google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday February 20, 2011 Peter Wentz

Advertisements

Feb 20, 2011

Sunday February 20, 2011 Peter Wentz

Theme: Find Out - Parse it as "F in/D out" - D is replaced by F in each of the 8 common phrases.

23A. Flight attendant's reminder when serving alcohol? : THIS IS NOT A FRILL. This is not a drill.

32A. Equine exhibition with poor visibility? : FOG AND PONY SHOW. Dog and pony show.

45A. Stick around for sautéing? : HANG OUT TO FRY. Hang out to dry.

64A. Energizing bluegrass instruments? : FUELING BANJOS. Dueling banjos. From "Deliverance". What a scary movie!

75A. Craze for some moms? : STAY-AT-HOME FAD. Stay-at-home Dad.

95A. Pixie dust? : FAIRY PRODUCT. Dairy product.

104A. Written warning about gangster Gotti? : FEAR JOHN LETTER. Dear John Letter. John Gotti. The Teflon Don.

119A. Imposing monetary penalties with a nice Chianti? : WINING AND FINING. Wining and dining.

Clever title, isn't it? I wonder what came to Peter Wentz first, theme or theme title? I suspect the latter. Sometimes a phrase can  inspire a theme. Sunday puzzle is a different animal. Very often constructors have a set of theme answers ready, then work on a fitting title, which has to be pertinent to the theme but can't be too revealing lest it spoil the solve.

Interesting for me to see THE WAY clued as "100D. Tao, literally". Tao actually just means "way", sans "the", since Chinese language has no articles. I often omit "the" when it should be present.

Across:

1. Come again? : REVISIT. Can't fool me.

8. Sampled, with "of" : HAD A BIT. Don't feel "of" is necessary. You?

15. Bright bunch : MENSA. Dennis is one, and he knows how much trouble I have with "the".

20. Anthem with the line "The True North strong and free!" : O CANADA

21. Muscle ache cause : OVERUSE

22. Prestigious octet : IVIES. Ivy League had 8 schools.

25. Mideast peninsula : SINAI

26. Fixed, as a pump : SOLED. Thinking of gas pump, not shoe.

27. Org. with a Double Down sandwich : KFC. No bread. Not real sandwich.

28. Hip-hopper's adjective : LIL. You'd think they want something big, so ego-driven.

29. Crashed, so to speak : SLEPT

30. Up to, in invites : TIL

37. "Conan" airer : TBS

40. __ Equis: Mexican beer : DOS. Two Xs.

42. Dice, e.g. : CUBES

43. Prefix with natal : NEO. Neonatal.

44. Be beholden : OWE

48. Well-mannered manor man : BUTLER. Liked the M alliteration.

50. Fridge problem : ODOR

51. It probably won't keep you up : DECAF. Clever clue.

52. Collectible frame : CEL. Disney cartoon cel.

55. "All yours!" : HERE

56. Sobriety checkpoint target, for short : DWI

57. "Tasty!" : MMM

58. '70s-'80s NHLer known as "Lucky Pierre" : LAROUCHE. First encounter with this guy.

62. Didn't deviate from : KEPT TO

69. U.K. medal : OBE. Officer of the Order of the British Empire.

70. Conservatory subj. : MUS. OK, Music.

72. Decrease : ABATE

73. Subj. for refugees : ESL (English as a Second Language)

74. "Annabel Lee" monogram : EAP (Edgar Allan Poe)

78. Fig. in many churches : ST MARY

80. Bronchitis sufferers' aids : INHALERS

81. Spinning toy : TOP

83. Orthogonal joint : ELL

84. Spill preceder : TRIP. Ah, spill here refers to "fall" then.

87. Conclusion letters : QED

88. "Yippee!" : WAHOO

90. Heads of England? : LOOS. Toilets. JOHN if the clue is singular.

92. Baseball's Matsui : HIDEKI. With the Yankees for a long time. Fun guy, unlike the somewhat aloof Ichiro.

98. Dutch city : EDE. Learned from doing Xword.

99. Iowa hrs. : CST

101. Gathers opinions from : POLLS

102. BART stop : STN

103. Chicken Little's concern : SKY. The sky is falling.

108. Auburn's conf. : SEC (Southeastern Conference)

110. Many a 19th-cen. map : LITHO

111. Fair-hiring abbr. : EOE

112. TV's "Science Guy" : NYE (Bill)

114. Shot with extreme spin : MASSE. Billiards shot.

118. Negative particle : ANION. We see ION so often.

124. Old tablet material : STONE

125. "No surprise" : AS USUAL

126. Holiday burner : YULE LOG. Sweet entry for Argyle.

127. Makes better : HONES

128. Mocha residents : YEMENIS. Mocha the port in Yemen.

129. Tiptoe past : SNEAK BY

Down:

1. Spoils : ROTS

2. Comeback : ECHO

3. Resort WSW of Boulder : VAIL. The Colorado ski resort.

4. Blown-up detail : INSET

5. Took the plunge : SAID "I DO". MARRIED has the same amount of letters.

6. Makes, as a perp : IDs

7. Word with car or top : TANK

8. Ski lodge drink : HOT COCOA

9. Charlton's "Earthquake" co-star : AVA (Gardner)

10. Excellent, in slang : DEF (Definitely)

11. SFO posting : ARR

12. Physiques : BUILDS

13. Long Island town : ISLIP. Not familiar with the town. What's it famous for, Splynter?

14. Rat out : TELL ON

15. Love letter sentiment : MISS YOU. Aww.

16. Pandora's boxful : EVILS. Thought of BANES.

17. Like a quick links round : NINE HOLE. Golf links.

18. 16th-century Spain, for one : SEA POWER

19. So to speak : AS IT WERE. In a way.

24. Wrong : OFF. He's off.

31. Indiscreet type : LOUDMOUTH. Nice answer.

33. Nonsense : GUFF

34. Like some bks. for kids : ABR (Abridged)

35. Napoleon cohort : NEY (Michel). Napoleon called him "bravest of the brave".

36. Big 12 rival of Kan. : NEB. Will become a Big 10 this July. For more info, ask Husker Gary.

37. E'en if : THO

38. Creditor's loss : BAD DEBT

39. Chinese food veggie : SNOW PEA. I like sugar peas more.

41. Flower feature : STEM

46. Sandpaper coarseness measure : GRIT

47. Airer of many old MGM films : TCM

49. After that : THEN

52. Shouted : CRIED

53. Years and years : EON

54. Winter Olympics event : LUGE

58. Thumbs (through) : LEAFS

59. Mont. neighbor : ALTA. Here it's again. Alberta.

60. Masters TV venue since 1956 : CBS SPORTS. Golf again. Masters & US Open are my favorite majors.

61. Word before "Who goes there?" : HALT

62. Fighter's stat : KOs (Knockouts). Boxing.

63. Fed after Capone : T MAN

64. Well-known : FAMED

65. Slangy prefix meaning "super" : UBER

66. Green-eyed : JEALOUS

67. Rowboat device : OARLOCK

68. Mole, perhaps : SPY

71. Oldest active NBAer : SHAQ. Oh, nice to know this trivia. Shaq is now 38 Years old.

76. "Goodness me!" : YIPE

77. Bulls' fans' chant? : OLE. Bullfighting. I was thinking of Chicago Bulls.

79. Pinochle declaration : MELD

81. Quaker possessive : THY

82. "Clumsy me!" : OOPS

84. Speedy superhero : THE FLASH. Was ignorant of this superhero.

85. Arrive at, cowboy-style : RIDE INTO

86. Thought process : IDEATION. We've seen IDEATE before. Weird word.

88. Sag : WILT

89. Clip joints? : ARSENALS. Cartridge clip.

91. Messy room, to mom : STY

93. Former Celtics guard and coach : K C JONES. Hall-of-Famer.

94. Metric lead-in : ISO. Isometric.

95. Hatfield, to a McCoy : FOE

96. PC space bar neighbor : ALT. Keyboard.

97. Four laps, often : ONE MILE. Four laps = 800 meters to me. We had 200 meter track.

101. Full legislative assembly : PLENUM

105. Lake Geneva feeder : RHONE

106. White __ : NOISE

107. Rembrandt van __ : RYN

109. Former capital of Crete : CANEA. No idea. Checked Wiki, then found out its current capital is Heraklion. Let's go back to Canea then.

113. "Grand" brand of ice cream : EDY'S

115. Epitome of smoothness : SILK

116. Stuffed shirt : SNOB

117. Like challah bread : EGGY

120. Sussex verb suffix : ISE. Ours is IZE.

121. Sister : NUN

122. Moo goo __ pan : GAI. Literally "chicken".

123. Good times : FUN

Answer grid.

Happy Birthday to Argyle, our witty and sharp Santa. I'd like to share with you a story. Sometime last year I mentioned to Argyle that it's bothering me that I still had not figured out the theme of a few earliest TMS Daily puzzles I blogged. I was not even sure I got the theme answers correct, as in those days I only wrote a few sparse clue/answer comments and attached no answer grid. Argyle went to his local library and found the exact puzzles for me. Like Dennis, he's done lots of small things for me, on and off the blog. Thanks, Santa, may your birthday be filled with sunshine, love and smiles.

C.C.

56 comments:

eddyB said...

Hi.

Was going to wait for Bill G, but hey, hockey game just over.

Steady solve top to bottom. No problems. We even had banjos this time.

Sharks and Phx won again. Everyone else in division lost.

Tony Stewart won the Nationwide race by 0.007 sec. Danica finished
14th. She ran in the top 10 most of the race and even led a lap.

take care. I'm having a wee nip of Macallan.

windhover said...

Happy Birthday, Argyle!!!

fermatprime said...

Hi all!

Happy birthday to you, Argyle. Thanks to C. C.

Not particularly fond of puzzle, but grokked the theme quickly. Too many sports references.

Thinking of Argyle. This is from Macalope blog (from Macworld):

The Four States of Santa Claus:

1: You believe in Santa Claus.
2: You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3: You are Santa Claus.
4: You look like Santa Claus.

Went 2 days with only 2.5 hours sleep. Today I caught up big-time.

Has anyone ever successfully used an ATT REWARDS CARD? I have been trying for 6 weeks. Had 2 hours of online chat with Amazon tonight. (ATT wants billing address in weird form, it seems. Amazon cannot DO that.)

Happy holiday!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

And a very happy birthday, Argyle!

Wonderful puzzle today, although I have to admit that I couldn't figure out what the title had to do with the D to F swap until I got here. Very, very clever!

The puzzle was mostly a smooth walk in the park for me, except for the SW corner where I nearly crashed and burned. I had SLIP instead of TRIP and EASES instead of HONES at the top and bottom of the section, which hid a lot of stuff from view. Add in the unknowns (EDE, HIDEKI, CST, KCJONES), and it was a real nightmare.

Actually, only EDE was a complete unknown. I knew, but just couldn't remember right away, HIDEKI and KCJONES. And I had the last two letters of CST but didn't know what the first one should be. Anyway, I finally removed SLIP and EASES entirely to get a fresh look and everything suddenly fell into place after that.

Splynter said...

Hi There ~!

I grokked the theme on the second Across pass, but not right away....stared at "FRILL" and knew it was meant to be DRILL, then the V-8 moment - F in, D out - very witty, loved it, and probably the inspiration for the puzzle.

Favorite was "FOG & PONY SHOW"

AH, it took me a while before ISLIP came to me - had to wait until the "I" was there - it is a town, and not just a village - famous for "Long Island's" airport (THO technically, JFK and LGA are here, too) and this 'God-awful' monstrosity, which has made the top 150 architectural list - the US courthouse. I don't think so.

Nothing like starting out with "Come Again?", eh?

Pierre LAROUCHE finished as a NY Ranger - just a little too early in my hockey life for me, but I do have his sticker in a Topps album, might actually be worth something....

Happy B'day fellow NY guy Argyle - our very own Santa, and I still believe ~!

Splynter

creature said...

Good Morning C.C. and all,

Thanks, C.C.; as soon as I saw the parsing of the title, I loved the puzzle more. I didn't know THE FLASH either, but perps led me to a reasonable wag. I always make
YIPE plural, so that slowed me down,but I still couldn't get the HIDEKI and KCJONES cross. I knew you had those on the tip of your tongue. Thanks for clearing up TAO.

I really enjoyed the puzzle and the
theme was easy to grok. Fun clues.
Thanks, Pete.

Happy Birthday , Argyle. You get us straight, when we lose the path. Thanks for your wonderful blogging as well as guidance and all things technical.

Have a nice day everyone.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, CC and Friends and a BIG Happy Birthday to ARGYLE! Hope you have a wonderful day!

Interesting puzzle today. Since the puzzle was titled "Find Out", I thought I was supposed to be looking for the word "OUT". FAIRY PRODUCT made me realize the D/F exchange.

SHAQ's (71D) birthday is March 6, so he will be 39 soon. He currently plays for the Celtics, as did K.C. JONES (93D).

SHAQ began his college career at LSU, another team in the SEC (108A).

My favorite clues were:
Fixed, as a Pump = SOLE

Clip Joints = ARSENALS.

In honor of 112-Across, here is today's QOD: The more you find out about the world, the more opportunities there are to laugh at it. ~ Bill Nye

Lemonade714 said...

HBDTY Argyle, and many more, until you are 104. It was nice they threw a yule log on the fire for your day.

An enjoyable puzzle, with the deception in the title being the most fun for me. As C.C. suggested, once you see the different flow of the letters, it is an awesome was to present a simple letter switch. Mr. Wentz also used some nicely ambiguous cluing, such as Fixed, as a pump : SOLED; Crashed, so to speak : SLEPT; Heads of England? : LOOS, and; Clip joints? : ARSENALS.

The rest was just a Sunday; enjoy the day, I am off to the beach

HeartRx said...

Good Morning C.C. et al.

And a HUGE HBD to Argyle! (I believe you look like Santa.)

Thanks for the write-up and all your astute observances, C.C. I never knew the Chinese language doesn’t use articles. And after reading your explanation, I think I liked the title better than the theme answers, some of which felt “forced” to me. You would never “fuel” a banjo. (That might lead to some soggy bottoms.) And “fog and pony show” just doesn’t conjure up a clear mental image for me. Left me in a fog…

Didn’t like the crossing of 92A HIDE_I with 93D _CJONES. And like Creature, I had a problem with YIPE (not “yipes”?).

Enough rant. Overall, it was a fairly easy fill, but I consider it a DNF because I never did get that last K that I mentioned above, and had to resort to gg.

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Thanks C.C. for the informative write-up

Happy Birthday, Argyle. Hope you have a great day. Thanks for all you do for this Corner. You are a real mensch. Hope you were not badly affected by the high winds.

Nice puzzle, today. Average difficulty for me for a Sunday. The F for D substitution was sussed out early. WAGs included 13d ARR, 25d NEY, 15d ISLIP, and 98a EDE, which I had never heard of, but the vowel placement seemed right for a Dutch word.

Hope all you early risers are taking advantage of the great show Venus is putting on now before sunrise. It is visible in the ESE, starting an hour before morning twilight until shortly before sunrise.

Have a good day.

Burrito34 said...

Good Sunday Morning and HBD Argyle

Really enjoyed the theme after catching on but it took getting the answer for "pixie dust" for me (Fairy Product)before I got it. Favorite clues of the day were (1) "clip joints?" I was thinking barber or beauty shops but "arsenals" does work very well; great misdirection, I thought. And (2) "dos equis" for mexican beer. I'm a little surprised no one has signed off on their post with the catchphrase of their commercial yet so I will, although I'm way, way off from being the most interesting man in the world.

Stay thirsty, my friends ;-)

Argyle said...

Thank you all for the good wishes.

Islip, for me, was the home of the Islip Speedway, famous for its Figure 8 racing. According to this site, the land originally was host to the very first Municipal Airport on Long Island.

Husker Gary said...

Good Morning All! The Husker BB’ers beat #2 Texas (not Kan.) yesterday and may be relevant for the first time in a generation in March. Great learning moment about TAO and Chinese articles to complement your always wonderful write-up C.C. and shout out! Do you know what a “Husker” is C.C.?

Happy Birthday and many happy blogs Argyle!

Musings
-This one had more wrong turns than a Lindsay Lohan rehab!
-Treadmill OVERUSE causes me shin aches. Remedy?
-Is Double Down ultimate junk food?
-Love the Butler at Downton Manor!
-Saint Mark, sit this one out
-WAHOO (20 mi. from here) not YAHOO
-I have shown a gazillion Bill Nye videos! First rate!
-MOCHA, CANEA and PLENUM new to me
-HOTCIDER? Not so much.
-SNOWPEA had to wait for DUI to DWI
-TMAN not NESS
-It’s Speedy GONZALES dang it!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Argyle - 'uber' mensch.

Nice blog CC, enjoyed it, Thank you.

Husker Gary said...

Musings II
-I notice my blogging style takes up more lines than putting all thoughts in one paragraph. I really am trying to obey the ~20 line limit. I hope it makes my postings more palatable.
-I apologize for the syntax error in my note to C.C. ("and shout out")
-I saw a prestige license plate last night that was 2ZDZCON and I can't figure it out. I am usually good at those but wonder if you can see something there I can't

VTQUILTMOM said...

Happy B'day, Argyle!

Fun puzzle today once I caught on to the F instead of D clue. Still needed red letter help though with some of those sports names that I just couldn't remember or never heard of.

@Husker Gary - Could the C in that plate have been a G? If so, I come up with Tuesday's Gone; a Lynyrd Skynyrd song from a while back.

HeartRx said...

Husker, I think you may have spotted Lynyrd Skynyrd:
"Tuesday's Gone".

HeartRx said...

I HATE it when it takes me too long to write...LOL!

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All and a very Happy Birthday to Argyle. You're a real keeper!

It was a typical Sunday picket fence today. It took a while to get a hold on the theme. "F IN, D OUT" is so clever. It finally hit me with 64A/FUELING BANJOS and it got easier from then on.

Liked 37A and 47D "Airer" clecho. Could "Airer" have been used for 60D clue instead of "venue"?

For some reason I knew hockey guy 58A/LAROUCHE, but (Hi, HeartRx) I had to Google to get the crossing letter of 92A/HIDEKI and 93D/KC JONES.

I wanted 65D to be HECA, but the accepted spelling of that one is HECCA. My grandsons used to use it constantly...as in "That's hecca cool!".

HG, I like your Musings. Today's were only 16 lines. Why not list them in a second separate post? You can double check the line count with the Preview function.

mtnest995 said...

Thanks, C.C. for the blog.
HBDTY Argyle.

This one just made me feel stupid. I kept plugging away and finished most of it, but had no idea who Larouche was - so I Googled Lucky Pierre - that was a big mistake!

Cheers to all - and enjoy the rest of your weekend.

eddyB said...

Hi.

Happy Birthday Argyle. Didn't really think you would. Am intrigued by name tho.

Something new and different today.
Sunshine and blue skies.

Ready for the Daytona 500.

take care.

Bill G. said...

EddyB, no need to wait for me (unless I just say Hello late at night). The Sunday puzzle is way too long for me to want to do at night. It's a better way to start the day (for me).

Happy birthday, Argyle! I hope you get some nice presents.

Bill Nye does a good job making science entertaining. Still, I liked Mr. Wizard better. First 'cause I remember him from my childhood. But also because he was more thoughtful in the way he demonstrated and explained things. Bill Nye is more of the hip hop, flashy MTV video generation.

Husker Gary said...

I'm Baaaaaack!

CA, thanks for the kind words about my musings! I am a stream of consciousness person and I figure a sentence or two per topic is all anyone ever wants from me. Thanks for the suggestion about posting twice! BTW, I fully support the 20 line limit/post!

2ZDZGON peeps, that must have been a G instead of a C (Hey, it was 12 hours ago!)! Other than Sweet Home Alabama, I'd have no idea about Lynyrd Skynyrd (4 y's? Wow!) Thanks, I can quit wrestling with it!

I am compulsive about figuring out worthless stuff. The other night I couldn't think of the character Jane Leeves played on Frasier while we were getting ready for bed. After we had the lights out for 10 minutes, I blurted out, "Daphne!" and Joann said, "I knew you weren't going to let that rest!"

Marti, you needed to be Speedy Gonzales today! I still can't believe that wasn't right in today's puzzle.

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.

A BIG happy birthday, Argyle, with hugs and a great deal of appreciation for all you do on this superlative blog.

Got some, not all today. Didn't understand the theme until it was patiently laid out for me here. Very clever.

Will someone please clue me in on the meaning of DNF?

I was confused about orthogonal joint because I thought it meant eight-sided. Just looked it up. Sigh.

Agree with those who liked fixed a a pump – SOLED.

Cheers

Anonymous said...

Did Not Finish

Husker Gary said...

I know it's #4 but a couple of other things occurred to me and then I'll let you rest!

-I am surprised Abejo's WEED for Guitarist's joint yesterday went uncommented on yesterday. Very funny!

-I have seen and shown both Mr. Wizard and Bill Nye and Bill's got him beat by a long shot. Not only are his demonstrations more engaging and scientifically rigorous, he also goes outside into the real world to show applications! 1 picture = 1,000 words.

-I remember when Danica Patrick first started driving and wanted to only be known for her racing skills and not her physical attributes. Now she's showing as much skin as the Sports Illustrated bikini models. Hey, if it pays the rent, go for it! Sports ain't brain surgery!

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Wow, so many three-letter fill(s), some of which were pretty good, some of which were (yucky) abbreviations. Lots of sports references, too. On the whole an enjoyable puzzle; the theme was DEF. Well done, thank you!

Argyle, happy birthday!

I'm thinkin' I might be able to remember Heraklion better than I remember Canea; it sounds Greek whereas Canea doesn't.

I guess there are several ways to spell Rembrandt's last name. I've seen it spelled Rijn, too.

Didn't get ISE until coming here.

I also first thought of the Chicago bulls, and of a gas pump instead of a shoe. Nice misdirection.

Seems to me any abbreviation of Alberta must have the letter B in it.

More later.

Jayce said...

I like both snow peas and sugar peas about equally, or at least so close to equally that I can't tell if I like one more than the other.

My wife, who was born and raised in Hong Kong (Kowloon actually) still has trouble with articles in English. Tense, case, number, and gender, too. When she says something like "I go to supermarket" it's hard to tell if she already went and just got back, is just about to go, or is planning on going tomorrow. I totally understand and sympathize, however, because I still have trouble with some of the Chinese sentence-ending "particles" which can indicate tense among other things.

More later from this LOUDMOUTH ...

Jayce said...

I loved the Dueling Banjos clip. Thanks for including it. And yes, that movie was/is very scary! (Haha, what tense is that?)

Good one about the four phases of Santa Claus, fermatprime. I have never used an AT&T rewards card. Don't have one, never had one, don't plan on getting one.

I enjoyed the very short-lived television series starring Wesley Shipp as The Flash, perhaps because of the awesome music by the great Danny Elfman more than for the plots and action.

So, was today's puzzle DF? hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I'll shut up now, at least for the moment :)

Jayce said...

That would be John Wesley Shipp.

Danica Patrick showing flesh? Nawwwwwww. Maybe she knows 1 picture = 1,000 words. Or $1,000.

Hey Gary, isn't a Husker one of those dogs that pulls a sled? Hahahahahaahaha*snort*hahahahaha.

I gotta shut up now.

Dot said...

I just realized that I posted two comments to the Saturday blog rather than today's. I'll repeat my "Happy birthday" to Argyle. anyone interested in my opinion of the Wisconsin govt.-union mess, can read it on Saturday's comments.
What I couldn't include in 20 lines was that I feel the teachers are setting a terrible example for our children and young people. Their actions say,"lie if its convenient for you" & "your education is not as important as my rights." And the Senators who left the State to avoid a vote are also abdicating their responsibilities.

Dot

Anonymous said...

I think Lemonade714 is setting a bad example by asking people to comment on a very polarizing political subject.

Jerome said...

HeartRx- Of course you would never fuel a banjo. There's no such thing as a stay at home fad or wining and fining either. That's the point, making whacky phrases based on real ones.

Argyle- have a good one. A shot of Old Crow for you later.

Juvenile, yes, but the clue and answer for Peking Duck could have been hilarious.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Happy Birthday, Argyle, and many many more. C.C. thanked you for what you do for her and we thank you for what you do for us.

I used a great deal of red letter help today, but did get the gist of the D/F substitution. That still didn't give me all the answers without a fight.

I had a difficult time with all the sports related trivia. But I did chuckle at the answers for Fixed as a pump/sole, and Clip joints/arsenals.

I don't usually do the Sunday puzzle, but I do read the blog. I'm glad I did both today as I

Nice bright sunshine today with a dusting of snow on the hills opposite our front windows.

Lemonade714 said...

Jerome you really are quick witted with your Powerful Darts, if you know what I mean.

Chickie said...

OOPS, this should have read:

I don't usually do the Sunday Puzzle, but do read the blog. I'm glad I did both today because I WOULD HAVE MISSED SANTA'S BIRTHDAY.

HeartRx said...

Jerome, you are right, of course. And I love me some wacky phrases.

But what makes this blog so interesting to me, is reading how other people reacted to the same puzzle. Some that I have really enjoyed, others didn't, and vice versa.

"It's all good!"

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

Happy Birthday Argyle! Hope you've had a great day.

A fun puzzle ... took me a lonnnng time. I thought I understood the theme with the F-D switch, but I didn't completely appreciate how clever the title is until coming here. Thank you, C.C. for always enlightening me.

Our newspaper doesn't carry the LA Times puzzle on Sundays ... we get Merl Reagle. I'm off to work on that one!

Enjoy the evening ~~

Frenchie said...

Dear C.C., Argyle and folk,

Peter Wentz had me at the first word (1. Come again? : REVISIT)! I was speeding through and enjoying every minute of it!

74. "Annabel Lee" monogram : EAP (Edgar Allan Poe) Misleading yet fun!

22. Prestigious octet : IVIES...not to be confused with the other Ivy's ( NY band trio.)
1)Brown University, 2)Columbia University, 3)Cornell University, 4)Dartmouth College, 5)Harvard University, 6)Princeton University, 7)University of Pennsylvania 8)Yale University.

52. Collectible frame : CEL. Cel is an abbreviation for
celluloid which tradionally is a hand-drawn animation and quite a collectors item.

Post 1

dodo said...

Hi, all,

Argyle, I hope your birthday is a very happy one! You are one great asset to this wonderful blog. Thank you.

Did I miss snoething?

ANON: I do not see anything in Lemonade714's post that resembles a controversial statement

If you can't resist imposing on this blog, try to read the comments correctly!

Sorry,C.C.

Abejo said...

Good Afternoon, folks. Thanks to Peter Wentz for a swell puzzle. I really enjoyed it. It certainly was not easy, but it came together with a lot of thinking. Great write-up and posting, C.C. Everyone appreciates your hard work.

I bounced around and got words here and there. My first theme answer was HANGOUTTOFRY. I certainly thought the word OUT was key to the rest of the themes. Wrong. Slowly I figured it out. The theme answers then came quite easily. I must admit that I did not really read the "Find out" as "F in D out" as I should have. I was getting the answers so I did not care.

My last section was the SW. IDEATION was my last answer. Now I know a new word. I had HEALS instead of HONES, EEO instead of EOE, NESS instead of TMAN. I wanted GLOBE for LITHO and SLATE for STONE. But, figured them out with alphabet substitution.

I had most of the puzzle done last night. Had to go to Freeport for the day and finished it in the car while traveling. My friend was driving. See you tomorrow.

A special HBD to Argyle. You get my week started with a splash.

Abejo

Jerome said...

Dammit Lemonade, your base phrase has to be a real one.

Anon, you're right. He's the ultimate trouble maker.

Sometimes when you're thinking of a theme like this you discover that reversing the gimmick works too. Today's puzzle switches a D for an F. You could do just the opposite. Switch an F for a D.

DULL BLOODED- Of boring ancestry?
Just an example.

C.C.- I think you're right. I'd bet Peter saw FIND OUT and a light came on. Deliciously clever.







DULL BLOODED- Of boring ancestry?

Frenchie said...

83. Orthogonal joint: ELL...THESE NEVER ACHE!

@Husker Gary, I wanted Speedy Gonzales, too! I conceded to 'The Flash' as my son had the action figure. Damn!
perhaps:
TUESDAY'S OWN..TUESDAY ZONE...
@VTQUILTMOM, @HeartRx, good solve...makes so much more sense!!! I love getting license plates!
@Lemonade! Enjoy the beach!

Happy Birthday, Argyle...make it your best yet!

"If you want to be a big smash,
Don’t go drunk to your own birthday bash.
You’ll make a mistake,
Fall into your cake,
And lose all your friends in a flash."
-By Joanna Fuchs

Warm wishes,
Frenchie and...

I'm out.

daffy dill said...

Good evening, C.C. and all. Great write up. Didn't come here until late because I had things to do.

HBTY, Argule.♫ And many more.♫

This wasn't my best effort, but I did finish. Had to "G" several and used red letters at the end. I had the theme right away because when you retrieve the online Sunday puzzle, it tells what the theme is. Having a ready grasp of the long fills was a big help. I did know HIDEKI, MENSA, and PLENUM, among others. Had to "G" LAROLUCHE and SHAQ came from perps. I had "married" first at 5D and "Gonzalez" for the super hero.

I'm on the fence about whether or not I liked this one.

JD said...

Good evening C.C. and all,

I liked the puzzle much more AFTER I read your commentary, CC, and realized that it was very clever.I loved loos and loudmouth.

Didn't get many answers 1st go around, but enough to perp it together, slowly. Had no idea about Mocha being a port in Yemen, or Islip and Canea. The P in trip/yipe was a WAG- no clue.So many abbreviations and names that it wasn't very enjoyable, but a nice work out.

HB 2 youuuu, HB 2 youuuu. HB dear Santa, HB 2 youuuuuuuu.big hug dear man

Annette said...

Happy Birthday, Argyle!

The K in HIDEKI was my final square, only filled by running through The Alphabet Game.

I did catch onto the theme pretty early on, but didn't relate it to the title until well coming to the blog.

Husker Gary said...

Jayce, I don't know what you are drinking but I think you should stay away from open flames or switch to decaf!

Our Huskers did play like sled dogs a couple of times this year but hope springs eternal (see my first post of today!).

Always nice to read your posts! I'll shut up as well and "see" you tomorrow my friend!

5 and out!

Clear Ayes said...

HG, I have lost sleep going through the alphabet trying to remember a name. Sometimes the name lies in wait until I have switched trains of thought and then it just leaps out at me....ah yes, Daphne!

Wow Jayce, I was amazed you knew that John Wesley Shipp played The Flash in the early 90's. BTW, I liked your method of having your say, without having to edit yourself. Just continue through four 20 line or less posts and save the fifth post for emergency use. Nicely done.

Frenchie, I did try, but your orthogonal link wouldn't open.

A lovely day in the Sierra foothills, but the forecast is for more rain by the end of the week.

Argyle said...

Golly gee willikers! You guys know how to make a fella feel loved.

Thanks again for all the happy greetings.

Frenchie said...

I was catching up on old puzzles and found well wishes from so many of you. Thank you so much. I had a rough go of things. I had a seizure and that was followed by a serious reaction resulting from a toxic dose of medication prescribed by the neurologist to treat the condition. It has been scary. I couldn't drive for 3 months and I have to be cautious as it is now considered a 'predisposition' to seizures. My memory has been affected and doing puzzles and anything that gives me brain exercise is very important to me.
I'm feeling so much better and know I am continuing to feel better and do better mentally. I am taking good care of myself and have a good support group...family, friends. Again, thanks so much for being there.
Sincerely,
Frenchie

Frenchie said...

@CA-83. Orthogonal joint:
ELL right-angled bend in a pipe or conduit; an elbow.

The link was a photo of elbow pipes.

Dennis said...

Evening, all -- no time for anything this weekend, but I wanted to wish Argyle a very Happy Birthday. Argyle, when it comes to this blog, you are the man.
Hope it's been a great day for you.

Bill G. said...

Frenchie, I'm glad things are looking up for you after the seizure. That doesn't sound like any fun at all. I'm happy you have such a good support group.

Frenchie said...

@BillG- Thanks!

Lemonade714 said...

Thank you jerome, high praise indeed, and I was being lazy as the beach beckoned. I will do better and i know how sad it is to offend an a---non.

Frenchie, better and better.

Bobbie Wilson said...

Once again I was my own worst enemy. Was right to begin with, then doubted myself so the puzzle took me a bit longer than it should have. Also had many of the thoughts you did. Got a giggle or two out of it though.