google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, September 20, 2011 John Lampkin

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Sep 20, 2011

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 John Lampkin

Theme: Short Alliterations - A hyphenated word, imitative with both parts alliterations and followed by another alliterated word times four. The vowels are all in I, O, A order.

20A. Hullabaloo over a sudden policy reversal? : FLIP-FLOP FLAP. Or the sound of walking in thong sandals

33A. Sign of table tennis tendonitis? : PING-PONG PANG. Ping-Pong is a trademark for Parker Brothers!

42A. Bit of applause for an equestrian event? : CLIP-CLOP CLAP. Clip-clop clip.

58A. Cry of frustration about a Hostess cake? : DING-DONG DANG. Her last words?

Argyle here. Like yesterday, there is more here than meets the eye at first glance. The alliteration, of course; the imitative sound of the compound word; all the vowels are short; theme entries starting on the left side of the grid rhyming, as do the two ending on the right side of the grid. There is probably more that I missed. Doesn't matter; it works as a fun, nonsensical puzzle anyway.

Across:

1. Word on a red octagon : STOP

5. Tree trunk greenery : MOSS

9. Channel covering Capitol Hill : C-SPAN

14. Coif makeup : HAIR

15. Queen Boleyn : ANNE. The second wife of Henry VIII.

16. Partner of well : ALIVE and 17. Partner of willing : ABLE. Interesting pairing.

18. Like tilted ltrs. : ITAL.

19. Moderated, with "down" : TONED

23. Ball supporter : TEE

24. Little mischief-makers : IMPS

25. Legendary Chicago cow owner : O'LEARY. The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871. Michael Ahern, the Chicago Republican reporter who created the cow story, admitted in 1893 that he had made it up because he thought it would make colorful copy.

29. Attack from above : STRAFE

31. __ Grande : RIO 32A. Co. bigwig : CEO 37A. Bushy coif : AFRO. Ending assonance.

40. Half of a double play : OUT. Also the other half.

41. Inventor's germ : IDEA

47. Big thing at McDonalds? : MAC. That's no Whopper.

48. Samaritan's offer : AID

49. Game one : OPENER. When playing a set of games between the same contestants.

53. Meditation instruction : EXHALE. After INHALE, of course.

55. Crossword hint : CLUE

57. Inventor Whitney : ELI

61. Montezuma, e.g. : AZTEC

64. Snug ... bug in ___ : A RUG

65. "Exodus" author : URIS

66. Musical pace : TEMPO

67. Easy pace : LOPE

68. Waiter's handout : MENU

69. Cuts and pastes, say : EDITS

70. Iowa State's city : AMES

71. Stage accessory : PROP

Down:

1. Great Pyramid passages : SHAFTS

2. One of two Commandments holders : TABLET

3. More greasy : OILIER

4. Make ready, briefly : PREP

5. Letter carriers : MAILMEN

6. Winning : ON TOP

7. Velcro alternatives : SNAPS

8. Note to __ : SELF

9. Book of available products : CATALOG

10. Hillside : SLOPE

11. Exemplar of neatness : PIN. Neat as a pin.

12. Hail, to Maria : AVE. Hullo, to Nice Cuppa.

13. Composer Rorem : NED. Apropos.(2:09)

21. Fido's poodle amie : FIFI

22. Pork cut : LOIN

26. Military sch. : ACAD.

27. Actress Russo : RENE

28. Class using mats : YOGA

30. For each one : A POP

31. Campus military gp. : ROTC

34. __ Samaritan : GOOD

35. Little Lab : PUP

36. Organ whistle : PIPE

37. High point : ACME

38. Source of linen : FLAX. You have to ret it first.

39. Yummy but fattening : RICH. A shout-out to our editor?

43. Parti-colored cats : CALICOs

44. Bank's claim : LIEN

45. Sprawls, as by the pool : LOUNGES

46. Take down __: humble : A PEG

50. Less remote : NEARER

51. Cause of odd weather : EL NINO

52. Equips for use : RIGS UP

54. Highly capable : ADEPT

55. PC data disk : CD-ROM

56. Gem grader's aid : LOUPE. The pocket size. Image.

59. Festive event : GALA

60. Trash destination : DUMP

61. Ended a fast : ATE

62. Alphabet ender in England : ZED

63. 1979 Pa. meltdown site : TMI. Three Mile Island. Marker.


Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Just want to mention that this is Argyle's 220 post for our blog. We failed to celebrate his milestone 200 due to a labeling lapse. He's simply the best! He blogs when he's sick. He blogs when the puzzle is not available in Cruciverb. He's just an Iron Horse. Off the blog, he's a dear Santa who always gives me and others help when in need. Thank you, Argyle!

47 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Totally tore through this Tuesday puzzle today. Almost no hesitation whatsoever. Once I got the first theme answer I was able to fill in the rest with only a letter or two to start me off.

Fun puzzle, even if a bit easy for a Tuesday.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning Argyle (and congratulations on your 220th blog commentary!). Good Morning my crossword-blogging friends.

I really had fun with John Lampkin's puzzle today. All the rhyming words brought me back to first-grade when I was learning vowel sounds.

I liked the crossing of the GOOD Samaritan with the Samaritan's AID.

My favorite clue was Half of a Double Play = OUT.

QOD: All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height. ~ Casey Stengel

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Although this was an easy solve, I liked the cluing throughout. It was clever and not much was standard crossword fare. Did not pick up on the rhyming scheme for the theme fills until reading Argyles explanation.

39D, Yummy but fattening/rich, favorite clue. Certainly describes my culinary tastes and/or bad eating habits.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - What Barry said.

I admire the scheme. It simply amazes me that constructors can keep coming up with crafty ideas.

Congratulations to Argyle for what must be a hard-earned milestone!

Mainiac said...

Morning Everyone,

Argyle, thanks for the 220 blogs. Your dedication is priceless!

I'm either getting back into crossword shape or this one was easier than yesterday. Either way the grid was quite fun to run through. Even though I don't generally eat sweets, Ding Dong gave me the theme, then the rest quickly filled in. Only pause was in the NE where I wrote CSNBC. I have no Idea why but I was coming up with some interesting names for Composer Rorem.

Have a good one.

John Lampkin said...

Good morning all! Glad you are enjoying this bit of silliness. Congratulations to Argyle. C.C.'s words of praise are no exaggeration. He doesn't miss much.

Argyle, you didn't miss a thing, and indeed, if I had to write a summary of the theme I couldn't top yours. Also, RICH was indeed a tip of the hat to our editor. Heh, heh. Fun stuff and neat that you caught it.

For Dudley and those others who care about such things, this idea came about from trying to one-up DINGDONG, KINGKONG, PINGPONG, SINGSONG which was done in 2003 in the NYT by John Greenman. It becomes increasingly difficult to come up with ideas that haven't been done before, so one approach is to take an existing idea and extend it.

Happy solving!

Unknown said...

Thanks, Argyle, and congratulations!
A tip of the hat to Mr. Lampkin too.
Wasn't this a fun puzzle with very clever cluing? I certainly did enjoy it with my coffee this morning.
Now, back to packing for me!
Good morning to all!

HeartRx said...

Good Morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

Argyle, you truly are a wonder, and congratulations on 220 blogs. Even yesterday when Criciverb was down, it didn't stop you ! Thank you for being such a rock for this corner.

John L., thanks for your RICH puzzle today - it was certainly yummy, and not fattening at all! We talked about repeated use of themes the other day. But I loved the fact that you took an old theme and really moved it up a notch. The symmetry of the rhyme scheme just added another layer of elegance. Thank you for a fun Tuesday!

Have a great day, everybody!

Avg Joe said...

Ave y'all. Quite the milestone, Argyle. Your dedication is appreciated.

Fun puzzle. If I had one criticism it would be that the cluing was a tad too easy for Tuesday. But the theme was fun and very helpful in the solve.

Thanks for stopping by John. You did good!

Abejo said...

Good Morning, folks. Thank you, John L., for a swell tuesday puzzle. Thank you, as well, Argyle, for a great post. Also, Kudos to you for 220 valiant efforts.

This puzzle was quick and easy. That's OK for Tuesday.

The theme came easily, enjoyed it.

My goal is to fill in a crossword puzzle by never entering a word by itself, except the first word. Today, it worked.

Getting ready for a trip to PA. Leaving Thursday AM.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Nance said...

Thank you, Argyle. I am new here, but certainly appreciate your dedication and longevity.

Very amusing puzzle. A quicksolve for me, as was yesterday's. It's nice to feel like a Conquering Hero first thing in the morning although the rest of the day can be somewhat anticlimactic. ;-)

It's gloomy and rainy in NEO (NorthEastOhio) today--again. Perhaps a baking day.

Yellowrocks said...

Argyle,
Congratualation on your milestone and much appreciation for all you do.
LOL? No, I ROARED at your CLIP CLOP CLIP.
Loved your DING DONG DANG clip.
I have met NED ROREM over and over in puzzles, but never looked up his music, I enjoyed the experience.
You made my morning.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning,all. Great blog, Argyle, and congratulations on 220.

Thanks for a fun run John L.

I didn't read the theme clues or any down clues until I had gone through all of the across entries. Besides the four theme entries I only had four others that I hadn't filled. As soon as I started the downs and saw FLIP emerging, I read the theme clues and quickly grasped what was going on. the rest filled easily.

My only write-over was putting in 'ruler' before AZTEC,

My favorite was DING DONG DANG. I had a friend in junior high that would often say "Well, DING DANG DONG!" in situations where most would say "Well, I'll be darned!". I hadn't heard or thought about that in years.

Very clever that John was able to keep the I-O-A pattern throughout.

Anonymous said...

With all the talk recently about whether one should get an iPad, it's nice to see TABLET getting some old school love.

I've always wondered what the missing commandments were on the TABLET Moses dropped in History of the World, Part I. Who knows? The world might be a different place now if we still had them.

Or not.

Bill said...

Hahtool, Sallie, Lemon:
Thank You and there was no cake, just sugar free ice cream. Seems that, with age, there comes other gifts of life.
EASY today. Argyle, great job and congrats for the longevity. Gotta go and do stuff.
Thanks and
CYA'll Later

kazie said...

Great puzzle, John!
Loads of fun and no real problems. When I saw the X, Y and Z, I thought you might be going for a pangram, but no Q meant no. I didn't check all the other letters after that.

Argyle,
Congrats on your 220th blog! I always admire the bloggers for their astute skills and knowledge. I couldn't do it. Noticed your shout out in yesterday's puzzle too.

I think NED was my only unknown, but perped it with no trouble. Several clues went unread until I came here.

I was gone two days until last night, so didn't stop in yesterday. With our visitors here, we're trying to devise ways to entertain them so we don't just sit around in the house. So many little trips out and about are planned.

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone!

Splynter said...

Hi There ~!

Argyle, congrats on 220 ~!

And I always appreciate a fellow MP & HG fan -

"Help! Help! I'm being repressed!"

This was my fastest solve ever, and like BarryG, once I had theme 1, I was off and running.

Well clued, thanks, John, despite my agreement with others that it turned out to be easy, as well....

I went back to school yesterday to get licensed to be a Home Inspector.
You're never too old to learn ~! (I'm a baby at 40)



Splynter

Husker Gary said...

What a hoot, John, on every level and on a Tuesday no less! Congrats on making a furlong in blogging Argyle!

Musings
-The air will soon be full of Flip Flop Flaps as politicians try to see which way the wind is blowing
-I started with a VINE around my tree and TROTed before I LOPEd
-Do congressional speeches as seen on CSPAN change anything? I see orations that are delivered to chambers where everyone is talking in their seats ignoring the speaker or no one is even there and the vote is usually down party lines. What’s the point? The real work is done in the “cloakroom”.
-There will be fewer MAILMEN soon because of, well, how we communicate here
-Velcro was on every manned space flight to compensate for zero gravity
-Do women like Rene Russo really go for men like the one Kevin Costner played in Tin Cup?
-ROTC is back on campuses again
-Some new computers have no place for a CD

Tinbeni said...

Argyle, Wonderful 220th!!!

Thanks John for a FUN Tuesday.

I hope a lot of 'newbies' try solving the LAT today.

Cheers!!!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Congrats to "Iron Man" Argyle. Steady as she goes!

Not much to add to earlier comments. No unknowns; brief pause for LOUPE and RIGS UP. The theme phrases were fun and fell quickly from the perps getting them started. CLIP CLOP CLAP was a cold entry w/o help. No lookups. No strikethroughs. Thanks, John.

Have a great day.

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Mr. Lampkin for a very NICE puzzle, and thoroughly enjoyable.

Argyle, there you are - as predictable as .... snow (?). Thank you for all your hard work and dedication. I am thinking of a feeling, which I cant quite describe - but its like when Rex Harrison, sings in 'My Fair Lady' - "I've grown accustomed to her face ...". I've grown accustomed to your voice.

I would like to sincerely and earnestly thank Clear Ayes, for that link, yesterday, to 'Let them eat cake'. I learnt a lot - and that too, on my personal Bible, the Wikipedia.

Alt QOD:- The way men and women view sex is like the difference between throwing a bullet and firing it out of a gun. ~ Larry Miller.

Bill G. said...

Thanks to John L. for a fun puzzle, Argyle for 220 great writeups and to C.C. for her shoutout to Argyle.

I just came across a bit of Fried Green Tomatoes again on cable. What an enjoyable movie! I happened to catch that one classic scene that, for me, is so memorable in this movie. Do you know which one I mean?

Zcarguy said...

Morning all, Argyle

This was a Wam Bam Thank you Mam kinda puzzle
with minor hesitation.. wanted Sortie at 28A other then that it was a breeze.
It's good to see John Lampkin back I always enjoy his efforts.

Argyle, great job will be an understatement to describe what you've done 220 times .

Y'all have a great day

Yellowrocks said...

Fried Green Tomatoes is one of my favorite movies, but I can't guess your memorable scene, Bill G.

I will be making no more fried tomatoes, red or green, from my garden. All that rain from Irene and Lee turned the plants black and dead. The tomatoes from the market are still delicious, full of that sunny summer flavor.

Anon with privacy concerns said...

What a rootin` tootin` shootin` kind of puzzle! Good job, Mr. Lampkin!
ARGYLE, you sock! (I mean, "rock." :)

Problems: Whether to say "Dang! Ding Dong." or "Ding Dong Dang." Perps helped that. Mis spelling "calico" because of not seeing the s (plural) of cats. Not remembering if it was "O`leery" or O`leary." Perp remedied that, too.
For that other anon. After the first tablets were shattered, God re-wrote them...and since He "changes not..." we didn`t miss anything. BTW: Moses was perhaps the only man to break all ten Commandments at the same time! :)

Anon with privacy concerns said...

Bill: Since most posters are of a certain age, my favorite scene is when Kathy Bates says, "I`m older and have more insurance!) Is it yours?

ant said...

Nance,
Where in the NEO are you?

I was born in Euclid and raised in Painesville, but now live in the Phoenix area. I miss it terribly, but then again, I was a kid when we moved, so what do I know?!

Go Browns! Go Tribe! Go Cavs! Go Monsters!

Oh, and...Go Argyle!

Anonymous said...

At last, a puzzle in my language! Thanks, I needed that, Mr. Lambkin.Thanks, too, Argyle. Perseverance is a necessity for success (As I told my son and nephew who were struggling in college).

Bill G.-Was it the scene in Fried Green Tomatoes where the Law Man looking for the missing husband is saying how the barbecued meat is so delicious? I always thought this most memorable.

Bill G. said...

Yes! Two young women zoom into the parking space she was waiting for. They taunt her saying, "Face it lady, we're younger and faster." She waits until they go into the store and then decides to plow into their VW several times which causes lots of damage. They run out to see the commotion and want to know what's going on. Kathy Bates says, "Face it girls, I'm older with more insurance."

BTW, I haven't found any problems with privacy issues. I'm a retired teacher and live in southern California.

Yes, that's another fun part of the story. The whole movie is one of my favorites.

JD said...

Aloha Argyle, C.C. Et al,

John, a fun run indeed! Thanks.

Argyle,You have been a rock. I always look forward to going back and seeing all of your links.

Finished yesterday's cw in the evening....arghh..but it's too late to comment.Much of the movie, "Pirates of the Caribbean", was filmed here in Kauai. The locals were thrilled as many of them were extras.

Only place I got stuck today was that A in strafe, so I wagged it.

You had to be as smart as a 6th grader to fill flax and shaft.

Annette,have fun in the big apple!

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everybody.

Yes, thank you Argyle for all you do for this blog. Your write ups are always spot on.

I truly appreciate a second puzzle of the week that I can do without help. And this one was fun and silly and doable. Thank you John.

Cheers

Lemonade714 said...

Wow, a week beginning with Jeff Chen, and then the return of JL, what a country!

As a regular blogger, who has faced some Cruciverb and other issues; what Argyle has done is tremendously impressive. I wonder how many C.C. blogged when she was a one person shop.

The puzzle was great with the symmetry of three four letter words and inclduing the vowel progression: awesome.

Welcome back JL, we missed you

Grasshopper said...

Hello Nance and Ant - I lived in North East Ohio, too ok, Cleveland - the mistake on the lake - I lived in Lakewood, Parma, Brookpark, North Olmsted, Strongsville and Westlake. Go Browns, Indians, Cavs ( to H---) that is in a hand basket. They wont win if they're the only team in the league. I lost my job three times and and got mugged in the city, just as many. Now I live in sunny Plano, Dallas Texas, and lead the good warm rich very optimistic life. Will the last person to depart from the butt of all jokes, please shut off the lights ? Ya think they should rename it Pits-berg ?

lois said...

Good afternoon Argyle, CC, et al., Cute cute puzzle but like thehondo I didn't pick up on the theme right away. DING DONG DANG was the big CLUE. Loved it!

I got excited with the OPENER 1D SHAFTS crossing ball supporter TEE. Of course I was thinking
"golf", but then comes ON TOP and LOIN. Holy Hotwick ALIVE! I hardly had time to EXHALE when who turned up? El NINO all TONED and more up TEMPO the NEARER he got. I hardly needed A LOUPE to see his PROP. But alas,it was smaller than A PEG - a PIN in fact. DING DONG DANG!!! There went my PIPE dream. It's all GOOD!

Santa Baby: congratulations on yet another stellar performance. You deserve all the accolades and kudos given to you. I've got some saved up for you personally in a few of months. I LOLROTF w/your comments yesterday. You r awesome!

Marge said...

Hi all,
Another fun puzzle that wasn't hard. Ave Joe-it wasn't too easy in my book, it was just right! Thanks John and Argyle.

How many people know that at the same time as the Chicago fire,there was also a terrible forest fire in Peshtigo Wisconsin, which is near Green Bay. It was bigger and did more damage but Chicago, of course was better known so help was slow coming to Wisc.

When I saw author of Exodus I wanted Moses but of course it didn't fit and I realized it Uris. I read the book, too.

By the way, we have a mail woman instead of a mail man.

Have a good evening!
Marge

Lemonade714 said...

Marge:

Actually it should be mail person, though mailmale always seemed like an interesting one. Of course since USPS is going out of business, what does it matter.

Speaking of accents: If there was a clue PATE_____, would everyone put in defoiegras? Is the clue fair without the Pâté accents?

Or if you hade PATE, would you think of BEAN?

Lucina said...

Hello, puzzlers.

Congratulations, Argyle, and thank you for always being our Monday, Tuesday Santa.

Not much time today as I am on a lark with my sisters. Today we went for hair cuts.

I just had to pop in to tell John Lampkin how much fun I had with his puzzle. CLAP, CLAP, CLAP!

Thank you, John, as always for this bit of entertainment.

I hope your Tuesday is great, everyone!

ant said...

Lemony,
When I see PATE, I think of the top of someone's bald head. Is that what you mean by BEAN?

Argyle said...

I appreciate the kind words from John Lampkin and thank you all for your great wishes.

dodo said...

Hello folks,

John, a simply delightful puzzle and soooo good to see you. Welcome back, we missed you.

Kudos for you, Argyle. You da champ! Thanks for your steadfastness and diligence! What would we do without you?

Can't come up with anything to say about the puzzle except "Bravo" for making us all so happy today!

Bill G. said...

Well, our refrigerator now dispenses ice like it's supposed to. The repairman hypothesized that a wire came loose between the body of the refrigerator and the door where the ice dispenser is located. It probably occurred when the delivery guys took the doors off to get it through the doorway into the kitchen. It doesn't take much to make me happy.

JD said...

Ah Marge, that would be a post mistress. BTW, I was not enchanted with that book.

Lois, Glad to hear you rare still on top of things.LOL

Lemonade714 said...

Ant, that is exactly what I mean. No one has called me Lemony since Robin was abducted by aliens.

WikWak said...

Whatta treat-- John Lampkin and Argyle at the same time! Loved FLIPFLOPFLAP but also got a big smile out of "Little lab" = PUP.

And as for PATE... having lived for the past 40+ years in DuPage County with a million or so of my closest friends, how could I not think PHILIP? Google him for some interesting insights into IL politics.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Late Evening All, It has been a busy day and I finally got around to the puzzle after dinner. Now it is time to work on tomorrow's puzzle. Time sure does fly.

As usual John Lampkin can do no wrong. I thought the theme was very clever and I enjoyed all of it.

Avg Joe thought the cluing was a tad on the easy side, but I liked it since I was pressed for time.

Congratulations to Argyle for hanging in there. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" Not an official USPS motto, but it would be a good one for Argyle.

BTW, those mail men and women are all officially "letter carriers".

JamminJudy said...

What a fun puzzle John Lampkin gave us Tuesday! I was laughing out loud as I filled in "flipflopflap, clipclopclap" and pingpongpang!!!" This was a gem, Mr. Lampkin!

Anonymous said...

A fun and enjoyable puzzle.