Theme: Let's find a game to play. Some common games are hidden in the theme fill, with their letters scrambled. The needed letters are in circled squares. Hope you got them.
17 A. Primatologist who is the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees: JANE GOODALL. Dame Jane Morris Goodall DBE; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. She is considered the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, after 60 years studying the social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees. Goodall first went to Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania in 1960, where she witnessed human-like behaviours amongst chimpanzees. Interestingly, I have observed chimp-like behavior in humans.
JENGA is the classic block-stacking, stack-crashing game. How will you stack up against the law of gravity? Stack the wooden blocks in a sturdy tower, then take turns pulling out blocks one by one until the whole stack crashes down. Is your hand steady enough to pull out the last block before the tower collapses?
25. Postimpressionist painter whose work influenced cubism: PAUL CEZANNE. Paul Cézanne [1839 –1906] was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work introduced new modes of representation and influenced avant garde artistic movements of the early 20th century. Cézanne is said to have formed the bridge between late 19th-century Impressionism and the early 20th century's new line of artistic enquiry, Cubism.
CLUE is a board game in which players have to find out who's responsible for murdering Mr. Boddy of Tudor Mansion in his own home. Get the scoop on the mansion's rooms, weapons and guests and start detecting! Was it Plum with the wrench in the library? Or Green with the candlestick in the study? Eliminate information throughout the game in this classic whodunit. The player who correctly accuses Who, What, and Where wins! The Harry Potter version is absolutely brutal.
37. Cartoonist who created Snoopy and Woodstock: CHARLES SCHULZ. Charles Monroe "Sparky" Schulz (1922 – 2000) was an American cartoonist and the creator of the comic strip Peanuts, featuring what are probably his two best-known characters, Charlie Brown and Snoopy. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential cartoonists in history, and cited by many cartoonists as a major influence, including Jim Davis, Murray Ball, Bill Watterson, Matt Groening, and Dav Pilkey.
CHESS is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. The recorded history of chess goes back at least to the emergence of a similar game, chaturanga, in seventh-century India. The rules of chess as we know them today emerged in Europe at the end of the 15th century, with standardization and universal acceptance by the end of the 19th century. Today, chess is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide.
51. Radio personality who declared himself "King of All Media": HOWARD STERN. Howard Allan Stern [b. 1954] is an American radio and television personality, comedian, and author. He is best known for his radio show, The Howard Stern Show, which gained popularity when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from 1986 to 2005. He has broadcast on Sirius XM Radio since 2006. I guess it's a characteristic of modern American Society that one can achieve great riches and notoriety by being an obscene and obnoxious blow hard.
And the unifier: 60. Cause of a major paradigm shift, and an apt description of 17-, 25-, 37-, and 51-Across as well as their sets of circled letters: GAME CHANGER. This is an event, idea, or procedure that affects a significant shift in the current manner of doing or thinking about something. In the clue, "changer" indicates that the letters of the games' names have been mixed up. Notably, all of the people whose names have been used are recognized for their exceptional level of achievement. In face, one might think of them as GAME CHANGERS in their own right. Nice meta to the theme.
Hi gang, JazzBumpa here ready for some fun and games. Would you like to play along? OK. It's your move. Let's go!
Across:
1. Taj __: MAHAL. An immense mausoleum of white marble, built in Agra between 1631 and 1648 by order of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, the Taj Mahal is the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage. Also, Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr. (b. 1942), better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments.6. Provide funding for: ENDOW. Give or bequeath an income or property to a person or institution.
11. Nurse: SIP. As a noun sip means "small drink," like a sip of Coke or a sip of soup. The origin of sip isn't clear, though we know it's related to the Old English supan, "take into the mouth a little at a time."
14. Desert plant used to make tequila: AGAVE. Agave is a genus of monocots native to the hot and arid regions of the Americas and the Caribbean, The genus is primarily known for its succulent and species that typically form large rosettes of strong, fleshy leaves.
15. City near Dayton with a Greek name: XENIA. Xenia is a city in southwestern Ohio and the county seat of Greene County, Ohio, United States. It is 15 miles (24 km) east of Dayton and is part of the Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area, as well as the Miami Valley region. The name comes from the Greek word Xenia (ξενία), which means "hospitality". On April 3, 1974, a deviating tornado rated F5 on the Fujita scale cut a path directly through the middle of the city
16. Alter __: EGO. The second, hidden side of one's own self
19. Take off: RUN. Get moving
20. Natural Thanksgiving decor: GOURD. A fleshy, typically large fruit with a hard skin, some varieties of which are edible.
21. Tire pattern: TREAD. The pattern of raised lines on a tire that prevents a vehicle from sliding on the road:
23. Fresh from the garden: RAW. Literally, uncooked.
29. Fiendish: EVIL. Wicked, bad and nasty.
31. Starter served with a spoon: SOUP. A primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot, that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water.
32. Gift basket fruit: PEAR. Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus Pyrus, in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the same name. Several species of pears are valued for their edible fruit and juices, while others are cultivated as trees.
33. Lavish celebrations: FETES. Traditional public festivals, held outdoors and organised to raise funds for a charity. They typically include entertainment and the sale of goods and refreshments.
35. Rumor, to a rumor mill: GRIST. Grist is the thing about to be milled; in this sense, it is information about to be spread that someone would rather be kept secret
42. Mover's challenge: PIANO. A large, heavy keyboard musical instrument with a wooden case enclosing a soundboard and metal strings, which are struck by hammers when the keys are depressed.
43. Cheering wildly: AROAR. Abounding with noise or laughter.
45. Pinochle kin: SKAT. Skat historically Scat, is a three-player trick-taking card game of the Ace-Ten family, devised around 1810 in Altenburg in the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. It is the national game of Germany
48. Sullen: DOUR. Relentlessly severe, stern, or gloomy in manner or appearance.
50. Alt-rock band Better Than __: EZRA. They formed in 1988 and refuse to reveal the origin of their name.
55. Have a nosh: EAT. Literal
56. Ticked off: IRATE. Angry.
57. Crimson Tide coach Nick: SABAN. Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. [b. 1951] is an American football coach who has been the head football coach at the University of Alabama since 2007. He was head coach at my alma mater, the University of Toledo from December 1989 through 1990, leading the Rockets to a 9-2 season and co-championship of the Mid-American Conference in 1990.
59. Apiece: PER. Related to the price or some characteristic on a single item.
66. Skosh: TAD. Small amount.
67. Farewell that's bid: ADIEU. Adios, amigo.
68. January, in Jalisco: ENERO. Jalisco is a western Mexican state fringing the Pacific Ocean. The state is known for mariachi music and tequila, both of which reportedly originated here. The capital, Guadalajara, is peppered with colonial plazas and landmarks like the neoclassical Teatro Degollado and regal Guadalajara Cathedral, with its twin gold spires. The neighboring Palacio de Gobierno houses murals by Mexican artist José Clemente Orozco.
69. Walk-__: bit parts: ONS. Denoting or having a small nonspeaking part in a play or film.
70. Submit, as a complaint: LODGE. Present a complaint, appeal, claim, etc formally to the proper authorities.
71. Stopwatch button: RESET. To set, adjust, or fix into an original or neutral condition.:
Down:
1. Capt.'s superior: MAJ. MAJOR outranks Captain.
2. Turkish title: AGA. In Muslim countries, especially under the Ottoman Empire, a military commander or official.
3. Spend time around: HANG WITH. Informally socialize with somebody.
4. Small Chevy rebranded as the Sonic: AVEO. Read about it here.
5. Helpful boost: LEG UP. An act of helping someone or something to improve their position.
6. Book after Genesis: EXODUS. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of Yahweh, who has chosen them as his people. The Israelites then journey with the prophet Moses to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh gives the 10 commandments and they enter into a covenant with Yahweh, who promises to make them a "holy nation, and a kingdom of priests" on condition of their faithfulness.
7. Connecticut governor Lamont: NED. Edward Miner Lamont Jr. [b. 1954] is an American businessman and politician serving as the 89th governor of Connecticut. He has served in this position since January 9, 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a Greenwich selectman from 1987 to 1989.
8. Letters from one's folks?: DNA. Deoxyribonucleic acid is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of all known organisms and many viruses. The letters DNA are a short cut.
9. Fryolator need: OIL. This is a kitchen appliance used for deep frying foods in oil.
10. Ballroom dance in 3/4 time: WALTZ. A highly popular ballroom dance evolved from the Ländler in the 18th century. Characterized by a step, slide, and step in 3/4 time, the waltz, with its turning, embracing couples, at first shocked polite society.
11. Peaceful: SERENE. Calm, peaceful, and untroubled; tranquil.
12. Gal·pagos lizard: IGUANA. A large, arboreal, tropical American lizard with a spiny crest along the back and greenish coloration, occasionally kept as a pet.
13. Consider carefully: PONDER. Think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion.
18. Rita featured on Iggy Azalea's "Black Widow": ORA. Rita Sahatçiu Ora born Rita Sahatçiu on 26 November 1990) is a British singer and songwriter. She rose to prominence in February 2012 when she featured on DJ Fresh's single, "Hot Right Now", which reached number one in the UK. Her debut studio album, Ora, released in August 2012, debuted at number one in the United Kingdom.
22. Pure bliss: RAPTURE. A feeling of intense pleasure or joy.
23. Slo-mo reviewer: REF. In sports: a referee.
24. With, on le menu: AVEC. French
26. Finishes an online session: LOGS OUT. Go through the procedures to conclude use of a computer, database, or system.
27. Mongrels: CURS. A dog of no definable type or breed.
28. Bigger than big: EPIC. Extending beyond the usual or ordinary especially in size or scope
30. Eagerly accepted: LEAPT AT.
34. __ Lanka: SRI. Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian peninsula by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait.
36. __ Na Na: SHA. Sha Na Na was an American rock and roll doo-wop cover group. Formed in 1969, but performing a song-and-dance repertoire based on 1950s hit songs, it simultaneously revived and parodied the music and the New York street culture of the 1950s.
38. Actress Diane: LADD. Diane Ladd [b. 1935] is an American actress. She has appeared in over 120 film and television roles. For the 1974 film Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
39. Mireille of "Big Love": ENOS. Mireille Enos [b. 1975] is an American actress. Drawn to acting from a young age, she graduated in performing arts from Brigham Young University, where she was awarded the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship.
40. Cough drops: LOZENGES. Small medicinal tablets, originally in the shape of a rhombus or diamond, taken for sore throats and dissolved in the mouth.
41. Fast fashion clothing chain based in Spain: ZARA. A Spanish multi-national retail clothing chain. It specialises in fast fashion, and sells clothing, accessories, shoes, beauty products and perfumes. The head office is in Arteixo, in A Coruña in Galicia. In 2020 it was launching over twenty new product lines per year.
44. Tattletale: RAT. A person, especially a child, who reveals secrets or informs on others.
45. Mailing label words: SHIP TO. Indicating the recipient.
46. Kimchi cuisine: KOREAN. A traditional Korean side dish of salted and fermented vegetables, such as napa cabbage and Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including gochugaru, spring onions, garlic, ginger, and jeotgal, etc.
47. Ribbons and trophies: AWARDS. Achievement prizes
49. Coast Guard operation: RESCUE. Save someone from a dangerous or distressing situation.
52. Majestic: REGAL. Having or showing impressive beauty or dignity.
53. Stadium cheer: RAH. A cheer of encouragement or approval.
54. Pro hoopster: NBA-ER. A player in the National Basketball Association.
58. Green Gables girl: ANNE. Anne of Green Gables is a 1908 novel by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. Written for all ages, it has been considered a classic children's novel since the mid-20th century.
61. Big commotion: ADO. A state of agitation or fuss, especially about something unimportant.
62. Century beginning: MID. Mid-century is a time approximately in the middle of a century. This meaning defies the surface meaning of the clue. I am not amused.
63. Brain waves mapper, briefly: EEG. An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that measures electrical activity in the brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to the scalp. Brain cells communicate via electrical impulses and are active all the time, even during asleep. This activity shows up as wavy lines on an EEG recording.
64. Bard's before: ERE.
65. Nonsense: ROT. Spoken or written words that have no meaning or make no sense; word salad.
The TAJ MAHAL is a REGAL tomb,
ReplyDeleteWith an EPIC tale of a love in bloom.
It scrapes the sky,
Twenty-four stories high,
Which gives an awful lot of headroom!
An Ohio girl from the town of XENIA
Says to all, "I might have seen ya."
She claimed clairvoyance,
Which was an annoyance.
In fact she was only quoting her gardenia!
I didn’t find this puzzle terribly challenging. I knew all the “game changers” pretty much right away, and by the second one I had a pretty good idea of what the theme was. The other answers were, for the most part, self-evident. So, without further ado, I’ll just say FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteFIW on EZRA/ZARA Natick. I had a Z (ZAzA). How about "Poet Pound" or Bible book for EZRA?
ReplyDeleteThe other game is DARTS
I wasn't familiar with GENJA(or is it JENGA?)
The rest of the pop-cul I knew
WC
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWasn't familiar with JENGA, so the mixed up games were slow to dawn on d-o. Finished in good time, though. TAJ MAHAL was the subject of an Internet death hoax earlier this week. "Capt's superior" could've been ADM. Just sayin'. All of the themer proper names were familiar. It must've taken some time to find well-known names with the name of a game hidden between them. I'm impressed, Susan. Jzb, your esoterica was showing this morning.
FIR, despite several proper names I'd never heard of. The crossing of Zara and Ezra stumped me for a while but got er done in the end.
ReplyDeleteTook 4:55 today to get this Uno, with little Risk.
ReplyDeleteOh joy, circles! Doesn't make me happy.
Seemed like a lot of 3-letter words, which won't make the sage Ms. Irish Miss happy either.
At least SubG FIR....
I didn't know today's actresses (Enos) or her show/movie, and I originally put Lane instead of Ladd. I also didn't know the governor.
Despite having been to Xenia a few times, I resisted putting that in because I thought that was too obscure.
Top-left started out unsightly with maj, aga, aveo, and spread to avec.
FIR, but erased shultz for SCHULZ, stair for PIANO, royal for REGAL, and SABeN. I knew JENGA, but not how to spell it. I had the same Natick as KS, and also guessed right.
ReplyDeleteInteresting that a BYU grad was in the Mormon sitcom/drama Big Love. I enjoyed the series, especially Jeanne Triplehorn as the "boss wife." On further review, IMDB says her dad was a Mormon missionary to France, where he met her mom.
Jimmy Buffett's ballad Nautical Wheelers talks about sailbboat life, lived a little slower than most.
"So won't you dream on compadres, seems nothing affects you
Nothin', no reason, no rhyme
That's 'cause everyone here is just more than contented
To be livin' and dyin' in three-quarter time"
I used to love Howard Stern's radio show. He talked current events including politics, but he was nonpartisan. When he installed wife 2.0, her showbiz connections converted him to a dedicated leftest. And that's why radios have tuners. He was, however, one of the best interviewers I've ever heard.
Can anyone forget Blondie's iconic RAPTURE?
Thanks to JzB for the fun.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI’m starting to dislike circles almost as much as SS because their presence greatly reduces the challenge of the solve. I accept the fact that they’re necessary in an early week puzzle and maybe the thinking for today’s inclusion was to temper the difficulty level. Personally, I would prefer having to work a little harder and gain a bigger reward. I liked the theme, the meta themers, and the reveal. I didn’t like the 24 three letter words nor the 3 unnecessary (Ego, Ezra, Ons) fill-in-the blank answers on top of the 3 necessary ones (Taj, Sri, Sha). This trend is becoming more and more prevalent and, to me, more and more annoying. As usual, the unknowns were proper names, Xenia, Ezra, Ned, and Zara, but the perps were fair.
Thanks, Susan, and thanks, JazzB, for the expansive review which took me much longer to read than it took to solve the puzzle. That is a compliment to your ability to entertain, yet educate the reader. My brain cells thank you. 🤗
Have a great day.
A fun puzzle with very informative write up, thank you Susan and JB.
ReplyDeleteThe circles were obvious except for a game I didn’t know, JENGA/genja. Lane/LADD, and Royal/REGAL led to y-ame changer/GAME CHANGER — what? EZRA/ZARA a guess. I always like to see Z’s in puzzles.
In reference to the animal discussion this week, Beth Stern, wife of HOWARD STERN devotes her life to rescuing and caring for abandoned, ill, and malformed cats. They receive medical treatments and sometimes surgeries. She finds homes for them when they have recovered. Over 2,000 cats and kittens have been placed with welcoming individuals or families. She also was instrumental in establishing a no-kill shelter for cats.
Happy day, all!
Thanks, Susan, for a smooth puzzle today, that I could FIR and enjoy the fun theme. When I saw ULCE, I changed it to CLUE and wondered if we had a crossword puzzle theme. No, it was GAMEs instead. I have played JENGA (fun for all ages) with family during reunions. And I've seen pictures of FETES where a large JENGA game could be played by intrepid players. I wonder how heavy the pieces are.
ReplyDeleteThanks JazzB for your succinct review. I enjoyed learning new things from it. I didn't even notice you'd left off DARTS until WC pointed it out. My WOs were mostly spelling mishaps but I also entered ole/RAH and sOT/ROT before reading the perps. I got lucky with the EZRA ZARA crossing. The R seemed most likely. Have we had ZARA before?
FLN: Bill G, it's nice to see you posting more often. I'd missed your sign off "Mind how you go."
OwenKL, keep up posting your poems to start our days. Thanks!
Anon@7:46AM, I noticed your GAME attitude and smiled. I guess Rummikub and Scrabble were too hard to work in. I'm just saying....
Have a good day, everyone!
Hola!
ReplyDeleteDNA, "letters from one's folks" was my favorite clue today. Thank you, Susan Gelfand and thank you, Jazzbumpa. I agree with the assessment from Irish Miss on your ability to entertain, yet educate.
Anytime I see IGUANA I'm immediately reminded of seeing iguanas on top of trees in Costa Rica. It was a remarkable sight. They seemed top heavy for the trees but they hung in there, literally.
LOZENGES are something I'm in constant need of in this dry weather to soothe my palate.
HOWARD STERN may be the "King of all media" but I've never listened to him, only know him by reputation.
Thank you, Susan, for ENERO. At the suggestion and prompt from my daughter, I'm writing a memoir for her and it has brought forward so many memories I thought were long buried.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Well played, ATLGranny. Well played, indeed.
ReplyDeleteMs. Irish Miss, there's plenty of room on the anti-circle bandwagon. Our temporary name is: Circles Are Now Destroying Your Life And Need Discontinuation.
Or, for short, CANDYLAND.
-Anon@7:46
Thanks Susan for the FIR and thanks JzB for your expansive and informative review.
ReplyDeleteUnscrambled all the games except JENGA - it was in there somewhere, but I couldn't dredge it up.
Fav:
50A EZRA. I've never heard of the band, but EZRA was an important prophet in the Hebrew Bible who helped the Jews re-establish Judaism after the end of the Babylonian Captivity, and is also thought to have compiled the OT books that had been completed up to that time.
A not so fav:
41D ZARA. This article suggests that it's time to slow it down.
Cheers,
Bill
Musings
ReplyDelete- The themers stood out and I only needed to see how Susan would phrase the reveal
-Computers and projectors were GAME CHANGERS in my career
-ALTER EGO – Some parents are amazed when I tell them what a great kid their child is in school
-A wonderful movie scene about tire TREADS
-Part of the proceedings at Downton Abbey was planning FETES
-PIANOS taken on the Oregon Trail rarely made it across the mountains
-WALK-ONS are also called spear carriers or villagers
-NFL games have an average of 11 minutes of live action (each play averages 4 seconds) and 17 minutes of replays
-Bill Maher has taken over the role of finding fault and humor on both sides of the aisle
Fairly fast Wednesday. Unscramble the CLUE games. I don't mind circles, a welcomed help to feeble minds like mine but still took me a few to get the clues processed through my thick GOURD.(BTW..The term "paradigm shift" is over used IMHO)
ReplyDeleteI think of a "mongrel" as simply a mixed breed. (people pay premiums for "mongrel" canines these days) but a CUR, an EVIL person.
Prey is RAPTURE to a raptor 🦖
AROAR? ...learned about JENGA from a previous puzzle.
Had LOGSoff for too long which wouldn't work with HOWARD STERN. (I'm a SIRIUS FM listener/fan, but his, let us say Irreverent show is not for everyone. Both his serious and comic interviews are spot on.)
Liked ADO intersecting ADIEU. But how can a "century" start in the MIDdle? 😄
They may have ears.....WALTZ
Aid to play a guitar...EPIC
Provide funding for a future bride...DOUR
Accomplishments...FÊTES
From Yesterday... Stanley Tucci fans may enjoy "Inside Man" (Netflex) with David Tennant. Also just finished the last episode of "Night Agent" excellent.
Smooth puzzle this morning and FIR pretty quickly. Enjoyed reading JzB’s informative recap. Not knowing JENGA, as I continued I forgot to look for the games hidden in the theme answers.
ReplyDeleteThe last to fill was the crossing of EZRA and ZARA.
3 Zs and 1 X look exceptional in a single weekly CW.
Jane Goodall has had an extraordinary life and career and she persevered in her research in spite of the scientific community’s criticism of her lack of “proper” educational credentials early on.
I understood the clue for MIDcentury to be a description of the word itself, MID starting the word century, nothing to do with the years it spans. Is that a Meta clue? We sometimes have them and they are tricky for me when they describe spelling elements like double letters, etc. I can't think of another example right now.
ReplyDeleteFLN,
ReplyDeleteChairman Moe, I won't go back to my car dealer for the free lifetime oil changes, because I know what a bunch of lying, cheating *ast*rds the are. Fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice...(no, not again...)
When I saw all the "Z"s and then a "J", I thought, could this be a pangram? But alas I do not see a Y.
A couple of tricky name crossing Naticks, but very doable if you a low down cheatin' car dealer...
Jzb, you outdid yourself with all the splainin'
I don't know why YouTube is suddenly recommending I watch old Laurel & Hardy shows, but it's not half bad.
Hmm, I just went to get you a clip of "the piano movers" to show why piano moving is a challenge, when YouTube showed me a clip I had never seen before: wait, was that a monkey?
I don't understand why all the negativity about circles in a crossword? I enjoy them as much as any other crossword gimmick. I'm starting to think you guys are not drinking enough beer. (Or champagne, or soda pop. Whatever)
I just think of them as tiny bubbles!
Never played Jenga, that was a tough suss... and I don't think I ever completed a game of Clue either for that matter... which reminds me about the reveal,, ok i get jumbled games, but three Al said something about the entire themers that has me head scratching. Am I digging too deep?
I went looking for silly theme links, but I am afraid they might be just too political...
So I decided to come up with my own games...
(Hmm, had to go with the above, the links to the pic of a guy driving the ball and the shooting it, and then saying, "oops, another birdie..." were just not working.)
Good Morning! Whew! Two places almost got me to a DNF, but I prevailed.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan, for the challenge.
DNK XENIA but when I changed E -> A in GOODALL I saw the DNA.
The other was mutt -> CURS.
ESP & WAG: EZRA crossing ZARA.
I know of JENGA, but not by its name.
Thanks, JazzB for your recap, a wealth of information and shared opinion!! 😉
"Three Al".???
ReplyDelete(Methinks autocorrect has blown a gasket!)
I type "the reveal."
Dave, the four theme answers are the names of famous people. Each of the four can be considered "game changers" in their respective fields. See JzB's comments about each of them in the review.
ReplyDeleteAn appropriately Wednesday CW, with good fun clues. As others said, the EZRA/ZARA cross required a guess, and “R” looked most likely. The “games” theme was especially good because it had different kinds of games: Jenga, darts and board games. Thanx SG. JzB you went over-the-top with this write-up, with all the time and effort it took: thanx, is it appreciated.
ReplyDeleteCED, I share your opinion on circles. If ya don't like 'em, just ignore them!
ReplyDeleteNo issues on this one except for a few examples of odd clues. Perps gave up the obscure A&E folks, and a lucky WAG at the EZRA/ZARA Natick brought home the FIR. Just finished re-reading "In the Wet" by Nevil Shute. I'd forgotten how good a storyteller he was. Next up: "No Highway" and then "On the Beach".
ReplyDeleteSS @ 8:21 ~ Candyland is very clever and may join Thumper as a euphemistic negative opinion descriptive!
ReplyDeleteHG @ 9:14 ~ I knew what that video was going to be and I wasn’t disappointed. What a great movie that was, thanks to Marisa Tomei, Fred Gwynne, and the inimitable Joe Pesci.
RayO @ 9:31 ~ I saw Inside Man and was impressed, as always, with Stanley Tucci’s versatile talents. I also enjoyed David Tennant whom I first came to know from the British series, Broadchurch and its American remake, Gracepoint. Per your recommendation, I’ll check out Night Agent.
Hand up JENGA unknown. I FIR, but don't feel fully satisfied because I could not descramble that GAME.
ReplyDeleteHand up EZ?A/ZA?A utterly, totally unfair Natick cross. As Wilbur Charles and others noted, a Z makes just as much sense as an R. Just got lucky.
Here I had the privilege of meeting JANE GOODALL.
She was recovering from some problem with her eyes, hence the dark glasses covering her beautiful face. She is one of my great heroes since I was a child. She was supposed to come back here in 2021, but COVID made it be a Zoom talk.
From Yesterday:
ReplyDeleteJayce Actually, KELVIN is a unit. We say degrees Celsius or Fahrenheit. But we just say KELVINS. No degrees there.
AnonT Sorry to hear of your BIKE accident. Good you were wearing a HELMET. Riding a bicycle actually has negative risk per unit time. The health benefit from biking is bigger than the injury risk. More biking statistically extends both life span and health span.
Did anyone look at my photo of the beautiful young woman with the snake in the MESCAL bottle? It is one of my favorite photos I have ever taken. But maybe it is just me.
How do you type a long drawn out "oh" sound...
ReplyDeleteThank you TTP,
(Boy, do I feel stupid...)
I couldn't understand why I was so dense. So I went back and reread Jzb. I don't remember reading the reveal, reveal at all?!?!
I must have gotten distracted by something, went back and continued reading from further down Blog without realizing it.
Either that, or I am totally losing it...
Hmm,
And to think that I do these xwords to try and keep my mind sharp.
Oh well,
testing
The above test was me testing why the earlier link was giving me trouble.
Looks like it was licensed, and I am shocked at how much they want to use a copy of it!
Was there a reason darts wasn't mentioned in the review or was it just an oversight?
ReplyDeleteFun Wednesday puzzle, many thanks, Susan. And always enjoy your commentary and pictures, JazzB., thanks for those too.
ReplyDeleteWell, this puzzle was certainly a GAME CHANGER in many ways, and should be ENDOWed with some EPIC AWARDS. But it's important to keep our EGOs SERENE, and just take a LOZENGER or two and relax and HANG out WITH friends to PONDER the various challenges. In the end it was the music that gave us the most RAPTURE, the PIANO playing a lovely WALTZ, making us AROAR with joy. Now it's time to EAT some KOREAN SOUP with some RAW fruit, and then LODGE down for an EXODUS nap--so ADIEU, everybody.
And have a good rest of the week.
I liked the puzzle. I solved it as a themeless. I looked at the filled circles and unscrambled them just before the reveal. The circles can often be ignored or used as needed.
ReplyDeleteE-RA crossing -ARA, only the Z made sense. This morning I read an article about worker exploitation naming ZARA. Perps solved all the other unknowns.
Howard Stern, too crass for me.
I liked MIDcentury. Mid is the beginning syllable of midcentury.
I enjoyed looking for Alfred Hitchcock's walk-ons in his movies. "The majority of Hitchcock's 37 silent cameos were walk-ons."
LOL, Laurel and Hardy piano moving clip is still funny after all this time.
JzB, thanks for the interesting info.
When Alan phoned me last evening I told him to call back later because I was hanging out with my friends. They thought that was funny. Kidspeak?
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Susan and JzB.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time and saw the GAME CHANGER theme. I have played JENGA, which requires a steady hand.
Was SKAT an extra Easter Egg game?
Several inkblots to change Ole to RAH, LEAPT To to AT, LOGS Off to OUT, Irked to IRATE.
Perps were friendly for the usual gratuitous names - even EZRA.
And I agree that the clue for MID was meh!
I counted 24 three-letter answers, which is more than Irish Miss’s allowable number (yes, she noted already).
We have had Skosh here before, but it is not a familiar word in my usage.
IGUANA in the CW, GECKO in the Jumble today.
I noted RAT and ROT.
We also had RAH and AROAR (plus a REF for the game).
Great catch on ADO crossing ADIEU , Ray-o.
An X and three Zeds today but a Q and a Y short of a pangram. (No Q either CED)
Wishing you all a great day.
C-Eh!, Back in the 1970s and 1980s, we in the former Colonies were bombarded with commercials for Levi's For Men, whose catch phrase was "a skosh more room." In these modern, more crass times, Duluth Trading Company markets "Ball Room Jeans." Same concept, but less genteel wording.
ReplyDeleteJinx, my dad (as he then was -- he's been gone for 30+ years) used to claim he was wearing his dancing pants, because they had ballroom.
ReplyDeleteDO, great memory. My dad was a wag too, but I don't remember any junk jokes.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed solving Susan's puzzle and reading JzB's interesting & humorous tour!
ReplyDeleteI used to bring out my Jenga game when I lived in Japan and invited locals over to my house. It's a fun game that does not require a lot of verbal communication.
CanadianEh!@1:06. I also picked out SKAT as an Easter egg.
FLN: H-Gary. 25 lbs! Wow! Well done ... but I am a tiny bit concerned for you because you had abdominal surgery this past winter. I hope you are OK.
FLN: Lucina. I'm curious how things went at your HOA meeting.
You all have already said what I was going to say about this puzzle. I enjoyed reading all your comments and add my praise and thanks to Jazzb for his excellent write-up.
ReplyDeleteBullet points:
- I also took a guess at the R crossing EZRA and ZARA. Topanga.
- I also loved the clue for DNA and disliked the clue for MID. I also liked the clues for GRIST and ADIEU.
Good wishes to you all.
"On the Beach" by Nevilke Shute is an excellent book. Movie not so much. Facing disaster many folks partied their brains off. Much like knowing Vietnam service was inevitable. Also..
ReplyDeleteI saw "The Crystal Cave" by Mary Stewart at the VA and grabbed it. I think I read once
Laurel and Hardy tried to move a piano up a long flight of stairs in "The Music Box" with a similar result
WC
sumdaze:
ReplyDeleteI apologize as I only now saw your post. Our HOA meeting went well as our Board consists of some congenial women who can discuss matters in a civil manner and usually solve our problems or seek assistance if we can't. One of our members is a bit idealistic as to how much we can accomplish with our limited resources but we are all good listeners/contributors and can come around to a reasonable end by reminding each other of our limitations. Our Community manager is also talented in her ability to redirect the conversation when needed.
Enjoyable puzzle. Hated the clue nurse for sip. It made the north east corner more difficult to solve.
ReplyDelete