SteveG_VA
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I came through the brain fog after hip surgery only to fall to Covid and a new but shorter round of brain fog. So this was my first Saturday completion, and it was a thrill to be back in the saddle again. Unlike the reviewer when I saw Garson, I knew immediately that it was Greer. I guess age has its advantage. I’ve made it to 84, and the little gray cells still seem to be working.
I heard a Will Shortz recording on PBS this morning. He told us that he was absent from "The Puzzle" because he is recovering from a stroke. He sounded pretty good though a bit weak. I wish him a full recovery.
Can’t believe I solved the WHOLE thing. On first glance I thought, “No way, José!” Not even one or two short fills that I could use as hooks. The only gimme that gave me hope was 22A: YES SIR.
@Eric A solver after my own heart. Bravo!
My brain fog is finally lifted three months after a hip replacement surgery. Hip replacements were said to be no big deal, but for me, it was a very big deal. And the recovery included brain fog I didn’t even want to look at a crossword puzzle. So this week I just got back to solving and today’s puzzle was a bit of a challenge. I did solve edge lord. but I had to look it up to make sure that I got it right. And when I saw the definition, I couldn’t help thinking of a certain pumpkin faced politician, running for the highest office in our country.
51A: CSA baffled me. Until I looked it up, and among several expansions of CSA I found this, “For over 25 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. “Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a "membership" or a "subscription") and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.”
Wow! So very clever. I got 20A, 31A, and 38A correctly, and even with the giveaway of 51A it took me a few minutes to see the DD, NN, and GG swaps. Lots’a fun.
Today’s puzzle was neither predictable nor formulaic. Finally solving the long expenses was a source of great levity.
Some 70 years ago in an advanced placement English class in high school, I was introduced to 52D, Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style.” I can’t recall that reference to it ever came up again, but today it came to mind in an instant. What do they say about long-term memory?
@Cloudy Rockwell Dogs are red-green color blind, so the red color attracts the purchaser and not the dog.
Main comment: GORGEOUS GRID! But with all the expansive fills, it looked impossible to solve. With lots of guesses and smiles when the NW side of the diagonal behind me, I labored mightily on the SE half. DNA for 46D and SALK for 44A threw me off my game. Gradually, VERY GRADUALLY, it came together except for 28D BANKS crossed by 37A SINKS. Entering RINALDO didn’t help. “Other than that, Mrs. O’Leary, how’s the cow?”
Kinda sorta wacky. But fun once I managed to change my perspective, even without a hit.
@Andrzej I always enjoy your cross cultural observations, Andrzej. Today’s was an A . Thanks.
@Mean Old Lady Brava re UnitedHealth. And AARP appears to me as a sandbox for ads…nada mas.
@Red Carpet OK, in July I had a hip replacement , and I was given an epidural to anesthetize my trunk as well as propofol (sp?) to knock me out so that I would not hear all the sawing and hammering.
Hmm, I wonder how many people revel about how quickly they can chug-a-lug a glass of fine wine.
@Mean Old Lady I, too, recall having to massage the yellow dye into the white blob. My guess was that the dairy industry lobbied to make sure that nobody would mistake oleomargarine for the “real thing.” By itself the white blob was thoroughly unappealing.
@JohnWM Couldn’t stop belly laughing after reading that?
@Lewis I am a supporter of Habitat for Humanity of the Charlottesville [VA] Area, and through them I found Asheville’s Habitat for Humanity. They identified worthy organizations in Asheville to which I donated. Here in Charlottesville we’ve got your backs.
47D, Count Orlok, brought back memories of finals week at MIT. Movies were shown to break the spell of studying ( or drinking?). I seem to recall Nosferatu as a movie that began with a person’s eyeball being cut side to side with a straight razor. Do I remember that opening scene as the correct movie, or might have been a different movie? At any rate decades later, I still remember that gory opening scene.
@William Schrader William Schrader of PSInet? Those were the days, my friend. The Hebrew letters stand for “Nes Godol Hayoh Shom.” In English: A Great Miracle Happened There.” Knew that since childhood, but never knew of the game. Must have been a NY thing.
@RozzieGrandma Yeah. And how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?
@jdc I most often solve from the bottom up. Especially down entries. It’s often easier for me to visualize/vocalize a word from its ending.
@Steve L He must have been thinking of the outgoing president’s health.
Coming in REALLY late with but one question: did the Governator prefer BACONATORs?
@Francis Thanks. My progress is measured in millimeters per day. Prior to surgery I expected feet per day. And after surgery I would have settled for inches per day. But, movement in any amount is progress.
@RPS Thanks! That rings a bell.
@RPS Yes! That’s the one. Gory.
@John Think of sipping a fine wine rather than chugging it. Or, tasting morsels of a dinner rather than snarfing it down. I take great pleasure in a leisurely solve: sipping and tasting along the way. ‘Nuf sed?
@Jackson They don’t SAY the NAME of God. Nor write the NAME of God.
@Darcy V THANKS FOR YOUR ENLIGHTENMENT. I never figured it out.
@JayTee Raises hand! I’m a guy, but my mom persuaded me to take typing and shorthand classes in high school back in the 1950’s.
@Jim Thanks. That’s deep!
@RT Add to that, ”Ich bin ein Berliner.”
Who’s Faith Hill 🙀? Srsly, I read all the comments, but couldn’t find an explanation for 44A: Breaking the fourth wall = META. So, what is the fourth wall?
@Gig Mine was at a nude beach at a Club Med.
Too much head scratching for a Wednesday. Meh!
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