“When else”? Never heard of it.
3
TMC or TCM?
@LR . TMC is the The Movie Channel; TCM is Turner Classic Movies :)
is there a separate page for spelling bee? a puzzle i enjoy very much, but now and then, the system fails to record all my answers. that hasn't kept me from queening yet but if it does i'll be genuinely annoyed.
2
@slightlycrazy
no, this is the place for Spelling Bee, but those discussions are usually all in one thread prefaced by a "BEE" or "SB" label so that those not interested can skip by them and those who *are* can find them all in one place. If you look through earlier comments today you will see the BEE discussions.
I, too, find that sometimes the system fails to recognize some of my answers, but it never has happened when I have reached Queen Bee status. I have called this to the attention of the powers that bee to no avail.
2
slightlycrazy,
No separate page (yet), but SB'ers post all bee comments on one clearly marked thread here.
Lovely Christmas puzzle Mr. Haight. A little tougher it seemed than a typical Tuesday, but nice and doable too.
@Andrew. You are a poet and Now we know it.
:-)
1
Never knew "Saw logs" mean to snore.
@Desi ette
"sawing the wood" is a well-known euphemism for such.
Merry Christmas, all!
4
I wonder if @Andrew will ever find this -- buried as it is under a mountain of replies. So, Andrew, here it is again.
Tannenbaum, Tannenbaum,
Andrew from Ottawa,
Born in the land where the
Balladeers dwell,
Gifts us a poem that is
Incontrovertibly
Flawlessly metered and
Perfectly swell.
16
@Nancy
I am touched by your poetic reply! Thank you!
3
@Andrew & Nancy
I love double dactyls! Thank you!
@Nancy That was gorgeous!
1
I did not become familiar with "O Christmas Tree" before moving to the U.S, and never knew its Germanic origin or title. Two World Wars (and one World Cup) in the 20th Century probably explain its absence from the British psyche.
"Silent Night"/"Stille Nacht" (actually Austrian, but close enough), famously thought to have been sung across the frontline trenches during the xmas day armistice in the first World War, is a notable exception.
@NICE CUPPA - on NPR yesterday morning, they noted that this is the exact 200th anniversary of the first singing of "Silent Night" - but they said it took place in "Australia" (!!!!)
When they get things wrong, boyo they get them wrong.
Not enough editors in this world of ours.
O Maryland, My Maryland
5
"...its Germanic origin or title..."
My German ENATE forebears, having come to America, continued the tradition of decorating a tannenbaum each winter. It was not a Christmas tree.
As a grad student at the University of Marlyland (College Park), I wondered for months why they played O Tannenbaum on the carillon every day at noon...
In case you have noticed I've missed one or two,
(They're the ones that can make this place less (more?) of a zoo).
They're a mixture of wit, wisdom, knowledge and chutzpah
Though occasionally known to drive us quite nuts - yeah! (OK that rhyme sucked...)
The pair I refer to, I'm sure you can tell
Are the trusty home team of BA and Steve L.
If I've been self-effacing, and maybe unduly,
From Canada's capital I am yours truly.
There are others galore but I've run out of space
I am grateful to all who inhabit this place.
So to all you who help me get through the long week,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a long streak!
18
@Andrew Standing ovation!
6
Andrew,
As anticipated, an elf has released this earlier Part 4 post from the emu filter.
1
@Andrew Brilliant job, Andrew!! Thank you!
After reading through some notes here, I was prompted to go visit at Scrooge's blog. There's just about nothing that could better affirm Andrew, his creative take on things, and his celebration of what goes on here, than to read The Scrooge and his Dark Elves today.
http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com/
We can all get grumpy - about the puzzle, about things we missed, about particular clues and words, about each other, about the comments setup here - we can all get negative from time to time. But how grateful I am that the root-level expectation is not that each and every person will always be grumpy about everything every day all day. I'm glad liking things is allowed here.
Happy holidays to all! Especially, I wish I could be joining the Durham crowd as I do each summer.
20
"I'm glad liking things is allowed here."
Amen.
10
@David Connell Well said, David. It's easy to find things to dislike about someone or something. It's much more rewarding to find things to like.
8
@David Connell
Thank you for your kind words. I took you up on your invitation to the "dark side". I was rather dismayed by the lack of Christmas spirit over there. I was also turned off by Rex's arrogant assertion that film buffs do not watch The Movie Channel, followed by a display of his own ignorance, not being able to differentiate between a pronoun and an article (IRMA/ICH).
3
since when is a group of whales a "gam" and not a pod????
Read down--the question was asked earlier. But if you don't want to....
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/gam
Since at least 1862:
Henry Theodore Cheever, The Whalemen's Adventures in the Southern Ocean, Darton & Hodge (1862), page 116:
Upon getting into a "gam" of whales, this boat, together with that of one of the mates, pulled for a single whale that was seen at a distance from the others, and succeeded in getting square up to their victim unperceived.
@misty
Marine biologist here.
Although the word "pod" is more common today, the word "gam" has a long and storied history.
I refer you to chapter 53 of Moby Dick.
2
Wanted PEDI before PEEL for the spa treatment. Though, actually, I've never had any burning desire to be either PEDIed or PEELed. Nor to be Mudbathed or Hot-Stone-Massaged either. As a potential spa customer, I'm something of a dud.
I also wanted LSATS before LOANS as the prerequisites for some college students. I SPOSE I come from a happier and luckier generation of college students than today's.
I wish a wonderful holiday to everyone and a much better New Year than looks likely right now.
7
"I also wanted LSATS before LOANS..."
Hand up.
2
@Nancy
@Mudbath and hot stone massage. Don't knock it till you've tried it.
2
The Bee:
QB: 37 / 142, 2 pangrams
I 4 (1*4, 2*5, 1*7)
M 9 (2*4, 3*5, 1*6, 1*7, 2*8)
N 3 ( 2*4, 1*5)
R 7 ( 5*4, 2*5)
T 14 (9*4, 1*5, 1*6, 2*7, 1*8)
9
@susgraham Thanks. I was missing an obvious 5 letter M word and your chart rescued me! Merry Christmas!
1
Oof - one 7-letter T word. It keeps coming down to that very last word for me, like banging my head against a wall!
@David Connell, maybe if you said a prayer ...
Today is the perfect example of why it is important to read the oldest posts first. Andrew, you have brightened this Christmas Tuesday for all of us.
7
When I was in first grade (1961) in Catholic school, we were told it was strictly forbidden to use XMAS as an abbreviation for Christmas. Why? Because it was a term coined by the communists in an effort to take the Christ out of Christmas.
3
Fluoride in the water was also a Communist plot !!
3
And, of course, Daylight Savings Time.
2
I wonder if anybody pointed out the large Chi-Rho symbol on the altar frontispiece, where X stands for Christ?
ironical
5
@Andrew, you are truly a poet and now we all know it!
Thank you for such a creative gift on this Christmas morning, one which we'll never forget!
@Bruce Haight, thank you for this wonderful gift of a Christmas puzzle, too. I can see your tree all bright and shiny on this magical morn.
(And, Bruce, I don't have your email so am posting here: disregard *everything* a certain cynical critic aka Scrooge wrote about your puzzle. It was ridiculous and made him look small.)
Wishing all in this wonderful world of Wordplay a joyous day!
7
@Johanna. Amen to that.
2
Now just because Andrew made me do it -
In the early 11th c. a chapel was built for the Benedictines on a little parcel of land in Assisi, Italy. The little parcel of land was called “portiuncula” (“little parcel of land”) - and the little chapel built there was eventually also called the Portiuncula (Ital. La Porziuncola). People reported hearing the angels sing near that place, so it came to be dedicated to the angels who accompanied Blessed Virgin Mary on her Assumption into heaven: Cappella di Santa Maria degli Angeli (Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels).
A century later, St. Francis of Assisi was praying in this little chapel and had a vision of God requiring him to repair it. Eventually he obtained permission to do so, and built a hermit hut nearby for himself. In the Porziuncola, he received St. Clare as foundress of the order of Poor Clare sisters. He also founded the Order of Franciscans there, on August 2, which is the founding day of the Franciscans, dedicated to St. Mary of the Angels of the Porziuncola. That day entered into the crammed calendar of observations in the Roman Catholic religion.
...the plot thickens...
9
In 1769, Franciscan padres Junípero Serra and Juan Crespí were on the expedition up the California coast, led by Gaspar de Portolá, governor. Each place along the way was named for the patronage of the day on which they landed there. On August 2, they found a nice little river running through a valley, and named it Rio Porciúncula, naming the valley Nuestra Señora la Reína de los Ángeles sobre el Rio Porciúncula (Our Lady, Queen of the Angels, on the River Porciuncula). Both the town and the river came to be called Los Angeles in shorthand.
The team (Angels) is named after the town (Los Angeles) is named after the festal-date (August 2) is named after the foundation of the order of St. Francis (Santa Maria degli Angeli) is named after the little parcel of land (Portiuncula) where people heard angels singing over a thousand years before (Angels). This is why the study of names is my favorite subset in linguistics.
P.S. the Porziuncola is now wholly contained within the Basilica in Assisi, a free-standing ancient chapel inside a cathedral.
11
@David Connell
And they said you didn’t know sports!
7
@Steve L - When the Angels play against the Padres - I wonder which team the saints root for?
1
Levy is spelled levee, lamented Tom languidly.
According to sibs my ace spelling skills suggest a pastime other than x-words.
1
Keep those "bofires" burning, dk.
And I don't it was the coffee or the dessert.
(But what do sibs know?)
Not to be a Grinch, but...
This puzzle like so many recent ones seems to repeat words from just days before. Is it a coincidence that the constructors resort to “oy” several times in a few weeks or is the editor leaning on the same crutch? And I can’t decide what laugh is a heh as opposed to a hah (for example).
New Year resolution for the editor: mix it up.
1
Xwordgirl,
Careful attention to the cluing (and to the comments) will permit you to distinguish among HEHS, HAHS and HEES. If still in doubt, gentle crosses really help. I'm not aware of analogous advice for AHOK v. OHOK. Constructors talk, but OY is on the editors. But I'll take a run of OYS over an outbreak of ACNE.
2
I'm pretty sure you can add AWE, SON, END, ATTA, and maybe ALA to the recently used list. ARLO crossing with ROUES seemed a little tough to me for a Tuesday.
1
@Xwordgirl Filling a grid is no small task, making sure that all of the words fit together and are not too obscure. Most of the time, these short 3-4 letter words are what's "left over" from making the longer, more unique fill. Look at the bright side... These oft repeated words help you solve the bigger words, and allow constructors to craft better puzzles!
3
Merriment and good cheer to all who celebrate every new day :0)
......especially when the stock markets stay closed (they need a restorative nap, do they not?)
For us, There will be presents and games, phone calls and carols, 'personal turkeys' (game hens) and further sumptuous dining...Food coma!
.....Andrew of Ottawa gifts all of us!
11
@Mean Old Lady, "personal turkeys" -- what a great phrase. I will have to remember that one, and the fact that game hens can be a epicurean alternative to cooking a big bird.
3
@MOL
Brace of pheasants here in the Bronx this afternoon.
This is Tuesday.
There's no such thing as an I bar girder, except maybe in a dollhouse.
Merry Christmas!
2
Marjorie,
Yes, it is Tuesday, and Merry Christmas to you too.
You need to speak to dictionary editors, not puzzle editors, about the IBAR: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/i-bar
4
I agree whole-heartedly!
I have an I BEAM underneath me at this very moment - running the length of this house.
Until I got into crosswords, I had never heard of an I BAR - - and my “never” covers a wee tad over 76 years!!
2
Yeah, AH OK was pretty displeasing. Especially as crossing what?
Extra rum going in the dessert tonight.
4
The levy bofires guided Pere Noel into NOLA judging by the loot under the tree.
Finished this stocking stuffer 2 minutes longer than my average according to Clocky. Must have been the bites of panatone and espresso.
Wishing all x-word pals happy holidays and a wonderful new year.
Thank you Bruce.
2
I would have been disappointed if there hadn't been a Christmas theme, and I thought this was a really nice one. The tree ornaments were fairly obvious, but for me the reveal was a delight.
I knew all the proper names except ARLO as clued @28D so a quite quick solve.
What a fine way to start Christmas Day by reading Andrew's fantastic contribution to Wordplay.
3
Another word not included - ORONYM. Not in frequent use, but a previous puzzle featured both Toponym and Toponymy.
1
Not to mention Rotini, Nori, and Rimy.
5
Aren’t groups of whales called “PODS”?
2
@Dfkinjer
From my delightful book "An Exaltation of Larks":
"A whaling voyage could last as long as three years, so when two whalers encountered each other on some remote sea, it called for a gam, an exchange of crews via whaleboats and the 'gamming chair". It was a happy time for a whaleman and, obviously, the whales' habit of sporting playfully on the surface of the sea gave rise to this fanciful term."
However pod is correct as well. Aren't you glad you asked"
11
@Dfkinjer
It can also be a GAM:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/gamming
1
@Dfkinjer this is one of those words you have to remember for future crossword use. In the real world they are better known as pods, you are right.
SPELLING BEE
ROTINI is a real, common thing. And why not NORI, when a similar sushi word, which sounds like it requires a Spanish butcher to prepare (but is unrelated) gets in every time?
7
EDNA and ERMA and ERTE, oh my!
6
Indeed, they are the Los Angeles Angels who play in Anaheim.
We here in Southern California have made our peace with this.
Happy Day of choice to everyone!
2
@Deb, I chuckled when I read "happy General Tso's Day." Once my family and I found ourselves traveling back home on December 25th and wondering where we were going to get a bite to eat since there wouldn't be any food waiting for us at home. Thank goodness for Chinese restaurants that remain open!
To the Wordplay (and Bee) community, thank you for welcoming me into this virtual family. I'm still getting to know many of you through your posts but I send you all my best wishes on whatever special day or occasion you are choosing to spend with your family and friends. Stay safe!
To Mr. Haight, thank you for the Christmas-themed puzzle. I for one do remember the California Angels from the Topps baseball cards that came with my bubble gum. To me, LOS ANGELES ANGEL is hopelessly redundant. And ORANGEMEN also supplies something that can be hung on Christmas trees -- pomander balls made from ORANGES studded with cloves.
11
@Henry Su Wishing you and your family a very happy New Year!
@Henry Su Happy to have you here!
And to all Wordplay readers: I wish you nothing but happiness and good solving as we head into a new year.
6
@Steve L
Yes, they definitely have July 4th in England. It’s the day between the 3rd and the 5th.
5
Well, this seems out-of-place. I meant it to a reply a few messages below. Doh!
David Meyers,
It must be that darned "app" again. If you'd been in Safari, you'd have seen that your comment on the 3rd and 5th was an hour late.
1
@David Meyers My Cornish grandmother was known to comment that her schoolbooks told her that "in 1776 there was a slight uprising in the Colonies."
4
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate it; and for those who do not, best wishes for a pleasant holiday season. I hope that anyone who is traveling arrives safely at their destination, and that everyone enjoy time with their family or friends!
As for the puzzle, it didn't seem very difficult, but also seemed like one that did not solve very quickly, so I was surprised to be well under my Tuesday average. One of the shortest answers was what gave me the worst problem. I wanted TCM, then AMC before it finally became TMC. The crossings, a few gimmes and a lucky guess or two got me to the finish line.
2
@JayTee, same here! I assume TMC to be a typo inspired by TCM and AMC. Otherwise an excellent puzzle, far better than anything I could have constructed.
Had to be a typo!!
A Google search for “TMC” yields lots of hits relating to trucking - - but not so much as a peep about movies.
“A step above the minors”!! Beautiful! (And it beats the socks off of a recent answer which was ADULTING - - which I still roundly condemn as an exhibition of laziness, imprecision of words or “newspeak” (a la Orwell’s 1984) - - or some combination of these.
Stay safe and warm people! Best wishes to my triscadecaphobiwhatevers. (I’ll claim that to be as legitimate as ADULTING.)
Yep, definitely an error! It's Turner Classic Movies or TCM.
Part 4
In case you have noticed I've missed one or two,
(They're the ones that can make this place less (more?) of a zoo).
They're a mixture of wit, wisdom, knowledge and chutzpah
Though occasionally known to drive us quite nuts - yeah! (OK that rhyme was awful...)
The pair I refer to, I'm sure you can tell
Are the trusty home team of BA and Steve L.
If I've been self-effacing, and maybe unduly,
From Canada's capital I am yours truly.
There are others galore but I've run out of space
I am grateful to all who inhabit this place.
So to all you who help me get through the long week,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a long streak!
36
@Andrew, I'm confirming that all four parts have successfully posted. I am duly impressed by your holiday creation. Thank you for the mention, and a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you as well. I've enjoyed your posts in the relatively brief time that I've been a part of this community and I look forward to many more from you.
3
@Andrew.
Like a child waiting for Santa to strike
I awoke at 3:00 and opened this site
Like a child finding a brand new bike
I found Part 4 shining so bright,
Its paean to BA and SL a delight
Your puzzle complete, not an error
(miscue, faux pas, flub, type O)
In sight.
10
That was wonderful, Andrew!! Thank you, and Merry Christmas to you!
4
I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you who celebrate the occasion at hand a very Merry Christmas and I hope your holiday "stockings" are filled with the things that bring you peace and joy.
9
@HALinNY. Thank you, and I hope you will scroll to the end (currently) of the replies under Part 1 of Andrew’s poem for his “corrected” version of his masterpiece.
2
This felt tougher than the usual Tuesday to me, but I was only 4 seconds over my average Tuesday time, so maybe it really wasn't. Things like I SPOSE and IN DA HOUSE always tend to slow me down. SET AT EAST filled in from the crosses, and when I looked at it, I saw SET A TEASE, so that slowed me down. AH OK and OH YOU are not especially my favorite kinds of things, either.
However, I'm amazed that the puzzle could be rewritten on such short notice to change 37A. Doesn't that make it an almost entirely new puzzle? Kudos to Mr Haight for accomplishing this!
4
@Liz B
Yes, I think I ended up changing every single entry other than the theme entries. Reworking the grid goes pretty quickly but coming up with all new clues takes time. A big thanks to Will and his team for the WENT SOUTH clue relating to Santa.
15
Part 4 (the final part, I promise) refuses to post. Please stay tuned.
Perhaps caught in a Schroedinger loop.
@Andrew. The suspense is killing me. You made my night with your poem, at least until Santa arrives. It’s brilliant!
1
@Puzzlemucker
Thanks. I had saved our most eminent contributors till the end, and now they will appear to be ignored. I've submitted three times and can find nothing offensive in the text, so I am not sure why it is not appearing.
It’s actually TUESDAY PUZZLE, Deb.
2
Steve,
She doesn't observe Christmas, so she can't call it the Tuesday puzzle. Maybe erev Wednesday puzzle?
3
@Barry Ancona
In a similar vein, do they have July 4th in England?
@Barry Ancona
It's officially released at 2200 EST, therefore it is the erev Tuesday (Dinstik?) puzzle.
Part 3
An old lady who's mean and a moon that is blue,
There's archaeoprof and there's Etaoin Shrdlu.
And of course there's a Deadline, but no one knows when.
(Though the puzzle arrives on the dot, right at ten.)
The Canadian J's, they help keep me sane.
There's Barb and there's Peter, (and his sister, Jane).
Robert (and Elke) are also Canucks
But they live in B.C. and I don't (that just sucks...).
On a bad day she's miffed: on a good day she's antsy.
I'm speaking, of course, about our dear sweet Nancy.
There's Wags, Mary, Martin, Johanna, Liane
There's Bess and Just Carol, From Philly there's Dan.
From Austin there's Ron, From ToRONto there's Austin
And don't forget Wen, who hails from near Boston. (Natick maybe...?)
I don't know a lot about one Steve Faiella
But I hear he's a helluva swell, well-held fella.
And if an odd ailment should trouble you,
You've only to just ask Dr W.
There's puzzledog and there's Puzzlemucker,
(I can't print the word that would rhyme with that sucker.)
39
@Andrew
God bless us, everyone!
4
@Andrew Thanks for the shout out, Andrew! Have a fantastic Holiday and a Happy New Year!
2
@Andrew --
Just checking in -- thank you!!
I also do even ailments.
2
Part 2
I initially like all the posts, I confess,
From j t mc g, dk, and CS.
There's audreylm, hildy johnson and Bru,
There's two-named suejean, and two-named (?) Henry Su.
Alan J, Amy G, (no relation to Kenny?) (Not the formerly upstate one...)
And the number of Davids and Daves are too many.
For those that might find themselves frequently clueless
there's a list every week that's compiled by Lewis.
While Fact Boy's inclined to talk down to the masses
His knowledge is vast, and he kisses no *****
On a more human level, our DC reports
On language, on gardening, on cuisine, history, music, religion, ... anything but sports.
(There goes my perfect iambic whatchamacallit...)
And of course there's the zinger upon zinger upon zinger
Sublimely delivered by Madame Leapfinger.
I'm intrigued by the handle of one Michael Brothers
(I'm not sure if it's "him" or there's one or two others.)
34
@Andrew
Wow!
2
@Andrew - Wowzers, you must have worked on this for hours. It's so well done. A great reminder of what wonderful company we keep around here.
Thanks so much for your celebration of Wordplay and Wordplayers.
10
Dearest Andrew, an absolutely ROYAL Canadian effort, with great presents of mind!!!
So many fun couplets, and I truly hope that Lewis' positive personality will forgive that my favourite bit was your rhyming of 'Lewis' with 'clueless'. I know Ogden Nash would approve, and might even forgive your adjusting your metric feet by ratcheting up the number of 'zingers'.
Best part: I have an absolute certainty that your poetic effort has resulted in a net increase in the amount of good feeling and generalized jolliness in the universe. Bless your buttons.
10
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through Wordplay
Not a creature was stirring, not even Deb A.
The puzzle was solved with the utmost of care
In hopes Deb or Caitlin et al would be there.
As I sat and awaited the coming of Santa
I longed to read something from Rich in Atlanta.
So I treated myself to a Nice Cuppa nog,
and opened my iPad and went to the blog.
When what to my wondrous eyes should appear
But a page that was blank - the comments were clear.
I looked at my watch; 'twas about 10:06
But nothing was posted, Nada, nil, nix.
Perhaps all the solvers were nestled in bed
While visions of anagrams danced in their head.
I have to admit that for me 'twas a gimme
That surely by now would be Brian from Simi.
His usual post is a word and a half.
(I never know whether to cry or to laugh.)
(And speaking of whether to laugh or to cry,
I don't recommend you read Hal in NY.)
But where was Liz B, judy d, David Meyers?
Their quick observations my interest inspires.
So I asked of myself do I stay here or snooze?
Tonight are there overly zealous emus?
And I thought of the year since I first shyly posted
I thought of you all that deserved to be toasted (or roasted?).
So here's my assortment of loose odds and ends
To my mostly anonymous network of friends.
65
@Andrew
You are amazing!
5
@Liz B
Thanks! Part 4 has yet to post it would seem...
OHYOU !! As creative as any puzzle I’ve seen in quite some time. Merry Christmas from Simi Valley.
3