D-V-S
I really don't know much about Julian Lim except he's a deft constructor. I'm pretty sure he's had at least two other LATs this year and, while maybe on the more difficult side, his are always fun. Also, Lim has some NYT grids, so that's cool.Wait, hang tight...
With Props to HG for some background: Dr. Lin (my appologies, good Dr.) holds a B.S. in Psychology from Duke and a PhD from The University of Pennsylvania in the same discipline. I wonder if Eldest has crossed his research. [Eldest is working towards PhD in Psych at GM].
If I'm to trust my Google-fu, Dr. Lin continues research in cognative/sleep depravation at the Centre For Sleep and Cognition, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore. And, apperently, Dr. Lin, has time to entertain word-play. [bet he doesn't sleep either]
//Oh, he'd have a field-day in our house. I think Eldest went into Psych [PhD candidate in 4.5 more years!] just to undo me :-)
Enough of the couch...
Let's breakdown the themers:
17. Actress who wrote the 2022 memoir "Dying of Politeness": GEENA DAVIS.
 |
| Oh! Her. Bettlejuice.WikiP |
24. Expeditions made by freegans, say: DUMPSTER DIVES. I don't know if this is still a thing but freegans are (were?) anti-corporates who look for food(?!?) in the trash. It was the hipster thing to do there for a while.
The other type of Dumpster Diving is inre: hacking - reconnaissance to find important documents $corp$ #HackTarget tossed. (Shreaders!, people. shreaders).
42. Policy debate sides during an international conflict: HAWKS AND DOVES. Those who want to release the dogs of war and those that try to appease.
58. Prima donnas: OPERA DIVAS. I'll let waseeley take this one. All I can think of is #Karens.
35. Sly, and a phonetic hint to the pattern in the last words of 17-, 24-, 42-, and 58-Across: DEVIOUS. D-V-S. Dig?
Cute theme, no? Last words in *clues are D_V_S with diffent vowels thrown in to make 'em words.
Across:
1. Title of respect: MA'AM. Don't forget to doff your HATS (64a), gentlemen.
5. Suffix with "Wrestle": MANIA.
10. Stinging insect: WASP. Fire ant was too long.
14. Both: Pref.: AMBI. When my (Army) Bro bragged he had two girlfriends, DW quipped: "AMBI and Dextrous?"
15. Scent: AROMA. Smell #1
16. Prepared to veto: ANTI. Don't know why I just noticed but veto is an anagram of vote.
17. [See: theme]
19. House spot: SEAT. Cute. Said about a sold-out show, "Not a SEAT in the house."
20. Spike Lee heist film starring Denzel Washington: INSIDE MAN.
Actually looks really goood.
21. Croquet sites: LAWNS.
 |
| Alice plays Croquet |
22. Hawaii's "Valley Isle": MAUI.
23. Groovy: FAB. FAB-U-lous.
24.[See: theme]
30. Born in: FROM. "Where you from? No, really from?" caused a Royal todo recently.
32. Beer foam: HEAD. Aha... Guinness
 |
| Guinness Foam |
33. Longoria of "Telenovela": EVA. No clue.
 |
| Eva for the Gents |
34. Olympic swimmer Thorpe: IAN. Australian with five (5) gold medals.
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| Ian for the Ladies |
35. [See: theme]
38. Band's job: GIG. (CEO) Bro's got a Dad-Band. They Gig for beer.
39. Bay Area airport letters: SFO. San FrancisO International Airport. We learned last week there's two BART-lines in/out.
40. Scent: ODOR. Smell #2
41. Black-tie party: GALA.
42. [See: theme]
47. Onyx, for one: GEM. A dark-blackish stone. Wanna know more? Click here.
48. Freeway sign: EXIT.
 |
| Downtown Houston |
49. Stop and go: VERBS. Cute. I was stuck in traffic for a moment.
52. Competition with rockets: SPACE RACE. USA is back in it with Artemis but this time v. China.
I can watch this over and over.
All the mission tapes are stored
here in Houston at JSC. I got to see the vault once!*
57. Hertz rival: AVIS. Car rental rivals.
58. [See: theme]
59. Afternoon fare: SOAP. What, no sandwich? Kenny & Ziggy's does the best chicken-noodle & grilled-cheese to head-off a head-cold. Ain't cheap but it's tasty & effective.
//I just caught this: [See: my 51d fill when the V-8 finally clanked against my skull].
The c/a refers to afternoon Telenovelas and NOT lunch | SOuP. Can I blame #dyslexia for missing this for so long? :-)
60. More sage: WISER. [See: 1d MAGI]
61. Half of dix: CINQ. Todays French lesson. Five is half of ten.
62. Playwright Kushner: TONY. A) great 1st name B) Anthony Robert Kushner is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work Angels in America which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. [WikiP] C) (and I looked this up) no relation to Jared.
63. Derisive sound: SNORT. Or what some people do when they laugh [guilty].
64. "__ off to you!": HATS. Bravo!
Down:
1. Crèche figures: MAGI. #Learning: Crèche (Brit) is a nursery and ('Merican) a Baby-Jesus Manger model. //And here I thought it was French for something. (WikiP says Latin(?))
2. Blessing ender: AMEN. Now dig in. //Pop's lasagna was *chef's kiss*
3. Hollywood's Vigoda and basketball's Saperstein: ABES.
 |
| Vigoda |
 |
| Saperstein |
I was thinking the Basketball-guy was someone current. Check this bit of #Learning: Abraham Michael Saperstein (July 4, 1902 – March 15, 1966) was the founder, owner and earliest coach of the Harlem Globetrotters. Saperstein was a leading figure in black basketball and baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily before those sports were racially integrated.
Saperstein revolutionized the game of basketball and took the Globetrotters from an unknown team touring small farm towns in the Midwestern United States during the height of the Great Depression to a powerhouse that went on to beat the best team in the all-white National Basketball Association. He also introduced the three-point shot, which went on to become a mainstay of modern basketball.
Wow!
4. Least amount: MINIMUM. "It's the Least I could do." "Yes, I believe it is." :-)
5. Reconciled: MADE UP. I love the c/a. MADE UP is also conjure. Took me a second to see see two kids shaking hands / reconciling after a brawl.
6. One of the Musketeers: ARAMIS. Ha! I looked this up 'cuz of ZORRO last week and... being curious paid-off.
7. Old Chevy model: NOVA. I'll let those that owned one comment.
8. "Sounds like a plan!": IM IN. Hold my beer.
9. Thin batteries: AAS. Hand-up if you almost ink'd AAA. //I still didn't have GEENA DAVIS yet.
10. __ peas: WASABI. My kids love these (and they'll clear your sinuses!)
11. All over again: ANEW. From the top!
12. Comics icon Lee: STAN. Stan made a cameo in Marvel Movies of the characters he created (and then some). If you were a child of the '50s and had your comics burned 'cuz they'll melt your mind - that was my '80's re: video games.
 |
| Stan Lee - Corruptor of Youth |
13. La Brea Tar __: PITS. From the Redundant Office of Redundancy.
18. Maroon 5 lead singer Levine: ADAM. Name.
21. Actresses Cheryl and Diane: LADDS. Cheryl gave it away. I didn't know of Diane LADD.
23. German woman: FRAU. You know I'm compelled to do this:
24. "What am I supposed to __?": DO NOW? I mean, with a fill like FRAU...
25. "Hot corner" base: THIRD. Baseball! It's called the Hot Corner because, typically, the three-bagger plays closest in on the infield.
 |
| Maybe this helps |
26. Job listing inits.: EEO. Equal Employment Opportunity. Did anyone else miss the memo that it was no longer EOE (Equal Opportunity Employer)?
27. "What happens in __ ... ": VEGAS. Stays in Vegas... including your gambling money.
28. Wicked: EVIL.
29. Drawn-out account: SAGA.
30. Sneakily probe (for): FISH. Fishing for an answer; fishing for a complement. Not to be confused with Phishing for a password or ABE Vigoda.
31. Nadal of tennis, familiarly: RAFA. Rafael Nadal has won 22 Grand Slams [Tennis].
35. Medical units: DOSES. Who else was thinking M*A*S*H-plural(?)?. My (Army) Medical (Reserve) unit was based out of Bossier City, LA. So, me getting to DOSES took a V-8 dope-slap.
36. Semisoft cheese: EDAM.
37. 2016 Super Bowl MVP Miller: VON. Perps. WC, HG, help us out :-)
41. Make a bundle: GET RICH. You can build a better mouse-trap or a better Ponzi scheme #NFTs
43. Cold War agent: KGB SPY. A spy for Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti, the precursor to Kaos(?).
44. More highly cherished: DEARER.
45. Vehicle pulled by yoked animals: OXCART. Is that one word or two? And, if it's a OX CART, shouldn't the oxen be in it? You know, like an apple-cart? (You don't see apples pulling apple-carts down the street). We should be told. #SteveM
46. Contended: VIED. "I coulda been a vie'er!"
49. Stretching on and on: VAST. And if it's a story... SAGA.
50. Vinaigrette ingredient, briefly: EVOO. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I import from Italy (though Greece & CA has some good ones too).
51. "Knives Out" filmmaker Johnson: RIAN. *Googles who(?)* Wait - It's not RIuN? I didn't get soup for lunch? Oy! I FIW!?!
//hangs head, waits for dunce-cap, and I'm familiar with the stool in the corner. Cue: everyone point & laugh.
52. Washer cycle: SPIN. Your Maytag.
53. Manila money: PESO.
54. Sneaker brand: AVIA.
55. "__, or won't?": CAN'T. Priorities, people.
56. Legal honorifics: Abbr.: ESQS. Python's sketch pops to mind (sorry folks). Starts with Evening Squire
58. Yelps of pain: OWS. Here's a question: Do you yell OW! before you've checked to see if you actually hurt yourself?
The Grid:
 |
| The Grid //Green highlight is gratuitous :-) |
Thanks Julian for the fun, it's nice to see your by-line again. (Even though you got me at SOuP.)
WOs: N/A
ESPs: GEENA DAVIS, IAN, EVA, ADAM (as clued) VON, RIUN | TONY
FIW: I really do like soup on wintery afternoons.
Fav: FISH & ABE Vigoda in the same grid. I don't know if that was Julian's intent but, I like it.
I hope everyone had a wonderful time with Lim's puzzle and the Hollidays.
Come into The Corner, take off your jacket, and talk about either. (Er, puzzle | hollidays - I'm not really concerned about your coat (unless it's a real nice light-wieght warm one - where's it FROM?)).
Cheers, -T
*JSC video vault contains films from all the missions from Apollo to current. As I scanned the shelf, my heart fell when I saw there was only one slot labeled STS-25 (Challenger).
40 comments:
Like Tony (Anonymous T) I (almost) went wrong at “soup” vs “soap.” However, I had one advantage which perhaps T didn’t have. You see, I always do the puzzle on my phone these days. And, at the end, when I didn’t get the “turnover “ that indicates success, I went back over the puzzle with a fine tooth comb. “Riun” didn’t look right to me. And so, as T said, the “V-8 can hit” and I realized the constructor was talking about SOAP operas. So, FIR, so I’m happy, but not without some “tech” help!
That SW corner... come on. Two crossing names + AVIS and the SOAP/SOUP conundrum. True, RIUN didn't look right but RIAN with an I... meh. BULBS ASIS BEEP EDDY works too... and there are probably many other ways to fill that tiny area.
EDAM is literally MADE UP, in a cryptic way.
Good morning!
[Blech] SOCAL did me in. Hand up for falling into the SOUP. Wanted JIM for that Thorpe guy. To make matters worse, d-o spelled EVOO as EVOE and wondered what sort of Kushner would spell his/her name TE_Y. The buzzer went off -- bzzzzzzt -- and it was all over. Did the MAGI need a crèche course? Ashamed that I didn't figure out the D-V-S theme. Proud that I figured out that the SEAT was in congress. Chuckled at your EDAM/MADE cryptic comment, Anon. Is it really only Wednesday? Whew. I dread thinking what the rest of the week has in store. Thanx, Julian and Anon-T. (D-o loves your creative spelling.)
FIR, but didn't get the theme at all. Once again, crossing proper names, Rian and Tony, bad form.
Title should have been who am.. ridiculous amount of proper names..
FIR, but erased minimal for MINUMUM and rafi for RAFA. Guessed at ARAMIS x INSIDE MAN. I wasn't fooled by soup, but read"reconciled" as "recoiled", which held up progress for a while. Waited for MA j/G I. (Actually, I wanted "goalies" for "creche figures," but had to ice that idea for too many letters.) Forgot to go back to check out the theme.
I played a lot of croquet in my ute. My neighbor built a permanent course with a sand surface, custom-made wickets, and lights for night play. The balls were made from a substance like bowling balls, and all the mallets were custom made. Good strategy game.
I told my students to never start VAST projects with a half-VAST plans.
Music aficionados react to Maroon 5 like wine connoisseurs react to Mogen David 20/20.
For house spot / SEAT I was thinking of the House of Representatives. It's SPIN when they call themselves "congress(wo)men". I wish the TV talking heads would all start calling them "Representative Jingleheimersmith" instead of "Congresswoman Jingleheimersmith." Drives me as crazy as a veep referring to the president as his/her boss. It ain't politics, it's government.
I thought VON Miller was a skier. Oh, that's Lindsey VONn, Tiger Woods' former bedmate. The "ski" Miller made those adventure movies.
Thanks for the fun Wednesday puzzle, Julian. And thanks to -T for the neato review.
Finished in 6:24, without the need for a DVR. Oh, or seeing DVS.
I really like Rian Johnson's work, especially "Knives Out." I just watched the sequel "Glass Onion," which is very good, but not as good/well-written as the original.
Von Miller is an NFL pass rusher who played for the Denver Broncos for many years, then played for the Rams last year briefly, then joined the Buffalo Bills this year, but suffered a season-ending injury a couple weeks ago. He's likely a future Hall of Famer.
I dislike Frau and cinq, due to my jingoism.
Str⁸forward. ...yikes FIW WEES: SOuP (Mom used to frequently feed us soup at lunch break when we walked home from grade school) crossed with the unknown RIuN thus making a total AAS of myself 🙄 ... (and I just watched "Glass Onion Knives Out" two days ago)
The theme took me a cupla heartbeats...DEVIOS...DVS And the end part of the theme clues have D's, V's and S's. (A weird clue for GEENA DAVIS). Knew EVA but not IAN. Was thinking House SEAT as in Congress
Chevy NOVA unpopular in Mexico cuz it frequently won't run, ¡No va! 🚗
Inkovers: rad/FAB, sneer/SNORT,
ARAMIS had less of a MUSK-a-teer AROMA or ODOR cuz he wore ARAMIS
"Freegans"? What kyna freegan term is that? 😃
Actresses Cheryl and Diane are definitely not.....LADDS.
A little English mother....MINIMUM.
They haven't "reconciled", that story is all _____.... MADE UP
Antony T I think you meant sleep deprivation not depravation (doing depraved things in yer sleep? 😃)
Yeah, I had soup,
and AAA's,
"And" I missed the theme thinking it was DV's instead of D-V-S...
in my defense...
EVA Longoria starred in "Desperate Housewives." There's also a baseball player named EVAn Longoria.
How many OPERA DIVAs does it take to screw in a light bulb?
Just one, she holds the bulb and expect the world to revolve around her.
There was nothing DEVIOUS about this puzzle except the amount of proper names that were unknown as clued and filled by perps- GEENA DAVIS, INSIDE MAN, EVA, VON Miller, The SW corner gave me a little trouble with the cross of two of them that were totally unknown- RIAN & TONY (not you Anon-T). Had to think a bit before VERBS hit the grid for 'Stop and go'.
SOAP- Siesta was too long and Nap was too short so SOAP filled it.
ARAMIS- also a cologne
Chevy-II became a NOVA became a Chevelle became a Malibu became a SS-396 or a Camaro
DW and I both received letters from one of our doctors a day before Christmas which informed us that he- RIAN TANENBAUM ( one N -fir tree)- was retiring. Christmas tree in German is TANNENBAUM (two N's)- close enough.
DNF today because Julian's puzzle got me good at _E_BS and _O_P, making VAST and RIAN impossible to see too. Like you Anon-T, I kept thinking of soup, and I obviously forgot about the parts of speech trick for VERBS. Oh well, I thank you anyway, Julian, for your creative theme, which I quickly caught on to, and the challenging puzzle.
Anon-T, your breezy style gave you away as our reviewer today and I enjoyed reading it. So full of information and amusement! Bravo to all who solved without help today.
By my count, 18 names. That's a LOT! Still, I managed to FIR in reasonable Wednesday time. Not much else to say about this CW. Thanx, JL for the challenge. And thanx AnonT for the nice write-up. $1,500 to have the fish-tail palm tree line removed. My neighbor had them between our properties as a hedge. They make a TERRIBLE, ugly hedge, and grow to 50' tall, blocking my solar panels. My neighbor agreed to let me take them out and pay for removal and stump grinding, and he would put in a hedge of Clusia and agreed in writing to keep it trimmed at no higher than 6', thereby keeping them from once again blocking my solar panels. They are grinding the stumps right now. Oy.
Musings
-Clever and enjoyable. Obscure RIA_ and TO_Y – Did Jeff or Patti eschew a well-known TONY, like our Tony Caruso?
-Politeness/MAAM – When I open a door for a woman, I always wonder what kind of reaction I’ll get
-Wrestle MANIA presents testosterone and steroid-fueled SOAP operas
-NFL games between “going nowhere” teams have a lot of fans who dress as empty SEATS
-SPACE RACE – It pitted our post WWII Nazi rocket scientists against the ones the USSR got
-Frances Ford Coppola plucked ABE Vigoda out of hundreds in an open casting call to be in The Godfather and his career took off from there
-My lovely bride’s battery count for Christmas decorations was over 150
-Hot Corner - his year, MLB infielders must be, uh, shiftless and on the infield when the ball is pitched
-The Panthers simply could not block Bronco LB VON Miller
I had SO?P so I left SOuP and RIuN. FIW (I see I'm in good company). Can't call it a Natick but RIAN/TONY was (I also had EVOi/TiNY even though I knew what EVOO stood for
VON Miller signed for 120mil with Buffalo but just recently was injured. Anon@750 gave a great recap
That's the trick on online solving. One has to leave a blank and then review to make sure "Congrats " appears on final fill else FIW(sorry SumD)
In a Cheers episode there's a flashback of Diane playing croquet at the rehab vs a feisty older lady. I couldn't Google it
Very easy until it wasnt(SW)
WC
I don’t know how I managed it, but FIR. Yes lots of proper names, most somehow I knew.
I liked the movie INSIDE MAN. I recommend it if you have not seen it.
AVIS, AVIA, EVOO, EVA, NOVA, VAST, VERBS, lots of Vs even were not needed for the theme fills.
TONY Kushner was born and raised in Lake Charles, LA. His father was our very talented, long time local symphony leader.
Crèche is French for nativity scene. I display mine every year. It consists of figures called santons that I received as a child.
Finally warm weather.
Not happy with Rian crossing Tony. In today’s crossword in our local paper in the same exact position the clue was “upscale” and the answer was “tony” and I still missed it. I’m also on the soup/soap chuck wagon. The big storm from CA moved into AZ and gave us a little much needed rain, always welcome here in the desert.
Hola!
Julian Lim's name on a puzzle makes me both cringe and applaud. I enjoy the challenge and managed to FIR. Yea me!
STAN Lee resided here in AZ until his recent death. He lived in an area called Awatukee, way southwest of Scottsdale.
I believe I've mentioned before that my former neighbor collected NOVAs. He had five of them.
This past year RAFA Nadal was featured in an episode of 60 Minutes.
Every once in a while I see DUMPSTER DIVERS in our alley. I'm not sure what they are looking for but it surely can't be treasure????
The KGB SPY stories spawned a slew of novels in the 70s. I like the ones by Ken Follett and I have all of his books.
Did anyone ever GET RICH by going to Las VEGAS?
How ironic to see OX CART crossing SPACE RACE.
Thank you, Tony, for your humorous narrative. Keep it up and you'll be a regular.
Have a lovely day, everyone! Our welcome rain today will keep me indoors.
Thank Julian for a Wednesday FIR and a clever theme, which I didn't see coming (or going).
And thanks for the casual, conversational review Tony. I like your style. And thanks for explaining the theme. I saw the trailing words, but didn't catch the REGEX.
Some favs:
17A GEENA DAVIS. What's not to like. Loved her in Thelma and Louise, which also helped to make Brad Pitt. I bet she did too.
58A OPERA DIVAS. The "Diva de Jour" is Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen, who follows in a long line of great Scandinavian sopranos dating back to Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson. Here she is singing Edvard Grieg's "Ein Traum", "A Dream", which many would say describes her voice.
1D CRECHE. Greccio, Italy was the town where the first manger scene was set up by none other than Dash and Ray - O's fellow countryman St. Francis of Assisi.
7D NOVA. Today's Spanish lesson. This car didn't do too well in South America for some reason, perhaps because "NO VA" means "DOESN'T GO" South of the border.
26D EEO. Thanks -T I did miss the memo. Now I don't have to wait for perps anymore.
49D VAST. Or ... a SOAP.
Cheers,
Bill
When I see "Julian Lim" I think of my high school Math Team mate "Julia Lin" who was a beautiful young woman and athlete. Somewhere I have photos.
Hand up that area with RIAN/SOAP/TONY seemed a bit unfair. Likewise with crosses of RAFA/IAN and ARAMIS/INSIDE MAN. FIR and got the D-V-S theme.
Here I am at the CRECHE at the Santa Barbara Mission with the MAGI looking at the baby Jesus.
In my photo here from 2004, the CRECHE included real live animals! Fenced off from the MAGI.
Husker @9:11 AM I'll see your 150 and raise you 150. My lovely bride has dozens of them outside in timer-controlled lanterns, with flickering flames (I still don't know how they do that). She even gave one of our Granddaughters an eCandle that actually comes with a remote for changing the colors!
Puzzling thoughts:
First off, TONY, your recap was perfect! You take to this like a duck to water
Second, Julian Lim gave us a rather easy Wednesday puzzle for a change. For me, anyway. I finished it in below-average time (on my laptop using Across Lite version)
I know I probably had a couple w/o's but since I can't see them on the computer screen, I don't honestly know where they were
Lucina, thanks for the info on Stan Lee; I was unaware that he lived in the greater Phoenix area prior to his death. He would sometimes show up on an episode of The Big Bang Theory, and his "TV" house was somewhere nearby Los Angeles. And BTW, Ahwatukee is not as far away from Scottsdale as you describe! Maybe half an hour, tops. And yes, the rain is a welcome sight today though I wish it was not going to be so cold over the next week ...
From Yesterday:
Lucina, LEO III, PK Thank you for your comments on my SNOW LEOPARD video.
Yes, it is indeed amusing that an animal used to high elevations and snow is housed here at sea level in a place that has no snow! But every year around Christmas they do a SNOW LEOPARD Festival that includes plenty of imported snow and fun for all.
Here are my photos and videos of our SNOW LEOPARD Festival in 2017.
The one in my video yesterday is indeed a female named "Kisa", which means "Kitty" in Russian. Not many SNOW LEOPARDS left in Russia.
I am not sure exactly what she was eating. In the wild, they prefer wild sheep and goats. It is possible she was being fed a piece of sheep or goat. But it also might have been beef. Perhaps PK or another animal expert could tell.
HATS off to Julian for a fun puzzle and to TONY for his witty write-up!
Hand up for SOuP/RIuN for a FIW.
I did not catch the ABE V. & FISH pairing but I like it! Another FAV: Stop and go
It seems like several months ago there was a Sunday (?) puzzle where all the themers were DVS = DEVIOUS style solves. Does anyone else feel that deja vu?
Thank you, Julian, and thank you, Dash T.
Great write up Dash T ! You do you, bro ! You were also getting some compliments yesterday :-) I tried to fool them, I did :-)
Aced this midweek test. Did not think of SOuP. SOAP came to mind first. Probably from solving crosswords at other sites. Thinking about it after reading all the comments, it was a great misdirection clue by Julian or Patti.
I still needed to guess at the intersection of RIA- and TO-Y. Could have been TObY or even TOrY, but TONY seemed most likely. For the win !
Didn't know the film references for GEENA DAVIS and Denzel Washington. Knew both Abes. I think I was 11 or 12 when I read a book about Abe Saperstein and the Harlem Globetrotters.
DUMPSTER DIVES - There was a filler story on the morning news the other day about a woman that dug items like empty Apple product boxes out of the dumpster behind an Apple store, and then selling the stuff online. She even found some brand new cables and other stuff. I'd never heard the moniker freegans before today.
Bill of Cohoes, funny take on DIVAS and light bulbs. BTW, actress EVA Longoria and MLB baseball player EVAN Longoria are sister and brother.
Is EDAM made up, or is it made backwards ? :-) I guess it depends if it's in a down answer or an across answer.
FLN, PK and Waseeley, just move your cursor over the images in yesterday's review to find the easter eggs. Try positioning it over the grid. Bill, yes, I blogged here, 2018 to 2020.
DVS
I found it! Friday, May 6, 2022 by Christina Iverson. Blogged by Lemonade.
That puzzle had TDS, NVS, DVS, and ODS.
I remember liking that one.
Hi All!
Finally! back from SPI. What a great time with all five of us kids hanging-out with Pop. First time in 9 years all Pop's kids (with entire families in tow) were together.
I say Finally! 'cuz we missed our connection in Dallas and rented a car (one-way rentals are NOT cheap) to drive to Houston. Then we had to go to IAH to get our bags, check into the hotel, meet the plumber this morning at 8am (to turn the water back on and check that pipes didn't burst while we were gone (sprinkler valve was only damage)), and get the car back to IAH. Lyft just dropped me off and I can now catch up with The Corner.
// I did puzzle everyday but, usually around 11am, stopped reading The Corner as the day picked-up.
PK - Sorry you had a bad fall. No fun around the holidays. Better now?
FLN - I got all the Easter Eggs, TTP. Great "prank" at the expo's top. I also see that some Cornerites still confuse us (gotta be the T in our monikers and propensity for music). Cute today with made-UP for EDAM.
Today's expo is all me and every error is mine. I wrote the expo b/f heading to IL and, with all the festivities, didn't have time for to get error-correction-codes from TTP.
D-O, all the 'creative spelling' is dyslexia w/o sufficient-context spell-check :-)
Ray-O: Thanks for catching 'depravation' with humor. I'll just let it stand now - me in all my (ugly) glory...
Pisans - how's this for an Italian Christmas?
We got in Thursday: mostaccioli & meatballs for 13; Friday: spaghetti dinner for 22; Saturday (Christmas Eve): Lasagna & penne alfredo at Sis's house for 25; Christmas: Prime Rib (for 19); Boxing Day: pizza (for everyone who showed up - 28(?)).
I won't need pasta again until Sunday ;-)
Lightbulb jokes? Here's my favorite:
How many EEs does it take to change a lightbulb?
Only one but s/he has to do it in the frequency-domain.*
Cheers, -T
*A classmate of ours came up with this. The guy was brilliant smart. He'd do things like: look up, check the equations on the board, correct the prof with "shouldn't that be a negative?" three equations back, and then! go back to programming Mary Had A Little Lamb on his HP 48s calculator as the rest of us were scrambling to fix our notes.
Thank you, Anonymous T for bringing us Mr. Lim's PZL today.
I was also stuck between SOUP and SOAP as "Afternoon fare." Personally, I prefer SOUP, so it is a matter of reading the constructor's mind. (And also of knowing who brings us the "Knives Out" brand.)
I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of Glass Onion.
I tuned out as the plot explanations piled up, layer on layer. I know that's supposed to be part of the fun, but not for me.
Now that we control everything with in-home streaming, I find I spend too much time pausing, rewinding, and re-playing bits, just to be sure I have things right.
Part of the problem, I know, is age. The older I get, the more my brain receptors slow down.
Intellect, like muscles, can experience fatigue. Nothing to be done.
~ OMK
___________
DR: Three diagonals, on the far side.
The central diag gives us the anagram (12 of 15) for a term of affection used by the patriarch when addressing the "Mama" of the home invaded by Goldilocks.
He sometimes calls her "My Sweet ...
"BEAR PATOOTIE"!
Anon-T: what a memorable trip. And you managed to entertain us after all your travails during your travels. Enjoy today’s 78 degree temps.
Hi Y'all! Another psychological stressor from the always DEVIOUS Dr. Lim. Like Lucina, I always cringe seeing his name. I wonder if he does puzzles and uses our comments for his psych studies? This one was easier than some of his work, but still difficult. I got the theme but it took a long mull-over.
Thank you, TONY, for always adding some fun to the game.
Two of my great-nephews were married in small immediate family ceremonies this month. Both of the brides, as well as the grooms, wore black clothing. Is this a new trend? What is the psychological statement of brides wearing black? One couple was married in the snow on a Colorado mountain with no coats. Brrr! I only saw the pictures. Wasn't invited to either wedding. Hardly know the boys who live in other cities.
I liked Tony's write-up and I liked the DEE-VEE-ESS theme. I thought LAWNS, HEAD, and HATS were well clued. Noted a plethora of plurals: LAWNS, VERBS, ABES, AAS, LADDS, DOSES, ESQS, and OWS. Of course, the themers DUMPSTER DIVES, HAWKS AND DOVES, and OPERA DIVAS had to be plural to make the theme work. Hand up for getting entangled in the RIAN/TONY/SOAP area.
Good wishes to you all.
I just got this from Julian about the RIA_/TO_Y corner:
Hi Gary,
Patti edited that SW corner (without my knowledge actuallly) -- my original version had TRIB/LADS/DROP/RELY for the acrosses.
Happy New Year to you as well!
Best,
Julian
and then
Now that I'm looking more closely at itl, I realize that what she did was get rid of the cheater squares in the NE and SW and redo those corners. The NE changed slightly from my version as well.
He said editors can change grids, fills and cluing as they see fit.
Back home to a quiet house and got around to the puzzle! Much different temps from the single digits and snow with today's highs being in the upper 50s! Had a few relatives caught in the Southwest Airline SNAFU so had to arrange for cars to Fort Worth and Wash. D.C.- crazy!!
My reaction to a Julian Lim's puzzle is similar to Lucina's - excited but expecting a challenge. Probably because most of the ones I have done before are Saturdays. So this was breezed by pretty quickly.
I had just watched "The Glass Onion: A Knives Out Sequel" on Netflix with the fam to get Rian Johnson. Fun movie I would recommend - lots of cameos to try and spot - the most fun was the main detective Benoit Blanc being summoned for the case when he was in the middle of an on-line mystery solving game - the other players on Zoom were either known for playing detectives on TV (eg. Angela Lansbury who played Jessica Fletcher- her last role ) or celebrities who are known for loving to play puzzles and mystery (e.g KAreem Abdul-Jabbar and Stephen Sondheim)
Jinx - your mix-up was understandable - as explained Von Miller made his name as a Denver Bronco - but his name is a mash-up of 2 Olympic skiers: Lindsey Vonn and Bode Miller.
Thanks -T for the write-up - maybe you need a Teri for proofreading :)
And thanks to Julian for the puzzle.
Going to watch the Kennedy Center Honors tonight - it happened a few weeks ago - but they are broadcasting it tonight!
Glad to read Julian Lim's straightforward, refreshing explanation of how his original puzzle was altered with out the usual gushing about how incredibly wonderful and awesome the revised puzzle emerged after all the editor changes. 😀
Cheap shot at 7:08. Not unexpected.
Yes, I too had SOUP for lunch, for another one-square FIW! BAH! HUMBUG!! I shan’t laugh.
Despite my lack of knowledge of most things relating to pop culture, I DID know Eva Longoria had been on “Desperate Housewives” (NO, I didn’t watch the show), and that she had been married to Tony Parker back when he played for the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA.
I managed to fill in DEVIOUS before I got all of the long fills, and I blew the pattern, when there was no DEV and a repeat of DIV. Oh, well. Whatever….
Thanks, Julian. I always enjoy your puzzles.
Nice expo, Tony.
HG - Thanks for reaching out to Dr. Lim for some inside-baseball. Funny (peculiar) you linked Challenger disaster the day b/f I mentioned STS-25 with only one reel in the vault. //Folks, we do talk out-of-band but this wasn't planned.
Jayce - I should have used that: DEE-VEE-ESS; makes it more phonetic that just D-V-S. You get a cookie and a gold-star.
Picard - Great (as always) snaps. Thanks for sharing.
PK - inre: what's with Black? In SPI, there are a number of homes painted black (for energy conservation, I'm told). I LIU and less than 0.05% energy-savings (IIRC) and uggg-ly.
But it does make me think of The Stones.
Are the dresses saving power? Just to contrast in the photos with the snow?
Tante Nique - I txt'd my family group-chat, "It's nice to take out the trash in humid 68F." They were non-plussed :-)
Waseeley - DW & (fingers-crossed) TTP will certainly do yeoman's-work proofing my last (scheduled) expo so I don't read so much a 'common clave of the land',.. you know moron.
//If Teri is available, it'd save TTP some heart-ache :-)
Cheers, -T
Didn't refresh b/f posting - Nice to see you LeoIII! And I didn't know about the Spurs connection. Thx. -T
TTP @ 1:29 pm
Eva and Evan Longoria are not sister and brother. Eva does have 3 older sisters but no brothers.
Proofreading is one thing, but fact checking is another.
I don't know why I never checked it before, but I was told that Eva and Evan were brother and sister, and that their parents escaped from Cuba to live in Miami where they were born.
Not true at all. She was born in Corpus Christi. He was born near Los Angeles. She is Tejano, and his parents were of Mexican and Ukrainian descent.
I know exactly who told me that brother/sister story. The same joker that's gotten me many times since we were preteens. Of course, I've gotten him back, and will get him back on this one.
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