google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday August 16, 2009 Mike Pelusa

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Aug 16, 2009

Sunday August 16, 2009 Mike Pelusa

Theme: INJURED. Or rather ON THE DL (85D: Temporarily not playing, in a baseball lingo (and a hint to this puzzle's theme) - D & L starting two-word phrases.

23A: Vietnam War program: DRAFT LOTTERY

29A: Driver's warning, perhaps: DASH LIGHT

54A: What spies often lead: DOUBLE LIFE

70A: Desert phenomenon: DRY LAKE

89A: Place to sign: DOTTED LINE

110A: Leer or sneer: DIRTY LOOK

121A: It's no longer spoken anywhere: DEAD LANGUAGE

38D: Be slain by a stand-up comic? DIE LAUGHING

43D: Murray offering: DANCE LESSON

DL stands for Disabled List. David Ortiz was always on the DL when he was with the Twins. Hated when he flourished with the Red Sox.

The clue for DIE LAUGHING is the only one with ? mark. I wish it were consistent with the other straight clues.

I penned in MIRAGE for 70A first. Did not know Arthur Murray the dancer, thought it refers to Bill Murray.

Nice, real baseball sub-theme in this puzzle:

22A: Baseball family name: ALOU

57A: Hall of Famer Slaughter: ENOS

95A: Third-winningest active baseball manager: TORRE (Joe). After Cardinals' Tony La Russa & Braves' Bobby Cox.

4D: Mariners' park, familiarly: SAFECO. SAFECO Field. My first baseball card is a Ichiro rookie.

41D: One of Willie Mays' 20 in 1957: TRIPLE. I wonder why the constructor picked Willie Mays' 1957 season as a clue for TRIPLE? What's so special about it?

83D: Winning of losing run: STREAK

115D: National League division: EAST

Fun puzzle. I've been waiting for Mike Peluso's byline. We used to get his puzzles on Wednesdays. So, when I saw his name, I was very happy and dived into the puzzle very impatiently. Flitting from place to place and penning in all those fill-in-the blanks & other easy answers. I won't repeat this strategy again. It feels better to start with upper left and systematically move to lower right.

The clue for ACRO (2D: Bat opening) needs a ? mark to indicate wordplay. Acrobat.

Across:

1A: "In My Own Fashion" autobiographer: CASSINI (Oleg). Jackie Kennedy's designer.

8A: Mil. decorations: DSCS. DSC = Distinguished Service Cross.

12A: Handicapper's hangout, briefly: OTB (Offtrack Betting)

15A: Ukr. et. al. once: SSRS

19A: Like an albatross: OCEANIC. Because albatross lives in the ocean? I wanted something related to burden or the golf term "double eagle" albatross.

20A: Conference USA's Miners: UTEP (University of Texas, El Paso). Largest university in US with a majority Mexican-American students, according to Wikipedia. I did not know their sports team name.

25A: Show uncertainty: HESITATE

27A: Olden days: YORE

28A: Guitar inlay material: NACRE. Mother-of-pearl. Some drums have such inlay too.

30A: Piston pusher: CAM

33A: Words after pass and raise: THE BAR

35A: Toulouse evening: SOIR. Or NUIT, as in "Bonne NUIT!" (good night!).

36A: Daily agenda: TO DO LIST

42A: Given as compensation: PAID TO

47A: Some pop groups: TRIOS. Like Destiny's Child.

49A: Public place, in a phobia: AGORA. More used to the "Greek marketplace" clue. Not familiar with agoraphobia.

51A: Romanov leaders: CZARS. Fell to the trap of TSARS.

52A: Toots: BEEPS

58A: "Le Roi d'Ys" composer: LALO (Édouard). I just forgot. French composer. LALO is of Latin origin, meaning "to sing a lullaby".

59A: Italian scooter: VESPA. The one used in "Roman Holiday".

62A: Second century date: CII. Roman 102.

63A: Upper East Side NYT eatery: ELAINE'S. No idea. ELAINE'S counts Woody Allen, Norman Mailer, Andy Warhol,, Frank Sinatra, Jack Nicholson and many other celerities as its frequent customers.

67A: Contract terms, at times: LEGALESE.

69A: __ Bator: ULAN. Mongolia capital. Literally "red".

73A: Henry James biographer Leon: EDEL. Learned his name from doing Xword. He wrote a five-volume biography of Henry James and won Pulitzer for his work.

74A: Narrow loaf: BAGUETTE. Hmm, jambon, gruyere & crudité on a BAGUETTE. Want some?

77A: Old United rival: TWA. Howard Hughes's airline.

78A: Rebuke silently: GLARE AT. Tiger Woods's glare is quit cold and intimidating. However, Padraig Harrington is not to be intimidated today. Curl your top lip and go!

81A: __Kosh B'Gosh: OSH

84A: Onetime members of the Winnebago Nation: OTOES. I guessed.

86A: SAS destination: OSLO. The "KLM destination" would be Amsterdam.

87A: Digestion aid: ACID

92A: Online bulletin board runner: SYSOP (System Operator). Not a familiar abbreviation to me.

93A: Hole in the head: SINUS. No idea. The clue conjures up a bloody image to me.

96A: Old burners in a lab: ETNAS. The Sicilian volcano ETNA is Greek for "I burn".

98A: Three Dog Night hit written by Nilsson: ONE. Here is the clip. Unknown to me. Sounds nice.

99A: Mesopotamia border river: TIGRIS. And Euphrates. The two rivers.

101A: So out it's in: RETRO

103A: 1066 battle site: HASTINGS. Norman Conquest fame.

105A: Take __: A BOW. Mine was THAT.

107A: Oxygen-consuming bacterium: AEROBE. Aer(o)=air. Be is from Greek bios (life). New word to me.

109A: Adm.'s milieu: USN (United States Navy). Adm. here is admiral.

114A: __-France: ILE DE. We often see ILE clued as __ de-France.

116A: Make pictures: DRAW

120A: Web sellers: E-TAILERS

124A: Danish shoe brand: ECCO. I wonder how ECCO obtained its name. ECCO is Italian for ECCE, "behold".

125A: Some operators: Abbr. MDS. MD here stands for Doctor of Medicine (Latin: Medicīnae Doctor) I presume?

126A: Woody's son: ARLO. Lemonade witnessed his drugged state in Woodstock.

127A: The ghost of Mrs. Muir?: SPECTRE. Mrs. Muir from "The Ghost of Mrs. Muir" is a British, hence the British spelling SPECTRE. I've never heard of the movie, so the cleverness of the clue is lost on me.

128A: Fen- __: banned diet aid: PHEN

129A: DOD division: NSA (National Security Agency).

130A: Like many signers: DEAF. Did not know a signer is a person who uses sign language.

131A: Syrup, essentially: TREE SAP. Maple syrup.

Down:

1D: Wyoming city: CODY. Can never remember this city. It's named after Buffalo Bill CODY.

3D: Precook, in a way: SEAR. Wrote down SOAK.

5D: QB's overthrow: INT. Interception I suppose.

6D: Zip: NIL

7D: Desktop figure: ICON

8D: Like "aardvark", e.g.: DUTCH. Oh, I did not know aardvark is of Dutch origin.

9D: Entertainment system: STEREO

10D: Brainy: CEREBRAL

11D: Thriller hero, often: SPY

12D: Workplace protection org.: OSHA

14D: Queen's neighbor?: BISHOP. Chess. I obtained the answer from Across fills.

15D: Make fun of: SATIRIZE. Satirical tone can be hard to detect for a non-native English speaker.

16D: Refinery residue: SLAG

18DL Haggis ingredient: SUET. Ewww.

24D: Skin coloring?: TATTOOS. Clever clue.

26D: Connected to the hipbone: ILIAC

29D: Anticipates in a big way: DROOLS. The clue brought to mind Stanley Tucci's "Big Night".

31D: Hgts.: ALTS (Altitudes)

32D: Russian for "peace": MIR. That's how the Russian space station got its name.

34D: Spirit in le ciel: ANGE. French for "angel". "Ciel" is "The sky"/"heaven".

36D: It may be periodic: TABLE. Another great clue.

37D: Ryan of TV's "Peyton Place": O'NEAL. Farrah Fawcett's love.

39D: Opposing team: SIDES

44D: Marseilles crowd?: TROIS. French for "three". Three is a crowd.

48D: More than great: SUPER

50D: "I'll do it for __": A FEE. Funny. Mine was FREE.

53D: WWI French solider: POILU. Literally "hairy one". I can never remember this word.

56D: Marx collaborator: ENGELS. They co-wrote "Communist Manifesto". This poster (Marx, ENGLES, Lenin, Stalin & Chairman Mao) was an important part of my childhood memory.

59D: Let off steam: VENTED

64D: Dundee denials: NAES. Scottish for "no".

68D: Brown of song: LEROY. "Bad, bad LEROY Brown". I was stumped, thinking of R & B singer Bobby Brown (Whitney Houston's husband).

70D: Visa user: DEBTOR. Well, I am a DEBTOR then.

71D: Getting unauthorized R & R?: AWOL. Nailed it.

74D: "Veni, vidi, vici, ", e.g.: BOAST. Nailed it also. Loved the clue.

75D: computer acronym: ASCII

78D: She played Thelma: GEENA."Thelma & Louise".

80D: Has a few too many: TOPES

88D: Length of time: DURATION

90D: Romani de Tirtoff, famously: ERTE. The French pronunciation of his initials R. T.

91D: Behind: DERRIERE

92D: Grounded fliers: SST

94D: Soothsayer: SIBYL

97D: Tempe sch.: ASU (Arizona State University). The Sun Devils'.

100D: Like most church service: SOLEMN

102D: "C'est magnifique!": OO LA LA. Always thought it's OOH LA LA. "C'est magnifique!"="This is magnificent".

104D: Bring about: INDUCE

106D: "Eating __ has never given me indigestion": Churchill: WORDS. Not a familiar Churchill quote to me. Does not sound like him.

108D: __ roses: BED OF. Had trouble stringing the answer together.

111D: Restless desire: ITCH

112D: Dash, for one: RACE. I was thinking the Morse code dash.

113D: Mount of Greek myth: OSSA

117D: "Darn it": RATS

118D: Indian tourist city: AGRA. Taj Mahal city.

121D: Family nickname: DAD. It's ba ba in Chinese. Ma ma is Mom.

122D: "All Things Considered" airer: NPR

Answer grid.

C.C.

49 comments:

Hahtoolah said...

Morning All. This was quite a toughie for me. It took a while for the theme light to go on for me. Once it did, I still took some time to fill in the DLs. Draft Lottery and Dirty Look came hard for me.

There were some clever clues, though: Queen's Neighbor and Hole in the head were my favorites.

Csar / Tsars / Czars / Tzars are always a fun challenge because the first two letters are so interchangeable.

Today's Birthdays:

1888 ~ Lawrence of Arabia (d. 1935)
1924 ~ Fess Parker (Daniel Boone)
1930 and 1953 ~ Frank Gifford and Kathy Lee Gifford, respectively
19?? ~ My Sister

Passings:

1949 ~ Margaret Mitchell (B. 1900)
1977 ~ Elvis Presley died. (b. 1935)

QOD: What worries you, masters you. ~ John Locke

eddyB said...

Good morning all.
See the movie for 127A. Worth renting.
Is anyone watching the panda cam from the San Diego zoo? Bai Yun is doing a great job keeping the baby fed and warm.
I'm up late or early depending on how you think. After I solved the
puzzle, I picked up Lee Child's no. 12 book in the Jack Reacher series. Couldn't put it down until
I finished it. No. 13 should be here by Tuesday.

Now I can go back to bed.

eddyB.

Hahtoolah said...

C.C. I'm an old Red Sox fan, so was glad to see David Ortiz move to Boston.

I thought To Do List was another D&L Theme. I got that shortly after I figured out I was looking for D&L responses.

I never knew that "The Ghost and Mrs. Muir" a movie. I only knew that it was a TV show.

Barry G. said...

Hey, folks!

Pretty straightforward and smooth puzzle today. The only place that really hung me up was where LALO, ONEAL, POILU and ELAINES all met. I've never heard of ELAINES or POILU before. I have heard of LALO (although I didn't know he was the composer of that particular piece), but I misspelled ONEAL as ONEIL which had me staring at LIL_ for a bit trying to remember if I had ever heard of a composer named LILI or LILY or LILA. I finally figured out my mistake, though.

Other than that, the only minor sticking point was when I initially put BOTTOM LINE instead of DOTTED LINE for 89A and, as a result, was trying to figure out who ORTE was what word for "behind" began with MERR____.

Oh -- and I swear that one day I will actually remember EDEL on my own without needing all the crosses... ^_^

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

Hahtool,
TO DO LIST not a theme phrase. It does not fit the strictly D & L pattern. Besides, the Xword rule dictates that all the theme entries are symmetrical. TO DO LIST's partner in today's grid is HASTINGS, which is clearly not a theme answer.

EddyB,
You are so late!

Barry G,
Funny how we respond to each puzzle. DOTTED LINE is my first theme entry today.

"Country Head" Jimbo,
How many photos have you got printed? As for Dennis's view on Michael Vick, I think he was thinking of his Akita dog and his awful experiences in Vietnam.

Anonymous said...

Hahtool,

There are really just 2 ways to spell the old ruler of Russia: CZAR or TSAR.
That should simplify things a bit for you. :-)

CC, the clue The ghost of Mrs. Muir? for SPECTRE is showing in a tricky way that it's the British spelling of specter that we're looking for, since Mrs. Muir is a Brit.

Anonymous said...

Oops, CC -- I forgot you covered this! (Mrs. Muir)

Lemonade714 said...

Sunday puzzles seem like work, with so many fills. I really liked Queen's neighbor?: BISHOP and Hole in the head: SINUS. SINUS is a Latin word meaning a fold or pocket; in particular the front pocket in a toga, which makes sense because in humans the sinus cavities all hold some fluids. Public place, in a phobia: AGORA, was interesting and sadly, I had a friend who became agoraphobic and did not leave her house for years. With lots of talk and some outside counseling, she is now fine. Speaking of SOIR, the distinction between evening and night is one that is very strong in some languages, where evening follows afternoon, and is followed by night. My German friends corrected my use of Nacht when I meant Abend. Is that true in English?

kazie said...

Lemonade,
I think the distinction between night and evening is only strong in British English. I remember being asounded when I first started teaching here and people said "good night" when I was leaving at about 5 pm. To me it meant one was retiring for the night.

I had to use lots of red help today, too many to elaborate on this early. I may think of comment-worthy things later. I counted only 21 acrosses and 46 downs that I actually knew, and some of those I had to work on because they wouldn't come automatically.

Kelev said...

Morning, People. I don't want to be morbid about this, but may I suggest that you keep a contact list of friends readily available for your spouse, significant other, or family in the event something should happen to you. I good friend of nearly 20 years died early this week and I only learned today, after her funeral had taken place. He husband was so distraught that he didn't think to contact her friends. We had gotten together at least once a month for years, so I wasn't a stranger to the family.

Moon said...

Good Morning!
For a change, I did well on this Sunday Puzzle. I did it online and it had the theme 'Injured'. So when I reached 85D, I knew it hinted to the Disabled List but had ON..took a while to put in THE DL. Got the theme from DOUBLE LIFE and DOTTED LINE. This helped me get DRAFT (I only had LOTTERY from perps), DIE LAUGHING (I like this clue...wish I could die thay way).
Ofcourse I did use Google to get CASSINI, ENGELS.
The hardest part was exactly where BARRY G struggled...all unknowns.
Need to train my brain to put in ONEAL whenever I see Ryan.
Loved the TABLE clue for periodic (got it from perps..didnt even think of chemistry when I saw the clue..was more on the lines of tides), Queen's neighbor (got it from perps again).

Used Dennis's National Relaxation Day as an excuse not to do any chores yesterday and now everything is piled up :(

Have a great Sunday

WM said...

Morning everyone.

Started this late last then finished up this morning...never really got the theme, but was more concerned with just filling in the squares. Didn't even "get it" on finally filling in ON THE DL...D'oh!

Started in the NW corner and worked down for the most part, then started skipping around on the bottom half. I must have read some of the clues at least 4 times!

I didn't care for all the Abbr. accross the top as starters and thought there were some really obscure clues...Upper East Side eatery???? I think that is really location specific and a bit unfair...something about Elaine from Seinfeld might have at least given us a fighting chance, plus crossing it with POILU????

In its favor, I will say that this puzzle had a decent number of fairly easy crosses to at least give me a chance to guess. A few foul-ups...put in NOIR first, BABE for BABY. A couple of places I left blank and just had to wait until I could squeeze out perp answers. I will say this was more doable than many of our Sunday offerings.

The only lab burner I could think of was Bunson, no clue with SYSOP, UTEP(no clue?),TOPES(???), AEROBE was a guess because I had AER(Air-something or other) and after thinking through all the Murrays, finally hit on the dancing Murray...aha!

Did like Queen's neighbor, disliked DROOLS...maybe for a dog...have heard of "drools over" but not in an anticipation sense...Must make note to self to study up again on Amer. Indian tribes...too many obscure ones lately.

Nice today, though they say it will heat up...fog would have been a nice help for the coastal mtn fire...no go.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, Sundays are always a long haul. It is nice to have the theme right there in front of me. It usually helps, so I can complete Sunday's crossword before Monday morning!

I started out badly with CHANNEL in the 1A slot. CODY fit, so I thought I had something going. Big mistake and I finally had to leave it and come back later.

Glad to see WM's comment that it wasn't just me. It seemed like there were a lot of abbreviations, DSCS, OTB, SSRS, INT, UTEP, ALTS, and that was just in the top third.

I didn't like 50D "I'll do it for A FEE." Like C.C., I've heard "for FREE", but never "for A FEE".

The south half went better for me. BAGUETTE filled itself and most of the rest, with the exception of SYSOP, ETNAS, AEROBE, and ECCO were familiar.

Wasn't it Buckeye who liked (Mrs. Muir) Gene Tierney's adorable overbite? Here's a photo of both Gene Tierney and Oleg Cassini.

Kelev, not morbid at all, just thinking ahead. My daughter has a list of all our email contacts and then there is our rolodex for any 20th century friends who still aren't computerized.

Clear Ayes said...

I forgot to mention that Gene Tierney was married to Oleg Cassini from 1941 to 1952. They had had two daughters.

Wikipedia mentions an affair with JFK, during a separation from Cassini. JFK was a busy boy. Was there a Hollywood star with whom he didn't have an affair?

embien said...

25:16 today. An easy Sunday puzzle. My last fill was the "E" in ON THE DL, so obviously I never saw the theme. I guess maybe I don't always need a theme to do the puzzle (despite what I said yesterday).

I filled in WORMS for the Churchill quote ("Eating WORMS has never given me indigestion") and thought "c.c. is going to have fun with that". Of course I was wrong--too bad.

I had a "malapop" when I put in GEENA for 45d: Actor Davis (which should have been OSSIE), only to have her reappear at 78d: She played Thelma! "Malapop" is a coined word (by Andrea Carla Michaels) from Rex's NYT blog where you put something in the grid incorrectly only to have it turn out to be correct fill in some other place in the grid.

As others have noted, the clue for SPECTRE only works for the original British movie (where the cottage was in Cornwall or Wales or something), and not for the US TV series, which was quite popular (the cottage on the TV show was in Maine, as I recall). Both the movie and the TV show were absolutely delicious viewing.

@WM: ELAINE'S is not a restaurant from "Seinfeld" (at least so far as I know--I've never seen the TV program). It's a very famous restaurant in New York City, frequented by "A-listers" and foodie types. I'm certain it's reasonably well-known. Elaine's

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & gang, a good long one today, I wonder how long it takes the puzzle creators to make a Sunday puzzle?

Here you go C.C. : Ecco


"
Key Dates:
1963: Karl Toosbury establishes Eccolet Sko to manufacture shoes in Bredebro, Denmark.
1966: The company begins exporting to Scandinavian markets.
1972: A successful line of clogs is launched.
1974: A production facility in Brazil is opened.
1981: The company introduces Free design, its first million-seller, and enters the Japanese market through a production license to Japanese Achilles Corporation.
1983: The first franchised Ecco retail store is opened.
1990: A full scale entry into the United States begins with the opening of a subsidiary in Massachusetts.
1993: A joint-venture manufacturing and distribution subsidiary in Thailand is created.
1999: The company changes its name to Ecco Sko.
"

embien said...

I'm guessing that the jambon, gruyère and crudité baguette (from c.c.'s picture, which looks delicious) is not kosher (per our earlier discussions?) If so, too bad, as one of those baguettes and a glass of vin rouge is a staple of the Parisian lunch scene, and one of my personal favorite meals there.

Oops! I'm now thinking that followers of Judaism don't eat pork products--is that right? (Please pardon my total ignorance on the finer points of religion--I'm trying to learn.)

Crockett1947 said...

@embien Observant Jews who stay kosher would never eat pork -- an unclean animal/food. I think the same can be said for Muslims as well (time for me to display my ignorance -- and laziness -- I could look it up, but IMBO.

Buckeye checked in via e-mail to another blogger on another blog -- he's fine, just super busy trying to avoid nurse Ratchet.

IMBO (did I already say that? Oh well, CRS)

WM said...

Embien...re Elaine's...I know that it wasn't in Seinfeld. I was saying that Elaine was a character in Seinfeld and a reference to her...i.e. female character in Seinfeld would have been an easier clue. I try to stay up with some of the restaurant's and chefs in the country but it would like be putting for a clue Thomas Keller's Ca bistro or T. Keller's NYC restaurant(PER SE, which he named because he always like the phrase, or his new restaurant in Yountville, AD HOC). I just thought it a terribly obscure clue. Sorry for any confusion.

On food traditions, many foods are not permitted in dietary laws because it was a safety factor long ago...ie pork, which carried the trichinosis worm and still can, so considered an unsafe food. I can remember as a child my grandmother telling me to cook pork a long time for that very reason.

C.C. Thank you for posting all the pictures of our blog family. It is lovely to put faces to names...I am a very visual person and this just personalizes everything so well...Kazie, we are waiting to see your lovely face along with many others...if I can post my mug...well...you get it.

Hahtoolah said...

A word or two about the laws of kashrut. There are a lot of misconceptions about kosher foods. The system of kashrut (the laws governing things that are kosher) have nothing to do with either health concerns or rabbinic blessings. The laws of kashrut are derived from the Torah, specifically Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The Torah associates kashrut with holiness. The Hebrew work "kosher" literally means "fit," but stems from "kashrut" meaning "Holy."

In a meal, meat and dairy are not mixed. Also, only certain animals can be eaten. These animals are herbivores, such as cattle, goats, sheep. When these animals are slaughtered, there is a specific manner in which they are killed so as not to prolong their death.

Also, only fish (which are neither meat nor dairy) with fins and scales are permitted. Thus, catfish and shellfish are not kosher.

LUXOR said...

Religions, and there are many, have evolved into a money making venture. Some have foolish customs in order to seem more legitamate, e.g. can;t eat meat on friday, confession, holy communion, being baptized, the kosher food business, cows being held sacred, women not allowed to show their face etc.. I'm sure there are many others.
Look at these customs ouitside of religion and they show-up for what they really are. Ridiculous!

MJ said...

Hi Folks!
This was a very doable puzzle for me, although I was well into it before I got the theme. My favorite clue was Queen's neighbor. My biggest struggle was where TORRE and STREAK crossed. I didn't know Torre, and I was thinking of a "winning or losing run" as a tie-breaker. Finally decided it had to be STREAK, but still didn't get why for the longest time. After reading C.C.'s post, and seeing that was correct I went back and read and re-read the clue and finally... D'oh!

Does anyone know how to get the entire Sunday puzzle to print out? When I print it, the bottom three rows are missing. Am I the only one with this problem? I've never tried to print out other days 'cuz they come in the newspaper.

MJ said...

@embien--I wonder if the woman who coined the word "malapop" took it from the character Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's play "The Rivals." Mrs. Malaprop made ridiculous blunders in her use of words, often with comic effect

JIMBO said...

C.C., Good morning and thanks for your reply pertaining to Dennis. I'm sure he didn't mean it the way it came across to me. I sincerely hope so. (I'm quite fond of the guy) I view him as a true hero.

Photos I've copied? I have four bloggers so far.
Melissa Bee, The Moon family, Dennis, and Clear Ayes and G.A.H. Also have four poses of you and Boomer. Have I missed anyone?

eddyB said...

Hello again,
I have some odds and ends.
Don't remember the tv show "The Ghost and Mrs Muir". The movie was
just on FMC last Sunday.
Do remember the tv show "Honey West" (Anne Frances). Loved Bruce and the AC Cobra.
Looks as if MY Steelers are off to a good start.
Patrica, which direction from Pittsburgh do you live? If you are south of the city, we have it surrounded.
Still having a chuckle over Giant Eagle's (PA food store) attempt to sell a six pack of beer.

later,
eddyB.

Al said...

I did the downs first today and also had a malapop of ETNA for the Greek Mountain of 113D. Knew immediately that was wrong once I got to the Lab Burner clue.

You know what's funny is how you never notice a new concept like malapop or a thing like a popular car until it gets pointed out, and then you start to see it all over the place. I bought a PT Cruiser a few years back and all of a sudden I started seeing them everywhere, even a couple the same color as mine. Either everyone started copying me or I just hadn't been paying attention before...

Here's one for you, the number 47 is the most quintessential random number in the universe.

Warren said...

What about number 42

The Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything from The Hitchhikers guide to the Galaxy novels...
;-)

kazie said...

MJ,
I believe the term malaprop comes from the French word malpropre meaning dirty, untidy or slovenly. Probably an intended misspelling.

Also, you can print the whole puzzle by opening the "print" drop down-window and choose "print with my solutions". However, I think you have to leave at least one letter blank to get the clues with it. Choose one that you know, and fill it in by hand on the printed version.

WM said...

MJ...you can print the whole puzzle from the Cruciverb link after 7pm PD(S)T, but you have to download AcrossLite...I haven't figured out if you can also print out a completed grid to check answers...you can do that at the LA Times website after 11pm(West coast time) at night.

Hahtool...I agree with you, but I also think there were health and cleanliness issues involved with how various animals and foods were perceived long ago. I also think that Kosher and Halal proceedures are more humane and sanitary and show a respect for the animals. We can't entirely understand what people thought centuries ago and I often think that we have a difficult time not putting our own, more modern interpretations to history...I just always find it interesting and there are several good historical food books out there for anyone who is interested.

I think that the more we know about various traditions in food, religion and culture the closer we come to a better understanding and appreciation of each other.

Jimbo...there is a group photo also of Me, Chickie, JD and Elissa from a few days ago.

Crockett1947 said...

@mj Maybe you need to go into the properties of your printer before you actually print. I chose "scale to page size" and seem to get what I want.

@luxor The point with dietary restrictions and other religious "customs" are that they ARE tied to particular religious systems. You're welcome to disagree with those beliefs, but perhaps a bit kinder statement of your disagreement would be appreciated by the others here on the blog. I KNOW I would appreciate that. Thanks.

IMBO

Anonymous said...

Luxor, You're right. Most religions have customs that to an outsider seem foolish. The apostle Paul even said the foundation of Christianity appears as foolishness to non-believers. "for the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God." I Cor.1:18 and the 27th v. "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise." Accepting on faith what He requires, shows that salvation doesn't come from intellect but from accepting that God is superior to us & he, not us, has the right to establish the requirements. There are religions that have become money making schemes but none of your examples fit in that category. As someone else explained the Kosher requirements were established in the law of Moses. Baptism was established by Jesus Christ himself, etc.

Kelev, I agree with your suggestion one hundred per cent & will try to write up a current address/ telephone list soon. Just today, I read an obituary in the newspaper of a friend with whom I was to have lunch soon. At least I found out before the funeral.


Dot

LUXOR said...

Crockett1947,
No offense intended.

C.C.,
The movie is "The Ghost AND Mrs. Muir and Rex Harrison was the ghost.

MJ said...

Kazie, WM, and Crockett--Thanks for the suggestions. I'm computer impaired as it is, and hubby insisted on an Apple for our home computer, so I often have trouble doing things I know how to do on a PC. However your ideas sent me searching, and I found when I went to print if I changed FORMAT FOR:_________ from "any computer" to the specific model of our computer, I get the last three lines. Hooray, and thanks again! :)

Kazie, Sheridan took the name of his character from the French words "mal a propos" which means inappropriate.

JIMBO said...

Dot,

I was hoping that someone would come along and say the things that I wanted to say. You did it eloquently. Thank you and Vaya con Dios

Crockett1947 said...

@luxor And none taken. I also hope you were not offended by my suggestion.

Sometimes a little bit of proofing and reading one's post before posting goes a long way. I know I try to proof and look at my posts a couple of times before I actually publish them. Even so, at times I feel that my meaning has not been clear enough for someone when I read a response that is way different from what I intended.

I believe and have said before in this forum that blogging and e-mailing is a very imperfect way of communicating. IMO the face-to-face conversations that we have with people is much more true to the expected meaning due to tone of voice, body language, and other aspects of communication that are a hallmark of human discourse.

Hope I'm not being too obtuse here!

JIMBO said...

Wm, I have not been able to locate that group picture you mentioned. Can you tell me which day of the month? I do so want to include it in my album.

Al said...

@Jimbo, just click on the blog photos link from C.C.'s ginger roots blog page and scroll down.

LUXOR said...

Crockett1947,
Everything's kool! And I will take your advice. Thanx.

Al, thanks for the info on the "photo album". Most enjoyable.

JIMBO said...

Thank you Al. I think I'm up to date now.

Luxor said...

I think Mellisa Bee is most beautiful. I could go for her any day of the week.

MJ said...

Crockett1947--Very sage input re: blog postings. I am new at this and sometimes wonder if I am being misunderstood. I would never be purposely offensive. Thank you, Crockett!

Linda said...

LA714: Your troubles with your eyes touched my heart...of all the senses...I think sight would be the hardest to loose. But you "overcame" and became a barrister! Yeah Lemonade714!

The puzzle was longly brutal or brutally long...take your pick...I so wanted "merrychase" for "doublelife" and "first" for "dutch" since aardvark is usually first in reference books. Tried to fit one of the other 4 burroughs in for "next to Queens"...that`s what was intended, I`m sure.
Specter/spectre is rattling to a poor speller...Strange, but "dashlight" came immediately... Oh well, tomorrow is Monday...woot woot!

Dot: Well said.
The first chapter of Romans shows a picture of what happens when we "know( about) God but refuse to glorify Him as God..."
I finally realized that no matter how "smart" or "right" I just knew I was...that His ways are higher than my ways...and if they weren`t, He wouldn`t be a big enough God for me.

PJB-Chicago said...

Eccomi!
That's Italian for "here I am," related to C.C.'s comment on Danish shoe brand Ecco. If you are ever late to a true Italian restaurant, alone, use "eccomi," and you will be greeted with open arms. If you're with other folks say "eccoci" [ci pronounced just like first part of Cheeto]. Language lesson now "finito".

We had a good week here in puzzleland, didn't we? Some fresh fill, inspired clues, challenging grids, great discussions, and camraderie. We saw pictures of people, learned new things, and helped one another survive and thrive through the ups & downs of solving. No better place than this online, IMHO.

Today's grid was like making soup, for me: insert ingredient, taste, fix, repeat. No way to rush it. Balancing garlic and herbs, however, is easier to deal with than some of the mistakes made when my mind flows through my pen onto paper. My tiny loft reeks of white-out, since I am too proud or foolish to buy an erasable pen.

Today's lesson and example: A little French is a dangerous thing. Follow me, if you will, to benign-looking 44 down. Clue says "Marseilles crowd." Five letters. Thought process: "ok, like Pierre's father = PERE." Action: I write in "FOULE" which has five letters, & is French for "crowd." Next action: check perps. Next thought: "Whooops." Final action, insert TROIS through neurotoxic fumes from aforementioned correction fluid. The process continues, multiple times, ego ["ich"] gets slightly shopworn, bruised and humbled.

"GRgrgrgr" Hour later, finally done pat self on back, wash hands, and realize I still had fun.

Here's hoping we have another good week.

Anonymous said...

Posting so late that possibly no one will read. I was too busy hanging on the couch and watching Tiger go down. What a great tournament, and what fun to watch.

Got the theme after a while, and liked the baseball terminology. A few unknowns, some came with perps, some didn't. But fun to work anyway. Apparently Willie Mays' 1957 season he hit at least 20 doubles, 20 triples and 20 home runs. It is quite a rare feat apparently.

In the baseball mood, we watched Bull Durham the other day again. Saucy movie, just as I remembered it. My husband always talked about how much he liked it.

Related to pass the bar, just saw ARLO on a PBS special for Pete Seeger, another common crossword clue. Good program if it comes on again. Love my ECCO golf shoes, and my daughter had a Moped in college that she just sold - not a VESPA, but same thing really. Fun to drive. She hated to give it up, but not much use for it here.

Kelev, I hear and understand you. A friend I haven't kept in touch with too well just lost her husband to suicide. I generally at least take a gander at the obits to see if there any obviously recognizable names. Didn't see his. I even brought a salad to the funeral, but don't always know who the deceased is. I found out when they announced at mass this weekend. I was flabbergasted and would have attended the funeral had I known.

We will be heading to PETCO park on Saturday for a Padre's game, and then Monday to an Angel's game. We leave Friday, and looking forward to a mini vacation. Dennis, how do I say it? Four days and a wake-up?

dogberry said...

I enjoyed the puzzle but my Akita thinks that it took too long !Hole in the head ? Perhaps space or cavity, but hole No !!! . James the Akita is beginning to suspect that I have a void in my head , the puzzle took me over two hours !

PJB-Chicago said...

@all: In my haste, forgot to say there was too much French in the puzzle. The LALO crossing with POILU was an absolute bear. Lalo would be a gimme for musicians but, c'mon, "Poilu"?? My only possible concession is that the constructor's surname, Peluso, may be a southern Italian variant of "peloso" which
is equivalent to 'poilu' meaning "hairy." Big stretch there.

Last night's comedy went swimmingly. Four of the people from our group also performed, and really shone. I was proud that they avoided cheap shots and each one of them brought their A-game.

@KQ....I was glued to the golf coverage today too. Bull Durham is one of the very few movies that men & women seem to enjoy equally. Enjoy your time away!
@DBerry. Your akita sounds very wise. Teach him to blog, because I think he has lessons i could benefit from. Visit more often, both of you!

WM said...

KQ... not yet late on the left coast...so rest assured you get read...My husband who is not even a golf fan...in the least...watched today...who knew?

Dogberry...welcome and I love the name...very funny character in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing...played exceedingly well by Michael Keaton in the Kenneth Brannagh/Emma Thompson movie version. Also agree with PJB...a wise dog...sometimes taking a break and coming back to the puzzle makes it easier...

Definitely smoky tonight, the wind has shifted in off the ocean and we are in the direct line...but the fog is coming in, a great help for those fighting the fire

PJB-Chicago said...

#4 and out. Too many tear-inducing typos. Mea culpa. His last name is Pelusa, which could possibly be related to "pelosa", a feminine adjective that hypothetically and perhaps cruelly, could refer to a woman with, ummm, lots of hair. We have some treatments for hirsutism now that were not available many years ago
That said, the puzzle was good, and I promise to enlarge my text while proofreading. g'night, all.

Anonymous said...

The choice of "oceanic" to describe an albatross is a poor one. I chose "pelagic" as what I thought would be the obvious answer, since an albatross lives on or over the ocean rather than the coast. Unfortunately, my choice left me befuddled for answers to the other clues in the upper left corner.