September 2, 2011
Pancho Harrison
Theme answers:
- 17A: Sign some new sluggers? (HIRE POWER).
- 24A: Henna and such? (DYER NEEDS).
- 40A: Stand-up gig for Richard? (PRYOR ENGAGEMENT).
- 50A: Instrument in need of cleaning? (DIRTY LYRE).
- 64A: Augustine, for one? (DEEP FRIAR).
I had a lot of fun with this theme. I figured it out right away at HIRE POWER and was able to use that knowledge for the rest of the theme answers. I was thrown off a little when I got down to DIRTY LYRE and found the change in the second word instead of the first. Having the changed words consistently at the beginning or end would make this puzzle more elegant, but it didn't bother me too too much. After solving, I did a quick run through the alphabet to see if I could come up with any other phrases that would work as theme answers. There are plenty of words that can be changed in this way, but I didn't find any that fit into a well-known phrase. And some of the words I came up with were just hideous (like SIGHER). I also just noticed that the resulting spelling change in each of the theme answers is unique: IRE, YER, YOR, YRE, IAR. Nice.
Stuff I just flat-out didn't know today:
- 14A: Aquatic bird (COOT). I will be impressed if any of you say you've actually heard of this.
- 26D: Peak in an Eastwood film (EIGER). I've heard of the mountain, but not the movie. Apparently, it's a 1975 release called "The Eiger Sanction."
- 34D: Blake title feline (TYGER). Feels like maybe something I should know but … not so much.
- 21A: Like some nests (EMPTY). I had a taste of the EMPTY nest these last couple of weeks while the PuzzleKids were off on adventures with the PuzzleParents. I've always assumed I'd be more relieved than anything when the kids finally leave (parenting is hard!), but having them gone made me realize that sending them off to college is just around the corner and I have to admit I'm panicking a little.
- 44A: Original Speed Stick maker (MENNEN). I'm at just the right age where I can hear the end of the old Speed Stick ads in my head. ("Byyyyyyy MENnen.")
- 54A: Sci-fi character whose first name, Nyota, was first revealed in film in 2009 (UHURA). Nerd alert!
- 66A: Best Actress nominee for "Ordinary People" (MOORE). I know Demi Moore is a lot older than her husband, but I didn't think she was old enough to be in this movie. (For those of you who don't know me very well, this is a contest.)
- 12D: Ink spots, briefly? (TAT). "Ink spots in the 'hood, briefly?" There, I fixed it.
- 27D: Chin Ho co-worker, in a TV cop show (DANNO). Don't recall ever hearing of Chin Ho, but with a cross or two in place, the Hawaii Five-O reference became clear.
Everything — 1A: Some rentals, in ads (APTS.); 5A: "Gimme just __" (A SEC); 9A: Chew the scenery (EMOTE); 14A: Aquatic bird (COOT); 15A: Rowlands of "Gloria" (GENA); 16A: Deteriorate (DECAY); 17A: Sign some new sluggers? (HIRE POWER); 19A: Word with time and space (WASTE); 20A: __ nous (ENTRE'); 21A: Like some nests (EMPTY); 23A: Wartime submachine guns (STENS); 24A: Henna and such? (DYER NEEDS); 29A: Giant legend (OTT); 31A: Nagpur native (INDIAN); 32A: Granola grain (OAT); 35A: 1805 Vienna premiere (EROICA); 39A: Lambs: Lat. (AGNI); 40A: Stand-up gig for Richard? (PRYOR ENGAGEMENT); 43A: Old wrap (TOGA); 44A: Original Speed Stick maker (MENNEN); 45A: Children's author Asquith (ROS); 46A: Composer/violinist who taught Menuhin (ENESCO); 48A: U.S. Army E-5 (SGT.); 50A: Instrument in need of cleaning? (DIRTY LYRE); 54A: Sci-fi character whose first name, Nyota, was first revealed in film in 2009 (UHURA); 58A: Did a little courting (COOED); 59A: Like some denim jackets (LINED); 60A: Flop with fins (EDSEL); 64A: Augustine, for one? (DEEP FRIAR); 66A: Best Actress nominee for "Ordinary People" (MOORE); 67A: Miss Megley's charge, in a Salinger story (ESME); 68A: Lavish affection (DOTE); 69A: 1830s revolution site (TEXAS); 70A: Grand jeté, e.g. (LEAP); 71A: Go bananas (SNAP); 1D: More than twinges (ACHES); 2D: Salient feature (POINT); 3D: High-calorie cake (TORTE); 4D: Jellied fuel (STERNO); 5D: Past word (AGO); 6D: Hemmed but didn't haw (SEWED); 7D: Ones not with you (ENEMY); 8D: __ diem (CARPE); 9D: He voiced Disney's Mad Hatter (ED WYNN); 10D: Drop-line link (ME A); 11D: Mil. training site (OC'S); 12D: Ink spots, briefly? (TAT); 13D: Center (EYE); 18D: Bedevil (PESTER); 22D: "M*A*S*H" procedures (TRIAGES); 25D: Queso relleno cheese (EDAM); 26D: Peak in an Eastwood film (EIGER); 27D: Chin Ho co-worker, in a TV cop show (DANNO); 28D: Miffed states (SNITS); 30D: Vibrating effect (TREMOLO); 32D: Made a choice (OPTED); 33D: Product suffix created in San Francisco in 1958 (-ARONI); 34D: Blake title feline (TYGER); 36D: "A Chorus Line" song (ONE); 37D: Starter: Abbr. (IGN.); 38D: Axe (CAN); 41D: Hops drier (OAST); 42D: Swallow up (ENGULF); 47D: Economic series (CYCLES); 49D: Bs in the key of G, e.g. (THIRDS); 51D: Sing "The Lonely Goatherd," say (YODEL); 52D: Entrepreneur inspired by Hershey (REESE); 53D: Fluid buildup (EDEMA); 55D: U.S.S.R. part (UNION); 56D: Gaucho's rope (REATA); 57D: One concerned with the spot market? (AD REP); 60D: 911 respondent (EMT); 61D: Female rabbit (DOE); 62D: Chi-Town team (SOX); 63D: Historical span (ERA); 65D: __ rally (PEP).
55 comments:
Took a while but finally got the "theme."
I think it was Mandi Moore, not Demi Moore, in "Ordinary People"
No! It was Dudley Moore playing Kiefer Sutherland's wife, and their son was played by Lauren Hutton.
I had the opposite problem with 26-D: I'd heard of (but not seen) the movie, but not the mountain.
And I forgot to mention that I also had heard of a COOT, thanks to my fondness (probably too mild a word) for Uncle Scrooge comics. Cornelius Coot was the founder of Duckburg, where Scrooge McDuck later built is Money Bin.
Sorry everyone, it was Mary Tyler Moore in "Ordinary People."
seriously, manny? i do hope you are kidding! MARY TYLER moore, DONALD sutherland and TIMOTHY hutton were the actors in the robert redford directed "ordinary people" geez, am i really THAT old?
The theme was excellent.
I HTG for ROS, DANNO, UHURU, the last 2 being shows I didn't cotton to.
Had some trouble with spellings.
I am an old COOT, but didn't know a female rabbit was a DOE. Didn't know ERNESCO and wanted wOOED for COOED. Didn't even notice MOORE.
Might that be George ENESCU, a Romanian? Wiki says he was known in France as ENESCO.
Tyger is from William Blake's poem Tyger, tyger burning bright
In the forest of the night
Still don't quite get Ink spots briefly --
Everyone knows it was Gary Moore
A coot is a nasty little black bird with a small white beak. Sort of the size of a small duck. Their entire purpose seems to be to inhabit water hazards on golf courses and cover the surrounding area with slimey coot poop. They are also called mud hens. I think that's because they churn up the shore line into mud.
I enjoyed this puzzle, which I almost never do on Friday but who puts Edam (Dutch) in a Relleno Mexican)?
Thought this was a balanced Friday. I like it when they give a year in a clue, like for UHURA, because then I can start thinking of Sci-fi films from around that time and get the answer that way.
Still new to this blog but since she said "contest" when mentioning Demi Moore, I'm assuming that was indeed a joke. Mary Tyler Moore was AMAZING in that film. A film for which Robert Redford won Best Director -- beating out Scorsese for Raging Bull, I believe.
STERNO, COOT, DECAY were my last fills. And I too remember that jingle ending with: "By Mennen"
Good day to everyone,
-Dean
"Ink Spots, briefly"....
Ink spots on your body, Tattoos... Or Tats, for short
I do believe the Gaucho's rope is spelled "riata" not reata
Sorry, it was I who starred in "Ordinary People". The great irony is that my son in this movie, played by Timothy Daulton, got the play James Bond, putting me out of a job.
Oh, how like a serpent's tooth....
no, you're all wrong. it was abstract english sculptor henry moore.
as for blake's the tyger: this is actually the #1 most anthologized poem in the english language. it really couldn't be more famous.
Groucho's rope is spelled c-i-g-a-r.
IT was Mary Tytler Moore. I am old enough to have seen the movie when it first came out. Excellent one with Donald Sutherland.
coots are the cow birds of the pond. and you all missed the boat - Who could not be moore ordinary than Mewelde Moore.
I saw Ordinary People when it was released, then on TV very recently. Amazing how my life events and emotions in the interim changed my experience of the movie.
Good puzzle, good solve, til I got totally stuck on the mountain with EI?E?. Dredged a correct ROS out of somewhere, but could not remember AGNI at all, til I got it by running the alphabet. Did some searching online, but the word does not appear to be related directly to Agnes. It is also the transliteration of the Sanskrit for the Hindu deity of fire.
I thought it was Julianne Moore, Joan Sutherland and Red Buttons....
I had EMPTY nest syndrome for about 15 minutes.
Had EWE before DOE since I still had AGNI in my head.
Good one, @Sfingi, you old COOT -- I was gonna call myself that, too! Sorry @VirginiaC thinks coots are nasty -- the ones we have in our lagoon are fun to watch, though they have a surprisingly loud squawk. I agree with her about EDAM -- in rellenos? I don't think so.
My quibbles were the plural of TRIAGES and LINED for "like some denim jackets." Faded or well-worn, but not lined.
I believe PG is absolutely correct in using "By Mennen" but I'm pretty sure the ADREPs wouldn't have minded if you heard "Buy Mennen" instead...
PS @MannyO and @Roger Moore made me laugh out loud.
Both spellings of riata are correct. OS X's spell check prefers REATA though.
Augustine of Hippo? Not a friar. In fact, the language we get the word friar from did not exist when Augustine was alive. I don't think he's particularly deep either, but that's debatable. Francis of Assisi OTOH was both deep and a friar.
Speaking of Roman Imperial times, DIRTY LYRE reminds me of a scene from Mel Brooks' History of the World Part II;
Nero: Bring me a small lyre!
(Guards enter carrying a short man between them)
Short Man: I didn't do it! The check's in the mail!
Nero: Not that kind of liar!
I guess I'm in the minority today, because I did not care for this puzzle. I have no problem with the theme, but the fill was annoying.
Oh to be able to read small print still - was stuck forever on 49D till I realized it was "Bs" not "Be" "in the key of G, e.g."!
Nice Friday, took me a while but got there in the end. Northeast corner took me about 20 minutes of noodling to figure it out.
English poetry classes EONs ago gave me two answers today:
"TYGER, tyger, burning bright in the forests of the night! What immortal hand or eye can frame thy fearful symmetry?"
"I come from haunt of COOT and hern, I make a sudden sally. And sparkle out among the fern to bicker down the valley".
I never thought I paid much attention in class, but I guess something seeped through my thick skull.
Major moan about EDAM - since when do you make a mexican dish with a dutch cheese?
The answer isn't MOORE, it's MOOPS! What's wrong with you people?
Could not get the NE, and when it was revealed, did not like what I saw. Is "Chew the scenery" some sort of Thespian term? For Ink spots I thought TATs, 50's quartet, Rorschach test... Only to find out that somewhere between the clue and the answer it went from plural to singular.
Had wOOED instead of COOED. Prefer my option. And, did not know ENESCO.
That being said, I did enjoy the theme answers and the puzzle in general. Had heard of COOT and filled that in off the CO__, but did not know that they were also called mud hens. We have a jillion of them every winter in the bay out in front of our house. (It's a bird sanctuary during the winter.)
@Rube - Wow - coincidence - I'm wearing a Toledo Mud Hens T-shirt this morning, a friend brought it back from Ohio for me last weekend and I'm wearing it for the first time!
The "Moore" in 66A in today's puzzle (Sept. 2) is Mary Tyler Moore. She starred in "Ordinary People".
BA
Aaaand, we have a winner.
What? We have have a winner? No no no! Everyone knows it was Dennis Moore who couldn't come to terms that the oldest son choked to death on lupins.
Wow please No MOORE jokes! As far as coot goes, my first recollection was On Golden Pond not only because Kate Hepburn referred to Henry as an "old coot" but if I am not mistaken, they mentioned the coot's calls in the pond. DNF due to Tremolo (figured TreBolo/Enesco crossing. Medium/difficult for me.
@Dave in Bend -- it was loons on Golden Pond, not coots.
Moore moore moore
I agree with Tuttle that Augustine was not a friar. He certainly was deep, though. A correct clue would be Aquinas, the deepest friar ever. Francis was a lightweight friar insofar as his writing is concerned.
But the friars, or brothers, came about in the 12th century.
Ow, this Friday killed me. DNF's everywhere, ugh.
Had COaT and not COOT, couldn't get DECAY and had WArpS (space warps and time warps) instead of WASTE. Couldn't remember if it was EIGER or EIder. Couldn't move from wOOED to COOED, and did't know ENESCO, so that was ugly. Also couldn't remember that TYGER was the spelling for the literary reference. So, ugly Fri. for me all over.
:(
Under the other hand, I liked the theme, and also enjoyed my head going "Byyyyyyy MENnen," so PG and I must be about the same age.
Also "Ordinary People" was Michael Moore's documentary about ordinary people.
What, no one recognized Clayton with out his mask in Ordinary People?
It was Lenny Moore after he retired from the Baltimore Colts
Dinty. Definitely Dinty Moore. What's more ordinary than Beef Stew.
Lots of PEP in the comments today.
I had wOOED before COOED too.
When I was a Boy Scout we used to tell (make up) "The Legend of Dinty Moore" around the campfire while eating his stew. Fond memories.
But everybody knows it's the iconic English footballer Bobby Moore who famously took up acting after leading England to the 1966 World Cup title to star in "Ordinary People." C'mon, guys. Even an old coot like me knows that.
By the way, anyone who "coos" in courtship is an idiot. The answer should have been WOOS to match my answer of economic CYWLES.
It clearly wasn't I who was nominated, given the gender irregularities, the fact that my name didn't fit, and that I've been dead almost 500 years, but I was robbed of the nomination for Best Screenplay, Adapted. The plot was straight out of Chapter XVII of Utopia, which describes the breakdown of the family structure without its proper foundation, based on devotion to the God of your choice.
@SirThomas You can't help it that you're "a man for all seasons."
I still don't get ign for 37D starter. Can someone enlighten me?
@anon 4:19 - ignition
@Anonymous at 4:19, IGN is an abbreviation for ignition (car starter or blast-off) or igniter, not sure which, but that's the idea.
We all know less is Moore.
Pros of an EMPTY nest:
House stays clean,
Dishwasher only needs to run twice per week and no dirty dishes left in the sink.
Laundry decreases significantly.
Toilet stops overflowing.
No more strange young adults wandering about the house in the middle of night.
Can't really think of any cons.
My vote is for Rojo!
I needed this, a fine puzzle and even better write-up and posts! What a riot.
Back on the grid!
@ Mac! So glad you're back. CT got hit hard. My HS bud who lives in Ridgefield is back too. So's my friend in Southold.
@Mac - Gotta go with Dinty Moore, both for the stew and best wrong Moore.
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