google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday February 11, 2010 Nancy Salomon

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Feb 11, 2010

Thursday February 11, 2010 Nancy Salomon

Theme: LOVE IS ALL AROUND (38 Across: 1968 Troggs Top 10 hit, and a hint to the hidden puzzle theme in the answers to starred clues) - All two-word theme answers start with LO and end with VE.

17 A. *"Get going!": LOOK ALIVE. Sounds from the past, Dennis?

24 A. *1986 Pulitzer-winning Western novel: LONESOME DOVE. By Larry McMurtry, made into a TV movie.

53 A. *Gunpowder, e.g.: LOW EXPLOSIVE. I didn't know this was a real term: They are compounds where the rate of decomposition proceeds through the material at less than the speed of sound. The decomposition is propagated by a flame front (deflagration) which travels much more slowly through the explosive material than a shock wave of a high explosive.

65. *Duffer's thrill: LONG DRIVE. Until it goes into the damn sand trap that some sadist figured out was exactly where a person would land on a par 5 double dog-leg. Not that I'd know about that, mind you...

Hi, all, Al guest blogging today.

A tricky puzzle, I thought. (18D. Big-time:) A LOT of clues seemed specifically designed to be misleading today. The theme actually helped me in a couple places today.

Across :

1. Holy pilgrimage: HADJ. Muslim obligation to visit Mecca at least once in their lifetime.

5. Kids' getaway: CAMP. Hello Mudda, Hello Fadda, here I am at, Camp Grenada.

9. "Gimme a break!": AW MAN

14. Nobelist Wiesel: ELIE

15. "This looks like trouble": UH-OH

16. Leonard Marx, familiarly: CHICO. The pianist Marx brother with the silly hat.

19. Peyotes, e.g.: CACTI. Lophophora Williamsii, the source of mescaline. Err, I've heard...

20. She played Donna in the film "Mamma Mia!": MERYL (Streep). Convincing actor, not nearly as convincing a singer. My wife and daughter liked the movie more than I did, but it was OK, I guess.

21. Sinus specialist, briefly: ENT. Ear, nose, and throat doctor. Not to be confused with an enterologist, who treats gastric problems.

23. Baseball Hall of Famer Speaker: TRIS. I only know him from crosswords.

28. Feel the heat: SWELTER. Not doing much of that lately.

31. Food critic Sheraton: MIMI. No Wiki entry?

32. "Bingo!": AHA. On the nose.

33. X-Games bike, briefly: BMX. Bicycle motocross. (an X is a cross).

35. Run at a red light?: IDLE. Hyper-milers turn the engine off.

44. Jeans joint: SEAM

45. Yield to gravity: SAG. Do you throw 'em o'er your shoulder, like a continental soldier...What? I meant ears, of course...

46. Sportage maker: KIA. An example of an SUV, or UTE.

47. Fresh response: SASS.

50. Serious-and-funny show: DRAMEDY. A portmanteau of DRAMA and COMEDY.

57. They're not returned: ACES. Tennis, volleyball, etc. serves.

58. Bosox great: YAZ. Carl Michael Yastrzemski. Also a birth control drug getting a lot of heat and lawsuits filed due to reputed side-effects.

59. Comforting comment: IT'S OK.

63. Parts partner: LABOR I worked at a Ford dealership parts counter for too long in an earlier life.

68. Native Alaskan: ALEUT

69. Treater's words: ON ME. A Spiller's words, too.

70. Persian Gulf land: IRAN.

71. __ and all: WARTS. I fully accept you, even with all your faults.

72. Prime minister before Rabin: MEIR. Golda.

73. Ancient British Isles settler: CELT. Celtic Woman


Down:

1. Bridge position: HELM. Aboard a ship, not the card game east or west seat, as I first wanted.

2. Burn balm: ALOE

3. Fashionable Christian: DIOR

4. Stevenson physician: JEKYLL. Dr. Henry. And Edward Hyde.

5. __-de-sac: CUL literally "bottom of the bag". A dead end.

6. Yellowfin tuna: AHI. Becoming a victim of overfishing.

7. Changes places: MOVES

8. Rising star: PHENOMenon

9. N.C. State's conference: ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference, A collegiate athletic league consisting of: Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest.

10. "Who, me?": WHAT'D I DO? Quite a few vernacular entries like this today.

11. Tiny: MICRO

12. When Brutus sees Caesar's ghost: ACT IV.

13. Hullabaloo: NOISE

22. "I didn't need to know that," informally: TMI. Too Much Information.

25. Birds' bills: NEBS.

26. Humorist Bombeck: ERMA

27. Islamic leader: EMIR

28. __ soda: SAL. Washing soda, sodium carbonate.

29. Grinch victims: WHOS. Dr. Seuss Christmas classic.

30. Place for Christmas lights: EAVE. Anyone else fall for the trap at first and put "tree"?

34. Tee choices: XLS. T-shirts, not golf tees for once.

36. Gospel writer: LUKE.

37. Camelot lady: ENID. Wife of Geraint in the Aurthur legend. I think she moved to Oklahoma eventually.

39. Removes gently: EASES OUT. umm, err, nope, not going there.

40. Eye-opening theater: IMAX. Image MAXimum.

41. Fellows: LADS

42. Rural prefix: AGRI. As in agriculture. Could have been AGRO as in agronomy.

43. Beatles' "A __ in the Life": DAY. I read the news today, oh boy.

48. Security threat: SPY. Actually in the computer world, the largest security threat is the legitimate users being naive, or simply not being careful

49. Course for weavers?: SLALOM. Skiing course, tricky clue.

51. Fired up: AVID

52. Like some weights: METRIC

53. Bochco series: LA LAW. How did Laurie Partridge ever find time to study law with all the touring her family did?

54. City NW of Orlando: OCALA. Near Silver Springs Park.

55. Brand on a patio, maybe: WEBER. Anyone still use charcoal for grilling anymore?

56. Hole site: OZONE. Another hot debate along with global warming.

60. Foal's parent: SIRE. Had MARE at first.

61. Rink, often: OVAL

62. Canterbury's county: KENT

64. Some NFL linemen: RTS. Right Tackles.

66. Feature of a two-ltr. monogram: NMI. No Middle Initial.

67. Neighbor of Aus.: GERmany. Austria's two-letter abbreviation is AT. Can you imagine if someone named Dot worked at the Austrian Department of Transportation and had to tell someone her email address? dot@dot.gov.at (say it out loud).

Answer grid.

Al

81 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Al, C.C. and gang - I loved this puzzle - mainly because it seemed much more difficult than a normal Thursday puzzle, at least to me, and had very, very clever cluing throughout.

Right off the bat, I got 'Hadj', then couldn't figure out how 'Bridge position could be anything but 'east' or 'west'. Other great clues: 'They're not returned', 'tee choices', 'Course for weavers'. My one unknown was Mimi Sheraton. And of course, I needed 38A to figure out the theme; very clever.

Today is Don't Cry over Spilled Milk Day and Make a Friend Day.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "Be a good listener. Unlike your mouth, your ears will never get you in trouble." -- Frank Tyger

Here's a few Dubya-isms:

- "I'm the master of low expectations."

- "Rarely is the question asked: 'Is our children learning?'"

- "The American people's expectations are that we will fail. Our mission is to exceed their expectations."

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC, Al and Friends. This was a great puzzle! Unfortunately, I didn't get the theme until came here, even thought I got the Troggs "hint"/clue. (That, in and of itself was a misleading, since the Wild Thing is probably the only song people associate with the Troggs.)

Bridge position (HELM) as a great clue, since it is usually used to denote a position in the card game. I was reluctant at first to enter HADJ, because of the Helm fill.

SAL Soda is a new term to me.

My favorite clues were Yield to Gravity (SAG) and Run at a Red Light (IDLE).

I hope all of you who have been experiencing massive snows are safe and warm. The snow belt is expanding and now Southern Louisiana is now under a snow advisory. I may be adding a snow avatar soon (I hope not, though).

QOD: You don't get anything clean without getting something else dirty. ~ Cecil Baxter.

Dennis said...

Al, great job blogging; I always learn new things when you do.

Been in and out shoveling already; this last one really caused some damage. Trees down all over, no power for about 5 hours last night. One tree's actually leaning against the house. Oh, and an older couple next door that's not going anywhere unless I dig them out. Gonna be a fun day.

Anonymous said...

Dennis, I was wondering how you were posting this am and not shoveling. Take care and don't overdo it.

I had difficulty all over the place with this one. SAL soda was completely new, can never remember TRIS even though it is frequently clued, MIMI and YAZ were unknowns, and then there are the AW MAN and WHAT 'D I DO's to complicate it even further.

I must say, there were lots of really fun inventive clues, but I struggled a little too much to make it really fun. Ah well, there is always tomorrow.

On the topic of YAZ birth control having side effects (not that any drug doesn't, and I am really not familiar with this one at all) why is it that they are always making birth control for women, when our systems are so much more complicated than men's? And you can read into that anything you like.

Gotta go, lots to do.

Dick said...

Good morning Al, C.C. and All, another Thursday slog for me. It seems as if the Thursday puzzles are becoming increasingly difficult. Anyway Al, a very nice blog write up that you created today. I enjoyed it.

There were many snags today such as 1D when I refused to let my mind get away from a seat at the bridge table. This even after I knew Hadj could not be (W)daj or (E)wdj. Sure is dumb to be bull headed. Other misleading clues for me were 34D Tees, wanted golf tees here, 30D eave/tree and 41D pals for lads.

Even though I struggled I liked today’s puzzle and as usual I did not get the theme until arriving here.

Not much new snow last night, but the blowing and drifting will mean plowing this morning.

KQ in response to your question at 7:34: I used to work with a man that in response to that type of question he would say “Some things in life just have no explanation.” Guess that applies here. LOL

Hope you all have a great Thursday.

AmieeAya said...

Good morning all! Took a little time off to sulk and turn 30. Now I'm back feeling more myself. Really liked today's xword. Got the theme right away and got the LO-VEs all filled in for some help. I never ended up with LOW EXPLOSIVE though, and had a few AW MAN moments of my own. OZONE, SPY (I was thinking more high-tech!), and LA LAW (still don't really have any idea) were tricky as well as the NorthEast corner. Kept going, what does ACTIV mean in Latin?? And I couldn't fit WHAT DID I DO in that dang 8 letter answer. AW MAN.

Anyway, hope all is well. We had an earthquake here in the Chicago area yesterday and I sat up and thought to myself, well, stranger things have happened.

Dennis said...

AmieeAya, Happy Birthday! The best is yet to come.

what does ACTIV mean in Latin??

It's Act IV.

Argyle said...

Good Morning, Blogsters,

A couple of cute things: My first fill was 45Across: Yield to gravity: SAG and imediately looked for the constructor to be a womam. (Nancy, if you read this, I apologise.)

And just now I thought of Windhover when I played the Troggs hit song about a shy ram at a dance and a hot ewe. Clip

windhover said...

KQ:
Because when it comes to matters of sex and reproduction, women are (slightly) more responsible and cautious both biologically and psychologically than men. Plus, the consequences are by nature dumped on the woman. Sad, but true. But you knew that.

Anonymous said...

what does YMHADO mean?

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Only 10 comments?

I'm only part way through the puzzle. Having quite a struggle.

Off to lunch with some former colleagues soon, meeting this afternoon, granddaughter's science fair this evening. Not sure if I'll be back.

Hope everyone is having a great day.

Cheers!
JzB

Lucina said...

Hi, Al and feloow Puzzlers, I agree this was a fun puzzle, full of clever clues. The theme help me greatly because I, too, wanted east or west for bridge position, but once I saw aloe and Dior, realized it was a ship's bridge and Jekyll started me on Lonesome Dove. Then it just took off until I reached the SW corner where Bochco stumped me. I don't watch much TV. My patio has a Weber and yes, we use coal. I liked course for weavers and eye-opening theater. Adios. This is so early for me!

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, It takes some moxie to take over the blogging on a Thursday. Nice job, Al.

As far as I'm concerned, this has been a week of perfectly placed puzzles. Every day has been right where it belonged for graduated difficulty.

Today I had plenty of picket fences after the first pass-through. I picked up on the LO theme beginning after the second entry, but had to wait until the Troggs came along at 38A to add the VE at the end. Not a really memorable Trogg tune, but it stuck somewhere in my brain. As Hahtool pointed out "Wild Thing" is the only Trogger that has survived the last millennium and is still going strong.

The NE got me again for a while. I didn't know ACC or TRIS (forgot...again) and I had some problems with the cross of AW MAN and WHAT'D I DO. CHICO Marx helped me out there and it finally came together.

SAL soda? Who uses washing soda anymore?

KQ, WH saved me some tying at 8:56. There has never been a man who peed on a stick and breathed a huge sigh of relief (or disappointment) at the readout.

Happy 30's, AimeeAiya. You'll like them!

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning Al and everyone.

When I can get a chuckle off the preliminary write up for the puzzle, I know it's going to be a great read. Thanks for your different perspective, Al.

I was also able to use the theme to assist in the solve today -- an unusual situation, to say the least.

I figured 1D for EAST or WEST, and confidently put in WEST once I got 14A ELIE. That took a while to resolve. Got MERYL and MIMI from perps -- don't go out to movies and what the heck is a food critic?

DRAMEDY? WTH?

SPY/YAZ/OZONE/SLALOM/MEIR were the last to fall this morning after calling it quits last night at oh dark thirty. The clues were certainly befuddling me!

Hypermiling? There are strange things in the world, McGee.

Hand up for MARE.

You Might Have A Different Opinion.

Have a great Thursday!!

JimmyB said...

Al -Thanks for a great write-up. Especially the low vs. high explosive. I didn't know that. It's nice to learn something new every day.

I was doing fine until the SW corner. LALAW was the easy part: used to watch it all the time. But I'm not familiar with Florida so had to eventually look up a map. And I blanked out on WEBER even though there's one sitting on my deck right now.

carol said...

Wow, is it Sat. already - LOL

Hi Al, C.C. and all, great write up Al.
I enjoyed all your remarks and explanations. Thanks.

Toughie for me, could not find any traction at first go-through. Had the same trouble as others in figuring out 1D but the AHA moment hit at the same time the 'ol V-8 can did. AW MAN!

Sal Soda???? Is that a brand name?

Loved the clue: Run at a red light. I idled over that one for the longest time.

Bosox was another word I had no idea about. Felt a bit stupid when I saw the answer.

Happy Birthday AmieeAya - why would you sulk over turning 30?? What will you do when you hit 60? LOL

DRAMEDY - really??? Is that a real word?

Lucina said...

Carol, my questions exactly, so I went on a Google expedition and made amazing discoveries for both dramedy and Sal Soda: www.http://tviv.org/Dramedy, and www.tadidermy.com/product/108195/45844. I'm sorry they don't seem to link, but anyway, dramedy is a real genre used on TV for say, doctor, hospital situations where the theme is serious and dramatic, but comedic lines are regularly inserted. Sal soda is used to clean the skin and bones in taxidermy. Wow! Who knew? I must ask my cousin about this because taxidermy is one of his hobbies.

Amiee, happy birthday! You will love the 30s, it's truly the best time of life.

Snow shovelers, I am thinking about you and hoping you are safe; please remember that shoveling is not only dangerous for the back, but for the heart as well.
Have a great Thursday, all; it's been a lovely week of themage so far and I'm looking forward to the next two days.

carol said...

Lucina - many thanks for clearing up Sal Soda...as you said, who knew? If I find any bones along my bike ride, I'll know how to get them all cleaned up :)

CA - glad you are connected to the internet again, that can be so maddening.

AmieeAya said...

Thanks guys... it's not the number I was sulking about, it was the fact that my birthday lands in February and it was cloudy and freezing all day! I might start celebrating my half birthdays instead... I love getting older (and wiser!!) With you all to thank, of course.

Lemonade714 said...

AimeeAya:

Happy Birthday and many happy returns (did you send your birth information to Dennis for inclusion in the fabulous birthday list? Have all of you newbies done so?) Anyway, as an informal representative of all of us who have turned 30 twice, as well my personal affection for women, let me assure you, this really is the best part of your life. Women under thirty are often cute and bubbly, but it is with age and wisdom when a woman becomes her best, in every way.

I find it fascinating someone born in the 80's can feel old; I also remind you from my personal experience, peaking early may be a common thing, but do not give in; relax and enjoy the journey. If you let yourself be content with scoring four touchdowns in a high school football game like AL did, or you believe being a cheerleader is a life dream, then maybe 30 matters. For the rest of us, the best has yet to be.

If you read the wit and wisdom of all of our ladies who range to their third go round at 30, you will see how much more they have to offer.

I will not name them all, but read them and learn, sagging is a problem only if it is a state of mind.

Gentleman...

Lemonade714 said...

Best expressed by the late great GILDA RADNER as Rosanne Rosannadanna

NEVER MIND

john28mna said...

No one has asked who Mimi Sheraton is. Since I lived in the NYC area at one time I recall that whe was the restauarant critic for the NY Times in the 70s & maybe into the 80s. She said that she retired from that because whe was gaining too much weight.

Bob said...

This one took some thought, but it gradually came together. No help or errors. 39 minutes.

Bob said...

The explosive component of gunpowder is saltpeter, a natural byproduct of bacteria acting on organic waste material and consisting of a mixture of sodium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, and potassium nitrate. Depending on how it is mixed with charcoal and sulfur it may produce a nice bang or a fizzle. Probably the first high explosive, by comparison, was nitroglycerin, a highly unstable mixture of sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and glycerin. It had the nasty habit of blowing up if handled roughly but was tamed in the late 19th century by Alfred Nobel of Sweden, who allowed it to soak into natural chalk (diatomaceous earth) and then sealed it into cylinders of waxed paper. This invention (dynamite) made him a fortune, has funded the Nobel prizes ever since, and allowed us to literally move mountains for the first time. The difference in the explosive power of the two is significant.

MR ED said...

Good job Al. How does one get to do that? Do you need C.C. to give her permission? Do you have to be smart? How come Dennis never does it?

Aimee,
Happy birthday! You'll just love getting old. Let me give you a bit of advice...have all the children you plan to have while you're still young.

Dennis,
Sounds like you're a good, caring person. Looking out for you're elderly neighbor like that. Stay that way and you are sure to have happiness.

Blue won't work for some reason.

Lemonade714 said...

I should never do this while working as my mind is not ll here(okay, Lolita, I hear you, it may never be all here) anyway; it was Emily Litella...Never mind.

Chuck of the West said...

Boy, I hate to be a pooky-head, but I did not care for this puzzle, except for 24A which I nailed immediately. I thought some of the clues were just too obscure. Maybe I got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.

Happy b'day AmieeAya. I think I was 30 at one point. Actually, that was one of the major milestones in my aging. It was no longer less than 10 years since I had been a teenager. My future as an adult loomed large as an ocean.

Annette said...

Al: Nice, entertaining commentary today!

Yay,I figured out the theme in time to help me with the last 2 theme answers. I had HOLE IN ONE for the last one, so I needed the hint to help me 'let it go...', especially since it wouldn’t let me enter SLALOM, which I’d gotten right off the bat (argh!). The W in LOW Explosive took me a long time to work out too…almost put in LOG since I remember seeing James T. Kirk do that once. Favorites were HELM, DRAMEDY (I’ve heard it used elsewhere), and LUKE. I had to do some googling in the NE (and LA LAW), but enjoyed working through it all!

Was LA (LAW) correctly positioned on the grid, in regards to the US? Pretty close, I think!

Al: I thought the so-so singing ability of the actors in “Mama Mia!” made it more real, considering the farce of musicals breaking into song at the drop of a hat. I liked the fact that the extra’s didn’t ignore the singing, they became part of the show.

54D City NW of Orlando: OCALA I thought Tampa was too obvious, but put it in anyway, and fought to keep it. I finally erased it and let the first 2 perps guide me to Ocala. I’ve even been canoeing there once, and still didn’t come up with it immediately.

AmieeAya: Happy birthday! I hope you celebrated big! Was THAT what caused the 4.3 quake…?

Al said...

Hi all, thanks for all the kind words.

@CA, moxie is a good word. I've never been accused of being shy about voicing my views...

@MR ED, those of us who have done guest blogs have been invited to do so by C.C. via email. I don't want to put words in her mouth, but presumably her choices are due to the type of comments that we have contributed in the blog comments, including informational links and explanations. Dennis has done at least one guest appearance that I recall.

@Anette, you may be right, and you have the right to feel that way. We all like what we like, and discussion is unlikely to change that in any of us. I still view it as more of a "chick flick", albeit one with a good gimmick. As I said, it was OK. I never felt like leaving the room, but my movie preferences lean more towards Sci Fi/Adventure/Fantasy/Monty Python than love stories.

Or is that TMI?

eddyB said...

Hello all.

Woke up to a very cold house this morning. The furnace stopped working last night. the repareman
said that he would be here SOME TIME today.

While LOng driVE was a theme answer, my biggest thrill was a hole-in-one. Got every one to sign the score card and had it laminated. As it turned out, it was my last round of golf.

Today was the second day in a row
that the morning paper didn't come in a little blue baggie.

eddyB

Mainiac said...

Good Afternoon CC, Al and All,

Tricky puzzle this morning which had me stumbling all over the place. I quit and picked it up at lunch and finally finished it off with red letter help. I did like it although I thought I would pull my hair out in the SW corner erasing every possible lineman position until RTS finally gave me Aleut, Labor and Warts. I don't really have warts but I do have a couple honkers for cold sores. Real pretty! Sags was my favorite and made me chuckle.

Happy Birthday AmieeAya! Thirties are great. Smarts and wisdom to kick ass on those twenty year olds without paying for it for weeks on end. Cheers!

Speaking of Sagging and age......I just had 1 1/2 ounces of fluid drained out of my knee and some cortisone put in. The other one gets it next week. I hope it works. My Orthopedic says due to my arthritis it may become a fairly regular treatment until we replace my knees. Great! I just want to do some Aerobic Exercising again, although my bench press has benefited.

Won't be seeing me around until Tuesday (also why I'm late posting, had a ton to get finished up). The boys and I are heading into camp to ice fish. We're all looking forward to it. Caught some shit from the wife though for not being around on Valentine's Day. I told her what more of a present could I give her!!?? She'll be pleasantly surprised tomorrow with what shows up at work.

Off to the store to get supplies.

I'll check in later.

Annette said...

Al: Before seeing the movie, I’d heard people saying how bad the singing was, so I walked into it biased – to disagree! My natural tendency is to play devil’s advocate, and support the underdog. I agree that it’s a chick-flick. You gave it a much kinder review than many I saw.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Just a little time between trips today. I accidentally cheated when I stopped by earlier, and picked up the theme. Good thing, since WILD THANG is the only Trogs song I can think of. The LO - - - VE certainly helped getting the rest of the puzzle. Probably still be scratching the bald spot without it.

Al - great job.

I think sal soda, like saltpeter, is old terminology that goes back to before the discovery of the periodic table and the development of systematic chemical nomenclature.

I never realized that high explosive had a specific technical meaning, or that LOW EXPLOSIVE was even a valid term. The things you learn.

I don't have any complaints about tis puzzle, but still didn't enjoy it very much. Not sure why. There are lots of clever clues.

One more mystery, I guess.

Regarding birth control, I'm absolutely convinced the making women responsible leads to better outcomes.

Regarding global warming, I saw last night that RashBo and Fox NOISE were both beating the "snow proves global warming is a hoax", and "a recent VP is a fool" drums.

Mt Kilimanjaro might
disagree.

The most recent decade was the warmest on record. Last year was the second warmest year on record. Glacier National Park is running out of glacier.

I'm running out of time. Miles to go before I sleep.

Cheers!
JzB the traveling trombonist.

Robin said...

Yo Al great blogging, really fabo. My new heroine is Snooki from "Jersey Shore" My favorite quote.......
" So I come home and they were putting in the Lobsters, I was like, Yo, are those real? That's disgusting , I'm a Vet Tech, Like, I SAVE animals, I don't KILL them. That's why I don't eat Lobster or anything like that cause they're ALIVE when you kill them."

Ah man, I just broke a nail.........

Jerome said...

(Misplaced on Wednesday's blog)

I had a good time with Nancy's puzzle. WHAT'D I DO? was terrific. She always comes up with great fill and wonderful clues.

From yesterday. Lemonade, I think you're talking about puzzles that are called "Tom Swifties". Yours need to be a little tighter and more accurate, but I see where you're going. Here's a good example of a 'Swifty'-
"It's a bomb," he said explosively.

Buckeye said...

Guday Al, c.c. et al. I had some problems today. Obscure cluing, etc. but I staggered thru and did, as Clearayes, worked piece-meal. I still ended up with blanks, but since I realized I had just given blood, had snow concerns, went to see my coroner and had little sleep, I came here for the final fills and then saw the "dos'" moments. I realized, with all my concerns, my brain was lacking "Qutinterone TIPSamodium" (Q-TIPS), and was clogged up. I'll clean it out later.

I had an interesting evening last night. Will post it next, so that those whe wish, may skip it.

I must be off!!

Buckeye said...

I took all of my Super Bowl winnings and treated myself to a very expensive dinner. While being seated, I notice a gorgeous woman sitting at a table across the room, ALONE. I told the waiter to take her the finest Chateauneuf-du-Pape in the house, as my compliment.

He Did!

She looked at the bottle, and before having the sommelier open it, she asked for a paper and pen. She wrote something and he delivered it to me. It said:

"If you do not have a Mercedes, have large garage attached to a larger house and have 7" in your pants, I will not accept this wine".

I wrote back:

"I have a Ferrari Maramillo, a BMW Z8, a Mercedes CL600 and a Porche Turbo in several of my garages. I have homes in Miami and Aspen and a 100,000 acre ranch in Montana. In my portfolio, as of Tuesday, I have over $75 million. But not even for a beautiful woman like you, would I cut off 3". Just return the wine!"

IMBO

Anonymous said...

re: jazzbumpa
sorry if i am not a regular here but the horse is dead...let it go!

Hahtoolah said...

I actually had fun with today's puzzle and thought is was easier than many Thursday puzzles. I had a little trouble with the SW corner only because I thought INUIT was the Alaskan answer. As punishment for think this was easier will mean that I won't be able to come up with a response on Monday.

Happy Birthday AmieeAya! Being 30 isn't so bad. As many of the sages here have already told you, the best is yet to come. When I was in junior high, the big slogan going around college campuses was "Don't trust anyone over 30." As I was approaching 30, that kept ringing in my head. As a result, I let 29 be one of the worst years of my life. Although I haven't yet reached my 2nd 30th birthday, I can say that the beauty of growing older is that one has a better appreciation of what is and isn't important.

No sneaux here yet, but it is freezing rain. In anticipation of a dusting of snow, however, all schools in the surrounding parishes will be closed tomorrow.

W. Fred Morrison, the inventor of the Frisbee, died today. He was 90.

VTQUILTMOM said...

I really enjoyed today's puzzle. Love Is All Around was a favorite song when I was in 9th or 10th grade so that came pretty easily after a few letters were filled in. That helped complete the others. Fun clues and fills all around today.

I actually remember Mimi Sheraton since when I was growing my Dad always bought the NYTimes to read and to do the puzzle which was always a family affair on Sundays. I remember her writing a food or entertainment-type column on Sundays, I believe.

It's amazing what you remember and what you learn doing puzzles for all these years.

Happy Birthday AmieeAya! I loved my 30s. Every age has something special and it certainly beats being 6 feet under!! Haven't reached my 2nd 30 yet either but definitely agree with Hahtool. Enjoy!!

Robin said...

Buckeye, Just remember Snooki loves you!!!

dodo said...

Anon:5:45 That was a rude comment. If you feel you need to control things the least you
can do is identify yourself.

Aimee: OMG, you're almost as old as........(robin). As for me, this is the oldest I've ever been! (stolen from a Wireless catalogue; I'm too cowardly to wear the t-shirt.)

I'm so proud of myself for pulling from the blurry mists of my brain, "Mimi". Can't even remember how I learned that name; I'm a left coaster and never read NYT. Maybe from some cook books or cooking lore. Anway way, it was a gimme.

I loved the puzzle today and especially the clues!

dodo said...

I've been remiss in not thanking the constructors of the puzzles, and the people who post the analyses. Thanks a "heap", CC, Argyle,Al, etal. You do good!

Chickie said...

Hello All--I had all kinds of trouble today. My first fill was Hadj. Like Dennis I then second guessed myself with the bridge position. That's the way my whole solving experience went today.

I wanted maid for Camelot Lady, and something other than BMX for the bike clue. I didn't think there would be an X in the answer and the clue, as well.

So---I won't cry over spilled milk-a metaphor for my poor puzzle solving today--and go on to tomorrow's puzzle with an open mind.

I did think that there were many clever clues and when I got the answers from the Blog, I had many head slapping moments!

Interesting that we had the Green House Gasses discussion yesterday and a Hole in the Ozone today. It seems to happen that way so often.

dodo said...

BTW, if "sal soda" is washing soda, I have been using it for years for cleaning my silverware. I think there was once a product called Oakite, which must have been the same compound. It cleans by electrosis if you dissolve it in your kitchen sink in hot water and put a piece of aluminum foil in the bottom, then put your silver in for a few minutes. Does a bang-up job with no elbow grease. But who uses silver silverware anymore. I'm trying to get one of my daughters to accept it on my demise, but no way!

Clear Ayes said...

We haven't tried hypermiling with our Honda Insight. The article Al linked was interesting. We haven't come close to 1/4 of the "Maximum Fuel Economy contest was held in Elkhart, Indiana, where "world records" for the Honda Insight (213 miles per US gallon" (Wikipedia quote). Still, 43 MPG ain't bad.

Lemonade@12:39....quite the Smoothie. I can hear the virtual lingerie sliding to the floor all over the internet.

Buckeye@5:35.....if we weren't related...:0)

I hate it when I misspell a name. Sorry about that, AmieeAya. BTW, I'm working on my 3rd 30s's. So far, so good.

Jazz@3:39 Always interesting and even a dead horse can be entertaining. Dead Horse Trampoline by Faux Renwah. Cactus Bob and Prairie Flower head up a terrific bluegrass/country/comedy quartet. They're from right down the "holler" in La Grange CA. We've heard them play several times at local festivals and neighborhood parties.

Lemonade714 said...

"I shot ther gun, but there was no bullet hole," he said blankly.

"Use your own toothbrush," he bristled.

"I caught Moby Dick," he wailed.

"please do not point that arrow at me," he said quivering.

Robin, it is time to leave Phoenix, the sun has addled your otherwise fine brain. Jersey shore, indeed!

Chickie said...

AimeeAya--HBDTY, HBDTY, HBDTY Dear Aimee, HBDTY, and many more.

While I was teaching, the children who had summer birthday's never got to celebrate their birthday at school. So I gave them an unbirthday. They could pick any school day and bring the treats that day--with the approval of their parents, of course. Maybe you could pick an unbirthday during warmer weather and enjoy Two birthdays a year. You wouldn't have to count the second one as another year older--even better.

Jazzbumpa said...

This might be the clumsiest of all Tom Swifties: "I didn't mean to knock your teeth out with my wood chopper," Tom said, accidentally.

Hmmm. How about: "I see the steed is still alive," Tom said, hoarsely.

Cheers!
JzB the clumsy trombonist

Chickie said...

Dodo, I believe that Sal Soda is washing soda. I've used it for years to clean the coffee stains from stainless steel thermoses and coffee pots. It does a great job. I've also used it to clean silver.

Mainiac said...

Good Evening All,

Buckeye, As usual, my knee pain was laughed away. My wife liked the joke also!

Robin, If those are Maine lobsters you are supporting industry in this state. Enjoy with butter! I'll bet they are Canadian. Did they say "hot water?! Eh!"

lois said...

Good evening Al, CC, et al., Excellent job, Al. Cute commentary!Well done! Your response to 39D remove gently, made me LOL.

Like some of you, this puzzle was a little difficult in parts and I never did get the very timely theme until I came here, but I don't normally get the theme anyway. Loved seeing BMX here. Son is still going strong in the field and having the time of his life, touring and making videos.

28A (feel the heat) made me wish I could 'swelter' just a bit. But there are 'a lot' of ways to remedy that situation...standing too close to the 'Weber' being one, 'labor'ing over a hot stove or my favorite rubbing 'aloe' all over a r'aw man's body. Somebody has to do it. I'm just magnanimous that way.

Happy Birthday, Aimee. Hope you enjoy your 30's as much as I did, and, like Lemonade and others said, it only gets better.

As for birth control pills: There is something for men out. It's made for their less complicated systems and works great. It's a pill, hard as a rock, and looks like a pebble. They put it in their shoe and it makes them go limp.

Buckeye: Loved your story. Hilarious!

Dennis: hope everything is ok w/you. We have a reprieve until Mon or Tues.

Enjoy your night.

Robin said...

Lemon, you know what they say in Jersey, Big Nose, Big Hose!!! I just love Joisey!

Dennis said...

A request: Can we please all ignore the anons? We'll try to delete the attack posts as soon as we see them, but unfortunately I guess none of us were around this afternoon. And C.C. doesn't want them deleted once someone responds. Thanks.

And dammit, I've got a small nose.

Robin said...

Snooki knows big feet, big meat as well, She is very well read!

windhover said...

Sorry. My bad. And I have no
garbage can, for some reason.

Lemonade714 said...

I have so many relatives in New Jersey, and some of them are actually nice people, who can rad and write and speak the English language....

JB, thanks for chiming in to the game.

Fishy, you girls want to remove all the mystery? Of course I do admit my nose is substantial....

Jeannie, you out from under yet?

Dennis, you back in business?

CA, virtual lingerie? Hmm, now I know why I do not like the cyber world; always like three dimensions and five senses.

Clear Ayes said...

Robin, Hey, we all have our guilty pleasures, some on TV, some...well, other. Jersey Shore sounds great. Enjoy.

Off to chorus practice this evening. Have a good evening everyone.

lois said...

Yeah, Dennis, but you have very big thumbs, so big they get in the way of your typing.

Robin said...

No worries Windhover they have given me a garbage can the size of ummmmm Newark.

ClearAyes, you know you are the head " sister" at the "shore"....Yeah and we all know what "Chorus Practice" means......have fun babe! I gotcha covered, Snooki

Jeannie said...

I used too many brain cells the last couple of days and half heartedly attempted the puzzle. I had to chuckle at Jean's joint as I so wanted to plop in "desk" as that is where I have been chained to of late. Loved Aw man, Aha, and What'd I do? I wanted tads for lads as that was the answer a couple of weeks ago.

Aimee, happy belated birthday. Dennis now that I think of it, I haven't seen happy birthdays for a while. I'll give you a reprieve due to your mean snow situation.

Lemonade, my cyber lingerie is a pool at my feet.

Lo-li-ta.

Dennis said...

Lemonade, yeah, kinda back in business, thanks. Another snowfall forecast for Monday, however.

Jeannie, the last bday on my list was early January.

Mainiac said...

My wife just told me something funny. Our youngest saw a berth control pill commercial on tv. He said "gross". He added, "I thought you had to go to the hospital to see if your DNA is pregnant?"

I've got some more work ahead of me......

Have a great weekend!

Jazzbumpa said...

"Clinton didn't waste any time getting that angioplasty," Tom said, instantly.

Cheers!
JzB the no-it doesn't-ever-get-any-better trombonist.

Robin said...

Oh Yeah Main.............good luck on that one! :)

carol said...

OMG - is that what Dennis is typing with??? Wish I could witness that trick.
Well, hey, a big thumbs up to you:)

Buckeye, LMAO at your restaurant story! Hope you enjoyed the wine and be glad you missed the whine.

Buckeye said...

Ready! Just an observation! Sarah Palin just castigated Barack Obama for reading from a teleprompter. Rightfully so. Jimmy Carter (in the 70's) fired his "cue card guy", which lead to unemployment, recession, and the crash of everything in the '70.But, every President since then, has used a "Prompters".
When I was tested at "St. Agatha Orphanage For The Hopeless, Pagans, and wayword Protestants" - my cheating was discovered. I had written answers to the tests on my hand. Sister Merry of the Revaluations beat every letter off of my hand with a ruler.

She said,
"If things are so unimportant that you can't remember them without a "Cript" sheat, forget it. You're an idiot".

Would she say that to Sarah???

IMBO

Jeannie said...

Buckeye darlin...you crack me up. When you heading west and stopping at my destination? I think I met an escaped resident from your place of residence named Buster Hyman. Got my number, damned I'm good.

Bill G. said...

My toothpaste fell on the floor, Tom said crestfallenly.

dodo said...

I've always heard it was big EARS!

Bill G. said...

Today's puzzle didn't fit with my brain cells' orientation. I got through it but would have given up if I had to do it without red-letter help. Maybe tomorrow's will be better for me.

Rich, any chance to provide a Saturday puzzle with a theme?

Dennis said...

Ears schmears, he said, cocksuredly.

Jeannie said...

Dennis, I am abreast of your situation.

Dennis said...

Good. Keep atit.

Jeannie said...

Dennis, I will definitely keep atit, just had to point out a double entendre.

Anonymous said...

Cool story as for me. It would be great to read something more concerning this matter. Thanks for giving this information.

Buckeye said...

Careful! Let's do not turn this into a "chat room". Remember; the X/W is FIRST. I know, I'm at fault with this issue, but that is why I comment on the puzzle, and OCCASIONALLY, send other posts. c.c. developed this blog as an x/w expression. We've, on occasions, abused that intention. Let's have fun, but remember the initial principal.

Tanks'

IMBO

Buckeye said...

Use, but don't abuse!!

IMBO

Buckeye said...

Since I'm allowed 5 posts, I shall say; put young people to work. Let them make a few bucks. Allow them to clean off your driveway. Avoid back pain and heart attacks. Why, when I was a kid............

IMBO

PS: I bought my first HO from the money I made shoveling snow.

PPS That's a lie. I've never had a HO! Just thought it would incentivize your youth.

IMBO

Frenchie said...

Good Evening, C. C., Al, Argyle and folk,
Another great day. Good theme solve! My favorite clue was course for weavers...slaloms and tee choices. I just didn't see them coming! I just love that!

@dodo, my husband uses cleaning soda in a large vessel. He attaches 1 ft. rebar lengths around the interior perimeter on the sides every 8 - 10 inches and it becomes a solution to cleanup engine parts, etc. There is a bit more to it, but you get the general idea. He is restoring his 61 MGA that his father bought him while he was in high school.

Frenchie said...

I'm looking alive. I don't golf, but I am in the mood for a long drive.

Guess where I'll be.

...I travel a lot. I won't miss the peyote cacti, as they will still be here when I return home.
I am packing summer clothes as it will be sweltering. I will go out and swim with the Ahi's. I hope to have an aha moment when I get back up on a surf board. I will probably need aloe on those days. Oh, I'll have idle time too.
I'll make moves a lot and, at one point, will be in Ocala...horseback riding sounds good! It will be phenom.! I'll pick up souvenirs...t shirts, xls
for Annie's boyfriend!
I made this riddle pretty easy. So, where will I be?