google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday July 23, 2009 Dan Naddor

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Jul 23, 2009

Thursday July 23, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Take Actions

18A: Take on: GO UP AGAINST

23A: Takeoff: AIR DEPARTURE

32A: Take up: BEGIN LEARNING

41A: Takedown: WRESTLING MOVE

48A: Take in: PUT ONE OVER ON

57A: Takeout: HOT FOOD TO GO

Dictionary defines "Takedown" as "a move or series of maneuvers that succeeds in bringing a standing opponent down onto the mat." New word to me. I also did not know the idiom PUT ONE OVER ON.

I am often taken aback by Dan Naddor's productivity. I wonder how much time he commits to constructing puzzles every day. He is so thorough and ambitious in theme answer researches/designs. Six-theme entries seem to be very common for his 15*15 grids. On/off, up/down & in/out are all paired up nicely.

I really felt dumb this morning. Could not even parse A.F. OF L (62A: Union founded by Samuel Gompers, for short). I am more used to the AFL abbreviation. A.F. OF L is American Federation OF Labor.

Across:

1A: Spill catcher: BIB. Spilled some cherry juice on my white tank top the other day. So surprised that the stains came off rather easily.

4A: Cornered: AT BAY

9A: A pump lacks one: STRAP. Cameron Diaz' "In Her Shoes" is pretty funny.

14A: Sun Devils' sch.: ASU (Arizona State University)

16A: Hogwash: TRIPE

17A: Strauss's "__ Rosenkavalier": DER. German "the". DER Rosenkavalier = The Knight of the Rose. Have never heard of this opera.

20A: __artery, which supplies the kidneys: RENAL. Guessed, since RENAL is often clued as "Kidney-related".

22A: Tee-hee: SNICKER

27A: Expectoration sound: PTUI. The spitting sound. Expectoration/Expectorate (verb) is a new word to me.

28A: River inlet: RIA. Last time Dan Naddor clued it as "Esturary". I always want BAY.

29A: Bando of the 1960s-70s: SAL. Got his name from the Down fills.

38A: Like some auto engine: REBUILT. Did not come to me immediately.

40A: Daughter of King Minos: ARIADNE. She helped Theseus escaped the Labyrinth, but he deserted her. She later married Dionysus, God of fertility/wine.

43A: Place for a stud: EAR. Stud earrings. I like how it crosses the anagrammed baseball ERA (39D: Diamond stat).

44A: DUI's excess: ALC

45A: "Make __ Away": Sheryl Crow song: IT GO. What does IT refer to? Love?

53A: Big name in art glass: STEUBEN. I could only think of Tiffany.

61A: Windy City transportation grp.: CTA (Chicago Transit Authority).

63A: Y, sometimes: VOWEL. My favorite clue. Sometimes Y is a consonant, as in "Yes".

64A: Kenan's TV pal: KEL. Nickelodeon's "Kenan & KEL". I simply forgot.

65A: Kirsten of "Spider-Man": DUNST. I liked her in "Marie Antoniette". So innocent.

66A: Land formation named for its usual shape: DELTA

67A: Cannes condiment: SEL. French for salt. Last time "Poivre's partner" stumped many. Poivre is French for pepper.

Down:

1D: Unfair judgment, slangily: BAD RAP. Silly that some people eschew potatoes because of the carbs. Carbs are not fattening. Excess calories are.

2D: "Thar she blows!": I SEE IT

3D: Peel out: BURN RUBBER. "Peel out" is a new slang to me.

4D: Perspective: ANGLE

6D: HVAC measure: BTU

7D: Band aid?: AMP. Nice play on Band-Aid.

9D: Flight segment: STAIR

10D: Very short time: TRICE. I used to confuse TRICE with THRICE.

11D: Lemieux's milieu: RINK. Mario Lemieux. The only person to win the Stanley Cup as both a player and an owner (Penguins).

12D: It adjoins the altar: APSE. APSE & NAVE often confuse me.

13D: Rock: Pref.: PETR. As in petrify.

19D: Bearded grazer: GNU. Ah, OK, this wildebeest (GNU) does have beard.

21D: Parting words: ADIEUS

24D: Dry residue from molten liquid: PRILL. Like this? I've never heard of this word before.

25D: "__ a stinker?": Bugs Bunny line: AIN'T I

26D: N.C.'s capital: RAL. Raleigh.

29D: Gets off the point: SIDETRACKS

30D: First name in advice: ANN. ANN Landers.

33D: "Skedaddle!": GIT. Variant of get.

34D: Birdie beater: EAGLE. Golf term. Birdie is 1 under par. Eagle is 2 under par. I don't like "beater". Hate the image it conjures up.

35D: AK Steel Holding Corp. formerly: ARMCO. No idea. ARMCO stands for American Rolling Mills Corporation.

36D: __ Grande: RIO. Just saw "Blame It on RIO" the other day. Demi Moore seems to get more beautiful as she ages. She only eats raw food.

37D: Marine combatants: NAVIES. The warships? I was picturing those tough Marines fighting in Iraq/Afghanistan.

38D: "Nature" author's monogram: RWE. Ralph Waldo Emerson. I was stumped. Did not know Emerson's full name.

42D: Indian bread: NAN. Chinese Muslims call the bread NAN too.

46D: Colonel Sanders trademark: GOATEE

47D: Prepared to be summoned: ON CALL

48D: Light, filled pastries: PUFFS. Croissants are PUFFS pastries, right? They are heavy though.

49D: Letter-shaped fastener: U-BOLT

50D: Fabi of racing: TEO. Total stranger to me. Wikipedia says he participated in 71 Formula One Grands Prix.

51D: Available from Netflix, say: ON DVD

52D: String quartet member: VIOLA

53D: River herring: SHAD. Had no idea that SHAD is a kind of "River herring". Pickled herrings are delicious.

54D: Vegan staple: TOFU. TO is literally 'bean". FU means "ferment".

55D: Orwell's alma mater: ETON. "James Bond's alma mater" too.

58D: Water tester: TOE. Nice clue.

59D: Barn bird: OWL. Thought of HEN first.

Answer grid.

C.C.

87 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - fought my way through this one, but it wasn't easy. While I enjoyed the challenge, I thought there were a few answers that were a bit shaky, which is most unusual for a Dan Naddor puzzle.

'Alc' is supposed to be an abbreviation for alcohol? Never seen it before. Google 'alc' and nothing. Same with 'Ral' for Raleigh. Never seen it abbreviated that way; it's not even the airport code. And takeout food is not necessarily hot. Lots of people order cold sandwiches, etc. (or hoagies here in the Philly area) to go.

Unknowns for me included 'Ariadne' and 'prill'. Several clever, misleading clues: 'A pump lacks one', 'Band aid?', 'Flight segment' and 'Birdie beater'. And 'ptui' was a no-brainer, since we saw it very recently.

Today is National Vanilla Ice Cream Day.....and National Hot Dog Day. Let the fun begin.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "However often the thread may be torn out of your hands, you must develop enough patience to wind it up again and again." -- Architect Walter Gropius

Here's a couple more Fun Facts:

- Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair. Oh wonderful.

- About eight thousand Americans are injured by musical instruments each year.

Dick said...

Good morning C.C. and all. No walk in the park today as I stumbled my way through this puzzle. The SW corner was the last to fall and that wasn’t until the DUH moment with AF of L. Wow!

I created some problems for myself when I put rebored for rebuilt ( 38A). I am not sure if rebored is a real word, but we used it all the time when overhauling engines. I also had clamp for 49D thinking “C-Clamp”. 53A “Steuben” was a complete unknown to me.

I agree with Dennis that there were some shaky answers today.

Overall a fun puzzle and it got the old mind going early today.

Hope you all have a great Thursday

Hahtoolah said...

This was a toughie for me, but I liked the theme. I needed a lot of help though to fill in all the blanks. I though a Big Name in Art Glass (53A) was going to be an artist, so I initially entered Chihuly. The perps made me realize it was Steuben, which is actually a manufacturer.

"Thar She Blows" (2D) is an expression that whalers used to shout out when they spotted a whale. When I was a kid living in southern NH, we used to go to the beach nearly every day during the summer. There was a restaurant near the beach with a logo of a big spouting whale and the slogan was "Thar She Blows!" I don't remember the name of the restaurant.

I was stumped by Delta (66A), which is embarrassing because I now live in the Mississippi Delta.

CC: Cornered is actually "At Bay" (4A).

Katy from last night: I turn in early, so read some of last night's late night posts this morning. (Is that the proper use of the apostrophe?) I enjoyed Pillars and World Without End, but can see why it would not appeal to everyone. You don't need to defend why you felt it only so-so. I have read The Book Thief. It was one of my book group's selections. I enjoyed it very much ~ it gave a different perspective (angle? 4D) of the Holocaust.

"We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don't like?" ~ Jean Cocteau.

Dick said...

I just read through the comments from yesterday and saw Buckeye's story. Buckeye, you have a very creative mind albeit warped. Hope you keep posting on a more frequent basis as it makes my day. Looking for an update on nurse Ratchet.

tfrank said...

Good morning, C.C. and all,

Hard work this morning. Like Dick, I had trouble with the SW. Had to G. Eton and Teo; had clamp for ubolt, and ondvd did not make sense to me at first.

I agree with Dennis on the clever cluing, which Dan is good at. Also question the abbrs. of Raleigh and alcohol. I wanted ale.

We are still sweltering here. Fifteen straight days over 97 with heat indices hitting 110 or higher routinely. Still no rain.

Have a great day!

Martin said...

Wow. That was tough: I couldn't finish even with googling. First, I kept thinking off a water pump and asking what it "lack"ed. Then I skipped down to the bottom half because I was making no progress with the top half. I started with TO ORDER TO GO for "Takeout", not releasing that half the theme clues were for nouns. I don't mind the answer HOT FOOD TO GO because you can buy cold food at a supermarket and you call it "groceries" not "takeout". I worked my way up and managed to get half the theme answers before coming here: I probably would have done better but I misread "King Minos" as "King Midas". I also wanted TARTS for PUFFS, BUCKET for GOATEE and either BYE BYE, SO LONG or ADIOS A for ADIEUS.

I also did yesterdays puzzle but I didn't comment because I was watching TV this time yesterday. I got held up by the crosses UMLUAT/UNLOOSES, CODY/TYROS, ORD/OPERATE and ENO/ULTIMO and I had written OCTETS instead of OCTADS which left me with TWE and MUSCLET which I knew had to be TWA and MUSCLED.

A Western sandwich is bacon and eggs between any kind of bread. An Egg McMuffin would be a Western sandwich witn sausage instead of bacon. So, yeah, a Western sandwich is exactly what you'd think it would be. :)

Martin

Martin said...

Oh my first guess for ALC was BAL (Blood Alcohol Level). Oh and C.C., French for salt is SEL, not SAL. SAL was the answer for 29 across.

Martin

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All,

Thursday puzzles are always tough for me and this wasn't an exception. I don't like to "G" for a fill, but I never would have gotten PRILL, RWE or ARMCO without it. The multi word theme fills GO UP AGAINST, PUT ONE OVER ON and HOT FOOD TO GO would never have been finished without multiple perp aid.

There were also those strange little abbreviations like RAL and ALC.

All in all, this was very difficult for me, but doable.....barely!

Luxor, Were your 5:01 comments yesterday directed to me? I already had five posts when you posted so I couldn't reply. You didn't address it to a specific person, but you did post just a couple of minutes after I agreed with a couple of other posters that I didn't care for the look of heavily muscled women. I wasn't sure if that was what you thought I was being judgemental about, or if it was my earlier post @12:55, where I defended yours and others right to respectfully post opinions. At any rate, whomever you were talking to and about, that is your opinion, you weren't disrespectful, so I'm OK with it. I hope it is OK with you if I respectfully disagree. Everyone has preferences, likes and dislikes, but that is usually thought to be an opinion, not necessarily a judgement.

Tarrajo, how are things in Zucciniota? You'd better get out there to see what monster squash has sprung up during the night. BTW, if you click on "Collapse Comments" at the top of the Posts page, you can run down the list and it will make it much easier to count your daily posts.

Thursday is "go to town" day, so I'll check in later to see what you all have been up to.

Katy said...

Had to take advantage of a few word solves as not enough time to g-spot challenging clues...

Good to know it's okay to disagree -- a diverse lot makes for lively conversation. I look forward to investigating some of the other historical fiction authors noted in yesterday's posts.

CC and ClearAyes: I too loved The Crying Game. Saw it when it first came out -- without a clue as to the "surprise" (and was sitting in packed theatre on front row to boot!) so thinking I should rewatch before summer's end.

And now, off to the mountains for a few days of Royalty, Bananagrams and Asheville NC's Bele Chere summer festival. Look forward to chatting next week!

KittyB said...

Good morning, all.

Like Dennis, I found this puzzle to be a challenge. I finished it, with red letter help but no Googling. The list of answers that I didn't know is quite long, and achieved only through the perps. RIA, KEL, SEL, AMP, PETR, PRILL, and TEO could have all kept me from completing the crossword.

I knew SAL, PTUI, DELTA, RWE, U-BOLT, but had a lot of difficulty matching them to the clue, or just remembering them.

My first thought for 'Big Name in art glass' 53A, was 'Chihuly,' but I'd have to say that 'Steuben' is the bigger name.

The NE corner was the last to fall for me. It took me a long time to figure out the 'pump' clue, and 'Hogwash' has a LOT of possible synonyms. Of course for "Flight segment' I was thinking of air, not steps.

I can't wait to see what Jazzbumpa has to say about the fun fact about musical instruments. Or Buckeye, for that matter.

Katy, I enjoyed 'Pillars of the Earth,' and look forward to reading the sequel, but as Hatool pointed out, it's not necessary that we all have the same likes and dislikes here. I'd love to hear what other books you're reading.

tarrajo, I love your zucchini strips with marinara sauce recipe! Did you include the seeded part, or just use the firmer outer flesh? I read the by-play about the zucchini to my husband and he suggested that you let one of the giant ones grow, and use it for a pumpkin this fall. He also thought you might be able to ship it across the country to unsuspecting recipients, when those 10 feet of zucchini REALLY get to producing. btw...I live in Oregon....

There were easily 45 posts after I signed off last night, so I'd like to do a few 'shout-outs.'

WM...I'm so glad to hear that your family is doing well. Early detection, seat belts, surgery and chemo will save the day. I'm constantly amazed at all you accomplish, and your positive attitude, given your family's needs.

Boomermomma, I hope everything is going well with your family, too. That baby is adorable!

Clear Ayes, there is nothing positive I can say about the muscle women. They remind me of people who have been preserved in peatbogs.

Jazzbumpa, in this household, if someone calls and mispronounces our last name, or asks for me by my given name, they are likely to be given the bum's rush. We also don't respond to anonymous callers.

kazie, thanks for the rules. I'll try my best, but you can bet there will be errors. There are times when I type, and my brain is on hold. I wish spell check could save me from that!

Thomas, I'm glad you're on your way to finding out what's happening with your dad. Best of luck.

I'm surprised no one mentioned Diana Gabaldon's Voyager series. Of the series, I liked the first book, "Outlander, and then those set in colonial America, "Drums of Autumn," and "The Fiery Cross." The seventh book in the series is set to be released this September.

Thank you, all for your book suggestions. We talked once before of authors of mystery series. Is there a way to find that information without reading every post for the past year?

C.C. it seems to me that there can't possibly be a single bit of English that you haven't absorbed by now. You not only have modern slang usage, but you've picked up phrases from sixty or more years ago. You're one very impressive lady!

It's sunny, today, but an office day. Have a good Thursday!

Jeanne said...

Morning all,
I was so happy when I saw a Thursday Naddor puzzle. Great combination for me. Not so much today. I actually felt that it was a Saturday difficulty level or a result of a very large gin and tonic last night. Could not get a handle on this puzzle. Needed to do it online and usually reserve that for Saturday puzzles. Oh well, really enjoyed the gin and tonic last night!

We have great hoagies in our area; actually call them Italian sandwiches. Dennis did you ever notice that the hoagies in other areas are never as good as our area. Many years ago, a fellow teacher vacationed in North Carolina and discovered the lack of really good sandwiches. Ultimately, he quit teaching, went south and opened up a sandwich shop and made his fortune with several shops. The meats and rolls make all the difference.

Eight thousand Americans injured by musical instruments each year--where are they putting those instruments? Also enjoyed Pillars and World without End with Pillars being my favorite of the two. Loved Frank McCourt‘s Angela‘s Ashes, Tis, and Teacher Man. TM may appeal mostly to teachers as he relates his early experiences in the classroom.

@Tfrank, I live in eastern PA and we have yet to see 90 deg. except for 2 days in April. My younger son lives in Houston and visited a few weeks ago and was thrilled with our cooler weather. But I do miss summer: haven’t used our pool yet-don’t have the desire to dive into the water when both air and water temps are on the cool side.

Have a great day all.

kazie said...

Hi all!
I agree with Dennis on those shaky clues and abbreviations. On the whole it was slog for me today.I g'ed KEL, TEO, ARMCO but Indian bread, art glass name and Nature author with no success. Came here with the NE corner lacking STRAP, TRIPE, STAIR, RINK and had SNIGGER for SNICKER. Also missed PUT ONE over on. and couldn't decipher the ON part of ON DVD. Didn't like "I see it" for "Thar she blows"--if it's blowing, it wouldn't be hard enough to see that you's need to say that. AMP was my favorite.

Hahtool,
You got it right!

KittyB,
I don't think I've noticed you having any problems with that.

Elissa said...

This puzzle beat my butt. Many unknowns; many bogus clues - c.f. Dennis' comments. Also some clever clues, but . . . After going through ALL the As and ALL the Ds I had about half a dozen answers filled in. OMG! So I turned on the Regular mode and got help with a letter here and there all over the place. After about half the entries were filled in I managed to get a grip on this puzzle and finished without further help. What a slog! Knocked all the wind that had built up in my sails over Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I hate PTUI. Who decides how you spell these onomatopoeiac words, anyway???????

Busy day today.

WM: Sending best thoughts to you and your husband.

Jazz: My husband and I have different last names. When someone calls and asks for Mrs. (my last name) I say "my mother isn't home" and hang up.

moon said...

Tough puzzle for me...the clues were phrases that I use and yet the answers wouldnt fit :)
But overall it was an enjoyable Xword. No google help but lots of red letters.
Running late: going to a outplacement session to polish my resume and interviewing skills.
Got a phone interview in the afti.. very tensed..have the feeling that I'll bungle, even on stuff that I do know.
Thomas, Happy to know that your father is back home.
Katy, I loved Ken Follett's books when I was growing up. Now I'm not sure if I can read such a huge book..no concentration ability :(

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, everyone.
A few unknowns for me today: KEL, PRILL, and I had DUI's excuse for the clue for 44A, at least that's how I read it. Didn't get the excess part until reading the blog this morning. Didn't have to g-spot anything, but did rely on some error indicators to set me straight (For those who don't solve in Across Lite, an incorrect letter appears in the grid with an X through it -- like the red letters).

@dennis I agree that some of those abbreviations are suspect. Sounds like I'd better keep an eye out for errant tubas today.

@tfrank That weather sounds almost unbearable. Hope it breaks for you soon.

Buckeye should get 35D, ARMCO, easily, since they were based in his hometown, Middletown OH.

@katy I think you asked about using @ in the posts. I use it to direct a comment to a particular fellow poster. That way there is no confusion. General comments, or comments to the group as a whole are identified as such. Have a great time over the weekend. Sounds like a marvelous trip, especially if you don't have to cook and clean-up after.

@thomas Good that you know a bit about what is NOT responsible, but I'm sure you'd rather know the true cause so that proper treatment can be applied. Good vibes and karma still headed your way.

@elssa Unless you know my wife's name, you would probably mispronounce it, since it can have a hard or soft G on the front. Incorrect pronunciations are told there is no such person at this number. Of course, with the changing over to all cell, we can now only answer numbers that are familiar to us. If you REALLY want to contact us, you'd better leave a message.

Well, off to the radio station for my Thursday morning volunteer stint. Have a great Thursday, all.

KittyB said...

Kazie, I'm likely to make an error with the ending apostrophe, or the 's ending. I do know its and it's, but there are times my fingertips forget.

Earlier, when I mentioned the Diana Gabaldon books, I should have said that the first book is centered around the Jacobean uprising, and the battle of Culloden (1746). The other two books are set in the period just prior to the Revolutionary War. I was particularly taken with Gabaldon's description of living conditions and politics of both eras.

Crockett, what wonderful things do you do at the radio station?

Dennis, all they needed to do was add an Apple Pie day to the list, and it would have been true Americana.

IRISH JIM said...

Good afternoon CC and all.

CC do not feel dumb. I am sure Af Of l stumped more than a few including moi.

Amen Elissa this one beat mine too even with look up help. Do not like PTUI/RAL or ALC. RDU is the airline code for Raleigh/Durham.

Complete unknowns for me were Teo/Dunst/Armco/Nan/Prill.

Ca. Muscle women, all I can say is Yeech !!!!.

Jimmy S. Carolina

carol said...

Hi all - I'm still looking for my prat on this one!
I did finish it, but not without pain.
Pretty much the same unknowns as have been listed. I thought 34A Birdie Beater (EAGLE) was the most clever.
Did anyone else have a problem with 21D? Parting words (ADIEUS)..the clue indicates two words, but the answer is the plural of one word.

Kitty B (9:16) LOL...don't you be encouraging the sending of that damned squash to Oregon...we have plenty!

Tarrajo - do not be fooled! Kitty B resides in Chicago.

Further to good historical reads may I offer : "Sarum, The Novel of England" by Edward Rutherfurd. Be prepared for a very large book, both in scope and length (almost 800 pages if I am remembering correctly, but don't hold be to that as I am a charter member of Crockett's CRS club) :)

I am just starting "Giants in the Earth" by O.E.Rolvaag.

Thank you to those that listed books of interest - I wrote the names down and will go on line and reserve them from my library. Since I read so much, I get all my books there.

Off to do yard work...lots of yard work. I have had to let some go lately as it gets too hot for me, and it is pleasantly cloudy and about 62 now so I want to get it done before it shoots up to near 100 as predicted for Sun. Arggh! At least we have A/C!

JD said...

Good morning CC and all,

Phew! glad I'm not alone, had a devilish time, esp. on the top. I couldn't grok the answers from Dan's perspective, like bad rap, I see it, & on DVD. Prill, shad, nan and trice were new, and I'm not familiar with Steuben, thought of Chihuly.
I'm still having trouble with abbreviations.Petr?- thanks CC.You explain things so well.I did sooo much guessing; doing it on line would have helped.My "Magic Rub" is my friend.

Moon, good luck to you.I've heard that just going on an interview is good because it gets better every time.

Thomas, I hope those tests give you some answers. Knowing is usually a relief. I do believe that we are not given more than we can handle.

CA, I don't believe that those words were meant for you. Your sage advice is never unwelcome. Judgemental? I think not.IMHO, those "ladies" were close to freaky.

Beautiful weather in our Bay area, a go do it day.

Peel out/burn rubber took me back about 40 years!! Just put 4 new tires on my car. At that price, I have no desire to burn it.

Barb B said...

I barely scraped through this one, even with Google. I am celebrating that, and thinking tomorrow may be impossible. Not giving up, though. After a year, I’m actually enjoying the challenges, instead of feeling total frustration, as before. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for getting me started.

I enjoyed both the Ken Follett novels, but I can see why others would not. Even though both books are extremely long, they’re each a birds eye view of the time. Slow starting, too. I just finished reading Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and found it very compelling and disturbing. Whether you are conservative or liberal, it gives you a LOT to think about. Not a simple book. And not historical fiction, either. Very current, and true, unfortunately.

I’ve lost all interest in anon’s vitriolic outbursts. Now I look a the bottom of a post for a name, and if it’s unsigned, I don’t bother to read it. I can fill in the blanks for myself, they’re so repetitious. Yawn.

Thomas, when will you have some idea of the diagnosis for your Dad?

Jazzbumpa, I NEVER answer the phone until I read the caller id. It’s my phone and my time, and I choose how I will use them. One thing I don’t recommend because of an experience at the library. My co-worker called to inform a lady patron that we had the book she had requested. The woman’s husband, not wanting to receive calls, said “She’s dead.” and hung up. My co-worker was devastated, because she knew the woman and cried all day. She has never forgiven the guy, and strangely enough, doesn’t much like the woman now, either.

Anonymous said...

I’m with Carol….this one kicked my prat! I wouldn’t have completed it without a LOT of red letter assistance. I had to hit the g-spot for Ariadne (mythology is not my strong point), and Nature author RWE. Lots of perp help with der, ria, sal, Steuben, sel, petr, Armco and Teo. Favorite clues today were “a pump lacks one” – strap and “band aid”- amps. New words learned today were trice and prill. Kel was a gimmee as Brady Joe occasionally watches Kenan and Kel. I abhor the word ain’t and that was one of the first words I had to break LGJ of using.

Hahtool, thanks for explanation of “Thar she blows” I didn’t understand the answer of I see it.

Clearayes, thanks for the tip of collapsing the comments.

KittyB, the recipe for the fried zucchini I just cut on a bias batter and fry. My zucchini here in Zucciniota doesn’t have very many seeds. Carol, thanks for ratting her out on her locale. It’s cheaper to send them to Chicago from here.

Dennis, I think wieners and vanilla ice cream sound like a good combination.

Jeannie, how goes “Project repack?”

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi, all -

I don't mind hanging up on strangers, but that incident with my B-I-L yesterday was tres outre. Clearly, he knew who I was. He is much nicer when he HASN'T been drinking.

Much as I like to disagree, I must agree with today's puzzle comments and complaints.

After the HOT of 57A, I wanted to put on the DOG. But that wasn't going TO GO anywhere.

Can't wait to start using PRILL and RIA in casual conversation. (Bonus points for having them in the same sentence?) PTUI on that nasty cross!

9a flight segment was a great misleading clue. I wanted a synonym for "leg of a journey."

Love the sound of ARIADNE, but I'm glad didn't stick my daughter with it. Karen is probably a lot easier to live with.

I'm trying to imagine what all those musical instrument injuries could be. I once heard that a National Steel Guitar is a good as a baritone saxophone in a brawl. Probably easier to repair, too. Very few eyes get put out by trombones, but I have pinched my finger in the slide lock. I can imagine string players and pianists getting carpal tunnel syndrome. A violinist friend has had BOTH of her shoulders replaced.

Other than that, I'm stumped.

Rainy here today, and 67 deg at 1:00! Very likely the park concert will not takeoff tonight.

tfrank - Though we haven't had a lot, I'll trade you some rain for a little heat. This is the most unwarm summer I can remember.

Well, gotta go write a nastygram to the Local Gov't.

Cheers, sort of!

JD said...

Reliving History:

Just noticed Google's avatar today. It's worth a peek.

1866- The Cincinnati Baseball Club (the Reds) was established

1894- Arthur Treacher was born on this day. He was the English announcer for Merv Griffin.Such an enjoyable show

1904- The ice cream cone was invented by Charles Menches..must get vanilla today

1920- Kenya became a British crown colony. Queen Elizabeth is on their beautiful stamps

1940- The "Blitz" began, an all-night raid on London. Can any one of us imagine living through that?

1968- PLO's 1st hijacking of an EL AL plane

1984- Vanessa Williams, 1st black Miss America, resigned due to posing nude. She seemed to do very well after that

Jeannie said...

Houston, we still have a problem. After a successful docking it is determined that the eagle must have caught a thermal and is soaring around somewhere for it never landed. The white horse is in route and unreachable. I have a call in to Quantico to determine my next plan of action. The avatar is the culprit of said “Project repack”.

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & gang, after staring at the hard copy of today's puzzle and not getting anywhere fast I went online in Red again and we finished it that way.

Several unknown words today but my wife remembered "Daughter of King Minos: ARIADNE"

Here's a definition of Prill

"A prill is a small aggregate of a material, most often a dry sphere, formed from a melted liquid."

MJ said...

OMG! A tough start, but somehow most of the longer answers across fell into place more easily than usual, except for hot food to go. As others have said, we often get deli fare or salads to go. Never heard of prill, and even after getting RWE had to google to find out it was Emerson. Should have known. EAP and RLS are much more common answers for authors in xwords.

I had to laugh out loud at some of the stories about answering the phone. We don't have caller ID to screen calls (Hey, we just lost the rabbit ears last month, so we'll catch up in time!), but our last name is difficult for many people who don't know us, so when a caller (read tele-marketer) mispronounces it, I politely tell them they have the wrong number and hang up.

Moon-Continued thoughts and prayers are with you!

Thomas and family-Glad the initial crisis is over. Hopefully you'll have more answers soon.

Jazz--Just wanted to let you know that our family is looking forward to visiting
Carpenter ria, CA, next A prill. :) (Do I get the bonus points?)

Off to the library to check out some of the books folks have been recommending!

WM said...

Morning all...I guess we are all pretty much in agreement. A few good misleading clues...i.e. EAGLE, etc., but more straightforward clues that were just darned obscure. Wanted AIT for RIA, ALC, PETR, RAL??? Did get things like SEL, SNICKER, RENAL DER...ok, more than I thought, but I still had a lot of blanks and went round and round pulling and tugging at my brain for logical answers...Also wanted Tiffany or Chihuly...but I did recognize Steuben once I had no other choice...thank you Antiques Roadshow!

This makes me a bit nervous about what is on offer for Friday and Saturday.

Totally forgot about the Gabaldon books. Had read the first about Culloden and also Sarum just before my first trip to England...appropriate because we went to Salisbury Cathedral and it was magnficent and much more interesting having read the book. All of Rutherford's books are fascinating. We also drove up through Scotland and stopped at Culloden...there is one remaining cottage set up like it used to be and great open fields with flags marking different areas and where each of the clans fell...I mention it because the strangest thing happened, as my oldest daughter and I were walking the pathways, the most utter sense of sadness and desolation overcame us and we both sat down on a bench and almost started crying...Extremely disconcerting! It got better as we moved back towards the parking area. I have never experienced anything like it before or since.

Thomas...so glad things are moving forward. My mom ended up in the emergency because she got upset that they had cancelled her surgery and stopped eating and drinking...she ended up in the ER with severe dehydrataion...all kinds of tests were run, they pumped her full of fluids for 24 hrs and fed her and now we are always checking to see this doesn't happen again.
Good thoughts, and hopefully some answers.

Jeannie...LOL!!!!

Since this is such a long post...just a shout out to everyone else...

Have to go take down the show today, drop off mural panels, and shop for mom. Whew! :o(

treefrog said...

Morning,
Trying to get this in before lunch. Hubby is working on window frames and I need to keep one ear open for his summons:}

Didn't have that much trouble for a Thurs. Had to g a few and that gave me enough to finish.

Lots of posts yesterday. Took me a few to catch up.

Jazzbumpa-loved your phone call! We have caller ID. If I don't recognize it I usually let the machine pick it up. I find that the unavailable name/numbers don't bother.

We're having hot dogs for lunch. Decided that before I saw it is National Hot Dog Day.

Those musical instrument injuries would be caused if I tried to play one.

Tarrajo-some of those zucchinis sound like good carvers for Halloween.

The only way I could get yardwork done is to go out at 4AM when it's cool. Supposed to hit around 106 by Sunday. Hmm, the coast is going to be a cool 70+.

Later, lunch is calling.

eddyB said...

Hello all, Just a few comments to no one in particular:
Loved the Gabaldon series and am waiting for the next on on 9/22.
After three weeks, I'm still on page 131 of Pillars.
Also waiting for Dan Brown's new one on 9/15.
Emma Watson (Hermione) is going to Brown to "read" literature.
One is now allowed to carry a concealed hand gun into an Az bar but not allowed to drink while there. ??
Gov. Rendell(PA) is now critizing the GOP controlled senate of not spending money. PA still has no budjet and a deficent.
Sorry Mr. President, If Gates refused to cooperate and argued with the police, he was the stupid one. When police enter someone's house, they have no idea what is going to happen. Even routine traffic stops are dangerous.

Time for GCC. eddyB

Jeannie said...

With the failure of the eagle landing, the white horse aborted “Project repack”. Any time soon you should see a mushroom cloud forming over the northern Midwest indicating the damaged goods have been disposed of.

Okay, seriously….the secret agent was just that….a retired FBI agent. I know as he flashed his credentials. He took the case with him in an armored car none the less.

JimmyB said...

Certainly didn't share any wavelengths with Mr. Naddor this morning. Had to Google for several answers. I had never heard of TRICE, let alone RIA and PRILL. I could just PTUI when I think of how long this one took me.

For Thomas, Moon and anyone else facing challenges, one of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa:

"I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much."

I'm off to celebrate National Vanilla Ice Cream Day.

KittyB said...

Drat! Outed! I can see the headlines now, "Terrorist Inundates Chicago with Zucchini! Suburbs set up Roadblocks at the Tri-State!"

tarrajo, thanks for the info on the breaded zucchini. I found a recipe for zucchini soup, if you need it. *G*

BarbB thanks for suggesting "Infidel." Warren, thanks for the link to PRILL, and WM, thanks for the reminder about Sarum. I have a paperback copy here, than I've been intending to read.

I need one bookshelf just for the books waiting to be read.

JimmyB, that's one of my favorite quotes!

Moon, I have a suggestion for you. Before you go in to interview, take ten VERY DEEP breaths. You can do it quietly. Fill your lungs just as full as you can, and then release the air. The extra oxygen will help you feel calmer, and perhaps it will also help you to think more clearly. Take your time answering, and you're bound to be a success!

lois said...

Good afternoon CC et al., Zipping thru this one in 3hrs and 18 mins made me feel like Buckeye did yesterday? He 'burn(ed) rubber' compared to my slogging. I'm glad to know I'm not alone tho'. Also made me feel like I never 'gnu' anything and should 'begin learning' all over again. Think we got a 'bad rap' on some of these clues/answers - the same ones that have been mentioned already so won't repeat, but I still don't 'get' 10D Trice for very short time - not an 'angle' I'm familiar with. Had to laugh at 43A 'place for a stud'. It might require a 'wrestling move' to get him where I want him to be, but I'm pretty sure I could 'put one over on' him and 'git' him there. Might need a little help from some
'alc' and 'hot food to go' to
'side track' him, but once the 'u bolt' and 'strap's are on, he's mine. Handcuffs are outdated. 'I (can) see it' now. A little pumpkin pie with vanilla ice cream (in honor of Today Is:) and I'll be singing "Petr, Petr pumpkin eater... I snag 'em... 'I saac'
'em...if he's a keeper" It's all good.

Jeannie: hilarious saga. Can't wait for the next installment.

Thomas: hope things work out with your dad. Thoughts and prayers to you.

Moon: just remember to breathe. I'm sure you'll do fine.

Thanks to all for the reading recs. I'm up for some new stuff.

WM: you are amazing on so many levels. You and your family are in my prayers.

Boomermomma: I also hope all is going well with your family and will keep you in my prayers too.

Enjoy this liquid sunshine day.

embien said...

15:39 today. I generally liked this puzzle and found the theme quite amusing. However, I didn't know PRILL and I misread Lemieux as Mimieux and so wanted CINE where RINK belonged for a good while (RINK was actually my last fill when I got that straightened out).

CHIHULY instead of STEUBEN? Yeah, I wanted that, but since I solve "downs" first, I already had TOFU and ETON filled in, so avoided that particular trap.

Other than that, things were pretty straightforward, I thought.

@moon: good luck on your phone interview. My last phone interview was kinda surreal. I answered the phone and the guy said, "We received your resume. What's your favorite movie?"

Say what? I eventually hemmed and hawed and answered "Caddyshack". The guy proceeded to ask me about who starred in that movie and what I liked about it. All this with no mention of my possible qualifications for the job.

I was gobsmacked, for sure. Eventually he said "Hi, this is xxxxxx" (his name). Turns out that I used to work with the guy and our whole department would go around quoting lines from Caddyshack--we had several golfers in the group and it was a classic golf movie.

I got the job.

Jazzbumpa said...

MJ -
Double bonus points for the genuinely horrible puns! ;-)

treefrog -
I do the same with caller ID at home, but my mother in law is securely ensconced in some long-lost decade, and can't be bothered with such new-fangled trifles. I got an answering machine for my mom a few years age, contrary to her clearly stated wishes. Sometimes, you have to help them along a bit.

eddy-
Since the charges have been quickly dropped, one can safely assume the arrest was false. "Disordery conduct" is code for not kissing up to the cop. Gates showed ID, indicating he was the resident. I don't believe he threatened anyone with his cane. The cop lured him outside and arrested him there.

My late father-in-law was a policeman. I respect and appreciate what they do. But wrong is wrong, even when the PERP wears a badge.

Cheers!

Dennis said...

Since none of us were there at Mr. Gates' residence, I'd suggest we not state something as fact when we clearly don't know. Either scenario is entirely possible. An unfortunate incident, in any event.

LUXOR said...

Good puzzle today, but two clues I don't agree with.
1. 'Y' is NOT a vowel. Never was. It may sound like one in some cases but it will never BE a vowel.

2.Never knew a liquid to be molten since molten refers to the changed state of a solid such as molten rock(lava). Does anyone know of a molten liquid?

LUXOR said...

Jazzbumpa,
You are right .

Anonymous said...

@Luxor. When you were in school, didn't you learn the little ditty about vowels: A. E. I. O. U. and sometimes Y and W. W never stands alone as a supposed vowel, but Y can. Why?

Kelev (misplaced on Wednesday post)

Anonymous said...

Glad to know I was in good company with the difficulty of the puzzle. Tough slog for me today, with many of the same snags as Dennis.

I get quotes of the day on iGoogle. This one caught my eye as a good one for the puzzlers:

What's another word for Thesaurus?
- Steven Wright

CC, I bit into a cherry the other day wearing a white tank top. It literally splattered juice all over the top. I was out of town at a baseball tournament, so I just went out and bought another. Went home and it came clean right away even after an afternoon in the sun drying. I was as amazed as you and looked pretty sad with red spatter all over me.

Jeannie, what fun stories.

As for the muscled men and women, I am not fond of either. Too much of anything is not a good thing. Interesting pics though.

Good day to all.

Crockett1947 said...

@kittyb My main job at the station now is getting the program highlights for the following week presentable for web publishing and e-mailing out to our eNotes subscribers. I gather information from various sources and format it for consistency. I also do what ever else needs to be done, from stuffing envelopes to updating the contact information for arts organizations (a current project), to painting the walls, to .... you name it. I don't get on the air, which is fine with me. I just get to interact with all the wonderful on-air and office staff on a weekly basis.

@carol I don't read the clue for 21D as indicating two words. The plural of the one words works fine for me. I'm surprised we're not roasting again today. Guess those morning clouds hung around a bit longer than expected. Fine by me.

#2

carol said...

Kitty B (3:14) LOL I know a deep breath or two can help you relax, but 10 of them? I honestly think I'd pass out. :)

Crockett: 21D reads 'Parting words' - words indicates more than one to me. I was thinking 'bye bye' or something.

Yes, our clouds helped this morning - I worked in the yard for 2 hours or more. Sure nice to have things deadheaded and edged before the hear comes...Joe does the mowing and lawn edging.

C.C. and KQ - you both are dainty eaters...I just pop the whole cherry in my mouth and work the pit out of it and spit it into whatever is convenient, but I do try to be unobtrusive about it. :)

Hahtoolah said...

Since yesterday's conversations were largely about muscled men and women, I though I would try to share a link to the August issues of Smithsonian with you. It is an article about Charles Atlas. Charles Atlas

Jerome said...

PETRology- The study of rocks.

I like how YEAST anagrams to YEATS, as in W.B. Yeats the poet. He wrote that in troubled times often "The best lack all conviction, while the worst are full of passionate intensity... and what rough beast, its hour come round at last, slouches toward Bethlehem to be born"

Tis true that Colonel Sanders and gnus have beards. Anyone feel like an order of Original Recipe bucket of gnu for HOT FOOD TO GO.

Dan clued RAL as "N.C.'s capital" Does anyone remember the rock singer Ral Donner and his 1960 hit "Girl of My Best Friend"
72 theme squares in a 15x puzzle. That's just nuts! In March I had a LAT puzzle with 35. That's proof that I'm not quite half the constructor Dan is.

C.C.- Did you know that 3 under par on one hole is sometimes called an albatross.

Jerome said...

KQ- Is the saurus related to the t-rex?

kazie said...

KittyB and Moon,
I find deep breathing before a blood pressure test helps as well.

I'm with Carol on cherry eating too.

On the Professor Gates incident, true that we weren't there and don't know exactly what happened, BUT, as Obama said last night, wouldn't anyone be angry in such circumstances? I mean it was an invasion of his privacy, in his own home after he revealed his I.D.

Dennis said...

Well, if Obama said it, then it must be true. I guess he was there?

Seriously though, unless I was there, I'm not gonna know what happened, and I don't care if it's Obama or Bush or George freaking Washington who's passing second-hand information from a good friend as if it's fact. There's compelling explanations from both sides, and we'll surely never know exactly what transpired. Our speculations are based on our experiences and beliefs.

Anyway, just my humble opinion. I'll not say anymore about it as it's not something that can be resolved.

On a brighter note, I celebrated the day with three, count 'em three, pretzel dogs. A veritable feast.

Argyle said...

For Carol, some parting words.

For Jerome, some Elvis cover.

For Luxor, from link that Warren gave us, The material to be prilled must be a solid at room temperature and a low viscosity liquid when melted.

If a molten isn't liquid, is it a solid or a gas? You only have three choices.

Y: a vowel, as, in English, a, e, i, o, u, and sometimes w and y.

Dennis said...

Argyle, you are truly a masterlinker (linkmaster?). I had completely forgotten that song, but immediately recognized the label.

I like your setup in the avatar; very functional.

Liz said...

Thanks to everyone for their reading recommendations. Tomorrow is my bi-weekly trip to the library so now I have a list of new authors (to me) to hunt for, such as Gabaldon. I too heartily recommend Rutherford, Ariana Franklin and "The Book Thief." My husband and I are both fans of Bernard Cornwell, especially his Sharpe's series (a British TV version of which pops up on History channel once in a while.) Just finished his new one, "Agincourt." He is well known for his historical research and crisp detail and descriptions of battles. VERY detailed if one is squeamish.
We registered on the National Do Not Call Registry a few years ago and do not receive any telemarketing calls. Go to donotcall.gov for info.
Happy Friday. Liz

Buckeye said...

Guday, all. Today was not too bad for me, but some of the abbs. were odd, as previously mentioned. Finished without help in under an hour.

The American Rolling Mill Company (ARMCO) was founded in 1900 here in Middletown, Ohio by George M. Veriety. It is the staple of Middletown's economy and has been for over 100 years. His son, William (Bill) was Secretary of Commerce under Regan. (After he was CEO of ARMCO). (Thanx, Crockett). I worked for a division of ARMCO, Union Wire Rope, for years. I ended up as N.W. Regional Manager covering the Western 10 states of the U.S., four Western Provinces of Canada and Alaska. I am officially an authority on International Affairs because I have a degree in International Studies and when in Alaska, I could see Russia from my hotel room.

The PERFERRED spelling of judgment has no "e" in the middle.

My friend laments Frank McCourt's death. She knew him in her San
Francisco days.

As for those "muscle" women... I have a policy. I refuse to sleep with any woman who can "bench press" me.

I almost died from playing my heart out on my guitar.

Now I understand this riddle;

"What's black has four legs and can kill you if it falls out of a tree?"

"A piano".

Some news about Ratchet in a future post.

I must be off

Jerome said...

Argyle- How cool. I had no idea that Elvis covered that song.

carol said...

Argyle, for you:

21D has a puzzling clue
and even thinking it through
I had to protest.
though I gave it my best,
the answer was wrong in my view.

Anonymous said...

Very clever Jerome. I came back to read posts and was wondering what you were talking about. So out of it sometimes that I forgot what I wrote to begin with!

Buckeye, loved the riddle. Once again, thanks for amusing me today.

Argyle said...

Dennis, I like this avatar a lot better.

Jerome, Elvis came first, then Ral's.

Carol, you rock!

Chickie said...

Hello All--Late in posting today. I had to give blood today, then went to lunch with my daughter. I had done about half the puzzle before I left and coming back to it gave me almost all the fills. I was surprised as it started out rather difficult. I did have to Google some of the names like Fabi, and Initials for "Nature" author. With the unknowns from Google the rest fell into place. This is unusual for me as I usually really slog through on Thursday and Friday.

Best clues for me were Band aid, Flight Segment, a pump lacks one,and Birdie beater. All were aha answers for me once the perps helped out.

Jassbumpa, How's this? The prill clogged the ria and we had to go up against the puplic to get it removed. MJ beat me to the extra points, but I had fun trying to answer your challenge. Prill was my new word for the day.

MJ: your Carpente ria in A prill was way more clever! Good job.

I wanted Lalique for Big name in art glass, but it wouldn't fit--no way, no how.

I enjoyed the theme today. It was very clever.

LUXOR said...

I never heard the vowel ditty.

I think croissants are light pastries but not a cream PUFF!

LUXOR said...

Argyle , you got me dizzy there ol'buddy.

Anonymous said...

Windhover-

You are correct about each one of us being self aware and therefore self-centered by necessity to some degree. By your reasoning, I am probably more guilty of this than Tarrajo.

For me to be so judgmental about her was wrong. You're right when you say she has been open and trusting.

Terrajo-

You seem to be a strong willed woman and a good influence on your son. I know I can't gather the feathers back into the sack but I can at least say I'm sorry.

Dennis said...

Anon, an excellent post. Why not grab an identity and join us?

eddyB said...

Hello again,
I have to disagree with Jazzbumpa (and Luxor ?). I don't care who you are or where you are, you do not argue with a policeperson, you obey their orders immediately. The man was probably justified in feeling the way that he did being he was in his own house. That was no excuse. The police were responding to a burglary in progress report and had no idea who he was. "Supposedly" he refused to hand over an ID and called them racist among other
names. As for the charges being quickly dropped, I pictured a call from the White House to the Gov. to the mayor to the chief to the officers who tore up the 5s.

BTW: Have you heard of a trombonist by the name of Harold Betters. He worked with Slide Hampton. Slide did a lot of the arrangments when they were both with Reprise records. Harold and I don't shake hands anymore, we give each other hugs.

eddyB

Thomas said...

Thank again for the concern shown to Father and the family. Another day of tests. Stress test, and lots of 'pictures' at the Nuclear Medical Lab. No doctors today, but we're supposed to hear some results in the next day or so.

All of you put a smile on his face tonight at dinner. I told him people from coast to coast and north to south were wishing him well. He'd never heard of a blog, so I opened up the laptop, showed him the Corner, and read to him some of your kind words from yesterday. He just sat there, grinning and shaking his head while I explained where each of your posts were originating.

It made his day!

Thanks again!!

Anonymous said...

Jeannie, first of all your posts regarding "Project repack" cracked me up. It's really funny that the "secret agent" actually turned out to be a retired FBI guy...especially when you tied in Quanitico!

Kind Anon...thanks for speaking up on my behalf. Not too many anons lately doing that. Give yourself a name, as Dennis put it.

Thomas, good to know that your Dad got a kick out of seeing outpouring prayers and good wishes sent his way. I hope all the tests he went through come out clean as a whistle.

Time to bore you all with "Mom" stuff. My Dad and LGJ went Salmon and Lake Trout fishing on Lake Michigan today. Brady has never fished with down riggers and it was quite the thrill when he landed his first fish. He asked how his soccer team did and they managed to eke one out. 3-2. I thought it was really cute when he asked how Sierra did.

carol said...

Thomas, what a delightful story about your Dad, sure made me smile and sort of made my day! Please say hi and best wishes from me in Oregon. His best medicine is you!

Anon at 8:26...good for you - you are right, Tarrajo is a good Mom and a good person. She takes care of her son, holds down a job and works hard for both of them. I admire her very much, it cannot be easy.

Anonymous said...

KittyB and Carol, this one is for you...4 more zucchini in Zucchinisota and still more blossoms that I can count. KittyB, put out the all alert signal to your DMV. Also, I'll take that zucchini soup recipe.

BTW, Sierra had one goal and two assists.

Chickie...taking your recipe for zucchini bread and adding a cup of chocolate chips. Leaving out the nuts as some of my co-workers can't do nuts. I'll let you know how they turn out.

Lois, once again an outstanding post.

Hahtoolah said...

Anon@8:26
I know it must have taken a lot of courage for you to come out and admit your words were unkind. Please come and join us with a name. As you can tell from our conversations, we can share our joys and sorrows. There is a lot of support from this crossword group. I for one would appreciate your company, if you would like to share.

WM said...

Thomas that is a wonderful story and I do hope your father gets some answers...sometimes the not knowing is the most difficult place to be. Once you know what is going on you can move forward...and I am all about moving forward.

Well, this has been an exhausting day and it is finally wine time here on the left coast..I raise my glass to you all. The fog is sticking around so the days will be good for a bit longer. That means I cleared the way for some painting...yea!

Drove a 1/2 hour to my mom's, helped with some things and did her grocery shopping and then drove downtown to take down the show...*sigh* which went much faster than putting it up. Walked over to the Downtown Library, that I just found out my brother designed in his early days...because I just found out this morning that the person who currently has the show there is taking it down tomorrow which means I have to hang mine a week early...sooo...I have to get everything ready to hang at 9:15 Sat...I was really hoping for that extra week...then...we drove another half hour out to Saratoga to deliver the mural panels and finally another half hour or so home, then we had to unload all the paintings and I still have to put them away and...and...Whew!

I agree that you should just put the whole cheery into your mouth and enjoy it!

Buckeye...as always, you are amazing. ;o)

Lois...and you are also amazing! that was just hysterical...always miss you when cowboys are in season and you are harvesting...LOL

WH... you are my hero...and to anon, that was a fair appology and I second Dennis in saying you should find a name and join us.

Jeannie...Love your story and there will still be daisies...do you prefer white or yellow?

Now, I have to put my chef's hat on and figure out dinner...Hubs did all the driving today as we needed his truck, so he has earned a great dinner! He is a very tolerant and lovely man. :o)

Cheers

Dennis said...

Just so everyone knows, this anon is not the 'other' one. That's why I suggested he take an identity.

kazie said...

Thomas,
That must have been very heartwarming for you too to show your Dad how far and wide the wishes came from.

Jeannie,
You definitely have the makings of a good book there!

Dennis,
To be fair, the only thing of Obama's speech I quoted was his saying anyone would be angry--I know I would be! You're right, we don't know the exact sequence of events, but I still know I would be angry!

Clear Ayes said...

Buckeye, "In Great Britain and many of its former colonies, “judgement” is still the correct spelling; but ever since Noah Webster decreed the first E superfluous, Americans have omitted it. Many of Webster’s crotchets have faded away (each year fewer people use the spelling “theater,” for instance); but even the producers of Terminator 2: Judgment Day chose the traditional American spelling. If you write “judgement” you should also write “colour.”"

In my defence, I did spend several years living in Canada, so I am definitely mea culpa regarding judgement. I don't want to criticise you, so I have to call on our blog neighbours Irish Jim and Kazie to testify that old habits die hard. As I recall Irish Jim has mentioned his favourite clues on occasion.

Always love hearing from you Bro and you can take that to the banque.

Jazzbumpa said...

Eddie -
What you are describing is known as a "Police State." Rather different from a democratic republic, or republican democracy, or whatever the correct name is for the form of Government we free citizens of the U.S.A are supposed to enjoy. Yelling at a police officer is not a crime.

And having thus strayed dangerously close to politics, I will now drop the subject.

Alas, I do not know of Harold Betters. I did see Slide a few years ago when he came to Detroit.

There are so many great musicians out there. I saw a bunch of them Sunday. Very humbling.

Cheers!

kazie said...

CA,
I agree. I still can't keep straight when to use -ise and -ize in some words. I guess I didn't know Webster was the sole origin of the American spellings. I always imagined it was just another aspect of rebellion against the English from that revolutionary era. I do like the fact that dropping the "-our" for "-or" endings brings the words back to their Latin origins, and sidesteps the French influences which followed William the Conqueror's success in Britain.

I just read up on Webster, who apparently studied 25 or more languages so as to know the origins of English, to prepare for his great work in creating the dictionary.

Jeannie said...

WM, I prefer the every day daisies. White with the yellow centers...I look forward to your amazing abilities...there is something very soothing about a field of them and they are out in full force here in rural Minnesota. My commute these days is breathtaking. I live in farm country and the hills and valleys with all the many shades of green, yellow and gold would put your artists mind to work. I must get into the 21st century and purchase a digital camera as there is something to be said about the beauty that is Minnesota in the summertime.

Jeannie said...

I am suddenly moved to link this song...dedicated to the white horse . I was just joking about the Quantico reference...turns out I was spot on.

Crockett1947 said...

Thinking about the cherry juice that C.C. got on her white blouse, it appears that no one remembers that C.C. says she peels everything she eats that has a skin, so I can imagine there was ample opportunity for the juice to be splattered. C.C., am I correct or did I mess up on this one?

Heading out to a high spot to watch the ISS and shuttle pass over Portland in less than an hour. Clear skies and no moon -- should be quite a sight.

Vodka to all.

WM said...

Jeannie...sounds absolutely lovely...and photos are always good!

Kazie, with your expertise in languages you might be interested in a book called the Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester...about the making of the OED...Oxford English Dictionary and favorite clue of cruciverbalists. Truly interesting.

#3 and at least shorter.

WM said...

Crockett...thanks for the reminder on the space station...I once stayed up until about 4:30 am to watch the shuttle zip by to land in Calif...astounding as it blazed through the sky, low enough to really see it! Gotta go stand outside.

#4 and even shorter!

Jeannie said...

WM, have you ever experienced the beauty of northern lights? We get them up here around October and November...it is an absolutely awe inspiring gift from Mother Nature. I have been "wow'd" many times over, no matter how many times I have seen them. I have seen them for the last 43 years that I can remember. There is really no warning that they are coming. It's just a wonderful phenomenon of curtains moving through the sky.

Anonymous said...

Jeannie, I agree wholeheartedly about your take on Minnesota's beauty. That is why LGJ and I camp all the time. I will take it one step further. Get out in the woods in the fall, enjoy the beautiful foilage and late at night just look up into the sky. It looks like there are a million stars up there.

Enough of this. Once again I am missing my LGJ. Nine days to go...

Anonymous said...

I see once again you Minnesota women never sleep. Are you two a tag team or what? If so, I'd like to see it.

Clear Ayes said...

Tarrajo and Jeannie, No Northern Lights, but we are also very fortunate to live where the night sky is very bright. There are no city lights to dull the view. When GAH and I first moved here I thought there was a streak of clouds overhead. After several nights of seeing the same misty cloud formation in the same place, I realized what I was seeing was the Milky Way. A billion stars, of which ours is a small dot, is totally awe inspiring.

Now, if we could just cool down the daytime temperature to less than 100 degrees!

By the way Dennis, I guess I don't have to worry about GAH getting cirrhosis. He is pretty fuzzy.

JoJo said...

Hey All, This post is pretty late (1:25AM here in Ft. Laud.) But I figured I'd post it anyway, as I am new to this site and really enjoy participating. I had a very busy and hectic day so I did not get to the puzzle until about an hour ago. Enjoyed it and was moving right along until I hit a couple that stumped me. I always print it out from the Times crossword site as I prefer having a hard copy in front of me, but ended up having to go on line to figure out the ones that were giving me trouble. A few red letters. Trice, Ariadne, Steuben, Teo, Ria, Nan. I had consulted my extensive Webster's dic. but could not find Nan or Ria, which surprised me because this dictionary is about 8 inches thick and seems to usually contain any words I am seeking. Still, it was a very enjoyable puzzle. I was reading the posts about Minn., my wife is from there originally. I got to go there once and fell in love with it, hope to get back there again someday. I am hoping to get to know you all better. Talk with you puzzlers later, good night.

Crockett1947 said...

@jojo You sure are up late. Sweet dreams to you.

eddyB said...

#3 and I'll shut up. I'll agree to disagree.
Just read two stories on the AP wire. One was about a man in MD given an $80 ticket The state trooper said he was going too slow. The man said that he was doing about 58 in a 65 zone. The man is going to fight the ticket in court. Which is where Mr. Gates should have taken it.

The other story is about the Cambridge police being upset because The Prez
called them stupid in a press briefing.

We are what our life experences have been.

Some day I will tell you what happened when the SJPD forced their way in our son's rental. He and the room mates went to court and filled a complant. Two of the officers were fired. two were su spended and thee were reassigned
to desk duty to get them off the street. They later resigned. I was in court that day.

Two nights ago there were eight patrolcars across the street because three people were yelling at each other. I guess if a patrol man asks for assistance everyone shows up. The funny was as everyone was leaving, some one set off fireworks. They all came back.

Enough. It is time to download tomorrow's grid. Good night all.

eddyB

Thomas said...

Anon,
As a Minnesota man, I am proud to report that Minnesota women do not sleep, and that just makes Minnesota men all that more happier! I pity this fool who cannot satisfy his state's women. Obviously, that causes your failures of manhood to perpetuate, and while you dwell on it, to strike out at the more fortunate. May I suggest Viagra? Extenze??

I know, Dennis, oohmm,,, oohmm,,, but nobody can cast aspersions onto the women of my fair state, without a white knight reply. And yes, that includes you KQ.

MamaRuth said...

I wasn't on yesterday so I don't know exactly the type of books people are looking for. For historical fiction, I enjoy Elizabeth Peter's Amelia Peabody series about British archeologists in Egypt. I've also read many of Philippa Gregory's books about English royalty. Had to look up a list of the kings of old and Henry VIII's wives because I was getting lost.

I have a good zucchini soup recipe also. Here's my favorite Z. tip. My 88 year old mother has always been very sensitive to the heat so she doesn't bake in the summer. She tried cutting up/grating the z. for z.bread and then freezing it for baking in the winter but it got too watery when defrosted. Then she got the idea of mixing in the amount of sugar the recipe calls for before freezing and that solved the moisture problem. Your discussion of giant zucchinis reminded me that I better check the garden tomorrow. I rent a garden plot from the county at a community garden because my yard is very shady and the deer and ground hogs in my neighborhood eat everything. At the community garden, there is more for them to choose from. Has anyone tried zucchini pancakes yet?

Thomas said...

To any and all who might be a Ken Follett fan, I recommend Jackdaws , a WWII thriller with a female heroine, and as always a good Follett read. Just my two cents to the literacy of this blog.

Jeannie, is special agent Lemke parked under security cameras in his armored truck? LOL!