google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, February 23, 2012 Rich Mausser

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Feb 23, 2012

Thursday, February 23, 2012 Rich Mausser

Theme: Travelocity.   Car makers' brands are combined into fun vacation trips. Let's see what they are...

16A. Joint Chevrolet/Kia vacation package? : VENTURE TO SEDONA. Well, I would VENTURE to say, that a trip to SEDONA, AZ would be a relaxing vacation.

23A. Joint GMC/Hyundai vacation package? : SAFARI TO SANTA FE. I don't know how many wild beasts I might find on this SAFARI, but SANTA FE is certainly a wild place.

41A. Joint Ford/Chrysler vacation package? : ESCAPE TO NEWPORT. I love to ESCAPE for a weekend in NEWPORT, visiting all the mansions of Astor and Vanderbilt.

56A. Joint Dodge/Toyota vacation package? : JOURNEY TO TACOMA. I guess I could visit the Museum of Glass on my JOURNEY to TACOMA, WA.

In the center of grid: DROVE (36. Took the wheel).  See 19A...Yes, I DROVE the Mercedes on the autobahn.

Hearti here, with this week's Thursday exploration. Another fun theme from Rich - I do hope he will drop in to say hello today! So, on to the rest of the fill:

Across:

1. Payment option : CASH. I don't carry much CASH these days...debit cards are so much more convenient.

5. The Arthur Ashe Award for Courage is one : ESPY. Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly Awards, part of the ESPN team and individual athletic achievement awards.

9. Detergent target : DIRT

13. Peek-__ : ABOO. ("I see you!")

14. One-named singer of "Rolling in the Deep" : ADELE. OK, you know this one...rock on!!

15. Creepy lake? : ERIE. "Eerie" sounding lake.

19. Burns rubber : STEPS ON IT. DH is terrified to be a passenger when I drive.  I can't understand why...I had a great time on the autobahn last December!!

20. Sources of inspiration : LUNGS. HaHa, funny clue. "in-spiration" - (breathing "in")

21. Spy novelist Deighton : LEN. Famous for his novel, "The Ipcress File", which was made into a movie starring Michael Caine.

22. Pres. before RWR : JEC. Ronald Wilson Reagan, James Earl Carter.

32. Sheepshank, e.g. : KNOT. This one. Boy Scouts and sailors in our group will recognize it, right?

33. Cleveland's Quicken Loans __ : ARENA. Did not know about this venue for the Cleveland Cavaliers. And then we have 1D. Cleveland cagers : CAVS

34. Blend : MIX

35. Elihu for whom an Ivy is named : YALE. You are all on a first-name basis by now, right?

37. Colada fruit : PINA. In English, "pineapple".

38. Sidewall letters : PSI. Pounds per Square Inch. (Why not "PPSI"?)

39. Glistened : SHONE. Shined, glared, flashed...none fit. What did you come up with?

40. Feature of American panneling, but not British? : ONE L. In the UK  they spell it "panelling". Devious clue.

45. Chap : LAD

46. ICU workers : RNS. Registered Nurses in the Intensive Care Unit.

47. Two-time loser to Ike : ADLAI. Stevenson.

50. Sought at auction : PUT A BID ON. Tough to parse this one...not a common expression.

58. Clock radio letters : AM/PM. Anyone else want AM/FM???

59. Colleague of Thomas : ALITO. Supreme Court Justice nominated by George W. Bush in January 2006. And 18 D. Colleague of Clarence : ELENA. Clarence Thomas and Elena Kagan, associate justices of the Supreme Court.

60. Pale-green moth : LUNA.  HaHa, I just used this one as part of a clue to a theme entry I am working on today! 

61. Homer's tavern : MOE'S. The Simpsons, never watched it.

62. Legendary Brazilian footballer : PELE

63. Celtic land : ERIN


Down:

2. Contribute to, as a crime : ABET

3. Sound measure : SONE

4. Portable cooker : HOT PLATE

5. Site of an early exile : EDEN

6. Space exploration org. : SETI. Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Why don't we just search for  intelligence in our own senate?

7. It's hatched : PLOT

8. Ja or da, stateside : YES. "Ja", in German and "Da", in Russian mean "Yes", in English

9. Take off, as a discount : DEDUCT

10. Malleable metal : IRON

11. Thieves' group : RING

12. Earl Grey et al. : TEAS. I like NesTEA Raspberry flavor.


14. Rice-__ : -A-RONI, the San Francisco treat...

17. App downloader : USER. I have tons of apps on my iPhone. But I love playing scrabble with my friends, best!

22. Dick's partner : JANE. Click on my avatar...they got me started!

23. Internet telephony provider : SKYPE

24. Jawbone of __: Samson's weapon : AN ASS

25. Type of acid found in veggies : FOLIC. One of the important B-Vitamins. And don't forget the 29D. Essential acid : AMINO

26. Mystic's medium : TAROT

27. Home to Maine's Black Bears : ORONO

28. Lowest card in klaberjass : SEVEN. OK, so this was a new one to me, but with a W.A.G. and some perps, I got it right. Maybe Hahtool knows the game? Lemonade tells me that the game is played with a French-suited Piquet deck, which was used to tell fortunes. It's a skill he learned from his grandmother!

30. Of a higher quality : FINER

31. Praise : EXALT

36. Played, but not in the field, briefly: DH'ED. Refers to "Designated Hitter"? So, played as a DH, or "DH'ed"? Boy, I needed all perps for this one!

37. Ice cream truck offering : POPSICLE. Yummm!

39. 1992 Summer Olympics country : SPAIN

42. Roosters, at times : ALARMS

43. Lyre-playing Muse : ERATO

44. Ladies' court gp. : WNBA. Women's National Basketball Association.

47. Stuck, after "in" : A JAM

48. Major-__ : DOMO. Interesting explanation of the term on wiki.

49. Rapper __ Fiasco : LUPE. He's in to skateboarding...

50. Pulitzer-winning WWII journalist : PYLE. Ernie, not Gomer!

51. $150 Monopoly prop. : UTIL. ity

52. Carry : TOTE

53. Gloomy : DOUR

54. Present opening? : OMNI-present.  According to Eastern Christianity, God is present everywhere.

55. Asian flatbread : NAAN. This stuff:



57. "The Purloined Letter" monogram : EAP. Edgar Allen Poe. One of three detective stories in a series. The other two were (the more well-known?) "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" and (the less-known?) "The Mystery of Marie RogĂȘt". Hmmmm...I think I have to go get out my EAP books!


That's it for tonight, folks. See you on the "other side" of midnight!

Hugs,
Marti

90 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Well, I almost made it through this on unscathed...

I shot myself in the foot at the beginning by putting in NASA and IDEA instead of SETI and PLOT, but I eventually recovered from that thanks to a little help from the perps.

I've heard of all the various theme cars except for the Chrysler NEWPORT, so that also took a lot of perp help to uncover.

I've never heard of klaberjass, so I had to guess at SEVEN when I got a letter or two.

Neither the clue nor the answer to 36D (DHED) made any sense to me and I was convinced I made a mistake somewhere. Sure enough, when all the letters were filled in I didn't get the TADA, I knew that was where my problem lay. Except that all the crosses were rock-solid...

In the end, it was crossing of LOUP and AM/PM that killed me. I've never heard of the rapper and, as Marti mentioned, AM/FM seemed perfectly reasonable. I was so focused on DHED being wrong that I never once questioned AM/FM. Besides, LOUF looked just a good (or bad) as LOUP to me.

And yes, I've read the writeup and now realize what DHED means, thank you very much...

Barry G. said...

Sorry, make that LUPE and LUFE, not LOUP and LOUF.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Marti and friends. I really had fun with today's puzzle. Even though I am not up on all my car models, these were all ones I had heard of. Clever idea to go on this Road Trip!

I love seeing the shout-out to my alma mater = ORONO. Mainaic, where are you!!!

Sources of Inspiration = LUNGS was just genius!

I liked the two acids = FOLIC and AMINO.

Nice to see some of Clarence Thomas's friends represented = ELENA Kagan and Samuel ALITO.

I laughed to see ADELE and ADLAI in the same puzzle.

SKYPE lets me see my husband every day, while he is in a city far, far away.

QOD: Forty is the old age of youth; 50 is the youth of old age. ~ Victor Hugo

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Finally after a week of DNF's and incorrect solutions, I finally got one done. It was in no means a walk in the park though.

Until Marti's explanations, I had several answers that I was sure were correct, but I just did not understand. LUNGS, SETI, ONEL, & SKYPE all had me wondering.

I initially had AMFM for 58A, but LUFE did not look right. After some back and forth, I finally ended up with AMPM and LUPE looked a lot better then LUFE.

I think of TAROT it as a card, not a medium.

Marti, you brought it up, so I'm jumping in. Your comment in 6D expresses my feelings in total. I'll defer further comment out of respect for the blog rules.

I really liked the theme clues, but I needed a lot of perp help to get them. I did not realize how out of tune I am with the auto models today.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

What Barry Said, right down to the letters, except that I remembered the Chrysler NEWPORT. I think we had one once.

Clever puzzle! I'm amazed Rich was able to assemble four pairs of workable names, all exactly 15 letters. I wonder where he learned of klaberjass...

Hahtoolah said...

I was briefly flummoxed by 36-Down after I had filled in the letters to give me the DH_D, but I was convinced my Across answers were correct. Then it suddenly hit me that we were looking for the Designated Hitter.

desper-otto said...

Good Morning!

Marti, thanks for the explanation of LUNGS. I was thinking something totally DF. I'll bet Dennis did as well.

I was escaping to New York and journeying to tundra before the perps forced me to think otherwise.

Other than that, my experience was pretty much WBS, and ended in a DNF with LUFE and AMFM. What a fiasco! Thanks for ruining my run, Rich! I did enjoy it, though.

Argyle said...

In case anyone missed it yest., flat hand referred to PAPER in the game 'rock, paper, scissors'.

Kick, Push, Kick, Push, Glide everybody.

Yellowrocks said...

It was a clever puzzle, Rich, working auto names into vacation trips that were perfectly reasonable. I enjoyed the puns. Sparkly blog, as usual, Marti.

Like some others, I DNF. I had AMFM instead of AMPM. Also, my personal natick was ADELE crossing SETI. I had an A in the middle instead of an E.

In a rare nit for me I questioned HOTPLATE for COOKER, but I looked it up and found that COOKER could be a cooking appliance. Like most nits, it really wasn't.

I couldn't get the canoe rolling 360 degrees out of my head yesterday. Here are directions to do it.
Link canoe rolling

Middletown Bomber said...

nice write up marti, Sort of easy for a thursday. Liked the theme but I am a little weak on my car Models. I have heard of Klaberjass (its sort of like pinochle or bridge) I think some old ladies played it at the swim club I went to when I was a kid. (something in the name struck a bell)the acrosses gave me the answer before i saw the clue. knew dhed right away. Sure happy its Thursday enjoy all.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Rich Mausser, for a really good puzzle, IMHO. Thank you, Marti, for the very good write-up.

Marti: I believe President carter's first name is actually JIMMY, not JAMES.

This puzzle kind of reflected my home town a bit. My first answer was 15A ERIE. That is my home town. My next answer was 10D Malleable metal/IRON. In Erie there used to be "Erie Malleable Iron Works." Then I got TEAS real easy because Earl Grey is the tea I drink, many cups daily. So, the NE corner got me started with a smile.

The theme emerged quickly. It made the puzzle real easy. I even remember the Chrysler Newports from many years ago. They were a lower-end Chrysler.

Enjoyed the Supreme Court references: ALITO, ELENA, with Clarence Thomas as the link.

I've eaten my weight in NAAN, we called it NOON. Same stuff.

Great start to the day. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

kazie said...

I was stuck in A RUT today, not knowing most of the cars models (I'm no car buff) and practically none of the other names either. Came here for ADELE, SANTAFE, NEWPORT, ADLAI, JOURNEY and MOES. My monopoly is the English version, but UTIL perped itself.

Who says "stuck in a jam"? I've only heard "stuck in a rut". I wanted NASA for SETI, and I had EXTOL for EXALT. Wasn't around for any elections before Carter, so had no idea who ran against Ike. (Believe it or not, the rest of the world didn't care about US elections in those days, or perhaps I was just too young to be aware.)

So a second DNF for the week, and it isn't even Friday yet! Thanks for all your wisdom today, Marti!

Abejo said...

To Marti:

I apologize. I just checked and Jimmy Carter's real name is James. That is what I get for shooting from the hip.

Abejo

kazie said...

Spitz,
In case you missed my very late response to your "What do the teachers of French think..." link last night:

Compare what the French are doing with Mademoiselle to what the Germans have already long ago done to FrÀulein. Young women have been addressed as Frau there for some time. FrÀulein is considered derogatory, as I assume Mademoiselle will be.

Coach J said...

Thanks Marti for clever write-up. I see the executive branch and judicial branch represented in puzzle, and your comment about 6d referring to legislative branch. About puzzle, I finished but incorrectly due to lufe/lupe in SW. I enjoyed the auto theme and overall an enjoyable workout.

JF said...

Thanks to all of you for this place in cyberspace to check my answers and learn new things each morning!

I have a question from a Crossword Corner beginner: what is a WAG?

I believe I've figured out PERP, as in getting help with one clue from answers to a perpendicular clue, but WAG is not coming to me.

Y'all have a great Thursday!

Mari said...

Thanks for the write-up Marti, you certainly cleared some things up. Especially 36D DHED and 40A ONEL. Isn't ONE L a term we often see clued with legal students or legal professionals? I never knew about the spellings.

WEES. I too had PLOT and AMFM. I tried IPAD for 17D App Downloader.

I work with a eucher player. I'll have to ask him if he's heard of klaberjass. Can you play it with a TAROT deck?

I'm surprised nobody has made a snarky comment about the answer to 24D yet......

kazie said...

JF,
WAG= wild ass guess.

Mari,
British spelling is far more erratic than American. They tend to double all final letters before adding anything on, whereas here, it's only when that syllable is stressed, as far as I know.

HeartRx said...

Argyle @7:43, thanks for expelling that. I didn't get it yesterday...

HeartRx said...

duh, whatever is my spell checker doing to me? I meant, thanks for 'spraining about rock, paper, scissors...

(it just turned 'splaining into "spraining". Arrrrgggh)

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Nice commentary, Marti.

Kazie - I did read your late comment, yesterday. Thank you. I did not know about the change on FrÀulein usage. I always read late comments in the morning before settling in to the new day.

Paper late today, so I did the cw on line at the Trib site. Interesting theme. I certainly didn't know all the car models, but the perps were helpful. Not hard for a Thursday. Had forgotten that iron is malleable without the carbon. Did not know Carter's middle initial, but the clechos on the judges were quite helpful. Perps helped with SETI and LUPE, too. No searches needed.

Welcome, JF

Off to play some bridge.

Rich Mausser said...

Thanks Marti for this write-up and all the other great work you contribute to this blog. And thanks as well to all the other posters, regulars and periodic visitors alike. As a novice in this space, I have found the commentary on each day’s puzzles to be an invaluable source of learning.

As is often the case, this puzzle just sort of materialized out of nothing. I was doing some casual reading and stumbled across “Rendezvous in Rio” (Buick? and Kia? and 15 characters!) and an idea was born. My initial submission was ultimately rejected by Rich because it contained SAFARI TO MONTANA, and well, Montana is a state whereas as all the other entries were U.S. cities (typical rookie error!). Rich suggested I use NEWPORT, and that ultimately found its way into the final product. Reworking the puzzle also allowed me to introduce some shout-out’s to my wife JANE and my hometown CAVS. So I greatly appreciate Rich keeping that fill.

To Dudley @ 6:12 – Klaberjass was a learning moment for me too. Not my clue.

From the North Coast of ERIE,

Rich

HeartRx said...

Rich, thanks for stopping by! I really was wondering what the inspiration was for this clever theme. Finding all those car models that made sense from the clues was quite impressive! Our editor can be a stickler sometimes, as I well know!! Keep 'em coming.

Tanya @7:42 last night, I was literally rolling on the floor when I clicked on the link to the "autocorrect" dialogues. I guess my comments to Argyle this morning could have come out a lot worse, eh?

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

Great expo, Marti, and clever puzzle, Rich. Cruised along smoothly until I hit the SW corner. Had arut before ajam, but then patted myself on the back when I finally finished. Then came here and "unpatted" myself because I had amfm, instead of ampm.

Happy Thursday everyone.

Warren said...

Hi gang, great puzzle! Great write also - Marti.

It took me awhile but I came up with all of the auto models with some starting help from my wife before she left for work.

I found an update on the old song: Pina Coladas... This song got stuck in my head for 37A.

CrossEyedDave said...

Red Letter day for me, i started the NW so easily i thought i could do it in ink. It quickly turned into a crash & burn. One small victory, all these crosswords have turned "Lyre Playing Muse=Erato" into a gimmie.

For Yellowrocks, PK, & anyone else with bad knees, here's a little vacation you can take right from your computer. heights bother me, but this is something i would want to put on my "bucket list."

Also, the making of the video is inspirational, and terrifying at the same time. I cant believe the PArks Dept. allowed them to hammer pitons into a national monument...

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Tough go today. Lots of wags, perp help, and even a g-spot. Couldn't come up with ELENA Kagan's name. Having SONOMA for SEDONA slowed mw down.

Odd to see DH used as a verb.

Chrysler hasn't made a NEWPORT since 1981. We has a great vacation in RI in 2001, with lots of lobster, ice cream and lighthouse visits, and spent a little time in NEWPORT.

Just because it's relevant to the theme, I'll link to my latest Angry Bear post. Gasoline consumption and miles driven are both in a down trend. Gas prices are rising while demand is down.

Not familiar with ADELE. She has a great set of pipes.

Along with all the PAPER explanations on the blog yesterday, I got 2 more in emails. What card game was that - TAROT?

We can't DRIVE there, but here is a trip to SPAIN. What an all-star line-up. Bill Watrous does impossible things so effortlessly.

Don't leave your POPSICLE on the HOT PLATE.

Cheers!
JzB

Jazzbumpa said...

DRIVE!

Happy Motoring!
JzB

Tuttle said...

Argh! I could have sworn Kia made a car called the "Sonora". That threw me for the longest time.

I'm a car guy but all of these are vehicles that make gearheads cry. Not a driver's car in the lot. Crossover SUVs, Minivans, a Chrysler that was a dog even with a 440 in it and the oversized, pathetic excuse for a replacement of the legendary Hilux pickup truck.

eddyB said...

Hello.

Watched the dvd of the second book last night and didn't get to the puzzle untill this morning. Nice
theme.

Just wanted to say that if someone
deliberately tips over their canoe, they better be wearing a helmet like a kayaker. I take mine into very shallow water.

When I first started to follow hockey, a tie was a tie. There were no OTs and SOs.

eddy

Virginia C said...

Loved the theme and got them all. As a sort of female gearhead I love car stuff. Wonderful write-up too Marti.

I followed suit with IDEA and NASA but perps fixed that. Had a problem with CHAP/LAD - to me a chap is an adult and a lad is a youngster.

IMHO Anything to do with rap "music" should be consigned to the ash heap of oblivion.

OKay now, when you guys refer to "DH" in your posts, is it designated hitter?

Misty said...

Not a speed run, for sure, and I had some of the same problems as some you (e.g. EXTOL for EXALT, which gave me MINT which is not a fruit but an herb, etc.). But Rich, how nice to get your explanation on this blog. And Marti, thanks for the fun write-up. @Hahtool 6:08--loved your comments and your QOD.

Cars. Just in the last week my husband's 1995 Toyota Camry needed a new battery and had a flat tire. But that's not too bad for a car that old, is it? However, cars are not my strong suit, as you can see. Luckily we had lovely vacations in SEDONA, SANTA FE, and NEWPORT before my husband's stroke, and I once visited an uncle in TACOMA. That helped a lot!

Have a great Thursday, everybody!

Husker Gary said...

Just back from our babysitting job in Lincoln and had this lovely puzzle waiting! Thanks Rich, both for the puzzle and the drop in!

Musings
-ESCORT not ESCAPE and NASA not SETI slowed me down
- Skier Picabo Street’s donated hospital ward? Picabo ICU.
-Marti, my DW STEPS ON IT much more than I!
-CAVS had their shot with LeBron but now he’s gone! He left poorly but he had no obligation to stay
-DHing is in the cards for Prince and Albert
-Modern war journalists seem to be getting killed or captured often these days. Cover Damascus or Tehran? Really?
-Amen on 6 Down. Saying one thing at home to get elected and something else in D.C. to get along argues against intelligence.
-Lupe rap was fun with strings and innocent lyrics
-Great to sleep in own bed tonight!

Bill G. said...

I started out like a house-a-fire. It felt like a Monday puzzle. But then I began to get stuck. I wanted gold for a malleable metal since it is way more malleable than iron but perps dissuaded me. I also had am/fm, I knew of pina colada but didn't know pina was a fruit. I had extol instead of EXALT and I didn't know LUPE. But, I got it done and earlier than usual so I've been able to make some comments about the puzzle before everything has been said 10 times.

Virginia, I think DH when used by the distaff puzzlers means Dear Husband.

It's a beautiful day here with temps up to the low 70s. Now that I'm exhausted from crossword puzzling, maybe a little nap, then a bike ride and a macchiato, then watching the Lakers, then ???

The clue below defines a ten-word sentence in which every word rhymes. What is the entire sentence?

Especially intelligent, penny-pinching aviation pioneer Orville may do battle with a small-framed, underweight, pale member of the Round Table.

HeartRx said...

CrossEyedDave @ 10:29, that swing is awwwwwwsome!! They use exactly the same equipment that I have for climbing in the Alps, and am wearing in this photo taken a couple years ago. So I am ready to go!

Jazzbumpa said...

Quite bright tight Wright might fight slight light white knight.

Cool regards!
JzB

Zcarguy said...

Morning all,

I was on cruise control doing 90 MPH when my
ESCAPE approached a slow moving NEWPORT,
had to tap on the brake for a sec. thought it looked
like a NEW YORKer, but the Ice Cream truck zoomed
by and realized it's indeed a Newport,
So I continued on my Journey and mde it home
in record time.

Too bad Rich didn't include a Daytona in the MIX.

We are two weeks away from a Bahamas Vacation.
I can't wait.

FORE..!

Ron Worden said...

Good afternoon to all and happy Thursday. Seemed easy for a Th. but I am always intrested in autos. Thanks Marti and Rich M. for your comments. Alwaya appreciate when a constructor comes on. Hand up for AMFM my only ink blot. I think all rappers should have fiasco somewhere in their name.Have a great day to all and go Lightning in Winnapeg tonight RJW.

Anonymous said...

A bright tight Wright will fight a light white Knight

Yellowrocks said...

CEDAVE @10:29 Thanks for the thrilling sky ride, a journey I would have only taken vicariously, even in my young and foolish days, but fun to watch. The scenery is great.

I had my post op visit with the doctor yesterday. The spot where the meniscus is should heal pain free. However, I have bare bone (no cartilage) under the knee cap. Painful.
In another 10 days, I can choose dancing or gym. It's dancing, naturally. From now on I will have to pace myself with frequent rest periods in between. A knee replacement is likely in the future. The other knee is begging for equal time.

Yellowrocks said...

We discussed MARKET GARDEN VS GARDEN MARKET a while ago. In the news this morning: Chatham Twp, NJ is introducing an ordinance to allow market garden plots. I now see that a market garden is a garden where produce is raised for market, and a garden market is place where produce raised in a garden is sold. Chatham Twp will not allow a garden market on the same premises as the market garden.

Lucina said...

Hail and hello, Marti and all cyber friends. Thank you, Marti, for the revelation of LUPE Fiasco. I'm dizzy from the V-8 dent as LUPE is such a common hispanic name!

RonW:
I loved your Fiasco comment!


As for the puzzle: exactly what Barry and Hahtool said. It was NASA for me, too, but the clue for PLOT has been hatched in other puzzles so didn't fool me.

Clever clue for LUNGS and I could not recall Carter's MI but ELENA inserted it.

Since SEDONA is in AZ, that's a given. DHED was a mystery until reading Marti's explanation.

Love to see SPAIN as it brings fond memories of visiting there and I like Chick Corea's take on it.

I knew ADELE only because of the hype preceding the grammys.

Lovely to hear from you, Rich, and thank you for a good time today.

Enjoy your Thursday, everyone!

Mari said...

It looks like Virginia C and I have similar music tastes (distastes?)

I'm in the market for a new car and this puzzle isn't helping. I'm thinking of something more like this. My "Designated Hitter" would hate it, as he's a big guy.

Rube said...

Two puzzles and two wrong letters this morning. AMfM here and a misspelling in nearly the same square in the NYT.

Also had SETI/nasa and EDEN/elba. Gave out with a mighty groan when I realized what DHED was... Rich M, you should be ashamed of yourself. Still, this was a very enjoyable puzzle and a perfect Thursday level solve. Tx for coming by.

As the news casters on my radio said this morning, "Happy Friday Eve", (also known as Thursday).

HeartRx said...

Virginia C and Mari, I'm with you guys on the subject of rap "music". But as BOTD (blogger of the day), I feel obliged to link things that might not come up in everyday conversation. LUPE Fiasco was totally not in my wheelhouse, but I think after seeing the video, I might remember him next time!

BTW, that was one of the least offensive rap videos I have seen, and I thought it was interesting how he turned his loved of skateboarding into a "song".

Argyle said...

Regarding Lupe's rap, I was only going to sample it but got hooked and stayed until the end. I found it a poignant.

desper-otto said...

JZB @ 11:27 and Anon @ 11:44: I think you should fit a "flight" in there as well.

Virginia @ 11:06: At my house I am the DH -- designated hittee.

HeartRx and Lucina: You mean Lupe is a guy's name. I thought it was feminine. Oh, rap!

Bill G. said...

Here's a cool optical phenomenon. If you stare at the center dot, the three outer yellow dots will seem to disappear. Very interesting. Illusion

HeartRx said...

Bill G., what yellow dots?

Lucina said...

desper-otto:
LUPE, short for Guadalupe, can be feminine or masculine.

Still nursing my leg which fortunately is not just the knee but the whole leg so likely a twisted muscle.

I am fortunate however to have a leg and feel badly for RonW.

Abejo said...

Bill G: Yes, the dots left. Interesting.

Abejo

Zcarguy said...

@ Mari

Let me know if I can help in any way regarding any
New car,

Zcarguy said...

Or used

Anonymous said...

Awesome puzzle. Great clues. Just one thing my best friend has been 24d lately. ta

Lemonade714 said...

Marti, this was a wonderful write up of a fun Thursday; I appreciate the shout out for the Piquet deck. If anyone wants their fortune told, it is most accurate on Fridays, so come on by.

Rich, I see you have abbreviated since your earlier publication in December. It is amazing how words end up fitting together. I do sympathize with all constructors, who have to take both credit and blame for final edits. Only you guys know exactly how odd that is. I cannot imagine seeing my posts, after they were rewritten, and then having to defend "my" words.

Mari said...

Thanks Z @ 2:52 :)

eddyB said...

Hello.

SJ @ Leafs tonight. PHX could take over 1st place.

Started the 800 page version of the third book Amazon also sent the 600 page version. ??
Waiting awhile to order the DVD.

eb

PK said...

Hi Y'all,

Great puzzle and write-up! Kept books for two car dealerships so notice cars more than most women. Couldn't remember Newport. Had EXtol. Put up a bid so that was screwed up. Fun anyway!

Ernie PYLE a given. My uncle was a naval captain in the Pacific. He told the story of receiving a letter from his wife EXALTing this great journalist PYLE whose works she'd been reading. Uncle handed the letter to the guy on the next bunk--Pyle himself.

CED: That swing would definitely cure what ails me. Scares me to death just to watch the video. I've been to that park. Some arches have collapsed.

I've apologized to CED for being AN ASS yesterday and contaminating the blog with spewed agony. Mea Culpa! Much bad news this week. Then locked myself out of the house and had to break in. Further upset by how easy that was. Need better locks.

Yellowrocks said...

Lucina @ 2:39. What does the doc say about your leg? Are you mobile? It seems so many posters have disabled lower extremities with one notable exception. LOL. I often send healing thoughts to all of you. Please let us know how you are faring. We care.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Finished! In no mood to say it was hard or soft this time. Fresh out of a week in the hospital and feeling (now) wonderful. The euphoria of new health and freedom remind me that a puzzle is always fun when one's calm enough to take the small steps, no rush, no haste, no cursing the maker; just do it.

Lucina said...

yellowrocks:
Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness. As yet I haven't been to the doctor and I'm wearing a brace on the advice of a friend who was formerly a certified therapist.

Fortunately, the pain has been slowly receding and I am abstaining from yoga for a while. I think that is where the injury happened.

Susan said...

Same as many of you--had am/fm, didn't know the rapper or the tavern. Surprized myself by getting all the cars. Thanks Marti for your explaining and thanks Rich for dropping by.

PK don't be embarrassed about your last night post. I don't know about the others but my reaction was NOT that you should be embarrassed. My reaction was that I wished I could give you a hug.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I knew what the theme ought to be, but the names of the cars are out of my realm. I got most of them from the perps, but had to resort to Google to finish up Sedona and Santa Fe.

I thought Thieves' group was a band. It was too easy--Ring, Duh!

I thought that Creepy lake/Erie, and Sources of inspiration/lungs were great clues.

But, Klaberjass? Oh my! That was another Google lookup. I wanted something like Knave for a low card, but that wouldn't fit.

Hands up for the Lufe,Lupe entry. I should have looked up yet another one of the clues. Rappers are also not on my radar.


Have a great evening, everyone.

Misty said...

@Keith Fowler 4:38 So glad to hear from you--I had wondered where you've been. Hospitals are no fun, goodness knows, but you sound as though it did you a lot of good. Great to have you back!

Chickie said...

Yellowrocks, good to see you are on the mend, but sorry to hear that you'll need a knee replacement down the line.

Lucina, Take it easy and get that leg healed up before you do any more twisting and turning in Yoga.

Thanks for stopping by Rich and Thanks to Marti for the insight into some of the clues. I always learn something with the CW--everyday.

LA CW Addict said...

Never heard of Lupe, but should have known Moe's, even though I do not watch The Simpsons. Also, did not know SETI or ESPY - otherwise, this was a fun puzzle. Got all of the cars, so am proud of myself!

Warren, thanks for Pina, took me back. JazzBumpa, really enjoyed that Spain group - great jazz!

Have a great evening all. We have snow coming tonight here in the Finger Lakes, but will probably be more freezing rain than anything. Fun to drive through in the morning!

Hahtoolah said...

My dentist, who is well into his 70s, raved about Adele at my last visit last week. I first heard her sing about a year ago. I was totally blown away by her voice. Shortly thereafter, my husband told me there was a singer I just had to hear. That singer was Adele.

Anonymous said...

Fascinating.

lois said...

Good evening Marti, CC, et al., What a puzzle...I pizzled out early on and opted for red letter help. Still a slow slog, but I appreciate the cleverness of it. Great write up too, Marti.

About had a visceral reaction when VENTURE came thru. I had two of them. The first one was a lemon. The 2nd one caught fire with a rear fire ball coming from back to front. I had just gotten out of the car and walked about 20 feet before that happened. The firechief said I would not have gotten out if I had been in there and thank God no children were in their carseats. That all happened 2days after a recall came out on that same KIND of car but w/different VIN numbers for a rear fuel malfunction that could result in a fire. The company Hudgins Chev refused to do anything about it saying that my VIN number wasn't included in the recall. Such a crock! Went foreign and love my toyota now.

Thanks Rich for stopping by. It is so cool to hear how these things are born. Love the shout outs. So sweet.

Keith and all the rest of the suffering ward, I hope you all have speedy recoveries. Cheers to you all!

PK said...

Susan, thanks for the hug. I felt it!

Keith, may you continue to better health!

PK said...

Lois and anyone else with dealership's who won't help, You need to contact someone higher up the chain in the brand name company. If you complain about a dealership to GM consumer relations, you should get some results. I've been out of a dealership so long, I don't remember how, but I remember some situations where it helped. Sounds like it was years ago, Lois, so its probably too late for your problem. Sounds like a really shady dealer.

CrazyCat said...

A late hello today. Marti - your write-up answered many of my questions.

Went out to an official end of birth-week lunch with pals today. Lasted three hours! What a gab-fest.

What almost every one else said. Started off easy, didn't know ESPY or SETI. Had the AM/FM goof and had no idea who LUFE/LUPE was.

I'm almost as bad on car clues as I am with sports clues. The only cars out of the group I have heard of were the ESCAPE and the SEDONA.

PSI and DH ED were also a mystery to me.
Tough puzzle, but that's what makes it fun.

I bought the ADELE CD this week for my car/SUV/UTE.

Next weekend I'm going on an ESCAPE TO NEWPORT Beach. Hope this weather holds.

PK I'm glad you're feeling better today. Lucina, Yellowrocks and Keith Fowler - sending good thoughts your way for a speedy recovery.

Lucina said...

Lois:
re "the suffering ward"

You are such a riot, my friend! Some in this group are seriously afflicted and I do not pretend to be on a par with them, but thanks for the good wishes.

Keith, good to see you and know you are better. I hope it wasn't too serious.

Chickie, thanks. You,too, stay off that toe if you can.

I plan to do some serious praying all during Lent and all my blog friends are in the loop, especially the suffering ones.

Creature:
I hope you are getting on well. I think of you often.

HeartRx said...

PK, how neat that your uncle actually bunked next to ERNIE Pyle. Hats off to all those who served to defend our rights, and those who continue to do so today in places like Afghanistan and elsewhere.

Crazy Cat, interesting point, that you have NEWPORT Beach on the left coast, and we have NEWPORT, R.I. on the right. Both have their charms, but as a former L.A. resident, I'd say the the "beach" version is not only warmer, but it is waaay cooler!!

CrazyCat said...

Marti/HeartRx - At this time of year I want Newport Beach to be warmer. In August I love it when it's way cooler!

Gertie said...

Lucina-
I gave up ketchup for Lent. Maybe you and the rest of the bloggers can send me the strength I need to honor my promise and sacrifice.

Btw, does anyone have any suggestions on what I can add to my mayo now that ketchup isn't an option?

HeartRx said...

Gertie, I would suggest
marmalade as an alternative…

JD said...

Good evening all..are we becoming the Crippled Corner? Take care all of you with ouchies, big or small,

By the time I finished reading yesterday's blogging, you had long gone to bed or were working on today's awesome adventure.I had such fun with the Disney fest,and only If I didn't have you,had to be perped. opT crossing yeTt was a DNF.

Warren, thanks for the heads up about the museum in SF. I had no idea it was there.

Today's was not easy for me, as many of those models(no Dart?) did not honk my horn. But, what a great theme.

It's always a pleasure to read your witty take on the xwd, Marti.

And thank you Rich for stopping by...an added bonus.

eddyB, what books are you reading/watching?

I've heard that real sour lemons go fine with a dab of mayo.

windhover said...

Gertie,
Cyanide?

Bill G. said...

Blogger is giving me a hard time. I've lost two posts and it won't let me sign in. I've reset my password and I'll see if this goes through.

Bill G. said...

Mayonnaise and orange marmalade. Two just about perfect foods. To cut down on fat, I gave Light mayonnaise a try. It was good too. Maybe I could tell the difference side-by-side but the Light stuff is plenty good enough for me. Bitter orange rind in sweet jelly. Great stuff!

If the weather in Newport Beach was like it was here today, it was just about perfect.

I continue to be a fan of the Ellen show. It is very funny in a creative kind of way. Plus, she's got a kind, generous heart and, with the support from her sponsors, often helps people who need a little help.

Anonymous said...

windy, you are a troller's delight.

Gertie said...

Mr. Windhover-
I don't understand your comment. Was that meant to be funny or cruel? This blog has such nice, kind people, and I was really hoping for some encouragement, not vitriol.

JD-
Speaking of sour lemons...
I have put lime juice in my mayo. A wonderful flavor. I may have to try the orange marmalade, though. Intriguing.

Thank you, to those who responded (kindly). See you all tomorrow!

windhover said...

Gertie,
Believe it or not, I am (generally speaking) as kind and nice as curmudgeons can be.
While i am not at all religious myself, it appeared to me that your catsup comment regarding a Lenten sacrifice was poking fun at the religious observance of a person who is at all times kind and nice. If I was mistaken, I offer a sincere apology. If I was not, let's double down on my suggestion; try a little strychnine as well. :)

Anon:
You got it friend. Believe me, it ain't easy making your (anons) fun, but I try.

Anonymous said...

Pickle juice is good mixed with mayonnaise too. I like dipping potato chips in it.

Anonymous said...

Windy, I remember several of your hate filled comments regarding religion. A very nice gentleman named tFrank(i believe) received your wrath more than once and has yet to return. Have you turned over a new leaf?

Argyle said...

I guess the spam filter didn't like pickle juice in its mayo and held up the comment.

So is that dill, sweet or bread&butter pickle juice?

Lucina said...

Gertie:
You certainly will be in my prayers. I know how difficult it is to keep those promises as all things sweet and especially chocolate are my waterloo. Forty days without: it's a challenge every year.

All those additions to mayo sound intriguing. I wonder how tabasco and mayo would taste?

Dudley said...

Lucina -

Rather than Tabasco, which is on the hot side, I was thinking Frank's Hot Sauce. It is milder, and better flavored in my experience.

not a wuss said...

I bet Lucina can handle the big boy heat just fine.