Theme: A.A. Group
1A: All confused: AT SEA
17A: Eroticism: APHRODISIA
28A: World of scholars: ACADEMIA
45A: Gardens of trees: ARBORETA
58A: Capital of Ethiopia: ADDIS ABABA
67A: Old World lizard: AGAMA
5D: Loss-of-hair condition: ALOPECIA
11D: Jerry Stiller's wife: ANNE MEARA
35D: Janet Suzman film, "Nicholas and __": ALEXANDRA
40D: Mechanical men: AUTOMATA
1A: All confused: AT SEA
17A: Eroticism: APHRODISIA
28A: World of scholars: ACADEMIA
45A: Gardens of trees: ARBORETA
58A: Capital of Ethiopia: ADDIS ABABA
67A: Old World lizard: AGAMA
5D: Loss-of-hair condition: ALOPECIA
11D: Jerry Stiller's wife: ANNE MEARA
35D: Janet Suzman film, "Nicholas and __": ALEXANDRA
40D: Mechanical men: AUTOMATA
I have never heard of that Janet Suzman movie. ALOPECIA & AUTOMATA are complete unknowns to me. I just learned this morning that the plural form of certain Greek ma-ending words end in ta. Like stigma, the plural form is stigmata.
Do you like the theme? I am not enthralled by it at all. Feel bored actually. I counted 35 letter A's in this puzzle. This puzzle by Patrick Berry for NY Times on March 21, 2002 has 69 A's.
Do you like the theme? I am not enthralled by it at all. Feel bored actually. I counted 35 letter A's in this puzzle. This puzzle by Patrick Berry for NY Times on March 21, 2002 has 69 A's.
Too many ER suffixes for my taste:
47A: Debate participant: ARGUER
26D: Storyteller: RELATOR
27D: Scenery chewer: EMOTER
I've got quite a few "So long" emails from our TMS solvers in the past week. Maybe I did not make my point clear. TMS just decided to stop using Wayne R Williams' TMS Daily puzzle on March 22. We will get LA Times Daily starting on March 23, 2009 Monday. LA Times Daily is part of TMS also. And you can always get LA Times on line if your paper does not carry the puzzle. Just print it out if you prefer solving on paper as I do. Click on Print, then Blank Puzzle, you will get a empty grid with clues on.
I like the small but tight community we've built here. Don't leave. I need your participation to make this crossword corner vibrant.
Across:
14A: Transferred design: DECAL. Bumper sticker is a kind of DECAL, isn't it?
15A: Corridor: HALL. I wonder who first thought of the HALL of Fame idea. It sure sounds better than Corridor of Fame. Was Don Mattingly rude to reporters during his career as Bert Blyleven was? Why isn't he in HOF yet?
19A: Module: UNIT. Always think of NASA's LEM when I see the word "Module".
21A: Shriver of tennis: PAM. Have never heard of this girl. Her facial bone structure does look like Maria Shriver. Wikipedia says they are cousins.
22A: Top berths: UPPERS
24A: Silver server: TEA SET. Have never had any tea served in a silver server before.
26A: Cash in: REDEEM
33A: Hindu mystic: SWAMI. Literally "master" in Sanskrit. Guru is "teacher". Yoga is "union".
38A: Mrs. Fred Flintstone: WILMA. Got her name from down clues. TV characters are definitely my Achilles' heel.
40A: Of the ear: AURAL. Or OTIC.
44A: Singer Ritter: TEX. John Ritter's dad.
53A: Wish bestowers: GENIES. So if you had one wish from a GENIE, what would it be?
64A: Jazz pianist Art: TATUM. No idea. Is he blind?
67A: Old World of lizard: AGAMA. I forgot. His tail is so long.
Down:
3D: Unstressed vowel: SCHWA. The inverted "e", as in the either end of "America". I've never had problem pronouncing SCHWA, it's the vowel in bad/bed, sax/sex that confuses me.
6D: Leveling piece: SHIM. The yellow piece he is trying to insert? It's a new word to me.
8D: Ring king: ALI. Bush gave him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005. Can you believe Marilyn Monroe was a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient also (1952)?
9D: Acclaim: PLAUDIT
25D: Emma of "Dynasty": SAMMS. Barry G's younger day crush.
29D: Vienna's river: DANUBE. Here is the map. Vienna is Wien in German. The river flows from southern Germany into the Black Sea.
42D: Holy war: CRUSADE. The Muslim CRUSADE is Jihad.
50D: Mazda model: MIATA. No idea. I know nothing about sports cars. MIATA means "reward" in old German.
52D: Andes ruminant: LLAMA. Just learned this morning that the gestation period of LLAMA is 11 1/2 months (350 days). And the average gestation period of elephants is 22 months. Poor elephants!
C.C.
Good morning, C.C. & gang - a real speed run today, just over 4 minutes. No pauses, perps got me the one unknown, 'arboreta'. Lots of our familiar 'crossword words'; is Williams going out with a whimper rather than a bang?
ReplyDeleteToday is Jewel Day and.....Ear Muff Day. A most DF day.
Today's Words of Wisdom: "I hope I have a young outlook. Since I have an old everything else, this is my one chance of having a bit of youth as a part of me." -- Writer Richard Armour
That's all I've got; I'll try to find something else fun. Sorry.
C.C., I meant to tell you, there's been no announcement in the Philadelphia Inquirer about any change to the crossword. Thought that was interesting.
ReplyDeleteDennis,
ReplyDeleteNo idea. Wayne R. Williams is a man I have no interested in knowing. Why DF for "Ear Muff Day"? I thought Ear Muffin is the DF breakfast. There is no announcement in our Star Tribune either. LA Times belongs to TMS, so the puzzle source will still be "Tribune Media Service". But the puzzle style might shock those who are unaware of this messy change. Might take us a few months to get used to Rich Norris's editing style.
C.C., I'll leave the ear muff explanation to others - I'm sure you'll get a good definition during the day.
ReplyDeleteOff to the gym.
Mainiac,
ReplyDeleteI thought "Poor bucks, not enough horny does!!" was very clever.
JD,
Are you sure about the 3X thumb Fun Fact? Dennis' thumb is 4" already.
PromiseMe,
I don't remember any specific question regarding basketball in China. Thought it's just a NORMAL comment. Yes, basketball is huge in China, it's the most popular sport in China, then soccer.
Ink & Kazie,
ReplyDeleteIs Greek similar to Latin in terms of pluralization? Yesterday's ANEMOI for Anemos seems very odd.
Calef,
Let's see what happens on March 23. I sure will miss you if you decide not to solve LA Times Daily.
Linda,
Don't worry. If the whole Tribune (including LA Times) folds, we will solve other online puzzle. Newsday is pretty good too.
Good Morning,
ReplyDeleteI did better on this one than the last two days but got stumped in the SE corner. Didn't know the capital of Ethiopia, had Eros instead of Enos which blew my brain for (or as) normal. I also never heard of Art Tatum or Agama. Plaudit is also new to me.
The local paper here hasn't made any announcement about any changes. I've bookmarked the LA Times site just in case.
Beautiful day here! Crystal clear with temps in the single digits. I've got to write an annual report. Check in later.
Have a good one!
It was an easy puzzle. Here is an article about the xword transition that you might be interested in C.C..
ReplyDeleteMorning, all!
ReplyDeleteRelatively easy and straightforward puzzle for me today. The only really WTF moment came with ARBORETA (which is, I see, a valid plural or arboretum). I had RELATER instead of RELATOR for 28D, and as a result just couldn't, er, see the forest for the trees for the longest time.
I've never heard of "Nicholas and ALEXANDRA" before, but was able to guess ALEXANDER pretty easily. And then, of course, I had to change it to the less obvious ALEXANDRA due to the perps. Art TATUM was another unknown, but also easily gettable via the perps.
Oh -- and ALOPECIA was actually a gimme for me, since I knew somebody who suffered from it. He was in his early 20s when he awoke one morning with no hair. Anywhere. Even his eyebrows were gone. I lost track of him a few years later, but I don't recall if his hair ever grew back or not.
Like CC said... lots of "A"s... fairly easy puzzle... though I did not know the Ethopia capital. It will be interesting on Monday with a new editor. I have done LA TIMES before usually on Sundays. I am not a big fan of them.. but will give it a try for a while. Happy Friday the 13th.
ReplyDeleteGreat Morning to all -
ReplyDeleteI concur with the smart people, nice and straight forward puzzle. The few moments of abnormalcy, I can say that, was when I put in realtor for relator. I thought I was writing the word correct but my synapses were not warmed up yet. In fact I must go drink more neurotransmitter juice.
BTW I am very proud of myself. I am going to also leave ear muff alone and wait to see what explanations come in. TEEEHEEEhee :)
Off again to earn money to give to the kids
I
Hi, all,
ReplyDeleteGot everything with help from adjacent clues. Except; automaTA!
That's mechanical men??????
OK, if you say so.
CY'All Later
C.C.
ReplyDeleteMuff is also refers to a female's nether region, similar in meaning to bush.
It is confusing that a Friday be so straight forward, but I forgot to set the alarm, and I am still adjusting to DST.
Pam Shriver works regularly as a TV analyst on Tennis broadcasts; a career which has brought her more success than her playing days.
I think we has EMMA SAMMS and ANNE MEARA together in a puzzle about a month ago.
I think it was interesting that MB got a genie reference so soon after she started the whole GENIS discussion.
I think BLYLEVEN lost too many games (250), though he must be amazed that Netherlands beat the DR to advance in the WBC.
@PromiseMeThis-your new word made me think of LIEBURY-googled it and found this at UrbanDictionary.com:
ReplyDeleteLiebury
A place to bury lies.
The George W. Bush Liebury is currently being planned to continue dubya's legacy.
Bill - when it comes to "men" words things do become a bit odd.
ReplyDeleteOh, just another BTW, The word WAS genis, but it has been changed to Denis now. Did not know if you knew. Just doing my part to keep you informed. TEE HEE hee
FOUR thumbs!!!! Now I know what makes him so popular!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit....as soon as I got to 17a I couldn't wait to hear what the DF's had to say....and now we are discussing ear muffins?
ReplyDeleteLearn something new here every day!
I need more sleep after watching 6 OT's in the Syracuse/Uconn game last night. March Madness at it's best!!
GO BLUE!
Good morning CC and all,..a very doable puzzle today. I had a few sticking points ie: automata, alopecia and alexandra,but they were doable from the perps.
ReplyDeleteCC I believe Marlyn Monroe got more than the Metal of Freedom award at the White House.
Nice day here today so I will get outside and start cleaning up the yard.
Hope you all have a great Friday the 13th.
For those who may be so inclined, here is a link to the LA Times on line puzzle and here is a link for the Newsday on line puzzle.
ReplyDeleteI've been doing the LA Times for the last week or so in anticipation of our up-coming switch and have found it more challenging than Mr. Williams puzzles. Today, for example, was a pretty significant b***-buster (IMHO). Newsday, I have found, is not as "user-friendly" (no red letters and no "tab-to-the-next-clue" functionality. By and large I have found Newsday, while easier, to be more of a PITA than it's worth from a satifaction standpoint.
Just thought I'd share - TGIF to all!
NYT,
ReplyDeleteLoved your liebury explanation!
No problems today except I had IGAMA for AGAMA. Should have known better, automatum would have an -a plural, not -i.
c.c.,
I'm no Greek expert, but it certainly looks as if it could be that way. In Latin the -us is -i in the plural, so the Greek -os to -oi would be doing the same thing.
That Wayne Williams is retiring might explain his disenchantment with the editing recently, a little over-anticipation of joining the retirement community.
Good morning, All,
ReplyDeleteWhile I agree this was a pretty easy
puzzle, at least it didn't have all the repetitive words and clues we were seeing a few weeks ago.
No talk of leaving for me; I hope to have access to whichever puzzle you all are solving. If not, I'll probably lurk just to rub electronic elbows with this esteemed and delightfully demented group.
No mention of a puzzle change in the Lexington Herald-Liar, either. Typical mushroom management.
Don't want to get too DF re: muffin, but I immediately thought of the old Aerosmith lyric. And I'm not touching the jewels, except my personal stash, of course.
Windhover
I forgot about alopecia. I was going to add that my mother had it when she was in her thirties, and her hair started falling out in clumps. She went to a Chinese herbalist, and whether that helped or not, it all grew back, but was mostly white.
ReplyDeleteAnother person in our town here lost all his hair, eyebrows and presumably muffins and all as a young man, but has remained hairless since, into middle age.
Good morning all,
ReplyDeleteThought I had made it until I learned how to spell Aledandra, Arboreta and Automata. Did the rest ok with the help of wags and perps.
Don't know yet what (if any) puzzle my paper plans to carry. Just hope it is the same as the blog's.
Either way, I will continue lurking and maybe get nerve enough to chime in now and then.
Good morning CC et al., Holy Hotwick Jewel & Ear Muff Day! If you hold your jewels and ear close to the muff, wonder if you'll hear anybody comin'. Gotta love this day! And then there's eroticism with the thought of 3X a thumb size. That's 'profound'...a deep denis! And if you do the 'mouth', I mean math,with 3 X 4" that's quite a foot! I have chronic foot in mouth problems...and walk with a lisp because of it!
ReplyDeleteI'm off to rub some genises, I mean genies. Enjoy your day.
Swat, swap and swami? Gooey goop? Is unapt a word? Or do I have something wrong there?
ReplyDeleteThe mention of ear muffins made me think of Princess Leah. She had a couple of very visible ones.
Have a great day!
Thought I'd share this. I got an email from someone who must be a lurker, asking if I really had 4" thumbs, which would translate (according to yesterday's calculations) to a 12", uh, denis.
ReplyDeleteI told her that if that were true, it'd sure as hell be my avatar.
And C.C., to answer "why DF for ear muff day?", earmuffs = thighs. Ponder that one for a while.
Lois,
ReplyDeleteCan't hold a candle to you. Like to, though.
Windhover
Good morning, c.c. and academia
ReplyDeleteI thought i hade it made too, like Jmbo, until i came here and saw i had 3 misspells (errors). Never heard of Alodocia or Alopecia and i had TeaPot instead of Tea set which gave me Pamms (sorry Emma). Also did not like Automata, i wanted Automaton.
The thing is that i did it all very fluent, non-stop and no G -spots, oh well . .
Yesterday, for the ice cream i put Tartufo then had to change to Tortoni
Chris in LA thanks for sharing but now i have two enigmas to solve, one is LMAO the other is your Pita
Ta, taa
CC and all: My main problems with most grids is poor spelink...it rilly mases up a puzel!
ReplyDeleteA note: Male pattern baldness (not to be confused with alopecia) is actually "carried" by the female.
My Dad had MPB (and finally shaved his head because he "got tired of paying a barber to hunt my hair") and I can see a definite difference in the thickness from the top of head to the sides and nape...my poor, poor sons!
If I had gotten the theme I wouldn't have had so much trouble with AUTOMATA/AGAMA. That was my last fill. Never can remember those old world animals. (Shouldn't AGAMA be in the list of theme words?) Other than that, I breezed through this puzzle. That was a relief after the last two days.
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday the 13th. The fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia. Fit that in a crossword puzzle!
If I had one wish from a Genie, I'd wish for more wishes.
Windhover: @9:55 - don't know if you meant that literally or figuratively. Literally, being close to lit candles triggers my blow reflex...often a good thing; figuratively, holding a candle close, especially when both of us are lit, is also often a good thing, but dangerous. Your choice.
ReplyDeleteGuday c.c. and y'all. Easy today. Just under 2 1/2 hours. Only problem was the same as Berry G's. 'ArbEreta" and "relatEr". Didn't get that corrected until I came here. As I mentioned before, I couldn't spell "shet" if you gave me three of the letters.
ReplyDeleteMy "rag" has made no mention of a new x/w. I'll bet we get the Dell Crossword for Kids. Maybe I can finish one of those in under an hour.
Tristadecaphobia for the second month in a row. Maybe Editor Williams is designing calenders now, what with all the repeats.
To all those "conservative talking heads" who claim too many folks think Obama is Jesus. NOT SO!!! Jesus knew how to build a cabinet.
I knew an Eskimo who, in protest, held a personal "sit in" strike on the ice in the Arctic. When he got up two days later he had "polaroids". (pa dum)
My tip of the day: "Before you give someone a piece of your mind, be sure you can spare it".
I must be off
Hello C.C. & All.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... Jewel Day.. Ear Muff Day.. Friday.. I predict a definite DF Day!
Easy puzzle, breezed right through it. Anything that was a ? was solved w/perps.
Had a guy on my swim team in HS that had alopecia, sure gave him fits when we tapered & had our shave down!
My one wish to a genie? To have all the wishes I wanted!
Tea is for porcelain, not silver, right C.C.? And I must say that the tea we get in the US must be the dregs of the earth. My Mom came back from OZ with some REALLY good tea. She uses it for special occasions.
And now I know why I was always picked up by females when I was hitch-hiking!
DFing in Osseo [TJ]
Thomas,
ReplyDeleteWe get a "care" package each year from a friend, with lots of my favorite brand of aussie tea in it. The problem here is that tea bags have mainly the dusty stuff in them, so it really is the dregs. The loose leaf isn't so bad here.
I agree that a tea set would never be silver, at least not the cups. We have a very nice stainless steel teapot we bought over there to replace the one we had that was chromed and the chrome had begun to shed. Porcelain ones tend to break (in my experience anyway), but I like to drink out of china cups.
Linda,
My dad had eight brothers and they all went bald. One of my sons, at 32, has a slightly receding hairline, but that's all his dad has lost too at 61. Our other son inherited his hair from my mom, so he's safe. So it's not a foregone conclusion. It's one of those things that occurs naturally on the Y chromosome, so needs to be dominant on the X as well to be carried.
@ Maria:
ReplyDeleteLMAO = Laugh My A** Off
PITA = Pain In The A**
Think "hind quarters"
;)
Buckeye, my goodness,
ReplyDeletei was laughing from beginning to end reading your post, you are special .
This is ONE super version of Send in the Clowns, some of the old comics and ending with comments from Orsen Welles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfPI4PTu8_s
Thanks a bunch Chris,
ReplyDeleteI tried to link" Send in the Clowns" especially for Buckeye, but i don't think it worked the way i wanted
PromiseMe can do a better job of it, please !
it's very nice .
Buckeye, my friend, hilarious as always. I can never be drinking anything when I read your posts. I'm just glad they have computers for you at the institution.
ReplyDeleteGood Morning All, About neighboring words 26D RELATOR and 27D EMOTER, is there a grammarian out there who can tell us why one T-R word has and O and the other one has an E? I got them both right, but is there a rule we can follow to be sure?
ReplyDeleteI made a mistake early on when I entered PROPECIA at 5D. I knew it had something to do with hair loss. Luckily the perps made me see the error of my ways and made a quick correction. My only other problem in the NW was SCHWA, but the same perps came to the rescue.
I did enter FARIES, a sad misspelling of FAIRIES at 53A, but FOOP didn't make much sense at 53D. I also thought of PERIES at 53A, which would have made 53D POOP, a possible for "gooey stuff", after all we did have CRAP for an answer a few days ago.
The rest of the puzzle trotted along quite easily until the end with 67A AGAMA. I don't think I'll forget this colorful guy again, thanks to C.C.'s photo.
My genie wish has been answered.... Buckeye checked in this morning. Remember I told you yesterday that I think mature men definitely have an allure. (BTW Bro, thanks for the "thoughts". I got it.)
Can muff refer to a golf term for when a ball is hit into an unmowed patch of grass? As a golfer friend of mine says. Uncle Junior's in the muff" I don't know since I'm not a golfer.
ReplyDeleteA shim is a scrap piece of wood used level a window or door while you are installing it.
In regards to yesterdays puzzle, did anyone else read the clue 30A: Tux adjuster as tax adjuster? I was stuck on that until I peeked at the blog and realized it said tux not tax!
Kazie: ...so my word should have been "caused" not "carried"...
ReplyDeleteAnother thing I`ve noticed...most bald men tend to be portly...unless they really work on it...
For the Gang:
What do your grandchildren call you (that you can share with us?)
My just-turned-16-year-old granddaughter has always called my husband "Fop Fop." We have no clue!
@ Chris in LA-just finished doing LAT puzzle-you're right-it's definitely harder-this will be a challenge! I don't understand how 5D)Letter? is LANDLORD, do you?
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you'll all like the LA Times puzzles more than the Wayne Williams TMS puzzles. They're higher quality puzzles, and a lot more interesting and fun to solve. The late-in-the-week puzzles can be tough, but you'll enjoy the challenge.
ReplyDeleteGood Afternoon C.C. and Co.,
ReplyDeleteC.C., I agree, the theme is pretty dull.
I think a bumper sticker is a type of decal.
Yes, Art Tatum was blind. He is considered by many to be the greatest jazz pianist ever. As a child he learned to play the piano by attempting to imitate the performance of his mother's player-piano. What he did not know was that many of the pieces were actually written for two pianists. So he learned how to play pieces designed for four hands with just his two.
That AGAMA is very groovy looking. I got that one and SHIM from the perps. I cannot remember the last time I ever heard the word PLAUDIT used.
As far as I am aware there has been no mention of a change to the crossword in the Sun-Sentinel, either. I am looking forward to having a progressive puzzle.
I made the same mistake as Barry G. and Buckeye with RELATER. 53D was a terrible clue. 66A made me think of Windhover.
I have read several books by SWAMI Rama. This one has been very useful.
"Jesus knew how to build a cabinet"
Don't be so sure.
Jesus, the bad carpenter
"My main problems with most grids is poor spelink...it rilly mases up a puzel!"
Talk about masing up a puzel. Think how Red's dad must feel.
NYT: Another term for 'to rent' is 'to let'.
Here you go, Maria.
Send In The Clowns
PromiseMe: LMAO re. carpenter link!
ReplyDeleteTJ in Osseo
'Nicholas and Alexandra' is a work of non-fiction published sometime in the 1970s by author Robert K. Massie. The Massies had a son with hemophelia, a disease sometimes referred to as the bleeder's disease. Blood doesn't clot correctly and people with the disease are in danger of bleeding to death from even the smallest cut. Legendary golfer Byron Nelson also suffered from hemophelia. Producer Suzman made the book, which I read and enjoyed, into a pretty good movie.
ReplyDeleteArgyle, nice 2nd post about yesterday's poem. I was sure you were being sincere in your first comment, but since you mentioned that you didn't usually like poetry, I just figured you liked the directness of it. Your deeper appreciation was right on the mark.
ReplyDeleteYoung Poets
Write as you will
In whatever style you like
Too much blood has run under the bridge
To go on believing
That only one road is right.
In poetry everything is permitted.
With only this condition of course,
You have to improve the blank page.
- Nicanor Parra
A rather mundane puzzle today. There were a few unknows only, such as AGAMA…well, that’s the only one really since we had SCHWA recently, and I actually was able to remember it!
ReplyDeleteI initially confused “Nicholas and ALEXANDER” with Bergman’s “Fanny and ALEXANDER” but that got straightened out eventually.
@cc…Greek and Latin nouns are similar in that they are declined. Greek declensions are nominative, accusative genitive, dative and vocative, singular and plural. Latin declensions include all those as well as ablative. I place no importance that some of the endings are similar…for example Latin second declension nominative singular is –us, plural is –i, while the Greek masculine nominative case goes from -ος for singular to –oi for plural. So the shift from Anemos to Anemoi is typical in Greek.
BTB…my youngest daughter is from Ethiopia. Though she was in Addis Ababa until she came to the US at age 18 months, she was born in the area of South Shoa to the south of Addis.
@redsmitty…the golf term is “rough”, not “muff”. Interesting slip of the tongue, that. Tee-hee!
PMT, thank you,
ReplyDeleteand, Lmao, inre Red link !
How funny, this morning i also did the LAT
and like NYT cannot compute 5D Letters ? Landlord !
Pmt , even with your rational, to me it's quite a stretch no ?
You are most welcome, maria.
ReplyDeleteI kind of like 'letters' for 'landlords'. It's definitely tricky. It immediately made me think of this song.
Delinquent: One who dines and dashes at Subway
NYT,
ReplyDeleteLetter = One who lets, or rents out, an apartment.
Linda,
I don't see a problem saying it either way. It is carried on both genes when it is dominant, but like in many other things ;), the Y is normally deficient, so only when an X carries a dominant trait, does it manifest itself in the offspring.
Good morning to everyone.
ReplyDeleteVery easy puzzle today...trust me...I was surprised. Nothing was actually a problem once I started moving around the grid. I did pause for a moment at 8D because I wasn't sure if it meant Lord of the Rings(in which case I didn't know it) or a character from Wagner's Ring Cycle operas...same result...then the AHA moment...so went the rest. Scratched my head at the Automata/Agama cross(loved the Agama photo!), but let it stand. And I happily filled in SCHWA, remembering it from the puzzle that Argyle blogged. So, not too bad.
Yesterday's LATimes xword looked way more difficult than today's...but will start working on those in preperation for Mar 23rd. The SJ Mercury has so far made no mention of any change.
Crockett: re: yesterday's post...tongue in cheek...Were you just being snarky at my senior moments? Or literal with CA weather? or can I just say that I have clear only days when I keep my glasses on? Although, it is foggy this AM, so not clear at all...
C.C. Tim Pawlenty is a very interesting person and probably worth watching...I have seen him from my house... being interviewed on my favorite left-wing, tree hugging, political TV show, Rachel Maddow, which I watch on my computer as I don't want to pay for TV...He is one of the few Republicans that will actually appear on her show. He comes across as someone who thinks outside the box, but when asked if the Republican party needs to be more middle of the road...his response was "Definitely not!(do you hear a RUSH-ing sound?)
Also...I wouldn't worry about your trouble pronouncing sex/sax...apparently Bill Clinton had the same problem.
ClearAyes...nifty poem today...I think the same could be said about art in general...it is our job to improve the canvas/paper and it could also be said of a composer or author.
PromiseMe...cute comic strip!Thank you for the info on Art Tatum...I used a WAG(thanks for that Elissa) to finish his name, but had never heard of him before...you're random knowledge is quite formidable...
Heya Buckeye...always good to hear from you. LOL
Dennis...isn't that just like women...email a guy just because he has 4 thumbs...or 4" thumbs. 80)
@ clearayes ttis is a little poem for you. Author is unknown.
ReplyDeleteA row of bottles on my shelf
Caused me to analyze myself.
One yellow pill I have to pop
Goes to my heart so it won't stop.
A little white one that I take
Goes to my hands so they won't shake.
The blue ones that I use a lot
Tell me I'm happy when I'm not.
The purple pill goes to my brain
And tells me that I have no pain.
The capsules tell me not to wheeze
Or cough or choke or even sneeze..
The red ones, smallest of them all
Go to my blood so I won't fall.
The orange ones, very big and bright
Prevent my leg cramps in the night.
Such an array of brilliant pills
Helping to cure all kinds of ills.
But what I'd really like to know...........
Is what tells each one where to go!
Dang!...*your* random knowledge...not *you're* random knowledge and I even reread this B4 posting it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the compliment, WM.
ReplyDeleteI have just ordered a copy of Crossdown Crossword Puzzle Maker Software from Amazon. Once it arrives I am going to try to construct a puzzle crossing Paraskavedekatriaphobia with Papahanaumokuakea. Obviously, the grid will have to be at least 23x23. Thank you, Elissa ~[:'D
In honor of Jewel Day, here's ZZ Top's
Pearl Necklace.
The frighteningly cold weather many of you have had to endure this winter reminded me of a poem, which I liked so much as a kid that I memorized it.
I want to comment about how great you think Dan Rather is. CBS fired him because he faked information about some GWB comments. The scuttlebutt is that he has allegedly lways lied and cheated. He seems to have redeemed hiself a little lately, but I don't like the not trust the man.
ReplyDeletePeter Jennings was a standup hero!
Randy Barnes,
Perryton Texas
Good Morning from balmy southwestern Oregon, was 67 yesterday and is going to be near that today.
ReplyDeleteC.C. I didn't begin to collect until the late '80s. Never remembered cards as a kid. Knew a guy who had a big cardboard box of his childhood cards, had a couple hundred Mickey Mantles. Wife was going to throw them out, until she found out their worth. I quit collecting when they got too expensive for my blood. I have mainly baseball, but with a smattering of all sports.
Lois and others: The DFness and DEs (double entendre) of this blog make me laugh so hard, I now have the DTs. Keep me laughing, no matter what puzzle C.C. blogs.
Howard
Lois:
ReplyDeleteYou are a very hard act to follow. As for your choice, it would be very, very, very hard to decide. I'm sure it's all good. Hard, but good. Hard to say, isn't it?
I do the NYT puzzle Mon-Thurs, but Fri-Sat are just too hard for me. As others have said, they get harder as the week progresses.
Better go now. Got some hard work to get done.
Windhover
Good afternoon, all -
ReplyDeleteJust took a break from gardening in the beautiful FL sunshine....82 degrees.
I've been working the TMS puzzle by printing out a blank puzzle, which I will have to do with the LAT. Our newspaper didn't tell us they were quitting TMS, just gave us United Features! According to TMS website, I have visited 109 times.
Will we be able to download the Sunday LA Times?
Can't stay inside when the sun is shining, so have missed all of you the past couple of days..therefore, it was difficult today to pick up threads of previous posts.
Would some kind soul, please tell me how to post in blue, instead of black???? I'm sure it has been posted before.....but have a heart, please......I do have a gmail account if that helps.
Southernbelle, I think you might just need to create your Profile.
ReplyDeleteI had no idea Peter Jennings did comedy. I am continually amazed at the things we learn on this blog.
Incornigible: One who cannot be persuaded to stop making trite comments
Thanks for the explanation and the song to serve as my cue the next time LETTER and LANDLORD show up PromiseMeThis and Kazie-hopefully that will be enough to jog the brain cells in the right direction!
ReplyDelete@ Doug Peterson-I am looking forward to solving yours and others puzzles at the LATimes-just hope I'm up to the challenge-thanks for the encouragement!
ReplyDeletePromiseMe@2:55 LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteLinda@11:37 We only have one grandchild who just turned 1, so she is working on Mama and Dada, although, she says hey and hiya. A big smile from her is all I need for now.
C.C. I avoid wishes granted by Genies. There is a movie called BEDAZZLED(the 1967 version) in which Peter Cook(as the devil)and Dudley Moore star. Dudley gets three wishes to make the girl of his dreams fall in love with him and, of course, the devil uses the loopholes in Dudley's set-up to create hysterically funny situations which Dudley has to blow a razzberry to get out of...
The devil's minions(he complains that you can't get good help anymore) are the 7 deadly sins, one of which is LUST, played a very young Raquel Welch.
I guess I would feel that such a wish granted would come with strings attached...you know the old saying "be careful what you wish for...". Although it is fun to think about what one would most want if it was possible.
Promise me this @ 11:47:
ReplyDeleteThanks for thinking of me, but whatever you may have heard, I do NOT have a favorite ewe. Those are just rumors.
Windhover
Windhover, A likely story!
ReplyDeleteHey, I'm from Montana, I know all about the sheep (shepherd boy, in my case!), the cliff and the mukluks.
For those of you in the dark on this one ... count your blessings.
Bummer: A bad day at sea
Am I over my limit? I'm talking about the posts, of course.
Doug Peterson - really great to see you on the blog; your puzzles are among the more enjoyable ones we do, along with Barry's. I think we're all looking forward to a bit more of a challenge and a change of pace from Williams' uh, 'unique' style. Hopefully you'll be able to provide some feedback to our comments as well.
ReplyDeletePromiseMe, right at it.
I haven't been able to get the Chicago Tribune (TMS) puzzle to load all day, so haven't been able to tackle it.
ReplyDeleteI did solve the LA Times puzzle (with difficulty--took me 25:29to do it). I loved the clueing on 29d: Hit a low note?, and puzzled for a long time on 5d: Letter?.
It's nice to see some really clever clueing. I don't know if our paper (The Oregonian) will end up carrying the LA Times puzzle, and I don't know what the other three puzzles in our "trial" will end up being.
@Doug Peterson, is that "Swedish-sounding Doug?" (from Orange, I think).
Since I can't do today's TMS puzzle, I'll point folks who want to do another challenge to Matt Gaffney's contest page (he's the author of Grid Lock, a book I found most enjoyable). Go to the contest page at http://www.crosswordcontest.blogspot.com for details. You have until Tuesday to solve the puzzle (and the riddle based on the puzzle).
@embien
ReplyDeleteYep, I'm Swedish-sounding Doug. That was a name Andrea Carla Michaels coined on Rex Parker's blog. There are lots of Dougs over there, so I need some way to stand out.
I second your recommendation to check out Matt Gaffney's weekly puzzle contest. Tough puzzles, but always worth the effort!
Wolfmom, The original Bedazzled was a very sharp movie. There was a remake a few years ago that just went for comedy and fell flat on all levels.
ReplyDeleteDoesitinink, About Fannie and Alexander..one of my favorite foreign language movies. The sets and costumes were so lavish, it was wonderful to watch it just for that.
Come to think of it Nicholas and Alexandra wasn't skimpy in the set and costume departments either. For anybody who is interested, it is a pretty good account of the end of the Romanov dynasty in Russia.
Dick, Cute poem and it reminded me that the older we get, the more pills, vitamins and potions we seem to consume.
Linda, my daughter called my mother Moo-Moo and my dad was Oo-Fa. The names were her own personal corruptions of Swedish Mor Mor (mother's mother) and Mor Far (mother's father).
ClearAyes,
ReplyDeleteFun clip. "He's all colors of the rainbow, many hued." "...he is English, isn't he?"
What more proof does one need that God is gay? Even if he wasn't 'rainbow-colored', everyone knows that the English are all queer as a three-dollar-bill. Face it people: If it wasn't for the English, the leather and rubber industries would have collapsed long ago.
In other news, I just tried doing today's LA Times puzzle. One nice thing I discovered is that you can actually print it out and solve it on paper, which is good because I really hate the online interface.
ReplyDeleteI didn't time myself, but I found it reasonably challenging. Not nearly as challenging as an average NYT Friday puzzle, but certainly equivalent to the toughest TMS puzzles we've seen. There weren't too many unknown words, but many of the clues were obscure to the point of almost being inaccurate ("Genesis plot" for EDEN?).
Overall, though, it was a good puzzle and I'm sure I'll enjoy doing it on a regular basis if that's what my paper gets next week. Of course, I hope the Monday puzzles aren't too easy...
AUTOMATA is just the plural of AUTOMATON, just as CRITERIA is the plural of CRITERION.
ReplyDeleteI am amazed that this bunch DFers and DFettes did not add MUFF diving to today’s discussion, but oops, I guess I did.
A genie joke dedeicated to WM and PMT:
An Arab gentleman, Samer, was lost in the desert, crawling on his hands and knees, when he felt something hard under the sand. It was a old lamp. He was delirious from lack of water, but rubbed the lamp anyway, and POOF
out popped a Genie, who said,
"Boychick, vus machs du? What's going on?
"Oh no," said the poor Samer, "Just my luck, I free a Genie and he turns out to be Jewish. he will never grant the wishes of an Arab!"
"Don't be silly, bubbela, it is in our Genie contract, we grant three wishes for whoever frees us."
"Well, okay, I want to be at an oasis with a tall glass of water and food."
Poof! they were at the Oasis, surrounded by food and water.
"Hmm, okay," said Samer," I would like 100 pounds of gold."
Poof! The gold was there.
"Okay, Samer, this is your last wish, make it a good One." said the Genie.
Samer, thought, and thought, "Well I have always been ugly and smelly and women have wanted to have nothing to do with me. So what I wish is that I am desired by every woman, they want me and they really want me between their legs."
Poof!
And
Samer was turned into a Tampon!
With a Jewish Genie, there is always a string attached.
Lemomade: I am so glad that I swallowed my wine before I read your joke...LMAO!!!!
ReplyDeleteClearAyes: Thank you for the Bedazzled link. I know that this will just give Crockett more ammunition, but I still haven't quite figured out that link thing...I used to just love anything that Peter Cook and Dudley Moore did...they were a comedy team for years...Bedazzled was an especially funny movie. I loved all the petty things that Peter Cook did throughout the movie.
PromiseMe: I think you are making an assumption that all Brits are gay...just because they go to those upper class schools that teach them such quirky behavior...that... and the fox hunt "horsey set" thing...you know...the boots and riding crop issue...
Lemonade: hilarious! LMAO Loved it!
ReplyDeleteWell a joke that gets champagne to come out the eyes and nose is always one of my goals..thank you WM and L.
ReplyDeleteI've done puzzles the past couple of days but I haven't been able to post because my son has been playing games on the computer.
ReplyDeleteThe quip a couple of days ago defeated me: I had NO REWARD instead of MORE WITH so I couldn't figure out the rest of the quip. The perps were no help.
Today's (actually yesterday's for me) was a bit easier: I figured out everything except ALOPECIA, SHIM and PAM. TATUM was a guess: I only know TATUM O'Neil.
Martin
Yesterday, C.C. said,
ReplyDelete我的生日是一九七一年六月三十日.
"Your birthday is June 30th, 1971."
I don't understand the context, however: that can't possibly be when Dennis was born because that would make him younger than me.
I don't know SANO but I remember the French word for health is "santi". It must be Latin too because in English we have SANitation and SANitize.
Martin
Here's an oldie:
ReplyDeleteThe shy boy finally gets a date with the class hottie. She wonders when will he make his move but he's to nervous.
On the way home, the car has a flat tire on a deserted stretch of highway. It is a bitterly cold night and he keeps getting back in the car to warm his hands.
She thinks she can speed things up and suggests he warm his hands between her legs. He turns red but he does it. This happens several more times before he finally gets the car down off the jack.
When he gets back in the car, he prepares to drive off when the girl coos to him, "You should warm up your ears, too."
The sun was peeking over the horizon when they got home.
Doh! 我的 means "my" not "your"! Sorry, C.C.!
ReplyDeleteMartin
A gay man was walking along the beach at Fire Island when he stumbled upon a Genie's lamp. He picked it up and rubbed it, and lo-and-behold, out popped a gay genie.
ReplyDeleteThe Genie said, "Hey Girl, wassup?"
The amazed man asked if he got three wishes.
"Nope, just one...due to inflation, constant downsizing, low wages, third-world countries, my new pumps pinching my big toes, and fierce global competition, I can only grant you one wish. So...what'll it be? The complete set of Tyson Cane videos? A copy of the Marilyn Monroe Happy Birthday Mr. President sequined dress in your size with matching shoes?"
The man shook his head 'no', and didn't hesitate. He said, "I want peace in the Middle East. See this map? I want these countries to stop fighting with each other."
The Genie looked at the map and shrieked, "Miss Thaaaaaang, I don't think so, not in this lifetime!! These countries have been at war for thousands of years. I'm good, but not THAT good! I don't think it can be done. Make another wish."
The man thought for a minute and said, "Well, I've never been able to find the right man, you know, one that's considerate and fun, warm and affectionate, gorgeous, is well endowed, only wants sex from me, doesn't do drugs or drink too much, has a great job with a good income, likes to cook and helps with the housecleaning, and gets along with my family, doesn't watch sports all the time, and tells me I always look fabulous, and is great in bed. That's what I wish for... the perfect guy to have as my lover."
The Genie let out a long sigh, clutched his hand to his heart and said, "Oh Miss Thang... let me see that map again."
CC, maybe Dennis is the exception to the rule.
ReplyDeleteI'll be back in 2 wks.ALOHA! I guess we'll all be doing a new puzzle. WooHoo!
C.C., I hope that we continue with this community as well. We are a resourceful group, and I think we can figure out how to keep this going with the LA Times puzzle.
ReplyDelete@wolfmom I was thinking of the combination of the bay area fog and the LA area smog combining to make sighting that distance a rare occasion.
@jd Catch you on your return.
Randy,
ReplyDeleteRather did not falsify the memo. But after 8 years of misplaced emails, doctored memo's about Saddam and yellow cake from Niger. No to mention Bush lying to Congress, Rove outing a CIA agent as retaliation. And he was not fired for using false documents!
ALL GRAVY NO GRIEF!
JD, Lucky you. On your way to Hawaii and on Friday the 13 (or maybe the 14th) too.
ReplyDeletePromiseMeThis, Perhaps a slight exaggeration at 6:27. Otherwise, where do all those rosy cheeked English school children come from? Don't bother answering this evening. I think you may be flirting with a C.C. over-post chastisement.
Good night all.
Regardless of what Dan Rather did or didn't do, Peter Jenning was a terrific anchor and newsman.
I have to add a final link from Bedazzled. I'd forgotten how much I liked it. Peter Cook as Drimble Wedge and the Vegetations singing (intoning?) the Bedazzled theme song is just too good to miss. "You fill me with inertia." is one of the best lyric lines ever. Now I've got to get online and see if the movie is available at Amazon.
Crockett@9:25...That was my original thought...but then, I have a bad habit of over thinking and also missing the joke occasionally.
ReplyDeleteClearAyes...thanks for the additional clip. I actually bought the VHS years ago, probably from Amazon. We also inherited a lot of interesting movies from our movie-addicted younger daughter when she switched everything over to DVD. I am just too stubborn and prefer to keep the old VHS'
Night to everyone.
I saw Peter Cook and Dudley Moore in "Beyond the Fringe" at the Philip Theatre in Sydney in the 60's while I was still in college, I think. I must still have the program somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI went looking for the dates online, couldn't find anything, but the program of the premiere is for sale on Ebay. Hmmm...I wonder where mine is?
I finally got a chance to post after a long day at the office and going out with some friends after work. Wow, not too many mentions of todays the day of...Lois yours was of course priceless. I bow to your queen dfness. Matter of fact I won't even touch it.
ReplyDeleteBeing from MN and suffering a long winter, my genie(jeannie) wish is an 80 degree sunny day, my sailboat off the bouy with about a 20mph wind with both the mainsail and jib up. Ahh....paradise!! Oh and repetitve days like that. Oh, about 90.
Hello again!
ReplyDeleteLong hard day. Just catching up.
Barry G. @ 6:53pm. Re: Genesis plot. Think "garden plot". Genesis garden = Eden. But you probably figured that out. Anyway, you're right. The puzzles get progressively clue[ier] as the week goes on, much like the NYT.
Lemonade @7:14 LMAO!!
Bedazzled. Wasn't the remake with Brandon Fraizer {sp?} from the "Mummy" movies & Elizabeth Hurley as the devil? Ahh.. Elizabeth Hurley.. that's one Brit that isn't gay, thank you very much!
Argyle @8:26 Great description/definition of "M.D."
What a great blog this is. Thanks for letting [not renting] me be a part of it. Goodnight!
TJ in Osseo
No sailors out there waiting to mast up for another season and biting on the bit? I find that very hard to believe. I am already "getting the gear" ie: sleeping bags, pads, whatever ready for the first sail. Like I said before, us MN's take Spring seriously. Now all I need is to have the ice melt off Lake Waconia.
ReplyDelete