google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday July 9, 2009 Dan Naddor

Advertisements

Jul 9, 2009

Thursday July 9, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: The Real (e)State

17A: Realtor's "lavish landscaping"? Frankly, there are ___: WEEDS EVERYWHERE

24A: Realtor's "charming"? Actually, it's __: REALLY TINY

35A: Realtor's "expansive backyard"? Honesty, there's __: NO POOL OR SPA

45A: Realtor's "needs TLC"? Candidly, __: IT'S A PIGSTY

53A: Realtor's "quiet setting"? Truthfully, it's __: OUT IN THE BOONIES

I discovered this morning that "realtor" was coined by a guy named Charles N. Chadbourn from Minneapolis. He sold the rights to the word to the National Association of Real Estate Boards for only one dollar.

Amazing. I wonder how much Jack Dorsey is willing to part with his Twitter. I bet Rupert Murdock is salivating.

Dan Naddor probably constructed this puzzle when the current housing bubble just started to burst. Nice puzzle. Amusing theme, Merl Reagle style.

Across:

4A: Not for most teens: RATED R

10A: Gambling game: FARO. Named after the Egyptian king Pharaoh.

15A: "Same here": I DO TOO.

16A: "The X-Files" extras: G-MEN. FBI Agents.

20A: Hi-tech eye surgery: LASIK. Tiger Woods had LASIK surgery.

22A: German pronoun: SIE. German "you". I wrote down ICH, thinking of JFK's "Ich bin ein Berliner".

28A: Opposite of FF: REW

29A: Student's buy: TEXT. Short for textbook I suppose. Really wish I had attended some school when I first came to the US.

30A: Stood: ROSE

31A: Toaster treat: POP-TART. Kellogg dropped Michael Phelps after his pot-smoking photo.

34A: Blown away: AWED

37A: Eisner's successor at Disney: IGER (Robert). Sigh. I could picture his face, but his name escaped me. He used to appear on CNBC often, before he succeeded Michael Eisner in 2005.

39A: Ad staples: SLOGANS

40A: Speaker before Dennis: NEWT (Gingrich). Speaker of the House from 1995 to 1999. He is going to run for the presidency in 2012 I think.

41A: Arroyo __: Southern California watershed: SECO. Literally "dry creek".

42A: Mass vestment: ALB. See, this L is pronounced. But the L in alms/salmon is silent. I do not pronounce the L in almond either.

49A: Diction problem: SLUR. Sylvester Stallone has a SLUR problem.

50A: Homer consequence: RBI (Run Batted In). I like this new clue.

51A: Anecdotal collection: ANA. The Old Norse literary collection is EDDA.

52A: Deadly snake: COBRA. The "Dried coconut meat" is COPRA.

58A: Tiny time pd.: NSEC (Nanosecond)

59A: Barrel cleaner: RAMROD. I know nothing about gun.

60A: Robertson of CNN: NIC. I find NIC Robertson to be very attractive, don't you?

61A: Northeast clothing chain: SYMS. No idea. Wikipedia says it's founded by Sy SYMS in 1959.

62A: Recorded: ON TAPE

63A: "Starpeace" album maker, 1985: ONO. "Starpeace" is a statement against Reagan's "Star Wars".

Down:

1D: Loud crier: BAWLER. The "Mythical crier" is NIOBE, and the "Irish folklore crier" is BANSHEE.

4D: Reward seeker's concern: RISK

5D: Gator chaser?: ADE. Gatorade. Nice clue.

6D: Good, in Hebrew: TOV. As in "Mazel TOV!" (Good fortune, Congratulations)

7D: Hot time in Paris: ETE. Quite an ordinary "summer" clue.

8D: Florida's "Blue Monster" golf course: DORAL. The previous DORAL Open was played at the "Blue Monster".

9D: King or queen: ROYAL. Thought of RULER first.

10D: E followers: FGH. Alphabetically.

11D: City north of Des Moines: AMES, IOWA. The clue seems to be asking for a 8-letter city name.

12D: Perform a shampooing step: RERINSE. I actually do RERINSE.

13D: Like two jacks: ONE-EYED. The Jack of Spades and Jack of Hearts.

18D: CCLI doubled: DII. 251 X 2 = 502.

24D: Deadbeats's autos, eventually: REPOS. Hmm, where is Realtor's "RELO" when you need it?

25D: Praise: EXTOL

26D: Baffled: AT A LOSS

27D: Corners: TRAPS. Verb.

29D: Preeminent: TOP. I still can't believe tops is an adjective.

31D: Potty opening?: PORTA. PORTA-potty. Just saw someone selling his old outhouse at the Flea Market the other day. He wanted $1,500.

32D: Man of many words: ROGET. Ah, ROGER's Thesaurus. He was also a doctor.

33D: Frequent leading man for Hepburn: TRACY (Spencer). He always demanded the top billing, in all the movies they made together. I often wonder if Spencer TRACY really loved Hepburn. Too much surprising sacrifice on her part. I like their "Woman of the Year" the best.

35D: The "this" in "This just in": NEWS ITEM

36D: __-Cat: SNO

37D: Shackled: IN IRONS

38D: Order to a slacker: GET BUSY

42D: White rat, e.g.: ALBINO

43D: Entice: LURE IN

44D: FBI undercover agent Donnie, title subject of a 1997 film: BRASCO. "Donnie BRASCO" is a great movie.

46D: Put down in writing? PAN. Put down here means to "criticize". Great clue.

47D: Opening words: INTRO. Kept thinking DEAR SIR.

48D: Cartoonist Wilson: GAHAN. A complete stranger to me. GAHAN is Hindu for "deep/complex".

52D: UPC part: CODE. UPC is Universal Product CODE.

54D: Suffix with robot: ICS. Dictionary says robotics is coined by Isaac Asimov.

56D: Support provider: BRA. Wacoal is my favorite brand.

57D: Alley __: OOP. Alley OOP is derived from French "Allez, hop!" (Let's go).

Answer grid.

C.C.

76 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - really enjoyed the puzzle today -- as with C.C., it kinda reminded me of a Merle Reagle offering. Fresh clues and a great theme; it was fun trying to figure out the remainder of each sentence.

'Opposite of FF' threw me for a minute -- I immediately thought of Fun Facts. Haven't seen 'one-eyed jacks' clued in quite some time. I thought 'homer consequence', and 'man of many words' were clever clues, but 'on tape' for recorded is rather dated now, and 'son' for 'boy' is not quite synonymous. Gahan Wilson has always been a favorite cartoonist of mine, very dark humor. Never heard of Arroyo Seco before.

Today is National Sugar Cookie Day. I also just read that Oscar Mayer died yesterday at the ripe old age of 95 -- so much for hot dogs being bad for you. Always wanted a ride in the weinermobile.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "The closing years of life are like the end of a masquerade party, when the masks are dropped." -- Philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer

Couple more Fun Facts:

- The world's first restaurant for cats operated for four days in New York in 2004.

- The oldest known disease in the world is leprosy.

Anonymous said...

Dennis, I'm from Madison and worked at Oscar Mayer. He was a very nice, quiet, unassuming man. Worked with his youngest son and he also was very humble. Even took his turn getting coffee for staff! This city will miss the likes of him.

Hahtoolah said...

Morning, All. Today's puzzle was the first real challenge of the week. It took me about 30 minutes to complete, but I got all the right responses (some through filling in the blanks on other clues).

My favorite clue of the day was 32D: A man of many words.

When I saw "Homer consequence", my first though was Homer Simpson, but "doh" just didn't work!

Never heard of Syms and I grew up in the northeast. Ah well.

KittyB said...

Good morning, C.C. and all.

I have visitors, still, but I wanted to check in and say that I enjoyed the puzzle today. I look forward to Dan Naddor's work. I needed a little hunt and peck, but the realtor descriptions were fun to suss out.

Dennis, when I saw 'Opposite of FF' my first thought was that 'FF' stood for 'fortissimo.' But the opposite would have been 'pianissimo' or 'pp,' one letter too short, so I started looking elsewhere. We respond to clues from our points of view and experience, which is what makes crosswords so much fun.

C.C., I love Wacoal! They are not only beautiful, but very well constructed.

From last night, the bricklayer's union in the Chicago area has led to the virtual extinction of the all brick house. If you travel through the suburbs, what you see is brick fronts with siding on the remaining three walls. They have priced themselves out of the residential market.

My sister came to take a class with me at Sur La Table last night. This particular class was on knife techniques. In three weeks we'll take another on grilling. We live about four hours apart, so it's a joy to find a time when we can get together like this.

I'm off for a little more time with my sis before she has to leave.

I hope you all have a great day!

Argyle said...

Ah yes, brfore the porta-potty was the brick outhouse


I know why the feline cafe closed. All the cats would stand in the doorway, deciding whether to come in or go out!

whereswebb said...

Good puzzle today. Challenging, but I did better than yesterday - probably the result of a full night's sleep.

Dennis, I never would have guessed Oscar Mayer was still alive... That death is one of those "He wasn't dead yet?"

Like C.C., I enjoyed "Homer consequence" as a clue - after I figured the answer from the perps. I thought "D'OH" like hahtool and when that didn't fit I was racking my brain to think of a consequence of Homer (the ancient Greek poet).

Today I leave for Traverse City, MI with my parents for the Cherry Festival. I've never been before, so I'm looking forward to it! I'm planning on also making a trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore while I'm in the area - should be another excellent Michigan weekend.

Hope everyone has a great day!

Linda said...

Argyle: you do know your cats...on the other note, a favorite Halloween prank was to tip over the outhouse...(or so my granny told me :) Brick outhouses took care of that!
My worst Halloween prank was to soap those old Jalousied windows they used to have in Florida...worst, because I got caught and had to clean all those bazillion pieces of glass!

Will be "out of pocket" for several days beginning Monday...Hope I don`t miss any BD`s while I`m gone...

Jimbo: Funny Jack Elam story...If he could make it as a movie star...I suppose anyone could..BTW...Your life would probably make, at least, a "Movie of the Week" on TV.

Tarrajo: I`m so thankful abortion wasn`t an option with you...we would all have been the poorer...

Argyle said...

C.C., I just want to say your theme choice, The Real (e)State, is brilliant.

Dennis said...

Anon@6:33, yeah, he seemed like one of the good ones, judging from what I read. And whereswebb, he was third generation; the company was started by his grandfather.

KittyB, I took a knife course too, but I suspect it was a bit different from yours.

Argyle, after seeing the picture you posted, I wonder who first said a girl was built like one of those, and why.

KittyB said...

Funny about the brick outhouse, Argyle. I thought that they were constructed of wood because they had to be relocated periodically. I'm familiar with the phrase, "She was built like a brick outhouse," so I should have realized that they weren't all wood. I suppose if you could afford an outhouse of brick, it was a status symbol, and as Linda pointed out, you didn't have to worry about it being tipped over.

Thanks for the link, and the laugh about the cats. So true!

Dennis, I probably need to take the course you took! This one had to do with how to hold the knife properly, what motion to use for the best use of muscles and knives, and how to approach cutting a variety of veggies. One of the best tips was to cut a strip off one side of a potato or carrot, so that it has a flat surface to rest on as you continue cutting. I tend to put my index finger out on the tang of the knife, and that's a no-no. I have a lot of experience in the kitchen, but the class was very well worth taking.

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, everyone.

For those who are interested, I posted pictures of my train chasing weekend on my facebook page. Searching my user name should let you find it.

Really liked the theme in this puzzle. I'll have to show it to my singing buddy, "Steve the Realtor."

Wanted RUN for RBI. Didn't know NIC, SYMS, IGER. Took me a while on ALBINO.

@argyle Remember "Built like a brick _ _ _ _ house?" I guess that just meant "really stacked"? I see dennis and kittyb remember.

Have a great Thursday.

Elissa said...

I liked this puzzle, although it took me a while and I final turned to "Regular" mode to get through it. Many clever clues. With a bit of noodling, I got all the theme answers.

C.C.: Nic Robertson isn't my cup of tea, but you really have a admire someone that does a job that requires you to have your blood type (AB+) as big as your name on your flak jacket.

Also, I just read Hepburn's autobiography "Me". It was interesting. It read like listening to her talk in an interview. She said was madly, totally in love with Tracy, but didn't know whether he loved her, at least the way that she defined love. I find that kind of sad.

When I saw ONE EYED jacks, I thought of the suicide king - king of hearts. Wonder why card designer decided to draw him that way.

kazie said...

I'm rather disgusted today--with myself, for blanking on so much. I only "got" about 25% of the clues at first, gave up and came here to see what the theme ones were, though I knew the idea of them, didn't have enough perps to fill any in except the first.

That helped with several others but I still had to google most of the names. I don't watch sports or ads, (except that cute new one with the dogs), don't play cards, and don't notice cartoonists' names. Since retiring I don't need many new clothes, and have never heard of Syms.

Having FARO and ONEEYED crossing was a problem for a non cardplayer. Even the German SIE didn't help me, since it could have been WIR, UNS, ICH, MIR, DIR, IHN, IHM, or IHR, until I got IOWA and remembered AMES.

All in all, an unpleasant struggle, and I'm beginning to dread the Naddor puzzles which are often too culturally loaded for me, despite their cleverness.

I know, you are all thinking I must be a boring person, and you're probably right.

I searched all over the internet for some good pix of Oz "dunnies", as our outhouses are called, but only found this and this one. I have a whole book on them called "Dinkum Dunnies".

Elissa said...

Kazie, Dunnies? Wonder what the origin of that name is. That second picture is pretty open/exposed for an outhouse.

The new picture is a new scarf design for me. I think I'm ready for the show. Now just crossing my fingers that there will be buyers.

treefrog said...

I struggled today. Just not enough perps to help me out:}


I remember the brick outhouse term. About 1981 the town of Jacksonville,OR hosted outhouse races. Entrants built their own. They had wheels, there was a 'rider', and they were pushed down the street. My husband's HVAC business built one out of sheet metal. Our 12 year old son was the 'pilot'.

Favorite real estate term? Fixer Upper. Means knock it down and start over.

This puzzle just hit the recycle bin!

Jazzbumpa said...

Holy yikes! That's quite a theme. With the obvious exception of my rant yesterday, have you ever seen anything so relentlessly negative?

WHY? I guess Dan Naddor's real estate agent must have been quite A TEASE, who AWED him, used SLOGANS to LURE him IN, or perhaps RAMRODed him into buying a REALLY TINY WEED, NEWT, and COBRA infested PIG STY - OUT IN THE BOONIES of AMES, IOWA with NO POOL OR SPA. He couldn't get out, since it was caught ON TAPE. He ATE the RISK, and now it's one of the REPOS. Hope he's not IN IRONS.

And now for something completely different:
KQ's recent adventure with her son's wisdom reminded me of a similar experience, which I recorded for posterity long ago. It's posted on my blog as yesterday's Wednesday Poetry Blogging entry. Feel free to drop by and comment.

Cheers!

KittyB said...

Elissa, good luck with your show. I hope you'll have pictures to share!

kazie, thanks for the links to the dunnies. "Dinkum Dunnies" must be a fun cocktail book to flip through.

JD, and the ladies of last night, you have SAVED ME! I have two zucchini plants in my veggie bed (Whatever was I thinking to plant TWO!?) I'm sure there is a baseball sized zucchini or three waiting for me today. I should have picked them several days ago. That chocolate-zucchini cake made my mouth water. I'll be making it tomorrow and taking some to my mother. Zucchini bread has always been my standard way of sharing the veggies, but I think the cake may make me famous in these parts!

kazie said...

Elissa,
Somewhere in my search, I saw that it supposedly originated from French "dunegan", but I'm sceptical, since that doesn't sound very French, and it's not in any of my dictionaries. Wiki gives an explanation of it being a shortening of "dunny can" derived from several other spellings of dunegan.

Cute story about a dunny.

Treefrog,
Those fixer uppers were often called "house needing some repair" when we were looking at real estate some years ago. We felt they needed pulling down too.

kazie said...

Elissa,
I forgot to say what a lovely new scarf!

KittyB,
I guess I should hunt it down and get it out on our coffe table again!

Al said...

The Straight Dope explaining brick ____house as somehow being a "compliment".

luxor said...

c.c.,

what size is your Wacoal?

Anonymous said...

This was a fun puzzle to construct today. I printed it out, and worked it for a while before finishing. I really like doing the puzzles that way better than online, but don't always have the time. Or else I am on the laptop and not near a printer. Alas. Wish our paper just carried the LAT instead of its lessor counterpart.

The theme clues were very well done. I too had LASIK - best thing I have ever done. I had such poor vision it took two attempts to get it my vision right. I had worn corrective lenses since 3rd grade, when they found I could only read the big E on the chart. It is miraculous in my eyes (no pun intended).

There were quite a few that I was clueless on, but as I worked the grid, got them with the help of the perps. Loved the Homer clue and all the theme entries. Was frustrated with the Iowa town, as I drive that path so often. It never dawned on me that it would be a city and state. Doh. Also liked the clues for PAN and BRA.

Jazzbumpa, thanks for the cute poem. I could have used that last week before he went in. He did splendidly though. My daughter had hers taken out with just Novocaine. She is of tougher stock than my son though. She did well also, but had a dry socket. He has gotten by with no swelling or dry sockets in the end.

Loved the brick outhouse. We had a dog years ago that would sit on her house all day and would eat the shingles on the roof. I worked for a home builder at the time, so he came by and put cedar shakes on the roof thinking she wouldn't like the taste. Of course, it didn't deter her one bit. Later, we were so frustrated, the builder asked the masons that worked with us to build a brick doghouse, roof and all. It was quite the structure in our modest neighborhood.

Dennis said...

luxor, that's wildly inappropriate. Would you ask a female you barely know, in person, what size bra she wears??

WM said...

Morning...I am still groaning from trying to work this puzzle last night...just struggled all over the place. Finally started filling in the theme answers and it went a bit better. Got stuck on NIC(I'm with Elissa on the vest thing) and ONO...was thinking of the standard ELO. Never heard of SYMS and SIE I left alone from the crosses...although ONE EYED JACK was was an aha moment I also thought that 11D was a single city name as there was no state in the clue.

I did a lot of writing it down and erasing and putting the same thing back in. I eventually had about 4 spaces left and typed it in online to check it...it's completed without having to look anything up...but I am almost dreading Friday.

My youngest brother is an architect and he once went to a client appointment where all they wanted was a minor kitchen redo. As they walked through the house, the client complained about everything and pointed out all they didn't like about the house...they ended up tearing down the whole house and completely rebuilding it from the ground up!!!

Kazie...you are far from boring and are the "go to" lady for many of our linguistic needs, plus the fact that you have vast experience from living and working in so many interesting places...just because some of don't follow pop culture anymore certainly doesn't diminish our interesting quotient. :o)

Argyle...you must have owned a lot of cats...you nailed it!

Luxor...exceedingly tacky.

Dennis...I won't sing you the Oscar Mayer Weiner song again...;o)

Argyle said...

Well, I guess it's up to me to post the link: Brick House - The Commodores

IRISH JIM said...

Afternoon CC and all.

Very cleaver theme and lots of blind alley clues.
Had pen for 46d as in put it in writing.
Liked the homer clue Rbi.

Dennis mentioned yesterday about remembering long past items. Sy Syms used to have an ad, and I detest ads, which said on shopping at Syms, "where an educated consumer is our best customer".This goes back probably 20 years.
I guess it goes to show the effect advertising has on your mind.
The One eyed Jacks was a great movie with Marlon Brando and Karl Malden.

Jimmy, S. Carolina

Dennis said...

Irish Jim, that's still their tag line in all their ads. I never realized it, but they're in 13 states, going as far west as Texas.

Anonymous said...

Luxor, I didn't even comment as I figured you meant to be tacky.

How funny is this. My 22 year old daughter was with two of her friends last night, one of which always completed the crossword with me when they were in high school and she was at our house. My daughter laughingly told them of my "crossword blog addiction". They proceeded to tell her how they attended a lecture at their college held by Will Shortz on crossword construction, and how incredible he was. So much for mocking your mother's past times I guess. There is still hope for our youth.

Tarrajo, as for all the comments last night, I am in complete agreement with Linda. Anon has no idea what your circumstances were, and no place judging anyway. God bless you for doing the right thing in difficult circumstances.

Candi L. said...

Thanks for the brick house link, Argyle. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

Can't say the same for today's puzzle. It was truly puzzling for me...

windhover said...

Since the tacky barrier has already been breached today, I can tell this lame joke with a clear conscience. I'm not sure how many years ago I heard it, but it was a lot.

A beachcomber is walking down the beach and stumbles over a bottle. He picks it up, pulls out the stopper, and a genie appears and offers him the proverbial three wishes.
He thinks for a minute and asks for a new Corvette. It appears. He then asks for a million dollars. The trunk of the 'vette opens to show a huge stack of hundred dollar bills. He can't decide what his third wish could be, because after all, with the car and the cash (this happened before the dollar became virtually worthless) he can get all the women he desires, and can buy anything else he wants. So he decides to defer his third wish until he can make a wise choice. So he and the genie jump in the car and head for the freeway. He flips on the radio and begins to sing along with the commercial, "Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer weiner.......".

Chickie said...

Hello All--A hard puzzle for me today, lots of erasing and redoing. When I finally began to get the theme answers things started to fall into place, but...

The SE corner was difficult as I put in lisp instead of slur, that led to lad for boy, so you know the results there--head scratching. Brasco and Gahan were totally unknown, so I Googled today, a lot.

Argyle said it C.C. your take on the Real (e)state was brilliant!

What was a Ro-Get? Aha Roget!!!--

I was just plain sloppy with my thoughts today.

JD: I'll have to add that Chocolate Zucchini cake to my Zucchini file. It looks absolutely scrumptious. Forget the WW points!

g8rmomx2 said...

Hi c.c. and all:

Well, muddled thru this one. I did get all the theme answers which was fun and helped out a lot. I had Lisp and Lad, but changed it to slur when I got Brasco. I agree with Dennis that "son" does not seem synonymous with boy. I had a hard time with Ames Iowa, because like others I was trying to come up with just a city. I also had A Sec instead of N Sec, Exalt instead of Extol, but finally got In Irons. Had to google Gahan Wilson and Arroyo Seco which I never heard of. Lots of write overs, but finally managed to finish it with not to much googling.

Dennis: I forgot to comment back to you on Harpoon Harry's. Yes, it is in Punta Gorda. We go there often and usually by boat. The food is really good, prices are right and it is always a fun place to be. Glad you were able to enjoy the dining experience there.

Today is my daughter's birthday, however she is now back home and back to attending classes. It was fun seeing her for the July 4th weekend and celebrating early.

carol said...

Hi all, don't think my brain is in active mode today. Had a lot of blank squares. I kept at it and finally filled in most of them. I always print the answers Thurs through Sat keep them 'hidden' while I am trying to solve the puzzles. I just had to look at a few though. 41A Arroyo Seco was totally unknown as were 44D (BRASCO)and 63A (ONO). I did not get the theme, as such but enjoyed the clues and answers! Having been in real estate back when prices for homes were fairly reasonable, I know all about the euphemisms used in ads describing property. They were very clever and mostly dishonest. What did they think they were getting away with when the prospective buyers would actually SEE the house?!

Luxor, shame on you!

Elissa, beautiful colors in that new scarf! I know your show will be a big success.

Windhover, LOL...great one! Still laughing.

Chickie, who is in the picture you have posted???

JIMBO said...

This is my third attempt to tell this story. Lost it twice already. Anyway, here we go again.

The year was probably 1926 because I was still a toddler at that time. We are back to Circus days and we are making a move to the next location.
I'm not sure about the other vehicles, but I believe ours was a covered flatbed Model T. Built somewhat like the present day UPS trucks only smaller. Sadly lacking in horsepower, they were hard pressed to negotiate many of the hills of central Texas. When one stalled, the rest of the troops would go forward to "push and scotch" until they reached the top.
On this occasion, my parents were called on to help, so they placed a rock (scotch) behind the rear wheel and left the truck about midway up the hill.
Our truck was also pulling a trailer that housed "Old Fannie" the Black Bear. (You are ahead of me now aren't you)?
Yes, Fannie became restless and began pacing back and forth in her cage ultimately causing the truck to roll over the scotch and start back down the hill.
Mom and Dad both saw what was happening. As the story goes, Dad "froze" and Mom "Flew". I was in the doorway, having a high old time, when Mom snatched me out of the truck. It rolled a little further and the trailer "Jack-knifed" stopping the truck just before it was due to go over the side.

I look back now and realize that God has had his protective hand on me since infancy.

C.C., Too long isn't it?
Vaya con Dios

JimmyB said...

I wasted a lot of time studying a map of Iowa, looking for an 8-letter city north of Des Moines. Other than that, though, I seemed to be on Dan Naddor's "wavelength" (as Embien would say) and actually completed it faster than yesterday's.

Apparently Dan Naddor is a favorite of Rich Norris. By my count this is the 13th Naddor puzzle since the switch. No other constructor has been used more than 5 times. I hope I'm not the only stats nut that is counting.

I'm off to the store to get an orange and some nuts so I can try JD's zucchini cake.

WM said...

Jimbo...your posts are never too long...IMHO.

Dennis said...

Carol, treefrog, kazie et.al., you're right about the real estate euphemisms - don't forget 'cozy', which means two people can't fit inside at the same time. Very clever puzzle; I found it funny, certainly not negative.

Regarding the zucchini discussion, I've only got two things against it:

1. It's green.
2. It's called 'zucchini'.

WM, do you also remember the Oscar Mayer Boloney song? "My boloney has a first name,......".

Windhover, good one!

Jimbo, great story, and no, not too long. So how long did it take to clean the bear crap out of her trailer?

Mainiac said...

Good Afternoon All,

Struggled in pencil with this one this morning. I had holes all over the place. Couldn't get any theme answers until I went on line to see red and finish. Still enjoyable. My favorite clue was Deadbeats' Autos. I've been dealing with some real deadbeats lately. I like the way that term rolls off the tongue.

A buddy reminded me of another one from our childhood (teenage years actually). D... Weed. That one rolls off the tongue well too. Anyone else?

Well done Jazzbumpa!

Nice shit house Argyle. We have to move the one at camp because its 40 years old and the 24 inch elm has really appreciated the food, but is now split and will fall on it at some point. Dad dug the hole by hand but no pick ax and shovel for me. I'm renting a small excavator and will walk it down through the woods. I need a better four wheeler trail anyway.

I love the zucchini. I put it in salads, love to stir fry it and rarely eat it steamed. Too soggy. The kids love the bread we make eating it for breakfast. My favorite is baked stuffed. I let a couple of them grow big, halve them and dig out the seeds. Make a batch of home made spaghetti sauce and load it in the zucs. Top with mozzarella and bake at 350 for a half an hour or until the cheese melts. I used to freeze a bunch all set to go but the zucchini got squishy when you heated it up. Made one with home grown spicy pork sausage once. Very little tomato base and quite a bit of cheese. Don't forget the onion and garlic.

Have a great evening!

Elissa said...

Dennis: I remember the Oscar Mayer "Boloney" song, which is why I know how to spell it. "Oh, I love to eat it every day and if you ask me why I'll say, 'cause Oscar Mayer has a way with B O L O G N A".

Dennis said...

Elissa, exactly right - now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go listen to any station on the radio and try to get the damn song outta my head now.

carol said...

Jimbo, your posts are wonderful!! What a great story and it's amazing you lived to tell it..LOL How was old Fannie?

Outhouses creep me out...I hate the things and keep thinking of what is going to come up and 'greet' me. Arrrghhh! Spiders and giant moths are other things I freak out over. I would try to find other places to do 'natures calling'. Can you guess that I don't camp? My idea of roughing it is a place where there is a chocolate candy on my pillow.

JIMBO said...

Dennis, I don't think
Fannie was very concerned about the happening.
Can't say the same for the rest of the troops.

SandbridgeKaren said...

Carol - totally agree on 'roughing it'. Always said my idea of roughing it was going out for breakfast instead of having room service brought in.

Dennis - is it just me or have we had a lot of yummy dessert foods as the National Day of lately? Are you sure you aren't making these up to suit your sweet tooth?

Got the corners of the puzzle but was stumped on the middle - not enough perps to help me and I missed 'no pool or spa' - not up on the latest real estate 'lingo'. Enjoyed 'E followers', 'like two jacks' and 'man of many words'.

Nice puzzle but I agree that we're seeing Dan Naddor about once a week, not that I'm counting. I enjoy his stuff; either he has a backlog in the cue or is awfully prolific.

How true on the WoW - the older I get the better I feel in my own skin with no facade. Sense that's true of many of y'all on the blog. Not touching weiners or bologne today.

Linda said...

Jimbo: Excellent!...it`s just like those "serial" stories...We should call it "The Perils of Jimbo":
Jimbo tied to a stake and a stampede coming...Jimbo in a run away truck with a bear in a cage behind him...Jimbo being "babysat" by a monkey...I plu-perfect love it! Thanks for sharing your life... remembering how you hate to compose makes it all the more special....

Dennis: Here`s MY earworm: "Oh I wish I were an Oscar Meyer wiener, that is what I`d truly like to be ee ee. Cause if I were an Oscar Meyer wiener...everyone would be in love with me"

BTW; Isn`t Hansen`s Disease the same as leprosy and isn`t there a leper colony in Louisiana?

Tarrajo: Where are you?

Vern said...

To Dennis:

Can't get BOLOGNA song out of your head? How about switching to "I wish I were an Oscar Meyer Weiner..."
All the talk about royalty reminds me of a trip to Europe where we were told that because of intermarriages, not all of the kings were head of their class. Thus, when you see, "King XXX The Good" this tells you that that particular king may not have had both oars in the water.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Afternoon All, Another day gone. No internet service since mid-afternoon yesterday. Just got back about 10 minutes ago. I haven't even seen the puzzle yet. I wanted to check out the rest of Wednesday's comments. My only comments are -

1. I was a union member for almost 30 years. I know that I wouldn't have the adequate (it can't even be called generous) retirement income, or the decent secondary health insurance that takes up the slack Medicare leaves, if not for union negotiated benefits.

2. Any parent who takes care of their children in a responsible loving manner is right up there on my list of "most admired". More than one kudo to tarrajo.


Jazzbumpa, Loved Karen In The Chair parody of Casey At The Bat. You have a real talent.

Jimbo, always entertaining stories.

I have two large neighbor-grown zucchini on my kitchen counter right now. Scooped out, stuffed with marinara sauce (and maybe some italian sausage) and loaded with cheese sounds good to me. Tomorrow night's dinner problems are solved. Thanks, Mainiac.

Carol and SandbridgeKaren, I'm SO with you on the camping thing! A vacation is when somebody else waits on you, not you working harder than you ever did at home.

JIMBO said...

Linda,
Thank you so much for your critiques. You are the real reason for my continuing these releases.
But also to WM, Carol and Demmis. Thank you all.

JIMBO said...

I mean Dennis

Dennis said...

Carol, real roughing it means no mint on the pillow.

SandbridgeKaren, you're right, there's been a real run of sweet days, but they're all legit.
Not touching weiners or bologne today Sorry for your loss.

Linda, yes, Hansen's Disease is leprosy. In addition to Louisiana, I think there used to be a colony somewhere in Hawaii.

Vern, Linda, thanks - I'd just cleared that first ditty from my mind.

Jimbo, you're the best - keep it up.

kazie said...

WM,
Thanks for the support--you made my day, which had started out rather dreary.

Carol and SBK,
I'm with you on roughing it! I can never understand people who take a huge camper to traipse around the country and do the chores they'd have to do at home, only without its comforts. And real camping, in a tent or under the stars--forget it!

Jimbo,
You should write a book! Great stories.

Dennis and others,
It should be wIEners--not wEIners, though I'm sure you will find some misspellings online and in grocery stores, but I don't think Oscar Mayer misspells theirs. It's based on a sausage type invented in Vienna (WIEN in German). Wein means wine and sounds like "vine".

embien said...

15:55 today. I loved the puzzle and especially the theme. I literally LOLed at a couple of the realty "terms".

My missteps included confidently putting in ONE PAIR for the "jacks" clue, and totally spacing out on FGH (that was my last fill, actually). I don't know any German, but it did seem strange to have SIP as the German pronoun (the "P" coming from the aforementioned PAIR). It was all eventually straightened out, but it took a while for me to get it right.

I hesitate to jump in here again, but I pronounce the "L" in ALMS also, c.c..

@kittyb: Actually, several top chefs use the "index finger on the tang" for knifework. It's probably not the best, but I have seen it used on TV.

I personally prefer putting the index finger on the side of the blade (assuming a chef's knife). That allows you to apply gentle sideways pressure as you work through the veggie you're prepping. The left hand fingers are curled under so that the blade is always pressured against a knuckle. The sideways pressure allows you to work quite quickly, and, in fact, you can do it without looking down at the vegetable (I recommend this only after a lot of practice, lol)

Never extend the tips of the fingers or you'll be sorry (as I have been. Several (bloody) times.)

Chickie said...

Carol: Thanks for asking. That's my youngest daughter holding Polly, one of the pups from her sister's latest litter. Her picture was better than mine!

Jimbo: Loved your bear story. Keep them coming.

Elissa:Take some pictures for us of your other offerings for the show.

I picked the first apricots from our tree yesterday and so have an apricot pie in the oven for dinner tonight. I've eaten quite a few right from the tree--they are so good!

Chickie said...

Linda: Your question about Leprosy reminded me of an excelletn read I finished a while back. It is called "The Island" by Victoria Hislop. It is about the Greek island of Spinalonga and leprosy's touch on an unforgettable family. The time frame is from the 30's through the 50's when the actual Island leprosy colony finally closed.

eddyB said...

Hi, Luxor's foot must taste pretty good.

KittyB said...

Kazie, that's a cute story about the dunny, and I love the envelope! You don't need to worry about being thought boring....it's never gonna happen!

Al, thanks for the great links you provide.

KQ, my husband owns a masonry company. I read your story about the brick dog house to him. It makes me grin just to think of him building one! lol Great story!

WM, I'm not reading the story about the tear-down to Dear Husband. I have a LONG list of things I want to do to our house and I don't want him to worry. *G*

Irish Jim, we have a Syms in the western suburbs of Chicago, and I can vouch that the advertising is still the same.

Happy birthday to your daughter, g8trmomx2! It's also my niece's birthday. Her mom was here with us this week, and left this morning so that she could celebrate with her family this evening.

Jimbo, that was a great story! Linda has summed it up well. "The Adventures of Jimbo" are never dull!

Maniac, thanks for the great suggestions on how to use up the zucchini. I'm always looking for ways to get more GREEN into our diet. *S*

windhover.....grooooaaaaannnnn.

Carol, SBKaren, Clear Ayes and kazie, I'm with you...NO ROUGHING IT! (Dennis, that mint had better be on the turned down bed!)

Luxor...bad form.

Chickie...mmmmmmmmmmmmm fresh apricots! YUM! I really wish I could keep an apricot tree growing here. Our winters are really hard on them.

Embien, I'm very good about keeping my fingers curled under as I chop. I don't do enough kitchen prep to be fast at what I do, but I have most of the other technique down. The most labor intensive of my recipes are soups like Minestrone, otherwise we eat fairly simple meals.

IRISH JIM said...

Dennis & Linda.

Re leprosy. Molokai is the Hawaian Island that had a leper colony minstered to by a Fr Damian who eventually contracted the disease himself.

Jimmy, S. Carolina

carol said...

Dennis, nice catch on the chocolate (mint) -but I was thinking that the way it should be, is the fruit basket with the chilled champagne. If they just left the chocolate on the pillow and not the other, poor me! LOL

Campgrounds are not for me either, they try to make them sound real 'homey'...clean outdoor toilets, sandy places to pitch that small, smelly tent..gee, I can hardly wait to hang myself over the toilet and see (or not) what 'tickles my fancy'.

Apricots reminds me of the season coming soon in this area. Tilton apricots are the best (here) for canning. I haven't done those for 2 years so this is the year..later on, pears. Sure glad we have central air, it can get nasty in a kitchen with a big water bath canner boiling away.
Don't know how our mothers and grandmothers endured...are we spoiled? :)

Buckeye said...

Elissa: re the Kings in playing cards. There have been many different "kings" depicted on playing cards throughout history. I won't get into all of that, but they were likened to real kings. Early depictions were Solomon. Augustus, Clovis and Constantine. There were many others.

It is now believed, but not proven, that the models used in our modern playing cards are:
King of Spades David
King of Hearts Charles I (Charlemagne)
King of Diamonds Caesar (Julius)
King of Clubs Alexander

All of the Kings have weapons at their side but the King of Hearts, who is holding his sword behind his head, in a striking pose. It is believed that he was given that honor because Charlemagne was requested by Pope Hadrian II to battle Lombard Desiderius, who was attacking papal states. Charles I accepted the task, took the city of Pavin and won the war. He became the protector of the church - thus the "Battle pose" given to him.

Why there are two one-eyed jacks (spades and hearts) and one one-eyed king (Diamonds-Caesar) is another tale for another bed-time story. Pleasant dreams my cute, little minion.

I must be off

Argyle said...

Kings

melissa bee said...

good evening c.c. and all,

i did the puzzle about 4am, can't remember much about it except c.c., you're brilliant.

chickie, thx - those plates were on my truck until recently, at my son's request - he'll be driving it soon.

interesting topics today, zucchini, outhouses, cats, knives ..

i started going to tracker school in my 30's and learned to 'rough it' by the master. first lesson, knives. then carve parts to make a bow drill and make fire, tracking, stalking, skinning, brain-tanning, traps and snares, shelter-building, knife-throwing, etc. have taken a solo backpacking trip almost every year since. frankly, it's alot less work than cooking/cleaning for a household, and supremely peaceful.

one and a wake-up. girls weekend is decidedly not roughing it. house on the beach for four days. if i don't check in in the morning, have a great weekend and i'll 'see' you next week.

Dennis said...

eddyB, well said.

Carol, great line, "tickles my fancy".

Buckeye, you are indeed a font of information. Is there a very extensive library at the institution, or is this just accumulated knowledge?

Melissa, you've got some serious skills. I'm familiar with most of them, but 'brain-tanning' threw me. Is it difficult to put back in after you've tanned it? Don't you lose track of what you're doing when your brain's out? And most importantly, WILL THERE BE PICTURES from the girls' weekend??

Anonymous said...

Just got home from soccer...LGJ two goals two assists for anyone who is counting. Just TRYED to complete the puzzle. Here were my snafus...typed in "I ditto" for "I do too", and pen for pan.
I had to hit the g-spot for the Blue Monster golf course.

It was fun to see the cross between ramrod and bra. Lois you slipped, or I didn't see your post.

More zucchini bread in the oven as I gleaned about ANOTHER eight out of the garden today. Thank you all for your recipes.

Dennis...eat your heart out but Tashajo and I both got to ride in the Oscar Mayer wiener moble when we were about 13.

Luxor...hope you are not going to ask my bra size. Tacky.

Lemonade...Tashajo and Tarrajo might have made an impact on playing the Yanks afterall. And if Jeannie was involved...who knows. Our ball boy would have been LGJ however. He is quicker than us.

WM said...

More than one kudo to Buckeye for his amzing brain and thank you Argyle for the immediate link...I don't know that I ever knew any of that...and knowing it now pleases me. I will pay more attention to my playing cards.

MelissaB...you are amazing. I could match a few of those skills, can break down a whole side of beef, have tanned a steer hide(with minimum success)and my knife skills are darn good...but I have never started a fire with a bow and tinder. I like the woods for walking and have had some fun camping in the distant past...but champagne, the fruit basket, chocolates on the pillow and a great dinner out is much more fun...Now I really want to head down to Carmel where all those things are in abundance with an ocean view thrown in for good measure.

A lovely evening to you all...

Anonymous said...

I couldn't make any headway at all on this puzzle. I couldn't even come up with the theme answers even though my husband was in real estate. For TLC all I could think of was his definition of "Tons of loose cash". And a fixer-upper was a "House with possibilities." We lived through remodelling three different houses & the experiences we had would fill a book.

RE: outhouses. I grew up in So. ILL. & don't remember ever seeing a brick outhouse. Ours were always wooden. Where did they build them of brick? I never lived in a house with indoor plumbing until after I started teaching school.

Jimbo, I love your stories.

Dot

Jeannie said...

Whereswebb. You lucky dog; you are heading to God's country if you didn't know it. I grew up in Michigan and Traverse City is a beautiful area. Make sure you take a dip in Lake Michigan (or at least wade) and take in the nice sand dunes. I didn't take in where you are from originally but if in Wisconsin, I recommend taking the Badger (car ferry) across the lake. It's a four hour tour, a four hour tour. Okay that was lame.

Melissabee...enjoy your girls weekend out.

Tarrajo, MORE zucchini?? Congratulate LGJ on his goals and assists. Sounds like you have an athelete in the midst. I will help any way I can to get the darned Yanks off our backs.

Anonymous said...

-Tarrago

A while back when a regular blogger suggested that Big Brothers might be a healthy venue for your son, I was not surprised that you rejected the idea.

You seem self absorbed and and perhaps misandrist tenancies are indicated.

Perhaps your son might benefit from ANY type of masculine influence.

Just a thought...

Dennis said...

Again, let's ignore the desperate cry for attention, ok? Tarrajo, we all know better.

Anonymous said...

Anon, BTW, my name is Tarrajo. I for one am not a misandrist. I have only loved one man in my life that decided to ditch me when I was with child. I am doing every thing in my power to not Sussify my boy. If you think I am overprotective...try it yourself someday. If you are a regular reader here you would remember Brady Joe has a lot of male influences in his life.

He also has much more cahones than you do as he would sign his name.

This is no place for anon comments regarding MY SON unless it is positive.

Sorry Dennis. Sorry C.C.

Dennis said...

Well, I tried...

kazie said...

KittyB,
Glad the dunny story struck a chord. Having grown up in the city, I only experienced dunnies when visiting my grandma until she died when I was about 8 years old.

We are getting our zucchini in too now. Tonight I was grilling lamb chops and put some sliced zucchini on the grill with garlic, salt and olive oil on them. Delicious!

Anonymous said...

Sorry for the rant Dennis. Check your e-mail

melissa bee said...

dennis: not surprisingly, the hardest thing about brain tanning is aquiring the brains. interesting fact: every animal has just enough brains to tan their own hide. i remind my kids of this often. gwo pics .. for a stiff price.

wm: champagne and chocolate are a team sport, so to speak. for me, wilderness is a solo thing.

jeannie: thanks :).

all the out-of-towners have arrived. partying has begun.

Jeannie said...

Tarrajo, as Dennis has said, ignore the anons. I have been hurt once or twice by them. It is a hurt you don't need to take in. As far as I can tell and anyone else here can tell you are doing a stand-up job with your son.

Melissabee...yeah for you. A long weekend out with the girls is always a good thing.

Clear Ayes said...

I never did get back to the puzzle today. I'll be ready for Friday though.

Melissabee, I just spent a little "g-ing" time on brain-tanning. We are never too old to learn something totally new and amazing. I agree that a solo backpack trip would be much less work than household care and HAS to be more serene and peaceful! :o) I truly admire your outdoor skills. Enjoy your 'beach house with the girls' weekend.

WM, Ahhh, Carmel-by-the-Sea is my idea of the perfect town. It has great weather (most of the time), gorgeous scenery, fascinating things to do, fun shops to browse in (too expensive to buy) and wonderful little restaurants and hotels. It's been a couple of years since we were there. Time to give GAH a little nudge and a wink.

Tarrajo, please know that you are supported by all your friends on the blog.

JD said...

Hello all,

I didn't have time to finish the c/w again today. Truman keeps me hoppin'. Anyone need a play-doh recipe?

Kazie, no way are you boring!!!

Jazzbumpa, that was quite a poem. You are very talented indeed. BTW, I also had only 2 wisdom teeth, and my eldest daughter got 3. Geez, why didn't I write a poem? the answer is obvious.

Luxor, TSk! TSK!

C.C., that is also my fav brand.

KQ, very funny dog house story. I'm still laughing.

Jimbo, I also love your stories and am sorry that I don't comment on them as often. My parents died fairly young and I really missed out on their tales of the past. So glad you are taking the time to share with us.

Melissa Bee, I am sooo impressed . I would think camping alone would be peaceful, but I wouldn't like being chilly. Don't think I could start a fire. We camped for years without tents, just tarps, and it was fun THEN. Now, not so much. I always hated packing the car.

WM, WOW! another beautiful picture!! Where is it?

Tarrajo, another tip. Add grated zuke to your meatloaf. It adds moisture and he'll never know.

PJB-Chicago said...

Fun puzzle/theme--I struggled w/ IGER, NSEC,SYMS, etc., but loved reading CC's write-up &
the comments, stories, & banter (apart from the "anony-bomber"
slurs--there's something truly sickening about spreading that kind
of nastiness in the world, IMHO. Hey, I know it's late to post, but want to add at least something before turning in!

Oh,are there really houses with a "spa" (35A) in the backyard,or is that realtor-speak for hot-tub? I have friends who put one of those "lap-pools" in their basement; it's about 4 feet by 9 feet, &maybe 4' deep,
& within a WEEK they realized it was a huge, costly mistake;
they now just use a treadmill to stay fit!
Yoko Ono's 1985 album (63A) "Starpeace"was panned by critics: wonder
why? Here's a sample lyric from the title track:

"The world as our reflection will regain its circulation
---
Human civilization is in a state of isolation,
We'll learn to reach out for terrestrial communications.
We'll make our first migration from earth to other constellations"

Well, at least she TRIED to 'give peace a chance' & be positive, even if a little
awkwardly--I can relate to that! G'night, all!
pjb