google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday June 2, 2011 Ed Sessa

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Jun 2, 2011

Thursday June 2, 2011 Ed Sessa

Theme: ALTERED STATES (58A. Paddy Chayefsky novel, and literally, what the beginnings of 20-, 32-, and 43-Across all are) - The starting words of each common phrase is an anagram of a US state. "Altered" is a indicator of anagram in Cryptic crossword.

20A. Words of regret : HAD I ONLY KNOWN. Anagram of Idaho. Spanning three words.

32A. Samaritan's assurance : I MEAN NO HARM. Maine. Bridging two complete words.

43A. Classic kids' wagons : RADIO FLYERS. Florida. Crossing two words again.

C.C. again. Al has been working non-stop since Memorial Day and badly needs some sleeping time. He had an amazing consecutive 43-week blogging streak at the Corner.

Another clever gimmick from Mr. Ed, whose puzzles always have an unexpected unifier and give me the most satisfying head slap.

Smooth grid. Several awesome long non-theme entries. Some of the clues (mostly for small words) are confounding.

Across:

1. Elbows and bow ties : PASTAS. Easy start.

7. Floppy-eared "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" demon : CLEM. No idea. Google yourself. The image scares me.

11. RMN's first veep : STA (Spiro Theodore Agnew). Did not know his middle name.

14. Pre-deal demand : ANTE UP

15. Roll call response : HERE

16. Gist : NUB

17. City on the Rio Grande : LAREDO. U.S./Mexico border city.

18. Plane folks? : AVIATORS. Great clue.

22. Lair : DEN

23. Vodka brand that sounds like a toast : SKOL. Sounds like "Skoal".

24. Martial arts schools : DOJOs

26. TV's Mrs. Peel : RIGG (Diana). First thought is EMMA.

28. Oil holder, perhaps : LAMP

31. Hawaiian coffee region : KONA

36. Freq. performer at Tanglewood : BSO (Boston Symphony Orchestra). Got me.

37. Lauderdale neighbor : BOCA. Dennis' favorite haunt.

38. Bleachers sound : ROAR

40. Non-Rx : OTC

48. Good time : BOOM

50. Memo starter : AS TO

51. Physical, e.g. : EXAM

52. Responded to a bailiff's request : STOOD. This guy is really in a class by himself when it comes to scandal.

54. Brittle cookie : SNAP

57. Actress Zadora : PIA

62. Piker's nickname : EL CHEAPO. Excellent fill.

63. Nailed the test : ACED IT

65. Earl or Lady Grey : TEA

66. Rodent control brand : d-CON. Could only think of RAID.

67. Like pine pitch : RESINY. Wow, this is a word.

68. N.C. summer hrs. : EDT

69. Africa's Mobutu __ Seko : SESE

70. Things on strings : ID TAGS. What were you picturing?

Down:

1. Sidekick : PAL

2. Angels' home : ANAHEIM. Anaheim Angels.

3. Off-the-wall : STRANGE

4. Fit to be tied, with "off" : TEED

5. Wiesbaden wheels : AUDIs. Alliteration.

6. Scare : SPOOK

7. Traditional Jewish bread : CHALLAH

8. Assess : LEVY

9. The Phantom of the Opera : ERIK

10. "__ My Shadow": 1927 song : ME AND. Was ignorant of the song.

11. Flattering trickery : SNOW JOB. Great entry.

12. Excitement generators : TURN-ONs.

13. Six-pack __ : ABs. Best abs you'll ever see.

19. Had the desired effect : TOOK

21. Some mutual funds : NO LOADS. What does it mean? I've only heard of no front-load.

22. Soft & __: deodorant : DRI

25. __ Paulo : SAO

27. Jabber : GAB

29. Abandons at sea : MAROONS

30. Plum's title, briefly : PROF. Professor Plum.

33. Postal motto word : NOR. "Neither rain nor snow...".

34. Sweet Sixteen gp. : NCAA

35. __ de mer : MAL

39. Catcher's place? : RYE. "The Catcher in the Rye".

40. Dictionary cousin of arch. : OBS. Obsolete I suppose. Arch = archaic. I don't like this clue.

41. Unsalvageable after an accident : TOTALED

42. Hipster : COOL CAT. I think Jazzbumpa is cool!

44. Cook's announcement : IT'S DONE

45. "Where you book matters" online service : EXPEDIA

46. Barn ritual : RAISING. What barn?

47. "He'll hae misfortunes great an' __": Burns : SMA. Quote freezes me.

49. Adult silkworm : MOTH

53. Some sealed documents : DEEDs

55. Arcade games leader : ATARI

56. Took measured strides : PACED

59. America's Cup competition, say : RACE. Yachting.

60. Poetic saga : EPOS. Like "Paradise Lost". You wanted EPIC too?

61. Drill : TEST

62. Summer in the cité : ETE

64. TV host Pennington et al. : TYs

Answer grid.

C.C.

75 comments:

  1. Good morning, C.C. and gang - fun puzzle, pretty easy for a Thursday, with a very clever theme. I didn't have a clue until the unifier.

    Hopefully, 'Elbows and bow ties' didn't fool anybody this time since we've had it a couple times in the not-so-distant past. I did need perps for 7A, but the perps came easily. Same with 69A, even though we had it a while back. Loved 'Boca', obviously; less enchanted with 'resiny', legit or not. Definitely a fun solve.

    Thanks for the 'welcome backs' the past couple days; I'm still trying to catch up on the blog. Avatar is a picture of the new car. Speaking of avatars, CA, your work is nothing short of amazing. Creature, no luck yet on finding a place; we're still getting familiar with neighborhoods. May up renting down there until we figure out where we want to be. Thanks for asking.

    C.C., it's always a pleasant surprise to see you blogging on an 'off-day'. That's an impressive streak by Al, and he certainly puts a lot of work into each blog. And C.C., basically a no-load fund is one that doesn't impose a sales charge or commission on selling or redeeming, usually because there's no middle man.

    Today is National Bubba Day. I didn't know 'Bubba' was also Yiddish for 'grandmother'.

    Did You Know:?

    - Immigrants arriving at Ellis Island were served ice cream as part of their first American meal. Baffled, many attempted to spread it on their bread.

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  2. Good Morning, C.C. and friends. Good to "see" you again, C.C. I miss your unique take on the puzzle clues and answers.

    This seemed like an easier than usual Thursday puzzle, but I had to go back and review the theme clues to find the ALTERED Spellings of the STATES.

    My favorite clue was Catcher's Place? = RYE.

    The Yiddish pronunciation of Grandmother is actually more of a Bubbee than Bubba. Yiddish was originally written in the Hebrew alphabet, hence there are sometimes variations in the transliteration.

    QOD: Celebrity is a mask that eats into the face. ~ John Updike

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  3. Morning, all!

    Definitely not a speed run for me today, and I guess I found it a lot more challenging than Dennis did. The theme reveal didn't help at all.

    Despite having watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (movie and TV show) back when it was on, I had no idea about CLEM. And, while I knew who Spiro Agnew was, I had no idea what his middle name (or initial, for that matter) was.

    I always have trouble remembering that "piker" means a cheapskate, so 62A took awhile to get. And I can also never remember that Mobuto Seko's middle name is SESE.

    I knew that silk worms turn into silk MOTHs, but I hesitated at putting in just MOTH for 49D. I thought there was a foreign word for silk MOTH that I just didn't know.

    As with C.C., I was surprised to discover that RESINY is a real word. I guess you can add Y to just about any noun and make it a real word, eh? If something resembles a telephone, is it telephoney? If a room has a lot of chairs in it, is it a chairy room?

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  4. Good day folks,

    Much to do today so this will be quick.

    Agreed, easy for a Thursday, but a DNF. 69A was a "had no idea" compounded by having elcheato instead of elcheapo for 62A and I couldn't remember "epos" for 60D.

    Other then that, everything came together quickly. Clever theme, now understood thanks to CC.

    Tornados did a lot of damage in Ma yesterday, from the Springfield area east to Sturbridge. What a spring this has been nationwide.

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  5. Good morning CC and all, this puzzle was a bit of a struggle for me. There were several complete unknowns to me and unfortunately some of them were perps of the others and that left a few blanks. I had no clue about7D challam, 7A Clem, took a guess at the E in Eric, stared at red**wagon for a long time before radio finally appeared in my mind. Resiny was a what the he**; is that really a word?

    I liked elcheapo, id tags and exam. Overall I liked the puzzle and its clever cluing.

    Hope you have a great Thursday.

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  6. C.C., what a pleasure to see you on a Thursday. There were some real curve balls in this one, like CLEM (who paid that much attention)but they were all doable, and I remembered the T in Spiro Agnew's name.

    Having just come from my birth home where a BARN RAISING was still a regular social event, the clue seemed timely. However, the death and destruction in Strurbridge and Southbridge. which were places I was this week end, was awful. My prayers for all who have remained. I am hoping Old Sturbridge Village still stands

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  7. Good morning C.C. and all.

    By my calender, today marks the first anniversary of C.C. as a US citizen. A big snappy salute. Our country has been the richer for having this talent in its midst.

    Never did get the theme, but no matter. Most of the puzzle filled in reasonably well. Did not know the CLEM/ERIK cross, not Agnew's middle initial, but the perps all helped. Other than ÉTÉ and MAL, no foreign words. Oh, also needed perp help with EPOS and DOJOS. CHALLAH was a WAG.

    Have a good day.

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  8. C.C.; Wonderful write-up !!!

    All-in-all a slog.

    Never would have known the ALTERED STATES theme.
    The reveal clue said "literally, what the beginnings of 20-,32-, and 43-Across all are".
    Which I TOOK as 'HAD' 'I' and 'RADIO' ... literally.

    Faves were the barn RAISING and that Adult silkworm being a MOTH.

    Mobuto's middle-name, SESE all perps and a WTF!
    SNOW-JOB got me the BSO and another WTF. If you say-so, to the Tanglewood reference.
    OBS in-and-of-itself was arch. and a third WTF.
    Didn't notice 47-D was SMA (all perps) until the write-up. That would have gotten another WTF.

    Though I do like my Ink Blot TEST.

    Cheers to all at Sunset.

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  9. I initially wanted "sticky" for Like Pine Pitch." The perps corrected me. I wasn't too concerned about the strange word Resiny, though.

    MelissaBee informed us recently that the Post Office doesn't actually have an official motto. "Neither rain nor snow nor ..." is actually the inscription on a post office building in NYC.

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  10. Spitzboov,
    Thanks for remembering the date. Boomer and I always display our beautiful flag when the weather is fine. We're so happy to hear that Betty's review is good.

    Hahtool,
    Re: Your comment to BPK. You have great memory. I remember the time she was here some time ago.

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  11. Good Morning, folks. Thank you Ed for a real good puzzle. Thank you C.C. for the great write-up. Miss you, Al.

    Nice being with you good folks again so soon. I checked in last night for my blog entry about 11:30 PM.

    I enjoyed this puzzle. Seemed a little easy for a Thursday. I will probably eat those words this weekend.

    I was able to get the theme answers easily. But not the theme. Not enough time to think about it. I am familiar with the Good Samaritan story. And, we still have a Radio Flyer in our garage.

    Spiro Agnew could have been Spiros Anagnostopoulos. That was his dad's name.

    Got CHALLAH with perps. DOJOS was easy. My daughter is black belt, se we were there a lot.

    Just used EXPEDIA for a flight to Texas in July.

    To Barry G.: Telephony (without the e) is definitely a word. I was in the field for 36 years. There is a magazine entitled "Telephony." Or at least there was for about 100 years.

    To Creature: I mentioned last night, but it was late, I play the tuba.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  12. Happy Thursday, C.C. et al. Great job of filling in for sleepy Al.

    Most of this one filled easily, but with lots of perp help, but the SE_E/EPO_ cross was a matter of choosing a letter that looked right. I almost settled on 'N' but as I ran on through the alphabet SESE rang a bell from somewhere.

    _LEM/_HALLAH was a little easier to figure out, as both words came to mind as I got to 'C'.

    Spiro's middle name was a total unknown, but a solid perp rescued me there. BSO was all perps.

    Hahtool, I too thought 'Catcher's place/RYE' was great.

    Speaking of PIA Zadora, where's Buckeye???

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  13. Surprisingly easy for a Thursday, which for some reason is usually the toughest day for me. Loved RYE, but felt that ROSE would have been a far better response than STOOD, since every bailiff I've ever heard has said, "All rise...". Also vaguely unhappy with the clue/answer structure for Mrs Peel, but already had the I, so RIGG was a gimme. Had a friend in the 60s who was a dead ringer for Diana Rigg, and who also drove a Lotus Elan. Ah, the good old days.

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  14. Whew. Glad you guys found it all so easy. It was a bit of a slog for me. Stumpers were STA, CHALLAH, CLEM, SESE, OBS, DOJO, BSO. I guess I am just a little uninformed today. Oh well. There were lots of fun fills to like RADIO FLYERS and RYE. Good to see you CC and congrats on your anniversary.

    Dennis, nice wheels.

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  15. I'm with KQ and Tinbeni, it was a slog for me too, and the theme never revealed itself to me either. I also took the unifier to be referring only to the first word of each.

    The rest was largely WAGS and perp help, but I googled SESE and Agnew to get his M.I.

    SAO made me think of Sao biscuits, large crackers I grew up enjoying with Vegemite on them.

    OBS reminds me it's time for another Old Broads luncheon--our group calling ourselves OBs for short. I thought of architecture for arch. Archaic never was on my radar at all.

    I hope none of you were in the path of any tornadoes recently, in Mass. or elsewhere. It looks like we're getting a storm here this morning, so hopefully nothing serious.

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  16. Good Morning C.C. et al.

    Great job this morning, C.C. and I am sure that Lemonade really appreciated getting some extra sleep today.

    11A STA – I don’t like to see initials used for clues, unless they are very common (which this one isn’t). Why not RR stop? Oh, yeah – it’s Thursday…

    I had - - OW JOB at 11D, and then filled TURN ONS at 12D…well, that made my eyes pop!

    thehondohurricane – good to see you today. We had severe damage here in town as well, with many houses totally destroyed, trees and power lines down all over the place, impassable roads.

    Lemonade, we’ll try to get out later on to see what’s going on in town. BTW, next time you are in Southbridge, you should try The Vienna restaurant and historic inn. Fabulous food, and the owners are dear friends of ours. Matter of fact, it was the owner’s wife who introduced me to DH !

    Dudley – you OK down there in CT?

    Hope everyone is safe today !

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  17. Good Morning C.C. and all,

    C.C.super writer-up! Wow!

    Everything that Barry and Tinbeni said, minus the SMA. This left me trembling. OK, maybe just shaking. OK, let's say humbled. OK, ALTERED STATE{S}.

    Jerome, you gotta love it.

    Ed, you really got my attention.
    Looking back, I say "good job" and thanks. I'll be on the lookout for you.

    Dennis, what a beauty!

    Marti,Dudley and any other Mass. folks anxious to have a report. The news is scary.

    CA,we almost named our farm 'Dogwood'. You and pastels are 'as one'; what a talent!

    Have a nice day everyone.

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  18. Hi gang,
    This was better for me than most Thursday offerings and even though there were several answers I had to look up, I enjoyed it.

    31A Hawaiian coffee region...that's not all they grow there ;)

    70A Things on strings... I stared at that clue for the longest time and still did not get it until the perps filled it in, then I got out my V-8 can!! Geez!!

    Barry G: LOL - I agree with you on adding a 'Y' to a noun. RESINY just sounds stupid.

    I have never watched Phantom of the Opera or Buffy the Vampire Slayer so those were left open for a long time.

    I had to read C.C.'s explanation of the theme twice, I never would have figured that one out.

    Dennis: nice ride :)

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  19. C.C.,

    Congratulations! Isn't your citizenship why we were choosing an outfit? But I hadn't joined yet; brag about you to everyone I see.

    Thanks for this wonderful 'Corner of the World'.

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  20. lou went "Blue" just to say:
    "Great abs is right!!"

    lou, great to hear from you.
    You'll fit in with this crowd just fine. lol !!!

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  21. Hi gang -

    C.C. Happy citizen's day, and thanks for he call out. We always fly our flag, too. Just had to get a new one, since the old one was tattered.

    Just had a flash back. In August of '01 when I was in the (now sadly defunct) Dearborn Big Band, we played for a block party, and one of the Residents was a new U.S citizen from Afghanistan. We played the National Anthem for him, without the music - everybody knows it. It was a beautiful moment.

    Slow go today, but almost got it. Couldn't parse EL CHEAPO. Was looking for something actually Spanish. EPOS is brand new to me. EDDA was very hard to part with, as was EMMA

    Figured out the unifier, but other than IDAHO couldn't untangle the States.

    Would 'Like elbows and bow ties' be PASTAY?

    Great ABS shot - throw-back to yesterday

    IMBO, so Cheers!
    JzB who has occasional COOL moments

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  22. Another Anthem flash back. I played one year in the U of T band. Our arch rival was Bowling Green, 25 miles down I-75. We were at their place, and the two bands were on the field arrayed together, alternating, to play the pre-game Anthem.

    We played in F. they played in E flat. I thought the guy next to me playing baritone saxophone was playing wrong notes, so I tried to drown him out. You CANNOT outplay a bari. He was doing the same to me. The whole field was like that. It was all downhill from there.

    Cheers!
    JzB who is not always cool

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  23. Abejo: I used to get Telephony mag for free for years.

    Here's some mor themeage:

    Afternoon delight: SEX AT WORK

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  24. Hello Puzzlers - This seemed kinda easy today, since the few unknowns had solid perp help. The one exception was the EPOS/SESE cross - neither answer was familiar.

    The Springfield area tornadoes - reportedly three in number - did quite a bit of damage. I may travel down there later today for business, so perhaps I'll get a look. There was no damage at all around my home town. As a bonus, we are enjoying a fresh, breezy, fall-like day today.

    Hearti, I suspect you meant to ask after Hondo down in CT, right?

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  25. Goofed a bit there - I see that Hondo was already mentioned in your earlier post. I'm in Southampton.

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  26. Good Morning All, Was I annoyed by some of the fill...CLEM, RESINY, BSO and S.A.'s middle initial? Yes. Could it be that I'm just being a "nattering nabob of negativism"?

    OTOH, there was a lot of good stuff.
    I really liked CHALLAH, EL CHEAPO and EXPEDIA.

    I cosied up to 11D with --OW JOB and had to blink twice....NAW!! I will not back myself into a wall like Grumpy 1 did yesterday :o) SNOW JOB it is!

    I understood right away, after completing 58A, that the first parts of the rest of the theme phrases were anagrams for three different states. I didn't give up and managed to sort them out...Ahhh! Relief.

    I wanted to be "Bubbe" when my grandchildren were born, but somehow I morphed into G-ma, or Gammy, or whatever they think is the most amusing name they can come up with.

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  27. Awwwww Dennis,
    Trouble with 69? Really?

    (Call me)


    Oh yeah, the puzzle was a turn on too.

    O.K. I'll go make better use of my time.

    Thanks for everything folks. It's been real.

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  28. Words uttered after a marathon:
    I'M ACHING all over (michigan)

    Mapquest abbrs.
    AVE AND st (nevada)

    What the lisping lion said to the thorn remover:
    SANKS A million (kansas)

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  29. Hi There ~!

    Good run for a Thursday, liked the theme, and the answers (Florida was a little different, not 5-letters) and I put in RESINY right away - seems OK to me, since in normal conversation, I have been known to add a "Y" to turn a noun into an adjective. Goes along with "More Betterer"....

    Still, had to red-letter the S for EPOS and SESE, WAGed an "N" to start, and the other one was MOTH, which I had NOTH for - hey, a BOON is a good thing, too, right?

    Oh well....

    Had to stop in here for a BSO explanation, too.

    Congrats to C.C. on one year~!

    Splynter

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  30. Things that made me smile,

    "crackers I grew up enjoying with Vegemite". I guess it all depends on what we grow up with, Kazie. From Carol about KONA, "that's not all they grow there". Everything from Jazzbumpa@9:43

    Congratulations to C.C. on your first anniversary. I bet you sing out the National Anthem loud and clear.

    Even Northern California is being plagued by tornadoes. Nothing in our area, but it is very strange weather. I hope our east coasters are safe.

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  31. CA (9:58) LOL at your --OW JOB! I wasn't going there either...we will wait for Lois to wrap herself around that one!

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  32. SNOWJOBS next to TURNONS was really quite appropriate according to the Urban dictionary... Beware! the link is pretty DF. Definition #7 is the one most commonly used.

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  33. Hello, C.C. and everyone! Great of you to pinch hit, C.C. I hope Al is resting well. He deserves it I'm sure.

    Not exactly a speed run today but not a slog either. I managed it with across and down together and nothing to look up. Hand up for ELCHEATO and failed to change it.

    Didn't see the ALTEREDSTATES either so thanks for that, C.C. You are amazing!

    CA:
    You are in good form today! I already had the N in place so that visual wasn't there. LOL

    I knew neither CLEM nor CHALLAH but they emerged as WAGS.

    A good challenge from Ed Sessa.

    Have a lovely Thursday, everyone!

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  34. Crossword curiosity-

    ANAHEIM crosses I MEAN NO HARM.

    Altered city.

    And just for you Dennis-

    OH NAM MARINE

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  35. Good afternoon everyone.

    Great write up C.C. Nice to relieve Al.
    And it's great that Spitz remembered it is a one-year anniversary of your citizenship. Good going.

    And Spitz, great that you had good news about your BH.

    The theme clue did not help me at all in the answers for the long ones. I didn't know another meaning of literally.

    But I did get 23 answers right. Yowza.Put got an A instead of ACED IT.

    Repaired the bed this AM.

    Cheers

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  36. C.A.,
    ...and any others who are curious. here are pix of Sao biscuits and some other Aussie products. They are so bland they needed the Vegemite for flavor.

    C.C.
    Congratulations again on your first year. Like Creature, I am constantly amazed at your intelligence and insight into American culture. You do much better at it than I do, and I'm coming up on eight years of citizenship in November, and a lot more years of living here.

    Glad that so far all are safe, Are there others we've not yet heard from who could be affected?

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  37. Hello all.

    Nice, easy puzzle for a Thur. Had to wait for the theme.
    Love the car! Thought of you when I saw Boca. Paddles?
    Jill used to raise silk worms for her sci project at school. Boys loved them. Girls not so much.
    Had our own tornado in Nor Cal. Mostly farm country up there.
    Bring your skis. Resorts will be open July 4th. New snow this week-end.
    Found a cable for the D60.
    Take care.

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  38. Abejo: Yes, I'm familiar with "telephony" (pronounced tuh-lef-uh-nee). But that's a noun and doesn't mean "containing or pertaining to telephones" the way "telephoney" would if it were actually a word.

    On a semi-related note, during all the storm coverage last night I learned the word "tornadic," which, as an adjective, apparently means tornado-like. I can accept that as a valid word, but I'd have a hard time swallowing "tornadoey."

    Pity the constructor couldn't fit RESINOUS in the grid...

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  39. To Barry: You are correct in the difference of telephoney vs telephony. I just couldn't help myself in commenting. That was my life.

    To Seen: Where did you work?

    Abejo

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  40. Hey - still catching up w/the blog:

    C.C. congratulations on the one-year anniversary. You're truly amazing in how far you've come in such a short period of time.

    Spitzboov, that's outstanding news! That kind of 'hold-your-breath' waiting is grueling, and I'm happy for both of you that it's over.

    mom speaks out, good luck on your moose knuckle hunt. My speedo/thong is padded to avoid that.

    Grumpy, join the club of those of us who've painted ourselves into a corner on here.

    HeartRx, loved your comment on middle-age spread.

    thehondohurricane, best of luck with the knee; when's it scheduled? Also, from yesterday, ever been to a Krispy Kreme?

    Abejo, what field did you work in?

    Welcome back Dennis. You were missed. Any success down there?

    Um.....define 'success'.

    More later.

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  41. eddyB, no, no paddles -- only available on the AMG version, which I couldn't justify, much less afford. This one is all I could ask for: handles like a go-kart and makes big chunks of road disappear quickly.

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  42. Dudley, sorry! Of course I know you are out in northampton and thehondohurricane is in Ct. I'm glad to hear folks came through it OK.

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  43. It seems like I am in my solving partner Kazie’s corner once again today. I never did suss out the theme. Thanks C.C. for the stellar write up. I didn’t know Piker’s nickname – Elcheapo nor did I have a clue where Tanglewood was. I had to get Sese, Challah, and SMA with red letter help. What kind of bread is Challah bread? I still don’t understand “gist”-nub, and is a brittle cookie “snap” referring to ginger snaps? All in all, I should have taken a walk around one of the many lakes around work today. Oh well.

    C.C. I must disagree with your choice of “abs” being the best that you’ll ever see. My choice is much more masculine:)

    Spitzboov, I am delighted to hear your great news.

    To all you east coasters, it sounds like you are all accounted for. I'm relieved.

    Dennis, great car! What did you name him/her?

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  44. Too easy, but cute:

    Arnold Schwarzenegger has a big one
    Micheal j fox has a small one
    Madonna doesn't have one
    the pope has one but he never uses it
    Bill Clinton Has one and he uses it all the time!
    What is it?...

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  45. You got it Dennis. Try this one:

    What letter also belongs in this sequence of letters:

    B C D E I K O X?

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  46. Purty much ditto what everyone else has said on the puzzle. Really had to wag on the S at Epos and Sese, but otherwise found it interesting and fun. Catchers place? was by far the best clue.

    Abejo, here's a song for you by Martin Mull that I always found hilarious.

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  47. Comeon Dennis, give some of lesser minds a chance....

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  48. Puzzled, I thought she was directing the question to me. Sorry.

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  49. Both H and S work, but no one has said why.

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  50. Phew, that's all the trips to the big city for me this week. Four times is enough. This time was to see our bank guy (his real title is "Vice President - Wealth Management", which is really a laugh in our case!). Anyway, he told us to keep what we have and don't spend too much. Hard to argue with that advice...and they pay him for that.

    Grumpy 1@10:59...#7..really? Are you sure you want to tell us that much about your personal life? :o)

    Kazie, here is my first encounter with Vegemite.

    Avg Joe, I've been fond of Martin Mull ever since his "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman" and "Fernwood Tonight" days.

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  51. Happy one year, C.C., very impressive how time flies. Martie, sorry your town was damaged, but I will seek out the Vienna next time I am in the area; be happy to buy you and yours a meal. Timing is everything, as I almost stayed a few more days, and would have been in Sturbridge and Southbridge on one of them.

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  52. I did not get a new car, but I did want to show off my latest Lab Work; see avatar.

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  53. What a wonderful Anniversary, C.C.! Thanks for celebrating by providing today's puzzle commentary.

    Nice dogs, Lemon!

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  54. HOla Everyone, I didn't have a clue how all the theme answers went together, even after I had the unifier in. Anagrams are not my forte.

    C.C., It has been great seeing you do the blog. Hopefully Al will be able to catch up with a few days off.

    I had to look up Spiro Agnew's middle name. Even my two crossword dictionaries did not give a middle name or initial for him.

    BSO did not come readily. I didn't know that the Boston Symphony played at Tanglewood.

    Hands up for RAID being the only repellent I could think of.

    My other lookup for today was Mobutu SESO Seko's middle name.

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  55. Happy One year anniversary, C.C.

    Lemonade, those look like some great lab puppies. Our family's favorite dog!

    My daughter had to put down their 14 year old lab and then waited for her sister's lab to have her pups. They now have a new puppy named Wilson.

    Great looking car, Dennis.

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  56. C.A.,
    That is more a quizzical look than one of disgust--you may eventually acquire a taste for it if exposed to it more often. LOL!

    Lemonade,
    Those pups will be a load of fun. They look adorable.

    Jeannie,
    I have absolutely no idea about sequence things like that. To me, the first four are sequential but after that it's a WTF!

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  57. Hi everyone!
    I had a whole blog writen and then it disappeared. Oh well.

    I enjoyed this puzzle, more so than Tues. and Wed. "Me and My Shadow" was still popular in the
    30's and 40's when I was young so it is a good memory.

    The Amish still do barn raisings especially if there has been a disaster.

    Several years ago we were in Jamaica on a mission. One evening we were visiting with the director of the childrens home where we were working. We all discussed a variety of things about Jamaica and the U.S. He sang their national anthem for us and then asked us all to sing ours. We all stopped after the first verse (thats all we knew). But he kept singing until he'd sung all 4 verses. We were amazed and somewhat embarased that we did't know it and he did. Ha!

    We first saw 'Phantom' in New York. We were in the front row and when the chandalier came out over the audience I thought sure it was going to hit us in the head. Wow!

    Have a good evening.
    Marge

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  58. Ps!
    Your write up was great CC. You always do such a good job. You and Kazie probably know more about our country than we who were born here.Although History was one of my favorite subjects.

    Marge again.

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  59. Jeannie, I was wrong. A Google search gives:

    The answer is "H" because all of the letters when flipped vertically are still the same.

    Thanks for all your good wishes and encouragement. Even when a procedure to treat an occurrence of the big C is "successful", it is still necessary to submit to vigorous, robust and recurring medical review for the rest of your life. Just have to be cheerful and hope that the good news may continue to come. My sympathies to all who have had to deal with this.

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  60. C.C., I can't believe it has been a year already. Happy first "birthday"!!

    Spitzboov, cheerfulness is one of the best anti-cancer drugs around. And you seem to have a medicine cabinet full of it - keep on trucking!

    Lemon- I'll take you up on that one, but I doubt if my friends would let either one of us pay! Give me a holler next time you're in town. As for your avatar: CUTE!! (And the puppies seem nice enough, too!)

    Dennis - nice ride!

    The destruction around here is just mind-boggling. I can't imagine how the people in Joplin are coping with even greater devastation than this. Mother nature sure doesn't mess around when her mind is set on a path...

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  61. Hello C.C. and all,

    Well, my comments disappeared and for some reason, my password is not being accepted. Anyway, I'm still around and liked this puzzle. Easy for a Thursday, but I had several hangups. No time to write more. dd

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  62. Just catching up from the AM. We got heavy T-storms last night, but nothing out of the ordinary. Didn't mean to imply I was from Ma but, I am a Nutmegger.

    I do have many friends in the Springfield area though. So far, all were out of harms way, but a couple were close to the storm track.

    My biggest worry is Wilbraham. I'm a graduate of Wilbraham Academy and haven't been able to find out if they are OK .

    I'm really pooped...... good night all

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  63. Abejo,

    Thanks for your reply. Its nice to have another musician at the corner; and a tuba, no less.

    Was Telephony your life? Of course, you've piqued my interest. Would you be comfortable telling more?

    Hondo,

    Be sure to get rest before your surgery. My FIL had hip replacement surgery at 87 and it changed his life. He wished he'd done it yrs. before.I've heard nothing but good about knee surgery, also.

    Dodo,

    You are going through what I did about a week or so ago.

    Now, it always shows my name and treats me like a queen.

    I hate it when I lose my posts. I do try to copy them, in case.

    I think this is goodnight.

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  64. This afternoon was the first for our local farmers' market. I bought some great baby beets, apricots, zucchini and a lovely loaf of fresh CHALLAH.

    Jeannie, Challah is an rich egg bread somewhat similar to french brioche. If it gets a little stale, so what..it makes the best french toast ever.

    Yeah Kazie, "quizzical", that's the word for Vegemite and me. I would try it again!

    Lemonade, beautiful pups. What are their names?

    Spitzboov, Big Smile to both you and BH!

    Dennis, very nice car...enjoy!

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  65. Good evening C.C. and all,

    I would have never figured out the theme without your help, C.C., but the puzzle seemed much easier for a Thursday.I did discover that I had tank for lamp. Didn't notice that "no toads" made no sense.

    As usual, the perps got me through and filled clem, sta, dojos, bso, sese, sma, epos, and el cheapo--loved that!

    Interesting being a sub the last 3 days of school.Gotta keep 'em busy.

    CA, beautiful painting! Your work improves with each project.

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  66. Oh C.C., I almost forgot...isn't this the one year celebration of your citizenship????We're so proud.

    Now I will read the blog. Somebody probably already knew that.

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  67. Great job C.C., thanks for your continued blogging.
    This one was a bit of a bunny slope for me, but after getting the the longest ones the others fell into place. No, I didn't get the theme, but I never do. No matter; the words are just words to me and for the most part they stand alone.
    D-Con was a gimme for me. My husband's family owned Conwood which made D-Con as well as snuff and get this, Jiffypop! The name "Conwood" is a combination of the two founders' names; Condon and Harwood.
    Lemon, those pups are adorable!
    Smooth ride, Dennis. A hard top? A friend has one and really loves it. My Dad was a car lover too, although we only drove GMC brands. Caddies were his favorite. I learned to drive in a yellow Eldorado.
    In light of all the storms remember what George Carlin said, " Electricity is just organized lightning".
    Good night all!

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  68. Lemonade:
    What cute puppies!

    Spitzboov:
    Good luck and yes, laughter is the best medicine.

    C.C.:
    I hope you celebrated today. You are a real asset to this country!

    Good night, everyone!

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  69. Avg Joe, great Martin Mull link; thanks for reminding me how funny he was/is.

    Mom speaks out, yes, retractable hardtop; even works remotely, which is kinda cool. I'm very, very lucky.

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  70. Alas the puppies are not mine, just playing with them as they await their new homes. The breeder does not name them, as she could not let them go if they had names.

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