google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday September 16, 2010 David J. Kahn

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Sep 16, 2010

Thursday September 16, 2010 David J. Kahn

Theme: SPORTS BARS (58A. Places where you can watch (and whose end can follow the ends of) the answers to starred clues) - A double-layered theme. All the two-word theme answers (with sports-relate clues) can be seen in SPORTS BARS, and the last word of each answer can also proceed BARS.

17A. *Powerful punch: RIGHT CROSS. Boxing/Cross bars. Found in luggage racks and soccer (and football) goals.

26A. *Where the tight end is positioned, in football lingo: STRONG SIDE. American Football/Side bars. An edge column on a web page, or SUV accessories that you can step on to enter the vehicle.

50A. *Shot pioneered by Wilt Chamberlain: FINGER ROLL. Basketball/Roll bars. A protective cage in a racing vehicle.

11D. *2010 St. Andrews competition: BRITISH OPEN. Golf/Open bars. Free drinks.

25D. *Wimbledon event: MEN'S SINGLES. Tennis/Singles bars. The "meet" market.

Al here.

As usual, ramped up for a Thursday. Seven names, tricky and several cross-referential clues, and a bit unusual. It seems to me that vertical theme answers in a weekday puzzle are seen less often than not. The constructor was able to intersect the two verticals with two horizontal ones and brought us a total theme squares of 60. Pretty dense.

David J. Kahn (Rich Norris is the taller one) is a constructor known for his tribute puzzles. He's made 140 puzzles for NY Times alone.

Across:

1. Piano pro: TUNER. You can't tuna piano, but you can tuna fish. And 49D. Needing a 1-Across: FLAT.

6. Fizzy drink: COLA. Sugar, caramel color, caffeine, phosphoric acid, high fructose corn syrup, coca extract, kola nut extract, lime extract, vanilla and glycerin. Notice that sugar is actually there twice, in first and fifth place. And whoever thought it was a good idea to drink phosphoric acid?

10. Kellogg School deg.: MBA. Master of Business Administration. I'm guessing Kellogg that is part of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.

13. UV ray absorber: OZONE. O-Zone is the Moldovan pop group responsible for this internet meme sung in Romanian.

14. x and y, perhaps: AXES. Graphing lines.

15. Blackberry lily, e.g.: IRIS.

19. "Still Life With Old Shoe" artist: MIRO. Joan. Psychedelic...

20. Together, in music: ADUE. For two musicians.

21. Ham: EMOTER. Bad acting.

23. Depict artistically: LIMN. Originally to "illuminate" manuscripts by adding artwork.

29. Polar buildup: ICE CAP.

31. Extremists: ULTRAS.

32. West pointers, sometimes?: VANES. Wind indicators, originally "fane" from Old English "fana", a flag, banner, or piece of cloth.

33. Sulky state: SNIT. Not a horse carriage, but supposedly related nonetheless. A sulky is a one-person conveyance, thus considered to be used by stand-offish people (because there wasn't room for two).

34. See 59-Down: SHOP. 59D. With 34-Across, country club feature: PRO. Pro Shop, where you buy golf equipment and supplies. Sports theme related clues

37. It prints many scheds.: IRS. Tax forms are called schedules. Latin schida: "one of the strips forming a papyrus sheet". Yes, that's about how old taxes are...

38. "Spartacus" Oscar winner: USTINOV. Peter. A 50 year old movie.

41. Mined matter: ORE.

42. Sitcom pal of Fred: DESI. Arnaz and Mertz, I Love Lucy.

44. Shades that fade in fall: TANS. Suntans. This threw me for a bit wondering how brown leaves could fade any further.

45. Bond trader's phrase: AT PAR. Selling a bond at the same price it was issued. Bonds make money by paying dividends.

47. Not completely: IN PART.

49. Admirals' concerns: FLEETS. Enema, enemy, both to be feared.

53. Knife of yore: SNEE. Snickersnee?

54. Like "ASAP" memos: URGENT. Being cynical here, but urgency create by a memo seems to be something created artificially rather than something that is a real emergency...

55. Beer-making aid: OAST. For drying hops.

57. Kerouac's Paradise et al.: SALS. Salvatore Paradise is the "narrator" of On The Road by Jack Kerouac.

64. "Don't change it": STET. Anyone miss this "standing" crossword answer?

65. Liver nutrient: IRON. The liver stores a multitude of substances, including glucose (in the form of glycogen), vitamin A (1–2 years' supply), vitamin D (1–4 months' supply), vitamin B12 (1-3 years' supply), iron, and copper.

66. Bother persistently: NAG AT.

67. Curly shape: ESS.

68. "Forget about it": NOPE.

69. Like an evening in a Frost title: SNOWY. "Whose woods are these, I think I know..."

Down:

1. Rocky hill: TOR. From Old English "torr" for tower (of rock).

2. Weapon designer __ Gal: UZI. Uziel Gal, born Gotthard Glas.

3. Nutmeg-topped drink: NOG. Earliest record from 1690s, “old, strong type of beer brewed in Norfolk,” of unknown origin. Now a sweetened dairy-based drink whipped with eggs and spiked with various alcohols. Does anyone drink it "plain" (or even at all?)

4. Add pizazz to: ENHANCE.

5. Like many a volunteer: Abbr.: RETD. Retired (so they have time on their hands?)

6. Wedge-shaped mark: CARET. A circumflex, atop the "6" key.

7. Kitchen gadgets brand: OXO.

8. Haitian seaport __ Cayes: LES.

9. Be convinced about: ASSENT TO.

10. Cocktails similar to a Buck's Fizz: MIMOSAS. Champagne + orange juice but combined in different proportions. Grenadine may also be added, but is not an "official" ingredient.

12. Made public: AIRED.

16. Peeved: SORE. and 23D. Really, really 16-Down: LIVID. And 51D. Really 16-Down: IRATE.

18. Where some signs change: CUSP. Latin cuspis: pointed end, (as with a tooth) is the imaginary line which separates any two signs of the zodiac. The Leo/Virgo cusp dates between August 19 and 26, so people born in that range are said to have characteristics of both.

22. Retail VIP: MGR. Manager.

24. Sympathetic words: I CARE.

27. Meet unexpectedly: RUN INTO.

28. Actor Ken and others: OLINS. Sometimes clued with Lena, no relation.

30. Barry Bonds's alma mater, briefly: ASU. Arizona State University.

33. Fab Four member: STARR. Since we just had this recently, I filled it without hesitation, and it was right...

35. Wax eloquent: ORATE. Latin oratus, pp. of orare "pray, plead, speak before a court or assembly". Maybe I'm imagining a connection to orale, (clued as papal fanon), which is part of the vestments the pope wears during a pontifical mass. Fanon also relates to fane (the VANE answer earlier) as a piece of cloth.

36. As such: PER SE.

39. Gets going: STARTS IN.

40. Batman before George: VAL. Val Kilmer was in between Michael Keaton and George Clooney.

43. Consumes: INGESTS.

46. Treaty subject: TEST BAN.

48. Reliever's spot, for short: PEN. In baseball, a relief pitcher warms up in the bullpen.

50. Hoo-ha: FUSS. Perhaps an alteration of force, or imitative of bubbling or sputtering sounds, or from Dan. fjas "foolery, nonsense." No further comment on slang meanings for Hoo-ha, I wouldn't want to cause a fuss...

52. Ben player on "Bonanza": LORNE. Ben Cartwright was played by Lorne Greene (Lymon Himon Green).

56. Payroll figs.: SSNS. Figures, social security numbers.

60. Rider of Dinny the dinosaur: OOP. Alley Oop, the caveman comic strip. Never mind that dinosaurs and cavemen didn't live at the same time.

61. In days past: AGO.

62. Untrained: RAW. As in a military recruit.

63. Place to serve slop: STY. Old English sti, stig "hall, pen". Is that why they're called "mess" halls?

Answer Grid.

Al

Note from C.C.: Urban Dictionary has approved and published my submission of Dennis' definition of "blitch" (a blend of blog and glitch). Please visit here and thumb up #4. Thanks.

68 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Al, C.C. and gang - had quite a slog with today's. Loved the puzzle, as it was loaded with fresh cluing and had a great multi-level theme. I hope David checks in today, 'cause I'd love to know how this one came together.

The theme answers themselves were fairly easy, which helped fill in some big chunks. I wasn't familiar with a 'Buck's fizz', so I needed perps for 10D. Put 'Starts up' for 39D, 'Gets going', which messed up the south central. Unknowns abounded, including 19A, 57A, 30D, and 60D . Favorite by far was 'West pointers, sometimes?'.

The only questionable clue/answer to me was 'Be convinced about'/'assent to'; I don't feel they're necessarily synonymous. You can assent to something reluctantly without being convinced about it.

Al, great job blogging - always a learning experience for me. I particularly liked the 'sulky' explanation; never thought of the connection to the harness-racing ones.

Today is......ready for this?....Collect Rocks Day, Step Family Day, Mayflower Day, Mexican Independence Day, National PlayDoh Day, and Working Parents Day. Pick your pleasure.

Did You Know?:

- In honor of National PlayDoh Day, PlayDoh was used as a wallpaper cleaner before it became a toy.

- Animal crackers come in 18 different species.

- Only 2 percent of Americans say they're in a good mood every day. Myself included.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Everyone. This puzzle really got the better of me. Not a pretty sight. I finally got SPORTS BARS, but never caught on to the second part of the theme. After getting CROSS and OPEN, I was heading in the church direction.

UZIEL Gal was a German-born Israeli. He died in 2002.

I always liked Val Kilmer.

I initially tried Dali in lieu of MIRO for the artist of the Still Life with Old Shoe.

QOD: My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure. ~ Abraham Lincoln

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Definitely a challenge today, but an enjoyable one. I had to make numerous passes through the grid, but each time I was able to fill in a little bit more until I got it all. The theme didn't help me a bit, but once I got it I appreciated it.

Barry

Dick said...

Good morning Al and all like the other commenter's today I struggled all the way through. I kept jumping around getting a word here and there and finally getting sports bar which helped with some of the other theme answers. I did try to force round house in lieu of right cross, but the perps soon corrected that error. The puzzle was pretty difficult for a Thursday IMHO.

My favorite clue/answer was West pointers/vanes.

Al, before I forget, I found your write ups are always very informative and interesting.

Hope you all have a great Thursday

Anonymous said...

As usual I breezed Monday and Tuesday by Thursday I'm lost.

Lemonade714 said...

Hey all,

A very nice Thursday with both a fun and ecumenical puzzle, encompassing many different sports, with lots of themeage. Each across clue was 10 letters, each down clue 11 letters, adding another degree of symmetry.

SIDE BARS are the conferences lawyers and the judge have during a trial which the neither the jury nor the audience can hear.

I too loved: West pointers, sometimes?: VANES, and one we have had before, Piano pro: TUNER .

You had to admire the amazing WILT who lived hard and died young.

Thanks Al for your information and insight

Al said...

One smallish thing that I noticed only this morning, which I missed commenting on, was the wordplay on the phrase "mind over matter" for the clue on 41. Mined matter: ORE.

The idea was already expressed by Virgil in the Aeneid (c. 19 b.c.) as Mens agitat molem, "Mind moves matter," and it appeared in various forms in English by 1700. Here's one attributed to Mark Twain: "Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter."

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Al et al.
I loved your write-up , Al ! I didn't connect the "sulky" mood to the single carriage - great insight! BTW Dennis, I read the other definitions of "Blitch", and think yours is by far the best one ("Thumbs Up"!!).

I also liked the "West Pointers" clue- very clever. But to go along with the theme of the puzzle, maybe 65A "IRON" could have been clued something like "Tool used at 11D"?

It took a few passes to fill all the blanks, but no gg help needed today. This was a very strong theme-filled puzzle, and having a second "mini" theme with the ending of the starred clues was brilliant.

Have a great day everyone - I'm going out to buy some Play-Doh so I can clean my wallpaper !!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Great write-up, Al. Your FLEET comment gave me a chuckle.

Fairly difficult Thursday, but after several crisscrosses, it came together. No lookups needed. The theme was fun. Dit not know that USTINOV won an Oscar, but the name filled in easily. WAGS included IRIS, FLEETS, and FLAT. Loved the clueing for VANES and CUSP. Fought with 25d a little. Wanted something to do with the tennis tournament, and finally cobbled together MENS SINGLES. The official name seems to be 'Gentlemen's Singles'.

Interesting sequence of SORE, IRATE, and LIVID. Also, two clues involved major sports tournaments held in Britain.

Warren, I enjoyed your pictures, yesterday.

Have a nice day.

kazie said...

I thought I was licked when I started today, but after some WAGs I STARTED IN and only had to look up A DUE, which to me indicates a pair rather than more than two. Perhaps the clue didn't imply more than two, but that's where my mind was.

I knew very few of the answers, so really, most of it was filled by WAGs. Also, I had starts UP, so I never got the bottom midsection, not knowing OOP, forgetting LORNE and not thinking of IRON. I think when I got all the tiles filled, I was so amazed to have gotten that far, I just didn't think it over again.

Informative blogging, Al. Thanks!

Vidwan827 said...

Jewish saying: If you have to sing praises, shout from the rooftops ... ... If you have complaints, whisper into ears ...
Unfortunately, with the font size, and the limitations of this open blog, I can do neither.

Al, your blog was clear, concise and very informative (as always). The CW was difficult for me, I completed 60% of which 10% of the answers were not the intended ones ...

For 45 Across, 'AT PAR',(BTW, a clue I did not get ), you write 'Bonds make money by paying dividends'. I dont know if this was a typo, or you meant it...

What follows, is a small part of Economics, Accounting and Taxes 101, if you would rather pass over this part, please feel free to do so...

For Corporations, ... Bonds are a debt obligation, and they pay interest.( just like for Banks, savings and CD's) It is a cost of doing business, and is a deduction for their own Corp Income tax.

Shares and stock, reflects ownership, and they are paid distributions, called 'dividends', out of their Retained Earnings.

Net Profit Before Taxes ( NPBT) = Sales - Cost of production (including Interest costs )

Net Profit After Taxes NPAT = NPBT - income taxes, at Corporate level.

NPAT is added to the co's Retained Earnings. (RE)

Dividends ( Distributions ) are paid out of RE.

For the last 15 years, dividends received by individual income tax payers, have been taxed at a preferential lower rate, because supposedly, the Corporation has already paid tax, at the corporate level, on that income ( sort of 'double taxation').

Interest, including Bond interest, is taxed at the regular rate.

Much as I would like to add, 4 more points, this blog is already too long.

Husker Gary said...

Bon Jour (applying my French lesson of yesterday!) mes amis. What a nice ride! I missed one cell, like yesterday with OPEL/OPAL, I had CARAT instead of CARET because I had no chance with ADU_. The puzzle did throw out large sports freebies which "enhanced" my Thursday.

My last two fills were AXES and CARET and since they are both math terms, that killed me (the caret is used for "raised to the power of" in computer syntax).

I have no idea where I dredged up LIMN but I had it somewhere in my "little gray cells" (Hercule Poirot best portrayed by our Spartacus Oscar winner Peter Ustinov).

CUSP was my favorite clue. We astronomers bristle when students confuse ASTRONOMY with ASTROLOGY!!

When I could see neither BARNEY nor GRADY were Fred's friend, I struggled until DESI hit me (shouldn't that have been Ricky?)

The write-up was excellent and the SULKY note was very interesting!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - Al, I'm glad you were able to sort out this puzzle, 'cause man, it kicked my butt! I began last night and got nowhere. Took it up again for breakfast, and only slowly got through. Just too many unknowns; sports clues do that. Had to Goog way more than normal.

This puppy's confluence of clues notched it up to Saturday difficulty for me.

kazie said...

Husker Gary,
Just to be sure you absorbed the French lesson correctly--Anon misspelled his/her submissions yesterday, after a couple of us had already given you a response.

Both 'jour' and 'soir' are masculine, so the bon spelling is correct for them. However, they each form one new word:
'Bonjour!' 'Bonsoir!'

Whereas 'bonne nuit' for some reason is two words, and needs a feminine ending on 'bonne' because 'nuit' is feminine.

'Noir' is more 'black' than 'dark', but sometimes serves in both capacities.
End of lecture.

HeartRx said...

Dudley,
I agree with you about 42A "Sitcom pal of Fred". I had even circled that one to mention in my earlier post, but forgot about it when I actually blogged. I thought of Fred from The Flintstones ( but that was a cartoon, not a sitcom), Fred Savage from "The Wonder Year's", Fred Sanford of "Sanford & Son", Fred MacMurray from "My Three Sons". The clue really didn't give me anything to go on. When I filled "DESI" by the perps, I checked the clue again and "yep" it should have been clued as "Sitcom pal of William", which would have been even more vague. Maybe "Sitcom husband of Lucille" would have given a glimmer?

Hahtoolah said...

Vidwan: I had to laugh at your description of being able to complete only about 60% of the puzzle, but that 10% of those were not the intended ones. I felt much the same way. Even when I have difficulty with a puzzle, the answers I have are usually the right ones. Not today! I blame it on the sports references and all the cross-references.

I echo what Lemonade said about the SIDE BAR about being a conference between the Judge and attorneys outside the hearing of the jury.

I also wanted RINGO instead of STARR. Hey, at least I had the right Fab Four!

Argyle said...

Yup, bad clue. Did find this clue: 60's pop trio Dino, ___ & Billy. Forgot about them.

And anon...forget you, man.

Argyle said...

Short clip of Dino, Desi, & Billy. I don't think they had practiced lipsyncing that much.

Husker Gary said...

Kazie, Merci beaucoup! No guarantee I'll remember and words with gender is pretty foreign to les Américains and norteamericanos.

kazie said...

Husker Gary,
De rien! You're doing OK so far though.

Tinbeni said...

Al, Wonderful write-up.

Caught on to the theme early and I really do like OPEN BARS ...

Have no idea what's a Buck Fizz, but surprise, surprise, I am very familiar with MIMOSAS.

Yup, a "drinkin' man's" puzzle.
The perfect fix for a NY Yankee's fan.
Damn, my local Ray's are in First. Next week they play 4 games at the Stadium. Should be a great series.

Never thought that something that made me LIVID would help me out. But that Oregon area was not coming together for the longest time.
Hand up for not liking the DESI answer for the "Sitcom pal of Fred" clue. The answer being his real name, the clue, the character's name. (Ricky wouldn't fit).

BTW, the real name for that 2010 golf event at
St. Andrew's is "THE OPEN." NOPE, they don't add the BRITISH to its name over there.

Fave was IRS for "It prints many scheds." Many, many Forms, too.

Rider of Dinny the dinosaur, OOP was all perps.

Splynter said...

Hi to all~!

Well, just to add that today was tough for Thursday, too, and yes, I think "down" themes are usually limited to Fri/Sat.

Crossbars SAVE !!! are a goalies best friend - I know, I played yesterday, and it stopped about three for me!

Had DALI for MIRO as well, and I too, gambled on STARR because it was here earlier...

Did like the minor theme of SORE,IRATE & LIVID, by the way...

See you 'IN PART' sometime tomorrow or the weekend...

Splynter

Anonymous said...

Dennis

BE convinced about ,, gets talked into , therefor assent to

Anonymous said...

Spitzboov

Mens singles is tennis

Bill G. said...

This seemed harder than usual for a Thursday. Still a satisfying solve and an excellent write-up. Thanks.

Dang! I was ready to jump in and complain about Fred:Desi rather than Fred:Ricky or William (Fraley):Desi but three of you guys beat me to it. Rats!

I think guys like Wilt and Shaq were basketball stars because they are so big, not because they were so skillful. I'm guessing neither of them would have made it in the NBA if they were shorter than six feet eight inches.

Lemonade714 said...

How about:

50's star who had a Ball?

Argyle, I too was thinking of the kids, especially DEAN PAUL MARTIN who had such a short but intense life, top 30 hit, tv series with Courtney Cox, movies, tennis career, married to Olivia Hussey (who was so fabulous in Zeferelli's Romeo and Juliet and Dorthy Hamill. It all ended tragically.

Dennis said...

anon, thanks for the input, but I still don't believe that agreeing to something implies you're convinced of it. I've reluctantly agreed to lots of things over the years without being convinced of their success. Sometimes on something as simple as a dare.

Husker Gary said...

Dennis, Me Too! Anyone who thinks assenting to something is being convinced of it has never worked in a bureaucracy that lives on plurality rule that better not offend "higher ups" who usually propose things.

The Nebraska State Education Association and National Education Association constantly endorse candidates and other ballot issues that are an anathema to me but to which my membership would infer "assenting".

Jerome said...

March 15th headline-

DESI DIES on IDES!

Because it's unexplainable-

557 LIVID, mixed up Romans.

Spitzboov said...

Anon @ 11:18 My post did not say otherwise. The comment was about what the cw fill event is termed by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club located in Wimbledon.

Recipe Flash! - BH just made a batch of Sablé Galette Cookies. Delicious, or as they say in Brittany, délicieux.

Al said...

@Vidwan, you're most probably right about dividends vs interest in the bond world. That's why I have a financial adviser and let him worry about that. I just can't get interested (pun intended) enough in money matters to make well-informed decisions. It's all just "Monopoly money" to me at this point anyway; I'm not going to actually see any of it for a while yet. I only knew that bonds mainly generate revenue apart from their face value and was using "dividends" not as a strict financial term PER SE, but as a general one meaning something like "providing benefits". I should have looked into the word meanings more closely.

Jerome said...

Being the sycophant that I am, I'm lining up with the editor.

From Merriam- Webster's Eleventh Edition- Assent: to agree to something esp. after thoughtful consideration.

Thoughtful consideration most definetly implies coming to be convinced about.

Plymouthmama said...

I do wish that you would google or research some of your comments. Usually you are 95% correct BUT

Kellogg School of Management is associate with General Motors AND
Snee is an ancient Scottish knife.

Dennis said...

Jerome, we'll agree to disagree on this one. Or maybe I've just been using the word wrong all these years, which is entirely possible.

Tinbeni said...

Dennis
I think this is a question of semantics.
I agree with your 11:22 comment but in this case which came first. Are you putting the cart before the horse.

Example A:
If you are (first) convinced about something ... then you (second) assent to it.

Example B:
On the other hand, if (first) you consent to something ... that doesn't (secondly) mean you are convinced about it. (Like you said at 11:22).

In this case the clue came before the answer. Example A

Dennis said...

Tinbeni, rather than belabor the point further, I'll agree with what you're saying. However, I stand behind my original statement that they're not synonymous.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, By Thursday, I am ready for all the wrong letter alerts I can get.

As far as I'm concerned Christopher Reeve owned the role of Superman, Tobey Maguire is Spiderman and even after only two movies, Robert Downey Jr. is Ironman. But I'll be darned if I can remember the progression of Batman. (40D) VAL? OK, why not?

Plymouthmama, I think Al was pretty well on point with (10A) Kellogg School of Management. General Motors Research Center For Strategy In Management is associated with Kellogg, but as far as I can tell, they don't run the place.

SNEE has been previously been clued as "Scottish dagger". Perhaps you could contact Worldwidewords.com and ask them to add the Scottish connection.

I definitely agree with others that 42A should have been RICKY, rather than DESI, or else the clue should have been "Sitcom pal of William (Frawley)".

Off for a day of fun and games with some women friends. See you all later.

Lucina said...

Good day, puzzlers.

Al, excellent blogging as usual.

Baby's asleep so I have some time. Sports themes are not my favorite, but I relish the challange and got through this one fairly easily for a Thursday. I have always like David Kahn's puzzles from waaaaaay back.

TOR was once a common xwd fill I haven't seen lately so that gave me TUNER and I had UZI but was surprised to learn that it is actually nomeone's name! Thank you, Al and Hahtool.

Since I do calligraphy LIMN is familiar. All part of my liberal education.

VANES, West pointers sometimes, was by far the cleverest clue.

Shades that fade in fall, TANS, comes in second, though I had the same doubt about how leaves could fade any more. Really good clue.

I certainly liked the paralled position of BRITISHOPEN and MENS SINGLES.

Another thing I like about David's xwds is the long fills, phrases and words, such as INGESTS, ENHANCE, MIMOSAS, LIVID, ORATE, etc,, etc.

One error for me on an unknown, LES, I filled LIS. Ken OLIN is surely a Thursday level for OLIN as we have seen Lena many times.

And I'm embarrased that I didn't know Barry Bonds was an ASU grad, my alma mater, one of them.

Dennis, hand up for questioning ASSENTTO.

Thank you, David Kahn, for this meaty xwd.

Have a Wonderful Thursday all! I do wonder how many of my students will take the day to celebrate and miss class.

Hahtoolah said...

Clear Ayes: What? No Robert Frost / Snowy Evening poem today?

Ken OLIN was one of the main characters on "Thirty Something", which played back in the 1980s. My DH liked the show, but I always thought of its as "Nerdy Something."

Jerome said...

Dennis- Well, I will admit to one thing. I'm just about ready to send Rich another puzzle.

Dilbert said...

Hi all.

Voted thumbs up for #4. So far 19 to 1. Has to be one in every crowd.

Like sports and bars. But one TV is enough. Too confusing with multiple screens.

Darn. Not allowed to eat bananas and fresh tomatoes. Heart was going toc--- tic from high potassium levels.

Dino and friends helped Oop build
the wall between Moo and Lem.

Remember cleaning the wallpaper
because of soot from the coal furnace.

Take care.

Dilbert

Nice Cuppa said...

Thanks to everyone yesterday who gave me insight into and recollection of the Great Poppy Mystery.

Back to today. Thanks to Sptizboov and Tibeni for pointing out that the compiler got the names of both Brit sporting clues wrong - "Gentlemen's Singles" and "The Open" are the correct names. Talking of which, "Gentlemen's Club" is still used in its original (respectable) sense in Britland - it is not a euphemism for a strip club.

Golf tie-ins - PRO SHOP, AT PAR, IRON

FROST and SNOWY ? I hesitated.

I did not like "ASSENT TO" either.

Buck's Fizz may be a Brit term. it is better known to me than MIMOSA.

I have NEVER seen the word LIMN anywhere except in American crosswords - anyone?

"STARTS IN" I knew the phrase but have never used it - chiefly U.S. I'm not sure why it's needed when we have the perfectly respectable "STARTS ON" - anyone?

A CUSP generally means some sort of discontinuity or abrupt change. In mathematics, it could well involve a change in sign (±) of a function. Following on from AXES, that was how I intepreted the clue (I do not ascribe to astrology, celestial fauna, etc.).

"WEST POINTERS at times" - My brain immediately accessed its MAE WEST files, with the POINTERS referring either to some aspect of her physique, or perhaps a gun, and then to her "gun/pistol in pocket" quote (which I do not need to repeat here). She also said: "...remember that there are no withholding taxes on the wages of sin" (I guess she never heard of SIN TAX).

Talking of which: A sign of the times - I got stuck on IRS -not that I don't pay taxes (without representation, I would note). But I don't think of the IRS as "printers" of tax forms any more. I download them and MY PRINTER prints them (and then only "for my records") once I've filled them in on-line and e-filed them (together with the inevitable e-check to cover the underpayment).

Finally, that Brit-Gentleman and wit, (Sir) Peter USTINOV, once said "In America, through pressure of conformity, there is freedom of choice, but nothing to choose from." Mmm...not very gracious that, coming from a Hollywood actor - I'll need to think about that one.

Enough already!

NC

Clear Ayes said...

Hahtool, you're right. It has been a while since we've posted this poem and maybe some of the newbies aren't familiar with it.

“Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening” is generally regarded as Frost's masterpiece. The poem was included in Frost's collection New Hampshire (1923) for which he won the first of his four Pulitzer Prizes. It is Frost's most famous poem, and one which he himself viewed as his “best bid for remembrance.”

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

- Robert Frost


Now, I REALLY have to get going!

Lemonade714 said...

Jerome, you outdid yourself! I am awed.

557 LIVID, mixed up Romans.

Jerome said...

Lemonade-
Lemonade-
Thank you.
Thank you.

Bob said...

Good puzzle. Made one careless error by being in a hurry to leave for work and entering STARTSON at 39D, and then not checking the cross at 65A. 21 minutes

Lemonade714 said...

Jerome,

Now that I have used my D.I.D. to suck up to you; a) you did not like my DESI clue?
b) can I write a clue for you, and begin competing with Annette for South Florida CW honors?

HeartRx said...

Uh, Jerome,
I hate to be a spoiler, but don't you mean 556 ? 557 would be LI VII D

Still, a very clever clue !!

Lemonade714 said...

Heart:

D= 500
L= 50
VII= 7

LIVID is an anagram of LDVII

Jerome said...

Lemonade- No, I did not like your DESI clue. Clumsy. But yes, you may try again. How about a clue for RNA that has some pizzazz. Wait, better yet... a clue for RECUSAL that's a real laugh riot.

South Florida honors- I hear that John Lampkin is now working without a net.

Yes, Mr. Site Administrator, I realize this is number five.

Dennis said...

Damn. I was soooo hoping to flag you.

Warren said...

Hi Al, C.C. & gang I agree with Dennis's comment, the puzzle was a tough one for us, we only got %25 done before my wife left for work and I had to look up a couple unknown's on Google. Did anyone notice the improvement that Google had made for instant search?

For JD, I missed your comment yesterday about the canyon on Kauai. We tried to go there I think either on the 5th or the 6th but it was too foggy and rainy (heavy dew actually) to get any good pictures. We do have some sides of the canyon from 20 years back so we'll have to try to find them when we have some free time.

Warren said...

Oops I meant 'slides' not sides. Actually I just found the photo album of our 1990 Kauai trip and it looks like we had negatives back then not slides anyhow...

;-)

lois said...

Good evening Al, CC, et al., What a hoot of a write up, Al. You cracked me up w/ 49A and esp with 50D. I loved that one crossing Finger roll and Urgent! Helllooo! Are you kidding me? My 'ice cap' started melting when 4D Enhance showed up crossing 'a due'. Then 'cusp' started really heating things up when it crossed 'tight end on the 'strong side'! I'm all about that now. But I started getting excited when men's singles paralleled 'ingests' crossing 'in part''starts in' and 'iron'. Holy Hotwick!! Nothin' 'snowy' left, only hot lava flowin'. I'd 'assent to' whatever 'as-u'like it at this point. I think a strong 10D
'mimosa' might help calm the 50D hoo-ha but then again with the mimosa we're right back to positioning the 26A'tight end'
on the 'strong side'. My kind of circular argument. It's all good!

Many thanks for the concern for my health. Got the all clear yesterday...all vital organs are good to go and the non-vital ones are going good. The esophogeal stretching was a success (thank you guys)- I'm swallowing fine.
I'm keeping all of your applications on file for future reference.

I'll go back and catch up on the things I've missed here. I hope those sick, injured, or saddened will heal and perk up quickly.

Enjoy your evening.

HeartRx said...

Jerome & Lemonade,
Oops - my bad!! And since when is 50 "LI" as in my earlier post? Duuuhh...

creature said...

Good Eve ning C.C.,AL and all,

Haven't had an opportunity to blog today..Worked the puzzle and agree with much that's been said so far.

Loved the theme..My kind of puzzle; I crawled around on it to solve.

Had'soda'instead of 'cola' for the longest..it left me blocked for a while,then I g-spotted 8d and that cleared things up.

Agree with Dennis on 9d;Acquiesce is a synonym of assent. Also agree on Desi.

I have a busy day tomorrow, so I'll say 'good evening', but not 'good night'...at least not yet.

creature said...

Oops.. Al, great write-up; Lol re:49a, plus lots of info. Thanks!

erieruth said...

Thanks for the comments and interesting observations!! I LOVED today's puzzle, especially 'tuner' for piano pro - I wanted Van Cliburn!!

Several months ago I asked what a 'perp' is and someone kindly told me...thanks!!!

Now...what is a 'WAG'??? - many of you use it frequently and I'm still in the dark...I've been trying to figure it out...no luck.
Thanking someone in advance...

Argyle said...

C'mon, erieruth, take a wild ass guess at it.

Bill G. said...

erieruth, I think a WAG stands for a wild-ass-guess but, as an acronym, it can also mean Wives and Girlfriends.

Argyle said...

Here's to wives and girlfriends; May they never meet!

Winter's bones watcher said...

Hey Guys, I am a silent lurker in your corner, and I do the crossword puzzle on Monday and tuesday and all that .and I waas wondering if you had seen the movie, Winters bones ??

I could not understand the ending - see, its this gal Rees whose trying to find her criminal father, Jassup, who done gone and hocked the family house, so he can get out on bail --- and hes disappeared. So Rees goes out looking for him - and everyone tells her hes ded - but shes got to find him - and then her relatives beat her up - then they take out on a boat and find his body in the creek - and cut off his hands, - so she give them to the bailsman - and get her money back.

Why they have to bet her up in the first place ?if they are going to help her anyways. And where do the extra money come from ?

Annette said...

Jerome, are you almost ready to send Rich another puzzle...once you find a way to fit ASSENTTO into the grid??? I liked 557 LIVID, too! Somehow, tightrope walkers manage just fine without me...

Lois, glad to hear that you're doing better.

Marge said...

Hi all!
Not much to add- I found the puzzle hard. As far as Fred's friend-I will admit I had Desi and didn't even think that it should have been Ricky but you'er right.

Sugar free cola doesn't have any sugar.

We watched some of THE OPEN when it was on, when I asked my husband today if he remember what it was called he said British Open. I guess thats what it was called in USA to differenchiate from the other Open tourniments here. We saw St. Andrews when we were in Scotland.

Lemonade714-Thanks for the info about Dean Paul Martin. I didn't remember that. How sad.

Good evening all.
Marge

Marge said...

Whoops- I meant differentiate.
Marge

Lemonade714 said...

Well, how about:


Afr. media: RNA (Rawanda News Agency).

Wire based in Kilgali: RNA

(My nephew wrote his honors thesis on Africa).

Bench clearing act: RECUSAL

if your theme involved removing the letter "E" from phrases,

Directors second take for Mineo: RECU(e)SAL

Chickie said...

Hello All--I worked on this puzzle off and on for most of the day and finally finished it this evening, but it was a real bear. I had a large number of lookups in my CW dictionary. My computer was off limits today as it is in the kitchen and I couldn't work there today.

I had one problem in the area for, West pointers sometimes. It didn't even occur to me that it could be a weather vane. I was stuck on Cadets or Plebes! Great clue and it stumped me today.

I had a major refirgerator repair today and my kitchen was a total mess for most of the day, so I was occupied with other things and couldn't really concentrate on the puzzle.

I wanted to check in, though, and see how others fared with the CW. It seems it was a slog for others as well. I'll get back to the rest of the comments tomorrow.

Sleep well everyone.

Clear Ayes said...

Back from chorus practice and some fun tra-las for the evening.

To Winter's Bone watcher@8:21, Sorry, I haven't seen the movie, but I was curious and gave it a Google. Sounds interesting and it did win the big Sundance Film Festival prize, so if it shows up in our area, I'll get back to you about it.