WAH~!
44. Rough conditions: STORMY WEATHER - Do you have any "fair-weather friends~?" Here's a song co-written by 'Buck Dharma', the guitarist from Blue Öyster Cult on his 1982 solo album "Flat Out"
"Wind Weather and Storm"
60. Petulant cry, and what might be said about 17-, 26-, or 44-Across?: "IT'S NOT FAIR~!"
And Away We Go~!
ACROSS:
1. Authoritative doctrine: DOGMA
6. Crush, for one: SODA - Ah. I do the Downs first; fooled me on the first pass
14. Districts: AREAS - I liked the movie "District 9"
15. Throw hard: HURL - also a clue yesterday
16. Say a novena, e.g.: PRAY
19. Benefit: PERK
20. Hit the snooze bar: SLEEP IN - I have done way too much of this lately - need to get some house projects finished
21. Publication whose name comes from an old Venetian coin: GAZETTE - The Wiki
23. "Good __!": IDEA
25. Promising words: OATHS
32. Gentle hills: RISES - "it's just over that rise there"
33. Defensive excavation: MOAT - seven syllables : one syllable = clue : answer
34. May honoree: MOM - & - 40A. Summer month: JUNE - & - 1D. 40-Across honorees: DADS
37. Canned brand: ALPO
38. Exasperated: FED UP - I thought this was the merger of FedEx and UPS. . . .
41. CIA relative: NSA - I can't tell you any more about this - it's a secret
42. Many a fundraising party: GALA - I had the first "A"
43. Soap star Susan: LUCCI - name #1, and I know this one
48. Map of Hawaii, often: INSET
51. Alternatives to tablets: LAPTOPS - I was issued one for work with the drafting software loaded for work in our second warehouse
54. London's Globe, for one: THEATRE - Learning moment for me
62. iPhone helper: SIRI - name(ish)
63. Largest of the Three Bears: PAPA
64. Extreme vigor: ARDOR
65. Body art, briefly: TATS - tattoos; I don't have any, don't really find them attractive
66. Social media platform with stories, colloquially: SNAP - I don't Snapchat, Facebook, or Instagram, and I have been "banned" from Pinterest.
67. They may butt heads: GOATS - How 'bout these "G.O.A.T.s~?
2. __ phase: ORAL - part of Freud's psychoanalysis - more here; I chew my fingernails, so. . . .
3. Richard of "Chicago": GERE - name #2, also one I know
4. Cobble together: MAKE
5. Barbecue receptacles: ASH PITS - I vacuumed out my fireplace ash pit last weekend - we are good to go for this winter~!
7. John Green's "The Fault in __ Stars": OUR - Here's the Wiki
8. Leftover bit: DREG
9. "Same Time, Next Year" actor Alan: ALDA - name #3, I know, but not this movie - IMDb
10. Materialize: APPEAR
11. "Mostly, yes!": "PRETTY MUCH..." - and a fresh Xword fill, too
12. View from the moon: EARTH - one of the 20th century's greatest photographs
18. Assistant: AIDE
22. __ suit: ZOOT
24. Sessions that may involve curls and presses: ARM DAYS - my bother and his gym friends talk like this - Thursday is "Arm Day", Saturday is "Chest Day", Monday is "cardio"
27. Essential __: OILS
28. Small book with an eagle on its cover: US PASSPORT - Great fill
30. Debtor's note: I.O.U.
31. Dance like Savion Glover: TAP - a good WAG, but then again, three letters....name #7 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
35. Starter of many a storybook: ONCE - ". . .upon a time. . . "
36. Golda who was a prime minister in the early 1970s: MEIR - name #8
38. Nowhere nearby: FAR
39. West __: high-end furniture retailer: ELM
name(ish)
40. Protrude: JUT
42. Usual choice: GO TO - when I get Chinese, it's always General Tso's Chicken
43. Reason for a safe call: LATE TAG - do you remember this Miller Lite commercial~?
Bob Ueker - "He missed the tag~!"
46. Barbecue wipe: WET NAP
47. Canyon sound: ECHO
48. Brief concession statement: "I LOST."
49. Gymnast Comaneci: NADIA - name #9, and one I know
52. Gladys Knight's guys: PIPS - technically a name, but I know this one, as well~!
I heard it through the grapevine
56. "I did it!": "ta-DA~!"
57. Real hoot: RIOT
58. Isn't perfect: ERRS
61. Site for relaxation: SPA
31 comments:
I’ve never heard the expression “arm days” but that’s what the perps indicated. Other than that, I didn’t have too much trouble with this puzzle . FIR, so I’m happy.
Good morning!
ARM DAYS? Really? That's not what I'd call an in-the-language expression. What really slowed me down were West End/ELM and cAPletS/LAPTOPS. Everything came together, but it was a Wite-Out workout. Thanx, Jay and Splynter.
US PASSPORT -- Dw's has been AWOL for about 5 years. Needless to say, it isn't in any of the places where she's looked.
FIR without erasure or WAG.
We kinda bastardize "perquisite" to create the abbreviated PERK.
I liked Splynter's and would love to hear a Bluegrass cover, but to me this will always be the real Stormy Weather.
I've been nursing my dying LAPTOP for a while now, and my new one came in yesterday. Hopefully this is one of my last Corner posts on the old machine. (FedEX horror story regarding this acquisition, too.)
Don't know Freud's ORAL phase, but I've been in one, pretty much, since senior prom.
Thanks to Jay for a nice, easy Humpday puzzle. My favorite was "defensive excavation" for MOAT. And thanks to Splynter for another fine review, complete with lovely gams. BTW - Know what they call it when a blonde dyes her hair brown? Artificial Intelligence. (My naturally-blonde PhD sister hates that joke. Maybe she doesn't get it.)
Took 5:29 today to finish this unscrupulous puzzle.
I knew today's actress (Lucci).
I didn't know/remember Fran, Elm, or the oral phase (Jinx!).
FIR. Never heard of arm days, but that made no difference. I breezed through today's puzzle like it was Monday.
The theme was clever, and the answers helped get the reveal.
Overall, a very enjoyable puzzle.
Good Morning:
There was a lot to like about this offering: a clever theme and hidden reveal; some lively fill, i.e., Sleep In, US Passport, Late Tag, Pretty Much, etc. (Arm Days may be lively at the gym, but is 👎 in a crossword.); no dreck, minimal proper names and, as Splynter noted, only 10 TLWs. But, I have one nit to pick and it's one I've picked before. There were 6 fill-in-the-blank clues, only one of which that was perhaps necessary (Zoot Suit). The others, Our, Oils, Idea, Elm, and Oral are all common words that could be clued in a more challenging or more interesting way.
Thanks, Jay, for an enjoyable solve and thanks, Splynter, for a fun and informative review. You look pretty 1940's in your Zoot Suit! The comparison chart of Josh vs Tom was quite surprising to me but I'd say the bottom line was the most meaningful stat. Tom's 80-27 record vs Josh's 71-36.
Have a great day.
Musings
-A great puzzle for me has some real sass to it and this one fit the bill
-At least “throw hard” wasn’t YEET!
-LAPTOP – I never go to sub without mine
-Gotta run, I’m out the door on a 49F day to play golf
This was an enjoyable midweek puzzle in my estimation. Some features that stood out:
--Since the baseball playoffs are just starting, it was appropriate and timely to give baseball a nod today, with FOULTERRITORY, LATETAG, and even HURL (pitchers are often referred to as hurlers);
--The reveal highlighted four distinct meanings of "fair" (including the one from baseball);
--The clue for Argentine Lionel (Leo) Messi correctly identifies him as a footballer. The U.S. stands virtually alone in calling it soccer;
--I don't know Savion Glover. If the clue had given a different name, like Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, or Eleanor Powell, it would have been a slam dunk for me;
--I thought "darkhaired" pretty much defined a brunette. Are there brunettes who are not darkhaired?
--The source of OUR (7 Down)--and John Green's book title--is Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar": "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves...."
--And finally, congratulations to CanadianEh for the spelling of 54 Across (THEATRE)!
Thank you, Jay (and Patti) for a fair and interesting and enjoyable midweek puzzle. And to Splynter for the recap--as well as the picture of him toiling away at the National Cathedral!
I loved the theme. I did need the reveal. FIR w/o help in usual Wednesday time.
Interesting learning moments:
-origin of GAZETTE
-Arm days now makes sense. DO's brother and friends use it. So no nit. I enjoy coming across lingo from all walks of life,
-Zoot suits were popular in the 1940's. I didn't know they had a revival in the 1990's. I never saw one, except on TV. That photo must be from the revival, not the 1940's which were about 80 years ago.
I had an Amazon order which originated from a town five miles from here. It was sent out of state and then to several places in NJ. It took a week in transit.
If you were to count all proper nouns, not just names it equals 17. May have missed one or two. Seems like too many.
Perfectly fine Wed. I needed the revealer to suss the theme which is good and the themers were all solid.
I can't decide which version of STORMY WEATHER I like better: Lena Horne's or Ella's - both are great.
Kukla, FRAN & Ollie seems a tad *cough* dated...
D-O, I've always gotten a kick out of the expression, "Wouldn't you know? It was in the last place I looked!" Well, I hope so; I hope you didn't keep looking after you found it!
Well, waddayaknow, FIR in very good time and I DID get the theme. Good perfect Wednesday level CW. This week seems to make sense difficulty/day wise, especially compared to last week. No W/Os!! (Yesterday I made a mess). DNK ARMDAYS, or a couple of names, but they perped easy enough. 67A GOATS was my first thought, but I decided to hold off until I had a perp, because GOATS seemed too straightforward. Thanx for this nice CW, JS, I very much enjoyed it. Splynter I knew it was your write-up as soon as the leggy blond showed up. Reminds me of ZZ TOP: "She's Got Legs". Thanx for the excellent write-up, Splynter, I always enjoy your work, and your comments.
As others have said, neat CW, just enough crunch to make it fun. I got the theme early on. Only a couple of names I didn’t know.
I think it’s time to get rid of my 2009 (yes, ancient) Mac and replace it with a LAPTOP.
Just yesterday I finally got rid of my collection of various passports and ID cards I had been saving over many years for some reason. As I went through them one last time, I watched myself age. Not a pretty sight. LOL.
Thank you Splynter for a nice recap.
Good Morning! I feel like I finished an uphill trudge. This puzzle did not flow smoothly for me and was hard to get a toehold started in any one area.
The NW was the last to fill when I finally gave up Leos for DADS. And after July turned to JUNE.
To see Calvin when I came to the Corner lifted my spirits immensely! He’s my favorite toon!
I remember the Denver Broncos being called the Orange Crush.
Thanks, Splynter. You turned NOT FAIR into FAIR.
This puzzle required a few trips across and down -- but FIR and enjoyed it. No real unknowns, other than Lionel's nickname, LEO, which was easy to guess. Well, OK, I did not know the origin of GAZETTE. Splynter, I think your "Crush" will be unrequited. Thanks for Calvin and Hobbes, though; that strip stands the test of time.
Wednesday workout (ARM DAY?). Thanks for the fun, Jay and Splynter (nice ZOOT suit!).
At first glance, I noted the big grid, 15x15.
I almost FIRed but needed a Goggle search to find the unknown to this Canadian FRAN. That fixed up my inkblots on the central west edge.
I had OSS before NSA, and finally parsed _ _ PASS SPORT to get US . D’uh! Ours has the Royal Coat of Arms and new ones in 2024 have an outline of a Maple Leaf (plus new security features). Ours ranks 6th along with your US one.
FOUL TERRITORY was slow to parse also.
I started off deciding between Creed, Tenet or DOGMA. Perps and best definition decided. Some Dogma divisions lead to SECTS.
GAZETTE required perps, as did some of the names. All FAIR.
The clue for 2D was rather nebulous IMHO.
You know that this Canadian smiled at the British THEATRE. But then we had ODOR and ARDOR.
Splynter noted MOM, DAD but we also had PAPA.
That PRETTY MUCH sums it up for me today. Wishing you all a great day.
Thanks Tehachapi Ken. See my comment below!
In my profession and before the requirements changed, I often signed passport photos/applications. I haven’t seen one yet that the person didn’t look like a convict. Some of it is the “no smile” rule.
Tehachapi Ken I had the same question: Why that weird clue "Like SOME brunettes" for DARK HAIRED? Why "SOME"?
Enjoyed the theme and the review and images of and by Splynter. I am also mystified how it is that you have a ZOOT SUIT. I also noticed that RIOT was also in this puzzle. Making me think of the ZOOT SUIT RIOT song.
I am more familiar with this ZOOT SUIT RIOT parody by Weird Al Yankovic.
A lot happened this past week. Not sure if you remember the fall I took at the end of August while scouting a hike with an overly speedy friend. Concussion and wrist injury. This past Friday I went to a hand surgeon to see if he could give me a shot of cortisone to reduce the wrist pain. No. Because it turned out my wrist had been broken. He introduced me to the nice lady who promptly placed a thermo-set plastic cast on my left ARM. No discussion. Just did it.
Merlie took this photo of me with my new cast on my ARM, with one of her paintings as a backdrop.
Husker Gary Thank you for the kind message when you saw my Facebook post.
Picard, "thermo-set plastic cast" -- is that what they use now. I've only had the plaster-covered cloth type of cast. Of course that was 60+ years ago...
Neat Wednesday puzzle, many thanks, Jay. And your commentary and pictures were helpful and fun, Splynter, thanks for those too.
Nice to see SODA early this morning to cheer me up that I'm not DARK-HAIRED any more like I used to be and so will never have an AFRO. And I SLEEP IN a lot more often than before. I'm beginning to look and feel more like my MOM. But at least we didn't have any STORMY WEATHER this JUNE, and that gave me a chance to go out and see plays as our local THEATRE. I bet my PAPA would have approved that. Well, all this talk has helped me SNAP out of my morning blues and after I PRAY my thanks, I'll get my lunch.
Cheers, everybody.
Try Stormy Weather by Della Reese….remarkable range.
FIR. Actually, I thought this offering was very FAIR. The unknowns were nicely perped, though ARMDAY was a touch disarming. Most of the names were common enough, and the ones that weren't were eminently WAGgable. I especially enjoyed 47 down, and Splynters recap added the cherry on top!
Thanks to Jay for another good one! The reveal remained a mystery to me until I got there. Well done!
ARM DAYS and leg days are definitely a thing. The thinking is that by alternating your focus, you give those muscle groups more recovery time. I don't lift but I do a version of this because I alternate my run or bike days (legs) with my swim or kayak days (arms).
I have visited the GLOBE but I regret not doing the tour. Next time....
Thanks to Splynter for the ride. I like that HI INSET you found. Just wondering, are those of us who follow your blog "Splynter Groupies"?
Picard @ 12:35. Ouch! You must have been suffering this past month. I am guessing you were focused on helping Merlie's medical needs. I hate to say "I told you so" but this was me on Sept. 2, "Picard. Sorry to hear about your fall. Keep an eye on that wrist. You might want to get it x-rayed." The important thing is you are getting help with it now. My next advise is to please be diligent with your phys. therapy when that cast comes off. Wrists are tricky!
desper-otto Yes, this thermo-plastic cast was new for me, too. I also had only had the plaster cast before. This does have benefits. It is not as bad if it gets wet. It is still a challenge. I usually get around by bicycle and I can't do that. And no swing dancing, which is tough for me.
sumdaze I totally give credit where it is due. You indeed urged me to get an x-ray. Yes, I was indeed focused on Merlie and her bigger medical challenges. I also had been more concerned about my concussion and figured the wrist was no big deal. Denial can be a powerful analgesic, I suppose!
A notable challenge occurred two days after getting the cast: Trying to perform in a concert.
Amazingly, here I was performing Sunday with the cast on my ARM.
Things certainly could be worse. Thanks!
Robert neat music. What are the brown woodwinds the two ladies are playing?
KerryS Thank you for the kind words about our music! We play music from about 500 years ago mostly with the instruments of that era. The two big woodwinds are what we would call a "bass recorder". In that era they would call these woodwinds "flutes".
Re-reading my comment, it didn't come across as I intended. Apologies to Splynter, your recap wasn't "fair" in the sense of mediocre, it was thoroughly enjoyable and made a cheery start to my day. Thanks.
Hi All!
A perfect Wednesday puzzle proffered by Jay with a more than FAIR review by Splynter. Thanks both yous.
WO: JUly until ONCE showed
ESPs:
Learning: GAZETTE's etymology
Fav: THEATRE's spelling, eh?
I would have said TETRIS's clue but I didn't even notice the down-fill until Splynter's expo.
ARM DAY, legs day, etc. - My brothers go on about it in their humble-brags.
Picard - glad they fixed your ARM.
Y'all have a great sleep ;-)
Cheers, -T
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