Theme: Traffic Circles - as the reveal explains:
63A. Intersecting road ... and one of a pair indicated by each puzzle circle : CROSS STREET
17A. Breakfast order : SESAME BAGEL
and
5D. North Dakota symbol : ELM TREE. Sesame Street/Elm Street. Fun juxtaposition here with one of America's friendliest streets crossing one that's definitely on the darker side.
35A. Breakfast order : OVER EASY.
and
11D. Line in a utility network : WATER MAIN. Easy Street/Main Street. Bob Seger sang about the Main Street in his home town of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
57A. Where the world is really flat? : WALL MAP.
and
34D. United Federation of Planets affiliate : STARFLEET. Wall Street/Fleet Street. Fleet Street is the odd one out here as it's in London. The area was the center of the British newspaper industry; most of the national and London dailies were printed on or around Fleet Street. The Starfleet comes from the Star Trek series.
G'day all! C.C's latest is a neat exercise in crossing theme entries. You might notice that the themers are not all arranged symmetrically in the grid, but I think it would be pretty much impossible to pull that off given the subject matter. The circles show us where to look for the street corners.
This wasn't the quickest solve for me; there were quite a few unknowns that I had to slowly fill with crosses, but everything came together at the end. There are quite a few unique or infrequently-used words in the grid which, coupled with the Thursday-level cluing, accounts for the crunchiness here. Good stuff.
Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Carmen of jazz : MCRAE. First of the unknowns for me right off the bat. I'm not a big jazz hat.
6. Ludicrous : ANTIC. Very nice. This area was tough for me, with this, LEONA and the unknown NEA crossing both of them.
11. It may be declared : WAR
14. Popular font : ARIAL
15. "Bleeding Love" singer Lewis : LEONA. Another unknown. The E was a WAG and thankfully a correct one.
16. Legendary fighter : ALI
19. Tee, for one : TOP. The shirt, not the golf gizmo.
20. Hymn relative : ODE
21. __-color pasta salad : TRI. Food! The colors in the salad are meant to be representative of "Il tricolore", the Italian flag. No olives were harmed in the preparation of this dish by any murderous sociopaths.
22. Grand cousins : SPINETS. I dithered around with this one - I understood the clue, but I thought there were two "n"s in the word. A spinet in this context is a small piano, hence a cousin to the much larger grand piano. In the past, I associated a spinet with a harpsichord. Learning moment.
24. Goth accessory : NOSE RING. My daughter has two. Kids these days, eh? Pah!
27. Sugarloaf lift : T-BAR. I was thinking of the famous Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio, and wondered why the answer wasn't GONDOLA. Sugarloaf ski resort in Maine.
28. Make equipment changes : RETOOL
30. Austen classic : EMMA. I tried Jane EYRE first, which was rather futile considering that Charlotte Brontë wrote the story of the governess.
32. Egypt's second president : NASSER. The reservoir lake formed by the Aswan High Dam is named for him.
38. Summer hrs. in Philly : EDT
39. Call off the affair : END IT
41. Expert follower? : -ISE
42. "However ... " : THAT SAID
45. Regular hangouts : HAUNTS. I was thinking along the "local pub" lines for a while.
48. Shootout shout : DRAW!
49. In shreds : TORN UP
51. Wig out : FLIP
53. Mentor's offering : GUIDANCE
60. Part of M.S.: Abbr. : SCI
61. Seaside raptor : ERN
62. Explosive state : IRE
66. Price of admission : FEE. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I was going to Disneyland with my daughter. We got "two park hopper" passes for the Happiest Place on Earth and California Adventure. The fee for that two-fer is not for the faint-hearted.
67. All together : AS ONE
68. Stranger : ODDER
69. Enjoy oysters, say : EAT. This seemed oddly random to me - why oysters? But then again, why not?
70. Runner of 1992 : PEROT
71. Like Satchmo's singing voice : RASPY. I had BASSO first and thought I was being clever until nothing would fit around it.
Down:
1. Worker with blocks : MASON. Check this out - this is the Crimple Valley Oracle in England. This is a dry-stone wall built in Yorkshire - no mortar is used. See the details of the project here.
2. Set of beliefs : CREDO
3. Stops lying : RISES
4. Class for baseball's Durham Bulls : AAA
6. White whale, e.g. : ALBINO
7. Org. with a "Raise Your Hand" campaign : NEA. Wild stab in the dark, fortunately I stabbed correctly. The National Education Association's campaign for educators to become leaders in a national movement for public education.
8. Wardrobe : TOGS
9. Ham-handed : INEPT
10. Ammunition measurement : CALIBER. Inches, millimeters, all kinds of measurements going on here.
12. Gazillions : A LOT
13. Turbulent currents : RIPS
18. Nation east of Sudan : ERITREA
23. Sonny or Cher : NAME
25. RNs' workplaces : ER'S
26. Compliment to a boxer : GOOD DOG! I just couldn't get NICE PUNCH! to fit.
29. Half of CXII : LVI
31. Coach's aide: Abbr : ASST.
32. Service stopper : NET. Too many service faults and you're going to hear some colorful language.
33. Adderall target : ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
36. Ones bonded by a common culture : ETHNICS
37. "Sounds good" : YES
40. Little beef : NIT
43. Like most supermodels : TALL. Gisele Bündchen, the model married to QB Tom Brady, is 5'11".
44. Pool wear : SWIM CAP. When I was spending a lot of time in chlorinated pools training for triathlons, my hair started to break off by the handful. I got a swim cap.
46. Reviewer of books : AUDITOR
47. Put __ fight : UP A
50. McDonald's potato variety : RUSSET. The french fries have not been the same since they stopped cooking 'em in lard.
52. Break down, as a sentence : PARSE
54. They may be pressing : NEEDS
55. Move at a snail's pace : CREEP
56. Contest submission : ENTRY
57. Certain partner : WIFE
58. Calculus calculation : AREA. This stuff gave me nightmares at school. I never "got" calculus.
59. Lame, as an excuse : POOR
64. __-Caps: candy : SNO
65. Nutritional stat : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.
And ... here's the grid.
Steve
63A. Intersecting road ... and one of a pair indicated by each puzzle circle : CROSS STREET
17A. Breakfast order : SESAME BAGEL
and
5D. North Dakota symbol : ELM TREE. Sesame Street/Elm Street. Fun juxtaposition here with one of America's friendliest streets crossing one that's definitely on the darker side.
35A. Breakfast order : OVER EASY.
and
11D. Line in a utility network : WATER MAIN. Easy Street/Main Street. Bob Seger sang about the Main Street in his home town of Ann Arbor, Michigan.
57A. Where the world is really flat? : WALL MAP.
and
34D. United Federation of Planets affiliate : STARFLEET. Wall Street/Fleet Street. Fleet Street is the odd one out here as it's in London. The area was the center of the British newspaper industry; most of the national and London dailies were printed on or around Fleet Street. The Starfleet comes from the Star Trek series.
G'day all! C.C's latest is a neat exercise in crossing theme entries. You might notice that the themers are not all arranged symmetrically in the grid, but I think it would be pretty much impossible to pull that off given the subject matter. The circles show us where to look for the street corners.
This wasn't the quickest solve for me; there were quite a few unknowns that I had to slowly fill with crosses, but everything came together at the end. There are quite a few unique or infrequently-used words in the grid which, coupled with the Thursday-level cluing, accounts for the crunchiness here. Good stuff.
Let's see what else we've got.
Across:
1. Carmen of jazz : MCRAE. First of the unknowns for me right off the bat. I'm not a big jazz hat.
6. Ludicrous : ANTIC. Very nice. This area was tough for me, with this, LEONA and the unknown NEA crossing both of them.
11. It may be declared : WAR
14. Popular font : ARIAL
15. "Bleeding Love" singer Lewis : LEONA. Another unknown. The E was a WAG and thankfully a correct one.
16. Legendary fighter : ALI
19. Tee, for one : TOP. The shirt, not the golf gizmo.
20. Hymn relative : ODE
21. __-color pasta salad : TRI. Food! The colors in the salad are meant to be representative of "Il tricolore", the Italian flag. No olives were harmed in the preparation of this dish by any murderous sociopaths.
22. Grand cousins : SPINETS. I dithered around with this one - I understood the clue, but I thought there were two "n"s in the word. A spinet in this context is a small piano, hence a cousin to the much larger grand piano. In the past, I associated a spinet with a harpsichord. Learning moment.
24. Goth accessory : NOSE RING. My daughter has two. Kids these days, eh? Pah!
27. Sugarloaf lift : T-BAR. I was thinking of the famous Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio, and wondered why the answer wasn't GONDOLA. Sugarloaf ski resort in Maine.
28. Make equipment changes : RETOOL
30. Austen classic : EMMA. I tried Jane EYRE first, which was rather futile considering that Charlotte Brontë wrote the story of the governess.
32. Egypt's second president : NASSER. The reservoir lake formed by the Aswan High Dam is named for him.
38. Summer hrs. in Philly : EDT
39. Call off the affair : END IT
41. Expert follower? : -ISE
42. "However ... " : THAT SAID
45. Regular hangouts : HAUNTS. I was thinking along the "local pub" lines for a while.
48. Shootout shout : DRAW!
49. In shreds : TORN UP
51. Wig out : FLIP
53. Mentor's offering : GUIDANCE
60. Part of M.S.: Abbr. : SCI
61. Seaside raptor : ERN
62. Explosive state : IRE
66. Price of admission : FEE. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago I was going to Disneyland with my daughter. We got "two park hopper" passes for the Happiest Place on Earth and California Adventure. The fee for that two-fer is not for the faint-hearted.
67. All together : AS ONE
68. Stranger : ODDER
69. Enjoy oysters, say : EAT. This seemed oddly random to me - why oysters? But then again, why not?
70. Runner of 1992 : PEROT
71. Like Satchmo's singing voice : RASPY. I had BASSO first and thought I was being clever until nothing would fit around it.
Down:
1. Worker with blocks : MASON. Check this out - this is the Crimple Valley Oracle in England. This is a dry-stone wall built in Yorkshire - no mortar is used. See the details of the project here.
2. Set of beliefs : CREDO
3. Stops lying : RISES
4. Class for baseball's Durham Bulls : AAA
6. White whale, e.g. : ALBINO
7. Org. with a "Raise Your Hand" campaign : NEA. Wild stab in the dark, fortunately I stabbed correctly. The National Education Association's campaign for educators to become leaders in a national movement for public education.
8. Wardrobe : TOGS
9. Ham-handed : INEPT
10. Ammunition measurement : CALIBER. Inches, millimeters, all kinds of measurements going on here.
12. Gazillions : A LOT
13. Turbulent currents : RIPS
18. Nation east of Sudan : ERITREA
23. Sonny or Cher : NAME
25. RNs' workplaces : ER'S
26. Compliment to a boxer : GOOD DOG! I just couldn't get NICE PUNCH! to fit.
29. Half of CXII : LVI
31. Coach's aide: Abbr : ASST.
32. Service stopper : NET. Too many service faults and you're going to hear some colorful language.
33. Adderall target : ADHD. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
36. Ones bonded by a common culture : ETHNICS
37. "Sounds good" : YES
40. Little beef : NIT
43. Like most supermodels : TALL. Gisele Bündchen, the model married to QB Tom Brady, is 5'11".
44. Pool wear : SWIM CAP. When I was spending a lot of time in chlorinated pools training for triathlons, my hair started to break off by the handful. I got a swim cap.
46. Reviewer of books : AUDITOR
47. Put __ fight : UP A
50. McDonald's potato variety : RUSSET. The french fries have not been the same since they stopped cooking 'em in lard.
52. Break down, as a sentence : PARSE
54. They may be pressing : NEEDS
55. Move at a snail's pace : CREEP
56. Contest submission : ENTRY
57. Certain partner : WIFE
58. Calculus calculation : AREA. This stuff gave me nightmares at school. I never "got" calculus.
59. Lame, as an excuse : POOR
64. __-Caps: candy : SNO
65. Nutritional stat : RDA. Recommended Daily Allowance.
And ... here's the grid.
Steve
40 comments:
A Goth down the STREET got a NOSE-RING
As a symbol of renouncing any crass thing.
He, when visiting his HAUNTS,
Heard "It's jewelry he flaunts!"
He countered by saying, "It's snot bling!"
The jealous WIFE of a loyal Free-MASON
Wasn't worried that on some nights he'd hasten
To don his best TOGS
And head off to lodge,
For she knew that there was no she-MASON!
At a WATER well close by a WALL
A fellow NAME of Jack took a fall.
His loving WIFE Jill
Knew the terms of his will --
If he fell in the well she'd get all!
{C+, C, C+.}
Morning, all!
C.C. does love her circles, doesn't she? Didn't see them, could've used them, in the end, didn't need them.
As with Steve, I struggled a bit up top. I'm not familiar with ANTIC as an adjective, so that held me up for awhile. Toss in the unknown LEONA and the obscurely defined NEA, and it was a recipe for disaster. Fortunately, I made all the right guesses.
Good morning all. Thank you CC and Steve. No circles. Should have opened a site that had them.
What Steve said. Not the quickest solve. A LOT of letter by letter fill.
Some of the cluing really threw me off. In the SW, two with vague 'certain partner' and odd 'enjoy oysters'. Took a chance and tried IRE and FEE in that AREA, which led to WIFE and EAT, but it was letter by letter proof.
White whale had me guessing there must be a specific name for white whales. But TOGS and CALIBER gave me ANTIC, and that gave me A--INO at the time, so ALBINO was easily seen. No idea on LEONA. NEA perped in with the obvious E wag.
Many years ago, I bought a mahogany SPINET desk for $20 at an auction. It was in pieces. Stripped and refinished it, and put it back together. My dad sold it for just under $200 in his antique shop. A similar one would sell for at least double that now.
Hand up for EYRE first, and then changed to EMMA one letter at a time. OTOH, proud that I knew and could recall ERITREA.
Off to another challenge. A different computer won't do Windows Update. Not sure what is going on.
I wanted "Compliment to a boxer" to be GOOD JAB.
Taught Calculus and loved it. I was a bit slow today, but got through it.
Take that Matt.
Every time I see boxer in a clue I think Dog, but then again my son's dog is half boxer.
The precision needed to get the six themers to intersect is wonderful. Lots of nice fill ALBINO CALIBER ETHNICS just to name a few.
Thanks C.C. and Steve
Good morning!
Wow, overslept by 30 minutes this morning. That never happens! OK, seldom happens.
No, I didn't notice the streets. No, I didn't notice the circles. C.C., ya almost got me this morning. That utility line went from Power to Sewer before WATER flowed in. In the opposite corner, I was proud of MALL MAP but wondered what sort of partner a MIFE would be. D'oh! Still, managed to straighten it all out in normal Thursday time.
Steve, I was aware of Sugarloaf in Rio, but not the other one. Learning moment. Your link to Gisele gives me a "referral denied" error.
Hello Puzzlers -
Exactly WBS. I swept right through this puzzle, except that I couldn't and still can't connect Antic with ludicrous. I'll read up on that shortly. Still, it's a nice theme, and as usual I'm amazed at what C.C. and other constructors can come up with.
There is a handsome Mt. Sugarloaf nearby in Deerfield, MA, but it hasn't the correct dimensions for skiing, thus it lacks a T-bar. The view is lovely. An aviation buddy of mine towed a marriage proposal banner past the summit one day; the young man who arranged it was on the mountain with his surprised fiancée-elect, who said yes right away, and they lived happily ever after. I think.
Morning, Steve, I particularly enjoyed the drystone masonry! It's a splendid combination of building technique and art form. Around here there is a lot of drystone work done by an eccentric but capable Tibetan man. I'd like to dream up a project for him to do at my place, just to have an example of his art.
Good Morning:
I just loved this theme which remained hidden until the reveal and, even then, it too me a minute to recognize both street names. It was on the crunchy side but, hey, it's Thursday. Unknowns were Leona NEA, as clued and antic, as clued. Had McRay/McRae. Fav clue was Compliment to a boxer and I also was ready to enter Good Jab.
Great job, CC, and stellar summary, Steve. If I was drinking anything while reading your write-up it would now be all over me and my iPad, with your seemingly innocent comment about the olives surviving "any murderous sociopaths." My tummy still hurts from my laughing fit!
Owen, you were far too harsh with your grading this morning; I thought all three were very good.
I have a busy day ahead so I'm off.
Have a great day.
Three C.C. puzzles in the last five days- that's impressive.
Barry & Steve- you can count me in for the unknowns LEONA and ANTIC. I only filled ANTIC because N was the only letter that made sense. Still doesn't seem correct. As for the rest of the puzzle I struggled in a few places but after the giveaway clue for CROSS STREET the rest of the empty spaces fell into place.
A few write overs- THUS SAID to THAT SAID, THIN to TALL, CREED to CREDO. The RIPS didn't come easily into my brain. 'Wig out'- new term for me.
ADHD, formerly known as ADD, formerly called Hyperactive, aka rambunctious. Once treated by Dexedrine, then Ritalin, and now back to another dextro-amphetamine combination known as Adderall. They all cause young boys to slow down but cause adults to 'speed' up. That's why they were called SPEED.
Definitely a mine field this morning. Made erasures to correct McRay to McRae, ORs to ERs, Thin to Tall. Needed the reveal to get the theme, and even then Fleet seemed only vaguely familiar....now I know why.
Really struggled to reconcile Antic to Ludicrous, but finally went with it since nothing else fit. Thank you C.C., for another masterpiece, and Steve for another hilarious write-up.......though the squirrel saga was a tough act to follow :-)
Can't have a mention of Sugarloaf without a musical interlude: Green Eyed Lady
Another "Total-Perp-Workout" ... geez, what a slog ...
McRAE and LEONA were complete unknowns ... Learning Moments I'll forget by lunch.
Best part of today's offering was Steve's write-up. Good Job!
Especially enjoyed the Johnny Clasper Crimple Valley Oracle link.
Cheers!
"Puzzling thoughts":
Besides having a worksheet that looks like a Rorschach test, I also FIW by blowing the "North Dakota" part of my crossword "map". ANTIC and LEONA were AURIC and LEANA on mine, as I had "no clue", and decided not to cheat and google one of the clues. WEES, I had screwups galore within the body of the puzzle, but got everything to fit except what I noted above. I got the reveal answer but overlooked the actual CROSS STREETS; the M A & L in the circles meant nothing to me. LAM? ALM? MAL? There was no V-8 can contact with my cranium once I saw these. Oh well, I've been INEPT before and am again today!! ;^) 😜
I tried to convince my WIFE that I was ADHD, but she said, "no, you just have selective hearing"! Guilty as charged ...
Thanks CC and Steve
Mentor gave GUIDANCE
To IRS AUDITOR:
"Don't wear a NOSERING!"
I have never had a C.C. puzzle that I didn’t a) enjoy, b) struggle at least a little, c) find to be elegant and d) marvel at the theme. Did I say enjoy? There is always just enough ambiguity and cleverness to make me use both ends of the pencil.
Musings
-Seniors are out and so my subbing today is even easier!
-Joann still says EASY OVER instead of OVER EASY
-Our town had a store called TINY TOGS
-I had issues in the same non calculus AREA, Steve
-One gender really loves this hymn (ODE) to him (3:33)
-Clerks with NOSE RINGS are becoming very common. They’ll probably never know why they don’t get a real job.
-He did END IT, but talk about PARSING! (:05)
-ALL TOGETHER NOW, Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport. The singer of this silly 1960 song, Rolf Harris, now says his lyrics were racist. I thought it was just fun. Dopey old me.
-As a former MASON I loved that no-mortar wall!
-I taught in NEA’s public schools for over 40 years but parochial schools in Lincoln and Omaha are bursting at the seams
-GOOD JAB wasn’t all the spiffy either
-An AUDIT of the Nebr. Tourism Agency last week revealed A LOT of irregularities. Case in point - $11,000 to move one employee 150 miles
-I’m glad Owen wasn’t grading my poetry in school. He’s so hard on every fabulous ENTRY of his!
-Parikshit last week and Sathya this week. We’re rockin’ it in India!
Of course I had no circles today but didn't need them to solve. Thanks C.C. and Steve. Wonderful construction when I see it all here.
Hand up for Eyre before EMMA, thin before TALL. I had Ace before NET and Life before WIFE. Tried to fit in Ethiopia before ERITREA. Agree with others about ANTICS.
Nice misdirection with TEE (shirt not golf),stranger (adj. not a person), boxer (dog not fighter). LOL Anon@7:29 and Irish Miss re GOOD JAB!
Owen, I agree with others that today's ENTRY was great.
Off to enjoy a beautiful day.
Another nice one from C.C.! As usual with her misdirections, the first pass yielded only EMMA but then easily spread out from there. My favorite method for eggs is OVEREASY and I, too, was thinking of Sugarloaf in Rio so TRAM seemed right. That held me back for a long while. Finally, WATER flowed in to produce TBAR.
Though I had circles didn't take the time to analyze them. Thank you, Steve, for providing that .
My first partner was LIFE but then WALLMAP came along and showed me the error of my ways. And AUDITOR was not a CRITIC which was too short anyway. Up north, Carmen MCRAE is familiar but didn't realize she sang jazz. Learning moment. LEONA was a lucky guess for me, too. At GOODDOG I also wanted GOODJAB but realized J would not be a good word ending. Like, Dudley, I'll have to research ANTIC to learn how it relates to ludicrous.
Thank you, C.C. and Steve for the fine Thursday entertainment.
Have a splendid day, everyone!
FIW, never heard of Mcrae, so i put Marie & gave up...
Ludicrous = antic was a tough sell,
but I put it in because of this clip.
Funny cross streets, I could link all day...
However I found this while looking...
Good afternoon everyone.
Good intro Steve.
Tough to get an early footing, but then got ERITREA and a strong reach into the center. Interesting theme which I did not fully get until reading Steve's comments. Completed without incident; no erasures, no searches. MCCRAE, LEONA, and EMMA were lucky WAGS.
NIT - One possible minor one. TORN UP xing UP A. Aren't fill using the same word more than once frowned upon? UP is a 2 letter word, though, so by itself would not satisfy the 3 letter minimum for a word, and not be covered by that rule. THAT SAID - editor's choice?
27a - re: Sugarloaf - Like Steve, considered the Rio one first. Then assumed it was a skiing hill I had never heard of.
CED @ 11:45 - great clip from Spaceballs!
Life imitates art, evidently. Right after watching CED's link to the Spaceballs clip, I noticed an article on Yahoo Finance about Tesla. Among other things, they point out that one model offers an upgrade called Ludicrous Speed
You just can't make this stuff up.
Perhaps a touch of Carman McRae would be nice. New York State of Mind. Definitely jazzy.
Brilliant puzzle this morning, C.C., but a toughie. Got very little on my first run-through, and it then took lots of patient getting this one and that one before the whole thing finally fell into place. But it did--hurray! I only got half the theme until Steve pointed out the vertical streets as well. Very very clever!
Steve, couldn't believe there was a song about Main Street in Ann Arbor, Michigan--I lived in a little old house next to a gas station on Main Street there for eleven years, while I was teaching at the University of Michigan. Unfortunately my sound wasn't high enough to get all the Bob Seger lyrics, but still fun to hear about this.
Owen, I would give all three of your limericks a much higher grade this morning.
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
Speaking of limericks . . .
Today is National Limerick Day
And whilst I usually try to add one that contains a word from the puzzle, I instead thought of this one that to some degree plays with the Calculus ---> AREA in 58d
Feel free to add more limericks as this is the day to do it!
The blonde mermaid showed quite a big flaw,
While committing a fashion faux pas.
She was kicked out of school
'Cause she broke dress code rule,
When she wore her brand new Algae-bra!
Using the OKL grading system, a {B/B+} if for no other reason than it scans!!
I totally agree with the first paragraph of Husker Gary's post. Well said, Gary! I also agree with what Barry G said. Very clever and fresh cluing, and such an imaginative theme.
CC, fun puzzle. As soon as I saw the circles i checked to see if it was yours. I like the way the street names crossed.
Owen KL, A, A, B Yes, you are too hard on yourself many times.
I have heard the local pub or hangout termed HAUNT.
I have become accustomed to Mc D's new fries. I just have to remember not to rationalize that they are healthy.
You all said you would look into ludicrous being antic. It seemed okay to me and my research supports that.
Medicine for ADHD is often overdone, but I know that true ADHD's are not merely rambunctious. My grandson has that problem and was not doing well in public school and hated it. They totally did not understand him. Along with very JUDICIOUS use of meds my son and DIL fought to have him sent by the district to a special school with low staff to student ratio, support and understanding, and a policy of meeting the student where he is. He loved school, thrived and had a high grade point average. He was offered scholarships and is enrolled in Villanova for the fall. He still learns differently and has more challenge ahead than most. All these kids actually do learn, process, organize and think differently. I tutored a failing but bright ADHD his freshman and sophomore years. He did well with me but terrible in public school. He dropped out on his 18th birthday. Too bad that so many parents and educators do not understand their problems.
I'm disappointed in myself. AT first I thought I had no chance with a tough CC pzl. Then, when I broke through (firstly, in the center-right area) and things began to tumble my way, I was elated. But at the very end, at the intersection of 32D and 42A, I was left with an unsatisfactory fill and what turned out to be two wrong answers - with NEW and WHAT SAID. For the life of me, I didn't see THAT SAID as a response to the clue, "However..." (I can now, but that's beside the point.)
I struggled too with the circles. I had to wait for Steve's explanation, and even then I lacked clarity. I got as far as seeing ELM and MAIN and FLEET but only wondered why the whole street names weren't circled. I didn't recognize SESAME as a street name (Yep, my bad - for not having SESAME Street as part of my youth), and that kept me from checking out the other, more familiar street names.
All in all, a mis-perceiving start to my day...
Wow. Usually puzzles that are hard for me you all breeze through. Today I BREEZED through this one. Very fun. I kept asking my self if this was tuesday.
I finally finished the puzzle early enough to comment. Thanks for the brain work, C.C. I had plenty of write-overs, I forgot to look for the theme, but I enjoyed the experience. Steve, thanks for explaining my errors.
For 48a, Shootout shout, I was thinking soccer and put in goAl! Nope. For 59d, lame, as an excuse, I had weak b/f POOR. Plus I had all the other popular errors.
There used to be a Sugar Loaf Ski Resort in the Traverse City, MI area so I had the t-bar. Ave Joe, thanks for the Sugarloaf link. My daughter is a "Green Eyed Lady".
I hope to be on MAIN STREET, Ann Arbor next Friday.
Have a wonderful evening.
Pat
Agree, this must have been a puzzle for the puzzled. No success top down on quick scan, but quickly filled from SE west to NE, with tougher topside rows dropping to perps. Is that fair or do you experts consider that that "cheating"?
Hi all -
Fun puzzle today by our fearless leader! No circles and I got CROSSSTREET first so was thinking I was looking for three letters in row. Beautiful theme! Thank you for the entertaining expose, Steve!
Took my last final for Spring semester this morning at 8am. Went to IHOP to celebrate with my classmates then started our Summer semester at noon. There went my 3-hour summer break!! I haven't been to IHOP in forever, the boysenberry syrup is not what I remember as a kid but it wasn't horrible either.
@Tom Wilcox: I think if you were to ask each person, everyone solves differently and there really aren't any "rules" that I know of. Everyone has their own set of rules and it's really based on your own sense of purity and wanting to learn or make improvements according to your own standards. As an example, without getting into a whole lot of detail: I do it a little different each day as the puzzles get progressively harder. Like Mondays and Tuesdays I don't fill in downs as I go across because I like to time myself those days. I don't use red letters until later in the week after I've gone through the whole puzzle three times and honestly don't have any ideas. Sometimes I google (instead of red letters) if I think that one answer will help me finish it (like "who sang Bleeding Love?). Saturdays? I just turn on the red letters from the beginning and hope I can get at least half done before I need more help than that. My "rules" are different than others and it doesn't matter as long as you are having fun doing it! (If you think those are complicated, don't ever ask about my food rules. They seem normal to me until the DH who is also a chef starts telling other people...)
@CED: thanks for the Spaceballs clip! My older brother watched it a million times growing up and I loved it because of John Candy. I was much older when I finally understood all the jokes though!
@Owen - the use of "snot bling in" anything deserves an A+! I laughed so loud I made the dogs jump!
Have a great evening:)
t.
YR, I agree....ADHD and other learning challenges are real, and need to be handled with understanding and caring . I had a child with ADHD who was really brilliant, but couldn't sit still in class. Fortunately, he had teachers who recognized his abilities and also his deficiencies and worked with him. He is now grown up and very successful. But there was a time when some of his teachers claimed he was "stupid". No, he simply "learned differently ." We need so much more support in this area.
Owen, I give them all an A!!
Barbara came home sad yesterday because her mind was wandering as she was parking at Target and she bumped into another car denting her front fender in her little Yaris. The dent was as if a hard soccer ball had hit her fender and made a circular dent about two inches deep and about eight inches across. The paint was mostly OK. She took it to a guy at the local car wash who specializes in paintless dent removal. He massaged the dent out so well that you can't tell it was ever there. (A tiny paint scratch still remains.) Cost, $200. Money well spent. I am impressed at how skillful he was/is.
It's hard to imagine Jeopardy without Alex Trebek. I'm sure he tries to be social and not pedantic all the time though he isn't completely successful. His attempts at humor and sarcasm sometimes fall flat. He's much better at being a game show host than he would be as a talk show host or worse yet, a stand up comedian.
When a poem appears it is often a rhyme
That requires much thought and some time
When you want to create something quick
Try your hand at Mr. Lear's dear Limerick
Anything goes from ridiculous to sublime
Happy May 12
I find the current blog atmosphere exhausting. That's why I don't post anymore. Not a big deal. Just thought I'd share with Y'all. Carry on.
I espied some pretentiousness.
Very late to the party say:
Thanks C.C. I admit defeat In the N. Central. I wanted ANTIC but wouldn't commit cuz of the crosses. 15a was unknown as was TOGS(?). Fun write up Steve (you always add the humour). BTW, Calc is a breeze w/ a TOP instructor (see HG).
I didn't really all the comments yet, but I knew I could count on CED for Spaceballs for 6a. Thanks Mate.
ADHD - I'm sure if my parent and $$ I'd have been diagnosed as such. Thank GOODness we didn't.
Glad you had a great summer-3hr-vacation tawnya :-)
Cheers, -T
//OKL {B+, C, B [dele 'the' for ',,' for an A- - just my $0.02]}
Tom Wilcox. - To add to tawnya...
My 1st "know" today was SNO. Sure I wanted WAR and ALI aTOP, but couldn't get the perps to fit (11d I wanted something akin to power-lines and A ton b/f ALOT). So, I had to nibble my way through and WAG a bit. I got 63a b/f any theme answerss and that helped. I do the pzl in ink and have "bleeds" in some squares [I hate that but expect it from Wed on]. Eg. 56d was essaY; 46d started as edditOR - oops. My goal is to know what I know and what I don't (and to reinforce letter patterns - I suck at spelling). That's why, even if obvious, I couldn't commit to ANTIC because LEONA was unknown.
But I'm an amateur. Google "Wordplay movie" to see real pros solving. The rest of us are just playing. For what it's worth, I take at least 15-20 min on Monday. Friday & Sat I may spend >2 hours before I TITT. THAT SAID, I enjoy every LAT pzl (at my own level).
Cheers, -T
I see again that an author is the worst critic of his own work. I put a lot of effort into today's poems, more than usual which is generally a bad sign. That meant I saw a lot of possibilities far better than what came out, but couldn't quite make work. I also know what I was aiming for in terms of story, and they all fell short of that. I thank you all for your kind words, but to me, they all still rate C or B. And thanks to your grades, I see they rate higher with others than I gave them credit for.
I couldn't get at this yesterday so the great unread strikes again. Loved all the poetry. I just dove in and didn't notice it was a CC and am clueless about clues. I started at Golden corral and then on my van stops filled in the blanks. 100% for a change. No, I don't know my Brontes from my Austen's and tried to spell Eyre. I did read about Emma Bovary in le Francis. I have trouble with Simpson, Star/Wars/Trek references and pretty much all TV, movie and pop. Can't wait to listen to Carmen McRae link, though.
No circles in my version, unfortunately. Would love to know where to get the online puzzles with circles.
But I hunted down and found the crossings anyway!
I have ridden the aerial tram at Sugarloaf in Rio. One of the most beautiful places in the world. Have not heard of another Sugarloaf.
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