google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, March 8, 2011 Robert Fisher

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Mar 8, 2011

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 Robert Fisher

Theme: Insults 101 - Four common insults for when someone does something stupid are the last word of the theme entries when they precede the first word of the unifier.

17A. Not-so-humorous humerus spot: FUNNY BONE.
Bonehead.

23A. Exam taker's dread: MENTAL BLOCK. Blockhead. 


39A. Daydreams: CASTLES IN THE AIR. Airhead.
 

49A. Devoid of niceties, as some politics: BARE KNUCKLE. Knucklehead.
 

61A. Racer's edge, or the ends of 17-, 23-, 39- and 49-Across, unflatteringly: HEAD START

Argyle here. I liked the theme; some of the fill, not so much.

Across:

1. Pert : SAUCY. If you remember, we had this before.

6. Top grade, in slang : ACE. I did find it used this way in Dictionary.com, listed as the last use as a noun.

9. Trees along tropical beaches : PALMS

14. Aptly named cooler brand : IGLOO.
Image.

15. Small island : CAY. Sorry, not AIT today.

16. Perpendicular to the keel : ABEAM

19. Tri- plus bi- : PENTA-

20. Drink from leaves : TEA

21. Hockey legend Bobby et al. : ORRs. A stinker entry.

22. Sea north of Poland : BALTIC

25. Grubs and maggots : LARVAE

29. Manhattan sch. : NYU. The Manhattan in New York City, this time.

30. "Garfield" pooch : ODIE

31. Fan mag : ZINE

34. Annual parade celeb : ST. PAT. It should have indicated an abbv., not for PAT, that shortened version was indicated by 'celeb', but for ST.

42. Joe Cocker's "You __ Beautiful" : ARE SO.
Clip.(2:22)

43. Formal coiffure : UPDO

44. Alan of "The Aviator" : ALDA

45. Slangy "No reason" : 'CUZ. Based on BECAUSE.

47. "Amen to that!" : "I'LL SAY!"

55. Disinclined : AVERSE

56. Works a tough row? : HOEs. Easy now.

57. "The Amazing Race" airer : CBS. TV show(I never watch).

60. Prove apt for : BEFIT

63. Mountain ridge : ARETE

64. www address : URL

65. Otherworldly : EERIE

66. IHOP condiment : SYRUP

67. 1/30 of abril : DIA. Spanish. 1 abril - el Día de los Inocentes. (All Fools Day)

68. Seed anew : RESOW

Down:

1. Sort through, as for clues : SIFT

2. Fit of fever : AGUE

3. It's near the 17-Across : ULNA. Diagram that shows where the ulna nerve stretches over the bone in the elbow. That is what tingles when you hit it.

4. Put one over on : CON

5. Cellist with 16 Grammys : YOYO MA.
Elgar Cello Concerto, 2nd mvmt.(3:00) The Jimi Hendrix of classic music.

6. Item in a fall stash : ACORN. If you're a squirrel.

7. Art able to : CANST. Dost thou knoweth this word?

8. Tropical cyclone center : EYE

9. 41st president, affectionately : PAPA BUSH

10. Clear as __ : A BELL

11. Slowly, in music : LENTO

12. "It slices! It dices!" gadget Veg-O-__ : MATIC

13. Wallop : SMACK

18. Zephyr : BREEZE

22. Journalist Nellie : BLY. Nellie Bly (1864 – 1922) was the pen name of American pioneer female journalist Elizabeth Jane Cochran.

24. What all good things come to : AN END. That English proverb from yesterday.

25. Crazy, in a Ricky Martin song : LOCA. "Livin' La Vida Loca".

26. Month after Shevat : ADAR

27. Increase : RISE

28. November honorees : VETS

32. Liar Joe in old TV car ads : ISUZU. David Leisure as Joe Isuzu,
Isuzu Pup - Island Ad.

33. Hip flask quickie : NIP

35. Greenish blue : TEAL

36. Sidekicks : PALS

37. Verdi opera : "AIDA"

38. Projector's slide holder : TRAY

40. Rigidly inflexible process : LOCKSTEP.
Surprize.

41. Worked arduously : TOILED

46. Arles article : UNE. French.

48. Like the preferable evil : LESSER

49. Rum-soaked cakes : BABAs

50. Lincoln Center's __ Fisher Hall : AVERY. The hall was named for Fisher in 1973 after he made a $10.5 million donation to the Philharmonic. (Well, no wonder.)

51. Allude (to) : REFER

52. Verdi aria that means "It was you" : ERI TU

53. Strasbourg sweetheart : CHERI. Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in northeastern France.

54. Eucalyptus muncher : KOALA

57. Jaguar and Impala : CARS

58. Verve : BRIO

59. Hearty entrée : STEW

61. 1963 Paul Newman film : "HUD"

62. Casual top : TEE

Answer grid.

Argyle

76 comments:

  1. Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and fellow bone-, block-, air- and knuckle-heads - quite the speed run this morning, no muss, no fuss. Had a brief pause at 'ace', but as Argyle points out, it is legit. Almost wrote 'Castles in the sky' for 39A, but the 'P' in 'St. Pat' made me hesitate long enough to see that 36D had to be 'pals'. Did anybody else notice that 57D could've been 'caRs' or 'caTs'?

    Argyle, nice blog - got a kick out of the 'Keep on Truckin' picture; seemed like every pickup truck back in the 70's had mudflaps with that on it.

    Today is International Working Women's Day, and Be Nasty Day.

    Did You Know?:

    - After drinking, the last place in the body to be cleared of alcohol is the brain. (Who the hell didn't know that?)

    - If the human body had the same mass as the sun, it would actually produce more heat.

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  2. Not so fast, Dennis. Impalas aren't cats. Its emblem just looks like a cat.

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  3. Jeezus, I need more sleep. I have no freaking idea what I was thinking. Thanks.

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  4. Don't metion it. That was my first thought, too.

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  5. Morning, all!

    I wouldn't call this puzzle particularly difficult, but I was totally not on the constructor's wavelength this morning. I don't think I've ever started out with so many wrong answers before. CAT for CAR (and thanks, Argyle, for pointing out how silly that was of me), CASTLES IN THE SKY for CASTLES IN THE AIR ((I think my version is actually preferred), SASSY of SAUCY, SIP for NIP, OUTRE for EERIE, SMASH for SMACK and even, I'm ashamed to admit, QUINT for PENTA. And there were more.

    I did eventually finish unassisted, but it's a dang good thing I did this on the computer and not on paper...

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  6. Oh -- and I forgot to mention that ACE was actually a gimme for me as a long-time "Doctor Who" fan. One of the Doctor's companions way back when was nicknamed ACE because that's the word she used all the time to mean "excellent", "cool", "top grade", etc.

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  7. Good Morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

    Thanks for the great write-up, Argyle, especially the link to YO YO MA (it was also nice to see his full name in the grid). He looks so young in that video. Do you know that he was just awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom last month? Here’s an interview where he speaks about this honor.

    The theme entries and unifier were clever, and had me guessing as I filled in each one. I did chuckle when I filled in 56A HOES, and I have to admire your restraint in the blog.

    I didn’t like ORRS as clued. It would have been more palatable as “The Pearl of Orr’s Island” by Harriet Beecher Stowe, but I guess that would have been a decidedly non-Tuesday entry.

    And Dennis, don’t feel bad. I had to re-read the clue for 57D because I wondered if it was cars or cats! And finally, a holiday I can relate to. No, not working women - the other one:

    Have a lousy day everyone!

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  8. Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I BREEZEd (Zephyred?) through the top half of the puzzle, then got a bit bogged down near the SW corner. Also, like Barry G, I thought the expression was CASTLES IN THE SKY, not AIR. The perps made me reluctantly change sky to AIR.

    ST. PAT wasn't the first annual parade "celeb" to come to my mind, especially since this is the last day of the Mardi Gras parades. The annual ST. PAT's parade in my city will be next Saturday, however.

    Happy Tuesday, everyone!

    In honor of 22-Down, here's today's QOD: It is only after one is in trouble that one realizes how little sympathy and kindness there are in the world. ~ Nellie Bly

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  9. Good morning everyone. Good write-up, Argyle.

    A great big BZ to Bill G. for posting, yesterday, the heads-up link on the ISS fly over times. In clear skies we viewed it at 6:57pm local time last night. Thanks.

    A little hard for a Tuesday but some determined crisscrossing in the center and south ratcheted it home. Took a little while for BABAS to well up in my brain.

    BALTIC - The Germans usually say "Ostsee'; the Dutch - Oostzee (the Eastern Sea).

    Enjoy the day.

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  10. Good day folks,

    I guess the two glasses of wine with dinner last night are still lodged in my brain because I managed to up the difficulty factor for today's puzzle significantly. I had saucy for sassy, mud slinging for bare knuckle, Santa for St Pat, ait for cay, & alien for eerie. It took some time and an eraser, but perps eventually helped me finish w/o outside assistance. Had a nice chuckle over Works a tough row/hoes.

    In spite of my addled condition, I enjoyed this offering.

    Argyle, super write up. Thank you.

    Whenever I try to name the seven seas, I always forget the Baltic, but today it jumped right out. Now if I could only remember the other six.

    I didn't know I had a Holiday, but I can be one nasty SOB when the mood strikes me. Something 30 years in the Aerospace Industry drilled into me.

    Have to be nice to the better half though because she's having surgery (minor?) tomorrow and she's been up tight. Giving her lots of hugs and no mouth.

    Enjoy being a nasty pain in everyones butt today!

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  11. Good morning all you nasty people:

    I agree the use of ORRS when there is only one of any note is really LAME. I am puzzled about the complaints about ACE though, as we have this in the context of ACING an exam all the time.

    I was surprised by CHERI (the masculine version) as I think of sweethearts as feminine.

    Argyle, you showed restraint in so many directions today. No nasty from me, but bom dia to all.

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  12. Good morning, folks. Thank you Bob Fisher for the puzzle and to Argyle for the write-up. Enjoyed both.

    I did not have too many problems today. I initially put KEY for CAY. That let me put SKORT instead of ACORN. Fixed both of those quickly with a few perps.

    The answer I do not know is 58D BRIO. I got it with perps, but have never heard it before. After I finished I looked it up in Webster and no cigar. I initially wanted ELAN for the clue "Verve," but BRIO fell into place. Can anyone explain the source and exact meaning of the word "BRIO?"

    Abejo

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  13. Abejo, Robert clued 58D as “Verve”, but I dug it up from the dim recesses as part of the musical term “con BRIO”, from the Italian expression meaning “with vigor”, or “with spirit”. Here’s a whole glossary of such musical terms.

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  14. I know my confusion about Castles in the Sky; It's the name of a song.

    It also reminded my of the expression: A Blessing in Disguise. I have heard many people misquote that expression as: A Blessing in the Skies!

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  15. Good morning Fat tuesday celebrants, all. nice blog, Argyle. Are there bruises all over the back of your hands from slapping them to keep the typing fingers from wondering off the reservation?

    I didn't see BRIO until the corner was filled. I wasn't sure about it, but the perps were solid so it stayed. My farmer usually has a couple of acres that he has to reseed for one reason or another, but I've never heard him say he will RESOW the area.

    The SW corner almost got me. I must have misread the clue for 50d and had 'Amory' and that kept me from seeing AVERSE and BEFIT until I finally took it out and looked at the clue again. Pass the V8 can, please. Yes, I felt like a (take your choice of starting words)HEAD when I finally straightened out that corner.

    Bill G, thanks for the link. ISS wasn't on the list for last night, but we should have good view at very bright magnitude tomorrow.

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  16. Argyle; Another great write-up.

    The themes were the easy part.

    But for 'Annual parade celeb' I put in Santa (thought it was a "Shout-out" to Argyle) then looked at the downs, knew AIDA was Verdi, and corrected to ST.PAT.

    Learning moment: The name of the Lincoln Center's AVERY Fisher Hall.

    Abejo: I had the same thought process with BRIO.

    Hmmm, it's heading to 80, with a light BREEZE ... wonder what I CANST do in this weather???

    Cheers !!!

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  17. BarryG/Hahtool: I confused Castles in the air with castles in the sand. But it wouldn't fit. Then when I looked it up it was Castles made of sand.

    Anyway here is a video.

    Click on "show more" under the video to see complete lyrics. One of Jimi's masterpieces. IMHO

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  18. Good Morning C.C., Argyle and all,

    Thanks, Argyle for your work.

    I agree with you about the fill of the puzzle. A neat thing I noticed, was the crossing of ULNA and FUNNY BONE. As far as the theme was concerned, I thought it was ok. Thanks, Robert, for a pleasant Tuesday jaunt.

    Jayce, you’re a fav of mine.

    BillG., overcast this AM, but is clearing some, now- hope for this evening; thanks.

    Hope our ‘snow birds’ are faring well; national news pics are depressing.

    Dennis, car service is only for hard workers; here’s to you, Linda.

    Try to dodge all those nasty people and
    Have a nice day everyone.

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  19. Great blog, Argyle. I enjoyed Yoyo Ma.

    Happy Mardi Gras, Fasching, Carneval, Karneval or whatever it's called in your neck of the woods, everyone! Now having got that out there, watch out for the hangover, maybe be nasty day should be tomorrow!

    Hondo,
    I hope the DH's surgery goes well.

    The only reason I jumped straight to CARS for the impala/jaguar clue was because they weren't both the same kind of animal. I had trouble elsewhere: spelling CUS because I no idea who Liar Joe was. And I never fully got the theme, having overlooked the literal meaning of HEADSTART.

    I only got PENTA because I realized it had to be a common prefix like the others. Otherwise, mostly I was ditto for what Barry G said.

    I'm (in ignorance) wondering if Robert is related to Avery...

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  20. Hi All ~!

    Well, I was with BarryG this morning, had SASSY and OUTRE to start - also thought I was being clever with a 'tough row' being "OARS", as in the verb - Bzzzz.

    Ah, yes, an Impala is not a CAT, which I had to start - and never thought I was wrong 'til I got here...

    You know me, I love Castles, and I prefer in the AIR to SKY.

    Here's Don McLean. The lyric is at 3:00
    Castles in the Air

    Splynter

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  21. Good morning Argyle,C.C. and fellow dolts,

    Argyle, another enjoyable write up and theme title; never would have guessed.
    Strange how quickly I filled the top, but I stalled at zine, and then had to ponder almost each and every one after that, making it more enjoyable.Some really nice words for a Tuesday.

    I thought clue for Orrs was odd.

    Hand up for thinking of cats at first.

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  22. Good Morning from the snowy great plains! Some untidy fills but fine for a Tuesday.

    Musings
    -Does anyone else play the cello?
    -I thought of SANTA anchoring the Macy’s parade
    -Hahtool, the QOD has been proven true to me many times. Also, I had Walk Like A Man rattling around in my head on the golf course last week and kept thinking, “My puddin’ headed father said give her up, don’t bother” before I looked up the right lyric. Anyone else do something like that?
    -Is there an Ides of ABAR?
    -ISS/Orbiter double header was lost in the overcast here. It is a spectacular event to see!
    -Geese and sandhill cranes are filling the air here along the Platte

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  23. Have appts this AM...will get to the puzzle later...

    Dennis: A Mensa member married to "large conglomerate`s" head of accounting. Wow! Your children could have ruled the world!

    Here`s some more "sutheren" for all ya`ll:

    "I am proud to be from the South - where tea is sweet and accents are sweeter; summer starts in April; front porches are wide and words are long; mac and cheese is a vegetable; pecan pie is a staple; Y’all is the only proper pronoun; chicken is fried and biscuits come w/ gravy; everything is darling and someone is always getting their heart blessed."

    BTW: You can say pretty much what you want about someone, as long as you add, "Bless her/his heart!" as in, "Humph!She should know we never wear white pants and shoes until after Memorial Day, bless her heart!"

    Or, "Someone should tell Bubba that his beer belly makes him not the high-school heart throb he used to be, bless his heart!"

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  24. Free Merriam Webster Dictionary:

    Brio, Noun: Enthusiastic vigor: vivacity, verve.

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  25. Good Morning All, There are too many places for castles to perch. My first thought was Castle On A Cloud.

    Other than that, I enjoyed the theme very much. I known and been known as all the of theme answers, at one time or another.

    I remembered the old Joe ISUZU ads, but I couldn't come up with AVERY Fisher Hall. I guess my AIR HEAD brain cells were working overtime.

    Husker, misheard and repeated lyrics are alway embarrassing. Some good laughs are to be had at Kiss The Guy, The Archive of Misheard Lyrics. (I used to have trouble with ABBA lyrics.)

    Tuesday is shopping and maybe a movie if there is time.

    See you all later.

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  26. Well, I have to believe it's Tuesday because that is what the day on the puzzle says but the clues/answers were whispering something else in my ears.

    I did manage to finish with some help for my unknowns: CANST (really??) I stared at that clue trying to figure out if it was a misprint before it dawned on me the usage was from another era. BYE, AVERY, ERITU, BRIO and LOCI all seemed (to me) to be more difficult than a Tuesday level.

    ARBAON: LOL on your 'Bless your heart' examples!! So true, and I love
    southern! (Not the food though) just the attitude and accent. :)

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  27. Hi Argyle, C.C. & gang. We finished ~80% of today's puzzle before my wife left for work. She came up with blockhead from the '___ock' ending we had.

    FYI,
    March 17th AKA Saint Patrick's day is coming next Thursday. The abbreviation St Pat has two abbreviations; St for Saint, Pat for Patrick.

    ;-)

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  28. Carol,
    I thought it was a bit beyond Tuesday level too when starting. But the CANST, AVERY and ERITU you mentioned I got from perps. After staring at "art able to" and not seeing any sense to it at all I just worked around it. Where are LOCI and BYE?

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  29. I just found LOCA--I guess that was what you meant.

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  30. Kazie, so sorry, my mistake! I meant LOCA and BLY. Geez, no wonder I had trouble!!! :)

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  31. Got 'er done and enjoyed it. ORRS did seem odd though.

    I'm glad some of you were able to see the ISS last night. It's a very exciting sight I think. When I've seen it in the past, the space shuttle was close, in the same field of view as the ISS. It's my understanding that this flyover, the shuttle will precede the ISS by a minute or two on the same path. Spitzboov, what's the BZ that's headed my way? Last night was overcast for me but I'll be outside again tonight.

    Isn't Esperanza Spalding a talented sweetie?

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  32. Have been listening to all the great music from Argyle, Hahtool, Seen, Splynter, and CA( liked the addition of the words).Thanks.
    HeartRx, I'm hoarding a copy of those musical terms. I'm familiar with many of the longer terms, like a cappella and arpeggio, but those shorter ones stump me in xwds. Enjoyed the YoYoMa link too.

    Hatha girl

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  33. Good day, Puzzlers all!

    Thanks for the wonderful blogging, Argyle.

    I'LLSAY this was a SAUCY puzzle, filled with BRIO. I love that word and I'm reading South of Broad by Pat Conroy (The Prince of Tides) and he uses it to describe one of the characters. That man can write!

    This was almost a sprint with only a few bumps. Hand up for CASTLES IN THE SKY and thinking CATS then realizing an impala isn't one.

    Robert Fisher sneaked his name in a clue though AVERY Hall is unknown to me.

    ZEPHYR is another great word.

    People need a day to be nasty?

    I wish you all "un buen dia!"

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  34. Mondegreens- Misheard lyrics.

    Lots of good, medium length fill-
    SAUCY, IGLOO, SYRUP, YOYOMA, BREEZE, ISUZU, and SMACK.

    Not so good-
    AVERSE- Ironic if that's what you are to poetry.

    RESOW- It could be WORSE.

    SIFT- It'll give you FITS.

    URL- Answer to Cid's question: "Who am I?"

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  35. I couldnst finish this one today unaided. I had trouble all over the place. Too many unknowns….Cay, Penta, Leuto, Isuzo, Eritu just to name a few. Oh well, it sounds like I wasn’t the only one in the boat.

    Argyle nice shout out to Windhover with el dia de los incentes….his special day.

    Sun is shining and it’s 38 degrees and melting, like my sinuses evidentally.

    Everyone don't enjoy your day.

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  36. Hola Everyone, When the first word in a puzzle is wrong it is an omen. I had sassy for saucy, and had to erase that and several more before I finally finished.

    I had no idea about the Joe Isuzu ads. I don't remember them at all. I had to look up Avery Fisher Hall, so I wasn't able to finish all on my own.

    I'm in a hurry today as I have a meeting this morning.

    I'll try to be nice and not cause too much of a problem with my fellow attendees.

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  37. Lucina: I like Pat Conroy, too. I just finished The Great Santini. That book is semi-autobiographical. I am reading Lemonade's recommendation now - Major Pettigrew's Last Stand. I will probably finish it on my flight home later today.

    My husband and I ate at a nice tapas restaurant the other evening. The food was wonderful, but we had the most surly waiter we had ever encountered. He must have celebrated Be Nasty Day a few days early.

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  38. Jerome:
    You are such a funny man!

    Hahtool:
    I'll have to add The Great Santini to my list. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand is already on it.

    So many books, so little time!

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  39. Hello everybody. I love BRIO on crackers, with caviar and champagne. Haha.
    Not a bad puzzle. I agree with y'all that the theme was fun and that some of the clues and fill were a little bit lame. I didn't like ZINE, disliked ORRs even more, and disliked UPDO the most. I did like HOES a lot, though. And CANST made me chuckle.
    My erasor got its biggest workout when I put in LOCKEDUP for 40D, and ERISU (yeah yeah, I know) for 52D. At least I got CARS right away for 57D.
    I can't remember the Jewish months and don't want to look them up every time, so I only got ADAR from the perps. I bet it hasn't a single ide in it. LOL
    More later.

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  40. Now I guess I'll head into the office to confront my controlling, micro-managing, work-duplicating boss, bless his heart.

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  41. Chickie, I had sassy for saucy too. Spitzboov, thanks for the Bravo Zulu link. I should have remembered that.

    This story might not be tasteful for those of you who don't like anchovies in your Caesar salad, but...

    I had sardines for lunch yesterday. Yummy. But this morning, son Tim called me up to tell me there was something unusual going on near where he lives. So I got on my bike and headed south to Redondo Beach. After wandering around near the pier, I finally ended up at King Harbor where there were millions of dead sardines and maybe other fish. Apparently, they died due to oxygen deprivation. However, what was bad for the sardines was a boon for the seagulls, pelicans and seals who were having a feast. The local TV stations were busily interviewing people who seemed to know something, so that left me out. Here's a link to the story.

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  42. Hello bloggers,

    I really enjoyed this puzzle today. Thanks, Robert Fisher. I agree about its having some good words and I guess most of the 'flaws' didn't bother me. We've seen a lot of clues like 21A so I can't see why it was any different from so many of them. I thought of 'cats' first but realized that an impala is not a cat, but'cars' worked. I'm not familiar with 'Castles in the Sky';only know 'Castles in the Air'.

    My, you can get up to 20 lines rally fast! Husker, the name of the month wanted is 'Adar', not 'Abar'. The only other famous cellist I recall is Restropovich, but I think he must be dead. I'll have to look it up.

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  43. To: HeartRx and Creature. Thanks for your help on BRIO. That is not the first time a musical word or term has zapped me. And, I am an amateur musician. Real amateur, I guess. By the way, the dictionary I was using is copyrighted 1956. Maybe I should upgrade.

    Abejo

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  44. Sorry about that! I got carried away. Re: celli(os) s great movie is "Hilary and Jackie" about Jacqueline DuPre, who was a very promising cellist but died quite young. And of course, there was also Pablo Casals....wonderful!













    1

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  45. Lucina, I agree about Conroy's works. They are like reading poetry. I was always finding lines I just had to share out loud to my DH. I will put South of Broad on my list as well with Major P...I'm doing a few quick reads(Patterson's women's murder club series) before I start Picoult's House Rules.Dodo, did you read it?

    Bill, I thought of you while reading that news this morning.Hope it doesn't get too warm down there.

    For us grandparents, there is another BRIO.

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  46. Nasty Day may explain, but not excuse, the imbecile (bless his heart) I observed today who repeatedly honked his horn while waiting for a schoolbus driver to unload a wheelchair-bound student.

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  47. JD, glad you liked the links.

    Jerome @10:59, you hit my FUNNY BONE.

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  48. Lo gang -

    I rather liked this puzzle, and feel that the theme speaks to me in a deeply personal way. OTOH, I agree that the plural of a proper name is 3rd class fill. Also, I think the proper affectionate term for 41 is POPPY, not PAPA.

    Enjoy seeing KOALA, my fav animal.

    Always have to pause over TEAL - AQUA.

    I'm experiencing Marti's wish. Not only to I have a TOTALLY UNDESERVED headache (grrrr), my new lap top blew up(even more grrr.) I've had it for less than two months.

    This post is coming from my lousy old lap top, which is in limp-along mode - gee, that might be why I bought a new one.

    Busy this week. Two performances Fri and Sat. I'll report back if and when I can.

    Jeers!
    JzB

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  49. Hello Puzzlers - A bit tricky for a Tuesday, but still a no-peeky. Never heard of the movie "Hud". The clue for CANST had me stumped until perps filled it in. BABAS looks vaguely familiar, and sounds tasty...

    Liked the Australian connections today. For one, the koala keepers at the Oz Zoo explained in some detail just what fussy eaters the little "bears" are. They only eat certain sized leaves from certain branches of certain Eucalyptus trees, and they have to be FRESH. Gatherers are sent out every day to get branches for the koalas to munch on, hundreds of pounds' worth, at expanding distances.

    The other has to do with coolers. Every cooler I saw was an Igloo, called an "Iggy" of course. There are lots of Iggys in Oz because it's hot and dry and beer is a fact of life. Love that place!

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  50. Does anyone remember, wasn't Joe Leisure in Empty Nest? or am I thinking of another sitcom.

    Thanks.

    JD:
    I agree. Pat Conroy's lines are exactly like reading poetry and so rich in imagery. South of Broad takes place in Charleston, SC and also partly in San Francisco.

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  51. A little research shows that 'Castle in the air' is overwhelmingly the most used and gets plenty of dictionary backup. 'Castle in the sky' gets no dictionary backup at all.

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  52. Hahtool, I know what you mean about nasty waiters etc. We were having lunch at at restaurant on the coast not too long ago, and the waitress must have slept on the floor because even getting up on the wrong side of the bed couldn't have made her any nastier, "bless her heart!" She never smiled and when the top of the pepper shaker came off and all the pepper spilled out on Joe's plate, she just shrugged and said "someone must have loosened the lid" Duh...needless to say we will not be going there again.

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  53. I am getting ready for the shuttle and the ISS tonight. Clear skies here. The dimmer shuttle should be about a minute or two before the ISS.

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  54. Jayce:
    re: "controlling, micro-managing, work-duplicating boss" ... you have my condolence that you TOILED for one of these "know-it-alls."

    I am SOOOO glad I no longer work for "The Firm" (geez. everytime I heard KPMG or Deloitte or PWC referred in that context I wanted to hurl) and work as an Independent Consultant.

    Plus the only "Boss" I ever paid real attention to were:
    (1) Mom
    (2) Wife
    (3) Gal-Pal
    The ones at work were only "the boss" because they got there before I did.

    HAHTOOL:
    Do you and your husband go to Bourbon Street to laugh at the drunks tonight?

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  55. Hi Again ~!

    Yes, I believe Isuzu Joe was the annoying neighbor in Empty Nest, Lucina

    Splynter

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  56. Tinbini: the wonderful thing about Bourbon St is that one can laugh at the drunks 24-7. There will just be a few more of th tonight. BTW, Mardi Gras is a state holiday. And, university classes begin again at noon so the kids can have the morning to recover from their hangovers.

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  57. Dudley,
    Funny about the Iggy in Oz. When I lived there everyone had an Esky. I think I mentioned that here once before. I wonder if one company bought the other out?

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  58. Please do not make a comparison between Yo Yo Ma and Jimi Hendrix. Yo Yo Ma is an accomplished musician and artist whereas Hendrix was nothing more than a mediocre entertainer.

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  59. anon@6:16, you might've been able to present a cogent argument as to why Yo Yo Ma is better at his craft than Hendrix was at his, but you lose all credibility when you call Hendrix a "mediocre entertainer." I didn't like all of his music, but he was a virtuoso on a guitar.

    Jerome, a little research here in the store with customers has 'castles in the sky' ahead by about 3-1 over 'castles in the air'. Strange.

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  60. Tired this evening...just couldn`t get "prove apt for" or "allude to" (wanted infer which was hindered by "disinclined." Finally went to the grid for completion. "ulna" fell pretty quickly so "saucy" didn`t become "sassy" "Art able to" stymied until I came here and found "art" was a verb instead of a noun.

    I don`t say it often enough. All the "helper" bloggers do such a great job.
    CC: Success often mean surrounding yourself with capable people. You`ve certainly done that!

    Had a huge, SUV pull out in front of me today...a cretin for sure...bless his heart. I was able to stop in time but I sat on my horn and thought a few choice words, bless my heart!

    Carol: Southern cooking is an acquired taste. Unfortunately, extra pounds are also aquired along with it. Ask Paula Deen (whom I`m sometimes mistaken for) bless both our hearts!)

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  61. BILL G,

    I used to enjoy a weekend at the Portofino in Redondo Beach once or twice a year. Are they still in operation? How about Old Tony's and New Tony;s? It was a great area to get your oars back in the water. And it was all on the company thanks to Super saver air fares.

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  62. Well, Dennis,
    You have to admit that we've been attracting a much better class of Anons lately, so it was inevitable that a jackass would show up sooner or later.

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  63. ARBAON: Bless Paula Deen's heart...my sister-in-law gave me one of her cookbooks, geez, I gained 10 pounds just reading through it :) Yikes, that woman LOVES butter, mayo and cream cheese!!

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  64. Kazie 6:00 - Thanks for jogging my faulty memory. You're right of course - I mixed up Esky and Iggy.

    For our readers - "Esky" is Oz for Eskimo. Both coolers keep beer cold, but it's the Esky that owns the place!

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  65. Hello HH (or H squared as we retired middle school math teachers might say). Yes, the Portofino Inn is still there and still classy. Old and Tony's are alive and well. I haven't been there in a while. Thanks for the reminder.

    I don't find southern cooking to be an acquired taste. What's not to like about fried chicken, buttermilk biscuits, greens, cornbread, etc.? Of course, you may be right. Since I grew up in Virginia, maybe I acquired the taste early on.

    It's getting close to the time for the ISS flyover.

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  66. David Leisure played a role on Empty Nest and was also pitchman Joe ISUZU in the late 1980's.

    Bill G., GAH was born and grew up in Redondo Beach and has family who still live there. He was interested (and concerned) about the fish die-off at the harbor.

    the hondohurricane, I don't know what's going on at Old Tony's now, but one of GAH's old high school friends was a manager there about 25 years ago. We used to head down the coast from Oxnard to have dinner there on a regular basis.

    "Mediocre"? I never was a big fan of Jimi Hendrix, but "ordinary" or "so-so" are not adjectives I would use to describe him or his music. In 2003 Rolling Stone magazine listed him as #1 of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"

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  67. Dennis- Your shops are in Jersey, right. There ya go.

    Clear Ayes- A thank you from a big Hendix fan. Saw him twice in concert. I don't remember the second time.

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  68. Arabon, I think you've been chatting with my southern aunts. Your post sounded just like what I would hear when I was visiting their places. Biscuits and Gravy were a staple, pecan pie not far behind. And fried chicken--really good with all of the above. Their tables were all groaning with food when we were there. Bless their hearts.

    Bill G. The news has pictures and lots of talk about the sardine kill down in your area. It was phenomenal.

    Husker Gary, the cranes and geese are also phenomenal when they inundate the Platte River area. A must see if people are in the area.

    My latest reads are the "Cat Who" books. I can read them and not think too hard, but they are entertaining. Our local thrift shop had several for a very good price.

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  69. Bill, did you see either? I thought I may have seen(but probably not) the 7:26 when the moon was visible, but definitely not the 7:29.

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  70. Chickie, so you get Redondo Beach news in San Jose? I guess this is big enough news to not stay just local. It was quite something. The cleanup will take several more days. One marine biologist said that there are lots more dead fish on the ocean bottom. As they decay, gasses are formed causing the dead fish to float and requiring still more cleanup.

    Barbara and I just saw Discovery followed about two minutes later by the ISS. Both about as bright as Jupiter. Very cool.

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  71. I was okay with ORRS, but it was the darn foreign language clues that annoyed me today!

    I fell for the cats vs. cars too, until I noticed the capitalization.

    Chickie, the "Cat Who" series is such a pleasant read! A friend leant me about 2/3 of the series, and for the next few months I was obsessed with reading them through first to last. My gift back to her was the missing 1/3 of the books. I was so disappointed the series won't continue.

    Jayce, I definitely can relate and sympathize with your boss woes!

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  72. Jerome@8:32, don't stress about it...you obviously had a really good time!

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  73. Splynter and CA:
    Thank you for answering my question. Empty Nest was fun to watch back in the old days.

    I love southern cooking. My sister has lived in Charlotte for more than 35 years and when I visit there, I visibly drool. It's not a pretty sight, but my taste buds dance!

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  74. CA, 25 years ago......... it's possible we could have been seated next to each other on a Friday evening.

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  75. 23 across was a FOUL. Adenauer was DER Alte, not merely Ein Alte.

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