Theme: Codology - I go to my Irish roots with the informal word for "an act of bluffing or deception." Here C.C. gives us six genuine "-ologies" each with an alternate definition. How many of those six did you know the genuine one? I scored three for sure, and one roughly-maybe.
16A. Study of a portentous woodchuck?: PHILOLOGY. Study of languages in oral and written historical context. Phil as in Punxsutawney Phil and his Groundhog Day winter prediction. I didn't know that a woodchuck was a groundhog, or vice-versa. Now I'll never forget.
23A. Study of tears?: CRYOLOGY. The study of snow and ice, or refrigeration. And bawling, like I do every time I watch "Ghost".
51A. Study of common articles?: THEOLOGY. Nature of God and religious belief. Or The Study of "the", per C.C.
62A. Study of hiking choices?: PATHOLOGY. The cause and effect of diseases.
9D. Study of literary tools?: PENOLOGY. I thought this one might be a bit of the old codology - but, it's the study of punishment of crime and prison management.
38D. Study of lids and caps?: TOPOLOGY. The study of a particular place. It has a special meaning in mathematics, the definition of which I understand about as well as I understand Tibetan:
"... a branch of mathematics concerned with those properties of geometric configurations (such as point sets) which are unaltered by elastic deformations (such as a stretching or a twisting) that are homeomorphisms ..."
Thanks to C.C. for this puzzle, and for bailing me out last week with the blog, I completely forgot that it was Thursday, hence the need for a last-minute pinch-hit. It's amazing what she does to keep us all on track.
Back on the subject of Irish codology, you might like to spend a few minutes enjoying Flann O'Brien's physics lesson.
Across:
1. Goat quote: MAA. Tried BAA. Failed.
4. Monorail users: TRAMS
9. Driving range instructors: PROS. Golf ones. Mine was an LPGA tour pro and she could hit the ball a country mile. I couldn't.
13. Central cooling systs.: A/CS
14. Kick: OOMPH
15. She converted to Judaism after marrying her comedy partner: MEARA. Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller.
18. Opposition group: ANTIS
19. Submits returns online: E-FILES
20. Prevents legally: ENJOINS
22. Hoppy brew, for short: IPA. India Pale Ale, as we should all know by now.
24. Humanities maj.: SOC. Sociology. Didn't make the grade as one of C.C.'s themers, so abbreviated and relegated to the fill.
26. Dash gauge: TACH. Tachometer. Rev counter to me.
29. Slovenia neighbor, to the IOC: CRO. Croatia, as abbrevated by the International Olympic Committee.
30. Player of The Bride in "Kill Bill" films, familiarly: UMA. Ms. Thurman, less familiarly. Here she is about to have her breastplate pierced by a hypodermic administered with "a stabbing motion" by John Travolta in Pulp Fiction:
31. Made a blunder: ERRED
33. Take suddenly: GRAB
37. Small store: MART
39. Fuzzy fruit: KIWIS
41. Exercise in a studio: YOGA
42. Android operating system named for a cookie: OREO
43. Trusty mount: STEED
45. Shaving cream type: GEL
46. "American Experience" network: PBS
49. Bart's bus driver: OTTO
50. Draw upon: USE
55. That woman: SHE
57. Echo Dot-waking words: HI ALEXA! Siri on my phone never seems to understand me. I wonder if Alexa would do a better job.
58. Cornell's home: ITHACA
61. Others, in Cuba: OTROS
65. Tells all: SINGS
66. "At the Movies" co-host: EBERT. In 1975, he became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
67. Shepherd's pie piece: PEA. Mmmm, Food! When I cook lamb shanks, I add an extra one to the pot especially for turning into shepherd's pie. If someone serves you a "shepherd's pie" made with ground beef, you can look disdainfully at the plate and point out that it's a cottage pie.
68. Craftsy website: ETSY
69. Brother in Roman lore: REMUS. He and Romulus had a rocky relationship. Or maybe that should be a hilly relationship.
70. Give a darn: SEW. Nice!
Down:
1. It may have an "X": MAP. I wondered why a BAP would have an X? I went on a wild ride of imagination, as a bap in parts of the UK is a colloquial name for a type of bread roll. Then the BAA/MAA penny dropped. What do you do with a bap? Make a "chip butty" of course:
2. Physical discomfort: ACHE
3. "Whatever!": AS IF I CARE! These entries can be the devil to parse, this one no exception.
4. "Missed your chance!": TOO LATE!
5. Romeo or Juliet: ROLE
6. "A Sorta Fairytale" singer Tori: AMOS. I was going to link the video on YouTube but it's a little weird.
7. New car stat: MPG
8. More timid: SHYER
10. 7:11, e.g.: RATIO. Because "Convenience Store" doesn't fit.
11. Circular gasket: O-RING
12. Impertinent: SASSY
15. The Masters, e.g.: MAJOR. By tradition, professional golf's first major of the year. It's the only major which is an invitational tournament, and is always played over the same course - Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The course was laid in the 1930's on an old flower nursery. The scenery is stunning.
17. Carmex target: LIP. I use this magic stuff I get OTC in England called Zovirax, I think it's only available on Rx here.
21. MoMA location: NYC. The Museum of Modern Art in New York. There's a fabulous restaurant in the atrium.
23. Puppy plaything: CHEW TOY
24. Heavyweight fight?: SUMO
25. "Rubáiyát" poet: OMAR
27. First rescue boat: ARK. Nice!
28. Football Hall of Famer Carter: CRIS. Respected TV pundit now. One of the players to make a successful transition to broadcast.
32. Count calories: DIET
34. Officers who follow their own code: ROGUE COPS. One of my favorite entries today.
35. Many months: AGES
36. Christian of "The Big Short": BALE
40. Matching group: SET
44. Throw back some Absolut, say: DO SHOTS. DO A SHOT didn't work. More tricky parsing.
47. Sanctify: BLESS
48. Chi __: SOX. It's a C.C. puzzle, so there's baseball in here somewhere. Presenting to you the Chicago White Sox.
51. "All __ in favor ... ": THOSE
52. Bandleader's cue: HIT IT!
53. Works for: EARNS
54. Rubbernecker: GAPER
56. Evil film computer: HAL. I think I mentioned before that if you go one letter up in the alphabet from HAL you get IBM.
58. Thing: ITEM
59. Dead-end sign word: THRU. No Thru Road.
60. Screenwriter James: AGEE
63. Wartime prez: ABE. That's a long war ago. Abe Lincoln.
64. Veer off course: YAW
And with that, the grid:
Steve
16A. Study of a portentous woodchuck?: PHILOLOGY. Study of languages in oral and written historical context. Phil as in Punxsutawney Phil and his Groundhog Day winter prediction. I didn't know that a woodchuck was a groundhog, or vice-versa. Now I'll never forget.
23A. Study of tears?: CRYOLOGY. The study of snow and ice, or refrigeration. And bawling, like I do every time I watch "Ghost".
51A. Study of common articles?: THEOLOGY. Nature of God and religious belief. Or The Study of "the", per C.C.
62A. Study of hiking choices?: PATHOLOGY. The cause and effect of diseases.
9D. Study of literary tools?: PENOLOGY. I thought this one might be a bit of the old codology - but, it's the study of punishment of crime and prison management.
38D. Study of lids and caps?: TOPOLOGY. The study of a particular place. It has a special meaning in mathematics, the definition of which I understand about as well as I understand Tibetan:
"... a branch of mathematics concerned with those properties of geometric configurations (such as point sets) which are unaltered by elastic deformations (such as a stretching or a twisting) that are homeomorphisms ..."
Thanks to C.C. for this puzzle, and for bailing me out last week with the blog, I completely forgot that it was Thursday, hence the need for a last-minute pinch-hit. It's amazing what she does to keep us all on track.
Back on the subject of Irish codology, you might like to spend a few minutes enjoying Flann O'Brien's physics lesson.
Across:
1. Goat quote: MAA. Tried BAA. Failed.
4. Monorail users: TRAMS
9. Driving range instructors: PROS. Golf ones. Mine was an LPGA tour pro and she could hit the ball a country mile. I couldn't.
13. Central cooling systs.: A/CS
14. Kick: OOMPH
15. She converted to Judaism after marrying her comedy partner: MEARA. Anne Meara and Jerry Stiller.
18. Opposition group: ANTIS
19. Submits returns online: E-FILES
20. Prevents legally: ENJOINS
22. Hoppy brew, for short: IPA. India Pale Ale, as we should all know by now.
24. Humanities maj.: SOC. Sociology. Didn't make the grade as one of C.C.'s themers, so abbreviated and relegated to the fill.
26. Dash gauge: TACH. Tachometer. Rev counter to me.
29. Slovenia neighbor, to the IOC: CRO. Croatia, as abbrevated by the International Olympic Committee.
30. Player of The Bride in "Kill Bill" films, familiarly: UMA. Ms. Thurman, less familiarly. Here she is about to have her breastplate pierced by a hypodermic administered with "a stabbing motion" by John Travolta in Pulp Fiction:
31. Made a blunder: ERRED
33. Take suddenly: GRAB
37. Small store: MART
39. Fuzzy fruit: KIWIS
41. Exercise in a studio: YOGA
42. Android operating system named for a cookie: OREO
43. Trusty mount: STEED
45. Shaving cream type: GEL
46. "American Experience" network: PBS
49. Bart's bus driver: OTTO
50. Draw upon: USE
55. That woman: SHE
57. Echo Dot-waking words: HI ALEXA! Siri on my phone never seems to understand me. I wonder if Alexa would do a better job.
58. Cornell's home: ITHACA
61. Others, in Cuba: OTROS
65. Tells all: SINGS
66. "At the Movies" co-host: EBERT. In 1975, he became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
67. Shepherd's pie piece: PEA. Mmmm, Food! When I cook lamb shanks, I add an extra one to the pot especially for turning into shepherd's pie. If someone serves you a "shepherd's pie" made with ground beef, you can look disdainfully at the plate and point out that it's a cottage pie.
68. Craftsy website: ETSY
69. Brother in Roman lore: REMUS. He and Romulus had a rocky relationship. Or maybe that should be a hilly relationship.
70. Give a darn: SEW. Nice!
Down:
1. It may have an "X": MAP. I wondered why a BAP would have an X? I went on a wild ride of imagination, as a bap in parts of the UK is a colloquial name for a type of bread roll. Then the BAA/MAA penny dropped. What do you do with a bap? Make a "chip butty" of course:
2. Physical discomfort: ACHE
3. "Whatever!": AS IF I CARE! These entries can be the devil to parse, this one no exception.
4. "Missed your chance!": TOO LATE!
5. Romeo or Juliet: ROLE
6. "A Sorta Fairytale" singer Tori: AMOS. I was going to link the video on YouTube but it's a little weird.
7. New car stat: MPG
8. More timid: SHYER
10. 7:11, e.g.: RATIO. Because "Convenience Store" doesn't fit.
11. Circular gasket: O-RING
12. Impertinent: SASSY
15. The Masters, e.g.: MAJOR. By tradition, professional golf's first major of the year. It's the only major which is an invitational tournament, and is always played over the same course - Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia. The course was laid in the 1930's on an old flower nursery. The scenery is stunning.
17. Carmex target: LIP. I use this magic stuff I get OTC in England called Zovirax, I think it's only available on Rx here.
21. MoMA location: NYC. The Museum of Modern Art in New York. There's a fabulous restaurant in the atrium.
23. Puppy plaything: CHEW TOY
24. Heavyweight fight?: SUMO
25. "Rubáiyát" poet: OMAR
27. First rescue boat: ARK. Nice!
28. Football Hall of Famer Carter: CRIS. Respected TV pundit now. One of the players to make a successful transition to broadcast.
32. Count calories: DIET
34. Officers who follow their own code: ROGUE COPS. One of my favorite entries today.
35. Many months: AGES
36. Christian of "The Big Short": BALE
40. Matching group: SET
44. Throw back some Absolut, say: DO SHOTS. DO A SHOT didn't work. More tricky parsing.
47. Sanctify: BLESS
48. Chi __: SOX. It's a C.C. puzzle, so there's baseball in here somewhere. Presenting to you the Chicago White Sox.
51. "All __ in favor ... ": THOSE
52. Bandleader's cue: HIT IT!
53. Works for: EARNS
54. Rubbernecker: GAPER
56. Evil film computer: HAL. I think I mentioned before that if you go one letter up in the alphabet from HAL you get IBM.
58. Thing: ITEM
59. Dead-end sign word: THRU. No Thru Road.
60. Screenwriter James: AGEE
63. Wartime prez: ABE. That's a long war ago. Abe Lincoln.
64. Veer off course: YAW
And with that, the grid:
Steve
