google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday June 26, 2009 Dan Naddor

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Jun 26, 2009

Friday June 26, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Have Ewe Herd These Puns? (L added before D)

18A: Rhinovirus kept under wraps?: SECRET COLD (Secret Code)

24A: Saved up for the slots?: HELD QUARTERS (Headquarters)

34A: One great baseball play after another?: FIELDING FRENZY (Feeding Frenzy)

50A: Flared pants for steelworkers?: WELDING BELLS (Wedding Bells)

56A: Dessert that's been out for too long?: PIE A LA MOLD (Pie a la Mode)

A special 16*15 grid to accommodate the 14-letter theme answer FIELDING FRENZY. Normally the central theme answer has an odd number of letters.

I thought of Fool's Gold. But I don't think Fool's Goad fits the pattern.

This is the most interesting Dan Naddor puzzle I've solved. Loads of fun. Dan mentioned that he tries to shoot for at least 20 entries of 6 letters or more in his puzzle. I counted 18 6-letter entries in Down alone.

Across:

10A: GE and GM: MFRS (Manufacturers). I just could not keep Dow out of my mind, though I was aware that GM was kicked out of Dow 30 (replaced by Cisco).

14A: One who never gets out: LIFER. Nice clue.

15A: "__ Rappaport": 1986 Tony winner for Best Play: I'M NOT. I guessed. Have never heard of this play/movie.

17A: Old-time actress Massey: ILONA. Got her name from Down fills. Wiki says she was billed as "The New Dietrich", but she did not live up to the hype.

20A: Pink lady liquor: GIN. What's your favorite cocktail? Mine is Long Island Iced Tea.

21A: Historic Italian city near Naples: NOLA. The answer emerged itself. Wiki says Augustus Caesar, the first emperor of Rome, died in NOLA.

23A: Quaking?: SEISMIC. Saw similar clue before. Still like it.

27A: Bond rating: AAA. The highest bond rating.

28A: Audition: TRYOUTS

29A: __ Hashanah: ROSH. I love apples dipped in honey.

30A: "My Boys" airer: TBS. No idea. Have never heard of "My Boys".

32A: Bungler: OAF. The mostly klutzy words in crossword world.

33A: Security concern: MOLE. I wrote down LEAK.

40A: Blowup source, briefly: NEG

42A: Reading and others: Abbr.: RRS

43A: A, in communications: ALFA. Not ALPHA?

45A: Buttercup family member: ANEMONE. Also called windflower. Rooted in Greek anemos, meaning "wind". Dictionary says it's so named because the petals are easily lost in wind.

49A: D-H filler: EFG. Monday clue. "DH filler" is better.

52A: Public face: PERSONA

55A: Passbook abbr.: DEP (Deposit)

58A: Island where Bill and Melinda Gates were wed: LANAI. On Jan 1, 1994. I was not aware of this trivia.

60A: Type type: Abbr.: ITAL

61A: Black tea: PEKOE. Chinese origin. Literally "white down/hair".

62A: Car dealer's offering: LEASE

63A: Where el sol rises: ESTE. East is "EST" in French/Italian.

64A: Imperial Oil brand: ESSO. Imperial Oil is Canada's largest petroleum company.

65A: Certain NCOs: SSGTS

Down:

1D: Affront: SLIGHT. I like this noun/verb ambiguity.

2D: More cunning: WILIER

4D: Boggy locale: FEN

5D: Serene: TRANQUIL. Quality fill.

6D: Not spread carefully: SMEAR. I am often confused by "not". Can never tell whether the answer should be a present tense verb or past participle style adjective. SMEARED would be a correct answer too, if there were two more blanks, correct?

7D: SASE, e.g.: ENC

8D: In direr straits: WORSE OFF. Good clue.

9D: Keeps the car on the road: STEERS

10D: Apple products: MACS. Come on, shock me, let the answer be CIDER someday.

11D: Completely: FROM A TO Z. Oh my goodness. I struggled with this multiple word again.

12D: In a way you can count on: RELIABLY

13D: Tsk evoker: SAD CASE. To me, a SAD CASE brings out more sympathy than "tsk".

15D: __ Canarias: ISLAS. Canary Islands.

19D: Mrs. Addams, to Gomez: TISH. Somehow I confused her with MRS C, which was clued as "Richie's mom, to Fonzie" before. Can't tell you how frustrated I am by those old TV fills.

22D: Exposed publicly: OUTED

25D: Peace advocates: DOVES. As opposed to the hawks.

26D: "Perry Mason" lieutenant: TRAGG. Again, got the answer with Across fills.

32D: Early first century date: ONE A.D. Ah, no Roman numeral.

33D: Muse of memory: MNEME. Unknown to me. That's how we get mnemonic I suppose. Dictionary says she is one of the three original muses, together with Aoede (muse of song) and Melete (muse of meditation).

34D: Gives up: FORFEITS

35D: Words before "to be alive" or "to be back": IT'S GREAT

36D: Kindles, as passions: INFLAMES

37D: Slender and long-limbed: RANGY

38D: Looks over closely: EYEBALLS. Or "Measure/estimate visually".

39D: Private school teen: PREPPIE. Or preppy.

43D: MP's quarry: AWOL

44D: Delaware tribe: LENAPE. Literally "original people."

46D: Racing has-been: OLD NAG. I wonder how the steroid-user Big Brown is doing.

47D: Place for Marlins, briefly: NL EAST. Also inclued the Mets, Phillies, Braves and the Nationals. This answer often gives me trouble.

48D: Glimpses: ESPIES

51D: Block house: IGLOO

53D: Rep's success: SALE

59D: JFK's UN ambassador: AES. Adlai Stevenson served as JFK's UN ambassador from 1961 to 1965. He was actually hoping to get the Secretary of the State post, which surprisingly went to Dean Rusk.

Answer grid.

C.C.

71 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, and happy Friday, C.C. and gang - struggles abounded for me today, but I somehow made it through without g-spotting.

Sometimes it's amazing, the things that stick in your mind - for instance, the island where the Gates got married; I had no idea I even knew that, but when I read the clue, 'Lanai' just came to mind. Same with 'Naked Maja painter'. The perps saved me with 'Nola' and 'Tragg', and I needed the 'is...' before I realized what Dan was looking for with '___ Canarias'. Favorite clues/answers were 'one who never gets out'/'lifer' and 'flared pants for steelworkers'/'welding bells'. A most enjoyable puzzle.

Today is Beautician's Day and National Forgiveness Day.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "Inside every seventy-year-old is a thirty-five-year-old asking, "What happened?" -- Advice columnist Ann Landers

Fun Facts for Friday:

- The Oval Office is thirty-five feet long.

- Stalin studied in a seminar in his youth, until he was expelled.

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

Dennis,
I had trouble with the upper right corner. Otherwise, I did surprisingly well. Only cheated a few. You had trouble with "Naked Maja painter" last time also.

Lemonade,
I was wondering why Aaron's wedding took so long. I am very sad for your loss.

EddyB,
Hope to see you post here often.

Warren et al,
Thanks for IZOD and other answers.

Dennis said...

C.C., I had a slog in the NE as well. And regarding Goya, we've already established how bad my memory is.

Off to the gym.

Lemonade714 said...

Good morning:

Not quite focused enough to actually do a puzzle, but I am very grateful for all the kind words from my blogging family. I did glance at this one and it looked like all of the Dan Naddor puzzles, well constructed and punny.

Anonymous said...

Well, it took me almost two hours but I managed to complete the puzzle. I felt unsatisfied because I didn't understand NLEAST until I got here. Nor do I know what kind of Sargeant an SSGT is. Oh and I had to google to get a lot of fills: RANGY, ANEMONE, LENAPE, GOYA, LANAI, TRAGG, TBS, MNENE and AES. I was eventually able to figure out all the theme fills though. I don't know if I should be considered an "idiot" or not. I do know that having to google makes it hard to "enjoy the damn puzzle".

Feh. I don't want to be known as the guy who complains about guys who complain about guys who complain about the puzzle. I wouldn't even have done the puzzle but I had a couple of hours to kill: I usually think Friday's puzzles are too hard for me.

At first, I had QUICK for SWIFT, MAKE for MFRS (I guess if it had been "GE or GM" it would have been a good answer), RUN for VIE (as in "run a race" or "run for office"), and MISTAKE for SAD CASE. "Desert that's been out too long?" make me think of SOUR GRAPES but the perps told a different story. Oh and I thought DEP meant DEPartment or DEPuty. I had VIP for a while.

Hmm. I still can't sign in.

Martin

kazie said...

G'morning all,
Friday is always a cheating frenzy for me, and I've been using red help lately. Today I went the g route instead, and got it all that way, down to the SE corner when I got stuck and came here. After looking at the last theme answer I was able to complete it.

LIFER was my favorite, and ALFA held me up too because of the spelling. DEP took me too long as well because I was looking for something more difficult.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning All,

I've attempted but failed this one. I've got a busy schedule today so I a may try it later.

Lemonade, Condolences on your loss. Sending positive brain waves in your direction. I'm happy to hear it was a beautiful wedding.

Even though MJ truly had talent, his actions in his later years ruined him IMHO. The coincidence of his death with Farrah's is unfortunate as she was a real class act. Her poster was on my wall for all of my teenage years.

Work calls.

lois said...

Lemonade714: Just wanted to extend my deepest and most heart felt sympathies to you and your family for your loss. I've been there too as a similar thing happened to me 4 years ago. It's the best and worst in life. Please take care of yourself. I'm glad to see you at least looking at the puzzle today. You are in my prayers.

windhover said...

Martin:
In regard to your "Feh" comment, please don't take the "enjoy the damn puzzle" comment too seriously or personally. What I was trying to say, and conveyed poorly, is that since my reduced content, advertising heavy local rag, the Lexington (Ky) Herald-Leader, dropped the LAT puzzle in favor of the very blonde Commuter puzzle, I have been unable to "enjoy" puzzling, and those who can should be "grateful". It was meant to be witty and facetious and somewhat self-effacing, but it came off as merely inane, sort of like my "conceit" comment a few weeks ago. No offense meant, hope none is taken. I always enjoy reading the perspectives your unique status as an expatriate in the Far East seem to create.

Dennis:
See above reference to Commuter puzzle. Trying to draw fire away from your Popeness. Or alternatively, starved for female attention, even hostile. :)

danabw said...

Forgive me, but I really enjoyed the puzzle today. Favorite answers were welding bells and pie a la mold. From A to Z was a real 'duh' moment.

Lemonade, please accept my condolences, you and your family are in my prayers.

Great time in Atlanta last night as the Yankees put on a real show. Went early for batting practice and got some great pics of Jeter, A-Rod and the boys. Almost passed out from the heat, but well worth the trip from Bham.

Seeing the Yanks was a dream come true for me. My father's uncle played for the Yankees with Babe Ruth, so I have been a fan all my life.

Linda said...

Good mornin`, CC and Gang:

"One Bad Apple" may not spoil the whole puzzle but one or more bad fills can wreak havoc with it.

Had "fields of...", "inspects" for eyeballs, "pie alla old"
and "ilena"...all wrong and all frustrating. Got "gin", "lifer", "sews", "Imnot", "tryouts", "rosh", "pots", persona",,"pekoe," but had "Crete" for the Gates island.

I left it to mow and it still wouldn`t jell...so here I am.

LM714: I had to go back to yesterday`s posts to see why this group rallied round you so...I want to add my sympathy to the others. One of my favorite songs for emotional healing is called, "God and Time."

Jimbo: I think I would have enjoyed being related to you...then I could have heard your life story first- hand ( I really want to know more about the stake/monkey episode) and had long discussions on what obscure passages in Scripture really mean. BTW, Scripture says, "It is appointed unto man once to die and after that, the judgement." I hope Farrah and Michael found mercy.

The "front 40" calls...gotta get my hat, gloves (I may be a yard "man" but my manicure never betrays me) and goggles and hit the "green."

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I understood the pun theme, but it just didn't settle in for me. L before D, sure, but then take out the L and tack on and E in COLD. For HELD, take out the L and add an A, for FIELDING, take out the I and the L and add an E. For WELDING, take out the L and add a D. Finally, for MOLD, take out the L and add an E. It didn't have enough of a pattern for me. I know, it is Friday and I should expect more difficulty, but for some reason, this one bothered me.

I didn't know NOLA, ALFA or LENAPE, but the perps chipped away at them. I didn't know that ANEMONE was a member of the buttercup family. Learn something new every day around here.

C.C. My favorite cocktail is a pina colada made with fresh pineapple and fresh coconut milk. The only place I've had them is in Mexico. Here in California (and probably where most of you live) we usually get them with canned coconut cream and canned or frozen pineapple juice. Too sweet. Not the same thing at all.

dugglesmack said...

I really enjoyed the puzzle today - didn't have to google, but came close. The thing that threw me off was that I wanted to find a common theme in the modified phrases, like replacing "de" with "ld". Since I got "SECRETCODE" and "PIEALAMOLD" first, it threw me off for quite a while. I finally got enough crosses to get me off that tangent. The SE corner was the last to fall for me. It took me a long time to see "EYEBALLS" and I had "EYESA??S" (eyes something) cuz I didn't know "LANAI" and was thinking it was going to be "TRADE" instead of "LEASE". Naddor is about as good (read sneaky and/or challenging) as they get.

Happy Friday All!


Like I say, no complaints, it just took a little more time out of my Friday than I thought it would.

Elissa said...

Lemonade: I add my condolences. May you find comfort in your family (real and virtual).

Now to the puzzle - ah Friday's. I'm with CA. I got all of the theme answers but couldn't make them go together, even with C.C.'s analysis. This left me unsettled, as did some of the clues/answers. ALFA? really? EYEBALLS doesn't mean 'look over closely' - it means estimate. AWOL isn't used as a noun. And then there were the compounds (FROMATOZ, NLEAST, ONEAD) that I didn't understand for too long. Enough whinging and whining.

On the positive side, FEN is one of my all time favorite words (along with 'merkin' - a good one for all you DFers) and we just talked about ESTE being Spanish for east, so that helped.

My favorite cocktail is aged single malt scotch, straight up. In the heyday of the internet bubble I knew a lot of people who could afford really good (expensive) scotch and were willing to share. Those were the days - sigh.

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & gang, a real toughie for me today, I think we only finished 1/4 of it before my wife left for work and I finished online (in red) again but the bottom right corner was the hardest for me...

for Martin: a SSGT
is a Staff SerGeanT

;-)

Jazzbumpa said...

I'm with CA. This theme is untight to the point of sloppiness. You have beginnings ans ends, and since it's based on sounds, you have a variety of letter substitutions. The deeper I got, the less I liked it.

I must have forgotten to take my smart pills this a.m. and that didn't help.

Nate and Em just got here. Gotta run.

Cheers!

treefrog said...

Wow,bombed out on this puzzle today. Lots of cheating. Oh well.

Lemonade-prayers to you and your family on your loss. Hugs and kisses to the newlyweds!

KittyB-I can do small quilts on my machine. I figure if I ever do a large one I will pay to have it quilted. I just don't have enough room for a quilting machine.

Yes, we did have catfish for dinner last night. Grilled and delicious!

I used to drink Long Island Iced Tea. Until a weekend in Reno many years ago. Too many at one of the shows. I think I was sick for 3 days. YUK!!

Sewing didn't go very well yesterday. I got to the meeting place and discovered my power cord was still at home. Yes, I drove home to get it. Maybe I will get at the project this afternoon.
Have a good one.

melissa bee said...

good morning c.c. and all,

clear ayes said exactly what i was thinking .. a little bothered by the inconsistency. the blank bottom row was interesting, we've seen a blank column before. i like this about the new puzzles, the unexpected keeps me on my toes.

needed perps for all those n/m words: NOLA, NEG, MNEME and ANEMONE. favorite clue/answer was security concern / MOLE.

c.c., sometimes 'sad case' implies pity more than sympathy, thus the TSK.

about PEKOE. it is commonly used to mean black tea, so the clue is acceptable - but it is technically a grade of tea, and refers to the size of the leaf. orange PEKOE (OP) means whole leaf. contrary to popular belief, 'orange' does not refer to a flavor, but rather to the dutch house of orange. BOP is for broken orange pekoe, a lesser grade.

white, green, oolong and black teas all come from the same plant. the difference is how long they are feremented, or oxidized. more oxidation = darker tea.

favorite cocktail .. only one? bloody mary. no, gin grapefruit. no, amaretto sour. if it's cold, mexican coffee or hot buttered rum.

JIMBO said...

Hi everyone,
Needless to say, I bombed out on this one. Got about
3/4 of it before I gave up and came here. I have not yet learned to solve themes by replacing letters with letters.
Lemonade, I am probably the last one of the family to offer my condolences, but sincere none-the-less.

Linda, I will be absent for the next three days.
When I return (Lord willing) Monday I will give you another episode if you will remind me.
(I had rather lurk than write).

Tarajo, You Rock. (that does mean GOOD doesn't it)?

Vaya con Dios

g8rmomx2 said...

Hi c.c. and all:

Well, I didn't make it without googling :( I looked up Lanai and Mneme (never heard of that). I at first had eyes at it instead of eyeballs and TNT and then Nit (nitrogen) for NEG, but finally saw the light.

Favorite clue answers were: Lifer; Welding Bells; Mole and Pie ala Mold

Lemonade: I'm so very sorry for your loss

Favorite cocktail: Does Chardonnay count? If not, Marquerita, frozen with salt on the rim.

WM said...

Morning...real toughie! Printed it out last night and spent about 45 minutes scratching my head and mumbling to myself as I tried to find things I knew. Once it started to fill in I finally got the theme. Some real unknowns were ILONA, NOLA, TBS(we don't have cable and never heard of the show)and I wanted just SGTS so was defeated for awhile by the extra S...even though I know I have seen this in other puzzles.

Like Dennis, I had two letters from LANAI and guessed. I was trying to think of an island in the Puget Sound area. Did remember GOYA and ESSO and after a few letters remembered TRAGG. I refuse to Goggle and I really dislike online solving so its me, paper and mechanical pencil...don't trust me and a pen.

CA...I think you may be over analyizing the puzzle as it is more about the sound of the word rather than the spelling even though COD would have a short O sound, if you stretch it a bit, otherwise there are too many letter replacements...just punny.

I would title this puzzle WHAT THE 'ELL...that's how I felt while solving it.

Dennis love the WOW...that's pretty much it.

I'm with Elissa, a really good Single Malt Scotch...have a few favorites, especialy the Islays...Laphraoig is an aquired taste as it is very peaty. One of my most favorite was called Loch Dhu(Black Lake) and it was a black Whisky...sadly, it is no longer produced and what is still available is very dear...for a mixed cocktail it would have to be Cadillac Margherita...it's served straight up with a shot of Grand Marnier...yum.

Well...very busy day today so Cheers.

carol said...

Hi C.C. and all,
my hat is off to all of you who could work this puzzle without help. I am not one of you. I have less hair than yesterday. I have less self-esteem (I am a 'sad case') TSK to me. On the bright side (and there is one), I learned a lot. I did not care for the 10A answer (MFRS). I thought 'Pie ala mold' was cute.

Melissa Bee, thanks for the tea lesson.. My Mom always had pekoe tea in the cupboard, but I had never known it's origins. Very interesting.

Dennis, loved the WoW today..very true although I have not yet reached that age. whew.

Favorite cocktail USED to be a gin gimlet on the rocks...I don't touch gin anymore for the same reason Treefrog doesn't drink Long Island Iced Tea..:( Ah youth, some lessons are well learned. Others, not so much.
I stick to light beer, and once in a while a Mike's Hard Lemonade. :)

eddyB said...

Hello everyone, I once met a man in Amsterdam who could identifly 15
Scotchs by taste. I lost a few Guilder that night. Mainly drink 12 year old Macallan these days.

eddyB

Linda said...

Hey all: Got er done...looks like a putting green :) (I charge $20.00 an hour and you provide the gas)

My favorite "cocktails" are fruit and V8. I get stupid enough after 9 PM without alcohol! Sometimes hubby threatens to "duct tape" my mouth! (that`s another reason I retire early...that and the fact that once it gets daylight, the chickens and I are awake.)

Dennis: How do you determine from where to where to measure the length of an oval? (I know you can "eyeball" it...but there has to be a formula.)

Jimbo: My hubby says I "remind" him really well...so I think I can handle that...hope your three days are for fun.

Barb B said...

Very challenging. I just kept circling until there were only two letters unsolved, then gave up. Defeated by the crossing of ISLAS and NOLAS – (couldn’t get the L) and AES and SSGTS. I feel dumb, because I knew it had to be sergeant, but never thought of STAFF SERGEANT. MNEME was not with me this morning. Oh, well, it’s all good. I loved the puns., especially PIE ALA MOLD. Nice giggle for the day.

Didn’t yesterday feel weird? Some days I wish I hadn’t checked the news. Sadness, shock, and outrage are not elements of TRANQUILity.

Speaking of sadness, Lemonade, I’m so sorry about your loss.

Favorite cocktail? G and T for me.

Dennis, Stalin studied in a seminar? Was that a weekend boondoggle or did it last a whole week? Who was the presenter, and what was the subject” ☺ Just kidding.

IRISH JIM said...

Afternoon CC and all.

did not like to see 43 a spelled
alfa. I think it should be alpha.

Finished mostly w/o help. Admit to looking up where the Marlins play as thought that was where answer was. Had trouble with that corner.

Go away to Ohio( not Argentina)for a week and all heck breaks loose in the good State of S.C.
35 D answer is very appropriate for me being "glad to be back"

Does anybody know if round bales of hay are still called bales ?

Lemonade, My sincere sympathies on your loss.

Jimmy, S Carolina.

JD said...

Good morning CC and all,

Got off to a bad start,awakened at 5 by the pesky raccoon who came in via the cat door and ate a tasty bowl of kibbles. It upset the cat who has spent all morning peering around corners. So we're up, but not Bob(he hears nada) AND my computer wouldn't boot up. Started c/w on tiny grid, and filled in lots of wrong answers(insult for slight ; bad joke for sad case).Kept working it and eventually filled in all but the usual 5 or 6 empty squares, like the 2nd S in SSGTS(thanks Warren).Guessing helped more than anything, like Tish, alfa(thought that was alpha),anemone, Goya.
I knew about the Algonkian tribe, but did not know this was a subset.

Tried very hard to get the theme after filling pie ala mold & secret cold; thought it was a rhyme thing, but saw that was impossible.
WM, loved your title!

Elissa, merkin gave me a giggle.

Dennis, loved today's wow.

Lemonade, beautiful picture!

Anonymous said...

Shouldn't the theme be silent "L"?

tfrank said...

Good afternoon, C.C. and all,

This is a late post due to an early morning meeting. Today's challenge was an effort, but an enjoyable one. It took me about an hour with pencil and paper and no g.spotting, but a lot of perp help. Lots of good clues, most of them cited by earlier posters. As to difficulty level, this was about right.

Lemonade, I am sorry for your loss. I lost my older brother at age 62 to throat cancer, and my younger brother at 57 to liver cirrhosis, both brought on by alcoholism. My prayers are with you and your family.

South Texas heat and drought continues. Hit a new record of 99 yesterday, and all I do is water, water, water. No restrictions yet, but they are on the way.

May you all have a great weekend!

KittyB said...

Good afternoon, family.

Lemonade, I was very sorry to read of the passing of your brother. The others have it right...memories will help you through this. And, our congratulations on your son's wedding.

I finished the puzzle today with quite a bit of red letter help. The NE corner was the last to fall. FROMATOZ, SADCASE and TBS were the holdups. Basically I finished the puzzle a letter at a time, rather than having the entire word spring to mind.

I went to read C.C.'s interview with Dan Naddor after I finished the puzzle. IMNOT, ILONA, PEKOE, ANEMONE, TRAGG, MNEME AND AES, all seemed to have come from a more mature mind. While the short words tend to fall first for me, the five and six letter words that are Naddor's specialty are a lot of fun to solve.

It's been in the 90s here, much too hot to be working in the gardens. To weed, I have to get up at first light to get an hour or two in before it becomes too hot, so I've spent a lot of time indoors. The puzzle has helped to pass the time.

I'm not much of a drinker. Usually a glass of wine does it for me. The last cocktail I had was a Cape Cod (Cranberry juice, Stoli and a slice of lime).

I hope you are all careful in the heat, and enjoying summer.

Anonymous said...

I felt like Brady today chasing a soccer ball around. I never did quite grasp the theme which probably would have helped immensely. I didn’t even finish it as I was sick of seeing red. Although some of these were filled in by the perps I never would have gotten them unaided by my friend red today: Ilona, Nola, Anemone, Mneme, Lenape. When I saw D-H filler I was wracking my brain for a name of a designated hitter. My favorite clue was mole and something about pie ala mold turned my stomach.

Windhover, maybe I should have stuck to the blonde commuter puzzle today. There…there’s the attention you were looking for. And since it’s National forgiveness day consider yourself forgiven.

Melissabee thanks for the lesson on Pekoe. Also, who is it in your new avatar?

Jimbo, you “ROCK” too; and that’s a good thing.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and my favorite coctail is sex on the beach. It's very refreshing and I highly recommend it.

Jerome said...

One sign of top-notch puzzle making is the effort that went into the fill. Besides great themes, Dan's puzzles are loaded with sparkling fill. For me, half the fun of a crossword is in the non-theme words and phrases. OLD NAG, PREPPIE, INFLAMES,FROM A TO Z, EYEBALLS, TRANQUIL, WORSE OFF and IT's GREAT really put a brilliant shine to this puzzle. The consonant loaded TRAGG, SWIFT, and SLIGHT are icing on the cake.

Favorite cocktail- A half pint of Old Crow washed down with an ice cold quart of Bud. No dabbler, I.

Lemonade- Keep the chin up, my friend.

Anonymous said...

Happy Friday! I have not tried the puzzle yet and after reading the comments, I think it will be a happier day if I don't try! I don't do well with letter substitutes. also, C.C. asked the other day about the clues we like the least. My least favorite puzzles are the ones with a lot of names - esp. from the entertainment field. I prefer words. I do like those which we've been having that make you think 'outside the box'.

Re: Favorite cocktail. I've never had a cocktail in my life so I have to opt for raspberry tea.
I've always been able to act a little crazy but I want to know how crazy my actions are - not hear about it later.
I'm writing today primarily to extend my sympathy to Lemonade. May time and good memories bring healing to your losss.

Dot

embien said...

23:07 today. I loved PIE ALA MOLD, hated WELDING BELLS (which took me forever to get).

I have to run so just a few quick comments:

The inconsistent letter substitution in the theme entries that several are complaining about overlooks the fact that the clues lead to an entry with an "L" inserted. The theme is actually a homophone for the entry if you take out the "L". It's not a true letter substitution thing.

When Bill Gates got married, he not only reserved every hotel room on the island of Lanai, but he chartered all the helicopters on nearby Maui so the paparazzi couldn't fly over and take pictures. (Sorry, no time to look up a reference.)

The NATO phonetic alphabet is used to identify aircraft tail numbers and goes Alfa Bravo Charlie ... (has nothing to do with the Greek alphabet's alpha). phonetic alphabet

Sorry to post and run, but I have much to do today.

Jeannie said...

I agree with some of what most here have said today regarding the puzzle. It was challenging and I couldn't have finished it unaided. Those of you that did pat yourselves on the back.

Tarrajo, I am with you maybe us blondies should have stuck to the blonde commuter puzzle Windhover suggested. There you go WH you got the attention from two blondies from MN.

Carol what a coincidence, I have been known in the past to like a Hard Lemonade as well. Especially after a good round of golf. Very refreshing.

Anonymous said...

Jerome,
Wow, an Old Crow drinker. My late father-in-law used to order a Wet Bird with a Green Eye as a challenge to bartenders. Some knew what it was, most didn't. Free Wet Birds resulted.

I too thought today's theme was a rhyme as I got cold and mold right away, but that didn't quite work out. Loved the WOW, Dennis.
Liz

WM said...

Just had a terrifically fun hour with a charming reporter and photographer...the photographer promised me a photo for my website...he thinks he may have actually gotten a least one good one...LOL. Very interesting experience! The article should come out next Friday and will also be online...sorry to be tooting my own horn lately but this is just so much fun...ride the wave while you can!

You have to give Dan Naddor credit for designing challenging puzzles that are fun to solve and make you feel good about every answer you fill in...not much is a gimme with his constructions...and the additional attention of Rich Norris' cluing. I was very pleased that I finished it! Wasn't so sure I could get it done when I started.

I think my brain needs to rest now.

#2

melissa bee said...

@tarrajo: my kids, celebrating summer vacation.

JD said...

embien,ahhh yes,alfa,bravo..I had never seen it in print.

Basically I only drink wine at family dinners on Sun., although a dark smooth beer on a hot afternoon is fine.My fav is a Lemon Drop--yum!
Here's to allOld Crow drinkers!

this guy may not be as talented as Snowball, but it's a fun start to your weekend.

Argyle said...

Yes, IRISH JIM, round bales are still called bales. big round bales and there used to be small round bales. This is the best I could find for a picture of them. We had them but we never had a loader; we were the loaders and the stackers.

melissa bee said...

@wm: congratulations, glad it went well. i must remember to buy the paper on friday - sj merc, yes?

@argyle: welcome back!

Anonymous said...

Thanks to Warren for explaining SSGTS. g8rmomx2, I also thought of TNT for NEG. In fact, I still don't get why NEG means "Blowup source".

I actually didn't mind the theme: I was able to get WELDING BELLS and FIELDING FRENZY thanks to the theme. As embien said, you just need to say them outloud to get them.

I forgot to mention that "Buttercup family member" reminded me of the Powerpuff Girls. No, I'm not a big fan but I was able to remember that the three of them are named Buttercup, BUBBLES and BLOSSUM and it frustrated me that neither of those names began with the A for ANODE.

Martin

WM said...

MelissaB...this one is for the Palo Alto Weekly. I am still trying to get in contact with the Mercury...That would be a coup!

Martin...you insert the negative into the enlarger and then by raising or lowering it can enlarge/reduce the image on the photo paper...hence(isn't that a great word?) you make an enlargement, or blow-up from the NEG(ative).

#3

embien said...

Ah, I finally had time to locate a link for the Bill & Melinda Gates wedding. wedding.

I don't drink hard liquor anymore except the very occasional single malt after dinner, hence no cocktails. Back in my misspent youth it was vodka tonics (no lime)--usually quite a few of them, it's sad to say.

Nowadays I enjoy my red wine, with pinot noir and merlot being special favorites. I never did get on the big cabernet sauvignon bandwagon. Here in Oregon we were drinking pinot noir long before the movie Sideways made it popular.

I order a bottle of red wine every night for dinner (if you recall I no longer cook at home, so we eat in restaurants every meal). My wife drinks very little, but in Oregon it's legal to take the undrunk remnants home in the bottle (to be finished later while I'm watching TV, usually). I've never understood the states that don't allow this, as it seems to me that just promotes drinking too much (to finish off the bottle).

IRISH JIM said...

Argyle.

Thanks for the info. My wife and I were speculating on whether they would still be called bales. It falls under the category of boring conversations on a long drive.

Jimmy, S. Carolina

treefrog said...

Afternoon check in.
Painted all the window frames with Kilz. The oil based formula. Now instead of the funky wood smell, I have the funky Kilz smell. Also am wearing it on my hands. Not to mention the 2 spots on the carpet!1

Caro-Laughed when you said you didn't drink gin anymore. Heck, I can't drink much of anything anymore.

Tarrajo-we used to tease my daughter with blond jokes when she was a teen. Her older brother was the first. When he found out she was going out for sophomore cheerleader he told her she couldn't. The reason? They only wanted DUMB blonds. She carried a 4.0 average. Good thing she had a sense of humor about it.

Hope tomorrow's puzzle isn't as hard as today'.s

carol said...

WM - sounds like you had a good experience with the photographer after all. I'm sure it will turn out beautiful!
Congrats again :)

Melissa Bee, great looking kids! Just like their Mom.

JD...I almost wet myself watching that cockatoo! What a hoot!

Anonymous said...

Good Afternoon All--I need to have a brain cell transplant as I had a very hard time with this puzzle. I had an especially hard time with the SE corner of the puzzle as I wanted lanky for slender and long limbed and Capri for the Bill Gates' Isle. Therefore lots of erasing and pondering. I had to use G help more than once.

C.C. You don't cheat when you get help on a CW--you enhance your knowledge!

Dennis, I like the Ann Landers' quote. I've been asking that question for several years now. My 101 year old Mother-in-law always said she felt sixteen inside her head!

Chickie

windhover said...

Argyle:
Great picture. I believe the only baler of that era to make small round bales was made by the now defunct Allis-Chalmers Company. It appears that the tractor in your picture is also an A/C.

Melissa Bee:
It's nice to see that the family beauty legacy continues to at least the third generation. Hi, BarbB.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Evening All, I just got home from spending a delightful day with 15 or so lady friends at Lavender Hollow Farm. It is about an hour's drive from where we live. We had chicken and lavender salad sandwiches for lunch along with lavender pasta salad and lavender shortbread cookies for dessert. Take a pass on the video, guys, if you'd like. It is pretty much a gal thing.

Embien, I did't understand your 3:16 homophone reference. Taking out the L, HED, FIEDING and WEDING aren't homophones for HEAD, FEEDING and WEDDING because they have no meaning on their own. They might be pronounced the same, but COD and MOD aren't homophones because even though they have a meaning of their own, they aren't pronounced the same way as CODE and MODE. Am I missing something?

BTW, GAH and I really liked Sideways, but one of our best friends says it was the stupidest, most pointless movie he's ever seen. Funny how different people see the same things differently.

Tarrajo, Sex On The Beach is a mighty tasty drink. I bet I know what having one too many leads to.

Jerome, Old Crow and Bud?? I like a guy who knows his own mind!

WM, Another congratulations. Be sure to give us the link for the online article when it comes out.

KittyB said...

Clear Ayes, you must have had a wonderful visit to Lavender Hollow Farm. I'd love to have spent the day with you. I've been growing lavender for the past 20 years, and lost most of it this winter. I have several new plants ready to be planted this weekend. I won't get to harvest the flowers this year, but I should have a crop about this time next year.

The air must have been redolant with the scent of lavender! Thanks for sharing the link.

WM, if the article is posted on-line, please do give us the link. Congrats on a good interview and great pictures.

Argyle said...

windhover- The company divested its manufacturing businesses and today is known as Allis-Chalmers Energy, and is based in Houston, Texas. The tractor in the picture is a WC. You needed a A-C tractor to produce round bales with the Roto-Baler because they had a hand clutch. You were required to stop every time it had enough hay to produce a bale. The hand clutch disengaged the transmission but not the power take-off, which was needed to run the baler while it ran twine the lenght of the bale and then spit it out the back; then you would pull the hand clutch back to re-engage the transmission and move forward again. If the hay was heavy(thick), you might be stopping every 6 to 10 feet. Roto-Baler with an A-C WD tractor

windhover said...

Argyle,
Another great picture!
There are still a few WC's and WD's in use around here, but most view the hand clutch as an inconvenience. A few years ago I picked up a used book titled "Plow Peddler", written by a guy who spent his entire career, spanning, if I recall correctly, about the early forties through the seventies, with Allis-Chalmers. He pointed out that in the heyday of the pull-type combine, A/C had half the market and the other mfrs. split the rest. Based on that, I recently became the owner of an A/C Allcrop Harvester. I am in fact, only the second owner of this machine and have the original operators' manual. The original owner's wife assures me that this combine , which was used on about 10 acres a year of wheat, oats, and barley, has never been rained on. It is nearly perfect. If you have an interest in such things, E-mail me and I will send you a link to a web site devoted to the All-Crop harvester.
Another notable A/C tractor was the 'G', still in use by many market gardeners. About a year ago I saw an average condition 'G' bring $3150 at a local farm sale, probably 3 times its original cost. There is also a company marketing a new version built from the original design, with a choice of modern engines replacing the old Wisconsin.
Dennis and I have talked of our love for speed; it's possible to have fun at 4mph as well.
Thanks for the memories.

Crockett1947 said...

Posted this on Thursday by error. Sometimes I wonder where my head is!

Good morning, everyone.

I haven't been able to get the puzzle off the cruciverb.com archives at my accustomed 7pm PDT. Looks like it will now not be available until late, just like on the LAT site. Sigh. I was in such a nice rhythm there. Oh well, everything changes.

That said, I was solving online at the LAT site and inadvertently clicked outside the puzzle and lost everything three times. After that, it was time to bag it and use the cruciverb one this morning. It fills up the screen, so it doesn't disappear on an errant click.

As jerome said, I knew the words, it's the clues that made dredging them up a challenge. I did not know LANAPE, ILONA, NOLA, ISLAS.

*Went to the Canary Islands once and was disappointed to find there were no canaries there. On that same trip went to the Virgin Islands -- there weren't any canaries there either!

I wanted INT for passbook abbr. Do passbooks still exist? I can remember going into the People's Savings and Loan to deposit money and the passbook would be placed in the machine and you'd have a complete detail of your transactions in one place. Before the machine, it was all done by hand, of course. Yep, older than dirt.

@danabw No need to apologize -- different strokes for different folks. How nice that you were able to take in a Yankees game with the familial connection.

Have a great Friday!

*Not really, just an old barbershop joke.

June 26, 2009 12:49 PM

Crockett1947 said...

Also posted this on Thursday. Oops!

@windhover&argyle So nice to see you guys sharing an interest. Kind of like sitting on the front porch after supper with a glass of iced tea and swapping stories. C.C. has certainly created a forum that has allowed us to build this virtual family. THANK YOU, C.C.!!!

Good to see you back amongst us, Santa. Hope your 'puter problems are safely solved.
June 26, 2009 10:34 PM

JD said...

CA, I would love to visit that farm with my sister who LOVES lavender, and steals my flowers. Have sent her that clip.

WM, hurrah! It all went well. We knew it would. Can't wait to read the article.

Tarrajo, your drink sounds delish! Thanks for sharing the recipe.

Blogger Policeperson said...

Hmmm.... Tarrajo gets called out for exceeding five posts, Jeannie gets called out for exceeding five posts, and others do, too, but Warren gets complimented for his seven posts, yesterday?? Something is not right in Denmark...

Anonymous said...

Look at the contents of their posts, then opine. C.C. knows what she is doing.

melissa bee said...

@blogger policeperson: forgive me for saying so, but it might be a good idea to wipe your nose and pull up your pants.

Anonymous said...

C.C. is intelligent enough to know whose comments have substance. She did not finger out Tarrajo for no reason.

Anna

Anonymous said...

Forgive me Melissabee, I have to concur with the blog policeman. To me a rule is a rule on this blog. I don't think anyone should get a pass if a rule is in place. Dennis has a "bye" as he is a web-site helper. Many people have interesting things to say...Kazie, WM, Windhover, Kittyb, Jazz, and etc and they all adhere to C.C.'s 5 post rule. This is why C.C. established the 5 post limit rule. From what I understand she has to read every post sent her way.

melissa bee said...

groan. look, whoever you are, the point is, it's the blog owner's call, not yours or mine. it really doesn't matter if you or i think someone should or shouldn't 'get a pass.' perhaps you weren't aware, but there are exceptions to the 5-post rule if one is answering another's question. use your name and you'll be taken more seriously.

that's 5 for me.

Anonymous said...

Melissabee....explain to me why Warrens posts (which are too boring) would rival Wolfmom, Clearayes, KittyB, Jazzbumpa, JD, Linda, or anyone else for that matter. A rule is a rule.

Anonymous said...

Thomas, you whiner, don't hide behind anonymous mask. Most regulars know those anon posts are from you. I saw your deleted post @1:21am. Show respect to Melissa Bee.

Anna

Blogger Policeperson said...

Hmmm... Just because I cited females as offenders, doesn't mean I'm not wearing a skirt, Jazzbumpa was called out for exceeding five, I believe, when he was new. Warren is not new, and obviously doesn't read the previous comments. Why there is a double standard, is my question. And, no, Melissa Bee, I do not accept your apologies for your insulting comments.

Anna, angst about being a single parent, and sharing it with others, is not pertinent? Tarrajo rocks, and the advice she gets from this post is awesome, and should be respected.

Anonymous said...

Blogger Policeperson, aka Thomas (TJ in Osseo),

I emailed CC what you posted @1:21am.

Anna

Anonymous said...

I know this is late but one of the things that wakes LGJ is thunderstorms. Mainly because he wants to watch them unfold. He's such a "guy." I am sorry once again to see my name besmirched. I have no control over it, I just do what I do every day to get myself and son through everyday life. One part of my sanity is doing the crossword puzzle; hence finding this site...yes I cheat occasionnaly.

C.C. & Dennis if you find me offensive in any way I will bow out. I just find that this is my "gateway" to adult sanity and advice I am not privy to. And learn a lot here.

Melssabee...beautiful children or young adults.

Thomas said...

Anna, Good for you! Just know, that without an upfront response, with you posting anon , and without an email address to respond to, your remarks are drops off this little loons back, and a further reason to never participate on this blog again. For the record, I have never, ever posted as anon. Only Lemonades anguish caused me to write again, and to delude myself into thinking I could participate again, however sadly. While I hope he appreciates it, I am now sorry I did, but my condolences are real.

Thomas said...

Goodbye from the Blogpoliceperson, Thomas, TJ in Osseo. Still, seven posts? ??

Thomas said...

Happy Anna? I'm gone again from a post that I've never even heard from you before tonight, and with all of your spitefulness and wrongly attributed libel, l will never post here again. Have a nice life.

Linda, please say a prayer for this person, she needs it, and maybe one for me, too? I will, too, but I can only turn my cheek so many times... Goodbye, puzzle family.