Good morning Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee, here, with today's puzzle recap. Our puzzle setter today is Pawel Fludzinski. There is information about Pawel to be gleaned if you perform a web search. If you include the words Crossword Corner in the search terms, the returns should include past Crossword Corner writeups containing quite a bit of information thanks to the efforts of Husker Gary.
Today's puzzle features a word ladder that leads us from HATE to LOVE. A word ladder puzzle is one in which a given word is converted into another by way of a series of words each formed by changing just one letter of its predecessor.
Let's start with the unifier:
73 Across: Mushy message, and the end of a sequence that progresses through the answers to the starred clues: LOVE NOTE. LOVE is the final rung on the ladder.
41 Across: *"So Much to Say" Grammy winners: DAVE MATTHEWS BAND. Change to T to V and we have DAVE. For fans of the band:
53 Across: *Fits together neatly: DOVETAILS. At the risk of stating the obvious, changing the A to O gives us DOVE.
Then at 73 Across change the D to L.
Here is a look at the completed grid:
. . . and the rest of the clues and answers:
Across:
9. Administer an oath to: SWEAR IN.
16. 2018 SAG Life Achievement Award honoree: ALAN ALDA. Eight letters four of which are A's. A constructor's friend. Perped.
17. Above it all, in a way: TALLEST. A bit of an odd use of "Above it all" unless you're talking about a mountain or a building. Thanks for the "in a way" tipping us off to the clue taking a bit of liberty.
18. Featured dishes: SPECIALS.
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19. Grassy expanse: PRAIRIE. One night Johnny Carson got to talking about his Nebraska roots and he told this allegedly true story during a sketch scene. Johnny mentioned that the most fearsome Indian tribe were not the Sioux, nor the Apache or even the Comanche Indians. No they were the Fahkarwee tribe!
Johnny went on to explain,: Almost every wagon train that crossed the prairie on their trek to California were known to have their wagon masters and scouts constantly scanning the horizon ahead the entire trip asking, "Where the Fahkarwee?"
20. Impassive: DRY EYED.
22. Skewed view: BIAS. I think that it is best to cut vegetables diagonally but I am BIASed
23. Walk leisurely: AMBLE.
29. Beers served with lime: CORONAS.
32. Grubhub link: MENU. Grubhub says that it "is part of a leading global online food delivery marketplace."
33. Persia, today: IRAN. Everything You Want To Know About The Change of Name
34. "Hidden Figures" org.: NASA. "Hidden figures" is a movie about the early days of NASA and the contributions of a team of African-American women.
36. Jazz great who was the first African-American man to win a Grammy: BASIE. The best motion picture cameo ever?
Blazing Saddles - 1974
45. Nocturnal sound: SNORE.
46. 50+ group: AARP. Formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons. It was formed in 1958 as a sister organization to the National Retired Teachers Association. At its core, an insurance marketing device.
47. Microsoft search engine: BING. Used for about 2.5% of web searches worldwide.
48. Spring: LEAP. Combine this answer with 3 Down and you get (see 3 Down).
51. Pungent cleanser: AMMONIA. Why do chemistry students learn about AMMONIA first? It's pretty basic stuff.
58. Put into words: UTTER.
59. Disney's "__ and the Detectives": EMIL. First, it was (and still is) a book but I guess the movie is more widely known.
60. Hailed: GREETED. Not the frozen precipitation.
History Of The World - Part I - 1981
63. Philadelphia school whose teams are the Explorers: LA SALLE. The addition of the team name to the clue was helpful.
65. Lucrative venture: GOLD MINE. What do you get when you drop a piano down a gold mine? A flat minor. No, not a person not yet of legal age. See 71 down.
70. Harness racer: TROTTER.
71. Minor issue?: AGE LIMIT. Clever cluing. A minor is a person under the age of 18 or 21 depending on the issue at hand.
72. Stops: ARRESTS. In criminal matters, ARRESTS sometimes follow stops, in mountain climbing the terms are synonymous.
Down:
1. Consumes: HAS. Eat? Wrong tense. Ate? Wrong tense. Aha, HAS.
2. Swiss mountain: ALP.
3. __ kwon do: TAE.
Tae Kwon Leap
4. Env. insert: ENC. ENClosure in an Envelope
5. __ name: MAIDEN. Usually, we get the answer NEE.
6. Banned fruit spray: ALAR. Widely used as a growth regulator sprayed on apple trees. It cut waste and labor by preventing the fruit from falling before it was ripe. It also had toxic effects on humans.
7. Without much thought: IDLY.
8. Performed light surgery on?: LASED. Light as in ray of light not as in minor. Minor as in the opposite of major not as in 71 Across. Major not as in army rank.
9. Fla. recreation spot: ST PETE. Recreation spot was a bit more misleading than simply referring to a city in Florida.
10. Norton in "The Shawshank Redemption," for one: WARDEN. A great movie with Bob Gunton cast as Warden Norton William Sadler.
11. Portuguese feminine pronoun: ELA. Why, in puzzles, does the use of Portuguese seem less fair than Spanish or French?
12. Excuse: ALIBI.
13. Outfit again: RERIG. Usually referring to a seagoing vessel.
14. Whitlock Jr. of "The Wire" and "Veep": ISIAH. As with ISIAH Thomas, there is some question as to whether the bestower of the name knew how to spell.
15. Arms treaty subj.: N TEST. Nuclear TEST. Unless, of course, you're George Bush.
21. Big name in pianos: YAMAHA. Big name in motorcycles, too.
23. Corrosive compounds: ACIDS.
24. Colonel called "the second most dangerous man in London" by Sherlock Holmes: MORAN. Second to Professor Moriarty, Colonel Sebastian "Basher" MORAN first appeared in the 1903 short story The Adventure of the Empty House.
25. "Way to go!": BRAVO. If the clue was not in quotes, indicating something that someone might say, the answer might have been a synonym of ROUTE.
26. Introvert: LONER.
28. Worn-down pencils: NUBS.
30. Santa __ winds: ANA. A bit of local SoCal meteorology that often blows through the puzzles
31. Posed (for): SAT.
35. Swingline insert: STAPLE. Swingline is a brand of STAPLErs.
37. Cloister leader: ABBOT. ABBESS was just a bit too long.
38. Canonized one: SAINT.
39. Concave navel: INNIE.
40. Painter Degas: EDGAR. His first name is almost an anagram of his second. He seems to have had a real affinity for ballet . . . or, at least, for ballerinas.
42. Cheesy sandwich: MELT.
Tuna Melt Sandwich
43. Pitching stat: ERA. A baseball reference. Earned Run Average.
44. Typing stat: WPM. Words Per Minute
49. Young bird of prey: EAGLET.
44. Typing stat: WPM. Words Per Minute
49. Young bird of prey: EAGLET.
50. Broadcasters: AIRERS. Meh.
52. Confuse: MUDDLE. I prefer to MUDDLE jalapenos.
53. Atlanta-based airline: DELTA. Always highly ranked even in these trying flying times.
54. Astrologer Sydney: OMARR. 1926 - 2003 His column appeared in more than 200 newspapers.
55. Cap brim: VISOR.
56. Thrill to pieces: ELATE.
57. "The Goldbergs" actor George: SEGAL.
61. Like deli orders: TO GO.
62. Hgt.: ELEV. Height ELEVation. The first of four abbreviations in a row.
64. Capt.'s underlings: LTS. Second. Captains and LieuTenantS.
66. Max. opposite: MIN. Third. Maximum MINimum
67. "I think," in texts: IMO. Fourth. In My Opinion
68. Minor quibble: NIT. At this point you may have had one to pick.
69. Bastille Day time: ETE. French for summer. Bastille day is celebrated on le 14 juillet.
A bientot,
le lamentin
P.S. Pawel, 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.
P.P.S. As the theme of today's outing ended up being LOVE, I could not pass on the opportunity to insert the following. It was written by Chet Powers (who used the stage name Dino Valenti) but it was popularized by Jesse Colin Young's band, The Youngbloods. Hmmm, maybe I should have gone with something by Arthur Lee's band, Love. In any event, have a terrific Thursday and a wonderful weekend, everyone.
Get Together
___________________________________________
48 comments:
As a native of Richmond, Virginia, I have traveled to Charlottesville more times than I can count, so I may have had an advantage over many of you in coming up with the Dave Matthews Band, whose home city is the aforementioned burg. Other than that, besides one or two proper names, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
Aha! No wonder I had no idea what a "swingline" is and why you would put a STAPLE in it. Hidden capitalization and a brand I've never heard of as a non-American. Great clues for TALLEST and AGELIMIT.
Good morning!
Did d-o notice the word ladder progression? He did not. Got 'er done, though; I'll take it. It filled quickly, no Wite-Out need apply. Thanx, Pawel and Mal-Man. (Methinks it's because high schools often teach French and Spanish, but seldom Portuguese.)
SWEAR-in: The ceremony often preceding a host of SWEAR-at ceremonies.
GOLD MINE: Lefty Frizzell sang of one in Alaska in his hit song Saginaw, Michigan.
P.U.
FIR, but erased ltr for ENC. DNK NASA, ELA, ISIAH, and first thought that maybe Ed Norton was in Shawshank.
I once went to a work group luncheon at an Olive Garden. The server told us the specials, and the one I was interested in was also a regular menu item. I asked her the price, and it was the same as the menu price. I asked her why it was special that day, and she said that they just do that sometimes. So "featured" is more accurate in that case than SPECIAL.
There's an old saying after being surprised by something trusted being found corrupt: [Sigh] I guess the only honest things left in this world are professional wrestling and harness racing.
ST PETE is a nickname for the City of St. Petersburg. St. Pete (not Petersburg) Beach is more the recreation area. St. Petersburg Yacht Club hosts a National Offshore One-Design (NOOD, pronounced "nude") Regatta over the weekend closest to Valentine's Day. I used to race my Hobie 33 in that regatta until I achieved the boat owner's second happiest day.
Thanks to Pawel for the fun challenge. I wasn't crazy about the theme, but that may be because I didn't get it until the MalMan 'splained it. Maybe I was looking for the marriage life cycle, starting and ending with HATE, a la "Do(e) a deer, a female deer...". And thanks to said MalMan for the extended coverage.
I sealed this with a kiss in 6:02 today. Missed the theme until I read the review.
I didn't know several of the proper nouns: Isiah, Moran, Omarr (or, for that matter, any astrologers), Segal, or La Salle.
Seemed a little too easy for a Thursday puzzle, which probably means tomorrow will be a beast.
At least I FIR but the only thing I noticed was the "D" starts. But I have no NITs to pick. DRY EYED, DATE, DAVE, DOVE. The word ladder flew over my head. Lots of other unknowns for a Thursday puzzle- DAVE MATTHEWS BAND (as clued), WARDEN, ELA, SEGAL, ISIAH, EMIL, MORAN, & OMARR.
The NE gave the most trouble. ELA and ISIAH were unknowns and I wouldn't exactly consider ST PETErsburg, FL as a "recreation spot". Maybe St Pete Beach. I had to drive there 6 weeks ago to take DW's aunt to a lawyer. Only 650 miles from my house. The snowbirds call it 'Wrinkle City'.
FIR, but took a WAG at Omarr and Emil, planting the M last. I still contend proper names should never cross. But that's just my view!
Good Morning:
It’s been a long time since we’ve heard from RPI graduate Pawel and even longer, I think, since we’ve had a ladder themed puzzle. I was totally oblivious to the theme until I filled in the reveal and parsed the themers. I agree with SS’s on the easy side assessment, although I did need perps for Lasalle, Ela, Isiah, and Moran. My only w/o was SAE/Enc. As MalMan noted, there were several abbreviations but what struck me was the absence of three letter words in the across fill, all appearing only in the down answers. Big CSO to HG at NASA.
Thanks, Pawel, for a fun solve, don’t stay away so long and thanks, MalMan, for your expert guidance and cheerful commentary. I loved the opening ladder sketch.
FLN
Israel, Welcome to the Corner. You’re a familiar face to me from that other Blog.
Have a great day.
Never saw the word ladder, I spent an undue amount of time trying to patch unrelated words into something meaningful.
As I write this, a V8 can comes whistling in, as I now see it starts with hate mail, and ends with love note. I should have seen that earlier.
what I wish I also saw this morning....
Also never heard that Johnny Carson Indian Tribe.
Back then I guess I was part of the breakfast crowd, as I only remember how the Hekowi got their name.
I can remember it like yesterday. Crazy Cat explains how the Chief steps into a clearing and says...
Hmm, looking for the clip, it seems I misremembered that too...
The old TV series "F Troop" wanted to use the same joke, but the censors wouldn't allow it, so the Plains tribe was renamed the Hekawi.
Both the "Blazing Saddles" and "History of the Word, Part I" clips are from films by the man my daughter and I refer to siimply as "the genius", Mel Brooks
Was able to suss out the proper names with the crosses and a few guess. Thanks for a pleasant Thursday solve.
Hola!
Not much time to post because I'm watching my great-grandson while his mother is working.
BRAVO! Thank you, Pawel, for an impressive grid which was a bit easy for a Friday. Nice that DAVE MATTHEWS BAND spanned the center.
One of my friends in Napa, California is a member of the Christian Brothers which was founded by LaSalle. They no longer own the wineries and they sold the rights to their name. Their leader is not called ABBOT.
Must go attend to my baby sitting chore now.
Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!
Good morning. Thank you Pawel, and and thank you, MM.
Good to have you back, Pawel. Enjoyed solving your word ladder. The best part was finding it after reading the reveal.
Swingline insert - Not fooled. That's the brand we have.
Atlanta based DELTA. They once lost my luggage on a flight from Houston to Atlanta. They delivered it on the third day of my week long stay. It was put on the wrong plane at IAH.
Also, we haven't had any comments from ATLGranny lately. I hope all is well.
LASALLE Explorers - The school was named for the French priest, but a sportswriter in the 30's thought it was named after the famous French explorer, and referred to the team as such. It stuck.
The city of LaSalle in LaSalle County, IL is the west terminus of the Illinois and Michigan Canal. The Erie Canal tied the Atlantic to the Great Lakes, and then a decade or so later, the I & M Canal tied the Mississippi to the Great Lakes.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Hidden Figures" and I know Lucina did as well. Taraji P Henson played the role so well.
MM, your SPECIALS cartoon, "Cream of Yesterday" reminded me of a sign posted on the backyard of a homeowner along the fairway. "Free Beer Yesterday"
"A bit of local SoCal meteorology that often blows through the puzzles" - Cute remark.
From yesterday, welcome to the blog, Israel.
Unclefred, getting that homeowners policy rate increase is a kick in the pants.
Dash T, no to Towel Day, but in case anyone asks, the answer is 42.
MM, thanks for the enjoyable writeup. For me, its always a toss-up which I prefer more - the puzzle itself or the entertaining write-ups and comments on the LATimes Crossword Corner. Only solution - continue with both!
This is my first word ladder - not sure they are as accepted now as they once were, so appreciated Patti agreeing to take the puzzle. The only substantive change - I originally had DAVEBRUBECK as the middle entry in the ladder, and Patti suggested DAVEMATTHEWSBAND instead, even though it is 16-wide. The grid is much more aesthetic with a 16-wide center entry vs an 11-wide, which leads to multiple "cheater squares".
The motivation behind this ladder? With the ever increasing polarization we are seeing across America, lets move from HATE to LOVE, even if only in a crossword puzzle word ladder.
For anyone who doesn’t know who Irish Miss is referring to when she says “SS”, she is referring to Anonymous @ 7:53 a.m., a man who has such a vivid personality that neither IM nor I feel comfortable denoting him as “anonymous “ so she has given him the moniker “Speedy Solver” because he usually is. Others refer to him as Anonymous DNLC (“does not like circles “) because of his well-known distaste for such crossword devices. I hope this clears things up.
Easier'n yesterday's. But let's just say I fell off the "ladder" 😉. It didn't rung true to me..
Inkovers: nukes/NTEST.
I remember when a Swingline was once an office STAPLE. Other than Moriarty, don't remember MORAN as a Holmes baddie. Sydney OMARR? LASALLE?
ALANALDA: almost a palindrome. A CW "link" implies the answer is inserted between the clue words ( "now ___ again" : and) so what fits between "Grub" and "Hub". "EMIL & the Detectives"?
Prolly shoulda been ST PETES Beach. (Jinx). I've heard that Indian joke before but not on Carson's show. Hard to believe he would get away with it back in them daze.
In grade school if the pencil eraser was worn down to the metal but the pencil were still long enough (not NUBS) to fit into the hand cranked wall sharpener we'd bite down on it to squeeze out more rubber, (like toothpaste).😝
Cussin'.....SWEARIN.
West African country....TOGO
Bank job...LONER
Acted IDLY...LASED
Pigeon yarns...DOVETAILS
Enjoy what's left of the week.
So nice to have Pawel visit. I enjoyed his puzzle very much and I like letter ladder themes. My only problem was putting IDLE instead of IDLY. I finally worked it out.
Mel Brooks is a genius. I agree.
I like Corona beers, but I drink the Coronitas, only 7 oz. Just enough for me.
How can such ugly eaglets turn into those beautiful adults?
Thank you Pawal for bringing a little romance into our lives. When I saw all those stacked corners, I thought Saturday had come early. But the cluing was pretty easy and a FIR was attainable. As for the theme, they say that it's bad luck to walk under a ladder and I didn't see it coming.
Thanks MalMan for a funny review, decorated with lots of great BLING. The theme escaped me and I had to come here to get it. As Irish Miss said, we haven't had a word ladder in a long time, so I'm sure that's the reason I missed it (but IM doesn't Miss a trick). That's my ALIBI and I'm sticking to it. Reading the reveal a little more carefully might have helped.
A few favs:
53A DOVETAILS. DOVETAILS are among the most difficult wood working joints to make. Among other things, this Beatles song tells you how to do it.
73A LOVE NOTE. LOVED the video MM, a LOVE NOTE from the 60's.
5D MAIDEN. It is possible to become a NEE, without being a MAIDEN.
51A AMMONIA. Can be used to neutralize 23Ds and vice versa.
9D ST PETE. It may not be a resort area, but they have the greatest collection of Salvador Dali works in the world.
11D ELA. Did they teach Portuguese in your HS MalMan?
15D NTESTS. Had NUKE, tried NUCULAR next, but it didn't fit.
Cheers,
Bill
Pawel @ 10:10 ~ Thanks for stopping by and thanks for explaining the motivation for the theme. We can hope, can’t we?
Subgenius @ 10:20 ~ Thanks for taking the time to explain my shortcut reference to our Speedy Solver.
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Pawel (and for dropping by) and MalMan.
I FIRed in good time, and saw the ladder theme (great catch CED re HATE MAIL to LOVE NOTE).
One WAG (like KS) of the M in EMIL crossing OMARR to complete.
AMBLE today, not Sashay or Mosey.
I entered the Spanish Esa, hoping the Portuguese was similar. Ok ELA (a cross with the French Elle)
REarm changed to RERIG.
It took me a while to parse DAVEM AT THE WS BAND correctly.
I saw LA SALLE with only a few perps, although it was unknown to me with that clue. We do have a LA SALLE park in the area. He explored a huge amount of Canada and US (Great Lakes, Mississippi River, to Gulf of Mexico).
Favourite today was the clue for AGE LIMIT (crossing NIT clue).
FLN- welcome Israel.
Anon@4:57am- Canadian disadvantage? But I knew Swingline. What time zone are you in to be posting at that hour?
Wishing you all a great day.
Thanks for the puzzle, and for stopping by to comment, Pawel. It is much appreciated.
I used to watch F-Troop but missed the explanation of the tribe's name (until today).
All Hail Melvin Kaminsky !
Musings
-On the road again, subbing.
-I really enjoyed Pawel’s fun puzzle and gimmick. He and I have had many email exchanges over the years and he is someone I would definitely like to talk to over a bottle of wine. I don’t do beer, CORONA or otherwise.
-We choose to SWEAR IN presidents on very cold days every four years
-Our PRAIRIE grass is very brown in this drought
-I remember Johnny’s lost tribe. I always spelled it Fugowi.
-SNORE is cured with a CPAP machine. Ask my lovely bride.
-The WARDEN got his self-inflicted comeuppance at the end of the movie
-Lots of MUDDLING for me in the NE corner
-I remember George SEGAL in Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?
-Nice job, MM. Yikes, more 7th graders.
RIP Queen Elizabeth.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR but didn't see the theme until reading MalMan's erudite and elucidative recap - glad to see a constructor stop by and chime in. Excellent job, Pawel and Joseph
I usually don't miss it when a puzzle's grid goes 16x15, but I did today
I don't want to throw out a "spoiler alert" but tomorrow's puzzle is not a ball breaker
I swear this puzzle didn't take me that long to complete but the timer on Across Lite (which is where I solve these, online) says I spent 21+ minutes
Guess my fat fingers and poor typing skills is what slows me down
Not exactly a haiku but ...
DAVE's DATE DOVE in too deep.
And each NIGHT they BAND their TAILS
As they exchange MAIL by NOTE, in their
LOVE/HATE relationship
OK, Owen, where are you?? ;^)
PT2:
Regarding 70-across, I found this additional info regarding TROTTERs and pacers - the two Standardbred breeds that participate in Harness Racing. As MalMan correctly illustrated, the horses in that race ARE TROTTERs, not pacers. Pacers generally wear hopples that help maintain their side-to-side gait at higher speeds ...
[from Harness Racing dot com] "Harness horse races take place in two specific gaits, namely trotting or pacing. In trotting races, the standardbred horse will move its legs in a diagonal way, that is, left front and right hind on the ground simultaneously and then right front and left hind simultaneously. Pacers move in a lateral way, that is, the left front and hind move together, then the right front and hind together. Continental Europe only holds trotting harness races whilst pacer races are organized in Australia, the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand. North America holds mostly pacing harness races as this tends to be a faster form of horse racing. Harness racing horses are not permitted to break their stride into a canter or gallop, if they do they have to be slowed down and removed to the outside to regain its stride. Pacers are the least likely to break stride as they wear special straps called hobbles or hopples which connect the legs on either side of the standardbred horse. Pacing is a completely natural gait and the hopples are used purely to support the pace when reaching top speed.
Queen Elizabeth has died. Althoufhnon in age still quite a shock, for someone of my generation. She represented a sense of stability with her graciousness and calm demeanor throughout our lives in a very unstable world. She became queen when I was barely 3 years old.
Good luck to King Charles III.
Loved your delightful Thursday puzzle--many thanks, Pawel, and thank you, especially for stopping by. And always enjoy your commentary and pictures, MalMan.
I would LOVE to have been able to DATE ALAN ALDA some NIGHT when I was in my teens. Bet he would have been my TALLEST date at that time, and all my friends would have GREETED us with BRAVO. After a SPECIAL date like that I wouldn't have been nearly as much of a LONER.
Might also have been fun to AMBLE on a PRAIRIE in those days, looking for a GOLD MINE. One could then have donated any funds from the mine to an ABBOT in honor of a favorite SAINT.
Well, enough about thoughts of crazy adventures. Time to get back to ordinary, very ordinary life. Have a good day, everybody.
FIR in a blazing 27. Knew only EDGAR of the proper names as clued. I know ALANALDA of course and BASIE but not as clued. DNK OMARR, ISIAH, MORAN, SEGAL or LASALLE. W/Os LTR: ENC, REFIT:RERIG. Did not see the word ladder. Overall a fair enough CW, thanx PF. I noticed 7 “A”s out of 24 cells in the NW. Thanx for the nice write-up, MalMan, and ‘splaining the word ladder.
This Canadian is deeply saddened by the death of the Queen. No matter what you think of the monarchy, you cannot deny that she did her duty - and then some! I echo Ray- o’s words. Her 70 years of service were remarkable. We will never know the extent of her contribution behind the scenes to the world.
God save the King!
Today's puzzle was emblematic of the Queen, someone who through her indomitable spirit did much during the dark days of World War II to turn HATE into LOVE.
"Take Five" for your good puzzle
AARP does have restaurant and motel discounts. Need the ID card though
Despite living there for ten years I needed a perp for ST PETE. Once home to NY Yankees spring training
Re. Holmes and MORAN… In The Final Problem rheres this..
"Holmes edged his way round the wall and flinging the shutters together, he bolted them securely.
“You are afraid of something?” I asked.
“Well, I am.”
“Of what?”
“Of air-guns.”
“My dear Holmes, what do you mean?”
In the return Col. Moran is nabbed as he is readying the weapon
I'm traveling , rain has stopped so I'll post and be back later
WC
It’s not clear that the new British King will take Charles as his royal name…he can pick any name he likes.
Thanks, MalMan, for your fine links.
I especially appreciated learning how Persia morphed into IRAN. I had wondered, but hadn't taken the time to research it--till now!
And thanks for the mention of Bob Gunton, the actor who played that WARDEN in Shawshank. Bob is one of the excellent alumni of our MFA program (at UC Irvine)!
I enjoyed working this PZL. I confess I wasn't paying much attention to the "Hate to Love" theme, but I had fun working perps to crack the several unknown fills.
In th end, my only re-writes were ENC for SAE and UTTER for STATE.
~ OMK
Beautiful puzzle, Pawel -- thanks for the fun solve and a wonderful message!
And thanks for the great write-up, MalMan!
FIR but had to WAG the A in OMARR/LASALLE. Having learned a lesson on the YOGA POSES puzzle the other day, I paused half way through to consider the theme and found the word ladder. Thank you, Pawel, for the fun puzzle and for commenting on The Corner. It's a GOLDMINE!.
Thank you, Mal Man for another excellent tour!
Hand up for wondering if Ed Norton was in Shawshank!
Lucina @ 9:48. Speaking of wine, DAVE MATTHEWS is involved in the Dreaming Tree wines. I like their red blend, Crush.
The latest word is that the new King will be Charles III.
TTP @8:58 Yeah, that's a lot to insure my solar system. That brings my homeowners insurance here in South Florida to over $6,000/year, for insurance that does NOT cover any windstorm damage. >$6,000 to cover only fire and liability, with ZERO coverage for damage due to hurricanes or tornadoes is ridiculous. My solar system ROI is now only about 2%/year. It does still have the advantage of providing power when the grid is down. AND I can feel like I am doing SOMETHING to address global warming by generating my own power....locally....without generating any greenhouse gases.
If King Charles III decides not to have Corgi dogs and gets a King Charles Spaniel, I wonder what the name of King Charles' King Charles Spaniel will be.
RIP Elizabeth II. The British Empire fell apart but the whole world speaks English.
Unclefred: Yikes, I sure hope you live in a mansion, having to pay >$6K for homeowner's insurance. We pay less than a third of that for our modest home, and that includes federal flood insurance.
R.I.P. Queen Elizabeth, II, Long live the King, King Charles III. It was announced that would be his name. Of course, it's early days so anything can change.
Condolences to all her subjects, far and wide, including our own Canadian Eh!
It's worth pausing a moment to acknowledge the passing of a singular woman.
Whatever we may think of the royal family, of this relic of another era, there is no diminishment of Elizabeth's enormous personal sacrifice. The privileges of the Crown are actually very few these days, while the responsibilities have not eased.
When young "Lilibet"--who served as a mechanic and ambulance driver in WW2-- came to the throne in '52, she made a promise to devote her entire life to "service" to her people.
She worked every day since, until two days ago.
~ OMK
Thanks everyone, you've been so welcoming. Nowadays, saying anything online has become an extreme sport, since rudeness is so widespread. This corner seems to be an exception, and I'm glad to be here. On that note, I want to say kudos to Pawel for the puzzle and the word ladder. Let's move from HATE to LOVE. Great stuff. One could even imagine a little story about the ladder:
She got HATEMAIL today, it broke her heart,
Suddenly the phone rang: “Let's have a DATENIGHT”.
They went for Thai noodles, listened to DAVEMATTHEWSBAND,
Like DOVETAILS, their hands were holding tight,
Next day she got a LOVENOTE: “You are awesome, please be mine”
-Israel
Crossword Humor
Welcome, Israel.
Glad that you are here.
Hi Y'all! Thanks very much for the puzzle & stopping by, Pawell. Thanks, MalMan for a great expo.
I sorta saw the ladder but didn't get it as a theme. Don't remember ever seeing one in a puzzle.
Saw Pawell's name and thought this would be harder than it turned out to be. However, the top four lines had nothing in them but ALP & TAE after the first pass. They were the last to fill. I filled the easier bottom 2/3 and worked my way back up. Mostly worked downs to get toe-holds.
Swing-line: was thinking zipline. ESP for stapler which I've used forever. Mine is broken now.
Queen Elizabeth RIP. I remember lying on my stomach on the floor as a child, pouring over pictures of Elizabeth's wedding and coronation in LIFE Magazine. Such a great lady & role model for girls.
Israel @4:42 PM A new poet! We could call them "Padikus".
The secret to our success is our storied Blog mistress and constructor extraordinaire C.C. Burnikel.
Oh and you've got at least 3 telco geeks on the Corner, and assorted other engineers.
Hi All!
Thanks for the puzzle, Pawel. The theme made a Whooshing noise as it whizzed overhead. Also, thanks for stopping by The Corner with the motivation for the HATE -> LOVE ladder.
Thanks for the expo and double-dose of Mel Brooks, MManatee.
WOs: N/A
ESPs: ELA, ISIAH, EMIL | OMERR | TROTTER, MORAN
Fav: [Red] Swingline STAPLEr [Office Space]
Nice prose, C. Moe.
It's late so I'll just sign off.
Enjoyed reading y'all.
Cheers, -T
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