Youth and Love
Ralph Vaughan Williams
From Songs of Travel
Lyrics by Robert Louis Stevenson
John Shirley-Quirk, CBE, baritone
From Songs of Travel
Lyrics by Robert Louis Stevenson
John Shirley-Quirk, CBE, baritone
17. *Posh quintet?: SPICE GIRLS. Here's their 2 Become 1 from their debut album Spice ...
48. *Musical duo of Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe: PET SHOP BOYS. Here's their Love Comes Quickly from their debut album Please ...
And here's the reveal ...
63. Ministry community for religious teens, and what the answer to each starred clue can be called: YOUTH GROUP. All of the theme clues end in a collective noun for a YOUTH GROUP ...
SPICE GIRLS
COLD WAR KIDS
PET SHOP BOYS
COLD WAR KIDS
PET SHOP BOYS
Here's the grid ...
Across:
1. Danish shoe brand: ECCO. If you're into hiking, a pair of
these can be yours for only $300.00 (plus tax) ...
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ECCO BIOM C-TRAIL ANKLE BOOT for Women |
5. __ Sketch: ETCHA. Probably not a good artistic medium if you live in an area with lots of seismic activity ...
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Etcha Sketch |
10. Study desperately: CRAM. Cramming CALMLY would probably be more effective.
14. Contented sighs: AAHS. Is it 2 A's or 2 H's? Wait for perps.
15. Croc kin: GATOR. CAYMAN wouldn't fit.
16. Subway fare?: HERO. Looks like a yummy pun ...
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All American Club |
19. Grub: EATS.
20. Wriggle out of: ESCAPE.
21. Paper handout: LEAFLET.
23. Eliminates: RIDS.
25. "Our treat!": ON US. But if you don't parse it right it could be a burden.
26. Cutting tool: SAW. AXE fit but didn't perp.
29. [Theme clue]
34. Other, in Spanish: OTRO. Today's Spanish lesson.
36. "Stat!": NOW.
37. On bed rest, say: LAID UP.
38. "__ Break": Kathryn Bigelow surfing film: POINT. Point Break is a 1991 American crime action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film's title refers to the surfing term "point break", where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline. From what I can tell from this trailer it has a lot of beautiful cinematography. The movie (not the trailer) is Rated R ...
42. Lauder of cosmetics: ESTEE.
43. Remove from office: UNSEAT. Lately some of those SEATS have been musical chairs.
45. Before, in poetry: ERE.
47. Fill up: SATE.
48. [Theme clue]
51. Ra or Odin: GOD. Odin seems to get all the press, so today will be the Egyptian god Ra day. Without him we wouldn't even have day.
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| Ra god of the Sun |
53. Moist: DEWY.
55. Consonant sound common in Spanish: ROLLED R. More Spanish, and Italian.
58. Spa rooms with heated stones: SAUNAS.
62. Et __: and others: ALIA. Today's Latin lesson.
63. [Theme reveal]
66. Avocado app: GUAC. Not a recipe finder for Guacamole dishes, but shorthand for appetizers that use avocados.
67. Closing section of music: OUTRO. Not just music.
68. Cry of accomplishment: TADA.
69. Ambiguous amount: SOME.
70. "Can you __ in a sentence?": USE IT.
71. Lower leg part: SHIN.
Down:
1. Make less demanding: EASE.
2. Means of emphasis: CAPS. It's how you tell the "clues:" from the FILL around here.
3. Stylish: CHIC.
4. Muppet who sings "I Love Trash": OSCAR. Chacun à son goût! ...
5. Stirred up: EGGED ON.
6. Mai __: TAI.
7. NFL snapper: CTR. The man in the middle.
8. Lacking substance: HOLLOW.
9. Premier League powerhouse: ARSENAL. Arsenal Football Club is an English professional football club based in Holloway, North London. Arsenal compete in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (including one unbeaten title), a record 14 FA Cups, two League Cups, 17 FA Community Shields, the Football League Centenary Trophy, one European Cup Winners' Cup and one Inter-Cities Fairs Cup.
10. Gesture of approval: CHEFS KISS.
12. Museu Picasso pieces: ARTE. The Museu Picasso is an art museum in Barcelona, in Catalonia, Spain. It houses an extensive collection of artworks by the twentieth-century Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, with a total of 4251 of his works (Pablo worked hard). Not all of his works were abstract cubism, probably his most recognizable style. Here's one of my favorite Picasso's, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
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The Lovers |
18. Monumental: EPIC. One of my favorite EPICS is Richard Wagner's 4 opera cycle The Ring of the Niebelungs, about the swashbuckling hero Siegfried. Here he rests briefly from his labors to contemplate the wonders of nature in the beautiful interlude known as "Forest Murmurs" ...
22. Mystical halos: AURAE. AURAE are often used to identify the saints in images. Here's a saint much loved by the animals ...
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| St. Francis of Assisi |
26. Absorb, as a spill: SOP UP.
27. Do penance (for): ATONE. Atonement is a 2007 movie about a wrong that is never really ATONED for, something that the perpetrator must take to her grave. A powerful and beautiful film ...
28. Apple Watch spot: WRIST.
30. Dorky sort: DWEEB.
31. Heart on a dog collar, perhaps: ID TAG. E.g. "I Love Pat!" or your dog's name here ...
33. Word with dating or skating: SPEED. The former is a good way to meet a large number of potential long-term dates in a short period of time. BTW SpeedDating, is a single word and is a registered trademark of Aish HaTorah, who began hosting such events in 1998
35. Column to the left of a decimal: ONES PLACE. It's the one thing that all numbering systems have in common. But what's to the left of the ONES PLACE depends on the numbering system being used. In the decimal system that's called the TENS PLACE, but in another widely used system it is called the TWO's place. Like the saying goes, "There are 10 kinds of people in the world -- those who understand binary and those who don't". For those who don't, this might help ...
39. Lake in the Sierra Nevadas: TAHOE. Lake TAHOE is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the Western United States, straddling the border between California and Nevada ...
44. "Just like I said!": TOLD YOU.
46. Field of view: EYE SHOT.
49. Allowing for osmosis: POROUS. AKA "selectively-permeable". Osmosis is the spontaneous net movement or diffusion of solvent molecules through a selectively-permeable membrane from a region of high water potential (region of lower solute concentration) to a region of low water potential (region of higher solute concentration), in the direction that tends to equalize the solute concentrations on the two sides.
54. Glamping options: YURTS. Glamping is a portmanteau of "Glamorous" and "Camping". You can glamp in style with this traditional Mongolian YURT for only $14,800.00 ...
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| Mongolian Yurt |
56. "So You Want To Talk About Race" writer Ijeoma: OLUO. So You Want to Talk About Race is a 2018 non-fiction book by Ijeoma OLUO. Each chapter title is a question about race in contemporary America. Oluo outlines her opinions on the topics as well as advice about how to talk about the issues. The book received positive critical reception, with renewed interest following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd, after which the book re-entered The New York Times Best Seller list.
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| Liam Neeson |
59. Biblical ark builder: NOAH. NOAH's Flood is another myth based on fact, and perhaps an earlier myth.
60. German automaker: AUDI.
61. Era: SPAN.
64. Native of the Great Basin: UTE.
65. Swim-bike-run race, for short: TRI. Triathlon. A CSO to sumdaze.
This review is offered in memory of Elizabeth Jane Schmedes (May 16th, 1941 - March 29th, 2023), a much loved youth minister at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Pikesville, MD. Betty often told her students that "the word B.I.B.L.E. stood for Basic Information Before Leaving Earth".
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Betty and her late husband Eddy |
Thank you Betty for all that you did for the young people of St. Charles,
Bill
and Teri
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for
her constructive criticism.
waseeley
39 comments:
This didn’t strike me as a particularly difficult puzzle. True, there were a few obscure names (“Oelu” anybody?) and I, personally, had never heard of the band “Cold War Kids,” though I knew about the other two. But on the whole it was a fair and sussable puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy.
SG @4:05 AM I've never heard of "Oelu" either. What clue was that in?
Good morning!
Yup, as soon as I saw "Ijeoma," I immediately slammed down OLUO. Not! Perps were kind, but it's still ugly. This one came together quickly, Wite-Out-free. Thanx, Emily and Sala, and congrats on your LAT debut. Thanx, too, to waseeley, and Teri.
POROUS: In the '80s there was a big push for reverse osmosis watermakers to convert sea water to drinking water on offshore installations. They worked, but proved to be maintenance nightmares. Waste heat watermakers, using smokestack heat from the diesel engines, were much more cost-effective.
Ha-ha, Bill! I meant “Oluo” of course. I often fly “by the seat of my pants “ and don’t bother looking at my “notes “ on the puzzle before I post here. In fact, a lot of times, such as today, I don’t even take notes ! And, because I do the crossword online, I don’t have a “paper” one to refer to. Which is why my comments may be a bit “ off” sometimes. Mea culpa !
Thank you perps because COLD WAR KIDS and PET SHOP BOYS were 100% unknown. But the GIRLS, BOYS, and KIDS made the YOUTH GROUP fill an obvious fill, which was completed by perps. I had to change OPEL to AUDI and CALF to SHIN to finish.
OLUO and POINT Break were unknown.
GUAC was a WAG
OUTRO- saw it in a puzzle last week but had never heard of it before that.
ECCO- the last pair of dress shoes I bought were ECCO- over 10 years ago. They'll also the the LAST pair of dress shoes I'll ever purchase.
Today's DAB puzzle is called "Don't get Nosy". I usually link to the online AcrossLite version, which you can solve online or print to solve with your weapon of choice. But today I'm taking you to his home page -- scroll down to get to the puzzle and choice which version you like. Be sure to read his lead in on "digital privacy". It's a real hoot.
We will be on the road most of the day and I won't checking in until later this evening, so behave yourselves! 😀
SG @5:58 AM Apology accepted, not that one was needed. 😄
BE just informed me discreetly that "a CAYMAN's a Porsche, CAIMAN is the croc. Thanks for that George. As the former was spelled correctly, I can't hold Teri responsible for that! 🙄
FIR, but not without a struggle. Oluo? Ecco? And pep for elan? Seriously?
I suppose the theme reveal would have helped more if I had a clue who Coldwar Kids and Petshop Boys were. The only group I knew was Spice Girls, and I am not a fan. So I got the groups but missed the youth reference.
Something about this CW seemed off, and I can't put my finger on it. I'm just glad to be done with it.
FIR, but erased damp for DEWY and foot for SHIN. Knew spicy girls but not the others.
Today is
NATIONAL DAY OF THE DEPLOYED (lots of Norfolk residents recently left for the Middle East)
NATIONAL PUMPKIN DAY (jack-o-lanterns and food)
NATIONAL MINCEMEAT DAY (food?)
NATIONAL MULE DAY (worn out ones may become food)
NATIONAL FINANCIAL CRIME FIGHTER DAY (or, if Dad is powerful, just let the statute of limitations expire)
Even I noticed SLOP/SOP and OUTRO/OTRO. I never seem to glom on those duos. Also filled ON US and thought ONUS.
Didn't know POINT BREAK, but I hear that Bayou Tony uses break points.
SWAG to me means Scientific Wild-Ass Guess, an order of magnitude iffier than an "educated guess."
Modern folks seem to like SPEED dating, but the Pointer Sisters prefer a Slow Hand.
Thanks to Emily and Sala for the fun puzzle, except for the two unknowable (by old farts) bands. And thanks to Bill 'n' Teri for the fun review. You are leaving us without adult supervision? If only the Corner had a substitute teacher!
Took 4:38 today to rock-out to Sonic Youth.
I will echo and paraphrase what the others have said, "Oluo"?!
I didn't know "Cold War Kids," but feel like it may have been used in another clue before.
Not familiar with "eye shot" either, though I guess it makes sense.
How is "most" "the better part"?
Hi All!
Oy! a meeting at 8a after ~2.5 hours of sleep. But, Emily & Sala's puzzle (and a tall cup o' Joe) is kicking me into gear. Thanks you two and congrats on the debut.
Thanks waseeley & Teri for the after-party expo.
WO: Damp -> DEWY (Hi Jinx!), YeRTS -> YURTS
ESP: OLUO
Fav: ETCH-A-Sketch [Dilbert]
@7:41 "Most" is the "better part" (>50%) of a set. Opposite: SOME.
Gotta run. Another meeting in 6min.
Cheers, -T
This was not my kind of CW, so gave up on it. I generally don’t like it when theme answers are proper names. Had I perceived I might have finished, but I have too many things to do today.
I appreciated Waseely’s recap. Most useful.
Musings
-Whoosh, this one just flew by. OULO, an understandable “any port in a storm” fill, notwithstanding
-The religious group of my yute was called PF
-The violent NFL has a long list of players who are LAID UP
-“He’s an SOB but he’s our SOB and we won’t UNSEAT him!”
-SOME used in a beautiful monument outside our courthouse.
-NFL long snapper Luke Rhodes just signed a 4-yr contract for over $6M
-SOP UP: Cat litter works wonders on fluids on the garage floor
-I recently purchased my third Apple Watch
-A brilliant scene about DUE TO
-I accept hearing “TOLD YOU” from my lovely bride but never reciprocate
-SOME say LIAM looks like Fidel Castro
Good Morning:
Like others, I had no knowledge of Cold War Kids, only a vague inkling of Pet Shop Boys, but definitely knew Spice Girls by name, not their music. The theme answers Girls, Boys, Kids was a cute tie-in to the reveal of Youth. No real problems except the Ecco and Oluo unknowns and the stumbles at Axe/Saw and Damp/Moist. If I counted correctly, there were only 9 three letter words which is a rare and impressive feat.
Thanks, Emily and Sala, for a fun Thursday solve and thanks to Bill and Teri for the always informative and thought-provoking review and commentary. I can't see Liam Neesom without picturing his powerful, eponymous performance in Schindler's List. BTW, I promise to behave myself in your absence. 🤣
Have a great day.
Blame wool-gathering for the Damp/Moist instead of Damp/Dewy error. 🫣
This seemed Monday-easy to me, despite many unknowns. Oluo? Who-O? Last to fall was CHEFSKISS, and the only singers I knew were SPICEGIRLS. Fortunately, the rest fell to the perps, which were fair, and the reveal was obvious. I'm afraid my musical tastes were pretty much set in concrete by the end of the 1970's, and with a very few exceptions, everything since then strikes me as random noise, best ignored. Enjoyed the hot wash from Was & Teri, as always.
I fail to see why people have this compulsion, to put everything into groups...
with one glaring exception...
Greetings! I had a lovely visit from my niece and her husband, and they brought their wonderful blue tick hound, such a lovely pup! I enjoyed all three 🥰!
Thanks, Emily and Sala, for the challenge, and welcome to the Corner.
Of the themers, I only knew the SPICE GIRLS. Other than a few well-placed gimmees, lots of the puzzle was a WAG. But I made it thru with only one WO: Damp -> DEWY.
Thanks, Bill and Teri. Your recap was so helpful in explaining all my WAGs. And such a nice tribute to your late Youth Minister.
CED @ 12:12 ~ Loved your Snacklebox! As Hahtoolah would say, Yummers!
Hello, fellow solvers! I'm still doing the puzzle on-line every morning, move on to other things, then when I come back to the blog, I forget where I had problems or easy answers. Still, it's fun!
I had heard of the Spice Girls but that's the only group and haven't heard any of the music the groups. Didn't get the theme until reading the write-up--thanks, Waseely, for your explanation and to Teri for proofreading. Thanks, Emily and Sala, for the exercise!
5a I've tried to draw on an ETCH-A-Sketch but have never gotten close to the skill of the artist featured.
31d Thanks for the SO at the dog collar ID TAG! I haven't been doing as much as I used to at the shelter due to an old shoulder injury that, over time with wear and tear, led me to having Complete Reverse Right Shoulder Arthroplasty (right shoulder replacement) at the beginning of September. That has left me 37a LAID UP for a while. I have to rely on rides from DH and others to get anywhere so I only get to the shelter once a week now. Hopefully I'll be able to drive in a few more weeks.
We've been having some great autumn weather, nice leaf color but that's coming to an end this weekend. The leaves in our back yard define the term "fall". Hard to tell there's any grass back there. The lawn crew should be here this afternoon to mulch them, thankyouverymuch!
Have a great rest of your day!
Most isn't necessarily better. Maybe sometimes. Maybe not. Who has most of the blame? Or owes most of the debt? If you suffered most of the damage, is that better?
Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun Emily and Sala, and waseely and Teri.
(Lovely tribute to your youth minister.)
I FIWed due to a silly mistake. My Spanish letter was N and I couldn’t figure out how POnOUS fit the osmosis clue. I should have done an alphabet run. Oh well, I still got a TADA near the end.
I waited several times to decide final letters - AURAE, OTRO, ALIA.
I was not familiar with OUTRO, but it makes sense with Intro.
Jinx and AnonT beat me to the duos.
I noted EGGED O, LAID UP ( sorry to hear you have been that way Pat-hope you are back to top form soon), DUE TO, and SOP UP.
SOP UP after SLOP was good imagery.
I smiled at UTE crossing YOUTH , as I thought of HuskerG.
Wishing you all a great day.
Anon@3:16- I took “better” to mean the larger part, to a better degree.
waseeley presents today's Biegas/Wanetick PZL...
Normally, 15A "Croc kin," wouldn't be a misdirection. But with ECCO at the start, I couldn't be sure this wasn't also a reference to footwear!
Hands up for EYE SHUT before EYE SHOT.
I knew CHEF'S HISS couldn't be right. Caught it just in time.
TMC is using OUTRO now too, after a movie.
~ OMK
____________
DR: Three diags, on the near end.
The center diagonal hosts an anagram (10 of 15) referring to a traditional water buffalo wedding gift (no kidding) from the father of the bride to the new couple, or an...
"ANOA DOWERY"!
Pat @ 2:35 ~ Best wishes for a speedy recovery from what sounds like a very difficult and painful procedure. I'm sure you're missed very much by your canine cuties, as well as by your fellow animal-loving colleagues.
Wishing you a speedy recovery!
You may not remember them by name, but the PET SHOP BOYS were a very successful synth pop group, and you may remember their breakout song that was all over the easy listening and pop radio stations in the mid to late 80's and beyond... if you listen to it, you may recall it: West End Girls
They are considered one of the top synthpop bands of all time, and the song consistently rates in the top 5 or top 10 of synthpop songs of all time.
Pat, good to hear from you again. I was thinking of you when there was a story on the morning news about Chicago's Affy Tapples, and the fact that 90% of their apples come from Michigan. They prefer Johnathons. Not sure why that story made me think of you, but it did.
I would hope that we will hear from ATLGranny again, but I sense that she's another frequent reader/commenter that grew tired of the constant negativity from some of the commenters.
Waseeley, you wrote at 35D: Column to the left of a decimal: ONES PLACE. "It's the one thing that all numbering systems have in common."
By definition, decimal point is used on base 10. Usually, billocohoes comments to make these types of corrections, but he didn't show up today.
I think you should also consider the Roman Numeral numbering system, among others. The Roman Numeral system is not a place value numbering system. It is character value.
Other than that, a fine puzzle and good review.
CHEFS KISS made me think of Anonymous T.
OLUO
Names: you either know them or you don't, and if you don't, no amount of reasoning or puzzle solving will help; you are utterly dependent upon the perps, if indeed they prove helpful at all. Thus the crossword puzzle is reduced to plugging in sequences of letters that might very well make no sense at all except as a proper name. For example, OLUO. I agree with those who say that proper names should not be used in crossword puzzles. Let there be actual words! Allow us to use our noodles instead of playing stump the chump! Wrod lovers of the wrlod, untie!
Any crossword puzzle that incorporates Pet Shop Boys in to it is OK in my book. If you came of age in the early 1980s, as I did, and you watched copious amounts of MTV, as I did, you probably saw the Pet Shop Boys Video for the song West End Girls a zillion and a half times. Good times…GOOD times.
Thanks and congrats to Emily & Sala for their fine debut!
Anonymous@7:41 and Anonymous@3:16. Not sure if you are the same poster. I thought of the example, "I spent the better part of the morning pulling weeds in the garden." It might not be your most enjoyable part of the morning but it was MOST of your morning. I think CanadianEh!@3:29 and -T@7:41 are saying the same thing.
Pat@2:35. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. I am sure the pups are missing you!
I echo TTP@4:17's sentiment of missing ALTGranny.
I noted NOAH crossing the religious teens.
Thanks, also, to waseeley for his interesting and helpful write-up. Nice job!
H-Gary@10:23. Long snapper. You might be interested in the Freakonomics episode titled, "Why Does the Most Monotonous Job in the World Pay $1 Million?"
You can listen or read the transcript here:
https://freakonomics.com/podcast/why-does-the-most-monotonous-job-in-the-world-pay-1-million/
Before I forget, I would like to thank Sumdaze for that link, as above, .... to the article about the specialisation of the 'long snapper' ...
... I have very little knowledge on football, and I never watch most sports, ... except for the Superbowl. But I do have an abiding respect for the subject of Economics, and the article was so well written, it held my attention for til the very end !@!!
I never thought things could get so specialized in american football ... but, ...it is a sport, chasing big money, and hence every move they make, has to have a expert in place, to capitalize on the opportunities. Thank YOu Sumdaze, ... made my late trip to this blog all the while, worth every penny, er, every second of it...
The closest I can think of a "under-mentioned- low keyed" job, is an an-- procto------, I'm afraid to even spell it out. My second cousin, a female, has this specialization in surgery.
Thats all she does, twice a week, ... forever. Only her patients know who she is. But, God forbid, if you ever needed her help, you would put her on a pedestal, next to your favorite saint.
Already used up my blog post line limit, onto the next post.
Thank You Emily and Sala, for a very nice Thursday puzzle,, that I enjoyed solving, despite the fact that I knew only of the Spice Girls, and only one or two of them ... I figured the others were also rock groups, or the like, but I did not think of 'Youth Groups' until I reached the last theme answer.
Also congratulations on your debut at the L A Times. !
Thank You Waseely Bill, and Teri for your joint efforts for the wonderful commentary on the blog. Many of your clue explanations were thought provoking. I'm afraid, I'm not much in the high brow chamber music category, but I did enjoy the short preludes.
BTW, The artist who drew the Taj Mahal, and its mirror reflection via the Etch-a-sketch must be like a Leonardo da Vinci ... especially since the EtchA--- does not allow you to lift the cursor from the drawing ... it only moves as one continuous line !!! That was one of the biggest limitations of that otherwise- brilliant invention.
OSMOSIS:: During renal dialysis, the dialysis machine not only selectively absorbs through osmosis certain molecules of elements in excess surplus in the human body, like Potassium, Phosphorus and Urea etc., but it also programmed to selectively desorb certain elements that your body neeeds, like Magnesium etc. back into the blood stream.
Little Known Fact::: The rate of diffusion of gases, like air and oxygen is so enormously
high and so fast ... that in the next 4 breaths you will take, ... will contain a molecule of air/oxygen or carbon dioxide from the dying breath of George Washington. This I read from the Smithsonian Magazine ... but I can't provide a reference.
Good night all, onto Friday.
Hola!
I can't believe I didn't post earlier. I was up before the crack of dawn, solved the puzzle, then got ready to keep my drs. appointment. Watched the news and Jeopardy! Went to have my nails done, washed some clothes, hung them up and . . . .. . . went to dinner with my friend, Kathy. But no post!
OH, I had to go and rescue my friend, Mark, whose car stalled. Picked him up and brought him home. He's very unhappy with his "new" car and plans to sell it and buy a different one. He bought it from someone who restores retired police cars and it's quite large. He's not used to the size.
I hope yo all enjoyed a wonderful day!
Charlie Echo @ 10:44 wrote, "I'm afraid my musical tastes were pretty much set in concrete by the end of the 1970's, and with a very few exceptions, everything since then strikes me as random noise, best ignored"
I am blessed? afflicted? with the same syndrome ... but for me the definitive musical period is 1958 to 1962 or so, when I went into the Army. And so, I am not only deficient musically, but culturally -- when I read Yahoo or other media, mostly i ask "Who are these creatures?"
As in “larger”, like, “I ate the better portion of the cake”… ===> Darren
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