17. See 49-Down : O'HENRY SPECIALTY.
27. See 49-Down : DRINK GARNISH.
43. See 49-Down : SIXTIES DANCE.
56. See 49-Down : OLIVER OF FICTION.
And the unifier:
49-Down. Diving rotation, and the clue for four puzzle answers : TWIST.
So we have another "definition" type theme, but with a twist. Typically we would see all four theme answers clued as "Twist." But Pancho hid the clue in the grid, making it that much more difficult to make headway. I must confess, I was stumbling around blind on the first couple theme entries, until perps finally gave me an inkling of what the answers might be.
Across:
1. Like bars in noir films : SMOKY. Like this bar. And the dancin' is smokin', too! 3:20 Very apropos to the theme today...
6. Brouhaha : FLAP.
10. Workout woe : ACHE.
14. Salsa singer Cruz : CELIA. Did not remember her. 4:27 (Did it seem like there were a lot of names in the grid? I counted upwards of 15...)
15. BMW competitor : AUDI.
16. Invalidate : VOID.
20. Platte River settler : OTO.
21. Spoil, with "on" : DOTE.
22. "Cagney & Lacey" Emmy winner : GLESS. Sharon.
23. Scripture section : PASSAGE.
25. "I am just __ boy, though my story's seldom told": "The Boxer" : A POOR. Oldie but goodie. 5:17
31. '60s-'70s "Fearsome Foursome" NFL team : L.A. RAMS. Moved to St. Louis in 1994.
34. Reported for the first time : NEW.
35. Payable now : DUE.
36. Is after : SEEKS.
37. Oyster's spot : BED.
38. Peak in a Trevanian title : EIGER. Trevanian is the pen name of Rodney William Whitaker, who wrote "The Eiger Sanction." It was made into a film in 1975, directed by Clint Eastwood.
40. Capri crowd? : TRE. "Due's company, tre's a crowd..." in Italy.
41. "The Birdcage" wrap : BOA. Hilarious movie. Too many great scenes to link.
42. Emerges from the wings : ENTERS. Comes on stage.
47. Cosmetician Elizabeth : ARDEN. Nee Florence Nightingale Graham.
48. Governor who opened the Erie Canal : CLINTON. DeWitt, not Bill.
52. Jazz pianist Ahmad __ : JAMAL. Could not remember him, either. 2:07
54. Moscow news acronym : ITAR. Information Telegraph Agency of Russia. Usually seen as ITAR-TASS.
55. Court : WOO.
60. 1-Down holder : CONE. And 1-Down. Ice cream serving : SCOOP.
61. Exxon forerunner : ESSO.
62. Hosiery thread : LISLE. Don't ask me how I knew this.
63. Bottom of the sea? : KEEL. This one threw me off, but I recovered enough to continue...
64. Hardly a sophisticate : BOOR.
65. Really worry : EAT AT.
Down:
2. Conductor Zubin : MEHTA. Fortunately, I did know him! 3:31
3. Spreads on the table : OLEOS.
4. Flesh and blood : KIN.
5. Sail supports : YARDARMS.
6. Get together : FASTEN.
7. Rapper __ Fiasco : LUPE. Another total unknown. 3:54
8. Gator chaser? : ADE.
9. Paparazzo's prize, briefly : PIC.
10. Land of Arthurian legend : AVALON.
11. "Kubla Khan" poet : COLERIDGE.
12. Pop radio fodder : HITS.
13. "Grand" ice cream brand : EDYS. But only in the eastern US. In the west, it is Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream.
18. Hindu mystics : YOGIS.
19. Operatic prince : IGOR. Aria from the opera "Prince Igor" by Borodin. 8:02
24. Mont. neighbor : S. DAK. South Dakota. But Montana was just in New England last week!
25. Elderly : AGED.
26. Claw holder : PAW.
28. Massage : KNEAD.
29. Plaintiff : SUER. I never want to be the suee (pig...pig...pig.)
30. Bierce defines it as "His" : HERS. From "The Devil's Dictionary."
31. WWII carriers : LSTs. Landing Ship, Tank (s).
32. Gaseous: Pref. : AERI.
33. Go over more carefully : REEXAMINE.
37. Deck department supervisor, briefly : BOS'N. Short for "boatswain."
38. Surround : ENCIRCLE.
39. Santa Monica-to-Jacksonville hwy. : I-TEN. The main interstate in the southern US.
41. Scripps competition : BEE. The winning word in 2013 was "knaidel." It is a dumpling, and comes from the Yiddish "kneydl."
42. Zhou __ : ENLAI. C.C. explained to me the derivation of this name a while ago. "Chow" in Cantonese is the same as "Zhou" in Mandarin Chinese. So Zhou Enlai = Chow Enlai.
44. Retirees often do it : TRAVEL.
45. Between jobs : IDLE.
46. Represent officially : ACT FOR.
50. Alley Oop's girl : OOOLA. I just kept adding "O"s until the answer was full...
51. Large jazz combo : NONET.
52. Prom king, often : JOCK.
53. Sunburn soother : ALOE.
54. In that case : IF SO.
57. Lee follower : REB. Civil war rebels.
58. Granada bear : OSO. Spanish.
59. __ Maria: liqueur : TIA. Could also have been clued as "Granada aunt."
That's all I have for this week. See you next time!
Marti
61 comments:
Greetings!
Thanks for the great offering, Pancho, and the swell expo, Marti! I'll catch the classical music later.
It is definitely bedtime.
No problems, really. Just a bit slow. Would liked to have figured out the theme earlier. But it was very slow in coming. What does it have to do with diving?
Cheers!
Morning, all!
Fun puzzle today, but definitely a bit of a struggle.
For awhile, I just could not make sense of the theme. The clue at 49D flummoxed me and by "rotation" I was thinking about taking turns and not literal turns in the air. OHENRY's SPECIALTY was irony, right? And a DRINK GARNISH is, what... an olive? An onion?
It didn't help matters that I had AERO instead of AERI 32, which hid SIXTIES DANCE from view. I had DANCE, but I was trying to fit in SOX HOP or some other nonsense for awhile. I had no idea on BEE, either, so that also didn't help.
Up north, LUPE was another complete unknown and it took a lot of perps to get FASTEN. I also started out with SEEDY instead of SMOKY at 1A. Those got resolved pretty quickly, but the problems down south took a lot longer.
Eventually, I did figure out the TWIST and was able to replace AERO with AERI and get the job done. As I said, challenging but fun.
[ndonyin]
Happy Thursday, Marti thanks for blogging the definition puzzle this week. It always is fun to have Pancho Harrison back.
Otherwise WBS, especially LUPE.
..A gift that Magi might bestow
..Made from lemons (but mostly for show)
.....Sets teens to gyrations
.....Via radio stations,
..But what the dickens it is, do you know?
Started out poorly with SEEDY at 1A, but eventually finished with perps revealing most names. I hate it when unknown names cross like EDYS & GLESS. OOOLA is spelled with a triple O? Had to verify that.
Good Morning, Marti and friends. I am not really keen on cross-reference themes, but the surrounding clues were fairly easy for a Thursday.
When O HENRY SPECIALTY emerged, I was initially thinking of the candy bar and wondered of its speciality. Oh, the Author, just like Charles Dickens and OLIVER TWIST.
Barry G. Think of that Lemon TWIST in your Cosmopolitan for the DRINK GARNISH.
Since today is Chubby Checker's 72nd birthday, it is appropriate to have the SIXTIES DANCE.
I outwitted myself with the Montana Neighbor. I was thinking of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, which also borders on Mont.
My favorite clue was Claw Holder = PAW
LSTs is a crossword staple and one I remember thanks to Spitzboov. (So glad to see you back again and hope your wife is on the mend.)
When I was at the opera in Vienna a few years, Zubin MEHTA was the conductor.
QOD: Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn. ~ Gore Vidal (Oct. 3, 1925 ~ July 31, 2012)
[esfacus]
Good morning!
Even with all the names, this one turned out to be fast and easy. Tin should be happy to see YARDARMS. Unfortunately, there's nothing over them.
I remembered Sharon GLESS, but at first entered GLACE. Guess I was stuck on Pancho's ice cream SCOOP.
Are you telling me the LA RAMS are no longer in LA? Who knew?
ARDEN doesn't conjure up cosmetics for me. I think of Eve ARDEN who became famous as Our Miss Brooks back in the Pleistocene.
Wow, that was tough. I realized that I needed to figure out the theme first so I started from the bottom and worked my way up. I got TWIST from the perps and then filled in OLIVER OF FICTION, SIXTIES DANCE, DRINK GARNISH and SPECIALTY but I couldn't come up with the name of the author O'HENRY because I wanted DINGY for SMOKY, DOLOP(sic) for SCOOP and MAGIS for YOGIS. For a while there I also had MELE for FLAP, MUSTER for FASTEN, HUNTS for SEEKS, TASS for ITAR, KELP for KEEL and JERK for JOCK. (Seriously. I didn't think it was correct but JAMAL sounded right.) I was also done in by the intersecting names COLERIDGE and GLESS and OOOLA and LISLE.
I found this a tough puzzle. If only I had known that TWIST was the theme word. Oh well, downed by a Thursday.
O Henry is one of my favorite authors, and I read his stories, whenever I see his collection, which resides permanently, on my bedside table. 'Friends in San Rosario' is my favorite tale - it always moves me to tears.
Mehta and Coleridge helped, but it was still too tough for me. No fun at all.
Marti, thanks for your wonderful blog. I clicked on your links, and read the lyrics for the Boxer, and finally understood what they were trying to say. Simon and Garfunkel bring back many, many memories, of the early 70's, both sad and happy.
Have a nice day, you all.
Howdy folks,
Deleted my first comment because of shoddy spelling, so I'll try again. Got to learn to review comments before posting.
I walked away from today's puzzle twice and each time I returned, got a little more done until it was finally finished. surprisingly without one error.
I had no idea what DRINK GARNISH had to do with Diving rotation. Once TWIST appeared, it helped a little. But perps were the order of the day and fortunately, I lucked out.
Still a misdirection or two. Had Tass for Moscow news acronym. ITAR reminded me of International Traffic in Arms Regulation my days of employment.,Started with NDAK for Mont neighbor but pasnage did not look right!
I remember SMOKY BARS. In those days, I helped create the smoke UGH.
I was a JOCK, but never a king.
Happy to see the Rays win last night. I figure they have the best chance to send the Sox home.
A real toughie for me today. I knew few of the names and you know how that affects me. But I wagged my way through it except for misspelling GLEES.
Strangers to me were O'HENRY, CELIA, MEHTI, LUPE, AVALON, LA RAMS, JAMAL, CLINTON, although that one became obvious quickly from perps.
Yesterday we were gone all day to a funeral--the last of DH's maternal aunts.
Hi Y'all! Another pick and hunt Thursday, but didn't get discouraged. SMOKY was my first guess. (Since I'm allergic to it, SMOKY is the first thing I notice.) Thanks, Pancho.
Thanks, Marti! Loved the dance link, but I got sidetracked watching other Travolta dance videos. What is it about that man dancing that is so riveting? The twist contest was the only part of "Pulp Fiction" I liked.
The TWIST theme got my mind twisted. When I finally got the word, it took several rereadings to believe it was right despite no red letters. I still had the last long answer to fill but the reveal was no help. Had to perp it in then decide what was TWISTed about it.
RIP Tom Clancy. I wondered why he had a co-author on his last book. Must not have been well.
Qli and Lucina, ..... regarding your inquiries, on my daughter's paper from yesterday, on migraines.
First of all, I should not have mentioned it in the first place. I only wrote that in, because she kept phone - photo - messaging me, the cover of her reprint, like about 7 times, yesterday (!).... That I nearly developed a migraine myself......
I could not locate the paper, on the web .... So I'm not sure whether (a) it has yet been published - although it has presumably, been accepted for publication.. You know, there is a difference. Also, many of these papers require a fee to be paid, to access them.
Second of all, I wouldn't even worry or concern myself about this paper. This is not an earth shattering event, that changes conventional medical wisdom on the treatment, that is going to make my daughters name a household word, like Salk or Sabin ,.....
This is just another one of those interminable investigations, on the use of epidural injections, as a sympathetic dose, in treating migraines, with lots of statistical analysis, and single blind and double blind studies and endless chi square tests for statistical relevancy.
In my opinion, I think, it is of no use to a layman, or for that matter, anyone actually suffering from the migraines .... (I am sorry to say). You'd be better off surveying the existing literature, already in the field. That's the best and sincerest advice I think I can give.
I tried to edit in review mode and lost my post. So here is Kubla Khan instead.
Kubla Khan
By Samuel Taylor Coleridge
In Xanadu did Kublai Khan
A stately Pleasure-Dome decree,
Where Alph, the sacred river ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
So twice five miles of fertile ground
With walls and towers was girdled ’round,
And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills,
Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree;
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
This link contains the entire poem and an explanation of it.
Link Kubla Khan
Good morning everyone.
Well, I'm having déjà vu all over again. The puzzle reminded me of ENCIRCLing Catalina Island, and its main city of AVALON, on the USS Greer County (LST-799) with its flat-bottomed KEEL for 4 days in the summer of '58. Sigh.
I ended up getting to TWIST early because of the way the solve evolved, so I guess I didn't experience what Marti did. Few unknowns like LUPE and JAMAL came from the perps. Overall, a challenging but fun puzzle.
Hahtoolah and others - Thanks for the good wishes.
Have a great day.
Fun, fun, fun! TWIST came to me slowly and I did an “AHA” out loud when I got it! 3” of rain has me off the course and so…
Musings
-My favorite O. HENRY short story, uh, with a TWIST
-Chubby checker had The TWIST, Let’s TWIST Again, TWIST It Up, Let’s TWIST Again, Dear Lady TWIST, La Paloma TWIST, etc.. Hey it paid the rent.
-We loved bowling but the SMOKY air drove us out
-VOID where prohibited – Urinate in a forbidden place ;-)?
-We noticed Monday that the Platte here has been swollen by Colorado rains
-Paul Simon tenement halls yesterday and A POOR BOY today
-Not ENTER but EXIT STAGE LEFT (@:34) but he really exits Stage Right, doesn’t he?
-I know several BOORS who, once they start, talk endlessly about themselves and never ask about anyone else’s life
-Yeah, this guy was a mystic
-SDAK not SASK neighboring our itinerant friend today
-My brother was between jobs a lot
What ? Only one sports clue ?
Yeah, stumbling around would describe my solve. Had to resort to Saturday tactics, and first fill any reasonably certain acrosses, and then any reasonably certain verticals, just to get toe holds.
CONE confirmed that I could fill in SCOOP. But that still didn't help get SMOKY until I gave into OLEOS and considered bars as places for libations. Prior to ths S from SCOOP, and O from OLEOS, my "bars in noir films" were dark metal and meant for confinement. Probably spent three or four minutes working through bleak, black, ebony, stark...
First theme fill was SIXTIES DANCE but didn't have TWIST yet. After getting OLIVER OF FICTION, TWIST was apparent, and led to a quick filling of DRINK GARNISH. By then, my VOIDs were only in the top 3 rows and a lot of OHENRY SPECIALTY was missing.
Had no idea on MEHTA crossing CELIA. LUPE was perped. As was AVA in AVALON and COL in COLERIDGE.
Sharon Gless also plays Michael's mother on BURN NOTICE.
ITAR-TASS
Oh well, that's enough for now, other than to thank Pancho for the tough puzzle and Marti for the smooth review.
Pancho, lots of fun to figure the theme. I guessed 'twist' right away from the clue about diving, then on to theme answers.
Other clues dictated the speed of solving for me. Took some 'thought', which I have felt foreign about lately.
Perps helped pull through EIGER,ITAR JAMAL,CELIA,CLINTON and LUPE.
Nice, Owen.
Have a nice day, everyone.
Marti, you were the first I thanked and I guess I wiped it out messing with that dang crazy 'word spell' thingy.
Pls forgive. I always love your comfortable expo.
HG, “The Gift of the Magi” is also my favorite O’Henry story. But now I am intrigued by Vidwan’s comment about “Friends in San Rosario.” I understand that that one is very cose to his actual life…
Creature, you are always so thoughtful. Thank you. It is really interesting to read how others solved this one today. Some sailed through on perps, while others (like me and TTP, I guess) had to go Saturday rogue and fill wherever we could.
Marti
Good Morning:
A fun but crunchy Thursday offering. Had a few stumbling blocks but got the TaDa w/o help, so I'm happy.
Thanks, Pancho, for a Thursday challenge and thanks to our Divine Miss M for a sparkling expo.
Hondo, did I miss your MRI results?
Today marks our 11th straight day of sunshine and above average temps. Tomorrow brings us some much needed, if unwanted, rain. No complaints, it's been a glorious Fall with, I'm sure, more pleasant weather in store.
Have a great day.
Greetings, friends!
Thank you, Pancho and Marti, for delivering us a great "punch" today.
With SCOOP and MEHTA along with CELIA as my first fill, I then sashayed right through this puzzle.
LUPE, however, was unknown, but it emerged almost by itself. AVALON and COLERIDGE are also old friends so the march was on to the bottom. I was surprised to see three Os in OOOLA! It's been many years since reading Alley Oop.
In the midwest it was a bit of a struggle. I had SSTS and until I WAGGED JAMAL and RE EXAMINE appeared, then LA RAMS made sense and it was done!
Fun clues:
oyster's spot, BED
Capri crowd, TRE
Gator chaser, ADE
claw holder, PAW
Thanks to spitzboov,YARDARMS and other nautical terms have become familiar to me.
Everyone, I hope your Thursday is wonderful!
widwan:
Thank you for your explanatory reply. I believe I understand what you mean. My interest is always for my daughter and hoping to find some alleviation for her migraine headaches. She has been seeing a naturopathic doctor as well as an allergist and some progress has been made.
I was so sure of TAAS.. It took,a while,to fix..I always want to spell edys with two day..
I liked the puzzle once I got going.
Thanks for the poem.
K
Good morning everybody. Thanks, Marti, for the explanation to many, many things I didn’t know.
I am back at home in Montana. It takes me longer to drive from airport to home than it does to fly from NYC to Great Falls, MT.
I am an optimist on M-W; I solve in Master Level if on my iPad. On Thursday I am a pessimist and immediately turn on the red-letter help. I needed a lot of assistance today to finish the puzzle. I even did as some of you, and thought SASK was going to be my neighbor rather than SDAK. I had the first S. I knew her name but wasn’t spelling it correctly—OOOLA. I did get TRAVEL for what retirees do. My trip through New England was wonderful!
I did get the theme and that made all the difference to enjoying the puzzle. It was fun to see how Pancho fit it all together.
The big snow storm headed east today is moving south of the Missouri River. I live north of it so will only get the cold weather. 60s today but 20s expected tomorrow. Gotta go get hoses & sprinklers moved into garage.
Stay safe if you are in the path of this storm,
Montana
I found this a toughie too, at least at first, but became more and more delighted as things slowly filled in and I got the theme. So, many thanks, Pancho, and you too, Marti, for the always sparkly expo. Glad you explained the ITAR to us, since like others, I wanted TASS.
Lots of cool literary stuff in this puzzle, like COLERIDGE (thanks for printing the poem, Yellowrocks) and the reference to Ambrose Bierce, a great favorite of my husband's.
Yes, AVALON always makes me think of CATALINA, 26 miles across the sea from us and clearly visible on a clear day. Glad I had a chance to take the ferry there for a visit on several occasions in my early days in California.
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
I had trouble getting started. When I got to the hint about TWIST, I thought "Diving rotation" had something to do with SCUBA or deep sea diving. So I was befuddled for a while. Once I understood the theme, it helped fill in the rest. Nice going Pancho and Marti!
I agree with Lucina's fun clues. But then I always agree with Lucina...
Misty, we've always enjoyed visiting Catalina too. We also spent some time at Two Harbors, the other end of the island, and enjoyed weekend functions at the USC Marine Biology Lab.
I enjoyed the twist video from Pulp Fiction but like PK, I didn't like the rest of the movie. It's hard for me to like a movie with no good guys to root for.
Here is this week's Animal Tracks slideshow from my NBC homepage. Animal Tracks.
So Montana, will we get to see PICs from your trip?
Bill G., as always, thanks for the Animal Tracks. But really, those sphinx kittens??? They were in a beauty show???? (The baby red panda was adorable, though!)
Good morning Marti, C.C. and all,
Thanks Pancho for a challenging, but satisfying puzzle.I was off to a great start with scoop & smoky... so I thought.I ignored(and grumbled a bit) through all of the theme clues(?). Usually I depend on the DOWNS to fill in the toughies, but I did have to G. 4 names, because I was impatient.As soon as I filled twist, the fun began.A light bulb flickered and so the twists began.
Last to fill: yardarms
Fav.= Capri crowd.
Marti,thanks for each tid bit of enlightenment(L.A.Rams,not Larams!!)and the Pulp Fiction clip.
Have a lovely day in your neighborhood. Do you know your neighbors' names?
Misty, your post reminds me of this song.
Marti and Husker, The Gift of the Magi is my favorite O'Henry story, too. Of course, it's the only one I've read.
Bill G. @ 11:37 - Thanks for the Animal Tracks link. Great pictures of all but I'm partial to the panda cubs. It amazes me that these little cubs weigh only 4 oz. at birth (a stick of butter), yet grow into such large adults.
The SE corner was a real bear, even with the red letters on. Actfor Ifso Itar Nonet were hard enough to suss out, but what did me in was OOO?A/LIS?E... (The alphabet has only 26 letters, right? Dangit, I used them all...)
FermatPrime@5:41am asked what does twist have to do with dive, which made me look up this (somewhat) interesting clip of kids trying to learn to dive with a twist. (Lots of belly flops.) @4:04 it is a bit long, so some of you might prefer this 0:53 blooper clip.
Which leads me to this 3-1/2 turn + 1 twist disaster from 100 feet.
(they are still trying to "untwist" him.)
& of course, the compulsory Kitty Pic.
:)
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Pancho, for a swell puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the fine review.
Well, this was a three hour marathon. Got it, though.
Tried TODO for 6A. Fixed that to FLAP after I got three of the four Downs. The fourth to get was FASTEN.
Was lucky to get COLERIDGE from deep in my brain, with a couple perps to clue me.
Had O'HENRY, plus a few letters and eventually got SPECIALTY after TWIST appeared late in the game.
The other three themes came quickly after TWIST.
Thank goodness for a few favorites, such as ALOE, OTO, OSO, REB, LSTS, and OLEOS.
CLINTON was easy. Remember him from history. In Illinois the city of Clinton is in DeWitt County. I am sure that is not a coincidence. Someone brought the New York history a little west.
OwenKL. Great poem, as always. Thank you for sharing your talent.
Going to cook down down some tomatoes I picked yesterday. Then back to PA tonight. My daughter is going with me on this trip.
See you tomorrow from Edinboro, PA.
Abejo
(eadiamen)
Your "The Boxer" link had me wondering about the missing line: 'am older than I once was
And younger than I'll be and that's not unusual.' So I looked it up.
The Boxer wiki page
Very interesting summary.
CED, your "kitty pic" looks like a marijuana ad. Was that your plan? Didn't think so.
Marti: Thank you for an excellent write-up & musical links.
Pancho: Your "TWIST" themes were FUN to solve.
My fave today (of course) was the TIA Maria I added to my coffee.
A close second, YARDARMS that I'm always waiting for the Sun to get over. lol!
Bill G: I'll be rooting for your Dodger's in the NL. My brother, who lives in Burbank, probably doesn't know (or care) that the baseball playoffs have started.
Hondo: The Tampa Bay Rays are on a roll. Go Rays!!!
A "toast" to ALL at Sunset.
Cheers !!!
Great puzzle, Pancho and thanks for the expo Marti.
WEES - I loved this one, and the only names I knew were COLERIDGE and CLINTON, so I needed every single perp to finish this one. Just under half an hour, definitely a crunchy Thursday!
I remember from reading a book titled "Salt" that the Erie Canal was nicknamed "Clinton's Folly" when it was under construction, but when it opened it was instrumental in bringing a lot of trade to Syracuse and the port of New York.
Misty - I could see Catalina from the top of the Hollywood sign when I took a friend hiking up there at the weekend. Most of the time during the summer it's too hazy to see, but last Saturday morning I could see Santa Barbara island, and that's 45 miles away.
Ah, Desper-otto, what a lovely song that is! Thank you for posting it! It's a special pleasure to hear it against those beautiful pictures of the island. Steve and Bill, glad you like Catalina too!
Hi gang -
Not an easy skein to unravel. Or should I say unTWIST?
Deeply thought-through theme. Very impressive technically. I appreciate it more finished than while working on it.
Why did I slip up on OLEOS?
Jamal, I knew. EN Lai, too. CLINTON came from a deep recess somewhere. Knew TASS, but not ITAR, nor CELIA.
YOGIS entirely from perps, alas.
Ooh-la-la, OOOLA.
REEXAMINE COLERIDGE. He was high.
Pirates got through their best of one, Indians didn't. Lots of base runners, no runs, alas.
Cool Regards!
JzB
Do you remember the old song, "26 Miles Across the Sea"? Without looking it up, can you remember who sang it? I couldn't. But I know now.
I really enjoyed this video. Be careful because it may result in a sugar overload. Puppies and kittens vs. mirrors.
Montana:
I'm glad to see that you made it home safely. As wonderful as it is to travel, home is so welcome.
Bill G:
You make me chuckle.
Needed some Google help today with all the names. I agree with Marti that there were a lot of names today!
Like Montana,on Thursday I immediately turn on the red-letter help.
Also took a while to figure out the theme - very clever.
We still have ESSO in Canada but no EDYS ice cream.
I wanted Camelot for AVALON at first and TASS not ITAR.
Favourite today was gator chaser =ADE.
Bill G. @ 2:17 - Thanks for the " Manac and CED" clip. Loved the Bichon Frise!
Chubby Checker's birthday is listed today at age 72. Do you suppose Rich planned the TWIST puzzle today for that reason?
So now the latest Huffington Post headline is
Giant Asian Hornets Are Killing People In China, Breeding In Larger Numbers.
What is going on with the world? If true, this is frightening, if not true, the kind of sensational lies that made the Enquirer millions, but here the headlines are thrust in your face without buying a paper.
CNN also carried that hornet story. That'll teach those people to be breeding in larger numbers!
PK @ 3:08, Rich is very thoughtful and considerate. I don't think there are any coincidences in the dates that he chooses to publish certain puzzles. C.C. told me the other day, that the "Chinese Inventions" puzzle she and Don made was published close to China's National Holiday. I would love to be a fly on the wall when he is making his decisions...
Late today cuz the ugly side of duty called. But I did the puzzle this morning and found it very tough. Saturday level for sure. Had to start making wags early on, and was able to muddle through it successfully, but it wasn't easy.
One of my many quirks is that I try to avoid the unifier until late in the game. Don't know why. But today that did not serve me well. Once I gave in to that, the various twists became obvious. Another day, another 37 cents.
Thanks for the feedback yesterday on availability of the Xword in the Bay Area, CC, Jayce, and Anon. I'll find a way to get my daily dose without having to resort to electronic methods.
Hola Everyone, A very hard puzzle for me today, with no "clue" as to what the unifier was. A diving rotation didn't help me much as I had in mind some sort of rotation the divers would be in when taking their turn!!Duh! Once I had tw in for the unifier I went back to partially filled in theme answers and found Drink Garnish. Then things began to fall into place.
With many unknowns for me today, I used Google to find some answers. Those really helped in filling in a lot of blanks.
I also tried Nylon, then Lycra for Hosiery thread, but I knew that Tia Maria was spelled with an I and not a Y so was stuck on that corner for the longest time.
This was definitely a learning puzzle for me today. I always think I'll remember some of the more obscure names or places or sports references, but they just seem to seep out of my head as fast as I put them in.
A busy week for us here as my husband has started the first of four infusions for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. He has had this for almost 8 years. It is very slow growing and he has had no real symptoms (fatique among others) until now. The Dr. says that this treatment should set it back on its heels. We're hoping so and so far so good.
Have a great day, everyone.
I hope that treatment works out for him, Chickie. Well, for you both.
Fun puzzle today. I enjoyed it, as I do almost all of them, whether hard or easy.
I got O Henry first, so thought his specialty was irony. Nope, it was TWIST. Then, silly me, I was looking for something like OLIVE alternative, until DRINK GARNISH came along. Oh jeeez, Oliver!
Man oh man, there was a time I used to drink Tia Maria.
Best wishes to you all.
Chickie: Best wishes to you and your husband. My MIL had that. Her IV treatments in the 70's made her feel worse than ever her disease did. But she'd bounce back like the Energizer Bunny after they were over.
CED: Thanks so much for explanation!
Chickie: My thoughts on diving rotation also! Hope all will be well with your husband!
Chickie:
Best wishes from me, too. I'll certainly keep both of you in my prayers.
My prayers for Mr. Chickie.
With all the proper names and then crossing each other. I'm taking Thumpers advice. But "LUPE" ? Seriously??
Chickie, My sincerest best to you and your DH.
uiteoped
Chickie, sending prayers for you and Bill.
Bill,enjoyed Animal Tracks and the pups and kitties. 4 Preps
Hahtoolah, fun watching C.Checkers, but not as exciting as it once was. Who didn't love the twist,especially after a few beers!
Gary, thanks for posting The Gift of the Magi. It was a family favorite.
Owen, another good one!
Ransom of Red Chief was my favorite. Never cared for the candy bar.
The game is a little more than half over but the Dodgers are looking pretty good. Due to injuries, one of their star outfielders is out for the rest of the season and another is only available to pinch hit at the moment. Still, they're ahead 5 to 1 now so I'm hopeful.
Chickie, my very best wishes and positive vibes for you and your husband. I hope those infusions beat the bad stuff into submission.
Chickie:
Best wishes to hubby and you. Take care.
I'm feeling the vibes, prayers, and thoughts from everyone for my husband's better health. Thank you everyone.
Vidwan, I just looked up "Friends in San Rosario" by O.Henry on the Internet and just finished reading it. I had never heard of it until you recommended it. I enjoyed it very much. Thanks.
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