I didn't like "GAH" for "Frustrated cry," but other than that, this was a fun puzzle.
1
Gratz Mr. BEQ
2
His name is in the grid: 3D and 42A.
A former DJ allowed how he resisted doing this song because it was too childish. Nonetheless, he recorded it and it is one of his signature songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdSqk78nHw
A former DJ allowed how he resisted doing this song because it was too childish. Nonetheless, he recorded it and it is one of his signature songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBdSqk78nHw
1
Wax on, Wax off. A 14D one, compared to many Fridays for me. Lot's of "J" words if that makes a themeless have a theme. Or a couple of mini themes. Such as: Numb from NUNCHUKAS/DOJO/JUDOMAT or NULLEST/DEADEST. Almost all nits were after the solve revisited comments, not snags during the solve itself. MIXed feeling about calling a (RAP)CD a 'tape'. For one who believes in 3 immortal persons in one God, also wondering how 'person' and 'mortal' came to be equated.
1
RMP --
I suppose ones who believe in reincarnation would join you in wonderment about the equation.
I suppose ones who believe in reincarnation would join you in wonderment about the equation.
2
I got most of the puzzle done last night, but the mid-west was my problem area. At 39A I had _U_OMAT, and it was really hard to see that as anything but AUTOMAT, even though that was obviously wrong. So I had to come back this morning with fresh eyes and re-read the clue, when JUDO MAT became obvious. And with that and DOJO, the rest of that section fell.
I had enough letters early on to think 20D was going to be YELLOW . . . something, so that slowed me down. Once I got JEOPARDY, JELLO SHOT became clear. Contrary to many others, the SW was easy for me, as I knew FRED, LUPE, EPHESUS, and FLAGRANT FOUL. But that was more than made up for by the problems in other areas. I hadn't remembered that Eric HEIDEN won so many medals in 1980. I was just watching a stage of the Tour of Utah cycling race yesterday, and the commentators were talking about Eric and his speed-skating background, then his cycling career, then his move into medicine. A multi-talented PERSON!
I had enough letters early on to think 20D was going to be YELLOW . . . something, so that slowed me down. Once I got JEOPARDY, JELLO SHOT became clear. Contrary to many others, the SW was easy for me, as I knew FRED, LUPE, EPHESUS, and FLAGRANT FOUL. But that was more than made up for by the problems in other areas. I hadn't remembered that Eric HEIDEN won so many medals in 1980. I was just watching a stage of the Tour of Utah cycling race yesterday, and the commentators were talking about Eric and his speed-skating background, then his cycling career, then his move into medicine. A multi-talented PERSON!
3
LizB, the only reason I got 65A with just a couple of crosses was on account of EPHESUS Church Road signs on 15-501 outskirts of Chapel Hill.
Whatever works, eh?
Whatever works, eh?
2
And Daphne Athas's book, Entering EPHESUS, that being her fictional name for Chapel Hill. EPHESUS in Turkey is one of the places I've always wanted to visit. It's not looking promising for going there any time soon.
1
Got held up in the BEQ's SW corner was like being stuck in traffic on the BQE.
9
P.S. Try saying FLAGRANTFOUL five times, fast.
I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DEMILLE.
I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DEMILLE.
7
Major delays on the LIRR this morning, so I had enough time to finish this tough Friday, and then read Deb's essay and the WP comments on my phone. Some tricky but fair cluing made it a worthy challenge. BAH before GAH, and the ever-popular NUNCHUCKS before NUNCHAKUS (I knew there was some alternate spelling, but needed the crosses to figure it out).
Compilation RAPCDS of dubious legality are still referred to as mixtapes, a rather--dare I say it?--quaint terminology. MOL beat me to it, but I agree, RUGLIKE is ughlike.
In 1968, Cliff Nobles & Co. made it to #2 with the driving R&B instrumental "The HORSE." I can barely sit still while listening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McFSX8LkOqU
Compilation RAPCDS of dubious legality are still referred to as mixtapes, a rather--dare I say it?--quaint terminology. MOL beat me to it, but I agree, RUGLIKE is ughlike.
In 1968, Cliff Nobles & Co. made it to #2 with the driving R&B instrumental "The HORSE." I can barely sit still while listening.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McFSX8LkOqU
1
Jimbo—Maybe I'm being ethnocentric or ageist or worse, but I've always thought that mixtapes, whether on cassette or CD, were more or less like elaborate audio valentines (for any time of year) prepared and sent from a lover to his or her significant other. With that in mind, it's hard for me to imagine a mixtape composed of rap music. Narrow-minded of me, I know, but a rap mixtape makes as much sense as a bluegrass symphony.
1
Several definitions:
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/mixtape
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/mixtape
1
OK, Barry. I was only thinking about definition no. 1. Nos. 2 & 3 pertain to the music biz.
All Japanese syllables end in vowels (a Japanese syllabary like hiragana is recited with "ka, ki, ku, ke, ko" for instance.) In many words, syllables with "u" are pronounced with just the consonant. But it's never as simple as that. If a speaker, especially a woman, wishes to sound more polite, he or she will sound the "u."
"Thank you very much" is "arigato gozaimasu," and the second word normally sounds to me like it has three syllables, "go-zy-mas." But an ikebana sensei, when thanking a ranking professor, will say "go-zy-ma-su." You rarely, if ever, hear a male pronounce the four syllables that way.
In some words, the "u" is always pronounced. "Tofu" is never "tof." The "u" in "nunchaku" is normally dropped. Japanese words have a formal spelling using the Latin alphabet, called romaji. It is a transliteration of the Japanese syllabary and "-u" syllables retain the "u," leaving the reader to drop it as appropriate. This leads to "improved" spellings that are closer to what our ears actually hear. So "nunchaku" becomes "nunchuck." To make matters worse, since one nunchaku is a pair of sticks, the weapon is sometimes called "nunchucks" or "nunchuks." Thus, the possibility of spelling the word, and its plural, so many ways in English.
"Thank you very much" is "arigato gozaimasu," and the second word normally sounds to me like it has three syllables, "go-zy-mas." But an ikebana sensei, when thanking a ranking professor, will say "go-zy-ma-su." You rarely, if ever, hear a male pronounce the four syllables that way.
In some words, the "u" is always pronounced. "Tofu" is never "tof." The "u" in "nunchaku" is normally dropped. Japanese words have a formal spelling using the Latin alphabet, called romaji. It is a transliteration of the Japanese syllabary and "-u" syllables retain the "u," leaving the reader to drop it as appropriate. This leads to "improved" spellings that are closer to what our ears actually hear. So "nunchaku" becomes "nunchuck." To make matters worse, since one nunchaku is a pair of sticks, the weapon is sometimes called "nunchucks" or "nunchuks." Thus, the possibility of spelling the word, and its plural, so many ways in English.
4
I'd wonder if the NUNCHAKU weren't related to the weighted wires employed by the Hashshashiyin. Developmentally, not etymologically.
A few years ago, the Anglicized version came up in the National Spelling Bee. The boy on deck, a chubby kid of about 12 summers, went all giggly and dimply and finally admitted he'd heard the word as 'numbnuts'. I've forgotten how he spelled it, but it surely wasn't N-U-N-C-H-A-K-U-S.
[This is a test.]
A few years ago, the Anglicized version came up in the National Spelling Bee. The boy on deck, a chubby kid of about 12 summers, went all giggly and dimply and finally admitted he'd heard the word as 'numbnuts'. I've forgotten how he spelled it, but it surely wasn't N-U-N-C-H-A-K-U-S.
[This is a test.]
2
You passed (or got past).
1
Leapy, what does "chubby" have to do with it? I recall a chubby kid standing before the congregation in a Baptist Church reciting the 23rd Psalms. The poor kid didn't know what to say at the conclusion and blurted out "the end" instead of "Amen." The congregation laughed but not because he was chubby.
BEQ always brings his A-game, with bits of trivia (EPHESUS) and modernity (Hip-Hop's LUPE Fiasco)....though this time some of the crosswordese bothered me, such as AIR ACE (said nobody, ever).... and a 1980 Olympian? Really?
I did learn, to my surprise, of Charlie Chan's residence in OAHU and the correct way to spell NUN CHAKUS (I'll spare you my progression, but let me just say that I screamed AGHA and GAH and OOH a few times....)
I don't care for sweets, so JELLO SHOTS was slow to emerge. I actually looked at -ELLO-H-- and tried to think if there were any YELLOW swallows in my bird book.
DEADEST? RUGLIKE? Ugh-like.
I did learn, to my surprise, of Charlie Chan's residence in OAHU and the correct way to spell NUN CHAKUS (I'll spare you my progression, but let me just say that I screamed AGHA and GAH and OOH a few times....)
I don't care for sweets, so JELLO SHOTS was slow to emerge. I actually looked at -ELLO-H-- and tried to think if there were any YELLOW swallows in my bird book.
DEADEST? RUGLIKE? Ugh-like.
4
MOL, I am not entirely sure, but I believe JELLO SHOTS have more to do with liquor than sweets, although I guess they might satisfy both hungers.
2
MOL -- Hand up for looking for a yellow bird. Yellowtail wouldn't fit, and in any case, I think that's one of the sushis.
3
JELL-O (part of every meal my mother made) is unbearably sugary, IMHO. Why mess up perfectly nice liquor?
2
A good crossword is a big puzzle consisting of little puzzles, with each small solve bringing an ah, or if lucky, an aha, and there will be some GAHs usually along with the OOHs. My solve went like this, filing in the entire puzzle until I hit the SW, when confronted with two names I didn't know plus the other elements already mentioned by others. There my brain reached its DEADEST point, where it is kind of like gravy or even RUGLIKE (unresponsive and opaque), a big mass with nothing coming out of it, and I thought FLAGRANT_FOUL! Or was it "uncle!"? In any case, I finally looked something up, and finished.
Oh I liked it, though, with some excellent clues (SCRAWL, DOW_JONES, NEST) and answers (XANADU, JIGGLED, WRITHES), and that backward AIR joining the AIRACE. There were so many ahs and ahas preceding that impenetrable SW vortex, so many terrific I_SEE_NOW moments, that it totally won me over.
Oh I liked it, though, with some excellent clues (SCRAWL, DOW_JONES, NEST) and answers (XANADU, JIGGLED, WRITHES), and that backward AIR joining the AIRACE. There were so many ahs and ahas preceding that impenetrable SW vortex, so many terrific I_SEE_NOW moments, that it totally won me over.
2
With Rio Olympics at hand, I like the USA USA chant as well as the US/US cross at the end of EPHESUS/NUNCHAKUS. Being the mother of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle 'enthusiast' from the 90s, I was familiar with the weapon, but thought it was 'nunchucks' which I held on to for a few minutes too long. As for the Christie's clue, I started with 'auction', then tried 'art show', before finally banging the gavel on ART SALE. Love the cross of FLAGRANT FOUL and NO FAIR!
2
Other than a couple of jarring notes already mentioned (DUCES, RAP CDS), I was happy with the whole puzzle ... until I got to SW.
Some of my problems there were lack of knowledge--FRED Armisen, LUPE Fiasco, odd-to-me spelling of numchucks. And some elusive--EPHESUS, which I knew once but had forgotten; AGHA, because it seems to me like there are a lot of such titles.
But couple all that with FLAGRANT FOUL, RUGLIKE, and DEADEST, and I was in trouble. DEADEST was pretty much just that; I had MILDEST for a while. RUGLIKE is awkward, but I think could have been clued more interestingly using a different comparison--I keep thinking of that mat of hair that my late beloved Chester used to leave behind whenever he got up from a nap.
The one I really don't like, though, is FLAGRANT FOUL. I learn from Deb that a "hack" is A Thing in basketball--I'd already inferred that it must be some sort of sports slang--but even so, FLAGRANT FOUL seems like green paint.
Other than that, there was stuff I really did like: TEEN JEOPARDY, JELL-O SHOT, EXURBIA, even HOT WARS despite the unpleasant association.
What I learned today is that there's a DEMILLE Golden Globe for lifetime achievement.
At 23D, I looked for a word for a lousy reproduction of a painting.
I consider that chant at 33D more jingoistic than patriotic. (This sort of thing is top-of-mind right now because the quadrennial flag-waving festival is just starting.) (I mean the Olympics, not the election.)
Happy Friday!
Some of my problems there were lack of knowledge--FRED Armisen, LUPE Fiasco, odd-to-me spelling of numchucks. And some elusive--EPHESUS, which I knew once but had forgotten; AGHA, because it seems to me like there are a lot of such titles.
But couple all that with FLAGRANT FOUL, RUGLIKE, and DEADEST, and I was in trouble. DEADEST was pretty much just that; I had MILDEST for a while. RUGLIKE is awkward, but I think could have been clued more interestingly using a different comparison--I keep thinking of that mat of hair that my late beloved Chester used to leave behind whenever he got up from a nap.
The one I really don't like, though, is FLAGRANT FOUL. I learn from Deb that a "hack" is A Thing in basketball--I'd already inferred that it must be some sort of sports slang--but even so, FLAGRANT FOUL seems like green paint.
Other than that, there was stuff I really did like: TEEN JEOPARDY, JELL-O SHOT, EXURBIA, even HOT WARS despite the unpleasant association.
What I learned today is that there's a DEMILLE Golden Globe for lifetime achievement.
At 23D, I looked for a word for a lousy reproduction of a painting.
I consider that chant at 33D more jingoistic than patriotic. (This sort of thing is top-of-mind right now because the quadrennial flag-waving festival is just starting.) (I mean the Olympics, not the election.)
Happy Friday!
I agree the USA USA chants sound more jingoistic than patriotic to my ear. I may have written this before, but I remember my father who was a keen follower of the Olympic Games enjoying good performances from any country. He tired of constant bragging about how many medals we won and made up his own chart based medals per population. If I remember correctly Morocco won on that basis, probably the 1956 summer games.
4
One year in my memory, the TV station was showing many of the competitors in the diving contests, and it was interesting to see the contrasts. I *hate* the stupid medal counting and wish we could see more than the highlights.
Thanks for mentioning your memories!
Thanks for mentioning your memories!
1
I should have said "biennial" flag-waving festival. I forgot that the Summer and Winter Olympics are now staggered. And the jingoism is certainly not limited to USA USA, since supporters from all the competing nations do similar stuff. I just find the USA jingoism more embarrassing.
And that medal counting is just tacky. And creepy.
I'm lucky that there is usually less of the general hollering in the sports that I watch--figure skating and occasionally curling. (The only summer stuff I would watch is dressage, but it's not covered on TV much, if at all.)
But hey! Today's a good day! It is the second day in a row that my submitted comment-in-chief has gotten past the emus and posted. I know that the NYT has a stats capability so that people can follow their "streaks" of successfully solved puzzles. Is there such a thing for commenters?
And that medal counting is just tacky. And creepy.
I'm lucky that there is usually less of the general hollering in the sports that I watch--figure skating and occasionally curling. (The only summer stuff I would watch is dressage, but it's not covered on TV much, if at all.)
But hey! Today's a good day! It is the second day in a row that my submitted comment-in-chief has gotten past the emus and posted. I know that the NYT has a stats capability so that people can follow their "streaks" of successfully solved puzzles. Is there such a thing for commenters?
1
I wonder if anybody tried to clue RUGLIKE "Similar to a bad toupee?"
6
I feel like somebody just whacked me with Nunchucks, or however you spell that word. But (and this is weird) I enjoyed it. Very difficult, and lots of fun. Here's to you, BEQ.
Apropos of 38A, I once worked a summer as a CTA bus driver in the South Side. Learned more on that bus than I ever learned in a classroom.
Apropos of 38A, I once worked a summer as a CTA bus driver in the South Side. Learned more on that bus than I ever learned in a classroom.
4
Where on the south side?
I spent a lot of time down there in '69 - '70. Stony Island / 63rd area.
I spent a lot of time down there in '69 - '70. Stony Island / 63rd area.
I meant '68 - '69, not '69 - '70.
When will I learn to take five seconds to review what I wrote.
When will I learn to take five seconds to review what I wrote.
Mighty, mighty, mighty...
Not quite, Deb.
I am leaving this Friday puzzle badly bruised and with a sour grimace my face.
I realize that it isn't BEQ's fault that so many of his entries are out of my ken, but it is depressing.
I am leaving this Friday puzzle badly bruised and with a sour grimace my face.
I realize that it isn't BEQ's fault that so many of his entries are out of my ken, but it is depressing.
1
Groaned at RUGLIKE and misspelled 35d in every way possible. But at least I know what day it is.. unlike a certain Gray Lady.
Thanks to the hardest working man in the puzzle business: BEQ
Thanks to the hardest working man in the puzzle business: BEQ
dk, I used to make the same complaint, and you see how much effect it had, eh?
Dead horse.
Dead horse.
Enjoyed this enjoyed this one - was quite a toughie! Had to put it aside after a couple of passes and come back to it in the morning.
A couple of nits though - was anyone else uncomfortable with pluralizing DUCE? And (like Deb) felt clueing RAP CD as a "mixed tape" was a bit of a stretch.
A couple of nits though - was anyone else uncomfortable with pluralizing DUCE? And (like Deb) felt clueing RAP CD as a "mixed tape" was a bit of a stretch.
3
Rampiak—Right you are. There has only ever been one DUCE, and we all hope and pray there will never be another.
Even knowing FRED I crashed and burned in that tricky SW corner. Having confidently filled in NUNCHUckS was my death blow. GAH!
I got all the rest and loved all the J's.
There is lots to like here and BEQ is brilliant. BUT, that SW corner: NOFAIR!
I got all the rest and loved all the J's.
There is lots to like here and BEQ is brilliant. BUT, that SW corner: NOFAIR!
2
I thought GAH was a made-up word created for the fill. Feh.
3
I guess you're not a follower of the "Dilbert" comic strip, where the characters often frustrate or irritate their co-workers to the point that the victims exclaim "GAH!"
2
I used to read Dilbert, but don't remember GAH. Never heard it before.
Sometimes when I fail spectacularly on a puzzle I go back over it when I'm done and see how I might have worked it out if a couple of things had just dawned on me, or if I'd worked a little harder on it.
Not today. I didn't know... well, I didn't know lots of things.
TEENJEOPARDY was clever.
This song always makes me feel better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voQWlL-jj5Q
Thinking happy thoughts.
Not today. I didn't know... well, I didn't know lots of things.
TEENJEOPARDY was clever.
This song always makes me feel better:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voQWlL-jj5Q
Thinking happy thoughts.
2
Congratulations on the 20th (nearly) anniversary, BEQ. How is the little one doing? She must be school age.
I didn't think 15A needed a ?. I thought most of the rest of the clues did. OK, slight exaggeration, but I was not even close to BEQ's wheelhouse today. I did know EPHESUS however, and like Elke, did pretty well in the NE and got XANADU quickly because TAX. I got fooled by the noIse clue, but like that kind a lot, mini AHA moment.
Why is pIcnicked spelled with a K, but not ARCED, I wonder.
I didn't think 15A needed a ?. I thought most of the rest of the clues did. OK, slight exaggeration, but I was not even close to BEQ's wheelhouse today. I did know EPHESUS however, and like Elke, did pretty well in the NE and got XANADU quickly because TAX. I got fooled by the noIse clue, but like that kind a lot, mini AHA moment.
Why is pIcnicked spelled with a K, but not ARCED, I wonder.
3
Hand up, Suejean, for wishing BEQ would put a photo of Tabitha up, plus furnish an update.... Public figures such as NYT crossword constructors owe their fans something, right? (cough cough.... but BEQ will know it's kindly interest)
1
Second the congratulations, BEQ. (Sorry I forgot to say that in my C-i-C.)
(I went to YouTube to try to find a song about "twenty years," but everything I found was awful.)
(I went to YouTube to try to find a song about "twenty years," but everything I found was awful.)
RUGLIKE? GAH! When was the last time you hung a rug on a window? The puzzle felt forced and strained with too many three letter answers and disconnected clues. DEADEST puzzle in some time.
4
NUNCHAKUS was a drawn out spelling problem needing multiple crossings. I knew instantly what they were, but the spelling was lost on me. The rest of the puzzle was comparatively easy.
and Elke
Thought I was on EASY street because EXURBIA led to EXPORT TAX which brought me to XANADU. Quickly got the NE corner, after all the TED LECTURE annual convention is now a local event.
But then used up at least 18 minutes trying to come up with JELLO SHOT. Never heard of it, along with FLAGRANT FOUL which I first read as Fragrant (thinking it reflected a HOT smelly game ). LOL.
Had Sammy KAHN ; had to google for NUNCHAKUS and EPHESUS. Did remember Eric HEIDEN and the shouts of USA USA accompanying his feats .
Liked the clue for NEST ; and nose/noise diff. -AN I.
Bottom line- puzzle seemed more like a Saturday than Friday. But am not saying NO FAIR . Just GAH...
Maybe I need to do more BEQ puzzles . How about it ?
Thought I was on EASY street because EXURBIA led to EXPORT TAX which brought me to XANADU. Quickly got the NE corner, after all the TED LECTURE annual convention is now a local event.
But then used up at least 18 minutes trying to come up with JELLO SHOT. Never heard of it, along with FLAGRANT FOUL which I first read as Fragrant (thinking it reflected a HOT smelly game ). LOL.
Had Sammy KAHN ; had to google for NUNCHAKUS and EPHESUS. Did remember Eric HEIDEN and the shouts of USA USA accompanying his feats .
Liked the clue for NEST ; and nose/noise diff. -AN I.
Bottom line- puzzle seemed more like a Saturday than Friday. But am not saying NO FAIR . Just GAH...
Maybe I need to do more BEQ puzzles . How about it ?
2
I just remembered that ANI used to be overused crosswordese for "Blackbird." I wonder whether BEQ realized that he had created a new clue for an old set of letters?
1
had some trouble in the SW which was the last to fall. Did not know martial arts or temple of Artemis location. finally got enough crossings to finish.
My trouble spot as well.
Martin, I don't think so.
Reminds me of Letterman's crack about "Kim Jong-il and his brother Mentally-il."
1
.
I think this is one of those where the guy in the photo isn't John's guy and I never have any idea how that guy is going to relate to this guy. Let's see if I can read what I SCRAWLed during my solve ...
Ah yes. Hercule Poirot.
I think this is one of those where the guy in the photo isn't John's guy and I never have any idea how that guy is going to relate to this guy. Let's see if I can read what I SCRAWLed during my solve ...
Ah yes. Hercule Poirot.
.
Albert Finney played the lead in the film "TOM JONES".
He was also the best Hercule Poirot. I wrote that preveal before doing the Acrostic; sorry if I spoiled anyone.
Albert Finney played the lead in the film "TOM JONES".
He was also the best Hercule Poirot. I wrote that preveal before doing the Acrostic; sorry if I spoiled anyone.
Could the Constructor's Notes be any shorter? Are the constructors now being limited to 25 words or less? Or have they suddenly become shy?
Some of them are just shy, some prefer to let their puzzle speak for itself. Brendan has always sent brief notes.
1
For a second there I though you called BEQ "shy." Wait. What?
.
.
NO FAIR! This BEQ themeless was AIMed at my weak areas! DOJO? OAHU? NUNCHAKUS? The DOW JONES average didn't (A)RISE today as much as my Friday average solve time did!
BEQ is a meanie. [...] ARE TOO!
.
NO FAIR! This BEQ themeless was AIMed at my weak areas! DOJO? OAHU? NUNCHAKUS? The DOW JONES average didn't (A)RISE today as much as my Friday average solve time did!
BEQ is a meanie. [...] ARE TOO!
3
.
When I wrote my C-i-C, I was so rapt with the FLAGRANT FOUL committed by BEQ on the Japanese language, I forgot the comedy bit for which a BEQ entry is a seed.
"Get Smart", Season 1, ep. 18 [title omitted temporarily]
KAOS agent "Stryker" mortally wounds Control Agent 46, then runs off to let him die. As Agent 46's precious bodily fluids seep out, he makes some impressions in wet cement. Agent 86 Maxwell Smart (the late, great Don Adams) sees the not-very-fine marks in the cement.
Unable to figure out this only message from 46, 86 brings the block of cement (probably concrete) to Professor Parker.
Professor Parker is surprised. "Don't you recognize these markings? It's the Dead Spy SCRAWLs!" [Final 3 words are the episode title.]
When I wrote my C-i-C, I was so rapt with the FLAGRANT FOUL committed by BEQ on the Japanese language, I forgot the comedy bit for which a BEQ entry is a seed.
"Get Smart", Season 1, ep. 18 [title omitted temporarily]
KAOS agent "Stryker" mortally wounds Control Agent 46, then runs off to let him die. As Agent 46's precious bodily fluids seep out, he makes some impressions in wet cement. Agent 86 Maxwell Smart (the late, great Don Adams) sees the not-very-fine marks in the cement.
Unable to figure out this only message from 46, 86 brings the block of cement (probably concrete) to Professor Parker.
Professor Parker is surprised. "Don't you recognize these markings? It's the Dead Spy SCRAWLs!" [Final 3 words are the episode title.]
2
Re the Dead Spy Scrawls - I'm pretty sure I told this one years ago but for the many newcomers - When my grandson was 5 (he's now 28) he used to love going to museums and one of his favorites was the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls. When a little classmate joined him for a playdate one day, he invited him to come along to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, promising him a really fun day (also a nice airconditioned hour for a tired grandmother). When we headed home I asked the other child how he liked it. "It was fun, but where were the Dead Sea Squirrels?"
7
Nunchaku is singular and plural; it's a Japanese sound-stream ("word"). Nunchucks has an "s" on the end. Nunchaku does not. Flagrant foul.
4
I'm not following the logic. Yes, nunchuck is an attempt to anglicize the pronunciation of nunchaku. (All Japanese syllables end with a vowel, but "u" is often not pronounced.) And yes, Japanese nouns don't change in plural.
But we often pluralize foreign words as if they were English. I would always speak of ikebana senseis.
I don't see why using an accurate Japanese romaji spelling rather than the anglicized one means we can't pluralize it as an English word. In an English sentence, either spelling is a loan-word.
If the clue called for a singular ("weapon" rather than "weapons") I would agree "nunchuks" would be acceptable since that is another spelling used for one pair, but with a plural called for I don't see this as a problem.
But we often pluralize foreign words as if they were English. I would always speak of ikebana senseis.
I don't see why using an accurate Japanese romaji spelling rather than the anglicized one means we can't pluralize it as an English word. In an English sentence, either spelling is a loan-word.
If the clue called for a singular ("weapon" rather than "weapons") I would agree "nunchuks" would be acceptable since that is another spelling used for one pair, but with a plural called for I don't see this as a problem.
2
No wonder this is the debut for NUNCHAKUS. The correct singular form also only appears once. I couldn't find any nunchucks.
Waiting for more posts
on this subject, pro and con,
expressed as haiku(s).
on this subject, pro and con,
expressed as haiku(s).
4
For the fairly large intersection of Jeopardy! fans and cruciverbalists out there, wonder how many got Teen Jeopardy! quite quickly
I didn't know there was a TEEN JEOPARDY so was quite proud that I got it fairly quickly.
There is not (to my knowledge) a show of that name, suejean. "Jeopardy!" every year has special "weeks" apart from the regular competition--one for (little) "kids," one for seniors, one for teachers, and one for teens. (There may be others.) I think that's what the "informally" part of the clue refers to.
1
Thanks, DL. I do always watch the regular show when I visit; my son records several for me. I remember the days when the prize money went from $5.00 to $25.00 and everyone kept what they scored.