Solution for Today's Cluely, Nov--19-2024, #12

 

Solution, notes, and explanations

Solution, notes, and explanations

Theme: "Imagine"

We all need a break sometime for the daily trials and tribulations. We need to "Imagine".

This cluely is a tribute to John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Imagine".

And as the repeating chorus goes (in different variations):

"Imagine all the people,

Livin' life in peace" 

 

Clues

• Top left image: John Lennon and Yoko Ono. This is actually from their "Bed peace" and "Hair peace" protest.
• Top right image: United -Nations.
• Top right, not a clue, image: The dove carrying an olive branch, to signify peace on earth after the deluge.
• Bottom left image: Cover of the album Imagine, by John Lennon.
• Bottom right: Peace symbol, with Tie-die colors.

We did have again partial clue:  GRE, and RE.

And one letter clues: B and S-curves.

You did need to know your roman numerals: M=1000, D=500, (C=100), L=50, and I=1. So 1551=MDLI.

Last but not the least: "Leave the gun, take the CANNOLI." is the famous line from "God Father" (the first one).

 

Levels

• Support
• Advocate
• Contribute
• Activist
• Dreamer - from "Imagine" - "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. And maybe one day you'll join us, and the world will be as one."

How hard was it?

Well, it is 11x11, so it takes time to complete. And then, you needed to know your Roman numbering. 

Overall, not as hard as last week's, and a little long to do. We'll give it 5K race grade.

'till the next one (which will be NEXT year!!),

 Zachi (waddling along).

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Solution for Today's Cluely, Nov--12-2024, #11

Solution, notes, and explanations

Theme: Surrealism

This is an excuse to present some of the great works of Salvador Dali, 1904-1989, a Spanish surrealist artist. Featured in the center is his painting "The Persistence Of Memory", which is also features in the clues.

This is an 11x11 cluely, which should take you more time, and is possibly also harder. But it all pays off as the theme gets unraveled. 

   

Clues

• Top left image: Salvador Dali link
• Top right image: Sleep , 1937 link
• Center image: The Persistence Of Memory, 1931 link
• The bottom two were not featured in the clues, but they were still painted by Dali, and are beautiful:
• Lower left: Ship with Butterfly Sails,  1937 link
• Lower right: Elephants, 1948 link

We did have again one-letter clues: Zero is O, and the main element in Coal is Carbon, C.

New this time: Two clues for the same letters!! OffKey and Key. A way to make things easier.

Per popular demand: LP is what is better known today as a vinyl record, relic of the 60 and beyond, before the digital era. LP stands for Long Playing or Long Play, and the slow ones were 33+1/3 RPM, whereas the 'fast ones' (advocated by RCA later-on) are larger in size and rotate at 45 RPM.

Stay tuned: We are working on arrows up and left: Spelling things backward?!?

A few more interesting clues: Atomic clocks (link) are often using Caesium (CS), and element which is actually used in the definition of standard time units. Inuit are the indigenous people of the arctic. South of NY, and East of Ohio, is Pennsylvania, PA.

 

Levels

• Realism - Édouard Manet
• Impressionism - Edgar Degas
• Expressionism - Edvar Munch
• Abstract - Joan Mitchell
• Surrealism - Salvador Dali

How hard was it?

Well, our first 11x11. And then, knowing Inuit, or CS (Caesium), can. be tricky. But hopefully you enjoyed the theme, and mayb elearned a thing or two.

Overall, Harder then usual, and a little longer to do. We'll give it 10K race grade.

'till the next one,

 Zachi (waddling along).

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Solution for Today's Cluely, Nov-05-2024, #10

 

  

Solution, notes, and explanations

Theme: At the Beach

We are deep into autumn by now, and with the elections coming up, good time to recall summer-times at the beach.

   

Clues

• Top left image: Sand Castle 
• Top right image: Waves   
• Dune buggy: ATV  (All Terrain Vehicle)
• Small ocean: Sea

We did have again one-letter clue, S-curves.

Other clues of interest: Argon is noble gas, "Lady's fingers" vegetable is Okra, and the British spelling of Liter (Litre).

 

Levels

• Laguna beach, Orange county
• Santa Monica
• Santa Cruz
• Camel-by-the-Sea
• Venice beach, L.A.

How hard was it?

Overall, it was a mini-Cluely, and nothing stood out as especially hard. We'll give it 1-lap around the block .

'till the next one,

 Zachi (waddling along).

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Solution for Today's Cluely, Oct-29-2024, #9

  

Solution, notes, and explanations

Theme: Flags 

Seems like the mini is a favorite (6x6), so here we are at it again.  And the theme is a familiar one: Flags!

   

Clues

• 🇺🇸 : US. 
• 🇨🇭: SWISS.   
• 🇵🇦: PANAMA.
• 🇪🇸: SPAIN.
•  🇼🇸: SAMOA.
• 🇯🇵: JAPAN.

Flags tell a story of culture and a nation's history. Japan, "the land of the rising sun", indeed has the sun on it's flag. The sun plays a big rule in the Japanese culture. For example, the emperor is said to be a descendent of the sun goddess,  Amaterasu. 

The rest of the clues are pretty straight forward. Note that (by popular demand) we do have clues also for single-letters when appropriate. For example, "Zero?" is a clue to the letter "O".

 

Levels

• 🇱🇷(Liberia, 1 star) Club
• 🇰🇳(Saint Kitts, 2 stars)
• 🇭🇳(Honduras, 5 stars)
• 🇺🇸(USA, 50 stars)
• Vexillologist (Scholar of flags)

How hard was it?

Admittedly, most of us might be not that familiar with the flags. BUT, we are familiar with the name of the states. Thus, by getting some letters, one could guess the countries, and solve the puzzle.

Overall, it was a mini-Cluely, on somewhat familiar topic. But you did have to use some puzzle solving technique (meaning, going for other clues). We'll give it 2-laps around the block .

'till the next one,

 Zachi (waddling along).

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Solution for Today's Cluely, Oct-22-2024, #8

 

Solution, notes, and explanations

Theme: Cards

This is indeed a mini-Cluely : Only 6x6 (the usual is 8x8).  And the theme is a familiar one: Cards!

   

Clues

• Picture top left: Clubs. 
• Picture top right: Heart.   
• Picture middle left: Spade. 
• Picture bottom right: (not a clue, but the missing suit:) Diamond.
• Theme clue bottom left: Tarot.

Some other interesting clues:

• MLS - Major League Soccer (MLB stands for Major League Baseball).
• NBA - National Basketball Association.
• AT - Rarest element. Astatine is the rarest naturally appearing element, as it occurs only as a decay product of heavier elements. The half-life time of the stablest isotope of Astatine is 8 hours. Appropriately, the name is derived from "Astatos", which means "unstable" in Greek.

Levels

The levels relate to the hierarchy of bidding suits in Bridge:

• Club
• Diamond
• Heart
• Spade
• No Trump - This is not a political statement! The highest level of bidding in Bridge is no-trump, which means none of the suits can trump. 

How hard was it?

Admittedly, AT might be hard, and also MLS was difficult for many. BUT, for AT you could find all letters in other ways, and MLS is similar enough to MLB to allow guessing.

Overall, it was a mini-Cluely, on familiar topic. We'll give it 1-laps around the block .

'till the next one,

 Zachi (waddling along).

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Solution for Today's Cluely, Oct-15-2024, #7

   

Solution, notes, and explanations

Theme: Yoga poses

Can we consider basic Yoga as an expected crossword-solver's knowledge? Interesting question. This holds true for any of our theme-based crosswords. We'll ponder this. In the meantime, go enjoy some Yoga!

Clues

• Picture top left: Cobra. Back bends are important for your. back-health.
• Picture top right: Warrior. This is actually Warrior-I posture. There is also Warrior-II (sideways) and Warrior-III (one legged) poses.  
• Picture middle left: Cow. This is half of the pair Cat-Cow  (back arched upward -  Back arched downward) poses.
• Picture bottom left: Chair pose.
• Picture middle right: Aum. Common start/end of Yoga sessions. Another common spelling is Om. And, of course, not to be confused with Ohm (measure of electrical resistance).

 The picture at the bottom right is a common symbol of Peace-Love-Yoga. 

Some other relevant clues:

• FO - "Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of an english man" - This is the first line in the chant of the Giant in the English fairy tale "Jack and the beanstalk".
• SIFU - In many dujos, at the end of Kong-Fu practice, the students say "Xiexie sifu", which means "Thank you master".

Levels

The levels achieved follow various poses:

• Happy Baby - Relaxing pose to get you smiling.
• Warrior-I  - Front facing
• Warrior-II - Side facing
• Warrior-III - One legged Lassie and Old-Yeller (Classics)
• Shavasana - The english name is 'Corpse', but this is the common relaxation pose at the end of a Yoga session. Yes, you might fall asleep during this pose , only to be awaken by the closing bell.

How hard was it?

If you are doing Yoga, or did Yoga, it was pretty straightforward. If not, hopefully you knew some of the poses, and there was the EASY version this time around.

This Cluely was not too hard. The level rating is 2-laps around the block .

'till the next one,

 Zachi (waddling along).

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Solution for Today's Cluely, Oct-08-2024, #6

  

Solution, notes, and explanations

Theme: Man's (and everyone's) best friend

We have a new puppy at home, so this is a perfect time to focus on dogs. Our puppy is named Echo, and she is a Hungarian Vizsla (yes, like the pictured puppy). 

Clues

• Picture top left: Shar-pei. South China dog, bred mainly for property guarding.
• Picture top middle: Hungarian Vizsla. Hunting dog from (well) Hungary, and used mainly for pointing and retrieving. 
• Picture top right: Pug. Originally from China, this breed is characterized by wrinkly short-muzzled face, and a curled tail.
• Picture middle left: Bulldog. British dog, of the mastiff type, usually bred for companion. 

The other themed clues were the Corgi, Queen Elizabeth II favorite breed, and Shiba-Inu, a Japanese breed. 

 The picture at the top middle is of the AKC, American Kennel Club.

Levels

The levels achieved follow various characters in the series:

• Scooby-Doo and Snoopy (Cartoons)
• Air-Bud and Beethoven (Movies-1)
• Toto and Bruiser (Movies-2)  - Toto is from "The Wizard of Oz", and Bruiser is from "Legally Blond"
• Lassie and Old-Yeller (Classics)
• Laika (First space dog) - The first animal to orbit earth, in 1957, on board of a Russian rocket.

How hard was it?

If you are a fan of Dogs, it was pretty straightforward. If not, hopefully you knew some of the breeds.

This Cluely not too hard. The level rating is 1-lap around the block .

'till the next one,

 Zachi (waddling along).

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