Wes
CO
So... you've been complaining that the puzzles are getting too easy? HA!
So a priest, a pastor, and a rabbit walk into a bar. The rabbit turns to the priest and says, "I think I'm a typo."
Two of my favorite daffynishuns: BUTTER: goat. BUTTRESS: female goat.
The premise of "LARS and the REAL Girl" makes it sound trashy, but it's really a sweet, charming film. If you haven't seen it, check it out.
As the Cambridge professor said to the poor student: “You have tasted two worms and are leaving by the town drain.”
In contrast to some commenters, let me say "thank you" for including MIKE instead of the atrocity MIC that has inexplicably become popular in recent times. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to hop on my bic and stric out for a hic up Pic's Peak. Whether you lic it or not.
Favorite line from a movie? “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
Except that "arse" is NOT "git's equivalent across the pond". They mean completely different things.
It didn't occur to me to count the Ks; I thought the gimmick was that so many of the answers had either 2 Ks or 4 Ks. Hence 24K. I found the puzzle very difficult and not enjoyable.
@Andrzej An Army brat is someone with a parent in the military--it typically refers to people who moved around a lot when they were young, as their father or mother was reassigned. There are 100 senators in Washington D.C., two for each state. Hence, the "D.C. 100".
Realizing the truth of 35A left me 27D.
For shame, for shame! It's "all right", not "alright"!
Too many naticks for my taste. ELGIN/TAKIS? TURNBULL/AWNS? I ran aground in that section and finally looked up ELGIN and TURNBULL. The rest of the puzzle was fairly straightforward, though it took me a little while to correct SAUCES to DANCES and COUPLE to PEOPLE. I’m surprised anyone (including Caitlin) would have guessed ROOKS, since there are only two per side and therefore they do not comprise an octet. The obvious answer is PAWNS—which is, of course, incorrect.
There is no u in chocolate. Good puzzle!
Natick at 38D x 62A. Incomprehensible and irrelevant central key. Meh.
Yes, Sam. I've heard teeth referred to as "choppers".
Commentary here would not be complete without a shout-out to Colorado's favorite Pig Latino, John Elway.
Loved it. Solved it fairly quickly. Can't imagine trying to do it online, though. I always do them on paper, and this is a good example of one reason why. (Side rant: PLEASE let me print from my mobile!)
When the answer is SENORAS (actually SEÑORAS), entering MUJERES tends to slow one down a bit.
@Steven M. Funny. But yes, as they say, brevity is the soul of wit.
@Mark Carlson I'm suggesting that "mic" is an atrocious spelling because it should be pronounced "mick". "Bicycle" starts with "bic", but we call the vehicle a bike, not a bic, because "bic" is pronounced "bick".
@Mooße Not my circodes, not my monkeys.
Huh. I got it all in fairly short order, except for that one dang C in the upper right. I'd never heard of a TENREC (seriously, who has?), and even after looking up the answer I assumed that CROCKER was some eastern grocery store chain of which I, as a westerner, had never heard. (Professor Google did find a little grocery store in Crocker, MO; that's about it.) I had to read the comments to see that it apparently refers to Betty: a surname IN a grocery store, not OF a grocery store.
I loved it! But as a westerner, I have to admit my first thought was "Cleveland is on the coast???"
Wikipedia to the contrary notwithstanding, for over 50 years I've known it as "Towers of Hanoi", not "Tower of Hanoi".
@kilaueabart : EBT = Electronic Benefits Transfer; ETD = Estimated Time of Departure.
Very nice. I don't do sportsball, and I'd never heard of Maravich but was able to guess from a few crosses. I did remember LEN Dawson... from another puzzle, probably! Anyway, a fun start to the summer (which started at 10:42 EDT).
Woody Woodpecker was most notably voiced by producer Walter Lantz's wife Grace Lantz, not Mel Blanc. See <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Stafford" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_Stafford</a>.
@Francis Yes. In the Oxbridge universities, one “goes up” to the university, and “goes down” from the university. So the “down train” is the train taking you “down”.
Caitlin, they are separated by a slash, not a backslash.
(Promises (Gau (English, in web addresses) Airport) to pay)
Nice. Though frankly I never noticed his "iconic accent".
@Steve L : And sometimes they were even said to be HEPS (noun), as in Irving Berlin’s “Choreography”: “Heps who did steps…”.
@Laura : Do a web search for "hep cat".
@Mark Carlson See my second paragraph for clues.
The picture of the man oiling the to-go order of roses will stay with me for a long time.
Hardest NE for me in quite some time. For 9D I had _FO_EIOHTANI (having started with FUROR for 16A). But having never heard of the gentleman, I had no idea. I figured the last name was more likely OHTANI than IOHTANI or EIOHTANI, and with that suggestion, Professor DuckDuckGo supplied the first name. And a few minutes later I was done. (It didn't help that I also had no idea about 10D and 13D, and my initial answers for 11D and 12D were wrong—11D, embarrassingly so!)
@Ben Gau Airport: NGI English in web addresses: EN
Very nice. For me, the anagram theme was exposed by ITSA ME MARIO. After that, it was lots of fun to discover the other four.
@Andrzej Nope, not an address. And you'd have to poll some army brats to answer that question. :-) You're welcome!
Hard for a Wednesday; more like Friday, or even Saturday. I had to guess on three or four, and guessed wrong, which I hardly ever do. SEITAN? ALMA? PAM? MMA? ANI? SUE? SUNOCO? Never heard of ‘em.
@Charles Nelson Reilly As a stage performer of some 50 years, I agree that it is commonly used. Or, as I phrased it, inexplicably popular.