google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday December 16, 2010 John Lampkin

Advertisements

Dec 16, 2010

Thursday December 16, 2010 John Lampkin

Theme: Classical puns. Beethoven-related subject matter with naughty (altered) meanings. 62A. Naughty—and with 63-Across, composer Beethoven? (born 12/16/1770): LEWD. 63A. Toupee: WIG. (Ludwig)

20A. Naughty object of Beethoven's affections?: IMMORAL BELOVED. Immortal beloved is the name used in three love letters composed by Beethoven.

38A. Beethoven's naughty opus?: EROTICA SYMPHONY. The Eroica (heroic) symphony was originally dedicated to Bonaparte while the revolution was on and idealistic, but when NB later declared himself Emperor, Beethoven became disgusted and went to the table where the completed score lay. He took hold of the title-page and scratched the name Bonaparte out so violently with a knife that he created a hole in the paper and later renamed it.

53A. Where to hear Beethoven's naughty music?: BANNED CONCERTS. Band concerts like JZB performs in? Jazz, do you play any "improved" classical works?

Hi all, Al here.

Well, John has managed to blend a little bit of English (cryptic) clue phrasing into today's puzzle. A word like "naughty" can simply mean that the words or the arrangement of letters in a word are not behaving correctly, or can be a play on words. Also scattered throughout the puzzle are some additional bonus clue references to Ludwig Van (which, incidentally, is what we named our first Dodge Caravan, oh, so many years ago).

ACROSS:

1. A whale has a long one: JAW. Yeah, right, his jaw was the first thing that came to mind.

4. Short pencil: STUB.

8. Sign of military respect: SALUTE.

14. Tokyo-born artist: ONO. That kind of blends together, doesn't it? Tokyoko.

15. Lake Titicaca is partly in it: PERU. The rest is in Bolivia, where the city of Copacabana also lies.

16. Previously, previously: ERE NOW.

17. Pure: VIRGINAL. Not naughty.

19. Nursery rocker: CRADLE.

22. X rating in old Rome?: TEN. A naughty Roman numeral. At least it wasn't a math problem.

23. Cringe: COWER. Actually unrelated to "coward", which comes from Old French coart. Cower comes from German kuren or kauren "lie in wait", or similar Scandanavian words kura, kure, to squat and to doze.

24. Dollar bills, e.g.: CASH. Sigh, had ONES at first.

27. Choir male, often: TENOR. As in the finale to Beethoven's Symphony No. 9.

30. Mil. honors: DSMS. Distinguished Service Medals.

33. Ding Dong relatives: HOHOS.

35. Yoga position: LOTUS. It's not only a yoga position.

37. Swipe: COP. Northern British dialect, "to seize, to catch," possibly from Latin capere "to take".

41. Agcy. concerned with fraud: FTC. Federal Trade Commission.

42. Malaise symptom: NO PEP.

43. __-ground missile: AIR-TO.

44. Nordstrom rival: SAKS. Started in Tennessee, now owns McRae’s, Parisian, Younkers, Herberger's, and Carson Pirie Scott & Co. which included Bergner's and Boston Store.

46. Biblical beasts: ASSES. Sampson slew an entire army with only the jawbone of an ass. Hmmm, isn't that what Congress does?

48. Romeo or Juliet, e.g.: TEEN. Hormones are wasted on the young.

49. Semi-sheer curtain fabric: VOILE. Apparently it can be used for more than just curtains. Ok, this is just wrong...

51. Doctrine: ISM. In Latin a doctor was a "religious teacher, adviser, scholar".

59. ::: COLONS. A colon is Latin for "part of a poem". Meaning evolved from "independent clause" to the punctuation mark that sets it off.

60. Parker and Roosevelt: ELEANORS.

61. "CBS Evening News" anchor: COURIC. Katie. I think someone must have said "Could you turn that up? I can't hear you."

64. Anxiety: UNEASE.

65. Dieter's triumph: LOSS. Clever meaning reversal clue.

66. Boozer: SOT.


DOWN:

1. Rocker Bon __: JOVI. It takes a certain kind of confidence to sing a duet with Luciano Pavarotti.

2. Lively, to Beethoven: Abbr.: ANIM. Animato

3. Low life?: WORM.

4. High point?: SPIRE. From Old English spir "sprout, shoot, stalk of grass. A spear of asparagus.

5. High-rise occupant: TENANT. Apartment dweller.

6. River through southern Russia: URAL.

7. Socket insert: BULB. I confidently entered BALL for this first...

8. Novus ordo __: Great Seal phrase: SECLORUM. Translated, means "A new order of the ages". It was meant to signify the beginning of the new American era, beginning in 1776. The symbolism of the Great Seal explained.

9. Cupid's missile: ARROW. Eros, Amor. Son of Venus (and Mars). With Psyche, had a daughter named Roman: Voluptas (voluptuous) or Greek: Hedone (from which we get hedonism).

10. Like trees in summer: LEAVED. I had to hesitate whether it should be an F or a V.

11. Sign of stress?: UNDERSCORE. Underlined text to be stressed, or emphasized. Also italics or bolding.

12. Squealed: TOLD. Ratted on.

13. She used to be a lambkin: EWE. A pet name perhaps, John?

18. Began to win a lot: GOT HOT.

21. Environmental subgroup: ECOTYPE. a genetically distinct geographic variety, population or race within species, which is adapted to specific environmental conditions.

24. Toque wearers: CHEFS.

25. Heart line: AORTA.

26. Provocation potential, as of a Howard Stern segment: SHOCK VALUE.

28. Passed, as time: ELAPSED.

29. Busybodies' active organs?: NOSES.

31. Three-card con: MONTE.

32. Watch, secret agent-style: SPY ON. Used here as a verb, not James Bond's Rolex 1016 Explorer.

34. Transgression: SIN. Like being naughty...

36. Steamy resort: SPA.

39. Come together: COALESCE.

40. Scary contract hirees: HITMEN.

45. State bordering Arizona: SONORA. Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora in Mexico.

47. Tendons: SINEWS.

50. Longtime civil rights leader Roy: INNIS. National Chairman of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) since 1968.

52. A plethora: SCADS. Cornish name for a type of fish abundant on the British coast; perhaps a variant of shad. From Late Latin, plethora "fullness" originally a medical word for "excess of body fluid".

53. Timely benefit: BOON.

54. Pocket vibrator, at times: CELL. They might sell more if they had an intensity setting in place of volume.

55. Dairy bar: OLEO. In the dairy case, I suppose, but since it is mostly trans-fat, you shouldn't really eat it.

56. Garden lines: ROWS.

57. Beethoven's "Archduke," for one: TRIO. Piano Trio No. 7 Op. 97 in B-flat major. It was dedicated to the amateur pianist and composition student of Beethoven, Archduke Rudolph of Austria.

58. High-ranking NCO: SSGT. Staff Sergeant.

59. Hosp. heart ward: CCU. Coronary Care Unit. Could also be Critical Care Unit.

Answer Grid.

Along with today's puzzle, John has provided some more samples of his photographic composition work related to three of today's fill (ASSES, NOSES & LOTUS). You can see them here.

Al

86 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Al, C.C. and gang - I wasn't going to do the puzzle this morning so I could get an early start on going to my distributors, but when I read John's tease yesterday, I knew this was one I had to do. Boy, I was not disappointed.

The puzzle had me hooked right from the start, with 'A whale has a long one'. I saw that 1D was obviously 'Jovi', so I'm thinking 'jib'?, but the perps corrected me. Then I put 'ball' for 'Socket insert', which fit with 'stub' and 'virginal' but set me back a bit until I got the first theme answer. And then I surprised myself by knowing 'Novus ordo seclorum'; it's amazing, the stuff we have crammed away that falls out every so often. I got through the rest of the puzzle pretty cleanly, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Not only was the theme great, but John managed to get 'asses' 'virginal', 'lotus' position and 'pocket vibrator' in as well. Truly we are in the presence of greatness.

Speaking of greatness, Al, superb write-up today; both educational and entertaining.

Today believe it or not, is National Chocolate Covered Anything Day. Do we have any suggestions or any personal experiences? I do, but I think I'll bow to discretion.

Lemonade714 said...

Between Dennis and Al's write up, there is not much more to add, other than my complete awe. The skill in this puzzle along with yesterday's NYT, which was so whimsical are just fascinating. Naughty in such a nice way. Thank you

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Man, this was a hard one! The SW corner especially had me completely flummoxed, and I was this close to chucking the whole thing when I finally saw the light. I had SONOMA instead of SONORA, TOILE instead of VOILE, SHOCK TOPIC instead of SHOCK VALUE... Plus, I had no idea who Mr. INNIS was and just couldn't make sense of the (now extremely obvious) clue for 59A. Due to my dad's recent experiences, I knew that 59D was CICU, but that didn't fit...

The rest of the puzzle had its challenges, but nothing like that one corner. In the end, though, I managed to pull it off.

And no, "jaw" wasn't the first thing that came to my mind, either...

Hahtoolah said...

John Lampkin, You outdid yourself! I loved this puzzle, and what better way to celebrate the 240th birthday of Beethoven.

Immortal Beloved is also a movie about the life of Beethoven. If you missed it in the theaters (it came out about 16 years ago), I highly recommend you rent it.

Eroica is probably recognizable to most.

I loved X Rated in Old Rome = TEN. A nice switch on the usual roman numeral clues.

She used to be a Lambkin = EWE was also a fun clue.

: : : made me smile.

Like Al, I, too, tried ONES for Dollar Bills. CASH is a much better and fresher answer.

My CELL Phone vibrated all day long in my pocket yesterday.

Stay warm, my friends. We are supposed to get into the 70s here today.

QOD: Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~ G.B.Stern.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning all.

Great writeup, Al. This was certainly a fun one. I was mostly on John's wavelength and got through this pretty quickly. I really enjoyed the double entendre clues. Even the "straight" clues had me trying to think of another meaning.

37a should have been clued " __ a feel".

Really liked the BANNED CONCERTS by LEWDWIG

Where's Lois?

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - Thanks, Al, for setting everything straight. It was past midnight when I did the puzzle, and my sharpness meter was reading a bit low.

What a crafty creation! Nice work, John, can't imagine how you'll top this one. You had me confused at lambkin, a word I can't remember having seen before.

I invented a few new Latin words before settling on SECLORUM. Didn't know MONTE or VOILE, and misread "lively" as "likely" in 2d, ANIM. That sure gummed up the works.

Al, by the way, about that picture of Katie Couric tossing the bone: was that shown in some context? That girl's got some sass!

Argyle said...

Speaking of Katie Couric, what about the stack she is in? Colons, Couric, unease? Crossed by shock value? Live TV?

Argyle said...

In case you missed it, there is this video of her colonoscopy but you might want to watch it later.

Dick said...

Good morning Al and all, a really great puzzle created by John Lamkin. I struggled most of the way through the top half, but was able to get the solutions. Then, I hit the SW corner and took a real nose dive to a dead stop. I kept studying the clues and nothing made any sense. I finally gave up, took a time out, and shoveled the side walk. That must have been what I needed as I got Sonora immediately and then I was off and running. I was able to complete the puzzle without outside help, but it was a real struggle.

There were so many favorite clues this morning that I will not list them. I did start to wonder “Where is Lois” when some of the answers appeared.

Al, another great write up on your part and no jaw was not my first thought for 1A.

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

This was a slog, an enjoyable slog, but still a slog. Lots of back and forth, changing initial entries.

Al, your write up was terrific. As Lemonade said, between you and Dennis, not a lot to add.

Warmer weather ...30's... arriving today. And no wind.

Enjoy the day.

Seldom Seen said...

Here's a relevant video for 33A(@1:58). Ho-Ho's

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Al, C.C. et al.

What a fun puzzle today! This one was sheer genius - thank you John L !!

And Al, loved your write-up as well. I was on your same wavelength with "ball" instead of BULB and "ones" instead of CASH. My CELL phone does not have an intensity button, unfortunately. That sure would make it more enjoyable sitting through those long business meetings, though.

I wonder if the whale's JAW was made of soda-lime-silica??? (And no, "jaw" is not the first to come to mind...but this was a "naughty" puzzle, after all, so don't blame me!!!)

Grumpy - I agree with you about the clue for 37A. As I said, this was a naughty puzzle, LOL.

I wonder if we'll get a "NICE" puzzle tomorrow, in honor of the season?

Have a great day, everyone!

Grumpy 1 said...

HeartRx, if we do get a "Nice" puzzle it will probably have something to do with a city in France.

MH said...

Appropriate difficulty level for a Thursday. I had a tough time with the lower part of the puzzle but eventually got it with a lot of trial and error. The Beethoven theme was lost on me since I'm not a classical music fan.

Al, congrats on a well written blog!

mtnest995 said...

This was quite a step up from yesterday. I had "virtuous" for 17 across and "ICU" rather than "CCU". Those two slowed me down for quite awhile. It finally all came together.

Great writeup, Al, and great comments, all.

Can't wait to see what tomorrow will bring.

Cheers.

Husker Gary said...

Al, et al, Good Morning from the Great Plains where we are luxuriating in 22F weather. BTW, you Florida peeps need to get rid of that freezing weather. I am bringing 41 adolescents to Orlando next month! Very nice blog Al, although when it comes to men in tights, I prefer the Mel Brooks’ riotous version!

John, your elegant puzzle and pictures were a great start to my day! Thanks for your explanation of the puzzle pecking order yesterday. I may have to find some way to follow you and others in “the old gray lady”, if she survives.

Musings –
-Ural Mountains AND River. Not Aral
-Those NE Patriots “Got Hot” this year. We Nebraskans love that Danny Woodhead!
-Lampkin/Lambkin? Way cool!
-Hohos, breakfast of champions in America. My experience has been that the occurrence of obesity in kids is inversely proportional to household income
-For some reason, my kids say “He cobbed my pencil” instead of “He copped my pencil”
-: : : was a hoot even for those of us with a small, controllable issue in those nether regions
-There’s Bo again with a X
-As a 7th grader, I sang Soprano, not tenor. I then progressed from tenor, to baritone, to lead, to bass as my high school career and secondary sex characteristics progressed apace. My big voice was/is a huge asset when dealing with kids, not so with wife!
-I believe our Congress with a 12% approval rating is as rife with asses as the KJ Bible
-Every year I buy one of those Amaryllis BULBS and watch it grow in the winter. Spectacular! I’ll send pix later even though they won’t rival John’s.
-LEAVED? LEAFED? LEAFEY?
-Every greeting card my mother-in-law sends us has every word double underscored by her
-I was so dang proud I remembered what a TOQUE is!
-Do the chemicals in OLEO disqualify it from the Dairy Bar?

Off to the Y. Can I assume the Lotus position there? If I do, someone better dial 911!

Lucina said...

Good morning, Al, C.C. and the gang.

What a fun solve! And thanks, Al, for your commentary. Naughty, indeed!

Since we were forewarned yesterday, I expected LEWDness and IMMORALity, with classicla taste, of course, and John came through! Great stuff. I loved the playfulness of it. And I love Beethoven and his music.

I join you who also had ONES before CASH and LEAFED before LEAVED. And SECLORUM just popped out, too.

Wonderful, John Lampkin (lambkin?) I wondered about that, too.

I love it that you named your van Ludwig!

On reading the blog I noticed that I hadn't filled in CHEF, toque wearer, missing the F.

Another superb achievement, John. Thank you for the entertainment.

You all have a truly great Thursday and stay warm!

Splynter said...

Hi All~!!

Well, I gotta figure John L. checks in on this blog and made this one up just for this "blog lot"...

I am going to leave it to the others, but my mind went wandering when I saw VIRGINAL, EROTICA, ASSES and GOT HOT...

May NO PEP never happen to this group during exercises involving LOTUS positions, and "others"; may you all have SCADS of opportunities...maybe a TRIO?

Al, right on the mark with the write-up - I swear I had FIN for JAW first! Thanks for the fine image of the proper use of VOILE.

Now I need to see these legs to clear my UNEASE.

I had ONES, as well, but the puzzle moved along just fine - no other goofs to report.

Phew, one more UPS day this week, five more next week...

Splynter

GarlicGal said...

Ho, Ho, Ho good morning Al, et al. Very naughty puzzle, but being a Beethoven fan helped a lot! I did the puzzle online this a.m. - very unusual for me - because I'm saving the newspaper version for my daughter to solve. Having a Bachelor of Music (yes, that would be a BM) and Music Therapy, she'll love this!

I had "ones" for "cash"; "rob" for "cop"; "Aral" for "Ural"...the usual suspects. It still took me 20 mins., not bad for a Thursday. Thank you John L.

On another note, has anyone ever taken the Stan Newman Crossword Puzzle Caribbean Cruise? I just got an email about it and am a little curious.

Off to get a haircut and maybe even to start my Christmas shopping. No rush here!

TTFN

kazie said...

Great write up, Al--took me longer to get through than the puzzle! Loved the Pavarotti/Bon Jovi duet. I never would have imagined those two together.

Having PLUG for BULB slowed my top part for a while but when I cleared that up the top two thirds went fairly fast except for COP where I had MOP, and with misspelling MONTY I didn't get TEEN.

Like Lucina, I wondered about Lamkin/lambkin. But would he refer to his sister as a EWE??

Then I needed to google both INNIS and SONORA to get the SW corner. I knew it had to be a state of Mexico, and had a hard time finding what it was because every search with the word 'state' in it seemed to produce only references to the USA.

Loved the punny naughty references, and had LEWD WIG before I finished getting the others. At first I thought I'd need someone's name in 20A. Weren't he and George Elliott a couple? Or am I confusing them with someone else? I couldn't find anything on it online.

creature said...

Good Morning C.C.,Al and all,

Ah,Al, I always feel very calm, when I see what day it is. Do you have this same effect on others.
Just enough; that's what I think.
That's what my mother used to say about 'good taste'. Now, on to those 'voile' tights...

John, I absolutely loved your puzzle. Close to 'all time fave'.
Thanks.

I, too, had Ball and icu, briefly.

Although I thought the theme was a knockout, my fave thing was your nod to 'Lewd Wig'.

Your 'naughty' photos were a treat, besides. Great job with the diagonal.

Lots of fun to see new folks; at least new to me. L.E.Cove's profile shows a much earlier date. I thought that meant to the blog, but I guess it means to Google; right?

Hope her situation improves as fast as possible; she definitely has a good command of the language;
and a strong sense of self. These two should help her through. Good Luck!

Abejo, I thought of Tarajo, as well. Good to see you persist with the 'signing in'.

Have a nice day everyone.

Nice Cuppa said...

I wonder if John Lampkin knows the author, David Lambkin, who is, according to Wiki, addicted to Beethoven; and his latest book is entitled “The Voyeur” – Gives you 13D (EWE), 32D (SPY ON), and both themes.

A couple more naughties that no-one has mentioned yet:

SPIRE – the well-known phallic symbol
DING DONG – Ditto

This may be stretching things a bit, but there is also a very NAUGHTY WORM:

PENIS WORM

NC

Spitzboov said...

Good Morning everyone. Nice commentary, Al.

A snappy SALUTE to John on cobbling together this special puzzle to commemorate Beethoven's birthday. Here is a branch of his family tree. His ancesters appear to be Flemings; hence the 'van' in his last name. The theme words were fun to deal with. Did not know VOILE and SECLORUM, but the perps sufficed.

Balaams's ASS is an example of of a Biblical beast. Here is a description of an onager, a wild Asian ass.

Stay warm and be safe.

Nice Cuppa said...

Sorry, had a typo in that link. Here it is again:

NAUGHTY WORM

NC

Marge said...

Hi all,
I did this on line again so got it done early.It was fairly hard but mostly do-able. And thanks to you WikWak for your sugestion yesterday on using 2 browsers.

Wnen I saw Arizona border I thought of the US states around Az.but none of them fit So I knew it was Mexico but I am ashamed to say I didn't know it's name. I do now.


Argyle-thanks for the good write up about the puzzle and also the site on Katie's colonoscopy. I am due for another one soon. My Mother had colon cancer at age 87 and had sucessful surgery. And my son had colo-rectal cancer last year but is now cancer free.


God is good!
A good day to you all
Marge

Bill G. said...

I am writing this before reading the rest of the posts. I managed to get through this very clever puzzle with no red-letter or Google help. How much more enjoyable for me it was than a Saturday themeless puzzle.

I also had ONES instead of CASH. Al, your second picture for VOILE is definitely wrong! Even the male model looks embarrassed! A favorite clue was "Sign of stress" UNDERSCORE. OLEO as a "Dairy bar" always seems wrong to me since it contains no milk products. I use butter instead because it tastes better.

I don't watch Two-and-a-half Men very often, but when I do, I always find myself smiling or laughing. It's a very well-written show.

carol said...

Hi everyone -

I had fun with the start of this 'bad boy', but toward the center things began to come apart.

Had to laugh at 1A, since we had a discussion a while back about the sperm whale and his 'appendage'.

Lois will love this puzzle provided she has time to work it. She will tell you about her situation soon.

Yikes: GOT HOT, STEAMY RESORT, BUSYBODIES ACTIVE ORGANS, BOOZER, POCKET VIBRATOR, COME TOGETHER the list goes on. (even TITICACA got in there)

45D (STATE BORDERING ARIZ) fooled me completely as did 55D (DAIRY BAR)
great clue/answers!

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Wow, this was fun. Al - I always learn something from you. Love the Pavarotti - Bon Jovi clip.

John - following up on yesterday's theme, it seems you used a LEWD WIG for your thinking cap.

1 and 4 across gave us the long and short of it.

Lots a great fill along with a clever and original theme: HIT MEN, SOCK VALUE, COALESCE!

Alas, I was stymied by the UNDERSCORE cross with COPS and DSMS, so I get a DNF. Curses - VOILED again!

A VIRGINAL
was also a musical instrument - probably so named because it was appropriate for VIRTUOUS (my original 17A entry) young ladies. I love the irony of that picture within a picture.

HIT MEN are scary characters.
LOWLY WORM is a Scarry character.

Lots of classical melodies have made their way into pop music and even jazz. I can't think of any "improved" classical works that I've played in jazz band. Whether we improve classical works when we play them in the symphony orchestra is a judgment best left to someone else. I listened to to Beethoven's 8th from the audience (no T-bone parts) and there were some rough moments.

Here is how you improve classical music.

Cheers!
JzB who plays bass and TENOR trombones

John Lampkin said...

Good morning all, with a sincere 8A to the Birthday Boy!

Al, what admirable restraint in your review! Clearly you have put aside all impure thoughts for the holidays, in hopes of a stuffed stocking. ;-)

Thanks C.C., for posting the pics. Multi-media puzzles are cool!

Thanks also to our Annette who beta tested the puzzle before I sent it off to Rich. She always finds some sharp improvements.

Biggest thanks to editor Rich Norris for accepting my idea and letting me run with it. Not all editors would be so brave.

Yes, "She was once a lambkin" is indeed a hello to my married sister who enjoys these LAT puzzles. Hi, sis! My last name was spelled Lambkin until some quasi-macho ancestor in a daring move changed the b to a p. With a bit of a stretch, it's also a nod to my lovely wife and two daughters whom I adore.

Hey Jazzbumps, thanks for pointing out the other meaning of VIRGINAL. It's an optional way of cluing that was on the table.

Like, Al, I have put aside all impure thoughts, at least for the holidays, so can't comment further. Thanks again to all for your good congratulatory wishes yesterday on my NYT debut and trifecta week. It's been fun for sure!

Hahtoolah said...

Kazie: I think you are confusing George Sand with George Eliot. George Sand had a relationshi with Chopin.

George Eliot had many lovers, but since she was born in 1819 and Beethoven was born in 1740, I don't think they hooked up.

Jerome said...

Terrific John! Fun, unusual, and different.

John's NYT puzzle yesterday was a theme based on dropping the CH in a phrase and replacing it with a J.

CHOCK FULL O NUTS became JOCK FULL O NUTS. I'm still smiling over that one.

Don't forget, John's Chronicle of Higher Education puzzle is tomorrow. You can download it at Cruciverb.

Lucina said...

John, I failed to mention your wonderful photos. Thanks for that, too.

Hahtool:
Thank you for clearing up George Eliot (Aurore)and Chopin. I thought it was Franz Liszt.

Robin said...

Good morning!

Great job Al, you are the best!

John, my little Lammykin, great puzzle, lots o'fun and yeah okay, if you say so, on jaw ;)



Jeannie, the recipe is coming to a cocktail party tonight and thanks for posting it, delish!!

Hope Lois is ok?

Remember, Santa knows if you are Naughty or Nice.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful puzzle. Needed a minute amount of red letter help for the SW corner, but otherwise very completable despite being tough. What naughty fun.

Excellent job John with both the puzzle and pics. You too Al on the write-up.

Don't have time to read all the posts, but likely too naughty for me anyhow.

Dennis, how about Chocolate body paint?

Jerome said...

Seems today's puzzle has a mini-theme: Today's blog host.

IMMORAL
SALUTE
VALUE
COALESCE
URAL

And drum roll please...

VIRGINAL.

Al said...

@JZB, comedy is indeed one way to improve on the classics, but I was thinking more along the lines of Toccata by a former Brit group called SKY, which also had this unknown guitarist named John Williams...

Also these ladies can really make things be
Explosive.

I'll repeat a tip from before about visiting the links in the comments section for any newcomers. Instead of the usual left mouse click, use a right-click instead and select open in new tab or new window. That way, when you are done, you just close the new tab or window and you have not lost your original place.

Bill G. said...

To add to Al's helpful hint, for a Mac, hold down Shift when clicking on the link and it will open in a new window leaving you at the same place in the old window. Very helpful.

Tonight is Larry King's last show. It's a retrospective. Should be good.

According to a poll, the year's most annoying word is 'Whatever' followed by 'Like'. I certainly agree with 'Whatever' and I think 'Awesome' should be included in the list too.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, What a great puzzle today. A fun tribute to Beethoven.

I had some of the same errors as others, wanting ones for cash and confidently put in Nevada for State bordering Arizona. Like Barry, those six dots didn't mean a thing to me and I used several v-8 cans when I read Al's writeup. ICU went in for CCU so Iolons was my answer for those dots until I came here. DUH!

I did finish finally, with that one glaring error. I did enjoy the puzzle today despite the dent in my forehead.

John Lampkin and a shout out of sorts for his name with the Lambkin/Ewe clue was also fun. Great job, John. I also enjoyed your pics for the asses and noses. The Lotus was gorgeous, I'm not sure about the others being gorgeous, but they gave me a nice laugh.

Have a great day everyone. Off to mail the Christmas cards, then wrap the last of the gifts. Stay warm everyone. It was 36 here this morning, cold for us, but nothing like what others of you have been experiencing.

Jeannie said...

This was a fun offering John. Thanks! I had a little bit of red letter help but other than that, I finished without visiting the g-spot. I was so proud of myself for knowing Novus ordo Seclorum, and actually know someone from Sonora. I was doubting whether a “nose” was an organ until I actually looked it up, and yep it is. Coalesce was my learning moment today. Oh, and I wanted balls for 33A :)

Robin, I am glad you liked the dip. I hope your friends will too.

The twin cities missed out on the snow, but not me. 6 more inches out my way this morning, and not a snowflake here at work.

creature said...

L.E.Cove, I just reread my post. Please forgive me for referring to you in the third person. I don't know how I got there, but it shocked me that my mind did that. I wish you the best and feel you will be there. I know it has to be difficult. Do the Docs give you a timeline for these after-surgery problems?Welcome.

kazie said...

Hahtool,
Thanks for clearing that up. My weakness, as you may have heard before, is not remembering names, so I got my Georges mixed up. It seems Eliot just used a man's name, while Sand dressed as a man as well.

lois said...

Good afternoon Al, CC, et al., Holy Mother of all Hotwicks! A fabulously fun puzzle and so just my style! Nothing at all wrong w/a little classical naughtiness! Well done, John Lampkin!!! Outstanding! And what a great job you did too, Al. You held it together very well. I'm afraid I would've established another dimension of novus ordo 'seclorum'.
This puzzle about put me in the 'ccu' from laughing after I got to 'peru'se the puzzle objectively. What a masterpiece - and I mean that in every sense of the word.

I loved how 'spire' crossed 'stub' and thought 'O-NO' how would a SSGT (with his staff at a 'loss' with 'no pep') stand at attention to salute, let alone 'coalesce' with, a young 'virginal' thang. I followed the links of the naughty 'worm', so kindly provided by Nice Cuppa and learned that there is a way to 'anim'ate that 'boon'doggle. With enough cash, some hohos, a little erotica symphony playing in the background, 'under score'ing will not be a problem for the 'teen'y weeny immoral beloved tenor-turned-bass any longer. He'll have asses in the saks forever unless the FTC takes issue w/his arrow not being forthright and legitimate. He could just use being an 'ecotype' as a defense and what would the judge say? "You Got hot, Sarge. It's all good".

Enjoy your day. Thanks Dennis!

Jazzbumpa said...

Forgot to mention earlier, I LOLed at EROTICA SYMPHONY.

Al - nothing improves the classics like 17.25*4 miles of leg.

In response to JayCe's request from yesterday, here is a little snippet of G diminished.

Feel free to throw tomatoes.

Cheers!
JzB the trombonist of a sort and omnivore

Lucina said...

Jeannie, I plan to make your dip when my company is here next week, (from 23rd to 2nd). It will certainly lend variety to the festivities. One question though, what consistency should it be after the food processor: creamy or chunky?

It all sounds yummy!

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Yes, yes, yes! Great puzzle, loved it! I glommed onto Immoral Beloved quickly, and then Erotica Symphony led me to believe the theme had something to do with removing a T from one entry and adding it to another.

Thanks for this fabulous piece of work, Mr. Lampkin, and to you, Al, for your terrific writeup.

Wasn't it Chopin or his buddy Liszt who had the affair with George Sand?

It was 30 degrees (F) out this morning, very cold for here.

SONORA was pure genius.

About 5 years ago I stopped eating anything with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil ("trans fat") in it, and have been much healthier ever since. I scrupulously try to avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup in it, too; it really messes up your body's insulin-glucose control system. No OLEO goes into this guy's mouth!

Best wishes to you all.

Lucina said...

Al, dear man, you are such a genius! I just used the right click, open new window, and it worked perfectly! Thank you so much.

Grumpy 1 said...

No tomatoes JzB. I just heard today that the Florida freeze is likely to push the wholesale price up from $6 or $8 per box to more than $40 per box. Cant afford to throw them at that price.

Jayce said...

JazzBumpa, thanks very much for the clip.

Gunghy said...

#?*! John, you really got me today! Might be because I didn't sleep last night, but this struck me as much harder than a Thursday.

Al, Was this rough on you?

I'm running like heck today, so I may actually get back here late tonight to read the posts.

Hahtoolah said...

Jayce: George Sand certainly knew Liszt, and they may have been lovers (she, too apparently had many) but there is a recent play about the loves and lives of Sand and Chopin.

Jayce said...

Wow, I really like that right click to open a link in a new tab! Thanks for that info, Al.

No tomatoes, JazzB, rotten or ripe. Thanks again.

Good to 'see' you, Lois.

BTW, chocolate covered turkey breast doesn't work very well. And no, "turkey" is not my wife's nickname, haha.

Splynter said...

Hi Again ~!

Jazzbumpa, I took a look at your Retirement Blues link, and this line

[Also, due to the symmetry, it doesn't matter which of the tones arrive at by a half tone scale step is considered the tonal center of the scale.]

has me baffled.

On the other hand, the scale does have a really creepy tonality to it on the guitar, and when I run it through the scale software, it comes back as a "C Hungarian Major"...

Thanks for the link, I will be adding the phrasing to my repertoire !!!

Splynter

Chickie said...

On my way home from the post office the local Classical Music Station was playing Beethoven's Eroica symphony in honor of his birthday.

I could think of some chocolate covered things that I'm not going to list but I'll follow Dennis and bow to discretion.

Lois, I think you outdid yourself today. So much fun with the puzzle and all the writeups.

HeartRx said...

Dennis, does Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk count for “Chocolate Covered Anything” day?

Grumpy 1, Ha! Have a "Nice" evening (er SOIR).

Jayce said...

Hahtool: thanks for the info.

Bill G. said...

Fun puzzle, great write up, excellent posts; that's what makes the LAT crosswords great and Crossword Corner a fun place to hang out. Thank you John Lampkin, C. C., Al and everybody else.

LaLaLinda said...

Hello Everyone ~~~

I really enjoyed today's puzzle. My only real problems were 'ball' for 'bulb' and 'leafed' for 'leaved.' Also, I can't believe I didn't pick up on 'lewd' and 'wig' before checking in here. Wow!

A wonderful write-up Al, and your 'right click for new window' tip is really useful. Now if I can just remember to use it.

The comments and links today were great fun -- lots of learning and entertainment. A great blend on this blog!

Seldom Seen said...

Thanks to John Lampkin for this puzzle.

I loved the SHOCK VALUE of the SCADS of possible naughty wordplay. And thanks for the censors for allowing it!

I wonder if that cell phone model was called a rocket?

It is a SIN to rob the CRADLE. But, if she were my TEEN, I wouldn't need any HITMEN to remedy the situation.

Jayce: I read that the corn growers are upset about the negativity surrounding HFCS. They claim sugar is sugar whether its made from sugar cane, beets or corn. (I have absolutely no idea if this is valid.) So they are going to rename it corn sugar and are beginning a huge marketing blitz to "educate" us.

Jayce said...

seen: it scares me that they are going to rename it corn sugar and are beginning a huge marketing blitz to "educate" us. Calling it corn sugar is simply a ploy to make us forget what it really is. I hope it works no better than me changing my name to something else in the hopes it makes people forget who I am. Sugar is not sugar is not sugar, as anybody who sees words like lactose, fructose, glucose, and other "ose" words surely knows. I truly hope the average consumer doesn't fall for it.

End of rant. And since this is my 5th post I'll wish you all a very good night.

Seldom Seen said...

We have a Cargill plant here that produces the stuff. There are long lines of tanker trucks(several with Coca-Cola decals) just waiting to be filled. When the wind is blowing towards a neighboring golf course the aroma gives me a headache.

I think the FDA is the only snag in their plans but with the huge farm lobby(no judgement here) in D.C. I am sure they will get what they want.

Al said...

So, in keeping with the naughty pun theme, here's is a picture of the "Comma Sutra" with the Lotus position as the third image.

Prinston University on HFCS. The Weston Price Foundation on the double danger of HFCS. Science Daily Research News. How many independent studies all coming to the same conclusion will it take to convince people?

Seldom Seen said...

Well, if Katie Couric says it is so, then it must be so! (lol)

Propaganda?

p.s. I have no horse in this race. I believe in everything in moderation...

Lucina said...

Al, I have to repeat: the open new window, right click is fantastic!

Bob said...

I didn't have any trouble with today's puzzle (18 minutes), in spite of the bad puns. Roll over LEWD WIG! Such treatment on your 240th birthday!

Of course, Peter Schickele (a.k.a. PDQ Bach) has made a career of lampooning JS Bach and Beethoven and countless others. Among his works are PDQ's "Erotica Variations for Piano" (very similar to today's 38A based on Beethoven's Eroica Symphony) and his New Horizons in Music Appreciation, in which the finale to Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is accompanied by voiceover commentary like that you get on Monday night football. There's also the series of massive Beethoven chords which in one bit appear to beat Schickele into submission, to which he weakly replies...."I don't care what they say, I don't care what he does....nothing will make me say I like Beethoven symphonies," after which the chords return to finish him off. When he recovers from the attack, he adds "Considering his handicap, Beethoven did pretty well. Some of his country dances are very nice pieces" (from REPORT FROM HOOPLE). Finally, Schickele's assertion that Beethoven's deafness was caused by his habit, after listening to works by PDQ Bach, of stuffing coffee grounds in his ears. I've been a Schickele fan since the 1960's and highly recommend his CDs and live concerts.

Bob said...

Some Beethoven-Schickele parodies:

NEW HORIZONS IN MUSIC APPRECIATION

EROTICA VARIATIONS FOR PIANO

REPORT FROM HOOPLE

Annette said...

This puzzle, and 1A in particular, was my introduction to beta testing for John Lampkin! Thanks for the shout-out, John! It's always my pleasure!

No, JAW wasn't my first guess either. In fact, my comment was that I wish the length were 4 or 5 squares to enable even more DF guesses! I don't recall who mentioned it earlier in the day, but I did the same thing - once you saw a few DF references, I started seeing it in clues and fill that were actually straight lines...

My favorites were BANNED CONCERTS, the vibrating cell phone of course, and SHOCK VALUE.

Husker Gary, rest assured - the weather here changes faster than a cheap hooker! Today already gave us perfectly beautiful temperatures, although that's not expected to last through the weekend.

Bill G. said...

As long as I am in the mood to thank people, thank you all for your kind support. Jeannie, thank you for your especially thoughtful comments. It's hard to imagine what I've gained by searching Google for a crossword answer and ending up here.

lois said...

Was thinking about National chocolate covered anything day... chocolate covered strawberries are fabulous - and I have this one strawberry birthmark right here on my...well you get the idea.

I love Chopin and know that he and George Sand had about a 10 year love affair. He would dedicate his works to the women in his life but he never did one TO her...FOR her, yes, but no dedicated piece to her. But some of his best works were written during those 10 years including the Prelude in D flat the fabulous rainstorm piece - which is part of the 24 Preludes that he finished while w/Sand. He died a few years after they broke up...I'm sure in the arms of another woman. He was only 39 when he died but what a life! He gave being a 'player' a whole new dimension. What a talent! I do love me some Chopin!

Hahtool: thank you for that link to the DC Chopin plays and all. I am definately up for some of that.

And thank you for the concern on my behalf. I appreciate it. I haven't been here b/c my mom died Dec 4th, in OK. It wasn't totally unexpected. She had been failing in the past 2 months or so and she wanted to go- at 92-one week shy of her 93rd birthday. So, she had a grand funeral - a great Irish send off - full of great stories and lots of laughter. She was a remarkable woman, PhD at 62 and the state's Sr Citizen of the Year a few years ago, advisor to Senators on policies & programs for the elderly and on aging, professor of gerontology...on and on -just a great humanitarian. Makes one realize the difference just one person can make. Shoot, she just stopped swimming a mile every day 4 years ago. What a woman! It was an honor to be able to call her mom. Anyhow, thank you for your concern. I'm fine. And am back at the gym myself. Gotta keep up w/ mom's image.

Jerome said...

Well, Annette, since this is LEWD WIG day and you're the beta tester, how would you clue your phrase, CHEAP HOOKER? OOH...AH...PECKER?

HeartRx said...

Lois, glad to see you back. I won't say I'm sorry about your mother - she should be celebrated, not wept over! What a wonderful woman she must have been, and what a tribute to her that her daughter so lovingly remembers her.

Jeannie said...

On this particularly "bawdy" day, I failed to hit my number. Let's all hang our heads in shame....

Lucina, the consistency of the dip is to the beholder. I have made it somewhat chunky and somewhat pureed. I prefer the somewhat chunky version. It tastes great no matter what you do. Robin, what did you do?

Grumpy1, being the buyer for Burger King I know how those tomato prices vary as they change week to week. Last year we saw an over 100% increase in the winter months. Some BK's even went so far to put up a sign saying that they might not have tomatoes to offer the customers. The lettuce crop is in danger as well this season due to the cold temps in Fla.

Jayce, there have been numerous articles that just using plain old cane sugar is better than using any "fake" substitutes. Like Seen said, everything in moderation.

Gunghy, I think you meant your Santa clip to be for Argyle, our resident Santa.

Lois, like this puzzle, your write up today was GENIOUS.

Finally, Al, your "lotus" position link has damn near something there for everyone. If you can't find one, try one.

Annette said...

Lois, I'm very sorry for you loss! Amazing parents like that sure leave behind big shoes to fill too, don't they?!

Bill G's tip works on PCs too, not just MACs: Hold down the Shift key when clicking on a link.

Here's the link to John's third offering this week, for The Chronicles of Higher Learning for those of you who don't have Cruciverb accounts. Just click on "download file" for the 12/17/2010 puzzle. I was intimidated by the site's name, but when I found the puzzle online last night, it turned out to be quite doable and enjoyable!

Once again, congratulations on your Trifecta, my friend!!! They were thoroughly enjoyable!

LOL, Jerome, thanks for picking up on my attempt at SHOCK VALUE! How about: OMG, OMG, (name withheld to protect a certain sexy gentleman's identity)!

Susan said...

Thanks, Al, for the information about right clicking. I've always just skipped over the links because of the losing my place issue. Now I can enjoy them!

Now, why is name black instead of blue?

Jeannie said...

Lois, it is somehow just right that you ended up #69 post on this blog tonight...YOU ROCK!!!

Grumpy 1 said...

Enjoyed your comments, Annette. When I saw the clue for 1a I wanted five spaces as I was sure I knew the answer, but when FLUKE wouldn't fit I had to start looking elsewhere.

Annette said...

Grumpy 1, aha, it was you that made the "straight" comment initially!

Really...FLUKE...c'mon?!

Bill G. said...

Barbara and I made spoonbread for dinner tonight. It was the recipe somebody here posted a few days back. Thanks. Yummy!

Anonymous said...

Good night all.

Lois, my condolences on your mother's death. Losing a mother is especially significant I think. And hard.

Bill G. Thank you so much for the Mac tip on using the shift so one doesn't have to start over each time. That has kept me from going to most links. Now I'll visit them. Bravo.

carol said...

Lois, your Mother sounds like such a wonderful, inspirational woman! You do her credit! I know what losing a Mom feels like, but as HeartRx so eloquently put it, she sounds like a woman to be celebrated. The Irish wake is a wonderful thing. When Joe lost his Mom, we celebrated her life with a big BBQ. She would have just loved it. Love you, my friend.

kazie said...

Lois,
Good to see you back here, but sad to know the reason for your absence. However, as said above, what a life she had! So celebrate it by all means.

Jazzbumpa said...

Splynter -

OK, I'll try again. Start with G and go up in minor thirds to Bb, Db, and then E. You could start this process on any of these notes with the same result.

Other chords are made up of various combinations of major and minor thirds.

That minor third repitition what makes the diminished chord (and the diminished scale) symmetrical.

The other notes in the scale, F#, A, C and Eb, are each a half step below them.

I have no idea if this helps.

Cheers!
JzB

dodo said...

Hi, everyone,

Lois, I'm sorry about your loss. What a wonderful person your mother must have been! Obviously she was full of energy right up until the end of her life. You seem to be following along in her footsteps.

I thought todays puzzle was about the best I've worked since I came here. Thanks, John, for a very enjoyable solve; not too hard but challenging enough. Congratulations on your triple triumph!

I've been solving the puzzles but haven't seemed to have much to say. Just wanted you all to know that I'm still around and reading your comments every day.

I must have missed a good dip recipe, Jeannie. I'd like to have it if and when you get time. Thanks.

Great blog as usual, Al. Thanks for the links, too.

Good night all!

Jeannie said...

Oh Lois, I just wished I had read the comments before my last post. I am thinking your Mom had some vim and vigor to her life, and the nut didn't fall far from the tree. I can't imagine the day that Thelma is no longer with me, as she has those same traits. Be proud that you had made her proud throughout your life. I just wish I could give you a big hug right now.

Sappy Jeannie...I don't care as tears are streaming down my face wiping any remnant of make-up I tried to put on today. That doesn't matter anyway as I spent a good amount of time shoveling myself out ONCE AGAIN after work. Who needs a gym? Your Mom sounded like a remarkable woman, and I am sure that she was very proud of you.

Love you, your cyber friend, Lo-li-ta.

Abejo said...

Hello everybody. Wow! What a Crossword! I started the puzzle on the bus this morning heading to work. I had hoped to be one of the first half dozen to enter my blog article. Well, I got to work and the puzzle was hardly started. It was tough. I worked off and on throughout the day and got the right two thirds done. The left side I could not crack. I had put my easy answers in first, which were 18D CASHIN and 45D NEVADA. Well, after many hours I realized these words must be wrong. I did a lot of skullduggary and fixed them to GOTHOT and SONOMA. I was on the wrong side of the border. I finished it on the bus on the way home from work. I went directly to my lodge meeting and never really got home until 10:30 PM. here I am now, writing my article, intending to be number 6 and I am number 85, I think. Congratulations to John Lampkin. The puzzle was great and certainly a challenge, at least to me. Abejo

Lucina said...

Lois:
Please accept my condolences; I know you are celebrating her life, but you shall miss her so much whenever you have a memory or something you'd like to share.

She sounds like a remarkable woman who made the world a better place to live. And you, my dear, as Jeannie said, must be very like her.

JD said...

A salute to you Mr. Lampkin, for an amazing puzzle. I filled it in bits and pieces; I HAD to know each theme clue before I moved on.So much fun!

Al, your write up ALWAYS clearly clears up any questions I have. ereno_ =ere now. Who knew? Loved Pavarotti/Bon Jovi and the Comma Sutras-cute.

So many interesting links from everyone.

Lois,if your mother was anything like you, she was the Bees Knees! You celebrated her in style, and we're glad you are home.