google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday December 12, 2010 Robert A. Doll

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Dec 12, 2010

Sunday December 12, 2010 Robert A. Doll

Theme: Familiar Endings - Same word starts and ends its familiar phrase.

22A. Memorable 1994 film exhortation : RUN FORREST RUN. From "Forrest Gump".

27A. Ruthless : DOG-EAT-DOG. It's a dog-eat-dog world.

35A. Skipping no pages : COVER TO COVER

53A. In detail : PLAY BY PLAY. I like Joe Buck. Very distinctive voice.

71A. Defend one's principles bravely : FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT. The only four-word entry.

88A. 1969 Bob Dylan hit : LAY LADY LAY. Unfamiliar to me. Sounds quite sexual.

107A. Lehane crime novel about a missing girl : GONE BABY GONE. Know it only because of the movie.

115A. Complete : OUT AND OUT

125A. Continually : YEAR AFTER YEAR

Why "Familiar Endings"? Because the last word repeats the first word?

Nine theme entries seem to be very common for our Sunday puzzles. I grokked the gimmick rather quickly due to its easy-to- detect pattern. As usual, some of the names gave me fits.

Across:

1. Bear mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympics : MISHA. Was clueless. Makes sense. Misha is such a common Russian name.

6. Like some dancing : AEROBIC

13. Grunt's position : McJOB

18. Modern messages : EMAIL. The clue is asking for plural form, isn't it?

19. Horace's "Ars __" : POETICA

20. Roll player : PIANOLA. See here for more information. Beyond my ken of knowledge. I actually read the clue as "Role player".

24. Well-fortified, in a way : ARMORED

25. __ Pie : ESKIMO. Have never tried it.

26. Nail site : TOE

29. Q5 maker : AUDI. Saw this clue before.

32. Intrude : IMPOSE

34. '60s activist Bobby : SEALE. The Black Panthers co-founder.

40. Spirited horse : ARAB

42. Nintendo's Super __ : NES

43. Game show name : ALEX (Trebek). "Jeopardy!".

44. Originate (from) : STEM

45. Bribe : SOP

47. "The Gold Bug" author : POE. Have you read the story?

49. "If you prick us, do we not __?": "The Merchant of Venice" : BLEED. Sigh. Shakespeare again.

51. Understood : SAW

59. Feature of many a bad review : SARCASM. Biting.

62. Here-there link : NOR

64. Pitching staff leaders : ACES. Baseball.

65. Have in spades : OOZE

66. "Hold it!" : WHOA

68. NASCAR racer Mark : MARTIN.

70. Penn or Pitt : ACTOR. Sean Penn. Brad Pitt.

75. He-men : STUDS

77. __ Tunes : LOONEY

78. Needing ice, maybe : SORE

79. "I, Claudius" role : NERO

80. Hard to catch : EELY

81. Power tool? : DAM. Water power?

83. Stock holder? : RANCHER. Livestock. Great clue.

91. Fate : LOT

93. "Three Coins in the Fountain" fountain : TREVI

94. Baltimore daily : SUN. Baltimore Sun.

95. Fa-la link : SOL

97. Maker of PowerCat soccer shoes : PUMA. .

100. Divided sea : ARAL

101. Crime show with two spin-offs : CSI. CSI Miami/NY.

104. Wilson's predecessor : TAFT

110. Lively movement : RONDO. Often the last movement of a sonata, says Dictionary.

112. "Twelfth Night" duke : ORSINO. Shakespeare again. No idea.

114. Foe of the Iroquois : ERIE. A tribe rather than our old lake clue.

117. Navig. aid : GPS

119. Like many beach bums : TANNED

124. Sports no-no : STEROID

129. Goes after crustaceans : SHRIMPS. Did not know shrimp can be a verb.

130. Access, in a way : LOG ONTO

131. India's first prime minister : NEHRU

132. SAT segment : ESSAY

133. Paul Anka love song with a Spanish title : ESO BESO. "That Kiss".

134. Bee killer, at times : STING

Down:

1. No more than : MERE. Wanted LESS.

2. 1989 Radio Hall of Fame inductee : IMUS (Don). Unaware of this trivia.

3. Went under : SANK

4. Old player : HI-FI

5. 10-time Gold Glove winner Roberto : ALOMAR. He was with the Indians when I came to the US. Second baseman.

6. Loan no. : APR (Annual Percentage Rate)

7. Want ad letters : EOE

8. Musical symbol : REST

9. Emperor under Pope Innocent III : OTTO IV. Need crossing help.

10. Galleys with two banks of oars : BIREMES. No idea. Bi = Two. Rem = Oar.

11. Post-ER area : ICU

12. Unofficial Seabees' motto : CAN DO. Learning moment to me. Seabee is formed from letter CB, Construction Battalion of the US Navy.

13. Hardly the macho type : MAMA'S BOY. Lovely entry.

14. 100 clams : C-NOTE

15. Aqaba is its only seaport : JORDAN. New trivia to me.

16. Corrida cry : OLE OLE

17. Scouting prizes : BADGES

20. Means to get in touch : PAGER

21. High dudgeon : IRE

23. Whomps : ROUTS

28. Adventurers/documentarians Martin and __ Johnson : OSA. Here is a photo of the couple.

30. Period, e.g. : DOT

31. Seals, as a deal : ICES

33. Support, with "up" : PROP

35. Hacks : CABS. Noun "Hacks".

36. Earthen stewpot : OLLA

37. Zig or zag : VEER

38. Perk recipient : EXEC

39. Muscat's land : OMAN

41. They may include ht., wt., skin color, etc. : APBS. APB = All-Points Bulletin.

46. Academy teacher : PLATO

48. Pleistocene, e.g. : EPOCH

50. Team with a mascot named Uga, familiarly : DAWGS. University of Georgia.

52. Bryn Mawr undergrads : WOMEN. One of the Seven Sisters.

54. Etcher's supply : ACIDS

55. Have a __: crave : YEN FOR

56. Ex-senator Trent : LOTT

57. Nitrogen-based dye : AZO. Learned from doing Xword.

58. Law closing? : YER. Closing to the word lawyer.

60. "Pipe down!" : SHH

61. Crüe-ish? : MOTLEY. Oh, a reference to Mötley Crüe.

63. Was relentless, as a storm : RAGED. Brutal weather here. At least 16" of snow since Friday night.

67. Reef ring : ATOLL

69. Shade of blue : ROYAL

70. Secret __ : AGENT

71. Violent anger : FURY

72. Admired stars : IDOLS

73. Georgetown athletes : HOYAS

74. Fund for later yrs. : IRA

75. Irreverent NBC hit : SNL

76. Something to take in the afternoon : TEA

80. Best of the stage : EDNA. Her face looks familiar. I must have googled her before.

82. Wear a long face : MOPE

84. Climber's challenge : CRAG

85. Parade honoree : HERO

86. Hunter of fiction : EVAN. Also known as Ed McBain.

87. Get to : RILE

89. Parent/teen sticking point : AUTONOMY. The answer just wouldn't jump to me.

90. Jellystone Park bear : YOGI. Yogi Bear.

92. CRT part : TUBE

96. Tale starter, perhaps : LONG AGO

98. Scratch : MAR

99. Grab __: eat on the run : A BITE

101. Rupert of "The Reivers" : CROSSE. No idea. Wikipedia says Crosse was the first African American to be nominated for a Best Supporting Academy Award for his role in "The Reivers".

102. __ Oldest Rivalry: Virginia/North Carolina annual college football game : SOUTH'S. Unknown to me.

103. Lays to rest : INTERS

105. Dietitian's forte : FOODS

106. __TV: "actuality" network : TRU. No idea.

108. "Piece o' cake!" : NO PROB

109. Hankers : YEARNS

111. "Beavis and Butt-head" spin-off : DARIA. Another complete unknown

113. Elegance : STYLE

116. Go down a bit : DIP

118. Compos mentis : SANE

120. No, across the Bering Strait : NYET. Russian for "No".

121. Vintage pop : NEHI

122. Bring home : EARN

123. Put under : DRUG

126. Dawn deity : EOS. Greek Goddess of the dawn. The Roman equivalent is Aurora.

127. NBA stats : FTS (Free Throws)

128. To boot : TOO

Answer grid.

C.C.

45 comments:

  1. Hi all.

    Hockey game going into OT so I'll comment.
    Thought this was pretty easy for a Sunday. Did the top before the game and the bottom during the 1st Period. There were a lot of known ans.

    Am reading Cussler's latest about the Ottoman Empire and sunken biremes.

    Have a good day and take care.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good morning, C.C. and all.

    I thought this was going to be one where I sailed through (maybe on a bireme?) but then I got to the SW corner... Wowzers! Never watched Beavis and the other, never even knew there was a spinoff! Never heard of TRU TV, have known The Reivers forever, but didn't know individual names; boy, it took a while.

    Other thoughts / responses:

    I've always thought of MAIL as plural ("Did you bring in the mail?"), so the wording of 18A didn't bother me.

    I too struggled for Shakespeare's duke.

    Forrest Gump made his fortune by shrimping.

    Biremes were small stuff when the triremes came along! Great for the Roman navy, not so much for the slaves who had to row.

    My favorite clue might have been "Hacks" -- CABS. Wonderful misdirection.

    89D, the parent / teen sticking point, nearly killed me. I got the "auto" part right away and then wanted "keys" or something meaning "permission" and couldn't see the correct answer until I had it all from the perps. Wow.

    102D, the college rivalry, I had the initial S and wanted SECOND; SOUTHS just wouldn't come for the longest time.

    Well anyway, it was fun and it gave me something to do while I couldn't sleep... seems to be a regular complaint around here.

    Quite a bit of new snow outside but nothing like C.C. reports; there's a base of ice underneath and maybe more to come today. Great day to stay indoors and sleep through my morning nap.

    G'day, all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Morning, all!

    Pretty straightforward Sunday effort, except that I still don't get what DAM has to do with "power tool?" All the theme answers were common (except, perhaps, LAY LADY LAY) and figuring out the theme early on let me whip through most of them.

    A few other unknowns, such as MARTIN and CROSSE, but the perps took care of them. I don't know if we've ever seen BIREMES before, but I've heard of a TRIREME and it made sense that a ship with only two banks of oars would be called a BIREME.

    Have a great one!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning CC and all, another fun puzzle this morning. I had several false starts today, but managed to complete the puzzle. I started with dove in lieu of sink for 3D, inks in lieu of ices for 31D and various other miscues. All errors were corrected with perps and I was able to finish in about 36 minutes. IMO this did not seem too difficult for a Sunday puzzle. The theme came early which helped with the rest of the fills.

    Hand up for roll player and less until the second time through.

    I guess Imus is most famous, not for his Radio Hall of Fame Award, but for his unkind comments.

    Penn or Pitt was favorite clue and I certainly had Universities in mind being a Pitt alumni.

    The last area to fall was the SW as I did not know Crosse and steroids and autonomy took a long time to appear. Once rondo fell the others seem to become easier to see.

    Not much not to like about this puzzle as it was solvable with just perp help and did not require any trips to Mr. G.

    Hope you all have a great Sunday. Here it is rain changing to snow in the afternoon with 4 to 6 inch accumulation by morning.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bob Dylan's Lay, Lady, Lay(3:19) with lyrics. A nice Sunday morning feel to this song.

    I got Mr. Happy Pencil with my final fill: WAG of D for RONDO, 10A and 111D, DARIA.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good Morning, CC and friends. I thought this was a pretty hard puzzle. After I figured out LAY LADY LAY, I realized that the first and last words were the same in each theme answer, I could go back and fill in some other blank spaces.

    There were some fun misleading clues, such as Academy Teacher = PLATO.

    Stock Holder = RANCHER was misleading after last week's Stock Options puzzle.

    Can anyone explain 65A (Have in Spades = OOZE)?

    I, Claudius was a wonderful BBC series. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it.

    QOD: War is God's way of teaching Americans geography. ~ Ambrose Bierce.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Several of today's theme answers are also songs. Of course there is LAY LADY LAY which was also covered by many including Duran Duran, Everly Bros. and Isaac Hayes.

    DOG EAT DOG has a few entirely different songs performed by AC/DC, Ted Nugent and Adam & The Ants.

    FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT by Canadian rockers Triumph was big in the '80's.

    Even RUN FORREST RUN was done by a few obscure bands.

    And, my favorite, GONE DADDY GONE is a song by the Milwaukee, WI punk band Violent Femmes. It was also covered recently by Gnarls Barkley.

    ReplyDelete
  8. "Can anyone explain 65A (Have in Spades = OOZE)?"

    As in, "He just oozes charm and sophistication."

    Still trying to figure out what DAM has to do with "Power tool?"

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thanks, Barry G. As to the DAM, think Hydro-Electric Power. A dam is a "tool" in the generation of such power.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Instead of linking the Femmes version, I opted for the eERIE video featuring a GOLD BUG and a TANNED beauty.

    I hope his STING (or is it A BITE) did not leave a SORE and make her BLEED.

    Also if you care to enjoy another Gnarls Barkley video, check out "Crazy" down on the right. It is their most successful and features our old friend: the Rorschach Ink Blot.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This was a real toughie for me. Maybe I didn't have enough caffeine, but I really struggled with most of it, even after I grasped the theme. It makes me anxious for tomorrow's puzzle so I can feel like I have a modicum of intelligence.

    Thanks, C.C., for a great write up. Enjoyed all the comments.

    Have a great day everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  12. What a season for the Minnesota Vikings! Tons of drama from the firing of the coach to Brett Favre's off the field antics.

    Now the roof of their stadium collapses from all the snow.

    Maybe mother nature is a Brett Favre fan and is giving him time to heal so he can start and keep his streak alive...

    But, hey, it could be worse...at least they're not the Bengals.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hello, C.C. et al.

    It's so nice to have you here, C.C. You make weekends a treat.

    My feelings about this puzzle are similar to those already expressed: not too hard, fun theme and what about:

    have in spades=oozes,
    and power tool=dam

    I can see the "power" part as a dam is a source of it, but tool? I guess in my mind a tool is something much smaller though I guess a tool is simply equipment of any kind.

    Made me smile:
    stock holder, RANCHER
    roll player, PIANOLA

    One of my sisters used to have one and it was great fun to hear/sing some oldies on it.

    The SW gave me fits for a while until one by one the fills emerged with ESSAY, INTERS, SHRIMPS, etc. I had AUTO____ for a long time until daylight hit and AUTONOMY shone through; like WikWak, I wanted another word there.

    Thanks for the link to LAYLADYLAY. I love it.

    Have a stupendous Sunday everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good morning CC and Sunday Solvers, all,

    After the gimmes of EMAIL and ALOMAR, the top just wasn't filling for me so I dropped down to the SE corner and started working my way back up. That went very well except for that small block in the SW corner that seemes to have caused problems for most of us. It finally fell, but with a lot of write-overs. With CSI and ESSAY in place, 107d was just begging for me to put in SPORTS, which I did even though I was sure there were older sports rivalries. Figuring out STEROID and OUT AND OUT broke open the rest of the corner and left me with a solved puzzle with no lookups.

    It's amazing how many of us misread 'roll' as 'role'. DUH! There were a lot of unknowns to me that only filled through perps. I guess I shouldn't say unknown, as I did recognize the names once they were in place, but they were not about to well up from the depths without help.

    All in all, an enjoyable, but not too easy, Sunday solve.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good morning everyone.

    Once the 'familiar endings' format became clear, it helped the fills by entering all or parts of the first and last word of the theme fills. Then, working with the perps, it gradually filled in. No searches were needed.

    12 d. Seebee's motto - here are some patches including one with the CAN DO motto.

    Barry G. - Nice pictures and music posted yesterday of your Ensemble. Thanks for sharing.

    Have a good day

    ReplyDelete
  16. The Vikings stadium roof collapse looks like a metaphor for the Vikings season.

    (Grumpy ducks and heads for cover)

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hello Puzzlers - Good morning C.C., it's always nice to have your blog style - I look forward to that!

    For once: NOT what Barry said. This puzzle knocked me around something fierce! Though, in my defense, I was doing it while watching SNL, so distraction was a factor. (Sir Paul McCartney was the musical guest)


    Piles of unknowns, mainly in the names. Sussed the theme easily enough, but that didn't help much with oddments such as BIREMES. Never heard of NEHI, the mascot MISHA (did they feed the losers to her?), CROSSE, HOYAS, DARIA, Mark MARTIN.

    Not sure which is the greater waste of time: the whole span of Beavis and Butthead, or the whole pointless universe of NASCAR. Sue me.

    Barry - Nice blend in your ensemble! Of course, talent is especially concentrated in Massachusetts. :-)

    ReplyDelete
  18. Greetings C.C. et al from the stormy great plains! I think I have found all my deck furniture by now but 55 mph winds will rearrange things but we only had an inch of snow with it. View Out Our Front Door Yesterday

    Musings
    -Congrats to you fast solvers. It took me about an hour and a half which frankly is more fun!
    -I wanted that Grunt to be crawling or attempting to aid a bodily function
    -Forrest Gump is one of my 5 favorite movies. Tom Hanks’ movies have only disappointed me once
    -I always thought it was an ARABIAN horse and not an ARAB horse
    -Looney Tunes were the best with classical music and adult laughs too
    -If USSR can be a group, a dam can be a power tool I guess
    -Loved stock holder! Joann worries about the stock on nights like last night! Cwd’s make you expand your verbal world!
    -We got to see the Trevi Fountain at night and in the day! Spectacular any way you see it, even with a thousand others there! Bella!
    -Old Player? Me on a golf course!
    -Closes the deal? INKS? No. ICES. Oh.
    -I always debate forms of YEN and YEARN and today we had both!
    -Didn’t Tinman say he was going to Muscat?
    -That data could be on LICS couldn’t it?
    -When you live where Taxis are superfluous, Hack takes a while.
    -Admired stars? ICONS, nope IDOLS.
    -NAPS not TEAS in the afternoon!
    -Kids can’t believe that as a child I actually had to wait for the TV to “warm up”. Dang Cathode Ray Tubes! Today I can’t believe it takes 2 minutes for my PC to boot up.
    -Steroids are going to keep a lot of guys out of Cooperstown. All Mickey Mantle did was drink and cheat on his wife!

    ReplyDelete
  19. C.C., I've read The Gold Bug and enjoyed it a lot. Also, I recommend The Purloined Letter.

    From Barry G.,"He just oozes charm and sophistication." And, "To have in spades" means to have plenty or to have in excess.

    Husker Gary, I agree. Arabian fits for a horse, not Arab though it seems to show up in crosswords a lot even though I don't like it. :>)

    My wife's old PC used to take a long time to boot up. Our new Macs are pretty damn fast.

    We need to go out and drive the new Yaris around the block a few times. We haven't had a new car since we bought a VW Vanagon camper new in 1982.

    Football and a Lakers game to enjoy. Good luck with the snow. Stay safe and warm.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Nope nope nope. Sorry, didn't enjoy this puzzle. No pleasure in it. The only clue that triggered an "aha" moment, or any emotion other than WTF boredom, was "Penn or Pitt"; cute. "Stock holder" was pretty good, too.

    I did read The Gold Bug many years ago. Liked it. IMO, one of Poe's better works.

    Best wishes to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Good Afternoon C.C. et al.

    I really enjoy Sunday puzzles. This is the only day of the week that I actually tear the page out of the newspaper, fold carefully so only the grid and clues are showing, and then attach it to my clipboard. After getting my coffee and curling up on the couch, I am lost in my “Crossword World” for at least a half hour. In this case, where there were so many names to perp, and an interesting PBS Christmas special on TV, it was over an hour before I filled in the last entry.

    C.C., I can’t believe that the first thing I thought of for Penn or Pitt wasn’t actors, or even Colleges – but WILLIAM !! Even though it didn’t fit, I think it would be a great deceptive answer in some crossword puzzle for a “Pitt or Penn” clue.

    Hahtool – Re: your QOD “War is God's way of teaching Americans geography.” ~ Ambrose Bierce. Sad, but true…I read an article in National Geographic years ago that said that only 17% of young adults could locate Afghanistan on a map (I bet even fewer could spell it). Now how many would know it, having fathers, brothers, mothers and sisters serving there?

    Am I the only one who immediately penned in SOUTH’S for "Oldest Rivalry”? Since DH is from “south of the border”, we always watch the game. And then there’s the DEEP SOUTH’S Oldest Rivalry between Georgia and Auburn. They sure do love their teams down there!!

    Just about everything else has been said, so I’ll leave off here and finish watching the Pittsburgh – Cincinnati game. Have a great rest of the day, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  22. @DUDLEY (11:14 AM):
    Radar O'Reilly on M*A*S*H used to drink Grape Nehi in Rosie's Bar. I used to drink it at home.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Heart Rx @2:07

    SOUTH'S was a WAG for me, as was AZO. I never did solve for OOZE, as the crosses filled in nicely.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Tool-"A means to an end"
    This is from Merriam-Webster's Eleventh Edition. A means to generating power could be to build a dam.

    Many of you might find this a great resource: Onelook. That's all you need to type in for your search. Enter any name, word, product, movie, book, etc. and you'll get all the info you'll ever need. For common words you'll get definitions from a dozen or more dictionaries. Onelook also has a number of other features that you can use. The site is a very important one for constructors. It's my main tool for clueing.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I agree that DAM is a stretch for TOOL, which is generally a hand-held or small piece of equipment.

    I would have preferred "POWER BUILDING" or some such as the clue.

    It's 80°F here in Southern California - quite a cross-country gradient. Check out our local beach:

    LIVE IN DEL MAR

    NC

    ReplyDelete
  26. Good evening everyone.

    Enjoyed your write up C.C..Even though I got only 35 correct answers. As usual, never figured out the theme.

    It's hard to believe that we're having such cold weather in Naples, FL. Lows of 40s is obviously not as bad as you guys and my son in Chisago City, MN.

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi, C.C. and all,

    I guess I can echo Jayce pretty closely; I just couldn't get going on it today.

    If there had been a theme or title mentioned maybe it would have helped. I didn't really catch that until halfway through.

    However, tomorrow's another day and a Monday, so that will be refreshing.

    Sorry about the nasty weather some of you are having! I miss the seasons here in California, yes, but I dont think I'd like to be back up in NorthDakota or Minnesota now.

    It's not exactly a pretty day here, but at least it's not cold. I haven't had to put any heat on yet today.

    Keep warm, all of you, and be careful driving!

    ReplyDelete
  28. The clue for DAM also ended in a question mark... "Power tool?". This definetly lets us know we need to think a tad outside the box. Had DAM been clued as "River structure" there probably would have been a collective "Meh". Part of the fun of a puzzle is that it can make us think a little beyond the ordinary. I have the belief that some of us grumble about a clue because it wasn't a gimme, and suddenly the puzzle isn't quite the breeze we thought it was.

    In this case "Tool" was fair. Not easy, yet still fair.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Thanks, Jerome. It may sound like grumbling, but in the crossword solving mind (mine) it's an acknowledgment of a challenge and a clever ploy. I love it when a cwd forces me to think outside the box.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Lucina- Nothing wrong with grumbling. I'm a worldclass grumbler. No one, and I mean no one, can match me in that regard. You've no idea how often I hear the too loud whisper, "Oh crap, not him again"

    ReplyDelete
  31. I just tripped over this Crossword Corner. Enjoyed reading all the comments. I hope to be a participant in the future. I enjoyed today's crossword. It was a little tough in the top section.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Good Evening c.C. and all,

    Nice comments, C.C.and thanks.

    I generally work the puzzle on Sunday, but its hard for me, because of the small type. I need to quit whining about it, but it plays a big role in my pleasure.

    Familiar endings certainly gave a help in the solving. Nothing too outstanding, but appreciate the effort. Thanks Robert.

    Perps were a help as always, but mostly clear. No, across the Bering Strait was fun, as was put under.

    Hoping our friends near C.C. and Jeannie are warm and ok. Guess Jeannie doesn't have electricity, or I think we would have heard from her. It would be great if she could post.

    Enjoyed everyone's posts today. It's so gloomy here, that I've come here for comfort. Thanks.

    Have a warm night everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Welcome Abejo:

    Do come back, our Monday through Saturday discussions are quite lively.

    Is your name some variation of baumble bee?

    In any case, there is lots of nectar here from all of buds, take care all.

    I thought the puzzle was fine, not easy, but doable if you plodded on.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Manhattan Beach does an unusual thing during the Christmas holidays. They have a fireworks show. They choose not to do it on July 4th because of the likelihood of unruly crowds so they have an equivalent show tonight. We used to ride my motor scooter down to the pier but it got old and cranky and Barbara got to where she didn't like to ride it. So we'll park on the hill overlooking the pier and the ocean and watch the show from our car.

    I just stumbled across a link to one of my favorite Victor Borge routines. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Victor Borge

    ReplyDelete
  35. Welcome, Abejo. I hope you will come back and join the conversation. As Lemonade said, we are often quite lively during the week days.

    Does anyone use a PAGER (20Down) anymore?

    ReplyDelete
  36. Welcome, Abejo! Glad you decided to join in.

    I got off to a really bad start with today's puzzle, but things picked up in the bottom half, and I was able to work my way back up and finish. I think LAY LADY LAY was my turning point, too.

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  37. Abejo- "... I just tripped...". Are you OK?

    ReplyDelete
  38. Annette, it often is in a woman's life. Just sayin

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  39. I am alive and well up here in MN land...we are all plowed out and I am ready to "hit the road" tomorrow on the way to work. If any of you followed the weather up here you can surmise that my party was a bust. I did decide to make my lasagna though...and a couple of couple's in their four wheel drives decided it was worth the drive. I couldn't post as there was evidentally something wrong with my server. It is currently 8 below zero, but no wind so it's not so bad out. I just re-read that last sentence and it made no sense....It's friggin' cold!

    ReplyDelete
  40. HuskerGary, check out my new avatar...I feel your pain, kinda

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  41. Jeannie, Your Avatar is not coming up here! I'll show you my avatar if you'll show me yours!

    Welcome Abejo! All sources of wit and wisdom are welcome at our little digital popsicle stand!

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  42. Gary, I am thinking you might have to sign off and then sign back in again...That worked for me, as my first sign on was with my old, worn out picture. It's bedtime for me tonight...we'll all catch up tomorrow I am sure.

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  43. Jeannie, so glad you logged on and that at least a few braved the weather to come to your party.I worry about those of you who live in SNOWVILLE, so foreign to us. I can't imagine the daily drive to work, or the times when your electricity goes out and it's freezing. I'm sure you are all prepared, just as we are somewhat prepared for earthquakes.I still worry.

    Too busy to do long puzzle today, but family just left and with an ice pack in my jeans, I will tackle Dan Naddor's Dec 8th xwd.

    Welcome Abejo!!!

    Creature, go on line and print the puzzle. It is nice and big.My erasure didn't like that itty bitty one.

    Who said they bought a crossword puzzle book and they really loved it? Which one would you recommend for the girl who can do Wed.'s puzzles?

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  44. Lemonade, LOL! Yeah, that is usually a pretty big turning point. And if I man's singing that song to you, how can you not obey? Years ago, if a certain guy had only known to sing a few more bars of the song he played for me before making his move, he'd have probably been my first! (BTW, I liked when someone called you Lemony the other day!)

    Jeez, a girl's got to be careful what she puts out there for you or Jerome to comment on! ;-) You must both have already turned in for the night to not have jumped on JD's comment about having ice down her pants...

    JD, ice??? Down your pants???!!! You've got to tell us more than that. Or did I miss a recent post about an injury?

    Jeannie, beautiful avatar! I was having the same reaction to that sentence as you! It sounds friggin' cold to me too! I'm heading to NC for Christmas and stressing over packing the right clothes for their cold weather. I was cold enough here last week when it was it the 40's. Of course, it felt colder to me because our offices were so cold I was wishing for gloves!

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  45. Gone Baby Gone/Gone Daddy Gone

    Po-tay-toe/Po-tah-toe

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For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

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