google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday February 6, 2010 Barry Silk

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Feb 6, 2010

Saturday February 6, 2010 Barry Silk

Theme: None

Total words: 68

Total blocks: 30

Terrific pair of grid-spanning 15-letter Down entries:

3D. "You may be asking too much": THAT'S A TALL ORDER. Me finish a Barry Silk themeless sans cheating? That's a tall order!

12D. Leader played by Rod Steiger in the 1981 Libyan film "Lion of the Desert": BENITO MUSSOLINI. Nickname Il Duce ('The Leader"), which appears as a crossword fill sometimes. But never his full name. Refreshing! I've never seen the movie. But Libya was an Italian colony during WWII.

Both of them intersect with what I think the seed entry of this puzzle: WAXING GIBBOUS (36A. Phase in which the moon's right half is mostly visible in the Northern Hemisphere). See this sequential order.

Except the lower left corner, the triple stacks of 7s in other three quadrants all posed various troubles for me. As the norm with Barry Silk puzzle, there are always new words/names for me to learn. And the clues. Tricky clues. I've now fully realized how it's the cluing that makes a puzzle more difficult. Misdirections aplenty.

Across:

1. Where some colonies are studied: ANT FARM. Ant colonies. I was thinking of the political colonies.

8. Milky Way cousin: MARS BAR. The chocolate bar. Of course, I fell into the Milky Way galaxy trap.

15. "Ditto": SO HAVE I. One letter too short for MOI AUSSI.

16. Eisenhower library site: ABILENE (AB-uh-leen). In central Texas. Where Eisenhower attended high school. Stumper for me. (Corrected later: It's Abilene, Kansas. Thanks, Windhover).

17. Turkish travel shelters: IMARETS (i-MAHR-et). No idea. It's Turkish for "building".

18. Año's 52: SEMANAS. Spanish for "weeks". New word to me also.

19. Final touch on a letter?: DOT. This letter refers to i, right?

20. Stretched: CRANED. Stretched the neck.

22. Weaken: WILT

23. While beginning: ERST. Erstwhile.

25. River to the Baltic: ODER. The German/Polish border river.

26. TV host Pennington et al.: TYS. Host of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition". Unknown figure to me.

27. Mail-order pioneer: SEARS

29. "Sands of Iwo Jima" director Allan: DWAN. I wanted ALDA.

31. Creep: BOZO. "Creep" has a pervert meaning to me. Not bozo though.

32. Word with bar or god: TIKI. Funny clue.

34. Carnegie associates: STEELMEN

38. "Franny and Zooey" author: SALINGER. Timely entry. So many curses in "Catcher in the Rye".

39. Scraps: ROWS. Put down ORTS.

40. Energy company founder Halliburton: ERLE. Who knows? OK, Dick Cheney!

41. Initial step, metaphorically: A TO B

43. Passover month: NISAN. The Seder month.

46. Old Eastern capital: EDO. Tokyo, before 1868. Why is Eastern capitalized?

47. Genre of the 1963 hit "Wipe Out": SURF. Here is a clip. Barry loves "The Beach Boys".

49. Extent of damage: TOLL

50. Hair line?: PART. The clue works well without the question mark too.

52. Auto debut of 1958: IMPALA. And MASERATI (8D. Luxury car with a trident emblem). The latter is alien to me. Owned by Fiat.

54. Practiced profession: LAW. Alliteration.

55. Pyrenees republic: ANDORRA. The tiny Tiny country between France and Spain.

57. Cold War link: HOT LINE. "13 Days" is a great movie about Cuban Missile Crisis. The hot line worked!

59. Emblem of power: SCEPTER

60. "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid" star: MORANIS (Rick). Nope. His face does looks familiar though.

61. Most clipped: TERSEST

62. T.E. Lawrence, for one: ARABIST. A specialist in Arabic culture. T.E. Lawrence is of "Lawrence of Arabia" fame. I confused him with D. H. Lawrence.

Down:

1. Spoken thoughts, in a way: ASIDES. I don't quite get the clue.

2. "Enough!": NO MORE

4. Successful way to go?: FAR. "Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far."

5. Paris preposition: AVEC. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi (ce soir)?

6. In again: RETRO. Like baseball jerseys.

7. Get a wrong number: MIS-ADD. Not telephone number!

9. Retired: ABED. Retired to bed! Man, sure need to have a different mind to solve a Saturday.

10. Volcano part: RIM. Clueless. All I know about volcano is the Holy Hotwick hot flow-er lava.

11. Potluck dish: SLAW

13. Breaks down: ANALYZES

14. Leans against, perhaps: RESTS ON

21. Usenet message repository: NEWSGROUP. Usernet newsgroup.

24. "The Honeymooners" role: TRIXIE. Could only think of Ralph/Alice.

28. Pelt: SKIN

30. First st. to join the Union after the end of the Civil War": NEBR. New trivia to me.

31. Mess up: BLOW IT. I did, with this puzzle. However, there's some greatness in my wrongness.

33. Co-worker of Igor and Frau Blücher in "Young Frankenstein": INGA. No idea. Played by Teri Garr.

35. Dark, in verse: EBON. Black, poetically.

36. Pre-combat ritual: WAR DANCE

37. 2008 Steve Carell film based on a '60s sitcom: GET SMART. Nailed it. Silly movie.

38. Overlook, as a fault: SEE PAST

42. Hindu god of creation: BRAHMA. The Hindu "Creator". Vishnu is the Preserver and Shiva the Destroyer.

44. Self-titled 1991 debut album: ALANIS. From Alanis Morissette.

45. Padres' div.: NL WEST. National League West. Always prepared to have a baseball or Philadelphia reference in Barry's puzzle.

48. Stun: FLOOR

51. Lids: TOPS

52. Gets hot: IRES. Ire is always a noun to me.

53. Popular blade: ATRA. The Gillette razor.

58. Research facility: LAB. A rare "honest" and straightforward clue.

95 comments:

Argyle said...

Good Morning,

Just like the weather, my whole east coast was a mess today. What really threw me off was BENITO MUSSOLINI. I haven't seen the film so I assumed we were looking for the name of the "Lion of the Desert" and that's not Musolini. That was Omar Mukhtar, portrayed by Anthony Quinn.

Down south, I could see his face but Rick Moranis' name would not come to me. Way up north, I had Mal-o-Bar (I was thinking of Mallo Cup).

I felt like a BOZO(not the creep kind) to BLOW IT this bad! Barry got the better of me today.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning CC and all,

Completely blown away this morning. Red letters were the only thing that allowed me to finish. Mussolini took forever which made that whole side difficult. I did like the long answers. Very challenging.

Have a great Day.

windhover said...

CC:
I haven't taken the time to look this up, so I'm risking being wrong, but as an OLD goatherder who once long ago read a biography of Ike, and was in high school at the end of his presidency, I believe he was from Abilene, Kansas, not Texas.

lois said...

Good catch, WH. You're right. It is Kansas. I just looked it up.

This puzzle kicked my arse, but I do love the challenge. And it's a Barry Silk...good stuff. Glad to see him again.

Dick is snowed in and under. Wonder how Dennis fared. We're inbetween storms at the moment. Crockett, How are you?
Bill & Nancy in NY? This storm is a freakin' monster!

Stay safe.

Argyle said...

Most of upstate north of Newburgh is snow free, just cold(15 degree).

Dick said...

Good morning All, just taking a reak form the plowing. I just measured the snow on the deck and it is 28 inches and still snowing. I almost killed my quad this morning trying to move all of the snow. I have already run out of space to put it. Hope things clear up soon. Be back later.

Anonymous said...

Tough puzzle....some wordsmithing going on? "Misadd"? Never heard of. Metaphorically firststep..."atob"? 23a needed a question mark, no? Can't wait 'til Monday!

Jeanne said...

Morning all,
I haven't finished the puzzle as of yet and may give up on it. Just could not get a good grip on any corner--was not enjoying it, so maybe later.

@Dick, 28 inches, wow! So far we have anywhere from 10-12 inches. It is hard to tell because of the drifting. Looks beautiful but will really have to bundle up to use the snow blower and shovels. Food is bought, soup is made, wine is chilling, movies are ready to go, so let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. Would still prefer 75 degrees and sunny.

Have a great day all.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, Phew! Barry Silk's puzzle was a toughie. Luckily, both ANT FARM and MARS BAR (SNICKERS wouldn't fit) came right away. I have learned to think outside the box for some clues at least. GAH's brother had a MASERATI for a while, so I got that one easily too.

After that, with IMARETS, SEMANAS, DWAN and WAXING GIBBOUS, I was pretty much stuck in the "Slough of Despond", I mentioned a couple of days ago.

I had "Lion of the Desert" confused with "Lion of Judah", which was one of Ethiopian emperor HAILE SELASSIE's titles. It was two letters short, and didn't start with a "B", but it took me a long time to realize it wasn't the same thing at all. I haven't seen the Rod Steiger movie, so I had to wait for some stubborn perps to reveal another guy with a nickname, "Il Duce".

BOZO has clown-ish connotations, sort of a goofy jerk, but CREEP is just icky. I didn't like MISADD either, although I'm sure it is a word. Barry Silk would definitely check it out before he put it in a puzzle.

I was happy to see ANDORRA. Just a couple of days ago, I watched an Onion News clip. Very funny and says a lot about Americans knowledge of geography.

tfrank said...

Good morning, C.C. and friends,

Butt kicking time for Barry today! After 51 minutes I still had a bunch of blanks, mostly in the center and SW, broke for breakfast, came back and had to Google gibbous, get smart, moranis/alanis and Brahma. I got the two fifteens fairly soon, but they did not seem to help much.

This is the first time I have had to hit the G spot in weeks, but I know I had a lot of company. All of the clues I entered were already there.

I think I like hard puzzles a lot more than the easy ones. They make you think a lot more. Best clue for me was hair line.

My sympathy to all who are victims of the storm. Please don't overdo the shoveling.

Go, Saints!

Mark said...

This was a tough one for me today. I had trouble in the NE and SW parts of the grid. I'm with the others about MISADD and the "creep" for BOZO. I learned some new words today:IMARETS,SEMANAS and Haliburton's first name ERLE.

Lemonade714 said...

I knew it was going to be a day where Mr. Silk and I were on the same page when ANT FARM and MARS BAR both fit; then confirming them with the persp, I was flying. I then put in IMARET, and I have no idea why that word was lodged somewhere in my little grey cells. I loved the puzzle, thought how ironic it was we have SALINGER clued so soon after his death, and thought how in the culture (though obscure) ARABIST was as a fill. My first reaction was, it sounds made up but it is a very popular word and the name of a publication dealing with ARAB issues. It does remind me of one of my favorite “genie” jokes.
An Arab has his camel fall ill while he is crossing the desert, and ends up crawling in the sand weak from dehydration. As he pulls himself along, his hand strikes something hard, and he pulls out an old oil lamp. Skeptically, he remembers the legend and begins rubbing the side of the lamp, when poof!
A genie appears, and says, “Hey boychick, what are you doing in all this sand, are you meschuggah?”
“Oh, no” says Jamal, “how bad can my luck be, lost in the desert, and I get a Jewish Genie, who is going to fry me.”
“No, bubbeleh, it is okay. You freed me, you get three wishes.”
With some trepidation, Jamal ask to be transported to an oasis with a tall cool drink. Once again, poof! The two of them are in a relaxing shady spot, with Jamal holding a tall cold drink. He drinks ravenously and then asks for gold, and a mound of gold appears. Realizing he is down to his last wish he thinks, and then says, “ Okay Genie, I am smelly, disgusting person, living in the streets and women have never had anything to do with me. Now I am rich, I want to be what every woman wants and needs. I want them to want me inside of them.” “Your wish is my command” the Genie laughed.
POOF!
Jamal is turned into a tampon!
The moral of the story, never take a wish from a Jewish Genie, there is always a string attached.
For those who may have seen this before, I am sorry, but when they come to mind, I must get rid of them.

Spoken thoughts, in a way: ASIDES, for example, when during a play, or TV show, the character speaks directly to the audience to advise of his thoughts.

I loved the reference to INGA in Young Frankenstein a wonderfully silly movie.

I finished with putting in MISADD, which like most I kept wanting misdial, and never heard of ALLAN DWAN who worked mostly before my time. (ALAN ALDA, is a one l ALAN) and who along with Rick Moranis continues my personal Saturday min-theme of famous Canadians.

Good morning, and I hope all you snowed in are okay, and left coasters UP and AT em.
Finally, seriously new people, lets send in some pics and fill out your profile so we can expand our knowledge and our fun; how can I make fun, if I know nothing about you?

Buckeye said...

Howdy Doody fellow puzzle solvers - well not today. Most of you found today's puzzle very difficult and maybe never finished. I cannot comment since I did not get a paper this morning. We have 8" here in Middletown, Ohio (Don't ask me how I know it's 8") and more around us. I would do the puzzle on-line, but I have no access to a computer.

I have been hunting the elusive morels for over 60 years. It seems every time I find a good "spot", someone comes along and tears up my "playground". Once in Montana, a rancher let his cattle into the area I was hunting and they ate all the morels and asparagus. Bummer!!

I have a "song-book" of Paul Simon's stuff. I used to do "59th Street Bridge" but I called it "29 1/2 Street Bridge" because I only memorized half the lyrics.

Clearayes, my sister, I, too, didn't understand the "ENE" answer yesterday. Anxiously awaiting a GREAT snow poem today.

Robin: I PRAY you're not like Nurse Ratchet here at the Golden Buckeye Retirement Village. She was so mean as a kid, her mama had to tie a pork chop around her neck just to get her dog to play with her.

Windhover: A State Motto:
"Montana! Where the men are men and the sheep are nervous".

I must be off!

kazie said...

Hi all!

I loved the Onion piece. DH and I went to Andorra in 1971 shortly after we'd met in Spain. Quite a trek to reach it up in the eastern Pyrénées, but well worth it. It's a tax haven, the sale of duty-free goods and tourism being its major sources of income.

I too had problems today, a lot of sheer guesses, perp help and "aha!" moments before I gave up and g'ed NEBR, DWAN, GIBBOUS, NISAN and a couple of other things that I couldn't get from google. Had all sorts of missteps along the way: FAR STAR for MARS BAR (I said before I'm familiar with hardly any candy brands--I like my chocolate pure). Also OTHER MEN for STEELMEN and COST for TOLL. A TO B always gets me, and I don't even understand what a usenet message repository was/is, I've never heard that term.

I wanted ORTS for ROWS, and so never got BLOW IT with the C of cost at the bottom. The spelling I found for Nisan had double S too-that didn't help. No fun today, only slogging.

windhover said...

OK, Lemonade, it's a slow day, everyone else is snowed in, and one lame camel joke deserves another.
To wit:
A tourist is looking to take a trek in the desert, and visits the rent-a-camel franchise. The owner enquires: Will you be needing a 3-day camel, a 7-day camel, or a two week camel? What's the difference, the traveler asks? Well, for 3 day trip, the camel is ready to go any time, for 7 day trip, the camel must be given a long drink, and for a two week trip, the camel must be bricked. "Bricked"? What does that involve? Well, when it appears the seven day camel is about finished drinking, we slip in behind him and smash two bricks together on his testicles. That will usually cause him to suck in enough water to last an additional week.
Damn!, said the tourist. Doesn't that hurt?
Not if you keep your thumbs out of the way.

Sorry, CC, but I did have one useful post this morning.

Dennis:
Are you buried?

Al said...

Now that's more like it... I had to use google six times to get going. I feel smarter already.

Like Lemonade714, I also recommend Young Frankenstein ("It's pronounced fronkensteen"), with Gene Wilder, and Marty Feldman ("What hump?") as Igor ("It's pronounced eye-gore") If you have never seen this movie, or even if you already have, go out and rent it now. It's in black and white on purpose. Memorable quotes here.

Buckeye said...

Jazz, Arglye, Dennis, Crockett, Winhover. See last night's last post.

IMBO

Clear Ayes said...

Lemonade described theatrical ASIDES. In dialog, an actor will break the "fourth wall" which refers to the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage, or the movie camera, through which the audience sees the action inside the play or movie. "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" is a great example of ASIDES and breaking the fourth wall.

Al, "Young Frankenstein" is one of the best and Igor had some great ASIDES.

I looked for something else and came up with Groucho's Aside from Horse Feathers That one's for you Brother B.

BTW, did I win the bet that Constantine stiffed you for the burgers, fries and frappes?

Next up will be that snow poem. I hope everyone is staying safe.

ARBAON said...

714 started it!

On another desert trek, Jamal lost his way and was nearly dead when he saw a small oasis "run" by a Jewish merchant. Jamal murmurs, "Water...'. The Jewish merchant says, "I have no water for you but I`ll sell you a necktie for 5 bucks." "Have you no heart?"
"Well, I will tell you that there`s a restaurant just a mile farther." "Well thank you for that much."
Jamal is gone about three hours and when he crawls back he sighs, "Gimme the d___tie! And you could have told me your brother required a tie at the restaurant!"

Argyle said...

Ok, Buckeye, I don't know what you're getting at (and I'm never sure). I know I wouldn't ask for a "frappes" down in Troy, NY.

windhover said...

Buckeye:
was that Troy, New York, or Troy, Alabama?
That might explain your reception traveling with that particular Monk.

And as for your method of measuring the snow, just be glad you didn't get Dick's 20". You'd be doing pushups.

BTW:
I asked you a ? A couple of weeks ago. Is Gilbert Gnarley still living at the PZGRBRH? I miss him.

Clear Ayes said...

I thought about an Emily Dickinson poem about snow. It was very nice and only 16 lines. But I love this one by Billy Collins. It is longer than most poems I post, but since it was Buckeye who requested a GREAT snow poem, this is what I came up with.

Shoveling Snow With Buddha

In the usual iconography of the temple or the local Wok
you would never see him doing such a thing,
tossing the dry snow over a mountain
of his bare, round shoulder,
his hair tied in a knot,
a model of concentration.

Sitting is more his speed, if that is the word
for what he does, or does not do.

Even the season is wrong for him.
In all his manifestations, is it not warm or slightly humid?
Is this not implied by his serene expression,
that smile so wide it wraps itself around the waist of the universe?

But here we are, working our way down the driveway,
one shovelful at a time.
We toss the light powder into the clear air.
We feel the cold mist on our faces.
And with every heave we disappear
and become lost to each other
in these sudden clouds of our own making,
these fountain-bursts of snow.

This is so much better than a sermon in church,
I say out loud, but Buddha keeps on shoveling.
This is the true religion, the religion of snow,
and sunlight and winter geese barking in the sky,
I say, but he is too busy to hear me.

He has thrown himself into shoveling snow
as if it were the purpose of existence,
as if the sign of a perfect life were a clear driveway
you could back the car down easily
and drive off into the vanities of the world
with a broken heater fan and a song on the radio.

All morning long we work side by side,
me with my commentary
and he inside his generous pocket of silence,
until the hour is nearly noon
and the snow is piled high all around us;
then, I hear him speak.

After this, he asks,
can we go inside and play cards?

Certainly, I reply, and I will heat some milk
and bring cups of hot chocolate to the table
while you shuffle the deck.
and our boots stand dripping by the door.

Aaah, says the Buddha, lifting his eyes
and leaning for a moment on his shovel
before he drives the thin blade again
deep into the glittering white snow.

- Billy Collins

Bob said...

Pretty challenging puzzle. I spent about an hour on it and still missed a couple. Got stuck in the NW corner but eventually worked it out. Missed 6D, which looks obvious now that I see the solution. Also missed 7D. Several clues didn't mean anything at all to me (17A, 18A, 44D), but I managed to work them out. Didn't know 29A, which contributed to my two errors. First clue I was able to fill in with certainty was 55A (Andorra).

Dick said...

Speaking of snow depth, many years ago my ex and I were arguing about the depth of the snow. My comment was "if it is 12" or less I will be able to measure it." Her angry response was "you cannot even measure frost." That hurt!!

Dennis said...

Good afternoon, gang. It's been an interesting morning; snow's well over my knees, still snowing sideways, and even though I thought shoveling early would cut down the shoveling effort later, the drifting has pretty much undone my work. This is truly a record-setter here. Fun times.

Did the puzzle early, online. Loved it; nothing better than a Saturday Silky. I had many of the same problems as have already been mentioned, so I won't rehash them, but I did manage to get through unaided. Favorite clue? Obviously 31D...

As to the topic du jour:

A young recruit joins the French Foreign Legion, and is posted to his first station, a fort in the middle of the desert.

His commandant welcomes him, and gives him the rundown of the place; when they eat, where the sleeping quarters are, etc.
"Now, young man; I know that you will have urges" says the commandant, "It's only natural for a lad of your age - so if you feel the need, we keep a camel in the yard for the benefit of the troops"

The recruit, shocked, replies "But I would never do THAT, sir!"

"Nevertheless, it's there if you need it"

Anyway, after six months in the fort, this young feller is getting a bit lonely, and the camel is starting to look attractive.

After seven months, he finds himself thinking about it all the time.

Finally, after eight months, he can stand it no longer...he creeps out to the yard in the dead of night;

The whole fort is awakened by a cacophony of grunting and screaming; and the troops run out to find the youngster half naked and covered in spit and camel hair.

"What's going on here?!?!?" roars the commandant.

"But Sir, you said that the camel was here for our benefit!" wails the soldier

"Yes, that's right - when we're off duty we ride it into town and look for a woman!"

Jeanne said...

Hi all,
I changed my picture to a scene right out our front door. It does look beautiful but very cold out there. I just came in for a cup of coffee and a piece of shoo fly pie. Figured I worked off a lot of calories so I could indulge. Maybe now I will take a second stab at the puzzle.

@Dick, I understand why she is your ex.

February 6, 2010 12:32 PM

Bill G. said...

I never enjoy hard, themeless Saturday puzzles much but I didn't have trouble with MISADD. I was originally trying to figure out how to spell misdial with only six letters but when MISADD revealed itself, I thought it meant you get a wrong number (answer) when you add wrongly.

I enjoyed the jokes. Thanks.

Robert said...

1 down answer aside refers to a line spoken to the audience by an actor on stage that supposedly is unheard by other actor or actors. on stage. A stage whisper

JimmyB said...

A very humbling puzzle. I thought I was off to a great start and smugly filled in INVITRO for 1A. What a mistake! Took me a half hour to get out of that mess. And then it went downhill from there. Would never have known IMARETS, DWAN, ERLE, etc. without help. I only saved a little pride for somehow knowing WAXING GIBBOUS. I don't know where that came from. I'll need several MARS BARS to feel better.

Hope all our East coast friends dig out safely.

Annette said...

I definitely was NOT on the right wavelength for this puzzle today!!! I had to rely on red letters more heavily than usual to get me through it. If I were working solely on paper, I'd probably have given up pretty quickly... There were plenty of groans, AHA's, Duh's and D'ohs to keep it interesting and fun though.

One comment to Rich Norris: Thank you for the easier Friday puzzle yesterday, before handing us this challenge! :-) And Barry Silk: Nice job as always!

I had most of the same issues already mentioned, but had accidentally seen Mussolini and Bozo before doing the puzzle, so I can't take credit for those, and am not sure I'd have gotten them on my own with those clues.

Anonymous said...

I liked Entropy's disorderly comments.

Dick said...

Jeannie, looking out your front door is exactly like looking out of mine. I will post a new avatar picture looking out my back door onto the deck. The current picture is plowing this morning with the quad.

Annette said...

Dick and Jeanne: What a beautiful scene! Thanks for sharing it with those of us that are snowless. It sure brings back memories of growing up in PA and listening to the radio for school closings on Snow Days!

Buckeye: You must be the BMOC (Big Man On Campus) if you were able to measure that 8" snow depth, even after all that freezing cold air hit you...!

Dick said...

Jeanne, Here is the back deck early this am before it quit snowing.

Lemonade714 said...

THREE NUNS WERE ATTENDING A YANKEE BASEBALL GAME.


THREE MEN WERE SITTING DIRECTLY BEHIND. BECAUSE THEIR HABITS WERE PARTIALLY BLOCKING THE VIEW, THE MEN DECIDED TO BADGER THE NUNS HOPING THAT THEY'D GET ANNOYED ENOUGH TO MOVE TO ANOTHER AREA.

IN A VERY LOUD VOICE, THE FIRST GUY SAID,

"I THINK I'M GOING TO MOVE TO UTAH. THERE ARE ONLY 100 NUNS LIVING THERE."


THEN THE SECOND GUY SPOKE UP AND SAID, "I WANT TO GO TO MONTANA . THERE ARE ONLY 5O NUNS LIVING THERE."


THE THIRD GUY SAID,

"I WANT TO GO TO IDAHO . THERE ARE ONLY 25 NUNS LIVING THERE."

THE MOTHER SUPERIOR TURNED AROUND, LOOKED AT THE MEN, AND IN A VERY SWEET AND CALM VOICE SAID,


"WHY DON'T YOU GO TO HELL... THERE AREN'T ANY NUNS THERE!"

So how is your day? I dug out and am going back to the pool. You all are welcome; come on down. Don't forget your flip flops and your red shoes....

Chickie said...

Hello All--Not a pretty site this puzzle with all it's erasures and empty squares. I didn't finish without C.C.'s help.

I Goolgled many, left many out and just decided I'm not a Barry Silk solver--yet. I'm working on it!

All the snow avatars and comments make me glad to live where I do, but hope that all of you can stay indoors as much as possible until this storm blows over.

Thank you CA for the snow poem--perfect for today.

Dennis said...

Here's a picture of the back deck this morning, during a lull in the snow. Then it started again, and is still coming down. Dick, your picture looks very similar, huh?

Windhover said, Dennis: Are you buried?

I was, but then I had to go out and shovel snow...

Bill G. said...

Did you hear about the guy who wanted a Superbowl ticket so badly, he went online and offered one of his testicles for a ticket?

He must be half nuts.

David Letterman.

Robin said...

Good afternoon All.

Buckeye, I am a very nice nurse/flight attendant. I usually treat my patients to a first class ride on a helicopter....... The 1st 15 min of CPR are free! Maybe we can get the pilot to 'fly' us around for awhile.
Maybe we will even have time to light up a 'camel'

Lemon, I hear you being paged to Reverend Mothers' office....stat

Robin said...

Dennis.......the snow......are you in over your head?

Robin said...

Ladies, ALL of the men are in RARE form today!

ipo said...

Wow, a Saturday puzzle which I solved with only one red letter help, and Barry Silk, whose last effort nearly made me crazy.

I loved Young Frankenstein, and ANT FARM and MASERATI, which I would rather drive than an IMPALA.

The jokes so far are pretty awful: I never realized there were so many desert/Arab jokes.

Frenchie, thanks for the Witchy Woman link, and for all you ladies who enjoy reading about serial killers in books by Patterson and Cornwell, I suggest you come and visit me in Jacksonville, and then just buy the Times-Union our local newspaper, and read about our outrageous Murder Rate . My husband always says, the reason there is so much crimine in Florida, is if you are going to be a law breaker, you might as well do it in the nice weather.

Robin: Fellow Hawaii traveler, I have always love red shoes; my husband cannot understand why I own so many shoes and can never wear them all, but I promise I will never tell him.

The snow looks pretty, but then I do not have to shovel anymore…

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

Rose by Another Name,
No, no planning to visit China this year. I did go back in 2002.

Old Sage in Virginia Beach,
Great to have you back. I am so happy to hear you are making improvement on your crossword solving.

JD & Jeannie
The very first morel link is broken. Can't get it back.

Lemonade714 said...

Hey fishy, you are out to play early. As much as I love a girl in uniform (or out of it) crash carts and AEDs are just not appealing. I do enjoy helicopter rides; maybe the the 3000 foot club?

As far as the Mother Superior calling me, I grew up on the street where the girl's Catholic Academy was located, with pristine little uniformed angels parading by wondering what the devilish Jewish boys were up to behind the fence.

Speaking of Vitamins, the D was good by the pool, but my condo association has gone crazy and are keeping the pool at hot tub temps, still need the bathing suit tough. Not as much fun as the hot tub in the snow in Colorado; speaking of snow, good luck to all you shovelers.

Getting ready to watch us on Super Sunday? It is a balmy 75 and breezy....like i said, come on down the water is fine and the liquids are flowing

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

Windhover,
Thanks for pointing out the ABILENE error.

Clear Ayes & Lemonade 714,
Thanks for the ASIDES & examples.

Ipo,
Sorry to answer your question regarding language learning so late. I just caught up with the blog Comments reading. Yes, it's a daily struggle trying to understand the nuances of English, esp idioms and slang. I am just amazed how Kazie can master French and German as well.

Dennis said...

Ipo, they are pretty awful, aren't they?

C.C., ready for pitchers and catchers? Twelve days.

Robin said, are you in over your head?

Nope. Never.

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

Dennis,
Yes, esp since we are going to have a new ball park. Speaking of pitch, you still owe me a detailed explanation on pitch, yaw and roll. Thrust too! Tell me exactly how you rock each maneuver.

gobjob said...

I have been reading this blog for a long time and am trying to see if I can post to it.

Dennis said...

Good job, gobjob - you're in.

C.C., will do. How much detail do you want?

lois said...

OMG! This ought to be a good one!
Pitch, yaw and roll w/thrust! I can see it 'coming'!

dodo said...

I had to pull out all the stops on this one and still made some really bad mistakes. Funny some of the words that you do remember, though, isn't it? Like imaret, after the m,r, and t, I remembered it but I thought it started with e. Andorra, too; we had some Danish friends who moved there for their six-months-out of-the-country tax break. I think they went back to Spain, though. Probably missed their Danish friends.

I have to agree with you all who weren't crazy about bozo. I wouldn't call a bozo a creep, maybe a couk,but not a creep. A creep is more of a dork, or even a nerd, although I guess you have to be techy to be a nerd these days. Wimp and Wuss are too weak for a creep. But English as we know is a living language subject to change and growth. Look what's happened to geek, which used to mean a guy who bit the heads off chickens.eugh! Now that's creepy!

I'm amazed I had such a hard time with blow it, since I seem to be doing that all the time.

Robin, tell me about your job. I've met a couple of nurses who were sort of temps at our local hospital. But they go to different locales all the time. Nothing about 'flight' tho. I have a feeling they were living in Arizona, too. Is there some sort of group of traveling nurses headquartered there? Just curious; I'm calling myself nosey these days. You can get away with a lot when you're my age!

Lucina said...

Dear C. C. and All, good afternoon. As most of you have commented, this was a slog. I did the upper part fairly quickly while drinking my coffee then breakfast smoothie, took a break for the work of the day (a joke, really) then consulted MR. G for some names; who knew Halliburton's name was Erle? As someone said, Cheney knew! I like that! As a teacher of grammar, I take issue with "misadd"; while it's technically correct, it's difficult to use.

I love Young Frankenstein and hope you see it if you haven't. Loved the poems and jokes, too; I guess I've been out of circulation too long; my husband died in '93 and I still miss him.
I hope you who are snowed under are staying warm. Wish I could ship you our 70 degrees. As I'm technically challenged, I'll have to consult my daughter or granddaughter about how to post a picture. Stay well!

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

Gobjob,
Nice rhyme!

Dennis,
Keep it simple and visually easy to understand. I am slow.

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

Lucina,
Welcome! What did you teach? Are you originally from Arizona?

windhover said...

I was planning to nominate Dennis @2:40 for Comment of the Day, but decided I would wait for his detailed description of thrust.
Then along comes DoDo @ 4:31. DoDo, good for you.
Lois, I don't think you and I can keep up.

Martie said...

I liked today's puzzle, even though I couldn't finish it completely. I didn't know Dwan, Steel men or Gibbous. That meant I couldn't fill in Nebr. After a while I knew I had to come here to get the real answers.

I haven't figured out exactly how and what to put on my profile, but that should come in time.

carol said...

Hi C.C. and all -

The puzzle is resting in the recycle bin. I knew my good solving couldn't last but still I did try because it was a Berry Silk puzzle. Mr. Silk is to clever for my old brain.

Oh you boys are having fun today aren't you? Got your 'dip-sticks' out and not afraid of those snow drifts.

Cannot wait for the explanation from Dennis - LOL - we 'thrust' it will be good!

carol said...

WH (4:40) - don't sell yourself short, besides Lois could help you keep up.

Dodo (4:31) Gotta love ya! The guys do too. ;)

VTQUILTMOM said...

Good evening, All! Well, it's all been said. I just knew after yesterday's comments, I'd be eating my words today ... and I did! Tough one but I love the challenge. It's way more enjoyable when it lasts awhile or you can come back to it.

Can't wait for Dennis' description of 'thrust' and how it works with pitch, roll and yaw??

All you guys were in rare form today! Thanks for the jokes and the laughs!

Hope all you snowed in folks have warmer temps soon to melt it all away! Other than that 33 inch storm in January, we haven't had too much way up here.

Buckeye said...

Clearayes: I read this blog every day but don't always post. Your poems always make my day. Thank you.

Windhover: Gilbert Gnarley is no longer here. He re-retired to Florida. He was and still remains "THE BOSS!!!!!"

Gilbert once called American Express and asked them, in that marvelous voice of his, if they still had the policy of giving you your money back if you bought something with an America Express card and then lost it. They replied, "Yes, we do". He then went on to tell them he had bought a very expensive lunch at the Maisonette Restaurant in Cincinnati and as he was waiting for a bus to bring him back to the PZGBRH his delicate stomach could not handle the rich food he had just consumed and he "lost" it in the gutter. Would they please give him his money back.

He sounded so old and fragile that Am Ex actually asked him for his credit card number. He started crying and admitted he didn't own an Am Ex Card.

I met (a few time at his restaurant in Sharonville, Ohio) Gary Burbank, the creator of Gilbert Gnarley and the Pia Zadora Golden Buckeye Retirement Home (we've altered the name) and between the two of us, we had a Great Time. He sings, plays guitar, harmonica and drums, just to mention a few. GREAT GUY!

I was confident we had 8" this morning because I measured it 4 times.

IMBO

lois said...

WH: 'Come' with me, babe. You may be right, but I'll die trying. I love a good challenge. Hang on and buckle your seat belt.

Dodo: You are priceless! I feel ya! 'Blow it' is something I do all the time too, and it is hard.

Carol: LMAO! You and I both will help WH keep up.

Buckeye: Does Gary Burbank play all those at one time like a 'one man band' performer? If he does, that's amazing and if he doesn't,
it's still amazing to have that much musical versitility. I always heard that the harmonica was the easiest instrument to learn. Well, I tried. I'd blow and suck and blow and suck and could never get my lips and tongue just right on that organ to make it come out right. I'm still practicing.

carol said...

Geez Lois, if we BOTH help WH, he may worn to a nub! Besides, the Irish would kill us both.
I'm still laughing at your harmonica attempts, but I bet the guys are drooling by now. Just don't hyper-ventilate and pass out ;)

JD said...

Hi all,

This was not as smooth as silk..more like a "Wipe Out". I did more waning than waxing. Enjoyed the jokes, the "asides," and CA's poem. Looking forward to the thrust...oompt!..and the rolll.

Always a pleasure

Boomer said...

Hello All,

I just wanted to sign in and thank everyone for the favorable comments Thursday. Blogging the crossword is fun, but not as much fun as bowling. Everyone has their priorities dontcha know. Just a shout out to friends on the east coast. I feel your pain. Being a 62 year veteran on Minnesota winters, I have seen a dozen 30+ inch snowfalls, and didn't like any of them. But, if it's any consolation, you can be sure that in a month or so, you will be teeing up the Titleist, and I'll still be shoveling the white stuff.

dodo said...

Lois, I'm not sure if you and I have the same interpretation of blowing it. Doesn't matter though. You have your way and I'll have mine. In this case age makes a difference! You are a sweetheart, kiddo.

dodo said...

Ipo, I find it hard to believe there's a place with what sounds like almost as much crime as my present home town. I have often heard it referred to as "The Armpit of California". Bet you can't beat that! According to our local paper we have the most crime per capita, the worst schools, and now the most foreclosures. I am here only because one of my daughters lives here(she is not a criminal)and because for some strange reason they planted a high quality retirement community here. Now they're talking about putting two prison hospitals and a "reentry" center here. I think that means it's for inmates who are judged ready to go back into society.
Interesting concept?

Martie, don't consider too long about what to put in your profile. It's good to know about people. Of course as I said previously, I'm nosey. Sometimes though I think I may have spilled too many of my guts in mine.

Dennis said...

Ok, back from dinner. Now, you've gotta work with me here: Picture a 'plane' (substitute your choice of objects) flying, penetrating the air. The plane's flying straight and level. Now, if the 'plane' penetrates the 'air' going straight ahead, but angled a bit left or right, that's called 'yaw'. If it penetrates straight ahead, but is angled a bit up or down, that's called 'pitch'. 'Thrust' is the force applied to create speed in the penetration. As to 'roll', said 'plane' would have to spin around during penetration, a most difficult maneuver. Certain angles in the above acts can even cause blackout.

Flying lessons available upon request...

Robin said...

Dodo, I have the humble job of taking care of people who require the services of a flight for life helicopter, due to their illness or injuries. I am currently on a LOA, taking care of a sick family member in AZ. I will hopefully be able to go home to my husband and job eventually. This site has been a source of fun and escape for me. I am certainly glad to see you here. You are a delightful inspiration!!! Meaning, I want to be you when I grow up :)

carol said...

Well hell, Yaw'll would cause me to blackout if'n yaw'll was to spin like that there during penetration...'spect I could not properly fly agin after that!
Just sort of limp off the bed, so to speak.

Bill G. said...

Did any of you try the Wall Street Journal puzzle from yesterday? Figuring out the theme gave me fits.

So who's your pick for the Superbowl? I am not emotionally involved with either team but I guess I'd like to see the Saints win.

Bill G. said...

Dennis, I enjoyed your explanation. However, you neglected the all important 'lift' that has to occur when the plane is penetrating. I'm sure you just figured all these women would just take that as a given.

Dennis said...

Bill G., good point. Certainly lift is a critical component in any successful flight.

And always fly United.

eddyB said...

Hello.

The WSJ picks the Saints by 28.5 to 28.

Don't forget drag. Thrust has to be greater than drag t5o stay up.

eddyB

Anonymous said...

Hello everyone. A newbie here. After reading all the comments, I don't feel too bad. Many people think clowns are creepy. In particular,the old Steven King novel "IT" was based on a realy creepy clown character. Scary story bad ending. He wrote himself into a corner that didn't make a clean ending

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Storm missed us completely. We went to T-town and they had only a couple of inches.

Great puzzle today. Never thought I would make it through, but chipped away on the ride down, and finally got it all.

Unfortunately, I had a Z where MAZERATI and ZEMANAS cross. Still doesn't look bad, all these hours later. Excellent Silkie Saturday.

Ya'll are in rare form today. I guess that's what comes from getting a lot of inches.

Robin - If you do grow up, you won't be anything like us.

Buckeye - I did appreciate your adventures with Thelonius the Monk. That MacDionysus wine was righteous. But the best quaff was the single malt Thelonius always carried in his hip flask. Best enjoyed Straight - No Chaser!

Even worse, it reminds of the organ grinder (not DF - lo siento) who had the usual monkey and a camel. The caamel danced and did acrobatic tricks, and while the audience was all wrapped up in his antics, the monkey would pick their pockets. Of course there was a arrest and a trial. The camel was acquitted, but the organ grinder was sent to jail with his felonious monkey.

Cheers!
JzB the straight, no snow trombonist

ARBAON said...

CC: Is the blog usually this "adult?"

lois said...

Dennis: LMAO!!! Well done! That is the best explanation of
'flying' I've ever heard! I do have a question. Does the deeper penetration of space, regardless of the size of the 'plane', make blackouts more likely? I wouldn't think that a small 'plane' not very deep into space would cause such a problem. Maybe thrust is an issue here? I get the pitch and yaw...constant instructions of 'keep your nose up', 'raise the left' 'keep it straight' 'a little over to the right' 'let's take 'er home'....'steady, steady' 'atta boy!'. And ...
where do I sign up?

Carol: LMAO! It would be ride, wouldn't it!

Buckeye said...

Dennis: Great explanation of "pitch", "roll' and "yaw". The Buffalo disaster over a year ago was avoidable if the pilot had "pitched" down, leveled his flaps and retracted his landing gear. He did the opposite of those procedures and people died.

Easily explained, tougher to administer - without proper training.

IMBO

Daniel Bernoulli said...

When ever you are having a roll, lift and thrust are very important.
Always do it correctly.

windhover said...

ARBAON:
Very respectfully, we ARE all adults, even though we don't always act like it.

CC is the wagonmaster, but just like on
the old Wagon Train TV show (showing my age here), the horses sometimes run away.

53

Bill G. said...

Ooh, a comment about lift from somebody named Bernoulli! It's his principle that explains how wings of planes create lift. Beautiful! We do get the experts here on this blog. Bernoulli's principle, thrust, crosswords... It's all good.

Crockett1947 said...

Good evening (night) everyone.

I'm still hanging around here. It's time for our Regional chess tournaments, and today was a very long day.

This puzzle beat me up, chewed on me for a while, then spit me back out. I had to hit the G-spot so many times I couldn't believe it. Too late in the day to talk about my tortured path to final solution.

@lois I'm fantastic!! Lost 65 pounds since the beginning of October, and I'm feeling incredible. Amazing what losing the weight has done for me physically.

@lemondae714 LMAO!

@buckeye Brother, you crack me up! 8" is a lot for Middletown. Too bad you don't have access to a computer to read this. I saw last night's late(early) post and don't understand what you're referencing. I must have missed something in the discourse. Sorry.

@kazie What's you favorite brand of straight chocolate?

Then there was the camel who had no hump -- Humphrey!

@al One of the kids in my chess tournament today was Igor (eye-gor).

Only up to 1:30 in reading the comments, but I'll post this now and get another one going so it's not over long.

Lemonade714 said...

zzzzzzzzzzcool, we are becoming intellectual as well as amusing; welcome Daniel Bernoulli; your birthday is Monday; sadly you have been dead for 200+ years.

Robin, I am sure we all respect the work you do, as well as the commitment and self-sacrifice to care for a family member and be apart from your loved ones, but what is this talk of "when I grow up?" I am sure I speak for all the senior men, why ever grow up, enjoy life and keep dancing in your red shoes.

DODO, you are a dream, loving Robert Parker and understanding life is just a cruise. I read a Jesse Stone tonight, and am saddened knowing there will not be many more, just when Jesse manned up and dumped Jenn. I agree, telling stuff on your profile makes it more fun for everyone else, and is that what we are here for?

WH,

I love the Ward Bond reference. thanks.

Lemonade714 said...

Buckeye, When are we going to get an updated picture of you and the crew? and what is the B stand for?

Daniel Bernoulli said...

Lemon
Nothing sad about it, it was just a cold.

I used my principle and "took off."

Maybe that 'B' stands for Buckeye.

kazie said...

Crockett,
I eat just about any of the European ones--Rittersport, Lindt, Milka, but when there aren't any of those I don't even mind Hershey's when desperate. Cadbury's and Nestles too.

Crockett1947 said...

OK -- #2

@buckeye Now you're visiting my home town! (Sharonville)

@lois@6:26 That's it -- the winner for today!

OOPS Dennis@7:56 took the prize away.

@carol WOW We now have a three-way tie.

@arbaon We do tend to get a bit blue at times, but it's all in fun.

ENOUGH! Quite an enjoyable read today.

PJB-Chicago said...

Lights are still on, so I'm coming out of the weather to C.C.'s Late Night Comment Cafe!

Can you join me in saying Mr. Silk's puzzle was TALL ORDER? In the waning hours of the day, I won't be WAXING poetic or GIBBOUS over the puzzle, but it was a toughie. Lots of unknown knowns, a few semi-known knowns, and oh-so-many unknown nouns. (Channeling Donald Rumsfeld there.) My only flashes of satori were "Alanis," "Brahma," "Nisan," and "Andorra." Still, I'm glad to have thrown myself into it. Despite the abrasions and contusions to my ego... I'm a quick healer, plus we have Nurse Robin on call....

Thanks for the Flying lessons, Dennis & al. Thanks for the snow poem, ClearAyes. I think Mr. Collins captured Buddha's attitude perfectly. Old Buddhist slogan about the way to enlightenment: "Chop wood, carry water." Let's add "Shovel Snow" to the list!

My little gang of rogue comedians performed SO brilliantly this weekend. Since I don't have offspring [as far as I know], seeing them grow is a thrill. I'm very close to the point of being greatly outmatched by each of them, and I couldn't be prouder!
Sorry for the ASIDE.
pjb

Crockett1947 said...

@kazie Try Green & Black's from England. Available in Whole Foods.

PJB-Chicago said...

@Crockett: We've missed you lots!
I +absolutely+ second the recommendation on the Green & Blacks chocolate. It's a little pricey, but worth every penny. The dark chocolate (it's either 65 or 67% cocoa) is the best I've had.
They also make an version with Espresso in it -- and 'though I don't usually care for flavored chocolate, it's excellent. NB:Don't eat that after afternoon if you're sensitive to caffeine!

Crockett1947 said...

@pjb Thanks. I also think the 65% is the best. The 70% is a bit over the top. A bit pricey, but it does go on sale at times!!

Buckeye said...

Is life freaky? My younger daughter and I danced together at my older daughter's wedding. The song was Elton John's "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me". We decided it was "OUR" song. Tonight, she went to the Elton John/Billy Joel concert in Seattle. When I knew she was there, I got out my guitar and phoned her AT HOME, KNOWING SHE WOULD NOT BE THERE, singing part of that song, leaving it on her answering machine. Two minutes later she called me on her cell, from the concert, and we listened to Elton sing "Don't Let The...." live, at the concert in Seattle.

"What do ya think, Daddy?"

"Wait 'til you get home, Rickie". (ERYKA. She changed it. It was Erica. - "Rickie Don't Lose That Number")

Life is fun. And it's time to make angles in the snow!

IMBO

JD said...

Dennis, with your explanation, I've decided I might be UP for a "Fear of Flying" class.I'm good with the lift and definitely the thrust, not so happy about the roll, especially if there is some kind of dragging involved in that technical maneuver.

Buckeye said...

ok buckeye left his compuror thingy open and i can say summin. im Happy Golightly, "Holly's kid".

Now,buckeye is talkin bout makin angles in the snow, but i dont think its ok to make an angle. she shuld be left alone.

writ and tel him thet.

IMBHappy

Crockett1947 said...

@buckeye That is so cool. That will be a nice memory for her.