Ragland

When I went to the cash bard, he gave me a twist of rhyme with my cocktail.

I laughed out loud when I wrote "IT'S A ME MARIO" So stupid, but so funny...🤪

The way I look at the "great debate" here is that every puzzle is a gift - form the constructor and the editors to we poor solvers. We may not always like the gifts we are given, but how ungrateful to disparage those who would offer us their gift. A big Thank You to all the puzzle constructors!

Deb - Thank you so much for all your sage advice, and for making the Comment's Section the joy it is to read - especially after some tough puzzle sledding. I don't comment very often, but I always read your byline, and that of all my fellow Commenteers. The world is a better place for your kind presence, and you will be missed dearly.

Was mildly annoyed when I realized I was gonna have to put on my thinking cap to complete this puzzle. And then laughed out loud upon completion as the beautiful long letters draped down the screen of my laptop. Bravo!

Just saw in the news that a certain Congresswoman in New York tried to make a speech in her district yesterday, but was BOOOFFSTAGE by her constituents. I guess they were telling her "no dice".

There was a band from Iceland in the 90's called SIGUR ROS -a somewhat avant garde duo. Boy did I try make that work in 31 Across. But I was not a good boy today, and while eventually searching for alternative spellings of Sigur Ros, finally realized that the correct spelling was SUGAR RAY. Duh! A devilish puzzle for me, but the very clever cluing eventually outweighed the critiques.

SWINGSETS brought back memories of the old swing set we had in the back yard when I was a kid. It was basically 2 steel A-frames with a cross piece header where all the swings, etc were hung from. It wasn't actually attached to the ground so if you could swing high enough you could actually get the legs to come off the ground and make the swing set walk. Very dangerous in hind site, but it sure was fun!

Today I learned that a group of Ferrets is called a "Business of Ferrets". Love it. It's right up there with a" Parliament of Owls". Or a "Colony of Weasels" which in todays puzzle coincidently crosses the "Business of Ferrets"

Thought for sure there must be POODLE BOYS somewhere in the South. But no. Lot's of GOOD OLE BOYS however. Great Puzzle!

Correction: I had a good laugh when I thought that 12D was going to be some variation of a Birthday Suit. But barely nothing would fit. Great Puzzle!

Fun to see the Cinerama reference today. For those who have never experienced one, Cinerama presentations featured a very long concave screen, and 3 synchronized projectors. As a child I remember being totally blown away watching "How the West was Won". Interesting coincidence with the story in today's Art Section about the restoration of the giant curved Wyeth Mural that provided a similar scale visual experience back in the 30's.

I totally appreciate Deb's ode to brevity in her column entry. It's something I struggle with in all my correspondence. Saying a complex thought in one word is an art. "I am sorry to have made such a long speech, but I did not have time to write a shorter one". - Winston Churchill

I have fond memories of watching the original StarTrek back in the 60's. When My friend Jimmy and I were kicked out of school because our hair was too long, I tried to cut my own hair. It didn't turn out very well, but at least it was short enough for the Vice Principal. Then Jimmy asked if I could cut his as well. So I started cutting, and at one point, the scissors slipped causing me to cut a big V shape in his hair just above the ear. To cover my mistake, I decide to cut the other side to match. When Jimmy looked in the mirror he said that I had made his ears look pointed! Pretending it was intentional I told him it was the latest new style: "The Spock Look".

For most of this puzzle I was pretty sure that poor old Side Show Bob was going to step on KAKA, but after the crossings I was relieved to see that he was only going to step on a RAKE.

Brilliant puzzle, and being able to say AMSCRAY out loud made my morning!

The OCARINA, also known as the Sweet Potato because of its potato like shape and sweet sound was used to great success by many composers - notably in the opening sequence of Bernardo Bertolucci's classic film "1909", and Ennio Morricone''s score for "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly".

Not a scientist, but I was really hoping that 49A was an [exo] PLANET, as in the transit of a planet across the face of its star - may create an eclipse like phenomenon, which from earth could look like a blinking light. I think this is how many exoplanets are discovered.......? I like puzzles that make me look up stuff

Re: 22A As a kid learning to play baseball, I sorta had a general idea of how to play, but had no glove. So when a hard hit ball came right at me, I caught it, but immediately dropped it out of my hot Red hand. Great puzzle!

I'm not a gamer, but I guessed that the answer wanted to be BEAST MODE - because of the ferocious running style of Marshon Lynch - aka BEAST MODE of the Seattle Seahawks NFL team who was nearly unstoppable in that era. In the final minutes of Super Bowl XLIX [in 2015], the Seahawks were on the Patriot's 1 yard line and everyone assumed it was time for BEASTMODE to run it in. But for some reason that people still argue about today they opted for a short pass - which was intercepted. Allowing Tom Brady and the Pats to win their 4th Super Bowl.

To answer Deb's question regarding a Hecklephone in the photo of the orchestra, Im going to stick my neck out here and say that the woman to the left of the flautists is the Hecklephonist - as she has what appears to be a large wooden instrument on an adjacent stand. Mediocre amateur Horn player here

I always thought that a Gimlet Eye was how pleasant the world looked after imbibing a well mixed Gimlet. The classic Gimlet recipe calls for 2 1/2 ounces gin 1/2 ounce lime juice, freshly squeezed 1/2 ounce simple syrup [optional] Garnish: lime wheel I think this cocktail was invented by the British navy in the 1800's as a way to prevent scurvy on board. Down the hatch, as they might have said.

Deb said to be sure to give myself a pat on the back for figuring out Mr. Goldberg’s sleight of hand. Unfortunately by the time I figured it out I had run out of body pats, from the constant face palms self-delivered while struggling with the trick. Great puzzle!

I had a good laugh when I thought that 7D was going to be some variation of a Birthday Suit. But barely nothing would fit. Great Puzzle!

30D. Haven't thought of this expression in years, but the great comedian Jack Benny used to end his TV monologs with "AWAY WE GO", and then he would do this little vaudevillian shuffle stage left. No one could do a "slow burn" like Jack Benny. Just saying his name makes name laugh.

Humdinger is great word I first came across in a song from Bob Dylan's Freewheeling" album, rhymed with Folksinger, describing a girlfriend that I always thought might have been Joan Baez. Humdinger - Folksinger was also - I believe, the name of a compilation album set of Dylan's early recordings.

In the 1958 film GIGI, this story - set in 1900 Paris, is about a young girl groomed to be the courtesan of a rich older man. Unlike its contemporary parallel in all the headlines today it has a happy ending. Sort of. I'm not judging. It is a gorgeous film and deserved its Oscars, It just seems the timing may be off a bit.

Loved everything about this puzzle except the use of FIST to describe a pacifist's renouncement. Where I came from, if someone showed you their fist it meant they wanted to fight - to make war not love.