google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday September 27, 2009 Alan Arbesfeld

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Sep 27, 2009

Sunday September 27, 2009 Alan Arbesfeld

Theme: Put the Finger on - ID(identification) is inserted in familiar phrases.

23A. Ella while scatting?: RAP(ID) SINGER. Ella Fitzgerald was noted for her scat singing.

29A. Bow-wielding Southern god?: DIXIE CUP(ID). Cupid is the love god. Dixie = Southern states.

36A. Cholesterol check?: LIP(ID) SERVICE. Lipid is rooted in Greek lipos, "fat/grease".

58A. Possible reply to a dentist's "Where does it hurt?": ON THE CUSP(ID). I just point the hurting tooth to him.

79A. Twisty hair style for active people?: SPORTS BRA(ID). Miley Cyrus probably should have worn a sports bra.

99A. Japanese sake, e.g.?: ASIATIC FLU(ID). Don't like the answer. ASIAN FLU yes. Asiatic sounds very archaic. Sake (SAH-kee) is Japanese rice wine, so is mirin.

104A. Candy, cookies and soda?: K(ID) RATIONS. Ancel Keys, who formulated K-ration, was also credited with first introducing the benefits of Mediterranean Diet to Americans.

117A. What Depp did, over and over, to acquire the auction item he so badly wanted?: JOHNNY REB(ID). Johnny Reb/Rebel is slang for the Confederate soldier.

Very clever theme. Adding/deleting letters has quickly become my favorite type.

Had several trouble spots today, esp in AQUINO (86A: Marcos's successor) & GDANSK area. I could picture AQUINO's face, couldn't remember how to spell her English name, very different from the Chinese translation that I was familiar with. She just died last month.

Across:

1. Denial on the base: NO SIR. Military base.

6. Smelling __: SALTS. Some people collect smelling salts bottles. Weird.

11. Hummus holder: PITA. Don't like chickpeas.

19. Get away from: ELUDE

20. "__ Ben Jonson": literary epitaph: ORARE. Latin for "pray". "Pray for Ben Jonson". S simply forgot. Saw identical clue before.

22. Nautilus captain: NEMO. From Jules Verne's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" (Thanks, Martin).

25. 1939 Garland co-star: LAHR (Bert). Cowardly Lion in "The Wizard of Oz".

28. Singer Brewer: TERESA. Unknown to me. "Baby, Baby, Baby" sounds sweet.

31. River of Cologne: RHINE

35. Bull: Pref.: TAUR. As in tauridor (bullfighter). Taurus too.

40. Cockpit datum: AIRSPEED

44. Renée of silent films: ADOREE. Learned her name from doing Xword. French actress.

45. Uses as support: RESTS ON

47. Magnetic Field?: SALLY. Field is capitalized. Nice clue.

48. 17th-18th century British poet Nicholas: ROWE. Dramatist as well.

49. Anesthetize: DEADEN

55. Prayers are often said on them: KNEES

57. __ standstill: AT A. Wrote down ON A.

61. Orch. section: STR (String)

62. Mason's job?: CASE. D'oh, Perry Mason. Got me.

64. __ bit: slightly: A WEE

65. Lustrous fabrics: SATEENS. Cotton fabric. Used to think they are from silkworm too.

66. Condition that might bring you to tears?: BOREDOM. So true.

68. Lagged behind: TRAILED

73. Duds: TOGS

81. Free TV spot: PSA (Public Service Announcement)

82. Cork people: IRISH. Shout-out to Windhover's wife Irish. Cork is a county in Ireland.

84. Menlo Park middle name: ALVA. Thomas ALVA Edison, The Wizard of Menlo Park.

85. Open hearing, in law: OYER (OH-yer). New word to me. I do know OYEZ, often clued as "Court cry".

90. Oldest Little Leaguers: TEENS. Boy, some of them look too old to be teens.

92. Pants cuffs, to Brits: TURNUPS. Also new to me.

109. Lowlife, slangily: CREEPO

112. President between Harry and Jack: IKE. Nicknames in clue, nickname in answer.

119. Like Nash's lama, in verse: ONE L

121. Professeur's pupil: ELEVE: French for "student".

122. Running score: TALLY

123. Blubber: BAWL

124. Once, long ago: ERST. Root for erstwhile too.

125. Decisive times: D-DAYS

126. British submachine guns: STENS. The "Israeli submachine gun" is UZI.

Down:

2. Skin care brand: OLAY. I like Olay Total Effect eye cream.

3. The United States, e.g.: SUPER POWER. China too.

4. First name in dictators: IDI (Amin). Uganda.

5. Ocean phenomenon associated with wildlife mortality: RED TIDE. Caused by red algae I think.

7. ''Rule, Britannia'' composer: ARNE (Thomas)

8. Doesn't keep up: LAGS

9. Dissertation: TREATISE

11. __ sci: POLI

12. Big-screen format: IMAX

13. South Pacific vacation mecca: TAHITI. Mecca for Gauguin.

14. Overdue thing: ARREAR. Often in plural form.

15. Never before topped: UNSURPASSED

17. Present opening?: OMNI. Omnipresent. Nice clue.

24. Had a feeling about: SENSED

32. New staff member: HIREE

34. Sponsor's urging: ACT NOW

36. Small songbirds: LARKS. Tits too.

37. Rare altar reply, fortunately: I DON'T. Shouldn't it be "unfortunately"?

38. Like steamy films: R-RATED. Like the porn scenes in "Love Actually". Nice movie though.

39. Hindu scripture: VEDA. Sankrit for "sacred lore/knowledge".

40. Egyptian symbol of life: ANKH. The cross with a loop.

41. Take the honey and run: ELOPE. Lovely clue.

42. Impish: ELFIN

43. Groups of two: DYADS

46. Blender brand: OSTER. Forgot again.

50. Slips past: EASES BY. Can you make a sentence for me?

52. Sammy Davis Jr. autobiography: YES I CAN. I have the book.

53. Italy's La __: SCALA. The opera house in Milan.

56. "Ivanhoe" author: SCOTT. Sir Walter SCOTT. See the bookcover.

59. New Jersey team: NETS

60. Wombs: UTERI

63. Schoolyard retort: ARE SO

64. Paris possessive: A MOI

66. Informal eatery: BAR AND GRILL. Good fill.

67. Japanese city known for its beer: OTARU (AW-tah-roo). Looks pretty. Have never had OTARU beer. Beer is just so filling.

69. Hockey stat: ASSIST

70. H.S. juniors' exams: PSATS

71. Words after cop: A PLEA. Cop a plea.

74. Polish city where Solidarity was founded: GDANSK (guh-DAHNSK). Also new to me. What a strange name, full of consonants.

76. Capable of being scattered: DIFFUSIBLE

77. Japanese immigrant: ISSEI. Literally, "first generation".

81. Insect stage: PUPA. Larva, PUPA and imago, three stages.

83. Remington product: RIFLE

87. Stop dramatically, as smoking: QUIT COLD. More familiar with quit cold turkey.

88. Live in: OCCUPY

91. Ward of "Sisters": SELA. She is in "The Fugitive".

93. Tellers?: RATS. Nailed it.

95. In some respects: OF SORTS

97. Like English, to most Americans: NATIVE

98. Publishing VIP: EDITOR. The clue is asking for an abbreviated answer.

100. Cara and Castle: IRENES

105. New York college whose team is the Gaels: IONA. This has become a gimmie.

107. Table scraps: ORTS. One of the earliest crosswordese I learned.

108. Russian refusal: NYETS

110. Ostrich relative: RHEA. Flightless.

113. Potter's oven: KILN

114. Slow Churned ice-cream brand: EDY'S. Marketed under Dreyer's in the west coast.

117. "The Beverly Hillbillies" dad: JED. Would not have obtained without the Across answers.

Answer grid.

C.C.

44 comments:

Hahtoolah said...

Morning, All! I liked the difficulty/ease level of today’s puzzle. I quickly got the “ID” addition to various words in the response, by my paper called this puzzle “Put the Finger On.” That threw me; it took me a while to realize the ID meant Identification, hence Finger. I didn’t like the CUSPID clue/response. The phrase is “On The Cusp,” but the tooth is actually called a CUSPID. I know, the question mark in the clue was not indication a clever response, still … that clue seemed out of place.

ISSEI (77D) was a new word for me.

Favorite clues: Take the honey and run: ELOPE (41D) and Mason’s job: CASE (62A). CC, Perry Mason was a TV courtroom drama show, in which Mason, an attorney, solved cases.

Dennis, Since I don’t use my computer on Saturdays, I was not able to wish you a Happy Birthday. Hope it was a good one.

September 27 Birthdays:

1972 ~ Gwyneth Paltrow, Actress

1919 ~ John Pesky, ne John Paveskovich ~ baseball player known as Mr. Red Sox. (Wasn’t PESKY a recent xword clue?)

1896 ~ Samuel "Sam" Ervin (d. 1985), Senator from North Carolina who advocated civil rights. He led the committee that investigated Watergate.

1840 ~ Thomas Nast (d. 1902), editorial cartoonist. He created such figures we see today, including Uncle Sam, the Republican Elephant and the Democratic Donkey.

1722 ~ Samuel Adams (d. 1803), Bostonian who was a leader in the American Revolution. The beer was named after him.

1389 ~ Cosimo de Medici (d. 1464), the founder of the de Medici dynasty. The de Medici’s essentially ruled Florence during the period of the Italian Renaissance.

QOD: Wine is bottled poetry. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson

Martin said...

Nautilus captain: NEMO. From Jules Verne's "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen".

Oned mistake you need to fix C.C.: Captain Nemo was from Jules Verne's 20 000 Leagues Under the Sea. The League of Extrairdinary Gentlemen was a movie based on the comic book of the same name. It was written by Alan Moore, the same person who wrote Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell, all three of which were made into movies. Alan Moore is on record for saying that he isn't happy with how his stories were made into movies but fans have been happy for the most part with the adaptions.

Martin

Moon said...

Good Morning!
Enjoyed the puzzle, especially some new clues: "Take the Honey and Run?" and "Magnetic Field". Got the theme with RAP(ID) SINGER and LIP(ID) SERVICE.
Dont know OTARU, TOGS or OYER and took more than 5 mins to try out diff combinations there with red letter help.

Off to Yoga now and then a full day of NFL. Quite excited about the Indy colts sunday game...hopefully the D shows up and stops the Ariz offense.

Have a great Sunday, everyone!

danabw said...

Great puzzle today! I also enjoyed the level of difficulty. I do miss the more challenging days at the end of the week. I like PJB's suggestion of rating the puzzles, but I think that could be too subjective due to all of our different skill levels.
Why don't they just run 2 crosswords? My paper has the Newsday in the comics section and the NEA in the Classifieds. Dump one of them and insert the more challenging ones!
Happy belated birthday Dennis! I hope you are still recovering.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hey gang -

Fortunately or unfortunately for I DON"T (great clue and fill) - One of my cousins actually called off a wedding at the last moment. Probably a good choice. None of his other marriages succeded.

Yeah, I like "take the Honey and Run." Also like the theme - a lot. But - RAPID SINGER implies that RAP SINGER is a valid phrase, which I dispute.

OTOH, while ASIATIC is archaic, I think it makes for a valid answer.

Some great non-theme fills today: DIFFUSIBLE, UNSURPASSED, BAR AND GRILL, SUPERPOWER

Do not like the stack of ADOREE and ROWE. Or OTARU and AMOI crossing TOGS, which I had as RAGS, and OYER - bit of cluster *&#$@ in the puzzle's mid-section.

Also had EVADE for ELUDE, which bollixed the NW corner.

Anyway, since I've referenced my cousin, here is another personal connection. TERESA Brewer is from my home town, and I went to school with one of her cousins - or maybe he was a nephew.

Her big hit that I remember from early childhood was "Music, Music, Music." Even as a kid, I thought it was a stupid song.

Tigers came from 5 down to beat the Sox last night. Race stays tight. Guess I'll watch them today, since the Lions are blacked out.

Twins come to town tomorrow. Nail-biting season for C.C. and me.

Cheers!
JzB the football deprived trombonist

Clear Ayes said...

Good, That's more like it, a Sunday puzzle that wasn't a gimme. I enjoyed that all the theme answers made sense in a punny sort of way. It can't be easy coming up with eight theme fills.

O RARE: (according to not always accurate Wikipedia) Jonson is buried in Westminster Abbey, with the inscription "O Rare Ben Johnson" set in the slab over his grave. It has been suggested that this could be read "Orare Ben Jonson" (pray for Ben Jonson), which would indicate a deathbed return to Catholicism, but the carving shows a distinct space between "O" and "rare".

Nicholas ROWE is pretty obscure. I've only seen his name in crosswords. I couldn't find a single excerpt of one of his poems on line. That doesn't say much for his talent.

I didn't know OTARU beer, but I made up for it by knowing how to spell GDANSK. Favorite "Aha" was "Magnetic Field" SALLY.

I really enjoy a puzzle that makes me take a few trips around the grid, filling in perps as I go. It makes the last fills that much more satisfying.

Jazzbumpa said...

Here's a question.

Now, I'll grant you that Sally Field is cute, and for an old broad (she has me by a month and two days) pitching Boniva she looks pretty darn good. And from GIDGET to THE FLYING NUN to THE GIRL WITH SOMETHING EXTRA she's always had - well - something extra.

But magnetic? How so?

Cheers!
JzB the polarized (and perhaps too literal) trombonist

eddyB said...

Morning all,

Six comments covered every thing that I was going to say. Really enjoyed this cross word puzzle.

Gdansk(Polish spelling), I'm more familiar with the English spelling.
(Danzig) The Danzig Corridor was created after WWI to give Poland a seaport on the Baltic Sea.

Off to the store to find thin slices of veal.

Tough loss for Penn State yesterday.

Two days in the 90s and Tuesday is supposed to be 71.

Speaking of Tuesday, my Bavarian stye mustard should be here.

After the trip to the store, I'll work on the Newsday puzzle again while watching the NHL games on-line.

eddyB

Hahtoolah said...

I have to agree with you, JB. I wouldn't have described SALLY FIELD as being Magnetic, but it was a cute clue.

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed this puzzle a lot. Much more enjoyable (for me) than the one Sunday NYT puzzle I tried. Clever and doable.

I DON'T is fortunately a rare altar reply (fortunate that's it's rare rather than commonplace).

A RED TIDE is smelly but beautiful at night when the crest of the waves phosphoresce a bright light blue color.

Since I posted something late yesterday, I'll repeat myself a little bit. Has anyone else tried the prime rib eye steaks at Costco for $6.99? They are yummy.

kazie said...

Bill G,
No, I haven't tried those steaks yet, but your comment made me want to!

This was an enjoyable puzzle--not too hard, not easy. I didn't know OTARU, O RARE or IONA, had some trouble fathoming some of the ID clues, but on the whole doable. I also liked ELOPE.

C.C., I think the constructor may have had the wedding couple in mind when saying "fortunately". Getting to that point and having one's partner change his/her mind would be devastating. OTOH, years into the marriage, discovering that it should have been the case can be even more expensive in more ways than one!

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & gang, an enjoyable if tricky Sunday puzzle. My favorite clue was Take the honey and run also.

The Jed clue made me remember this theme for the Beverly Hillbillies

Clear Ayes said...

I'm with the rest of you. Sally Field is about as magnetic as TERESA Brewer. Cute is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about either of them. About as close to magnetic as Sally Field came was her performance in Norma Rae, but she was "cute" even in that. Sorry Sally, you're a very good actress, but you will never be able to play Garbo in Camille.

RED TIDE reminded me of a 1959 beach party evening spent by the caves at the beach in Corona Del Mar, CA. We did swim in the phosphorescent water. I don't remember it smelling bad or any more seawater-ish than usual. It was beautiful to look at and to swish around in. We were too dumb to know we shouldn't have gone in the water. 50 years later and I'm still here to tell the story.

Bill G, we buy most of our meat at Costco. We haven't had an unacceptable piece yet. We have had the rib eye steaks and you are right, they are excellent.

embien said...

no time today. In the course of helping BillG with his Across Lite timer problems, I inadvertently left my clock off. D'oh. It was about 20 minutes wall clock time, but I wasn't really paying attention.

OYER was a new word for me, otherwise things were mostly straightforward. Started out with KIRIN for the beer city, then changed it to OSAKA off the O when BOREDOM appeared. Took a lot to get from that to OTARU, particularly with the unknown OYER.

Worst fill? QUIT COLD. Cold turkey, yes, QUIT COLD, no.

Interesting pic of Miley Cyrus, c.c. I went to her concert a couple of weeks ago and found it quite enjoyable. I don't know from Hannah Montana, but I enjoy Miley's music. Here's her latest release (not her best, but it is new) Party in the USA

Al said...

Well, since it's afternoon and Dennis hasn't shown up yet, I'll assume he must have had a real good time last night...

Today's puzzle was a welcome relief, and almost a joy after last week. Tricky without meaning to be perhaps, or maybe it was just me. Had Osere, then Loire, then finally Rhine (geography was never my strong point). Had RAZOR instead of RIFLE for Remington product. Duets and Duals before getting DYADS, POLY instead of POLI, unstoppable before UNSURPASSED, leans on, then relys on before getting RESTSON. And the cross of OYER and OTARU was tough, had OYEZ at first like others did. I wanted to put AFEEL in at first instead of APLEA, but I knew that couldn't be right ;-)

I don't find Sally Field particularly magnetic either, but as Hahtool said, it made for a clever clue, something we have been missing lately.

@BillG, we don't have a Costco near us, but the last couple weeks I was able to get whole beef tenderloins for 5.75/lb. at Festival Foods. I clean, cut and grill them myself.

Just in case Dennis isn't up to it today, here's a WOW:

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."
-- Ellen Parr

And a related QOD:

"What's wrong with being a boring kind of guy?"
-- George Bush

Try this:

While sitting, make clockwise circles with your right foot. (go ahead no one will see you) While doing this, draw the number "6" in the air with your right hand. Your foot will change direction.

A couple fun facts:

The strongest muscle in the human body is the tongue.

There are more people alive today than have ever died.

Anonymous said...

Lots of clever fills today, and I really liked the puzzle. My favorites were Take the Honey and Run and Magnetic Field. I think you can take magnetism in a variety of ways. Sally Field sure gets people to the theater when she is performing, and I suppose that is a form of magnetism isn't it? I especially liked having the Sunday challenge for a change from the week. Nailed almost everything eventually, but it was a little work. Made it rewarding.

Wake up Dennis, come tell us about your birthday!!!

Exhausted today as I had to pick up my teenager at 2am from his after dance party. The kids just get waaaaaay too much these days. We usually put the kabosh on those parties, but are thinking he needs to start managing this. However, curfew is midnight, so I won't let him drive home (and certainly not given his ordeal after the midnight movie) so that leaves me up pretty late. Somehow, I just cannot sleep in.

Jazz, I am with CC on the Twins. We are watching closely. Should be lots of nail biters coming up in the next run of games. Tigers and Twins are both playing well.

EddyB, We were reveling in the Iowa win yesterday. Pretty unexpected, especially as they were in Happy Valley. Such a beautiful place, however, we were not at all sad. My daughter (the Iowa alum) was ecstatic.

Ribeye steaks now on my Costco buy list. Thanks for the tip. My kids will love it.

PBS is airing Ken Burns The National Parks: America's Best Idea beginning this evening. I am very excited to watch this.

Have a happy Sunday.

Anonymous said...

Oh sorry, Hahtool, it was pesty not pesky. However, we were more familiar with pesky I believe (at least I was).

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, everyone!

Best wishes to those celebrating Yom Kippur.

I think that ORARE should be parsed to O RARE (O RARE BEN JONSON). I see clear ayes did the research on this one.

On 125A the answer is plural:DAYS

I also love the Take the honey and run clue for 41D.

I had to eat worms on IONA. Don't know why I can't keep that one in the memory banks.

@hahtool The online version is also "Put the Finger On." PESKY is what we wanted for PESTY earlier in the week, IIRC.

@dennis Terrific write-up yesterday, and many happy returns on the celebration of your natal day. May your days be filled with friendship, love, and joy!!

@jazzbumpa I'm with you on the rap clap!

Have a great Sunday!

Joyce said...

Pretty nice puzzle today. I too dislike the way they've become easier. Really liked the clue "Take the honey and run." I kept thinking of Winnie the Pooh until I had my AHA ! moment.

Another thing I noticed was the unusually high number of double letter words - A total of 23 as I counted - 10 of which contained double E.

windhover said...

Was counting on Clear Ayes, but her last comment removed that possibility.
Wolfmom, can you help me explain why cheap food is not such a great idea, e.g. Beef tenderloin under $6.00/lb. ?

WM said...

Hi...fun and not too difficult. Started at the top and moved steadily down. Did have OYEZ as I don't think I had seen the OYER version. Had recently seen the take the honey and run somewhere, for some reason knew GDANSK, hated KID RATIONS although I know they needed it as a clue and that is one rant I won't get started on.

Fun clues, but still way easier than it has been.

My rant will be for WH...the reason the meat is so cheap is that the cattle are crammend together up to their ankles or knees in their own waste and they are feed corn based products that were never meant for a bovine digestive system, so to counteract the digestive problems they are daily dosed with all kinds of anti-biotics to keep the rumen working. They can only live this way for a max of 2 years as no matter what the medicinal dosage, they begin to become ill and their digestive system breaks down.

I am sorry if this is such an ugly picture and appologize for if it offends, but this is the reality of confinement meat production and you need to consider where your food comes from and the conditions in which is raised. Less meat at higher price that is commensurate with the quality of life of the animal is worth it...WH believes this, I believe this and he lives by his beliefs and I try to.

Here endeth the rant...WH...does that cover it?

Mary said...

Good afternoon CC and gang,
This was a good challenge for me today. I got the theme on DIXIECUPID right away, so that certainly helped.

After all the help I was going to get from the perps, I finally googled GDANSK, OTARU, ISSEI (for the spelling). Then I changed dispersible to DIFFUSIBLE and I was done!

The ones that made me grin were all there, present opening, words after cop, take the honey and run, and rare altar reply.

I also liked the way you had to know two things to get from Menlo Park middle name to ALVA and from President between Harry and Jack to IKE. Made those crossword puzzle staples a little more fun.

I did Barry Silk's 2008 Championship Tribute, referenced yesterday. In googling to get Jimmy Rollins, I also found out more about bolas.
The bola was the gaucho's other weapon of choice, though it was primarily employed to capture game. An Indian invention, the bola was fashioned of three billiard-ball-sized rocks or iron balls that were covered in leather and attached to long lengths of rawhide. Holding the middle ball, the gaucho would swing the bola over his head, lasso-style, and fling it at the legs of his prey. It would enwrap them as neat as you please. In this manner he could bring down rheas--small, ostrichlike birds--cattle or horses. If the horse happened to have a man on its back, that man was in trouble, which is why gauchos used to train their mounts to run with their hind legs tied together. They also took pride in being able to land on their feet if their horses took a header. Indians galloped from pursuers with their lances pointing backward to deflect a bola's flight.

Oh, I don't think Jimmy Rollins had anything to do with bolas, that's just my meandering research. Nothing wrong with a puzzle hard enough to send us off on a search!

Mary said...

Let's try the link again
bolas

Linda said...

Afternoon CC and friends:
Found this Sunday puzzle quite doable...which only further proves they have eased up.

On the "animal mistreatment" subject: Girls are reaching puberty younger and younger and women are having hot flashes later and later in life. Why? Our cattle and fowl are fed hormones which increase their weight more quickly. We get those hormones in meat and milk. As with the "force-feeding" in feed lots, the bottom line is money and that more quickly. The nation`s health? What does that matter? The love of money really is the root of ALL evil. And that`s my rant for the day.

Jimbo: Please let us know you are well. You, too, Dennis.

Hahtoolah said...

Oyer means "to hear." It comes from the French, but somehow English courts began using the term. I think it is archaic now. The only Court in which I have heard the word used is the US Supreme Court. I have not heard it used in the Federal District or Appellate Courts, nor is it used in the Louisiana State Courts.

Yom Kippur begins at sundown tonight and runs through sundown tomorrow, so I will not be joining you tomorrow. Yon Kippur is the Day of Atonement. If I have offended anyone here, I ask for your forgiveness.

After the last services tomorrow evening, I will be hosting a Break Fast meal, since we fast during this day. I wish you all could join us in our meal.

Happy puzzle solving tomorrow!

windhover said...

WM,
Dman straight, and thank you.
One more (out of many) point:
Cutting meat (butchering) was up until the '70's, a highly skilled and well paid craft. About that time several meatpacking conglomerates, the chief of which was IBP (Iowa Beef processors) managed to garner (between the 5 of them, now 3) about 80% of the trade. They used this clout to bust the unions and drive wholesale (read:farmgate) prices down. Now, the majority of this work, especially in the Midwest, is being done by (mostly illegal) immigrants at very low wages. One plant was recently busted for having undocumented workers as young as 15. This is how filet mignon can be sold for $5.75 a pound. This is not an indictment of anyone, but whatever you as an individual do for a living or for income, consider that some economic entity would like to force you to do it for less. The wonderful concept we all learned of in elementary school under the sobriquet "free enterprise" has in fact become a race to the bottom. How cheap will you work? Doesn't matter. Someone, somewhere, will do it for less.

eddyB said...

Hello all,

KQ, I don't know what it is about Iowa and Penn State. Iowa has won 7
of the last 8 games. This game also knocked State out of the top ten.

I see that Minn beat SF and Det finally won.

The Steelers are leading 13-0 at the start of the 2nd.

Got my veal but couldn't find any Bitburg beer. Now, it is too hot to go lookig for it.

Picked up the Newsday puzzle again.

eddyB

kazie said...

Does anyone have Jeannie's Vodka based pastry recipe? I thought I'd copied it into my recipe file but now I can't find it. I'd appreciate it if you could email it to me or post it here. Thanks.

On the question of meat, I guess I'd better start supporting our local meat locker more.

pjb-chicago said...

Shoutouts to Hahtool, Elissa and our other Jewish puzzle-friends. Wishing you all a good year, a meaningful fast & a time to reflect, and [I'm likely to spell this wrong or be off a day] G'mar Hatima Tovah.

PJB
(problem signing in)

Clear Ayes said...

Windhover and WM, Truly, I do get it, but you don't offer a solution for Costco or other supermarket shoppers, other than stop eating meat, or pay $25.00 a pound.

Unfortunately, we do not live in an area that has even one reputable butcher shop, much less a organic one. I'm not kidding, not one. There are businesses that butcher home grown animals and then prepare it for the customer's home freezer, but that is it on the butcher front.

The Modesto-Merced area has a lot of fruit and nut farms and some dairies, but grass fed cattle are grazed here and then shipped far away to meet their eventual fate at Ye Olde Butcher Shoppe in a trendy big city neighborhood.

We can get free range poultry from local suppliers and we do that, but beef, pork and lamb are supermarket purchases only. We could drive to the San Francisco area, but since we don't have a full size home freezer, that would be a whole day's journey for a few pounds of meat.

I have checked online in the past (WM's suggestions) and find that most beef runs $15.00 a pound and more, five pounds minimum, with about $35.00 or more shipping on top of that. That's pretty pricey for retirees who are living on limited income. The only moral and financial choice available to us would be to become vegans. And I don't like tofu or beans.

There doesn't seem to be a high road or even a middle ground for us and, I suspect, for many people who have already cut down, aren't ready to give up meat eating altogether.

MJ said...

Had fun with this puzzle today, although a couple of spelling errors in the So.Central (JEB Clampett, and JHONNYREBID), and filling in SLEEZE instead of CREEPO caused some difficulty. Finally sorted it out with the aid of a can of V-8. Somehow missed the theme before I printed it out, and guessed it to be "Put the 'ID' on it!" Lots of clever clues!

Yesterday's Newsday puzzle by Barry Silk was a thoroughly enjoyable challenge! Thanks for cluing us in about it, Dennis!

@Kazie-I printed out Jeannie's recipe, and will forward or post it later if someone else doesn't do so sooner. Off to run a couple errands now.

Cheers!

PJB-Chicago said...

Sorry about the double post--(CC/Dennis/Argyle please delete the duplicate.) First I can't sign in, then I post twice. What's next?
Kazie, google ["crossword corner" vodka crust] and you get to the recipe on September 3, 2009 in one click. I can't link from here.

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.
Could do most of this puzzle before coming here. It was enjoyable and clever IMHO. Didn't get sports braid or Asiatic fluid. And I wanted Depp to be on ebay.

Al: Your "try this" is very clever. And it's true! I wonder why.

Yesterday there was some discussion on Wiener Schnitzel. I lived in Vienna for a year, and this is the authentic recipe for it.
Prepare three deep plates: put flour in one, beaten egg with a little cold milk and a pinch of salt in the second, and breadcrumbs in the third. Dip the meat in the flour and shake excess off, then in the egg and let this drip off, and finally in the breadcrumbs. Do not press down on the breadcrumbs, just shake off.
In the frying pan, the fat (oil or lard) must be smoking. There should be plenty of room for the meat. Lift out when done and let fat drip off. Serve at once.
In Vienna in 1970 it was almost always made with pork. The same technique for chicken is also wonderful.
This is from my Austrian Cookbook, and it's how I've done it many times (back when I used to cook).

Cheers

windhover said...

ClearAyes:
I feel your pain, but there are alternatives in between industrial meat and $25/pound. If I had to but meat, and I haven't for 36 years, I couldn't afford that either. And what I have on offer may well not be available where you live.
My meat is not organic. It is "natural" in the sense that we use no hormones of any kind and no routine use of antibiotics. Mostly our animals eat forages grown on our farm, pature and hay, and a small amount of grain. The actual cost of the last beef I sold, based on the total price divided by the actual pounds placed in the freezer, was $4.65/lb. This is for all the cuts found in a side (half) of beef, and included everything from ground beef to tenderloin. Of course there was more of the former than the latter, but it is not the ground beef on special at the big box stores, but rather very lean and high quality. I can actually make a nice profit at this price, because I am performing or paying for every job in the food chain, from birthing the calf (or owning the cow that does so) to delivering the product to the customers' freezer and helping pack it in. Of course, as you said, one must own a freezer of at least 15 cubic feet, but those are now available for under $500. You would be correct in pointing out that they are that cheap because the people who used to make $20/hr assembling them now do it for $10, or are unemployed because the production moved to China. The race to the bottom again.
In Kentucky, it is legal for me to sell the animal to a customer, then deliver it for them to a custom Abbatoir such as you describe in your area. They then pay for the processing and pick it up themselves. I perform those tasks as well, which is probably a legal grey area, but is a convenience most people want. You might check and see if this is true in the Promised Land as well.
As for veganism, well, that's just wrong.
Hope this helps. And again to everyone, I'm sorry for being a little preachy, and as in the freezer example know that purity is impossible in the culture we're all immersed in. This just happens to be my ox that got gored.

MJ said...

@Kazie-PJB's post at 4:52 today is on-spot. Jeannie posted at 6:46 on the 3rd.

PJB-Chicago said...

First to the puzzle, then to the meat!

I did enjoy the clever cluing and lots of fill we don't see very often. After too many puzzles with too little bite to them, this was a welcome grid, "al dente."
The theme answers were fun and gettable, and there were "aha"s and toothy grins on all but the last one starring Johnny Depp, which was too much of a stretch. I made the very same mistakes listed by Al, so at least I'm in good company! I did cry fowl at the crossing of OYER and OTARU, because I'm pretty good with legalese and beer lingo due to parentage and several ill-fated romances [sigh] but those words took lots of guessing. Same goes for "eases by" which was like, um, extracting cuspids. Loved the Ogden Nash reference in 119A.

Meat: As outlined above by people more informed than I, it's a tough topic which runs smack dab into money, health, pleasure, and spirituality. No easy answers. I don't eat a lot of meat, but I could never go full-bore vegan. I have options that many many people don't, living in the "city of broad shoulders" the "hog butcher" to the world. I also don't cook for other people every day, so my choices are easier than for people feeding families. Every purchase is a compromise, but I try to buy meat as close to the source as possible. I'm not as worried about stuff being organic as the lack of added hormones or routine antibiotics. The butcher boutiques here are too vague about their sources, so I do prefer purchasing meat from vendors at the farmers' markets (a couple are weekly, close to year round)--but as part of a group of about 40 neighbors/friends. We have one person who negotiates prices and places the order--we get decent discounts because of the volume and the regularity of the purchase, but don't always get the balance of lamb/poultry/beef/pork we'd prefer. I don't have room in this tiny loft for a standalone freezer, but I can get almost a month's worth in my small freezer, and my friends let me keep a corner of their freezer as well.
Not a perfect system, to be sure. Hard to be spontaneous, and stuff can go to waste if you let it sit too long. We still pay about 50-75% more than supermarket rates but the quality/taste are definitely worth it. We also found a real fulltime family of Italians who make GOOD sausages......at their home. I'm sure they have all the right permits !

For last minute stuff, I do hit a Kosher butcher shop or a Halal one when I'm in the neighborhood. Good stuff. Trader Joe's is pretty good as a back up, but the w"hole" Foods chain has prices I can't usually touch.

Let's see what Monday has for us.

JIMBO said...

Just checking in. Yes, I'm OK. Went to a "Bowling Banquet" last night. Received a "Super Senior" award. I suppose for being the oldest bowler in the league. Did have a good night last Thursday. 180, 181 and 202 for a three game average of about 188.

As to the puzzles; With some help from my son, was able to complete all of them up to today. Haven't finished this one yet. But haven't had the son's help either; so may not be able to.

Happy belated birthday to Dennis and Kudos for a good job on Saturday's puzzle. (No end to the talent on this blog). Well maybe, I think it ends here with Jimbo.
Vaya con Dios

Luxor said...

c.c., I think it's spelled 'toreador'.

Is China really considered a 'super power'?

Argyle said...

Tauridor and toreador both mean bull fighter; only tauridor shows TAUR being used as a prefix.

kazie said...

MJ and PJB,
Thanks for the recipe--googling worked!

LUXOR said...

Argyle,
Thanks for the help,
where did you find your info? I could not find tauridor.

Anonymous said...

Thank you to Clear Ayes and Al for your explanation of why the puzzles have been so much easier lately. I do hope you are right and Rich can step it up at least a little without stepping on the wrong toes. I have written to the LA Times and will again in the hopes of giving him some support.

Thanks again for your response.

Nancy

Argyle said...

Two that I use the most:

http://dictionary.reference.com/

http://www.onelook.com/

I like dictionary.reference.com best because they usually have the pronounciation with the entry.

PJB-Chicago said...

@Argyle, right on! The dictionary portion of Wikipedia is rife with inaccurate definitions. I have also found some strange things on freedictionary.

@Mary; thanks for info re: bolas. I love that stuff. One of the reasons I love solving puzzles is to learn new words, reacquaint myself with older ones and find little-known uses of words I thought I knew well. (Remember, I happily spent 45 minutes trying to find the origin of "cares and woes" from the Beatles' Blackbird song!)

My gaps in knowlege on history and geography are huge, and I went through almost 20 years of education at supposedly "good" schools without reading any English lit except for Dickens and a bit of Shakespeare. Still can't name all 50 states in less than 30", and can't find Ukraine or Poland on an unlabled map. (in my defense, they did move Poland around a lot!). No wonder I won't ever make it to Jeopardy!