google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Gareth Bain

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Jan 18, 2011

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 Gareth Bain

Theme: Singing Male Siblings - Three singing groups, identified by their songs, and connected by the unifier.

20A. Group with the #1 hit "ABC": THE JACKSON FIVE.
Image.

32A. Group with the #1 hit "One Bad Apple": THE OSMONDS.
Image.

41A. Group with the #1 hit "Jive Talkin'": THE BEE GEEs.
Image.

51A. 2001 Spielberg WWII miniseries, and what 20-, 32- or 41-Across is: BAND OF BROTHERS.
Image.

Argyle here.

A rather straightforward puzzle; either you knew it or you didn't. I had a few new WODs(Word of the Day) but except for one cross where I had a brain skip, all were doable.

Across:

1. Lin or Angelou : MAYA.
Lin and Angelou.

5. Terrier type : SKYE

9. Performed on stage : ACTED

14. Contest with seconds : DUEL

15. Gillette's __ II : TRAC

16. Do-re-mi : MOOLA. Slang for money.

17. Catch, as one's sleeve : SNAG

18. "Mazes and Monsters" author Jaffe : RONA

19. Ventilated, with "out" : AIRED

23. Emeritus, e.g.: Abbr. : RET.. Retired.

24. Some garden plants need it : SHADE

25. Official count : CENSUS

28. Control tower devices : RADARS

35. Western-style "Scram!" : "GIT!"

36. Lena who played Glinda in the movie version of "The Wiz" : HORNE

37. Epi center? : PEE. The letter 'P', center of Epi. (No snickering.)

38. Nez __, Native Americans who breed their own horses : PERCE. They live in the Pacific Northwest region(Columbia River Plateau).

40. Faulkner's "__ Lay Dying" : AS I. A 1930 novel by William Faulkner

43. Garden tool : WEEDER. It's in the shed getting rusty now.

46. Snorkel et al., familiarly : SARGEs. Sgt. Snorkel, from the comic strip, "Beetle Bailey".

47. Put in a seat : ELECT

50. MIT or UCLA : SCH.. What about RPI?

57. Believed without question : ATE UP

58. Cosecant's reciprocal : SINE. Math.

59. Really long time : AEON

61. Present moment : NONCE

62. Ski resort lift : T-BAR

63. Arp's movement : DADA

64. Exceed the limit : SPEED

65. Eponymous logical diagram creator : VENN. Go ahead and look it up, I had to!

66. Online annoyance : SPAM

Down:

1. Docs : MDs

2. Godmother, often : AUNT

3. Slangy okay : YEAH

4. "Flowers for __": story from which the film "Charly" was adapted : ALGERNON. A science fiction short story and subsequent novel written by Daniel Keyes, Algernon is a laboratory mouse who has undergone surgery to increase his intelligence by artificial means. The name came from the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne which Keyes thought was an unusual name. And so do I.

5. Layer : STRATUM

6. Big cheese associated with Big Macs? : KROC. Ray Kroc, McDonald's founder.

7. Americans, to Brits : YANKS

8. PayPal funds : E-CASH

9. Actress Peet or Plummer : AMANDA.
Peet and Plummer.

10. Styled in the salon : COIFED

11. Doughnut shapes : TORI.
Image. This is funny: I had to change Google to strict search to get away from Tori Spellings(and others) and found this image on...Crossword Corner.

12. Mtn. road sign stat : ELEV. Elevation on the mountain.

13. Miami-__ County : DADE. They showed up a lot on "Cops" TV show when it first aired.

21. Wrestler Ventura : JESSE. So much more than just a wrestler, eh?

22. Rowing crew : OARS

25. Selected : CHOSE

26. Spine-tingling : EERIE

27. Next year's junior : SOPH. Sophomore.

29. What double-checked totals should do : AGREE

30. Runs through a sieve : RICES. Or use a special tool.
Video.(0:16)

31. Jeanne d'Arc et al.: Abbr. : STEs

32. Defrost : THAW

33. Michelle Obama __ Robinson : NÉE

34. Ball girls : DEBS. We had DEBUTANTE BALL yesterday.

38. Birdcage feature : PERCH

39. Highbrows : EGGHEADS

41. Not kosher : TREF. Where did TREF come from?

42. New York's time zone : EASTERN

44. Figure out : DEDUCE

45. Married in secret : ELOPED

48. Network with an eye logo : CBS TV

49. "Survivor" faction : TRIBE. Don't watch it. It is on CBS.

51. Outlaws : BANS. Verbs.

52. Resting on : ATOP

53. Hawaii's state bird : NENE

54. __ errand: out : ON AN

55. Harvest : REAP

56. Fizzy drink : SODA

60. "The Deer Hunter" war zone, for short : NAM.
Image.

Answer grid.

Note from C.C.:

Here is a great photo of eddyB & his dog Daisy. Eddy said: "
Daisy is an AKC Boxer who thinks she is a lap dog. We will see when she is 70 lbs."

Argyle

76 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang - as Argyle said, a very straight forward puzzle from Gareth today; a real speed run with but one unknown (Venn). However, I thought the theme was extremely clever, tying The Band of Brothers into bands of brothers.

No time for more right now - we had snow changing to freezing rain overnight and I've got a real mess of a driveway to contend with, or nobody goes anywhere. I went for an unexpected ride, walking out to get the paper; fortunately kept my feet, and did a less-than-stellar impersonation of Brian Boitano.

eddyb, great-looking dog.

Today is Thesaurus Day. Or something like that.

Did You Know?:

- Wedding rings date back thousands of years. The ancient Romans and Egyptians both believed that a vein called the vena amoris ran directly from the ring finger to the heart.

- On average, women utter 7,000 words a day; men manage just over 2,000.

- E T A O I N S H R D L U C M F G Y P W B V K X J Q Z: the alphabet in order of its frequency of use in written English.

fermatprime said...

Hello fellow solvers!

Having been trying to cope with an unmentionable problem. (Me, another problem! Who'd a guessed?)

Hope to see a doctor today. Friend Harvey dropped by last evening to cough all over the place with what is probably viral pneumonia. Oh great! Can't imagine that he went to his Masonic meeting like this!

Nice puzzle from Gareth Bain. Thank you for excellent write-up, Argyle, and thanks to CC for great blog!

VENN and TORI were gimmes for me. Have we seen VENN before?

Puzzle went fast. Didn't really need to notice the theme!

Still warm here! Something over 80 degrees F. lately. My turtles will be surprised when winter comes again and they have to repeat the whole hibernation thing.

Have a great day, everybody!

fermatprime@gmail.com

fermatprime said...

PS. Dennis, I taught some of my grandkids the ETAOIN SHRUDLU thing when playing hangman an AEON ago.

Argyle said...

Re: Venn

Used the blog search and Venn turned up three times...in 2009.

I have to go back and check it out because there was a link to the Jackson Five mentioned.

Argyle said...

Here is the Venn reference:

embien said...

As for Venn diagrams, my favorite is the one of Yugoslavian dictators and Jackson Five members (the answer, of course, being TITO). Venn Diagram

February 26, 2009 4:02 PM

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and Friends. This was a fun, easy Tuesday puzzle. My only error was to think that Double-Checked Totals would ADD-UP instead of AGREE.

There were several mathematical references today: SINE, VENN and TORI. I got them all, but only because I am married to a mathematician. I learned all about Tori on our first date. A doughnut and a coffee cup that the stereotypical cop are nursing in the coffee shop are the same topologically.

Flowers for Algernon was the play that my High School Senior class put on. Since most of the cast is male, parts had to be written in for the female students. I had a role as a nurse.

Maya Lin is most well known for her design of the Vietnam Memorial.

I don't generally like clues like Epi Center?, but, yes, I did find PEE amusing.

QOD: When we learn to tolerate boredom, we find out who we really are. ~ Naomi Alderman.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle, Great write-up.

As to your question" "Where did TREF come from?"
In my case, it came from the 'Perps' !!!

Agree with Dennis, this was a SPEED-run.
Gareth, I enjoyed your themes, it was a FUN solve.

Only write-over, I had 'seeder' then looked at 'thaS' and realized it was a THAW/WEEDER, duh!

As for Zagreb ... well I am staying here.
Will do Consulting via email.
They blinked at my "Normal Ex-Pat request of a 2-year contract."
My buddy, Russell in Oman, concurred ... said they'll come around later.

eddyB, Love your dog.

SOOOO ... after this fog burns off, it looks like a beautiful day, leading to a perfect Sunset.

Cheer's to ALL at 5:59 pm.

Burrito34 said...

Good morning,

Not much to comment on today except that I enjoy the blog comments as much or more than the daily crossword itself. You all are a wealth of information and entertainment, thanks very much.

Today's gleaning of note for me was discovering the gadget called a ricer. As a guy who really likes mashed potatoes prepared well, I think I'm going to run out and get one. So now we'll adding ricing to our dicing and slicing :)

Best to all,
Burrito34

thehondohurricane said...

Good day everyone,

Back among the living just in time to face the elements and another storm clean up. This one sounds like a sure power outage that has the potential for being lengthy. I hope I'm wrong.

Today's puzzle wasn't exactly a walk in the park, but it was doable. Clever cluing by Gareth. Band of Brothers was a favorite HBO series. Had one wag, the C in 38A & 61D. Also, neither Tref or Nonce were in my vocabulary, but the crossing and down clues took care of them.

Thanks to those of you who wished me well yesterday. The good news is I'm much better, the bad news is I passed it on to my better half. Now I really feel awful.

Time to join Dennis shoveling while the puppy takes an "Epi center" or two.

Dick said...

Good morning Argyle and all, this was a somewhat difficult puzzle for me this morning. On the first pass I did not get anything in the upper half so I moved to the lower half and got traction there. As I moved up the fills started to come and almost like presto there it was completed.

I originally had shovel for 43A which really screwed up that section for a while. I finally got thaw which solved the problems in that area. My favorite clue/answer was Big cheese associated with McDonalds/Kroc.


After coming here I saw that there was a mistake that went unnoticed. I had ego heads for 39D which gave me saroes for sarges, but I never noticed it until coming here. I think tori was unfair for a Tuesday puzzle, but I did know it from toroid which was known from my old math and calculus days.

Overall, I think this was a good crossword and about right for a Tuesday.

I hope you all have a great Tuesday.

Mainiac said...

Good Morning Argyle, CC and All,

A speed run for me today. I'm usually 20-25 minutes writing them in but getting the theme early put this one under 10.

While taking the oldest to wrestling practice this morning I did a whoop-di-doo in the driving, which he scored a 10. No hurts yet, it was a pretty soft landing with my lunch, lap-top bag and work out bag in hand and on my back. Didn't even break my eggs I bring for breakfast. Going to be a great week!

We're expecting the mess tomorrow some of you are cleaning up today. Who needs weather forecasters anymore?!

Have a great day!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Had to get up extra early this morning to give my wife a ride somewhere. Sadly, the blog hadn't been updated yet, so now I'm actually posting late...

This one was squarely in my wheelhouse and it ended up being far easier than yesterday's puzzle. I didn't know who wrote which song (except for "ABC" by THE JACKSON FIVE), but all the perps were solid. It helped that I knew TREF.

The only slight snag was in the SE corner where I initially had AGES instead of the variant spelling of AEON.

More snow today, followed by sleet, freezing rain and general iciness. Have I mentioned how much I'm enjoying my new car with all-wheel drive?

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Great write-up, Argyle.

Relatively easy solve today. The N Center was last to fall, after KROC became obvious. What a great clue. There was a nice rhythm to the perps helping get unknowns like RONA and VENN. Great theme.

BAND OF BROTHERS - The real Maj. Winters died a couple weeks ago. I think he was 92.

EddyB - nice picture of you and your dog, Daisy. Thanks for sharing.

JazzB - Belated Happy Anniversary wishes.

Have a good day.

Unknown said...

Whooppeee! I finished this one in record time, at least for me!
I believe that I over-think the clues and end up with nada.

Today's puzzle was fun and a speed run, in Dennis' words.
Thanks so much for this blog and the excellent content.

Abejo said...

Good Morning Crosswordies. This was a nice puzzle. Thanks to Gareth Bain for constructing it. Looks like Rich Norris was involved as well. Great going. Nice write-up Argyle and thanks for getting my notes in this Blog from yesterday.

I enjoyed the eddyB dog photo. I also noticed a "Terrible Towel" on the couch. How is Myron Cope, by the way? Looks like Pittsburgh is doing well this year. If thye wind up playing the Bears, look out!

The puzzle went great. I made one error on MAYA, I had MAYO. I just took a guess and missed. I hate looking things up.

I also guessed at TORI, but got that one right. I had all the letters except the "O"

Did not know VENN or TREF, but the crosswords fixed those.

The theme came easier than I thought. I am not much on musical groups of the last 30 years. I like the older ones. But, it all came together..

Thanks all for making my day start good.

Abejo

Dennis said...

thehondohurricane, drop me an email when you get a chance; I'm curious about your card collecting.

Lemonade714 said...

Good Tuesday all:

Argyle a nice simple write up for a nice simple puzzle; this was my fastest solve of 2011, though I thought the theme was very clever. For newbies, we have had lengthy discussions of the movie Charly and the fine job done by Cliff Robertson, so I will not rehash, but it made me wonder if the their was a subtle undercurrent to the mention of AMANDA PLUMMER who played an intellectually challenged young woman on LA LAW which is still one of my all time favorite tv shows, despite it being nothing like reality.

We also have discussed the TORI, and TORII and I filled in VENN without seeing the clue, but I was a math major for a while, I wonder if Gareth was as well, I do not recall.

Literally TREF (TREIF) derived the Hebrew word teref which means torn, and originally referred to non-kosher meat only. In Exodus 22:30 it is written "Do not eat meat from an animal torn in the field." Thus Jews were forbidden to eat meat from an animal that was torn or mortally wounded. Historic dietary laws began the tradition of requiring the animal be killed in a ritual fashion. Like most of the food lws, they derived primarily from safety, because an animal which was wounded or just died in the field may be germ filled. As with most religion, while the Torah has some detail about food, the laws have been expanded by humans and are now very complex.

Ciao chow

Lemonade714 said...

BTW, Eddy B., all dogs can be lap dogs, and yours is a handsome guy. You let them on the couch they will sit on you forever. I have changed my avatar to show my grandpuppy Winston, the 68 pound lab boxer mix riding in Devin's lap on our way back from Alabama.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

Great write-up, Argyle. And yes, I did chuckle at "Epi center".

Yep - definitely a speed run today. I did know VENN and SINE , so no problems there. The only unknown was TREF, but it's in my pocket now (I think). I did have a couple bumps, but still finished in under 10 min:
Add up instead of AGREE
Tire instead of TORI
We just had "Nez Perce" a few weeks back, and because of Jerome's hilarious comment about "Pince nez", that one came easily to me. Which is another reason I thoroughly enjoy this blog!

I even remembered all the BANDs, which is unusual for me because normally I don't like "song" themes. But this one was very clever, I thought, when I got to the unifier at the end.

EddyB, great picture of you and your best friend. Thanks!

Hondo, glad you are feeling better, but sorry your wife now has the crud. DH is traveling this week, and he came down with it. So no chance to transmit over the phone lines, thank goodness!

I just finished shoveling out the last of the snow banks last night, and woke up to find another mess in the driveway. Siggghh, it's days like this that I envy all you folks "down there" who don't have to contend with this every winter. And it's even worse when DH is away and I have to clear it away myself. Hmmm...do I "really" need to go anywhere before he gets back??

Dennis, I use a thesaurus every day. So does that mean I need to give it a rest today? Just wondering.

Have a great day, everyone!

HeartRx said...

Fermatprime, I forgot to say, I'm sorry you are having more problems. You really don't deserve it at all. And I hope you don't catch that nasty bug your visitor had.

Annette said...

Good morning, everybody.

Gareth, I loved the theme!

Also the related (through BAND OF BROTHERS) military sub-theme with SARGE, NAM, DUEL, RADARS (O'Reily of M*A*S*H), MDS (Medics), YANKS, TORI (Torys), CHOSE(n), EERIE, TRIBES, PERCH, ATOP (conquer), REAP (benefits), BANS (WMDs), etc. Okay, I may be stretching it a bit towards the end, but I'm sure Dennis or someone could read into some other fill that I may have missed. Too bad 39D wasn't JARHEADS instead of EGGHEADS though...

It's so sad that I can fill in RONA Jaffe with no hesitation, although I've never actually played the game...

PEE as the center square? PEE?! :)

eddyb, I don't know which I like better, your dog or his "blanket" - Go Steelers!

I was a big Donny Osmond fan in my pre-teen years and I still think he sings beautiful ballads. They were my first concert.

Reminders of those icy sidewalks are what keep me in Florida. I slipped and fell in college once, landing on my tailbone - OUCH! Be careful out there!

Anonymous said...

Thank you to Hahtool for the picture and reference to Maya Lin. I knew I had heard of her, but didn't know where. Architects are so difficult to remember all of the time.

The Mayas ( as a tribe and religious sect- prim 4th to 8th cent.AD ) lived in Central America ( no - not Iowa ... ). However the word 'maya' also has some significance in Buddhist and Hindu philosophy. Maya is the mother of Gautama ( Buddha's original name ) and she was born miraculously, by virgin birth. ( This seems to going around quite frequently - ).

In general, 'maya' is considered a benevolent act of God. Ironically, it may also be (sometimes ) whimsically malevolent.

I read an unusual novel, where a man in the USA, travels 5000 miles to meet with his father, with whom he been corresponding for several years. The father suddenly dies, either 5 minutes before or 5 minutes after, the son's arrival. Either way, this is considered a 'show' of God's 'maya'.

It is also a common, elegant Indian female name.

Jim D said...

Hi everyone, Am i nit picking or is the answer for 27d (SOPH) inappropriate because the clue (Next year's junior) does not indicate and abreviation?

kazie said...

Nice easy fun run for a Tuesday today. However I did have several unknowns, all perped successfully: RONA, VENN, AMANDA, TREF. The only Osmonds I know are Donnie and Marie, and a brother she is definitely not. Also didn't know EGGHEADS were highbrows. Theme came fast, despite OSMONDS.

Burrito,
Make sure you get a good quality ricer. They tend to bend the handles when overtaxed if the potato is not cooked soft enough. It helps to mash them first and feed the mash in, a big spoonful at a time. I like to use it when making shepherd's pie because it gives a nice rough surface on top that gets crispy in the oven.

Fermatprime,
Sorry to hear you can't seem to get back to good health. Let's hope things go up from here.

EddyB,
Our golden is around 70lb and she satisfies herself with just resting her chin on our laps. It always feels so warm and snuggly. I'm sure your boxer will figure something out, but she sure looks cute at this stage.

JimmyB said...

Many of you may already know this, but the fun fact about Maya Lin is that her design for the Viet Nam Memorial was her senior project as an architecture student at Yale, for which she got the grade of C!

Warren said...

Hi everyone, good blogging Argyle. I was confused on 16A: Do-re-mi is slang for money? That's a new one for me.

I thought do-re-mi was the song from the sound of music?

kazie said...

I was amused this morning when checking emails to find a link to an expat Aussie group planning a party for Australia Day (January 26). The amusing part was the reference to us being here, "Up Over" as opposed to "Down Under".

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning gang. It was pretty easy going today. There were some not too familiar names, but enough perps to trigger a memory from somewhere or to just completely fill them. I almost missed the A in the crossing of MAYA and ALGERNON. An E looked OK until I reread the across clue and realized that I knew MAYA Lin from the Viet Nam Memorial.

Those of you that have taken tumbles on the ice... I feel your pain! Literally! Two years ago, I went down on the ice and drove the ball of my hip through the socket, splitting it in half. Two plate and a handful of screws, PT and a few months of healing, then a total hip replacement, more PT, more healing... Let's just say I have no intention of going north in the winter again!

VENN was an unknown but TORI came easily. I hesitated between RADARS and RADIOS as a control tower relies heavily on both. I put in the RAD and let the perps tell me which way to go.

Regarding the women's 7000 words and the men's 2000... is the latter "Yes Dear" repeated 1000 times?

Abejo, I thought about Myron Cope Saturday night when all of the "Terrible Towels" were waving. I installed a microwave radio link from his home to the WTAE studio so he could do his program from the comfort of home instead of having to drive across Pittsburgh every day. Fun guy! But I've never been a Steeler's fan.

I missed the blog the last couple of days. The "whatever is going around" laid me low and I didn't do Sunday's puzzle. I did yesterday's easy peasy puzzle, but didn't feel like getting on the blog. I'm back to my normal ( or maybe abnormal) self and rarin' to go... just starting the week a little behind.

Anonymous said...

Thank you Lemonade for the explanation of TREF, ( vis-a-vis kosher -).

The Muslim equivalent is Halal ( legally permitted, lawful ) and Haraam ( taboo). As in Judaism, this affects all phases and facets of life, ( including meat slaughter - )- no pork, no intoxicants - alcohol etc, and no carrion. Like jewish dietary laws, there are exceptions, as to save a life etc. However, unlike jewish rabbinates, there are no established statutory authorities in the West, for Dhabiha ( Halal meat )to certify factories or to maintain standards.

Maybe Windhover has something to contribute on this subject.

Thus the word 'Haraami' - literally 'of the Haraam' - is an epithet akin to Bast--d, born out of wedlock, rascal, or s.o.b. - is a very offensive, insulting word in S.E. Asia.

To Hahtool - for topologists, even a sweat shirt is a form of Torus - like a donut - and there is a math problem on how a wearer of sweat shirt can 'invert' a sweat shirt inside-out without ever completely taking it off his body. ( Don't try this in public - ).

For those familiar with Martin Gardener, the Guru of 'Recreational Mathematics' - and his numerous books, the ultimate Torus is the Klein Bottle ( or Jar) is a 'single sided' bottle with no inside or outside - thus no boundaries - it contains itself. See Wiki for details.

creature said...

Good Morning C.C.,Argyle and all,

Thanks for the write-up, Argyle.
Wish I knew how to search the blog; I put in a word and pushed search and nothing. I hate to be a bother;and I can forgo that knowledge, unless its really simple.

Gareth can really do an interesting puzzle. Refreshing and fun theme.

ALGERNON,VENN,TERF and TORI were welcome perps.I had made a note on TORI, but couln't find it. Think its in my favs!?!

The fill is very refreshing. Good work. Thanks.

Gonna take the time to read all the comments.

Have a nice day everyone.

windhover said...

Warren:
For the answer to your question, Google:
Do re mi + Woody

Dennis said...

Annette, great pick-up on the military sub-theme; I completely missed it. Yeah, 'jarhead' would've been perfect.


JimmyB, great point about Maya Lin.

I was one of those who was vehemently opposed to the original design -- I felt a black hole in the ground was hardly a tribute to my fallen brothers. However, when I went there for the unveiling, and I walked down to the center, where most of my guys are, I was so overcome with emotion that I just lost it. You can't help but be moved by the sheer number of names rising above you and radiating out on both sides. It is indeed a powerful, brilliantly conceived memorial.

Anonymous said...

Fermatprime: Please correct me if I`m incorrect, but aren`t many, twisting roller coaster rides based on a Mobius strip?

Bill G. said...

I grew up in Falls Church, Virginia and visited the Vietnam Memorial several times. I believe her design wasn't appreciated at first because people were used to seeing bronze soldiers and flags at war memorials. Her idea was much more creative and emotional. I agree with Dennis. Very powerful.

When I would introduce Venn diagrams to my middle school students, I would tell them that it was named after a famous mathematician who invented it; Dr. Diagram. Similarly with the Bunsen Burner.

Anon. 11:06, twisting roller coaster rides might be 'based' on a Mobius strip but just in appearance. If they were actually Mobius strips, you would get back to the starting point upside down and have to go around again to be right side up. Belts that drive rotating machinery are sometimes Mobius strips so that the belt wears evenly.

Lucina said...

Good day, Argyle, C.C. and all fellow puzzlers.

As Argyle said, either you know it or you don't and I did. I was on Gareth's wave length immediately with MAYA, knew Angelou not Lin, but thanks for the reminder; I had heard of her.

Thank you, Gareth Bain, for the good Tuesday entertainment.

Lemondade:
Thank you for explaining TREF as I had no idea though I do know kosher.

VENN diagrams are used in elementary school to teach sets and subsets. They are sometimes used in English classes, too, to show overlapping as the TITO one does.

I love Flowers for Algernon and would like to find the book to reread it.

HH:
I'm glad you are feeling better, sorry about your wife.

eddyB:
NIce photo of you and your cute dog.

I'm so sorry for you who have to shovel snow. Please be careful.

Tonight is the first day of class so I shall see what the new semester offers.

Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

Jerome said...

Daisy- Nice picture. Kinda cute, your human, and how they like to be licked and cuddle under you.

Jim D- The answer to whether or not words like 'SOPH' should be abbreviated is two-fold and has two sides. One camp, the people who stalled at that point, say it should be. The people who filled it in immediately say it needn't be. And, of course, these two camps change sides frequently.

ARBAON said...

My sometimes faulty memory said NBC for the network with the "eye"...messed up that corner for a while. Nice mis-direction with "do-re-mi' in the same puzzle with the Jackson Five.

Here is a summary of casualties in a non-declared war where military men and women never got the honor they deserved. The Wall and this site are good starts.

Anonymous said...

To Bill G. - You are right that machinery driven by power belts are sometimes Moebius strips - and that they give an even 'wear' on (both) the belt surface(s) - and also a greater degree of tautness and consequent friction, thus a more efficient power transmission.

However, this is offset by the fact that there has to be an allowance , of an 'allowed' play for the belt - especially where the belt crosses itself - otherwise the belt would 'rub' itself on the crossover edges and lead to belt side 'chafing' and consequent disastrous edge wear.

JD said...

Good morning Argyle , C.C. and all,

This was a speed run for me today...2 in a row. Must be the coffee.Sine, snorkel, pee,tref, tori and nonce were easily filled by perps.Nee was a WAG. Thanks Argyle for answering the WHYS.

weeder: I have many garden tools, but I thought I was the weeder.

Does a ricer have any other use other than to squish potatoes and extend clean up time?

Kazie, the Osmond family has 4 older brothers (Jay, Merrill, Wayne and Jimmy) who started singing before Donnie and Marie were old enough to join them.Actually, I don't think Marie was ever did. Andy Williams had them on his show many times.

Venn- not only did I use that diagram to organize thoughts before writing, but it was a great tool to compare ancient cultures, or the differences between early hominids.

EddyB-Grrreat dog, and it's nice to finally see you.

It's a beautiful day in our neighborhood.Nooooo fog.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

I was so on Gareth's wave length, I sussed the unifier before I saw it's clue. I was thinking that would be a good title, and was surprized when it showed up in the puzzle.

Though Hatool and anon beat me to the concept, I'll point out that Tori Spelling really is topologically equivalent to a doughnut.

Hey - who put the UGH in DONUT?

Soph is in kind of a gray area. It looks like an abbrv. but it is in the language -- sort of.

9D is our oldest granddaughter.

Thanks for the anniversary wishes - on to the next 20!

I went kind of loopy thinking about the population, but then came back to my CENSUS.

Those who actually read Swinburne are the ALGERNON EGGHEADS.

Highest ELEV is found ATOP.

When Watson doffed his chapeau, Holmes said, "I DEDUCE you've been COIFED."

Or is that a KROC?

Cheers!
JzB

Jeannie said...

The theme answers were a snap as I grew up with The Osmonds and the Jackson 5 and later was a fan of the BeeGee’s. I typed in Skye terrier without a second thought as my friend has one. He was an adorable little hair ball when he was a puppy. I still thought there were some tricky answers such as Nonce (present moment, and also a new word for me today), Perce and tref which all revealed themselves via the perps. All in all this was a fun Tuesday puzzle.

Eddy B, good to see you and your cute Daisy. Thanks for sharing.

Warren, it’s always good to see you blog. You should do it more regularly.

Just curious, did anyone on this blog elope?

Everyone dealing with the ice and snow be careful out there! I’ll take snow over ice any day. I don’t think we will have to worry about any ice here except for the “black ice” on the highways as our temperatures are plummeting today. It’s supposed to be minus 10 tonight and I don’t think we will see even single digits tomorrow! Burrr….

Annette said...

I'd just learned of the word TREF in a puzzle recently, and knew it would prove useful in the future. I got a big AHA when I saw the clue, recognizing that it was the same word, but darn if I still couldn't actually remember the word, just that I "knew" it... I guess that's a start.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody.

I echo what Burrito34 said: "...I enjoy the blog comments as much or more than the daily crossword itself. You all are a wealth of information and entertainment, thanks very much." Well said! Hear hear! I also offer my thanks to all of you.

You know how in some restaurants where you order at a counter, take a number, find a table, and listen for them to call your name? Well, I often find that the PA system is so distorted, or the caller speaks the name to quickly and/or unclearly, so I always say my name is Algernon when I place my order. The sound of "Algernon" is a lot easier to distinguish than my real, single-syllable name that sounds like Don, Ron, John, Dawn, Tom, or any number of single-syllable names that have the sound "aw" in the middle. By the way, a great percentage of the time when I say my name is Algernon, the order-taker says, "Huh?" LOL

Very best wishes to you all.

Jayce said...

Barry G, do you still have, and enjoy, that Chrysler 300C? Any chance we all can see a photo of it with you in it or beside it? Thanks.

Mainiac said...

Belated wishes to Jazz on 20 years of matrimonial bliss and to KQ on your birthday.

Can't keep up with the blog lately. Go from one storm to another. Radar showing rain even though light snow outside the window.

My hand's up for eloping, sort of. Went to camp, invited our parents and each had someone stand up for us. A friend of the wife's (who is really a preacher) did the deed. His wicked good looking girlfriend held our oldest during the quick nups. It was a surprise for everyone but the preacher. We had written vows we wanted to use so we needed to include him sooner. I barbecued chicken for the group, couple cocktails and boated everyone down the lake to their vehicles after a terrific thunder and lightning storm. Fell asleep soundly with the boy on my chest that night. We were both exhausted.

Don't know what a formal shindig would have done to me! I love weddings, as long as I'm a spectator I guess.

thehondohurricane said...

Jeannnie,

Yep, Lucy and I eloped and this next July 22 we will have been married for 50 years. From my perspective, no regrets, would do again in a second. You'll have to find Lucy on your own to get her opinion.

Hondo

thehondohurricane said...

Dennis

Will do. So you know it's me and not another spam guy, my address is;

firstbase5@comcast.net

Hondo

Alan Osmond said...

Actually, JD, Wayne, Merril, Jay, Donny and I were "The Osmond Brothers." Marie and Jimmy are the babies of the family.

Gunghy said...

Well, this would have been a speed run if I had remembered how much I hate the song ABC. But I got THEJACKO and DEDUCED that if had to be THE JACK OF something. Throw in TORA and I stared at THE JACK OF FAVE for way too long. The V8 can hit so hard I've spent the whole morning cleaning up the mess.

Hand up for not liking the clue for SOPH. But put me in the camp of those who got it immediately, but still don't like it.

WH, thank you for the clue of how Do-re-mi relates to money, but that may be a bit obscure for a Tuesday. It didn't help that due to my previously described faux pas, I was faced with the cross of A_AFDA and _OOLA.

BillG, love the picture. Worry about whether 70 pounds makes a good lap dog next time you are cuddling with your wife. I'll bet you don't complain about that weight.

eddyB said...

Hi.

Hand up for loving this xwrd.
Knew Venn from sets and sub sets.
Knew Tori from electo mag class.

I'm probably a little biased. But,
Daisy is the greatest dog in the
whole wide world.

Good catch Annette. We were watching the Steelers and Daisy
had to have her towel.

take care.

eddyB said...

Abejo. Surely you ment the Packers.
Sad to say Myron died a few years ago. Big loss for Pittsburgh.

All. Jill wasn't too happy to see
that Daisy was on the sofa when she got back from Asilomar and saw the photo. Daisy wouldn't look at her until untill she got a big hug.

take care

kazie said...

Alan,
How wonderful is it that you stopped in to visit! Thanks for the correction. I guess I wasn't here, or at least aware of them, for the Osmond early years.

JD,
Thank you too for helping out.

crazyhorse said...

Jeannie

I eloped when I was 19 and pregnant with first child.
Lasted 14 years and 2 more wonderful children. My family is the most wonderful thing that I have a privilege to be part of. 5 even more wonderful grandchidren!

Loved this puzzle and Monday's. Not so much Saturday and Sunday.

Hands up for a 70 pound flat coated retriever who thinks she is a lap dog. Best companion I've ever had.

Thanks for this blog. Read it every day, just don't post often.

Gunghy said...

Oops, guess that wasn't BillG in the picture. Sorry, EddyB, but then what do you expect from a guy that calls his sibs and kids the wrong names?

Lucina said...

Jeannie, yes, on thinking about it, we eloped! We just decided over dinner one night, then the next Monday we went to the courthouse. Slightly over one month later we had a church ceremony with the family and a few friends in attendance then lunch at a local retaurant. Very simple.

Alan:
Thank you for stopping by; I became a fan during the Andy Williams show and especially loved the Christmas specials.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I had the puzzle completed in record time this morning. But, I had one error and Argyle fixed that for me. I put in Egohead for Highbrows so Saroes was the answer for Snorket et al. I never had the comics in my radar scope.

Tref and Tori were my learning moments for today. I had both filled in with the perps, and hoped I was correct. Thanks for the explanations Argyle and Lemonade.

I haven't thought about Venn diagrams since my teaching days. I used them like JD to compare different versions of the same fairy tale.

Dennis, the alphabet order could be used by the Wheel of Fortune contestants. LOL.

Eddy B. my daughter was at Asilomar this past weekend for the Reading Conference. She said the weather at the coast was spectacular. Also, loved the picture of you and your dog. She is adorable.

HeartRx said...

Gunghy, thumbs up for your new avatar ;-D

JD, I use my ricer not only for potatoes, but it is also a perfect tool for making spaetzle, if you use the disc with the bigger holes.

Thanks for all the wonderful tidbits of information today, everyone. I wonder if reading this blog would count as credits toward a PhD in "cruciverbalism"?

I especially liked JimmyB's comment about Maya Lin getting a C on her design. Who knew?? (Well, not me, anyway!)

It's nasty out there tonight. I had to go out earlier, and the windshield immediately froze into one sheet of ice. Now everything is covered with snow/rain/slush, and it's getting down to 14 tonight. So it should all be a nice frozen skating rink by tomorrow morning.

Have a great evening, all!

dodo said...

Greetings, everybody,

Annette, I had that same experience as you with 'tref'. I knew we'd had it before and was pretty sure it was 'tr--' but couldn't get it. Maybe we're thinking of the same puzzle.

Vidwan, why are you now anonymous? I recognized your style and type of information at'anon@9:31 and 10:19' Why don't you come back to us?

EddieB, marvelous picture of you and Daisy, but send us one with you saying 'cheese' so we can see your face? How old is Daisy? She's adorable!

Belated greetings to KQ and did I miss an anniversary among the group?

I'm glad for all of you who have been ailing and are now recovered.

Ferma, I hope this most recent trouble will be shortlived. Keep improving!

BTW, for some reason when there is a clue re: the shape of a doughnut, I think of 'torque" or however you spell it. Am I nuts or is there a connection?

Oh, I loved today's puzzle. A bit easier than yesterday, I thought.
I've heard and even used the word 'nonce' but have not seen it in print. Interesting; 'time being' would be another clue for it.

As for Moebius, there are some very complicated knitting instructions for making a 'Moebius scarf', which I have given up on.
(just ended a sentence with not one but two prepositions!) I'm now making one which will get its twist when I sew the two ends together!

dodo said...

P.S. I suppose that's not really kosher!

Lemonade714 said...

BTW- TREF is pronounced TRAY-FFF.

When I was 4 years old Adlai Stevenson ran for President, and all the politial pundits on radio called him an egghead. When I saw his picture, (see link) I thought they were referring to the shape of his bald head, and I had that as the meaning of egghead for years.

Kazie, what a wonderful thought to improve one of my favorites Shepard's Pie.

Do-re-mi as money comes from the pulp fiction expansion of dough, as money. It evolved from give me the dough, to give me the do-re-mi. Mystery stories from the 40s and 50s will have it.

Speaking of which, Martin Gardner had a column in Ellery Queen Mystery magazine for years.

Knowing many thousand read the blog daily, I should not be surprised when a topic such as Moebius strips comes along, there is always someone to provide in depth information. What is impressive is so much comes from the regulars, who change all the time.

I did not elope, not yet anyway.

I did not serve in any military, being blind and all they were afraid I would shoot our own I assume, but the memorial was one of the most moving places I have been. There were too many names of friends there, but even knowing no one it was awe inspiring. Imagine one with all the names from the Civil War, WWI and WWII.

Marge said...

Hi all,
I enjoyed this puzzle more than yesterday but had a few look-ups. I didn't know Christopher Plummer had a daughter. In my dictionary, it listed his name and that's where I found her name.

Tref was unknown but I got it with the perps. I've known of Maya Angelelou for a long time(she is a great lady) but I never heard of Maya Lin. I didn't know she designed the Vietnam Memorial. That is a great accomplishment.

EddyB- your dog is beautiful. I do miss having a pet but our last one (a cat) died in 2009 and we travel sometimes and some one has to care for them. My husband says no, of course because he usually went to the basement to take care of the litter box.

I got the music brothers ok,how I remember those Osmonds on Andy Williams. Really great!

Dennis, I was very moved by your story about seeing the names of your fellow soldiers on the memorial.

I am closing this now as I want to add somemore in a little while
Marge

Marge said...

Hi again,

I have always liked stories from the western expansion of our country and did a lot of reading of real life people and what they went through. The Nez Perce people and their Chief Joseph were always an inspiration. Our country treated all the Native Americans badley.

Chief Joseph Jr. is the one we know tried so hard to keep their land.He did everything he could. Before his father Chief Joseph Sr. died he told him:
"My son, my body is returning to Mother earth, and my spirit is going very soon to see the Great Spirit. When I am gone , think of your country.You are the chief of these people. Always remember that your father never sold his country. You must stop yours ears when you are asked to sign a treaty to sell your home. A few years more and white man will be all around you. My son, never sell the bones of you father and mother."

As usually happened, the tribe was forced to sign treaties that forced them to move.

There's much more to this story but it is too long to tell it here. You can read more if you want by putting Nez Perce/Chief Joseph on Yahoo (and probally Google) too.

Have a good evening all
Marge

Barry G. said...

Barry G, do you still have, and enjoy, that Chrysler 300C? Any chance we all can see a photo of it with you in it or beside it? Thanks.

I still have it and and am loving it, especially in the snow and slush. Plenty of pictures of it, but none with me in it, I'm afraid...

creature said...

Dodo, I've knitted a moebius scarf. When I get home, I will find her book on a bunch of moebius patterns. It is much less complicated than the one described in google and actually fun to execute. I'll tell you, if you're interested.

Dudley said...

Barry G - I took note of your post this morning, and wondered whether your Chrysler has AWD. If so, I was completely unaware they had that option.

creature said...

A neighbor [now deceased]lost a son in vietnam. When a daughter and I visited relatives near DC, we went to the monument and the men were very helpful in finding his name and showed us how to do a rubbing of it, which we took home to her. It meant a lot. Walking down into the monument and leaving were very moving. I don't think I'll ever forget those emotions.

JD said...

big oops..thanks Alan. You are actually the leader of the pack. I liked your 25th ann. show..you guys still have it!

learning moment..moebius scarf..never heard of it so looked it up, and dodo, it does look complicated, but "nifty"

I think a San Jose man may be a candidate for a 2011 Darwin award. He was found dead inside a house tented for fumigation.

I hope none of you living in the ice storm areas are driving or even walking anywhere tonight.

Anonymous said...

Ooh still getting birthday wishes several days late. Thanks everyone. I even got another gift today.

I used to await the Andy Williams Christmas special every year. I just loved it. PBS has a special that they do about them annually and I watch that every year too. They don't make them that way any longer do they.

Loved the Band of Brothers. Totally my era I guess. Fun puzzle.

Anonymous said...

Good night all.

Dodo, yes, you missed DH's and my 13th. It was probably buried in a lot of words. But thanks for asking.

Great puzzle today, and excellent write up, Argyle.
Thanks.

HUTCH said...

I am one, because of age,who actually has heard common usage of "..for the nonce..." Without formal definition, it simply meant--" for the time being..." Nothing sexual- just "time, now and then'. Any comments? Hutch.

dodo said...

hUTCH@9.41 Yes, I mentioned that in my post @ 5:01 pm= 'time being'.


Lemonade, Adlai Stevenson was who made me switch to liberal. I could be your mother! He was pretty bald, but a lot sexier than Ike! That's not why I switched, though!

Warren, where have you been? Welcome back!

Jeannie said...

I knew I would get some "yeses" to the elope question. Thank you Mainiac, Hondo & Lucy, Crazyhorse, and Lucina for answering.

MFcounselor, "Not yet", do you have someone in mind :) If so, lucky lady.

dodo said...

I have had so much trouble with my ID and/or password not being accepted today that I think I'd have cried if that last one hadn't gone through!

IT's been a very trying day!

Oh, and Sallie, Happy anniversary and many many more!

I do love you all and am so very grateful for your friendship!

Lemonade714 said...

Dear Dodo, as I grew older and listened to what Adlai had to say, I was much more impressed by his view of life than Ike's. It is ironic he was partially ostracized for being divorced, while Eisenhower was one of our many philandering fearless leaders.

Sallie, Happy anniversary as well, and many more.

MF does not always mean My Favorite, hmmm. Anyway, not yet, means I am always reluctant to say never about anything, for as soon as I do, life slaps me about. There is no Ms. LIMEAID in the wings now.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Evening All, what an interesting bunch of comments today. I'm sorry I missed it until now.

My parents were big Adlai Stevenson admirers, so I fell into it naturally. Funny "egghead" comment, Lemonade.

Jeannie, the first time around was with all the usual bells and whistles and that didn't work out well. GAH and I didn't elope because we had already been living together for six years. But we did (fairly spontaneously) go to our local Wedding chapel/tax preparation/immigration consulting Center and were married by a non-English speaking JP whose secretary/wedding witness assured us we were totally legal. I look back on our quirky wedding very fondly.

GAH and I were out the door at 7:30 this morning for a morning of chemo (Yay, only two more weeks left!). Then stops at Costco, Target, Michaels (craft store, if you don't have one in your area) and finally a nice dinner at a local restaurant.

Oh yes, we fitted a movie in there too. We saw "The King's Speech". I know someone mentioned it the other day. It is really a terrific movie...one that adults can enjoy. We don't get enough of those.

I'll be home tomorrow, so will be sure to check in early and often.

JimmyB said...

KQ - Add mine to the belated birthday wishes.

My folks were Bing Crosby fans so we always watched the Christmas shows as well. Most memorable was the Bing duet with David Bowie singing Little Drummer Boy. You're right, they don't make them like they used to.