google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, November 18, 2023, Tom Pepper, Zhouqin Burnikel

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Nov 18, 2023

Saturday, November 18, 2023, Tom Pepper, Zhouqin Burnikel

  Saturday Themeless by Tom Pepper and Zhoquin Burnikel 

Tom has been a great friend of C.C.'s for years and after she suffered the loss of Boomer, he really stepped up and helped her through those hard days. Tom is also a constructor and has collaborated with C.C. on previous puzzles. This one was full of cleverness from top to bottom and it took me 30 fun minutes to earn my "got 'er done".

This is a lovely picture from June of 2019 of Tom's wife Terri, Boomer, Tom and C.C. Our lovely blogmistress told me that Tom is 6'5" and would probably beat me at golf. Tom is the finance director for the city of Egan, MN and here is a nice interview with him.




Across:

1. Online confirmation: I'M NOT A ROBOT - Look familiar?


12. __ sum: DIM Dim sum is a large range of small Cantonese dishes that are traditionally enjoyed in restaurants for brunch.


15. Keyboard solo with several movements: PIANO SONATA - I only know of Beethoven's SONATA No. 14 better known as he haunting Moonlight Sonata 

16. Lab eggs: OVA.

17. "Thoughts?": ANY COMMENTS - At the bottom of all my write-ups.

18. Auction gesture: NOD.

19. Out of juice: DEAD - The indication of the problem and the solution


20. Some two-yr. degrees: AAS.


21. Leave no doubt about: ASSURE.

23. Yearbook gp.: SRS.

24. Covered with beads?: SWEATY 😀

25. Chai spice blend: MASALA To most Westerners, it is a little known fact that the word 'chai' simply means 'tea' in Hindi. Therefore, all teas are technically chai. In America, the word 'chai' has come to mean tea with a generous amount of spices often served as a deliciously sweetened latte. You're welcome.


29. Sound quality?: HEALTH 😀 Would "Sound as a dollar" be a good thing these days?

30. Try to get in: APPLY.

31. Place where people might exchange rings: PAWN SHOP 😀

33. Utah's state rock: COAL Info on Utah's state mineral, rock and gem

34. Trees rich in terpenes: PINES Terpine info

Conifer resin like in
this PINE can be used
to make terpines

35. "This Is Us" director Ken: OLIN.


37. Field that involves drawing and folding: PRO POKER - 😀 I got the POKER reference right away but had to play around with the rest of the fill

39. Bring up to date, say: AMEND - Augusta National did AMEND its membership policy in 2012. More info


40. Does taxing work online?: E-FILES - Turbo Tax finds all the right forms, remembers what I put in last year, does the computations and E-FILES for me. 

41. Pamplona party: FIESTA - No Pamplona bulls here 😀; just the Spanish word for party.

42. Froths: SPUMES.


43. "I w-wish I'd brought a sw-sweater!": BRR.

44. "Don't rush me!": IN A SEC.

45. __ chi: TAI Would you like to learn?


46. Post production?: NEWS - 😀


50. Title in "Game of Thrones": SER.


51. Undeveloped expanse: NATURAL AREA.

54. Body image?: TAT 😀

55. Prehistoric beast with a large bony frill: TRICERATOPS - There was a sick one in Jurassic Park


56. Sanctions: OKS.

57. Crystal and Rock, notably: OSCARS HOSTS - Here they are plus someone else...



Down:

1. Tablet with Procreate: IPAD.


2. Go for the gold?: MINE 😀 

3. Brand whose name derives from the Greek for "water nymph": NAYA.

4. Like much music of the 1990s: ON CD.

5. Besides: TOO.

6. Capital north of Addis Ababa: ASMARA - A 21 hour drive north 


7. Marinara ingredients: ROMAS 


8. Binary digits: ONES - My age in Binary (base 2)


9. Secret rival: BAN 😀 I'm a Mennen Speed Stick man myself. TMI?

10. Senators' supporters, most likely: OTTAWANS - These are not in the capital building


11. Fringe elements: TASSELS.


12. Sweet centers: DONUT HOLES.

13. Shade similar to eggshell: IVORY.

14. Arrived just in time for: MADE - Hopefully they MADE the flight


22. Didn't go out: SAT HOME.

23. Calculating: SLY.

24. Pipes down?: SEWER 😀

25. Apple variety?: MAC - We have one with a 21" monitor.

26. Per person: A POP - These Super Bowl tickets went for $900 A POP at face value


27. Garage stock: SPARE PARTS 😀

28. The whole gang: ALL OF US.

29. Beefy-T brand: HANES - Made of heavier fabric


31. Medieval spears: PIKES - The protectors of 
the Pope, the Swiss Guard, carry one today


32. Bloodmobile unit: PINT.

34. Some racing leaders: POLE CARS - The POLE CAR has earned the right to be in the front row nearest the inside for the start. Historically they win the Indy 500 about twenty per cent of the 
time 


36. Confidentiality doc: NDA - All of Taylor Swift's employees sign a strict Non-Disclosure Agreement.


38. __ cheese: PIMENTO - A favorite of mine for over 60 years


39. Get out in the open: AIR.


41. Men following an order: FRIARS - 😀


42. Creep: SNEAK - Pink Panther music leapt to my mind

43. More exposed: BARER.

44. Colon, at times: IS TO - My guesses at the bottom


45. "__ & Bertie": animated series starring Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong: TUCA.

      Ali and Tiffany     

46. Gp. whose alphabet includes Romeo and Juliet: NATO - From Gary Alpha Romeo Yankee


47. God with wings: EROS.

48. Broke down: WEPT.

49. Fresh answers: SASS 😀

52. Classic game opener: TIC - Tac Toe

53. __-di-dah: LAH.




My analogy guesses are 1 E and 2 B.

45 comments:

TTP said...

Thank you, Tom Pepper and thank you, Zhouqin Burnikel. That was an excellent puzzle. Well done. Bravo. Brava. Professionally constructed. And professionally reviewed by Husker Gary. (BTW, we had similar solve times, and you can have my PIMENTO cheese). Thank you all.

I got off to a very fast start with MASALA, MAC, APOP, APPLY, COAL, SLY, SRS and SPARE tires. Oops. Not tires. PARTS. Then worked out the answers from the SW to the NE corner fairly quickly. The one I was unsure about was SER, but the perps were solid, so it stayed. I never watched Hunger Games of Thrones. :>) The word terpines made PINES a gimme. That SEWER, HEALTH and SWEATY area took a good minute, but the question marks on all three told me to think outside of the box.

Similar to SER, I did not know/never heard of TUCA, but it too had to be. The answers to the eleven letter triple stacks dictated it. I filled NEWS for "POST production" but it took a moment to think beyond Emily Post or the cereal and food producer. Then, oh. As in the Washington Post.

So many great clues and answers today. It would be hard to pick favorites, because there we so many. If I had to pick one answer, it would be I'M NOT A ROBOT, and if I had to pick one clue, it would be Fringe elements for TASSELS. Or maybe Men following an order, for FRIARS.

Auction gesture went from bid to NOD and Classic game opener went from tip (as in basketball) to TIC.

I wasn't fooled by the Senators clue, and quickly entered OTTAWANS. C-Eh, what is the most common catchall for people from Toronto? Torontonians or Torontoans ? Or something else?

That Froths:SPUMES combo made me think of an answer is a recently solved puzzle. The answer was a ten letter word that I'd never heard of before, and it just didn't look like it could be correct. The clue was "a whipped dessert or topping consisting of a mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and usually Marsala wine." The answer was Zabaglione. It is a sweet foamy cream, and is also known as Zabaione. I would think that others here have heard of it, but it was new to me.

Subgenius said...

I felt this was a typical Saturday puzzle in some ways, including some tricky misdirection. But, since it was from C.C. and Tom, it was also eminently fair and, in the end, very solvable. I, too, held my nose and put “Tuca,” but as our T said, it had to be. Anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.

Vidwan827 said...

This was a tough puzzle …. Though when I saw Ccs name, I thought it was a personal privilege to get a chance to solve it….
My thoughts and answers were all over the place and I had to LiU some answers . But. All in all, very satisfying…

The long answers were bunched together snd breaking even one of them requires a maven at crosswords, and it was very thought provoking.

Have s great Saturday all you folks …

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

No theme, no reveal, what's not to like? Those stacked elevens were very nice. Zipped right through this one considerably faster than Husker and TTP, though I'm sure our resident super-solver will put my time to shame. Thanx, Tom, C.C., and Husker. (I agree with your multiple choices.)

EFILES: I usually buy TurboTax before year's end so I can rough out what I'll likely owe, and make adjustments if needed. And I'm usually disappointed that needed forms aren't yet included. I'd be better of doing my rough out with last year's version. Slow learner, here.

ON CD: It was the highest fidelity music storage medium to come down the pike -- no pops, no clicks, no surface noise, and with a frequency range greater than the human ear's. I'm sorry to see it back-benched by more compact, but inferior, streaming codecs.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I felt truly satisfied when I finished this challenging offering in about 28 minutes because after the first pass, I thought I was headed for a TITT failure. There were numerous unknowns which delayed getting any helpful toeholds, seemingly forever: Naya, Asmara, Hanes, Tuca, Pikes, and Triceratops. The devilishly devious cluing slowed me down considerably, but I think Seeps/Sewer and Wealth/Health were my only w/os. The Mac and iPad placement was a cute visual.

Thanks, Tom and CC, for a tough but doable brain-stretcher and thanks, HG, for the usual, delightful commentary and sparkling eye candy, especially the photo of CC, et al. I'm perplexed by the identity of the young man standing to Milo Ventimiglia's left in the cast picture. The only one I can think of is the actor who portrayed Rebecca's second husband, Miguel, but it sure doesn't look like the same person to me. BTW, I chose the same analogy answers as you did.

Have a great day.

BobB said...

Need new glasses. Read the clue as Margarita and filled in Limes.

Anonymous said...

Unlike last Saturday this was a challenging, but very enjoyable puzzle. I missed a FIR by one square. For the life of me I couldn’t figure out 44 Down and 50 across. Still, not bad for a Saturday. It was 41 minutes and change well spent.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

DNF, filling 50 with 48 right. Missed oneSEC and each (for A POP.) Probably could have made more progress, but we're leaving for the winter in a couple of days and I have 186,000 (300,000,000 metric) things to tend to before we go.

Today is:
NATIONAL PRINCESS DAY (celebrate the Princess in every girl)
NATIONAL ADOPTION DAY (raises awareness of the more than 100,000 children in foster care)
NATIONAL VICHYSSOISE DAY (for some reason, this soup leaves me cold)
MICKEY MOUSE BIRTHDAY (happy 95th, Mick. He first appeared on film on November 18, 1928)

Somehow I got PIKES right away.

Can't believe I didn't get OSCAR HOSTS given OS__R HOS__. I would mention dope slap, but Rock might be offended, and as every Cornerite knows, I would never risk offending anyone. (Except on days ending in 'y'.)

Thanks to Tom and CC for the challenge, and to H. Gary for the fun review.

Anonymous said...

Took 13:10 today.

Solid, enjoyable puzzle. I'd rank this a Thursday or Friday on the now obsolete day-puzzle scale.

I didn't know Naya, Asmara, Tuca, or ser. I Had MRI before tat, so coupled with ser, that lower-left corner took a while.
I do not like Tiffany Haddish. She compensates for not being funny by being loud.

Anonymous said...

Oh, for the "This Is Us" picture, isn't that person the actor who plays the grown version of little Jack (the deaf child of Toby and Kate)?

Whiner said...

I really liked this puzzle. I had a bunch of blanks for quite a while, especially the long answers. One by one I figured out the misdirections to got enough perps for the long answers. Almost all of the misdirections brought satisfaction when I got them. Same unknowns as Anon @ 7:54, Naya, Asmara, Tuca, ser.

I didn't get BAN until Husker Gary (Go Big Red! Get bowl eligible tonight!) explained it. If the clue had been Rival of Secret I would have (like Rock being capitalized made that one easier), but I appreciate the sneakiness of making Secret the first word.

KS said...

FIR. I really enjoyed this puzzle. Some of the clues were so fun, like pipes down, covered with beads, and sound quality.
No proper names, no circles, no ridiculous unifiers or themes, just a true, albeit difficult, crossword puzzle.

Lee said...

DNF. I got lost when I went with PacECARS. Had EFILES which conflicted with it. Didn't see ALLOFUS. Had rIcotTa but changed to PIMENTO which fixed NATURAL and TIC and that gave me OSCARS. ARRRGGGH.

A wave of my hand and a tip of my hat to Gary, C.C., and Tom for their presentation today.

Don't hang on to anger, it will only eat you up.

Peace

inanehiker said...

Fun to see Tom & CC team up as constructors for this one! Fairly open after the first horizontal pass - but then the verticals opened up many areas.

I wanted to put something like stand-up comics for Crystal and Rock - but it needed perps to make the OSCAR HOSTS connection.

A few gimmes - one of my daughter's friend's parents are originally from Eritrea. He is now an acclaimed jazz trumpeter based out of Paris. His last album was titled "Asmara" reflecting his Eritrean roots. A trio he had in high school and college played at my daughter's wedding - I don't think we could afford them now unless they gave us a friends & family discount!
https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2023-02-17/world-renowned-jazz-musician-herman-mehari-returns-to-kansas-city

I wanted concerto first but it wouldnt' fit - so ended up with with perps getting to PIANO SONATA
Made me think of a favorite older movie "The Competition" with Amy Irving and Richard Dreyfuss, who fall for each other while in a world class level piano competition where both SONATAs and concertos were played. It's free on Amazon and Sling and Roku.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Competition_(1980_film)

Thanks HG for another fun blog and Tom & CC for the puzzle

Irish Miss said...

Anonymous @ 8:00 ~ I believe you're right about that being grown-up Jack. I had forgotten that character as he wasn't in very many episodes. I believe he was blind, not deaf, though. Thanks for solving the mystery!

Monkey said...

Wow! I actually FIR. I too started out with mostly blanks, but little by little the puzzle got filled. Quite satisfactory.

We had an iPad on top of a Mac.

desper-otto said...

IM, I believe you just admitted that you didn't know Jack.

TTP said...

I had a nice nap and late breakfast. Can't seem to get back on schedule.

D-O said, "Zipped right through this one considerably faster than Husker and TTP..." Yeah, but when you were solving, were you also watching America's Test Kitchen and writing down Bridgette's recipe for a buttery pie crust and peach pie?*


Here you go, Irish Miss: Season 4 Cast This Is Us.

*Neither was I. I was watching ATK, and that pie looked delicious. I'll have to find that recipe and see if I can make the pie dough.

NaomiZ said...

FIR! Thanks, Tom, C.C., and Husker Gary! Nice challenge to begin a Saturday. My brain is all warmed up.

desper-otto said...

TTP, did Bridget add vodka to the pie dough?

Ray - O - Sunshine said...


The NW held me up. Had breakfast , came back and it hit me suddenly (ouch!) that many of us who blog with an I phone see IMAMNOTAROBOT each time we print a comment, yet it was almost my last fill.

Typical Saturday challenge from CC and Tom Pepper (relate to the MD?) needed perps for unknowns TUCA and ASMARA.

Inkovers: yet/TOO

Didn’t know States had official “rocks”. If Utah waits long enough or gets a visit from Superman their official rock will be a diamond.

“Tablet with procreate” (a pill that aids in procreation?…viagra? 😀) ….
….HANES ” Beefy-T” like XXL?

Canada eh learn a lot I should already know about our state’s neighbor to the north from the blog….since you have a House of Commons seems that the OTTAWAN senators are your “House of Lords” (appointed not elected.)

Thanks for ‘splainin’ NATO.

Hamilton dueler….. BRR
Where to buy chess replacement pieces….PAWNSHOP
If you are “antigin” are you____ …..? PROPOKER

IM @ 6:02 AM (early riser!!)

LIU ….The fellow next to Milo Ventimiglia “Jack Pearson” is actor Michael Angarano who played younger version “Nicky Pearson” Jack’s younger brother. He also played “ Eliot” Jack’s son in “Will & Grace”

TTP said...

Sorry to burst your bubble, Ray-O. You don't blog. You comment on blogs. Sumdaze blogs. Hahtoolah blogs. Melissa and JzB blog Wednesdays. etc, etc. If you want to learn how to blog and become an occasional substitute blogger, I can put in a good word for you with the boss. Just realize that you can not blog from your smartphone. It's not possible.

BTW, have you ever heard of Zabaglione?

D-O, no vodka in this recipe. But she used a lot of butter. She grated half a stick and put in the freezer to get super cold. Then she added 16 more tablespoons of cut up butter pats to her AP flour and cup of sugar before blending in the food processor. That's a lot of butter. But the real trick to her peach filling was how she macerated the peaches, reserved a half cup of the juices, and then made a thick slurry using low sugar fruit pectin.

Anonymous said...

Finally fir. But Saturdays sometimes have to be put aside and finished later. Today was a couple hours off and on. SW was toughest as I only gave Game of Thrones a couple chances and didn’t like them immediately killing off good characters! Finally remembered pikes which lead to pawnshops which lead to Ottawans (I had a hard time getting past the old Washington senators before finally thinking hockey), which lead to the NW completion. Etc. Definitely fair puzzle. Thx.

Charlie Echo said...

A real Saturday workout today. Tough, but fair, with a great feeling of accomplishment when the FIR arrived! Thanks to CC & Tom for a stimulating start to the day, and to GOLF Alpha Romeo Yankee for the recap. (I think your Swiss Guard is armed with a Halberd, as the pikes of that Era were 18 feet long!)

Big Easy said...

Congrats C.C. and Tom. I was on your wavelengths today, finishing in faster than normal Saturday time (IF I manage to finish one). Not a member of the Apple religion, Procreate was an unknown but 'Tablet' gave it away as I-PAD. PIANO SONATA was a gimme that allowed the unknown NAYA to fill. TRICERATOPS was the gimme for the SE.

Ken OLIN was a guess. Movie unknown.
SER & TUCA-all perps; never heard of either.
Had to change PACE CARS to POLE. I've always heard of the fastest qualifier being in the Pole POSITION, but never heard of the term 'pole car'.

BAN for 'Secret rival'-MUM and AXE were the only other 3-letters ones I could think of. Arrid XX, Sure, Right Guard, Soft&Dri, Mitchum and a host of others wouldn't fit.

Gary- Mennen Speed Stick for me too. Don't like sprays or roll-ons. You can also have my PIMENTO cheese.

Acesaroundagain said...

FIR in one sitting. Why? Hard but fair cuz it's a CC puzzle. Very enjoyable and challenging. I didn't have to look anything up. Refreshing for a Saturday puzzle. GC

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Oh Ray-o, you caught my attention by asking if Tom knew the MD (Doctor Pepper.) On the sitcom Mom, the character Jill marries a policeman named Andy Pepper. He's a sergeant at the PD.

Big Easy - Really? You didn't think once about FDS being the secret rival?

Picard said...

Hand up this was difficult. Hand up stuck with PACE CAR before forced to fill unknown POLE CAR. Learning moment. Hand up slowed and mystified by SER instead of SIR. Also unknown: ASMARA, OLIN, TUCA, NAYA, PROCREATE. Amazed to FIR.

Here is a ten second video of Abraham Lincoln practicing his lasso skills atop a TRICERATOPS in preparation for our Solstice FIESTA.

From Thursday:
waseeley Thank you for the explanation of why the Ravens would like to have a GEODE.

From Yesterday:
AnonT Thank you for explaining about where your kids ended up going to college. I only applied to three schools and we did not visit any of them in advance.

Misty said...

Fun Saturday puzzle, even if a bit challenging--many thanks, Tom and C.C. And always enjoy your commentary, Gary, thanks for that too.

I though SEWER for PIPES DOWN was funny. Would never have gotten APPLY for TRY TO GET IN, if it hadn't been for the downs. But it makes sense, if you want to get into a club or something, you have to 'apply to get in.'

But BRR and BARER were the funniest set: if you're more exposed outdoors on a cold day, you're for sure going to wish you had a sweater and you'd have trouble saying it without Brr.

Anyway, lots of fun getting us started on a weekend. Have a great one, everybody.

Anonymous T said...

Dang it! I had (Soft &) Dri for 9d which blocked the North.
I had enSURE so ink'd FINNELS [sic - should be Finials] for 11d.
I couldn't get my mind off Post cereal and the South 11's didn't quite fill.
I was thinking MLB or NFL at Senators' supporters and NHL never crossed my mind...

Hi All!

I'll lick my wounds 'cuz I did much better than I normally do on a Saturday - so I've gots that going for me...

Thanks Tom & C.C. for the fun grid to take my mind off things for a bit.
Thank you HG for correcting my errors and filling the blanks before I pulled out all my hair.
//I'm also a Speed Stick (odorless) guy. And I flubbed the 1st analogy 'cuz I didn’t finish reading after "forge"

Fav: Who played POLE Position back in the day?

Speaking of games... LOL DO that IM Don't know Jack. [Sounds like a discount David Spade].
//DW & I played the game on our 386 DX PC back in '95.

I'M NOT A ROBOT [Styx @2:06]

LOL - Jinx. I kept thinking it's gotta be Chris Rock... And Crystal Gayle(?) Did she get dope-slapped too?

Have a great afternoon all!
Cheers, -T

Irish Miss said...

DO @ 10:17 ~ We already have a resident Imp in CED, 🤣

TTP @ 10:21 ~ Thanks for posting that picture with the identifiers. Maybe Anonymous @ 8:00 and I need new glasses.

Ray O @ 1:48 ~ Thanks for verifying the cast member pictured. Young Nicky was not one of my favorite characters, but I grew to really like the Nicky he became. (6:02 am was actually late considering I had been up since 3:00 am.)

sumdaze said...

Thanks, C.C. and Tom for your fun Saturday challenge! I am happy to say that I am in good company with my FIR solve time today. ALL OF US are elated to see your names printed next to a grid. Today's answers were not immediately obvious but reasonable and fun to discover. FAVs: Go for the gold?; Senators' supporters; Clues for PAWN SHOP, BRR, and PRO POKER. Please keep them coming!

Thanks to H-Gary for his excellent recap! You find the perfect images to evoke the particular meaning of each answer. (I guessed E & B, TOO.)

TTP@ 11:12. IMHO, the secret to making the best peach pie is to go out into your backyard and pick fresh, tasty peaches. Nothing else can make up for starting with the perfect fruit.

FLN: Best wishes to unclefred as he recovers from his eye surgery!

Jayce said...

I enjoyed this puzzle. As KS said, I thought it was a true, albeit difficult, crossword puzzle. I had to look on a map to see ASMARA and I had to look up Tiffany Haddish. It was SNEAK that filled SER. Loved SWEATY, PAWN SHOP, TRICERATOPS, OTTAWANS, TASSELS, and DONUT HOLES. Did not care for PIMENTO cheese or POLE CARS. Mostly a very enjoyable solve.

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

FIR in about 28:00 - had to change a few words and letters but everything evidentially fell into place

Tom and CC did a nice job of keeping it both challenging as well as fair; Gary - as usual - gave us a fine "dissertation"

My only "beef" - and what seems like a bit of "green paint" - is POLE CARS. PACE CAR(s) makes more sense and is "in the language"; PRO POKER was close behind but I am not as critical

Enjoy the rest of the weekend ...

Ol' Man Keith said...

Husker Gary takes our hand as we wend our way through this fine Pepper/Burnikel PZL...

A toughie, no doubt. I couldn't have done it on my own. But with a few assists, plus P+P, I will claim a finish.

I think 33A is my favorite. Makes perfect sense, although it isn't the first idea for a fill.

I confess I have no idea how PRO POKER fits the clue. Any help available?

What gives? We couldn't find any PIMENTO cheese spread in either of the two markets we frequent! Thanksgiving won't be the same.
~ OMK
____________
DR:
One diagonal per side.
The near diag offers up a bizarre anagram (11 of 15) that is fitting, I suppose, for the obscurity of our Saturday XWD.
Given the relative paucity of vowels, I count us fortunate to have this lil' doozy. It seems to refer to the equipment needed to sauté a form of African lemur--if we even believe this is an edible mammal.
I refer you to...

"INDRI FRYPANS"!

Chairman Moe said...

OMK @ 4:11

In POKER, you sometimes draw cards (5 card draw), and you often fold (throw in the towel, as it were). If you saw my reply I commented that PRO POKER felt a bit like green paint, but if you Google PRO POKER it does show a few hits

Hope this helps. We have become so accustomed to playing Texas Hold 'em Poker that drawing cards is not a familiar action

Moe

waseeley said...

Thank you Tom and C.C. for a rare for me Saturday FIR. I didn't solve this as quickly as some others, perhaps because I was so intimidated by the 11 letter stack in the NW that I immediately went into DOWN mode, and getting little traction moved on. Had I take the time to read the clue for 15A first, things might have been different.

And thank you Husker for an informative and nicely illustrated review, and especially for including the interview with Tom.

Some favorites:

15A PIANO SONATA. While Beethoven's 14th SONATA is undoubtedly his most famous, his last, the two movement Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, is certainly his most intriguing. He was completely deaf when he composed it and this brief section (2 min) from the second movement, known as the "Boogie Woogie" movement, sounds as if he was listening a hundred years into the future: Arietta Adagio molto semplice e cantabile.

3D NAYA. The Naiads were a female spirits, or nymphs, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water.

9D BAN. I'm a Mennen man myself Gary.

24D SEWER. Favorite clue.

29D HANES. I wear their briefs. TMI Bro? 😁

31D PIKES. King Henry VIII and several others used to exhibit the severed heads of their enemies on PIKES along the London Bridge.

34D POLE CAR. Wanted PACE CAR, but perps said otherwise.

41D FRIARS. Here a group of FRIARS in a bluegrass band called the Hillbilly Thomists playing A Poor Wayfaring Stranger (4 min).

Cheers,
Bill

TTP said...

I.M., you are welcome. I only glanced at H.G.'s image until you and anon mentioned it. Then I enlarged his image and didn't recognize any of the actors. So at that point I found the image with the names of who they are. All still unknown to me, but the name Mandy Moore is somewhat familiar for some reason. Maybe from a prior crossword.

Sumdaze, I forgot to mention that Bridgette on ATK used 3 lbs of fresh peaches. It would be wonderful to walk out to the backyard and pick them fresh. As it is, when I go out to my backyard, I can only pick(up) acorns. :>)

Ray - o - sunshine said...


TTP @ 11:12am

You didn’t burst my bubble just corrected a statement made in error. The bloggers do an incredible job both informative and entertaining. I couldn’t come close.

At University in 70s in Italy I enjoyed zabaglione when our student’s budget could splurge on dessert. Custard/pudding tasting like our eggnog but with more booze. 😋

Waz @. 5:31

To put your enemy’s head on a pike you gotta somehow get the fish to hold still 🤭

Anonymous T said...

Ray-O: You just had to bring up Fish Slapping...

A documentarian explains.

And now for Something Completely Different...
///RUSH nerds only need reply
//trigger warning - don't read if you're already down.

I'm reading Geddy's* new book My Effin' Life. The first 82 pages are effin' hard to get through. #Holocaust**

Then it gets fun. #ROCK'n'ROLL!!!

-T
*Geddy Lee, Friend of Alex [Lurch] and (RIP) Neil,; the greatest Power Trio ever... Fight me :-)
**Stories of his Mother and Father, Cousins and, other family in concentration camps during WWII -- totally heartbreaking.

waseeley said...

Ray - O @ 7:18 PM LMAO! 🤣

Lucina said...

Hola!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable day. My puzzle is still in the unfinished stage but I wanted to wish you all a good weekend and a good Sunday and also to congratulate C.C. on her puzzle. It was suitably difficult for Saturday and I hope to finish it tomorrow although my friends are going to anticipate my birthday which isn't for another three weeks or so but with the holidays approaching it is better to celebrate now. And I don't mind.

I may or may not get here tomorrow.

PK said...

The puzzle was a real challenge, thanks, Tom & C.C. Thanks, Gary.

Took me 42 minutes to red-letter my way thru much of this. Many unknowns, but happy to have filled it.

It's terrible when one's mind goes... I've used BAN every day since it came on the market lo these many years ago. Couldn't think of any 3-letter deodorant except "mum".

"Moonlight Sonata" was one of the few piano pieces that I ever wanted to play. My music teacher mother had given up on me by then and got as tired of hearing me play it as I was of having her nag me to practice other things.

sumdaze said...

TTP@7:07. Unfortunately I no longer live in a house with a peach tree in the backyard either....

Michael said...

We had a peach tree next to the garage. I once picked a peach that was preturnaturally ripe, warmed in the sun. As the juices ran down my chin, paradise lived for a moment. I've tried canned peaches, store-bought victims of chemical warfare, those artificially 'ripened' doorstops -- never again!