google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday February 3, 2010 Dan Naddor

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Feb 3, 2010

Wednesday February 3, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: JABBER (40D: Talk on and on, and a hint to the three-letter starts of 16-, 22-, 43- and 51-Across) - The first three letter of each theme answer is a synonym of JABBER.

16A. India's first prime minister: JAWAHARLAL NEHRU. Can never remember how to spell Nehru's given name. Quite a pragmatic figure in movie "Gandhi".

22A. Washington wine region: YAKIMA VALLEY. What does Yakima mean?

43A. Chicago 'L,' e.g.: RAPID TRANSIT. Indeed, RAP is a slang for "chitchat" also.

51A. Part of a twill suit: GABARDINE JACKET. Gabardine is a sturdy & tightly woven fabric used to make suits. Just learned that the material was invented by Thomas Burberry, founder of Burberry house.

All of the three-letter JABBER words are embedded in the start of first word of a two-word common phrase. All in non-JABBER context of course. Very consistent.

This puzzle is quite similar in concept to Jerome Gunderson's "Just a Tease" puzzle. Jerome's theme answers are:

17A: Mojave Desert grower: JOSHUA TREE

26A: Flashy theatrically: RAZZLE-DAZZLE

44A: VIP at a grand opening: RIBBON CUTTER

60A: Place to wade: KIDDIE POOL

Jerome's theme eluded many last time because he did not have a similar unifying & explanatory JABBER entry. In fact, he did have NEEDLE in the grid, but it's clued as "Bit of Christmas debris".

Today's Dan Naddor Index (non-theme entries with 6 or more letters) is 7. A bit low in his standard, perhaps due to theme entry constriction (58 theme squares). The three Js, three Vs & three Ks sure liven up the grid.

Dan mentioned during his April 15, 2009 interview that he had about 50 LAT puzzles on queue. This is #46 I've blogged. We should have a few more pre-Interview Dan puzzles in the pipeline.

Across:

1. Bogs: FENS

5. New moon, e.g.: PHASE

10. Month, in Mexico: MES. Constructors like to use the month "mayo" (May) to trap us.

13. Short article: ITEM. Short news article.

14. Memory mishap: LAPSE

15. Brewer's need: MALT. HOPS & OAST also have 4 letters..

19. Lead-in for suited or timed: ILL. Ill-suited. Ill-timed.

20. Slurpee alternative: ICEE

21. Wrinkle-resistant fabric: ORLON

26A. Used the alley, in a way: BOWLED. Bowling alley, sure. But most bowlers would use "lane" rather than "alley".

28. Tweak, e.g.: ALTER

29. Nymph associated with Artemis: OREAD. The mountain nymph. Oros is Greek for "mountain".

30. Careful shopper's criterion: VALUE

33. Malice: VENOM

38. Taxpayer, e.g.: FILER

39. Iraqi, for instance: ASIAN. Funny how I seldom think of Iraqis as Asians.

40. Subway Restaurants spokesman __ Fogle: JARED. I find him to be very annoying.

42. Lake that's a source of the Mississippi: ITASCA. Lake Itasca. Literally "true head". It's located here in Minnesota.

46. Leg bone: TIBIA. So is the 5-letter word FEMUR.

47. Actress Sommer: ELKE. Oh, I recognized this lovely picture when I googled.

48. Model Landry: ALI. The Doritos girl. Gorgeous!

55. Southernmost cross-country U.S. highway: I-TEN.

57. Chick tenders: HENS. In Chinese, chicken is slang for "prostitute".

58. Away partner: FAR. Far and away.

59. Letter-shaped opening: T-SLOT. No idea. Which opening? I did not see any T-shape. (Added later: This is a better illustration.)

60. May race, for short: INDY

Down:

1. Pacific island nation: FIJI. Where Vijay Singh comes from.

2. Research paper abbr.. ETAL

3. Honeymooner, probably: NEWLY- WED. Where did you spend your honeymoon?

4. Wee, to Burns: SMA. For "small" I presume.

5. Unruffled: PLACID

6. Polygamous household group: HAREM. Literally "forbidden place" in Arabic. Section solely for women in Muslim households. I thought of the Waco Siege. What's the name of that group?

7. Cop __: A PLEA

8. FICA funds it: SSA (Social Security Administration)

9. Sushi bar serving: EEL. I've got to have unagi every time I visit a sushi bar.

10. "Symphony of a Thousand" composer: MAHLER (Gustav). Austrian composer. More known for his song cycle "Das Lied von der Erde" (The Song of the Earth).

11. Judy Jetson's brother: ELROY. Stumped me. I've never seen "The Jetsons". Elroy means "the king". Strange combination of Spanish article "el" and French word "roy" (roi).

12. Leave speechless: STUN

15. First name in country: MERLE (Haggard)

17. Raised: HIKED. Like tax.

18. "The Prince of Tides" co-star: NOLTE (Nick). Nailed it with the last two letter TE in place. Man, I rock, Lois!

23. Quaint complaint: ALAS

24. Medalworthy behavior: VALOR

25. Homecoming guest: ALUM

26. Conk: BOP

27. Juegos OlĂ­mpicos goal: ORO. Spanish for "gold". Juegos OlĂ­mpicos = Olympic Games. Easy guess.

30. African grassland: VELDT. In southern African. Old Dutch for "field". I can never remember this word either.

31. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase: AN E. Or AN I/O/U. Any vowel.

34. Tony's portrayer on "NYPD Blue": ESAI (Morales)

35. All wet: MISTAKEN

36. Buddy: MAC

38. Frock wearer: FRIAR

39. Confused: AT SEA

41. Like some swarms: APIAN. Bee-like.

42. Type of printer: INK JET

43. Gaucho's rope: RIATA. Or REATA. Lariat comes from "la riata".

44. Related to the kidneys: RENAL

45. Last Olds off the line: ALERO. The model was made between 1999-2004.

46. Cry after a hard week: TGIF. And ITS (53D. Part of 46-Down).

49. Extend credit: LEND

50. Minuscule: ITSY. Is this a real word? I only know it from "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini".

52. It ends in Nov.: DST (Daylight-Saving Time). DST starts on the second Sunday of March, and ends on the first Sunday of November.

54. Fraternity letter: CHI. The Greek X.

Answer grid.

C.C.

98 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - ok, this is more like it. Clever theme, interesting clues and a few unknowns made this an enjoyable solve.

I couldn't for the life of me remember Nehru's first name, and needed the perps to fill it in. I always try to solve crosswords across and down simultaneously, so once I got 'yak', I knew it had to be Yakima Valley. The bottom two theme answers came more easily. Unknowns were Judy Jetson's brother and Lake Itasca. No standout favorite clue, but least favorite, as usual, was the Wheel of Fortune buy; in this case, it could've been any one of 12 answers.

Overall, I had a good time solving this one. C.C. thanks for the pics of Ali Landry and Elke Sommer; good way to get things moving this morning.

Today is The Day the Music Died. A horrible day for those of us in our teens when we lost 3 of our musical heroes: Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper.

Today's Words of Wisdom: "Enthusiasm is not contrary to reason. It is reason - on fire." -- Peter Marshall

Couple good definitions:

The Present: the now, the here, through which all future plunges to the past. -- James Joyce

Politician: a fellow who will lay down your life for his country. -- Texas Guinan

Dick said...

Good morning C.C. and All, a bit of a crawl in a few places this morning. First problem was I did not know how to spell Nehru’s first name, but managed to get that from the perps. For all of us that wanted Emma Thompson a few days ago we got our chance this morning. I kept trying to force” payer” for 38A before “filer” appeared. The other sticking point was I wrote inn Gabber for 40D and then kept looking at Ga-ed until the AHA moment.

Overall I liked this puzzle and thought it was just right for a Wednesday.


After our visit, in Oregon, with Carol and her husband Joe last summer my wife and I toured the Yakima Valley so this one was a gimme for me.


Hope you all have a great over the hump day.

Dick said...

C.C. they were called "The Branch Davidians."

Lemonade714 said...

How fun to begin the hump day with a Dan Naddor and CC’s excellent taste in links, real eye openers.

Dennis, to help remember, “their boy, Elroy,” just sing along with the JETSONS . Or if you would like, a little of Elke and Peter Sellers in Shot in the Dark
Okay, I know all you DF ladies hve gotten to me, when despite many years as a criminal defense lawyer, my answer was Cop__: A FEEL.

Om that note, off to exercise

Gracie said...

Good morning everyone! I too could not remember how to spell Nehru's first name, but the red-letter help did the trick.

Don't know anything about mythology (Greek?), so Oread was a complete perp fill.

CC, the pictures of Elke and Ali are so beautiful. The one of Elke must be circa 1960's, wonder where she is now.

Like Dennis, I always solve puzzles by doing up and down clues simultaneously.

Happy February, a few days late, and Happy Wednesday.
Gracie

Anonymous said...

Seeing these kind of posts reminds me of just how technology truly is an integral part of our lives in this day and age, and I can say with 99% certainty that we have passed the point of no return in our relationship with technology.


I don't mean this in a bad way, of course! Societal concerns aside... I just hope that as memory becomes cheaper, the possibility of downloading our memories onto a digital medium becomes a true reality. It's one of the things I really wish I could encounter in my lifetime.


(Posted on Nintendo DS running [url=http://quizilla.teennick.com/stories/16129580/does-the-r4-or-r4i-work-with-the-new-ds]R4 SDHC[/url] DS SKu2)

Lemonade714 said...

Gracie:

Happy February to you as well, I see you read mysteries- which ones? We have a pretty lively bunch of mystery readers here. WM how are you doing?

I understand that ELKE has focused on her life as a painter. She will turn 70 this November.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and Friends. A good challenge for a Wednesday morning. I knew that Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minster of India, but I had to google the correct spelling of his name. Ah well...

I live off I-TEN. Literally.

Gustav MAHLER was from a little town called Kaliste in what is now the Czech Republic. My husband's grandfather was also born in this town.

QOD: The mouth of a perfectly contented man is filled with beer. ~ Egyptian proverb, circa 2200 BCE

Barry G. said...

All right, I know that NEHRU is a famous historical figure, but JAWAHARLAL is just a bear of a word to spell! Needed every single crossing until I got to the final NEHRU.

Oh -- and the wife and I honeymooned in Vegas, baby! ^_^ That was seven years ago, and this April we're celebrating our anniversary by taking a trip to London for a week. It'll be our first "real" vacation since the honeymoon...

Dick said...

Barry G, I bet Lois can give you lots of help on where to go in London.

Al said...

Maybe this is a personal quirk, but I always thought of "alley" (which is another term for a backstreet) as the entire building: "Mom, I'll be down at the bowling alley." And the "lanes" (which is a term used for roads or streets) are what are in the building. So it's another "park on the driveway, drive on the parkway" kind of thing for me.

windhover said...

Anonymous @ 6:48:
my second most fervent hope is to die before what you describe occurs.
My most fervent hope is that, assuming there are those who are working on this technology, they will
die before perfecting it or passing their knowledge on to others. Where is the god of the Tower of Babel story when we really need him?

On a happier note, Hahtool @ 7:02,
Those Egyptians were some wise people, weren't they? Reminds me of the (reputed) Benjamin Franklin
quote, "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."

Late last night I mentioned a "modest proposal" for blog conduct. Here it is:
How about we have a week when discussion of religion and politics is permissible, but the constant references and prattling about the "other" crossword blog is not? I for one am quite sick of it.
JMHO

Gracie said...

Lemonade, I love all of the Michael Connelly mysteries best. His Harry Bosch character is one that never fails to delight.

Otherwise, I enjoy serial killer type mysteries as well as simpler ones like the Barbara Parker detective novels set in south Florida.

I've read a few of the Sue Grafton novels, but they never really captured me. I enjoy an occasional Dennis LeHane and Harlan Coben. And Patricia Cornwell is usually a good read.

Some of the more memorable non-mystery books I've read rather recently are Reading Lolita in Tehran and The Caged Virgin, which both have to do with women's lives under Islam. And since I traveled to Italy last year, I read some books set there, mostly memoir. One favorite of those is Persephone's Island, which is about an American woman's life in Sicily.
Gracie

Mainiac said...

Good Morning CC and All,

I was very excited to see Dan Naddor was the constructor for this Wednesday. Unfortunately my brain is mush from staying up until midnight last night and I had trouble all over the place. Slogged through Nehru, Yakima, Itasca and Gardine. I got tired of erasing quickly and went on line. When I turned the red letters on it became quite apparent I'd forgotten how to spell. Another great Naddor Wednesday. Unfortunately I wasted it on four hours sleep.

Ipo, Two and 1/2 hours from here.

Hahtool,good one! LMAO at the ice fishing joke.

Annette, I'm about to open my can of sardines with jalapenos for coffee time. I'll probably head to a job site so visitors to my office aren't offended.

Jeannie, That herring will be great today on rye with mayo, cracked pepper and a touch of garlic powder.

With those two snacks I could keep people away from me all day!

Have a good one!

lois said...

Good morning CC, et al., I thought this puzzle was going to be easy at first, but I was 'mistaken'. 16A jaw.. nehru was pure 'venom'. The perps took care of it eventually, but like Barry G, it was one letter at a time. The rest of the puzzle wasn't as hard. Cute theme, esp w/'hens' at the bottom. I have come to believe that guys jabber, yak, jaw just as much as gals do...it's just more about
'things'...and gossip sometimes too.

CC: LOL You don't just 'Rock', you "Rule"!!!

Lemonade: LMAO on your 7D. A guy after my own heart! Incidentally, I answered you the other day and just want to make sure that you saw how much I LOVED my new title -mellifluous mistress of mayhem... or M cubed. You're priceless!

Where's Chuck OTW?

It's another day off and have a big movie date today w/'Ovary Shaker'. He passed the lie detector test.

Enjoy your day. I sure will.

tfrank said...

Good morning, C.C. and pals,

This Naddor effort was a treasure compared to the week's earlier offerings. Fresher clues, clever theme, etc. I thought I could spell Nehru's first name, but forgot the second l. I had the t in 56A first, and wanted to make a rt of it, but soon saw it wasn't going to work. The perps rescued me, however. The only unknowns were Jared and mes. I have a list of months in Spanish on my desk, but no Spanish word for month.

Gracie, have you tried any of P. D. James works? Jean and I watched a film adaption of "A Taste for Death" last night; excellent! Quite a few of them are available on Netflix. We have watched four so far, and they are all well done.

This El Nino weather pattern has us all growing webs between our toes. We have had about as much rain in the last two months as we had all last year.

Have a great day.

Annette said...

Maniac: I'm sure your co-workers will thank you!

Interesting coincidence receiving a Dan Naddor puzzle on The Day The Music Died...

Dennis said...

Windhover, I'm with you 50%. I too am sick of the constant references to the 'other blog', especially from people who would never mention ours there. However, I'd not participate in a day of political/religious discussion. I don't think anything good could come from such a discussion and in fact it would probably create some ill feelings among our group. Just my opinion and of course, it's C.C.'s call anyway.

Al, I think you nailed it as far as bowling alley/lane.

Lois, LMAO at 'ovary shaker'.

Annette, that same thought crossed my mind when I was typing it.

Mainiac, Jeannie, wow, please stay downwind.

Anonymous said...

You guys are looney!

Dennis said...

anon, yes, proudly so.

kazie said...

WH,
The Germans have a saying that where there's a brewery, you don't need a bakery.

And as a response to your proposal, I can never forget that the bible was written by MEN! Very old men who wanted to be sure women were kept as underlings. A lot is also lost in translation, both linguistically and from the "original divine inspiration" that was the supposed source. Either way, it's the work of MEN.

I was part way through this before I looked and saw it was Dan's. I wasn't too surprised. The cluing was inspired, challenging, and I was already feeling the need to google. I did so for Nehru's name, because I didn't know enough to have many perps to help there either. I can't remember ever hearing his first name before, so it was a complete unknown.

I also g'ed YAKIMA, ITASCA and MAHLER. Once I got a few perps around it, NOLTE appeared too--I was thinking it was Jeff Bridges and that didn't fit. I also don't follow car racing (or any other sport for that matter) so didn't realize when INDY happens. Had a bit of trouble spelling GABARDINE too. Forgot the "R".

C.C.,
JARED annoys me too!

Dennis,
I've never followed Wheel of Fortune either, but can you buy things other than the five vowels?

I'm off to tutor for a couple of hours.

Dennis said...

Kaz, good catch. I was focused more on letters that went with 'an' and not the word 'buy'. Part of my looniness, I guess.

melissa bee said...

good morning c.c. and all,

what a difference a day makes, delightful solve today. VELDT was an unknown, but was filled in by perps without even seeing the clue. seems like we're seeing RENAL pretty regularly these days. theme answers were so 'sparkly' as c.c. would say; and although probably not by design, i liked how the ending words matched up: NEHRU JACKET and VALLEY TRANSIT.

great wow and quotes today ...

Gracie said...

tfrank, I have indeed read some of the PD James novels. His detective is Adam Dalgleish, right? And there's a young woman sidekick? Unfortunately, I can't remember any titles or story lines ... James spins a good tale for sure.
Gracie

tfrank said...

Gracie,

After my first post, I G'ed P.D.James and discovered she has written a new Dalgleish mystery I have not yet read entitled "Private Patient". I plan to read it soon. I forget the name of Adam's assistant, even though I saw her last night. Her private life gets worked into the plots and action.

I love a good mystery! I see Robert Crais has a new one out. I hope our library has it.

Gracie said...

tfrank, I'm also a frequent patron of our local library. I like to put books on reserve, I'll put the new James and the new Crais on hold!
Gracie

Anonymous said...

CC, BOWLED clue grated on this bowler too.

windhover said...

Dennis & Kazie:
My tongue was firmly in my cheek on the religion/politics part of the proposal, fully extended on the other part.

Kazie:
Old delusional men. I think they had better drugs back then than are available now. But as I said a while back, and will no doubt say again, ALL writing is propaganda, including what you just read.
Windhover, loonily.

Al said...

WH, that's true. All writing is an attempt to influence some kind of audience for any number of reasons, some of which may or may not be altruistic ones...

I've always liked this quote:

"Reading is equivalent to thinking with someone else's head instead of with one's own."
--Arthur Schopenhauer

Although, if you keep that in mind while reading anything, it should jump-start you to at least start using your own head. Which is just what he wanted you to think, I'm sure...

Gracie said...

I didn't see what prompted the comment about the bible having been written in ancient times by ancient men, but I have to say I completely agree with the statement. Without delving into religion, and hoping not to offend anyone (especially as a newly arrived guest here), let me comment that many ideas have their root in the same part of the geography and the same time. These are all rules of men, both in the sense of the gender and the sense of human rather than Divine. IMO.
Posting this with trepidation,
Gracie

Liz said...

Good morning all,
Fun puzzle, liked how valley, valor, value, venom and vied crossed. As for Nehru, knew Jaw, but relied on the perps to fill in the rest.
Lake Itasca is in Itasca State Park in northern Minnesota. It's a beautiful park with huge pine trees, great camping and trails. You can stand with one foot on each side of the "mighty" Mississippi. Worth a visit.
CC, we'll have to do something special when we're down to Dan's last puzzle. Hope it's not for a long time, though.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, There is something about a Dan Naddor puzzle that builds my confidence. They are always tough, but Dan was very considerate in that he seldom (never?) crossed a difficult fill with obscure references. I did have JAWAH----- NEHRU and the rest of the letters were easy due to the friendly perps.

So many times earlier in the week a puzzle is completed without even being aware of the crossing clues and fill. I think Dan must have enjoyed the notion of solvers jumping around from perp to perp, making sure that we see every clue and every word solution.

I particularly liked the cluster of "V" words, VALOR, VALUE, VELDT, VENOM and VIED in the center of the puzzle.

Whenever I see MAHLER, I think of the line from the the 1983 movie "Educating Rita", "Wouldn't you just die without Mahler?", spoken in a very upper class English accent, as the Sixth Symphony plays at full volume in the background. (Don't ask me why I remember this kind of trivia, I just do.)

JzB from last night. Funny and clever stuff about pilots, doctors and entrepreneurs.

WH, LOL, yeah, I can just seen that happening.

I don't read the "other blog" anyway, but when others comment on it, it doesn't bother me. Oh yes, as long as it is just a comment and not a "theirs is better than ours" recommendation.

I remember the day Buddy Holly died almost as well as I remember the Kennedy assassination. I was 16 years old and I think it was the first time I realized that young people could die just as easily as an aged person, or even a pet dog. It made a huge impression on me.

Relax Gracie, you're in the clear.

Argyle said...

The Itasca motor home line was introduced in 1975.

I knew I'd seen the name before.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Old Business

1) I queried the nice lady who runs my grandaughters' dance studio, and got this reply: In dancing we use the word pirouette to describe the turn action. Pivot is an entirely differant step. I have never used the word pivoter. So no, dancers do not think of a pirouette as a pivote. Two differant kinds of steps.

So, though turning and pivoting are generally equivalent, a pirouette is not a pivot. I stand (well, sit, actually) corrected.

Lesson is, if you're going to use jargon, check first with an expert.

2) The key of C flat has 7 flats. B only(!) has five sharps. All the same notes, but each one named differently as its enharmonic equivalent in the other scale. Frex, Fb = E. Either one is A BEAR. Brass are more comfortable in flat keys, but Cb is really awkward. The trombone positions to play the scale are 7,5,3,2,5,3,1,4. I think string players would just slash their wrists and be done with it.

3) Philanderers beware.

4) And, of course, alcohol.

The music died in 1959. Baby, back then I was too young to know what I liked.

Very nice puzzle today. Didn't notice Dan's byline till I got here. Did not INK, or even pencil-JET my was through it.

DST threw me. Wanted CRANE for STARE, and that messed me up.

Lots of J's and V's today.

And, to put one more stitch in an already tight theme, does anybody remember the NEHRU JACKET?

Cheers!
JzB

Anonymous said...

tfrank - I just finished the new Robert Crais book and it's good. I love the series and both Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are interesting characters don't you think?

Clear Ayes said...

JzB, Thanks for the clarification on PIVOTER. As I said on the day, I could see the connection, but it just made me grit my teeth. Ballet people are very fussy about their terms.

BarryG, you want to hire a guide? I'm not a native, but I do love London.

It's a social week, so I'm heading for lunch and a movie with four women friends. The plan is to see "It's Complicated". From what I understand it is pretty much a chick-flick, so it should work out just fine, not much thinking involved, just laughs with friends.

eddyB said...

Hello all.

Dennis. This time I'll keep my mouth shut.

Tinbeni. Here is to my new bottle
of Macallen. Cheers.

eddyB

Tinbeni said...

eddy b.

15a "Brewer's need" could have been clued just as easily as simply "Single____"

But NOOOOO ...

Wine, Beer, Bourbon, Rum, Gin, Vodka get to have all the fun in Crossword Puzzles.

Our beloved Blended and Single MALT Scotch is always ignored.

My Avatar is not ever going to change.

I drink Scotch, therefore I am.

A hardy Cheers back at you.
MaCallan is Smoooooth!

Jerome said...

Very nice of you, C.C. to mention my puzzle. I would, however, like to explain the difference between a brilliant superstar, Dan, and a 40 watt lightbulb, me.

I had the exact theme idea as today's puzzle. It also had to have JAW as the beginning of a theme entry. There are no words that begin with JAW that are not jaw related, which would ruin the misdirection or hidden meaning. Well, actually there is one word-JAWAHARLAL. Dan foung it. I didn't.

Nice to here from you, little brother.

Jerome said...

Foung... kind of a loony word.

tfrank said...

Anon and Gracie,

Yes I am a big fan of Crais' characters. I tried the other day to put a hold on "The First Rule" using my local library's new online system, but wound up totally defeated. I was able to search for, and find, the book, but could find no way to put a hold on it. Frustrating! I guess a phone call will be required.

WH and others,

It is impossible to make statements about the origin of the Holy Bible without breaking C.C.'s rule against religious posts and offending Christians like me. It is a good rule. Let's stick to it.

dodo said...

tfrank: IMHO P.D.James spins a good plot but I think the guy that plays Dalgleish in the series is such a stuffed shirt. Does anyone read Elizabeth George? They are also good yarns but again, why did they cast a swarthy fellow as Linley who's supposed to be fair haired?

CA,I was turned on to Mahler by another film, Death in Venice! And Dirk Bogarde was really something wasn't he? Wasn't that a Merchant/Ivory production. Bogarde wrote some mysteries, too, I believe.

tfrank said...

dodo,

I agree about Dalgleish.

I have read all of George's output and am a big fan. I don't much care for the TV versions, and agree that Inspector Lynley is badly miscast. I do like the actress that portrays his factotum Barbara, is it? She is too frumpy for words, IMHO.

Hahtoolah said...

Jerome: I did try to provide you with a response to your inquiry. Were you able to get it? I sometimes have difficulty with my email account.

Tfrank and Dodo: I, too, enjoy Elizabeth George mysteries. It has been awhile since I picked up one of her books. You reminded me I need so seek one out.

Argyle said...

Jawas

Have no idea how to stretch them to a usable length.

Jeannie said...

I am going to quit looking at the constructor’s names. It seems every time I see Dan Naddor as the constructor I have trouble. I love his clever cluing but I knew I was in trouble when I had to hit the g-spot the first two theme answers Jawaharlal Nehru and Yakima Valley. Funny to see orlon clued as a wrinkle free fabric as gabardine is as well. Not much more to comment on for the puzzle.

Mainiac, jalapeno sardines for your coffee break?

Bob said...

I didn't get to do today's puzzle until after work today. Had to think about a few of the clues, but not too long. Everything fell into place pretty easily. About right time for a Wednesday. No lookups or errors. 17 minutes.

papajim said...

been gone a long time. I finally got the password right. When I last posted, my new granson was just born. I fell running shortly after, and after 7 agonizing weeks, I finally went to a doctor. I broke the 5th metatarsal bone in my right foot. Shattered is more like it. So, in a cast and on crutches for almost a year and I now have a laptop to use during re hab, I'm back.
So, to contribute, I spent my honeymoon in the Pocono Mts. Missed ya all.
jim

eddyB said...

Hello.

Kazie. One of my favorite sayings
is: " From laughing comes crying".
Nothing to due with drinking unless
one had too many Biers.

eddyB

papajim said...

ok, some tell me how to get to my profile, my name comes in black.

Anonymous said...

tfrank@1:24: Here! Here!

The zealot got zonked, why weren`t the other statements about the Bible zonked. Fair is only fair...

KeaauRich said...

Aloha all... Some days I look at the crossword clues and I draw a complete blank. Today was one of those days. Across, Down, it made no difference - totally stumped. And then I saw 11 down (Judy Jetson's brother) and I was on my way. I can't remember where I left my keys, but I remember Elroy. Go figure...

Like Lemonade, my my mind was in the gutter (not the ALLEY or lane...) when it came to COP___. My first thought was also "a feel" and it took forever to derail that rumination.

I hate to use Google to look up answers, but had to get the spelling for Nehru's first name. My grandfather always said it was permissible to use a dictionary when solving crosswords because the person who created it probably did too. So I guess Google is an acceptable technological update.

No Hawaii words in the puzzle today. I'm crushed (but I'll get over it). Keep smiling all!

JimmyB said...

I didn't know what kind of SLOT we were looking for, so had no clue about DS_ ending in November. Now it seems so obvious! Duh!

Annette - Nice catch with the Dan Naddor puzzle on The Day the Music Died.

Speaking of which, in honor of the Big Bopper it was nice of C.C. to show us Ms. Landry wearing what might be some Chantilly Lace. I think this needs further study!

C.C. - With the summer off before starting graduate school, we spent our honeymoon frugally roaming around Europe and Great Britain. Then we settled into graduate housing 3000 miles away from either set of parents. In retrospect, that distance from family was the best way to start a marriage.

Hahtoolah said...

Nehru's daughter was Indira Gandi and Rajiv Gandi was his grandson. All were PMs of India. The latter 2 were assassinated.

Buckeye said...

Guday, all. Since my local rag never publishes the name of the x/w composer, (and since I still do them on paper with a quill) I'm always trying to guess who that person might be. I come here to get the name. I'm getting pretty good at guessing some of them.

I, too, love Scotch. I've found a local one that isn't bad. It called "Ed's" and the guy in the pick-up who sells it to me guarantees it to be at least 36 days old. The upside is it costs $2.75 a gallon. The downside is fuzzy vision after two drinks and a sharp pain the following morning - just below my right ribcage. It is very clear, though - after you strain the little chunks of charcoal out of it.

tfrank; I hope you were not offended by my silly Jesus-
Groundhog Day story of yesterday. It was not meant to be offensive.
Just silly. Occasional statements of "Faith" are not offensive nor viewed negatively here. Long Pentecostal diatribes are another matter.

Let's remain civil!

I must be off!

Jerome said...

Hahtool- I do not have your email response. I figured there was a glitch in the system. Don't fret. I understand.

carol said...

Hi C.C. and friends -

I saw Dan Naddor's name on this one and thought...oh,oh but I loved it and got almost all of it unassisted.
16A I knew it but could not spell Nehru's first name completely. Unlike CA's experience with the perp help, I didn't know 4D so was stuck.

22A was a gimme for me with Washington state being our neighbor. Yakima is a North American Indian Tribal name but I don't know what it means.

Dennis (5:30a) LOL at the politician defination.
Along that line, I'll have to vote with you on the political/religious discussions. It will only cause trouble (again)!

Lemonade: re 7D...yes, I wanted to put 'a feel' in there. Didn't we just have that discussion a month or so ago??

Dick (7:28) Remember Barry G will be with his wife!

Lois - Glad O/S passed the test and you are going out with him! 'Talk' to me later- ok?

Chickie said...

Hello All--At first glance, I thought I would have to use Google a lot for the proper names, but I plugged away and only had one mistake. That was DST. I put in I slot for the "Letter shaped opening". DSI looked ok to me as I was completely stumped by "It ends in Nov." clue! DOH!

I enjoyed the 5 "v" words all in the middle of the cw today.

Good retort, Dennis @9:06 to the Anon. @ 9:03.

Maniac, just don't microwave a left over fish dish in the company lounge/kitchen. People will reprimand you for a looong time. I know!

Papajim, I'm glad that you are on the mend. Such a long recovery.

WM just finished a large beautiful painting of Venice yesterday. Hopefully she'll share some of her thoughts with us, once again, when she isn't so busy.

IRISH JIM said...

Good evening CC and all.

Same trouble as others with Nehru's name.

Do always enjoy a Dan Naddor puzzle.

We spent our honeymoon in Hawaii. Had tkts to Fiji. So we left Honolulu on a Mon night, crossing Intl dateline, arrived in Fiji Wed morn. It was raining and the taxi driver said it was supposed to continue for 6 weeks !!!!. Left Fiji Wed night back to Honolulu arrived Wed morn. Missed Tue but got to spend Wed twice.

Lemonade714 said...

Barry G.; what a great idea, 7 years and off to London, have fun.

Gracie:

" I enjoy serial killer type mysteries." Have you read James Patterson's Alex Cross novels?

Lois, I just calls 'em as I sees 'em; glad you like.

Jerome:
The inventor of Egg Foo Young: Foung

Carol: as always, thank you.

okay where is everybody; it is almost fat Tuesday then valentines day

time for outrageous fun and games; crossword puzzles of course

Annette said...

C.C.: As far as the T-slot, imagine the nail in the photo as the long, vertical part of the letter T, and the ‘male’ portion of the piece it’s screwed into as the horizontal portion of the ‘T’. Well, that wasn’t intended to be a DF post, but it sure went there anyway!

If the word chicken is Chinese slang for a prostitute, that helps explain why I cringe when I hear guys refer to us as “chicks”!

Melissa bee: Great catch with the theme! I had a feeling there was more to the theme than the obvious, but hadn’t examined it yet. I’d like to believe it was intentional!

JzB: I clicked on your link, so sure it was going to be a photo of yourSELF in a Nehru jacket…

Maniac: I’ve thought about stealing the supply of smelly canned seafood that he keeps in his cubicle…but I’m sure he’d just buy more – and know it was me that took them! Although his desk is such a mess, he may just think the cans are hidden under all the stuff!

Chickie: At least they can avoid the lunchroom that day. I can’t avoid my desk or hold my breath for very long…

Leanne said...

As a newbie here, thank you for all your comments, very helpful to me. As I am an "import" (England) -some clues leave me clueless!!!! - I have never heard of the Jetsons - BUT - I DID know the Nehru's name - but couldn't spell it.

PJB-Chicago said...

Good Evening, all!
What a great, smart, sturdy midweek treat! Even better than an ICEE which is a high complement, they're my guilty pleasure on long walks.

I was one letter short on Nehru's first name (the R before the LAL) but I felt kinda smart for a brief moment. I believe he also starred on an spinoff TV show called L.A. RAJAH LAW. [OK, I'll leave the anagrams to Jerome for awhile!]

ELROY, as CC said, is derived from French "the King" as its more common relative Leroy. YAKIMA comes from the YAKAMA nation of Indians. Research only turned up guesses on the name: black bear(s), a bend in a river, and "to populate."

The only sport I could think of where "an alley is used" is pitching pennies, which I suspect isn't played much. I learned it from my Grandmother. She was an ace at it.

Theory: Dan slipped an X into the grid, only it was in Greek! (CHI). Clever cluing or just me grasping at air? (lol)

Bob said...

I'm very partial to Gustav Mahler's Symphony #1. You can find it on YouTube.

A Rose by any other name said...

Buckeye@ 3:20
...so now we`re bad-mouthing denominations? I`ve lurked a while and I`ve seen many "religious" diatribes. How do you tell which are, what did you call it..."Pentecostal", or Wican or even atheist?

Clear Ayes said...

I had no idea of the plot of "It's Complicated", so I was quite surprised when it turned out to be about a husband who has an affair with his ex-wife. Very coincidental, considering our conversations yesterday. Too bad I hadn't seen the movie before.....If all philandering husbands were as funny and charming as Alec Baldwin and all their inamortas were as talented and charming as Meryl Streep, I might have had a different opinion. Anyway, it was all played for laughs and everybody lived happily ever after in multi-million dollar houses in Santa Barbara.

Dodo, I was a big fan of Dirk Bogarde's "Doctor In ..." movies. I have not seen "Death in Venice", but it will soon be on my Netflix list.

Welcome, Leann. What part of England are you from? Have you been here long?

Chickie said...

Lemonade and Gracie, I too, am a mystery junkie. I have just finished a Patterson Alex Cross mystery and I also like the Women's Murder Club mysteries that he writes.

Sue Grafton's Alphabet murders are fun reads, but after a while are much the same. Lately, at our local thrift store I've found some of Margaret Truman's mysteries. I'm reading "Murder at Ford's Theatre" right now.

"The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" mysteries by Alex McCall Smith are great. They are full of common sense logic. and also give a sense of Botswana from a native's point of view. Alex McCall Smith lived in Botswana for many years.

We spent our Honeymoon in Yosemite. We've also been back almost every year since. It is one of our very favorite places on this earth. We've gone on several 50 milers in the back country with our Senior Girl Scout Troop, either starting or ending up in the park.

Our scouting days are well into the past. I'm not sure I could hack a 35 pound pack and walk 50 miles anymore, but the memories we have of those days are still vivid.

Lemonade714 said...

Well more and more newbies, welcome; fill out a complete profile, or send us pictures for the company scrapbook KQ is making for us. Rose, Buckeye is a legend, a sweetheart and very funny, that is us, relax, we really insult no one and everyone; Leann, so tell us more. Jeannie, no news? Robin no more? AimeeAya no less? Ipo no nema? Frenchie no mouthwash? Gracie no George?

Clear Ayes said...

Rose by any other name@6:54
nonsense

windhover said...

Rose BAON:
Wiccan has 2 c's

and I've heard you can tell who
the atheists are because they are not in foxholes, whatever the hell that means.

BTW:
Do you have a dog in this fight?

tFrank from this morning:
Agreed, and no
offense intended. I will be more careful.

Warren said...

Hi C.C. & gang, it was a relatively easy puzzle for Wednesday, the only sticky point was 4D: SMA crossing with the hard to spell Indian name.

For C.C.

This was a hard thing to locate but Here's

"Yakima (Ya-ki-ná, `runaway'). An important Shahaptian tribe, formerly living on both sides of the Columbia and on the northerly branches of the Yakima (formerly Tapteal) and the Wenatchee, in Washington. They are mentioned by Lewis and Clark in 1806 under the name Cutsahnim (possibly the name of a chief):"

Robin said...

Lemonade I am sitting next to you, "whoever you are I have always depended on the kindness of strangers". It is good to have a friend........

ipo said...

Merle, Nolte, Elroy--- Solving for me has become an obsession of sorts. I have 'miles to go before I sleep'---but I progress daily.
Maniac--I was in Waldoboro to revisit some childhood memories recently. (Moody's Diner).
Lemonade--better late than never--
Arizona State--master's degree
Unversity of Florida (GATOR NATION) doctorate

Leanne said...

Thank you for the welcome. I was born in Canterbury, been here for almost 8 years. Love the USA, hate the mosquitoes!! Recently became a newspaper crossword puzzle addict!

ipo said...

Frenchie--BTW thank you for the riata post the other day. You made 43 down RIATA easy.

Anonymous said...

This is a very interesting group, you can be very smart and very silly, but you sure beat the dictionary.

Anonymous said...

I have been lurking and I want to put my two cents in for yesterday. Women have much more power than anyone gave them credit for. Men are very easily controlled. For all of the females yesterday who seem to relinquish power and control to men, I am appalled. Men are easy and women are much stronger. We haver power much stronger than any man is able to resist.

carol said...

Leanne, Gracie, et al: A warm welcome!

Warren(7:43p) thanks for looking up the info on the Yakima.

Buckeye: love your choice of booze, gets you there with minimal cost (except, of course, to your liver), but hey, you only go around once in this life and if you do it right, once is enough!!

WH, Gracie, Kazie: what you guys said! These facts (and they are) will not be acknowledged though.

Lemonade714 said...

Robin:

You can come sit on my Streetcar anytime. Things tough at the old Florence Nightingale hotel? I send my best and I am here, and elsewhere.

Ipo you are right, she really lassoed that information.

Leanne, where in the US did you alight and why?

A Rose BAON said...

Hit a nerve, WH? BTW...stay out of focks wholes.

tfrank said...

Buckeye @ 3:20
I did not see your post, so no offense taken.

WH @ 7:14
Thank you.

Dennis said...

PapaJim, great to see you back. Been way too long.

Leanne, it's always great to get new 'family' members and it sounds like you'll fit right in. Welcome.

Watch the blog; you may actually see a person have a conversation with himself.

And before things escalate, let's please ignore the attempt to start a religious debate, ok?

Annette said...

Clear Ayes: I don't think I said Thank You for the info on Romeo and Juliet the other day. I appreciated the answer to my question!

JD said...

Good evening CC and all,

Like the groundhog,I
ventured out, but crawled back under the covers for 2 more days.
Couldn't pass up a D. Naddor's c/w, but, as usual, it was challenging. I can't imagine what Mr Nehru went thru in 2nd grade trying to put his complete name on his paper.

Wrong guesses: wop for bop, ramble for jabber, and eylet for t slot. Oread isn't listed in my Gr.& Roman Mythology dictionary,so I don't feel badly not knowing her.Yet, all the answers (most) are obvious when I come here.

As George Gobel once said, "Do you ever get the feeling that the world is a tuxedo and you are a pair of brown shoes?" sigh

WM..woo hoo!! So glad you did it!!!

Enjoyed the lists of mystery writers. Patricia Cornwell's older Scarpetta novels(The Body Farm, From Potter's Field) got me hooked on mysteries. They are more exciting than Patterson or Grafton. The #1 Ladies Detective Agency series are such joyful quick reads. Too bad the HBO series didn't get more viewers.Jill Scott was wonderful as Precious Ramotswe.

Annette said...

JD: I was really into the first few (5-6?) Patricia Cornwell books too.

I'm miserable if I don't have a decent book at the ready...

Anonymous said...

Good night,all.

Papa Jim: So glad you're back. And sorry to hear of your long convalescence. We've missed you.

My problem is my bad spelling. In posting thank heavens for spell check.
I had trouble with gabardine, Nehru's first name, Mahler and others.

DePauw U., U. of Ill., master's at Northwestern.

Cheers

JD said...

Just read yesterday's comments..what a fun day!

KQ- loved your scrapbooking. I have always cut out words, phrases,cartoon pictures, etc. from magazines,and brochures to decorate my pages. I have let it slide since we went digital and there are 100's of pictures.

Buckeye, loved all your entries yesterday, esp. the Jesus story!


Hahtool,I enjoyed both the news article and the ice fishing story.
You add sooo much each day. :)

JzB, marigolds also smell like barf!

Windhover, I don't think I agree with your statement about it being a waste of time attending college under the age of 25, well, maybe for some.Kids really need to leave home and learn to be responsible for their actions.

Jazzbumpa said...

Annette -

Sorry, no Nehru Jacket for me. I'm either in a tux or blue jeans. Though I recently discovered some long forgotten cords in the back of the closet, which are serving me well in the winter cold.

I imagine my parents looking down into the crib at the fat little cross-eyed slug who was me and saying, "I know - let's call him Ronald!" Dad never did like me much. I wonder what JAWAHARLAL's parents were thinking?

We got married in the court house in Dearborn, (which I do NOT recommend) drove down to Columbus to pick up the older step son at OSU, went back to Toledo and had a dinner party at Cousino's steak house. Spent our honeymoon driving all over the northwest quadrant of Ahia.

I'm an orthodox reformed evangelical Druid, but generally resist proselytizing for my favorite panacea.

Cheers!
JzB the tree-hugging trombonist

Jeannie said...

Just a few observations. I really don't like the "man bashing" posts of late. I know that some of you women made it possible for us to succeed in society (okay, college helped me) I have to say that my Mom from KY taught me to act like a lady and I really try to. I like it when a man opens a door before me, buys me a drink or dinner. If I have a flat tire on the side of the road and a guy stops by to help me I am grateful. MN nice? I hope so, and I also hope it's world-wide.

I am pretty sure that any man that contributes to this blog (minus an anon or two) would come to my rescue. Okay, that's an assumption.

Bill G. said...

JD said: The #1 Ladies Detective Agency series are such joyful quick reads. Too bad the HBO series didn't get more viewers. Jill Scott was wonderful as Precious Ramotswe.

So true. I loved the books and I like the TV series just as much. Is it continuing this year? I also loved all the other actors, especially the actress who played Grace Makutsi. Wonderful stuff!

Anonymous said...

CC
Thanks for the picture of Ali Landry that will make a great wallpaper.

melissa bee said...

dennis@9:38, i think we already saw it .. i thought it was just me.

Annette said...

I just remembered, I WAS on a honeymoon once, in a sense...

After college, the job market was about as bad as it is now. After giving up on finding a job in my hometown, I visited my sister and her fiance in Dayton, OH and finally found a job there, until the company folded a few months later.

After their wedding, they couldn't get away for a real honeymoon at the time, so the 3 of us went to King's Island amusement park for the day!

My biggest memory of that day was hearing my new b-i-l laughing and screaming his head off on the roller coaster. They had turned the cars around so you rode backwards! Believe me, it's a totally different sensation!!! I knew he was a keeper after that - they just celebrated their 25th anniversary.

Jerome said...

Lemonade- I thought of making the same connection to make up for my error. However, I thought no one could possibly be as ridiculous as me and no one would get it. It's wonderful to know I'm not alone in often going from the sublime to the more sublimer.

kazie said...

Sorry to have caused woe on the religious scene, but I didn't realize WH's proposal was a joke, and I believe discussion of any topic is healthy. Like some others said, one's beliefs should not be put down, but we should all question our own and welcome the chance to defend them verbally.

My day went downhill from there--it was the kind of day nothing gets done that you want to get done. Too much running around.

Thanks for the agreement though from Gracie and Carol.

Welcome to Leanne and any other newbies I missed. Leanne, if you read some of our bios you'll see you are definitely not the only non US original. Mosquitoes? Where are you at this time of the year with those?

Anon @9:04,
I agree and thoroughly subscribe to the "behind every great man..." theory. However, it's because men have traditionally had the official right to lord it over us that the glass ceilings exist. The only reason women have come as far as they have in our society is their will and determination to overcome all obstacles. Our strength is not in question, only the right to exercise it in all arenas.

A Rose by any other name,
Stick around and you'll learn to love Buckeye's humor and not to believe anything he says, or at least very little of it. As a humorist, he has the right to make fun of anything and we look forward to his efforts.

kazie said...

Our honeymoon was a 2000+ mile trek around the SE corner of Oz in the antipodean summer of 1972-73. Among other notable experiences was a night spent getting over a bout of food poisoning on Ninety Mile Beach near Melbourne, visiting the volcanic crater lake at Mt. Gambier, wineries in the Barossa Valley north of Adelaide and driving through the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area on our way to the national capital, Canberra. We got back to Sydney in time for the beginning of the school year at the end of January.

MamaRuth1950 said...

I'm a bit surprised by all the people who enjoy Patricia Cornwell's books. I stopped reading them because they were too creepy and violent. I enjoy Margaret Truman's books and regret that there will not be no new ones since she died last year. Other mysteries I enjoy are the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters, Marcia Muller's books featuring a woman detective in San Francisco and JD Robb's stories about a woman police detective in NYC in 2059. For dog lovers, try Susan Conant-- all her books include dogs. Rita Mae Brown has a co-author who is a cat though I enjoy her fox-hunting series more than her mysteries (the fox is followed until it goes underground and is never killed).

Can someone please give me the short answer on how to register my name and avatar?

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

MamaRuth,
I had the link in today's (Friday) write-up.