google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, Ocotber 24, 2014, Bruce Haight

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Oct 24, 2014

Friday, Ocotber 24, 2014, Bruce Haight

Theme: What is funnier than a Latin Pun? "ex nihilo nihil fit."

Those six years of Latin in school certainly paid off today, in this whimsical 'add a letter' theme to get a funny answer to a silly definition. I am not sure if the Latin phrases would be difficult for anyone as they seem fairly known, but I am sure you will let me know. I thought some theme answers were very funny, and other not so much. In each case, the meaning of one of the words in the Latin phrase is preserved with other getting the added letter. Another Friday where we have lots of short fill (sixty-seven 3,4 and 5 letter fill) and only two sparklies, I’M OUTA HERE, HOLY SMOKES, with COE and NAURU being fresh fill. The second LAT puzzle from Mr. Haight, who has 6 NYT publications. He is a mentee of Peter Collins, one of the many constructors I admire. Let's see where he takes us.


17A. Latin for "big idiot"? : MAGNUM DOPUS.(11). Original Latin, Magnum Opus, meaning greatest work. Greatest work ----Greatest idiot. (an echo of magnum opus in the same week, coincidence, no! Or at least Owen says no.)

23A. Latin for "holding a grudge for a long, long time"? : MAD INFINITUM.(12). Ad Infinitum, meaning: to infinity ----Angry forever.

38A. Latin for "fighting over parking spots is not allowed"? : NO LOT CONTENDERE.(15). Nolo Contendere, the guilty plea where one does not admit guilt, but does not 'contest' the charge. This grid spanner might be a seed entry but it confused the crap out of me, as I had an idea with the added D and M, there was going to be some kind of Roman Numeral reveal, appropriate to a Latin based theme, no go. No contest ----No parking lot contest.

47A. Latin for "cheating on one's timecard"? : TEMPUS FUDGIT. (12). Tempus Fugit. Time flies ----Time is fudged (faked).

59A. Latin for "fish trading"? : SQUID PRO QUO.(11). By far my favorite, where Quid Pro Quo gets all tentacles on us. This for that ----fish(sort of) ----for that.

Across:

1. Critters who worshiped C-3PO as a god : EWOKS.

6. Penicillin precursor : SULFA. Being allergic to Penicillin and growing up before the antibiotic explosion, I remember this.

11. Like Beethoven's Second Symphony : IN D. You like this better than the abbreviation?

14. Museum piece : RELIC.

15. Central Florida city : OCALA. Gainesville's bedroom community and great horse country.

16. Wild West : MAE. I got this immediately when I saw it was three letters but still love the clue/fill.

19. "Certainement!" : OUI. Vraiment! Aussi, 66A. Idée sources : TETES. French for heads, from whence we get our ideas.

20. Blotter letters : AKA. Also Known As. It has a cousin, FKA.

21. Good, in Genoa : BUONO. Just the Italian word.

22. Hides in the closet? : FURS. Another witty use of the confusion of the verb really being a noun here.

26. Classic pops : NEHIS. Pop=Soda; easy for those in the Midwest and a clue without Radar.

29. Charles of old mysteries : NORA. Married to Nick and played by Myrna Loy.

30. Bustles : ADOS. A new clue for a crossword staple.

31. Steam table fuel : STERNO. You get a nice ONE but it won't be cheap.

35. "Good" cholesterol initials : HDL. High-density lipoprotein.

41. Adams of "The Muppets" : AMY.

42. Owl, at times : HOOTER. Oh, so they named the restaurant chain after some owls?

43. Turkmenistan neighbor : IRAN.

44. Where change is welcome : SLOT. Though slot machines no longer have slots for change.

46. "Choose taste" sauce brand : PREGO.

53. Son of Aphrodite : EROS.

54. Cell terminal : ANODE. Battery positive, I am positive.

55. Cry made with a raised index finger : AHA!

58. Torah holder : ARK.

62. Journalist William Shirer's alma mater : COE. I remember the MAN well but had no idea where he went to college, nor any real memory of the existence of a Coe College. I read the Rise and Fall of the Third Reich when it came out, but not with....

63. Verve : GUSTO. As a ...

64. Hefty portion : CHUNK. of the book was very upsetting.

65. Shop door nos. : HRS. Hours.

67. Salon and others : E-MAGS. It sounds all POLITICAL so I have never read it.

Down:

1. First name in wit : ERMA. Ms. Bombeck I believe is more famous as fill than as anything else.

2. Watery, as a drink : WEAK. Am I the only one who thought of the talented Molly Sudgen as Mrs. Slocombe telling the men they were "weak as water?" LINK.(2:53).

3. One of Chekhov's "Three Sisters" : OLGA. Called Olya, Maria (Masha) and little Irina.

4. Blood : KIN. I ken kin.

5. Takes a dive? : SCUBAS. Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

6. Agreeable words : SO DO I.

7. Sch. originally endowed by the Storrs brothers : UCONN. An ultimate gimme, as it was the place of undergraduate and graduate study for me. Go Huskies!

8. __ luxury : LAP OF.

9. Viral ailment : FLU.

10. Remote power sources : AAS. We get a lot of battery clues to go with our wide feet clues.

11. "See ya!" : I'M OUTA HERE. Not yet,  still working away.

12. Pacific republic near the equator : NAURU. This was hard. LINK.

13. Voltaire's world-view : DEISM.

18. Joe with some oomph : MUD. For those who like Starbucks.

22. Holiday buy : FIR. FUR fits as well, and many a husband is up a tree if all he buys is the tree.

23. Sapporo soup : MISO. Healthy or not. You DECIDE.

24. __ circle : INNER. Fun Jamaican band. Listen.(3:42).

25. "High __" : NOON. Gary Cooper at his best.

26. Family nickname : NANA.

27. Biblical kingdom near the Dead Sea : EDOM.

28. "Yikes!" : HOLY SMOKES. I like this thought I struggled for a bit.

31. Glaswegians, e.g. : SCOTS. I also like this name for those from Glasgow.

32. Furthermore : TOO.

33. Tolkien creature : ENT.

34. Series of turns: Abbr. : RTE. I guess this is accurate, but again not my first thought.

36. Snoozefest : DRAG.

37. 2014 Television Academy Hall of Fame inductee : LENO.

39. Biblical pronoun : THOU.

40. Gossip : DIRT. It would not be worth repeating if it were not a bit 'dirty.'

45. Vinyl spinners : LPS. Long Plays.

46. Go through : PIERCE. Another perfectly correct fill that slowed me.

47. Emulate Anne Sullivan : TEACH. The famous guide to Helen Keller, herself a handicapped person who was taught at the Perkins School for the blind in Boston. In high school I wrestled against one of there students in a tournament.

48. Flub : ERROR.

49. Gounod opera : FAUST. Only 2 hours plus. LINK. (2:19:06).

50. Form an alliance : UNITE.

51. Extinct Mauritian birds : DODOS. A CSO to our dear friend.

52. Econ. stat : GDP. Gross Domestic Product.

55. Blue hue : AQUA.

56. Like curtains : HUNG. So many inappropriate comments come to mind.

57. NASA go-aheads : A-OKS.

59. Friday is one: Abbr. : SGT. Badge 714, hmmmm.

60. Prov. on the St. Lawrence : QUEbec. Is that used in Canada Eh?

61. Electrical unit : OHM. Umm, I guess I am out of power here and must leave for another week. Well as this month comes to an end I have tons of birthdays ahead, including Miss Charlotte. Thanks Bruce and thank you all for stopping by.

Lemonade out.

62 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

OK, that was fun. At first I thought the theme was going to revolve around adding the letter "D" to common phrases for the sake of wackiness, but then I realized it was just adding random letters to common Latin phrases (still for the sake of wackiness, however). Fortunately, I knew all the base phrases. In fact, when I got to the bottom and had the QUO filled in, I instantly threw down SQUID PRO without even looking at the clue. Which is good, because the "fish" part of the clue might have thrown me a bit otherwise...

Anyway, fun theme and the rest of the grid was nice and smooth. The only minor struggle was down in the SW< where COE did not spring immediately to mind and it took a little bit of time to parse the clue for HRS.

Anonymous said...

OK, first mistake is STERNO.

31a YOU weren't even close. That was an electric powered appliance.

George Barany said...

It was my pleasure to meet Bruce Haight in person this past March at the ACPT in Brooklyn. The LAT puzzle we have just solved has a particularly creative and fun theme, and I also enjoyed Lemonade's description and analysis.

Today, October 24, happens to be the birthday of a brilliant crossword constructor best known for his innovative themeless puzzles. A bunch of us got together in cyberspace to write A Lot of Birthday Cake on One's Plate, a themed puzzle with Friday-difficulty clues inspired by its honoree, but not requiring any specialized knowledge. After you have finished today's main entree, this bonus puzzle might make for a fun dessert.

Anonymous said...

40D reminded me of a certain someones favorite movie entry. DIRT

Anonymous said...

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

C.C.'s new avatar is amazing to me. It;s haunting. Lemony's sucks. Please get rid of it.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This seemed pretty easy for a Friday. I never learned Latin, but was able to suss the theme answers OK. At 11d I would have preferred the more formal OUTTA with two T's. Interesting to see FURS crossing FIR.

See, I wasn't wrong entering HDL on Tuesday -- just three days early.

I'm familiar with COE College, having lived for a spell in Cedar Rapids. I had no idea that William Shirer went to school there.

OwenKL said...

Coincidental Clue Watch has a big one today!
LAT 11d. "See ya!" : I'M OUTA HERE
ST 15a. "Hasta la vista!" : I'M OUTTA HERE

Is anyone other than me interested in these reports? The Seattle Times publishes the puzzle online 6 weeks after it originally appeared in the NYT -- I know some of you see it in the NYT on the original day of publication, or 1-5 weeks later in your local print papers; do you see any of these coincidences?

Yellowrocks said...

Interesting add a letter theme.
I left two cells blank and forgot to go back to them, although in the end it would have been easy, BZZT. I didn't make an arrow in the margin as a reminder as I usually do. Actually, it was an easier than usual Friday puzzle.
I love ERMA and read several of her books. Very funny and down to earth.
Owen, I'm not much into the puzzle coincidences, but I love your poems,limericks or not.
APHRODITE brought this limerick to mind.
There once was a sculptor named Phidias
Whose manners in art were invidious
He carved Aphrodite
Without any nightie
Which startled the ultra fastidious.

OUTTA HERE with one T or two is very informal. Crosswords use much informal colloquial language, such as POP TAB. IMO this language is not improper in its place. It's similar to wearing jeans instead of a tux to a baseball game. A tux, just like formal language, would be improper in certain situations. We don't want to be "language Sheldons"

Lime Rickey said...

Trivia question o' the day: Who coined the word "retronym". Hint: He died yesterday.

Anonymous said...

Great job, Lemony. One of your best write-ups yet!
Not.

I bet quite a few people in Florida wished you had stayed in Connecticut.

Lime Rickey said...

I don't think POP TAB is either informal or colloquial. But, if it is, what's the formal "official" word for that little piece of aluminum?

Anonymous said...

47. ".... In high school I wrestled against one of there students in a tournament.

48. Flub : ERROR

Interesting juxtaposition: misspelled "their", followed by a descriptive answer

kazie said...

Thinking of gender agreement in the Latin endings I had MAGNUS DOPUS, and had no idea about MAD, thinking it would also be Latin, so put MAL INFINITUM giving me SUL for Joe, which made absolutely no sense, but at that point I didn't expect to get too far today anyway.

After getting TEMPUS FUDGIT, I was also looking for the same added letter to be a "D" throughout, and that tripped me up with SQUID, because I wasn't thinking the "S" was the addition, so along with not remembering the "P" of GDP, it meant I didn't get the end of that one.

Other than that a ride worthy of Fridays. I'm off to celebrate POETS' Day: (Piss Off Early, Tomorrow's Saturday)

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling thoughts"

For the past few weeks, and especially on Friday, one of our "Anonymous" posters has been taking "shots" at Lemonade714. As I read and re-read these posts, I am trying to see if this is just playful banter or not; but it certainly doesn't come across that way. Don't know what axe you have to grind with Lemony, but take it off-line, please. Rant over . . .

FWIW, Lemony, I enjoyed your recap

To the puzzle . . . today's took a little longer than a "normal" Friday (if there's such a thing!); oddly I had just one write-over and that, ironically, was 18D. I had MAGNUS DOPUS for 17A as the phrase "MAGNUM (D)OPUS" was not one I was familiar with. And for some reason, this self-labeled "coffee snob" could not see the "MUD" for the "DIRT" (pun intended)

Favorite clue/solve was 59A (Latin for "fish trading").

Had a lot of help from perps and WAGS throughout, but everything fit. Guessing we're probably due for a "Silkie" tomorrow . . .

Yellowrocks - liked the limerick; your work?

Owen - dittos from Yellowrocks' comment about the other CW puzzle similarities. I barely have time to do the LA Times, so your comparisons to other daily puzzles are skim-read. Would like to see you create some limericks, though

Lime Rickey said...

I agree with Chairman Moe. The anonymous vendetta against Lemonade714 violates the "no personal attacks" rule of this blog and those comments should be removed as soon as possible.

Tinbeni said...

Lemon: Nice write-up ... but I think when you do your next one it will still be October.

DNF due to FIW's ... at least I got NAURU & EDOM.

BTW, if you have a beverage at Villa Incognito ... it won't be "Watery, as a drink" ... as such, WEAK, was my least favorite clue answer of the year.

Skoal!

Yellowrocks said...

As far as I can find out the limerick is anonymous, an old saw that has been around ad infinitum.
Lemony, so many of us enjoy your recaps. Don't let the turkeys get you down.

Guess what's under the kilt said...

Tinbeni @ 10:39

I am re-acquainting my palate to Scotch Whisky, and as our resident blog aficionado on booze from Scotland, please help me understand (seriously) a few things about drinking Scotch:

First, I've noted that you drink Pinch (12 or 15 yr old?) neat. I haven't had Pinch in forever, but the flavors I prefer in Scotch tend toward peat and smoke. Is Pinch one of the more "peaty" malts?

As for drinking it neat, I have tried it that way, but still prefer a couple of ice cubes (as in 2) or maybe adding a few drops of water. Is there some "advantage" to drinking it sans anything??

My current whisky is one called Black Bottle. Supposedly it is a blend of single malts from Islay, and is moderately peaty in flavor. Perhaps a bit rougher than a true, aged single malt, but it doesn't bankrupt me, either! ;^)

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I thoroughly enjoyed this: clever theme and fun answers, especially squid pro quo. I thought it was easier than usual for a Friday.

Thanks, Bruce, for a Friday feast and thanks, Lemony, for an informative expo.

Is anyone else watching How To Get Away With Murder? I am surprised at how far they are pushing the envelope vis a vis the sex scenes on a network station. My oh my, how times have changed. I'm enjoying Gracepoint which has more and more red herrings each episode, which adds to the suspense, IMO.

Have a great day.

tiptoethru said...

This was a FUN puzzle, because I too, had a few years of Latin in high school. It may be a dead language, but it has stood me well in the legal and medical field. I know I lurk here, but it's my opinion that those other anonymous lurkers shouldn't criticize unless they think they can do better. Keep up the good work, everyone of you, and I'll look forward to a Saturday Silkie. TGIF

Steve said...

Enjoyed this one a lot! I liked the two "slangy" long downs in counterpoint with each other, and I loved the Latin phrases.

Bill G. said...

That was fun and appropriately difficult for a Friday I thought. I was looking for something trickier than just adding a letter but it worked out well. Dunno why but squid doesn't seem like a fish to me.

Irish Miss, yes I'm watching both of those but I wish I liked them more than I do. My reactions: How to Get Away with Murder has too many characters to keep track of easily and none of them is appealing. I am having a hard time understanding what happened to the kids out in the woods. Then, Gracepoint has fewer characters but the main character played by David Tenant is very unappealing. I liked him in other movies including Doctor Who but here he is just mean-spirited and has an ugly stubble. The female police detective is much more enjoyable. I hope both of those shows have endings that makes the time invested worthwhile.

Sailorman said...

An ohm is not a unit of power. It is a unit of resistance. Crossword constructors get this wrong all the time. An amp is a unit of power.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Made it through, barely. Guessed TEACH for 47 D. Had TEA - - so what else could it be? That was the final fill, and narrowly avoided a DNF.

Never heard of COE. Fun theme today. Fav clue was Hides in the closet?

Concert tonight. We're playing Stokowsky's orchestration of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, a 10 minute selection in which I have exactly 60 notes - the greatest rest to play ratio I've ever experienced. At least most of them are really loud.

Also doing Night on Bald Mountain and the last two movements of Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique - very dramatic music with lots of brass feature.

I'm pretty sure Berlioz was insane.

Cool regards!
JzB

Misty said...


Well, this started out as a real toughie, but I was surprised and pleased that in the end I almost got the whole thing with just a few little errors. Not bad for a Friday--many thanks, Bruce! And you too, Lemonade!

Never heard of coffee called MUD.

Loved that limerick, Yellowrocks, thanks for posting it!

Noooo--not a Silkie tomorrow--it'll be a toughie, won't it?

Irish Miss, we're watching "How To Get Away With Murder" and also finding it disconcerting with adultery and other issues on the part of the protagonist. On the other hand, it's interesting to see the formula shaken up a bit, so we'll stay with it to the end of the season.

Have a great Friday, everybody!

Lucina said...

Hello, Weekenders.

Man, this was fun and one of my fastest Friday solves. Though I took only two years of Latin it has benefitted me greatly in understanding and learning language.

Lemonade, upon seeing the law related phrases I couldn't wait to read your commentary and learned a lot from you.

I really liked the funny puns and the many word plays:

hides in the closet, FURS
wild west, MAE

Have a fantastic Friday, everyone!

Tinbeni said...

Kilt @11:13
Whatever is your personal preference is A-OK by me.

My blog friend Irish Miss enjoys her Dewar's on-the-rocks.
I just happen to like my Pinch NEAT.

There are way too many wonderful Scotch's out there to get into a discussion here on a crossword blog.

BTW ... I earlier forgot to mention the CSO to Avg.Joe (who is actually "way above average!" and Husker @A-OK'S with his love of NASA.

Cheers!

CrossEyedDave said...

Another red letter day (sigh...)

I perused a lot of Magnum PI clips & idiots opening champagne bottles, but in the end I just went with the cat...

I also just could not get past this pic for Mad Infinitum for some reason...

Hey! is that Mrs. Slocombe in the parking lot?

Tempus fudgit

Squid pro quo

Sailorman@11:37 your right of course, but now you have got me going on a subject that is ripe for visuals...

I suppose you could argue that there is power in numbers...

plus

and...

Ack! Make it stop... (& they spelled/spelt it wrong too...)

desper-otto said...

Sailorman@11:37 -- the clue in my newspaper was simply "electrical unit." True enough.

YR@8:01 -- My "formal" remark was tongue in cheek -- or was it foot in mouth?

Anonymous said...

Moe, imagine you're a 72-year old retiree with little to no income, but you do have a bit of savings in an S&L that you hope will last the rest of your life. Now imagine hundreds of those retirees, all in the same boat. And then this happens.
Now, imagine that retiree was your Nana...

Oh, and yes, tomorrow's puzzle is indeed a Silkie.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Fared much better than I thought I would when in the middle I bogged down at the center top. But proud to say I resisted the temptation to cheat long enough to get my own answers through perps and WAGs.
The breakthrough turned out to be U CONN. As a former Yalie I admit I was too snooty to pay attention to other Conn. schools. My bad! It cost me at least a half hour of delay.
FIR & FURS was fun. The fake Latin was fun too. I was initially intimidated by the challenge but found these all to be well known expressions. Yep, SQUID PRO QUO was my favorite too.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Jazzbumpa - sounds like a Fantasia-themed concert. A good ol' horror-fest, delicious!

Kf

Chairman Moe said...

Anonymous @ 12:21

While I can understand now why, I still don't think that this blog is the place for your comments. At least not further. I am not choosing sides; just trying to suggest civility on a public forum, that's all. You certainly have the right and/or privilege to voice your feelings. And I suppose that I and others could just ignore them . . . I wish you well.

And unlike some others, I am looking FORWARD to tomorrow's Silkie! Challenge me, baby!! ;^)

Spitzboov said...

Good Afternoon everyone.

Lemonade - Good write-up. Glad to hear about the good news affecting your life. Mazel Tov!

Really enjoyed Bruce's puzzle today. Loved the theme. Favorite was SQUID PRO QUO. (I tend to sprinkle quid pro quo in my conversation, especially when arguing with somebody :-))
Thought of Tonga before NAURU. Think Tonga has royalty.
Wanted PEI before QUE - my only white-out usage.
Vaguely remembered there was a Storrs in Connecticut. Helped with the answer.
Liked I'M OUTA HERE.
Alway liked highly inflected noun descriptors of people from locales - Glaswegians, Norwegians, Cairenes, etc.

Have a good day.

Yellowrocks said...

Anonymous @ 12:21 you have repeated this theme ad nauseum. Now we all have heard it. Whatever you believe happened in the past, rehashing it time and again will not undo it. This has nothing to do with the LAT puzzles and blogging about them. We come here to relax and escape our troubles. Give it a rest.

DO, I wasn't thinking of you, but of a comment yesterday. I just meant that my comment applied equally whether there were one or two T's.

Anonymous said...

Yellowrocks, if we eliminated all of the non-puzzle related comments we would average about 30 comments a day. And half of those would be nit-picking, whiny complaints. Right Windy?

Ergo said...


This---> Sailorman said...
An ohm is not a unit of power. It is a unit of resistance. Crossword constructors get this wrong all the time. An amp is a unit of power.

I can't say that a single three-letter answer prevented me from finishing, but it sure didn't help the cause. I contributed to my own angst by penciling in BUDGET for FUDGET. It seemed to work...well almost...or perhaps not at all.

Thanks Lemon and Bruce for the wit and wisdom. As for the mudslinging, I'm reminded that there is no such thing as perfection, but there are standards of excellence. I find the vast majority of the write-ups to meet that standard.

Yellowrocks said...

But this grossly violates the rule against personal attacks. This same violation occurs weekly.









PK said...

Hi Y'all! I was very annoyed when I encountered the first two Latin clues and had nothing to put down. Then I got enough perps for a great WAG, had a good chuckle and enjoyed the rest. Great one, Bruce! Great one, Lemony! CED: too funny and appropriate!

Didn't understand "bustles" even when filled. Duh du jour!

Never heard of William Shirer or COE in Cedar Rapids, IA. Didn't know EDOM

Other learning moment: Didn't know Gounod wrote an opera. Didn't know FAUST was an opera.

I did know there was no STERNO on a steam table, as noted by Anon @ 5:46. I used to eat lunch most days in a Chinese restaurant with a great steam table buffet. One day my food was cold and I noticed the steam table was unplugged. I informed the manager. He was so appreciative and visited with me every day thereafter like I was his best friend. Surprised me, but I enjoyed him.

After a concentrated effort, I thought I had committed to memory all the Canadian provinces. Only one I couldn't remember today? QUE.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Easy for a Friday! Thanks, Bruce and Lemon!

Great theme!

OUTA bothers me. PIERCE took a while.

Don't like …Murder. Not watching Gracepoint. Understand it is American remake of Broadhurst, which I watched.

Super pieces to play, Jazz! Have you heard the original version of Night…? Really like it.

Cheers!

Spitzboov said...

Sailorman and Ergo - re: 61d OHM.
The clue was electrical unit. Not power.
A Watt is a unit of electric power; Watt-Hour is a unit of energy.
Ohm is an electrical resistance unit. The clue and answer are valid.

Anonymous said...

This wasn't meant as an attack, just a presentation of facts for Moe, and every other reader out there who doesn't know.

No jail time, no restitution, no disbarment. Probation? A slap on the wrist! A life went on, while others didn't.

The Ravens were publicly shamed into releasing Ray Rice. Meanwhile, you all continue to support one of your own. It's very noble of you.

Jayce said...

If Berlioz wasn't insane, I gotta think he was at least a heavy stoner. He was trained as a drummer, which I guess is why the drums play such a prominent role in many of his works.

Fun puzzle today, and the last several days as well. I almost always enjoy working them.

LW and I stopped watching How to Get Away with Murder after the 2nd episode. She likes Gracepoint but I think it's boring.

I like Glen Fiddich, Glen Livet, and Macallen. But I like Russian Standard (Русский Стандарт) vodka even more.

LW thinks the name of the opera is Gounod Faust.

Ergo said...



Thanks for the clarification Spitzboov. You are correct.

Bill G. said...

I had just written a post about a watt being a unit of power but I see Spitz already did it. He is faster as well as smarter...

An amp is a unit of electrical current, not power. The Mensa site had 'Electrical unit' also.

The afternoon is pretty as well as cool. It bodes well for a nice bike ride. No tutoring today.

Gary, what is the going rate for subbing in your district? Around here it's about $125 a day. A local middle school teacher at my old school just became Teacher of the Year in California. I barely got to know her before I retired.

Jayce said...

A high-school freshman is passing through the school gym on his way from somewhere to somewhere else, and spots a set of kettle drums near the wall. Intrigued, the young man goes over to them, picks up the pair of sticks, and begins banging on them. Noticing each drum has a pedal underneath it, he begins making drum sounds of varying frequency by raising and lowering the pedal. Bingetty bangetty bonk boom boom boom BOOM BEEM the drums sing out as the youth becomes more and more immersed in his noisemaking.

Suddenly the band teacher shows up, apparently having heard the "concert."

Scenario 1: "Hey kid! What the heck do you think you're doing maestro? Do you know how expensive those are? Get the hell out of here!"

Scenario 2: "Hey kid, I see you are enjoying yourself there. Do you like the timpani? Would you be interested in learning how to play them properly?"

Well, I was the kid, and guess which response I got from the teacher.

Jazzbumpa said...

Jayce -

I'm hoping number 2.

Keith

- We're also doing Peer Gynt Suite No.1.

Fermat -

M wrote for piano, so I assume that's what you're referring to. Can't say I've ever heard Night on Bald Mountain in the original.
_________________________

Hmmmm --- "No jail time, no restitution, no disbarment."

Almost enough to make one suspect there wasn't much crime going on.

Cheers!
JzB

Jayce said...

Jazzbumpa, wow, I wish I could attend that concert you're playing in! Any chance you can have it recorded and/or videoed?

Chairman Moe said...

Jayce @ 4:03

Sadly I am thinking the response you got was the first one.

My daughter - then in Grade 7 - was a neophyte flute player, but pretty good all things considered. She understood music and had a good sense of tempo. So, when her Jr High Music teacher asked if any of the students was interested in playing the bassoon, my daughter immediately volunteered. She didn't know the bassoon from any other wind instrument, but to her, it looked cool and offered her something unique. The school provided the instrument for her to borrow; we had to arrange for her to take private lessons.

Anyway, that was about 20 years ago. Fast forward to today; she not only still plays the bassoon but has made it her profession.

She was quite fortunate to have had a music teacher that believed in your "Scenario 2" . . .

Anonymous said...

Jazzbumpa@ 4:11: "Almost enough to make one suspect there wasn't much crime going on."

Lemony, care to respond?

TTP said...

Oh, Latin Schmatin !

The clock on my puzzle says 8 hours, 41 minutes, 25 seconds. Started it, made a half of a pass on the crosses. Then my business line rang, so I went to work and forgot about it.

As they were all known, it wasn't as bad as I perceived it might be when I started it earlier today. Still not as easy for me as some of you have characterized it was for you. I blame exhaustion.

My sister took Latin in high school, and used to sit on the couch or walk around the house saying all of these unintelligible things. Of course I was 9 and into Little League and other more important matters.

By the time I got to high school, about seven or eight years later, Latin had been dropped. So I took Spanish, as did a lot of other teenage boys in our school. It was rumored that our Spanish teacher had posed for Playboy, and although in retrospect I doubt it, she could have. It's one of the enduring mysteries of my life.

As I wound down unusually early today, I turned to the puzzle, the write up and comments for a respite.

Thank you Bruce for the challenge, and thank you Lemonade for the creative write up. Kazie, I loved your acronym for POETS. That describes exactly what I needed to do today.

Chairman Moe, we've all learned to ignore it. We try to not feed them. Best to skip over it. 5 letter word for "Online instigator" ?

Right Spitz, P=IV and V=IR, so extrapolate as required. I too was all over Watt, versus Amp, versus Ohm. But that's OK Sailorman, Sometimes we get different clues in our respective rags.

Jayce, I've mentioned before that my choir teacher asked me to mouth the words, so at least yours wasn't quite as personal.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-After three straight days of subbing, I remember why I retired.
-Fun, fun, fun on a Friday! Clever and challenging.
-I remember when Tang and AOK were big part of the culture du jour.
-Not much else to add at this late hour.

Avg Joe said...

Jayce, today's "long distance dedication" is to you.

Jeffrey Gaines Headmasters of Mine.

Lucina said...

JazzB:
I also wish I could attend that concert. If you can in any way post it I look forward to it.

Jayce said...

Yep, it was scenario 1.
Best wishes to you all from a very bad tenor sax player.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Jayce,
We stopped watching ...Get Away with Murder after one episode. Even a good actress can't get away with such pushy know-it-all dialog. Those great character parts where the smart professor inspires slacker students through his/her sarcastic brilliance (e.g. John Houseman, Paper Chase) need to be laid back and laconic. Not loud & In-Yer-Face.

Manac said...

Evening folks.
I think I did rather well today for
my first Latin lesson.
Couldn't get " To Infinity and Beyond!" out of my head afterwards.

Dave, Never ridden a snowmobile before, looks like fun :-)

Since its close to the 31st.
Scarecrow

Bill G. said...

O M Keith, I completely agree with your assessment of How to Get Away With Murder though I'm still watching it to see what happens. I think Suits has many of the same problems. The main characters aren't likeable. I think I'll give up on both of them.

"I wonder what the word for 'dots' looks like in Braille?"

Anonymous T said...

Bill G. - Good question that I don't know the answer to. But it makes me wonder when iPad screens will have tactile feedback for the blind. At the State HS science fair (Baton Rouge - '87), someone had modified a 9-pin dot-matrix to imprint brail onto a page. It made my Fibonacci project WEAK by comparison.

Oh, today's puzzle? Bruce was way over my education. Sure, I filled EWOKS, WEAK, 11d and a smattering of others. But, being Catholic after Vatican II, the only Latin I needed was pig (to dodge the nuns) & ettu (for English class) :-)

Thanks anyway Bruce for the diversion and Lem for the answers. I'm glad everyone (else) had fun with it.

Cheers, -T

Thomas said...

Am a first-timer to this blog. "Thank you Bruce for the challenge, and thank you Lemonade for the creative write up." Ditto that comment. The few negative comments I see are either just plain false or I disagree.

Lemonade714 said...

Thomas, welcome. MANAC, glad you are back.

Abejo said...

Good Saturday Afternoon, folks. Thank you, Bruce Haight, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade for a fine review.

Well, I finished this late last night and hit the hay. Was busy all day with Master Gardener seed collection and Information Desk.

So, Here I am. Still have to do today's puzzle. we will see what the evening brings.

Puzzle was pretty tough. I had some errors, so it is a technical DNF.

I missed OUI at 19A, had OIL. Missed DEISM at 13D, had CELSS. Thought that might be some French word. The rest I got.

Liked the Latin phrases. I am much better with Latin than French.

Tried URN for 58A, fixed that to ARK. I should have known that right off the bat. The ARK of the Covenant.

Had APB instead of AKA. Fixed that with perps.

ANODE was easy. Worked with large battery cells all my life. The heaviest were 1500 pounds per cell and put out 2.17 volts per cell. We hooked them up in series to make 50 volts DC.

NEHIS again. Getting to be a regular word.

Let's see what I can do with Saturday's puzzle.

Tomorrow is Reformation Sunday. Our brass group is playing my favorite hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God.

See you later tonight, I hope.

Abejo

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