Double or Nothing
One of the silver linings in the otherwise dark clouds of the global pandemic is a new generation of constructors who, locked down with time on their hands, have produced some wonderfully clever crossword puzzles. Such is the outing of today's constructor David Tuffs, who is making his debut appearance with the LA Times, but who has had at least three puzzles published in the NY Times I personally hope his outing here is the first of many more. David is fourth-year linguistics student at the UC Santa Cruz, and he certainly brings the right tools to the table.
Today's theme was one I found helpful. It was obvious by the second clue that the letters in circles were all double letters, but it was not until the reveal that I understood there was an extra layer to the theme:
40A. High-stakes gamble, and how the answers with circles can be read: DOUBLE OR NOTHING.
By dropping the DOUBLED letters, we are left with NOTHING but a synonymous or alternate answer to the theme clue. Since it's hard to insert circled letters in free text, I'll just highlight the double letters in RED:
15. Part of the stock market cycle:
BOTTOM. If we drop the double
Ts, we find another part of the stock market cycle, a
BOOM.
Everything you want to know about BOOMS and BUSTS.
16A. What lovers have: FEELINGS. If we drop the double Es, we find something else lovers have: FLINGS. Teri's and my fling has been going on for over 53 years!
16A. What lovers have: FEELINGS. If we drop the double Es, we find something else lovers have: FLINGS. Teri's and my fling has been going on for over 53 years!
24A. Artifacts in ancient tombs: COFFINS. If we drop the double Fs, we find something else often discovered in ancient tombs: COINS.
51A. Come into flower: BLOSSOM. If we drop the double Ss, we find a synonym for our fill, i.e. a BLOOM.
66A. Gave a dirty look: POLLUTED. Pollution certainly gives the landscape a "dirty look", but if we drop the double Ls we see someone who has given us an up close and personal dirty look (or maybe a dissatisfied one): i.e. has POUTED.
68. Went out, as a bulb: DIMMED. If we drop the double Ms from our fill, we could say the bulb has gone completely out, that is DIED. Which brings to mind this famous poem by Dylan Thomas.
Do I hear you grumbling AnonymousDNLC? This could have probably been accomplished without the circles, but hey, it's getting late in the week we need all the help we can get!
Here's the grid:
Across:
1. Rigid marching style: LOCKSTEP. In the United States, lockstep marching or simply lockstep is marching in a very close single file in such a way that the leg of each person in the file moves in the same way and at the same time as the corresponding leg of the person immediately in front of him, so that their legs stay very close all the time. It has an interesting history.
9. WNBA great Taurasi with five Olympic gold medals: DIANA. In 2021 Diana became one of two WNBA players to win this honor.
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Diana Taurasi |
14. Scrapbook contents: EPHEMERA. We have drawers full of EPHEMERA from our various travels. Perhaps some day we'll put them all in a scrapbook.
17. Thrift shop transaction: RESALE.
18. Protective lymphocyte: T CELL. A type of white blood cell. T cells are part of the immune system and develop from stem cells in the bone marrow. They help protect the body from infection and may help fight cancer. Also called T lymphocyte and thymocyte
19. __ buco: OSSO. I'm pretty sure we've served this dish before on the Corner, but in case you've lost the recipe.
21. Sought office: RAN. But most are ALSO RANS.
22. Some whiskeys: RYES. The proper way to make a Manhattan.
27. Actor Daniel __ Kim: DAE. Daniel Dae Kim (born Kim Dae-hyun (Korean: 김대현); August 4, 1968)[1] is a South Korean-American actor and producer. He is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in Lost, Chin Ho Kelly in Hawaii Five-0, Gavin Park in Angel, and Johnny Gat in the Saints Row video game series:
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Daniel Dae Kim |
31. Store with Småland play areas: IKEA. A CSO to Swenglish Mom.
32. Fashion designer Gucci: ALDO. His first name has been appropriated to mean "fancy, very fashionable"; "good, fine"; "great, excellent."
34. Shop clamp: VISE. A good, heavy duty vise, mounted on a sturdy bench is an essential piece of shop equipment:
36. Peony support: STAKE. What to do about floppy peonies.
44. Loaded: RICH. A CSO to our previous Editor.
45. Pentagon measure: AREA.
46. Forum robe: TOGA.
48. Old Rom. ruler: EMP. Emperor. They wore TOGAS.
50. Night sch. student's goal: GED. General Educational Development, a way to complete your high school diploma.
54. Genesis twin: ESAU. Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible (and the twin of Jacob). He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament alludes to him in the Epistle to the Romans and in the Epistle to the Hebrews. However he is most famous for having been a very hairy man:
56. Court stat: REB. Basketball REBOUND.
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Ignacio de Miguel Villa catching a rebound |
57. Court setting: BAIL. Something the court does, not where it does it. What it is and how it's done around the world.
60. "Mi casa es su casa" speaker: AMIGO. "My house is your house". Today's Spanish lesson.
63. Woman of mystery: AGATHA. AGATHA Christie is one of the world's best selling authors of fiction, and her works have seen literally hundreds of adaptations to stage and screen. Miss MARPLE, one of her most memorable women of mystery, would also have fit this clue. Here, played by Julia Mckensie, she takes vacation from sleuthing and finds herself embroiled in a Caribbean Mystery:
69. Water, facetiously: ADAMS ALE. The preferred (and probably only) drink of the first inhabitants of paradise. Like the Germans say "Im Himmel, es gibts kein Bier" ("In heaven there is no beer. So we'd better drink it here!"):
70. Way up or way down: STAIR.
71. Patisserie array: DESSERTS.
Down:
1. Vacated: LEFT.
2. Well-financed gp.?: OPEC. I.e. they pump their wealth out of oil WELLS".
3. Helped out of a funk: CHEERED UP.
4. Singer Clarkson: KELLY. Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first ever season of American Idol in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the US Billboard Hot 100, and became the country's best selling single of 2002. Here's how it all started (lyrics):
5. Close parentheses, at times: SMILES. The fossilized remains the original emojis. :-).
6. Top score on some reviews: TEN. Sorry, no trailer for this movie.
7. Hence, in logic: ERGO. THEREFORE. Today's Latin lesson.
8. "Not interested": PASS. Or NO BID in card games.
9. Female koala: DOE. Their hubbies are called BUCKS. 8 cuddly facts about Koalas.
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Koala Bear Unknown gender, probably CIS. |
10. Site of many errant apostrophes: ITS. ITS is possessive and IT'S not a contraction. IT'S is a contraction and IT'S not a possessive. Now say that TEN times real fast.
11. Pitfall! platform: ATARI. Hand up if you've played this?:
12. Director of a Batman film trilogy: NOLAN. Christopher Jonathan James Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American director, producer and screenwriter. He often works with his brother, author Jonathan Nolan. Christopher rose to prominence for directing the psychological thriller Memento, and for reviving the Batman movie franchise as the director of The Dark Knight Trilogy. Each of them are Batman Begins (2005), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
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Christopher Nolan |
13. Chorus of agreement: AMENS.
15. Stream: BROOK. As BROOK is English for BACH, I couldn't resist streaming this beautiful piece, performed by Mr. Crosswordese himself (4 vowels, depending on how you define a vowel) - 3:16 min.
20. "The poetry of reality," per Richard Dawkins: SCIENCE. How one views this statement depends on how one defines "reality", and there are as many opinions on what that term means as there are meta-physicists, i.e. philosophers who study reality. I suppose Dawkins' statement could be a poetic metaphor for Mathematics, the core language used to describe the "hard" SCIENCES such as physics, chemistry, and astronomy; as opposed to the subsidiary role it plays in "softer" sciences such as biology, psychology, etc., which tend to rely more on descriptive language. "Real" poetry on the other hand is the core language of religion - see e.g. 49D. BTW, this clue has been used at least once before, e.g. in The New York Times - Dec. 6, 2014.
23. Menu option: SAVE.
25. End of Oktober?: FEST. The Oktoberfest is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a traveling funfair. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or late-September to around the first Sunday in October, with more than six million international and national visitors attending the event. See also 69A.
26. Jazz great Earl "__" Hines: FATHA. Earl Kenneth Hines, also known as Earl "Fatha" Hines (December 28, 1903 – April 22, 1983), was an American jazz pianist and bandleader. He was one of the most influential figures in the development of jazz piano and, according to one source, "one of a small number of pianists whose playing shaped the history of jazz". For your convenience here's just his discography. Here's the FATHA riffing on some St. Louis Blues:
27. Root beer brand since 1937: DADS. They make cream soda too:
30. Shoebox project: DIORAMA. Those little tableaux we used create in elementary school for "Show and Tell".
33. Memorial bios: OBITS.
35. __ Lanka: SRI. Much in the news these days, and it's not good news.
37. Instrument that never needs tuning?: AIR GUITAR. Sort of like guitar KARAOKE. Here's a clip from the 2018 World Championships. I wouldn't bother watching the performance, but some of the comments are a hoot:
38. Jeans patch site: KNEE.
39. Quaint cry: EGAD. An interjection used as a mild oath, per the Merriam-Websters Dictionary.
41. Thailand neighbor: LAOS. Laos officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.
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Laos |
47. Spoil: GO BAD.
49. Biblical book partly by King David: PSALMS. The Book of Psalms is a part of the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) Wisdom literature and consists of a set of 150 hymns, meant to be accompanied by music. As they are included in every Catholic Mass, the daily Liturgy of the Hours, and many Jewish rites, it is safe to say that they are the most commonly recited prayers in the Western world. Undoubtedly the most popular Psalm describes David's life tending his father Jesse's sheep, long before he became a king.
51. Little nails: BRADS.
52. Not shady: LEGIT.
53. Only U.S. president born in Hawaii: OBAMA. This fact was disputed during the 2008 election and is still sometimes disputed to this day.
55. Entertain: AMUSE.
58. FaceTime tablet: IPAD. FaceTime is a proprietary videotelephony product developed by Apple Inc. FaceTime is available on supported iOS mobile devices running iOS 4 and later and Mac computers that run Mac OS X 10.6.6 and later.
61. Hanukkah moolah: GELT.
62. Many Sharon Olds poems: ODES. Who knew? There is someone else besides John Keats who has written ODES! Sharon Olds is one of contemporary poetry’s leading voices, a winner of several prestigious awards, including the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award, and is known for writing intensely personal, emotionally scathing poetry which graphically depicts family life as well as global political events. Unfortunately it sounds as if most of the poems in her 2016 Odes probably wouldn't pass the Sunday morning breakfast test; but I did find her Ode to My Sister to be quite beautiful, and somewhat sad, like a eulogy.
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Sharon Olds |
64. Informal "You're oversharing": TMI. Okay, okay, I'm almost done.
65. "That girl?": HER.
67. "Viva __ Vegas": LAS. Viva Las Vegas is a 1964 American musical film directed by George Sidney and starring Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The film is regarded by fans and film critics as one of Presley's best films, and it is noted for the on-screen chemistry between Presley and Ann-Margret. Sixties, but definitely pre-British Invasion. Rated PG:
waseeley
And thanks as always to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive suggestions.
Cheers,
Bill
David Tuffs, you are invited to post anything you'd like to share about this puzzle,
its evolution, the theme, or whatever, in the Comments section below. We'd love to hear from you.
51 comments:
sorta FIRight. One obvious typo (typos don't count as CW mistakes), and I didn't know what the crossing was before or after the correction, ROB/REB.
Lost on the theme. Noticing the bubbles were doubles was trivial. Seeing the words with/ and without/ the bubbles were near-synonyms, and the clues fit the words sans doubles best, all that needed the reveal!
BUBBLES are DOUBLES, and DoubleBubble's a gum!
I'm bubbling with pleasure to meet you, Chum!
It's such a treasure
To double our pleasure:
Certs and Doublemint double our fun!
Three COINS in a COFFIN.
Two -- the eyes are to darken,
Keeping money in sight
As we travel to night.
One under the tongue to pay the boatman!
{B+, B-.}
I couldn’t get the “robot test” to let me in just now, so I guess I’ll post as “anonymous “ again, but this is Subgenius. Anyway, as regards the puzzle, I didn’t understand the complexity of the gimmick, until Bil explained it, Other than that, I didn’t find the puzzle too difficult. The proper names were fairly common ones, and easy to suss. FIR, so I’m happy.
Sorry, Bill, I left an “l” out of your name. (Hey, it let me in! (Finally)
Good Morning:
An incessant cough and attendant breathing difficulty lying down brings me here much, much earlier than usual. It took me awhile to understand and appreciate the intricacy of this theme which Bill explains so well. I don’t ever remember seeing a similar theme, so kudos to David for the fresh and clever challenge. I never heard the expression Adam’s Ale before nor the Science quote, and I had Smiley before Smiles, all easily corrected by perps.
Thanks, David, for a satisfying and rewarding solve and congrats on your LA Times debut. Come back soon! Thanks, Bill, for a truly interesting and informative review. I especially enjoyed learning more about the cute Koala, as I’m sure Subgenius did, also. Yoyo Ma was a treat and Elvis and Ann Margaret brought back lots of memories. Thanks, also, to Teri, your favorite fling!
Have a great day.
Good morning!
Zipped through this one, noticed the circles...oh, double-letters [yawn]. Didn't realize the true complexity of the theme. Impressive. Thanx for pointing it out, Waseeley. Very nice LAT debut, David. Very thorough expo, Bill.
KNEE: For some reason, when seated I always put my hand on my right knee. I have at least a half-dozen pair of blue jeans that developed a hole there.
Yay, we got a few drops of rain yesterday...maybe a 16th of an inch. We had no measurable rain during July, so it was very welcome. Plus, there's a good chance of more rain tomorrow. We're hopin'.
Good Morning, All.
I started the day with the NASA Atlas 9 launch viewed from my doorstep this morning and it gave me a :-))
Mr. Tuffs's puzzle was challenging without being daunting. I enjoyed all the answers with the possible exception of EFFEMERA for scrap book contents.
I do love the clue and answer of ITS. Bill's mantra on the proper usage of apostraphes with this pronoun thing was comical and instructive. We see apostraphes so often misused in advertisements, signs along the highway and elsewhere. Since when has the plural of the Personal Computer become PC's???
Oh well, I feel CHEERED UP after that rant. Pleasant day, All.
I worked it in double-time today, finishing in 6:15.
Seems like a very intricate theme, which I completely missed.
Oh joy, circles.
(Hey, is that grumbling?)
Ms. Irish Miss, I hope you feel better.
Anyone else feel like maybe Subgenius is a robot, or maybe a cyborg?
FIR, but erased esl for GED. Guessed at IKEA (IT'S become autofill, like "oboe"), ODES (ditto), and ATARI (not as automatic, but pretty easy to guess). Usual unknowns, like anyone in the WNBA or anything about Batman, but EPHEMERA was new to me as well.
DW had an MRI early this morning to take a second look at a couple of masses in her pelvis. I was concerned about her ability to cope with the enclosure and to stay still during the procedure, but she did just fine. Now I just worry about the findings, which we're supposed to get in a day or two.
FLN:
-T, thanks for the link to the Letterman interview with Vin. Scully had a collection of jokes that only DADS would tell that he would relate on the air during runaway games. I even liked commercials when he read them.
TTP - My "missing" entry posted at 12:12. I think I found the problem: there was a nut loose behind the keyboard.
TTP - I had a strange thought a few days ago. If the grim reaper gave me a visit and gave me the choice of dying today or living for exactly 50 more years, I would quote Fred G. Sanford: "I'm coming, Elizabeth!" I think that our country, and therefore the world, are headed down a very dark path and I'm glad that I won't live long enough to see the bottom drop out. Have a nice day!
Thanks to David for the very cleverly clued Thursday challenge, and to Bill for the fun tour. I Didn't see the theme's second layer 'til you 'splained it.
SS @ 8:09 ~ Thanks for your concern. Other than being sleep deprived, I’m fine. The coughing has abated, at least for now. BTW, I share your dislike of circles, especially in late week puzzles, but I think they were necessary today to illustrate the two distinct, yet synonymous, words and their connection to the reveal answer. 😉
Just as an aside, I have a niece named Ann Margaret. She was named after my late sister Anne and my sister, Margaret (Peggy), her mother. I love the name Anne and chose it for my Confirmation name.
Forecast is for the high 90’s today. The A/C has been getting quite a workout this summer. Stay cool, folks.
I assure you, SS, that I am no more a robot than you are. Flesh and blood mortal, heir to all the ills of the flesh ( although fortunately pretty healthy so far, knock on wood).
Subgenius @4:31 AM No need to be sorry. You'd never believe what people do with my last name (well you probably would). But I'M sorry for missing a CSO to you @ 9 Down.
Anon @ 8:09 AM Subgenius may be a cyborg, but he sure looks cuddly. And I'm sure he's a BUCK.
Jinx @8:46 AM EPHEMERA is from ephemeral, as it now you see it, now you don't. Mostly reminders of memories that we accumulate, but can't let go of, but collectively are not worth the trouble of keeping. And I'm with you on "the dark path we're headed down", and don't want to be around when we get there. But I am sad that my grandchildren will have to deal with it.
I solved all but the three tops stripes in double time. The NW corner took more time and the NE corner took a cheat or two. I didn't know DIANA, so looked it up. -RO-K should have made BROOK easy and provided the needed perps, but I had trouble with it.
I had "double or nothing" early on, but didn't get the clever theme. I think the reveal seems like a misnomer. If you take the double letters out you are not left with nothing, but more of the same. Removing the SS from BLOSDOM leaves BLOOM, which is another name for blossom, definitely not "nothing." Someone please explain how it is nothing. This is my only NIT, but for me spoils the very clever theme.
When I was a waitress someone asked for Adams Ale. "Sam Adams?" I asked. With a smirk the diner repeated Adam's ale. Oh ho! I thought. Adam drank water.
In PA when I was a kid we could buy cream soda in three colors, brown, clear and red, all vanilla flavored, as I recall. I have been living in NJ since 1960 and have not seen it for sale. Apparently it made a comeback in the 1980's and is for sale near here.
Osso buco is made with veal shanks or other type of shanks with a marrow hole in the bone.
The dish is simmered long and is richly flavored by the marrow. I had a delicious meal of osso buco at an upscale NYC restaurant. I have never made it myself. Some people turn up their nose at the idea of shanks, thinking it an inferior meat, the marrow is the key.
I think of the book, Green Eggs and Ham.
"Try them! Try them! And you may.
Try them and you may, I say.
Sam! If you let me be,
I will try them. You will see.
(... And he tries them ...)
Say! I like green eggs and ham!
I do! I like them, Sam-I-Am!"
Jinx and Bill, I too worry about the dark path we are headed down. It seems we will not be able to avoid it.
IM, I am worried about your cough and shortness of breath. Have you had the rapid test for Covid? In NJ we could order free rapid tests on an NJ government site free of charge and have them delivered by USPS.
Musings
-Left with nothing? Only DIMMED/DIED seemed to really fit. I needed Bill’s expo to get the second layer.
-DIA_A/_OLAN was a potential Natick that went quietly
-LOCKSTEP – 50/50 votes in our Senate
-Nebraskan William Jennings Bryan RAN for president in 1896, 1900 and 1908 and had three respectable second place finishes.
-As I do this on our porch, I look out and see our peonies are supported by tomato cages
-99% of employers do not discount a GED over a regular H.S. diploma. You’re ready when you’re ready.
-We are both 75, ERGO, we choose the escalator over the STAIRS
-FaceTime allowed us to tour our granddaughter’s apartment in Grenoble, France from here in Nebraska.
-IM, put me in the "concerned column" too.
IM, I took the DOUBLE OR NOTHING to mean that in that spot of the themers you could put the double letters or nothing.
YR @ 9:32 ~ Please don’t worry, I’m fine. I wasn’t short of breath but the coughing was non-stop and I felt all stuffy and nasal and just couldn’t get comfortable in bed, so I got up and felt better sitting upright. I haven’t coughed since and my breathing is normal. I have COVID tests should I develop any worrisome symptoms. My biggest challenge will be staying awake until normal bedtime. 🥱😴
HG @ 9:39 ~ No cause for concern, but thank you. 😉
DO @ 9:49 ~ I think you meant to address YR. 😉
After competing the puzzle, I was going to write about the intricate theme and the concise yet detailed explanation of the same. Then I read the comments preceding this post. @ 5:05 I.M. described both far better than I would have done. Glad to learn, subsequently, that you are feeling improved I.M.
IM, I think you're right. It's hell to get old.
Hi Y'all! Very clever theme, David, thanks. Altho before I caught on to the double meaning, I thought it was meh! The AHA moment made me laugh.
Great expo, Bill. I wanted to share with you that I had a thrill the other day. A message appeared on my Facebook feed from the great Samuel Ramey wishing my brother a happy birthday. So now you have that message twice removed. They sang opera together when they were both in college.
Most of the puzzle was fairly easy. The NE was last to fill. DNK DIANA, NOLAN or any of the other entries as clued except AMENS. We have creeks but not BROOKS. Surprised that a Koala she is a DOE. Never have played ATARI anything altho my younger son was a whiz.
EPHEMERA? not in my book or vocabulary.
DNK: FATHA or "The poetry of reality is SCIENCE" but liked the quote.
IM: Hope you continue to get better. I've been coughing & congested. I'm blaming it on being too hot when the a/c isn't running then too cold under the a/c, a regular summer malady for me. I just want to sleep all the time around the clock.
Irish Miss, please include me among the many who hold you in high regard and affection. It sounds like your ailment was nothing serious, which is a relief to me and all your friends here. Be well!
Truly Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, David, (congrats on your debut here) and waseeley (and Teri).
I FIRed in good time, saw the DOUBLE letters, and then marvelled at the extra layer of OR NOTHING. (I agree with do’s interpretation of the theme @9:49).
DIANA and FATHA were all perps.
I love the sound of EPHEMERA (and unfortunately for my heirs, I tend to collect it!).
We had several Biblical references with ESAU, PSALMS, ADAM’S ALE. Thanks for the background info, waseeley. Now we just need the AMENS.
I associate DOE with a female deer or rabbit. Learning moment re koalas.
IM - FLN Nothing wrong with Agnes, but I am partial to your confirmation name.
Add me to the concerned group. If you do not usually have any conditions causing cough or nasal congestion, please rapid test (swab throat and nose) (for several days if the first tests are negative).
OwenKL- loved your poems this morning (especially the three COINS).
Wishing you all a great day.
YR @9:25 AM Yes, I think that our Democracy may be EPHEMERAL.
Double or nothing?
(Sounds like a broken ATM...)
I kinda prefer "all of nothing."
I had pottery in those ruins. Not only an accurate answer but with DOUBLE T's
I've also heard "City Gin" for that ADAMS ALE
Glad your feeling better IM
FDR said our greatest fear is FEAR itself. And Propaganda
I accidently solved Fri thinking it was Thursday. The latter a lot easier
Owen, all your poetry has been topnotch lately.
WC
Hola!
My newspaper was soaked this morning even though it was enclosed in plastic! Such was the intensity of last night's rain! I heard a loud thunderclap sometime in the night. We really need it. I printed the puzzle from the Washington Post.
Remember the song, FEELINGS?
Oh, what a mess we had in the classroom when building DIORAMAS! But it was surprising how creative children were when it came to decorating them. I gave them an advance warning that they would need shoe boxes. The even messier project was papier mache.
I'll take a CSO at GED which I taught and prepared students to take it. Another at AMIGO.
Oh! There's DESSERTS again!
Have a lovely day, everyone! Mani-pedi day for me.
BillSeeley Thank you for your explanation of the DOUBLE layer to the DOUBLE OR NOTHING theme. Wow. Way cool! Thanks also for the appropriate music by The Swiss. New for me, but enjoyable. More so than the unknown KELLY CLARKSON.
This was me at a PENTAGON tour in 1977.
It has a floor space AREA of over six million square feet. And 17 1/2 miles of hallway. MIT is reputed to be second after this for connected miles of hallway at 7 miles.
Neat Thursday puzzle with lots of interesting material--many thanks, David. And always enjoy your commentary, Bill, thanks for that too.
Oh dear, this puzzle had lots of SAD items, didn't it: producing OBITS for attending COFFINS, with prayers ending in AMENS--surely that DIMMED our spirits a bit today.
But fortunately, we were also CHEERED UP and AMUSED in many ways, visiting a BROOK, picking BLOSSOMS, all lightening our FEELINGS and giving us SMILES and making us feel RICH with joy again.
Feeling good again, why not visit an OktoberFEST with AMIGOs, a place where we can order RYES and ADAM'S ALE, and some DADS root beers, to go along with a DESSERT, all the while listening to an AIR GUITAR playing.
Well, I'll leave on that happy note.
So glad you're beginning to feel better, Irish Miss--take good care of yourself, you are in our hearts and prayers.
Have a good day, everybody.
From Yesterday:
I must apologize for my grumbling about the LITTLE WOMEN hidden theme names. I did not realize that each of the hidden names was an actual name from LITTLE WOMEN. Learning moment and appreciation for the puzzle!
AnonT Thank you for the kind words about the photo in SYRACUSE of my father sweeping my mother off her feet. He was devoted to her for 66 years, until he died in 2017. A very loving father and husband. Glad he lived long enough to meet my DW.
As for the WIZARD, this may be a challenge. I have face blindness. So, he would have to be wearing that outfit again for me to know who he is. But it may yet happen. And DW might recognize him.
TTP Thanks for the teaser about American PIE. I would be happy to buy a DVD, but I don't deal with the absurd proliferation of streaming channels. Perhaps you can share what you find out?
I zipped right through this extremely clever CW to FIR in…OH NO!! I forgot to note my start time! I was so proud of zipping right through a Thursday CW, now can’t take credit for the time. Best guess? Around 15 minutes, which is EXCELLENT for me on Thursday. I even got the very clever theme. I got the EE first and thought it was gonna be AA, EE, II, OO, UU, and YY. Then BOTTOM filled and the TT told me the theme was something else. But I soon sussed it. No W/Os today! Thanx DT for this wonderful and clever CW. And thanx Bill for the outstanding write-up.
When I started this CW puzzle I thought I would be lost, but no problems. I ended up liking it. I got the theme early, so knew about the double letters. However I never got the NOTHING part for the reveal. I agree with Yellorocks, where does the NOTHING come in?
Oops. Misspelled Yellowrocks. Sorry.
DO @9:48. OOOH! That explains it and makes the theme strong. Thanks.
I reread DO’s explanation on the theme. Now I see. Good.
A David Tuffs-toughie, unwound for us by waseeley.
A challenge, but do-able--and fun.
I remember that I waited 50 or 60 years to taste OSSO buco, because my mom, and later my wife, would not touch veal.
And then, I was disappointed.
I just watched House of Gucci, so 32A was a gimme.
Not a basketball fan, so I thought REB was a tribute to one of the Deep South teams. Maybe from a university.
Does VMI play basketball?
~ OMK
____________
DR: Three diagonals on the near side.
The central line gives an anagram (14 of 15 letters) that may be what Nilsson and Sutherland did (perhaps under their breaths) when facing the great coloratura known as "Bubbles."
They may never have admitted it, but they, almost certainly, would...
"IMPRECATE SILLS"!
(Beverly, that is...)
I liked this puzzle, all except for EMP and REB. I love the imaginative theme idea. Really good stuff.
Changes (writeovers) I made include:
MEMENTOS --> EPHEMERA
SILENCE --> SCIENCE
LEGO --> IKEA
GRE --> GED
SOW --> DOE
ALAS --> EGAD
FIVE --> AREA
Sheesh, I tried to parse ADAMSALE as Adam Sale, which of course didn't make sense. Thank you, waseeley, for explaining it.
Irish Miss, I also like the name Kathleen. I wonder if that's what the K in PK stands for. PK, what an honor to have Samuel Ramey wishing your brother a happy birthday.
Subgenius, just skip the Robot Test. Go straight to Preview and then Publish.
I became familiar with the term EPHEMERA when working with satellites.
I read one of Richard Dawkins' books quite a few years ago. I don't remember the title but I do know it was not The Selfish Gene, which I intended to read but never got around to. I found myself rather liking his point of view.
Canadian Eh! Old fashioned name, eh? Well, I can't let that remark go by without sticking my nose in. Prudence? Agatha? Constance? Faith? Charity? Gertrude? Gladys? Portia? Hortense? Evinrude? :)
As I ponder this generation writing the history of this time, one thing I'm sure of: it will be misspelled and have no punctuation.
Good wishes to you all.
As for OSSO BUCO, LW makes it with lamb shank and it is delicious. We use lamb because we don't want to buy veal, but mostly because lamb has ever so much more flavor.
OMK @4:20 PM Thanks for evoking an EPHEMERAL memory of Sills, Domingo, and Treigle in Contes D'Hoffman at the Baltimore Lyric. One of my very favorite operas.
My First puzzle in a few weeks, out of town emergency, and not computer. Saw the DOUBLEs but didn't notice the words if the double consonants were removed. Had a few unknowns filled by perps. I have seen the word EPHEMERA but never knew (or cared to know) what it was. DIANA Taurasi, NOLAN, and ADAMS ALE were others filled by perps.
53. Only U.S. president born in Hawaii: OBAMA. This fact was disputed during the 2008 election and is still sometimes disputed to this day. IMMATERIAL, since his mother was a US Citizen he could have been born on the moon and he would have been a US Citizen.
Jaycee @4:41 PM As you might have ascertained from the way I danced around the clue about Dawkins, I'm not one of his fans. As this is considered heretical in many circles, for me to elaborate would violate the rules about both politics AND religion ☯️.
I thought ephemera was more common, but there were numerous citations for it. I probably learned it by reading. I currently read at least 7 or 8 books or more a month.
"The show includes a small collection of ephemera and books documenting Wollstonecraft’s life and work, put together from objects lent by the New York Public Library.
New York Times Sep 2, 2011
In addition to the book, Hat & Beard has also put together an exhibition of photography and ephemera related to the magazine at a pop-up gallery in Hollywood.
Los Angeles Times Jul 28, 2016."
Hi All!
Wait, what? I totally missed removing the DOUBLE letters for a new word. Nice work, David, very nice. Congrats on the LAT debut.
Thanks for pointing out it was more than just DOUBLE letters and for the extensive expo, Waseeley.
I think Pitfall! came with the ATARI 2600 console package. I played it tons at Mom's.
WO: DIaRAMA
ESPs: DIANA | NOLAN, ALDO, FATHA
Fav: I have a 'ha-ha' over 2d's clue so I'll go with that. //OPEC+ announced more production yesterday and now my stock is off by 11% :-(
Honorable mentions: AIR GUITAR, Dawkins' SCIENCE quote, ITS clue.
NIT: DESSERTS doesn't become DEERTS ;-)
GED - DW has one and a PhD. I've always wondered how many folks have both.
{B+, A+}
Had to lookup IMPRECATE, OMK. Thanks!
FLN - Jinx: I forgot you'd first mentioned Vin's passing yesterday. So the link was for you too ;-) Glad you enjoyed.
Welcome back, BigE. We missed you.
Jacye - I too had trouble parsing ADAM SALE until waseeley moved the space to the right.
Linkster - who's writing PC's for plural? Hit them with a clue.bat.
CED - LOL all or nothing sign.
Cheers, -T
OMK, VMI does play men's and women's basketball. The mighty Keydets. It's Ole Miss (University of Mississippi) whose pride rides on the Rebels.
BE - The thing I couldn't understand about the Obama drama is that none of us has firsthand knowledge of where we were born. We were there, but none of us remember when or where it happened. Family lore and any available documentation is all we have.
GED, BEd, MA, PhD
@7:09 I'm interested in your story...
DW was a Sr in HS and missed a bunch of school because (? - Doctors never settled on Epstein-Barr, thyroid, or what) and was going to get Fs. So, she dropped out, took the GED and 'graduated' in Jan. That Spring was awesome -- she'd Ferris Bueller me out of class and we'd spend afternoons in the park.
Cheers, -T
I didn't notice, waseeley, but now that you mention it, I see now your dancing footwork rivals that of Michael Flatley.
Jinx, interesting point. I only "know" I was born in Pittsburgh, PA, because the certificate says so and my parents told me so. But I'll be darned if I remember any of it.
Jayce- none of the above.
It's late enough for this...
Waseeley - I appreciate Dawkins' work. However, he espoused atheism to the point of putting down / making fun of folks who are religious. Bill Maher does that too but (seemingly) only when it affects governmental policy - otherwise I don't think he cares (but he does use off-putting / put-down language when making his point(s))
Christopher Hitchens [AC360] was a bit softer in his disdain for the religious.
Gervais [on Colbert] is OK with folks believing what they want w/o any judgment - he just doesn't know #agnostic or care.
And Douglas Adams just had a Devil May Care attitude :-)
If this causes a Corner Storm, delete me TTP.
Cheers, -T
Anon-T, love your FB story and the link is hilarious the nth time I saw it
And, it is said that there aren't many atheists in foxholes with artillery shells raining down
The most interesting juxtaposition is nuns practicing Reiki in hospitals. Why? Because even hardened medical skeptics admit it works
WC
Jayce: the "K" in PK stands for Kay, my middle name.
Really, really late to the party.
Thank you David, and thank you, Waseeley.
David, very clever ! In a similar vein, how about a play on U2's "With or Without You" (U) ?
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