Not Ready for Prime Time. The first word in each theme answer is an Ordinal, not a Prime number.
16-Across. Junior: THIRD YEAR.
22-Across. Age of Attila's reign: FIFTH CENTURY. Attila the Hun lived sometime around 400 to 450 CE. [Name # 1.]
34-Across. Like some Adventist Protestants: SEVENTH DAY.
48-Across. Almost too late: ELEVENTH HOUR.
And the clue and answer that ties the puzzle together:
58-Across. Popular television programming block, and an apt title for this puzzle: PRIME TIME. Prime Time for television watching is considered to be between 8:00 to 11:00 pm Eastern and Pacific Time / 7:00 to 10:00 Central/Mountain Time. Note, too, as Inanehiker pointed out, that the second word in each theme answer relates to Time.
A Prime Number is whole number greater than 1 that cannot be exactly divided by any whole number other than itself and 1. Three, Five, Seven and Eleven are all Prime Numbers. The numbers in each theme answer are actually Ordinal Numbers, not Prime Numbers. Ordinal numbers indicate the position of something. Thus, the unifier technically incorrect, although the base of the ordinal number are prime numbers.
Across:
1. Chess piece that's often the first to be played: PAWN.
5. [I'm shocked!]: GASP.
9. "I'm Every Woman" singer Chaka __: KHAN. Chaka Khan (née
Yvette Marie Stevens; b. Mar. 23, 1953) is known as the Queen of Funk.
[Name # 2.]
13. Gobi locale: ASIA. The Gobi Desert is the Fifth (a prime ordinal number) desert in the world. It is
located in northern China and southern Mongolia. It's known for its dunes,
mountains and rare animals such as snow leopards and Bactrian camels. In
the Gobi Gurvansaikhan National Park, the Khongoryn Els sand dunes are said to
sing when the wind blows. The park also features the deep ice field of Yolyn
Am canyon. Dinosaur fossils have been found at the red "Flaming Cliffs"
of Bayanzag.
14. "__ girl!": ATTA.
15. Sweet sandwich: S'MORE. Common dessert around Girl Scout
campfires.
18. "No kidding!": THAT SO?
19. Black and blue, say: BICOLOR. Strange clue and answer.
|
| Black and Blue watch face |
20. Top: SHIRT.
21. Stomach: GUT.
26. Question that introduces doubt: OR IS IT?
28. Writers McEwan and Fleming: IANs. Both of the Ians are
British novelists. Ian McEwan (né Ian Russell McEwan; b. June 12, 1948)
is probably best known for his 2001 novel Atonement. I read
it, but have no desire to read any of his other books. Ian Fleming (né
Ian Lancaster Fleming; b. May 28, 1908 ~ Aug. 12, 1964) is best known for
being the creator of James Bond, but he also wrote the children's
book Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. [Names # 3 and 4.]
29. Pollen gatherer: BEE.
30. Bagless vacuum pioneer: DYSON. The Dyson vacuum cleaner
was invented by, and named after, Sir James Dyson (b. May 2, 1947). [Name # 5.]
31. Japanese box lunch: BENTO. Yummers!
33. Warning with a URL: NSFW. Not Suitable For Work appeared in last Tuesday's puzzle.
37. Ticklish Muppet: ELMO. This puppet is a character
on Sesame Street. [Name # 6, fictional.]
40. Came to light: AROSE.
41. Changes direction: VEERS.
45. Campground inits.: KOA. KOA = Kampgrounds Of America.
46. Mashed avocado, for short: GUAC. Yummers! Hubby
makes the best Guacamole.
47. Litter box user: PET CAT.
52. Lucy of "Charlie's Angels": LIU. Lucy Alexis Liu (b.
Dec. 2, 1968) also starred in the television show Elementary.
[Name # 7.]
53. Squander: WASTE.
54. Fingertip-to-fingertip measurement: ARM SPAN.
56. Chooses: ELECTS.
60. Mojave landforms: MESAs. Do you know the difference
between a Plateau and a Mesa?
61. Fencing sword: ÉPÉE. A crossword staple.
62. North __ Sea: lake fed by the Syr Darya river: ARAL.
63. Like a cereal bar: OATY.
64. Opinion sampling: POLL.
65. Govt.-issued IDs: SSNs. As in Social Security Numbers.
Down:
1. Gentle touch: PAT.
2. San Francisco street crossing Haight: ASHBURY. The
Haight-Ashbury neighborhood in San Francisco was the home of the 1960s counterculture movement.
3. Arm pain from playing too much Nintendo: WIIITIS. Wiiitis an actual medical condition and is the subject of several medical
journals!
4. DEA agent: NARC.
5. Bookstore section with Jeanette Winterson and Andrew Sean Greer: GAY LIT. Jeanette Winterson (b. Jan. 21, 1960) is a British novelist and
Andrew Sean Greer (b. Nov. 21, 1970) is an American novelist. [Names # 8
and 9.]
6. Tasted, quaintly: ATE OF.
7. Get-go: START.
8. Average: PAR.
9. Target rival: K-MART. I hardly thing that K-Mart is a
serious rival of Target. According to an April 2022 article in Forbes, there were only 3 K-Marts in operation. [Name adjacent.]
10. Jacuzzis: HOT TUBS.
11. Talk Like a Pirate Day sounds: ARs. Talk Like a Pirate
Day was exactly 2 weeks ago, on September 19.
12. New prefix: NEO-.
15. Lower legs: SHINS.
17. Get by: DO FINE.
18. Official approval: THE NOD.
20. Rip into: SCATHE.
21. Mars, for one: GOD. Roman mythology.
23. Clues: HINTS.
24. One who makes sure fighting between the Sharks and the Jets doesn't get
out of hand?: REF. Not a reference to West Side Story, but a
reference to the two professional National Hockey League teams ~ the San Jose
Sharks and the Winnipeg Jets.
25. Archery wood: YEW.
27. Average: SO-SO.
31. Rip into: BERATE.
32. Cain's oldest son: ENOCH. A Biblical reference.
You can read about him in Genesis 4:17-18. After that, he pretty
much disappears. [Name # 10.]
33. Russian "no": NYET.
35. Crows about: VAUNTS. Not a Tuesday word.
36. Disinclined (to): AVERSE.
37. __ out a living: EKE.
38. "ur soooo funny!": LOL. Textspeak for Laughing Out Loud.
39. "I'm No Angel" star: MAE WEST. Mae West (née Mary Jane
West; Aug. 17, 1893 ~ Nov. 22, 1980) was known for her bawdy double entendres.
The video is a little hard to understand, but it has one of Mae's
signature lines. [Name # 11.]
42. Oblong pastries: ECLAIRS. Yummers!
43. 1988 Best Picture: RAIN MAN. This movie starred Dustin
Hoffman (né Dustin Lee Hoffman; b. Auug. 8, 1937) as Raymond "Rain Man"
Babbitt and Tom Cruise (né Thomas Cruise Mapother, IV; b. July 3, 1962) as his
younger brother, Charlie Babbitt.
44. "The Simpsons" disco guy: STU. [Name # 12, fictional.]
46. Knight's tales: GESTS. Probably the most famous gest is
the La Chanson de Roland, or Song of Roland, and epic poem written sometime between 1040 and 1115.
47. Wallop: PUMMEL.
49. Brief holiday?: VACAY.
50. Silent Marx brother: HARPO. Harpo Marx (né Adolph Marx; Nov. 23, 1888 ~ Sept. 28, 1964) was the second oldest
of the five Marx Brothers. Although his given name was Adolph, he
changed it to Arthur around 1911. [Name # 13.]
51. Bay window: ORIEL.
55. Education advocacy gps.: PTAs. The Parent Teacher Associations have become a crossword staple.
56. Punk subgenre: EMO. Everything you wanted to know
about EMO music but didn't know to ask.
57. Grassy expanse: LEA.
58. High spirits: PEP.
59. High trains: ELs.
Here's the Grid:
חתולה
Not a very difficult solve; definitely a Tuesday level puzzle. I had a question about all those “i’s” in “Wii-Itis” but when it came together, it made sense. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteGot the number theme without noticing that they were all primes. Do I get 50% credit? Always thought that street was spelled without an H -- ASBURY. Nope. The ARAL Sea is now much smaller than shown in the illustration. It'll probably disappear entirely soon. The Great Salt Lake could face the same fate in the not-too-distant future. Enjoyed the outing, Brian, and your explication, Hahtoolah.
FIR without erasure. The theme helped me finish, for a change.
ReplyDeleteToday is:
NATIONAL ANGEL FOOD CAKE DAY (my favorite)
NATIONAL CAKE DECORATING DAY (EAT ME)
NATIONAL HANDBAG DAY (for your cupcakes)
WORLD MENTAL HEALTH DAY (ECLAIRS keep me sane)
NATIONAL METRIC DAY (the antidote for mental health, to many of us antiques)
Speaking of antiques, with MAE WEST and KMART in the grid, one wonders how long this puzzle was in the hopper.
How does Tyco make sure their Tickle Me Elmo dolls are male? They give each doll two test tickles before they are boxed for shipment.
I'm a card-carrying KOA member, only because the discount more than offsets the cost.
ARMSPAN? Sportscasters call it "wingspan."
The average golfer will never come close to shooting PAR.
Thanks to Brian for the challenging Tuesday puzzle, and to Ha2la for another colorful explanation. I can't imagine the amount of time each of these must require.
Good Morning, Crossword friends. We are certainly entering fall. Last week the morning temps were near 90. Yesterday and today they are in the 50s.
ReplyDeleteD-O: you are right about the shrinking Aral Sea and the Great Salt Lake. Unfortunately, in Louisiana, salt water from the Gulf is now intruding into the land and the landmass along the coast line is rapidly shrinking. Louisiana loses about a football field of land each hour.
QOD: Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is a nobler art of leaving things undone. ~ Lin Yutang (Oct. 10, 1895 ~ Mar. 26, 1976), Chinese novelist and translator
Hahtoolah, as DO pointed out, the numbers are ordinal AND prime. What they are NOT is Cardinal. Cardinal numbers would be three, five, seven and eleven. Otherwise, the reveal would not be correct.
DeleteCreative theme - always impressive when both the first and second word match the theme. The first words being PRIME ordinals and the second words are all TIME (YEAR, CENTURY, DAY, HOUR)
ReplyDeleteMy grandkids take their lunches to daycare in BENTO boxes.
The more famous ENOCH in the Hebrew bible was in Genesis 5:18-23. He was said to "walk with God" and God took him away, he didn't die like Elijah. He was the great-grandfather of Noah.
Thanks Hatoolah for the fun blog, and Brian for the puzzle
I should proofread before posting- in the third paragraph it should say: he didn't die, like Elijah- commas are important
ReplyDeleteAfter filling THIRD and FIFTH I guessed the others would be numerical but PRIME TIME (aka Deion Sanders) was not noticed. ENOCH was not known as clued. Had to change NORM to SO SO and CALFS to SHINS but those were my only speed bumps today.
ReplyDeleteWIIITIS was an unknown but easy to figure out.
DYSON- got one on special last month. Used it one time to vacuum the new carpet's loose pieces.
NSFW- I'd always heard Not Safe For Wife but if you email, text, or post anything it cand and will ALWAYS be around to haunt you.
BI-COLOR crossing GAY LIT? And what do they write about in that section?
K-MART? I didn't know they were still in business since they merged with Sears. Both goners. And Jinx left out HARPO for another oldie.
Hahtoolah- if the saltwater 'tongue' makes it to the Jefferson Parish intake I will shut off my water at the meter and go on vacation. I Don't want it ruining dishwasher, ice maker, and washing machine. The 'tongue' is only making it up the river because the Mississippi was dredged to a 50' depth to accommodate bigger ships.
Took 6:59 today for me prime the pump.
ReplyDeleteinanehiker has pointed out that the theme has two components the Prime and the Time.
Very clever.
A few unknowns today for me were: gaylit, spelling Liu/Lui, gests, vacay, and "bicolor" & "ate of."
Seemed harder than what was formerly known as a Tuesday-level puzzle. I am not complaining about that.
FIR, and the theme using prime numbers was extremely clever.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, I have a few nits with the answers. Bicolor and vaunts are definitely not Tuesday fare. And Kmart isn't much competition for Target since, if I'm not mistaken, they only have a two stores left open in the country.
Thank you, Brian Callahan, and thank you, Hahtoolah.
ReplyDelete16 x 15 today. Also, some unusual words that aren't frequently found in crossword puzzles. I liked it.
WIITIS - Who knew? I sense a class action lawsuit coming.
I agree about "Black and blue" Hahtoolah. I thought maybe it was another type of alcoholic drink that I wasn't aware of, so I skipped over it and let the perps solve it.
ECLAIR is a city in Wisconsin. French fur traders with a passion for pastry helped settle the area. About 80 miles west and across the state line is St Paul, MN. I don't know why made the local news this morning, but this lady has a thing for West St. Paul
I agree, inanehiker. Commas are important people.
TTP, actually that Wisconsin city is EAU CLAIRE (clear water).
ReplyDeleteClever theme. If you use "prime time" to refer to TV hours (Hahtoolah's intro). "Ninth Century " fits the theme. Inanehiker includes "century" in her time list. As a prime ordinal it doesn't.
ReplyDeleteA little crunchy this morning, but finally doable. Clever theme. It took a while to come up with THIRD YEAR.
ReplyDeleteI don’t quite get SHINS as clued.
WEES about WIIITIS, weird looking, but it fit.
Yes, K-MART is no rival to Target.
Hahtoolah’s review was enjoyable as always.
I vote for ÉCLAIR Wisconsin.
Shins are the front of the lower leg, below the knee.
DeleteGood Morning! Not my day today…
ReplyDeleteAll mine from SEVENTH DAY down. And the top was part mine, part Google and 9 blanks even too obtuse for google – Bah!
Thanks, Hah2lah, for the entertaining recap. Frosty in the HOT TUB and the Fjord Explorer were a giggle.
Musings
ReplyDelete-The top gave me fits and I am not at all AVERSE to that!
-I saw TIME as a lame reveal but this math teacher loved the addition of PRIME
-ELEVENTH HOUR I used to mail my tax return in at 11:59 pm on April 15
-GASP – A hailstorm started last month while I was enjoying bright sunshine
-Our local vacuum cleaner guy said he will not try to repair a bagless model
-In 1996 the $20 Tickle Me Elmo was a big hit and sold out and so the manufacturer made a more slowly and the price doubled, tripled and more. Can you say supply and demand.
-The NBA calls fingertip to fingertip measurement this
-Three “I’s” in a row? Amazzzing.
-Yeah, my mind first leapt to West Side Story
-Fun write-up, Susan!
-Gotta run, FORE!
Desper-otto, Eau Claire to ECLAIR was supposed to be humor. French fur traders with a passion for pastry... Didn't mean to hit a nerve.
ReplyDeleteThe theme is appropriate for today with Amazon's special PRIME day deals today and tomorrow. Halloween is right around the corner.
Other than your minor "slip of the tongue" at the beginning, your analysis of Brian's fine offering today was excellent.
ReplyDeleteFIR today. Clues were straightforward. Perps were useful and names not esoteric.
I also wanted to mention Enoch. He is the one who has been ascribed to have written the Book of Enoch, though it probably was written by several other people. Also there is a film called The Book of Enoch. A very dark film, it is worth a look, even for the surprise ending.
Best wishes for the day!
Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Brian and Hahtoolah.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in good time and saw both parts of the PRIME TIME theme
The bottom filled first and I went back to that north-west corner.
This Canadian needed a few perps to get the correct ending on ASHBURY.
Hand up (Not my sore arm) for needing a second look to accept WIIITIS.
ORISIT required parsing.
I thought of Bruised before BICOLOR - The result of 47D PUMMEL.
My grandkids have BENTO boxes too, inanehiker.
PAR and SOSO can imply slightly different meanings for average.
I learned EPEE and ORIEL in my early CW days.
Wishing you all a great day.
A shirt with only black and blue stripes and no other color are bicolor shirts. Many examples online. No harm, no foul.
ReplyDeleteWEES. FIR with a little struggle, and could not parse DOFINE as DO FINE until I got to the blog; I was sure something was amiss but all the perps demanded it so it stayed and it was right. Just couldn’t see it. By my count 14 names. A bit of a challenge for a Tuesday, thanx BC. And we can always count on Hahtoolah for a terrific write-up, thanx.
ReplyDeleteI'm not very good with mathematics, but I do understand a few steaks...
ReplyDelete(Honorable mention...)
Jinx, I had to read your Elmo pun three times before I got it...
I guess it's all in the placement...
Speaking of "gasp" (5 across...)
There were a lot of gaps from the audience, when Harpo spoke at his retirement award ceremony.
I can't find the clip on YouTube anymore, so I'll substitute this one...
Lee@10:22. Got you. I don’t think of the thigh as the leg. So I got needlessly discombobulated.
ReplyDeleteTTP, sorry your humor went flying over my head. I thought your post was serious. D'oh.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning:
ReplyDeleteSorry, Subgenius, I disagree with your assessment about the difficulty level and second SS's opinion that this isn't a Tuesday level, at least not the Tuesday level of the past. I further agree that this is not a complaint, just an observation. The theme was clever and quite tight with the two parts fitting the reveal but the cluing skewed the pleasure and ease of the solve, IMO. For example, using 16 words to clue a 3 letter answer (Ref) is annoying and unnecessary. I also question the green paint, IMO, entries of Pet Cat and The Nod.
Thanks, Brian, and thanks, Hahtoolah, for the informative review. Favorite comics were the ones for Shins, Hot Tubs, and Vacay. Also enjoyed all the "Yummers" photos!
Have a great day.
As a math guy I enjoyed the PRIME TIME theme. It helped a bit with the solve. Tried DYNASTY before CENTURY.
ReplyDeleteRAIN MAN and KMART have a special connection for me. If you remember RAIN MAN there was a sub plot involving KMART. Dustin Hoffman lived at the Devereux Institute for a bit in order to learn the habits and mannerisms of people with autism. This is in my immediate neighborhood.
Also in my immediate neighborhood at the time was KMART. The Devereux residents really did walk back and forth to KMART as their preferred outing. At the time it was my understanding that this became part of the movie.
In more recent years KMART closed and was replaced by TARGET. No competition and no comparison. TARGET is far better. I walk or bike there at least once a week, but Devereux has changed and I don't see the residents there anymore.
A touch of crunch, but an enjoyable enterprise. A feeling of accomplishment, rather than exasperation. Hand up for a half solution- got the time. Missed the prime! (Math and I were never close friends) Ha2la, another sparkling review. Liked the nodding pup!
ReplyDeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brian Callahan, for the challenge today and thank you, Susan, for all the time and effort you put into your posts.
TIME is on my side as I solve the puzzle since I have no obligations to fulfill today.
As far as I know, no KMART stores exist in this area. Target, yes; they are everywhere.
I wonder if Tickle-me ELMO is still available. Perhaps the Lightning Bug would like it.
I really dislike shortened terms like GUAC and VACAY. It seems lazy.
PET CATs have disappeared from this neighborhood and there used to be several. They stalked the pigeons but even those are gone. No complaints from me.
I have no idea who Jeanette Winterson and Andrew Sean Greer are so I am glad GAYLIT emerged.
Wishing you all a fabulous day!
Thanks for the challenge, Brian! Great fun with your expo, Hahtoolah! Liked the maps, too. Simple enough to be memorable as to country placement. I always think Mongolia is further south.
ReplyDeletePRIME isn't something I understand. "New Math" happened in our school system long after I'd exited. My kids may have learned it, but they all did their studies on their own without parental help.
ReplyDeleteChallenging for a Tuesday, like yesterday. Didn’t see the number stuff till the end. PRIME TIME had more meaning when we use to watch TV after supper. Now I binge at my own pace. Prolly most of us know by now that Oprah is HARPO backwards. HARPO productions is her company
WEES about nearly extinct Kmart, ours closed years ago and Tarjé ⭕️ is going strong.
Inkovers: itsa/ATTA, sixth/FIFTH,
Always thought it was spelt “geste” (beau geste). Enoch’s Gram ATEOF a bad apple: the Adam’s clan. The original dysfunctional family. The difference between plateau and mesa is French and Spanish? 😄
Bit of the Bible…. AVERSE
”You want that role Ms. McLain?” ”Shirley you ____ “…. GEST
Bladder infection?…. WIIITIS
I really got a grin out of the “Fjord Explorer” salesman …DW finally traded in her 14 y o minivan yesterday for a brand new one. She wanted no “bells & whistles” but that of course is almost impossible today. The salesman spent a half hour explaining how to “ring the bells” and “blow the whistles” on the new van.
🚐
Thanks for the terrific write-up, Hahtoolah.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss, as soon as I filled in PET CAT I immediately thought “green paint.”
I'll add my two-cents: people often forget that 2 is a prime number.
ReplyDeleteI did like the math theme and needed the TIME hint to finally unlock Montana with JUNIOR YEAR.
Thank you for the fun, Brian. BI-COLOR was tricky!
Thanks, also, to Hahtoolah for another wonderful write-up! FAVs were the hot tub comic and MAE WEST line, "Goodness had nothing to do with it, dearie."
OK I give, I need “green paint” to describe a fill explained to me, probably again.
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteI had a heck of a time in the NW but it (very) slowly came together. Thanks Brian for the fun Tuesday. Nice theme too.
Thank you Hahtoolah for an LOL expo. Fjord Explorer was priceless.
//Re: QOD - I'm a master at undone (not completed) projects.
WO: Bruises -> BI COLOR (Hi C, Eh!)
ESPs: BI COLOR, WII-ITIS, OR IS IT, ORORIEL
Fav: BENTO. I recently purchased two of these because I'm tired of our Company Café making me sick.
Sparkly fun words: PUMMEL, VAUNTS, GESTS, THE NOD
IM - I agree on PET CAT as "green paint" but THE NOD is modern vernacular. My hacker-buddies to me: "Going to Defcon?" Me: "Boss-man give me THE NOD."
THIRD YEAR took a while 'cuz I kept thinking "Jr's not a THIRD, that would be III." (Hi TanteNique!)
RAY-O: writing backwards is the only way I can spell OPRAH.
CED - THANK YOU! For calling out Jinx's ELMO joke. I totes missed it (but now I'm going to steal it).
TanteN - ""Green paint" is industry shorthand for a crossword answer that while definitely exists in real life, doesn't feel "conversational enough" to be a truly legit entry in a puzzle."
Cheers, -T
Thanks -T for explaining “green paint”.
ReplyDeleteJayce @ 2:13 ~ You know what they say about "great minds . . .😉
ReplyDeleteAnon T @ 3:24 ~ Based on your explanation, which I appreciate, then it's acceptable, but as a partial that could be clued as "My boss gave me ___, just not as a stand alone phrase, as clued. But maybe I'm being too picky. 🤔 Thanks for explaining green paint. An easy to grasp example is Siamese Cat vs Pet Cat; the first is specific, the second is generic, therefore, green paint. Even more illustrative is Exterior Paint (specific) vs Green Paint (Generic).
I didn't post this earlier ('cuz I'm probably wrong and I can delete later ;-)...)
ReplyDeletePK - Prime Numbers are old as numerology (actually they, Primes, were discovered by Euclid in ~300BCE). People thought there was some "magic" to numbers and things like Primes made 'em think there was universal order.
First, we use base10 because we have 10 fingers (if we took or shoes off, it might be base20!); Babylonians used base60 - hence 60seconds 1min and 60min in 1hr.
Fibonacci got in on the game (studying how rabbits reproduce) and discovered the Golden Ratio [see: spirals in nature] but there was a problem - the universe loves irrational numbers (which were, IIRC, discovered by Hippassus). #FunWithMaths
HG, Picard, Jayce... Pls correct my hand-waving of Primes and history of math - wish FermatPrime were still here!
One important thing about Primes - all of our secure communications depends on the fact that it is computationally hard to factor products of large primes.
I had (kinda still have) a hypothesis that I could break prime factoring (and Crypto!) using natural numbers like e (2.718281) or the Golden Ratio* but, so far, I fail. //my math isn't Einstein strong :-(
Cheers, -T
*In HS, I went to LA State Science Fair w/ my reversal of Fibonacci -- for any given number I had a formula that would result in "1=Yes, it's a Fibonacci number". I learned about Natural Logs then. //I think the paper is still in the attic somewhere :-)
DR: No diagonals.
ReplyDeleteAn asymmetrical grid, 16ax15d...
~ OMK
AnonT: PRIMEs may be ancient, but they weren't mentioned in my 40's & '50's era math classes in rural America. Apparently I got thru life without ever needing to know them to survive.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteThank You Brian Callahan for a challenging puzzle ... for a Tuesday, that is ... but in the end I enjoyed the concept. IMHO, some of the clues in the beginning were unnecess. complicated, for a Tuesday, that is...
Thank You Hahtoolah for your always charming and humorous cartoons and some very practical and some esoteric knowledge ideas.
On other matters, we used to have Bento boxes to carry home made food, with us, on day long trips, so we didn't have to hunt for some fast food restaurants along the way ... but now we just pack the food in cold cuts containers, so we can later throw them away.
I must remember Wiiitis ... very interesting trivia question !
Like, bookkeeper...
RayO's takeoff on the alternate medical terminology on Wiiitis, was such a hoot !!
At first, ... the TV program, for the theme, that I thought of, was ... The Odd Couple ... since all those numbers are odd numbers. Naive me, I thought the concept of Primes, was somewhat too sophisticated for Xword puzzle solvers who are generally experts in music, sports, and everything else. How wrong was I.
Appopros to Anon T ... as a general observation, although prime numbers are very common in the smaller digits, ... once you reach large digits, say 20 digits and more, the primes become very very rare.
So you need very sophisticated computer programs to just detect one... and they have many esoteric and valuable uses, ... one is for making sophisticated unbreakable (?) transmission secret codes, and such. In fact, those computing such numbers spend enormous amounts of money to ferret them out , and much of those grants come from the likes of the CIA, NSA etc...
Finally, not to prime the subject to death, I faintly remember a thesis written by an early Indian mathematician, S. Ramanujan, ( died 1920 ) that says ( and proves ?) that ... though all number series may be infinite ... there IS an upper limit to the number of Primes that exist in the universe...
Because they become less and less and less. Maybe I'm wrong...
For very serious scholars something of related material, for very serious mathematicians ... BTW, I couldn't understand a word of this c---.
Posting very late, have great days for the rest of the week, you folks.