google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Gail Grabowski

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Sep 8, 2009

Tuesday, September 8, 2009 Gail Grabowski

Theme: PANTS (57D: Garment that can follow the starts of the answers to starred clues. Or, as was discussed yesterday, pairs of trousers. Speak of it one day - see it the next?)

17A: *Hilarious Joke: KNEE-SLAPPER. (I've always heard this said disdainfully of a not-so-hilarious joke.) KNEE PANTS. Fashion comes and goes. Style is forever.

39A: *Worry, slangily: SWEAT IT. More commonly: don't sweat, as in "the small stuff." SWEAT PANTS. Could this be why Dennis goes to the gym every day?

63A: *Frosted Lenten pastry: HOT CROSS BUNS. HOT PANTS. Of course. Can anyone identify the car? Also these. And this.

11D: *Enduring, as a storm: RIDING OUT. RIDING PANTS. Also known as jodhpurs.

34D: *Freight Bearing Vessel: CARGO SHIP. CARGO PANTS have lots of pockets.

Tight theme with five answers and all the key words at the beginning of the fill. The unifying answer PANTS is perfectly placed at the very end of the grid, providing solvers with the precious "Aha" moment.

Hi, Gang -- JazzBumpa here. The timing is only a coincidence, but after yesterday's travails, our intrepid blogger Argyle has a well-deserved day (or, as it turns out, night) off.

I've had my difficulties as well. All Cruciverb functionality related to LA Times puzzles appears to be inoperative - at least as of this writing (sometime 'round midnight PST. I'm in EST!

Across:

1A: Unshiny photo finish: MATTE. Also a finish on wall paint, but without the alliterative word play. And SEPIA (7D: Brownish photo tint).

6A: Tree with quaking leaves: ASPEN. Populus Tremuloides sounds like a Roman senator.

11A: Usually nonmelodic music genre: RAP. No melody, no music.

14A: Not moving: INERT. Also used for something chemically non-reactive. Frequent fill NEON, for example.

15A: Work on a loom: WEAVE. Don't forget Jerome's Navajo humility mark.

16A: Under the weather: ILL. Because a quick change in the weather can leave you feeling out of sorts - with a SINUS headache, for example.

19A: Narc's Org. DEA. Drug Enforcement Agency. Not headache drugs.

20A: Ages and ages: EONS. Like, forever.

21A: Depression era migrant: OKIE. The Joads migrated from Oklahoma to California, looking for a better life.

22A: Bat one's eyelashes, perhaps: FLIRT. Sometimes you make out better at both ends.

24A: Method: Abbr.: SYST. Short for system.

25A: Lincoln wore one: BEARD. Here is the before picture.

27A: Pay for a hand: ANTE. I saw this more cleverly as "pay to hold hands" over the weekend.

28A: Bank encumbrance: LIEN. This is a charge against real or personal property for the payment of any debt or duty, which must be satisfied before the property is sold.

30A: Sound hear twice in "Gargantuan." HARD G. But only heard once in Pantagruel. Remember Don "Hard G" Gagliardo's record-breaking "Hard and Soft G" puzzle from a few months ago? Total 21 G's.

32A: Command for an attack dog: SIC 'EM. Strange expression. Does anyone know the origin?

35A: Dressing for romaine and such: SALAD OIL.

38A: Palm Pilot or Blackberry, briefly: PDA. Personal Data Assistant. Like a virtual electronic secretary.

42A: Mex. neighbor: USA. Us, eh?

43A: Hardly geniuses: AIRHEADS. Will this unleash another barrage of blonde jokes?

45A: Contest submission: ENTRY. Or, a crossword fill.

47A: Arrived: GOT IN. Seemed like I just arrived in bed when the alarm went off.

48A: Poet Pound: EZRA. Another alliteration. And a Bible Book. Hebrew for "Help".

50A: Old hands: PROS. Professionals. An old hand is experience.

52A: Coerce: FORCE. Don't coerce me, bro!

54A: Infield protector: TARP. A big roll of plastic sheet that's rolled out onto a baseball infield during a rain delay.

58A: Retreats in the desert. OASES. Or maybe only a mirage.

60A: Bring up: REAR. Not bringing up the rear, but nurturing children.

61A: Field of expertise: AREA. Mine is being a grandfather. What's yours?

62A: Jr. high, e.g.: SCH. School abbreviation.

66A: Maneuver among moguls: SKI. Long alliterative clue for a short answer. Mogul here refers to the "bump or mound of hard snow on a ski slope".

67A: One way to read: ALOUD. But only if reading aloud is allowed.

68A: White sheet wearer, on Halloween. GHOST. Usually cute and lovable. Not like these guys.

69A: Sixth Sense for short: ESP. Extra-sensory perception. I just knew it.

70A: Sources of blue eyes, say: GENES. Or as Mendel would say, "The eyes have it."

71A: Shipping weight deductions: TARES. The weight of the containers. Easy to confuse it with with TRET, the "Old waste allowance".

Down:

1D: Studio sound equipment: MIKES. Microphones. An abbreviation that has become a standard word.

2D: Be a thorn in the side of: ANNOY. No obscure crosses to annoy me today.

3D: Prom goers: TEENS. High School Prom. Fashion or style? You decide.

4D: Railroad bridge support. TRESTLE. I can never remember how to spell it.

5D: UFO crew, presumably: ETS. Extra-terrestrials. Great bicycle riders.

6D: Greet the morning.: AWAKEN. Not so much fun at 2:00 a.m.

8D: Part head gear: PAPER HAT. Didn't we just see some of these.

9D: Genesis outcast: EVE. Yes. it was all about Eve.

10D: Spongy ball brand: NERF. Can you get enough?

12D: Tip off: ALERT. Stay alert for the start of basketball season.

13D: One in a buffet stack: PLATE. Get a clean one when you go back for seconds.

18D: Ear part. LOBE. Eeeewww!

23D: "Shane"star Alan: LADD. He made lots of movies. And lots of money.

26D: Surrealist Salvador: DALI. No beard - just a mustache.

29D: "That'll do, thanks": I'M SET. Abbreviation in the clue and answer. Nice.

31D: Movie critic at times: RATER. I'll give this clue two thumbs up.

32D: Restful Resort. SPA. A new and alliterative clue.

33D: Deposed Despot AMIN. A bad dude. A good alliterative clue.

35D: Stockholm bound carrier: SAS Scandinavian Airline System International. New to me. "Amsterdam bound carrier" is KLM.

36D: Jerusalem is its cap.: ISR. Israel, of course.

37D: Set (down): LAY. Now a lay me down to sleep (wishful thinking.)

40D: Street urchin: WAIF. I always think of this. Reminds me of granddaughter Emily.

41D: Ralph Kramden's Pal: ED NORTON. From The Honeymooners

44D: Sprinkler attachment: HOSE. I think of it the other way around.

46D: Boris's partner in 'toon espionage.: NATASHA. Fatale and Boris Badenov.

48D: Online birthday greetings, e.g.: ECARDS. Greetings from a distance.

49D: Round number?: ZERO. Literal, in this case.

50D: Outlaw chasing group: POSSE. Euphemism for a lynch mob.

51D: Poolroom triangles: RACKS. Where is the triangle?

53D: Prompt again: RECUE. Or break another rack, perhaps.

55D: Vine covered recess: ARBOR. ANN had one, here in MI.

56D: Get extra value from: REUSE. The ANN ARBOR reuse recycle center.

59: Thick carpet: SHAG. Or a certain haircut.

64D: Bullfight shout: OLE. What, no corrida?

65D: Rank above Cpl.: SGT. As in Sgt. Bilko.

Pretty good puzzle. That's all Folks. I'm going back to bed.

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is great photo of our fellow LAT solver Matt and his friends backstage at "The Music Man". He was the train conductor. And he was wearing the conductor hat blue and black and a blue blazer. Matt uses screen name Red state Democrat when posting.

JzB the sleep deprived trombonist.

68 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Jazz, C.C. and gang - nice Tuesday puzzle, although overloaded with 'crossword words'. Didn't have a clue as to the theme until the very last fill. And again, we talk about it one day, it appears the next: pants.

I had no idea of the hot cross buns/Lenten connection; I just thought they were a different type of sweet roll. Also, I enjoyed seeing 'racks' (I'll leave the answer next to it alone) and 'rear' here, and you're right about the gym, Jazz - the scenery certainly helps.

Jazz, just a wonderful job; you'd never know this is your first one. My compliments.

Today is International Literacy Day.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "In real life, of course, it is the hare who wins. Every time. Look around you. And in any case it is my contention that Aesop was writing for the tortoise market....Hares have no time to read. They are too busy winning the game." -- Anita Brookner

Here's a couple definitions I thought were fitting for our group:

- Painting: an activity that's easy if you don't know how to do it, but difficult when you do. -- Edgar Degas

- Poetry: the impish attempt to paint the color of the wind. -- Maxwell Bodenheim

Hahtoolah said...

Morning, All! What a fun puzzle. I liked this one better than yesterday’s puzzle. Oddly, the first theme clue I got was HOT-CROSS BUN. I have no idea how that came into my head!

There was also a bit of a photographic theme with MATTE (1A) and SEPIA (7D).

I thought of JD and her family with (8D): PAPER HAT! Salvador DALI (26D) is one of my favorite artists.

Favorite clue: Round number? ZERO.

1900 ~ The Galveston Hurricane of 1900 was perhaps the deadliest hurricane to hit the United States. It is believed that over 8,000 people were killed. This was before the storms were named, and there was no advanced warning system.

1935 ~ Huey Long, former governor and current US Senator of Louisiana, was shot and killed in the State Capitol Building.

September 8 Birthdays:

1841 ~ Antonin Dvorak (d. 1904), Czech composer. Here’s a taste of his cello concerto.

1922 ~ Isaac Sidney (“Sid”) Caesar.

1924 ~ Grace Metalious (d. 1964), author of Peyton Place

1950 ~ Zachary Richard, Louisiana musician, most noted for Zydeco music. Here is one of his well-known songs; it’s about when French was forbidden to be spoken in schools in Louisiana.

QOD: Gray hair is God’s graffiti. ~ Bill Cosby.

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

Dennis,
Again, I jumped around. Got my PANTS earlier on. Put SPEED for ALOUD and thought of you. Your first painting definition is so evocative of T.R.'s "Man in the arena"/"not the critic" quote.

Hahtool,
Truman's birthday pictures also popped into my mind when I filled in PAPER HAT.

Jazzbumpa,
Superb write-up. You have a very imaginative mind. Loved your comment on ARBOR and the FLIRT picture. Did not like the SALAD OIL clue. It needs "ingredient". Nobody puts oil alone on romaine.

Hahtoolah said...

PDA (38A) can also stand for Public Display of Affection, which is what some of the girls in your photos were exhibiting, Jazz.

PJB-Chicago said...

Chiming in...
JazzB: Very impressive blogging. Loved the links, too. A neighbor's Mom is from Hungary and the only English words she seems to know are "I'm not here, now." and "Good job." The latter applies to you.

Chicago is abuzz today because Oprah has tied up several blocks downtown to tape her season opener. People have been lining up to participate for hours. This means public transportation is being re-routed and rescheduled, which translates into me leaving extra early to work. See you all later.

Dick said...

Good morning Jazz, C.C. and all, I have been very busy the last few weeks trying to get enough wood ready to heat my camp this winter. Besides two smashed fingers, killing of three snakes and other assorted problems we are finally finished.

Jazz, an outstanding blog this am; it looked as if it were done by a professional. But then, I guess it was.

Puzzle was easy and swift this morning with no hang ups to speak of. My favorite clue/answer ZERO.

Hope you all have a great Tuesday.

Lemonade714 said...

Tuesday, Monday; oh my a fun day? Great blog, very jam packed for a very straight forward puzzle; the car looks like a Lotus Elan, but I need to see the entire headlight-- on the CAR!

Lemonade714 said...

For those who start school, and need some words to guide them....


1. The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.

2. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.

3. If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.

4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.

5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.

6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?

7. Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.

8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?

9. Scratch a cat and you will have a permanent job.

10. No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.

11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.

12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. - Like this: It could be a right number.

13. No one ever says 'It's only a game.' when their team is winning.

14.. I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.

15. Be careful reading the fine print. There's no way you're going to like it.

16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.

17. Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos? And rap music will be the Golden Oldies!

18. Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Geo.

19. After 60, if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead!

20. Always be yourself. Because the people that matter, don't mind. And the one's that mind, don't matter.

Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift

Dennis said...

Lemonade, good catch - I didn't even see the car. My guess is a BMW Z series. Jazz, do you know which car it is?

Hahtoolah said...

Does anyone get/read the comic strip "Frank and Ernest" in their paper? Today's strip is a crossword funny.

Anonymous said...

Well, I got everything today, but it wasn't a slam dunk. For some reason the last two days took longer than the average Monday/Tuesday. Still, pretty straightforward stuff though. My favorite clue was Round Number. I too immediately thought of JD with the PAPER HAT. Such a fun picture.

Jazz, great write-up. It must have taken you forever to do all those links, but they are so fun to open and see the surprise underneath. I liked your reference to PDA - makes me think of my 15 year old. We had a little social gathering last night for his girlfriend to meet some of his other friends (they go to different schools). Lo and behold if he isn't off with her doing a little PDA while his friends are hanging out without him.

Lemonade, loved the listing. #17 is my favorite. My kids are very into the RAP music. While I don't enjoy it, it is their call. However, I monitor the content as much of it is often profane, violent and sexual. This also requires lots of parental work.

Hope everyone had a good holiday weekend. Back to the grind. I plan on going outside for a nice bike ride as the weather looks like it will take a turn for the worse tomorrow. Gotta catch that last bit of summer while you can.

maria said...

Good morning all,

Hahtool, love your crossword strip, i bet it will be in a future Lat !

Ciao for now

Andrea said...

Good Morning All -

Enjoyed today's puzzle. Favorite clue was Maneuver among moguls - ski. I was thinking about CEO's, not bumps, so had a very nice d'oh moment when it filled in. The pants theme was pretty funny given the recent pant/pants/trouser/trousers discussion.

Great blogging, Jazz. Loved all the links! Can't imagine how long that took you, so thanks for the nice morning treats.

Zoe's first day of preschool today. My first day of packing lunch. She was so excited! Dropoff was much quicker than expected - she was off to play with all the new toys and new friends with barely a glance back. I was lucky I got in a final kiss and a see ya later aligator!

PJB - can't wait to hear what Oprah has up her sleeve for this opener. Sounds big. Remember the year she gave away cars to everyone in the audience. (Okay, not she - GM or Ford? can't remember now.)

Enjoy the day!

Andrea

kazie said...

Wow! A double treat--nice fun puzzle, despite some CW'ish clues, and a great blog by Jazz. Kudos for an impressive job! I was enjoying the links so much, I got to the end of the A's and then was surprised I still had the D's to read!

Same thought as Hahtool on PAPER HATS.

I thought the puzzle was easy. My only stumble was wanting EAT AT IT for SWEAT IT, until the penny dropped. Got the theme about halfway through, after trying to make SOCKS work with knee and sweat, but hot wasn't working with that idea and the perps in the SE helped.

The timing of the party hats and pants is amazing, isn't it?

Andrea,
Please get in touch with Dot and me via email.

Moon said...

Good Morning!
Is it just me or was this a little harder Tuesday puzzle?
Now when I look at my fills, all seems easy but I took around 20 mins+ to complete it
Had to overwrite some of my fills (I'm back to the paper and pen)
Had LOAN instead of LIEN, ASTER instead of ASPEN, BLINK instead of FLIRT, ESSAY instead of ENTRY, TONES instead of TARES. Ofcourse with the perps, all was taken care of :)
The fill I'm most proud of: NATASHA
as I have no idea about Boris toon.
With perps, I had SATASHO and I was sure its not a name. Boris sounded russian and NATASHA seemed the correct fit. With that, I managed to correct my ENTRY, TARES.
HOTCROSSBUN reminded me of my school days due to the rhyme.
ALOUD reminded me of my younger sis..her reading was so loud that you could hear it from the street, a few houses away. :)

Jazzbumpa: great job!

Lemonade: Good guiding words though I didnt get #9.

Did Fred's Xword yesterday and I loved it...I had not seen most of the clues before. Way to go Fred!
Looking forward to doing more of yours.

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed todays puzzle

Philope

Jazzbumpa said...

Hey, Gang -

Thanks for all the kinds words. I have to give credit to C.C. for making some subtle but important additions and corrections. Besides being a wonderful blog host, she is also a fine editor.

Continuing the waif idea, here is my little waif, Emily, on her first day of pre-school - today!

Yesterday was granddaughter Amanda's 12th birthday. I told her were the same age - it's just that I've been 12 for 50 years.

Em pic was by her mom. We're going to go in a few minutes to get one of her after school.

Cheers!
JzB, the tired but happy trombonist

melissa bee said...

good morning c.c., jazz, and all,

just right tuesday puzzle, and a great write-up jazz. i rarely think to look ahead to find the clue/answer with the theme, so i got the aha right at the end. i agree with you c.c., about SALAD OIL. i actually mis-read 'brownish photo tint' as 'brownish potato tint' and wanted russet. oy.

crossword puzzles really reflect the changing times. when i first started solving, in my teens, we never would have seen ECARD, RAP, or PDA. and in the same grid with EZRA pound and alan LADD.

i also thought of jd with PAPERHAT, fun pics jd. you as well matt. jazz, adorable of emily.

treefrog said...

Hi Gang,
Good to check in. Busy weekend doing 'stuff'.

Thanks JazzB for a great job. Loved the links. When my youngest was 3 ET came out. He loved it. I made him a very realistic costume for Halloween. His 14 year old brother was ticked because I wouldn't let him ride around the neighborhood with 'ET' on the handlebars.

Easy enough puzzle. I've been on a roll the last few days.

Hope everyone had a great weekend and is back into the groove. Mine includes some house cleaning.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I've never done this before, but after I saw the first *clue, I headed to the SE corner and looked for the common word. A little bit of perping got PANTS (I'm glad it wasn't TROUSERS)and I headed back to the beginning with the "Aha" in hand.

I didn't like to see 21A OKIE, but that is just me and my M-I-L's feeling about the word.

Matt, What fun! The Music Man is one of my favorites. Here's the opening number Rock Island performed "in real life" on Boston's Green Line. It reminds me of something PJB would get involved in. Me too, my mother, sisters and I once did an impromptu version of Pick A Little Talk A Little at a restaurant.

Jazzbumpa, What a great job of blogging. You really have a knack for it.

Anonymous said...

Good morning everyone.
Jazzbumpa & Argyle: great jobs.
Lemonade: loved the words of guidance.

I could not get "worry, slangily" and therefore missed waif. I think that "coerce" is too close to "force". So I discarded that idea for that reason.
Agree with several that favorite is "round number" for zero. And I thought the theme was excellent.

Has anyone noticed that if your paper has the Commuter Crossword that there will be a few of the same words in the LA Times soon? I wonder how that is. Yesterday we had Okie, Waif, and Ski for instance.

Cheers

JimmyB said...

JazzBumpa: Great job, great links, and great remark about melody/music. I always thought the term "rap music" was an oxymoron.

I ditto others' comments about favorite clue (Round number?) and about where "Sic' em" came from.

And Lemonade714: thanks for pointing out that there was a car in that picture! I missed that entirely.

kazie said...

Matt,
Great photo. I found myself wondering, and trying to guess, if all your co-singers were typical of their red state, or whether they shared your blue status.

Clear Ayes said...

Billy Collins has been referred to as a "major minor poet". He was U.S. Poet Laureate from 2001 to 2003. His poems usually contain a touch of humor and sarcasm. Some of his poems come close to painting the color of the wind.

Introduction to Poetry

I ask them to take a poem
and hold it up to the light
like a color slide

or press an ear against its hive.

I say drop a mouse into a poem
and watch him probe his way out,

or walk inside the poem's room
and feel the walls for a light switch.

I want them to waterski
across the surface of a poem
waving at the author's name on the shore.

But all they want to do
is tie the poem to a chair with rope
and torture a confession out of it.

They begin beating it with a hose
to find out what it really means.

- Billy Collins

Jerome said...

Well done puzzle. You're a smooth operator, Miz Grabowski. Not a klunker to be found and lots of fun stuff- AIRHEADS, SICEM, NERF, GHOST, ED NORTON, and PAPERHAT.

Nice job, Jazzbumpa, but I'd say you're a depraved trombonist 'cause of the rack crack. Now you've got to weave a double flaw.

JD said...

Good morning Jazzbumpa, CC and all,

What a fun puzzle! I had only one catch:riding out;DEA and ante didn't fall into place.I, of course, laughed at party hats too.Hot cross buns were a tradition in our home on Easter morning. I would have preferred a gooey cinnamon roll, so that's what I make for my family.

SUPERBUMPA! Wow, excellent job, and what a cutie your little Emily is.

CC, I agree about salad oil.blah

Jimmy, I also agree with your oxymoron.

Andrea, I think it's going to be Whitney Housten.

Dick, wondered where you were hiding out. Did you chop or stack..or both? Our wood pile attracted black widow spiders, and because of the no burn days, we have changed to gas, which is not as cozy.

I will make sure from now on when I post any history that it is correct, so today's is the guy with no pants:
1504- Michelangelo's David was unveiled in Florence.

Lemonade714 said...

Moon: I guess what I was saying about cats (and isn't it interesting most either hate or love cats) is that if you scratch a cat well, it will remember, and when in the mood, will seek you out and demand a repeat performace, no matter what you are doing.

The Poem was very interesting today, thank you CA. When I was an undergraduate, I minored in English, and was studying poetry when the university hired W.H. Auden as a guest professor. This was a really big deal at the time; while not a big fan of his work, it was extremely well received and he was quite successful. The reason I mention this, is during discussion of his works, when pressed on the meaning of some obscure couplet, he said something the to the effect, sometimes poetry is just words that sound good. Having written lots o poems and seldom making sense I loved that comment.

The thing about the car, if it was a Lotus, it would explain the girls.

JD said...

speaking of slacks, did any of you read this article in this morning's paper?

KHARTOUM, Sudan — A woman journalist was convicted Monday of public indecency for wearing trousers, but was spared a sentence of flogging.

Kelev said...

Oh, very punny, JD! David, the man with no pants, is unveiled! He "dropped trou" as they say.

Anonymous said...

I can't seem to sign in. It has been a long time since it was a busy summer. Just doing the puzzle and scanning the comments. I have enjoyed the comments and the pics. What a nice group this is. Other blogs could learn from this one.

I wanted to tell Lemanonade714 that I loved the words of wisdom. I am going to share them with my children. The WoW that is mine is: "It is good to make observations, but it is not always good to share them". Since I adopted this one it has kept me out of some trouble! When I follow it. I have trouble putting up pictures, very challenged there. I will ask one of my kids to walk me through the process. I would like to put one of the bride and me, and one of the new grandbaby.
Toby in Oregon

Dick said...

JazzB, great looking waif.

eddyB said...

Hi all,

Jazz, Great job! Really enjoyed it.

The LAT finally came up on cruciverb.com about 11:30 PM PDT.
Is this going to be a permanent
thing?

eddyB

Jazzbumpa said...

Jerome -

Flaws are where you find them. Hence follows the double.

Introduction to the Poet's Mouse

If you put a mouse in a poem
He will hold it to the light, perhaps.
Or probe it for a rhyme.

Then he'll ask you to read it to him.
One more time.
Again, this time, with feeling.

When you've finished, he'll want to
Look at himself in a mirror,
Batt his eyelashes.
See if he can find himself in the rhythm.
Or the time.

If you give a mouse the time,
He will ask you for a metronome.
And beat it.

If the beat is right,
He will want a melody.

And a melody can arch and swell,
Make a point, a counterpoint,
Be notable:
Get carried away and sweep
Throughout the house, for a mouse
Can make any floor a dance floor, as well.

If you give a mouse a melody,
He'll look up at you
And remind you
That a melody needs words
To become a song.

If you give a mouse the words
Of a song - a lyric, odistic,
(Or not.)
Then he will want to live in those words.

So -
You put a mouse in a poem.

Cheers!
JzB the doubly humble trombonist

Chickie said...

Hello All--Another puzzle done without help. I'm feeling better and better about my ability to get the CW done. My thoughts on Paper hats and pants were the same as everyone else. My only unknown was Natasha. I didn't know the toon Boris and Natasha, but got it with the perps.

I decided to start in the SE when I saw the starred clues and found the clue for pants. By filling in the across clues for three words, pants came easily. What fun to have the theme before I finished. It sure helped with the rest of the puzzle.

Jazzbumpa, what a great job and taking over for Arglye at the last minute. I enjoyed your Emily's picture. She'll come out of school today with a great big smile--you just wait and see.

MJ said...

Good day, all.
Excellent job with the blogging and links, Jazzbumba! Also nice to see little Emily. It's the first day of school here, as well.

CA-Thank you for the link to the BU Stage Troupe. What a hoot! I found it odd that many fellow riders seemed disinterested. Thank you for the lovely poem, as well.

Lemonade-Thank for the words of guidance. I especially liked the "bright side" of #12.

I enjoyed today's puzzle, liked the theme. Gail has had quite a number of xwords published lately, including two with Newsday in the last two weeks. How do constructors decide which editor(s) to submit their puzzles to?

Fun to continue "meeting" folks through their pics. Matt, nice photo. JD, it looks like a good time was had by all at Truman's party.

Terrific Tuesday to all!

Jazzbumpa said...

Chickie -

Emily came out of school with the same expression she took in. She laughs and talks and plays with her cousins - but around grown-ups, she's DOUR.

All went well, though. None of the kids cried, or even spilled their juice. A highly successful first day of pre-school for all.

Full disclosure: I didn't pinch hit for Argyle at the last minute. This was planned in advance. I even practiced a little.

Eddy -
Thanks for the catch on Cruciverb. I'm hoping their problem was a one-time oddity.

Cheers!
JzB the scrupulously honest trombonist

Chickie said...

Matt, it is good to see you. I love "The Music Man". Do you do many productions during the year?

Andrea, Having taught pre-school for a few years, I found that the little ones who hopped out of the car, happy and looking toward the children on the playground were the children whose parents had prepared them for this great new experience. Be happy that she was ready to leave your car and embrace her new adventure.

My granddaughter is teaching at a private school in Mexico this year. She was to have taught English to several grade levels. Well, she has a class of 21 pre-schoolers and is teaching math, English, manners, and P.E., art, etc. Her comment after the first week was "Wowza! At least they are cute!"

Waiting for the ATT&T repair man AGAIN. This will be the fourth day as he didn't show up the first three days! They assured me he would be here today. We'll see.

WM said...

First off...Jazz, a most excellent job on the puzzle, a fabulous job on the wonderful poem and the Emily pics are darling!

Loved the puzzle, started at the top and moved straight on through with no real hangups. I always enjoy Gail's puzzles. Also liked the ZERO clue and also disagree with SALAD OIL as it is a meaningless term. Anything can pretty much be a "salad" oil. Too vague, but I got it anyway. Watched the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show religiously...so many funny characters, it was really more adult oriented humor although children could find fun in it.

Dennis...loved the definitions, the poetry one was answered perfectly by CA and Jazz and I also heard a similar quote by my most favorite artist Wayne Thiebaud recently in a PBS interview. He said that anyone could paint, the difficult part was being good at it. I keep working at that part.

Lemonade, loved the WoW and especially the very last one. I think it is one of the advantages of getting older, it is so much easier to just be yourself and focus on all the really great things in your life than worrying over what people think of you.

Well, the house is clean because of the company this weekend, most things are actually reasonably caught up and it is cool today...that combination is too perfect...so I am going to practice painting...Whoo Hoo! A great day to you all.

WM said...

Oops, sorry, Matt what a great photo...The Music Man is always so much fun and whenever we have an URN clue I always think of the scene with the ladies doing An Ode to a Grecian Urn. We did that musical when I was in high school...to great acclaim, but I was always in the orchestra...It is also good to see you back posting again.

Mainiac said...

Good Afternoon All,

Not much chance to comment today. Had a very good time with the puzzle this AM. Very similar experience to what most have already said.

Nice blog Jazz and nice pic Matt!!

Gotta run.

Have a great day!

Anonymous said...

Hi Chickie,

Thanks for the interest. The Music Man was the first production for this theatre group I've been cast in a new play with the same theatre group called Bull In A china Shop that will open in Oct. for a another three day run.

Thanks WM & Maniac. Clear Ayes I have seen that on you tube. I was told by the director that I set the bar high as far as my performance. I rolled my r's when I said cigarettes illegal in this state. The play ran for three days in July 17, 18 & 19

Speaking of Jazz Earl Klugh is my favourite. Here's Midnight in San Juan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bebY6Cl_fxc

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed the puzzle today and did it in the Master mode so I guess I'm making progress. I sure appreciate the analysis by CC, Argyle and now Jazz. I agree with most of the comments made by others about the puzzle so I'll ask a question and make an unrelated comment.

Question: People often mention needing perp help to complete the puzzle as if it's a sign of weakness. I think of the intersecting words as part of the puzzling process on harder clues. Is it the goal for some of you to go straight through the across clues without needing the down clues at all?

Off topic comment: I enjoyed Obama's speech to the school kids today. It's hard for me to see what the fuss was about from some folks.

Anonymous said...

Kazie,

I'm not sure we never discussed politics at least the discussion never came up. So I don't know what political affiliations or beliefs the other people in the cast held.

Anonymous said...

Bill,

If you watch Fox out of reality channel Glenn Beck and Michelle Malkin were saying Obama's speech was going to indoctrinate kids and turn them into socialist democrats. Even though they never bothered to read the speech even after it was posted on the White House web site.

TO say nothing of the fact that Reagan and Both Bush's didn't require parental permission to address school children during their terms in office. Reagan went off on a tangent of the evils of income tax during his speech, Bush Sr. asked children what could they do to help him succeed as president.

ALL GRAVY NO GRIEF

Crockett1947 said...

Good afternoon, everyone.

Wow, go away for the weekend and work like a dog to get caught up on everything when you return!

@argyle Great job doing what needed to be done to get Monday posted. Hope you don't have to go through that again.

@jazzbumpa Marvelous write-up and a fabulous picture of Emily! Glad to hear that she had a successful first day experience.

The Oregonian announced that they would try to bring back the Wayne Williams puzzle and would keep the readership posted. Suddenly, with no announcement, we now have A DAILY CROSSWORD with no credits that seems to have replaced TODAY'S CROSSWORD (also with no credits). Temporary or permanent? Who knows? It'll be interesting to follow.

Nice picture yesterday and today.

Wow, almost posted this on on Monday's comments. Better get in posted before I mess it up.

Annette, you will be on the map shortly.

kazie said...

ALL GRAVY NO GRIEF,
I agree. I sometimes get so angry about the opposition to everything this president does or wants to do, when all of it has been with his heart in the right place, and his hands not in the pockets of the big corporations like some before him.

It is in the best interest of corporations, religious extremists and the super-wealthy to keep the general population as stupid and uneducated as possible. Say what you will, but they are doing a bang-up job.

carol said...

Hi C.C.,Jazz and group of super solvers!

I didn't have any real problems..stumbled on 30A (Hard G), I'll bet Lois got it right off though -LOL
She will have fun with this puzzle: Sweat it, Flirt, Hot Cross Buns, Salad Oil...well, you know.

54A (Infield Protector)/Tarp was not what I thought of.

Jazz: Great job and fun links (esp for the guys). Also your little waif is just toooo cute! What a picture.

Lemonade: Good list!

As was mentioned - let's see how many days go by before we see 'Birthday Suit' in a puzzle.

Anonymous said...

Anyone see this type of ear lobe recently. I have been seeing lots of them lately, and I cannot even look at the persons ear before I start to get queasy. It is called "gauging" and I think is becoming more popular.

Forgot to tell Matt what a fun picture of you and your gang. Would love to see the production.

Argyle said...

Hey, great job, Jazz, on a puzzle with the maximum number of entries. And a short night, to boot.

I rode with a friend to his VA appointment this morning. His quote, "It shouldn't take long."

Ha!

I took Don Gagliardo puzzle from LAT May 17,2007, and did it while I was waiting(and waiting). It was one that Dan Finan mentioned in his interview with C.C. and it was as much fun as Dan said it was.
And then I waited some more.

Anonymous said...

Jazz, As a former kindergarten teacher (and a grandma) I loved the pictures. She looks like she thinks she is on a very serious venture.

We enjoyed the puzzle & found it fairly easy.

I want you all to know that not all conservative, fundamentalists objected to Pres. Obama speaking to the students. Kids need all the encouragement they can get to realize how important an education is & as long as he stuck to the subject of education I don't interpret it as political. We used to tell kids if they studied and worked hard, they could grow up to be president. I suppose now that would be considered wrong advice for some reason.

Andrea, will you have pictures of Zoe's first school day to show off when we meet?

Dot

Andrea said...

Dot - I will bring pix of Zoe. I can bring my laptop if you want and show you thousands!! Just joking - will bring just enough to show off my precious gem without becoming a bore to my audience... :)

Her first day went great - she played well with the other kids, followed instructions, ate her whole lunch, and took a great nap. I'm hoping between it getting dark earlier and her new longer day at school, we have an earlier bedtime in our future!

I also don't understand the issue with Obama addressing the students - regardless of who is in office, I think it's a powerful message to young people that they are an important part of our society and deserving of the President's time and attention.

Off to call grandparents and report on the big first day!

PJB-Chicago said...

Good evening.
Oprah update: Black Eyed Peas, James Taylor and Jennifer Hudson performed. Got a couple text messages and seems it was a very long day and very crowded. Standing room, only, so many people were tired after getting there at the crack of dawn. Crowd management was a little weak, and there were a few moments of mayhem when the the horde was jockeying for position, but the local news says it was a safe day. Folks are streaming out of downtown now. No idea how they can get back home! Oprah's fans were raving about the event; other people inconvenienced by the gala are less enthused! Lol.

See y'all later!

MJ said...

@JD-I forgot to respond to your mention of the story of the Sudanese woman who was arrested on the charge of public indecency for wearing pants in public. More to the story is that she was a UN employee, and therefore immune to prosecution. She quit her job so the case wouldn't be dismissed. She had been arrested with about a dozen other women, most of whom have since paid a find or been flogged. Thank goodness for people like this woman who are standing up and fighting for reasonable human rights. It will be interesting to see where this goes.

@Jazzbumpa-Very clever, insightful poem of the "Poet's Mouse." You are one very talented trombonist!

@Argyle-I also copied and completed Dan G.'s May 17, 2007 puzzle. One thing I didn't understand. The clue for 35D is "Part of a bubble bath?" The answer I got was DOTCOM. If that's correct, what does it mean?

Clear Ayes said...

Jazz, as always, a clever parody of Billy Collins poem.

KQ, I agree about the earlobe gauging. I think it is very unattractive. OTOH, my mother practically went into cardiac arrest at the thought of her daughters just getting their ears pierced. I didn't get my ears pierced until I was in my 30's. My daughter has two pierces per ear. The 19 year old grandson had his ears pierced, but he kept forgetting to put the studs in and the holes healed over. He hasn't had them redone.

Best of all, he hasn't shown an interest in tattoos. I don't have anything against tattoos, but young adults should think twice and then twice more. Once it is done, it is very difficult and expensive to remove.

I was totally shocked at the conservative uproar about President Obama's school speech. If you didn't see it, read it here. How people can make such uncalled for and insulting comments is beyond me. The speech was totally non-political and the only agenda was "work hard and stay in school".

Dennis said...

MJ, when the dotcom bubble burst, a lot of people took a bath.

Dennis said...

ClearAyes, I agree; it was a typical kneejerk reaction we see so often in politics. His talk was as apolitical as it could be.

embien said...

6:21 today.

I'm extra-late because of a lunch with friends from out of town. I have nothing pertinent to add to the blog except that it was hard to tell whether the photo of the girls was for HOT PANTS or HOT CROSS BUNS. I guess both (undoubtedly Jazz's intention).

MJ said...

Dennis-Thanks for the dotcom clarification. I thought this puzzle from Dan was pure genius!

PJB-Chicago said...

So enjoyed the discussions today, plus the WOWs, poetry, photos, fun facts and much more. Thanks, everyone! There's always a lot to learn here.

Argyle said...

MJ- I agree with Dennis, but I did double check all my perps. The phrase, "a bubble bath" instead of "the bubble bath" did give me pause. I think 'bubble' may be standard Wall Street jargon for any situation where something is inflated above its true worth. If that is the case, then anytime the bubble bursts and people take a 'bath', the phrase, "a bubble bath" would be appropriate, with 'dot.com' specifying which bubble the user was talking about.

Then again, I may not have the slightest clue what I'm talking about. ;o)

Anonymous said...

It's late on the east coast, so goodnight, everyone.

ClearAyes and Jazzbumpa: enjoyed Billy Collins' poem and Jazz's parody of it. Great going guys.

And CA, thanks for the copy of THE SPEECH. What idiocy to not allow it, as was done in Naples.

JD said...

MJ, I don't think we've heard the last from Lubna Hussein.Unfortunately, the govt.allied Journalist Union paid her $200, so she was released from jail. She, on the other hand, wanted to bring more attention to these injustices and report from jail.People with that kind of courage amaze me; it's not what most of us would do.

Loved today's poems, matt's picture and Lemonade's life's guide.Now what's for dessert?
I'll go look into history; I don't want to be 3 days off.

Chickie said...

Matt, I wish some of us lived closer so we could attend your performances. Keep us posted on how things go.

CA, thank you for Billy Collin's poem and Jazz, your "redo". Very clever. Both contributions were so enjoyable.

If Obama isn't a role model to students, who is? Such a todo about something that should have been applauded by parents. I heard that one HS with about 2000 students had 10 who opted out.
My big disapointement comes with those school districts who opted not to broadcast it at all.

Annette said...

I enjoyed today's puzzle - almost as much as I enjoyed the blog! So many fun links, great photos, interesting facts, WOWs, poems, the idea of Clear Ayes and family breaking into such a fun, lively song in the middle of a restaurant, etc.!

I liked the clue for flirt, and the link showing it coming from both sides.

I disagree with today's WOW, but then I'm a tortoise currently trying to survive the last 16 days of working for a paranoid, vindictive hare... She's being let go, not me. The fun, easier puzzles lately sure have helped keep my spirits and self-esteem up!

Tortoise - that might be a fun fill for a constructor to fit into their grid! I'm sure I've seen it as a clue, but don't recall seeing it as a fill.

Clear Ayes said...

Annette, I have a dear friend who is a much better singer than I. She is a big slice of ham on rye, just like me. We have been known to break out in duets in clothing boutiques, malls, restaurants just about anywhere the fancy takes us. Life is too short to be worried about what other people are going to think about you. It is funny, but people seem to enjoy seeing two middle-sixties aged women throwing their arms around each others shoulders and belting out whatever comes to mind, usually show tunes. Sometimes it's good, sometimes not, but it is always great fun.

PJB-Chicago said...

CA: that such a good poem by Billy Collins, and Jazz your version made me laugh outloud. CA, I to watch you sing someday or maybe join you (but I never remember all the words). I am enthusiastc even if I'm botching the melody and lyric.

Chickie; with everything else going on in /the US it seems like the people who worried about kids being exposed to a role model come across as strident. Much ado about nada.

BillG. I rely on perps a lot. Not a speed solver here, but early in the week I do try to guess the answer or an alternative without the crosses, but whatever helps get the grid solved after Mon,Tue, I use! We all work a little differently. If I make a mistake, it's no big deal. We're not very competitive here; we just try to get better.
Cheers to all. I'm bushed tonight.
#4 and am going, going, gone!

Chickie said...

Oops, even with previewing I misspelled disappointment! I couldn't leave it that way.

Annette said...

Okay, I knew when I did it that I should NOT have brought a large coffee back from lunch today... It's actually 2:15 AM here.

Clear Ayes, good for you! My mother always used to tell us to "make our own fun in life", and she definitely practised what she preached. I've embraced that lesson pretty well, but am still working on the "not caring what other people think" lesson...

The only one who appreciates my singing other than me is my cat. It seems to relax him, and our favorite song is "Moon River". Around other people, even trying to sing "Happy Birthday" is torture for me!