Puzzling thoughts:
Today's puzzle is one constructed by the new LA Times Crossword Puzzle editor, Patti Varol. I'm not certain, but this may be her first here AS the new editor. I suppose that being the editor, she not only accepted the puzzle but also didn't have to change any of the clues! ;^)
This puzzle added the word "I'VE" (or perhaps just the letters, I, V, and E) to a common phrase to add some word play. Let's explore:
16. Part of a player piano?: PASSIVE KEY. The term/phrase "PASS KEY" is extended with IVE to form the answer; PASSIVE KEY. But I'm at a loss for how PASSIVE KEY relates to a player piano? When I googled "PASSIVE KEY" I got lots of images of KEY fobs, so this one didn't "tickle my ivories"
23. Letter from Zurich?: SWISS MISSIVE. SWISS MISS (see image) is a popular cocoa beverage brand; a MISSIVE is another word for letter or memo. Better
39. Excited cry from a chicory farmer waiting for harvest?: THE ENDIVE IS NEAR. Probably the best pun of the four entries, as ENDIVE is a bitter leafy vegetable that is in the chicory family. As many of our Louisiana bloggers know, chicory is an additive to coffee - and in some cases, a coffee replacement - for a uniquely flavored breakfast beverage. "THE END IS NEAR" might be a phrase used by the noun in 57-across (worrywort)
50. Dust, silverfish, or dampness?: ARCHIVE ENEMY. My second favorite of the entries, as the combination (or singular) of dust, silverfish, and dampness can definitely be the "ENEMY" of anything "ARCHIVED". "ARCH ENEMY" could be this villian of Marvel comics fame:
Which spawned the lone Moe-ku du jour:
Thor had foot problems.
He found Loki in his boot.
His ARCH ENEMY??
The grid:
Across:
1. Cherry-pick: CULL. If the Thesaurussaurus says so, then it IS so
5. "On the Basis of Sex" monogram: RBG. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and the first of several abbreviations used in today's puzzle
8. Calm and Headspace, for two: APPS. Both are used for meditation; kinda like a bedtime story for adults
12. China setting: ASIA. DINING ROOM TABLE wouldn't fit
13. One bit: AT ALL. The clue reminded me of an old football cheer: "One bit [sic], four bits, six bits, a dollar; all for ______, stand up and holler" ...
But a clue that REVEALED a football cheer is: 55-across. "Go team!": RAH.
15. Sudden transition: LEAP.
18. "I w-wish I'd brought a sw-sweater!": BRRR. The weather here in the Valley of the Sun has turned rather chilly lately; but I must be pretty hot-blooded, as I haven't needed a sweater. Light jacket, maybe
19. Art that may later be regretted: TATTOO. No TATTOOs for Chairman Moe. Would any of our regular posters care to share a TATTOO moment they had in their past (or present)? Maybe @Picard has some in one of his photo albums?
20. Sandwich title: EARL. HERO also fits, but as this link describes, "in 1762, John Montagu, the 4th Earl of Sandwich®, invented the meal that changed dining forever. As the story goes, he was playing cards and did not want to leave the gaming table to eat. He asked for a serving of roast beef to be placed between two slices of bread so he could eat with his hands" ... has anyone had an "EARL of Sandwich, sandwich?
22. Fr. holy woman: STE. Abbreviation #4 in today's puzzle
26. Royal Navy letters: HMS. #5
29. Oral health org.: ADA. #6
30. Pets in a Lilian Jackson Braun mystery series: CATS. Perps solved this; the clue was definitely Friday-worthy
31. Continuity problems: GAPS. If you look at my iPhone screen, there are very few GAPS between my APPS
33. Pretty pitcher: EWER. LORI fit, too, if you considered the pitcher Kit Keller from the Rockford Peaches in the movie, "A League of Their Own"
36. Aquarium fish: TETRA. Fun Fact: [Wikipedia] says: "(TETRA) is short for Tetragonopterus, a genus name formerly applied to many of these fish, which is Greek for "square-finned" (literally, four-sided-wing). Because of the popularity of tetras in the fishkeeping hobby, many unrelated fish are commonly known as tetras, including species from different families"
42. Large country estate: VILLA. I'd bet that this one on Cape Cod comes with a rather large price tag
43. Period: TERM.
44. Way back when: ONCE.
45. The Dalai __: LAMA.
47. PO alternative: UPS. #7
49. Assam export: TEA. Fun Fact #2: [dpiit.gov.in] "What is exported from Assam? TEA is the major item of export from Assam. Apart from Tea, Petroleum products, Cosmetics, Pharmaceutical products, Textiles, Food products and Agro and Horticulture produces, ornamental fishes, Agar oil, etc also exported from the state
56. Great time: BALL. "Actress Lucille" would've been too simple a clue
57. Worrywart's words: DEAR ME. "OH DEAR" also fit
61. Some Neruda poems: ODES. Poet Pablo
65. "Fargo" co-star: MACY. If you were thinking the TV series, then maybe ROCK could fit; but this clue referenced the 1996 crime/drama movie (Fargo) which starred Frances McDormand as pregnant Sherrif Marge Gunderson. William H. MACY played Jerry Lundegaard. Here's a trailer ... ah, jeez ...
66. Like some raincoats: LINED. London Fog was a popular brand for LINED raincoats
67. Russell of "The Americans": KERI. You'd have to know about "The Americans" to know this was KERI Russell and not KURT
68. Torah chests: ARKS. As in what was being sought in "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
69. Droop: SAG. I might get some flak for this image ...
70. "Oh, for heaven's __!": SAKE. This one kinda sorta goes with 57-across.
Fun Fact #3: A homograph of this entry (SAKE) is: Sake, also spelled saké; an alcoholic beverage of Japanese origin made by fermenting rice that has been polished to remove the bran
Down:
1. Lt.'s superior: CAPT. #8
2. Insurance option for military families: Abbr.: USAA. #9, and the insurance carrier for Margaret and me
3. Planning aid: LIST. We keep one on the fridge for groceries; one on the kitchen table for projects; one on an end table for appointments ... we can organize both vertically AND horizontally
4. Goes the distance: LASTS. Kind of like finishing this recap ...
5. Road with a no.: RTE. #10 - "AVE" also fit
6. Suffers in the sun: BAKES. BURNS was my first entry
7. Sparkle: GLEAM. What might happen if you brushed your teeth with this, back in the day ...
8. Clerical robe: ALB. I'd prefer this word to have been yet another abbreviation, "International airport code in NY"; then we could've had a CSO to Irish Miss AND ray-o-sunshine
9. Nagging: PERSISTENT. And its "clecho" of sorts: 64-down. Whine for table scraps, say: BEG.
10. "The Empire Strikes Back," chronologically: PART V. I was thinking "FIFTH". I usually think chronological describes on of these words: "FIRST", "SECOND", "THIRD", et al ... but maybe those are called ordinals ... hoping that one of our resident grammarians will comment on this and set the record straight ...
11. Jag: SPREE. Once again, the Thesaurussaurus confirms:
13. Steered clear of: AVOIDED. IVE AVOIDED any comments about this past Tuesday's midTERM elections
14. Like some poetry: LYRIC. Fun Fact #4: [poets dot org] "LYRIC poetry refers to a short poem, often with songlike qualities, that expresses the speaker’s personal emotions and feelings. Historically intended to be sung and accompany musical instrumentation, lyric now describes a broad category of non-narrative poetry, including elegies, odes, and sonnets
17. "Field of Dreams" state: IOWA. Lots of movie references today ... Fun Fact #5: The Chairman has been to Dyersville, IOWA and visited the Field of Dreams back in 1994. Played catch with my kids on the diamond. They have changed the field considerably since, and now play a regular season MLB game there. Here is the trailer:
21. Exams for future attys.: LSATS. #11 - and the second pluralized abbr
24. "Don't need to watch that again": SAW IT. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT
25. Gregg pro: STENO. #12; short for STENOgrapher. "Gregg" is a form of shorthand invented by John Robert Gregg back in the late 1880's
26. "Property Brothers" channel: HGTV. #13; short for Home & Garden Television. HGTV is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros/Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate
27. Fish tacos fish, informally: MAHI. Strange clue to my ears, but I guess that MAHI is the informal way of saying MAHI MAHI
Fun Fact #6: [tastes better from scratch dot com] "What type of fish to use for fish tacos: Lean and flakey white fish fillets are traditionally used in fish tacos because they are mild in flavor, cook quickly and are relatively inexpensive. Popular kinds of white fish for fish tacos include halibut, tilapia, mahi mahi, snapper, cod, bass and cat fish. In Florida I preferred grouper ...
28. Word processor feature: SPELLCHECK. I'd call it the word processor "evil"
32. Hebrew word in the Book of Psalms: SELAH. Fun Fact #7: [the bump dot com]: "SELAH is a gender-neutral name of Hebrew origin and is a variation of the Hebrew word Sela, meaning “rock” or “boulder.” However, this particular spelling of Selah is used in the Hebrew Bible 74 times and its meaning isn't exactly known"
34. Woman on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel: EVE. Easy WAG for a Friday puzzle
35. Sitcom in syndication, e.g.: RERUN. Margaret has shown a mild interest in seeing the RERUNs of "The Big Bang Theory". She never watched them but has enjoyed watching "Young Sheldon" ...
37. Hustle: RACE. RUSH, FUSS, and PUSH also fit
38. General vicinity: AREA.
40. Coastal desert of southern Africa: NAMIB. I was all catawampus on this; was apparently thinking northern Africa/Israel when I inserted NEGEV into these cells ... NAMIB is not an everyday word you'd use, but I'm sure this one got by our editor with no issues ...
41. Slowed down: IMPEDED. I wasn't too IMPEDED by today's puzzle as I finished it in my average solving time for a Friday; maybe faster
46. To no __: in vain: AVAIL. Another way you could describe failing to solve this puzzle, perhaps?
48. Barrie buccaneer: SMEE. "Mr. SMEE is a fictional character who serves as Captain Hook's boatswain in J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up and 1911 novel Peter and Wendy" [wikipedia]
50. Patisserie lure: AROMA. "Patisserie" is Frawnch for pastry shop
51. Plane tracker: RADAR. He could also track helicopters, and knew when Colonel Potter had to use the latrine
52. 2022 music biopic directed by Baz Luhrmann: ELVIS. This film is an HBO exclusIVE. We don't get HBO through our Roku account, so this one solved via perps. Here is yet another trailer for you to watch!!
53. Two-time WNBA MVP __ Delle Donne: ELENA. Her:
54. BoSox rivals: YANKS. In the context of the clue, this probably was the fourteenth abbreviation; however, YANKS by itself (without a clued reference) would not be considered an abbreviation ... just in case you were wondering ...
58. Ostrichlike bird: RHEA. Never seen one? How about a trio of them, instead??
59. School grade: MARK. I was pretty much a "B", "B-Plus" student
60. Singer Brickell: EDIE. Brickell has replaced ADAMS as the 21st Century crossword puzzle singer's surname for EDIE
62. __ admin: SYS. #14 of the abbreviations in today's puzzle. That may be a record for a 15x15 puzzle. My "goal" today was to have as many movie trailers and "Fun Facts" in my blog as there were abbreviations. I think I came up a couple short ... anyway, that's all today for this blogger
The next two Friday puzzles will be recapped by my "brother from another mother", Malodorous Manatee. I'll see you in December. Please remember to recognize a veteran today, and thank them for their service to our country
Please enter any comments about the puzzle or recap below, and don't forget to tip your bloggers ... !! ;^)
41 comments:
Good morning!
I liked this one. Finished quickly. Caught the theme early. Recognized the reveal when it appeared. Trifecta. Thanx, Patti and C-Moe. (You pump the pedals on a player piano, and the keys play passively.)
Big weather change due later today. Enough so that it'll mean "marching" rather than pedaling this weekend. But this morning will still be unseasonably warm.
I'll bet that Cape Cod VILLA is owned by a New Yorker
I remember the freezing morning when I realized the Mason-Dixon line was not NY-NJ and got a LINER for my raincoat
I actually prefer tilapia to grouper. But haddock to both
This PIG* likes seasons 1-3 of TBBT featuring Penny at her Penniest
So it should have been ODEUR if it's Fwanche
Is it true that 1000 ELVIS impersonators showed up at the audition
The Sequel Season about the 1978 Pennant race was a disappointment. It needed an entire chapter dedicated to the playoff game.
Yesterday was an all day storm(Nicole) but no real damage. The geese enjoyed it
WC
* FLWeek
Well, D.O. has it all over me on this one. I wasn’t keen on this CW. Took a long 30 minutes to FIR. Never caught the theme until C.Moe ‘splained it. W/Os ARB:ALB, BURNS:BAKES, HRN:HMS. And in spite of getting bombarded with their commercials could not bring USAA to mind. DNK HGTV or 3/4 proper names. Thanx for what was for me quite a challenge, PV. Thanx too for the fun write-up, C.Moe.
FIR, but erased rls for RBG, manor for VILLA, and what if for DEAR ME. Guessed APPS, ODES, and ELVIS. Several others were filled with ESP.
When we had our 1926 Kranich & Bach grand piano rebuilt, we had a PianoDisc player installed. It plays beautifully, and amazes guests who haven't heard one before.
Ever been to a place where even squares can have a BALL?
One of my favorite actors is William H. Macy. Loved him as Frank Gallagher on Shameless.
Due to my SDD (Spelling Difficulty Disorder), I love spellcheck. Auto-correct, no so much.
Spitz used to swear by USAA insurance. I'm qualified for it, but have never found it to be price competitive. Can't compare service, because I don't recall ever filing an auto damage claim.
This took 6:19 to finish, no jive.
Several unknown aspects to this, whether the clues (e.g., Gregg, Patisserie, pets in some series) or answers (e.g., Selah and Namib). It helped that I was familiar with several "E Names" (Elena, Elvis, Edie, and Empire).
Seemed more like a Wednesday-level to me.
Thank you to all the veterans. I truly appreciate your service and sacrifice.
FIR. Didn't get the theme till the puzzle was solved, but didn't need it. Nice Friday solve.
Hi Y'all! Thumper! I filled it.
Thanks, CMoe!
"I've got it!" As DO said, "I liked this one. Finished quickly. Caught the theme early. Recognized the reveal when it appeared." FIR, more like a Wednesday puzzle. Many gimmes, helpful perps, only one ESP (every single perp), PARTV.
Yes, I have heard the Earl of Sandwich story. I can eschew or limit other carbs easily, but not sandwich bread.
I agree that the major tattoo problem is that they are permanent.
CULL, LIU, Meriam Webster's definition 2 comes to mind first, but the other definition is also common.
1.to select from a group : CHOOSE
culled the best passages from the poet's work
2 to reduce or control the size of (something, such as a herd) by removal (as by hunting or slaughter) of especially weak or sick individuals
I loved this puzzle, much easier and more satisfying than yesterday's name fest.
Good Morning:
While this wasn’t exactly a stroll through the park, it wasn’t Friday-challenging, either, IMO. I found the numerous abbreviations distracting, but at least there were minimal three letter words. I have enjoyed Patti’s puzzles in the past, but this one is lacking in word play, probably due to the barrage of proper names/nouns. No w/os but three unknowns, Selah, Namib, and Elena, as clued. I believe I read all of the Lillian Jackson Braun Cat series featuring Koko and Yum Yum, two felines who aided and abetted their owner, a reporter, in solving many a mystery. Lighthearted escapism at its best.
Thanks, Patti, and thanks, Moe, for a great review and enjoyable links, especially Fargo and Elvis. Frances McDormand is one fine actress. William H. Macy ain’t too shabby, either. Thanks for the CSO. The last time I was in the Albany airport was twenty years ago.
I salute and thank all of our Veterans. 🇺🇸
I was surprised when I found out this was Patti’s puzzle; I would have thought a puzzle by her would have been more difficult. I caught the gimmick early, and that helped me solve the puzzle. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Hola!
Nice puzzle that filled rather quickly and I was not IMPEDED by problems. However, I did miss PART V as I had MISSION. Sigh. Also I don't exactly equate jag with SPREE but okay, I guess so.
Have to hurry as it's time for my regular blood draw. Must go. More later. My computer shows it's 47 degrees so not an optimal condition for going out.
Have a great time, everyone! Thank you to all our veterans.
Friday FestIVE. Thanks for the fun, Patti and CMoe.
I FIRed and saw the IVE theme (I’m not sure whether the BEEN HAD has any bearing on the theme?- been added maybe?).
Several inkblots and snarls over the unknown names, but perps were friendly.
A player piano is PASSIVE and has KEYs. I didn’t see this themer as any more of a stretch than the others. (d’o beat me)
Manor changed to VILLA (hi Jinx). I corrected persistant to PERSISTENT.
I didn’t know the film, but I have learned RBG monogram here. I would have gotten ELENA faster if it had also been clued as the Supreme Court judge.
I knew those Braun CATS. Thanks IM for posting their names.
The Y in the cross of SYS and MACY was my last fill, and required an alphabet run (almost to the end of the alphabet).
I had a SWISS missile at first, and was scratching my head over PART L in The Empire Strikes Back. 5 not 50 sounds better.
I noted LSATS and LASTS, ODES and LYRIC.
We had MAHI and TETRA fish.
HMS is appropriate today. We have Remembrance Day here today. “Lest we forget”
I will watch the ceremony at 11am.
Wishing you all a great day.
Good morning. Thank you, Patti, and thank you, Chairman Moe.
I was anxious to try a new breakfast recipe this morning. I thought I posted my comments a few hours ago.
Hopefully none of the readers of this blogspot fall victim to a scam, and have to lament the reveal "I've been had !"
My favorite was the clue and answer for the chickory farmer anticipating his harvest. That one made me smile.
Moe, that old football cheer your cited is the basis for how I figured out many years ago how much a bit was, but I was always perplexed because I had never heard of a coin with a value of 12.5 cents.
Gotta run.
Musings
-BRRR – 16F this morning
-Joann’s mother CULLED chickens to get rid of the non-layers. Not exactly cherry picking.
-CATS and ELENA got Friday cluing and SELAH provided learning. I knew of NAMIBIA, so…
-ONCE – I always warn my kids, “Here comes a ‘when I was your age’ story.
-William MACY is the consummate character actor
-In Field Of Dreams Ray hears “Go the distance”. The last scene in that movie that moved me to tears.
-“News” today is what topics are reported and what topics are AVOIDED
-ELVIS got us back into the theater.
Hi All!
I'm sure Patti's asst. did the editing / proof-reading (never print w/o another set of eyes!).
I'VE not seen this theme before and I liked it. The puns were fun. Thanks Patti.
Thanks for the post-game, C. Moe. Fun illustrations, explanations, and asides.
There used to be an EARL of Sandwich in Sugar Land. Good grub.
WOs: BuRR, 'ing' at the end of 9d for a while.
ESPs: SELAH, NAMIB, MACY, ELENA
Fav: Paul Simon's DW, EDIE Brickell
SYS Admin - Did it for years: Windows, Solaris, HPUX, Linux... mail, DNS, databases, print...
D-O: USAA insurance is a bit higher but every claim [DW(2) & two teenage drivers(3)] was handled w/o hassle.
Also, for checking, you can use any ATM w/o paying a service-fee. And!, my kids get accounts too.
Café du Monde - If I go to NOLA and don't bring back beignets, I might as well not come home. I love their Chicory coffee too.
Gregg - Knew it 'cuz Sis came down to Houston for a 5 day STENO class. We had a blast.
Happy Veterans' Day!
//Pop says Lowes has free hot-dogs for us :-)
Cheers, -T
Thank you Patti for a pleasant Friday excursion, and Chairman Moe for splainin'.
Thoughts?
Patti edited herself?
(Hmm, does she get paid for creating the puzzle as well as editing it?)
When I think of chicory, rather than endives, my first thought would have to be what some people call "the blue dandelion" As it is ubiquitous to roadsides everywhere. It has many uses, and the root can be roasted to create a good, but caffeine free coffee substitute.
Lastly, if you own a cat, you may have already been had...
(Hmm, this may apply to grandchildren too...)
Note: roadside weeds are not the best for foraging, not only due to car exhaust fumes, (a bigger problem when gas was leaded) but also because many roadsides sprayed with chemicals. Like near anything that could be stolen as a Christmas tree... (etc....)
The comics today were (somewhat) crossword related.
here is an example...
But then again,
Everything I see these days gets somehow crossword related. It's stuck in my brain...
For instance, I have felt guilt at not posting a cake for Joan's birthday. (HG's DW)
But Joan does not post on the Blog, should I post a cake that cannot be eaten for some one who is never going to see it?
Seems kinda silly, even to me...
What also is freaking me out, is that even this seems to be reflected in today comics?
(Maybe I need a vacation...)
Thank you Patti. No complaints about this puzzle. And I don't feel that I'VE BEEN HAD by the theme, as it helped AUTO-FILL some squares after I saw what was going on.
And thank you MOE for another LYRIC review. If you're following the comments, please see a question for your I sent via email.
A few favs:
5A RBG. A.K.A. the "Notorious RBG", an endearing epiphet used by both her friends and foes in the judicial system.
1A CULL. "Cherry picking" is also a technique used to troubleshoot computer hardware. By systematically replacing components one at a time with a known good component, you can usually isolate the failed part.
16A PASSIVE KEY. It has been suggested by a competitor to this blog (which will remain unnamed) that this is a "key that plays itself", so in fact ALL of the KEYS on a player piano are "passive keys".
30A CATS. Also in a book by TSE.
20A EARL. He wasn't just a sandwich.
32D SELAH. The Psalms are literally SONGS, meant to be accompanied by instruments, and SELAH is thought to be some sort of musical direction. But as MOE points out there are lots of other explanations.
39A THE ENDIVE IS NEAR. IIRC MOE the CHICORY used as a coffee flavoring isn't the same as the salad green ENDIVE. They are both in the same genus, but are different species. The additive is made from the BAKED and ground root of a blue flower called CHICORY. What the green and the root have in common is their bitter flavor.
Cheers,
Bill
Patti's own puzzle wasn't as hard for me as the usual Friday puzzles. FIR, relatively fast, and with only two WOs! Perps were helpful and I used them often. I did put H, thinking of "Hook" as the buccaneer, but stopped immediately when I saw the perps didn't work. My other WO was caused by putting "pre k" before MARK. Should have checked perps there first. But hey! A Friday FIR! Thanks, Patti.
Thanks, C Moe, for the review. At first I was thinking like you for the Star Wars clue, trying to fit "first" in but I already had BRRR and STE, so didn't ink it in. Oh, it's not the ordinal, it's PART V! When I filled the second themer I saw what was happening with IVE. I needed D-Otto's comment to understand how PASSIVE KEY worked though. I thought there was perhaps a special knob to switch between passive and active piano playing.
I thought the cheer was "two" bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar. I wondered like TTP about a coin valued at 12.5 cents so I LIU. Back in the day Spanish peso coins were cut into eight pieces for convenience in making change.
The Y in SYS and MACY was my last fill too, C Eh. All in all a fun puzzle so I'm happy too, Subgenius. Have a fun Friday, everyone!
FIR in Friday time, though what slowed me down were the unknown abbreviations rather than the clues. Loved ARCHIVE ENEMY and "THE ENDIVE IS NEAR".
ATLGranny, I'm sure you've heard of pirates' money -- pieces of eight.
Greetings, a Patti / Patti puzzle. I liked it, though I had my doubts as I tried to tackle the NW which ended being the last section I filled. The bottom half came together and then I worked my way up. And thanks C-Moe for the review. Loved the Fargo clip and the movie. I echo the comment about Bill Macy being a great character actor.
Changed shine to GLEAM and rush to RACE. DNK SELAH, NAMIB or ELENA. Lots of WAGs and lots of perp help.
Thanks to all the Veterans.
From Collins Dictionary:
JAG
2.Slang
a. an intoxicated condition due to liquor or drugs
b. a drinking spree
c. a period of uncontrolled activity
a crying jag
Adding on: The early American colonies sometimes used Spanish silver dollars which could be cut into pie shaped eighths, called bits or pieces of eight to make smaller denominations. Two bits was a quarter of a dollar,25 cents, so one bit would be 12.5 cents.
I enjoyed reading about the Braun cats. Light hearted.
This AM we had a lovely Veteran's Day tribute to all who served. Moving. Thank you for your service to all our veterans here.
A pleasant temperature is relative. I like it on the cool side. I wear a light fleece jacket when it is 47 degrees. Yesterday morning when I began my 7:30 walk I could see the mist from my breath, not uncomfortable. It was a lovely 50 degrees 45 minutes later.
I RACEd through the top half of the puzzle, but my brain musta tuckered out and IMPEDED a quick lower half fill but a fun challenge and theme. Didn't know ELENA Delle Donne ("Of the Ladies") or KERI, forgot our Falco replacement for EDIE.
SWISSMISSIVE jumped out. Our daughter Catherine makes her favorite Swiss Miss cocoa every morning on her own after we showed her how to use the Keurig hot water feature.
Inkovers: burns/BAKES, PERSISTaNT/E, manor/VILLA (When I lived in Italy most people lived in apartments. Even the smallest house was often referred to as a VILLA and a two family house as a VILLA bi-familiare
Bill MACY was incredible as the "SHAMELESS" (Jinx)... father Frank of the Gallagher clan for 10 years. Nominated for best lead actor Emmy 6 times, never won. Oscar nod also for FARGO.
Une "patisserie" gives off un arôme. Took me a sec to reassemble PAR TV..Didn't know chicory was ENDIVE.
SMEE! been awhile since we've seen thee. Have a EWER of rum. If it's shorthand (STENO) why didn't Gregg eliminate the second G
Chain of small islands....ATALL
Peruvian kids' stuffed animal, "Dolly ____ " LAMA.
Actors Stephen or Perlman....R(H)EA
C MOE. With a player piano you don't actively play the keys? Also we usually fly out of Syracuse (Syr) an hour west of Utica but tomorrow, hurricane permitting, we are flying out of Albany (ALB) an hour and a half east because it's a direct flight to Orlando (till next Friday). Our usual Sanibel Island destination is out for the count.
Still unseasonably warm weather for mid November.
A salute to vets 👨✈️👩✈️
-T and our other vets: Mission BBQ offers free food to vets today. If you haven't been to one you probably wouldn't know it, but they are very supportive of military, police and each store's community. At noon every day, every employee stops working and they play our National Anthem. And by the way, the BBQ is great too.
TTP: If you get the chance, it would help if you updated the Olio section on linking to pictures. It still suggests Picasa.com. I was going to link that Close to Home toon, but CED did it for me. I don't want to make all my Google Pics public.
And for those of you who don't think today's puzzle was Friday enough, MOE gave me permission to share this unpublished puzzle he sent to the Blogging on 11/9 (in printable .PNP format). Teri had to finish it for me. Click here for answers, questions and complaints.
TTP - well, what was the breakfast recipe and how did it turn out?
CED - Thanks for the fascinating blue dandelion link. Comics were cute too.
ATLGranny - I learned about Pieces of Eight when I got Styx's album. Being a precocious 10 yro with a library card, I looked it up. And they said rock-n-roll was going to rot my brain ;-)
Also note: that was before nipping currency was really frowned upon. I came across that concept in the fantastic read Newton and the Counterfeiter [4:26].
Nice! [re: Duke of EARL], waseeley. //C.Moe's puzzle is still stymying me.
Jinx - thanks but I filled up on hot-dogs ;-) //I do like a good dog...
HG - I should have known before I clicked that you didn't link Cake [The Distance] :-)
Fans of comedy, bring out your props and put on a clown-nose... Gallagher (watermelon smashing comedian, as he's known) passed away. :-(
Cheers, -T
D'Oh! Thanks TTP (and wonderful x-ref w/ their songs!).
I musta missed a ".
Styx's Pieces of Eight [WikiP] for anyone that cares.
Cheers, -T
Puzzling thoughts 2:
Here's to all of the Cornerites who are veterans - thank you for your service to our country!
Thanks, Bill S for posting my puzzle here. I am happy to know that you and others found it both challenging and, hopefully, enjoyable. The "world" of Crossword Puzzles has certainly been changing and evolving over the past five years or so. Keeping up with all of the 21st Century authors, filmmakers, actors, acronyms (texting, e.g.), and whatever else, is quite a challenge.
I guess if I could compare, the "old days" of Crossword solving (pre-Internet) involved having a Crossword Puzzle Dictionary for odd references, and words or phrases you had to look up. With Google and other search engines, it is pretty easy now to "cheat" when an answer escapes you. And for me, it's usually those answers that are proper names of which I'm clueless (thinking JIA from a recent puzzle here), as well as an obscure clue for a common word (Pets in a Lillian Jackson Braun mystery series = CATS). Now don't get me wrong ... I'm sure there are many crossword puzzle solvers who have heard of both JIA and Lillian Jackson Braun. But likewise, I am sure there are as many who haven't ...
Crossword puzzles (for me) should be first, entertaining; second, clever; third, challenging; fourth, educational; and PART V, worth discussing
TTP - Thanks. Before CED posted, I had done a screen grab and crop and was trying to figure out how to post it. Didn't know (or at least didn't remember) gocomics, but I have it bookmarked now. Mine was crummy B&W version anyway. I'll have to play some more with Google Pix; I kinda get leery of them for some reason. Yeah I use their search engine on Chrome and use an Android too, but they make me nervous.
Speaking of being nervous, thanks to all the Cornerites who wrote get-well wishes for my bout of dizziness and loss of equilibrium. It got better over the day Wednesday, and hasn't recurred. I'd just as soon not go through that again. Scary.
ELVIS is a movie I'd like to (have) seen. It won't be the same on HBO
Jinx I had dizzy spells a few years ago. Changing blood pressure med made a big difference. Sometimes a pharmacist is a good source
Plus I had a defib problem for which I'm taking Eloquis. Bad news it probably caused my eye problem which is only gradually healing
WC
A 12.5 cent piece was not a coin, but a piece of a silver dollar coin, a small pie shaped wedge, an eighth of a Spanish silver dollar. Imagine hacking up a silver coin to make change. There must have been little accuracy and standardization. I am thinking of carrying around these pointy pieces.
BTW, is this why we say a five cent piece, a ten cent piece?
Chairman Moe brings us this Friday Varol treat...
And it is indeed a treat, despite the need to come up with obscure TV channel names and 2nd string pirates. The theme fills offer compensatory amusement.
And a nice Moe-ku as well!
~OMK
____________
DR: We have thee diagonals today, all on the near side.
The central diag has practically no vowels, so we look to the flankers for better pickings.
The top diagonal presents an anagram (11 of 14 letters) that tells us what an inexpert audience member thinks of the tunes sung by a coloratura soprano, melodies with all those those high, light, fast notes.
To such an auditor, those are simply...
"MOUSEY ARIAS"!
DEAR ME, it's almost lunch time, but this clever puzzle deserves a response from me. Thank you, Patti, for taking time from your editorial duties to construct this delightful work for us--a great treat. And thank you for your helpful review, Moe.
As soon as I saw ASIA, I wanted to go on a trip to spend time with the Dalai LAMA, or maybe to Italy where I could rent a VILLA and go on a shopping SPREE to buy food for a PARTy. I'd make sure we'd have a EWER of TEA and I bet the guests would enjoy an ENDIVE salad with a lovely AROMA. I bet everybody would GLEAM with joy and have an absolute BALL, and look forward to a RERUN. And maybe we'd even watch an ELVIS movie afterwards.
Have a great weekend coming up, everybody.
I enjoyed this puzzle.
DNF ... even though I did see the clever theme.
FAVs: China setting and ENDIVE IS NEAR (Literally. I have some growing in my salad table in the back yard.)
Happy Veterans Day to our many Cornerite veterans! I appreciate your service!
Jinx,
Just saw your posts...
No need to bother with screen grabs,
It used to be that GoComics would not let you copy or share comics,
But that changed about a year ago...
Anytime you want to post a newspaper comic via GoComics,
Just type its name, (ie: Garfield + the word "comic")
Choose GoComics for that comic, when it comes up,
"Be sure " to click again" on (or in) that comic to switch from "overview" to "comic" version to bring up the shareable version,
Then click on the three dots on the right for more options,
And choose "share link" and choose copy.
Note that sometimes on different media, like a phone, the copy/share functions appear out of the visible screen and you have to poke around a bit to see everything available.
And, for everyone else, just remember...
But,
more importantly remember...
(ah, where's Sam when you need him...
Well, I guess I found out why I struggled so with the puzzle this morning. I've spent 18 of the last 24 hours asleep and am running a fever tonight. Spent the hours I was awake trying not to fall on my face when I walked around. Since I don't go anywhere & haven't had company for two weeks, I don't know where I catch viruses. Must come in on my food or mail both of which are delivered. But the delivery people don't come in or come close to me.
PK - Sorry to read you're under the weather. Liquids & rest.
Healing love your way. -T
Thanks, Tony! I'm sure getting the sleep, but don't feel rested.
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