Some Travelers
The Traveling Wilburys seem to enjoy traveling by train, but the
travelers in constructor
Norman Aaronson's
4 themers appear to be suffering from various forms of
hodophobia
(fear of travel). Here are some of their punny excuses for avoiding it ...
18A. Some travelers won't tour the Corn Palace for fear that ...:
THE WALLS HAVE EARS. The
Corn Palace, commonly advertised as The World's Only Corn Palace and the
Mitchell Corn Palace, is a multi-purpose arena/facility located in
Mitchell, South Dakota, United States. The Corn Palace is a popular
tourist destination, visited by up to 500,000 people each year. A
must see for corny cruciverbalists 😃...
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Corn Palace Mitchell, SD |
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The Eiffel Tower |
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Smilodon Fatalis |
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The London Eye |
Here's the grid ...
Across:
1. See 57-Across: SEED.
5. Hilton heiress: PARIS. Also where the tower in 29A is.
10. African snake: MAMBA. The BLACK MAMBA, one of Africa's most feared and respected snakes, inevitably evokes reactions of fear, respect or awe - often merely by being mentioned. Now that I have, here are some facts (and some myths) to allay your fears.
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Black Mamba |
16. Do more than just apologize: ATONE.
17. __ Sports Bureau: statistics giant: ELIAS. The ELIAS Sports Bureau is a privately-held American sports data company providing historical and current statistical information for the major professional sports leagues operating in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1913, Elias is considered a pioneering firm in the field of sports record keeping and has served as the longtime official statistician for Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Football League (NFL).
18. [Theme
clue]
21. Unattached: SINGLE.
22. Promotion cost: AD RATE.
23. First Burmese prime minister: UNU. I have a sneaking suspicion that this particular fill was needed just to cross 19D, 5D, and 24D, and as luck would have it Norman (or Patti) found it with a 9D ...
25. Fort Collins sch.: CSU. Colorado State University (CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. Founded in 1870 as Colorado Agricultural College, it is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.
26. Digital water tester?: TOE.
29. [Theme clue]
34. Mail in a box: SHIP.
36. "No Ordinary Love" singer: SADE The secret to runaway success in the music business is mononymity (no ordinary word 😀). Here's a list of the 100 best mononymous singers -- SADE comes in at #32 ...
37. Gift list addressee: SANTA. If you're not relying on SANTA to deliver them then you have only 17 shopping day's left until Christmas ...
38. Light bulb unit: WATT. There are a lot of light bulbs in the preceding scene. If you take the trouble to count them you can calculate the approximate number of WATTS they consume per hour. The guy across the street from us has so many Christmas lights on his house that he has a generator to power them. They're beautiful, but very noisy.
39. Protect: SHIELD. Don't wait until it's too late! ...
42. Squabble: SPAT. Also the past tense of SPIT.
43. Actor Elba: IDRIS. Two vowels + endings for a past tense, a comparison, and a plural. Gotta love this guy.
45. Eyelid affliction: STYE.
46. Pajama parts: TOPS. BOTTOMS won't fit (unless you have two heads 😁).
47. [Theme clue]
51. "Help!" letters: SOS.
52. Anger: IRE.
53. Liberal arts maj.: SOC. Sociology. The science of friendly people.
54. Pub __: CRAWLS. I went on a PUB CRAWL once with some of my English cousins. I really don't remember much about it.
57. With 1-Across, bun topper: SESAME.
62. [Theme clue]
66. Kitchen cover: APRON.
67. Underway: AFOOT. The word AFOOT first entered our language in Shakespeare's in Henry V and was later popularized by Sherlock Holmes.
68. "Stat!": ASAP. I believe that STAT is medical parlance for IMMEDIATELY!. OTOH ASAP means As Soon As Possible (or when you get a ROUND TOIT 😀).
69. Fringe benefits: PERKS. Free coffee?
70. Obligations: DEBTS.
71. Scrawny: BONY.
Down:
1. College Board exams: SATS. Scholastic Aptitude Tests
2. K thru 12: EL HI. Kindergarten through 12 grade (when you take your SATS).
3. Genesis spot: EDEN. Peter Gabriel left that spot in 1975 to go solo ...
4. Dippy __: original name of Disney's Goofy: DAWG. Goofy first appeared in Mickey's Revue in 1932 as Dippy DAWG, and in Orphan's Benefit in 1934 as Goofy ,,,
5. Lack of color: PALENESS.
6. Scoreboard abbr. for the 2023 NL East champions: ATL.
7. Congressional Gold Medal honoree Parks: ROSA. In December of 2019 The Library of Congress began a special exhibition about ROSA PARKS. The website created to archive this event had a selection of manuscripts of her speeches, revealing that she was more than just a seamstress who "sat down" on a bus to stand up for the rights of African Americans. The LOC exhibited the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given by the U.S. executive branch, presented to Rosa by President Clinton on September 15, 1996 ...
... and the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor awarded by the Legislative Branch on June 15, 1999, also presented by President Clinton.
13. Snack or salad follower: BAR.
14. Beast of burden: ASS. And when their burdens become too great, they can be BADA**ES.
19. Last year's sr.: ALUM. Or a hydrated sulfate salt of ALUMinum and usually one other metal.
20. Bouquet holder: VASE. Here's a nice bouquet holder from Song Dynasty, China, 11th - early 12th century AD.
24. Locale of Snowbird and Alta: UTAH.
26. Two-bit: TINPOT. Given the current price of TIN Oxide (SnO2), used to opacify white ceramic glazes ($130.76/lb), I wouldn't call POTS glazed with them "Two-bit". 🙄
27. Ready to flow: ON TAP.
28. Les __-Unis: ETATS.
29. Kumquat, for one: CITRUS. Kumquats are a group of small, fruit-bearing trees in the family Rutaceae. The edible fruit closely resembles the orange in color, texture, and anatomy, but is much smaller, being approximately the size of a large olive. The fruit is often eaten whole by humans, and has a taste which is sweet, tart and also somewhat sour.
30. Vision-related: OPTIC.
31. Lyric poet: ODIST. KEATS and BYRON fit but didn't perp.
32. Saw things?: TEETH. 😁
33. Brewery ovens: OASTS. An OAST, oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning (drying) hops as part of the brewing process. In America they are called "Hop houses". They consist of a rectangular one- or two-story building (the "stowage") and one or more kilns in which the hops are spread out to be dried by hot air rising from a wood or charcoal fire below. Without them we would be unable to maintain a steady supply of ALES and IPAS, essential ingredients in many crossword puzzles.
34. Gruyère, e.g.: SWISS.
Gruyère is a hard Swiss cheese
that originated in the cantons of Fribourg, Vaud,
Neuchâtel, Jura, and Berne in Switzerland. It is
named after the town of Gruyères in Fribourg. In 2001, Gruyère gained the
appellation d'origine contrôlée (AOC), which became the appellation d'origine
protégée (AOP) as of 2013. These sound similar to the standards used to
protect European wines, although
apparently when it comes to cheese the U.S. doesn't recognize them.
35. Couldn't say no: HAD TO.
40. Caustic agents: LYES. Not as caustic as some LIES.
41. Money in the bank: DEPOSITS.
44. Locales at Snowbird and Alta: SKI RUNS. A CSO to MalMan
48. Country of 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi: IRAN. Narges Mohammadi (born 21 April 1972) is an Iranian human rights activist and Nobel laureate. She is the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), headed by her fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi. She has been imprisoned for her crimes and at last report she is being kept in solitary confinement.
49. First-time father: NEW DAD.
50. Tech giant that purchased Gateway: ACER.
54. Diner employee: COOK.
55. Quaker cereal: LIFE.
56. __ appeal: SNOB.
58. Strike underminer: SCAB. The recent SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have now been settled. There were relatively few SCABS (strike breakers) but the unions did allow a number of exceptions to this designation. But here are 13 celebs and influencers who were called out for scabbing.
59. In addition: ALSO.
60. Nasty: MEAN.
61. Best Play, for one: ESPY. Not a Tony, but a sports play. The 2023 ESPY Awards, the 31st annual ceremony of the ESPY Awards, was held on July 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and broadcast by ABC. For the first time, the ceremony forewent a single host due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
62. Empty space: GAP.
63. Reveal, to a poet: OPE.
64. 2022 Telugu-language film directed by S.S. Rajamouli: RRR. RRR (subtitled onscreen as Roudram Ranam Rudhiram ("Ferocious, War, Blood") is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language epic period action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, et. al. It revolves around the fictional versions of two Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Rama Rao), their friendship, and their fight against the British Raj. Rotten Tomatoes rated it a 95% ...
65. Tent bed: COT.
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
17. __ Sports Bureau: statistics giant: ELIAS. The ELIAS Sports Bureau is a privately-held American sports data company providing historical and current statistical information for the major professional sports leagues operating in the U.S. and Canada. Founded in 1913, Elias is considered a pioneering firm in the field of sports record keeping and has served as the longtime official statistician for Major League Baseball (MLB), the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the National Football League (NFL).
21. Unattached: SINGLE.
22. Promotion cost: AD RATE.
23. First Burmese prime minister: UNU. I have a sneaking suspicion that this particular fill was needed just to cross 19D, 5D, and 24D, and as luck would have it Norman (or Patti) found it with a 9D ...
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U Nu |
29. [Theme clue]
34. Mail in a box: SHIP.
36. "No Ordinary Love" singer: SADE The secret to runaway success in the music business is mononymity (no ordinary word 😀). Here's a list of the 100 best mononymous singers -- SADE comes in at #32 ...
37. Gift list addressee: SANTA. If you're not relying on SANTA to deliver them then you have only 17 shopping day's left until Christmas ...
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Christmas Light Nativity Scene |
38. Light bulb unit: WATT. There are a lot of light bulbs in the preceding scene. If you take the trouble to count them you can calculate the approximate number of WATTS they consume per hour. The guy across the street from us has so many Christmas lights on his house that he has a generator to power them. They're beautiful, but very noisy.
39. Protect: SHIELD. Don't wait until it's too late! ...
42. Squabble: SPAT. Also the past tense of SPIT.
43. Actor Elba: IDRIS. Two vowels + endings for a past tense, a comparison, and a plural. Gotta love this guy.
45. Eyelid affliction: STYE.
46. Pajama parts: TOPS. BOTTOMS won't fit (unless you have two heads 😁).
47. [Theme clue]
51. "Help!" letters: SOS.
52. Anger: IRE.
53. Liberal arts maj.: SOC. Sociology. The science of friendly people.
54. Pub __: CRAWLS. I went on a PUB CRAWL once with some of my English cousins. I really don't remember much about it.
57. With 1-Across, bun topper: SESAME.
62. [Theme clue]
66. Kitchen cover: APRON.
67. Underway: AFOOT. The word AFOOT first entered our language in Shakespeare's in Henry V and was later popularized by Sherlock Holmes.
68. "Stat!": ASAP. I believe that STAT is medical parlance for IMMEDIATELY!. OTOH ASAP means As Soon As Possible (or when you get a ROUND TOIT 😀).
69. Fringe benefits: PERKS. Free coffee?
70. Obligations: DEBTS.
71. Scrawny: BONY.
Down:
1. College Board exams: SATS. Scholastic Aptitude Tests
2. K thru 12: EL HI. Kindergarten through 12 grade (when you take your SATS).
3. Genesis spot: EDEN. Peter Gabriel left that spot in 1975 to go solo ...
4. Dippy __: original name of Disney's Goofy: DAWG. Goofy first appeared in Mickey's Revue in 1932 as Dippy DAWG, and in Orphan's Benefit in 1934 as Goofy ,,,
 |
| Goofy |
6. Scoreboard abbr. for the 2023 NL East champions: ATL.
7. Congressional Gold Medal honoree Parks: ROSA. In December of 2019 The Library of Congress began a special exhibition about ROSA PARKS. The website created to archive this event had a selection of manuscripts of her speeches, revealing that she was more than just a seamstress who "sat down" on a bus to stand up for the rights of African Americans. The LOC exhibited the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor given by the U.S. executive branch, presented to Rosa by President Clinton on September 15, 1996 ...
8. Sharp, as a TV broadcast: IN HD. High Definition Video.
9. Google: SEARCH.
10. Informal gatherings: MEET UPS.
11. Not aweather: ALEE. Another adjective created by appending an A to A NOUN.
12. Soccer great Hamm: MIA. We had this clue recently, so I was able to recycle this jpeg ...
 |
| Mia Hamm |
14. Beast of burden: ASS. And when their burdens become too great, they can be BADA**ES.
19. Last year's sr.: ALUM. Or a hydrated sulfate salt of ALUMinum and usually one other metal.
20. Bouquet holder: VASE. Here's a nice bouquet holder from Song Dynasty, China, 11th - early 12th century AD.
 | ||||
| Song Dynasty Vase Freer Gallery Washington, D.C. |
24. Locale of Snowbird and Alta: UTAH.
26. Two-bit: TINPOT. Given the current price of TIN Oxide (SnO2), used to opacify white ceramic glazes ($130.76/lb), I wouldn't call POTS glazed with them "Two-bit". 🙄
27. Ready to flow: ON TAP.
28. Les __-Unis: ETATS.
29. Kumquat, for one: CITRUS. Kumquats are a group of small, fruit-bearing trees in the family Rutaceae. The edible fruit closely resembles the orange in color, texture, and anatomy, but is much smaller, being approximately the size of a large olive. The fruit is often eaten whole by humans, and has a taste which is sweet, tart and also somewhat sour.
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| Kumquats |
31. Lyric poet: ODIST. KEATS and BYRON fit but didn't perp.
32. Saw things?: TEETH. 😁
33. Brewery ovens: OASTS. An OAST, oast house or hop kiln is a building designed for kilning (drying) hops as part of the brewing process. In America they are called "Hop houses". They consist of a rectangular one- or two-story building (the "stowage") and one or more kilns in which the hops are spread out to be dried by hot air rising from a wood or charcoal fire below. Without them we would be unable to maintain a steady supply of ALES and IPAS, essential ingredients in many crossword puzzles.
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Oast house Frittenden, Kent, UK |
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Gruyère Swiss Cheese |
40. Caustic agents: LYES. Not as caustic as some LIES.
41. Money in the bank: DEPOSITS.
44. Locales at Snowbird and Alta: SKI RUNS. A CSO to MalMan
48. Country of 2023 Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi: IRAN. Narges Mohammadi (born 21 April 1972) is an Iranian human rights activist and Nobel laureate. She is the vice president of the Defenders of Human Rights Center (DHRC), headed by her fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi. She has been imprisoned for her crimes and at last report she is being kept in solitary confinement.
 |
| Narges Mohammadi |
50. Tech giant that purchased Gateway: ACER.
54. Diner employee: COOK.
55. Quaker cereal: LIFE.
56. __ appeal: SNOB.
58. Strike underminer: SCAB. The recent SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes have now been settled. There were relatively few SCABS (strike breakers) but the unions did allow a number of exceptions to this designation. But here are 13 celebs and influencers who were called out for scabbing.
59. In addition: ALSO.
60. Nasty: MEAN.
61. Best Play, for one: ESPY. Not a Tony, but a sports play. The 2023 ESPY Awards, the 31st annual ceremony of the ESPY Awards, was held on July 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and broadcast by ABC. For the first time, the ceremony forewent a single host due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.
62. Empty space: GAP.
63. Reveal, to a poet: OPE.
64. 2022 Telugu-language film directed by S.S. Rajamouli: RRR. RRR (subtitled onscreen as Roudram Ranam Rudhiram ("Ferocious, War, Blood") is a 2022 Indian Telugu-language epic period action drama film directed by S. S. Rajamouli. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, et. al. It revolves around the fictional versions of two Indian revolutionaries, Alluri Sitarama Raju (Charan) and Komaram Bheem (Rama Rao), their friendship, and their fight against the British Raj. Rotten Tomatoes rated it a 95% ...
65. Tent bed: COT.
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
Notes from C.C.:
Happy 78th birthday to Windhover, who met with Lucina on July 24, 2015. Hope all's well with you and Irish, Larry!
37 comments:
Actually, I’ve never heard of “tin pot” as a synonym for “two bit,”
But the perps were fair. In fact, the perps were fair all over this puzzle so I have no complaints. All of the themed answers were common “in the language” slang phrases so I have no complaints about that, either. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning.
Yay, a themed puzzle with no reveal to miss. What's not to like? We haven't seen ELHI in quite some time; too bad it had to raise its ugly head. ELIAS was an unknown as clued. Howe did that happen? Wondered what that "Eye Race" was about, but the link was broken. This one came together faster than yesterday. Thanx, Norman, Waseeley, and Teri.
ALUM: When I started shaving you could buy an ALUM pencil for about $0.35. Now the cheapest I could find on A-to-Z was two for $5.
FIR, but erased mfa for SOC, and grad for ALUM. You aren't an ALUM while you are still there, but you don't have to grad to be an ALUM.
Today is:
NATIONAL PEARL HARBOR REMEMBRANCE DAY (ranks with Gettysburg, Antietam, Shanksville, and the Vietnam wall for somber reflection)
CHANUKAH (starts this evening. May the New Year bring a safer world for our Jewish friends)
INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AVIATION DAY (airline passengers don’t act too civil these days)
NATIONAL COTTON CANDY DAY (terrible for you, but tastes great)
NATIONAL SLIME DAY (probably more nutritious than COTTON CANDY)
The relevant statistics for today's lightbulbs are temperature (color) and lumens (brightness).
I echo Bill's explanation of the differences between asap and STAT. I used to tell my project managers to say "before Tuesday" or "before you leave for the day" are examples of meaningful time requirements, but ASAP isn't.
ALEE is an important word in sailing. When the helmsman (regardless of gender) is tacking the boat, "helm's ALEE" means "don't let the boom hit you," and hints to other hails to come very soon (like "cut" and "skirt.")
The sage in Pearls Before Swine is The Wise ASS On The Hill.
Thanks to Norman for the fun, easy-for-a-Thursday puzzle, and to Bill 'n' Teri for the interesting tour.
D-O @5:37 AM I just applied some "eye drops" to the London Eye link and you should be able to exam them now.
Thanx, waseeley. I see now that the "Eye race" is one of those "mine is bigger than yours" contests.
Here's today's bi-weekly DAB puzzle called Plutocratic Pastimes. Here's what he has to say about it:
"The rule-bound, rigidly symmetrical crossword form cries out, I think, for utter nonsense. This is a modest tribute to the nonsense poems of Edward Lear and Lewis Carroll".
Humorous theme today - the theme answers were long enough that I did the verticals first and then had enough scattered letters to solve them
Black MAMBA makes me think of Kobe Bryant's nickname. He said he took that on name himself after seeing the movie of crosswordese actress Uma Thurman "Kill Bill". He was dealing with a lot of personal/life issues off the court and wanted to separate the issues Kobe was dealing with and became the Black MAMBA on the court.
We used to have a loquat tree outside of my dorm in college - I thought they were in the same family as KUMQUATs- but loquats are more like plums or apples (smaller than either) and KUMQUATS were citrusy.
Thanks Bill & Teri - enjoyed the opening clip of the supergroup The Traveling Wilburys (another trivia question - who were the members? George Harrison, Jeff Lynne (of ELO), Bob Dylan, Roy Orbison, and Tom Petty)
Good Morning:
I liked the format of the theme and the themers themselves, although I believe Get To The Point is far more common than Come To The Point. Elias, RRR, and Unu were unknown but Santa is quite timely and Idris Elba is always welcome, especially by Lucina. There were two rare fun rows today with:
Ship Sade Santa
Apron Afoot ASAP
Thanks, Norman, and thanks, Bill and Teri, for the fun and facts. Enjoyed all of the sparkling visuals.
Ray O, if you're not familiar with the Netflix series, Fisk, give it a look. It took me a while to warm up to it, but it's hilariously funny, with characters unlike any I've ever seen before. It's quirky, mildly irreverent, and became very addictive.
FLN
Joy B, good luck with your cataract surgery. Welcome to the Corner.
Have a great day.
Oops, forgot to wish Windhover a very Happy Birthday! 🎂🎉🎊🎈🎁
The far right middle section was trouble for me, as I didn't know OASTS, TINPOT and ETATS. I made guesses on some of the perps but they were wrong. "Come to the Paris" didn't make sense but I thought maybe Paris was right and an earlier part was wrong. "Stuck in the park" was worth trying. Finally I gave up and revealed some of the verts to finish up.
FIR. Typical Thursday puzzle, hard but doable.
The theme was clever and I got it on the first answer, and smiled.
Proper names at a minimum and a few unknowns for me, but I got'er done, so I'm pleased.
Took 6:05 today for me to dribble correctly, and not get whistled for a travelling violation.
Clever theme.
I also didn't know tinpot and etats.
Unu? Who knew?
I've heard a disparaging term for Latin American "strongmen" as TINPOT dictators.
ETATS-Unis will be seen when the US team enters the stadium in the 2024 Paris Olympics
Thursday Travels. Thanks for the fun, Norman, and waseeley and Teri.
I FIRed in good time and smiled at the theme.
I have been to the Corn Palace in Mitchell long ago, but don’t remember much about it. I do remember Walls Drug Store (a few hours drive to the west), and thought of that with THE WALLS.
I wanted STUCK IN THE mud before PAST (and I still think it would have matched the clue better).
Two inkblots to change Emmy to ESPY, and to correct my entry for 56D into 53A (and entering Sex for that appeal). SNOB was needed.
Some unknowns, but perps were fair (and needed for the C in CSU for this Canadian).
TIN POT is not a common expression for me, and I didn’t get the relation to “two-bit”. Thanks waseeley for making it a little clearer for me.
Happy Birthday Windhover.
Wishing you all a great day.
UNU & RRR-really? I got both by perps but not good. ELIAS or Dipp DAWG- never heard of them either but they were easy fills.
"Will It GO ROUND IN CIRCLES", by Billy Preston
Subg- two-bit politician or TIN POT Dictator. The world is full of them.
Faster solving than yesterday and the theme was obvious from the start. RRR is the only fill I doubted. Perps and wags were helpful for the names.
The La Brea Tar Pits are tens of thousands of years old, so "stuck in the past."
The origin of TIN POT: "Although still used today, this is a pejorative term coined in the days of the British Empire, when it referred to the Victorian innovation of the tin pot, an inexpensive metal container, the forerunner of the tin can." As billicohoes said, tin pot is often associated with minor dictators. Both expressions mean inexpensive or fraudulent.
Two bits is a trifling amount of money.
I began teaching in 1960. I have never found elhi anywhere other than in the dictionary and in crosswords. We say K-12.
ASAP is deceptive. Many times the speaker means to say, "Make it possible very quickly, at all costs. Especially when the boss says it, the excuse, "It was not possible to do it sooner," does not hold water, the theme of yesterday's puzzle.
Almost ready to pack it in . Too many blanks in the SW corner Suddenly realized “Diner employee” wasn’t chef but COOK and the rest filled in for the win. Cute theme, didn’t think STUCK IN THE PAST fit then realized the tar pits are from the PAST (50,000 years, LIU) like YR just said
I thought for sire I rode a Giant Ferris wheel in London on a trip when university was on break in the 70’s but Google says the EYE was constructed in the 90’s. Probably the “Wiener Riesenrad” (not a hotdog 🌭) the giant Ferris wheel in Vienna another time for certain.
It used to be just asea and alee but now it’s “aport” and “aweather” (autocorrect rebels against both). Hadda perpwait on “Alan” Ladd or ALDA. You do a ”Google” SEARCH when you need a clue for a nonsense answer like “First Burmese prime minister”. Who gnu? Sorry, UNU
Haven’t had ELHI in so long I put elem, the same errror I used to make every time
Have seen so many “Telugu”language films I could not decide which one. …Ohhh the one directed by S.S.Rajamouli. You mean RRR? of course. What else 🙄
WEES….Once again ASAP is not “Stat!!” TIMPOTS?
Since so many repeat answers I put MAMBA at the get go rather than rperp check/rule out cobra first
They gave away one cuz they ____ ….HADTO
Digital ink…ETATS
Avoid porch pirates, _____ at the door….MEETUPS
Snowing hard 🌨️⛄️
Irish ☘️ @ 9:52
Thanks for the suggestion Always looking for the next interesting series. Right now I’m the middle of “A Murder at the End of the World”, “The Curse”’with Emma Stone and “Fellow Travelers” about the McCarthy era communist/gay witch hunts.
BTW just finished the Movie “May December” with Natalie Portman and Julieanne Moore. If anyone saw it and understands the ending please email me. Two terrific actors (actresses?) but even Google’s explanation was confusing 🫤
Musings
-A 60˚ F December day with a clever puzzle, The Traveling Wilburys, a MEETUP for lunch with my former university president friend and golf this afternoon. Life is good.
-Roy Orbison’s voice is on the Traveling Wilburys song but he died before the video was made. Did you notice his picture followed by the guitar in the empty rocking chair in the video?
-Hitler told General Dietrich von Choltitz to blow up the Eiffel Tower. The general refused because he realized the Fuhrer was insane.
-We had a green MAMBA here recently
-Alan LADD first came to my old mind
-ELIAS says Derek Jeter is the only player with 20+ yrs of experience to never have a losing season
-I’ve never had a sub job offer that I HAD TO accept
-If Irish recommends something, it has to interest me. I’ll take a look.
Hola1
Thanks to Norman M. Aaronson for the distraction today. It filled nicely and forced me to think hard in a few spots. And yes, IDRIS Elba is always a treat to visualize.
I, too, wanted STUCK IN THE MUD which I believe is more common but PAST easily perped.
OASTS is a blast from the past which we have not seen in a while as has been noted.
CITRUS is one of Arizona's main crops.
LIFE is also the name of a fun board game. TINPOt is unfamiliar to me.
I am not fond of SESAME seeds; they just get in the way of a good snack.
I agree with Yellowrocks about ELHI. Nowhere else have I seen it outside of puzzles.
Happy birthday, Windhover! I hope you are celebrating.
Everyone, have a special day. It is a gift.
Happy birthday to my youngest granddaughter who becomes a teenager today.
Thanks YR for further explaining how PAST fits the La Brea Tar Pits. Further thanks to YR and others for explaining TIN POT/two bits.
Puzzling thoughts:
FIR - thanks, Norman, Bill, and Teri
This was by far the easiest Thursday solve in quite awhile. Despite having 16 more squares to fill, I finished it in "Tuesday/Wednesday" time
GET TO THE POINT seems more "in the language" than COME TO THE POINT
Remembering all of those who perished in Pearl Harbor 82 years ago
See ya tomorrow ... [spoiler alert: the puzzle is a hoot!]
Greetings! What a treat doing today's puzzle. Thanks, Norman.
No WOs. Perps for U HU and RRR.
Unfamiliar with TINPOT. To me, "two bit(s) has always been a quarter ($.25).
The present has some terrific conveniences but being a little bit "STUCK IN THE PAST" is not a bad thing. Think fashion, music, movies...
Best wishes to JoyB for your upcoming cataract surgery. I had mine last year, and it was one of the best gifts I gave myself.
Thanks waseeley & Mrs. for the clever recap.
A cute puzzle theme, very enjoyable.
Yes there were some hard parts, but that just makes the "aha" moment more enjoyable.
I have never heard of tin pot, but I have heard of tin pan, so it was not hard to extrapolate.
But, in a learning moment, my knowledge of what tin pan got turned on its head when I looked up "tin pan alley."
Apparently it's a music company in New York. And the original meaning was a squeaky instrument. Especially badly tuned pianos.!
(Live and learn...)
Happy birthday Windhover, without you, I would never have known about this bird...
Oh yes, I guess you deserve a bird cake!
(Ha, ha, just kidding. how bout this one...
CED @12:54 PM And without you posting that beautiful video of The Windhover, I would have never known about this beautiful poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, which appears to have inspired it. I wonder if "Windhover" might be Larry's handle, not his last name?
Thanks, Norma, for your fun puzzle! My FAV themer was THE WALLS HAVE EARS (I have a flatten penny souvenir from there. I think I remember they said they change the outside mosaics every year. Impressive for corn!).
I also liked Saw things? and Kumquat (I have a small tree in a half wine barrel. My neighbor has a large loquat (hi inanehiker).)
Another one-box FIW. I saw "Squabble" as a verb so I had SPAr. The Latin perp looked good enough....
Thanks to waseeley for your time & research! Hand up for owning a Traveling Wilbury's CD. Also, thanks for the OASTS explanation.
FLN, JoyB. Perhaps you will have better luck if you solve the LA Times XWD on the Washington Post website. Copy this to your browser then look around:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/crossword-puzzles/daily/
I hope that helps. Also, best wishes for your upcoming eye surgery!
Yes, waseeley, Windhover is his screen handle (HBD, Larry). Here's another hand up for owning a Traveling Wilbury's CD.
Nice Thursday FIR, with a touch of crunch. Wanted OATS before LIFE, and UNU & RRR were WTF? but solved by ESP. Agree with Bill and Jinx on ASAP.
Being a denizen of “Lost Angels”, @CanadianEh!, I can tell you there ain’t much mud at La Brea Tar Pits — but plenty of sticky goop aka tar that trapped those Pleistocene-era animals (I was hooked on the place when I was a kid…). Sadly, STUCKINTHEgoop wouldn’t support the perps…
Tin Pan Alley wasn’t “a” music co. in Noo Yawk, it was actually the street where all the music publishers were located: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tin_Pan_Alley
Good grins out of the themers in this one, which also helped with sussing out the perps. Another fun Thursday in the books; with a learning moment: I’d never seen ELHI before. But then again, I’m not a veteran of this stuff like many of y’all!
====> Darren / L.A.
Anonymous@5:48
I hope you are joking with "Lost Angels" because Los Angeles means "The Angels".
Thanks Darren. I see that I need to expand my knowledge about those tar pits. (Or take a trip to LA!)
Also, for JoyB2you2,
Here is Sumdaze link to The Washington Post link to the LA times Crossword in a hotlink format, so you don't have to type in all those possible typos. The format is a little different, but it will get you there.
Also, also,
Might as well include a direct hotlink to LATimes.com just in case you were using a link that was corrupted...
Hi Y'all! Enjoyable but hard puzzle, Norman. Thanks, Seeleys.
On a bus tour to Canada and west, we stopped at Mitchell, SD to see the Corn Palace. Mostly I remember a flock of birds that was enjoying those murals of their food. There was a street fair going on with lots of food trucks for those of us who don't thrive on seeds.
Happy Birthday, Windhover. Are you still on the farm?
CED@7:01. Thanks for fixing up my link! I hope JoyB sees it.
Waseeley:
Replying to your query as anonymous to avoid the hassle of logging in on Google.
Today is my 78th b-day. I went back to school at Berea College in 1991 at age 46. I encountered Hopkin’s wonderful poem in a class there and although I’m nonreligious (in the conventional sense) it speaks to me even today. It has become my farm name, my email address, my avatar on several blogs and a part of my identity.
Hopkins was a conflicted character who wrote many wonderful poems. None were published during his life. He asked a friend to burn them after his death. To our great good fortune the friend did not comply.
Yes I am. The only way I know to quit is sell the farm or die. I’m not ready for either. Thanks for asking.
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