google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, March 22, 2010 Robert Fisher

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Mar 22, 2010

Monday, March 22, 2010 Robert Fisher

Theme: Body Parts - Four theme entries containing two parts of the body in a common idioms.

20A. Hopelessly, as in love: HEAD OVER HEELS

29A. Field sobriety test: FINGER TO NOSE

46A. Fierce way to fight: TOOTH AND NAIL

56A. Facetious: TONGUE IN CHEEK

And a single NAVEL (31D. Umbilicus).

Argyle here. Another serviceable Monday puzzle from Mr. Fisher. Doesn't need much explanation but still fun to do.

Across:

1A. Prefix with brewery: MICRO

6A. Quite a ways away: AFAR

10A. Field furrow maker: PLOW

14A. Like a specially formed committee: AD HOC. Latin, for this

15A. Infrequent: RARE

16A. Learn about aurally: HEAR

17A. Track shoe part: CLEAT. SPIKE would be better; CLEATS are for field games.

18A. Canon shots, briefly: PICS. Canon, the camera, not cannon, the big shooter.

19A. Dark and murky: INKY

23A. Meal remnant: ORT

24A. Cribbage piece: PEG

25A. Writer's coll. major, often: ENG.

26A. Piper in the air: CUB.
In flight. Check out the leg stuck out the door and what is that; the wash drying on the line to the tail wheel?

32A. Fossil fuel: COAL

35A. Draw a bead: AIM

36A. Keeps for later: SAVES

37A. A single time: ONCE

38A. Theater chain founded in 1904: LOEWS

41A. __ Beach, Florida: VERO. On the Atlantic side, a little over midway down to Miami.

42A. Firestone products: TIRES

44A. Bit of a chill: NIP

45A. Formerly, previously: ERST

50A. Reply: Abbr.: ANS.

51A. __, dos, tres ...: UNO

52A. '50s car embellishment: FIN. Probably should have been plural; a rare sports car may have had a single fin.

53A. "Antiques Roadshow" airer: PBS

60A. Forte of a certain "doctor": SPIN

62A. Eye blatantly: OGLE

63A. Throw with effort: HEAVE.
Caber Toss.

64A. Political alliance: PACT

65A. Mass transit option: RAIL

66A. Game show host: EMCEE

67A. "The Sun __ Rises": ALSO. The first major novel by Ernest Hemingway, 1926.

68A. Somewhat: A TAD

69A. Competed in a bee: SPELT. This will draw some comments.

Down"

1D. Virile: MACHO

2D. Work shirker: IDLER

3D. Copy from your classmate's paper, say: CHEAT

4D. Willie Nelson's "On the __ Again": ROAD.
Clip.

5D. Squid cousins: OCTOPI

6D. Broken chord, in music: ARPEGGIO. I'll leave to our experts to discuss.

7D. Expo: FAIR

8D. Shooter with a quiver: ARCHER

9D. Bristle at: RESENT. William Tell bristled at being called an archer. He used a crossbow and was known as a bowman.

10D. Golfer Mickelson: PHIL

11D. Camera's protective cap: LENS COVER

12D. Cask material: OAK

13D. Droll: WRY

21D. Bribable: VENAL. VENAL bad; VENERABLE good.

22D. They're big in Hollywood: EGOS

27D. Online surfers, e.g.: USERS

28D. Stupefy with booze: BESOT

29D. Hertz inventory: FLEET

30D. Edit: EMEND

32D. Terra __: pottery clay: COTTA. The TERRA COTTA
ARMY.

33D. Burger topper: ONION

34D. Puzzles involving quotes, usually: ACROSTICS

39D. Hall of Fame outfielder Dave or actor Paul: WINFIELD

40D. Madrid's country: SPAIN

43D. Steer clear of: SHUN

47D. Long-haired cat: ANGORA

48D. Chewy candy: NOUGAT

49D. Yard's 36: INCHES

53D. What a V-sign may mean: PEACE

54D. Slanted edge: BEVEL

55D. Trapshooting: SKEET

59D. Natural rope fiber: HEMP

60D. Place to be pampered: SPA

Answer grid.

Picture of the Day: Here is a sweet photo of our fellow LAT solver Barry G, his lovely wife from Tianjin, China and their adorable son.

Argyle

80 comments:

  1. Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - well, life's finally back to normal. For a while, anyway. The blog's been great reading these past couple weeks.

    Today's puzzle turned into a real speed run; just over 4 minutes, doing mostly acrosses. The easy theme certainly helped. By the way, I thought the theme was also a good one; it can't be easy to come up with 4 two-body-part-related phrases that fit.

    My only double-take came at the very end with 'spelt'. I know it's a legitimate past tense of 'spell', but isn't it almost exclusively British? And I agree with Argyle about cleats. We wore cleats for baseball and football; spikes were for track.

    From last night's late comments: Is 'opera' really a plural form of 'opus'?

    Today is National Goof Off Day. I need no assistance with this one.

    Today's Words of Wisdom: "If it weren't for electricity, we'd all be watching television by candlelight." -- George Gobel

    Mr. Fun Facts is back with a few that are appropriate for today's puzzle:

    - The pores in your feet release about a quarter cup of sweat a day.

    - Fingers don't have muscles.

    - Humans are the only primates that don't have pigment in the palms of their hands.

    Hope everyone had as spectacular a weekend, weather-wise, as we had here; mid-70s and a cloudless sky.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dennis,
    Great to see you back. I like seeing the Sun rises from the East. I don't believe fingers don't have muscles. Also, Dictionary does not define SPELT as an exclusive British spelling. When was the last time you fell HEAD OVER HEELS for someone?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow, what a great way to blog the puzzle, being able to do it at 5:30PM. Welcome back, Cruciverb.

    Bill G. you are a west coast Turkey.

    So, how did the Rs go, C.C.?

    This was an ambitious Monday, with four theme answers comprising eight body parts; well done. I could not think of any others, except HEAD TO TOE, and the puzzle already had HEAD, CHEEK BY JOWL, but it has a CHEEK, and dupes like FACE TO FACE or EYE TO EYE, CHEEK to CHEEK. Unless you count, “Really low blow.” KNEE TO THE GROIN .

    I do not usually do Monday’s puzzle online, and I had the hardest time getting my fingers to hit the correct keys, e.g. typing PBA, instead of PBS, then staring at AK where SKeet was supposed to be.

    I was not really familiar with VENAL confusing in my mind with VENIAL, and while I know the word ARPEGGIO and my musical son has tried to explain it to me, and I have listened to many other musicians play them, I am just tone deaf and pitch black, so it means nothing.

    NOUGAT and ACROSTIC were nice words for a Monday, and Dave WINFIELD might be a bit obscure for some non-baseball people, but he was a phenomenal athlete, at 6’6” and 220 pounds, he was drafted by all three major sports out of the University of Minnesota. He did eventually play a couple of years for the Twins, but it was past his prime. VERO Beach is hardly the most famous in Florida, but I would think UMBILICUS as NAVEL made the choice pretty easy.

    And since my sons are home brewers, MICRO was a real gimme to start my solve.

    If this overlaps what has been said, I am writing it the night before, so…enjoy the week.

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  4. C.C., the dictionary may not define it that way, but I still think 'spelt' is almost excusively used by the British.

    As to the 'head over heels' question, probably the last time I saw a picture of Marisa Miller.

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  5. Good Morning, CC and all. A fun Monday themed puzzle. After getting HEAD OVER HEELS the rest of the themed clues came easily, but it was still a fun combination of body expressions.

    I also liked seeing PICS and LENS COVER.

    Umbilicus is a strange word for a Monday's puzzle. I was not keen on the word SPELT, either, but according to my Merriam-Webster's it is a legitimate word, albeit one that is primarily British.

    Also, according to my Merriam-Webster's, "opera" is a legitimate plural of "opus".

    My favorite clue was Yard's 36 = INCHES.

    I am not inserting extraneous words into a puzzle just to prove I read late-night comments.

    QOD: If you want something said, ask a man. If you want something done, ask a woman. ~ Margaret Thatcher.

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  6. Lemonade,
    Have been rolling, un-sexily. When you said "the tongue is pulled back with the tip behind the teeth", you meant upper front teeth, correct? Also, is the R sound similar to Hebrew guttural H? I like seeing Bibi Netanyahu assailing Hamas. The way he pronounced H is very appealing to me. I used to have a crush on him.

    Dennis,
    When was that?

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  7. Argyle,
    I adored the theme and its consistent pattern. Are those connecting OVER/TO/AND/IN conjunctions or prepositions? ARPEGGIO is new to me. Dave WINFIELD (39D) is another Hall-of-Famer whose baseball cards are worthless. Like Joe Mauer, who just signed a huge contract with the Twins, and Paul Molitor, Winfield grew up in St Paul, MN.

    Hahtool,
    Re: PICS & LENS COVER and yesterday's bath undercurrent. I like how you observe grid fill now.

    Fermatprime,
    Thanks for pointing out my A TREE error yesterday as well.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Me, too, CC.

    Also, yes, the "R" sound in Hebrew is very gutteral.

    I forgot to thank Argyle for the explanation of the Piper in the Air. I didn't understand the CUB until I saw the link. I know about Piper Aircraft, but not the various models. I was trying to think of a star constellation.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Easy puzzle, typical Monday fare--11 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good morning, all,

    I don't have much to add to the comments of earlier posters. Interesting theme and a smooth flow with no hitches.

    Welcome home Dennis, Some warm spell in the Northeast. Your temp was higher than ours yesterday.

    Good job, Argyle, as usual. Favorite clue: piper in the air.

    Have a good week.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Yes. "Opus" is a word that comes into English directly from Latin. Its common Latin forms are:

    Nom S: opus
    Gen S: operis
    Dat S: operi
    Acc S: opus
    Abl S: opere
    Nom Pl: opera
    Gen Pl: operum
    Dat Pl: operibus
    Acc Pl: opera
    Abl Pl: operibus

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good morning! An easy, fun way to start the week. It's unusual for me to get the theme, but today I did. Those terra cotta soldiers are so fascinating. Does anyone know the story?

    I never remember ORT, no matter how many times I've seen it in a crossword.

    Spelt felt odd to me too, without some indication that it was a "foreign" word.

    Enjoy the day!
    Gracie

    ReplyDelete
  13. C.C., The trilling effect of letting air be pushed forward is similar to the "CH" sound used for H, but it s created in the throat for the H. Perhap if you move your tongue back from behind your upper fron teeth, as you push the air forward, you will achieve the sense of the trill and rolling the R. Part of making the sound appealing also comes from lowering the octave, using lots of air and wearing red shoes.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good morning Argyle, CC and All, a speed run this morning. No erasures and no outside help. I did not know 6D arpeggio, but the perps took care of that one. I got the theme early on and it helped solve many of the other perps.

    My favorite clues were 18A Canon shots/pics, 49D yards 36/inches and 60A Forte of a certain “doctor”/spin. At first I kept trying to insert autos for 29D, but the theme answer denied that entry. I don’t know about spelt, but so often when we question the constructors they are correct so I will let it go.

    I liked the pic of the Piper Cub as it reminded me of my early flying lessons. The Cub was the most "forgiving" of any airplane ever made. If you got into trouble you could take your hands and feet off of the controls and the plane would right itself and fly straight and level.

    Rain here today, but the week end was a thing of beauty, temps in the high 60’s and clear skies.

    Hope you all have a great Monday.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good Morning Argyle, CC and All,

    Pretty straight forward this AM. I had the same issue with Spelt which Skeet fixed. Body Parts, Hmmm....I had a different idea.

    Our Jazz Band did it! Saturday they won their division at the State Jazz festival playing Dizzy Atmosphere, Chameleon and Out of the Dog House. My oldest received a One (top rating) on his solo and 3 other musicians in the band received Musicianship Awards. The wife and I are quite proud as well as the band director, who wanted him to bring the trophy home for the weekend due to his leadership in the group.

    That made getting up for work easier this morning.

    Have a great Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Morning, all!

    Nice Monday puzzle. No hitches, although I needed all three perps to get CUB. In fact, the U was the last letter I filled into the grid (easy enough to get from USERS) and then I stared at it for a few seconds before the light bulb went off. I was thinking some three letter constellation or bird...

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  17. Nice Monday puzzle, although a few answers were a little more difficult than Monday fare. ACROSTICS was a complete unknown to me, so I needed perp help there. I agree with the cluing of SPIN, PICS and INCHES being very clever.

    WINFIELD is a gimme for anyone from Minnesota that follows baseball. Our family is uber excited about the Mauer signing. Hoping to see him play next week in Ft. Myers. We got our tickets for the last spring break game, then they suddenly made it a split team - as they have a game in New York too. Hoping they keep the big guys in Ft. Myers for the close. Should be fun either way.

    Maniac, congrats to your son. What an accomplishment.

    Barry, lovely Cannon shot of you and your family. So good to see the real you.

    Lemonade, your knee to the groin brings back horrible memories. Scares me to see the way this type of injury is displayed in the media - almost laughable most of the time. My son got a purposeful knee to the groin in 7th grade, and had to have two surgeries subsequently he swelled so badly. He has annual ultrasounds to follow-up on the ramifications of the injury. Kids have no idea what damage they can do. It was terribly emotional for him. It is definitely the type of pain that should be inflicted only when absolutely necessary. Sorry to rant, that is a little touchy for me.

    On to my day. Hope everyone has a good one.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hahtool, Bob, thanks for the info on opus/opera; never would've guessed that.

    Mainiac, congratulations! You have every reason to be proud.

    Dick, you're right about the Piper Cub. Might be the most forgiving plane ever made, and quite possibly the slowest. It was a little disconcerting, being slower than the traffic below.

    C.C., it's true that fingers don't have muscles. Movement is controlled by muscles in the hand and forearm through tendons.

    TFrank, thanks for the welcome back. Yeah, we got very lucky with the weather.

    KQ, thanks for the cringe...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Good morning, everyone, even you buzzards!

    @barryg Thanks for sharing the pic of your family. Nice looking crew there.

    @mainiac Congrats to the band and the son. That's an accomplishment that will be forever in the memory.

    @C.C.&l714 I find the discussion of pronunciation without any aural feedback a tad bit strange. Hope it's working out for you, C.C.!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Good morning Argyle and all. Easy but fun puzzle today. Agree with previous comments. No unknowns.
    Just a couple musings:

    OAK - a favorite fill. Good anglo-saxon word.
    German: Eiche
    Low german: eek
    Dutch: eik
    Latin: quercus

    Heart of Oak is the March of the Royal Navy and the Canadian Navy.

    HEMP - A strategic war material 2 centuries ago. The Brits fought the Danes in 1801 over hemp and other naval stores embargoes resulting in Adm. Nelson's famous victory at Copenhagen.
    Washington and Jefferson grew hemp. Today it is illegal to grow in the US because of drug laws.

    Enough ruminating. Enjoy the day.

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  21. CUB was an instant gimme for me - I have flown quite a lot of time in the Piper J-3L Cub (a 1939 model) and two versions of the J-4 Cub Coupe, not to mention the PA-18 Super Cub. Fine ships all.

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  22. Hey Dudley, what do you make of the string or whatever, running to the tail wheel?

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  23. Argyle - That's a common part of "Flying Farmer" airshow acts, in which a supposed local hick accidentally takes off without a real pilot aboard and, in his ignorance, flops all over the sky. The voyage is always close to the ground - close enough to snag a neighbor's vulnerable clothesline. This act is usually done in Cubs because they are such classics and because they are excellent at handling low-speed work and rough surfaced runways. It takes a really good pilot to be that bad!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Fun Monday. ACROSTICS, a quote puzzle. I'll pass, I hate puzzles with quotes.

    I like HEMP, the tough, coarse fibers of the cannabis plant used to make cordage. Hmmmm, I wonder what they do with the rest of it?

    Since I am 'a sipper' I rarely, if ever, get BESOT by my Pinch.

    BillG: I hope you enjoyed, this wasn't a turkey.

    PEACE Out!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi Argyle, C.C. & gang, I thought that today's puzzle was slightly harder than last weeks, we just missed finishing it together before my wife left for work. It only took me 5 minutes more with no assist to finish it though.


    for Gracie: the
    Terracotta Army "
    is a form of funerary art buried with the First Emperor of Qin (Qin Shi Huang, "shi huang" means the first emperor) in 210-209 BC."

    ReplyDelete
  26. Spelt is also an ingredient in Ezekiel bread (Zeke 4:9) supposedly high in nutritional value if not in actual taste, IMHO.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi gang -

    Very corporal puzzle today, and lots of fun.

    I believe I have on occasion SPELT spelled as SPELT on this very blog.

    Or maybe not. I also dream a lot, and have creative memory.

    A musical chord is composed of alternating notes of the scale. A simple example is a C Major triad, C-E-G. If played together they make a block chord. If played in sequence, they make an arpeggio.

    Bach was 325 yesterday. Not just anyone could make a profound piece of music from arpeggios and little else, but Bach could do it all. Here is the arpeggio-rich C Maj prelude from Book 1 of the Well Tempered Clavier. Written for keyboard obviously, but I love it on guitar

    Hatool -
    At the risk of veering perilously close to the political shoals, I'll say I heard that Thatcher quote just last night, re: Nancy Pelosi getting the health care act passed. That is all.

    What's happening on Cruciverb with my Mac is that I can get to the LAT archive calendar OK, but when I click on the date to retrieve the puzzle, instead of downloading, it opens what looks like a text window with all the clue phrases run together. I'm using Safari, not Firefox, and maybe that's the problem.

    You can fall HEAD OVER HEELS every day, if you're lucky enough to be married to the right person.

    Cheers!
    JzB the frequently TONGUE IN CHEEK trombonist

    ReplyDelete
  28. Barry G,
    What's your son's name again? He's going to break girls' heart when he grows up. Very handsome.

    Tinbeni,
    I am impressed by the way you follow up on each comment.

    Bill G,
    I know I am late, but here you go: TURKEY.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Good Morning All, I thought this was a really good Monday puzzle. The "Body Parts" entries were all right on. I also thought of "FOOT AND MOUTH".

    ARPEGGIO and ACROSTICS were certainly not Monday level words in my book, but polite perps brought them out.

    I'm only slightly familiar with Dave WINFIELD, but GAH and I were fans of A&E's "City Confidential" because of Paul WINFIELD's often amusing voice-over narration.

    Thanks Argyle for the Terra COTTA Army photo. I always love to see C.C.'s hometown protectors.

    Dudley@9:32, fun information on the "Flying Farmer" airshow acts.

    Dennis, about last night...also liked that one Anon put another Anon in his "opera" place. "Is NOT!", "Is TOO!" Neener...neener!!

    Bill G. I find it somewhat embarrassing to use codeword "Turkey"...wait a minute I just did. (BTW, very cute, Crockett.) If we want to know who checks the previous day's late night posts, how about.. To Everyone, Do you read the previous day's late night posts? Yes, or No. Me? Always.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Ah! Lunch time. I think I'll have a turkey club sandwich.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Jazz, having the same problem with Cruciverb as you are. I did a right click on the file and hit "Save to Downloads". Then go to downloads with AcrossLite loaded and click on it. It will bring the puzzle up. Annoying, but it worked.

    CA - I read last nights posts about half the time or more. Sometimes I don't even get to the current day posts though, especially on weekends. But I try. Obviously didn't get to last nights, making me the TURKEY!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Piper is based in Vero Beach, FL.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Good day, Argyle, C.C. and friends.

    Barry G:
    Lovely pic of your family. Your son is a cutie. It's good to know your face.

    Have I ever mentioned I love turkey?

    Maniac:
    Congratulations on your musical son, and his accomplishments as well as your jazz band. You have every right to be proud!

    I loved this puzzle. What a terrific job of cleverly including so many body parts!

    spelt: Yes, it may be legitimate, but I don't have to like it; yet I know the constructor needs an accommodation.

    Vero beach is occasionally mentioned in CSI Miami which I sometimes watch.

    Isn't hemp still used to make rope and gunny sacks?

    Fave clues:
    canon shots: pics
    draw a bead: aim

    I love "On the Road Again"; when my three sisters and I go on a road trip, we start by playing it.

    Yes, I was head orver heels in love with my late husband. He was a lovely man in every way. He died too soon of cancer.

    Venal is a good way to describe a person of low moral character. That would never apply to anyone on this blog. You are all aces!

    Have a great Monday everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  34. spelt, according to Webster's, is also a kind of wheat.

    I searched and found that jute is used for sacks and twine.

    ReplyDelete
  35. JazzB said: I can get to the LAT archive calendar OK, but when I click on the date to retrieve the puzzle, instead of downloading, it opens what looks like a text window with all the clue phrases run together.

    I'm on an IMAC with Safari. Based on a comment yesterday, I went to cruciverb and linked to the LAT. (Our paper doesn't carry the Sunday LAT.) I had no trouble downloading the puzzle which I did on line.

    JFYI

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  36. Thanks for the kind words about the family, all! You've always had a "real picture" of me available in my profile, although I admit this one is slightly more current...

    Oh, and his name is Joshua, C. C.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Piper has been in Vero Beach for a good long time now - 40 years I guess - but all of the Cubs were built in their original Lock Haven, PA plant.

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  38. Good morning Argyle, CC and all,

    It seems as if the puzzle for Bob is always a turkey-shoot.There-done.

    Enjoyed the puzzle. Canon shots was my favorite clue. Arpeggio came letter by letter, until I got an A HA!
    Besot, have read it, but never used it,Venal, a new one.

    Hemp reminded me of that Woody Harrelson fiasco where he planted some hemp seeds to challenge the state law, which did not distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana.

    My favorite micro brew is Brown Ale from Rock Bottom.Like Flat tire too..only on tap, nothing from a can. Ick

    Elia Kazan was quite the director in the 50's; so many good films and many with Marlon Brando. He was in the thick of the blacklisting which ruined many acting careers because of their political beliefs.

    Congrats Mainiac! The apple didn't fall far from the tree.

    Barry, love the shot, very cute son!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hi Argyle, C.C. and all -
    easy Monday fare. The only two I really didn't get were 39D (WINFIELD) & 38a (LOEWS)... it was the 'W' that held me up. sigh.

    Bill G - "Turkey"... I always check the previous day/night's comments the next morning. I tend to go to bed early, so I want to read what I missed before starting on the current day. I think a lot of us do that no matter where we live.

    Barry G... great picture! Nice to see the 'updated' you.

    Mainiac, congratulations to your son. Did he have to return the trophy after the weekend??

    CA (from yesterday)...LMAO at the Wheezy poem. Very clever and so true for allergy sufferers.

    Put me in the group that thought SPELT was a bit iffy. I always thought the correct past tense of spell was spelled.

    Off to our bike ride - hoping to get it done before it rains.

    ReplyDelete
  40. I read the late night comments every morning before starting in on the regular blog.

    Carol, I think you probably had a very nice ride. It looks beautiful out there, but still a tad bit on the chilly side.

    Thanks for the Anniversary wishes, all!

    a bird of a different feather...

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  41. Hello All--Monday puzzles are usually a "walk in the park" for me, but today a couple of glitches with Windfield and Loews held up that section. When I put in Finger ON nose for Field sobriety test, that made the N central area a funny fill until I realized that my "had to be correct" answer was wrong.

    A great picture, Barry. Your son will be a heartbreaker some day, if he isn't already!

    Maniac, What a great weekend your family had. Having had grandsons in music comeptitions all through high school, these parent proud moments are truly hard to beat. (No pun intended. Congratulations!

    If I've spelt any words incorrectly, please help me with the spelling in the future. When words are spelled correctly the speller is held in higher esteem!

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  42. Today's "D'oh" moment was with 49D's "Yard's 36". Somehow I first thought of BrickYARD...Indianapolis...and so on. I wracked my brain to figure out how 36 fit in. I had to leave it to the perps. INCHES..."D'oh!"

    JD, I also thought of Woody Harrelson and HEMP

    Congratulation to Mainiac's son. What an achievement!

    Barry G. I agree with C.C. and others. Your son is a very handsome young man.

    A bit of Paul WINFIELD trivia. He raised and showed black Pug dogs. GAH and I met Mr. WINFIELD at a dog show in Malibu in the late 1980's. He was a very nice man and adored his funny little dogs.

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  43. Hi.

    What is the Turkey count now?

    Did this one yesterday afternoon when the Archives came up. Needed it it after Merl's.

    Also raised a wee bit of malt to dear old Rasta.

    Off to buy some ham to finish using
    the rye and swiss.

    eddyB

    ReplyDelete
  44. Clearayes, and you an exseamstrees!

    Hemp is also used in a knitting yarn. The samples I have are quite stiff, like twine, but when it's knitted up and washed, it is as soft as cashmere! I couldn't believe it till I saw an imported scarf made of it; perfectly beautiful!

    I got today's puzzle on Cruciverb with no trouble last night. I saved it, but now I don't know how to retreive it.

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  45. Turkey! Yes, I read blogs from yesterday that I missed, as well as today's.

    C.C., after you have practiced the French R, can you record a WAV file of you for us?

    I once worked with a French colleague who had a naturally bass voice and the way he pronounced R was, if I may say so, beautiful. He was from a city called RENNES in the Brittany part of
    France. He was cool guy.

    I supposed SPELT is no worse or no better than DREAMT. Or WHILST.

    A love arpeggios, but wouldn't call them in any way "broken." Disjointed chords maybe. Bach was indeed a genius, and how the heck he coujld work so prdigiously with such a large household I don't know. Maybe he left all the child-rearing to his wife!

    I used to have a head-over-heels crush on Gina Gershon, believe it or not, and I still think Markie Post is very hot.

    In high school we had to learn (memorize) the names of all the muscles in the human body and what they do, and now that I think back on it, I don't recall any of them being in the fingers. By the way, did you read about the recent discovery of a new, tiny muscle? I forget the name of it just now.

    Barry: thanks for the pic of you and your family.

    I really likked the piper in the air clue and answer. Made me want to answer with a word having to do with music, as in "pay the piper for having played the air so well." I know nothing about airplanes, but the Piper Cub was one, the only one, I could name when I was a kid.

    Jazzbumpa, I always wanted to play the trombone. Unfortunately, the school band teacher made me take up the tenor saxophone instead, because he said the band already had enough trombone players. I never got any good at the sax, though, because the cheap saxophone my parents bought me was hard to play, especially since it was supplied with a bass clarinet mouthpiece and nobody in my family new enought to realize it. Heck, even the band teacher didn't notice it. Couldn't play any really low notes worth a darn. One day the guy next to me and I traded saxes just for the heck of it and I was amazed at how easy his was to play! I still remember him making frowny faces as he squeaked and tooted mine and couldn't control it.

    Anyway, enough triva about me. Here's wishing you all a terrific Monday.

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  46. Hello again.

    To Anon who just showed up in my
    gmail account. Re: Your 9:02 March 20th post. Get ready to protest. This is 2010 and Disney must need the the money. Amazon.com is taking pre-release orders for the new DVDs.

    eddyB

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  47. Crockett: yes, our bike ride was dry :)
    We sure had some very, very dark clouds to the north though. It was 49 when we left, so not too chilly...we have ridden when it was 35 but without wind. That is about the limit for me as far as riding temps go. Thank goodness those days are mostly gone for the season. If it is cold in the mornings, I usually ride later.

    CA: thanks for the link about the cute little pug dogs. I just love them..so sweet and friendly. I often see one or 2 on my walks, and always have to pet them, owner permitting. My favorite little dog is still the Pomeranian but I seldom see those.

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  48. It looks like more people check late posts from the previous night than I had thought. No turkeys in this group, except me maybe. I guess I was feeling frustrated spending time posting late when I was worried it might be read by very few people. I was hoping for a few responses from Scotch drinkers.

    Carol, where do you ride? I go along the bike path that runs for miles along the Pacific from Redondo Beach to north of Santa Monica. This time of year is my favorite on weekdays when it's not crowded and temperatures in the 60s. It's level. Now if I can only figure out a way to have a tailwind both ways. :>)

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  49. Bill G - we ride a 10 mile route from our house through neighborhoods so we stay away from the busier streets. The route has several medium hills and we like it better than some other routes we have tried. We started riding in 1984, and back then we would go out for 20/25 miles. There is a route that goes along the Columbia River and it's now all bike path, but it's been a while since we did that one, it's about 15 miles. We have never tired of riding so it's a good thing! Keeps ones weight down and strength up. Your ride sounds more scenic :)

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  50. 49D: So, who’s this Mr. Yard, with the 36 inches…?

    Vero Beach is popular for its outlets. Many South Floridians stop there to shop on their way to/from Orlando’s parks.

    Hmmm, does doing the crossword puzzle count as goofing off, or not?

    My sister brought back a great recipe for a salad from Tuscany using spelt! Thanks ARBAON (and Lucina) for bringing it up. I thought it was a type of food too, but couldn’t remember what until I saw your use of it as a grain. I was going to mention it, but was sure someone would thinking I was just mistakenly talking about the fish, smelt.

    When all I had left to fill was the “W”, I remembered the name Paul Winfield, but couldn’t have ID’d a photo of him, or said what he was best known for.

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  51. Gracie: Some of the Terra Cotta Warriors have been on exhibit in the US. The exhibit is currently in at the National Geographic Museum in DC until the end of March. If you can get there in the next 8 days, it is well worth seeing.

    Congratulations to your son, Mainaic, for the big win. Where was the competition held? That is very exciting. He must be very proud.

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  52. Hi everyone. Iknow most of you won't care, but Trap, and Skeetshooting are different competitions using the same tools, shotgun, and clay pigeons.In trap, shooters fire at pigeons flung from one source at various angles outward. In skeet they are flung from a "low house" and a"high house" flying left to right or visa versa. Each match is 25 shots.

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  53. A really easy puzzle today. Which is good, since I've been busy all day and want to finish up on all housework, ironing, etc. this evening. Then, if I'm given restrictions after the cataract surgery, I won't feel like I still need to be doing something. Thanks to all the well-wishers. Maybe I'll have to change my name to Cleer-Eyes after this is over!

    That is a good picture Barry. Your son looks like a child to be proud of.

    The George Gobel quote reminded me of our big ice storm in 1975. I was working for a Utility & a lot of the area was without power for days. We received many, many calls from customers wanting to know when their power would be back on. Several concluded the conversation by saying, "Well, I guess I'll just have to wrap up in a blanket and watch TV until we have power to do anything else." They seemed to think lights and heat were all that were affected.

    Dot

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  54. Dot, I wish you well on your cataract surgery, I have to have it done (both eyes) within the next year. Let me know how you do. It is done on an out patient basis now, instead of having to check into a hospital (thank goodness). Don't think the recuperation time is too bad either, CA said hers went very well.

    Had to laugh at the reference to George Gobel, he was one of my Dad's favorites. He said the funniest things and was just so natural about it, I think he was probably like that in person too. His quips from The Hollywood Squares were priceless.

    Glad I was not the only one who had the W left (39D).

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  55. Dot --

    I had minimal restrictions after each cataract surgery -- no driving until I was seeing well. Each surgery was on a Monday, and I drove a short distance on Wednesday with no difficulty.

    My surgery was done in a manner that allowed me to lean forward, etc.

    You ophthalmologist will give you a paper to read with the other eye, with various advice.


    Regarding late-night posts --

    I read the blog just once, early to mid-afternoon. I'm late today.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Dot:
    Good luck with your cataract surgery. My mother and one of my sisters went through it and both thought it went well. They were amazed at the clarity of vision afterwards.

    ReplyDelete
  57. oops, Bob..I just reread my post. I sounded very rude and not meaning to. I was just trying to use turkey really quickly and get that done. I am always impressed with your times and was trying to use turkey creatively.Tail is between my legs...slinking away.....

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  58. I always enjoyed George Gobel too. I'm sure all those very clever "ad lib" responses on Hollywood Squares were carefully crafted by the show's writers. Do you remember when he, Dean Martin and somebody else were on Johnny Carson and he said, "Do you ever feel like the world is a tuxedo and you're a pair of brown shoes"? Loved it!

    Have any of you gotten interested in the new reality show, "Undercover Boss"? I really enjoy it.

    Very interesting about no muscles in fingers.

    JD, I didn't think your post sounded rude. It was a silly idea on my part. I was surprised to find out how many went along with it and had read my late post yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
  59. I always read the late night comments before I turn off my computer about 11:00 P.M. our time here in the West. If I don't, I'm afraid I'll miss something. If that makes me a Turkey, so be it.

    Dot, my friend had cataract surgery just last week, and the only glasses she has to wear,now, are her dark glasses. She is thrilled. Good Luck tomorrow.

    Dodo--Where do you get your hemp yarn? Internet or a local yarn shop?

    ReplyDelete
  60. Dot, I had cataracts removed, one at a time, and do not recall any restrictions either time. I was able to drive the next day, and remember the lights in the grocery story seeming mighty bright.It's quick and you'll be able to goof off in no time.

    Anon @ 5:37. This is why we love our blog. So many new things have been presented to us.Thanks.

    Dick, Bob worked at the Naples airport when he was in HS.He said he would go early in the morning and prop their Piper Cub. Since he was by himself, it was kind of tricky as the plane wanted to go.He removed the blocks?, climb in, fly around, come back and open the airport. Can you imagine letting a 16 year old do that today? He did many errands for the owner, flying over to Miami.Naples was tiny back then.

    I'm going to goof off and watch DWTS. I can hear the boos. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  61. Good evening, Argyle, CC, et al., A fun puzzle and was surprised to get the theme early on for once. Well, afterall, they were body parts! And speaking of which, had to laugh at 49A 'Yard's 36'. That sent me straight to Dennis standing buck naked in his front yard during a wind storm checking out the wind direction. I'm sure 'peg' has no place in that scenario but 'head over heels' might depending on the wind speed. He'd be giving a new 'spin' as a weather vane unless he is 'fleet' of foot. I feel hi's-pain' otherwise.

    Barry G: darling son. Cute picture.

    Anon (5:37): thanks for the explanation of skeet and trap shooting. Never knew that.

    Maniac: congratulations to your son. That's quite a proud moment.
    It does a partent proud. I'm happy for you all.

    Jazz; thank you for that Bach link. It's beautiful on the guitar as well. It's always been one of my favorites on the piano.

    CA: that wheezy poem was very cute! Enjoyed it too.

    Carol: been overwhelmed fighting city gov't for school funding. We won. Plus school functions, horse shows, piano recitals, and celebrating being Irish..
    continually. Vacation starts Apr 4and so will the memories. Hope Antiqua is ready.

    Lemonade: thank you for the sweet comment the other day. You rock!

    I will be fixing a turkey dinner for Easter Saturday first tho'.

    Enjoy your night.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Bill, I thought that was a good idea.It's nice to know that most read the late posts.

    I have enjoyed the two "Undercover Boss" programs that I have watched.I noticed that last night's Danielle no longer works for that company.

    ReplyDelete
  63. J.D.: I didn't take it that way. "Turkey shoot" can mean something that's easy, as in the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" during the Battle of the Philippine Sea (June, 1944) when our relatively new F6F Hellcats downed over 400 Japanese fighters for a loss of 29.

    I saw the Terra Cotta Army exhibit in Atlanta last year. Definitely worth seeing. Emperor Qin's tomb is yet to be excavated. The army was buried nearby. Every figure is different and modeled on specific people or ethnic types. China is named for Emperor Qin (Chin).

    I've probably done more crostics than crosswords over the years. When I started on them, it took me days to complete one--with lots of outside help. I now do them "cold turkey" (there--I used the word twice) and average about an hour per puzzle using only what I know and internal logic.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Have done the puzzles, have read the blog. Today was easy, yesterday a slog. So much to catch up on, many comments to make. I've been so busy, just holdin' Drake.

    Jeannie-I feel for you having to miss the party celebrating your parents' 50th. Fun to see your Mom!

    Spitzboov-BHBTY!

    Crockett-Congrats to you and your bride!

    Mainiac-An awesome accomplishment for your son!

    Barry-Echo earlier comments on your darling son!

    CA-If I had a view like that out my kitchen window, I'd never get anything done.

    Al-Thanks for Fredericksburg.com link.

    Dot-The best to you for your cataract surgery!

    JazzB-I always enjoy your musical links and explanations of terms. Thanx!

    BillG-I have a turkey in the freezer that I plan to cook this week.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Dot, Are you going to have both eyes done at the same time? As The JVN and others mentioned, it is usual to separate the surgeries with a week or two in between. I had to wear a patch on my eye for a couple of days and then wait for another week until the other eye was operated on.

    Anon@5:37, According to several online articles, Trap shooting and Skeet shooting are different disciplines. Good catch!

    If there is any way any of you can manage it, go to Xi'an and see the Terra Cotta Warriors in person. It is a huge Bucket List item and is so worth it!

    ReplyDelete
  66. come on get it J.

    Anyway, George Gobel starred in tow movies, and one, the Birds and the Bees ws the first movie I ever saw in theater, summer of 56

    it was awful, but Lonesome George was funny

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  67. Maniac -

    I carelessly forgot to congratulate you and your son - and his whole band for their fine accomplishment.

    Congratulations.

    And me the resident jazz guy. Tsk tsk.

    I suspect there' a lot of things I forget. If I ever miss anything important, feel free to jab me here, or in an email.

    Thanks for the Mac tips to those who gave them - see, I've forgotten already.

    I'll try them out.

    We're off to T-town for my mother-in-law's birthday tomorrow.

    We're also going to VERO BEACH soon, arriving on Easter.

    Cheers!
    JzB the ahhh - what was I going to say . . .

    ReplyDelete
  68. Me too, Congrats Maniac, it is wonderful, and yes Barry G. your little guy looks awesome. Dot heal quickly and painlessly

    It is odd how many newbies we have and how many are MIA

    nite

    ReplyDelete
  69. Dot: Good luck tomorrow! Our thoughts will be with you.

    I liked George Gobel and Hollywood Squares too!

    JD: I recorded DWTS and am watching it now. :-)

    Barry G.: Nice looking family!

    Maniac: Congratulations to your son!

    ReplyDelete
  70. @lemonade714 I think the newbies and the rotation around of the older folk is a natural occurrence in any community, even this awesome virtual one!

    It's a great place to be.

    ReplyDelete
  71. What's DWTS?

    Ah, I figured it out!

    ReplyDelete
  72. Bill G.: It should be showing up in crosswords any day now... :-)

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  73. I only am slightly interested 'cause Pamela Anderson is involved. She might have rhythm in addition...

    ReplyDelete
  74. Hi CC, Argyle and folk,
    Wonderful puzzle today, it gave off a clean feel. I see the use of the word 'spelt' was bothersome to a few of us. I've reframed it to evoke a different meaning.
    Com(bined) drop competed in a bee(read): so, read it like this

    combined in a bread: SPELT

    The Other Spelt

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  75. Jazzbumpa, what is T town? Toronto?
    I loved the Bach and sang along with it till the high notes!

    Dot, Barry G., Mainiac, Argyle: What they all said...Me too.

    ReplyDelete
  76. Not at all sure what the turkey thing is all about but there you are. I go back to this blog five or six times; don't want to miss anything.....but I do (see above).

    ReplyDelete
  77. DODO: I think T-town is Toledo.

    And the turkey business is: Late last evening, Bill G wanted to find out how many people go back the morning to read the late posts from the night before. He suggested that everyone who saw his late post, include the word "turkey" somehow in thier first post the next morning (Monday).

    Good night!

    ReplyDelete
  78. Bob, I knew the meaning of turkey shoot, and I know you find most of the puzzles easy...that was the idea, but then I said "there/done" which sounded odd after I reread it.

    The Terra Cotta Warriors happened to be in Tokyo when we were there some years ago.It was just a small collection, maybe a dozen or so, but each figure, each horse, wagon was a work of art taking you way back in history.Stunning! I can't imagine seeing 1000 warriors lined up in the excavation pit. Have they built a museum around the areas that they are digging?One pit is said to have 6000 figures, each one unique.

    ReplyDelete

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