google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday October 23, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

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Oct 23, 2008

Thursday October 23, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Cold-play

17A: Start of Ed Howe quip: I WISH IT WERE

28A: Part 2 of quip: POSSIBLE TO

40A: Part 3 of quip: PULL A

48A: Part 4 of quip: COLD, LIKE AN

63A: End of quip: ACHING TOOTH

Have you ever paid attention to how crossword constructors number their Across/Down clues? The first 13 Down clues are always in sequential order.

Also, in Quip/Quote puzzle, all the theme answers are supposed to be structured in Across. If there are an odd number of theme entries (Five in today's puzzle), the middle one has to be gridded in the very center of the puzzle and it must have an ODD number of letters (PULL A, 5 letters).

I hate the clue for MISLAID (25D: Lost). LOST TO is an answer for 5A: Was defeated by. Certain rules of cluing are not supposed to be broken. This duplication of clue/answer is a big No-No.

With OTT (6D: Polo Grounds great) in the grid and the World Series going on, you would think our editor has the foresight to clue SERIES (70A: One thing after another) differently.

Across:

1A: Vino region: ASTI. I like this clue better than the partial fill "___ Spumante".

11A: Letters for shock treatment: ECT (ElectroConvulsive Therapy). I would not have got it without the down clues. ECT just appeared in our puzzle last week.

24A: Scottish uncle: EME. No idea. How can the spelling and pronunciation are so drastically different from "uncle"? See this list of Scottish words and phrases. Lots of QU* words for Barry Silk to muse over.

26A: "Fiddler on the Roof" role: TEVYE. This is his "If I Were a Rich Man". I wanted YENTE.

34A: Egg-coloring brand: PAAS. Ha, this is the first time I encountered this brand. Why is it called PAAS instead of PASS?

35A: Emetic medication: IPECAC. I forgot. Identical clue on Sept. 2.

54A: Brahman, e.g.: CASTE. Brahman is "member of the highest, or priestly, class among the Hindus". Big stumper for me. I am used to the "Hindu social stratum/class" clue.

61A: Seal engraved on a ring: SIGNET

67A: Can skip: NEEDN'T. This kind of answer always give me trouble.

71A: Jewish month: ADAR. It's Purim's month.

Down:

4D: Part of foot: INSTEP. I thought of INCHES first.

8D: What's worldwide: THE WEB. I like this clue.

10D: Ballroom dance: ONE-STEP

11D: Undecided: EQUIVOCAL

12D: Like Shirley Temple's hairdo: CURLY. She is so sweet. I cannot undertand the appeal of this CURLY though.

13D: Linen fabric: TOILE. What's the story on this TOILE pillow?

18D: Billy of the Dead End kids: HALOP. I googled his name. He said he hated the name Dead End.

29D: Flavorful: SAPID. SAPID does not sound "flavorful" to me. In fact, it sounds vapid and unpalatable.

30D: Hansen of NPR's "Weekend Edition": LIANE. She is the lady on the left. Her husband is Neal Conan, host of NPR's "Talk of the Nation", which I listen occasionally.

41D: Gospel writer: LUKE. What does "Physician, heal thyself" mean?

46D: Implied: TACIT

50D: Honshu city: NAGOYA. I googled again. I only know the Chinese word for NAGOYA (名古屋) . See this map.

64D: Despot Amin: IDI. Do you still remember the name of the president who preceded and succeeded Amin? I don't. Let me check...Ah, Milton OBOTE. Actually, it's Apollo Milton OBOTE.

C.C.

81 comments:

  1. Good morning, c.c. and gang: Wow, this was a good one today - got through without the G-spot, but it was touch-and-go for a while. I kept circling around the outside before I was finally able to lick the middle.

    Didn't know Billy Halop, but the perps picked that up. Since I'm forced to help color eggs every year, Paas is forever embedded in my mind. Got Liane Hansen from the perps as well.

    All in all, I really enjoyed this one, even with another stupid quote.

    For drdad: it's National Mole day.

    Have a great Thursday, and GO PHILLIES!! Three more wins...

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  2. Dennis,
    Was NAGOYA a gimme to you?

    Kazie,
    I did not experience any trouble accessing the Comments section yesterday. Only noticed the format change after seeing Carol's post. I don't understand your 11:15pm question. "How to post a comment" side bar works fine.

    Richshif,
    "Jumpin' Jehosephat", I can't believe that man jumped from rooftop to rooftop EITHER. Thanks for the great example.

    Argyle,
    The "Left to Right" theme is very clever. As for 78A, I think of rose in bloom.

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  3. c.c., yes it was, but only because I was there.

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  4. 26 minutes 2s. I would definitely have had to have resorted to google if I hadn't been doing it online: I needed to guess to get the R in ORONO and RONCO (that's the company with all the old infomercials, right?), the I in LIANE and IPECAC, the T in UTAHAN and OTT (I wanted OMAHAN for UTAHAN), the T in ECT and TOILE (I was thinking ECG for ECT), the D in SNOOD and ADAR (no idea) and the P in HALOP and PAAS (ditto). I got ASTI and TEVYE from the perps. I got the A in SAPID because I wrote TASTY and the A was black.

    C.C. did you notice the symmetry between TOILS and TOILE and INSTEP and ONE STEP? Scots used to speak Gaelic which, while a European language, is not a Germanic language like English. (Yesterday we learned that ice comes from the German EIS.)

    Speaking of yesterday's puzzle, if JEANS JACKET is okay then how about pants suit or stamps collection? Maybe it's a regional thing.

    Martin

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  5. Oh, by the way, I got NAGOYA because I had written NARITA and three letters turned black! I've been to Narita a few times because there's a major airport there.

    Martin

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  6. Dennis,
    Any special experience in NAGOYA?

    Martin,
    Solid point on pant/jean. These are the correct 180-degree symmetrical fills:

    INSTEP: NAGOYA
    ONE STEP: SLOGANS
    TOILS: SNOOD
    TOILE: OLIOS

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  7. Good morning CC etal:
    Struggled in SW corner - didn't know "snood", guessed at "Nagoya", "tacit" eluded me and what really screwed me up was that I wanted "bulls" for Brahman. Lots of erasures - almost went through the paper!

    CC: re "physician heal thyself" - a reference to one who gives advice but doesn't apply it to their own life (think of a divorced marriage counselor).

    Hope all have a great day!

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  8. c.c., just what kind of 'special experience' are you asking about?

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  9. I'm so happy youse guys figured this one out. The quip made no sense to me. It seems more like an offhand remark and not notable in any way. The whole SE corner was a total flop! Except for SIGNET and ETHER the rest was "G" work. EME also was new but came with the other fills. And LIANE Hanson. I don't listen to NPR very often, so I didn't know her.

    Question: 67a - should that have been clued, somehow, to indicate a contraction in the answer?
    I know we've had contracted answers before but have no memory as to how they were clued.
    CY'all later

    BTW Buckeye - I read your "idiocy"!
    You can't get away with much around here!!! (I think it really might be a word)

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  10. Morning, folks!

    I managed to get this one unassisted, but some of those proper names really made things a bit challenging for me. LIANA, HALO, NAGOYA were all unknown to me, as was EME. This was one of those rare quip puzzles were I needed to figure out the quip in order to get the perps, instead of the other way around. Fortunately, the quip was pretty easy to guess.

    I'm pretty sure that PAAS is somebody's name, but I could be wrong about that. And a quick trip to the Googleatorium proves that I am, in fact, totally and completely wrong about that. From this page comes this bit of historical trivia:

    Soon, Mr. Townley realized that he had a wonderful product that other families would like to use to brighten their Easter tradition. He renamed his business the PAAS Dye Company. The name PAAS comes from “Passen,” the word that his Pennsylvania Dutch neighbors used for Easter.

    The question remains, of course, why he named it PAAS instead of PASS. Maybe so he could get the word trademarked?

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  11. Good Morning from beautiful Paterson, NJ. For anyone interested I left late comments on cume, azoic, and M. Houlihan last night. In short, I heard of cume (quite common), azoic refers to a group of dyes and pigments, and the M. was for Margaret.

    Didn't we just see San Luis Obispo and slogans? What about that toils and toile? And then instep and one step.

    Paas Easter Egg Dye - a family staple since I don't know when. It was around when I was a kid. It is pronounced the same way as Jay Haas the golfer. His name is not pronounced "Hass."

    Thanks to Dennis for keeping up on the "Today" information.

    I must say I was sort of pleased that Dennis thought it was touch and go for awhile as I pretty much flew through this one as fast as I could type in the letters (had to do it online). Maybe I am finally closing in on my hero, the great Dennis. LOL.

    Martin - while I always heard of it as Jean Jacket, I have heard of Pants Suit and Stamps Collection.

    BTW - the "mole" for the day is not the underground creature Because I am a chemist I must say it refers to the number of atoms that make up a mole. It was started (I think) by the American Chemical Society.

    I have to do it. A mole of atoms or molecules consists of 6.02 X 10^23rd power atoms/molecules. This number is known as Avogadro's number. Thus since the atomic weight of carbon is 12.00115 grams per mole, 12 grams of carbon contains 6.02 X 10^23rd atoms of carbon. Oxygen weighs 15.9994 so the same number would comprise 16 grams. And so on and so on for other elements and their weights. Just some chemistry knowledge that is worthless to most people.

    I must be off to do some more lab experiments. Have a great Thursday.

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  12. I just did a "G" on the QUIP of the day. As I thought, it must not be very memorable, 'cause there isn't any reference to it at "G" except for the entry in this blog!!

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  13. *Quick calculation*

    So 18 ml = 18 g of water would be a mole of water molecules! Is that right, Dr? :)

    Martin feels like he's back in school again. :)

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  14. Good Morning, C.C. and DF's

    I don't mind saying this one kicked my butt. And doing it online doesn't help, if you use the master's level. The only thing that will do is let you know that something is wrong, if you get it completed and it
    doesn't "Congratulate" you. I had to Google and guess all over the place.

    Pant suit and pants suit are both used.

    78A (from a different puzzle) The change from broom stick to bloom stick doesn't fit the other "L(eft) to R(ight)" theme.

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  15. Good morning, c.c. and all.

    This was not the easiest puzzle we have been given, but certainly not difficult. I'll never be as fast as Dennis, but it only took me 12 minutes. I might have been faster, if I could only remember how to spell!

    EME and LIANE were unknowns to me. I let the fills handle everything else.

    c.c., Toile de Jouy is a white or cream colored fabric printed with a complex scene, using just one color for the design. Toile is a more formal fabric that is frequently used for upholstery and draperies, although it's made its way into the quilting world. The scenes are usually pastoral or romantic. Personally, I think it's ugly!

    Go forth and have a great Thursday!

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  16. Drat! I was hoping National Mole day had to do with the spicy sauce flavored with chocolate, usually served with turkey or chicken.

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  17. From yesterday: Carl, I've enjoyed two of David Baldacci's books on tape. Our local library carries them on the devices that have both the tape, and a tiny player (roughly 2' x 3'). I really enjoyed "The Camel Club," but I think Baldacci's books may be better read than heard because the plots can be so complex. Or, perhaps I was multitasking, and my train of thought was disrupted.

    Just my opinion. *S* (Sorta like Buckeye's "idiodacy")

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  18. And one more...

    Bill, I loved your description of jamming! I know there's more to it technically, but it sounds wonderful to be free of the printed page.

    I'm glad to hear that you had a great time despite the rain.

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  19. Morning all,
    Not too bad for a quip day but I did have to "G" more than I like.

    C.C., what a creative way to use the green coat of walnuts. You must have been a creative child as you are an adult.

    Kittyb, I too am not fond of toile. Do not like strange looking animals, etc. on my drapes.

    Love Baldacci books; have read most of them. Vince Flynn is also good and writes about special ops. with a main character, Mitch Rapp.

    Dennis, Excited about the Phillies winning the first game but they left too many men on base.

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  20. Argyle,
    I'm with you--this puzzle was hopeless once I got into the bottom half. Too many names and places I had no clue about. So I gave up and came here.

    c.c.,
    I guess I was thinking all those goodies were supposed to be to the right of the comments and not just in the original post section. Sorry for the panic. But earlier in the day yesterday, I had trouble getting back here for some reason, but it only lasted about 5 minutes.

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  21. jeanne, you're right, it was a great win, but they've gotta do a better job of driving in runs if they want to win this thing.

    Also, I agree about Vince Flynn - I rank his thrillers right up there with Tom Clancy, whose technical expertise just blows my mind.

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  22. Good morning, C.C. and gang. I had my problems this morning. I knew neither ECT nor TOILE. I was cut off at the PAAS and, for someone who mislays everything, MISLAID should have been a gimme. Oh well. I should get some points for getting NAGOYA

    I listen to NPR a lot, so Liane Hansen was no problem. I have a neighbor with that name.

    @Barry, btw, it is LIANE, not LIANA, so I think I caught a typo?

    @Buckeye, I picked up your idiodcy too.

    Word of the day. Cruciverbalist: A solver of crossword puzzles.

    I never talk to cruciverbalists; they are either cross or down.

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  23. GOOD MOOOOOORNING, VIETNAM!!!
    For those who did not catch my late post last night, (Clearayes and baseball fans should check it out- my Tampa line was on the Bob & Tom radio program this morning - thieves), I used the word "idiodacy". I thought I made it up but I checked a dictionary this morning and it said, "the act of writing or saying something stupidly as would an idiot". My source is the 1965 edition of "Fred Webster's Community College Dictionary, Famous Quotes and Cook Book". Gnaw on that a while. I gotta go do the mind bending quip x/w. Ain' got to it yit. (That last sentence is correct - check Fred).

    I must be off.

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  24. Goodmorning All, Barry was right. It was an easy quip to figure out. So that made the perps easier to solve.

    I started out poorly by putting "Napa" for 1A, but it didn't take long to realize I was in the wrong country. After that, it went quickly until the cross of HALOP and PAAS. I just couldn't remember the first letter of the egg dye name and had to go to Google. That was my only real problem and I finished off quickly after that.

    I don't have much time this morning. I have to go to an election officer meeting. Hope everybody is registered and ready to vote on November 4th.

    G.A.H. was happy about the game results last night. How about a poem about the "agony & ecstacy" of baseball?

    October

    the high fly ball,
    arches out above left field,
    hangs there in the sky
    outblazing the sun
    while fifty thousand heads swings and cry
    "Over the wall! Over the wall!"

    then hold, fixed and dumb
    as the ball drops
    down and down, a dead bird
    into a waiting glove

    and there you have it: the song,
    the flight, the perilous whisper of truth
    or of love or possibly of faith

    then the descent
    and the end of the game

    -Hester Jewell Dawson

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  25. Hi C.C. and all, I had trouble with this one and had to Google 26A (I never saw this film) and 18D, 30D and 50D (I should have known that one from all my working with exports to Japan, but alas, my retired brain refused to go back to those days!) Despite all this, I did enjoy the puzzle, quote or not.

    Nat'l Mole Day? My first thought was a mole on someone's body. Second was the underground creature. Didn't know there was another kind, so thanks Drdad!

    Jeanne, very cute baby! Don't we all with we could sleep like that?

    Ken, clever comment!

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  26. I didn't have the attention span to stay with this puzzle. I think because in the back of my mind I knew it was quip Thursday.

    Funny of the mention of Vince Flynn. He was in studio on a local radio station this morning talking about his new book coming out. I believe he said it was his tenth book and introduces a new character. He thought about writing out Mitch Rapp and just couldn't do it. He is a native of Minneapolis and I believe he still lives here.

    Dennis, I am glad you stopped circling around the outside and were finally able to lick the middle. Did you think I would let that one ssssllllliiiiiddddeeee?

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  27. I am relieved to see that some of you also had trouble with this one. I hate getting correct answers like PAAS only to think that it wasn't right because I never heard of HALOP. Oh well, I had lots of trouble but like to come to this sight for relief.

    I did know NAGOYA though, I have been there a few times and even recognized C.C.'s characters, since I studied a little Japanese and they use the Chinese character set for many words (although pronounced differently).

    I also believe that Martin is correct about the number atoms in a 18 ml of water.

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  28. cokato, the only question in my mind was which DFette would jump on it first. Congratulations.

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  29. Good morning C.C. and all,

    I felt vocabulary deficient today. I struggled with these
    asti(napa was my choice; not a good start!)
    ect
    tenye
    ipecac
    orono
    tare
    toile
    sapid
    liane
    olios
    ronco
    nagoya
    snoop
    sola
    halop
    AND the quip

    Maybe Dennis will share his special experiences for us.

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  30. Re: Paas, paaseastereggs.com/history.htm
    It's from "Passen," the word that the Pennsylvania Dutch use for Easter

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  31. Jd, if Dennis shared his "special experiences" with us he'd spend all winter in the woodshed :0

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  32. jd, all I remember is that it involved a lot of bowing.

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  33. Hi c.c. and all,

    I had to google 24A eme and 7D saw. I did finally get The Web, but felt it should have been clued with (2 words) because I kept trying to come up with a one-word answer. I only got Halop and Nagoya from the perps.

    To all avid readers: I love John Grisham, James Patterson, Jonathan Kellerman, Dean Koontz, Robert Ludlum, David Baldacci, Scott Turow, Brian Haig (Son of former US Secretary of State Alexander Haig)

    jd: Tevye, snood, sala (just in case they weren't typos)

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  34. G'morning C.C. & all

    Have I mentioned how much I 'hate' lack of imagination 'quip' puzzles????? Oh, yeah... I guess I've ranted about them previously so I'll just... grumble, grumble, dirty rotten rackenfratzen, grumble! Needless to say, it was a difficult puzzle for me and not a blackout. I think the distaste for the Olschwang format defeats me before I even start. I probably should just recycle them untouched. I've still got a couple of holes nagging at me. Grumble, grumble!

    @buckeye I also caught your 'idiodacy' comment. Maybe we can get Barry to design a badge or button that says 'ID-10-T' on it. Come to think of it, maybe I should copyright that?? We could hand them out like Engvall doles out signs? Ok, who's gonna make me explain this??

    @jeanne - dennis - gatormom I echo your comments on your favorites. I cover a lot of material when I travel and they are tops although I've never read anything by Brian Haig. I wish Crichton (my #1 fav) would come up with a new one. I am now working my way through seven of T. Jefferson Parker's books... one down and six to go! It's too early to judge him after just one book though. I looked into him a couple of months ago after he was clued in a puzzle.

    @ski - Did the Blazers dazzle last night??? Just can't help but get a little excited! And, NO INJURIES!!!! Sorry everyone else... I'm not a baseball fan. Ok! I'm leavin'!

    ttfn

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  35. Aloha, c.c. DFs and ettes and KH's.Today's puzzle was OK but how do you "pull a cold?" Wasn't thrilled with that. Also think contractions should be indicated somehow, but then again, I feel two or three word answers should be noted with (2) or (3). Missed "ipecac" and "Liane" because I put an "E" where the "I" should be and didn't (cntr. for contraction) catch it until I came on board. Doh!!! All the rest was "getable". (Check Fred).

    Don't you think it would be nice if people who comment here would read the previous comments to avoid duplication of information? I sure do.

    I mentioned last night some of my favorite authors. James Patterson was one I left out. Also, Jonathan Valin. He writes about a P.I. named Harry Stoner and his stories take place in Cincinnati. A solid read for all but since he mentions real places in Cincy, a great read for those familiar with the city. His last Stoner book was, I believe, in 1990. He's only 60 and took up writing about music. He may return to novels but probably not with Stoner.

    I know we don't get political here, but don't you think the ads are getting too sleezy? I fear it will get worse as we get closer to Nov. 4th. IMHO.

    Later, if there is enough room left on the blog, I will tell ya'all a great love story.

    IMBO

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  36. P.S. If today's x/w can use "GIT" I can use "YIT".

    IMBO

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  37. Martin - you are correct 18 grams water divided by 18 grams/mole = 1mole of water.

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  38. As a newbie I would like to thank all of you for the wonderful insight you have given me into these puzzles. It was a wonderful day when I found this site.

    Martin you indicated you did this puzzle online ... can you give me the site where you access the
    Tribune puzzle>

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  39. Hi C.C and all,
    Agree about the theme, overall not a bad puzzle.
    I also like the authors mentioned , one of my favorites is Greg Iles.
    Not a baseball fan.
    Vancouver Canucks are my team.
    Have a great day,
    Geri

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  40. This puzzle would have been easier had I been able to look at in longer stretches of time, but I had only a few seconds here and there at stop lights and between work projects to work on it. So here it is almost 3 pm, and I have only now completed it. I have one incorrect square…who could have guessed that LIANE Hanson spelled her name that way! I had Leane, giving me “epacac” instead of IPACAC. I thought it was spelled with an initial “i”, but LIANE???? Our NPR station is having an on-air fund raiser this week, so I have been listening to a classical station or nothing at all during my long commutes.

    I worked the USA Today crossword puzzle yesterday again. I liked the theme “just desserts” with “fruity dessert?”= CHERRY BOMBE; “fraternity’s dessert?” = BETA THETA PIE; “place to learn a new dessert?” = SUNDAE SCHOOL; and “improvement to a dessert?” = TORTE REFORM. For the DFers there were “animal magnetism” = SEX APPEAL and “she may have a bun in the oven” = BAKER. But my favorite clue was “where most people eat and sleep”. 4 letters. Care to guess?

    @cc: (from yesterday)
    Theme: Left to Right

    23A) Newlywed taking care of her hair? - brushing bride
    46A) Halloween strategy? - fright plan
    78A) Prop for a rosebush? - bloom stick
    108A) What to expect at a college reunion - grad to meet you
    16D) Costume for Bo Peep's pet - frock of sheep
    57D) Attentive chef? - crock watcher

    I don't know why 78A changes the "R" to an "L".


    Actually the shift from “L” to “R” occurred in all the clues, hence the theme Left to Right. The original phrases are “blushing bride”, “flight plan”, “broom stick”, “glad to meet you”, “flock of sheep” and “clock watcher.

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  41. Blogger is 'blippy' today; doesn't mind if I preview, bur wouldn't let me post for a while.

    My favorite new novel is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer.

    As for the elections, I’m so happy to live in Oregon, where we all vote by mail. I’m done; I’ll drop my ballot off on the way to work today. Horay!!

    CC: re "physician heal thyself" – ChrisinLA explained it well. Since your question came after the clue for Luke, he could also have used the example of another proverb from scripture, “First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

    As to why the proverb is in Luke, it’s a mystery. It isn’t in the other Gospels, and it seems odd to me. The other parts of the story make sense; but the proverb just feels odd. It probably made sense to Luke, since he was a physician. It’s clear that the audience was irate and unbelieving, which brought forth yet another proverb – “A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country.”

    Sometimes I think the Bible is one big riddle, written in code. Which is to be expected when you’re reading someone else’s mail, written in another time, in another place.

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  42. Here you go Photofoot, Online Puzzle. Bookmark it for future use. Cute name...welcome.

    Buckeye, Read last night's comments. You are such a smoothie! BTW, if you were in doubt about G.A.H.'s dedication to Cincinnati, how about this Cincy metal work he made in his high school shop class. He wanted to hang it in the living room, but since it is rusty and flaky, I banished it to the garage. (Big argument about that one!) It's right where he can see it every morning when he opens the garage door. I think this morning's poem was a tribute to many years of ups and mostly downs....he does suffer. It is so much easier (on both of us) when he can happily root for the Phillies Series.

    Fred Webster must have (oops, is he still alive?) had a similar relationship with his family as PDQ Bach did with his. Too bad those other guys came first and gobbled up all the glory. PDQ and now, Fred just don't get the recognition they deserve!

    Great poll training this morning. The officials told us that voter registration for our county is up by 11%. Hope that is consistent across the U.S.

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  43. Welcome, geri, photofoot -- hope you enjoy our eclectic little group.

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  44. Wow! I finally got the blanks so the sun is shining & all is well in Whoville once again.

    @barbb

    Don't you wish we could turn off the negative advertising so easily??? My wish... a new crop of candidates who would NEVER resort to 'mudslinging' no matter what. Oh yeah, and whirred peas.

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  45. Dennis, Although not politically correct, I hope we have a few Mitch Rapps in the real world. Greg Iles is another author I enjoy also.

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  46. yeah Carl it is harder to be a baseball fan out here. I'd root (sp?) for the Mariners if they made it into the playoffs though. The Blazers are looking pretty good for such a young team, I hope they continue with their great attitudes and no more injuries.

    @dennis, I laughed pretty hard this morning after reading your first post. I just had to wait for one of the "ladies" to respond.

    @clear ayes, thanks for the link, it should make the puzzles a little more solvable for me.

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  47. Dennis,
    Hmmm, special experience, how about Atsuta Shrine? Did you go there and pray that you would not sin again?

    Doesitinink,
    I think Argyle understood all the "Left to Right" theme except the rationale for 78A. My opinion is that some blooming rose stems need stick for support. How about BEDS? Lots of Chinese people in the countryside eat on their beds.

    Dr. Dad,
    Kazie said eozoic "refers to the age of rocks". so what's the difference between azoic & eozoic?

    Kazie, Martin et al,
    I saw RASHLY clued as "Without thinking" in a puzzle. I thought "Without thinking" is an adjective phrase. Therefore the clue is inaccurate. Am I wrong? Is it an adverbial phrase?

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  48. Good evening, CC & DF's: Enjoyed this puzzle, quip and all. Agree that 'series' should've been clued in honor of the World Series. What a shame.

    Dennis: Loved your approach to the puzzle. Sounds like a lifestyle to me...touch and go, circling the outside then licking the middle. A swinging chair? I can imagine that invitation...
    "Wanna dangle?"

    Enjoy your night.

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  49. Chris & Barb B,
    Thanks for the proverb explanation. Bible is indeed a riddle to me.

    Bill,
    No, I don't believe there is any rule regarding contraction hint in crossword construction. Also, I found the reference of the quip at google books (Evan Esar).

    Kittyb,
    Is the pillow I linked today a TOILE or Toile de Jouy?

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  50. c.c. "Physician heal thyself"

    Luke 23 verse 35 "And the people stood looking on. But even the rulers with them sneered, saying--- He saved others, let him save himself if he is the Christ, the chosen of God"

    Vaya con Dios

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  51. @cc: Sorry if I repeated Argyle's answer. I have not had time to read all the posts today yet. Work has just been too crazy. And yes, many rose blooms need support to keep the stems from breaking. The support is often a stick driven into the ground to which the stem is lightly tied. Hence, BLOOM STICK.

    As for "where most people eat and sleep"...you are closer than you think, though BEDS is not the answer. I'll give the answer later if I have a chance to log on again. Or tomorrow.

    IMO

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  52. "where people eat and sleep"...is it a SOFA? I was also thinking of WORK.

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  53. Hi C.C. Well, another outstanding day at your site. Great comments! I finished the puzzle today with only 3 googles, but, it took all day as we are busy at work again. We have had to rekey 4 businesses and about 20 houses this month due to foreclosures. We literally see the way the economy is going on a daily basis here.

    Drdad I did the math and found out I can still follow most of it, thanks

    cokato R E your wedsday post: Well my place of course! And, I happen to have a likker license!

    HI everyone ! The WHOO

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  54. AYIEE! They did not change bloom stick to broom stick, which would make it an L to R shift; they changed broom stick to bloom stick, making it an R to L shift. The theme was Left to Right. All the other answers shifted the L in the word to an R.

    23A) Newlywed taking care of her hair? - brushing bride (instead of 'blushing bride')

    46A) Halloween strategy? - fright plan (instead of 'flight plan'

    78A) Prop for a rosebush? - bloom stick (instead of 'broom stick')
    The stick driven into the ground to which the stem is lightly tied is often a broken broom stick.

    108A) What to expect at a college reunion - grad to meet you (instead of 'glad to meet you')

    ???

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  55. Clearayes; I am nothing if not a solver of problems. G.A.H. must lightly grind the "Cinci" metal work, place in mild acid bath, rinse, dry, electro-plate with chrome and hang over mantel. Contact Dr.dad for details. Problem solved....for him. Now for you...?

    Alas, poor Yorick - as with Fred, has left this fertile loam for a far, far better place. Fred died in an asylum. He went insane trying to spell and explain "onomatopoeia". His last words were, " I keep hearing these damned BELLS!!!"

    Stay tuned fans, the love story will soon follow.

    IMBO

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  56. Hi C.C. and all

    I must have been brain dead today. Found c/w to be difficult but could only work at it sporadically.

    FYI C.C., another exclaimation that I remember from the Superman TV series wth George Reeves was editor Perry White yelling "Great Cesear's Ghost" when he was upset.

    @doesitinink How about sofa?

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  57. jeanne, trust me, there are several Mitch Rapps doing their thing.

    c.c., no, I didn't go in the shrine, although I did help some women worship over there.

    doesitinink, Asia?

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  58. Buckeye & Kittyb & Carl,
    I still don't get "idiodacy".

    Arygle,
    Ha, I finally see what you meant. I completely missed your point.

    The whoo,
    Now you are busy at work again, does it mean that we are on our way out of the housing slump/recession?

    Dennis,
    Inside or outside the shrine?

    Richshif,
    Thanks for "Great Caesar's ghost". I've never heard of it before.

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  59. Ink, China? No. I like Dennis' answer-Asia-better.

    Since the Series game is about to start and we have only 61 posts, here is the love story.

    Edna and Ralph were close friends for years in a mental institution. While walking the grounds, Ralph jumped into the deep end of the hospital swimming pool, went to the bottom and stayed there. Edna dove in, swam to the bottom and saved him.
    When the Head Nurse/Director of the hospital heard what Edna had done she arranged for Edna's immediate discharge, as she now considered Edna to be mentally stable.
    She went to Edna and said, "Edna, I have good news and bad news. I am arranging for your immediate release from the hospital since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping into the pool and saving the one you love. This act displayed sound mindedness. The bad news is that right after Ralph jumped into the pool we found that he hanged himself in his bathroom using the belt from his bathrobe. I'm sorry, but Ralph is dead".
    "Nonsense," responded Edna. "He didn't kill himself. I put him there to dry. Now, how soon can I go home".

    "The Things We Do For Love!"

    IMBO

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  60. 18:18. The "P" at the crossing of HALOP and PAAS was a total guess as I'd never heard of either. Lots of other (educated) guesses around the grid, and on the whole I found this puzzle not much fun.

    No time to comment further (wife is calling), and I'm not sure the puzzle warrants much commentary in the first place. It really looked like the grid was filled in by one of those computer programs, there were so many obscure names and words in it.

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  61. Buckeye, cute "love" story :)

    Photofoot, welcome, hope you will stay!

    I saw 2 cute "tombstones" today on someone's lawn: Rest in Pieces
    and I.B.Dead

    Don't you love Halloween?

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  62. @C.C. I understood buckeye's word 'idiodacy' as a play on 'idocy' as in idiotic, stupid, dumb, moronic, foolish, silly, crazy, insane, lame or dumbass weird. It was Buckeye's, word and I went along with it because it made perfect sense to me. Hence, my comment about the ID:10T badge.

    Maybe Buckeye can explain further if I'm off track.

    ttfn

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  63. oops! Make that 'idiocy' 'sted of 'idocy'(what I wrote). That's why writers never proofread their own work.

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  64. Carl: Definitely read Brian Haig. I picked up one of his books at a fund raiser and then read every book he wrote. Sean Drummond is the character in all the books. Very witty and entertaining. BTW love Michael Crihton, failed to mention him before. I always have a book "in progress" as I love to read.

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  65. c.c.,
    I would think "rashly" is an adverb. The adjective would be "rash"--he made a rash statement, he acted rashly. Also, I'd say "without thinking" is also adverbial--it modifies a verb (added to a verb), adjectives have to modify nouns, adverbs modify verbs, other adverbs, or adjectives.

    Buckeye,
    I agree about reading the other comments first--I wanted to say something too, but was afraid I'd be thought too catty. Thanks for jumping in first!

    And I loved your insane love story!

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  66. Buckeye, Thanks for the thought, amigo. Perhaps I failed to explain fully....My reasoning (excuse??) was that his metal sculpture (G.A.H.'s term) was rusty and flaky. I stayed away from the fact that it is just downright ugly under any circumstance! I'm so glad he doesn't read this blog. I can just see his eyes glazing over at the thought of a chrome finish on his masterpiece...oooh...just like....jewelry.

    I loved Edna and Ralph. Just the kind of story that gets me giggling days later.

    Wasn't it "idiodacy" (idi-odyssey)? I think the definition is (or should be)
    1. An intellectual voyage of discovery, searching for one's inner nitwit.
    2. (obscure) A fruitless search for Idi Amin.

    What does Fred have to say?

    Kazie, I agree about duplicate answers and corrections. But, Mea Culpa. There have been times when I've been been involved in my own idiodacy (gee, I really like that word) and missed a post or three.

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  67. C.C.,

    Kazie is right. "Without thinking" is an adverbial phrase. It doesn't simply mean "not thinking" which could be used to describe a person who doesn't think. If you say "I did it without thinking" then it describes the manner in which you did something. It's the "without" that makes it an adverbial phrase: without is a preposition and all preposition-noun or preposition-gerund phrases are abverbial (through the trees, over the fence, up the mountain, without bring my umbrella, etc.) because they describe the manner in which something is done.

    Martin

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  68. C.C., Wikipedia indicates that "Toile de Jouy" is frequently shortened to "toile" and they give a picture of an upholstered chair with fabric that is similar to the fabric in your pillow link. So I'd say that you can use either term to describe the pillow.

    Oh...I like "searching for one's inner nitwit," clear ayes! Did you see that we both published a link to the online puzzle at 3:32?

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  69. @clearayes I'll buy your idiodacy definitions.

    And, I'll go to the woodshed now for 'dumb**s weird'. Hmmm... I wish weird stuck to the i before e rule... life would be so much more simple.

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  70. doesitinink - I think the clue was "where MOST people eat and sleep. The answer is Asia because that is where the MOST people are by population.

    Kazie and C.C. - Encyclopedia Brittanica had my definition for azoic (dyes and pigments) and also the one that is "geological ages that predate organic life." Thus they predate the Paleozoic, Cenozoic, and Mesozoic eras/ages because all of them had organic life forms. It is defined by the layer of rocks/strata that are absent of fossils.

    Eozoic refers to rocks or strata that pre-date the Paleozoic era/age. They were considered essentially the same as azoic rocks/stata for awhile. Then, they were found to contain what some geologists called "fossils" that looked like gigantic amoeboid organisms called eozoons/eozoans. However, most geologists believe that these "so called fossils" were just a structure in the rocks that was not an organic life form. Many of the geologists who think the eozoons are organic life form fossils want to adopt "eozoic" for the previously known "azoic" strata and either move the azoic strata to a lower level in the earth's crust or get rid of the term azoic altogether.

    Hope that is not too complicated.

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  71. evening thoughts:
    I have learned that even if the puzzle of the day made me feel completely incompetent, I can trust my inner nitwit, which always make me see things in a different light . I thank all of you for making me laugh all day, esp. Buckeye with your crazy stories, Clear Ayes for always giving us a good poem to reflect, and, of course, you C.C. for all that you do for each one of us. I look forward to the puzzle, but more so, to the bantering that mostly goes over my head.The expertise that each of you have amazes me, and I am in awe most of the time.
    Carry on Dennis....
    Carl, I'm not a baseball fan either ( I'm ducking); I LOVE hockey.

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  72. Drdad,
    Thanks for the eozoic/azoic distinction. That does make sense and it explains why both terms can exist.

    clear ayes,
    I understand about the duplicates occurring accidentally too. Sometimes I take so long answering something, because I keep pausing to read the rest of the comments up since I last checked, that someone else has time to answer the same point before I finish the post.

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  73. Clearayes; I think you are teasing me. You have Fred's dictionary. Idi-odyssey is described as "A GREEK intellectual voyage for one's inner nitwit. And (obscure) a fruitless search for UGANDAN Idi Amin. You left out the proper nouns to test me. Don't try to fool me, sister. As for the "Cincy" sculpture, "Beauty is in the eye of the befuddled".

    Carl,: My fellow twisted friend. You explained Idiodacy perfectly. I guess "It takes one to know one". Thanks for the elequentismish. (Check Fred. "One who can explain any matter with clarity; kinda" ((Hence the -ish))).

    To those who are new to this blog, I post during the day when allowed, but at night I get crazy. My true self comes out "After Midnight" when I can sneak by Nurse Ratchet, and post what I wish. HA HA HA HA HA !!!! (Wipe drool from mouth.) Welcome aboard newbies and "lubbers". The ride is swift and trecherous. But it's the most fun you can have by yourself......almost.

    IMBO

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  74. P.S. Ink; We were the same on ipacac and Liane. We used the "E". Midwest soul brothers. Oops. Maybe you wish not to identify. TOO LATE

    P.S. I posted this because two days in a row we had 78 postings. I needed to break the trend and talk to Ink.

    IMBO

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  75. Damn, Carl, I forgot about your brilliant idea about Id-10-t. Works for me. Much easier than Idiodacy. Much more concise than Freud's Inner self, (id), fifth letter of the alphabet )E), unusual (odd), word with deucy (acey). I think you're on to something!

    Gotta go. Here comes Nurse Ratchet. HA HA HA H..............

    IMBO

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  76. @buckeye

    HOLY MERDE!!! "Elequentismish". Yet another word I understand? Don't want to get 'picky' & it's probably just a 'typo' but maybe it should be eloquentismish? As in meaning a state of being a kind-of-sort-of fluentish, elegantish or persuasive(ish) silver-tongued-devil when pontificating? You know, if we added another 'ism' to it, the entire meaning will change yet again. Then, eloquentismishism would be the belief in eloquentismish(kinda).

    I'm touched to have found my niche. Or, is it 'tetched' as in bonkers, nuts, not all there, or a brick short of a full load. I just hope I never have to explain this 'cause I'm not sure I can to anyone who's fully intact.

    Time for a rum-toddy & sleep.

    G'nite all.

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  77. Carl; Thank you. Your "o" instead of the "e" in "eloquentismish" is correct. I would like to say it was a typo but it was actually a product of my stupidindosityish. BTW, Nurse Ratchet would like to talk to you. I'm straight, as are you, but we could share a room.

    To those who do the x/w online, I shall try it today. My cardiologist, who also delivers my newspaper, doesn't realize that unwrapped papers don't work well during a rain storm. I'm beginning to think his advice of taking Midol for heart disease is problematic. So far, the only side effect is my nose bleeds every 28 days.

    I must be off.

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