google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday June 17, 2009 Mike Peluso

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Jun 17, 2009

Wednesday June 17, 2009 Mike Peluso

Theme: They Are Angels

20A: Angel: HEAVENLY SPIRIT

36A: Angel: AMERICAN LEAGUER

53A: Angel: BROADWAY BACKER

Angel is rooted in Greek angelos, meaning "messenger". Demon is from Greek daimon, "divine power". Strange. Nothing diabolical. You would think it shares the same root as devil.

Anaheim Angels (I am used to their old name) won the World Series in 2002 when I was back in Xi'An. Fun to watch the playoffs in Chinese.

Dictionary also says angel can be a verb -"to provide financial backing for".

"Charlie's Angels" are missing. Who is your favorite? Lucy Liu is kind of mean in the film. Have never seen the old Farrah Fawcett/ Jaclyn Smith "Charlie's Angels". Oh, by the way, look at this terrific HOURGLASS FIGURE link J.D brought to the Comment section yesterday. Scarlett Johansson's measurements are shown to be 36-23-34. Incredible.

I had a bit trouble with lower left corner, otherwise, smooth solving. Favorite clue today is ABACI and 38D: Government finger-pointer?: UNCLE SAM. Can't believe the term was used in 1812 already.

Across:

1A: Rock concert equipment: AMPS

14A: Sonny and Cher, e.g.: DUET. "I Got You Babe". Their only daughter Chastity Bono has just decided to become a man.

15A: "The Many Loves of __ Gillis": old sitcom: DOBIE. Got the answer from Down fills.

17A: This, in Seville: ESTO. Or ESTA, the feminine "this".

19A: Swan lover of myth: LEDA. Mother of Helen of Troy.

23A: SFO datum: ARR (Arrival). SFO is San Francisco International Airport.

25A: Asian counters: ABACI. Plural of abacus. Count-er. Just like the wordplay on flow-er for river. Nice clue.

28A: Lady of Bavaria: FRAU. "Mrs." in German. Wife of HERR.

33A: Disney villainess __ de Vil: CRUELLA. From the "101 Dalmatians". I only saw the Chinese version of the movie. Could not remember her name.

41A: Portuguese capital: ESCUDOS. Monetary unit. I was thinking of LISBON. Wiki says ESCUDO is Portuguese for "shield". Shouldn't "Portuguese capital" be EURO now?

43A: Math subj.: ALG

46A: Supporter: ALLY

48A: Lundi follower: MARDI. Tuesday. As in MARDI Gras. Lundi is our Monday.

50A: Diamonds, to a fence: ICE. Fence is a person who deals with stolen goods.

58A: Assess: LEVY. Wrote down RATE first.

59A: Honor with barbs: ROAST. Like what those journalists do at the annual Gridiron Club dinner.

60A: Egyptian fertility goddess: ISIS. Wife/sister of Osiris.

62A: First place: EDEN. And ABEL (7D: Genesis victim). The real first families.

64A: Ideal for tubing, as a river: LAZY. I am stumped. Why?

65A: Senator from Kansas or North Carolina: DOLE. Bob DOLE (Kansas) or wife Elizabeth DOLE (North Carolina).

67A: Dark clouds, often: OMEN. Or "the writing on the wall".

Down:

2D: Grow exponentially: MUSHROOM

3D: Baseball's all-time leader with 4,256 hits: PETE ROSE. He should be in Hall-of-Fame. PETE ROSE played with a real passion.

4D: Colonnade of ancient Greeces: STOA. Colonnade is rooted in column.

5D: Bye that's bid: ADIEU. Bid ADIEU to.

6D: "Death, be not proud" poet: DONNE (John). He wrote lots of elegies.

8D: Boglike: MIRY

9D: Complete collections: SETS. Anyone owns 1955 Topps doubleheaders? Those cards look very neat.

10D: Ignore the script: AD-LIB

12D: Florentine ruling family: MEDICI. The Renaissance art patron family. I also learned this morning that the MEDICI family produced 3 popes (Leo X, Clement VII and Leo XI) .

21D: Beta alternative: VHS. History now.

22D: Zahn of TV news: PAULA. I watched her/CNN a lot immediately after 9/11. PAULA Zahn is a great cellist.

23D: He played Pierce on *M*A*S*H: ALDA (Alan).

27D: Parisian pop: PERE. Mon PERE, ma MERE, mes FRERES (brothers) et mes SOEURS (sisters).

28D: New Brunswick's Bay of __: FUNDY. No idea. See this map. Wiki says the name "Fundy" is thought to be a corruption of the French word "Fendu", meaning "split".

30D: Bass and others: ALES. Not familiar with Bass Ale brand. I don't drink beer.

33D: XXXV x X: CCCL. 35x10=350

34D: Fidel's successor: RAUL. Gimme, gimme. They are brothers.

35D: Lago contents: AGUA

37D: "I am ... __": Neil Diamond hit: I SAID. Here is the clip. Unknown to me.

39D: Put under: ETHERIZE. New verb to me. Same as anesthetize?

43D: Strolled lazily: AMBLED

44D: Texas border city: LAREDO. EL PASO came to me first.

45D: Humble oneself shamelessly: GROVEL. Both PANDER and KOWTOW have 6-letters too.

47D: Japanese computer giant: NEC

49D: "I'll Be Your Shelter" singer Tayler: DAYNE. Not familiar with the song.

50D: "A Doll's House" playwright: IBSEN (Henrik). The only Norwegian playwright I know.

51D: Spiteful: CATTY

54D: Court order: WRIT

56D: New Haven Ivy: YALE. The Bulldogs.

57D: Unit of mass, briefly: KILO. Kilogram. Equals to 2.2 pounds.

Answer grid.

C.C.

73 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - a fun little puzzle today, with a clever theme. No g-spotting, but I needed perp help for a few.

I didn't know the Disney villainess, didn't know Ibsen wrote 'A Doll's House', and needed several letters to remember the Portugese capital. 'Miry' and 'etherize' may be words, but probably never used outside of the crossword community. I thought 'Government finger-pointer/Uncle Sam' was extremely clever.

Today is World Jugglers Day, and a variation on yesterday, Eat Your Vegetables Day.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "I have had dreams and I've had nightmares. I overcame the nightmares because of my dreams." -- Virologist Jonas Salk

Couple more Fun Facts:

- Hondas and Toyotas are the most frequently stolen passenger cars because they have parts that can be readily exchanged between model years without a problem.

- The shortfin mako shark is the fastest fish in the ocean, clocking speeds of up to 46 miles an hour.

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

Dennis,
I've learned not to argue if those fills can be found in the dictionary, including variants. Nice quote today. I prefer "Eat Your Fruits Day". Lots of fresh strawberries/cherries at our local stores now. Did you jinx the Phillies last night?

Warren,
Thanks for the CAROB link. I guess I don't understand why it's a "Poor substitute for chocolate". To some, it's rather healthy.

Dennis said...

C.C., yes, a great time for fresh fruit here as well. We're close to the 'Bluberry capital of the world', and there's lots of fresh blueberries, blueberry ice cream and chocolate-covered blueberries around right now.

Off to the gym.

Argyle said...

Up the Lazy River, performed by the Mills Brothers, a real oldie. If you watch the video, it appears the Brothers were not use to the cameras; they don't seem sure about where they are suppose to be looking.

Further research shows that many water parks have special rides that are called the Lazy River.

Martin said...

Scarlett Johansson's measurements are shown to be 36-23-34. Incredible.

According to this link Coco Lee comes close with 34-22.5-33. I'm just saying. :)

Martin

Dick said...

Good morning C.C. and all,...a good puzzle with creative cluing. I moved along at a good pace until I hit the SE corner and then I came to an abrupt stop. I was able to get the theme answers which allowed me to finally complete the SE corner.

I thought "unclesam" was very creative. I wanted to put in whistle blower, but too many letters. Portuguese capital led me on the wrong course looking for a city name. Lundi was unknown, but revealed itself with the crosses. Finally, I had rate for assess. After all the struggles I did manage to complete the puzzle with out G spotting.

Hope you all have a great Wednesday.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning All,

I stumbled through this one and got stuck in the SE corner. I must still be in the re-entry phase because I felt a little numb when I saw UNCLE SAM and ETHERIZE is new to me.

We've had two days in a row of good weather. Woohoo!! Unfortunately it looks like only one more and another rainy weekend.

Have a great day!

tfrank said...

Hello, C.C. & Gang,

Like others, I sailed along smoothly until I got to the SE corner. I guessed Marli instead of Mardi; otherwise, no problems.

I agree with Dennis about etherize, but not about miry. It is in the Bible in one of the Psalms, saying something like, "the Lord pulled me up from the pit; out of the miry clay".

I also liked the Uncle Sam answer; was thinking FBI agent when I first read the clue.

Re the Bay of Fundy; it is noted for its extremely high tides, as much as 33 meters. This is caused by its cone like shape, which focuses the water flow into an ever narrowing channel so that it has no place to go but up.

Have a great day!

KQ said...

Good early morning.

I stumbled through this one too needing some red letter help. Of course I was talking to my husband on the phone while I was trying to do it. That might play into the difficulty.

Like others, I am not a fan of MIRY and ETHERIZE, but I guess they are fair. Liked the clue First place as something new for EDEN.

Did not know Chastity Bono was becoming a man. Doesn't surprise me though. Haven't thought of Cruella DeVille in a long time. Such a fun name, and I love the song that goes with it. Good movie.

Neil Diamond's song is a classic. It is on my Ipod.

CC, I think carob is usually considered a poor alternative as it is less creamy than chocolate, less decadent and that is why most of us consume chocolate. Although I like carob and think it is much more healthy. Lazy rivers are used for tubing as you can just relax in the tube as you float down the river. They are good also for tying on an extra tube with a cooler of drinks so you can party on your way down. If the water is too rough you would have to be sober.

Karen said...

WOW....My mind was totally on the wrong track this AM. I got the 1st theme answer right off the bat but couldn't get the other 2. I had the 1st words, American & Broadway, but my mind was on the "Heavenly" kind of Angels, so I couldn't get the last parts.

Had to look up exponentially in the dictionary but it still didn't help because then I wanted to put multiply but it wouldn't work. I already had MU?H?O??

I didn't know what a Lago was & it isn't in my dictionary. Hit the G-spot & that gave me some restaurant names.......after coming here & getting Leaguer to go with American I got agua, so I'm assuming that it is a cup or mug of some kind. Maybe I will remember it next time.

Isis, fertility goddess, must have had this clue a hundred times but couldn't remember it.

I could go on & on about other problems but that would be boring reading so I'll just end with....B U M M E R.

Good day to all.

kazie said...

Nice puzzle today, though I too got hung up in the SE for a while until Uncle Sam appeared. I also resorted to google for RAUL, which simply wouldn't come to me. Perps helped with other unknowns/forgottens, like FUNDY, CRUELLA, DONNE, DAYNE and IBSEN--all names.

The theme angels were meaningless to me except for heavenly spirit, but they came unassisted from perps.

I also didn't like etherize, and FRAU is woman or wife, lady is Dame in German.

Uncle Sam was my favorite, most clever. MUSHROOM took a while too, I was trying for MULTIPLY at first.

Lundi is derived from lune (moon), and mardi from Mars, god of war.

Karen,
Lago is a lake (Spanish).

Dennis,
Good WOW today, and I think I'll stay away from juggling, unless for my schedule--heavy day today.

Have a good one, everyone!

Karen said...

kazie....Thank you!!! I guess that is why it didn't show up in my dictionary. Hopefully I will remember it now that I know what it is.

Anonymous said...

...I'm tired of being a lurker, since I always check out this site when I finish the daily cw.
BTW "etherized" is used in "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" by TS Eliot.

Elissa said...

This puzzle was definitely a step (or four) harder than the last couple of days. I worked the A's and D's simultaneously,which allowed me to get the theme answers, which helped me get other answers. (I really don't like this type of repeating word theme.)

I got some red letter help, but most missteps (like DAME for FRAU) were corrected with the perps. The exception was the ESTO/STOA cross. I know I should remember STOA, but it just won't stick. DAYNE was a complete unknown gotten from perps. I was glad to see our friend DOBIE Gillis. Liked the UNCLE SAM clue. I continue to be fooled (at least for a little while) by clues like "Portuguese capital".

C.C. The dictionary may say that 'angel' is a verb, but I've never heard it used that way, and I've dealt with lots of companies in Silicon Valley which were funded by angels.

Elissa said...

Anon @ 8:52 Thanks for the "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock" reminder, which is one of my favorite poems and probably why I knew ETHERIZE. It is more meaningful as I grow older, with lines like "I grow old . . . I grow old . . . I shall wear the bottom of my trousers rolled" and "For I have known them all already, known them all--Have known the evenings, mornings, afternoons,I have measured out my life with coffee spoons".

KQ: I agree with your explanation for both Carob as a poor substitute for chocolate and tubing. We went tubing in Belize down a lovely lazy river than ran through a bunch of caves. It was a really cool experience.

maria said...

Good morning, c.c. and all
Yesterday was easy and today, even easier i thought , i hit the brake at the SE corner, but as soon as i got " Nacho" then i got Uncle Sam and the rest.
My favorite clue was Disney's Cruella, i remember my nephew talking about her, all the time, when he was little.

c.c. Very nice hourglass ladies ! The guys can feast their eyes.

Karen - Lago ,is also in italian, so now you have two for the price of one .

I had better go for my power walk befor the dark clouds come, yesterday i got caught in the rain, lol .

KQ said...

Anon @8:52, don't be a lurker. Join in and set up a name and avatar.

Tarrajo, I am thinking of you this morning. My mother-in-law sent me an email late last night after your blog. It was the 33rd anniversary of the death of her oldest son. We are having many challenges with our 17 year old (none of which she is aware of). Reading her email puts it all in perspective. Her advice, just remember to love them with all your heart. That is what I am taking into my day. Hope yours is better.

kazie said...

Ready to leave the house, but just remembered this and had to share it...

When we were still in Oz, before 1974, there was a brand of spray-on deodorant on the market called Uncle Sam. It came in a huge can and was always advertized with the typical American recruitment-posed Uncle Sam pointing outward, with the words "YOU NEED UNCLE SAM!" We thought it was hilarious and even saved an empty can as a souvenir for years.

Anonymous said...

Good morning everyone. Today was fun because I got it all with no g-spotting. Had to do some thinking, which is good. Loved the Uncle Sam when I finally got it. Had trouble with root being origin, but once I had it, it made sense.
Great comments, all.

Anonymous said...

Well I don’t know what was wrong with me today but I just couldn’t get a handle on this puzzle. I had no idea what SFO datum was. Was completely “puzzled” by Lundi follower, Mardi. I had to google Isbin and Donne. I just didn’t enjoy this one. One cute clue I liked was “diamonds to a fence” – ice. I liked seeing Cruella in the puzzle. I always thought that was a clever villainous name.

KQ, I am with you on the tubing experience. When younger a bunch of us would all get together and tube down the Apple River imbibing in a few refreshing adult beverages. Regarding Littleguyjo’s scuffle last night, I am not saying he never does anything wrong. I will be the first to admit he’s no little angel. However last night’s incident I don’t believe he was wrong. He said he didn’t hit the boy but just pushed him and he fell and split his lip. He did get in some trouble from me when he refused to apologize though. I won’t tolerate belligerence. And yes, I do love him with all my heart and then some…

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & gang, I think that the Mercury news decided to return to the LAT daily due to the promised change to the puzzle difficulty level? Today's puzzle seemed easier than last weeks...

RE: Bay of Fundy
That's a tourist stop for the Halifax area and in 2003 we went to see the "Tidal Bore" which turned out to be a real bore (boring) that is.
The hotel we stayed at had a video feed of the harbor so you could monitor the rise and fall of the tides -- which are quite dramatic.

Anonymous said...

Love your blog! thanks for the info behind some of the trickier clues.
Here's the "lazy River" one of the more popular attractions at water parks now, although we were doing it "naturally" in Big Bend national park in the 60's. Peace!

Chris

Linda said...

Guhdahey mates and CC:

Sorry...the "OZ' comes out at the oddest moments...

Glad so many of you enjoy the Grndchildren stories...we don`t normally keep kosher but my daughter and family do...ergo; "kosher police". With every meal I got, "GM, is this `koshuh`?"

Both LAT and NYT required some googling this AM...Edward G Marshall and Peter Lorre are two of my favorite "vintage" actors...so "ice" came easily. Can`t wait to see Depp play that gangster in an upcoming release. That whole era fascinates me...but if you`ve read Jan Karon`s Mitford series, Father Tim always asks his wife, "What dont you love ( doesn`t fascinate you), Kavenaugh?"

carol said...

Hi C.C.and everyone -
I started out so well and fell apart after the middle of this puzzle. There were quite a few I just could not fathom.
Tarrajo, I am with you on the puzzle...but I sure learned a lot so it was worthwhile.

38D Uncle Sam was my favorite, but I did not get it until I read C.C.'s answers. I kept thinking 'whistle-blower' too.

39A (ETHERIZE) Since Ether is no longer used, I would never have thought of this answer. I was thinking of burial! (Put under)

I was completely fooled by 41A (PORTUGUESE CAPITAL)...Clever clue!!!

As to the mushroom - those 'morels' CAN grow exponentially. What fun!

Jazzbumpa said...

I never did get CAROB yesterday. When it comes to chocolate, I accept no substitutes. Don't watch Emeril, and never heard of a TREO, so there was a paucity of perp assistance.

Trader Joe has awesome dark chocolate covered blueberries. Yum!

Good, not great puzzle today. I liked what everybody else liked, and didn't like what everybody else didn't like. Very tired of ADE and AMP.

The LW is a big Neal Diamond fan. But, as I SAID, a TEENY DOSE of his music ETHERIZEs me.

Rainy/gloomy here. Hope it clears up for the park concert tomorrow.

Nothing wrong with an hourglass, but other types are also quite acceptable. Found these A-ONE photos to LEER AT while innocently reading the news: Megan, Fergie, and Lindsay (NSFW)

Feeling LAZY and INERT today, as if I'd eaten a KILO of NACHOS, so I will bid you ADIEU (now that I've learned how to spell it.)

Cheers!

Al said...

My favorite Angel was Jaclyn Smith, but of the three "new" ones, I can only think of Drew Barrymore as the little girl in ET, and while I admire Lucy Liu's spirit, her glass just doesn't hold quite as much sand as Cameron Diaz.

SandbridgeKaren said...

Breezed thru the upper half thinking this was a poc day when the SE corner threw me on my prat. Etherize - come on! Finally got Uncle Sam and then it all fit together nicely - nice clue but my paper had 'govern-ment finger-pointer?' as the clue and the split in government thru me completely. I took this to be those recruiting posters of Uncle Sam pointing with that finger saying "Uncle Sam wants you".

Enjoyed Fundi as I'm planning a trip to Nova Scotia and that's on the itinerary; heard those tide changes are fascinating.

CC - how do you find out things like Chastity becoming a man? I'm so impressed!! Consider what her childhood must have been like.

I too went for El Paso which hung me up a tad but the Angel answers were easy so I knew I was off. Somehow I dredged up Mardi from the recesses; sometimes I have no idea why I know these things but doing xwords brings them out (not quickly mind you but at my age I'm thrilled that I know more than I think I do).

Kazie - appreciate the explanation for Lago; I should have known that but didn't. A nearby subdivision is named Lago Mar and it flew by my brain why it was named that. Duh moment for sure.

Enjoy your veggies - good day for vegans.

JD said...

Good morning CC and all,
I always love it when there are some mythology clues.Although, my first thought was Cycnus who leapt into the river after Phaeton died and he was turned into a swan.

My French came in handy for Mardi, but had a doh moment with agua. Got ice easily but had no idea what fence meant until CC's explanation. Also, did not know escudos was money until...

This is my question to Mike and Rich..why didn't you clue ethereal, instead of etherize?

I did "G" for Donne (sorry CA, I should have known it!) and I noticed that it is Igor Stravinky's b'day today (1882), "Rites of Spring" I have missed Jeannie's info, so...

1960 Ted Williams hit his 500th home run

1972 5 arrested for burglarizing Democratic Party HQ @ Watergate

KittyB said...

Good afternoon, all.

This was a fun puzzle. I didn't know ESCUDOS. While I know MARDI, of course, I wasn't able to get it from the clue. Like most, I didn't care for ETHERIZE or MIRY. The perps resolved all those problems.

I originally wanted 'dye' for HUE, but the rest of the clues corrected that choice.

I enjoyed the clue for UNCLE SAM.

Jazzbumpa, there are times when what is obvious to others comes slowly to me. This morning I wondered if the "bumpa" part of your nic is how your grandchildren call you. Am I on the right track?

Dennis, could we redo 'Sewing Machine day?' It's overcast here, and it seems like a good choice for the afternoon.

We're just back from a quick trip to Iowa. I missed out on the Monday and Tuesday puzzles. I'll do them later, if I have the time. Today's c/w was a good warmup for tomorrow's challenge.

Dennis said...

C.C., yes, I evidently jinxed the Phils, although they were winning when we left in the 8th inning.

Argyle, great Mills Brothers link if only because it's finally a music link before my time.

Dick, are you getting all the rain we are? Every freaking day we've had a downpour. Plus, I could see my breath yesterday morning, and it's almost summer. This is disgusting.

KQ, Elissa, we stayed at a hotel in the Caribbean that had a tube pool, a quarter-mile winding waterpath where you could just lay in a tube and float along for as long as you liked.

anon@8:52, if you're tired of being a lurker, by all means grab a name and join us. Your input is always welcome. Chris, welcome, and same goes for you.

tarrajo, I hope you saw my late comment last night.

Warren, I can't for the life of me remember the web site, but there was one that had a webcam view on the water there, and a 'fast-forward' version so you could see the full rise and fall. Very impressive. They must have all floating docks there, otherwise you'd never be able to secure your boat.

Carol, I was wondering who'd have a comment about 'mushroom' -- shoulda known.

Anonymous said...

Just caught up on yesterday's postings. Favorite Kevin Kline roles were his comedic turns as Otto in "A Fish Called Wanda" and as Guy Noir in "A Prairie Home Companion."
I'm almost ashamed to admit that my "Doh" moment was 2A "Washington successor." Really wanted Obama as the answer. Agree with others regarding miry and etherize.
Liz

WM said...

Good morning all...Stalled in the same place as everyone else. Whipped through the top half then hit the wall. I agree with C.C. on ESCUDOS/EURO maybe it should have been OLD Portuguese capital...which would have been more confusing but more accurate. Got MARDI, IBSEN, CRUELLA and the whole top half with no prob...I do question RELO as an abbr. for Relocate and there is no indication in the clue. I first put SELL but that didn't work with FRAU. I tried for Euthanize for
39D but it wouldn't fit, and for some reason put in DODD for DOLE which slowed things down...

I did enjoy the fact that the top across fills all started with A, as I always wondered why constructors never tried that. I have done numerous puzzles with 2 of 3 fills starting with the same letter, but so far, never all 3! Just a random thought.

I actually thought that this one was a bit tougher than last week but maybe it was because I waited for the paper today instead of doing it last night...never as alert in the morning.

Tarrajo, from last night...I shared the story with my husband and he thought it was great that your son stood up for the girl. We're on your side and I guess the lesson to be learned is that he will need to be able to handle things without hitting...it will come, because he obviously has his heart in the right place. You should be very proud of both him and yourself...good job mom! I can remember beating up the school bully when I was in 3rd grade because I was tired of him hurting my friends and decking a kid for being rude to my grandmother when I was in 9th grade, but I did eventually outgrow the need to punch people...LOL! Super-hero, fighting injustice and righting wrongs...

Jim McGivern said...

Bobby Darin probably does the best version of "Lazy River." Nothing in YouTube with him singing, but others do a credible job.

Jazzbumpa said...

JD -

Thanks for the tip on Igor's B-Day. We did the Berceuse (use this lullaby if you want to give your kids nightmares) and Finale of the Firebird back in March. This clip starts with a little remnant from the previous section. Berceuse starts at about 50 seconds.

Anonymous said...

Good Morning All,
Chico State in Northern CA is near the Sacramento River. It becomes a lazy river in the fall and the college kids flock to the river with the tubes piled high on their cars. They can rent the tubes in town, and every day--not just weekends-- the road along the river is edged with cars and kids who are ready to tube down the river.
Chickie

tfrank said...

Re miry:

I found the Psalm using this word, and take the liberty of quoting the applicable verses:

I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay;
and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

And He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;

Many will see and fear, and trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40, NAS Version

Linda said...

On grandfather names....our first (now 16) has always called my husband "Fop Fop"....we have no clue!

Tarrajo: I asked once before but perhaps you missed it. Have you considered "Big Brothers' for "Littleguyjo?

Embien; The lead singer for "Hooty and the Blowfish" now sings Country!!! Song was good, too. Were you a Country music fan back when Cowboy Copus and Little Jimmy Dickens were big? My Dad made me learn "It`s an Ill Wind" and paid me to sing it for everyone...I must have been all of 3! My aerobics instructor looks amazingly like Taylor Swift only 5 inches shorter!

Chastity Bono has been "out of the closet" for many years.

Jimbo: Where are you?

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, Wednesday puzzles are getting to be my favorite. There was just enough difficulty with words like MUSHROOM and ETHERIZE. The tricky clues for ESCUDOS and UNCLE SAM were fun additions.

It does seem like we need to know enough words in Spanish, French and occasionally Latin to name the days of the week, currency and family relationships.

KQ is right about carob. My sister is allergic to chocolate and got carob bars for "treats" when we were kids. The flavor was kind of chocolaty, but not quite. If you are expecting a chocolate taste and get carob, you will be disappointed. If it weren't marketed as a chocolate substitute, it might not get the bad rap. It's like saying tofu patties taste "just like chicken".

Thanks, Elissa for the poem. It's a favorite for me too. A while back we had a T.S. Eliot crossword clue and discussed the meaning of the "Do I dare to eat a peach?" line.

Liz, A definite "Yes" to Kevin Kline's quirky and funny performance as Guy Noir

Anonymous said...

Jazzabump: I'm with you regarding Neal Diamond. I suspect he walked into a recording studio as a young man and recorded a 3-hour song. From that, a 3-minute cut was released every few weeks.

Doreen

JD said...

oops! Forgot one:
In 1885, the Statue of Liberty arrived in NYC aboard the French ship Isere. That ship may show up in a c/w someday :)

Elissa and anon, the poem is lovely. Somehow I missed that along the way.

Cruella's song will not leave my head.Arrgh

WM said...

Since yesterday was Eat Fruits day...I have a random question for anyone in the north eastern states where true blueberries come from...are the insides of the berries dark like the exterior or kind of dark gold? I have long suspected that what we get on the West coast are actually huckleberries, which are quite a bit larger but don't usually ripen until the fall. We get these really big "blueberries" that they say are grown in CA but I'm skeptical because we used to pick huckleberries in August up in Mt Rainier in WA.

Just asking...

Anonymous said...

Dennis and WM thanks for the encouraging words. Personally I think he did right by standing up for his little girlfriend. That other boy is known in the neighborhood as being somewhat of a bully with a foul mouth to boot.

Linda, I have thought about Big Brothers, and no offense to any of you that have participated in that program, but I would feel very uncomfortable handing over LGJ to a total stranger no matter how thoroughly their background is checked. He has some male influences in his life through our church and in the neighborhood and friends. We’ll muddle through.

Clear Ayes said...

I'm not going to post anything by John Donne. It is too lovely a day for, "Ask not for whom the bell toll; it tolls for thee."

There has been some blueberry discussion going on, so.... This little poem was written by Marjorie Fishbeck, who was known as the "Poetess of New York". I have no idea why she had that title. I do know it was set to music at some time, and one of my uncle's used to sing it to all us kids at 4th of July picnics and other summer gatherings.

Blueberry Muffins

Owing to sentimentality
Blueberry muffins appeal to me.

It isn’t their taste I like at all.
It’s only the summers they recall -

Summers of adolescent ease,
Gingham dresses and scrubby knees,

The muffins repelled me even then,
But holidays and the age of ten

Are very pleasant to munch on now,
So pass me another anyhow.

WM said...

CA...Yes! Terrific poem...and aren't a lot of good memories tied up with the food we ate and the wonderful aromas of good things baking in the kitchen?

Just wrote a letter to the Editor of the Mercury thanking him for trying the puzzles again and recommending that they do a small article about the puzzles and this blog as a good source of puzzle information and links to additional puzzle info...now we wait and see. But again, I would really encourage emails of praise because I think they only ever get the negative side and complainers...happy people rarely rock the boat...even in a good way... dbutler@mercurynews.com


#3

Thanks for helping us keep our puzzle.

embien said...

9:20 today. Seemed fairly easy for a Wednesday. I love, love, love, this kind of theme, where there are multiple definitions for a single term ("angel" in this case). I liked that the central theme entry was a 15, and the other two theme entries were symmetrically placed 14's.

Taylor Dayne was a contestant on the CMT show Gone Country (third season). That's a reality show where stars from other genres compete for a country music recording contract (they have to compose and perform a country song in the finale).
Taylor Dayne

Anonymous said...

Etherize Ether is what used to be used to put you under

Mainiac said...

Catching up on last night's comments Tarrajo. I think its great he was standing up for his friend. The problem is that he learn when to put the brakes on. I do Karate with my kids and they are beginning to learn some pretty hairy shit. What is stressed is that you use it only if you have absolutely no choice. Different scenarios are constantly thrown out in order to better equip the kids about when to use their skills. My two are at the opposite ends of the spectrum attitude wise and the karate has helped both find footing. Only problem is now I have to be careful because they are getting big enough to hurt me!

Gotta go, Karate night!

embien said...

There was a question yesterday about the syndicated NY Times puzzle. If you look at the heading for the syndicated puzzle, you'll see a date (today's syndicated puzzle was No. 0513, for example, meaning it originally appeared in the NY Times on May 13).

Thus the daily syndicated puzzle is five weeks behind (Sunday is one week behind, for some reason).

If you do the NY Times puzzle, you should definitely check out Rex Parker

Crockett1947 said...

@doreen et.al. I guess I need to step forward and defend my Main Man, Neil Diamond. He was Jeanette's favorite singer when we first met about 30 years ago, and I'd never really heard of him. She did have some mondegreen problems, though ("Please tell a lie" for "Sweet Caroline). So I began listening to him. When he made an appearance here in Portland I spend hours outside in the freezing cold to get surprise tickets for the concert. Suffice it to say, we have all of his CDs, most of his albums, and have been to quite a few live concerts. He puts on a great show, and his band is super fantastic. He may not be everyone's cup of tea, but he hits home with us.

Clear Ayes said...

I forgot to mention the crossword inclusion of "Charlie Hustle", PETE ROSE. GAH is of the opinion that he should not be barred from the Hall of Fame. People might disapprove of his gambling, but he never took a performance enhancing steroid and achieved his records by his own talent and determination.

The announcement of Chaz Bono's sex change was in the newspaper about a week ago. He, as Chastity, was a well known lesbian political activist for years. His being a transgender female to male is very different than being a lesbian. He doesn't identify as a woman attracted to women, but a man attracted to women. Confused yet? If you are interested, how about Wikipedia on transsexualism?

Doreen, Funny comment about Neil Diamond. LOL Crockett, Funny mondegreen. All in all, I know he can be corny, and I don't like all his songs, but some of them do bring back some VERY romantic moments...And The Grass Won't Pay No Mind....sigh!

tarrajo, My B-I-L is a Big Brother. BB's are usually asked to mentor and companion boys who do not have any other positive male roll models. It sounds like you have already made sure LGJ has men around whom he can look up to and learn from. Nobody is a perfect parent, but it sure sounds like you are devoting all the time and energy you can to be the best parent you can. Relax. You're doing fine.

lois said...

Good afternoon CC et al., same likes and dislikes as the rest of you. Laughed at 20A 'heavenly spirit'...oh, yeah! I'll be drinkin' some in a couple of hrs, after piano lessons. And they'll be MY drinks, 'Na-cho' drinks, so no sips out of my glass.

I keep getting interrupted. One more wake up and school is OUT. 4 days and a wake up until I go save some horses in OK by riding cowboys. Life just keeps getting better and better. I will play my first rounds of golf there as well. I'm watching out for those putters and for those lies and traps. I'm on it!

Enjoy your night.

Dennis said...

embien, one of the things that bothers me about 'Rex Parker' is that although C.C. has links to his blogs in her blog, he hasn't reciprocated. I emailed him, asking why, and never received an answer. Would seem like a common courtesy to have a link, no?

KittyB said...

Doreen, from last night, how did you respond to the kid who provided "intelligent woman" as an oxymoron??

tarrajo, I agree with what Dennis had to say. I'd praise LGJ for sticking up for the girl. I'm sure you are already explaining to him that there are other ways to resolve an issue without resulting to force. If you keep an eye out to be sure this doesn't turn into a trend, it should turn out fine. It sounds like you're doing a great job with him. When the time comes, you can have "Auntie" Lois explain "carpet eating" to him.

CA, I love the Blueberry Muffin poem. So cute!

Anonymous said...

Since I am old enough to remember when ether was commonly used to "put people under" in a hospital, that answer came to me right off. We elderly peiople need some of the clues/answers to be old also. Not all crossworders are under fifty.
Calef.

Jazzbumpa said...

Kitty -

Relax. Nothing is ever obvious. And you're right. All the grandkids call me Bumpa, even the (aaaahhhh!) preteens.

The ones on my side call the LW "MeeMaw," the oldest (now 12 1/2) grandson's early attempt at "Grandma."

The oldest granddaughter (12 in Sept.), when she was about 3, asked the LW, "Do I have to call you that?" So she is "Grandma" to that family. Her other son's kids call her "Grandmom," which is rather cool, and something I would never have thought of.

I have nothing in particular against Niel Diamond - he just doesn't move me, except for his America song, which gives me goose bumps. We have several of his albums, and have seen him in concert a few times. His fans LUV,LUV, LUV him. Really. He does put on a good show, has a good band, and treats his people well. Seems to be an OK kinda guy. Anyway, I go to see Linda Press.

Anon @ 2:55 "used to be used to:" great turn of a phrase.

Crockett - thanks for the new word. Never saw or heard mondegreen before.

Cheers

Elissa said...

One last quote from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock". I always thought this was the perfect description of my role as an in-house corporate attorney:


No!I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous--
Almost, at times, the Fool.

Warren said...

Hi Dennis;
Do you mean this URL:
bay of fundy tides

We stayed in a town called Digby on a hotel on top of a hill overlooking the harbor and they had a web cam linked to a TV channel that you could watch the tides coming in and out...
Digby had the best sand dabs too.

Warren said...

Oh yes jogging my memory again about Nova Scotia, we took a whale watching boat ride out to sea and almost froze our ___'s off. We saw some whales and one puffin.

Linda said...

Favorite mondegreens:
My Okinawan aunt sang "Bringing in the sheets" for "Bringing in the sheaves", for years! And my Dad loved to sing, "The constipated cross-eyed bear" for "The consecrated cross I`ll bear."

Clear Ayes said...

Speaking of mondegreens, The Archive of Misheard Lyrics is totally hysterical. If you've ever wondered "What the heck are they singing about??", check it out here. Just click on the first letter of the artist or song name. You could find out that while you were wailing "Dressed up like a goose, I knew their owner in the night." to Manfred Mann's Blinded By The Light, you may have been seriously embarrassing yourself.

Jazzbumpa, Diamond fans certainly are devoted. The Grass Won't Pay No Mind guy was a Neil Diamond fanatic. I can understand why. Neil's songs stood him in very good seduction stead, at least as far as this long ago "hourglass" was concerned.

carol said...

Linda (4:44) LOL...reminds me of a song from my childhood: "Cross Over the Bridge". One of the lyrics was 'leave your fickle past behind you, and true love will find you' BUT I miss-understood and sung 'leave your pickle patch behind you...' :) I didn't understand pickles anymore than I did romance at that tender age.

Dennis, I do think we should alert OK that they have 4 days to either lock up the town, or send all flexible cow'pokes' to the airport to await the
'magic carpet'

Dennis said...

warren, good job - yeah, that's the site. Pretty amazing.

Carol, 'magic carpet' made me laugh out loud - great line. And trust me, Lois would never leave a pickle patch behind...

SandbridgeKaren said...

Warren - appreciate the BoF link. One of the planned sights on my N.S. trip - pretty amazing stuff! Ya gotta love Mother Nature in her glory.

Anonymous said...

KittyB:

As for the kid who came up with the "intelligent woman" oxymoron, it seem his father helped him with his homework and gave him that one. I thanked him for his addition to the list and moved on. Any comment would have begged more attention than deserved.

Doreen

KQ said...

Tarrajo, many a hot summer day I spent on the Apple River. We always wondered how polluted it was given the volume of people out there.

Embien, thanks for the info on NYT puzzle syndication date. I have referred to Rex Parker before, which is how I know that it is not printed the same day as in the NYT.

Anon@2:55pm, I knew ether, just wasn't familiar with etherize.

KittyB said...

Jazz, I visit here on a hit or miss basis, and figured that someone must have asked about your name long ago. I'd rather not be the one who asks the question for the thirtieth time, after it's been answered. Thanks for the explanation.

Doreen, Wow...what a great (non) response. Ya should have given DAD detention, though! lol

CA and Linda and others, My dad was fond of "Gladly, the Cross-eyed Bear." (Gladly, the Cross I'd bear)

luxor said...

C.C. ,

Chocolate that is made from the carob bean is less expensive than that from the cocoa bean. Carob beans are very uniform in size and weight and were used to weigh small valuable objects in ancient times. Hence the term 'carat' for the weight of gem stones such as diamonds. In contrast ,karat, is used to signify the amount of gold that is in a metal and is based on 24. Thus an 18 karat gold ring is 18/24ths gold by weight. So if you have such and gold is $1000.00 an ounce, the gold value of the ring is $750.00, assuming it's .9999 pure. For silver now, the term 'Sterling' is used to denote pure silver. Sometimes an imprint of the king's crown is used to indicate sterling.

The term 'Uncle Sam' was born around the time of WWI. Had something to do with the supplier of beef for the U.S.Army. Can't remeber the details tho.

I think the the 'tubing' and 'lazy river'connection comes from the fact that you can ride an inner-tube (a truck tire one) down a slow moving(lazy) river.
Just wanted to share this info with you

Lux

JIMBO said...

Hi C.C., Linda and everybody----
Haven't reported in lately, because I'm a bit ashamed of myself for not doing better. I can ALMOST do all the MTW puzzles. Just always come up a little short.

Today I didn't know MEDICI and LEDA (12D AND 19A). Missed it by one letter. I had ETHERIZE in mind but did not use it 'cause I thought it was wrong.
One other--the crossing of MARDI and DAYNE. (48a and 49d). I put a "J" instead of a "D".
Then there was the southeast bottom 12 squares. Just got tired and came here to finish it out.

Aside from the puzzle, I've been fighting my blood pressure lately. It has been hovering around 76 over 42 and occasionaly up to 110 over 57. My two caregivers are going "Batty" trying to regulate my medications.
Hasn't affected my work at the hospital or ny bowling yet. Tonight I feel pretty good with a 78/47.

We are having very hot days here. Everyday over a 100 degrees. Last Thursday we was the hottest spot in the lower 48. 107!!!
I may not post every day, but I still read and enjoy all the comments. BTW what has happened to:
Dr Dad
Dem Red State
Bethann
Mark, Buenos Aries
and Richshif???

Vaya con Dios

JD said...

CA, very funny site.Ah yes, I found "oh a tree in motion.." LOL @"Now bring us some friggin' pudding!! Also enjoyed the bb poem.

Great word, mondegreen. Thanks Crockett! Is it still a mondegreen if one is tipsy and changes the wording so it kind of sounds similar?

I guess we are also boring. We love Neil Diamond and that's one of the few concerts I can d r a g Bob to(hates crowds).

WM, I wrote to SJMN..no answer yet, but then I didn't ask a question.lol

Dennis said...

Jimbo, you're definitely my hero. Not only are you 84, not only are you 84 and bowling, but you're 84 and bowling AND have a BP of 70-something over 40-something. That's just amazing.

I'd love to hear more about your life growing up in and around the circus. And where were you in the Pacific during the war?

luxor said...

Hello my friends.

I didn't know Paula Zahn is blonde.

Always associate the Medici family with Leonardo d'Vinci.

Love the Roman numerals.

Bass ale is a new one to me. But then again, I don't drink.

Neil Diamond is a class act.

Which Pope Leo was a Borgia, father of Lucretia and Cesare and also a vicious person?

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