This marks the 138th puzzle that Dr. Ed Sessa has had published in the LA Times, including the one that appeared this past Sunday, the day of after Boomer's passing.
As soon as I saw that Dr. Ed was today's constructor, I
knew that many Cornerites would wonder how he is faring in the aftermath of
hurricane Ian. I immediately got in touch with Husker Gary and asked
him to contact Dr. Ed for an update. This is the reply Husker received a few days later:
Hi Gary,
Like countless others down here our home got hit with a storm surge:
damaged roof and six feet of muddy water in the house destroying pretty
much everything. My wife and I are now in our third apartment which will
be home for up to a year, giving us a chance to decide where to go on a
more permanent basis. But certainly not back into any flood zone. Thanks
for asking and warm regards to all the wonderful people on the LA Times
site.
My heart goes out to Boomer for all that he has gone
through.
Regards.
Ed
And special thanks to Gary. We are still praying for Dr. Ed and all of
the victims of hurricane Ian, and also for Boomer and C.C.
On to the review ...
As our Tuesday blogger might tell you, when it comes to themes,
"There's more than one way to skin a
חתול". And as is usual for me, in my initial attempt to explain this
one I immediately got down in the weeds, but then thought better of it, came
up for air and decided to title this puzzle
Seoul Train
Puzzle themes are a major interest of Dr. Ed
(per C.C.'s 2/4/2011 interview with him) and today he presents us with what
appears at first to be a simple rhyming scheme: 4 two-word themers (2
across, 2 down) with one of the words rhyming with the first word of the title above.
On closer inspection we see however that there are
3 different letter sequences used to rhyme the theme words.
One obvious lesson that Dr. Ed gives us here is the vagaries of
English spelling and pronunciation. Perhaps another (which I
found down in the weeds) is to give us a short course in
the International Phonetic Alphabet
(IPA (no not the ALE)). Despite the differences in spelling, the IPA code for each of the theme fill rhyming parts is the same:"oʊl". We usually see IPA codes following the definitions of words in a dictionary to tell us how to pronounce them. The following clue explanations each start with the IPA code for the
theme word in each fill, which were generated with this
online translator
(try it, it's fun!).
18A. K-pop, e.g.?: SEOUL MUSIC.
soʊl, i.e. music from Korea. Here is Jung Kook (né
Jeon Jung-kook) of BTS (a.k.a. the Bangtan Boys) singing his song
Dreamers (lyrics) at the opening ceremony of the recent
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022
(the victor of which will be decided 3 days after this puzzle drops):
62A. Survey of hairdressers?: BARBER POLL. poʊl. The really funny thing about this clue is that such surveys actually do exist: questionnaires designed for gathering hairdresser best practices and making them available to those interested in becoming hairdressers or barbers, or in improving their services. Of course this is not a new idea. In olden days the services of the barber were provided by the town factotum, who doubled as the dentist, minor surgeon, and all around dogsbody. Here's the classic description of how the job was done, brought to us by the late, great Russian baritone Dimitri Hvorostovsky, with Largo Al Factotum from Rossini's Barber of Seville:
4D. Golfer who's too afraid to make a putt?: HOLE CHICKEN.
hoʊl. First he's got to get to the green!
27D. 1982 film job that kept an actor on his heels?: TOOTSIE ROLE. ɹoʊl (don't ask me what the funny lead in is). Dustin Hoffman played her. The hardest part was learning to walk on high heels (as a kid I tried wearing a pair of heels while trick-or-treating one Halloween - I had blisters for a week!):
Here's the grid:
Across:
1. Indulge the munchies: NOSH. Also a noun.
5. French friends: AMIS. Last week this was clued with "Inside Story" novelist Martin.
9. "It's Good" root beer brand: BARQS. Barq's /ˈbɑːrks/ is an American brand of root beer created by Edward Barq and bottled since the beginning of the 20th century.
|
|
Bozo the Clown |
16. Lose strength: ABATE.
17. Pedestrian street: MALL.
20. Cat voiced by Debra Messing in "Garfield: The Movie": ARLENE. Debra Lynn Messing (born August 15, 1968) is an American actress who found her breakthrough role as Grace Adler, an interior designer, on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace (1998–2006, 2017–2020):
|
|
Debra Messing |
23. Suitable: APT.
24. Come down: DESCEND. "What ASCENDS must DESCEND", or something like that.
26. Catch sight of: SPOT. Or maybe another often seen four letter noun, clued as "Teenager's concern".
28. Cannot stand: HATES.
30. Give comfort to: SOOTHE.
34. Implied: TACIT. "silent, unspoken" from French tacite and directly from Latin tacitus "that is passed over in silence". NOD was too short.
37. Preserve, in a way: CURE. Five ways to cure meats at home. Not good for people on low-sodium diets however:
|
| Salami |
40. Desktop since 1998: IMAC. The iMac G3, originally released as the iMac, is a series of Macintosh personal computers sold by Apple Computer from 1998 to 2003.
|
|
iMac G3 |
41. Leaves in the library: PAGES. We have a Kindle, but I don't use it much. Perhaps because I read mostly non-fiction, I find real books much easier to navigate and search, and I frequently thumb back to the index. Hand up if you prefer real books?
42. Work long and hard: TOIL.
43. NPR's Tiny __ Concerts: DESK. Tiny Desk Concerts is a video series of live concerts hosted by NPR Music at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen in Washington, D.C. Not all of them are available on YouTube. This one is, and it features 3 short works performed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra. The first two are by Maurice Ravel and the last is an original work by one of the performers. The playlist is in the first YouTube comment:
44. "Watchmen" comic book writer Moore: ALAN. The characters in the series are a part of the DC Comics Universe that we visited a few weeks back.
|
| Watchmen |
46. Jumps in: ENTERS.
48. Torah teacher: RABBI. The word RABBI originates from the Hebrew meaning "teacher." The term has evolved over Jewish history to include many roles and meanings. Today it usually refers to those who have received rabbinical ordination and are educated in matters of halacha (Jewish law). They are the ones knowledgeable enough to answer halachic questions. Most countries have a chief rabbi they rely on to settle halachic disputes
50. "Darn it!": NUTS.
52. Generous: LIBERAL. I don't think we can infer from this clue/fill an antonym of "Stingy: CONSERVATIVE".
56. "Fire away": ASK. Anything!
59. Fighting chance?: BOUT. You have to fight to win or lose.
61. Rio Grande city: LAREDO. Something very sad happened there long ago ...
65. Sign to take out the trash: ODOR.
66. Perrier rival: EVIAN.
67. Shallowest Great Lake: ERIE. For some reason I get the chills every time this appears in a crossword puzzle.
68. Euro forerunners: LIRE. It's still the currency of Turkey.
69. Dry runs: TESTS. I used to do laboratory TESTS, but most of them involved liquids.
70. Rip to bits: REND.
71. Unimprovable place: EDEN. It had its faults methinks.
Down:
1. One without a permanent address: NOMAD. By one estimate is that there are approximately 89,000,000 of them worldwide.
2. One end of the Chicago L's Blue Line: O'HARE.
3. Soprano dubbed "America's Queen of Opera" by Time magazine: SILLS. Beverly Sills (May 25, 1929 – July 2, 2007), (nicknamed "Bubbles"!), was an American operatic soprano whose peak career was between the 1950s and 1970s and was especially renowned for her performances in coloratura roles in live opera and recordings. Here she plays party girl Violetta in Verdi's La Traviata, singing Sempre Libere ("Always Free"):
5. Missing: ABSENT.
6. Server of Duff beer in Springfield: MOE. MOE's, the place where everybody knows your name ...
7. Polo brand: IZOD. Their logo is a little creepy too, although it doesn't surface here as often as that erie lake.
8. Turns in a bad way: SOURS. This usually doesn't turn out so bad, but that doesn't mean its good for you ...
9. Panda fare: BAMBOO. BAMBOO forests in China are in decline, and because they are such picky eaters, so are PANDAS.
10. __ Dhabi: ABU. The capital of the United Arab Emirates.
11. Tabula __: RASA. More LATIN: "Clean slate". And also a tenet of some philosophies.
12. Makeup kit item: Q-TIP.
13. Offshoot group: SECT. For some reason I always thought that the Mennonites, being more LIBERAL were an offshoot of the Amish, who were more CONSERVATIVE. It turns out to have been the other way around.
19. Runs out: LAPSES. Not to worry. Eventually this review will LAPSE.
21. Clutter-free: NEAT. Here's a tip from Teri's favorite NEATNESS maven the "Minimal Mom", entitled 3 Bins That Will Transform Your Home:
25. Tattoo alternative for the squeamish: DECAL. HENNA didn't perp.
29. Rock candy, essentially: SUGAR.
31. "Iliad" city: TROY. Myth has it that the cause of the Trojan War was The Judgement of Paris, which has a tie in to 47D.
32. Heavy downpour?: HAIL.
33. Purnell of "Yellowjackets": ELLA. A Showtime series which premiered in 2021. A fictional account of a team of New Jersey high school soccer players traveling to Seattle for a national tournament. While flying over Canada, their plane crashes deep in the wilderness and the remaining team members are left to survive for nineteen months. The series chronicles their attempts to survive while also tracking their current lives in 2021.
34. Laundry detergent in an orange container: TIDE.
35. "That's so true!": AMEN.
36. Playbill list: CAST.
38. Kidney related: RENAL.
41. Church leader: PASTOR. The Christian equivalent of 48A.
45. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" pop group: ABBA.
47. Flemish artist Peter Paul __: RUBENS. Sir Peter Paul Rubens (/ˈruːbənz/; Dutch: [ˈrybə(n)s]; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Two of his most famous paintings depict The Judgement of Paris, which as we saw in 31D was one of the causes of the Trojan War. Here is the first:
49. Sent an invoice to: BILLED.
51. Splendid: SUPER.
53. Made over: REDID.
54. Put on a pedestal: ADORE.
55. Actress Sophia: LOREN. Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren (/ləˈrɛn/ lə-REN, Italian: [ˈlɔːren]), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood cinema.
56. Stand watch for, say: ABET.
57. Squirrel away: SAVE. The clue phrase is derived from the propensity of squirrels to SAVE acorns for the winter months. A lot of people find them cute, but as they can easily get over a garden fence to take bites out of your ripening tomatoes I think of them more as bushy tailed rats.
58. Kardashian matriarch: KRIS. Kristen Mary Jenner (née Houghton /ˈhoʊtən/ HOH-tən, formerly Kardashian;
born November 5, 1955) is an American media personality, socialite, and
businesswoman. She rose to fame starring in the reality television
series Keeping Up with the Kardashians (2007–2021).
60. Moved fast: TORE.
63. Carlsbad Caverns dweller: BAT.
64. "In the Heights" creator __-Manuel Miranda: LIN. In the Heights is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican American neighborhood of Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It has also been made into a movie.
Cheers,
Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism. And thanks for her more than minimal effort in explaining clue 21D.
waseeley
Dr Ed Sessa, 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. And welcome back!
6. Server of Duff beer in Springfield: MOE. MOE's, the place where everybody knows your name ...
7. Polo brand: IZOD. Their logo is a little creepy too, although it doesn't surface here as often as that erie lake.
8. Turns in a bad way: SOURS. This usually doesn't turn out so bad, but that doesn't mean its good for you ...
 |
| Whiskey Sour |
9. Panda fare: BAMBOO. BAMBOO forests in China are in decline, and because they are such picky eaters, so are PANDAS.
10. __ Dhabi: ABU. The capital of the United Arab Emirates.
 |
| Abu Dhabi |
12. Makeup kit item: Q-TIP.
13. Offshoot group: SECT. For some reason I always thought that the Mennonites, being more LIBERAL were an offshoot of the Amish, who were more CONSERVATIVE. It turns out to have been the other way around.
19. Runs out: LAPSES. Not to worry. Eventually this review will LAPSE.
21. Clutter-free: NEAT. Here's a tip from Teri's favorite NEATNESS maven the "Minimal Mom", entitled 3 Bins That Will Transform Your Home:
25. Tattoo alternative for the squeamish: DECAL. HENNA didn't perp.
29. Rock candy, essentially: SUGAR.
31. "Iliad" city: TROY. Myth has it that the cause of the Trojan War was The Judgement of Paris, which has a tie in to 47D.
32. Heavy downpour?: HAIL.
33. Purnell of "Yellowjackets": ELLA. A Showtime series which premiered in 2021. A fictional account of a team of New Jersey high school soccer players traveling to Seattle for a national tournament. While flying over Canada, their plane crashes deep in the wilderness and the remaining team members are left to survive for nineteen months. The series chronicles their attempts to survive while also tracking their current lives in 2021.
 |
| Ella Purnell |
34. Laundry detergent in an orange container: TIDE.
35. "That's so true!": AMEN.
38. Kidney related: RENAL.
41. Church leader: PASTOR. The Christian equivalent of 48A.
45. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" pop group: ABBA.
47. Flemish artist Peter Paul __: RUBENS. Sir Peter Paul Rubens (/ˈruːbənz/; Dutch: [ˈrybə(n)s]; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish artist and diplomat from the Duchy of Brabant in the Southern Netherlands (modern-day Belgium). He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque tradition. Two of his most famous paintings depict The Judgement of Paris, which as we saw in 31D was one of the causes of the Trojan War. Here is the first:
 |
| The Judgement of Paris Peter Paul Rubens 1636 |
49. Sent an invoice to: BILLED.
51. Splendid: SUPER.
53. Made over: REDID.
54. Put on a pedestal: ADORE.
55. Actress Sophia: LOREN. Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone (born 20 September 1934), known professionally as Sophia Loren (/ləˈrɛn/ lə-REN, Italian: [ˈlɔːren]), is an Italian actress. She was named by the American Film Institute as one of the greatest female stars of Classical Hollywood cinema.
 |
| Sophia Loren |
57. Squirrel away: SAVE. The clue phrase is derived from the propensity of squirrels to SAVE acorns for the winter months. A lot of people find them cute, but as they can easily get over a garden fence to take bites out of your ripening tomatoes I think of them more as bushy tailed rats.
 |
| Eastern Gray Squirrel |
 |
| Kris Jenner |
63. Carlsbad Caverns dweller: BAT.
64. "In the Heights" creator __-Manuel Miranda: LIN. In the Heights is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican American neighborhood of Washington Heights in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It has also been made into a movie.
Cheers,
Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism. And thanks for her more than minimal effort in explaining clue 21D.
waseeley
35 comments:
Still don’t know if I understand what Bill meant by “different three letter combinations “ but anyhoo I had little difficulty with this puzzle, whose gimmick seems rather “slight “ to me but , anyhoo, FIR so I’m happy.
Normal word clued as a proper name? Check. (SILLS)
Weird letters just forced into the puzzle, but no pangram? Check. (No idea about BARQS but QTIP was easy.)
On the plus side, no Naticks and it even felt easier than yesterday.
Good morning!
Not sure I followed Bill's explanation of the theme. I thought it was simply alternate spellings for four in-the-language phrases. As a bonus, all of the alternate words rhyme: Soul Music, Barber Pole, Whole Chicken, Tootsie Roll. Nice, Dr. Ed. Went wrong with PASTOR and HIRES (DADS was too short), but those were easily fixed. HAIL for "Heavy downpour" is cute, but ice is lighter than water. Isn't there a Miami of Ohio university? This one was fun, and still came together quickly. Thanx, Dr. Ed and Waseeley.
FIR. I found this to be easier then yesterday. Clever theme.
I finished this in 6:48, if you take my parol evidence.
I agree with the other commenters above about the explanation of theme, but enjoyed the review still.
I didn't know today's actress (Ella), today's reference to Messing/Adler's voice character, or the comic book writer (Alan).
FIW, missing my WAG at the Natick ELLi x ASYLi. I judged "which is 'wronger', ASYLA or ELLi?" Guessed wrong. But I guessed BARQS x QTIP right, so I got that goin' for me. EDEN Way boarders our dying Greenbriar Mall, and while in Phoenix I worked on Utopia Lane near Paradise Valley, so I got THAT goin' for me too.
Erased dull for DRAB, espy for SPOT,oases for ASYLi, and el paso for LAREDO,
I really wanted Peter Paul's last name to be "Mary", but that one has letter deficiency syndrome. Oh, RUBENS! Didn't know he had first names.
I'll emend Bill's definition:
LIBERAL: Generous (with other people's money)
Conservative: Stingy (with other people's money)
See, we can all get along!
Thanks to Ed for the grid. I thought some of the cluing was Friday-ish, but as usual was interesting. Sorry to hear about your damage from Ian. If I had a fistful of insurance dollars and no ties to the snowy north, I would settle in Inverness, FL. Very close to Ocala, near enough to Tampa, and storm surge proof. And thanks to Bill and Teri for the interesting review.
Anonymous @8:20 AM Thanks for that SS, you just taught me a new word!
Dr. Ed got hit by the hurricane but I was lucky yesterday with the tornado that came within two miles of my house yesterday. It tore off the facade of a grocery store skipped a couple of miles, and then plowed through the city of Gretna before crossing the river.
I sensed the different spellings as soon as SEOUL MUSIC was on the paper. Very fast fill for a Thursday.
BARQS was the name of TWO local brands, bought by Coke a few years ago. The local Coca Cola bottler in NOLA and another in Biloxi, MS. both had BARQS but neither called it 'root beer', just Barqs. Also made a Barqs' Creme Soda.
ARLENE- I knew her as the cat but Debra wan unknown.
Tiny DESK Concerts, ALAN Moore, ELLA Purnell- unknowns
I don't 'keep up with the K's' and didn't know KRIS; I thought it was KIM but the grid had four letters. The only Kardashian I really knew anything about was O.J.'s lawyer.
The "Polo" brand is Ralph Lauren. The IZOD brand is a LaCoste property. A 'polo' shirt can be by any company. Confused?
Tattoo alternative?- nice skin
Jinx- your definition is almost spot on. You can also be stingy with your own money.
I managed to FIR, but don’t know the time, as I forgot to write down my start time. Several comments that this was an easy CW. I did not find it so. There seems to be a week of proper names crammed into one grid today, 17 by my count. I did get the theme, which is a pretty clever one. Living in SOFLO, the Miami River is…..where else? In Miami! Wait, there’s one in Ohio? DNK. Like Jinx @ 8:25, my first thought at 47D was “andMary”. Thanx for the entertaining CW, ES, I hope things get sorted for you. Thanx too to Bill whose time and hard work to put together such an entertaining and informative write-up is much appreciated.
B. E. - That's too close for comfort! Glad you are safe. I've had a couple of close calls with tornadoes, one in south-central Kentucky and one in Atlanta. At least with hurricanes you have a few days to evacuate. You can't evacuate every time there is a tornado watch, and if your house is built on a Freightliner chassis, storm cellars aren't practical. We're in a tornado watch until 4 pm.
I like your definition, but stinginess with one's own assets is more aligned with character than with political tenancies. Lots of generous people across the spectrum. Lots of stingy folks there too.
Good Morning:
Ed Sessa never disappoints me so I’m always happy to see his byline. Today’s theme was simple, but with an added layer that went right over my head until Bill explained the rhyming aspect. I liked the themers, but I didn’t think Hole Chicken was as solid as the other three. My only w/o was Said/Oral but, once again, the cluing gave me pause at Arlene, Desk, Alan, O’Hare, and Ella. I’ll take a CSO at Troy.
Thanks, Dr. Ed, for brightening my day and best wishes for your recovery from Ian’s wrath and thanks, Bill, for giving me so much food for thought with so many interesting links and information. You certainly gave us a a smorgasbord of the arts with BTS, Tootsie, Barber of Seville, Johnny Cash, ABBA,, Barbara Sills, Ruebens, Sophia Loren, Lin Manuel, etc. Too bad Cary Grant missed the cut! The little, pesky squirrel was cute, but the Panda wins the day! Great job, as always, and thanks to Teri, as usual.
Anonymous @ 5:14 ~ Add Desk to your comment. 😉
SS @ 8:20 Your parol is good enough for me anytime! 😊
Have a great day.
Sorry, Beverly Sills. I know her name as well as I know my own, so where Barbara came from is anyone’s guess. In fact, many years ago, she sat next to my husband at a corporate luncheon in her honor. As an avid opera lover, he was delighted to meet her in person.
Musings
-Dr. Ed never fails to delight
-ASYLE/ELLE not ASYLA/ELLA gave me a bad cell
-Miami of OHIO is a university in Oxford, OHIO
-Too many alternative words temporarily bollixed up the Mideast for me
-Ed/Patti replace ALAN Alda with a comic book writer and ELLA Fitzgerald with an obscure actress
-NUTS – General McAuliffe’s famous response to the German demand that he surrender his position in Bastogne during the Battle Of The Bulge.
-I remember a concierge said, “Take the Red Line to get to Wrigley Field.” I asked how will I know when to get off the train. He replied, “You’d be a dumb SOB if you don’t figure that out. Everyone will get off the train at Addison!”
-SOURS – It took one spoonful of Shredded Wheat yesterday to realize something was not right
-Omaha’s world class zoo pursued getting a Panda years ago. The cost is astronomical
-ABBA brightened up my windy, snowy morning
-Nice job, Bill!
26. Catch sight of = spot.
Why was this easy clue/answer so hard for me to suss?
(I had espy...)
Was I the only one that thought tootsies were toes in relation to heels?
I dunno,
Whenever I see Ed Sessa,
my brain goes from this,
to this...
Hola!
I agree! Nice job from Dr. Ed. His puzzles are a true delight and fun to solve.
I loved seeing BARQS (a blast from the past) and TOOTSIE ROLE (roll), love the movie and the candy.
Our PASTOR is really entertaining when he gets going on a sermon. I heard that he studied drama at ASU and it shows!
I've tasted EVIAN and guess what? It tastes like ..... water!
BAMBOO followed by ABU is fun.
Like others I have no idea who that ELLA is, only Fitzgerald.
My favorite singer of The Streets of LAREDO is Marty Robbins.
Enough. I have to continue my search for a car. Thank you, Chairman Moe!
Enjoy a wonderful day, everyone! It's all a gift.
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Ed and waseeley (and Teri).
I FIRed eventually, but the inkblots abound.
I did get the “sounds like” theme first, and then the -ole, -oll, eoul rhyming in addition.
I was not too successful in my first Across pass. Down was better.
Hand up for Espy before SPOT.
I moved from console (too long) to Solace to SOOTHE.
After three years of high school Latin, I knew the plural A ending of asylum.
I had just enough perps for 4D to enter weed wHacKEr (cute but didn’t exactly fit the clue). That gave me Rats instead of NUTS.
Heats changed to TESTS.
My squirrel action was LADE before SAVE.
Shred was too long and I entered Tear. REND is more emotive.
OTOH I thought that ENTERS for “jumps in” was anticlimactic.
I noted PASTOR/RABBI as waseeley said.
Also noted were REND crossing TORE, ODOR crossing ADORE.
Spitzboov (RIP) would have linked a map showing the water depths of Lake ERIE. Plus explanations of its dangerous undertows, and why Buffalo gets lake-effect snow.
Wishing you all a great day.
Anon SS @8:20-
Ok I’ll save everybody else from needing to LIU.
My first Google find for “Parol” was a Filipino lantern (Christmas decoration). ???
Oh, dictionary says “given or expressed orally” (we had ORAL today also).
Yes, we will take your word for your time. Just don’t be too LIBERAL while the rest of us TOIL, or we will HATE you. AMEN all?
Hand up for a learning moment.
Greetings All. Ed Sessa is one of my favorite constructors, so always good to see his name at the top. And thanks, Bill, for the vast review. And here I thought the theme was just word play.
This is my first ever hearing a BTS song. Very surprised how much I enjoyed it!
DNK ELLA Purnell, phonetically my first though was Roberts of Bonanza, but different spelling, but vowels are not my strong point. Also, DNK NPR's DESK
LAREDO song is an ear worm, and like Lucia, I'm more familiar with the Marty Robbins rendition.
I read almost exclusively on my Kindle. Love the search function and the dictionary. Plus, I can read at night without having to turn on the light, helps getting back to sleep easier.
Boggles the mind that there are that many nomads in the world.
MOE - all perps. I have never watched a Simpson's episode, and only know some of the characters by doing the CW.
Final thought: squirrels are the bane of my birdfeeders yard varmints!!
I always enjoy tackling an Ed Sessa puzzle. I don't always succeed but it's always a fun try. Today was one where I had to turn on Red Letters when it was about three quarters done. So an official DNF.
FLN Big Easy: I don't think we grew up in the same house, but there's a good chance our Mothers used the same cookbook, "The Horrors of Cooking" instead of the "Joys of Cooking"
I have a Kindle Fire and read books on it occasionally. Usually when traveling to save space. But I prefer a real book most of the time. It's akin to doing the crossword on paper using a pencil (I'm not good enough to do them in ink.)
Have a great day everyone.
I always love Ed Sessa puzzles, so this was a treat--many thanks, Ed. And thanks too, Bill and Teri, for your helpful and interesting commentary.
Starting with NOSH and that weird BARQS drink, we were clearly in food territory, with a dinner of CHICKEN and a ROLL and some NUTS and a bit of SUGAR along with whatever dessert we will have. Hope the diner will be in a MALL where some MUSIC can SOOTHE us. A place like that would feel as though we were enjoying being in some ASYLA, almost like an EDEN. Much better than sitting at a DESK and having to read PAGES and PAGES of notes.
Makes me want to leave my computer and get a snack. Have a good day, everybody.
DNK that Marty Robbins did the song LAREDO, but I remember him from El Paso, which I erased from the grid. Me too - hand up for thinking of Adam Cartwright for Purnell.
Satellite is back up now, so I guess we've dodged the tornado bullet for this front. Very cold weather coming, with lows in the 40s and 50s for the next week. Guess I'll bring in the brass monkey.
I think we all agree, Dr Ed’s puzzles are always welcome. Today didn’t disappoint. I’m so sorry he and his wife have had their lives upended by Ian.
I have used TIDE detergent forever and so Perrier but not EVIAN. At first I had BARQ with a K, but Q TIPS straightened me out.
Nice misdirection with Miami river.
I too prefer reading books on paper instead of on my IPad, but I miss the features of an ebook like being able to look up a word by just tapping on it, or if a character shows up and I don’t remember his ROLE, I can tap on it and I’ll be shown where he’s appeared in the book. I find myself tapping on a word while reading a paper book and being disappointed.😂
After threats of tornadoes and other mayhem yesterday , beautiful sunshine this morning.
Lucina, I've tasted Perrier and it tastes like sulfur. Disgusting is a polite description.
Anonymous @1:10 pm: and I love Perrier, so proof there’s no accounting for taste.
Jinx @12:53 PM, et. al. I started with the version of Streets of Laredo by the Smothers Brothers, but didn't quite feel that it had necessary gravitas. Marty Robbins' version is the classic one, but I'm a big fan of the gravelly voiced Cash.
Tante Nique @1:50 PM and Anonymous: we buy at least a case of TJ's sparkling water a week. At this stage in our lives we have beer pocket books, although we do like wine for dinner.
Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, thanks Dr. Ed. Sorry about the loss of your home. Thanks, Bill, for a fine expo.
I can't comfortably read paper books any more because of eyes which need enlarged print. So the Kindle was a Godsend since 2011. An unexpected benefit was less pain in my hands which I didn't realize was being exacerbated by holding books so many hours.
Has it been snowing in Minnesota where C.C. is? I've seen weather maps & wondering if snow is adding to her woes.
I've been in the middle of tornadoes twice with damage in the yard to trees and once to a machine shed blown off leaving our caterpiller & other machinery moved but unhurt. Our big stone house never was damaged. One tornado when I was newspaper editor had extensive damage down the valley and we put out a big special edition with pictures and personal stories. Had to go to three printings because of demand.
Ed Sessa's puzzle did puzzle me some today though I finally finished it. I needed time in the Mideast, as D-Otto called it, and ended up with one bad square: ASYLA crossing ELLA. (Same trouble spot as Husker Gary.) OK, we needed the Latin plural here not the S which I had entered. FIW but a learning moment. Thanks.
Thanks too waseeley and Teri for your extensive review. It was interesting to see all the rhyming words with spelling variations in the themers. After entering Seoul, I thought cities were going to be part of the theme, but no, they were not. SOOTHE was slow to come and I tried solace first also, C Eh. Too many WOs to describe today. Tomorrow is another day, but it will be Friday....
I knew SILKS after 5 perps; dnk ALAN,ELLA,ARLENE
Thankfully TROY was rock solid and I could perp from there(Paris was the original Iliad perp)(and there he is!)
NEAT like ICE used to bring a certain Monsieur Beni(Tin) in to comment
I think NUTS was a cleaned up version of the General's actual response
Catholic PASTORS are discouraged from being entertaining. We're both lucky Lucina but mine retired(was retired, politics are a nono)
That meaning of "parol" has an E at the end
WC
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR with a couple of changes along the way
Thanks Dr Ed and Bill S for the enjoyable solve and recap
Should I get a CSO when MOE refers to the Simpsons, or only when it refers to the Stooges? [asking for a friend ...]
See y'uns tomorrow - if memory serves it's pretty tame for a Friday
Greetings to you all this cold Ides of December day. I also like Ed Sessa's puzzles and this one is no exception. I only got ELLA because I know the word ASYLA; otherwise not. TROY caused me to change SANG to ORAL. RUBENS reminded me that his name is not spelled like the sandwich.
Thank you so much for such a fact-filled write-up, waseeley. I have learned many things from you.
Lucina, when you decide upon your new car, please let us (me) know what you picked. Thanks.
MOE @5:49 PM. Oops! What an embarrassing social (media) lapse. MOE be it!
Jayce @5:55 PM And I from you my friend. And I from you.
Jayce:
Yes. I certainly will let you know. Today I went for a test drive on a Rogue and it was like driving an enlarged tin can. No, that won't do. I'm going to try for a Nissan next time. I really loved my former one.
My best car, though, now that I've thought more about it was a Cougar. I loved that car! It finally just got old after 12 years.
C-Moe, I didn't find Friday easy but I FIR how hard could it be
I had time to kill today and bought a NYTimes. Solved the xword after a bit of labor. Bruce Haight constructor
WC
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