Theme: TIE-IN - (69A. Marketing ploy, and a hint to this puzzle's theme) - TIE is inserted into different part of each two-word familiar phrase.
20A. Ones wearing designer hospital gowns?: FANCY PATIENTS. Fancy Pants. Fun clue/answer.
32A. Massive marina protectors?: JUMBO JETTIES. Jumbo Jets. With two expensive letters Js.
42A. Plaza with many levels?: TIERED SQUARE. Red Square. Central square in Moscow. Another expensive letter Q.
55A. More passionate language?: SWEATIER WORDS. Swear Words. Vivid image.
Two of the TIE additions are in second word, two first word. I liked the variety.
Nice pangram. All 26 letters are used at least once. The below two non-theme 10-letter answers are great (normally they are split into two slots to make the construction easier):
17A. "M" star: PETER LORRE. Rare to see his full name.
61A. Heavily favored squads: DREAM TEAMS
My favorite clue today is EDS (31A. Recipients of authors' gratitude, briefly). Editors. I gather it's Doug's original clue? I am sure it brought a smile to Rich's face.
Across:
1. Watch for: AWAIT. As in "Watch for an opportunity". I wanted ALERT.
6. "Big Brother" host Julie: CHEN. Very pretty. Chen = Chan (as in Jackie Chan). Former is Mandarin, latter is Cantonese.
10. Zinger: BARB
14. Extremely, in slang: MONDO. Not familiar with this slang.
15. Likely to loaf: LAZY. Alliteration.
16. Like zero: OVAL. Oh, shape.
19. Princess who battled Callisto: XENA. Played by Lucy Lawless.
22. Petting zoo sound: BAA. Sheep.
24. Some quick pitches: ADS. Of course I thought of baseball.
25. Salad oil pourer: CRUET
26. Pungent: ACRID
28. Out of the woods: SAFE
36. Basilica section: APSE
37. Three-time Clooney title role: OCEAN. Danny Ocean. I liked "Ocean's Eleven" the best.
38. Slender wind: OBOE
45. Tape deck button: REC
48. Disparage: SLUR
49. "Family Matters" misfit: URKEL (Steve). Beat me. Have never seen "Family Matters".
50. Deck out: ADORN
52. Genetic ID: DNA. Always have to waffle between DNA & RNA.
54. Accident scene initials: EMS
60. Arrange logically: SORT
64. Nuts: LOCO
65. Disney president Robert: IGER. He succeeded Michael Eisner in 2005. Quite articulate.
66. __ Island: NY/NJ landmark: ELLIS
67. Starting place?: EDEN. Can't fool me any more.
68. Play a round: GOLF. Felt stupid not nailing it immediately. Who's your pick for US Open?
Down:
1. Band booster: AMP
2. Distress: WOE
3. Colonies with tunnels: ANT FARMS. Awesome fill.
4. Brainchild: IDEA
5. Supercell product: TORNADO. Our local meteorologist is obsessed with tornado, but I don't remember he mentioned supercell.
6. Is too sweet: CLOYS
7. Emblem of Ireland: HARP. Man, I never knew this. It's on the cover of Irish passports. On the obverse of Irish Euro coins also.
8. Book before Nehemiah: EZRA. Needed crossing help. The name means "Help" in Hebrew.
9. Uh-uh, in Ufa: NYET. Russian for "No" (Da is "Yes"). Ufa is a city of west-central Russian in the Southern Ural Mountain. Doug picked Ufa for alliteration purpose. My first encounter with this name.
10. Ring competitor: BOXER
11. One of 17 Monopoly properties: AVENUE
12. Blustered: RANTED
13. Great times: BLASTS
18. Type of screen, briefly: LCD. Several abbreviated answers in this puzzle. None obscure.
21. Frozen drink brand: ICEE
22. Tijuana's region: BAJA. Is it short for Baja California?
23. Lingerie size: A CUP. First time I saw A CUP in a LAT.
27. Skeptical comment: I BET
28. Direct: STEER
29. Not much: A TAD
30. Underwater directors: FINS. "Director" made me think of a person.
33. "Just the Way You Are" singer: JOEL (Billy). Great song.
34. Stationery shade: ECRU. Alliteration.
35. Grumpy: SOUR
39. Popular fund raiser: BAKE SALE
40. Central Utah city: OREM. And Provo. Learned both from doing Xword.
41. They may be shockers: EELS. We've seen similar clue before.
43. Fails to be: ISN'T
44. Many a pop group: QUARTET
45. Grapple with, in the sticks: RASSLE. Wrestle.
46. "Plan 9 From Outer Space" director: ED WOOD. The name faintly rings a bell. Also a title of a Johnny Depp movie.
47. Put the squeeze on: COERCE
51. Inform against: RAT ON
52. Khuzdul speaker, in Tolkien: DWARF. Khuzdul is a fictional language spoken by the Dwarfs. Stumped me.
53. Metz moniker: NOM. Metz is a city in NE France. Another alliteration.
56. "Cool, man!": I DIG. I totally dig Jazzbumpa's theme title the other day "Music, Man". Mondo cool!
57. So: ERGO
58. Line holder: REEL. Oh, fishing line.
59. Ham salad seller: DELI
62. DI doubled: MII. 51X2= 1002. (Correction: It's 501X2= 1002).
63. Three-part fig.: SSN
Answer grid.
Thanks for the concern and understanding of my recent absence, everyone. I've been very busy and am always behind in catching up with the comments/emails. Dennis is the designated host in my absence, and he will (he has been) answer any question that needs to be addressed.
Additionally, I feel the quality and fun/education factor of the blog write-up have been improved considerably with regular contributions from our dedicated team of Argyle, Al, Melissa Bee, Jazzbumpa and Lemonade. They add distinctive style and flavor to our blog and I love looking at the puzzles through their eyes.
So don't worry about my diminished blogging. I assure you that a carefully written post will appear every morning at 5:30am Central Time. Just enjoy the write-up & have fun!
C.C.
20A. Ones wearing designer hospital gowns?: FANCY PATIENTS. Fancy Pants. Fun clue/answer.
32A. Massive marina protectors?: JUMBO JETTIES. Jumbo Jets. With two expensive letters Js.
42A. Plaza with many levels?: TIERED SQUARE. Red Square. Central square in Moscow. Another expensive letter Q.
55A. More passionate language?: SWEATIER WORDS. Swear Words. Vivid image.
Two of the TIE additions are in second word, two first word. I liked the variety.
Nice pangram. All 26 letters are used at least once. The below two non-theme 10-letter answers are great (normally they are split into two slots to make the construction easier):
17A. "M" star: PETER LORRE. Rare to see his full name.
61A. Heavily favored squads: DREAM TEAMS
My favorite clue today is EDS (31A. Recipients of authors' gratitude, briefly). Editors. I gather it's Doug's original clue? I am sure it brought a smile to Rich's face.
Across:
1. Watch for: AWAIT. As in "Watch for an opportunity". I wanted ALERT.
6. "Big Brother" host Julie: CHEN. Very pretty. Chen = Chan (as in Jackie Chan). Former is Mandarin, latter is Cantonese.
10. Zinger: BARB
14. Extremely, in slang: MONDO. Not familiar with this slang.
15. Likely to loaf: LAZY. Alliteration.
16. Like zero: OVAL. Oh, shape.
19. Princess who battled Callisto: XENA. Played by Lucy Lawless.
22. Petting zoo sound: BAA. Sheep.
24. Some quick pitches: ADS. Of course I thought of baseball.
25. Salad oil pourer: CRUET
26. Pungent: ACRID
28. Out of the woods: SAFE
36. Basilica section: APSE
37. Three-time Clooney title role: OCEAN. Danny Ocean. I liked "Ocean's Eleven" the best.
38. Slender wind: OBOE
45. Tape deck button: REC
48. Disparage: SLUR
49. "Family Matters" misfit: URKEL (Steve). Beat me. Have never seen "Family Matters".
50. Deck out: ADORN
52. Genetic ID: DNA. Always have to waffle between DNA & RNA.
54. Accident scene initials: EMS
60. Arrange logically: SORT
64. Nuts: LOCO
65. Disney president Robert: IGER. He succeeded Michael Eisner in 2005. Quite articulate.
66. __ Island: NY/NJ landmark: ELLIS
67. Starting place?: EDEN. Can't fool me any more.
68. Play a round: GOLF. Felt stupid not nailing it immediately. Who's your pick for US Open?
Down:
1. Band booster: AMP
2. Distress: WOE
3. Colonies with tunnels: ANT FARMS. Awesome fill.
4. Brainchild: IDEA
5. Supercell product: TORNADO. Our local meteorologist is obsessed with tornado, but I don't remember he mentioned supercell.
6. Is too sweet: CLOYS
7. Emblem of Ireland: HARP. Man, I never knew this. It's on the cover of Irish passports. On the obverse of Irish Euro coins also.
8. Book before Nehemiah: EZRA. Needed crossing help. The name means "Help" in Hebrew.
9. Uh-uh, in Ufa: NYET. Russian for "No" (Da is "Yes"). Ufa is a city of west-central Russian in the Southern Ural Mountain. Doug picked Ufa for alliteration purpose. My first encounter with this name.
10. Ring competitor: BOXER
11. One of 17 Monopoly properties: AVENUE
12. Blustered: RANTED
13. Great times: BLASTS
18. Type of screen, briefly: LCD. Several abbreviated answers in this puzzle. None obscure.
21. Frozen drink brand: ICEE
22. Tijuana's region: BAJA. Is it short for Baja California?
23. Lingerie size: A CUP. First time I saw A CUP in a LAT.
27. Skeptical comment: I BET
28. Direct: STEER
29. Not much: A TAD
30. Underwater directors: FINS. "Director" made me think of a person.
33. "Just the Way You Are" singer: JOEL (Billy). Great song.
34. Stationery shade: ECRU. Alliteration.
35. Grumpy: SOUR
39. Popular fund raiser: BAKE SALE
40. Central Utah city: OREM. And Provo. Learned both from doing Xword.
41. They may be shockers: EELS. We've seen similar clue before.
43. Fails to be: ISN'T
44. Many a pop group: QUARTET
45. Grapple with, in the sticks: RASSLE. Wrestle.
46. "Plan 9 From Outer Space" director: ED WOOD. The name faintly rings a bell. Also a title of a Johnny Depp movie.
47. Put the squeeze on: COERCE
51. Inform against: RAT ON
52. Khuzdul speaker, in Tolkien: DWARF. Khuzdul is a fictional language spoken by the Dwarfs. Stumped me.
53. Metz moniker: NOM. Metz is a city in NE France. Another alliteration.
56. "Cool, man!": I DIG. I totally dig Jazzbumpa's theme title the other day "Music, Man". Mondo cool!
57. So: ERGO
58. Line holder: REEL. Oh, fishing line.
59. Ham salad seller: DELI
62. DI doubled: MII. 51X2= 1002. (Correction: It's 501X2= 1002).
63. Three-part fig.: SSN
Answer grid.
Thanks for the concern and understanding of my recent absence, everyone. I've been very busy and am always behind in catching up with the comments/emails. Dennis is the designated host in my absence, and he will (he has been) answer any question that needs to be addressed.
Additionally, I feel the quality and fun/education factor of the blog write-up have been improved considerably with regular contributions from our dedicated team of Argyle, Al, Melissa Bee, Jazzbumpa and Lemonade. They add distinctive style and flavor to our blog and I love looking at the puzzles through their eyes.
So don't worry about my diminished blogging. I assure you that a carefully written post will appear every morning at 5:30am Central Time. Just enjoy the write-up & have fun!
C.C.
63 comments:
Good morning, C.C. and gang - a nice treat for a Friday, getting a Doug Peterson puzzle to play with. This was no snap - I had to drift all the way to the NE to get any traction, but that corner then filled in pretty quickly. That let me work backwards and finish the North.
I didn't expect 'A cup' for 23D, and why are the cup sizes getting smaller in the puzzles?? By the time that led to the second theme answer, I was able to figure out the theme, but that didn't make the remaining ones much easier. Once I reached the halfway point, I had an easier go of it. Still needed perp help for Ed Wood, Robert Iger, Julie Chen and the 'Khuzdul speaker, in Tolkien'. Favorite clue of the week for me is 'Underwater directors'. Fun puzzle, and a pangram to boot. Maybe Doug'll stop in and tell us what the seed entry was for this one.
C.C., as far as an Open pick, I'm going with my heart and picking Mickelson, in spite of yesterday's poor round.
Today is Go Fishing Day, International Panic Day, and best of all, National Splurge Day. Splurge in the morning, panic about it in the afternoon. Then go fishing to calm yourself down.
Now that that summer's just about upon us, what's everyone's vacation plans, if any? I think this summer we're just gonna hang out here and enjoy the lake. Maybe take some day trips or overnighters to the Jersey shore.
Good Morning, CC. Your unique take on the crossword fills will be greatly missed, but I understand your need for more time for yourself.
I took my wife to the airport today and I did the puzzle on the bus. I didn't know Julie CHEN. Oh how I wish the clue had been "Former Taiwan president"! I wanted DOTES for PLOYS for a while but that didn't fit. I also wanted RIVAL for BOXER, ANT HILLS for ANT FARMS, I SEE for I BET, DOUR for SOUR and REW for REC.
I asked my wife "Who sang 'Just the Way You Are?'" and she said she didn't know the song so I said "You don't know the song? It goes 'Don't go changing to try to please me...'" and she said "Martin! Stop singing! We're on a bus! There are people here!" So I didn't get JOEL.
Anyway, I would have gotten the whole thing easily with a bit of googling so I figure that's pretty good considering how out of practice I am. Oh and I'm not back just yet: even though my classes are over I still have to give my students their final exams and then I'm going to do some summer tutoring. Maybe I'll get back to doing the puzzles again regularly in August. The fact that I was able to do reasonably well with this one gaves me enough confidence that I'll consider doing these if I have time.
Martin
Happy Friday; and, for all those of you who do not visit on the week end, have a very happy Father's Day.
Well I really loved this puzzle, with the theme inspiring a variety of naughty alternative clues with TIE added, and such a diverse panoply of information, from PETER LORRE, Danny OCEAN, HARP (I too never knew) and so many other TIE INS, like DIRECT: STEER, UNDERWATER DIRECTORS:FINS (great clue) , and we have EDS, ADS and ED WOOD as fill, along with TV cult heroes URKEL and XENA . Doug really batted this out of the park.
Good Morning All,
Needed a lot of red letter help today!
First pass fills: CHEN, CRUET, APSE, ELLIS.
Theme fills: SWEATIERWORDS then TIEREDSQUARE then figured the how today's theme worked.
First area completed: NE
New to me: MONDO
Favorites: OBOE, EDEN, FINS
Can't believe I missed: SSN
Misdirected by: DELI (wanted to name a brand)
34th Wedding Anniversary tomorrow!
(or is it 44th? No. 34th, I think)
Happy Weekend.
Morning, all.
Loved this puzzle - nice work, Doug. Like Dennis, I drifted around without getting traction. So I came here, as usual, for CC's help. But seeing Fancy Patients unlocked just enough for me that the rest of the puzzle came together unassisted.
My favorite clue was Play a round. I finally got out this year at a fun event benefitting Susan G. Komen yesterday. It was a spectacular day and over $40,000 was raised. Can't beat that! I bought tickets for the PGA Open at Whistling Straits in Aug for my husband for Father's Day - just need to find a place to stay... a little worried, but will spend time today searching online.
Other than that, our summer plans include (hopefully) lots of time in our pool. We're planning a trip to Belgium in the fall with a group from our restaurant. Lots of great beer tasting, with some chocolate thrown in for good measure. Should be a fun trip.
Have a great day!
Paolo, congratulations! Thirty-four years is an amazing accomplishment.
Good morning C.C. and all.
A good slog today. Did it on line. Had red letter help for MONDO. No look-ups, though. Saw the theme after getting FANCYPATIENTS. ADS was a WAG; but clever, too. Also liked EDEN and REEL. For ADORN, first thought of 'festoon', but of course it had too many letters. My d'uh moment came with AMP.
Guess Louisiana could use some JUMBO JETTIES.
Summer plans include a 7 day cruise from NYC to Bermuda and return.
Hi c.c. and all:
I was happy to finish this puzzle with little help. Only had to google Chen. I did originally have REW instead of REC; and Mundo instead of Mondo. I guessed on Harp since after I got Chen I had HA?P. Then Peter Lorre became apparent.
Paolo: Happy 34th wedding anniversary! We just celebrated on May 30th our 40th!
Dennis: No trip to Florida for vacation? Sometime you need to visit the west coast or have you. I know you frequent Boca correct?
Hi guys! just wanted to stop in and say hello :) Puzzle was a good one, kept me going til the end. Needed a little help in the NE corner, just couldn't get there. Also needed some names (embarrassingly enough, JOEL, as well as CHEN and PETER LORRE). But a fun theme, with plenty of aha moments. Hope all is well, and happy father's day to all the dads out there!
And I think I'm going to start using MONDO again...
C.C. Wonderful write-up.
For me this was write-over Friday.
Had Cakesale which gave me ocoe for slender wind. V8 can smack got the OBOE and BAKESALE.
At "M" star, wanted Dame Judi Dench from the James Bond films. To short and the perps wouldn't allow it.
Was running the Monopoly properties through the grey matter when AVENUE finally jumped out and 'RASSLEd me to the floor. Was trying to think which avenue?
Baltic? States? The others were to long.
MONDO and I DIG brought back memories of the '60's.
ERGO, a bit of a slog but a FUN Friday.
M . Wonderful movie.
Aimee, nice to see you back; Robin, it was great to see your ed shoes the other day; Martin, you okay? Paolo, congratulations! g8rmomx2, my nephew has an intership at UF in the fall; C.C., wonderful blog and thank you for the kind words for all the pinch hitters, and the designated hitters.
Moderately hard puzzle today. Ending up missing one because I couldn't remember if the Utah city was Oren or Orem. Naturally I picked the wrong one. I was expecting EMT at 54A but EELS at 41D made that impossible. I guess I should have thought to just go with EM. The TIE INs were interesting. 30 minutes.
g8rmomx2, no, nothing planned, but sometimes it just happens.
We've spent time in Sanibel and Marco Island, and while I love the pristine beauty and serenity, there's just something about the 'vibe' of SE Florida that keeps pulling us back. I love the shopping in Boca & Ft. Lauderdale, the beaches in Lauderdale and Miami, and the incredible night life of South Beach. Also, renting a boat and cruising the Intercoastal is a great way to spend a couple days.
AimeeAya, I somehow missed 'mondo' back in the day; when was it used? Sixties?
I second L714's comment about the film, M. Lorre was a Hungarian, I believe, who first came to prominence in this film. Then the caught the attention of Alfred Hitchcock in England and made films for him, although he knew virtually no English at the time. Then he came to America where he remained the rest of his life. Unfortunately, M typecast him as a villain, often as a psychotic, something he never really overcame. He was caricatured by Warner Brothers opposite Bugs Bunny in Hare-Raising Hare: Cartoon
Paul Frees, working for Spike Jones, also gave a memorable imitation of Lorre in his classic parody of "My Old Flame": Paul Frees
Thank you C.C. for responding to my concern yesterday. I was worried that you were slowing going to give up the blog and turn it over to other people completely.
I don't have the skill yet to get through a Friday puzzle easily. The theme answers were very difficult for me, even after I filled the hint TIE IN.
I liked 28D Direct/STEER and 30D Underwater directors/FINS
CC may not be a Native English speaker, but she writes the most informative blog, IMO. And she's always humble.
Got to be "blue" only one day...
It won`t let me sign in and won`t make my screen name blue when I just write...
Had lots of help with this one...does anyone use cruets anymore? The (really) crystal ones are quite collectible, ornate and beautiful...the life-style in my half-the-year home doesn`t lend itself to cruets...ketchup and mustard holders maybe.
"Got any cheese?" brought back good memories. And I`ve seen the time when "designer" hospital gowns would have come in handy! I have worn one correctly with one over it backward...and had a little modesty.
Favorite clue: "Sweatier words" but then I`m basically a romantic.
CC: Just sose you don`t leave us and you stay "Just the way you are..."
Dennis: The left coast has it`s own brand of charm...the Gulf side seems a little more "relaxed".
Incidentally, the east coast was "settled" first and by millionaires (before there was an income tax) who were the first "snowbirds."
Hi C.C. & gang, welcome back C.C., I was wondering where you've been...
A typical tough Friday with an entertaining theme but we (my wife and I) only got ~50% of it done before she left for work.
Here's a classic Fins song from Jimmy Buffett.
Morning all.
Too bad this puzzle couldn't be held over untill Sunday. I'm sure a lot of dads will be getting ties.
One advantage of being on the west coast is the three hour difference.
We get the puzzle at 7PM and can watch the 10PM dramas at 7PM.
Watched Burn Notice and Royal Pains
last night on East Coast time.
Don't link or dance but do play cards. Pinochle match this afternoon is for the Championship
of the Universe.
Later. eddyB
Ha Ha. We both made the same mistake. (62D) DI is 501, not 51.
Good Morning All, Either I'm getting very good at this (unlikely), or I was right on Doug Peterson's wavelength today.
The non-proper name folks probably weren't too fond of it though. I did know Julie CHEN, not because I watched "Big Brother" regularly, but because I saw it once and I wanted to avoid it in the future. That's the same reason I knew URKEL. PETER LORRE, Clooney's OCEAN. Billy JOEL and Johnny Depp's ED WOOD were all gimmes. XENA is a crossword staple.
I wasn't sure of (65A) Robert IGER, but that area filled in with the perps. I DIG, ERGO were easy enough and the Tolkien clue "Khuzdul" had to be either OGRE or DWARF. DWARF fit...so, in it went.
The theme entries came easily too. Once I had 20A FANCY PATIENTS, I had the TIE IN immediately and was on the lookout for the other TIEs.
14A MONDO has meant "bizarre" to me, rather than "extremely". The 1962 movie Mondo Cane was a weird pseudo documentary. MONDO means "world" in Italian. There were several "MONDO" movies in the '60s, none of them very good.
Vacation? Not much planned for summer, just hanging around Northern California (lakes, mountains, ocean, vineyards..not too bad), but three weeks in New Zealand will be coming up in late October.
Dennis, we visited Sanibel a few years ago when my sis and BIL lived there. It is totally charming.
GAH always has the hots for Phil Mickelson too. Seriously, if Phil could win every tournament, my husband would be happy.
Oh, Remembered Mondo Cane (the movie) from 1962.
eddyB
Good morning CC and all,
It took me forever to get a foothold on this puzzle today.I left it alone, watched the game, and returned able to fill in all but the SW corner.Even looking up Ed Wood didn't get 'er done.Sweatier just wouldn't come to me, nor did tie. CC, you are amazing! Will always caviar you.
No ties for DH this year..or ever.I've cut up most of the silkies for dying Easter eggs.Anyway, I've bought shorts and new skivvies (always Penny's) this year and...Ta DA...a dremel multi-max tool kit..whatever! The best part of the celebration is that my girls do the bar-b-cuing.
Warren, so enjoyed that Jimmy Buffet clip;he always puts on a great show.(favorite answer=fins)
That Mondo Cane shockumentary was an awful movie; it had animal violence, bizarre rituals and all sorts of yukky stuff.But, I do like the word,mondo.
Summer plans? After the new grandbaby arrives, we will be mosying up the CA/OR coast and meet up with Carol&DH and Dick& DW. Later, we're off to Kauai, a yearly trek we take with the family.
Good morning ..does anyone know how to get the LA Times crossword to work on the IPAD.?
Even though I got TIEIN fairly soon, I still had trouble with the themes because i didn't get the words w/o TIE until I came here. I also had to do it online using the regular option. I was also thinking of Resemary, not George.
Good puzzle today. Even when I got the theme, it didn't really help me with the fills though. That is not a bad thing, it just is. I thought this was easier than yesterday's.
Julie CHEN is pretty in that picture isn't she? She just came back from maternity leave, and is married to the head of CBS. I met her on the set in NY when we visited several years ago. Her hair up close looked like a wig it was so big and stiff. I like the long hair better. She was a gimmie as we are big CBS fans and watch her daily here.
Love Billy Joel. We did see him on one of his tours with Elton John, but was extremely disappointed as the music was so loud that you couldn't hear him sing. Elton John was fabulous though.
Minnesota got hit hard with a supercell TORNADO yesterday. Three deaths and a few towns flattened. I feel bad for them.
My son just had a Lord of the Rings bash with a bunch of friends over for his 18th birthday today. I think that movie is too long and not my cup of tea, but he loves it. I bet he has seen it 50 or so times. They had fun. I am exhausted.
CC I think you have done a great job of picking your guest bloggers. We love to see you, but never want this blog to become a burden on anyone. I for one have no idea how you all can keep up with it on a regular basis. Kudos to everyone who is so dedicated for our enjoyment.
Have a great weekend. Lots of baseball going on in our neck of the woods.
Greetings, C.C. and puzzle people.
It's great to hear from you, C.C. and I completely understand your need to share the blogging duties. In fact, I wondered in the past how you did it, assuming you rose unbearably early, have a full time job, then we learned you studied for citizenship. It seemed overwhelming; but you chose some first class bloggers to assist you. Thank you for that.
I loved slender wind, OBOE and underwater directors, FINS in this puzzle.
The top filled rather quickly with AMP, WOE and AWAIT then right across the top.
Peter Lorre is one of my favorite actors, especially in Casablanca although his demise in the story was much too early. I would have liked his role prolonged.
The center was a struggle for me, and the bottom was slow to fill; first it was VOL then I quickly saw it had to be REC because of RASSLE and so on.
The first time I saw IGER in a xwd I knew I should have entered it in my notebook, since EISNER had become a staple, so it took a while to recall. All in all, this one made me think and pull out some nearly forgotten names, URKEL, JOEL (which I had to GGL, hate that) and what a nice change in stationery color in stead of hose color for ECRU.
Thanks to Doug Peterson for a good mental workout this Friday morning.
JD:
How do you use ties for dyeing eggs?
PAOLO:
Congratulations on your anniversary! That is quite a milestone.
A very happy Fathers' Day to all the fathers, grandfathers, and stepfathers!
For vacation plans, I shall go with some friends to our annual visit in Lafayette and San Rafael, CA where we reunite with friends there. Then in August, one of my nieces is marrying in Kuai, HI so we hope to go there as well.
Kuai has many memories for me as that was my LH's favorite place to vacation.
You all have a wonderful Friday.
I'm picturing Doug grinning as he clued NYET as Uh-uh in Ufa. Very playful.
Say Uh-uh in Ufa aloud and quickly and it sounds like a South Seas Island.
eddyb should apologize to hahtool.
I enjoyed the puzzle and the writeup. I probably wouldn't have managed it all without a little red-letter help.
Congratulations on your anniversays g8rmomx2 and Paolo. We just celebrated our 45th on June 15th. We went out to a nice local restaurant.
I was excited when the Lakers finally pulled it out last night.
Anonymous should mind his/her own business.
I had an easier time with this puzzle than yesterdays. It seems whenever I catch onto a theme the easier the puzzle falls for me. One thing though, I don’t think of zero as being oval. It seems more round to me. Favorites today were “quick pitches”- ads and “underwater directors”- fins. I’m with JD, it was nice to see “ecru” clued differently than the standard hose shade. MN had a total of 16 supercells yesterday that caused quite a lot of damage and 3 deaths. I thankfully just had a lot of rain and a little bit of hail but no damage.
C.C. I always look forward to your blogs, but you disappointed me today without posting a pic of George Clooney!
My mini vacation plans come a week from today when I board the USS Badger to head to Michigan to see my whole family! I can’t wait!
No help on the IPAD question ? Anyone? Am leaving on a month vacation on Monday ,, would love to be able to do the puzzle and read your blogs and comments.. Would be ok if I had a lap top but I don't..
Camille, I don't have an iPad, just an iMac. So you know how to do the LAT puzzles on a computer? I would have thought the iPad would work the same way but you're saying it doesn't?
usually i am not a betting man, but i would wager a six pack that the linked picture of julie chen was taken in dayton, oh! she was a news anchor at wdtn years ago. the background in that photo looks just like the overhead walkway over 5th street that connects the convention center to the crown plaza hotel. i worked at the hotel(then a stouffers hotel) while in college in the early 80's as bellman/driver and used that walkway daily.
was not aware that the harp was an official emblem of ireland but i did know it was an official trademark of Guinness!
hope all of our bloggers in MN are safe and sound.
Hello everybody. Tough puzzle today, as expected. This time I interlaced working on acrosses and downs rather than going through all the acrosses first. Turns out to be such a better method, I think I'll work that way from now on.
Ones I got right away include: LAZY, XENA, BAA, APSE, OCEAN, SORT, IGER, AMP, BAJA, IDEA, RASSLE, ELLIS, and DWARF, the latter for the same reason ClearAyes put it in, namely ORC, NAZGUL, HOBBIT, ELF, and BALROG didn't fit.
Ones I would never have known were it not for deducing them via perps include: AWAIT, CRUET, OBOE (killer clue!), CLOYS, TIEIN, and the tie-in fills.
Favorites, that made me smile, include MONDO, OBOE, ANTFARMS, and BLASTS.
I didn't like AVENUE because the clue called for "One" of the properties, so I was trying to think of which one would fit.
For the longest time I was thinking astronomically for "M" star, and refused to give up on BETELGEUSE, especially since the ETE and final E did fit. Took a 4th cup of coffee and a walk around the block to rid myself of that obsession. LOL
I loved Peter Lorre in The Maltese Falcon, as I also did Sydney Greenstreet. Wonderful performances in quirky roles in a classic film.
No plans for vacation this summer.
Best wishes to you all, and happy Father's Day.
A profound quote for today:
"Truth is, everybody is going to hurt you; you just gotta find the ones worth suffering for." Bob Marley
forgot to add my vacation story...
i had a rollercoaster of emotions planning a summer vacation. first came the excitement when some friends suggested we go see our favorite team(the Reds!) play in a mondo rad town(Seattle) against one of my favorites players of all time(Ken Griffey Jr.!).
then came disappointment when 2 friends had to drop out due to family commitments which made the trip financially impossible.
then Junior decided to hag up his cleats last month and there was relief that the trip never got booked.
i'm still having mixed emotions because i would love to be there tonight to see Safeco Field, eat some fabulous west coast food and try some local brews. Seattle is such an awesome town i'm sure we would have had fun even without Junior's appearance!
Camille,
I think I am correct in assuming that the Ipad uses basically the same operating system as the iPhone. The iPhone I am composing this post on is my only internet connection. While I can access this blog and post here, I am unable to get the puzzle in any form that is useful in terms of solving. Sorry, but you may be SOL. Maybe (let's hope) someone else has better news/advice for you.
I had to laugh when I saw the Pardon My Planet" strip by Vic Lee in today's comics, because it made a similar joke about "UNARMED" that I did last week. LOL
Very Hard - I thought *await* was the hardest clue - but also very clever. I was thinking Judy Dench for 'M' in the James Bond movies. Thank goodness for Google and for this blog - I needed both today!!! I agree that *Avenue* had a lousy clue, but it worked out easily when I got Barb/Oval/Xena. Oh well, it's always fun to have a challenge!
erieruth, you're not the only one whose first thought for 'M' was Judy Dench.
Seen, Safeco's on my bucket list, along with Fenway. Your ballpark's not too shabby either.
Jeannie, how long's the Badger trip? From where to where?
Good afternoon, everybody
I did very few of today's puzzle, but surely enjoyed getting the answers here and the comments.
My summer plan is that my older son and daughter-in-law, who live in Manhattan, will fly here and then we'll drive to Orlando so they can take me and DH to Hogwarts. We are all Harry Potter fans, and it is to celebrate my 80th birthday (which is July 12). How great is that?
Cheers
@Dennis, we leave from Manitowoc, WI and cross 4hrs to Ludington, MI which is about a 10 mile trip to my folks. It's about a 6 1/2 hour to Manitowoc from my house. If I made the drive up and around the lake it's about a 13 hour drive. The Badger is much more relaxing and quicker too!
Jeannie, sounds like the right way to do it. There's a ferry that runs from the southern tip of NJ (Cape May) across the Delaware Bay to Lewes, Delaware that we take when we go to Ocean City, Maryland. Shaves about 2 hours off a boring I-95 drive.
Did anyone watch the US game today? Has it been announced anywhere why the potential winning goal was disallowed?
dennis: i agree with you about Fenway! i have been to Wrigley many times. i was too young to make it to Crosley. made to Tiger Stadium and Comisky both in their final years!
interesting recent addition to my Great American Ball Park(GABP to us locals!). we now have Funnel Fries!! a local radio sportstalk host can't stop raving about them and promised us a major announcement today regarding them. he is hosting a funnel fry eating contest next weekend at GABP. it made me think of Jeannie and other funnel fry fans here at the blog.
@Seen, it sounds like they are copying Burger King. They just came out with funnel cakes sticks which are phenomenal. Just ask Dennis.
Hello All--I had to look up some of the proper names, Ocean, Urkel, Ed Wood, and Iger. Once I got those in the rest all fell into place.
However, I put in tree for Stationary Shade, Double duh!! That made the central section a little long in coming around. I didn't get the theme until coming here, even though I had all the theme answers in with perps, etc.
A good challenge is always welcome!
Paolo, Happy 34th Anniversay. We celebrate our 56th on Father's Day. We were married on Father's Day and it comes around on that date every few years. A double celebration for us.
Martin, AimeeAya, and Robin it was good to see you. You've all been missed.
A very Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there.
Lucina, my SIL has an office in Lafayette. You'll be in our area for your vacation. I hope the weather is nice for you.
Dennis, it seems the guy was offsides. "As full time drew near, that winner came off the toe of Maurice Edu after a free kick, but it was astonishingly disallowed by Malian referee Koman Coulibaly. He appeared to call Michael Bradley offside even though Bradley was being bear-hugged from behind by a Slovenian defender. (UPDATE: The official FIFA match report claims a foul on Edu.)" From Yahoo sports.
Am I the only one that thought of Gimli for the Tolkien Khuzdul speaker.
And who remembers the Gimli Glider?
Dennis, we watched the game and the reffing was questionable on many plays.FIFA says that the ref does not have to explain why, and so far he hasn't.
Lucina, here is the link for dying eggs with those silk ties. It is so much fun.BTW, I went to high school in San Rafael (so did my mom in 1926).Such a pretty little town. Dominican has since moved to San Anselmo, and sadly the original building burned down.The campus does not look the same without it.
Happy anniversary to Paolo and Bill. June was a big wedding month when we all got married 40+ yrs ago.It didn't take a year to plan either.
Jayce, JD, thanks. What a terrible call.
Argyle, yes, the 767 that ran out of fuel due to the crew using, I think, pounds instead of kilograms in determining fuel quantity. The instructor talked about it in flight school.
Yup, Dennis, that's the one.
Hello Puzzlers - Please pardon the boast. I was able to complete this challenging puzzle on newsprint, in pen, in a noisy cafe, with no computer or other resources. Of course, it took a while.
Argyle - Hand up for the Gimli Glider. It was discussed at length at an FAA Safety Seminar I attended. A lot went wrong that day, and I sorta understand how the crew got into that mess. I give them a lot of credit for pulling off a no-power landing at a marginal facility. At least they had good weather on their side (but I don't recall whether it was daytime).
Camille - Last weekend I went to the Apple store to see about an iPad for myself. The clerk warned me that crosswords generally need Flash to run, and that iProducts don't support Flash. As far as he knows, there isn't a non-browser way into LATimes available yet. There almost certainly will be, but who knows when.
That's what I was told. Your mileage may vary. :-)
Good to hear from you again Martin, even if you’re not back on a regular basis yet. My puzzle experience was very similar to your today.
Happy Anniversary, Paolo – whatever the year!
My first 2 passes on the puzzle weren’t very impressive… After a break, I usually go thru it one more time. But today I just went straight to Google a couple clues to kickstart my brain (CHEN, IGER and JOEL).
Was able to finish the rest, except for having SWEATIEaWaRDS. Not toooo bad for a Friday, on paper, without red letters. And I did enjoy the solving process. But I REALLY should have known Billy Joel!
I liked the theme, and it actually helped me some.
Initially, I had DOA instead of EMS for 54A. On 3D, I got ANT right away, but it took me a while to suss out the FARMS.
Thanks to everyone for the warm anniversary wishes.
Wow! So many of you celebrating 40 and 40+ years! Guess I better hang in there!
We're planning to visit a local, ocean front (duh! Rhode Island, the "ocean state") eatery to sip champagne out of our original (wedding day) toasting goblets (pewter..how 70's!) and then for dinner, onto another local (but not waterfront) restaurant that features (Italian, naturally) food from the region of Puglia. Chef is from that region and they say he features local ingredients (from Puglia) in his recipes.
We're both foodies, so we're excited by this opportunity to try new (to us) regional Italian cuisine.
Buon appetito!
Thanks, JD! That sounds like fun. I'll have to try it with my grandaughter next Easter.
Chickie:
Last year we went in June and the weather was beautiful the entire week. I hope that will be so next month when we go.
JAYCE:
That is the method I always use to solve puzzles since I work on paper. It is tried and true! One fill validates the other; if it's erroneous you will know in short order.
BILL G and GR8MOMX2:
Congratulations on your anniversaries!
Hi gang -
You can always count on Doug Peterson for a high quality puzzle.
I know my Tolkein pretty well, but "Kuzdul speaker" gave me some pause. Never tought od any specific Dwarf, though. I read the Hobbit to my daughter the summer she was 8. I remember she was very upset when Fili and Kili died.
Arriving late, I've been scooped on a couple of links - and I'll freely admit my Harp link was far lass interesting.
Dennis - The reason for A CUP is deflation. Anyway, here is an interesting view of A CUP.
Probably won'r check in this week end. Kids coming over Sunday. Tomorrow, I'm playing with the Swing City band at the Liberty Fest in Canton, MI. If you happen to be in Heritage Park between noon and 1:3o, stop over and say, "Hi!"
We're renting a cabin in KY for a week in Aug. Hoped to have all the clan there, but they're bailing left and right - all for good reason. But -- still. Probably won't have another opportunity for a whole clan vacation get-together.
Happy Father's day, all you dads.
Cheers
JzB the occasionally ACRID trombonist
Before anyone asks me, no I can't do what Jazzbumpa linked on A CUP, but it's only because my legs are short. LOL
Chickie, I loved your answer of TREE for 'Stationary shade'! Talk about out of the "box" thinking.
Dudley, I've been told the same about Flash and both the iPad and iPhone, which is the main thing preventing me from buying either. Apple has no intention of ever allowing apps that use Adobe Flash. Now if we could just get some developer to design an app for the LAT puzzle that uses HMTL5 or JavaScript...we'd make Windhover and others very, very happy!!!
Summer Vacation Plans: About two weeks in friendly Oshkosh, Wisconsin, for the big airshow/aviation convention known as AirVenture. This is admittedly a guy thing, so my wife is staying home.
Later, we'll make more voyages to our favorite Block Island, RI, same as last week. Just a little south of Paolo's place I guess.
Annette, That was what I was saying about the puzzle yesterday. Sometimes out of the box thinking gives me the right answer, and other times it is just plain wrong! The problem is you never really know if the constuctor is thinking out of the box.
Sometimes an answer is so easy that you think it just couldn't be right. But, that is why we do puzzles, isn't it? The challenge and the duh moments, and the thrill when we actually complete a whole puzzle on our own.
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