Puzzling thoughts:
Chairman Moe here, pinch-hitting for Jazzbumpa, and what an appropriate puzzle as it has a baseball theme! This may be Kent Smith's debut puzzle as I could not find a "tag" for him on Google or Crossword Fiend. I hope that he knows about our "hot corner", and takes a seventh-inning stretch to stop by and say hello
Kent uses a trio of baseball positions to add a play-on-words to a job, a movie title, and a couple of plural nouns. All three of the entries are well-known without the added "ER" to the first word. Still confused? Well, allow me my time at bat and I'll try to touch all bases
17-Across. Catching fly balls, turning double plays, etc.?: FIELDER WORK. Baseball has nine "fielding" positions, as diagrammed in my opening image. All nine of these "FIELDERs" can catch a fly ball or turn a double-play. FIELD WORK, on the other hand, is [per Nat Geo] "... the process of observing and collecting data about people, cultures, and natural environments. Field work is conducted in the wild of our everyday surroundings rather than in the semi-controlled environments of a lab or classroom"
And as a side note, the reason I chose the title/theme name "Strength up the Middle", is because in baseball, the teams most likely to succeed have excellent players at the positions marked by the numbers 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 in the above diagram
26-Across. Like an ace who throws a no-hitter?: PITCHER PERFECT. The PITCHER is arguably the most important position on a baseball team. For reference, Major League Baseball (MLB) teams are allowed to carry 26 players on their roster, of which 13 (or one-half) are PITCHERs. The pitching staff generally includes 4 or 5 starters, 7 or 8 relievers, and 1 closer. PITCH PERFECT is the name of a trio of movies. There is a rumor that PITCH PERFECT 4 may release later this year
44-Across. "Protect the plate," "Don't drop the ball," e.g.?: CATCHER PHRASES. Ahh, the CATCHER. Rumor has it that Chairman Moe began his baseball playing days (at age 8) as a CATCHER. Sorry that I don't have any pictures to share; but I definitely thought it was cool to put on the tools of ignorance!
Examples of CATCH PHRASES: "Look! Up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's Superman!" Or: "Live long and prosper"; Or: "Lucy, you got some splaining to do!" Or (and a CSO to our board member, Picard: "Make it so".
My first thought about what a CATCH PHRASE is turned out just to be a Yogism
And the reveal @ 61-Across. Game rosters, one of which is formed by the starts of three long answers in this puzzle?: PLAYER LISTS. Dadgummit, I sooo wanted to be awed and amazed by this Kent Smith work. But the reveal uses a one-word parody (PLAYLISTS) versus the other three entries which use a two-word (FIELD WORK, PITCH PERFECT, CATCH PHRASES).
OK Moe; lighten up. You are still a rookie in this whole crossword construction biz, ya know. Still, continuity should count; so I won't be calling Kent Smith an all-star just yet. I did enjoy his debut, though, and look forward to his next "start"
Let's toss the grid into this part of the lineup, and then see how Mr. Smith managed his game ...
Across:
1. Construction rod: REBAR. I bet that Ray-O-Sunshine has a clever "daffynition" for this ;^)
6. 1960s Israeli deputy prime minister: EBAN.
10. Shed tears: CRY. Something that big girls don't do
13. "Five Feet of Fury" pro wrestler Bliss: ALEXA. I have no knowledge of the pro wrestler Bliss, but I DO know who speaks on the "Dot". Moe-ku:
Siri? ALEXA?
Only way to tell? Is there
An Echo in here??
14. Alfa __: sports car: ROMEO. CSO to Anonymous T (or -T, if you will). His LIcrisisFE purchase??
16. Jack Reacher creator __ Child: LEE. I guess that Peggy LEE is too retro for this audience
19. Have lunch: EAT. One of the three square meals per day ...
20. Epic featuring the Trojan Horse: AENEID. "The AENEID is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. It comprises 9,896 lines in dactylic hexameter" [Wikipedia]
21. Yann Martel novel adapted into an Oscar-winning film: LIFE OF PI. This book
23. "Chandelier" singer: SIA. Not the music I listen to, but YMMV
25. Tonsillectomy MD: ENT. I hear that Ear Nose and Throat doctors are among the highest paid in the medical field ... or maybe, I just made that up
34. Job safety org.: OSHA.
35. River craft: CANOE. So many to choose from, but CANOE rowed MY boat
36. Trendy: HIP. Huey Lewis and the News sang it best:
38. Take in: EARN. It literally means your NET salary, but I always discussed it as your GROSS salary! ;^)
39. Intro to economics?: MACRO. Micro versus MACRO economics
40. Kunis of "Bad Moms": MILA.
41. Astronaut Jemison: MAE. A true heroine
42. Reason for a sleep mask, perhaps: APNEA. My partner uses one of these:
43. __ 500: INDY. The winner of this race (and his crew) kisses the yard of bricks at the finish line. The winner also drinks milk. Pretty cool and unique traditions for a major sporting event!
48. Hanukkah mo.: DEC. I dunno why, but when I saw this clue, I wondered if Kent was looking for the Hebrew name, but KIS didn't fit the other crossing words ...
49. Extra: TOO. As an adverb, this clue works
50. Enters nonchalantly: AMBLES IN. I almost NEVER think about being nonchalant, but am often nonplussed. Speaking of which, can you be "chalant" or "plussed"? As in the opposite of?? Go ahead and Google it. I dare you!!
55. Rhine wine region: ALSACE. As your resident wine geek/sommelier, I was quite pleased when I saw the outcome of this clue. I could write a separate blog about ALSACE, but this webite [Wine Folly] is wonderful for explaining it all. Fun fact: Chairman Moe spent over a week in ALSACE in 2015 when he was in the wine business
60. Grassy expanse: LEA. Sophomoric Moe-ku:
"What's the source, you asked,
Of Cow Pies?" I'll tell ya: They
Come from Sara LEA
63. Links goal: PAR. As in playing golf; and a CSO to the many foursomes of golfers here on the blog. Fun Fact: Many of my friends who solve the WORDLE each day refer to getting 4/6, as a PAR
64. Big cat: TIGER. And since this clue follows a PAR, how about THIS big cat? Note the head cover, TOO. It's name is "Frank"
65. Extreme: ULTRA. And while we are on a mini golf tour, why not provide an image of this "ULTRA"? Husker Gary, do you recall these clubs? They were basically Wilson Staff irons with Walter Hagen's endorsement. Guessing that increased the price by a few bucks ...
67. Reusable bag: TOTE.
68. Forms puddles: POOLS.
Down:
1. Nickname for tennis's Nadal: RAFA. Check out his most recent major victory romp at the French Open
2. "Night" writer Wiesel: ELIE. His biography [Wikipedia]
3. "__ waiting long?": BEEN. Sometimes it feels like it ...
4. Bridge toll unit: AXLE. Clever clue for this. Most toll roads and/or bridges charge "by the vehicle's AXLE"
5. Salad slice: RADISH. Fun Fact: Their green leaves are edible, TOO. BTW, this is Chairman Moe's most favorite salad slice. I can usually purchase them for around $0.50 a bunch at a local farmer's market
6. Make a mistake: ERR. This was recently clued (last Wednesday) as: "Throw wide of the cutoff man, say". I think that it would've made more sense to have it in today's puzzle (regardless of its accuracy) as it keeps with the baseball theme ...
7. Many a New Year's Day football game: BOWL. Why do they call a NYD football game a "BOWL", you ask? Here is the answer
8. French possessive: AMOI. An old CATCH PHRASE (well, maybe a quip) attributed to the Three Stooges, perhaps: "When I was in college, I had a French minor. But her visa expired, and I had to send her home!" Nyuk, nyuk
9. Soft toy brand: NERF. I wonder if they ever made a soft toy in the shape of an anagram for NERF?
10. Dimpled facial features: CLEFT CHINS. Look for your favorite actor/actress with a CLEFT CHIN, here
11. Collect in return: REAP. Moe-ku:
A seamstress once said,
"You should pre-sell your wares or
You'll REAP what you sew
12. Mysterious Himalayan: YETI. This exact clue for YETI was last used back on October 3, 2019
15. "The Great Santini" Oscar nominee Michael: O'KEEFE. "The Great Santini" movie was based on a book written by Pat Conroy; also the author of The Prince of Tides. Here is a trailer for the movie. Quite a different role for O'KEEFE compared to that of Danny Noonan in Caddyshack
18. Falco of "Nurse Jackie": EDIE. Also the matriarch of the Soprano family
22. United: ONE. "Airlines" wouldn't fit
24. Esoteric: ARCANE. Somehow, these two words almost begged to become synonyms! ;^)
27. "Moon Knight" star Oscar __: ISAAC. Moon Knight is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics; quite the biography
28. Worn through, as carpeting: THREADBARE. Moe-ku:
The actress Bara
Was shown wearing worn-out clothes.
Theda was THREADBARE
29. Put up preserves: CAN. And here I thought they used a JAR for preserves ...
30. Indiana cager: PACER. Thanks for the sports clue, but when I think of PACER, this image comes to mind
31. Spellbound: ENRAPT. Try as I could, I found no evidence that these two adjectives are synomnyms
32. "Christopher Robin" joey: ROO. From Winnie the Pooh
33. Squiggly diacritic: TILDE. What do you call a Señora who likes to dance, likes her kids, and is fond of diacritics? WALTZING MA TILDE
37. Grabs the check: PAYS. I guess that "grabbing" the check is a bit less generous than if someone were to say, "I'll take the check, please", and TREAT the table
39. Speed letters: MPH. Phew! For a brief second, I wondered if there was a three-letter abbreviation for D-amphetamine
40. "Mamma __! Here We Go Again": MIA. ABBA hit tune
42. Go along with: ACCEPT. Something I am doing as it relates to the new style of puzzle themes, entries, and clues at the LA Times Crossword
45. __ Aviv: TEL. Is there any other three-letter word that can proceed "Aviv"?
46. Icy coating: HOAR.
47. Opposite of unfurl: ROLLUP. FOLDUP could fit, if it were referring to a flag
50. Kibble brand: ALPO. What you call a garden tool in Switzerland? ALPO
51. Honeyed brew: MEAD.
52. Narrow cut: SLIT.
53. Shakespearean villain: IAGO. William Shakespeare's play, Othello, features a particularly evil character who ruins the lives of everyone around him. IAGO is the antagonist, or enemy to the other heroic figures, who convinces Othello that his wife, Desdemona, is having an affair with Cassio
54. Russian denial: NYET. What you call an alien visitor to the Big Apple? NYET
56. Grain storage site: SILO.
57. On the topic of: AS TO.
58. PC keyboard key: CTRL. One of the keys of the so-called, "three-finger salute" (CTRL/ALT/DEL); though the current generation might associate "three-finger salute" with The Hunger Games
59. Those, in Spanish: ESAS. CSO to Lucinda, y los que hablan español
62. Bard's before: ERE.
Thanks, CC for giving me this opportunity to pinch-hit for Melissa. My next AT BAT occurs (I believe) on Friday the 22nd. See you then!
52 comments:
Hi Y'all! Thanks, Kent, ER...for a do-able challenge with no red-letter runs -- a real hit with me. Thanks, Moe, for a fun run thru the games.
This puzzle definitely got game. Liked the PLAYER over TIGER after PAR with the ULTRA nearby which is a whole 'nother game than the evident baseball. There are games such as BOWL, POOL, and PACER is basketball. THen you play with NERF balls, can CANOE or race at the INDY 500.
My farmers did FIELD WORK then REAPed my wheat crop this week & put it in a co-op SILO. Yay!
DNK: SIA, MAE.
FLN: AnonT & TTP: Haha! LOL. TTP also thanks for the commiserating.
With all the baseball clues, I had to double check to be sure this gem wasn’t one of C.C.’s! Nice CW, KS, very enjoyable. Took 22 to FIR. Only W/O PONDS:POOLS. I very much enjoyed this CW. Quite a few proper names, (11), few of which I knew, but they perped easily enough. Was not sure if 6A was EBAN or EHUD, but BOWL and NERF settled that question. I did see the theme, which I often miss, and that helped a bit. Thanx KS for the fun CW. Thanx too to CMoe for his terrific, entertaining and informative write-up. I got approved as a provider of electricity by FPL, and yesterday they came and installed the bi-directional meter, for net metering. Now I just hafta wait for Professional Electrical Services Solar Company to bring my lien release, collect the final payment, and program and turn on the system. Then (finally) I will have no more electric bills. And the Tesla PowerWall battery will be enough to power my little wallbanger A.C. unit, tv, lights and fan all night at night in my back bedroom should a hurricane render FPL useless. A few more days and I will rule the entire solar system! (Well, at least the one on my roof!)
FIR. A lot of proper names that fortunately did not cross and the perps did the job. Nice mid week puzzle.
Gonna be gone a while, triple bypass awaits, wish me luck!
Good morning!
Caught the extraneous ERs in the themers, but missed the sports theme. D-o got 'er done, so all is not lost. Nice debut, Kent, and thanx for filling in, C-Moe.
CLEFT CHIN -- My first thought came in at #46: Kirk Douglas.
Best of luck to KS during that bypass procedure.
Today is triple-chore day. Quarterly tooth cleaning at 9. Oil change at 1. Pick up Tinkerbell, a M-o-W client's puppy, at 3. Dw has arranged to get Tink fixed, chipped, and shots early tomorrow morning at TLC -- Texas Litter Control.
FIR, but erased aigo for IAGO, but what do I know.
As a kidlet, I also wondered why my mom used jars to CAN. She also used "put up" as a synonym for CAN, as "I put up 25 quarts of green beans today".
On my boat I tell the crew to "unfurl the genoa" when we're ready to shut off the engine. When we're done, I tell them to "furl the genoa", not to "roll up" the gennie.
Way back in the days before DHs and aluminum bats, we told HITTERS, not CATCHERs, to protect the plate. Meaning "don't take strike three; foul off pitches that are on the edge of the strike zone". We told CATCHERs to BLOCK the plate. Don't remember ever telling a player "don't drop the ball", but later in life I did tell that to a couple of my engineers.
Uncle Fred - I'm glad we have a real-life example of solar life. I'd love to hear from you quarterly about how the installation is performing for you.
FLN: -T, I loved the Clapton riffs on Tax Man. Didn't know that existed.
Excessive showbiz names kept me from enjoying this puzzle as much as I would have otherwise. Thanks to Kent for the effort. And thanks to C-Moe for the pinch-hit home run.
Nice speed run with a clever theme- great way to start the day.
Only had a snag with putting in Meir in before EBAN and the utter before ULTRA but easily correctable by perps.
Thanks C-Moe and Kent for the blog and puzzle
Thanks Kent for a enjoyable Wed. All proper names filled with crosses or just common sense.
Good Morning:
I really enjoyed this theme and the reveal not being two words didn’t even enter my mind, I just thought it was spot on and pitch perfect, so to speak. The difficulty level was Wednesday +, IMO, but the perps were fair. Alexa was unknown, as clued, and Aeneid needed perps for correct spelling. Best entry was Romeo, for our own Anon T.
Thanks, Kent, for a lovely tribute to America’s favorite pastime (nostalgically) and thanks, Moe, for your best review ever! You were absolutely on fire with the fun and facts and visuals today. My only disappointment is with your first thought (Kirk Douglas) of Cleft Chins but that pales in comparison to the utter shock at the omission of the most famous Cleft Chin face of all time, none other than the unforgettable Cary Grant. ☹️
KS @ 5:29 ~ Best of luck with your surgery. Hurry back.
DO @ 6:14 ~ I’m sure Tinkerbell’s owner is appreciative of your and DW’s concern and generosity. 😉
Have a great day.
C-Moe, both synonym lists for RAPT and spellbound contain "fascinated"
Thought Nadal's nickname was RAFi
I think of "protect the plate" applies to the hitter (fouling off tough third strikes); the CATCHER may "block the plate" from a runner about to score (barely allowed any more)
Thanks for the write up Chairman Moe. One correction: In your comment on 59D, Lucina's name was spelled wrong in your CSO.
Last Wednesday we had "cut-off " man, today some serious baseball C-Moe, the list didn't have my favorite Yogi-ism: "It ain't over til the fat lady sings". That wasn't from opera* but early daytime TV which had an afternoon program who's finale saw Kate Smith singing "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain".
And then this 5yr old knew "It was over".
Betsy started watching "Reacher" so I picked up the book. Violence sells
I'm not an expert but Kent correctly points out the the Trojan Horse was not in the Iliad
I confess I enjoyed 70s Show with MILA
I agree C-Moe, if there's NAE RADISH there's NAE salad
KS, I wish you luck. I had five way bypass in 1998. ICU is critical point
"missed the sports theme". Priceless, D-O. I thought even he has to get it.
At first I was nonplussed by the plethora of pop-cul but perps worked them out and FIR
WC
Musings
-Prince Fielder would certainly have done FIELDER WORK as an MLB first baseman
-MLB PLAYER LISTS are called rosters and are taped to the wall in dugouts
-50 years later, Frankie Valli still sings Big Girls Don’t CRY but, “in a lower key these days”
-OSHA would have shut down almost every job I had between ages 12 and 20.
-Half French/half German ALSACE is a region that has changed hands four times since 1870
-Moe, I’ve played the same clubs for years with no regard as to their name or endorser
-Winter RADISHES and tomatoes have very little flavor
-I try to PAY the check for any military people near us in a restaurant
-BIL’s father put it in his will that his flag is to remain folded in its triangular box and never unfurled
-Good luck, KS!
This took 6:29 to run through the line-up today.
"Alsace," "Lee," "O'Keefe," and "Mae" were unknowns.
"Aenid" I simply couldn't spell, especially not knowing which of Nadal's many nicknames was correct.
Big CSO @ Romeo!
(Your not Anonymous, T... :)
Not a huge baseball fan, but the puzzles played out well enough to be enjoyable.
(With the exception of a couple of alphabet run Naticks...)
Hmm,
Silly theme links for this one are also a bit tough.
In looking I did find an interesting list.
I want to try out #3 on DW, (if you don't hear from me you will know what happened...)
I am the player in this list...
FLN
Thanks for the late nite links!
Never realized that was Uma Thurman in The Producers!
Vidwan, you sent me down the YouTube rabbit hole with Debra Paget!
In addition to tracking down Uma's IMDB list of movies, I looked up Debra Paget and was surprised to find her in the old James Stewart western Broken Arrow.
Even more surprising was that amongst the "buy or rent" listings, I found a free English full movie version of Broken Arrow!
you can watch it here.
I can't wait to watch it. I have seen it many years ago but I cannot remember how it turns out.
This puzzle had a few unknowns, but I think most people know the "Aeneid" and the "Life of Pi." What made the puzzle interesting is that there were two gimmicks to it, woven together. The proper names were fairly easily sussed, and the rest of the puzzle fell in line without too much difficulty. FIR, so I'm happy.
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Kent (congrats on your debut) and CMoe.
I FIRed in good time, and saw the baseball theme. (I did think the reveal was a little weak.)
Perps were fair for unknowns like ALEXA, OKEEFE.
We had RAFA the other day.
One inkblot to change Rime to HOAR. Another inkblot for In Re to AS TO (it didn’t say a memo d’uh!).
KS- good luck with your surgery.
Irish Miss- I thought of you and was agasp not to find Cary Grant in that list. CED will find you a photo!
Wishing you all a great day.
here ya go!
FIR in good time. At first I was intimidated by the baseball theme, but it presented no problem.
Irish Miss:I agree the incomparable Cary Grant had the perfect CHIN CLEFT.
CMoe: great comments and additions.
Thanks to CanadianEh for nudging CED who graciously obliged with that terrific picture of dear Cary Grant, Mr. Cleft Chin personifie. Tante Nique and I shall swoon the afternoon away! 🥰
Jinx @ 7:25 Will do.
WC - The Four Freshmen used to end their concerts with this song so everyone would know that it's over.
CED - The stunts on your list would make you eccentric, not nuts. I think.
Another FIR this morning, thanks to Kent's manageable puzzle. The PLAYER LIST reveal didn't bother me since I hadn't realized PLAYLIST is usually written together. My slowdown and last fill was the X in ALEXA and AXLE, though an alphabet run finally helped me get it. Welcome, Kent, if this is your debut, stop by to comment. We enjoy hearing from constructors.
Thanks, C Moe, for stepping up to the plate for Jazz B today. I did the puzzle at breakfast time and looked at your write up as far as the grid before dashing off to walk to the store before the heat set in. I like to combine exercise and chores when possible and today I had the extra pleasure of knowing I had a FIR. Now I have had time to read your extensive review and the comments from others thus far, which were interesting.
Best wishes, KS, for your upcoming surgery and recovery.
Please add me to the Cary Grant team, IM. The picture clinched it. Hope everyone has a dreamy day!
Ah CED, You never cease to please!
Well, bit of a Wednesday toughie for me because of the sports theme, but still very enjoyable--many thanks, Kent--and welcome to the Corner. And your commentary is always a pleasure, Chairman Moe, thanks for that too. All those chin dimples were a delight.
Not only do I not know much sports, or cars, for that matter--but I still got Alfa ROMEO.
And I also got the INDY 500.
AND I got TIGER, but I wasn't thinking of TIGER Woods.
Nice to see the AENEID in a sports puzzle, along with an ODE.
And even more literature with IAGO.
Have a great day, everybody.
Happy humpday puzzle. Obvious theme.
One inkover: esos/ESAS. "Kent Smith"?, c'mon whatcher real name!! 🧐
Baseball seems loaded with ARCANE rules. I keep finding out about new ones I never knew existed described in the cornerite comment annals....If a trojan is the ancestor to the Romans it musta broke..oops 😅😅🤣
"LiverPOOL's" filled with Liverpudlians and then there's Rocky & Bulwinkle's province of Applesauce-Lorriane
Alfa lament in a large parking lot ..."ROMEO, ROMEO, Where(fore) art thou ROMEO"
Around me the LIFE OF PI is very short if it happens to be apple, lemon, or chocolate
______ for Speed....ÆNEID
SIRI rival....ALEXA
Online prohibition .....EBAN
Online backtalk....ESAS
Online fib....ELIE
Big Apple alien...NYET (Moe, we came up with the same nonsense!!) )
Great Sara LEA Moe-ku 😆
That SEÑORA might just waltz TILDE end of time. 😁
I kind of got the theme, but I am still not sure. Crossed proper names. Again. But I FIR.
Travelling down a RIVER in Belize in a CANOE it started to rain.
My Irish travelling companion found another use for the CANOE as you can see.
Chairman Moe Thank you for the CATCH PHRASE shout out!
From Yesterday:
Wilbur Charles Thank you for the appreciation of my antique CAR article.
Was I the only one who found it wrong to have MAHI rather than MAHI MAHI?
Hola!
Thank you, Tony Express, for the name correction. I do appreciate it. Some people just need to insert that D in my name.
And thank you, Kent Smith and CMoe, for the puzzle and expanded narration. Even though I know nothing about baseball this filled quickly. Even the names, ALEXA, ROMEO, EBAN, MAE and, of course, TIGER jumped in without pause.
The first person I think of at CLEFT CHIN is my late DH. Oh, he was a handsome one. Luckily our daughter favors him.
We read The LIFE OF PI for our book club.
When it comes to ESAS I have to wait and see if it's ESAS or ESOS.
It's good to be home after being gone all weekend and visiting with my sister and her family. We had front row seats at my nephew's home for the fireworks. They were across the street at a local church. Both ways, going and coming, the traffic was moderate and my niece drove all the way. Very pleasant.
I hope you all had a most enjoyable weekend and holiday.
Hi All!
One bad square at AnNEID...
[And!, I'm familiar with the lore].
No idea 2d :-(
Thanks Kent for the baseball puzzle. Congrats on the debut.
Thanks, C.Moe, for the fine expo, fun Moe-Kus, and extra links.
WO: TOO fast with the ink and spelled CATH^b CATCHER
ESPs: 2d, SIA, MILA, ALSACE, ISAAC
Fav: Com'on... Alfa ROMEO.
KS - GodSpeed Corner friend. We await your return.
Fun stuff, Ray-O!
Unclefred - I want to hear every detail of your off-the/selling-back-to-the grid EPIC. And so does Jinx.
Grandma CAN'd everything that came out of Gramp's garden in Bell jars... Beats, beans, peppers, etc. RADISHes never made it past the table. I eat them whole with a pinch of salt.
//Mom is putting up everything (even ham???) in her hippy-dippy off-the-grid lifestyle. And her bees' honey [15 hives] is the knees.
Grab the check? What about swoopers? Sis intercepted the tab for sushi when she was visiting.
"No, Sis, this is on me."
"Nope, Pop gave me $$ and said to buy you dinner."
That's Shakespear? I thought Aladdin...
//Gilbert Gottfried [RIP] as IAGO :-)
Picard - 2x as much is always better re: MAHI MAHI ;-)
Back AFTER IT... Cheers, -T
AnonT..one comedian described what happens when the dinner check comes, (just the opposite of swoopers)..Everyone becomes Astonomers...lol
Ray-O: or alligator arms ;-)
I just noticed in the Alfa pick I link'd... I'm wearing my Splunk* "Find your Achilles' heel before a TROJAN does" t-shirt.
And, ironies of ironies, it's the same tee I'm donning now.
//DW is nonplussed with my vast wardrobe of free vendor tees
Cheers, -T
*Splunk is big-data analytics thingy - they make bank on their nerdy tees TOO.
-T, have I already told my story of renting an Alfa in Rome? I was so excited, but when I picked it up it was a 4-door diesel slug with a 4-speed on the column. Had a hard time getting it out of the parking garage. Great mileage, though.
Picard - The Mahi caught my eye too. Reminded me of my drinking days, when a lot of places offered zinfandel, but delivered that Kool-aid sweet, ice cold WHITE zinfandel. I know a lot of folks like it, but when you are expecting a nice, dry, room temperature zin it just doesn't fit the bill. Just lazy menu preparation.
I liked the themed entries, but I think it would have made for a cleaner puzzle without the extra ERs in pacer, tiger, and err.
A little late to the party, but see below for my excuse:
Thank you Kent for a nice Wednesday walk in the BALL PARK.
And thank you CMOE for a well FIELDED review, hitting it out of the PARK and covering all the BASES. Great links, great vids ('cept for SIA), and great KUs.
A few favs:
1A REBAR. 6' lengths of this stuff make great supports for determinate plants like peppers and eggplants.
5A EBAN. Abba EBAN's name rang a distant bell, but I didn't recall the details of his life.
There were connections between several clues in this puzzle, including
16A LEE. Ang LEE (16A) directed the LIFE OF PI (21A) a shipwreck survivor, who is not EATen (19A) by the TIGER (64A), also a survivor of the sinking of a ship bound from India with the animals in a zoo. This is a reminder to put this award winning film our bucket list.
42A APNEA. Can't sleep without my CPAP machine. Just got a new one and found out that it was buggy, so I'm going to return it to the medical supply store just up the street from Emma's Tea Spot, which you'll learn about tomorrow. I just passed 7.5 decades today, and the longer I live the more convinced I am that everything is connected.
Cheers,
Bill
BTW, later this evening my SIL and her hubby are popping over from next door and Teri's feting us all with PAELLA and vino (and I think maybe ice cream and cake).
Puzzling thoughts 2:
This was a fun puzzle
Thanks for all of your comments
IM, so sorry I forgot the Cary Grant image for you 😕
Lucy (aka Lucina), sorry I forgot to correct my autospell check which changes Lucina to Lucinda 😕
Ray-o, we share a unique sense of humor 😀
Lemonade714 reminded me that it's my turn to recap Friday the 15 July; see you then!
A baseball-themed PZL from Mr. Smith, Chair-ed for us by our -man Moe!
I hadn't heard of MAE Jemison. Her name reminds me that there are many astronauts who don't get to fly on the more publicized missions.
I wonder how disappointing it must be to those men and women who go through the rigorous qualification process and years of training but never get to go into space during these fallow decades for manned exploration?
They are lucky if they even get to sit for some months on a space station.
I guess most don't get to do that much.
Nice photo of Cary, CED. About the time of Arsenic and Old Lace, I'd venture. Reminding us that not only was he a suave master of drama and suspense, but a terrific farceur, not at all a common combination.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Two diagonals, one per side.
The near diag gives us an anagram (14 of 15 letters) that identifies the professional arsonists who help folk get out of long-term rentals.
These are the infamous...
"LEASE SCORCHERS"!
Jinx - I can't recall what model of rental car they offered in Figline for our* day-trip to Cinque Terre but the guy behind the counter wanted to know if I could drive a stick/manual.
I scoffed, "I have an '86 Alfa Spider and I eschew automatics" (among other Italian gibberish I musta sounded like)
He seemed to like the response... or just humored me like Mario did.
//Mario's eyes lit up when I said Alfa. [Note: I'm sporting another Splunk tee ;-)]
Unlike yours, the rental moved. And, 3 months later, I received a speeding ticket in the mail from the Italian Fuzz for going over the Km/h limit.
AS IF, I should to do the MPH->KM/h maths as I'm tearing up concrete.
Cheers, -T
*It was our 31yr anniversary and DW, who took students to Italy, was going to show me around. Food? Wine? Espresso? *Chef's Kiss*
Good luck with your surgery, KS. Please let us know you are okay when you get to feeling better.
CED: your list is too funny!
Happy 75th Birthday, Bill Seeley? Am I reading your little hints correctly? Have a good one.
Waz, Happy 7.5 decades B day and let's hope everything "stays connected" 😁
I liked this puzzle. Everything was gettable.
I greatly appreciate your write-up, Chairman Moe, from which I learned many interesting things.
Good wishes to you all.
Happy 75th Birthday waseeley!
Hi,
This is Kent. Thanks for the write-up and the comments. My first solvers besides my dad and sister! Thanks to Patti and Christina for their help in getting it in papers, and hopefully I'll be back again sometime soon.
All best!
-T, very cool pic with Mario. I's been a while since I've been in Italy. Odd how some memories stick:
- All the rentals we had were stick shifts. No problem, I knew how to drive them when I was 14.
- Vespa-type scooters were everywhere.
- Restaurants didn't open for dinner until the employees had finished their dinners
- DW became white-knuckled when I drove 100 (kph).
- Restaurants charged a small fee for place settings, water and bread.
- Restaurants sold wine for just a little above grocery store prices.
- Tips were often included, but extra tips were most appreciated.
- Peroni tasted a lot better there than in the USA.
- It seemed so odd to leave our passports at the motel desk in exchange for the room key.
- We stayed in a beautiful hotel that was built before we became a nation.
- Every little town seemed to have its own variety of limoncello, all great.
I had a BMW loner and was tooling up Rte 75 and decided the 100 must be Kilometers. I mentioned this to an owner at the gas station and he smiled in agreement
It just cruised along
Yes, I slowed down to 85, crawling speed on I75
WC
That's 85 mph
Happy 75th Birthday Bill-
Prayers KS for your surgery to be smooth and your recovery to be fast!
Moe, for 7D, there is also the Toilet Bowl, played throughout the year.
C-Ed @ 10:29 -- I think the arrow gets broken.
Happy Birthday to waseeley! Since you are becoming three-quarters of a century old, it's appropriate you are having a special dinner prepared by Teri to celebrate the occasion. Enjoy!
And thanks for stopping by, Kent. We look forward to your next puzzle.
Kent ~ Thank you, sir, for the PZL & for checking in!
waseeley ~ Happy birthday to you.
Wilbur ~ Slow down, good sir.
~ OMK
Happy Birthday, Bill !
Good eye, PK! I missed waseeley's hint. Happy Birthday Bill!
Fun DR, OMK... but, as a (soon to be, hopefully) lessor, the sentiment doesn't stick ;-)
Thanks for stopping by The Corner Kent. Any inside-baseball (other than theme-seed :-)) you'd like to share? Keep the puzzles coming.
WC - you're not speeding if you are keeping up with (or setting?) traffic.
Jinx - We didn't surrender passports but everything else re: Itally rings true. Limoncello was the perfect after-dinner aperitif before stopping off for gelato.
Oh, and things that stick...
While driving, I poked at DW, "OMG!! Look! That's an aqueduct. Like, a real-life Roman aqueduct!!!"
I doubt it was serviceable but it looked cool.
Cheers, -T
Happy Birthday Bill S from Chairman Moe!
Post a Comment