google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday February 5, 2010 Gary Cee

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Feb 5, 2010

Friday February 5, 2010 Gary Cee

Theme: BE ON THE BALL (38A. Demonstrate effectiveness, and a literal hint to the puzzle theme found in the answers to starred clues) - The embedded word BE in each theme answer is placed directly above/on the embedded BALL in the grid. See the circled illustration.

14A. *First family member: ABEL. The middle son of Adam and Eve. Biblical "First family".

17A. *Old street corner singer: BALLADEER

21A. *Arthur in a dress: BEA. I know Bea Arthur. But why "in a dress"?

25A. *Receptacle for choice slips: BALLBALLOT BOX

47A. *Brit. award: OBE (Order of the British Empire)

55A. *Danseur noble's partner: BALLERINA. Danseur noble is male ballet dancer.

62A. *Ball honorees: BELLES. Ball should not be in the clue as it's part of the theme answers.

65A. *Southwestern horseman: CABALLERO. New word to me. Hey, Chuck of the West!

A solid CEE, Gary! It would be utterly cool if all the embedded BEs in the grid followed the same pattern. The "starred clues" in the unifying theme answer did not prevent me from noticing the BEs in OBESE (70. Extra large?) or BENT (25. Inclination). They went rogue.

I'll still shout an OLE (6D. 65-Across's "Bravo!") for the creative theme concept and for including our unofficial blog mushroom MOREL (8D. Provençal cuisine delicacies) in the grid. Don't know why they are "Provençal cuisine delicacies". Morel are prized every where, with the delicate flavor and high prices. Maybe because the French put morels in coq au vin?

You might have noticed that not all the theme answers are symmetrical, unlike the Will Nediger "Watch the Birdie" puzzle we had last June. Birdie is ONE UNDER PAR in golf. And Will put ONE under PAR in 10 different places, all symmetrically. Just perfect. Like today's explanatory answer BE ON THE BALL, Will's ONE UNDER PAR is also positioned in the very heart of the grid.

An easier Friday for me. Thee/four letter fill aplenty. My favorite clue today is PICABO ( 11D. Street going downhill?). Picabo Street was a skier. Her name is pronounced like "Peekaboo".

Across:

1. __ St Ives: Cornwall museum: TATE. I only knew the two Tate galleries in London (Tate Britain and Tate Modern). Wikipedia says the Tate also has a museum in Liverpool.

5. Drift: ROAM

9. Caught on video: TAPED. Poor John Edwards.

15. Muppet who testified before Congress: ELMO. In 2002. For increased funding in music education. Nice to learn this trivia.

16. Spry: AGILE

19. Director De Mille: CECIL. His last film is "The Ten Commandments".

20. Keys: ISLETS

23. Orkan sign-off word: NANU. Mork always signs off with "Nanu-nanu" ("goodbye"). From "Mink & Mindy". Learned from doing crossword.

27. Publisher often seen in PJs: HEF. Hugh Hefner. Publisher of the "Playboy".

28. Park, in NYC: AVE. Park Ave.

30. Cpl.'s superior: SGT

31. Valuable rock: ORE. Wrote down GEM first.

32. Mine entrance: ADIT. Like this.

34. Cover letter letters: ENC (Enclosed/Enclosure)

36. Diamond stat: ERA

42. Farm dweller: ANT. Ant Farm. Got the intersecting A from TEA (33. Drink from a bag) quickly, so I did not think of EWE or anybody else.

43. Musical ability: EAR

44. D.C. fundraisers: PACS (Political Action Committees)

52. Eastern principle: TAO. Literally "way" in Cantonese. Mandarin Chinese is DAO. Japanese is do, as in Judo ("gentle way").

54. "Murder, __ Wrote": SHE

58. Eucharist plate: PATEN. To put bread on. I simply forgot.

60. Culinary author Rombauer: IRMA. Author of the "Joy of Cooking". I tend to mix her up with Erma Bombeck the humorist.

61. 63-Across hdg.: ENE. And STORM (63A. Besiege)

67. Musher's wear: PARKA

68. Abbr. that shortens text: ET AL

69. Gossip columnist Cassini: IGOR. Brother of OLEG, the only Cassini I know of.

71. Con: SHAM. So is SCAM first.

72. Three-part nos.: SSNS. Social Security Numbers.

Down:

1. "Bewitched" role: TABITHA. No idea. I've only heard of ENDORA.

2. Hangdog: ABASHED. See unabashed more often.

3. Lie: TELL A FIB.

4. Actress Barkin: ELLEN. Somehow I don't think she is Dennis's type.

5. Ruby and others: REDS. My first reaction was DEES.

7. Microscopic organism: AMEBA

9. Middle x: TAC. "Middle x" in the game of Tic- Tac-toe. And ALGEBRA (22D. Course with x's). Nice x echo.

10. One taking a little off the top?: AGENT. Delicious clue!

12. Emma's "Sense and Sensibility" role: ELINOR. Played by Emma Thompson.

13. Ritzy: DELUXE

18. Aleutian island: ATKA. Or ATTU.

26. Other, in Spain: OTRA. Sometimes it's OTRO.

29. Risky undertaking: VENTURE

35. Fidel's friend: CHE (Guevara). Fidel Castro. Not dog.

37. Finsteraarhorn, e.g.: ALP. Finsteraarhorn unknown to me. The highest peak of the Bernese Alps. Located in S central Switzerland.

39. Start of many a story: ONCE. Once upon a time.

40. "Do I dare to __ peach?": Eliot: EAT A. I know what's going on in your mind, Argyle!

41. Near-exhaustion metaphor: LAST LEGS. Idiom: on one's last legs.

45. Root for: CHEER ON

46. Radar guns, e.g.: SENSORS

47. San Luis __, California: OBISPO. Literally "bishop" in Spanish.

48. Bill for shots: BAR TAB. Drink "shots".

49. Author Leonard: ELMORE. He once said "Try to leave out the part that readers tend to skip."

51. Chops finely: MINCES

53. European auto: OPEL. Still belonged to GM, after the turmoil.

56. Carefree diversions: LARKS

57. Bard's "below": 'NEATH

59. "__ forgiven": ALL IS

64. West who said "To err is human, but it feels divine": MAE. Lois is the Mae West of our blog.

66. Repeated nursery rhyme opener: BAA. "Baa, Baa, black sheep...". No nursery rhyme in my childhood. Brought up by my grandma who was completely illiterate.

Thank you for the nice comments on my husband's blogging yesterday. He had fun reading them last night.

And to those who still google the old "Star Tribune Crossword Corner" blog title or the current "LA Times Crossword Corner" to find us every day, why not come to the Comments section and let your voice be heard? Here is detailed instruction on how to get your profile and turn blue. Come join us for the fun!

Answer grid.

C.C.

89 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - this was a fairly tough one for me; couldn't seem to get traction across the top. First fill was actually Picabo Street and that was only because I'm a big fan of downhill skiing and it just popped into my head. My first pass through the puzzle left about 50% empty, and then it was just a matter of plowing through the rest. Finally got everything, with a bit of perp help. And the theme was absolutely ingenious.

Got a feeling there may be a comment or two regarding 8D.

Favorite clues included 'One taking a little off the top' and the aforementioned 'Street going downhill.'

C.C., 'Arthur in a dress' was clued that way to tell us that 'Arthur', normally a man's name, is in this case a female. And how can you possibly think Ellen Barkin wouldn't be my type?

Today is National Weatherman's Day. Not real thrilled with him lately.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "You don't drown by falling in the water. You drown by staying in there." -- Edwin Louis Cole

And a few words on Life:

- "Life is the art of drawing without an eraser." -- John Gardner

- "Life is like a game of cards. The hand that is dealt you is determinism; the way you play it is free will." -- Jawaharlal Nehru (there's a familiar name)

Argyle said...

Good Morning All,

In the second season of Bewitched, Samantha gives birth to a daughter, Tabitha (spelled Tabatha in production credits until season 5). The role was played by twins, Erin and Diane Murphy

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and Friends. I thought this was an easier than usual Friday puzzle ~ a Cool Brees

Some good clues. I did fall for the EWE instead of ANT for Farm Dweller. I guess I was thinking of Windhover and all his sheep and goats.

My favorite clues were Bill for Shots (BAR TAB) and a Park in NYC (AVE).

I was looking for a more potent potable for a drink from a bag, but when the light came one, TEA made me smile. Especially since I was sipping some this morning.

MORELS also made me smile. What a great way to start a Friday.

Anyone remember the movie Diner? Ellen Barkin was in that film. It's a good film for this weekend because of its side football theme.

QOD: Vision is the art of seeing things invisible. ~ Jonathan Swift

Dick said...

Good morning C.C. and All, a great puzzle for me today. I seemed to be on the same wave length as the constructor. I did miss the theme as I thought “ball” was the key. I completely missed the “be” over the ball, but did recognize a lot of “BE’ entries.

I stumbled early by entering “Dees” for 5D and this caused some delay in that area. Park in New York was the DOH moment when it finally appeared. I had no clue as to Finsteraarhorn and when the perps revealed the answer I noticed the horn on the end of the name and thought I should have recognized it as a mountain.

Didn’t we recently have San Luis Obispo recently? I could not remember the name, but the perps bailed me out. Lots of neat and original clues today.

Argye, you are an endless source of information on movies, music and the like. I am impressed.

Hope you all have a great Friday. We are expecting 8 to 12 inches of snow here this afternoon and evening.

And, yes Dennis I could not imagine Ellen Barkin not being one of your types.

Lemonade714 said...

Fun puzzle, which I thought was pretty straight forward for a Friday. I never get these convoluted themes, but the clues were all pretty simple.

There was a big following for Tabitha that was unexpected by the shows producers.

Picabo now works as a nurse. My mother was nurse, so I do admire someone who goes from fame and fortune to the very hard field of nursing.

I am late but it is Friday

Hahtoolah said...

Dennis: With respect to today being National Weatherman's Day ~ The local weatherwoman* just explained why this day is so special. Today apparently commemorates the birthday of John Jeffries, who was born in 1744. He is credited with being one of America's first "weathermen", having taking daily weather observations, including going up in a balloon to collect data.

* Is there a gender neutral term for one who gives weather reports?

Hahtoolah said...

Lemonade: Really? Is she an intensive care nurse, so that when she answers the phone, she says, "Picabo, ICU"?

Anonymous said...

Thanks, Ms. CC, I did not get the theme.

Good morning all. I love your blog.

Lemonade714 said...

Hahtool

Damn, I am jealous, that is a great line.

ELLEN BARKIN in the movie Drop Dead Gorgeous where she plays Kirsten Dunst's supportive mother is one of the great parts of all time. She also did quite well with Al pacino in Sea of Love .

Anonymous said...

Near-exhaustion metaphor: LAST LEGS. Idiom: on one's last legs.

If these were the last legs I'd ever see I'd die a happy man! :-)

Last Legs

Mainiac said...

Good morning CC and All,

Once I got Be on the Ball, things filled in pretty well. It took some time to get there though. I didn't take the clue literally enough to get the theme. (Duh!) Great puzzle!

Go Saints!

Have a great day!

VTQUILTMOM said...

Good morning, All! Good puzzle this morning. Easier than most Fridays it seems. I'm sure I'll pay for that comment tomorrow morning!

@Hahtool - Wouldn't weatherperson be the gender neutral or pc word used today? Laughed out loud at Picabo, ICU! Great line!

Have a good day! All those getting hit with that mid-Atlantic storm, stay safe and warm!

Argyle said...

Dick, I'm only as good as my internet connection.

The Picabo link has a side link to the The 10 Best Car Chases of the 70’s that ought to keep me busy for awhile.

Mark said...

I liked this puzzle. I didn't know 18D ATKA.My favorites clues were 11D "Street going downhill?" and 48D "Bill for shots". Early on I had GIST at 5A and GEMS at 5D. ALGEBRA at 22D was good too.

kazie said...

G'morning all,
Great puzzle today, lots of misleading clues and "aha!" moments, but no outside help. I just picked my way through it using perps to confirm my gut reactions. Took a bit to get started, DELUXE came first, and then hardly a pause until the BE ON which came last. I was thinking of a wino drinking his bottle in a bag for TEA, and couldn't get beyond a four letter word for the start of the theme tie-in, until I started sounding out all the possibilities for the blank in B-ON.

Never noticed the BE on top of all the themes until C.C. pointed it out. Was wishing I knew some names of NYC parks until AVE fell in. I also was wondering what farm animal had an N in the middle until the d'uh! when I got VENTURE.

The Finsteraarhorn is in the Bernese Oberland in central Switzerland, near the town of Grindelwald, which I've visited several time with students. It's a beautiful area both for skiing and tourism. Also there if you look on the link, are our old friends the Eiger, the Jungfrau and the Mönch (miser, virgin and monk), more of the peaks southeast of Interlaken. Lots of Gletscher (glaciers) are there too. Finster is a rather poetic word in German meaning twilight or dark.

kazie said...

oops! I forgot to congratulate Hahtool on such an inspired line. LOL!

Also meant to say that HORN in German also means horn in three senses: on animals, musical, and an insect feeler. Mountains get it tacked on mainly in Switzerland because of the pointed shape of their peaks. I was looking for the River Aare to be in the area too, but the map didn't show it.

ARBAON (a rose by any other name) said...

CC: Any plans to make a pilgrimage in honor of February 14th?

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, everyone.

Glad boomer enjoyed reading the well deserved compliments yesterday.

This was a bit of a slog, but that's been the pattern the last few weeks. Puzzled over PICABO and AVE, and still don't understand 61A "63-Across hdg." ENE. Someone please throw a V-8 to me and explain the connection with STORM, please!

@mred I'm doing excellent. Thanks for asking.

Hand up for DEES, GEM, ATTU and IRMA/ERMA.

@hahtool Weatherperson? weather reporter? weather???

Welcome mark, and all the recent newbies.

Have an outrageous Friday!!

Lemonade714 said...

We do attract all kinds; February 14 is the Chinese New Year and also the anniversary of the 2003 Tiananmen Square problems (not to be confused with the 1989 summer riots).

I wonder what Rose was thinking?

Snow all over, feel badly for you all.

ARBAON (a rose by any other name) said...

714:
Rose was thinking that many (thousands) of Chinese citizens make a pilgrimage "home" to celebrate the New Year and wondered if CC had any such plans...

Do you, CC? Have you ever had the privilege of going back to China since coming to the US?

Dick said...

@ Crockett, my assumption was that the worst storms are the nor'easter so I did not have a problem with the clues.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Challenging puzzle today, but fun. I had lots of trouble in the NE corner. Fell into the DEES and GEMS traps. Made it though, eventually.

ISLETS crossing ATKA is nice. ELMO and REDS. AGILE PICABO. CHEER ON the CABALLERO. Didn't we just have ATTU yesterday? What about the TAO of Pooh for MILNE? Anyone for a BALLERINA PIVOTER?

I appreciate creative spelling, and indulge in it myself, at times. TABITHA, ELINOR and PICABO offered some OTRA possibilities and I'm not ABASHED to say I ROAMed around amongst those BELLES.

Some of last night's comments reminded me of my dad. He was a mail sorter. Whenever they'd change the routes, he'd have to learn a new scheme. Those were not happy times in our house.

He was a hard drinker, too. One night he hurled his false teeth between our garage and the neighbor's. When he found them the next day, they weren't as contaminated as some of those others.

Watching Lawrence Welk was a ritual for us. My little sister, who was a tiny moppet in those days, would put on a dress, patent leather shoes and dance. I was too young to appreciate how cute Joanne Castle was.

Hatool - Brilliant!

NANU
JzB

Annette said...

Wow, I must've been on the right wavelength today! This was a really easy Friday for me. 28A Park in NYC: AVE was my biggest hang-up (D-oh!), but it and other unknowns were quickly filled using perps and VERY lucky guesses!

I did think I was a goner when I saw 2 completely unknown names crossing, but once I did all the ones around them, I was able to guess at the last letter.

I never even saw some clues until I came here. Forgot to look at the theme, but seeing it here, I doubt that I'd have caught onto it anyway. A lot of fun clues!

MamaRuth: (follow-up to last night) That's why I only liked the first few Patricia Cornwell books. When I finally picked one up and was grossed out on the first page, it was time to stop. Also, the characters were changing and doing things that conflicted with their original personalities. I tried a Rita Mae Brown book, but just couldn't get into it. I did love "The Cat Who..." series by ??? Braun though! A friend gave me a box containing 90% of her books about 2 years ago. I put them in order, bought the missing issues and read them all straight thru in sequence. They're very simple, non-taxing, entertaining books, with endearing characters! Sorry to see that series end...

JimmyB said...

I'm glad I'm not the only one that stalled a bit on AVE for "Park, in NY". I also tried to make SCAM fit for 71D (instead of SHAM) so bogged down there as well.

I had to stare at the theme awhile before it made any sense, then the lightbulb moment. Very clever. Took me 30 minutes, so not bad for a Friday.

Hadn't seen PATEN since my altar boy days.

Hahtool - Your "Picabo, ICU" was inspired. Best line of the week.

Anonymous said...

Picabo, ICU was first used here by Buckeye a few months ago. Funny line.

Anonymous said...

I thought this was an easier than usual Friday puzzle too. Fell into the same GEM, DEE and ATTU traps that slowed me down, but lots of creative fun cluing. I did not get the BE over the BALL until coming here, but knew the longer answers all had BALL in them. Very clever day.

Wasn't Ellen Barkin the steamy lover in The Big Easy with Dennis Quaid? I think that was one of her first big hits. Maybe that is why Dennis is attracted.

Kazie, thanks for the reference to the Finsteraahorn. I didn't realize where it was. I have been to the Jungfrau and Eiger twice now, and of course you cannot arrive there without passing through Grindewald. It is one of my absolute favorite places to visit. So quaint, and unbelievably beautiful. No other place like it.

ipo said...

Today was a fun day for me. PATEN (cradle Catholic) TABITHA (loved Bewitched growing up) CABALLERO (lived in AZ and CO) ELMO, NANU and EAT A PEACH. The album!! This was my best Friday.
To paraphrase VTQM I very well may pay tomorrow.
eat a peach

Clear Ayes said...

Dick, Lemonade, Maniac, ETAL, it seemed like a pretty easy puzzle to me too, but didn't get the BE location either. Thanks for the "Aha!" moment....or was it a "D'oh!"

GAH thinks ELLEN Barkin's back and chest are too boney. At least she used to be more "angular", pre-surgery.

Déjà vu all over again. It was just a couple of days ago that we were discussing PIVOTER and I mentioned BALLERINAs and "danseurs". My cousin and her husband are retired ballerina and danseur.

Hahtool, our local stations anchors just announce, "Here's Jane/or John with the weather". Most of them have at least one official meteorologist and are introduced that way.

Also...very clever line!
Anon, a good line bears repeating.

JzB, I related to your father's predicament...learning route schemes, not the teeth. I used to repeat the street breaks out loud, put it on cassette and let it play as I was going to sleep, or driving in the car. Ugh!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed the puzzle today. Worked on it during lunch. Saw the theme, but missed the "be" clues. Only 3 letters wrong. No way I could have accomplished that on a Friday puzzle 2 years ago, before all the education from reading this blog for the same period of time.
Windhover, I am curious. A few days ago, you referred to a mama goat as a doe instead of a nanny? Is this used to reference the female of a particular breed of goat? Hope you had good luck with all the kids and lambs you were expecting. Must be a barn full by now!
Back to work.
Old Sage in Virginia Beach

ipo said...

@ Lemonade: You live in S.FL? Did you say when you left G'ville and I missed that? Ever spent time in J'ville?
All that to say that since you asked about who went to which institutions I noticed that another person went to UF...
@ Frenchie it was you right? I wanted to mention I went to Arizona State and moved to FL and you went to FL and moved to AZ
Of course my husband was a civilian with the military and we did live many places so----time to fly

Anonymous said...

@crockett1947, were you entertained watching entropy talking to himself tinbeni on both blogs?

Lemonade714 said...

Bracelet at Tiffany's



A lady walks into Tiffany's. She looks around, spots a beautiful diamond bracelet and walks over to inspect it.

As she bends over to look more closely, she unexpectedly farts, loudly. Very embarrassed, she looks around nervously to see if anyone noticed her little 'whoops' and prays that a sales person wasn't anywhere near. As she turns around, her worst nightmare materializes in the form of a salesman standing right behind her and he's good looking as well.
Cool as a cucumber, he displays all of the qualities one would expect of a professional in a store like Tiffany's. He politely greets the lady with, 'Good day, Madam. How may we help you today?'

Blushing and uncomfortable, but still hoping that the salesman somehow missed her little 'incident', she asks, 'Sir, what is the price of this lovely bracelet?'

He answers, "Madam . . if you farted just looking at it - you're going to sh** when I tell you the price ."


IPO,
Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin' groovy.

Anybody remember the name of that song? Not Feelin Groovy....

Nobody watched my little Remus yesterday?

KQ said
"Wasn't Ellen Barkin the steamy lover in The Big Easy with Dennis Quaid? I think that was one of her first big hits. Maybe that is why Dennis is attracted."

Does that mean Dennis has to like all the women D. Quaid likes? Hmm, he was dumped by Meg Ryan, for Russell Crowe...

Anonymous said...

Ellen Barkin also played in a movie, the name of which escapes me, in which she played a womanizing man who was shot by three of his ex-lovers and came back as a woman--Ellen Barkin.

Doreen

Clear Ayes said...

Last night at chorus practice, one of our altos, who also raises goats, mentioned that one of her does gave birth to four kids a couple of days ago. Someone asked her if that was the term for a female goat...Yes, was the answer. BTW, one of the kids died soon after birth. Apparently it is very rare to have four at a time and even rarer for all of them to survive. Windhover, your take?

BTW Windhover, this one's for you.

Nod

Softly along the road of evening,
In a twilight dim with rose,
Wrinkled with age, and drenched with dew
Old Nod, the shepherd, goes.

His drowsy flock streams on before him,
Their fleeces charged with gold,
To where the sun's last beam leans low
On Nod the shepherd's fold.

The hedge is quick and green with briar,
From their sand the conies creep;
And all the birds that fly in heaven
Flock singing home to sleep.

His lambs outnumber a noon's roses,
Yet, when night's shadows fall,
His blind old sheep-dog, Slumber-soon,
Misses not one of all.

- Walter de la Mare

KeaauRich said...

Aloha All,

So since I'm always one of the last to comment on the puzzle (because of the time difference) I thought I'd try another approach today - so I did the puzzle last night before going to bed (midnight my time, 2 am LA time). Twenty-five minutes later, I was done and only then did I realize that I couldn't comment on the puzzle until C.C. did it, and she was probabkly still fats asleep. Curses, foiled again!!!

An orchid lei to Harool and Buckeye for the "Picabo, ICU" line. Made me laugh out loud! My dad always said that the first three times that you repeat a joke you have to credit the person who told it to you - after that all bets were off and you could claim ownership.

I got "Bea in a Dress" immediately, altough Bea Arthur almost never wore a dress - usually a pants suit with a jacket that went all the way to her ankles. I've noticed this outfit is frequently worn by those who wish to hide their assets, if you get my drift.

Took me a while to get the Orkan sign-off. I read it as "Orkin" (as in pest control) and then entered "dead" as the response, beacues I seemed to remember that Orkin kills bugs dead!. Much later, I remembered that it's Raid that kills bugs dead. So much for doing puzzles at midnight...

Paten was a gimmee for me, given my years as an alter boy. Patens are used soon after the priest says "Take this all of you and eat it..", so I started laughing when I realized that the next clue referred to the author of the Joy of Cooking. Doesn't seem as funny this morning at 9:30. See above re: midnight puzzeling.

Sending lots of warm thoughts to our East coasters as they prepare for the big snow.

Oh, and the Feeling Groovy song is the "59th Street Bridge Song"..I'm listening to Paul Simon as I type.Positively spooky possums!

Lucina said...

Dear CC and all, I love this blog and all your savvy comments and insights. I had to join you today after LOL with the Picabu line! I'm a veteran xword puzzler, since age 10, now 72 and retired from teaching. I relate to so many of you who also teach or have taught. I liked the recommendations in reading and shall try them. I'm always looking for new authors to try. Have you found Stieg Larsson? Read them with our book club; great books. Again, thanks CC for this blog. I also enjoy the many links. Nanu, nanu from AZ

Lemonade714 said...

Welcome Lucina and Marc and all the others, including those who do not turn blue.

Doreen The movie you are thinking of was SWITCH , which was Blake Edwards version of an earlier Tony Curtis, Debbie Reynolds movie, GOODBYE CHARLIE .

VTQUILTMOM said...

@Lemonade714 - Now I'm singing that song and can't get it out of my head.... it was the 59th Street Bridge by Simon & Garfunkel, no?

@IPO - Eat a Peach - Excellent album!

carol said...

Hi C.C. and friends -

I didn't have as much trouble with this being a Friday puzzle, as Annette said, I must have been on Gary Cee's wave-length. There were a few I struggled with though: I fouled myself up by putting DEES in for 5D, also put IVORIES in for 20A (I was thinking keys on a piano). Loved the clue/answer for 11D! We have had that before but I didn't pick up on it - I filled it in, and thought what the **** is PICABO! Then somehow a V-8 can came rushing at me.

Ah, the morel raises it's head again! I think that thing really likes this blog.

Crockett - Did the explanation of STORM for besiege make sense to you?
I took it to mean storming the walls of a fortress or some other walled structure.

The Mae West quote (64D) sounds a lot like something Lois would say. ;)

Dennis said...

Because Lois is the reincarnate of Mae West.

PJB-Chicago said...

'Afternoon C. C., and company.
Fun, fair, clever and just right for a Friday.
I too got "wedded" to "dees,""attu" and "gem," making the northern hemisphere kind of messy.

I sure didn't know that "hangdog" = ABASHED, so I'm glad the clue/answer weren't reversed or I'd still be puzzling now. Or making origami with the newspaper.

Two of my favorite "actors*" Emma Thompson, ELLEN Barkin made an appearance. Reading about ELMO's trip to Congress made it a good morning. I wonder if he got subjected to Q and A?

I got the BALL part of the theme early on, but the BE atop eluded me.

I remember when the Chicago TV stations still had "Weathergirls" and how the new ones would trip over tricky names of some of the suburbs. Since I've never tried to be perky and cute while pronouncing "Waukegan," "Joliet," or "Algonquin," I sure can't be critical!

*Although many women "actors" use that PC term, I'd note that the acting awards are still awarded by gender. And I'm not going to be all PC and suggest they change that....

Crockett1947 said...

@dick OK, I guess. Still think that's a tenuous connection at best.

@anon@1:06 I see no reason to believe that tinbeni and entropy are one and the same.

@lemonade 29th Street Bridge song? Nope, off by 30 streets, LOL.

@keaaurich The LAT puzzle is available at cruciverb.com in their Archives section after 7:00 p.m. PST. Don't know what that translates to in Hawaii time, but you might save some hours (I hope). I always do the puzzle the night before and then find 30 to 40 posts by the east coasters when I get up and get online.

I'd like to recommend Nevada Barr's mysteries, set in our National Parks.

Carol, No, I'm still not convinced about how they go together.

Bob said...

Pretty easy for a Friday. No real surprises. I might have gotten stuck in the NE corner without 19A, but that gave me enough of an anchor to finish it. No help or errors. 25 minutes.

Robin said...

Good Afternoon CC, and all. I did most of the puzzle and had similar problems as well.

Never got an answer to the Morel question. I know it's a mushroom. It is an edible one? It looks as though you could serve it for Thanksgiving Dinner, with left overs!

Ellen Barkin.....wowza EVEN I could go for her!!

Lemon, I did not know Picabo was a nurse. What a woman.

I went shoe shopping today. Hope you will like these RSD on the ends of those legs you would die for......... I know they look mighty fine on mine.

Later

Tinbeni said...

Anon 1:06 pm

WTF are you talking about?

Who the hell is entropy?

Dennis said...

Robin, yes, they're quite edible. Just ask around...

JD said...

Good afternoon CC & blog buddies,

On Fri and Sat I do the c/w on line for red letter help, but I lost the d++m thing 3X's. Hopefully, that alone should help me remember paten and adit in the future!I didn't catch the be on the balltheme;just thought it was baseball. Knowing just where the balls were,would have helped!Throw me a can, Carol!

I agree this was an easier Friday puzzle, but very clever.Enjoyed it.

I've always spelled amoeba with an o, but I checked and it's good either way.

Bob knew Atka as he was stationed on Adak in his Navy days. They flew to Kiska and Siska to track Russian subs...wow, that dates us!

Kazie, loved your info on Finsteraarhorn. I should have realized it was a mt., but looked it up, esp. since I did not know DC fundraisers were pacs.I snickered when it said,"It is hidden behind the Jungfrau trilogy." Your information really cleared the skies.

Hahtool, how can you be so clever at 6:30??? Kudos..U2 Buckeye!

Switch was a hilarious movie. Seeing Ellen Barkin trying to deal with make-up, high heels and aggressive men was comical and then convincing Jimmy Smits that she had been his best friend was comedy at its best.

CA, I loved that poem/poet.I know you don't usually like the 3 letter fills, but today's 2 rows of them made me feel so smart.

CC, have you lost that original picture of the gnarly morel? I thought I was a bad cook since I wasn't "in touch" with morels. LOL!

Anonymous said...

Tinbeni's message @ February 4, 2010 6:28 AM at LA Crossword Confidential:

A while back we had a puzzle that lead me to google Winnie-the-Pooh quotes, and one of them was todays "quote theme."

That notwithstanding, I HATE quote theme puzzles.

Noticed they had AGED DRINK in the grid, still no reference to Scotch.

YEGG & EDDY I learned from CW a long time ago.

NLERS for 'Stros = crap fill (again!).

PREY, PERM & LIVE ONE were cleverly clued.

Nothing difficult, interesting or learned. This was GIGO.

Best moment came when I said to myself;
"OH BOY, I'm done."

ipo said...

@lemonade--I watched remus but I thought you had a pic w/ another dog!!!
Also no worries about me slowing down, I was only asking if you visited J'ville, not inviting you!

Anonymous said...

Entropy's message @ February 4, 2010 8:09 AM at Crossword Corner:

OH BOY! A quote themed puzzle.

In the STRATA of CW's, my least favorite.
Even when I know the quote.

Enjoyed the Curly links, EDDY & YEGG were crosswordese gimmies.

Nothing learned, nothing interesting.
A good example of GIGO.

Dennis said...

Wow.

Clear Ayes said...

Carol & Crockett, a STORM heading can be E.N.E. Is that it, or did I miss something? Maybe I should have looked at it twice for another interpretation.

JD, You're right, usually the three letter ones are my biggest frustration. This time they fell into place (except now I'm second guessing ENE).

Robin, slick shoes! I bet some of our guys are drooling. Didn't we link "You Can Leave Your Hat On" recently? Too bad there isn't a "You Can Leave Your Shoes On" song too.

Martie said...

Dennis, Is your "Wow" for Anon comparing notes for Tinbeni and Entrophy? Similar, but there are only so many comments that can be made about puzzles. There are many times when people repeat what others have said. Anon needs to make his own comments and forget about what others say, and if there are some possible similarities.

For both Tinbeni and Anon, please don't quote comments from LACC.

dodo said...

If this comes up as Anonymous, don't believe it. It's me, dodo. My name has disappeared from this form. Maybe that's why I ended up as anon once before.

Anyway, many thanks, Annette.It's so kind of you to take the time to respond to my tech problems. I'm getting there.

I didn't get the theme today until I read your blog, CC. I knew it had to do with ball but never got the theme because 1) I put in otro, thinking I'd change it if necessary but of course forgot that and ended up with bol and 2)all I could think of for 33D was a boda bag and so got hung up on that. Didn't proof read it until I found out the real theme, so ended up with two errors and no idea what the puzzle was about other than blah, blah,blah. You guys don't want to be bored with all that. Suffice it to say, I blew it. S---happens.

I'm still humming Nola, can't get it out of my head. Thanks, Lois for checking on it. Argyle, I have media player but never used it till now. Was there supposed to be a picture? All I got was music, which was fine. I just wonder if mine works.

I'm feeling pretty HANGDOG about my stupidity, so I'm signing off. Maybe it's better if this IS anonymous!

Dennis said...

"Martie" makes a valid point, especially about quoting another blog. And even if entropy and tinbeni are one and the same and he's talking to himself, no big deal. Hey, as one of the anons said a couple days ago, "you guys are looney", so he fits right in.

dodo, great post.

kazie said...

For Robin, or anyone else wanting more on morels.

Muscoda WI, (pronounced Muscuhday) just south of here has an annual morel festival in May. Here are some recipes for morels.

And here are some awesome photos.

kazie said...

Oops, I got those links back to front--but they're both there. Not all morels are as big as the one C.C. linked before.

Dick said...

Crockett, I guess it is just my convoluted thinking that made nor'easter seem correct.

carol said...

Robin (3:09) re the Morel, yes - if you can get your mouth around it ;)

JD (3:19) LOL - I would HOPE you'd know where the balls are.

CA (3:36) The clue for 61A is 63-Across hdg. Clue for 63A is Besiege. I put STORM in thinking of something being 'besieged' would be being 'stormed'.

lois said...

Good evening CC et al., LOVED this puzzle! My very first thought was "It's a 'DENNIS' puzzle!" with his 'Morel'(s) character and his claim to be older than an'Ameba' right up front. It's perfect! With that in mind I can just see him playing 'picabo' with 'Ellen' Barkin's environmentally safe 'deluxe' 'Alp' sized 'alge-BRA' that he would 'eat-a'nd still say, with his mouth full, "A-dit' more pleathe..."Oh 'el-more'! All I can say is, "'Thank' God for Dennis!"

To answer Carol: the morel raises it's head again! I think that thing really likes this blog. I must say:
Gimme That

MR ED said...

Robin, 3:09 pm

You'd have to shove me out of your way.

Jeannie said...

No time for the puzzle today at work as I usually "do it" on my lunch hour but with the info for the foodshow deadline today, no lunch. I just completed it and didn't see the theme as some of you noticed. I knew it had something to do with balls though. Wouldn't it have been fun if "test-tease" whould have been an answer?

Robin, a while back, many moons ago, I believe it was Melissabee that posted a pic of a morel mushroom that looked a lot like a part of our favorite man's anatomy. Anyway, we would tell our guy friends on the blog that they were very morel (moral) guys. Nice shoes BTW. I would probably break my neck just walking across the parking lot these days. Perhaps C.C. will link the pic again. It probably should be part of C.C.'s blog pics. C.C.?

Hope all of you in the NE are "snug as a bug in a rug" as my Granny used to say.

Chickie said...

I haven't had time to finish the puzzle today, but I am working on it bit by bit. I don't want to read the write up by C.C. or the comments by everyone else as I hope to finish it on my own.

I did have Picabo for one of my first answers. Also, the Arthur in a dress. Bea Arthur was one of my favorite "Golden Girls".

I didn't comment yesterday, and am late today, as I've been busy with some of my volunteer work. Out of the house early both days, and just getting back in. (5:00) P.M. our time.

Hatool, I did read your comment about Picabo, ICU. Very funny! I told my husband and he cracked up!

Have a good weekend everyone. Take care with the snow. We have rain coming in again this evening. Rained hard last night, but we had a gorgeous, sunny day today.

Anonymous said...

Lemonade, my comment regarding Ellen Barkin and Dennis had nothing to do with Dennis Quaid. It was the steamy quality that Ellen exhibited in the movie that I believe would attract Dennis. I remember when it came out she got a lot of press for her ability to play that roll.

Jeannie, Is "snug as a bug in a rug" midwestern? I remember getting that line going to bed as a kid.

Robin said...

Jeannie, thank you GF, that is the info I was looking for.....now I get it. Ok ladies carry on with my blessing and admiration!!!

The other is "I vodka you"????

Crockett1947 said...

@robin That's our blog shortcut(?) for I love you. Need any help on grok?

windhover said...

Old Sage iVB:
The terms nanny and doe are interchangeable when referring to female goats, as are the terms billy and buck when describing the male. The latter terms are more correct; the former are colloquialisms that are widely used.

ClearAyes:
I have had many triplet births in both sheep and goats, but never quads, although they do occur. Even
triplets are difficult for the doe; she has only two
teats (the proper name for "tits"), and one kid or lamb
is always the odd one out. Also the nutritional
drain on the mother from trying to feed three often
causes them to lose body condition, i.e. Weight.

Thanks a lot for the poem. I am most definitely the old shepherd, but my life is rarely that bucolic.

Mr. Ed @ 6:38:
Why not just share?

Martie said...

I don't post very often, but I do read whenever I can. I have seen that you like to see posters in blue, so I thought it would be a good idea to join in.

JD said...

I'm on the ball, Carol, but deese balls were hidden. I'm not into ballerina balls, R U?

Mama Ruth, The JD Robb( Nora Roberts) series that you are reading, are they different than the "-----in Death" series?If so, are they current? I'm reading Salvation in Death

Lois, you are tooooo much :)

Lemonade714 said...

Hey fishy:

Do women understand how men react to red shoes on the right legs? To the youngsters here, I direct your attention to something which may predate your adult awareness, but Zalman King, an unsuccessful actor, turned director, had a long running series known as RED SHOE DIARIES .

IPO, I have some great memories of Jacksonville; I took the bar exam there, I saw the Rolling Stones there, I had some fun federal trials there, and a close friend lived there. But if you are going to live in Florida, why not here where it is 80 and we have the Super Bowl and all the world watching.

Shabbat shalom, y'all

I remain your humble servant...until the morrow

Annette said...

Hmmm, morels come in all shapes and sizes - one for all tastes and preferences! The first photo reminded me of a late night show I've seen on HBO... I liked the photo with the troll dolls the best.

Windhover: Is your new avatar of does waiting to give birth, or already did? With so many extra animals on the farm, so wonder you don't have as much time to post these days. I'm glad you touch base when you can though.

windhover said...

Martie:
You are such a conformist!
But we like you anyway. Welcome to the world of Blue and the best Corner on the planet.
Tell us about you. Doesn't have to be true. It's the Internet.

Robin said...

I am happy to have only 2 teats. WH, what is the phrase, Menage trois? I can push back pretty "hard", Mr. Ed!

Carol and Kazie, I see a book report on Morels' in my future, that is, if I can grok the subject Crockett :)

Thanks and I do love the shoes. Hope you are having a great evening. Lemon, did I mention that you are my favorite form of VitaMAN C?

windhover said...

Robin:
Now how would I know about a thing like that? Nobody here but us old goatherders, and we don't even speak French.
I agree, two is just the right number. For teats, that is.

Clear Ayes said...

Carol, I understood STORM for "Besiege", but I'm still wondering if ENE stands for East by North East. (storm hdg. (heading)). Bueller, Bueller, anyone?

WH, I hope you have a pastoral idyll once in a while. I'm pretty sure the Irish sees to that.

Dennis said...

Just back from dinner. Went in 2 1/2 hours ago with no snow on the ground, came out to at least 4 inches down already and snowing/blowing like a bitch. This has the makings of a really good one. Forecast is now 18-24 by tomorrow afternoon.

Lois, you're amazing. Just amazing.

Annette, I think I know the show of which you speak. Interesting show, no?

Martie, good of you to go blue.

KQ, on the money, both the mental and physical attributes are what appealed to me about Ellen Barkin.

Windhover, we know better than to buy that 'aw shucks' stuff. You're more savvy than all of us put together.

Annette said...

Clear Ayes: That was my rationale for ENE, once the perps filled it in for me... Isn't that the general direction (heading) of most of these winter storms everyone's having?

Robin said...

High on a hill was a thoughtful goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl lay hee hoo
Loud was the voice of our FAVORITE goatherd
Lay ee odl lay ee odl oo......here is hoping you have a good nights sleep or whatev.....

windhover said...

Just to prove that Dennis is (as always) right, I'll
comment on something I DO know something about, and it has nothing to do with foreign tongues (or customs).

It may not apply to storms, but when one speaks of wind direction, it is described by the direction it comes from, not toward. Where I live in Kentucky, a Southwest wind would be coming from the direction of Nashville, Tennessee, and a Northwest wind from Nashville, Indiana.

However, if you were speaking of heading.....
Guess I better not go there.

And ClearAyes, you are correct. The world would be a darker place without Irish. Especially for the sheep.

Annette said...

Dennis: LOL! It's theme song is "Patricia"? Yes, I learned a lot of very interesting techniques from that show! One of my favorite episodes was what I thought the earlier peach eating comments were directed towards... That's the only show I miss since having dropped HBO, but they were all repeats anyway, with the best segments deeply ingrained in my fantasies! ;-)

Yes, I'm on my 2nd large glass of wine...

Which reminds me - I was looking at wines at the store today and came across one called "Argyle"! A year ago, I'd have wondered who would name a $20+ bottle of wine after a pair of socks...? Now, I went ahead and spent the money because I knew it must be smooth, tasteful, with many intriguing nuances! I'll report back once I open it, probably later in the weekend.

Annette said...

Robin: I can't remember the last time I heard THAT song!

Clear Ayes said...

Annette, thanks for the confirmation on ENE. Let's just stick to that one.

My brother-in-law gifted me a a bottle of Argyle Pinot Noir for Christmas. It was very good. You'll enjoy.

WH, Good Lord! What would happen to those sheep if it weren't for the Irish? The mind boggles.

That's it for me this evening. I'm heading for that 2nd glass of wine myself. Have a good one all.

Argyle said...

Would you care for some diamonds to go with that?

Jazzbumpa said...

Not quite midnight here. Getting windy, but no snow yet. It is snowing in Toledo, where we're heading tomorrow, storm permitting. We're about on the fringe of if, I guess. We could get bypassed or hit pretty hard.

Stay safe, everyone.

Am I last tonight? I'll just leave the night-light on.

Night, all
JzB

Dennis said...

Annette, you're right - we're never too old to learn.

Just took a brief walk around the lake - actually snowing sideways. Over 7 inches here (jeez, I always wanted to say that) and it's definitely intensifying. Can't wait to see what morning looks like.

Lemonade714 said...

Sing Along . To WH and fishy and all the slepy little bloggers

Frenchie said...

Good Evening C. C. and folk,
My first pass through left the grid looking akin to a silly, toothless grin. I then went to the bottom to pick theme words out to help flesh things out. I finally got going. I was really tickled by the theme. Who doesn't like ball? Big balls, little balls, well, you get the picture. During elementary school, we used to play with balls all the time! Fond memories...
I didn't see Tabs. name right away. I found 'Bewitched' to be an exercise in restraint, constraint or any other ain't. Darren was a killjoy. I wish he would have just allowed Samantha to be herself and not continuously work at controlling her. She was a
Witchy Woman. Just go with it, big D!

Dick said...

Good early morning to All, I got up early so I can start the snow plowing and it looks like that was a good idea. Looking out on my deck it appears to be about 20 plus inches of snow so I will be gone most of the morning plowing. Dennis, how much did you get last night? Snow that is!

Buckeye said...

P.S. Jazz: No comment that Constantine sent me to Troy with Thelonious the Monk? Argyle? Dennis? Crockett? Windhover?

HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IMBO