google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, May 2, 2014, Gareth Bain

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May 2, 2014

Friday, May 2, 2014, Gareth Bain

Theme: C'mon boys, saddle up and let's go get 'em.

The letters EM are added to 4 in the language phrases with an extremely clever reveal. We are back basking in the complicated mind of our favorite South African veterinarian, GARETH Bain, who as you can see from the Interview linked has been with us almost from the beginning of the switch to the LA Times, which coincided with his getting published in the US. The reveal HOLD 'EM, is reminiscent of his first puzzle where the letters ON were removed, with the reveal NIXON. I really enjoy how he locks onto these words and phrases and builds a puzzle. He also obviously works very hard to use a varied fill drawing from many parts of pop and historic culture. He also manages to make the puzzles very accessible to Americans despite his own background. We also get some interesting animal information. Finally, there is some really fun long down fill (to keep from being confused with the across where the theme is) like DAIRY FARMER, KODAK MOMENT. It is so obvious how much effort he puts in to his grid, still finding time for his work and blogging at Crossword Fiend.

19A. Organized group of female monarchs? : EMPRESS CORPS (12). A nice visual of Queen Elizabeth hosting a bunch of female world leaders; more interesting than a bunch of news people.

30A. Ingredient in a concrete American flag? : RED CEMENT (9). A simple penny becomes another visual.

40A. Plastic leg bone? : FAKE FEMUR.(9).Fake fur no more.

53A. Line of hunky monarchs? : HEMAN DYNASTY.(12). I am not an expert on the Han Dynasty, but we have C.C. and others to fill in the blanks. (Note from C.C.: My hometown Xi'An (called Chang'An then) was the capital city of Han Dynasty. Xi'An was the capital city to four Chinese dynasties: Zhou, Qin, Han, Tang. Hence my given name Zhouqin. Chinese written characters are called "Han characters", and over 90% of Chinese are ethically Han people). (Correction: ethnically. Thanks, Big Easy!)

and the reveal

57A. Poker variety ... and what the four longest across answers do? : HOLD 'EM.

Across:

1. It comes from goats : MOHAIR. We begin in the animal kingdom, but my mind goes to this LINK.

7. Old hand : PRO. Gareth was 22 and just beginning in 2009, now he is an old pro.

10. Margery of nursery rhyme : DAW. An old time British (Steve?) nursery rhyme that I heard in my early days. WATCH. (0:53).

13. Reason to be at sea? : ENIGMA. This is the idiom, being at sea, as lost confused.

14. Leak slowly : SEEP.

15. Pub choice : ALE. For Tin and my children.

16. Colorful freshwater fish : TETRAS.


17. 1994 Schwarzenegger film : TRUE LIES. Some very funny parts with Jamie Lee Curtis.


21. Waterskiing challenges : WAKES. from the boat pulling you.

24. Role for Ronny : OPIE. The old Andy Griffith Show gets lots of puzzle exposure.

25. Blood __ : TYPE. Clecho alert!

26. Blood system letters : A B O.

27. Pelion neighbor : MT. OSSA. There is also one in Tasmania, but we climb here in GREECE.

29. Vulpine critter : FOX. More animal info, one of the many groups ending in INE, reminiscent of a recent puzzle.

33. Overwhelming amount : SEA.

35. Feel a strong desire (for) : STARVE. Affection anyone?

36. Former German chancellor Adenauer : KONRAD. I do remember DER ALTE.

39. Fancy carp : KOI. The goldfish of the rich.

43. Mooch : BUM When I smoked it was often OP cigarettes.

45. "Cows of Our Planet" cartoonist : LARSON. The far Side guy.


47. Mesozoic, e.g. : ERA.

48. Old folk song composer, often: Abbr. : ANON. A shout out to our trolls.

50. Bread often served with ghee : NAAN.

51. Hat material : STRAW.

56. Catholic recitation phrase : AVE MARIA. Latin.

61. Chess components : MEN. Even the Queen; very un-pc.

62. Parker array : PENS. Old time company.  LINK.

63. Restless feeling : UNEASE.

64. Hill occupant : ANT. If it is three letters, it is ant.

65. Anti-aging treatment target : SAG. I will not link any pictures out of respect.

66. Named : TERMED. This was tricky, even thought it makes sense.

Down:

1. Ran into : MET.

2. 1992 U2 song : ONE. Do you really remember songs by the year? LISTEN.(4:36).

3. Popular song : HIT. Perfect follow up to the song. Do you...

4. Correspond : AGREE.

5. Mosque VIPs : IMAMS.

6. Gravelly sound : RASP. Janis Joplin?

7. Don't give up : PERSIST.

8. Practices one of the environmental three R's : RE-USES. I was not familiar with this CONCEPT.

9. Barrel-conscious gp. : OPEC. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries

10. Jersey owner, maybe : DAIRY FARMER. Jersey Cows, unrelated to Gary Larson, but nicer clue/fill.

11. Syria's most populous city : ALEPPO. Not Damascus. LEARN.

12. Thomas Hardy setting : WESSEX. All you need to know and MORE.

14. Squish : STEP ON.

18. Nephew of Abraham : LOT. I wonder if he learned to hate salt? Anyway, did anyone see NOAH?

20. Dull repetition : ROTE. Not Kyle or Tobin....

21. Cola __ : WARS.

22. Help in a heist : ABET.

23. Ideal time to snap? : KODAK MOMENT. Really great fill.

27. Bovary title: Abbr. : MME. Abbreviation of the French Madame.

28. Starting from : AS OF.

31. HUN neighbor, to the IOC : CROatia. The International Olympic Committee like three letter Country names.

32. Baleful : EVIL.

34. Capt.'s course : ENE.

36. Knowledge : KEN. From the Scottish I believe and unrelated to Barbie.

37. Mystique : AURA.

38. Billiards backspin : DRAW. Another example of the wonderfully diverse knowledge in a GB puzzle.

40. Wearing a lot : FRAYING. A fun reverse clue, where the wear is on a tear.

41. Yoga class regimen : ASANAS. A new yoga STUDIO opened 100 feet from my apartment.

42. Hawaiian coffee-growing region : KONA. I wonder where all of our Hawaii readers are hiding.

43. Grand __ : BAHAMA. Freeport, very close to Fort Lauderdale.

44. Spotty : UNEVEN.

46. Lead singer of the Irish rock group The Corrs : ANDREA. Hmm, U2, the Corrs...


49. Where many vets served : NAM. Too many died.

51. Peach pit : STONE.

52. "House of Payne" creator __ Perry : TYLER. TV show from the very successful producer/actor. LINK.(2:37)

54. Snoozes : NAPS.

55. Turned (off) : SHUT.

58. Sire's mate : DAM. Our final animal clue of the day.

59. Legal closing? : ESE. Legalese.

60. Club __ : MED. Short for Mediterranean and the first of the all-inclusive vacation sites.

I had such a good time I may have gotten carried away; thanks Gareth and I hope you all enjoy the tour.  Lemonade out.


Note from C.C.:

The third Minnesota Crossword Tournament will be held on June 22 at The Landmark Center in Saint Paul. Please click here for more information. The puzzles are all made by our local constructors or constructors with MN ties (Andrea Carla Michaels, e.g.).  The local constructors include Tom Pepper, George Barany, David Hanson, David Liben-Nowell, Dan Kantor, Jay Kaskel & Victor Barocas (also our editor). Don G and Andy Kravis also took part in the effort. A few are our LA Times constructors. All have been published by the NY Times.

I look forward to seeing some of you there. You'll love this year's puzzles!

Left to right: Tom Pepper; Marcia J. Brott; George Barany; David Hanson; DK, C.C.; Andrea; Boomer & Victor Barocas

June 2013 



48 comments:

TTP said...

Good morning all.

Thank you Gareth and thank you Lemonade. Once again I was able to solve almost all of the puzzle but had no idea for the needed letter at the intersection of DAW and WESSEX.

Lemonade, your 2D ink didn't take.

Gotta run. Take care.

George Barany said...

Nice puzzle, Gareth, and explanation from Lemonade. Puzzle played rather hard, but what do I know, not being a poker player!

Following up on C.C.'s shout-out to the upcoming Minnesota Crossword Tournament, you can try to "get used" to the style of one of the constructors, David Hanson, by tackling his ingenious Chain, Chain, Chain.....Chain of Fools. When you are done, there is a certain Aretha Franklin tune that you will be humming the rest of the day!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Definitely a challenge today. Fortunately, I sussed out the theme halfway through the puzzle or else I never would have been able to get FAKE FEMUR or HE-MAN DYNASTY. Knowing each theme was a common phrase with an "EM" embedded somewhere helped a lot.

Took a guess at the crossing of DAW and WESSEX. I think I have a vague memory of Margery DAW and WESSEX looked more reasonable that, say, YESSEX or SESSEX.

Had the most trouble in the South with ANDREA, FRAYING and ASANAS, but getting the theme and figuring out HE-MEN DYNASTY got me through.

Lemonade714 said...

The 2D link should be back. Thanks TTP.

Al Cyone said...

WAVES before WAKES held things up in the west-central. The cluing for STARVE seemed a bit off to me and CRO was all perps. But, all in all, fun for a Friday.

[12:50]

Big Easy said...

Good 'mourning' after having this puzzle beat me up today. The unknowns were all perped as I had no knowledge of yoga, Margaret DAW, Pelion, The Corrs, and had to look up the definition of baleful. I WAGed AVE MARIA, the Schubert song sung at weddings. On my first pass I only filled the NW and SE and never got the theme even after solving 63A. 23D took the longest to solve until I had MOMENT. I had filled 21A with WAVES instead of WAKES. This was definitely a Friday puzzle.

Note to C.C. need to change "ethically" to "ethnically"

over 90% of Chinese are ethically Han people).

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. Fun Friday puzzle. I sailed through the top portion but stumbled a bit in the lower portion. Even though I am not a poker player, I had heard of Texas Hold 'Em, so got the unifier, which helped with some of the theme answers.

I initially tried Bleats for What Goats Have, but MOHAIR is more substantial.

I also tried Dubbed for Named.

I learned the word KEN from a Song from the Sound of Music.

QOD: Not only do I think being nice and kind is easy, but being kind, in my opinion, is important. ~ Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (May 2, 1972)

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This was a fun Friday puzzle; just the right amount of crunch. I remembered Adenauer, but spelled KONRAD with a "C." Filled in ALEPPO immediately. It's been in the news a lot recently. Also, DAIRY FARMER was my first thought for the Jersey clue. You'd think I'm from Wisconsin.

Parker PENS was a gimme. They used to be a major employer in Janesville, just south of Madison. Heck, maybe they still are.

I figured that on Friday it wasn't necessary to indicate an abbreviation, so I waited for the perps to decide if it was REP, SEN or ANT.

From True Lies we learned: "Denial, it's not just a river in Egypt anymore."

Big Easy, I thought C.C.'s typo was cute.

Blood tests today. It's always something...

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Big Easy,
Thanks. Also, would you mind sharing with us your photo with Ernie Else at the Zurich Classic?

D-Otto,
Once I wrote "Pubic debate" to Don when I meant "Public debate".

Al Cyone,
OK, I can't decide. Are you a He or She?

Yellowrocks said...

Fun puzzle, Gareth. Great expo, Lemonade.
I breezed through the top half, seeing the theme in EMPRESS which helped greatly for the other three. Continued quickly, but not as breezily through the rest. Very easy for a Friday.
I knew the rhyme Margery DAW. MT OSSA was all perps, Now I see it. Thanks, Lemony. The S in LARSON and ASANAS was a wag.
57A- I read porker variety time and again looking for Gareth's animals, so HOLDEM was all perps. Then I saw POKER. V-8 can moment.
STARVE was okay by me. I feel a strong desire for affection. I STARVE for affection.
Very interesting theme and fill. Jersey owner didn't fool this Jersey girl.

buckeye bob said...

Thank you for the puzzle, Gareth. Thank you for the outstanding review, Lemonade.

I thought this puzzle was fun, a good challenge, and just right for a Friday. I got the theme after EMPRESS CORPS and HOLD ‘EM. That helped with the other theme answers.

There were a number of unknowns, such as TRUE LIES, ONE, ASANAS, and ANDREA Corr, but the perps helped me out.

Hand up for WAVES before WAKES, and CONRAD before KONRAD. I also had BEG before BUM.

When I solved 1A It comes from goats: MOHAIR I thought “Lemonade will link this song.” Nope! But Benny and the Jets works too. I love Elton’s music!

Mohair Sam

Mari said...

Good morning everybody!

Great puzzle today - I was able to finish one on a Friday!

A couple of head scratchers for me were MT OSSA, DAW, KONRAD, ALEPPO, and MME.

Great clues:
10D - Jersey owner, maybe: DAIRY FARMER
23D - Ideal time to snap? KODAK MOMENT
13A - Reason to be at sea? ENIGMA

Have a great day and a wonderful weekend!

Husker Gary said...

This puzzle leaned toward the easy side for a Friday but to the fun side for any day! KODAK MOMENT drew a slap to my forehead after I gave up WAVE for WAKE.

Musings
-The PRESS CORPS has really been working over Jay Carney about Benghazi
-There seems to be some money in Texas HOLD ‘EM tournaments
-Anyone else remember these Old PRO commercials?
-I’ve heard and enjoyed Bennie And The Jets many times but never hear MOHAIR in the lyric but I got it right away in this song about Charlie Rich’s MOHAIR dude
-The blood bank in Lincoln has signs up urgently requesting O- blood type
-C’mon Hamlet “take arms against a SEA of troubles and end them” already
-Would you pay over $300,000 for this KOI? Somebody did.
-Hey, isn’t that one of our ANON’s over there drinking NEHI Sour Grape soda?
-No idea on any U2 songs and so this is a much more familiar song entitled ONE
-Now-banned Donald Sterling was so cheap he asked the trainer if athletic tape could be REUSED
-My DAIRY FARMER cousin is quitting the trade after 50 years. What to do at 4 am and 4 pm now?
-I learned ALPEPPO just recently from the current agony in Syria
-We frequent KONA Grill, uh, frequently
-Winter kill from a cold, dry season has made golf courses very UNEVEN right now
-Cub fans are STARVED for a World Series

Anonymous said...

I didn't think that 23d, Ideal time to snap, needed the question mark. It seems like a valid clue and response without it, and the question mark makes you think it might be part of the theme.

Chip

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Nice fresh puzzle with clever theme from Gareth, today. Some fill was hazy like MT OSSA, and a few tricky spellings like ALEPPO; but the perps were supportive. I thought this was Friday level on the easy side.

Have a great day

Anonymous said...

This one was tricky. Kept thinking the long downs were part of the theme, because they had ME in them, so I kept thinking they were just EM in reverse.

Not all ANONs are trolls. I refuse to join Google, but mostly don't want to remember a million screen names and passwords.

buckeye bob said...

ANON at 8:58 --

That's OK. But if you choose, you can avoid ANON, and the Anon stigma, by dotting the Name/URL line and then typing a screen name in the Name box that opens up. No password required.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi Everyone ~~
I, too, thought this was easier than a typical Friday puzzle, working it with just a few pauses and a couple of write-overs. Like others, I had Wave before WAKE, which held up my KODAK MOMENT. I also had Kava before KONA - I can never remember that one - but perps took care of it quickly.

Clues that made me think: 62A - Parker array / PENS and 4D - Correspond / AGREE - I was thinking along the lines of 'Email.'

If I have to be the one to SQUISH a bug, I CANNOT do it with my shoe on. I'll take it off to do the smacking...weird.

A fun theme ~ thanks, Gareth Bain and thanks, Lemonade, for a very informative write-up.

Al Cyone said...

C.C.@7:50: "When you call me, you can call me 'Al'".

Yellowrocks@7:58: I'm not sure I ever heard anyone say, "I STARVE for affection". Maybe "She's starved for affection" or "I'm starving for a hamburger". But it's a nit that's probably not worth the picking.

Anonymous@8:58: Pick any name. If your browser has "autofill" you'll only need to type in the first letter on return visits.

Lemonade714 said...

ANON 8:58,

like PK and AL Cyone you do not need anything to be identifiable for your comments. The use of something other than ANON distinguishes regular ANONs from the trolls. Either way, we are glad you read and enjoy. Very interesting observation about the ME in the down fills, I did not see that.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Just a few unknowns, easily perped. Sussed the theme right away, which came in handy when trying to figure out how He Man Dynasty was going to look. Enjoyed the clever unifier.

Pilots are required to keep a written record of the time spent on mandated experience and training; a pilot's logbook is usually a kind of personal treasure. It is typically kept up with precision, but it is still on the honor system - there is no need for a witness to each and every flight. Rarely, a dishonest pilot will put in false entries to increase his/her apparent experience. This is called "logging Parker Pen time".

About Yoga: does anyone recall our friend Dennis's visit to a yoga studio? He had a funny take on the names of the poses, such as the "crippled yak". I wish I could remember the rest.

Lemonade714 said...

I wonder if GB concocted the theme thinking about the printer's EM .

After Hold 'EM' I thought about Auntie 'EM.' I hope he gets a chance to elucidate...

Lucina said...

Greetings, friends! A perfectly puzzling day with zesty commentary! Thank you, Lemonade.

WEES. I really enjoyed this but ENIGMA had me at sea until reading the blog and hand up for WAVE before WAKE when KODAK MOMENT flashed before my eyes.

I'm very familiar with AVE MARIA as well as KONA, a beautiful region of the Big Island, Hawaii.

Though I've heard of TYLER Perry, not House of Payne, clever name.

And I've eaten NAAN but not with Ghee which I know only from crosswords.

Thank you, Gareth Bain, for a grand beginning to my day which might include some ASANAS if I decide to do yoga. Leg problems, you know so I've been doing other exercises.

Have a happy Friday, everyone!

C6D6 Peg said...

Like TTP, didn't know DAW or WESSEX, so it was a DNF. Nice puzzle, and several long fills - especially liked KODAKMOMENT. Thanks, Gareth!

Lemonade, thanks for the explaining, because although I got the EM being added, didn't take it out to see the other phrases.

OwenKL said...

WEES. Not too bad for a Friday. Getting the theme helped on the second pass, but I still went first for EMPRESS CO-OPS and FAUX FEMUR.

CHEESE before MOHAIR, RAMPS > WAKES, ETNA>OSSA, PITA>LIRA, BEG>BUG>BUM, MAUI>MONA>KONA. Parker array I expected valet parking slots.

I thought that IOC must be a typo, since it's the ISO (International Standards Organization) that sets the most-used codes. But looked it up, and ISO-3166 lists the code for Croatia as HRV, as do nearly all the other 3-letter systems except IOC.

Lemonade: Thanks for the article on ems. I've designed a couple type faces, so thought I knew the subject, but didn't know a lot of what was in the article.

Kevin said...

Hi all,

Thanks for the fun puzzle, Gareth; likewise, great expo, Lemonade.

My favorite Gary Larson drawing is the "School for the Gifted" cartoon where the kid is trying to push his way through the door that says "PULL," which is what I must have looked like trying to pen "C" into KONRAD until the "K" finally came into my KEN.

Have a Good Friday everyone!

Montana said...

Thanks for a great Friday morning, Gareth and Lemonade. I didn't get the theme on my own.

I did so poorly on the Wednesday and Thursday puzzles, I didn’t even comment.
However, today—a Friday—I had a fun time solving the puzzle. A DNF, but I saw so few red squares, I hardly noticed. Didn’t even make any alphabet runs.

I learned the ‘Margery DAW’ rhyme with Jacky, not Johnny. Interesting.
I first spelled KONRAD with a C. I thought of the trolls with ANON.
I am Catholic, but absolutely didn’t get AVE MARIA until I perped many letters.
PERSIST gave me fits. I kept thinking persevere and couldn’t get a synonym in my head.
I read Practice instead of Practices, and reduce, recycle, reuse didn’t fit. When I realized the clue was plural, I got it.
I started with HE-MEN DYNASTY. NAM changed it. My brother was a NAM vet.

Raining and forecast to keep it up for several days. We need it, so no complaints.
Got a check in the mail from insurance company of ‘high’ driver, to completely replace my fence. That’s a relief.

Montana

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I really enjoy Gareth's puzzles, even when they have a few speed bumps. Today's were in the west-central area, partly because I thought 23D was a theme answer and having waves before wakes. This confusion was a result of not reading the reveal clue carefully.

In any case, it was fun and, for me, definitely a Friday challenge. Thanks, Gareth, and thanks, Lemony, for an informative expo.

It's sort of gloomy today with rain on and off, but it's mild and the trees budding and the flowers blooming give much-needed warmth and beauty to the heart and soul.

Have a great day

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Okaaay, HOLD EM! I should have waited for my blood sugar to get back up before I tried this ENIGMA. Probably my least favorite from Gareth. Thanks, Lemonade, for explaining the theme & the soothing music.

MOHAIR: a gimmee. One of my favorite KODAK MOMENTS in my newspaper career occurred when a guy came bursting in one day yelling, "Grab your camera. You got to see what is at the Co-op Service Station." So I did. I ended up climbing up the side of a truck to take a photo of some long-horned angora goats. The wavy horns and long wavy hair made a really interesting composition in a black & white picture. Did you know MOHAIR is used in fabric for airplane upholstery because it is naturally fire retardant? That's what they told me anyway. Fun story too.

I didn't know TETRAS were a freshwater fish. I was at SEA about that. I also got swamped by WAvES.

Cola WARS? Whazzat?

Jersey owner: DA___ showed up and I typed in DAvid Beckham. I figured a British soccer player surely owned that Jersey. Wrong!

C.C.: Minnesota seems to be the state with more crossword constructors than elsewhere. Do the long cold winters give you all more time for contemplation?

Montana: glad your insurance company came through for you.

Amy said...

Lemony, I can read between your lines. I see how you feel. Don't worry. If Gareth was meant to comment here on your apple polishing write-up, he will. Try not to look so unfulfilled by trolling him over on the Fiend. You'll just chase him away.

Let me tell you something, my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane.
- Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding

Ol' Man Keith said...

Wow!
A damn good pzl and a 100% solve for me! This one sorta snuck up on me. Before finding the reveal, the compound answers made zero sense -- even less sense than they usually do for me.
I started out well, learning about MOHAIR from the perps and filling in top items such as DAW, TETRAS, and TRUE LIES from memory. Even EMPRESS CORPS filled easily from the perps.

I bogged down in the west and SW corner for a while. I couldn't, for instance, remember CROatia, although I have been there, in beautiful Dubrovnik!
I managed to break into the western jam with HE-MAN DYNASTY, but I let myself be hung up for too long-- because my brain was holding out for another "EM"-- before committing to KODAK MOMENT.
Still, in the end, it was a perfect score-- with only one re-write (BUM for BEG) and no look-ups. A happy Friday Xwd from Mr. Bain, well explained by Lemonade.

Bill G. said...

Another hard but pleasant Friday. TERMED didn't make sense to me at first. Cola WARS is not part of my brain full of useless knowledge. Neither is ANDREA Corr.

Here is an absolutely beautiful shot of the dark skies over Yosemite at night including the Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, the Milky Way and a meteor. Click for full size. Night Sky

Lemonade714 said...

I guess I just thought everyone knew about the Coke Pepsi COLA WARS .

HeartRx said...

Hi everyone!

I would have been here this morning, but I wanted to finish reading Lemon's write up and all the comments first…that'll teach me to sleep in on a Friday!!

I zipped through this one and didn't see some of the down clues until I read the write up. Good thing, too. I don't think I would have gotten ANDREA or TYLER without every one of the across answers.

I was surprised to see MEN in the grid when one of the themers was HE-MAN DYNASTY. But at least it was clued as chess, so it was OK.

Buckeye Bob and Husker, loved the MOHAIR Sam links. It was really fun to see how he has changed over the years.

I also liked your link to ONE from "A Chorus Line" HG. But it's almost imperative that you actually watch the video. Just listening to them sing in the background just doesn't do the number justice!

Have a great weekend everyone - TGIF!

CanadianEh! said...

Hard work today even though I got the theme and smiled with EMPRESS CORPS.

I had Blood Ties before TYPE and ETO before NAM. I also remembered Margery as DAH so that held up that corner.

I immediately thought of cows when I saw Jersey. My dad was raised on a dairy farm.

I am currently mending a FRAYING bag for granddaughter. It is probably more bother than it is worth but it is her favourite!

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Crashed and burned so badly in the NW corner that my misspelling of DYNESTY is hardly worth mentining.

Brilliant puzzle that defeated me, alas and alack.

But no UNEASE, Gareth got me, fair and square.

I can't even imagine how one puts together a theme like this. Awesome.

Tigers in KC for 3, then home for 4 against the X-word fav. 'Stros.

My April Tigers wrap up is here if
you're interested.

our season finale symphony concert is in two weeks. this week we rehearsed with our guest soloists, two lovely young ladies who are high school students and amazing musicians. One is doing the 1st movement of the Sibelius Violin Concerto [7:44]
and the other the 1st movement of the Chopin piano concerto No 1. [10:43]

What a treat!

Cool regards!
JzB

JD said...

Good morning Lemonade, C.C., et al,

Fridays are always challenging, as is Gareth, but always a fun exercise in memory. Kodak moment was my favorite fill...always waiting for that perfect second.
being raised Catholic I should have filled Ave Maria quickly, but since I had a few letters already filled, I "saw" amen amen! Ha,ha...definitely not what Catholics say, and so I rethought my answer.

Wake was a gimme as I remember being very nervous jumping the wake in Lake Tahoe as a teen. Lucina, I don't think my legs could do that today.

I became a Gary Larson fan when I taught an Early Man unit...so many funny cartoons that the kids could then understand

Thanks for the fun Lemon and Gareth.

Spitzboov said...

Dudley @ 1013 - re: "logging Parker Pen time".

We called it gundecking.

BV Ahlers said...

Thank you Bill G for the link to that gorgeous night sky over Yosemite!! As an avid photo bug I can really appreciate photos like this.

Lucina said...

OMKeith:
That's a beautiful shot of Dubrovnik. Is that a medieval wall surrounding part of it? I must put that on my bucket travel list.

BillG:
That's a wonderful shot of Yosemite, thanks.

I just watched last night's Jeopardy which was recording while I attended my granddaughter's dance show, and am vastly impressed with the champion. Not only is she knowledgeable but so calm and focused.

Good music links today. I have to keep coming back to listen to all of them. Thank you, everyone.

CrossEyedDave said...

Wow! A lot of "Em" imagery available today, I don't know where to start...

Aw, poor guy...

Probably because of this bad cat...

Spread Em!

& on the dysfunctional side...

Speaking of sides, this was listed under: Girls know how to pose,,, Gotta give em credit...

I couldn't find anything funny under "Auntie Em" except for this for some strange reason.

For Kevin.

There were casualties during the Cola Wars....

Al Cyone @9:30 Excellent Link! I have never seen it before!

I was not familiar with the Corrs link, & went to link one of their biggest hits, but could not decide. So I bookmarked this to watch later...

Jzb, I bookmarked your concertos to watch after the Corrs concert...

Lemonade714 said...

Poor Michael Jackson, did not even realize he was on fire and now who knows the temp where he is....

CrossEyedDave said...

Because I post a lot of links, I thought I should post this public service msg...

For Manac! Where have you been? (It's not as much fun getting in trouble alone....:(

Unknown said...

I got a really late start today because I had to do yesterday's puzzle first. Because I did them one after the other, it was easy to compare the difficulty of both. They were both fun, doable puzzles, but I thought Thursday was little harder than Friday. I thought it was interesting that both puzzles referenced Indian bread, Thursday NAN and Friday NAAN.

I was a big Gary Larson fan also and had desk calendars of his cartoons for years. I was so sad when he stopped.

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you, Gareth Bain, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.

Did this puzzle on the train to Chicago today, while on my way to a Cubs game. Got it done in less than an hour, which is real good for me for a Friday. Yesterday it took me three hours I think.

Worked through it. Caught the theme. It was helpful. I do not play Texas Hold 'em as a rule. Have played it a long time ago.

Tried WAVES first for 21A. Fixed that to WAKES.

Tried PURSUIT for 7D, fixed that to PERSIST.

Liked RE-USES. Never heard of the three R's, but I am in favor of saving our planet.

Not familiar with LARSON at 45A. Perped it.

Tried Blood TEST for a while, then Blood TYPE became the winner.

Cubs game was good today. They won! 6-5 against the Cardinals. Husker gary, maybe they are on their way to the Pennant and the Series. Who knows? Stranger things have happened.

See you tomorrow. Going to a Cornerstone Laying ceremony for a new building at the Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

Abejo

(col lemendid)

Husker Gary said...

-Abejo, Having the Cubs win a pennant/series would be wonderful but I wouldn’t put the mortgage money on it ;-)
-Buckeye, I thought I had read your post thoroughly but I must have blown by your link to Mohair Sam. Sorry about that, I had a tee time. I agree with Marti (as I usually do!) that the contrast in voice quality is amazing.
-I always have difficulties understanding Elton’s lyrics but love his music!

John A. said...

no abbreviated answer is implied in the clue 'pelion neighbor'...when "MT" (short for mount) is part of the answer, then part of the clue needs to be shortened as well...apologies if somebody already aired this gripe...didn't get to sit down with the friday puzzle until after midnight in the east...only scanned the comments very quickly

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

PK,
Yes, must be the long winters. In fact, NY has the most constructors.