google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday May 13, 2011 Gary Lowe

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May 13, 2011

Friday May 13, 2011 Gary Lowe

Theme: Quasi-Spoonerisms. This puzzle was a blushing crow for me (Marti), as my burst flog on The Corner. Top that off with a major glog blitch, and I am a wervous neck. Sorry, but there are no links today because of the blog problems…just insert your own, where desired.
In this puzzle, common phrases are sort of “Spoonerized” ( swapping of consonant sounds. Wanted a link here…) with nackey whew meanings.
20A. Red-hot entrée? : HELLS CHICKEN. Hell’s Kitchen. The location of “West Side Story”. Once a depressed area, it is now the home of many actors because of its proximity to the Broadway theaters and the Actor’s Studio school.
33A. Bather using magnesium sulfate? : SALTED TUBBER. Salted Butter. Many recipes call for “Unsalted Butter”. Why, when the recipe then calls for the addition of salt? Maybe Jeannie Knows…
42A. Avoidance of chewy candy? :NON-TAFFY DIET. Non-fatty diet. Like Jack Sprat’s fare…
58A. Best man's moment of uncertainty? :TOAST STAMMER. Toast Master. Is this the guy who can cook the breakfast bread perfectly?
Across:
1. Newspaper section :DESK. Hands up for those who penned in “Op-Ed”?
5. Deafening : AROAR. Aaah..the “A” list.
10. Drop hints, say :: FISH. As in, fish for compliments.
14. Required payment : ANTE. “Ya gotta pay to play.”
15. Regional woodland : SILVA. I know the term “sylvan”, but this one totally escaped me. Anyone?
16. Strength : AREA. Forte.
17. Shipmate of Starkey : SMEE. From “Peter Pan”, Starkey was the first mate on the Jolly Roger.
18. Donny and Marie's hometown : OGDEN. Utah. Donny and Marie Osmond. Who didn’t know?
19. "In my opinion ..." : I SAY…a little prayer for youuuuu! (Insert link here.)
23. Night class subj. : ESL. English as a Second Language.
24. Observance : RITE
25. Book before Job : ESTHER
29. Siskiyou County peak : SHASTA. Fifth-highest peak in California. (Insert google map link here).
31. "Life __ a Highway": 1992 Tom Cochrane hit: IS A. I thought it was a bowl of cherries?
32. Charlottesville sch. :UVA. University of Virginia, home of the Cavaliers. Their cornerback, Ras-I Dowling was just taken in the second round draft by the N.E. Patriots. Welcome to Massachusetts!
37. It's heard around the water cooler: GLUG. Or at the bar…
40. Schiller's "An die Freude," e.g. : ODE. An die Freude means "to joy", in German (Kazie, confirm?). “Ode to Joy” is best known for its musical setting in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Sorry, no link…(it was a really good one!!) (You would have been happy all day...)
41. Roman existence : ESSE. Sum, es, est, sumus, estis, sunt…Latin 101.
47. "Aladdin" monkey : ABU. Voiced by Frank Welker, who has appeared in 93 films, with a combined gross income of $5.7 billion!
48. Actor Gulager: CLU. Kind of obscure actor…his most notable role was as “Billy the Kid” in a 1960-62 series called “The Tall man”. Never heard of it....or him.
49. Nats division: NL EAST. National League East. Baseball division, and the Washington Nationals. C.C. could write an essay, I’m sure…
53. Beefsteak, for one: TOMATO. Yummm…I can’t wait for my recently planted beefsteaks to produce fruit!
55. Sign of disrespect: SASS.
57. Sweater letter: RHO. Rho, rho, rho your boat…
61. Altar neighbor: APSE. This one really got me for a while. Different clue from the usual “church recess”.
64. Associate with: TIE TO. Hmmmm…I don’t usually tie to questionable characters…
65. Phone button letters: OPER. PQRS? WXYZ? Nope!
66. Bantu language: ZULU.
67. Matrimony, for one: UNION. “All marriages are happy. It’s the living together afterwards that causes all the problems…”
68. Tannin source: WINE.. Also the source of resveratrol. In some experiments, resveratrol has been shown to be a source of anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, blood-sugar-lowering, and other beneficial cardiovascular effects. So, “Cheers!” at sunset, Tinbeni (with a glass of wine).
69. "Smokey and the Bandit" vehicle feature: T-TOP. Sorry, I was going to link Sally Field in sexy jeans and a t-top.
70. Rigatoni alternative: PENNE.
71. Hang: STAY. Stay in there!
And now for the “physically lower” ones:
Down:
1. Bolts: DASHES. Or dits…
2. Get tangled: ENMESH, Oh, what an enmeshed web we weave…
3. Designer McCartney: STELLA. “STELLL-AAH!!!” (insert link to “A Streetcar Named Desire”).
4. Nautical beam: KEEL. Not “lighthouse”?
5. Not prone to making small talk: ASOCIAL. Laconic, like my dad. But when he did speak, we listened!
6. Entitlement: RIGHT
7. Classic number: OLDIE. But “goodie”. (Insert link to your favorite oldie but goodie here...)
8. "Voulez-vous coucher __ moi?": "Lady Marmalade" lyric: AVEC. Believe it or not, this song was considered “risqué” in its day! The phrase also appeared in the play “Streetcar Named Desire”. (“STELLL-AAH!!! – voulez vous coucher avec moi, ce soi?”)
9. Most objectionable: RANKEST.
10. Timid: FAINT. I almost timid-ed when I heard that I had finally had a crossword published!
11. Sched. producer: IRS. Sched. 1040.
12. Vast quantity: SEA.
13. Horse power?: HAY. Loved this clue!
21. Sp. title: SRTA.
22. Biblical pottage recipient: ESAU. OK, I had to look this one up. Pottage is a stew: “Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.” Huh? All over a bowl of stew???
26. Nerve centers: HUBS. . Or, airline centers.
27. New Years' highlights: EVES. Yes, the eves are much better than the next day’s hangovers…
28. Like white rhinos and black swans: RARE. I saw a white rhino and her new-born baby at the zoo in Basel, Switzerland. A rare sight, indeed!
30. Certain NCO: SSGT. . Whew! No debate about army vs. marines today.
31. Challenged, in a way: ID'ED. . Hmmm…not sure about “challenged”. Fingered, nailed, labeled…maybe.
34. Meatless protein source: TOFU.
35. Eponymous ice cream maker: EDY.
36. Nice beast: BETE. Literally, “beast”, in French (Nice, France). As in “bête noir” (black beast), or “bugaboo". My “bête noir” is names in x-word puzzles. What’s yours?
37. Punkie, e.g.: GNAT. Punkie, gnat, no-see-ums. Regional nicknames for flying pests.
38. Timber wolf: LOBO. Spanish for “wolf”.
39. Word in a coined phrase?: UNUM. “E Pluribus Unum” on U.S. coins. This was probably my favorite clue in this puzzle!
43. X-__: tool brand: ACTO.
44. Rise, as a balloon: FLOAT UP. Like Ed Asner in the Pixar movie.
45. Not debatable: IN STONE.
46. "The Sound of Music" baroness: ELSA. Elsa Schräder, Maria’s rival for Captain Von Trapp’s affection.
50. Secret spot?: ARMPIT. HaHa. Loved this one too! Secret deoderant, used in the pits.
51. Jungle queen: SHEENA. Queen of the Jungle and comic book heroine. Wanted another link here…
52. Early 20th-century presidential portraitist: TORREY. George Burroughs Torrey, portraitist of Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, Herbert Hoover, et al.
54. Absorbed eagerly: ATE UP.
55. Hofbrau vessel; STEIN. . When I was in Germany two weeks ago, we went to a hofbrau and lifted a few steins…
56. __ Martin: ASTON. British luxury sports car. I really wanted to link here, as I used to own a Morgan, which looks suspiciously like the 1939 Aston-Martin...
59. Math ratio: SINE.
60. Cuts: MOWS. Reminds me, I have to mow the lawn this weekend…
61. HIV-treating drug: AZT. (Azidothymidine)
62. Bear's option, on Wall Street: PUT.. Put and call options have long been among the most baffling to investors. And crossword solvers...
63. __-pitch: SLO. Slo Long, for now!

Marti

Notes from C.C.:
1) I'm pleased to announce that HeartRx (Marti) has agreed to blog 1-2 times a month for us from now on.
2) Blogger has been down due to its maintenance glitch. Or maybe it's overwhelmed by Marti's power.
3) Lemonade will back next Friday.

4) Blogger is working hard restoring Thursday post/comments. They're not permanently gone.

5) Happy Birthday, Jeannie!

64 comments:

  1. Welcome back!!

    Everybody get through withdrawal ok?

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  2. Morning, all!

    I had a lot to say this morning, but the blog was down and I've forgotten most of it. Oh well, it couldn't have been that important, right? ^_^

    Overall, though, I was not a fan of this puzzle. I did finally get what the theme was going for, but it remained a mystery for way too long. And a lot of the remaining fill/clues were either way too obscure or just plain off.

    I did, however, really like "Secret spot" for ARMPIT. Well played, sir!

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  3. Hello Puzzlers - I was going to gripe about a lot of the puzzle, particularly that obstinate NW, but I'm kinda past it now. Except for SILVA. Even Google didn't seem to know what that was.

    Sure was lonely without the blog this morning.

    Well done, HeartRx! I'm sure all those links would have been devastatingly witty had you not scared Blogger into a whimpering heap. :-)

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  4. Good afternoon everyone.

    Dennis, no I didn't get through withdrawal OK. So many thanks for answering my query. And yesterday's is still not up.

    I got about four of this mess.

    Cheers

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  5. I've got to print out the puzzle again so I can remember all the things I liked about it, but Marti, I gotta tell you, your blog is just outstanding - well written, educational and an enjoyable read. So many blogs (not necessarily the Corner) are 'how can I make this all about me' and yours is refreshingly free of that. Nicely done.

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  6. Yesterday's puzzle seems to have just disappeared, forever.

    Great job Marti-Heart ! Great Blogging, with all the blog software problems. Hoping to read many more from you.

    Have a nice weekend ya'll.

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  7. Sallie,
    I just added #4 note in Marti's write-up: "Blogger is working hard restoring Thursday post/comments. They're not permanently gone."

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  8. Makes me feel better to see I wasn't the only one to get my fanny kicked by this one.
    I probably got less than half on my own. Heck, it's already in the trash.

    Sewing workshop all weekend. Back on Monday :}

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  9. Hi There~!


    Ah, Friday, the 13th -

    Great to have you aboard, HEartRx, and let's hope this is a sign of a swap - that is, you come to blog, and I get published....

    Funny, but I was OK with SILVA, not that I got it, but the NE corner kinda bothered me -

    FISH? meh
    AREA - meh, I get it, but....

    Congrats, eddy - can we still be friends after the next round?

    Go Canucks~!

    Splynter

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  10. Hello.

    Penn's woods. Pennsylvania.

    On to Vancouver!

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  11. Good afternoon everyone. Great write-up Marti.

    This one seemed quite difficult. Took a while to suss out the theme; finally got NON-TAFFY DIET. UNUM, ANTE, and ARMPIT were cleverly clued. STELLA was a WAG. I did not like the clues for FAINT, AREA, and STAY. Needed red letter help for CLU and SHEENA.

    Have a good weekend.

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  12. Czech Spelling BeeMay 13, 2011 at 12:29 PM

    Ode to Your Spell Checker


    Eye halve a spelling chequer,
    It came with my pea sea,
    It plainly marques four my revue
    Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

    Eye strike a key and type a word
    And weight four it two say
    Weather eye am wrong oar write,
    It shows me strait a weigh.

    As soon as a mist ache is maid
    It nose bee fore two long,
    And eye can put the error rite,
    Its rare lea ever wrong.

    Eye have run this poem threw it,
    I am shore your pleased two no,
    It's letter perfect awl the weigh,
    My chequer tolled me sew.


    attributed to:- Writing Center staff, Central Washington University.

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  13. Hi C.C. and all:

    Marti: Great job on the blog!

    When I came on to check my answers and saw Wednesday, but no Thursday or Friday I was pretty confused. So, I tried to leave a comment on Wednesday's blog and then it came up that the Blog was temporarily unavailable. So glad it is back up.

    The NE corner was my last fills. I had Hell's Chilies at first even though I thought of Hell's Kitchen. Had Toast Staller at first, which went nicely with my word "lops" instead of "mows". Rho was a "aha" moment and then I got armpit and stammer and the rest filled in on the SE corner.

    Have a wonderful day everyone! My daughter is flying in from Columbus, OH for a few days, so gotta get some cleaning done, shopping, etc.

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  14. Czech Spelling Bee: Loved your poem!

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  15. Hello, Marti, C.C. and everyone! Is that what withdrawal feels like? It's not fun without all of you.

    Marti, great job on your inaugural blogging!

    ESL of course was my first fill because that is my AREA of teaching.

    Wish I could say I sashayed through this but did not, no definitely did not. Parts were somewhat easy, the NW corner once SMEE and ENMESH were in and WAGGED STELLA, DESK and ANTE.

    In fact, most of this was wildly WAGGED, hop, skip and a jump until it was done.

    My thesaurus defines SILVAN as a rustic woodland.

    The NE corner was a complete DNF as I couldn't, wouldn't reconcile FAINT with TIMID so thanks, Marti for that.

    Some really good clues:
    horse power, HAY
    secret spot, ARMPIT
    word in a coined phrase, UNUM

    A good challenge today from Gary Lowe.

    Have a great Friday, everyone!

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  16. Hi All ~~

    It's nice to be back. I don't post a lot but I look forward to reading this blog everyday! I had lots of trouble with today's puzzle. Even with a number of look-ups things just didn't fall into place. I was glad when I could finally come here for explanations. Great job, HeartRx/Marti! I couldn't make sense of any of the "spoonerisms." I guess this was too much of a challenge for me.

    Enjoy the day! ~~

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  17. Hi gang -

    I got a huge DNF on today's puzzle. Tough go, and, though I admire the creativity, I really didn't like it a lot. Quasi-spoonerism theme leaves me cold, in spite of HELL'S CHICKEN.

    NON-FATTY DIET is NOT in the language.

    My fav, from the Rev Spooner himself: "The Lord is a Shoving Leopard."

    DESK, as "newspaper section" is just wrong. It's part of the organization, not the publication. This puzzle exhibits the common NYT flaw of lousy clue to answer correspondence.

    RANKEST next to AVEC is highly appropriate.

    Lot's more I didn't like.

    OTOH, I do like the RIGHT-RITE cross.

    Alas, poor Wings. I gave up on them, but they never did. They can stand tall in defeat. Onward, EddyB!

    Cheers!
    JzB

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  18. Marti -

    Excellent blogging. I can't imagine what the conditions were like. I couldn't post anything on my blogs.

    Mom Speaks Out -

    Please send me an e-mail. Your address is not on your profile.

    Crazy busy, with no end in sight. How much worse would it be if I were actually wicked?

    Cheers!
    JzB always puzzled over something

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  19. Damn outage threw me off -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JEANNIE!! I hope it's a memorable one for you -- doing anthing/anybody special?

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  20. Good writeup! I didn't care much for the puzzle though. It was hard and some of the clues seemed unfairly obtuse. ARMPIT was clever though. Plus, I don't think the theme words are traditional spoonerisms. There might be a clever pattern to them but I don't see it.

    It's nice to see everybody back after the blitch.

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  21. Hi Marti! Is Marti a synonym for “jack-of-all-trades”? Nice job – insert ☺ link!

    100F here on Tuesday and today there is a chance of frost! Welcome to the Great Plains!

    Musings
    -IRS (give me the fair tax and stick your forms!) and SEA gave me a 4 cell DNF!
    -I got all the theme answers and could not make the spoonerism connections! Oh well, it was fun anyway!
    -I had OPED first too, tried to remember what phone buttons had 4 letters
    -Marie, just like Marissa, is gettin’ it done!
    -World Herald had “Life ___ a Highway” and the extra “a” typo frustrated for a while
    -No idea on Punkie and had G _ A T and thought it was a cutesy GOAT in a story I did not know! Anyone ever heard of chiggers or is that Midwest?
    -Elsa’s line when she saw she was going to lose George to Maria, “You’d better go tell that young girl she will never be a nun!”
    -I’ve know too many men who have reached a certain age but prolonged their athletic “career” with slo-pitch softball and got hurt badly!

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  22. Happy Birthday, Jeannie ~~ Hope it's a good one!

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  23. Congrats, Marti, on your fine debut as a crossword gobbler... I mean blogger.

    To heck with Donny and Marie. OGDEN is really Porky and Petunia's pig sty... in Liverpool.

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  24. Funniest spoonerism I ever heard of was when this gentleman was introduced to a large crowd. (just transpose the sh and r)

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  25. Happy birthday, Jeannie, wherever you are!

    C.C. was a lifesaver today, as she is the one who ended up posting my write-up on the blog. I also had to check with her about my take on the “theme”, and she is the one who added “Quasi” to my “Spoonerism” suggestion. A true spoonerism swaps the first sounds of two different words. These answers swap the consonant sounds within a word. Thank you, C.C. – you are a true blog angel!

    Lucina, I was just being flippant with my timid - FAINT comment. Maybe I should have been more serious, and quoted Cervantes's "Don Quixote de la Mancha", where he says "Faint heart ne'er won fair lady." Someone who is timid, or faint of heart, will never get the girl...

    Jerome, you have a real wick quit!

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  26. Happy, happier, happiest birthday, Jeannie! I hope it is truly wonderful for you.

    Marti:
    I was simply venting frustration with myself. No reflection on you.

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  27. wick quit... is that what the blue pill cures?

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  28. Jeannie, HBD to you! Who is going to make your cake?

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  29. Good afternoon frustrated bloggers all. Congratulations on a great debut blog, Marti. It would have been great to have your links, but we're really happy just to have the blog upand running again.

    The 'secret spot' clue was great. It didn't make up for some of the other stinkers though. I picked away until I finally got it done, but never got a warm fuzzy feeling for the puzzle.

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  30. Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday, Jeannie. May it be the greatest ever!

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  31. First did anyone catch the mistake 31a had? I was thrown off for awhile. My papers crossword had. "Life - a Highway". The answer would have to come out "Life is a a Highway" thats four letters "is a a" thought it was a stump the chump question being friday. Go west coast. Sharks all the way!!!!

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  32. Good Day C.C., Marti and all,

    Great job, Marti! I second Dennis’ remarks to you.

    The puzzle was slow going for me. The NE corner was a letter at a time; after I heard a ‘FAINT voice’ for ‘timid’ and the SE corner opened up after ARMPIT finally fell.

    I’ll second Barry’s :” way too obscure or just plain off ” remark about the clues. The theme was rough, but it had originality going for it and I appreciated the time spent on it. Thanks, Gary, for your efforts . It was definitely a challenge.

    Czech Spelling Bee, I enjoyed your Ode to Spelling Bee - LOL.

    Happy Birthday, Jeannie. I hope you have a ’red-hot entrée’ lined up for your Friday night birthday bash.! And a spare for the weekend.

    Have a nice day everyone.

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  33. Nice job Marti! I knew we’d see you blogging one of these days, and under trying circumstances too! When I finally read your blog and saw what the theme was I immediately thought that Jerome was going to love this one! It was a DNF for me though as I really didn’t have much time to complete it, as a nice co-worker took me to lunch. I had walleye (a favorite around here) and it was awesome. I didn’t know what the Siskiyou County Peak was so hit the G-spot for that; also didn’t know Zulu, Torrey, or Clu. I did add a new French word in bête. I wanna be your bête of burden. I thought “secret spot”-armpit and “horse power” – hay were clever.

    To answer your question on using non-salted butter when a recipe calls for salt, salted butter has a far excess amount of salt than the amount you would add.

    Thanks everyone for your nice birthday wishes! I am going to go out for dinner/drinks/dancing with a few friends. No cooking for me today! Enjoy your weekend!

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  34. When I saw the 'secret spot' - I immediately thought - hey, this is supposed to be a family friendly paper.

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  35. Well, I had "Wheelhouse" for AREA and "Office" for DESK. But alas, "Secret spot" wasn't mine.

    Thx for the comments, all.

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  36. Marti, Excellent write-up.
    You explained my DNF which was a lot like Jazz's experience.

    Jeannie, Happy Birthday !!!
    21 Again??? ... I'm not surprised!!!

    Anon 2:24, my paper also had that snafu.
    "Life IS A a highway" never made any sense.

    ID'ED for 'Challenged, in a way'? Doesn't work for me, either.

    Small things I did like:
    The RIGHT/RITE crossing.

    (and in keeping with a Hockey thingy).
    1-d clue, "Bolts" was a subliminal "Shout-Out" to the Tampa Bay Lightning who (unfortunately) will not beat the Bruins.

    Tears ...

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  37. Anon@1:56, I'm still cleaning up the coffee I snorted all over my desk, screen and keyboard...and the cat wasn't too happy about having to lap Major Dickson's blend off her fur...

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  38. I really did feel withdrawal today. despite having gone so many days without this while I was gone, it feels more like a needed part of my routine now I'm home again.I found it quite difficult, and I never really got the spoonerism thing completely, probably because of the adjusted spellings that were needed. many complete unknowns meant lots of googling, and I finally had to resort to doing the NE and SE online with red letters to get those corners out.

    Marti,
    Great debut at blogging, a most enjoyable read. I'm just sorry you had to contend with the blog strike, or whatever it was.

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  39. HeartRx, I've been buying Peet's houseblend at the supermarket for a while. I accidentally got Major Dickason's blend one time. It seemed a bit fuller-flavored and stronger to me.

    ID'ED for challenged gave me pause for a while. I finally decided that when someone IDs you, they are challenging whether you age allows you to enter or buy something.

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  40. Challenged ➙ ➙ ID'ED : I took it to mean a guard challenging someone entering a restricted facility; to produce ID. Same with a young person buying an alcoholic beverage. "Need to see your ID".

    Happy Birthday, Jeannie. Hope you have a great day.

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  41. Jeannie,
    Happy birthday! Going out with friends sounds like a nice celebration, so have fun!

    I found I wanted to comment on some of Marti's remarks as I went through the blog too, so I'll muse away here:

    I had to check what Magnesium sulfate was before I got that one.

    I've had the same question about unsalted butter--I usually just use my salted and add a little less salt than the recipe says.

    Silva means woods/forest in Latin

    I missed the life --a highway double-take. We probably are programmed not to notice such duplications.

    In German, 'AN' does mean 'to', in this metaphorical sense, or 'on' if literally up against something like a wall.

    Contd. below...

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  42. Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir? I've always wondered why one would be asking that of someone one is vouvoying instead of tutoying.

    On googling PUNKIE, I found more than I ever wanted to know about that word and its other meaning.

    Secret is a brand I can't use--I get a rash from it.

    Potage in French is a kind of soup.

    When Marti said she lifted a few Steins, I wondered how she got away with them, then I realized she meant only that they bent elbows and drank from them.

    I would have forgotten al lthis too, but just went through Mari's wonderful blog again to remind me.

    May the blogging continue uninterrupted henceforth!

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  43. Marti: Nice to have you on the blogging staff. This must have been a real challenge for you due to the uncertainty of the blog's staying power. Look forward to seeing more of you commentary.

    Jeannie: I would be remiss if I didn't wish you a very happy birthday.

    I flew along the Mississippi this morning. Lots of damage long the banks. If the Morganza spillway is opened up, a lot people will still lose their homes and crops. Please keep everyone who is and will be harmed by the flooding in your thoughts.

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  44. 21:

    Our Lo-li-ta will never be that old! And many more.

    Marti, you were great, but boy do I feel guilty taking a day off and leaving you my mess.

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  45. Lemonade, I am so glad I did the blog, and not you. My eyes were crossing by the time I finally got to bed. You need to conserve yours as much as possible!

    Bill G. and Spitzboov, thanks for clearing up the ID'ED answer. (Insert link to V8 can here)...oh, wait - the blog is back up now. Never mind...

    Kazie, thanks for fleshing out SILVA. I did finally parse it by thinking of "sylvan" and with much help from perps. But since it's Latin, shouldn't the clue have had "Lat." in it? Just for a tiny hint? An eensy-weensy little one? ; )

    Jeannie, I knew you'd clear everything up. From now on, I'll pay much more attention when a recipe calls for "unsalted" tubber.

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  46. Lemonade, is that you being a POSEUR again, at 3:58?

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  47. Bill G. & Spitz
    re: ID'ED
    Thanks for the explanation.
    Have to admit it has been quite a long time since anyone "ID'ED" me when I had a STIEN or got Avatar.

    I guess I'll just add "Spoonerism puzzles" to the list (like the "circle" puzzles) of one's I really don't find that interesting.

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  48. Hi all,
    I haven't been on the blog for a long time. So many things have been going on I didn't have time for the puzzle, or they were too hard(excuses-excuses).

    I finally tried yesterday and NO BLOG! Oh well!

    This was a very hard puzzle, I'm glad some others had trouble. One of the answers I actually knew was Clu Galager. It was just there, in my head. That tells my age, I guess.

    Husker, Wisconsin had weather similar to what you had, 80+ yesterday and 60 today. We also have chiggers around here.

    Thank you Marti for a great blog and CC for all you do to make it possible.

    Good evening!
    Marge

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  49. Happy birthday Jeannie.
    Still doing what you asked me to!

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  50. I still have Mairzy Doats on the brain.

    It's been fun this week mentioning that little tune to folks who, um, have brighter-burning birthday cakes than I have. They remember it fondly. Must have been a real craze in its day!

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  51. Happy Birthday, Jeannie!

    And hello to you all.

    This was a DNF for me and I managed to make such a mess of it I'm not even going into it!

    My comment yesterday was lost in the Bloggle Shuffle, I guess. I haven't been getting comment here for a couple days so I'm checking in. I'm not dead yet.

    Just sayin'

    dodo

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  52. I just got back from a pleasant bike ride along the ocean with my friend. Then I stopped for my macchiato on the way home.

    Jeannie, somehow I've neglected to wish you a very happy birthday, so HERE it is! I enjoy your recipes but especially your other posts.

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  53. Hi all - I couldn't finish this puzzle, I just didn't get it at all. I am no good at 'spoonerisms'.

    I do want to wish Jeannie a very happy birthday! Your evening sounds like a good time and the best way to spend your special day is with friends doing something you love. Enjoy!!

    So glad the blog is back together again, it's addictive in a very good way :)

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  54. Husker Gary, I forgot to answer your earlier question. I grew up in New England, and my father always used to refer to the no-see-ums as “chiggers”. Now, he was from Finland, and English was his second language; so that may have had a slight influence on his choices of words. But at least this East-coaster has heard the word!

    I went back to look at the puzzle on my iPad, and there was the double “a” at 31A! Never even saw it. And I even blogged with it there, go figure. But life is still a bowl of cherries, I say ☺

    But this is a really cool site , that might explain why most (many) (some) (OK: I ) didn’t notice the added “a”.

    Bill G. I brought back some Lavazza from Germany, and it is absolutely rich, creamy and delicious. But locally purchased Lavazza doesn't taste anything like it, because companies have different blends for different markets.

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  55. I've always had a hard time slicing avocados and getting them out of the shell. No longer. I watched how they did it at Subway the last time I got a sandwich there. They made it look easy. First they sliced a little off the stem end, maybe just a half inch or less. They they sliced the avocado in half all the way round (360 degrees) down to the seed. They started on the half without the seed. Using something like a paring knife, they started at one edge and made a narrow slice down to the skin. Then by twisting a knife a little, the slice fell out. Then on to the next slice, etc. After popping the seed out with the knife, they did the same thing to the other half. Easy peasy. With lunch today, I had some avocado slices with olive oil, lemon and a little salt. Yummy!

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  56. Hi all!

    Gave up and switched to red letters on this gem.

    Nice write-up, Marti.

    Favorite clue, HORSE POWER.

    Happy birthday, Jeannie! (Rather late in the day now!)

    I had an acupuncturist come to my abode a few hours ago. Pain improved somewhat. But still plenty to go around. (Har, har.)

    Have a nce weekend!

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  57. Good night everyone

    Happy birthday, Jeannie.

    Thanks for the heads up, C.C.

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  58. Thank you Gary for stopping by. I think Wheelhouse for AREA would have gone over well here.

    Today's constructor was here at 2:56 PM

    GLowe said... Well, I had "Wheelhouse" for AREA and "Office" for DESK. But alas, "Secret spot" wasn't mine.

    Thx for the comments, all.

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  59. Hutch here! Kill the beast means "We want our country back!" But lets not kill the Federal Beast until it helps all our fellow citizens with the floods and the tornados.

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  60. Good Evening, folks! Thank you Gary Lowe for a time-consuming, but interesting, puzzle. I took the day off work to sell Vidalia Onions for the Shriners. I worked at this puzzle all day long, off and on, and finally got it this evening. It was a doosie! Thank you Marti (HeartRx) for a great write-up. A couple firsts for you this year!

    I had a dickens of a time getting the NE, SE, and SW corners. Had NAVE for a while instead of APSE. Had OAT for a while instead of HAY. Had OPQS for a while instead of OPER. It would have helped to have had a phone to look at.

    The theme came slowly, but I got it. Had TOAST STARTER instead of STAMMER for a while. The theme fixed that. I should know STAMMER after seeing "The King's Speech," one of the best movies I have ever seen.

    Thought 37A/GLUG was a great Clue/Answer. 50D/ARMPIT, as well.

    We have had CLU Gulager before. I do remember seeing him in some TV show, way back.

    Happy Birthday, Jeanne. How about a Vidalia Onion recipe, since I am selling them all weekend.

    See you tomorrow (evening, I am sure).

    Abejo

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  61. Wow, lost my post and every link I tried. Major computer blitch. or too much fun?

    Thank you for all your birthday wishes. Hey, C.C. I made your opening page! That's like having a headline folks.

    Just Joshin' WH, maybe you can explain that term.

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  62. Abejo, don't ya know I have one up my sleeve. It's a roasted dip that can be served cold or hot.

    Roast a full bulb of garlic. Wrap the whole bulb of garilic with the top chopped off wrapped in foil drizzled in olive Oil. It will take about 30mn at 375 Degrees.

    You'll need a pkg of cream cheese coming to room temp on the counter. In a frying pan (in olive oil), Or on your grill saute some red peppers and those great vadalian onions.

    Puree it all together, and serve on a toasted bagette or with veges.

    Wallah! That's how I spell it, surprised it hasn't made the grid yet.

    I am kind of toasted but this is a fav at all my get-togethers.

    Lo-li-ta. My name tonight/morning as I have been wined and dined.

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