google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday March 31, 2010 Jennifer Nutt

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Mar 31, 2010

Wednesday March 31, 2010 Jennifer Nutt

Theme: FOOT PARTS (35A. This puzzle's theme if you listen to the beginnings of 20-, 40- and 59-Across and 11-Down) - The start of each theme answer is a homophone of foot part.

20A. Proverbial advice to a physician: HEAL THYSELF. (Heel). The epithet of St Luke, a patron saint of doctors, as used by Paul in Colossians 4:14. Early 15th century King James version, the meaning is that before attempting to correct others you should make sure that you are not guilty of the same faults. "First do no harm" is part of the Hippocratic oath all doctors must take. If you read the warnings about any drug, "no" must have a rather loose definition.

40A. Scold vigorously: BAWL OUT. (Ball).

59A. Certain no-parking area: TOW-AWAY ZONE. (Toe).

11A. Motown genre: SOUL MUSIC. (Sole). Also a book by Terry Pratchett.

Al here, guesting once more. Yesterday's many three-letter answers have been upgraded to fours and fives, but still a pretty easy puzzle for a Wednesday.

Across:

1. Basic Latin lesson word: AMAT. He/She/It loves.

5. Bedtime story preceder, perhaps: BATH.

9. '70s dance club: DISCO.

14. Dancer Falana: LOLA. Appeared on the Muppet Show and posed for Playboy. Not at the same time.

15. Canyon effect: ECHO. A nymph in Greek tragedy who was condemned to speak only by repeating what others had spoken. She also fell in love with Narcissus, who did not return her love, so Echo prayed that he would fall in love with himself. On his death he was transformed into the flower narcissus and as some varieties of this flower contain a sleep-inducing drug, the word "narcotic" was used to describe it. So, from the interwoven Greek myth, we have gained the word "echo", "narcissism" meaning self love, "narcissus" the flower and "narcotic" the effects of certain drugs.

16. Not whispered: ALOUD.

17. Response bias may affect one: POLL. Very difficult to compose neutral questions, especially around politics. Do they really care about your responses? Or is the whole point to simply influence the person being polled without seeming to...

18. Weak, as a novel plot: THIN.

19. Piccolo, e.g.: FLUTE. A half-sized one.

23. "__ Miz": LES. Les Misérables, the miserable ones.

24. Stick: ADHERE.

25. Reasoned belief in a supreme being: DEISM. Derived from the latin word "Deus", meaning god, which also gave us Zeus.

27. Scaredy-cat: SISSY.

30. Appoint as a posse member, say: DEPUTE. This word is technically correct, but my preference outside of crosswords would be to use "deputize" instead. Too many old westerns, perhaps.

33. Huck's transport: RAFT. Huckleberry Finn.

36. Consider: DEEM. To pronounce judgment on something or someone.

38. Obama's younger daughter: SASHA. Natasha. Her older sister is Nalia, lots of vowels and common consonants. (Correction: It's Malia, not Nalia.)

39. "The Name of the Rose" writer: ECO. Umberto.

42. Damaged, as mdse.: IRR. Irregular is not necessarily damaged. Navajo blankets anyone?

43. BP merger partner: AMOCO. Beyond Petroleum. They kind of downplayed the original British Petroleum name when they bought the AMerican Oil CO.

45. Stretch of time: SPAN. Interminable if you are forced to watch C-SPAN.

46. Bra size: B-CUP. Made you look...

47. Falling star: METEOR. Meteor vs meteorite vs meteoroid

49. Lesley of "60 Minutes": STAHL.

51. Model's array: POSES. What were they thinking?

53. "Get lost!": BEAT IT. Don't 'cha make me repeat it.

57. Defense gp.?: ABA. American Bar Association. Why "Bar"? In the 1550s, from the railing that separated benchers from the hall in the Inns of Court. Students who had attained a certain standing were "called" to it to take part in the important exercises of the house. After c.1600, however, this was popularly assumed to mean the bar in a courtroom, which was the wooden railing marking off the area around the judge's seat, where prisoners stood for arraignment and where a barrister stood to plead.

62. Brink: VERGE. Edge, rim. Different origin than Converge, which is "bent together".

64. Hit the ground: ALIT.

65. 1814-'15 exile site: ELBA. Napoleon technically ruled there during exile, but wasn't allowed to leave.

66. River romper: OTTER.

67. Titicaca, for one: LAKE. Borders on Peru and Bolivia, one of the highest navigable lakes in the world. The largest lake in South America by volume.

68. Cause a stench: REEK.

69. Natural homes: NESTS.

70. Author Bagnold: ENID. National Velvet.

71. Norms: Abbr.: STDS. Standards.

Down:

1. Top dog: ALPHA.

2. Was heard from the herd: MOOED.

3. Muslim god: ALLAH. Apparently has more than 99 names.

4. Like a basketball team's center, usually: TALLEST.

5. National Institutes of Health city: BETHESDA. Maryland.

6. In need of a massage: ACHY. I'll spare you from linking Billy Ray Cyrus today...

7. "Now hear __!": THIS.

8. Sharpened: HONED.

9. Most goofy: DAFFIEST.

10. Laid up: ILL.

12. Adorable: CUTE. A Japanese Bento box. (someone's lunch)

13. Shelley works: ODES. Percy Bysshe Shelley.

21. Prefix with sect or cycle: TRI. Trisect: to divide a line or an angle in three equal parts.

22. Captained: LED.

26. Hot tub: SPA. Balneotherapy

28. Monopolizes, with "up": SEWS.

29. Kennel sounds: YELPS.

31. No __ traffic: THRU.

32. O.K. Corral fighter: EARP. Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan.

33. 500 sheets: REAM. 24 sheets: quire. 10 reams: bale.

34. Zenith: ACME. From the Greek word: Akme. Apex is from Latin.

37. Defensive trench: MOAT. Similar to a ha-ha around a British garden (to keep cattle out originally).

40. Fans: BOOSTERS.

41. With sustained force: UNABATED. Unlike your breath, when you wait for something important.

44. Jobs, vis-à-vis Apple Inc.: CEO. Steve Jobs, (not employment jobs).

46. Oregon NBA team, familiarly: BLAZERS. Portland Trailblazers.

48. Old touring car: REO. Ransom Eli Olds.

50. "Yo!": HEY. Yo, Adrian!

52. Low, moist area: SWALE.

54. Apartment sign: TO LET.

55. Asleep, probably: IN BED.

56. Tropical hardwoods: TEAKS. That would be multiple species of teak, I guess...

57. Stratford's river: AVON.

58. __ noire: BETE. Literally "black beast", an insufferable person.

60. Actor Rickman: ALAN. Professor Snape from Harry Potter, Hans Gruber in Die Hard, and Metatron (the voice of God) in Dogma. He can play any character type, good, bad or in-between.

61. Collaborative Web site: WIKI. "Simple" database software so that anyone can contribute without having database experience. A Hawaiian word for "fast", it has been "bacronymed" to mean "What I Know Is". A Bacronym is a made up phrase after a word is already in use to try to make an acronym of it, such as POSH, which does not actually come from port out starboard home...

63. Figure out: GET.

Answer grid.

Al

70 comments:

  1. Good morning, Al, C.C. and gang - this might've been the easiest Wednesday puzzle I've done in quite a while; just under five minutes, even though I didn't have a clue as to the theme until near the end, as I tend to do puzzles clockwise. Fun puzzle.

    One unknown, Alan Rickman, which the perps quickly got. Favorite answer was 'disco' - a great, fun time in my (relative) youth. Anybody still have the polyester stuff tucked in the back of their closet? I'll never forget those enormous collars that would no doubt provide lift if you could run fast enough. Least favorite answer: 'depute'. Really?

    Al, great job as usual. Your blogs are always exemplary; I particularly like your response to 17A. You got me with the link to 'b-cup' - I was expecting examples, not explanations. And the model poses? The first one certainly has possibilities.

    Today is National Clam on a Half Shell Day. A great day.



    Today's Words of Wisdom: "Men and women will act rationally when all other possibilities have been exhausted." -- Anonymous

    And some Farm Fun Facts in honor of Windhover:

    - Benjamin Franklin invented crop insurance.

    - It takes about 12 ears of corn to produce a single tablespoon of corn oil.

    - In 1910 about 32 million Americans lived on farms. Today, fewer than 5 million do.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dennis,
    The band size in Al's B-CUP link is not accurate though. It says "The band size measures the circumference of the body just under the breasts", when the industry standard is to add 5 to the odd number, and 4 to an even number after we get the calculation of "the circumference of the body just under the breasts". DEPUTE is new to me.

    Al,
    You filled in lots of my knowledge gaps with your word/phrase origins. Thank you for the brilliant write-up. Some IRR indeed have flaws, but I was bemused by the MOOED (2D. Was heard from the herd) clue. The answer is in active form, yet the clue passive. Adored the inventive theme. The Bento box is so CUTE.

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  3. Dennis & Al,
    This link explains perfectly how to measure the bust/band & get the right cup size.

    Clear Ayes,
    I liked your "progressively more destructive" theme observation yesterday.

    Argyle,
    You certainly are a DAB HAND getting the exact link.

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  4. C.C., you may be right, but we all have our own ways of measuring breast size.

    Good point on 2D.

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  5. Good morning, CC, et al,
    Thanks for the shout out, Dennis. I wonder if there are farmers among the lurkers, since I seem to be the only active one?
    Today is the last day of the countdown I started in November. Tomorrow is April 1, the day I look forward to for 5 months every year. I have moved three times on April 1. It is the day when, in most years, it begins to be reliably warm. I just put the last piece of firewood in the stove until at least November 1. I'll finish pruning the orchard today (late, as ever). Grass is green and growing. Unlike homeowners, who dread mowing, grass (and clover) is the way I make most of my living. Grass makes meat, which makes $.
    And finally, April 1 is the day when, six years ago, the Irish finally said "I do" after 14 years of resistance (and living in "sin".
    Hope you all have a great day.

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  6. Good Morning, CC and all. Somehow the theme hint (35D) caught my eye after I had filled in the SOUL of 11D, so I initially thought the theme might be music. I realized that was wrong after completing MUSIC for 11D.

    Good Wednesday puzzle. Although I knew that Hit The Ground was ALIT (64A), Alit seems to me a much more delicate landing than Hitting the Ground.

    Favorite clue was Jobs, vis-a-via Apple = CEO. iPad, anyone?

    Learned a few new words today: DEPUTE (like I'll be using this in the near future, NOT) and SWALE.

    ENID Bagnold seems to be a frequent crossword clue. As Al noted, she is the author of National Velvet. She was born in 1889 and died in 1981.

    In honor of Enid Bagnold, here is today's QOD:

    Judges don't age; time decorates them. ~ Enid Bagnold

    When a man goes through six years training to be a doctor he will never be the same. He knows too much. ~ Enid Bagnold

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  7. Alan Rickman is a British actor who has appeared in many American films. He was the villian in one of the Die Hard movies.

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  8. Good morning all, and especially AL:

    Your write up is wonderful, with the diverse educational information on the Roman myth influencing the English language, to the real deal on cup sizes (supplemented by C.C. with instructions no less). Wow.

    LOLA FALANA was a really talented performer who was the darling of the rat pack, having been discovered by Sammie Davis, Jr., sadly, she suffered from MS, and her health battles curtailed her career.

    Love Alan Rickman, from all the references already made, to the really incomparable Galaxy Quest .

    The puzzle was fun, the theme different, but some people really like FEET .

    Irv, enjoy your 97th year and many more.

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  9. Reading my earlier post, I see a possible reason for the resistance. It was actually 4 years ago, in 2006. Only one cup of coffee, I guess.

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  10. Good morning Al and all. Thanks for the link, C.C.; now I can sail more easily and efficiently through the day.

    Easy Wednesday, today. Only unknown was ECO. Didn't know DEPUTE had that form. The 'westerns' all want to say 'deputize'.

    Didn't agree with verb tense in 2D - MOOED. Think it calls for a gerund, mooing, since 'something was heard'. Maybe someone can enlighten me. (I was raised on a dairy farm so I have been exposed to a lot of mooing.)

    Kazie re: Schrank. I should have used a word like 'spa' to describe the vowel quality.
    btw, my Webster's gives 'shrunk' an alternate past tense for shrink. ( I prefer shrank)

    Be safe

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  11. Hiedy-ho!

    In case you missed it, this is a good place for Cows....

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  12. Great, informative blog, Al. So many interesting links, I thought I'd be the last to comment by the time I got here!
    I spent quite a bit of time looking at the bra sizes because I have trouble getting a comfortable one these days. Straps always slide off my sloping shoulders, bands cut in underneath, so I just never wear one around the house any more.

    What is it about Europeans and toilet settings for photos? The photographer at my son's wedding took a picture of the wedding couple on a toilet, looking surprised, in all their fine array.

    WH,
    Congrats on an anniversary of sorts April 1st!

    Spitzboov,
    I've seen that dictionaries don't always agree with my pedantic British style English before! And yes, spa does give a better interpretation of the sound in Schrank. Why didn't I think of it?

    My only misstep in the puzzle was having to google TITicaka (after all the bra discussions) to see that it was a lake. I didn't know SWALE and couldn't come up with WIKI without it.

    I also wondered about SEWS up meaning monopolizes. I think of sews up more as finishes off.

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  13. Does anyone know how PJB-Chicago is doing?

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  14. AI, WOW what an informative write-up. Also, thanks for sparing us the "Achy" clip.
    C.C. interesting Bra Size clip. Like Dennis, I'll measure in my "old-guy" way.

    This was a fun Wednesday puzzle.
    ABA, DEPUTE & SPAN were all clued cleverly. Other than correcting ache to ACHY, it just flowed.

    Checked WIKI, The Name of the Rose, by Umberto ECO, looks interesting, added to library list.

    Windhover, I'll toast you later on your Anniversary Eve. Hmmm, married on April Fools Day, makes sense to me.

    Which reminds me, today is April Eve. I celebrate a lot of these things.

    Cheers!

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  15. Good Morning Al, CC and the rest of the bunch,

    I thought this was an easy Wednesday also. I worked it from right to left and had a few erasures. Chew Out and Howls were the big ones and when I changed it to Bawl I got 40D and a pleasant Aha moment. A little sicking point in the SW with Bete and Avon but then Verge popped into my head and the fills followed.

    Excellent blog Al!

    Just got back from signing my oldest up for Freshman classes. Boy time is flying by!

    14 and a wake up.

    Thanks for the sizing info even though there are more playful methods.

    Have a great Hump Day!

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  16. swale grass; I can remember when I was a kid, the old farmers would talk about having to cut swale grass from the swamps to feed the livestock if they ran out of hay in the winter.

    I retrieved this from the archives(Sunday February 22, 2009 Barry Silk)(65A: Marsh plant: SEDGE.)

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  17. No problems today. 14 minutes.

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  18. Great write up Al. Literate, witty, and educational. Especially enjoyed the POSES link. Thanks, and congratulations to Jennifer who has a lot of Monday's and Tuesdays to her credit.

    Other constructors have played footsie with this theme before, myself included. I think it's because there are so many puns available which work both ways:
    HEEL THYSELF Follow your own lead?
    BALL OUT Ump's call?
    TOE-AWAY ZONE Where pig's knuckles are trimmed?

    And where are the recipes today?!
    CORN chowder, perhaps? Or are we worried about TOE-maine poisoning?

    --John

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  19. Good morning everyone.

    Excellent blogging, Al. I appreciate all the info provided.

    Cheers

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  20. Good Morning All, Very nice blogging, Al. I enjoyed the theme today. I wasn't expecting a Down hint clue, so it took me until the second time through to get the "Aha!" moment. Very clever, Jennifer Nutt.

    DEPUTE was new for me too. Gunsmoke's Matt Dillon always DEPUTIZED the townsfolk, who then left him on his own to get the bad guys. Maybe that was why he was shot so many times.

    Ah, DISCO..every once in a while I pull out the Donna Summer CD and play it in the car. Singing along with Last Dance is something I do only when I am alone! :o)

    Favorite ALAN Rickman movie is "Truly, Madly, Deeply", which was sort of like "Ghost", but there were no murders involved.

    I smiled when I saw BETE noire after I showed our own little black beast's photo yesterday. Charley isn't insufferable, but he does tend to ignore us if we aren't doing what he wants.

    WH, say "Hi" to your (less than) 4,999,998 neighbors for us.

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  21. I agree on the Alan Rickman film, CA. I loved "Truly, Madly, Deeply" but figured the guys would relate more to the action movies.

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  22. Al, I'm still laughing at your "what were they thinking" link to Ridiculous POSES.

    That,and a reference to Shelley's ODES brought the following. It is a serious poem, but viewed in the light of Ridiculous Poses, it is pretty funny.

    And like a Dying Lady

    And like a dying lady, lean and pale,
    Who totters forth, wrapp'd in a gauzy veil,
    Out of her chamber, led by the insane
    And feeble wanderings of her fading brain,
    The moon arose up in the murky East,
    A white and shapeless mass—

    Art thou pale for weariness
    Of climbing heaven and gazing on the earth,
    Wandering companionless
    Among the stars that have a different birth,
    And ever changing, like a joyless eye
    That finds no object worth its constancy?

    - Percy Bysshe Shelley

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  23. Good morning Al, CC and all,

    Beavers/Blazers..whatever. I zipped thru the top, but slowed down in a few areas:irr/earp/depute.Irr seems to be an odd answer for the clue; maybe seconds or marked down items.Earp should have been easy, but the Y made me wonder.

    ABA/bete wasn't a quickie either. I still have trouble with abbreviations.

    Argyle, truly enjoyed "Cows with Guns"

    Al, loved your write up and was impressed with the Japanese Bento box lunch. None of my lunches ever came close.My youngest loved liverwerst sandwiches until the kids made unkind remarks, like ewwwwwww!

    Bill, I miss Boston Legal, but enjoy The Good Wife. I forget the night U. Boss is on, so miss it most of the time.

    Ophrah did a whole program a few yrs back on the correct bra size. Evidentally, we're all out of kilter.Way to go, Kazie!

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  24. Dammit, Argyle, I'd finally gotten that "Cows with Guns" song out of my head (planted there by Melissa Bee), and you had to do that.

    John, major groans here. Funny, though.

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  25. Good morning, Al, C.C. and all.

    Interesting info, Al and good links. I thought that the President's older daughter, though, was Malia,not Nalia. I'll have to check that.

    Very nice Wednesday puzzle with aural theme. How many puns have we heard with homophones? They're such fun.

    Did not like "depute"; I still prefer deputize. It's something our sheriff out here does with abandon. Perhaps you've heard of "Sheriff Joe"?

    Nice to see Lola Falana and disco in the same xwd.

    And I first fell in love with Alan Rickman in "Sense and Sensibility"; he was princely.

    "Amat" would accurately describe how I feel about xwds: she loves them!

    I must go now to have the AC in my car checked; it was 89 degs. yesterday and only hot air was blowing.

    Here's hoping you all have a wondrous Wednesday!

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  26. All, thanks for all the nice comments (even from a constructor). It does take a lot of work to put that all together and format it correctly. I don't know how C.C. did it by herself, seven days a week, for so long without the help she now gets from Argyle and the other guest bloggers.

    WH, is seems truly appropriate that your anniversary is on April Fool's day. Who decided that, you or her? That could have been the best (or possibly the worst) "gotcha" ever...

    Lucina, you are correct, Malia, not Nalia. Those darn typos at almost 1 AM...

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  27. Good job, Jennifer! Really enjoyed the theme and had a lot of fun with BEAT IT, BLAZERS, BOOSTERS, and DAFFIEST.

    Odd that HEALTHYSELF begins with HEALTHY. And backwards, the phrase spells FLESH. Aha, the first two and last letter of TOWAWAYZONE spell TOE.

    ECHO, ECO, CEO. Hell, even UMBERTO has a TOE.

    John- CORN chowder and TOE-maine indeed! And in Roman ruins you'll find fallen ARCHES.

    Windhover- Have you ever received an award for being outstanding in your field?

    ReplyDelete
  28. . "I have moved three times on April 1. It is the day when, in most years, it begins to be reliably warm," Windhover said

    Kazie: " WH,
    Congrats on an anniversary of sorts April 1st!"

    Back to you, Windhover. Am I wrong in thinking you meant 'mowed' not 'moved'? And then Kazie came up with the congrats (and she said, "of sorts") it was taken to mean a wedding anniversary greeting? Please untangle, if I'm right.

    "Truly, Madly, Deeply" was a great film. A sympathetic role for Rickman for once, and a fine one for Juliet Stevenson, whom we don't see enough of. A sleeper.

    Nice puzzle and very nice blog, Al.
    Easy Wednesday and I was grateful, as I was in a hurry to get out to an appointment and then found it was the wrong day anyway! Senior moment.

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  29. WH:
    Happy anniversary!

    Yes, Al, I checked on the name, too. Typos at 1 A.M. are certainly understandable.

    I meant to comment earlier that if you ever have a yen to see the graves of Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday, et al, they are in Tombstone, AZ. There's also a "shoot out" of sorts at noon on weedends.

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  30. Dodo and WH,
    I was referring to his mention of all sorts of memorable events on April 1st. That Irish said yes, I took to be just that--saying yes to marriage, not the actual wedding, hence the "of sorts" rather than a straight wedding anniversary wish.

    My DH and I always celebrate the anniversary of the day we met as well as our real anniversary, so I thought maybe WH was in that same mindset.

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  31. Al:

    That link on meteors, meteorites, and meteroids is great; what could be boring and banal made funny and readable.

    I usually return for the longer links, especially if I'm in a hurry.

    WH:
    Is it or is it not your wedding anniversary on April 1st? Sounds like it to me.

    ReplyDelete
  32. OMG! I forgot WH calls his wife
    'the Irish!' Sorry, Kazie and Windhover! I still think you meant 'mowing'!

    ReplyDelete
  33. Kazie:
    There is your mistake: I sometimes feel like I barely have a mind, and certainly no "mindset". In fact, if there is a set, I'm sure there are a few pieces missing from mine.


    As a matter of fact, I have. In 1989, I got an award for having the highest dairy herd production average in Kentucky. Two years later, I got an award for being broke and out of business. A clue: that second award was printed on legal sized paper and signed by a guy named "Esq."
    then two years ago I got an award for being a Master Conservationist. All those awards prove the old adage
    "In the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is King".

    DoDo, Al, et al,
    The original interpretation was correct. I have actually moved my place of residence three different times in my life on April 1, and we actually got married on April 1, 2006. The day fell on a Saturday, but we really chose it because it's just one of my/our favorite days of the year. This post is already long and #3, so I'll try to tell the story of our wedding "ceremony" tomorrow, if the anniversary celebration doesn't start too early.

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  34. Burning #4 (unless I invoke the "Buckeye Rule", i.e., a postscript is really part of the original post and doesn't "count"):

    Paragraph #2 should have been addressed to
    Jerome:

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  35. Hi gang -

    Al - terrific blogging. I can commit a typo any time of day.

    WH - Happy anniversary, only a little early, and congrats on some of those awards. The LW and I lived in sin for a while in two different cities in two different states. That was really inconvenient!

    The way I size it up, there were lots of interesting comments today.

    The Name of the Rose is actually an elaborate murder mystery (and more) set in a medieval monastery (14 century). An old monk and his young assistant who are visiting (for some unrelated reason) get involved in the investigation. A lot of it revolves around the library of the monastery. That's all I can dredge from the memory banks. Sean Connery played the old monk in the movie version.

    1 and a you-know-what

    Cheers!
    JzB the almost outa here trombonist

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  36. Wyatt Earp's grave is in Colma, California. Always has been.
    Doc Holliday's grave is in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Always has been.

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  37. DEAR C.C., Argyle and this group of fabulous, frisky, friendly, fellow followers 'n folk

    NOT CROSSWORD PUZZLE RELATED...but I want to share this as I am amazed our
    English language would be reduced to this:


    Stay in touch, say hello or reply without saying a word.
    Learn the latest lingo in text messaging.

    Text Messaging Menu
    Speak the language:

    * abt: About
    * asap : As soon as possible
    * aqap: As quick (or quiet) as possible
    * b4: Before
    * b4n: Bye for now
    * b8: Bait
    * bff: Best friend forever
    * brb: Be right back
    * btw: By the way
    * c: See
    * cm: Call me
    * cyl: See you later
    * cus: Because
    * diku: Do I know you?
    * dl or d/l: Download
    * dqmot: Don't quote me on this
    * 2: To or Too
    * 2nite: Tonight
    * 4: For
    * 411: Information
    * 4evr: Forever
    * e1: Everyone
    * ez: Easy
    * fyeo: For your eyes only
    * fyi: For your information
    * goi: Get over it
    * gr8: Great
    * gtg or g2g: Got to go
    * hagn: Have a good night
    * hago: Have a good one
    * hand: Have a nice day
    * hr8: Heart
    * ic: I see
    * idk: I don't know
    * idc: I don't care
    * ily: I love you
    * jic: Just in case
    * jk: Just kidding
    * jlmk: Just let me know
    * jmo: Just my opinion
    * jp: Just playing
    * k or kk: Okay

    I will admit I kind of like this one!
    dqmot: Don't quote me on this
    I'm out...

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  38. Frenchie
    itati????Where are the l's.m's...
    gr8 list

    Does anyone have a favorite vegetable recipe they fix with ham on Easter?

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  39. @WH i think jerome was asking if you were ever "out standing in your field" we have a local car dealer commercial that plays on this with the owner out standing in a field!

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  40. Hello All--A fairly easy Wed. puzzle. I only had one hangup and that was in the NW corner. I put in "Lula" instead of Lola Falana.So the Mu_ed didn't make sense for a herd sound! Duh!

    I thought the theme was very clever and the puzzle well constructed. However, Depute is not in my vocabulary. Deputize was the Western Movie word. I'm with everyone else on this front.

    Al B-Cup link--good one! I'm sure we all looked!

    Hatool, thank you for the link to Alan Rickman. I didn't recognize the name, but I did recognize his picture.

    Jerome, I had a good laugh over your blog today. Very clever.

    JD, I think that U Boss comes on at 8:00 P.M. on Sundays in our area. Check it out. I've enjoyed the two episodes that we've watched.

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  41. JD, I have a delicious zucchini casserole that goes very well with ham. Even the little ones like it. I'll e-mail it to you if you like.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Happy Anniversary WH
    Thank you Al, I learned many new things. Your approach is fresh and clean.

    ...an observation of sorts:
    53A BE A TIT ???

    After completion, I looked the puzzle over and that word division popped out at me...I'd like to think I was a victim of the ample bra bantering in the earlier posts but, alas, I saw it before I came around to the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Hi Al, C.C. and all -

    First thing...I have to echo Dennis with his cussing at the "Cows with Guns" ditty...I just got the damn thing out of my head a week ago, now it's baaaacck!

    Al, great job on the blogging.

    C.C., thanks for the clip about the correct way so size a bra. Thing is, the young lady who was being measured had 'perky boobs', not what most of us more mature (no less sexy) women have. At my age they have a tendency to be 'more relaxed'...although not large, they have shifted position.
    I'm with Kazie, go lightly and unfettered around your house. ;)

    I have to agree that although DEPUTE may be technically correct, it just seemed wrong to me.

    WH - Happy anniversary (a bit early), I'll wish you continued happiness again tomorrow.
    I wonder why people refer to living together without marriage "living in sin"....seem so silly.

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  44. Carol
    I agree re: the "living in sin" reference.

    Then again referring to the puzzle a few days ago I said it was "an easy Sinday" ...

    Turns out, with the race washed out, my Gal-Pal and I had to find something else to do.

    ReplyDelete
  45. In German they say "in wilder Ehe" which translates as "in wild marriage", which I like much better.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Had trouble knowing how to end "depute"...knew "depu..." was correct. Had "Exxon" for Amoco for a while...Bethesda fell and then I knew what a "weak plot" had to be. Loved seeing Sasha`s name...now we need Malia`s.

    Tinbenni; I actually know where Dunedin is!...Very quaint main street! There is also a "Dunellen" somewhere farther over in the state and a "Stienhatchie", all names with Scotch/Irish origins.

    The other day I asked what several of the unusual blog names meant (mine is an acronym for "A rose by any other name...") and I wondered if you`d be willing to share the origins for "Tinbenni?"

    ReplyDelete
  47. Frenchie--thanks for the lingo link ( I am in 13 different schools) and having the texting lingo will be helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  48. "Living in sin" is a laughable expression in today's world( well, not everywhere), but 40 yrs ago, one was considered doomed by our parents and the Pope-who seems to be on shaky ground at the moment.

    thx Chickie, I'll look for U Boss on Sunday; I've also seen 2. Please send your recipe. Too bad Tarrajo is AWOL; she would love it. Lolita, Have u kept in touch?

    Frenchie, anything I can do to shorten what I say is a good thing, so thx, a fun site.

    b4n

    ReplyDelete
  49. Hi all, back from a couple of gruelling days in St. Paul. The set up was one of the smoothest ones in memory and the party was fun Monday. Maybe too much fun? I ended up with the CEO and sales manager at the St. Paul hotel bar just a little too late but was kind of coerced into it. How do you tell your boss no? Anyway, the turn out was fantastic, the weather great, and the show was a huge success. My only regret was that I didn't take today off. It's probably a good thing I didn't seeing how many e-mails I had amassed.

    Al, great write up today. I liked seeing Mooed, and yelps in the puzzle and as far as those "poses"? I wish I was 1/4 that limber. I wanted "tired" for asleep probably.

    C.C. thanks for the "tit's up" link on picking the right bra size. It has been noted that about 60% of women are walking around in the wrong sized bra. I finally swallowed my pride and went in for a personal fitting. I was not that far off, but the new ones I bought make all the difference.

    Irv, a very belated Happy Birthday to you! You look fantastic and I am so glad you are part of this blog.

    Lemonade, UGH...on the foot fetish thing. No one would have wanted to be near my feet the last couple of days.

    Windhover, I hope your day and night tomorrow are as special as the day you said "I do".

    ReplyDelete
  50. Good evening Al, CC, et al., What another fun puzzle. 3 for 3 this wk.

    I about fell out w/46A Bra size and 67A Titicaca in the same puzzle, followed (like Frenchie)
    53A Be-a-tit? Then for Al to say that Titicaca's the largest by volume in S.A.? I was disappointed that the answer to 46A was only a B cup. DD would have been better, and even then they would need 'boosters' to keep up with that kind of volume. Maybe Ms. Nutt was thinking that 'les's is really more. 'I'll' bet most guys would not agree if we were to take a 'poll'. But I've heard that more than a mouthful 'poses' problems for some. I don't 'get' it, 'tri' as I might. Bigger ones would just provide the 'tallest' and softest pillows 'in bed'. I bet we could probably 'depute' one of our more magnanimous men to research 'this'
    'thru' and 'thru' 'a-lit'tle or a lot. As 'a-mat'ter of fact, I'd
    'bet-he's-da'ng glad to do it and with finely 'honed' skills too. Any takers?

    Past that, this puzzle reminded me of tap dance lessons when I was a kid: 'heal'-'tow'-step-'bawl' change, over and over and over again. Happy times got happier w/'disco' and even happier yet with 'Beat it'. Don't ya know I took that one to the limits. Still love to dance.

    Great job, Al. Very well done.

    WH: early Happy Anniversary. I wish you many, many more.

    Enjoy your night.

    ReplyDelete
  51. ARBAON
    Well here is where we run into a conundrum.

    A Rose By Any Other Name, aka ARBAON doesn't identify who you really may be.

    EddyB & Argyle have learned the "secret" and let me tell you "Tinbeni" is quite real.
    More real than your identifier ...

    I think it is a derivative of "Scotch in a 'snifter' glass."

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  52. tinbeni is entropy.

    entropy is tinbeni.

    sad.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Tenbeni said: EddyB & Argyle have learned the "secret"

    Why only them? I'd like to know too. (Entropy or not.)

    I confess to being a little flummoxed by the use of unusual user names. (I'm sure mine is not very puzzling.) I belong to a FirstClass bulletin board where people have to register to join. There was a movement to allow aliases but it was strongly voted down. I am slowly getting used to the aliases here but I feel more comfortable with names like Dennis, Kazie, JD, Carol, Annette, Jeannie, etc. But at least if you're in "Blue," I can feel confident you are the same person every time.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Lois, have a fantastic vacation to Antigua.

    JD, here is my favorite dish to serve with a ham. I made it up using a variation of a green bean casserole.

    1/2 head of cauliflower
    1/2 head of broccoli
    1 can of crm of cheddar soup
    1 can of milk
    1 cup of good shredded cheddar cheese
    1 can of Durkee's fried onions (don't faint Kazie as I can eat those like potato chips)

    Steam the veggie's to al' dente, drain and line in the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Sprinkle on top half of the can of onions. Mix the soup, milk and shredded cheese together in a bowl.
    Pour mixure over the veggies and top with the other half can of Durkee's onions. Bake about 45 min in 350 degree oven. It never fails.

    No JD and others, the only contact I had with Tarrajo was on the blog and sparadic e-mail. She is now MIA. I know I shared some zucchini recipes for her over abundance. Keep them coming for me as I was just granted another plot from the city I live in.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Yikes, Jerome! Many more of my neurons have died than I realized.

    The solution: more xwds, of course!

    Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Today is César Chávez Day in California. A admirable leader, he adhered to a policy of non-violence in the organization of the United Farm Workers. It is a state holiday, so schools and state government offices were closed.

    Anon@5:33, trust us on this...WH understood exactly what Jerome meant.

    I'm glad the food show went well for you, Jeannie.

    PJB, do check in and let us know how you are doing.

    ReplyDelete
  57. BillG
    I have always "only" been Tinbeni.

    EddyB and Argyle clicked on my 'blue identifier' ... saw that they could, and did emailed me.

    email me, the "secret" will be revealed and probably make you laugh, at least bring a smile.

    ReplyDelete
  58. How childish, entropy.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Jeannie: thank you. I'm sure Antigua will be spectacular. I'm so glad your food show was so successful and you got to celebrate w/the brass. That's a high compliment in my book. Now maybe you can rest and enjoy some time to yourself.

    Frenchie: thank you for those text message shortcuts. I needed those just to understand the students.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Bill G. The unusual user names are just a fun and safe way to start posting on a blog. As we've all found out, there are some strange folks out there. We can't put too much trust in a "real name" anyway. There is the possibility that Dennis isn't a Dennis, or Carol isn't really a Carol...;o) There are some people on this blog who know my real name, where I live and even have my phone number. But that is the kind of information most of us give out very carefully and only in personal emails.

    Have a great time, Lois!

    ReplyDelete
  61. Anon 9:22
    email me ... oh, that would reveal your anonymousy ...

    I'm still only Tinbeni.

    You, well I stepped in you once ...

    ReplyDelete
  62. Lois you going to the Royal Antiguan ? ask for Nicole or Jonathan or Denise. email me

    ReplyDelete
  63. Lemonade: thank you. I'm trying to email you but am having connection problems apparently. I'll try again and see if it works. That 'news' link is really very cool. Thank you for that too. I'll read it more thoroughly when I have time. If you don't hear from me in a few, try to email me, ok?

    ReplyDelete
  64. Tinbeni, I just looked at your profile and it seems we have something in common afterall. I am a numbers freak. Someone gives me their phone number and I never forget it. I know all of the vendors numbers that attended the foodshow. My problem is I sleep numbers, I don't count sheep but keep multipling numbers in my head....any way to turn that off? We actually had a new vendor at the show this week that my boss couldn't remember his name and I came up with the vendor number and his booth number to boot. My boss looked at me and said "you're scary".

    I find the way to turn off my mind is with Steeley Dan's Aja.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Can anyone help Jeannie out? She's one of my favorites and I don't know how to link. sounds like she has had a hard week and would like to hear a song. Just an anon admirer.

    ReplyDelete
  66. Anon, thanks for the thought. This Jeannie is going to go iron out a nice "spring outfit" to wear tomorrow as it's supposed to be 75 and sunny and I'm in the mood for change.

    Night all, thanks for the kudos, as I worked for it.

    WH, get on it....

    If I planned right, I got it....

    ReplyDelete
  67. BillG
    Sallie
    Jeannie

    Was the "secret" amusing? LOL

    ReplyDelete
  68. #5
    two of my favorite things, at right.
    April 1, at long last.
    Wedding story later today.

    ReplyDelete

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