Themeless Saturday by Jess Rucks
Jess has separated from the Air Force after five years of service where she told me served as an Urdu linguist, not interpreter. She now lives in Colorado Springs with her husband who serves in the U.S. Space Force. This is a picture with her and her then 5-year-old son having a good time on the playground. Jess assures me this is Urdu for, "I hope you enjoyed Jess's puzzle."
مجھے امید ہے کہ آپ نے جیس کی پہیلی کا لطف اٹھایا ہوگا۔
Across:
1. Beach blanket: SAND - 😀 Yeah, I guess beaches are blanketed with SAND
5. __ Men: one-hit junkanoo band of 2000: BAHA.
9. Member of a dazzle: ZEBRA - I'd probably still say herd
14. "Van Helsing" role: IGOR.
15. Smart __: ALEC.
16. Location of the Karnak Temple Complex: EGYPT - A visit to the Karnak Temple Complex is part of Agatha Christie's plot in this Poirot movie.
17. Have empathy: CARE.
18. Pepa or pepper partner: SALT - 😀 The less common of the pairing.
19. "Buona __": NOTTE - Good Night in Italian. I hope Jess will stop in to tell us if شب بخیر is correct in Urdu.
20. Phrase on a shamrock-green T-shirt: KISS ME I'M IRISH - I'd love to buy this for a dear lady we all know on our Crossword Corner!
23. "Almost ready": ONE SEC.
24. Sleeping soundly: OUT.
25. Hermey of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," for one: ELF - Who knew?
28. Comedian who wrote "Cracking Up" and "I Know I Am, but What Are You?": SAMANTHA BEE.
32. Hodgepodge: MISH MASH.
35. Hoity-toity type: SNOOT.
36. Euler's field: MATH - If you're a math peep like I am, you know it is pronounced OY LER. Bonus points for understanding this:
37. Vital organ elements: PIPES - Our good friend Splynter knows a lot about these elements! Be sure to read his comments below the write-up!
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40. "Long story short ... ": IN SUM.
42. Motocross need: DIRT BIKE.
44. Cozy aesthetic: COTTAGE CORE.
46. Goof: ERR.
47. Camel kin: TAN.
48. Some event notices: E-VITES
53. "Stop misquoting me!": I DIDN'T SAY THAT.
57. Treadmill options: PACES - It's in here somewhere
59. Throaty sound: AHEM.
60. Cornstarch brand: ARGO - Also the ship for Jason and the Argonauts
61. Rice brews: SAKES.
62. "American Chopper" argument, e.g.: MEME.
63. Diminutive of Dolores: LOLA - Did anyone else think of Gwen Verdon and Damn Yankees?
64. Aromatic herb: THYME.
65. Robed dignitary: EMIR.
66. Chuck: YEET - A well known synonym for throw is softball circles
Down:
1. Travis Scott's "__ Mode": SICKO.
2. Once more: AGAIN.
3. Like Freya and Hel: NORSE.
4. Word with down or up: DRESS 😀
5. One of two near Everest: BASE CAMP - All who climb 29,00o foot Everest must first make the 8 - 12 day difficult but doable trek up to BASE CAMP at 17,500 feet. This family did make it to BASE CAMP with their kids.
6. Jai __: ALAI - A fav game in Crosswordland
7. Tiller: HELM - He is "at the HELM" because he has his hand on the tiller
7. Tiller: HELM - He is "at the HELM" because he has his hand on the tiller
8. Lara Croft, for one: ACTION HERO.
9. High points: ZENITHS - Big brother to cwd regulars acme and apex
10. Super followers?: EGOS.
11. Without any variation: BY THE BOOK.
12. Sch. assignment: RPT.
13. Made a fast stop: ATE 😀 On Easter Sunday, March 31 this year, those of you who fast for lent can stop.
21. Breathable fabric: MESH.
22. Groove: RUT - There can be a big difference
26. Currency in West Africa: LEONE - This bike in Freetown, Sierra Leone will run you 107,000,000 LEONES or about $4,400.
29. Handle for a née-sayer: MAIDEN NAME - I have no issue with keeping a surname after marriage
30. Savory jelly: ASPIC.
31. Start to freeze?: ANTI.
32. Large estate: MANOR.
33. "Too much to get into": IT'S TRICKY.
34. Close: SHUT - klōz not klōs
36. Game for owls: MICE 😀
38. Cord cutter, perhaps: STREAMER 😀
41. "Blue Nude" painter: MATISSE.
 |
| A set of three |
45. Josh who plays Shakespeare on "History of the World, Part II": GAD.
49. Winner of four FIFA World Cups: ITALY.
50. Paroxysm: THROE.
51. Old quarter back: EAGLE - 😀 In this clue, quarter back is two words. Now the obverse side still has George Washington but the reverse side has hosted an EAGLE and many special images
 |
| Old quarter |
 |
| A example of a new quarter |
54. Judge: DEEM.
55. Creature feature with giant ants: THEM - Circa 1954
57. Wash. setting: PST - Washington state is two hours behind me where I'm on CST
58. "That's the spot": AAH - I'll bet that's how you feel after finishing Jess's fun puzzle!
From Splynter:
Hi Gary,
Most of what I do for the company concerns design, drafting and the installation of the components of a pipe organ - chests, reservoirs, windlines, etc. I am rarely on site when the actual pipes get put on the chests. I did find some images, but nothing special, see attached. I had a coworker snap the image, also attached, when we recycled zinc pipes that did not get voiced and reinstalled at a church. I then took a selfie ( and I really, really wanted to send you a "shelfie", too ) Here are half of the facade pipes from the National Cathedral before we took them down and refurbished them.
Splynter
What helped me solve
ReplyDeletethis challenging puzzle were two well-known phrases: “Kiss me, I’m Irish” and “I didn’t say that!” Working around and through those two got me through some other, more “tricky” clues and allowed me to get the win. FIR, so I’m happy.
(And, by the way, H.G., I echo your sentiments about “a dear lady who happens to be Irish” who, through “modern correspondence” has become a very dear friend of mine!)
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteIt's been weeks since d-o last completed a Saturday stumper. Yay, for today. Quick, too. I know, everybody's going to complain about how easy it was. But until they do, I can be smug in my success. Thanx, Jess and Husker.
Them -- Did you notice James Arness' name on that movie poster? That was in his pre-Matt Dillon days.
It would have been a rare Saturday FIR had it not been for 45 down. All in all a very enjoyable puzzle and a great start to the weekend.
ReplyDeleteOh, and thank you for the reference to Hermey the Elf. By my calculation I have watched Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer 60 times. I never get tired of it.
ReplyDeleteToday, the only thing in common with most Saturday LAT puzzles is the lack of a theme. No triple stacked spanners with can be the bane for me on some Saturdays. FIR w/o help in 13:40, no complaints here, thank you Jess and Patti for taking it easy on us (for once 🤣). Some nice cluing like “Handle for a nee-sayer” and “Old quarter back”. I’ve never heard anyone say YEET, but it sure is friendly to constructors. A timely SO to IM☘️ today (might be kinda dangerous to wear that shirt though 😉). Words I never saw before today: Junkanoo and paroxysm.
ReplyDeleteSplynter ~ nice photos of the pipes and especially the Cathedral, nice job site! Must be quite the rigging job dismantling and reinstalling!
HG ~ another splendid Saturday review, thanks for your time and effort on that!
Yeet, I still don't understand it but in was in a puzzle last week.
ReplyDeleteTook 11:59 today, just ahead of YooperPhil who's always breathing down my neck or besting me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with YooperPhil's comments and SubG's, and wish to congratulate D-O on his success.
Once again, geography failed me, or, I failed geography. I didn't know the Italian (notte or Italy), West African currency, or the Norse names.
I also didn't know Igor or Lola.
Maiden Name clue/answer was good.
Happy St. Patrick's Day Eve to our Ms. Irish Miss, and to all others who celebrate.
PS. I still don't understand "yeet" either.
ReplyDeleteDNF, filling 54, 50 correctly.
ReplyDeleteToday is:
NATIONAL CURL CRUSH DAY (as reported by this baldheaded bastard)
NATIONAL CORN DOG DAY (love ‘em on occasion)
NATIONAL ARTICHOKE HEARTS DAY (love ‘em any day)
NATIONAL PANDA DAY (I hear they taste like chicken)
NATIONAL EVERYTHING YOU DO IS RIGHT DAY (does not apply to ol’ Jinx)
NATIONAL QUILTING DAY (what’s not to like – beautiful and functional)
NATIONAL FREEDOM OF INFORMATION DAY (FOIA changed the country, even though some bureaus think blacking out everything except a few words is responsive)
This one had enough gettable clues that I enjoyed trying. May have gotten a few more with a little P&P, and may have finished had I known ZEBRA. Still fun.
Thanks to Jess for the challenge, and thank you and your husband for your service to our country. And thanks to H.Gary for splainin' a lot of the rest.
FIR. I found this to be a relatively easy puzzle considering it's a Saturday. For once I was able to throw down the long answers with surety. And that helped a lot.
ReplyDeleteI dislike yeet, but we have had it before. And I puzzled a while over the crossing of Gad and tan, but just took a WAG and was right.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI'll be walking on air for the rest of the day, thanks to all of the very sweet and touching comments from HG, SubG, YooperPhil, and SS. Thank you all! ☘️
I had a disappointing FWH, due to the NW corner and not getting beyond In A Sec vs the correct One Sec. This roadblock prevented me from seeing Sicko, Igor, and Norse. As Jinx said, maybe some additional P and P would have led to a FIR. Otherwise, this offering had numerous fresh and lively entries, e.g., Kiss Me I'm Irish, I Didn't Say That, It's Tricky, By The Book, Maiden Name, Dirt Bike, Base Camp, etc. The Mishmash/Mesh crossing stood out as did the noticeably low (10) TLW count. I could do without Yeet, but I guess it's here to stay, along with Bae and Totes Adorbs!
Thanks, Jess, for a great Saturday stumper, and stumped I was, and thank you and your husband for your service. Thanks, HG, for the always dazzling eye candy and witty and wise commentary. My Kelly green St. Paddy's Day sweatshirt reads" Not only am I PERFECT, I'm IRISH, too!" I had one a long time ago that was emblazoned with Shamrocks and read "Mother Superior"! I wore it to a St. Paddy's Day party and a stranger came up to me and asked what Order of Nuns was I in! (Hi, Lucinda!)
Have a great day.
Nice steady solve - it slowed some in the lower half but before I knew it it was a FIR!
ReplyDeleteCSO to Irish Miss - couldn't be on the actual St Patrick's day being a Saturday.
Saturday cluing for Josh GAD who is more famous for being Olaf the snowman in "Frozen" and Gaston's sidekick in the live action "Beauty and the Beast"
Gimme on MATISSE as the Saint Louis Art Museum is having a special exhibit on him through May 12. When we recently drove the 2 hours to pick up family at the airport there - we had lunch and saw the exhibit to break up the round trip. It was excellent- if you happen to be driving through
https://www.slam.org/exhibitions/matisse-and-the-sea/
Also on LEONE - Freetown, Sierra LEONE is one my hometown of Kansas City's sister cities. The first was Seville which was a natural as The Plaza looks like one there. Freetown was named in the 70's when I was still growing up and I remember the ceremony
https://kcparks.org/places/sister-cities-bridge/#:~:text=Kansas%20City%20has%2012%20Sister,Mexico%3B%20and%20Ramla%2C%20Israel.
I thought the cord cutter clue was going to be something like OB/GYN doc or midwife before changing to STREAMER.
Thanks HG for the fun blog (and to Splynter for the organ restoration explanation) and to Jess for the puzzle
An interesting twist on a Saturday puzzle. Almost thought it was going to have a theme what with 20, 28, 44 and 53A. But, themeless it was. Wasn't sure of the reference for 38D. ZEBRA had an interesting clue. Lots of animal groups have odd names e,g. a murder of crows, a pride of lions, etc.
ReplyDeleteFIR. Never owned a dirt bike, they came later.
Shoutout to Gary and Jess for their efforts today.
Every dog has his day, but most guys miss their opportunity.
Sweet.
ReplyDeleteUsually on a Saturday I go thru a bunch of serial clues with finally a fill. Today was a breeze. Had the Northern half mostly filled quick like though hard to believe that EGYPT held me up, kept looking for the name of a town. But I met my Waterloo at STREAMER (couldn’t get the obstetric implication out of my head for “cord cutter” ) plus stuck with body for “large group” and DNF 🫤
Is there such a thing as a STOAT coat? 🧥 … Ah, camel is a color, TAN. Great misdirection
Since COVID the Health department strongly suggests avoiding the wearing of shirts that imply KISS ME IM IRISH which encourage the random spread of viral infections. Sorry IM ☘️but a “handshake instead of a kiss” 😁…. “Game for owls” Hoo wants to be a Millionaire??….YEET? huh but sumthin’ tells me we mighta has this B4.
Quasi= Fr and It for “almost” from Latin (Quasimodo, the bellringer : “almost” in the “mode” of being a normal man which he unfortunately wasn’t)
The 2 women named Dolores I know use “Dolly”. Hello!! But as nicknames frequently derive from the accented part of a name LOLA makes sense (plus she gets whatever she wants). In English names, the accent is usually on the first syllable thus the common source of its nickname: Joseph/Joe, Peter/Pete. Jennifer/Jenny, but Amanda/Mandy, Christine/Tina, Regina/Gina
“Lara”, not a HEROine? or has that gone the way of “actress” “Super followers” intendants too long. I was surprised to see Marshall Matt Dillon in the TV (mighta been a ZENITH) rerun I watched of the monster ants “Them” in the 60’s
Bridge: ….ITS TRICKY
For Pete’s …..SAKES
“Hey, over here”….PST
Whenever organs are mentioned Splynt “pipes up” 😃
were you involved in the construction of this enormous organ. See the grand piano for scale, in the new Holy Name of Jesus cathedral in Raleigh NC? I visited it two years ago on a trip to see my 90 year old cousin
Hi Gary (and LAT crossword solvers)! Jess here. Thanks for the write up on the puzzle. Regarding "good night" in Urdu: to me, that reads as "shoo ba kheer" but I think(?) it should be pronounced "soo ba kheer" (I'm doing my best to phonetically spell it!). My Urdu is VERY rusty!
ReplyDeleteRe: YEET -- I've put this in both of my LAT puzzles, and both times there are so many comments about it! Here's a story about YEET in hopes that it'll sway folks who are on the fence about this word. When I was a school counseling intern, I met with a very smart 3rd grader who struggled with emotional regulation and social interactions. He told me he was learning how to write notes in code, so he could write secret messages. He didn't have anyone to write to so I told him he could write secret messages to me (but first he had to teach me the code). He did, and then quizzed me using the word YEET (however, this was a word I had never heard of). I used the cipher and solved the word, but the word was YEET. I was like, huh? What the heck is YEET?! Then he had to teach me what that meant. It was a really fun memory and he loved getting to teach an adult two things!
Cheers and thanks so much for solving! As usual, some of the best clues are from Patti! (Looking at you, MAIDEN NAME.)
I love the story of your third grader. Kids do love it when they get to teach grownups stuff! Thx
DeleteHola!
ReplyDeleteIs this really Saturday? Amazingly I finished in good time and with no problems. Thank you, Jess! You're welcome to create a puzzle anytime!
COTTAGE CORE is not familiar to me.
NOTTE is an unknown and luckily it worked itself out. I know NOCHE.
I liked the clue for MAIDEN NAME.
There used to be a satirical play in San Francisco called "Beach Blanket Babylon".
A friend sent me this "Irish Prayer"
May those that love us, love us. And those that don't love us, may God turn their hearts, and if God doesn't turn their hearts, may God turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limping.
Today is Book Club day and I'm pleased to have finished the puzzle before leaving. Usually it doesn't happen.
Have a wonderful day, everyone!
Nice to hear from you, Jess. I'm afraid your LOLA made me think of Damn Yankees and "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets." Now I've got that earworm in my head.
DeleteI confess I was DNF today due to a barrage of unknowns (to me): yeet, cottage core, notte, Josh Gad, junkanoo, camel = tan.........but I look forward to your next puzzle, Jess, notwithstanding my TITT today, because you are obviously talented and clever. Maybe on a Monday or Tuesday, though.
Hey, Splynter, let me know if you ever need an assistant working on pipe organs.
Jess ~ thanks for visiting the Corner, always nice hearing from the constructors! YEET!! 🤣
ReplyDeleteWEES, smooth pleasant CW. I struggled with some clues, but P&P (as our resident ☘️ likes to say) got the job done resulting in sweet satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteI’m still not clear on YEET since I’m not clear on Chuck. Does it mean throw away?
Thanks HG for the recap.
Yeet means to toss or throw. :)
DeleteFLN
ReplyDeleteI 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.
TODAY
I was little suspicious of this Saturday puzzle as it was surprisingly easy to solve. Nevertheless I got an FIW (see below)
(has Patti finally taken pity on us puzzlers?)
Thanks Jess for the easy breezy puzzle.
Thanks Husker for the easy breezy review.
A few favs:
9A ZEBRA. A dazzlingly collective noun!
19A NOTTE. Here's the aria Buona notte, mia figlia (Good night, my daughter) from Verdi's La Forza del destino with Leontyne Price.
66A YEET. Had YBET. Failure to proof read.
8D ACTION HERO. Shouldn't this be ACTION HEROINE?
32D MANOR. To the Manor Born is a Brit comedy series about a woman who has her manor bought out from under her, but in the end gets it back from the buyer.
51D EAGLE. Funny, an article on Peter the EAGLE popped up in my inbox just today!
Cheers
Bill
What a pleasant way to start a Saturday! Managed to FIR after wrestling with the NE corner for a while. Oh, ZEBRA! too many clever misdirections to cite. I haven't enjoyed a puzzle this much in a long time. Thanks, Jess! You ROck!
ReplyDeleteI miss my old dirt bike days in the Ariz desert with my bro. Little too long in the tooth for anything like that now. Alas. Nice puzzle for a Sat. Shout out Irish miss for tomorrow. My father being Irish, didn’t know I was only half until I was about 8. Trip to the old sod many years ago was great fun. Happy St. Paddy’s day to all.
ReplyDeleteI don't like the "Start to freeze" club. ANTI is not the start to freeze. Anti is the start of a word that ends in freeze. I'm sure someone can make a case for this working but I think it's unnecessarily misleading. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteSuper Saturday. Thanks for the fun, Jess and HuskerG.
ReplyDeleteI FIRed in great time for a Saturday. Loved the misdirections, unknown names perped, several WAGs I made were correct.
I don’t always get a chance to do the Saturday CW; glad I got this one.
Plus CSOs to Irish Miss, Splynter, melissa bee
Fun misdirections for SAND, TAN (not another animal to go with ZEBRA), ATE, PIPES.
Clue for MAIDEN NAME was my favourite.
I guessed ZEBRA when the Z appeared, and the F gave me ELF.
In a SEC changed to ONE SEC with NORSE (which forced SICKO rather than Scki).
Snob was too short- SNOOT fit.
Our usual CW Olive was too short - MISHMASH is a great word.
This Canadian can never remember your ARGO corn starch - I entered ARCO and corrected with EAGLE. (Our old Canadian quarter back would be a Caribou.)
MEME, YEET, CORE perped but we’re unfamiliar to me as clued.
Wishing you all a great day. I’ll read you all later.
AAH ... a fine puzzle! I appreciate that Jess gives credit to Patti for good clues. I think Patti's contributions are largely overlooked.
ReplyDeleteWhiner at 11:20 finds another clue not to like. By his/her standards, the clue for MAIDEN NAME should be "woman's name before marriage." That would work in a kiddie puzzle!
IN SUM, a fine Saturday entertainment. Thanks to HG for enhancing the experience.
As soon as I saw the clue "start to freeze" I knew it was ANTI.
ReplyDeleteWell, that was an atypical Saturday, but it was still fun and I enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteSerendipity - THEM was on the Screenpix Action channel the other night as I was flipping through the channels.
Merriam-Webster has:
YEET as a verb - to throw especially with force and without regard for the thing being thrown.
YEET as an interjection - used to express surprise, approval, or excited enthusiasm.
HG, the ID panel of your SuperEGOS images meshes with the aggression of the Teutels and the American Chopper argument MEME. When that program first aired, I thought it was all staged. They built some beautiful bikes but the drama turned out to be a real life train wreck.
Thank you, Jess, and thank you, Husker Gary.
I FIR in 35 minutes, but it seemed a lot longer. Now the challenge is to present my issues in less than 35 minutes.
ReplyDeleteMy final fill was what seemed to be a mini-natick involving an unknown actor with a three-letter surname and an unknown animal with a three-letter name beginning with T. Then I realized “camel” is also a color, albeit not one I would invoke on my own.
To reach that point, I had to conclude COTTAGE CORE is a thing, and had to fill in “IT’S TRICKY” in place of “I can’t even.” What did I think of the cluing for that? I can’t even . . . without harping on Patti’s faulty sense of dialogue again.
It took a while to wrap up the Texas area by realizing AHEM was DEEMed a “throaty” sound and that the unknown “American Chopper” somehow involves a MEME.
OTHER NEGATIVES: YEET still means nothing to me. . . 1A and 1D were kind of a natick, but I’ll grudgingly accept “beach blanket” as being a clever clue for SAND. . . . If I see “smart ALEC” while I’m editing, I change it to “smart aleck.” And I consider LOLA a stand-alone name at least as much as a diminutive, and yes, I totally associate it with the siren pursuing Shoeless Joe From Hannibal, Mo.
POSITIVES: I was onto the “vital organ” misdirection quickly. I liked seeing BEVY in the fill. It was interesting to encounter one THROE. And I like SAMANTHA BEE, although her book titles didn’t help me suss the answer.
ReplyDeleteWell, something is wrong…this Saturday grid was both clued nicely and solvable.
I hope nothing is amiss with our beloved editor, but how else to explain this Saturday surprise?
To newbies…once upon a time a long time ago, Saturday puzzles were solvable and fun, like this one….don't get used to it.
Hello fellow Cornerites! I gave up doing Saturday puzzles a few years ago because I didn't have the P and P to do them. Looks like I missed out on a fun, doable puzzle. Thanks, Jess, for the puzzle and thanks, H-G, for the expo.
ReplyDeleteI'll admit it, I'm a dinosaur. Don't like YEET since there are already acceptable choices in the language. Same goes for shortening the original words for bae and totes adorbs.
Fav clue/answer 9A Member of a dazzle: ZEBRA Never heard of this descriptor. How about this: Serengeti Spaghetti. Click on the picture to enlarge it and read the description on the right to understand what you're seeing.
Splynter, I enjoy your pictures and info about your job. Thank you!
Happy St. Pat's day IM! I'm a bit Irish so I also get to celebrate an ethnic "day"!
Wonderful weekend to all!
Puzzling thoughts:
ReplyDeleteFLN and yesterday ... thanks for all of the kind thoughts and comments for Margaret and her family
Had a few spare moments today to complete the puzzle; there were a few write/overs but I eventually solved it
CSO to Miss Agnes - aka Irish Miss - with her "KISS ME IM IRISH" entry!
YEET is a word ... well, let's say, that if it ever appears again it'll be too soon ... unless it is clued as "Chuck" and the YE T are already in place
Just read you all (and reread my own post. Smarty-pants auto-correct gave me Olives instead of Oleo! It was my own typo on Sicki.)
ReplyDeleteThanks Jess, for dropping by, (and crediting Patti for the good clues).
Thanks, Splynter, for the photos. And Ray-o, that is some organ!
Lucina- that Irish Prayer made me LOL.
Irish Miss- I see that you had the same In a Sec fill.
Pat- great Serengeti Spaghetti link (both the picture and description). While in Kenya, we were told that like fingerprints, every zebra’s markings were unique.
I wasn’t familiar with the term COTTAGE CORE. I LIUed and Wiki says “ Cottagecore (sometimes referred to as Countrycore or Farmcore)[1][2] is an internet aesthetic idealising rural life. Originally based on a rural European life,[3] it was developed throughout the 2010s and was first named cottagecore on Tumblr in 2018.[4] The aesthetic centres on traditional rural clothing, interior design, and crafts such as drawing, baking, and pottery.”
Pat @ @ 12:34 ~ Thank you and the same best wishes to you. ☘️ Did you email me with a link to some photos? I received a message from a Pat Engelhardt just saying "these images are from my laptop." Not recognizing the name, I didn't click on the link.
ReplyDeleteI know I've told this story before but I think it's cute enough to repeat for any new Cornerites. When my niece, Laura, was in second or third grade, on St. Patrick's Day the Nun asked all the children what their nationalities were. Laura's straightforward reply was "I'm half Lebanese and half-Leprechaun." ☘️
IM @1:32 Thanks for the wishes. Smart of you not to open the email you weren't sure of because I have never had a reason to email you. Not sure who is trying to impersonate me or why.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed solving this puzzle and reading all your comments.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm the only Cornerite who thought of the person who "walks like a woman and talks a man" in the Kink's gender-bending hit LOLA.
ReplyDeleteI think that was my original angle. (Jess here)
DeleteHi All!
ReplyDeleteFLN - My sympathies, C. Moe & Margaret.
This was my bestest showing on a Saturday in a long time. DNF NE w/ ZeBrA and EgYpT and corresponding (lower-case) crosses. Also FIW in the SE with THReE.
Nevertheless, a puzzle with wit & fun phrases [see nee sayer, quarter back, BAHA Men, 20a, 37a, ...]. Thanks Jess for the grid and stopping by with the YEET story.
Mighty-fine "BY THE BOOK" expo, HG. I'm w/ you on "herd" at 9a. Thanks for sharing Jess' bio & Splynter's PIPES.
//of what I got
WOs: toy -> ELF, ARcO -> ARGO (Hi C, Eh!)
ESPs / WAGs: SICKO | IGOR, LEONE
Fav: there were fun phrases [above] but then there's SAM BEE. She's a [Canadian] hoot.
Hey, Puzzle-buddies, didn't we just have Josh GAD as Frozen's OLAF Thursday? //that's rhetorical ;-) and Hi Inanehiker!
IT'S TRICKY. [Run DMC w/ Penn & Teller]
Thanks C, Eh! For explaining COTTAGE CORE.
Jinx - No, as soon as I read HG correcting my LeLA to LOLA "...smiled, took me by the hand, said "Dear boy, I'm gonna make you a man."" [live & kinda funny]
I was woefully absent yesterday after a nice grid & C. Moe's great 'clue is the theme' explanation but... I did get my ITALian garden* in.
Cheers, -T
*Peppers, basil, & tomatoes
Re: ANTI, again. It's not a matter of a puzzle being easy or hard, it's a matter of right or wrong. I didn't get stuck on this, I just don't like it. Before a freeze, yes. Start to freeze, I don't think so.
ReplyDeleteThanks for explaining YEET. I’ll TRY to remember it for next CW, because I’m sure there’ll be a next time.
ReplyDeleteWe’ll all went smoothly for awhile, ultimately FIW. Gad and tan slowed me, but SE corner got me as I’m not familiar with cottage core and therefore tried body instead of bevy and lead to Edates instead of evites although I figured Italy was right, but was unfamiliar with yeet. And so he slunk back to his den in woe.
ReplyDeleteHi there~!
ReplyDeleteThanks to all for your comments, and thanks to HuskerG for thinking of me when he saw the PIPES clue. The first image is me in Pawcatuck, RI, and it's the same organ in the background of my avatar/blog pic.
Yooper - There is a company dedicated to doing the scaffold install for us at the National Cathedral - almost building a new floor, essentially - and they covered it with a scrim that looks like the cathedral to minimize the "ugly"....I'll see if I can get a picture of that.
Ray-O - I have been with the company for almost two years; I will ask when I am at the shop and find out whether we have had any involvement with the Raleigh NC organ.
T- Ken - you can apply at Foley~Baker, Tolland CT - we are always looking for tuners and wood craft specialists/leather workers~!
Splynter
“Well I’m not the world’s most masculine man, but I know what I am and I’m glad I’m a man. And so is Lola…” Now THAT’S a reveal!
ReplyDeleteToo bad the clue wasn’t Kinks-related tho because I had it penned in as LORA for a while in that SE corner which gave me fits… Persevered and realized BODY needed to be BEVY and then got the FIR!
But I sure didn’t find this as easy as others did—12 unknowns, and the clueing for ITS TRICKY seems a bit of a stretch. Liked “Wash. setting”
“Buona _____” will pretty much always be either SERA (evening) or NOTTE (night). “Good morning” is buon giorno.
Thanks for the fun and challenging puzzle, Jess!
Now, what you’ve all been waiting for: the answer to yesterday’s question.
Q: How do you spell ‘H’?
A: Aitch… duhhh!!! (actually that was my first guess)
You can thank me if Wordle ever goes with it. Have I mentioned how much I hate the spelling-of-letters in cws?
Thank you, Jess, for today's fun and for stopping by the corner! It's been several weeks since I filled all the Sat. boxes. Four of them were incorrect, but did you hear me say I filled them all?! Yay!!
ReplyDeleteFAVs: Made a fast stop, Game for owls, and the nee-saer clue.
Hermey was in the punchbowl. He was the dentist elf.
Fun CSOs to IM, Melissa Bee, and Splynter!
Camel as a color gave me that fun lightbulb feeling.
Thanks, also to H-Gary for another helpful tour. I like your I DIDN'T SAY THAT chart. It could be called, I DIDN'T SAY THAT ... but I thought it.
; )
I only knew YEET because it had previously been an answer in one of our puzzles. But, thinking about it, that is the case with many answers and the "crosswordese" evolves with the times. Anyone remember SNOOD?
ReplyDeleteI really thought Nebraska was going to win. Sorry
ReplyDeleteLoved the puzzle - probably in part because I had an easier time w/ a Sat puzzle. Also - because there were many fun and new (lookin’ at “yeet”) solves.
ReplyDeleteI did think of Damn Yankees!
And thanks, Splynter, for the pipes, and to Jess for the clue. Took me to memory lane - as my first church after ordination decided very soon after my arrival (not because of me, but I did en-courage) to finally fund and build the organ of their dreams. It was an amazing project for this minister to experience with them.
AAARGH! YEET again?!? That’s, what, the third time in the last week or so. If I see it one more time, I will go into THROES 😖
ReplyDeleteOther’n that — yeah, easy cruise for a Saturday. Thanks for the long fills, Ms. Jess, those made things a lot smoother for perps!
All for now.
====> Darren / L.A.