google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, July 20, 2022, Dan Caprera

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Jul 20, 2022

Wednesday, July 20, 2022, Dan Caprera

Theme: YAS QUEEN!

17. Religious figure known as the "Queen of Heaven": VIRGIN MARY.

24. Novelist known as the "Queen of Crime": AGATHA CHRISTIE

31. Military division known as the "Queen of Battle": INFANTRY.

46. Field of study known as the "Queen of the Sciences": THEOLOGY.

52. Singer known as the "Queen of Jazz": ELLA FITZGERALD.

64. City known as the "Queen of the West": CINCINNATI. Queen of the West also refers to a 1995-built replica steamboat, on the Columbia River near Hood River, Oregon.


Melissa here. Six QUEEN theme answers in this one, and no unifier. I was over-thinking, expecting the theme to be something more than just QUEEN - but there doesn't appear to be anything else that connects them all. This appears to be Dan Caprera's LA Times debut - congratulations Dan, and welcome to the Corner.

Across:

1. Paul of guitar fame: LES. In 2009, Paul was named one of the top ten electric guitarists of all time by Time magazine. Two years later he was named the eighteenth greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine. How To Choose a Les Paul.

4. Old manuscript artisan: SCRIBE.

10. Doesn't sit on: USES. Tricky.

14. Shuttlecock's path: ARC. QAs about the trajectory of a shuttlecock’s flight path.


15. BabyGap buy: ONESIE.

16. Order: RANK.

19. Fashion journalist García: NINA. editor-in-chief of Elle, and a judge on the Bravo/Lifetime reality television program Project Runway since its first season.

20. Trick: SCAM.

21. Small matter: ATOM.

23. Gorp morsel: NUT. a term for trail mix often used by hikers in North America, is typically said to be an acronym for "good ol' raisins and peanuts", although the mix may contain M&M's and other nuts.

29. Battery size: AAA.

30. River to the English Channel: SEINE.


36. Frontera condiment: SALSA. Frontera translates to border in English. Frontera Grill is  Rick Bayless's restaurant in Chicago, and also the name of a 2014 movie starring Ed Harris.

39. New Mexico art community: TAOS.

40. Gushes: SPEWS.

43. Mosque prayer leader: IMAM.

44. Quick messages: TEXTS.

48. Smiles: GRINS.

51. Tax-deferred nest egg, briefly: IRA.

58. Murmur: COO.

59. Pacific Islands staple: TARO.

60. Spiffy: NEAT.

62. The "L" of YOLO: LIVE. You Only Live Once.

68. Neighborhood: AREA.

69. Dream up: IDEATE. Believe it or not, ideate is a very old word. It came into English in the 1600s, mostly as a term used in discussing Plato's philosophy.

70. Charge: FEE.

71. Skills evaluation: TEST.

72. Built a tree house?: NESTED. Great clue.

73. Fabric store meas.: YDS.

Down:

1. WCs: LAVS.

2. Gospel singer Campbell: ERICA.

3. Skinny sort: SCRAG. "An unattractively thin person or animal."

4. "__ hear": SO I.

5. "Fareed Zakaria GPS" network: CNN. Analysis and interviews, Sundays at 10am & 1pm ET.

6. Sleep acronym: REM. Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a stage of sleep associated with dreaming and memory consolidation. It accounts for approximately 20–25% of an adult’s sleep cycle and over 50% of an infant’s. A lack of REM sleep may have adverse implications for physical and mental health.

7. Oscar of 2021's "Dune": ISAAC. Rawr.

8. Some overnight deliveries?: BIRTHS. Cute.

9. Fictional donkey: EEYORE. Winnie the Pooh. The rabbit is Rabbit. The owl is Owl. But Eeyore, the donkey, takes his name from a phonetic spelling of the sound a donkey makes.

10. Samovar: URN. Often of brass, with a spigot near its base, widely used in Russia to boil water for tea.

11. Patron of sailors: SAINT ELMO. And abdonimal pain. Serious!

12. Blasé feeling: ENNUI. Meh.

13. Stingray kin: SKATE. Skate fish vs. stingray.

18. Early show since 1975, briefly: GMA. Good Morning America on ABC.

22. Nintendo Switch avatars: MIIS. Any gamers here? A Mii (/miː/ MEE) is a customizable avatar used on several Nintendo video game consoles and mobile apps. Miis were first introduced on the Wii console (clever, "We" and "Me") in 2006 and later appeared on the 3DS, Wii U, the Switch, and various apps for smart devices.

25. Do something to hide?: TAN. Favorite clue today.

26. Metaphor for roles: HATS. As in, "She wears many hats."

27. Org. with driver safety courses: AARP. American Association of Retired Persons is a non-partisan interest group for people aged fifty and older. Founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, a retired high school principal.

28. SpongeBob's pet Gary, for one: SNAIL.

31. Hairy Addams cousin: ITT. From the TV show The Munsters.


32. "Sorry, lassie": NAE. Scots Gaelic, or Scottish, for no.

33. Plants with purple bell-shaped flowers: FOXGLOVES. The scientific name, digitalis, means "finger". Has medicinal uses but is also very toxic to humans and other animals, and consumption can even lead to death.
34. Latin stars: ASTRA.

35. Though: YET.

37. Droop: SAG.

38. "Jeopardy!" champion Schneider: AMY. Winning 40 consecutive games on the quiz show Jeopardy! from November 2021 to January 2022, she holds the second-longest win streak in the program's history, behind only Ken Jennings, who hosted the show as she competed.

41. Early Democrat's adversary: WHIG. An American political party formed in the 1830s to oppose President Andrew Jackson and the Democrats. Whigs stood for protective tariffs, national banking, and federal aid for internal improvements.

42. SERE. Dry or withered (especially of vegetation).

45. Sort (through): SIFT.

47. Stick in the water?: OAR.

49. B complex vitamin: NIACIN.

50. Long step: STRIDE.


52. Big fanfare: ECLAT. The word derives from French, where it can mean "splinter" (the French idiom voler en éclats means "to fly into pieces") as well as "burst" (un éclat de rire means "a burst of laughter"), among other things.

53. France's longest river: LOIRE.

54. Districts: ZONES.

55. Journalist Curry: ANN.

56. Like salad greens: LEAFY.

57. So last year: DATED.

61. Gets even?: TIES. Nice clue.

63. Sup: EAT.

65. Roomba rider, in some viral videos: CAT.

66. Brooklyn suffix: ITE.

67. Nancy Drew's beau Nickerson: NED.

64 comments:

  1. Hi, this is Subgenius. I found this to be a very doable puzzle. There were only a few proper names I didn’t know, but they were easily sussed or perped. Also I wasn’t familiar with “ miis” but Melissa’s explanation made it (or rather, them) clear. Other than that, not a hard puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.

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  2. Good morning!

    Yay, another reveal-less puzzle. Gotta love it. The Wite-Out got a rest today, except to change the double-T to double-N in CINCINNATI. Nice debut, Dan. Enjoyed your expo, Melissa Bee.

    URN -- Dw has some sort of urn on the mantle. I think it looks like a giant, silvered urinal. She was not amused.

    TAOS -- Remember McCloud, the Dennis Weaver series about a New Mexico deputy marshall on a case in NYC? He was supposedly from TAOS, but pronounced it Tay'-Oss. The producers could never get away with that today.

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  3. Too many names.. too many question marks

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  4. FIR, but I agree with Anon 5:39. Erased manta for SKATE.

    How can THEOLOGY be a science? Let's sprinkle the test group with holy water, the control group with distilled water, and determine if there is a statistically significance between the number of souls that go to heaven and those who go to hell?

    According to Wikipedia, these US cities think they are the Queen City:
    Gadsden, Alabama
    Selma, Alabama or Queen City of the Blackbelt
    Tuscaloosa, Alabama
    Anchorage, Alaska
    Camden, Arkansas or Queen City of the Ouachita River
    Eureka, California or Queen City of the Ultimate West
    Denver, Colorado or Queen City of the Plains
    Gainesville, Georgia
    Hazard, Kentucky or Queen City of the Mountains
    Bangor, Maine or Queen City of the East
    Cumberland, Maryland or Queen City of the Alleghenies
    Marquette, Michigan or Queen City of the North
    Traverse City, Michigan or Queen City of the North
    Virginia, Minnesota
    Greenville, Mississippi or Queen City of the Delta
    Meridian, Mississippi
    Sedalia, Missouri or Queen City of the Prairies
    Springfield, Missouri or Queen City of the Ozarks
    Helena, Montana or Queen City of the Rockies
    Manchester, New Hampshire
    Beach Haven, New Jersey
    Plainfield, New Jersey
    Buffalo, New York or Queen City of the Great Lakes
    Elmira, New York
    New Rochelle, New York or Queen City of the Sound
    Poughkeepsie, New York or Queen City of the Hudson
    Charlotte, North Carolina
    Fargo, North Dakota
    Cincinnati, Ohio or "the Queen of the West"
    Ada, Oklahoma or Queen City of the Chickasaw Nation
    Allentown, Pennsylvania
    Olyphant, Pennsylvania
    Titusville, Pennsylvania
    Sioux Falls, South Dakota
    Clarksville, Tennessee
    Del Rio, Texas or Queen City of the Rio Grande
    Burlington, Vermont
    Staunton, Virginia or Queen City of the Shenandoah Valley
    Virginia Beach, Virginia
    Seattle, Washington
    But Cincy is the only "Queen of the West".

    Thanks to melissa bee for the interesting review.

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  5. Good morning.

    Congrats on your debut, Dan. Thank you. And thank you, Melissa.

    Knew of Wiis and once played bowling on one, but never heard of Miis. When I didn't get the congrats message I first looked at that area but it was all solid. Turns out I had a typo. VIRGIb MARY.

    CSO to Inanehiker !

    Manta before SKATE, but that was a quick fix.
    Both SEINE and LOIRE in the same puzzle.

    I chuckled at the clue/answer to "Do something to hide"

    We ate at the Frontera Grill. Upscale, with authentic dishes items from different Mexican states. I thought it excellent, but I think my sis was expecting Tex-Mex food. We went after they won a James Beard award. At the time, no reservations accepted, and long lines to get a table unless you got there before they opened. We did.

    Jinx, were you happy with your pulled pork ?

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  6. Thank you Melissa and for a glance at Dan's background you can check out this LINK from his only prior publication in the NYT in 2019. He is another of our recent group of comedy writer constructors.

    It would be nice if puzzles identified original and edited clues so you would know who to praise but I agree that 8. Some overnight deliveries?: BIRTHS. Cute. and 61. Gets even?: TIES. Nice clue. are accurate.

    Isaac Oscar is a local Miami raised actor who has moved on to big time starring in MOON KNIGHT .

    Happy day all

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  7. 46 across- theology- a science? Hardly.

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  8. Took me 6:18 today to hail to the queen.

    I first opted for "rod" for "stick in the water," but Ella pointed out my misstep.

    Oscar Isaac is in lots of movies in the past 10 years, including the latest Star Wars movies. I liked him in Ex Machina.

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  9. Cousin Itt was on The Addams Family.

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  10. A wonderful Wednesday puzzle which I FIR. Like DO I cruised through with only one adjustment, changing the O to A in ASTRA, as ELLA filled and pointed out my error. What fun this was! The answers weren't too obvious and perps were helpful in my unknown areas. Welcome upon your debut, Dan, and come back soon.

    I noticed ENNUI and ECLAT and wondered if ELAN would be next, but no. With LOIRE and SEINE as well, you had a very Frenchified puzzle to blog, Melissa B. Well done! I noticed SCRIBE and ONESIE appearing again today. I use the adjective form SCRAGgly more than the noun but got the fill OK.

    Our storm yesterday afternoon did not last long enough to cause problems and our hot days continue. Hope you all are well.

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  11. Good Morning:

    Didn’t know Erica, Amy, Nina, Theology, and Infantry, as clued. Ennui is a favorite word, even though I never use it. Nice big shout out to Nina, our Inanehiker. It was nice to see Ella and Agatha’s full names.

    Thanks, Dan, for a mid-week challenge and congrats on the debut and thanks, Melissa, for the detailed and informative review.

    Have a great day and stay cool!

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  12. This puzzle had a few challenges but generally filled pretty smoothly with perps. Started off waiting for perps with LOOS vs LAVS on 1D.
    A lot of my experience could be -read TTP's post e.g. Manta before SKATE. I hadn't heard of my namesake NINA Garcia - but easily perped with the Latinx last name.

    I'm going to have to have "the talk" with my 90 year old mom about parameters for continuing to drive - I wished she had taken the driver safety course that AARP sponsors for seniors. She didn't have driver's ed back in the day- and there wasn't even a driving test or written test to get a license - just go in and say that you're sixteen.

    THEOLOGY lost its moniker "Queen of the Sciences" in the 1700s after receiving it with Aristotle.

    I learned how to spell CINCINNATI consistently along with Kyrgyzstan after doing a lot of Geography quizzes on the Sporcle trivia website.

    Oscar ISAAC - is very versatile actor from roles like Poe Dameron in the newest Star Wars Trilogy to dramatic indie movies like "Inside Llewyn Davis" I like to watch the Oscar nominated short films and his 2020 film "The Letter Room" is well done and quirky like many short films are.

    Thanks Melissa for the blog and congrats to Dan for the debut!

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    Replies
    1. Let your Mom decide. From an Octogenarian.

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  13. FLN- AnonT- Re the ice cream controversy: You will be happy to know that I do not buy Ben and Jerry’s. I buy Kawartha Dairy ice cream. LOL. But you can mail to me at Somewhere, Canada!

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  14. TTP - Last night's pulled pork was a little disappointing. No juice to speak of, and a little dry. But it tasted fine. I've made it this way several times before, and it turned out great. Two differences this time: 1) I froze it and thawed it in the fridge for a couple of days, and b) I used the low temp setting on the crockpot.

    My guess is that it was the freeze-thaw cycle that changed things. I usually don't do that, but the only one they had left was almost 10 pounds. When I got it home I found out that it was a bone-in cut as well, so I had to hone new skills. But hey, it was $0.97 per pound! The first batch was great. I still have one frozen part left, and I'll probably cook it next week. This time I'll cook it on the higher temp for less time. I'll report back; Cornering minds want to know.

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  15. Jinx, maybe it was $0.97/lb because they knew it would cook dry?

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  16. If there's NAE NAEs there's NAE xword

    Not many problems except manta/SKATE,and the correct spelling of CINCINNATI. Also I thought that "Gorp" would be our xword fav ORT.

    46 across- theology-(Not) a science? Hardly. Tell it to the Marines of THEOLOGY: The Jesuits

    The UNK pop-cul was easily perped ie. A name with double A's(ISAAC)

    I finished and thought "Is that almost there is?"

    WC


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  17. A doable Wednesday CW. FIR but not sure if the time, I got a FaceTime call in the middle of my CW efforts. Best guess? 22 minutes. Like DO@5:31, was not sure of the spelling of CINCINNATI and put two “T”s in it, which needed a W/O, along with NAY:NAE and GAR:OAR. DNK Wiis. Nice CW, with several good clues, like for TAN, HATS, and BIRTHS. Thanx DC. Another winner of a write-up by Melissa Bee, thanx for your always entertaining efforts, MB.

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  18. Loved the Queens. THEOLOGY was already spelled from perps when I got there. New to me. (Actually it's very ancient and dated.) No problems today, except shooting myself in the foot when proudly and immediately jumping to USED. That messed up the NE corner until finally I saw my error in tenses.
    I doubted MIIS, but left it in.
    Luckily, Cincinnati is the only Queen City I have heard of.
    Fun misdirections.
    Keep cool.

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  19. Proper names threw me as usual. Queens were easy so that helped. All and all enjoyable puzzle.

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  20. Thanks Dan for a pleasant Wednesday wander through the Realm of Cruciverbalist Queens. Thanks for the FIR and congrats on your debut.

    And thank you Melissa for an excellent and informative review. You, along with Hahtoolah and C.C. are the Queens of the Corner.

    Some favs:

    4A SCRIBE. According to Thomas Cahill's How the Irish Saved Civilization these artisans were largely responsible for keeping classical literature alive during the period known as the Dark Ages.

    14A ARC. Who knew that a little BIRDIE could be so complicated.

    17A VIRGIN MARY. The "Crowning of the Virgin Mary as Queen of Heaven" is the name of the 5th Glorious Mystery of the Rosary prayers.

    22A YOLO. For a contrary opinion I'd suggest the first two chapters of investigative journalist Leslie Kean's Surviving Death, based on the groundbreaking work of University of Virginia psychiatrist Ian Stevenson.

    24A AGATHA CHRISTIE. Christie is listed in the Guiness Book of World record as the best selling writer of fiction of all time. In addition, many of her works have been adapted to stage, screen, and TV. One of the favorite Christie detectives is Miss Marple, who has been played by at least 10 actresses. A CSO to whoever it was who commended Joan Hickson's Miss Marple in a previous post. We're watching her for the first time on Britbox and she is up there with the best.

    22D MIIS. Learned it here.

    33D FOXGLOVES. A source of the drug DIGITALIS, used in the treatment of a variety of cardiovascular disorders.

    42D SERE. We saw this recently in a clue about SERENESS, dehydration common with marathoners.

    Cheers,
    Bill

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  21. Just woke back after getting in my REM sleep.

    Forgot to write earlier that it was Husker Gary that knew the song lyric in my 8:30 AM comment yesterday. See You Later Alligator - Bill Haley and Comets

    inanehiker, I couldn't count the number of times I fared poorly on Sporcle because of spelling errors. No autocorrect there ! :>)

    Jinx, thanks. I'm heading to Costco sometime this week or next when my new spectacles come in. It's on my list to pick up a pork shoulder when I go. I sometimes use my (cleansed) sawzall (with a new blade) to cut through the bone if I need to, and the cleaver isn't getting the job done. I might ask the butcher there to cut it in half for me this time to save the hassle. I'll still have to buy the whole thing. I have heard shoppers ask the Costco butchers if they could buy just two strip steaks instead of eight. Um, no.

    C.C. has the Wednesday crossword, "Wise Guise" , at USA Today.

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  22. Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Dan and melissa.
    I FIRed in good time and saw the Queens.
    I too was surprised by THEOLOGY. This quote I found might help explain- “A scholar’s theology is the foundation of his worldview and shapes his study of philosophy and other fields. Theology, then, was the “queen of the sciences”. But apparently Mathematics is now considered the Queen of the sciences.

    I’m glad that it wasn’t just this Canadian that had to wait for perps to spell CINCINNATI.
    I had to change Now to SO I. (2 wd. after the clue would have been helpful.)

    I noted ITE and ITT. We had AREA and ZONES. SEINE and LOIRE have already been noted.
    CSO to NINA, and I thought of WC with NAE.

    I loved the CAT on the Roomba!
    Spoiler Alert: 57D is a possible synonym for today’s Wordle.

    Wishing you all a great day.

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  23. Easy cuz the QUEENS were all obvious long answers providing lots of perp aid. BUT..FIW!! 🙄, quickly filled LoVE for LIVE never checking that there's no river LOoRE !! So un-pat myself on the back for a dah-tah (reverse tah-dah) 😏

    "Sorry Lassie", Timmy's stuck in the well.😲 Like Inaneh perpwaited for LAVS not loos. Seems like an awfully big coinicidence we just had SCRIBE for "The Book of Kells" hmmm.🤨 "Gorp"? Is that like the recent "morp"? Must be regional but never heard SCRAG.

    Seen previous puzzle "gushes" enough times I knew by now it's SPEWS and I see MIIS do relate to WII's. Isn't SALSA made from a combo of "condiments"? (jalapeño, garlic, salt, pepper, cilantro, etc?).

    "Do something to hide" : wanted sin but TAN? perped out, oh..now I get it..cleverrr!! Didn't know that THEOLOGY (like Jinx) was a science. Is astrology a science too? (ASTRA)

    Train beds....BIRTHS
    Sapling...INFANTRY
    "How's it hanging?".....SUP
    Saw...DATED
    Malodorous (as in Manatee)....RANK

    Temps high here but not 3 digits.
    Rainy nights sunny days. Perfect so far 🌞

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  24. I had started a long rant on whether theology is a "science", but then looked at the line immediately above this box and remembered "... no religion ...".

    However a problem we bloggers frequently encounter is that constructors (and editors) are not bound by these rules. This is because much of world history, literature, art, and culture involves religion and thus constructors often inject religious references into their puzzles, e.g. 17A and 46A. In the case of 46A I'm sure that Dan could simply cite some source for it and that would be that. Here is one citation that does attempt to explain it. Please direct any disagreements to the site manager.

    Cheers,
    Bill

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  25. DO - I thought about that. But the first (unfrozen) part cooked up juicy. It may be that because of my total lack of meat cutting knowledge, I accidentally cooked the best part first.

    The crockpot recipe said not to allow the meat to touch the walls of the crock pot. Ya need one of them thar oval devices.

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  26. Hi All!

    Congrats on the LAT debut, Dan. 'Queen' of themes & themers stuffed in there. Thanks!

    Fun expo, mb. Thanks for the links [St. Stomach Ailment?]

    WOs: gAR was a 'stick' in the water, whig was plural wigs for a bit.
    ESPs: ERICA, AMY, URN | NINA, LOIRE | COO (as clued)
    Fav: How can you not fill CINCINNATI and not think of WKRP? [Scum]

    Jinx - sad re: your dry-ish PORK.
    For the record, I'm really bad with it - I always over cook 'cuz I'm afraid to poison the family w/ trichinosis. Now the kids won't eat the Other White Meat. I will try your crock-pot idea(te) and give it another go.

    TTP - power tools in the kitchen? I like the cut of your jib.

    Ray-O: Gorp [wiki]. I ate a ton of it in Boy Scouts.

    C, Eh! Way to be neutral ;-) Glad you enjoy'd Colbert's bit.

    The Jester sang to the King & Queen / In a coat he borrowed from James Dean...
    The King of science is empirical; the Queen is ethereal.
    [see RUSH Hemispheres [expo]]
    //WC - oui, Jesuits - Pop was taught by them and Frank sports a Mitre as the GOAT Pope.

    Gotta run. Cheers, -T

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  27. Please note that the clue reads "Field of study KNOWN AS the "Queen of the Sciences" (added caps. mine). THEOLOGY is a field of study. The science/not a science issue is irrelevant in the context of the puzzle.

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  28. Congratulations on your debut, Dan. Thanks for the recap, Melissa. I am sitting in the waiting room of my ophthalmologist. While waiting for my annual check-up it's nice to have something interesting to read. Thanks, also, for explaining MII. I knew WII and got the answer but it was nice to have the guess confirmed as correct.

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  29. Delightful Wednesday puzzle--many thanks for the fun, Dan. And I always appreciate your helpful commentary, Melissa--thanks for that too.

    Well, my favorite item was getting that overnight delivery BIRTH right at the start. And, of course, that baby was likely to have to wear a ONESIE.

    Some religion in today's puzzle with THEOLOGY and the VIRGIN MARY, and, in the other direction, an IMAM.

    Two rivers turned up this morning, the SEINE and the LOIRE.

    Loved seeing those lovely FOXGLOVES as well.

    Have a great day, everybody.

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  30. Good puzzle this morning, just enough challenge to make it fun.

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  31. Lucina, just a heads up that Billy Crystal’s Broadway show is ending September 4th.

    The NY Times is collaborating with Hasbro in the development of a Wordle board game that will be available in December. I’ll stick to Scrabble and Words With Friends.

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  32. Musings
    -In a recent puzzle, I blogged that three SCRIBES produced the Book Of Kells 1400 years ago
    -Obscure names were no hindrance
    -One friend always gives me a quick response to a TEXT
    -You Only LIVE Once should be tempered with You Only Die Once
    -A coffee URN is a staple of every funeral reception I’ve attended

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  33. Dash T, I tried cutting through a big 'ol whole ham one time with my hacksaw, but it wasn't deep enough, and the teeth were too fine. I don't have a band saw. Plus, the hacksaws that butchers use are actually "bone saws". Anyway, that was the problem that led me to use my sawzall. Any port in a storm. Here's the blades: 12 Inch Stainless Steel Reciprocating Saw Blades for Meat, 3TPI

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  34. Hola!

    Nicely done, Dan Caprera. Thank you. And thank you, Melissa, for a robust commentary.

    Oh, wow! The VIRGIN MARY in a cw puzzle. I won't dwell on my opinion but some non-Catholic sources indicate that Mary and Joseph had other children.

    It's nice to see entire names spelled out, i.e., AGATHA CHRISTIE and ELLA FITZGERALD. And CINCINNATI is tricky to spell. Is it double n or double t? SAINT ELMO as well.

    CSO to inanehiker at NINA.

    IMAM ironically ends with an M though he is a man and IMAN is a female model's name.

    Have to go but Ill be back.

    Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!

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  35. When using my crockpot I use a plastic liner then just pick it up and throw it away after the cooking is finished. No fuss, no bother, no mess. The liners are available at the grocery store.

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  36. Hi Y'all! Great fun puzzle, Dan! took me 4.5 fewer minutes than yesterday's. Great expo, Melissa.

    DNK: SKATE, FOXGLOVES, NINA, ISAAC, ERICA, CNN, but they perped in easily.

    Did you ever notice that THEOLOGY & theory start out alike?

    INFANTRY is the Queen of Battle? Queen? They're men, for gosh sakes. And they ain't in drag! Why would anyone use that term for trained warriors?

    Melissa, thanks for the picture of the paddle-wheel steamboat in the Colombia River. My husband and I took a very enjoyable ride on that.

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  37. PK - I'm going out on a limb here 'cuz I didn't Google Queen of Battle...
    But the INFANTRY ((Army) Bro was one) is Queen of Battle 'cuz they can go anywhere at any time [see: Chess game's Queen]...

    OK, I just looked it up:
    "This battle requires extreme physical prowess, field craft, weapon skills and maneuver. No wonder, based on an analogy with chess, the infantry is called the 'queen of battle'. All modern armies endeavour to ensure that the infantry is equipped with the best combat wherewithal"

    Dang, I just surprised myself :-) -T

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  38. Hand up many QUEEN learning moments. Educational and enjoyable theme.

    CanadianEh I also understood mathematics to be QUEEN OF THE SCIENCES.

    I wear many HATS in our Solstice parades.

    This was probably my favorite of all my many Solstice HATS as my artist friend Mary transformed me into a seahorse. On my custom chain-drive unicycle.

    From Yesterday:
    Irish Miss, CanadianEh, Vidwan, Wilbur Charles Thank you for the very kind words about my nerves of steel, along with my DW. I am honored that we are seen this way! I have friends who take risks far beyond my comfort level. It is always a tradeoff and I am happy if I can provide some vicarious thrills for others! Thank you!

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    Replies
    1. Picard @12:44 PM Yes, most of the queries I did for "Queen of Sciences" surfed up Mathematics.

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  39. FTTFWA
    (From Three To Four Weeks Ago...)
    Fortuitous that Agatha Christie popped up today, because it was just TTFWA that this blog introduced me to "The Body in the Library! I saved a YouTube (marked part 1) and only managed to finally get to it last night. It was "marvelous!"

    Unfortunately it took so long because part 1 led to parts 2 & 3, leading up to almost 3 hours of Whodunnit...

    Part 1 can be viewed here.
    Parts 2&3 can be viewed by clicking on the source of the YouTube video, "MurderMysteries," and then click on their playlists and scroll down to the Joan Hickson version. (Note: the waving finger episodes were a disappointment in comparison)

    FLN, Anon-T, that Canadian ice cream kerfuffle was hilarious!
    But one thing I don't understand,
    If they are all made by Ben & Jerries, what's the problem?

    From today:
    In all this puzzle, write up, and comments, there was one namesake Queen that was omitted!

    I spoke with Her Majesty about this omission of her namesake, and she was not amused...

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  40. How 'bout a Queen of Country Music -- if you can figure out who that would be.

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  41. CED:
    1) there's a (not-really) Late-night fight going on between Fallon & Colbert on who's more popular in Ben & Jerry's celeb ice-cream. This is a 15 year running gag.

    2) Her Majesty wasn't amused? I was waiting for Queen of guitar --- that he May show up... :-)

    //If y'all don't know, Brian May was guitarist for Queen before going back to university to finish his PhD in Astrophysics. He & Goulman just dropped this //nerds only :-)

    Cheers, -T

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  42. Husker @ 11:46 am

    "-A coffee URN is a staple of every funeral reception I’ve attended"

    Are you sure thems is coffee grounds in them URNS.. 😳

    ReplyDelete
  43. Thank you, Dan Caprera, for a fun, fairly easy Wednesday work-out! Thank you, Melissa B, for your excellent write-up with lots of fun additions!

    Of course my Fav is 64A City known as the "Queen of the West" CINCINNATI! We've been here for 40 years so the spelling was a piece of cake! CSO to Java Mama and myself.

    Hand up for manta/SKATE

    To add to the Queens, Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin!

    Still hot/humid here. I guess when you live in a valley with a river running through it, that's what you get. So, Welcome to the free, outdoor sauna that is Cincinnati in the summer!

    Have a great evening and the rest of the week!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Ray-O-Sunshine
    hahahahahahahahah I can't stop laughing at you 1:37 PM comment!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete

  45. Ray-U-Sunshine ! ... you are too too funny ! At first I thought you meant the Mary Jane**, which is legal in Colo. but now I see, 'grounds' ( like ashes ) at a funeral home. **I always thought that the surviving relatives could use a little Picker-Upper.

    CED, you missed Freddie of the Queen ... he must have been Queen of ..... something.

    Thank You Dan Caprera for a relatively easy Wednesday puzzle. I enjoyed it, especially since the long answers were fairly predictable.

    Thank you Melissa Bee for a charming review blog.

    I got Queen of Heaven, right away,..... since Hera was too short. And not too many names start with a 'V'.
    BTW, even Google confirms that Hera was known as the Queen of Heaven ..... if you discount the even-earlier Isis, or Ibis or Iris ... or whatever ...

    I was surprised that so many people had trouble spelling CINCINATTI ... the IRS, for one, is Not Amused. Before E filing, it was cusstomary to mail the forms to the IRS regional centers, the biggest of which, ( Thanks, to an Ohio congressional caucus - ) was in Cincinnati. ( Andover Mass, and Holtsville NY were next...)

    Never mind, if the turncoat IRS employees preferred to traipse across the bridge over the Ohio river ... to Covington, Kentucky, for better food, cheaper homes and a higher standard of living ....

    Enough of all this meaningless discussion. Have a great day, you all.

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  46. Inanehiker: When my MIL needed to stop driving, her doctor that she respected told her that, because of the side affects of the meds he was going to prescribe, she could no longer drive. She was OK with that. Coming from the doc made it easier for her to accept it.

    Good luck!

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  47. HG - "You Only LIVE Once should be tempered with You Only Die Once"
    I think it was the immortal Jeffrey Weschler who said: “A coward dies a thousand times before his death, but the valiant taste of death but once." And Ian Fleming wrote "You only live twice - once when you are born, and once when you look death in the face."

    Ray - EXACTLY what I was thinking! They'll sell that urn to Uncle Elmo's widow next week.

    Pat, it may be hot and humid there, but when I was a kid we could splash in the downtown fountains, or just duck into Shillito's or Carew Tower to suck up some AC. Good times.

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  48. I liked this puzzle. I almost liked Melissa's write-up even more, and I learned some cool stuff from it.

    ReplyDelete
  49. I think using religious names in a puzzle is Kosher. Virgin Mary. Religious debates and concepts are what should be banned.
    Using politicians names, likewise, seems harmless. Debates about them and their policies are not.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Yellowrocks I am not sure I understand. So, if Mussolini showed up in a puzzle it would not be OK to mention he did something besides making the trains run on time?

    Stating documented historical facts does not constitute a "debate" unless I am missing something. In fact, this is probably the most valuable learning.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Jinx @4:10 Sounds like you had fun! We're in the Eastern 'burbs so no easy access to the downtown fountains. It's sprinklers and baby pools here for a while.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Queens of Country Music: I was not a country music fan when I married. My husband was. I learned to like some of it. We saw Kitty Wells in concert at our county fair in 1965. I had never heard of her before that. She put on a good show. Also years later saw Reba McIntire in concert which was enjoyable. Of course, Dolly Parton is an undisputed QUEEN of all she attempts to do.

    Thanks, Tony, for your explanation of INFANTRY QUEEN as a chess reference. Who'da thunk it! It must have been an old man who never slogged thru the mud in combat boots with people shooting at him who came up with that romantic term. I still think it is insulting to macho men.

    You look at a map and can tell pretty soon that QUEEN Cincinnati is really not very far WEST altho I guess it was 200 years ago when my ancestors went thru there in wagons to migrate state by state to the true WEST. One bunch went thru there clear to Oregon in spirts of pioneering. No mistaking that is as WEST as you get.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Well, I think Xfinity / Comcast has become problematic for me again. Possibly. Probably. After months and months of trouble free service, my wifi started having repeated disconnects at the far end of la casa. My 'puters and cellphone just can't stay connected. What has changed ?

    Most of the day was doing PD. The skeptic in me tells me it's because Xfinity has been losing seats and has been pushing upgraded internet services and their "pods" (mesh type network) to "improve streaming service" (pull in new revenue). More throughput for more $ per month.

    Or maybe it's new neighbors. Over the last couple of years, there's been a higher than normal turnover of homes as older neighbors have moved away and younger (it seems everyone is younger now) people have moved into this once highly stable and staid neighborhood.

    I downloaded a network sniffer, and sure enough, there's one heck of a lot more traffic on the wifi channels. Seems like some of the nearby neighbors may be on the same channels, so there may be contention. More PD tomorrow. Good problem to have in this hot weather when you don't want to go outside due to the heat.

    Dash T, you know how Alton eschews those single purpose kitchen tools and gadgets ? Forget that for a min. If you like brats, Italian sausage, breakfast links, sausage patties, etc, buy one of these. I was thinking of getting a "Upan" for cooking my brats and Italian sausages and knockwurst, and came across this while looking on Amazon: Johnsonville Sizzling Sausage 3-In-1 Grill Plus with Customized Cooking Plates. Amazon didn't have any, but Walmart did. It came today. Made brats. Well worth it. Perfectly cooked brats. Didn't have to wait for the Weber grill to heat up. Didn't have a stove top mess of splatter. Brau, buy one, test it out, and then I think I know what you'll be getting your bro's and pops for Xmas. It's that good.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Why are you doing Peritoneal Dialysis, TTP? That is what comes up for a search of PD.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Anon @10:43 PM I think it's geek for Problem Determination.

      Delete
  55. Anon, funny, but in the context of the paragraph, I thought it would have been construed to be Problem Determination. Mea culpa. LCD ?

    ReplyDelete

  56. Waseeley, thanks ! I didn't know I spoke geek ! I would have thought everyone knew that PD was problem determination. OMG, IMHO, TMI, TTYL, LOL !

    ReplyDelete
  57. Pat @ 3:30 wrote, "Still hot/humid here. I guess when you live in a valley with a river running through it, that's what you get."

    UM, NO (from yesterday), not necessarily. Check out the Willamette Valley in Oregon. Forecast tomorrow is for 84ª, 42% humidity.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Um, excuse me, Miss... I speak l33t.

    NEAT grill, TTP. New house needs one ;-)

    Coffee? Not Coffee? URN?
    Part I.

    Part II. [Big Lebowski]

    Cheers, -T

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  59. At 11:18 PM it's still 101 degrees. I'm grateful we have low humidity. But the A/C is working hard.

    ReplyDelete

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