This blog purely for my own amusement. I like to start the day with a quote, be it amusing, inspiration, or simply something that caught my fancy.
On occasion, I might also include some commentary on the day's crossword puzzle that is published in the Los Angeles Times.
Tuesday, 22 March 2022
Tuesday, March 22, 2022
QOD: If at first you don’t succeed, hide all the evidence that you ever tried.~Billy Collins (né William James Collins; Mar. 22, 1941), American poet laureate
It's Party Time:
I'll start with the Reveal:
32-Across. Neighborhood social events ... and what the four sets of circles are?: BLOCK PARTIES. Notice that the circles form "blocks" and the letters in the blocks spell out a type of Party:
FÊTE: A fête is an elaborate festival, party or celebration. The English is borrowed from the Medieval Latin festus via the French fête, meaning holiday or party.
BASH: A bash is a party or celebration, especially a large one held by an official organization or attended by famous people. Origin of the Bash.
GALA: A social occasion with special entertainments or performances. The word comes to use from the French, which is derived from either Italian gala, or Spanish gala, both meaning festive occasion.
BALL: A formal dancing party. The ball derives from the Latin word ballare, which means to dance.
This was an appropriate puzzle for this week. The big Saint Patrick's Parade was this past weekend. I live near the end of the parade route so there were big BLOCK PARTIES all over my neighborhood. It's also the beginning of crawfish season, crawfish was served at many of these parties, along with lots of music and adult beverages.
16. "__ I Would Leave You": "Camelot" song: IF EVER. So many musicals are making a come-back. I wonder Camelot will make a revival.
17. One-named singer with the 2002 #1 hit "Foolish": ASHANTI.
18. Took the loss: ATE IT.
19. Movie critic Roger: EBERT. Roger Ebert (né Robert Joseph Ebert; June 18, 1942 ~ Apr. 4, 2013) and Gene Siskel (né Eugene Kal Sikkel; Jan. 26, 1946 ~ Feb. 20, 1999) hosted At the Movies together for several years.
Ebert and Sickle
20. Remarkable things, in old slang: GASSERS. It also appears to be a term for a style of drag race car.
22. Liam who played Schindler: NEESON. In the movie, Schindler's List, Lima Neeson portrayed a version of the German industrialist Oskar Schindler. Schindler was a very complicated man.
26. Runs scored on a solo homer: ONE. No one on base when the batter scores a homer. // And 10-Down. Baseball's home __: PLATE.
27. Implied: TACIT.
29. Barn bale: HAY.
30. Singer Shore whose name is associated with a major LPGA golf tournament: DINAH.
31. Miso soup cube: TOFU. Yummers!
36. Putin's refusal: NYET. Could also be classified under Current Events. Enough Said.
39. Quarterback Favre: BRETT. Brett Lorenzo Fabre (b. Oct. 10, 1969) was named MVP three times in the mid-1990s.
40. "Doubt it": NAH!
43. Impediment for Moses: RED SEA. Moses may also have had a speech impediment.
46. Golfer's appointment: TEE TIME.
48. San __: San Francisco Bay city: MATEO.
50. Steel support for concrete: REBAR.
51. Against the law: ILLEGAL.
54. Opera with Desdemona: OTELLO.
55. Spanish rice dishes: PAELLAS. Yummers. There is a Spanish restaurant not far from my house that serves fabulous Paella. You have to either order it before you go to the restaurant, or have lots of tapas while you wait for it to be made, but it is well worth the wait.
56. Very tired: DONE IN.
57. City west of Dallas: ABILENE. Quite a bit west of Dallas.
58. Names of four of them begin with "New": STATES. I have lived on 3 of the 4 "NEW" states.
Down: 1. Italian cheese: ASIAGO. Yummers!
2. Beach robe: CAFTAN.
3. John of Monty Python: CLEESE. John Marwood Cleese (b. Oct. 27, 1939) is one of the four surviving members of the original Pythons.
4. Rock 'n' roller dubbed "The King": ELVIS.
5. Like lo-cal regimens, e.g.: DIETETIC.
6. Shakespeare's "always": E'ER.
7. Swedish auto: SAAB. Saab ceased its car operations in 2016.
8. Not in class today: ABSENT.
9. Skiing champ Phil or Steve: MAHRE. Phillip Ferdinand Mahre (b. May 10, 1957) and his twin brother, Steven Irving Mahre (b. May 10, 1957), both competed in the Olympics.
11. Chaney of horror: LON. Lon Chaney (né Leonidas Frank Chaney; Apr. 1, 1883 ~ Aug. 26, 1930) was known as the Man of a Thousand Faces for his ability to transform himself into the images of horror for many silent films. Sadly, he died at age 47. His son, Lon Chaney, Jr. (né Creighton Tull Chaney; Feb. 10, 1906 ~ July 12, 1973), was also an actor who portrayed creatures in horror films.
Lon Chaney, Sr.
12. Tolkien talking tree: ENT. Creatures from Lord of the Rings.
13. Opus __: "The Da Vinci Code" sect: DEI.
19. Prison break fugitive, e.g.: ESCAPER.
21. Corporal or private: RANK.
23. Pump or boot: SHOE.
24. Klutzes: OAFS.
25. Manhattan sch.: NYU.
28. "No choice for me": I HAVE TO.
30. URL speck: DOT.
31. __ Woodman: Oz traveler: TIN.
32. Memory unit: BYTE. Computer memory, not human memory.
33. Show the way: LEAD.
34. Baptism or bris: RITE.
35. Ore-Ida morsel: TATER TOT. Yummers!
36. "All Things Considered" airer: NPR. Terry Gross (b. Feb. 14, 1951) is the host of All Things Considered, which is aired on National Public Radio.
39. 1942 Philippine battle site: BATAAN. The Battle of Bataan was fought between January and April 1949 by the United States against Japan during World War II.
40. Corn kernel: NIBLET.
41. Charlotte __: U.S. Virgin Islands capital: AMALIE. The city of Charlotte Amalie is named in honor of Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel (Apr. 27, 1650 ~ Mar. 27, 1714), Queen consort and wife of Christian V, King of Denmark.
42. Cousins of storks: HERONS. They are beautiful birds.
44. Bloodhounds follow it: SMELL.
45. Two under par: EAGLE.
47. "Lovergirl" singer __ Marie: TEENA. Teena Marie (née Mary Christine Brocket; Mar. 5, 1956 ~ Dec. 26, 2010), sadly died young.
49. "Who __ is coming?": ELSE.
51. Hoppy brew letters: IPA. As in India Pale Ale. This has become a crossword staple.
52. Research site: LAB.
53. Floral ring: LEI.
54. Some ER cases: ODs. A drug OverDose might cause one to go to the Emergency Room.
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