Theme: "Mocktails" - Each cocktail is re-defined as its other meaning.
22. ROB ROY: WALTER SCOTT NOVEL.
32. MIMOSA: FLOWERING TREE.
51. STINGER: SCORPIONS WEAPON.
68. SIDECAR: MOTORCYCLE ACCESSORY.
85. COSMOPOLITAN: FASHION MAGAZINE.
101. MANHATTAN: NEW YORK ISLAND.
116. GRASSHOPPER: CROP-EATING INSECT.
What other cocktails came to your mind? They have to be redefinable though.
The clues are often in caps and the answers are often not in-the-language for this type of puzzle.
So
nice to see Doug Peterson back with a Sunday grid. Been 8 years since I
last blogged his puzzle. Doug is themeless master. He's known for his
smooth and clean grids.
 |
| Doug Peterson |
Across:
5. Box set elements: DVDS.
9. Arctic jacket: ANORAK. With fur-lined hood.
15. Zilch: NIL.
18. Very, very: OH SO.
19. Informal pricing words: A POP.
20. "Starsky & Hutch" Ford model: TORINO. What's so special about Gran Torino?
/stories/2014/06/TULSA142481.jpg)
21. Miffed: SORE.
25. Like items at a garage sale: USED.
26. Dependable: STEADY.
27. Zen garden carp: KOI.
28. Writing to: EMAILING.
30. Submit, as a tax return: FILE.
36. "Here's a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)" singer Travis: TRITT.
39. Lenovo products: PCS. Originally called Legend. Lenovo is a portmanteau of "Le" (Legend) and "novo" (new).
41. Org. with Red Wings and Blue Jackets: NHL.
42. Prompt giver: CUER.
43. Word on Irish stamps: EIRE.
44. Longtime label for Elton John: MCA.
45. Ice cream measure: SCOOP. You can probably find mochi ice
cream in your local Target or Trader Joe's. The outside is the chewy
mochi (sticky rice). Chinese and Japanese like to use sticky rice for
desserts.
47. Secret meetings: TRYSTS.
55. Contented sigh: AAH.
56. Decimal base: TEN.
57. Squid kin: OCTOPI.
58. Venerable British school: ETON. Rival of Harrow.
60. More, in adspeak: XTRA.
61. Marry, as metals: WELD.
63. Gossip blogger Hilton: PEREZ. See Paris there? That's where Perez got his name inspiration.
66. Pelican, for one: SEA BIRD.
72. Shade provider: PARASOL. I just call mine an umbrella.
73. Calyx part: SEPAL.
74. Head for the terminal: TAXI.
75. NASA go-aheads: A-OKS.
76. Gyro bread: PITA.
79. Linked (up): PAIRED.
81. Zilch: ZIP.
84. Not post-: PRE.
89. Respiratory cavity: AIR SAC.
93. Dull sounds: THUDS.
94. Pt. of ERA: AVG. Earned Run Average.
95. Sinusitis-treating MDs: ENTS.
96. "Sad to say ... ": ALAS.
98. Quaint "before": ERE.
99. Tool in the Portland Timbers logo: AXE. Fresh clue angle. Soccer team.
100. Specialized jargon: ARGOT.
106. Extinct flightless bird: DODO.
108. Priced to sell in a store: AT RETAIL.
109. "Shea Butter Baby" R&B singer Lennox: ARI.
111. Check out quickly: PEEK AT.
115. Pop diva who recorded the ABBA cover album "Dancing Queen": CHER.
121. Coop layers: HENS.
122. "Pride and Prejudice" novelist: AUSTEN.
123. Social sci. major: ECON.
124. Modest acknowledgment: I TRY.
125. Surgery ctrs.: ORS.
126. Duplicitous: SNEAKY.
127. Back of the neck: NAPE.
128. "The Great British Bake Off" co-presenter Fielding: NOEL. No idea.
Down:
2. "Are you serious?": WHAT.
3. Small landmass: ISLE.
4. Started to nag persistently: GOT AFTER.
5. Actress Hannah: DARYL. She's in "Splash"
6. No. twos: VPS.
7. Connect with the space station, e.g.: DOCK.
8. Parodies: SPOOFS.
9. QB stat: ATT. I had to google: Total attempts.
10. Persona __ grata: NON.
11. __ y plata: Montana motto: ORO.
12. Missouri or Ohio: RIVER. Iowa too.
13. Lacking energy: ANEMIC. Boomer is anemic now, side effect of the cancer treatments.
14. Caffeine-rich seed: KOLA NUT.
15. Polite refusal: NO SIR.
16. "Fame" star Cara: IRENE.
17. Shelf: LEDGE.
21. Hot and muggy: SULTRY.
23. Exchange words?: EDIT. Nice clue.
24. Up to, casually: TIL.
29. Longtime Disney CEO Bob: IGER.
31. Home of Disney's World Showcase: EPCOT.
33. Never again: ONCE.
34. "Easy there!": WHOA.
35. Rush into a relationship?: ELOPE. Great clue also.
36. Trial run: TEST.
37. Basmati __: RICE. I'm so ingrained in my rice choice: only short-grained, whether sushi or sticky rice. Thai sticky rice is long-grained.
38. Supporting role in construction?: IRON-WORKER. OK, I get the supporting part.
40. Shade provider: CANOPY.
44. Confident gesture after a performance: MIC DROP.
45. Pattern in a marble rye: SWIRLS.
46. Poker prize: POT.
48. Sending up: SATIRIZING.
49. Dawdle: TARRY. So we arrived at the VA at 7:10am, thinking
the surgery would start at 7:45am. Well, it started at 2:18 pm and ended
around 5:48pm. I later learned that the delay is not unusual. The nurse
said normally only the first surgery (the guy who arrives there at
5:30am) starts on time.
50. Roe source: SHAD.
52. Some shirts: POLOS.
53. Freelance detail, briefly: SPEC.
54. Bouquet: NOSE.
59. Financial planning result, hopefully: NEST EGG.
60. Microsoft console: XBOX.
62. In-flight figs.: ETAS.
64. Letters on some pumps: EEE. Shoes. Also 65. Shoe retailer owned by Amazon: ZAPPOS. Do any of you own New Balance 550 Green? Look at the price here. Someone is selling them for $700 on eBay. I know D-Otto loves New Balance, but men's 550 are not that hot.
67. Carne __: burrito filling: ASADA.
68. New Zealand native: MAORI.
69. Energy bar brand with a rock climber in its logo: CLIF.
70. James of "Elf": CAAN.
71. Decisive point: CLIMAX.
72. Storybook bear: PAPA.
77. Pic that's costly to remove: TAT. You can have fake ones.
78. Sign of hearth burn: ASHES.
80. Carried on: RAVED.
82. Really digging: INTO.
83. Nudnik: PEST. "Nudnik" is new to me.
86. Fling: HURL.
87. Mental flash: IDEA.
88. Concentrates (on): ZEROES IN.
90. Novelist Dorothy who created Lord Peter Wimsey: SAYERS.
91. Heaps: A LOT.
92. Northernmost South American capital: CARACAS. Capital of Venezuela.
97. Winter resort course: SKI RUN.
99. Oscar winner Brody: ADRIEN. He won an Oscar for his "The Pianist" performance.
100. Yemeni port: ADEN.
101. Chip to dip: NACHO.
102. Bygone anesthetic: ETHER.
103. Small songbirds: WRENS.
104. Admission of defeat: I LOSE.
105. __ Geo Wild: NAT.
107. Express a view: OPINE.
110. Ancient Peruvian: INCA.
112. Ultra-low-carb diet, for short: KETO. Reminds me of our Fermat Prime, who follows Keto diet.
113. Good-sized plot: ACRE.
114. "bye 4 now": TTYL. Talk to You Later.
117. Fundraising org.: PTA.
118. Shrill shriek: EEK.
119. "__ more bright ideas?": ANY.
120. RNC group: GOP.
A few extra notes:
1)
Over the years, Rich and Patti have kindly sent advance copies of the
LA Times crosswords to all bloggers so we don't need to stay up late to
blog the puzzles. Patti requires that we do not share the copies with
others, including constructors. So, there will be no more embedded notes
for the puzzles in our future write-ups. Of course, constructors are
still welcome to comment on our blog. I'm sure Gary will continue to make his write-ups special.
2) Boomer's surgery went smoothly last Tuesday. He had quite a bit of blood loss, but no other complications. The bad news is that they found cancer cells in his left shoulder. The doctors and the spinal cord PT wanted him to stay longer at the hospital, but you all know Boomer. He was adamant about coming home on Thursday, so he did.
The
past few days have been extremely challenging, with his spinal cord
issues, weak legs and shoulder pain, but he's been managing OK, no
falls. Any day without a fall is a victory to me now.
 |
| Boomer, 5/31/2022 |
50 comments:
Hi Y'all! Thank you, Doug, for a challenging but fun puzzle.
The theme entries were all easy for me except for the name SCOTT which took all hour to remember. That little NW central block was the last to fill. Couldn't remember DARYL. From the clues I didn't get DVDS/APOP/DOCK/VPS or SPOOFS. Finally resorted to red-letter runs for a toehold.
I've never seen a CLIF bar but WAGd the F when I had the rest.
Pumps are apparently shoes here & usually denote high-heels. My husband's sister wore EEE and never wore high-heels because she said they don't make them that width in her size 5. She wore flats and now sneakers. Do they make pumps that wide in any size?
C.C., thank you for all you do. You are a treasure in many people's life, as is Boomer. I pray for strength for you both daily.
Okay, after typing the above, I finally realized No.twos = VPS refers to Vice PresidentS. DUH!
Good morning!
The theme was obvious, and no reveal was required. Yay. Still d-o managed a one-letter DNF. "Carried on" began life as WAGED, perps corrected that to RAGED. ERA should've led me to RAVED. Nope. Couldn't see anything that would fit with the Equal Rights Amendment -- ERA. Bzzzt. Thanx, Doug and C.C. (Best wishes to Boomer. That photo in the hospital bed reminded me of Ralph Fiennes as Voldemort.)
TARRY -- The doctors want you to be on time, so they don't have to wait, wasting their precious time. Your time is not precious, or even important. There's a reason they call their clients "patients."
EEE -- Yes, I'm partial to New Balance walking shoes. I wear them until I can read the numbers printed inside the shoe from the outside through the sole. Takes about three years and a little over 3,000 miles. Then I buy a new pair of the same shoe.
ACRE -- It was bound to happen. We own the woodlot beside our house, but not the undeveloped lot behind. Yup, after living here for 15 years, it's being developed.
I got up early, skipped breakfast, and did all my (mostly) morning rituals, last of which is doing the puzzle.
(My self imposed price of admission to the blog) just so I could find the answer to the puzzle of yesterdays brewhaha...
Well why the heck didn't you say so!
(Oh, I forgot, this is a place where people like to solve puzzles...)
Well jeepers, you got me all upset.
I went from alarmed, to paranoid, to OCD, and back.
I must have written at least three overly long Blog posts (with interesting points I might add) that I tossed in the garbage (your welcome) because I was,,,(how should I say it),,, too involved?
Crikey!
If you made a personal agreement that benefits both parties,
Then it's none of my bleeding business!
Carry on...
Many readers may not know the the Blog (not daily comments) can be read weeks in advance if you have the know how.
I will take off my aluminum foil hat and get back to finding silly ( and hopefully amusing ) theme links...
Speaking of "mock" tails...
Mocktails:
One who fought to restore the Tsar - WHITE RUSSIAN (vodka, Kahlua, and cream)
Used wood fastener - RUSTY NAIL (Drambuie and scotch)
DNF. One square at the crossing of DVDS and VPS would not give. Just couldn't see it! Nice puzzle, and loved the theme.
Musings
-Fun puzzle with only PERE_/_APPOS error. I nailed A_I/AD_IEN.
-Muscle cars, like the TORINO, are special because they are identifiable and worth a mint if restored
-BTW, CHER appears to have been fully restored. Good for her.
-At Uncle Al’s bar, my two SCOOPS of butter brickle ice cream cost a dime
-Obscure NOEL nested comfortably in some sure fills
-My half Greek wife has the trait for ANEMIA (thalassemia) that is more common in Mediterranean people
-Mohawks were fearless IRON WORKERS on NYC skyscrapers
-I’ve never seen a POLO match but those shirts are pretty standard on a golf course
-Which makes less sense: $700 running shoes or $2,500 Louboutin women’s heels (even in EEE)?
-Patti has ZEROED IN on what she wants here and I am happy to comply
Well, it happened again. FIW. A careless mistake for a wrong square: ANORAc and cOLA NUT. And it's not the square I agonized over down below, where I finally left ADRIEN, though thinking it should be "Adrian" and I didn't know ARI, but ECON was solid. So a lucky guess there. Overall the puzzle filled little by little and was fun, especially the themers. WALTER SCOTT NOVEL gave me a good start there. Thanks, Doug!
C.C., thanks for your helpful review plus the update on Boomer. It is understandable why Boomer prefers being at home, though it complicates things for you, managing his post-op care. We hope he continues to heal well, gains strength, and that help is available for you when needed.
Thanks also for explaining the reason for stopping the interviews with constructors in the blogs. We hope some constructors will continue to post in the comment section. You saw how passionate and connected to your website we are. Changes happen and we must cope with them. Onward!
FLN, welcome to ProfMeritus.
Hope your first moving day went well yesterday, AnonT.
And hope everyone has a good Sunday!
FIW, being careless at SWIRLl x lEPAL. I know better. DNK that MIMOSA is a TREE, nor that SPEC is a freelance detail. Of course most of the proper names were beyond me, but the perps made them all doable.
Gucci and Adidas are collaborating on a parasol. They will cost about $1,700, and are not waterproof.
The F-105 was affectionately called "THUD" by the USAF flyboys.
No. twos - Remember when fertilizer giant Bandini had the TV ad declaring that they were "#1 in the #2 business"?
I was amazed how few of my project management students knew "ZERO IN". As a kid I knew how to adjust rifle sights: "one inch high, two inches right". Next time, "quarter inch low, half inch right". Then, when it was dead on the bull's eye, "zero-zero". At that point it was "ZEROED IN". (This discussion was part of exploring potential sources of miscommunications, and it's one of the PM's jobs to "head those off at the pass".)
I worked in CARACAS for a couple of weeks. We bought controlling interest in the government-run telco, CANTV. We found unbelievable waste and corruption, and fixed a lot of it. After Chavez took over they took the telco back, but they paid us reasonable compensation.
Easily clued adult beverages:
Boilermaker
Screwdriver
and my favorite - Greyhound
I also like New Balance shoes. I wear the 608 line.
Thanks to Doug for the fun Sunday challenge, and to CC for the interesting review and Boomer update. And for clarifying the reason we won't see constructors' comments on the front page.
I didn't find the puzzle too difficult. The gimmick was obvious right away, and there weren't too many proper names, or "naticks" as folks here like to call them. A fun and enjoyable puzzle. FIR, so I'm happy.
Hola!
It's always a pleasure to finish a Sunday puzzle in good time and before I even have to get ready to go to church. Yea! Thank you, Doug and Patti.
It also helps that our newspaper has greatly expanded the size of the puzzle which, of course, makes it easier to read and fill.
I'll take a CSO at PEREZ. That was my great-grandmother's maiden name as well as that of many relatives. My great-aunt Chona was a character, for one!
I really enjoyed the theme of MOCKTAILS and the play on words.
My dad had a complete set of WALTER SCOTT NOVELs and one summer I read them all.
As it happens I have a set of Dororthy SAYERS' VCR tapes featuring Lord Peter Wimsey which I bought many years ago (tapes?). I'm a big fan.
ADRIEN Brody's impressive acting in The Pianist earned him a well deserved Oscar.
SWIRLS crossing SCOOP was fun.
C.C., I continue to think about and pray for Boomer as well as for you.
Have a super Sunday, everyone!
I forgot to add one of my pet peeves, the mispronunciation of PEREZ. It's PE-rez! For some reason other names such as LO-pez, MEN-dez, etc. are pronounced correctly but people insist on hitting PE-rez on the last syllable.
I agree with the new policy re sharing puzzle contents with constructors prior to publication and I plan to comply with it. That said, the only constructor I've ever been able to contact is DAB, who has his own public website with a mail portal.
I'll be back with my two cents on today's puzzle a bit later as I've got a few things to do first.
Cheers,
Bill
C C..
Thanks for your blurb. If the new policy is fine with you... great. After all you're the reason we're here. 🙂
With all the turbulence at home your dedication (and boomers too) to the site is truly admirable.
👍
Good Morning:
I’m always pleased with a Sunday puzzle that has a cute/clever theme, minimal unknown proper names, minimal three letter words, and little to no dreck. Doug checked all those boxes this morning and then some. The only unknown was Noel, which filled itself. My only w/os were I Dos/Edit and Kona/Kola. Quite a coincidence to see Parasol again so soon. Of course, my solving enjoyment was greatly enhanced by the many creatures: Koi, Octopi, Scorpion, Dodo, Insect, Hens, Wrens, Bird, Shad, and Pest.
Thanks, Doug, for a pleasant Sunday solve and thanks, CC, for guiding us so expertly. In addition to the cocktails mentioned, I would offer Old Fashioned. Cluing that should be pretty simple. Thanks for clearing up the constructors’ commenting conflict and thanks for the update on Boomer. We’re all praying for you both and are here for you always.
I placed an order with ShopRite yesterday for delivery this morning. I ordered a personal size watermelon because in the ad it looked to be about the size of a soccer ball, which I thought was manageable, unlike the infamous one that wreaked havoc two years ago. Well, what I received would be a personal size for someone like Shaq O’Neal. Thankfully, the delivery woman carried all my groceries right to the kitchen counter, but it’s so big, I don’t know how I’m going to cut it up. 🍉 🤔
Have a great day.
Lucinda, Thanks for the lesson on the pronunciation of "Perez". I recommend that you avoid Augusta, Ga. The suburb of Martinez has a pronunciation that is outrageous!
Tony Express
You're welcome and please note the spelling of my name. No "d" please. Thank you. I have heard some pronunciations of Martinez that made me wince.
Lucina - FLN, thanks for confirming the pronunciation of Xavier. I won't admit how badly I've mangled Ixtapa. Of course, we norte americanos can't even pronounce "Mexico" properly. But it's not just Espanol we butcher. Versailles, KY is pronounced exactly like it looks. Tourists laugh at that, but they think the way we pronounce the nearby county seat of Bourbon County, "Paris", is just fine. Moscow, OH sounds like it is part-bovine. Beaufort, NC and Beaufort, SC are only a few miles apart, but are pronounced totally different. When I resided in Texas, my house was in a semi-ritzy neighborhood of Monticello, with the second half sounding like "sell-o" rather than like the musical piece.
Thank you Doug for a truly intoxicating Sunday puzzle with a very clever theme. But I really shouldn't have started this before Noon, as I got an FIW times TWO. With all the DVD boxed sets I have (some still in cellophane) I must have been SOTTED to miss that one. Then filling ORA (as in ORA PRO NOBIS - please!) instead of ORO? What was I drinking?! Thus I missed NOVEL for NAVEL. I was thinking of a BUTTERY NAVEL, sorta like a BUTTERY NIPPLE (now I think I'm seein' double!) but made with IRISH CREME and BUTTERSCOTCH SNAPS. But that wouldn't fly because the clue is used in the fill. I think I'll stop here for a pint of strong black coffee and a nap ...
... Now that I'm sober... Thank you C.C. for your inebriating review, but most of all for your strength, leadership, and dedication to this community. We love you!
Coupla favs ...
100A ARGOT. What would the Corner do without ARGOT? We'd have a failure to communicate.
20A SULTRY. You want hot and steamy? Here's Jessica Rabbit.
And now for something completely different ...
90A SAYERS. Lord Peter Wimsey was a POSH detective and Sayer's stories were made into more than one TV series. Here's the one with Edward Petherbridge. With a name like Petherbridge you know he's got to be posh.
Cheers,
Bill
Oh, I forgot 9A ANORAK. In addition to a parka, it's Brit slang for "a person who is extremely enthusiastic about and interested in something that other people find boring", i.e. a GEEK. There was character is the 2006 British mystery series "Gil Mayo" nicknamed Anorak, played by Louise Beasley (later in Cumberbatch's Sherlock) . Anorak was the detective team's CSI tech support guru, with a very very wry sense of humor. Gil Mayo is one of my favorite detective shows, a very tightly scripted, beautifully acted, ensemble piece. It streams on Britbox, which I believe you can access via Prime.
Mea culpa! I usually thoroughly check everything before hitting "publish". I'll never misspell your name again.
This new editor seems to go out of her way to do the opposite of what her readers desire. Now it seems she is a control freak, too? YEESH.
Managed a FIR in 43:57, had the grid filled in 30 minutes but had a mistake somewhere which turned out to be having an S instead of a Z in the PEREZ/ZAPPOS crossing, both unknowns along with ADRIEN, SAYERS and NOEL but the perps handled those. I see OCTOPI showed up again and surprisingly no comments or complaints about it 🤣. I have used the word TARRY, or heard anyone else use it for that matter. Thank you Doug P for this very fine puzzle!
C.C. ~~ very nice picturesque write up today, always enjoy your Sunday blog. Thank you for the update on Boomer, glad the surgery went smooth and he is convalescing at home, will continue to keep him in my prayers.
Not being a constructor I really don’t know the ways in which an editor and puzzle creator work together to come up with the final product, but I most certainly admire both crafts, as they provide us with our daily enjoyment of the solve. I respect Patti’s wishes on this matter, keeping a sort of confidentiality on the content, or embedded notes as C.C. refers to them. It is nice to read of the constructor’s background and their inspirations for their creations though, I hope that can continue.
Above should state “I have NEVER used the word TARRY”
Anonymous @1:01 PM If reviewers started sharing puzzles in advance of the publication date, it would spoil the party.
Unclefred manages to FIR in the blinding speed of only 53 minutes! I had to be careful to not exceed the sound barrier and shatter nearby windows. LOL. I thought I'd finished in a breathtaking 49 minutes, but upon review (GASP!) found four empty cells. They were easily filled, so 50 minutes. Further review found several obvious errors (GRR!!), so 52 minutes. Final review one more error, so, finally, FIR in 53. Anyway, a tough but doable Sunday CW with a recognizable theme and few proper names (thanx, PV & JNL) to baffle me, unlike yesterday's CW where obscure names crossed each other. Was Bloody Mary mentioned? Thanx for the fine write-up, C.C., and the update on Boomer. I'm glad the surgery went well, but sorry to hear they found CA in his shoulder.
FIR without red letters and look ups. I proceeded slowly, but accurately. A relief after yesterday's puzzle. I found that one easy with the exception of two Natick cluster fests. I unashamedly looked up those people, while muttering, "This is not fun."
I do not care for sticky rice desserts, the only food we had in Japan which I disliked. Most of their cuisine is delicious IMO.
I think of umbrella as being used for rain and of parasol being fancy, smaller and used as a sunshield. I know several women who have had skin cancer and use parasols as a shield. Unfortunately men with a similar problem are highly unlikely to use a parasol.
I have a copy of Monet's Woman with a Parasol in my dining nook. Love it.
Just got done not finishing our Sunday paper's 2 week old NYT puzzle. 🤨
One clue puzzled me. 🤔
Clue: "Snack item that is partly foreordained"
Answer: OREO
Doesn't that break the rule of not including the answer in the clue? Should I make an anonymous call and tip off the Crossword Police?
Just sayin'
IM: Consider switching to smaller melons: cantaloupes and honeydews...😄, less threatening
Thnx for the "welcome," Granny. (May I call you that?)
MartinEZ?
Pleasant Sunday puzzle, not too difficult. Had PARIS Hilton instead of PEREZ Hilton (or is it Hilton PEREZ)?
Thanks for explanation on constructors input. I can see the editors side of this, so as others have said, hopefully the constructors still comment after the puzzle is revealed.
Boomer is in my prayers.
Sunday Lurk say...
Thanks C.C. for explaining the new policy rational. CED summed up my views of the constructor comment kerfuffle. Stick a fork in it - it's done.
God Speed to you & Boomer.
DW's first car was a '76 Torino. She loved it 'cuz it was "a pretty blue". I liked it 'cuz it was a tank that could haul ass.
Welcome to The Corner ProfMeritus. Sorry you joined during the disruption-days ;-)
Jinx - I remember in Basic the Drill Sgt telling us "No Kentucky Windage" meaning just 'cuz you know this weapon's sites are a bit left, zero the damn thing in 'cuz the guy who picks up your rifle after you die won't know that.
//Basic was fun in a grim way ;-)
Lucina - I did no know that... I say LO-pez but per-EZ... I'll try to fix that.
//I was going to link George Lopez's stand-up - NSFW ;-)
IM - Old Fashions. I worked the back bar* at a Shreveport eatery that was popular with the 'older crowd' and I made hundreds of Old Fashions. FFW to three weeks ago - my boss-man (two years my Jr.) ordered one at Happy Hour.
*Louisiana's laws were peculiar - I could drink & mix at 18 but not serve.
Waseeley - She's not bad, She's just drawn that way. I love the pun ;-)
Y'all have a wonderful afternoon. Cheers, -T
Late solve today as we came in late last night from a wedding 3 hours away and then lots on the sked today-
I found this a slow and steady solve. Most of the changes came from an opening entry in a section that had to be changed by perps: TUGS became TOWS , SATIRE became SPOOFS (didn't know SATIRIZING was going to come later), ATT became INT, ORA became ORO, PARIS became PEREZ. I mixed up RNC for ANC (Mandela's party) and so first put RSA before GOP.
YR explained the PARASOL vs umbrella difference - most parasols are not made with water proof/resistant material.
TARRY is not used much anymore - but is used over 60 times in the King James version of the Christian Bible. Most modern translations have changed that to the word wait.
I have pronounced PER-ez correctly per Lucina's comment ever since college when a good friend set me straight about his last name. (His grandparents were originally from The Philippines) My first name is often mispronounced as there is another common name spelled the same but pronounced differently - I only correct people if I am going to see them regularly - otherwise it's not worth the effort. No one knows how to pronounce my last name unless they are into outboard motors!
ZAPPOS only works because they have free shipping and free returns- unless you are ordering the exact same shoe again - you never know if it will fit with nonstandard sizing!
Thanks CC and Doug- for a pleasant afternoon.
Prayers for healing and recovery for Boomer
I enjoyed this puzzle. Hand up for filling PARIS Hilton, which I was for too long loathe to abandon. Also ANI Lennox. I suppose that was the point. TRYSTS is an interesting word, having only one vowel, and not A,E,I,O, or U. I had fits trying to parse GOT A FTER. TAXI finally got me to change NET GAIN to NEST EGG, which in turn got me to change RUN to AVG.
Thank you for the update on Boomer and for the "policy change" explanation, C.C.
Waseeley, please ignore both of the duplicate emails I sent you. My apologies for fat-fingering.
I'm sure you'll manage to cut that watermelon, Irish Miss.
Good wishes to you all.
DNF. I had two blank naticks before I turned on the red, showing eleven wrong squares.
I don't always get Sunday, but often enough that I'm always close. 13 (an inauspicious unlucky number) is not close.
The theme was well executed. Didn't need any reveal, was easy to see, and funny! Good.
Back when I listened to audio books, I got one mystery set here in Santa Fe. I have fortunately forgotten the title. The writer pictured Santa Fe as a general store and 2 bars. The narrator kept mispronouncing local names with slight changes of emphasis. Only mildly annoying -- until he got to the victim's name. Sandoval. Which he pronounced "sand-[beat]-oval" instead of SAN-do-val. That was it. I could take it no further.
I do hope the interviews on general personal history can continue, without revealing the current puzzle. It's a strange policy, tho. It's way too late for any changes if the constructor has a beef with the editor; the puzzles are sent to newspapers week(s?) ahead. Keep asking them to comment in the blog conversations. Personally, I'm most interested in which clues got thru, and which are the editor's. Are all these proper names because Patti has a laxer attitude, or is she foisting all these on us herself?
Nina Evinrude? :)
Nina Johnson?
Nina Mercury?
Nina Yamaha?
Nina British-Seagull?
Nina Tohatsu?
Ray O @ 2:32 ~ I like cantaloupe and honey dew melons but I love watermelon best. If ShopRite had sent me what I ordered, I ‘d be fine dealing with that smaller size. I don’t know how the monster rang up at the same price for the smaller size.
Jayce @ 5:18 ~ I did manage to carve up part of it, but with much trepidation as I had visions of slicing a finger off. The remainder is going to my cleaning lady tomorrow: no way could I use it all before it turned bad. I’ll bet it weighed close to 15 pounds, if not more.
Got the Theme right away but the cluing was WAY TOO highbrow for me. Since I'm just a simple Senior who obviously isn't as well read and clever as you experts, I found the cluing here as too pedantic and complicated for my feeble brain. In response to this entry, please remember that I was probably solving crossword puzzles when you were in diapers.
-T @4:36 PM Jimmy PERez on Shetland (Douglas Hensall) pronounces it that way, but that may because he's Shetlish.
I liked that show, Shetland. I understand Steven Robertson, who plays DC Sandy Wilson on that show, and who, I think, is an excellent actor, was born and grew up in Shetland and speaks Shetlandish natively. He gave a wonderfully creepy performance as the insane murderer on the show The Bletchley Circle.
Puzzling thoughts:
With regard to the constructor comments issue: every editor I've worked with has changed some of my clues. Perhaps because the clues NEED to be tougher (a Friday/Saturday puzzle), or perhaps the editor just wanted to clue it differently. They're "called" editors, after all. But as other posters here have stated, some clues that are so generationally based will not always work for those who don't know, nor don't care to know about the new "synonyms "
My biggest "beef" with the new format at the LA Times is when two or three crossing words are clued obscurely. Give the solvers star least a chance to guess correctly. I used to have a Crossword Puzzle dictionary back before the Internet offered a chance to google a clue. But even then - when I could look up a word or clue in a book - I never wanted to rely on that for solving a puzzle. This is supposed to be fun!
Rats, one cell did me in. I WAG'd the Z in APPOS as the other cell were filled in. Have only heard of Paris Hilton and not Perez Hilton (who?). I'm familiar with the Scottish singer, Annie Lennox (hi, Jayce), so I confidently inked in Ani, thinking it was a variant spelling. Even though Brock ADnIEN looked weird who knows, as I've mentioned I'm not a moviegoer or read articles pertaining to them. Who is ARI LENNOX? I also don't listen to R&B, so I've never heard of her. As someone mentioned previously, there are too many proper name clues/answers appearing almost daily. Are the constructors trying to attract a more "hip" younger crowd? IMO, it won't work. [end of rant]
C-Moe @ 8:43, thank you! You said it succinctly - "generationally based."
CMOE @8:43 PM I once had an article published in Ceramics Monthly. I was shocked when it was published and saw all the things that the editor had changed. It was then that I realized the writer just provides input to the final copy. We're lucky we get any credit at all!
A little long but...
PaRis/PEREZ, was my downfall. Trick clue having gossip, Hilton =》Paris. ZAPPOS UNK. originally thought of the shoe for pumps and that would've revealed that paris was wrong. I was out all day, fell asleep after ⅛ . Tried to solve in my sleep- anyone do that?
I also missed DVDS and VPS
FIW
I don't trust locarb/high protein diets. Keep your KETO
AVG was a gimme for Earned Run Average but that gave me two G's. Nice clue there; once I had NEST EGG popped
LaTimes provides xwords for the week on Sunday (to TBTimes for me). The constructor obviously has the grid. Patti's message still makes mo sense but I explained it FLN
Jinx, come to Boston and see how Peabody, Gloucester and Leominster among many are pronounced(Lemon-stir for the latter) . Two others are butchered by the locals:Chelmsford and Medford(mehfa))
WC
Only because it's so late…
Here's a little of SCOTT's Ivanhoe, tell me to stop if jumble poetry is not your bag
"[Then a knight appeared dashing for the lists and no longer in disguise.]
"I , Wilfred of Ivanhoe, defy thee Sir Brian as despoiler and liar.
And will uphold her honor and by aid of Saint George, spare her from the fire".
As the esquires of Sir Brian closed his visor one remarked, "By my ken
The face of our Master is totally flushed and seems lacking oxygen."
And thus, after the clash of lances there lay Sir Brian. An aficionado
Of battle later recounted. It wasn't by the hand of the Knight Desiderato.
For his face was frozen, a jigsaw of emotions.
His face ashen a victim of his own contending passions."
At this point the thunder of hooves. There riding into the hippodrome
Was none other than King Richard. "The East is fine but there's no place like home"
That was the climatic scene at the Templar Prior where Wilfred of IVANHOE arrives to save the day followed by King Richard, no lover of Templars
The real hero of "Ivanhoe" is Sir Brian. A very human character unlike Wilfred who's plastic
I completely forgot about Sandoval and how I've seen that name butchered! San-DO-val is usually the most common.
My dad's nickname was Sandy so he was spared some of that.
Anon 6:59PM, I was in diapers in 1948 and 1949. Which puzzles were you solving then?
Incorrectly entering ORA for 11D led (briefly) to a humorous answer for 22A.
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