Blah, Blah, Blah...
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| Alex Explains |
Reveal: 67. "I lost interest" acronym spelled out by the starts of four answers in this puzzle: TL;DR. TOO LONG; DIDN'T READ. //Monday was a spoiler :-(
When writing a long memo, just start off with The TL;DR (Executive Summary) and give 'em the skinny.
The Themers today builds the acronym's meaning (and Monday's 5d):
17. Like an amazing and fortuitous circumstance that can't possibly exist, despite an initial promising appearance [67-Across: Suspiciously awesome]: TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
26. Metaphor for the legal system that implies a criminal cannot hide or escape from that system's vast resources and unparalleled authority [67-Across: Police jurisdiction]: LONG ARM OF THE LAW.
(Do I link Kenny Rogers or Styx's Renegade?)
I went with Kenny - I love the Judge's sentence for Billy
42. Was as successful and enjoyable as early conjecture and predictions suggested it would be [67-Across: Met expectations]: DIDN'T DISAPPOINT.
51. Declaration from a person playing poker in a situation where the opponents think they have it in the bag [67-Across: "I win!"]: READ 'EM AND WEEP.
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| Wait, what? Five Aces? Eat Lead. |
Cute build to the theme for a breezy Wednesday outing. Also note, each Theme fill and [bracketed hint - nice touch] is the TL;DR for the very wordy clues. Thanks Chase, Jeff, & Patti.
Across:
1. Wet dirt: MUD. Clear as my theme explanation, right? :-)4. Biblical saying: PROVERB.
11. Fave pal: BFF. Best Friend Forever.
14. Sushi-grade tuna: AHI.
15. Pen with bright ink: HI-LITER.
16. Hoppy brew: ALE.
17. [see: Theme].
20. Pulsate: THROB.
21. Junior: SON.
Son, I said son.
22. Gave a leg up to: AIDED.
23. Actress Vardalos: NIA. My Big Fat Greek Wedding (even though she's Canadian) actress who came up through Second City (Chicago). Her WikiP.
25. 24/7 cash source: ATM. Automatic Teller Machine machine //from the Redundancy Department of Redundancy.
26. [see: Theme]
35. Unlock, poetically: OPE'.
36. Director Kubrick: STANLEY. [WikiP] Nothing but classic movies under his belt. For my money, I'll see Dr. Strangelove, 2001 - A Space Odyssey, or A Clockwork Orange again.
37. Wall St. debut: IPO. Initial Public Offering.
38. Plot portion: ACRE.
40. Feel bad about: RUE.
41. Successor: HEIR.
42. [see: Theme]
47. Mogul: TYCOON.
48. South Seas wrap: SARONG.
49. WC: LAV. Water Closet - LAVatory.
50. "i" topper: DOT. Dot your i's and cross your t's & zeds.
51.[see: Theme]
58. Game show creator Griffin: MERV. Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune are still on the air.
59. Pesto herb: BASIL. There is nothing better than basil pesto with angel-hair pasta.
Jamie Oliver is too afraid of garlic.
60. Broad valley: DALE. Hi Lucina!
62. Brink: EDGE.
63. Joint above a foot: ANKLE. Most of our joints are - pick one. //Not to be confused with a 13" Cheech MARIN [29d] doobie.
64. Bailiwick: AREA. Wheelhouse.
65. WCs: LOOS. I always love a good callback [see: 49a]. //Bob Newhart's was the best!
66. Stands: RISES.
67. [see: Theme]
Down:
1. Actor Damon: MATT.
2. "Yikes!": UH OH. Pop says UH OH was the first phrase I uttered every time he screwed up. Apparently, I was a little-rat.
3. Designer Christian: DIOR.
4. Fears: PHOBIAS.
5. Kia sedan: RIO.
6. Cutlass sedan, e.g.: OLDS. Nice callback.
7. Corleone patriarch: VITO. Hey! We no discuss business this early.
8. Henry VI's school: ETON.
9. Hoops stat: REB. Rebounds.
10. Whispery in tone: BREATHY. Why don't you go up and see her sometime?
11. Poet: BARD. There was once one upon Avon.
12. Fireplace shaft: FLUE.
13. Farm store bagful: FEED.
18. Large flat bell: GONG. Lynne Griffin (no relation to Merv (that I can find)) co-designed the set for the GONG Show.
19. Proctor's shout: TIME.
Student comes in late to the lecture hall for his final. He picks up a blue-book from the professor's desk and gets to writing his exam. The prof. calls TIME but the tardy student just keeps furiously writing.
I said, "TIME!"
As the prof begins to pack up all the blue-books, the student comes forward with his hastily written essay.
"Sorry, SON [see: 21a]. I called TIME 10 minutes ago and I won't accept your exam."
"Do you know who I am? Or who my father is?," the student asks with airs.
Not to be belittled, the professor responds, "No I don't. And frankly I don't give a damn."
"Good!," exclaims the student as he places his essay in the middle of the pile.
24. Graffiti, e.g.: ART. It's in the eye of the beholder.
25. Dined: ATE.
26. Laundry batch: LOAD.
27. Footnote kin of ibid.: OPCIT. Cit'd earlier.
28. Geeky: NERDY.
29. Cheech of Cheech & Chong: MARIN. "It's me, Dave, man. Open up."
Tommy Chong Explains
30. Obligation: ONUS. I was obliged to link the above video.
31. Canine pests: FLEAS.
32. Occupy, as a bed: LIE IN.
33. Copying: APING.
34. Saint-John's-__: herbal remedy: WORT.
39. Closed-off districts: ENCLAVES.
41. Derided from the stands: HOOTED AT. A step above a Bronx Cheer.
43. Pond critter: TOAD.
44. Option for soap or ice cream: DOVE BAR.
45. Ping-Pong and canoeing needs: PADDLES.
46. Boat's front: PROW.
51. Ctrl+Y action: REDO. For Mac users, it's Command-Shift-Z (which makes sense 'cuz CMD-z == undo)
52. "By that logic ... ": ERGO. Ergo, the professor didn't know who's exam it was.
"Sorry, SON [see: 21a]. I called TIME 10 minutes ago and I won't accept your exam."
"Do you know who I am? Or who my father is?," the student asks with airs.
Not to be belittled, the professor responds, "No I don't. And frankly I don't give a damn."
"Good!," exclaims the student as he places his essay in the middle of the pile.
24. Graffiti, e.g.: ART. It's in the eye of the beholder.
25. Dined: ATE.
26. Laundry batch: LOAD.
27. Footnote kin of ibid.: OPCIT. Cit'd earlier.
28. Geeky: NERDY.
29. Cheech of Cheech & Chong: MARIN. "It's me, Dave, man. Open up."
Tommy Chong Explains
30. Obligation: ONUS. I was obliged to link the above video.
31. Canine pests: FLEAS.
32. Occupy, as a bed: LIE IN.
33. Copying: APING.
34. Saint-John's-__: herbal remedy: WORT.
39. Closed-off districts: ENCLAVES.
41. Derided from the stands: HOOTED AT. A step above a Bronx Cheer.
43. Pond critter: TOAD.
44. Option for soap or ice cream: DOVE BAR.
45. Ping-Pong and canoeing needs: PADDLES.
46. Boat's front: PROW.
51. Ctrl+Y action: REDO. For Mac users, it's Command-Shift-Z (which makes sense 'cuz CMD-z == undo)
52. "By that logic ... ": ERGO. Ergo, the professor didn't know who's exam it was.
//That was the crux of the joke above. Took Pop a second to get it. :-)
53. __-pedi: MANI. Lucina can fill you in.
54. Requests: ASKS.
55. Giza's river: NILE.
56. __ Grey tea: EARL. R.I.P. Abejo.
57. Implored: PLED.
58. Country singer Tillis: MEL.
61. Musician's gift: EAR.
There you have it folks. Here's the TL;DR:
WOs: N/A
ESP: OPE'
Fav: Cheech MARIN. Up in Smoke was one of the first R-Rated films I ever saw (I was 9yrs?) -- I laughed my butt off even though I probably didn't get half the jokes.
A while back, I used TL;DR in this blog's comment section and, IIRC, TTP hadn't seen it before. So, thanks C.C. for picking me to expo this aptly themed grid.
Now, it's up to y'all to comment and don't be TOO LONG that we DON'T READ :-)
Cheers, -T
53. __-pedi: MANI. Lucina can fill you in.
54. Requests: ASKS.
55. Giza's river: NILE.
56. __ Grey tea: EARL. R.I.P. Abejo.
57. Implored: PLED.
58. Country singer Tillis: MEL.
61. Musician's gift: EAR.
There you have it folks. Here's the TL;DR:
WOs: N/A
ESP: OPE'
Fav: Cheech MARIN. Up in Smoke was one of the first R-Rated films I ever saw (I was 9yrs?) -- I laughed my butt off even though I probably didn't get half the jokes.
A while back, I used TL;DR in this blog's comment section and, IIRC, TTP hadn't seen it before. So, thanks C.C. for picking me to expo this aptly themed grid.
Now, it's up to y'all to comment and don't be TOO LONG that we DON'T READ :-)
Cheers, -T
50 comments:
The revealer got me good, since I was going for speed and didn't bother reading those looong clues, instead just inferring the long Acrosses with enough letters in place. This felt (at least to me) like an April Fools joke that couldn't run on April 1st because that's a Saturday this year.
In spite of the length of each of the themed answers, this didn’t strike me as a very difficult crossword, since each of these answers was a well-known part of the vernacular. My favorite ? “Read ‘em and weep” which brought back many fond memories of “friendly” family poker nights with my father and brothers sitting around the dining room table. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Yep, Monday and Wednesday CWs definitely got switched this week. Even the TLDR tells us that. FIR in far under the time it took me Monday. And the long answers today are very common phrases that were easy to WAG. This CW went quickly and was a joy to do. Thanx for the fun, CD&JC. Even the proper names were mostly known, for a change, as opposed to, “Who? Never heard of them!” names. Nice write-up, too, AnonT, thanx.
Good morning!
This one came together quickly. My only stumbling block was "Met expectations" -- d-o wanted ARIAS. Noticed the CSO's to Lucina and Abejo along the way. Is a TOAD really a "Pond critter?" Only in the tadpole stage. You were really shining this morning, Tony. Well done. (I'd add Full Metal Jacket to your Kubrick list.)
FIR. Got the theme half way; saw the first letter but not the whole word. But it still helped with the solve knowing the first letter of the long answers. Nice midweek puzzle.
Oops, d-o forgot to thank Chase and Jeff for this morning's diversion. Thanx. Nice effort.
Took 5:27 today for me to put my cards on the table.
I didn't know the country singer, wanted to spell "hiliter" with "light" instead of "lite," and struggled to parse "reademand". However, in breaking news, I knew today's actress (Nia), but only due to repetition from crosswords.
Ope? I feel like we've given "poetically" too much, um, well, poetic license.
Musings
-TLDR – Brevity is the soul of wit
-THROB – Last week my hygienist told me I have “an angry mouth”. Various meds have me mended.
-Rail car graffiti is amazing
-Command + Y is my Mac REDO with no Shift necessary
-MEL’S stutter and the Beatle’s British accents disappear when they are singing
-We’re off to Omaha. One of us is going to shop while the other hits balls at Top Golf.
Good morning on this cool Wed. It seems that acronyms are now entering the XWRD lexicon. TME, BFF, OTOH, IMHO, TTFN, TTYL and now we are seeing TLDR. Congress and every form of gov. already has too many. Jeff & Chase's puzzle's toughest fill was 67A-TLDR. I filled it today almost exclusively using the down clues as the sayings were obvious after a few perps were in place.
What else would finish TOO GOOD TO BE___, LONG ARM OF___, OR READ EM AND___. My only change was FROG & LOO to TOAD & LAV. Multiple LOOS came later at 65A.
VANDALISM was too long for 24D so I had to ART. You know it's time to move when your neighborhood gets a pawn shop, tattoo parlor, payday loan business, and gangs start tagging with graffiti.
So I'll say goodbye with, and acronym A_ _, UH OH, C.C. might kick me off if I use that one.
unclefred, I totally agree with your whole post.
Only Marin was new to me,
I missed the TDLR initials in the theme answers. I looked for them for only a few seconds.
The Bob Newhart shows and everything else he did were great IMO. I liked the inn keeper show the best.
HG, I have been surprised how well those people sang. The character, Gomer Pyle in Andy Griffith, dropped his country boy accent when he sang. Jim Nabors, the actor who portrayed Gomer, was an accomplished singer.
I was surprised when Palin dropped her folksy accent in certain venues. Code switching.
I have read that many people who stutter do not stutter when they sing.
Yes, toads are terrestrial, but they become pond creatures at mating/egg laying times.
All toads are frogs, but not all frogs are toads.
I loved the long answers--esp. since I knew them all!
When I started the puzzle and got the first 3 letters (TOO) I immediately thought:
Too Much Of A Good Thing. (Hey, Too and Good were right!)
So then I conjured up alternatives for the other answers:
2. You Can Run But You Can't Hide
3. A Pleasant Surprise
4. Dem's Da Breaks --or-- Come To Papa
A fun Wednesday! Thanks!
Good Morning:
This was a fresh and timely theme, considering the recent explanation of TL:DR on the Corner, and its frequent usage in the land of texts and pop culture. It took me a minute or two to realize the long and short relationship of each clue to the revealer, but that feature, plus the Too Long Didn’t Read sequence spelled out, added extra oomph to the whole solve. I, too, had Loo before Lav and was tickled when Loos showed up later. No other w/os or stumbling blocks, ergo, a smooth and easy solve. I noticed the CSO to Lucina at Dale and Mani.
Thanks, Chase and Jeff, for a fun Wednesday challenge and thanks, Tony, for the fun expo. My only exposure to Cheech Marin was his role in Judging Amy as a love interest for Tyne Daly’s character. From what I’ve heard about Cheech and Chong’s escapades, Marin’s portrayal of a hard-working, genteel landscaper was quite out of character. Coincidentally, Nia Vardalos just appeared in a recent Law and Order:SUV episode as a not-so like-able defense attorney.
Have a great day.
Kudos to often maligned Patti for this TLDR puzzle that ties in with the previous one this week. I think that is a clever connection. I’ve learned something new and enjoyed all the comments about TLDR. This puzzle was easy but logical, different, and fun. Isn’t that what a puzzle should be (except for not always wanting the easy part)?
The long answers all made sense and filled in quickly. Many MANI-pedi salons, often staffed with Asians, shut down because of Covid and the lack of business.
Cross-EyedDave - from yesterday. How about “ Take out with Gefilte Fish = Jewish deli?”
IM -Lots of 3 letter words today.
AT - SON - “Best of Egghead—-“ love that cartoon!
A sunny day here! Happy day, all.
When I saw Jeff Chen’s name, I knew I was in trouble, but surprise, surprise (as Gomer Pyle would say), the CW was a delicious piece of cake. I knew all the names except NIA; I’ve been a fan of the crazy duo Cheech and Chong for a long time.
Sneaky, giving us LOO and LAV. I think another constructor did that not too long ago.
A-T DIDN’T DISAPPOINT this morning.
Easy peasy themers helped not make this puzzle too long, so I reread it...
Learning moment: call back (as in comedy shows, versus interviews.)
Seinfeld used it Ad neuseum to great comedy effect. For example:
The Close Talker...
The High Talker...
The Low Talker...
Interesting trivia about the low talker, I did not realize that "the low talker" was the reason Seinfeld wore "the puffy shirt" on that TV Show...
Now, you might say that this has gone on far too long, and you would be right. But in the interest of learning new things, next time you have a puzzle you could not finish, instead of DNF, you might type TLDF...
or if this is too long, we might just get a move on...
Today's puzzle DIDN'T DISAPPOINT and I got a FIR after a smooth fill and fun theme. I noticed the unusually long theme clues but needed the reveal to fully appreciate Chase and Jeff's cleverness. Thanks!
Good job with the review, AnonT! Thanks for the extras and personal touches to add to our enjoyment.
Keeping it short, hope you all have a sunny day!
Good Morning! Really enjoyed today's puzzle. Thanks, Chase & Jeff!I sailed through the top, but then ENCLAVES killed my perfect run. Fell for the loo at 49A, but not until I saw LOOS at 65A. Ahhh, LAV.
I noticed a lot of "O's" in today's puzzle. (TOO GOOD, TYCOON, HOOTED, LOOS.)
MATT Damon is one of my favorite actors, from Good Will Hunting, to the Jason Bourne movies.
Ctrl+Y, I'm not a keyboard navigator, I'm a Mouser!! LOL!
Loved the Jamie Oliver clip on pesto. Inspired me to try it again. I'm more a fan of Caprese Salad for my basil.
Thanks Anon-T for your review. Fun memories of Foghorn Leghorn when I was a kid!
TLDR. Maybe I'll remember it now for all the press it's been given here lately. The clue, "I've lost interest" could be applied to some books I've started, though I understand the usage is more for business purposes.
Uh oh, I think I've fallen into Groundhog Day: ANOTHER Monday! FIR, and basically what unclefred said, and I'll also "echo" Parsan. This was just plain fun.
Hola!
Wow! Thank you, Chase and Jeff, for the CSOs! I love it! Even OPE and IPO came close to OPI, the nail polish name. I think everyone knows that MANI is manicure and PEDI is pedicure. I love getting both.
The long fill were really fun! This puzzle DIDN'T DISAPPOINT!
CSO to those of you who live in MARIN County, CA.
RIO is river in Spanish.
I wonder if MERV realized during his lifetime how successful his shows would be.
Excellent job, Tony! Thank you. Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Is it Monday already? Kudos to Patti.
Thanks Chase and Jeff for a fun puzzle and thanks for the Wednesday FIR (which hasn't been a gimme of late). I actually had to go back and read all the DOWN clues/fills as they were filled by the ACROSS clues along the way. In short this puzzle was almost TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
And thank you -T for a great review - you DIDN'T DISAPPOINT!
A few favs ...
1A MUD. Apropos of Lucina and my discussion yesterday about the pottery scene in the film GHOST. As I believe I commented somewhere, clay is all about getting dirty.
4A PROVERB. These days they're called MEMES.
11A BFF. Two of my BFFs are getting CSO's in upcoming reviews.
54A READ EM AND WEEP. What some solvers do after perusing my reviews.
67A TLDR. An interesting co-inki-dink - I posted the following comment as an FLN yesterday "AI giveth, and AI taketh away. My buddy sent me this link apropos of 5D TLDR."
Cheers,
Bill
I just checked my profile. It is gone as well as my avatar and profile views and history on the blog. I have been here a very long time.
FIR, but erased the first Loo for LAV. This was quite an accomplishment for me, since I couldn't quite read the clues for 42 across through 4 down. My printer is running out of toner, and I didn't notice until I was downstairs with coffee and clipboard. Didn't have time to reprint, because I had a contact lens fitting first thing this morning.
The GONG Show had to be the funnest stoopid show ever.
DO, A TOAD is what the RV community calls that car we drag behind.
I stuttered when I was little, and was fascinated to see MEL on TV managing it. He would tap his foot or pat with his hand to create a rhythm, and he could speak OK. By the time I started school I didn't stutter any longer, but many years later, my stepdaughter dated a stutterer. After spending any appreciable time with him, I noticed that I would stutter a bit too. Fortunately (for me), she broke up with him after a couple of years.
I can think of another clue that would have fit right in with today's puzzle: "What Rich Norris will say from his beachside hammock after he reads today's long clues," with the fill being "Did I not teach her anything"
Thanks to -T for another fun read.
My post was censored. I will try posting it in pieces to find out what the stupid algorithm got confused about.
AnonT Thank you for explaining the dimension of the TOO LONG theme that I could not figure out! I was wondering why each clue was written twice, one very LONG, one very short. Duh! Very clever and well constructed!
Big Easy I agree that most GRAFFITI is VANDALISM with little or no ART to it. Just animals marking their territory. I call it "dog p-ss". However, there are notable exceptions.
Here is a video I "borrowed" from an exhibit of a very famous GRAFFITI ARTist.
His ART is so coveted that people actually are delighted when his ART shows up on their property. Some have been able to sell the pieces for a nice profit.
From Yesterday:
Jayce Thank you for the kind words about Merlie's painting of my friend Petr's daughter holding my frog. I, too, am in awe of her photorealism. A lot of hours go into it, as you can imagine.
I meant to mention: There is also a FLAT IRON building in San Francisco. It is in the North Beach Italian area where I often eat. I spent way too much time looking for a photo that I am sure I have taken.
Apparently, this is the part the algorithm censored!
Tommy CHONG was here on March 9 promoting a cannabi$ store. For some reason I did not get a photo of him. I think I forgot my camera. Too bad. CHEECH MARIN was not with him.
Fun Wednesday puzzle, many thanks, Chase and Jeff. And always enjoy your commentary, Anon T, thanks for that too.
Seeing PROVERB made me think this was going to be a very literary puzzle, especially when the BARD showed right up. But except for that OP CIT footnote, there wasn't much else to support the NERDY theme I was hoping for. I would have thought all that bathroom stuff, with LAVs and LOOS, would give us PHOBIAS, and make us RUE our expectations, but even that didn't go very far. Guess I'll keep working on how to fit BASIL and DALE and ANKLE into a similar AREA, but so far, not much luck.
Have a good day, everybody.
Murals are often confused with graffiti. Artist Judy Baca was honored for her mural art and given a National Medal of Honor by Biden at The White House this week.
Well this was fun and fast - I didn't get the second layer of the theme clues until I came here. We all should have TL:DR embedded in our brains now after the tutorial over the last weeks and now this.
I don't look at who is blogging until I get to the bottom- so on Wednesday I'm always reading at the same time deciding in my mind if it is Melissa or JzB . This one I was stumped - no surprise it was AnonT - once I knew it Tony it definitely fit his MO. I hadn't heard the Kenny Rogers song - sweet- very much in the style of "The Gambler" with a story to tell.
NIA Vardalos and crew have "My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3" already filmed and coming out in September 2023.https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/a40396918/everything-we-know-about-my-big-fat-greek-wedding-3/
One of my best friends growing up is 2nd generation Greek on both sides - her wedding to a Kansas Methodist farm boy was so much like that movie - we laughed until we cried when we saw the first one.
Thanks -T and Chase & Jeff for the creative puzzle!
-T. You must have been biting your tongue on Monday!
Great tour today! That KR song was new to me. Good one!
Kudos to Patti and her team for going outside of the XW 'box' and trying something different with the long clues.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR with help from Margaret
I have never tried my hand at constructing a puzzle with a different symmetry. Today's grid pattern allowed the constructors to use the three 15-letter length entries with the one 13
14x15 grids; 16x15 grids; non-rotational symmetrical grids; only thing left for the LA Times puzzles to accept (and be more like the NYT puzzles) is to allow a rebus puzzle
-T, and other said, that must've been weird on Monday! BTW, my favorite Cheech Marin film was his role in Tin Cup
YR 11:06AM I love that avatar. It compresses so much joy and energy in such a small space. Let's hope it can be restored.
I have seen beautiful wall murals along thoroughfares in cities. I believe they are authorized by the owner. Sometimes the city is the owner. These murals are carefully planned. Graffiti is neither authorized nor wanted by the owner. Graffiti artists say they are expressing themselves, but the owners are the ones who should be expressing their character by what is or is not on their wall. Many would choose pristine walls.
Graffiti as opposed to murals are seen as ugly by many viewers.
m
Misty @12:02PM If it helps any DALE is a CSO to Lucina.
Yellowrocks,
You made go check my Bio, it's still there. However I think I need to check my math skills. Apparently I have been on the Blog 11 years, with my 12 year old mind stuck in a 63 year old body. (Hmm, I'm 67 now. Wait, what?)
I guess if your avatar is still showing up, your Bio is untouched. But that is a strange puzzle. More research is in order....
Parsan @ 9:54 said:
Cross-EyedDave - from yesterday. How about “ Take out with Gefilte Fish = Jewish deli?”
Ugh!
You would think a Deli with take out Gefilte Fish would go out of business.
How about Pastrami!
The talk about Graffiti reminded me of a crazy story I heard on the internet.
(Every time I get up in arms about an injustice, DW goes, "did you hear that on the internet??)
( I tell her, "it has to be true, it was posted by Abraham Lincoln!)
Anywho,
Steve Lehto, of Lehto's law, is a Michigan Lawyer that posts a lot of injustices, that quite frankly, get me up in arms. But todays graffiti post has a direct correlation to his (not his, it's public knowledge.) video about town sues donut shop for HS kids Mural (23:00) when it would be perfectly legal with town laws if it was Graffiti...
(You can't make this stuff up...)
Parsan @ 9:54 ~ I counted 18 three letter words today which, I would guess, seems pretty close to, or maybe slightly above, average for a weekday grid. What I consider a glaringly high number is yesterday’s 28 and Monday’s 25. I think I became more cognizant of and focused on the three letter word counts since the Sunday grid that CC once authored that contained the incredibly low number of only 8 (IIRC) three letter words. That remarkable feat made such an impression on me that I, perhaps unfairly, expect fewer short words in every puzzle, which I know is neither possible nor feasible. 😉
CrossEyed Dave - Yes, pastrami! Katz in New York starts selling gefilte fish tomorrow.
Terrific puzzle, Chase, Jeff, and Patti -- great fun.
CrossEyedDave Thank you for that video about the infuriating situation of the New Hampshire town suing the donut shop. He digs deep into just how unjust and insane their "sign law" is. Our town has almost no public art because of such absurd rules.
Regarding my video of GRAFFITI ART, please start viewing at about 3:18 into the video. That is where it gets interesting and you may recognize what is truly interesting ART. We paid big bucks to attend this unauthorized show. I am hoping this "borrowed" video doesn't create any problems.
Yellowrocks,
I tried to research your situation,
But the main return continues to be:
"Are you using the right account?"
I hate to sound like an I.T. Guy, but,
Have you tried signing out, and in again?
Anonymous T shepherds us through this Dittrich/Chen PZL...
And an excellent XWD it is! Each of the theme fills is a fine variation on TLDR. (I did not know what those letters stood for until now!)
I didn't know Henry VI went to ETON. Not much of a credit to the Old School Blue.
He was that wuss of a king, wasn't he?
Probably didn't get many autographs in his senior yearbook.
~ OMK
___________
DR: Today's XWD contains a full complement of diagonals--the most I have seen in the past two years (!)
--a total of SIX, three to each side.
The central diag on the near side (where we always check first) offers an abundance of vowels and just enough consonants to keep things interesting.
Its anagram (12 of 15), the one that leaps out right away, refers to the bravery exhibited by the first prehistorical human to see the Northern Lights and not hide from them! This is the daring soul who either hiked in their direction or steered his primitive raft INTO them.
This was indeed...
"AURAE HEROISM"!
- or -
By selecting other available letters (14 of 15), we may see a reference to the energy emanating from--and surrounding--a noble beast of the forest, the all-covering...
"MOOSEHAIR AURAE"!
(Cue: Sound the moose horn....)
Dick Stuart, 1st baseman for the Red Sox in the 60s was nicknamed Dr Strangeglove
I had READ it AND WEEP even though DiVE BAR made no sense nor tANI(Pedi) FIW
Then again what's wrong with getting a TAN while getting the feet done
Was it Cheech or Chong in That 70s Show?
One of the problems with easy xwords is when hurrying through I don't check perps. fe. I inked SEEDS never checking the BFF clue
WC
I liked this puzzle a lot. It turns out I needn't have quaked in fear at seeing Jeff Chen was one of the constructors. Hand up for entering LOO at 49 across and then reaching 65 across...
Because the clue specifically said "Hoppy" I entered IPA at 16 across. Perps forced it to be just any ole ALE. Perps also forced FROG to become TOAD.
I still like Foghorn Leghorn.
I wonder if RUE McClanahan ever "felt bad about" being named Rue.
Good to read you all.
Picard, when I clicked on your link to your GRAFFIT ARTist video I got the message "Sorry, we couldn’t find that page".
Hi All!
Well, no one can say they never heard of TL;DR before, eh? :-)
Yes, sumdaze, yes - I was biting my tongue all Monday.
RosE - I think TL:DR could be applied to a book that is too long to hold your interest.
Waseeley - LOL AI comic!
YR - what CED said; probably wrong account. Your account is still there.
I also get a 'not found' on your Graffiti video, Picard.
Glad everyone found something to like in the expo!
Have a great eve.
Cheers, -T
Jayce Thanks for letting me know. It may be because it is not publicly listed.
Please copy and paste this link and let me know if this works:
https://vimeo.com/812871640/e01c5775e0
Picard, thanks. That link works.
Jayce Thank you for letting me know it works.
As I noted above regarding my video of GRAFFITI ART, please start viewing at about 3:18 into the video. That is where the ART gets interesting.
I remember the time, I think it was about twenty five or thirty years ago when I was mentoring a young Dash T. He had written an exhaustive paper detailing the looming risks of programmed operators and computer generated responses to natural language input. The title of his paper was "Artificial Intelligence - Friend Or Foe ?" which was, in and of itself, a great lede, but at the time, not quite enough of a hook to draw the reader into the substance of his masterful dissertation. So I suggested that he begin with a TL:DR to grab the reader's attention by summarizing the key points. "Now you know", as Paul Harvey used to say, "the rest of the story"
That's my (revisionist history) story and I'm sticking to it. :>)
Now Playing: waseeley does Dershowitz....
High among our fave movies, Princess Bride offers the one role in which my wife can stand Mandy Potinkin.
I like him in several, but this is the only one she will tolerate. I dunno why.
~ OMK
___________
DR: One diagonal, far side.
Its anagram (12 of 15) Is a call for assistance at the end of a firing squad's action.
Specifically, this is when the unit's captain has examined the targeted subject and, finding him still breathing, calls for his sergeant to bring the small caliber pistol or a dagger with which he can finish the business.
"OY, MISERICORD!"
Whoops!
I can squeeze an extra letter into the anagram above, making it 13 of 15:
"OY, A MISERICORD!"
~ OMK
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