google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, August 30, 2010 James Sajdak

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Aug 30, 2010

Monday, August 30, 2010 James Sajdak

Theme: Rose's Boys - The nicknames (in age older) of three Rose Kennedy's sons are the start of the first three theme entries (all in plural forms). And the forth entry is where they might have been found.

20A. Mister Fixit : JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES. John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy.

30A. Footwear often turned down at the ankle : BOBBY SOCKS. Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy.

41A. Tots' furry sleeping companions : TEDDY BEARS. Edward Moore "Teddy" Kennedy.

54A. Hyannis Port site where the starts of 20-, 30- and 41-Across were often found : KENNEDY COMPOUND. Just a little
place out on Cape Cod, MA.

Argyle here.

Very Friday-ish grid in terms of total word count (74) and block count (34). Lots of non-theme long words for a Monday (four 9s & two 7s). But the liberal use of esses detracts from an otherwise reasonable Monday for me.

Across:

1. Stringed instrument that may be taller than its player : HARP.
Image

5. Left the room : WENT

9. Defame in print : LIBEL. Defame in speech is slander.

14. Chevy subcompact since 2004 : AVEO. An automobile manufactured by GM Daewoo (the South Korean subsidiary of General Motors) and marketed globally in 120 countries – prominently as the Chevrolet
Aveo(ah-VAY-o).

15. Native Nebraskan : OTOE. There are many different clues for this one tribe.

16. Slip away to tie the knot : ELOPE

17. Phone sounds : DIAL TONES

19. "Manhattan" director Woody : ALLEN

22. What you eat, to a dietitian : INTAKE

23. Canonized person : SAINT

24. Gallery fare : ART

26. Prefix with intellectual : PSEUDO

36. Vicinity : AREA

37. Qatari chieftains : EMIRS. Arabs

38. __ kwon do : TAE

39. Valued possession : ASSET

40. It means nothing to a Nicaraguan : NADA. Spanish.

43. Totally soak : DRENCH

45. Sun. church delivery : SER. Sunday sermon.

46. Jazz combo rhythm providers : DRUMS

49. Ice cream treat : SUNDAE

58. Skyscraper girder : I-BEAM. Not Z, not L, not H but good old I-beam.

59. Clan members : RELATIVES

60. Hippo ending : DROME. Hippodrome was a Greek stadium for horse racing and chariot racing. The name is derived from the Greek words "hippos ("horse") and "dromos" ("race" or "course").

61. Shave-haircut link : AND A.
Two Bits.

62. Like valuable stamps : RARE

63. Loudness units : SONES. Units of perceived loudness.

64. Appear to be : SEEM

65. Israeli airline : EL AL

Down:

1. Pilgrim to Mecca : HADJI

2. Birdlike : AVIAN

3. Jerk or frown, e.g. : REACT

4. Gdansk dance : POLKA. Gdansk is a city on the Baltic coast in northern Poland.

5. Low-frequency speakers : WOOFERS. High-frequency speakers: tweeters.

6. Italian volcano : ETNA. On the island of Sicily, Italy.

7. Carols : NOELS

8. Onetime Edison rival Nikola : TESLA. Nikola has been getting quite a workout lately.

9. Absorbs the lesson : LEARNS

10. Anxious : ILL AT EASE

11. Like headline typefaces : BOLD

12. Fencing sword : EPEE

13. Camera's focusing device : LENS

18. Hungarian dessert wines : TOKAYS. Tokaji is the name of the wines from the region of Tokaj-Hegyalja in Hungary. The name Tokaji (Tokay) is used for labeling wines from this wine district. This region is noted for its sweet wines made from grapes affected by noble rot, a style of wine which has a long history in this region. Noble rot is the benevolent form of a grey fungus, Botrytis cinerea, affecting wine grapes.

21. Pointers : TIPS

25. Shopper's carryall : TOTE

27. Bear, to Brutus : URSA. Latin.

28. Bambi and kin : DEER

29. Cheerios grain : OATS

30. Give a little : BEND

31. Sharif of "Doctor Zhivago" : OMAR

32. Wait : BIDE

33. Nongeneric, as a drug : BRAND NAME

34. Gentleman's opposite : CAD

35. Sneakers since 1916 : KEDS

39. Discourteously curt : ABRUPT

41. Dull impact sound : THUD

42. Polite response to Mother : "YES MA'AM"

44. Heavy liqueurs : CRÈMES

47. Breckinridge and Hess : MYRAS. Myra Breckinridge1970 film), Dame Myra Hess(1890 – 1965) was a British pianist.

48. Act division : SCENE

50. Bête __ : NOIRE. The term is used to refer to an object or abstract idea that is particularly disliked or avoided.

51. David of the PGA : DUVAL. This
golfer

52. End of __ : AN ERA

53. Memorable '50s lemon : EDSEL. It was said it looked like a Buick sucking a lemon.

54. Jokes with : KIDS

55. River through Spain : EBRO

56. Strip lighting : NEON

57. Quaint shoppe word : OLDE

Answer grid.

Argyle

78 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - a nicely done Monday-level puzzle, with simple and familiar clues. No real pauses, and I thought I had an idea as to the theme after the second theme answer, but it wasn't till I got 'teddy bears' that I was sure.

Not a whole lot to comment on as everything was pretty straightforward, and I've gotta get to the gym.

Argyle, great job as always with the blog.

Today is Frankenstein Day (in honor of the author of Frankenstein, Mary Wollenstone Shelley who was born on August 30,1797) and Toasted Marshmallow Day (in honor of that which I can eat endlessly).

A little light levity to start the work week:

An elderly couple is attending church services.

About halfway through the sermon, the man writes a note and hands it to his wife. It says, "I just let out a silent fart. What do you think I should do?"

She scribbles back, "Put a new battery in your hearing aid."

lois said...

Good morning Argyle, CC, et al., Fun speed run this morning, being on the same wavelength as Mr. Sajdak, which is good for boosting the morale. Most acrosses fell into place as fast as I could write, and when they didn’t, they fell just as quickly w/the perps. So some of the clues were missed entirely. The theme was an after thought for me today.

Loved seeing ‘bobby socks’ here as it was ‘an era’ to be cherished. I was a bit young or too busy for the full impact but I loved my poodle skirt and full petticoats. My girls wore these things for Halloween one year…made me feel ‘ill at ease’ but I loved contriving the outfits. Nothing ‘pseudo’ about the fun in that era…didn’t ‘polka’ – shoot, didn’t even knowah- thing about it- such innocence. Did swing tho’ and wore ‘brand name’ ‘keds’…still like ‘em. Fun puzzle w/lots of happy memories. Good job, Mr. Sajdak!

And good job, Argyle, as always. Thanks for the link of Duval - good lookin' guy, which is always a good thing, esp in the morning.

Enjoy your day.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - I turned this solid Monday puzzle into a Tuesday or so by having RINGTONES at 17a. The NW was thus bargled for a bit.

Continuing yesterday's language chat: So we have miserable pronounciation rules in English, but at least we don't have the dratted gender assignments to our nouns! As a grade school student of French, I hated having to remember whether a table was male or female. It never made sense.

Then I discovered German, with its THREE gender distinctions. Yowza! I once (playfully) asked a German co-worker how the erratic gender rules were determined. She waved her arms dismissively, saying "Only Gott knows!"

Time to make coffee.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Nice write-up, Argyle. I had forgotten about the TOKAYS connection with noble rot.

I had much the same experience as the earier commenters. A speed run, filling in the acrosses but not noticing every perp. But there were lots of fresh fill and an interesting theme. Good job, James.

Dennis, thanks for the shout-out yesterday.

Be safe.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC, Argyle and all. I thought this was more of a Tuesday puzzle than a Monday puzzle. I had trouble in the NW corner. Once I moved to the rest of the puzzle, though, I was okay.

I wanted Bass instead of HARP for a stringed instrument that is taller than a person.

Like Dudley, I also had Ring Tones instead of DIAL TONES for Phone Sounds.

I wasn't familiar with the AVEO, which complicated that corner.

TESLA is becoming an old buddy any day of the week.

My favorite clue was Gentleman's Opposite = CAD

Myra Breckinridge is also a novel by Gore Vidal. The movie came later.

QOD: Delusions of grandeur make me feel a lot better about myself. ~ George Ade

Dick said...

Good morning all, a nice Monday puzzle this morning. I, like Hahtool, entered BASS for 1A and that screwed up that corner for awhile. I was so sure of BASS when 2D avian fit that I was reluctant to change. Other than that today was a speed run having gotten Kennedy Compound first the remainder of the theme answers were easy.

As usual Argyle another nice write up.

Another day in the 90’s so I will get out early to mow the grass and maybe a few holes of golf.

BTW Lois aren’t you up and about early this morning?

Hope you all have a great Monday.

Mainiac said...

Morning Argyle, CC and All,

Like Hahtool Bass needed to be erased. Adding to the confusion in the NE like Dudley was Ring Tones instead of Dial. Damn cell phones! Needed perp help for Ebro and Sones. Good Monday level.

Having difficulty getting my head into the work week. We're planning a big weekend at camp depending upon how close Earl comes.

Thanks for the write-up Argyle.

Have a great Monday.

creature said...

Good morning C.C.,Argyle and all,

Enjoyed the ease of this Monday's
puzzle.
The theme was pleasant and I liked how 'an era' crossed the last line,
following the clue,'end of'.

Argyle, fascinating note on Tokay.
Thanks, for that.

Have a nice day everyone.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Today's puzzle started out a little on the rough side for me after I confidently put in BASS for 1A. I also wanted NEON for 14A. Once I finally remembered what a pilgrim to Mecca is called, though, I was able to get a bit of traction. It helped that I somehow managed to pull AVEO out of some deep, dark recess of my brain. It's not a car I'm at all familiar with, but somehow I remembered the name from somewhere.

The rest of the puzzle was smooth, despite the presence of total unknowns like DUVAL [wouldn't "Actor Robert" be a more appropriate clue for a Monday?] and TOKAYS [isn't that a type of lizard?]

Barry G. said...

Ah, I thought so:

Tokay Gecko

Vidwan827 said...

Argyle: Good morning, Arg... Very well written. loved your blog.

The puzzle was easy - as expected ... I could not solve ABRO and SONES... I figured it had to be ABRA or ABRE or ABRO ... but had never heard of Sones... Sones are however, not in the SI system of units ... because their measurement is not 'independently' verifiable or susceptible (to be ) measured accurately. It is something that is 'perceived' - hence open to some interpretation...
Anyway, another xword learning moment.

Daniel Tokaji is a Prof of Constituional law at Ohio State Univ. and he has been quoted on several occasions. I was intrigued by the suffix -ji, in his surname... '-ji' in India, is a term of respect ( as in 'Gandhi-ji' )... sometimes incorporated ( as a part of ) the surname/last name. Thanks to you, now I know, in this case, it is of Hungarian origin, and has a unrelated etymological root.

The word 'dessert' wines put me off - for a few seconds - I kept thinking - where is the 'desert' in Hungary ? Am I getting Alzheimer's with my geography ?

Have a nice day, all.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Argyle et al.

Great write-up Argyle. I think I took more time reading your blog than I did doing the actual puzzle. Quite easy, as Monday should be!

@Barry G.,
That's one ugly looking Gecko. I'll bet Geico wouldn't be half as recognized if they had hired him instead of that cute little green one they have now ;-D

kazie said...

Hand up for RINGtones and BASS, making the NW impossible. I thought this was a bit hard for a Monday.

Argyle,
Nice concise clarifications in the blog.

Dudley,
I think a lot of those gender derivations come from the Latin or Greek roots. In Latin they were largely dependent on which declension a noun belonged to, and thus what ending they started out with.

Sorry I missed the language discussion yesterday that Dudley referred to, but we had company over the weekend, and I really had no time for the puzzles or the blog. I'll have to go back and look at yesterday's comments now.

Argyle said...

And now for a musical interlude:

Master Jack by Four Jacks & a Jill.

White Bobby Socks by Wally Lewis.

Teddy Bear by Elvis Presley.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I thought this was a very nicely done Monday level puzzle, although like many others I started with 1A as BASS. Not to worry, as soon as I looked at the Downs, I heard the heavenly HARP and went on from there.

Since I didn't know AVEO, I stayed with the Downs, so words like AVEO, OTOE, INTAKE and a dozen others were filled in before I went back to the Acrosses.

Most of the theme answers had been almost filled in by the Downs, so I had no problem with any of them either.

(18D) TOKAYs was fine with me. I don't think I would have done as well with a "gecko" clue.

MJ said...

Good morning C.C., Argyle, and all.

Other than a rough start in the NW, it was smooth sailing today, esp. after BOBBY made his appearance following JACK.

Biggest problem was I got my birds and bees mixed up, (apian instead of avian) , and not knowing AVEO, it made no difference to me. Hand up for RINGTONES.

Dudley, your discussion of "inger" words reminded me of "ough" words:

I thought I could saw through the tough bough, though the sawdust made me cough.

Off to school. Enjoy the day!

Husker Gary said...

Good Morning, a great write-up as usual and a learning opportunity. I had to generate TOKAY from perps and as a physics person, I gotta tell 'ya, I ain't never heerd of SONES. My initial reaction was SINES for a sine wave that sounds produce on oscillosocpes but thinking of sonic, sonar, etc withheld that urge. This also rescued EBRO.

My 88 year old mother-in-law still POLKAS in Wahoo, NE (Yes Virginia, there really is a Wahoo, NE and not just on the Letterman show) on weekends.

Did HADJI remind anyone of the Nat King Cole song Hajji Baba?

BTW, after being in Grand Island for the state fair, we went to the Stuhr Museum of the Prairie Pioneer which mentions Ovina, NE which is now a wide spot in road (railroad missed them) but once had the huge Taylor Ranch of thousand of acres and was visited by Teddy Roosevelt in 1903. I suspect the thousands and thousands of sheep Taylor raised there influenced the naming of the town (OVINE was in a puzzle a few days ago!)

I seems to be the best letter to complete BEAM (L?) and I fondly remember my childhood KEDS and PF Flyers and Chuck Taylors.

I further suspect many of us remember where we were and what we were doing when JFK and RFK were assassinated. When I saw JACK and BOBBY the theme was immediately obvious and I sought out what I knew would be TEDDY somewhere.

Husker Gary said...

ps I also remember where I was when I read that Teddy had driven a car off a bridge in Chappaquiddick,MA into Poucha Pond, Mary Jo Kopechne had drowned and Teddy left her there to catch a ride into town waiting to tell someone the next morning.

Question of the day - What event for the ages occured that same weekend and lessened the coverage of Teddy's horrendous behavior?

Tinbeni said...

Argyle, Great write-up, as always.

Always a pleasure to see our good buddy TESLA.
We better pay attention, next time the clue may ask for his first name, Nikola.

Tight themes. Searched out the reveal 54D, KENNEDY COMPOUND and then just entered JACK, BOBBY and TEDdy.

Of course, TOKAYS and CREMES went in without even thinking, go figure. Seems I know way too much about such things.

Had to work for the Chevy Subcompact, AVEO.

FUN Monday!

Crockett1947 said...

Good morning, everyone.

Been gone for a week and then very busy for a week, but I'm still doing the puzzles and reading the blog on most days.

Nice blog, Santa.

Fairly straightforward puzzle today. Nice long theme clues. Didn't even see some of the perp clues (there was a sermon there?).

Dennis, thanks for the chuckle.

Hahtool, hand up for bass. That caused me a bit of trouble.

We have a local wine bar named for the tokay fungus. Haven't been there, though.

Argyle, the added musical interlude was a nice touch. Thank you.

MJ, it could prove either dangerous or interesting getting your birds and bees mixed up!

Husker Gary, those of my age will carry those events with us always, IMO.


Have a great Monday!

MJ said...

Husker Gary-Apollo 11, lunar landing.

kazie said...

Kind of funny that most of you had to work to get AVEO, and I knew that one right off. We own one. Not my car though, I'm the more aggressive driver in this family, and my husband is too tight to spend much on a car. It was the first brand new car that he'd ever bought just for himself and not for us both. He loves it, I prefer my Mazda 6.

On looking at yesterday's comments, I didn't see much of a linguistic discussion after all. Did I miss something?

Dudley said...

Kazie - Er, no, it was just that bit about the -inger words. Sorry for the let-down!

Al said...

Funny that @Dudley brought up the gender of words today. I was just reading this article yesterday about language shaping the way you think. It's kind of long (5 pages of "next" clicks), but I found it quite interesting, and well worth a read if you like linguistics. It starts by presenting an earlier (famously false) theory that just because there isn't a word for something in a given language it doesn't mean the native speakers can't understand such a concept; they just express it differently.

Trying to be brief, European languages make you think about sex (gender), an Aboriginal language makes you think about absolute instead of relative direction: "it is north of me vs. it is in front of me". When they point at themselves, they are actually indicating something "behind" them, but they wouldn't say it that way. A youth learning dance steps in a village other than his own was unteachable because he didn't know the landmarks to determine direction and the teacher wouldn't explain it any other way.

One Peruvian language requires there to be visible proof of what you say, like how many wives you have. If they are not present, you have to say "one, the last time I checked", because she could have left you or died since you last saw her. If you don't relate what you say to actual physical evidence that is present, you are considered a liar.

Gunghy said...

I had harp and Hadji immediately, (Hadji had ruined my day once) then slapped in AVIO and never went back to check the downs. I RIACTed badly when I read Santa's comments and saw my mistake.

So much for being a science type, never heard of a sone. Or the Ebro, so the perp didn't even help. Like Husker, I thought 'sonic' and figured the river would be masculine, like 'rio'. That made my WAG a little less WA.

Sadly, after Jack, Bobby and Teddy were all filled, I was thinking that the 2 diminutives were detracting from the theme. It was a big V8 moment when I read the reveal. How could anyone my age miss that one??

Tokay sits in my memory next to Muscatel. Both names were usurped by the California wine industry before quality mattered. Both were sweet, fortified and extremely cheap. A lot of it was consumed with the paper bag still around the bottle. I had no idea that the name had a more noble history. Thank you, Argyle, for the lesson.

Back to Saturday, (which I enjoyed by the way) ((well, except for 'refeed')) Zeke isn't a cowboy name, it's Hillbilly. The mountain folk had a propensity for naming their children with Biblical names: Ezekial, Isaiah... Thus we are blessed with Zeke, Izzie, et al. My beef with the clue was the use of the word 'imagine'. Would you expect an uneducated backwoods boy to use that? 'Who'd a thunk it??'

Garlic Gal, still from Saturday, I can use Scree in a sentence for you: Come up to Huntington and I'll gladly scree you. Excuse me, I meant to say if you come up to Huntington lake, I'll hike you out to some impressive scree falls.
That offer is open to all.

Okay, back to the lake for some plumbing repairs. Later.

PS I took second in a single handed race this weekend. It helps that I weigh 235 and we had 20 mph winds. The winner had the foresight to use a much smaller foresail for better control. Like that?? I got fore into the same sentence twice. Which reminds me: Yesterday, I answered DUCK CALL with FIRE. The perp was Lena _LIN. Ilin seemed good.

Dennis said...

Ok, I think we've solved the duplicate post problem, and I'll use Gunghy's post(s) above as an example.
Evidently, if a post is past a certain length, blogger software starts blitching and can repeat a post once or several times.

To get around this, if your post is a bit long, just break it up into two or three separate posts, and you shouldn't have a problem.

Hope this helps.

Lucina said...

Good day, Argyle, C.C. and cyber friends.

Nice write up, Santa, thanks, especially the explanation of TOKAY. Was unfamiliar with that

Smooth sailing this Monday morning with nada to moan about. It seems I was alone in immediately thinking of HARP and then HADJI since I fill across then down. It's a lifelong habit.

Fav clues:
Slip away to tie the knot, ELOPE
Give a little, BEND

Nostalgic moments included BOBBYSOCKS when we thought ourselves so cool wearing them with oxford shoes; SUNDAE, and occasional visits to the soda counter at the local drug store. All that is now RARE and marks the ENDOF AN ERA.

A lovely Monday puzzle from James Sajdak. Is that name Hungarian by any chance?

You all have a wonderful Monday!

Lucina said...

Gunghy:
You posted just before me, so I did not see your beginning reference.

I wasn't home all day Saturday so haven't done that puzzle. I'll pick it up some time this week. It sounds amusing.

Going to the gym as well.

Jerome said...

Odd, isn't it... HADJI, JIHAD.

EBRO is a popular Facebook type site in the hood.

TESLA anagrams to a whole bunch of stuff. If he were a writer you could say TESLA TALES LEAST STALE. It also anagrams to STEAL, TEALS, and SLATE. Pretty amazing.

DRENCH right under TEDDY. Sneaky constructors!

Jeannie said...

I thought this one was a bit hard for a Monday. I have never heard of Tokay wine, and if it wasn’t for perp help I wouldn’t have gotten Aveo, Otoe, Emirs, or Hadji. I am not a golf fan so didn’t know who David Duval was either.

Gunghy, congratulations on your second place finish. We had very high winds 30-40mph this weekend and actually had to reef the mainsail for the first time this year. We didn’t even consider putting up the jib. It was a blast though!

Everyone enjoy your week. It’s hard to believe it’s going to be September 1st on Wednesday.

Lois, are you back to school this week?

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Good puzzle today. Although quick and mostly easy, I liked many of the fills and clues, which I thought were well thought-out. And I love long fills, so this puzzle satisfied me in that regard, too.

Don't know why, but I pencilled in HARP right away, and only 10 seconds later did I think that BASS was a possibility too. Seeing "Pilgim to Mecca" quickly confirmed that HARP was the right choice. Since I have seen hajj spelled as HADJ and HAJJ in different puzzles, I wasn't sure whether to fill in HAJJI or HADJI until after I got DIALTONES.

Like you other scientific people, I have never heard of a sone, and wanted to fit BEL in there somehow. And, like you, ERN_ didn't help me. I only guessed at it because of its linguistic kinship to "sonic."

Somehow I knew TOKAY(S). Deep in the recesses of my mind I recall chanting "Tokay's okay" with drinking buddies back in my insouciant youth. Kazie, you can whisper "youthful insouciance" in my ear any day.

Favorites today include EDSEL, PSEUDO, and DROME.

It seems to me Mr. Sajdak ran out of leeway in the SW corner, which is why (I assume) that corner had such obscure fill.

Thanks for the fun and interesting links, folks. Best wishes to you all.

Clear Ayes said...

Since today is a "Kennedy" puzzle day, I checked at the JFK Library site to see if he had a favorite poem. Sure enough. It is a rather long poem, but here's a very moving and inspirational section of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Ulysses".

I cannot rest from travel; I will drink
Life to the lees. All times I have enjoy'd
Greatly, have suffer'd greatly, both with those
That loved me, and alone; on shore, and when
Thro' scudding drifts the rainy Hyades
Vext the dim sea. I am become a name;
For always roaming with a hungry heart
Much have I seen and known,-- cities of men
And manners, climates, councils, governments,
Myself not least, but honor'd of them all,--
And drunk delight of battle with my peers,
Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.
I am a part of all that I have met;
Yet all experience is an arch wherethro'
Gleams that untravell'd world whose margin fades
For ever and for ever when I move.
How dull it is to pause, to make an end,
To rust unburnish'd, not to shine in use!
As tho' to breathe were life! Life piled on life
Were all too little, and of one to me
Little remains; but every hour is saved
From that eternal silence, something more,
A bringer of new things; and vile it were
For some three suns to store and hoard myself,
And this gray spirit yearning in desire
To follow knowledge like a sinking star,
Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

- Alfred Lord Tennyson

Jayce said...

Hello again. As yawl know, I tend to be somewhat long-winded and post long comments. When my posting is too long, I am presented with a blank page after I click Submit. It appears as if my posting went off into never never land, but I have learned that the posting actually worked just fine. All I have to do is start over at the Crossword Corner page (which I have bookmarked), then come to this comments page again. No need to repost or anything.

Related to this, quite often when I "sign in" the system balks, claiming that my password was incorrect even though I know I typed it in correctly. I just re-enter it and the next time it works fine.

Just in case, though, I always copy my posting first, so if it gets destroyed I can easily reproduce it by pasting. Also, it's a good idea always to preview first.

Jayce said...

More sneakiness: RELATIVES right under KENNEDYCOMPOUND.

Clear Ayes, thanks for the Tennyson.

Barry G, that's one heckova gecko!

Vidwan, you mean names such as Muckerjee and Bannerjee?

MJ, good observation about tough, bough, dough, etc. Reminds me of a comedy routine in which a recent immigrant is talking to his neighbor about "bread duff."

Bill G. said...

Happy Monday! I had the same problem getting started as many others with base and ring tone instead of HARP and DIALTONE.

I just came across this appealing video of a dog playing with a dolphin. I hope you enjoy it.

Bill G. said...

Oops, I meant bass of course.

Jayce said...

Al, thanks ever so much for your link to the New York Times Magazine article about language. I found it fascinating.

carol said...

Hi everyone: I started off wrong as did a lot of you by putting BASS in for 1A and then looked at 1D and knew something was wrong, but since I forgot the spelling of that Mecca Pilgrim I wasn't too concerned. I was wondering why a Gdansk dance (try saying that after some Tokay!)would be in a Monday puzzle. It all worked out well, though and I didn't put too many dents in my V-8 can.

Dennis, loved your levity sample :)

More later.

Mainiac said...

After clearing trees on Saturday I decided to play a bit in the Sunfish (Small boat, all sail)at camp. With my 235 as ballast I can stand the thing on it's side for quite awhile in a decent wind. Yep, Saturday was white cappin'!! After going by my neighbor down the lake who has a 20' party boat one to many times he decided to mix things up and tossed me a beer. I caught it and promptly capsized. Worked out great. I sat on the bottom of the boat drank the beer and chatted awhile, handed him the empty and lasted another hour after standing on the dagger board to right her. Wicked fun!

Looks like Earl might be visiting this weekend. Screwing the family plans up nicely.

Dennis, you are one Blitchin' dude!

bestbird said...

Hi, everyone! Here's a question for you. If you could fit Joe Kennedy into the puzzle, how would you clue it?

My husband had almost the whole puzzle filled in. I mostly had to fix spelling in order to finish it. He had bass and I compounded that error with ringtones. I also thought of sonic, but had never heard of sones.

Enjoy your day!

Chickie said...

Hello All--Hands up for Bass and Ring tones. This put a crimp in the NW corner as I didn't know Aveo and had forgotten Hadji.

I went on to the next area and filled in almost everything else in a clockwise direction. For a while I though that Solka was a new dance!

Everything righted itself in the end and I enjoyed the puzzle. I, too, thought it was a bit harder than most Monday offerings.

Thanks for the information, Argyle, on the Tokay grape fungus. This was my learning moment for today.

CA, I think Tennyson could have written that poem for Jack Kennedy. No wonder it was Kennedy's favorite.

Chickie said...

Bobby sox brought back fond memories of teen age summers. Bobby sox rolled down and worn with saddle oxfords, and levis which were rolled up to just below the knee.

Every generation has their clothing memories, and I hope that this present generation will look back on the Baggy pants, bare midrifs and tank tops and shudder a bit as they reach their parent's age. Then again, maybe not.

Barry, that gecko looks lethal!

Frenchie said...

HI C.C., Argyle and Folk,

Good Monday puzzle, I get a funny feeling this week will be a tough one for me.

The theme was fun! There are enough Kennedy's certainly to fill that compound. Driving through town and even staying in that area, Hyannis, Hyannis Port, the Kennedy Compound, interestingly, remains private.

I love toasted marshmallows! Toasted Marshmallow Dennis, thanks for the trip down memory lane!

'Myra Breckinridge is also a novel by Gore Vidal'. Many years ago, I read a few of his books...if you haven't read any, it's worth a spin.

Sones is a new one for me. I desperately put 'sine' trying to relate the science to the geometry SINE, COSINE. It later corrected itself and I trusted the constructor to be correct.

My favorite today is sundae...what's not to love about anything with a cherry on top?

I'm out.

Dudley said...

Bestbird - How 'bout coffee for JOE?

Lucina said...

Hello. Just returned to catch the links and videos.

That is some gecko, Barry. I wonder, does the red color mean anything? doesn't it normally indicated danger in nature?

Lovely songs, Santa, thanks.

About SONES: in Spanish, SON is amusical sound and SONES is the plural. Looking it up in my Latin dictionary, I see that sono, sonui means sound or noise. So that is likely the root as Spanish is at least 70% Latin based.

CA:
Lovely poem; I had missed your postings so much and I'm glad you are back.

MJ:
That's a great way to include all those -ough words! I'll have to tell my ESL class.

Spitzboov said...

Re: never heard of a sone. Until recently I hadn't either. I also never saw its use in the real world. But it has appeared in the LAT or this blog at least 5 times in the last 20 months. That's why you should pay attention here; many learning moments. Usually clued similarly to 'tone' or 'phon'. Now lets drive on. Enough caterwauling. (Don't want to exceed the sone limits :-))

Dennis said...

Please enjoy this Dave Barry column regarding grammar, which quite literally caused me to pass Diet Cherry Coke through my nose.

And yes, it burns.

Hahtoolah said...

Mainaic, and any one else out there on the east coast ~ I hope you are all safe from Hurricane Earl. It seems to be gathering force, so please heed calls for evacuation.

Jayce said...

Dennis, Dave Barry is/was funny! and I'm not making this up :)

Anonymous said...

Not directly related to the puzzle, but the link provided for "Shave and a Haircut". The first musical note is wrong! It's a half step too low. How difficult was this? They only had seven notes to worry about.

Splynter said...

Hi all ~!

Late day, not much to say - I had the BASS wrong, but the DIAL tones right.

Barry G. - cool lizard, had an iguana at one time. Robert Duvall wouldn't fit.

I am a drafter - when is someone going to use Auto CAD for that clue?

Thanks for the Dave Barry link - always funny, get it every Sat here in NY - waiting to see where Hurricane Earl turns to...

Splynter

Husker Gary said...

Joe's?
End of answer - SAYITAIN'TSOJOE, GIJOE, CUPOFJOE
JOEBLOW
JOESIXPACK
JOEDIMAGGIO (where has he gone?)
JOEFRIDAY
JOETHEPLUMBER
JOSEPHANDMARY

Jayce said...

No, it's not too low. That note, as well as the one a half step above it, both work.

Vidwan827 said...

Jayce: Its quite late in the day ... but since you asked a question, I feel I should reply... this is about '-ji' suffixes, in surnames/last names .... this rule is mostly used in names in Western India,...Bombay, Gujrath.etc.

the examples that you provided ... are 'eastern' names ... Muckerjee or Mukerji ( preferred) or Mookerji ( Anglisized British ...) or Bannerjee are contractions of 'older' names like Mukho-pa-dhay and Bandh-o-padhay.. and are Bengali (Calcutta, Kolkata ).. far eastern Indian names... so that rule actually does not apply. Unfortunately, like the NYT language essay ... this cannot be explained in less than 5 pages...( but thank you for asking ...)




A French joke, .... on gender of 'inanimate' objects ...

An Englishman, sipping soup in a restaurant, in Paris, notices that there is a dead fly, floating, in his soup.

He is indignant, hails the waiter, and pointing to the offending fly, says ( haughtily ...) :- La Fly !!

The waiter ( being French.... ) naturally has to correct his customer's grammar FIRST ..., replies, helpfully : - Le Fly ....

At this, the Englishman, cleans his glasses, and looks carefully, at the fly ... and then says :- Blimey ... MY GOD ! ... you've got jolly good eyesight !!!

Argyle said...

The problem with Joseph Patrick "Joe" Kennedy, Jr., is that he doesn't have a real change in his nickname, like his brothers do.

I was looking for Rose as a unifier. Something like "Rose by another name, for 20-, 30- and 41-Across": FAMILY MATRIARCH.

carol said...

Dennis, thanks for the laugh at the Dave Barry column...as for your cherry Coke, good thing it was passed through your nose...:0

Husker Gary, don't forget 'Joe' Mama.

Dudley said...

Jayce - I don't really have a dog in this race, but I gotta agree that I've never heard "Shave and a Haircut" start off at that pitch. Sounds...different.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Hand up for BASS and DIALTONE. So I worked the puzzle in a jumping-around way. After I had JACK OF ALL TRADES and TEDDY BEAR, I guessed BOBBY SOCKS for the other theme answer, before I even saw the clue. That has never happened before, and probably never will again.

Drums are cerainly not limited to jazz combos, so I wonder why it eas clued that way?

Lucina -
It's possible that Sajdak is a Hungarian name, but I would bet against it. Looks Slavic to me, but one can't be too certain about these things. Some Hungarian names fall into recognizable patterns, but many do not.

Vidwan -
The -i suffix in a Hungarian name indicates coming from a region, as in TOKAJI wine, or Daniel, whose ancestors came from the TOKAJ region. I prattled on at some length about this the last time we had TOKAY.

A child photographer has his LENS on the KIDS.
There doesn't seem to be a patron SAINT of DRUMS. Why not?
I carry spare shoes in my KEDS TOTE.

Nice KIDS-KEDS echo.

Cheers!
JzB the trombonist Toledoji

Bill G. said...

I agree with anon. and Dudley, the first note is off to my ears.

I always enjoy Dave Barry column's.
(Just kidding!)

The weather was perfect today. About 70 and a crisp feel to the air. I dread the Santa Ana winds and the possibility of bad fires in the foothills.

Anonymous said...

Good night all.

Bill G. Loved the dog and dolphin clip. Sent the link to my sons.

Clear Ayes: The Tennyson poem was spectacular. Thank you. And most
apropos.

Cheers

Jeannie said...

For those of you that care, I just spent the last few hours holding Jen's hand. She lost her battle. I can only hope she is in a better place without the pain and suffering she endured for most of her life. A couple of weeks ago she gave me her shoes. I am going to hold onto them for a bit. I am not ready to let them go just yet.

Sorry, Clearayes and admin, I had to post this. My heart is heavy.

MJ said...

Dear Jeannie,
My heart is heavy along with yours. You are a dear, true friend to so many. My caring thoughts and prayers are with you tonight, as well as with all who knew and loved Jen.
Hugs, MJ

Bill G. said...

Jeannie, best wishes and good thoughts heading your way for you and Jen's family and friends.

It's amazing to me, what good things go back and forth on a crossword puzzle blog.

Annette said...

Jeannie,

I'm crying now for both Jen and you. She was so lucky to have met you when she did!

For as down as she felt about her life, I'm sure she knows what how important she was in your life. And I hope she realizes what an impact hearing about her had on many of our lives too.

I hope you've got someone nearby to hold you tonight. If not, this cyber-hug is coming your way!

Annette

Dudley said...

Jeannie - the world is a better place for having caring souls like yours dwelling within it. Please, please find strength to face the new day, and know that there are positive forces - some unknown to you - wishing you all the best.

Bob said...

Long day again today, so I'm again late posting a comment. Easy puzzle. Took 12 minutes to finish. The only one I didn't know (but got right anyway) was 63A (SONES). Never heard of that one before seeing it in this puzzle and looking it up on Wikipedia.

Clear Ayes said...

No problem Jeannie, I'm very sorry to hear about Jen.

Bob said...

Mark Twain on the gender of nouns, from "The Awful German Language" (1880). This about says it all.

Every noun has a gender, and there is no sense or system in the distribution; so the gender of each must be learned separately and by heart. There is no other way. To do this one has to have a memory like a memorandum-book. In German, a young lady has no sex, while a turnip has. Think what overwrought reverence that shows for the turnip, and what callous disrespect for the girl. See how it looks in print -- I translate this from a conversation in one of the best of the German Sunday-school books:

"Gretchen.
Wilhelm, where is the turnip?
Wilhelm.
She has gone to the kitchen.
Gretchen.
Where is the accomplished and beautiful English maiden?
Wilhelm.
It has gone to the opera."

To continue with the German genders: a tree is male, its buds are female, its leaves are neuter; horses are sexless, dogs are male, cats are female -- tomcats included, of course; a person's mouth, neck, bosom, elbows, fingers, nails, feet, and body are of the male sex, and his head is male or neuter according to the word selected to signify it, and not according to the sex of the individual who wears it....; a person's nose, lips, shoulders, breast, hands, and toes are of the female sex; and his hair, ears, eyes, chin, legs, knees, heart, and conscience haven't any sex at all. The inventor of the language probably got what he knew about a conscience from hearsay.

Tinbeni said...

Jeannie:
You are a great friend.
I know Jen felt your love.
My deepest condolences.

Dudley said...

Bob - That's funny stuff! I've read a lot of Mark Twain, but never that passage. Thanks for posting!

Lucina said...

Jeannie, I am so sorry about your friend, Jen. You were such a true and loyal friend to her and I am sure she was comforted in her last moments.

You make the world a better place, dear Jeannie.

Jazzbumpa:
St. Cecilia is the patron saint of music so I guess that would include drummers, eh?

Good night to all!

kazie said...

Jeannie,
i too am very sorry to hear that Jen lost her battle. You can be glad you were there to help her through it. That's as much as anyone could wish for. I hope I have such caring people around when my time comes.

Frenchie said...

Jeannie,
You somehow came into Jen's life at a critical time and took a very important part in her final days. You helped her to finish. What a wonderful gift you have that a person feels comfortable enough to draw their last breath with hand clasped in yours! Please know she surely wants you to be peaceful like she is...
Frenchie

Frenchie said...

@BillG, wonderful clip! Thanks.

@CA, gosh, that poem is so beautiful!

@Crocket1947, that's quite an attractive looking bar...I just enjoy hearing that name, "Noble Rot." It just has a certain ring to it!

@Mainiac, you live up to your moniker...I like your style!

@JAYCE, as always, many interesting thoughts.

@Lois...so early...the school year must, certainly, have started!

Great effort by all!

I'm out! Seriously!

Chickie said...

Jeannie, I am so sorry to hear about Jen. A hug from me to you.

Anonymous said...

Sleep is alluding me. Thanks to all my "cyber friends" for caring about a poor, homeless gal that had a heart of gold. Had it not been for CA I most likely wouldn't had been part of her life at all. Jen enriched my life. I can only hope I enriched hers as well, as do you every day to mine.

Jeannie.

Crockett1947 said...

Jeannie, you have proven time and again that you are a very good friend. I am so saddened to hear of Jen's passing. I believe that your friendship and caring made her passage less stressful for her. Take care, cockato. Vodka to you.

creature said...

Jeannie-

A hug from me for you. You are,
indeed a very special person.
love.