google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday October 30, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

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Oct 30, 2008

Thursday October 30, 2008 Alan P. Olschwang

Theme: Be a Team Player

18A: Start of Bernard Baruch quote: WE DID NOT ALL

24A: Part 2 of quote: COME OVER ON

36A: Part 3 of quote: THE SAME SHIP, BUT

49A: Part 5 of quote: WE ARE ALL IN

54A: End of quote: THE SAME BOAT

Hooray! I actually understand this quote. I've never heard of Bernard Baruch though. He also said:

"If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail."

"Millions saw the apple fall, but Newton was the one who asked why."

This grid looks strange. I've never seen 2 theme answers split up in the center (Row 8) on a 15*15 before. I was confused for a minute, thinking this might be a left-to-right symmetrical puzzle rather than a conventional 180 degree rotational one. Stupid!

Once again, I feel like this puzzle was guest-edited by someone else:

17A: Bull markets: UPS. Our editor Williams would clue it as "Raises".

20A: Cost of living?: RENT. Williams: "Monthly payment"

19D: Alternative to smoking?: NON. Williams: "French/Nice turndown".

29A: Piccadilly Circus statue: EROS. Williams: "Greek god of love".

43A: Deer sirs: STAGS. Great clue. Williams: "Some male deer".

62A: 1969 Peace Prize grp.: ILO. Williams: "Worldwide workers gp."

63A: In place: SITED. Williams: "Located".

47D: Pint drink, perhaps: ALE. Williams :"Pub order".

It's nice to have fresh clues. Our brains need constant stimulation. The clue for CEO (22A: Boardroom bigwig) needs an abbreviation hint. "Boardroom VIP" is good.

Across:

4A: Deep, unnatual sleep: SOPOR. Rip Van Winkle is waking up after 20 years of SOPOR.

14A: "Seinfeld" uncle: LEO. I like this episode.

27A: Olympic sled: LUGE. I just learned that LUGE is also the winning word of 1984 National Spelling Bee. Have you seen "Spellbound"? Those kids are incredible.

28A: Deposited: LAID. I don't think any editor wants to try "__ off" clue during this worrying economic downturn period.

33A: Former French coin: SOU. Another old French coin is ECU.

46A: "South Park" boy: STAN. It also means "country": Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. Persian origin.

48A: Baloney!: PISH. New word to me.

51A: Junior exec.: ASST

52A: Chem. contaminant: PCB (Polychlorinated Biphenyl). No idea. Its spelling does look toxic.

61A: Churchill Downs event: DERBY. The on-line clue is "Kentucky hat?", which sounds more appealing to me.

65A: Big Apple letters: NYC. Technically, it should have "initially" in the clue.

Down:

2D: Censure: REPROACH. I often confuse "censure" with "censor".

7D: Greek vowel: OMICRON. It's between XI and PI. I cheated on this one.

8D: Cowboy's showcases: RODEOS

10D: Keep inside: BOTTLE UP

11D: Old-fashioned warning: ALARUM. No idea. I am not Shakespeare.

12D: Caviar source: BELUGA. I've never had BELUGA caviar before. Love salmon roe on sushi (ikura).

25D: "Chicago" role: VELMA. Played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Great musical.

26D: Buffalo's county: ERIE

33D: Alan Ladd classic: SHANE. Have never seen the movie. Samuel Jackson did mention the name SHANE in "The Negotiator".

35D: Take a tour: SIGHT SEE

37D: Brief announcement: BULLETIN

38D: Early or late: UNTIMELY

39D: Warner Bros. creation: TOON. I like the alliteration in those character names: Daffy/Donald Duck, Porky Pig, Roger Rabbit, etc. And DOC (59D: Elmer, to Bugs). I am still waiting for the "What's up, ____?"clue.

43D: Forceful flowings: SPATES

44D: Hebrew month: TISHRI. New to me. It's the first month in Hebrew calendar. The last month is ELUL.

49D: Typist's stat: WPM

Does anyone know what's the music behind this "Women in Art" clip?

C.C.

50 comments:

  1. Good morning Cc, DFs and DFettes...this sure was a tough one but doable. I needed about 25 minutes to complete puzzle. I was half way down the grid before I had any fills. The SW corner caused the most angst but once I got the theme the rest fell into place. I don't like PISH for 40a but I guess it is OK.

    Tonight is "Halloween Night" in our area so I hope the weather warms up a bit from yesterday. Hope you all have a great day.

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  2. Dick,
    PISH completely escaped me. I did not even know that it's a word.

    Argyle,
    That's a very nice theme for Halloween.

    Kazie,
    I am sorry you have to suffer as a result of my THREE posts per day rule. But I've made the decision and I want my decision to be respected. Your 9:09am comment yesterday is not counted as one of the three, as it's a response to others' crossword-related question.

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  3. Tough one today. Finally got through most of it except PISH. Had POSH 'cause I had no idea what TISHRI was.
    And OMICRON sounds like a time piece to me. So, obviously, I didn't get SOPOR. Another word I've never seen. Now STUPOR I know> Oh, well.
    And yes, CC, this is one of the few quip/quotes that I understand. That's different!!

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  4. 26 minutes 20 seconds, with distractions.

    I've never heard of SOPOR. The clue made me think STUPOR but that's one letter too many.

    For 19D "alternative to smoking?" I wrote POT. It would have worked if the clue had been "alternative to cigarettes". I smoke neither.

    For 30D I wrote WILT. The answer was SEAR, wasn't it? I did it online a while ago.

    I misread "Deer sirs" and tried to squeeze in MSTRS for STAGS.

    For 52A I was thinking PPM (parts per million) which is actually a measure for chemical contamination.

    And for 48A I tried NUTS, CRAP and BULL before PISH was revealed by the perps. My reaction? Baloney!

    I wonder if the puzzle was constructed before or after the onset of the current financial crisis because [inciteful political rant deleted by author]! Anyway, that's just how I see it.

    Martin

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  5. @Cc I guess pish is a real word but not one I would use in normal conversation. Here is some info on pish: pish (third-person singular simple present pishes, present participle pishin, simple past pished, past participle pished)

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  6. Good morning, C.C. and all.

    I thought this was going to be really tough when I started out, but as I got enough to fill in the quote, the rest fell together fairly smoothly. The last part to fill was the center where VELMA and the quote crossed.

    I always thought that 'sawing logs' implied snoring. How do you feel about the answer: ASLEEP?

    And, I don't think of being early as being UNTIMELY. To me, early is on time, and late is untimely.

    Kentucky DERBY gave me a Duh! moment. OMICRON and TISHRI came through the fills.

    C.C., I don't know the music behind the last clip you posted (which is fascinating), but I'd like to. If you should discover the composer or the name of the piece, I hope you'll share it with us.

    Dear Husband, my mother and I will be off on a short trip this weekend, to visit family in Indiana. I don't know whether there will be time to do the crosswords. I hope you all have fun, and a great fall weekend!

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  7. BTW, I think Mr Olschwang will, one day, have a grid where ALL the fills are part of a QUIP/QOUTE.
    This xword has 33.75% of the blanks filled by the quote!
    Seems like more than usual, but, I really haven't been keeping track.

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  8. Morning, folks!

    Definitely a bit of a struggle today, with lots of iffy cluing, but ultimately I was able to accomplish it unassisted. Took me awhile, though....

    I did not know Who Uncle LEO was, never being much of a Seinfeld fan, and TISHRI is not one of the Hebrew months I actually tend to remember, despite having seen it once or twice in the past I'm sure. And, while I'm familiar with soporific, I've never seen SOPOR before (and neither has my handy dictionary, apparently).

    I wasn't particularly crazy about SITED being clued as "In place" or SEAR being clued as "Cause to wither."

    I managed to get OMICRON, but it's the one letter I always forget whenever I'm reciting the Greek alphabet (which I learned years ago in an "Introduction to Ancient Greek" class in college). For some reason it always sounds like the name of a Transformer to me instead of a Greek letter.

    In general, the SW corner gave me the most trouble, since SPATES wasn't readily apparent, I couldn't remember TISHRI, PISH is not a word I would ever use, I refused to believe that SITED was even a real word, and I originally had ATTEST instead of ASSERT for 45D. Once I finally tried putting ASSERT for 45D and grudgingly accepted that SITED might possibly be correct, the rest fell into place.

    Oh -- and I liked the quote and all the other quotes by Mr. Baruch you listed, C. C. The strange thing is, I've heard all those quotes before but I swear I've never heard the name Bernard Baruch...

    And there you have it! One large post instead of 3 or more smaller ones... ^_^

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  9. CC:

    I contacted the artist in the "Women in Art" piece you asked about - beautiful work, thanks for sharing. It is Bach's Sarabande from Cello Suite No. 1 performed by Yo-Yo Ma.

    Here's a link to the full work:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFgDG4lpl2o

    Tough puzzle today - I also got hung up in SW corner. Hope all have a great day!

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  10. Good morning.

    A struggle in places but as Dennis said - doable. Took about the same time as he did to finish. Didn't like PISH either. A pish is an imitated bird call (usually a scold or alarm call) used by birders and ornithologists to attract birds. I guess because of the "scold" or "alarm" part it has become a word to express disdain.

    I see the Phillies won. Congrats to all the fans and to the team. I really wanted to see the Red Sox in it again, even though I am not a Red Sox fan.

    Dennis, why is it Halloween Night tonight?

    Oh My God! They killed Kenny!!! You Bastards!!!!

    Velma was also a character / Toon on Scooby Doo.

    Perhaps I am answering my own question to Dennis as I just looked up what happens on this day ---
    Today/tonight is Mischief Night. Historically, examples of mischief that are somwhat harmless are: soaping windows, egging houses and cars (not really harmless I guess), tossing a few rotten tomatoes,
    toilet papering houses and trees, etc., knocking on doors, then running away. Of course, nowadays these might get you into trouble.

    It is also National Candy Corn Day and Buy a Doughnut Day. Also, Orson Welles famous radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" occurred n this day in 1938.

    Have a great Thursday and stay out of "mischief."

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  11. @ drdad I don't know if you misdirected your questions to Dennis but I will answer your question "Why is it Halloween Night tonight?" In our area football reigns supreme and that includes high school games. Since most high school football games are played Friday night the township moved Halloween Night to Thursday so as not to interfere with the foot ball games.

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  12. c.c., Thanks. I guess I was wondering if answers to questions other than yours would be counted.

    If I thought I was hammered yesterday, this one outdid that one! I was getting nowhere, so I came here and only looked at the theme answers, inked them in, and then was able to do the rest unassisted, until the SW corner.

    The spelling of tishrei, as given on google, had me guessing the wrong ending to use here, so didn't get sited, and as I have to leave town again today, I lacked the time to think for too long, gave up and got the rest from here.
    IMBO, see you all later.

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  13. Per CC's request I'm copying an email I sent her earlier this morning:

    Good morning CC:

    You may recall a few months ago I shared with the group a website that programs & plays music (advertisement free) based on personal preferences - to refresh, it's www.pandora.com

    If you create a station for "Yo-Yo Ma" you can listen to beautiful cello music all day if you like. My most recent ex-wife plays the cello (not professionally & not very well, but it gives her solace) and so I have become a Yo-Yo Ma fan as a result. There's a beautiful piece he performed on the TV show "West Wing" that really got me hooked - hit this & I think you'll see what I'm talking about (music starts about 1:45 into it):

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUR4Ttt_PQg

    Have a great day!

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  14. Bill,
    The average number of letters for theme answers in a puzzle is 40. It's impossible to make a puzzle full of quotes/quips. However, every word of Newsday's Sept 19 puzzle titled "52 of a Kind" has a letter L in it, very cool.

    Chris,
    Once again, thanks for the Bach link. What a great companion for "Women in Art". Did you ask the artist who those beautiful women are? I only recognize a few.

    Embien,
    Thanks for the cheater square alert yesterday.

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  15. Good Morning All!

    Like others, I did not like pish and I had bucks for 43A: Deer sirs so that made it a bit tricky to fill in the SE corner. Finally got it all straightened out though.

    Things are finally warming up here after a couple weeks of unseasonable cold temperatures.

    Have a great day all!

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  16. Good Morning all
    This one spanked me bad. I misread 52 A as containment,didn't like spates, never heard of sopor, can never remember ILO. I did know pish.

    I cheated and had to google the quote. I have heard of Bernard Baruch, but didn't know his quotes. I hate quote Thursdays!

    c'ya

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  17. kittyb,

    And, I don't think of being early as being UNTIMELY. To me, early is on time, and late is untimely.

    Wow. I'll have to keep that in mind the next time I hear the expression "untimely death".

    Martin (That's two!)

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  18. Oops, I did mean Dick on Halloween Night. Thanks for correcting me, Dick.

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  19. drdad I really like your pumpkin. What did you use to carve the very intricate cuts?

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  20. Good Morning All, I don't often say I like the Thursday quote puzzle, but this one was easily understood. Of course, it took me a while to sort it out. I knew that a "soporific" was a sleeping aid, so I have nobody buy myself to blame for not knowing SOPOR.

    OMICRON was really a new one for me, as was TISHRI. (I keep adding Hebrew months to my word list, but there always seems to be more.)

    PCB,...science stuff. Sorry, Drdad I know you love it, but I have a mental block on most things scientific.

    PISH was obtained via the perps, although I had TISH at first. STATES just didn't seem right for 43D, so I went through the letters of the alphabet until both 43D and 48A looked right. I still wasn't sure until I checked here. Lucky guess for me.

    YOSEMITE was a gimme for me. VELMA (Kelly) was easy. I love the musical and the movie was terrific. I have two friends named Velma. It is a pretty old-fashioned name. Yes, both Velmas are over 65.

    Thanks to Barry Silk for stopping by last night. He was full of GOOD VIBRATIONS after the Phillies won the series. Congratulations, again.

    Not a Halloween poem today, but a mysterious one.

    On the Nature of Love

    The night is black and the forest has no end;
    a million people thread it in a million ways.
    We have trysts to keep in the darkness, but where
    or with whom -- of that we are unaware.
    But we have this faith -- that a lifetime's bliss
    will appear any minute, with a smile upon its lips.
    Scents, touches, sounds, snatches of songs
    brush us, pass us, give us delightful shocks.
    Then peradventure there's a flash of lightning:
    whomever I see that instant I fall in love with.
    I call that person and cry: 'This life is blest!
    For your sake such miles have I traversed!'
    All those others who came close and moved off
    in the darkness -- I don't know if they exist or not.

    - Rabrindranath Tagore

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  21. mark - Buenos Airies

    Buckeye´s comment yesterday about being indecisive - "I used to be indecisive, but now I am not so sure"

    its funny how you can justify answers when you are wrong. I had "attest" instead of assert, and so "pish" was "pith (could be?)
    Blew it became "esked" (could be American for "exed")
    "Tichsi" became a Jewish month (no idea)
    and Junior exec became "actt" (perhaps accountant?)

    and when you have the right answer "assert", everything falls into place and you think "how stupid I am".

    Somebody today thanked Barry Silk´s contribution of yesterday, I went back and checked and agree, its wonderful that a compiler takes the time to listen to his "subjects"
    Another beautiful day here, sincere contentment to all.

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  22. Pish indeed!

    Baloney - balderdash, blather, bunkum, claptrap, drivel, garbage, idiocy, piffle, poppycock, rigmarole, rubbish, tomfoolery, trash, twaddle...

    Now aren't all of these better words than "pish"? These would be fun to add to your vocabulary. But "pish"; never, never, never.

    No I've never constructed a crossword - but "pish"? - there just has to be a better way!

    Enough already - sliding toward TGIF!

    Remember to:
    "Work like you don't need the money.

    Love like you've never been hurt.

    Dance like you do when nobody's watching."

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  23. Dick, I have a set of knives and gouging tools that are more commonly used for cutting out rubber blocks that are used in art for lithographic printing. They vary in size and work great for small detailed cuts in the "skim carving" technique that I use. I also have a set of small saws that I use when I decide to cut all the way through the pumpkin. Most times I don't however because when you cut all the way through you often have to make sure all the remaining parts are connected. With skim carving you don't have to worry about it.

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  24. Work has been hellish the last few days, so though I worked the crossword puzzle each day, I did not have time to post here. The puzzles this week have been a bit harder than usual, or so they seemed to me, though it is possible that my stress over work issues were too much of a mental distraction. Nevertheless I did manage to complete them all without Google. And today’s was 100% correct.

    À propos some of the postings a couple of days ago about “nappy” and also à propos today’s theme is a column in a recent Chicago Tribune by Dawn Turner Trice in which she quotes a speech by Robert Kennedy after the assassination of his brother: But we have to make an effort in the United States; we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times. My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: ‘Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God.’ What we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another; and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.

    @chris in LA – Have you seen Ingmar Bergman’s last movie Sarabande, a sequel to his wonderful Scenes from a Marriage in which Bach’s Sarabande for Cello Suite No. 4 is featured? It is a superb movie!

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  25. CC:

    Here's a link to the art used in the "Women in Art" piece referenced earlier per your request:

    http://www.maysstuff.com/womenidorg.htm

    And no, I don't know the artist, I just give good email

    ;)

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  26. @ doesitinink:
    No, haven't seen it, but it looks like my kind of film (I've always been a "sucker" for chick-flicks & kid movies - if you haven't seen "Transformers" you have missed one of the best movies made in recent years IMHO). Thanks & I'll be looking for it.

    Sorry for extra post - just answering questions.

    @Dennis etal - congrats on your Phillies - Utley's play to the plate was one of the best infield plays I've seen in years!

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  27. Well, that was like pulling teeth. First of all, I have such a hard time getting into my left brain in the morning; it’s so pleasant to just drift around unfocused before coffee. But puzzles help me get in gear, so that’s what I do. I work puzzles. And it’s Thursday quote day, and Alan Olshwang. Do I really want to? Yes. I can do this.

    I am not pleasantly surprised, and I didn’t like the quote all that much, but I finished without google. Not without red letters though. PISH? Young fish is FRY? FRY PISH? Uhhh, no, that was baloney. I must be still sawing logs or SOPORing. zzzzzzzzzzzzz

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  28. Hail All Fair And Hardy,

    Pish? Thanks Dick for the past participle. This answer "pished" me off. I guess that's better than saying it "Baloneyed" me off. God knows what the sirens would do with that! Since I know not Hebrew, it's letters and months throw me off. Got "Tishri" (44d) thru the perps. Also, had a tough time with "Spate", but guessed "Pish" and then looked it up to find a success. Knew "omicron" because we had to memorize the Greek alphabet during my Sigma Chi days at OSU. All else OK.

    Kittyb, Chris In La pointed out the music in "Women In Art" earlier than your post. Check his 7:36 am posting. For the purists, the work is in G Maj.
    When you check out a performance on YTube, the biography of the piece is usually in a box to the upper right of the movie screen. Click there and you can usually find the details of the performance. Chris is just lucky to know Yo-Yo.

    Congrats Phillie Phans. Big week for Pa. PSU over OSU and a World Series within five days. WTG. (Way To Go).

    Drdad; I heard they are going to do a new "War Of The Worlds" on radio tonight. Have no details. I love your pumpkin. (Let the sirens loose on that a while.)

    Thanks Barry Silk for dropping by.

    BTW, what's the story with croutons coming in a "stay fresh" pouch? Croutons are stale bread. I NEVER heard of anybody returning croutons to the grocery store saying, "Hey!! Take these back. They're going fresh!"

    I must be off.

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  29. Some may be familiar with Pish, Posh, said Hieronymus Bosch. ‘Pish Posh’ is a phrase that declares one’s opinions or thoughts to be absurd, irrelevant or redundant. As in…nonsense!

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  30. I'm sorry, but I've got to do this!
    Buckeye, your last paraghaph is still bringing tears to my eyes.
    Now, that thar's funny stuff!

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  31. 13:31 today, but I had one wrong letter (the "I" at the crossing of PISH and TISHRI. I had POSH instead of PISH and since I know no Hebrew months (with the possible exception of ADAR, which I believe might be a month), TOSHRI seemed perfectly reasonable to me.

    I've never seen Seinfeld, so had to wait for the crosses to get 14a: "Seinfeld" uncle (LEO), and never seen South Park, so likewise needed the crosses for 46a: "South Park" boy (STAN). My lack of pop culture knowledge is showing as I hardly watch any TV except Food Network, PBS, news and sports.

    I thought of clear ayes immediately when I saw 3d: Park in California (YOSEMITE), since I think she lives near there.

    @c.c.: I've never had BELUGA caviar before. Love salmon roe on sushi (ikura).

    I've had BELUGA caviar, and it's delicious, but insanely expensive. I like most sushi, including ikura, but I think my favorite is uni (sea urchin eggs).

    By the way, BELUGA is not legally available in the US at the present (the Beluga Sturgeon is endangered). If you have a hankering for caviar, you can see a selection here. (This is the company featured on Martha Stewart a year or so ago.)

    I didn't much care for the cluing 52a: Chem. contaminant (PCB). Seems to me it could have been most anything...

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  32. Thank you, doesitinink. Now I know where my mother got the phrase. She would say, "Oh, pish-posh," when I'd claim I couldn't get something done. No excuse could trump "pish-posh".

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  33. Hi c.c. and all:

    Well, a few googles for me, but got the quote okay. Had trouble with Pish, but just put the "P" in because it made the most sense.

    Doesitinink: I have heard of Pish Posh before, but not Pish by itself.

    I will have to go back to yesterday and read Barry Silk's comments. It is always nice when he visits c.c.'s blog! Thanks Barry!!!

    Have a wonderful day everyone!

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  34. Barbara from Canby says;

    Nice puzzle, a bit challenging especially the Jewish month which I had to look up, I got the theme before I got all the words, I do that often, but I had "bucks" for deer sirs and first said we didn't all came over in the tall ships, then changed it and it made sense for the rest of it. Love the puzzles, do em every day, they're good for seniors like me.

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  35. @ Bukeye as I have said before you really crack me up with your humor. I am sorry I pished you off but I was just trying to be helpful LOL.

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  36. Well, quote day...sigh. I got the quote for once but comeon...sopor,pish? I had to google and then google some more. Must have had too much fun in that shed last night. So with that, I think I will do some sightseeing out there after I bottle up some ale 'cause I sited some stag that look like they need to get laid. Sot it's off to the rodeo. yeehaa

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  37. G'day C.C. & all

    This is just a quick check in since I've got twelve things on my plate and only time for six...

    This Olschwang worked for me with no major problems... probably because the quote's author was identified(for a change) and I knew some of the author's quips including this one. So, Quip Thursday wasn't 'Nightmare on Elm Street' for me.

    Welcome Barbara from Canby! Oregon I presume (correctly or incorrectly)?

    @buckeye - I worship your insanity. Your 1:08PM - Now, that there's funny!

    And, I'm outta here.

    ttfn

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  38. Razzberry,
    Thanks for the "Baloney" list. I like your "Love like you've never been hurt" too. Who originated this line?

    Kittyb,
    This is the Women in Art paintings link Chris found earlier. I was really in awe of the youtube clip.

    Bill @ 1:23pm,
    Why sorry?

    Barbara from Canby,
    Welcome.

    Martin,
    Great "baloney" reaction and great example on UNTIMELY.

    Doesitinink,
    Thanks for the "pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart" poem, very touching!

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  39. Chris in LA, you remind me of Gibbs in NCIS, the many times married main character.

    That most beautiful Bach cello piece that you directed us to is part of the soundtrack for "Master and Commander: Far Side of the World," a movie with an astonishing score.

    Thanks for the tip on Pandora, and the information on Bach's Cello Suite No. 1 (in G Maj).

    Martin, I suppose that it is safe to say that there are exceptions to almost everything.

    clear ayes, I'm willing to open my mind to science (although I'm terribly undereducated in the sciences), but insurance policies and government forms close me down.

    Buckeye, I had the chance to come back this afternoon to read the posts, and caught Chris's post. Thanks for the heads-up.

    doesitinink, I've always heard it as "PISH TOSH." There are probably dozens of variations on the phrase.

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  40. C.C., you can block some troublemakers from commenting here. There is no reason for comment limit for other posters.

    Vote For Al Franken

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  41. I'm back from my latest poll worker training. Why there is a separate training session for the poll inspector(s) (me) and an additional one that all the poll workers have to attend (including me), I have no idea. But I get paid mileage for two 50 mile round trips, and I had a nice lunch with friends. We had to pay for our own lunch.

    Interesting election trivia: In case you weren't aware, it is a misdemeanor to "electioneer" within 100 feet of a polling place. That includes wearing pins, t-shirts, caps or any other paraphernalia that promote a particular candidate, political party or measure. Don't worry, you won't be refused at the polls, but you may be asked to remove your cap, wear a very ugly plastic apron over your shirt, or even asked to vote and skedaddle.

    Embien, Yes, YOSEMITE was a gimme. I was there last Friday with some friends. We did the bus tour of the western part of the part and had a spiffy lunch at the gorgeous Awanhee Hotel. I'd never been to the Awanhee before, so I was very impressed by the 1920's interior design. I have to admit that in some ways the interior reminded me of "The Overlook Hotel" from the movie "The Shining". It must have been that huge fireplace and the double elevator doors.

    Doesitinink, The Robert Kennedy speech excerpt was very touching and particularly timely.

    Martin, Speaking of timely/untimely, I got a laugh out of your "untimely death" comment.

    Buckeye, Why does sour cream have an expiration date? What's the worst that could happen?

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  42. Speaking of Al Franken... There's a house on Main St. here in our little WI town with one of his election signs in their yard. I always wonder if it's a joke, or if they have it for Minnesotans passing through!

    Also, referring back to salmon roe...When my son caught the 38" salmon when we were with him in AK last June, he saved some of the roe for caviar, but we had to toss it because it was not "ripe" enough. Anyone have any knowledge of whether it has to be a certain maturity before being edible? It tasted terrible.

    To the list of baloney words, I'd like to add the German word: quatsch! (pronounced kvatsh)--it seems so appropriate to how I feel when needing to say it!

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  43. Good evening C. C. and all

    Did not know sopor as apparently many did not. Added another Hebrew month. Was thinking reprimand for censure but it wouldn't fit.

    Have not heard pish used alone. In the Spiderman movie Aunt May (Rosemay Harris) used the term pish-posh in one of her lines.

    As far as being early not being considered untimely, it would be for an unprepared host.

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  44. Kittyb,

    Martin, I suppose that it is safe to say that there are exceptions to almost everything.

    But I thought "untimely death" was the most common usage of "untimely" and that it was being used to mean "early"? Then again, they do refer to someone who just died as being "late" so maybe I've got it all wrong.

    Martin (That's three!)

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  45. Martin, your comment on untimely death and the late departed is truly one of the funniest. You are totally correct in that untimely death means early, and we refer to someone who's died as the late ....
    No one ever said that English is easy or always makes sense if you analyze it.

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  46. There's a French expression that goes somewhat like this--I'm working from memory here:

    Avant l'heure, ce n'est pas l'heure.
    Après l'heure, ce n'est plus l'heure.
    L'heure, c'est l'heure.

    The rough translation is: Before the time, is not the time, after the time is no longer the time, The time is the (right) time!

    And now, c'est l'heure du coucher!

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  47. Evenin' all

    It's been a long, busy, beautiful (as in not wet or winter) day in O and I've got nothing really to add except a note to Kazie.... Salmon eggs???? Trying to make caviar from them??? Eewwww! No matter what you do to them, you just can't make filet mignon out of chicken livers.

    Have a good night all & watch out for the ghosts, goblins & ghoulies tomorrow night.

    ttfn

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  48. Kazie; Don't know much of that Frenchie stuff, but got that last phrase. C'est l'heure du coucher".
    Doesn't it mean, "now's the time to see my Shrink on his couch?"

    Clearayes: Mold.

    IMBO

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  49. Tra la la, fun chorus practice this evening. We found out we are singing Psallite... a cappella... in English, Latin AND German. If anybody wants a good laugh on December 14th, come on over to Coulterville, California.

    Kazie, Funny you were talking about big fish. We got an email from G.A.H.'s nephew. Snake River, Idaho Saturday's catch of the day.

    I have to admire your adventuresome spirit in trying some of the salmon roe. You don't know unless you try.

    Buckeye, Moldy sour cream to some, the makings of Camembert to others.

    à bientôt

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  50. C.C. - It is a slight variation of Mark Twain's quote:
    "Dance like nobody's watching; love like you've never been hurt. Sing like nobody's listening; live like it's heaven on earth."

    Also from Twain - "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt."

    So with that I'll close my mouth and read the fun for the day.

    Happy - All Saints Eve - Don't let the goblins get you.

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