google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday January 5, 2011 Donna S. Levin

Gary's Blog Map

Jan 5, 2011

Wednesday January 5, 2011 Donna S. Levin

Theme: A Horse is a horse, of course, Of course - An anniversary tribute puzzle.

17A. 63-Across, for one : PALOMINO. Everyone knows Palominos cannot talk.

18A. Start of a quote : TIME TO

27A. More of the quote : HIT THE HAY

46A. More of the quote : OH, I FORGOT

61A. End of the quote : I ATE IT

63A. Speaker of the quote, whose show premiered in syndication 1/5/1961 : Unless of course the name of the horse is the famous MISTER ED. But why would he only talk to Wilbur?

Welcome all. Boomer here.

The sixties had talking cars, talking bears, and a Huckleberry Hound that sang "Clementine", and a famous old nag whose show debuted fifty years ago today.

Across:

1. "Truth in Engineering" automaker : AUDI - If they say so.

5. Low-risk fin. investments : CDS - As far as I know Certificates of Deposit have no risk, and very little return these days.

8. "Casablanca" star : BOGART - A little before my time - his nickname is one over par.

14. Kirk's Enterprise, for one : STARSHIP - There are still many Trekkies out there. Star Trek left a large footprint on the TV World. Larger than the hoof print left by our subject of today.

16. 2009 sci-fi movie that is the highest-grossing film in history : AVATAR - intensely different.

19. Biblical queen's land : SHEBA - Must be in Australia.

20. Enthuse : GUSH

22. Red root veggie : BEET - Best when pickled.

23. __Kosh B'Gosh : OSH - Oshkosh is located in East Central Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Winnebago. Famous for manufacturing the best farm overalls ever made.

25. Swipe : STEAL - Odd how swipe can also mean running a credit card at a gas pump, and oil companies can "swipe" a few bucks from your pocket on every fill-up.

31. More than salty : LEWD

34. Game with Skip cards : UNO - A famous card game I have never played.

35. Actor Gibson : MEL - I liked him best in "Maverick". James Garner starred first in a TV show in the sixties that included a few horses from time to time. None were named Ed.

36. Workman's wheeled cart : BARROW - sounds funny without Wheel in front.

38. Make damp : MOISTEN

41. "William Tell" composer : ROSSINI - Theme song of the "Lone Ranger", starring Clayton Moore and Jay Silverheels. Their horses were Silver and Scout. No Eds there either.

42. Load up with, as work : PILE ON

43. Coppertone letters : SPF - I'm not sure what the letters stand for, but the higher the number, the more it costs, and the less burn you receive.

44. Org. with Ducks and Penguins : NHL - Hockey teams of course, but wait commissioner, could they also be Batman enemies?

45. Bit of foliage : LEAF

49. Sip slowly : NURSE - I've nursed a Manhattan now and then, but maybe a better clue would be medical professional.

51. Vein find : ORE - Could also be state south of Wash.

52. Trade : SWAP - Favorite pastime among Baseball card collectors, and MLB team owners.

55. Luminous glow : AURA

57. Dispatch boat : AVISO

65. Bucking beasts : BRONCS - Rodeo favorites. I don't think any are named Ed though.

66. Intimate confidante : ALTER EGO

67. Three sheets to the wind : STINKO

68. Super-secret intelligence gp. : NSA

69. Villagers' tormentor in "Fiddler on the Roof" : TSAR - Now I'll be humming "If I were a Rich Man" for the rest of the day.

Down:

1. Nile slitherers : ASPS - These snakes sure show up in a lot of puzzles. I think they eat Oreos by Lake Erie.

2. Six-sided state : UTAH - Actually, Utah has only four sides, North, East, West, and South. But Wyoming took a little bite out of it.

3. Chip's buddy : DALE - Famous Chipmunks of years past.

4. Asimov classic : I, ROBOT - This sounds like a future Apple product.

5. Scoreboard letters for "Da Bears" : CHI - NFC Central Champs this year. But I always think of Mr. Buttermaker's baseball waifs.

6. Parking lot mishap : DING - I had DENT at first. Had to open the Liquid Paper bottle.

7. __ support: alimony : SPOUSAL

8. Enjoy a soak : BATHE

9. Prefix with duct : OVI

10. Risk takers : GAMBLERS - Not the same people who buy the CDs.

11. Fits to __ : A TEE - I've heard this for years, but I still don't get it. Must be some tailor thing.

12. Distance ÷ time : RATE

13. Harness race pace : TROT - I've been there. I think the horse needs to have a left and right foot on the ground at all times or be disqualified. They go at a very fast trot. None of the trotters are named Ed.

15. Shatter : SMASH

21. Place to wallow : STY - Actually, I thought you needed mud to wallow.

24. Macho guys : HE MEN - Are Macho women then called SHE MEN?

26. "Sorry to say ..." : ALAS

27. A dromedary has one : HUMP - The Metrodome in Minneapolis also had a hump until last month. Now it's a big bowl.

28. Packed like sardines : IN OIL - Okay, but not much tuna, sardines, or anchovies are packed in oil anymore.

29. Patterned fabric : TOILE

30. Cooped-up layer : HEN - Producers of the incredibly edible egg.

32. Clasp tightly in distress, as one's hands : WRING - Hands, yes. No one wrings out laundry anymore.

33. Hawaiian crooner : DON HO - Okay, forget "If I were a Rich Man"; now I am humming "Tiny Bubbles" for the rest of the day.

36. Hugely successful, in Variety : BOFFO - Couldn't be that hugely successful. I've never heard of it. But I admit I don't read Variety.

37. Droop : WILT - Also the name of Mr. Chamberlin, who once scored 100 points in an NBA game.

39. 2008 Harvey Milk portrayer : SEAN PENN - I still liked him best as Jeff Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" way back in 1982.

40. Bean curd : TOFU

41. NY campus that's home to the Engineers : RPI (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

43. Civil War general who captured Atlanta : SHERMAN - And left a large path of destruction.

46. Buckeyes' sch. : OSU - Ohio State, a respected power in the Big Ten.

47. Emulate Cicero : ORATE - Can also be obtained by Odistance ÷ Otime.

48. Go back : REVERT - Another Oops. I had RETURN. Had to use the Liquid Paper again.

50. Dustin's "Midnight Cowboy" role : RATSO. Still liked Sean Penn as Spicoli better.

52. A boy and his sis : SIBS

53. Witch blemish : WART - For some reason, they always seem to be on the nose.

54. Yours, in Tours : A TOI - I'm still trying to learn English.

56. Troubles : AILS

58. Infuriates : IRES

59. Super Monkey Ball publisher : SEGA - I have not left the PacMan and Final Fantasy era. Super Monkey Ball sounds like something Brunswick or Storm could manufacture for bowlers.

60. Olfactory stimulus : ODOR - This is near the end of the puzzle. maybe they could have just clued Bad Smell.

62. "Ugh" relative : ICK - Maybe I'm getting to Picky, but the clue is a bit Icky.

64. RR depot : STA

Answer grid.

Boomer

80 comments:

  1. Hello All,
    Good grief, Boomer. You are hilarious! Made my day.
    Fastest puzzle around, too!

    Still sick. More later.

    ReplyDelete
  2. i have an uncle named ed.

    Uncle Ed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks also to Ms. Levin! You create wonderful puzzles! (I loved that goofy show in my much younger days!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning, Boomer, C.C. and gang - a bit of a rude awakening, going from the high 70s to the mid-20s, but it's always nice to come home, and it's great to again share the fun of crossword solving with this, our virtual 'family'.

    As to today's puzzle, I always look forward to Donna's offerings, and this one was a real treat. Although I got through it in under ten minutes with just one unknown (69A), the combination of 'gush', 'hump', 'hit the hay', 'moisten', 'pile on' and 'I ate it' had me really enjoying the puzzle. Just my mind set, I suppose.

    Once I got 'Palomino' (with perp help) as part of the NW, it helped the rest of the theme come fairly quickly. The rest of the puzzle was pretty straightforward, except that I never equated 'Intimate confidante' and 'alter ego' as synonymous. This was a fun puzzle, and a nice way to ease back into the swing of things.

    A suggestion to help avoid the type of birthday confusion we had yesterday: let's wait till the actual day of the birthday to acknowledge it, rather than talking about ones in the future.

    Boomer, excellent job on the blog; an enjoyable read, and your sense of humor comes through loud and clear.

    Today is National Bird Day. Lois, how're you gonna celebrate?

    Did You Know?:

    - Dolly the sheep - the first cloned mammal - was named after Dolly Parton because she was cloned from a mammary cell.

    - Gregor Mendel, "the father of genetics", twice failed the certification exam to become a high-school science teacher.

    - Potatoes have more chromosomes than humans do - 48 versus 46.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Morning, all!

    Another easy, breezy puzzle today. Of course, it was helped in large part by the fact that I had just finished another puzzle with exactly the same theme and quote. Who knew there was so much love for a 50-year-old talking horse?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good Morning, Boomer and Friends. Wow! Boomer, you have talent. Your write up was hilarious! You gave a very easy Wednesday puzzle a lot of sparkle. I think those Oreo eating ASPS in Lake Erie are wearing TOILE!

    OSU (and a shout out to our friend Buckeye) is now the winner of the 2011 Sugar Bowl.

    I, too had Return instead of REVERT.

    SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor.

    My favorite clue was More than Salty = LEWD.

    Very heavy rain here today with local flooding. Hope I can get to work without too many detours.

    QOD: Remember not only to say the right thing in the right place, but far more difficult still, to leave unsaid the wrong thing at the tempting moment. ~ Benjamin Franklin

    ReplyDelete
  7. Boomer; Great write-up !!!

    Upon my return YIPPIE, it's a Donna Levin !!!

    Normally, I do not like "quote" puzzles, but today's was FUN with a grin at the payoff 'I ATE IT.'

    Also had dent before DING.

    When I NURSE my ALTER-EGO, AVATAR (Pinch) I rarely (if ever) get STINKO ...

    Being 6 hours longer ...
    2011 is turning out to be a great year.
    New Year's in Zagreb was "A HOOT" !!!
    (More on that later, I've got a lot of things to do).

    I did get to do the Thursday and Friday 2010's.
    Had a FUN time solving Mon.& Tuesday last night.
    And it is wonderful to sleep in my own bed again.

    Yup, I'm ...
    Back in the U.S.
    Back in the U.S.
    Back in the U.S. of A. !!!

    (For how long ... that is the question).

    A "toast" to ALL at my Honeymoon Island Sunset spot @ 5:47 !!!

    Cheer's !!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I did this one on paper before the NY Times puzzle online. The same theme helped me with the second one.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good day folks,

    Another easy solve today and a very enjoyable puzzle. Mr Ed was a favorite TV Show and I still occasionally will find a rerun on an oldie station. I recall reading that Ed had gone to "horsie heaven" a few years ago. Ed's voice was none other than Alan Rocky Lane, an old time western movie star.

    I couldn't remember Rossini and had to rely on perps. The William Tell Overture was ,of course, the background music for The Lone Ranger.

    Three sheets to the wind brought back some memories better forgotten. Throw in the Bogart clue and this puzzle reminded me how much I've aged.

    Tinbeni, welcome back. Look forward to hearing about the trip. Boomer, enjoyed your write up. Have a good day everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Great blogging, Boomer! Let's hear more of you!

    I didn't find this quite as easy as most of you. I got stuck in the mid-east for a while because my brain took time coming up with WILT, but then everything else seemed to appear. I knew I knew DON HO, but without perps it wouldn't come (it's a name:) ) and for some reason I've never thought about Rossini in connection with Wilhelm Tell--was after one of the many Germans or Austrian composers. I didn't know salty meant LEWD either.

    The quote took a bit of eking out too, even after I got MISTER ED, since some perps were still missing (OVI, RPI?). I did get REVERT quickly after going for reverse and finding it a letter short, just reverted to revert. BOFFO is not on my radar.

    No look-ups today but I always use perps, so never bother mentioning that as a drawback.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Boomer, Thanks for the drive by. I am blown away the NYT and LAT ran such similar puzzles, and I honestly did not know there was such a universal appeal for Mr.Ed (nothing personal to our Mr. Ed). Thr NYT had the advantage of a Mr. Ed Sessa as constructor, though both left out the clue OLDER WRIGHT BROTHER.
    Very whimsical day. Obviously Rich and Will are either not talking or not caring. I do remember the NYT had an anniversary puzzle for Francis the talking mule, so it all seems odd.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good morning all. Boomer, thanks for the commentary. ORATE lol.

    Another great Donna puzzle. Nice treat for hump day. Liked the horse related theming. The ROSSINI/RPI cross was a gimme. There was some great fill like BARROW, AVISO, PALOMINO, and ALTER EGO. I didn't know the quote but the perps easily fleshed it out. No lookups were needed.

    Dennis, welcome back. Here is a tribute to the first Marine.

    Have a good day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good morning, Boomer, CC and fellow solvers.

    GO BUCKEYES!

    Fun puzzle today. I liked the sub theme of... horsing around... that Dennis and others spotted. Gy the time we get through with it today, there will be no AURA of respectability left. I guess we should try to keep it salty but not quite LEWD. Otherwise, our anonymous would be censors will PILE ON.

    Welcome back Tinbeni, I'll join you in that sunset toast.

    I'm sure I would have fallen for the DENT/DING trap, too, except I already had STARSHIP in place before reading that clue. 67A had to wait for perps. There's way to many six letter synonyms for drunk to fill it without a couple of perps.

    Hand up for wanting RETURN, but I already had the second E in REVERT so had to scrap that entry.

    Other than that, pretty straight forward solve.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good Morning Boomer, C.C. et al.

    Hilarious write-up today, Boomer - you had me snorting coffee out my nose on your take on 47A ORATE.

    This was an easy puzzle, and pretty much another speed run. The only glitch was ROSSINI. Like others here, I just couldn't dredge it up from the STY that I call a brain. So I had to resort to perp help in that area.

    MISTER ED was like so many comedy shows of that era - just wacky fun, seeing what scrapes Wilbur would get into, but by the end of the show all was right again. Substitute a magic genie for Mr. Ed, and and astronaut for Wilbur, and TA DA - you have "I Dream of Jeannie". But then it starts to go downhill when you substitute a car for the horse and an attorney for Wilber and come up with a show like "My Mother, the Car".

    Have a great day, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Morning all,
    I really enjoy Donna Levin puzzles; fun theme today. As much as we may complain about current TV shows, they are a far cry from "Mr. Ed", thankfully.

    @Dick, a belated Happy Birthday to you. Hope it was a wonderful celebration.

    Boomer and CC would make the greatest dinner companions. Truly wish I could share a meal with them and enjoy a wonderful evening.

    Have a great day everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Good Morning C.C.,Boomer and all,

    Boomer, you are one funny guy!
    And, I might add, very clever,smart,witty.. Thanks for a great start.

    Donna , I loved seeing it was your puzzle and you didn't let me down. Lots of fun and enough to make me stop and think. Thanks for 'hump' on hump day.

    Dennis, its so good to hear from you and read your regular post. Hope you feel rested even after dancing all night. As far as National Bird Day, I look forward to the response.

    Tinbeni, So great to see your post;
    glad you're on US soil. Look forward to more info on your future.

    Back later.

    Have a nice day everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi group!! Hey Boomer....you are one funny guy, enjoyed reading your remarks as much as I enjoyed this puzzle. Hope we see more of you.

    Love Donna's puzzles, and usually can sail right through them but today was not the way that went. I did well, but did not know: AVISO, SEGA, CHI, TSAR, SEAN PENN...you get the picture.

    I used to love Mr.Ed - but I was young, what can I say.

    Dennis, welcome home! Glad you enjoyed your 'southern exposure' ;)

    Re National Bird Day: Didn't we all decide what a bird in the hand was worth a few months ago????

    ReplyDelete
  18. Wow, Boomer, good to hear from you again, good job. Interestingly, Boomer is a popular horse's name. :-)

    Today's nit for me (not picking on the write-up, BTW): If you narrow the definition of risk in financial terms, it merely means the possibility of losing money.

    CDs and passbook savings accounts have the same risk, i.e., that they pay less interest than the annual rate of inflation, so the longer you leave your money in them, the more you lose in purchasing power. Your balance doesn't go down, but you won't be able to buy as much with it later because everything will cost more then.

    Gold is the only commodity that truly holds its value: In 1973 a new Corvette cost $5561, or 53 oz of gold. In 2009, depending on model, (there are extremes that can be pursued here), about an average of $50,000, or 45 oz of gold.

    But you don't really make any money on gold, it is merely a hedge against inflation, useful when you have more money than you need or know what to do with. And you might get arguments, but it should not be measured simply against one currency (US $) because that is instead more a measure of that specific currency value, not of gold internationally.

    Every investment has some risk, even those you seemingly gain on. For those, the risk is that you could have made much more with different investments.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Dennis,
    Nice to see you back and inject the needed structure to the blog.

    Husker Gary,
    Yeah, I think Chinese characters do not lend themselves to crossword style wordplay.

    ReplyDelete
  20. fermatprime: My sincere apologies for being snippy. I didn`t reaize you were ill. I hope this finds you better.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi all.

    Welcome back Tin!

    Under 10 for a Wed. False hope for MH?

    Fantastic photo on APOD from Muscat.

    Uncle Ed.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Good day all solvers.

    Wow, Boomer, you are a funny man! Made me laugh aloud.

    I love Donna Levin's puzzles but this was scrabbly for me because of the quote. I had to bounce around and filled in everywhere I could until the whole quotation could be deciphered.

    Kazie said it best, perps are not a drawback for me either as I work up and down together.

    Hand up for RETURN before REVERT, DENT before DING and of course I could not recall ATOI, had AMOI and IAMEIT made no sense.

    I believe there is a controversy about whether SHEBA was in Ethiopia or in Yemen.

    And it's always nice to see my surname, DALE, in a puzzle.

    Welcome back, Dennis and Tinbeni! I missed you both and can't wait to hear of your adventures.

    Have a fantastic Wednesday, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  23. 36. Workman's wheeled cart : BARROW - sounds funny without Clyde in front.

    MISTER ED. But why would he only talk to Wilbur? Probably for the same reason that Mr. Snuffleupagus only talked to Big Bird?


    Dumb Criminal of the day: A man and women went to Walmart in Louisville KY to and were caught shoplifting when confronted by store security they fled with the merchandise but the mother left her baby in the cart. When she returned later to get the child the police were waiting and arrested her and her boy friend.


    DUMB CRIMINALS

    ReplyDelete
  24. Good Morning Boomer and fellow humpers! Great write-up. It’s funny how all those sitcoms I grew up seem so lame now but evoke great memories. Norman Lear, et al raised the bar for that kind of fare!

    Musings
    -There was a hilarious editorial cartoon in the Omaha World Herald this morning about the Starship Enterprise
    -All of us need to obey the QOD on this blog!
    -Wilt Chamberlin scored in a LOT of places
    -My daughter is shopping for a new Audi. She never even considers domestic cars even though they are improving!
    -I never understood how anyone could be scared of the diminutive Bogie or Sinatra in films
    -Biff from Back to the Future, “Why don’t you make like a tree and get outta here!” LEAF escaped him.
    -I liked cooped-up layer
    -RPI is getting to be like ASTA. Cool, I think we have a lot of peeps that know about this institution
    -Beets are one of those foods you love or hate. Put me in the Love column.
    -Last few days have been sunny with highs in the 30’s and no wind. That is heaven with only a light jacket necessary.
    -Welcome back to Tinman and Dennis.
    -Tinman, Is it true that "Oz never gave nothin' to the tinman that didn't, didn't already have."?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hi everybody! A fun puzzle and a very fun write up. I never cared for Mr. Ed enough to watch the show more than once or twice. More than Salty = LEWD was the trickiest clue I thought. Hahtool, really good QOD. Intimate Confidant flummoxed me but I guess it makes sense.

    Red root veggie = BEET was easy. For those of you who don't especially like red beets but do enjoy leafy greens, I will again recommend beet tops (greens).They are my favorite!

    Did you see where some new editions of "Huckleberry Finn" and "Tom Sawyer" will have the "N" word expurgated and replaced with "slave"? From AP, Mark Twain wrote that "the difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter." Twain was particular about his words. His letter in 1888 about the right word and the almost right one was "the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning." I think it's sad when PC runs amok and changes an American classic

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hungry Mother,
    I love your avatar photo--great alignment of sunset with the wineglass.

    Husker,
    If you like beets, try a slice of pickled beet on a hamburger for extra tang. Oz specialty.
    My son bought his Audi on Ebay and flew to Michigan to pick it up. It was two years old then, in 2003, but he still loves it so much he had it shipped to Germany with him. I thought he was nuts, but he said he couldn't see spending what it would take to replace over there and his employer paid all their shipping, so why not?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Good Morning All, Fun puzzle and funny comments by Boomer. First real laugh of the day was Boomer's(47D) ORATE definition. Are ORATE and (12D) RATE fill echos (flechos?) that were discussed a couple of days ago? I understand "clecho", but I haven't quite got the second definition.

    Everything (almost) went smoothly until I got to the bottom. If (68A) NSA is so super-secret how come we are supposed to know about it? Then I had (48D) RETURN. Correcting that took a little time. I was lost on AVISO (a French dispatch boat seems a little obscure for a Wednesday?).

    I didn't know that (66A) ALTER EGO could be defined as an "intimate confidante". I always thought it referred to someone leading a double life like the Jekyll/Hyde, or Superman/Clark Kent relationships.

    Wikipedia says ALTER EGO is related to a computer gaming AVATAR, which showed up at 16A.

    I'm glad our AVATARs here aren't ALTER EGOs. I'd have to change from a rusty tin barn with a rocky foundation (OTOH, maybe that's not too far off :o)

    Too bad there wasn't a WILBUR fill today..."Elder Wright brother" perhaps?

    Thanks Boomer for the "If I Were A Rich Man" link. Maybe Tevye's horse was named MR ED. Favorite musicals were mentioned yesterday. I love "The Music Man" too, but "Fiddler On The Roof" is my favorite.

    Nice reference to (46D) OSU's Buckeyes. Are you out there, Bro?
    Here's a Groucho (puzzle tie-in) quote for you from "Horse Feathers", "Why, I'd horse-whip you if I had a horse."

    Take care, fermatprime.

    Hi RSD, nice to see you again.

    Welcome back to Dennis and Tinbeni. It tweren't the same without you.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Regarding 'Safe ' investments-
    Al, you are certainly entitled to your own opinion, and I realize you mean well, altruistically, ( without ulterior motive) - on your opinion on 'safe' money - but it is sometimes easy to get fixated on 'favorite' investments.

    Nothing in life is without risk - Risk pervades our lives like death and taxes. ( Unfortly, I cannot expand on that in this blog - ).

    You say Gold ( $ 1378 per f.oz) - why not Platinum ( 17 times rarer, but only $ 1743, a 26% premium) - why not Rhodium ( 289 times rarer, only $ 2320 , a 68 % prem. - was over $ 8500 in 1998 ) - why not Silver ( 10 times the 1998 price, @ $30 ) or Palladium etc. etc.

    Interestingly, there was a chart made by ( amongst others - ) Milton Friedman ( 1976, Noble prz. Econ) of 'values' from 1850 to 1988, over time, of Cash, Bank CD's, US Tres., Gold, housing, Land, collectibles ( paintings ) etc.

    The most profitable investment was the stock market - by a factor of 19 times !@##@! The chart is generally available with most reputable stockbrokers.

    BTW, I am not a stockbroker ...

    What would I recommend ? Diversification.
    A little of this, a little of that - fingers in many pies. No one knows the future - and keep your expenses down.
    Dont get too greedy, and DONT LIVE TOO LONG ! A nursing home is the greatest depleter of wealth. So, live a short, happy life.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Dang! This link did not come up. It is very funny and very timely.
    Starship Enterprise

    BTW, I pulled back on two musings today out of respect for Hahtool's QOD! I am so proud!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Good afternoon everyone.

    Nice write up Boomer. Thanks.
    I had the same mix ups already mentioned (return, dent) and didn't grok the quote 'til I reread it with Mr. Ed in mind. Sigh.

    English teacher rant: to use "enthuse" as a clue irritates the hell out of me. The word is not meant to be a verb!

    Cheers

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hello Everyone ~~

    A fun puzzle and a great write-up from Boomer. I enjoyed the comments and the links. I zipped right through this one until coming to a halt in the SE corner. I had RECEDE instead of REVERT and had to look up AVISO in order to straighten things out there. Enjoyed the MISTER ED theme ~~ I was a fan as a child.

    Enjoy the day!

    ReplyDelete
  32. Hello folks. Thank you to Donna Levin for a great puzzle. Also a thank you to C.C. and Boomer for the write-up and posting.

    I did the puzzle at home right off the bat this morning. Finished at 5:15 AM. Went to work and got too busy to get on line, until now.

    I have enjoyed "Quote" puzzles very much in the past. We do not see too many of them in the recent time frame. "Theme" puzzles are good as well. it is nice to have a variety.

    It took me a while to get the last line of the quote IATEIT. Finally figured it out. I always enjoyed Mr Ed on TV many years ago. I will never forget the term: "WWWiiilllbbbuuurrr."

    See you all tomorrow. I really enjoy this crossword blog since participating these last few weeks.

    Abejo

    ReplyDelete
  33. Great write-up, Boomer. Loved the ORATE equation!

    Morning, C.C. and all.

    Must get busy with other things, but wanted to drop in and comment.

    The first mistake I made was assuming that the quote/unifier would be developed from the STARSHIP entry. I thought the date was early for Star Trek premeire, but I don't usually pay attention to that sort of thing. Pop culture is not my strong suit!

    Mispelled DALE as "dare," and wound up with PArAMINO. I'm not a Trekkie, so I assumed it was an odd name for one of the characters. When I got MISTERED from perps, I tried all sorts of ways to suss out a strange name. Didn't even see Mister Ed until I came here, but I thought the quote was a bit bizarre for a show about space exploration. I watched Mr. Ed maybe twice. Didn't like it.

    Thanks for the link to "If I were a Rich Man." Love it!

    I love BEETs boiled or steamed with butter. Like love, butter covers a multitude of sins!

    I have to take the online defensive driving class today so we can get a discount off our insurance for the next three years. Does anybody else do this, or is it just in Texas?

    ReplyDelete
  34. Boomer, what a treat to have you blog! You always crack me up, so you must keep C.C. in stitches! I love Donna Levin puzzles and today’s was no exception. Even though Mr. Ed was a little before my time, everyone knows of the “talking horse”. Even though I don’t particularly care for quotes this one I was able to figure out with a lot of perp help. I almost hit the g-spot for Rossini, but made a couple of WAG’s and was awarded with my ta-da at the end. I didn’t know that Aviso was a dispatch boat so that was my learning moment of the day. Oshkosh is also very well known for its air show which is probably the best air show I have ever attended. It’s where I got my first close up glimpse of the”Harrier Jump Jet” and “Stealth fighter” . Boomer, the anchovies I buy still come packed in oil, which I rinse before using. For some reason I like how “hit the hay” intercepts with “hump” and “in oil” with “moisten” :)

    Tinbeni, great to see you back. I was just thinking about you on the way to work today.

    Dennis, good to see you back too. The blog just isn’t the same when you are away.

    Everyone, enjoy your “hump” day!!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hi, everybody,
    Fast is right, Ferma! And she's right about you, too, Boomer! Youre a riot!

    ReplyDelete
  36. Love today's puzzle...nice to *talk* to you all...I'm on my new smartphone!!!

    ReplyDelete
  37. I forgot my thanks for the link to Tevye. I, too, love Fiddler on the Roof. For favorites, it's a toss up among that one, The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady as well as Chicago.

    See you later!

    ReplyDelete
  38. Hello Puzzlers - Good to "see" you today, Boomer. I expect you've guest-blogged before but this is the first I've seen.

    What a fun puzzle today - thank you Donna. Mr. Ed was a trifle before my time but I have enjoyed the reruns over the years, as with most of the harmless, humorous shows of the past.

    Hand up for the "love beets" column. Last year I began roasting them. That's the best!

    Kazie, I see the Aussie Burger has appeared in your comments again. Yum!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Boomer - You've gotta do this more often!

    I used to love watching Mr. Ed. But then I also loved watching My Mother The Car, even to the point of still remembering most of the lyrics to the theme song. That's pretty pathetic, when you think about it. What a waste of brain cells!

    All my other thoughts have already been said.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Hi, Boomer, et al,

    I finally got my name in a puzzle, but I really don't like the nickname Captain Kirk. My ex didn't understand why I wouldn't name my boat the Enterprise.

    My biggest slowdown was that I couldn't fit names to faces in 8A and 39D. I could picture them both, but it took 2 or 3 perps before either would come. I also had RECEDE , but AVISO took care of that.

    I have a book of CHI Tribune Sunday puzzles. (Not nearly as good, Rich) AVISO is a very common answer, so I had no problem with that one.

    Bucking horses are broncOs. The clue was for a plural, so that slowed me down.

    I remember it as Mr. Ed, so I couldn't see the answer to 63A. I tried to put in the real name of the horse, but Bamboo Harvester didn't fit.

    I was once stuck with a monster of a boss whose first name was Ed. We referred to him as Mr. Ed. When he overheard us, he thought it was cute. Fortunately, he was too young for the reference to register.

    Beets are great: roasted, fried, pickled, or in borscht. I've never tried them with butter. Mmm, something new.

    Welcome back Dennis and Tinman.

    Gregor Mendel is suspected of fudging his data. Statistically, it's too close to perfect. Of course, he was a monk, so maybe he had help from above.

    May you all have that help.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Hi gang -

    Lots of fun in today's puzzle, and the second animal theme of the week.

    My heart sank when I saw the theme was a quote, but this one won me over, despite my reluctance.

    Boomer - outstanding!

    Thanks to those who wished me a speedy recovery last night. Still had a remnant of the headache when I woke up very late this morning, but over the next few hours, it disappeared as mysteriously as it had arrived.

    Cleo was overcome by the ODOR of ASPS.
    Counting witch's noses might give you the WART RATE.
    Yep - MR ED was a PALOMINO.
    Smearing on the Coppertone gave us DON HO IN OIL.
    I will leave HUMP + WILT alone, lest I get LEWD.
    It's hard work to WRING TOILE.
    OSU chased those Razor-piggies back to the STY! Bo Bucs!

    What a cardiac arrest finish that game had. Yikes.

    As we Ohioans say, IMBO.

    Cheers!
    JzB who has to say "OH, I FORGOT" way too often

    ReplyDelete
  42. On the way to the gym this morning, I decided to set the FM stations in my new Camry. It has six buttons and a second band gives you 12 FM presets altogether. Geez, I could find only one station that I was sure I wanted to listen to on a regular basis (classical music). What an old fogy I've become.

    This is the first car I've had that has a CD player. So this will give me a chance to listen to the pile of good CDs that I've ignored lately.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I'm a beet fan too, roasted, pickled or boiled, it's all good. Gunghy, fried beets?? Well, I didn't think I would like sweet potato fries and now I order them whenever I can. GAH doesn't like beets at all, any way.

    I don't remember if Kazie posted a recipe, but here is Gourmet magazine's version of the Aussie Burger with "the lot".

    Since he won't eat beets and I don't care for fried eggs, we didn't try them when we were in NZ, which has adopted them as if they were really Kiwi Burgers. Hmmph..the nerve!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Hey gang - thanks for the 'welcome back's -- it's indeed more fun sharing the solving experience with like-minded people than doing the puzzles in a vacuum. Not that I have anything against vacuums...

    Welcome to all the newbies I missed in the past 10 or so days; our 'little family' ain't so 'little' anymore. And a Happy belated Birthday (yes, I know, but I did it for Sallie) to Dick, who has been on the blog almost since its inception, and always provides a next-day weather forecast for my area.

    So am I the only one who's broken a New Year's resolution already? Hey, it's the intent that counts, right?

    Husker Gary, great cartoon! And you're right - very timely. Spitzboov, do you think Captain Honor really thought he'd get away with that, in this era of unrelenting PC? And thanks for the great Marine cartoon - I've passed it on.

    Al, my hedge has been with silver. It's certainly more affordable than gold, and has done extremely well. And it's fun to try to predict metals markets.

    thehondohurricane, thanks for naming the voice behind Mr. Ed. I'd always wondered who that was.

    Hungry Mother, LOVE the avatar; nicely done.

    Kaz, you've probably answered this a hundred times already, but is the flooding where you used to live? I can't believe the scope of it.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Hola Everyone, A quick, easy puzzle today, until I hit the SE corner. I had Return for Revert, so Tsar, and aviso eluded me. I finally gave up and went to Mr. G. for Aviso. This was my learning moment for today.

    My children loved Mr. Ed. What they watched we did, too. Funny how our TV tastes were Mr. Ed. Sesame street, and Lassie. That has all changed, thank goodness!

    Boomer, I loved the writeup today. Lots of chuckles.

    Tinbeni and Dennis, welcome back.

    Boomer, SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. I wish we'd had better SPF sun screens when my children were growing up. It would have prevented some bad sunburns. Back then we really didn't think too much about such things.

    Have a great evening, everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Just a couple thoughts on investments.

    Gold is good as a store of value. As an investment, not so much. It generally does pretty poorly in normal times, moderate inflation, and deflation. It only does really well during hyperinflation - but again, acting as a store of value.

    Gold is at the crest of a speculative bubble.
    Hard to say how high it will go, or when it will burst. But in the aftermath, look for a price below $400/oz.

    What anon @11:37 said about stocks is correct over the long run; but remember what Keynes said: in the long run, we're all dead. The message is, you've got to pick your spots. After the crash of '29, when stocks lost 89% of their market value, they didn't reach peak valuation again until 1954.

    Playing the stock market is not investing, it is speculation.
    Buying stocks at the wrong time can be a chastening experience. By my reckoning, now is the wrong time. I'm doing some homework for a blog post and ought to have it up in a day or two. Message is, the current market is vastly overvalued - perhaps by as much as 50%.

    I just learned that the average holding time for all stock purchases is - you'll never guess - 22 seconds! That's up from 20 seconds, last year.

    This isn't even speculation. It's casino gambling. Remember, the house always wins.

    There's an old cliche that in a recession, cash is king. Same is true when inflation is ultra low and dropping, as it is now.

    Current best plan for the near term is cash in a fire-proof box.

    Cheers!
    JzB

    ReplyDelete
  47. Please note that all of the above post is strictly an opinion, as was my earlier post.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Dennis: My thought is "Whatever was he thinking?" I don't think he thought about 'getting away with that' because if he did, he would have realized the repercussions. I don't understand how the incident could lie dormant for 3-4 years and then well up now. Also, I don't know how he had time for that because the XO is usually the busiest person on the ship.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Hmm, beet borscht with a boiled potato and some sour cream, my childhood returns. Coincidentally, I went to eat last evening with son one and his wife at ROK BRGR in downtown Fort Lauderdale (near Himmershee if you know the town, have you been Dennis? Annette?) which along with Nebraska Black Angus burgers, offers americanized "Kobe" beef, turkey burgers, chicken burgers, tuna burgers, lamb burgers and veggie burgers, as well lots of craft beers. And, offers roasted beets among the add ons for building your burgers. Now if they had been showing reruns of Mr. Ed, the night would have been perfect. The bar next door was having a little rascal marathon, but it was not the same. The other oddity about the mirror puzzles, other than neither NYT or LAT favoring quote puzzles, is the presence of Osh Kosh B'Gosh in both. We also had our now regular RPI shout out to Spitz and Splynter and an optimistic reference to OSU which finally got off the SEC shnide, with a little drama and luck. No resolutions, so none to break.

    I think investment advice is up there with politics and religion as topics for which there is no one answer. I myself am fully invested in puns and anagrams.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Thanks to all for for the kind words. I enjoyed it, but I have to get back to bowling. Clear Ayes, I am also a "Music Man" fan. In fact I played Harold Hill in a high school play. "Friend, either you are closing your eyes to a situation you do not wish to acknowledge, or you are unaware of the calibur of disaster indicated by a pool table in your community." I have many relatives in Cresco, IA, just a few miles from River City.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Jazz:
    I am so happy to see you back in fine form! Very funny, mi amigo.

    Well, one of the benefits of gold's current luster is the extra cash one can acquire. I collected a number of broken chains and single earrings and came home with $329. Otherwise those items would have been tossed out.

    ReplyDelete
  52. spitzboov, it's a shame; seems like the crew loved him.

    Lemonade, if that's the restaurant behind RiverWalk, no, we had it on the list of places to eat, but never made it there. I did, however, hit my favorite 4 B's: Brewzzi's, Blue Martini, that great Barnes & Noble, and of course, the Beaches.

    I think investment advice is up there with politics and religion as topics for which there is no one answer.

    Very well said.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Good evening Boomer, CC, et al., Love Donna Levin! Good job, Boomer. Made me LOL several times. Good to see you.

    Loved this puzzle, esp since its theme reminded me of my motto: save a horse, ride a cowboy, esp those at OU and OSU (OK that is). They're built like SHERMAN tanks and don't WILT easily. Such HEMEN! HIT THE HAY had a whole different meaning in the barn, above the BRONCS and my favorite PALOMINO. We'd PILE ON the bales up there and ring a DING DING each others' CHImes. I love the unique ODOR of the hay and the horses and wouldn't SWAP those times even for Trotsky. And I'm not TSARy either.
    Nothing OVINE was ever nervous in those days. I'm just so glad that MR ED wasn't one of the BRONCS down below. U-NO what I mean?

    Dennis: Welcome back! LMAO at your quesion. I think I'll celebrate Nat'l Bird Day with a bottle of CHEAP wine and 2 in the bush. I'll make sure we don't catch a canarial disease that is untweetable.

    Welcome back Tinbeni! Hope you brought some pictures. Cheers!

    Enjoy your night.

    ReplyDelete
  54. I am quite heavily invested in stock - the four-legged kind. I still remember the advice of the guy who told me I should buy cows: "While you're in bed, they're out there grazing. You'll make money while you sleep."
    Just so you know, that guy was wrong. Remember the old "Christmas Club" scam at the bank? You put something in every week and at the end of the year you get your money back. There are many years that's a good description of owning cattle. But it is soooo much fun!!
    Before any Anons get their hands out of their pants and start typing, that's NOT an opinion.
    Great job, Boomer!!

    ReplyDelete
  55. Well Lois, you did it again! You do have a knack.
    Eiffel Tower, anyone?

    ReplyDelete
  56. OK, other than that car accident I had today ... it is great to be back in OUR country.

    Though, and I do NOT think this is a "secret" ...
    I really do like Zagreb, Croatia.
    Like HERE, it is the people.
    More details tomorrow.

    My Scion Tc, with 16,354 miles in 5 years, 7 months and 5 days needs my attention.
    More than a DING ...

    But like Dennis said:
    It is great to be home and with this wonderful group.

    As I solved the Thursday and Friday puzzles on Saturday (while the others skied) they were perfect for the end of 2010.

    Then last night, the Monday and Tuesday (2011 is off to a great start!) and then read the comments, it felt like something I love SOOOO much was missing.

    And today was DONNA ... it does NOT get any better than that.

    Life is Good ... except that little "fender-bender" ...

    Oh well, Cheer's to All !!!

    ReplyDelete
  57. WH: Funny guy! You make me LOL. When men are between jobs, it's a lot different than my concept of being between men. Thanks for pointing out my position here.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Good grief..lost my blog...sigh, it had a little bit of pzazz to it today since I really enjoyed Donna's puzzle, and was so entertained by Boomer's write up.All went smoothly until I hit the SE corner-aviso. Left one little hole:altere_o/se_o.

    Welcome back Dennis, Tinbeni and Red State guy!!If I wasn't watching my calories, I'd toast you all with a lemon drop @ sunset.

    Beets? icky texture

    dodo, I think that was Warren Beatty

    Jeannie, I'm with you about buying good shoes. Clarks are my 1st choice. Lucina, I have a pair of ColeHaan shoes that look new after 4 or 5 years of constant wear.I'd rather wear no shoes.

    ReplyDelete
  59. CA,
    That recipe looks pretty authentic, and no, I don't think I ever posted a detailed recipe. So thank you for doing so. Makes my mouth water!

    Dennis,
    No, I'm from Sydney, much further south in NSW. My cousin is in Brisbane, Qld. and she said it wasn't even close to her, though it was starting to rain there when we connected two days ago. My understanding is that most of the floods are around Bundaberg and Rockhampton, just south, and right on the Tropic of Capricorn line respectively.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Tinbeni,
    Sorry to hear of the prang with your car. What a welcome back! Was it weather related?

    ReplyDelete
  61. Dennis (or anyone else qualified to answer)- Do Marines say "Aye, aye, sir" If so, it is in response to what exactly?

    Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  62. Boomer, :o) "With a capital T and that rhymes with P and stands for pool....Now, I know you folks are the right kind of parents"..... Sadly there is no way I could have landed the part of Harold, but if I thought I could have, I would have (why else would I know all his dialog and lyrics?).

    Kazie, had to quickly look up the definition of "prang"...phew!

    Tinbeni, I too am sorry about the prang. I hope nobody was injured.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Jerome, no, it's yes sir or no sir. Enlisted personnel answer officers this way, and officers answer officers senior in rank to them this way also. Aye aye sir is Navy/Coast Guard only, I believe.

    Does this help?

    ReplyDelete
  64. Dennis: Yes, I agree. From what I read, this may well be the Enterprise's last deployment coming up. It has now been in commission for ~50 years, the 2nd longest of any Navy ship (after the USS Constitution)

    ReplyDelete
  65. CA,
    Sorry, I sometimes get my slang confused.

    Dennis,
    BTW, thanks for asking about the floods.

    I remember the first time the Enterprise came to Sydney. I was a uni student (I know, more local Oz slang), and because nothing so large had ever docked there before my friends and I all went down to the wharf to see what it was like. It had to be about 1964 or so.

    ReplyDelete
  66. My favorite answer is Mister Ed ..of course of course

    ReplyDelete
  67. fermatprime, sorry to hear you are not feeling well. Get better soon.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Loved this puzzle. I thought for sure it was Mr. Ed so I had a little problem working it out until I realized it was Mister Ed. All I could think, of course, is "a horse is a horse, of course, unless that horse is Mr. Ed." Did o.k. (not nearly as fast as most of you), but had to come here for help on a few answers, but that's ok because I enjoy reading all the comments.

    ReplyDelete
  69. About the XO, in a triple video role, he referred to one of his ALTER EGO's as a “fag SWO-boy” and showed a sketch featuring what he calls his “favorite topic: two chicks in the shower.” I guess it never occurred to him that some of his women personnel might be offended. Also, eating fake poop isn't my idea of funny...just gagging. Then he polished it up by calling the complainers "gutless" and "bleeding hearts"

    Although most have been removed for content, the video I saw on YouTube was sophomoric (high school, not college) at best. It looked like he just loved to think of himself as a "star".

    Apparently he was excellent in his actual job. We need all the good military people we can get, so it is really a shame that his poor judgment in a unconnected area would be his undoing.

    Yeah guys, if I were on the Enterprise and my big boss, as well as quite a few of his officers were making/broadcasting the videos, I probably wouldn't have complained because they had control over just about all aspects of my life, but I would have been offended...and I don't offend easily. Sorry if this turned into a rant.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Hi, all!

    I'm not sure which I enjoyed more, Donna's puzzle or Boomer's comments! I liked Mr. Ed too.

    Lemonade, a few years ago I worked just across the RR tracks from that area and lunched there all the time, but I don't make it down very often anymore. I remember Tarpon Bend had WONDERFUL burgers, and had friends that liked the BLEU burgers at Himmarshee a lot. I haven't heard of that restaurant though... I should be down there next month for a week of training and will seek it out though!

    I've missed a lot of blog activity over the past 2 weeks too, so welcome newcomers, Happy Birthday to those I missed, and hope you're feeling better to those that are ailing. If I missed anyone or anything, my apologies!

    Annette

    ReplyDelete
  71. Dennis, how does one address a female officer?

    ReplyDelete
  72. Hi all,

    I wasn't going to post today but just had to say I really liked the puzzle Donna, and Boomer your write up was so much fun!
    Marge

    ReplyDelete
  73. Lois, you didn't disappoint...

    Tinbeni, I hope your fender bender wasn't too severe. What a welcome back!n Just curious, in Zagreb, do they drive on the "right" side of the road as we do here or the "left"? It could be that you needed to be re-acclimated. Just joking.

    Windhover, I would think that your birthing period of your livestock should be happening soon, no?

    Kalendi, welcome to the mix; and yes, it is quite the mix as you will soon see.

    Dennis, I would think you would answer Ma'am, yes ma'am shoud the female officer be above your wank...oh, I meant rank.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Yes, that is the restaurant which just opened in October, 2 doors west of Tarpon Bend. It is a GASTRO PUB whatever that means.

    ReplyDelete
  75. JD:
    I like Clark's, too, and own several pairs. They do last long and still look good.

    Sometimes I really enjoy walking barefoot indoors, just not too much.

    Jeannie, girl, you know what you meant!

    Tinbeni:
    I hope your little altercation happened before your toast.

    Good night everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  76. Thanks Clear Ayes it is great to be back. Hi Jeannie I haven't heard from you in a while. Has anyone heard from Buckeye lately?

    ReplyDelete
  77. It's not "none are named Ed", it's "none is named Ed". None is "Not even one", so it's "none is", not "none are". One of my pet peeves, sorry.

    ReplyDelete

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

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.