google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday October 22, 2009 Dan Naddor

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Oct 22, 2009

Thursday October 22, 2009 Dan Naddor

Theme: Great Food - Each theme answer ends with a /ood/ pronunciation.

17A. Lost it: CAME UNGLUED. Say it ain't so, Joe (Torre). I bet he RUED some of his strategies.

25A. Dismissed out of hand: POOH-POOHED

37A. Like Starbucks coffee, every 30 minutes: FRESHLY BREWED. Wrote down FRESHLY GROUND first.

48A. "That's too bad, man": BUMMER, DUDE. Do you like "The Big Lebowski"? The Dude is a strange character.

60A. "I don't feel like cooking" option: TAKE-OUT FOOD

Is this the Tiger Woods inspired puzzle, Dan?

Those different theme entries sure cover all the possible /ood/ sound spellings. Plus, 20 non-theme entries with 6 or more letters, very high Dan Naddor index. Nice long Downs in NE and SW corners.

I was stumped immediately with MALAGA and MCCOYS, but managed to fill in all grid with only two peeks at the cheat sheet. A success for me, so happy MOOD here in Minnesota.

Across:

1. Sweet Spanish wine: MALAGA. Named after the Spanish city Malaga where the wine originated.

11. Inst. that turns out lieutenants: OCS (Officer Candidate School). And GIS (62A. Enlistees, briefly).

15. Cause of a worldwide 19th century fever: GOLD. D'oh, the Gold Rush. I was thinking of the sickness fever. AGUE jumped into my head. Too bad there is no other way to clue the Peter Fonda movie ULEE'S (51D. "__ Gold").

16. Old school dance: HOP. How old?

21. In copious amounts: GALORE. Oh, I forgot BRA (19. Victoria's Secret offering). Which one do you like the best?

22. Ivy in Philly: PENN. And YALE (23. Ivy in New Haven). Nice consecutive "Ivy" echo.

27. Pizazz: STYLE

29. Trumpet sound: BLARE

30. Party list: INVITEES. This easy entry makes all the Down 3-letter fill readily obtainable.

36. Bug: VEX. Irk is another 3-letter word.

40. Bard's "before": ERE. Bard's "always" is E'ER.

41. Software customers: USER BASE

42. Three-time world champion alpine skier Hermann: MAIER. No idea. This guy is from Austria.

44. Feast where the Haggadah is read: SEDER. Haggadah is pronounced as huh-GAH-duh. Dictionary says it's literally "narration" in Hebrew.

54. Brazilian soccer legend: PELE. His campaign definitely made an impact in Brazil's Olympic bidding.

55. Prime Cuts in Gravy brand: ALPO. Not a pet person. This dog food brand always stymies me.

56. Crude fleet: OILERS

58. Busy co. on Valentine's Day: FTD. Ah, red roses & chocolates.

63. Slurpee relative: ICEE

64. Capital on the Missouri River: PIERRE. Capital of South Dakota. Charming little city.

65. Wee hour: ONE

66. High degrees: Abbr. PHDS. Boy, academic "High degrees". I recklessly penned in NTHS.

67. Aftershock: TREMOR

Down:

1. Real people?: MCCOYS. What's the meaning of "the real McCoy"? The cleverness of the clue is lost on me.

2. Biblical debarkation point: ARARAT. The landing place of Noah's Ark.

3. How bad excuses are given: LAMELY

5. Guzzling sound: GLUG. New word to me.

6. "Piece of cake!": A SNAP

8. Club for country kids: FOUR-H. It stands for head, heart, hands and health.

10. Anomalous: ODD

11. Austin Powers catchphrase: OH, BEHAVE! Absolutely no idea. "Austin Powers" just looks silly to me.

12. Trapped: CORNERED. Kept wanting ENSNARED.

13. Stretchy fabric: SPANDEX. Lycra is the most famous spandex brand.

18. Day-__: pigment brand: GLO

22. D.C. deal maker: POL (Politician). Wanted SEN.

26. Preoccupy: OBSESS.

28. Make certain: ENSURE. No INSURE dilemna this time.

31. Videotape type: VHS

32. Land in la mer: ILE. French for isle.

33. Norse god of single combat: TYR (teer). Oh, "single combat" god, good to know. I simply thought of him as "god of war".

34. Diminish: EBB

35. Pitching stat: ERA. However Cole Hamels pitched last night, Phillies won!

37. German miss: FRAULEIN. Man, I was so influenced by Jazzbumpa's "chen" being German diminutive when he commented on the Gisele Bundchen picture. I wanted Frauchen.

38. Put back in force, as an expired tax: REIMPOSE

39. Blubber: WEEP. Whale fat too. Speaking of fat, I simply can't get used to the taste of coconut oil. I do believe in many of Mercola's diet/nutrition ideas though.

40. Economic warfare tactic: EMBARGO

43. Funnyman Philips: EMO

45. Mar the beauty of: DEFORM. Thought of DEFILE initially.

46. Corrida snorter: EL TORO. Spanish for "the bull".

49. Raid target: ROACH. The bug killer Raid. I was picturing a police raid.

50. Protected by levees: DIKED

52. __ volente: God willing: DEO. Whenever I see "God willing", I hear Muslims' "Insha'Allah".

53. Spew lava: ERUPT

57. Show signs of life: STIR

60. Service reward: TIP. And FEE (61. Service charge). Nice clue echo again. Loved the last four consecutive S starting clues.

Answer grid.

C.C.

57 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - very much a fun puzzle today; this is more like it. I thought the theme was a good one; didn't get it at first.

I mistakenly put 'Four F' for 'club for country kids', then realized that was, um, another club. Besides that, 'poofpoohed' didn't work too well. I liked the perping of 'bra' and 'spandex', and 'erupt' and 'tremor'. And of course I'm always a fan of the longer stacks. By the way, C.C., I'll get back to you in a few days with an answer to your bra question - this'll require further in-depth analysis. And Herman Maier was a gimme - I always loved his on-the-edge skiing.

Great Phillies win last night.

Today is National Nut Day. Act accordingly.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "We are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid." -- Benjamin Franklin

And a couple interesting quotes:

- "Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart." -- Erma Bombeck

- "We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we do not like?" -- Jean Cocteau

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and Friends. This was a good Thursday puzzle. After getting unGLUED and BREWED, I realized we had a rhyming theme going on.

I'm not up on my Spanish wines, so got MALAGA through the perps. Not a good way to start the puzzle. I also had difficulty in the NW corner. Everything else, however, fell into place.

With respect to the phrase "The Real McCoy", apparently there are several theories that explain the origin.

The Fall weather has left us again. It is going to be a hot rainy day here, which means a long, foggy drive into the Big Easy.

QOD: If I were two-faced, would I be wearing this one? ~ Abraham Lincoln

Dick said...

Good morning C.C. and all, a very enjoyable puzzle today. The fills came easily and quickly with a few time outs to think. I was able to complete this one without any outside help. I knew 1A “Malaga” as soon as I got 1D. I do not like sweet wines, only dry. I did try to put armada for 56A wondering all the time why it would be a crude fleet. Then the DUH moment. And, ditto C.C. on “NTHs” degree.

C.C., do I really need to chose only one bra, can’t I take them all home? (Still on the model of course).

Favorite clue was 1D “McCoy’s.”

The theme never revealed itself to me. I had to come here to get that.

Congrats to the Phillies!! I guess they “stomped” the Dodgers.

It is going to be a great day here in western PA. It’s off to the links.

Hope you all have a great Thursday

Dr. Dad said...

Good morning everyone. A very easy puzzle today. Didn't get the theme though.

I like the black one.

Galore and bra in C.C.'s comment brings back memories of Honor Blackman in the Bond film Goldfinger.

For anyone interested the capital of S. Dak. is pronounced (at least by those living there) as "pier" and not like you would pronounce it as French for Peter.

The real McCoy is supposedly a corruption of the Scottish "Real McKay" which means the same thing. There are numerous theories on how it came to be McCoy in the U.S., one of which includes the famous feud between the Hatfields and the McCoys.

There are some people who don't look good in it and just shouldn't wear Spandex.

Time to go. Hope everyone has a great Thursday. Since Dennis said it is National Nut Day just remember - it's all fun and games until somebody loses one.

Lemonade714 said...

Another entertaining puzzle; this week had been great and to have a Dan Naddor to start the day is a plus. The theme reminded me of one of my favorite descriptions of a friend, "He was lewd, crude and misconstrued."

C.C., Did you look at all 7 pages of bras? My cup runneth over! Wow, I knew they say there are infinite shapes and sizes, but I think Dennis may have to take some time from work to do this study justice. It does remind me of my youth, when the Sears catalog was so popular.
Ladies, what do you think? Time for all the DFettes to come back to life; Lolita, your show is over, back to entertaining us; Carol, Lois we are losing steam here. Tarrajo, Elissa everything okay?

You have to applaud the Phillies, though it would have been fun to have Joe Torre face the Yankees.

Come on newbies, send C.C. some pictures, or we will be forced to recycle all of us big mouths.
Play well today, all.

Lemonade714 said...

Meanwhile, as Halloween approaches, we must show our love for SPANDEX .

Al said...

Anyone else remember the TV show The real McCoys?

Jeanne said...

Morning all,
Didn’t know Malaga wine, so I was worried as soon as I started. “Ulee’s” was a regular staple in our former puzzles. The “hop” was a popular word for a high school dance back in the 1950’s. I don’t remember using the term in the 60’s but then I don’t remember much from the 60’s!!! I love spandex in jeans--NYDJ brand of jeans are the greatest; expensive but I treat myself to one pair per season. You would never want to wear another pair of jeans. The black cat suit doesn’t look too comfortable!!!

Dennis, loved the Erma Bombeck quote--applies to so many things-not just dessert. Husband is also golfing today--got to grab the chance when you can. Probably not too many more days left here in eastern PA to take advantage of the nice weather. Congrats to the Phillies. Can they do it again?? Just wish Hamels was on his game. They will really need him in the World Series. Have a great day all.

KittyB said...

Good morning, C.C. and all.

I do love Dan Naddor days!

There were several answers I didn't know that came through the fills: MAIER, OH BEHAVE, and TYR. I wanted "irk" for VEX,and "gulp" for GLUG. Everything else worked itself out as I worked down and across. The NE corner was last to fall thanks to Austin Power's catchphrase.

I have very little understanding of the working of computers, so what I'm about to say may be truly ignorant. Please pardon me if it is. Windhover, I was having a problem with Adobe Reader, so I decided to delete the program and download it again. I uninstalled everything having to do with Adobe, and when I went to the Los Angeles Times puzzle this morning, there was a box indicating that I needed to download Adobe Flash drive to run it. Is that what you are looking for, in order to be able to do your puzzle on the phone? I'm not clear on what you need to be able to rejoin us.

Hahtool, we've lost our Fall weather in Chicago, too. It will be cold and rainy here through Saturday. btw, I love your Lincoln QOD.

Dennis, Erma is always a good quote.

C.C. I vote for the frilly red one on the first page.

Do you recall the child who always needed to go potty AFTER you'd gotten him into twenty layers of clothing to go play out in the snow? That's what came to mind when I clicked on Lemonade's Spandex link.

Dr. Dad, nice to see you today.

Keep your powder dry!

Argyle said...

Good Tyr's Day to you,

I think the VS question will require a lot of hands-on research.

Dan Naddor said...

Good morning all! I had a minor operation yesterday soo I'm writing via iPhone from my hospitall bed. My fingers are much too fat and stubby to do this easily.

No, CC, my Tiger-inspired puzzle is still a few months away. Yo'll recognize it right away.

The Phillies' lineup is simplly awesome,
huh?

See y'all next Friday!

Hahtoolah said...

Lemonade: We missed you yesterday. Your penance for spending so much time on the VS pages is to go to yesterday's blog and find the CN Tower in the link tha Al so kindly provided. Oh, and find the boy in the blue hat, too.

Martin said...

Which one do you like the best?

I like the lady on pages 2, 3, 4 and 6 with the black hair and brown skin. The only problem is that her hair covers half her face.

Oh, I'm sorry. Did you mean the bras? I wasn't really looking at the bras. :)

Martin

Moon said...

Good Morning!
Where should I start? Lots of unknowns. Finally started from the SE and climbed up.
TAKEOUT FOOD was a gimme as I hardly cook. Got FRESHLY BREWED as I got F from FRAULEIN. However the other theme answers eluded me: had to use red letter and perp help.
Completed the puzzle but didn't get the theme till I came here.
At the same time, the puzzle was interesting and fun as it had few of the usual clues and answers (51D: ULEES, 65A:ONE, 40A:ERE)

Dan, hope you have a speedy recovery. Looking forward to next Friday.

Dennis, Loved the Erma Bombeck quote. Haven't read her books for a long time (the last was as a teen).

CC, As usual, thank you for all the explanations. Never heard of FOUR H club or MALAGA wine before.

Have a great Thursday, everyone!

Al said...

Re: which one, I kind of like the very first one on the first page in black, but Martin's choice is good, too...

Apropos of nothing in particular, how do people that read braille distinguish between a "3" and a "C"?

Argyle said...

One thing about 4-H clubs is that they are co-ed, although many are based on conventional genre.

Argyle said...

Apropos of nothing in particular, how do people that read braille distinguish between a "3" and a "C"?

Maybe they precede any number with the number sign(#)? A thought.

Anonymous said...

Which VS Do I like? If I had to choose 1 girl it would be the girl in the red push up the last girl on the right.

Lemonade 714 that was latex not spandex.

This is spandex.

Anonymous said...

spandex

Carol2 said...

Congrats to the Phillies - another find job!

Good morning CC, etal.

Dan Naddor puzzles are definitely my favorites. Dan, hope you are recovering quickly from your surgery. CC - glad to have you back. Hope you are feeling much better.

I also had problems in the NW corner. Only Spanish sweet wine I could think of was sangria - never heard of malagia. Got hung up on McCoys and style. Didn't know Maier and wanted Reassess instead of reimpose. Also misspelled Seder.

Jeanne - I agree with you on the NYDJ. That is the only brand I wear. Pricey, yes, but worth it. For those who don't know. NYDJ stands for Not Your Daughter's Jeans.

Dennis - it is a tough job but some one has to do it. I'm sure you are up to the challenge!

Well, off to search the online job sites. It's really tough out there right now. Never thought the social work field would be so affected by the economy, but evidently it has been. Wish me luck!

Have a good day.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Pg 6, Row 3, Col 4: In black, Adriana Lima the 2nd most beautiful woman in the world.

I liked the cross of BRA and OH BEHAVE.

This was a much tougher puzzle today. NE corner had me CORNERED for a while. Don't know Austin Powers from Mike Meyers, nor Hermann MAIER, for that matter. But, with Adriana's help, I eventually filled it out.

Get well soon, Dan. Lots of medical issues among our crew lately.

C.C. Oh yes - "-LEIN" along with "-I" or "-ERL" are the other German diminutives.

The suffix "KA" is the Hungarian diminutive. My friend's grandmother called him "Jimmieka" getting a double whammy.

We still had HOPs in the early 60's. Sock hops, in the gym, after basketball games. I remember the 60's, having not been part of the USER BASE.

Here is one of the REDDER MCCOYS.

Cheers!
JzBka the diminutive Hungarian trombonist

Spitzboov said...

Thought provoking but quite doable puzzle. As a farm kid, was in the 4H.
Die Frau, das FRAULEIN. FRAULEIN is a neuter noun. Go figure. So is das Mädchen neuter. Diminutive suffixes are neuter.

Lemonade714 said...

Dan,

Heal quickly and do not construct a puzzle while popping Vicodin; your clues are tricky enough now.

RSD, as you can see the link is to "The Power of Women in Spandex," though it does appear the cat suit is Latex. This certainly could become quite controversial, especially in picking your Super Hero Costume Fabric .

I loved the Real McCoys especially Wlater Brennan saying "No brag, jest fact." (Yes, I intentionally types 'jest' attempting to capture the accent). It also was interesting to see little Dickie Crenna grow up from the Our Miss Brooks gawky boy days, to become a teen idol. Sadly, after a good career, Richard Crenna died in 2003.

Congratulations to the Phillies, though honestly, I think they have a great cohesion and management style, as much as an awesome lineup, with pieces coming from all over, like Ibanez, a pleasant surprise, and Lee, an amazing mid-season pick up. They are an interesting team, after all they did not run away and hide in a division with the collapsed Mets, the underpaid Marlins and the woeful Nationals, and the amazing Bobby Cox.

Well ladies, the cat got your tongue, or vice versa?

Anonymous said...

Hello all.

I liked this puzzle a lot. Had to stop and think about a few answeres. Too bad that Dan can't do them 7 days/week.

Jill is on her way to BWI and then to MSP before getting home. I checked the weather at WCCO.com and she should beat the cold rain
headed up from Iowa.

It was another cold and foggy start to the day. The sun hasn't broken through yet.

Didn't know 1A but did know all of the Ds that filled it in. Favorite was 15A. Especially after the flu discussion.

eddyB.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I have been computer-less since last night. Our ISP finally got whatever was wrong repaired about an hour ago. I've been spoiled doing the cruciverb puzzle the night before, so it took me a little longer to get up to speed this morning.

This was a fun puzzle with an interesting Dan Naddor theme.

I was a little perplexed at C.C.'s "Into the Woods". Wood rhymes with good and hood, but the "ood" in the theme answers rhyme with mood.

Like others I was also stumped right away with MALAGA. After our flu discussion, I got stuck on 15A, trying to think of a four letter virus.....GOLD...D'oh!

I'm afraid my SPANDEX days are over, but Spanx is pure comfort.

Nice to see Dr. Dad drop by.

Argyle said...

Here Dearie, have some; it's FRESHLY BREWED.

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

Clear Ayes,
My bad. My wood rhymes with mood. How about the title "Great Food"?

Dan Naddor,
Hope you are recovering quickly!

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

Argyle et al,
What theme title would you pick?

Jazzbumpa,
So you were not joking about chen at all?

DoesItinInk said...

Today’s puzzle was a little more difficult that yesterday’s, more what I would expect on a Thursday, but still very workable. I was slowed down a bit in the upper, right corner by never having seen an Austin Powers movie, but at some point OH BEHAVE was the only possibility. With the “M” in the upper, left corner, I tried initially to write “maderia” for 1 across which is a possibility only if misspelled it as “madera”. But that was while I was driving to work and before my first cup of coffee.

@Dennis: The Benjamin Franklin quote suggests to me that there are many hard working people in this country!

@Dr. Dad: Thank you for the pronunciation of Pierre. I was one of those who always mispronounced it the French way.

@Al: I had forgotten The Real McCoys tv show, but when I played your clip I realized that I still knew all the words to the theme song!

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

Lemonade,
Did you notice all those are push-up bras?

Clear Ayes et al,
Are there any rules on whether an ood word rhymes with good or mood?

Ink,
Nice to see you back.

Clear Ayes said...

Sorry C.C., I certainly don't know of any rules to the different pronunciation of "ood"....Calling all english teachers...

Doesitinink, I did see The Brothers Bloom and I liked it very much. Now that summer is over, I expect there will be some interesting movies available.

Al said...

@C.C. OOD doesn't even rhyme with itself...

good, wood, hood, stood
food, mood, pood, rood, snood
flood, blood,

DoesItinInk said...

@cc: Thank you. It is good to be back. Now if my work load just allows me to continue....

embien said...

11:01 today. A wonderful puzzle by Dan Naddor. Five good, solid theme entries (though I suppose rhyming themes are easier that way). I got the theme right away, but some of the fill eluded me for a good long while.

Never having seen Austin Powers, the "catch phrase" was really hard to come by, especially since BOP could have been the old school dance, so that square didn't get filled in for a while. I had everything filled in but couldn't parse OH BEHAVE.

My other big problem (and last fill) was figuring out FOUR H. Those who have had contact with 4H know that the "4" is never spelled out--it's always "4". I'm a country boy so I know about 4H and FFA. I think I even won a blue ribbon for my hereford calf at the county fair.

I do remember Dennis' thought about the "other" country club--the FOUR F club (I doubt that one was restricted to country kids, though).

As for c.c.'s query, I thought all of them were rather fetching, but I did wonder about the girl on page 3 who was wearing a knit cap and jacket. If it was that cold, wouldn't you be wearing more underneath? Well, I'm not going to pick nits in this instance.

I have to go do more research now.

Jazzbumpa said...

C.C -

Pretty much everything I say is a joke, at some level.

CHEN is an actual German diminutive, though.

I didn't notice until later that we were mis-spelling Bundchen, which, I suppose, would be a small league or confederation. Anyone for Bundchen Baseball?

In view of some of the other visuals offered here recently, here is a magnificent pair of bouncing boobies.

Cheers!
JzB the blue foot trombonist

Al said...

If you thought -ood was bad, listen to this...

windhover said...

Dear Dan Naddor,
You construct puzzles for the LAT, and you have an Iphone. If you can't tell me how to get the puzzle on my iPhone, then it is probably hopeless. I'm sure the other bloggers are sick of hearing it, but since I live in a very rural area, the iPhone is my only Internet access. Any advice?
KittyB,
thanks for your advice. The problem with Adobe flash
is that Apple, the maker of the iPhone deliberately programmed it to not enable flash. Until I learned
this, I tried a couple of times to download, unsuccessfully.

Lemonade, re: vice-versa in your earlier comment,
either they didn't get it or they are studiously avoiding comment.

Hahtoolah said...

And what am I, chopped liver?

Chickie said...

Hello All--A thought provoking puzzle today. I had to Google the unknowns of Austin Power catchphrase, Funnyman Phillips, and skier Hermann. Once those were in place, the rest pretty much fell into place. I'm so mind blank on names.

If I had put in vex instead of nag that NE corner would have been a LOT easier to finish up. I also had Deface instead of Deform, but that cleared up pretty fast.

I really enjoyed the Gold (fever) clue. We are ever indebted to the Gold Rush for our beautiful city of San Francisco.

Four H was a given, but not usually spelled out. My girls were all 4-Hers and we raised sheep, rabbits, and Guide Dogs. Living in the suburbs presented a challege in raising sheep. Thanks to a very kind nearaby neighbor with a small barn and a big field,we had a home for our lambs.
The county fair was the highlight of our summer.

Dennis, Erma Bombeck was usually spot on!

Heal fast, Dan. Your puzzles always present a challenge.

PJB-Chicago said...

Great way to start the morning! Tough grid compared to several Thursdays we've seen of late, but very enjoyable to work through. Dan's puzzles are among my favorites for their wit and word play.
Recover soon, Dan.

Phillies ruled! Dennis & Hahtool: great WOW/QOD today. I used all of them over the course of the day.

I made about every single error or false step listed by prior posters, and a few more. I somehow knew MALAGA from soccer but not for wine. We had "sock hops" as school dances at least until the mid/late 70s. We had Disco fever, not GOLD. I liked seeing UNGLUED and GLUG. LAMELY and DIKED were struggles, and OH BEHAVE came from the perps. I never thought the Austin Powers movies were all that "groovy" but Mike Myers has written some very good characters/dialogue. And, yes, like many boys I did get dared to eat Alpo and dog biscuits and cat food. And I returned the favor by daring others. I've eaten worse food in my life....

ADULT PARAGRAPH ALERT
Do not call Victoria's Secret and ask for the braille edition of their catalogue. It's been done before and it doesn't amuse them :- @ ! Guys my age did learn how to unhook a willing young lady's bra by Sophomore year at latest, but the younger men today don't seem to have learned the art, from what I hear from the folks I see at work or hang with ouside of work. Bras etc., have become more complex, of course. Men, perhaps, have not.

BORING PARAGRAPH ALERT:
Words ending with short and long OO sounds vary so much in pronunciation. from US region to region. I pronounce BREWED and BROOD differently, many of my friends don't. Actor Owen Wilson has the SoCal inflection for the word FOOD, which he says like I pronounce FEUD but without the Y sound. Add the Canadian OO-OW vowel shifts into the mix (the famous"aboot" for 'about' itself even varies from east to west). Take the train there and hear for yourself, or invite Canadians over for a cuppa. It's subtle but stuff like that is fun for those of us who do accents or pretend to be other people on stage.

Later. Or tomorrow.

windhover said...

Hahtool,
I think not, but I haven't seen any comments following his question posted at 12:45. Care to take a stab at that?

PJB,
with one hand, otherwise you didn't have a chance.

Anonymous said...

I had to google the skier, but everything else worked itself out eventually. Had to erase a lot today, probably because I cleared off dusted this desk today .

The southwest corner gave me some trouble, but after I had it filled in, I wondered why. All easy clues and answers.

Didn't get the theme. Still a little "iffy" to me.

I'm tired of take-out food because we have had to rely on it a lot while the kitchen is being remodeled. I hoped we would be back to basic operations tomorrow, but we have had another screw up that is going to have to be fixed before the sink and faucets can be installed. Not a pair of happy campers here!!! We are expecting a visit from our younger son from Alabama this weekend and next week and I was hoping to be able to cook for him this time.

Clear Ayes said...

Remember the English Restoration poet Robert Herrick? He often paid homage to Julia, who was probably one of his mistresses. Julia didn't have a bra to her name, but she undoubtedly had to deal with stomachers and corsets, which either flattened or pushed up, according to the fashion of the period. Herrick wrote many sensual poems, so of course he had something to say about one of the major topics of today's discussion.

Upon Julia’s Breasts

Display thy breasts, my Julia, there let me
Behold that circummortal purity;
Between whose glories, there my lips I’ll lay,
Ravished in that fair Via Lactea.

- Robert Herrick

Want to try that one hand technique with a corset, Windhover?

PJB, It is unnecessary that young men study Unhooking 1A. Many modern young ladies (Girls Gone Wild) are more than willing to execute that step for them. Where has the romance (terror) gone?

Argyle said...

Argyle et al, What theme title would you pick?

Something lewd, of course.

DCannon said...

Didn't mean to post as "Anonymous" above. Something got away from me.

Al said...

There's enough alternate spellings to make another puzzle.

Had ewed, but not ewd (shrewd)
Had oohed, but not ooed (shampooed)
Had ude and ued but didn't have
oed (canoed) or
oughed (sloughed) or
ou'd (you'd)

kazie said...

Good evening all.
Finally, the day is over! I was gone and am exhausted on returning. Haven't had time yet to read the comments, but after initial lack of traction in the north, got everything out while riding in the car with no help. Very clever puzzle.

C.C.,
Not only "-chen" but "-lein" is also a diminutive ending, so you were on the right track. They usually imply a smaller, cuter or more lovable version of the normal word. The funny part is that the endings automatically make the word neuter gender, so it looks, to English speakers, as if it's a dehumanizing slur, when the opposite is true.

PJB-Chicago said...

CAyes: and WindHover: The young folks today have so much more exposure to info re: sex than my generation, but they seem to have missed out on some the actual romance that went with those bumbling courtships back in the day. We did flirt shyly and lamely, and write little songs for that special gal or guy. I still remember all the words to "Janice Doesn't Smell Too Bad." I do hope she's forgotten the song. It wasn't as unkind as the title suggests.

Bra removal, yes the technique was one handed. Amazing what one can learn in the front seat of a lime-green Chevrolet. I don't think I was the first or only guy she'd taught to perform that maneuver, let's just say, but it was a skill appreciated in college. She's a CPA these days, I bet.

If I've crossed the line with this post, please feel to delete C.C../Dennis/Argyle.

CA: another fine poem. "Via Lactea" sounds better than Wisteria Lane or Milwaukee Road, doesn't it?

carol said...

Hi C.C. and all -
late today, too much to do.

Dan - loved your puzzle! Sorry to hear of your surgery and hope you are back to yourself very soon.

I had never heard of MALAGA...at first, like Ink, I thought of Maderia, but it wouldn't fit.

Dr.Dad: so glad to hear from you again!

Ink: same for you - hope you can post more often.

Lemonade - LOL - I didn't understand your question about the cat having our tongues or vice versa but I'm sure someone will explain it to me. ;)

I had no idea who Austin Powers was and had to agree with C.C. that he really does look silly. When and where was he popular? Looks like the 70's with his costume...maybe a Paul Revere and the Raiders wanna-be?

windhover said...

PJB:
I don't think you've even approached the line ;-).
Very nice thread.
And my '54 Chevy was Sea-Mist Green. I haven't seen the girl who christened it for 35 years. I hear she's a doctor. That's what we were playing, back in the day.

carol said...

PJB - you are correct about no more romance in the teenage and young 20's people...IMO, the girls are to blame.
I know I am going to sound like a fuddy-duddy (eat your heart out all you constructors) but I really think if they wouldn't dress and act like hookers they would get a lot more respect from the boys...guess 'respect' isn't what they want and that is a little sad to me. It seems that it was more fun when there was a little subtlety in the game. Now they let it all hang out there whether it's good to look at or not...I've really never seen so many 'muffin tops' and fat butts on young women before! Geez what are they thinking? Sorry for the rant, but some of the attire I see is just plain embarrassing, and I am no prude.

Jeannie said...

Windhover, this little Lo-li-ta did not miss Lemonade's reference to the cat having our tongues but have been too busy to even contemplate completing a xword puzzle. Jeez, I even missed making a comment on Dennis's Bangkok yesterday. I should get back into the swing of things by next week.

Foodshow was a great success and my feet still hurt. I must be getting old.

Dan, I hope you have a speedy recovery from your surgery. I will try to work this xword puzzle this weekend as I always enjoy your puzzles.

My favorite bra was the last red one on page one which I just so happen to own. I own several others from VS too. Use your imagination.

Dennis said...

Had to chime in on this one.

By the age of 25, every man should know how to flick a bra open with two fingers and a thumb. Sometimes speed is of the essence.

Argyle said...

Paradise by the Dashboard Light

PJB-Chicago said...

All I say is that I'm very glad not to be a teenager today. Those awkward years were tough in the 70s but we weren't under the same media and academic pressures. I knew I was a bit of a late-bloomer socially in highschool, and wisely saved my better adventures for college! Enough said. No kissin' and tellin' from me!

Thanks for a fun discussion.
See y'all tomorrow.

Jeannie said...

Dennis, there is no way in HE*% you could possibly unhook my present bra with two fingers and a thumb. If I lived closer to you I would throw down the gauntlet. I am also throwing it out there that you couldn't possibly do it when I was in my 20's as I didn't wear one. If I had, I still say you couldn't have accomplished that feat as I have never owned a bra with less than three hooks.

pjochlukas said...

Jeannie: We've missed you and are glad you and the "show of many foods" had a good run!. You must be exhausted.

Please be slightly careful with the male ego. I do have one, as do others. It's a little more fragile than you might think. I never had or claimed a speed record for removal of, er, um, underthings, and the young ladies I knew purposefully didn't wear anything terribly complicated, expensive, or multihooked because they knew that we dudes get stymied pretty easily, so they tried to give us at least a chance. That was a long time ago and my memory may be off base.
Find a dive bar in Chicago and look for a tall baldish dude saying semi-funny things on a wobbly stage toward the back and it may be me telling such ribald stories. Three-quarters of it is probably fiction and two-fifths kind of true. But I will, in truth, be remembered for saying "please" and "thank you" and always making a decent breakfast afterward, no matter what. If Swedes are involved, there will be cheese too.
Don't believe a word I say, of course, because I am often woken up by very noisy Chicago rain and lose my train of thought! Ah, perchance to dream. Or win the lotto.