google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday November 29, 2008 Arlan and Linda Bushman

Gary's Blog Map

Nov 29, 2008

Saturday November 29, 2008 Arlan and Linda Bushman

Theme: None

Total blocks: 30

I think I will enjoy themeless puzzles more once I get better at solving. I really like the open field and long words.

This is a nice puzzle. No strained or forced entries, except ELA (35D: Old time high note). I wonder how many people know about this high note on Guido's Music Notation.

I love the crossing of AMERICANA (16A: Bits and pieces of U. S. history) and VALUABLE (12D: Great worth). It reminds me of "Antiques Roadshow" and our local flea markets. I have yet to find something of "Great worth" though.

Across:

1A: Trudge (on): PRESS. I definitely need a "Iron" clue for the answer to come to me immediately.

6A: Ralph Kramden, for one: BUS DRIVER. Easy guess. I did not know who Ralph Kramden is.

17A: Buzzing: ASTIR. I thought of AROAR, too strong for the "Buzzing" clue I suppose.

19A: Stone Age implement: NEOLITH

21A: Dowel: PEG. Got it from the down clue. I did not know the meaning of "Dowel".

22A: Spoon-bender Geller: URI. This looks interesting.

25A: Chronicle: SAGA. They are not the same to me. A "Chronicle" is a real account of the event, right? SAGA is often mythified and romanticized.

26A: Team player: SPORTSMAN. I don't like this clue. A PGA Pro is a SPORTSMAN, but he is not a "Team player", unless it's for the Ryder Cup.

30A: Donnybrook: MELEE

31A: Jumper cable connection: ANODE. NY Times puzzle once had TENDONS (53A: Kin of ligaments) clued as "Jumper's cables?".

36A: Dauphin's dad: ROI. Another guess. I did not know that Dauphin means "the eldest son of the king of France from 1349 to 1830". Kind of like Prince of Wales.

37A: Leafy garnish: CRESS. It's the same as watercress, isn't it? You will more likely find dried CRESS and pickled rutabaga in Asian Stores. They are seldom eaten fresh in China.

39A: New Rochelle college: IONA. Don McLean's alma mater. I never get tired of "Starry Night". I also like his "American Pie", very touching.

42A: Shown, as in a museum: ON EXHIBIT

50A: Pacific weather pattern: LA NINA. I could only think of EL NINO.

51A: Guess at LAX: ETA

54A: Game often stalemated: TIC- TAC- TOE

57A: Miser Marner: SILAS. I have difficulty remembering this George Eliot book.

58A: Puts up with: TOLERATES

60A: Jokes like Dangerfield's: ONE LINERS. Here are some of his best ONE LINERS.

61A: Jazz vocalist Mercer: MABEL. I forgot. She appeared in our puzzle before. We just had " Normand of the silent movie" two days ago.

Down:

1D: Shop tools: PLANES

2D: Rebel: RISE UP

3D: La corrida beast: EL TORO. The clue is asking for TORO, not "EL TORO", isn't it?

4D: Admiral or cabin boy: SAILOR

5D: Actor's lines: SCRIPTS

7D: Diamond arbiter: UMP. I can't remember clearly, did they make UMP bobbleheads in the 1960's? These are adorable. Senators became the Twins.

8D: Sinuous: SERPENTINE

13D: Efforts: ENERGIES

14D: Branches out: RADIATES

20D: Check out: TEST

27D: Performer with strings attached: MARIONETTE. "Performer"? What do you call the person who manipulates the MARIONETTE then?

28D: Run _ of Hip Hop fame: D.M.C.. The answer emerged after I got the across fills. Had no familarity with this Hip Hop group.

31D: Almond liqueur: AMARETTO. I've never had it. Is it bitter?

32D: Marginal marking: NOTATION

33D: Impediment: OBSTACLE. Obstruct has the same amount of letters.

40D: Rod in a car: AXLE

43D: Horsedrawn carriage: HANSOM

44D: Gandhi of India: INDIRA. She had two sons, Rajiv and Sanjay.

45D: Cloning spot, for short: BIOLAB

46D: Present at birth: INNATE. And ENATE is "Maternally related", AGNATE is "Paternally related) and COGNATE is "Related by birth".

47D: Mortarboard fixture: TASSEL

53D: Mrs. Dick Tracy: TESS. Does any one collect Kellogg's Pep pinbacks?

C.C.

46 comments:

  1. Doh! I did the puzzle online today and I got confused by the clues: I thought that TESS was "Kin of ligaments" and "Mrs. Dick Tracy" was TENDONS. It makes a lot more sense now! I didn't know Dick Tracy married Tess Trueheart. I got TESS and TENDONS from the perps, obviously.

    Anyway, 20 minutes 50 seconds, due to both my brain and the computer being slow today. I had heard of the NEOLITHuc era but I didn't know that stone knives were NEOLITHs. I also wanted EL NINO for LA NINA but of course it didn't fit with the perps. "Dauphin" and "Dowel" were nonsense to me too.

    C.C., "Corrido beast" would be TORO but "La corrido beast" is EL TORO.

    Martin

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good morning CC etal,

    Struggled in NW corner - had RUSSIA in place of EUROPE for a while, PLIERS instead of PLANES and PLODS instead of PRESS. As I'm sure you can imagine that combination created all kinds of problems for me.

    CC: re 27D - the person who manipulates the strings of a marionette is called a puppeteer. Re 31D - Amaretto is a very sweet liqueur that tastes good in coffee.

    Hope all have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Martin,
    Thanks for TORO. Were ELA and MABEL gimmes to you? I forgot to comment on RATS (48A: Unpopular rodents). Are there any popular rodents at all?

    Chris,
    Thanks for puppeteer. As for AMARETTO, I noticed that it's rooted in amaro, which is "bitter" in Italian. Funny how you always accompany "a long, long time ago" with "in a galaxy far, far away".

    Barry,
    What is Jewish guilt? How is it related to GELT?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Sallie,
    I am curious too. You are not unhappy, but are you happy with the change?

    Doreen,
    Welcome! Does the ostrich egg taste like our normal egg?

    Ken,
    I can't believe someone has actually read Durant's book. Good to see you again.

    Johnboy,
    Have not heard any complaint from you for eons.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Melissa,
    Jennifer Lopez.

    J.D.,
    What does "Via est longa" mean? Life is long?

    Crockett,
    Mark (Buenos Aires) used to confuse me with his "setter" comment. I thought he was talking about dogs. Great picture.

    Mark,
    USHER.

    Courtenay,
    I've replied to your inquiry on Thursday's post. Are you in Wisconsin? Kazie also gets TMS Sunday puzzle on Thursdays.

    ReplyDelete
  6. uuum, Amaretto! Argyle leaves to get some Kahlua for his coffee (he doesn't have any Amaretto but Kahlua will do).

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mmmmmm, that's good...
    yes, and Good Morning, C.C. and friends.

    Some authors use chronicle to lend a sense of credibility to their work, like the Chronicles of Narnia, the series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis.

    ReplyDelete
  8. See, now you made me look up Amaretto

    Some interesting "recipes" at the bottom of the Wiki cite...

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ha! Chinese people don't like rodents, do they? Of the top of my head, the top ten rodents would be:

    10 Rats. At least in labs.

    9 Mongooses. Known for fighting snakes.

    8 Ferrets. Vicious but cute.

    7 Ground hogs and gophers. They are a bit of nuisance because they leave holes in fields.

    6 Mice. They are smaller and cuter than rats.

    5 Guinea pigs. They are bigger and cuter than rats.

    4 Squirrels. Are you one of those people who chase squirrels out of bird feeders?

    3 Hamsters. None of my students believe me when I say Americans keep them as pets.

    2 Chipmunks. Simon, Theodore, ALVIN and Chip 'n' Dale too.

    1 Rabbits and Hares. Yes, they are rodents.

    Martin

    ReplyDelete
  10. That reminds me! There's a rodent from South America (Paraguay, I think) that's as big as a dog. They had some in a zoo I visited in Tainan County. The sign gave the scientific name for the animal and in Chinese it said "South American rat". That must have scared some people away from ever wanting to visit South America.

    Martin

    ReplyDelete
  11. Argyle,
    Thanks for the "Chronicle". Can you dig deeper and find out why DOOMSDAY is clued as "To Stanley Kunitz - "...the eighth day of the week." I am so bothered by it.

    Chris,
    How did you link the etymology of AMARETTO so precisely? See my link?. What should I add to make mine like yours?

    Martin,
    Thanks for the list. I hate squirrels. They ruin our garden. I did not know that rabbits are rodents.

    Clear Ayes & Kazie,
    Blarney & Killarney both have " -arney" ending. Is it a special Irish thing? What does the suffix mean?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Wow! I didn't know beavers were rodents!

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

    "Common rodents include mice, rats, squirrels, chipmunks, gophers, porcupines, beavers, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, degus, chinchillas, prairie dogs, and groundhogs... capybaras may grow to 130 centimetres (4.3 ft), and weigh up to 65 kg (140 lb)."

    Oh, it turns out that rabbits, ferrets and mongooses aren't rodents after all: I was under the impression they were. My bad.

    Martin

    ReplyDelete
  13. CC:

    I scrolled down before I copied the link - apparently it stuck to the scrolled-down position.

    I'm new at copying links, so my success was purely unintentional.

    PS - A baby squirrel fell out of a tree in my back yard after Katrina, crawled up my arm and "adopted" me as its "dad" - I kept it in an elaborate cage for several years before it passed away (very sad). To this day I feed it's "bretheren" and enjoy their antics - did you know they whine, purr & cry? Give them a chance, they are very funny animals.

    ReplyDelete
  14. CC:

    Ooops - on second thought, I clicked on the word "entomology" before I copied the link - maybe that's what did it?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good morning, c.c. and gang - this was an interesting puzzle for me -- I can't remember ever having one where the long answers were so easy. Usually, for me anyway, I have to chip away at them with the perps.

    I disagree with 'valuable' for 'of great worth'; I think the word means something of value, period. Something you're 'able' to 'value'; the word itself says it.

    Re rodents: I know they can be destructive, but I've got a couple chipmunks living somewhere in the back yard that actually hand-feed now; one will actually sit in my hand and stuff its face.

    Today is National Square Dance Day, for those of you so inclined.

    Hope it's a great day for everyone; flag football game here later this morning, probably followed by some sort of recovery treatment...

    ReplyDelete
  16. Chris,
    Let me try again. Tiger in Chinese culture.

    Steve @ 7:30pm,
    Welcome! Now we have 2 solvers from Britain.

    Dennis,
    What kind of recovery treatment? Massage?

    ReplyDelete
  17. I thought rabbits were rodents because rabbits have big front teeth. It turns out ferrets are related to otters and weasels. Weasels. I would have thought they were rodents.

    C.C., there's a whole list of words in English that have contradictory meanings and I have been feeling a bit ashamed of that but I think I found a word in Chinese, namely ä¹–(guai), that has the same problem: it means both "perverse, obstinate, untoward and sulky" and "obedient/well-behaved". The Taiwanese singer Jolin uses the word a lot in her songs. How do I know what she means?

    Martin (That's five!)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Here is a short clip of Mabel Mercer that may help us remember her. I would liked to have found one of when she was younger though.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Morning, all!

    Nice and easy puzzle for a Saturday. MABEL Mercer was the only real unknown (despite having appeared in the puzzle before), but was easily gettable via the perps. I haven't seen ELA in a puzzle for a loooong time, when it used to always be clued as "Guido's High Note."

    I was momentarily stuck at 3D, since I knew full well that a corrida is where bullfights take place and that the Spanish word for bull is TORO, but there were too many squares! It took me awhile to realize that the article EL was supposed to be included.

    As for Jewish guilt, C. C., there's a traditional stereotype of the Jewish mother who basically manipulates her children by making them feel guilty. An example is the following joke: "Q: How many Jewish mothers does it take to change a light bulb? A: Oh, don't worry about me -- I'll just sit here alone in the dark worrying about you while you're off having fun with all your friends..."

    ReplyDelete
  20. c.c., the situation will dictate that, but most likely a prolonged visit in the jacuzzi. Damn age thing sucks.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Good morning CC et al, What a melee! Blew the NW corner and wanted to use some shop tools and send that area over the moon. I agree w/Dennis -the long words were easier - and loved the Dangerfield ref.

    Dennis, good luck w/the game. Where do you keep the flag? Hope you return w/all parts in tact. Am redecorating the house today. While you snag flags, I'll pull boxes. Man, what's wrong with this picture? Hope we both win.

    ReplyDelete
  22. whew this puzzle was a beast for me. If it wasn't for google i would have just chucked it in the trash. Somehow I thought kramden worked in a sewer. did his friend? I barely remember much except "To the moon, Alice"

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi C.C. and gang,

    Easy puzzle for a Saturday. Still waiting for one that will cause my brain to implode. Only had one erasure...planer for planes, did not pay attention to the plural.

    My father-in-law use to drink Godfathers. they are made with amaretto and I believe Scotch. I never developed a taste for them. Found them to be bitter.

    @ Dennis, Lois, Jeannie, or Carol can assist you with a "recovery treatment"!!

    ReplyDelete
  24. C. C. said...Argyle, can you dig deeper and find out why DOOMSDAY is clued as "To Stanley Kunitz - "...the eighth day of the week." I am so bothered by it.


    I'm still working on it. Kunitz used it in a poem which I'll send you, but here is something about the eighth day:

    SABBATH The seventh day of the week, originally a day of rest, for after creation "God rested on the seventh day" (Gen. 2:2). Since Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, Sunday, the Church gathers on this day instead of the seventh to worship God. Sunday is also called "the Lord's Day" and "the eighth day," because it transcends the Sabbath and is seen as being a part of heavenly time rather than earthly time. See Ex. 20:8-11; Acts 20:7.

    You can see, it doesn't explain why it would be considered Doomsday.

    ReplyDelete
  25. c.c.,
    I don't know about the -arney ending in Irish names/words, but it does seem common.

    I'm posting late today because I'm cooking our rerun T'day meal for the rest of the family.

    I got this all out unassisted eventually when I could sit without interrruption. I didn't know MABEL Mercer, ELA or IONA
    but got them from the fills. I was delayed a bit in the SE corner from having ON DISPLAY for 42A at first, but then realized it wasn't working and got a few of the perps and that helped.

    Discussing rodents, my son had a problem with their squirrel friends recently when one chewed through a cable under his wife's car. They had similar problems in Germany with martens. They apparently like to crawl up into the warm areas of the engine.

    Martin,
    Mongooses looked strange--but I looked it up and that is the correct plural. My husband hates the squirrels too because they chew the bark off our trees in winter.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi everyone, good, interesting puzzle this morning. I found the long answers easy too. THAT doesn't happen ofter! I did not have to go to Mr.G either. Won't break my hand slapping myself on the back though, 'cause Monday is probably going to be rough. We are due.

    Dennis, you soak in your jacuzzi and Lois and I will try to adjust your 'situation' for you. Hope you don't injure the flag pole!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Back, intact, but our first loss. Such a great way to spend a crisp Saturday morning, although I bet it looks like slow-motion replay to spectators and passersby with all us near-deads running around.

    I'm definitely hopping in the jacuzzi - you three DFettes be prepared to salute.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Good morning, everyone! Another doable puzzle today. Did not know ELA and MABEL (two days this week). I had SOHIO for 38A but then corrected it for MOBIL.

    @martin That would be the capyabara, a large rodent indeed! Sorry, a ferret is a mammal. The mongoose is also a mammal. I see that you caught that.

    @marme Yes, Norton was a sewer worker.

    Have a great Saturday!!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Dennis, you run up that pole and I'll be saluting!!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Dennis, ooops I meant run the flag up the pole...if you ran up it, I wouldn't want to be a witness. Oh heck, I'll 'salute' whatever comes up!

    ReplyDelete
  31. C.C. Yes, I am happy with the change. It was somewhat amusing, but was getting a bit old, and seemed somewhat forced. I like the more subtle efforts now. But what did bring about the change about a month ago?

    ReplyDelete
  32. Why is ela not in dictionary.com?

    ReplyDelete
  33. @Mark in Buenos Aires: from yesterday's posting American woman´s escort...USHER?

    ReplyDelete
  34. 11:39 today. Very nice Saturday puzzle with none of those obnoxious "fake" long words (the ones made by adding IER, EST, etc.)

    I was slowed quite a bit by initially putting in EXHIBITED for 42a: Shown, as in a museum. Of course that messed up the whole SE area until I got it corrected (first to ON DISPLAY, and finally to the correct ON EXHIBIT).

    The beaver, Oregon's state animal and symbol, is the most famous rodent in these parts. We have a beaver pond about a mile down the hill from our house, but I haven't walked down there for years (property is not ours, anyway, and I guess we'd be trespassing).

    Beavers are in full force today as it's the annual Civil War game between Oregon (my alma mater) and Oregon State. Ducks vs. Beavers--gotta love our school mascots!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Chris,
    Yes, I did. Thank you.

    Argyle,
    I know flattery won't get me anywhere. But Santa, you are good at research.

    Sallie,
    I decided that "Less is more", thus the post limit.

    Jshanks,
    Because ELA is very archaic. That's why I commented at the beginning of my blog entry that it's a strained and forced fill.

    Embien,
    What's your record solving time for a weekday puzzle?

    ReplyDelete
  36. mark - Buenos Aires

    Yes, Usher.

    How about this:

    "Dashing president first to finish! It makes the papers"
    (8 and 5 letters)

    It took me awhile to get this, its nothing to do with the name of a president. Think of another word for "dashing" and put the first letter at the end.

    ReplyDelete
  37. c.c.

    I only know what Catholic guilt is. My therapist tells me it is much worse than Jewish guilt. Maybe my Catholic mother was Jewish, hence the therapist.

    ReplyDelete
  38. C.C. I've never tasted an ostrich egg. When I was younger I worked for a scientist, and he cooked one and ate it, possibly shared it, but not with me.

    Doreen

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hi, all!

    I completed the puzzle this afternoon without having to Google. I didn't know IONA. Everything else that was slow to answer came from the fills.

    C.C., I like the music link you posted.

    Embien, the Freeport, Illinois high school team mascot is the PRETZEL!!

    I hope you all have a great Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  40. WOW! I really had an off day. I thought I had posted earlier, so I went back and saw that I put my comments in yesterday's blog. DOH!Copy/paste didn't work for me.LOL

    C.C., via est longa, just means that the road is long. I think that was the 1st sentence we learned in Latin.My introduction to Greek mythology was reading them in Latin.I love the sound of Latin and was saddened when Mass was said in English.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I almost forgot, did anybody have an issue with "rod in car" being axle. An axle is usually refered to as a shaft, whereas rods can be the connecting rods or valve push rods. i just feel that the clue is wrong.

    ReplyDelete
  42. @martin That would be the capyabara, a large rodent indeed! Sorry, a ferret is a mammal. The mongoose is also a mammal. I see that you caught that.

    Well, I did say "off the top of my head", didn't I? Note however that all rodents are mammals even though not all mammals are rodents.

    C.C., I know I already posted five times but if the rule is "five times in one day" then it's already tomorrow afternoon here. I just thought I'd respond to your confusion vis-a-vis "family" versus "families". The two words actually have different meanings: if you invite "family" over for dinner than that means relatives but if you invite "families" over for dinner than that means your friends bringing their kids over. "Families" literally means "more than one family". Another good example is glass (a kind of material), a glass (a kind of cup) and a pair of glasses (ie spectacles) or chicken (that you eat) or a chicken (that lays eggs).

    Finally, it occurs to me that a lot of cartoon characters are rodents: Mickey Mouse (a mouse), Speedy Gonzales (a mouse), Chip and Dale (chipmunks), Alvin, Simon and Theodore (chipmunks), Jerry (a mouse) and Rocky (a squirrel).

    Martin

    ReplyDelete
  43. JD's original misplaced post:

    I did not do a great job on today's puzzle. I would love to blame it on the interruptions of little Truman,and/or the noise of my gracious son-in-law- who is making me a lovely mantle, but I started out all wrong. Like chrisinla,I had Russia and pliers. Couldn't get enough perps to wake up my brain. I know most of the stone-age tools of the Neolithic Age, but have never heard them referred to as neoliths...but hey, why not?I loved the 7D and 54A clues.Piquant may have been the only new word for me today; I just need a new brain.
    Crisinla, The Italian Sunset sounds yummy, but I'll pass on Scarface.
    I happen to like rats. They make wonderful classroom pets, better than hamsters who escape easily. I also had a Golden Mantle Ground Squirrel(everyone though "Chip" was a chipmunk)in college. I read somewhere that muscrats were the cause for a levee breach in Mississippi last June.So most of those little critters can be very destructive. Has anyone evr been to Austin, TX and seen the nutria who live by the river? They look like beavers.

    Gotta run.....

    ReplyDelete
  44. OMG. I am so thankful I found your site, it makes the morning chores finally get done in the morning!

    ReplyDelete
  45. @JD Believe it or not, I had a pet nutria many moons ago. He was the cutest little guy who grew into a very large beaver-like fellow with a rat tail. He was very loving, but liked to express that love (especially for females) with a marking spray, so the vet and I neutered him and he lived a long and happy life (at least I think he was happy, LOL!).

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.