google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, August 19, 2011, Jeff Louie

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Aug 19, 2011

Friday, August 19, 2011, Jeff Louie

Theme: CG the old fashioned way; not Computer Graphics, just C and G. Food phrases with the first letter of the first word beginning with "G" have the first word replaced with a sound a like word starting with "C," resulting in a new and colorful phrase. This may be the debut puzzle of another blogger gone bad, I mean gone to creating puzzles; I have seen comments from Mr. Louie on other blog sites and solving results. His effort is very theme heavy, with some cute fill, but overall a relative speed run for a Friday. In any event, welcome Jeff, I am Lemonade and I will lead our group through your paces, while we fill in the spaces.

16A. Dairy food for a haunted house?: CREAK YOGURT. GREEK YOGURT, the new favorite of health conscious eaters.

23A. Boxed Brie?: CRATED CHEESE. GRATED CHEESE. This is the only one where the spelling does not change, just the G to C.

38A. With 41-Across, pancake-flavored drink?: CREPE. 41A. See 38-Across: JUICE. GRAPE JUICE. A most unusual central theme answer, actually divided by another fill, and not a perfect sound alike.

50A. Snacks for an all-nighter?: CRAM CRACKERS. GRAHAM CRACKERS.

62A. Dinner dish decorated for a king?: CROWNED BEEF. GROUND BEEF.

Now on to the rest....

Across:

1. Espresso concoction: LATTE. I am just a coffee drinker, no frothy milk for me.

6. Pile: HEAP. We had this clued as a junk car earlier this week

10. With 13-Across, coming-out phrase?: IT'S. and 13. See 10-Across: A GIRL. I liked this combo clue, because it fooled me a little, as I was thinking of DEBUTANTES.

14. Surprisingly, the Rays don't play there: TAMPA. They play at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

15. Something to pick: NIT. Oh goody, a shout out to Marti, a fellow butterfly form the caterpillar world of blogging and constructing.

18. "CSI" proof:: DNA.

19. Campfire whopper: YARN. He has lots of double words, like this and 17D. Be homesick (for): YEARN, which always brings this Song to mind.

20. Mer flow: EAU. French again; not only our Crepe, but MER = Sea and EAU = Water.

21. More revolting: ICKIER. Probably a derivative of sicky-poo, when little ones were nauseous.

26. Shower head, maybe: METEOR. Meteor shower, a nice clue.

29. Georgetown athlete: HOYA. An old Greek word meaning What or that, which somehow got combined with Latin SAXA meaning rocks, as all college student used to study Greek and Latin, what rocks became Georgetown's rallying song.

30. Outlet store abbr.: IRR. Irregular, i think get this in 1/2 the puzzles i write up.

31. Thwart the re-election bid of: UNSEAT. No politics, but it comes from the literal taking away of the seat in congress.

34. Sask. neighbor: N DAK. Saskatchewan is just north of North Dakota.

40. Priest's vestment : ALB. This is the long white gown like vestment worn by priests and other clergy usually adorned with a colorful sash. From the Latin meaning white, the same root word for albino.

42. Drifting, maybe: ASEA. My mandatory A word.

43. Pedicure stone: PUMICE. The result of volcanic eruption, the bubbles help this rock to be an excellent exfoliant for all the metrosexuals in the audience, especially on those nasty heel calluses.

45. Parliament vote: NAY.

46. Literary __: LION. I like alliteration as much as the next guy, but I am never going to use this phrase to describe a famous person.

48. Runs the show: REIGNS. From the king ruling.

55. Goldbricks: DOGS IT. Like Beetle Bailey who is often accused of being a gold brick or dogging it by Sgt Snorkel. I guess because gold bricks don't do anything but sit and look pretty and dogs do eat often.

56. App with a Buddy List: AIM. AOL Instant Messenger.

57. __ vez: Spaniard's "again": OTRA. Literally "another time."

61. Flee: RUN.

65. Sugar suffix: OSE. Lactose, sucrose, dextrose...

66. Filled a hold with: LADED. In shipping, hence the manifest being the bill of lading.

67. Western: OATER. For the horsies to eat, silly.

68. Kitten's cry: MEW.

69. Checked out: EYED. See, we made it again.

70. Set of principles: CREDO. From the Latin meaning to believe, and I do believe we have made it to the turn..

Down:

1. Like some lingerie: LACY. Your Vote?

2. Uttar Pradesh tourist city: AGRA. The Upper Provinces in India, more details from our friends?

3. Stratum: TIER.

4. Medium state?: TRANCE. I like this one as it also took me a moment to suss the idea.

5. Bugler with horns: ELK. this also reminds me of 33D. Popular street name: ELM.

6. With "The," city with a lake called the Hofvijver at its center: HAGUE.

7. It has six toes: EMU. Why, I wonder?

8. Fuzzy fruit: APRICOT. My first thought was Boy George, but it did not fit.

9. Weather forecast word: PATCHY. Patchy clouds, patchy fog, you name it they have it.

10. Sundance entry, usually: INDIE. Short for Independent Film, meaning not commissioned by a studio, and looking for distribution.

11. Pitchfork parts: TINES. Also known as a PRONG.

12. Gape: STARE. Please do not just sit there staring.

14. Perfectly: TO A T. An old favorite that can distress when you do not take the letters apart.


22. Name that means "cool breeze" in Hawaiian: KEANU. I wonder what happened to all of our Hawaiian contributors?

24. Casanova: ROUE. A dissolute dedicated to only sensual pleasure; the word comes from the French (yes, dammit French again) ROUER meaning to "break on the wheel" that wonderful medieval torture device used to dispel sexual ardor, of those who were to easy to 51D. Stir: ROUSE.

25. Abu __: DHABI. Father of the Gazelle, and the site of the government of the UAE.

26. Flaky mineral: MICA. Not to be confused with the cheap imitation FORMICA.

27. Boots an easy grounder: ERRS. ESPN's not top ten.

28. Arbor Day planting: TREE. Abror is the Latin word for tree, and this celebration began in Nebraska started by J. Stirling Morton, so thanks HG and others.

32. Spa offering: SAUNA. Dry heat from Scandinavia, rather than Steam heat.

35. "Correct answer" sound: DING. Ding Ding Ding for all of you, as this puzzle unfolded.

36. "... Prince Albert in __?": A CAN. As a child, I really did call Gagne's (pronounced GAHN YAY's) drug store and ask the question, and then start giggling, "Well you should let him out."

37. Ring jinglers: KEYS. Some people can be really annoying.

39. Conceals sneakily: PALMS, in case you want to learn.

41. Boo bird's call: JEER.

43. Depict: PORTRAY.

44. Cupcake filling: CREME. If cream filling is not classy enough for you.

47. Emotionally unavailable type: ICICLE. I always thought they were cold fish.

49. Weather map line: ISOBAR. Not a place where you drink ISO, but the lines of consistent pressure used by weathermen to predict weather.

50. Drive insert: CD-ROM.

52. One of Nixon's vices?: AGNEW. Love this clue, but not this man.

53. Made like a crow: CAWED. Why do we do that?

54. Good-hearted: KIND.

58. Spot for un chapeau: TETE. More French, chapeau = hat, tete = head.

59. Lou of The Velvet Underground: REED. Melrose Plant's favorite singer, right WM?

60. __-Cuban music: AFRO. My WAG of the day, and the music to get ready to say we are done.

63. William Browne's "Awake, faire Muse," e.g.: ODE. All yours CA.

64. Sawbones: DOC. What's up, time to go, another Friday and another fun ride; be careful, school and school buses and kids are coming to highway near you.

Answer grid.

Lemonade

P.S. For my fellow New Englanders it is the 56th Anniversary of the Flood of 1955 when hurricanes Connie and Diane hit 6 days apart. A time I will never forget.

75 comments:

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. I just LOVED this Friday puzzle, despite all the cross-references. I thought the theme was very amusing.

I was also amused by Shower Head = METEOR and Medium State = TRANCE.

I initially tried Movie for the Sundance entry, but the perps quickly led me to INDIE. Some of the entrants are excellent films.

Happy Friday, everyone.

QOD: Doublethink means the power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them. ~ George Orwell

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Pretty easy for a Friday. I initially had CREAK CHEESE for 16A and then, when I got CRATED CHEESE for 23A, I thought the theme was puns on different types of cheese. Once I got that sorted out, though, the rest of the puzzle went by pretty smoothly.

Not being a coffee drinker, I had no idea that you could get a LATTE made of espresso. Live and learn.

I also had a bit of trouble with CRAM CRACKERS, only because I've always pronounced "graham" as "gray-am" and not "gram," so the pun wasn't obvious at first.

Have a great day, folks! Today is my son's last day of Summer camp. Next week we're going on a family trip to NYC, and then he starts first grade the week before Labor Day.

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Before discussing the puzzle, the important stuff! For 1D, I vote for white. Never liked black, no matter how enticing.

Lemon, I grew up in Winsted, CT. The town was one of the hardest hit by the August storms. The towns business district was 80% wiped out. Took several years for recovery. I still have photos and newspaper reports of the disaster. Lots of stories too, some even humorous.

I found today's puzzle a lot easier then a usual Friday. I won't call it a walk in the park, but it was certainly doable with lots of clever cluing.

10A, 13D coming out phrase was favorite and cram crackers was favorite theme answer. Keanu was only unknown, but perps took care of it.

52D One of Nixon's vices was a bit misleading because he had so many faults. Of course Agnew was no bargain either.

Tinbeni said...

Lemon; Nice write-up.
Like Hondo, I vote for the white one.

Almost lost-it when I read the clue for 38-A.
Pancake-flavored drink? WTF !!!
The perps got CREPE, so I went in the kitchen and made some. Yum!

The truth be told, I'm not a big fan of the "change-a-letter, create-a-whacky phrase" puzzles.
They seem trite to me.

So the themes fell easily.
The rest of the grid seemed a slog.
In the end I surprised myself that I got it all correct.

Faves were ICKIER, ICICLE & AGNEW.
(They seem to go together).

Cheers with some Avatar!!!

Abejo said...

Good Morning, folks. Thank you, Jeff, for a swell puzzle. Thank you Lemonade for a great and very interesting write-up.

As others, I thought this puzzle was a little easier than most Fridays.

The theme answers came easily and helped with the rest of the puzzle.

Thought ITS A GIRL was clever. Had me stumped for a while. INDIE was totally unknown to me. Got it with perps.

Had SEANCE, but quickly switched to TRANCE after the crosswords appeared.

Got my left eye lasered yesterday with an Iridotomy, 66761. Hope this all works.

See you all tomorrow.

Abejo

Yellowrocks said...

Walk in the park for a Friday, but the clues and write up were fun.
Crepe juice? Just too weird!
Interesting:
"Dogs it" means goldbricks while "works like a dog" means just the opposite.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.

Great write-up and explanation of the theme entries, Lemon! I liked the idea of this one, but thought the execution wasn’t as tight as some others we have seen. Why would a haunted house need dairy food? And the thought of crepe-flavored juice – yuck, it would taste like raw pancake batter. The central theme entry being split by a non-theme entry was not pleasing, either.

OK, OK, so there you have it – all my nits in one basket, LOL!!

Learning moment today was The HAGUE. I did not know that it referred to an actual city. I always thought “The Hague” was the parliament of the Netherlands. So I come away from this one satisfied to have a new bit of knowledge. (Do you think I will remember the name of the lake, though???)

Diane said...

Loved this puzzle! For once a Friday that didn't leave me feeling frustrated and stupid.....sometimes I'm tempted to just skip Friday and Saturday as the clues are just too convoluted (for me anyway).

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Great write-up, Lemonade.

I thought this one was easy for a Friday. Got the theme words started from the perps and completed the fills as the phrase became obvious. The actual theme was only recognized after the puzzle was completed. Other few unknowns like OTRA also were coughed up by the perps. Normally would not have remembered that HOYA was specific to Georgetown, but their kerfuffle in China yesterday, with the Bayi Rockets has made headlines. What prescience on Jeff's part!

Have a great day.

Lemonade714 said...

If you missed it, here is the Georgetown BRAWL .

Scotty said...

Really enjoyed this one for a Friday! Had to resort to the blog to finish SE corner as I had "creed" instead of
"credo" and jot a clue about "juice". Had to chuckle when I looked at DOGSIT after I entered it and my mind saw dog sit (a friend has frantically looked for a dog sitter so she could go on vacation). Oh, well - a beautiful, cool week gone by with the heat coming back. Happy weekend everyone.

Husker Gary said...

A nice, clever puzzle before we run off the Lincoln to pick up granddaughter from first day of Kindergarten while her mom finishes the day teaching at the same school.

Musings
-Latte is a nice, occasional change up
-Tropicana Stadium has been called one of the worst in MLB (“like watching a game in a warehouse”)
-Lemon, Supremes were a nice addition to great write-up
-Oh, you wanted 2 sleeves on that shirt? It’s IRR!
-Want pumice? Get some Lava soap!
-Goldbrick is a verb and noun!
-Old Sunday morning OATERS were a staple of early TV
-CREED? Nope, CREDO
-Do these Lingerie wearers in this video really think their athletic skills are the draw?
-Casanova soup? ROUE ROUX.
-J. Sterling Morton did start Arbor Day here on the treeless prairie and his son went on to start Morton Salt. We have an annual pilgrimage to Nebraska City to see the Morton mansion and grounds.

Scotty said...

Ooops . . .make that NOT a clue, not JOT.

Nance said...

Good Morning! J'aime all the French. (Even your drugstore's name appears to be French--Gagne.)

Re: CREME v. CREAM. I believe that became a technical designation a while back due to the Dairy Board (?). If a product does not contain a certain percentage of actual cream or dairy, it has to contain the phrase "artificial" or simply be tagged "creme." (Have you ever looked at the list of ingredients in Twinkie filling? Urk.)

kazie said...

Unlike the rest of you, I did not like this--at least not the mideastern section. I had CREED before CREDO and that slowed that corner a bit. For NDAK I was wanting a Canadian province and couldn't find one to fit. Since DING suggests dingaling rather than a bell (I never have watched game shows), that didn't occur to me. On googling the Prince Albert thing, not even thinking about tobacco, which IMO should have been outlawed a century ago, I found out much more than I ever wanted to know about Prince Albert piercings and the Monacan prince's wedding. I thought APES might jingle rings, since I had WAGged AYE for NAY. So you see, a royal mess.

Have a nice Friday and weekend everyone!

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning, all. Thanks for the blog and links, Lemonade. The downs seemed a bit easy for me today and let me see the theme entries. I think the 'Prince Albert in A CAN' prank was probably among the first telephone calls ever made. Yes, I did it, too.

Greek YOGURT seems to be the favorite topic among the healthy food conscious lately. I've never tried it, but then I'm not noted for being particular about the health properties of the foods I eat.

I liked the puzzle, but was a bit surprised at the split theme entry in the middle line.

The CROWNED BEEF with CRATED CHEESE might be tasty, but I'll pass on the rest of the menu.

Argyle said...

Please, kazie, a little warning about Prince Albert piercings, some people haven't had breakfast.

kazie said...

Sorry, Argyle,
I know what you mean. Actually any piercings seem masochistic to me, and I can't imagine why anyone would want one like that with all the inconvenience it causes.

Anonymous said...

Welcome, Jeff, I am Lemonade....

Seriously, Jason, could your head get any bigger?

Anonymous said...

Windhover, as usual, NOT your business. Stop with the silly macho act.

windhover said...

Huh?

windhover said...

;-}

Ashley Eidbo said...

Pretty easy for a Friday! Yesterday's was much harder.
BUT-
19A...WHAT?? doesn't make any sense to me.
also, I didn't get 55A.
The theme was clever and made me laugh. And really helped get the puzzle moving.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I had an easier time today than yesterday's offering from Don and C.C. Jeff Louie and Rich seemed to take pity on us.

I agree that CREPE (KREP) doesn't rhyme with GRAPE. It's another one of those evil French words that have entered English by the screen door. Of course, once it is an accepted English word, we can butcher it any old way we want.

CREME doesn't sound the same as CREAM either. Nance may be right. I also thought it was just another French spelling that made it easier to charge more for items with CREME in their noms (oops, I mean names)...Creme Fraiche and Creme Brulee.

Kazie LOL...women ask why? and men just cringe. (except maybe for Windhover, who is extremely macho ;o)

Lemonade, I appreciate our daily commentators identifying themselves early on, so we know who is writing. Thanks.

WM said...

Lemonade, great write up, which I sorely needed to finish up a couple spots today. totally messed up the first theme fill with CREAKCHEESE which threw off the whole top bit. Didn't realize that CREPE JUICE was a theme answer either. Most of the rest was ok.

Thank you for the Lou REED reminder which I did fill in...Melrose has to be my most favorite fictional character and maybe it is time to go revisit Richard Jury again.

BTW...C.C. and Don's yesterday puzzle was another triumph and THAT one I did complete...:o)

Zcarguy said...

Morning all,

I have a friend named Jeff Louie, I doubt it's the same guy,
He's not that talented...and if it is , I'm in trouble .!

I didnt find this to be as easy as most of you did, still have some PATCHY fog looming, tho I did finish unassisted, it took longer than I would like to spare on a Friday.
The crossing of PALMS , LION and DOGS It gave me fits,
otherwise fun puzzle.
Y'all have a good Friday.

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Jeff Louie for a wonderful puzzle - (I finished it, I don't know how - for me, for a Friday, thatsa a miracle, that beats a virgin birth IMHO ). I am on cloud Nine. Ya think, they named the Ohio State Univ sports anthem ,'Louie, Louie', after you ? Good luck for the future.

Lemonade, Thank you for a great blog as usual. Your wit is deeply appreciated here. And your subtle and not so subtle comments. May your tribe increase.

I had ignored Kazie's linkup, until dear Argyle flagged it. At my age, I am not surprised to hear of the wildest fetishes - but the web has made the information - so democratically universal. So - thats how Prince Albert sired , what 10 or 12 children ? Probably served his purpose... too well.

Learned a new word - frenulum - useful for a Sat. puzzle -funny, my cousin, the urologist never mentioned it. Must ask her about it sometime. This is a woman who doesn't even blink once at all male and female sexual terms - quite sang froid ( French ! ) about it. All in a days work.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Very clever puzzle. I had a bit of difficulty and a few false starts: PARTLY for PATCHY, CREME for CREPE, DONG for DING always want to put an O for the U of KEANU, but finally made it through.

Ashley -

A YARN is a tall tale. Telling them around a campfire is an iconic American image.

Parsing DOGS IT as DOG SIT could be confusing. DOGS IT means not putting in much effort. Here, using "goldbrick" as a verb makes it a bit tough to suss. That was my last fill.

MICA or TALC - wait for the perps.

DOGS IT and works like a dog - is that double think? I double dog dare you to try it.

Gagne's (GAHN YAY's) reminds me of the neighborhood drug store when I was growing up: von Ewegin's (Vonnie Wiggen's) at the corner of Starr and East Broadway The first time I noticed the sign as a kid, I thought the store had a new owner.

Cheers!
JzB

Lucina said...

Greetings, Puzzlers! Thank you, Lemonade for your excellent write up; I laughed loudly a few times.

For a Friday, I sashayed through this fairly easily and caught the theme early, though not the CG interchange.

I started with CREEPY but then CREAKY became evident.

And I knew HOYA only because of yesterday's fracas with China. They repeated it several times during the broadcast. Thank you for the explanation, Lemon, because I did wonder about the name and thought, why would they name their athletes for Oscar de la Hoya?

Really clever clues:
shower head, maybe, METEOR
one of Nixon's vices, AGNEW

My brothers used to love calling and asking for Prince Albert in a can.

A lovely puzzle, thank you Jeff Louie.

Have a fanciful Friday, everyone!

Jazzbumpa said...

Horrible storm in T-Town yesterday, with irregularly shaped hail stones up to 3 inches across. The action in this news vid all happened in my MIL's neighborhood. She had power back before midnight, and escaped the flooding.

My mom lives on the other side of town, and came through it OK.

Cheers!
JzB going to Toledo tomorrow
Cheers

Clear Ayes said...

William Browne was influenced by Sir Edmund Spencer, who wrote The Fairie Queene. The only Elizabethan poet I'm particularly fond of is Shakespeare. Be that as it may, here is William Browne's poem about waking the faire Muse.

An ODE

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

It took a few theme answers before I caught on but I enjoyed working this puzzle. Since I read 'Goldbrick' as a noun, DOGSIT completely escaped me until perps filled it in. Even then, it was unfamiliar to me. Thanks for an informative and entertaining write-up, Lemonade. I always enjoy your commentary!

~~ I thought 'uglier' before ICKIER and 'talc' before MICA.

~~ I've always pronounced 'CREPE' as 'krape' and 'graham' crackers, like Barry G. as 'gray-um.' Hmm .. wrong all these years?

~~ I've always wondered about about the 'cream-creme' distinction. Interesting!

~~ Favorite was 'One of Nixon's vices' - AGNEW.

Enjoy the day!

Anony-Mouse said...

So 'Agra' is being coded in a new variety nowadays - Marti take note - well, well, whats next ?

- a town on the Jamuna ? - , originally called Fatehpore (Fatehpur) ? - , an erstwhile Mughal capital ? -, the go-to Indian place for cheap knick-knacks ? - and so on and so forth .....

Uttar ( means North ) Pradesh ( means State) follows the same initials as the old U.P. (United Provinces) under the British.

To a geologist, Mica is flaky, Talc is softly amorphous, but not flaky. Just saying.

Finally, found out - why THE Hague ( The wood(s) , or The Count's Woods, to be exact). Thanks Lemon, for clearing up of my great life mysteries.

Finally, to the Nice Cuppas link on the Sex Life of Orchids, yesterday, which shows even nature adores diversity, even in its sexual preferences, heres a QOD:

I cant understand why more people are not bisexual. It would double your chances for a date. ~ Woody Allen.

Bill G. said...

Jeannie, I see where BK is ditching the creepy king. What do you think?

Unknown said...

Thanks, Lemon; you were spot- on today!
All in all this one was a fun puzzle.
Big head? WTF?
Personal digs are really bad form on this very friendly blog.
I enjoy the positive comments and the humor, as much as the puzzle explanations. Getting to "know" this group has been fun.
There are other sites that welcome bitching.
Have a wonderful-fun-filled Friday all!

Lemonade714 said...

In dialect, there is no right or wrong pronunciation. We are all influenced by regional accents, which do make sound alike puzzles tricky. If you are aware of the alternate sounds, they are easier.

Not to nit pick with one of my longtime favorites here, it is Edmund Spenser a point driven home in my mind from the late Robert B. Parker's anti-hero.

windhover said...

Kazie & CA:
Nope, not that macho. And still cringing at that link.

Yellowrocks said...

MSO
I agree 100% about personal digs. I love that this blog is so friendly and upbeat You all make my day.

thehondohurricane said...

As far back as I can remember, it's always been "Gram" crackers. Ah well, a regional dialog/pronunciation difference.

kazie said...

WH,
Sorry to have made you (and maybe others) cringe. I guess I was just wondering if I was the only one who had no idea what it was.

Here's a wiki explanation of the difference between emus and ostriches. Apparently it's more normal for birds to have three toes, ostriches being the only ones which don't.

Grumpy 1 said...

Anony-Mouse, "Louie, Louie"? "Hang On, Sloopy" is the Official State of Ohio rock song, adopted after Washington considered changing their state song to "Louie, Louie".

LaLaLinda said...

thehondohurricane ~~

You say "to-mah-to" (GRAM) and I say "to-may-to" (GRAY-UM)

Regional differences ... we both live in tiny Connecticut. LOL

Well, I guess it's what we hear growing up.

Grumpy 1 said...

Here's a part of the Resolution that was adopted to make "Hang On Sloopy" the Ohio Rock song:

WHEREAS, "Hang On Sloopy" is of particular relevance to members of the Baby Boom Generation, who were once dismissed as a bunch of long-haired, crazy kids, but who now are old enough and vote in sufficient numbers to be taken quite seriously; and

WHEREAS, Adoption of this resolution will not take too long, cost the state anything, or affect the quality of life in this state to any appreciable degree, and if we in the legislature just go ahead and pass the darn thing, we can get on with more important stuff; and...
Complete resolution here

Grumpy 1 said...

I thought almost all birds have six toes... three on each foot.

Tinbeni said...

kazie:
NOW ... I'm blind !!!

And to think, I use to relish ALL the "learning moments" from the puzzles and comments (here). lol

I think that one wins the "DF link" award for 2011.
Not that 'that' is a bad thing.

PS - First I cringed, then I checked out the Emu/Ostrich link.
Thought it was "for-the-birds."

kazie said...

Grumpy,
OK, I thought the same thing, but then I decided they must be assuming that we'd all know it couldn't be an odd number total--or each foot would need to be different. (Nit)-picky-picky!

Tinbeni,
Thanks for the award, but since it was linked because of my own naïvetée on the topic, it is probably undeserved. I'm just glad so many others were as shocked and grossed out as I was.

Hahtoolah said...

EEEW, TMI, Kazie!

Lemonade714 said...

Kazie:

The truth is, when I opened your link and saw the tenor of the topic, I closed the link. The more I know, the more I realize there is much I do not want to know. Like Cleveland Steamers and Dirty Sanchez, I live blissfully in my ignorance with no couriosity in those directions. I said DIrections! So eewwww, gross and I would never pierce my ear, let alone....I am glad you gave us the choice, but I am happier with silly phone calls about the guy in the can.

Anonymous said...

Beyonce!

Anonymous said...

Goldbricks. Dogsit? I thought Ingot


Ingot


Fun Facts by Dave Letterman

At Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, there is an actual DR. Pepper.

The first remote control took eight minutes to change channels.

The Boy in the Propeller Cap said...

Is your refrigerator running?

Anonymous said...

Anony-mouse

frenulum-Oral tissue: Frenula of the mouth include the frenulum linguae under the tongue, the frenulum labii superioris inside the upper lip, the frenulum labii inferioris inside the lower lip, and the buccal frena which connect the cheeks to the gum. These can easily be torn by violent blows to the face or mouth, thus a torn frenulum is sometimes a warning sign of physical abuse.

Thier other examples that can be found here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frenulum

Abejo said...

To Husker Gary: There is also the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL, just southwest of Chicago. 1700 acres.

Abejo

Lucina said...

Kazie:
I have to agree with Tinbeni about the award. That one deserves it. Still cringing!

kazie said...

However, we've learned a lot about frenula, which I would guess is also the root of the French for brake. Freiner = to brake, and les freines = brakes, seem related to the frenula discussed here, which act as a limitation to the movement between the parts they connect.

This is my fifth, so I'm out. Have a good one.

Bill G. said...

Our kids had given us a gift of a gondola ride in the canals at Long Beach last Christmas. We finally got around to using it today. We showed up at noon and waited for the gondolier to get everything ready. He oared us across the bay to the entrance to the canal. The homes, landscaping and boats were very pretty. The whole experience was slow, peaceful and pleasant.

We asked the goldolier for a recommendation for a place to have lunch. His first idea was Carls Jr. We politely said we were hoping for something a little more interesting. He suggested a local Greek restaurant. It was very good. We had the traditional lemon/rice soup, a Greek salad with Feta and a lamb souvlaki sandwich with Tzatziki. Then a piece of baklava to finish. A really yummy lunch.

Since somebody had shown me photos of a Prince Albert before, I was happy not to open the link today.

As someone who's lived with the name for many years, it definitely pronounced Gray-um, at least by the Scots. Gram is lazier but pefectly good for a unit in the metric system.

Avg Joe said...

I'm happy to report that I am living on in ignorant bliss. I know nothing of Prince Albert piercings and hope to never know.

The other Nebraskan.

HeartRx said...

Kazie, oh, the horror ! Oh, the humanity!!

Bill G., I want your life! I spent the day scooping cat poop out of the litterbox, spraying stinky crab-grass killer on the lawn, and repotting root-bound patio plants.
...but I could say instead, that I dug for hidden treasure, put away a few crabs, and gave new life to dying friends.

I guess it's all in your perspective!

HeartRx said...

...and I'm with all of those who say gray-um and kraype.

Clear Ayes said...

About the piercings... It isn't as if the "jewelry" is on display, except in more intimate moments. I had to laugh at the article's comment that some people find it sensual. Maybe so, but I'd probably laugh or scream (or both) if I saw it up close and personal, I would hope my reaction would be from surprise, rather than disgust or fright.

But, to each his own. My mother thought pierced ears were barbaric and my sisters sneakily had their ears pierced when she wasn't around. I waited until I was an adult. We sure heard about it later though. OTOH, she thought nostril piercing was exotic, although she wouldn't have wanted her daughters to do it.

I don't think navel or eyebrow piercing is attractive and I think tongue piercing is weird, but I know a lot of people have them.

Does it matter if it is genital piercing or sticking holes in cute little baby earlobes? We sure are creatures of our culture and environment.

Husker Gary said...

Thanks for the info Abejo! We will visit that arboretum the next time we are in Chicago. Like others of our ancestors, J. Sterling had a big skeleton in his closet that was common to the times as he was pro-slavery. Oh well, he had a lot of company.

I ain't piercin' nothin', especially...

thehondohurricane said...

LaLinda,

We agree on tomato, but gram is gram. I've often thought of tiny Ct being a divided state in many arenas, now we can add lingo differences.

Enjoy your weekend.

Hondo

Unknown said...

Prince Albert piercings? Yuckahamuss!
What a visual! Mussolini tugging during times of stress? Good Grief!
Reading the link made my day. I am sane, I am sane. I am sane!
Repeat......

Friday night said...

Let's change the subject.

Lou Reed Video 7:07

A 22 year old Reed appears @ :52 from behind the curtain.

How many of these guys are sober?

Friday night said...

I meant 32 year old...

creature said...

Watching ESPN; North Oldham Co. little league team, LAGRANGE,(red helmets) going for World Championship.

13 Yr old pitcher; pitches 75 mph.

Population 6500.

Kentucky leads 1 to Pennsylvania 0.

Lemonade714 said...

Ah Connecticut, I grew up in the now resurgent QUIET CORNER . Nice job people, even with the piercings. It was fun.

Anonymous said...

i saw lou reed @ :28

awesome video

Avg Joe said...

Friday night: Thank you for that clip of Lou Reed. I haven't owned any of his music since I had "...Animal" on 8-track. I'm serious as a train wreck. I've never really gotten his appeal until I saw that video. Now I get it.

I can only offer a small return favor, but it's a rare one. The Guess Who doing their best ever version of American Woman from Live at the Paramount. This vid gets taken down every time it's put up, so limited time offer.

Lemonade714 said...

Saw them (GW) perform that here in sunny so.fla. when i was courting my wife. she wanted to dump me and run away with the band

Anonymous said...

whatever

Jazzbumpa said...

The Prince Albert was NOT on my need to know list. I beat a hasty retreat.

On a lighter note:

Krayp,

Gramm,

and most definitely Beyonce!

Cheers!
JzB

JD said...

Kazie, should have kept those piercings in the can. Yowch!
Ca, you hit the nail on the head- my thoughts exactly.

I thought I did quite well for a Friday.It all fell together until dogsit-wasn't familiar with the term goldbricks.Not groking the theme, cram was incomplete. Maple juice sounds so much better than crepe juice, no matter how we pronounce it.Rake for roue was another faux pas.

Laughed at many of the clues when the light bulb came on.

literary lion? Who thought of that?

Thanks Lemonade

JD said...

Here's another list of new names from today's class. They may not be new to you, but I have never had a...
Zyana
Sulayman
Jamari
Aaric
Rui (known as Jr.)
Natash
Aiko liked all of them

Anonymous said...

Keanu