google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, September 12, 2011 James Sajdak

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Sep 12, 2011

Monday, September 12, 2011 James Sajdak

Theme: Back in School - Four grid spanners that start, in order, with high school/college grades.

16A. Newcomer to Capitol Hill : FRESHMAN SENATOR

25A. Promising rookies' doses of reality : SOPHOMORE SLUMPS

41A. Young company supervisor : JUNIOR EXECUTIVE

56A. Breaks for AARP members : SENIOR DISCOUNTS

Argyle here. If you didn't get this theme, well.... Our constructor is more familiar for puzzles towards the end of the week and some of the fill reflects that. I confess I lingered over the NE corner way too long. The theme entries are all solid in language phrases.

Across:

1. Hawaiian greeting : ALOHA

6. Recital highlight : SOLO

10. Fr. religious figure : STE.

13. Fragrant purple flower : LILAC

14. Stadium level : TIER

15. Bookstore sect. : BIOG. Biography.

19. Long story : SAGA

20. Vessels like Noah's : ARKS

21. Frère du père : ONCLE. French, brother of father : uncle.

22. Massage facility : SPA

24. Begin a trip : SET OUT. I was 31-Across and thought it might be the start of a fall.

31. Nitwit : IDIOT

32. They may be locked in battle : HORNS. Clip(1:46) Yes, I know they are antlers. Stifle yourself.

33. Flexed : BENT

34. Heavenly head covers : HALOs

35. "Whatever shall I do?" : "AH, ME"

39. Writer Diamond or actor Leto : JARED. Jared Mason Diamond authored The Third Chimpanzee, Guns, Germs, and Steel, and Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. He is currently Professor of Geography and Physiology at UCLA. Jared Joseph Leto - American actor, director, producer, musician and of late, sharing crossword space with Apollo's mother.

40. Overfill : BLOAT

46. Amerigo Vespucci, vis-à-vis America : EPONYM. Someone who gives his or her name to something

47. Score-raising stat : RBI. Baseball: bat in a run, raise the score. Question: Bottom of the ninth, tie score, runners on second and third. Batter hits into the corner and the runner on third scores before the outfielder reaches the ball. Is that the end or does the play continue until the ball is thrown back into the infield?

48. Whoop : SHOUT. Clip(0:02)

49. Home of the Buckeyes : OHIO

52. VCR insert : TAPE

59. Quod __ demonstrandum : ERAT. Latin.

60. "The Razor's __": Maugham novel : EDGE

61. Make sense, to a detective : ADD UP

62. China's Sun Yat-__ : SEN. Sun Yat-sen was the leader of China's republican revolution. He did much to inspire and organize the movement that overthrew the Manchu dynasty in 1911.

63. Arthur of tennis : ASHE. Arthur Ashe Stadium, Flushing, NY site of the US Open.

64. Varnish component : RESIN

Down

1. TV E.T. and namesakes : ALFs. Acronym for Alien Life Form.

2. Former coin of Italy : LIRA

3. Designer Cassini : OLEG

4. Just might pull it off : HAS A SHOT

5. "Bah," in Bavaria : "ACH". German.

6. Hollywood Walk of Fame feature : STAR

7. Sound from a snout : OINK

8. A smaller amount : LESS

9. Salem is its cap. : ORE

10. "Scrubs," for one : SITCOM

11. Get ready for production : TOOL UP

12. White wading birds : EGRETS

15. African language group : BANTU

17. Hat-tipping address : MA'AM

18. Yuletide carols : NOELS. Like 39D. "__ the World" : JOY TO

23. Stovetop item : POT

24. Federal IDs : SSNs

25. One of the fam : SIB

26. Shelley tribute : ODE

27. Wrestler's objective : PIN

28. Windy City airport : O'HARE

29. Pricey timepiece : ROLEX

30. Wash away slowly : ERODE

34. Injure : HARM

35. Cockpit reading : ALTITUDE

36. __ polloi : HOI. "The majority" in Greek.

37. Dallas NBAer : MAV. Basketball's Dallas Mavericks.

38. Août's season : ÉTÉ. French, August, summer.

40. Fella : BUB

41. James and Owens : JESSES. Jesse Woodson James, outlaw; James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens, track and field athlete.

42. "Psst!" from above : "UP HERE!"

43. Political columnist Peggy : NOONAN. Image.

44. Alaskan native : INUIT

45. Gator's cousin : CROC

49. __ and ends : ODDS

50. A bit tipsy : HIGH

51. "Makes sense to me" : "I SEE"

53. Common conjunctions : ANDS

54. Seed-spitter's sound : PTUI. Another baseball reference?

55. "Baseball Tonight" channel : ESPN

57. Stephen of "V for Vendetta" : REA. Also appeared in Michael Collins, Interview with the Vampire, Breakfast on Pluto and nominated for an Academy Award for The Crying Game.

58. Rowing need : OAR


Argyle

61 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    Really wonderful theme today that was nicely executed. Definitely a bit tough for a Monday, though, what with JARED, ONCLE, SEN, EPONYM, etc. Nothing unknown or horribly obscure, but still a bit more than I was expecting for a Monday.

    I got a bit hung up in the west, where I put in MORON for IDIOT and PAN for POT. They seemed to go well together, except that nothing else would work in that area. Once I fixed my error, however, everything fell very quickly.

    Have a great one!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Good Morning, Argyle and friends. What a fun Monday puzzle. I easily got FRESHMAN SENATOR, but was momentarily stumped middle two long fills. When I got to SENIOR DISCOUNTS, I quickly filled in Sophomore and Junior and the rest, as they say, fell into place. My 18-year old just started the Freshman year in college.

    The LILAC is also the state flower of New Hampshire.

    Lots of EGRETS live in the lake that is very near my house. These birds used to be confined to warm climates, but apparently have been making their homes in England in recent years. Maybe Nice Cuppa has some inside info on this.

    Like Barry, i also briefly had Pan instead of POT and Moron instead of IDIOT.

    I also learned that the expression "Whatever shall I do?" means AH, ME and not HELP! (LOL)

    QOD: It's always funny until someone gets hurt. Then it's just hilarious. ~ Bill Hicks

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  3. Good day folks,

    As soon as I filled in 16A, I figured out the theme and thought this was going to be easy, even for a Monday. But without perp help, 21A, 59A & 62a would have been wags. I really didn't like throwing in obscure foreign phrases (obscure to me at least) with a seemingly easy run. I don't object to raising the difficulty factor, but it could be accomplished using English, couldn't it?

    Anyways, my griping aside, it was an enjoyable puzzle with an area or two that slowed me down. For 35A, I began with Oh My, went to Oh Me, and finally got to Ah Me. 42D, PSST from above had my gray matter grinding for a time.

    Overall, a nice start to the week, even with the foreign language lesson.

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  4. Good morning all. Thanks for the comments, Argyle.

    Q. ERAT D. Nice solid Monday puzzle. I usually enjoy James' offerings, and this one did not disappoint. Same as Hondo, I got the theme after the 2nd long fill at 16a. Filled in JUNIOR EXECUTIVE w/o any perps, and only had a slight pause after SENIOR to make sure it was DISCOUNTS. ACH, I had 'hurt' first at 34d, but EPONYM changed that to HARM and the right spelling for JARED. No lookups were needed.

    Have a great day.

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  5. Happy Monday,
    Thank you Mr. Sajdak and Argyle. I found it to be an exemplary Monday which went quickly, as the grid spanning theme answers gave footholds everywhere. I am not sure I agree QED is in any way obscure, either in life or puzzledom, but what do I know. I enjoyed the work and hope you all enjoy the week.

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  6. Good Morning, folks. Thank you, James, for a great Monday puzzle. Perhaps, a bits tough for Monday, but still pretty easy.

    Thank you, Argyle, for your usual swell write-up.

    My goal is always to work through a puzzle by never entering a word unless it is tied to an already entered word. Usually that does not happen, but today it did.

    I do not enjoy foreign words, but I guess I am getting used to them. ONCLE, LIRA, ACH, ETE, and HOI all came easily. Maybe I am getting smarter. Nah, I doubt it.

    Theme was great. Helped me zip through the puzzle.

    Enjoyed seeing Quod ERAT Demonstrandum again. I learned that through crosswords. I recall seeing that term (Q.E.D.) only once in a book. "The Call of the Wild" by Jack London.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  7. Thanks, Argyle, for your excellent writing.
    I had a few stumbles too, mainly pan for pot. Mr. Sajdak constructed a clever theme for the start of the school year.
    Miss O'Hara of Tara said, "Whatever, shall I do?" to which Mr. Butler of Charleston replied, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!" At the time the reply was quite risque. How far we have come! Today that remark is pretty tame. Not all change is good.
    Over and out! Have a good day, everyone!

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  8. Enjoyable Monday puzzle. After FRESHMAN I assumed we would see soph. jun. sen. Getting MOR at 25A confirmed it.

    If you are interested in the rise of civilization and society, as I am, you must read Jared Leto's "Guns, Germs, and War" and "COLLAPSE... " They discuss: Why are some societies so much more successful than others? Why do seemingly successful societies eventually fail?

    Being German, I see ACH (standing alone) as being. basically, OH, not usually the negative BAH.

    I have seen beautiful egrets in NY and NJ. Armascot Park in Avalon, NJ is one of their breeding sites.
    Link egret pictures

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  9. I am surprised that no one has comented on the second round of flooding last week. All up and down the east coast and as far west as PA many rivers overflowed again, some reaching their crests just this past Sat. Roads, bridges and homes were severly impacted. My sister was stranded at work for almost 2 days not far from Wilkes-Barre. Other than that my family has been spared.

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  10. I was away "rusticating" for the weekend, so I tackled Friday and Saturday's puzzles last night.

    Yikes.

    Lovely to have a Speed Run today. No problems, no pauses, no cursing. Of course, now I have to get busy and face my day a bit earlier. Grocery shopping--hate that.

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  11. Good morning, gang. Thanks, Argyle, for the blogging efforts.

    I graduated with honors from this four year higher learning experience. Most of the fill didn't even require cross checks. The notable exceptions were POT/pan, IDIOT/moron and BLOAT/flood.

    It did seem that some of the fill was a bit non-Monday, but most of those were crossed with such easy fill that I couldn't quibble with them.

    It will be interesting to see what Rich has in store for us for the remainder of the week.

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  12. Oops, the books i enjoyed were by Jared Diamond

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  13. Good Morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

    Yep, I agree with Lemon - a virtual speed run today. I got the theme with FRESHMAN SENATOR.

    Unfortunately, I went through and filled in SOPHOMORE, JUNIOR and SENIOR before reading any more clues. I say unfortunately, because it did take away from my solving experience.

    I did enjoy seeing HAS A SHOT, OINK and UP HERE. And PTUI is just a fun word, isn't it?

    Nice Monday puzzle, James!

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  14. Fun Monday puzzle. I had BRO and SIS before SIB became evident.

    These will be a tough couple of days. My wife got really tired of looking at our old kitchen floor. I was used to it but she fixated on all of its faults (after many years). So we're getting a new floor installed today and tomorrow. Not being able to use the kitchen will disrupt my comfortable rut. Then we have to continue to work on getting our new but defective refrigerator replaced. Geez, I need a nap already.

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  15. Hahtool

    Yes, this is the "Little Egret", closest to the New World Snowy Egret. It was common in Medieval England but must have been too tasty for its own good - 1000 (at the dinner table) for the coronation of the Archbishop of York in 1465. That and medieval climate change (the "mini Ice age") drove the survivors south.

    A Protection Act in the 1950's in Southern Europe gave them a new start; and the recent "global warming trend" and protected status are persuading many to come futher north for the winter, returning south to breed.

    A few even got as far as Scotland this year:
    FIFE AND DRUMSTICKS

    NC

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  16. Good morning everyone.

    I do love Mondays. It is interesting that they are harder to construct that the ones that are harder for the solvers. Would love to see an explanation.

    I asked DH for answer to 35D because he was a pilot. Had the t and u in from doing the theme ones right away, so he had no difficulty in coming up with altitude for me.

    Belated happy birthday Husker. I read yesterday's at about midnight and figured it was too late already to wish you well.

    Cheers

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  17. P.S. Thanks for the "Fife and Drumsticks" about small egrets in Scotland.
    We are privileged to have egrets out our windows, doors, every day.

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  18. HH

    I think that QED is standard crosswordese nowadays.

    A smattering of French, Spanish, German and (increasingly) Chinese - probably CC's influence - has always been considered "de rigeur" in this level of crossword. The only Vietnamese word I've seen (often) is TET. the chinese word "Sen" was a historical name, not a foreign word, per se.

    Latin is limited to AMO, AMAS, AMAT, ESSE; and then phrases in Greek and Latin that are in common use -

    HOI POLLOI is the only Greek phrase I can recall in crosswords. It's a great phrase because it is (a) an internal rhyme; (b) "hoi" just means "the", and "polloi" is guessably linked to people, as in metropolis.

    And (c) it does literally mean "the majority", but it is always used in the pejorative sense of "the masses/common people/great unwashed" - people who would not know they were being insulted as they could not possibly know any Greek, so an "insider's insult". Use sparingly.


    NC

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  19. pretty easy even for a Monday! like the theme - got that right off the bat and then was able to go from there.
    I still hate the answer, "ptui".

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  20. HAS-A-SHOT next to POT.
    Later HIGH ...

    Well this puzzle certainly takes the EDGE off.

    FUN Monday!

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  21. Hi all
    A fun puzzle, not too bad for Monday but I had trouble with the SW.I thought Jared was probably the answer for 39A but since I had hurt for 34D it didn't match until changed it to harm.

    We have an occasional heron here but what we have quite a lot of are CRANES. The International Crane Foundation is about 5 miles from where I live. They raise them and prepare them for life in the wild. Cranes are taken to countries around the world.

    I don't mind a few foreign words, especially if I happen to know the answer.

    Have any of you noticed the picture of my great grandson on my blog?

    Have a good day!
    Marge

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  22. Good Morning All, A nice James Sajdak puzzle to start the week, and Argyle's blogging to keep our tootsies on the grid path.

    This one fell into place very quickly after the NW corner and the first theme phrase filled. Then it was a matter of hopping down the grid and filling out the other three theme phrases.

    The perps took care of the odd (to me) phrase 11D)TOOL UP and the forgotten 59A)ERAT.

    35A was ALAS at first. Either AH, ME or ALAS seems to be an expression that a Bronte sister or a Jane Austin lady character might say.

    BTW, if anyone likes a fantasy-alternate history written in the style of Jane Austin and sometimes Charles Dickens, you might try "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell", written by Susanna Clarke. It's a long one and I expect it will take me a while to finish it, but it is fun so far. Hint-magicians and supernatural happenings skewing the history of 19th century England.

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  23. I hope it isn't too belated to wish a happy birthday to Husker Gary.

    I checked in last night and saw the photo of Warren, JD, eddyB and Chickie. It's always nice to see members of The Corner getting together in person.

    We am still recovering from our six family yard sale. We made close to $600 and I managed to not buy a single thing from any of the other sellers. Still lots of things to go to the charity thrift store tomorrow.

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  24. Hello there.

    Nice little Monday speed run.

    Assuming fair ball and not caught,
    game over. Have seen outfielders
    just leaving the ball there.

    LOL! Teacher dress code talked about on Sat. Now, Monessen,PA
    considering code since visitors can't tell teachers and students apart.

    Have a nice day.

    eddy

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  25. ALOHA, Puzzlers. Thank you, Argyle, for further educating us.

    No nits today and I chuckled at seeing James Sajdak's name today; usually I shudder.

    Still it was a fun speed run and didn't even notice some fill, like ACH as they simply emerged.

    PAN did precede POT but SIB gave me IDIOT and that changed to yield SOPHOMORE. And I can never recall if buckeyes are from IOWA or OHIO, another erasure.

    Most of you know that sports is to me a foreign language. I much prefer French, German, Spanish, etc.

    Clever theme, too, and timely since school has only recently started.

    Have a great Monday, everyone!

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  26. In answer to your sports question: runner scores from third, batter touches first, game over. The hit is scored as a single, even if it would have been more bases in any other inning of the game. The only time the batter goes beyond first is if they hit a home run.
    Hope this helps!

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  27. EddyB referred to Monessen, PA where the school board talked about dress codes for teachers. I Googled "Monessen dress codes" and found the article. Early on, when I was teaching, I used to wear a dress shirt and slack, often a coat and tie. As I got older, I wanted to dress more informally in warm weather (no A/C) but I didn't want my students to lose respect for my position in the classroom. I began to dress more informally. I'm sure my principals weren't pleased about it but I was a respected and effective teacher and the way I dressed didn't seem to affect what went on in the classroom at all.

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  28. Good morning all,
    It was so reassuring not to feel like an idiot this morning. Loved the theme, mainly because I actually got it early on which enabled me to fill junior and senior.I did go thru my abc's to fill the b in bub. I must be a disappointment to C.C., when I can't automatically fill RBI! I did the same with the T for STE/Tool up.And finally my 4 years of Latin let me down as erat filled with perps.

    James, it was a solid Monday for me.

    I will now be saying ALOHA while we SET OUT for Lanai and Kauai in the morning.Hope to get leid.

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  29. Thank you, eddyB and Mike B, that covers my baseball question.

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  30. Love the picture, Marge!
    Bill G., I feel your pain! We did a major renovation a couple of years ago. We lived upstairs with no stove, a college fridge, and a microwave for 6 months while we got a new kitchen, master bedroom, bath and laundry room. It was a royal pain in the fanny, but the finished product is wonderful! The inconvenience of those months is a blip in my memory. Good luck to you!
    Happy belated Birthday, HG!

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  31. I got home too late to blog yesterday but really appreciate the birthday greetings from my puzzling friends, especially Jayce’s ode! Very funny and clever! It was my second favorite as my granddaughter made me a card that said, “Papa, oh papa, I love you dear and I didn’t eat your cupcake this year.” Last year she told me, “Well papa, here’s the thing. I ate your cupcake!”

    Grandson Hudson got a goal in his team’s 3 – 1 soccer victory and beaming from ear-to-ear. All right, the goalie was chasing a butterfly at the time, but still..

    65 feels fine and I played 36 holes today during what seems to be summer’s last gasp! It is 88 but very dry with a nice breeze.

    89 year old MIL just showed up with a government form she messed up and Joann and I will have to straighten it out for her! Unlike a lot of seniors, she has us.

    Off to blogging today’s Sajdak!

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  32. Good start with ALOHA from that state with the dreaded disease – LACK A NOOKIE!

    Musings
    -4 grid spanning fills on a Monday? You go James!
    -Our lilacs have been a winter salad bar for our bunnies and we are going to use 2 strategies to defeat them this year!
    -My last school was the Elkhorn Antlers
    -Argyle, the play continues until the batter touches first base. Most outfielders don’t even bother to field such a ball.
    -Ain’t much tennis interest without Americans!
    -Scrubs is great! It is a SITCOM/ROMCOM!
    -Egrets wade in waters frequented by gators at KSC! Guides said they are too much work to catch for the lazy reptiles.
    -I got my ode yesterday and appreciate today’s greetings too!!
    -We have never had a delay at O’Hare
    -MAV’s defeated hated Heat in NBA Finals. Every sport is better with “villains”.
    -Marge, cranes rule central Nebraska in March

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  33. Marge, what a cutie you have for a great-grandson. And a Green Bay fan, to boot?

    Sally, re: difficulty in constructing Monday puzzles. For me, the reason is pretty simple: In Wed-Fri puzzles, you might have a word list of (e.g.) 100,00 words and abbreviations to work with, including foreign languages, more obscure names or geographic locations.

    In a Monday-Tuesday level puzzle, you need to take away, for example, 50,000 of those words. Being limited like that definitely hobbles the constructor and makes getting "good" fill much more difficult.

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  34. Hello everybody. Fun puzzle today. Hands up on PAN and then POT. Also hands up for getting FRESHMAN and part of SOPHOMORE and then filling in JUNIOR and SENIOR easily. I got in a mental rut with 25D, thinking only of BRO, SIS, POP, or MOM. After I entered SIS I wondered how SENT could mean "Flexed." Didn't get it until coming here. So ... technically a DNF on Monday. I hang my head in shame.

    Psst, UP HERE made me laugh out loud.

    ClearAyes, nice going on the yard sales. I'm glad they were successful.

    Yellowrocks, I also read Jared Diamond's "Guns, Germs, and War" and found it interesting. Glad you mentioned it. Bad about the flooding.

    Bill G, I know well what you mean by disruption to your comfortable rut. I think you'll be pleased when it's done, though.

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  35. Summer is my time for voracious reading, staying up all night to finish a book, reading instead of working (guilty pleasure.)

    My favorite book this summer was "Butterfly's Child" discussed earlier. Puccini lovers, did you read it?

    A close second, nosed out by an EYE LASH, was "The Help." It was very down to earth. The characters were so real and true to life. Having come of age during the civil rights era, this book spoke to me. Thanks to all who recommended it.

    I read "The Painted Caves." Although the first 4 books in the series hooked me,the last 2 were just OK, not super. I enjoyed Auel's research in anthropology, archeology, paleontology, etc. I was able to susspend disbelief and accept Auel's dramatic license for things she had no proof of for the first 4 books, but then it became jarring. Ayla and others seemed too advanced for the Paleolythic Age. Also Ayla was much larger than life, too wonderful and inventive.

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  36. HeartRx, yes, PTUI is a fun word.

    Marge, sorry, didn't notice until you mentioned him. Good looking kid!

    Lucina, for some reason I often mix up the BUCKEYE state and the KEYSTONE state. I shouldn't, though, because I lived in Pennsylvania long enough to know. Maybe it's as the Boris Gudonov charcter said to the Harrison Ford character in Witness, "Those Ohio Amish are mean." (Pardon the inexact quote and the total non-sequitur.)

    JD, good luck getting leid.

    Best wishes to you all.

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  37. Hello.

    Read about dress code in local home town newspaper. Glad it can be googled. Teacher's attire must have been something to envoke that responce.

    Remember orlon sweater craze in late 50s. Students sent home to add shirt or blouce under them.

    Happy trip JD. Leid or laid, either
    one.

    eddy

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  38. Has anyone heard anything from or about Dennis?

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  39. Marge:
    I believe I mentioned already, but it bears repeating, you have an adorable great-grandson.

    Okay, if the Buckeyes are from Ohio, what are Iowans called? Serious question as I mean to save it for future xwds.

    When I took a grand-niece to school one day it shocked me to see her teacher in jeans, t-shirt and beach flip flops. I believe that is extreme informality.

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  40. Also, Lucina, the team from Iowa U. (in Iowa City) is called the Hawkeyes. The team from Iowa State (in Ames) is called the Cyclones.

    But in real life people mostly use the 4 letters of the state name to form the acronym: I Owe the World an Apology.

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  41. Anon,


    give it up!!! dennis is fine, you do know there is email
    dontcha?

    ReplyDelete
  42. Why ya hatin' Joe?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Sorry, didn't realize questions weren't permitted here. Still, no reason to be a jerk.

    Just how does someone divine a person's email address?

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  44. HOla Everyone, Barry and Hatool pretty much said everything about the puzzle that I experienced.

    It was fairly easy, and the one or two unknowns were filled in with the perps.

    My granddaughter started college this year and is a freshman who professes to "love, love, school."

    An enjoyable start to the day and the week.

    Have a great rest of the day, everyone.

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  45. Lucina, I can see why that teacher's attire might seem too informal. Still, I'd rather have my child in a class with a really good teacher dressed informally as opposed to a mediocre teacher dressed more business-like.

    I don't usually get involved much with people who don't identify themselves but anon has asked a good question. If somebody posts something, you can get their e-mail address by clicking on their blue name and reading their resume; that is, assuming they've decided to share their e-mail address. But I don't know how to do it if they haven't posted without going back into the archives. BTW, others may know more than I do about Dennis, but it seemed as if he just got a bit tired of spending a lot of time on the blog and is pursuing other activities.

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  46. Thank you, Spitzboov and Joe. That info shall be entered in my xwd dictionary.

    JD:
    Have a wonderful time in Hawaii, being LEID or otherwise.

    Bill G:
    Yes, I agree, a really good teacher in any attire is preferable to a mediocre on any day. I simply would like to see even a small degree of upgrade in clothing by younger teachers.

    And yet I now wear sandals to class and that is something I would never have done in the past, always hose and enclosed shoes. So there is something to be said for comfort.

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  47. Argyle: One more bit of info regarding your scenario. Such a hit is called a "walk-off hit" because the only thing the defense can do is walk off the field.

    The most exciting walk-off is with a home run but any hit that scores the winning run counts.

    Only the home team can have a walk-off since they are last to bat.

    It has become custom for teamates to gather around homeplate and mob the batter who hit the walk-off.

    Here is a recent feel-good walk-off base hit.

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  48. Easy. Hate the stump the chump question of seed spitter sound. On all the comics they spell it Ptew! Seen snoopy do it and heatcliff calvin and hobs. Hate those kind of clues cause they are spelled the way the constructor wants you to fill it. Not the usual way. Like Alf clu and hat tipping!

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  49. Wow, Chickie, our granddaughter, who just started college this year and is living in a dorm, away from home for the first time in her life, also professes to "love love love" it. I think the object of her love is living independently, but she does also like school.

    Eat lots of cooked tomatoes for PTUItary gland health! Taro cakes too! Just please don't chew tobacco likes Lil Abner's mom (PTUI!) did :)

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  50. ANON 6:00 PM PTUI is not an abitrary spelling. (See dictionary.)
    ptu·i  interjection (used to indicate the sound or act of spitting.)
    I remember the change in teaching attire. Pants for women were verboten in schools and even in middling and better restaurants. The first consession was that we could wear pants, but only with matching tops, i.e. suits. Then tasteful separates were allowed. Next came dress down Fridays, with the exception of no denim. Finally "anything goes." Teachers, men and women looked pretty scruffy for a time. Now in some schools, business casual is back. I think that is the best comprommise, although you do see scruffy in some schools.

    Marge, I love your adorable great grandson, as per Sundays's LAT puzzle, AW INSPIRING.

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  51. Crossword example:

    Grid: _ A _ K O F F

    Clue: Execute Exciting Ending

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  52. No denim? Bah! (or if you prefer, organic fertilizer of a bovine origin).

    I reluctantly reside in a white collar world, but insist on a dress code that pays no heed to the silly conscripts of yore. I still own a tie or two and have a couple of pairs of biz casual slacks, but they rarely see the light of day. Lee jeans and Nike tennies are my de rigueur. It doesn't please everyone, but I'm old enough and good enough that I can get away with it.

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  53. The anon who asked about DennisSeptember 12, 2011 at 8:35 PM

    I know he was in the path of wide-spread flooding TWICE! Just hope they are ok. Thought someone who knew how to get in touch with them would know.

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  54. Anon, like Bill G. said, go back in the archives and find a post by Dennis. His email is on his profile. Doesn't mean he will reply, of course.

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  55. Joe:
    I feel your pain, man. I once owned a pair of khaki Dockers that I wore exactly twice. On neither occasion did I make it out of the house. I put them on, stepped in front of a mirror , and said to the Irish: "I'm not going out in public looking like this."
    My bottom line: any place you can't wear jeans, I don't go.
    Where I live, funeral attire is new jeans.
    I'll send you a pic of the last time I wore a suit. It's kind of comical, and I'm still sensitive about it. Watch your mail.

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  56. Jayce, Because our granddaughter is local she didn't have to live in a dorm, but opted instead to have a small studio apt. near campus. She also has her first real job, so she is busy. I think you are right about the living away from home and being independent.

    Yellowrocks, Our school district had the same basic dress code as yours did. We were all threatened with being fired if we wore pants to school. The whole faculty wore pants the day before vacation started, so no one lost their jobs, but the pant suit dress code was in force for several years before that was relaxed.

    Even so, pants are sooo much more comfortable than dresses and nylons. I also spent a lot of time on the floor with the children, and pants were much more modest when I participated with the Kindergarteners.

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  57. Good night all.

    Yes, Marge, your great grandson is adorable. Thanks for posting his pic.

    Eddie B, I love your story about the dress code so one can tell the teachers from the students. Tell us what the code is!

    JD, that is a truly funny last line.

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  58. My father was fired from his teaching position for refusing to wear a tie, which was required, he sued the school board, lost and then built his own school in around 1967 or so when young girls were only allowed to wear a dress.

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  59. Hello all! I'm still around in case anyone has missed me!

    Fun Facts By Dave Letterman

    Dave Letterman

    ReplyDelete

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