without gettin too OOZY (yesterday's fill) or expressing too much 43D: sentimental drivel - [GOO] (today's fill) i'd like to begin by thanking Linda G. for giving me the opportunity to guest blog for her these 4 days.(she's a 1st-class 21A: One who supplies the means - [ENABLER]) i, and my tomfoolery, appreciate it.
it's been a real hoot, but i don't have a clue how in the cornbread hell she does it every single day.
Here's to you, Linda G. and to your AVA-tar, too.
namaste.
now, the puzzle: easy as all get-out, and a delightful carving stone, to boot.
'Gamboling' is a magnificent verb. think gait. 'Gambling' on the other hand, is not my cup of tea. i prefer my addictions to be more of the crossword puzzle ilk. ok, i admit it...i also like to 50.D: be cozy - [NESTLE] with a nekkid woman given the chance. . . . . . (psst, linda, how'd you like the way i sneaked that one in?)
Call me what you want, just don't Call for my scalp.
(1A: A die hard enemy might want yours - [SCALP])
i'm pretty harmless, really. i might even holler out:
(38D: comics cry - [EEK] !)
i like the double whammy of Today's Theme being rendered literally, both in the clues AND in the answers:
17A: Call in roulette - [FOURTEEN RED]
30A: Call in blackjack - [HIT ME AGAIN] ok, maybe this one i hope isn't quite so literal.
37A: Call in many a betting game - [DOUBLE OR NOTHING]
46A: Call in draw poker - [I'LL TAKE ONE]
66A: Call in craps - [ROLL THE DICE] roll the dice is my middle name. it's a good thing i don't have any money to lose.
somewhere in the grid i suspect there's a reference to *telephoning* or something, but i didn't note it. i'm only 1/2 recovered from the 25A: Gun dealer's stock - [AMMO] that hit me yesterday. (go get yerselves a flu shot, people. asap, etui.)
that reminds me of one of my favorite things about this wednesday puzzle:
59D: Pivot - [SLUE] is that a cool word, or what?! as if pivot weren't already good enough all by itself...
here are some more things i particularly liked in this puzzle. some of my enamor is a result of the cluing. some from the answers. and some...well, just because.
20A: For smaller government, presumably - [ANTI TAX] ahahaha. riiight...
26A: Norway's patron saint - [OLAF] olav, olaf...i always like it.
34A: Robot maid on "The Jetsons" - [ROSIE] (it's really spelled 'Rosey') but did you know, according to IMDb, the jetsons was "Based on the 'Blondie' comic strip and series."
...no, i did not know that. blondie? really?
52A: John P. Marquand detective - [MOTO] mr. moto rules, dude! hahahahaha
54A: Prefix with carpal - [META] i just like it, ok? metacarpal is a 1st class word.
56A: Sounds of walking in moccasins - [PATTERS] 1st off, 'moccasins' is just a good word. 2nd-ly, i like the pitter-patter of tiny feet. A+ all around. (not to mention the un-pc irony of including *scalp* and *moccasin* in a nyt puzzle.)
73A: Photographer Ansel - [ADAMS] if he hadn't been such 3D: [A NUT] for landscape, he would have captured Ava in splendor we've never even imagined before.2D: "Let's go" - [C'MON] (this is one of those "just because i like 'ems.")
3D: "sometimes you feel like __ ..." - [A NUT] (wasn't that one just in here the other day?)
4D: Italian river valley in W.W. II fighting - [LIRI] (this crossing with 14A: Amor vincit __" - [OMNIA] really threw me for a loop.)
5D: Page of music - [PATTI] sigh...
8D: Fair sized plot - [ACRE] why are 'a nut', qbs, do-re-mi, etc, lacti/lacto, acre, ices, arena, and even *nieces* all in this puzzle and so prevalent lately. yet we didn't even get a 3rd day in a row CEREAL!!!??? i call foul. where's my cap'n crunch? i think maybe we need a 60A: Deicing tool - [SCRAPER].
C'MON Will. don't be such a slacker.
11D: Genna Davis role - [THELMA] (geena davis is hot. ok?)
27D: W.C. - [LOO] (haahahaah)
28D: Tempe school - [A.S.U.] my son did an archaeological dig with ASU in new mexico a few years back.
29D: Tiny tale - [FIB] obvious, yet subtly sweet cluing in my book.
32A: Pre-1868 Tokyo - [EDO] pantheon worthy, IMOO.
33A: Dog in 1930s films - [ASTA] (how're you doin in retirement Asta? oh...tired of fishing, i see. you seem to be makin' a comeback, though...)
40A: Make music on a comb - [HUM] (easy, but vibrant clue/answer)
42D: i hate this one and i wish Will would f**k-ing retire it. why is it here every f##k-ing week??
46D: Hinder - [IMPEDE] both words are mellifluous in their own ass-backward ways.
49D: Contents of some shells - [TNT] i just like it. ok?
57D: Pitcher's stats - [ERAS] give me a little baseball fill and i'm a happy guy...
63A: "___ homo" - [ECCE] aloha to you all. i hope you'll join me at the cornbread blog and comment on occasion.
WAIT! a photo just came in from the pacific. hold on....could this be the hitherto unseen Linda G.?
& this is the grid...(thanks for reminding me, wendy.)
11 comments:
[hey, where's the grid, cornbread?]
This puzzle was kind of diabolical. So much three- and four-word fill that could have been anything until the crosses were all but staring me in the face.
I see Paris Hilton has infiltrated the realm, with HOT (you can boldface that in your write-up, too, Rick, where you have the Geena Davis reference ;) Didn't I hear she wanted to *trademark* the term - oh brother. Couldn't see where the Geena thing was going for a time, I had THE then got LM and knew it wasn't going to be two words as I'd originally thought.
I wanted the drooling Jimmy Page (figuratively only, I assure you) instead of PATTI but the J ending would have only ended in tears. Also had Cuddle instead of NESTLE.
Got DOUBLE OR NOTHING right off, but the other theme answers were initially challenging. I've actually won at roulette but that was the last one I managed to glean; the only thing I remember about it other than the $75 richer I became was that I used some numbers that corresponded to the birthday of an actor I was very enamored of (never mind who). And it worked!
Very bummed about the cereal circuit being discontinued :( And the LACTO is there all prepped to be poured on it!
GOO, LOO ... Dillman could have piled more of those on, with the omnipresent Roo, as well as boo, coo (that was yesterday), moo, woo, and zoo! Just for starters.
AnyHOO, now that I've discovered the world of cornbread hell, I will continue to bask in it. Thanks, Rick!
oops. the grid...
i'll be right back.
(are we allowed to say paris hilton? that just seems kinda nasty to me, wendy.)
Rick, you're right...Geena is hot. The other one is stupid, not hot. If I'd had that much money, I'd have done better for myself. What a waste.
I'm not much of a gambler, but all were gimmes except for the first. I've never played roulette, but knew it had to end in red or black. Easy enough to guess the number with a couple of downs.
I should have specified that I don't wear a burqini either. When I get home, I'll post a vacation photo. Promise.
Another rainy day. Yesterday we kayaked in the ocean and went snorkeling. I'm happy to report no huli...that means we didn't tip the kayak. Difficult when you're out in the ocean waves. Today we're going to walk along a four-mile paved stretch that follows the coastline. I'm rapidly losing the tan I got the first couple of days, but that wasn't really the goal.
Thanks again for behaving, Rick. I'm sure it was a challenge.
I don't remember if tomorrow is Dave or Howard, but I'm looking forward to reading both of you...one for Thursday and one for Friday. I know that Robert picks up again for Saturday and Sunday, then it's back to the grind (I mean, the joy of blogging) for me. Seriously, I love doing this. I just hope the time change doesn't completely destroy me the first week or so. Fortunately, I'll be armed with some great Kauai coffee.
Linda,
You've had some very entertaining substitutes!
Don't forget to snag some Kona coffee as well.
When I get home, I'll post a vacation photo. Promise.
promises, promises...
just know this- if you don't, i will. (as of now my paparazzi are instructed to follow you home. we will post our bogus images until we see the real deal.)
Rick: LOL! Paparazzi -- too funny!
I see a blog-within-a-blog brewing. What kind of stuff did we do for fun before?
Oh Kitt, I never gave you my address for the ORYX you offered me at Rex's yesterday. That was so sweet ;) But I require litter box training so no go. I just loved the stately look of it in the picture Rex included.
Nice one... and be on the lookout for 'burqini' in a puzzle near you (I think it's already popped up in a Sun puzzle at some point).
howard- if you click on the link you'll see that was a reference to the sun/burqini puzzle by Heaney back in june.
Speaking of enabling. . .
It's a slippery slope I'm on now. Each morning I take just a bit more time to try the puzzle and then to check it out on this site. I love your blog, Linda! But now Cornbread is pulling me at a breakneck speed into the addiction of crosswords and computer blogging. See, I checked out his blog. My mom has recently been diagnosed with Alzheimers too. So now I'm quite addicted to his, and this site. Thanks to both of you enablers!
thanks, janet. sorry to hear about your mom. best wishes for you both.
rick
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