google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday June 10, 2010 Dan Naddor

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Jun 10, 2010

Thursday June 10, 2010 Dan Naddor

Theme: SILENCE IS GOLDEN (65A. Proverb for overwrought parents, and a hint to both ends of 17-, 23-, 47- and 56-Across) - Each answer begins with a N sound, preceded by a different silent consonant, and ends with a silent vowel (E).

17A. Rustic furniture material: KNOTTY PINE. Walls, too.

23A. Jogging technique? MNEMONIC DEVICE. A memory or learning aid to jog the memory. Example: The Great Lakes, from west to east: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior = HOMES.

47A. Pressure-sensitive control mechanism: PNEUMATIC VALVE. Pneumatics is the use of pressurized gas to affect mechanical motion. (I just learned that the iron lung is a pneumatic device.)

56A. "Totally tubular, man!": GNARLY, DUDE. Gnarly sunrise in the Grand Canyon.

Beautifully constructed with grid-spanning theme answer perfectly placed in the center. What an honor to blog another Dan Naddor construction. He did have a knack for designing subtly brilliant puzzles.

melissa bee here.

Across:

1. It may be scrutinized on a carousel: ID TAG. Luggage - clever.

6. Raison d'__: ETRE

10. Skeptic's grain? SALT. Take it with a grain of salt.

14. Old Indian leader: NEHRU

15. Picture of health? X-RAY. Great clue.

16. Simple rhyme scheme: A-B-A-B

19. Mother of Artemis: LETO. Also mother of Apollo, goddess of motherhood, and bride of Zeus.

20. Elton John, e.g.: SIR. Gay activist wedding singer performs at Rush Limbaugh's wedding to his fourth wife this past Wednesday for $1 million. Can't make this stuff up.

21. Mil. leader: GEN(eral)

22. Split apart: RIVEN. Past tense of rive. who knew?

28. Hardly Mr. Cool: NERD

29. Tried, with "at": HAD A GO

30. Lake Volta's country: GHANA. New to me, Volta is the largest reservoir by surface area in the world.

33. Coal holders: BINS

34. 'Umble place: 'OME. No extra charge for this bonus clue/answer. Cockney accent makes the H's silent, with silent E on the end. Genius. Famous lyrics by John Howard Payne: 'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.'

40. Braves' home: Abbr.: ATL(anta)

41. Little hopper: TOAD.

42. Closes in on: NEARS

43. Salad jellies: ASPICS

45. Already, in Arles: DEJA. French.

51. Fred's first partner: ADELE. Fred Astaire's sister.

52. Skater Babilonia: TAI. Engaged to comedian David Brenner.

53. Include: ADD

55. Hindu titles: SRIS

60. Sushi staple: TUNA

61. Accomplished: ABLE

62. Where to see Leonardo's "The Last Supper": MILAN

63. Caltech sr.'s goal, often: ENGR

64. Honduras native: MAYA

65. Fidgeting: ANTSY

Down:

1. Writing supplies: INKS

2. Casual fabric: DENIM

3. Sticker: THORN. I was picturing a bumper sticker.

4. Emerson's "jealous mistress": ART. Ralph Waldo Emerson quote: "Art is a jealous mistress, and, if a man have a genius for painting, poetry, music, architecture, or philosophy, he makes a bad husband, and an ill provider."

5. Instinctive, as a feeling: GUT

6. Shell out: EXPEND

7. Singer Lopez: TRINI

8. Campaigned: RAN. Timely entry.

9. Check out: EYE

10. Digestive aid: SALIVA

11. He played Fish on "Barney Miller": ABE VIGODA

12. Theater annoyance, perhaps: LATECOMER

13. Strip steak alternative: T-BONE. I prefer rib-eye.

18. Bela's "Son of Frankenstein" role: YGOR

22. 1985 Schwarzenegger film about a sword-and-sorcery heroine: RED SONJA

24. Feminine suffix: ENNE. As in comedienne.

25. Interim: MEANTIME

26. Phi followers: CHI'S

27. "Shoot!": DANG

30. Fed. property overseer: GSA. General Services Administration.

31. Baseball strategy: HIT AND RUN. Play designed to advance base runners and prevent the double play.

32. Like Big Brother in "1984": ALL SEEING

33. Auction action: BID

35. Canned twosome?: ENS. Two n's in canned.

37. Caesar's sidekick: COCA. Sid and Imogene. Before my time.

38. "It is the __, and Juliet is the sun": EAST

39. Sharon of "Boston Public": LEAL. Unknown to me.

44. Seiko brand: PULSAR

45. Silver Spring, Md., is part of it: DC AREA. Tricky answer.

46. Bad: EVIL

47. Cheap jewelry: PASTE

48. Birthplace of the Renaissance: ITALY

49. Event with a horse: VAULT

50. Icelandic sagas: EDDAS. From Wikipedia: "collection of Old Norse poems from the Icelandic medieval manuscript Codex Regius." Alrighty then.

54. Say it isn't so: DENY. Love this clue.

56. Looker's leg: GAM. Nice

57. Wizards' org.: NBA. Washington Wizards.

58. Peruvian singer Sumac: YMA: No idea.

59. Racket: DIN

Answer grid.

melissa

71 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Mustang Mel, C.C. and gang - a double treat today, with both Dan's and Melissa's talents on display.

I actually thought this was one of the less clever offerings from Dan, but certainly not a Naddor nadir, especially with the superb theme placement. Got through it with one trip to the G-spot, at the intersection of 'deia' and 'leal'. I had '_carea' for the longest time at 45D before the light came on. Would never have gotten the theme without 38A.

Clever clues for me included 'It may be scrutinized on a carousel' (took me a while to realize it was a luggage carousel), 'Jogging technique' and 'Event with a horse'. Loved the long down fills.
MelissaBee, wonderful job as always - I'm with you on rib-eye, especially on a grill. And speaking of tasty, thanks for the gam shot at the end -- nice way to wrap this one up.


Today is IceD Tea Day.

Dick said...

Good morning MBee and All, a difficult puzzle today. It took me several times through before I started to get any entries. Once I got started I seemed to get additional fill each time through until I had a pretty full grid and was able to complete the puzzle. There were several unknowns; some were filled by the perps and a few by visiting Mr. G.

I had no clue as to who Leal might be nor did I know “Red Sonja.”

Favorites today were ID Tag, DC area and salt.

Even though today’s puzzle was a struggle, as always, I enjoy Dan’s puzzles.

Hope you all have a great Thursday.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and all. A great Thursday puzzle to start out my day! SILENCE IS GOLDEN when I work on my puzzles. I quickly realized that we were looking for terms in which the first letter of the word was silent.

Some great clues here, also. My favorites included: Scrutinized on a Carousel = ID TAG

Event with a Horse = VAULT

Skeptic's Grain = Salt

YMA Sumac is a name I learned through doing Crosswords, probably Dan Naddor puzzles!

The mother of Artemis reminded me of the poem LETO and the Swan. Maybe Clear Ayes will enlighten us with a sample.

As Jon Stewart says: Here is your moment of Zen.

QOD: Drugs have taught an entire generation of American kids the metric system. ~ P.J. O'Rourke

Link text

Dennis said...

Hahtool, the 'link text' link.....doesn't.

Argyle said...

Good Morning, All,

The lakes mnemonic isn't in any sort of directional progression, Map

Lemonade714 said...

Good morning all:

I finished the puzzle last evening, and did not look at who had constructed it, but I had such a good time, I should have known.

The start with IDTAG, and I loved the misdirection of old Indian leader, making me drift into the old west until NEHRU sank in; the key for me was KNOTTY PINE, which is what the walls in my bedroom were when I was a child. Very popular in New England in the 50’s, but the K got me INKS which opened the whole area.

The subtlety of JOGGING TECHNIQUE being MNEMONIC DEVICE to jog one’s memory was great. From there, it was easy to pick up on the silent letter theme, even without the hint in the middle; you have to love working PNEUMATIC and GNARLY in a puzzle.

EDDAS is a crossword staple we have not seen in a long time, and YMA is a name you have to love if you make puzzles. MB, always a pleasure to see you and your handiwork. I appreciate the Kelly LeBrock pic, and the reminder of WOMAN IN RED as you know, I do like red shoes…

Hahtoolah said...

How to clean your pelican.

Barry G. said...

*meh*

I'm truly sorry, since I'm sure Dan was an incredible person, but I just do not like his puzzles in general. Usually, it's just because I can't get on his wavelength and not because of any actual flaws with his construction.

Case in point today, I simply could not wrap my head around the theme. Even after [almost] solving the puzzle. And even after coming here and reading the blog, it still doesn't make much sense to me.

Dan's puzzles are also usually the only ones that I am unable to finish. Today, it was the area where DEJA, DCAREA, REDSONJA and LEAL all collided. I couldn't remember whether the movie was RED SONIA or RED SONYA (neither one, obviously), had no idea whatsoever who the actress Sharon from "Boston Public" is, couldn't figure out DCAREA to save my life, and am really bad at guessing French words.

And so, I finished the puzzle with RED SONJA misspelled and a blank space where 45A and 39D connected. I can't fault Dan for my failure, since I probably would have been able to guess both DEJA and DCAREA had I gotten RED SONJA correct, and that would have given me LEAL via the perps. But still, it made for a less than enjoyable experience.

Ah, well...

Dick said...

Argyle, I had the same reaction on the west to east comment by CC, but then I thought she might mean reading west to east or left to right.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Great write-up, Melissa. DÉJÀ vu all over again with one of Dan's creations. Lucina, thanks for the heads-up; I guessed right. While probably not one his most signature puzzles, it had a lot to remind us of him. Many clever clues, and fresh head-scratching fill. Did not fully get the theme or appreciation of it before coming here.

Favorite clues were for SALIVA, MNEMONIC DEVICE, THORN, and SALT. Guess Dan had an EYE for GAMs. Liked the reminder of ABE VIGODA. Did not know LETO and was unsure of YMA spelling but perps were adequate. No searches needed.

Enjoy the day.

Tinbeni said...

Milessa Bee, Excellent write-up.

Lucina your hint yesterday was enough to anticipate today would be a Dan Naddor, thanks.

GNARLY DUDE was my first theme fill, followed closely by KNOTTY PINE and I still had not a clue to the theme reveal.

I cannot remember a Nadder puzzle where I made soooo many WAGS and the ol' GUT feelings were right. I took them all with that grain of SALT.

GHANA off the -H---.
NEHRU off the ----U.
SALIVA off the S-----.
Too many others to mention.

The Seiko brand, PULSAR got a smile. I remember when they came out they were around a grand. Ohhh, little red digits! Big whoop. A couple of years later you could get a digital watch for the price of a Big Mac.

Dick said...

Sorry I meant MB's comment not not CC.s.

Lucina said...

Good morning, Melissa Bee and puzzle people.

I agree; this was the easiest Dan Naddor puzzle in my memory. It sailed right along, one after another fill with very few problems.

Very clever cluing with picture of health, XRAY, canned twosome, ENS, say it isn't so, DENY and it may be scrutinized on a carousel, ID TAG. My first thought was HORSE but all the fills emerged nicely.

My french is limited to crossword entries, but DEJA VU is such a familiar phrase it almost qualifies as English vocabulary.

HOMES is used in most classroom simply to help children recall the names of the great lakes, not for any particular order.

The golden silence was broken in my home at 5:45 by a hungry baby who also needed a change. After a bottle and dry diaper, she resumed her sleep.

And don't you know, the newspaper published the same xwd today completely missing yesterday's.

This may be my last post until late Sunday night or Monday because a trip to Oceanside, CA starts tomorrow. Ah, for some cool weather.

It's actually for a memorial service for a 93 year old friend.

Please have yourself a super, special Thursday!

Bob said...

Not too tough for a Thursday. 18 minutes. Had to think about a couple of them, but that's about all.

Anonymous said...

I started off completely in trouble putting in PENS vs INKS, but righted myself early on. Once I got KNOTTY PINE and MNEMONIC DEVICE I knew the theme, but that didn't help with the DC AREA and DEJA cross. Did pretty well otherwise though. Lots of clever clues and was a good Thursday puzzle. I too liked the long down fills, which I somehow found easier than a lot of the short ones.

Melissa B, awesome job blogging this one. I loved your highlighting of all the silent letters.

Lots of rain forecast here. Feeling bad for all my sons friends that have grad parties planned on rainy days. We have tickets to the Twins tomorrow but looks like it may be rained out:-( They have been playing pretty darn good and so fun to watch. Gotta love the stadium experience too.

melissa bee said...

argyle & dick, right you are. just goes to show you can't believe everything you read.

Dudley said...

Morning, Puzzlers - Enjoyed the write-up, M. Bee! This was another of those puzzles where I had to go around the block a few times, settling for a toe-hold here and a guess there. Luckily I remembered ABE VIGODA right off. The theme was lost on me until coming here.

Allowed myself 2 Googs to keep it going, for Volta and Sumac - complete unknowns to me. Everything else got perp help.

KNOTTY PINE came quickly. I've still got pine walls throughout the house my Mom left me, which was remodeled about '54. The pine accumulated a lot of scars and reminders from our childhood - my early sketches of primitive steam locomotives, my brother's phone numbers, various war wounds - all the stuff endured by domiciles that house rambunctious children.

Splynter said...

Good morning -
I have to admit I went looking for the west/east MNEMONIC, and them I checked the link, Melissa - not a very good one. On that same page, they said the lines on a music staff is EGBDF - wha? How about the spaces instead? That's FACE. As for today's puzzle, the "device" filled in early, but I did not get the clue - jogging? Same with IDTAG - yup, I was thinking about horses, too, and then there's that 3-letter word for Elton John - SIR fits, too.
I cannot recall anything from the move Red SonJa, but I do like GAMS, myself. Thought I was done, but the clock kept ticking - I didn't correct my FHANA for Volta. Job interview today - on my way!

melissa bee said...

splynter, yeah .. it was .. er ... an object lesson, see. little test. wanted to see who was paying attention. you and argyle and dick win a prize!

to quote a recent puzzle, "that's the ticket!" i have a date with george clooney this weekend, too.

p.s. luck on the interview.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Melissa - wonderful, brava!

HAD A Tough GO of it this morning. Stumbled along, set it aside, then finished (almost) after my chiropractor visit.

Never got DC AREA crossing whatever that French word is.

Great theme that eluded me for quite a while. Lots of Dan cleverness. ABE VIGODA gave me a much-needed foothold. Had ETTE for ENNE, but TERD couldn't possibly have been right . . .

Had FROG for little hopper. That didn't help.

AS PICS go, Somehow, I don't think of RED SONJA as an Ahnold movie. Though he is (or was) a GNARLY DUDE.

I was a wee tyke when Sid and Imogene were a dynamic duo. Very physical brand of comedy, but it was over my pointy little head.

Beautiful, headache-free day here.

Two of my grandsons have their middle school band concert tonight.

Cheers!
JzB with music in the air

carol said...

Hi all -

MelissaBee, great job as usual! (also good to 'see' you again, wish you had more time for general comments, we miss your wit and humor)

I had to give up on this one, much as I enjoy a Naddor puzzle. I did great in the NW corner once I figured out that CAROUSEL was not a merry-go-round. I just could not get any of the long 'theme' clues and when I read Melissa's explanation of the theme, I could see it but barely.

Anonymous said...

I have a crush on melissa bee.

D

Jazzbumpa said...

Treble clef lines

E G B D F

Every Good Boy Does Fine.

Bass Clef lines

G B D F A

Good Boys Do Fine Always.

Tenor Clef Lines

F A C E G.

F^*$#ing Awful Clef, Embarrassing Gadget.

Cheers!
JzB who really doesn't like Tenor Clef

Warren said...

Hi M.Bee, C.C. & gang,
A toughie Dan Naddor puzzle, it helps to be in a strange mind frame, I immediately got 33D: All Seeing and my wife got 31D:Hit and Run but we only finished ~1/2 of it before she left for work.

My wife thought 15A s/b Gray for a picture of Dorian Gray but that was too obscure?

Here's a few cartoons of removing a thorn from a tiger's paw...

xtulmkr said...

Melissa Bee: "right you are. just goes to show you can't believe everything you read."

Or what you thought you read. Look again at the text from your link.

"To be remembered: The Great Lakes, from west to east: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior
Mnemonic Device: Some Men Hat Each Other. - OR - (not in order) HOMES" (emphasis added)

Happens to me a lot. For the longest time this morning I couldn't figure out what a mnemonic device had to do with logging (23A).

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, Very nice to see a Dan Naddor puzzle and Melissa bee as the blogger for a bonus.

Even for Dan N. it must have been difficult to figure out how to fit MNEMONIC DEVICE and PNEUMATIC VALVE into the grid. I thought those particular theme phrases were amazing. I had no problem with the silent consonant at the beginning of each one, the pronunciation remains the same. I had a heck of a time with the ending E. It is silent, but without it, the pronunciation of the second word changes completely. A -NOTTY PIN- or a -NARLY DUD- would have completely different meanings.

Favorite clue was "It may be scrutinized on a carousel" for 1A ID TAG.

We've been seeing a lot of 'ENRY and 'OME lately.

19A LETO was difficult. I was so sure it was LEDA. Turns out LETO was a Titan goddess who gave birth to Artemis and Apollo after messing around with Zeus. LEDA, about whom Yeats wrote the sonnet "LEDA and the Swan", was the queen of Sparta. She gave birth, via swan/Zeus to Helen and Polydeuces. She also gave birth at the same time to Castor and Clytemestra, who were the children of her husband, Tyndareus. It's all very confusing and stories vary. The only constant is that Zeus just couldn't keep his pants zipped.

Anonymous said...

Here's a picture of a sculpture of Leto and the Swan. She must have had a thing with swans, too.

Spitzboov said...

Clear Ayes said: Zeus just couldn't keep his pants zipped.

That's probably why he wore his chiton or tunic or some such. No zipper needed to unzip!

JD said...

Good morning Melissa, CC and all,

Woot! Woot! This is the 1sr D.N.puzzle that I have been "able" to complete..although I did leave out the B in NBA/able. Started slooowwwly , but when I filled knotty pine, things started to flow. What a clever man!

Loved picture of health-xray, ID tag, and mnemonic device.
BTW," Sam's horse must eat oats" is the west to east Great Lakes device.
Since I have a poor memory,I learned and taught many: EGBDF= every good boy does fine.
L C D M=Lucy can't drink milk.
"30 days hath Sept..."

Melissa, such great blogging!Thanks for putting in the time for us. I was clueless about ART until you explained.Riven was new to me too..also eddas.

My first thought for the proverb was "This too shall pass", but no letters jived and it isn't a proverb.

Fred? At that point I needed Carol's V8 can as I thought of Wilma. LOL!

Had to write out DCAREA to be able to read it.I thought of AKC, the organization that would not register white German Shepherds.

Seldom Seen said...

i have enjoyed this weeks puzzles. i have been able to solve all(today i did have to "cheat" a little). but, tomorrow i'm sure i will wear out the dictionary and/or google.

my contribution to the mnemonic conversation:

in my industry we deal with multi- conductor cables daily and they have specific color codes you MUST adhere to. so, we have mnemonics to help us along. a couple can be repeated here...

for our 25-pair telephone cables there are 5 binder colors: white, red, black, yellow, violet. so...Why Run Backwards You'll Vomit.

and for the 5 secondary pairs (blue, orange, green, brown, slate) it is: Boys On Girls Brings Satisfaction. which always leads to us singing the Stones' song. the other trades(HVAC, plumbers, electricians, etc..)look at like were crazy. if you have never been on a job site you're missing out!

if you would like to understand what the above is talking about, then check this out.

there is also an order for the wires in your ethernet cable that connects your computer to your router/modem but i must keep this comment PG

windhover said...

Anonymous 'D' @ 10:15,
Take a number, pal.

ARBAON said...

Do not have the puzzle completed...(will finish after an afternoon of another`s errands...) but wanted to get in on the mnemonic devises.
"kindly plant corn on father`s grave son" kingdom, phylum, class. order, genus,species.

And before pluto was demoted: "My very educated mother just sent us nine pizzas" mercury,venus,earth,mars,jupiter,
saturn,uranus,neptune, pluto.

Anonymous said...

I have a crush on Jeannie...oh yeah!!

Seldom Seen said...

i had a irish catholic nun from "bahston" who told us " King Phillip Closed Our Family General Store"!! btw, her name was Sister Christine Julie (sr. C.J.). our school was Chaminade-Julienne (C.J.). she was terrifying!!

Dudley said...

WOW, I just read M. Bee's profile and now I'm totally smitten too!

Anonymous said...

Who couldn't have a crush on Jeannie...she has the looks, brains, and can cook too!

T

windhover said...

Boys will be boys .............., and we're all boys, right?

Lucina said...

Hi, I just checked in again to see if any amazing anagrams sprang from Jerome's fertile and active mind. With all those long fills he must be cooking up some good ones.

Later.

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed the puzzle today. It's always interesting to me when I breeze by some clues that others have trouble with or when I get frustrated with a puzzle that others enjoy. I think what has helped me enjoy the more difficult puzzles more is doing them online with red-letter help turned on. That way I know if I've made a mistake.

Here is a great video of people raising a baby hummingbird with help from the mother.

eddyB said...

Hi.

Favorite: Resistor color code.
Bad Boys Rape Our Young Girls, But
Violet Gives Willingly. (Black Brown Red etc)

Said hello to the new wall and goodby to my sail boat. Cost = 4 SS
checks.

Have not been feeling well lately.
Maybe the cost of the wall is the cause.

Cool day but we are to be in the
90s this weekend. Canoe is ready
to go.

eddyB

Clear Ayes said...

Melissa bee and Jeannie, watch out for any low flying swans!

JD said...

Hahtool, I enjoyed the Pelican video. It sure takes time to wash each one, and that guy wasn't as oily as most.

B

Beneath the Ebon Sea there lived a bawdy brace of belugas. These behemoth br'ers, Beowulf and BOZ (pen names), were known to cause bedlam in the brine, both bestial beasts. A hundred brogan-steps away lived a bimanous seahorse, quite similar to a blaubok. "BOHICA" loved jewelry, but most of all , bhang. One night, bedaubed in a brillant briolette, a bridle and some very brief breeches, she went on a binge. The next day the boastful bards were convicted of buggery and fined a bazillion bahts.

carol said...

JD (4:20) what a hoot!! where did you get the idea to do this, it's just hilarious!!

Lucina said...

JD:

Ole! I am laughing loudly. That is so creative.

Spitzboov said...

@ Hahtool and JD

B

It behooved the Baratarian boobies to belay browsing in the befouled bayous.

Crockett1947 said...

BRAVO!

Chickie said...

Hello All--I didn't get to the puzzle until late today. It was a slog for me in some areas. The NW corner was the last to fall. I just couldn't get a merry-go-round out of my head for the luggage carousel. I also had an image of a sticker like you get after you vote. Duh.

I did get a grip on some areas and after passing through the grid a few times I managed to get more of the puzzle done with each go 'round. I do like Dan Naddor's puzzles even though they are tough for me.

I had a hard time choosing just one favorite clue today as there were so many that were misleading. My favorite was probably picture of health/x-ray.


Great blogging Melissa B.

JD, another hilarious writeup for your B words. They fit right in with Melissa B's blog today.

I have a pitcher of sun tea "cooking" on the porch today. I didn't realize I was right on for the "today is...."

Hope everyone's evening is lovely.

Jeannie said...

Hey all, I took today off to be with Jen as she had her left breast cut off. No easy way to say that. It's a most emotional time for me as well. It's hard to hold one's hand and know that your left breast is still healthy.

Sorry to be a downer. I did try to accomplish Dan's puzzle and couldn't even come close.

Good job Melissabee, I wouldn't have even known where to start.

dodo said...

Melissa, you've done a great job with this blog. Thanks.

I agree pretty much with everybody else that this was a pretty easy Naddor, but very enjoyable. I got hung up on Redsonja, which I'd never heard of and of course that held up the mideast a bit where I needed deja/valve/evil. I should have known deja, but put in pret, so it took looking up the Governator's movies before I was able to fix it. Otherwise it all went well. I knew 1A had to be about luggage, but there weren't enough squares for anything I could think of. Inks and denim took care of it, though.

Lots of fun. We've missed you, Melissa. I hope we'll see more of you. I don't think I've welcomed Splynter, Otis, Jayce, and Dudley but you know we're glad you're joining us.

Take care, All, dodo

Hahtoolah said...

JD and Spitzboov, your take on the letter "B" is hilarious!

JD said...

Carol, just decided to review my list of words that I've collected these past 2 yrs. If I don't use 'em, I lose 'em. So many times we've had the word before,but I forget.My C list is lacking;I hope I don't end up writing a story about romaine (cos)!!

ARBAON said...

Finally completed today puzzle. Melissa B, you did well! All you wordsmiths-by-the-letter were quite entertaining. Never saw "Red Sonja." Is it worth my time and trouble? Don`t understand why an id would be needed for a Merry-go-round...
Leaving you with some jokes for the folks:
A little boy blundered into a department store dressing room and encountered a mostly nude matron. She screamed and the little boy said, "Haven`t you ever seen a little boy before!?"

The same little boy was on the way home when his Mom passed a convertible with a female driver who was topless. Hoping her boy hadn`t noticed, she said nothing...In a few seconds, her boy said, "Boy Mom! Did you see that! That lady didn`t have on her seat belt!"

Say goodnight, Gracie.

Annette said...

JD, that's an adorable new avatar!

Bill G. said...

Arbaon; the carousel is at an airport where you get your luggage returned (if you're lucky). The ID is a tag on your luggage. That puzzled me at first also.

Lemonade714 said...

I did not realize so many of you wrote for Sesame Street, though I am apprehensive when the day the letter "F" is featured, Friday?

RED SONJA was cast when Brigitte Neilsen was Sly Stallone's squeeze, not recently when she was matched with FLAVOR FLAV .

Lemonade714 said...

Her best role was in Beverly Hills Cop as one of the BAD GUYS .

dodo said...

JD, I looove your two little guys! And you did right by the Bs, too! LMAO!

dodo said...

I see I've lost my identity again! I don't remember signing out but maybe I did. Do I need to sign up again?

Marge said...

Good evening,
Interesting puzzle, I had a bit of trouble.

Just wanted to say I was amused at 5d, instinctive, because I got it at once-Gibbs on NCIS feels it in in his 'gut' all the time. My favorite program.

Good night!

JD said...

Thanks Annette,the boys are growing up..with a new one due in 2 wks.They continue to be a joy.

Lemonade, I don't think we'd see any buggery on Sesame Street.

Jeannie said...

Wow, do you people not read previous posts? I just spent the better of a day with Jen getting her left breast "lopped off" for a better term. Why was it better if I took the "walk" with her, bought her shoes, and no one can even comment on what she went through today? Hell, what about what I went through today? I am disappointed in my blog family and at the same time happy I was there for her.

Anonymous said...

jeannie, sorry people aren't paying enough attention to you.

And "you people" is very condescending.

Jeannie said...

Sorry, anon...you people is my group of people here on this blog and you are not one of them. I am not looking for attention for anyone but Jen. I have enough attention in my life from friends and family. I can assure you I could leave this blog tomorrow and not look back. I shared Jen's story awhile back and just wanted to keep "my blog friends" up to date. Sorry C.C. et al if I did something wrong here. The day was long and harrowing.

Bill G. said...

Jeannie, I'm sorry for what your friend had to go through and I'm happy she has a friend such as you.

I saw a woman on "The View" who had an elective double mastectomy because of a family history of breast cancer. The reason I didn't respond to you at first and the reason I turned off "The View" is that those kinds of things are very hard for me to deal with. Best wishes for your friend.

HUTCH said...

Sid and imogene! After attending Joe zarellis class "How to pass the DC bar exam", I would rush to Mike Palms bar and grill so as to get the closest seat to the TV so as to hear every word of their zany and brilliant show. Red Skelton may be No. one but Sid and Imogene are No. 2"s. This happened in DC area.

Bill G. said...

According to Glenn Davis and Nate Robinson, God gave them the ability and energy to win the basketball playoff game tonight. Geez, no wonder the Lakers looked overmatched. :>)

Anonymous said...

Jeannie, I was somewhat taken aback and had to think about my post on this one.

I know you have a good heart and stand by your friends. I'm sure today was emotionally exhausting for you, and I'm also sure that you helped Jen tremendously by being there for her. I know you were upset, but I do ask you to rethink your description.

"I just spent the better of a day with Jen getting her left breast "lopped off" for a better term."

The better and correct term is simply "mastectomy". Referring to her surgery as something that sounds victimizing, barbaric and disfiguring is not something that will be helpful to her. It is hard for anyone who has had a mastectomy to hear it described that way. It is no worse than having a lung or kidney removed. LOL, it is just a little more physically obvious.

As I recent mastectomy patient, I know that loss of a breast is not the end of the world, happiness and even (Hallelujah!) sex. It was necessary to remove her cancer and save her life. Thank goodness that mastectomies are available to save women who almost always died in years gone by.

Clear Ayes said...

Sorry, that last post was me, Clear Ayes. Somehow it posted as anonymous.

Lucina said...

Jeannie:
I am so sorry about Jen and her surgery. You are a true friend to be with her. I did not realize it was the same person for whom you bought shoes. You really are a hero.

Good night everyone. I'll "see" you after the weekend.

Crockett1947 said...

Jeannie, I think it's awesome that you were able to offer your support to your new friend Jen at a very trying time for her. Best wishes to her for a full recovery and a cancer-free future.

Otis said...

Jeannie,

I know I'm most definitely not one of the blog "people", but I'd like to say 'Thank you' for being with Jen for her surgery. I recall the shoes story, and I was impressed - a lot of people have zero compassion for the less fortunate, especially those they don't know from Adam (I think this was the case, although I could be wrong). I am even more impressed you took the time and cared enough to be with her for surgery. You deserve a few solid gold karmic stars.

My two cents: While a breast is an organ as is a lung or kidney, it so often is also central to a female's self identity (for better or worse, intentionally or unintentionally, blah blah blah - it just often IS). CA - I can see your point, especially from an analytical viewpoint. But for the immediate, emotionally descriptive phrase, I'd probably use the same/similar description after walking in Jeannie's shoes today, particularly because there has not been a lot of time to build up defenses and analytical frameworks. Kind of an "Oh my gosh, HOLY stinkin' flippin' dangnabbit COW" experience, with unpublishable words substituted. I'd definitely 'tone it down' with time, though. (I've given this a little thought, having a few friends go through less invasive surgeries and treatments for breast cancer in the past couple of years. I'm WELL aware this is worlds away from experiencing it.)

One final thought on the Corner's response (or lack thereof) - I tend to read the blog at night, and occasionally afternoon to early evening. It seems to me that most of the conversations occur before I see it, particularly as the weekend approaches. I'd guess maybe it isn't so much that people didn't respond, but that a lot of the regular corner crowd had checked in and out before you wrote. Also, again for better or worse blah blah blah, males might not exactly know what to say.

Apologies for the verbosity. Just wanted you to know that a stranger said an earnest 'Thanks' and that acts like this help restore a bit of optimism into said stranger's cynical world. Also, I echo Crockett1947's wishes for remission and recovery for Jen.

otis the polar bear

P.S. Comment for yesterday's blog - Yikes, Jerome. No more groaning! You would make a formidable Scrabble opponent (to put it mildly).