google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday May 14, 2010 Matt Ginsberg & Pete Muller

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May 14, 2010

Friday May 14, 2010 Matt Ginsberg & Pete Muller

Theme: ON END (50D. Upright, and what's been removed to form this puzzle's theme answers) - The "ON" end in each two-word familiar phrase is dropped.

18A. Underwear that never needs washing?: MAGIC JOHNS (ON). Eww! Magic Johnson.

20A. Attack of Tolkien's Ents?: TREE SURGE (ON). Tree Surgeon. Interesting career. New to me. We often see ENT clued as "Tolkien's tree creatures". The above two theme answers overlap.

32. Press watering hole? MEDIA BAR (ON). Media Baron. Like Rupert Murdock. More familiar with the title Media Mogul.

44A. English horn?: ANGLO SAX (ON). Anglo Saxon.

56A. Chest bump cousin? BELLY BUTT (ON). Belly Button.

61A. Fido's greeting? WELCOME WAG (ON). Welcome Wagon. The last two theme answers also overlap.

Might be our first LAT from Matt Ginsberg (The happy Pete Muller is in the middle. The guy with glasses is Peter Gordon), who has constructed quite a few puzzles for NY Times.

Very nice theme concept. Entertaining clues too. Some made me laugh. BELLY BUTT conjures up a fun image. Do you like the tie-in ON END?

I was quite fond of the four long Down non-theme answers. I liked how they paralleled each other and crossed two theme answers.

Filled in CHINA instead of ENLAI (51D. 1972 host to Nixon). Zhou Enlai indeed hosted Nixon during the latter's historic visit to China in Feb 1972. But ENLAI is a given name, while the clue Nixon is surname. I dig when clues and answers fully correspond to each other.

Across:

1. Dell drivers: Abbr. : CPUS. Dell computers.

5. Holy struggle: JIHAD. Literally "struggle" in Arabic. More accurate a translation than "Holy war".

10. Like some activists: ANTI. And WET (26. Against prohibition).

14. Cellar prefix: OENO. Prefix for "wine", as in oenophile.

15. Place to live: ABODE

16. Roger Rabbit, e.g. : TOON

17. Noted cat suit wearer: LAHR (Bert). The Coward Lion of "The Wizard of Oz".

22. Imperiled layer: OZONE

23. Per: A POP

24. Spigoted vessel: URN

27. Judy Jetson's brother: ELROY. Literally "the king". From "The Jetsons".

29. Pretend to be: POSE AS

34. Main ideas: THEMES. Can't avoid the word "theme" for the tie-in 50D.

38. Hip to: IN ON

39. African capital: ACCRA. Ghana's capital.

41. Give a ticket to: CITE

42. Colorado conqueror: RAFTER. Colorado River I suppose.

46. Many a Type A suffers from it: STRESS. And ANTSY (48. Like many a Type A). I don't really know the characteristics of Type A people. But don't all people suffer from stress from time to time and get antsy occasionally?

49. Garden tool: HOE

52. Hesitation: HEM

53. 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., e.g. : ADDR

54. Boutros-Ghali's successor: ANNAN (Kofi)

63. Concerning: AS TO

64. Bump on a log: KNAR. Learned from doing crossword. Wait for Argyle for the bump link.

65. Flat condition?: BROKE. New meaning of "flat" to me. Of course I was thinking of apartment.

66. Put away: STOW

67. Peter Gunn's girlfriend: EDIE. No idea. Have never heard of Peter Gunn before.

69. "Around the Horn" channel: ESPN

Down:

1. Piece maker?: COLT. Piece is slang for firearm.

2. High-fiber fruit: PEAR. True.

3. Without precedent: UNHEARD OF. Awesome entry.

4. Conflict sources: SORE POINTS. Not enough blanks for my HOT SPOTS.

5. Clog, as a copier: JAM UP

6. Support beam: I BAR

7. Boss on "The Dukes of Hazzard": HOGG. I peeked at the answer sheet.

8. Tours ta-tas: ADIEUS

9. Solstice mo. : DEC

10. It covers everything: A TO Z. Nailed it.

11. "Ain't gonna happen": NO HOW

12. Winchester weight: TONNE. Alliteration.

19. Prophet with a fishy story?: JONAH. I thought he was swallowed by a whale.

21. Miso bean: SOYA. Miso soup is delicious!

25. Put on sale, say: RETAG

27. Kuwaiti VIP: EMIR

28. "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" star Headey: LENA. Total stranger to me. Great body.

29. __-10 conference: PAC

30. Ocean predators: ORCAS

31. Bag behind a mound: SECOND BASE. Depend on where you stand.

33. Dancer's warmup aid: BARRE

35. Is very wary of: MISTRUSTS

36. JFK approximations: ETAS

37. Hot: SEXY

40. OR VIPs: RNS (Registered Nurses). I bet it's a gimme for our Chickie & Lois, who both have a RN daughter. I thought of Oregon naturally.

43. Biology opening: ETHNO. Man, we've seen a lot of this entry lately. Nice clue though.

45. 1955 title role voiced by Barbara Luddy: LADY. Obtained the answer via crosses.

47. Fire proof: EMBERS. Was thinking of proof against fire. Not "evidence" proof.

49D. Ethan of "Fast Food Nation": HAWKE

53. Rags-to-riches author: ALGER (Horatio)

55. Plot part, perhaps: ACRE. Triple alliteration. Did you think of story plot also?

57. Hairy sci-fi critter: EWOK. The "Star Wars" creature.

58. Michigan, for one: LAKE. Not enough space for my STATE.

59. 'Vette roof option: T-TOP

60. Hamlet's kin: TOWN. Tricky capitalized hamlet placement. The constructors/edior want to trap you with Shakespeare's Hamlet and his DANE kin.

62. Management sch. offering: MBA

Answer grid.

C.C.

45 comments:

  1. Good morning, C.C. and gang - wow, quite a challenge for me today. Very clever, misleading cluing had me jumping around for traction, even though I managed to get 'CPUs' right away.

    I thought this was one of the more clever puzzles I've done, and it actually made me think of Dan Naddor. Great clues, for me, were 'Piece maker', 'Flat condition', 'Winchester weight' and 'Fire proof' (one of the best ever). 'Boss Hogg' came from some deep recess, 'cause I never saw the Dukes of Hazzard. Didn't know 'Lena' Headey either, but I certainly do now, thanks to C.C.'s picture.

    I did like the crossing of Second base and belly butt(on).
    C.C., I had the same thoughts about type A's and stress, but I do think it's a classic symptom of them to be antsy.

    Today is Dance Like a Chicken Day. Feel free to provide video.

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  2. Good Morning, CC and all. I liked this puzzle and caught "ON" to the puzzle quickly with MAGIC JOHNS (sounds like a guy thing). EEEW!

    There were a lot of good mis-leading clues today. I immediately wrote down CAIRO for an African Capital.

    I liked seeing the RNs get credit as being VIPs in the OR.

    Hamlet Kin had me heading down the Shakespeare highway instead of leading me into TOWN.

    Flat Condition made me thing of a condition of an apartment instead of actually being BROKE.

    I was thinking of something more DF than ADIEU for Tours Ta-Tas. But yes, I knew that the response would be French.

    Put in NO WAY in lieu of NO HOW. I would never say NO HOW.

    Thanks for the CPUs explanation. Got that through the perps.

    QOD: Always do right. It will please some people and astonish the rest. ~ Mark Twain

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  3. Good morning CC and All, a great puzzle today, but I sure did struggle. There were some unknowns and some mistakes and some very dumb mistakes. For 11D I had no way for no how, 31D I could not get rosin bag out of my head and finally the Carol moment. For 55D I was trying to insert ACT 1 or something along that line, but to no avail. And, finally I had Res (RESident doctor) in lieu of RNs. Overall I thought todays puzzle was creative and well constructed with misleading clues.

    Because of the above and a few unknowns today was a real struggle for me. Hopefully things will ease up a bit tomorrow. Oh by the way, I also liked Lena Headey.

    Hope you all have a great Friday and an even better weekend.

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  4. Good Morning CC and All,

    I was cruising along in the NE pecking and filling bits and pieces when Thesis instead of Theme stopped me dead in my tracks. Lena was new and is Sexy. My favorite clue was Fire Proof. Really tricked me. I wrote China for 51D also.

    I think having two constructors ramped up the cluing significantly.

    TGIF

    Have a good one.

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  5. Re: 1Down Piece maker?: COLT
    COLT Peacemaker

    12Down Winchester weight:
    They sold a tonne of these

    Peter Gunn and Edie on TV Guide cover (and it explains why I put down "Lola" originally.) Peter Gunn theme song

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  6. This was a 2 Mug slog.

    Started in the SE, ESPN was my first entry. Stow lead me to town, great clue that Hamlet.

    Bellybutt got a DF grin.

    Had Distrust before Mistrust. Then got the THEMES reveal.

    Being a Type A, I understand the ANTSY, but not the stress.

    Fave was WET. Yup, I'm against prohibition. Duh!

    SW was the last to fall, just could not let go of that KNOT until the V8 can hit me with ACRE.

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  7. Similar reactions to the rest of you today, with the addition of not being tuned in to the sports references. for PAC I had only heard of BIG TEN, so ACCRA took forever to get, and for the SECOND BASE I was stuck thinking of sand bags for a levée.

    I had to google the heck out of the bottom half to get anywhere. I started with SAVE for STOW and KNOT for KNAR, which is a totally new word for me. For OR I was thinking of Oregon and Reps but couldn't make it work.

    However, I did get the theme early and it helped a bit.

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  8. Good morning C.C, and everyone

    Quite a challenging puzzle today. Much clever clueing; one had to be patient for the answers to reveal themselves. Had trouble in the NW. Almost g'gled 27a but took a chance on ELROY and the rest came home. Thought ANGLOSAX, COLT, RAFTER, and EMBERS were extremely clever. Did not like CPU because I understand drivers to be the code that controls video, printing, etc. I'm sure someone will comment. I was completely faked out by 69a, ESPN. Thought it had something to do with the Cape Horn passage, but couldn't think of a 4 letter channel. Had to pause to get TOWN, too. Excellent clueing!

    Hahtool said: I liked seeing the RNs get credit as being VIPs in the OR.. Well said. A short while ago BH had her port-a-cath removed by a PA. She was excellent and highly professional.

    ADIEU (Plural is also adieux according to Merriam-Webster and others)

    Laissez les bons temps rouler!

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  9. Spitz,
    I actually paused on the plural of ADIEU, waiting to see which it would be. It's one of most -eau/ieu/ou ending words which take 'x' for the plural in French, and you can never be sure if the clues want the French or anglicized plurals.

    There were many very clever clues today, many that had me fooled.

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  10. the bible tells us that jonah was swallowed by a "great fish"....

    Jonah 1:17 Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

    when telling the story, people just assumed it was a whale and that became the norm...when in truth, i remember reading a man was too large to be swallowed in toto, because of the small size of the alimentary canal

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi gang -

    Clever puzzle, great theme, and oooh - tough!

    I think I got caught on every possible KNAR today. Had to look up every name, even LAHR, alas. I went down a different path, and could not find my way back.

    Speaking of SEXY, do MAGIC JOHNS go with miracles?

    Type A's generate a lot of their own stress - for themselves, and those around them.

    Sadly, that Magnificent video set of Pictures at an Exhibition seems to have disappeared from YouTube. But - In honor of "dance like a chicken" day, here is a piano excerpt containing the Promenade THEME, "Ballet of the
    unhatched Chicks
    ", "Two Jews, one a Type A","Limoge the marketplace for MAGIC JOHNS" and the start of "Catacomb, the ABODE of the dead."

    If our performance tonight is at the level of last night's rehearsal, it is going to be on kick-ass concert. The Great Gate had me close to tears.

    God, this is exciting!

    Cheers!
    JzB who POSES AS a trombonist

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  12. I’m glad to hear that most of you found this one challenging ‘cause it kicked my prat!! The stock in Google just went through the roof. Magic Johns almost made me choke on my Diet Coke. EWWW. I thought the clueing was very clever and tricky as well. My hand’s up for typing in China too. My favorite clues were “piece maker” – Colt and “fire proof” – ember. Oeno and Accra were simply WAG’s. It’s finally a bright sunshiny day here in MN and it looks like the weather will be fantastic for you anglers in MN this weekend. Tarrajo, I hope you and Brady catch a big one! Attached is the subservient BK chicken. Have fun!

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  13. Happy Friday all -
    I didn't complete this puzzle, but got most of it. Had a terrible time in the NW corner, so I just floated along until I could get SOME traction.

    I still think TOON is a silly word, what was wrong with CARTOON? (16A)

    Never did get the theme, but got all the long answers except 61A.

    Can someone tell me why 53A didn't have abbr. in it? I got the answer but it felt strange.

    I am so pleased with myself because I actually GOT 31D !!! Guess it's because Joe has been watching so much baseball that it is in my mind.

    42A had me going, I was trying to dredge up a person who 'conquered' Colorado (river, territory???). Obviously it fooled me and added another dent to my beloved V-8 can when I filled 'rafter' in.

    ps; I put CHINA in for 51D too :)

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  14. Carol re: 53a. The clue was Ave. which invites an abbreviation in the answer. IMHO

    ReplyDelete
  15. FYI - In what must be homage to Jeannie's birthday yesterday, I noticed that TCM is showing "LOLITA" at 5 pm tonight. I've never seen it, so I've got my DVR set.

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  16. Good Morning All, In my defense, I did catch the theme after MAGIC JOHNS. The only theme entry that was a stopper was MEDIA BAR(on). Like C.C., I think I've only heard "mogul".

    28D LENA was also previously UNHEARD OF, as was 14A "OENO cellar". It's an old-fashioned wine cellar to me.

    I never watched "The Dukes of Hazzard", but somehow I did know 7D HOGG. My daughter was a big Saturday morning Jetsons fan, so 27A ELROY was a gimme.

    Like the milkman, the bakery truck and the Fuller Brush man, I guess the WELCOME WAGON lady has faded into history. She used to visit new homeowners with a gift basket of samples and coupons. I haven't heard of that for years.

    Too bad 8D wasn't clued as "Brest ta-tas". Maybe next time.

    Jeannie, Is that a garter belt it's wearing?...a house arrest ankle bracelet on the left leg?...a whip on the floor at the left bottom corner of the screen? LOL, that is one bizarre chicken, or is it just me???

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  17. Clear Ayes: LOL. You take on the Ta-tas was exactly where I was headed!

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  18. Spitzboov, thanks, guess my eyes just missed that 'ave' part since the rest of it was all spelled out. Sigh.

    CA: LOL - you were right on with the Ta ta's.

    Annette: let us know what you think of the movie Lolita. I tried to watch it a few years ago, and thought it was sort of creepy. Just my opinion though.

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  19. Carol -

    Have you seen WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? It's a great movie (it's been compared to Chinatown, minus the incest.) Anyway, the cartoon characters in the movie are called toons, and they live in TOON TOWN.

    TOON is perfectly valid, IMHO.

    Cheers!
    JzB who plays tunes, not TOONS

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  20. Jazz: Incest??? how did I miss that movie!!?? No, I did not see Roger Rabbit but have heard of it (imagine that :)) I see your point on 'toon' now. Thanks! See how educational this blog is?? Gotta love it.

    ReplyDelete
  21. My first entry of the puzzle was a self-assured "Frost" for Nixon host (the Nixon/Frost interviews.) If I had paid attention to the year, I wouldn't have made that mistake. Fooled me! I caught onto the theme right away which helped. I also inserted "stone" for Winchester weight. Yikes!

    The doctor who said my husband was a "type A" has never seen him as he is now - snoring away in his rocking chair! More like a "type Z."

    Ta-Ta!

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  22. Good afternoon CC, et al., like Hahtool, the jig was up w/Magic missing his 'ON' end - sounds painful -but what great misleading clues. Very clever and enjoyable.

    Started getting excited when 8D
    'ta-tas' came up. Holy 'welcome wag' Hotwick! Then by the time i got thru the rest:magic johns(on),'sexy', 'hoe', wet, jam up, a pop, and 3 different bars, I was swinging from the 'rafter's. Then the 'unheard of': Belly butt? Really? sounds like a 'toon' and could be a 'knar'ly 'sore point' for some women. I wouldn't mention that to any 'lady' if you ever wanted to get past 'second base' let alone up to bat with her. That would've'broke'n the deal for me personally. I work hard to
    'pose as' buns of steel.'Adieus' would've certainly been 'addr'ed.
    'So-ya' better be sure how you
    'addr' a lady's booty 'pac'. If you don't 'no-how', just 'stow' it. Don't 'asker'. 'Len-a' the side of sensitivity instead of honesty. Nobody wants to hear about a 'tonne' of 'belly butt'.. take her to 'town' and buy her a 'sexy' gown.

    Enjoy your wkend!

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  23. Morning, all.
    hand up for 'noway', 'china', 'knot','act I'.and I also put in 'stone' for 'tonne', DCannon. This one was certainly full of misleading clues. Very well done. My favorite, if I can even single one out, would be 'flat condition'. Thought of a run-down apartment!
    I did the same as you, Kazie, and waited to see if an 'x' or an 's' was needed for 'adieu_'. The west center was a stumper for a while, as I couldn't fit anything logical for 42A and my kids came before 'The Jetsons'. All I had was 'in on' and '_____bar'. Even when I added the 'on' had no idea about the first part. Wagged 'Elroy' and 'Emir' and finally got a start.
    That's what makes a great puzzle IMHO. A very good morning exercise!

    Argyle, I loved the beech. Don't think I've ever seen one.

    Jazzbumpa, where do you perform? Sounds as though you're really pleased with your group. Do you ever record? I'd love to have a cd if any are available.

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  24. Matt Ginsberg and Peter Muller might not be well known to many LAT solvers, but they are highly respected and admired constructors.
    Today's puzzle is a perfect example of their talent. It's terrific. I'm sure Rich was very pleased to receive it.

    Can't help it- TELL TUBBY not to BELLY BUTT.

    Jeannie, from yesterday- If I had it I'd give my friend the fifty. No strings attached. And yes, Kazie, I would give an alcoholic money for a drink. I've done such a thing many a time. They will get help or they won't, and in the mean time I wouldn't let them suffer. I'm not writing this looking for a response or to carry the thread even further. Just my two cents.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Finished today's puzzle successfully in 30 minutes. A few took some thinking. A few I didn't know but could work out (LENA, EDIE). A moderate challenge.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Good day, everyone!

    Yowza! This gave me fits and sent me sashaying on a wild path. The theme was clear early on, but the misleading clues, ay! ya! ay!

    More later.

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  27. Hello Puzzlers! Loved this puzzle, what with all the fun misdirecting clues and Friday difficulty. Managed to finish with just a teeny bit of red letter help.

    Hand up for WINE cellar, jammed up the NW for ages. Took a long time to recall A POP.

    Another hand up for CPUS because the techie in me agrees with Spitzboov...but I couldn't think up an alternative.

    So it comes to this: which is more formidable in a brawl, a bari sax or an Anglo sax?

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  28. Hands up for every wrong answer listed so far. Anyone else try APPS instead of CPUS? Plum instead of Pear?

    Even after I googled EDIE, ACTE and ENLOI still sounded good to me. So even though I didn't get it, I nominate ACRE as my favorite. Especially since my daughter just closed on a house that includes a 1 acre plot that will become pasture some day.

    LEROY Jetson messed me up for way too long. Wanted RAFTER, but couldn't think of any VIP that went L--R. Finally googling Headey (nice) sprayed V-8 all over the room.

    Wasn't A POP the clue recently, with EACH the answer? It made that one easy.

    Overall, I really enjoyed it. I having to resort to googling, but if they are going to put in names... Sigh.

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  29. Dell is the computer, the hardware. CPU, Central Processing Unit makes sense as the "driver."
    Granted the software and apps are what it drives.

    If the clue was 'Corvette power,' the answer 'engine' would there be a discussion that it was the gasoline that provided the combustible energy?

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  30. Jeannie:
    if it isn't too late, I'd like to weigh in in on the help or not help question. I've read the other comments/advice, and there is little to criticize or argue with. But here is how I would make that decision. Is there real need? Forget addiction (drugs, alcohol, gambling etc). I agree with the others that your friend needs help in the form of counseling, but you aren't going to impose that on het by giving her a tank of gas. If the person has a real and immediate need, I try to help. If my money or help wont make any difference, I don't give it. But it doesn't matter to me if the need is the result of stupid behavior or just bad luck. Need is need.
    Nearly thirty years ago, when I was totally upside down, someone sent me 5 twenty dollar bills in the mail anonymously. That amount was pissing in the Pacific compared to what I needed, but it made such an impact on me; if someone cared enough about me to help, how could I give up? That $100 has cost me in the neighborhood of $5000 over the last 28 years, about 80% of it anonymous.
    Give her a hand, don't let her take advantage of you.
    My 2 cents, keep the change.

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  31. Wow. What a fun puzzle this was. All of you have commented my thoughts, including the disdirection.

    Both hands up for China and Frost and not noting the date as well as "adieux". Great clues here, very fresh:

    plot part
    piece maker
    fire proof
    flat condition

    Not familiar with "knar" and in fact had "acte" and "knot" misspelling "enlai".

    A great ride today. Did have to search for "Alger" which I hate to do, but that helped me finish the bottom. Such a good theme!

    The afternoon was eaten up by my computer's woes. A friend who helps me came by to look at it and so i had to exit quickly earlier. He spent three hours on it and then the back up . . . If you have done that you know how time consuming that is.

    Jerome and Windhover:
    You are two sage and thoughtful men. I so value your words and advice. Thank you for that.

    I hope your Friday has been fabulous and the weekend will be as well.

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  32. I realize the advice wasn't intended for me, but I accepted it for my use as well. So insightful.

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  33. Hello.

    Unbeliveable hockey game. Boston has blown a 3-0 series lead and a
    3-0 game lead.

    Does anyone know if Jessica Watson
    has ended her solo, nonstop sail around the world? The 16 year old has spent 210 days at sea.

    Good weekend to go buy a boat. Jill is in Sacramento. The question
    is if I want her to ever talk to me again.

    eddyB

    ReplyDelete
  34. Oh, eddyb, do be careful. Not a wise thing to do, IMO.

    ReplyDelete
  35. EddyB : From her website:

    JESSICA ON THE FINAL STRETCH

    15-May-2010

    Jessica’s historic solo around-the-world sailing trip is now just hours from completion with the talented teenager less than 40 nautical miles from home. Tens of thousands of well-wishers and fans including a host of VIPs, are expected to line Sydney Harbour this morning to greet the 16-year-old who has spent the last seven months at sea.

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  36. Good evening, folks.
    I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle today. Had to hack away at it, but loved the delightful cluing! I recognized Matt Ginsberg's name, but not Pete Muller's (sorry Pete!). All my favorite clues have already been mentioned.

    Dennis, I also thought of Dan Naddor's cluing style as I did the puzzle today.

    Gunghy, my first thought was plum, too (think prune plum) rather than pear, but LAHR took care of that.

    Enjoy the night!

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  37. Windhover, and Jerome you are both wise men; and I have a big heart. She does have a problem though that needs to be addressed. This isn't the first time I have bailed her out.

    Jeannie signing off to get up early and dig in the dirt.

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  38. I just finished the puzzle after a long day and a baseball game for my son that was an hour north in fishing opener traffic none the less. But happy to have gotten at it. Yes it was a fun ride. I did it on the computer with a little red letter help and was able to manage it. Lots of unknowns that came with the perps and because I got the SW corner early, I was able to get some of the theme answers via knowledge of the missing ON. It was truly fun with lots of clever clues.

    The start of the puzzle was a little dicey though as someone changed the fonts on my browser and they were sooooo small that I thought the first clue was Deli drivers vs. Dell. Makes for a very poor start.

    CC, I tend to be a Type A person. They are usually perfectionists and have trouble delegating so take on extra stress. I am not always antsy, but have a hard time not multi-tasking. My son had to ask me to turn off my computer last night to watch a show with him. I have to be pretty tired to want to just sit and watch a show on TV.

    I will chime in on the "help vs. no help" question from yesterday. You have to do what is in your heart. Jeannie's question relates to someone she specifically knows, but our former priest used to have what we called "Arnieisms" (he was Fr. Arnold), many of which I remember. One of my favorites was "If you have never been taken, you haven't given enough". I think that says a lot. The other that I will never forget is "I never had anyone say on their deathbed that they wished they had worked more."

    Hard to beat that advice.

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  39. Hi.

    Set the alarm for 7Am and got up at 9:30. Have been behind all day.

    Knew Jessica was close but hadn't
    entered Sidney Harbor.

    Probably is a good idea to wait.
    The silly retired teachers are trying to convince Arnold to restore K-12 funding.

    Still don't like CPU for 1A. There were enough knowns and luckly WAGs

    to finish the puzzle.

    Time to do tomorrow's

    eddyB

    PS Phily won.

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  40. Quibble with the setter: Nixon is a last name. En lai is not. Unfair clue, not surprising so many got in wrong (including me). CC, you should have pointed this out.

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  41. Redtail,
    I did poinint out. I mentioned in my write-up this morning "But ENLAI is a given name, while the clue Nixon is surname". I said I like when clues and answers fully correspond to each other. In this case, they don't.

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  42. ENLAI and NIXON. Isn't it possible that the contructor and the editor decided that an appropriate correspondence was last names rather than surnames?

    Jeannie, I agree with all of the responders about your co-worker. I would opt on the side of helping unless you get the feeling that you're being taken advantage of. I think you will feel better about helping even if enabling.

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  43. redtail- Are you British? Only asking because of the term "setter"

    Final thought- So I'm working at a food bank and this guy drives up in an expensive car, he's dressed to the nines, well groomed, decked out with an expensive ring and a watch. Hell, his car is worth more than I make in a year. He says to me, "I'm hungry. At this moment, right now, may I have some food?"
    Should I say, "No"

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  44. I got the theme with no problem for a change, but struggled with the puzzle - in a good way! I googled the African Capital and Cellar prefix, but was able to painstakingly finish all but the SW... I've never heard of ANNAN or KNAR, although I've heard of gnarled branches...

    Gunghy: I had PEAR, but considered changing it to PLUM for a bit when the perps weren't working for me...

    I was reminiscing just last night about a rafting trip I'd taken back in college. It wasn't on the Colorado though. It was Ohiopyle in PA.

    Curious: Good explanation about CPU. I felt the same, but hadn't thought about how to explain it yet.

    ReplyDelete

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