google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Julian Lim

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Feb 9, 2010

Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Julian Lim

Theme: A AND E (61A: "Dog the Bounty Hunter" network, and a hint to the theme in this puzzle's four longest answers) - Two-word familiar phrases starting with letters A & E.

17A: Using a treadmill, e.g.: AEROBIC EXERCISE. They mean actually using the machine for something besides throwing your clothes on.

26A: Regional air travel brand since 1984: AMERICAN EAGLE. Operating over 1,800 flights a day, serving 159 cities across the USA, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, American Eagle is considered to be the world's largest regional airline system. Red, white and blue planes.

43A: Aviator who said "the lure of flying is the lure of beauty": AMELIA EARHART. Earhart was the first woman to receive the Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many other records before disappearing on a flight over the Pacific, attempting to fly around the world

56A: Movie DVD special feature, perhaps: ALTERNATE ENDING. Some have multiple endings and you can choose which one you want.

Argyle again.

I keep looking for something more from the theme but I don't see it. Hm-m-m, 28 A's and 26 E's. Help me out C.C., is that a lot?

Across:

1A: Part of DMV: MOTOR

6A: Need a backrub, say: ACHE

10A: "__-daisy!": UPS-A. And 39A: "__ boy!": ATTA. 13D: "Hang on __": A SEC. All partials.

14A: Nobel Peace Prize winner Root: ELIHU. In 1912, as a result of his work to bring nations together through arbitration and cooperation, ELIHU Root(1845-1937) received the Nobel Peace Prize.

15A: Walk like a drunk: REEL

16A: Entre __ (between us): NOUS. (French)

20A: 29-Down, for one: DOE. 29D: Bambi's aunt: ENA

21A: The Beatles' "__ Loser": I'M A

22A: Relating to flight technology: AVIONIC

23A: Laurel and Getz: STANS. STAN Laurel, comedian with his partner, Oliver Hardy. STAN (The Sound) Getz, was a jazz saxophone player.

31A: Either Bush, e.g.: TEXAN. And KARL (51D: Bush advisor Rove). A Bush echo.

32A: Round-buyer's words: "ON ME". Music to my ears.

33A: Baker's meas.: TSP. (Teaspoon)

36A: Leftover bits: ORTS. Scraps from the table.

37A: "I don't think so!": "NO WAY!"

40A: On the authority of: PER

41A: Friend: CHUM

42A: Vietnamese, e.g.: ASIAN

47A: Corp. heads: CEOs

48A: Hospital staffer: NURSE

49A: Beer unit: SIX- PACK

52A: Former telecom giant: GTE

53A: Former Pakistani president: ZIA. General Muhammad ZIA-ul-Haq was the sixth President of Pakistan from 1977 to his death in 1988.

59A: Encircle: GIRD. Where we get girdle from.

60A: Fiber-rich food: BRAN

62A: Many MP-3 player batteries: AAAs

63A: Game with six colorful characters: CLUE. Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, Mrs. White, Mr. Green, Mrs. Peacock(blue), and Colonel Mustard. The movie had three alternate endings. (For bonus points, name the butler.)

64A: Google alternative: LYCOS. Anyone have experience with it?

Down:

1D: Honeyed liquor: MEAD

2D: Land O'Lakes product: OLEO. And real butter, too.

3D: Run out of gas: TIRE. Automotive clue?

4D: "I've got you now!": "O HO!"

5D: Add insult to injury: RUB IT IN

6D: Major or Minor tarot card group: ARCANA. The trump cards and the Fool are "the major arcana" while the ten pip and four court cards in each suit are called minor arcana.

7D: So-so mark: CEE

8D: Penta- plus one: HEXA-. "Six" prefix.

9D: Mt. Fuji statistic: ELEV (Elevation). Or any mountain.

10D: Dweebish: UNCOOL

11D: Leaves for the holidays?: POINSETTIA. Nice misdirection. Leaves is noun here. Named after J. R. Poinsett (1799–1851), American minister to Mexico, who discovered the plant there in 1828. (Didn't know that.)

12D: Sleeping girl in an Everly Brothers hit: SUSIE. Clip They were Marine Reservists and there is a picture of them, with guitars, in their Dress Blues.(@ 0:44)

18D: All-in-one Apple computer: iMAC

19D: Crest: RIDGE

23D: Mmes., in Madrid: SRAS

24D: Kids' outdoor winter project: SNOW MAN. Bet there are a lot of them out there.

26D: Resting on: ATOP

27D: Trifling: MERE

28D: Old-time breaking news cry: "EXTRA, EXTRA!"

30D: Actress Adams of "Enchanted": AMY. Growl

34D: Marquee name: STAR

35D: Gasp: PANT

37D: Org. with Senators and Capitals: NHL. National Hockey League teams, the Ottawa Senators and the Washington Capitals.

38D: Québécois's approval: "OUI". What you might here from a Montreal Canadiens player. (Note the spelling.)

39D: Queens tennis stadium: ASHE. Named for tennis great, Arthur Ashe.

41D: Civil rights activist Chávez: CÉSAR. Mexican labor leader and civil rights activist.

42D: Munitions center: ARSENAL

44D: Bermuda rentals: MOPEDS. Here is a cute one.

45D: University of Oregon city: EUGENE

46D: Museo hangings: ARTE. Museo is Spanish/Italian for "museum".

47D: Eyelashes: CILIA

49D: The Star Wars films, e.g.: SAGA

50D: "Squawk Box" network: CNBC

53D: Brass component: ZINC. An alloy of copper and zinc used to make trombones.

54D: Prefix with China: INDO

55D: Awfully long time: AGES

57D: Fraternity letter: TAU. And shaped like a cross.

58D: Word before break or care: DAY

Answer grid.

Argyle

77 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - a very typical Tuesday puzzle; not a whole lot of deception, decent theme.

Like most, I suspect, I didn't see any commonality in the theme answers until 61A. I know we discussed upsa/upsy daisy before, but I still think upsy daisy is used more frequently. And if I remember correctly, didn't newsboys cry, 'Extry, extry, read all about it!' Fellow near-deads??

The one unknown for me was 'arcana'; first time I've seen that word. Same root as 'arcane', obviously.

Argyle, nice write-up. And thanks for the picture of Amy Adams; I've always had a weakness for redheads (although it's not gonna replace yesterday's picture of the day).

Today is National Toothache Day. Why, I have no idea.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "Just give me a comfortable couch, a dog, a good book, and a woman. Then if you can get the dog to go somewhere and read the book, I might have a little fun." -- Groucho Marx

And a few words on marriage:

- "My advice to you is to get married. If you find a good wife, you'll be happy; if not, you'll become a philosopher." -- Socrates

- "A great marriage is not when the 'perfect couple' come together. It is when an imperfect couple learns to enjoy their differences." -- Dave Meurer

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

Dennis,
I think we had similar clue for ARCANA before, though I quickly forgot, of course. More than anything else, marriage has taught me to compromise.

Argyle,
None of the As or Es is a record. E is the mostly widely used letter in crossword. I like the theme entries, all solid. But the theme itself does not thrill me. Too many other A & E alternatives. I like narrowly defined & focused theme. POINSETTIA clue is awesome. Can never remember ZIA. Don't like the clue for LYCOS. BING is a more au courant answer.

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

Crockett,
Sorry I mixed the date. Happy Anniversary!

KQ,
Yeah. Heavy snow. As for the blog, I actually had a comment the second day I started blogging. I was very pleasantly surprised. Quite a few 20 plus/day comments in Feb 2008. Then it started to really take off in March when the morel guy Dennis started to come early every morning.

Jeannie et al,
Do what Sallie keeps saying: Don't feed the troll. Don't give them the attention by continuing their threads. I hope this is the last time I have to repeat this "Ignore" policy.

Dennis said...

C.C., then you've learned the most valuable secret of a good marriage.

Bob said...

About the same level of difficulty as yesterday. No lookups, surprises, or errors. 12 minutes.

Dick said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. and All, I raced through this one feeling pre4tty good about the puzzle. Then, wham, I hit the SE corner and died. I just could not get 61A “AANDE,” had “aeon” for 55D and of course I had “Yahoo” for 64A. I "knew" Yahoo was correct because it fit with “Indo” 54D. What a mess! Then to put the camp on my problems I did not know 56A.

I really hate to get smacked this hard with a Tuesday puzzle, but it sure happened today.

Fav clue “Leaves for Christmas.”

Hope you all have a great Tuesday. It looks like more snow removal coming up today. I am running out of places to put the damn stuff now.

Gracie said...

Good morning - this was a fun puzzle, not difficult but still interesting.

I had no idea about arcana. The only reference I have for tarot cards is the old James Bond movie with Jane Seymour where she was a virginal reader. Live and Let Die, I think.

Loved POINSETTIA as a clue. And maybe from now on I'll remember ORT. Does anyone use that word?

Also interesting is the recent use of OHO instead of AHA.

We're in for some snow starting today into tomorrow. 8-12 inches are predicted, but I'm hopeful that the predictors are just "catastrophizing".
Gracie

Dick said...

I just noticed that my spell check did not pick up my error in spelling pretty. Very strange.

Dennis said...

Gracie, they're predicting up to 18" here tonight/tomorrow, on top of the 27" we just got. Feel like I'm living in the freaking Yukon.

23 & a w/u. You guys in S. Florida better start warming it up a bit.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning Argyle, CC and All,

I had some errors that caused some erasing. Fade instead of Tire, Sore for Ache, Aha instead of Oho and it took me three tries to spell Earhart correctly. Once I got the NW straightened out I slogged through the SE. Like Dick, A and E always gets me.

Argyle, you're 2-2 in the pic department this week. Nice blogging too!

We acutally may see temps over 30 degrees today. The wind chill will keep it well below freezing.

The wife is getting her Aerobic Exercise in this morning so I get to run the kids to school.

Have a good one!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC, Argyle and Friends: I loved this puzzle. With the exception of AEROBIC EXERCISE, I didn't get the theme clues on the first path, so when came to A AND E, I initially wanted to make an AE connection, since my first theme word began with AE.

Thanks for the information on Poinsettia's, Argyle. I got ELIHU through the perps, so thanks, too, on additional info on him.

I really despise the "upsa" daisy clues/fills and its variation.

Never used LYCOS or any other google alternative.

Favorite clue today: Round-buyer's words ~ ON ME.

QOD: The trouble with words is that you never know whose mouth they've been in. ~ Dennis Potter.

We are an Apple family. Our land line computer is one of the iMacs. My preference is my MacBook Air.

PJB-Chicago said...

Good morning Argyle, C. C., and gang:
Ah [yawn], I got woken up by the scraping sounds of the snow plows. Must be a trial run, because we have less than an inch so far, but 8 - 12" predicted over next 36 hours.

Unfussy fill and straightforward cluing --except for POINTSETTIA, which was clever. Am not "sold" on the theme. After AEROBIC, I was kind of expecting words starting with or including AE. Not a lot of those out there, I'm thinking!

Odd, isn't it, how "6 pack" refers to beer and abdominal muscles, when typically one precludes the other? CILIA, ARCANA and ELIHU weren't expected on a Tues., but good to see. ¿How come I know those and not my sister's birthday?

Time for a walk. If I should fall, I plan to make a snow angel or two and write something pithy in the frost. If I don't tumble, well, I may still be tempted to!
Be well, all!

fermatprime said...

Helllo solvers!

Nice puzzle. Have been keeping up, mostly. Have a friend (even more ancient than I) that calls nearly every night. Among other things we discuss the LA Times puzzles. He will not go on the web to do other Sunday puzzles though (does Calendar puzzle only).

Haven't written in a long time as shoulder and back are still giving me lots of grief.

CC Yes I taught for 43.5 years at a University after receiving a Ph.D in Math from a well-known Institute. I had to quit due to fibromyalgia and other things. Haven't been able to throw away all those lecture notes, tests and handouts yet. I made 5 Math videos that sold world wide. School got money. Now that I own them I would like to set up a website (after I get them to DVD). Just too difficult to face up to doing this. Have three papers to finish also. Can't even pay bills on time!

Have wanted to chime in about mysteries I read. Some are by M. C. Beaton, J. Evanovitch, Joan Hess and Donna Andrews. These are very amusing. Have a yard long list of serious ones.

(Note: If anyone is interested in the problems that I have had due to anti-feminism, let me know.)

We have been getting drenched here in Southern CA. More on the way tonight, they say. Flowers that came out early due to moderate winter are getting smashed to pieces.

Have a good day all!

Hahtoolah said...

PJB: Good to "see" you so early! I, too, was looking for an "AE" theme, so we were on the same wavelength.

Hope you, and all others in the snow belt don't get too, snowbound. Keep warm!

It's very cold here, too. The Saints parade will be held this afternoon/evening. It will be very cold out there, but I doubt anyone will really notice.

All this talk about snow accumulation reminded me of this Areosmithsong, in a DF sort of way.

Fermatprime, my husband is also a mathematician. We will be at MSRI next month for a conference. Well, he'll be at the conference; I'll be playing in the city.

Anonymous said...

This one took me a little longer to get my hands around than a usual Tuesday. ELIHU and MEAD were complete unknowns to me, so that didn't help starting out. Interestingly, I got A AND E right away as well as LYCOS. I think that was one of the search engines I used when the big WWW was fairly new. I am with everyone else on the UPSA/UPSY argument.

Did anyone see the report on either 60 minutes of CBS Sunday Morning about google? They retain absolutely every bit of information about you as you surf the internet. Kind of scary - a little 1984ish. However, I am not sure what you would do with all those kazillions of bits of information. I will say, I can almost always find what I am looking for by googling. My friends call me the google queen.

fermatprime, so sorry to hear about your troubles. Hang in there and I hope it gets better.

So Dennis, do tell how you found CC's blog and how you came about chiming in. For me, I was g'spotting an answer and came about this. I bet you weren't the least bit shy about posting right away as many of us are.

We are a little buried in snow here too, although not as bad as the east coast. My son had a fender bender while we were out of town this past weekend. A Russian guy - heavy accent, pulled out right in front of him. With the snow he couldn't stop in time, and the guy took up both lanes so he couldn't avoid him. Minor damage and no one hurt thankfully. He apologized profusely when they exited their cars, but somehow the insurance company is now saying my son rear ended the guy. How frustrating. Interestingly, there is absolutely no damage to the front of the car, only the side. We will see how this turns out.

Stay warm everyone.

tfrank said...

Good morning, C.C. and pals,

Nothing much to add to what has already been said. 18 minutes with no problems not handled by perps. When i solved the theme clue, I thought it meant the first and last letters of the theme answers; it worked for the first two but not the last two. Then I saw that the beginning letters were the answer.

Re yesterday's thread on immunity, I and my four siblings were raised on milk from a cow which we kept on our three acre lot. We had her checked every year for Bang's disease, which is communicable to humans. After milking. the milk was strained through cheesecloth to remove flies and other debris and then refrigerated. As the cream rose to the top, it was skimmed off and churned into butter. After the milk soured into what we called clabber, it was fed to the hogs, chickens, etc, One cow yielded about four gallons of milk per day.

While I was a freshman at Alabama, I took a physical exam before being admitted into the NROTC scholarship plan. In checking my teeth, the examiner said I had the hardest teeth he had ever seen.

To shorten this long post, none of us were ever sick. I never drank pasteurised milk until I left home.
It took a while to get used to the taste.

Mercy on those in the snow belts.

Dick said...

tfrank your farm story sounded like my early years with the milk and home made butter with the gooood buttermilk. I have not had good buttermilk since we left the farm.

An aside, there were about six young men, here in Pittsburgh, they advertised to do snow shoveling on Craigslist. They were not able to keep up with the work. Very creative on their part. IMHO

Mark said...

I really liked POINSETTIA and I wanted AHA instead of OHO. I thought it was a good puzzle.

Lucina said...

Good morning C. C., Argyle and all, I agree this was a good one for Tuesday and as I usually work horizontal and perpendicular together, it emerges very quickly. I, too, loved the "holiday leaves" clue; it was inspired.

Windhover: Thank you for the compliment, I think. I am sure you are exactly the man you should be. I can tell you, though, you would have a well rounded education.
Hasta despues. (Until later)

windhover said...

Lucina:
Thank you for the compliment as well. The "well rounded education" is exactly what I was referring to. My actual 4th grade teacher would have smacked my hand for ending a sentence with a prepostion. It has never made sense to me not to.

windhover said...

Preposition, damn it.

JD said...

Good morning Argyle, CC and all,

My erasure got a work out although this wasn't a hard puzzle. I made it trickier by thinking "aero" was part of the theme.I could not come up with correct alternate endings until I gave in and erased. Poinsettia was fabulous, a big a-ha for me. Got lycos, a and e, elihu, arcana, and zia from the perps...S L O W L Y.Has eyelashes been used before for cilia? I finally thought of those parameciums we drew in biology and it made sense.

Hahtoolah said...

Windhover: I thought you intended to say you got slapped for ending your sentences with a Proposition!

kazie said...

Me too!
Great blogging, Argyle!
Loved POINSETTIA.

No outside help today, but some unknowns: ELIHU, ZIA, ARCANA, ENA (can never remember it!),LYCOS--have heard of it, never bothered to find out what it was. Other than those, was able to pretty much keep filling as I went.

By the time I got to A AND E, which I nailed today(!), I was almost done, so didn't spend too long seeking how it related to the other clues. After a quick glance which revealed nothing, I got distracted finishing and going to my email, so didn't catch on until I was here.

Lucina,
Your Hasta despues made me look for a connection to French, since I had never seen "despues" before. "Depuis" in French means "since", so time related, but not quite the same. Interesting!

I think most of us found this site by googling at some point or other. I don't think I lingered too long. There might have been something I desperately wanted to comment on right from the start, so I jumped in and got blue right off, if memory serves me correctly.

Amy Adams has been in several movies I've seen recently, most notably Julie and Julia. And before that I didn't know she existed.

WH,
A lot of those grammar rules, like that one and the split infinitive one stem from our Latin origins and really don't work in English. I think they are a bit more relaxed about them now. Judging by what journalists write in newspapers and on the crawling strips at the bottom of the TV screen, most rules are not taught at all!

Dennis said...

So Dennis, do tell how you found CC's blog and how you came about chiming in. I bet you weren't the least bit shy about posting right away as many of us are.

KQ, I honestly have no idea how I stumbled onto this. Must've been the g-spot. I know I posted once in mid-February '08, something about an Evan Esar quote, which at the time were just about the only quotes in our puzzles. I think I was looking to see who he was, since it appeared that he said everything that was ever said. Then I just chimed in occasionally until I figured out what blogs were all about, and started fairly regular posts in early March, I think. Much to C.C.'s occasional chagrin, no doubt.

carol said...

Hi Argyle, C.C. and all -

This one was fun and no outside help was needed :.)

I had never heard of ARCANA..Argyle, thanks for the explanation. (I put arcane in at first). I stared at 5D for quite a while, could not figure out RUBI TIN. What the .... is a rubi tin. Doh, the V-8 can made it clear to me. Hope no one will 'rub it in'!

LYCOS was a new one to me but easily got with perp help.

Doesn't CILIA also exist in lungs? I seem to remember that from somewhere in the cloudy areas of my memory. If you've ever smoked, all the cilia will have been 'killed'...they are very fine hair like thingies and their purpose is to filter and clean, at least that is the way I seem to remember. Hmmm, that has my curiosity piqued now.

Fermatprime, glad you are recovering!

Chuck of the West said...

I had some of the same bumps that others had: Elihu, upsa (I have never heard of upsa daisy!!), Zia, lycos. I struggled with leaves..holiday 'til it filled in with the perps.

The photo of the cute moped was not a moped, it was a scooter. A moped has pedals like a bicycle and a motor, hence mo(tor) ped(al). My first motorcycle was a moped which was sold by Sears. I was 12.

I still can't access my google account, so I feel just a click higher than a common lurker here.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, It is embarrassing to admit that I have watched "Dog The Bounty Hunter" on purpose and knew the network. I should explain that it was GAH who tuned in, wanting to know if Beth's (Dog's wife) bosom could possibly get any bigger. Before you start tuning in guys, Beth has lost some weight and had a breast reduction. She is probably only an EE size now. GAH has lost interest too.

Anyhoo, I thought this was an enjoyable puzzle. I always like those 15 letter grid spanners. I know we've seen ELIHU before, but I couldn't remember it. I had no idea about CILIA, ZIA or LYCOS. I'm strictly a Googler.

CESAR Chávez spent a lot of agricultural union organizing time in Ventura country, where we lived for 25 years. There is a César Chávez Drive in Oxnard, just a couple of miles from where I worked. California has a state holiday on his birthday, March 31st. With California's budget woes, it is probably an unpaid holiday now.

Googling is how I found this blog too. I think I checked in somewhere in the middle of 2008 (June? July?). Dennis, Lois, Dr. Dad, Carol, Argyle, Jeannie, Crockett and so many others were already old pals. C.C. made it so easy to fit in and all the regulars were welcoming from the first day. Great blog, thanks again to all.

ARBAON said...

Kazie; It seems you are the resident grammarian...so...my oped writer uses phrases such as: "how make them understand" and "how give us the truth" and "how know when we are being duped." They seem clumsy without the "to". What is the rationale on such?
Favorite clue today:"Either Bush." So many answers came to mind.

Entropy said...

Nice Tuesday puzzle.

The 'upsa' or 'upsy' was a write over. And I do like a little disorder.

Arygle, nice Amy, looks like everything is in place there.

Recently saw the Amelia movie so that helped.

Elihu Root, going to have to google and learn about him. But I do like unique names.

Entropy said...

The fifth stock trade today on NASDAQ, as I was doing the puzzle, watching CNBC, was American Eagle.
Doubt they are the same as the clue, but that was freaky.

Oh, found my Blue name thing, had a computer snafu a sec. ago.

Jerome said...

Kudos to RUBSITIN, UNCOOL, NOWAY, SIXPACK, TEXAN and CHUM.

The newsboys for the Jurassic Park Tribune used to shout
"EXTRA! EXTRA! A TREX! A TREX!"
Only havin' fun. Don't get saur.

A shout out to Cesar Chavez. He was a giant among men and one of the most courageous. Si Se Puede!

Entropy said...

Jerome
Thank you for the tootsie explaination yesterday. I google, you are correct.
I think the comments indicated a generational bias. The 50+ (I am one) all expressed they thought it was toes.
But it was a nice Monday puzzle.

Anonymous said...

Vern Said:
Just came from spinning class. Wow, is that a workout! Each time I see Entre Nous I think of my experience as training director (a year prior to the opening of the Chicago Fairmont Hotel.) I've never seen harder working people than hotel people. The to-be-manager of the Entre Nous restaurant had many an "all-nighter" as did other employees. Unfortunately, he passed away of a heart attack before the hotel opened. We also had an Italian restaurant, Primavera, which had wonderful singing waiters. Initially we had about 40 singing waiters who were near-professional singers. Unfortunately, they were so set on singing...they forgot to wait their tables. Finally settled for 20 singers & 20 waiters. Problem solved.

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, everyone.

I first found the blog by using Google. I lurked for a few weeks, and finally broke my blog maiden and made that first post two years ago. And the rest is history...

eddyB said...

Hi.

@Dick. Remember that shoveling snow
back onto the street is illegal in
PA.

@ Argyle. How many pictures of Amy
did you down-load? Have any more?

eddyB

Anonymous said...

I just love Amy Adams, and I loved the movie Enchanted. I remember reading a write-up when it came out and told the boys it sounded good and I would take them (they pay their own way if mom doesn't go with). They were teenagers mind you. The movie started and it was animated, and I was mortified. I had no idea and I thought they would shoot me for taking them to an animated film (not that they don't watch them mind you, just not in public). In the end, most of it wasn't animated and they loved it so much they came home laughing and singing the songs. What fun. Usually they only want to see action/shoot them up movies.

Chuck of the West, I had some trouble with a google account also. I had set one up to do a calendar for a group that I manage, and for some reason it just totally screwed that up. I ended up setting up a new email account to use for just that, and that worked. Sometimes there just isn't a simple fix. Don't know why it didn't work. I hope you don't have to do that.

I have great success with google fixing things. I just type in the problem and get all kinds of great information. I am trying to teach my kids this now so I don't have to do it all.

kazie said...

ARBAON,
I'm not familiar with the omission of the "to" part of the infinitive. I would guess it to be just a fad thing, or maybe they are just protesting the need for it.

Fermatprime,
I hope your health continues to improve. Sometimes our bodies just have to take their time, so do hang in there.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

IMHO, today's theme is so thin, I question its existence. Annie Oakley might be able to put a bullet through it. Puzzle was on the hard side for a Tuesday, pretty easy for a Saturday themeless.

I was looking for an AVIONIC theme, and felt very let down by A AND E. Wish there had been a ALTERNATE ENDING.

Lots of top-notch fill, though. Overall, quite enjoyable.

Here is the very antithesis of UNCOOL, Stan Getz!

I forgot to respond to the NANA query yesterday. The LW is MeeMaw to the g'kids on my side. Those on her side refuse to use that word, so she's Gramma to the locals, and Grandmom to the Florida crew. I'm Bumpa to everybody.

My son is ERIC, but his boys are Danny and Ryan. No LEIF on our family tree.

Trombones, along with trumpets and saxophones, are indeed made out of brass. Click my avatar to see some variations on that theme in my ARSENAL. Except the one in the middle. That silvery looking metal is actual Sterling Silver.

My dad gave me some good advice on marriage: he said be able to like your wife. Loving somebody is the easy part. Took me a couple of tries to get it right.

It's been snowing here for about 6 hours, but we only have about an inch so far. Hoping for the best.

Had some computer difficulties today, and had to resign in. Hope I come out blue.

Cheers!
JzB the mystery color trombonist

Argyle said...

eddyB, when I googled Amy's image, it seemed they all were worthy of a download.

Robin said...

OOPSY, upsy, oho, atta, hold on a sec! I like this puzzle. I forgot to mention I LOVED J-Romes puzzle yesterday. I got "busy", my dear hubby was in town.

PJB, my hub and I had a discussion about comedy and the ability to be funny. My thought, is one has to have a natural ability to "be" funny. My husband maintains that anyone can "learn" to be funny. It is a matter of knowing WHO your audience is and timing. He is in medicine and thinks he is hilarious. He is pretty funny but I told him not to give up his day job! Yep, you're right I am a meanie!

Thanks for Aerosmith Hahtool, always a fav.LOL @ proposition......

How did most of you find CC's blog? Me, by accident like many. Reading and laughing for a long time. So many people have come and gone.....Embien, Moon, Tarrajo......so many. I see your comment CAs, so mine is rather redundant. It is great fun CC and so good of you to keep it going.

Dick said...

@eddyB, my deck shoveling occurred at the rear of my house and it is over 140 feet to the curb so I should not get into trouble with the Township..

My first venture into the world of C.C. occurred in Jan. or Feb. of 2008. I arrived in her world through Google and have been hanging around ever since.

Dennis get ready the snow has arrived in western PA and they are still calling for 8 to 10 inches.

ARBAON said...

When my paper started carrying every puzzle known to man except LAT, I googled it and here you were!

BTW; I prefer the anonymity of "black." If "black" people are not allowed, tell me. :)

Dennis said...

Argyle, yes, she's definitely worthy of a download...

Dick, yeah, they're calling for 12-18 now. Ain't gonna be pretty.

Dick said...

Here is something for all of the "younger" bloggers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KhSMKfU8HE

Sorry I could not get it to link.

eddyB said...

Hi Argyle. Except the one with four eyes.

eddyB

Anonymous said...

Hello, as you can see this is my first post here.
Hope to receive some help from you if I will have any quesitons.
Thanks and good luck everyone! ;)

Lucina said...

Hello Amigas and Amigas: I just returned from the gym and had a great workout.

Kazie, I am in awe of your knowledge of languages! Envious, too. I chose "despues" because it means "after", as I am sure you know, rather than the usual "hasta la vista" which means "I'll see you again" and I don't actually see this group.
If I may add to the grammar discussion: I believe the media shortens phrases and sentences because of "bits"; I personally abhor it and therefore don't watch too much TV. I especially dislike using gerunds (ing words) without the "to be" auxiliary, as in (X speaking instead of "is speaking") It's true that all language is in flux, it is changed by those who speak it and the rules have been greatly relaxed in the last few decades, some for the good, some not.
Re: nana, my family uses it because of our Hispanic heritage.

Robin said...

Carol, yes you payed attention during your anatomy class! Cilia cells do line the breathing passages and help" sweep" the unwanted stuff out of the lungs to be coughed out.

Have you ladies heard of the pill you can take to grow longer thicker eyelashes? One of the side effects is that it may permanently change the color of your iris! Why would any one risk these crazy side effects?

Anon welcome and the invitation to go blue or at least sign your name will help us, help you!

dodo said...

Morning, all. Wasn't Elihu the name of Mr. Yale, hence Eli's?

WH: How to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition. to quote one W. Churchill:
"
.....up with which I will not put."

Anonymous said...

Vern said:

Re: Use of "ort." In Chicagoese, you will frequently hear: "He ort to warsh his teeth more."

Clear Ayes said...

ARBAON, the problem with staying "black" is that anybody else can also post under that name and claim he or she is you. If you want to protect your identity and comments, it is better to get a Google account and "go blue". You can put as much or as little information on your profile as you choose. But it is nice to know our co-bloggers general geographic area (:o) as you can see we talk about the weather a lot), hobbies and interests.

Robin, If you subscribe to HBO, Johnny Weir is going to be profiled on "Read Sports With Bryant Gumbel" this evening (probably several times in the next couple of weeks). Time will vary according to location.

This one is for you and me and anyone else who loves the ice (but maybe not the snow so much).

Skater
She was all in black but for a yellow pony tail
that trailed from her cap, and bright blue gloves
that she held out wide, the feathery fingers spread,
as surely she stepped, click-clack, onto the frozen
top of the world. And there, with a clatter of blades,
she began to braid a loose path that broadened
into a meadow of curls. Across the ice she swooped
and then turned back and, halfway, bent her legs
and leapt into the air the way a crane leaps, blue gloves
lifting her lightly, and turned a snappy half-turn
there in the wind before coming down, arms wide,
skating backward right out of that moment, smiling back
at the woman she'd been just an instant before.

- Ted Kooser

Clear Ayes said...

Darn it, "REAL Sports" of course. I wouldn't usually correct a typo, but since it is a show title, I'll be more careful.

See ARBAON, for good or bad, that was me and I can't even blame my evil twin for poor typing.

MR ED said...

Nice job Argyle. You make a good C.C. doing that job.

I think the puzzle guy got 'upsy' daisy wrong. Ive heard that term used my whole life (a long time) and it was always 'upsy',never 'ups-a'. It seems as though puzzle makers make up words to fit.

Dennis,
The 'days and a wake-up' term you're using indicates that you are planning another trip. If it's south, you should've gone before this. Spring is almost here.

We are supposed to get 12" of snow by Wed. evening. Wish I were somewhere warm. Brrr...

windhover said...

Dennis @1:48,
Upload, download, it's all good.

Dodo @3:30,
Exactly why it I will not do.

Hahtool, re: proposition,
That may explain these knots I've had on the back of my head since about seventh grade.

I first came here in January, 2008, shortly after I got the iPhone. I was quickly addicted to both.

Mainiac said...

I stumbled across CC's blog in January of 09 purely by mistake. I bookmarked it right away and used it to get answers to the old TMS grids which I would get from the local daily newspaper. About a month or so later I hit the Comments button and found a whole new world to crosswording for me. Very interesting insights and lots of fun too! Thanks so much CC!

Robin, I thought the side affect of that pill was changing the color of your hair, not your iris. I guess I should congratulate you on your new do. Wicked shahp deah!

lois said...

Good afternoon Argyle, CC, et al., Holy 'Hexa' Hotwicks! This one had me 'reel'ing. I'm 'tire'd and 'pant'ing just thinking about all the 'aerobic exercise's this puzzle brought to mind, even if
'alternate ending's are used -'motor','AAAs', and even 'avionic' technology which brings 'extra extra' thrust when flying united on 'Am Eagle'. Bet every 'Texan' Bush will get something 'elev'ated on that airline. Gives a whole new meaning to their "Reward" program.

Argyle: You're spot on, Santa Baby! It's always a party here. Tonight we even get a parade!

Enjoy your evening.

Jerome said...

MR ED- There has to be trust between crossword solvers and crossword constructors. If there's not, puzzles are doomed. Constructors don't make up words. We cherish language and wouldn't defile it with a cheap trick. No editor would allow it to happen anyway. We put nothing in a puzzle that cannot be backed up by sources that most people would agree are legitimate and have a history of being reliable.

There is no doubt you have always heard upsy-daisy pronounced exactly that way. However, many people do pronounce it upsa-daisy, and there is plenty of dictionary backup for that spelling.

The "puzzle guy" is named Julian Lim, by the way.

Buckeye said...

Wow! Hiddy Argyle, c.c. et al.

Posting late is tough. My x/w hang-ups today were the same as most of y'all's but got everything thru the perps. I liked the poinsettia clue, as I have two artificial ones I got from "Petals" that are so life-like, I water them at Xmas.

Used to eat grapes with Cesar Chavez until he gave them up.

Vern beat me TWICE today.(1) Here in Ahia we say, "We ort to go afishin' taday". (2) And I tended bar during college in Columbus at a restaurant called "The Prime Rib", where all the waiters and waitresses sang. GREAT PLACE!!

I lurked for months before I jumped in here. Found c.c. thru Google -I think. I wasn't sure how my "weirdness" would be accepted and I got a few cautionary posts from c.c. after I started blogging, but for the most part, people have been very kind. Most of you are gentle enough to "abide" my twisted illness.

Robin: I don't think being funny can be taught. It definitely can be honed by knowing your audience, understanding the fundamentals of comedy and improving your timing -which is a HUGE part of comedy. However, discovering the humor in everyday life, stringing sentences, phrases or word together is a gift (curse) from the gods. The greatest humorists have NO BOUNDRIES; NOTHING IS SACROSANCT NOR OFF LIMITS. BUT, know your audience.

There was once a very brilliant student from Southwestern Ohio who scored a 1600 on his SATs and was given a full scholarship to Harvard.

Upon his arrival, he stopped a fellow student while crossing the "Harvard Yard" and asked,

"Could y'all tell me where the library's at".

"We at Haaaarvard never end our sentences with a preposition".

"I'm sorry," said our brilliant Buckeye. "Could y'all tell me where the libraty's at, asshole!!!"

I must be off!

Robin said...

Oh ClearAyes, yes,I know we both remember that MOMENT leaving the ice forward and landing successfully on that minute edge, completing the jump that we had practiced a million times before on the ice and in our minds.
Thank you for the heads up on Johnny Weird! Love him. xoxo
Thx for sharing the beautiful daisies ladies, So Lovely!!

Maniac, I am pretending to be Marie today, The Patron Saint of Confectioners: Candy of Caramel......


Have a lovely evening, hoping chocolate can be involved.

Anonymous said...

Robin, you are a hoot. Brownies are in the oven right now.

Buckeye, thanks for the weirdness. You always please. I agree that being funny is something you either are or not. You can work on it and hone it, but it is truly a gift. You certainly qualify as one who possesses that gift.

Wish I had HBO. I would love to see the Johnny Weir special. Their latest movie is about Temple Grandin and I really want to see that also. Hopefully I can find another way to view it some day.

Jeannie said...

I spent a very long commute to a school commodity show that was very long and boring.

Don't be jealous all, but I just purchased an original Kathleen....

carol said...

Robin, thanks for the 'validation' - guess my old memory isn't as bad as I thought :) I have no cilia in my lungs but even with mild and stable COPD, I do quite well, riding a bike 10 miles at least 6 days a week and walking 4 miles per day, no problems. I just hope young people will not start smoking, but realize that they won't listen to any words of warning, I never did. It has to do with youth being in that special mind set that only they can have.

Lois and Buckeye: You two are such a HOOT, can't wait each day to read your comments so I can have a good laugh!

I found this great blog in June (I think) of 2008. I was searching Google for an answer to a c/w clue.
Like Dennis, I had no experience with 'blogs' so was hesitant to sign in. Sure glad I did :)

windhover said...

Correction:
January 2009.

In yet another example of CRS, I just read it a couple of minutes ago, but already can't remember who
mentioned Temple Grandin. She's a very interesting woman, and I have used a lot of her ideas here at WF.

Jerome:
Right on about the other CC, Cesar.

Chickie said...

Hello All--A good Tuesday puzzle for me. I whizzed along until I reached the SE corner. Zia, AandE and Lycos were all unknown. I pondered over the word Ending in Alternate Ending for the longest time. Once that was in the rest began to fall into place.

I finally finished up with the Googling of "Dog the Bounty Hunter Channel" and that gave me the final answer. I just couldn't parse the A and E today. We don't watch a lot of Cable TV.

I did like the Poinsettia clue. A good take on the word Leaves.

Buckeye, My schoolmarm mother would look us in the eye when we put an "at" at the end of a sentence and say,"It is behind the at." I used to get so peeved at that saying, but it did give me a much better sentence structure when I followed her direction. I liked your correction better. It gave me a good laugh.

The last time I remember hearing the paper boys yelling "Extra, Extra" was at the death of Delano Roosevelt. I really never heard it after that. Long gone are the days of newspapers being sold on the street corner by paper boys/men. I'm giving away my age, again.

Chickie said...

Robin, chocolate is ALWAYS on our dessert menu.

On our 50th wedding anniversay we were asked what it took to have a good marriage. My husband answered, "Be a good listener." I answered, "Compromise." C.C. I think that this one word says it all. However, my husband gave a good answer, too. LOL.

Like many others, I was searching on Google for an answer to a CW clue. I found C.C.'s Blog and was hooked. I lurked for several months before I commented and WM urged me stop lurking and join in. I'm so glad I did.

MR ED said...

Jerome,
Thank you for enlightening me on the subject. I had no idea puzzle people felt that way. I really spoke out of turn and for that, I apologize and a thousand apologies to you Julian Lim.

Are you a puzzle constructor Jerome?

Jerome said...

MR ED- Yup, I do make puzzles. And you, what do you do? I've no doubt you're an interesting man.

I'm about ready to hoist my last beer... So, upsy-daisy, MR BUD.

Clear Ayes said...

We watched the HBO movie about Temple Grandin a couple of nights ago. Because of my nephew's autism, I have read several articles on autism that Ms. Grandin has written in magazines my sister subscribes to (oh, those prepositions!). I've also seen her interviewed on television about her work in humane cattle treatment and slaughter. Clare Danes, the actress who played her did a wonderful job. If you get a chance to see it, you won't be disappointed.

Robin and Chickie, speaking of chocolate, I have to share tonight's dessert with you. I don't bake too often, but GAH asked for my special chocolate cream pie, so what the heck! I used the vodka pie crust recipe Jeannie posted a while back. Just too good! I love this recipe because with just a couple of changes, you have a sensational banana cream pie. If anybody wants it, I'll post a link.

Have a good evening everyone.

MR ED said...

carol,
I agree with you on the subject of smoking the first time anyone said stop smoking to me it was like..what do you know.
Both my parents smoked as well as all the other adults around our house so it was part of life back then. The only negative we heard was if you smoke you won't grow.

Anonymous said...

Dennis: Well, we have another dip down into the 40's coming up tomorrow, but hopefully we'll be warm enough for you to enjoy some water sports in 23 & a w/u... If not, I'm sure the Saints fans left a few drops of alcohol down here that'll warm you up just fine!

Lois: Definitely one of your best today! As soon as I saw the word "pant", I knew you'd have a field day!

So, when you previously had the great "upsa/upsy-daisy" debate, what was the final outcome? Was a right or wrong answer found? Was it a regional difference? And age difference? An ethnic background difference? For what it's worth, I'm in the upsA-daisy camp! When babysitting a visiting 14 month old family member over the holidays, I found myself saying "oopsa-daisy" a lot, as he was still getting his sea legs!

Bill G. said...

I believe Jerome when he argued that puzzle constructors have too much respect for the English language and puzzle solvers to make up words. But if I were a constructor, working on a clever theme, and got stuck, I might have to resort to using fill like EMEER instead of EMIR, or AROAR (has anybody ever uttered that word?) or SO instead of SOL. I'm sure that a trade-off between regular words and crosswordese is sometimes necessary to preserve a clever theme. I'm sure that the constructors and editors try to keep that to a minimum. I always cringe when I see 'Var.' in the clue.

Annette said...

Shoot! Sorry, that anonymous was me...Annette I'm logged in, and my google account is selected. I don't know what happened.

Anyway, just wanted to "own up" to my post.

Frenchie said...

Good Evening C.C., Argyle and folk,
Good puzzle today, like one or two others, I was looking for a theme along the line of 'aero.' I was happily surprised to see the 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' clue. I don't know anybody else who watches 'Dog' other than me. I had the good fortune of being able to stay in Hawaii for a couple of months, (6 years ago, I just realized!) I didn't meet them but I was given an autographed photo of Dog and Beth! I taped it prominently on a cabinet in my kitchen and it remained there until...well, I have my suspicions! It seems to have disappeared right into thin air!

I see we have some MIA's today...what is that about?

I feel so bad for those of you being deluged with snow and rain. I have been disgruntled with the cold and rain we have had to deal with here in the 'Great Sonoran Desert.' I feel so ashamed for complaining!!!

@fermatprime, I read your posts for a short time and know your contributions are of value here. Get well, you are missed!

I'm out.

Bill G. said...

My parents both smoked. We would take a one-hour drive to my grandmother's house with my parents smoking in the front seats (with the windows closed) and my getting nauseated in the back seat. (I have a propensity for motion sickness.) When my parents finally quit, my father apologized to me sincerely for what he had put me through without realizing it.

kazie said...

It was because of my parents' both smoking that I swore I'd never start. They both died in their sixties, and I'm hoping that growing up with their second-hand smoke will not stop me from getting older than that.

Mr. Ed,
We did one of Jerome's puzzles just a few days ago.

Anonymous said...

"Space bar neighbor on a PC: ALT. Had to look at my keyboard."

that's cheatin aint it???