Theme: "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice? ... "
Across:
1. Tops (off): CAPS. As in limits the amount of in a drink/alcoholic beverage? π
5. Shopping aids: LISTS. A must for this Stooge when he goes grocery shopping
10. Loops in on the sly: BCCS. I am not that "sly", nor do I have a family stone
14. Tons: A LOT. I think I was approached by a realtor who once said: "I have tons for sale in this new housing development ..."
15. Foe: ENEMY. I don't think you could substitute the word enemy into the folktale when the Giant encounters Jack at the beanstalk: "Fee, Fi, [enemy]... I smell the blood of an Englishman"
16. "Excuse me ... ": AHEM. Pardon my interruption
17. "That's the last time!": NEVER AGAIN. But what about the first time?
19. __ monster: GILA. The "G" is pronounced like an "H"
20. Standard: NORM. Or, how about cluing it as a bar "fixture" at Cheers!?
21. Bright: CLEVER. Witty, perhaps; I don't think of "bright" with being clever
23. The Proclaimers hit subtitled "500 Miles": I'M GONNA BE. Never heard of this tune before
28. Watchful: ALERT. 3 cups of coffee in the morning makes Moe alert
29. D.C. figure: POL. I tried SEN first, but to no avail
30. Yardstick, e.g.: RULER. My ruler only went 12" in length, but I always was the shortest person in my class
32. Top no. in a blood pressure reading: SYS. Short for SYStolic Pressure - which measures the force in your arteries when your heart beats
33. Baby's bodysuit: ONE-SIE. I hear that the designers of these began making two-sies for parents who had twins
37. Some high-end insulated mugs: YETIS. A brand name for a drinking vessel, but literally, wouldn't a Yeti in the wild also have an insulated "mug"? See the "hairy expression" insulating this beast's mug:
39. Is apathetic: DOESN'T GIVE A HOOT. This reminded me of an old ad, featuring an owl that promoted good citizenship and environmental responsibility when he said: "Give a hoot; don't pollute!"
44. __ squash: ACORN. Hand's up from anyone who's been reading this blog so far, and thinks that Moe is just completely "nutty" today??
45. Balanced: STEADY. Getting more and more difficult for me as I progress through my seventies
46. Pronoun for Miss Piggy: MOI. Already used in my intro
49. "West Side Story" role for Rita and Ariana: ANITA. Actors Moreno and Grande played the role of Anita in the movie adaptation (original and remake). I thought MARIA was the role, but I was incorrect. According to a source I found on the Internet: "Anita's the girlfriend of Maria's older brother, Bernardo,
the leader of the Sharks, the Puerto Rican street gang at war with the
Jets. The Jets are the white gang that was co-founded by Tony, Maria's
love interest and the Romeo figure. Anita is Maria's friend and
confidante, like an older sister to her"
51. With it, once: HEP. Hmm ... no Moe-ku's so far? Ok, let's try this one - if no one else gets it I know that my fellow blogger Splynter will:
52. Bank nos.: ACCTS. My checking account number and SSN are the same: 123 45 6789
54. "Should've listened to me!": TOLD YOU SO. This could've been clued as the title of a Randy Travis hit song: "(I) Told You So"
58. Markets: STORES. See 5-across for what I bring to markets/stores. BTW, do you call the facility where you buy food items a supermarket or a grocery store?
60. One of many, in a string of pearls: BEAD. Don't let this one fool you
61. "Song of Solomon" novelist Morrison: TONI. She shows up a lot in crossword puzzles
62. [reveal] - save for later
68. Many a four-hour film: EPIC. I can barely stay alert for a two-hour movie
69. Actor Davis - known for "A League of Their Own": GEENA. Don't let this one fool you
70. Japanese wheat noodle: UDON. Or this one
71. [reveal] - save for later
72. Go-between: ENVOY. Or this one
73. [reveal] - save for later
Down:
1. Country with the world's largest moose population: Abbr.: CAN. CSO to CanadianEh! Can you attest that there are more moose in CANada than anywhere else in the world? Have you any moose encounters you care to share with us?
2. Craft brewer's brew: ALE. Let me tap into this one ...
3. Perspective, for short: POV. Point Of View
4. Courtroom fig.: STENO. Makes me think back to the old TV courtroom show, Perry Mason
5. Take in, in a way: LEARN. This clue/answer made me rethink my response to 21-across (CLEVER). I wonder if anyone else saw that a four-letter word for "take in" is in the word "learn"
8. "That's enough!" letters: TMI. Too Much Information
9. Lip-__: SYNC. Here is a video that you might want to lip-sync the lyrics to
10. Bread traditionally boiled then baked: BAGEL. My favorite bagel is an onion one, toasted, and then adorned with some smoked salmon and a schmeer of cream cheese - capers, too, if available
11. Scallion relatives: CHIVES. Who else thought ONIONS fit here?
12. The "log" in the snack ants on a log: CELERY.
13. Really stings: SMARTS. As someone who has been stung by a baby scorpion I can attest that this REALLY, REALLY smarts
18. Actor Perlman: RON. I knew that Rhea could not be the answer as it had one too many letters in the name. Fun fact: Are Ron and Rhea Perlman related? "No, Rhea Perlman and Ron Perlman are not related. Despite sharing a last name, they are two separate actors with no family connection. Rhea Perlman is known for her role in Cheers and for being married to Danny DeVito, while Ron Perlman is known for Hellboy and Sons of Anarchy" [random Internet source provided by AI]
22. Ring in a rodeo ring: LARIAT.
23. Apple gadget: IPOD. Is an iPod really a "gadget"?
24. Part of MSG: MONO. Want to learn more about MonoSodium Glutamate? Click here
25. Merriment: GLEE. Chorus groups were originally called "Merriment Clubs" but someone shortened the name to Glee Club
26. Accept the truth of: BUY INTO. Heh, heh, heh ... π<== impish Moe. Are you buying into my blog, so far?
31. Summers in France: ETES. Speaking of French ...
34. Govt. ID issuer: SSA. Again, mine is 123-45-6789. Feel free to use it
35. To be safe: IN CASE. But, just in case that SSN does NOT work please don't try it again .. π
36. __ mess: classic English dessert: ETON. New clue for me. This concoction:
38. Pronoun for Miss Piggy: SHE. Clecho - see 46-across
40. Moxie: GRIT.
41. Island known as "The Gathering Place": OΚ»AHU. It's also a place where lucky tourists get lei'd
42. Words of appreciation: ODES. This is almost a Friday-like clue
43. Form instead of from, e.g.: TYPO. The autocorrect feature on my technology devices gets a lot of work
46. Ibsen's "The __ Builder": MASTER. Moe-ku:
47. Cuttlefish cousins: OCTOPI. With so many arms, why aren't they called a "cuddle" fish? π
55. Airport flight condition: DELAY. Don't be (53-down. Treat alternative:) TRICKed by this clue and answer
56. Initialism of Young Adult Fiction: YAF. Or this one
59. Herb or spiritual mentor: SAGE. Did this one fool you?
63. What only the most capable crossword puzzle solvers use: PEN. Surely you jest, Moe! "No, I don't, and please don't call me Shirley" <== Famous quote in the movie "Airplane"
65. Dashboard image that is located between the Tach and the MPH dials: ODO. Is this just some kind of green paint??
66. A fitting text message that Moe sent to his alter ego while blogging this puzzle: LOL!
67. A TV show that would probably have classic 62-across skits: SNL
62 - across. What Chairman Moe did to his audience today: APRIL FOOLS!
71 - across. With 73-Across, classic internet prank pulled by this puzzle's longest answers: RICK.
73 - across. See 71-Across: ROLL.
Ok, Moe. You had your fun with us. Ha! Ha! Can you please give us the REAL version and explanation?
Well, since you asked politely, here goes. First, the real clues/fill that Tara used, and that I substituted for to make an alternate puzzle:
60-across. Like a turkey burger: LEAN. My burgers have an 80% LEAN / 20% FAT ratio. Turkeys are a holiday meat - for me, anyway
65- down. Twosome: DUO.
73 - across. See 71-Across: ROLL.
What in the heck is going on here???
32 comments:
I solved the puzzle,
but I in no way understood the reveal until I came onto this site. I’m still not sure I get it!
But anyway, FIR, so I’m happy.
Some observations on yesterday's puzzle:
Eso and ESSO
Agua and water
Take your pick, a BBQ or a multi-course meal
Crossing of agua/(quark)soup. Was water a main ingredient? Does it contain miso?
Crossing of Oscar/(Jesus)fish/water(main). Fish Oscar is a fish dish, oscar is a type of fish, and thus lives in water
Crossing of (big)cheese/ewes. Feta? Sheep's milk cheese?
Crossing of Port/(bore)fruit. Was Port wine served with the fruit (and cheese) courses...along side the agua/water and boba?
This feast must have been in Boston...the Dinah (diner) may have been at a Dinah (diner)
The result at the end of the feast was that...wait for it...everyone got gas (ESSO)
Good morning!
Aside to the anon above: Ease up on the caffeine.
Enjoyed this themeless offering. I'm familiar with RICK ROLLing, but couldn't tell you the name of his song. I certainly couldn't pick it out of the long entries. This one took a couple minutes longer than yesterday -- appropriate for a mid-week entry. Thanx, Tara and C-Moe. (Speaking of scorpions, Lindsay Crouse had a nasty encounter in The Arrival.)
C-Moe ~ your POV today proves that you are a MASTER umm blogger, it is EPIC, and very timely for the date! And your rework of the grid shows your talent as a constructor too, very well done! As for the puzzle, I breezed through for a FIR in 10:09, but had no idea as to what the theme was about, I guess I’m not HEP enough to know about RICKROLL. Needed perps for YAN and ANITA. I liked BAGEL with a side of CHIVES and CELERY. I knew BAGEL right away, as DW makes her own, a precise process where each side is boiled for 30 seconds before baking. Thanks Tara for the very enjoyable solve, which C-Moe obviously had a lot of fun with!
Clever puzzle and analysis. Didn’t know the “prank”, but laughed when I figured it out.
FIR, but changed maria to ANITA, moi @ 38D for SHE, and in ear to ON EAR.
I used to work with an argumentative guy. We called him "the master debater" behind his back.
When I do something for my own reassurance, I tell anyone who asks that I'm doing it for Justin - Justin Case.
Thanks to Tara for the fun Wednesday puzzle, and to our Chairman for the review and the example for RICKROLL. I think we've had it here before, and if we have it another 15-20 times, there's a chance that I'll remember it.
Clever? In what universe? Maybe in the construction but I had to look hard at RICK and ROLL filled by perps. Never heard of it or familiar with the name of the song. I thought it might be a TYPO. The Chairman's write up was great.
But the puzzle was easy to FIR. You have a puzzle the starts with abbreviations-CAN, POV, STENO-, adds some more-TMI, BCCS, POL, SSA, SYS, ELEV, ACCTS.
Is your 'argumentative guy' the fisherman who was a master at putting the bait on the hook?
FIR, but I have no idea what the theme was. Even after coming here to have it explained to me I still am in the dark. I guess I was completely fooled?
The puzzle itself wasn't difficult by any standard, and there were very few if any unknowns.
Overall a very confusing puzzle.
The Rick Astley song is: Never Gonna Give You Up (also the first line of the song). Back in the day, sometimes when you clicked on a link for something, instead of what you expected, you got a video of him singing his song. You've been Rick Rolled.
Many have never heard of a “rick roll” so the joke would appeal to a niche market.
So the humor was lost on me.
However, I loved Moe’s misdirection in the recap. He had me looking twice at my puzzle. A good prank Moe. My hats off to you.π
I was writing to you, not about you
I was FOOLED big time. First by this puzzle, then by our clever C-Moe. I filled this CW with no problems, but the theme remained inscrutable. For one thing, I’m not familiar with RICK ROLL, so the reveal meant nothing to me.
Thank you C-Moe for your efforts to fool us. You certainly gave me pause when suddenly I see all these entries I didn’t have. I first noticed what you were doing at ALBINO. I thought maybe I had downloaded a different version of the puzzle. You are a MASTER trickster.
Hola! The puzzle was easy enough to solve but the theme, not at all. Thank you, Chairman Moe for trying to explain it. And you certainly fooled me with your alternate version of the puzzle! That was CLEVER! I thought my newspaper was wrong. Also count me in for putting in ONIONS before CHIVES. When I go shopping, I go to the grocery STORE.
Have a lovely April FOOL'S Day, everyone!
I think of a grocery STORE as a small neighborhood shop and supermarket as a large, usually a chain, food emporium.
Musings
-What a fabulous take and revision on this puzzle, Moe!
-This phrase/gimmikc is used often by John Oliver
-AHEM – I didn’t mean to talk while you were interrupting
-STORES – People in Nebraska’s sandhills think nothing of a 2-hour drive to shop
-I’ve tried CHIVES on a baked potato but never could taste them
-ODOUR - A list of word comparisons between American and UK usage
-I’m sure ODO is an “any port in a storm” element of the puzzle
Today's puzzle seemed to be aimed toward a niche market--to which I don't belong. So the core gimmick (Rickroll) was lost on me.
But Tara's construction expertise was evident, especially where she had Rick's song NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP floating down embedded in the grid.
I could have done without all the abbreviations, but that's not exactly a deal-breaker. And "octopi" is technically incorrect for the plural of octopus. Again, not a biggie for me.
Thanks, Tara, for an interesting--at times inscrutable--Wednesday adventure. And thanks, CMoe, for doing yeoman's duty in carefully and wittily explaining Tara's enigma for us.
Well-constructed and clued fairly, making for an enjoyable exercise that I solved as a themeless...which worked out fine because I didn't have to waste a single second trying to suss this ridiculous theme.
Took 7:21 today to ... roll through this one.
I put Ingrid in at first, as both names (Ingrid and Ingmar) are only vaguely familiar to me, so I guess I didn't know the Actress of the Day.
Seemed like another fine themeless puzzle to me.
Kudos to the Chairman - best blog writeup I can remember!
Did anyone here understand this RICK ROLL theme?
I enjoyed Tara's puzzle and knew the internet prank thanks to my grandchildren! But even then, I didn't see the words of the song title embedded in the long answers. D'oh! For anyone still puzzled, see Bob Lee's 8:33 AM reply to Subgenius at the top of the comments.
We were rickrolled on April 1st, and then C-Moe fooled us again with an alternate version of the puzzle! Mind bending! Moe, I love that you integrated rickrolling into the blog so that our readers could experience it. CLEVER!
I've heard of Rick Astley but didn't know the song. I went back and listened and can see why I didn't remember it. Really lousy tune! Its popularity in 1987 apparently was unexpected.
However, the Rick Roll is regarded as being affectionate rather than derisive. I don't see why. I just don't think the song and the Rick Roll phenomenon merit a crossword theme when MOST people have been oblivious to both the song and the Rick Roll.
Never heard of rick-roll, so the theme flew far over my head. It took C.Moe to 'splain it. 12 names, DNK 6, but still managed to FIR, though it took 15 minutes.
W/Os: IPA/ALE, HIP/HEP, RATES/ACCTS, MARIA/ANITA. Also, IMGONNAGO/IMGONNABE. My pen-on-paper CW is a mess, but I got 'er done.
Thanx TH for the fun Friday...er, Wednesday...CW.
C.Moe, what a write-up. You had me going with your alternative CW. Impossibly clever, yet you did it...so clever! Thanx for all the time and effort you so obviously put into today's write-up. And the Moe-Kus.
FIR but have never heard of "Rick roll". I had Ingrid first, duh. Thanks for the recap Moe, a lot of time and effort went into that April fools prank. Well done.
Well that was a fun theme - and appropriate for April Fool's as the Rick Rolling meme started in 2007 but peaked on You Tube on April Fool's day in 2008 where every link on You Tube went to the Rick Astley video that day
I had high schoolers /early college students back then so well aware of that
phenomena
Thanks CM for the fun blog and Tara for the creative puzzle
Well, that was fun. I had a good time.
Delightful April Fool's Day puzzle, many thanks, Tara. And your comments and pictures are always helpful also, so many thanks to you too, Moe.
This morning's puzzle began by getting me into food. Looking down right at the beginning, I saw that CAN of ALE, and pretty soon right after that, we got a BAGEL with some CHIVES and CELERY. By then I was feeling some real GLEE, but unfortunately there was almost no more food after that, except for that ACORN. We'd have to go to the STORES and do some shopping if we were stuck in this puzzle. And then the rest of that puzzle started to get pretty negative with NEVER AGAIN, and TOLD YOU SO, and DOESN'T GIVE A HOOT.
I guess if we were intent on finding some good news, I'd hear that fellow say I'M GONNA BE ---a RULER. But I don't believe he'd pull that off unless he went to ETON. And maybe he's just playing a day game with us. But hey, it was a lot of fun, and the sun came out, so let's enjoy it all. Let's put some MISO on that BIG CHEESE that's a dairy product, and not a head honcho, and . . .
Have an enjoyable April Fool's Day, everybody.
Did anyone here have cataract surgery on both eyes on the same day? I need the surgery and I am wondering if this would work for me. Any comments would help with my decision. My email: msk566@protonmail.com. Thanks
Did anyone here have cataract surgery on both eyes on the same day? I need the surgery and I am wondering if this would work for me. Any comments would help with my decision. My email: msk566@protonmail.com. Thanks
I hope the ssn was an April Fools Day joke! Never a good idea to share!
Definitely a joke! π
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