One of Lynn's entries that didn't make the cut? CLUE: When images of Lucky Charms are dancing in your head?: CEREAL TIMES (SURREAL TIMES)
If the THEME were K ==> N, then this cartoon would be appropriate:
Puzling thoughts:
More Friday wordplay as Ms. Lempel produces 5 homophonic phrases in which each of the homophones has a "C-word" that should begin with an "S" for the more common phrase or expression. Lynn Lempel's reputation as a Crossword puzzle constructor more than precedes itself. Having more than 100 puzzles @ the NY Times places her in a rareified class of puzzle producers
Hmm ... another wordplay just creeped into MY jumbled brain ... CLUE: Successor who lives above 10,000 feet?: RAREFIED HEIR
So let's examine each of the 5 phrases, "won" at a "thyme" ...
17 across. Odd remedy for an overhead crack?: CEILING WAX. Let's come clean for a second ... my first entry was CEILING FAN before realizing that this puzzle was heading in a homophonic direction. CEILING WAX isn't anything I'm aware of, but SEALING WAX most certainly is ... notice the red wax on the bottle below; it is hand-dipped at the distillery in Loretto, KY
25 across. Pennies that are a dime a dozen?: COMMON CENTS. "Let's throw in an idiom, too", said Lynn, as the phrase "dime a dozen" = COMMON; and after using a bit of COMMON SENSE, the Chairman (me) figured this one out
37 across. Percussion instrument for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir?: RELIGIOUS CYMBAL. This one calls for a Moe-ku:
Zildjian has special
Religious collection that
Features creche cymbals
52 across. Sacrifice of some data storage space?: CLOUD CEDING. The most subtle in terms of humor of the five ... I am very familiar with the CLOUD for data storage: [wikipedia] "Cloud storage is a model of computer data storage in which the digital data is stored in logical pools, said to be on "the cloud". The physical storage spans multiple servers, and the physical environment is typically owned and managed by a hosting company"
CLOUD SEEDING is: [wikipedia] "... a type of weather modification that aims to change the amount or type of precipitation that falls from clouds by dispersing substances into the air that serve as cloud condensation or ice nuclei, which alter the microphysical processes within the cloud". Or maybe, this:
61 across. Jewelry in the shape of a swan?: CYGNET RING. THIS was my favorite of the 5. Very clever. A CYGNET is a juvenile male swan. A SIGNET is a small seal (usually on the face of a stone on a ring) that authenticates; this, e.g.:
As opposed to this:
Here is a singular of (1 across. Short shot: PIC) showing today's completed grid; this will also show where I made my mistakes (see the crossing of 44a and 39d, as well as 35a and 27d). Due to the number of theme entries, the puzzle grid had to contain a large number (22) of 3-letter words. Adding together the time I spent solving and the complexity of today's puzzle (for me) puts this @ 8.2 on the MOES hardness scale. Well done Lynn! Hope you'll stop by and say hello!
Across:
5. Shocks: JOLTS; and its singular "clecho" (20 across. Shock:) STUN.
10. Gum balls?: WADS. When I was a kid, many baseball players chewed tobacco. They always had a distinctive WAD in their cheek. I "aped" that - in a way - by cramming multiple sticks of bubble gum into my mouth. Might be a good reason why all of my molars had cavities ...
14. Shade in a neutral palette: ECRU.
15. Nebraska rail hub: OMAHA. CSO to our Saturday blogger and daily poster, Husker Gary
16. Actor Guinness: ALEC.
19. Speak effusively: GUSH.
21. Rejections: NOS. And two additional homophones: NOSE and KNOWS
23. "You can't mean me!?": MOI.
24. Go downhill fast: SKI.
30. Super __: PAC.
31. Met favorites: ARIAS.
32. Truism: AXIOM.
33. Sundance Film Festival state: UTAH.
35. Club kin: BLT. This one got me, as I didn't associate "club" with a sandwich, and I didn't recognize the name in the crossing word clue (27 down. Ventimiglia of "This Is Us":) MILO, even though I watched all of the "This is Us" series' episodes. MILO played Jack Pearson. Worth watching if you haven't seen it
36. __ carte: A LA.
43. "Hardly!": NOT.
44. Same old same old: RUT. My mistake here was using the word "ROT" instead of RUT. My inner Norm Crosby must've appeared
45. Rational: SANE.
46. CX-5 and CX-50 automaker: MAZDA. Anyone else try HONDA first?
49. Olympian and actress Sonja: HENIE; and conveniently, Lynn Lempel found this (2 down. Gear for 49-Across: ICE SKATE) to complement
51. Decline: SAG.
54. Prefix with friendly: ECO.
55. Tanqueray product: GIN. Not the brand I normally drink; here is one of my (and Margaret's) current favorite:
56. Tofu, basically: SOY.
57. Munch Museum city: OSLO.
59. Really distasteful: ICKY. Glad this wasn't a five-letter answer ...
66. Committed perjury: LIED.
67. Gochujang origin: KOREA. I love using this on fried or scrambled eggs, or in an omelete
68. Red's friend in "The Shawshank Redemption": ANDY. This filled in with perps as I did not remember the character's names; played by Tim Robbins
69. Boys: LADS.
70. More confident: SURER.
71. Baseball gripping point: SEAM. How to throw and two-seam fastball:
Down:
1. Delt neighbor: PEC. If this were a fraternity or sorority based clue, could the answer have been "EPS"?
3. Decisive: CRITICAL.
4. Chekov colleague: SULU. Original Star Trek, so technically it's not a CSO to Picard
5. Garfield's human: JON. The comic strip Garfield; not the US President. Any guesses as what Jon's last name is?? A LA Husker Gary, I will mention it at the end of my blog*
6. "Daaaang!": OMG. Text speak; Oh My Go...
7. Kim Wexler's field on "Better Call Saul": LAW. Am I the only one here who hasn't watched "Better Call Saul"? Thankfully, LAW was easy to perp into this spot. Reflecting back on ALL of the 3-letter's today, they were very fair
8. Marvel villain who collected the Infinity Stones: THANOS. I actually got this one, as Margaret introduced me to the Marvel Universe when we became a couple in late 2019. The Infinity Stones colors represent: Purple for Space, Yellow for Reality, Red for Power, Blue for Mind, Orange for Time, and Green for Soul. The stone colors were updated in the Marvel Legacy series to match the film versions. Here is an image of this dude with the 6 Infinity Stones:
9. Early invader of Great Britain: SAXON. Earlier invader of Great Britain: ANGLO. Otherwise, how else could they merge??
10. Jokester: WAG. See 9 down; that's Chairman Moe trying to be a WAG
11. Many college donors: ALUMNI. Many blood donors: O NEGATIVE
12. Bygone Chrysler: DESOTO. Bring back any memories?
13. Rupture in a church group: SCHISM. [Wikipedia] "A schism is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, such as the Great East–West Schism or the Western Schism"
18. Native of Peru's Urubamba Valley: INCA. [Wikipedia] "The Sacred Valley of the Incas or the Urubamba Valley, is a valley in the Andes of Peru, north of the Inca capital of Cusco"
22. Like a bass or a boa: SCALY. It's homoNYM time with the clues ... clearly, not these two:
24. Urge (on): SPUR. GOAD or PROD fits, too
26. Planetary path: ORBIT. Or if the clue were to somehow use a transitive verb we could have this Moe-ku:
Do we know planets
Are circular in shape? Or
Did we just ORB IT?
28. Ripened: MATURED. Margaret often tells me that I have not yet MATURED, but occasionally tells me that I am RIPE ... 藍
29. Chances to determine proficiency: EXAMS. I always liked multiple guess questions on EXAMS
34. Holi celebrant: HINDU. Another homonymic clue ... HOLI and HOLY are pronounced the same but have different meanings. [Wikipedia] "Holi is a popular and significant HINDU festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring. It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the deities Radha and Krishna. Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it commemorates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu"
If I were a betting man I would guess that Picard has some photos of this celebration to share with us today ...
36. Get credit for?: ACT IN.
38. Urges on: GOADS. Hmm ... didn't I just see this a few clues ago?? A plural clecho ...
39. Olympic gymnast Lee: SUNI. One of my two Naticks today. I didn't know this person, but her routine is pretty incredible:
40. Court boundary: BASELINE. This link provides several references to the term "BASELINE"
41. World's heaviest snake: ANACONDA. Now THIS boa is pretty SCALY
42. Component of some small castles: LEGO. Perps to the rescue but quite fair (and clever) as a clue
46. Montreal university: MCGILL. CSO to CanadianEh! Perhaps they can give us a bit more info on this fine institution
47. Garza who co-founded the Black Lives Matter movement: ALICIA. [Wikipedia] "Alicia Garza is an American civil rights activist and writer known for co-founding the Black Lives Matter movement. She is a recognized advocate for social and racial justice, with a particular focus on issues affecting marginalized communities, including Black women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and immigrants"
48. Utterly exhausted: ZONKED.
49. "Oh, hi!": HEY YOU.
50. Versatile celeb's achievement: EGOT. EGOT is becoming a very popular Crossword Puzzle entry
53. Roosters: COCKS.
58. Some Mex. spouses: SRAS. CSO to Lucina
60. Quilting qty.: YDS. Nice alliterative clue
62. "Why, I oughta ... ": GRR.
63. Name-clarifying word: NEE. My screen name is Chairman Moe, NEE Moe Vedre ... feel free to ask why
64. Otoscope target: EAR. Friday-like clue
65. Workout spot: GYM. An easy one to finish on
Hope y'all liked the puzzle and the wordplay. Please comment below ... see ya again just before Christmas ... *ARBUCKLE
Note from C.C.:
Happy 77th birthday to dear Jazzbumpa (Ron)! Ron is taking the December off, but he'll be back in January. Ron has been our faithful Wednesday Sherpa since January 2011.
46 comments:
35 down and 40 across could have been a possible Natick, but then I remembered all those bad jokes about “Sonja’s” last name, so it wasn’t a Natick for me after all. And I wonder how many people put “bat” for “club” rather than “BLT.” I know I originally did!
Other than those two things, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle. FIR, so I’m happy!
FIW, right on cue subgenius, failing the EXAM with BaT x MIaO. Erased lobs for PICS, lat for PEC, tesla (knew it wasn't Honda) for MAZDA, and hindi for HINDU.
Today is:
NATIONAL CROSSWORD SOLVERS DAY (not me today)
NATIONAL BROWNIE DAY (not me, I was a Cub Scout. I’ll spare you from all the ribald jokes)
NATIONAL SALESPERSON DAY (how can you tell if a salesperson is lying? Check if the lips are moving)
PRETEND TO BE A TIME TRAVELER DAY (Time Traveler is a great compilation album by The Moody Blues)
BODHI DAY (for Buddhists, not HINDUs)
The clue for OSLO was a scream.
Lots of people ACT IN roles for which they get no credit. Didn't realize that until IMDB came along.
BASELINE is also a town south of (crossword favorite) Ocala. Also home of the prettiest executive (par 61) golf course I've ever seen. It was built by a landscaping company to showcase their skills, and subsequent owners have maintained the property's beauty.
Thanks to Lynn for the Friday-worthy challenge, and to C-Moe for the punny tour.
Good morning!
Hand up for BAT/MIAO...and never fixed it. Bzzzzzt. Didn't try HONDA, but have never watched Better Call Saul -- do I get half-credit, C-Moe? Nice end-of-the-week outing, Lynn, even if d-o stumbled and scored a FIW.
Happy birthday, JzB. Hope this one's a blowout!
A BIG THANKS to CrossEyedDave and Big Easy for answering my plea for help in getting the puzzle to load on my old iPad. Their willingness to take the time to attempt to help me, truly confirms my belief that the Crossword Cornerites truly are Family.
FIR, and I too had bat before BLT.
Got off to a bad start in the NW when I threw down lat before pec, and had lobs at 1A. Nothing made "cents" from then on until I saw the error of my ways.
Clever but tricky theme, but I was able to suss out all of them.
Nice, but difficult, yet enjoyable Friday crossword.
Took 11:35 today. The last 3 minutes(ish) were spent in the lower-left.
I didn't know today's actress (Henie, but I do recall hearing of her Olympic exploits), today's female athlete (suni), the movement founder, McGill, or the character's field (law).
Thank you for the Friday FIR Lynn. And thanx for all the DAD jokes MOE, you WAG you!
A few favs:
46A MAZDA. Hand up. I've owned both MAZDAS and HONDAS, but we're now on our third, and likely to be last, TOYOTA Camry, but it was too long for this puzzle.
49A HENIE. Plucked this one off thin ice. BTW she was born in 57A.
7D LAW. Hand down.
22D SCALY. That BOA looks a little fluffy to me. Are you sure it's not one of these? Oh - see 41D instead.
34D HINDU. HOLI and HINDU have become crosswordese.
42D LEGO. Cleverest clue and last to fall.
Cheers,
Bill
Good Morning! Lynn gave me quite a challenge but I made it to the finish line. Thanks, Lynn.
I got all the themers & saw the wordplay but that's as far as I got.
WOs: orals -> EXAMS; Honda -> MAZDA; a -> C in McGILL.
Perps for THANOS, SUNI & ANDY.
Thanks, C-Moe for a fun recap.
Happy Birthday to JazzB. Best wishes for a fun day.
I wasn't thinking "C==>s", but I did FIR with a few unknowns filled by perps. The A&D clues and fills always slow my solving. I'd hate to have to teach spelling to non-English speakers.
DNK SULU or Chekov, Kim Wexler or LAW, Ventimiglia or MILO, THANOS, Gochujang or KOREA, SUNI, or the woman who took $6 million from BLM to build a 'studio' (aka her house to live in)-GARZA- but the perps did.
GRR- it just fit.
Musings
-A lovely struggle especially in the SW. Me too: honDA went in before mazDA appeared
-Little Jackie Paper brought Puff “strings and sealing wax and other fancy stuff”
-The 40 min drive of my yute from here to OMAHA is now only 20 minutes as the city marches inexorably west
-Me too, my club kin was a BAT and MIAO looked okay for whoever Ventimiglia is
-When I hear someone say “not hardly” I refuse to pick that nit
-Hyperbolic sports announcers will say a first quarter FB third down play is CRITICAL
-RHEA’s Better Call Saul partner, Saul Goodman (It’s all good man), was really Jimmy MCGILL (NEE?)
-If a basketball hits the BASELINE, it is out of bounds. In tennis, it is inbounds.
-Fun write-up Chris!
Clever puzzle, thank you LL. Did not know Red’s friend ANDY, Kim’s field LAW, THANOS, SUNI Lee, or ALICIA so this took a loooong time but FIR.
Bat before BLT and spa before GYM. I did know MILO from “ The Gilmore Girls” and Sonia HENIE was the best skater of her time, but she would be amazed at the athletic skills and artistry of the women skaters of today.
Anon @8:22 - To call Henie an actress is a stretch. In most of her movies she played herself——skating. She was pretty and had a Norwegian accent but spoke fluent English. Very appealing and a one-of-a-find star of her day.
Happy day, all!
I loved the theme. My favorite was cloud ceding, but it is the only one I needed help with. I was stuck on Honda. I looked up Mc Gill which led to Mazda, then Alicia, then cloud.
Happy birthday, Jazz B. I hope you have an enjoyable day. For all your hard work and wit in your blogging you deserve a month off. Good for you.
A believe a cygnet can be either male or female.
I, too, use that hot sauce with the rooster on it, but I can't find the word Gochujang anywhere on the bottle. I wagged Korea.
I baked my first batch of paper thin sand tarts this year. They are crisp and melt in your mouth. They are so hard to roll out that I make them only once a year. I always try hard to make my as thin as my Mom's. These last two years mine are a tad less thin than usual. I will make a second batch for David and his family. I am the only one of six siblings who still makes them. The tradition will die out with me.
Busy day today, TTYL
Easiest Friday CW in a long time. I liked the theme and particularly the CYGNET RING fill.
I never use hot sauces, but I know about them, so wasn’t stumped by the KOREAn one.
Thank you C-Moe for the fun review.
Happy birthday to Jazzbumpa. 🎉🎂
Parsan, Esther Williams also played herself in the movies, but her gig was swimming.
Easy Thursday. The theme was fun, gettable and perped out lotsa answers
Inkovers: Lemans (a Pontiac)/DESOTO
So what is a juvenile female swan called?
I read it as rapture in a church group. Actually SCHISM works. When it happens some go up 😇 and some go down 👿…(oops too much relijin? Like ..OMG, ALA, SUNI, MORMON)
Sonja HENIE in a bathing suitwouldn’t fit cuz that was Esther Williams, numbskull! 🫤. Oh and it’s that “Chekov”
“Delt” not end of a river or part of a frat name. I thought Saxons were Brits. (Essex, Sussex etc East Saxony, South Saxony). Apparently they were Germans and Danes
My “wag” was WAG. “Otoscope” what DO uses to stargaze? Gochujang? Go chew what?
Pine candles at Christmas for example… COMMONCENTS
I’ve seen the latest Star Trek movie. Something I can ____ my list. “Checkov”
Clever Sir Guinness: not only good at ____ he’s a smart ___ ….ACTIN…ALEC
Can’t sail a ship without one…ECRU
TGIF!!
Good Morning:
What a surprise to see the Queen of Monday Puzzles challenging us with a Friday grid, and what a worthy challenge it was! I loved the word play and my favorite themer was Cygnet Ring (Hi, Moe!) I have an initial (AAD) signet ring that my husband designed and had specially crafted by a local jeweler. I also have his (LTD) which I gave to him as a Christmas gift many, many years ago. While the solve wasn't true-Friday difficult, there was enough crunch to slow me down: Thanos, Suni, Alicia, and Korea, as clued, needed perps and I also stumbled over Idiom/Axiom and Honda/Mazda. The three letter word count was high but that usual annoyance, for me, was offset by the enjoyment of the solve. Great big CSO to HG at Omaha.
Thanks, Lynn, for the surprise Friday offering and thanks, Moe, for the fun, puns, and commentary. I enjoyed all the visuals except for that threatening Anaconda. I echo your praise for This is Us and was happy to see Milo Ventimiglia, who portrayed my favorite character in the series. Speaking of series, Better Call Saul was excellent, so give it a try.
Happy Birthday, Ron, hope it's a special day. 🎂🎉🎁🎊🎈
Have a great day.
Yes, I too am a bat boy...
Challenging and fun puzzle! I had the "da" and blindly penned "Honda." When that didn't work, I couldn't think of any other car mfrs that ended in "da." Thank goodness for,perpage. (Kept th8nking "Audi for some reason....)
"Sealing wax!"???!
It's "sealing wax"! Ever since I was six years old, and listened to Puff The Magic Dragon I thought they were singing "ceiling wax." And wondered what the heck is ceiling wax? Now 62 years later, I learn that I misheard it, and it's sealing wax! (The stuff you learn on the Blog...)
Happy Birthday Jzb!
Besides Puff, an older reference
The time has come,' the Walrus said,
To talk of many things:
Of shoes — and ships — and SEALING-wax —
Of cabbages — and kings —
And why the sea is boiling hot —
And whether pigs have wings.' - Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, 1832-1898)
Hola!
Solving the puzzle is a good distraction for me right now and this required some hard concentration. Thank you, Lynn Lempel.
CEILING WAX made me laugh. But I fell into the HONDA trap and could not climb out of it as MCGILL is unknown to me as is ALICIA Garza. OLIVIA looked right. Not!
So that SW corner is a mess!
Happy birthday, JazzB! I learn so much from Your Wednesday posts.
My granddaughter is cleaning the living room carpet right now but I am in no mood to decorate for Christmas but she might do it.
Have a beautiful day, everyone! EVERY DAY IS A GIFT!
A tough but fair Friday challenge. I really enjoyed the wordplay in today's puzzle. Zipped along quickly through the top half, thinking "kinda easy, for a late-week effort" before grinding to a screeching halt in the sea of white that the deep South became. After a pause for more coffee, CYGNET percolated to the top of my brain from somewhere, and the rest finally filled. Whew! FIR! Thanks for the challenge, and Chairman for the hot wash!
Ray-O, a juvenile female swan is also a cygnet. Swanling (male and female) is a synonym for cygnet, but Spellcheck flags it.
I am a fan of BLTs. Here, a turkey club with only two slices of bread is called a turkey BLT. It tastes the same and who needs the extra carbs?
This was a fun creative puzzle - got a chuckle out of all the themers. I fell into most everyone elses traps too.
SUNI Lee was a joy to watch in the 2020 Olympics where she won the gold medal in the all around competition when Simone Biles abruptly stepped down with mental health issues.
She grew up in CC's neck of the woods in Minnesota as a daughter of a Hmong (Laotian) immigrant.
Ray-O probably knew McGILL university in Montreal Canada as did I. It has the number one medical school in Canada and much groundbreaking research has come from it.
Thanks CM for the entertaining blog and to Lynn for the puzzle
Happy birthday JzB - I'm sure you have a lot of "Play dates" coming up with the holiday season
I enjoyed the puns very much! I’ve never seen Better Call Saul nor its predecessor. What do these cw jargon words mean: “wag”, “Naticks”? Thanks for the enjoyable puzzle and recap
Sophia @12:19 PM The short story is that a NATICK is any cross involving "completely" unknown answers. While you might get most of the letters with perps ("perpendiculars" that you know) the square where they cross will be a WAG ("Wild A** Guess"). "NATICK" is a small town in Massachusetts "near Wellesley". If you happen be from there, you'll know it. If you're not you won't. Here's the long story.
This is term is controversial, because one way that an editor can make a crossword harder (they tend to get harder as the week progresses) is to use lots of obscure terms, mostly pop-culture people and places. This does not make him or her (the editor) popular with the solvers.
Cheers,
Bill
Sophia @12:19 PM Here's a link to some common abbreviations used by solvers. C.C. has also provided the link to this page 3 lines above the comment window. It also includes a link to the originator of the "Natick Principle" by super solver Rex Parker.
Thanks to Lynn for a challenging (for me) Friday puzzle! I saw the Cs for Ss theme, which was helpful. Add me to the list of those who started with BaT and honDA. I also had uglY for ICKY so the SW was a struggle. Even so, CLOUD CEDING was my favorite. THANOS and ANDY were somewhere in the punchbowl.
I liked PICS crossing PEC (Peppers, anyone?) and Decline for SAG
Husker Gary beat me to the Better Call Saul / McGill / NEE connection.
Thanks to C-Moe for another fantastic Friday forage! That video of SUNI Lee is impressive!
Happy birthday to JzB! I hope you stop by to see CED's cake!
Puzzling thoughts 2:
How appropriate today the Garfield comic!
JON Arbuckle
Chairman Moe is on the game with this Lempel XWD...
Got it! At first, it looked to be a toughie. But it got outplayed.
The only thing that cast a shadow of uncertainty was the spelling of HENIE. Somehow I had a notion that this Nordic lass had another "J"--in her surname. But I stuck it out.
(As kids, we used to call her "Heinie"!)
~ OMK
_____________
DR: Just the one diagonal, near side.
Its anagram (12 of 15) seems to be a description of the sweet science, when the fix is in, or...
"CRUD PUGILISM"!
Yellowrocks - first off, nice to have you back. Second, thanks for correcting me with regards to the sex of a CYGNET. I did a bit more research and found this from a website:
A male swan is called a cob, while female swans are known as pens. Their hatchlings are called cygnets, and they may have three to eight eggs laid in a clutch each year [homework.study]
Hens? Unless they make quill pens from their feathers. Swans are pretty but polluters. Think Canada Geese sprayed while
Oops that anonymouse 🐭 was me
Inanehiker @11:58
One of our hospitals most talented ENT docs is McGill trained. He will often speak to me in French and I struggle to answer. ⚜️
Thx so much! I’m a native Californian. But I should learn more about MA - as my dtr lives there now
Thx. I knew y'all would educate me. I’ve done crosswords for 50+ yrs, but am just getting acquainted w the “community” and its lingo
Happy Birthday, JzB!
Thank you, Lynne Lempel. Fun puzzle. Thank you, Chairman Moe. Fun stuff in the review. BTW, if someone asked about Moe Vedre, I missed it.
Two beautiful late autumn days in Chicago. Took advantage and worked in the yard and gardens. Got everything pretty much buttoned up for winter.
Chairman Moe Thank you for thinking of me with SULU and with HOLI. Yes, I do indeed have a number of HOLI photos with some of my Indian friends.
Here is one such photo of me at a HOLI celebration.
We start out colorful. But those who get soaked with water end up covered in a kind of mud color as all the colors blend.
I enjoyed the theme. The Natick crossings, not so much. The cross of SU?I/HE?IE was utterly, totally, completely unfair. There was absolutely no way to WAG it. I picked SUZI/HEZIE and I am standing by it as the most likely answer.
TTP @ 5:36 ==> The "Moe" came from my moniker @ Wine Spectator chat board about 30 yrs ago. It was short for Mourvedre (a grape varietal from southern France). As the years passed and we got courageous enough to meet some fellow wine geeks offline, I started out "organizing" many events. Soon afterwards, one of my wine buddies said, "You are no longer Moe VEDRE; you are CHAIRMAN Moe. Though most of them now just call me "MOE"
Gosh, Picard, a great many people are familiar with the name Sonja Henie, even so many years after her heyday. That you are not familiar with her does not mean the clue is unfair or obscure, it just means not everyone is familiar with her and you happen to be one of those who are not. A personal Natick is just that -- personal.
I would love to see a crossword puzzle for which I knew every response, but I'm sure one doesn't exist.
Sandyanon Sorry if I was not clear. I referred to Natick crossings.
Two proper names crossing each other. Unlike with actual words, there is absolutely no way to figure out a letter in such a crossing.
I am happy for opportunities to learn and for challenges for creative thinking. But crossing two proper names is just a trap.
I hope this explains my point more clearly.
Sure, Picard, if you don't know either name in a crossing, then it's a guess. I must be weird, though, because I honestly see no difference between two unknown names and two unknown clues of any nature crossing each other. Guess I've just never understood the distaste for proper names. In fact, there's less ambiguity in general about names than about a lot of other clues.
Ah well, we are all different in our approach to crosswords, yes?
Picard @ 5:55. Your HOLI pic looks like heaps of fun!
C-Moe @ 6:32. Great background story! Thanks for that. One of these days, I would love it if we could grab our partners and enjoy some wine tasting!
Chairman Moe,
All of this time I assumed that you based your avatar name on the Three Stooges Moe Howard.
TTP @9:45 PM Hand up on the Stooges. Turns out MOE's not a Stooge, but a Sage du Vin.
Hi All!
First, FLN - Happy Birthday Windhover!
Thanks, Lynn, for a phun puzzle, but you beat me at 27d -- WEES: "club alternative" == BAT & who knows the name?
Thanks, C. Moe, for the expo and fessin' up where you messed up (same spot as many of us). Fun Moe-Kus and Big League Chew bubble gum let us put a whole WAD in -- just like our heroes.
WOs: sYMBAL [sic], hand-up for honDA
ESPs: [see: FIW], SUNI | HENIE, ANDY (as clued)
Fav: Would it be too juvenile of me to say 53d?
And is it wrong that SULU was my first thought at Chekov?
I've never seen Better Call Saul but I know he's a LAWyer from Braking Bad (also never seen it).
My Indian friends explained it but this clip shows HOLI [Outsourced* - 5m]
YR - I wouldn't count on the cookie tradition dying out. As soon as those dependent on the cookies realize they have to make them themselves, they will. Pop's Aunt J was the only one who made pizzelles. When she passed, Pop tried his hand but felt he never got it "right." I spent two years tweaking recipes until I thought I nailed it. Pop said "That's it! And now we all (including the Girls) use the same formula.
Happy Birthday, JzB! Enjoy your month off (and I'll try not to lose your Wednesday audience ;-))
Cheers, -T
*the show is about a guy (Todd) that goes to India to manage a call center; hilarity ensues.
Thank You Lynn Lempel for a very nice CW puzzle for the dreaded Friday... I had no real problems with it, except the names ... Suni, Thanos, Milo etc., ... actually I've heard of a Milos Foreman .. . in Hollywood.,, from crosswords.
I didnt get the replacement gimmick, until 'common cents' ... although I remember my father, as a civil servant under the British Raj, actually used red Sealing Wax, with a (his) signet initials seal, to seal all of his official letters. .... this probably until 1950 ...
I didn't know there was alist of major CW constructors for the NYT, and a great pleasure to find that our fearless leader CC is in it !!!
Thank You Chairman Moe, for for an engaging and informative blog review.... and also the fascinating story of your avatar moniker. Since nobody else would have known this fact ... except someone with an intimate knowledge about your past, such names make for very good passwords since only a very few individuals could even guess at it.
Thank you Picard, Robert, for loading that picture of Holi color-ings. Brings back a lot of memories.... I stopped playing Holi, since my last year in high school... 1964 ... and when my adult instincts ... of proper behavior and decorum (??) took over ... and my parent's strict Calvinist (?) advice against ruining perfectly good clothes with indelible inks etc. held fast. My kids have played Holi since, especially when they were in elem school.
I knew about Cobs and Pens, and that Cygnets were actually baby swans of either sex, but I don't bother with nits. To the best of my knowledge, the quills used for ancient writing and by scribes, came from bigger birds like ostriches, crows and eagles (?).
I have been to McGill on our trips to MOntreal, and knew of Sonia Henie, from Hollywood. BUt I am totally blank on sports, including gymnastics. I had HONDA before MAZDA ... and I didn't know that Cymbals are known as a percussion instrument.
Happy Birthday RonBUmpa or JazzyRon and may you have many more. Thank you for your numerous blogs.
I didnt knowa DESoto was a Chrysler ... I thought it was a separate car company...
Gojuchang - I thought was a town in Korea.
The hot sauce with the Rooster logo looks suspiciously like the Sriracha sauce of the HUy Fong Foods of LA - Irwindale, Calif., owner/CEO David Tran, a ex-Vietnamese multi-millionaire. When, at the ht of COVID, when he could not get enough Habaneros peppers, he closed shop - his operations for two years ... and his Sriracha sauce, on Ebay, was selling for $99 !!!! ( normal price $ 3.99 )
Have a great weekend all you folks.
Thank You Anon-T for that scene of Holi, from the movie Outsourced ... This is an old movie, from long ago, but still bought back many pleasant memories ... Thank You.
Holi is celebrated more in northern India, where it is a tradition, and people will confront and 'attack' or accost you - with unhindered, unrestrained or uninhibhited or uncontrolled energy ... irrespective of your working clothes, your demeanor or religion or race (!!!).....
But in the southern India, and in the major cities, like Bombay, etc. ... people are more restrained, more cautious and less likely to approach you directly. They are more likely to throw water balloons with colored water at passengers in open windows of moving buses, trains and trams ... which is probably worse ...
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