I am never sure how this crowd will react to a sounds like pun puzzle but for me the theme fill is especially fun. I have blogged many of Mark's Friday creations and they all seem to have some sound element, and a very light-hearted approach. If you want to go to the archives, you will have a good time solving them all. We also had so many sparkly fill like BASS DRUM, GAG RULES, SHOELACE, SKI SLOPE, SMALLEST and STUNTMAN.
So let us see where the puns take us.
17A. Religious text for a Texas senator? : CRUZ MISSAL (10). CRUISE MISSILE. The hardest one, as while most know Ted Cruz,the book containing the prayers and rites used by the Roman Catholic priest in celebrating Mass over the course of the entire year.
24A. Pet for a Spanish surrealist? : DALI LLAMA (9). DALAI LAMA. Salvatore and the two L.
53A. Underage child of a German chancellor? : KOHL MINOR (9). COAL MINER. I also am not sure if many remember HELMUT.
62A. Household help for a 19th-century president? : TAYLOR MAID (10). TAILOR-MADE. My grandfather was a tailor. Zachary, old Rough and Ready was the 12th President who was the second one who died in office in the 1840s.
Across:
1. Like "le" in Fr.: MASCuline.
5. Degrade: ABASE.
10. There's no money in it: SWAP. I love this clue; there are barter companies who broker professional services without money.
14. Prefix with syllabic: OCTO. This is pretty random, though a real word.
15. Starbucks offering: LATTE.
16. Cap with a flat, circular top: KEPI.
19. Flex ending: IBLE.
20. Home of Amboseli National Park : KENYA.
This PARK.
21. Pennant race mo. : SEPtember.
22. Tied accessory : ASCOT. This gets its name fro, the racetrack but historically was part of very formal wear. LINK.
23. Cause of a sleeve movement : TUG.
26. More uneven : BUMPIER.
29. Puts in a vault, in a way : ENTOMBS.
30. Dos Passos trilogy : USA. Do you like reading about the GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL?
31. Mild rebuke : TUT. Does anyone use a single tut?
33. With 44-Across, Hanna-Barbera feline : TOP. 44A. See 33-Across : CAT.
34. Cravings : YENS.
36. Sidekick : AMIGO.
38. Glimpse : ESPY.
42. Not a good start? : MAL. A bad prefix.
45. Shade : HUE.
46. Michigan neighbor : ONTARIO.
50. Baptized boys, often : GODSONS.
55. Milk source : EWE. Sheep milk. Do humans drink THIS?
56. Whac-__ : A-MOLE. Are you a CHAMP?
57. Heating stat : BTU. British Thermal Unit
58. Finnish architect Alvar __ : AALTO. I had not heard of this MAN.
61. Look closely (over) : PORE.
64. Bank offerings : IRAS. Much more than a bank offering.
65. Resort WSW of Denver : ASPEN. My first trip to Colorado was to Denver and thenon to a condo in Snowmass at Aspen. 10D. 65-Across feature : SKI SLOPE. They have lots to do THERE.
66. __ coffee : ICED. Aha, not tea today.
67. Titillating message : SEXT.
68. Silly ones : GEESE.
69. Cong. period : SESSion.
Down:
1. Sham : MOCK.
2. Israeli port : ACRE. A change for this fill, but very tricky. Acre is the holiest city of the Bahá'í Faith, and as such receives many Baha'i pilgrims. In 2016, the population was 47,808.Acre is a mixed city, that includes Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze, and Baha'is. Wiki.
3. Nonspeaking movie role : STUNTMAN.
4. Ingratiate oneself (to) : COZYUP.
5. "When We Were Kings" subject : ALI.
6. It takes a beating : BASS DRUM. Another really cute clue.
7. Befuddled : AT SEA.
8. Basic : STAPLE. You need to stockpile these around hurrican season here.
9. Sushi selection : EEL. CSO to C.C.
11. Interoffice connection : WEBCAM. Not in my office, but many use them when they are nationwide.
12. Poise : APLOMB.
13. Madonna portrayals : PIETAS.
18. Crèche trio : MAGI.
22. Glee club member : ALTO.
25. Completely : IN TOTO. Funny letters into to.
26. Accept : BUY. That's your story? I guess I buy it.
27. Consumption : USE.
28. List ender : ET ALII.
32. Idiosyncratic contraction : TIC.
35. Of least significance : SMALLEST. Hey, good things come in small packages.
37. They squelch discussions : GAG RULES. This has a bad HISTORY. By statute or court rule, gag orders are often placed on grand jury participants.
39. It goes over the tongue : SHOELACE. You have to think about this one.
40. "Piano is not my forte," e.g. : PUN. I guess we understand where Mr. Feldman's head was when he built this puzzle.
41. With 51-Down, sometimes-sighed line : YES. 51D. See 41-Down : DEAR.
43. French weapon : ARME. Inferrable but I have never heard it used.
46. Congo natives : OKAPIS. The okapi also known as the forest giraffe or zebra giraffe, is an artiodactyl mammal native to the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Central Africa. Wiki.
47. "That's enough already!" : NO MORE.
48. Middle section of an insect : THORAX. I wish I had John Lampkin to pick a picture.
49. Hoping to get home : ON BASE. Baseball season started yesterday.
52. Religious ascetics : SWAMIS. More religion.
54. Common blood group : O-TYPE.
59. Connections : TIES. I have used facebook to restablish ties with so many with whom I had lost touch.
60. Chances : ODDS. Chances are that most are not very happy with...
62. Identify on Facebook : TAG.
63. Unified : ONE.
I enjoyed this one very much, and hope you all did as well. Happy Passover to those celebrating Passover this evening; we get to cook for my local son and his family after going to Colorado the last few years. Good Friday and Easter also are this weekend and the best to those who celebrate. Thank you Mark, and who come and share. Lemonade out.
Note from C.C.:
Below is letter I got from the great Jeffrey Wechsler. It warmed my heart.
"I consider it incumbent upon me to personally and publicly thank several of those whose comments on my Wednesday puzzle, and past puzzles, were so kind that I virtually blushed while reading them. I refer specifically to Irish Miss -- "I hereby nominate Jeffrey Wechsler for Word Play Wizard of the Crossword Community" -- and to Swamp Cat -- "Irish Miss, I second the nomination! JW certainly is a Word Play Wizard!"
For those of you who regularly solve LA Times puzzles, and for those who venture into the wider world of crosswords, I am sure that you know that there many, many constructors equally (and much more) worthy of the title of Word Play Wizard. Indeed, compared to some constructors, my presumed Wizard rank would be reduced to that of Muggle.
However, over the years I have been greatly appreciative by the many kind comments on this blog toward my work. I recall the slow advance of the reception of my Friday LA Times puzzles at the Crossword Corner from occasional befuddlement (and a rare bit of hostility!), to tentative acceptance, to enjoyment (although, of course, not by all). My intent is never to confound -- just to try to come up with something interesting, and perhaps challenging in a positive sense. Crossword puzzles should not be "gotcha" affairs -- they should be engaging, brain-tickling, and providers of enjoyment. And to that end, my favorite comments are perhaps from Misty. How can I resist smiling on seeing Wednesday's "Woohoo! Woohoo! I got a Wednesday Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle without a single error or cheating!" I always look forward to Misty's "Woohoo!" It's that sort of reaction that makes the odd enterprise of puzzle-making worthwhile. And I thank those in general who comprise the community who comment at the Crossword Corner. Especially in comparison to some other crossword blogs, the comments here are overwhelmingly kind, thoughtful, and lacking in unnecessary invective. Thank you all (even those who still misspell my name!).
All the best, and keep on solving,
Jeffrey Wechsler"
Below is letter I got from the great Jeffrey Wechsler. It warmed my heart.
"I consider it incumbent upon me to personally and publicly thank several of those whose comments on my Wednesday puzzle, and past puzzles, were so kind that I virtually blushed while reading them. I refer specifically to Irish Miss -- "I hereby nominate Jeffrey Wechsler for Word Play Wizard of the Crossword Community" -- and to Swamp Cat -- "Irish Miss, I second the nomination! JW certainly is a Word Play Wizard!"
For those of you who regularly solve LA Times puzzles, and for those who venture into the wider world of crosswords, I am sure that you know that there many, many constructors equally (and much more) worthy of the title of Word Play Wizard. Indeed, compared to some constructors, my presumed Wizard rank would be reduced to that of Muggle.
However, over the years I have been greatly appreciative by the many kind comments on this blog toward my work. I recall the slow advance of the reception of my Friday LA Times puzzles at the Crossword Corner from occasional befuddlement (and a rare bit of hostility!), to tentative acceptance, to enjoyment (although, of course, not by all). My intent is never to confound -- just to try to come up with something interesting, and perhaps challenging in a positive sense. Crossword puzzles should not be "gotcha" affairs -- they should be engaging, brain-tickling, and providers of enjoyment. And to that end, my favorite comments are perhaps from Misty. How can I resist smiling on seeing Wednesday's "Woohoo! Woohoo! I got a Wednesday Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle without a single error or cheating!" I always look forward to Misty's "Woohoo!" It's that sort of reaction that makes the odd enterprise of puzzle-making worthwhile. And I thank those in general who comprise the community who comment at the Crossword Corner. Especially in comparison to some other crossword blogs, the comments here are overwhelmingly kind, thoughtful, and lacking in unnecessary invective. Thank you all (even those who still misspell my name!).
All the best, and keep on solving,
Jeffrey Wechsler"
65 comments:
hi everybody. That was a great letter from Jeffrey Wechsler. It warmed my heart too.
I'm still thinking about Argyle and hoping for the best.
For me, that was by far the hardest puzzle this week. I still haven't finished all of the bottom since I skipped over that part of Lemon's writeup. It's a good one but tough for me. It's really late but I thought it would be fun to see my name at the top for a change. Woohoo! Thanks Mark and Lemon.
More later...
Held over FLN:
Spitzboov FLN at 8:17 PM
Thanks for LIU advice. I have found D with stroke (disambiguation).
Ƶ and ƶ are also used by mathematicians, scientists, and engineers as variants of Z and z in hand-written equations to avoid confusion with the numeral 2. ¿What could you confuse a Z with that causes you to use Ƶ ?
Dudley FLN at 8:26 PM
Thank you for taking the "Time" to write your story.
Anonymous FLN at 8:57 PM, at 9:12 PM, and Anonymous T at 9:01 PM
I do not see trolling in the comment of anon. He/she/it was the only person to point out to me that I would have shorted myself, and could have missed D-Os comment that it was funny. Anon T, you caught the joke also. Thanks.
Anon, if you really want to write posts, please go to the Olio section on the home page, and follow the instructions. On 3-29 it is across from 65A. If this is too much for you, click on Name/URL just above Anonymous, and put in the word by which you want to be known on the Corner.
PK FLN at 12:16 AM
If you will send me an e-mail, I will tell you a story about hugs.
Michael FLN at 1:03 AM
Wrote "the sound pronounced "d" in Vietnamese" ¿You mean the letter that looks like a "t?"
The Ð and Ƶ info leads me to the European 7 which has a line thru it also. The line is to distinguish it from the numeral "1".
Most Europeans draw a "1" not with just a vertical line, but with a tiny stroke from the top and down to the left.
If you're writing quickly, it's easy to mix it up with a "7".
Now on to the CW for 3-30.
Ðave
Goodly Morningly Cornerlys,
¡Whew! It took the three Ps to git er don, but I did. That's Power, Parsley, and Putin. Thank you Mr. Mark Feldman for attempting to demise me. 'Twas Tre hard, and yet I've grown accustomed to this place. I'd better digress before I undress. The NW cell was snowed in for the longest time. Finally my STUNTMAN used a CRUZMISSAL on OCTOmom in KENYA with a MOCK MASsaCre, that's massACRE. Now I can COZYUP to the FIR in a whopping 45:01.
Thanks Le Mon for such an interesting review.
55A question: ¿Do humans drink ewe's milk? I LIU and Other's Milk, note the play on mother's milk reports that As for sheep’s milk, almost no one in the United States or anywhere else drinks it straight. It has twice the fat of cow's milk and human milk, making it too rich to be very appealing as a beverage.
As for pig's milk, Edward Lee of Louisville's 610 Magnolia and Top Chef says “Anyone who farms pigs would say that pigs' milk would make an incredible cheese.”
This is such a cheesy subject.
2D You introduce me to the Bahá'í Faith, a religion of which I had never even heard.
Ðave
How nice to hear from JW, thank you.
Dave2, there are many followers of the Bahá'í Faith. Here is a list of those who are the subject of a Wikipedia article - LIST. Vic Damone was the first one who I knew discussed his belief.
Good morning!
I don't know the names of many Senators, but I do know Ted CRUZ (though I usually give him a middle name). That gave me the theme early on, and I was off and running. Tried LUMPIER at first, but LUY made no sense. Nice puzzle. Thanx, Mark and Lemonade.
AALTO -- Sounds like a stuttering singer. That was the only unknown in this one.
ACRE -- The city is not pronounced the same as the land plot: Ah-ker or thereabouts.
Lemonade, at the start of hurricane season we always deliver a carton of shelf-stable (not STAPLE) foods to our M-o-W clients. No refrigeration required. That gives 'em something to eat in case they're home-bound with no electricity.
Got Cruz missal immediately and it made the rest of the themed clue fairly easy.
Except for the 4x4 block of cells in the NW corner, this got solved 1-2-3 in a few minutes. The theme was a huge help. It took me a while to remember CRUZ is from TX, even after I had COZY. DUH! I was looking for a USA park instead of KENYA. Really enjoyed it and Lemon's expo, too.
Thanks for your kind letter, Jeff.
Rick, great story last night.
Happy Passover to all who celebrate it. And a Happy Easter to those who celebrate that.
Yellowrocks. Yesterday you mentioned your interests in American history. The Oregon Trail was one of them. One of the most enjoyable and informative books I've ever read is by a fellow named Rinker Buck... "The Oregon Trail, A New American Journey". It's available at Amazon.
It is an account of his four month journey in a mule driven wagon the entire length of the trail.
He's the only one to have done this in the last one hundred and twenty years!
What a delightful way to start the morning with a letter from Jeffrey Wechsler! Thank you and you must know from my comments how much I enjoy solving your puzzles. They are always refreshing and fun.
Today's was also a fresh take on puns. I loved it! For the second day we have seen MISSAL; it's a familiar book to me as I take my own to church. CRUZ took a while longer to emerge.
ALTO/AALTO are fun to see. CSO to Canadian Eh! at ONTARIO.
SHOELACE next to TIES makes a nice coupling. TOP CAT is new to me but was easily grokked.
Thank you, Mark Feldman, for an enjoyable "cruise" across the grid!
And thank you, Lemonade, for your tireless efforts to educate us.
Have a peaceful Good Friday, everyone!
Saturday-like, beyond my skills, but still fun. I ran out of P&P and looked up KENYA, USA, ALI, and to correct the spelling of KiPI. At least I didn't have any remaining bad cells when I checked the grid.
Nice letter from JW. Nice review from Lemony. Nice puzzle from Mark. Thanks to all.
Good mornin all. Tough puzzle today soDNF . Thanks just the same I learned a few things.
I don’t know about sheep’s milk but goat milk was given to some kids in our hamlet on the advice of a doctor long ago . I LIU and goat milk has less sugar than cow milk and contains higher concentrations of some vitamins and potassium. Although we called female goats EWES , they are actually called does or nannies. Both sheep and goat milk makes great cheese.
FLN all that talk about the jokes reminded me of a friend whose wife told us she woke up at 1:00AM one night because her hubby was laughing . He had finally caugh the joke from the evening visit. Some people laugh twice at a joke . When it’s told and again when they catch on. A friend of ours also laughs again when he retells a joke. Cheerio
Good Morning:
I hit a few stumbling blocks but, overall, smooth sailing. I loved the theme and that certainly helped with the solve. The Kenyan park was unknown to me as was Aalto and Octo, as clued. I, too, had Lumpier before Bumpier (Hi, DO). My favorite C/A was It goes over the tongue=Shoelace.
Thanks, Mark, for a fun Friday and thanks, Lemony, for the grand tour.
Lucina, FLN, no, I didn't see that report on CBS but I'll keep my eyes open for it. Perhaps it will be on Sunday Morning with Jane Pauley.
Dudley, FLN, I loved your clock story, also.
Thanks, Jeffrey W., for taking the time to grace the Corner with your kind, heartfelt words. I'm glad you're aware of the many fans you have cultivated here at CC's Corner. Keep on puzzlin', please!
Happy Passover over to all celebrants.
Thoughts and best wishes to Argyle, who I hope is improving each day.
Have a great day.
Where did that lone "over" come from? Me thinks the autocorrect gremlins! Sorry.
Good morning everyone.
Good Friday workout. Got the theme early with KOHL MINOR, but somehow had Gramm before CRUZ. Really liked DALI LLAMA. NE was last to fall; thought KEPI was right, but looked up APLOMB anyway. Perps confirmed my guess of AALTO. Got ACRE by going around the horn with my mental picture of Israel and eliminating non-starters like Eilat and Haifa. Thanks Lemon for giving us a little more info on Acre. I see ACRE seems to be called Akko in Israel and shares an embayment, Haifa Bay, with Haifa.
Anonymous at 7:36 AM
I am devoting this post just to you, You are that important to the Corner.
Thank you for letting YR know about a book you like. You mentioned her comment from 3-29. Pleas see my post at 405A for help in promoting yourself out of anon status.
Ðave
Hello Puzzlers -
Put me down for a Technical DNF. That NW corner was stubborn. I had to look up up Acre and Kenya just to finish. Sham as a verb, as in mock, is completely unfamiliar. Cruz should have been obvious, as I had missal, but no luck.
How nice to hear from Jeff! That message gives me an excuse to enlarge upon the nickname I’ve been using, Jeff Wex. From the spelling of his name, I presume he uses the typical pronunciation “Wexler”. Now, if it were spelled as Weschler, it would sound more like “Weshler” - akin to Fleischmann, in pronunciation. Did I get it right, Jeff?
Anon@ 7:36. thanks for the tip. The book sounds wonderful. Please take D4's advice @ 9:11. You are someone I definitely would like to know better. Have you read the original journals of Lewis and Clark?
ADJ. A sham show of humility. A mock show of humility.
I will log on here in small bits. My stenosis is acting up so I need frequent breaks from my housework.
I had a hard time today and rolled snake eyes on this puzzle. The Eastern seaboard was not completed, mainly due to my sloppy handwriting. I knew TOP CAT, but initially filled them in backwards and after changing 44A from TOP to CAT, I left the ending T from CAT in 32A and had TOT instead of TOP. SKI SLOTS wouldn't allow the rest of the SE to be finished. But it wouldn't have mattered because I didn't know KEPI or PIETAS. Hell, I even tried EVITAS for Madonna's stage performances. No dice. Never heard of AALTO and couldn't get the YES DEAR either.
After CRUZ MISSAL, the other themes were easy fills. No problems there.
Well thanks, JW for your nice memo to C.C. and the Cornerites. I enjoy challenging puzzles but can understand how some people don't like obscure clues. I'm not one of them. They make me think a little harder. As for the "wider world of crosswords", the internet offers endless opportunities but I limit myself to just one a day- this one. Too many other things to do. Like go get 100lb or live crawfish for a boil.
Yellowrocks and other teachers on the corner- I'm curious as to what forms of disciplinary actions were acceptable to teachers in the past to calm down a rowdy student . I went to school when corporal punishment was still allowed. One teacher had a unique way of quieting down a class. Drawing a circle on the chalk board and getting the student to stand there with his nose touching the board inside the circle.I remember this happening only twice, but many years later at a school reunion the teacher was led to the chalk board by two men and he had to stick his nose in the circle . Not sure if it was all in fun or if it was payback time.
Musings
-I had my towel at the ready to throw in twice but persistence prevailed.
-Loved the theme, Lemon’s write-up and Jeff’s Wechsler’s note!
-I hope to use my TAYLOR MADE clubs on this 60˚F day
-MONOsyllabic responses are the bane of talk show hosts
-Oddly enough, OCTOSYLLABIC “sesquipedalophobia” is the fear of long words
-Baseball should shorten its interminable season so the World Series could be in August with better weather and no NFL competition
-This musical had this song with the lyric “Wherever I go I know he goes, Wherever I go I know she goes, No fits, no fights, no feuds, And no egos, AMIGOS together”
-DW has had a Whac-A-MOLE week. The cure? Shopping at Kohl’s!
-STUNTMAN Chuck Roberson and the man who played
-Tomayto/tomahto - COZY UP/SUCK UP
-When We Were Kings is a movie about -this event where both men TOOK A BEATING
-Should she BUY it – I won’t tell anyone if you SEXT me!
-Debate the issue or say, “YES DEAR”. Uh, we’ve been married 51 years…
Sidebar
Musings
-My best discipline strategy was to get the misbehaving child alone and out of earshot of his friends and address him as sternly as need be as to how his behavior was affecting me and the class. He kept his dignity and it usually worked. I never kicked a kid out of class in 42 years
When I was in the primary grades things kept falling out of my messy desk. The teacher said that if anything else fell out I would have to sit on the floor beside it. In those days we had oiled wooden floors. Yuck! So I was very careful. The same teacher would have misbehaving students go stand in the coat closet which had an opening above and below the door like some bathroom stalls. I avoided that, too. Maybe one intermediate grade student a year,always a boy,got paddled for a semi-extreme infractions. This was at a very calm and sedate school. We had few unruly students.
The biggest punishment given me was for some minor infraction, long forgotten. We had three grades to a room. I was an A math student in third grade and was sent to the chalkboard to do math problems with the first graders. I perversely did them all wrong. The teacher was very angry. My brother told my parents, so I was severely punished at home. I never resented the teacher or thought her unfair. The teacher was always right. By the time my own kids came along, these methods were verboten.
As a teacher, often I did as Gary does. Or, if I thought it would work, I just shook my head and said, TSK TSK. Sometimes I asked them to show me their work to get them back on track. If I was in the midst of teaching, I would ask them questions about the subject. I had a student who was always up and roaming around. I what ask, "What's up?" and he would say, "Nothing." Then I would answer, "You are!". Soon he just sat back down, saying, "I am." In our affluent area discipline was not a big problem.
YR 9:36 -
Oh! Adjective! Now I get it. Thanks for clarifying.
Yellowrocks, It is your turn to have a post all to yourself.
Today's Paraprosdokian comes to you courtesy of YR who wrote "I need frequent breaks from my housework."
Here 'tis: "He taught me housekeeping; when I divorce I keep the house." Zsa zsa Gabore
And as a special added bonus a twofer: "Housework can't kill you, but why take a chance?" — Phyllis Diller
Let's make it a trifecta: "I hate housework. You make the beds, you wash the dishes, and six months later you have to start all over again," Joan Rivers
Ðave
"Puzzling Thoughts":
FIW due to the Pacific NW giving me fits; or in this case, MISfits. Close but no stogie; I had CRUZMISSAL and MASC, but had to LU KENYA. MOCK/OCTO/ACRE were a Natick, plus Framingham ...
I finished this from the bottom up, today. Couldn't get a foot hold up top, so filling in from the Gulf and Texas seemed logical
Cute theme; as a fellow punster, this was right up my alley. Even had a solve/word from a limerick I penned a couple of years ago:
Little Jack Horner (whose now famous thumb)
Appears at book signings; for money he'll come.
To show off his digit,
And try not to fidget,
To prove for us all, that he does have APLOMB.
And for my punny haiku (aka, Moe-ku):
Wouldn't you agree
That all of us who can't spell
Might have typo blood?
ON BASE - ABASE - BASS DRUM; covered the "basics", I suppose ...
Ok, Moe; NO MORE. Or is it, no Moe?
Happy Passover and Happy Easter.
A bit crunchy today, especially the NW....MONO b4 OCTO , AALTO unknown.
Nice letter from Jeff W.
Read a real groaner yesterday.....Man finds a lamp, rubs it, out pops the Genie....”You have 3 wishes, be careful”, Genie disappears. “Well, I’d like a nice house”. Poof...his shack is now a nice house fully furnished. “Wow....now I wish I was wealthy”. Poof...His mailbox is now filled with investment checks. “This is great! I’m so happy!” Just then a catchy ad runs on the radio...he’s so happy he begins to sing along...”Oh I wish I was an Oscar-Mayer Weiner”. Poof.
Told ya, a real groaner.
"PT2":
Perhaps a bit late for this "joke":
What's the definition of a loser?
It's a man whose wife gave up sex for Lent, and he only found out on Good Friday!
Ba-dum-bump
Oh my goodness! Oh my goodness! I was delighted to see Jeffrey Wechsler checking in with a lovely message this morning but couldn't believe when I got to the bottom and he mentioned my yesterday "Woohoo!" It touched me so much because I don't really think of constructors reading our blog, even though I know they do since they often comment. But, my goodness, this was so unexpectedly sweet that I'm still blushing. Thank you, Jeffrey--you've made my day and much more!
And so on to today's toughie. I got practically nothing on my first across run, but when I went to the downs, the northeast corner filled in--a huge relief. Then slowly, slowly lots of other things filled in before I had to start cheating. When the first theme appeared (DALI LLAMA), I burst out laughing and now had the theme. Lots of fun to see the other clever words come into view--many thanks, Mark, for a Friday delight. And Lemonade, your write-ups are always a pleasure.
Fun poetry this morning, Chairman Moe.
Sorry to hear about your stenosis, Yellowrocks. Take good care of yourself.
Have a great day, everybody! Mine sure couldn't have gotten a better start.
P.S. I just re-read Jeffrey's kind comment about the congeniality of the blog comments, and realized that I would give a lot of credit for that to our dear C.C., who for years has set the tone and the spirit of friendship and mutual support for the mood of this blog. Many thanks, C.C.
PVX 11:53 variations of that groaner have a 50 year old man with a wife his age asking the genie for a wife half his age ,and poof he's 100 yrs old.
HG and YR Thanks for the responses. The oiled floors bring back some memories of the smell of freshly oiled floors for the start of the school year. One unpleasant memory is of a nasty teacher making a grade one girl wearing white stockings kneel in front of the class for not catching on to the arithmetic lesson. Her knees were black . This girl became a lady and very successful in opening a jewelry store where DW and I do our jewelry shopping. Only a few years ago while in her store we were talking of old times and the old home town and school and she brought that up. Some hurts take a lifetime to heal.
Dave 4, thanks for devoting a whole post to me. The humor helps. Also thanks to OAS, PVX and Chairman Moe for adding to the fun. Moe I laughed at your Moe-Ku and A+ limerick. The rollicking meter, as well as the play on words makes it outstanding.
Misty thanks for your care. I am presently taking a two hour break from 1:00- 3:00 pm. Then Alan I will dye Easter eggs before going out for dinner. Am I the gal who "usta could" work from dawn to bedtime? My back is getting its revenge for my reneging on my gym regimen for weeks. My April 2 resolution is to lose weight and resume my exercise schedule. Dare I bore you with a weekly report? I authorize you to "boo-hiss" me into line, just do not make me sit on the oily floor.
Yellowrocks, you can give us a daily report, and I promise it will not bore us for a second. Good luck getting back to your diet and exercise routines--very important!
Like Misty I had nutt'n for awhile. I was thinking of the military eg AT BASE .I was trying to figure out what the Congolese were called. I hastily wrote TSK before TUT. AALTO of course was a complete unknown .
Finally it came down to John Dos Passos
and the trilogy I've read but couldn't recall. I hated to give up YENS . Finally, I handled it to Phillip and he immediately said BUMPIER .Duh!!
Excuse? I had a physical scheduled for the afternoon and had a good idea what was in store .Cough,cough. Groan.
All things considered not a bad result except the kidneys.
TBTimes had an editorial referencing a 1954 article on Duke Snider. It was about the money. Whodathunkit.
The Nightfall series about the Templars mentioned ACRE a lot . The last Crusader stronghold.
Thanks to lemony and Wex and C-Moe.
WC
Btw. Over at Rex, there was a question about GARCON. I thought it derived from the waiters coming from Gascony but I find nothing to back that up .
As a physicist I was taught early to use a horizontal line through a Z to deconflict it with the numeral 2. The horizontal line through a 7 is not used nearly as much on physics or math class white boards. Now that I think about it the numeral one isn't used as much either. It is either assumed or is other wise symbolically expressed as in Group theory...What is purple and commutes ?...an Abelian Grape !!! gotta love math puns on Good Friday !
DNF today. NW corner would not have been filled with all day puzzling about the fill...octosyllabic ?????. I'd like one reference in any book or treatise in the English language !!!
First weekday miss this year..:(
I love all your stories and personal tales whether of woe or redemption. Keep them up everyone!
Nice letter from Mr. Wechsler, right in the wake of his recent very successful pzl!
Today brought us a real challenge, along with a well-won Ta- DA!, courtesy of Mr. Feldman. For me, the key was once again the fourth "P," as I needed to sound out, or Pronounce, the punny answers before I could fill them.
GAG RULES was the last to succumb to the power of my moving lips.
Thank you, Lemon! You are one of my favorite exegetes!
Still thinking of you, Argyle... Rehab Rules!
OAS, Yellowrocks, and other teachers interested in punishment:
When I had to make the transition from kindergarten to 1st grade, I rebelled. I resisted going from a half day to a full day of classes. My mother had to be called to help force me into the new classroom. She and the nun dragged me into the room, to the sniggers and guffaws of my classmates.
Because this was a Catholic school, corporal punishment was one of its main features. I expected to be slapped with the ruler or some other torture for my sin of rebellion. Instead, the nun made me sit under her desk all day.
I rather enjoyed that. It was cozy, and I felt protected from bullying classmates.
It never occurred to me that the nun considered under-desk confinement to be at the top of her list of punishments.
____________
Diagonal Report: Three, in an interesting split. The one main line (NW to SE) is balanced by two mirror sub-diagonals (NE to SW). This curious split means there's no crossing point where the lines touch the same square (usually #113, the "I" of AMIGO in today's fills).
“The teacher was always right.” But in our “affluent” area, discipline wasn’t a problem. Wow! Just “Wow”! That comment comes across as elitist with racist undertones. Discipline issues cut across all economic strata.
The parochial schools in Boston had a "3 Strike Rule" and I had two for fighting. And the third was scheduled. Then I moved to the burbs.
After college I got a temporary gig as a French teacher for 9th graders. In hindsight, mean doesn't cut it .Vicious is far more effective.
I found Marine Boot Camp much easier than teaching .
WC
Friday fun. Thanks Mark and Lemonade.
Thanks also to Jeffrey Wechsler for his kind comments.
I got the theme early which helped with the fill.
MISSAL and PIETA were appropriate for Good Friday but how did those MAGI get here.
Hand up for Mono before OCTO and for not knowing AALTO. ASPEN had a SKI lodge before a SLOPE.
Yes Lucina, I smiled when I saw ONTARIO.
I did know Amboseli because our safari in KENYA included several days there (as well as Masaai Mara). Amboseli is known for its large population of elephants. You can also see Mt. Kilamanjaro in Tanzania from Amboseli. Perhaps I can figure out how to post some photos.
Enjoy the day. Best wishes to those who observe Passover and Good Friday today.
D4,
the European 1s & 7s saved my butt once when I was trying to get from Warsaw to Berlin in the early '80s, when Communism was still in charge, and smalltime officials ruled the roost.
I knew the train I wanted to take, but was not aware of the extra charges and reservations required to board it without fuss. When I started to climb into a coach, a female conductor stopped me by blocking the steps. This train had originated in Moscow and she was yelling something at me in Russian, which I couldn't understand.
The train started to move, and I held onto the hand rails while the conductor was literally trying to push me off. As we gathered speed, all I could think was to hang on for dear life. Luckily, when we reached a certain momentum, she showed she had a heart by no longer pushing, but pulling me in!
I wasn't out of the woods yet. She was still yelling at me. I saw she had iron braces on her teeth, and I have always remembered her as the "Iron-Toothed lady."
In German I managed to glean that she was going to put me off at the next station because I didn't have the special permit to ride this particular train.
But - and here was the catch - I could buy such a permit from her. But no, she would not take dollars. (I swear she was the only one in the East bloc who wouldn't!)
Maybe her refusal to take dollars was caused by the silent armed guard who had just joined us.
She said she would accept rubles or east marks, neither of which I had. She would also accept (she sighed as she said this) Polish zlotys. She was reluctant to admit to zlotys because at that time the Polish currency was nearly worthless outside Polish borders.
Aha! I had 500 zlotys still on me! "Wie viel?" I asked her, "How much?"
I couldn't understand her spoken number, so indicated she should write it down.
I watched as she scribbled on a scrap of newspaper - the figure "750."
Oh, no! My heart sank.
I didn't have that much. She would throw me off the train before we reached Germany. If I resisted, the guard would surely enforce her will.
That's when it came to me. On another slip of paper I wrote:
150? / 750 ?
with a significant slash through the stem of the "7."
She laughed. She actually laughed as she pointed to the 150 figure!
For a tiny amount, my life was saved. I handed her my 500 zloty note - and waved off the change.
The rest of that trip was really sweet. The Iron-Toothed lady became my pal and made up a bed for me in a private compartment. She brought me tea and pickles, and we ended the journey exchanging photos of our kids.
I liked this puzzle and laughed merrily at the puns.
Excellent letter from Jeffrey Wechsler.
Ol' Man Keith, I enjoy reading about your experiences.
Best wishes to you all during this holy time of year.
I think I was in 1st grade, (maybe 2nd.)
My school was basically an extension of my backyard.
In this small town in Australia, the school grounds were the size of a city block,
with Rugby fields and lots of room and playgrounds...
It was a Saturday, and I was roaming "my extended backyard,"
when a Teacher (by the name of Mrs Gray) called me over.
(A teacher, asking for my assistance, of course I would help...)
Apparently, I was trespassing. (in my backyard?)
And to make sure I remembered, she swatted my calf muscles several times with a ruler...
Once I was a safe distance, through my tears, I told her
exactly what I thought of her! She however, wanted me to come back for more...
(Alas, being a 1st grader, I had not yet learned how to toss her the bird...)
What did I learn?
To this day, I have absolutely no respect, or trust of anyone in authority...
FIR and, for a change, got the theme before going to the blog.
Was trying for a Bible VERSE for the religious text; got MISSAL but didn't get CRUZ until the Z showed up.
Had DALI early, but didn't get his pet until perps showed it.
Took me nearly to the end to realize that Mr. Feldman wanted me to see that "le" is the MASCuline singular article.
Wanted MONO-, then POLY- before OCTOsyllabic.
Took a long time to give up OCTober for the pennant month. (As in "the boys of ...")
TOP CAT took a while to claw his way up to top of my memory bank.
SO to our Canadian brethren (and sistren) with ONTARIO.
Never heard of Alvar AALTO; not familiar with the national parks of KENYA.
ASPEN is the only Colorado resort that comes to my mind.
Wanted AMEN for "congregational period" before congressional.
SUCK UP before COZY UP.
Thought of Madonna, the singer, before Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Cruz Missle?
Lessons I learned from Mrs Gray and The Dali Llama...
However, Santa was always nice to me. But I do not see him as an Authority figure...
Taylor Maid?
Wilbur, glad the physical results weren't too bad and hopefully any problems will be taken care of. And have a great Easter weekend.
Chairman Moe at 11:49 AM
I'm going to Passover your (groan) "pun"ts today as I prepare for the feast of Cedars-Sinai. May we have a heart healthy Kosher lunch from Katz's Deli.
My wife used to say "Not this month, I have a head ache."
Misty at 12:20 PM
Wrote "Lots of fun to see....." somehow cued me to recite
Hey Diddle Diddle, The cat and the fiddle,
The cow jumped over the moon.
The little dog laughed, To see such sport,
And the dish ran away with the spoon.
There is no way I can follow Young Man Keith's "Epic tale," but I have a school tale to tell, or retell. When I was in the second grade our family moved from a village to a farm / country setting. Instead of being with kids since Kindergarten, I was now the new kid, and did not like it. For some reason, the teacher recognized that I was not paying attention in class, so she moved a chair out in front of all the rest. I have been a front row, center person every since.
The following thought does not tie into anything, but I had it, and now you do too. Here I am ready, willing, and disabled.
Ðave
Hi Y'all! Thanks for a learning experience, Mark! Thanks, for another great guided tour, Lemonade.
Hand up for struggling in the NW. MASC/MOCK took 5 (count them) red-letter runs. OCTO syllabic? How many of us use 8 syllable words at any time? Forgot CRUZ was from Texas -- thought he was from New Mexico for some reason. SuckUP before COZY UP (sounds too seductive). I did have STUNTMAN. Haifa didn't fit -- ACRE is an Israeli port?
I don't use any TUT at all. Never heard of Ambosali Nat. Park in KENYA.
"Do humans drink sheep milk?" Never heard anyone admit to this or to any activity with sheep beyond shearing or counting them.
D4: alas I still do not have Email. My server tech couldn't even unlock that app after his company did a big "improvement". I've got to do something about this. It has changed my life dramatically. I'm sure I would like your hug story.
Misty: I find it ironic that our Joyce scholar/professor with your education and verbal expertise is becoming best known and lauded for your "woo hoo". Luv ya' lady!
As for discipline, any time I got in trouble, it was for talking too much. Our 8th grade teacher was a bully of a man & coach. He'd purposely ask questions he thought nobody knew. The kids would all look at me and I'd answer the question correctly because I read a lot and retained most everything. He'd get mad and say he was tired of listening to me and send me to stand in the hall. I'd visit and joke with passers-by. He'd open the door and order me back to class because I was "having too much fun out there. We invited him to our class reunion many years later and took turns getting even telling stories about him to him. His long-suffering wife laughed the loudest. Such fun!
Let's see if this works and then I can share some photos (like Picard!) Credit to DH for the photography.
AmboseliNationalPark
Dear Social Worker,
We had highly motivated upwardly mobile parents who worked from kindergarten onward to get their kids accepted at elite colleges. Education was taken very seriously. Expectations, attendance and pupil motivation has high. There was great competition for high grades, even at the elementary level. The parents were in constant contact with the school regarding what the kids were learning, they hired tutors, they volunteered to help in class. They held us teachers to the highest standards. The homes were full of books. The kids were treated to extensive travel and all sorts of cultural activities. From middle school onward the parents looked for extracurricular activities that would boost their kids' chances at the best colleges. It was a hothouse environment. These parents would not let their kids blow it by accepting off the wall behavior.
It is unfortunate that all kids do not have this kind of support and opportunity.
BTW I've worked both sides of this street.
Lovely pics, Canadian Eh! Thank you.
Enjoyed your Catholic school story, Ol'Man Keith. I have to confess I have only pleasant memories of my Catholic school days, and they include grade school, high school, and even a year of college.
PK, what a sweet comment, but as you know, I'm one of the slower puzzle solvers on the blog. Hence my "Woohoo" when I finally do okay.
Dave, I remember that verse from childhood! Thanks.
YR:
I look forward to your daily reports!
Ceh!
What beautiful pictures! Now Amboseli National Park in Kenya is etched in my mind.
Like YR, I've also taught in both environments; my elementary ESL students, though living in the inner city, were disciplined by their parents who also attended parent teacher conferences and were interested that their children be able to take advantage of the opportunities offered in this country. Today, sadly, some are likely among the DACA group.
Worst trouble I got into was in high school English. The boring teacher simply read out of the book. Usually student teachers conducted the class - a big improvement. But that day we were between student teachers. One fine day an electrician came by to tell the teacher that the power would be cut off for a few minutes. Big trouble because she couldn't read out of the book. While she struggled to conduct the class I excused myself to go to the boy's room, and on the way out I flipped the light switches to the off position. About 10 minutes after the wall clock started running again, the teacher noticed that the hall lights were on. She ran out to find the electrician to check out the classroom lights. He walked in, smirked at her, and flipped the switches and lit up the room.
The teacher questioned three of us who sat by the door, figuring it had to be one of us. When it was my turn I admitted my transgression because I have always been a terrible liar. I was sentenced to a month of having to spend half my lunch hour in the library. Not much of a punishment since I love to read anyway, and I had a crush on the young librarian.
Thanks, JW, for your too kind comments! I'm glad you know you have so many fans here!
Lemon - good writeup, as always. Re: 43 d:
Aux armes, citoyens.
Formez vos battaillons;
Marchons, marchons,
Qu'un sang impur
Abreuve nos scions.
I was forced to learn it in French II, 50 yrs ago, and not only do I remember most of it, it gives me goosebumps every time I hear it.
Thanks to all the bloggers who weighed in today . I've been educated and entertained.
Never a dull moment on the corner. That's all for this Quiet Friday ( SO to Spitzboov )
....and yes, I do know how to,spell your name...now. Surely you are aware that Jeff Wex is an affectionate name.
@ 1903
To arms citizens
Form your battalions
March, march
Let impure blood
Water our furrows
- Refrain from La Marseillaise -
Swamp I may be the culprit, I've habitually dropped the S.
Thank you Misty . The results of the physical were as good as can be expected, it was the physicality of the physical that was the groaner . I was overdue for the"entertainment" .
Btw, she mentioned that my good cholesterol needs to be higher. Fish, exercise ETALII... I'll take or at least listen to suggestions.
YR, elegant and informative as is your WONT*. It was not your original statement that was un-PC; it is the truth that's un-PC.
Ironically, I was pretty much a model student except that I entered HS with a Gang . I was associated with them as a gang-member.
In fact if you recall the"Breakfast Club" I was all of them except the rich kid . Including the nutcase .
WC
* We had that recently n'est-ce pas?
Speaking of.. it's "abreuve nos sillons"(furrows). I LIU ed it.
On one of my summer breaks from college I was a counsellor at a camp for inner city Baltimore children with problems, not problem children. We offered them unconditional love, wholesome food and wholesome activites. They were healing and also becoming more disciplined. One week I accompanied them back to the city and saw firsthand the lack of support and dire conditions that they lived with. I felt discouraged for them and their moms on the bus on the way back to camp, but rationalized that they at least had seen the possibilities of a different life. Love and acceptance were the main answers to discipline problems. When I went to hug one boy goodnight he rejected me and I cried. I was only 19. He grabbed me and hugged me saying no one ever cried over him before. "Judge not that he not be judged."
OMK thank you for the kind words and your chosen compliment was so appropriate as I was leading the seder in my home for my family, son, d-i-l, 2 granddaughters, grandson, Oldest nephew, youngest niece and explaining the story.
Mike Sherline
I have not thought of La Marseillaise in many years, but you are right, I should have remembered: "To arms, citizens..." as translated by Spitzboov.I think the last line of that verse is, "Abreuve nos sillons
Boy, you know it's going to be a long-slog when your 1st fill is @67a; THORAX backed SEXT and I was off to the tortoise-races. Ended w/ a FIW though - I had a C in the German City instead of a K. Lot's of P+P & time (3hrs on-and-off).
Hi All!
Thanks Mark for a fun mind-bending puzzle. This solve took some real noodling with all the X-refs. Thanks Lem for the expo [funny, I was thinking ON BASE as 'you'd be AWOL w/o leave' - I see Army Bro in 2 weeks!].
WOs: MONO before the $3.00 OCTO-syllabic words came out. I wanted OCT baseball [Go Stros!]. Silly GOOSE b/f plural. LUMPIER (Hi D-O!)
ESPs: (?). I know I didn't know KENYA, IBLE (really?), AALTO, nor USA as clue'd.
Fav: DALI LLAMA. TAYLOR MAID was my first themer [with only ONE in place] and I was so sure of Fav, I filled w/o perps.
Runner-up: c/a for BASE DRUM.
{} {groan, double-groan + giggles. D'oh!}
Thanks JW for the kind words about the Corner. I find the tone here the same as you (even if I jump to conclusions about Anon (FLN) commenting on D4 - sorry dude/dudette). I do enjoy your challenges and I always learn something after-the-FIW-fill. Keep 'em comin'.
D-O: LOL Cruz's middle name; I'm sure that word's not in the MISSAL.
Lucina - TOP CAT took a while. I couldn't get my brain away from Snagglepuss
D4 - The 1st I noticed the '-' in the 'D', I thought I need to clean my screen. I think it's cool and my use that in xword solving (my written cap-'D's don't have much of a back-bone and are easily confused w/ 'O's). Like ChuckL, I cross my Zeds. //OMK - I'll remember my 7s in the Eastern Bloc :-). Great story.
Jinx - Yes! Saturday like. If this puzzle didn't have a theme, I'd not'a chance.
HG - Yep, learn YES DEAR after the 4th year :-)
LOL CED! Great comics.
Corporal punishment? Send in the Nuns [Blues Brothers 3m]
Actually, we only had ONE Sister w/ a mean-streak. Amusingly enough, she was the Religion teacher. One day she gave Kevin a whack on the back of his head and asked "What ails you boy?" What ails you boy became our catch-phrase for the rest of the year.
Stay on the mend Argyle.
Cheers, -T
Wilbur, fish and exercise sound like pretty nice and comfortable ways to improve a day. Give it a shot!
Today in the Houston Chronicle Sports section was the Obit of Rusty Staub. There was a picture of him w/ Roy Hofheinz [Astros owner @the time]; the caption: "[Roy and Rusty] at the Astrodome the day before the first indoor All-Star baseball game in 1068 [sic]."
I chuckled at the TYPE-O and thought, "I wonder if WC saw that game?" ;-)
Cheers, -T
Just visiting LA and found this puzzle left in my room. Bored, I picked it up and tried to solve it. After all, I taught High School English for nearly forty years. I was able to answer only SEVEN clues! When did crossword puzzles become dumping grounds for inane trivia and media drivle? I'm sorry I wasted a better part of my precious evening on this mess. Shame on you Los Angeles Times for wasting you pages on this sort of goofiness!
@1:29a - I think, if you puzzled more oft, you'd find this a) a heck of a challenge and b) quite a well constructed (and tricky - dude, 'Tis Friday) grid. I do the LAT daily (sans Sunday) and, if you read my post, found it a struggle but fun nonetheless. Mark was JW par for out-of-box noodling. MHO, $0.02, and $4 will get you coffee, er, LATTE.
So, how'd you find the Corner? -T
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