Theme: Them's Fightin' Words - Part of a common phrase is punnily replaced by a similar sounding fightin' word.
23A. Protective gear for public disorder? : RIOT GUARD. Playing on Right Guard, the deodorant brand.
28A. Condiments aisle dispute? : CATSUP BATTLE. Catsup Bottle. We just call it catchup.
43A. Looker in a free-for-all? : THE BELLE OF THE BRAWL. The Belle of the Ball.
67A. Hostility between pinky wrestlers? : FINGER FEUD. Finger Food.
69A. Couple that's always at it? : CLASHMATES. Classmates. Then John gives us BRA (120A. Uplifting garb) and a consecutive ASSES (121. Boobs). He's deviously DF.
90A. Grammar class skirmishes? : PREPOSITIONAL FRAYS. Prepositional phrases.
106A. Table game for tusslers? : SCUFFLE BOARD. Shuffleboard.
117A. Pasta before an affaire d'honneur? : DUEL CARBS. What is this playing off? Dual Carb(buretors)? I've never heard of it before. Affaire d'honneur ="Affair of honor".
I liked how 67A & 69A are placed side by side in Row 11 (very central row) of the grid, separated by a black square it the middle. Technically you can place 23A & 117A in that row too, separated by a group of three squares. Won't look as pretty though.
Fun theme and fun clues, which all have some sort of skirmish words as hints.
Pangram. And no helper/cheater squares. Really takes time and effort to accomplish these two goals. Lower than average block count and word count too. As usual, I green-highlighted all the terrific clue echos.
Just mentioned yesterday that E is the most common vowels in crossword. This one has 52. I think R & S & T are the mostly common consonants. 37 R's in this grid.
Across:
1. Stop at sea, with "to" : HEAVE. New expression to me.
6. CD changers, at times : DJS
9. Tossed in : ADDED
14. Seasonal flue shouts : HO HOS. From Darling Santa. Nice play on "seasonal flu shots".
19. "The Wizard of Oz" tunesmith : ARLEN (Harold)
20. __ race : RAT.Crossing DRAG (6D.__ race). Fill-in-the-blank clues can't get better than this.
21. NPR host Hansen : LIANE. Of "Weekend Edition Sunday". Wife of Neal Conan, host of "Talk of the Nation" (NPR).
22. Critic with an influential thumb : EBERT (Roger). Film critic.
25. Crossword components : GRIDS. Sweet!
26. Roger Bannister, notably : MILER
27. Handlers in a bucket : ICE TONGS. I was picturing a person rather than a tool "handler".
30. Slip : ERR
31. "Evita" role : CHE. The narrator.
32. Certain dancer's hope : RAIN. Why? A reference to "Singin' in the Rain"?
33. Ending with Japan : ESE. Japanese.
34. Poking tool : AWL
37. Talk turkey? : GOBBLE. Lovely clue.
40. Diet guru Jenny : CRAIG
42. Worry : FRET
47. __ avail : TO NO
48. Monogram pts. : LTRS. And R.E.L. (41D. Confed. monogram). R. E. Lee. Confederate. Wicked clue.
49. Lecture site : HALL
50. Dagger handles : HAFTS
54. Knotty situation? : NODUS. New word to me. Nodus is Latin for "knot".
56. Solid alcohol : STEROL. What? There's solid alcohol?
58. Bookplate words : EX LIBRIS. Bookplate inscription. Never know how to spell the words libris correctly. It means "library", right?
61. Dogsledding gear : PARKA
63. Like some Byzantine art : ICONIC. Most are icons.
65. Bodybuilder's target, briefly : LAT. I wanted ABS. And FLAB (42D. Bodybuilder's target). And HE-MAN (14D. Bodybuilder). Shout-out to our MOREL guy Dennis.
66. Rep. : AGT
72. Eroded, with "away" : ATE
73. Bit of baloney : LIE. Tasty clue.
74. Flap-doored homes : TEPEES
76. Redder inside : RARER. Meat.
77. Agate and jasper : QUARTZES. Super scrabbly. And TIGER'S EYE (52D. Agate relative).
80. "m" and "n" sounds : NASALS
82. Like 2-Down : NORSE. Cross-referenced with ERIC (2D. "The Red" guy). Eric the Red.
84. Binge : SPREE
85. Broadway successes : HITS
87. Pro follower : RATA. Pro rata = proportionately.
89. Some fuel suffixes : ANES. Hydrocarbon suffixes. Plural of an chemical suffix is never desirable.
95. Drama opening? : MELO. Melodrama.
98. Main blood line : AORTA
99. Golfer's "flat stick" : PUTTER. Most putters actually have some degree of loft.
100. Baseball's Durocher : LEO. Hall of Famer. More famous as a manager than a player.
101. Botanist Gray : ASA
102. Gardner that sounds like a peer : ERLE. And EARL (91D. Peer that sounds like a Gardner). Erle Stanley Gardner. We also have STREET (18D. Mason's assistant).
103. Kid : TOT
104. Double-digit sign? : VEE. Good clue.
110. Ice cream order : ONE SCOOP. I don't eat ice cream.
115. It's trolled at Christmas : CAROL
116. Like fall air, often : NIPPY. Fleeting summer here.
118. Bizet work : OPERA. "Carmen".
119. Some jazz combos : TRIOS
122. Principle : TENET
123. Skillful : ADEPT
124. Nile snake : ASP
125. Not a good way to come up : SHORT. Come up short.
Down:
1. Spy name : HARI. Mata Hari.
3. Burn balm : ALOE
4. Stingray, e.g., for short : 'VETTE
5. Swallow greedily : ENGORGE
7. Honey holders : JARS. I love honey.
8. Part of EST: Abbr. : STD
9. Pool owner's concern : ALGAE
10. Tabloid fodder : DIRT
11. Speaker's platform : DAIS
12. Like minor hardships : ENDURABLE. Didn't come to me readily.
13. Very blue state : DESPAIR. Was thinking of California.
15. Ultimate words? : OBIT. Terrific clue. And OR ELSE (17. Ultimate words).
16. With 55-Down, Beatles song with the line "You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer" : HELTER. And SKELTER (55. See 16-Down). Helter Skelter. Not a familiar song to me.
24. Open, as a scroll : UNROLL
28. Toque wearer : CHEF. Was surprised that toque stumped some in Donna's hat pun last time.
29. Anaheim stadium nickname : BIG A. The Big A. Probably hard for non-baseball fans.
31. Shaved to the max : CLOSE-CUT. I wanted an EST-ending word.
34. Env. directive : ATTN
35. Celebrate in a big way : WHOOP IT UP
36. Listen : LEND AN EAR. Two great multi-words in a row.
38. Alphabetical orders? : BLTS. I figure it can't be BCDE cluster, the real "Alphabetical orders". Also RODENTIA (57. Mouse order). Composed of rodents. Another new word. I was thinking of computer mouse order: click.
39. Jeeves's boss __ Wooster, in Wodehouse novels : BERTIE. No idea. I bet Lemonade knows.
40. Communion cups : CHALICES
44. Village : BOURG. Thought it means "town". Confused it with burg.
45. Tele- ending : THON. Telethon.
46. "Song of Myself" poet : WHITMAN
51. Like the Elks : FRATERNAL
53. Ret. fliers : SSTS
59. T-shirt orders : XLS
60. "If I Were King of the Forest" singer : LAHR (Bert). Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz".
62. McCain's st. : ARIZ
64. Empty, as a desk : CLEAR OUT
67. Online sidebar headings : FAQS. FAQ = Frequently Asked Question.
68. Charge card charge : FEE. Triple alliteration.
70. Like italics : ASLANT. And AROAR (71. Cheering in a big way). Two consecutive A words.
75. Tense time? : PAST. Past tense.
78. Taken-back auto : REPO
79. Curlew or plover : SHOREBIRD
81. Ballpark figure : STAT. And OR SO (112. Ballpark figure follower). Different ballparks.
83. Old U.S. gas : ESSO
86. Violin add-on : IST. Violinist.
88. Brit's school exam : A-LEVEL. No idea. Taken by whom? For what?
92. Italian cornmeal dish : POLENTA
93. Apple product : IPOD
94. Citrus drinks : FRESCAS. Coca-Cola.
95. Smokey Bear, e.g. : MASCOT
96. Beach book genre : ESCAPE
97. Polo designer : LAUREN (Ralph)
102. Key of four Beethoven piano sonatas : E-FLAT. I peeked at the answer sheet.
103. Lovers' liaison : TRYST
105. It's disposable online : E-CASH. Do you call PayPal money e-cash?
107. Shout after a hook, maybe : FORE. Or after a slice. Golf.
108. Andy's kid : OPIE. "The Andy Griffith Show" kid.
109. Per : A POP
110. Nuptial pronoun : OURS
111. Twice-monthly tide : NEAP
113. Fräulein's upper : OBER. I only know UBER (over).
114. Sibilant signal : PSST
117. Corp. alias : DBA (Doing Business As)
Answer grid.
Here is a link to Gunghy's Meteor Crater shots from his Picaca Web Album. Click on each one, his wonderful captions will show up. Man, he's a great photographer, don't you think?
C.C.
23A. Protective gear for public disorder? : RIOT GUARD. Playing on Right Guard, the deodorant brand.
28A. Condiments aisle dispute? : CATSUP BATTLE. Catsup Bottle. We just call it catchup.
43A. Looker in a free-for-all? : THE BELLE OF THE BRAWL. The Belle of the Ball.
67A. Hostility between pinky wrestlers? : FINGER FEUD. Finger Food.
69A. Couple that's always at it? : CLASHMATES. Classmates. Then John gives us BRA (120A. Uplifting garb) and a consecutive ASSES (121. Boobs). He's deviously DF.
90A. Grammar class skirmishes? : PREPOSITIONAL FRAYS. Prepositional phrases.
106A. Table game for tusslers? : SCUFFLE BOARD. Shuffleboard.
117A. Pasta before an affaire d'honneur? : DUEL CARBS. What is this playing off? Dual Carb(buretors)? I've never heard of it before. Affaire d'honneur ="Affair of honor".
I liked how 67A & 69A are placed side by side in Row 11 (very central row) of the grid, separated by a black square it the middle. Technically you can place 23A & 117A in that row too, separated by a group of three squares. Won't look as pretty though.
Fun theme and fun clues, which all have some sort of skirmish words as hints.
Pangram. And no helper/cheater squares. Really takes time and effort to accomplish these two goals. Lower than average block count and word count too. As usual, I green-highlighted all the terrific clue echos.
Just mentioned yesterday that E is the most common vowels in crossword. This one has 52. I think R & S & T are the mostly common consonants. 37 R's in this grid.
Across:
1. Stop at sea, with "to" : HEAVE. New expression to me.
6. CD changers, at times : DJS
9. Tossed in : ADDED
14. Seasonal flue shouts : HO HOS. From Darling Santa. Nice play on "seasonal flu shots".
19. "The Wizard of Oz" tunesmith : ARLEN (Harold)
20. __ race : RAT.Crossing DRAG (6D.__ race). Fill-in-the-blank clues can't get better than this.
21. NPR host Hansen : LIANE. Of "Weekend Edition Sunday". Wife of Neal Conan, host of "Talk of the Nation" (NPR).
22. Critic with an influential thumb : EBERT (Roger). Film critic.
25. Crossword components : GRIDS. Sweet!
26. Roger Bannister, notably : MILER
27. Handlers in a bucket : ICE TONGS. I was picturing a person rather than a tool "handler".
30. Slip : ERR
31. "Evita" role : CHE. The narrator.
32. Certain dancer's hope : RAIN. Why? A reference to "Singin' in the Rain"?
33. Ending with Japan : ESE. Japanese.
34. Poking tool : AWL
37. Talk turkey? : GOBBLE. Lovely clue.
40. Diet guru Jenny : CRAIG
42. Worry : FRET
47. __ avail : TO NO
48. Monogram pts. : LTRS. And R.E.L. (41D. Confed. monogram). R. E. Lee. Confederate. Wicked clue.
49. Lecture site : HALL
50. Dagger handles : HAFTS
54. Knotty situation? : NODUS. New word to me. Nodus is Latin for "knot".
56. Solid alcohol : STEROL. What? There's solid alcohol?
58. Bookplate words : EX LIBRIS. Bookplate inscription. Never know how to spell the words libris correctly. It means "library", right?
61. Dogsledding gear : PARKA
63. Like some Byzantine art : ICONIC. Most are icons.
65. Bodybuilder's target, briefly : LAT. I wanted ABS. And FLAB (42D. Bodybuilder's target). And HE-MAN (14D. Bodybuilder). Shout-out to our MOREL guy Dennis.
66. Rep. : AGT
72. Eroded, with "away" : ATE
73. Bit of baloney : LIE. Tasty clue.
74. Flap-doored homes : TEPEES
76. Redder inside : RARER. Meat.
77. Agate and jasper : QUARTZES. Super scrabbly. And TIGER'S EYE (52D. Agate relative).
80. "m" and "n" sounds : NASALS
82. Like 2-Down : NORSE. Cross-referenced with ERIC (2D. "The Red" guy). Eric the Red.
84. Binge : SPREE
85. Broadway successes : HITS
87. Pro follower : RATA. Pro rata = proportionately.
89. Some fuel suffixes : ANES. Hydrocarbon suffixes. Plural of an chemical suffix is never desirable.
95. Drama opening? : MELO. Melodrama.
98. Main blood line : AORTA
99. Golfer's "flat stick" : PUTTER. Most putters actually have some degree of loft.
100. Baseball's Durocher : LEO. Hall of Famer. More famous as a manager than a player.
101. Botanist Gray : ASA
102. Gardner that sounds like a peer : ERLE. And EARL (91D. Peer that sounds like a Gardner). Erle Stanley Gardner. We also have STREET (18D. Mason's assistant).
103. Kid : TOT
104. Double-digit sign? : VEE. Good clue.
110. Ice cream order : ONE SCOOP. I don't eat ice cream.
115. It's trolled at Christmas : CAROL
116. Like fall air, often : NIPPY. Fleeting summer here.
118. Bizet work : OPERA. "Carmen".
119. Some jazz combos : TRIOS
122. Principle : TENET
123. Skillful : ADEPT
124. Nile snake : ASP
125. Not a good way to come up : SHORT. Come up short.
Down:
1. Spy name : HARI. Mata Hari.
3. Burn balm : ALOE
4. Stingray, e.g., for short : 'VETTE
5. Swallow greedily : ENGORGE
7. Honey holders : JARS. I love honey.
8. Part of EST: Abbr. : STD
9. Pool owner's concern : ALGAE
10. Tabloid fodder : DIRT
11. Speaker's platform : DAIS
12. Like minor hardships : ENDURABLE. Didn't come to me readily.
13. Very blue state : DESPAIR. Was thinking of California.
15. Ultimate words? : OBIT. Terrific clue. And OR ELSE (17. Ultimate words).
16. With 55-Down, Beatles song with the line "You may be a lover but you ain't no dancer" : HELTER. And SKELTER (55. See 16-Down). Helter Skelter. Not a familiar song to me.
24. Open, as a scroll : UNROLL
28. Toque wearer : CHEF. Was surprised that toque stumped some in Donna's hat pun last time.
29. Anaheim stadium nickname : BIG A. The Big A. Probably hard for non-baseball fans.
31. Shaved to the max : CLOSE-CUT. I wanted an EST-ending word.
34. Env. directive : ATTN
35. Celebrate in a big way : WHOOP IT UP
36. Listen : LEND AN EAR. Two great multi-words in a row.
38. Alphabetical orders? : BLTS. I figure it can't be BCDE cluster, the real "Alphabetical orders". Also RODENTIA (57. Mouse order). Composed of rodents. Another new word. I was thinking of computer mouse order: click.
39. Jeeves's boss __ Wooster, in Wodehouse novels : BERTIE. No idea. I bet Lemonade knows.
40. Communion cups : CHALICES
44. Village : BOURG. Thought it means "town". Confused it with burg.
45. Tele- ending : THON. Telethon.
46. "Song of Myself" poet : WHITMAN
51. Like the Elks : FRATERNAL
53. Ret. fliers : SSTS
59. T-shirt orders : XLS
60. "If I Were King of the Forest" singer : LAHR (Bert). Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz".
62. McCain's st. : ARIZ
64. Empty, as a desk : CLEAR OUT
67. Online sidebar headings : FAQS. FAQ = Frequently Asked Question.
68. Charge card charge : FEE. Triple alliteration.
70. Like italics : ASLANT. And AROAR (71. Cheering in a big way). Two consecutive A words.
75. Tense time? : PAST. Past tense.
78. Taken-back auto : REPO
79. Curlew or plover : SHOREBIRD
81. Ballpark figure : STAT. And OR SO (112. Ballpark figure follower). Different ballparks.
83. Old U.S. gas : ESSO
86. Violin add-on : IST. Violinist.
88. Brit's school exam : A-LEVEL. No idea. Taken by whom? For what?
92. Italian cornmeal dish : POLENTA
93. Apple product : IPOD
94. Citrus drinks : FRESCAS. Coca-Cola.
95. Smokey Bear, e.g. : MASCOT
96. Beach book genre : ESCAPE
97. Polo designer : LAUREN (Ralph)
102. Key of four Beethoven piano sonatas : E-FLAT. I peeked at the answer sheet.
103. Lovers' liaison : TRYST
105. It's disposable online : E-CASH. Do you call PayPal money e-cash?
107. Shout after a hook, maybe : FORE. Or after a slice. Golf.
108. Andy's kid : OPIE. "The Andy Griffith Show" kid.
109. Per : A POP
110. Nuptial pronoun : OURS
111. Twice-monthly tide : NEAP
113. Fräulein's upper : OBER. I only know UBER (over).
114. Sibilant signal : PSST
117. Corp. alias : DBA (Doing Business As)
Answer grid.
Here is a link to Gunghy's Meteor Crater shots from his Picaca Web Album. Click on each one, his wonderful captions will show up. Man, he's a great photographer, don't you think?
C.C.
47 comments:
Good Morning, CC. This was a wonderful Sunday puzzle, with lots of misleading clues. Some of the theme clues gave me a bit of trouble, but I really liked working this puzzle.
Some of my favorites today included:
Seasonal Flue Shouts = HO HOs (At first I thought my paper had a misprint on this one!)
Ultimate words = OBIT
Double-Digit Sign = VEE
I also liked how EARL and ERLE crossed, especially since the surnames were both Gardner!
CC: I think that the clue for Dancer's Hope referred to the Native American ceremony of the RAIN Dance.
In honor of 100A, here is today's QOD: I believe in rules. Sure I do. If there weren't any rules, how could you break them? ~ Leo Durocher
Good Morning C.C. et al.
Loved this puzzle today - lots of echos in the crossing clues and a real punny theme, my personal favorite !
C.C. 58a. "Bookplate Words" EX LIBRIS means "From the Library of", followed by the book owner's name.
My Favorite clue was 104a “Double-Digit sign?” I bet everyone remembers this famous
VEE SIGN
Oh my, where to start; I thought this was a fabulous puzzle, clues like
SEASONAL FLUE SHOUTS; man that is pure gold! Each theme pun was great on its own, and as part of the whole. And inventive clues abounded; Handlers in a bucket:ICE TONGS, Double-digit sign? : VEE, and as Hahtool has said, the wonderful reference to the RAIN dance.
My mental association with the VEE SIGN has always been Winston Churchill using it as a sign for victory, and John Lennon for peace, but if you like Dan Brown’s books, check out the link I provided.
“Jeeves's boss __ Wooster, in Wodehouse novels : BERTIE. No idea. I bet Lemonade knows. “ Yes, I read all of P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves books and watched Hugh Lawrie, of HOUSE playing Bertie so well. The shows are available on DVD if you like silly British humor. Which brings us to -Brit's school exam : A-LEVEL- which having read so many British mysteries, I know means Advanced Level, as opposed to O-level which means Ordinary level. These are the exams at the end of high school which determine a student’s college future.
If you like music and watching it being created the Beatles and HELTER SKELTER is a palce to start, though this has become associated with the horror that was CHARLES MANSON .
EX LIBRIS is the Latin for from books, and while it is the root for the word Library, in ancient Rome, it was a Bibliotheca, which has been preserved by the French, Bibliothèque.
Finally, I also note the nearness of E-FLAT and E-CASH, which to me is a hallmark of John L.’s use of echoes, showing diverse meanings for something as simple as a letter.
Have a Sunday as wonderful as this puzzle everyone, and keep those comments coming newbies
Good morning all. Great puzzle, John
C.C. The PAST tense of HEAVE, HOVE, was in Gareth Bain's puzzle on July 7th.
A good slog, but it moved right along. The SE and S were first to fill in pretty well. Finished up in the NNE. No lookups needed. WAGS included ASA and ASSES. Clever clues included those for RARER, NORSE, ERLE/EARL, STREET, and HOHOS. Also liked WHOOP IT UP.
EFLAT - On music keys, usually, if the clue is 5 letters, it is 'something, A-G' FLAT. IF 6 letters, it is 'something' SHARP; usually a gimme.
Enjoy the day.
Good morning, C.C. and gang - as HeartRx and Lemonade have pointed out, this was a real masterpiece of punnery, and a pangram to boot. So many things to like about solving this one, I was sorry to see it finished.
I loved the crossing of 'Erle' and 'Earl' and their reversed cluing, and any puzzle that includes 'boobs', 'asses' and 'bra' works for me. "Deviously DF" indeed.
Apropos of today's offering, Jeannie, perhaps a 'beef' recipe?
Gotta try to squeeze a bike ride in before the rain comes; more later.
@Spitzboov, the six-letter musical key answers aren't so easy, the last five letters can also be major or minor instead of sharp.
To me, at least, the real star of J&W was Stephen Fry. Outwardly the perfect example of the stereotypical over-polite and completely proper gentleman's gentleman, it was really the devious Jeeves that ran the show, getting the hapless Bertie out of many tough situations, such as various women determined to marry him, and his overbearing, controlling Aunt Agatha trying to run his life. I never understood why someone as clever as Jeeves was so loyal to such a bumbler as Bertie.
An alcohol is an organic (carbon-based) molecule where a hydroxyl (OH) group is substituted for one of the (normal) hydrogen (H) bonds. All drinkable alcohols are ethanol, the smallest "chain". Methanol (wood alcohol) is only one carbon (so not a chain). Propanol is a three carbon chain with the OH at either end. Iso-propanol has the OH attached to the middle carbon.
Sterols are solid alcohols (note the OH attached at the end), their multiple ring structures make them dense, for instance, cholesterol.
A factoid is a questionable or spurious—unverified, incorrect, or fabricated—statement presented as a fact, but with no veracity.
J. Wells
Good morning C.C. and friends.
What an absolutely delightful puzzle today. So full of puns, clue echos, and devious cluing. Thank you, John Lampkin. I agree with you, Dennis, I was sad when the ride was over.
I kept having a feeling of deja vu as I solved today. I was thinking I'd already seen the clue, but in checking realized they were just echos. Besides those already pointed out I noticed 19A and 60D for "The Wizard of Oz."
My very favorite were the Gardner clues, and the fact that they crossed in the grid.
Enjoy the day!
@Al. Agree on the sharp conundrum. Then we also get into notations like e flat major or d sharp minor; (good for 11 letter stacks). Just sharing how I try to tease out the music keys. Still have to be mindful of the perps.
A great Sunday puzzle, much more enjoyable than a themeless Saturday puzzle for me. I liked Seasonal Flue Shouts and Prepositional Frays. I don't care much for words like Aroar and Aslant but it's a small price to pay for such a clever grid.
C.C., in adventure movie at sea, the good guys sometimes shout to the bad guys, "Heave to and prepare to be boarded!"
Pretty much, I could just clone Hahtool's comments! (Yesterday's experience mirrored C.C.'s pretty closely! It was very comforting to see your comments on the same clues that I had difficulty with too.)
I especially liked the EARL / ERLE cross!
14A Seasonal flue shouts : HO HOS. My first reaction was "Huh?!" Then I caught on about 2 seconds later and loved it! Talk about a multi-layered clue!
42A Worry: FRET Thanks for clueing this non-musically for a change. :-)
John Lampkin: It was a beautiful work of art! I did the puzzle late last night. It looked daunting at first, so I thought I'd do as much as possible in a first pass, then save the nitty-gritty for the morning. But I never reached that "I can't go any further, let me set it aside" point.
As Spitzboov said: A good slog, but it moved right along.
The Duel Carbs......Pasta is a carb...Very good puzzle today and Rain Dance was the other that confused you.
Greetings all and thanks for the compliments and for pointing out the specifics of your solving experiences. Specific comments both pro and con are always helpful to constructors because they tell us what works and what doesn't.
MJ, I was excited to see that you mentioned the crossing! That's my favorite type of echo. Right up there with it in terms of effectiveness is the echo in consecutive clues.
For my own amusement, I'm writing a little essay about echoes. It will include the different types and how they are located. If you have any suggestions or comments, please say so here on the blog, or if you wish give me a shout at JohnLampkin@JohnLampkin.com
All input will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again, and happy solving!
Great job JL. Loved the puns.
HEAVE to:
An order from a law enforcement vessel commanding a ship to stop, as in: "Heave to and prepare to be boarded!"
Fun Sunday puzzle! It had a lot of "givens" for me, but with such a large puzzle, there were a lot of "huhs?" too. Thanks, John L. Thanks, C.C., too.
Loved the ERLE/EARL cross. I guessed at the theme early, but for some reason, it didn't help me get the clues. I thought "looker" at the free-for-all would be an "on-looker" so BELLE escaped me for a long time. For "seasonal flue shouts," I wanted something along the line of "open." (Because they forgot to open the flue before starting the fire...yep, been there!)
I used to put bookplates in books that I loaned, but I finally realized that it didn't help me get them back. Now I never loan books unless I plan to donate them to the library anyway.
By, y'all!
Good day, C.C. and all my puzzler friends!
How lucky am I? The week started with John Lampkin on Monday before I left and now on my return it's his xwd again! Yowza!
And what a fabulous work of art today. I echo all of your comments; you have all stated it well. This was beautiful, punnery, pangramming, and echoing.
I absolutely loved the ERLE/EARL crossing as well as all the clever theme answers. John Lampkin, you are a genius.
The play on "prepositional phrase" (FRAYS) was sterling.
I can only say that I loved this puzzle especially after my trip when I was so hungry for one. I did manage to find the Saturday xwd at the airport and finished it. I absorbed it voraciously.
And now it's good to be home in spite of the heat and a bit of humidity here. But it was difficult to leave that wonderfully cool area of northern California.
One of the highlights of my trip was meeting our Dodo! She is delightful and was so generous to invite me and all my friends (four of us) to lunch at her lovely community. We had a grand time and I plan to post some photos later.
I hope you are having a fabulous Sunday!
A real gem... and the humor is divine. Loaded with world class clues and fill that's a delight: WHOOP IT UP. Tis marvelous Mr. Lampkin!
Don't suppose Hit Disturber or Slap Dance would pass the breakfast test.
Good Morning C.C., Argyle, Dennis and folk,
I'm drained! I struggled through most of this puzzle. I opened it last night and didn't see much, figured I was too tired. This morning was pretty much the same.
I would have never pulled (14)HOHOS out of seasonal flue shouts.
115. it's trolled at Christmas/carol???
So, 2 holiday references.
I feel like I'm (43)the belle of the brawl today!
I'm out.
Good afternoon everyone.
Great write up, C.C.
Clever puzzle, John Lampkin. I didn't get the long ones; I am much too literal minded.
I do pose a question to this community. We have many apple clues, which I like as I am a Mac evangelist. So I wonder if many of our constructors are also Mac users. One reads that artists use Macs mostly, so why not puzzle constructors?
The NY Times op ed section has a piece about people in Manhattan going around naked, or nearly so, because of the heat.
Cheers
Frenchie, Some lyrics to Christmas carol "Deck The Halls". Does TROLL make any more sense? Probably not, but it is legitimate.
Deck the halls with boughs of holly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Tis the season to be jolly,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Don we now our gay apparel,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
TROLL the ancient Yule tide carol,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
From Mirriam-Webster online dictionary: definition of verb TROLL
1 : to cause to move round and round : roll
2 a : to sing the parts of (as a round or catch) in succession b : to sing loudly c : to celebrate in song
Morning all,
I googled for the definition of " Affaire D'honneur ". and here what it says,
A prearranged fight with deadly weapons by 2 people ( accopanied by seconds) in order to settle a quarrel over a point of honor.
Duel carbs, so is that mean to have some lasagna before fighting ?? So you don't die on an empty stomach ?? Who knows.
Dual carbs, can also mean 2 carburators fighting to keep a gas guzzling early 70's chevy running at an honorable pace. ?? Your thoughts ?
Well, since everyone else has covered the bright spots, I'm going to detail some of the places I tripped up. But first, John, they were all MY errors. In no way do i want anyone to think that I could find a flaw in this masterpiece.
I knew 20A had to be RAT race, but I was even more sure 7D was honey POT. Especially after I saw BRA, since HONEYPOT is also a euphemism for a storage container used when you don't want to hit the outhouse on a Minnesota winter night.
I got Toque the last time, but for some reason this time I was stuck on a torque. CELT, as an answer, gave me GOBBEL.
Adding 43A Belle AT, 63A MOSAIC and 67A finger FUED to GOBBEL made 31D _EASEOET. Go ahead, parse that one! I corrected FEUD and got _EASEOUT. Still not parsable, (New word, credit me!) but out looks really good there.
65A, FAT echoes 43D FLAB, But the F is DF in 59D, so 59D became LGS and GUT covered FAT for a while.
A long time back, we had a discussion of how we like to fill our puzzles. I still prefer to do them in ink. I'll let you guess what this one looked like.
Have a great rest of the day.
Wow, wow, and triple wow. Fabulous puzzle for all the reasons you all have mentioned. A very enjoyable way to spend 2 hours on a Sunday morning.
Loved Gunghy's photos of the Arizona Meteor Crater. Lovely reminders of the enjoyable time my wife and I had there a few years ago.
Al, thanks for the explanation of alcohols. I never put two and two together that cholesterol is an alcohol. A good learning moment.
Yes, I believe DUEL CARBS is a play on dual carburetors. Having two carburetors was a big deal back in the days when cars had carburetors.
Again I got hasty and pencilled in ABS for 65A, which wreaked (wrought?) the expected havoc in that area for me.
As soon as I got the K in HELTER SKELTER I got PARKA and that area went well from then on except for NODUS, which I would never have figured out without the crosses. Even at that, the U in NODUS and in BOURG was a long time in coming. That was one of those places where I go through the alphabet in my head until I reach a letter that I think works.
Yep, not knowing diddly about baseball, I didn't get BIG A except from the perps.
Overall, definitely a work of art, a fabulous puzzle.
Best wishes to you all.
Jayce, if an organic chemical ends in -ol, odds are real good that it's an alcohol. But, as mentioned before, all intoxicants based on alcohol are made with ethanol.
Methanol is quite toxic: In small doses, it destroys the vision centers (Blind drunk, for real!); in larger doses it kills.
Propanol will get you drunk, witnessed by alkies drinking aftershave to get their buzz. It's also more toxic and more expensive to produce than ethanol, so it's not used.
Most alcohols larger than propanol don't have the ability to dissolve into the nerve membrane and thus, don't cause intoxication.
All this to say that most people don't realize that there are different alcohols. Other than, of course, bourbon, scotch, beer, wine, et al.
Hey Sallie,
Good question, especially since I am a Mac guy with four Macs up and running here, counting my iPhone.
Crossword Compiler is the industry favorite software for constructors, and it runs only on Windows. The workaround is to buy Parallels for Mac and to (shudder) install Windows as a virtual desktop and to then install Compiler in that environment. So on my puzzling computer, half of my 24" screen is Windows and the other half is Mac. I just drag and drop between the two platforms. Sounds complicated, but the result is simple and impresses the heck out of my students and parents who see it.
Perhaps Jerome or another constructor has an answer for what percentage use Macs. I do think that it's a minority however.
Lest anyone get the wrong idea, a computer could never generate a high-quality puzzle like the gems that Rich edits every day for the LAT. The creative mind will rule over machine for a long time yet.
Thanks again to all for the glowing praise. Wow! Guess I'd better get started on another one! :-)
I tend to just be happy to have completed the puzzle and rush to the blog, forgetting to go back and look up items I didn't know or that didn't make sense to me. So I thank those of you who DO look them up (or already have the knowledge), and shared it with the rest of us! Today in particular, those are: Al (STERNOL), Anonymous (TROLL), and Camille (Affaire D'honneur = DUEL - for some reason I was thinking of a gala event...). The clues all made perfect sense after reading your (and C.C.'s, of course) contributions!
Gunghy and Kazie, thank you for sharing your photos, introducing me to areas I've never been to.
anon 9;46 Who cares?
Camille, with you 100% on 'dual carbs'.
Mr. Lampkin, you are a very clever guy.
Dennis, did you get much rain in NJ? btw, do you know where CA has been lately?
bt
Mr. Ed, Anon 9:46 was responding to a Saturday question from C.C. It was a good response, if late. This is a positive anon that we need to encourage. If we do that, we may get them to go blue. That would be better than chasing them off.
Good afternoon CC, et al., Was thrilled to see John Lampkin's name today and loved this puzzle's theme and the creativity behind it all. Fabulous job! Very clever!
Was glad to see darling Santa baby cleverly referred to today..again, in my mind. I think it was Annette who also thought of Santa w/the clue 'man of letters' in yesterday's puzzle. God knows, he gets enough letters from me. I'm going to make sure he knows how good I am! I've got enough coal to provide a face for every snowman in the neighborhood for the next 20years. It's time to make good on my list.
Earl/Erle cross was splendid, outstanding, magnificent! You all have praised the same ones I loved, so won't repeat. I was also thrilled to see 'Bertie' - my leetle seestor's nickname as well as 'Carol', our queen of limerick.
Lemonade: thank you for the explanation of the Brit's exams. Was wondering.
Also the word 'hafts' surprised me. I wanted 'shafts' and now wonder if a 'putter' has a 'haft' or does it 'haft'a have a shaft? But I'll tell ya one thang, the shaft of my left ring finger will certainly join in a 'finger feud' if the diamond ring I want from Santa turns out to be anything like
'quartzes' and if it's off of 'craig's list? Big 'err'! Them's fightin words of
'clashmate' will become a reality. My 'bra' will become a chest plate of armor,then the'hafts' of my
'putter' and my driver will send some 'asses' onto the 'street' with a couple of 'short' strokes. They'll 'clear out' and 'escape' to 'Ariz' faster than a 'tigers eye' could blink, if they know what's good for 'em. 'Lie' to me? Only if ya wanna b'e flat' at 'a level' to be using your 'nasals' to push the disks in a game of 'scuffle board'. I'm 'ober' it.
Geeze, that was cathartic! Now I can go 'melo' out.
Enjoy your night.
Lois, I did think of putting in Santa yesterday for man of letters, but didn't mention it on the blog. A few other people did, so I wouldn't want to take credit for their comments. Nice that you thought of me though!
Thanks for mentioning the shout out to our own Carol in the puzzle! I totally missed that connection - I was busy trying to make sense of TROLL...
Sallie- I'm quite sure that John's right about most constructors not using Macs for making puzzles. I think most would consider it a bit cumbersome to adapt them for Crossword Compiler.
Me? I'm a true Neander. Still make puzzles by hand. Sharp pencils, fat erasers. It's not a question of being anti-technology. Trust me, as a life-long carpenter I use every modern power tool there is. For some reason I feel more in tune with what I'm doing when not using a computer to construct. I've tried it. Doesn't work.
By the way, I'm so damn glad that you guys are raving about today's puzzle. It is so neat to see solvers, en masse, recognizing superior work. John should be feeling pretty giddy by now.
John and Jerome,
I so appreciate your input about the constructing process. I have tried my hand at it, but am stymied as to creating the grid. Is there a book, or somewhere on-line to get information/instruction in this area?
The puzzle I have in mind would be themed, with the possibility of four theme answers. They're a bit scrabbly. Two of them are 12 letters long, and two are variably 12/13, depending on pluralization.
Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated. BTW, I use a Mac and am technology challenged, so creating with pencils and erasers would be my first choice.
Thank you!
Just a quick heads-up; AMC is premiering a new mystery series starting right now, called Rubicon. Lot of crossword involvement.
Hello All--A superb puzzle and one that I was actually able to finish. The theme fills were all so clever and when I filled in Catsup Battle, I knew I was in for a great ride. I wasn't disappointed.
I didn't immediately finish everything, but HoHos/Seasonal FLUE shouts was a gimme. The FLUE part was the givaway. I had to put the puzzle aside for a few minutes, but when picking it up again almost everything began to fall into place.
My sentiments are the same with Earl, and Erle. The crossing and clueing are as good as it gets.
Thanks John L. for stopping by and giving your input.
Al, Another learning experience with your Alcohol Lesson. Thank you.
C.C. and Camille, My impression on Duel Carbs is that runners, fighters, triathletes, and olympians all talk about loading up on carbs (pasta is one example) before a big race or fight.
In an interview with Hugh Lawrie about his role in HOUSE, he said that he had to perfect his American accent to make the role believable. He does a pretty good job of it.
I loved the "Jeeves and Wooster" series on PBS. This series used to turn up fairly frequently in puzzles I did about two years ago.
Hi gang -
I don't always do the Sunday LAT, since the Boston Globe puzzle in the Freep is usually pretty good, and right at my fingertips.
But I saw this was a John L entry, so I had to give it a try.
I have to agree with all the great comments, but there's no point in repeating them all. Wonderful fun and a great puzzle.
Here is one of the places I went wrong. Had CLEAN OUT for CLEAR OUT, giving proNATE foe proRATA, and E LEVEL for A LEVEL. What do I know about Brit school exams?
Thought I might have a grandchild trifecta with NATE, LUAREN, and a certain dancer (ours wants to be a Rockette! )
Anyway, it seems pretty rare for crossing errors to work, however imperfectly.
Camille nailed "DUEL CARBS."
Straight chain carbon alcohols are all toxic to some degree. Ethanol with two carbons is the least so, hence Scotch and Martinis.
Glycols have two hydroxyl (-OH) groups and are also toxic. Here it's reversed, ethylene glycol (two carbons) is by far the worst.
Ghungy is right about methanol (wood alcohol.) Butanol, with four carbons, smells slightly offensive. Butyric acid, with 4 carbons, is essence of barf. Bytyl mercaptan is essence of skunk. Four-carbon compounds just smell bad!
Nobody mentioned NIPPY in the context of BRA and boobies.
John, you are one sly devil!
There actually are BRAS for ASSES.
Cheers!
JzB
Right about DUEL CARBS. But I thought CC's question was about what that punny answer was instead of. That would be DUAL CARBuretors. In the 50s and 60s, it was neat to have a car that looked good, sounded good and went fast. Dualies made normal car engines a bit higher performance.
My best Christmas ever was getting a used 1950 Ford from Santa. There was a note and a ribbon attached to my stocking that lead me around the house, down in the basement and out into the garage. I don't think I have ever been so excited. Only a single carburetor but I was in heaven!
It really troubles me that constructors sell their work for what is probably a fraction of minimum wage, and lose all rights in the process. I'm also troubled by the general ineptness and ass-hattery of most publishers, but that's a different story.
The LW forwarded this
to me, and maybe knowing about it would have some value for constructors, poets, and other frustrated authors, like me.
Cheers!
JzB
Thanks Dennis for letting us know about Rubicon on AMC tonight! If anyone else missed them (there were two new episodes premiering tonight!), I saw that they're repeated a few times throughout the week.
MJ,
Send me an email to the address I gave earlier today. I'm always ready to help anyone who is interested in construction.
Jazzbumps, you are right. It's minimum wage at best. If I had to worry about money and keep an eye on the clock I wouldn't be having nearly so much fun. Thankfully I am well-compensated for other pursuits and can enjoy this ride.
anon 9;46, now I know who cares.
Yhanks for the heads up Gunghy
Great puzzle--I enjoyed it immensely.
Gunghy: I am enjoying the photos. Thanks for sharing.
Annette, I think originally "Deck the Halls" lyrics read "Toll the ancient Yuletide carol".
Crockett, where are you? Jazz. do you know?
Marvelous puzzle, John Lampkin! I'm so late in posting that any comment I can make will just be an echo of all the others. It truly was an enjoyable exercise! Thank you, and thanks, too, for your kind comments.
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