google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday March 14, 2010 Don Gagliardo

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Mar 14, 2010

Sunday March 14, 2010 Don Gagliardo

Theme: Why Not - The ending letter Y in each familiar phrase is dropped off.

23A. Attire at the UN?: WORLD WEAR(Y)

25A. Loaner policeman?: COURTESY COP(Y). I see one more untrimmed Y.

40A. Final step in a marksman's manual?: FIRE WHEN READ(Y). When ready, yes. WHEN READ confused me.

53A. Fairway shot that goes in the hole?: DRAMATIC IRON(Y). Golfers use irons when approaching the green from fairway. I always say iron shot, not just iron.

71A. Autograph candy for the Halloween visitor?: SIGN A TREAT(Y)

74A. Lawyer's sure thing?: MIGHTY CASE(Y). Mighty Casey from the great baseball poem "Casey at the Bat". One more untrimmed Y in MIGHTY.

87A. "Grey's Anatomy" leading man?: CLINICAL STUD(Y). This clue made me laugh.

102A. Unexpected piece in a chicken order?: SURPRISE PART(Y). Why "chicken order"?

119A. Russian rodent's approval?: GROUNDHOG DA(Y). Da is Russian for "yes". We often see NYET ("no") in our puzzles.

122A. Dentistry expo?: TOOTH FAIR(Y)

I liked how Don lopped off each Y at the end of each theme entry, very clear and consistent theme pattern.

After glancing at the theme title, I grokked immediately that letter Y might be cut off from theme entries. Just not sure where. So clever interpretation & application of "Why Not".

This puzzle is simpler in concept than Dan Naddor's "Why, Yes!" Sunday puzzle we had last October. Dan inserted Y sound in familiar phrases and it took me some effort to understand his gimmick due to my poor grasp of English pronunciations.

Very pleasant solving. I was engaged and had fun. A couple of question marked clues did confound me.

Across:

1. Heathrow landers until 2003, briefly: SSTS. The best SSTS clue I've seen is "Retired boomers?".

5. Cookbook meas.: TBSP. And BASIL (22. Pesto herb). Food items are always welcome!

9. Hunt down: TRACE

14. "All Day Strong" medication: ALEVE. Advil has 5 letters too.

20. Discipline: AREA

21. Tranquil disciplines: YOGAS. Nice consecutive "discipline" clue echo.

27. Ontario-born hockey legend: ORR (Bobby)

28. Suffix with Capri: OTE. Capriote.

29. Film doctor with 7 faces: LAO. "7 Faces of Dr. Lao".

31. River of Germany: EDER. ODER is also a German river.

32. Scale sequence: SO LA. And FAS (116. Followers of mis).

33. Tolkien ringbearer: FRODO. "The Lord of the Rings".

35. National park near Springdale, Utah: ZION. Have you been there?

37. Blastoff follower: ASCENT. Had a brain freeze.

39. Abode: Abbr.: RES (Residence)

43. Liqueur in a godfather cocktail: AMARETTO. Easy guess. The other ingredient is Scotch.

45. Rope loops: NOOSES

46. Hoot: RIOT

48. '60s-'70s hot spot: NAM (Vietnam)

49. B'way sellout sign: SRO (Standing Room Only)

52. Barre move: PLIE. Barre is the ballet handrail.

58. Peerage member: EARL

60. Rajiv's mother: INDIRA (Gandhi). Both assassinated.

62. "Boola Boola" singer: ELI. "Boola Boola" is Yale's fighting song.

63. Pull up stakes, slangily: RELO

64. Dolts: IDIOTS

66. Uncertain word: MAY

67. __ about: meddles: NOSES

70. Enero, e.g.: MES. Spanish for "months".

76. Longtime Tom Petty label: MCA (Music Corporation of America). Now belongs to the Universal. Got me.

78. Sch. that had a Roger Williams Dining Center: URI (University of Rhode Island). Have never heard of Roger Williams.

79. "Swan Lake" swan: ODETTE. Peeked at the answer sheet.

80. Pet food brand: IAMS. Named after the founder Paul Iams.

82. 401, in old Rome: CDI

83. Five-time speed skating gold medalist Eric: HEIDEN. His name escaped me.

86. Neutral hue: ECRU

91. Rainbow goddess: IRIS

93. Sam-I-Am's meat: HAM. Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham".

94. Digital comm. method: ASL (American Sign Language). Of course I was thinking of the electronic digital rather than my fingers.

95. FEMA part: Abbr.: EMER

96. Quixote's squire Panza: SANCHO. Sancho Panza. He has an impossible dream too.

98. Some cigarette boxes: FLIP-TOPS

107. Terhune dog: LAD. "Lad, A dog". Stumped me.

108. Quick court contest: ONE SET. Tennis court.

110. Multi-talented Danny: KAYE

111. First name in fragrances: ESTEE

112. Bird that probes mud for food: IBIS. Oh, good to know.

114. Scatter supreme: ELLA (Fitzgerald). Scatter made me think of "disperse" rather than one who scats.

115. Scribble (down): JOT

118. Little amphibian: EFT. Little newt.

125. Corner: HEM IN

126. Hi-fi pioneer Fisher: AVERY. Stranger to me.

127. Mark's successor: EURO. German mark.

128. Pres. Carter's alma mater: USNA. Only know Sen. McCain went there.

129. Flavor: TASTE

130. Frawley role: MERTZ (Fred). Ethel's husband in "I Love Lucy". Played by William Frawley. Blind spot for me.

131. Tease: RIDE. Was ignorant of this meaning.

132. English horn, e.g.: REED

Down:

1. Said "Bon voyage!" to: SAW OFF

2. "Edda" author __ Sturluson: SNORRI. He penned "The Prose Edda (or Younger Edda). Nobody to me.

3. Holy one?: TERROR. Holy terror! I wrote down TOLEDO, Jazzbumpa.

4. N.L. cap letters: STL. St. Louis Cardinals.

5. Verb for Tweety: TAWT. The Tweety Bird.

6. Arrives casually: BREEZES IN

7. Vast expanse: SEA

8. Settee settings: PARLORS. I love the sound of the clue.

9. Big name in little trains: TYCO. Now part of Mattel.

10. Milne baby: ROO. Kanga's baby in "Winnie-the-Pooh".

11. Fits of fever: AGUES

12. Bygone library feature: CARD CATALOG. Thank God for computers.

13. Admiration: ESTEEM

14. Toning targets: ABS

15. Chip brand: LAYS. Intel too.

16. Arm offerer: ESCORT

17. Bath salts scent: VIOLET. Sweet violet.

18. City near Ciudad Juárez: EL PASO. Got the answer from crosses.

24. Street corner genre: DOOWOP. Why "street corner"?

26. Elvira's lover, in a Verdi opera: ERNANI. Man, I can never remember this guy's name. He's a bandit chief.

30. Hydrocarbon suffix: ANE

34. Place for a La-Z-Boy: DEN

36. "__ a vacation!": I NEED. I do!

37. 1998 Sarah McLachlan song: ADIA. I often confuse this song title with Verdi's AIDA.

38. __ II razor: TRAC

41. New Age gurus: HOLISTS. According to Wikipeidia, the general principle of holism was concisely summarized by Aristotle in the Metaphysics: "The whole is more than the sum of its parts". I don't understand the "New Age" connection.

42. It may be imposing: ARRAY. Great clue.

44. Kaffiyeh-clad ruler: EMIR

47. "__: The Final Conflict": 1981 horror sequel: OMEN III. No idea. See this poster. I've never heard of any of the Omens series.

49. Groundbreaking?: SEISMIC. And RADICAL (50. Groundbreaking). Fantastic pair of clues.

51. Paper tiger, perhaps: ORIGAMI. Nice clue too. Chairman Mao called US "Paper Tiger".

53. "Fiddlesticks!": DRAT

54. Gomez's wife, affectionately: TISH. "The Addams Family".

55. Chance to get even: REMATCH

56. Fat substitute: OLESTRA. OL (eo) + alteration of (poly) Ester. New fake fat to me.

57. Tiny gnat: NO-SEE-UM. So called because it's hard to see 'um. Yet one more unknown to me.

59. Chaney of horror: LON

61. Poetry movement promoted by Amy Lowell: IMAGISM. Faintly remember Clear Ayes brought us a imagism poem from her.

65. Sigma follower: TAU

68. Some athletic shoes: ETONICS. I like their golf shoes.

69. Chaplin's half brother: SYD. Who knows?

73. 1981 Ross/Richie duet: ENDLESS LOVE. Here is the clip.

74. Wilbur's horse: MR. ED. "A horse is a horse, of course, of course".

75. 2.0: CEE. 2.0 average.

78. Freedom, in Swahili: UHURU. Nope. Not in my memory file. It's pronounced as oo-HOO-roo.

81. Cinch: SNAP

84. Book with a key: DIARY

85. "Sixteen Tons" singer: ERNIE FORD. Here is the clip.

89. Duplicated: CLONED. Penned in COPIED first.

90. Driving need?: TEST. The question marks made me think of golf and TEE(S).

92. "Jeepers!": SHEESH

96. Frying pan mishap: SPATTER

97. Word after photo: OPS. Photo ops.

98. Standby's desire: FLIGHT

99. Tar pits locale: LA BREA. La Brea Tar Pits. La Brea = "the tar" in Spanish.

100. Language learner's challenges: IDIOMS. So true. Slang too.

101. The "P" in P.G. Wodehouse: PELHAM. No, no. Too obscure for me.

103. Studio that made nine of the ten Astaire/Rogers films: RKO

104. Feeling no stress: AT EASE

105. Make genteel: REFINE

106. Monopoly's railroads, e.g.: TETRAD. Group of four.

109. Psyched up: EAGER

113. Exec: SUIT. Slang for business executive.

115. Rapper who co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records: JAY- Z. Very business savvy. Married to Beyoncé.

120. 22.5 deg.: NNE. I forgot the rationale for this clue again.

121. "__ & the Women": 2000 Gere film: DR. T. Is it a good movie?

123. Non's opposite: OUI. Oh, oui, Je t'aime.

124. It may fly in a fight: FUR. Idiom "make the fur fly" = Cause a fight.

Answer grid.

C.C.

57 comments:

  1. The Y - trimmed or untrimmed - it's all a matter of personal preference isn't it? Does anyone want to say?

    My puzzle this morning is the Sabrina Walden from 3/7. Look forward to this one next Sunday. A week isn't bad considering I'm a century behind in the rest of my life.

    Forty lambs so far.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Windhover,
    Knotty, knotty Y comment! I am glad you are still the old self after the tractor fall. What does the Mizer mean is Wood-Mizer?

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  3. Good morning CC,
    I am totally innocent! ;-).
    I was only picking up on your 25A comment.
    As for my fall, it was much less significant that the Fall (in Eden) that we see in our puzzles.
    Not to get too serious, but the Mizer in
    Woodmizer refers to the fact that this type of sawmill (thin kerf band blade) yields more wood and less waste than a conventional circular saw blade.
    How do you like the time change? It works well for me, because I am normally a slow morning person (even though I rise early) and tend to get more done in the afternoon. I usually work until sunset, whatever time that occurs. Is your Minnesota winter finally over?

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  4. Morning, all!

    Fairly straightforward Sunday effort for me, except I had to make a completely wild guess at the crossing of HEIDEN and ETONICS. I just picked a letter that I thought could be pronounceable. I suppose it could have been HEIDER and ETORICS, but the N just looked better for some reason.

    We're drowning here in the NE today, but it's better than snow...

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  5. Windhover,
    So the Mizer is playing on miser? The time change does not affect me at all. I've always been an earlier riser. Yes, I think the winter is ending here, though we sometimes get heavy snow in March.

    Chickie,
    What kind of vinegar do you sprinkle over your sautéed greens? Any special planning for tomorrow?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good Morning, CC. Since this puzzle had a title (Why Not), I realized immediately to look for the missing "Y". I had fun looking for this missing letter.

    My favorite theme clue was Unexpected Piece in a Chicken Order. SURPRISE PART(Y) After all, Parts is Parts.

    There were some fun clues. I especially liked Arm Offerer (ESCORT) and Paper Tiger (ORIGAMI).

    Having lived for years in New England, I knew about Roger Williams was from Rhode Island, hence, URI. I've never been to Utah, but I still knew about the ZION National Park.

    Learned LA BREA tar pits through this blog.

    Happy DST!

    QOD: Alimony is like buying hay for a dead horse. ~ Groucho Marx

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  7. How did you miss that the scale goes SOL la, not SO la???

    ReplyDelete
  8. Dave, if you read C.C.'s mini-biography on the blog's main page, you'll see that English is not her native language. She's done a remarkable job of learning the language, but even those of us who have been here all our lives still learn something new virtually every day.

    I do hope your post made you feel better.

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  9. Good morning C.C. and All, a total crash and burn for me today. Never got in sync with the constructor and never got the theme. Once the theme was revealed, here, it all made a lot of sense, but by then it was too late for me.

    I think I will go to the gym and lick my wounds.

    Windover, nice take on the "Y".

    Looks like the worst flooding is over and we did not get it as bad as predicted.

    Dennis, did it warm up in Florida?

    Hope you all have a great Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good morning C.C. et al.

    Well as with most Sundays, lots of different stuff going on; I really enjoy much of Dan’s cluing, such as Digital comm. method: ASL, Paper tiger, perhaps: ORIGAMI, and the obscure knowledge that is attainable to geeks like Freedom, in Swahili: UHURU, who is the communications officer on Star Trek, played by ZOE SALDANA in the new movie. Of course there was really obscure stuff like The "P" in P.G. Wodehouse: PELHMA, Sturluson: SNORRI, but when the puzzle is so big…

    Actually,
    Roger Williams
    was one of the most important people in the early days of colonization, leading not only the formation of Rhode Island, but truly promoting religious freedom for all, including Jews and Native Americans and causing Rhode Island to pass a ban on slavery in 1652.

    Of course I also grew up enjoying Mr. Piano .

    C.C., you said, Longtime Tom Petty label: MCA (Music Corporation of America). Now belongs to the Universal. The story of MCA/UNIVERSAL is so much more complicated, but in fact MCA bought Universal many years ago. When I negotiated my first record deal in the late 70s, it was with MCA and I traveled to their home office many times, fighting for support for the album. The fun part was because they owned Universal, we (me and the band members and crew) got to play at Universal Studios when the park was closed to the public. Much Fun. I think Geffen owns the music part now.

    The experience was a mixed blessing, as the president of MCA was BOB SINER who was not a great music person, and was replaced not long after the band signed, treating them much like was explained in this link.

    We went through the whole SO, SOL thing months ago, and while not always agreed upon, both are acceptable. So Dave, do your research before you post, try to do it without achip on your shoulder and go away if you are not here to have agood time.

    Enjoy, I must work, and my son and his wife landed safely back in Buffalo, so I can think about work.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Dick, absolutely perfect weather all week. Couldn't have asked for better. Our Florida residents have been perfect hosts.

    Windhover, trimmed for sure. I prefer the sharpei...

    ReplyDelete
  12. The puzzle was fun today-
    let's make lemonade out of lemons, rather than being sour and treating our fellow posters with negativity.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chávarri del Castillo was born on September 13, 1922,[4] in Ichocán, Cajamarca,[5] Peru. Although she claimed to have been born on September 10, "her personal assistant, who claimed to have seen her birth certificate, gave her date of birth as September 13, 1922."[6] Other dates mentioned in her various biographies range from 1921 to 1929. Some sources[7] claim that she was not born in Ichocán, but in a nearby village or possibly, in Lima, and that her family owned a ranch in Ichocán where she spent most of her early life. Stories published in the 1950s claimed that she was an Incan princess, directly descended from Atahualpa. A story claiming that she was born Amy Camus—Yma Sumac backwards—in Brooklyn or Canada was fabricated while she was performing in New York City in the early 1950s.

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  14. Good Morning All, I got all the theme answers and then some. I spent several minutes wondering how 98A FLIP TOPS(Y) was a familiar phrase. I know, it was marked with a "?", but it was late at night and was soon to be later. D'OH!

    I was ashamed of myself when I insisted on putting IMAGIST in the 61D spot. Sorry about that Amy.

    I had a heck of a time with understanding ELLA as 114D "Scatter supreme", and we have the whole CD series of "Ella Fitzgerald Songbooks"

    Why am I still missing the meaning of FAS "Followers of mis"?

    I loved "Groundbreaking?" for 49D SEISMIC and "Groundbreaking" for 50D RADICAL.

    ReplyDelete
  15. A correction is called for on this one. Not "was", but "wasn't" marked with a "?".

    ReplyDelete
  16. do re mi FA
    do re mi FA
    do re mi FA

    FAs follow MIs

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh, I just got it. As in Do Re Mi Fa Sol (Hi Dave!) La Ti Do. Double D'OH" for me this morning.

    ReplyDelete
  18. @C.C. Good Old Accapella Doo Wop is "street corner music" because in its purest form there are no instruments other than the human voice. Music like that can be made anywhere, you don't need a recording studio. Drawn out doo sounds are like a strings section and wop sounds are the accompaniment bass.

    From JSTOR:
    New Age has been reported to be an exemplary religion of modernity, that emphasizes the importance of autonomy and self-development. New Age individuals adopt an individualist out-look similar to that of nonreligious people, but also define themselves using a set of abstract holistic self-concepts, show avoidance of competitive goals, and stress values of universalism. We call this pattern "holistic individualism" for its fusion of an individualistic value orientation with highly abstract holistic perceptions of the self.

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  19. Dr T and the Women had mixed reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Personally, that's two hours of my life I wish I could get back.

    ReplyDelete
  20. This was both fun and frustrating. I caved to red letter help to get her done, as there were enough unknowns that kept me from finishing without. Lots of clever clues though. I loved Holy one, Sam-I-Am's meat as well as all the theme clues and the Groundbreaking pair. Danny Kaye is one of my favorite performers ever, but I have heard that he wasn't such a nice person as he seemed on film:-(

    I believe no-see-ums are prevalent in Florida. Never heard of them until I was watching my daughter golf near the Ocala area. You really cannot see them, and for that matter I didn't even feel them until I started itching like mad from their bites.

    CC, thanks for always parsing out answers like ELLA and FAS.

    The time change has me particularly crabby this am. Not only haven't I slept well all week, but the boys were out late last night, and I had to rise really early to pick up my mom from the airport. Then I was in the car driving for a good 3 hours by the time I got them, took they and their friends home, and had to haul my kid to am baseball practice and back. One tired lady here. No time for a good nap either, so I hope that I sleep well tonight!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Question: (My blog name is an acronym for "A rose by any other name...")
    I`ve wondered, how you say/what they mean, these blog names:
    Hahtool, Spitzboov, Windhover, Jazzbumpa
    If any of you are in Witness Protection...I`ll understand.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Arbaon:

    Do not be troubled: my blog name is Low German for "bandit' 'rascal' or 'rogue', any of which, if caught, can get one into the witness protection program.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Rosie:

    That is one of the funniest lines yet here at the corner.

    But for the silly movie from Larry the Cable Guy, I would call us part of WITLESS PROTECTION , which did introduce me to the fetching IVANA MILICEVIC clearly one of the best things from Sarajevo, who shows me about 850 millihelens worth of smile.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Great, fun puzzle, Don! I enjoyed seeing references to recent conversations on the blog. You could tell the constructor was a "family member".

    Dennis/Windhover: The "Grey's Anatomy" reference JD made last night was to a storyline about a mature, no-nonsense, surgeon starting her first relationship in many years and a friend telling her the thing to do was schedule a little landscaping of the "Y" zone. She played the story so well, one of the best laughs I've had in a while!

    71A - I couldn't parse the answer until I came here. I was seeing it as SIGNA TREAT... Had trouble parsing 57D into NO-SEE-UM too, although I have had MORE than my share of experiences with them!

    110A: Multi-talented Danny: KAYE Luckily, I'd just watched one of his movies yesterday and was dazzled by his range of skills. I've always loved his movies. KQ, I thought I'd read something negative about him years ago, but couldn't remember what. Have you seen his more dramatic movie, "The Five Pennies"?

    To answer C.C.'s questions: I didn't know Chaplin's half-bro SYD either, and haven't been to Zion. I thought the movie 'Dr. T and the Women' was worth seeing once, but not one I've been interested in seeing a 2nd time.

    Not being a singer or musician, my knowledge of the scale came from the 'Do, Re, Mi' song in the movie "Sound of Music". When it explains SOL, it describes 'a needle pulling thread', so I grew up thinking it was SO. It wasn't until I came to this blog that heard it was SOL. Based on the song, I'm lucky I didn't grow up thinking it was DOE RAY ME FAR SEW LA TEA DOE!

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  25. And a good day to you all.

    It was a nice "little" Sunday puzzle. Finished it while listening/watching the IRL on line.

    Comcast and direcTV are still having their pissing contest over fees.

    Nothing much happening on the Falcon cam. Clara sitting on the three eggs 24/7 and Esteban is standing guard.

    My three train HO layout has Tyco rails and rolling stock. Just bought a wye section.

    My Etonic golf shoes have rubber cleats so I don't have to take them off when I enter the club house.

    Having problems with this machine and the google account.

    Better?

    eddyB

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi gang -

    How ya doin' Eddie?

    WH - Trimmed is OK, but shorn just seems wrong.

    Fun theme today, but the rest of the puzzle beat me up pretty bad. Truth is - I got nuthin' Maybe it's the time change. I dunno. Definitely out of sorts today.

    Easiest fill for me was SNORRI Sturluson. Seriously. I retain the oddest things.

    Holy Toledo, the trip there is a TERROR now, with construction on I-75 and I-275.

    Rose -
    I wanted BUMPA for my screen name, since that's what my grandchildren call me, but it was already taken. So I put JAZZ in front of it JazzAndClassicalBumpa is just too unwieldy.

    Don't need witness protection, but I do guard my real identity. I wrote a letter to the editor of the Toledo Blade one time, criticizing an editorial by the idiot Jack Kelly, and it got printed. I came home from work the next day, and there was a long, rambling hate message on my answering machine. And I live in Michigan. It was pretty disturbing.

    I'm very outspoken, on my blog and other people's. There's crazies out there, and them's got guns.

    Dinner time. Gotta run.

    Cheers!
    JzB the cautious trombonist

    ReplyDelete
  27. Jazz. I'm doing great. Took some little, green happy pills. BTW, I have my service colt and the lever action rifle.

    Everyone. Have a piece of Pi today.

    I finally figured out how to post
    a photo of a photo that I took in the mid 70s. It will be my avatar.

    Let's see if I can access my google account now.

    eddyB

    ReplyDelete
  28. I saw a few cute word puzzles I thought some of you might enjoy.

    1) What's the longest common word that is normally typed with only the left hand?

    2) Can you think of a word with two apostrophes? Three?

    3) Jack Benny said - The longest word in the English language is what follows, "And now, a word from our sponsor."

    ReplyDelete
  29. EddyB suggested having a piece of pi today.

    I did, at 1:59.

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  30. ARBAON:
    everyone else is 'fessing up, I may as well, too.
    The Windhover is the title of a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins, a semi-famous dead white guy. Hopkins was born an Anglican but converted to Catholicism and became a priest. He had a mystic's fascination with nature and its glory (as do I), which he attributed to God (which I do not), and his poetry reflects his outlook. I loved the imagry in this poem, and used it as a farm name and my Handle here. Another beautiful poem by Hopkins is "Pied Beauty". You can find either by googling the title and Hopkins' name.

    CA ?

    18

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hi C.C. & gang, it was a clever puzzle again today, we did it together as usual, I print out both the blank puzzle and answers on the back when we get stuck.

    for Jeannie, we marinated a pork loin roast overnight using your instructions and I'll let you know how it turns out. My wife said that the marinade smells very good, in the past all we've done is buy pre-marinated ones...

    ReplyDelete
  32. Bill G: your #2 question

    bo's'n

    fo'c's'le

    ReplyDelete
  33. Spitzboov: Excellent! I saw that word in a puzzle recently and it stuck in my brain. A sailor's argot seems interesting to me. Ahoy, avast, fo'c's'le, alee, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Annette. You betcha. Pi = C/d.
    The larger d is the more pie you get. BTW. I used your instructions
    of 1/24/2010 to post my Avatar.

    Thank you.

    The river flooding wasn't very bad
    at the Point after all.

    eddyB

    ReplyDelete
  35. BillG, if I remember correctly, it's stewardesses. Also if I remember correctly, they usually required two hands...

    ReplyDelete
  36. Here are some others from wisegeek re left hand:

    aftertastes
    afterwards
    cabbages
    crabgrasses
    databases
    desegregated
    gazettes
    readdressed
    reverberated
    stagecraft
    steadfast
    stewardesses
    sweetbreads
    tradecrafts
    vertebrates
    wastewaters
    watercrafts
    watercress

    ReplyDelete
  37. The blog name Clear Ayes applies for several reasons. The first one is that I had cataract surgery about a year or so before I started posting on this blog. I had no idea that the world had been so fuzzy.

    The second reason is that I spent a lot of years not voicing my opinion and I finally (after 50+ years) decided that my opinion was just as valid as anyone else. Now I won't shut up. Say it loud and clear!

    The last reason is that I am a positive person. Given a choice between "Nay" and "Aye", I am going to say "The ayes have it!". Life is short. Enjoy it while it lasts.

    WH, You got it, buddy.

    Pied Beauty

    GLORY be to God for dappled things—
    For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
    For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
    Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
    Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;
    And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

    All things counter, original, spare, strange;
    Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
    With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
    He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
    Praise him.

    - Gerard Manley Hopkins, written in 1918

    ReplyDelete
  38. Good evening C.C. and all:
    This clever puzzle almost did me in although I did manage about 95 percent before I had to yell"google".

    The y omission helped and I chuckled over the answers. That sly Mr. Gagliardo no doubt thought, "I'll get those puzzlers yet!"

    Fav clues: groundbreaking, both, of course, paper tiger, scatter supreme, loved it.

    It's amazing how many I recalled, such as Eric Heiden (did everyone notice he was the doctor at the Vancouver Olympics?) Talk about skating to success!

    Swan lake is one of my fav ballets so Odette swam in and some answers just filled themselves when everything else around them fell in.

    AZ does not observe DST so we never change the time here. We tried it one year and it was painful. Think about it: 110 dgs. in mid July. No, no.

    Windhover:
    Y, whatever did you mean! I'm shocked, I tell you, shocked, shocked, especially on this blog.

    Have a great evening all.

    ReplyDelete
  39. I meant to say, 110 dgs. at 9 P.M. in mid July or August.

    Lucina is my given name after my maternal grandmother. Many people call me Lucy.

    ReplyDelete
  40. CA:
    Thank you, darlin', as ever.

    And your opinions are not only "just as valid", they are head and shoulders above most. I suspect that is not only the result of the 50+ years of experience, but was always true.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Lucy said: I meant to say, 110 dgs. at 9 P.M. in mid July or August.

    Yeah, but it's a dry heat...

    That's way too many BTUs for me. When Manhattan Beach gets above 75, I start to wish I had central A/C. I do envy you for avoiding the disconcerting time changes.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Lucina:
    Sorry for the shock; may I please blame it on my recent fall? I need to get all the mileage possible out of that.

    I notice that very few ventured to answer the question (Dennis: me, too), and for my own answer I will yield to the randiest of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin
    Franklin.
    That's five for me. Adios, amigos.

    ReplyDelete
  43. So Windhover, does your sheep-shearing expertise carry over into, how shall I put it, other shearing or trimming areas of expertise? Inquiring minds want to know.

    ReplyDelete
  44. WH: I always thought some things were best kept a mystery. Part of the reward earned from the search was the discovery of the answers you seek.

    Bill G: Great question!

    eddyB: I'm glad the instructions worked for you. Tell us about your avatar. This evening, I've been going through a bunch of photos I'd just copied to this laptop. I saw a vacation photo of The Point, and wondered how it held up to the severe flooding they were expecting. Thanks for the update.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Windhover, are you a manscaper? Knotty naughty....

    Okay, it is clearly time for bed; and as you can see from my avatar, I always kept my beard well trimmed.

    and speaking of heat, many years ago, I flew into Las vegas on a day it was 100 degrees and the pilot said it was dry heat; well when I stuck my head out the door, I knkew he was right, because it was the same sensation when I opened the oven when I was warming food. Ovens are very dry heat, and 110 wil keep cooked food warm, and slowly cook uncooked things, like me!

    ReplyDelete
  46. BillG
    After I had my right hand smashed last year every word I typed was only with the left hand for three months.

    EddyB
    Great Avatar!

    Godfather: 1.5 oz Scotch, 0.5 oz AMARETTO.
    75% Good stuff ... 25% gets the clue/answer.

    Me, I get 100% Pinch tonight.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Lucinda. I think the year you are thinking about was 1966. That is
    the year we moved to Tempe. No DST
    that year. We would have torch parties poolside at midnight.

    Annette. Most of the heavy rain fell SE of the city. Pitt would have been a mess. The water only got up to the circular fountain.
    Info per KDKA.com.

    The photo is of Brian after we moved to San Jose.
    The Speedway invited him and a guest to the 500. I'll wave if I get on camera.

    My name is Ed and the last name starts with a B. Also, college friends called me eddy

    eddyB

    ReplyDelete
  48. Thank you all for sharing how your names "came about." Still haven`t heard from Hahtool (really want to know how to pronounce it, too.

    LM714: I`ve already revealed too much background info, since I really am in a type of "protection." Suffice it to say that I`m 7` even, male, bald and hair-lipped. That oughta narrow it down for the "Family."

    ReplyDelete
  49. : (One of my Favorites...)

    The Windhover

    To Christ Our Lord

    I caught this morning morning’s minion, king-
    dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding
    Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding
    High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing
    In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,
    As a skate’s heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend the hurl and gliding
    Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding
    Stirred for a bird — the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!

    Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here
    Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion
    Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

    No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion
    Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,
    Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

    ReplyDelete
  50. WH, thank you, my dear.

    Here I go...loud and clear...the reason I didn't answer "Does anyone want to say?" wasn't because I was shy, but because at the beginning of today's posts I wasn't sure if the ...Ahem...trimmed or untrimmed "Y" referred to a Brazilian/bikini wax, or...possibly circumcision. There are preferences there as well. Hey, think about it, it could have been...so, my answer is "Yes" and "No"

    That's it for me. I'll leave you to ponder. I'm going to catch up on some needed sleep.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Annette,

    Haven't seen that one. I will have to watch it someday. My all time favorite movie is White Christmas where Danny Kaye is of course fabulous - along with the entire cast (Bing Crosby had similar reports written about him, and I have seen interviews that do not paint him in such a spectacular light either). But I simply loved him as Hans Christian Andersen also.

    ReplyDelete
  52. Wh:
    I hope you are familiar with the scene in the movie, Casablanca, when Peter Lorre says:

    I'm shocked, shocked that there's gambling in this place.

    He then proceeds to cash in his chips!

    Please don't think that you caused me any real shock. I love the bantering.

    ReplyDelete
  53. There are cultures where women are circumcised as well as men; if you want to know more, follow the LINK but it may be upsetting.

    Personally I cannot imagine a brazilian wax not being terrible painful, and I guess it needs to repeated periodically...

    ReplyDelete
  54. I have always preferred the look of clean cut men...no turtle necks, either.
    "Manscaping" issues have been brought up and well...make your own decision on this one. Personally, it's not for my tastes.
    Body Hair Turnoffs

    ReplyDelete

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