FOOT PRINT
19. *Withings product: BATHROOM SCALE - I did not know what "Withings" was, but the theme reveal helped with the fill - and one item you may NOT care to acknowledge when you "step on it"
22. *Construction toy piece: LEGO BLOCK - I had plenty of Lego growing up - the other item you may NOT care to feel when you "step on it"
25. *Entryway rug: WELCOME MAT - I want this one for my front door
37. "Go, go, go!," or an instruction one *may or may not* want to follow for
the answers to the starred clues: STEP ON IT
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Swear words: OATH - my favorite is "d#f^j*k$@l&pf%ht"
5. Post-WWII alliance: OAS - Organization of American States - their website
8. Q-tip, e.g.: SWAB
12. Spanish : señora :: German : __: FRAU - When "Frau" appears in a puzzle, I must add this link
13. Fold animals: SHEEP - not origami-related, had the "P" already, so a WAG on the animal "group"
15. Ponytail place: NAPE
16. Small amounts: TADS
17. Concur: AGREE
18. "Who __?": "ELSE~?"
23. Beach bag item: TOWEL - Douglas Adam's explanation on Towels
26. Susan of "The Partridge Family": DEY - name #1
27. Fatty acid, e.g.: LIPID
31. Made to resemble soft leather: SUEDED - check out my latest leather furniture addition
I now own a rocking/swivel/heat & massage RECLINER - It's official: I am "old"
33. "Make kind choices": "BE NICE."
34. Southern city where Cartoon Network has its HQ: ATLanta - name(ish)
35. Go from site to site, say: NET-SURF - web browsing
39. Small batteries: AAs
40. Arena concert genre: ROCK - see 53A.
42. The first "M" of MGM: METRO - Goldwyn - Mayer; name(ish)
43. Latin years: ANNI - plural of anno
44. Fencing blade: FOIL - not ÉPÉE this time
46. Hoops stat: REBound
47. Scent: ODOR
48. "Hand it over!": "GIMME~!"
49. Tavern initials: IPA
50. Construction __: PAPER - used for origami~?
52. Keats piece: ODE - name(ish)
53. Musket attachment: BAYONET - Iron Maiden, arena rockers still going at 50yrs
56. Quarterback Manning: ELI - name #2
57. Missing clownfish in a Pixar film: NEMO - name #3
59. Charged toward: RAN AT - see 53A.
60. Some handheld organizers, briefly: PDAs - Public Display of Assistant~?
Bell and WATSON~!
61. Bread served with saag paneer: NAAN
62. "Seven Samurai" and "Rashomon" director Kurosawa: AKIRA - George Lucas drew inspiration for Star Wars from him; his Wiki; name #4
63. Give five stars, say: RATE
64. Referencing: AS TO
65. Fly catchers?: MITTS - baseball reference, fly balls and gloves
66. Fútbol cheers: OLÉs
DOWN:
1. Much more than ne'er: OFT - more often than never
2. Many a Yemeni: ARAB - name(ish)
3. "Voilà!": "ta-DA~!"
4. Picked up the pace: HUSTLED
5. "What a relief!": "OH GOOD~!"
6. Oxygen-dependent organism: AEROBE - ah. a generic organism; good fill
7. Fitting: SEEMLY
8. Attend a movie without a ticket, say: SNEAK IN
Trinity Church, Boston
10. Basilica area: APSE - speaking of churches....
11. Drone, e.g.: BEE - think "rank"
13. Puppeteer Tony: SARG - Never heard of him, name #5 - his Wiki
14. Mexican money: PESO
20. Hunt of "Twister": HELEN - name #6; I liked her in Mad About You and Cast Away, too
21. Symbol seen on viola sheet music: C CLEF
23. Old Russian leader: TSAR
24. Lacking inspiration: OUT OF IDEAS
29. "Same for me": "I CAN RELATE."
30. From South Asia, perhaps: DESI - I had to look this up - a new definition for me
32. Many a blue state sen.: DEMocrat
33. "Dude!": BRO~!
36. Glaze made with soy sauce and mirin: TERIYAKI -soy I know, and I have bought rice wine to make my General Tso's, did not know it was called "mirin"
38. Murals, park statues, etc.: URBAN ART - I tried ARTWORKS first
43. Poet laureate Limón: ADA - name #8
45. Syr. neighbor: LEBanon - name(ish)
47. Choose: OPT
48. Plannin' to: GONNA
51. Elevates: RISES - meh. rAises sounds better
54. Composer Khachaturian: ARAM - no clue - more here; name #8
55. Car service predictions, for short: ETAs
58. Singer Yoko: ONO - name #9
60. For: PRO
Splynter
8. Q-tip, e.g.: SWAB
12. Spanish : señora :: German : __: FRAU - When "Frau" appears in a puzzle, I must add this link
Blucher~!
more animal group names found here
15. Ponytail place: NAPE
17. Concur: AGREE
18. "Who __?": "ELSE~?"
23. Beach bag item: TOWEL - Douglas Adam's explanation on Towels
26. Susan of "The Partridge Family": DEY - name #1
27. Fatty acid, e.g.: LIPID
31. Made to resemble soft leather: SUEDED - check out my latest leather furniture addition
34. Southern city where Cartoon Network has its HQ: ATLanta - name(ish)
35. Go from site to site, say: NET-SURF - web browsing
39. Small batteries: AAs
40. Arena concert genre: ROCK - see 53A.
42. The first "M" of MGM: METRO - Goldwyn - Mayer; name(ish)
43. Latin years: ANNI - plural of anno
44. Fencing blade: FOIL - not ÉPÉE this time
46. Hoops stat: REBound
47. Scent: ODOR
48. "Hand it over!": "GIMME~!"
49. Tavern initials: IPA
50. Construction __: PAPER - used for origami~?
52. Keats piece: ODE - name(ish)
53. Musket attachment: BAYONET - Iron Maiden, arena rockers still going at 50yrs
The Trooper - You'll fire your musket / but I'll run you through
57. Missing clownfish in a Pixar film: NEMO - name #3
59. Charged toward: RAN AT - see 53A.
60. Some handheld organizers, briefly: PDAs - Public Display of Assistant~?
62. "Seven Samurai" and "Rashomon" director Kurosawa: AKIRA - George Lucas drew inspiration for Star Wars from him; his Wiki; name #4
63. Give five stars, say: RATE
64. Referencing: AS TO
65. Fly catchers?: MITTS - baseball reference, fly balls and gloves
66. Fútbol cheers: OLÉs
DOWN:
1. Much more than ne'er: OFT - more often than never
2. Many a Yemeni: ARAB - name(ish)
3. "Voilà!": "ta-DA~!"
4. Picked up the pace: HUSTLED
5. "What a relief!": "OH GOOD~!"
6. Oxygen-dependent organism: AEROBE - ah. a generic organism; good fill
7. Fitting: SEEMLY
8. Attend a movie without a ticket, say: SNEAK IN
9. Fenway's Green Monster, for one: WALL - I drove past the Green Monster last week on my way to doing field work; had to cut a new hatch into a chamber floor for a new set of pipes - here's the organ façade, seen from below
11. Drone, e.g.: BEE - think "rank"
13. Puppeteer Tony: SARG - Never heard of him, name #5 - his Wiki
14. Mexican money: PESO
20. Hunt of "Twister": HELEN - name #6; I liked her in Mad About You and Cast Away, too
21. Symbol seen on viola sheet music: C CLEF
24. Lacking inspiration: OUT OF IDEAS
29. "Same for me": "I CAN RELATE."
30. From South Asia, perhaps: DESI - I had to look this up - a new definition for me
32. Many a blue state sen.: DEMocrat
33. "Dude!": BRO~!
36. Glaze made with soy sauce and mirin: TERIYAKI -soy I know, and I have bought rice wine to make my General Tso's, did not know it was called "mirin"
38. Murals, park statues, etc.: URBAN ART - I tried ARTWORKS first
41. First name of bassists Gordon and Deal: KIM - Cool clue; Gordon from Sonic Youth, and Deal from the Pixies/Breeder; two other female bass players - Tal Wilkenfeld and Sean Yseult - name(s) #7
45. Syr. neighbor: LEBanon - name(ish)
47. Choose: OPT
48. Plannin' to: GONNA
51. Elevates: RISES - meh. rAises sounds better
54. Composer Khachaturian: ARAM - no clue - more here; name #8
55. Car service predictions, for short: ETAs
58. Singer Yoko: ONO - name #9
60. For: PRO
Splynter
Notes from C.C.:
Happy
birthday to dear Husker Gary, our creative Saturday guide, and my
caring and generous friend. I look at this picture often. It was taken
in August 2014 when Gary and his wife Joann visited Minneapolis for a
wedding. I'll never forget the first time I heard his voice.
Left to Right: Boomer, Gary, C.C. & Joann
31 comments:
I note the crossing
of “gimme “ and “gonna.” Seems a little off, but okay, I guess the constructor “hadda” do it. There were a couple of other rather obscure crossings, but on the whole the rest of the puzzle was fair. And the reveal was fair and appropriate. FIR, so I’m happy.
And Happy Birthday, H.G.! Hope you have a great day!
Good morning!
No major problems this morning, but needed Splynter to 'splain how DESI could mean south Asian. Very un-Wednesdayish. PDA is what they once were called; now it's just a phone. Thanx, Taylor and Splynter. (Are those working pipes in the facade?)
BATHROOM SCALE: My dad used to complain that when he'd step on the scale, he couldn't read it. And when he got down on his hands and knees, it didn't read anything.
Happy birthday, Husker. 9/11 was also my oldest brother's birthday. Gone now.
Sept. 11th. BE was playing golf and my DW and a friend were flying standby on a Delta pass somewhere on her way to Rome. I didn't know if she was flying out of NYC or ATL. Luckily it was ATL and they over the Atlantic.
I've been up for a while. It's the calm before the storm today. Zero wind and no rain at 7:00am with a hurricane expected to hit this afternoon. It's weird.
I never caught the STEP ON IT theme.
Withings product- hand up if you know BATHROOM SCALE brands? I don't and it was filled by perps.
PIANO PEDAL- I'm looking at my Everett piano and it an every piano I've ever seen has three pedals. Another brand name you have never heard. I never learned what the middle one was used to do. But I did know ARAM Khachaturian; a GIMME.
And speaking of music, I'd never heard of the C CLEF until it appeared in crosswords. Treble & bass is all I knew.
PDA- anybody have a Palm Pilot? I never did.
DESI, SARGM, KIM, ADA- unknowns
TERIYAKI (spelling), ATL, NAAN, were filled by guesses.
FIR, but erased amos for ANNI, rave for RATE, and hurried for HUSTLED. Got my WAG @ ARAM x AKIRA, a cross that is not allowed under the Geneva Convention.
I'm in the middle of the long process of dejunking the house in preparation for downsizing. One of the items I've run across is an old Palm V PDA. I also found an unopened Aurora TM 200 Email / Telephone Directory. This data bank has a tiny keyboard, and its massive memory has room for 30 email addresses and 64 telephone numbers, all in a package only a little bigger than a business card. The user still had to retype the email address or punch in the telephone number, as this thing was only a memory device.
D-O, your dad would have liked my scale. The digits stay on for a few seconds after dismounting the platform. I don't see those talking scales much anymore. I wonder why?
HBDTY, H.Gary.
Picard, best wishes for you and your wife as you both undergo this long journey. I'm sure the end result will prove to be worth the pain and suffering.
The AP has an article printed in our local fish wrapper about today's reading of the names of the people killed by the terrorists on 9/11/2001. They note that it is becoming more common for the reader to say "I never got to know you" as the readers increasingly come from a newer generation. (Incredibly, I couldn't find even a hint of partisan political bias in the article, unusual for an AP story.)
Thanks to Taylor for the fun puzzle, and to Splynter for the fun review. The red shoes and red plaid skirt make me wonder if there are roses on the PIANO.
FIR. I'm not a fan of vertical puzzles, ones that mirror left to right, and prefer diagonals. That said, I managed to get through this midweek presentation fairly unscathed.
The lower center caused me some fits. Crossing Aram and Akira seems unfair, and the basketball reference, REB, was unknown to me, not a fan. But the perps finally came through.
Overall not a fan of this puzzle, but it's done so there's that.
Took 7:49 today for me to crack this one.
Aram crossing Akira - really? I agree with Jinx that it is/should be outlawed.
And, what's with the puppeteer someone clue?
I knew today's actresses (Helen & Dey), but failed today's international lessons (desi, frau, anni, & oas; but, I did get tsar, arab, & peso).
Happy Birthday, Husker Gary!
Good Morning:
I needed perps for the Withings Bathroom Scale, Sarg, Aerobe, and C Clef. The theme escaped me until filling in Step On It and, even then, I had to go back and reread each themer for them to make sense. I have never heard the term, Urban Art, nor have I ever heard anyone say "Sueded". They're both legitimate, but not in my vocabulary. I also found some of the cluing a tad off kilter, but that could be a personal nit.
Thanks, Taylor, and thanks, Splynter, for the concise analysis. Your new, multi-talented recliner looks mighty comfy!
Happy Birthday to our dear Gary and best wishes for many more to come! I hope Joann and Darling Lily have special plans for your special day! 🎂🎊🎉🎈
Have a great day.
Tks for counting the proper names but I counted 20 proper nouns. Didn't know 9 across, 30 down, nor 36 down.
From Yesterday and Today:
Monkey, CanadianEh, Jinx Thank you for the good wishes for Merlie. She is in surgery now as we speak. We arrived at 6:30AM and the ETA for pickup is around noon.
CanadianEh Thank you for reading the article on Dr Eisinger. Yes, an interesting Canadian connection. Sad that these refugees from the Nazis were treated as prisoners in England and Canada. But the conditions in Canada were better than in England. And at least they were allowed in. The US infamously turned away many of these desperate refugees.
Enjoyed the STEP ON IT THEME. FIW with WEB SURF. I think my mind was distracted. DESI was a GIMME as I have many DESI friends.
Here was my article on a big DESI performance here.
Splynter Thank you for the illustrations and information. Especially the PIANO PEDAL and the amusing WELCOME MAT.
Musings
-Thanks for all the birthday greetings. I turned down two sub jobs and am playing golf with a childhood friend today
-The airplanes flew into the Trade Center on my 55th birthday.
-What a clever gimmick.
-As many others will say, _RAM/_KIRA was a near natick but an “A” is all that made sense
-Obscure KIMS had plenty of help
-SUEDED, I can guess you can make any word into a verb.
-I NET-SURFED for four chores I had to do yesterday. TADA!
-The master of REB’s
-When a salesman picks up the pace, he might be trying to HUSTLE you
-Drone: We call the roofers in our ‘hood worker BEES
-OUT OF IDEAS might describe coaches trying to stop Patrick Mahomes
Today's challenge struck me as fair and straightforward. I enjoyed solving it, and appreciated the misdirections.
The troublesome answers for me--KIM, DESI, ADA, and SARG--essentially solved themselves through neighboring perps. The crossing of ARAM and AKIRA did not present a problem because I am conversant with not only classical music (Khachaturian) but also with classic films (Kurosawa).
Thanks, Splynter, for your guidance today. And Taylor, I hope to see your puzzles here again. Today's was clever, well-constructed, and fun to solve.
Thank you TJ for an enjoyable puzzle. The reveal was a surprise to me. DESI was new to me although I knew Deshi so thanks Splynter for the explanation.
Rave became RATE when I CAN RELAvE became RELATE. Favorite clue = MITTS.
Did not know AKIRA but saw “Rashomon” on Broadway in 1959 with Claire Bloom, Rod Steiger, Akim Tamiroff and Oscar Hamolka. One of my favorite nights in the theatre.
Have a wonderful day, HG!
Splynter, have you tried #£@$&5+}?=¥#?
Stay safe, everyone! Parsan
FIR, but not easily, especially the center which was the last to fall. Also I was slow to detect the theme. I don’t quite get how LEGO BLOCK fits.
Lots of music, between ARAM, PIANO PEDAL, ROCK, and C CLEF.
A few unknowns like DESI, thanks for the link Splynter, SARG, ARAM, Withings, and SUEDED. SWAGS and perps came to the rescue for them.
My great grand nephew has quite a collection of LEGO BLOCKs.
I like Splynter’s suggestion that the vertical answers might symbolize the Twin Towers.
We’re patiently waiting for Francine’s visit. I hope she’ll BE NICE to us. Last night we secured our front porch swing which has a tendency to go wild during high winds.
Jayce (from yesterday) - Dinah Shore sang “Shoo Fly Pie and Apple Pam Dowdy makes your eyes light up and stomach say howdy!” I don’t thing anyone is writing lyrics like that now. Parsan
Oh, I forgot. Happy birthday to Husker Gary.
Yup, they don't write 'em like that anymore.
Got the FIR, though some of the clues were a tad obscure or iffy. It is Wednesday, so I guess it should be a little crunchier.
Greetings, I knew half the names, so that’s a plus, and some areas readily filled which was nice, then I relied on perps in other areas, so call it a win.
DESI is a new term to me.
WO: Epee -> FOIL
Swear words: OATH: dagnabbit wouldn’t fit….
Happy Birthday wishes to Husker Gary. What a nice picture CC posted with you, your wife & Boomer. Fondly remembered.
Thanks, Splynter. I had to laugh at your comment about your chair!
Hola!
No, I did not have to throw in the TOWEL on this one but inserted TOWEL when called for. Nice job, Taylor Johnson! I hope you do not RUN OUT OF IDEAS and bring us more of your puzzles.
Any unknowns like KIM, ARAM, DESI, ETC., were complimented by perps and surrounding fill. So I finished in good time right along with my cup of coffee.
URBAN ART brings to mind Diego Rivera who painted many city murals in his native Mexico as well as in some U.S. cities.
The plural clue alerted me to the plural ANNI. However, I had LIFTS before RISES and I believe there is disagreement with the tense there. Elevate /RISES.
Happy birthday, Husker Gary! Enjoy your celebration. And have a great day, everyone!
oops. The clue is ELEVATES but RISES does not equate with that. Should be RAISES.
Delightful Wednesday puzzle, Taylor--many thanks for this neat mid-week gift. And your commentary was a big help, Splynter--thanks for that too.
So this puzzle began by asking us to take an OATH that we would SWAB the BATHROOM SCALE--or was it the LEGO BLOCK we were supposed to clean with a TOWEL? I did my best, but when I was done it was time to STEP ON IT and walk across the WELCOME MAT to get to the music room and sit down and push the PIANO PEDAL to produce a lovely melody. Not a bad morning, as far as I'm concerned.
Oh, and C.C., I loved your picture--thanks for posting it.
Think of an elevator- it elevates (rises)
Monkey- your great grand nephew must never have left any of his Lego blocks on the floor where you might Step On It!
Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Taylor and Splynter.
On this 23rd anniversary of 911, it was appropriate to have those twin towers themers. (Come From Away is back on theatre stages again - soon to be in Toronto again.)
Hand up for noting GONNA crossing GIMME.
Another hand up for having trouble with the AKIRA/ARAM cross. WAGged it correctly.
LEGO was an ECKTORP.
I recklessly entered Amoeba before AEROBE. My microbiology prop would have groaned.
Was I the only one who entered Epee before FOIL.
DEM. No politics, but even this Canadian watched the debate last night. We need to know which way the elephant next door is twitching.
HAPPY Birthday HuskerG.
Wishing you all a great day.
No questions on the grid but….
What’s the brand of that recliner? I’m old too, haha, and I’ve been trying to find a Recliner that also both rocks (easy) and Swivels (no luck).
Heat would be the ultimate.
Thanks.
HB, HG!
I needed a fast finish before heading out on a hike this morning, and Taylor's puzzle delivered. FIR and enjoyed it.
Like Splynter and Lucina, I'm uncomfortable equating "elevates" with RISES. I appreciate CanadianEh!'s elevator example, but I think an elevator elevates the people or cargo within it as it RISES. In other words, it *raises* the people or cargo. It does not elevate itself. A better clue might have been "levitates." A small nit in a large grid, which I liked very much.
Dear Picard,
Best wishes to Merlie. She needs adequate pain relief 24/7 during and after implant surgery, hopefully from an anesthesiologist. Then she should be completely comfortable! I have had multiple implants wl Dr. Oded Bahat since 1990 that have lasted and continue to be some of the best blessings ever! S Sasse
Thanks to Taylor for a delightful theme set!
Fav.: Drone, e.g.
Sending healing wishes to Merlie and to Monkey's DH after their oral surgeries.
Happy Birthday to our Saturday Sherpa Husker Gary!!
Thanks, also to Splynter! FAVs: scale comic & welcome mat
I did FIR but took a mighty long time and a few W/Os like EPEE:FOIL, KEN:KIM, ANNO:ANNI. In my defense it has been a very long day. I did get the theme. At this point tired and ready for sleep. Thanx TJ for the challenging CW. Thanx Splynter for the very good, informative and entertaining write-up, especially 'splainin' DESI. All perps, no idea. HG let me be the LAST to wish you a HBD today, I hope it was a good one. It was also my GF's son's BD, so went to his BD celebration. As I said, long day.
Hey - Splynter here - I bought it from Amazon; "Furnimat", $300 after FedEx shipping, and it DOES have heat, tho I can't really tell if that works as well as it should - maybe it will feel warm in the winter. . . .
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