation.
I hope for a more fun puzzle tomorrow.
TGIF for people who still work.
Friday toughie, but still enjoyable in some places--so, thanks, Rebecca. And thanks for your help too, Chairman Moe.
First item I got was that easy ALOT for 'many.' Things got tougher after that.
Second easy one was OAK for that acorn producer.
Third easy solve was DENIM for the material for overalls.
But my happiest moment was not only getting FLORA for that regional plant-life, but then getting ARMREST right next to it for that cup holder site. I too pictured it in an automobile.
Things that stumped me but made me laugh included TASTE for that trying experience. I of course kept thinking of something frustrating and upsetting, not something delicious.
Anyway, fun Friday morning, and lets look forward to the same tomorrow.
Musings
-MID TERM EXAM gave me the gimmick. Some far out cluing made this a real test for me.
-CACOA was a bedeviling Wordle fill recently
-I had this one before I had one on the ARM REST
-ADELE has joined our cwd choir with Etta and Ella
-I have never let anyone’s position in the sexual alphabet affect how I interact with them
-The inert/noble gases all have an OCTET of valence electrons
-Junkyard cars and the surface of Mars both have and abundance of Iron OXIDE
-Johnny, “I'm gonna snowball Jackson” June, “Go ahead and SEE IF I CARE!”
Nope. No theme given in my paper so I just could never connect.
Addendum, I am late because we had coffee with my sister-in-law who is moving to Tucson. She has some form of adult ADHD as she talks constantly. I asked if she was going to live in a house or apartment and after five minutes, she still hadn’t answered my question. She wears me out! Do you know someone like that?
Hi Y'all! Groan! Whine! More red-letter runs than all of those in the past two weeks. Thank you Moe for making sense of some words that I didn't understand even when I filled them.
I did get the gist of the theme without actually thinking the word MID.
Had the "C" from CAWS and had talked to my grandson about his "fade" haircut so got COIF pretty soon. Yay!
CED: chuckled over your funnies today. That poor doggy's facial expression trapped in the ewes was too much.
Never heard of that meaning of ACE and don't like it used in our CW.
We had ZORA Neale Huston very recently.
Hola!
Yes, Gary, my late friend, Betty, was like that but I loved her dearly.
Whew! This puzzle wore me out. A LOT.
I started in the NE and all went smoothly.
Did any of you read The SHACK? What an amazing book!
As I've mentioned before, I'm not a fan of gimmicks in a puzzle but this one made sense. MIDLIFE CRISIS was my favorite. NEON as clued was clever, too.
WIFE TOAD is a new one for me.
I used to take a daily ASPIRIN but my doctor advised me that since I don't have any heart problems it was unnecessary.
Didn't we see ZORA Neale Thurston just recently?
Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!
Gary, my DW can't answer simple questions. I'm not sure if she doesn't understand the question (do you need to go to the bathroom before we leave?), or can't put together a coherent answer ("should I take a jacket?" while holding up a word search puzzle book). I think it's both, actually. She mumbles to herself a lot, and I have to be attentive to detect when she says something I should hear. Tough stuff. But she told me this morning that I am the best doggie in the world, and I'll take that as a compliment.
PM
Not a fan of rebus type puzzles (prolly because they confuse me) but this was fun. Once the gist of the theme was established enjoyed working out the other themed clues.
I believe "Persepolis" means Persian City so IRAN fit. WiNGS without bones? think (they're called McNuggets 😁)
"Da Bears, Chicago"
COIF clue was clever and kept me quessing.
I saw some of "Euphoria" . As a HS student in the mid 60's I failed to relate to the series. What I kept wondering was with all the parties, drugs and sex when did these kids find time to do their...HOMEWORK??
DW has and plays a beautiful accordion. I tried it out. With piano you use right and left hand but don't have to remember to constantly squeeze too!!
So is it a frog or a TOAD?, WARTS and all. (I almost tried "rash" first. One advantage of being 72, too[ old for a LICRISESFE
Effect go with....CAWS
Gun holster....ARMREST
Commited a biblical no-no...SYNTH
What a week 😳TGIF start vacay today
ReplyDelete
"Da Bears, Chicago
Even though I fit coif in 1 across, I don’t get it. Pretty good puzzle.
Thank you Rebecca (and Patti?) for a cleverly clued puzzle, an even cleverer theme, and a ferocious fracas for a Friday FIR.
Thank you as always CMOE for an illuminating review, clever KUs, and the Newsday Diversion.
Favs:
1A COIF. This fell at the near end when I recalled a previous puzzle that had FADE dos.
51A WITOADFE. The V8 can arrived with this clue, as I remembered there was a critter called the MIDWIFE TOAD. And of course they have 34AS.
48A DIARY.
7D OCTET. I don't think this is CC ("Chemically Correct"). The only naturally occuring atoms with 8 electrons in their OUTER (what I wanted) shell are the inert gases Ne, Ar, Kr, Xe, and Rn. These are not really valence electrons and they don't participate in chemical reactions (i.e. are not exchanged to form compounds). Search this artical for the term "outermost" for an explanation.
12D MODEM. Should have gotten this right away, but thought it might be the result of a TINDER TRYST.
28D ADHD. DNK Adult ADHD. I'm OCD, which I suppose is the exact opposite. Whether I'm an ADULT is open to question.
41D ZORA. Recalled her right away as she was in Barbara Lin's June 14th puzzle, which I blogged a week or so ago. A remarkable woman, with an active website, despite having died in 1960.
Cheers,
Bill
Chairman Moe, I just dropped by for some help to understand the big picture today. I solved the puzzle, and saw a CRISIS in the middle of LIFE, et cetera, but did not GROK it as thoroughly as you did! Thank you!
My report to C Moe on his Newsday crossword puzzle:
No FIR for me like waseeley managed. I failed to get two words and needed them revealed in the end. (The NASA clue and eater ending) But I enjoyed solving the puzzle, even online which I seldom do, and found your theme was a big help. Keep up the good work, C Moe!
Ray-O-Sunshine- ALL TOADS are frogs but not all frogs are toads. Like Brandy & Cognac. Every cognac is a brandy, but not all brandy is a cognac.
Big E: ....Thought toads lived on dry land and frogs lived in water...thanks for the info.
So when DW calls me a "Toad" she is including all frogs 🐸
🤔
Jinx, My dear wife shows many of those characteristics. An answer to a yes or no question can turn into a monologue but she is worth it and will never change.
After asking the house/apartment question of my SIL, I waited through her story about packing, taking her dog on the plane, having someone drive her car out to the desert, what she did with her furniture, what she told her mother,... I waited for a pause and then gently re-asked the question. It appears she is living in a fully furnished house whose owner will move out to the guest quarters.
Men are from Mars, women are from Venus. Vive la difference!
Ray - O @3:25 PM You should get her to kiss you. You might turn into a handsome prince. 😁
FYI...WAZ...I already AM a handsome prince, 🤴 (the reverse might happen 😳)
DR: A three-way, near side.
The central diagonal pays tribute in an anagram (14 of 15 letters) to the style of facial hair I sometimes sport.
I refer to my...
"BAR MOUSTACHIOS" !
~ OMK
Thanks, ATL Granny!
Ray - O @4:17 PM That might not be such a bad thing - after all frogs ARE endangered species.
Nope, just nope (again). Wings are boneless? Every damn wing I ever had had bones! Maybe EDM does indeed use SYNTHesizers but it is known for pioneering and making extensive use of the turntable, their go-to brand being those made by Technics, which the DJ rotates forward and backward with his/her hand to make that distinctive sound. Synthesizers were used long before "EDM" came along; remember "Switched-on Bach"? C'mon, do you really think of synthesizer when thinking about Electronic Dance Music? I didn't think so.
I did like, very much, the gimmick, with the noun literally aMID the adjective, which I GROKked when I saw liCRISISfe. Very clever. Good stuff.
Today I did yesterday's puzzle also, because I didn't have time to get to it yesterday. I liked it A LOT more.
Good wishes to you all.
I really liked the theme which I caught on to. I had too many red letters and look ups. Still it was fun. I got it all with help.
I love finding a bed of moss on the ground beside a hiking trail. It is like a plush green carpet and fun to walk on. I would not walk in a Zen garden except on a path.
GPA is an acronym. Chicago's Style Manual says, " Acronyms are made plural by adding an s if there are no periods in the acronym (IOUs) and adding ’s if there are periods in the acronym (vol.'s).
Shirley, you can get a haircut called taper or fade.
ACE as the first sound of asexual. Since there are such people I have no nit there.
Frantic Friday. Thanks for the fun, Rebecca and CMoe.
I’m late today, after trying to catch up on chores from yesterday and cleaning out my frig due to our 14 hour power failure yesterday.
I did get the Mid theme today and enjoyed that and some of the clever clues. But I will join our other Thumpers re some of our “new” clues. Any bets that they were NOT Rebecca’s original clues?!
I clung to Outer for those electrons before they moved into a stable orbit with an OCTET.
My memory for the meaning of the letters ends at Q; there are many more possible letters in the +. Indigenous usage includes 2S (two spirit).
The NW was a total loss for me. I am not familiar with that use of COIF. Thanks all for explaining. I wanted Abba as an invocation, thinking of Abba Father in a prayer.
I asked DH re the unknown to me EDM instrument. His engineering answer was that EDM means Electronic Distance Measurement (and even when I Googled the whole clue, that is what came up). SYNTH made no sense. Another thanks for explaining.
This Canadian hockey fan has no idea when the PENALTY BOX became a Shark cage. Maybe the ? legitimizes the clue.
CMoe - I DNF your CW but it was a good challenge. I might have fared better if I had been fresher. Thanks for the fun.
Wishing you all a great evening.
Ray-O-Sun, .... Toads give you warts, Frogs dont ... confusing enough ;-o) ?
Just like,, I can't differentiate between a turtle and a tortoise ....
... just don't touch either one ....
Thank you Rebecca Goldstein for a very challenging and innovative puzzle. It was a slog, but I managed to finish. I didnt grok the theme, though it sounded vaguely familiar.
Thanks Chairman Moe for the blog review, with your additional comments.
On the puzzle, I went thru a midlife Crises, years ago, without a sports car ... with my deteriorating eyesight, among other matters, I'm lucky to have a very considerate state examiner who granted me permission to renew my drivers license...
Definitely did not know, SYNTH or ACE (whaaa ?). I have to google for LGBTQIA+ .... Ch moe, you didnt explain the full acronyn ... is that explanation banned, as well, by Blogger ?
In our household, We never have more than 2 people ( driver and passenger ) in our cars so the need for a rear cupholder is moot.
I had not heard of AOC, ... I can't name my own congressman ... er, congress person, because my vote is always in the minority, .... the way this Congressional -seat-area is census-rigged. No politics, just realism.
I too, used to have a quarter-tablet of regular Aspirin, 300/4 = 75 mg... it was a fourth of the price of the baby aspirin brand... but, like many of you folks, I have stopped because other medical problems have taken priority.
Regarding the Valence Bond theory ( of Linus Pauling - ) each atom has its electrons equal to its atomic number. And the electrons are in shells, that grow larger ...and the first shell has 2, the second shell has 8 and the 3rd shell has 18, the fourth has 32 and so on.
And each shell has its own subshells viz. s, p, f, etc.
Soo, based on its Atomic Number, the reactivity and valence of the elemental atom forms are based on the dearth of electrons in its outermost shell. And for valence would be based on the electrons contributed by the other combining element, in a compound.
AND, according to the L A Times Crossword Auditor, er, Editor, this number should be 8, or an Octet ...
... soo .... lets just get along with it ...
.... and move on ..... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
have a nice day, all.
Moe noted this in passing, but 19A's answer is wrong. AOL's original software was issued on 3-1/2 inch floppy disks. If I dig in the garage, back where the spiders have undisputed reign, I may have one or two of them left, fosslizing.
Michael @ 9:22 --> good to know, thanks
Vidwan @ 9:03 --> all I know is:
Lesbian
Gay
Bisexual
Transvestite
Queer
Intersexual (?)
Asexual
+ (?)
Maybe others can confirm or deny or further explain
Edward in Los Angeles here,
The element that has a full 2S electron orbital shell with 8 valence electrons (octet) is oxygen.
…and Shake shack in Glendale CA another of LA… SUCKS
TRANSGENDER, not transvestite
Adult ADHD?? I can’t believe that made it through
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