Feathered Follies
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| Tweety |
Today's constructors-cum-ornithologists feather our nest with fill from 5 classic movies, which they have morphed into punny birds with just a single letter change. Kelly Richardson is a fledgling in these parts and Katie Hale has soared through our skies many times as a constructor and assistant editor.
Here is each new hatchling, followed by the original still in its shell ...
16A. Film about a seabird who will stop at nothing for a sandwich?: RAGING GULL. RAGING BULL is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and based on Jake LaMotta's 1970 memoir Raging Bull: My Story. It stars Robert De Niro as Jake LaMotta.
22A. Film about a bird who is constantly mistaken for a common pigeon?: DOVE ACTUALLY. LOVE ACTUALLY is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. It features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous film and television projects. The screenplay delves into different aspects of love as shown through 10 separate stories involving a variety of individuals, many of whom are shown to be interlinked as the plot progresses. There were a lot of trailers for this movie and one wouldn't really tell the story, but I had to stop viewing them after the first 2 because my glasses started fogging up. The first one stars Keira Knightly and Andrew Lincoln ...
The second one stars Colin Firth and Ana Lúcia Pereira Moniz ...
33A. Film about a flocking bird who wants to fly solo?: INDEPENDENCE JAY. INDEPENDENCE DAY is a 1996 American science fiction action film directed by Roland Emmerich and written by Emmerich and Dean Devlin. It stars an ensemble cast that consists of Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum, Mary McDonnell, Judd Hirsch, Margaret Colin, Randy Quaid, Robert Loggia, James Rebhorn, and Harvey Fierstein ...
45A. Film about a prehistoric songbird?: JURASSIC LARK. JURASSIC PARK is a 1993 American science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Richard Attenborough. It is based on the 1990 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton ...
55A. Film about a diving bird who collides with a snorkeler?: LOON STRUCK. MOONSTRUCK is a 1987 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and co-produced by Norman Jewison, starring Cher, Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Olympia Dukakis, and Vincent Gardenia. The film follows Loretta Castorini, a widowed Italian-American woman who falls in love with her fiancé's hot-tempered, estranged younger brother (with a soundtrack by Puccini!) ...
And of course this explanation wouldn't be complete without a coda from my favorite bird (and a CSO to Ray - O) ...
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ...
Across:
1. Purple bloom: LILAC. Here is an Asian Lilac ...
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| Asian Lilac |
10. Digital collectible: Abbr.: NFT. Non Fungible Token. Think of this as a digital contradiction of the old maxim that "Information is the only thing of value that you can give away and still own". If you give away an NFT, you don't own it anymore ...
13. Geek Squad member, for short: IT PRO. Geek Squad is a service of Best Buy. They can also fix refrigerators (different team from the ITO PROS).
15. Foal's mama: MARE.
16. [Theme clue]
18. Track shape: OVAL.
19. One of the Gulf States: Abbr.: ALA. ALABAMA not the UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE).
20. Jewish scholar: RABBI.
21. Garden gastropod: SNAIL.
22. [Theme clue]
24. Like a cyclops: ONE EYED. E.g. Polyphemus, who was the son of Poseidon and Thoosa and the most feared of the Sicilian Cyclopes—brutish, one-eyed shepherds who lived far from civilization.
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| Polyphemus, a cyclops |
28. Ermine kin: MINK.
29. 39- and 59-Across locale: ASIA.
30. Be in the picture?: ACT.
33. [Theme clue]
38. Future profs, often: TAS. Teaching Assistants
39. Vietnam neighbor: LAOS. The two countries are apparently much more than just neighbors.
40. Wild onion: RAMP. What’s So Special About Ramps?
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| Ramps |
42. Much of the Great Plains: PRAIRIE. The Great Plains lie between the Rio Grande in the south and the delta of the Mackenzie River at the Arctic Ocean in the north and between the Interior Lowland and the Canadian Shield on the east and the Rocky Mountains on the west. CSOs to Husker Gary, desper-otto, LeoIII, Anon-T, TxMs, and OwenKL. SO if I missed you ...
49. Some Pennsylvania Dutch speakers: AMISH. Pennsylvania Dutch, sometimes referred to as Pennsylvania German, is a variety of Palatine German, also known as Palatine Dutch, spoken by the Pennsylvania Dutch: Old Order Amish, Old Order Mennonites, Fancy Dutch, and other descendants of German immigrants in the United States and Canada. There are possibly more than 300,000 native speakers of Pennsylvania Dutch in the United States and Canada. Spitzboov, we miss you.
50. Way to go: ROUTE. As you are reading this my oldest granddaughter will be walking "The Way", a 500 mile pilgrimage across Northern Spain, more formally known as El Camino de Santiago ("The Way of Saint James"). This ROUTE was celebrated in a beautiful 2011 video entitled The Way starring Martin Sheen and his son Emilio Estevez ...
51. Barb: DIS.
54. GQ and Cosmo: MAGS.
55. [Theme clue]
57. Parisian pal: AMIE. Specifically a GAL PAL.
58. Designer Cassini: OLEG.
59. Capital of Vietnam: HANOI. See 39A.
60. Top: LID.
61. Merrie __ England: OLDE. England is over 1000 years OLDE, but it hasn't always been Merrie.
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| England ca. 880 AD |
62. Spy: AGENT. Before there was James Bond, there was The Spy Who Came in From the Cold ...
Down:
1. Euro forerunner: LIRA. The LIRA is the former monetary unit of Italy and Malta and the currency of modern Turkey. The EURO is now the official currency of 20 of the 27 member states of the ...
 |
| European Union |
3. Links org.: LPGA.
4. "Beau Is Afraid" director Aster: ARI. ARI Aster (born July 15, 1986) is an American film director and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in horror films, including Hereditary (2018), Midsommar (2019), and Beau Is Afraid (2023). Here's the trailer from his latest film. It looks like a lot of fun ...
5. Frances of "Six Feet Under": CONROY. Six Feet Under is an American drama television series created and produced by Alan Ball. It premiered on the premium network HBO in the United States on June 3, 2001, and ended on August 21, 2005, spanning 63 episodes across five seasons. It depicts the lives of the Fisher family, who run a funeral home in Los Angeles, along with their friends and lovers. Frances plays Ruth Fisher, the matriarch, who is emotionally repressed and trying to form a new, independent life.
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| Frances Conroy 2014 |
6. Spot for Spot to sleep: DOG BED.
7. "In Treatment" actress Uzo: ADUBA. In Treatment is an American drama television series for HBO, produced and developed by Rodrigo Garcia about a psychotherapist, 50-something Paul Weston, and his weekly sessions with patients, as well as those with his own therapist at the end of the week. The program, which stars Gabriel Byrne as Paul, debuted on January 28, 2008 and ran for four seasons. Uzo plays Dr. Brooke Taylor. We saw Gabriel Byrne recently as a quirky pathologist in an Irish series called Quirke.
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| Uzo Aduba |
9. Visual communication syst.: ASL. Used by deaf people and their children, even those who hear ...
10. Maritime: NAVAL.
11. Delicate: FRAIL.
12. British tube: TELLY. As the Brits have a chronic word shortage, "Tube" doubles as jargon for the London Underground, a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
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| The Tube |
15. "Dirty Computer" singer Janelle: MONAE. Dirty Computer is a 2018 dystopian musical science fiction film in which Janelle plays a robot. It serves as a visual companion to Dirty Computer, the third studio album by Janelle Monáe. Here's the title song ...
17. Yielded: GAVE.
21. Poison __: SUMAC. This clue has been repeated as a Public Service Announcement. Memorize this picture ...
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| Poison Sumac |
22. Hockey feint: DEKE.
23. Unconvincing, in a way: THIN. A meta-clue?
24. Leave out: OMIT.
25. "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" singer Simone: NINA. Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), known professionally as Nina Simone, was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop.
26. Objectives: ENDS.
29. Some pop-ups: ADS.
30. Not quite closed: AJAR. It's not a DOOR.
31. Cropped top?: CAMI. A "cropped" CAMISOLE?
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| Camisole |
34. Luxuriously soft: PLUSH.
35. Hearing things: EARS.
36. Seaweed-wrapped bite: NORI ROLL. NORI (海苔) is an edible seaweed used in Japanese cuisine, made from a species of red algae, which turns dark when dried. It has a strong and distinctive flavor, and is often used to wrap rolls of sushi or onigiri (rice balls). MAKI is probably the more common term for a NORI ROLL.
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| Assorted MAKI sushi |
37. Karlsson of the NHL: ERIK. ERIK Karlsson is currently with the San Jose Sharks.
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| Erik Karlsson |
42. Deep dive: PLUNGE.
43. "Darn it!": RATS.
44. "Chain of Fools" singer Franklin: ARETHA. ARETHA Louise Franklin (March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the "Queen of Soul", Rolling Stone has twice named her as the greatest singer and the ninth greatest artist of all time.
45. Crawford who was NBA Sixth Man of the Year three times: JAMAL. The NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award has been given annually since the 1982–83 NBA season to the league's best performing player for his team coming off the bench as a substitute (or sixth man). Jamal currently plays for the LA Clippers.
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| Jamal Crawford |
47. Unlikely to flex: RIGID.
48. Babbled, as a baby: COOED.
51. Sand formation: DUNE. DUNE is also the name of a 2021 American epic science fiction film directed by Denis Villeneuve, the first of a two-part adaptation of the 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert. There are LOTS of sand formations in this movie, some of which are the underground habitat of gigantic, voracious monsters called sand worms. In this clip a sand worm overtakes and consumes an entire spice harvester ...
52. Tapped pic: ICON.
53. "A Black Lady Sketch Show" segment: SKIT. A Black Lady Sketch Show is an HBO comedy series created by Robin Thede. The show began in 2019, was renewed for 2023, and consists of comedy SKITS performed by a main cast of Black women, currently consisting of producer and creator Thede, Gabrielle Dennis, and Skye Townsend. Alumni cast members include Quinta Brunson, Laci Mosley, and Ashley Nicole Black. The show has featured guest stars such as Issa Rae, Vanessa Williams, Angela Bassett, Gabrielle Union, Wanda Sykes, and Patti LaBelle.
56. Cleaning cloth: RAG.
Cheers,
Bill
As always, thanks to Teri for proof reading, for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
34 comments:
This didn’t strike me as anywhere nearly as difficult a puzzle as yesterday’s. True, there were a few obscure names but, for the most part, the perps around them were kind. Also, all the movies that were being “punned” on were well-known. After yesterday’s struggle, today seemed to go much more smoothly. FIR, so I’m happy.
Solution grid is wrong. Should be jurassiclark
Good morning!
This was a fun romp; seemed easy for a Thursday. Caught the theme with RAGING GULL, and was off and running. I actually recognized all the film titles. D-o knew of onions, shallots, and leeks, but when RAMP appeared, he was inclined to question it. D'oh. Texas may be a PRAIRIE state, but not where d-o resides. Here it's woodsy/swampy. Thanx for the diversion, Kelly and Katie, and for the explication, Waseeley and Teri.
Anon @4:52 AM Good catch and thanks for that. It's fixed.
Here's this week's DAB puzzle, Outer Space.
Ramps are wild onions that grow in the mountains of western NC and similar environments. They cause such odoriferous flatulance that school children that eat them are forbidden to ride the school bus.
FIR, but erased dig for DIS, olga for OLEG, and usga for LPGA. Clever theme, offset by awful and obscure show biz crap.
I loved Six Feet Under. Loved that the youngest daughter zipped around in a retired hearse that was the color of a Lime e-scooter.
Never heard of RAMPs, but we had a lot of wild onions growing in the grass where I grew up in Eastern Kentucky. Mowed them right down, we did.
FLN: -T, thanks for the update on the packet sniffer. Love the slogan.
Thanks to Bill 'n' Teri for the fun review.
FIR, but way too many proper names for my liking. The cross of Erik and ramp needed a WAG to fill in. I'd never heard of a ramp. Or Erik for that matter. Learning moment for me.
Took 7:12 today for me to complete this Howl of a puzzle.
I had dame before mare, which made for some unusual letter arrangements, but it quickly sorted itself out. I very recently learned about (the edible kind of) ramps.
As usual, I didn't know today's actresses (Conroy or Uzo Aduba/Aduba Uzo), nor did I know today's director or whatever he directed.
Much better than yesterday's puzzle, and not just due to the absence of circles.
Good morning. Thank you, Kelly Richardson and Katie Hale, and thank you, Waseeley.
A very quick solve with few difficulties that perps handled. Liked the humorous avian theme. I did the perimeter solve today, so a few words had to be replaced while working inward.
Coinklydinkly, a robin that built her nest under the eave of our back wall at the bend of the gutter downspout was feeding her new babies this morning. Third year in a row that a robin has built a nest there. I've got a clear view, but maybe next spring I'll put up a camera to get it all on video.
Nice to see Aretha getting some consecutive days of R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Busy day planned. Gotta run.
When in love, the DOVE ACTUALLY COOED
To her mate, that she was in the mood
For laying an egg
In their nest on a ledge,
But he left her alone there to brood.
The snorkeler was by a diving LOON STRUCK
Who mistook him for a fish in the muck.
He was lucky by far
He was not in his car,
And been hit by a driving LOON'S TRUCK!
{B, B+.}
Creative and fun theme today. RAGING GULL made me think of the gulls swarming around during "Finding Nemo"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rF7-EyCo1U
Thursday cluing for Uzo ADUBA, as she won her Emmys for "Orange is the New Black"
There are several ROUTEs on the Camino de Santiago that Bill mentioned in the blog. My husband and son took the Camino Frances (or French Way) which is the most commonly traveled ROUTE. One of the best experiences of their lives - 500 miles over 30 days when my husband had a sabbatical and my son had just graduated from USAFA and had 60 days before reporting.
https://followthecamino.com/en/camino-de-santiago-routes/
We are one of the lucky parts of the country that have both poison ivy and poison SUMAC
Thanks Bill & Teri as well as Kelly & Katie!
A quick and easy FIR today. Thanks, Kelly and Katie. I agree with Subgenius's comments and found the theme was helpful and fun.
Thanks, waseeley and Teri, for explaining the puzzle intricacies. My neighbor ALA made a surprise appearance today as a Gulf State. And we've been seeing ODES often.
Have a great day, everyone!
Musings
-A fun puzzle to offset the fact that our water heater has gone out. RATS!
-Our LILAC tree has been great this spring
-NFT? RAMP?
-The drawl I hear from my former classmate who now lives in ALA. makes me laugh
-The center pivots are already turning out here on the PRAIRIE
-ASIA is home to many LPGA players
-The ENDS don’t always justify the means
-I always wonder if constructors actually know these obscure people or if they use a computer program that spits out fill that can be used for certain partial letter sequences
-I certainly knew of Uzo Aduba’s role as Suzanne "Crazy Eyes" Warren in Orange Is The New Black but had no idea of her name.
-Nice job, Bill and Teri.
Good Morning! I shuddered when I saw Katie’s name, strapped on my seat belt, grabbed my pen, and slowly, despite the plethora of unknown people (again, yet, still…) they all perped. Thanks Kelly & Katie, a pleasant Thursday surprise!
One WO: aims -> ENDS and a few WAGs.
I saw the theme of birds and movies at RAGING GULL, all familiar to me. Fun!
TELLY – I was thinking television….?
Thanks, Bill & Teri for the recap & film clips. Some films I’ve seen, some are new to me. Will go back & linger over them later.
If you ask me, this puzzle was for the birds...
Not exactly my style, but I got into it...
Here is 7-1/2 minutes of silliness to take your mind off a possible FIW.
I soon saw that the themers all had birds and were altered names of films. That was it. I was looking for an explanation of which letters were altered in the bird names. Random. Clever theme. I have heard of all these movies, but have viewed none of them.
Not all the sushi in the picture are maki sushi. Maki sushi have the nori or seaweed on the outside. The others were uramaki sushi with rice on the outside and nori on the inside. Temaki sushu are hand rolled by each diner. "Make sushi at home with simple hand-rolled sushi called Temaki Sushi. Everyone in the family (or at the party) will have fun rolling the nori sheets around sushi rice and their favorite fillings!" We make these at David and Motoko's home. I love it.
I learned RAMPS from literature.
Many people mistake staghorn sumac for poison sumac. Staghorn is ubiquitous along country roads here. It has bright red berries and is not poisonous. It is often used for autumn decorations.
"Fancy Dutch," my heritage, was more common than the Plain Dutch years ago. My dad spoke only PA Dutch until he started school. As college graduates my parents raised a totally assimilated family. The "Fancy Dutch" had a Germanic culture and were more worldly then the Plain Dutch, although they had a common language. When I was in high school we moved to a "Fancy Dutch" farming area. The older people were mostly bilingual but lived the old culture and preferred PA Dutch language. My generation used mostly English with an accent outside the home, but could speak PA Dutch, too.
Our type of Dutch have assimilated through schooling, seeking English speaking jobs, intermarriage, etc. The PA Dutch language and the culture are almost gone in the later generations, except among the Plain Dutch.
Yes, I thought of the Persian Gulf then the Tide rolled in
ME helped with MONAE. It obviously never could be oh my
RAMP was UNK. Oops, FIW. I had DIg and gKIT seemed to be modern showbiz slang
Or a GALlic PAL(AMIE)
I just read a LeCarre where he revisits LEAMAS,Smiley and Guillam from 30 years later. Name escapes me
Much like yesterday the gettable themes helped with the plethora of ungettable pop-cul
Great write-up, waseeley; I'll wade through trailers later
WC
Movies that are for the birds!!.....Unusually easy for Thor's Day... but a plethora of proper names: Simone, Crawford, Karlsson, Aster, Uzo, Janelle, Francis (watched all 4 seasons of "6 Feet Under" last year still couldn't remember her last name. She was also in many episodes of "American Horror Story"). Jinx "6 feet under" had one of the most unusual but appropriate endings.
Those avians were pretty easy to parse except I prefilled duck at the end of the "diving bird" clue which kinda worked at first ...STRUCK
Oh American, not Arabian "gulf states" (Waz)
"British tube"... almost put metro (subway). Perpwaited
An AMISH friend told me it's called Pennsylvania Dutch because when the first AMISH immigrants were asked what language they were speaking they answered "Deutsch", (German). Misinterpreted as "Dutch"
"Digital Collectable"? Wanted rings NFT?
Feline rumble....CAT FIGHT
Screwball's pickup...LOONSTRUCK
Truly plunged into the pool...DOVEACTUALLY
Bedrock's mild mannered reporter....JURASSICLARK
Cheerul experience in OLDE England: MARITIME
RIP ...Tina Turner..one of my faves. Actually don't RIP...shake up and entertain the heavenly host with your energy and talent.
Hola!
MOONSTRUCK as I may have mentioned many times, is one of my favorite movies. I had to laugh at LOONSTRUCK. Are there LOONS named Cher and Nick? Or maybe Nher and Chick?
We watch INDEPENDENCE DAY every July 4th. It still makes me emotional. However, I've never seen JURASSIC PARK, the movie, but solved JURRASIC LARK.
COOED and DADA GAVE us some baby talk today.
Janelle MONAE also appeared in Hidden Figures.
If you've never seen Love Actually you have missed a treat. It's British humor gone awry!
JAMAL Crawford is a stranger to me but easily sussed.
Thanks to Kelly and Katie and a big thank you to Bill and Terry!
Enjoy your Thursday, everyone!
Clever theme today, and a better puzzle than yesterday. Still too many obscure proper names for me. Is it too much work to come up with, you know, actual WORDS? On another note, wouldn't P.T. Barnum have loved the idea of NFTs?
Unlike others here, I had to TITT. Too many of the down clues were proper names I could not come up with.
Congratulations to those who worked them out.
There’s always tomorrow.
Fun Thursday puzzle, many thanks, Kelly and Katie. And I always enjoy your commentary, Bill and Teri, thanks for that too.
Well, this was a great puzzle for an animal lover with lots of critters, starting with that MARE followed by a raging GULL (let's hope the MARE was a bit calmer). Then we got a SNAIL, and a sweet DOVE, and a MINK--hopefully not worn by anybody. Now another bird arrived, this time a JAY, and another, a LARK, and finally a LOON. Practically a whole zoo in just a single puzzle!
Ray-o-Sunshine, thank for telling me something I should always have known but surprised me.
I grew up in Austria speaking German, and was happy, when I came to the United States, to end up in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, which has a historic AMISH population, whose language is called Pennsylvania Dutch. But I had no idea that that was based on the German word DEUTSCH. How could I not have learned that in my teens? Anyway, great to learn it now--many thanks.
Have a great day, everybody.
I really enjoyed this puzzle . Clever two-subject themers and interesting fill. The plethora of names were annoying, but for me, the perps made them gettable. Thanks Kelly and Katie.
Bill, your musical clips are always wonderful. I have never listened to Nina Simone - now I want to find the documentary about her. Mesmerizing voice! We are anxious to see The Way when it re-opens at a nearby theater. It’s gotten enthusiastic reviews.
Lucina, my DW and I have the same tradition as you. We watch Independence Day each July 4th as well. We also do it with Groundhog Day each February 2nd.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIW with a Natick @ CAMI and RAMP
HG @ 8:49 --> regarding whether or not constructors know of the obscure people ... my guess is these constructors have a modern word list imbedded in their Crossword Puzzle software that contains these proper names. Now that's not to say that they DON'T know them; but it is always easier to let the computer program spit out possible filler words for certain areas of the puzzle ... as in ADUBA ... ARUBA would have worked just fine, too, in that space
Thanks Bill and Teri; thanks Kelly and Katie
FIR. I was a bit put off when I saw all the proper names in the NW, but y working the surrounding clues as well as filling in the first theme of Raginggull, the perps helped them fill in.
The rest of the theme answers were much easier to fill once the theme was obvious. 23D unconvincing was was one of Danny Glover's favorite sayings to Mel Gibson in the Lethal Weapon movies: "Thin, Riggs really thin" for his oddball reasoning.
Really liked Tina Turner in the movie "Beyond Thunderdome", great part. Rest in peace, Tina.
Our own waseeley brings us today's Richardson/Hale avian movie PZL.
A good Thursday job, one that seems unknowable at first, but tumbles quickly once ya get the hang of it.
Fave? I guess 43A, because it reminded me of my several cross-country solo drives in my 20s & early 30s.
The PRAIRIE can seem never-ending--pale-yellow grasses all the way to the horizon, gently rolling hills... well, not hills exactly, but rises and dips in the earth spread over great distances, one after another.
Imagine months of this back in "prairie schooner" days...
Stay awake!
~ OMK
___________
DR: Three diagonals, far side.
After a barren week, we finally light upon 3 diags, only to find that two of three are imbalanced, overloaded, one with vowels and the other with consonants.
Only the bottom diagonal offers a reasonable mixture, and even it is nearly maxed with vowels & sibilants.
But we do our best, and so we make out an anagram (12 of 15) that is truly American, one that imagines a Japanese immigrant enjoying a Jewish treat, an...
"ISSEI'S SHMEER"!
I just learned that the traditional Mass normally held on Memorial Day at the cemetery has been canceled for this year. I guess it's due to the shortage of priests. My niece and I will continue the practice of placing flowers on the graves of our relatives. They are scattered widely all over the cemetery but it's a good chance to walk even though it will be hot. I usually purchase artificial flowers at the 99 Cent store so I need to get over there before they are gone.
Misty, do you still have someone with whom to speak German?
I don't speak Spanish with anyone anymore and I'm afraid I will lose the ability for it.
Hi All!
Oy! Confidently, I entered "mark" in 1d and kept it 'till the end - took forever.
Thanks Kelly & Katie for the puzzle - I really enjoyed the theme. Thanks waseeley for explaining who the 9 names were (well, I knew ARETHA).
WOs: mark, wPGA, L -> Jay (I solved last two themers first so thought all birds start with L)
ESPs: names, RAMP onion.
Fav: PRAIRIE Capital Convention Center (SPI) is where I saw my 1st concert*.
I don't know if it's true but it seems to me if you have one name in the across and need 8 in the downs, the theme is affecting the fill. No?
//and 3 HBO references? Not everyone subscribes.
DW & I saw Tina Turner at Sea World in San Antonio in '88 or '89. Great show. May she Rock the Heavens.
Enjoyed reading everyone today. I gotta run, Eldest and I are about to head to dinner before the musical Rent.
Cheers, -T
*Golden Earring opened for .38 Special
I liked the theme and several of the clues/answers. I am getting truly tired of the shopworn, over-used, fill-in-by-rote format of "plug in name of show/song/book here" plug in actor/author/singer/partial name here: ANSWER consisting of said actor/author/singer here. Examples in this puzzle are:
"Your Baby's First Word Will Be __": Jimmy Fallon picture book: DADA
"Beau Is Afraid" director Aster: ARI
Frances of "Six Feet Under": CONROY
"In Treatment" actress Uzo: ADUBA
"Dirty Computer" singer Janelle: MONAE
"To Be Young, Gifted and Black" singer Simone: NINA
"Chain of Fools" singer Franklin: ARETHA
Crawford who was NBA Sixth Man of the Year three times: JAMAL
"A Black Lady Sketch Show" segment: SKIT
Sheesh, a non-thinking machine algorithm could generate such clues/answers. I think Chairman Moe at 2:51 PM makes a good point! I also think such clues/answers are garbage.
Nevertheless, I still slog through these puzzles because I like reading the recaps and reading all your comments, from which I learn an order of magnitude more useful information than I do from the puzzles themselves.
Yellowrocks, you make a good point about maki sushi vs. uramaki sushi. A good example of a truly useful learning experience.
Good wishes to you all.
Lucina, I had to think for a minute, but in response to your question, all my American relatives who spoke German (e.g. my grandmother) are gone. And so I don't believe I actually speak German with anyone anymore.
But I do still communicate on the computer with several younger Austrian cousins or nieces, and that I still manage to do in German. My guess is that their English is probably very good and we could probably also write to each other in English. But I'm glad I have at least this little chance to keep my German going.
I wish you had family or friends with whom you could keep practicing your Spanish too. Any chance there are any Spanish communities nearby that might have events you could visit? That might be a bit of help for you with your Spanish.
Anyway, nice to have a chance to have this conversation with you.
Good afternoon All. Todays puzzle was a fun romp...as opposed to yesterdays. (Enough has already been said about that!)
I liked the movie/birds combos. They made me giggle. Thanks Bill for the entertaining write up.
Just checking in from California.
Despite being unfamiliar with all of the celebrities, I managed a FIR because I was familiar with the movies.
Several fun clues: Hearing things, Way to go, ONE EYED, Stress indicator; Be in the picture?
Thanks, Waseeley! I enjoyed your write up. The RomCom clips were fun.
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