google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday July 9, 2010 Jascha Smilack

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Jul 9, 2010

Friday July 9, 2010 Jascha Smilack

Theme: Give 'em H, Harry - Letter H is inserted after letter S, in an orderly A, E, I, O, U pattern. Total 28 Hs in the puzzle, a record!

17A. "The herring ate my homework," e.g.? : SHAD EXCUSE. Sad Excuse. I had no idea that shad belongs to the herring family.

24A. Number on a bag of walnuts? : SHELL-BY DATE. Sell-By Date.

35A. Stumbling block for a beauty pageant contestant? : DEADLY SHINS. Deadly Sins.

48A. Really needing to do laundry? : OUT OF SHORTS. Out of Sorts.

58A. Reason to eat lunch alone? : MIDDAY SHUN. Midday Sun.

H is inserted into the first word in the first two theme entries, and the second word in the last three. Today's theme title came from Argyle. I've never heard of the slogan: Give 'em Hell, Harry!

No single black square in this puzzle. Quite unusual. Also, same as the Dan Naddor puzzle yesterday, the constructor divided his left and right edges into 2 rather than our normal 3 sections, resulting in several paralleled long entries, which always please Dennis/Clear Ayes, and a total low themeless-like 72 word count .

Several math references today:

21A. Cubic meter : STERE

52A. Highest degree : NTH

32D. H.S. math course : ALG

44D. Greek mathematician : EUCLID

Across:

1. Command, to Shakespeare : HEST. Only know "behest". Wanted BIDE.

5. Drei doubled : SECHS. German for 6. Drei = 3. I am sure it's a gimme for Kazie/Spitzboov. I was lost.

10. __ money : HUSH

14. Lit. collection : ANTH (Anthology)

15. Comment before a swim, maybe : I'M HOT. I don't swim. Afraid of water.

16. Yours: Fr. : A TOI. Jerome, the surprising cook on our blog, was just asking for the validity of this fill some time ago.

19. Restraining order : HALT

20. Role for Harrison : HAN (Solo)

22. "Say what?" : HUH

23. Like Brahms's Symphony No. 3 : IN F. Came with crossers.

28. Cases (out) : SCOPES

30. "My Fair Lady" lyricist : LERNER. Alan Jay Lerner.

31. Frequently embroidered pronoun : HERS

32. Pilot : AVIATE. Verb "Pilot".

39. Linguistic habits : USAGES

40. Hunk of tobacco : CHAW. PLUG too.

43. Like some collisions : HEAD-ON

46. Much of Libya : SAHARA

53. Pres. during the 1929 market crash : HCH (Herbert Clark Hoover). Did not know his middle name.

54. A, in Israel : ALEPH. Followed by Beth.

55. Letters seen next to a 4 : GHI. On a phone.

56. Maker of Regenerist skin products : OLAY. I am using Regenerist. Anti-aging.

60. Rear : HIND

61. Inuit relative : ALEUT

62. Hopping game? : HARE. Game here refers to "hunter's game". Nice clue.

63. Handicapper's concern : ODDS

64. Hyssop and catnip, e.g. : HERBS

65. Sign of a leak : HISS

Down:

1. Hemp extract : HASHISH. New word to me. Drug?

2. Heighten : ENHANCE

3. Silicon Valley school : STANFORD. JimmyB just mentioned Stanford yesterday.

4. Ecclesiastical deg. : TH. D. Doctor of Theology.

5. Some pizza slices : SIXTHS

6. Host : EMCEE

7. Rude dude : CHURL. Rhyme.

8. Golf club socket : HOSEL. See this diagram. Jazzbumpa is going to sink some putts today. Hope they are for birdies.

9. __-Thérèse, Quebec : STE

10. Taunting laugh : HAH

11. Hatch in the Senate, e.g. : UTAHAN. Orrin Hatch.

12. The sugar in your latte, say : SOLUTE. Also a new word. Same root as "solution" I suppose.

13. "Hie thee __, / That I may pour my spirits in thine ear": "Macbeth" : HITHER. I just hate Shakespeare quote clues. Never know what the dude wanted to say.

18. Being, to Ovid : ESSE. Latin.

25. Humdrum : BLAH

26. Hairy Asian giant : YETI. The Abominable Snowman.

27. Bathe, as in sunlight : DRENCH. Hot here.

29. False start? : PSEUDO. As in pseudoscience.

33. "The Return of the Native" vamp Eustacia __ : VYE. Means nothing to me. "The Return of the Native", novel by Thomas Hardy.

34. Edition: Abbr. : ISS (Issue)

36. Starting from : AS OF

37. Rather and others : DANS. Dan Rather.

38. Kidnap, in a way : SHANGHAI

41. 1880s first family : ARTHURS. Chester Alan Arthur (1881-1885). Another mysterious middle name!

42. Some surfers : WAHINES.

43. Words after "jolly," in an old jingle : HO HO HO. The Jolly Green Giant jingle. I saw the Green Giant statue when we traveled by. Ho Ho Ho!'

45. Nearby : AT HAND

46. Parade occasion, for short : ST PATS

47. Hardly healthy-looking : ASHY

49. Selassie of Ethiopia : HAILE

50. Having gone around the block more : OLDER. Thought it means "more experienced", not necessarily older.

51. Provide a new soundtrack for : REDUB

57. NFL stat : YDS

58. __-jongg : MAH. So noisy.

59. "Zip it!" : SHH. This last entry made me have an extra look at the plethora of letter Hs.

Answer grid.

Pictures of the Day: Here are a few great pictures Kazie took during her trip to Alice Springs, Northern Territory. Click each one. The photo will enlarge. Thanks for the captions, Kazie!

If you want to be included in our Crossword Corner map, please email Crockett. His address is crockett1947@comcast.net

C.C.

52 comments:

  1. Good morning, C.C. and gang - loved the theme today, but struggled mightily with a lot of the clues. Slid all the way to the NE before I got a grip, and even then I kept bouncing around, trying to get a few in a row. Took a few passes to finish, and I had a ton of perp help to get there.

    As with C.C., I thought 'Having gone around the block more' implied experience, not age. Favorite clues were 'Hopping game' and 'Restraining order', both extremely clever. Unknowns included 'hest', 'Vye', 'sechs' and 'solute'. I only knew Ste-Therese because I used to ski the Eastern Townships every year. Tough puzzle for me, but very enjoyable.

    Kazie, great pictures - looking forward to more.

    Today is National Sugar Cookie Day.

    Did you know:

    - Dividing something into squares is known as graticulation.

    - Your brain operates on the same amount of power that would light up a 10-watt light bulb.

    - Impotence is grounds for divorce in 24 states. Even if the evidence stands up in court?

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  2. Good Morning, CC and all. This was definitely a Friday puzzle. It provided me with quite a challenge, but I finished with minimal outside help. My first theme clue was SHELL BY DATE. After that, I realized I needed to insert an H for the pun. I didn't see the vowel progression, though, until you explained it.

    I also didn't understand GHI, which I got through the perps for Letters Seen Next to 4. Thanks for that explanation, too.

    I wanted Drip instead of HISS for Sign of a Leak.

    SCOPES came to me immediately for Cases (Out). I liked that clue.

    My favorite clues were:
    Hopping Game = HARE
    Having Gone Around the Block More = OLDER

    Nice Photos, Kazie. Maybe one day, after I retire when I can spend more than 2 weeks out of the office, my husband and I can make the trip to Australia.

    Happy Friday!

    QOD: It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them. ~ Mark Twain

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  3. Dennis et al,
    I just noticed that there are 28 Hs in the grid. A record!

    Argyle,
    Now your title is more apt. Or is it apter?

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  4. Good morning CC and all the Ryders; a second visit from JASCHA and another treat, filled with tricks and new stuff and some very funny thoughts.

    What a way to start a Friday, with some H (there are 27/28 in this puzzle!) EST and before I even got my pants on we have SECHS! This crosses SIXTH, which is either very clever, or not; but I does remind me of the guy at the pizza place being asked if he wanted his pizza cut in 6 or 8 slices, who answered, “You better make 6, I do not think I could eat 8 pieces.”

    Here is a great German number learning SITE . Then we have one of those impossible letter combinations IMHOT, which does not become an Egyptian god, but I’M HOT, which seems a bit conceited, if you ask me.

    Luckily, I was around in the 60’s so HASHISH was a gimme (a shout out to my man, Richie HAVENS , who not only opened the show at Woodstock, but came and played at the Great Southern Music Hall in Gainesville, hashish in tow) and of course Jimmy B prepared us for STANFORD in the Notre Dame discussion yesterday. I was not familiar with herring being SHAD , but loved all the rest of the Theme answers. SOLUTE is clearly a Friday word, Ms. VYE also would never have come to mind without perps, and I loved HOPPING GAME: HARE. Fun for all the HOPSCOTCH experts.

    "Give em hell Harry" is from the days when Harry Truman was president, as he was quite a feisty little guy.

    A very nice challenge from our harvard young man.

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  5. Lemonade714:
    Irish and I have tickets to see Richie Havens on Saturday night, a first for me.

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  6. Good Morning all.

    Yes, C. C., SECHS was a gimme. And I caught the tie in with SIXTHS (Lemonade's comment)

    A little more Stürm und Drang today. A struggle, particularlyin the NW, but after many hor. ant vert. passes it finally came together without resorting to lookups. Loved the cleverness of the theme words. There were many good, meaty clues and fills. Thought HARE, UTAHAN, SIXTH, and PSEUDO were clever. Did not understand the GHI fill before coming here; D'uh. Don't remember seeing STERE in quite some time.

    'Libya' - birthplace of Rosanna Podesta (see yesterday's late blog)

    IM HOT - apt for us in the NE. What is your favorite drink on a hot day? Mine is Campari and tonic with lime over ice.

    Kazie - great pictures. When you get a chance, could you tell us a little about the Ghan train?

    Stay cool.

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  7. Morning, all!

    I loved the theme, but the rest of the puzzle was a real slog. I finished in Sunday time, but at least I did finish without having to resort to Google.

    HEST, SECHS, ATOI, ANTH, INF, THD, CHURL and (my true WTF moment of the day) HOSEL all made it very difficult to get a foothold in the top half of the puzzle. It didn't help that I initially had WAIT instead of HALT (2 correct letters made me think it had to be right) for 19A and therefore couldn't see SOLUTE as 12D. In fact, toward the end I was staring at SOIU_E and then SOIUTE and going HUH???

    *sigh*

    The bottom half of the puzzle was much, much easier. Once I abandoned the top half, I blew through the bottom in a matter of minutes. Eventually, of course, I had to return to the top half to continue my struggle. It helped that by that time I had figured out the theme and was able to stick in a few well-placed H's...

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  8. @Hahtool, I did not see the vowel progression either. Love this blog.

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  9. Hahtool and Anonymous,

    Without the vowel progression there would be too many choices. WHITE SHALE, SHAM SPADE, and here I stop short of inserting an H into BABY SITTER. Ahem.

    The vowel progression is a common but still clever device for what's called "narrowing the focus." It adds another elegant layer to the construction. Hey, I wonder how many other choices there were?

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  10. John Lampkin: Thanks for the insight on vowel progression. I will keep that in mind and look for it next time it comes up. Since you brought up other choices, I have to confess that for the Beauty Pageant's Stumbling Block, I had a letter missing, and was, for a moment, staring at: DEADLY SHI_S.

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  11. C.C.

    Great observation about the record number of H's!

    Let's put a call out for someone to create an LAT puzzle archive that documents these cruciverbal feats. Anyone?

    Jim Horne has created one for the NY Times:
    http://www.xwordinfo.com/

    Using his as a model, it should be easy, taking only countless hours. :)

    Many constructors have a happy home here working with Rich Norris. I for one, feel that the puzzles here are as good as those published anywhere, and often better, like Jascha Smilack's H tour de force. It would be great to have a permanent showcase for these stellar standouts.

    What do you all think?

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  12. Good morning CC et al., Today is Fri? This puzzle didn't seem like it. I flew thru this one and only got stuck in the south central. The Israel 'a' got me and older for around the block didn't register. Perps filled in and WAGs did the rest. The theme was cute but didn't really help me.

    Had to laugh at the thought from the theme answers of 'Deadly shins' coming 'out of shorts' which would certainly merit 'midday shun'. However, enough 'hashish' could
    'enhance' the sight of anything including shins and bring leg men to a screeching 'halt' as they contemplate 'usages' for those shins from 'hither' to yon. Some women just won't 'stan-for-d'at though. 'Odds' are that those men better 'halt' the 'hash' and become tobaccy 'chaw'in. They best 'hush' and 'head on' down the road b'fore those dreamers turn into 'lerner's at the 'han'ds of the shins owners and find their 'hind' parts
    'aviate'ing across the 'sahara' desert at high noon. They'll learn a new slant to 'Im hot' and dry. It's all good. They'll learn their manners the hard way and 'stere' clear of hash..unless it's 'hers'.

    Enjoy your day. I get my leg cast today. Am reminded of BarryG's little fellow. Wonder if I get a choice of colors. Hmm, do I need to match the other shoe?

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  13. Good morning, everyone!

    C.C., a quick note on the map -- my e-mail is @comcast.net, not .com!

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  14. How about this:

    Phony Pella purchaser: WINDOW SHILL

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  15. CC Excellent informative write-up.
    Sorry to see your avatar has a mild concussion.

    Kazie: Thanks for the photos, can't wait to see more. Did you go to Uluru (Ayers Rock)?

    Word of the Day: HUH since I said that to myself quite a few times while solving.

    First to fall, HASHISH, HAH! Probably says something about the 60's early 70's.

    Had Caw, for the taunting laugh, and Writ, for Restraining order, until UTAHAN got me HALT.
    Took a while to correct the NE.
    Noticed the two black blocks that look like Utah on each side.

    GHI, Letters next to 4, are UNDER the number on my phones.

    As for the theme, I was more impressed with the vowel progression than the 'drop the H' thingy.

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  16. Hi all,
    C.C.,
    Thanks for posting the photos. I'm glad everyone likes them so far.

    Tinbeni,
    Uluru comes next--it's quite a ways SW of Alice, and we took a bus tour for the day, leaving around 6 am and returning only at midnight. I was mispronouncing it too: the stress is on the last syllable, UlurU.

    My CW experience today was less than stellar. SECHS was the only true gimme, and it occurred to me that it would be hard for most people. Most of the rest were WAGS and misses--more of the latter. I was strongest in the mid north and SW, but otherwise very patchy. I've never heard of HARE, don't know the Hebrew alphabet, and only got HOSEL from perps.

    It occurs to me that we'd have done better on the letters next to 4 if we all texted more. I really have to remember to look for vowel progressions. We seem to be getting more of those lately. The H thing escaped me, though I did notice we had a lot of them. The only theme answer I got was OUT OF SHORTS, and even there I hesitated as to whether to put SHIRTS because of not having the others, and not seeing the progression.

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  17. Good Morning All, Wow, what a tough Friday puzzle.

    I like Shakespeare, but 1A HEST? I found one line from The Tempest, "I have broke your hest to say so.", that uses the word. Good thing I knew was 1D HASHISH is (not from personal experience).

    German 5A SECHS was unknown and 5D SIXTHS wasn't there for me. We cut our pizzas into eighths. Too bad Jascha S. couldn't work EIGHTHS into the puzzle for an additional H.

    The only Greek mathematicians I could think of were Pithagoras and his theorem The Pythagorean theorem: The sum of the areas of the two squares on the legs (a and b) equals the area of the square on the hypotenuse (c). and the "Eureka!" guy, Archimedes. The (should have been) obvious 44D EUCLID only showed up with the perps.

    Other hiccups were HOSEL, SOLUTE, VYE, ALEPHS and ARTHURS.

    The H count was very impressive. I didn't count them, but I could see they were everywhere.

    The vowel progression didn't hit me until I came here. I love it when constructors add a little "Easter Egg" for us to find. I'm not very good at that, but it is fun to have it pointed out.

    I laughed at the theme phrases and thought the title should be"Channeling Sean Connery". Sir Sean is famous for transforming S's into an SH sound.

    Great photos, Kazie. It really helps to have captions.

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  18. good morning c.c. and all,

    great challenge today, and so, so clever! figured out the theme with SHAD, but didn't realize the vowel progression until it was too late to help.

    brilliant job deconstructing c.c., as always - your dedication and attention to detail continues to amaze me.

    great pics kazie, thanks for sharing.

    lois, cast??? what'd i miss????

    that puzzle was the most work i'm doing for a few days, except for packing the car. off to santa cruz for girls weekend.

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  19. Spitzboov,
    The Ghan is considered rather luxurious, but the single berth cabin I had was very tiny, just with convertible seat/bunk, and a fold down sink. Doubles were much roomier with ensuite bathrooms. Other bathrooms and showers are available at each end of the carriage. This was the "gold" standard, or middle of the road level. We were served champagne in the lounge after boarding. The dining room food (included in the fare) was terrific.

    Our trip was overnight and then via Katherine, where it stopped about four hours for us to tour the Katherine Gorge or other trip options.

    It runs from Adelaide to Darwin, and links up with its sister routes: Indian Pacific: Perth to Sydney; Overland: Melbourne to Adelaide; Southern Spirit: Brisbane to Alice Springs via Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The website is www.gsr.com.au

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  20. Good morning C.C. and everyone.

    What a Friday treat! I needed a herculean effort to finish this one
    without assistance but a HOPPING GAME within the grid. I vaguely remember 17A from another puzzle but I can't recall the SHAD part of the answer. I remember 12D from Chemistry. Foreign words are still my bane, save for Spanish.

    Have a good weekend everyone.

    August
    A very engaging puzzle with its adroit cluing.

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  21. Kazie
    I was just wondering.

    I went to Uluru in 1985.
    Walked around it with an aborigine, James. Took about 5 hours as he was showing me the art and talking about it. Suddenly he stopped, looked at me and said:
    "You white people are strange.
    You think you can own land.
    This was here long before you.
    And will be here long after you're gone."

    Probably the smartest thing anyone has ever said to me.

    I've lived a much different life since my time there.

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  22. Tinbeni,
    Yes, they believe they belong to the land--in both senses of "belonging". I think it's one way they are similar to Native Americans. We walked around it too--only partly though. Some of our group climbed it while we were walking. That's not going to be possible any more as of 2014. Some of the rock art is sacred/ceremonial and can't be photographed, but some idiots still try to get pix of it.

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  23. Didn't know 1A (HEST) or 23D (VYE) but figured both out. Also didn't know 16A (ATOI) and put ETOI instead. Otherwise, no problems. Took about 18 minutes.

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  24. I enjoyed the puzzle and the clever theme very much for all the reasons everybody else has already stated. I got the theme right away but missed the vowel progression. Thanks for the explanation.

    Very nice photographs. Well-composed and very crisp I thought.

    My mother used to bake a whole shad. Delicious! I guess it's an east coast fish because I haven't ever seen it out here. Sometimes we would get lucky and it would have roe in it.

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  25. Hello, everyeone,

    I'm almost finished with the puzzle but going to a funeral, the husband of a friend. Just wanted to say good morning.

    Be back later!

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  26. Hi C.C. & gang, an extra tough Friday for me, my wife left for work with only 1/4 or less done today.

    I 'finally' got 58A and that helped to get the other ? clues...

    Here's a great clip of James Whitmore acting as 'Give'em Hell Harry!'

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  27. Good morning C.C. and all,

    C.C., you constantly amaze me with all the information you give to all of us.

    This was a fun exercise in thinking..needed a few more of those light bulbs. Too bad it wasn't Doughnut Day; I left a few holes- middAyshun and StPAts.

    My"got it with the perps" list is long today:Vye,solute, stere, hosel(very strange word), hest(I had hast..must have been thinking hath),in F, HCH,GHI,THD,and arthurs(guessed U).Probably more.


    Enhance should have been in yesterday's c/w.

    fav. clue=hopping game
    fav. answer=shanghai

    Kazie, your pictures are a delight! Love the Galah, T-shirt and cool poster. The one of you at the train is a PERFECT picture for drawing perspective to a novice art class.It's one they like to do over and over.

    C.C., have you always been aquaphobic/hydrophobic? If I misspell it, it might end up that you have a fear of rabies-hydrophobophobia. Maybe we all have that one.So many phobias.

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  28. I enjoyed this puzzle a lot. OUT OF SHORTS was my favorite. Much of the fill is impressive- HASHISH, HO HO HO, SHANGHAI, WAHINES, SIXTHS, and CHURL. Itt said LURCH was a CHURL.

    John- A big "You're damn right!" about LA Times puzzles. Ah, BABY SITTER... great. I was thinking of SITTING BULL, but we'll put that one out to pasture.

    Dennis- Don't be so hard on impotence.

    Our constructor, Jascha, can now say,"I CLUED EUCLID"

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  29. Sorry, Jerome - it was just off the top of my head, and yes, I know that's a limp excuse.

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  30. If you do e-mail me with a request to be added to the map, please be sure to tell me what your screen name is. I wouldn't want to blow someone's "secret identity!"

    I'll be gone this weekend but could probably get things on the map on Monday.

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  31. That is way beyond limp; that's a cockamamie excuse if I ever heard one.

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  32. Good morning, C.C. and all.

    My, what a lot of different opinions with this puzzle! They range from very difficult to a snap! I'm kind of amazed that I got through it with only one assist other than perps and that was to call my daughter to find out the German word (and spelling) for 'six'. This was after a first look that almost convinced me to quit before I started! Then I went down to the SE corner and started backwards with verticals and before I knew it, was almost half finished. A little hang-up when I wanted 'wiser' for 50D instead of older, but it didn't last long. My first theme fill was "out of shorts" and I'm proud of myself for figuring out the theme right away. That helped a lot.

    Many, many clever clues. I guess my favorite was 'number on a bag of walnuts'.

    What a treat, after being so discouraged at first glance!

    Kazie, your pix are fantastic and thanks much for the captions. What a lot of territory you covered! I'm really looking forward to the next ones. Glad you're back. We've missed you.

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  33. Hi all -
    I could not finish this one - what a battle!
    I finally did what others did, and started at the bottom. I really did manage to get the bottom half done with very little help but that top half really did me in. My congratulations to all who are smart enough to complete it...and to the talented constructor Jascha Smilack!

    Lois, sure am glad you could comment, as usual, it was worth reading and made me smile, laugh, and guffaw.

    Kazie, such wonderful pictures! I would love to see Australia and New Zealand. Looking forward to your other pictures. It's so nice that C.C. has that 'format' that allows us to all view them.

    ok boys, let's not get 'testy'!

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  34. Hello, again.

    Tough NE section today; before leaving I had all but that finished; I was congratulating myself when after guessing SECHS (since it sounds a bit like seis and it fit)I got stuck up in that corner.

    I knew it had to be ORRIN Hatch but insisted on EASY money and YONDER for shakespeare and just came here to fill the blanks.

    With Shakespearean quotes, I think of the most obsolete word possible and try it on for size although sometimes I do know it if it's a common quotation. HEST is a total mystery.

    I loved the theme which filled out quickly and had I been able to stay would have completed, well, almost completed, soon.

    Kazie I'll return to relish your pictures as now I am going to babysit my granddaughters. Aah, it's a good life!

    I'll catch you all later and do hope you are having a sensational Friday.

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  35. I may not be correct but I think the "Give em Hell, Harry" more relates to the 1948 election in which the Republican, Tom Dewey (who ahd also run against FDR and lost in 1944 was the odds on favorite right up to the election. Truman lit into Dewey at every opportunity and upset him. The quote which is what his suporters yelled at many rallies was thought to be a major factor in that upset.

    As an aside, my home town paper is also "famous" for their headline on the day after the election saying Dewey had won.

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  36. Carol, you know they'll just keep coming back.

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  37. For john28man:

    You were right! What a memory you must have:

    Here's the wiki scoop:

    "The title comes from an incident that took place during the 1948 Presidential election campaign. Whilst in Harrisburg, Illinois, Truman delivered a speech attacking the Republicans. During the speech a supporter yelled out "Give 'em Hell, Harry!". Truman replied, "I don't give them Hell. I just tell the truth about them and they think it's Hell." Subsequently, "Give 'em Hell, Harry!" became a lifetime slogan for Truman supporters."

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  38. Speaking of STANFORD, I certainly got schooled today. I don't know foreign numbers much past three, Shakespeare quotes are always just a guess, and VYE was a total unknown. I liked the theme, but it took me a long time to get it, and sometimes that still didn't help.

    Plus I made quite a few stupid mistakes (like not realizing my fill made no sense) because I was trying to follow the Tour de France while doing the puzzle. I should have known better: Fridays require my undivided attention.

    Kazie - Great pictures. Thanks for sharing. That's a part of the world I've always wanted to visit. Your photos will have to do for now.

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  39. Kazie: beautiful pictures. Thanks for sharing and for identifying the places. Looking forward to more.

    I got a florescent pink cast for a simple bunionectomy that has turned into a major surgical event. I can't let it stop my summer fun so I got a cast condom today that will allow me to go swimming and play in the water, which I'm going to go do while eating sugar cookies...

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  40. Crockett: maybe I can dicker with them.

    Lois: Wow, a cast condom...would love to see that. You never know what is floating around in a swimming pool, do you? Safety first!

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  41. Kazie, thank you for sharing your spectacular photos. Now I really want to travel to Australia.

    C.C.:
    I had not noticed the vowel progression in my first perusal of the puzzle.

    And 28 Hs! I bow to Jascha Smilack for a brilliant Friday puzzle.

    However, SOLUTE is still a mystery and requires research. Thank you for the illustration of HOSEL, a total guess for me.

    GHI are also under the 4 on my phone. Should check the others.

    And so our education of German numbers, French phrases, the Hebrew alphabet and exotic terminology continues. I do love this blog!

    Have a great weekend everyone.

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  42. CC: Never had time to do puzzle today...

    Kazie: Lovely pics.

    Dennis; Going to make one, big sugar cookie and "graticulate" it.
    (The word actually refers to the way lines of latitude and longitude make squares on a map.)

    Favorite cold drink: Peach/mango Crystal Light and cold Desani.

    The Hum-uh-ditty es ter-ree-blay aqui, Lucina!

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  43. Lucina, the solute is the stuff that's dissolved by or in the solvent. So if you stir a spoonful of sugar in some water, the water is the solvent and the sugar is the solute.

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  44. Hello Puzzlers - Who in the hell has heard of a HOSEL? Man!

    I thought I was pretty clever filling RAV as seen next to a 4. Was soon disabused.

    SOLUTE: It's the element or compound (frequently in solid form)which is dissolved into a SOLVENT. In the case of this clue, sugar is the solute and coffee (that is, the hot water in it) is the solvent. Science and math have lots of paired words, such as divisor and dividend.

    C.C. - Umm, what's the connection between Mah-Jongg and noise?

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  45. GHI is next to 4 on my phone. Or I should really say 'beside it'. If something is very close to something else, Whether it is below, above, beside it, to the right or left, it seems to me that it still has the property of being next to it. If you have a column of objects in a series the next one down relative to the one in question would be the next one.

    JMHO

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  46. Carol, they seem to be petering out...

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  47. Anybody who plays golf and shanks a ball, hitting it off the HOSEL, knows all about the word.

    John and Jerome, you bring more joy to this endeavor, thank you for insight and and inciting new thought.

    You can be such a noodle, Dennis.
    and for HEST I give you the great Lady Percy soliloquy:

    LADY PERCY:

    O, my good lord, why are you thus alone?
    For what offence have I this fortnight been
    A banished woman from my Harry's bed?
    Tell me, sweet lord, what is't that takes from thee
    Thy stomach, pleasure and thy golden sleep?
    Why dost thou bend thine eyes upon the earth,
    And start so often when thou sit'st alone?
    Why hast thou lost the fresh blood in thy cheeks
    And given my treasures and my rights of thee
    To thick-eyed musing and cursed melancholy?
    In thy faint slumbers I by thee have watched,
    And heard thee murmur tales of iron wars,
    Speak terms of manage to thy bounding steed,
    Cry “Courage! to the field!” And thou hast talked
    Of sallies and retires, of trenches, tents,
    Of palisadoes, frontiers, parapets,
    Of basilisks, of cannon, culverin,
    Of prisoners' ransom and of soldiers slain,
    And all the currents of a heady fight.
    Thy spirit within thee hath been so at war,
    And thus hath so bestirred thee in thy sleep,
    That beads of sweat have stood upon thy brow
    Like bubbles in a late-disturbed stream,
    And in thy face strange motions have appeared,
    Such as we see when men restrain their breath
    On some great sudden hest. O, what portents are these?
    Some heavy business hath my lord in hand,
    And I must know it, else he loves me not.

    Henry IV (Part 1, Act II, Scene 3).

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  48. JD - yup, they're a bunch of weenies.
    Some of them play with their HOSELS.

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  49. Lemonade, was that an ode to Dennis?
    I saweth Some heavy business hath my lord in hand.

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  50. Thank you,Bill B. and Dudley. I believe I understand SOLUTE with abSOLUTE certainty; and I can safely say no one here is disSOLUTE.

    And thank you for the passage from Henry IV, Lemonade; even though Shakespeare is quaint I love the meter and exaggerated expressions.

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  51. Hi gang - got most of the puzzle, but had a few blanks. Sussed the theme, but, alas, did not get all the theme answers.

    My intention was to go to a par 3 today with my 13 and 12 yr old grandsons, Danny and Ryan, while gma went off and did something else with their 10 yr old sister Alexa.

    We had an adventurous ride across the country side looking for this mysterious course, only to find it had closed about 3 yrs ago. Nothing like being 1000 days late.

    We did find a driving range and hit a large bucket and then practiced on their putting green. Sank some putts, but not for birdies. Then we met the girls for lunch.

    Not exactly the day we expected, but very pleasant. It rained after we were done, and that didn't hurt a bit.

    BTW, I was totally baffled by golf club socket = hosel.

    Had a long Long, hard working rehearsal tonight. Big Family outing to Toledo to see the struggling Mud Hens tomorrow. Performance Sunday.

    Well - I'm tired. Time to say g'nite all.

    Cheers!
    JzB (hosel?!?)

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  52. First time visitor and about a 1 year LAT puzzler.

    Anyways, I found you all because it was a great puzzle today. I left only 6 holes which I felt was pretty good.

    See you all around. I hope newcomers are welcome.

    I'll get an identity later.

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