google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, February 1 2012 Robin Stears

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Feb 1, 2012

Wednesday, February 1 2012 Robin Stears

Theme: B+. B homophones PLUS another word to complete the phrase. For extra B credit, every single clue across and down starts with a B.

17A. Buzz-filled 2007 animated film : BEE MOVIE. A Dreamworks Animation vehicle for Jerry Seinfeld who co-wrote the screenplay and voiced the lead character.

30A. Betty White co-star in "The Golden Girls" : BEA ARTHUR. I wonder what her Shortz Factor is?

43A. Biotin, thiamine et al. : B VITAMINS. There seem to be many more vitamin B's than A, C or D's. Someone cleverer than what I is can explain.

57A. Behave candidly : BE HONEST. OK, I'll give this an A+

Steve at your service, pinch-hitting on this first day of February (where did January go?) Robin "Stears" us into the month with a blazingly brilliant alliteration exercise. I've never seen anything quite like this treatment of the cluing before, has anyone else?

Across:

1. Bank heist : JOB

4. Bedframe piece : SLAT

8. Beyond harmful : LETHAL

14. "... by __ other name ..." : ANY. Juliet's words to Romeo could well be described as a PAEAN

15. Bare bones : PITH. Not the orange peel or helmet pith, but the root of the "pithy phrase"

16. Billiard ball feature, about half the time : STRIPE. In the UK you play billiards with three balls, none of which have a stripe. Here in the US however, you have seven solids, seven stripes and the black 8-ball.

19. Brings together : UNITES

20. Burdensome additional levy : SURTAX. I think I've only ever seen this word used on a "Chance" card in Monopoly, I always seemed to be paying out taxes. A life lesson at an early age?

22. Boldly states : AVERS. No-one on this blog ever avers.

23. Birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen : ODENSE. Here he is in his hometown.

26. Baker's meas. : TSP. I can never remember if it's meant to be a level teaspoonful or a heaped one. I don't bake for that reason.

28. "Behold," to Brutus : ECCE

29. Ball-shaped frozen dessert : BOMBE. Food! Preferably chocolate, please.

32. "Ben-Hur," e.g. : EPIC

33. Bedrock resident : BARNEY Rubble, Fred's BUB

34. "But then again ..." : YET

35. Bug-bitten? : ILL

36. Brown who wrote "The Da Vinci Code" : DAN

37. Billion-year period : EON

40. Brother of Judah : SIMEON. Something I learned today!

42. Bump off : SLAY. Somehow, bumping off seems a nicer way of consigning someone to the hereafter than slaying them.

47. Blinked the sleep from one's eyes : AWOKE

48. Bothersome parasites : LICE. Ewwwww. I refrained from posting a link here, the pictures gave me the shudders.

49. By order of : PER

50. Bigheaded sort : EGOIST. I always thought the word was EGOTIST until I started doing crosswords and discovered they are synonyms.

51. Bing Crosby's "__ You Glad You're You?" : AREN'T

53. Baseball team's list of players : ROSTER Basketball would have worked here too, but most other sports wouldn't have alliterated (if that's a real word?)

55. Balanced state : STASIS

61. Black-tie wear : TUXEDO. I'm oddly proud that my tux still fits, and no, I didn't buy it last week.

62. Bardot's "the same" : EGAL. Brigitte's "equal". The national motto of France is "Liberté, égalité, fraternité" - Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood.

63. Breathtaking snake? : BOA

64. Began, as a lawn : SEEDED. We also have SOD later to cover all our grass-growing bases.

65. Beachfront property? : SAND

66. Buddy : BUB

Down:

1. Boxer's punch : JAB

2. Binary digit : ONE

3. "Bon voyage!" : BYE

4. Better half, so to speak : SPOUSE. I like how this is gender-neutral!

5. Burgundy book : LIVRE. I wanted WINE LIST first, but it's French-language February!

6. Bickering : AT IT. Knock it off, you bloggers back there.

7. Box office setting : THEATER

8. Baton Rouge sch. : L.S.U. We fondly know them from puzzles as the Tigers.

9. Blower of Sicilian smoke : ETNA

10. Buffer between a hot plate and a dinner table : TRIVET

11. Built for NASA, say : HI-TECH. As "built" is past tense, that's accurate. Your cellphone has about a billion times more computing power than the Space Shuttle. (From C.C.: "Built" here is a past particle and used as an adjective, no?)

12. Brief summary : APERCU. More French, but this word is adopted into English now, and usually written without the cute cedilla accent dangling from the C.

13. __ Bear: Ursa Minor : LESSER I wanted LITTLE first, then backtracked.

18. Broadcaster of "Morning Joe" : MSNBC

21. Blackboard symbols in the locker room : X'S AND O'S. Here is the winning play in Sunday's upcoming Superbowl (sorry, I can't remember which coach drew it up for me)




23. Bride's passé promise : OBEY. I over-thought this and had "I DID" first.

24. Birdbrain : DOPE. Me for a few of my first guesses today.

25. Belch, say : EMIT.

27. Blissful song : PAEAN

30. Better for enjoying the outdoors, as weather : BALMIER

31. "Belshazzar's Feast" painter Rembrandt van __ : RYN

33. "Black Sunday" airship : BLIMP. We'll see the blimp at the Superbowl, just hopefully not as closely as in the movie.

35. Biblical prophet: Abbr. : ISA

37. Blond sci-fi race : ELOI. Those "War of the Worlds" folk.

38. Barrel sources : OAKS. For aging your Chardonnay, whiskey or anything else that takes your fancy.

39. Bolshevik's denial : NYET

41. Bundles up (in) : ENROBES. A BOMBE is ENROBED in chocolate. I'm getting hungry.

42. Bound by oath : SWORN

43. Blaring siren sounds : BLASTS

44. Basis of morality : VIRTUE

45. Belaying tool for climbers : ICE AXE. Climber Pete Schoening saved six climbing companions who fell while roped together on K2 in an incredible feat known as simply "The Belay"; he was the seventh and last climber and arrested all of the fallers with a belay around his ice-axe.

46. Became edgy : TENSED

47. Belonging to an ancient time : AGE-OLD

50. "Blood Simple" co-screenwriter Coen : ETHAN. Joel's brother.

52. Bay of Fundy wonder : TIDE. The bay has a tidal range in excess of 50 feet.

54. Big name in video games : SEGA

56. Bald spot filler : SOD

58. Backward flow : EBB. The EBB TIDE in the Bay of Fundy is pretty dramatic!

59. Bronze coin of old France : SOU

60. Bar bill : TAB. I'm out of here, can I get mine please?


Steve

Note from C.C.:

I'm very happy to announce that from now on Steve will blog one (or two) Wednesday puzzle for us every month. Steve is a British and came to the US in 1995. A serious foodie. I look forward to many yummy offerings from him.

106 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I have seen this sort of cluing before in the NYT, and typically it's just not worth the effort since the resulting clues end up being awkward and tenuous at best. I have to give credit to Robin here, though -- the clues were so smooth I didn't even notice they all started with B until I got here!

The puzzle itself was basically smooth as well. I didn't know ODENSE, LIVRE or BOMBE, which made that little section a bit of a challenge. Surprisingly, though, I did know APERCU. Go figure. Oh -- and I really could have done without ISA, but I guess sometimes you need a crutch when you paint yourself into a corner.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Steve, C.C. et al.

Great job on the write-up Steve! Like Barry, I have seen this gimmick before. Another one had all the letters of the alphabet, in order, at the beginning of the clues.

ISA was a nose-wrinkler as an abbr. of a "biblical prophet". I think I would have tried to clue it something like:
"...___ bowl of cherries"

But the puzzle was very well done, and it is even more incredible that there is no other occurrence of the word "bee", "bea" or "be" in the clues. Of course, "b" is in every one...

Great job, and a super fun hump day puzzle!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Steve and friends. Great JOB, Steve! Glad to have you on the commentary ROSTER.

I loved this puzzle. I liked the theme and thought the cluing was fun. A puzzle that gives a shout-out to LSU can't be bad! For me, it was definitely a lot easier than yesterday's puzzle.

I liked how SEEDED crossed with SOD.

Judah had 11 brothers, so there were lots of names to select from, but SIMEON had the correct amount of letters.

My favorite clue was Beachfront Property? = SAND.

I was also amused by the Breathtaking Snake = BOA.

Pouring rain here this morning, so I was forced to do the puzzle on-line. I didn't feel like getting wet just to retrieve my paper.

QOD: Fact and truth really do not have much to do with each other. ~ William Faulkner

Lemonade714 said...

Welcome February and a the return of the multi-talented Ms. Stears. I thought the execution of the B gimmick was well done, and I also did not notice the nature of the cluing at first. For me there was a nice balance of new stuff and clues as fair crosses to get it all done.

Steve welcome to your new job, may all your themes be fun.

Hahtoolah said...

When I was a kid, we used to vacation in the maritime provinces, and were totally mesmerized by the Bay of Fundy.

HeartRx said...

Hahtool, I first saw the Bay of Fundy when i was about 6 years old. At that time, they still roared in to the bay. But I was even more mesmerized by the Scottish bagpipers who played during the event. I had never seen a bagpipe, or men wearing skirts!

Tinbeni said...

WHS (What Hahtool Said).
Knew she would love it when I saw LSU.

Always like a puzzle that has A-TIT.

Struggled with the "Bride's passe promise."
I was HEADed in a different direction than OBEY.

All-in-all, this "B" grid rates an "A".

HeartRx: Appropriate Avatar for February (and YOU).

Cheers to all at Sunset.

desper-otto said...

Happy February, all! 67 degrees and foggy for this first morning of the month.

I was on the lady's wavelength this morning. Trivet, Bombe, Apercu (sans cedilla) and Balmier all flowed effortlessly onto my page. No missteps today. I, too, thought it was easier than yesterday's. And, you know, I was oblivious to all those "B" clues. That's quite a feat, Ms Stears.

Nice write-up, Steve. Congrats on your semi-permanent perch.

Can anybody explain to me the relation between belaying in the climbing sense a la 45D, and in the naval sense ("Belay my last." ie "Forget what I just said."). Spitz?

Sfingi said...

Also didn't notice theme. AGree ISA is lame.

Didn't know XSANDOS. Non-sportster. Had SXANDYS as first guess.

To me, Dutch roots showing, it's Rembrandt van Rijn, not RYN, but have had to adjust for puzzles.

ant said...

The problem with doing the puzzles on a phone is that you miss such clever nuances like starting every clue with a B. I would have enjoyed this puzzle so much more as I was solving it had I noticed that. As it was, I was wondering how this grid ended up on a Wednesday.

Perfect song for today: Be by Lenny Kravitz.
Oh, and don't skip the pre-video commercial (assuming it's the Jerry Seinfeld/Acura one I saw).

How is OBEY passé for a bride?
(just kidding - simmer down there)

Avg Joe said...

Add me to the list of those missing the B in all the clues. That's genuinely incredible. When finished, I thought that some of the cluing was a bit arcane, but with that aspect in mind, it's nothing short of brilliant. Great puzzle!

Avg Joe said...

Forgot 2 things.

First, excellent write up Steve. You have a knack for making it fun.

Second, this puzzle just screams for Bobby Hatfield's version of Ebb Tide.

Mari said...

Well I'll be! (insert eye roll here)

Fun puzzle, and I also did not notice the cluing. I had a few silly errors, but caught the theme early.

11D threw me off (Built for NASA, say: HITECH). I was looking for a verb.

Didn't know ODENSE, APERCU, LIVRE or BOMBE. Although, I think I'd like to get to know BOMBE a little better.

Have a happy!

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Robin, for a great puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for the swell write-up. Congratulations on your promotion.

Started this puzzle easily. Got the NW corner and headed east.

Did not know LIVRE. Perps got it. Same for APERCU, SOU, and EGAL.

BOMBE was easy. Have had many of those for desert in Chicago. Chocolate Bombe.

No problem with ISA for Isaiah. Helped me get SIMEON.

Did not really notice the theme until I got here. I should have looked a little harder.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Mari said...

PS: Congrats to Steve.

HeartRX - I love the subliminal messages hidden in your avatar!

Anonymous said...

Billiards is a game with three balls and no pockets on the table. The object is to hit each ball(i think) using angles and caroms. Pocket billiards or Pool is played on a table with pockets (duh) and 15 balls, seven solids
(#1-7) and 7 stripes (#9-15) the eight ball is "poison" in one game (called Eight Ball) until you sink your solids or stripes first. There are other games to play such as Nine Ball (usually the five and nine when sunk pay money) and Rotation (balls must be sunk in numerical order)

kazie said...

Congrats, Steve! Great job today.

My one slip up was not having ever been in a locker room to know XS AND OS. I guessed YS for OS, and hadn't heard of Simeon, so just thought SIMEYN was a strange looking name. All else was a practical speed run.

I missed noticing the B clues altogether, until reading Barry's comment--they even slipped by me in Steve's reference to them in the blog. I guess that makes the CW pretty clever all round.

I was in Odense briefly in 1970.

Aperçu, past participle of apercevoir = to perceive, notice, and I'm not sure how it got to mean a summary. I got it from perps.

RYN might be an old spelling of the Dutch Rijn, or Rhine River. People's names were often indicative of their geographic origins.

Argyle said...

Bonjour mon amis,

Been wondering if Rich changed any of the clues or was this a case of the constuctor's clues getting through unscathed.

Yellowrocks said...

Fabulous debut, Steve. I really enjoyed this puzzle,Ms. Stears. Now that I see the B beginnings it is awesome.

In Odense I enjoyed the famous Little Mermaid staue there.
Link Little Mermaid

The Bay of Fundy is awe inspiring.

Unforunately the SUR TAX is alive and well in the U.S.A. One example:
Link sur tax
HEARTRX Love your new avatar. Thanks Mari for pointing out the messages in it if you view it full size.

Lemonade714 said...

A. I was wondering the same thing about Rich's editing, knowing he tends to change 30% or so of the clues. With the B limitation, it would have been more challenging for him. Ms. Stears?

I agree, the intertwined Heart is a wonderful avatar M.

Lucina said...

Greetings, Steve, C.C. and fellow puzzlers.

Great JOB, Steve! And welcome to the blogging ROSTER.

Thank you, Robin Sears, for this lovely puzzle which was a speed walk for me. I was stuck in the center because had RIN before RYN suggested itself and BARNEY emerged.

I looked for and saw the Bs but saw no other link YET thought it clever to see a plethora of them.

Loved the clues breathtaking snake, BOA, and beachfront property, SAND.

Thought of you, Hahtool, when LSU appeared.

Off to see the ophthalmologist today.

I hope your February 1st is fantastic!

Lucina said...

What a wonderful avatar, Marti! And I see that you have a birthday coming up. No wonder you are so loving.

Thank you, Mari, for pointing them out.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Steve - Welcome to the Wonderful World of Wednesdays, and Kudos for a triumphal entry.

Well, I missed the cluing B alliteration. Interesting device, but - predictably - it lead to some 2nd rate clues. Bare bones = PITHY is quite a stretch.

Not knowing BOMBE gave me a DNF. Perps didn't help much. I'm the OBEDIENT one.

Big Clecho opportunity missed: 36 A could also have been "Brother of Judah," as this PAEAN reveals.

Cheers!
JzB

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Steve, congrats on the new gig. Good job, today.

The black square configuration made it seem like nine mini-puzzles. Didn't get the theme until coming here, but got the theme fill ok. Had même before EGAL, and tariff before SURTAX. Looked at A TIT for awile before seeing that AT IT was meant. DF. Thought of précis before seeing the perps going for APERÇU, which I might have seen before but not familiar with. No searches needed. Nice offering, Robin.

Desper-otto - In the Naval sense belay is used both ways; to 'hold fast', say, a (mooring) line, or to cancel (stop) an order;

Steve re EBB tide. Amen to that. When our tin can visited St John, NB, and were docked, we would go on liberty, say at high tide, and descend 25 ft, to shore. Upon returning, 6 hrs later, we would descend another 25 ft to the ship. At our departure during an ebb tide, the Captain had to turn the ship around, by going ahead an astern in a narrow channel, so there we were, crosswise in the channel, moving out to sea at 10 kts sideways. Quite a thrill.

carol said...

Hi all,

WOW, is it Wednesday or Saturday?? This one knocked my V-8 cans off the table! Ouch, ouch...I didn't finish it and came here for some explanations. Thank you Steve for a good job in that department :)

Starting all the clues with B's was very clever. It's the answers that I found difficult.

My hat is off to Robin Stears and to all of you that solved this easily. I had never even heard of
BOMBE (looks delicious), LIVRE, ECCE, BEE MOVIE, APERCU, ENROBES, STASIS, EGAL. Well, you can see why it was a DNF. sigh.

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Mr./Ms. Robin Stears - you are one letter away from a retailing giant (?). I enjoyed your puzzle, and got the theme early, but was unfam. with Livre, Apercu (say whaat ? )and 'pith'.. Rest of my guesses seemed to 'jive'. Hope to see more of you. Thank you.

Steve, the South Park , foodie, Hi-tech sales, bibliophile, cartoon man ... you've done good. Congrats, on your opening debut, your wonderful commentary and thank you for your time and efforts and voluntary dedication to the blog. You are now one step 'below' "constructor" ... why not go 'all the way' ?



ALT QOD:- I was listening to rap music today. Not that I had a choice. It was coming out of a pick-up two miles away. ~ Nick Di Paolo.

Anony-Mouse said...

I forgot to thank HeartRx for 'We didn't start the Fire' ... yesterdays Billy Joel link, which I really enjoyed.... and Spitz's ..'Is this possible' - supermagnificent young chinese acrobat/trapeze/Hi wire/ artist.... which I also really enjoyed and marvelled at.

Thank you both.

Also thanks to MariBaab (and Yellowrocks ) for pointing out the 'subliminal' messages in your Heart, avatar. I never would have noticed ...

The entwined words, look like 'Quilling', an art-form hobby, which I used to do occasionally, with my Origami and Teabag foldings. But it is truly an artists great piece of work. Very beautiful. Thank you.

Enjoy the first day of Feb - warm weather --what no, Rabbit, Rabbit ?

Scotty said...

Steve, your (over)thought on Bride's passé promise: I DID had me in hysterics. Fun puzzle - tested my recall of French 101. Have always loved the mental image of the story of Simeon in the Temple. Surtax reminded me of past travels in Europe. Like many of you, I missed the "B" theme until I heard the siren BLASTS.
Have a great day bloggers!

Ron Worden said...

Good morning to all on the 1st day of my favorite month of the year. Much thanks to Steve for your write-up and glad you are going to be a regular. Finished the puzzle but I thought it was a little harder than yesterday. Lots of french and strange cluing,but that is why I do it,to learn new stuff. Marti,love your new avatar,my better halfs B.D. is also the 14th and mine is 3 days later. A great day to all RJW.

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

Great write-up, Steve. Fun puzzle-got the theme early but never noticed the all B cluing until I came here. Either I need new glasses or more sleep! Loved clue for breath taking snake-boa. Easy Wednesday.

It's supposed to get to 50 degrees today but it's rather gloomy with rain called for. Ah well, at least it's not snow. (Sorry, skiers.)

Lovely avatar, HeartRx. Happy Feb 1!

Steven J. St. John said...

I noticed the B-cluing before I sat down to work the puzzle. Usually I save the puzzle for after-work, but the B-s encouraged me to work it in the morning.

I agree with Barry - sometimes this gimmick yields a lot of strained clues, and that was not the case at all today! In fact, I wonder if it encouraged some new and clever clues.

I did get stuck in the ODENSE region of the puzzle, but otherwise managed to get it done in about the same time needed to finish my morning coffee...

Nice puzzle and theme.

desper-otto said...

YR, I've seen the little mermaid in Copenhagen harbor, but wasn't aware of another statue in Odense. Those Danes really loved their mermaids!

HeartRx, great new avatar. Mari, thanx for pointing out the nuances.

Anonymous said...

I'm not understanding the War of the Worlds comment. Aren't the ELOI from The Time Machine? Or was that just a generic H.G. Wells reference?

Bill G. said...

What a fun Wednesday puzzle! Thanks for the excellent writeup. I wish I had noticed all the B clues before coming here. Oh well.

I came across 'Trading Places' on cable. I felt silly watching again for about the fourth time but it's a lot of fun.

I noticed Obama was giving a speech from Falls Church, Virginia this morning. That's where I grew up.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi Everyone ~~

I agree with it all! A wonderfully clever puzzle. I got the theme but like others didn't see the "all B" cluing. Thanks for pointing it out, Steve, and for a great write-up. Glad you're joining the regulars.

I had quite a few write-overs today ~ 44D - Ethics/Values/VIRTUES being my worst. I did like lots of the cluing. A number of unfamiliar things, - APERCU, STASIS, SIMEON, PITH- but gettable with perps. I enjoyed it, Robin Stears!

My favorites today were: 'Burgundy book' - LIVRE and the XSANDOS in the locker room.

Tinbeni ~ I got a good chuckle on your comment about OBEY. ;-)

Anony-Mouse ~ I'm glad you mentioned "Rabbit, Rabbit." I, too, was wondering!

Enjoy the day!

Anonymous said...

Yes, anon., Eloi is the race from The Time Machine.

Vairnut said...

A bit rough today.Didn't know ODENSE, APERCU, LIVRE or BOMBE.I also put GIDEON for SIMEON at first, but I didnt think BALDIER was conducive for enjoying the outdoors. I had GDANSK for ODENSE at first, but I knew Anderson was from Scandinavia, so I looked that one up. I got the B theme right away. I had OKEY for OBEY. Didnt look right, but who knows with some puzzles? So, technical DNF in that 29 across box.

Point of Order said...

Yellowrocks, Anony-Mouse
This is Steve's second time Blogging for C.C.

Steve made his Blog debut on 1/11/12.

Yellowrocks said...

Cross Eyed Dave gave this advice late yesterday about how to quickly find the name of a poster or a single word in a blog of more than 100 posts. Thanks, Dave. It is a wonderful time saver. I hope you don't mind my passing it on.

"press "ctrl" and "F" together, and a window will drop down from the upper right. Type in lemonade, and you can see and speed to every occurrence of the word in the blog!"

Misty said...

I'm on a roll! Third speed run this week--Yay! Can't figure out why-but probably because the items are all pretty much in my wheelhouse for a change (did I use that term correctly? I learned it on this blog). Anyway, loved the puzzle, Robin, especially Beachfront property (that clever double sense of property) and Burgundy book (wondered whether I'd need to e-mail some of our oenophile friends for the answer).

Steve, your write-ups always make me laugh--so glad you're going to be a regular.

And @Lucina 9:08am, good luck with the cataract discussion. My husband had cataract surgery some years ago and his eyesight is terrific. He can see street signs better than I can.

Anonymous said...

Please bring Melissa B back.

Steve said...

@Anon 10:56 and @vicomtess - thanks for the ELOI correction, I was getting my H.G.Wells' in a tangle. Must Check Facts. I'll give myself a C- for that one.

Thanks to all of you for the kind encouragement, I'm just happy to be part of C.C.'s community of all you awesome folk. @Anony-mouse - I'll leave the construction to the true cruciverbalists, if I wore a hat I'd take it off to them.

Argyle said...

Kathleen Wolf:
"When they finally discover where the Center of the Universe is, some people are going to be surprised that they are not it."

I see on Facebook she has a new grandchild.

Argyle said...

melissa b cut back her blogging because of lack of time. We expect her back when she can.

Vicomte de Valmont said...

Isn't the Musée du LIVRE where they display all those book covers as works of art?

No, wait...that's Barnes & Noble.

eddyB said...

Hello.

Fairly fast and easy puzzle for a Wednesday.

Mt Etna started blowing smoke and
ash yesterday.

Have only had to deal with 2-4 ft tides in East Bay Sloughs. Timing is important getting in and out of them.

Could only find one empty net goal
last night - Sabers/Habs.

Tomorrow is rodent day.

Dennis. Short version. Went from 3rd to 2nd at 100 mph and blew the engine to pieces. Enlisted in USN.

RR. eddy

Jerome said...

PITH- Take a leak, thay

CrossEyedDave said...

excellent write up from Steve today. Looking forward to more.

As for the puzzle, it was a bad day to try and do it on line at "master" level. Nice to discover you can switch skill level at any time, but i miss doing it in ink so i can make notes in the margins to discuss later. Still, i thought it was a great puzzle.

Unfortunately, i seem to be having "Senior Moments" today...Normally i pick up 3 or 4 kids for the trip to school. i picked up the last kid, & my daughter says "why are you turning for home" (i was thinking about what i would write in the blog today). Then, somehow between reading the end of yesterdays, and posting todays, i somehow posted into history. (or oblivion) This is a copy of what i posted, where the M.Python clip came from i have no idea!

JD@10:16

Oh Great, you just had to put that Monty Python clip up! Now today is going to be the most posts ever. (& i have to read every one of them!)

Oh Well,,, i must add to the Chaos...

Avg Joe 1/30 @1:33

It is unusually warm here, i saw a pair of Tits in my front yard this morning...

CC: Forgive me for going over 20 lines today, but i am having a bad day. i think i am just going to go back to bed.

Anonymous said...

I`ve tried on all the pages (ctrl and f) but no window "drops down."

LaLaLinda said...

LOL ~ Jerome ~~ You make me laugh with so few words.

HeartRx said...

Thanks to all who noticed my new avatar! Nothing escapes the sharp eyes on this blog – Mari, glad you noticed the words contained therein. I especially like it because of the word “hug” on the right-hand side…

Anony-Mouse, would you believe that the last thing I thought of before drifting off last night was “I have to remember to say “rabbit, rabbit” first thing tomorrow? Oh well, I should have written it down.

Jerome, re PITH…well, what what can I say?? I almost pithed my panth when I read your comment.

Anonyous @12:03…on my Mac, it is “Command” (not “Ctrl”) + “F” that gets the finder window. Gees, I have been using that trick for years, but never even thought of mentioning it. Thanks for putting it out there, CrossEyedDave! It also works in any Word or Excel document.

JD said...

Good morning all,

Great job Steve..you cleared up a few unknowns for me.Had the same problems as everyone else, but it all fell into place with some mighty good wags along the way.

Ethan made me think of CA, who should be in her new home now. She enjoys all the Coen brothers movies.

off to yoga....
Lucina, anxious to hear about dr. appt.

Avg Joe, so enjoy anything by the Righteous Bros..thanks!

Obey was my biggest laugh today (although the breathtaking snake came close).My DH is always reminding me that I made that vow. Ant...funny!

JD said...

Cross eyed Dave, no worries..I don't think anyone opened it.

desper-otto said...

Anon @ 12:03: It works with IE and Google Chrome. You are holding down CTRL as you type the "f", right?

More on the morel from yesterday, since I missed it. Jeannie, I'm not sure what you mean by "mideast", but back in the '70's we used to go morel hunting (and finding) in eastern Iowa. They're great when dipped in a beer batter and deep-fried. JD, they're strictly "wild" mushrooms; that's why you won't see them in any supermarket.

Anony-Mouse said...

On the subject of , Yellowrocks "Little Mermaid" link - I was sure that was the wrong sculpture ! I may not know my women, but I thinks I knows my art ... and I thought I had remembered the art from Wiki. But as Desper-otto pointed out, .... I guess, there are many versions of "the little mermaid". The one I remember is the cute demure one, in bronze, on the rocks, at the riverbank at/ passing thru Copenhagen, see Wiki. It was stolen by vandals, and then mercifully returned, undamaged.

'Pith' - the innermost core of a banana plant is a 'poor man's ivory'. It is very soft ( a 1 or a 2 on Moh's scale of hardness ) and can be easily carved - and is cheap. But, because of its softness, it has to be encased in plastic sheeting, and cannot be man-handled. But still beautiful scupltures can be made, and admired.

Avg Joe said...

Dave: What? No video??

Unless it's changed in the past year or two, morels have thus far resisted any attempts at domestication. So like Otto said, they grow only in the wild. And they rarely grow in large enough quantity to sell commercially. That said, there are a few forums where you can find them at exorbitant prices. And on Craigslist as well.

I changed my avatar yesterday after Lemon put of the pic of Morels. Mine are just a little bit bigger! :-)

Anony-Mouse said...

Correction ---- Re: The 'little mermaid' - according to Wiki, the statue in Copenhagen has been 'savaged' too many times to mention.... Its been stolen, vandalized, head decapitated, arms sawn off, body blown up with explosives, etc. etc. too many times to mention. ( Its been repaired or replaced, each time - )

And the (modern ) Danes are considered to be a sensible, civilized, non-violent people. Fortunately, the bronze can be repaired or recast, and there are many copies available - at least 2 in the USA.

Fresh morels are available in Cleveland, OH during the early summer at about $ 46 per pound. ( Never tried them - but they're supposed to be very good. )

Anoa Bob said...

Very nice puzzle, especially those quad-stacked sixers in the NE and SW. APERCU (12D) was my favorite.

To be honest, though, I thought BE HONEST was a bit pedestrian for the final theme entry.

I can't imagine what psychoactive substance would make you see a STRIPE (16A) on a billiard ball "about half the time". I've been a billiard player since the 1960's and the balls with stripes on them always have been---and I hope will continue to be---that way all the time!

Lemonade714 said...

Quit bragging Avg. Joe; it is not the size of your morel that matters; it is how you spice things up.

Anoa Bob and S. St. John (do people call you sinjin?) any puzzles on the schedule?

Mari said...

Anno-Mousey @ 10:03 am: I LOVE your Alt Qod!

PS: Close - It's actually Abba (no relation and unfortunately no royalties collected)

dodo1925 said...

Greetings everyone,

For once I got here before 100 has been reached! Robin, thanks for the lovely Wednesday puzzle. That makes 100% for the week!

I am having big problems with my pc which started with my security program, CA associates. It just gets worse instead of better!

Anyway, I'm checking in and will try to get back after an appointment.
dodo

Lemonade714 said...

BTW, thanks Crazy Cat (C.C. II?) for alerting me to the 63A in Doug Peterson's NYT's effort yesterday. We all like complete names.

Tuttle said...

If you can't find the find window (heh) go to the Edit menu and it will tell you what they keyboard shortcut is (or you can choose it from the drop-down list).

As far as I can tell it's CTRL-F in all Windows and Linux browsers and Command-F in all Mac browsers. Firefox has the Find field at the bottom of the page, Explorer and Safari at the top and Chrome pops a little window down from the upper right.

Anonymous said...

Anoa Bob, maybe it's because 'about half' the balls are striped?

CrazyCat said...

Nice job Steve!

This attack of the Killer Bs was quite a bit of fun. I got the theme early on, but didn't catch on to all the B clues until I was halfway through. I thought APERCU was a mistake, but just left it since everything else looked good.

Least favorite clue was Bare Bones for PITH. Favorite clue was Burgundy book for LIVRE. I was thinking wine list at first.

It continues to get BALMIER and BALMIER here in Southern CA. What happened to our "winter?" All the early bloomers have given me a terrible case of the sneezles.

MR ED said...

Steve,
Do you even know who the ELOI were?

Anonymous said...

All I can say is "anyone who uses a picture of a cat in place of a picture of themself, must not think very much of themself".

You know who you are!

Yellowrocks said...

Point of Order @11:52 Was that a nit? LOL I should have called this Steve's debut (as a regular blogger.) Of course, he blogged in January one time.

ANON @12:03 When I am on the comments page and hit Ctrl F , the bar just above the page reads: "X Find: (Then a small white window in which to type) Previous Next
(Then an icon of a pencil) Options"

ANONY MOUSE @ 12:45 I agree the Copenhagen Little Mermaid is cuter than the Odense one which I linked.
Also, I had a friend who was an expert at paper quilling. Lovely! What patience! I've done a little origami. What is Tea bag folding?

Rabbit, rabbit? Huh?

ANOA BOB @ 1:32 Stripes on billiard balls half the time. LOL

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 2:55-
Please refrain from commenting. You're earning us our reputation.
You, too, @ 3:09...

Anoa Bob @ 1:32-
Well played, sir. Well played.

LaLaLinda said...

Anon@3:09 ~

This "themself" think I are just fine ... and I think my cat is even finer. >^:^<

Steven J. St. John said...

Lemonade714-

It's so funny you asked about "sinjin" because a colleague of mine (who studies British history) is always insisting I pronounce my name wrong - and that it should be sinjin. But he's the only one.

I do have a couple of other puzzles in the LAT pipeline but I have not heard publication dates on them yet. I've also sent a handful to Mr. Norris but we'll see if any of them make the cut!

Mari said...

Remind me to scan some photos of my cats.

CrossEyedDave said...

HeartRx, Re: "clue 4 ISA"
Would (Gogic lead in) be allowed?

Also, i changed my Avatar just for the Anons today...

AvgJoe, could not find a video,
but here is a PICTURE for you. (also, i could not believe what came up when asked Google Images for a picture of "tits")

Finally, (and obviously) i can edit my profile now, it must have been a "Google Bug." (let's hope that's a term that doesn't come into everyday usage.)

Lucina said...

Misty and JD:
Thank you for the good wishes. Yes, it's official: I have serious cataracts in both eyes but my doctor does the surgery only once a month and she is booked into May so mine will be June 7th.

What characters you all are! Jerome, pleath exthplain.

Perhaps it's the result of too much morel exposition.

Hahtoolah said...

LaLaLinda and Mari: I wouldn't put too much stock in what someone who hides behind and "Anonymous" says. The anonymous speaks volumes of what he thinks of himself.

CrazyCat said...

Mari and CrossEyedDave INRE: Anon 3:09 LMAO!

When I lived back east we called those little birds titmice or titmouses or something like that.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Cool puzzle construction today. I liked it.

I agree with Hahtool.

And with Mari.

And with Lemonade.

Awesomely ingenious heart avatar, HeartRx. Good eye, Mari.

Why would a mermaid ever want to be human? That's like a human wanting to be a fish.

There's a wine called Sin Zin. It's pretty good.

My granddaughter has a classmate whose last name was St. John. We (and he) pronounced it "Saint John." LOL

I didn't know APERCU. Did know LIVRE, though. Had forgotten, then re-remembered, ODENSE.

Jayce said...

LaLaLinda, you're cool.

Bill G, so are you.

Barry G, you seem to have a nice family.

My hand is up for I DID.

Best wishes to you all.

Argyle said...

What about cats!

Bill G. said...

Hey Jayce. Thanks. You are one of the very few people who've ever said that about me. In high school, I wanted to be cool but I never seemed to make the grade. Now, I don't care as much.

Argyle said...

A man holding a pair of Great Tits.

Argyle said...

LOL I put Google on strict image search and typed in TITS. Didn't get a thing, nada, zil, zero.

Virginia said...

Hi Steve, welcome. Great write-up for a fun puzzle! I missed the B's too. Didn't know APERCU but perps worked it out.Lots of it clues but for some reason it took me a while to finish. Thoroughgly enjoyed the time spent.

Virginia said...

Jayce, there's a whole series of wines called The Seven Deadly Zins. All are good!

Avg Joe said...

With all the talk of Mermaids today, The Mermaid Song deserves some air.

I only knew of Glen Yarbrough's version, but couldn't find his. Great Big Sea will have to do. Enjoy.

Anony-Mouse said...

I never thought I would be here again. My, this blog is addictive -

Mari, Thanks for the kind words. My personal physician's last name is Baab.....

Yellowrocks - TEA BAG FOLDING is a hobby and an art form , much like Origami. Its so popular - why don't you just go and Google it ??
- there are thousands of web sites. BTW, you don't need any "tea bags" - altho' thats how the hobby got started.

All you need is (love ) and just small squares of 1.5" x 1.5" inch ( or 2.5" x 2.5" inch ) papers, preferably pre-printed with a nice colorful, symmetrical design.... Amazon has atleast 50 books that will lead you into this fascinating art form and pastime.

"Rabbit, Rabbit" is apparently something you say on the first of the month, to avoid bad luck, evil eye, and other malevolent and melodramatic superstitions, this, according to HeartRx, who being of (originally ) European ancestry, is an expert on such matters. However pesky politicians will continue to bug you....

Jayce said...

virginia, I'll keep an eye out for those wines. Thanks.

carol said...

Jayce (5:02) I don't understand what is funny about pronouncing St.John as SAINT JOHN ....how else would you pronounce it????

Lucina: I had cataract surgery nearly 2 years ago...both eyes (2 months apart). It was a better experience than I ever expected. I had no discomfort at all, I didn't even mind all the eye drops. You won't have any trouble!

Tomorrow (Ground Hogs Day) is one of my favorites!!! Love little rodents and the one in Pa. is just plain CUTE! I don't give a hoot about the goofy prediction, but I enjoy seeing 'Phil' :) Spring is poking its head up in western Oregon...even saw daffodils yesterday, first time I ever saw them this early.

Jayce said...

Hi Carol. I was just chuckling about the pronunciation of St. John because of the (brief) discussion of pronouncing it as "Sin Jin."

Just be careful how you pronounce "Monica Bee" in the presence of Mandarin speakers. Very dirty if you emphasize the "ma" and "bee".

Happy Groundhog Day.

dodo1925 said...

Jerome, youre absolutely priceless! So glad you're back among us.

Lucina, good luck. I didn't know you had eye issues.

Chickie and JD and Garlic Girlic, I long for the chance to join you!
What fun!

I tried the control F thing and every 'f' in the blog was highlighted! But, I told you I was having pc issues!

dodo1925 said...

Sorry, Chris. I meant Girl!

Anonymous said...

tinbeni, please clean it up a little, ok? There's young people and the elderly who read this blog. Rather tasteless.

Spitzboov said...

Avg Joe and others: FWIW - My favorite sea chanty over the years has been the Old Polina a Newfoundland song about a whaler done here also by the "Great Big Sea"

Blue Iris said...

Everyone has pretty much covered it by the time I get to the party. French words are always a problem for me. Remember "egal" translates equal, equal, equal...

School nurse experience helped with B-vitamins, stasis and lice (unfortunately).

There are so many Vit-B's because they are all water soluble and won't build up in your system like fat soluble vitamins. ( Vit-C is also water soluble.) They were discovered years apart and lumped together because they are essential for cell metabolism and function of nervous system. Probably TMI again. I think Steve ask... or might have been just making a comment.

Steve said...

@Steven J. St. John - my old Dad served in the British Army; he told us with a chuckle that one of his fellow Artillerymen was named "Cholmondely St. John", pronounced "Chumly Sinjin".

The pronunciation reveals your class roots - the Queen would use the Chumly version, us hoi-polloi in the working class would probably call him "Chum" or "Johnny" and save ourselves a lot of trouble.

@Blue Iris - I did ask - thanks for the insight!

Blue Iris said...

Adv Joe-I enjoyed "Ebb Tide" and listened to several artist sing it while I was there.

Is the bombe dessert always chocolate?

Hatool- I also enjoyed learning about the Bay of Fundy. I've put it on my bucket list now.

CrazyCat said...

Happy Groundhog Day!

Dunkirk Dave vs Punxsutawney Phil

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I'm late today, so hands up for what everyone else has said about the puzzle. I had to go back and look at the clues to verify that all 0f them beagan with B's. How could I have missed that?

Hear RX, I love your new Avatar.

Lucina, good luck with your surgery. Read Carol's response. She had a very good result from her cataract surgery.

Steve, a great writeup today. I will look forward to future comment days from you. FYI, When baking it is always a level cup, tsp. tbs., etc. when measuring dry ingredients, unless otherwise stated.

Dodo, I too, have all the F's in the blog highlighted in yellow. No dropdown box, either. So it isn't just your computer.

Have a great evening everyone.

Avg Joe said...

Steve said: "The pronunciation reveals your class roots - the Queen would use the Chumly version, us hoi-polloi in the working class would probably call him "Chum" or "Johnny" and save ourselves a lot of trouble."

I don't think I've ever seen a single brief statement that puts so many things, particularly vernacular, so succinctly. If there has ever been the perfect comment that describes my my outlook on existence, as well as my cyber moniker, that would be the one. Thank you, gracias and merci, good Sir!!

CrazyCat said...

Sinjin AKA St. John was a character in Jane Eyre.

Lucina said...

Carol:
Thank you, that sounds very encouraging. When the time comes I shall likely ask for moral support from you, my blog friends.

Dodo:
Yes, it has been quite a saga for me with weakening vision.

eddyB said...

No not all bombes are chocolate.
Some also blow-up like the one in "Diamonds Are Forever".

Almond tree is in full bloom.
Don't care what Phil says tomorrow.
It's spring here.

People will be breaking off branches thinking it is a cherry tree.

eddy

JD said...

desper-otto, thanks! CC led me astray with those morels. She knew all along how "wild" they were.

Lucina, it seems that most of us get cataracts as we age...sigh..Carol is right. It's an easy operation.

X eyed D, hate to say it, but Argyle's tits are prettier than yours. :))

Happy Groundhog's Day!

Lemonade714 said...

Thanks for the update Steve St.J; any other of our band have a scheduled LAT they want us be prepare to tackle? Where is our overseas constructor?

Frenchie said...

Hi CC, Steve and folk!

Very smooth puzzle and nice write up!
Nothing more to add.
Good evening and it was nice hearing from so many of you.
@eddyB, the almond tree in bloom sounds beautiful! I've never seen one!

I'm out.

xyz said...

Computer RELO - carpet, paint, etc.

Did puzzle yesterday, think it was pretty solid but no real bang.

So it shall B BEE B

Eh, I've seen a lot worse. :-)

No real problems to finish. Maybe I'm becoming more skillful due to this blog.

Nice write-up today and heretofore!