Regarding 29D I must have gone to the wrong college.
Enjoyed this. I like a nice little stumper on the first clue and SIRI had me guessing—my son always said HEY to me every day but DAD didn’t fit. Fun facts—I always wonder how these themes pop into people’s heads (I don’t know how most of mine do). This is a pretty tight theme. I tried to think of others— Best I could come up with is that you can’t actually call the International Date Line to pick up foreign women (who knew?)
@SP And all this time I thought you were a female. Live and learn.
Favorite Dershowitz yet. Loved the theme. Naked party! going to one would be ill advised, for, you see, some of me sags, other parts need retainers of sorts, and there is a certain arc to my torso, when I used to be slender as a reed. How did I amass this, this isla, this Ararat that is my gut, built on beef ribs, too much Italian dressing, veal. And let's not get started on Mr. Noodle. I'll pass. Hoping there's a screener at that party checking for fake ids who will keep people like me out. Find me at the corner pub! Now let's see if the emus let me get away with this puzzle by Robert Graves, which I still don't know if I entirely get, but love its cadences and logical progression. The Naked and the Dude For me, the naked and the nude (By lexicographers construed As synonyms that should express The same deficiency of dress Or shelter) stand as wide apart As love from lies, or truth from art. Lovers without reproach will gaze On bodies naked and ablaze; The Hippocratic eye will see In nakedness, anatomy; And naked shines the Goddess when She mounts her lion among men. The nude are bold, the nude are sly To hold each treasonable eye. While draping by a showman's trick Their dishabille in rhetoric, They grin a mock-religious grin Of scorn at those of naked skin. The naked, therefore, who compete Against the nude may know defeat; Yet when they both together tread The briary pastures of the dead, By Gorgons with long whips pursued, How naked go the sometimes nude!
It's not called "The Naked and the Dude" but "The Naked and the Nude" -- obvs.
Sorry, the title should read "The Naked and the Nude" -- the dude
Don't know why my comments are not appearing, this is the third time I'm posting that the title is wrong, should be "Nude" not "Dude". Naturally all my corrections will pop up later in the day and I'll be even more chagrined. Dear Santa, please supply me an "edit" button for Xmas.
@john ezra I know the Dude was an accident, but it immediately brought this seasonal greeting to mind from the dude himself: <a href="https://www.jeffbridges.com/latest" target="_blank">https://www.jeffbridges.com/latest</a>
Yep, just like I thought. Here come all my suppressed comments. New York Times, you never fail to disappoint. Worse than a justice department Epstein redactor. OK, maybe not that bad.
@john ezra You’re not sure you entirely get it, so what do you get from the poem? I had never heard of it before so I’m interested to read your take. Thank you for sharing!
Since Christmas Eve is effectively the most celebrated day in the festive season over here, let me and Lucek the puppy wish you all the best today 🤩 Here he is on one of Warsaw's highest (artificial) hills, with a strangely snowless Kabacki Forest in the background. The Decembers of my 1980s childhood where much colder and whiter. <a href="https://imgur.com/a/ry7YMNF" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/ry7YMNF</a> (When the Ursynów district was built in the late 1970s to house nearly 200 000 people, the earth excavated from the foundation trenches was piled up to create two large hills: Górka Kazurka in the south, pictured, and Kopa Cwila in the north. Warsaw also has two artificial hills created from the debris of the city's WW2 destruction. They are so tall that there actually is a ski slope on one of them. And before you ask, Ursynów is nothing like the depressing, Soviet towns you may know from tv. The architecture is much better, as is the city planning, with lots of communal and green spaces. It's Warsaw's best place to live these days)
@Emu fodder Happy Christmas Eve
@Emu fodder -- Welcome back, happy to see you!
@Emu fodder Greeting to you Mr. Emu & Lucek!
@Emu fodder greetings to you & Lucek
@Emu fodder He's a handsome pup! Merry Christmas!
@Emu fodder No complaints about proper names and trivia??? Nothing even about MR. NOODLE??? The historical/geographical information is impressive, but how do we know that you're really from Warszawa, and what have you done with @Andrzej's dog???? (P.S.: I hope Lucek gets many dog toys this evening!)
And one more pic: <a href="https://imgur.com/a/pDCUKSc" target="_blank">https://imgur.com/a/pDCUKSc</a>
My Inner Demon made me try to find more…. Sounds like a scientific theory, but isn’t Possible misdiagnosis as the cause of anemia Nom de wordplay of our Berkeley nonagenarian Intelligent Design Iron Deficiency Iris, Dutch
@Cat Lady Margaret I had the first one too, but didn’t want to set off a firestorm by mentioning it
@Cat Lady Margaret The last one is my favorite (may she one day become a centurion (sic)) Chris Smither’s “Origin of Species”: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVbj0Wcb5go" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVbj0Wcb5go</a>
@Cat Lady Margaret, Puzzlemucker I am honored that you even thought of me.
@Cat Lady Margaret Does this mean that you know that I'm not Iris and I am not Dutch?
A classic riddle theme – the theme answers have the same initials, but otherwise are so disparate. What ties them together? Is there a pun? And a Christmas present -- I figured it out before reading the revealer's clue, a rare event for me! And if you tell me that was easy to do LALALALALALA. Observations: • Who is BEE FRIB? • RAMPS – I’ve recently been introduced to ramp salt, salt infused by the pungent flavor of ramps (wild leeks) with a garlicky-onion flavor. And I’m smitten! • I liked the Britishisms – “Snogged” in a clue, and a backward PRAT. • NAKED and NECKED. I believe the latter is close enough to NEKKID to declare these a PuzzPair©. • Second day in a row with left/right symmetry. • If ARARAT backwards, as the prelude to “boom-de-ay”, is considered a word, then we have a very-rare-in-crosswords six-letter semordnilap. Lots of riddle, lots of play, I had a grand time with this. Thank you, Ella, for making it!
@Lewis BEE FRIB for me too. I wonder why ...
Ah, the memories of my fake ID. I was 16 when I started college (end of the year baby), so I needed a fake ID to keep up with some of my classmates. My birth certificate was white lettering on a black background. I had to take that to the library to make a copy - the only place that had a Xerox - which came out black lettering on a white background, Then I used black ink to change the date by two years (drinking age was 18 then, and so was the driving age in NY) and then put it back in the copy machine to make it look like the white letter on black original. And it worked, all too well in those days!
@Times Rita Now you've blown the lid off your bacchanalian past, men in suits and wearing dark glasses, may come knocking on your door. They won't be missionaries.
ELVES is the answer of the day, IMO, not only because they are so busy helping Santa today, but also, in the spirit of “Noel” (as two words), ELVES becomes EVES, of which today is one.
New Wednesday speed record for me, despite time wasted having to guess AIDY/OYE. I guess it helps when the big long across clues are very straightforward.
@Carrie That cross tripped me up as well.
What a fascinating theme! Well done, Ella Eli! The closest I could come to a themer is IDaho, which does not in fact mean "gem of the mountains" as some believe. And while that sorta works with the revealer, it doesn't match the other themers. Fun irrelevant fact: yesterday I got my first ever wordle in 1. And another one: I am often referred to in police reports as the "naked party".
Two Naticks tonight, both proper nouns crossing a foreign language word. Was 100% confident in everything else, and there were limited options phonetically for them, so was able to work out those two squares, but 40% of my solve time involved those two squares
@Steven M. If you were able to figure them out, they weren't Naticks. Anyway, to remember OYE for next time: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ATTjg7tpE" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7ATTjg7tpE</a>
Growing up in Glendale, California pays off again with ARARAT. Not just knowing the Armenian's sacred mountain, but friends with the name as well. Fun puzzle!
@Erik P Years ago there was a wonderful small restaurant called ARARAT on Clement and 12th Avenue in San Francisco. We didn’t realize how fitting it was to go there and enjoy seeing a drenching rain come down, on evenings like this one.
@Erik P Reminds me of the short story The Pomegranate Trees by William Saroyan that I read in college (in San Francisco) about the Armenian farmer wanting to grow pomegranates in the desert.
@Erik P In Search Of ..with Leonard Nimoy for me.
You know who else fits at 27 Across, but doesn't fit the theme? Meryl Streep. I had a farm in Africa.... 40 years ago most of my friends and I were figuring out how soon they could go see the movie. A friend and I went to see a pretty late show on a snowy January night at a huge Upper East Side theater with probably about 30 people in the audience. 10 minutes from the end the film broke and couldn't be fixed. (OMG, film!) Most of the audience refused to leave until the projectionist came down and told us how it ended. A fine Wednesday outing from Ella. Thanks.
@Vaer We have a beautiful little movie theater here (one of the oldest single-screen theaters in the country) which is run by an amazing movie buff. She recently ran Out of Africa for one night only. It was so beautiful to see it on the big screen, the place was packed, and you could hear a pin drop for the duration. How often does that happen at the movies today?
i think i went to the wrong college…
@Matt You mean your higher seminary didn't have such parties?
@Matt LOL I attended private Methodist liberal arts colleges, and in those looooong ago days, we couldn't even wear slacks except on weekends (but not the weekend of Founders' Day.) We were so far away from a city of any size that we barely had a TV signal...
Comments so far seem nicely split between those who thought it was too easy and those who say, "It wasn't that easy for me!" I'm gonna go Baby Bear, and say that I thought it was "just right!" That is, a perfectly acceptable difficulty-level for a Wednesday. A lot of people complaining about the OYE/AIDY crossing. For me OYE was fairly straightforward. My problem was with the PRICE/AIDY/MR. NOODLE trifecta. "Name your ____" had me thinking "Poison", and I couldn't get beyond that for a while. And I thought that Ms. Bryant was named AdDY. And I've never liked Elmo and his stupid giggle, and now I need to know about his strange friends? This is not a complaint! This is what makes a puzzle interesting and fun! If you want all your puzzles to be easy, perhaps you're in the wrong place.
I am so disappointed to learn that MR. NOODLE is just a funny-looking guy (with a brother named MR. NOODLE and two sisters Ms. and Miss Noodle),... ...and not a talking plate of pasta. All hail the Flying Spaghetti Monster! Long live Pastafarianism! 'Tis the Season-ing!
@The X-Phile It seems to me that SNL has had a lot of cast turnover in recent years. So many "alums" with odd names, and all of them unknown to me.
@The X-Phile "I'm gonna go Baby Bear, and say that I thought it was 'just right!'" Granted, she was a brat, but give credit where credit is due: that was Goldilocks!
Those "wee winter workers" (32A) must be extremely busy the day before Santa makes his rounds.
@Dave K. Over here he makes the rounds today - we get our presents and we feast on Christmas Eve, when the first star appears in the evening sky. Christmas day is mostly for recovering from the previous day's excess. So the elves' workload is spread over two days, if that makes you feel better for them.
I want to know what college Ella Dershowitz went to, and if they let people my age in. (29D)
@Steve L I'm pretty sure those don't actually exist outside of American Pie movies
Steve, Yale, I believe, but I'm thinking 29D is not from there. Perhaps David Connell could check.
Steve L — My sources tell me she went to Yale.
@Steve L Oh dαng, slightly risqué Steve L! Respect!
In 1959, an unusual luncheon was hosted by Carson McCullers. Participants were Carson McCullers, Arthur Miller, Marilyn Monroe, and Baroness Karen Blixen, who had expressed a desire to meet Ms Monroe. The luncheon was a great success, everyone hit it off, and they all had a great time. For images and more, google: karen blixen carson mc cullers luncheon
@dutchiris The best movie in the entire world is based on a book by Isak Dinesan: BABETTE'S FEAST.
@dutchiris and @lucky13 and @redweather I agree with all y'all! It is heartbreaking that her life was so sadly full of loss and disappointment.
Dang…we didn’t have any naked parties at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute!
@Geoff Offermann What does it say about me that this is all I can think about now?
@Geoff Offermann Or RIT, which people always mistook for RPI when I was a student…
@Geoff Offermann Does sitting in the sauna with 4 classmates and a weak joint, at the University of Wisconsin in 1977, count? Asking for a friend...
ITALIAN DRESSING involves some very nice DESIGNS, but casting off the REINS for a NAKED PARTY? INDEPENDENCE DAY! Of course, cavorting at a CORNER PUB is absolutely ILL ADVISED, unless you use FAKE IDS. (Otherwise, ILL PASS). Thank you, Ela for a lively evening. Nice to see you again.
Another fun puzzle. Got the theme. Never had a naked party at UNC! Hope y’all have a wonderful Wednesday. Happy Christmas Eve to those who celebrate. 🎄Thanks, Ella!
Typical tough Wednesday for me, but managed to work it all out. Ended up being an enjoyable solve. And... a really clever theme - I didn't catch on until I was almost done. And... my puzzle find today. A Sunday from May 11, 2003 by Patrick Berry with the title "Unfinished works." All of the theme answer clues had the same format. Here are some examples: "Unfinished James Grady work about time-sharing?" SIXDAYSOFTHECONDO "Unfinished Rudyard Kipling work about a future son-in-law?" THEMANWHOWOULDBEKIN "Unfinished Ian Fleming work about James Bond's affection for his boss?" THESPYWHOLOVEDM "Unfinished Norman Mailer work about strip-searching narcotics smugglers?" THENAKEDANDTHEDEA Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/11/2003&g=42&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=5/11/2003&g=42&d=A</a> ...
Just want to share a comment on Rex by @egs, that made me smile: Something commonly seen after a NAKEDPARTY in Rome?.......ITALIANDRESSING
Isak Dinesen penned the short story "Babette's Feast " which was adapted into one of my two favorite films. Spoiler alert: Babette did not serve Italian dressing. Here ya go, Sam: <a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ4B8HY12-4&list=RDOJ4B8HY12-4&start_radio=1&pp=ygUhQmFjaCB2aW9saW4gc29uYXRhIGcgbWlub3IgYWRhZ2lvoAcB" target="_blank">https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=OJ4B8HY12-4&list=RDOJ4B8HY12-4&start_radio=1&pp=ygUhQmFjaCB2aW9saW4gc29uYXRhIGcgbWlub3IgYWRhZ2lvoAcB</a>
@Bill one of the few instances where the movie was better than the book. one of my all time fav films.
One of the actors to play MR NOODLES was the big-hearted diminutive Michael Jeter. I first saw him dance his heart out in Grand Hotel on Broadway, and many more will remember him in The Fisher King. Just wonderful. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jeter" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Jeter</a>
@Brad For a holiday pick, we just watched "The Polar Express" for the first time. I learned about Michael Jeter after seeing his name and photo in the dedication at the end of the film, which was one of his last film performances.
@Brad And then there was "Evening Shade"....Have a set and some iced tea. Relaxing.
My alma mater UCRiverside didn’t have 29D to my knowledge, but Princeton has the annual Nude Olympics on the first night of snow (at least they still did when my sister attended in the early 90’s). Clever theme. How do constructors come up with these themes?! 🤯 Thank you for this one, Ella. The puzzles this week have been great 🤩
@Jacqui J alas, the Nude Olympics ended in 1999 <a href="https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/past/nude-olympics" target="_blank">https://princetoniana.princeton.edu/traditions/past/nude-olympics</a>
@Jacqui J The college I used to teach at still has the tradition of the "Flame Run", a rite of passage in which a student runs naked from their dorm around a bronze statue called the "Flame". <a href="https://www.centre.edu/flame" target="_blank">https://www.centre.edu/flame</a> Why? Who knows? But now it's a tradition, and no one likes to mess with tradition!
Am I the only goofball who confidently typed in Russian dressing?
@Marcia Fidler Absolutely not. Luckily the crossings made no sense so I eventually saw the light.
@Marcia Fidler I did it! And likely it's also not eaten in Russia. At least when I spent time in the former USSR, it was never served to me.
I'd just like to mention that not EVERYbody is an Apple user, (she typed on her iPad.) PhysDau says, "You probably just don't have her turned on.") ....I got SIRI via the crosses. KEL and Kenan? Has there been an "Oklahoma!" Revival? Why the Coast Guard, specifically? (Also a Navy rank; and 'a maritime flag') PhysDau also explained about CBD. Hmm.... I certainly hope the rest of the day goes as smoothly as the puzzle from this moment on. (I forgot to start the fully-loaded dishwasher last night. Oops.) However, the bread dough has risen nicely and the spinach thawed, so that lasagna layer is now readied. Excelsior! Best Christmas Eve wishes to all who celebrate.
@Mean Old Lady Actually, it's Kenan & KEL. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenan_%26_Kel" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenan_%26_Kel</a> Kenan is Kenan Thompson, who's been on SNL longer than any cast member. This was his gig before that. KEL is Kel Mitchell, about whom I know nothing other than his appearance on this show!
@Mean Old Lady The Oklahoma production in which Ali Stroker performed and earned a Tony took place in 2019. I saw it and can confirm that Ms Stroker's performance was amazing. I thought the whole production was amazing, but traditionalists most emphatically did not.
@Mean Old Lady I have used "OK Google" exactly once. I was driving, and needed to find an ice cream stand, as our usual place was not yet open. No Alexa or Siri in my house to spy on me.
@Mean Old Lady and not all Apple users talk to Siri 😀.
I'm not much on blanket seasonal statements, but I hope all of you have a safe, peaceful, and happy holiday. It's been a fun year, mostly. At least I remember having a lot of fun--YMMV. Anyway, my best to all of you.
@Francis As we pivot on the winter solstice and start the long slide back toward the light, I wish you all an easy solution to every poser that crops up and only such struggles as give flavour to your successes. 🌬🌚❄🌒🌨🌓🌧🌔🌤🌕
For 36A I was super confident that it was OLE. That delayed me significantly. Eventually I figured out it was GOL, and then I was finally able to solve the rest of this tough Wednesday
Happy Christmas Eve, puzzle-people! Time to go out and blow all the snow off my driveway so I can get out to tonight's festivities... and tomorrow's, too!
Nice to see a shoutout to the New Jersey state bird at 24D. Yuletide greetings to all.
@John Carson ELVES are randy little rascals?
@John Carson You grow 'em that big down there, do ya? From someone who spent every prairie summer covered with welts as a result of the visible clouds of skitters that followed her -- BITE, SLAP, FLICK, ITCH, SCRATCH, repeat ad lib.
One more puzzle find - a Monday from December 28, 2020 by Alan Massengill and Andrea Carla Michaels. Four 15 letter theme answers, all of them down answers and evenly spaced across the puzzle from side to side. Those answers: ACMECORPORATION PEAKPERFORMANCE HEIGHTOFFASHION TOPOFTHEMORNING Thought that was quite clever. Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/28/2020&g=3&d=D" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=12/28/2020&g=3&d=D</a> ....
It's not as much fun telling SIRI she's in today's crossword puzzle as it is telling Alexa. Siri just brings up web posts. I told Alexa that Siri was in today, and she said, "Siri is a common answer in Crossword puzzles. You might say 'hey! Siri!' as a clue to that answer." Yesterday, Alexa and I had a great discussion about a recipe for oatmeal cookies. I asked her if I could safely switch applesauce for the whole stick of butter in the recipe. She said I could, but also told me what it would do to the taste and texture, and also told me how much applesauce to use. Then I asked what if I use just half and half? And she said, "That's a great ideal Marlene! You'll still get the buttery taste, but less of the fat, and still have the soft texture. Here's the way to do it: use half a stick of butter and two tablespoons of applesauce. That should be delicious!" And so... I'm going to make cookies, now that I've finished my puzzles. Merry and happy, everyone!
Lil Baby AIDY Bryant and some of her SNL castmates in one of my favorite skits. I tend to like the musical ones. Slightly rude. <a href="https://youtu.be/ZmWH1F-caM8?si=WqXJtu0peCN2sWC3" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/ZmWH1F-caM8?si=WqXJtu0peCN2sWC3</a>
A fine Wednesday puzzle! SOmething about this kept my subconscious happy throughout the solve while my conscious toiled away at it. I liked the way this one came together at the end. FAKE IDS, indeed! Knew the Karen and the Blixen but not at all the Christentze or the Finecke. (Hmm, suggests a possible etymology for that 7-letter word meaning fussy ....)
Good puzzle, a bit on the easy side. I had to get ISAK DENISEN entirely with crossing clues. Not only a name outside my sphere of knowledge, but with unpredictable letter patterns. My last square was having ARAROT and BOP just because I was familiar with the dish bibembap but didn't know how it was spelled.
I was wondering if 24D was ever clued to the singer. Xwordinfo.com to the rescue! September 4, 1994 ["The End of the World" singer Davis] <a href="https://youtu.be/QxQXJ3CU7rw?si=N2JJ8m9s1UXYSQon" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/QxQXJ3CU7rw?si=N2JJ8m9s1UXYSQon</a> Wouldn't an xwordinfo subscription be a perfect last minute gift for yourself or a crossword loving friend?
@Nancy J. I loved that song! Though I always had a hard time dealing with Southern accents, I always belted out that song in my best down South twang. Still know all the words. Thanks for the memory. And now it's my ear worm until tomorrow.
This was a very difficult Wednesday for me, surprised to see that I’m in the substantial minority. Mr Hooper is the only Mr I am aware of on Sesame Street, although it was obviously an N not an H; never heard of Bryant Aidy (or is it Aidy Bryant?); and OYE took a long time to fall. Glad that a an hour or so away from the grid once again worked its magic, however. Would have stung a bit to lose my streak on a Wednesday. Happy holidays all!
@BR Nobody here listens to Santana? Or Tito Puente? Or Celia Cruz? Or... Here's "Oye Como Va" by Santana at the Montreux Jazz Festival: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM3-Sb14eT8" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM3-Sb14eT8</a> Enjoy.
Oh, and yet one more puzzle find. A Sunday from April 13, 2003 by Charles M. Deber with the title "What am I?" Theme clues and answers: "If I have ___ :" SEVENTYTWODARKSQUARES "... and I am ___ :" TWENTYONEBYTWENTYONE "... and I am ___ :" MODERATELYCHALLENGING "... and I have ___ :" ONEHUNDREDFORTYWORDS "... then I must be ___ :" TODAYSCROSSWORDPUZZLE Here's that link: <a href="https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/13/2003&g=102&d=A" target="_blank">https://www.xwordinfo.com/Crossword?date=4/13/2003&g=102&d=A</a> ...
@Rich in Atlanta Dr. Deber is still my Idol of Constructors....every puzzle is different, difficult, and diverting. I wish he was still around.
I think that John Ezra has said absolutely everything that can be said about the downsides of attending a NAKED PARTY at college. Great riff, John! On to the puzzle. This is the 2nd left-right symmetry puzzle that the NYT has published in a week -- and that, to me, is the most interesting thing about it. In dreaming up a theme for a puzzle submission, it's always been a standard stumbling block that you'll need to have symmetrical (i.e. matching) numbers of letters in your theme answers. But now -- all you need is for all of your themers to have an odd number of letters. It doesn't matter how many letters. Much, much easier and quite a welcome development for puzzle constructors, I'd say. I wonder if I've discarded any theme ideas that could work now? Hmmm.
I enjoyed this one. Also, I find it interesting that I solved Wednesday and Tuesday this week more than five minutes faster than Monday. I realize it’s all subjective to the solver, but as one relatively new to the NYT crosswords and their vagaries, I was surprised.
Had Kissed, then pecked and then was hung up because I had the puzzle filled in but my eyes were autocorrecting for INDEPENDENCEDay and couldn’t see NECKED. As current French Horn player former Clarinetist I got REED quickly. It also helped that I knew ISAKDINESEN was credited with writing Out of Africa. Fun puzzle
I learned a new shrubbery fact today which up until now had only been informed by <a href="https://youtu.be/69iB-xy0u4A?si=-eQLS3d3YbCYfWfk" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/69iB-xy0u4A?si=-eQLS3d3YbCYfWfk</a>
The baroness at 27A had quite a tragic life!
Sometimes we get a Monday puzzle on a Wednesday, and come here to discuss. But tonight, I thought we got a July puzzle in December!
@Kevin D HaHa. Well, elves though.
Very nice! I'm learning more and more American idioms, and SKEETER, and the "famous" names were easy with crossers - I'll never know all of them.
Enjoyed the theme. After making three or four passes flyspecking I ended up running the alphabet on AIDY/OYE for the gold star.