39A. Holiday, Hampton, Red Roof?: INN CROWD. In crowd.
60A. Queen, drone, worker?: BEE TEAM. B team.
66A. Pharoah, Chou, Leno?: JAY CREW. J Crew.
87A. First, Second, Third?: BASE TRIO.
103A. Galahad, Lancelot, El Cid?: KNIGHT CLUB. Night club.
3D. ChapStick, Burt's Bees, Lip Smacker?: BALM SQUAD. Bomb squad.
34D. Bering, Coral, Baltic?: SEA SECTION. C section.
50D. King Arthur, Gold Medal, Pillsbury?: FLOUR CHAIN. Flower chain.
73D. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday?: WEEK LINKS. Weak links.
I don't pronounce "balm" and "bomb" the same. How about you? The others are total homophones to me.
Very
inspired theme from Ed. I don't recall such a trio clue approach. The
theme entries are short by nature. There are just not many phrases
starting with J, B and C, then you have to add the second "group" layer.
Very tight.
Across:
6. Profound: DEEP.
10. Golden Arches pork sandwich: MCRIB. Here's the rice noodles
with char siu I had at a Hong Kong-style restaurant last Thursday with
the Eucharistic minister Bill and his wife Margaret, both are still very
involved in my life.
15. Crime novelist Buchanan: EDNA.
19. Lingering evidence: TRACE.
20. One-named singer from Ireland: ENYA.
21. Pimento holder, perhaps: OLIVE.
22. Mireille of "Big Love": ENOS.
.jpg/320px-Mireille_Enos_set_of_The_Killing_March_2012_(cropped).jpg)
23. Big brawl: MELEE.
26. Riveted: RAPT.
27. Wee woolly one: LAMB.
28. Bit of heckling: BOO.
29. Great Plains people: KIOWA. From Wikipedia: "Today, they are
federally recognized as Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma with headquarters
in Carnegie, Oklahoma. As of 2011, there were 12,000 members. The Kiowa
language (Cáuijògà), part of the Tanoan language family, is in danger
of extinction, with only 20 speakers as of 2012. Look at this image. It
has three tones.
30. Asian island capital: TAIPEI. Pei means "north". So it's in the north of Taiwan. Same as the "Bei" in Beijing, also meaning "north".
32. More mad: SORER.
34. Sp. misses: SRTAS.
35. Suez Canal ship: OILER. And 45. Harbor haulers: TUGS.
36. Find not guilty: ACQUIT. Our local Star Tribune covered the Richard Liu case thoroughly. He settled the lawsuit. He's like China's Jeff Bezos.
38. Jeans line: SEAM.
42. Circular: ROUND.
43. Declares: STATES.
46. Evergreen tree: FIR.
47. Fair __ coffee: TRADE.
48. Touch lightly: KISS.
49. Small amphibians: EFTS. So orangey. I wonder how long they live.
51. Number of billiard ball colors: NINE.
52. Down in the dumps: SAD.
53. Cathedral topper: SPIRE.
55. Exclusively: ONLY.
56. Music genre with accordions: POLKA.
57. Voucher: CHIT.
58. Home buyer's option: CONDO.
62. Two-bit: CHEAPO.
64. Continental org.: THE EU.
65. Measure of brainpower: IQ TEST.
67. Aesop's grasshopper, e.g.: IDLER.
68. Some golf trophies: CUPS. The famous Claret Jug.
69. MacDowell of "Four Weddings and a Funeral": ANDIE.
70. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB.
71. Longtime NPR news analyst Roberts: COKIE. Quite a few names here.
73. "I knew it __ you": WAS.
76. With 92-Across, "The Dragons of Eden" writer: CARL. 92. See 76-Across: SAGAN.
77. Actress Merrill: DINA.
78. Elisabeth of "Leaving Las Vegas": SHUE.
79. Put up: ERECT.
81. Prefix with meter: ODO.
84. Make right: REPAIR.
86. Panasonic TV line: VIERA. Learned from doing crosswords.
89. Purple flower: IRIS.
90. Boris who won three Wimbledon championships in the 1980s: BECKER.
91. City on the Seine: PARIS. Also 95. Azadi Tower city: TEHRAN.
94. Boardroom stand: EASEL.
97. Assertive to a fault: PUSHY.
98. Wily: SLY.
99. Michelle, to Barack: WIFE.
102. Cooking show appliance: OVEN.
106. Strength: SINEW.
107. Marshy land: MIRE.
108. Radii neighbors: ULNAE.
109. Dynamic start?: AERO. Aerodynamic.
110. Lower joint: ANKLE.
111. Ran, as dye: BLED.
112. Scholarly article reviewers: PEERS.
113. "Probably shouldn't open this in your cubicle" shorthand: NSFW. Not Safe For Work.
114. Younger siblings, probably: PESTS.
Down:
2. Focus of study: AREA.
4. Frozen over: ICEBOUND. Not a word I use. I've been snowbound a few times this winter.
5. Light shirt: TEE.
6. Interior design: DECOR.
7. Automaker Ferrari: ENZO.
.jpg/800px-Orange_Enzo_Ferrari_(7191948164).jpg)
8. Organ with a lens: EYE.
9. Hoarders: PACK RATS.
10. "Dune" actor Jason: MOMOA.
11. Lobster portions: CLAWS.
12. "Let You Love Me" singer Ora: RITA.
13. "So __ heard": I'VE.
14. Topping: BESTING.
15. More creepy: EERIER.
16. Genetic fingerprints: DNA PROFILES. And 33. Vanpool, e.g.: RIDESHARE. Ed is also a great themeless constructor.
17. "Nothing doing": NOPE.
18. Prosecco kin: ASTI.
25. Blackjack request: HIT ME.
28. Wager: BET.
31. MLB playoff event: ALCS. American League Championship Series. Also 104. Nats' div.: NLE. NL East.
35. Responsibility: ONUS.
36. Liberal __: ARTS.
37. Red Sox manager Alex: CORA.
38. Recipe instruction: STIR.
39. __-bitty: ITTY.
40. Pretend not to notice: WINK AT.
41. __ journal: DREAM. I think our Splynter used to keep one.
43. Bunny slope conveyance: SKI TOW.
44. Mail recipient: SENDEE.
51. Short messages: NOTES.
54. Plumbing part: PIPE.
55. 16 oz.: ONE LB.
56. Personal sources of aggravation: PET PEEVES.
57. Poet Day-Lewis who wrote mysteries as Nicholas Blake: CECIL. Learning moment for me. He's the father of actor Daniel Day-Lewis.
59. Worrywart's lament: OH DEAR.
60. Squabble: BICKER.
61. Prefix with distant: EQUI.
62. Manitoba's country: CANADA.
63. All the Earth's water: HYDROSPHERE.
66. Social reformer Riis: JACOB. Often we get RIIS.
70. Fancy transport: LIMO.
72. French affirmatives: OUIS.
74. Part of a plot, maybe: ACRE.
75. One of Old Glory's 50: STAR.
77. Place of honor: DAIS.
78. Graffiti artist's handful: SPRAY CAN.
80. Fermented beverage in Asian cuisine: RICE WINE. Sake, mirin, etc.
82. Gillette razor: ATRA.
83. "Down the hatch!": DRINK UP.
85. Elite __: March Madness round: EIGHT.
88. Merited: EARNED.
90. __ window: BAY.
92. Baking staple: SUGAR.
93. Campfire remnants: ASHES.
94. Macaroni shape: ELBOW.
95. Many an archaeological site: TOMB. The most famous tomb in China. An hour away from where I grew up.
96. Hardly holy: EVIL.
97. Evergreen tree: PINE.
98. Banzai Pipeline feature: SURF. Hawaii.
100. Sensed: FELT.
101. Woolly ones: EWES.
105. French article: LES.
106. Drain: SAP.
Belated "Happy Birthday" to Bill G! So sorry I missed your birthday. Life has been hectic. Hope you had a great day with your kids and grandkids. This picture was taken ages ago when Bill used to go out daily for his bike ride and coffee.
 | |
| Bill and His Wife Barbara and Grand-kids |
Our Steve Marron sent me this stunning picture yesterday while hiking to the Hollywood Sign. Steve is now with the Universal Pictures.
A very impressive and clever puzzle construction, ten themers in both the across and down positions in a symmetrical grid, and just an X short of a pangram. Managed a FIR in 35:31 with a lot of perp assistance. Those whose PET PEEVE is an abundance of names may not enjoy this one, as there are many, including three stacked upon three in lines 13 and 14, but for the most part sussable. DNK ENOS as clued, thought it was a man’s first name and not a woman’s name as I’m not familiar with Mirielle. Could the S in NSFW also mean suitable? Thank you Ed Sessa for the enjoyable solve this AM, hope you are doing well and Sanibel is recovering from Ian.
ReplyDeleteC.C. ~ nice to see you back, thanks for taking time to do the blog today with all you have going on, my best to you 😊
Like Phil said, this was a very clever and (for the most part) enjoyable puzzle. I must say I almost went wrong at the Natick of “Momoa” and “Kiowa” but managed to pull it out with a WAG. Other than that, I don’t have too much to say about this puzzle. FIR,?so I’m happy.
ReplyDeletePlease ignore the random question mark (?) I somehow threw in there.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteClever theme, but way too many names, IMO. With VI___ in place, d-o went wrong with VIZIO for that TV brand. Easily fixed. Thanx, Dr. Ed and C.C.
FIR, but erased taiwan for TAIPEI, sole for ONLY, itsy for ITTY, ignore for WINK AT, asta for ATRA, and, temporarily, POLKA and NOPE. WAGged the same Natick as Subgenius; guess that makes it a subnatick.
ReplyDeleteI can't figure out why Second and Third were capitalized, while "drone" and "worker" weren't.
I can only think of Jackson Browne as the singer of Stay.
Didn't remember that Dune had been made into a movie. Loved the trilogy.
The Racing Rules of Sailing used to explain obligations using the term "ONUS". The rules were re-written to make them more understandable to newer sailors, and they omitted the term. Before the rewrite, in some circumstances it was OK to try to hit a competitor's boat, and if you were successful, your competitor would be disqualified. Damned spoilsports eliminated that one too.
Thanks to Ed for the fun challenge. Lots of unknown names, but almost all perped out. I also liked the fills that sound like a part of a child's riddle: BECKER/BICKER. And thanks to CC for the fine tour.
DNF..way way too many names for me
ReplyDeleteFIW. Too many proper names for me. And crossing them is a no-no in my book. Momoa and Kiowa as an example, my downfall.
ReplyDeleteExcellent, clever theme. I really liked the play on word answers. But, yes, too many names.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteThe over abundance of names didn’t phase me at all because only three needed perps, Adam and Tehran, as clued, and the unfamiliar Viera. This is a far cry from the usual oodles of obscure, totally unknown people and places that usually inundate Sunday grids. That said, in my book, Ed Sessa can do no wrong, but if he does, he has a lifetime pass from this solver. I loved this theme and found the entire puzzle a very enjoyable Sunday stroll, a rare experience for me as they can be either boring, fill-in-the blanks, or just plain tedious. This was neither, IMO. My favorite themers were Jay Crew, Inn Crowd, and Knight Club. I chuckled at the Becker/Bicker duo and I marveled at the scant 14 three letter words in a Sunday grid. Big CSOs to Parsan at Paris and CEh at Canada.
Thanks, Dr. Ed, for a delightful solve and thanks, CC, for the expo and commentary. That soup dish looks yummy. Glad to hear that Bill and Margaret are watching over you. Learning moment today was that Daniel Day-Lewis’s father was a poet. Daniel is one fine actor. Seeing Enzo Ferrari brought to mind one of my favorite books, The Art of Racing In The Rain, which is narrated by Enzo, a Golden Retriever, named after Ferrari and owned by a race car driver, played by Milo Ventimiglia in the subsequent movie. That book and Marley and Me caused many a tear. 🥲
Happy Birthday, dear Bill G, 🎂🎁🎈🎊🎉 you are greatly missed. Sending warmest thoughts and wishes to you!
Steve, you are greatly missed, also. Thanks for sharing the lovely photo.
FLN
Parsan, you may have missed my message at 4:24.
Have a great day. I believe or deep freeze is over. For now, at least. 🤗
An unusual proper name fest from Dr. Ed today. He usually doesn't have many. But it was an easy romp to FIR. After BALM for BOMB I was expecting puns but it became homophones after that. The only theme unknowns were the JAY CREW, only knew Leno.
ReplyDeleteVIERA televisions? Complete unknowns, along with CECIL, ENOS, ADAM, MOMOA, CORA. I have THREE VIZIO televisions but Viera, she was the TODAY host.
Boris BECKER- sitting in a German prison for tax evasion.
COKIE Roberts- daughter of TWO of my former 2nd district House Members- Hale and Lindy Boggs. Hale was the Democrat Whip and disappeared in a missing plane crash in the 70's, the governor appointed his wife Lindy to take his place, and COKIE died from some type of cancer.
ATRA- does Gillette still make them?
MCRIB- another name for a sliced hot dog.
ADAM Scott- the golfer. I helped him find his errant shot buried in deep rough about 50' from the CUP. He hit a flop shot that landed and stuck about 6" from the cup. Made a birdie.
SPRAY CAN by Graffiti vandals. You want to see a neighborhood go to hell? Let them start ruining property with their 'tags'. Fit real nicely with tattoo parlors and pawn shops.
C.C.- glad to see you are getting out in the world.
ReplyDeleteGood morning.
I don't pronounce balm and bomb the same. Close, but not quite.
I don't know what a flower chain is, unless it's a lei, or something akin to a lei.
ANDIE was in the movie Groundhog Day, filmed in nearby Woodstock, IL. Wookdstock Willie is the woodchuck that saw his shadow there a few days ago. PA's Punxsutawney Phil also predicted 6 more weeks of winter once out of his burrow at Gobbler's Knob. I heard this morning he's wrong 61% of the time. Something like that. But there's an upstart in NY named Staten Island Chuck, who supposedly has been getting it right 80% of the time. He didn't see his shadow, so early spring ? Let's hope so.
Starting at 69A, 6 of 7 consecutive clues were names. Too much ?
So many missed opportunities for even more names. These could have been clued as:
19A Country artist ____ Adkins
21A ___ Oyl
27A "Essays of Elia" author
28A When repeated, last part of "Toddlers and Tiara's" nickname
86A Brevard county master planned community
89A Jodie Foster role in "Taxi Driver"
91A "Confessions of an Heiress" author Hilton
98A Stone or Stallone nickname
5D 1998 NCAAF 1-A Champion QB Martin
36D Carney and Linkletter
75D Early View co-host Jones
92D ____ Ray Leonard
97D Kirk portrayer Pine
105D Herb's best friend at WKRP
ReplyDelete97D should have been Kirk portrayer Chris. Pine was the answer.
Hola!
ReplyDeleteThe one nice thing about Sunday puzzles is that eventually the crosses help to the finish. Today my favorite fill was CZECHMATES. But there are many more that would qualify.
Amazingly I have only a few spots of wite-out. POUND/ONELB, PROF/PEERS, BEETEAM from an unreadable. Otherwise, a fairly clean grid.
I'll take a CSO at HABIT in a different context. Also, CONDO, which is my living space.
BALM SQUAD is good, too. Ed Sessa is a mastermind.
Oops. Time to go.
Have a spectacular Suday, everyone! C.C., thank you and it's good to see you at it.
I remember making daisy chains from said flowers. Maybe that's what Ed was getting at.
ReplyDeleteMy hometown newspaper had a puzzle today titled "Brand Awareness" by Chandi Deitmer
ReplyDeleteSo I will have do today's puzzle on-line. Not sure why I got this one!
Happy birthday BillG and fun pic from Steve!
Irish Miss ☘️, I agree that Ed Sessa can do no wrong. Yes, lots of proper names, but not too difficult to get, even if unknown.
ReplyDeleteThis theme was fun to solve. I too wanted Vizio, but the RICE WINE fixed that.
I too enjoyed The Art of Racing in the Rain.
Nice to see CC at the helm today.
Thanks for confirming my FIR on Ed's puzzle today, C.C. As I worked it, I understood what the theme was about and it helped some as I filled.
ReplyDeleteFor 16 oz. I tried to fit ONE pt for "pint" and I first thought of plot as story line rather than land so ACRE changed from act_. And finally, before ASTI made its way in, I was thinking of SEKT, German sparkling wine. Oh, wrong country! But the puzzle was fun.
Glad to hear how you're doing and to see you doing the review today, C.C. Thanks for updates on Steve M (nice picture) and Bill G (belated Happy Birthday!)
Have a good day, all!
What a great, enjoyable, challenging puzzle . I always know an Ed Sessa puzzle will be tough but fair. I did think there were too many names , but perps came to the rescue. The themers were really clever, my favorites being BEETEAM and KNIGHTCLUB.
ReplyDeleteToday is my birthday, so I consider this puzzle one of my gifts!
Irish Miss, I love The Art of Racing in the Rain too.
Thank you so much, Ed, and thanks to C.C. for the excellent tour. You are in Jack’s and my thoughts.
TTP - I grew up making clover chains- so fun and easy to do with kids. Daisy chains are a little harder to make.
ReplyDeletehttps://gracegritsgarden.com/2014/06/make-clover-bracelet.html
ReplyDeleteinanehiker, thanks for that link. Her last sentence in the first paragraph would include me !
Happy Birthday, Wendybird !
Musings
ReplyDelete-Dr. Sessa’s ten-themer is the Rx for mid-winter blues
-If Patti has been HOARDING obscure names, I thing she emptied them all out today
-I was going to nitpick about C/K for author _ARL but, surprise, SAGAN appeared and all was good!
-EDNA – Passenger on Clark’s roof?
-ACQUIT – OJ was never found to be innocent, just not guilty
-Billiards (not pocket billiards or pool) consists of one red ball and two white ones, thus two colors.
-In WWII, Allied bombers used these SPIRES in Cologne as landmarks for bombing runs but never bombed them.
-My Czech MIL loves Polka music and I’m amazed at how similar it is to Hispanic music which we now hear increasingly in our town
-Tony Caruso and C.C. had the Azadi Tower in their 12/10/22 puzzle
-HBD, Bill and what a fabulous picture, Steve!
A lot of the MexIcan music is German Polish music, just like their beer. It just went across the Rio Grande with the Czechs and Germans that lived in South Texas.
DeleteSunday Lurk say...
ReplyDeleteLovely to see you're still in touch, Steve. Nice pic.
Belated Happy Birthday Bill G. I hope you stop in more oft.
TTP - some pronounce balm & bomb similarly :-) [Life of Brian; FF @1:16]
FLN - Michael: I find it helpful to put on a Monty Pythonesque accent when reading Shakespeare. And, it's meant to be spoken out loud, not dead on a page (DW's $0.02).
Daisy-chain? That's what we did with 10-BaseT to get computers on the network. Who would have thought someone would use real flowers? :-)
Cheers, -T
Thank you Dr. Ed for the collegial Sunday puzzle, the theme of which I prematurely jumped the gun on and ended up with an FIW by one bad letter (see 24A). That said, this puzzle was PACKED with PUNS, lots of clever cluing, and I loved it.
ReplyDeleteThank you C.C. for your analysis of the theme, the second level of which I missed (see 24A). I'm also glad to hear that you are staying in touch with members of Boomer's church. I had some communications with them at around the time of his death and they are very good people.
Favs:
I thought I was on the right track with the first themer:
24A "Dvorak, Masaryk, Havel"? Three CZECH MALES right? But I should have noticed further down the line that the homophonic first word + the second one resulted in a common phrase, e.g. CHECK MATE. If I'd gotten a V8 I'd have known that Ms ORA's first name was RITA, not RILA. Duh!
113 NSFW. Make that "Not SUITABLE For Work". If you want to keep your job SAFE you'd better not let the boss see it.
49A EFT. According to this the "EFT" stage of the NEWT lifecycle can last from 1 to 3 years.
1D HTML. The language generated by the Blogger app used to define the layout of the review pages created by the blogging team.
95D TOMB. Baltimore was fortunate to be visited by a SQUAD of those Terra Cotta soldiers at exhibits in the Walters Art Museum (1997) and also at the nearby Asian Art Museum in Washington D.C. (2013). Among their many other achievements in ceramics this particular one demonstrates that the Chinese are the greatest potters in history.
Cheers,
Bill
-T @12:57 PM. You would do that to your computers Tony? That's really "twisted". 🥴
Hand way up for enjoying Racing in the Rain. It's one of my all time favorites.
ReplyDeleteThe family is coming for dinner today so I won't have much time to read/post until later tonight.
Belated happy birthday Bill G!
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid an ordinary cake just won't do...
I enjoyed the puzzle immensely.
ReplyDeleteUsually on a Sunday, I break it into 3 or 4 mini puzzles. But today went so smoothly it was all acrosses and then the downs, then the suss fest of the white spaces. Could not get the theme until "weeklinks," and I don't know if hydrosphere and dna profile were just unworkable theme spots, or just plain deviousness...
I didn't really notice all the names until the end. One because most of them had reasonable perps, and two, Loeb, Dina, Aesops Grasshopper, and THEEU forced me into having to solve sea section last by the sweat of my brow...
Thank you Ed Sessa.
Jinx!
Are you pulling my leg?
Ramming was part of sailing ship racing at one time?
I tried to look it up, but this was all could find...
TTP @ 10:24 ~ Until I reread your sentence I was all set to inform you that Staten Island isn’t in Upstate New York. Neither is the UPSTART Groundhog, Chuck! 🤣
ReplyDeleteTanya Nique, Wendybird, and Lucina ~ If you haven’t read Marley and Me, non-fiction, I highly recommend it, although you’ll need a box of Kleenex handy. Two other dog-centric novels that I enjoyed were The Curious Incident of The Dog In The Night and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, both rather dark but gripping stories.
ReplyDeleteDash T, they do make balm and bomb sound alike, don't they? No wonder she was confused. Also, now that you mention it, I do remember when dumb terminals were daisy chained on twinax, but that way earlier than 10base-T and even pc computers as workstations.
Bill, the way I remember her name is, "Would you rather have a regular margaRITA OR A special margarita?"
Irish Miss, apparently Staten Island Chuck is younger and is using better, later generation tools than old school Phil and Willie.
I don't know if you heard or not, but in Quebec, the beloved Fred la Marmotte didn't have a prediction this year. They announced his passing to the crowd that had gathered on the 2nd.
I was fortunate to be able to visit the amazing Terra Cotta Warriors Exhibit and Museum in 1985. China was reaching out to scholars and requesting books at that time. Shenzen was a stop on the railway. Everyone wanted to smoke and converse in English. Different times and missed opportunities.
ReplyDeleteI loved this puzzle. Ed Sessa is a master.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of questions. I understand JAY Leno, but how are Pharoah and Chou also Jays? And how are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday WEEKs? They look like days to me. However, I liked the theme overall. Very imaginative.
I escaped the KIOWA/MOMOA Natick by pure luck, because I already had the K from PACKRAT and the W from CLAWS and therefore deduced KIOWA.
I, too, pronounce BALM and BOMB differently, but I understood what Ed was getting at.
I lived in TAIPEI for a coupla years. Back then, in the early 1960's, it was a lot smaller than it is now. I doubt you could see a free street performance of a Chinese opera any more. But you also don't see helmeted federal soldiers policing the streets any more either.
"If it doesn't fit, you must ACQUIT." Remember that? The glove. Good ole Johnny Cochran.
Our first flat-screen LCD TV was a Visio. It died after about 1 year.
Years ago we celebrated my mother's birthday at a fancy Italian restaurant in Carmel-by-the-Sea that was owned by a guy who idolized ENZO Ferrari. Of course he owned a Ferrari, which he parked conspicuously in front of the restaurant. Its license plate was, you guessed it, ENZO.
Happy birthday, Bill G. Good wishes to you all.
FIW with a WAG @ MOMtA/KItWA but now I remember blogging Jason MOMOA as the actor in Aquaman.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your clever puzzle, Ed! I sussed the gimmick early on but that didn't make the themers easy. FAVs: CZECHMATES and KNIGHTCLUB.
Thank you for your write-up, C.C.! I always like it when you teach us things about China.
91A is a CSO to PARsan!
TTP@3:38. Thanks for sharing your Rita Ora memory trick. I need more of those! LMK if you have one for Jason MOMOA. I have a feeling we haven't seen the last of that name.
Happy b-day to Wendybird and Bill G.!!
Sumdaze st 4:42 ~ Thanks for jogging my memory. Yes, Happy Birthday, Wendybird! 🎂🎁🎉🎊🎈
ReplyDeleteNeat Sunday puzzle, many thanks, Ed. And I was so delighted you were our commentator today, C.C. with you helpful explanations and fun remarks. Many thanks for your contribution too!
ReplyDeleteThis puzzle made me a little nervous with its attention to DNA PROFILES and IQ TESTs, a little EERIER than you might expect. I was glad to see a reference to the ARTS, though, and wondered if someone was working on enhancing a DECOR with lovely SPRAY CANS of paint? Maybe the place was actually going to be a NIGHT CLUB with a BASE TRIO maybe giving us a POLKA for some dancing, and the waiters serving us some ASTI or some RICE WINE, and urging us to have some more CUPS and DRINK UP and have another ROUND along with some sweet dessert with SUGAR. I think I might be willing to try it, if I had some PEERS to join me--what do you think?
Have a good week coming up, everybody.
Hi Y'all! Thank you, Dr. Ed, for a challenging, amusing, and doable treat. Took almost an hour, but didn't mind.
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear from you, C.C. Missed you. Think of you often.
Happy Birthday, BillG. Miss you, too. Happy Birthday, Wendybird.
Think Gary was right: betcha that clump of hard names was Ms. Varol's mischief -- not Ed's.
Beautiful puzzle! And I finished it with no errors, yay me!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Doc, Happy Birthday, Bill and WendyBird, and thanks C.C.!
Hi everybody! Thanks for the birthday wishes. Irish Miss, CC, AnonT, Jayce, Jinx, Hiker, ATLGranny, Gary, PK, Kelly, Sumdaze and everybody else, I appreciate your kind words. CrossEyesDave, thanks for the cake. It feels really good to have such thoughtful on-line friends.
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry I haven’t kept in touch on a regular basis. I’ve been a little depressed and lonely occasionally. I appreciate Bonnie (daughter), Jordan (grandson) and Tim (son) coming by from time to time. This weekend, Jordan has been out of commission because of wisdom teeth surgery a couple of days back. I remember my own wisdom teeth episode years ago and I didn’t like it one bit.
I'm glad I'm not at Cornell (Ithaca, NY) these days. Lots of snow and subfreezing temps would make getting up the hill a real unpleasant hike for an 8 am class.
BillG
~ Mind how you go...
Sorry for the belated Birthday wishes, Bill G., and you too, Wendybird!
ReplyDeleteI wish you both a wonderful year ahead!
Two squares which looking back I blame on poor handwriting. I love my ink pen but I get sloppy. So, I was stumped on CE??? but I had CARL (SAGAN) with an e at the end. Never got CECIL
ReplyDeleteAnd…
I left SUR? crossing ?S?W. The last letter (from SPRAY CAN) looked like a W.
So, my usual FIW on Sunday
The avalanche of pop-cul buried me but I worked it out but got discouraged
Hbds to Steve , Bill and Wendy
WC
I get a late start on Sunday as I have to drive down the road for the Sunday TBTimes. Big news is the of St Pete, Rays and County(Pinellas) have elected to build a new stadium
BillG: Good to hear from you. Was afraid you were in a "blue" state. Not easy losing the love of your life. Mine's been gone 26 years. Hang in there friend.
ReplyDeleteBillG:
ReplyDeleteIt's good to hear from you! Believe me I understand your loss and the feelings that go with it. But remember you have friends here who support you.
IrishMiss:
ReplyDeleteYes, I read the Story of Edgar Sawtelle a long time ago for the book club.
My family again delighted me with their visit. The children as they grow up surprise me with their varied interests and how they express themselves more and more. My grandson has a friend whose girlfriend, age 16, is expecting a baby and he regales us with how they are coping with it. Both are also 16 and each one lives with their respective parents.
Lucina, times have certainly changed since our teen years, haven't they. I think acceptance like your grandson's situation is for the better. Healthier in the long run. Secrecy caused a lot of pain.
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ReplyDeleteBill G, Happy Birtday.
sumdaze, unfortunately, I don't have a memory aid for Jason Momoa. :-(
I never knew of Rita Ora until writing a review of a puzzle a few years ago, and that line, or one very similar to it came to mind while reading an article about her. I added in that blog post. One thing is for sure. Writing crossword blog posts will make a person a much better solver.
Very “punny” theme; clever job on it, marred only by the 17 (yep, counted ‘em…17!) proper names and that’s not even adding in the Panasonic TV and Indian tribe😆. Still, a fun one to play, thanks
ReplyDelete====> Darren / L.A.
I too didn't get the pharaoh and chou connection to leno. I did get the answer though. Can someone explain, my head hurts? Great puzzle. Thanks
ReplyDeleteAll three “Jays” are show biz people; Pharaoh is a comedian & actor, Choi’s a musician…and if you don’t know who Jay Leno is — I can’t help ya! 😆
DeleteDarren / L.A.