google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, October 13, 2011 Tom Heilman

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Oct 13, 2011

Thursday, October 13, 2011 Tom Heilman

Theme: Would you like paper or plastic? It's a:

63A. Variety, and what's literally hidden within 17-, 23-, 32-, 42- and 50-Across : MIXED BAG. Anagrams of “BAG” are found in the middle of the theme entries. Nicely done, with each “mixed” bag in a different combination: GBA, ABG, AGB, BGA and GAB. This theme could be dedicated to our own Jerome, who is a master of anagrams!

17A. Cher title words before "my baby shot me down": BANG BANG Do you remember Nancy Sinatra’s version, the same year?

23A. Lawn invader: CRABGRASS. DH fights this invader all the time.

32A. Olympics opening ceremony VIP: FLAG BEARER. Clara Hughes was the flag bearer for Canada at the 2010 Olympics.

42A. Place to keep thyme: HERB GARDEN. I have been harvesting the last of my thyme, rosemary, oregano, chives, mint and tarragon this week. The kitchen smells wonderful, with all the herb bunches tied and hanging from the windows!

50A. Evoke something from the past: RING A BELL. Does this?

Marti here, so it must be Thursday! This is my favorite day of the week for puzzles. They are just difficult enough to be a challenge, but not as hard as Friday (bless you , Lemonade!) or Saturday (you too, Splynter!).

Across:

1. Punch with a point : AWL

4. Handle trouble : COPE

8. Shake : JOGGLE. Did Santa “joggle” like a bowl full of jelly?

14. Article sometimes dropped : THE. Can you think of phrases where “the” is left out?

15. Cracked just a bit : AJAR

16. Pallor cause : ANEMIA

19. A cupcake's may be creamy : CENTER

20. "The Bourne Identity" malady : AMNESIA

21. Bar closing? : CODE. "closing" is a hint that this refers to a word that can follow "bar". In this case, the UPC bar CODE on all grocery items. You can generate your own at this site. And a clecho (clue echo) with 68A. Bar measure: SHOT. (Bang bang!)

22. Wrist exercise provider : YOYO

28. Revolt : RISE UP

31. We're on it : EARTH

36. Future school? : ROE. Fun clue, for a “school” of fish.

37. Fresh : RECENT

38. Have ambitions : ASPIRE

41. "__-hoo!" : YOO

46. Become a member : ENROL. I always have a problem between “enroll” and “enrol” . BTW, spell-checker doesn’t like “enrol”, either!

49. Rubeola spot : MEASLE. Some people complain about too many “plurals” in puzzles. But for the life of me, I have never heard of a single MEASLE.

52. Low-growing greenery : MOSS

56. Yarn source? : LIAR. Great clue!

57. Respectfully give the final word : DEFER TO

60. Ripping results : SHREDS

64. Spring sign : TAURUS. Taurus in the astrological sign for anyone born between April 21 and May 20. So definitely "spring" sign.

65. Ancient Egyptian agents of capital punishment : ASPS. Used for "elite" criminals.

66. Word with white or shell : EGG

67. Former CIA agent counterpart : KGB SPY

69. "L.A. Law" actress : DEY. This actress, also known for her role on “The Partridge Family”

And now, Let Me Take You Down...

1. Held in check : AT BAY

2. Frisbee maker : WHAMO

3. Bruce in a 1974 film : LENNY. This movie.

4. Semi sections : CABS. Tractor trailers.

5. Ventura County resort city : OJAI. Oh, hi!

6. Quack's wonder drug : PANACEA

7. Physics class unit : ERG

8. Biblical twin : JACOB. You all know Esau, his brother?

9. Strung out : ON EDGE

10. Biological family subdivisions : GENERA

11. Clock std. : GMT. Greenwich Mean Time, the “0” hour that the rest of the world relates to.

12. Links concern : LIE. Every golfer tries not to LIE about their score…Oh wait, this clue refers to the situation of the golf ball as it sits on the fairway (or, in a divot).

13. Stirrup site : EAR. It is in the middle ear, here.

18. Dennis the Menace's neighbor Wilson : GEORGE. Dennis's cranky, cantankerous middle aged next-door neighbor; a retired postal carrier and (at least as far as Dennis is concerned) his best human friend.

21. Flowing garment : CAPE

24. Robot play : R.U.R. In the Czech language, by Karel Čapek.

25. Toiletry product whose slogan once began "Don't be half-safe" : ARRID. Deodorant brand.

26. Put away : STORE

27. Radiance : SHEEN

29. Arabic "son of" : IBN. Arabs often use bin, which is a form of ibn, in their full names.

30. Green who played a werewolf in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" : SETH. I like his hair!

32. Young chicken : FRYER. Sounds like these young chickens are doomed...

33. "The Family Man" co-star Téa : LEONI. This lady.

34. Squash variety named for its shape : ACORN

35. Syncopated pieces : RAGS

39. Erie Canal mule : SAL. Made famous by this song.

40. Specialized undergrad track : PRE-MED. I took pre-med as an undergrad.

43. Part of FEMA: Abbr. : EMER...gency.

44. Fam. tree entry : REL...ative

45. Somewhat spotty on top? : BALDISH. (frown)

47. Lascivious lookers : OGLERS

48. Sidelined : LAID UP

51. Very low : BASSY. (frown)

53. Globular : ORBED

54. Developmental period : STAGE

55. Soaked : SOGGY

58. National, before moving : EXPO. No idea. Must be baseball related! (Or, maybe soccer??) Any help here would be appreciated... (From C.C.: Montreal Expos became Washington Nationals in 2004.)

59. Gab attachment : FEST. My gal pals and I always have a gab fest whenever we get together for book club.

60. Trader's buy: Abbr. : STK. "Stock" (frown)

61. Cauldron tender : HAG. (smile) “Double, double toil and trouble: Fire burn and cauldren bubble…”, from Macbeth. And another Shakespearean tribute at:

62. Obstacle, to Hamlet : RUB. “To sleep, perchance to dream: ah, there’s the rub…” 63. Some parents : MAs. OK, some parents might have a “Master of Arts” degree, but is that a prerequisite? (...Postscript: I guess the last clue refers to "MAs", as partners of PAs)

Answer grid.

Hugs to everyone on this fine Thursday!

Marti

Note from C.C.:

Sorry for the font mix-up earlier. Blogger did some maintenance last night and we had trouble fixing a few glitches.

97 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Running late again today. In brief:

ORBED + BASSY + BALDISH = MEH

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Marti and friends. I agree, Thursday is generally a fun challenge, but still doable.

My favorite clue today was We're On It = EARTH.

I also liked seeing both the LIE and the LIAR. You mean that golfers don't Lie about their scores?

I smiled at the Somewhat Spotty on Top = BALDISH.

I tried Jingle and Jangle before finally settling on JOGGLE.

QOD: The problem is that the people with the most ridiculous ideas are always the people who are most certain of them. ~ Bill Maher

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers - Struggled a bit with this one, had to reach for the red-letter crutch in the south to finish up. EXPO had me baffled, easily done where sports clues are involved.

Morning Marti, thanks for the de-code!

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Well Marti, I have to disagree with you because my title for the theme is "Bottoms Up." After my first pass of the across and down fills, I had two entry's, 68A Shot & 69A Dey. I was about to say the Hell with it, but I nibbled a bit and after a while the South was complete and looked like it made sense. Then the Central fell and finally the North. Take a few days off and the grey matter goes into hibernation!

Happy I stuck with it because it was a fun puzzle and a nice Thursday test. 31A We're on it/Earth; 36A Future school/Roe; and 58D Nat'l, before moving/Expo were favs. Yes Marti, it's baseball related. The Montreal Expo's became the Washington Nationals a few years back,

Marti & Barry covered the clues I felt were so so.

Welcome to all the newcomers from the defunct blog.

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

Marti,
Poor chicken!

Hahtool,
Thanks for noticing that both LIE and LIAR appear in this puzzle. Normally words with the same root are not allowed in the same grid. Now I see why Rich clued LIE as golf related.

Yellowrocks,
Only time and hard work. No other expenses are involved running this blog.

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

LACC readers,
Welcome! I'm sure it takes time for you to get used to our style here. Don't feel ignored if your questions are not answered. You can always ask again. And please don't feel bad if your posts are not responded. It happens often. Have fun!

Avg Joe said...

Good morning all. Thanks for clearing up the Nancy/Cher question Marti. I could hear the song and got the answer readily, but it wasn't Cher singing in my ear.

All in all a fun puzzle. Had a lot of trouble in the SW, but it fell into place. The only serious carp I had was Joggle?!!

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thanks, Tom, for a fine Thursday puzzle. Thank you, HeartRx, for the swell write-up.

Got started slowly today and bounced around quite a bit. My first word was JACOB. With that I got CENTER and CRABGRASS. Had JIGGLE at first, then fixed it later to JOGGLE.

All the theme answers came easily except for the last one, MIXED BAG. I also had RANG A BELL instead of RING A BELL.

The SE corner was my hang up. Had PREMED and MOSS, but could not finish. So, I changed to PRELAW and LAWN. Still could not finish. Changed back to PREMED and MOSS and finally got it.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

kazie said...

For the first time in a while Thursday wasn't a DNF for me. On paper and no help either!

Many unknowns: OJAI, WHAMO, LEONI, SETH, EXPO, DEY, but all arrived via perps or WAGS, except DEY, for which I had REY/ORBER. I simply couldn't think of a way to end ORB. I was further impeded by misreading YARNS as YAMS. Old eyes and small newsprint. Took forever in the SW, and finished only after coming back when I was done with the sudoku. I knew it had to be KGB, but was slow getting HAG and TAURUS, despite being one, (the latter, that is! LOL)

Marti,
sleight of hand?

Barry's MEHs were mine too.

Don't think I've ever used JOGGLE. wanted JIGGLE for a while.

Hahtool,
The QOD is evidence of "a little knowledge is a dangerous thing". If so, then practically no knowledge is disastrous.

the Macster said...

The only phrases I could think of that drop "the" are slang, such as "Trouble with you is.." or "Man's gonna be mad..." Other than that I came up dry.
Anybody out there remember when the original Frisbee was called a Pluto Platter?

Tinbeni said...

Marti: Nice write-up & links.

V-8 can head slap at the MIXED-BAG reveal.
It describes my solving experience today.

First off, my lawn had a Chinch-Bug before the CRAB-GRASS invaded.
The 'Low-growing greenery' around here are Ferns not MOSS. (And WTH is PRE-F-- ?)
Then the 'Somewhat spotty on top?' guy was baldING before I got off my ASPS, had a SHOT,
and got BALDISH.
Can't remember how many Deodorant Ad's ran through my head before ARRID appeared.

My real nit were the two "UP's in the grid ....
RISE-UP and LAID-UP.

I liked the LIE & LIAR since they were unrelated.
(Note, golfer's don't lie about their lie, though at-times they do improve them).
Kazie - it looked like "Yam" in my paper, too.

Cheers !!!

Anonymous said...

Re:orbed+bassy+baldish=meh:

Once you`ve finally gotten a grid that works with your theme, you will, more than likely, wind up with a few of those "meh`s."
It`s not like we choose "mehs"; they just often happen and we have to deal with them. Produce a puzzle and you`ll understand.

JD said...

well said anonymous!

Spitzboov, interesting cracker link. Born in Georgia, my dad always called me his "little cracker". Had no clue.

LaLa Linda, nice to see you!!

Hahtool, as always, loved your QOD.

Later...off to school :-)

kazie said...

Anon @8:57,
Is that you Tom Hellman? If so, we welcome all constructors here. Several are frequent visitors.

Anyway, please know that our MEHS don't indicate a lack of tolerance or understanding, just frustration. And most of us are incapable of constructing, so could not improve on what we are offered, so please don't be hurt by our momentary negativity. Our admiring comments on the puzzles far outweigh the mehs.

HeartRx said...

Anon @ 8:57, of course you are right. This was a fine theme, and with 6 theme entries it is difficult to get all sparkling fill. But we don't limit our comments to only the fun stuff - the "meh" gets equal time. And as a constructor myself, I read those "meh" comments with even more scrutiny.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

All kinds of trouble today. DNF, but I came close, only missing the G where JOGGLE crosses GMT. Alas, I had TEE for LIE and mispelt ANEMEA along the way. Tried WAMMO - no go. CRAB GRASS? WHITE GRUB fits.

ANEMIAS would be an anagram of AMNESIA.

Amusing theme, and impressive that each of 5 entries was MIXED differently. GENERA and PANACEA are great Thus. fill. "Future school" is brilliant!

But - though I get what anon @ 8:57 is saying, I won't DEFER TO him. Some things are worse than MEH. I call foul on JOGGLE and BALDISH (the condition of my own mottled pate not withstanding.) JOSTLE and BALDING are IN THE LANGUAGE. BASSY? No! BASIE? Absolutely!

So, on balance - a MIXED BAG.

Cheers!
JzB whose 90-Yr-old MA is a TAURUS

HeartRx said...

Re: 14A clue
Kazie, yes "sleight of (the) hand" would be a good example, as wells as the Macster said's "(The) trouble with you is..." I just couldn't come up with any last night, so thanks for helping out!

Grumpy 1 said...

O-jai, everyone! Great Thursday puzzle.

One man's meh is another's chuckle. ORBED may be rather unusual, but BASSY and BALDISH are words I've used myself and heard often. No problem with either except wanting BALDIng first.

Started with tremor at 8a, JACOB changed that to JiGGLE and there it stayed until it was obvious that I needed an 'O' to start 9d.

Sari before CAPE was my other slow spot. I thought future school/ROE was great.

There are five possible combinations of a,b and g other than the unifier BAG. Tom nailed them all and split all five across two or three words. Very impressive!

It's nice to see lots of newcomers from the other blog. Welcome! I read it a few times when I first started doing crosswords and needed to Google at times, but never posted there.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Enjoyed the writeup, Marti.

I had somewhat the same experience as Hondo. Had to drift all the way down to the SE to get a good anchor. ORBED, EGG, and DEY got me going. The theme was so-so, but I liked the theme words. I had 'Bin' before IBN. WAGs included AMNESIA and WHAMO. The EARTH clue was clever and I liked KGB SPY. @56a, the fonts in my paper made Yarn look like Yam (source) so had to consider both. Liked the LIAR answer. No searches needed. A good Thursday romp.

Marti; dropped {the} examples.

Eat crow

USS Neversail (United States Ship)

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, A short break in our "at home" action and time for a good Thursday puzzle.

No problem with the people names. I think DEY@69A was the only Across. LENNY, JACOB, GEORGE and LEONI all came easily.

I wasn't crazy about BASSY, but then I didn't even see it until the perps were done with it. BALDISH? GAH seems to prefer BALDISH rather than BALDING. Maybe he thinks BALDISH is a permanemt state and won't be a progressive BALDING.

I liked seeing all the Latins; GENERA, AMNESIA, ANEMIA and PANACEA. I also like the alternative clue for 65A/ASP.

I suppose if you JOG, your body will JOGGLE.

My daughter has one MEASLE scar on her forehead.

Thanks Marti for the theme explanation. I didn't even "get" MIXED BAG until I came here.

Lemonade714 said...

Anon at 8:57; our feerless leader C.C., and our Thursday Thug. Hearti have been published many times; since you do not identify yourself, we do not know if you can make the same statement. If you are Mr. Heilman, I am surprised, since the comments have been very positive, notwithstanding the meh's at a few fill. This blog, unlike any other I have seen, discusses every fill, good and bad. Baldish is a real word, and might have been better received in relation to a tire, than replacing the standard balding pate. The puzzle had so many nice touches, and I loves me an anagram or 5, but criticism can be constructive even to constructors.

Bill G. said...

Good morning! I enjoyed the puzzle. The clue that gave me trouble was 4A, Handle trouble/COPE. It's because I was thinking of handle as a noun as in the handle of a piece of luggage or a CB handle. But I couldn't make 'trouble with a handle' come out to be COPE. Even after it was filled in with crossing letters, I couldn't make sense of it. Finally the V-8 juice I had for breakfast kicked in. All is well now.

Barry's mehs were OK with me though I wasn't crazy about ORBED. Still, they're OK on a Thursday and I'm sure were important to make the rest of the grid work out.

It's going to be really hot again today (92F). So on my bike ride, I get an iced macchiato and later, tutor and sleep with a fan on (though not at the same time).

eddyB said...

Hello.

Also thought(the)theme was brilliant and impressive.

Became a Taurus when they added the 13th sign.

Lawn is now green again after a little rain.

Last race this year is Sun.

Sharks play tonight. Yea! Waiting
for East Coast teams to come to
town.

Dropped "the" a few times.

Take care. eddy

Avg Joe said...

Given the recent conversation here, I thought that Ziggy was funny today.

Seldom Seen said...

ORBED+BASSY+BALDISH = MEH ??

I thought both sides of an equation should balance.

How about...

orbed+bassy+baldish = shabbily dress a bod

Example

Frank said...

I didn't get my "ta-da" when I finished this puzzle. I had CODa instead of CODE. GENaRA looked good to me, and I thought the "Bar closing" referred to a musical score. Alas...

Note the GAB at 59D.

Wasn't there an actor named Bruce LEigh in the 70's? :)

Bill G - the image of you, your pupil, a fan, and a nap after is just...wrong.

Too apropos, Avg Joe. Weird...

Steve said...

I was ambivalent about JOGGLE, even when JACOB insisted that it must be right.

A jelly jiggles, a bad pass is juggled, but joggled? Hmm ..

Liked the remainder!

Spitzboov said...

Speaking of physics at 7d, Here is something on Einstein.


JD - Interesting about the 'cracker' moniker.

HeartRx said...

Seen, did you use advanced algebra to work out your equation?

Frank, do you mean Bruce Lee? I used to watch his martial arts movies. But I like Jackie Chan better - "Shanghai Noon" was just hilarious.

Jerome said...

You can get a constructor's attention when complaints about a puzzle are well thought out, good-spirited, and friendly. Better yet, if an alternative word is offered up that would work in the grid. You will, however, get no ones attention by short, trite, snobby bithching that dismisses a constructor's hours of work with inanities and spite.

Most inane-

ASPIRE- What a steeple is

I have AMNESIA but I AM SANE

Seldom Seen said...

Or...

What the crook did to Mr. Clean?

ROBBED HIS BALDY ASS

Sarah said...

I had JOSTLE (JOGGLE), BALDING (BALDISH) and BASIC (BASSY) first and feel all three of those were highly suspicious words. Also I had CODA instead of CODE and would not have noticed the misspelling if I hadn't looked at this site.

Clear Ayes said...

I knew I could count on Percy Bysshe Shelley for an ORBED. This is just one verse of the longer The Cloud

And the crimson pall of eve may fall
From the depth of Heaven above,
With wings folded I rest, on mine aery nest,
As still as a brooding dove.
That ORBED maiden with white fire laden,
Whom mortals call the Moon,
Glides glimmering o'er my fleece-like floor,
By the midnight breezes strewn;
And wherever the beat of her unseen feet,
Which only the angels hear,
May have broken the woof of my tent's thin roof,
The stars peep behind her and peer;
And I laugh to see them whirl and flee,
Like a swarm of golden bees,
When I widen the rent in my wind-built tent,
Till the calm rivers, lakes, and seas,
Like strips of the sky fallen through me on high,
Are each paved with the moon and these.

Anonymous said...

@Jerome - You da man.

Yellowrocks said...

Fun Thursday puzzle. Great write up, Marti. I started in the NE headed SE, and then SW, and finally NW. I finally thought of Dennis's Mr. Wilson, basicaly because GEORGE has 2 G's. Then I was home free.

I have often looked up ENROL and ENROLL. These are just alternative spellings.

BASSY songs? It seems natural to me. I have also heard of BLUESY songs.

I say, "The toilet's running, could you JOGGLE the handle, please?"

STK is an abbrev. for STOCK, shares in a company.

The only single MEASLE I can find is a tapeworm larva.

FAVORITE, FUTURE SCHOOL = ROE

What is URAQT?

Lucina said...

Greetings, Marti, C.C. and all.

What you all have said! I'm too late for anything original.

This was a fun romp though a little on the obscure side at times yet doable.

DNF for me as the bottom gave me fits at EXPO, had no idea, BALDING, failed to change it and did not see TAURUS. BASSY? Who knew?

Have a superb Thursday, everyone!

Lucina said...

Yellowrocks:
You are a cutie, URAQT.

Marti, for got to comment on your always sparkly blog. Thanks.

creature said...

What about Joogle your mind? better than Bogle your mind?

Thanks for the very fun puzzle Tom.
Great theme and creatively complcated. I make lots of excuses for fillers (usualy) and this is an easy one for me to blink over.
On a given day, I might utter some of those 'mehs', but they carry no weight with me. Actually, I think they add color and distinction to conversations, so have at it, because I will make use of them.

I will, in short order, begin referring to DH as BALDISH. I can see him puffed up with pride, now.

cont....

creature said...

CA, we are thinking of going through what you and GAH are in the midst of doing. The real estate market is slow here and to add to our difficulty, one of our main bridges to Louisville has been shut down for repairs until May or later. This definitely harms the value of our property for now, anyway.

I guess we might dive into the fray when the bridge opens again.

Hope this goes quickly for you all.

Later...

creature said...

Marti, I think you do a fun write-up. Thanks

My FIL used to refer to himself as a 'Georgia Cracker'. "That's just what we're called", he said.

Einstein is dynamite! Thanks, Spitzboov.

My thoughts are as scattered as my posts.


Again, welcome to all. This will be exciting getting to know everyone!

SrSlugger said...

Good Morning,
I had trouble getting ARRID even after having ROE and GRABGRASS becase my mind was not into the deoderant area. The TOILETry clue had me trying to come up with a slogan from maybe Charman etc.(smile)

SrSlugger said...

OOOps should have been Charmin Tissue

Anonymous said...

I cry foul!!!!!!!!! 49A asks for rubeola spot. Its called a koplik spot!!!!!

Jazzbumpa said...

Anon @ 2:12 -

Methinks thou protest too much. (No matter how high in the buccal mucosa thy tongue may be tucked.) Koplic spots are not the typical Rubeola spots, since they are specifically limited to the buccal mucosa, and manifest a couple of days before the actual rash - i.e. each of those rubeola spots so clearly intended by the clue.

Cheers!
JzB occasionally known to RISE UP to the risible

Argyle said...

I'll add that MEASLE is derived from a word meaning SPOT.(or speck or blemish)

Jerome said...

"That orbed maiden with white fire laiden,
Whom mortals call the Moon,..."

Incredible, Clear Ayes...

Bill G. said...

A beautiful shot of the Milky Way, an aurora and a meteor.

Wow!

creature said...

YR,

From yesterday’s discussion, here’s my thinking on donations to the blog.

I want to make a monthly donation , which I will consider as part of our monthly entertainment allowance- like books, magazines , movies and dues. I won’t miss a small subscription amount each month, but I would miss the heck out of our blog and all it means.

I read CC’s answer to you, as far as ‘no expenses incurred’ and on the surface I guess that’s so. However, I remember Argyle had hardware issues and from time to time, others have had problems. These repairs are inevitable and can be costly.

The time issue is huge and I agree with you, some enumeration should be forthcoming or the burn-out factor will take over sooner rather than later.

Now, we’re even getting bonus puzzles every so often, which seem like a special issue.

So, I’m just sending in my thank-you note each month and I think I will like the feeling of participation on my part.

TinoTechie said...

Nice Thursday puzzle. I liked 42A Place to keep Thyme/HERB GARDEN.

Whamo also makes the Hula Hoop. I think they started as a sling shot maker. They have been making a wrist braced sling shot since I was a wee lad. They specialize in quick time to market to catch a fad. Don't hear much about them any more.

Thanks for the witty write-up Marti.

Greg

georgeg said...

Wow i looked up measle. It was not in the dictionary. I put k. Too. Spose i complain too mush too. Measle is a monday answer this is thursday. Just to mention.

Lemonade714 said...

I agree Jerome, who knew someone named Percy could write such moving sh**. Thanks CA; how are you WM?

Yellowrocks said...

Lucina,thanks. Where's the V8 can? URAQT is now so obvious.

AveJoe, Loved your Ziggy cartoon HAHA

Creature, I agree. I want to keep this blog alive, but Pay Pal kinda turns me off. I have never used it.

Anonymous said...

Great mental gymnastics today! A Thursday I could do. Fine writeup, Marti! Until you gave me MOSS I was doomed in SE. I stubbornly stuck with ROUND on 53D because I'd put DEY in first.

Couldn't recall Mr. Wilson's name. Wanted FLAME-something to honor my favorite NBA star Steve Nash who carried the final torch in Vancouver. After BEARER showed up I kept trying to justify no "E" as possibly French until YOYO dawned on me. FLAG/GEORGE! Doh!

Still it was fun. - PK

Golibabe said...

I'm sorry guys but I'm a newbie. What is "meh"?

Yellowrocks said...

IMHO Measles refers to the disease not the lesions. You don't say, "Doc, Junior is getting a rash. He has about ten measles so far" (refering to the spots.) Mumps also is the disease not the swollen jaw. You can have mumps on either side or on both sides. Does the doctor say, "One mump or two?" LOL

Some words cannot be made singular. When you take out the center screw from a pair of scissors, can you get one scissor for you and one for me? If you divide a pair of pants, do you get one pant and another pant? Here comes a RANT! I hate when stores call a pair of pants "a pant." "This wool pant is great teamed with a boucle sweater."

The only reference I can find to MEASLE (singular) is a type of larva.

Denise said...

I hope I am not stepping on any toes here, but as far as donations go – if you want to do so, do it. If not, don’t. There is no need to make an issue or requirement out of it. Most who donate, do so “anonymously” and because they want to. As soon as you make it about money, you expect a certain say-so in how things are run. Don’t. It’s a tip jar – not a subscription.

As Windy said the other day – we are guests here. Enjoy the company. Enjoy the hospitality. Enjoy the banter. Engage.

The DONATE button has always been there. Use it at YOUR discretion.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad for the discussion on the donation. I'd like to contribute. But after having my debit card number stolen and used on internet purchases, I cannot bring myself to enter a credit card number on the internet for any reason. My Geeksquad guy coaxed me into it so I could use the Kindle my kids gave me. He entered it. Not me.

So could you maybe give us a PO Box number to send checks to for we hopelessly old-fashioned? Thanks.

- PK

Argyle said...

What was the video game that Joon Pahk said he quit his job to play non-stop? Thanks.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Lovely puzzle today. I got quite a bit of enjoyment from working it. I did do a double-take at JOGGLE because I really really wanted JIGGLE. In fact, when I pencilled in JIGGLE I began to GIGGLE, because it's such a cool word. JOGGLE not so much. Some excellent fill today, as there has been every day this week.

Didn't know whether it would be PREMED or PRELAW until I got one of the perps. Kinda like choosing either IBN or BIN: a 50-50 chance until a perp indicates which way the coin flipped.

Wanted BOO instead of YOO, also, until the perps came to the rescue once again. Couldn't remember if the spelling was WAMMO or WHAMO until the, guess what, perps showed me the way.

windhover said...

Hey, Denise,
A little Randy and the Rainbows at ya.
Finally a little positive pub for the old farmer. Thanks.

Jayce said...

It was an interesting discussion of ROUX yesterday. I gotta thank you, Hahtool, for the "First you make a roux" observation. Reminded me of how we used to jokingly say that many Amish recipes begin with "First you boil a pig's head." Which, by the way, really is the first sentence in a recipe I have for making scrapple. Never actually done it, though; we don't have a cauldron large enough :)

And thanks to you, kazie, for explaining what a roux is.

Best wishes to you all from an already mostly balded Jayce.

Jayce said...

Argyle, the video game that Joon referred to had "Ocharina" in its name. Ocharina of Time? I think he said it is on the Wii.

Jayce said...

Argyle, it's The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Nintendo, not Wii.

(My grandson used to spend a lot of time playing it.)

windhover said...

Jayce:
Wammo was one of the founders members of the great but now defunct Austin, Texas based band, The Asylum
Street Spankers.
They have some great YouTube videos.

Spitzboov said...

Marti: re 'the' removed. Another example would be names of countries. In English, most country names have the article removed, whereas in French the article is generally present. ie:

L'Autriche - Austria
L'Angleterre - England
La Russie - Russia
La Chine - China
Le Brésil - Brazil
Les Pays-Bas - The Netherlands
Les Philippines - The Philippines

Jayce said...

I'll use up my fifth post to say thank you, Windhover, for that info. I sure didn't know that.

And to say duh, Wii is Nintendo.

The type font in our newpaper made "yarn" look like "yam" also. I kept trying to think of some sort of Popeye answer ("I yam what I yam.")

Clear Ayes said...

Jerome & Lemonade, I just lucked into this poem....I googled "Orbed" in a poem", and Percy B. popped up. There were a few other "orbed" poems that were almost too bad to read, much less post here.

Things happen in threes? Maybe, but we're way past that this month. A bird flew into a front window and cracked it. Bill for coming out here and replacing a double pane is $230.

We are also waiting to hear from Honda how much they will "assist" us in the 2nd replacement of the Odyssey transmission. It was replaced in 2005 under their extended warranty. This time it went out on a two-lane dark country road at 8:00 PM. We had to wait 2 hours for AAA to show. Very scary. Letters were written! If I'm not satisfied with Honda offer, I wonder how a bunch of red-hatted women picketing on their sidewalk would go over. I bet that would make the newspaper.

Oh yes, our electricity went out for about 4 hours yesterday.

Avg Joe said...

CA, I'm not big on omens, but I'd tend to think it's time you moved back to civilization. You're not paranoid. They really are out to get you. :-)

My alt QOD:

What's the difference between a terrorist and an underwriter?

You can negotiate with a terrorist!

(Just a small peek at how my day's gone.)

TinoTechie said...

@Anon 4:35pm,

One alternative is to get a no cost credit card that you only use for online purchases. Then if someone steals the number, you just reverse the charges and close the account.

Greg

kazie said...

CA,
You are definitely past the three strikes point. I hope house insurance helped with the window, and also that Honda does the honorable thing. What a pain! I salute the red hat brigade!

Anonymous said...

Tino: Thanks for the credit card tip. Where do you get these? I really am hopelessly obsolete.-PK

eddyB said...

Hello.

@Golibabe. MEH is an interjection
expressing indifferenc or bordom.
Like who cares.

Made a mistake earlier when I said
that the Sharks play tonight. Kept thinking today was Friday.

eddy

Grumpy 1 said...

Golibabe, meh is one of those words that was 'invented' on "The Simpsons", a show which almost no one here will admit to ever watching, but we know the characters and expressions like 'Meh!' and 'Doh!' from crosswords. I guess it's somewhere between "I don't like" and "It doesn't excite me at all." Sort of like "blah".

GarlicGal said...

CA, better yet...ENLIST THE COVEN!

HeartRx said...

Yellowrocks @4:19, LOL !! I never thought of a "pant" or a "scissor". But good point - some things are just meant to be plural (s). So I guess that "no new is good new" would be equally unacceptable?

Spitzboov, good point about "the" removed from country names in English! But, why do we say "I am from THE US" but not, "I am going to THE England"? Interesting point of speech...

creature said...

Denise,

You’re not stepping , you’re tripping .

A donation, of course means no requirement. No new news..

Most people donate anonymously, because they don’t want to be hounded by others for donations .
And , of course , there is the issue of amount- large or small . These things are dealt with internally.

If you are subscribing to a magazine, please do not tell me you expect ‘say-so’. Sure, they have an oped page, and your letter might be picked to be printed, but don’t expect anything more.

If I find something that is worthwhile to donate to, unless it is a church, religious group or personal belief,
I will pass this along, as I did today about this blog.

It sounds as if you are justifying being a free loader, and I have bumped into lots of you.

Your arrogance about tips makes me pity the poor waiters et al. of the world, who rely on tips for half their living at best.

NiceGuy said...

Wow! Someone has issues! That closed bridge must have a lot of Hoosier nerves frazzled. Probably raises the NQ* of Kentucky a bit, though.
I thought Denise was quite measured in her approach.
*Nice Quotient

Anonymous said...

Tino: After eating to feed my brain cells, what you were saying about credit cards sank in. I am smart enough to know how to apply for one. I've learned not to start the puzzle before breakfast too.

-PK

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, The SW corner went unfinished. I saw the BGA, AGB, etc. in the clues, but anagrams are not something I'm very good with. Therefore Mixed Bag was unsolved.

Expo was also unknown, and I had lawn instead of Moss for low-growing greenery because I had Pre Law instead of Pre Med. All in all a real botch of the SE corner.

Other than than I had the rest of the puzzle completed on my own. I was loath to give up, but I had to move on with the rest of my day.

It was fun to see Ojai in the puzzle today as CA and I both have ties to that beautiful little town. She used to live there and my children live there now.

Marty, I'm with you on Enroll and Enrol. It always look wrong with only one L.

Favorite clues today were for Earth and Liar. Both aha's.

Jerome said...

Marti my pal... but you would say,"I'm going to the UK"

Frank said...

Marti,
Ha! I guess I was thinking of that famous BRITISH martial artist, Bruce Leigh.

Creature,
I did not read Denise's rant as justifying freeloading. Just the opposite. In fact, the word that stood out most to me in her post was: discretion.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi Everyone ~~

It's pretty much all been said, but I really liked this puzzle. I agree with those who like Thursday puzzles ... challenging enough without being totally frustrating. I always enjoy your write-ups, Marti ...both informative and entertaining!

Like others, I had first 'write-ins' that I had to change: 'Nausea' before ANEMIA, 'Jostle' before JOGGLE and 'Balding' before BALDISH. I also saw HANDLE as a noun in 4A. For 14A 'Article' sometimes dropped' I was thinking of THE that's dropped when listing titles as in books, etc. I guess maybe that's different.

I've been closely following a court case (via Twitter in the courtroom) here in CT that finally ended in a verdict today ... guilty on all 17 charges. The penalty phase is next. It's an incredibly sad case ... an entire family destroyed. The tragedy happened just a few towns over. Really stirs the emotions ... a tough day.

On a happier note, the Tigers live to see another day!

HeartRx said...

Jerome, yep. And I also would say "I am going to THE south of France" ...(in my dreams!!!)

Steve said...

@HeartRX - because the name of the country is "The United States of America".

Similarly, although I've not had time to prove myself wrong, I'd say that any country which is a plural of things (islands, states, provinces, whatever) has "The" in front of it, or is a possessive maybe? I'm thinking "The People's Republic of China" for the latter, "The Netherlands" for the former.

Brits do refer to "The UK", which is short for "The United Kingdom", which would appear to break my rule, but "The United Kingdom" is actually a shortened form of the official name, which is "The United Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and the Principality of Wales". That's too much of a mouthful for anyone.

If you're wondering what the difference is between Great Britain and The UK, the former includes Northern Ireland, the latter does not.

Finally, "The British Isles" are a geographical and not political grouping, and include Ireland as a whole.

Argyle said...

How 'bout when 'the' gets dropped in crossword puzzles. We fret about it but it still happens.

Any of my computer problems didn't come from this site,, and that's all I'm gonna say.

Chickie said...

CA, A great poem to feed our souls today.

And Garlic Gal is right, the Coven might be able to help out if the Red Hat ladies are not available.

Marti, Thanks for your writeup today. I enjoy your humor.

JD, Those southern Papas always had nicknames for their children, especially the girls. You were your Dad's Little Cracker and I was my Dad's Little Chickie. My sister was just PUP!

ant said...

Those in the know refuse to drop it from THE Ohio State University.
Go Bucks!

Yellowrocks said...

My thoughts exactly. THE gets dropped from titles when we are searching the library catalog.

I wonder whether THE is added to geographical names when the noun involved was a common noun before it was elevated to a proper noun.
THE Thousand ISLANDS
THE United STATES
THe ISTHMUS of Panama
THE United KINGDOM
THE People's REPUBLIC of China
THE ROCK of Gibraltar
Even hearing places like this for the first time, THE sounds natural, whereas it does not in THE England, THE France.

JD said...

Marti, ALWAYS a fun read. Thanks! You have motivated me to hang up my rosemary, chives...

Loved today's puzzle. So many fun clues (young chicken, yarn source, bar measure),surprising answers (yoyo, earth) and great words (anemia,amnesia...)

Give me an F for deferto/fest. That f- square was my only downfall. Of course you know I didn't get that theme, but loved it when I read it.What would we do without this blog?

Hey eddy, I am so impressed that you said you made a mistake. Go SHARKS!Kids are going- I'm sitting.

Barry, how is 5:56 late?????

Tinbeni said...

Yellowrocks:
Maybe that's why I have such fond memories of living and working in Eastern Europe.

It was simply:
Zagreb, Croatia
Moscow, Russia
Warsaw, Poland
Bosnia, Slovenia, stc.etc.

Without "THE" I saved time all over the place.

Probably explains why I also wasn't that thrilled with THE Serbs ...

Yellowrocks said...

Tinbeni, you are a tease! Now I dying to know about your experiences in Eastern Europe.

eddyB said...

JD.

Want to meet at the tank on Dec
1st? MTL is playing and I need a new jersey. Maybe we can organize
a group. The rest of San Jose fans can let me know. You don't have to know or even like hockey. We can talk and go to Paddy's after.

eddy

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the explanation of URAQT. I couldn't open the puzzle. I thought it was some middle east country we'd never heard of yet. Couldn't figure out what that had to do with valentines day.
- PK

TinoTechie said...

Speaking of dropping the "the", in southern CA they refer to highways with a leading "the", such as "the 101", "the 405" etc.

Up here in Northern CA we don't use the extraneous the, as in "101". So I guess this is another case of dropping the "the".

JN said...

I have had this blog bookmarked for quite awhile and have sporadically visited before. I guess that I will now be a daily visitor. I have always enjoyed the back and forth of the comments. I agree that today's puzzle was meh. It was definitely a dnf for me. I don't know whether I had trouble because I did it at the end of the day or whether I was discouraged because I knew that my usual goto blog wasn't there.

kazie said...

I don't know if it's relevant or not, but in German, all country names that are neuter go with no article: Deutschland, Polen, England, Australien, Österreich, etc.

But those whose names are feminine or plural, i.e. need the article "die", get to keep that article: die Schweiz, die Niederlande, die Vereinigten Staaten.

Maybe the convention of doing the same with plurals in English came from that.

dodo said...

Hi troops,

I really liked your work, Tom Heilman and Marti. Both offerings wonderful.

I suppose it's too late to make this worthwhile, but I feel bad about not getting my posts in as regularly as I should.

It's all been said so I won't even try, but I thought this was lots of fun.


I'm impressed with all the new members and the many new pix. Garlic Girl, that's a terrific one of you; and Kazie, a great family picture of a very goodlooking family. Hahtool, yours is, well, interesting. A pet, perhaps?

I guess I missed yesterday's discussion re:donations. DenA pet, perhapsise, you're wrong: that notice has not been there forever, it's faily recent. I take it we're in dire straits so I will send mine in forwith.