google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday May 21, 2010 Mike Peluso

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May 21, 2010

Friday May 21, 2010 Mike Peluso

Theme: PLANE TALK ( 63A. This puzzle's title?) - Part of a plane related two-word common phrase is substituted by a homonym, and the resulting punny phrase is humorously clued.

17A. Capri beach chairs?: ISLE SEATS. Aisle Seats. Isle of Capri.

25A. Quiz a Roman judge?: TEST PILATE. Test Pilot. Pilate is the Roman judge who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus.

38A. Affable terriers?: FRIENDLY SKYES. Friendly Skies. Skye terriers.

51A. Really dark beers?: BLACK BOCKS. Black Box. I am not familiar with the Bock beer.

Nice theme. I like the pun on "plain talk" too, though I do feel the resulting phrases are just the opposite of the tie-in PLANE TALK.

Quite a few creative clues today. My favorite is ALTAR (60A. Where to see an approaching train?). D'oh, the wedding gown "train".

Across:

1. Like a javelin's path: ARCED

6. Balancing pro?: CPA. Nailed it.

9. 2.3, roughly: C-PLUS. Oh, I don't know this equivalent.

14. "The Wreck of the Mary __": DEARE. Have never heard of this film (1959). Starring Gary Cooper.

15. Steak seasoning: RUB. Alliteration.

16. Picked up: HEARD. Did not come to me immediately.

19. Rhythmic feet?: IAMBS. Poetic feet.

20. Faint: DIM

21. "The Metaphysics of Ethics" author: KANT

22. Camera type, briefly: SLR (Single-Lens Reflex)

23. Sailing, say: ASEA. Alliteration.

30. Play with a brushing motion: STRUM. I see, play with musical instrument.

32. Fights in the sticks: RASSLES. Hillbilly for "wrestles".

33. Idealist: DREAMER

37. Post-WWII alliance: OAS

42. "Who, me?": MOI. Who will educate us about French when Kazie leaves for Oz next Wednesday? She'll be gone for a whole month!

43. They're not content to see you: RAISERS. Poker term "see", to match (a bet). Got me.

44. Stays in memory: LIVES ON

47. Greek fabulist: AESOP

55. See 54-Down: REMO. And SAN (54D. With 55-Across, Italian site of a post-WWI Allied conference). I only know it as a resort.

56. Golfer's concern: LIE. The position of the golf ball. We also have PUTTS ( 7D. Uses the "flat stick," in golf). "Flat stick" is slang for putter, which is flat comparing with other clubs.

57. Many a Middle Easterner: ARAB

59. Tokyo-based chip maker: NEC. Was unaware that NEC makes chips.

65. Like a game in baseball's record books: NO HIT. And MLB (42D. Bud Selig's org.). Selig is the current commissioner.

66. Sitcom E.T.: ALF

67. Coco rival: ESTEE (Lauder). Cosmetics.

68. Traveling options: TOURS

69. Pin site: MAT

70. "Grace Under Fire" star Butler: BRETT. Total stranger to me. A male sounding name.

Down:

1. Puma competitor: ADIDAS

2. Put up a fight: RESIST. I've learned to yield.

3. Less windy, say: CALMER

4. Bard's preposition: ERE. Before.

5. Certain sergeant's post: DESK

6. Rail relative: CRANE

8. Workout targets. ABS. This is for Jeannie. Clear Ayes likes Ryan Reynolds too.

9. Tex-Mex restaurant chain: CHILI'S. Headquartered in Texas.

10. Bits of wisdom?: PEARLS. Pearls of wisdom.

11. Flight: LAM

12. Suffix with sub- URB. Suburb.

13. 1968 Columbia U. protesters: SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). Why Columbia U in particular?

18. Put away: EAT. Not the "put away" I have in mind.

22. Hardly dense: SPARSE

24. BMW competitor: AUDI

26. Small diamonds: TREYS. Of course, I was picturing real diamonds, not playing cards.

27. Soothing lotion: ALOE

28. Chai and oolong: TEAS

29. Mountain road feature: ESS

31. Desert Storm mess, briefly?: MRE (Meal Ready to Eat). Again, I was in real snafu mess direction. Not military meal mess.

34. Prepare for court, perhaps: ENROBE. OK, for the judge.

35. Town in a 1945 Pulitzer-winning novel: ADANO. Hersey's "A Bell for Adano".

36. 11th-century year: MLI. 1,051.

38. Prevent: FOIL

39. 1972 Kentucky Derby winner __ Ridge: RIVA. Mike used the identical clue in a Sunday puzzle last year. I simply forgot. The horse won 1972 Belmont Stakes as well.

40. Malay Peninsula's Isthmus of __: KRA. See this map. Stumper for me.

41. Belgian river: YSER

45. Iced pastry: ECLAIR

46. Sidesteps: SKIRTS

48. Legislative century: SENATE. Senate has 100 members.

49. It's folded and filled: OMELET. Nailed it.

50. Sink, as a billiard ball: POCKET

52. __ lily: CALLA

53. "Make today delicious" food giant: KRAFT

58. U.K. network, with "the": BEEB. Nickname for BBC I suppose.

60. Hill dweller: ANT

61. Manchester head?: LOO. Ha ha, toilet "head". I was tricked again. I thought of MAN, since MAN starts the word Manchester.

62. Cal. column: THU

63. Robin's "Mork & Mindy" co-star: PAM (Dawber). Easy guess.

64. Dungeons & Dragons co.: TSR (Tactical Studies Rules). No idea. Wikipedia says TSR was purchased in 1997 by Wizards of the Coast, which no longer uses the TSR name for its product.

Answer grid.

C.C.

66 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, C.C. and gang - now this was a fun puzzle. I smiled all the way through it, from the theme to the very clever cluing, including 'They're not content to see you', 'Where to see an approaching train', 'Pin site', 'Prepare for court, perhaps', and several others. Only unknown was the Isthmus of Kra.
C.C. the eight-day S.D.S. takeover at Columbia U. in '68 was one of the more famous activities by that less than illustrious group.

Today is National Memo Day and National Bike to Work Day. And speaking of bikes, I've got a big bike ride this morning, so I've gotta get rolling. Hope it's a great day for everyone.

Lemonade714 said...

I really like CPA as a balancing pro, then okay, who will be the first to carp about C PLUS really being 2.7 or higher? Immediately followed by the obscure book/movie WRECK OF THE MARY DEARE which I never heard of, but which had a great cast, including Charlton Heston and Gary Cooper. Wow, what a beginning! Throw in the very misleading reference to RAIL the family of birds, and this was a Friday puzzle, for sure.

Luckily, the perps gave me ISLE SEATS, and like Brer Rabbit, once I saw the pun, I was in my briar patch and loving it. I have no idea why I remember the John Hersey novel A BELL FOR ADANO but I put it in and it fit. His work THE WALL about the Jewish uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto was very powerful stuff, especially as my ancestors emigrated from Warsaw, those that made it out.

I think I read about SKYE TERRIERS in one of Ian Rankin’s books, but I have no recollection of ever seeing the ISTHMUS OF KRA. I finished with the B in BEEB and BRETT, remembering her TV show, but not that name for the BBC, or whatever it means. The TV show Grace Under Fire was pretty forgettable, but was written by Chuck Lorre, who is the head writer for Two and a Half Men and the Big Bang Theory .

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and all. I loved this puzzle. BLACK BOCKS was my first theme clue, so that was actually the "hint" for me that helped with the rest of the puzzle. PLANE TALK was too obtuse for me as a "hint."

Not being a poker player, RAISERS confused me. Thanks for the explanation.

My favorite clue was Desert Storm Mess = MRE.

Who, Me? = MOI reminded me of Miss Piggy

Happy Friday!

QOD: It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend. ~ William Blake

Hahtoolah said...

Lemonade: The Wall is one of my favorite books. I first read it when I was a teenager and periodically re-read it. An amazingly powerful story!

Lemonade714 said...

C.C., your comment about Brett Butler being a male sounding name, is not only accurate, but coincidentally, during the time the female comedian, BB (why wasn't she in the B29 puzzle?) was starring on television, BASEBALL'S BRETT BUTLER was a very successful leadoff man and center fielder for many teams.

The character played by BB, in GRACE UNDER FIRE was named GRACE KELLY, and was introduced on two different ABC shows, ELLEN and the THE DREW CAREY SHOW at the time networks were hiring lots of comics to develop shows, like Ellen Degeneres, Drew Carey and a guy named Jerry Seinfeld.

Brett's stand up routine centered around her own life as a recovering alcoholic; sadly she fell off the wagon and was fired from her own show.

Tinbeni said...

C.C. Excellent write-up.
What a fun misdirection puzzle. Including the theme reveal Plane Talk.

Lemonade, since you brought it up, about the C-PLUS being 2.7 or higher, I think you are the first to carp about this clue.

The NE was the last to fall. Just couldn't get my IAMBS dancing.

Fave was the Raisers not being content to see me. Also the sticks (rural) Rassles.

Kant was unknown until I remembered he was brought up the other day in the NYT. Like KRA it was all perps.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I blew through the top half of this puzzle in record time for a Friday and then ground to a halt after that. I finally finished unassisted, but it wasn't a pretty site. Had I done this in pen on paper instead of on the computer, the lower half would be one big cross out.

I've never heard of RIVA and SAN REMO didn't exactly spring to mind when I read the clues. I actually put in ECLAIR initially for 45D, but took it back out when it didn't work with either EVADES or ELUDES (one of which I knew had to be correct for 46D). And I thought I was sooo clever figuring out that 60A was AISLE. Ah well, I was in the ballpark, at least...

With all the above going on, it took me forever to figure out FOIL and ENROBE, which in turn made BLACKBOCKS and LIVES ON impossible to get. What finally cracked that whole section open was my willingness to abandon EVADE or ELUDE entirely. Once I did that, I was able to guess SKIRT, and everything fell into place pretty quickly thereafter.

Great puzzle!

Anonymous said...

Good puzzle, but got side tracked with "pin site" when I entered "Hat" (hat pin) instead of "Mat"...

Anonymous said...

I don't understand 62 down.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand 62 down. Please, explain!

Al said...

TOUR, from Old French "tour, tourn": a turn, trick, round, circuit, circumference," from torner, tourner "to turn". The sense of "a traveling around, journey" is first recorded in the 1640s.

Origin: Latin tornare: "to polish, round off, fashion, which also gives us the word "turn", as on a lathe.

Force, meaning strength, is also a word we also borrowed from France, thus a Tour de force is a feat of strength.

Al said...

Insistent Anon, one of the columns in a Calendar is Thursday. Both clue and answer were abbreviations.

kazie said...

I don't understand MAT or THU either.

I did reasonably well for Friday, but with many unknowns and WAGs. i g'ed DEARE, BRETT and came here for the SW corner. Liked the theme and got it early.

I got C PLUS from perps. Grading has never been something I'm comfortable with, and having not gone to college here, had no idea that 2.3 even referred to a grade. At the high school where I taught, it was all letter grades, and fortunately the percentages gave me a leg to stand on, since I could never have given letter grades subjectively. I grew up in a pass-fail system, where 50% was a pass, but you had to work much harder to get that 50%, than here to get the 70% D- grade.

Al said...

@Kazie, the "floor" of a wrestling surface is a MAT. A pin (or fall) is when you put your opponent on his/her back with any part of both shoulders or both shoulder blades of your opponent in contact with the mat for two seconds. When you pin your opponent, the match is over and you are the winner.

Spitzboov said...

Good Morning all. Not bad for a Friday. Loved the cleverness of the theme words. Liked LOO and MAT, too. Couldn't get the NE to come together and finally conceded to help with CHILIS. CPLUS was arbitrary; I feel it should have been clue 2.4 or 2.5 on a 4.0 scale. In addition to the main theme, there were clues on card games, baseball, and golf. In all, a lively array of words.

Anon @ 8:56 - The clue was Cal. column. Calender column. THU is 1 of 7 col's.

Enjoy the day.

Jeannie said...

I thought this was a clever puzzle and a clever theme. I thought of Dennis’ love of planes once I figured it out. Black Bocks was my aha moment. I think isle seats was my favorite theme answer though. I admit I did have to hit the g-spot for Kant. Perp help included SLR, Nec, Adano, KRA, and beeb? I hate those “see 54-D” clues so Remo and San were just WAG’s. To me a C+ would have to be 2.6 or higher. I also didn’t understand “rails” relative “crane” until I read Lemonade’s post; who, by the way can be our French interpreter while Kazie is out of town. I believe Brett Butler started out as a standup comedian. All in all there were several good clues. My favorites were “balancing pro” – CPA “small diamonds” – treys and “Desert storm mess, briefly” – MRE.

C.C. thank you for my morning wakeup-great abs! Also, what “put away” did you have in mind?

kazie said...

Al,
Thanks. I have heard that in wrestling, but wrestling wasn't on my radar today. There were actually quite a few sports terms today.

Lrc said...

Good morning. A number of false starts today. 6A I had CON for balancing pro instead of CPA even tho I are one. Also 38A I knew was FRIENDLY"SKIES" but could not connect skies to a dog; have never heard of skye terrier. One quibble-26D small diamonds; answer is plural but there is only one three of diamonds in a deck.

It is a big day in town tonight and tomorrow with marathon and associated races. 20,000 runners. The weather will be a little warm - about 80. There is some concern that the races may need to be stopped if the heat/humidity index gets too high. It is quite a sight to see thousands of runners coming 10-15 wide down the street outside my office about 3 miles from the start.

Anonymous said...

Re: 9A I think Mike P. was being cute with his clue. Rather than an actual C+, I think he intended it to mean a little more than a C. IMHO

imsdave said...

That was one fine puzzle. I usually tear through Friday's but not today. KRA and TSR don't spring willingly off my tongue for some reason. Loved the theme and the great reveal clue. Nice work from Mr. Peluso.

Dave Eckert here, and sorry to be so late. I just wanted to thank you all for the very nice comments on my puzzle yesterday. Quite an amazing journey going back and forth with Rich several times (and a few different grid layouts) until we hit upon this one.

Glad you all enjoyed, and based on this experience, I may see you all again in about a year or so:)

Dennis said...

Dave, thanks for checking in; it's always great to have a constructor take the time to do so, and it's very much appreciated by all of us.

And if yesterday's puzzle is any indication, I think it'll be well within a year before we see your next work.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, A challenging puzzle for me, but it is Friday and challenges are to be expected. I knew I was in trouble when I finally filled in (9A) CPLUS. I never did figure out what a CPLU was (maybe something mathematical like PI??) much less what multiple CPLU are. D'oh! C-PLUS... hyphenated words always give me problems.

Who knew that there is more than one Tex-Mex restaurant chain that starts with CH, ends in S and has six letters? I filled in (9D) CHEVYS and it was a tough sell to talk myself out of it.

SLR, MRE, OAS, NEC and TSR...I always break into a sweat when I see three letter abbreviations. Oh yeah, I didn't know KRA either.

The easiest part of this puzzle were the theme phrases. They were all well enough known, so that with a few letters they flowed into their proper places.

I don't know why I know this, but Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye Terrier. Maybe it was a story I heard during those years spent at dog shows

I've never thought of Coco (Chanel) as a cosmetic company, so (67A) ESTEE (Lauder) had to come from the perps. That took awhile because 58D BEEB and 64D TSR were totally off my radar.

Thank you Al@9:17. I was feeling Kazie's pain with (69A) MAT too.

Thanks to C.C. for Ryan Reynolds this morning. His ABS always make me smile.

Another smile at 10:35 to see Dave Eckert stop by. Thanks for your comments and for the puzzle. We hope to see more of both soon.

Seldom Seen said...

i think i have an old backpacking stove made by TSR but did not find a wiki entry for it.

if you've seen google today you know it is pacman's 30th b-day.

the paper printed a few bits of trivia today about this...originally called puck-man in japan. some execs thought that american teenagers might alter the "p" in arcades across the nation and decided to chage it. how insightful they were. i can guarantee you almost every machine would have been altered!!

how do some execs miss these things like the chevy nova(no go in spanish) or federal express(sounded like the police in mexico)?

Seldom Seen said...

sorry....the stove made by MSR

nevermind....

Bob said...

Gave up on this one after an hour (my usual policy) and never worked out the NE corner. Had PEARLS and SDS but never got CHILIS (not a fan of Tex-Mex), LAM, URB, or CPLUS. I considered a lot of choices for 12D but not URB, I guess. Also had SKIES instead of SKYES. All my errors look obvious in retrospect, of course. Feeling ill today didn't help my patience or mental processes. Very good Friday puzzle, even if I wasn't quite up to the challenge this time.

Seldom Seen said...

oh no.....i just realized that you can actually play the pacman google banner. nothing is going to get done today! the older blog crowd is probably not as impressed as i, but how COOL is that!?!

i had 3180 on my first try....i feel like i just discovered crack!!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - I'm kinda agreeing with Bob. I did the puzzle well before Coffee Time, and got all smug with a Monday speed in the NW. It was all speed bumps from there.

Remembered IAMBS, but couldn't get crosses. Tried ATM for Pin site, but there were insufficient funds. NOHIT was not a hit. Another river! I'm terrible at rivers from memory.

Grousing aside, I blame me and not the puzzle 'cause this one easily met Friday criteria in my mind. Send more, Mike!

Thanks to Dave Eckert for commenting, and thanks as always to C.C. for creating a blog that holds sway with everyone!

Dudley said...

SNH - Yeah, I discovered that too. I couldn't resist hitting the Insert Coin button 'cause I was pretty sure we could count on Goog for something fun! (But I forgot that PacMan could eat the ghosts, it's been so long...)

Gunghy said...

Barry, You are singing my song!! I had everything to 37A solid in about 2 minutes then hit a reinforced brick wall. 44A was LEARNED. 49D was PHYLLO. But what really killed me is that I actually 'knew' a name: you know, that female comedienne, RHETT Butler. Between her and OMELOT, I never got that corner.

Loved the cluing.

Can't tell you how fast MAT went in. I RASSLED for Cal and actually placed 2nd in the PAC-8 tournament.

2.3 is a C+, 2.7 would be a B-. At least that's how they did it when I was still in school. That is, by the way used in calculations of GPA.

Lemonade, thank you for the reminder of the other B. B. I cheered him as a Giant (He was what, 5' 6"??) and booed him the next year as a Dodger.

LRC, Take up canasta, one version of which is played with 5 decks. Quibble gone.

Dave, It had better not be another year!! Quit blogging and write me another.

Off to mow the weeds at the kids new house.

Tinbeni said...

Seen, not heard
3730 first time.
I think the scores will go up but productivity in the world has gone down.

Haven't yet figured out if Thanks are in order ... but I got to try it one more time.

Gunghy said...

The current daily deal on Ebay: 2 New York Times Game 0.5mm Pencils With Light

Anyone need a lighted pencil so you can do this even earlier??

Seldom Seen said...

i stopped at 5400. i think that the programmer will not allow you to clear the board. i had all but two dots cleared...oh well, back to work!

Lucina said...

Good day, C.C. and everyone. I love Friday puzzles!

My entire commentary just disappeared so I have to restart!

I dove straight down to find the theme and it helped big time. The botom filled quickly, relatively speaking as I had "par" for golfer's concern but eclair changed that.

Great theme answers, especially "isle seats"; some fills were straightforward like sparse, calmer, lives on, but most were amusingly tricky.

Bits of wisdom (pearls, balancing pro (CPA), legislative century (senate), rail relative (crane) and others were just golden. Great job from Mike Peluso!

Thanks to Dave Eckert for checking in; I too hope we see him again very soon.

Re Estee and Coco, aren't cologne and perfume their only commonalities?

Great fun today! I hope you all are having a fantastic Friday!

Tinbeni said...

Seen, not heard
Cleared the board.
Don't forget on each side you can go out bringing you in on the other side.
Points for the fruit.
It's multi-level, got to the third level then had phone call.

Tinbeni said...

Seen, not heard
Hit the "insert coin" button twice, it is also Multi-player.

No wonder the stock market is in a funk, they are playing Pac-Man!

dodo said...

Hi, C.C. and all. I finally got impatient and looked up the ones I didn't know and the perps didn't help:'72 Derby winner,Bud Selig,even Chili's. Spent a lot of time on Bock Beer and finally ended up guessing 'Black', which wasn't touched on but happened to be right! C.C. I did the same as you with 28D and 31D, thinking of diamond Stones and the ugly mess left by Desert Storm. I never did get URB, which was pretty silly but I couldn't get a handle on CP together after all the time I spent on that corner! Last entry was U in urb and plus. Favorite clue 43A, they're not content to see you.

Oh, well, it was a really clever puzzle but I guess I wasn't tuned in.

Dudley said...

Tinbeni - Oh, man! I forgot about escaping through the wall! Maybe now I'll break 6000.

Zero productivity.

Lucina said...

Al:
I forgot to thank you for your "pearls of wisdom." Interesting about "tour" and "tour de force."

It's been too long since I used numbers and letters so I can't comment on C plus; my class is a pass/fail. Eighty percent is requred to pass.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody,

Been totally off line for a week; telephone landline has been dead as a doornail for 10 days, taking our DSL out along with it. Supposedly a repairman is coming out today; I hope he fixes it for good, unlike the "fix" which a technician performed on the line last week which broke the very next day. Never figured good ole copper wire lines were so fragile.

I'm on my laptop at a "hot spot" at a local coffee shop to write this. Been spending a lot of time going back to read the last week or more of this blog. Enjoy all your comments and insights.

Anyway, been doing the puzzles on paper every day and enjoying them, doing reasonably well at them except for today's. Got stumped by most of the same entries many of you did. Like Clear Ayes I sweat, and my eyes glaze over as well, when there are so many three-letter abbrevs.

Good to catch up with you all, and best regards!

dodo said...

Hand up for not considering Estee a competitor with Coco. Chanel scent is a classic but Coco made her name in fashion! IMHO Lauder will never be in that class!

Bill G. said...

Hi everybody! I really enjoyed this puzzle even though it was hard. Some hard puzzles feel like a slog to me but not this one.

I agree with Gunghy; at my school, a C was 2.0, C+ was 2.3, B- was 2.7, B was 3.0, etc.

My father told me that bock beer was made once a year (in the old days) when the brewers would scrape the sides of the vats to clean off the deposits that had accumulated though the year. The resulting beer was darker and stronger-flavored.

Clear Ayes said...

I see all our teachers and former teachers are familiar with figuring GPA. When I went to high school it was all figured on test score percentages. 50% was passing (D)and so on. 90% was an A, and 95% or more was an A+.

Dodo@1:54, I agree with you about Coco Chanel and ESTEE Lauder. Chanel is still famous for haute couture fashion. Estee Lauder has never done anything other than perfume and cosmetics. But...just for the sake of Friday puzzle trickiness, the Coco fragrance is in competition with the Estée fragrance.

Jayce, 10 days without a landline! You must live even farther out in the sticks than we do. The longest we've been without the phone is five days.

ARBAON said...

How can I not like a puzzle with two of my favorite things? Estee ("Pleasures") and eclairs!!!!Favorite clue? "Quiz a Roman judge."

Just finished making a scrumptious dessert to go with Jeannie`s fabulous entrees:

Mix 2 sticks melted butter (I know!) with two cups plain flour and 3/4 c. chopped pecans. Spread in a 9x13 casserole (it will be 22d) Bake 20 minutes @ 350. Cool. Mix 8 ozs. softened cream cheese with 1 pound box of confec. sugar (I know!) til creamy. Add 1, 8 oz cool whip and mix well. Spread over crust. Top with cherry pie filling ( or peach, blueberry or strawberry.) Serve in 2"x2" squares because it is sinfully rich!

WH: Better buy a side car with all the people signing on!

Annette said...

How I could have enjoyed a puzzle I had so much trouble with is beyond me, but I did! I had to google several, and totally missed the boat (, train, or plane? The puzzle references all three – even automobiles.) in the SW! I thought of the train being related to a wedding gown at one point, but when “wedding” didn’t fit, I moved on and eventually had to come here for the answer. I caught ones like CPA right away, but can’t believe I didn’t see ANT or LOO in the SW...

C.C., I’ll add my thanks for the Ryan Reynolds photo too!

Gunghy: You laugh at those lighted pencils, but when I can’t sleep and go do the puzzle online, I’ll assume the light from the screen will be enough to see by, then find myself pecking at keys in the dark! Too tired to get up and flip a light switch, but not tired enough to sleep.

Liz said...

I got isleseats and testpilate right away, so I thought I was pretty smart, but then missed the next two theme answers, which popped my ego balloon. Fun puzzle, felt right for a Friday.

Lrc, enjoy the marathon (I'm volunteering inside tomorrow) but don't go out there today or tomorrow if you don't have to. There is so much traffic. I have to ask you, did you grow up near the Walhalla area?

A splendid weekend to everyone.

Bill G. said...

Barbara talked me into going out to lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. Arnold Palmers, deep-fried artichoke hearts, two kinds of soup in one bowl, a marguerita pizza and a slice of Key Lime pie. Yummy!

Clear Ayes said...

19A IAMBS are a type of poetic meter which has one unstressed beat and one stressed beat (a foot)

Shakespeare wrote almost exclusively in Iambic Pentameter, which has five stressed beats.

Sonnet 18 is one of the most famous examples of Shakespearean Iambic Pentameter. I stuck in the bold print for the first couple of lines to demonstrate the meter.

Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And often is his gold complexion dimm'd;
And every fair from fair sometime declines,
By chance or nature's changing course untrimm'd;
But thy eternal summer shall not fade
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.

Seldom Seen said...

ca: i am not a big poem guy but...that was beautiful! But...since it rhymed, could jim morrison and friends have put it to music(great keyboard, a driving bass and an awesome drumbeat) and claimed it as another "simple" doors song?! lol

Anonymous said...

I enjoy the puzzles, but I often need a lot of help from this blog, so thank you everyone. I was a little confused about Japanese chip maker being NEC but maybe they were talking about computer chips? I know NEC from computers.

Dennis said...

Anon, right you are.

Chickie said...

Hello All--I fell on my face today and had to be picked up by C.C.'s answers.

Totally off my radar today were Kra, Yser (spelled Iser), Riva, U.K. network, (BBC wouldn't fit), Ant, TSR, etc.etc.

The NE and SW corners were big white spots. Grade for C-plus didn't even enter my head, and I, too, had Chevys instead of Chilis.

Despite all those problems, the theme answers came readily, but didn't help in the long run. Oh, well, it is Friday after all. There were some very clever misleading clues that were aha's when I came here to get the answers. Hopefully I'll file some of these away for a later date.

For some reason Brett Butler came from the far recesses of my mind. I do remember watching her sitcom way back when.

We're off to Chico to see our grandson graduate from College. He will be singing the National Anthem on Sunday before the ceremony. I think I'm more nervous than her is!!

Dave Eckert, it was a pleasure to see your comment. Thank you for visiting the blog. Hopefully we'll see you again very soon.

Mainiac said...

Good Evening All,

I did get the puzzle in this morning but no chance to post until now. Unfortunately this one kicked my butt. I finally got some traction in the north when I got Test Pilate finally with red letter help. Then the rest was a bit clearer to fill in guessing the theme had something to do with planes. The homonym part of the theme killed me. It was a great challenge and hats off to Mr. Peluso and those who completed it with pleasure.

Thanks again for the birthday wishes. Had a good one. Lunch with my wife and parents. Nice celebration at home with the boys. They picked out a small cake from the store and laughed that there was no way to fit enough candles on it. I got a new grass trimmer but my favorite was the home made gift cards. Their sense of humor has really grown. What a Hoot!

Got a bunch of stuff I want to do this weekend and the weather looks fabulous so probably won't do any puzzling.

Have a great weekend all!

Chickie said...

Sometimes proofreading just doesn't pay off. I meant to say I'm more nervous than He is.

Mainiac, after a certain age the candles on our birthday cakes all stand for 10 years. Try that next time when you have run out of space on your cake. We finally resorted to the candles in the shape of numbers when my MIL hit her 100th birthday.

MJ said...

Good evening, C.C. and all.

I really liked today's theme and Friday level clues. I was doing okay this morning, but then came to a grinding halt in the SW before leaving for work. Was able to finish after work with a lot of perp help. Favorite clue was "They're not content to see you"-RAISERS. Fav theme clue/fill was TESTPILATE.

So nice to see Dave Eckert checking in today. C.C., it is certainly a show of respect to you and your wonderful blog that so many of the constructors check in, and you have both earned and deserve that esteem.

Arbaon, your dessert recipe sounds yummy!

Enjoy the evening!

Annette said...

Bill G.: Your lunch sounds delicious! I checked their website and there's one closer than I thought. I'll have to give it a try. I love artichokes.

Bill G. said...

Annette, their small Waldorf salad is spectacularly good! It's big enough to split but we didn't have it this time.

Gunghy said...

Annette, I wasn't laughing at a lighted pencil, I was laughing that some people get up in the wee hours and work the puzzle.

The greatest thing about retirement is that I can sleep when I want and I am a NIGHT OWL. There have been times when my daughter has been getting up for work as I've been getting ready for bed. She sometimes has to leave at 3 AM.

I bought a LCD that plugs into a USB port from a dollar store. Not much light, but it sounds like the answer to your problem. And I won't laugh if you get one, promise.

Annette said...

Gunghy, maybe that's what I should do if I won a million dollars - enjoy living on my time table, not the silly norm of the business world!

I think all working night owls should revolt...

Clear Ayes said...

"Who is Ben Hur?"...I have a witness that I got the final Tournament of Champions Jeopardy question. Now I can continue to delude myself that I am every bit as good as the best contestant. No wonder I keep watching that show.

ARBAON, I had to get on the treadmill for 15 minutes just for reading your recipe. (I still saved it to my recipe file though.)

SNH, LOL, sounds like a perfect setup for The Doors.

"You're like a summer's day.
You're like a summer's day.
Never go away,
Even if it's May.
etc..."

Don't forget the bass and the drums!

Anonymous said...

As the token anon, geez thanks Dennis you pompous ass. Furthermore Jeannie's comment to CC was uncalled for. Thank God she can cook (or so she says) and manages to hold a job. Judging from her pic it's no wonder how she got there.

HUTCH said...

ashutch..I do have a question. What is red letter help? I know Google. But it seems some have help or tips going in that I dont have in my newspaper. Can someone give me a lift?

Bill G. said...

Hutch asked about red-letter help.

If you go to latimes.com, you will see their home page. Second from the right and second from the top, you will find More in a black bar. Under More, go to Games and Horoscopes. Click on Daily Crossword Puzzle. Click on Featured Puzzle and choose Regular Skill Level. Whenever you enter a wrong letter, it will show up in red. Also, you can tell the Applet to Solve a letter or word for you. I hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

Hutch, to do the puzzle on line, you can also click on the link for the LAT puzzle that is at the top right side of C.C.'s main blog page.

jeanniefan said...

Wow, people have obviously listened to the regulars here and don't "feed the trolls". I for one being one have to come to Jeannie's defense.

Anon, you couldn't even manage to lick her toes let alone a bowl.

Somehow I think I just became WH. But my point is made. I somehow think Dennis would kick your ass too.

Gunghy said...

OK, Dennis, I read all your posts from today. Please show me the pompous part, I'm too dense to see it.

And how in H does thanking CC for a picture insult her in any way?

Anon 10:07, you are looking for insults in areas that don't apply to you. Clean your own nest.

Lassie Saves Timmy said...

@5:32, Dennis agreed with an previous Anon's conclusion by saying "Anon, right you are."

C.C.'s original comments:
8D 8. "Workout targets. ABS. This is for Jeannie. Clear Ayes likes Ryan Reynolds too."
18D. "Put away: EAT. Not the "put away" I have in mind.


Jeannie@9:40 C.C. thank you for my morning wakeup-great abs! Also, what “put away” did you have in mind?

Seems like regular blog back and forth to me. There sure doesn't seem to be anything, either "pompous" or "uncalled for" there.

It really is better to ignore the dopey anon postings. I'm already sorry for this explanation of the 10:07 stupid/drunken post.