google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday May 22, 2011 Verge

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May 22, 2011

Sunday May 22, 2011 Verge

Theme: And/or - OR is added to common phrases.

23A. Important meeting for Domingo and colleagues? : THE BIG TENOR CONFERENCE. The Big Ten Conference.

33A. Pulpit tirade? : BLAST FROM THE PASTOR. Blast from the past.

50A. Sale of swampland? : MORASS MARKETING. Mass marketing.

63A. Disloyal union member? : LABOR RAT. Lab rat.

69A. "Babe," e.g.? : PIG STORY. Pig sty.

83A. Really conservative Conservatives? : OLD SCHOOL TORIES. Old school tie.

92A. Comment about a recently razed vacation complex? : THE RESORT IS HISTORY. The rest is history.

114A. Maine travel agency's come-on? : MORE BANGOR FOR YOUR BUCK. More bang for your buck.

Some ORs are inserted to the end of the word, some in the middle. Can you think of one with OR attached to the beginning?

Did the theme clues make you laugh? One of the challenges in letter addition/deletion/substitution theme is to come up with entertaining clues.

I still don't know who Verge is. Alias name, perhaps. I feel it's a he.

Across:

1. Missouri range : OZARKS. Scrabbly start.

7. Very friendly with : CLOSE TO

14. Legitimate : LAWFUL

20. Incisor neighbor : CANINE. Tooth.

21. Lost it : HAD A COW. "Don't have a cow, man!"

22. His team has an orange-and-black logo : ORIOLE. Baltimore Orioles.

26. Cabin fever, e.g. : ANGST

27. Salon supply : HAIR GEL

28. "Hmm ..." : I WONDER. And 115D. "Hmm ..." : GEE

29. Glom : COP. Did not know "glom" can mean "steal".

30. Hesitant sounds : UMs

32. A long time : YEARS

43. Like a hawk's perspective : AERIAL

44. __ agreement : ORAL

45. Recipe amount : CUP

46. Carides of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" : GIA. No idea. The movie is good. I like her hair.

49. Scottish psychiatrist R.D. __ : LAING. Another no idea. I bet Lois knows him.

55. Windows predecessor : MS-DOS

56. Sharp sensation : PANG

57. Transfix : AWE

58. "... __ mention ..." : NOT TO

59. Ornamented, as curtains : TASSELED

62. Sharpness : ACUMEN

68. Half of vingt : DIX. Dix = Ten. Vingt = Twenty. You won't see Splynter clue his DIX this way.

71. "Anchorman" producer Judd : APATOW

72. Place for a large E : EYE CHART

74. Wine grape : PINOT

75. Tournament break : BYE

77. Part of a roof : EAVE

78. Boundary : AMBIT

87. Welsh breed : CORGI

88. 2010 Mark Twain Prize winner : FEY (Tina). So talented.

89. Diving seabird : AUK. What is he doing?

90. Didn't spoil : KEPT

91. Meaningful interval : PERIOD

97. Region on the South China Sea : MACAO. Gambling mecca in Asia. They speak Cantonese there also.

100. Lunch letters : BLT

101. Looney Tunes animator Avery : TEX. Got via crosses.

102. Might well : IS APT TO

104. Plymouth passenger carrier : RAILCAR.

109. Self-congratulatory cries : TA-DAs

117. Online memos : E-NOTEs. Dennis likes to title his email subject line as "Note".

118. Microsoft reference : ENCARTA. No new updates.

119. Italian desserts : GELATI

120. Out of fashion : DEMODE

121. Tough teammate to handle : EGOTIST. Randy Moss, e.g.

122. Obeyed a canine command : HEELED

Down:

1. Prefix with -hedron : OCTA. Prefix for "eight".

2. Journalist Paula : ZAHN

3. Rare blood type: Abbr. : A NEG

4. Cage components : RIBS

5. Work with needles : KNIT

6. Circ. part : SEG

7. Hardly top-of-the-line : CHEAPO

8. Legal scholar Guinier : LANI. I can never remember her name.

9. Stimulus used in aversion therapy : ODOR

10. Puppeteer Tony : SARG. Know this guy only from doing Xword.

11. Behold, to Brutus : ECCE

12. Prepare the factory : TOOL UP

13. Hold one's __ : OWN

14. Early movie mogul : LOEW (Marus). Founder of MGM.

15. Gully : ARROYO

16. Cybernetics pioneer Norbert : WIENER. Maybe Bill G knows him. I've got no idea.

17. 1981 Hepburn co-star : FONDA. "On Golden Pond". Henry Fonda. Also Jane Fonda.

18. Gastric woe : ULCER

19. Rude looks : LEERS

24. God in a chariot : THOR. Thunder god.

25. Rift : FISSURE

29. Grey Cup sports org. : CFL (Canadian Football League)

31. Large-beaked talker : MACAW. Melissa style picture. Lovely.

33. Soothing application : BALM

34. Green spans : LEAs. Nice clue. Would be even better if the answer is singular. It's hard to be Greenspan.

35. Requiring irrigation : ARID

36. Chinese: Pref. : SINO. Sino-US relationship.

37. They may put players out : TAGs

38. Poetic times : MORNs

39. Play genre : TRAGEDY

40. Suffers from : HAS

41. Some city lines : ELs

42. Toll rd. : TPK

46. Cuban base, familiarly : GITMO. "You can't handle the truth!".

47. Bury : INTER

48. Torment : AGONY

50. Movie-rating org. : MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America)

51. Beer-making aid : OAST

52. Magazine that began as a comic book : MAD

53. Some refs. : ENCs

54. Build up : TOUT

59. Experian, formerly : TRW. Forgot also.

60. It's made up : LIE. Quite true.

61. Passage : EXCERPT

62. Player rep. : AGT

63. __ luxury : LAP OF

64. Make __ of money : A PILE

65. Exchange, as words : BANDY

66. Onetime Siouan natives : OTOs

67. Campus military prog. : ROTC

69. Smooth, in a way : PAVE

70. Ticks off : IRES

72. Sniggler's target : EEL

73. 2010 earthquake site : HAITI

75. Historic Kentucky county : BOURBON. Whiskey.

76. Simple country type : YOKEL

78. Scores 90+ on : ACEs

79. Satirist Sahl : MORT

80. Liveliness : BRIO

81. Borodin prince : IGOR

82. Uncluttered : TIDY

84. Possess, to a Scot : HAE

85. Ring ruling : TKO (Techinical knockout)

86. Poetic contraction : O'ER

91. Photos : PIX

92. __-CD conversion: music collection updating system : TAPE TO

93. Breeding ground : HOT BED

94. Bad way to come on : STRONG

95. Visit overnight : STAY AT

96. Legend subject : HERO. Made me think of Killebrew. Nicest player I've ever met. TwinsFest wouldn't be the same without him.

97. Acted quietly? : MIMED

98. "... world will live __": "Imagine" : AS ONE

99. Bank : CAROM. Pool.

103. Facilitate an arrest, in a way : TASE

105. Oil acronym : ARCO (Atlantic Richfield Company). I just thought it's a name, Argyle!

106. "__ first ..." : IF AT

107. Actress Singer : LORI. She's famous for?

108. LCD flat panel displays have replaced many of them : CRTs

109. Bush overshadower : TREE. Oh, not President Bush.

110. Up to it : ABLE

111. Like a Jekyll and Hyde personality : DUAL

112. Comédie part : ACTE

113. Slide wildly : SKID

116. Word of disgust : UGH

Answer grid.

Hope Barry G comes back to us. All too sudden yesterday.

C.C.

38 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Sad to say, the Rapture didn't take. Or, to be more precise, they kicked me out once they realized their mistake. I guess I'll just have to suffer through the end times with the rest of you sinners...

Fun puzzle today with an enjoyable theme. I figured it out early on and was able to blast through the long theme answers pretty quickly.

* What the heck is a Plymouth RAILCAR?

* The crossing of COP/CFL was the last letter to go in, and that's only because I left it until the very end and made a WAG.

* DEMODE is a new one for me. Is that French (and pronounced "day-mo-day"? Or is it just an awkward English neologism?

* I will never remember SARG, no matter how many times I see it in a puzzle.

*Anybody who names their child WIENER Norbert (or Norbert WIENER) should be shot. Through the lung. Twice.

Splynter said...

Hi There ~!

BarryG, we're going to be doing crosswords to the bitter end....

And I gotta wonder, too, what is a Plymouth railcar, anyway?

And my last letter too, was the C in COP/CFL - I had an S; if you "COP" to a plea, you would "glom" it, since it's better than the full sentence, right(!?!?)

Odd, but I had RIPKEN in for "His team has orange and black" - just too specific, huh?

Tampa Bay hockey player with style?

- ORNATE THOMPSON

Splynter

Splynter said...

C.C.,

Hey, pardon your French, there, young lady ~!!

Splynter

RTD said...

89 across
I think he is killing the bird for food.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, C.C. and friends. This was an interesting clue. I should have gotten MORE BANGOR FOR YOUR BOOK, since Bangor is only a few miles south from the home of where I (and Mainaic) went to college.

There were a lot of obscure name clues, I though, such as GIA Carides, Tony SARG, and TEX Avery.

My favorite clues were: Cage Components = RIBS
Acted Quietly = MIMED.
It's Made Up = LIE.

I always that that one ACED an exam if one got 100, not a score above 90.

It's not Bad to Come On STRONG if you are Brenda Lee.

Lori Singer was in Footloose. Not sure what else she might have been in.

QOD: The future is not an inheritance, it is an opportunity and an obligation. ~ Bill Clinton

HeartRx said...

Good Morning C.C. et al.

Thanks for the great links C.C. I loved the MACAWs - so vibrant! I gg'd "Verge", and I think you are right in guessing he is a "man", based on the obsolete meaning of that word...

As far as the puzzle itself - I liked the theme, and there was some nice misdirection in the clues ("what Hahtool said"). Then there were spots that gave me fits ("what Barry G. and Splynter said"). But a nice Sunday challenge.

Have a great day everyone!

Annette said...

I think Lori Singer was on the TV show "Fame" for a while too.

All the unknown names got me today...

So, "vingt" is French...? I'm lucky I recognize 1-3 in some languages, forget 20!

C.C., I wouldn't say the theme entries were ALL humorous (some were), but I felt they were all clever and appropriate phrases when the OR was removed. I thought it was well done!

We've seen a puzzle(s) from Verge before, haven't we? Not that long ago, too...

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - Hand up for having no idea how Plymouth relates to RAILCARs.

Long pull to get through this puzzle. The theme eventually emerged, but the and/or title had me thinking it could be either word added to the fill.

Nab and COP seem quirky. Cop is used in England as a verb similar to "collar", as in apprehending a bad guy. I wonder whether nab has the same meaning there. I grew thinking of nab as "boost" or "snitch", as in shoplifting.

Seldom Seen said...

Brain controlled by the "Thought Police"

ORwell trained mind

Character at Walt Disney Word:

ORlando calrissian

North Dakota city under government surveillance:

ORwell's fargo

Husker Gary said...

What fun! BLASTFROMTHEPASTOR got me going and key words unlocked areas!

Musings
-TADA, got ‘er done!
-Huskers are joining Big 10 next year!
-More Bangor was my fav!
-My kids say COB instead of COP. They mean take not “cop a feel” which is a different story if you’re head of the IMF
-Didn’t know vingt or anything about Splynter’s dix or ambit
-I like Tina Fey too, but does she belong on the same list as Cosby, Carlin, Winters and Pryor?
-I likes them BLT’s with our fresh ‘maters!
-Balm not Aloe, Morns not Moons, Arco not OPEC, Torment/noun not verb
-I did this puzzle con brio!
-Ditto on Killebrew, C.C.!
-Imagine is about as anti religion as can be and a particularly pious choir director I knew had her kids sing it.
-Never heard of Golden Earring but loved the song.
-Could Plymouth Railcar refer to this N.Z. railroad?

Avg Joe said...

Good morning all. I guess the rapture didn't kill us all after all.

Fun but not stellar puzzle for me. The theme answers mostly came easily and were very helpful. BigTenor.. came into view with only a few perps in place, so it was clear what to look for. Liked MoreBangor...a lot. MorassMarketing not so much. Last to fall was the W in TRW and I had to do an alphabet run to get that.

Quite a few answers were all crosses. Had no clue on Vingt or Demode. Still, finished without assist and all in all, I'd give it a solid B.

Zcarguy said...

104 a could be referring to the city in Massachusetts ??

Can anyone explain 65d BANDY

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I'm with most of you on 104A) Plymouth passenger carrier/RAILCAR. Is Plymouth a city, a company, a rail route? I tried post-puzzle to find a sensible explanation....Nope.

HG, interesting link, but the city mentioned is NEW Plymouth. You may be right about it being a British based term rather than American.

I was confused with 29)Glom/COP too. Glom has always been "glom on" or grab/catch. COP, other than policeman slang, has been "COP a feel". Most teenage boys have tried both. Years ago I was subject to both these maneuvers.

My book of the week is "Bossy Pants" by Tina FEY. Her humor writing is right up there with the best of them. She was head writer for SNL for nine years and is into the sixth season of "30 Rock" as star, writer and producer. Her spot-on impersonation of Sarah Palin in 2008 was video-viral for the whole campaign. She's only 41 and has destroyed Jerry Lewis' statement. "Women aren't funny."

Dudley said...

CA, I'm with you. Tina Fey is a remarkable talent, and I'm soooo glad Lorne Michaels left her with no choice but to do a return appearance on SNL specifically for her expert Palin portrayal!

On a related note, I have always disliked the living daylights out of Jerry Lewis.

Hahtoolah said...

Perhaps this is what was meant by Plymouth Passenger Carrier. This appears to be a strategic plan for train transportation in Plymouth, England. If this so, this was a very obscure reference. Nice Cuppa: does this mean anything to you?

windhover said...

Jerry Lewis knows whereof he speaks; by the time he made that statement, or maybe AT the time, he had ceased being funny.

Clear Ayes said...

Thanks Marti, I just looked up the definition of Verge's name. (Partially),according to Mirriam-Webster:

1 a: a rod or staff carried as an emblem of authority or symbol of office b: the spindle of a watch balance; c: the male copulatory organ of any of various invertebrates 28. (Hmm ..." : I WONDER)

2 a : something that borders, limits, or bounds: as (1) : an outer margin of an object or structural part (2) : the edge of roof covering projecting over the gable of a roof

If it's a "nom de plume", it is pretty much of a "take your pick". Yes, probably a man.

Zcarguy@10:58, BANDY is to exchange words or ideas in a back and forth manner. Example: The phrase, "end of the world" was bandied about yesterday, but not many believed it to be true.

Hahtool@12:04, possible, but you're right...very obscure.

Grumpy 1 said...

God afternoon, all. Good to see that our family of solvers is still intact and the world didn't fall apart.

I managed to work my way through the MORASS of unknowns, letter by letter, but wound up with an error at the FEY/BANDY crossing. I had BANDs, didn't like it, but didn't go back and check it again.

I think CA has it right about Plymouth carrier/RAILCAR referring to Plymouth, England. Expanding on her definition of RAILCAR, here's what Wikipedia has to say about Plymouth:
"Plymouth railway station serves the city of Plymouth, Devon, England. It has the largest number of passengers starting and finishing their journeys at any station in the county, and is the largest of the six surviving railway stations in the city, being the only one served by InterCity trains."

I've always considered glom and COP and nab to be somewhat synonymous when used in the sense of grab. With the 'O' in THOR, it had to be COP.

Anonymous said...

Although AB negative is rare, the rarest is O negative.3D)

Bill G. said...

Wow! This one took me a while. Everything made sense once I figured them out. I have heard of Norbert Wiener and recognized the name but that's about all. Mostly I've heard the word BANDY in old movies.

As I'm sure Lois will attest, a carom in pool (or billiards) is different from a bank. A bank shot refers to when the ball bounces off one or more cushions. In a carom shot, the cue ball hits another ball thereby changing its direction before hitting a second ball into a pocket. A kiss shot is when the cue ball hits a second ball into a third ball before the second ball goes into the pocket.

Annette said...

When I googled "Plymouth railcar", I did find a reference to the Plymouth Co. in Plymouth, OH that used to make railcars. I'll have to pull that up again and post it when I get home.

I guess good, ol' Verge could have been referring to any one of the ideas we presented...

fermatprime said...

Afternoon all!

C.C.--Great write-up. Here's one for you: Serial killer with a mouth fetish--ORAL BUNDY (Al Bundy from Married With Children).

Argyle said...

104A Plymouth passenger carrier

It may be what Dennis took to Florida. Car Carrier

creature said...

Good Afternoon C.C.,

I was daunted by names today, as well as some of the clues. Thanks C.C. for your fine help and to posters for their opinions.

Re: I thought Verge might be someones nickname or someone who wants to live on the edge.

Been gone all weekend and I'm BUSHed.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Yes, what Barry G said. Best wishes to you all.

Annette said...

Sorry, I found the original Plymouth article I'd seen, plus a few others, but they only referenced locomotives for indistrial transport, but not passenger transport...

The closest I could come to an entry with OR at the front was WHAT AN ORDEAL! But when you remove the OR, I'm stuck with an extra "N"... DRAT!

JD said...

C.C. and Jeannie,
I hope neither of you were anywhere near today's tornados. Thinking of you.

Oh, the puzzle? No ta-da's today.If one can cop a feel, can one also glom one too? I'm such a deep thinker!

Loved cage components/ribs.

Eddy, disappointing game today. Did you like the way Bones ended?

Avg Joe said...

Piggybacking on JD's last comment, there have been numerous references to the ending of The Mentalist here the last few days. In deference to those who tivo'd and have not yet watched, I won't spoil it.....but OMG!!! I finally got to it last night and could not believe it.

Also, I've been remiss. I appreciate the encouragement to "go blue" and the warm reception I've recieved. Glad y'all like my self portrait. :-)

Anonymous said...

Argyle, if you're talking about Dennis taking the Auto Train, this is what the car carriers look like. Each car carrier has two levels of 5 cars each. The train itself is 3/4 of a mile long and is the jewel of the Amtrak fleet.

Sorry, I'm a bit of a train freak.

Bill G. said...

Hi Avg Joe, welcome. I'm sure there's lots of interesting stuff that you can share when you feel ready.

Anonymous said...

Let's try again: Car carrier

Anonymous said...

Ok, let's try this again: Car carrier

jack said...

Car carrier

Lemonade714 said...

Hey everyone; Vingt et un (20 plus one) is the game 21, also known as blackjack. Easiest way to remember 20 in French; will work on Trente (30).

AJ, welcome to our world in color, like you avatar and felt that way after the Preakness where I had played a superfecta but did not have Shackelford coming out on top. Ah well.

Puzzle was fun, but now we start all over again.

Mentalist talk-- anybody not see their reocrded version yet? Lots of comments waiting to come out.

Thanks CC and see ya

Hahtoolah said...

I haven't seen the Mentalist yet. My husband has been OOT and I am waiting to watch it when he comes home.

Average Joe, Welcome! We are an eclectic group. Your avatar shows you will fit right in!

Argyle said...

Jack, the (almost) anonymous train freak.

Yes, I meant the auto train but I used the image that showed cars on railcar anyway.

For some reason your second two posts were caught in the blogs spam trapper but since the last post was the charm, I'll just go ahead and delete them.

The Plymouth name was dropped in 2001. If the constructor did mean the auto train and was looking for alliteration, Verge might better have used Prius passenger carrier.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Evening All, It looks like 104A) Plymouth passenger carrier/RAILCAR will remain "a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma". Maybe the edgy and somewhat mysterious Verge will stop by one of these days and let us know what he(she?) meant.

Our chorus concert today went very well. I really enjoyed doing it. Separately, we may be mostly average, but all together, we are pretty good. One of our member' husband did a video. Once I get a copy, I'll try to crop a few numbers and post them on YouTube.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to be late in posting, but we get these puzzles a few days later in Saudi Arabia.

Did anyone else notice the high incidence of answers ending in o in this puzzle?

I counted 12 of them: CHEAPO, CLOSE TO, ARROYO, SINO, GITMO, NOT TO, TKO, BRIO, TAPE TO, MACAO, IS APT TO, ARCO.

Except for RAILCAR and AMBIT, it was an enjoyable puzzle to finish.