Happy Monday, everyone! sumdaze here with a Dyn-o-Mite puzzle from constructor, Margi Stevenson.
Theme:
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| Jimmie Walker as J.J. Evans in Good Times (1974-1979) His catchphrase really blew-up in popular culture. |
We'll begin with the four themed clues:
17 Across. Sound of the 1970s: DISCO MUSIC.
29 Across. Electronic source of percussion: DRUM MACHINE.
45 Across. Unaccredited source of degrees: DIPLOMA MILL.
61 Across. Hypothetical space stuff that doesn't interact with light: DARK MATTER.
The reveal is nicely tucked into the bottom, right corner:
69 Across. Private chats, briefly, and what 17-, 29-, 45-, and 61-Across literally are: DMS. Direct Messages
It's what you do when you want to chat with someone, but not in the general comments forum.
Across:
1. Was ahead: LED. and 15 Across. Ahead by a small margin: UP ONE.
4. __ eclipse: daytime celestial event: SOLAR. A big one is coming up on April 8. Where & When - NASA site
1. Was ahead: LED. and 15 Across. Ahead by a small margin: UP ONE.
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| The home team is leading by one point. |
4. __ eclipse: daytime celestial event: SOLAR. A big one is coming up on April 8. Where & When - NASA site
9. Iowa State's home: AMES.
13. Opera solo: ARIA.
16. Discourteous: RUDE.
19. Radiate: EMIT.
20. Pours from one container to another: DECANTS. DECANTing allows red wines to aerate. This hack works for me: pour one glass then put the cork back in the bottle. Shake the bottle hard. Remove the cork and let sit a few minutes before pouring the other glasses. (You can sip on the first glass while you wait. 😉)
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| Click to enlarge. |
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| <no DECANTing required> |
22. __ and beans: RICE. I just made a big pot of this yesterday. Two pounds dried pinto beans to 1 cup rice is a good ratio.
23. Novelist O'Brien: EDNA. This D was my last fill. It crosses with another name in 24-Down.
26. Early email provider: AOL.
27. Organ with an iris: EYE. At first I was thinking of Splynter's variety of organs but today it was an EYEball.
32. Cry: WEEP.
34. "Heck if I know": NO IDEA. "SAT XWD" also fit...
35. Looks up to: ESTEEMS. ...which is why I hold our Sat. blogger Husker Gary in such high ESTEEM.
38. Wine shop event: TASTING. Today I saw this ad in my weekly 'downtown events' email. I thought it was odd to call it a "Cigar Tasting". Have you heard of these?
42. G major analogue: E-MINOR. The song in 63-D is in F Major.
This is another way of asking what the relative key is for G Major. Both scales only have one sharp (F#).
44. Qatari leader: EMIR.
50. Suffix with percent: -ILE.
51. Florida NBA team, on scoreboards: ORL. ORLando Magic...as in the Magic Kingdom (Disney World)
52. CrossFit units: REPS.
53. Wood stove output: HEAT. The Miami HEAT NBA team also plays in Florida.
55. "Works __ time": EVERY.
57. Carrying capacity of a cargo ship: TONNAGE.
60. Trig function that models light waves: SINE. Light acts as both a wave and a particle.
44. Qatari leader: EMIR.
50. Suffix with percent: -ILE.
51. Florida NBA team, on scoreboards: ORL. ORLando Magic...as in the Magic Kingdom (Disney World)
52. CrossFit units: REPS.
53. Wood stove output: HEAT. The Miami HEAT NBA team also plays in Florida.
55. "Works __ time": EVERY.
57. Carrying capacity of a cargo ship: TONNAGE.
60. Trig function that models light waves: SINE. Light acts as both a wave and a particle.
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| Visible light is one component of the electromagnetism spectrum. |
64. Not taken in by: ONTO. Def.: being aware of a scheme.
65. Figure of speech: IDIOM. The IDIOM "barking up the wrong tree" means you are wrong or mistaken.
66. Word repeated after "Que" in a classic song: SERA.
Doris Day famously sang Que Sera, Sera when she appeared in Hitchcock's
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956).
Her co-stars were Jimmy Stewart and Peter Lorre.
67. Locksmith's supply: KEYS.
68. Canadian honker: GOOSE.
Down:
1. Diane of "Chesapeake Shores": LADD. Chesapeake Shores aired on the Hallmark Channel from 2016 to 2022.
2. The "E" of the Great Lakes HOMES mnemonic: ERIE.
3. Careful about what one reveals: DISCREET.
4. Historic fort in South Carolina: SUMTER. National Parks website plus a video
5. Numbered musical work: OPUS.
6. Part of UCLA: LOS. the University of California, Los Angeles
7. Singer DiFranco: ANI.
8. __ room: place for a foosball table: REC.
9. Square footage: AREA.
10. India's largest city: MUMBAI. The weather there today is expected to be sunny with highs in the low 90s and lows in the 70s with light winds and no rain.
11. Inventor Thomas who co-founded General Electric: EDISON.
12. Accept, with "for": SETTLE.
14. Antioxidant berry: ACAI.
18. How software was once sold: ON CD.
21. Dueling steps: PACES.
23. Angsty genre: EMO.
24. Composer Shostakovich: DMITRI. As I said at 23-Across, this D was my last fill. The M made me first do a mental run of the vowels and then the letter S. Nothing felt right. Finally I noticed that the last name was Russian and that gave me DMITRI.
68. Canadian honker: GOOSE.
Down:
1. Diane of "Chesapeake Shores": LADD. Chesapeake Shores aired on the Hallmark Channel from 2016 to 2022.
2. The "E" of the Great Lakes HOMES mnemonic: ERIE.
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| This Great Lakes mnemonic is less helpful. |
3. Careful about what one reveals: DISCREET.
4. Historic fort in South Carolina: SUMTER. National Parks website plus a video
5. Numbered musical work: OPUS.
6. Part of UCLA: LOS. the University of California, Los Angeles
7. Singer DiFranco: ANI.
8. __ room: place for a foosball table: REC.
9. Square footage: AREA.
10. India's largest city: MUMBAI. The weather there today is expected to be sunny with highs in the low 90s and lows in the 70s with light winds and no rain.
11. Inventor Thomas who co-founded General Electric: EDISON.
12. Accept, with "for": SETTLE.
14. Antioxidant berry: ACAI.
18. How software was once sold: ON CD.
21. Dueling steps: PACES.
23. Angsty genre: EMO.
24. Composer Shostakovich: DMITRI. As I said at 23-Across, this D was my last fill. The M made me first do a mental run of the vowels and then the letter S. Nothing felt right. Finally I noticed that the last name was Russian and that gave me DMITRI.
Here is his Suite for Jazz Orchestra #2 (1938).
25. Zero: NADA. and 40 Down. Zero: NIL.
27. Woolly mama: EWE. cute play on "wooly mammoth"
28. Agreeable reply: YES.
30. Open with a pop: UNSNAP. Def.: unfasten or open with a brisk movement and a sharp sound.
31. Despise: HATE.
33. Tangerine coat: PEEL.
36. Georgia school that's one of the New Ivies: EMORY.
37. Play charades, say: MIME. and 39 Down. Aped: IMITATED.
41. Test for M.A. hopefuls: GRE. The Graduate Record Examinations is a standardized test that is part of the admissions process for many graduate schools in North America. One would need to attend a graduate school to earn a Master of Arts degree.
43. Mantra syllables: OMS.
45. Makes a decent living: DOES OK.
25. Zero: NADA. and 40 Down. Zero: NIL.
27. Woolly mama: EWE. cute play on "wooly mammoth"
28. Agreeable reply: YES.
30. Open with a pop: UNSNAP. Def.: unfasten or open with a brisk movement and a sharp sound.
31. Despise: HATE.
33. Tangerine coat: PEEL.
36. Georgia school that's one of the New Ivies: EMORY.
37. Play charades, say: MIME. and 39 Down. Aped: IMITATED.
41. Test for M.A. hopefuls: GRE. The Graduate Record Examinations is a standardized test that is part of the admissions process for many graduate schools in North America. One would need to attend a graduate school to earn a Master of Arts degree.
43. Mantra syllables: OMS.
45. Makes a decent living: DOES OK.
The latest census numbers indicate what income ranges constitute the middle class (as of 2020). This will depend on family size. For a single individual, a middle-class income ranges from $30,000 - $90,000 per year. For a couple it starts at $42,430 up to $127,300; for a family of three, $60,000 - $180,000; and four $67,100 - $201,270. Investopedia article
46. "Trainspotting" novelist Welsh: IRVINE. goodreads link
47. More than enough: PLENTY.
48. YSL men's fragrance: L'HOMME.
49. "Girls" creator Dunham: LENA. Girls was a show on HBO from 2012-2017.
54. Industrious insects: ANTS.
56. Vintage Speed Wagons, e.g.: REOS.
57. Boxing match decisions, for short: TKOS. Technical Knockouts
58. Antiseptic target: GERM.
59. Notable times: ERAS. "ERAS" is also the name of Taylor Swift's current tour.
61. Use a shovel: DIG.
62. Ruckus: ADO.
63. Ipanema's city: RIO. It's not the first time you've heard this song...and it likely won't be the last. 😊
What a lovely finish to a Delightful Monday solve! Here's the grid:
46. "Trainspotting" novelist Welsh: IRVINE. goodreads link
47. More than enough: PLENTY.
48. YSL men's fragrance: L'HOMME.
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| about $33 per oz. at Nordstrom |
49. "Girls" creator Dunham: LENA. Girls was a show on HBO from 2012-2017.
54. Industrious insects: ANTS.
56. Vintage Speed Wagons, e.g.: REOS.
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| 1949 D19XA Pickup website |
57. Boxing match decisions, for short: TKOS. Technical Knockouts
58. Antiseptic target: GERM.
59. Notable times: ERAS. "ERAS" is also the name of Taylor Swift's current tour.
61. Use a shovel: DIG.
62. Ruckus: ADO.
63. Ipanema's city: RIO. It's not the first time you've heard this song...and it likely won't be the last. 😊
What a lovely finish to a Delightful Monday solve! Here's the grid:
Dasvidaniya Mates!
Notes from C.C.
I made today's "Making the Right Move" for the Atlas Obscura. Give it a whirl.
As you folks know, I don’t time myself, but I ran through this puzzle fast as lightning. The only word that gave me the slightest pause was that French cologne, but that pause wasn’t too long either. Another Monday “walk in the park,” as usual. FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteThis was nice romp, Wite-Out-free. Along the way we had the pairings of EMIR/EMIT and NIL/NADA. The theme was apparent, even though d-o failed to read the full reveal clue...again. Thanx, Margi and sumdaze. (No idea : Sat Xwd, cute.)
PABST: In my ute there were many beers brewed in Milwaukee -- Pabst, Miller, Schlitz, Blatz, Braumeister.
MUMBAI: I spent a month there one week when it was still called Bombay.
RIO: Astrud Gilberto died this past June. Stan Getz got the major credit on the Girl From Ipanema.
SOLAR eclipse: We've got the glasses and plan to drive northwest about 100 miles to Corsicana to view the event.
FIR, but erased pork for RICE, admires for ESTEEMS, age for ILE, and lane for LADD (I suppose next you'll tell me that there is a Cheryl Lane, too.)
ReplyDeleteToday is:
NATIONAL FUNERAL DIRECTOR AND MORTICIAN RECOGNITION DAY (their business is dying)
NATIONAL PROMPOSAL DAY (don’t miss those days)
NATIONAL WORSHIP OF TOOLS DAY (I’ll admit that I idolize Bayou Tony’s credit card tool)
NATIONAL JOHNNY APPLESEED DAY (an entrepreneur, not a philanthropist)
NATIONAL OATMEAL NUT WAFFLES DAY (I’ll have mine with just cinnamon, butter, and maple syrup And bacon - lots of bacon)
NATIONAL 311 DAY (when it isn’t urgent enough for 911)
Anyone else remember that Click and Clack's Director of Long-Range Strategic Planning was Kay Sera, who married Frank Sera, and then her business card read Kay Sera-Sera?
D-O, don't forget Pabst brands Strohs, Lone Star, Colt 45, Old Milwaukee, and the fine beer chaser, Jack Daniels. (Love "a month one week" - reminds me of my stint in Caracas.)
Loves me some red beans and RICE. My favorite lunch restaurant in Florida charges $1 upgrade over black beans and RICE.
Thanks to Margi for the fun, easy-until-it-wasn't Monday special. And thanks to sumdaze for the review, especially SAT XWD. Hand up for filling EDNA x DMITRI. Looks like someone misspelled Greek name for "James."
Hand up for filling EDNA x DMITRI last.
ReplyDeleteTook 4:18 today for Dummy Me to finish.
ReplyDeleteThe composer and the Lhomme both seemed out of place/time in a Monday puzzle. I knew neither of them. I also didn't know today's actress (Ladd) or today's writer (Edna), and yes, my hand is up too for the final square.
FIR. For a Monday this had a little bite to it. Too many proper names (any is too many) and the crossing of Edna and Dmitri was just cruel, as was the cologne L'Homme right next to another proper name, Lena.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I whipped through this puzzle in good time. I enjoyed the theme and that helped with the solve.
Musings
ReplyDelete-A nice Monday puzzle where the gimmick stood out like a brick in a punch bowl
-I never understood the hate for the fun DISCO MUSIC.
-Margi had a stray DM with DMITRI
-The question and the answer
-Sumdaze, what a sweet thing to say.
-Sitting three feet from my old Earth Stove was a great winter experience
-The golf equivalent of Que SERA SERA is “Play it where it lies”
-I am subbing in math today and the teacher has me teaching an actual lesson about AREA. The nerve!!
-The teacher is a wonderful person but has no pencils in her desk to solve crosswords.
-Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton took ten PACES and then turned and fired. Hamilton hit a tree…
-IDIOM – An arm and a leg. Two Big Macs and two small fries cost me $21 yesterday
Easy-peasy, nice and breezy. No troubles today. FIR.
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I love to do wine TASTINGS. We visit the Finger Lakes region of New York every couple of years to enjoy old favorites and explore new vintages.
India has started a publicity campaign to encourage tourism to their major cities including MUMBAI, Delhi, Agra , Bangalore, etc.
Thanks to Margi and Sumdaz for their efforts today.
Once bitten, twice shy, but it hurts anyway.
Smart,
Thank you Marji for a Delightful Monday morning meander thru puzzle land.
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you sumdaze for a Decidely Meaningful review.
Lotsa favs today:
1A LED. The LED scoreboard was a nice touch!
4A SOLAR. Had TOTAL, but Marylanders will only get a PARTIAL.
20 DECANTS. We cheat and use one of these.
27D EYE. While Splynter's ORGANS don't have IRISES, they do have STOPS. IRISES regulate LIGHT flow and one of the functions of STOPS is to regulate AIR flow.
35A ESTEEM. HEAR, HEAR Husker!
65A IDIOM. Renee, your cartoon made me think it was Tuesday for a sec.
68A GOOSE. Thanks for correctly identifying the CANADA GOOSE. I could hear the twitchers clucking about the clue from as far away as England. BTW, they may have been native to Canada, but long ago one of their tribes decided that Maryland was far enough to migrate, and we now have millions of the messy avians here. IMO they'd make great food for the poor!
22D RICE. We use a recipe for RED BEANS AND RICE from Diet for a Small Planet. They're very alliterative!
5D OPUS. Not all "classical" music has OPUS numbers. E.g. Bach's music has "BWV" numbers("Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis" -- Ger.'Bach works catalogue'" and Mozart's works have "K" numbers from a catalog created by Ludwig Ritter von Köchel.
24D DMITRI. While I've heard many of Shostakovich's works on my favorite radio station, my geezer card was showing and I had to wait for the "I" to perp.
30D UNSNAP. Can't wait to see what Ray - O has to say about this one. 😁
63D RIO. Sadly Astrid Gilberto died just last year. It was great to hear her again.
Cheers
Bill
Well I pretty much breezed through this one, thought I would finish under 10, but hit a snag on the last two letters of DIPLOMA MI_ _, figured the only name with the letters _ EDA was LEDA, which gave me the other L of the fragrance. I always refer to that dish as Beans and RICE and not the other way around. Shouldn’t be too many complaints about this puzzle, pretty much within most solvers grasp I woul think. Thanks Margi for today’s construction!
ReplyDeletesumdaze ~ very much appreciate your Monday blog, always bright and cheery, humorous and witty, which I assume is just an extension of your personality. I liked your thought for “heck if I know” SAT XWD 🤣. LED is probably also the type of bulb in your scoreboard pic. The Frank and Ernest cartoon reminded me of a Steven Wright quote ~ “I went to a museum that had all the heads and arms missing from the statues in all the other museums”.
Typical Monday puzzle. I saw the DM in the themers and the DM reveal. No IDEA that DM was Direct Message. On our fabulous tour of Costa Rica we were served rice and beans and plantains every day for lunch. Very tasty, but it became monotonous. We had a delicious variety of local and international choices for dinner.
ReplyDeleteI knew Dmitri very well, but I had a brain glitch and needed three perps. Drat these senior moments. Names are my Waterloo.
IMO, geese are no role models. They pollute extensively. They leave a huge mess behind. When a was a kid we loved watching the Canada geese. Now we are overrun by year round geese and their droppings. There are sidewalks where you can't find a clean patch to set your foot. Federal laws protect them, so their numbers have become overwhelming.
DMITRI did not seem to be an anomaly, IMO. I suppose I am too easy. In the themes, the D began one word and the M another. The DMs were not side by side. If the reveal was AM, all themers that occur in the morning, should we rule out fill like AMount or AMbition?
There seem to be many fewer discreet people today. It's the time of TMI. Let it all hang out. Rearrange the E's and you get DISCRETE, separate or divided.
NO IDEA describes this Saturday's puzzle. I threw in the towel.
HG, if you sub in elementary school you are almost always given actual concepts to teach, not busy work. We teachers blackballed subs who didn't teach. One sub dug out the work sheets the teacher had prepared for the week and assigned them with no teaching. He was not called back. Our students used pencils which they often lost, so I had a stash of them.
Cats really are stealthy hunters. My dear Kahlua used to hide around the corner to jump playfully at my ankles as I passed by. I still miss him after all these years.
March 11, 2024 at 9:38 AM
Zip, zip, done. A very Monday, Monday! Spent more time going over Sumdazes review than on the puzzle this morning. Que Sera, sera.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me, first Monday after DST and my editor hadn't signed on yet... I just couldn't let it ride.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning! It felt like we changed dates in the lower half of this puzzle, from Monday to, at least, Wednesday. I picked up on the theme with the reveal and that helped me finish because I don’t know about DRUM MACHINEs. Thanks, Margi, for the treat.
ESP: DMITRI, ORL, IRVINE, L’HOMME and other wags as a few of the letters filled.
Thanks, sumdaze for the fun and info. LOL at the Canada goose toon, not welcome on a golf course, or so I’ve heard….
A fine Monday CW. Only unknowns for me were IRVINE and LENA.
ReplyDeleteWhat nice memories the Girl from Ipanema evokes.
sumdaze: Cute goose cartoons.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteThis was a typical Monday with a couple of possible snags (Dimitri and L'homme), but perps were more than fair. A newbie might have a pause or two, but should be able to finish and appreciate the very obvious theme and reveal. Oh, I forgot that Irvine was also an unknown and I had to correct Lane to Ladd.
Thanks, Margi, and thanks, sumdaze, for the fun and facts. Favorite cartoons today were the ones for Oms and Dig. I echo YooperPhil's compliment on your blogging talents.
FLN
YooperPhil, I appreciate your kind words. 😉
Have a great day.
That was a nice and easy puzzle to start the week. Plus a fun, light and lively review.
ReplyDeleteI liked the NO IDEA (Sat xwd) humor, and similarly finished with the D in DMITRI.
I also liked C.C.'s Atlas Obscura puzzle.
FLN. NaomiZ and Jinx, I am in beautiful downtown Tarzana. NaomiZ, my first girlfriend lived in View Park/Windsor hills. Jinx, IIRC you have, on occasion, referenced Topanga (about 5 miles from where I am "as the crow flies". Topanga Canyon Road was recently closed by a mudslide.
ReplyDeleteAlso FLN,I have been thinking about yesterday’s comments regarding the increasing difficulty, and seeming unfathomability, of some of the clues and/or answers. I do agree that the puzzles have become more challenging but, for me, I think this is due primarily to the changing cultural landscape. I am quite familiar with the vocabulary and the musical, theatrical and other cultural reference points of both my generation and that of my parents but I am far less familiar with those touch-points of today. …. And textspeak!? Ultimately, I know that I have to recognize that I am not the target audience of today’s puzzle editors and this is as it should be.
Malman, NaomiZ was your first girlfriend? What a coinci…. Oh wait. Never mind
Delete😁
ReplyDeleteLadies and GERMs (and bald-headed worms) a bit tight for a Monday other wise a quick fill but with more proper names that I like in a top ‘o the week puzzle. Once again I fergot to seek out the theme. What a DuMMY 😌
Looking forward to the April SOLAR 🌞eclipse in the NE, hoping it’s not clouded over. Don’t look directly with the naked EYE.
UPONE kynda clunky. Oh now I get it, “HOMES” is a nimonick for the Great LAKES though ERIE is the only answer that fit.
Am I DISCRete or DISCREET?
The Soviets forbid DMITRI Shostakovich to use any more than 2 vowels in his first name due to a nationwide shortage.
L’HOMME: you “da man”!!! 😉
A motherly Brit purchase…..MUMBAI
Trig anthem “ ____ , _____ everywhere a ____……. SINE
Abrasive University thesis, ____ paper…..EMORY
Regretted being “discourteous” …..RUDE
Watched part of the Oscars last night. After showing a montage of incredible movie stunts there oughta be an award for best stunt persons male and female. I also wonder how they determine who is tapped for “best film editing” if they don’t know what was edited out. 🤭Just sayin’ lol. And no one got slapped
Marvellous Monday. Thanks for the fun, Margi and sumdaze.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in quick Monday time, and saw the DM theme (can DM ITRI in the middle be an Easter Egg).
Two inkblots to change Acre to AREA (which fit the square clue better), and Uncork to unseal to UNSNAP. The DM and LH combos gave me pause also.
I noted RIO and REOS, WEEP under EYE, DISCO crossing DISCREET.
Wine theme with TASTING, DECANTS and UNSNAP (with PABST for the beer drinkers).
I might take a CSO for that Canadian GOOSE with sumdaze’s kind role model link (although I don’t think we are known for our assertiveness!). Other already mentioned by others Goose attributes make them less likeable.
We had EDISON last week, and Picard posted great photos.
I posted here previously that Niagara Falls Ontario is prepping for a massive influx of tourists for the SOLAR eclipse. Our maximum time will be 3:20 like Buffalo. ERIE will be at 3:18pm.
Wishing you all a great day.
Ray O @ 11:05: Funny...and I had better re-read Eats, Shoots, and Leaves!
ReplyDeleteFLN, obligatory link: sometimes hard crosswords are very helpful...
ReplyDeleteLOL! No idea: SAT XWD!
I am terrible at parsing, so when you said "it also fit," I spent an inordinate amount of time trying to figure out your perps...
It has (repeatedly) been said, that that xwords should be learning experiences. So I went and googled DMs to see if any humorous images might reveal themselves. What came up was this unfathomable image? so I googled what does sliding into DMs mean?. (I am still trying to understand that image...)
Because:
60. Trig function that models light waves: SINE. Light acts as both a wave and a particle.
You people enjoy puzzles. Can anyone out there explain why (or how) light can know it is being observed and change the outcome of this test.
This is where the weird begins!
Hola!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Margi Stevenson, for the Monday funday! I loved DISCO MUSIC! It was fun and good to swing to.
Very likely, here we shall see only shadows but not the entire SOLAR eclipse. In Charlotte, where my sister lives, they will probably see the entire event.
CSO to my great-great grandmother, LENA. Although I was only about six or seven years old, I remember her. She used to grind corn on a metate.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Today's puzzle was mostly quick, with just a few pauses to remind us it's a puzzle. I love that sumdaze chose Rosemary Mosco's (birdandmoon.com) Canada Goose cartoon to illustrate 68 Across. Of course, the cartoonist's aim is to defend the frequently disparaged goose. If I had to contend with soiled, slippery sidewalks like the ESTEEMed Yellowrocks, my sympathy for the birds might be limited, but I do think the sidewalks and the rest of our infrastructure are more polluting than whatever organic matter comes out the rear end of a goose.
ReplyDeleteI don’t usually comment on easy Monday puzzles, and this one was pretty much Crosswords 101, but the reference to Fort Sumter, the site of my 1969 Jeopardy downfall, probably causes our father-son solving duo to expect me to weigh in.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of “weigh in,” a boxing term, a “decision” is what results if a boxing match goes the entire number of scheduled rounds and the judges determine who won. Therefore, the clue was faulty, because a TKO isn’t a “decision.” Nearly any bout that doesn’t go the distance these days is a TKO, because almost any bout headed for a full-on KO gets stopped by the referee or ring doctor before there’s an actual full 10-count.
No problem with EDNA or DMITRI, but the word “anthology” for a “relative” minor threw me in the E-MINOR clue until it perped, and my hand is up for “uncork” before UNSNAP. Still, the whole thing came together in usual Monday fashion.
Addendum to the light slit experiment:
ReplyDeleteA clue to the puzzle is that the same result occurs when using single particles, such as atoms, in place of light photons. Watch this short video to the end, and if you can figure it out, there is a Nobel prize waiting for you...
A good Monday offering … a fun, easy, and white-out free puzzle.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a great puzzle for noobs to tackle.
Thanks Margi and sumdaze
…. kkFlorida
No problems with this one. Thanks Sumdaze for the review. I also worked the Atlas Obscura puzzle CC. I quickly put down "bus" but just as quickly realized that was not going to work. My favorite clue was "It often follows you", good one. GC
ReplyDeleteDelightful Monday puzzle, many thanks, Margi--what a pleasure! And many thanks for your helpful and informative commentary, Sumdaze. And I just loved hearing Doris Day sing "Que Sera" again, after all these years--a real treat!
ReplyDeleteI was delighted to see the puzzle start off with two music references, ARIA and DISCO MUSIC. There sadly wasn't much to follow, but it was still neat to see a reference to DMITRI Shostakovich and to E MINOR. And, of course, the reference to Doris Day's classic QUE Sera song.
Have a good day, everybody.
I am enjoying reading your comments!
ReplyDeleteWaseeley@9:27 & YooperPhil@9:32. I like your angle on the LED scoreboard. Unfortunately I cannot take credit for planning that one.
= )
Breezy solve with the DM theme. First considered IMS before DMS. No idea about IRVINE, LADD, EDNA, L'HOMME or LENA as clued. Mostly fair crosses to FIR.
ReplyDeleteCanadianEh Thank you for the shout out about my EDISON Laboratory photos with my EDISON, NJ family. I was surprised that the two places are an hour away from each other.
sumdaze Thanks for the illustrations. Shin DIG was my favorite.
CrossEyedDave Thanks for the Light/Particle/Slit video. Yes, the universe is weirder than we can imagine. That is my day job.
Here are some photos of me with the locals at IPANEMA Beach in RIO.
You can see Sugarloaf Mountain beyond my left shoulder.
From Yesterday:
ReplyDeleteCharlie Echo, NaomiZ Thank you for validating my feelings about what makes a fair, rewarding and enjoyable puzzle:
1) No crossed proper/obscure names/words that cannot reasonably be guessed.
2) Misdirection and devious clues are OK later in the week.
3) It should be a learning experience.
4) Mix up science, arts, sports, pop culture, etc so everyone has a chance and everyone has a chance to learn.
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFIR with no write overs
I was surprised to see the reveal; I've had a couple of puzzles rejected because the reveal was an abbreviation ...
66-across reminded me of a Moe-ku I penned 6 years ago:
What Doris Day sang
When nacho cheese not melted?
"Queso raw, so raw ..."
Federal protection for Canada geese is not total. When they stop being migrants and become endemic, state laws apply. I've studied the ways of culling the population that are legal in Virginia, but not with the intent to practice them. For some reason the topic came up during one of my project management classes, and I mentioned that they had better not get caught molesting the geese. My students told me otherwise, so I LIU. They were right.
ReplyDeleteMalMan - I used to have dinner once a week in Tarzana at a Texas-themed rib joint (owned and operated by nice folks of Asian descent.) I was taking classes at Pierce College (which we called PU,) and the restaurant was on my way on Ventura Blvd to I-405 to get to my home in Canyon Country. I had recently moved from Topanga, so I had a little further to drive.
Canadian Geese tend to return to place of birth to have their young. Some stay in the area - hence many nest in the Lake Balboa area near you.
DeleteThis is one of the better sites I found that has good detail for start and stop times of the eclipse.
ReplyDeleteEclipse2024.org City Search
Nice, lazy Monday. Only issue was respelling DISCRETE.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sumdaze for the wine-aerating tip. Will definitely try that.
“HOMES” has always seemed to me the most useless mnemonic, because it doesn’t put the lakes in any logical order. Here’s some help, and feel free to make up your own silly sentences: Going from west to east, it would be SMHEO, and going from largest to smallest, it would be SHMEO.
In researching this I found an interesting trivia question: After the Great Lakes, what is the largest lake in the US? (Hint: it also borders Canada)
Copy Editor: I had the same first thought that you did, but a boxing referee has discretion to end a fight. Declaring a TKO to end the fight would be the referee's "decision".
ReplyDeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteThanks Margi for a breezy Monday puzzle. Thanks sumdaze for an entertaining review.
WOs: N/A
ESPs: LADD, ANI, EDNA | DMITRI, IRVINE, L'HOMME, LENA
Fav: OPUS but not for the clue cited :-)
In the immortal words of Dr. Johnny Fever, DISCO sucks ;-)
Cute Moe-ku, C. Moe.
Ray-O: vowel shortage reminded me of a Car Talk segment [@1:01]
Enjoyed reading y'all!
Cheers, -T
AZ Jim @ 4:34 PM
ReplyDeleteOnly a SHMOE would need a mnemonic to remember the names of the Great Lakes.
You mean a lake we upstate New Yorkers share with Vermont and Québec named for Samuel de Champlain and home to a lake monster called“Champy”. Have no idea
😉
The 6th Largest body of water in United States, Lake Champlain became one of the Great Lakes in 1998; but it only held that title for about 18 days. President Clinton signed a bill on March 6th, 1998 but that bill was rescinded on March 24, 18 days later.
DeleteI guess they weren’t sure where to put the “C” in the mnemonic
Wow that’s funny—poor Lake Champlain didn’t get to enjoy its moment of glory nearly as long as Pluto did!
DeleteBut no, it’s called Lake of the Woods in Minnesota/Manitoba/Ontario. It’s 1,679 sq miles with about a third of that in US territory (which makes the size of the US portion very close to the size of Champlain).
And btw it contains a mere 14,632 islands!
Jinx @ 1:50, was that restaurant the El Paso BBQ Company?
ReplyDeleteI managed to solve C.C.'s Atlas Obscura puzzle -- lots of sparkly fill, but I didn't manage to suss the theme: "Making the Right Moves". Any puzzling thoughts? Trigger warning: it has circles, but they didn't help this themed challenged puzzler.
ReplyDeleteANONYMOUS: "Ruling" would be a better term for a TKO, to distinguish it from "decision."
ReplyDelete"Stoppage" is another term commonly used for TKO that distinguishes it from "decision."
ReplyDeletewaseeley, it is right moves, by tab(s). The tabs progress to the right. Does that help?
ReplyDeleteDash T, are you busy, or what? Security breaches on the rise? That was rhetorical; I've seen the recent numbers. Stay ahead of the curve.
TTP @8:37 PM Got it. Thanks!
DeleteMalMan, that's the one. Thanks for reminding me. Must have been circa 1988.
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree with solution to 17 across. Sounds of the 70's was rock and roll. Disco was the 80's sound.
ReplyDeleteDisco was prominent in the ‘70s so that would make your statement inaccurate.
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