google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday July 29, 2008 Edgar Fontaine

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Jul 29, 2008

Tuesday July 29, 2008 Edgar Fontaine

Theme: HUH (2D: Whazzat?)

17A: At all: WHATSOEVER

26A: "Twelfth Night": WHAT YOU WILL

39A: Thingamabob: WHATCHAMACALLIT

50A: Alfred E. Neuman line: WHAT, ME WORRY

61A: Streisand film: WHAT'S UP, DOC

Sub-theme: "The Sound of Music"

15A: Opera star: DIVA

22A: Prima donna's number: ARIA

23A: Notes of scales: FAS

31A: Refrain syllable: TRA

68A: Yamaha product: PIANO

3D: Lyrical Gershwin: IRA

6D: Lyric poem: ODE

30D: NYC opera house: MET. Techinically it's "The MET", isn't it?

Great puzzle. I like the grid. I simply adore puzzles with a running-through theme answer (39A). They fit my eyes. I also like how the constructor tied in the theme title HUH (2D) to the grid. Very clever, awesome "Whazzat"? clue.

Many WHAT* phrases can fit in a 15*15 grid, for example:

WHAT a cry baby!

WHAT a drag!

WHAT's the problem?

WHAT's the point?

WHAT's the meaning of this?

WHAT did you think I meant?

WHAT else?

It's a pity that MAD (46A: Insane) was not clued as the "Humor Magazine". It would have been a wonderful parallel to 50A: WHAT, ME WORRY. Maybe our editor changed the constructor's original clue. Who knows?

Across:

19A: Get-up: TOGS. Why is TOGS always in plural form? I am very confused by these clothing words: get-up, attire, apparel, dress, outfit, duds and clothes. I can never tell which one is plural and which is singular.

21A: "The Lord of Rings" baddie: ORC. Are you a Tolkien fan?

33A: Delhi attire: SARIS. Three ways to wear a SARI. The spelling of "Delhi" is very baffling to me, so is Gandhi and Lhasa, very whimsical silent "h" position.

44A: "Easy ___": RIDER. I enjoyed this clip last week.

45A: Irish Republic: EIRE

55A: Ipanema locale: RIO. Very interesting "The Girl from Ipanema"clip. Who is your favorite Bond girl?

57A: Rhine tributary: AAR. Or AARE, the Swiss river.

66A: Mark ___ -Baker: LINN. No idea. Obtained his name from the down clues.

69A: Sundance's girlfriend: ETTA. Great movie. I like Robert Redford. He is "The Natural" and he always lives what he has dreamed.

Down:

4D: Charlie Brown's exclamation: RATS. I have this bobblehead.

7D: Swivel: PIVOT

11D: New Zealand Polynesian: MAORI. Only learned this morning that the word MAORI means "ordinary people" in the native language.

12D: Potter's clay: ARGIL. No idea. Dictionary says it's mostly "a white clay used by potters". ARG(os) is a Latin prefix meaning "white". "ARG" means "angry" in Swedish/Norwegian languages, very interesting.

23D: Islamic ruling: FATWA

24D: Hi, on HI: ALOHA. "on HI"? Not "in HI"?

25D: Twilled silk fabric: SURAH. Or SURAT. New word to me. I found out that SURAH is also an alternative spelling of SURA (the Koran chapter). Odd!

28D: Major in astronomy?: URSA. I like this clue.

34D: French soul: AME. Anima/Animus in Latin.

37D: Wispy clouds: CIRRI. Singualr is CIRRUS (Latin for "a lock, curl, tendril"). Saw this clue somewhere before.

41D: Retreat: HIDEAWAY. Indeed, a beautiful place for a HIDEAWAY.

42D: Do-over service: LET. The tennis call.

46D: Sicilian spouter: MT ETNA. Ha, this one had me confused for quite sometime. Shouldn't the clue has some hint to indicate an abbreviated MT?

48D: Bellicose deity: ARES. Mars for the Romans.

50D: Marine mammal: WHALE. Thar she blows!

51D: Daily routine: HABIT. "...You could have a big dipper. Going up and down, all around the bends...I've kicked the HABIT....I've been feeding the rhythm. It's what we're doing, doing, all day and night". For Melissa.

53D: Large mackerel: WAHOO. Also called Peto. New to me. Pretty big.

54D: Borneo ape, briefly: ORANG. What are you thinking?

62D: Crumpet complement: TEA. I have not eaten CRUMPETS for ages.

65D: Kind of lettuce: COS. Romaine lettuce. My favorite.

C.C.

127 comments:

  1. Good morning, C.C. and fellow DFs - thought this was a real softball today - sub-four minutes. Two answers I needed the perps for: Argil (Potter's clay) and Linn (Mark -Baker). Always good to see my childhood hero, Alfred E.

    C.C., the Bond clip was great; thanks. I also agree with you about the cluing for Mt. Etna.

    Hope it's an outstanding day for everyone, and C.C., don't sweat the small stuff...

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  2. Good morning all. Rather easy today but needed crosses to complete. For some reason Dell products escaped me for a long time this and I kept trying to put Nancy in for Tara but Nancy was the victim.

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  3. Dick, you're probably thinking of Tanya Harding. Hey, it's early!

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  4. Good morning everyone.
    Good puzzle today. I missed some of the answers, but did ok.
    CC, I am not a big Tolkien fan, are you?
    I do love Robert Redford. Have you seen The Way We Were? That's my favorite Redford movie. Used to be I couldn't watch without crying for a week! haha
    The sari's were beautiful and so was the hideaway.
    I never heard of argil for potters clay.
    Have a good day everyone.....

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  5. Quick puzzle... but CC I think the theme should be: "What's up with ALOHA?" It seems it is in every puzzle :):):)

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  6. Morning, folks!

    Looks like we were on the same wavelength this morning, C.C. Not a particularly difficult puzzle, but I didn't know LINN, ETTA, WAHOO, SURAH or ARGIL either and had to get them from the perps. Fortunately, I could get them from the perps, so I was able to finish unassisted.

    Have a great day, everyone!

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  7. gyl is also a silvery color and that's why silver's name is Ag in the periodic Mendelian chart.

    C.C., How about Nehru?

    I thought 38D (as a STENO) and 48A (MT ETNA) were pretty good clues. It had me thinking how to spell ETNA with 6 letters. The minutes taker put me me thinking on the clock, time, etc. Finally, the perps got mr on the right thought.

    I'm a fan of Tolkien. I've read his work and seen the movies.

    The ALOHA clue should not be abbreviated...

    I also enjoyed this puzzle and the "WHAT" sayings...

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  8. Dennis you are absolutely right. Dah!!

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  9. Hi, WHAT'S UP?? Easy today. It all fell together, even tuough there were a few I didn't know:
    ARGIL
    FATWA
    TURAH
    ORC; Not a LORD fan.
    APIA
    And 46d really should have given an indication of the abbreviation.
    Also, CC, since HI is an island I think that ON instead of IN is appropiate.
    Gotta go, CYA later.

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  10. ON the island HI. IN the state HI. Hawaii is the name of both the state and one of the islands in it.
    Calef

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  11. Good morning. A bit late this morning. Actually had to do some work before I could do the puzzle. Not a bad one today. Didn't understand 26A so I googled it after the fact. Didn't know it was a Shakespearean work.
    Alfred E. Neumann and "Mad Magazine." Wow, what memories.
    Whatchamacallits and Thingamajigs.
    Yes, I'm a Tolkien Fan. Read every JRRT book I could get my hands on. Also, those written by his son, Christopher. Seen every animated and live action film. Can't wait for "The Hobbit" to come out.
    The Easy Rider Bike was Awesome!
    Don't forget Paul Newman. Loved him as "The Hustler."

    Today is National Lasagna Day, Rain Day (as if we haven't had enough in New England), Sock Puppet Day, and the Anniversary of NASA.

    Bill - your TURAH should be SURAH or you end up with FAT for scale notes.

    Have a great Tuesday.

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  12. Morning all,

    Loved the picture of the saris. Absolutely beautiful. They would make getting dressed up worthwhile.

    I have never eaten a crumpet but they look like our English muffins. Do they taste the same?

    I tried three times to read "Lord of the Rings" and gave up. Just couldn't get into it. I know many love Tolkien, but I'm not one of them.

    Took all day yesterday to clean up after Sunday's storm. No major damage just a mess of leaves, branches, ruined flowers, pool filled with leaves, etc. Haven't seen hail like that in years.

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  13. Weird vibe on the blog lately. Not liking it. Anybody else feel it?

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  14. Just the right level of difficulty for me this morning. I didn't know FATWA or SURAH but I managed to get them from the perps. The theme was easily detected - I saw it as well known phrases starting with "what" but I liked CCs description better and totally missed the HUH tie-in. Also thought the onomatopoetic 1A and 1D were well done.

    Dennis, yes I have noticed a different vibe on the blog. For one thing, fewer commenters and not as much back-and-forth. Seems more business-like and less friendly.

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  15. No googles today. This one was pretty straight forward. What I didn't know came from the fills.
    Dennis, you must solve half of these by reading all the clues first and then just writing them down. Chuckle.

    CC The synonyms for clothing are confusing. I think only memorization would work for a non-English native.

    Jeanne, I tried Lord of the Rings three times also. It just never worked for me.

    Flyingears, Ag for Silver comes from the latin word for silver, Argentum. We get the word silver from the Anglo-Saxon word siolfur.
    I knew argentum(I was trained as a chemist, but didn't work in the field). The A-S reference came from google.

    Best, Ken

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  16. ken, I also trained in the field of Chemistry and I didn't work on it either, although it was fun to work in the lab... The Mendelian symbols have grown a little since I finished my schooling. And I agree with the Ag from the latin.

    I meant "argyl" and not "gyl" as I typed. I wonder if Argentina is rich in silver.

    Maybe anonymous from BUENOS AIRES could help me answer my question. It may also be known for the "llanuras" and Pampas. The best steak comes from there and the Churrasco con chimichurri is probably the best steak meal available.

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  17. Good morning CC & DF's: No time for the puzzle but LOVE Robt Redford..in everything... and preferably in nothing at all... Paul Newman as well.. Butch Cassidy? My all time fav. I LIVE the Hustler...8 ball my specialty but love to rack 'em and stack 'em. Love to see the 3D's here. I'll be back tomorrow. Keep it hot, y'all.

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  18. good morning c.c. and all,

    i always approach tuesday puzzles with some trepidation because of a particularly beastly one a while back that i could not get through without help. no need for angst today.

    c.c. i really enjoyed all your clips, thanks for the sledgehammer.

    i like all the enlightening references to the arts .. theater (twelfth night), film (what's up doc, butch cassidy), musical (diva, aria, piano, ira, etc.), poetry (ode), even pottery (argil), and education (alumnus), then there's eastern, saris, yoga and sages.

    know mark linn baker from 'my favorite year,' with peter o'toole, and the absolutely HILARIOUS film version of 'noises off,' with carol burnett, michael caine, john ritter, christopher reeve, and nicolette sheridan.

    i remember seeing butch cassidy and the sundance kid at the drive in. the scene that introduces katherine ross, where she's undressing for robert redford at gunpoint .. tame by today's standards but it remains a great scene.

    @dennis: definitely a vibe change around here. an increase in comments, but many regarding what not to say (off-stage too). c.c's list of 'what' phrases sums it up.

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  19. Lois, I spent years in the Norfolk area(Dam Neck, south of VA Beach), in the 60s. I returned in 2000 to travel memory lane and stumbled across a beautiful NN city park for RVs. I'll never forget how tired I was and how welcome it was. Ken

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  20. melissa bee, you're right - C.C.'s 'what' phrase list says it quite succinctly.

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  21. The picture of crumpets was so inviting! I miss them so much, being an expat aussie. They don't taste like English muffins, which I find to be rather dry and uninteresting by comparison. Crumpets are nice and greasy with lots of butter, and they don't absorb it--you have to work to avoid letting it run down your chin. Hmm, delicious!

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  22. I shouldn't whine when there is so much fire damage going on so near to us, but every morning I open my eyes to heavy smoke in the air. No good news yet, the media is measuring it in sq. miles now and sadly 25 homes burned. Yosemite isn't threated....yet.

    Our newspaper hasn't arrived yet and I'm not going to have time to do the online version this morning. We are "goin' to town" to get some shopping done, so I'll be just getting started when all of you are settling down after the chores, or jobs, are done. That will be difficult for me. This blog is getting to be "the drug of choice" for me; so many nice people and so many interesting comments. I think I'm hooked.

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  23. I trained as a chemist, have a doctorate in chemistry, and work as a chemist. Why didn't you guys stick with it?

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  24. Flyingears. While in school to be the next Bohr, Pauling or somebody, I had three indicators that Chemistry might not be for me. My nuclear chemistry prof told how, when riding an open elevator at a nuclear lab he working, one evening the shaft lights were out. He noted with interest that the grease in the elevator wheel runs glowed. The second was that I read that a working chemist has a five year shorter life span(probably due to breathing all those carcinogens.) Thirdly, we had an explosion in Phys. Chem lab that killed a classmate. Somehow some nitric acid was in the same hood as the organic solvents such as toluene. I've never researched the synthesis for tnt, but I've always believed some fumes from the nitric acid & toluene spontaneously combined.
    In one of John Wayne's movies, a kid makes nitroglyerin, assumedly by combining nitric acid and glycerine(VERY CAREFULLY), so perhaps the tnt synthesis can be accomplished spontaneously.
    I learned my stuff at U of Wash. You?

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  25. Good morning C.C. and DFs

    Easy one this morning... about five minutes at best. Couple of false starts but that's xwording.

    Didn't pick up on Chirr. Don't think I ever heard a grasshopper... crickets locusts and cicadas yes... grasshoppers no.

    The N.E. corner was the only stickler for me. Did not know argil & got hung on nasal but the crosses filled them in.

    Hope y'all have a great day.

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  26. ken, Yes, I did!!! Once one of my classmates poured water into acid and boy, did he get a bath!!! I was then been trained to become a pharmacist (as my dad), but that was not my call. I surely enjoyed the labs, but not trying to remember every theoretical composition of carbons, nitrogens, etc. It was all cramming for a test but remember very little although I can recognize most of stuff as long as I don't have to give a name of the specific compound...

    In biochemistry, we had to learn the vitamins, Krebs cycle, and you name it. All crammed!!!

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  27. drdad, chemistry is great, but... My call was a different one. I would still enjoy the lab work, but it's too time-consuming... I'm glad you toughed it out and got your PhD.. What was your thesis on? I had to write one for nicotine tar during my med school years. Boy, was it a drag (no pun intended)... And I used to smoke then.

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  28. Flyingears: Water into acid..yikes. First day in high school chemistry, the teacher nearly branded that no no on our hands, she was so adamant. I really wanted to take biochem, but just didn't have time in my schedule. I'd a co-degree in Oceanography and eventually worked in that arena for a while, but mostly developed in to a fairly competent computer guy handling shipboard research. I ended up teaching computer skill and design courses at local colleges. It only took me 45 years to decide what I loved. Go figure.

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  29. Drdad. Congratulations on that Ph D. I had a co-degree in Oceanography and received a job offer from the Navy. I had a wife and two children by then and a paycheck in hand looked awfully good.
    I interviewed for a job as a wood pulp chemist with Georgia-Pacific. I had a second interview, but the Navy job offer came in and I grabbed it.

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  30. Dennis: I was a Mad freak in my hs years as well. Between the ..was it Don Martin cartoons and Spy vs Spy, I've rarely come across such creative humor since.

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  31. Wow. Easy today after I remembered "What You Will" was the sub-title for "Twelfth Night", Shakespeare's comedy based on Barnabe Riche's "Apolonis and Silla." Didn't know argil (12d) or Linn (66a) but got from perps.

    c.c. On an island, in a state or country. Hawaii is both so either is correct.

    drdad. I, too, love JRRT. Read the Hobbit to my girls when they were young and they did the LOTR trilogy on their own. The books are not for everyone. If you check, I think you'll find there is a film "The Hobbit." It came out long before the film trilogies and I BELIEVE is was animated. LLB (Long Live Bilbo).

    dennis; As I mentioned originally, I followed this blog for months before I jumped on. Being a nubie, I hope I contribute positively with my comments, but I have noticed there has been a change. Too much angst and too little fun. I will be glad to drop off and just continue to read it if we think the blog is getting too big.

    to all; someone mentioned J. Buffet doing a country version of a song. I'm not a C&W fan but I write C&W songs. They're just too easy to write. My only song was written years ago when I was dating a British girl. I was called "She Didn't Like My Apartment, So I Knocked Her Flat." I think I'll start writing again. I have a great title, "It's Hard To Kiss the Lips At Night That Chewed Tour Ass All Day." Sound catchy???

    Bye, I must be off.

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  32. 33A. Nice link,CC. The sarongs and models are beautiful. Now this:
    There's a young fashion designer who has decided to combine the national dress of India with the carefree styling of Polynesia.
    He calls it his "Sari, Sarong Number."

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  33. Good morning everyone! Lots of new words: ARGIL, FATWA, SURAH, AME, ARES, WAHOO. Didn't know Mark LINN-Baker. Almost feel into the plural "s" trap with 14A. Is that a var. or is AURAS a var.?

    C.C., I also think 24D should be "in HI." 28D was a clever clue. 46D could be "Sicilian spouter, formally" to indicate the "title" of MT. Crack me up on your 50D comment!

    Dick, Nancy was the victim and "Tonya" was the culprit. Tara was not involved at all.

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  34. buckeye, don't even think about it - you've obviously got a great sense of humor and are an excellent fit here......and most importantly, you don't take yourself too seriously.
    Good of you to join us.

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  35. Buckeye-yes the animated film was by Rankin-Bass entitled "The Hobbit." Voices of Otto Preminger (Bilbo), John Huston (Gandalf), and Hans Conried (Thorin Oakenshield). I'm waiting for the live action film.

    Ken & Flyingears - B.Sc. from Kearney State College (now Univ. of Nebr. at Kearney), Ph.D. at Univ. of Nebr. Lincoln. Thesis was on a "Regio and Stereochemical Approach to Adriamycin." Adriamycin and Daunomycin (it's parent compound) are anti-tumor/anti-cancer drugs. We worked on a total synthesis that would allow for the formation of analogs that proved to be less cardiotoxic and got a patent for it. Thesis was about 280 pages long. Never regretted doing it. Was offered a post-doctoral but that ends up being more cheap labor for some professor. A job offer came along from Rhode Island and, as I had a wife and child, I took it. Been happy ever since. TNT is very hard to make at room temperature from nitric acid and toluene but it could happen. Nitroglyerin can be made just by having the two (leaking) bottles of nitric acid and glycerin side by side. AAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!! The days in the lab trying to blow stuff up!!!

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  36. Hello c.c., df’s and all! Welcome from the hot box that is SW Florida.

    This was more like a Monday puzzle as I thought it was easier than yesterdays. I had a little trouble in NE corner (Maine?) and due South (Texas?), but got through other clues.

    Believe it or not, COS was foreign to me. Can anyone explain that term for lettuce?

    I loved Mad magazine, too. I remember how the back page used to fold together. Wasn’t the “spy vs. spy” artist from Cuba?

    @mellissab- “My Favorite Year” is a great movie. Although I got the clue, I couldn’t remember how I knew the name- I kept on getting hung up on Joe Lynn Turner, ex singer for Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. Peter O’Toole screaming “…I had ONE LINE- I forgot it” still makes me howl.

    As far as you chemical boys go, my only experience with them was in the ingesting, not the making. It explains a lot.

    Cheer up everyone! We all seem to be walking on eggshells today- doesn’t anyone know a good fart joke?

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  37. G'day, c.c. and all! Late start for me today. Life intervened.

    ARGIL, FATWA, WHATYOUWILL were new to me. I thought URSA translated as "bear," and SURAH made me think of "petite surah." Must be 4:00 somewhere....

    I thought this was a really easy puzzle. As with ken and others, what I didn't know came from the fills.

    c.c., the saris are gorgeous!

    So is Robert Redford. I think "Out of Africa" may be my all-time fav girlie movie. "The Sting," "The Great Waldo Pepper," "All the President's Men," "Three Days of the Condor," "Sneakers," and "Electric Horseman,' just to name a few in addition to "The Natural." I love his work.

    I was in high school when "Girl from Ipanema" debuted on the "Getz/Gilberto" album. I love the bossa nova sound. It seems perfect for the end of the workday, with a glass of petite surah in your hand! *S* From Wikipedia: "In 2004, it was one of 50 recordings chosen by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry."

    I love JRRT.

    "Noises Off" with Carol Burnett is great!

    Flyingears, Anon. from B.A. is Mark.

    Buckeye, I think we need to keep you around so you can continue to share your C/W song titles!

    And, WAHOO. My husband loves to sail and spent 18 days on a sailboat in the SW Pacific a few years back. He caught a Wahoo that was as tall as he is, and the captain served it as lunch and dinner for several days. Fred said it was surprisingly good marinated in lemon juice.

    And that's all I have time for at the moment. (I bet you're all saying "Thank God!).

    Clear Ayes...I hope you get some relief from the fires and smoke.

    How do you say "Seize the rest of the day" in Latin??

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  38. @xchef I Googled for Cos and found this site

    http://www.foodreference.com/html/artromainecoslettuce.html

    Basically, there is some thought the Romaine plant may have originated on the island of Cos (Kos). The British are more likely to call the greens "cos," than "romaine."

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  39. Ooops....

    Well...you have the pertinent info.
    Eventually I'll get the hang of HTML, so I can post a link.

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  40. Good morning C.C. and all,
    Another enjoyable puzzle..Hi on HI threw me at 1st.
    C.C.- Thanks for the G to complete togs and argil.Have heard of togs, but...as you say, we have so many synonyms for clothing. I found a site that alphbetiacally lists 269 names of fabric/cloth.

    I didn't understand the reasoning behind let until now.Should have.. tennis consumed much of my time years back.

    Loved the "Easy Rider" snippet! Why did Katherine Ross fall out of sight after that terrific movie?She was stunning.

    mmmmm, as Charlie Brown once said, "Life is like an ice cream cone: you have to learn to lick it."

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  41. mark - buenos aires

    yes, argentina is from silver. Apparently they were smuggling the stuff down the rivers from Peru to avoid the Spanish monopoly. traders thought it came from here but there is none of any quantity.

    Quite a few unknown sayings and words today but I put my best guess forward and I was surprised they came out right.

    Somebody asked for a joke, and yesterdays talk of seamen prompted one from my schooldays.

    How do you circumcise a whale?

    You use four skin divers.

    have a good day each and all of you.

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  42. xchefwalt, I too never heard of COS for romaine lettuce. Someone please enlighten us. Hot and steamy here in Minnesota, you would never believe that in January it gets 20 below zero!

    Well everyone have a whale of a whatchamacallit and shout "wahoo"!!

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  43. What the hell was the one joke that compared a submarine to something because they were full of seamen? What was the something? I can't remember - AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!!

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  44. @kittyb- thanks for the information. It’s one of the things I love about this field, you never stop learning. I remember having the devil of a time once finding out that they call arugula “rocket” down under (I was creating an Australian wine dinner) and the term stumped me for days.

    I think Redford’s best work was done behind the camera. “The Milagro Beanfield War” is a brilliant, subtle film with multiple themes, great performances, and the second best score (next to Mark Knoffler’s work in “The Princess Bride”) in all of moviedom.

    Gotta go- all this “acid” talk is giving me flashbacks. How does one get rid of a purple gorilla?

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  45. Drdad Nice career move for you to RI. Watch your talk on submarine personnel, altho' jokes about us abound, chuckling. I spent a couple of hitches on them and they remain a high point of my life.

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  46. Anonymous from B. A., Mark, Thanks for the info (Muchas gracias por la información provista, mi amigo).

    drdad, also thank you for your info about your background. Sounds interesting. In fact, I was involved with cancer therapy in my practice as a head and neck cancer specialist. It's a very sad specialty as it has a very grim outcome. Most patients see us late in their illness. Trying to help with them with surgery can be physiologically worse and too destructive. I gave up that part in making them worst. It's probably less damaging to let them die of their disease and treat them gracefully providing pain support and not hiding anything from them and/or their family.

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  47. Good Morning C.C. and D.F.'s (yes, thank you there are still some of us left)
    Dennis and Melissa, yes vibes are different...started yesterday. You're both right about C.C.'s "what" list. "What's Wrong" people??

    Buckeye, please stay with us, you add so much with your wit and humor!

    I'm not a Lord fan either.

    Unknown words today:
    Aurae, Fatwa, Surah, Assad, Etta, Wahoo (I liked that one!)

    The whale is back today....I'll quit blubbering now.

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  48. Drdad has put the bait out. Any takers, ladies? Walt, I was surprised that you weren't familiar with the "cos" term. Any librians here? Here's an address to a song that might brighten your day:http://www.youtube.com/v/SB4HvVEMFig&rel=1

    So, How do you put a giraffe into a refrigerator? (Back in half an hour with the answer)

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  49. @ KittyB
    Best I can recall: carpe ceterus diem

    But I could be wrong - it happens every once in a while.

    Nothing to add that hasn't been said. Hope all is well with everyone.

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  50. @crockett: thanks for that link. barb b is a librarian.

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  51. drdad, the comparison was to a teenage boy.

    ken, I'd love to talk to you someday; I've always wondered what life was like on one of those. Good special on the Military Channel a while back, but I'm sure it's somewhat sanitized. I have the utmost respect for anyone that can coexist in that environment with a bunch of other guys for an extended period. Hell, we were in large barracks, and we had brawls virtually every night.

    This is the first day in the history of the blog that C.C. has not been on - let's all hope things are ok with her. Not getting an answer to emails either, which is most unusual.

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  52. I shall back off on the sub jokes.

    Ken-yes. Now I no longer work on pharmaceuticals. I work on pigments that go into paint, inks, textiles, plastics, etc. In fact, everything that is colored is either a dye or a pigment. Went into quality control more than anything else. Lab days are pretty much gone.

    Flyingears-that cancer therapy is tough sometimes. It's getting better all the time but still, alot of people won't or don't survive which is sad. Sometimes maybe it's better not to treat but that needs to be left up to the patient. A tough decision, I know. I, for one, would try until it became apparent that it wasn't going to work (when would that be? who knows?) and then just help with the pain and let me go. Others may feel different and I respect their opinions as well. I don't think there is an easy answer or decision when it comes down to it. Hope I didn't offend anyone.

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  53. Open the door and put the giraffe into the refrigerator. Very simple.

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  54. How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

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  55. kittyb; thanks for mentioning the c/w thing. I was inspired by two REAL c/w songs - Lester Flatt/Earl Scruggs' "I Got Tears In My Ears From Lying ON My Back On My Pillow Cryin' Over You," and "She Got The Gold Mine, I Got The Shaft." They prompted me to pen "She Got The Ring, I Got The Finger."

    I promise to use the sparingly.

    I must be off.

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  56. Drdad, very good! I see you have the next question already posted.

    Answer: Open the refrigerator, put in the giraffe and close the door.
    Rationale: This question tests whether or not you are doing simple things in a complicated way.

    Next question: How do you put an elephant into a refrigerator?

    Back in half an hour with the answer.

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  57. Dennis, my brother spent three years on a nuclear sub. Three months up three months down. When he missed the birth of his first child that was it for him. They offered him a tidy sum to re-enlist but he said they couldn't pay him enough. He said imagine the worst smelling locker room and multiply it by 100. They did have interesting contests though. I'll give you a hint...one of them was called "hang time".

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  58. Crockett-I had answered the giraffe question and asked the elephant question. The answer is to open the door, take the giraffe out, and put the elephant in.

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  59. I think the next question is: The lion king is hosting an animal conference. All the animals attend except one. Which one?

    I hope Crockett reads this before he posts the same question.

    Wait til you hear the last question.

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  60. Actually, I'm the one who needs to read before I post.

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  61. Drdad, the elephant because he's in the refrigerator?

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  62. @xchef - I knew that "rocket" was a green, but I didn't know it was specifically arugula. It's too hot to grow cos in Illinois right now, but I might be able to get in a fall crop.

    I didn't know Mark Knopfler wrote the music for "Princess Bride." I'll have to listen again.

    @Chrisinla - thanks for the Latin. I have forgotten too much of what I learned. It would take more than brushing up to get it back. I bet you have the last time you were wrong marked on the calendar and circled in red! *G*

    @crockett....waiting....

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  63. OK drdad, if you want to hijack the thread, go right ahead. I was going to post the rationale and wrong answer stuff to lighten the mood.

    Kittyb, it's not time yet...

    Cokato, right on!

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  64. Kittyb, that question was to test whether you are capable of complex thinking.

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  65. OK, next question: You come upon a river you think may be filled with crocodiles. How do you cross it?

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  66. I love the "easy" puzzles, the ones where I know enough of the answers that I can get the rest from the fills. I loved the theme of this one - fun and funny.

    Mark Linn Baker is probably best know for the long-running sitcom Perfect Strangers with Bronson Pinchot, broadcast from the late 1980s to early 1990s. I've always thought he was a cutie pie and he has a substantial body of work. He's still around, making guest appearances on Law and Order, etc.

    Robert Redford was responsible for one of my all time favorite movies - Ordinary People, and he also directed Quiz Show, which I've watched many times and never tire of.

    Katherine Ross worked steadily in the 1970s and 1980s, including as a regular character on the night time soap, The Colbys. I especially remember her in The Stepford Wives (1975).

    I've been too busy for crosswords lately, but enjoyed the "converstaion" today.

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  67. Dennis, you are right about C.C. and no comments since her Original Post. Hope she is OK.

    Buckeye, I'm still laughing about your c/w song titles! It's about the only thing good about that style of music. No offense meant to those c/w fans out there...I am a rockabilly fan and that is as close to c/w as you get but it don't have that awful twang to it. Also love bluegrass esp banjo's!

    Bill is our bluegrass boy, I sure wish I lived closer to his part of the country, I'd be at those festivals. We have a Blues Festival here in Portland every July 4 (and several days prior or after)and it is wonderful, at least, the music still is, we quit going in person as it was too crowed to even sit down. It is held at a park on a river bank so there is limited seating available, just blankets spread around.

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  68. good evening (from here in sweden)--i'm just somewhat arg (see cc's note) that they forgot the umlaut on Dag Hammarskjöld--i'm quite near his summer place where they hold lectures each summer on diverse subjects). Swedish does have 3 extra letters in the alphabet (å ä ö) and replacing them with a or o changes the pronunciation and often the meaning...fast puzzle...argile is a great clay based soap in France...well known

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  69. 6:?? today. (No exact time because I inadvertently closed the browser window with the puzzle in it, d'oh.)

    I disagree with the reasoning on 24d: Hi, on HI because HI is the US Post Office abbreviation for the state of Hawaii, not the big island. Thus it should be as c.c. said Hi, in HI IMHO.

    My chemistry career was short-lived. When I entered college, intending to be a dual major (Math and Chemistry), I found that the only section of honors Chem 101 was at 9am MWF, and the only section of chem lab available was Saturday 9-noon. Suffice to say that I blew off (slept through) most of those early classes and the Saturday morning labs. I therefore became a math major--goodbye chemistry!

    (Yes, I was young and immature at the time.)

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  70. Ken (and other chemists) - I was especially interested in your "conversation," because my stepson is starting college in the fall, and not only is he majoring in chemistry, but he's also chemistry's #1 Fan! I took the liberty of sending your comments to him, not to discourage him, just because they were a hoot.

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  71. crockett- I know the answer and won't give it. I will defer to you. And you can give the rationale.

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  72. @crockett: send anon 2:26 across first?

    p.s. who is that singing the librarian song? i love it ..

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  73. @kittyb- if you listen close, you can pick up his playing style- no picks, only fingers, giving it a distinctive “twang”

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  74. Drdad, thank you. Melissa b, that sound like a great idea! The fellow is Joe Uveges out of Colorado Springs CO.

    Simply swim across. All the crocodiles are attending the animal meeting.

    Rationale: This question tests your reasoning ability. This tests whether you learn quickly from your mistakes.

    According to Andersen Consulting Worldwide, around 90% of the professionals they tested got all questions wrong. But many preschoolers got several correct answers. Anderson Consulting says this conclusively disproves the theory that most professionals have the brains of a four-year-old.

    And now back to our regularly scheduled programming......

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  75. @crockett: thanks .. that was great.

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  76. OK! This party needs to lighten up! I've tried really hard to be good. (or was that good to be... whatever) Oh! Oh! Another word for the "what" list. But, the pull of the darkside is too great. So, here's a salute to our sirens...
    Song of the sirens

    The guys of course wake up hungover, in their longjohns, and robbed of the little money they had. I don't want to point out any similarities but... they are our "sirens".

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  77. Carl, why in the world would they wake up in their longjohns?

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  78. @drdad- where's the santa post- that was the funniest thig I've seen in a while!

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  79. @cokato

    Those were much simpler times! And, the sirens had a little sympathy back then. They knew how to show at least a little mercy.

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  80. Buckeye, your titles remind me of "You Never Even Called Me By My Name." "I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison...."

    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080107125757AAHQBgK

    Crockett....these questions have come through my mail. Without a doubt, I can ALWAYS find the most complex solution. I have a talent for it. My husband is the clear thinker in this household.

    c.c - I think that Michelle Yeoh (did I spell that right?) and Halle Berry are my favorite Bond girls.

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  81. Carl, You caught us!! We had so much fun with those poor ol' boys, left 'em wantin' more, but we had to move on.. Wahoo !!!! We sure did find out "what was up"! and we won't say "what me worry" either. Hope their "whatchamacallit's" don't take a draft!

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  82. DrDad, Apparently when I do spel gud I don't reed gud!
    I had an "S" but couldn't read it. Too early I guess!!

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  83. @cokato

    Yep! You hit it right on the head.

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  84. Here we go, down the slippery slope. WHEEEEE!

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  85. @all

    Has that 400 pound gorilla left the party yet?

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  86. Carl, hope I didn't hit it too hard.

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  87. Crockett, "slippin' and aslidin', peepin' and ahidin'" that's how we love to go.....

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  88. Pretty easy puzzle today. Pretty much the same problems as everyone else. If I finish a puzzle in less than twenty, it has to be super easy. I don’t like to do things in a hurry – like to lick the ice cream cone, save a little sweet stuff for later, etc.

    Dr.Dad –
    Dennis may be right, but I think it’s Submarines – and whales – someone else can fill in the blanks.

    Crockett,
    I like the librarian song.

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  89. drdad, You may notice my comments are always posted late morning or early afternoon. That's because I lay awake all night trying to solve imponderable questions. You, being our chemistry guru, can solve one that has cost me endless hours of sleep. Why is it that no matter what color a bar of bath soap is -blue, green, gold etc.-the bubbles are always white?

    I eagerly await your reply.

    I must be off.

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  90. Lot of cute questions today, and I will add one more:

    If you are going to make a parachute jump, at least how high should you be?

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  91. carol, At least three doobies.

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  92. answer was from the comic Charlie Weaver: "Three days of steady drinking should do it"

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  93. @any Carlin fans.

    & if you're not,just fast forward past this.

    Carlin has a new release coming out... I think next week although I'm not sure of the date. It's called "It's Bad For Ya". Some funny stuff.

    But, here's a site you may want to explore. I'm not posting it as a link because you don't have to go there and to do so might infringe on something.... And, it might be construed as political... yada, yada, yada.

    http://tv.msn.com/tv/article.aspx/?news=324857&GT1=28103&vv=600

    Also in all the news that's fit to print... only in Oregon. A Grants Pass couple got married under twenty feet of water. You'd think they'd know they were in over their heads.

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  94. Everyone: Who are (of were) your favorite comedians??
    Some of mine: Jonathan Winters, Robin Williams, George Carlin, George Gobel, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, Bill Cosby, Andy Kaufman, Billy Crystal.

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  95. another "question" do female frogs croak"?

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  96. Steven Wright cracks me up: "I poured spot remover on my dog, now he's gone".

    "I played porker with Tarot cards last night. I has a full house. Four people died". I could go on all night.

    Monty Pythons Flying Circus, and for those from the NY metro area, "The Uncle Floyd Show".

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  97. I HAD a full house- sorry, its past happy hour and I'm still sober.

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  98. Carol, we all "croak" sooner or later.... *G*

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  99. @ Carol,
    I'll stay up late to watch either Lewis Black or Chris Rock

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  100. Answer to the frog question: "Yes, if you hold their little heads under water long enough!"

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  101. @carol

    Geez... I thought female frogs would "ribbet" or some variation on spelling.

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  102. I love the oldies. Burns and Allen, Fibber McGee and Molly, Jack Benny, Amos n' Andy. Loved Richard Pryor-maybe the best. Robin Williams. Steven Wright is "Wright ON". "The Dr. told my Grandma to walk a mile a day. She should be in St. Louis by now." "I called information to find out where my car keys were." "I cut a hole in my ceiling for a skylight. My upstairs neighbors were pissed." Lewis Black is great but Ron White is the best if you don't mind the occasional swear word. For those who remember, "Lonesome" George Goble and Mort Sahl were VERY good.

    IMBO

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  103. The reason it is "on HI" is because it is on an island.

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  104. @buckeye

    Ron White - His line which is my favorite is "Ya can't fix stupid".

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  105. Buckeye, speaking of George Gobel another of his "smart answers": "question: true of false, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years".Gobel: "Boy, it sure seems that way sometimes"

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  106. Dennis,
    I never sweat! Seriously, not even in hot summer time.

    Katherine,
    I am not into fantasy reading. Yes, I've seen "The Way We Were". It's very good.

    Flyingear & Ken,
    NEHRU: In Chinese translation, the "H" is pronounced. So I had no idea until you pointed out today the "H" is also silent here.

    Dr.Dad,
    What is the difference between "pigment" and "dye"?

    Melissa,
    There is indeed some artistic & lyrical beauty with this puzzle.

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  107. Crockett1947,
    I think AURAE and AURAS are equally acceptable. They are different than EMIR/AMIR/EMEER/AMEER.

    Xchefwalt,
    What is "Purple Gorilla"? I don't get your 4:57pm joke: "I played porker with Tarot cards last night. I had a full house. Four people died."

    Danielle,
    Please do leave comments when you swing by. I enjoy your views & links very much.

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  108. @all

    Another "ya can't make this stuff up"er. Don't know if this is political or not...

    Fairhope, Alabama has a yellow Labrador Retriever now running a "Ruff race for Mayor." Perfect name for a mayor though - Willie Bean Roscoe P. Coltrane. He doesn't have any skeletons in his closet. According to an opponent... he ate them all. He may not make the ballot due to a deadline he missed... plus he's only 7 years old.

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  109. Argyle,
    I was born on June 30, 1971. Year of Pig. Is this what you were asking for? Loved the great names you came up last night.

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  110. Very interesting...but I was only suggesting another "WHAT" phrase.

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  111. Oh...and "what's your sign" is a classic pick-up line when meeting a new chick in the discotech, circa 1970's.

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  112. Usually, it was "Get lost, creep" but, if it was a slow night, they might tell you their Zodiac sign and if they were interested, they would ask your's.

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  113. Argyle,
    How come you know so much about music & lyrics? Have you composed songs also?

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  114. I like listening to music, sing in the shower, look up the lyrics, although sometimes what I thought I heard is much better than the actual lyrics. I like most kinds of music, no rap but some hip hop.

    Anybody know "I got the milk 'em in the morning, feed 'em, milk 'em in the evening blues" by the Ol' Pea Picker, "Tennessee" Ernie Ford?

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  115. Ken: I know that park very well. I live a mile or so from it and love it...bike, walk, canoes, paddle boats, archery, and even horse events there, plus a Fall Festival of crafts that we all look forward to every Oct. Beautiful part of the country. I may miss it one day...the cowpokes and mtns are calling.

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  116. Fatwa: I think there is still a Fawtwa in effect against Salman Rushdie because of his book "The Satanic Verses". Interestingly, Cat Stevens, who was a recent clue, is now Yusuf Islam and approved of the fatwa at the time. I think Yusuf has eased up since then.

    Loved "My Favorite Year", which was loosely based on the Sid Caesar show "Your Show Of Shows". I'm a big Peter O'Toole fan, but my favorite in M.F.Y. was Lainie Kazan calling O'Toole's character, "Swanie, Swanie" She and her plot husband, Rookie Carroca were wonderful.

    Favorite comedians? Sid Caesar was one of the firsts and set a high bar for those who came later. I loved Early Robert Klein and Early Woody Allen. Now I like John Pinnette.

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  117. Steven Wright also gave the greatest acceptance speech at the Academy awards show ever: upon receiving the Oscar for best short film he said “I’m glad we cut the other 85 minutes out”.

    @c.c.6:20- Yea! Glad to see you back, we did miss you so! “Purple gorilla” is a hallucination. “Acid” is a slang term for LSD (often clued as “Leary’s invention”) and when ingested, one “dropped acid” and took a “trip”. It caused mild to severe hallucinations, often distorting size, highlighting color and changed shapes. I only did it once, and didn’t like that fact that there was no controlling it, and never did it again after a friend went on a “trip” and never came back.

    “Playing poker with Tarot cards” is a dark joke and may be hard to explain, but I’ll try. Tarot cards are ancient cards made of suits and pictures (cups and wands are the only suits that come to mind, pictures include death, the lovers and the hanging man) that all have different meanings weather up or upside down. There are those who claim that the have mystical and prognogstive powers, and in the hands of an accomplished “reader”, your past, present and future can be told. Wrights’ joke is that he was playing a simple card game like poker (one would never use tarot cards for poker), got a full house (three and two of a kind) and the mystical energy killed four people.

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  118. xchetwalt, I just had the quintisential best "summertime" dinner tonight; the first MN sweetcorn, my first great tomato off the vine and the best BLT with thick cut bacon. The rest was homemade ice cream with fresh picked raspberries. Can't do any better than that. I am sated, but unfortunately, not that sated, so off to bed....

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  119. @cokato- sounds delish, nothing better that home grown and home made food. Now go enjoy "desert" and work off those calories!

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  120. Cokato, My, but that sound yummy! Gotta butter that corn so it drips down you arm!

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  121. Hi all,
    Been reading your comments for about a week now and decided to join in. Had trouble with Schisgal (never heard of him), Yegg, Had Ye_g, Ios, guessed on the I, and got Zelig only through other clues. Loved the theme today which helped out a lot. Drdad loved your Christmas story and read it to my husband who also loved it. By the way Drdad we live in Port Charlotte, FL any history you know about this city.
    Have a great day everyone!

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