google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday July 16, 2008 Michael T. Williams

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Jul 16, 2008

Wednesday July 16, 2008 Michael T. Williams

Theme: Backup Band

17A: Hootie & the ___: BLOWFISH

30A: Prince & the ___: REVOLUTION

37A: Jay & the ___: AMERICANS

49A: Gerry & the ___: PACEMAKERS

49A: Echo & the ___: BUNNYMEN

They are all rock bands, aren't they? Out of those 5 bands, I've only heard of Hootie & the BLOWFISH. Know Prince, but not familiar with his backing band "The REVOLUTION".

I really like the baseball sub-theme:

23A: Ballplayer Garciaparra: NOMAR

44A: Yankee Slugger, in headlines: AROD

53A: Red Sox player "Big ___": PAPI (David Ortiz, an ex-Twin)

13D: Letters on Cardinal caps: STL

43D: Mark of home runs: MCGWIRE

I don't think this constructor likes "Field of Dream", otherwise he would have clued IOWA ( 4D: Davenport state) baseball related. If you build it, they will COME. Is this heaven? It's IOWA. Wonderful lines. I can not tell you how much I love this movie.

Several flaws with the puzzle:

1) 67A: Agua, to Fifi: EAU. The clue should be FiFi. No one spells this annual award as Fifi. (Addendum: My bad, the clue is correct. Fifi is French girl's name).

2) 6D: "___ Street": SESAME. And 10D: Main or Maple: STREET. Ridiculous!

3) 18D: Stock-ticker stn.: FNN (Financial News Networking). Where? In Sue Herera's dream? When was the last time FNN was ticking? Unbelievable! CNBC took over FNN long long time ago.

Across:

1A: Tenth of MXXX: CIII. I dislike the clue, can you think of a better one?

16A: Substantiate: ATTEST

19A: Servitude: THRALL. New to me. Only know ENTHRALL, which takes its root from THRALL I suppose. Dictionary shows that THRALL can also be a verb (enslave).

20A: "Star Trek: Voyager" character: B'ELANNA. No idea. I strung the answer from the down fills.

33A: 1985 John Malkovich film: ELENI. I've never seen it. Is it good? The only Malkovich movie I like is "In the Line of Fire". Which is your favorite?

41A: Resistance unit: OHM. Its sign is Ω (Omega).

61A: Trivial talk: TWADDLE. I like the clue and the answer, nice T's.

63A: Critical point: CLIMAX. Tell me what follows CLIMAX.

66A: Scale notes: DO RE MI. Tangentially theme related.

68A: Philosopher Immanuel: KANT. He wrote "Metaphysics of Morals".

69A: Button holder: EYELET

71A: Inside: pref.: ENTO

Down:

1D: Moolah: CABBAGE. Slang for money. Chou in French, "mon petit chou", how I hate it!

5D: "Sense and Sensibility" heroine: ELINOR. I like Ang Lee's "Sense & Sensibility": Lose your heart, and come to your senses. Kate Winslet is such a brilliant actress.

7D: Old English letter: EDH. Or ETH.

9D: Holy Roman emperor: OTHO. Ugh, I simply forgot. His name appeared last time when I googled GALBA (Nero's successor). OTHO had a short 3-month reign. Here is the list of all the Roman emperors.

11D: Bowler's target, perhaps: HEAD PIN

12D: Class for U.S. immigrants: ESL (English as a second language)

21D: Rodeo mount, briefly: BRONC (Bronco). Not familiar with this abbreviation.

32D: Annapolis inst.: USNA (United States Naval Academy). Senator McCain's alma mater.

40D: LCD month: SEP. Why? What is LCD here?

41D: Goddess of the harvest: OPS. I would not have got her name without the across references. She is "the ancient Roman goddess of plenty, and the wife of Saturn and mother of Jupiter. Identified with the Greek goddess Rhea."

42D: Yokohama yes: HAI. It's "Haiya" in Cantonese. "Shi" in Mandarin Chinese.

46D: Bedtime visitor: SANDMAN. No idea. Pure guess. I've never heard of SANDMAN before.

47D: Luxurious: OPULENT

48D: All spice: PIMENTO. Also unknown to me.

52D: In the bag: SEWN UP

60D: Turnpike turnoff: EXIT

64D: Actress Myrna: LOY. Ah, Nora in "The Thin Man". Learned her name from doing Xword. Wikipedia says "In 1938 she was voted the "Queen of Hollywood" in a contest which also voted Clark Gable the "King". Interesting, you would think Vivien Leigh or Katherine Hepburn would be voted the "Queen".

C.C.

77 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and fellow DFs - another quick one today; will Thursday be hammer day?
Didn't know 'Belanna', couldn't remember 'Eleni', and never heard of 'Echo & the Bunnymen', but the perps got 'em.
C.C., you're right - 18D should say "Former Stock-ticker stn."

And what follows 'climax'? A cigarette?

Oh, and with 17A, 63A and 11D, Lois & Carol (the new Lewis & Clark of exploration) will be off and running.

Hope it's an outstanding day for everyone - pretty waterlogged here in south FL.

Echo & the Bunnymen???

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

Dennis,
What's so fun about HEAD PIN? Your answer for "What follows CLIMAX" is wrong! Why 40D is SEP? What is LCD? Why the question mark after "Echo & the BUNNYMEN"?

Jeanne said...

Morning all,
CC: LCD is liquid crystal display It is often utilized in battery-powered electronic devices because it uses very small amounts of electric power. That's the extent of my scientific knowledge on that subject. I'm sure drdad can elaborate. Usually watches have the months in three digits.

Jeanne said...

Never heard of Echo and the Bunnymen so I had some trouble with the SE corner. Twaddle completely escaped me also. Do like the word, though.

Dr. Dad said...

Good morning to all.
We have to be in for a bad one soon.
B'Elanna Torres (played by Roxanne Dawson). Half Klingon, half human.
FNN is back and it no longer exists.
We have 17A and 11D followed by 63A in this puzzle. Lois is all done.
Bunnies (ala Hugh Hefner) are here as well. Of course, the implied activities might need to be "avoided" by those with "pacemakers."
What follows climax? C.C - Think dysfunctionally and it might very well be a cigarette with your head still on the pillow. Then the Sandman comes.
Davenport - another of those Quad Cities.
I understand that eau de cologne is less concentrated than eau de toilette.
Malkovich was pretty good in Con Air with Nicholas Cage.
Echo & The Bunnymen was an alternative rock group from Liverpool. Never quite made it to Beatles standards.
Rodeo cowboys ride bucking broncos, shortened to bronc.
I have to admit - LCD month being Sep is baffling. I've let Jeanne down. She could be right about the digits only being three on an LCD. The only other thing I can think of is that a lot of new flatscreen TV's with LCD technology usually debut in September (after the summer months).
If you are really rich and can afford one, you can celebrate National Personal Chef Day today. If your chef serves you ice cream you will be in great shape because it is also - National Ice Cream Day!!! I'm partial to chocolate.

Have a good Wednesday!

Superfrey said...

Another easy puzzle.... but who ever heard of Echo and the Bunnymen???!!?? Never heard of twaddle either.... Have a great day all.... And they call Florida The Sunshine State.... you would never know it this week.

Katherine said...

Good morning everyone....
Pretty good puzzle today.
When Prince first started his band was the Revolution. I didn't know most of the baseball answers, but I did know Arod because of the rumor about him and Madonna.
19A was new to me too.
Sense and Sensibility is one of my favorite movies.
I also never heard of Echo and the Bunnymen.....
That was funny what you said about the cigarette Dennis.

KittyB said...

Good morning C.C. and friends -

Echo and the Bunnymen?? How obscure!

There were a lot of answers I didn't know, but the puzzle solved quickly, with one assist on 'thrall.' It's a word I know, but my brain simply wasn't in gear.

Surprisingly, I got the baseball answers, with the exception of 'Papi.'

'Aftershocks' follow 'climax.'

Hot and dry today in the Chicago area. I hope you all have a good day.

Jeanne said...

drdad, you never disappoint me; you amaze me. I looked at your blog spot where you continue to amaze me with your knowledge and interests. Some of which is over my head, but I love the pictures!!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

By all accounts, today's puzzle should have been a real b@ll-breaker for me and yet, for some strange reason, I managed to breeze through most of it. I got lucky in the sense that I actually used to watch "Star Trek: Voyager" back in the day and therefore knew B'ELANNA Torres, and I'm from Boston and therefore knew both NOMAR Garciapara and Big PAPI despite not being a basball fan (sorry, C.C.).

Also, I actually knew all of the bands except for Gerry and the PACEMAKERS, which helped a lot. In fact, the only shaky part of the entire grid was the intersection of PACEMAKERS and OPS, since I didn't know either one. I made an educated guess, though, and it turned out to be correct.

Oh -- and I just saw ELENI in a NYT puzzle the other day, so that helped as well.

Words I didn't know (or didn't remember):

OPS
ELINOR
OTHO
FNN

As for the other stuff:

I'm not sure if you were joking about "Fifi" or not, C.C., but I'm sure the clue was referring to the common French name and not the award ceremony.

I agree that having two streets was ridiculous.

In general I dislike all roman numeral themed clues and answers. They're either horribly generic ("Mid 12th century date") or else way to easy to get if you know basic arithmetic ("Tenth of MXXX").

And I was also baffled by the cluing for SEP. As others have said, I could only guess it was referring to the way months are sometimes rendered on LCD screens. That seems like such an awkward way of cluing it, though.

Echo & the Bunnymen!!!

KittyB said...

The clue for 69A is wrong. An 'eyelet' is NOT a button holder. Usually it's a reinforced circle that is used with a lace or cord.

The clue could be "top hole on a boot" or something along those lines.

flyingears said...

Eleni (Heleni pronounced as Helen) is the Greek name for Greece (I believe).

The turnpike "EXIT". My first choice was "RAMP"...

Never heard of ECHO and The Bunnymen.

Gerry and The Pacemakers. Who are them???

Bedtime visitor SANDMAN??? Who's that???

C.C., Sergio García could be ready for a big time title. I should have thought about it as he won The Players Championship...
AROD and his expensive divorce...

Dennis said...

C.C., sorry to be so long getting back to you; went down to the 'fitness center' they have here to try and offset a 20-ounce ribeye last night.

I'll let someone else explain the 'headpin' reference.

You're right about what follows 'climax' - I think kittyb's answer is perfect.

'SEP' is how September would appear on an LCD watch (VERY weak).

And the question marks after 'Echo and the Bunnymen' - just that it's such a lame name, even for a British group.

Katherine said...

Flyingears, Jerry and the Pacemakers was Jerry Lewis' son, and his band.

Barry G. said...

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen
Give him two lips like roses and clover
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over.

Sandman, I'm so alone
Don't have nobody to call my own
Please turn on your magic beam
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream.

Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Make him the cutest that I've ever seen
Give him the word that I'm not a rover
Then tell him that his lonesome nights are over.

Sandman, I'm so alone
Don't have nobody to call my own
Please turn on your magic beam
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream.

Dennis said...

flyingears, I think the greek name for Greece is Helena.

Gerry & the Pacemakers were a popular rock group during the sixties - biggest hit was "Don't let the sun catch you crying".

And as a kid, the sandman was who came to see you at night to put you to sleep.

Bill said...

Way to go, Dennis. Now you've got C.C. confused! But that was my FIRST thought when I saw teh question!
Echo And The Bunnymen?? Never heard of them. But, then Gerry and The Pacemakers went missing somewhere and I had to call Mr. Google to get the PAC 'cause I had no ideas for 41 & 42d. Also forgot how to spell MARK's last name so I had to wait for the "C".
LCD threw me too. And I agree about "eyelet". Usually a place for a shoe or boot lace. (or anything else that requires lacing-like a corset, maybe!!)
New words: (maybe not new but certainly forgotten)
OPS
HAI
Pimento: for ALLSPICE?
OTHO

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

Barry,
RE: EAU. I've corrected my mistake. I was on the wrong track. I was too obsessed with the Opium/FiFi stuff. I don't know any French girl named Fife/Josephine, do you? Also, what's your answer to my 63A comment?

Flyingears,
I like Sergio Garcia, but I like Adam Scott more.

Dick said...

Good morning Cc and DFs. Struggled a bit with this one as I did not know a couple of bands. Never heard of ECHO and The Bunnymen or Gerry and The Pacemakers although the crosses helped to get them. I agree with flyingears that my first thought for turnpike "EXIT" was "Ramp".

SANDMAN as the bedtime visitor is a term I have known since childhood and that is a long time ago. Maybe it is a regional thing but I seem to remember a song in the 40s or 50s about the sandman. Any help here drdad?

Yes Dennis and drdad the only thing after climax is a cigarette and then let the sandman cometh but not until you have extinguished the cigarette.

The old question: "Do you smoke after sex"? Answer: "I don't know I never looked"

Bill said...

Well, I'll be darned. Just looked up ALLSPICE, and lo and behold it IS pimento!!!
Next time we make a pumpkin pie we're just going to throw in a few pimentos for flavor!

Dick said...

Barry thanks for the song lyrics. That is the one I was trying to think of.

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

KittyB,
I really like your astute observations on various clues.

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

Dennis et al,
You guys are definitely dysfunctionals. Nobody has come up with what I want after CLIMAX.

Dennis said...

C.C., I know the answer, but hey, I'm a guy, so you're not gonna hear it from me.

Barry G. said...

Barry,
RE: EAU. I've corrected my mistake. I was on the wrong track. I was too obsessed with the Opium/FiFi stuff. I don't know any French girl named Fife/Josephine, do you?


Not personally, but it's one of those stereotypically French names. An old, old joke I knew as a child went something like this:

The little dogs met on a street corner -- a French Poodle, a Pekingese, and a mutt. The Poodle introduced herself by saying, "Hi! My name is Fifi, spelled F-I-F-I." The Pekingese then introduced herself by saying, "My name is Mimi, spelled M-I-M-I." The Mutt shook his head in disgust and said, "Well, my name is Fido and it's spelled P-H-Y-D-E-A-U-X."

Also, what's your answer to my 63A comment?

Well, if I wanted to avoid any sexual innuendos, I'd say that the denouement follows the climax. Where's the fun in that, though?

Anonymous said...

@Katherine: To set the record straight, Gerry & the Pacemakers was headed by Gerry Marsden. The group was from Liverpool and had hits on the Billboard top 100 between 1964 and 1966.

Gary Lewis, the son of comedian Jerry Lewis, had a band called Gary Lewis & the Playboys. Their biggest hit was "This Diamond Ring" in 1965.

Dr. Dad said...

Dick - as you noticed, Barry provided the song "Mr. Sandman." It was played in "Back to the Future."
I must admit, I'm struggling with what C.C. wants for "after climax." Must be having a brain f**t here. If it's what I think - - - nope, not going there.

Dr. Dad said...

Maybe it's not what I think.

flyingears said...

Oh, yeah, Mr. Sandman. Now I remember...

Dennis, Heleni may then be a Greek subject, etc..

C.C., Adam Scott has been struggling lately. He also tends to lose his composure on Sundays... That's why I can't think of him as the winner of the Open even though I also like him.

lois said...

Good morning, CC: Just dropped in for a sec. In answer to your Q: After a climax? A: me saying, "Overs"! or "Come again?". It's that teacher syndrome. We'll do it until we get it right. Practice, practice, practice. I'll be back.

Dennis: cute Lewis and Clark comment. Yeah, I'm always up for exploring new peaks and boulders.

Dr. Dad said...

Lois reminded me of this and I found it on the web. It is an interactive tutorial that helps one to understand the real size of the universe we live in. It goes from 10 million light years away down to a sub-atomic universe. Just something to amuse my fellow bloggers and DF's.

Size of the Universe

kazie said...

Is opulent related to Ops?

kazie said...

67A--I can't think of the name it would be short for, but Fifi is probably an abbreviation. When I lived in France ('70-71), I knew a Miki--short for Mireille, and her sister, Kiki--Christine. They love to do this with names.

Dr. Dad said...

I remember on Cheech and Chong's "The Big Bambu" album there was a piece for "Ralph and Herbie." They were two dogs roaming the streets. At one point Herbie says to Ralph, "Hey Ralph!! Come here! Fifi's in heat!"
On a personal note (for which some of you are aware), I'm partial to Ralph.

Bill said...

DrDad: Great link! Kinda puts things in perspective as to our TINY place in the scheme of the universe!
We may be good but there are things that can make us feel very small!

Barry G. said...

67A--I can't think of the name it would be short for, but Fifi is probably an abbreviation.

As C.C. alluded to above, Fifi is actually short for Josephine. I did not this.

Dr. Dad said...

Ralph & Herbie

melissa bee said...

good morning c.c. and all,

first puzzle after girls weekend .. still a little fuzzy. baseball clues often stump me so took a while to get those fills. also did not know belanna, pacemakers or bunnymen.

the sandman sprinkles 'sand' over you to make you fall asleep .. which explains the 'sleepy dirt' in your eyes in the morning.

never knew allspice was pimento.

@c.c.: what follows 63a? if you're lucky an encore. as you said, if you build it, they will come.

@dennis: impressive to solve by acrosses only .. but i agree across and down is more enjoyable.

flyingears said...

lois, I'm so glad that you are a teacher and can explain so well the climax issue... lol. drdad has also been well versed with this explanation, although I like lois' better...

Anonymous said...

Mr Sandman is a catchy ditty that has been stuck in my head...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odcJ-vS22rI

Danielle said...

I found this puzzle a bit tricky, with lots of obscure 3 letter items, but I liked the theme (I've heard of all those bands except for Gerry & the Pacemakers).

I think of eyelet as a decorative lacy fabric that was popular when I was a kid:

http://www.fashionfabricsclub.com/catalog_itemdetail.aspx?ItmID=RR660

"Mr Sandman" is what I immediately thought of - the most famous song (thanks for the lyrics, Barry) to refer to the folklore character who puts children to sleep with magic sand:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandman

I adore John Malkovich, a quirky performer who can be evil or enduring. Dangerous Liasions probably put him into the big leagues (a Must See film!), but my favorite performance of his is Places in the Heart with Sally Field (from 1984 - see it!) Eleni is a rather dark movie about Greece after WWII. How many people have a whole movie devoted to satirizing them (Being John Malkovich)?! Here's his filmography:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000518/

P.S. I like "denoument" after climax - very literary!

carol said...

Morning C.C. and all you D.F's:
Wow,"hard" to know where to start with all this!
Dennis, since I quit smoking, I prefer the answer Lois gave, for after the climax: Encore!
I am still thinking about how to approach the explanation of 11D for C.C. Perhaps if she considered 17A along with it, a light would turn on. (leaving out the fish, of course)!

Too many baseball clues for me today, so I had a tough time in some areas.
That brings to mind a quip I read, "Baseball is wrong, a man with 4 balls cannot walk" :)

Pimento (48D)was a surprise to me too, I sure would not have thought of allspice.

Anonymous said...

I've heard of all those groups cause I have albums from most of them! Original real live LPs. The songs are now in my brain for the rest of the day. Gerry & the Pacemakers were as popular as the Beatles for several years. Were also actually managed by Epstein & produced by Sir George Martin. But they never evolved in their music like the Beatles did.
Could climax be followed (or accompanied)by a few choruses of do-re-mi?

Mr. Corcoran said...

bonjour ma petite chouchou et al--now that I'm back in Sweden it's actually later here than all the rest so I should be onto this earlier. Really, though shouldn't it have been thralldom? And Barry, pardon my French but c'e´tait affreux! remember jouir before paroxysme! Hey I didn't get any of those band groups--just guess my merry way through them all...and why can't mcgwire spell his name with a sense of etymology?

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning everyone! Wow, what a group of new names/words for me today! THRALL, BELANNA, REVOLUTION, PACEMAKERS, PAPI, BUMMYMEN, ELINOR, and OTHO.

I don't understand the clues for 40D and 48D. LCD month? I know someone will explain. How is PIMENTO called "Allspice?" Again, someone will educate me, I'm sure. C.C., I also only knew Hootie. I thought you'd groove on the baseball theme.

Isn't FNN for Fox News Network that always has the stock ticker type headlines running at the bottom of the screen? Could be wrong since I rarely get to see cable TV. Bill, thanks for the ALLSPICE/PIMENTO information. Always something new to learn.

Barry, you echo my thinking on the 63A question. I find that you and I have many similar insights and comments -- kind of weird.

No resolution on LCD. As a math teacher, that means Least Common Denominator, but that doesn’t translate into SEP in my book!

Mr. Corcoran said...

crockett re lcd: think wristwatch display

Bill said...

And, here is the confusion lifter. Two different items, with sometimes the same spelling!

Description
Allspice is the dried, unripened fruit of a small evergreen tree, the Pimenta Dioica. The fruit is a pea-sized berry which is sundried to a reddish-brown color. Pimento is called Allspice because its flavor suggests a blend of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Pimento is sometimes a synonym for Allspice.

The Pimento, Pimiento, or Cherry Pepper is a variety of large, red, heart-shaped chili pepper (Capsicum annuum) that measures 7 to 10 cm (3 to 4 inches) long and 5 to 7 cm (2 to 3 inches) wide (medium, elongate). The flesh of the pimento is sweet, succulent and more aromatic than that of the red bell pepper. Some varieties of the pimento type are hot, including the Floral Gem and Santa Fe Grande varieties. Pimento or pimentão are Portuguese words for "bell pepper", while pimenta refers both to chili peppers and to black peppercorns. It is typically used fresh, or pickled and jarred. These sweet pimento peppers are also the familiar red stuffing found in prepared Spanish green olives. The pimento was originally cut into small pieces and hand stuffed into fresh green olives to compliment the strong flavor of the olive. For ease of production pimento is often pureed and formed with the help of a natural seaweed gum (sodium alginate) into strips. This allows the olive stuffing to be completed by a machine and increases the availability of the olives, by lowering their cost of production.

Dennis said...

bill, i'll never look at a martini quite the same.

lois said...

Bill, I think I've had those guys! Met them in New Mexico a while back, esp the Santa Fe Grandes. It's true, they were more sweet, succulent and aromatic than the red bell shaped ones. And it's true also that they were fresh, we got pickled and I jarred them..all night long! But I don't know a thing about stuffing w/a machine though. They did that without me!

KittyB said...

@crockett, you provided my grin for the day with your typo! *G* (Hmmmm...Was it a typo, or did something go over my head?)

@danielle, that trim you have in mind IS called "eyelet," probably because most of it has cutwork circles that have been reinforced with satin stitching. In this case, the circle is there, but no lacing is used.

c.c. I have to bronze your comment! I need to share it with my family. I don't believe that anyone has ever called me "astute."
Thanks for the kind words!

@dennis - I like "aftershocks," too, but it's obviously not where c.c. is going. Too bad! *S*

carol said...

Lois - Good one! Are they better than the cowboys?? Talk about aroma therapy!! :)

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

Thomas @ 11:14pm,
"And Barry, pardon my French but c'e´tait affreux!

Pardon my French aussi, but I find the joke to be très amusante et instructive, as I would have never known why Fife is a French name. Pls, no more petite chouchou. Told you earlier I hate it. "Jouir before paroxysme", very well said!!

Dennis said...

kittyb, the answer C.C.'s looking for will be provided by someone of the fairer sex, no doubt. But we all know what it is.

Carol, you and Lois would be one hell of a tag-team...

Katherine said...

Anonymous @ 7:42 am, I stand corrected. Thanks!

Mr. Corcoran said...

c.c. perhaps you would prefer chouchou de la classe? or NOT...surely Barry understands "Pardon my French"--it's one of those au courant phrases used by those who don't know French but like to swear! Enough twaddling for the day...sayonara

Barry G. said...

I understood the "Pardon my French" comment. Just not the actual French that followed.... ^_^

Dennis said...

Thomas, 'chouchou' or 'pet' is a demeaning term when used by a male towards a female, in THIS country. And she did ask you to 'please stop'.

lois said...

As to the puzzle: This one just bowled me over! Holy lava bomb! Nothing 'num' about these words! Eyelet my twaddle down for a just a second and it's like a blowfish with a climax around here. I kant believe it! I think I'll just take my twaddle and go irrigate a headpin to see if it will grow into a bedtime visitor like 'a-rod' looking to mark home runs in the bag(sack). If I give him eau de loise, he's going to need a pacemaker..assuming he can find the gate. He'll be A sharp singer of do re mi at first but he'll be A Flat one when I'm done with him. Oh the 'thrall' of it all.

Enjoy this gorgeous day! What a Hoot(ie)! Loved this puzzle!

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

KittyB,
Lois (come again?), Berry (denouement)& Melissa Bee (encore) are all correct, though the exact words in my mind are actually "Mulligan?/Denouement", a full, explosive after CLIMAX double. And I know Dennis knows all along the answers.

Thomas,
"Chouchou de la classe"? No, no way! Were you a chouchou at school? I was not. I hate "ma petite chou/chouchou" due to personal reason.

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

Crockett1947,
FBN (Murdoch's Fox Business Network/CNBC's competitor) will be a perfect answer. But no, I don't think FNN here stands for Fox News Network.

Anonymous said...

When I was a teenager in the 1930's-40's in Chicago the word eyelet was definitely used as the small opening on a shirt which held a button. It had other meanings also that related to a small hole that kept something shut, such as the hole in a shoe that held the shoelace.
Calef

carol said...

Lois, your comment at 1:08 was truly inspired!! I am still laughing! You should look into comedy writing as a second career!

Dr. Dad said...

Dr. Bill!!!! I am impressed. Quite a treatise on pimento and allspice.

Dr. Dad said...

Fox News is called the Fox News Channel, not the Fox News Network (to the best of my knowledge).

Dr. Dad said...

Finally, to Dennis at 12:54 - Touche and ditto!!!

carol said...

Dennis, hooray for you on your 12:54 comment, my feelings exactly!!

Dennis said...

Hi gang - I wouldn't ordinarily take up space with this, but it's just too good:

Definition of 'guts' vs. 'balls' --

'GUTS' is arriving home late after a night out with the guys, being assaulted by your wife with a broom, and having the guts to say, 'are you still cleaning or are you flying somewhere?'
'BALLS' is coming home late after a night out with the guys smelling of perfume and beer, lipstick on your collar, slapping your wife square on the äss and having the bälls to say, 'You're next!' I hope this clears up any confusion.

carol said...

Dennis, are you speaking from experience???:)

Anonymous said...

"Twaddle" sounds like it ought to be a dirty word.

It's too bad they couldn't have worked "? and the Mysterions" into the puzzle. It's one of my favorite names for a band.

"Being John Mallkovich" is hilarious, especially when he enters his own brain.

In continuation of the previous discussion by Dennis:

There is also a Hebrew word "chutzpah" that goes one step further.

Someone once defined "chutzpah" as "When you kill both of your parents, then ask the judge for mercy because you're an orphan."

Bill said...

DrDad. I copy and paste well, don't I? My thanks (once again) to:
Mr. Google for the search engine
and
Mr. Gates for allowing me use MS Word for assembly purposes

lois said...

Johnboy: that's hysterical and certainly a clear example of chutzpah!

Dennis: Your balls vs guts story is soo funny. I would suspect that either way that guy's going to be uncomfortable for a while with either his balls being worn on his shoulders (giving a whole new meaning to hump back) or his ass having a new attachment similar to a boot (giving a 'hole' new meaning to anal retentive). But it is ballsy and funny!

As to your 12:54 comment? You rock!

Argyle said...

Good whatever the time is where you are!

Pardon me, but I thought thread was what held a button on.

Roy Orbison

A candy-colored clown they call the sandman
Tiptoes to my room every night
Just to sprinkle stardust and to whisper
Go to sleep. everything is all right.

I close my eyes, then I drift away
Into the magic night. I softly say
A silent prayerlike dreamers do.
Then I fall asleep to dream my dreams of you.

In dreams I walk with you. in dreams I talk to you.
In dreams you're mine, all of the time. We're together
In dreams, in dreams.

But just before the dawn, I awake and find you gone.
I cant help it, I cant help it, if I cry.
I remember that you said goodbye.

It's too bad that all these things, can only happen in my dreams,
Only in dreams, in beautiful dreams.

Anonymous said...

I didn't know chouchou was french slang for pet so I definitely learned something from you guys today. THANK You!

I once had a female Alaskan Husky named "Chouchou". I was told that it was a native term for female dog (aka bitch). Not speaking any of the native tongues I never knew if that was right or not. Later on I learned (somewhere) that chouchou meant "butterfly" in Japanese. Not being fluent in Japanese, I assumed that it was probably correct. She was a sweet dog but something of an "airhead" so I figured that "butterfly" kind of fit since although technically she was a "bitch"(female dog), her personality certainly didn't fit that discription. I Now I've learned that the same word means "pet"? How confusing can that be. I'm sure glad that dog died twenty years ago 'cause now I'd probably have to change her name to avoid confusion.

Knowing what I know now, before I use the term I guess I'll have to preface the conversation with the question: Do you speak Inuit? French? Japanese? Any other language that may find chouchou offensive?

Even without this additional information, I've carefully avoided calling my girlfriend "chouchou".

caio

lois said...

Annon 7:08pm: that is soo funny! Well done! Smart guy!

Crockett1947 said...

Kittyb -- yep that was a typo. My spell check let it go by, though. Glad you got a Grin from it!

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

Anonymous @7:08pm,
I mainly speak Chinese & English.

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

Argyle,
I really like that lyric, so beautiful.