google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday January 6, 2009 Diane C. Baldwin

Advertisements

Jan 6, 2009

Tuesday January 6, 2009 Diane C. Baldwin

Theme: Heating Up

20A: Lives dangerously: SKATES ON THIN ICE

37A: Finds troubles: LANDS IN HOT WATER

48A: Loses one's punch: IS ALL OUT OF STEAM

Too bad RUNS OUT OF STEAM is one letter short. I feel it's a better clue than IS ALL OUT OF STEAM. BLOWING OFF STEAM has the correct number of the letters, but it does not fit the tense pattern.

Nice to see YOGI (11D: Berra of baseball) in the grid. Wish MITT (8D: Potholder alternative) were clued as "Glove for 11D" as a tie-in. YOGI Berra is a great catcher after all. Who is your favorite catcher? I used to like A. J. Pierzynski. Wish I had seen Johnny Bench play.

Easy sailing today. Notice how this puzzle differs from the ones offered by Allan E. Parrish/Barry Silk? No letter Q, X or Z.

Oh, for those who have trouble with Roman numerals, here is a great website for you to cheat. Also, I found this snowball clip JD/Clear Ayes located yesterday to be very funny.

Across:

15A: Pueblo dweller: HOPI. Zuni is 4-letter too. Look at these HOPI Kachina dolls, very intriguing. Their bodies are carved out of wood, right?

25A: Makes confused: ADDLES. Reminds me of that long fancy word "Discombobulates".

34A: React to a bad pun: GROAN. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other and says "Dam!". Does this make you GROAN?

40A: Musical piece: OPUS. Have never seen OPUS clued as "__ Dei" in TMS puzzle.

41A: Demeanor: MIEN. This word always brings to mind the Marlboro Marine. He has such a tough MIEN, yet so fragile in real life.

57A: Asian capital: SEOUL. Literally "capital city" in Korean language. The same as Japanese city Kyoto. Beijing literally means "North capital" in Chinese. Nanjing (Nanking in Cantonese) is "South capital". Xi'An means "West peace".

60A: Marine ray: MANTA. I can never remember this fish. What is so special about it?

64A: March middle: IDES. The 15th of March, May, July, or October. And 13th of the other months.

Down:

13D: Withered: SERE. And WET (43A: Moisten).

25D: Luminous: AGLOW. Does anyone like J-Lo's GLOW?

26D: Cover loosely: DRAPE. Beautiful, isn't it?

35D: Purl's counterpart: KNIT. I thought PURL is a kind of knitting. Why "counterpart"?

36D: Glass panel: PANE. Horrible clue.

45D: Whiskey bottle sizes: FIFTHS. No idea. Why FIFTH instead of fifth or sixth?

46D: Mozart's "The Magic __": FLUTE. Here is "The Magic Flute" overture.

54D: New Old World money: EURO. I misread money as "monkey". Thought of TITI, which is actually "New World monkey".

55D: Kind of sax: ALTO. This clue made me laugh. But seriously, I have great difficulty pronouncing "sax" and "sex" distinctly. I need a patient person to sit in front of me and teach me how to say "bad", "bed" and "bide".

C.C.

81 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - this one quickly turned into a bit of a speed run, especially once the theme became apparent; just under 5 minutes. My only complaint is that the puzzle seems to contain a compendium of frequently-used crossword fills. All it needed was 'peri' and 'atli'.

Nice to see some of the old heads back yesterday; it's hard to believe that we're rapidly approaching the one year mark for the blog. C.C., what's the hit count now? I know yours, unlike others, is not 'puffed up'.

Today's words of wisdom: 'Success is a two-bladed golden sword; it knights one and stabs one at the same time' -- Mae West.


It's both National Bean Day and National Cuddle Up Day. If you choose the former, I'd be very careful with the latter.

Have an outstanding day.

Dennis said...

C.C., to answer your question, for years, the 'fifth' (1/5 of a gallon, 750ml) has been the standard size for liquor bottles.

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

Dennis,
1,220,845 by this morning. "Cuddle Up" sounds great. Also, what is the DF meaning of "bird"? I was confused by your "bird in a bush" banters yesterday.

Argyle,
Is your avatar a real picture of you? Can you give me the exact link or words of "TMS Sunday is under construction"?

Kazie,
Re: Jean-LUC. What are the common English doubled-up names then? I can only think of Anne-Marie.

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

Bathanne,
Ha ha, I always thought it's John Goodman in "Hustler".

Dr. Dad,
Nice to see you back. A question for you: MONOXIDE is clued as "O in combination", why?

Barry G,
It seems that NIL is indeed of soccer parlance.

Democrat,
Good clue for MITT yesterday. "I'm hoping for a 3 peat next year!" What is "3 peat"?

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

Thea,
Beautiful name! I hope to see you often.

Dr. G & Carol,
Contractions are allowed as answers in crossword grid.

Clear Ayes,
What is the mindset for "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"?

Calef,
I am not equating ancient/old with Chinese language. Just too stubborn to accept the ambiguous clue. So many clever ways to clue ABACUS: "Chinese summer?" (sum-mer).

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

Crockett,
Does your brother solve crossword puzzle as well?

Linda,
Thanks for the explanation on "Land of flowers". I was unaware of that.

Razzberry,
What's so special about "budgie"?
Another DF bird?

Buckeyes,
Now Dennis and Dr. Dad are back, I hope to see your mug often.

ndw said...

Good Morning and Happy New Year
I haven't been on here in a long time due to several reasons.

I thought today's puzzle was a breeze 14:21 anything less than 15 minutes for me is a breeze.

Have a Great Day
Nancy

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

Nancy,
Great to see you again. Happy New Year!

Clear Ayes,
"The yoke still fit/warm as if never shucked." I don't understand this. How can you shuck yoke?

Weather 321,
Welcome!

PromiseMe,
Vodka & caviar both means "love" in this DF blog. Enjoyed very much your ami discussions yesterday.

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

Argyle,
Forgot to thank you for the theme answers and great links yesterday. The Georgia O'Keeffe painting looks quite MOREL to me.

Barry et al,
Help me with these clues:
"It doesn't take too much": TREY
"It's not a real world: ACADEMIA
"Holder of a number of degrees": AVERAGING
"Globe plotter": IAGO
"Big revolver?": IGLOO
"Sarcastic question after a self-induced disaster": HAPPY

Martin said...

11 minutes 20 seconds. No unknowns: not a single one. That being said, who actually says "tehee" when they laugh? I wanted HANOI or TOKYO for SEOUL, TBS for TSP and MASK or HOOD for ABET.

Take a look at these amazingly likelike ROBOTS!

C.C., I didn't know SEOUL meant capital city. Yesterday I said "two thousand" in Korean was "yi chuan" but it's actually "yi cheon" so I was wrong. Exactly how many languages do you speak (fluently or otherwise)?

I think PHASES was part of the theme today: solid, liquid and gas are three PHASES of matter. Oh and carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom so "monoxide" is "O in combination (with C in this case)".

Martin

Martin said...

Barry et al,
Help me with these clues:
"It doesn't take too much": TREY
"It's not a real world: ACADEMIA
"Holder of a number of degrees": AVERAGING
"Globe plotter": IAGO
"Big revolver?": IGLOO
"Sarcastic question after a self-induced disaster": HAPPY


C.C., you've just given me a slight headache with all those question. Happy?

Yesterday I was going to post the comment "A bird in hand may be worth two in a bush and yet a hooker will charge more for you putting your bird in her bush than in her hand" but I decided that it would have meant going too far. Was I wrong?

Martin

Argyle said...

Good Morning, CC and Dennis,
nancy d, martin

Here is a gif of the actual image. and this is the page. Belive me, it takes some clicking to get there.

I had a thought, CC, about speaking better by taking singing lessons. Don't laugh. If you have ever heard Jim Nabors talk and then hear him sing, you could unterstand. I'll look for a clip.

Martin said...

Globe plotter": IAGO

I got it! The Globe theatre in London showed Shakespeare's original plays! That's one.

Martin

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

Martin,
I thought of PHASES as theme title too. But the clue suggests that the constructor does not intend it to be so. Otherwise, she would have used a tie-in clue and positioned PHASES at the very center (or the end) of the grid. Tell me once again how "bad", "bed" and "bide" are pronounced differently. Interesting how you confuse Shui and Xue. I can not not tell whether you were wrong or not since I still don't understand the DF meaning of "bird".

Dougl,
My bad yesterday. I mixed viewshed with viewshot.

Argyle,
Thank you so much. I spent a long time yesterday trying to find what you just linked.

Dr. Dad said...

Good morning. Another easy one. As an addition to C.C.'s theme it is interesting to note that these are the three phases of H2O (albeit they would be appropriately named solid, liquid, and gas instead of ice, water, and steam) and that the answer for 5D is "phases."

C.C. - O in combination means "oxygen" in combination when forming molecules. Common terms are carbon monoxide (CO) using one O in combination and carbon dioxide (CO2) using two O's in combination.

Scrolling down further, I see that Martin already answered the question. He also caught the "phases" that I outlined above.

Dennis has given two of the Today's. I like both of them and I tend to fan the blankets if I celebrate the first before the second.

It is also Three Kings Day (Little Christmas, Epiphany, Greek Christmas, La Befana, and the 12th Day of Christmas). No matter how you celebrate today remember this - it is the last day of Christmas so take down the tree and decorations. Christmas is officially over.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Easy, straightforward puzzle. No unknowns, nothing exciting or obnoxious. Well, except for the inexcusable cluing of PANE as C. C. noted. I looked it up just to be sure, and both PANE and panel have the same Latin root pannus. I don't know what the editor was thinking, since it could have easily been clued as "piece" or "sheet" of glass.

Thanks for the info regarding NIL and soccer, C. C.! As for your other questions:

"It doesn't take too much": TREY

TREY is what a three-card is called in various games, such as bridge. I don't know much (anything) about bridge, but I'm guessing high cards can somehow "take" other cards. Maybe "take" here means to beat, in which case a low card like a TREY wouldn't be able to beat much else.

"It's not a real world: ACADEMIA

People speak of "the world of ACADEMIA," referring to places of higher education, but it's only a metaphorical use of the term "world" and therefore not a real place.

"Holder of a number of degrees": AVERAGING

Beats me.

"Globe plotter": IAGO

The Globe Theatre is where Shakespeare's plays were originally performed. IAGO is a character in one of Shakespeare's plays ("Othello") who plotted against the main character.

"Big revolver?": IGLOO

Haven't a clue. Or an answer, for that matter.

"Sarcastic question after a self-induced disaster": HAPPY

If I tell somebody not to do something stupid and they do it anyway and something bad happens as a result, I might be inclined to say something like, "Are you happy now?" If I was feeling particularly terse, I might just ask, "HAPPY?"

Dick said...

Good morning CC and all. CC you can bide me to your bed for sex if you use a bad sax. Anyway, not a bad puzzle today. I did struggle with 48A because I had all the letters except the "L" and I was trying to read the answer as I sa.. rather than the word is. Then 46D came to me in a DUH moment and it all came together. Hope that makes sense. The remainder of the puzzl was smooth sailing with no outside help.

lois said...

Good morning CC et al, Easy puzzle but wonder about 19A...really? Loved 63A 'steer' after last night's Tx/Ohio outstanding game.. the 'horns' hooked 'em. What a game! Both teams showed a lot of 'grit'. Now for Th.

Enjoy your day.

Martin said...

Tell me once again how "bad", "bed" and "bide" are pronounced differently.

I'd rather ask you to say "sax" and hear you mispronounce it. I love it when my wife tries to pronounce "packing". Oh and there's a reason why when I taught in Korea I stopped asking kids to say "fox".

Seriously though, "bide" is pronounced like /baid/ in KK phonics. For that matter, "bad" is /baed/ and "bed" is /bed/. Do that help?

Martin

Martin said...

I still don't understand the DF meaning of "bird".

Think rooster. A rooster is a bird. What's another word for rooster? Alternatively, think about what they call the "bird" in badminton sometimes.

Really though, it's "bush" that sounds DF. "Two birds in the bush" sounds extremely DF (and, believe it or not, physically possible based on one video I saw).

Martin

Anonymous said...

14:03 today. I notice that MITT made another appearance. Wonder if MITT will be in tomorrows puzzle as fmr. MA Gov. and Presidential candidate.

Who is your favorite catcher? I like Yogi Berra. But I also like Jorge Posada. My fav player is Derek Jeter. Yes I'm a Yankees fan since the days of Bucky Dent and Reggie Jackson

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=120691

1983 Johnny Bench did a Saturday morning show called the baseball bunch teaching kids the fundamentals of baseball. He won an Emmy for that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es04Seu21bQ

Heres his stats when he played.

http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/historical/individual_stats_player.jsp?c_id=mlb&playerID=110849&section1=1&section2=1&statSet2=1&section3=1&statSet3=1&statSet1=1

Anonymous said...

CC

A 3 peat

Is when a team wins 3 games in a row against the same team for instance

05 Jan 2008 Louisville 89 UK 75
04 Jan 2009 Louisville 74 UK 71

I'm hoping Louisville wins the 2010 game also.

Have a good day and thanks for your blog. Good morning all!

Jeannie said...

Good morning everyone! I breezed right through this one this morning. I didn't time it but it had to be under 10 minutes.
One thing...I thought tehee was spelled tee-hee.

Here are some threads that stuck in my head. I think of a magic flute as a certain male trait see what this brings to your DF minds: Flute, snip and groan.

Also here in MN when spring is aproaching, we get a thaw, then wet conditions causing fog.

Also thought of this string...party, fifths, aglow.

Buckeye sorry about your team losing last night...perhaps we can console one another as I am still pouting about the Vikings loss to the Eagles. Thank you Dennis for not rubbing it in too much!

C.C. did you ever go out and buy an ugli fruit? I am curious if you tasted it.

kazie said...

c.c.,
What are the common English doubled-up names then?
Mary Ann might be another, but I don't think they're as common in English. Anne Marie is probably a French borrowing too.

On the bird and bush thing, what if bird is taken in the sense of '60's era British slang for a cute girl? I guess that would change the ownership of the bush too, in order to make it DF.

Anonymous said...

Mark - Buenos Aires

c.c. My mother, when reading knitting patterns would say:

"Knit one, purl one" so that is the counterpart.

In the 90´s here again, without beer, life would be unbearable.

Anonymous said...

For those who are interested in the parrot entries yesterday, please read
"Alex & Me" by Irene M. Pepperberg. My son sent it to me for Christmas,and it is engaging. As were yesterday's comments and sites.

kazie said...

c.c.,
I thought PURL is a kind of knitting. Why "counterpart"?

I forgot this before. When following a knitting pattern, the plain stitches are called "knit", and the "purl" ones are the opposite--or counterparts. If knitting all plain, all that you see when done are the purl, or reverse of those stitches, which curve outwards like a tiny pearl. But most sweaters are knitted in "stocking stitch" which is simply alternate rows of plain and purl. On the plain/knit side, you see little flat vvvvv stitches, and on the purl side, the pearls. Look at the inside of any plain knitted sweater, and you'll see what I mean.

I think mantas are special because they are so huge.

Razz said...

CC...Just in the context of DFness the name of the bird budgie just sounds DF (IMHO). One of the Wiki notes states the name may have come from Australia's Aboriginal people in the use a word "betcherrygah" which means "good eating". (Again my DFness is showing...Mmmm muffins)LOL

Hey Lois - Dim Horns wus on far las night.

Anonymous said...

Hello,

11 down Yogi. He was the best clutch hitter from the seventh inning on. Johnny Bench was overall the best. I will probably forget a few but Pudge, Fisk, Campy, Cockrane, Dickey,all deserve mentioning. Maybe your Joe Mauer some day.

Stay Well, Lou

carol said...

Good morning C.C.,all returned DF'ers, and everyone.. I shocked myself this morning by completing this puzzle in 7 minutes and a few seconds. Wow, for me, that WAS a first.

DrDad, Beans, beans, the musical fruit----I do hope you are all alone when fanning your "fumes".

Kazie (9:14a) LOL on the'bird/bush" switch.

C.C. Martin was trying to explain the DF meaning of bird. In referring to the rooster, he meant: cock, which is a slang term for penis. There, now you know.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All. It was an easy puzzle this morning. The only new word in the bunch was IMAGO.

I noticed that water related words WET, FOG and THAW were also placed in the bottom half of the puzzle...kind of "dripping down".

20A reminded me of this favorite Jethro Tull song, Skating Away (On The Thin Ice of a New Day). (This is a song I'd like to be played at my wake....but not for a long time, LOL)

C.C. What is the mindset for "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!"?. It is throwing caution to the winds and doing what you think needs to be done (or just what you want to do). Farragut knew there were torpedos that could sink his ship, but went ahead with his attack plan anyway. For those of us who are not military heroes, and the results are less dire, we proceed with our plans regardless of the possible consequences. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

About English doubled up names. didn't all the women here have a pair of patent leather Mary Jane shoes when they were little?

The best known double name is Peggy Sue, made famous by Buddy Holly and the Crickets.

Jeannie said...

I always dreaded hearing "JEAN ANN!!" as I knew I was going to be in trouble. Anyone else?

Dennis said...

Myself, I always dreaded hearing, "WHAT THE HELL DID HE DO NOW??!?!?"

Barb B said...

CC has never seen the clue Opus “____Dei” in the puzzle. I had a similar thought when I saw the clue ‘insect stage.” I didn’t fill out the last letter till the very end, because I love the term IMAGO dei. Insect stage? Really?

No beans today, I’ll just take the cuddles.

Nancy, I’m so happy to see you again.

Mary Kate is another common doubled name. I’m sure Tammy Fay will be easily remembered. And if you’re from Texas, you may have a boy/girl double name, which used to be very popular. Like Tommy or Bobbi Sue, or my sister Jimmie Ilene.

SHE always hated to here 'Jimmie Ileeeeeene.!!

Anonymous said...

I saw today's theme as "the states of matter", i.e. solid, liquid, gas. But the states do change with increase heat.
Katze

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, everyone. A nice three phases of water puzzle, in order of temperature, no less! Didn't really have any unknowns on this one. That's a surprise!

C.C., that's a fun Roman Numeral site. Did you get X/X on the test? The "Snowball" clip is fun. What a bird! I haven't knit in ages, but I think KNIT and PURL are two components of a knitting stitch. Maybe you shouldn't talk about saxes until you can make the differentiation in pronunciation, LOL. When ever we have an occasion where I'm with my three brothers, it's a struggle to see who gets to the crossword/sudoku puzzle first. Our poor wives just have to wait for the puzzles to be completed before we're ready to do anything with the day (and in some cases, the coffee to be consumed).

@martin I think your PHASES tie-in is correct. Good eye.

@carol Way to cut through the fog and lay it out there.

I think the TREY answer to "It doesn't take too much" is a homophonic reference, since three is just one more than two, and thus would win the trick. Maybe, maybe not....

Have a great Tuesday!

Clear Ayes said...

Happy 155th Birthday, Sherlock Holmes!(January 6, 1854) There are dozens of Holmsesian Societies all over the world, that are devoted to all things Holmesian, Watsonian and their "biographer" Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Apparently, Holmes' residence, 221B Baker Street was a fictional address in Doyle's time. Because so many tourists came to see the location, 239 Baker Street, which now houses the Sherlock Holmes Museum was assigned the 221B address.

221B

Here dwell together still two men of note
Who never lived and so can never die:
How very near they seem, yet how remote
That age before the world went all awry.
But still the game's afoot for those with ears
Attuned to catch the distant view-halloo:
England is England yet, for all our fears--
Only those things the heart believes are true.

A yellow fog swirls past the window-pane
As night descends upon this fabled street:
A lonely hansom splashes through the rain,
The ghostly gas lamps fail at twenty feet.
Here, though the world explode, these two survive,
And it is always eighteen ninety-five.

- Vincent Starrett

Anonymous said...

C.C.
I guess that makes two of us who are stubborn. I'm a Taurus; does that seem to fit in? In any case we both enjoy the language of puzzles. I am very grateful to you for this blog.
Calef.

Auntie Naomi said...

Good afternoon C.C. and company,

C.C., I am glad you enjoyed all the bird talk.

Buckeye said: "Man, just mention birds and the DF's come flocking out."
HEY!!! I resemble that comment.

Today's puzzle was very easy. I was surprised to discover that I had not done it in under 10 minutes.

I was going to point out that Iago was not a play of Shakespeare's, but rather a character from Othello. However, I see that Barry has already done so.

Superfrey said...

CC.... Late to the plate today... had to stand in line to get spring training tickets for the Twins/Yanks and Rays/Red Sox and it's only Jan 6th !!!!
Nice puzzle.... got stuck for a minute in the middle but once I got all of the theme lines it was pretty easy. Go TWINs

kazie said...

See, you Americans are so much better at thinking up double names than I am. I think it's more common here, perhaps in the south, than anywhere else in the English speaking world. Some of your examples only seem familiar to me because they belong to famous people. Are Mary Kate or Tammy Fay really common?

The French do it a lot with Marie--Marie-Claire, Marie-Claude, Marie-Anne, etc. For boys it's often with Jean, as in Jean-Luc, Jean-Paul, Jean-Pierre, Jean-Claude, etc.

bethann said...

Very easy puzzle today, but I got distracted by 7 young deer in my front yard trying to find something to eat. We get them often in our back yard where they like to eat the sunflower seeds we feed the birds, but in the front yard there are cars, kids and just noise in general that would distract and scare them.
Double names: BethAnn, MaryBeth, BobbyJoe, BillyRay. . .there are a ton of them in the south! Have a good day :)

DoesItinInk said...

@Clear Ayes: Another Peggy Sue is Peggy Sue Got Married with Kathleen Turner. I saw Kathleen Turner recently in Marley and Me (an absolutely horrible movie). Like all of us, she has aged considerably in the last 20 years!

I have never seen a Manta Ray in the flesh but have snorkeled and scuba dived with rays. Rays like to "hide" under the sand, leaving only the outline of their bodies visible. When in motion they are the most graceful of animals.

I always smile at the word ABYSS, recalling the scene in Garden State (great movie) when Zach Braff's character is wished "good luck with your infinite abyss".

Razz said...

Lest we forget the infamous double names from Petticoat Junction - Betty Jo, Bobbie Jo, and Billie Jo.

What a hoot or to be exact Hooterville!

Oh the memories...

embien said...

5:59 today. Anytime I go under six minutes I know it's an easy puzzle.

My favorite catcher will always be Roy Campanella. I was a Brooklyn Dodger fan when young (before they moved to L.A.)

Meeting friends for lunch, so no time to blog today.

Linda said...

CC;The further south you go, the more common double names seem to be (and the more common using boy`s names for girls is) ie; Billie Jean,Bobbi Jean, Bobbi Sue, Jon Ann: then there are these and more: (my sister in law went to school with) Kathryn Ann, Joe Bill, John Benton, Hugh Albert, Hugh Conner, Irma Joyce, and Emma Jean. And remember Billie Bob Thornton who played in "Slingblade" and "Bad Santa" is from the south, too.
My Gen. Prac. said she wasn`t too concerned about the mole but since it had changed and considering where it is...is sending me to a derm. the end of the month...and that`s the last I`ll mention it...

For Dick...are you the one with a 1-4 birthday? We just gathered all three kids and three of the grandkids for a party Sunday. It was my husband`s and his twin sister`s BD, also. (She`s 15 min. older than him!)

Brian said...

Good afternoon C.C. and gang. I recently stumbled upon your blog and deceided to take your advice and jump in.

Very easy sailing for the second
straight day. Only hang-up was I wanted
Hanoi for Seoul and I forgot imago, but
got it from the surrounds.


Enjoyed todays theme. It reminds me of the weather we are having around here. All we need is snow.

Have a great day everyone.

Clear Ayes said...

Hi Brian, I see you're from Windsor, Ontario. Welcome. Glad to see you jump right in, the water's fine.

C.C. "The yoke still fit/warm as if never shucked." I don't understand this. How can you shuck yoke?.

to shuck as a verb means to lay aside or cast off. A yoke links work animals like oxen together so that they can bear their burden.

In the poem's imagery, the returning vacationer fits back into his everyday work life, as if he never he had never left it behind when he went on vacation.

I think for a double name to sound mellifluous, it should total either two or three syllables. My first name has two syllables and my middle name has two syllables, so it doesn't "flow" very well as one name.

I have two sisters, so our mother, when searching for the right name to go with the child that needed yelling at, solved the problem by shouting, "JO-LO-VIC", or "LO-JO-VIC" and even, "VIC-JO-LO" She was bound to get it right and the wrong-doer knew who she meant.

Barb B said...

Love seeing all the double names; I remembered more that it's common than specific names.

Kazie - "Are Mary Kate or Tammy Fay really common?" Tammy Fay may never be used again, considering her negative press. Same with Karla Fay, who was executed in Texas in the late '90's, I think.

But I know two Mary Kates - one is 50 something and one is 18, so that one may be around for a while.

Barb B said...

And I forgot Mary-Kate Olsen. She's probably inspired a few moms to carry on the name.

carol said...

Speaking of names, I have read a lot of novels set in the South. I have loved each of them but noticed the names of the characters were just, to put it politely, odd. Please, all you Southerners, do not take offense as I offer this list for discussion:
Gump
Rufus
Flavo
Fitzhugh
Kip
Doyle
Xuripha
Harley
Boolie
Fleet
Phinizy
Dimick
Hershal
Tilda
Cleetis
Cleet
Clyde
Albertis
Grady
Cach
Royal
Wayburn
Griffith
Trout
Broadus
and last but not least, Tunstall

Anonymous said...

Hi C.C
Addles threw me today, talk about a dah moment, I could not get it.

I still must be suffering from an unexpected snow storm on the way to Vancouver to see the hockey game Sunday nite. (we lost).
Also 29d..do not recall seeing that one before.
Geri

Buckeye said...

Sob. Hi, folks, Sigh.

Another sub 2 hour puzzle. So far this week, we've coasted. Really easy.
Only one problem. 48a I had "I'm all out of steam". That made 49d - pants part - "meat". Figured the DFers had influenced Diann Baldwin's creation but later decided that even THEY would object to "meat" as being PART of a pant as opposed to the pant concealing the "meat". I figured out the solution and changed the "m" to an "s".

Moan. I know a couple of Jean Anns, Mary Janes and Mary Anns. It probably is more of a Southern "thang".

Well, time to go back to bed. There's really little to live for after last night but I'll rally - I hope. Sigh.

I must be off

Dr. Dad said...

Martin isn't the only one who saw the phases tie in.

We really went DFing when the birds and bushes got going.

I dreaded what Dennis alluded to. It usually started with "Get your a$$ home right now. Just what the hell have you been getting into now!!!!

Dr. Dad said...

Last thing on the phases. Anonymous mentioned that the phases change with heat. It is possible to change the phases without changing the heat. Increasing or decreasing pressure also does it.

Jeannie said...

Buckeye, cheer up. Speaking from experience, it gets better as the days go by. My purple fetish has turned to a meer violet hue.

Argyle said...

CC, I decided on two clips instead of one. The first clip is when Gomer(Nabors) first shows up at boot camp, and the second clip is Gomer singing The Impossible Dream. In the first clip, the show was still in black and white but by second clip, it is in color.

Clear Ayes said...

Doesitinink, Glad to see you back. I finally saw Slumdog Millionaire. I agree, it is a wonderful movie. I haven't been tempted by Marley and Me (I read some reviews.) Hope you haven't been away with any family problems. How is your daughter doing?

What's a southern family to do name-wise? The literary deck has been stacked against them.

Erskine Caldwell wrote about the Lester family; Jeeter, Ada, Dude and Ellie May in "Tobacco Road". TyTy, Darlin' Jill, Pluto and Buck were characters in Caldwell's, "God's Little Acre". Both of the novels took place in Georgia.

Southern names didn't get any better press in Tennessee Williams' "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof". The Pollitt family consisted of "Big Daddy", "Big Momma", Brick, Maggie, Gooper, Buster, Dixie, Trixie and Sonny, among others.

Saving the best for the last, there is William Faulkner's Snopes family. They appear in several of his Mississippi novels. A short list of Snopeses is, Abner, Flem, Bilbo, Ecrum, Sarty, I.O., Mink, Saint Elmo, Wallstreet Panic (aka Wall), Net, Lancelot (aka Lump), Vynie and Buckeye.

(OK, I'm just kidding about Buckeye, but the rest really are Faulkner characters.)

DoesItinInk said...

@Clear Ayes: Niether was I tempted to see Marley and Me. It was a gift from the heart to my oldest daughter and my mother who was in from southern Indiana for Christmas. The gift is that I would never elect to see such a movie, but they both wanted to see it. So I took them, and they both cried through the sad parts.

When a friend of mine passed through Chicago on her way back to Ireland, we did go to see The Reader, I to see Kate Winslet, she to see Ralph Fiennes. And I took two of my girls to the cineplex where they watched Quantum of Solace while I saw Frost/Nixon. I still have several films I want to see in the next few weeks. So many films, so little time!

Thank you for asking...my girls are fine, the middle one already back at college, the second one to return at the end of next week. It was just a very hectic time over the holidays, and my days were anything but routine.

Dr.G said...

Also, what is the DF meaning of "bird"? I was confused by your "bird in a bush" banters yesterday.

C.C., sometimes it is better not to ask.

Anonymous said...

TO ALL: The 'o' in monoxide stands for one oxygen atom as in "carbon monoxide" for which the chemical symbol is CO which is unstable since carbon needs two oxygens to combine with to be stable as in
CO2,carbon dioxide, which is a stable compound. that is why 'monoxide" will kill you,it absorbs the oxygen in your bloodstream.

Did not understand 29D answer.

bethann said...

Just came back from seeing Marley and Me, I personally loved it. It is a story about life in general not just about the dog. But I did cry like a baby at the end, then I came home and loved on my golden retriever Phoebe. I guess the reason I liked it so much was because it is real. the good the bad and the dog!
About the name thing again- My husband is from Tulsa and his nick name is Buzz. We named our son Beau, I don't know if it is a southern name but it sort of feels like one.

Anonymous said...

When I taught French, I encouraged my students to adopt French names to be used in class throughout the year. One boy's name was Michael. When I told him the French counterpart was Michel (The "l" is pronounced.), the boys in class laughed at him. I suggested we hyphenate his name instead, and he selected Michel-Bruno. No one laughed after that, and he loved it.

C.C.> Purl is a stitch which is the opposite of knit. To make a sweater, one usually knits across for one row and purls back for the next row and so it goes--knit a row, purl a row. Hope this helps.

Doreen

Crockett1947 said...

@anonymous at 5:13 TE HEE is supposed to represent a small little chuckle, thus a "gleeful outburst." As someone else said earlier, I'm used to seeing it as TEE HEE. Your dictionary.com says that it is an interjection that is used to suggest the sound of a titter or snicker.

OK, all you DFs and DFettes, there's the pitch.

JD said...

Good afternoon C.C. and re-emerging DFers,

This puzzle made me feel pretty smart.. no g-ing today.Have never heard of imago.Liked the clue for 59A. Is 30D a eon???? That can't be. We all know when to use an/a.Did I misspell taut?or is mien not a word?

C.C., thanks for Mozart's "Magic Flute".By the way, I'm still looking for morel mushrooms. Were you pulling my leg... something like finding elbow grease?? I've really looked.Would they be called something else in CA...Clear ayes, or Kathleen?

Dennis said...

Bethann, I agree - absolutely loved Marley and Me - if you're a dog lover, this movie will definitely touch several nerves.

Oh, and I thought Gran Torino was one of Clint Eastwood's best.

WM said...

JD Re: Morels...Wrong season for fresh. Morels are a Spring time treat. Dried are available usually all year long, especially at high end grocery/gourmet stores. In your area, Stanford Shopping Center has Sigona's and they usually have the best of what is available in local, foraged mushrooms. For a real treat visit the mushroom store at the Ferry Building Plaza in SF.

Just be careful with fresh morels as all the folds can hold a very tiny fly. Most of what would be in these 2 places is very good quality.

Check out www.thegreatmorel.com to answer all your questions.

Cheers, K

carol said...

Guess what? I don't thing Wolfmom and JD really know what we are referring to when we discuss 'morels', as they have not been with us since THAT discussion came up (LOL)...I love it that they can have tiny flies in their folds..the way I understand them, their 'fly's' would have to be rather generous.

Crockett1947 said...

@jd AEON is a valid spelling for what we usually see as EON. TAUT is spelled correctly. MIEN is also correct.

Cheers!

Barb B said...

Oh, I just rememered another. How could I forget IMA HOGG, daughter of the govener of Texas, Big Jim Hogg?

Mom told me she (Ima) had a sister name Ura, but it was just a joke. Ima is real, though.

JD said...

Kathleen, thanks for the information on morels,EVEN IF IT ISN"T THE RIGHT KIND.Carol....I am but a foooool.....It was C.C.! She kept asking me about what type of mushrooms I was using FOR A RECIPE!She was closet DF back then. All I can say is Cock-doodle-doo.

Ok guys, Jim Nabors is unlike any other; he is an anomaly

Crockett, is that aeon all one word then? So much for feeling smart today. LOL

I also liked Marley and Me, but I enjoyed the book more. I consider it a 2* movie, just to entertain. We saw Valkyrie today, and it was excellent, but I didn't see it as a thriller (reviews).This was just about one of the attempts to assassinate Hitler.At the end of the film they tell you there were 15 attempts.Tom Cruise portrayed Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg and supposedly looks very much like the man.

Jeannie said...

Carol, I would beg to differ...I prefer those flies to be smaller and more accessable. I do hate those button flies though...your thoughts?

My Mom was from Kentucky, her sisters names?

Bernice James (My Mom's dad is her middle name-not having a firstborn son)
Sybil Louella, MaryJane, Thelma Jean (my Mom), Edith Crosby, (my Granny's maiden name), Norma Mae. Sons names, Leslie, James, Howard, Chester. They all lived through the depression and WW11 and still managed to enjoyed the fun in the sack I could only imagine. I never met my granddad as he was killed in a hunting accident in 1946. Somehow my Granny managed to keep the farm going and feed all the kids. She claimed it was from the Grace of God. She died of old age when she was 92. One of the many things we have retained from her is about 36 hours of "interviewing" her on tape about her life. She was one tough, proud cookie. I only hope that maybe some of those genes have rubbed off on me.

kazie said...

Morels are a big thing around here every spring. They grow near dead or dying elm trees. The locals make a killing with the high prices they can get for them from the weekend visitors from Madison or farther afield. We could never find any on our land when we lived in the country though.

If you soak them in salt water for a while before drying, flouring and frying them, the insects seem to work their way out.

Amazingly, in Germany, mushroom season is in the fall. Are there any places here that get mushrooms then too?

Jeannie said...

Kazie, growing up in Michigan with the salty soil, right around Mothers Day we would all take a ride into the country. They say when the lilacs are in bloom it's time to 'shroom. We would find paper grocery sacks full. There really aren't insects in there, just dirt grit. Soak them in cold water and let the dirt sink to the bottom of the bowl. Similar to soaking leeks when you cook with them. There is nothing better in my book than to sautee some fresh picked morels in butter, a little salt and pepper. WHAT A TREAT!

Jeannie said...

Kazie, I meant sandy soil, not salty soil. I have tried year after year looking in vain for morels here in SW MN in all the right places and haven't had any luck.

Now that really sounds like I am "hard up" knowing what most of the old timers on this blog think I am talking about. But really I'm not you DF folks! Just looking for a "FUNGUI"

carol said...

Jeannie, I meant that big morel guys need space and little fly's would not work for them. ;0.

Jeannie said...

Ah Carol, now I'm on your wave LENGTH!

dougl said...

OK, I'm going crazy with the clues CC asked about earlier that haven't been answered yet:

"Holder of a number of degrees": AVERAGING
(you average out a bunch of degrees of measurement?)

"Big revolver?": IGLOO (dictionary.com says it can be any building resembling an igloo, so maybe some of them revolve?)

My explanations are pretty lame. Anyone else have ideas?

Martin said...

On the bird and bush thing, what if bird is taken in the sense of '60's era British slang for a cute girl? I guess that would change the ownership of the bush too, in order to make it DF.

Kazie. Dear, sweet innocent Kazie. Dennis meant "a bird in a bush" in a heterosexual sort of way but "a bird into bush" could refer to a cute young lesbian.

Martin

Anonymous said...

45 down "FIFTHS" - The whiskey amount knowen as a fifth is a pint. It gets it's name because it is 1/5th of a gallon.

Argyle said...

My, my, anon, good thing you're a day late there. It' 2 pints(4 cups) in a quart and 4 quarts in a gallon. Ergo, 8 pints in a gallon.