Martin, I posted today's comment yesterday, proof of my jetlag....
Circles always remind me of you.
Come back when you Wake Up.
Come back when you Wake Up.
You would think that the patterns of today's theme entries are fairly unique. No, 87 entries match today!
http://tinyurl.com/huxwrzv
There is a button to get information on regular expressions when you reach the Xword Info Finder page with any of my RegEx tinyurls. It's near the top and called [Show Instructions]. It will give you some basic info and a couple of links. Beware that the site with the tutorial uses the Perl dialect of RegEx, not .NET that is used on Xword Info. The basic differences are few, however.
http://tinyurl.com/huxwrzv
There is a button to get information on regular expressions when you reach the Xword Info Finder page with any of my RegEx tinyurls. It's near the top and called [Show Instructions]. It will give you some basic info and a couple of links. Beware that the site with the tutorial uses the Perl dialect of RegEx, not .NET that is used on Xword Info. The basic differences are few, however.
OMG!
Now I learn that RegEx has dialects!
I'm still trying to figure out how to tame Windows 10.
Now I learn that RegEx has dialects!
I'm still trying to figure out how to tame Windows 10.
1
yesterday wee small hours of the morning solving effort was thwarted by an overall feeling of malaise. A substantial period of rest (+ some strong coffee) effectively vanquished that discomfort resulting in a sharper thought process. It enabled me to bridge the gap that my weary state of mind and body had manifested...Anyone unfamiliar with Led Zeppelin's "The Crunge" will probably have to hear the lion's share of this 3:22 clip. In doing so, one ought to gather sufficient evidence AS TO how the song got PIECED together with today's puzzle; you'll see.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2DrfhkyWdg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2DrfhkyWdg
2
SUZI/ZWEIG on a Monday?
3
PLOWED through this easy Monday, with a cute theme. I thought we might be going for a word ladder based on LON and DON. But the real theme quickly became apparent. 48A saved me from a Natick; not familiar with Herr ZWEIG.
SUZI Quatro hailed from Detroit, and became a big star in the UK as part of the glam-rock scene of the early 70s. Even her stint on "Happy Days" couldn't improve her chart fortunes in the US though. The catchy soft-rocker "Stumblin' In" was her only Top 10 single here, a duet with Chris Norman of the group Smokie. (Smokie was another act big in Europe, but a one-hit wonder in the US.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGaF4tKUl0o
SUZI Quatro hailed from Detroit, and became a big star in the UK as part of the glam-rock scene of the early 70s. Even her stint on "Happy Days" couldn't improve her chart fortunes in the US though. The catchy soft-rocker "Stumblin' In" was her only Top 10 single here, a duet with Chris Norman of the group Smokie. (Smokie was another act big in Europe, but a one-hit wonder in the US.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGaF4tKUl0o
1
I even remembered SUZI Quatro's real last name because it is so unusual. Quatrocchio means four-eye in Italian, although quattro normally has a double T. I picture SUZI with glasses. Maybe Leather Tuscadero wore contacts on Happy Days.
2
I did further research and Suzi's last name might have originally been Quattrocchi, literally four eyes. Yes, it means the same thing colloquially in Italian!
Without the O, that makes me think of Gina Quattrochi, a big name in the world of HIV/AIDS services and activism.
Never thought before about what the name might mean.
Never thought before about what the name might mean.
What fun! Nicely done.
1
A fine Monday! I took a guess at the "Z," and got Happy Pencil. Never heard of ZWEIG or SUZY, however.
I liked how the Falling Down theme fell down.
Favorite clue today was the one for LONGSTEMMED.
I agree with Deb about OGLES - creepy.
I liked how the Falling Down theme fell down.
Favorite clue today was the one for LONGSTEMMED.
I agree with Deb about OGLES - creepy.
2
Fine Monday puzzle, interesting and clever, with a spunky evocation of childhood, not just in the theme but also in entries like: FANTA, ACTINGOUT, EENSY, ROO, and FLOAT. Caused myself some trouble by misspelling SOCIALLUBRICANT, perhaps an aftereffect of the weekend.
2
I remembered the nursery rhyme, but I needed Deb's column to dredge up the game.
Really liked seeing veritical themers, and the fact that their verticality was actually part of the theme was a bonus. Too bad I'd forgotten to look at the circles' contents until I got to FALLING DOWN.
I can never remember the difference between The Little RED HEN and Chicken Little. I'm guessing from the clue at 45A that Chicken Little is the one with the FALLING sky, and The Little RED HEN is about something else that I don't remember.
For a Monday there were quite a few entries that I needed at least a few letters to suss out: XKE, RV PARK, SHOWCASE, SUP, ELLIE, TBS, NY GIANTS (I thought it was the NY Jets who played in NJ). Where I needed lucky guesses were the 49 and 65 squares so I could get the SUZI/ZWEIG/GTO entries.
I've always heard JEANs, rather than JEAN, jacket.
Loved SOCIAL LUBRICANT.
Thus endeth the pleasant part of my Monday. Time to give Jessica a hug and start slogging.
Really liked seeing veritical themers, and the fact that their verticality was actually part of the theme was a bonus. Too bad I'd forgotten to look at the circles' contents until I got to FALLING DOWN.
I can never remember the difference between The Little RED HEN and Chicken Little. I'm guessing from the clue at 45A that Chicken Little is the one with the FALLING sky, and The Little RED HEN is about something else that I don't remember.
For a Monday there were quite a few entries that I needed at least a few letters to suss out: XKE, RV PARK, SHOWCASE, SUP, ELLIE, TBS, NY GIANTS (I thought it was the NY Jets who played in NJ). Where I needed lucky guesses were the 49 and 65 squares so I could get the SUZI/ZWEIG/GTO entries.
I've always heard JEANs, rather than JEAN, jacket.
Loved SOCIAL LUBRICANT.
Thus endeth the pleasant part of my Monday. Time to give Jessica a hug and start slogging.
5
I believe the "lazy friends" all responded with a "No, not I" to the little RED HEN's requests... :)
1
Ah, Rampiak, your post didn't ring any bells and sent me to Wikipedia.
And y'know what? I still don't remember ever reading that. I know I must have, because I remember the title and I think I had all the Little Golden Books. I know it's supposed to be short-term memory that goes, but I think the 70 or so years that have passed since I (presumbly) read the book may have something to do with my forgetfulness.
Maybe Leapy can come up with mnemonic.
(I guess Chicken Little is the one with Henny Penny and Turkey Lurkey?)
And y'know what? I still don't remember ever reading that. I know I must have, because I remember the title and I think I had all the Little Golden Books. I know it's supposed to be short-term memory that goes, but I think the 70 or so years that have passed since I (presumbly) read the book may have something to do with my forgetfulness.
Maybe Leapy can come up with mnemonic.
(I guess Chicken Little is the one with Henny Penny and Turkey Lurkey?)
1
After today's adventures in banking, I almost WENT OVER THE EDGE and am definitely FALLING DOWN.
I feel the need of LUBRICANT, without the SOCIAL part (except for Jessica).
Is the sun over the yeardarm yet?
Anywhere?
suejean?
I feel the need of LUBRICANT, without the SOCIAL part (except for Jessica).
Is the sun over the yeardarm yet?
Anywhere?
suejean?
Well, I didn't fall down, but I will bow down to Jacob Stulberg for coming up with this excellent Monday (Tuesday/Wednesday?) puzzle. I absolutely loved the falling bridge hidden in the circles. And the long downs are out(up?)standing!
The only reason I question this being Monday level is the cross at SUZI/ZWEIG. I guessed "S" so dnf. Crosses really couldn't help me out there, either you knew it or you didn't.
Regardless, this was a great solve, unusually interesting for Monday. Thank you, Jacob Stulberg, this puzzle SHOWCASEs your talent!
The only reason I question this being Monday level is the cross at SUZI/ZWEIG. I guessed "S" so dnf. Crosses really couldn't help me out there, either you knew it or you didn't.
Regardless, this was a great solve, unusually interesting for Monday. Thank you, Jacob Stulberg, this puzzle SHOWCASEs your talent!
4
I believe it was a Marx Brother's movie where they brought in the STATESEAL and it barked.
SUZI (aka Leather from Happy Days) was the last entry.
Harder than a typical Monday and also more fun.
Thank you Jacob
SUZI (aka Leather from Happy Days) was the last entry.
Harder than a typical Monday and also more fun.
Thank you Jacob
3
Very nice puzzle with some lively long entries. This was actually a little quicker for me than an average Monday. Didn't know that 'Z' but it seemed likely. I actually thought of LONDON BRIDGE when I had the LON and DON in place, but waited on it. Before I go on, let me emphasize: I enjoyed the puzzle.
A couple of things. The grid arrangement jumped out at me as soon as I opened the puzzle. I don't think I've ever seen a string of 3 letter entries like that down the middle, and they ranged from dull to junky. Pretty typical to see a fair number of blah 3's, but not in such a prominent place. There was also a cluster of 3's in the NE and SW and a couple of others. I've seen Jeff list that kind of stuff as a negative before, but he didn't do that today and made this the POW, which surprised me just a bit.
When I finished, my first thought was - that's kind of short on theme squares. Just LONDONBRIDGE and FALLINGDOWN. But then, reading the notes from the constructor and Jeff's comments, apparently they regard the entire 15 letter downs which contain the circled letters as a theme answer - not just the 3 circled letters. I'm not blind to the challenge of working those circled letters into such long answers and making them fit symmetrically, but that still doesn't seem to me to make the entire answer part of the theme.
Again, none of that detracted from the puzzle for me. I'm just not sure what the rules are here. I guess I still have a lot to learn.
A couple of things. The grid arrangement jumped out at me as soon as I opened the puzzle. I don't think I've ever seen a string of 3 letter entries like that down the middle, and they ranged from dull to junky. Pretty typical to see a fair number of blah 3's, but not in such a prominent place. There was also a cluster of 3's in the NE and SW and a couple of others. I've seen Jeff list that kind of stuff as a negative before, but he didn't do that today and made this the POW, which surprised me just a bit.
When I finished, my first thought was - that's kind of short on theme squares. Just LONDONBRIDGE and FALLINGDOWN. But then, reading the notes from the constructor and Jeff's comments, apparently they regard the entire 15 letter downs which contain the circled letters as a theme answer - not just the 3 circled letters. I'm not blind to the challenge of working those circled letters into such long answers and making them fit symmetrically, but that still doesn't seem to me to make the entire answer part of the theme.
Again, none of that detracted from the puzzle for me. I'm just not sure what the rules are here. I guess I still have a lot to learn.
2
The theme was appropriately easy, but the three-letter abbreviations and pop-cultural/commercial clues took the puzzle out of the Monday category for me. The circled BRI and DGE were actually helpful in clearing up unknowns in the middle (SUP, TBS) and the SE (EENSY, DIPSY, RAE).
Nevertheless, I failed by one square. Not having bothered to look up EWOKS, I had the British GAWP instead of the American GAWK.
Nevertheless, I failed by one square. Not having bothered to look up EWOKS, I had the British GAWP instead of the American GAWK.
2
Agree that the themers helped with SUP and TBS, but I would have seen EENSY, DIPSY, and RAE (sounds like a bubble-gum rock group) all by myself.
I'd really like never to see the clue/entry combo at 38A ever again as long as I live.
I'd really like never to see the clue/entry combo at 38A ever again as long as I live.
I have to concede, DL, that it was possible to reach the "bubble gum" combo without using the BRIDGE. It was sufficient to look OVER THE EDGE.
I got 38a from the crosses without understanding what it means.
Having just looked it up in in the urban dictionary, I agree with you.
I got 38a from the crosses without understanding what it means.
Having just looked it up in in the urban dictionary, I agree with you.
Way to make a silk purse out of a shoat's ear! FANTAstic.
Simply a delightful solve.
Simply a delightful solve.
3
Deb, I wouldn't be too hard on OGLES; it's not that different from GAWKS.
Clue 59A maintains a nice consistency with the theme, but I like Dorothy Parker's version:
Higgledy piggledy, my RED HEN,
She lays eggs for gentlemen.
But you can't induce her with gun or lariat
To lay them for the proletariat.
Clue 59A maintains a nice consistency with the theme, but I like Dorothy Parker's version:
Higgledy piggledy, my RED HEN,
She lays eggs for gentlemen.
But you can't induce her with gun or lariat
To lay them for the proletariat.
8
Certainly shouldn't be too hard on OGLES, given where another entry led your mind, Leapy!
Thanks for the Parker though.
Thanks for the Parker though.
1
This had the stamp of quality for a Monday puzzle. The cluing was intelligent in general, rather than embarrassingly easy, the theme was clever -- way to think this up, Jacob! -- and the long downs, every single one of them, are engaging (to second @MOL). I like that FLOAT is up and DROOP is down (indeed, it crosses FALLING_DOWN). That NYU/EASY_A cross does not ring true (I have a son who has his Bachelors and Masters from there). I love it when a Monday has two or three non-Monday entries (PODIA, ADA, ZWEIG) to give new solvers a taste of challenge, while not overwhelming them.
The theme brings a certain Broadway musical to mind, and With A Little Bit Of Luck, this puzzle accurately reflects what the rest of the week's offerings will be like.
The theme brings a certain Broadway musical to mind, and With A Little Bit Of Luck, this puzzle accurately reflects what the rest of the week's offerings will be like.
2
ZWEIG, INTR, XKES....meh. But I did like te three long Downs....and at least I finished this correctly, unlike the weekend killers.
After my Sunday Fail, I took up the Saturday Stumper and finished it in jig time! Amazing. Then I did the 2 Variety puzzles, (except I don't do Sudoku)--so apparently I am not being forced into retirement....whew.
After my Sunday Fail, I took up the Saturday Stumper and finished it in jig time! Amazing. Then I did the 2 Variety puzzles, (except I don't do Sudoku)--so apparently I am not being forced into retirement....whew.
2
This Saturday Stumper went pretty quickly for me, too, except for the NW corner.
What a great Monday puzzle. The theme was fun and well worked out and the long answers added to the interest. In fact several fills didn't seem Mondayish, ZWEIG being the most obvious, but it still flowed as a Monday should.
2
I read The Royal Game as a teen, so was delighted with ZWEIG.
2
For some unknown reason, ZWEIG is one of the few Stefans I have ever heard of; so his name popped instantly into my mind. Thank goodness, I had also heard of JODI Foster; otherwise the J would have been a Natick for me.
2
The term "off the pig" was a slogan of the Black Panther Party. Was "off" ever used to mean "kill" in a mob context? I don't think so.
>>Was "off" ever used to mean "kill" in a mob context?
Very much so! And it still is.
Very much so! And it still is.
4
Not a fan of XKES or INTR, but overall a quick and easy solve. SOCIALLUBRICANT gave me a chuckle.
2
XKES provided a stroll down memory lane for me. I owned a 1950 Jaguar XK120 roadster, a precursor to the XKE model. It set me back all of $1,200 to buy it used in 1954, but it was worth every penny to me. I proposed to my wife in it, and we just celebrated our 60th anniversary. It is still my choice as one of the best-looking sports cars ever made. And my wife is still my choice as one of the best-looking women I have known.
7
A good start to the week; I liked having the vertical 15s to make it more interesting. I PLOWED through it pretty quickly.
1
Nice quick puzzle. The SW corner took some crosswork (ZWEIG isn't someone I run across frequenly), and I botched 50a by putting HEMMED instead of HEDGED, as I always do. Good to see Suzi Quatro get some love too, especially after seeing Huey Lewis in yesterday's grid. :)
2
APSE, again! That word is getting a workout...
2
And even though Deb's diagram the other day taught me that both APSE and NAVE are parts of the kind of church that's shaped like a cross, I still don't remember which is which.
Maybe there's a way of cluing them that refers to their differing functions?
Maybe there's a way of cluing them that refers to their differing functions?
DL, if you think of the diagram as being that of a body, the NAVE is in the region of the NAVEL. The APSE is at the APSEolute top, and the sticking-out arms between is the transept.
I know you didn't cotton to my mnemonic for ISAO AOKI, so I'm not sure if this will work any better for you.
I know you didn't cotton to my mnemonic for ISAO AOKI, so I'm not sure if this will work any better for you.
3
I'm tempted to say that this one makes more sense than your ISAO AOKI mnemonic, Leapy, but I can't remember what that was. So I guess it does.
I guess I've been in those cross-shaped churches--Notre Dame?--but it's not real obvious from inside, and I've never hovered above one. So I'm not sure what the various parts or their functions are. I know what a sanctuary is, and a choir loft, and a pulpit.
I guess I've been in those cross-shaped churches--Notre Dame?--but it's not real obvious from inside, and I've never hovered above one. So I'm not sure what the various parts or their functions are. I know what a sanctuary is, and a choir loft, and a pulpit.
1