google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, November 23, 2009 Joan Buell

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Nov 23, 2009

Monday, November 23, 2009 Joan Buell

Theme: Lower Body Parts - Clothing items starting with a word indicating "lower body part".

17A: Beatles footwear: ANKLE BOOTS.

66A: Stockinglike workout wear: LEG WARMERS.

10D: Goalie's protective pair: SHIN GUARDS.

30D: Pants with a low waistline: HIP HUGGERS.

Argyle here. It seemed a little loose today. The theme was muddled by the inclusion of other body parts. 27A: Seasoned pros: OLD HANDS, 50A: Sledding spot: HILL SIDE and 49D: Winter hat feature: EAR LAP.

Maybe it's just me.

Across:

1A: Closes in anger, as a door: SLAMS.

6A: Cause damage to: HARM. From slamming too hard?

10A: Cover for a pillow: SHAM.

14A: Psychic's card: TAROT. A. Tarot, are you still with us?

15A: Belle man: BEAU. BEAU of the ball.

20A: In a dishonorable way: BASELY.

21A: Japanese electronics giant: NEC. Nippon Electronics Corporation, mostly in computer related products and net working.

22A: Pinot __: NOIR. Grapes and wine. It is a difficult variety to cultivate and transform into wine.

25A: Spanish wine punch: SANGRIA. A popular drink among tourists . (Any personal experiences?)

32A: The "T" in some fraternity initials: TAU.

33A: 503, in old Rome: DIII.

34A: Casa kitchen crock: OLLA.

36A: Half a '60s pop group: MAMAS. The other half: PAPAS

40A: Like the diving-board end: DEEP. I got caught thinking it referred to the board itself and not the pool.

41A: WWII noncombat females: WAACS. Women's Army Auxiliary Corps. Sloppy clue, should have said something about being service related. Were there any combat females?; I think not.

43A: Sitar music: RAGA.

44A: Seaweed-wrapped Japanese fare: SUSHI.

46A: Analogy phrase: IS TO.

47A: Contest with pistols: DUEL. I still laugh when I think of our school advertising a DUEL(dual) position.

48A: Put into service: USE.

52A: Word game involving a stick figure: HANG MAN.

56A: "No way, laddie!": NAE.

60A: Double-checks the math: READDS. Boo!

65A: Copenhagen native: DANE.

69A: Apex: ACME.

70A: Words after have or save: A SEAT.

72A: Sampras of tennis: PETE.

73A: Burial places : TOMBS.

Down:

1D: Wild guess: STAB. aka, WAG.

2D: Superboy's girlfriend Lang: LANA. Superman's girlfriend was Lois Lane. Was he O/C? (obsessive-compulsive)

3D: Boats like Noah's: ARKS.

4D: Beauty mark: MOLE.

5D: "A Streetcar Named Desire" woman: STELLA. Stella!

6D: "Real Time With Bill Maher" network: HBO.

9D: Oman's capital: MUSCAT.

12D: Computer text code: ASCII. American Standard Code for Information Interchange. I admit I always thought it was ASC II, you know, like the second version.

13D: Anne of "Archie Bunker's Place": MEARA. The show aired for four seasons, '79-'83. Anne Meara played Veronica Rooney (1979-1982), the cook at Archie Bunker's Place, the bar Archie bought. She and her husband were the Stiller and Meara comedy duo.

18D: "See ya later": BYE NOW.

24D: Stevenson who lost twice to Eisenhower: ADLAI.

26D: "Apocalypse Now" setting, briefly: NAM.

31D: Cut dramatically: SLASH. 39D: Bargain hunter's delight: SALE.

35D: Join the cast of: ACT IN.

42D: Sporty Toyota Camry: SOLARA. A mid-size coupe/convertible.

45D: Suffix with intellectual: ISM.

52D: Mythological underworld: HADES. Greek.

53D: Tequila plant: AGAVE.

54D: Octet plus one: NONET.

59D: Corp. leadership gp.: MGMT. management.

61D: "I __ busted!": AM SO. I thought of Dennis and his "False Confession Day"

62D: Judge: DEEM.

63D: Colorless: DRAB.

64D: Retd. Air France fliers: SSTS. But they will never retire as crossword fill.

67D: Like early morning hours : WEE.

Answer grid.

Argyle

49 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - more like a typical Monday puzzle, just a bit under 4 minutes. Enjoyable, but it went too fast.

I liked the mention of Apocalypse Now, which in a few scenes did a very good job of depicting the occasional surrealism of Vietnam.

Argyle, as to the theme, I took hands, side and ear as bonuses as opposed to actual components of the theme. Also, I think you're right that the females in the services during WWII were all in non-combat slots; however, if memory serves, several found themselves in combat situations during the course of the war.

Today is Eat a Cranberry Day and National Cashew Day.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "It is not our abilities that show who we are - it is our choices." -- J.K. Rowling

More from the Washington Post contest:

- Flatulence: Emergency vehicle that picks up someone who has been run over by a steamroller.

- Balderdash: A rapidly receding hairline.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning CC, Argyle and All,

Quick run today with only one problem in the NE corner. Case instead of Sham made that the last to fill in. Pretty typical Monday.

Have a great day!

Hahtoolah said...

Morning, CC, Argyle and Friends. A pretty easy puzzle for a Monday. I wasn't too keen on the theme. I thought at first it might have to do with the '60s, what with the Beatle reference and the Hip Huggers.

My only hang up was to have Dims instead of DIES, which gave me Demp for the diving-board end. Like Argyle, I fell for the trap of thinking the clue referred to the physical aspect of the board. After staring at what I wrote, I had my D'Oh moment ~ DEEP!

Anne Meara is also the mother of Ben Stiller. I thought he was hilarious in Zoolander.

QOD: Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he isn't, and a sense of humor to console him for what he is. ~ Francis Bacon

Dr. Dad said...

Good morning.

Nice blogging Argyle.

Went through the puzzle easily but didn't really come up with a theme of lower body parts.

Pinot Noir and Sangria one on top of the other. Nice. How do they go with sushi?

That spelling of Aeon is showing up a lot lately.

I also was messed up for a brief moment with slip instead of sham. That was quicly corrected.

Have a great Monday. Don't eat too many cranberries today or you won't have room for them on Thursday.

Lemonade714 said...

Happy Monday

A good puzzle for those who are learning the thrill of solving, but it went quickly even for me. I did coincidentally make my homemade trail mix with lots of cranberries and cashews.
Have a great week all.

Anonymous said...

Lemonade714, what else in your trail mix?

Martin said...

Finished without googling but, wow, it was tough for a Monday. First I misread "Boats like Noah's" for "Boots like Noah's" so I had to get ARKS from the perps. Then I wrote HURT instead of HARM, CASE instead of SHAM, AS IF instead of IS TO, HOCKEY MASK instead of SHIN GUARD and BYE BYE instead of BYE NOW. It also took me a while to get STELLA because it isn't a very common name. Things picked up when I got PETE Sampras and I thought "I'm actually going to finish this!" Finally putting in the L in ADLAI and OLLA I realized I had seen OLLA before and I was done. Whew!

Martin

Dick said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. and all, the puzzle today was easy and I thought somewhat boring. The only error was slip for sham which was quickly corrected by the perps. As to the theme I thought it was body parts and not lower body parts.

Not much else to say about this puzzle.

BTW Dennis I liked you WOWs today.

Hope you all have a great Monday.

Anonymous said...

The answer is no , U.S. women did not serve in combat roles however some served as nurses. That was dangerous imagine being a nurse during the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor. Most women worked in factories making planes, bombs, bullets while the men were overseas fighting.

Russian women served as snipers and pilots.

WWII

16 watering aid I had CANS at first
when I saw it was HOSE I thought of this.

HOSE

Anonymous said...

Your blogging is "a little loose" today. All the theme answers are wearable. And each starts with "Lower Body Part".

kazie said...

Easy for me too today.

Argyle,
I think the READDS should be RE-ADDS--does that look better? And for the theme, I was thinking more of the clothing items--all a form of protection, from cold or ball/puck. Great blogging, but not much chance for creativity here.

Beau and belle both simply mean beautiful, but male and female respectively. As an adjective, belle would be wrong with "man", so in essence, we were being asked to substitute the correct form.

Spitzboov said...

Easy one today. Ended up solving clockwise. Only error was BYEbye for BYENOW. Corrected itself when OLLA and WAACS came in.

Mostly straightforward clues.

JD said...

Good morning Argyle, CC and all,

Have been doing Mon puzzles in bed using a pen, but today I had to fix a few errors, like bye bye to bye now, slip to sham and ruin to hurt to harm. I also had a heck of a time coming up with the l in ear lap...never heard of that. I kept thinking flap.Oh, and I had ninet for nonet.. both strange, and gave me a gig, not agog.
Maybe I should go back to pencil.LOL!

Thanks for the write up, Argyle.

Dennis, I guess this would be a perfect day to make cranberry sauce.

carol said...

Hi Argyle, C.C. and everyone -

Funny, I thought of case or slip for 'cover for a pillow' and could not think of SHAM at all! Also had the same thought as some of you about the end of the diving board.

I have never heard of EAR LAP either, is that for real???

18D - I put in BYE BYE so that screwed up that area for a minute or two.

Cute theme but some of the 'fun' lower body parts were left out! Darn.

More later.

DCannon said...

Easy one today - went very fast with no googling. My only problem was case for sham, but after I got all the fills below it, I realized my error. Wanted leotard(something) at 66A, but the fills took care of that, too.

I got the "body parts" in the theme, but didn't narrow it down to "lower body parts" because of 27A (old hands) and 49D (ear laps.)

JD, I am making cranberry sauce today. I'm taking several shortcuts this year, such as using a Marie Callendar's pumpkin pie. It has to be baked, so if someone asks if I baked it, I can say "yes," LOL! I'm the only one who likes sweet potatoes, so I'm not making those.

I did not check the temp this morning, but it seemed a little warmer. It is already 58º at 10:30am.

Crockett1947 said...

@carol I'm with you on EARLAP. What the heck is that? An Ear FLAP I can understand. So the first definition at Yourdictionary.com is "Earflap" which gives you what we thought it should be, "either of a pair of cloth or fur flaps on a cap, turned down to protect the ears from cold."

Thanks for the write-up Argyle Santa.

Enjoy your cranberries!

kazie said...

I don't know how I managed to get either EARLAP or SHAM first try, but it must be because I had perps with no other options in first. In the case of earlaps I'd never heard a specific term for them and just assumed I was learning another new word.

Dennis said...

I've heard the term 'earlap' used before, but I think in both cases, they were talking about fur hats with what I thought were ear Flaps.

Carol, great minds think alike; a lot of obvious omissions. Maybe a DF puzzle is needed...

Annette said...

Okay, what tells you to only base the theme on just certain fills, which eliminated ones like OLD HANDS and HILL SIDE, leading you to the lower body parts?

Is it a rule of contruction that words of a certain length (is it always 10 letters?) are clues to the theme?

I guess that's why I usually forget to look for a theme unless they're blatently pointed out to me with asterisks...

Gotta run to my closing!

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, What a lovely foggy Monday morning it is! GAH's brother has been visiting with us for the past five days and he went home this morning. What's the old Ben Franklin saying about guests? Ah yes, "Guests and fish begin to smell after three days." I love my B-I-L, but five days was one, or maybe two, too many.

The puzzle was fine with me for a Monday. I think constructor Joan Buell made an effort to enliven some of the fill with clues we haven't seen. I liked "Like the diving-board end".

There were also some answers that were "Which one do I choose?" SLIP, CASE or SHAM? HURT or HARM? BYE BYE or BYE NOW? Made it more fun for me.

I have the same question about OLD HANDS and HILL SIDE as Annette did. They are balanced in the puzzle. Why would they not be themeage(sp?), Jerome, Fred...anybody?

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

Annette and Clear Ayes,
Kazie & Anonymous @7:43am are correct. All the four theme answers are clothing items which start with word indicating a lower body part. Yes, OLD HANDS and HILL SIDE are symmetrically balanced, but they don't fit the theme pattern. HANDS and SIDE end their phrases respectively. Besides, hands are plural. Constructors pay very close attention to the theme consistency. I totally agree with Dennis. They are just bonus fill.

Anonymous said...

From Vern (google cut me off again)

I, too, got stuck with my question:
"Does the end of a diving board have a name?" Also, I had case for pillow covering which gave me "chinguards" which would only be appropriate for fat golies so I quickly corrected to sham & shin.

Hemisphere: Bottom of a rather large lady's dress.

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

Annette,
No, there is no limit on theme answer length, though they tend to be the longest entries in the grid. Occasionally we see non-theme answers that are longer than theme entries in the Across if part of the theme answers are in Down. Theme answers must have something in common and must be consistent. The more tightly focused, the better. OLD HANDS and HILL SIDE would make this puzzle too broad and inconsistent.

MR ED said...

Could someone please explain the 'pillow case' 'sham' connection to me?
Thank you.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

OLD HANDS and HILL SIDE look like theme answers, and they are in the right places. My first thought at a title was "OUT ON A LIMB" but HIP doesn't fit. I missed the fact that SIDE is a body part. (D'oh!)

So - possibly less loose than I thought, but it is not good practice to put theme-mimicking fill in theme-like locations, and have them not be part of the theme, IMHO. And since it precipitated all this confusion and discussion, I have to conclude that the theme was not well executed.

We are getting lots of RE-what-the- hell these days.

I like Tau for T. They are not only the same shape, they have the same sound - right? H for Eta, as we have seen at least twice is a SHAM. Similar look, but one is a vowel, and the other is a consonant - so: FAIL!

Whatever the good-for-the-heart-stuff in red wine is, Pinot NOIR has lots of it. Awful sentence, but you know what I mean.

Gotta run.

Cheers!
JzB the occasional pinot NOIR sipping trombonist

Dennis said...

Mr. Ed, it has a secondary meaning as 'a covering for a pillow'.

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

Jazzbumpa,
OLD HANDS and HILL SIDE are clearly NOT wearables and the phrase pattern is so different from the other four.

Jerome said...

C.C. and Dennis- You're both exactly right. HILLSIDE and OLDHAND do not relate to the theme at all. Nor do they detract from it. EARLAP as well. I'm thinking that in each case Joan entered the best fill she could and it just so happened to include body parts. All three are fine and in no way muddle up the theme. Had the puzzle contained KNEEPAD at 52 across instead of HANGMAN, yeah, that would be a mistake. Unless she put in TOENAIL at 25 across. Aha, then we would have a six themer!

Warren said...

Hi Argyle, C.C. and gang, my wife and I finished today's puzzle before she left for work without any issues. She came up with 'SHAM' for a pillow case cover and knew how to spell thinks like 'SUSHI' that I have trouble remembering.

Here's more information on earlap

Noun 1. earlap - one of two flaps attached to a cap to keep the ears warm

Chickie said...

Hello All--A good, quick, Monday puzzle. I caught on to the theme pretty quickly, but fell into the same traps as others. Slip, Case, and Sham are all synonyms. However, sham to me is more of a decorative covering than the other two.

After eating a cranberry--only one--what kind of face would you make?

Some women were in the WAF and piloted planes from the factory to the bases throughout the US. They were not in a combat situation, but were the first to fly a NEW plane! Somewhat intimidating I would think.

carol said...

Dennis - you 'construct' the DF puzzle and we will delight in trying to solve it. Give it a 'morel' theme ;)

Re: earlap/ear flap
I always thought of 'lap' as a distance your might swim or what you make when you sit. Let's see lay your head down and create a earlap, hmmmmm...

kazie said...

I think EARLAPS lap over the ears like something that overlaps something else.

Pillow shams are decorative covers on pillows meant to be removed from the bed before sleeping, aren't they? I have pillow cases/slips on the pillows I sleep with, but shams that match the comforter on pillows that I only use to prop myself up more to read or watch TV.

Incidentally, pillow slips in Oz have an extra flap (lap?) stitched at the open end inside the outer edge, so you can anchor the pillow and it won't slip out. Like an envelope flap when you slip it inside the envelope. I've just seen something similar advertized once recently in the U.S.A., otherwise they are all open ended here.

lois said...

Good afternoon Argyle, CC, et al., Fun puzzle! Loved seeing my car in it...solara (convertible & I love it.)

No 'harm' no foul, and no 'drab' associations here. What do you call females who get
'hosed' on 'Sangria' or Pinot 'Noir' with 'a seat' on a 'beau'tiful 'hillside' in the 'wee' hours of the morning next to 'Pete' (Sampras, esp) in the summer and 'in-CA'? How about 'mamas'? ...unless 'Nae' was 'use'd, and she did not 'act in' haste. Then of course, the dream of a 'stella'r performance night for him is left in 'deep' 'sham'bles
with the desire on the 'lea' being re'deem'ed by 'old hands'. So, check the body parts and count the clothes, and just hope the
earlap'ping and 'nec'ing
she gave are a 'sham'ple of what's 'tau' come. That 'mama's' no fool.

Am so ready for this holiday! It's my favorite one too, like Melissa. Hope you all have a great one too.

Enjoy your night.

Jeannie said...

Okay coming out of a flu-ish state, been down and out since Friday. This puzzle (first in a while) didn't "do" anything for me but to let me know my brain still works. Bland theme, and couldn't even pick a favorite clue. Got her nailed in just under 7 min on line with no red letter help. Ear lap? No, it's ear flap....take it from a Minnesotan "out there" here is an example. Cranberry day...hmmm.

Carol...I am coming to. Me thinks you are right.

eddyB said...

Afternoon all.

Prior to 1943, female pilots were civilian volunteers. Many went to England and joined the ATA. The WASPs were formed and intergrated
into the USAAF.

This was also a subject of a recent
Cold Case TV show.


eddyB

Anonymous said...

Did it in an hour!! Every easy!!!! Bring on tomorrows!!!!


gmony

Jeannie said...

1 1/4 cups pecans (5 oz), chopped
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (not thawed; 3 1/2 oz), chopped
1 baked (10-inch) tart shell
Preheat oven to 350°F.

Lightly toast pecans in a shallow baking pan in middle of oven until fragrant but not darker, about 5 minutes, then cool. Leave oven on.

Cook 1/2 cup sugar in a dry 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork (to help sugar melt evenly), until sugar is melted into a deep golden caramel. Tilt pan and carefully add corn syrup (caramel will harden and steam vigorously). Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until caramel is dissolved.

Remove pan from heat and add butter, stirring until melted, then cool caramel until it stops bubbling. Whisk together eggs, salt, vanilla, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar, then add caramel in a stream, whisking constantly. Spread pecans and cranberries evenly in tart shell and pour caramel over them, tapping pecans and cranberries down to coat thoroughly. Bake tart in middle of oven until filling is set, 30 to 35 minutes. Cool completely in pan on a rack before removing rim of pan.

Wow folks...this one got me as I think pecan pie is too rich and cranberries are too tart. What a great combination. I know it looks like work, but I GAURANTEE it is worth the work. Everyone you serve this one to will give you the "WOW" factor in one way or another.

Argyle said...

Good afternoon,

I had to hit the road early this morning and admit I missed the theme. But I still don't care for the addition of body parts in the grid at all.

Anonymous said...

I'm looking for a receipe for a really good Sangria. I had one years ago, but can't find it now. It had brandy, red table wine, and at least one maybe two other liquors in it. Can't remember, it's been so long.

I'm making candied, spicy pecans for Christmas gifts. Made 22 lbs last year. Am shooting for 28 lbs this year--12 down, 16 to go. They're good in salads, but most people tell me theirs never see a salad.

WOW is a keeper today.

Instead of beau, I had bete for Beauty and the Beast--La Bella et La Bete.


Doreen

JD said...

I agree; no one calls them laps.

Jeannie, so glad you are on the mend , and at the ready with another yummy recipe. Question: If I don't want to spend $8 on a vanilla bean for the Corn Chive pudding,can I just use van. ext. instead? And, if yes, how much?

Jerome said...

Argyle- You have a perfectly legit reason for thinking that the inclusion of other body parts in this puzzle "muddled" the theme. And that is, you didn't care for it. Nothing wrong with that. I see stuff in puzzles all the time I don't care for. But that's simply personal taste and it in no way reflects the opinion of other solvers, constructors or editors.

What drives constructors up the wall is not that someones taste differs from theirs, but criticism that has no basis in reality ,or fact, and is just flat out wrong. Today, many comments have implied that there is no such word as EARLAP, even though there is. What, the constructor made up a word and the editor went along with it? A few weeks ago I had HI YO in my puzzle clued as "__ Silver, away". There are people to this day that still insist the phrase is "HI HO Silver, AWAY"

A lot of these problems could easily be solved if folks would do just a little research. A real little research.

JD said...

Jerome, we KNOW it really is a real honest to goodness word; it's just not used and therefore seems odd.BTW, I loved Hi Ho!

Annette said...

C.C.: Thank you for the explanation about themes. I think it's just going to take practice for me to start figuring out the theme more often. So I guess I'll have to keep coming back here until I get it right more often!

Also, I wasn't criticizing THIS puzzle. It just happened to be a good example in front of us all that I was able to use when asking my question.

Robin said...

Hi Y'all.

"EAR LAP" aint no way Joan, not in 2009. Don't even try to start with me Jerome!

Loved the puzzle otherwise.

Just slip out the back Jack......

Dennis said...

Hey, it's a legit word, so I don't have a problem with it. I'll bet no one will soon forget it, huh?

And just because a puzzle generates discussion sure as hell doesn't make it a bad, or poorly executed, puzzle.

Lemonade714 said...

Naturally with a long holiday break coming, everybody needed stuff done today, so this is my first chance to read the comments.

Anon at 6:18, I also include walnuts, almonds, coconut flakes, raisins and some dark chocolate M&Ms for a little burst. Like most of my cooking, no recipes, depends mostly on what I have in the house, but that is the standard. I also have used ried pineapple and dried cherries and dried bananas. Oh and sometimes dates. I also have tried yoghurt raisins and granola. Now that was not a bit helpful, but I tried

PJB-Chicago said...

Friends in town unexpectedly, so I got to play tourguide, and am late to post. Mapped out a whole agenda for them tomorrow, but my day will be spent at work in the a.m. and applying for jobs after that.

Solid, straightforward Monday puzzle, okay theme. Knew WACs, not WAACs. A few well-clued "downer words" HARM, STAB, HANGMAN, TOMB, HADES, SLASH, and perhaps MGMT (!) for some of us.

To answer Dr Dad, sushi goes well with beer or sake--the vinegar tends to make wine taste kind of "off"...IMHO. I stick to green tea, which is good, too.

Jeanne: Wow on the recipe, although cooking sugar isn't something I do unsupervised!

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