google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, June 24, 2011 James Sajdak

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Jun 24, 2011

Friday, June 24, 2011 James Sajdak

Theme: Farmhouse homilies from Brooklyn. Each of the theme phrase are sound-a-likes for in the language expressions which are reclued from an animal perspective.  A very fun concept and the second of Mr. Sajdak's puzzles which I have had the pleasure of blogging. The theme answers take the common two 13 and two 14 letter fills, and the rest of the puzzle seems straightforward for a Friday, with many short fill, but some new stuff and onward and upward we go.

20A. Thoroughbred farm slur?: SO'S YOUR MUDDER. "So's your mother" are often the fighting words in response to a particularly nasty and graphic insult. A mudder is a horse which does well on a wet and sloppy track, like the recent Belmont Stakes.

29A. Dairy farm proverb?: BE KIND TO UDDERS. While I get, "Be kind to others," I am not getting a great visual of how to follow this advice. I need help from our experts, Carol and Lois....

46A. Cattle farm commandment?: HONOR THY FODDER. My favorite, especially so close to father's day. If  you are a city person, the chopped up hay to feed the animals etc. is FODDER.

56A. Clydesdale farm boast?: HEAVY BREEDERS. Heavy breathers. Clydesdales are the huge horses from the Budweiser commercials; I am unfamiliar with their breeding prowess, though I have received too many invitations to go to watch the girls play on the farm.

Heigh ho, it is I, Lemonade, and it is off to work we go.

Across :

1. Drops a fly, say: ERRS. Baseball reference; at least I know 1A.

5. Web code: HTML. Hyper Text Markup Language; almost all regular posters have learned how to link using this code.

9. Patio parties, briefly: BBQS. Nice alliteration, no grilling allowed on my patio; don't you love condos?

13. Fiefdom, e.g.: REALM. From the old French reaume, kingdom.

15. Recitative follower: ARIA. I am not an expert on opera stuff, but it is like what happens in between the big songs, so the audience can follow the plot. LISTEN .

16. "For sure!": YEAH.

17. Test: ASSAY. back in the old westerns, they were forever going to get their gold tested at the ASSAY office.

18. "The Case for Public Schools" author: MANN. A trained attorney who was instrumental in free non-sectarian schooling for all. He was an interesting MAN .

19. Nice head: TETE. No one should be falling for thise French city anymore; and we have had TETE often.

23. Schubert's "The __ King": ERL. A sad story of a boy snatched by an evil elf, but the MUSIC is lovely.

24. '70s radical gp.: SLA. Symbionese Liberation Army, the crazies who snatched and brainwashed Patty Hearst. The names from the word symbiotic. And a mini-leftist theme with 48D. SDS co-founder Tom: HAYDEN. Students for a Democratic Society, who became a Senator and married Jane Fonda.

25. "Eternally nameless" principle: TAO. The constructors favorite Eastern Philosophy.

26. Fancy pond swimmer: KOI.

33. Words before "Gave proof through the night": IN AIR. Sing everyone, "The bombs bursting...."

34. It has pedals and stops: ORGAN. Not a bicycle, or a body part.

35. Tub filler: LARD, an insult when I was growing up.

38. Loses interest: SOURS. Maybe that is where they have all gone.

41. European capital: OSLO. A nice shout out to our Norwegian contingent.

42. Sweat: EXUDE. She was actually glowing...

44. Half a "Star Wars" character: DETOO.  R2.

51. Ruling party: INS. Not the outs, the ins. I saw I N S first.

52. "Jane Eyre" star Wasikowska: MIA. The little girl from Oz who starred in the Alice in Wonderland remake is all GROWN UP .

53. Business __: END. Like when you point a gun.

54. Valuable Ming: YAO. poor guy, has not been able to play basketball in two years; feet were not meant for 7'6" bodies.

60. Drop a line, in a way: MOOR. Tying up a boat.

62. Some tributes: ODES.

63. Capital at the foot of Mount Vitosha: SOFIA. Bulgaria; one of my associates has been to the palace there and says it is lovely.

64. Shared currency: EURO.

65. Time to give up: LENT. I like this misdirection.

66. Body: TRUNK.  Very tricky also, meaning like torso.

67. Things to pick: NITS. A shout out to Marti?

68. Eating up: INTO. He was really eating up her line of bull, not realizing all she wanted was his money.

69. Part of many a snail's diet: ALGA. Good to know, I was worried I would not know what to serve if any came to visit, but if one is enough!

Okay, no rest for the weekend, on we go.

DOWN:

1. Rub out: ERASE. Cool, clecho alert! 4D. Rub out: SLAY. Two ways to say goodbye.

2. Suck up again: RESORB. before you all get on your high REABSORB horses, this is actually correct, directly from the Latin resorbere which derives from sorbere "to suck."

3. Fight in the boonies: RASSLE. I hope you did not have to wrestle with this clue long.

5. Shortwave medium: HAM RADIO. In this world of cellphones, they still hang in.

6. Car for the pits?: TRAM. They use trams underground in the mines to transport whatever is being mined. need a gold mine? Limestone?

7. Hora part: MINUTO. This reference to the Spanish for hour and minute would have been so easy, but for the dance the HORA, oh well it did not take to long to see where I was wrong.

8. "Ed Wood" Oscar winner: LANDAU. This wonderful actor came to my attention in Mission Impossible but his work as BELA LUGOSI in this movie was fabulous.

9. Memory unit: BYTE.

10. Microbrewery stock: BEER KEGS. Only two weeks after Marti used this shout out to my bubbly brewing boys.

11. African evergreen whose leaves are chewed as a narcotic: QAT. Once upon a time I had a girlfriend who loved playing scrabble who bought a dictionary chock full of real words like this so she could stomp me. It is loaded with amphetamine.

12. Pirate's pronoun: SHE. Arrg, and she is a fine vessel.

14. Muscle-contraction protein: MYOSIN. And why should we know about this SCIENTIFIC MINUTIAE ? The link was chosen as a shout out our RPI brethren.

21. They articulate with radii: ULNAS. Oh goody, anatomical puns, very humerus.

22. Doofus: DODO. Hello our darling D.

27. Spoken: ORAL.

28. Money-object connection: IS NO. Reminds me of Richard Attenborough running around during Jurassic Park saying. "Spared no expense." Then I saw the movie 41 times....

30. Man-to-boy address: KIDDO. In what century was that?

31. Former Jerry Marcus comic strip: TRUDY. One of the many family comics of the sixties, before the revolution.

32. Dickens's Edwin: DROOD. Dickens last novel, which was unfinished at his death. It reads that way.

35. City near Provo: LEHI, We recently had this referencing the Mormon prophet for whom this city is named. Our first siting was in the birthday puzzle our fearless leader created for Dennis. Wherefore art thou brother?

36. Neural transmitter: AXON. Who is our neurology expert?

37. Not have enough: RUN SHORT.  Some double words to confuse us, they never seem to run short of these.

39. Mentions: REFERS TO. You all know what I am referring to.

40. One may be skipped: STONE. I really like this clue, there is even a word for this pastime.

43. Big name in household humor: ERMA. Bombeck.

45. Most curious: ODDEST. Not curious like nosy, but curious and curiouser.

47. Denmark's __ Gardens: TIVOLI. The beautiful and amazing home of the second oldest AMUSEMENT PARK in the world.

49. Hottie: EYEFUL. Please do not go to this link if you are offended J LO  and a bit of nudity.

50. Ready and eager: RARING. Well I am actually fading, I hope you all have had a nice ride.

55. Yodo River city: OSAKA. Geography lesson.

57. Winged god: EROS. Also called Cupid, stupid.

58. Out of shape?: BENT. Come on, just relax I know it all goes too fast.

59. "Cannery Row" restaurant owner __ Flood: DORA. If you have never read any John Steinbeck, he really had a great sense of this country in the depression, I suggest you read this NOVEL  though do not be shocked because Dora is much more than a restaurant hostess.

60. Rooks, for example: MEN. Chessmen to be more accurate.

61. Overseas agreement: OUI, yes, more French for the finish. Until next time, take your vitamins, drink your juice and be good to each other.


Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few great photos of our secretive CA Coven Gathering yesterday. Click pictures for enlargement. Nice to finally see you, Garlic Gal!

78 comments:

  1. Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. Loved the write-up, Lemon. This was a really amusing Friday puzzle. BE KIND TO UDDERS was my first theme fill. I knew right then that the rest of the theme would also make me laugh.

    I learned about MUDDERs from Seinfeld.

    I liked the fresh cluing for ERMA Bombeck.

    It sounds like the California Coven had a good time. How nice to be able to get together.

    QOD:Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die. ~ Malachy McCourt

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  2. This one completely destroyed me. I finally just turned on the red-letter help to find all my mistakes and managed to limp home after that.

    Geography is not my strong suit, so I had no idea about OSAKA, TIVOLI or SOFIA. I mean, I've heard of those places, but couldn't get them from the clues. I did actually get LEHI, but only after putting in OREM and discovering it didn't work.

    I also got most of the theme answers, but HEAVY BREEDERS had me baffled. After the first two theme answers revealed themselves, I thought everything was going to end with UDDERS. I was wrong.

    I was proud of getting MYOSIN, but I couldn't get TRUDY, HAYDEN or KIDDO (I couldn't even parse the clue on that one). And then there was QAT...

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  3. Good Morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.

    Wonderful write-up, and thanks for all the explanations, Lemonade. I filled TRAM from perps, but was perplexed how it would be “for the pits”. You cleared it up in short order.

    The first three theme entries really made me chuckle, but I wondered how HEAVY BREEDERS could be a Clydesdale farm’s “boast”. A breeder is one who raises animals. (A horse that is used for breeding would be a “sire”.) So, shouldn’t it be “fat ranchers” for the clue? I know, Lemonade – I’m NIT picking again!!

    Some tough Friday stuff like QAT and YAO. Had no prob with RESORB, but it’s not a word you see often. Same for MYOSIN. But I wanted ULNAe instead of ULNAS.

    Loved the misdirection, as Lemonade already pointed out. Favorites were MINUTO for “Hora part” and LENT for “time to give up”.

    All in all, a fun TGIF romp from James!

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  4. Breeder has more than one meaning.

    From the dictionary:
    noun. an animal or plant that produces offspring; a person who breeds animals or plants;

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  5. Good day folks,

    I'll offer my opinion of todays puzzle by amplifying Lemonades explanation for 2D; It "sorbered." Several clues were total unknowns to me.
    (18A, 23A, 52A, 47D, 48D, etc.) Somehow, I did manage to solve the theme clues.

    Thanks to Mr G, I ended up filling in all the squares, but four were incorrect; 6D, 42A,35 & 37D. Had Lohi, Ran Short. & Irma. I had no idea what "oxadi" was, but that was the case with a lot of the other fills.

    Never thought I would see two clue answers containing the letter Q, but with no following U.

    In summary, this was a good old fashioned butt kicking today.

    TGIF

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  6. Anon @ 7:49,
    Thanks for the other meaning of "breeder". Another nit killed!

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  7. Hi all -

    I am with Barry G this morning! I have a sore back side. I am no good at play on word thingys. But, this is Friday so I knew what to expect...I keep pushing to try to do these more difficult puzzles. 'They' say it's good for the brain. ;)

    Lemonade: thanks for the explanations!

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  8. Marti, not just killed but disposed of in 4 minutes by our semper paratis anon!

    I really found the puzzle conflicting, though I lucked out knowing QAT and LEHI, the perps there did not seem too hard, but with both BG and HH struggling, it was obviously not an easy one.

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  9. Well at least I remember the 70's.
    SLA, HAYDEN and my time with BEER-KEGS were gimmies ...

    Otherwise, with few exceptions, this was a workout. Put down the puzzle, pick-it up, put it down, pick-it back up. Hey, I got the NITS!
    Damn, why won't my MYOSIN kick-in and help me write the correct letters?

    DNF ... not a pretty Ink Blot either.

    Tears ...

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  10. Good morning, all. Enjoyed your 'humerus' write up, Lemonade. Count me among those that wanted ULNAe, thought of the dance before the time and thought that all theme entries would be a part of the UDDER nonsense. Once I figured out that it was just the 'D' sound substituted for the 'TH' sound it was pretty easy.

    Did anyone else think of this classic that relates to the theme? Lots of luck getting that earworm out of your head!

    No lookups needed, but there were several places that needed a lot of perp help.

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  11. I see from the small number here already, that I wasn't the only one to find this a bear. I had to google the heck out of this to get a footing everywhere but the NW, SW and the NE. At first I had HTTP, SDS for SLA, TORSO for TRUNK, and ELF for ERL, thinking since it was 'king' and not 'König', they wanted an English word. I've always thought of it as "elf", but it actually comes from 'Erle' meaning 'alder'. Here is where you can scroll down to see the original Goethe poem which is about a night ride, rather than walk as shown in the earlier link, with full translation.

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  12. Nice classic Allan Sherman link, G man; that was the sound I was alluding to in my title. I am glad no one has had a bone to pick with my bad puns. Off to see the wizard.

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  13. Continuing...
    I also thought of dancing before a Spanish word for hora part, and wanted FUDDER for FODDER, and I am really not acquainted with ERMA's humor, though I know the name. Certainly not a household word here.

    Great job, Lemonade.
    I could never be so brilliant in the middle of the night on something this difficult.

    Glad the 'coveners' had a great time. I wish there were more of us around here to have similar meetings.

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  14. Hi gang -

    Has to RASSEL with this one. Thought I would have a huge DNF, resorted to G-spotting, and finally made it through. Had OLEO - OREM for LARD-LEHI. They were really hard to give up. I know AXON, but that wouldn't fit. I figgured, it's Friday, there's going to be some word there I don't know. BOOHOO.

    Love the ORGAN and BENT clues.

    Pulled HAYDEN out of some deep recess.

    Could picture LANDAU, but couldn't conjure his name without perp help.

    My NIT - RADII should clue ULNAE, not ULNAS

    X-L-ent EYEFUL link, Counselor! Is that an ORGAN IN AIR? Or just the REALM of a TRUNK?

    Goethe's Der Erlkönig.

    Time to END. YEAH.

    Cheers!
    JzB who keeps his BEER MUGS in the freezer.

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  15. I would call the piano introduction to the Schubert music link a 23A a VAMP, albeit a rather complex one.

    Cheers!
    JzB imagining Porky Pig as a HAM RADIO operator

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  16. Two beautiful, dry days in a row! Needing a jacket in the middle of June is odd though!

    Musings
    -Had to look up OSAKA to unlock SE and the I in MINUTO
    -Wanted AMEN for recitative follower – church recitation and then…
    -Horace Mann now sells insurance!
    -Great write-up Lemon, but I fell for Nice
    -KOI are just goldfish that know somebody
    -Not a big fan of Organs because of how badly and tediously they are played in our church. I played guitar at mass for 30 years and moved things along
    -Yup, I went TORSO at first, RESORB not resoak
    -Fixated on the Jewish dance for a long time and had PONYKEG too
    -Lemon! I WAS offended – for about 10 minutes!
    -The basis for Hello Muddah song is the Dance of the Hours (here from Fantasia) in the Italian Opera La Giaconda. It’s another of those melodies Americans hear in every restaurant while eating in Italy.
    -Fore!

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  17. Good Morning C.C., Lemon and all,

    Well, Lemon, I took it all in. Thanks. Of course, a great write- up with good links.

    I, too, wanted Ulnae . This was rough for me and I finally resorted to these look-ups for one reason or another: 63A{SOFIA}, 8D {LANDAU], 31D {TRUDY}, 48D {HAYDEN} and 55D {OSAKA}.
    Loved the theme; can’t say that I liked this puzzle or had fun with it. Far too many uncertains for me. Spellcheck won’t let me designate my new word, uncertains. How do some of these constructors get away with it? TEASING!!!!

    Have enjoyed James’ puzzles, but only learned {I hope} some proper names and places, this morning. Thanks, James

    Loved Carol’s note from last night, which included me. Can’t wait for pics.

    Have a nice day everyone.

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  18. Jazz,
    I love the 40's adaptation of the poem. It would be funny if it weren't for the ending. You see so many guys on motorbikes on the Autobahn going as fast as the Porsches, and I always wonder how long they last.

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  19. Hello Puzzlers - Things looked grim to start, as the hard puzzles usually run, when I couldn't get a toehold until somewhere in the east. That NW stayed bare for a long time, partly because there wasn't room for REABSORB. The other holdup was that unknown ERL King.

    Hand way up, and waving madly, for ULNAE.

    Had to Goog to get OSAKA so I'd have something to work with in the SE.

    As a 23 year old backpacker, I had the privilege (?) of spending a night in the SOFIA train station. The station guards were mean, forbidding any sort of reclining position. All we could do was doze upright in the chairs, all night, in that empty, brightly lit, echoing concrete cavern of a place.

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  20. Hi There~!

    Had to battle back on this one, but I always feel better when I win, and without any help - I broke it open with DROOD, and had to change my "BINKS" to ARTOO, then DETOO; got me ODDEST, and the 'a-ha' moment arrived with FODDER. I too, had OREM to start, but HONOR made me change it, and I had OLEO before LARD.

    WAGed TIVOLI and HAYDEN, had MAI to start, but just a quick switch there.

    I was OK with RESORB - I think it sounds better than RE-ABSORB.

    I am a Pipe Organ fan - to stay with the Fantasia idea from HG, here's the classic Toccata & Fugue - we've seen this guy before. Love it.


    Splynter

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  21. Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, is like a fairyland at night--my most memorable recollection from that city.

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  22. Hello everyone. Good write-up, Lemon, as usual.

    I thought this one was quite hard, even for a Friday. Initially only got the NE and SW, and a few scattered others. the Whole NW - SE diagonal was empty for a long time. After taking a 3 hr break, my mind seemed a little more agile and the themes gradually filled in. HEAVY BREEDERS was last. Fun theming, though. Reminds me of my Brooklyn friends and relatives. I liked the cleverness of the LENT, MOOR and MEN clues. WAGs included LEHI, DROOD, OSAKA,TRUDY, and SOFIA. Another shout out for DODO, but she is definitely not a doofus. Needed red letter help for LANDAU.

    Enjoy the weekend.

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  23. Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al,

    This was definitely a Friday, but I love loved the 4 expressions. The perps were so good to me as I had so many unknowns, qat being my favorite new word today.

    I wonder how many schools are named after Horace Mann.

    Nailed Tivoli, but at first I thought of the Filoli Gardens that are just north of here..similar names.

    A terrific day to have a shout out to our wonderful hostess, Dodo! We all had such a great time..such nice ladies, every one! Couldn't have better imaginary friends!!

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  24. oops, Filoli Gardens..for those of you near by

    BTW, if you nailed myosin, I'm in awe!!

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  25. @Splynter, not saying anything disparaging against the classic pipe organ version, but I much prefer the version from Sky. That one really gets my heart racing.

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  26. Good Morning All, In spite of Al's, and others' careful scientific coaching in the past, MYOSIN was pure perps. It is there, but I still have no idea.

    Thanks to Mom, I knew what a recitative is. An avid Scrabble player, she also used QAT whenever she could.

    There is a lovely KOI pond at DODO's complex.

    Oh well, there is no postponing telling all. The SE threw me into a DNF. Clever clue for 54A)Valuable Ming/YAO....I didn't get it. I had TORSO at 66A...the beginning of the end! I didn't get SOFIA, ALGA or DORA either, even though I have read all of Steinbeck's books and stories.

    I'll just keep telling myself, "It's Friday, it's OK....It's Friday, it's OK....."

    Some rival witch or warlock must have put a spell on my camera (or it could be I didn't check the setting). My photos from yesterday are all blurry. I know JD has some and Lucina will be sending some to C.C., so they are on their way.

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  27. A song for those heavy breeders out there. Heavy Horses(8:59) by Jethro Tull.

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  28. Lemon @ 8:36...

    ...I'm still brooding about "boast", though. Still can't see that one.

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  29. Marti,

    A Clydesdale is a 'heavy breed'; as Arabian is a breed and there are mixed breeds.

    Draft horses are heavy breeds; play on 'Heavy Breathers'.

    Hope I haven't made it worse, but one more..

    A horse farm often specializes in breeds and boasts about them.

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  30. My memory of TIVOLI is from my 1978 trip with my 22 year old sister. It certainly is a charming place and we spent most of the day enjoying the beautiful gardens, bands and entertainments. Later we went to one of the outdoor cafes to relax for a while before heading across the street to the station to catch our evening train to Stockholm. We had a fun time, but not as much as the 10 or so drunken Norwegian sailors who had taken over the cafe. Beer was flowing, toasts were toasted and songs were sung. Sis and I got several free beers and still managed to sneak out without being seriously accosted.

    Argyle, everything goes better with Jethro Tull. Thanks.

    Thanks also to Lemonade for the terrific explanations and links.

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  31. Hello everybody. Well, the sore loser in me reared its head today. I flat out could not solve this killer, no matter how much I looked up. Just not at all on the ole wavelength.

    I'm so glad you folks had such a good time at the coven meeting! It was heartwarming to read your posts about it last night. Thanks for sharing. Nice photos, too. Thank you.

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  32. Totally defeated by today's puzzle but after a wee bit of "cheating" via Lemonade's terrific blog I couldn't see why it was so difficult. Knew Landau(good movie) but couldn't for the life of me pull HAYDEN, Jane's ex, from anywhere and, like CA, I think I read everything Steinbeck, but in High School...so...fuzzy brain.

    So terrific to see the photo of all the lovely ladies and was so disappointed that even after rescheduling an appointment so I go, I was defeated at the last...and just FYI, I have to give credit to WH's lovely Irish for the California Coven name...

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  33. Thanks for sharing the California Coven photos. I also see that at least one bottle of the "spirits" made it into the photo, too! Looks like you all had fun..

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  34. When i was in samolia with the army it was spelled kat or katt. Never heard of qat. Is it a new word?

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  35. A Clydesdale farmer/breeder is proud of his horses. He thinks these weighty draft horses are better than all other horse breeds. He is apt to boast about Clydesdale fanciers as BREEDERS of HEAVY horses. He could also be boasting about Clydesdales being HEAVY BREEDERS in the sense of being prolific, as well as weighing 2000 pounds or more.

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  36. Hello all.

    As a 5yo, was scared to death of the heavys on the farm. Had a lot of problems with this one.

    CA. My promblem too. Having trouble
    saying what I want.

    Dudley. The review will take some time. Have to finish the Evanovich
    book and Morituri DVD first.

    Can tell you that the title is:
    Against All Enemies. The new main character is an ex-Navy Seal now working for the CIA. He gets into
    a bit of trouble with the Taliban.

    Take care. Race from Iowa tomorrow

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  37. I would have been CROSS if I hadn't been able to finish. But I did, thanks to red letters. I'm getting a bit better and seldom use 'em until Thursday or Friday. But for me, better to use 'em than have a DNF.

    I very much enjoyed the photos and am looking forward to more.

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  38. Hola Everyone, A DNF for me today. I put in Orem for Lehi, and had to erase that one, and then had to erase Circle for Hora. The Spanish Hora never even entered my mind.

    Like WM I had to seek help from Lemonade and then wondered why I had such a hard time with some of the answers. One given was Tete. That clue Nice head didn't fool me this time.

    I've decided that if I finish about 2/3s of a Friday and Sat. puzzle, I've done pretty well, and learned a lot in the process.

    I should go to the internet site and use red-letter help, but I still so much prefer the pencil and paper.

    By the way, Garlic Gal gave everyone a new pencil (along with a head of Garlic--what else?) so we have a brand new writing implement with a really good eraser.

    Happy Friday, everyone.

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  39. Hello Mudder, Hello Fodder, here I am in Camp Grenada….Hi MFCounselor and all you fine folks. I had all kinds of trouble with this one today. There were just too many names I didn’t know…Mann, Mia, Sofia, Landau, Drood. Sigh…Not to mention I wanted essay for assay. Anyone else? I did have a favorite today and that was “drop a line in a way” – moor. Speaking of which I am taking Lolita off her moor this weekend. It’s supposed to be gorgeous, but knowing my luck there won’t be any wind.

    Lovely pictures of the California Coven. It sounds like you all had a great time.

    Enjoy your weekend everybody!

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  40. Today's riddle:

    Two planes take off at the same exact moment. They are flying across the Atlantic. One leaves New York and is flying to Paris at 500 miles per hour. The other leaves Paris and is flying to New York at just 450 miles per hour. Which one will be closer to Paris when they meet?

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  41. It does not matter what speed they are traveling, the one from paris will always be closer to Paris when they meet.

    Argyle great link, ladies thanks for the wonderful pics from yesterday. Warren, good to see you, where is Annette? WM great new avatar.

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  42. From Thursday write up: ”Spot bomb in a bull:…”: Al, what does this mean?

    Kazie, me too.

    Lemon, 69A, quite funny!

    Bill, like the walking machine.

    The pics are so great! I knew everyone from former pics, except Garlic Gal. Its great to see the eyes and smiles in my mind’s eye, when we are chatting. Super reinforcement.

    Looks as if you all had a blast. Were the pics before or after lunch? Asking another way, was the wine leftover?

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  43. Hey Hurricane- QTIP, QATAR, COQ, QEII, SHAQ, QED, QTY, QTR, MCQ (John Wayne flick) all make an appearence now and then. Not the best of fill, but they might fill a need... constructionwise.

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  44. They'll both be the same distance from Paris, because they have met and are in (for all practical purposes) the same place.

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  45. Jeannie:
    It is 3,635 mile (5851 KM) from New York to Paris.

    The planes will be approaching each other at a combined 950 mph.

    They will meet in 3.826 hours (approx. 3 hours, 50 minutes).

    The New York plane will have traveled approx. 1913 miles.

    The Paris plane approx. 1722 miles.

    Hence, they BOTH will be 1722 miles from Paris.

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  46. Jeannie, that sounds like a typical algebra word problem (distance = rate x time) but that's just a tease. When they meet, they're both in the same place and therefore the same distance from everywhere. Fun!

    I just finished my favorite Subway sandwich for lunch; turkey, bacon, avocado, swiss cheese, a little mayo, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, peppers, black olives and a little oil and vinegar. I had it toasted a little extra to make the bacon and bread a little crispy. Really yummy!

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  47. Jeanie, let's hope they don't meet head on because then someone will want to know where the survivors are to be buried. So assuming the 'meeting' is when they are athwartships from each other, they will be at the same distance from Paris as others have said.

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  48. Bill G., great link @2:22. Amazing stuff, and I think that guy must also do crossword puzzles, no?

    California Coven, it looks like y'all had a great time! And it was great to "see" Garlic Gal, finally! But all of you look fantabulous!

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  49. Creature: Say "abominable" slowly. It sounds like A Bomb In A Bull. Yeti, the Abominable Snowman.

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  50. Spitz:
    Where I'm from ... we don't bury the survivors.

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  51. Hahtool,
    Got it. Thanks!

    Guess my mental ears were turned off. I feel just a little silly.

    Duh..

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  52. Sptiz:
    My point is we only bury the DEAD.

    Survivors, well we let them go on with their lives.

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  53. Jeannie,
    Actually, the speeds and time it would take to do that trip in each direction were pretty accurate, especially if they went all the way to Chicago instead of New York. We always have a tailwind going east and a headwind coming west across the Atlantic, so coming home always takes about an hour longer. Cute trick of a riddle though.

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  54. Tinbeni,
    He was referring to an old joke, where people were asked where the survivors would be buried, and some always fall for trying to figure it out. You thought the joke was on him, but he was just being facetious.

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  55. tinbeni, you fell for one of the oldest riddles in the book...

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  56. Everybody knows that they buried the survivors in Arizona. Sheesh! :-)

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  57. Overcast morning (June gloom) but a very pretty afternoon for a bike ride. On the way home, I stopped by The Coffee Bean for my double macchiato. At a close by table were two people not far from 20 years old. She was fairly pretty, long dark hair, good figure and wearing some serious "Do Me" shoes. She was rubbing her foot along the guy's calf sitting across from her. He was poking at a cell phone. I watched him for about 15 minutes while sipping my coffee. He hardly took his eyes of his phone and said maybe 30 words to her in total. What a jerk! Maybe he had been gelded? Is this what courtship has come to in the cell phone era?

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  58. Wow, Bill G. The guy is an idiot.

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  59. Let's take a closer look at this picture. She's with the guy, right? Maybe he's a Clydesdale, and knows the lay of the land.

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  60. hey all, thanks for the comments and kind words.

    fyi, QAT has KHAT and KATT as variant spellings.

    when i first did NYT puzzles, one of the comon clues was BITTER VETCH for which the answer was ERS . Obviously there were no blogs, nor explanations, but we all learned that pair; only later in life did I get the information included in the link, which is worth reading for all you NIT pickers if you think our puzzles have obscurities.

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  61. Lemonade, of course the NYT puzzles have obscurities. They are all obscurely clued, even the so-called easy ones. I suppose Will isn't really a sadist, though; it's just his profession. I have never ever found an NYT puzzle that I liked.

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  62. Rich has 1000% more skill and class. Will is just a brute. (Wow, now I'm damned to hell for sure. LOL)

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  63. Hi,, All,

    WOW1 y'all saw the pix before I even saw my own.....which I didn't take; Thanks, to Lucy's friend Jeanetta, I do have some on my camera.

    I can't tell you how wonderful it was to get together face-to-face with all our invisible friends! It's so kind of you all to include Lucina and me, and Chris (Garlic Girl) among your numbers! We are proud to be a part of the Coven!

    Kazie, you have quite a group close to you, I should think. The crowd here were all about 2 hours away! CA even came alone, the others together in one car, and of course, Lucina and her friends, Kathie, and Jeanetta, together as well. I'll bet if you got a group together. Lucy and her friends would get there too. You know, they've been to smoke out WH and the Irish.

    OOPs, too many lines, already.

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  64. cont'd.

    There was so much to talk about that I can think of about 100 things I meant to get answers to but we were so caught up in every subject imaginable I forgot all about them.

    It was such fun to meet Chris (Garlic Girl) who brought us each a beautiful garlic, with several mint chasers and a notepad and pencil to record our event.Chris told me how to roast mine, and I'm planning to do it.

    And bless CA's heart, she tried hard to help me change my avatar!(ANNETTE has worked so hard on it)
    It turned out that it's a BMP file 'instead of a jpg. (Please tell me I got it right, CA!)

    But it all went too fast!

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  65. Who 'smoked out' WH & Irish?

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  66. Creature, yes there was wine left over. Every one had to drive home, remember? The pix were taken after lunch.Fortunately it wasn't scorching hot as had been the case the day before. We retired to my 'drawing room'(doncha love it?)
    after lunch to talk even more and were nice and cool with the AC.

    We did lift a glass to both you and Carol, as I said we would.

    Hahtool, we had champagne courtesy of my daughter Molly, who gave me a lovely bottle for Mother's Day! Couldn't think of a better reason to open! it

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  67. Bill, what a hoot.."do me shoes".lol

    Creature, both photos were after lunch. We didn't drink all of the wine, after polishing off the champagne. Lots of chatter and laughter.All of us, except Dodo, had a road trip ahead of us.Lucina should have some better pictures when she gets home.

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  68. Dodo, you must be counting the lines wrong. You were worried about going over when you were right at 20 by my count. Count the lines of print in the Preview, not the blank lines or spaces. It's nice that you're so conscientious.

    JD, I've heard those shoes called that before and I thought it sounded clever and apt. Also, I've heard them called a much ruder name.

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  69. Nouns & Pronouns agreeJune 24, 2011 at 8:54 PM

    "Lucy and her friends"

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  70. dear Dodo said:

    "a notepad and pencil to record our event. Chris told me how to roast mine, and I'm planning to do it."

    Damn, they really do put garlic on everything' tell me how the roasted pencil and notepad turn out!

    It is great to see people having fun, which is the basic difference between LAT and NYT, unless you enjoy knowing everything.

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  71. Good day C.C., Argyle and folk!

    Lemonade714, You did it again! Wonderful! I like the attention you give to each item!
    I'm sure James Sajdak appreciates it, too! Great theme and puzzle overall, James.

    53. Business __: END. Like when you point a gun. This for instance said it all. I have
    heard this expression many times but on it's own it means absolutely nothing to me. You put down a phrase and
    yeah, I get it! 'Like when you point a gun' yeah! Thanks!

    23. Schubert's "The __ King": ERL.I got this through perps but have no recollection of ever hearing it before.
    It is one of several new things I've learned today. Damn those evil elves!

    42. Sweat: EXUDE. "She was actually glowing..." this is an understatement here in Scottsdale today! 108 degrees and up to 113 in the next couple days. I'm off to CA on Tuesday! Yeah!
    @Lucina, count yourself lucky you are away!

    60. Drop a line, in a way: MOOR. Tying up a boat. This is one of my new jobs! When we come in toward the slip,
    I have to throw a rope to the deck, throw out these plastic buoys to prevent the boat from hitting the dock,
    jump onto the deck and wind rope onto a cleat and tie it off with a particular knot. like this

    @Jeannie, enjoy your sail!

    Oh no! Grumpy 1, I can't believe you linked that song! You're killing me!

    The photos of the Coven are great! So much fun! YEAH!

    I'm out.

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  72. Not too much to say tonight, but Breeder at 6:08pm made me spit my cocktail out my nose. Are you Lois in disguise?

    I leave you with this

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  73. BTW I did not do the crossword puzzle today. I'm swearing off Fridays!

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  74. Frenchie- 20 lines.

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For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

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