Theme: Henry and Hannah, sitting in a tree…
Peter Collins likes to play with words, and today is no exception. I blogged his recent "Element-ary" puzzle on October 6th, and we had his "West Side Story" tribute last week. We have another charmer today, with these entries:
Peter Collins likes to play with words, and today is no exception. I blogged his recent "Element-ary" puzzle on October 6th, and we had his "West Side Story" tribute last week. We have another charmer today, with these entries:
20A GRADE SCHOOL (11 letters)
56A SWEETHEARTS (11 letters)
39A SITTING (7 letters) 41A IN A TREE (7 letters)
67/68/69A (every other letter, for emphasis) K_I_S_S_I_N_G_(7 letters) [kay-eye-ess-ess-eye-en-gee]
And it is based on a poem by Nicolas Knudde (I think) (Where is Clear Ayes when I need her??):
“Henry and Hannah,
Sitting in a tree,
K-I-S-S-I-N-G…
First comes love,
Then comes marriage,
Then comes baby
In a baby carriage!”
[...and an appended verse, sometimes:]
That’s not it!
That’s not all!
The baby’s drinking alcohol!!
Very unusual placement of the rhyming theme entries, due to symmetry concerns in the grid. I didn't have circles in my grid, did you?
Marti here, for your regularly scheduled Thursday program…
PHEW! I almost thought I wouldn’t be able to finish this one. The clues were so devious and obscure, I was thrown off in many spots. Were you?
Like:
1A “Mystery writer Nevada” clues BARR…OK, I admit. I am not a “mystery novel” or detective story person. Hahtool knows what I like. And I think Yellowrocks, who loves well-researched historical novels, would appreciate my choices of reading material.
22A “Farmer’s ___ " clues TAN?? Really?? Windhover, help me out here!! I wanted “market”, “almanac” or even (as a last resort) “dell”…but none would fit!!
37D "David Byrne collaborator" clues ENO. Really?? “My life in the Bush of Ghosts”….hmmmm, I bet that was on everyone’s mind, right???
OK, so moving on…
Across:
5. Penny profile. ABE. I can live with that one!
8. “Tao Te Ching” author. LAO TSE. Actually, Laozi, the founder of “Taoism”. Literal translation from Chinese means “old master”. C.C.??? (From C.C.: Yes, "old master". Lao = "Old". Lao Zi is Mandarin. Lao Tse is Cantonese.)
14. 1986 Nobelist Wiesel. ELIE. Yay!! One that I knew!
15. China’s Chou En-___. LAI. Another one that I nailed!
16. Fixed for all time. ETCHED. Like, “in stone…"
17. Treating again, as an ankle injury. RE-TAPING. Ummmm…I guess they were referring to Dan Koppen of the N.E. Patriots on his ankle injury?
19. Take turns. ROTATE
23. QB’s dread. INT. Interception. Yep, Brady doesn’t like INT’s or center’s ankles being taped…
24. Government IOUs. T-BILLS
26. Getting on. AGING. Hey! I’m like “fine wine”.
29. Drain-clearing chemical. LYE
30. “Are not!” retort. AM SO!! OK, so we have our regular playground argument here…
33. Bug-eyed toon. REN. This dog.
34. OPEC member. UAE. United Arab Emirates.
36. Shove off. SET SAIL
42. Micronesia’s region. OCEANIA. Somewhat obscure region as defined here. Map. Or, one of the three fictional superstates in George Orwell’s novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four”
43. Rocky peak. TOR
44. 1930s power prog. TVA. Tennesee Valley Authority. Federal program for flood control.
45. Standard. NORM
48. Cleveland Indians legend Al. ROSEN. Nicknamed “Al”, “Flip” and “The Hebrew Hammer”, he played his entire career with the Cleveland Indians (1947-56). I was 5 years old when he retired. So, why don’t I remember him????
53. Sloth, for one. SIN. Were you thinking of the animal?
54. Punch line. POW. Pow!! Hit me with a V-8 can!!
61. Oh-so-stylish. CHI-CHI. Did anyone else think of C-C ??
63. Not very potent potable. NEAR BEER. Tinbeni, I know you only go for “potent potables”!!
65. River that rises in the Bernese Alps. AAR. Bern, Switzerland.
66. Bone used in pronation. ULNA. Pronation is the action you use to do a “thumbs down”.
67. Yarn units. SKEINS. Not stories.
68. Word with run or jump. SKI. Yaaaaay!! One for Marti!!
69. Nutmeg-flavored drinks. NOGS. A little early, but I can still relate to New Year’s Eve, and my annual “nog” toast.
So lets go down town:
1. Glacier breakaway. BERG. Go ask the Titanic…
2. A or Jay, e.g. AL'ER. I s’pose this means “American League-r”?
3. Funny Rudner. RITA.
4. Transfer to memory, as data : READ-IN
5. Top-tier invitees : A-LIST
6. Judge's seat : BANC
7. Mercury's atomic number : EIGHTY. Just checked my periodic table...yep, that's correct!
8. "Vive __!" : LE ROI. "The King", in French. My grandmother could not speak English, so we had to speak French to her, in order to get candy and other goodies...
9. Any of the Marshall Islands : ATOLL
10. Mo. for leaf-peeping : OCT. We have had lots of leaf-peepers here in the N.E. this year.
11. "Yeow!" : THAT SMARTS. ouch...
12. __ precedent : SET A
13. Place that means "delight" in Hebrew : EDEN
18. Black-and-white critter : PENGUIN. ( I was thinking "skunk"...)
21. "The Biggest Loser" concern : OBESITY
25. Go the distance : LAST
26. Bad lighting? : ARSON. Punny clue!
27. Insurance company founded in 1936 for government employees : GEICO. (...and for southeast Asian lizards..)
28. Weave together : INTERTWINE
29. Named beneficiary : LEGATEE
31. It won't hold water : SIEVE. Wait a minute, let me try... ...nope, it doesn't hold water!
32. Fat substitute : OLEAN. Proctor and Gamble's brand is "Olestra", a zero-calorie fat substitute.
35. Singer DiFranco : ANI. I like her song "The Atom", link.
38. Slowpoke : TARRIER. I s'pose, if you tarry, then you would be a "tarrier".
40. Rein in : TAME
47. Hippodromes : ARENAS
49. How Sloppy Joes are served : ON A BUN. Well, duh...did you think they were served in a martini glass?
51. Far from ruddy : ASHEN
52. __ chard : SWISS
53. Emmy-winning Lewis : SHARI. I remember her puppets "Lamb Chop" and "Charlie Horse".
54. General MDs, to insurers : PCPs. Primary Care Physicians
55. "Aw, what the heck, let's!" : OH, OK, let's bungee jump off this bridge with a questionable cord from that guy with the '72 Ford Pinto...
57. Shipbuilder's wood : TEAK
58. Move, in brokerese : RE-LO. Re-location.
59. 1% of a cool mil : TEN-G. Ten grand.
60. Madrid Mmes. : SRAs. Get it right: SRAs are "señoras", SRTAS are "señoritas", SRS are "seniors". But, señors get no respect!
62. VI x XVII : CII. 6 x 17 = 102 (Do the math, Caesar!!)
Answer grid.
Thanks for letting me into your 'puters today!
Marti
Note from C.C.:
Happy 64th birthday to Boomer! That picture was taken in 2002 when we went to Myrtle Beach for a golf vacation. First time I had sweet tea and hush puppies.
