Constructed by: Jacob Stulberg
Edited by: Rich Norris
Quicklink to a complete list of today’s clues and answers
Quicklink to comments
Theme: V-Vowel Progression
Our themed answers today are all two-word phrases, with the first starting with VxL, where “x” is a vowel. The vowels progress (AEIOU) as we go down the grid:
- 18A…Personal guide..VALUE SYSTEM
- 24A…Shoe fastener..VELCRO STRIP
- 38A…Historic Manhattan jazz club..VILLAGE VANGUARD
- 48A…Cloud above a peak..VOLCANIC ASH
- 58A…Source of the Romance languages..VULGAR LATIN
Bill’s time: 8m 04s
Bill’s errors: 0
Today’s Wiki-est, Amazonian Googlies
Across
1…One of a pair in “Waiting for Godot”..ACT
An Irishman I may be, but I have sat through so many Samuel Beckett plays (the Irish dramatist) and I have yet to come away feeling satisfied that I spent my time well. Of course I am in the minority, as Beckett’s play “Waiting for Godot” was once voted the most significant English language play of the 20th century. Maybe I will give “Waiting for Godot” another chance one day, but I doubt it …
4…__ ray..COSMIC
Cosmic rays aren’t actually rays at all. They are high energy particles that originate in outer space outside of our solar system. Cosmic rays interact with atoms in our atmosphere creating secondary particles that can reach the Earth’s surface.
10…Where rds. meet..JCTS
Roads (rds.) can meet at junctions (jcts.).
14…Frat address..BRO
Yo, Bro!
15…Iris ring..AREOLA
An areola (sometimes “areole”) in anatomy is a small ring of color, as in the areola surrounding the nipple, and the areola surrounding the pupil of the eye. “Areola” comes from Latin, meaning “small open space”, and is a diminutive of the Latin word “area”, meaning “open space”.
The iris is the colored part of the eye with an aperture in the center that can open or close depending on the level of light hitting the eye.
16…Obama’s birthplace..OAHU
Despite rumors to the contrary, I am pretty sure that Barack Hussein Obama II was indeed born in Hawaii. Future US President Obama was born on August 4, 1961 at Kapi’olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii.
20…Start of “A Visit From St. Nicholas”..’TWAS
The poem “A Visit from St. Nicholas” was published anonymously in 1823, and is better known today by its first line “‘Twas the night before Christmas”. Most scholars believe that the poem was written by Clement Clarke Moore, a theologian from New York City. Others say that it was written by Henry Livingston, Jr. a poet from Upstate New York.
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads;
And mamma in her ’kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap,
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash …
24…Shoe fastener..VELCRO STRIP
The hook-and-loop fastener that we now call Velcro was invented in 1941 by Georges de Mestral, a Swiss engineer. Mestral noticed that the seeds of the burdock plant (burrs or burs) stuck to his clothes. Under the microscope he found hooks on the burrs that grabbed hold of loops in his clothing. After years of development, he came up with a way of simulating the natural hook using man-made materials, and Velcro was born.
27…Animal’s gullet..MAW
“Maw” is a term used to describe the mouth or stomach of a carnivorous animal. “Maw” is also used as slang for the mouth or stomach of a greedy person.
30…”To see __ is a picture”: Dickinson..HER
Emily Dickinson wrote nearly 1800 poems in her lifetime, with less than a dozen published before she died in 1886. Emily’s younger sister discovered the enormous collection, and it was published in batches over the coming decades. Try this one for size:
To see her is a Picture —
To hear her is a Tune —
To know her an Intemperance
As innocent as June —
To know her not — Affliction —
To own her for a Friend
A warmth as near as if the Sun
Were shining in your Hand.
33…Nincompoop..BOOB
The word “nincompoop”, meaning a fool, seems to have been around for quite a while. It has been used since the 1670s, but no one appears to know its origins.
35…”Biggest Little City in the World”..RENO
Reno, Nevada was named in honor of Major General Jesse Lee Reno, a Union officer killed in the Civil War. The city has a famous “Reno Arch”, a structure that stands over the main street. The arch was erected in 1926 to promote an exposition planned for the following year. After the expo, the city council decided to keep the arch and held a competition to decide what wording should be displayed, and the winner was “The Biggest Little City in the World”.
37…Next Dodger after Fernando to win the Cy Young Award..OREL
Fernando Valenzuela won the Cy Young Award in 1981, and Orel Hershiser in 1988.
38…Historic Manhattan jazz club..VILLAGE VANGUARD
The Village Vanguard is a jazz club in New York City’s Greenwich Village that opened in 1935. Well, it opened as a club featuring a broader range of music, before switching to jazz alone in 1957.
41…Ancient Icelandic text..EDDA
The Poetic Edda and Prose Edda are two ancient works that are the source for much of Norse mythology. Both Eddas were written in the 13th century, in Iceland.
42…Birthstone for some Scorpios..OPAL
Here is the “official” list of birthstones by month, that we tend to use today:
- January: Garnet
- February: Amethyst
- March: Bloodstone or Aquamarine
- April: Diamond
- May: Emerald
- June: Pearl or Moonstone
- July: Ruby
- August: Sardonyx or Peridot
- September: Sapphire or Lapis Lazuli
- October: Opal or Pink Tourmaline
- November: Topaz or Citrine
- December: Turquoise or Zircon (also now, Tanzanite)
43…Bavarian count opener..EINS
The German for “one, two, three” is “eins, zwei, drei”.
Bavaria in southeast Germany is the largest state in the country. The capital and largest city in Bavaria is Munich.
46…Hosp. areas..ERS
Emergency room (ER)
58…Source of the Romance languages..VULGAR LATIN
Vulgar Latin (meaning “common, vernacular” Latin) was the spoken form of the language, rather than the standard written form. It is from Vulgar Latin that the Romance languages like French, Spanish and Italian developed.
63…How some games are won, briefly..IN OT
In overtime (OT)
64…Dawn goddess..AURORA
In Greek mythology, Eos is the goddess of the dawn who lived at the edge of the ocean. Eos would wake each morning to welcome her brother Helios the sun. The Roman equivalent of Eos is Aurora.
Down
1…”How to Get Away With Murder” airer..ABC TV
“How to Get Away With Murder” is legal drama show that first aired in 2014. Star of the show is Viola Davis, playing a law professor who becomes involved in a murder plot with five of her students. I hear good things about this series, but haven’t seen it yet myself …
2…Actor Russell..CROWE
Russell Crowe is a highly successful actor from New Zealand. Understandably, he doesn’t like people to call him “Australian”, even though it was in Australia that he launched his acting career. Not too long before the 9/11 attacks, the FBI contacted Crowe to inform him that al-Qaeda was plotting to kidnap him as part of a general attack on high-profile “American” icons. For a few months the New Zealander was guarded by Secret Service agents.
4…Member of the reigning NBA champs..CAV
The Cleveland Cavaliers are the professional basketball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavs joined the NBA as an expansion team in 1970.
6…Graf rival..SELES
Monica Seles has a Hungarian name as she was born to Hungarian parents, in former Yugoslavia. Seles was the World No. 1 professional tennis player in 1991 and 1992 before being forced from the sport when she was stabbed by a spectator at a match in 1993. She did return to the game two years later, but never achieved the same level of success.
Steffi Graf is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player from Germany. Graf won 22 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any other man or woman other than Margaret Court. She is married to another former World No. 1, namely Andre Agassi.
8…The Seine’s __ Saint-Germain..ILE
Île Saint-Germain is an island in the Seine River just outside Paris, France. The island was once home to a military camp, now abandoned.
11…Regatta racer..CATAMARAN
A catamaran is a boat that has two hulls. Catamarans have been around along time, with the design having being used by the Ancient Greeks. Notably, the design was used by the locals in the Bay of Bengal and it was this design that was adopted by European boat builders. The name “catamaran” comes from the Tamil language of southeastern India, with “kattu maram” meaning “logs tied together”.
The word “regatta” is Venetian dialect and was originally used to describe boat races among the gondoliers of Venice on the Grand Canal back in the mid-1600s.
12…With 7-Down, sermon site..THE …
(7D…See 12-Down.. … MOUNT)
The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of teachings of Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew. One famous section of the discourse is known as the Beatitudes. The eight Beatitudes are:
- … Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
- … Blessed are those who mourn: for they will be comforted
- … Blessed are the meek: for they will inherit the earth
- … Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness: for they will be filled
- … Blessed are the merciful: for they will be shown mercy
- … Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God
- … Blessed are the peacemakers: for they will be called children of God
- … Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
21…Gentleman, at times?..SCHOLAR
One might use the expression “gentleman and scholar” as a compliment to an admirable and intelligent male. Apparently, the phrase was coined by the Scottish poet, Robert Burns in his poem “‘Twa Dogs”. He describes one of the two dogs in the work thus:
His locked, letter’d, braw brass collar
Shew’d him the gentleman and scholar.
25…Sitcom that starred a singer..REBA
Reba McEntire is a country music singer and television actress. McEntire starred in her own sitcom called “Reba” that aired on the WB and the CW cable channels from 2001 to 2007.
26…Kidney-related..RENAL
Something described as “renal” is related to the kidneys. “Ren” is the Latin word for “kidney”.
32…Comedian who said, “I have a lot of beliefs, and I live by none of ’em”..LOUIS CK
“Louis C.K.” is the stage name of comedian Louis Szekely. The family name “Szekely” is Hungarian, and “CK” is an approximation of the name in English. “Louis” has a successful comedy drama show that airs on FX called “Louie”.
Comic Louis C.K. said the following on the subject of “beliefs”.
I have a lot of beliefs, and I live by none of ’em. That’s just the way I am. They’re just my beliefs. I just like believing them. I like that part. They’re my little believies; they make me feel good about who I am.
33…Lavatory fixture..BIDET
“Bidet” is a French word that we imported into English. In French, the word “bidet” originally described a small horse or a pony. The bidet bathroom fixture was so called because one straddles it like a horse in order to use it.
34…Chap..OLD FELLOW
“Chap” is an informal term for “lad, fellow”, especially in England. The term derives from “chapman”, an obsolete word meaning “purchaser” or “trader”.
36…Green of “Penny Dreadful”..EVA
Despite the English-sounding name, Eva Green is a French actress. Green played Bond girl Vesper Lynd in the 2006 movie “Casino Royale”, opposite Daniel Craig.
“Penny Dreadful” is a horror TV show that started airing on Showtime in 2014. I don’t do horror, so I haven’t seen the show, despite the fact that it is filmed in Dublin. Characters in the show come from 19th-century fiction from Ireland and Britain, including Oscar Wilde’s Dorian Gray, Bram Stoker’s Abraham Van Helsing and Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein.
38…Designer Wang..VERA
Vera Wang’s first choice for a career was figure skating. Although she a very capable skater, Wang failed to make the 1968 US Olympics team. She switched to the world of fashion, and is now famous for her designs of wedding dresses … and also costumes for figure skaters.
39…Scene of biblical destruction..GOMORRAH
The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, as well as Admah and Zeboim, were destroyed by God for the sins of their inhabitants, according to the Bible. The name Sodom has become a metaphor for vice and homosexuality, and gives us our word “sodomy”.
40…Spice Girl Halliwell..GERI
Geri Halliwell was nicknamed Ginger Spice when she was with the Spice Girls, because of her red hair. Halliwell was quite a bit older than the rest of the group and so sometimes she was less charitably referred to as “Old Spice”. After launching her solo career, Halliwell released a fabulous 2001 version of the song “It’s Raining Men”, which was originally recorded by the Weather Girls in 1982. Great song …
45…Nike competitor..AVIA
The Avia brand name for athletic shoes was chosen as “avia” is the Latin word for “to fly”, and suggests the concept of aviation. Avia was founded in Oregon in 1979.
50…Jaguars, for instance..AUTOS
Auto manufacturer Jaguar started out as a manufacturer of sidecars for motorcycles back in 1922, when the company was known as the Swallow Sidecar Company (SS for short). The company changed its name to Jaguar after WWII, because of the unfortunate connotations of the letters “SS” in that era (i.e. the Nazi paramilitary organization).
51…Garlicky spread..AIOLI
To the purist, especially in Provence in the South of France, the “home” of aioli, aioli is prepared just by grinding garlic with olive oil. However, other ingredients are often added to the mix, particularly egg yolks.
53…Big name in the bags aisle..HEFTY
Hefty is a brand name of trash bags and related products.
58…Energetic spirit..VIM
“Vim” and “pep” are words that both mean “energy, power”.
59…Game with wild cards..UNO
In my youth I remember being taught a great card game, by a German acquaintance of mine, called Mau Mau. Years later I discovered that Uno is basically the same game, but played with a purpose-printed deck instead of the regular deck of playing cards that’s used for Mau Mau. I hear that Mau Mau is derived from the game called Crazy Eights.
60…Him, to Henri..LUI
In French, “lui” is the word for “him” and “elle” is the word for “her”.
61…”A Queens Story” rapper..NAS
Rapper Nas used to go by another stage name, Nasty Nas, and before that by his real name, Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones. Nas released his first album “Illmatic” in 1994, and inventively titled his fifth studio album “Stillmatic”, released in 2001. Not my cup of tea, I would say …
Complete List of Clues and Answers
Across
1…One of a pair in “Waiting for Godot”..ACT
4…__ ray..COSMIC
10…Where rds. meet..JCTS
14…Frat address..BRO
15…Iris ring..AREOLA
16…Obama’s birthplace..OAHU
17…Basic resting place..COT
18…Personal guide..VALUE SYSTEM
20…Start of “A Visit From St. Nicholas”..’TWAS
22…Common base..TEN
23…”Joke’s on you!”..HA-HA!
24…Shoe fastener..VELCRO STRIP
27…Animal’s gullet..MAW
30…”To see __ is a picture”: Dickinson..HER
31…Make subservient..ENSLAVE
33…Nincompoop..BOOB
35…”Biggest Little City in the World”..RENO
37…Next Dodger after Fernando to win the Cy Young Award..OREL
38…Historic Manhattan jazz club..VILLAGE VANGUARD
41…Ancient Icelandic text..EDDA
42…Birthstone for some Scorpios..OPAL
43…Bavarian count opener..EINS
44…Pose anew, as a question..REFRAME
46…Hosp. areas..ERS
47…Put away..ATE
48…Cloud above a peak..VOLCANIC ASH
54…Hideout..LAIR
56…Crude shelter..HUT
57…Thing on a string..KITE
58…Source of the Romance languages..VULGAR LATIN
62…Sound after a punch..OOF!
63…How some games are won, briefly..IN OT
64…Dawn goddess..AURORA
65…Aflame..LIT
66…Cuts..MOWS
67…Shows disapproval, in a way..HISSES
68…Far from friendly..ICY
Down
1…”How to Get Away With Murder” airer..ABC TV
2…Actor Russell..CROWE
3…Whole..TOTAL
4…Member of the reigning NBA champs..CAV
5…Big talker..ORATOR
6…Graf rival..SELES
7…See 12-Down.. … MOUNT
8…The Seine’s __ Saint-Germain..ILE
9…Use to one’s advantage..CASH IN ON
10…Tease..JOSH
11…Regatta racer..CATAMARAN
12…With 7-Down, sermon site..THE …
13…(In) brief..SUM
19…Prattles..YAPS
21…Gentleman, at times?..SCHOLAR
25…Sitcom that starred a singer..REBA
26…Kidney-related..RENAL
28…States as fact..AVERS
29…Join with heat..WELD
32…Comedian who said, “I have a lot of beliefs, and I live by none of ’em”..LOUIS CK
33…Lavatory fixture..BIDET
34…Chap..OLD FELLOW
35…Turn off..REPEL
36…Green of “Penny Dreadful”..EVA
38…Designer Wang..VERA
39…Scene of biblical destruction..GOMORRAH
40…Spice Girl Halliwell..GERI
45…Nike competitor..AVIA
46…Whole..ENTIRE
49…Blackens..CHARS
50…Jaguars, for instance..AUTOS
51…Garlicky spread..AIOLI
52…Unlikely to come unglued..STOIC
53…Big name in the bags aisle..HEFTY
55…Fed. employees..AGTS
58…Energetic spirit..VIM
59…Game with wild cards..UNO
60…Him, to Henri..LUI
61…”A Queens Story” rapper..NAS
14:33, no errors, iPad.
@Vidwan … I’m surprised to hear that there are still incandescent bulbs available in a Lowe’s near you. Last time I checked, there were none to be had here in Colorado. (But, given your comment, I may check again: I have a couple of lamps that require dimmable bulbs and none of the replacements work as well as the incandescents did.)
The “incandescent” bulbs available today are actually halogen lamps housed inside an incandescent-looking globe. You can see this clearly with the clear glass variety, such as the one pictured here: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Philips-100-Watt-Equivalent-Halogen-A19-Light-Bulb-2-Pack-429241/202514346
They comply with the phase-out of incandescent bulbs because they use less energy to put out equivalent amounts of light. For example, a halogen that puts out the same amount of light as a 100-watt incandescent uses around 72 watts.
They are readily dimmable too.
@Mike … Thanks for the input. The principal problem is a bedside lamp with a solid-state device that wakes you up by very slowly increasing the intensity of the light. It works extremely well with my old incandescent bulbs (of which, like Vidwan, I still have a pretty large supply), but not so well with the halogen bulbs I tried several years ago. Perhaps halogens have been improved since then.
Difference between Wed. and Thurs.for me: Wed. – no Googles, Thurs. – 7 Googles, only one was sports (CAV). Had VELCOSTRaP before VELCROSTRIP and yoyo before KITE. Ended up reading a lot about iris rings.
Pretty sophisticated words; virtually no filler garbage, maybe HAHA.
Good job, Jake.
Got to the end of this one, but I just could’t overcome EVA, GERI, and LOU ISCK…whoever Lou is…(Louis CK, duh) and …VANGUARD all coming together. I got the theme early. MAW meaning “a greedy person” is new to me, but it makes sense. I also had strap before STRIP on 24A.
Interesting that the Romance languages come from spoken rather than written Latin. I didn’t know they (spoken vs written) differed so much, and I’m surprised that’s not more well known …or at least I certainly didn’t know that.
Carrie – I didn’t watch the Cubs or the debates last night. I’m watching the Soprano’s for the first time on HBO on Demand. I’ve never seen it. I’m on season 2 and am enjoying it a lot. I’m always behind on these things. Btw – how did you become a Cubs fan? What’s your Chicago connection? I’ll only turn the game on tonight if I see the Dodgers are winning.
Vidwan – I was just teasing Clevelanders’ use of the word “pop” for soda. I’ve only been to the city once in my life, but I had a blast while I was there. It was 1988, and The Flats was still a fun area to go at night. As I understand it, it’s not such a great place to go anymore. I’ve been told the area is in disrepair now. Sad.
Best –
@Jeff … I took two years of Latin in high school and my teacher was a rather proper little lady named Mrs. Wassenaar. At the beginning of the second year, she announced that she had spent her entire summer studying Vulgar Latin, whereupon the entire class erupted in laughter. (To her credit, after a few moments of confusion, she joined in the general merriment and then explained what the phrase implied.)
Got 38A immediately.
Was trying to pick one to link, but couldn’t make up my mind.
Here’s a list of albums
LIVE AT THE VILLAGE VANGUARD
Also had STRaP before STRIP.
JCTS was last to fall. Very strange abbreviation.
@Jeff
Acrostics are any kind of puzzle that has a simple cryptography element to it, where crossword style clues are used to point to the answer (as opposed to cryptograms which are just simple letter replacement). The end goal is to take whatever clues that are given, and then complete a quote of some kind. The puzzle is successfully completed when the quote and the other hint clues are properly answered. Examples. Personally, I never found them incredibly interesting. But they typically appear in the same newspaper pages as “easy” crosswords, Sudoku puzzles, word scrambles, and the like.
@all
In other news, got the NYT anagram puzzle awaiting, so I’m sure that will be an interesting solve tonight.
Years ago, I did a few acrostics and decided I didn’t like them. (Perhaps it’s just as well: I do enough puzzles as it is … 🙂 )
Glenn –
While doing the “anagram puzzle”, note that you at least have the advantage of knowing they’re anagrams. We did not know that was the case when we first did it. You had to get the theme answers to understand the anagram clues, but you had to know some answers to get the theme. That’s how I’m still impressed that Dave and Bill were able to solve the puzzle. I went nowhere with it. I’m still haunted by that puzzle.
@Jeff — Where did you get that “greedy person” definition of “maw”? The puzzle has it clued (properly) as “Animal’s gullet,” and I’ve seen it spelled that way to reflect how country folks pronounce “Ma.” But the “greedy person” is new to me.
@Bill — Jaguar history is very interesting. What country was the SS company in?
As far as I know, Jaguar has always been a British manufacturer, even though in recent years foreign owners stepped in (Ford/USA and then Tata/India).
@Jeff — (Forgive me if this is a repeat … I think I accidentally deleted the first try.) Where did you see/hear “Maw” defined as “a greedy person”? It’s properly clued in the puzzle.
Joe B –
I poorly worded what I was trying to say, but that’s nothing new. I meant a stomach (or mouth)of a greedy person. I was just echoing what Bill included in his write up.
Best –
One more vote (ha) for strap before strip. Not all that difficult for a Thursday (it is Thursday isn’t it?). Now on to the WSJ grid.
This is the second time recently I have seen “bidet”, a bathroom fixture, in a crossword. I have never seen one in a bathroom in the US. Did see a urinal, just stuck in the middle of a wall, surrounded by wallpaper, but that is another story.
@Anon – I typically (and not all that often) see bidets in hotel room bathrooms.
For anyone else that does the daily WSJ gird I thought today’s puzzle was particularly tricky. Many of the clues were sure to send you down the wrong way and then you find yourself trying to untangle the mess you made. Or at least that’s how I found it. I eventually got it done correctly, but I had MANY black ink strike overs before the process came to a halt.
@Tony … I also thought today’s WSJ puzzle was more difficult than usual. I didn’t end up with a lot of strike-overs, but I spent an unusual amount of time staring at empty sections, temporarily unable to proceed. After the fact, all the theme answers referred to more or less familiar titles, but not one of them was a gimme.
I had a tough, tough time with the puzzle – especially at the south east corner (lower right hand side). I struggled a lot and made a lot of choices with a red letter option turned on. I had a tough time with LIT, ICY, OOF and Kite … and the accompanying verticals. I have to read Bill and find out how Stoic fits the clue ….
Thanks David Kennison and Mike for the discussion on incandescent bulbs …. I was just thinking – what a stupid person am I. I am glad, aside from the small outlay of money involved, that there was some logic in my idiocy. That itself, is very gratifing. At the time, I also bought 24 ceiling incandesent lights ( flood light type ) for my high vaulted ceiling – but the receptacles are 32 to 42 feet high, and recessed, and I have to get a scaffold fitted in to change them !@#@ So, I avoid using those lights, almost altogether – so that they will last longer, I use them only when ‘high’ company are visiting. Does that even make sense ?? Instead, I use 2 floor lamps, with 3 bulbs each, shades of which are open towards the top, to spray the light upwards. Atleast I can easy change the bulbs as required. I would be grateful if someone can tell me the names of those lamps …. maybe it has a french name – the ones that have shades like open bowls, in the shape of a hyperbola, facing upwards, to give an impression of indirect lighting ? Thanks in advance.
Maybe the word is Torchiere (floor lamp).
Have a nice evening, all.
@Vidwan … I think they’re called “torchieres”. (Mind you, I had to go online and look it up, lest I be tormented all night trying to remember the word … 🙂 .)
@Vidwan … Yes, the word is “torchiere”. (I have three of them in my house, but I had to go online and look the word up so as to avoid lying awake trying to think of it … 🙂 .) And I think what you did was completely logical. (Of course, I think that because I did exactly the same thing … 🙂 .)
Back from vacation and back to the crossword challenges. Very fun puzzle. I had AREOLe, …STRaP, before fixing them. One off in the end, since I had NAd instead of NAS, which I should have gotten from the clue, despite being pretty fuzzy on rappers.
Just heard that the Cubs won so one more and they’re in. I’m a little worried if they go all the way. Heard there was a lot of trouble the last time. They ran several stage coaches out of town and put out the gas lights all along shore…:-)
Hi folks!
Agreed, Sfingi: well done puzzle and remarkably free of junk, tho I don’t love JCTS.
I got the theme but initially it only helped with the first two letters; had trouble getting VALUE SYSTEM (was thinking too literally) and VILLAGE VANGUARD, where I kept wanting to write GARDEN or TEA ROOM. Hmmm….
Hi Dirk! Nice to have you back!
Hey Jeff! My mom was from Chicago, and she and her two brothers, my uncles, always loved their Cubs. For me, tho, it’s also all about the game of baseball: the Cubbies have the best team this season, and it’s a lot of young talent they’ve developed rather than “money balling” a team. And then of course there’s the drought. Imagine if they make it to the World Series after failing to do so for 71 years!!! ?? It’s a cool time to be a baseball fan.
Speaking of lightbulbs: I buy lightbulbs at the 99¢ store; I think they’re the “regular” kind, i.e., incandescent. FWIW, The 99 is also great for batteries!! Name brands! I’m talking the big “99¢ Only” chain, which of course is found across the country but not so much in our rural areas.
Thanks to Bill and to all y’all for the fun info and comments, as always!
Sweet dreams~~™?