google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, April 20,, 2011 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

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Apr 20, 2011

Wednesday, April 20,, 2011 Don Gagliardo and C.C. Burnikel

 Theme - CLANDESTINE CLAN - each asterisked theme answer contains a hidden family member, spanning words, and stated familiarly.  (Good Lord, I just used "asterisk" as a verb.  Don't tell my daughter.) 

21 A. *Ages : FOREVER AND A DAY.  Or the 12th of Never perhaps.  That's a long long time.  DAD spans three words.  Hi Dr. Dad!

29  A. *Surgery prep area : SCRUB ROOM.  I read recently that doctors are more careless about hygiene than they should be, and neckties are horrible germ carriers.  Hence the need to scrub.  BRO is brother, of course.  I am one.

39 A. *"Aha!" : JUST AS I SUSPECTED.   Sometimes I get it right, but that might be by accident.  Wow.  SIS spans three words.  Makes BRO seem like a piker.  Well, my SIS is pretty industrious.

48 A. *Bout with very big contestants : SUMO MATCH.  Those SUMO wrestlers are big guys, aren't they.  We can let MOM get away with only spanning two words, 'cuz MOMs work hard all the time.

And the unifier --  59 A. Groundbreaking sitcom, and a hint to four different three-letter words concealed by starred answers : ALL IN THE FAMILY.  Archie, Edith, Gloria, and the Meat Head. 

Constructors' notes are at the end.  Full disclosure - I gleaned the theme title from the notes.  It's been a great few days for me, with the granddaughters' dance competition, performing with Wayne, and now getting inside this puzzle from the dynamic duo of Don and our own gracious hostess.  No walk in the park for me, but achievable with good Wednesday level effort, and lots of fun, to boot!

I'm quite proud of myself for detecting the theme and sussing the unifier before I saw it.  Finding nothing in common among the first three theme answers, I started probing for hidden words, and had an "aha!" moment when I found them.  Wonderful pattern with 5 theme entries, the center one spanning the special 16 x 15 grid, and just a Q and Z away from a pangram.

Hi gang, it's JazzBumpa.  I guess including Bumpa was too much to hope for, but Gloria, the lovely wife is implied in the unifier, and, ironically, I sneak in at 69A.  Well, the family's all here.  Let's stop in for a visit.

Across:

1. Berlin Olympics star : OWENS.  Jesse

6. Test sites : LABS.  Not N-tests.  Just LABoratories for more mundane experiments.  In one of my jobs we had a sign that said, "What we need in this laboratory is more labor and less oratory."  Everybody's a comedian.

10. Unexpected result : UPSET.  The Wings are up 3 games to none against whoever they're playing.  No UPSET there, except the other team's fans might be UPSET.

15. "The King's Speech" Oscar winner Firth : COLIN.  I like the scene in Bridget Jones's Diary where he beats up the other, even more annoying British guy.

16. Touched down : ALIT.  Landed, not scored a touchdown.

17. Pheasant ragout : SALMI.  Never heard of it.  But now that I know about it, I want some with a cold RYE BEER!

18. Far from fresh : TRITE.  Nothing trite about this puzzle.

19. Snack in a shell : TACO.  TACO means sandwich in Spanish.   Once, in Mexicali, I ordered a Jamon con Queso Taco, and got a ham and cheese on white bread.  It was an unexpected result, but I wasn't UPSET.  There might have been a Dos Equis in the mix somewhere. 

20. Garden figure : GNOME.  Little bearded statues that protect gardens from the evils of black magic

24. Spelling on screen : TORI.  I believe she's famous for being well known, though I might have that backwards.

25. Old Olds creation : REO.  The initials of Ransom Eli Olds who gave us the REO Speedwagon, and much later your father's Oldsmobile.

26. Minnesota twins? : EN'S.  There are two letters "N" side by side in Minnesota.  What's round on both ends and hi in the middle?

27. Buff : FAN.  Aha!  Like a  film buff, frex.  Not JUST AS I SUSPECTED.  I put in FIT, because NAKED wouldn't FIT.

33. Glob suffix : ULE.  A GLOBULE is something smallish and roundish.

34. Mack Sennett lawman : KOP.  Keystone KOPs from old comedy.  Seems like they never got their man.

35. Hard-twisted cotton thread : LISLE.   The manufacturing process burns off lint and fiber ends.  This  leaves a smooth finish.  Hmmm.  So does Lagavulin.

45. "Really __ ...": "Tears of a Clown" lyric : I'M SADNo. 1 hit for Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

46. __ tai : MAI.  A MAI tai is concoction of rum and fruit juice.  Does it have a smooth finish?

 47. Form 1040 calc. : AGI.  Adjusted Gross Income.  The sum of income from all sources, less certain specified deductions.  An intermediate number in your tax calculation.

53. Droid : BOT.  Two abbreviated words that have become accepted as stand-alones, derived from android and robot, respectively, both meaning mechanical humanoids.

54. Go on and on : YAK.  Talking or playing.  It can be a bit Kopish, capiche?

56. Prefix with moron : OXY.  An oxymoron is a self-contradictory expression, like "jumbo shrimp" or "tasteful trombonist."

57. He succeeded Boutros : KOFI. U.N. Secretaries General KOFI Annan and Boutros Boutros Ghali -- golly!

64. Arab big shot : SHEIK.  This word is properly pronounced "shake."

65. Sleek, in car talk : AERO.  AS in AEROdynamic.

66. Live : EXIST

68. Like the Vikings : NORSE.  They came from the north, in ships.

69. Fairway club : IRON.  Tiger has a rough time, since he does not always use his wood in a fair way.  Ironically, I, RON, would never do such a thing.

70. Religious practices : RITES.

71. Led Zeppelin's "Whole __ Love" : LOTTAThis calls for a link.

72. At sea : LOST.  Nice not to see ASEA in the grid.

73. Foam opener : STYRO.  STYROfoam is expanded polystyrene.

Down:

1. Fall mo. : OCT.  October.  Abrv in cl. & ans.

2. Klingon officer in the "Star Trek" franchise : WORFLovely, uh -- man.

3. "The Untouchables" co-author, 1957 : ELIOT NESS.  I used to watch the TV show, and never had any idea NESS wrote the book.

4. Powerful liquid, for short : NITRO.  NITROglycrine for long, or 1,2,3-trinitroxypropane for even longer. It's explosive stuff.  Handle with care.

5. Derisive looks : SNEERS.  See 51 D.

6. Incurring a fine, maybe : LATE.  At the library, perhaps.  Been there, done that.

7. Banned apple spray : ALAR.  We don't see this old crossword stalwart much any more.  It's N-(dimethylamino)succinamic acid for long.

8. Antacid choice, briefly : BICARB.  Sodium Bicarbonate, less briefly. 

9. He who is without sin? : STONER.  Let the one without guilt cast the first stone.  I don't think anybody qualified.  By odd coincidence, the word "sin" in Spanish means "without."  By odder coincidence most STONERS were actually sinners.  I'm taking this on faith.

10. Links gp. : USGA.  The United States Golf Association, a bunch of good sports.  They have links, so I don't need to include one.

11. Prevalent all over : PANDEMIC.  Here, the word is an adjective, meaning widespread or general. As a noun, it means a PANDEMIC disease.

12. Memorial __-Kettering: NYC hospital : SLOAN.  This is a cancer center in NY City.

13. Tube awards : EMMYS

14. Draw : TIE.  An even-score result at the end of the game, not something TIED with a drawstring.

22. VapoRub maker : VICKS.  This brings back awful childhood memories . . .

23. Durante's "Inka Dinka __" : DOOThis doo call for a link.

27. Japan's highest mountain : FUJI.  Is it true there's a film on it?

28. Grad : ALUM.  Graduate and ALUMnus, for long.

30. Reine's spouse : ROI  Queen and King in French.

31. FedEx rival : U P S  United Parcel Service.

32. Bullring shout : OLE!

36. Balance : STABILITY.  Not falling down.   Here is an example, from right in the family.

37. Kids' block : LEGO.  You can make anything with them. Leggo my LEGO.

38. Do some cutting : EDIT.  Remove all those superfluous, unnecessary extra words that actually give to  a probably already too-long sentence even more gratuitous expanse, for no good reason.

40. It usually includes crossed-off items : TASK LIST.  I put in TO DO LIST, which caused me some grief.

41. Soccer star Freddy : ADU.  Sorry.  Don't follow soccer.

42. Thurman of "Kill Bill" : UMA.  A very demur lady.

43. Used a stool : SAT

44. "__ card, any card" : PICK A.  Magician's come-on.

49. Many a Fed. holiday : MON.  Monday is the day of choice, since it gives a long week end.

50. Beefy stew ingredient : OX TAIL.  Never tried it.  Maybe with a RYE BEER . 

51. "You saved me!" : MY HERO.  Reminds me of Dudley Do Right.

52. Big hits : HOMERS.  Home runs from base ball.

54. Shout of delight : YAHOO!

55. All ears : ALERT.  Tell me more.

58. Handy "Mr." : FIXIT.  Steroetypical name for a handy man is Mr. FIXIT.

60. Swedish furniture chain : IKEA.  Amanda loves this place.

61. Mythical archer : EROS.  One of the Greek Deities. God, I love this guy!

62. Type type : FONT.  Great repetitive clue.  This font is called Georgia, BTW

63. River of Flanders : YSER

64. NBC hit since '75 : SNL.  Saturday Night Live, long running show and long-time crossword stalwart.

67. Chicken general? : TSO.  I've still never had General TSO's chicken.  Though I have had the Colonel's.  I guess I struck out on today's culinary offerings.

Answer grid.

Well, I enjoyed our visit, but now it's bed time.  Y'all come back right soon, now, capiche?

Jazzbumpa

Notes from C.C. and Don:

This puzzle was also accepted last November. The idea came to me when listening to an interview about clandestine operations. I thought of having clan or kin or other synonyms embedded in front of phrases with a unifier ALL IN THE FAMILY or IT'S ALL RELATIVE, but couldn't work out a coherent theme set. Don wisely guided us to where the theme sits today.

We chose the 16-letter JUST AS I SUSPECTED as center fill because it's a lively phrase and the embed SIS mirrors the DAD span, hence a special 16*15 grid. It's challenging and fun to span key words (all limited to 3 letters) in the middle rather than embed them in front or at the end. We hope you like our work.

72 comments:

Dennis said...

Good morning, Jazz, C.C. and gang - pretty cool to get another DonG/C.C. puzzle already. I liked this one even more than the first one; you guys are definitely hitting your stride together.

The puzzle itself was a pretty smooth run, but I didn't have a hint as to the theme until the unifier; great theme answers, clever insertion of the abbreviated family names. I also really liked how C.C. got her Twins and Vikings in the puzzle, and how many fresh clues there were. Great job, guys.

Today is Look Alike Day. Ever been told you look like someone? Believe it or not, I used to get 'Chad Everett' a lot, back when I was waaaay younger.

Did You Know?:

- The idea behind FedEx originated in the 1965 term paper Fred Smith wrote for an undergraduate economics class at Yale University. He got a "C" for his efforts.

Late for the gym - hopefully more later.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Definitely a Wednesday-level puzzle for me today. Most parts were easy, but stuff like SALMI and ADU added enough spice to keep me from doing a speed run. I messed up the NE corner by putting LPGA for 10D, which hid the aforementioned SALMI from sight until I saw the error of my ways. I also had TODO LIST for 40D, which also added to the challenge for awhile.

The theme was... well, to be honest, it didn't really do much for me. I didn't need to know it to solve the puzzle, and when I figured it out after solving I didn't really get all that excited about it. But that's fine, since the puzzle as a whole was enjoyable. To be honest, I sometimes wonder why we need to have themes every day and think that well-made themeless puzzles would probably be just as fun to do.

Barry G. said...

Oh -- and as for Look Alike Day, when I was much younger (and skinnier) I occasionally got told I looked like Matthew Broderick or (while wearing a bandanna for a sweat band) Sylvester Stallone. I never saw it, personally, but there you have it...

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, JazzBumpa and friends. Great puzzle CC and Don G! What fun! You two make a great puzzling team. This was a fun puzzle, doable, but with a challenge. Almost a pangram.

Plus, I learned a few things. I probably won't be eating pheasant stew, but it is good to know what it is called.

Thanks, JazzB for explaining Buff = FAN. I got stuck on the fitness definition. D'uh!

I've been told I look like Isabella Rossellini.

QOD: Do vegetarians eat animal crackers? ~ Author Unknown

windhover said...

Hahtool:
The shades, and the wearer, are tres hot.

As for me, I've been told Liam Neeson.

And in a bit of cinematic irony (the movie Rob Roy), the Irish strongly resembles Jessica Lange.

Jazz:
I think you used "asterisked" as an adjective. But the teachers will have to rule definitively.

Lemonade714 said...

Coolio:

How wonderful to see Don and C.C. back in print. The puzzle was fun and I loved the alliterative theme and many things about the cluing. Just back in town, and way behind on so many things.

Funny how none of us are told we look like Broderick Crawford, Ernest Borgnine or Minnie Pearl.

I was at a wedding and was told I look like Donald Rumsfeld, which I did not perceive as a compliment, but they thought thry were being nice/

Hahtoolah said...

Thanks, Windhover. We've missed you. How is the lambing going this year? How many new little lambs?

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Don G & CC are becoming a formidable team. What a enjoyable Wednesday puzzle. The North was a speed run for me, but the Central & Southern sections were a bit of a grind.

I figured out the theme with 59A, but until I read the explanation by Jazz, it didn't register. Jazz, informative write up with nice links. Did not recognize Durante at first (no hat), but I knew that the voice immediately.

Lots of unknowns today.... Salmi, Bot, Kofi, & Worf, but perps saved the day. Only other slowdown was my goof when I entered to do list instead of task list. Task list is, in my opinion, a bit obscure.

Have to run. First baseball game of the year for me at New Britain this AM. 10:35 start!

Jazzbumpa said...

Somebody once told me I look like Dave Brubeck. Once, a lady I didn't know mistook me for someone specific that SHE didn't know. I'm still scratching my head over that one.

My favorite happened when I was a Freshman in High School. I was sharing a bus stop with an elderly Jewish lady. She said something to me that I didn't get, and was offended that I wasn't getting it. A Jewish boy my age should know these things! I tried to explain to her that I wasn't Jewish, and SHE DIDN'T BELIEVE ME!

Off to the chirocracker.

Cheers!
JzB

Barry G. said...

Man, I just noticed that today's puzzle is co-authored by C.C.! D'OH!!!

Congrats (again)!

Lemonade714 said...

JzB doppleganger?

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning gang. Congratulations to C.C. and Don for a fine collaboration and to JzB for the write up.

Barry, we were both on the same wrong wavelength with LPGA and 'to do list'. Fortunately, the perps insisted that those needed to go. Other than that, this one flowed along nicely.

I've never been accused of looking like someone well known, but when we were on a world cruise a few years ago my twin was also on the ship. When I finally saw him myself I understood why people kept greeting me with "Hi Bill" and would look very confused when I corrected them. They were probably wondering if Bill had a split personality disorder.

Have a great hump day.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Thanks JzB for a fine write-up. Once again the dynamic duo Don and C.C. have offered us a fun puzzle. Thanks.

As expected, it was a fun solve. Got the theme entries easily and then read the unifier. I didn't need the imbedded 3 ltr words but it was fun to see them leap out. YAHOO. Couple unknowns like SALMI and ADU were gotten by the perps. SLOAN was a gimme as BH has been treated there. An excellent hospital. Inclusion of some old standbys like YSER, ALAR, and OXTAIL helped moderate the difficulty. 9d briefly threw me a curve when I had ST ONE_ and I was trying to think of some apt saint. But then the R in SCRUB ROOM fell and STONER made much more sense.

Have a good day.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning JazzBumpa, C.C. et al.

What a pleasant surprise to see another one from our dear leader and Don! Thanks for a great write-up and links, Jazz!

I filled ALL IN THE FAMILY immediately, and looked above it to see MOM glaring at me from “sumo match”. Clever.

Never heard of SALMI, either. But it does sound good! Other unknowns were WORF,
ADU and KOFI, but all gettable with perps.

I wasn’t too fond of the partials ULE, OXY or STYRO, but the rest of the fill seemed fresh to me, and more than made up for those. All in all, just right for a Wednesday.

I was once told I look just like Ronald Regan…but it was Halloween, and I was wearing a mask.

Have a happy hump day, everyone!

Husker Gary said...

Jazz, C.C., et al, the lovely puzzle and write-up put some sun in this dreary day. Didn’t get theme until I got unifier here. I really appreciated the insight to the construction of the puzzle as well.

Musings
-HeartRx’s comments, me too.
-All in the Family was truly groundbreaking and on more than one occasion I thought, “Did they just say that?” Bigotry looks its worst when it is out in the open! Leave it to Beaver, this wasn’t!
-Jesse Owens was equally groundbreaking!
-I know lots of pheasant hunters but I don’t think the word RAGOUT ever left their lips
-Tori Spelling? Poster child for Plastic Surgery
and nepotism. Waddaya gonna do?
-I prefer the The Killer
doing Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
-Jazz, what a lovely ballerina!
-TODO? Nope! LINEN? Nope!

Jazzbumpa said...

Lemonade -

That guy's not my doppelganger - he's my roll model!

I do look quite a bit like Brubeck in profile - not so much straight on - but he has better hair. And hands.

Cheers!
JzB surprisingly ALERT this morning

Anonymous said...

Ms CC has softened HardG, the two Gagliardo-Burnikle puzzles were solverable.

Tinbeni said...

Jazz, Wonderful write-up.
C.C. & Don G. Thank you for a FUN Wednesday.

Caught the theme quickly. ALL-IN-THE-FAMILY was groundbreaking.

Fell into the lpga/USGA and to-do-v-TASK LIST snafu's.
Also had drano (off the 'O' in the TSO Chicken) for 'Foam opener' until Mr. FIX IT got me the STYRO.

Hmmm, seems to me we have seen ALAR quite often recently.

Cheers to all at Sunset !!!

Anonymous said...

Thnx another fun puzz,just right for hump day! :) P.S. been told I look like my SIS many,too many, times.Mom said I reminded her of Sophia Loren. I was a teenager at the time and very upset! SL was OLD!

Vidwan827 said...

Very Nice Puzzle from our own CC and Mr. Don G. - Great collaborative effort. Best wishes - a few more and you can start writing your own book.

I had a couple of errors - KEP for KOP, and USGA and Salmi ( which I didn't know - ). I think I'll stick to chicken, the only affordable white meat, these days. A very NICE puzzle - which I really enjoyed.

A thank you too, for Jazzbumpa, the trombonist who toots many horns, with perfect style and rhythm. Your wit was enthralling (?), and your links were engrossing - so harmonically orchestrated !

Lookalikes (?) - A cop in a patrol car, once thought I was a local bank robber, based on my headgear and mustache ... he even had a composite security photograph pinned to his (police) car's sun visor. But in a few moments, after I doffed my cap, he realized I was the wrong race and had the wrong accent....

Splynter said...

Hi There ~!

Nice to see the hostess and her friend getting another puzzle in the paper. I did OK on this Wednesday, had the same snags as most everyone else.

I have been told I look like the singer from Coal Chamber -

Dez Fafara


I suppose - my hair isn't that long...

I dressed as a generic Klingon for last Halloween - I was NOT told I looked like Worf - or Ronald Reagan.

Took me a bit to get the unifier - I did grow up with that on TV, but too young to appreciate it.

Splynter

creature said...

Good Morning C.C., Jazz and all,

Thanks for great write-up, Jazz; lots of effort went into that and I’ll get to the links later.

C.C. and Don, you two make a strong team; this was a perfect Wednesday puzzle. My stumbling blocks were similar to others’: ADU, SALMI, BOT, WORF and KOFI; perps cleared up all of them.

I’ve been at the corner long enough to know that 26A has been on C.C.’s “to use” 3-letter list for a long while. Likewise, 69A is more a statement than a clue.

I don’t mind add-ons; they’re not all gimmes and often give pause- certainly a necessity, from time to time..

To me, themes are fun and this was no exception- the final wrap-up that tells the original inspiration.

Thanks for the fun.

Have a nice day everyone.

Seldom Seen said...

How about these two?

Don G. said...

Interesting talk about look-alikes. I think there is a puzzle theme there. Barry G. does have that Matthew Broderick look, but I am reminded of Ken Berry. I was told for years that I look like Paul Newman. And the astonishing thing was that it often came from strangers.

I have had a lot of fun collaborating with C.C. She is a muse. She will suggest something, and then new ideas just pop into my head. In turn, she holds her own in the construction process, coming up with great clues, fills, and theme material. I am blessed to be working with her. I think it helps to collaborate on puzzles just to get the juices flowing. I recommend it for all constructors.

Marge said...

Hi all,
I did this puzzle on line today as we are in Georgia for a week. Our kids both live in Kennesaw and of, course is where we get to see our great grandson now 14 months old.

I didn't notice either that CC and Don wrote the puzzle together. I really enjoyed it.

Yesterday as we were traveling, I did the puzzle from the Milwaukee Journal and also the USA Today. Neither were very hard. I had no help of course except for my DH occasionaly.

Sunday we will not only Celebrate Easter,we will also celebrate my
husband's 80th birthday. Our kids have gone together and got him an airplane ride in a small private plane at an airport in Kennesaw, where he will see Atlanta,etc from the air. He always says he would like to do that sometime when we are down here. But please don't tell him though, because its a secret!

Have a nice day all!
Marge

Jazzbumpa said...

Don G - great to see you.

All - Thanks for the nice comments. It's inspiring to work with such great material.

I updated the Amanda post with a couple more pictures.

Here she is with her sisters. (Scroll down past the doggerel.) They spent the day with us yesterday. They're a bunch of typical girls.

Ever get a song stuck in your head? I have this one. Not so bad with a great Bill Liston arrangement of a pretty good Disney tune, and Wayne soaring above the ensemble. On the punch notes at the end, I'm hitting pedal A on bass trombone. I think Wayne hits the A SIX OCTAVES above me.

Cheers!
JzB who definitely needs a nap

Anonymous said...

I read through these comments every day. And every day you all mention what a great or sparkly or wonderful write-up it was, even if it wasn't. Then you thank the contributor for his/her post.

Well, I'd like to say - THANK YOU, JazzB. This truly was a great, sparkly, wonderful write-up.

I especially loved the Tiger Woods comment. Clever dig.

I have been told I look like a cross between Brad Pitt and...Jimmy Durante. Ah, cha cha cha!

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, What a terrific surprise to see that C.C. and Don G. have been whispering behind closed doors again. They are very good at keeping a secret! Congratulations.

I really enjoyed some of the longer fill. PANDEMIC, STABILITY and TASKLIST were great. It was nice to see all of ELIOT NESS, rather than just his first or last name.

I smiled at the cross of STONER and ALIT. I was thinking that A LIT person is a STONER.

I didn't know that I knew it, but SALMI popped right into place. Ragout is a type of stew and we had OX TAIL as an ingredient of another kind of stew.

Nice blogging as usual, Jazzbumpa. Your theme breakdown was terrific.

Many...many years ago...Linda Evans.

John Lampkin said...

I just had 16-letter center idea scrapped by Rich. He commented that the LAT crossword universe revolves naturally around a 15 x 15 grid, and any departure involves extra man hours. Therefore, he saves his 15x16 grids for special times. The fact that JUST AS I SUSPECTED made the cut shows just how sparkly it is.

Congrats to Don and C.C. for a happy treatment of a familiar idea!

Have you noticed that the "look like" thing is always one way only? I mean, has anyone ever said, "Hey Dave Brubeck, do you know you're a dead ringer for Jazzbumps?"

Jerome said...

I almost quit solving the puzzle when I filled in WORF. This might be one of the coolest crossword entries ever. Why continue on? What else could be as fun? Well, turns out that lots of things were! Two thumbs up and and extra wide grin!

I've been told my entire life that I look like hell.

Lucina said...

Hello, cyber friends! Bumpa, you were definitely jazzy today! Thank you. I LOL many times.

YAHOO! What a lovely puzzle from that dynamic duo, Don G and C. C. with a fun theme. For once I saw the embedded DAD, BRO, SIS, and MOM hidden within the theme. Clever.

While not quite a speed run, there were no major problems, however TO DOLIST was there until the upstart TASKLIST took over. I also had STABILIZE before STABILITY. SALMI escaped me completely as UPGA sounded right.

Very clever clues:
draw, TIE
Minnesota twins, ENS

KOFI came readily to me and I recalled that skit with G Bush from SHL.

Norman Lear was certainly a genius at writing sitcoms including ALL IN THE FAMILY and who minded that only five channels were available? All had good programming.

When I was very, very young, Elizabeth Taylor and I became her devoted fan.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Gunghy said...

I usually just get, "Haven't I met you before?" But occasionally it's, "Didn't I see your picture on the Post Office wall?"

Fun puzzle, but like Barry, I didn't get the theme or need it. I started with LPGA, and left the P, Palmi looked good to me. Forever and EVER slowed down the NE corner as well. Tried TAN for BUFF, briefly. My biggest error was not reading the unifier and trying to figure out how the phrases applied to a show I never watched.

Lucina said...

Oops! That should have been the skit from SNL.

Dennis:
Apparently the seeds of many businesses germinated in under graduate classes at Harvard and Yale, think, Bill Gates, Mark Zeukerberg and Fred Smith,

Jeannie said...

This was a fun puzzle to tackle. Thanks to our C.C. and Don G. Although I got the unifier, All in the Family, I really had to go back to the theme answers and finally Mom popped out. That’s when the old lightbulb finally went off. Only one visit to the g-spot for Colin Firth and some perp help with Worf (new Trekkie name for me), Roi and Yser.

Favorites today were “Minnesota twins” – Ens and “big hits” – homers.

Salmi was not a problem as I have actually made a pheasant salmi.

This was just a great way to spend a dreary snowy lunch hour.

Jazz, great write up as usual and your granddaughters are very pretty and talented to boot!

I have been told I kind of look like Charlize Theron…maybe when she played Aileen Wournos in Monster:)

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a writeup that was truly fun to read. It appears you put a lot of thought, time, and energy into it.

'Twas a good wednesday puzzle: not easy but not too hard. Also didn't know SALMI.

As for the theme, I didn't pick up on "three-letter" words, so I kept looking at VERANDA, STASIS, and BROOM for a long time, scratching my head. Not until I couldn't find anything other than MOM embedded in SUMOMATCH did I catch on.

I guess I must look very generic, because I often get "Haven't we met before?" or "I'm sure I saw you there."

JD said...

Kudos all around!

Jazz, you are a very funny guy, and I love how you dote on those lucky grandchildren. Wow X 3!! Just lovely.At the moment, I have my youngest crawling around my ankles.

Your write up certainly helped me grok that which I did not grok, like buff:fan.For once I got the unifier right away and saw the "family" in the clues, but had a slow go at completing "just as suspected" and "match". Like others, I took a few wrong turns.

C.C. and Don, quite a collaboration. Loved pandemic,worf, and snack in a shell/taco. C.C., you are 51 D.

JD said...

Dennis, Chad Everett was my idol way back when he was on Medical Center. I named my daughter, Shelby, after his wife(Shelby Grant), who was on a 2 parter on that series.

Like CA, I got a laugh out of stoner.

eddyB said...

Hello.

Great job CC and Don. Enjoyed doing the puzzle.

Carol, Carol. You have to stop thinking about taking drugs and get help.

JD. Keep laughing. I laugh all the time reading some of these posts.

seen. The artist name is John Pugh.

You all will have to Google "Last Supper/Wednesday" to get that story. The yahoo.com home page still has the Scott Adams story and there is a story about a man who proposed by constructing a crossword puzzle.

You are right CA and I am wrong.

HeartRx said...

Jerome @12:18, there goes the coffee out the nose again...

JazzB, incredible pictures of Amanda and her sisters. I don't know which are stronger in your family - the talent genes or the beauty genes!

Abejo said...

Good Afternoon, folks. Really enjoyed this puzzle. Thank you Don G. and C.C. Great job! Thank you Jazzbumpa for your usual excellent hard work.

For some reason I started this puzzle at the bottom. Worked my way up. Caught 59A early. Always enjoyed that TV show as a young man. Archie's flagrant bigotry made it funny and was not offensive at all (in my opinion).

I entered FOREVERANDEVER first, then fixed it to FOREVERANDADAY after the NE corner would not work.

As others have reported, I got some words with perps, ie: SALMI, BOT, WORF, and ADU.

Thought 52A HOMERS was a good one.

Some guy told me once that I looked like Buddy Holly. That was in bar about 35 years ago when I still had hair. I still do wear the glasses, however.

I am going to hunt down some Rye Beer. All this talking about it has got my curiousity and thirst working hard. See you all tomorrow.

Abejo

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Another great puzzle from the dynamic duo of Don G. and C.C. Thanks, guys.

Jazz, your writeup cleared up my entry of Fan for Buff. I had Fab at first, but when I finally looked up Eliot Ness as the author of "The Untouchables" Fan emerged. I still had a HUH moment until I came to the blog.

This NW corner was the last to fall, though Salmi slowed me down in the NE. This was my learning moment for today. I looked up the word after I had filled it in.

Jazz, I must tell you that your Amanda is a gorgeous young woman and sooo talented. No wonder you're proud of her.

Jazzbumpa said...

More full disclosure -- the girls are Gloria's granddaughters. But we play well together, and share nicely. Out of our 11, six are from her side (five girls)and five are from mine (two girls).

They all call me Bumpa!

Cheers!
JzB

Chickie said...

Lucina, my apologies for using your Dynamic Duo name for our constructors today. I wrote my comments before reading the entire blog. But it was nice to know we were on the same wavelength.

Jerome, What a funny fellow you are!

Heart RX, I had a good old LOL at your Ronald Reagan comment.

I've been mistaken for my sister a number of times. The most hilarious time at our children's school open house. A couple coming toward my husband and I said, "Lee, you are with the wrong man." Lee is my sister. We all had a good laugh.

Jazz, thanks for posting the pictures of your other granddaughters. They were wonderful.

Bill G. said...

Fun writeup JzB. Thanks.

I was excited to see the names of the constructors today. Fun puzzle. I didn't figure out the theme by myself but I did get all the theme answers early on because of the good cluing. Just a few crossing letters and the phrases jumped into my brain. I had trouble with 52D HOMERS though 'cause I couldn't get pop songs out of my mind from the Big Hits clue. "He who is without sin"/STONER was really clever. Who thought of that one?

Ooh, I couldn't disagree with Barry G. more. The themes add greatly to my enjoyment of crossword puzzles. If the LAT went to all themeless puzzles, I would have to find something else to do for an amusing challenge.

The bad news is that one of my tutorees cancelled just now. The good news is that I'll be able to go for a bike ride without worrying about rushing home.

A childhood classmate (high school?) thought I looked like Bill Cullen, an emcee on some really old TV shows.

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

Jazzbumpa,
Ditto Anonymous' 11:26am (Vidwan?) post. Brilliant write-up, IRON has to be one of your best.

Seen,
Like you, eddyB's pithy comments often make me smile (and frown occasionally). I've known him long enough to get his drifts.

Lemonade714 said...

Do I need to be the first to say Jayce's avatar looks like Hemingway? I think I look like an older version of me....

Vidwan827 said...

CC _ I was not Anon, 11:26 - it was somebody far, far smarter and wiser than me. ( but thanks for the compliment anyway - ). (lol)

Enjoy your triumph.

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

Dennis et al,
Thanks for the nice comments. Again, Don did the heavy lifting on this grid, as he does on all the puzzles we've collaborated. He has this incredible ability to turn the stones I throw to him into gems.

A special "Xie Xie" to you, Dennis, for being my instant & reliable sounding board & patiently answering my endless questions every day.

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

Bill G,
STONER is Rich's clue. Our original is "The one without sin?"

some one said...

Thanks for the puzzle,really enjoyed it. LOVED the writeup, why is no one answering jz's question at #26? I'm guessing OHIO

Hayrake said...

C.C. For a young lady from the depths of China you have come to America and mastered our silly version of the Kings English to an unbelievable extent. You (and Don) are a fine pair - both fun and challenging like it was today.
Please don't ever stop. And three cheers for the Minnesota Twins. I hope your catcher is back real soon.
Your old friend,
Hayrake

Anonymous said...

Jayce, you used to look like the incredibly handsome ( young ) Hemingway, when your avatar had its cap on. Now you look like a splitting image of Zorba the Greek - Anthony Quinn. Now if you could only hustle up a Greek girlfriend and learn to sing and dance the Sirtaki (Syrtaki ?). Look up 'Zorba's dance' on youtube.

BTW, hate to tell you, but Anthony Quinn was not really Greek, but Irish-Mexican. Fancy that. Like saying Mr. Obama is really Polynesian !

I've never been told I look like anybody ( good, that is) - but I have often been confused with Geraldine Brooks. Apparently, she (1) had my cell phone number, before me - (2) left an enormous number of creditors unhappy and (3) and was happily naive enough to buy an incredible number of sub-prime credit cards. Now if I could only get my hands around her wretched neck.

creature said...

Seen,
In yesterday's postings, you mentioned Dayton's playing in the Stagg Bowl 'a long time ago'. My twin boys went to Wittenberg and won in the Stagg Bowl a long time ago. Just thinking what a small world it is. I think it was played in Alabama. I've got a call in to them for confirmation.

Lucina said...

Jzb:
I forgot to compliment your beautiful and talented granddaughters! You and Gloria must be exceedingly proud of them.

Chickie:
No problem. Fortunately, words are not protected and anyone can use them! I'm glad we think alike, though.

carol said...

Hi all - late to the party today.

C.C. and Don, wonderfully done! I had such fun solving this (until I got to the SE corner, that is). It finally popped into place after a little help.

I didn't know what a pheasant ragout was but this is the great thing about this blog, we all learn from each other.

Jazz: lovely grand children....I enjoyed your write up as usual. Witty and entertaining :) Also, thanks for your explanation about 27A BUFF. Had to laugh at putting NAKED in there, that was where my mind went too.

Seldom Seen said...

Creature: Wittenberg dominated the Stagg Bowl in '73 and '75 in Phenix City, AL. Check out my link yesterday for details.

Yes it is a small world...I regularly drive by Wittenberg's campus to one of my customers located in Springfield's Red Cross building.

I'm only a casual Simpson's fan. But I did notice Homer and Flanders in the SE. Also Homer crossing ALL IN THE FAMILY struck me. Homer's antics resemble Archie's.

Jayce said...

I guess I don't mind being compared in looks to either Ernest Hemingway or to Anthony Quinn. Thank you.

Oh yes, I was going to guess Ohio, too. Thanks for the memory-jog, someone.

Keep on throwing stones, please, C.C.

JazzB, you seem like a fundamentally happy and loving person, no matter how hard you try to appear not to be. Admirable indeed.

Chad Everett, now there's a blast from the past. Bill Cullen, too.

creature said...

Seen,
It was 1975 against Ithaca, N.Y. and Wittenberg was the ubderdog. Wit. won 28-0. The game was played in Columbus, Ga.

Seldom Seen said...

Jayce: Has anyone ever told you that you kinda look like this guy?

Jayce said...

Seen, haha, actually nobody has said that, until now. I don't get "I get that a lot" a lot :)

Of course I also just had to go look up Geraldine Brooks.

I don't like the word "oxymoron." It sounds like someone is trying to mix chemistry with psychiatry. Wait, they already do that.

Dave Brubeck does have awesome hands. Forearms, too!

I like themed crossword puzzles, but I like unthemed ones too. To me what makes a puzzle fun to do is originality and newness of the clues and fill, puns and misdirection (is it a verb or a noun?), and fairness.

thehondohurricane said...

Creature/Seen

The Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl has been at these locales:
1973-82 Phenix City, Ala
1983-84 Kings Island, Ohio
1985-89 Phenix City
1990-92 Bradenton, Fla
1993- present Salem, Va

As I recall. Phenix City was not exactly the garden spot of the South.

creature said...

Seen,
My son said they flew into Columbus, Ga. and drove over to Phenix City, Alabama.
Sorry.

dodo said...

Greetings. all. This was a fine, fun puzzle, C.C. and Don G., and a very fine writeup,too, Jazzbumpa!
So much talent here! Thank you, all three!

I really admire your dancing daughters, Jazz. I've forgotten how old Amanda is. She must be a very devoted student to have accomplished so much!

Like Jayce, I am often taken for someone else, usually a stranger.
I always felt I resembled Ruth Bussy, but I've never had any real corroberation (did I spell it right?)

Anonymous said...

JazzBumpa: Hope the chirocracker helped your sacrocrackerjack!

dodo said...

Oops! I guess it's Ruth Buzzi. It's been so long!

Jayce said...

So dodo, you think you resemble Ruth Buzzi? You mean you wear a hair net on your head and a scowl on your face? Nawwwwwww...

G'night and best wishes, all.

Bill G. said...

I see where Major League baseball is taking over the finances and management of the LA Dodgers. I think that will ultimately be a good thing. The owner has managed to leverage everything to his benefit rather than the fans' benefit. He has managed to avoid paying any taxes for years while giving his kids big salaries even though they didn't participate in the operation of the club. Then there's his very expensive and contentious divorce. Good riddance.

I very much enjoyed the always fun slide show called Animal Tracks on MSNBC.

Clear Ayes said...

We'll be starting our holiday weekend early. My baby sister (she's 55..:o) has four days off work and since both her grown-up sons and husband will be working through Saturday, she is coming to see me for a few days. She'll be here tomorrow morning and she'll drive home to Sebastopol on Easter morning.

Daughter and her family are heading to So Cal for the holiday, so we won't see them this time. But the youngest is almost 12, so the days of the Easter Bunny are pretty much over.

Have a great weekend everyone. See you all next week.

Annette said...

Sorry Windhover, but I still see you as Clint Eastwood.

Annette said...

Congratulations C.C. and Don! You make a great team.

What a surprised when I turned the newspaper over and saw that "Mount FUJI" was the title of today's word search puzzle. Nice coincidence...

JzB, your ballerina does have beautiful lines!

I know there was more that I wanted to say, but all I can think about right now is closing my eyes... Good night, all!

Anonymous said...

Really? (Didn't like puzzle!) Way too transeunt- more frustrating than fun. Boo.

Lloyd said...

"Soccer Star Freddy ADU" I as a "soccer" fan I would not call Adu a "Star". A better clue would have been "youngest player to appear in MLS"
"youngest player to score a goal in MLS"