YO YO YO YO
The above clip was performed by Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Project and is their take on the Goin' Home theme from Antonin Dvorak's 9th Symphony ("From the New World"). I selected it for our intro as the first half of Yo-Yo Ma's surname is a homophone of the 1st syllable of the 1st word of Tom and C.C.'s 4 theme fills ...
17A. Hatha to Ashtanga?: YOGAS RANGE. This is the only themer that is not pulling our legs. I think RANGE here refers to the level of difficulty of the particular school of yoga, with HATHA being relatively easy, ranging through ASHTANGA which is the hardest. I believe there are also other comparison schemes for the various schools of yoga.
 |
| Yoga Mandala |
29A. Stuffed teddies that look like a green Jedi master?: YODA BEARS. Actually there are such creatures, but they inhabit the Amazon, not the Star Wars Universe 😀.
46A. Tex-Mex snack that improves the performance of an Alpine singer?: YODEL TACO. This was a stretch -- I don't think they're a Tex-Mex thing, but the following product might soothe a throat after consuming a TACO containing too many red hot chili peppers 😀...
Here's the grid ...
Here's the rest ...
.
Across:
1. Cronies: PALS.
5. Bird in the National Audubon Society logo: EGRET. Heron fit, but didn't perp. Apparently there has been some controversy recently at the Audubon Society.
 |
| Augsburg, Germany |
14. With 43-Down, "M*A*S*H" star: ALAN. See 43D.
15. Writer Mary who specializes in popular science: ROACH. Mary Roach (born March 20, 1959) is an American author specializing in popular science and humor. She in known for her offbeat titles, on curious subjects, e.g.
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| Stiff Bonk Gulp Spook |
The only one of these I explored in any depth was the last: Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife. As it turns out a copy of the entire book is available online at Google Books (see below). This is a topic that I have read extensively about, and I expected that Roach would be skeptical about it, as most modern scientists base their beliefs on a metaphysics of philosophical materialism. However this was not the case. During her research for the book she eventually encountered the writings of Dr. Ian Stevenson, a tenured Psychiatrist at the University of Virginia. Roach's discussion of Stevenson's writings begins around page 24 in the Google books edition. Her account of his findings concludes with this statement on page 30 -- "If you take the work of Ian Stevenson at face value, it would be hard to reach any conclusion other than this: Reincarnation happens". If you're interested in this topic see the Stevenson link above for an extensive bibliography of his researches.
16. Party with glow sticks: RAVE. Back in the 60's our RAVES used strobe lights and lava lamps. 😀
17. [Theme clue]
19. Change the locks?: SNIP. You could change someone's locks (hair) by snipping it.
20. "I said ENOUGH!": STOP NOW.
21. Insta, X, TikTok, etc., informally: SOCIALS. Social media. Although quite a few of them seem to be 31D-SOCIALS.
23. Runs smoothly: PURRS. Like a contented kitty.
25. Wilson of Heart: ANN. Ann Dustin Wilson (born June 19, 1950) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead singer of the rock band Heart, which is still going strong. Here she sings These Dreams ...
26. TMZ subject: CELEB. TMZ seems to be updated hourly, but I'm sure you'll find a few "items" of interest today.
29. [Theme clue]
34. Anxious feeling: UNEASE.
36. Headlight part: LENS.
37. Toe bean locale: PAW. Pawmestry: the art of reading toe beans. And a CSO to Hahtoolah.
 |
| Toe Beans |
39. In flight: ALOFT.
41. Mother of Clytemnestra: LEDA. In Greek mythology the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces (make that RAPES) Leda, a Spartan queen. Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. Clytemnestra would later marry Agamemnon, a Greek leader of the Trojan War. Clytemnestra would subsequently die at the hands of her son Orestes for the slaying of Agamemnon. All of this violence is powerfully compressed in William Butler Yeats' 15 line poem: Leda and the Swan.
42. Storefront sign abbr.: HRS.
43. Java spot: ASIA. No, not a CAFE, nor a sweat where programmers write CODE, but an island in the Indonesian Archipelago.
 |
| Java |
44. "Yeah, there is a resemblance there": I SEE IT.
46. [Theme clue]
49. Anaheim team, to fans: HALOS. AKA the Los Angelos Angels.
51. Flower at the center of a financial bubble in the 1630s: TULIP. The crash of 1637 may have been more fiction than fact.
 |
| Tulip field in Holland |
57. Artificial surface sports injury: TURF TOE. No, it's not an injury caused by artificial turf. It can happen on any kind of turf.
61. "lol 2 funny": HA HA.
.
62. [Theme clue].
64. Dollar alternative: AVIS. EURO fit, but HERTZ didn't, but both would have been wrong. 😀
65. Moved stealthily: SLUNK. The past tense of SLINK.
66. __ Spunkmeyer cookies: OTIS.
68. Mournful verse: ELEGY. This is a poet's elegy for another poet, the one who wrote Leda and the Swan at 41A.
69. Unit that might be edited or spliced: GENE. A GENE is a segment of DNA that codes for one or more proteins -- it is analogous to a set of records in a database. However doing anything with that data, such as editing it or splicing it, requires the use of enzymes (proteins) and RNA (which also can function as an enzyme). RNA is the unsung hero of molecular biology and in this book by Nobel prize winning biochemist Thomas R. Cech, he gives credit where credit is due for the vital role that RNA plays in catalyzing all that goes on in life ...
1. Is worth it: PAYS.
2. Tons: ALOT.
3. Italian lake: LAGO. Today's Italian lesson. In 1927 heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post built a winter retreat in Florida called Mar-a-Lago, but it has since changed hands.
4. Stir-fry ingredient: SNAP PEAS. You can either stir-fry them or just snack on them fresh from the garden.
 |
| Sugar Snaps |
5. Overthrow, e.g.: ERROR. OUST was too short, but an OVERTHROW is scored as an ERROR, at least in baseball.
6. Fall apart, as plans: GO AWRY.
7. Operated: RAN.
8. Heart charts, for short: ECGS. Electro Cardio Gram --You're more likely to see this abbreviated as EKG -- this is why.
9. James of "The White Lotus": THEO. The White Lotus is an American black comedy drama anthology television series created by Mike White for HBO. It follows the guests and employees of the fictional White Lotus resort chain, whose interactions are affected by their various psychosocial dysfunctions. It must be a lot of fun to act in.
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| Theo James |
 |
| Boo Boo Smokey |
12. Not good at all: EVIL.
 |
| The Three Wise Monkeys |
18. Gives the cold shoulder to: SNUBS. Being SNUBBED at the Oscars is a term we've seen a lot of lately. But the recognition of just receiving a nomination is considered a reward by some.
22. Semi areas: CABS. Or some RED wines.
24. One-person project: SOLO ACT. Here's one everybody knows ...
26. Like an easy job: CUSHY.
27. First calendario page: ENERO.
28. "Bring it on!": LETS DO THIS.
30. Dict. entry: DEF. Hand up if you still use a paper Dict?
31. Start to matter?: ANTI. The Big Bang should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter in the early universe. But today, everything we see from the smallest life forms on Earth to the largest stellar objects is made almost entirely of matter. So what happened?
33. Whacks: SWATS.
35. It's right there on the map!: EAST. And WEST is left there on the map!
40. NCAA champion swimmer Thomas: LIA.
41. Jump ahead of: LEAPFROG.
43. See 14-Across: ALDA. Né Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo (January 28, 1936), ALDA did play a few other characters besides Hawkeye Pierce.
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| Alan Alda |
47. Mercedes luxury line: E CLASS. 2024s starting at $63,350.
 |
| 2024 Mercedes-Benz E-Class |
52. Like the number eight, in China: LUCKY. I wonder who came up with this clue? 😀
53. "Kapow!": WHAM.
54. Icicle holder: EAVE.
55. Big Board abbr.: NYSE. New York Stock Exchange.
56. Woody of "Toy Story," for one: DOLL.
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| Woody |
59. Lena of "The Reader": OLIN. The Reader is a 2008 German-American romantic drama film about the events of the Holocaust and its aftermath. The film tells the story of Michael Berg (Ralph Fiennes), a German lawyer who, as a 15-year-old in 1958, has a sexual relationship with an older woman, Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), a prison guard in one of the death camps. Lena Olin plays a Holocaust survivor named Llana. I found the plot of this film to be very difficult to understand (see Wiki article above). Here is a scene that occurred many years later in New York, where Llana and Michael are discussing a secret he knew that Hannah took to the grave, but which he seems unwilling to reveal. Two great actors ....
60. "Anyone __?": ELSE.
63. Regret: RUE. Could also be clued "French street" or "Bitter herb'".
Cheers,
Bill
And as always, thanks to Teri for proof reading and for her constructive criticism.
waseeley
As you read this Teri and I will have left town for a visit to Ohio for a week to be with family and friends and ending with a concert on July 6th at the Blossom Music Festival near the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. And then we'll be Goin' Home.
I never heard of a “Rick Roll.” However, the other themed entries were either known to me (minus the “yo”) or easy to suss out. Anyway, it was good to complete a puzzle by our esteemed founder and guide and her good friend Tom. FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteSubG, I think you saw something that Bill missed. Your suggestion to remove the "YO" from the theme entries leaves other interesting phrases:
Delete(YO) GAS RANGE
(YO) DA BEARS
(YO) DELTA CO
(YO) RICK ROLL
Nice!!
I haven’t depuzzled this one yet, and hope d-o won’t mind me jumping the queue to ask a ques of little importance. It’s a little after 2AM here in sleepless in Tucson and came across a CW in one of those 300 CW puzzle books. It included a clue, “Vehicle for dragging.” The fill turned out to be TRAVOIS. Question: Has anyone in the Corner encountered TRAVOIS in an LAT CW? Or anywhere else? I haven’t. I nominate this multicultural clue-fill as a new target for our brilliant constructors to play with.
ReplyDeleteA bit more challenging today than the last couple days as it took me 22:59 to arrive at the FIR. Like SubG, I’m not familiar with RICKROLL but the others were known (and no circles to help!). DA BEARS is a CSO to fans of dat football team from Chicago. Thank you Tom and C.C. for your fine collaboration today! And thank you Bill and Teri for your very in depth reporting on the puzzle. SNAP PEAS fresh from the garden uncooked, yum!
ReplyDeleteProf M ~ travois is unfamiliar to me also, but I agree it would make some good fill in CWs.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteWow, lotsa folks are up early on this holiday. Noticed the YOs added to those familiar phrases. Got 'er done without Wite-Out...almost. Tried EAGLE for that Audubon bird -- hey, it's July 4th after all. Prof M, I am familiar with TRAVOIS as a fabric and pole contraption pulled behind a horse, often for transporting an injured individual. Don't recall ever seeing it in a cw, though. Enjoyed Tom's and C.C.'s offering. Thanx for 'splainin' it all, waseeley and Teri. (Hope your Ohio outing was fun.)
Augsburg: Dw's brother lived there for many years. The both had dual citizenship. She chose to live in the U.S. He picked Germany.
Java: When I worked in the awl patch we'd visit Singapore and Jakarta on an annual basis. Jakarta is in such danger of sinking that Indonesia is building a new capital on the island of Borneo.
FIR, but erased: hags>PALS, rage>RAVE, toys>SETS, cafe>ASIA, tapa>TACO, snuck>SLUNK, and lea>LIA.
ReplyDeleteIs anyone impressed with the accomplishments of LIA Thompson?
My 12 year old Honda CRV came with a trial Sirius subscription. I guess the trial is still going on, since I still have Sirius Radio and haven't paid a nickle.
Is the E CLASS really a luxury line? I've really been out of the MB loop for a while. My last purchase was a 1991 sleek black beauty 300 SE, which sold for about $60,000 back then IIRC. These days a Toyota Sequoia SUV can run you over $80,000.
FLN - July 3rd passed without a bit of gunshot or fireworks noise. Guess you could say that I'm a happy camper. We'll see about tonight in due time.
Thanks to Tom and CC. It is obvious that you put a lot of work into the puzzle, but sorry, I didn't enjoy it as much as your other works. And thanks To Bill 'n' Teri for the fun review. I hope you enjoy your time in Oh Aitch Ten. I've never been to that area, but I have a friend who used to go there every year for catamaran championship racing. He usually finished first or second, making the long trip from Virginia worthwhile.
FIR, but it was a major struggle. And I don't like proper names in puzzles, especially when they cross each other: Roach and Theo for example.
ReplyDeleteI didn't get the theme till I got here. And I too have never heard of a rick roll? Or turf toe for that matter? What?
Sorry I did not enjoy this CW at all. Usually I come away feeling as if I've learned something in tough puzzles. Not today!
Good Morning! Nice to see some familiar names for our constructors today. Thanks, Tom and CC.
ReplyDeleteROACH held me up in the upper middle, crossing (will it be) EKG or ECG? Then I had to change my BANANA pies to PEEL.
I have read Ian Stevenson’s Twenty Cases Suggestive of Reincarnation and have recently finished God and the Afterlife by Jeffery Long, MD and Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander, MD, both very interesting and persuasive books that this subject is not to be lightly dismissed.
Toe beans I learned from our CWs not too long ago. Cute!
I didn’t know about Dollar car rental, so AVIS was a mystery to me until I got to the Corner. Thanks, Bill & Teri for the music & info today.
Lia Thomas didn’t win a damn thing
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of RICKROLL either. A trip to Mr. Google yields this:
ReplyDeleteRickrolling
Rickrolling or a Rickroll is an Internet meme involving the unexpected appearance of the music video to the 1987 hit song "Never Gonna Give You Up", performed by English singer Rick Astley. The aforementioned video has over 1.5 billion views on YouTube. The meme is a type of bait and switch, usually using a disguised hyperlink that leads to the music video.
Yo, took 9 minutes exactly today.
ReplyDeleteHappy Independence Day, everyone.
Tough puzzle. I didn't know a few of the proper names (including today's actress, Lena) and didn't do a great job with the foreign language words (I knew Enero, but not Uber).
I disagree that Heart is still going strong. They just postponed their tour because Ann Wilson, sadly, has cancer.
Waseeley: I was at Blossom last night. If I am right, you'll get to see Bela Fleck perform "Rhapsody in Bluegrass" (isn't that a great name?). Good for you. I hope it's a great show. Make sure you spend some time in the CVNP.
Creative puzzle from Tom & CC
ReplyDeleteGAS RANGE solved since I take yoga classes at the Y if I get done with work in time
DEL TACO is a chain like TACO BELL - I have seen them when travelling but there aren't any in
MO,KS, NE, IL, IA - basically the center of the country - you can find them in East/West
DA BEARS - gimme having lived in Chicago during the Ditka era
RICK ROLLing was nicely explained by Brian @8:32 saving me the effort
Thanks Bill & Teri - have a great trip and to Tom & CC for the puzzle
Happy 4th to the Corner
If anyone gets NetFlix - the movie Beverly Hills Cop:Axel F came out - very fun if you liked the first one...if Eddie Murphy isn't your cuppa tea than skip it.
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI'm embarrassed to admit that I had no idea what the theme was, even after reading Bill's expo. It wasn't until I started reading the comments and the mention of Rick Roll that the light finally came on. Oddly, I have heard of Rick Roll and knew it was some sort of prank, but that nor any of the other themers stood out to me as I completed the puzzle. All I saw was the Yo's and even the full phrases meant nothing. Because of this bewilderment, I can't say I enjoyed the solve, but props for the fresh and lively fill and the low (8) TLW count.
Thanks, Tom and CC, and thanks, Bill, for the usual varied, informative and enlightening review. I enjoyed the musical interludes, especially Pavorotti's signature Nessun Dorm, and seeing the two fine actors, Alan Alda and Ralph Fiennes. Enjoy your trip to Ohio. Thanks, as always, to Teri for her contributions.
SS @ 8:33 ~ My husband saw Béla Fleck perform at SPAC in Saratoga Springs, NY in the late 1980s and was absolutely enthralled with his talent. He talked about his performance for days!
Happy Fourth, everyone! 🇺🇸🧨
Found most of the clues very obscure..
ReplyDeleteI made a complete MESS of this. I was looking for something esoteric for the theme, so that might be my problem. I had LEAP over and unfortunately stuck with it. And the list goes on and on.
ReplyDeleteJinx@6:16. I too was surprised we heard no fireworks last night. I was super glad because I don’t like them. But I bet there will be plenty tonight. A family group text shows pictures of the kids with their stash of firecrackers.
Agree with Lee at 9:55 AM about the theme, with one small spacing edit:
ReplyDelete(YO) GAS RANGE (stove)
(YO) DA BEARS (football team)
(YO) DEL TACO (fast food chain)
(YO) RICK ROLL (prank involving Rick Astly's "Never Gonna Give You Up")
How do my 10 year old grandchildren even know about this song from 1987? It is the funniest thing in the world to them to have that song pop up through a seemingly unrelated link.
This was a challenging puzzle; I took a WAG at the crossing of ROACH and THEO to FIR. Enjoyed it! Thanks, Tom and C.C.!
You may be right
DeleteMusings
ReplyDelete-ROACH (late week alternative)/THEO (with C.C.’s love of baseball, this THEO would have worked as well)/ECGS (uncommon abbr.)/YOGAS RANGE (yeah, right) cost me three bad cells
-The gimmick of adding the YO was great.
-C.C. baseball use of overthrow/ERROR was great
-Hey, at least I didn’t fall for Play things/TOYS (for long ;-))
-Deutschland UBER Alles
-The Heart video and my favorite ARIA were great and the closed captioning was necessary for both
-Would ERP help me not obsess on having dollar bills in sequence and correctly oriented?
-64 teams go to the NCAA basketball tournament and some still feel SNUBBED. Really?
-SIRIUS is all that plays in our cars
-ALAN ALDA’s villainous politician gets blown up in The Blacklist
-Nice job by C.C., Tom, Bill and Teri.
-Our kitty handles fireworks very nicely and the age of our development decreases their use
I got my toehold in the SE and, because of the unknown-to-me “RICK ROLL,” initially dismissed the notion that YO was being added to established names or expressions. So what really bothered me was that SLUNK was a contrivance to help make YORICK ROLL work, because that meant “rick roll” was as worthy as GAS RANGE, DEL TACO, or even DA BEARS. Even with the Rick Astley explanation, I’m not satisfied.
ReplyDeleteI still say the past tense of “sneak” is “sneaked,” and I’m not ready to accept SLUNK, either. See also: “Dived” vs. “Dove.” Only through misuse have the distasteful versions come to be accepted by the dictionary arbiters.
The rest of the puzzle went smoothly enough, but I agree with those who were disappointed.
INANE HIKER: Del Taco ended up in a puzzle a couple of months ago, and I noted that I had been to only one – while visiting Gilbert, Ariz. Phoenix-area resident Chairman Moe told me he’s very familiar with that very Del Taco.
Fun puzzle by Tom and CC. I didn't know the crossing names at the top but they perped in OK. It took me a while on "overthrow", even though I'm a baseball fan. I was thinking some type of oust but knew the word was "error". Well done you guys. GC
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th, everyone!
ReplyDeleteGreat job CC and Tom. Thank you.
Bill, if I read the online blurb correctly you will be seeing/hearing a take on Rhapsody in Blue. Two things about that come to my mind. First, my mother was a pianist and a big Gershwin fan. She named her dog Georgie - George G. Second you will be treated to music by Bela Fleck. I was an avid 5-string banjo player when I was in my twenties and thirties so I knew of Bela. He was the first banjo player who I heard playing Mozart! Boy oh boy did that open up my eyes, ears and mind. Enjoy!
Hand up almost done in up North with unknown name crossings ROACH/THEO and had no clue how OVERTHROW related to ERROR. WAGS to FIR.
ReplyDeleteGot the theme as adding YO to the start of another phrase. Never heard of ASHTANGA, DA BEARS or RICK ROLL, which slowed me.
Thought ITALIAN LAKE was COMO, but it turned out to be generic LAGO.
Here I stayed with good friends Jerry and Chiqui at their home on LAGO di COMO (Lake Como) near the Swiss border.
Lucina Glad to connect off line and share the fear, dread and outrage. Thank you.
Thanks to Tom and C.C. for their holiday fare and and to Bill for the review. Hope you and Teri enjoy your trip, Bill.
ReplyDeleteMy only complaint is that crossing of proper names. As Bill indicated, EKG is the proper acronym, so that is what I entered. FOUL!!
Much ado about nothing.
Mush
Hola!
ReplyDeleteWow! What a wide range of opinions on this puzzle. I enjoyed the solve though the cluing was so obscure it made me think it was Saturday. Alas! I had to resort to ALEXA for help especially with the names. I know and like Lena OLIN but The Reader was so long ago I don't recall her being in it. I'll have to find it and watch it again. Her role in "Chocolat" is much more memorable for me.
As for TURF TOE and RICK ROLL, I have no idea about those; thank you perps. However, I spelled YORICK without the K and had YORIC'S instead. Drat!
As for Mary ROACH, I have read several of her books and learned something from them. However, I believe it was GULP that I just could not finish and that is unusual for me.
Happy Independence Day, everyone!
This is a classic example of a puzzle that is probably too clever and too complicated by half. This kind of cluing I guess is fun for some folks but not yours truly. Anyway, since it is CC, who did my 80th birthday puzzle, I will forgive her.
ReplyDeleteBroke the string today. Couldn't quite come up with the FIR, and had to wait for an explanation of the theme until the recap. (Sigh) Better luck tomorrow, I hope! A grand, glorious, and safe independence day to all!
ReplyDeleteJJB ~ Happy Birthday on this grand and glorious holiday! 🎂🎊🎈🎉🎊🧨🧨🧨🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
ReplyDeleteNo fun. Happy 4th
ReplyDeleteWell…if the ECLASS is the “luxury line” what would the SCLASS be?
ReplyDeleteCCLASS is intro, ECLASS is midrange, SCLASS is the luxury line.
I wish the constructors would stop using clues when they don’t really have a handle on it.
This seems to happen too often…the clue is not correct.
Actually the top end Mercedes is a Maybach. Same as Lexus to Toyota and Acura to Honda.etc etc. I’ve seen exactly ONE in my 71 years on the planet, back in the 90’s when I was a mobile tool dealer, at a customer’s shop who transported high-end autos.
DeleteWIMS: Even after filling the CW and reading Bill's great write-up, I didn't get the theme. As IM said, the V-8 can didn't hit until reading the comments. AND I didn't notice it was a C.C. colab until I got to the blog. Not my brightest day, I guess. Never heard of DEL TACO, so YODELTACO left me scratching my head, as did YORICK ROLL. Still not sure what a RICK ROLL is. Thanx TP&CC for stumping me. Gotta run.
ReplyDeleteTerrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, Tom and C.C., and waseeley and Teri.
ReplyDeleteI had a tough time with this one and plenty of inkblots. But I did see the YOs to start each themer which helped the solve. But I needed a few visits to Mr Google to break open. (Here’s looking at you ANN, LEDA, THEO)
I see from the comments that I missed the other parts of the themers!
There was a double Easter Egg with the cross of URSINE and YODA BEARS. (The obvious Bears plus the hidden Yogi Bear inference with Boo Boo.). I smiled broadly!
SOLO job changed to ACT. Skirt changed to SHIRK.
We had Toe beans before, but it took me a while to remember the cat PAW (to go with PURRS).
I wanted Anaheim DUCKS not LA Angels HALOS.
ECG or EKG? Aha, the Canadian usage.
“Play things” were Toys (to go with the Woody DOLL) before SETS.
“Alas, poor YORICK”; how do you spell your name?
I am still confused by 64A Dollar alternative=AVIS. I wanted VISA (charge vs. cash) and thought maybe you Americans had a different acronym. But I gather Dollar is a car rental. (I LIUed and apparently we have them in Canada, but I am not familiar with them.)
Wishing all my American friends a Happy 4th of July.
Happy 80th Birthday JJB!
ReplyDeleteC-Eh, Dollar (and Thrifty) are owned by Hertz.
ReplyDeleteDollar alternative had me stumped for a long while until 53D WHAM hit me hard and AVIS emerged! Oh, the rental car company. We usually rent from Alamo on our travels.
ReplyDeletePicard, I also enjoyed our exchange.
Hi All!
ReplyDeleteI loved the puzzle and the fine review. Thanks Tom, C.C., & Waseeley!
And thanks to inanehiker & Lee for spelling out the theme nicely. Me thinks Waseeley nor Lee @9:45a are familiar with Del Taco.
//Del Tacos pulled most of their restaurants from Texas only a few years after expanding. We already had Taco Cabana for fast-casual Tex-Mex.
WOs: Hand-up for HAGS, toys -> SETS, tried to stretch out angst @34a, Alma mater before seeing ANTI matter, EURO -> AVIS.
ESPs: LAGO, LINA, LEDA, others I'm sure.
Fav: BANANA PEEL [Why is it funny? @5:58 becomes an ad]
I enjoyed all the Mary Roach books I've read. Haven't read Spook yet.
Heart and RUSH are in the same class of 2013 inducted into the RRHoF.
SubG, et.al. - To Rick Roll someone, you promise a link to something nifty but instead link to Rick Ashley's somewhat annoying song Never Gonna Give You Up. It's a (mostly) harmless prank; the worst one's done is plant an ear-worm that's nearly impossible to extract :-)
Jinx - DW has Sirius in her car and I have an internet subscription. I love streaming BB King's Bluesville, Classic Rewind, Seriously Sinatra, or NPR while cooking, gardening, etc. I just link my iPhone to the little portable Bose SoundLink and I'm set for hours.
I made a simple syrup + 1c lemon juice this morning. I've been hitting the concentrate with Soda Stream water for a bubbly lemonade - not bad on this hot day.
//maybe later, I'll hit the concentrate with some whisky :-)
Happy 4th (and belated Canadian Independence, C, Eh!) everyone!
Cheers, -T
As soon as I saw C.C.'s name as one of the constructors of this puzzle, I got excited even though I knew it would be a Thursday toughie. But, as I expected, it turned out to be a pleasure, so many thanks, Tom and C.C. for this gift. And your commentary was a delight too, Bill, and thank you and Teri especially for giving us a chance to hear that lovely melody sung by Pavarotti--a wonderful moment.
ReplyDeleteWell, I hoped there would be some PALS in the puzzle, and ALAN ALDA couldn't have been a better start--with the extra gift of having us get not only his first name but also his last name. I just loved watching him on MASH for all those years. Seeing the EGRET got me looking forward to animals, but ROACH slowed that one down right away. But at least we did get BEARS, critters with PAWs, and maybe they even PURR a bit too when they feel happy and LUCKY. Bet they might even have enjoyed some BANANA PEELS for a snack. But that was about it for the fun, and after that I just avoided that EVIL and those ERRORS and wanted to just yell at them and tell them to GO AWAY to some WET LAND.
So, after this delightful adventure, have a great weekend coming up, everybody.
Thanks to Tom and C.C. for their add-a-YO puzzle!
ReplyDeleteFAVs: clue for BANANA PEEL. Good misdirection in the clues for OVERTHROW and EAVE
I had an advantage in that I saw Hamlet last weekend so YORICK was easily retrieved. The playbill listed British actor Tony Church as playing Yorick. Huh? Yorick is the dead guy whose skull Hamlet holds. How does one "play" him? It turns out that Church stated in his will that his skull must be made available to productions of Hamlet after his death and this production was given the honor.
You can find a semi-recent use of RICK ROLL in the April 1, 2024 write-up on this blog. Click on the first link. It says April Fool's Day in blue letters.
Thanks to waseeley and safe travels.
Happy 4th of July, everyone!
ReplyDeleteAnother enjoyable but tough run compliments of C.C. & Co.
I had filled three of the four themers, wondering what the heck the hook was…and then the V8 can came flying out of nowhere yelling “YO!” — and “ding ding ding”, ohhhh, oh-kayee, nowww I get it! Hand up for toyS > SETS, and eglet until I saw it was a misspelling and put in the correct bird, EGRET.
EKG vs ECG: apparently the “K” version from the German is used to avoid confusion with another test, echocardiogram. And, being in the car biz, I gotta agree with @AnonymousPVX about C-class and Maybach. I thus also agree with PVX regarding constructors or editors putting in stuff when they haven’t a clue (pun intended).
Happy 4th, y’all — don’t go blowin’ yerselves up, now…😎
====> Darren / L.A.