google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, July 16, 2011 Tom Heilman

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Jul 16, 2011

Saturday, July 16, 2011 Tom Heilman

UGH ~!

Sorry, but this offering today had some real cringers in it. First time I have blogged Tom Heilman; the last Saturday from Tom was May 2010, and the results seemed to be on par with this puzzle....

Splynter here, on a DNF Saturday -

Words: 66

Blocks: 27

ACROSS :

1. Public mockery : PASQUINADE - tough start; had I not had the "U" in both the A. and D. clues, the Q would not have been a choice

11. Opening movement of Holst's "The Planets" : MARS - a WAG, but it IS "The Planets"

15. Cleans up : EXPURGATES - Sounds more like making the mess....

16. First Dominican-born Major League Baseball manager : ALOU - a classic CW WAG here

17. Everglades denizens : ALLIGATORS - got it

18. Hoot? : DAMN - I don't give a "hoot" about....

19. Occupation : TRADE

20. "Lady, shall __ in your lap?": Hamlet : I LIE

21. They may be geological : ERAS

22. Direct : BOSS - the verbs, here

23. A plan may be put on it : HOLD

24. Artist son of Andrew Wyeth : JAMIE - Nope, don't know these people; here's some of the art

25. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH

26. Pregnant pause, perhaps : TENSE MOMENT - good clue/answer

28. Surface phenomena affected by magma : GEYSERS - got it - more here

30. Judges : DECIDES

31. Complex design : WEB

32. Fatal opening? : NON - Like in NON-fatal injury...?

33. Statement of equality : ITS A TIE - yeah, but meh

37. Coastal freeze : FAST ICE - I knew it was some sort of __ ice

41. Established favorable conditions (for) : SET THE STAGE - good one I did NOT get

43. Pita look-alike : NAN - nailed it, but a three-letter answer on Sat. doesn't help much....

44. Narrow ridge : ARETE - here

45. Faithful : TRUE

46. Crack agent? : NARC - Crack, the rock cocaine, and the DEA man who busts you for it

47. "Okay then" : I SEE

48. Scented souvenirs : LEIS

49. Chemical prefix? : PETRO - I REFUSED to put this in, even though I had it, since there was NO WAY it could cross with PETR-....and it did....

50. Poet Walter __ Mare : DE LA - Nope, don't know this guy

51. Independent way to live : OFF THE GRID - I guess, but I wouldn't necessarily describe it as independent; more like low key, or on the "lam"

53. Barely better than none? : SLIM when your choices are "slim and none"

54. Railing with molded supports : BALUSTRADE - you know I HAD to get this one; I might have a huge balustrade to build next month

55. Court cry: Var. : OYEs - a variation on OLEs ????

56. Private : ONE-STRIPER - ARGH~! Got me, never thought of the military

DOWN:

1. Moor feature : PEAT BOG - wasn't he the lead singer of some rock group?

2. Frontman on the 1987 debut album "Appetite for Destruction" : AXL ROSE - Guns N Roses; got him, knew him, thought I might have a chance; he's the one in the middle - the guy with the cigarette is my second favorite guitarist, Slash.

3. Flamboyant : SPLASHY - Axl was splashy, not Slash-y

4. Plugs of tobacco : QUIDS - my parents are both British; to me a "quid" is slang for a buck, a pound, a dollar, and not used in the plural

5. Seriously suggest : URGE

6. Supermarket chain with Chicago H.Q. : IGA - quick, name a three-letter food store....there's one WAY out east here on Lon Guyland

7. United __ : NATIONS - see the last clue/answer, 52D.

8. Components of the Maldives : ATOLLS - had islets to start

9. Scoffed at : DERIDED

10. __ est percipi: to be is to be perceived : ESSE - Four years of Latin told me "to be" is ESSE

11. Raked it in : MADE A MINT - had MADE MONEY to start; not a bad WAG

12. Protected, in a way : ALARMED - as in your home, with the "Slomin's shield" or ADT

13. Arugula alternative : ROMAINE

14. Down times? : SUNSETS - good clue/ans. and visual

23. Beetle of note : HERBIE - OH ~! The Volkswagen ~! VERY good ~!

24. Playful : JOCOSE - Bzzz - Denied; didn't get it

26. Use a ring, maybe : TEETHE - had TIE OFF (like drapes) at first; the T_E helped

27. Household : MENAGE - Let's get DF here, and lighten this one up ~!

29. Elite tactical units : SWAT TEAMS - nailed it; today it was YES or NO - I either got it, or I didn't, and had no hope, to boot

33. Discussion-ending words : I SAID SO - I had "THAT'S IT" and couldn't shake it

34. In a word : TERSELY - got it, but spelled it TERSLEY

35. Pinball ball, perhaps : STEELIE - I love pinball, like the "Black Knight" and the Addam's Family", but did not know this term until I started writing today

36. Grammy winner for the 1993 album "Mi Tierra" : ESTEFAN - I thought PUENTE (Tito), but spelled it wrong anyway

37. Thomas Mann's "Doktor __" : FAUSTUS - Um, nope

38. Caught : IN A TRAP - yeah, I guess

39. Four-wheel drive? : CAR RIDE - Really~?!?!?

40. Spy, at times : ENCODER

42. Gimcrack : TRIFLE

46. Pola of the silents : NEGRI - image

48. Western howler : LOBO

49. Stone: Pref. : PETR - not gonna say it again....

52. President when the U.N. was created : HST - I wanted Woodrow Wilson, but he was denied his "League of Nations".

Answer grid.

Oh well, at least I move into my new apartment this weekend - I am off to lick my NON FATAL mental wounds....thanks for listening to me gripe

Splynter

Note from C.C.:

Here are a few wonderful pictures from another blog regular (and his brothers). Easy to tell who he is, yes? I love the first one.

64 comments:

Argyle said...

Good Morning.

I agree with you about today's offering.

55. Court cry: Var. : OYEs - a variation on OLEs ????

Nope, a variation of OYEZ.

Denny said...

Pasquinade? Quids? Completed everything but the Q at the intersection of those two. Never heard of either; looked up every term related to tobacco on various sites and never saw QUID.

Otherwise, doable, but massive amounts of Googling required.

As for OFF THE GRID, aside from meaning hidden or keeping a low profile, today it can mean getting your electricity from your own power sources -- solar, wind, etc. -- so that you don't need to be connected to the electrical grid. This would indeed be an "Independent way to live."

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

Splynter,
Hope the move is smooth. Thanks for the great work in the past few weeks while not having your own apartment.

Bill G,
I enjoy the fun of hunting for a nice set of theme answers. No themeless for me. But I know it's challenging to keep the grid wide open with lively phases.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

This was a complete and unmitigated disaster for me. I finally turned on the red-letter help and resorted to trying random letters until they turned black. PASQUINADE? Never heard of it. Ditto for FASTICE and MENAGE (so nice of those to cross, btw). A tobacco plug is a QUID and not a CHAW? PETRO crossing PETR? Walter DELA Mare? BALUSTRADE? EXPURGATES? JOCOSE? OSH? AXL ROSE (OK, so I know who he is, but I'm not a fan of the genre and never heard of "Appetite for Destruction.")

On a lighter note, I initially had SNEERED instead of DERIDED at 9D, which gave me I_EE at 20A. I started at that for quite awhile wondering Shakespeare could have possibly written "Lady, shall I PEE in your lap?"

Anonymous said...

Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses is a combination of 2 other bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. They were formed in 1985.

The band's 1987 major label Appetite for Destruction, has sold in excess of 28 million copies worldwide and reached No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 and is also the highest selling debut album of all time in the US. In addition, the album charted three Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

other observations....

I wanted iceberg for 13 down and 23 down I wanted George as I was thinking of the British musical group not a Walt Disney movie about a Volkswagen.

Fun Facts By Dave Letterman

In 1976, the KY derby was won by 2 frat guys in a horse costume.

After declaring bankruptcy in 1990, Donald Trump spent 3 years living in his car.

Enjoy your Saturday.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Splynter, C.C. et al.

I really wish you’d tell us what you thought of this puzzle, Splynter? LOL!! Thanks for all the great links. The SUNSET was absolutely beautiful.

I needed every perp to get PASQUINADE, but I am certainly going to store that one in my back pocket.

Had “pack” ICE instead of FAST ICE and JOCund instead of JOCOSE.

Loved ONE STRIPER for “Private” and HERBIE for “Beetle of note”. Great clues/answers.

Believe it or not, I remembered that “MENAGE” means “household” from the term “ménage a trois”. Although many people think of it in terms of the sexual act between three people, it originally was the term for a household shared by three people having sexual relations. BUT, it also happens to be one of my favorite wines!

Have a great day everyone!

Splynter said...

Hi There~!

Gee, I thought I expressed myself pretty well....

BarryG, I PEE is just outright funny.

HeartRx, that pic is one I took on the south shore here, in the Hamptons, a little over 2 years ago.

The OYEZ have it, Santa~!

Splynter

Avg Joe said...

Yep, this was Ugh----Lee!

DNF, HTG, had to outright cheat by coming here and cherry picking a few answers. There were a few clever clues/answers that had redeeming value, but not enough to not feel it was a massive waste of time.

Yellowrocks said...

I enjoyed the puzzle but DNF. The NW did me in. I have seen QUID used this way, but didn't recall it. I never thought of EXPURGATE, clean up in the sense of removing the DF parts. I was into either washing up or making money. PASQUINADE is a new word for me. We can always learn something here.

I am just coming off of 7 weeks of being sidelined by a bone spur and bursitis with no gym, no long walks, no long drives, no tent camping, and no dancing. As Prez. I attended the dances each week and collected yellow rocks, but it was difficult to just sit and watch. I am almost better but it was a real pain in the *. (asterisk = knee.) If it had been the hip bone, it literally would have been a pain in the *. lol

The local library and this blog kept me entertained and mostly sane. A big yellow rock to all of you.

Argyle said...

I remember Mom calling our home a menagerie on more than one occasion.

Father Mulcahy is said to have used the term jocularity upon occasion.

Anonymous said...

Why in the world would a newspaper/columnist run a puzzle that can be solved by less than a 1000 person(s) in the entire US ? Over 95% of the xword aficionados would just give up and ignore it.

It would make more sense to have a first page headline article on the necessity for pseudo-virginal frontal lobotomies, practiced on feminist dwarfs, by pre-renaissance Etruscans.

Argyle said...

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a crossword for?"

Lemonade714 said...

Happy Saturday all; I am beginning to think legal training is the key to doing puzzles, as this was a reasonable Saturday for me. EXPURGATE for example means to take the offensive parts out of a document, which was used all the time back in the days of censoring Lady Chatterly’s Lover and similar books. We call it redacting. JOCOSE is from the latin JOCUS, where we get out word JOKE. Then we have QUID and OYEZ which as a lawyer, if you here now it, means you hit the big time, as they say it three times to open the Supreme Court. It comes from the days of LAW FRENCH when even the English Courts used French as the official language.
Saturdays are meant to be hard and to learn stuff, with two ff’s. Lots of new stuff and interesting clues. PASQUINADE is weird enough I should remember it. Enjoy all.

Lemonade714 said...

PS, from last night, JD, my oldest is 24 and married, the younger is 22 and a rock musician, brewer and social butterfly. He is playing a show at the Tap Room Friday the 22nd, come on down.

Husker Gary said...

Hi troops, yesterday I played 36 holes in stifling heat and humidity and waded through Medicare stuff from Transamerica, Aetna, BC/BS, Humana, American Family, AARP, United Health, ad nauseum and that looks fun compared to this. I got it with red letter help and no look ups but OMG! I’ll take it as somewhat of a learning experience but…

Musings
-I am watching the pros struggle in a VERY windy, rainy, cold British Open as I write this and empathize with them!
-Splynter and Marti, you caught my assessment of the puzzle exactly!
-Daughter loves Andrew Wyeth and so Wyeth is grandson’s middle name
-_EAT_ _ _ is not heather on that bog
-TEETHING children – brings back painful memories
-NASA had steely-eyed missile men (not Steelie)
-Ya gotta love the irony of groups like Guns and Roses who MAKE A MINT while denigrating the values of people who actually make the money to buy their artistic offerings. Maybe they should just have gone OFF THE GRID. What a country!

HeartRx said...

Argyle, I forgot to mention yesterday how delightful that photo was for me to see. My brother also had four sisters to deal with. But, we always thought he had it made, as he always got his own clothes, room, and bike - the four girls always had to share or get hand-me-downs!

C.C., is today's photo of Dennis?

Barry G., I almost PEE'd my pants laughing when I read your Shakespeare comment!

Splynter - you have a great eye for photography!

sherry said...

What a crock! Not doable.

Anonymous said...

Once again, what does DF stand for? Can it be put in print?

Dudley said...

Helllo Puzzlers - Let's start with this: what Barry said. Only maybe a little less disaster, just vexation.

This puzzle had to be settled like America - from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with skirmishes all along the way. PACK ICE clogged the Chesapeake for ages. I sent the SEAL TEAMS into the Rockies. Was surprised to learn of ATOLLS in the Dakotas. It took a long time to SET THE STAGE for the transcontinental railroad. And don't get me started on PASQUINADE!

:-)

Anonymous said...

Newsday's Saturday Stumper offering is more fun to solve than this.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, Let me start off with 50A) Poet Walter DE LA Mare's tribute to Tom Heilman's Saturday puzzle....at least it seems that way to me.

All But Blind

All but blind
In his chambered hole,
Gropes for worms
The four-clawed mole.

All but blind
In the burning day,
The barn owl
Blunders on her way.

And blind as are
These three to me,
So blind to someone
I must be.

Yellowrocks said...

Contrary to most of you I greatly enjoyed this puzzle, despite going down a few blind alleys, having to grind out some of the answers and even missing a few of them. It was a worthwhile challenge and learning experience. Puzzles should be somewhat puzzling.

To Anon at 8:11, as you can see from this blog, many of us do not avoid difficult puzzles, even if we DNF. Anons, that means DID NOT FINISH.

To Anon at 9:34, look up DF online in the Urban Dictionary. DF refers, in a sense, to risque or impolite phrases and/or images, the kind that get expurgated by some censors. My acquaintance with EXPURGATED is in books advertised as UNEXPURGATED TEXT, all the "juicy" parts were left in.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning. Thanks for the interesting write-up, Splynter, under difficult conditions.

A toughie for me, too. Too many multi-word phrase fills, but I guess that comes with a themeless cw. FAST ICE was a gimme for me from a time when I was an ice engineer in another life. "fast' as in 'held fast'. Basically shore or bay ice held motionless by the shore or very shallow bottom. PASQUINADE is the new word of the day. The geography wasn't so hot, either. OSH? How about Oshkosh instead? Some great longer fills: OFF THE GRID (Windhover?), EXPURGATES, and SWAT TEAMS. ALOU was a WAG.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

ltl said...

Regarding 'perps', 'DF', etc., see C.C.'s "notes to solvers" on the first page of the blog.

Clear Ayes said...

Thanks Splynter for your hard work today.

I liked Dudley's analogy to U.S. geography. The East Coast, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico were my downfall.

FAST ICE (thanks for the explanation, Spitzboov), PETRO, CAR RIDE, PETR were a complete mess, which probably started with my 51A)OFF THE LAND, instead of OFF THE GRID. Either way, that one was a shout-out to Windhover. It's been a while since he's stopped by the blog. I hope it isn't getting too tame for him.

It was interesting that RSD wanted ICEBERG (lettuce) at 13D and others (including me) wanted ICE BERG at 37A. I have been told that iceberg lettuce has no nutritional value, but according to Live Strong iceberg is good, but darker green ROMAINE is better.

Yellowrocks, I hope you are feeling much better and ready to Do-si-do.

windhover said...

HeartRx:
What I told some folks when we took a couple bottles of red Menage to a dinner:
Yeah, it's great, and the wine ain't bad either.

Anon:
DF, as has been said here ad infinitum, means "dysfunctional", and the above is a mild example.

Grumpy 1 said...

Ouch! This one sure kicked me from pillar to post and back again. Public mockery? 'Laughing at'. Cleans up? 'Takes a bath'. Everglades denizens? Alligators is way too obvious for a Saturday. It has to be 'wood storks'. Hmmm, what's with those weird letter combinations emerging in the downs?

OK, let's start over. Go through and put in the obvious/most likely and work the perps. Slooowly, a few areas started to fill until I was finally left with that 'Q' and the 'J'. Like Splynter, I saw the two 'U's' and guessed the 'Q'. JAMIE seemed to be the only name I could make so 'J' it is.

Barry, you definitely get the prize for 'Laugh of the day' post.

Marti, about halfway between the constructor's back pockets would be the appropriate place for PASQUINADE.

Very tough, but doable with a few Wags.

Bill G. said...

I feel bad often whinging about Saturday themeless puzzles. I finished this one with red-letter help but it wasn't much fun. I guess more others than usual had a similar reaction.

Since SUNSETS showed up in the puzzle and several people commented, here's my sunset photo taken a couple of years ago. I could see some pretty clouds in the west and I drove down to the pier just before sunset.

kazie said...

Too many problems to note today, and way too long spent googling to solve them. My first ans easiest fills were ESSE and FAUSTUS. Seems I know those languages better than my own lately. I have heard of Walter de la Mare, but it was buried too deeply to emerge without help.

Definite Saturday level, and I agree with the UGH!

JD said...

Good morning Splynter, C.C. et al,

Way too many seldom used words, and a few that I had not heard of (jocose,pasquinade, fast ice).I cheated all the way through,as alligators, Alou and IGA weren't much of a start! Enjoyed Splynter's blogging.Didn't realize that there were so many geysers.

Loved the clue-scented souvenirs
Didn't like fatal opening?
I was off in la la land thinking of a music man to go with "beetle of note"...great clue.

Barry....hoot! hoot!

Ca, great poem for the day!

Lemonade, a big thanks for the invite, but I'd rather go the extra mile and dig up rocks in Italy. Hmmmm, a nice dark cold brew does sound tempting.

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.

Splynter, great write up, and I surely agree that it's a DNF. But if you DNF, how did it get done?

I put in 11 answers and got nine of them right. I missed OYES by putting in oyez, and missed HST by putting in DDE. But the rest were way over my head. Gave up quickly.

Barry G., that was truly funny. I put I SIT in your lap. Not nearly as clever.

Cheers

JD said...

oops...I think those darling pictures are of Lemonade.

GarlicGal said...

Definitely a challenge! Great poem CA. Splynter, I feel your pain.

Today's biggest problem will be to use "pasquinade" in sentences 10 times throughout the day...lol

Off to see "The Wiz" today - I'm sure it will be very entertaining. How could it not be...a bunch of young kids trying to sing like Diana Ross and Michael Jackson!

Gotta get on down the road.

Later folks.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Wow, this was very very hard. I never did get PASQUINADE, nor would I ever have. Wanted HEATHER for Moor feature and CHAWS for tobacco plugs. That ruined me for the NW corner and even made me erase and re-enter ALLIGATOR three times.

Wanted LITH for 49D and grimaced when I was forced against my will to enter PETR.

I had to look up everything that could be looked up, such as Walter Mare's middle, um, name and Pola's other (last, first?) name, etc.

The only entries I knew for sure were NAN, I LIE, and MARS, all short entries which, as Splynter said, don't help much on a Saturday.

I have to give Mr. Hellman a lot of credit and admiration for a fine construction.

Jayce said...

HeartRx, oh wow, we love Menage a Trois wine too! It didn't help in getting 27D, though.

Oh, and one other entry I knew right off the bat (not counting ALLIGATOR which self-doubt caused me to erase three times) was BALUSTRADE.

Wanting JOVIAL for Playful made me want to put DIVIDES instead of DECIDES, even though it didn't really make sense, which also contributed to failing to get MENAGE.

Man oh man oh man.

Oh well, another mug 'o' coffee and another slab 'o' bacon and I'll be fine. LOL

Zcarguy said...

Hello All,
Just got back from an overseas trip to be with my ailing sister, only to start off with a devilish and very demanding
Saturday c/w
So jet lag was my excuse for the slowww going but as I went on I realized it's just a tough one and cheating was the only solution.
And cheating I did ... Lots of it.. Heck If I was in my brightest frame of mind I still wouldn't have been able to finish this , but I learned that a tough c/w is a good learning experience, the biggest challenge is to remembering all that I learned .

Barry G ,, LMAO as I visualize Shakespeer and the Lady.

Have a good weekend all.

Clear Ayes said...

In spite of the pain, I have to admire Tom Heilman's efforts.

Still giggling about Barry G's
Hamlet quote. DF-ity is still alive and well.

Love those Folie à Deux wines, tasty and resonably priced. I got turned on (by?) them several years ago. I recently tried, and enjoyed, their light and fruity Ménage à Trois Rosé. I have a couple of bottles of the California White waiting to be enjoyed....how about this evening? ...I may not be back today.... :o)

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

Amazingly I was able to do most of this puzzle myself. But that NW corner ... WOW! Had to give in to Google for PASQUINADE and OSH and those helped fill in QUIDS and EXPURGATES. FAST ICE and JOCOSE also were unknowns. Quite the 'Saturday' words, I guess! So I did finish, but it took a LONG time.

~~ I had ALERTED before ALARMED, SET THE SCENE before SET THE STAGE and MADE MONEY before MADE A MINT.

~~ Really liked 'Used a ring' ... TEETHE and 'Private' ... ONE STRIPER.

~~ Barry ... I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought of the 'Lady's lap getting wet. LOL

~~ Argyle ... I do remember Father Mulcahy and his "jocularity!" Such a fun show ~~

~~ Splynter, you did a fantastic job on the write-up of this one ... you're brave to take on the Saturday toughies!

I'm still enjoying my time at Misquamicut Beach ... more in the cottage than on the beach ...so hot! It's peaceful here ~~ lots of time for puzzles and reading.

Enjoy the summer day and evening ~~~

Yellowrocks said...

CA
Thanks for the kind thoughts. I was on my feet for an hour today without a major melt-down,as compared to only 20 min previously. I'm down to 2 pain pills a day in place of 8. I'm still not dancing, but much more comfortable. This is why I said before, "I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet." You and others have a harder row to hoe. Your example is heartening. My hopes and prayers are with you.
I think what this puzzle today needed was tremendous patience. When it seemed impossible I plugged away without look ups until the light dawned, which was its own wonderful reward. My only look up was Axl Rose. I missed Pasquinade. No big deal. I am kicking myself for missing QUID as tobacco and EXPURGATE, both familiar. It's kind of like toiling away on a rugged hike and hoping the end is near, only to look back on it upon completion as a satisfying experience.

Unknown said...

Pasquinade? Really? Who knew? Not me.
This puzzle was an excellent reason to sit rooted o my chair this morning and afternoon. Whew!
The Brazilian hurricaine left about lunch time, so I began the puzzling task. After a few of the same goof-ups already noted by others, I managed to limp to the finish.
Thank-you, Splynter. I feel your pain!
The bubbly is on ice and dinner reservations made for our 40th anniversary date tonight. I might even look at our wedding pictures just to remember when we were young (and boy were we!). Time to nap before the big night!
Have a lovely weekend everyone! xoxoxo!

HeartRx said...

Windhover @10:58, LOL - I'll have to use that one next time I bring a bottle to my friends!

Grumpy1, at the risk of getting an uncomfortable wedgie, I guess I'll toss PASQUINADE out the window (for now).

Bill G., I envy your views. Your descriptions of daily bike rides and lovely leisurely lunches paint a beautiful picture in my head. But the photo is worth 1,000 words! I wish I could download both yours and Splynter's for my desktop pics! But they get fuzzy when I use them full size.

Clear Ayes, aren't you a little young to be drinking? Great avatar!!

Yellowrocks said...

Mom Speaks Out
Happy Anniversary

Dudley said...

Decided to adopt Hearti's photo of me for my avatar, since I never liked my high school portrait. Thx, Marti!

Bill G. said...

For the few of you who might be interested (snarky anons, read no further), we went out for lunch today at the same restaurant we had enjoyed for dinner a couple of nights back (pork tenderloin, green beans and butternut squash). For lunch, I had a mixed green salad, gazpacho and a crab melt sandwich. We split a lemon souffle with a creme topping for dessert. Everything was great! That's quickly becoming a favorite restaurant.

MomSO, congratulations on your anniversary! HeartRx, if you want, send me an e-mail; I'll reply and attach the photo and another favorite full size.

It's a beautiful, sunny and cool afternoon. I tend to avoid the bike path on weekend afternoons like this 'cause it's full of people who don't know it's a bike path but think it's a sidewalk. They're wandering back and forth with their kids and dogs without looking. It's an accident in the making and I don't want to be part of it. I'll just watch a little TV until it's time for a macchiato.

creature said...

Mon Dieu CC, Splynter and all,

I worked for hours and finally decided on 2D, AXELROSE to look up. This finished my impregnable NW.

{ Jayce, loved ‘erase and enter ALLIGATOR 3 times ‘; I know that feeling}. Finally, I had worked the ‘devil’ puzzle!

I see ‘ugh’ at first glance from Splynter and I realize he’s as grossed out over the tobacco comment as I am. It always makes me gag!

NO he’s saying this was hard! Damn right it was hard! But I had no idea . Let’s take 41A, for instance; what ?its not ‘settle stand’, {whatever the H that means} it’s SET THE STAGE. So I missed TEETHE and had to give on my adorable word: teetle, which I thought sounded like a great little ring. What! ‘menane’ doesn’t mean household? And ‘Jocond’ is not correct? And ‘salt ice’ doesn’t really freeze? ‘And ‘Saustus’ isn’t really a Doktor?

But what about all those really hard ones I got? Oh Hush! Put white out on the shopping list..

Lemon, I’m thinking it is you and your bros. What are their names and all about them. ?

Have a nice evening everyone.

creature said...

MOMSO,

Happy anniversary!

BillG, I've become accustomed to your splendid meals. Glad we keep on having the Lemon Souffle. Thanks.

Lucina said...

Good afternoon, Splynter and all cyber buddies.

Yowza! What a Saturday puzzle! First off, I knew some names would have to be googled, so let's start with that: JAMIE Wyeth, FAUSTUS, and AXLROSE. I nailed ESTEFAN, DELAMARE, NEGRI and ALOU (only because of crosswords).

And to quote myself a few days ago, some fill is too hard to discard. SWATTEAMS not NAVYSEALS, ISAIDSO not DECIDED.

The South filled in first, then the NE but in between I was having my hair dyed so it was an all day effort.

Having seen dozens of GEYSERS only last week you'd think it would have popped out, but no, it took some time.

This was supremely difficult but that is why I love xwds! And paper and pencil make it a great challenge.

Heart and WH, I love the menage e trois interlude.

Will there be a PASAQUINADE as a result?

Happy Anniversary, MOM!

I hope your Saturday has been delightful!

Lucina said...

Bill G:
I also look forward to your descriptions of your favorite meals and eateries. Can't wait to return to San Diego!

Yellowrocks said...

Tonight as I removed the SILK from the JERSEY corn I thought of you. Have you every had Pennsylvania Dutch (German) corn fritters? They are nothing like deep fried doughy apple fritters. They are 99%grated fresh corn. I have a 4th generation. more than 100 year old, hand made grater. Your grate the corn, mix it with an egg, salt and pepper, and a little flour, and fry it in patties. My mom and grandmoms made these. I was amazed when my mother-in-law, not Pennsylvania Dutch, also made them. They are so delicous, with a pure, fresh straight from the fields corn flavor.

Lemonade714 said...

MOMSO, happy anniversary and I hope in another 40 years you have it figured out.

Yes, the first picture is me at Misquamicut Beach just before my third birthday; (hey LaLa) the second l to r, is my brother Barry (the one who died two years ago) with whom I went through school, at Commencement Day from second grade; Barry and I also went through law school in Gainesville; the third is Barry and I getting ready for our trains and my oldest brother, David, looking bored. David has published some books, taught karate, and become a medical researcher. I am the youngest. No beard until I was 26.

I hope you all dig around for pics like I did, I think this is fun.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Whoa, something happened to my post. I'll just say that I had a hard time with the puzzle today and had to Google a bunch.

Thanks, Splynter for a great writeup. You seem to get the more difficult puzzles, don't you?
Good luck with your move this weekend.

We aren't totally off the grid, but we do have solar panels on our roof which makes our electric meter run backwards at times. With all of this cool weather this summer and morning fog, though, we aren't producing as much electricity as expected.

creature said...

Chickie,

Thanks for your comments on your solar panels. I wish we had been better candidates for them.

I really think its one of the good solutions for the present as well as for the future. How long have you had them? and what is the upkeep?Did you build a new house with them in mind?

Too many Question! sorry.

Splynter, Thanks. Happy Move!

Chickie said...

Yellowrocks, I hope you are feeling better soon and kicking up your square dancing heels once again.

Happy anniversary Mom SO. A happy day and an even happier year # 41.

CA, Thanks for the poem today. My thoughts and feelings, exactly!

Lemonade, What wonderful pictures of you and your brothers. I've been going through my parents' albums to sort, classify and organize all the old photos. What a nostalgia trip I've had!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Clear Ayes said...

Shame on me. I asked to hear from WH and when we did I didn't even say "Happy Menaging".

Bill G., I'm another "Lunch/Brunch/Dinner With Bill" fan. I'm also jealous that GAH and I don't have access to some of the bistros, cafes and restaurants that you do. Your descriptions always sound delicious.

Thanks for the latest avatar compliments. It was taken back in the era when color photos were rare. My mother did negative retouching and by-hand photo coloring for several photography studios. The avatar photo is her coloring. Nowadays, with Photo Shop and state-of-the-art digital color, they are lost arts.

Lemonade, they are sweet photos of you and your brothers.

creature said...

CA,

Yes, thanks for the poem; and how wonderful to have that precious photo of you hand coloured by your mother. What a treasure! I love hearing about it.

Looks as if we see her DNA clearly in your work. Isn't life a neat thing? Thanks for sharing.

kazie said...

CA,
I was wondering about the color in that photo. I have a few like it too, since my aunt was employed at a photo studio and did the same retouching and coloring as your mother apparently did. She used to always complain about her boss never cleaning his lenses, because there were always spots to be removed. You're right--it is a lost art. Sounds like cursive writing may be going in the same direction.

Lucina said...

CA:
How absolutely beautiful! I had never heard of that kind of hand coloration and was not aware that it was done.

What a special memento you have not only of your mother but of the era as well.

dodo said...

Bon Soir Amis,

DNF for me today. Way beyond my capacities. Some of the lookups were just not there!

I suppose quid is pronounced "cud"?

Annette said...

Splynter, I give you credit for taking on the Saturday blogs! They're difficult enough to complete, but taking responsibility to blog them with a time limit is brave!

17D - your ADT comment reminded me of my current stuggle with them... They're my latest frustration, in the same manner as U-verse was to fermatprime! I chose them thinking they were a large, professional organization...

Happy Anniversary, mom speaks out!

Mmmm, Bill - I love lemon souffle!

I've enjoyed the Menage e Trois experience, as well. ;)

Isn't there another get-together of blog members coming up this month at a car show - in Tahoe, wasn't it?

Enjoying the vintage photos! Here's my Olan Mills contribution from 2.5 years old.

dodo said...

Happy anniversary, MSO!

Loved the poem, CA. I remembered Walter de la Mare but I don't know that I ever read anything by him.

I can't imagine any possible use for "pasquinade". I can't even imagine a reasonable use for "public mockery" either. Oh, well! I wonder if I could work it into some conversation about something else, like a comment on a play or a movie. I really would like an opportunity to throw it around: nice word! OOh, I know! I could say, "Yes, this wine is nice, but have you tried any of the Folie a Deux reds? They're simply pasquinade!" Who'd know?

Lemonade714 said...

DD you are a peach; that was perfect.

wew1 said...

Hi group. New to this site, I love the comments. Although I never encountered "pasquinade" the clue made me think of crucifixion. I hate proper names of people of dubious fame (Axl?) especially since many of them can't even spell their names. BTW I did finish, but missed petro and petr.

Chris said...

I usually do Saturday puzzles with red letter help, but I usually also have to end up Googling some of the answers to finish. Surprisingly, though, I knew most of the top right on the first time through, filled in that corner, and made some good guesses from there and from the few answers I did know. A few times I guessed what letters went where, and was right all but once. And, like I said, with some good guesses, it opened up the bottom half and the top, and eventually HERBIE led to GEYSERS and I had the top left. Still guessed the Q though. But that might be the first Saturday I've ever done without Googling, and in less than fifteen minutes to boot.

Argyle said...

I'm sorry to say this but your comments have come to late for most of the group to see them.

You could post them on Monday's comments if you like. Just make sure you mention your comments are about Saturday's puzzle.