Theme: Ides and Go Seek
| This year's LABOR DAY is 9/2 |
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| The SHOT CLOCK is above the backboard for easy visibility |
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| Lots of SPECIAL INK used |
I highlighted all 14 of THE LETTER ESSES found in today's puzzle. Can't wait for the rest of the clues/words to see what else is in store ...
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| The Grid |
Across:
1. Cotillion VIPs: DEBS. More information about a Cotillion vs a Debutante
5. Fades: DIMS. Many lighting sources come with some sort of DIMming device these days
9. Redolence: AROMA. Its literal meaning; mostly used as an adjective (redolent)
14. Strip of wood: SLAT.
15. Legendary: EPIC.
16. Participated in a regatta, maybe: ROWED. My first thought
was that a regatta was a boat race for sailing vessels, not rowing
vessels ... but this image below shows the type of boat referred to:
17. Prefix between giga- and peta-: TERA. A GIGA-byte is 1
billion bytes; a TERA-byte is 1,000 gigabytes; but a PETA byte is what
happens when a worker at the SPCA doesn't pay attention to the rescue's
bark ...
22. Gain an advantage: ONE UP. Who wants to ONE UP the Chairman today on dad jokes??!😏
23. Collection of vineyards, perhaps: ESTATE. This one is right up the Chairman's alley
28. Tune from "10": BOLERO. Been a lonnnnggggg time since I saw
this EPIC film starring Bo Derek and Dudley Moore ... the clip below is
definitely NSFW [be warned!]
32. W-2 org.: IRS. One month - to the day - and our 2023 1040 tax returns are due
33. Benefit: AVAIL. Many of us AVAIL ourselves of the blog to see where we went wrong (or succeeded)
35. Nose (out): EDGE. Also a horse racing term; when a horse "wins by a nose" and EDGEs out its rival
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| Also known as a "photo finish", but the inside horse EDGEd out the other |
39. Hearty partner: HALE.
42. Animal also called a forest giraffe: OKAPI. Fun facts about it in this short video clip:
43. Boxer's warning: GRR. Maybe THIS is the warning made by a dog prior to giving one a "peta-byte"
49. Dinner-and-a-show platform: TV TRAY. Margaret and I still use this device
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| Tables for two?? |
51. Small accident: MISHAP.
52. One-named K-pop singer: IRENE. This filled in with perps; Her
62. Powdery mineral: TALC. I'm sure the sales of this powder plummeted once the discovery of its connection to cervical cancer was made public
64. Inbox filler: EMAIL.
65. Cut down to size: CROP. Most of my images in this blog are CROPped from its original size
66. Poetic tributes: ODES.
67. Study aids: NOTES. I was a prolific NOTES taker when I was in school
68. Physicist Bethe portrayed in "Oppenheimer": HANS. The movie "Oppenheimer" is bound to provide us with many new clues/entries this year in xword puzzles
69. Moon landing org.: NASA.
Down:
1. Summer hrs.: DST. Not here in AZ (except for the Navajo Nation) ... apparently there is a bill before the Senate (and/or House) that would make DST permanent ... YMMV ... having more daylight here in the desert SW during the summer would not be welcomed
2. Roosevelt whom Truman called the "First Lady of the World": ELEANOR. FDR's wife
3. Crude carriers: BARRELS. TANKERS also fit as an answer
4. Square figure?: STATUE. Nice misdirection for a clue ...
square, as in "town square", where many statues reside, though many that
had to do with Civil War figures (CSA) have been torn down/removed.
Here is a joke related to square figures ... (just one cuss word)
For decades, two heroic statues, one male and one female, faced each other in a town square until one day, an angel came down from heaven. "You've been such exemplary statues," the angel said, "that I'm going to give you a special gift. I'm going to bring you both to life for thirty minutes, during which time you can do anything you want."
And with a clap of his hands, the angel brought the statues to life. The two approached each other a bit shyly and dashed for the bushes, from whence there came a good deal of giggling, laughter, and shaking of branches. Fifteen minutes later, the two statues emerged from the bushes with wide grins on their faces.
"You still have fifteen more minutes," said the angel, winking at them. Grinning even more broadly, the female statue turned to the male statue and said, "Great! Only this time you hold the pigeon down and I'll shit on its head!"
[Jokes4us dot com]
5. Ert 's style: DECO. as in Art DECO
6. Tablet since 2010: iPAD. No tablets in the Moe household; just PC's and cellphones
7. Marshy spot: MIRE. BOG didn't fit
8. Dundee resident: SCOT.
9. Melodic passage: ARIOSO. Here is a nice Bach ARIOSO:
10. Director Howard: RON. He's come a long way from playing Opie
11. Have debts: OWE. Mine include just a car payment and mortgage payment; credit cards, no
12. Guys: MEN. MALES was too long to fit
13. Flap: ADO. Had to check all of the synonyms ... does the thesaurussaurus agree?
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| Nope; ADO didn't make it |
19. "Stay" singer Lisa: LOEB. Lots of proper names in today's puzzle; who kept track of them? Not I
21. 2021 interviewer of Meghan and Harry: OPRAH.
22. Kimono sash: OBI. Lots of 3-letter words (TLW) today; who kept track of them? Irish Miss, perhaps?
24. Arduous journey: TREK.
25. Append: ADD.
26. Graffiti signature: TAG. This, maybe??
27. Needle hole: EYE.
29. Lacto-__ vegetarian: OVO. One who consumes dairy and eggs in their non-meat diet
30. Soundly defeats: LICKS. I have been known to "soundly defeat" a lollipop ...
31. Penne __ vodka: ALLA. Italian for "with"
34. Speck: ATOM. IOTA fits, too
36. MacFarlane or Green of "Family Guy": SETH. The man of many voices. Does anyone else here watch The Graham Norton show? It's one of our favorites - shown on BBC America
37. Elect (to): OPT. OPT in or OPT out; that's the "election"
38. Polite: CIVIL. Unlike the CIVIL War, which was anything but "polite"
39. "Let me see ... ": HMM. HMM and GRR in the same puzzle?? ARRGGHH
40. Mahershala with two Oscars: ALI. Not the "boxer's" family member
41. Nt. wt. units: LBS.
43. Southernmost of the Windward Islands: GRENADA.
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| Grenada is situated to the northeast of Venezuela; to the northwest of Trinidad and Tobago; and to the southwest of Saint Vincent and Grenadines. |
44. Really irks: RANKLES.
45. Saloon pour: RYE. As opposed to a "salon" pour, which
would've been DYE. RYE is one of the Chairman's favorite whiskies -
especially when used to make a Manhattan cocktail
47. Stands in front of artists: EASELS. MODELS could've answered this clue, too ... yes??
48. Dr. visit: APPT. I like to make mine (APPT.'s) mid-morning
50. Son of Poseidon: TRITON.
54. Engrave: ETCH.
55. "Life & Beth" actor Michael: CERA. Michael Austin Cera is a Canadian actor and musician. He is known for
his awkward, offbeat characters in coming of age comedy films and for
portraying George Michael Bluth in the sitcom Arrested Development
(2003–2006, 2013, 2018–2019). He is also known for voicing Brother Bear
in The Berenstain Bears
56. Curling __: IRON. RINK also fit, though I bet most Canadians refer to the surface for curling as a sheet
57. Egyptian snakes: ASPS. Cleo's foil
58. Number of digits on a keypad: TEN. Note: the final five clues in today's puzzle yield TLWs, Irish Miss ...
59. Med. care provider: HMO.
60. "Don't let it get cold": EAT.
61. Whopper: LIE.
63. Farm-share program, for short: CSA. Clues that match this answer to the group that split from the USA in 1861 are no longer allowed, methinks
And there you have it! The IDES of March puzzle fell with no additional stab wounds. Curious to know YOUR thoughts ... in the comments section below.
On another note, the Chairman and Margaret will be attending the funeral of her mom today, so I won't be coming here until tomorrow, or much later tonight to see your comments. Her mom passed peacefully a few weeks ago (at the age of 94). May she RIP; she is now reunited with the love of her life who passed away in 2019, just a few days after their 68th wedding anniversary
61 comments:
I will have to admit I didn’t understand the reveal until the Chairman explained it to me. And, even now, it seems quite a “stretch.” That said, I didn’t find this puzzle too difficult and, even when I didn’t know an answer right away, the perps were fair. FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning! (And happy 1000th Wordle.)
Noticed the lack of circles. Read the reveal. Couldn't suss the theme. Thanx C-Moe for bringing it to light. Got 'er done, even if I didn't understand it. Enjoyed your Caesar and Pigeon stories, C-Moe. Very clever puzzle, Alan. Too clever for d-o.
HANS: We rewatched Oppenheimer this week, spreading it across two nights. It's too much for one sitting.
Lacto-Ovo: Dw is a lacto-ovo-fisho.
Makes no sense whatsoever
FIR, but erased winery for ESTATE, and elenore for ELEANOR (UNTIE!)
Today is:
THE IDES OF MARCH (per our Chairman)
NATIONAL SHOE THE WORLD DAY (loners might celebrate NATIONAL SHOO THE WORLD DAY)
NATIONAL PEARS HELENE DAY (wait a daggum minute – yesterday was Frawnch day on The Corner)
EVERYTHING YOU THINK IS WRONG DAY (I think this is unnecessary, but I could be wrong)
I like that we had TEN as fill and "10" as a clue. John Derek was married to Ursula Andress, Linda Evans and Bo Derek. That makes him a true role model, at least to me, and I suggest that a STATUE should be "erected" in his honor. I haven't been to Hollywood in a long time, but I hope that an appropriate part of John is memorialized in the concrete of the Walk of Fame.
Thanks to Alan for the fun, easy-for-Friday puzzle, even though I didn't come close to getting the gimmick. And thanks to C-Moe for a fine review.
Beats the "S" out of me!
Took 8:43 today for me to finiSh.
Never saw the theme. Seems pretty intricate now that the Chairman has explained it, but it was lost upon me.
I don't understand why R2D2 is spelled with "too" rather than "two".
Too many 3-letter words.
Too many proper names today. Cera, Ali, Hans, Oprah, Loeb, Ron, & Irene. Plus, Grenada, the Beach Boys song, the 10 song, etc.
I knew some, but definitely not Irene and Hans.
I didn't know ovo, allo, or arioso.
FIR, but for the life of me I don't know how. Clues for estate, avail, and MLB teams just seem off base (pardon that last pun). And a few proper names also needed help. The perps and a few WAG's saved the day.
The theme was bizarre. I had to come here to get the explanation, and I'm still scratching my head.
All that said, this was a typical Friday puzzle. A good practice for tomorrow, but not my favorite of the week.
Subgenius, my thoughts exactly. Thanks for the explanation, Chairman Moe. I get it, but still am not thrilled with the theme. Rare for me.
Much of the fill was Tuesday-Wednesday easy. There were crunchy spots but perps were fair. Caroline No was all perps. A fast solve for a Friday.
Taggers say they have a right to express themselves. IMO, the owner of the wall has a stronger right of self expression. Some owners want to express themselves with a pristine wall.
In re the blueberry joke. Today I read there is a new record for the largest blueberry, golf ball size. It was grown in Australia. The article said that blueberries grown to be large have less flavor. With the blueberries I buy, I find the larger one are sweeter.
I ask my local farmer why summer tomatoes do no have the flavor they used to. He said that when they are bred to look perfect they lose some of their flavor. He said heirloom tomatoes have the old fashioned taste.
I still think Ron Howard's most outstanding role was Opie. YMMV
I believe Artoo-Detoo has become a widely used spelling. For me, it macht nichts. I guess I am not a purest about many things.
Have not done the puzzle or read the blog yet, as I wanted to respond to last night before I forget.
(I forget what I had for breakfast, and I just ate it...)
(Forget about walking int9 a room to do something...)
(What was I on the blog for again? Oh yes...)
Darren/L.A.@6:07 said:
The only hitch with links on the Corner are that, as of late, I have to open them as a New Tab — if I just click on one directly, when I punch back after viewing it, the page reloads back to the top, and I have to whizz-scroll back down to where I was at said link. Maybe the IT dep’t. can fix this?
====> Darren / L.A
I had the same problem, and Anonymous-T, and the website XKCD Comics solved it for me after some excruciating feeling silly moments, when I could not read the secret hidden message in the XKCD comics. It took several weeks of stumbling around in the dark before I was rescued. It seems the solution depends on what medium you are using to view the BLog...
"If" you are using Safari on an IPad or IPhone, the default preview mode should be on, but sometimes the preview mode accidentally gets turned off. To tell, INSTEAD OF TAPPING A LINK, try long press. Hold your finger on the link until a submenu pops up (usually about 1 to 2 seconds). Instead of tapping the link open, press in the submenu "open in background." This will open a separate page with the link connection.
example A (in reverse, don't disable it, "enable it")
You should now be able to close the link page, and return to the blog exactly where you left it.
My problem with the XKCD was that a further "preview " mode in my iPad was turned off. To turn it on (I think, could be wrong.) is to turn on this doohickey:
Settings/Accessabilities/motion/automatic play
(Anon-T, pls correct me if I am wrong...)
Now, if you click on this link to todays XKCD Comic When you long press on the comic, The secret message should pop up with the preview.
"Just think of all the petty squabbles and misunderstandings, of all the fervent hatreds over so insignificant a thing the the directi9n and duration of a rocket engine firing."
Good luck!
Regards
CED
Good Morning:
I loved the theme, reveal, and solve. We had a similar type puzzle recently where the clue is the theme and I found that one enjoyable, as well, being a nice change of pace from the norm. All of the themers were legitimate answers to the clues and all of the clues were legitimate representations of the reveal. A two for one, so to speak. My only w/o was Raced/Rowed and while I wasn't familiar with Caroline No, Irene, or Hans, perps were more than fair throughout the grid. TV Tray took much too long to parse but getting Grr and Rye did the trick. My favorite C/A was Square Fiigure?=Statue and my favorite themer was Shot Clock and its spot-on clue. The TLW word count (21) was lower than I thought it would be while solving, as so many were clustered together in different areas of the grid.
Thanks, Alan, for a very satisfying and fun solve and thanks, Moe, for an excellent overview and clear and concise explanation of this very clever theme. Enjoyed all of the visuals and links, especially the brief video on the unusual-looking Okapi. I'm still chuckling at Peta-byte. 😉 Condolences to Margaret.
Have a great day.
Wonder why Smarty Pants Autocorrect didn't flag Fiigure? Sorry, Figure.
Easy fill, but I had no idea what the theme was, and still don’t, ut that’s OK. I enjoyed the CW nevertheless.
For a long time I had barrows instead of BARRELS.
Liked the clue for STATUE.
C-Moe. Thanks for the chuckles. I immediately knew you were our Sherpa today.
Worked my way this one slowly but surely, and it paid off. FIR.
IM is surely going to note the plethora of TLW's (20 by my count)
Very intricate theme. It must have been tough to work out. Congrats to Alan for his fine effort.
Loved your "berry" story, C-Moe. Fine review as well.
Nothing beats a cold beer on a hot day.
Register.
A two part challenge for today, I managed a FIR in 18:08 on the puzzle itself, on deciphering the theme I earned THE LETTER F for failure, as much as I thought about it, well, it was just too complicated and clever for me to comprehend. It is the second time in recent memory that a letter (in this case “S”) has been referred to as a “word”, and I didn't get it either time. Thanks Alan for the Friday fun, always impressed with new ideas that constructors come up with!
Thanks C-Moe for your very detailed write-up today! The Ides of March ~ also the name of a band which had one hit that I remember “Vehicle” in 1970. Their drummer was at a party that our band played at and sat in with us for a few songs.
Also, for speech class in high school I had to memorize the first several lines of Mark Antony’s soliloquy from Julius Caesar, which I’ve never forgotten but never used again 😂
First time visitor to your blog. I completed the crossword at the Washington Post website, and struggled to find the connection. So, I searched Alan's name, and came across this post. Thanks for making the connection for me!
Welcome to the Corner Kacey!
Good Morning! Nice puzzle today, and surprisingly straightforward. Thanks, Alan. Perps helped in a few areas, but it all came together nicely. However, the theme escaped me, and even as the well-put explanation revealed it, I thought it convoluted.
Thanks for the tip about Oppenheimer showing up in future puzzles. I have not seen the movie, nor plan to, so I must study up on the trivia to be ready for it.
ESP: ARIOSO, IRENE, HANS
CERA – wasn’t he the one at the Oscars….?
GUYS – MEN: 100% agree. I’m not a “guy” and bemoan the sloppy language when addressed to the women, ladies, gals, girls… IMHO – nothing grates on me more that the greeting, “Hi, guys.” Rant over.
DST year round. I’m also thinking about sunrise in November/December arriving at the 8 – 8:30 hour. Ugh.
Thanks, C-Moe for the fun and fact-filled Blog.
My sympathies to you and Margaret for the passing of her mother. Sweet sentiments about reuniting with her love. So meaningful to many.
KS - There are great bar bets that key on most people not knowing that the KC "show" is in MO. "Name all states with more than one MLB team." "How many states have more than one MLB team."
RosE - You are the first male I've ever heard that objects to be called "guy." I sometimes get into trouble when I refer to a mixed-gender group as "guys."
FIR with only a couple of hiccups in NE and SE (didn’t know ariosa term and ‘Grr’ hung me up for a bit) to slow me down. Got the clueing midway through but usually that helps complete the grid; but not today clever as it may be!
Yellowrocks, thanks for the info about heirloom tomatoes. If it comes to beauty vs. flavor, I'll pick flavor. I look forward to sourcing some heirlooms out in the coming months.
Well, I'm with Irish Miss--and undoubtedly others--in praising Alan for a wonderful Friday puzzle. It was remarkably creative, fun, and clever, and after figuring out the ingenious reveal/theme, left me with a most satisfying feeling.
I do the puzzle the old-fashioned way, with newspaper and pen--and this morning, worked on it at a local greasy spoon. I was sharing it with my waitress and local patrons, and they all were marveling at how rewarding and fun a crossword could be.
And as a baseball fan, I appreciated that one of the big reveal entries (46A) had to do with baseball. One of SIX reveals.
Hats off to Alan Levin, I say!
Jinx ~ I think you have a typo, RosE is female.
Musings
-I looked and looked for the gimmick to NO AVAIL. BANG, there it was sitting in the clues!!
-I had one bad cell at CE_A/C_OP. CHOP was wrong and unknown CEHA seemed adequate
-HMM… A pop singer with _ _ E _ E? My certain answer was way wrong.
-My sub assignments are handled via E-MAIL. Principals don’t have to call anymore.
-I hate taking or giving NOTES.
-This physics teacher and fan of Oppenheimer did not know this HANS
-Standing joke here in farm country: DST gives farmers another hour to work in the fields
-RON is a big fan of NASA
-The only mystery for candidates in this upcoming election is if RFK Jr. will OPT in
-Thanks for the “long press” strategy, Dave!
-Lovely job today, Chairman, with the write-up and the sentiment for your mother-in-law.
HG ~ or…the extra hour of daylight is killing my lawn.
Fabulous Friday. Thanks for the fun, Alan and CMoe.
(Condolences to Margaret on the loss of her mother.)
I FIRed (after an Aha moment as I realized that the boxer was a dog and not a fighter in the ring. GRR gave me RANKLES (and the INK, not SPECIALING?).
It took a few minutes to parse THE LETTER S, but then I went back to the themer clues and saw how it was an alternate answer for them all. Clever.
Several inkblots as Ebbs changed to DIMS, Hes to MEN, Winery to ESTATE (not what we call a collection of vineyards in Niagara).
Of course I knew to leave the U out of LABOR DAY.
I noted OWE crossing ROWED.
I counted 22 TLWs which is over Irish Miss’s acceptable level.
Michael CERA was Allan in the Barbie movie. He was a child actor in a Pillsbury commercial.
I am composing this on my second iPadMini. Love it.
CMoe- this Canadian says curling Rink, but you are correct that the proper term is Sheet.
Wishing you all a great day.
Breezed through this puzzle quickly without the distraction of trying to figure out the theme. The theme was clever but had zero influence on the solving process.
Jinx, I knew I’d be in for it with my rant, but when the opportunity presented itself, it was too hard to resist. 😁 But in all this gender-bending time we live in, rest assured, I’m “not a guy.” 😄
OOPS, my bad. It was John Cena, not Michael Cera.
Had CHOP for CROP and of course the perp was wrong too. Easy peasey other than that…
An unusually fast FIR for a Friday. Quite a few unknowns for me, but the perps were very kind today. Theme? Didn't have a clue until the Chairman 'splained it. Meh. Pretty lame, but YMMV. Loved the statues VS. Pigeons, Moe!
I FIR today,after a few erasures - A Tad for ATOM, which enabled me to see TEAMS and OKAPI. I enjoyed solving but couldn’t figure out the theme. After C Moe’s great explanation, I am filled with admiration for Alan Levin’s creativity - Layers within layers. WOW!
Girding my loins for Saturday’s puzzle..
Yes, a very clever puzzle!
(And I enjoyed it...)
Chop b/4 crop, and speck:atom = I really wanted "mote."
The puzzle itself went easy enough, it was the reveal I couldn't parse. I kept trying to break up the/let/ters into three words.
I did in the end finally realize it was the letter,,, "S", but still,
I don't see three words, I see two words and a letter!...
Is today Friday? I raced through this easiest of the week puzzle in record time but….came to a screeching halt parsing the theme.
Liked the “ten digits on the keyboard” tho’ in my case 8 (as thumbs are using twistin’ in the wind till needed).
I know there is peat in Ireland but is “Marshy spot” the land of EIRE? Ohhh! it’s not DIeS but DIMS: MIRES 🙄
Passing thru the “EYE of the needle”, (a narrow gateway into biblical Jerusalem) metaphorically difficult for a rich man loaded down with all his expensive stuff 🐪
Just watched two missed episodes of Family Guy last night DVRed while away. Peter (Peet-ah) should get an Emmy.
Finally those kimonos will stop falling off with the return of the long lost CW OBI…
I can remember that not snapping the 60’s flimsy floral patterned metal TV tray together properly could lead to a disaster … Michael CERA plays the role of Amy Shumer’s socially inept husband. (Her husband Chris is on-the-spectrum in real life). 2 seasons. (Gave it a B+).
Didn’t get the town “square” part of the STATUE, but now I C… cool clue
Ravioli component…..RIGATTA
Time of your birth for Mom….LABORDAY
Sampled a suit….TRITON
We commemorate the day the Roman senate created the first “Cæsar Salad”🔪 🫣
I echo Irish Miss who "loved the theme, reveal, and solve." Everyone who still doesn't get it needs to go back to the beginning of Chairman Moe's brilliant blog post (after the "berry" funny story), and read his explanation carefully. The theme did not help in the solve, but was very enjoyable. Many thanks, Alan! BARRELS of fun!
FIR pretty quickly for Friday. Didn't spend any time on the theme and after Moe's explanation I'm glad I didn't. Bill's comment is my favorite, "Beats the S out of me". LOL
I groaned at C-Moe’s shaggy berry joke almost as loudly as I groaned at the S alternatives in today’s puzzle. It took me nearly as long to understand that contrivance as it took the fill out the grid.
I nearly took an FIW, with ChOP before CROP, since I can’t keep the four-letters-starting with-c GUYs straight, but I’ll concede that CROP was clever. TV TRAY was clever, too, and I also enjoyed seeing RANKLE and OKAPI in the fill, not to mention another appearance by Lisa LOEB (yummers).
Re the CSO to Inane Hiker: I spent four school years in Missouri without managing to see the Cardinals or Royals play at home. Oddly, in that light, I managed not only to make it to the Kansas City Chiefs’ first home game at Arrowhead Stadium and to the St. Louis Hawks’ former home, Kiel Auditorium, but also to sing at both venues (in a 12-man ensemble).
Any number of IRENEs would be less daunting than a K-Pop reference. I doubt more than five Cornerites can name ANY K-Pop stars. I also doubt more than five can hum the “tune” BOLERO. Most of us were probably well into adulthood by the time TEN came out more than 40 years ago.
Based on her description of Autocorrect, Irish Miss appears to have solved today’s Jumble.
TRIVIA: Here’s a line from an 80-year-old play (not sure it was in the 74-year-old movie): “Ed had been mixing his RYE with his gin, and I felt he needed conveying.” Name the show.
Hola!
Thanks to Alan Levin for a nice challenge today, not too easy, not too hard.
I've been checking out TV TRAYS and am surprised at how expensive they are! My table can accommodate ten but when my nieces, my daughter and my granddaughter are here it's more than ten. My nieces want to come and look for photos of their dad and they will be here for lunch.
A good friend, Sister ELEANOR, died at the age of 104 a few years ago.
I remember when wearing a BOLERO was all the rage. Not to be confused with the music.
The IDES OF MARCH are upon us so please enjoy your day, everyone!
Yesterday we ate a delicious chocolate cream pie for PI Day.
CMOE, please give my condolences to Margaret on the loss of her mother. Losing one's mother is one of the most heartbreaking events of life.
Copy Editor, I can't name any K-pop stars, but I can hum the haunting Bolero melody. Never saw the movie Ten.
Copy editor ~ I think most of us know BTS by now…😂
RosE, sorry. Not a typo, just a brain fart. Guess I'm still OK calling males "guys."
H.Gary, when I was growing up, Kentucky adopted DST. A family friend and farmer didn't take too well to it. When asked the time, he would look at his watch and say "fast time, or slow time."
Copy Editor - I had never heard BOLERO before the first time I saw 10, but I'll never forget it. One of those classics that I blocked out with my rock-and-roll centered ignorance. Others include (but are not limited to) Rhapsody in Blue and Take Five.
Isn't there a K-Pop guy named "Psi" or "Phi" or "Sia" or sumthin like that?
Remember the opening from the hard-hitting investigative series on PBS The Electric Company? HEY YOU GUYS!!!
I was little suspicious of this Friday puzzle as it was surprisingly easy to solve. I got a FIR on the puzzle, but ended up TITT on the theme.
Thanks for a fun Friday Alan and thanks MOE for your masterful explication of the theme, which completely eluded me.
A few favs:
28A BOLERO. I've not seen 10 but this Ravel piece has become a part of popular culture as a result. I believe there was a run on record stores to get a copy of this "tune" when the movie came out -- sellers couldn't keep it in stock. BOLERO, which is actually the name of a Spanish dance, is essentially one long crescendo, beginning pianissimo and ending in a CLIMACTIC fortissimo. Ravel is said to have hated it, because for many people it was the only piece they knew. He did write lots of other stuff -- here's a short piece called Pavane for a Dead Princess, a rather loose translation of Pavane pour une infante défunte. Like the Bolero, the Pavane is also a slow dance.
32A IRS (well maybe not a fav!) as this reminded me that the SHOTCLOCK on our returns is running down.
42A OKAPI. I saved the video for my two youngest grandsons the next time they're over (but the 10 year old probably knows all that stuff already!)
58A THE LETTER S. For some reason I failed to parse this properly (embarrassing really!). The good news is that when the Muppets video ended, one of the suggested segues turned out to be highly relevant for next Thursday's puzzle. Stay tuned!
62A TALC. A hydrated Magnesium Silicate that's still widely used as a flux in ceramic glazes to produce MATT surfaces. Baby powder not so much.
68A HANS. Hans Albrecht Bethe -- his work on the Manhattan Project was only a small part of his career.
9D ARISO. Thanks for that MOE. Bach's birthday is right around the corner ...
36D SETH. We don't watch Graham Norton regularly, but if you follow Brit TV as much as we do, you stumble across him from time to time.
Cheers
Bill
Our condolences to Margaret and the rest of your family on the loss of Margaret's Mom - Eternal rest grant unto her Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her.
Kacey @ 9:31 AM Welcome to the Corner -- you're going to love it here. The friendliest, quirkiest, most eclectic bunch you'll ever run into.
I’m definitely not an expert solver, but I enjoy puzzle quips, double entendres, etc., so was glad to see many comments that also did not get the (well layed out) explanation. Appreciate all of you. Thanks!
Onward!
WASEELEY: I nearly mentioned Pavane For a Dead Princess, because it really is more of a "tune" than BOLERO. My excellent high school choir sang a choral version of Ravel's Pavane ("deep enchantment holds a sleeping child, in ageless dream/the Earth lies still."), and there was a pop song stealing Ravel's tune, The Lamp Is Low. And of course there are other pavanes, including the one by Faure that KRON-TV in San Francisco used to play before signoff every night. There's a choral version of that, too, and I have performed it.
Jinx, I get your humor. Don't ever stop entertaining us with your posts and keeping us up to date with the holidays.
waseeley, funny that you should mention that pavanne. It was the flip side of Bolero on that 12-inch black thing that I owned back in the day.
TRIVIA ANSWER: A line spoken by Elwood P. Dowd in "Harvey."
I very much enjoy reading all your comments, everyone.
I FIR, but then puzzled over THE LETTER S theme a long time before the light went on. Very amusing. CAROLINENO just looked wrong. Oh. Two words.
Last Saturday I led a hike to Gibraltar Rock and was saddened to see this iconic spot desecrated with ugly GRAFFITI TAGs.
(Not to be confused with the Rock of Gibraltar). The hike is quite strenuous: Over six miles round trip with a total of 2,000 feet of climbing. Who would do that? The clue is barely visible in the photo. Yes, there is a road up there. I call such vandalism "dog piss". Animals marking their territory.
Chairman Moe You have my sympathy on the loss of your wife's mother. Thanks for the STATUE joke. I enjoyed the misdirection clue.
D-O @2:35 PM Great recording of a great composer. Probably my favorite Ravel is Le Tombeau de Couperin dedicated to friends he lost in WWI. His Mother Goose Suite is quite beautiful as well, although it's a bit long.
Thanks to Alan for a fun Fri. FIW in the NE. I loved the wordplay in the clues! Yes, I SuSSed the theme only to realize it provided no hints to the actual answers except that none would be a meta "S" answer.
FAV: Square figure?
Hand up for winery before ESTATE
Kacey@9:31. That's how a lot of us found our way to The Corner. Welcome!
Thanks to C-Moe for his Ides of March Special Edition blog! I especially liked the OKAPI and SETH videos.
My sincere condolences to you & Margaret.
Saw late last night I had turned this place into a baseball blog… Sweeeet. Yes, Jinx, I am a whopping 17 years under 60!
Today’s was a very clever and unique theme: usually the reveal answer gives a clue about the other theme answers, but today it was the theme clues that helped with the reveal answer.
So the reveal (58A) actually had 7(!) different clues! So boy was I sure that one was right, even though (as others have said) it gave no help at all to the other theme answers.
Anyway, FIR quickly despite 14 unknowns.
Copy Editor, you beat me to it: Irish Miss mentioned today’s Jumble answer. Now the big mystery is; was it intentional, subconscious, or clairvoyance?
Jinx, I’ll guess eight states: CA, TX, MO, IL, OH, PA, NY & FL
Now this is going to be my longest post ever, sorry but I need to rant: letters are meant for spelling, not to be spelled… I had seen ARTOO before so that helped with the answer but now I’m trying to guess how someone else is going to spell something phonetically. Why not TWO? For the clue, “Civil rights leader,” would EMELKAY be acceptable? Ridiculous!
And then I was mortified to see that these letter-spellings are listed in my Webster’s… Ugh. Well fyi, ‘D’ should be spelled ‘dee’ not ‘de,’ and ‘F’ (yesterday) should be spelled ‘ef’ not ‘eff.’
Here’s my question of the day: How do you spell ‘H’?
Convoluted theme, but typical Friday puzzle, difficulty-wise.
Copy Editor @ 12:19 ~ I don't do the Jumble. 😉
Arizona Jim @ 5:07 ~ It was not intentional, subconscious, or clairvoyance. I usually refer to pesky and annoying Autocorrect as Smarty Pants. 😉
Kacey and XeniaDaughter, welcome. Come join the fun!
Thanks, C-E Dave — that “long press” deal? Yes, it opens the link…in what is essentially a new tab. But I never had this issue with the blog going back to 1 until about ten days ago. Still wondering what was changed! ===> Darren
Sure glad the Chairman gave the theme reveal, because it zoomed right over my head. Didn’t stop me from FIR, but I gotta say, Mssr Levin sure made a reach-around on this one 😎 And your berries gag, C-Moe, was a gem! Keep ‘em comin’!
Some fun clues in today’s — my favourite was the one for TVTRAY.
Jinx, I was trying to think of that K-Pop dude Psy — he did that “Gangnam Style” song & dance that was all the rage for about 30 minutes about 5 years ago (?).
10 proper names (12 if you also count GRENADA and R2D2) but all were either known or perpable with relative ease.
Instantly knew the keyboard digits because I remember an adding machine used to be called a TEN-key…waaay back machine!
====> Darren / L.A.
Darren, nothing has changed here.
I don't know Apple/Safari, but apparently that's where the issue is. The thread (link below) from an Apple community discussion board may help. The discussion suggests that the issue has to do with the Tabs setting in Safari.
It seems that if you have Single Tab selected, and then return to the previous screen, the tab is reloaded and presents the page from the top.
If instead you have Tab Bar selected, you will return to to where you left off.
The timestamps in the discussion board suggest this has been happening since at least early 2022.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253784277?sortBy=best
Okay, I’ll check it. But I sure don’t recall changing anything recently 😵💫
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