Good day, Cruciverbalists. Malodorous Manatee here wishing everyone a Merry Xmas Eve Eve and a Happy 5th day/upcoming 6th night of Chanukah.
On that note, presenting the recently-named recipient of the 2023 Mark Twain Prize For American Humor:
Adam Sandler - The Chanukah Song
Today's puzzle setter is Lewis Rothlein. On August 13, 2022, Husker Gary recapped one of Lewis' puzzles and provided some biographical information on the author. Here is a link to that: 13 August 2022 LAT Crossword Corner. Lewis has also had puzzles published in that well-known east coast newspaper.
Today, Lewis plays with his words by adding an additional word to the middle of a common compound word or expression and, thereby, completely changing the original meaning. Let's start with the reveal which does a good job of describing what is going on:
35 Across: Pivotal element, and what each word in quotes in the starred clues literally is to its answer?: CENTERPIECE.
A CENTERPIECE usually graces a table at, say, a wedding or a company holiday party. In this case, thought Lewis uses it as the center (as in between) point between two other words.
Here are the themed clues/answers:
17 Across: *Begin to chase, with "off": TAKE AFTER. If you TAKE AFTER someone you emulate them. If you TAKE OFF AFTER someone you chase them.
24 Across: *Try to delay, with "for": PLAY TIME. PLAY TIME is, of course, a time for having fun. If you PLAY FOR TIME you are stalling,
47 Across: *Gaining prominence, with "and": UPCOMING. An UPCOMING event will be here soon. If you are UP AND COMING your fame and/or fortune is ascendant
55 Across: *Do some creative accounting, with "the": COOKBOOKS. We all love COOKBOOKS here on the Corner but if you COOK THE BOOKS you may be committing a felony. Hi, SBF! Did you have a good year?
Here is how this all looks in the grid:
Across:
1. Common foundation: SLAB. A common and cost effective way to build. Just hope that you never need to access the plumbing embedded in the SLAB.
5. Singer in the biopic "Walk the Line": CASH. Johnny Cash. The title of the biopic was taken from the eponymous title of the song (written by Johnny R Cash).
9. 1980s cloning target: IBM PC. Hand up for first thinking of DOLLY the SHEEP. Burn those ROM.
14. Coil in a garden: HOSE. Fortunately, not a garden (garter) snake.
15. "The __ for home lives in all of us": Angelou: ACHE. Not familiar with the poem but it was not too hard to suss once a perp or two kicked in.
16. Half a comedy duo: MEARA. So many (five-letter) duos from which to choose (Chong, Lewis, Burns, Allen, etc. but the puzzle setter went with Jerry Stiller and Anne MEARA.
On The Carol Burnett Show
19. "Your table's ready" buzzer: PAGER.
20. Illuminates: EDIFIES.
21. Seductive quality: ALLURE. The world's first great fisherman possessed something that no one before him ever had. ALLURE.
23. One ensuring accuracy on a grand scale?: TUNER. As in tuning a Grand Piano.
26. Vare Trophy org.: LPGA.
29. Up to, briefly: 'TIL. Un TIL "Briefly" hints at truncation.
30. Start of an adage about humanity: TO ERR.
32. Solar __: SYSTEM. PLEXUS would have fit the allotted space.
37. Emergency signals: FLARES.
37. Emergency signals: FLARES.
39. WWII Polish resistance hero Sendler: IRENA. Born 15 February 1910. Under the pretext of conducting sanitary inspections she, and others within the Social Welfare Department, smuggled food, clothing and other necessities into the Warsaw Ghetto. She helped smuggle out residents when the liquidation of the population within the Ghetto was ordered. She was arrested by the Gestapo in 1943 and sentenced to death by firing squad. She escaped this fate because the guards escorting her were bribed and she "escaped".
Irena Sendler
40. Illuminated: LIT. Often used to mean drunk or drugged.
41. Country roads: LANES. Today's let's pass on the John Denver moment.
43. Coarse file: RASP.
50. Revere alternative: BY SEA. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere is a poem by Henry Wadswoth Longfellow. It contains the lines:
51. Rumbled, as thunder: ROLLED.
52. Less tender: TOUGHER.
54. McCartney of Wings: LINDA. Paul was too short (he's actually about 5'10" tall).
57. Broke off: ENDED. I broke up with a girl once because she was having hallucinations. She said, "I can't see you anymore." Which was weird because I was standing right in front of her. Then she said, "You don't understand. I'm seeing someone else." Which was really odd because there were just the two of us in the room. I had to break it off after that.
58. Exhort: URGE.
59. Layered cookie: OREO. How do I clue thee? Let me count the ways.
60. Torment: AGONY. Tom Lehrer on the subject:
The Masochism Tango
61. Walked (on): TROD.
62. Laura of "Big Little Lies": DERN.
Down:
1. Type of village in Isaac Bashevis Singer stories: SHTETL. Yiddish for town.
2. Pack, as a moving van: LOAD UP.
3. __ price: ASKING.
4. Tower of London figure: BEEFEATER. Not, for example, the height or age of the tower,
5. Cozy eatery: CAFE.
6. Show parts: ACTS. A part of a show. E.G. ACT two Scene three.
7. Pop duo __ & Him: SHE. Unfamiliar with this duo outside of crossword puzzles.
8. Announce grandly: HERALD. Hark the HERALD Tribune sings . . .
7. Pop duo __ & Him: SHE. Unfamiliar with this duo outside of crossword puzzles.
8. Announce grandly: HERALD. Hark the HERALD Tribune sings . . .
Mr. Lehrer, Again - A Christmas Carol
9. Intimate: IMPLY. Not intimate (accent on the first syllable) as in close (as in near by not as in shut). Intimate (accent on the final syllable) as in to hint at. Isn't the English language a real . . .
10. Corker: BEAUT.
11. "The Treachery of Images" painter: MAGRITTE. Call it art and that's what it becomes. Rene MAGRITTE.
12. Early delivery: PREEMIE. Natal reference, not UPS or FEDEX.
13. Wheels: CAR. Slang.
18. Cause of inflation: AIR. Literally, not financially.
22. Scottish girls: LASSIES. I choose to believe in female Minotaurs. It's a lass half bull mindset.
24. Good vibrations?: PURRING. See also 35 Down.
I Didn't Know That!
27. Leaves be: LETS LIE.
28. "All bets __ off": ARE.
31. Common Scrabble tile value: ONE.
33. Nikkei index currency: YEN. The Nikkei is Japan's equivalent of the NYSE.
34. Impressive and then some: SCARY GOOD. This one involved some head scratching followed by an Aha! moment.
35. Tower for a pet who likes to climb and hide: CAT CONDO.
36. Not post-: PRE. PRE means before and POST means after. To use both at the same time would be preposterous.
37. Target of an annual vaccine: FLU. What's the difference between the avian FLU and the swine FLU? One requires tweetment and for the other you need oinkment.
38. Facial piercing: LIP RING
42. Scene-ending phrase: AND CUT. Hollywood-ese.
44. Washed up, maybe: ASHORE. Cute. Washed Up, of course has its own meaning - to be no longer skillful or successful. In this case washed ASHORE.
45. One on a quest: SEEKER.
46. Marrying sort?: PARSON. I could have gone with Parson Brown from the song "Winter Wonderland" but instead chose this John Forster song (it'll become clear with the last line):
48. Of yore: OLDEN. What was the major activity of OLDEN day peasants? Serfing.
49. Word said with a curtsy: M'LADY.
50. Buster: BUB. MAC PAL BRO
52. Like drive-thru orders: TO GO.
53. Authorized: OK'ED.
53. Authorized: OK'ED.
54. Place to ruminate: LEA. Not ruminate as in to turn a matter over in your mind. Ruminate as in to chew cud, the source of the previous idiomatic use of the word. LEA = pasture or meadow.
56. "Catch-22" pilot who crashes repeatedly: ORR. Often clued with reference to the hockey player. In this case, a reference to the Joseph Heller novel.
Lewis Rothlein, 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.
That's all for today's recap. Have a great weekend, everyone. Happy Holidays!
Milo Minderbinder out . . .
__________________________________________________________________
Notes from C.C.:
Happy 78th birthday to dear Misty, who's been with our blog for over 9
years. Here is a picture of Misty and her husband Rowland celebrating their 15th wedding
anniversary in 2009.
First of all, I got kind of a feel for the gimmick from the first coupon of solves, but didn’t fully “get it” until MM explained it. On the whole, in spite of a few obscure proper names, I found this puzzle eminently solvable, and not as difficult as I would normally expect a Friday puzzle to be. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning! (Brrrrrrr. I didn't move to Texas to experience temps in the teens.)
ReplyDeleteDidn't notice that the themers were common two-word phrases, so d-o got the theme, but didn't get it. New it had to be SHTETL, but wasn't sure how to spell it. Hand up for trying SHEEP for that clone object. Not too tough. Not too easy. Friday-worthy. Thanx, Lewis. Nice tour, Mal-Man. (I always enjoy some Tom Lehrer. What a warped mind he had.)
CAT CONDO: Out on our patio dw has covered a doorless cat carrier with a blanket and put a heating pad inside. Mr. Jones, one of our neighborhood strays, should be nice and comfy there. I just got a news report; he spent the night there.
SLAB: Most houses around here are built on a SLAB -- the water table is too high to permit basements. The gumbo soil presents added complexity. Any house that's more than 20 years old is likely to develop foundation problems (ie cracked walls, load-bearing doors, etc.). Foundation repair is a big business in this area. So far, so good, but our day is coming.
Happy birthday, Misty.
New? Knew. Jeez, Louise.
ReplyDeleteOh, I forgot to say Happy Birthday, Misty. I always enjoy your clever word play!
ReplyDelete(By the way, was it tough, as a kid, having a birthday just two days before Christmas? I imagine it was!)
ReplyDeleteSubgenius, IIRC, YR's birthday is Christmas day. Can't get closer than that. I think there's one other here at the corner, but can't remember who it is.
ReplyDeleteFIR, but erased irene for IRENA. DNK SHTETL, and only sorta knew MAGRITTE. Knew MEARA right away, but was wary of how to spell her name.
ReplyDeleteNoticed that CENTERPIECE was in the geometric center of the puzzle.
Didn't remember the Vare trophy, but I do enjoy watching the LPGA. Much better now that they no longer allow caddies to stand behind their player and instruct the player on putter alignment. The rule is now the same as the PGA.
Thanks to Lewis for the fun, Friday-worthy puzzle, and to our MalMan for delivering the goods.
It seems eerie, but Rod Sterling was born on Christmas. Also Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Buffett, Sissy Spacek, Clara Barton, and Canada's Prime Miniature Justin Trudeau. Lots of MLB standouts - Rickey Henderson, Ben Chapman, Hideki Okajima, Nellie Fox, and Gene Lamont.
ReplyDeleteDW finished the puzzle in about 12. I was too busy de-icing a frozen hot water pipe.4 inches of snow and -15 degrees F, printed the puzzle out cuz I wasn't gonna go out and get the newspaper. About 90 feet down and back. Up hill both ways + lotsa deep snow drifts. And the paper might not even be there.
ReplyDeleteAlmost forgot. HBD Misty. You are a riot!!
ReplyDeleteTokenCreek, how can it be up hill both ways?
ReplyDeleteD-O @8:12 AM Maybe he lives in an MC Escher print.
DeleteTook 9:06 today to finish the puzzle ... and yet miss the theme.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate our Manatee's explanation, which edifies the theme for me.
Didn't know "shtetl" (and still am in disbelief that's correct) or the Polish resistance hero. Still not sure I understand how IBM PC relates to cloning.
Stay safe and warm, if you can.
D-Otto, just seems that way. Actually, downhill out and uphill back. Today, big snow drifts ensue. Remember wind chills from your ute? As we speak, -27 degrees. Brrrrr! TC
ReplyDeleteAnon@8:13, "Shtetl" -- a Jewish village. Think Anatevka in Fiddler On The Roof.
ReplyDeleteThe IBM-PC had an open architecture, allowing anybody to produce clone computers. Other companies were so successful that IBM finally got out of the PC business. Apple went the opposite route with a proprietary architecture.
Aha, DOLLY was the name of that cloned sheep.
ReplyDeleteHaving recently been commissioned I was somewhat amazed to read that Yossarian punched a LtCol. I turned to my father who'd flown a B24 and said "This book is nuts!"
"Oh no", he responded, "That's exactly the way it was"
The Movie sucked, btw. Btw-2. At the helicopter base in Nam sure enough at the end of a night of pilot revelry there was a Lt going toe to toe with a Light Colonel. The full Bird broke it up
Having said all that did anybody besides Maloman and me remember ORR?
Finally, Happy birthday to Misty a fellow 44'er
The ruminate clue got me too
WC
Well Happy Chanukah, merry Christmas, Kwanza, and especially Festivus. And Happy birthday to Misty. I didn't catch the 'missing' word TIL PLAY TIME. TAKE AFTER- already means take OFF after or resemble some relative.
ReplyDeleteCOOKBOOKS- can anybody believe that let that fraudster SBF out of jail on a $250,000,000 bond? Talk about cooking the books. What's the ALLURE of investing in cryptocurrency? I hope nobody here lost anything.
IBMPC- first thought when I read the clue was DOLLY but PC was already on the grid
IRENA, SHTETL, MARGRITTE, ORR, BEAUT for Corker- unknowns
IMPLY was on the grid by perps but I knew that one
FIR, but didn't get the theme till it was explained here. NW corner gave me fits because I have no knowledge of Yiddish and shtetl just didn't look right. Perps saved the day again.
ReplyDeleteA Friday FIR today, woohoo! The two top corners were slow to fill, with my changing "ghetto" to SHTETL, solving my last puzzlement. I'm guessing SHTETL is Yiddish. BEEFEATER was my first thought for 4D but didn't seem to work out until I erased "ghetto." In the other corner, I too thought of "sheep" but didn't enter it. IBM PCs were cloned and sold cheaper by other computer companies. (I see D-Otto explained it well.) I am happy with this puzzle, Lewis. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks, MalMan (or should I say MilMin today?) for an excellent review explaining all our remaining questions. I got the theme with COOKBOOKS while I wandered down the grid looking for easy entries. Then I got PLAYTIME and CENTERPIECE, But TAKE AFTER took longer because of my issues with that corner. Few WOs otherwise.
Woohoo, Misty, Happy Birthday! Looking forward to more of your stories.
We're having an unusually cold weekend by Atlanta standards. Brrr!
Hope you all stay warm and safe.
FIR, but DNK the time it took: too many interruptions. In fact, I believe I will stop timing myself, and just admit I’m getting slower as I age, and leave it at that. Anyway, very nice CW, thanx LR. I even got the theme! (Imagine that). I DNK any of the obscure names, and had DEN in for LEA which gave me DINDA for 54A where I was sure PAUL was supposed to go, but was one letter short. I looked at DINDA a while before the V-8 can hit. WEES, I wanted SHEEP or DOLLY at 9A, until perps gave me IBMPC, which I again looked at for a bit until another V-8 can hit. Lots of welts on the noggin today, but got ‘er done. Thanx to to MalMan for the outstanding, informative and fun write-up.
ReplyDeleteOh, and HBD Misty!!
ReplyDeleteThanx too to MalMan was supposed to say. Jeez.
ReplyDeleteTC / DO - My dad used to say that as a kid, he had to walk to school and back 5 miles, and it was uphill both ways. I think people of his era used that device to signal exaggeration, and not trying to pull a fast one.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteI’m always pleased to see a Lewis puzzle as I feel as though I know him from his long-standing presence on that other crossword blog. I have enjoyed his past offerings and today’s was a winner, too, for several reasons. At first glance, the theme seemed a tad simple for a Friday, but on second glance, the theme phrases were super solid by themselves and with the added word. Neat! And the revealer was as spot on as could be.I thought the cluing was clever and misdirecting, in a good way, and I especially liked the effort to clue To Err and By Sea with an actual clue, rather than a fill in the blank clue. The fill was fresh and lively, and the three letter words were minimal. I debated over Sheep or Dolly, chose Sheep and, of course, had to change it. I also had to change Sirens to Flares and I was momentarily stuck on Irena, and Orr, as clued. Loved the Purring and Cat Condo which brought HG’s Darling Lily to mind.
Thanks, Lewis, for a truly delightful solve and thanks, MalMan, for a truly delightful review. Loved the Meara/Stiller video, The Man In Black tune, the one-of-a-kind Tom Lehrer and the many chuckle inducing cartoons/graphics. Also loved your numerous puns throughout the commentary, especially the comments on Flu and Pre! Enjoy your skiing vacation.
Happy Birthday, dear Misty, hope it’s a special day. 🎂🎁🎊🎈🎉
If the weatherman is correct, we’re in for some very nasty conditions. Today’s temp is supposed to reach 52 and then, later in the day, plummet 40 degrees, and turn whatever is wet into a frozen tundra. It’s raining right now and has been for sometime. We’re also supposed to have extremely high winds, adding another worrisome factor of power outages.
Have a safe and cozy day.
Good Morning!! A worthy Friday puzzle - IMHO. I usually like to crisscross a section at a time, but I was all over the place w/ this one. White blocks throughout.
ReplyDeleteI saw the theme which made the fills easier - was that intentional? Well, whatever gets me to the finish line is okay by me.
Thanks, Mal Man, for the reveal. I did not pay much attention to the second level of the theme until I read your recap. And loved your 57A tale.
PREterm to PREEMIE
Tower of London: I only had the second "E" and first thought was HENRY VIII.
Fav clue/fill: Revere - BY SEA.
Saturday puzzles are iffy for me, so if I don't chime in, may all the joys of the Holidays season be yours.
Sorry, in my previous comment re: Tower of London, I should have said, the first "E" (2nd square of 4D.)
ReplyDeleteAlmost gave up, lotsa blanks in the NW cuz I stuck with Dolly the SHEEP (like others) as "cloning target" too long . Thought a "corker" worked in a champagne 🍾 factory 😄.. (BEAUT would make a good Wordle starter). MAGRITTE was somehow hidden in previous CW cerebral storage. Was "intimate" a verb or noun? Suddenly the cork finally popped and the corrections spewed forth.
ReplyDeleteLIP RING "facial piercing"...OWIE!!!
We use the term TAKE AFTER to mean "be like or look like" in a passive way: "He's a jokester just like his father" or "he has bright red hair like his Dad". ....IOW "He TAKES AFTER his father"
"Common foundation" either an enterprise or make-up, both wrong. SLAB.
"PLAY(ING) FOR TIME" 1980 TV movie
Inkovers: aLARmS/FLARES, rOUGHER/T
Scottish movie about the end of a batchelorette party: " _____ Come Home" ...LASSIES
"My Three Sons" Grandpa....BUB
Dinah was one... ASHORE
"No Vegans!": from a sign seeking to hire a _____ BEEFEATER
Happy Birthday Misty
Mal Man I loved the story about your hallucinating girlfriend. 😆😆🤣. After all old girlfriends are "dated"
Sounded like gale force winds last night. This AM I see the bird feeder is askew 🐦 and the garden gazing ball knocked off its pedestal.
Raining now, which means the town will become one big ice skating rink when temperatures plunge tonight. 🙄
"Be careful what you wish for!"
ReplyDelete(I wished for a puzzle, and it puzzled me greatly.)
Especially liked the Paul revere clue/answer.
I liked the write up even more, very entertaining!
Happy Birthday Misty!
One question though,
which one is the centerpiece?
Hola!
ReplyDeleteHappy birthday, Misty! I hope you have a GRAND celebration!
Thank you, Lewis Rothlien and MalMan for today's intriguing challenge.
SHTETL? I had no idea. It's been years since I saw Fiddler on the Roof.
Matins and LAUDS are the early morning prayers of Monks and Nuns.
CSO to my sisters-in-law, at LINDA. At one time all three were married to three of my brothers and all surnamed the same. Whew! What confusion it caused at times. We had to identify them as John's LINDA, Art's LINDA and Fred's LINDA. Today, only one is still married to my one surviving brother and another is married to a different man. Number three is deceased. She left me a sweet and wonderful niece.
I'm sure that by now you all know about my new CAR.
Time to go and get started on the chores which await. Have a blessed and grace filled day, everyone!
I got the theme early and that made the rest easy to fill. Of course I too entered SHEEP immediately, so the NE was the last bastion to fall.
ReplyDeleteNice to learn about IRENA Sendler. Thank you MM. I was glad to be EDIFIEd about this brave woman.
I really enjoyed Big Little Lies séries with Laura DERN; the theme music was ALLURing. I had read the book; of course it’s set in Australia but the series is set in lovely Malibu.
Happy birthday Misty.🎂🍰🎉
I would pretty much echo what Irish Miss ☘️ stated about this puzzle, finely constructed with some really good clueing. Not easy for me as it took a lot of thought and 28:29 for the FIR, thank you perps! Also, thank you Lewis for a very Friday worthy grid! (and to Patti who I know had a hand in this). Like others, I didn’t notice that without the middle word, that the themers were two word phrases till the expo.
ReplyDeleteHappy b/day Misty! I too enjoy your stories 😊. And I might add, I enjoy everyone’s comments on here, I don’t always post due to time constraints but I come to the Corner everyday and it’s always entertaining. Also this has been a pretty stellar week from all the bloggers, Sumdaze, Tony, JzB, Bill (and Teri), and Mal Man today, thank you all! Mal Man ~~ Really enjoyed the story of your hallucinogenic gf 🤣
Visibility here is about 100 feet right now and the wind and snow is supposed to last till 7 EST tomorrow night, but where I live in Upper Michigan it comes with the territory.
Lucina @ 10:56 ~ Our immediate family’s name confusion is with four Kathys and five Joes. Who’s on First? 🤣
ReplyDeleteTante Nique @ 11:05 ~ I share your favorable opinion of Big Little Lies. Laura Dern certainly inherited her acting talents from her parents. I also enjoyed her performance in Marriage Story.
Happy Birthday, Misty!
ReplyDeleteI am glad that some of the jokes and puns were appreciated. If pressed on the subject, I will place the blame on Rocky & Bullwinkle.
Bill @11:32 LOL
ReplyDeleteMy goodness, C.C., thank you so much for remembering that today is my birthday! And thank you for posting that sweet picture of my dear Rowland and me--I wish he were still here to celebrate my birthday with me. And then I came to this page and saw all of your wonderful best wishes!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, everyone--you've made this 78th one of my best birthdays ever with all your kindness. I will always remember this and be thankful!
Thank you Lewis for a fine Friday FIR. I caught the theme early and it was helpful.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you MM for your usual antics, jokes, GIFS, and riffs. Loved the story about your hallucinating EX. I think Teri must have been hallucinating when she started dating me. And here we are almost 58 years later, and she's still hallucinating!
As there's only one day until the start of my traditional Christmas shopping day and I've decide to start early, I'll try to keep this brief [collective Corner sigh of relief]:
14A HOSE. We love garter snakes as they're harmless and they're both insectivores and volevores.
35A CENTER PIECE. Also I think the word in the MIDDLE is also the PIVOT that riffs the CLUE into the FILL.
41A LANES. Sorry MM, but my Daddy loved that song! Oh and LANE is also the correct word for a Bowling A**EY.
4D BEEFEATER. But it could have been the age for this BEEFEATER, but you might have to key in your AGE to see the PAGE).
38D LIP RING. Looks SCARY GOOD, but I'd be afraid I'd snag my STACHE hair in it.
Gotta go!
Cheers,
Bill
HBD Misty! 🎁🎀🎈🎂
Absolutely enjoyed every minute of this puzzle.
ReplyDelete1A I guessed immediately, but didn't confirm for a while. CASH got me in the door and I worked my way down from there. Along the way, some clues were real stumpers for a while. They were all tricky enough to make me hesitate, but were eventually gettable.
The themer at 17 was tough to crack what it was asking for. But I eventually built it with crosses. I had a good ha! when I realized "with" in the clue doesn't mean before or after, but in the middle. Each new themer was fun to discover as well. CENTERPIECE is purrfectly placed in the center.
Your long downs were SCARYGOOD. With PURRING between CATCONDO and MAGRITTE.
My favorite clue: 23A One ensuring accuracy on a grand scale?
That honestly was one of the funnest crosswords I've done this year. I'm not kidding.
This was a fun crossword puzzle and theme - I was able to squeeze it in with most of the family getting up late since they are usually in Western time zones!
ReplyDeleteAs usual, I liked the book "Catch 22" more than the movie. I remembered ORR - definitely Friday cluing instead of the hockey player. Favorite character's name Major Major Major.
Thanks MM and Lewis!
Happy birthday Misty - enjoy your stories that link the puzzle answers. Enjoyed touching base with you when I was in SoCal in September!
MalMan, you are a hoot! Thank you for such a splendid review!
ReplyDeleteThis is Lewis the constructor, and happy birthday Misty!!!
The puzzle grew out of COOK THE BOOKS. One day it hit me that taking out the middle word gave it a totally different meaning. And so began a tough brainstorm for other candidates, and part of what made it tough was finding a different middle word for each answer. I was quite happy to come up with a full set. And I was ecstatic when my crossword angel fed into my brain the reveal CENTERPIECE.
Patti did a marvelous job editing and polishing. She is a gift.
A happy thank you to the many kind comments here today!
Musings
ReplyDelete-Fabulous! The gimmick and fill made for a delightful solve.
-We also TAKE (OUT) AFTER as well as TAKE (OFF) AFTER
-Our government does not COOK THE BOOKS, it just prints more “money”.
-This device enables you to be a TUNER without perfect pitch or even a good ear
-Some who had ”TROD the boards” disdained taking TV money but cashed the check anyway.
-Yes D-O, some “TROD the boards” in a SHTETL named Anatefka
-Intimate as a verb, Gary, not as an adjective.
-Customer in Kwik Shop, “Why do you charge for AIR?” Reply, “Inflation”.
-Patrick Mahomes is SCARY GOOD and is “appointment TV” for me
-Irish, our dear Lily has three perches and more toys than any sane person should have for a kitty.
-Happy Birthday, Misty!
Hi Y'all! Thank you, Lewis, for an interesting, amusing & doable puzzle. MalMan, thank you for a fun expo.
ReplyDeleteDNK: IBMPC, LPGA, ORR, IRENA.
But I knew SHTETL right away. I saw "Fiddler on the Roof" twice on stage and the movie multiple times. Also have read several books with SHTETLs in them.
-3* when I got up at 10 a.m. with sun shining on 3 inches of snow. Yesterday was nasty blowing snow. Wearing layers of clothes and a beanie cap because my head & ears are cold in the house. My niece's family is supposedly driving from NYC to Kansas City about now. Hope they stayed home safely instead.
Happy Birthday, Misty. I Enjoy your posts.
Our family has four David's, two Pauls, & two Levys, a Micah & a Mikka. Never all in the same room at the same time yet.
Note: the following may be of interest to 1% of readers.
ReplyDeleteRe: tuners,
why you can't get the dang thingie in tune!
Trivia:
If you have ever tuned a piano, you will learn that in addition to all the crap in the above video,,,
( p.s. I love the last comment in the video = )
You cannot just "turn the peg" holding the string into tune. There is so much tension that turning the peg will only twist it in half until it breaks like a cheap paper clip. The peg has to be "hammered" into tune with light "taps" that enable the peg twist as one piece in its socket. In fact the device used to move these pegs is called "a tuning hammer."
To further complicate matters, each string is suspended between two "bridges", and when you turn the peg you only stretch the small bit of string that is between the peg and the bridge. You then have to hammer the key ( press the note hard) repeatedly until the vibrations moved the stretched part from the bridge/ peg section to the main sounding section, ( and past the final bridge on the other end. ). This means that you must tune your peg low, and bang the string until all sections are equally stretched while hoping that the finished result is the pitch you want.
This is why piano tuning is called "an art."
You may have seen your piano tuner person use a block of wood to repeatedly bang on the keys, because using your finger for this can be extremely painful...
Anywho,
The last time I had my piano tuned, he used an electronic device that cost over $600- that he said can even account for string stretch. Just match pitch, and hammer it into tune, and your done. This is pretty amazing considering that every string has different thickness and stretch properties.
(I still wonder if he was pulling my leg....)
To those who are fans of A Man Called Ove (hand way up, here!), I just learned there is an American film adaptation entitled A Man Called Otto, starring Tom Hanks. There will be a limited release on Christmas Day and a nation-wide release mid-January. Tom Hanks could play a rock and still be mesmerizing, IMO.
ReplyDeleteHG @ 1:14 ~ Our furry friends, be they canine or feline, can never have too many toys or love! I know your Darling Lily has plenty of both. 😉
Too much love! Sorry
ReplyDeleteAdd me to the list of those who really enjoyed this puzzle...even though I wasn't able to complete the NE & SW corners. I did get all the themers. UPCOMING was the first to reveal itself. COOKBOOKS came next. Thanks for sharing your talents with us, Lewis, and for posting on the Corner! I hope you read Irish Miss @ 9:44. She know her grids and she liked yours!
ReplyDeleteFAVS: Cause of inflation; Washed up, maybe; Marrying sort?; and Revere alternative.
Happy b-day, Misty! I enjoy your posts.
Another excellent re-cap, MalMan. FAV: preposterous. LOL!
Tower of London Figure -- I recommend the book "The Ravenmaster: My Live with the Ravens at the Tower of London" by Christopher Skaife. It's a good one.
Stay warm & safe everyone!
I liked this puzzle.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lewis, and thank you, Malodorous Manatee.
I thoroughly enjoyed both the crossword puzzle and the review.
Happy Birthday, Misty !
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFIW with lookups and write-overs
Finally, a tough Friday puzzle!! Not the usual play-on-words we've been experiencing lately, nor the easier clues. Joseph, glad it was you who got this one and not I. Very enjoyable recap (loved the Lehrer's) and Lewis, a splendid puzzle - and thanks for stopping by
Happy Birthday Misty! Celebrate in style!!
Happy Festivus - for the rest of us ...
Thanks, Lewis, for taking time to stop by the Corner.
ReplyDeleteYour visit is greatly appreciated.
To Irish Miss, a special thank you for your kind words re my puzzle and for detailing things that appealed to you. A delightful post all around -- Lewis
ReplyDeleteFabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Lewis and MalMan.
ReplyDeleteI almost FIRed, but required one Google hint to spell MAGRITTE correctly. That opened up the NE corner for the Tada. (Hand up for wanting Sheep or Dolly in there)
SHTETL spelling held up the NW corner.
But this Canadian has done CWs long enough and entered CENTERPIECE.
I was here earlier but never posted, and now I am late to the party. Happy Birthday Misty!
My daughter was a PREEMIE. I noted we had PRE today also.
M’lord changed to M’LADY, Irene to IRENA.
My favourite clue was for TUNER (followed closely by PURRING and BY SEA).
Wishing you all a good evening.
Am I too late to post my Christmas Song contest?
ReplyDeleteIdentify the song/carol/or other OLDEN AIR from these lines with the words from today.
1. Hark the HERALD (MalMan has a point already!)
2. Haste, haste to bring him LAUD
3. In his master’s steps he TROD
Or
3b. … your baby boy has walked where angels TROD
4. Then pretend that he is PARSON Brown
5. Hail the new ye lads and lasses (or LASSIES)
6. One More Sleep TIL Christmas (OK, this is the title, but can you identify the singer?)
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteI puzzle-played earlier but the big spaghetti-dinner took over the day.
I'm just popping in to wish Misty a very happy (un)Birthday.
Cheers, -T