Theme: Trans-atlantic misdirections. In-the-language phrases are repurposed and given a humorous twist with a distinctly British flare. Note that two of the theme fill are grid-spanners.
16 A. Arugula researcher at Cambridge?: ROCKET SCIENTIST. Rocket is one of the several names for arugula, an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor. I did not know that, and assume that the ROCKET usage is more common in Britain, where Cambridge is a university dating back to the year 1208, in a city of the same name. Of course, a ROCKET SCIENTIST is generally one who works on rocket propelled vehicles.
25 A. Pristine field for Manchester United?: PERFECT PITCH. A PITCH is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural turf or artificial turf, although amateur and recreational teams often play on dirt fields. Artificial surfaces are allowed only to be green in color.
Manchester United is a team playing soccer, or as it is known across the pond - football. The phrase "Perfect Pitch" more commonly refers to the ability to identify or recreate a musical note of a specific frequency without a reference point. I don't have it.
Manchester United is a team playing soccer, or as it is known across the pond - football. The phrase "Perfect Pitch" more commonly refers to the ability to identify or recreate a musical note of a specific frequency without a reference point. I don't have it.
40 A. Sweater for a thrill-seeker's leap off Tower Bridge?: BUNGEE JUMPER. The Tower Bridge spans the River Thames near the Tower of London. A BUNGEE JUMPER is a thrill-seeker, regardless of the jumper's location. But in British parlance, a JUMPER is a warm top that covers the arms - more or less what we would call a sweater. Bungee jumping is the activity of leaping from a high place while secured by a long nylon-cased rubber band around the ankles. I am not tempted.
52 A. Pure sausages at the Rose & Crown pub?: ABSOLUTE BANGERS. Back in England, BANGERS are sausages. The term dates from WW II, when, due to meat shortages, sausages were made with watery fillers that wold explode during cooking. More recently, a BANGER is something that is exceptional, impressive, or of high quality, such as a song with a loud, energetic beat that is good for dancing, or becoming your personal ear worm. I think this one is a bit of a stretch.
Hi, Gang. Jazzbumpa reporting for duty. I've never been across the sea, but I'm not going to let the stop me. Let's see where today's excursion takes us.
1. Pillow structure: FORT. Not the first thing an adult might think of, but the 9-year-old in me approves. Also requires blankets.
5. Quick reminder: NOTE. Put it in writing.
9. Mario racing vehicle: KART. A variety of such vehicles used in a series of kart racing games based on the Mario franchise developed and published by Nintendo. Players compete in go-kart races while using various power-up items. It features characters and courses mostly from the Mario series as well as other gaming franchises such as The Legend of Zelda, Animal Crossing, F-Zero, Excitebike, and Splatoon.
13. Wading bird: IBIS. Any one of a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains.[4] "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word for this group of birds. It also occurs in the scientific name of the western cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) mistakenly identified in 1757 as being the sacred ibis.
14. Board game based on pachisi: SORRY. Sorry! is a board game that is based on the ancient Indian cross and circle game Pachisi. Players move their three or four pieces around the board, attempting to get all of their pieces "home" before any other player. Originally manufactured by W.H. Storey & Co in England and now by Hasbro, Sorry! is marketed for two to four players, ages 6 and up. The game title comes from the many ways in which a player can negate the progress of another, while issuing an apologetic "Sorry!"
15. Pelvic bones: ILIA. The ilium (pl.: ilia) is the uppermost and largest region of the coxal bone, and appears in most vertebrates including mammals and birds, but not bony fish. All reptiles have an ilium except snakes, although some snake species have a tiny bone which is considered to be an ilium.
19. "Is it clear?": SEE? You dig?
20. Be for Halloween: GO AS. Be dressed in a costume suggestive of some thing or somebody.
21. Deep-fryer compartment: BASKET. For holding the fryables.
22. Shower time?: APRIL. Typically the month of Spring rains.
24. Grand crime: LARCENY. The "grand" modifier is applied to theft of personal property having a value above a legally specified amount.
28. Flying: ALOFT. Up in the air.
29. Hostess snack cake: HOHO. A chocolate cake rolled with a creamy fillling
30. Yoko who said, "You can be very wild and still be very wise": ONO. She is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. She is also the widow of John Lennon.
33. Trapped fluff: LINT. Lint is a collection of loose, short fibers or threads from clothing, hair, or other materials. It can be found on or around clothing, and can come from materials like cotton, linen, and wool. It can be caught in a dryer filter.
34. Schematics: PLANS. Designed representations of the elements of a system using abstract, graphic symbols rather than realistic pictures.
36. Saharan country next to Sudan: CHAD. Chad, officially the Republic of Chad, is an independent state at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. The landlocked country is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon to the southwest, Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west.
37. Island ring: LEI. Not an island atoll, but rather a floral loop worn as a decoration.
38. Some Korean compacts: KIAS. Kia Corporation is a South Korean multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is South Korea's second largest automobile manufacturer, after its parent company, Hyundai Motor Company.
39. Cran cocktail: COSMO. A cosmopolitan, or, informally, a cosmo, is a cocktail made with vodka, Cointreau, cranberry juice, and freshly squeezed or sweetened lime juice. The cosmopolitan is a member of the Gimlet family of cocktails.
43. Prioritizes patients: TRIAGES. The preliminary assessment of patients or casualties in order to determine the urgency of their need for treatment and the nature of treatment required.
46. Afro-Cuban dance: RUMBA. This term can be applied to various music and dance styles originating in Cuba, or styles that are similar.
47. __ to the core: ROTTEN. Said of someone devoid of any redeeming or positive characteristics.
48. Digital indulgence, casually: PEDI. Short for pedicure, a cosmetic treatment of the feet and toenails.
49. Vintage TV brand: RCA. A former corporation that was the dominant electronics and communications firm in the United States for over five decades. It did not survive a series of poor business decision in the face of strong international competition.
55. Highlighter tone: NEON. Any of the extremely bright, intense, and vibrant versions of primary and secondary colors, such as red, blue, green, yellow, and purple. They are so named for the bright colors of neon lights
56. Doughnut, mathematically: TORUS. In geometry, a torus is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space one full revolution about an axis that is coplanar with the circle.
57. Frantically: AMOK. In an uncontrolled and disruptive manor.
58. Randomly generated IDs: SSNS. Social Security Numbers.
59. Soaks (up): SOPS. Absorbs.
60. Sutures: SEWS. Applies stitches holding together the edges of a wound or surgical incision.
Down:
1. Some December decor: FIRS. Evergreen trees, wreaths or branches.
2. __ d'amore: OBOE. A double reed woodwind musical instrument in the oboe family. Slightly larger than the oboe, it has a less assertive and a more tranquil and serene tone, and is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, I played in a symphony orchestra for 16 years, and don't recall ever seeing one.
3. Brand with a cable car logo: RICEARONI. a boxed food mix that consists of rice, vermicelli pasta, and seasonings. To prepare, the rice and pasta are browned in butter, then water and seasonings are added and simmered until absorbed. It is a product of Quaker Oats Company, a subsidiary of PepsiCo. It is also known as the San Francisco Treat.
4. "Shame" sound: TSK.
5. Pretzel option: NO SALT. Would need mustard or cheese dip.
6. Tolkien baddies: ORCS. A race of humanoid creatures best known for their service as footsoldiers and slaves to the Dark Lords of Middle-earth. Even when not in thralldom to an evil master, Orcs rarely if ever had non-violent interactions with Elves, Men, or Dwarves.
7. Part of TNT: TRI. In chemistry, TNT stands for 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, a man-made, odorless, yellow solid that is used as an explosive:
8. Safety stations in some labs: EYE BATHS. As described here, a specialized fountain designed to flush the eyes with water to remove foreign material.
9. Lowbrow art: KITSCH. Art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.
10. Tough to tell apart: ALIKE. Similar.
11. Out of bed: RISEN. Having moved up from a reclined position.
12. Frayed: TATTY. Worn out, in poor physical condition.
14. Immovable: STOIC. Calm and unemotional.
17. Wading bird: EGRET. A heron with mainly white plumage, having long plumes in the breeding season.
18. DEA agent: NARCO. Slang or derogatory term for a drug enforcement agent.
23. Deflating sound: PFFT. Air under pressure escaping though a small opening.
24. Animal helped by a mouse in a fable: LION. A kindness is never wasted.
25. Shadow: PALL. A dark covering, as of smoke or dust.
26. Author Wiesel: ELIE. Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel [1928-2016] was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.
23. Deflating sound: PFFT. Air under pressure escaping though a small opening.
24. Animal helped by a mouse in a fable: LION. A kindness is never wasted.
25. Shadow: PALL. A dark covering, as of smoke or dust.
26. Author Wiesel: ELIE. Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel [1928-2016] was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored 57 books, written mostly in French and English, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a Jewish prisoner in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps.
27. Temporary stage: PHASE. A distinct period or stage in a series of events or a process of change or development.
30. "For crying out loud": OH SPARE ME. When someone is tired of listening to another person or is in a state of disbelief, they may respond with "spare me"
31. Identify: NAME. Establish or indicate who or what someone or something is.
32. What wavy lines might represent in a comic: ODOR. Usually an unpleasant one.
34. Pesto need: PINE NUTS. The white seeds of some pine trees, often used in cooking
35. Falls behind: LAGS. Falls behind in movement, progress, or development; not keeping pace with another or others.
36. Word with over or through: COMB. A strip of plastic, metal, or wood with a row of narrow teeth, used for untangling or arranging the hair. A comb over is an arrangement of sparse hair attempting to cover a bald spot. To comb through is to conduct a thorough search.
38. Passover potato pie: KUGEL. A baked casserole, most commonly made from egg noodles or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.
39. Chutney seed: CUMIN. The aromatic seeds of a plant of the parsley family, used as a spice, especially ground and used in curry powder.
40. Conductors' tools: BATONS. A thin stick used by a conductor to direct an orchestra or choir.
41. Darkness personified, in Greek mythology: EREBUS. Erebus is the personification of darkness and shadows, and is also the name of a place in the underworld on the way to Hades.
42. Notorious apostle: JUDAS. Th apostle accused of betraying Jesus in the Gospel accounts.
43. Like one honored by a pink, blue, and white flag: TRANS. An umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.
44. Garb donned by Oxford dons: ROBES. A long flowing outer garment.
45. "Them's fightin' words!": IT'S ON. An exclamation of readiness, eagerness or anticipation for something especially if it is a competition or confrontation.
48. Crime drama suspect: PERP. A perpetrator of a crime. Alternatively, a crossing word in a crossword.
50. Cornfield nuisance: CROW. Any of various large usually entirely glossy black passerine birds of the family Corvidae and especially genus Corvus.
51. Queries: ASKS. Inquires. Those questioning minds want to know.
53. All __ often: TOO. With distressing frequency.
54. Electric alternative: GAS. This could refer to natural gas vs electric for a cooking stove or gasoline vs battery power for a vehicle. You can choose.
On that energetic note, we bring today's adventure to a close. No extra charge for the birds and solid geometry.
30. "For crying out loud": OH SPARE ME. When someone is tired of listening to another person or is in a state of disbelief, they may respond with "spare me"
31. Identify: NAME. Establish or indicate who or what someone or something is.
32. What wavy lines might represent in a comic: ODOR. Usually an unpleasant one.
34. Pesto need: PINE NUTS. The white seeds of some pine trees, often used in cooking
35. Falls behind: LAGS. Falls behind in movement, progress, or development; not keeping pace with another or others.
36. Word with over or through: COMB. A strip of plastic, metal, or wood with a row of narrow teeth, used for untangling or arranging the hair. A comb over is an arrangement of sparse hair attempting to cover a bald spot. To comb through is to conduct a thorough search.
38. Passover potato pie: KUGEL. A baked casserole, most commonly made from egg noodles or potato. It is a traditional Ashkenazi Jewish dish, often served on the Sabbath and Jewish holidays.
39. Chutney seed: CUMIN. The aromatic seeds of a plant of the parsley family, used as a spice, especially ground and used in curry powder.
40. Conductors' tools: BATONS. A thin stick used by a conductor to direct an orchestra or choir.
41. Darkness personified, in Greek mythology: EREBUS. Erebus is the personification of darkness and shadows, and is also the name of a place in the underworld on the way to Hades.
42. Notorious apostle: JUDAS. Th apostle accused of betraying Jesus in the Gospel accounts.
43. Like one honored by a pink, blue, and white flag: TRANS. An umbrella term for persons whose gender identity, gender expression or behavior does not conform to that typically associated with the sex to which they were assigned at birth.
44. Garb donned by Oxford dons: ROBES. A long flowing outer garment.
45. "Them's fightin' words!": IT'S ON. An exclamation of readiness, eagerness or anticipation for something especially if it is a competition or confrontation.
48. Crime drama suspect: PERP. A perpetrator of a crime. Alternatively, a crossing word in a crossword.
50. Cornfield nuisance: CROW. Any of various large usually entirely glossy black passerine birds of the family Corvidae and especially genus Corvus.
51. Queries: ASKS. Inquires. Those questioning minds want to know.
53. All __ often: TOO. With distressing frequency.
54. Electric alternative: GAS. This could refer to natural gas vs electric for a cooking stove or gasoline vs battery power for a vehicle. You can choose.
On that energetic note, we bring today's adventure to a close. No extra charge for the birds and solid geometry.
Have a pleasant autumn. I'll be back in October.
Cool regards!
Cool regards!
JzB
I didn’t see how the themed answers related to their clues, until JazzB explained the “Britishisms.” Anyway, after a little trouble getting started, the rest pretty much fell into place. FIR, so I’m happy.
ReplyDeleteGood morning!
ReplyDeleteHad no idea that arugula was called "ROCKET." Had I re-read the clue for 40a I probably could've avoided the nasty crash 'n' burn. Wasn't familiar with KUGEL or EREBUS and guessed poorly. My fault. Sezst Lah Vye. Thanx, Larry and JzB.
FIW, missing with lUMeA x ElEBUS and COMe. I thought RUMBA was one of those little robot vacuum cleaners. COMe is also a correct answer - "COMe over for poker night" and "COMe through the front door and turn left into the game room."
ReplyDeleted'amore takes the Ektorp out of OBOE. ONO is still there.
SSNS are not random. The first three numbers represent the zip code of the Social Security office that issued it. The next two are used by SSA to make things easier for them. I'm not sure about the last four, but I suspect that they aren't random either, but rather issued as the next in sequence.
Thanks to Larry for the puzzle, except for the nose wrinkler EREBUS x RUMBA. My favorite was "digital indulgence" for PEDI. And thanks to JzB for a fine explanation of the grid.
Getaway day. Next stop Gaffeny, SC.
Jinx, I think that SSNs are NOW randomly assigned, but they definitely were not ... back in the day.
DeleteRight! Guess I'm the last to know. Maybe I'll forever be "back in the day..."
DeleteTook 6:31 today for me to boot this one.
ReplyDeleteLike SubG, I was oblivious to the theme while solving.
I didn't know that rocket, the Greek mythological personification, the Passover pie, the Afro-Cuban dance, and whatever chutney was (I looked it up, and see it is an Indian spread).
I’m not sure what to make of this one, although I did FIR w/out help in 13:23. Looked for a theme but couldn’t see any correlation between the long horizontals, and no reveal didn’t help, needed JzB’s explanation to see the British motif. Very few names, of which I knew all but EREBUS. Also DNK KUGEL or have I ever used or heard the word TATTY. The clue for PEDI was a nice play on words, my last fill was a WAG at the E which also gave me EREBUS. PERFECT PITCH comes and goes with me so I guess it’s imperfect. Thanks Larry for the puzzle and JzB for the detailed expo!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad JzB got the British connection because I didn't except for BANGERS.
ReplyDeleteROCKET and Arugula- no idea
JUMPER and Sweater- no idea. I've heard baby suits called jumper suits but not sweaters.
BANGER and exceptional or high quality- another unknown
Perps and guesses to get the theme fills to go along with SORRY, TATTY (Kart wouldn't allow RATTY), KUGEL, ERUBUS (I know of volcanic Mt. Erebus in Antarctica; horrible plane crash about 45 years ago)
SSNS- they weren't randomly selected when I got mine. My brother, a friend, and I all rode the bus to the SSA back in 1965 and our SSNS had the same numbers except the last on, which were 3,4, & 5. I still have my original card.
NARCO is a drug DEALER; a NARC is an DEA agent
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteI may have enjoyed this puzzle more if I were British but I'm not and I didn't enjoy it at all. Rocket Scientist for an Arugula reference made no sense, nor did Absolute Bangers, a phrase I've never heard before, although I know what Bangers are. Perfect Pitch and Bungee Jumper are in the language but not everyone is soccer (football) savvy, nor know that Jumper=Sweater across the pond. Sorry, but this just wasn't my cuppa!
Thanks, JazzB, for explaining the whole premise, a task I didn't envy.
FLN
HG, I hope any losses were minimal. It's very disheartening to know there are so many dishonest, immoral people out there. 😢
Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteMost of us know common American/Brit expression variations like cookie for biscuit but to know that ROCKET means “Arugula” and JUMPER means “sweater” is bloody well pushing it.
Inkovers: wear/GOAS, tail/PALL, got my ents/mixed up with my ORCS,
There’s an Opera “L’Elisir d’amore” (“The Love Elixir”, love potion). But a recent clue for our old OBOE standby.
Building the FORT was fun till Mom made us put all the pillows back
Not knish (KUGEL) and not curry (CUMIN). Mambo, Samba? no RUMBA (Dance, while it vacuums your carpet)
PERP: May be a crime suspect but still my bestest CW friend:!! Finally remembered TORUS, (“I’ll have a dozen powdered sugar TORI please”)
Crabby Appleton, a Tom Terrific foe “ROTTEN to the core”
DW had a COSMO with lunch last week that cost more than my entrée.
I was beginning to think Rita Ora was replacing ONO. But oh no I was wrong.
Panaji, ___ capital …. GOAS (Now there’s a CW answer for ya.)
The abbrev. text version of pachisi….SRY
Art that is SWAK, “sealed with a ___ “….KITSCH
A “Man from UNCLE”: ____ Kuryakin…ILIA
Been perfect pre fall weather so far.
Happy Hump Day.
LOL re GOAS. It took me a minute to parse that when it filled in the CW.
DeleteHaving read many British mysteries I deduced the theme, but started slowly until RICEARONI gave me a big push. We have lots of IBIS in South Florida as well as EGRETS. They are of the same taxonomic Order but branch off into different families. Today I learned the word Threskiornithidae which is the Ibis family. The Ibis is a symbol for the University of Miami sports teams, the enemy for Gator alumni.
ReplyDeleteJzB, I always learn with your comprehensive reviews. We missed the super moon and eclipse here because of thunderstorms and the clouds; maybe next time. Thank you Larry Snyder
FIW. The cross of torus and erebus did me in. I had toris, and of course did not know the Greek myth.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the theme goes, I struggled with the "across the pond" flavor. Fortunately my first wife was British so some of the references were familiar to me because of her.
Overall, not my most favorite puzzle, borderline unenjoyable!
Good Morning! Holy cow! Welcome to Friday….oh wait, it’s only Wednesday….
ReplyDeleteThe north was mostly blank, and I had my doubts, but then the middle and the south came together, then slowly the north.
I saw the familiar phrases in the long answers, but didn’t connect them to a theme. Was there a unifier?
I had to look up CHAD.
Perps for OBOE (as clued), COSMO (Jerry’s neighbor?), EREBUS.
Thanks, JazzB, nice to read your wealth of information though I’m still not going to venture into the complexity of TORUS calculation, I’ll just enjoy my bite of donut!
While we were in college my oldest brother who had trained and was a black belt in karate had written a book to introduce the discipline to teenagers and needed an agent to speak with the publishers. We had a cousin who had been published and made an appointment for David to meet with Harvey Morrison whose office was on 6th Avenue in Manhattan. When we got to the floor of the office building, there were armed guards in fancy uniforms and a sign saying the Sovereign Embassy of Chad. I had never heard of the country or the possibility that a foreign nation would have protected lands in the US. At 17, I thought it was super cool.
ReplyDeleteIt should have said Consulate, not Embassy. Embassies are in DC
DeleteThe NW and north central were Friday-like for me. The rest was Wednesday- like.
ReplyDeleteI got the gimmick with the first themer. I read many novels by British and Australian authors. It seems the Amazon prime lending library is filled with them. I got all the British words first. Bangers and mash, sausages and mashed potatoes. British football is played on a pitch. A sweater is a jumper.
My hold up in the NW was fort for pillow structure. We made ours with blankets, not pillows. And I didn't know rocket was arugula. Learning moment. Makes sense: Rocket for arugula, scientist for researcher.
I do know eggplant as aubergene and zucchini as courgette. A zucchini left to grow very large is a marrow. Dining in Scotland, we became acquainted with all of these.
I was surprised to see potato kugel. Kugel here are almost always made with noodles.
We had torus before. I remembered erebus, but not the spelling.
I was surprised to see that SSN are random. LIU, since 2011 they have been random to foil hackers.
I loved the theme and did not find it a stretch at all.
I first came across marrows as the vegetable Hercule Poirot wanted to grow in his retirement.
DeleteI'm sure the Bloody Pommies (ref#1) are enjoying this puzzle, but I am equally sure Americans are scratching their heads...
ReplyDeletemeanwhile in England (ref#2)
(Reference #1:)
The term 'pom' or 'pommie' is an Aussie term for the English, i.e. people from England.Jan 21, 2022
https://www.quora.com
What does the Australian term “pommie” mean? - Quora
“Pommy” (or “pom”), a slang term for a British person, comes from the acronym POHM, which was used to designate a “Prisoner of His Majesty.”Jan 17, 2023
(Reference#2:)
Kind of sad really, as Guinness originated in Dublin Ireland...
Well, Larry provided us with a bit of a crunchy Wednesday, I would say. I have spent considerable time in Britain, and thought I was reasonably up-to-speed on most of their linguistic eccentricities. Evidently not.
ReplyDeleteArugula = rocket? I barely even know what arugula is, much less why the Brits would call it "rocket." I wonder why.
PERFECTPITCH presented no problem, because son Arizona Jim has explained to me that a soccer (football) field is called the pitch. Clever clue.
BUNGEEJUMPER proved a head-scratcher until I recalled that a sweater is sometimes known as a jumper.
The final theme entry, ABSOLUTEBANGERS, required some help from neighboring perps as well as WAGs. And I do know that bangers are sausages. That helped because the SE area of the puzzle had EREBUS crossing PEDI, among other headaches.
I had issues with COSMO, ORCS, PALL, and KUGEL, but they were surrounded by helpful perps.
I enjoyed seeing the two "wading bird" clues together up in the NW.
Overall, I appreciated the language lesson, Larry. The puzzle was well-constructed and enjoyable.
I read each of the clues for the theme answers before filling a single answer. The English / British theme was apparent. Based only on the clue, I was pretty certain that 25A would either be PITCH PEEFECT or PERFECT PITCH. The clue was so exact.
ReplyDeleteI correctly guessed that 52A was going to have BANGERS in it, but I needed perps to get the ABSOLUTE part of it. I thought that might have to do with vodka, but that brand name is spelled Absolut. No e. So it's absolute because of "pure sausages" in the clue. I'm also not familiar with that phrase.
Now, about ROCKET. I knew from my love of watching cooking shows (thank you, Lidia and Mary Ann) that Rocket is the word for arugula in other English speaking countries. Pretty much only Americans and some Canadians call it arugula. Why? (I had to look this next part up.) It is derived from an Italian dialect for its scientific name, Eruca. The French term became roquette and the Commonwealth countries all started calling it Rocket.
I first thought of tail for the clue Shadow at 25D, but the first letter had to be a P, and the Ls from LINT and LEI made PALL apparent. Shadow was a great clue! ELIE allowed me to enter PERFECT PITCH and I was off to the races.
FORT was not my first thought. I filled that NW corner last. RICE-A-RONI was easy, but fill-in-the-blank d'Amore was not. Does d'Amore mean "of love?", he ASKS. So OBOE of love?
I thought the clue for NARCO was sus as "DEA agent", but when JzB did not object, I looked it up. I was today years old when I learned that the slang word can be used for both the bad guy and the good guy. So it's a sort of a contronym, like cleave.
It was a quick Wednesday solve. I enjoyed it.
Thank you, Larry Snyder, and thank you, Jazzbumpa.
FIW - ending up with ratty - TATTY, because I didn’t know who Mario was and thought with the unusual way words are now spelled that it could be karr (car), not KART. I also thought ANDRETTI?
ReplyDeleteWith the top mostly blank and working from the bottom up, the British theme was obvious when JUMPER appeared, the result of watching so many PBS Masterpiece TheatreTV shows.
Common pub food in England is “BANGERS and mash” (potatoes), like our bar food, burgers and fries. KUGEL is very tasty. Many meals this summer using my fragrant basi and PINE NUTS to make pesto.
Guessed ar the “U” to make TORUS and EREBUS, both unknown to me
Hard but doable puzzle LS, I liked the theme, and really interesting review JB.
Happy day, all! Parsan
Musings
ReplyDelete-This math major spun the vowel wheel but failed the TOR_S/EREB_S crossing. I’m sure I “learned” it at some time in my coursework but…
-Rocket/Arugula? Ain’t language great?
-Championship Auto Racing Teams (CART) and Mario Andretti slowed me up. They have nothing to do with each other.
-Random? My classmate and I picked up our SSN’s at the same time. Our numbers were ALIKE but differed only by the last numbers
-SORRY was a perfect board game for us with our kids and grandkids
-David Sarnoff partnered with Guglielmo Marconi to found RCA. Yes, THAT Marconi!
-OH SPARE ME! I got stopped for speeding last night but spared the officer a lame excuse. BTW, I got off with a warning.
-Irish, I appreciate your concern but our losses, so far as we know, were zero. We just had to do a lot of work to abandon our 60-yr-old banking numbers for new ones. Joann’s twin sister had the same experience but since she pays everything she can online, she had a lot more work. Surprisingly, the Social Security Administration was the easiest agency to deal with.
Although I’m familiar with all the Britishisms, I didn’t expect them in the long answers, therefore was very disappointed in this CW.
ReplyDeleteI too thought of Andretti for Mario racing machine. I long hesitated at NARCO since, but obviously I’m wrong, to me NARCO refers to the bad guys.
Had it not been for perps I would never have come up with EYE BATHS. Also, I’ve never heard of the game SORRY.
I too was certain that SSN #s were not randomly assigned. I’m also back in the day.
The APRIL shower cue was cute, but all in all, this was not my kind pf CW puzzle.
Thank you Jzp for a very nice review. Good info.
IMHO I had a ball with this puzzle! Not a lot of names & trivia references & I go for bangers and mash when ever I have an opportunity!
ReplyDeleteLike KS and HG, I was done in by the EREBUS /TORUS natick, guessing the wrong vowel, for an FIW. I was hoping Ray-O-Sunshine would take us for a flight of fancy on an Erebus—perhaps one that crashed and burned.
ReplyDeleteIt’s some consolation to deem this a Friday-level puzzle, which gave me plenty of trouble beyond the one spot that tripped me up. I filled the theme entries correctly and knew about the football pitch and kind of knew about ROCKET lettuce. I knew about bangers but still don’t understand the ABSOLUTE part.
Like Yooper, my PERFECT PITCH comes and goes. It was dependable when I was child and had fewer uses for it.
I can put 6 new strings on a guitar and tune by ear to A440 with no starting reference point, but if I hear a random note, say played on a piano, I most likely can’t identify it, so I guess I have half a PERFECT PITCH 😂
DeleteBig easy here I hummed a note that I thought was Middle C. Then went to my piano to test it against my hum.
DeleteI was close. It was the B next to it. Do my do re mi ist just off a hair. So I was humming a C-flat, not C natural.
Update on bank account hacking
ReplyDelete-We got everything all set up Monday and then this morning we found out the clerk at the bank put in the wrong new account number on her letter with the bank letterhead we scanned and sent to everyone. We were back on the phone again fixing that. ARRRRGGGGHHH!
Hola!
ReplyDeleteHappy, er, Wednesday but feels like Friday. Nicely done by Larry Snyder, thank you. For me, the bottom filled much quicker than the top since we have seen TORUS, JUMPERS and BANGERS before as has been mentioned by other commenters. It still amazes me when I hear JUMPER as sweater on British programs.
KUGEL is a new term for me and I see KITSCHY more often than KITSCH.
I do not care for CUMIN at all; it's too sharp but not in the way chile, which is my preferred food, is sharp but tasty.
Also, I agree about the differences between NARCO and NARC. One is the dealer and the other is the agent.
Ray-O, good catch on ILIA Kuryakin, long ago from the original Mission Impossible.
Gary, I sympathize with you completely as the same thing happened to me and I had to change accounts with everyone I deal with. What a pain!
Have a good day, everyone!
I liked this CW because of the scarcity of names, only 8, and I only DNK 1: EREBUS. I did NOT like this CW because once PERPS had filled ROCKETSCIENTIST I had no idea how that could relate to ARUGULA. It wasn't until I had the other theme clues filled that I went back and...nope, I got that the theme is British words but STILL did not see how ARUGULA had anything to do with a ROCKETSCIENTIST. I did like OBOE, HOHO and ONO being in the same CW, and 2 stilts. I knew TORUS which saved my bacon down south. Also ABSOLUTEBANGERS I have never heard as an expression, and I have had many British friends. BANGERS are sausages, but ABSOLUTE? BTW, thanx JzB for the explanation on how bangers got their name. Overall, I did FIR but took 18 minutes of struggle. Friday on a Wednesday! Thanx for the challenge, LS. Thanx for the write-up and the many informative items, JzB. I hope you have a good vacation, and look forward to hearing from you in November. Oh, last point, I used to have perfect pitch, but lately it has gone off. Another part of getting old? I can tell it's "off" but can't even discern if it is flat or sharp. I only can tell, "Hmmmm. That didn't sound right." Rats.
ReplyDeletePerfect pitch is a much more specific skill than being able to discern whether something is sharp, flat, or on pitch. It's an ability to be asked to hum middle C or any specific note out of the blue and nail it every time -- or to hear a note out of the blue and know exactly what note it is.
DeleteInteresting Wednesday puzzle, many thanks, Larry. And I always enjoy your commentary, thanks for that too, JazzB.
ReplyDeleteI've never had RICEARONI. Would one eat it with PINE NUTS and make sure to add NO SALT, though maybe some CUMIN? I suppose that might be okay? Well, I'll think about that for a possible lunch tomorrow.
Meanwhile, I'm off for my next PHASE on this day.
Have a pleasant day, everybody.
Perhaps if we all wish at once and are very lucky, Larry Snyder will take Patti far far away, to England or anywhere else…except here.
ReplyDeleteWonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Larry and JazzB. I FIRed in good time, but this Canadian only could SEE half of the Brit themers. I didn’t know Arugula as ROCKET or Sweater as JUMPER. I know JUMPER as per Wikipedia “ A jumper (in American English), jumper dress, or pinafore dress[1][2] is a sleeveless, collarless dress intended to be worn over a blouse, shirt, T-shirt or sweater.”
ReplyDeleteBut I did LOL at ABSOLUTE BANGERS!
And TATTY is a British expression Easter Egg!
I had several inkblots, and I see now that I FIWed with an I instead of U at the cross of TORUS and EREBUS (I’ll blame the I on conditioning from IBIS). But I am not alone
Memo changed to NOTE, Samba to RUMBA.
EYE washes was too long- BATHS fit.
Mario had a cart but citsch didn’t look right . O NO it’s KART.
I noted IBIS and EGRET.
When did EKTORP OBOE join d’amore? Learning moment - Wikipedia says “ it is considered the mezzo-soprano of the oboe family, between the oboe (soprano) and the cor anglais or English horn (alto).”
I didn’t know CUMIN as clued but I soon had enough PERPs.
KUGEL was all perps(my first thought was Latke but that’s not a pie).
Pesto needs Basil but PINE NUTS filled the spot.
Several favourite and different clues today - for APRIL, FORT, PEDI
CSO to Misty’s Dad with RCA.
Wishing you all a great day.
Coming to the Corner late today, but have to thank Larry for a nice challenge, and JzB for a very informative review.
ReplyDeleteLike Jinx, I had COMe instead of COMB, and since I didn't know the Greek darkness, I was unable to complete E_EBUS. (My dance was _UMeA.) DNF!
However, as a big fan of arugula, I'm familiar with it being called ROCKET, and thought that answer was great. The British PITCH, JUMPER, and BANGERS were also known to me, but I still didn't quite grok the theme until JzB explained it.
So sorry, HG, for the annoyance, but glad you didn't lose your savings or wind up with massive charges on your cards. Incredible how some people focus on making a living by stealing from others.
Thanks to Larry for his UK-themed puzzle with few UnKnowns! I think I've mentioned that I worked at the Australian Embassy in D.C. (Hi Lemonade!) for 3 years. I could not help but pick up a lot of Briticisms.
ReplyDeleteFAVs: RICEARONI, PINENUTS, and the clues for ODOR and PEDI.
I had COMe before COMB.
H-Gary @10:25. The odds are good that the cop who pulled you over was a past student.
= )
Thanks to JZB for his PERFECT explanations! FAVs were the pics of the IBIS and EGRET.
Open kimono, until today I had no idea that a person could hum a note and match it to a piano. After thinking about it, I guess it does make sense.
ReplyDeleteI love music, but I can't play a single instrument nor read it. In 4th grade, we all had to take music first, and then choir. It just didn't click with me, and a few days into choir, Mrs H instructed me to just mouth the words as if I was singing. I'll never forget that. The only thing I liked about music/choir was that we had two field trips. One to go to the city to listen to the symphony, and that was beautiful. The other was to go see the movie Funny Girl, and I really liked that. That was only the second time I had been to a movie. The first was to see the Beatles Help movie with my two older sisters, and I barely remember anything about that.
A couple of days ago I was working in the yard with my noise cancelling headphones on and one of my favorite songs came on the radio. I was singing along. That is, until I noticed over my shoulder that the younger couple from a few houses away were out for a walk and had stopped and were staring at me. I stopped singing and waved hi. They just smiled and moved on. I'll probably get some good natured ribbing about that when I see them again.
The funny thing is that I think that I can sing, but my wife tells me no. And when I hear my recorded voice, it doesn't sound anything like what I hear when I'm talking or singing. Isn't that weird? Maybe Mrs H was right.
I'm stoked today. It started off well when I solved today's puzzle in a tad over ten minutes. Then I got a replacement keyboard for my Lenovo laptop. I had replaced it last September with one I found on Amazon. The Amazon one was supposed to be a perfect replacement, but it didn't quite fit. I made it work. The one I got today from Lenovo was an exact fit, and it's working wonderfully well. I don't imagine that the key tops will start falling off of it.
sumdaze, I had the same thoughts about HG not getting a ticket because he was pulled over by a former student!
I liked this puzzle even though I also didn't know arugula was called rocket and had never heard the expression absolute bangers.
ReplyDeleteWhat I really dislike are the clues/answers that are paraphrases, which are utterly random. Try translating SEE into "Is it clear?" and then try translating the latter back into the former. It can't be done. The same situation with "For crying out loud": OH SPARE ME. I could, equally randomly, paraphrase "For crying out loud" as SHEESH. Now try turning SHEESH into "For crying out loud". Also "Them's fightin' words!": IT'S ON. It reminds me of some guest engineers from Japan who admired the "tapestry model" product that I had designed. Only after the guests actually pointed to one did we realize they were referring to our "wall-hanging model."
I did especially like the clue/answer Grand crime: LARCENY and the word KITSCH.
Good reading you all.
I absolutely do not have perfect pitch, but at least I can sing in tune. We barbershop singers always used a pitch pipe to get us started off on the right note.
ReplyDelete