google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Billie Truitt

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Dec 14, 2010

Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Billie Truitt

Theme: J_N - Fill in the space with a vowel, A thru U, and create an entry that starts with it.

18A. Actress in a classic shower scene: JANET LEIGH

23A. Weight management guru: JENNY CRAIG

38A. 1996 Schwarzenegger Christmas comedy: "JINGLE ALL THE WAY"

51A. Comedy Central satirist: JON STEWART. All the other J?N words are embedded in another word.

56A. Kipling story collection, with "The": JUNGLE BOOK

Argyle here.

I checked twice, today is Tuesday. Puzzle feels harder than normal.

Across:

1. Pathfinder org. : NASA. The Mars Pathfinder was designed to be a demonstration of the technology necessary to deliver a lander and a free-ranging robotic rover to the surface of Mars.

5. D-Day carriers : LSTs. There were other ships but we only get this one.

9. Hi-tech classroom : PC LAB

14. Sixth Jewish month : ADAR

15. Tuckered out : BEAT

16. Bowl, e.g. : ARENA. "Are you ready for some football?" Well, maybe not the Metrodome.

17. Siamese checkers? : VETS. Siamese cats and veterinarian doctors.

20. Geometry truth : AXIOM

22. Low-lying area : VALE and 27. Low-lying area : DALE

31. Lieut. producer : OCS. Officer Candidate School (OCS) Graduates are brown bars(due to the subdued gold color of the single bar insignia), second lieutenants.

32. Beaujolais's department : RHONE. Quincié-en-Beaujolais is a commune in the Rhône department in eastern France.

33. Through : VIA

34. Blast from the past : A-TEST

35. Like this answer : ACROSS

42. Consensus builder : UNITER

43. Mountaineer's tool : ICE AX. Image. Used in mountain climbing.

44. Sleepy colleague? : DOC. Has anyone been keeping track of how many of the dwarves we've had?

45. Pops : SODAS

46. Inflation stat. : CPI. Consumer Price Index (CPI)

49. Most eligible for the draft : ONE A

53. Leeway : ROOM

55. First name in morning talk : REGIS. "LIVE! with Regis & Kelly" Regis Francis Xavier Philbin and Kelly Maria Ripa.

62. Prefix with -gon : DECA

63. "The Interpretation of Dreams" author : FREUD. Dr. Sigmund Freud.

64. Italian bread? : EURO

65. Golfer Norman : GREG. AKA, the Shark. His 2010 Shark Shootout was last week.

66. Patched pants parts : KNEES

67. Barbecue specialty : RIBS. Ummm! Bar-B-Q.

68. Standard Oil name : ESSO. In Canada.

Down:

1. Hogan dweller : NAVAJO. The hogan was much more permanent than the teepees of the plains Indians.

2. Madison Ave. VIP : AD EXEC

3. Some lustrous dresses : SATINS

4. Flaming offense : ARSON

5. Successor to 56-Down : LBJ. Lyndon Baines Johnson. 56. He defeated RMN : JFK. John Fitzgerald Kennedy defeated Richard Milhous Nixon.

6. Bounding main : SEA

7. Salon acquisition : TAN

8. Wonder of music : STEVIE. Started out as "Little Stevie Wonder". I like the way this song(4:45) starts out.

9. Cloud of gloom : PALL

10. Words to live by : CREED

11. Wahine's gift : LEI

12. Director Lee : ANG

13. Dickensian cry : "BAH!". Trivia: Scrooge uttered "Bah! Humbug!" only twice in the entire book.

19. Luggage label : TAG

21. __ Beach: South Carolina resort : MYRTLE

24. Shout of approval : CHEER. Not the actual word; had me going for quite awhile.

25. Parks on a bus : ROSA. But not on the back of the bus.

26. Adult doodlebug : ANT LION. The larva is often called "doodlebug", the adult is often called "lacewing". So where do they get the name Ant Lion? Well it's mainly because they are deadly predators (like lions) and their main diet is usually ants. Want some of your own? Buy 'em here, LittleAussieProducts.

28. Declare : AVOW

29. Maggie Simpson's sister : LISA. Part of the animated TV family.

30. Like pie? : EASY. I know a lot of cooks wonder where "easy as pie" came from.

34. Author's rep. : AGT.. Agent.

35. Really got to : ATE AT

36. Milder drink than the one before it : CHASER. I tried WEAKER for awhile.

37. "Oedipus __" : REX. The Latin title of a Greek play, Oedipus the King, an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed c. 429 BC.

38. Karate kin : JUDO

39. Privy to : IN ON

40. "Good one!" : "NICE!"

41. Watch readouts, for short : LCDs. Think wristwatch, liquid crystal displays.

45. Melancholy : SOMBER

46. Court shooters : CAGERS. On the basketball court, shooting baskets. Trivia: An early rule of the game was that when the ball went out of bounds, the team who touched it first got possession of the ball. This resulted in scuffles with the fans getting involved! So a fence of cage wire was erected around the court to keep the ball in bounds; whence the term, cagers, for the players inside. Finally, they decided changing the rule was easier than maintaining the fence.

47. Inflation drives them up : PRICES

48. "We're on!" : "IT'S A GO!"

50. Have a dispute : ARGUE

51. Average guy? : JOE

52. Club for most greenside shots : WEDGE. Golf.

54. Auto pioneer : OLDS. Ransom Eli Olds.

57. Coffee source for a crowd : URN

58. Originally called : NÉE

59. Yes, to Yvette : OUI. French.

60. Poetic planet : ORB

61. Levels, briefly : KOs. Knocks out.

Answer grid.

Argyle

70 comments:

Dennis said...

Gooooood morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - just wanted to stop in to refute rumors that I'd run off with a glassblowing midget barmaid.

Actually (and fortunately), business has been extremely good at the stores, but being down a manager, I've been busier than a one-armed paperhanger. Been working seven days a week, starting with visits first thing in the morning to local distributors for special order stuff. It's all fun and we're making a lot of people happy so I really enjoy it, but I'm sure I'll need a bit of south Florida by the end of next week. Lemonade, can you petition the courts for some warm weather down there by the day after Christmas?

As to the puzzle, and to paraphrase Argyle, today IS Tuesday?? This was no walk in the park for me, starting with 1A. 'Pathfinder' had me thinking of the paratroops who are inserted into a war zone early to scout and prep a landing area for subsequent troops. The perps saved that one, but I really made slow progress throughout and looking back on the puzzle, it all seems so simple now; the only true unknown I had was 'ant lion'. It wasn't that I was rusty, 'cause I've been doing the puzzles each day when time permitted, but this was certainly no speed run. Nicely done by Billie Truitt.

Today is National Bouillabaisse Day, and the start of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Everybody done with shopping, or are you like me?

Barry G. said...

Morning, all! And welcome back, Dennis!

Yup, definitely a challenging Tuesday puzzle. Lots of fiddly bits to it -- CPI, VALE/DALE, LSTS, DECA, ANTLION(?), RHONE, etc. Definitely an enjoyable puzzle, though -- I like puzzles that make me think without being spitefully hard.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and Friends. I agree with you, Argyle, this was an extremely difficult puzzle for a Tuesday. I caught on to the theme after getting the second theme clue, but today's theme left me cold. I got the bottom half easily, but couldn't get traction on the top half.

I take issue with ADAR being the sixth month. Observant Jews recognize ADAR as being the final month(s) of the Jewish Calendar. Since Elul, the actual 6th month, is also a 4 letter word, I had a lot of difficulty with the NW corner. (Jeannie, e-mail me.)

We've been seeing a lot of the seven dwarfs recently, so I wasn't fooled by Sleepy Colleague = DOC.

My favorite clues were:
Wonder of Music = STEVIE; and

Parks on a Bus = ROSA.

We had a hard freeze last night. While that might not seem so bad to most of you who are snowed in, in the south we face a real danger of frozen pipes because they are not that far under the ground.

QOD: Until one has lived an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. ~ Anatole France.

Dick said...

Good morning Argyle and all, today’s puzzle was difficult for a Tuesday. To me it seemed more like a Thursday level crossword. A nice bit of trivia on cagers, Argyle, but then, I have come to expect that from you. Welcome back Dennis.

Most of my problems were in the center east as Schwartznegger’s move did not come easily to mind and I also had aver and not avow. Finally ate at appeared and that allowed me to get the name of the movie. The remainder of the area fell quickly after that.

I liked the clue answer for 35A.

Single digit temperatures with gusty winds made snow plowing this morning a real chore.

Hope you all have a great Tuesday.

Hahtoolah said...

Another problem I had in the top half was write Credo instead of CREED for Words to Live By. That gave me Vald instead of VALE, but Vald looked like it might be a South African term, so I left it in place.

Seldom Seen said...

Dennis: I hope you enjoy your early Christmas present. I remember that you respect Cliff Lee and now you get him back. Hope to see you again next October...I think.

windhover said...

Dennis:
Great to see you back (I refuse to add "on top"), and I think I've met that barmaid. Does she wear dentures and have a small flat spot on the top of her head?

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - Yep, tougher than your average Tuesday, but kept my attention. The NW was the toughest nut to crack - didn't know who dwelt in hogans, Jewish months, or what Pathfinder we were talkin' about. VETS took me longer than it should have.

I don't recall the movie Jingle All The Way. Must have missed that one - come to think of it, I've never seen any Arnold movie. Did I miss much?

BT said...

I kept trying to remember some of the names for characters in Hogan's Heros.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning Argyle, CC and All,

Bah WH, You beat me to it!

This was definitely kicked up a notch. Ant Lion, Jingle All the Way and Jon Stewart were unknowns. Ate At and Ice Ax wouldn't pop into my head for the life of me. I needed red letter help for that block. Arena came only Via perps. I was stuck trying to think of another name for dishes. I'm hungry so I just ate part of my lunch!

Great write-up Argyle. Couldn't imagine the brawls the Cagers had with the crowds. I don't think I'd want to have Shaq flying into the crowd.

Happy Tuesday.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning Argyle, CC, Dennis, etc.

I did this one before I had my morning coffee. Not being fully awake and this one being a little tougher than Tuesday should be, I really got bogged down for a while. It finally came together, though. ANT LION was a total unknown, so I put in ART LION thinking maybe some cartoonist I'm not familiar with, but I finally saw RHONE peeking out from behind RHORE and made the change. Ant Lion is my learning moment for today.

Have to go in for my annual checkup this morning. I know my overweight doc is going to lecture me about my few extra pounds but other than that I think I'm doing well. We'll see what she says.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

Hey Dennis - nice to have you pop in ! OK, I'll bite:
"On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: A partidge in a pear tree." And here's the Back Story to that.

Great write-up, Argyle! Thanks for the link to "Don't you worry bout a thing"- great song to start my day! No worries here.

I liked this puzzle today - it was a tad more difficult than Tuesday level, but I really liked:
VETS for “Siamese Checkers “
And our mini golf theme:
MYRTLE Beach
GREG Norman
WEDGE

Have a great day everyone!

Anonymous said...

Oh yes this was a slow Tuesday. I knew it was going to be tough when I went through the first 10 or so clues and couldn't confidently write in anything. Got her done eventually though. My favorite was Blast from the Past. It was a very messy fill today though.

We are in the bitter chill of winter here and snow everywhere. When you drive on the ramps for the highways you are in a virtual tunnel of snow. The city schools have been closed for two days for a storm that hit on Saturday because they cannot get the streets plowed sufficiently to get the busses through, there is that much snow. This is almost unheard of for Minnesota where we are used to dealing with this stuff. And now I have a sick one at home. Happy Holidays!!!

Marge said...

Hi all!
Welcome back Dennis, its nice you see you again. We missed you.

I haven't done today's puzzle yet but want to comment on yesterdays puzzle.I enjoyed it, because it was fairly easy. I like that kind.

Soup of the day got me off to a goood start. I did get the Emma Peel comment because we used to watch the Avengers. When it comes to weather, I would really like to be in Arizona or New Mexico right now. We are still in the Atlanta area and the low this AM was 15 degrees.

Andrea and Kazie, I really am glad we aren't in Wisconsin now as we don't have to worry about the snow until we get home, after Christmas. My brother or one of his sons, who live on Baraboo, go out to check the house.

Adobe was a given as I lived in New Mexico in the middle 50s, about 25 miles north of Santa Fe. A lot of adobe buildingd there. I still love that area.

Grumpy1-my husband has the same kind of tattoos as you do. He had 43 treatments this past spring.

I hope to get back to the blog later in the day after I get a paper and do the puzzle.

Have a good day!
Marge

PS-I knew Kalahari was a desert, of course, but there is also a Kalahari in-door water park at Wis. Dells, it has a desert theme and is part of a chain of water parks.

Marge said...

Sorry about the errors in spelling. I was going to click on Preview and hit Publish instead.

Marge again.

HeartRx said...

Grumpy1, Good luck with your checkup today. Sorry to hear that you are also a member of the "Dot Tat"club (from last night), but I hope all is well now? I hope I never have to go through that again - but it might make an interesting "connect the dots" game for DH if I ever do - LOL !!

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Dennis/Windover, it's been almost 15 years since I've habituated bars, but it sounds like the barmaid has gotten better looking.

Yep, count me in with the "is it Tuesday" crowd. Much more fun then yesterday though, probably because of a good 8 to 9 hours in the Land of Nod.

I would never have gotten Navaho without having all the across fills. Hogan/tepee??????

Several false starts..... lira/euro, unifier/uniter, lets go/ its a go. Eventually worked everything out.

The north fell rather easily, but the rest of the puzzle was one letter at a time with lots of back and forth. A fun challenge, even if it is Tuesday.

One complaint though and I know I'm dating myself. There's chem lab, bio lab, sci lab, chocolate lab, yellow lab, but pclab? Next thing you know schools will be teaching reading,riting, and rithmetic!

Have a good day and stay warm.

Lemonade714 said...

Hello Dennis, Argyle and all:

Yes, I already put in the requisition for warmer weather, it is actually in the 30s!!!

Puzzle was challenging, the theme kinda flat, and it took me a while to get started at all. Hahtool, since ADAR is the six month after the new year holiday, it has always been considered by others in that perspective. There are references in Luke to Mary being with child in the ADAR, the sixth month. The concept that the new year does not start in the first month is confusing.

Never heard of ANT LION, though I do remember doodle bugs, enjoyed the VALE/DALE clecho, and the chinese checkers deception of SIAMESE CHECKERS: VETS was really well done. Also thought the juxtsposition of NEE and OUI, two easy French words was NICE!

Why would Cliff Lee go back to the team that discarded him? I do not get sports, I understand money is a goal and winning, but WTH?

If I am cold, you midwesterners must be ice, ah well, my son and his wife get to escape Buffalo for a while soon.

Later

MH said...

Ooooo - hard puzzle for a Tuesday but I guess someone already said that. My main problem was the NW corner. I never remember ADAR even though it's in quite a few puzzles. Had to guess at NASA. Finally got JENNYCRAIG when the theme became apparent. There were just a lot of difficult clues and answers.

Good to see you Dennis when I clicked through to comments and I'm glad all is going well for you. Enjoyed to the write-up, Argyle.

Husker Gary said...

Argyle and others in various stages of frigidity (weather-wise!), If you believe this was a 1*, I’ve got some beach front property to sell you in North Platte, Nebraska! I too started slowly, checked the rating and had a fun trip. Ya gotta love ACROSS, DOC, ARSON, and KOS! Argyle, your cager info was great along with your other bon mots.

Musings-
-I never even knew there was a theme until our friend Argyle told me. My wife will tell you that seeing the obvious is sometimes not my strength. Anyone ever look for car keys while you are holding them in your left hand?
-Fremont is named for the Great Pathfinder but NASA came slowly to this space cadet
-Hitchcock’s movies like Psycho stand the test of time. If you watch TCM like I do, have you noticed how you can always tell his movies by the look of the film?
-I am 500 pages into McCullough’s bio of Harry Truman and am the point where he is in Potsdam and deciding whether to drop the bomb on Hiroshima after ATEST’s in New Mexico. My dad probably would have been part of the force to invade the Japanese mainland and so it interests me tremendously.
-Schwarzenegger is like Stallone in that one good role seemed to give him license to make a lot of drek
-I had PITON for ICEAX
-I thought Flaming offense was a fashion faux pas in Greenwich Village
-We went to a luau on Oahu, got a lei put around our necks and a picture taken. The lovely young woman then removed the leis from us and put them around the next couple and tried to sell us a cheesy picture. BTW, the menu included potato salad and cole slaw on paper plates. What a rip-off! Capitalism in paradise!
-I am not going to be the one to say I got lei’d in Hawaii! Oops!
-AVER or AVOW? Latters turn today.
-KNEES as a verb is very good self defense!

Spitzboov said...

Good Morning Argyle and all. Agree with the previous bloggers that this was a tougher than usual Tuesday.

Had to proceed in a crisscross fashion to get through. Got theme with the J_N vowel progression early and that help with JON STEWART. LBJ was a WAG before seeing 56d JFK. Thought ARSON, ACROSS and especially VETS were quite clever fills. A fun grind.

SODAS - In western NY, they generally say 'Pop' but east of Syracuse they usually say 'Sodas'. It is not unusual to hear 'sodapop' in our area.

LSTS- Here is a photo of the USS Greer County (LST-799) on which your humble blogger served for 4 days as part of a training cruise in 1958. (We were within sight of Catalina Island the whole time.) BTW, While most LSTs have "county" in their name those named after the Louisiana equivalent use the word "parish", ie. USS Terrebonne Parish (LST-1156)

Have a good day.

Bob said...

Maybe a little harder than the usual Tuesday fare (14 minutes).

For Hitchcock fans, I can highly recommend a little book that Janet Leigh co-wrote about the making of "Psycho." Here's a link:

PSYCHO

creature said...

Good Morning C.C.,Argyle and all,

Dennis, this is a treat and a comfort. Glad you're 'good' busy.

Argyle great write-up, as usual.

Except for his thoughts on 'pathfinder',I had the same experience as Dennis. [ My heavens,I think that is so neat about the antlion. Fascinating.]

This is a good example of a fun puzzle for me- doable, thought-provoking and with new knowledge.

Adding Agyle's tidbits equals a very fulfilling experience. Thanks.

Siamese checkers was the fun one .

Have a nice day everyone.

Dennis said...

Lemonade, the Phillies hardly 'discarded' Cliff Lee. His agent basically took too hard a line very early on when the Phils were looking at their options under a tight deadline. They hated losing him, but thought, because of the agent's gaffe, that they had no chance of getting him back. Obviously, Lee understands this, which is why he took $40 MILLION less (than what the Yankees were offering) to come back. A great day for Philly, certainly a great day for my business. By the way, I've been up since 3am, when one of my sports-addled friends called with the news.

ARBAON said...

With apologies to CC;Will get to the puzzle later.

Dennis, "Seeing" you was as good as a Christmas greeting! Glad business is booming.
It`s been very cold here...even as far south as the keys. We wear our shorts and a jacket...then shed the jacket after noon. The beach is still strollable but I don`t get wet...the wind is mean when you do.
Those benches in ST. Pete are only full on the sunny side of the street! As the sun shifts, there is a mass relocation!

Splynter said...

Hi All~~!!


Yes, I too, thought the day of the week was Thursday based on the difficulty level, but then it started falling into place.

Didn't get the theme either til I came here, and it's alphabetical, too.

Had POLY for DECA; PER for VIA; LIRA for EURO, but knew that I was going to be wrong.

Had an INFLATION crosser, CPI and PRICES...

Heard of an ANTLION, but not a doodlebug; didn't get the RHONE clue, so I was looking at that one square for the two answers for a bit.

Flaming fashion Faux Pas in Greenwich was funny, Husker Gary.

We got a surprise of snow here on Long Island, NY, supposed to be a rain that was gone by last night, now we have a frozen inch of flakes, and everyone was caught napping....still looks pretty to me, and I get to clean off the new deck for the first time!

Splynter

Jerome said...

Many Navajo still enjoy living in a hogan. The entrance to a hogan always faces east. Coyotes and beavers built the first hogan. This is true.

Jeannie said...

I struggled with this one today. I got the theme and that helped some, but still slogged through most of puzzle. I couldn’t get Chinese checkers out of my head for “Siamese” checkers, but when V –t was staring back at me I had a nice “aha” moment. I never enjoy seeing two exact clues either, so wasn’t fond of “vale” and “dale”. Can someone explain to me “bounding main” – sea? I don’t get it. Also, you golf nuts, what is the difference between “wedges” and “irons”? I had heard the term “cagers” before, but thank you Santa for the history lesson.

Splynter, what a beautiful deck!

Husker Gary, I choked on my Diet Coke over your “flaming offense” reference.

Dennis, great to see you back. I am glad your business is booming!

I’m not sure if you have any P.F. Chang’s in your states, but that is where I am meeting a vendor for lunch. Yummy!

kazie said...

Great to see Dennis back!

Weatherwise, we had minus 20 here this morning and now it's risen to a heatwave level of minus 8. I was in the garage earlier getting the slush from yesterday's trip out from under my car and the resulting sandy mess on the driveway will at least roughen the glare ice there a bit. Eat your hearts out you southerners!

Puzzlewise, I feel that they maybe got Tuesday confused with Thursday. Maybe the editor is a bit bleary-eyed after an early Christmas party and misread the designation?

Anyway, I had to resort to google today for NAVAJO--never heard of hogans before, thought of Paul Hogan but knew that was irrelevant. Didn't know OCS, REGIS, WEDGE, JON STEWART or the JINGLE ALL THE WAY movie, but after googling a couple, perps stepped in for the rest. For CPI I started with PSI, thinking tire pressure: was 'stat' status or statistic? I was asking myself.

Grumpy,
Hope the doctor visit goes well!

kazie said...

Splynter,
That deck is beautiful! What do you have under it? I noticed the air vents on the steps.

JimmyB said...

I was thinking exactly what Kazie was thinking: this was more of a Thursday than a Tuesday. We never have Jewish months on a Tuesday! And clues like "Parks on a bus" and "Flaming offense" (nice take, Husker Gary) are usually seen later in the week. I just can't believe Rich Norris really intended this to be a Tuesday puzzle; I think something got switched somewhere down the line.

Thanks, Argyle, for the origin of "cagers". Never knew that. I guess that is where "fighting for the ball" came from?

Bill G. said...

Hi Dennis. It's good to have you back for a spell.

I agree with Argyle and others. This seemed harder than the usual Tuesday puzzle. I solved it but I never would have figured out the theme without coming here.

I checked two Internet sources and they had Elul as the sixth Jewish month. What's up with that?

Jeannie, a wedge is a particular iron, one with a highly-slanted face for short, lofted shots. And yes, there is a P.F. Chang's about a mile from here.

Splynter, great-looking deck.

Here is some very funny stuff from the BBC. Voiceovers

Argyle said...

Loft of the various clubs. The wedges pop the ball up into the air more so that it doesn't go so far and will stop quicker.

HeartRx said...

B.T.W. Dennis, I was raised as a Catholic, so we always celebrated "Twelfth Night" on January 5 - the eve of the Epiphany in the Church's calendar. And so the twelve days of Christmas would be from 25 or 26 December to 5 or 6 - January.

The four weeks before Christmas we called "Advent", and each week we would light one more candle on our Advent Wreath.

But I guess nowadays commercial interests may promote the twelve days BEFORE Christmas to give additional gifts to "true loves"? Or is this also a different tradition than the one we celebrated?

carol said...

Hi all -

Dennis, so good to see you (yes, yes) back on top!! Be careful about that barmaid, you need to keep your morel self for your front yard. We want weather information once in a while. Deflated weather balloons seldom are any good ;)

I agree with all of you who had the feeling that they slipped a Thursday level puzzle in on us. My poor V-8 can is in ruins. Good thing I have a supply of them.

I had a terrible time in the NW corner! I DID get ADAR but that was IT!! Went on to other areas, but didn't get any traction until 18A JANET LEIGH. (how many of you saw that and could take a shower without cringing???)

17A was VERY clever...I had to read Argyle's explanation twice before I got it.

ANT LION??? Doodlebug?? Geez, I had never heard of them...thought a doodlebug was some sort of new toy or electronic gadget. sigh.

Grumpy: I'm thinking good thoughts for you for your Dr's appt today. Had to laugh at your remark about your overweight Dr. I don't see that in doctors so much anymore, but so many of the assistants/receptionists, etc are HUGE. Is it stress???

Splynter: great looking deck, hope it's not too much work to keep it looking so good.

JD said...

Good morning C.C., Argyle and all,

Dennis, a glassblowing midget????? Yup, I actually choked on my latte!!

Argyle,today I learned more from you than the xwd. Great info on Pathfinder, antlion and cagers.Also didn't understand VETS until you explained it...tricky fun clue.

still have a question:someone please explain why Rhone is a department.Am I in the wrong province? Like Spitzboov, I also had to crisscross to get this one finished.Those abbreviations still lock me up: LSTs, CPI,AGT, LCDs, and the most brutal was the crossing of OCS and ad exec!

Hogan was a gimme...2nd grade Indian unit..way back!


Dudley, no, you missed nothing, although TWINS with Danny De Vito was hyterical.Our Mr. Schwarzenegger is no actor..well, in a way he is, but not in a good way.

Splynter, what a gorgeous deck.S-I-L just finished one using composit decking.It looks like it will stand up to any kind of weather. Where you have vents, he put lights.

Jeannie, in many a sea shanty, the sea is referred to as a bounding main.My grandfather loved those songs and poems, and some evenings that is all we heard during dinner.

Argyle said...

Why is Rhone a department? Perhaps you could ask someone in the French Embassy.

On this map, it is #69 (Hear that, Lois?) in the Rhône-Alpes region.

Argyle said...

Oops, that should be Jeannie...aw, it's all good.

Argyle said...

Everybody had their breakfast by now?

Ant Lion clip.(1:47)

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Dennis,
Nice to see you back on top.

Kazie,
Loved your story of gifts in shoes the other day. So neat.

Grumpy,
Hope everything went smoothly today.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Now we need Clear Ayes back.

ARBAON said...

Finally finished in between candy and cookie making. Great weather for it!

SE corner gave me fits because I had poly for deca...can never remember the correct order for the landing craft initials and so I let the perps do it for me. If some vet could refresh my memory as to what the letters stand for, it might help.

"Rhone" indicates red as in claret and other reds. I think "rhone department" would indicate a type, not an area.

Most clever clue: "Milder drink than the one before." IMO

Easiest candy ever! :Melt two pkgs milk or white chocolate chips in microwave. Add red, chopped candied cherries to the dark and red and green to the white. Spread in a buttered pan...cool completely and cut with a warm knife. Delicious and looks like you slaved hours!

ARBAON said...

OOOPS! Should have read Santa Clause before I wrote about "Rhone."

Have you heard about the guy who never cuts his hair, works only one day a year, WEARS FUR and has made millions of illegal entries? It`s ARGYLE!

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Hmmm, I like this Santa "illegal entries" phrasing. Don't we all long for forbidden things?

kazie said...

I think Argyle is correct--Beaujolais is produced in the Rhône-Alpes department. France used to be divided into provinces, but then they split many of them up and now they have instead 95 départements.

Gunghy said...

I must be the exception to the rule. I missed about 10 clues til I got here I went so fast. I had more problems yesterday. I must really like Billy Truitt.

Some day I WILL learn that it isn't Rosy Parks. Also tried StewarD at first. Hand up for trying AVER.

My one quibble is with ant lion. Unless one of the more vicious looking adults in Argyle's clip is called an Ant lion, it is actually another name for the larva. The adult lacewings in Central CA are great predators for aphids and other plant pests. The grape growers love them. But they aren't known for eating ants except as a larva. I used to catch them as a kid on the farm. I can find them at the cabin; but my soil is heavy clay, so I don't see them here.

I never played BB, so I really enjoyed learning why they are called cagers.

Hondo, Most schools don't teach 'riting no more: The kids are so busy texting that cursive is becoming a lost art. I had students that couldn't even sign their name.

Splynter, are those vents or low voltage lights?

I put in a composite deck at the cabin 5 years ago. The porch I repaired with pressure treated wood the year before is dangerous: you must wear shoes on it. The composite looks like it went in yesterday. Well, except for the spot where a friend removed ice by chopping it with the blade of a shovel. The downsides of the stuff is that it is soft and you must put supports under it every 12 inches.

Time to try to sell a snowboard. I won it in a raffle, but I've got no idea why anyone would want to strap their legs together.

PJB-Chicago said...

Good Afternoon, fellow solvers!
This was a steep climb of a puzzle for a Tuesday, but an enjoyable one. Wasn't there a movie called "If it's ADAR it must be Thursday"?

Some very clever clues: "Siamese checkers" stands out as does "Like this clue." HUMBUG, as in trickery or deceit,
may also have worked as an answer. Fun stuff!

I think the last Schwarzenegger film I saw was 25+ years ago, so JINGLE ALL THE WAY was solved the good old fashioned way: perps, caffeine, and phone-a-friend.

Salon acquisition? Um, I confidently started with GEL. A TANning salon is one of the few places of employment where one might still expect a sign saying "Irish Need Not Apply." Even the spray tans don't work so well on us!

Before DECA, I had "poly" & "mono." A couple years ago I would've thought "Italian bread" to be "pane" but hanging out here has made me wary of such clues. I do miss the Lira though. Carrying around 100,000 of a currency always made me feel well heeled.

It's a brisk 18 degrees here in Chicago, with high winds and skinny tourists whipping off the lake. Note to visitors from warmer climates: before jumping into a taxi here, you'd be wise to ask the kindly driver if he's ever driven on snow/ice before. I learned that tip the hard way.

Argyle: spot on blogging, thank you! Great info on cagers. Dennis, welcome back as our lead-off guy. Glad to hear your business is booming.

"See" y'all later in the week.

Jeannie said...

Gunghy, I have no idea why someone would want to strap their legs together either :)

Santa, I've always wanted to visit Rhone.

MR ED said...

CC,

what about me?

Anonymous said...

Dennis,

Who cares!

Bob said...

Not sure if this has been said before, but RHONE is one of the 100 departments (states) of France, with its local capital at Lyon. It gets its name from the Rhone river that runs through it on its way to the Mediterranean. The Beaujolais wine district is located nearby, where wines have been produced since Roman times.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, With Dennis up first, all's well with the blog today. Welcome back to your usual spot, Dennis.

I have to agree that this was a little harder than usual. I was able to get everything in without help up to the SE corner and I had to Google Jon Stewart and Greg Norman. I've heard of both men, but don't watch much golf and never Comedy Central. Both were not on my radar.

I put in sound instead of sodas for Pops and Aver instead of Avow but those sorted out as the puzzle progressed.

I did like the clue Flaming offense/Arson and Parks on a bus/Rosa. But I wasn't fooled by Italian Bread? this time. I think I finally have that clue in my head now.

Good catch Argyle on the AEIOU progression. I didn't see that at all until I read your comments.

Splynter, what a lovely new deck.

Bill G. said...

We just got back from lunch at a local Cajun restaurant, The Ragin' Cajun. It's been a fixture at the same location in Hermosa Beach for about 15 years. We got fried okra, shrimp, catfish and crawfish. The drinks were served in Mason jars. Good stuff!

We got the Christmas tree delivered and I'm all ready for tutoring this afternoon.

Supposedly, some rain is on the way.

HeartRx said...

Bill G., DH says Mason Jars are a little "uppity" for him...but fried okra, shrimp, catfish, crawfish - Yummmmm! If only they had some Zapp's 'gator chips, he'd be in heaven!!

Splynter said...

Hi again~!

Kazie, those are lights on the stair risers, set on a timer - here's the image at dusk.


Thanks for the compliments, from you and Jeannie and the others!

Splynter

Splynter said...

Oops~!

-yes, it's the composite decking, in two colors, and the snow swept off it nicely this morning, with no splinters (get it?) or paint degradation...no maintenance, that's the ticket!

to paraphrase the texters, LMAO at those animals, Bill G!

Splynter

Jerome said...

Jeannie- Main is an archaic term for the open sea. Main is Old German/Norse for "powerful". Other than the sea being powerful, who knows what the connection might be.

Bounding main is pretty descriptive. Rather poetic, too. Bounding can also mean bouncing. Describing oceans as bouncing along their way is a nice way to put it.

Gunghy said...

Re: the Bounding Main

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:

3. Specifically: The great sea, as distinguished from an arm, bay, etc.; the high sea; the ocean. ''Struggling in the main.'' --Dryden.


This meaning is found in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1, where Antonio says
You may as well go stand upon the beach
And bid the main flood bate his usual height;

Portia also says, in Act 5, Scene 1:
A substitute shines brightly as a king
Unto the king be by, and then his state
Empties itself, as doth an inland brook
Into the main of waters.

Lemonade714 said...

Such a fun bumch and we never know who will show on any given day.

My question Dennis, is did the Phillies GM offer 120 million for five years before they shipped him to Seattle?

The staff looks like the Braves in their heyday with Glavine, Smoltz and Maddux.

Weather will be good after Xmas, whether you count 12 days before or after.

Jerome, so you are not only witty but educated in the myths of the old country, thanks.

JzB, where are you?

Marge said...

Hi again!

We were at our son's house for supper so afterword I started the puzzle and had a lot of help.

It was harder but the top half went well, the rest was harder.Navajo was easy- I remember reading about them in the many western historical novels I used to read. And a couple times I've been in southern Utah where you drive past hugh Indian lands where they still have some hogans. The Navajo also have a hugh reservation in northern Arizona and the Hopi reservation is in the middle of the Navajo. It is beautiful country.

HeartRx-most churches celebrate Advent and start lighting the Advent candles the first Sunday in Advent nowadays too.

I'm late in my post as usual so have a good night and a good day tomorrow!
Marge

Jerome said...

Lemonade- No myths. I've heard the song "The Blessing Way". There's no reason to not believe where a Navajo believes the hogan comes from.

So, I have this image in my head of a tyrant galivanting and leaping and jumping and frolicking through a forest... Happy, gay, enjoying himself. He's the BOUNDING AMIN.

Abejo said...

This is my third day of participating. I am really proud to be a part of this. I am a little frustrated, however, since I tried sending this note at 8:30 this morning and could not get through the logon maze to send my message. I guess I am new at this.

I enjoyed the crossword for Tuesday. It was a little tougher than a normal Tuesday, in my opinion. I had no idea what a HOGAN was, but NAVAJO came together with the crosswords. I thought the SIAMESE CHECKERS? was a great clue for VETS. I goofed on ITSAGO by entering LETSGO. I hope to see you all in the morning. Abejo

HeartRx said...

Abejo,
Sorry to hear about your frustrated blogin attempt. But I know you will find this group more than supportive, and if you email C.C. or any of the regular bloggers on this site, I know they will be more than willing to help with your problems. Just click on their avatars to find their email addresses.

As another "newbie", I know that this is a real community of people who welcome everyone with comments on the puzzle, or general opinions of the day. Keep coming back!

Lemonade714 said...

IDI AMIN GAY! wow you learn everything here/

Abejo, we all fight the blogging world, you just need persistence

Jerome, sorry if I mythspoke.

kazie said...

Speaking of Advent, the Germans do it in a big way. Last year we were given an Advent calendar which consisted of a string hung with 24 little booties made of hessian filled with a candy for each of us for each of the 24 days. Each bootie is labeled with its number. This year we hung it up before the kids arrived and had enough candy in each one for us all. We also got a Christmas card from our d-i-l's parents with little numbered windows to be opened on each of the 24 days. They also brought a candle to be lit at supper time each night. It has the 24 numbers printed down the side, and you leave it on until it burns to the level of the appropriate number each night, then blow it out until the next night.

In German towns the Christmas markets start at the beginning of Advent too, and they are simply magical with roasting chestnuts, Glühwein, brats and other goodies to eat as well as Christmassy things to buy.

Anonymous said...

Abejo: now that we have you, it's time for tarrajo to show up to keep you company.
Rather than your phone number, why don't you post your email address in your profile?

One tip for those who discover a misspelling or some other error, instead of writing to us all again, use your garbage can and rewrite what you meant to say, having copied your initial comment first.
That's what I just did.

Got most of today's, but I agree that it was more like a Thursday and many were left blank.

Good night all.

Jeannie said...

Friends, I have not posted a recipe of late, forgive me C.C. if you dissaprove. This one is a keeper and good for those watching their calories and intake of "what ever".

2 med red peppers sliced in chunks, 1 sm eggplant chunked, one large onion chopped, 2 cloves garlic, chopped, 1-2 small zucchini's chopped, Place all of that on a big baking sheet and drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in a 365 degree oven until tender (about 15-20min), and remove and let cool. Place all of that nummy goodness in a food processor with a pkg and a half of cream cheese (you can buy low fat Carol), salt and pepper to taste. Chill, and serve with crackers, or crusty bread.

Yes Dennis, this one does contain lots of vegetables, but just like my meatloaf recipe with the mushrooms in it (which you claimed to hate mushrooms), I know you would eat it. You must expand your horizons and palette.

Enjoy, you foodies...Chickie, Creature, and Kazie come to mind.

Lucina said...

Greetings, puzzlers.

I'm very late to this party and it's because I have been partying today. First a lunch party with some girlfriends, much cackling involved. Second, the class party tonight and I'm stuffed. No food needed for a few days!

This morning as I was working on the puzzle I did a double take and like most of you thought this was Thursday level. Managed to finish all but the SE where I was permanently stuck and just had to leave.

NAVAJO and hogan are right up my western alley. Thanks, Billie, for that.

As for the sports clues, forget it.

Dennis, great to hear from you and congratulations on good business!

Have a good night, everyone! My shopping is down to two gifts left to buy. Difficult purchasing for some people.

Lucina said...

I wish I could send you some of the heat I felt today. Whew!

Chickie said...

Jeannie, Thanks for the recipe. It sounds delicious. One question: What size pkg of cream cheese? 8 oz or 3 oz. My guess would be 120z. total.

We have our tree up with lights only. Tomorrow is the day for decorating.

Lucina, I feel for you trying to buy for certain people. I'm in the same boat and a gift card just doesn't seem quite right.

'Night everyone.