google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, October 6, 2011 Peter A. Collins

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Oct 6, 2011

Thursday, October 6, 2011 Peter A. Collins

Theme: “Element-ary, my dear Watson!”

37A. Unexpected twist (and a hint to what’s hidden inside 18-, 20-, 51 and 56- Across) : SURPRISE ELEMENT. I really enjoyed Peter’s “Fishy” puzzle, as C.C. mentions in her notes. And this one did not go over like a…

18A. Health enhancer, so it’s said: APPLE A DAY.
lead balloon.


20A. It “is no problem. You just have to live long enough”: Groucho Marx: GETTING OLDER. Thar’s
gold in them thar quotes!!

51A. “A Moon for the Misbegotten” playwright”: EUGENE O'NEILL.


56A. Longshoremen’s aids: CARGO NETS. The American National Archives use(s?)
argon to store important national documents, like the Declaration of Independence.



I loved how the two pairs of theme entries were stacked on top of each other.

Marti here, so let’s get started.

Across:

1. Smoldering bit : EMBER

6. Slip a Mickey : DRUG. A "Mickey Finn" used to be known as a strong drink, laced with chloral hydrate (a sedative). Now it's "roofies" (flunitrazepam). Either way, watch your drink when out in a crowd!

10. It may have all the answers : CRIB. Did any of you use a “crib sheet” when taking exams? (I didn't think so!!)

14. Stiller's partner : MEARA. Funny couple!

15. High rollers' destination : RENO

16. Half of 10? : ZERO. I sat looking at this clue for a while, wondering how to fit “five” in with the perps… I finally hit myself with the V8 can when I saw “10” as a one and a zero!

17. Speed skater Apolo __ Ohno : ANTON. This was a complete WAG (“Wild A**ed Guess”, for newbies to this blog…)

22. Pickup facilitator : LINE. “So, do you come to this blog often?”

23. "Friendly skies" co. : UAL. United Airlines. Abbr. in the clue indicates an abbr. for the airline.

24. __ center : REC. Did anyone confidently fill in “epi-“, like I did?

27. PC time meas. : M-SEC. OK, I confess… I put in _SEC, and waited for perps before I decided if it was “p”, “n” or “m”.

29. Performed, in a way : SANG. If you heard me sing, it would not be a pretty performance!

32. Band that performed "Whip It" : DEVO. Hunh, I must have still been discoing while this one was recorded...

33. Bars in stores : UPC. Universal Product Code.

34. 1965 NCAA tennis champ : ASHE. He was closer to my generation…

35. Aaron's team for 21 seasons : BRAVES. Hah…I am beginning to recognize baseball clues/answers. But I still wanted to put in “NY Mets". (I’ll get it right some day, C.C. – I promise!!)

40. Make : CREATE

41. Gloom mate : DOOM

42. Rural stretch : LEA

43. "... two fives for __?" : A TEN

44. Skin malady, perhaps : CYST

45. What crews use : OARS

46. Expression of disappointment : TSK...tsk

47. Bit of code : DAH. Or, "Kick the bucket", in a southern drawl...

49. Hair care purchase : TINT. Me? No grey hairs here!!

59. Baggy : LOOSE

60. Net reading : BLOG. "So, do you come to this blog often?"

61. "Tiger in your tank" company : ESSO

62. Ban's predecessor at the U.N. : ANNAN. Ban Ki-Moon succeeded Kofi Annan in 2007, and is the current Secretary-General of the United Nations. If you cry "foul" at "Ban" being a first name, while "Annan" is a last name, remember that Ban Ki-Moon is Korean, where the "first" name written, is actually the family name, while Kofi Annan is from Ghana, where the family name is written second.

63. Bastes, e.g. : SEWS. I am already thinking of basting the turkey!

64. Attic constructions : WEBS. Great clue - had me thinking for a few seconds!

65. Bridge seats : WESTS. I entered _ _ STS, knowing it could be either "eaSTS" or WESTS. Yes, Yellowrocks...that's how I solve, sometimes!

And now, to go south:

Down:

1. Net reading : E-MAG. e-zine, e-news, e-cards, e-trade...I still delete all those from my word lists. (Maybe someday I will get into the modern lingo, but for now I will stick to magazine, newspaper, greeting cards, retail trade...)

2. "Writing on the wall" word : MENE. Thankfully, I had filled in the across clues, so did not even see this one. It is an idiom from the Biblical Book of Daniel, where supernatural writing foretells the end of the Babylonian Empire.


3. Michigan's Cereal City : BATTLE CREEK

4. Steamy : EROTIC. Should I let this one go?

5. Arrested : RAN IN

6. Bore : DRAG. "It's a real drag..."

7. Bank takeback, briefly : REPO. Repossessed, as a car.

8. Deprive of juice? : UNPLUG. Loved this clue/answer! The "juice" is the electricity that powers our PCs, TVs, lamps, refrigerators, stoves, aquarium filters, humidifiers, furnaces, refrigerators, microwaves, toasters, coffeepots, radios, can openers, blankets...what else do you have that requires "juice"???

9. Israel's Meir : GOLDA

10. Pre-Communism leader : CZAR. The leaders of Russia were Tsars before there was Lenin or Marx.

11. Thing to stop on : RED. As in, "red light". Or, a euphemism for a communist leader...

12. Savings for later yrs. : IRA. Individual Retirement Account

13. When repeated with "oh" in between, "Wow!" : BOY. "Boy oh boy!!"

19. Slippery swimmer : EEL

21. Mythical beast, to locals : NESSIE. Loch Ness monster, familiarly.

24. Epiphanies : REVELATIONS

25. Score-tying shot : EVENER. Meh...

26. Olympics broadcaster Bob : COSTAS

27. Mideast capital : MUSCAT. Also known as Masqat on some maps (good for constructors to know, a "q" without a "u"...). It is at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula (zoom out to see the geography).

28. Last lap efforts : SPURTS. Using an expression from mb, "...snort !!"

30. Spa sounds : AHS. (After spurts?)

31. Indigent : NEEDY

32. Lake creator : DAM

34. Interior decorator's concern : ART

35. Juiced : BLOTTO. How many euphemisms are there for "drunk"?

36. Sleep acronym : REM. Rapid Eye Movement stage of sleep.

38. Cooking utensil : PAN

39. Dawn goddess : EOS

44. French onion soup topping : CHEESE. I made a caramelized onion and goat cheese soup the other night - yummy.

45. Numbers after nine, often : ONE-ONE. Hmmm...I think this refers to a tied score after nine innings of baseball...but then, what do I know??? (From C.C.: This refers to 911.)

47. Sam & Dave, e.g. : DUO. Sam & Dave were an R&B duo in the 60's - 80's. For "duo", I think of Stiller & Meara, Sonny & Cher, Penn & Teller, Starsky & Hutch, Tom & Jerry...who are your favorites??

48. Nixon's first veep : AGNEW. "Veep" is a euphemism for "V.P." (Vice President).

50. Union acquisition? : IN-LAW. Another great clue/answer. A marriage union often brings unwanted baggage...

51. Vandalizes, in a way : EGGS. Halloween is coming...watch out for those EGGS on the car and TP in the trees, along with smashed pumpkins!

52. Gov't. train wreck investigators : NTSB. Did you all remember National Transportation Safety Board (without looking it up)?

53. Those, to Pedro : ESOS

54. Future atty.'s hurdle : LSAT. Law School Admission Test

55. Eye part : LENS

56. "CSI: NY" airer : CBS. Columbia Broadcasting System.

57. Microbrewery buy : ALE

58. Altercation : ROW (Not to be confused with what crews do, as in 45A.)

Answer grid.

TAFNF (That's all for now, folks!)

Marti

Note from C.C.:

Al is still snowed under with work and won't back to the blog until next April. I'm happy to announce that Marti will be our Thursday sherpa from now on. It takes time, dedication and focus to write an informative & entertaining post every week. I'm so grateful to Marti and my other blogging crew. Xie Xie!

65 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Fun puzzle with a nifty theme. I really could have done without EVENER, but everything else was fine. "Bars in stores" was a wonderfully tricky clue for UPC, as was "Half of 10" for ZERO.

I must confess, though, that I also don't quite get what ONEONE refers to, though. My best thought is simply that it refers to the number 11, which does (eventually) come after 9. But maybe Marti is right and it's a baseball thing...

Lemonade714 said...

Marti, Thanks, you always make the day start well. 911 is the number you dial for emergencies, and that is what emerged on that clue for me. It also evokes 9/11, but either way, I do not think baseball was involved.

Marti, welcome to full time, and Peter, you always make us work. The ANNAN and MENE clues were beyond me, but the perps came in handy, so we are off on another day. Enjoy.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Marti and friends. This was a fun puzzle, and with and SURPRISE! there is also 1 other hidden ELEMENTS in the theme clues. I found TIN as well as GOLD in 20-Across.

Hand up for the Epi-Center.

Net Reading = E-MAG and a shout-out to all of us on the BLOG!

The ZERO came to me immediately as I read Half of Ten.

QOD: Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. ~ Steve Jobs (February 24, 1955 ~ October 5, 2011)

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Fun puzzle, clever clues & a pretty easy solve. I was glad to see Czar instead of Tsar. Ditto Barry on EVENER. I just hated it. Never heard one sportscaster refer to a tying score as an evener. Even up is a common expression.

Had several favorite clues. 16A, Half of ten/zero; 22A, Pickup facilitator/line; 35D, Juiced/blotto, (Been there once or twice, years ago) & 50D, Union acquisition/in-law.

As is my norm, never picked up on the theme until after I had finished. But, I can't say knowing it would have made the solve quicker or easier.

I don't think 45D is baseball related, but I don't have another theory to offer either.

Argyle said...

Hey, Good Morning.

I was looking for DUOs and remembered these two...and a connection to today's puzzle. In fact, they are 47- & 48-Down!

Brewer & Shipley, Spiro T. Agnew Clip(5:16).

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Whipped right through this one, but couldn't quite manage a no-peeky. Had to look up Stiller & MEARA, because I couldn't trigger enough cells to recall MENE. Was thinking MINE even though it was weak.

Did the puzzle right at bedtime, and due to fatigue/laziness I didn't take the time to suss ONE ONE or any of the hidden elements. It's a shame I missed out on such a clever theme.

Morning, Marti! Thanks for your wit & wisdom.

HeartRx said...

Good Morning C.C. et al.

What a fun puzzle, and interesting interview with Peter Collins. Thanks, C.C.!

My mind was fried trying to think of what "Nine...ONE ONE meant. I finally gave up and decided that if I didn't know it, it must be baseball. Thanks for clearing it all up, C.C. 9-1-1 is certainly familiar enough!!

Clever of you to pick up the hidden "tin" in front of the hidden GOLD entry, Hahtool! I don't think even Peter realized it was there, as he has already dismissed "tin" as an entry in his interview!

Husker Gary said...

Wow, a great puzzle and a revealing interview. Thanks for both Peter and C.C.! The theme was not helpful but this math and science guy enjoyed seeking them out.

Musings
-Marti, your usual yeoman effort also greatly appreciated by this visual learner and I know you would never fall for a LINE, even an EROTIC one
-I encouraged CRIB sheets on my open note tests
-UPC and INLAWS were among clever cluing!
-I was BASTING old tom too!
-I got RED but thought it might be where a roulette wheel could stop
-Some are accusing the damn dams on the muddy Mo. for the flooded summer around here
-Oh, that 9/11 (my 55th birthday too)
-Joe and Eddie rule my iPod (poor sound but hey, it’s got Shindig)!
-Uvea, iris, LENS!
-We host and mainly finance the UN who constantly rails and votes against America. What a country!
-FORE!

Mainiac said...

Morning HeartRx, CC and All,

Good puzzle with my typical Thursday flops. Epicenter got me and I didn't know Apolo's middle name or Mene. Got some footing with Revelations and Battle Creek but still ended up needing help.

Thanks for the write up Marti!!

Finally seeing the sun today but its cool. Covered the tomatoes last night because we had our first frost. 'Magine the wood stove goes back in soon.

Have a good one.

Avg Joe said...

Good morning gang.

Pretty much ditto on what's been said. Wanted EPI, but checked perps then checked the impulse. REC seemed a little meh, but oh well. The other noted misdirects were very clever.

Thanks for that Brewer and Shipley clip Argyle. I brought the Lawrence Welk cover to this blogs attention, but it's great to see the writers comment on it!!

My favorite duo? Sam and Janet.

(Bonus points for anyone that remembers the source of this)

Go Joon!

Yellowrocks said...

Peter, great puzzle. Marti,I always love your blogs, especailly this one.

I knew NTSB. Here our TV programs are continually interrupted by NTSB announcements. Often they announce, "We have no new info at this time." Arrgh!

Marti, yes I put --STS for bridge positions until I got the PERPS.

Unusual for me, I needed PERPS for every letter of COSTAS. But still I had a "No peaking".

In English, the Biblical phrase is "mene mene tekel upharsin". As kids we used to say, "Meanie, Meanie, tickle your parson," so MENE is firmly implanted in my brain.

I enjoyed the same clever clues as all the others.

Tinbeni said...

Marti: Great write-up.
I look forward to your wit.

Nice themes. LEAD, GOLD (and TIN, yeah I saw that too, Hahtool)- medals. With NEON & ARGON - gases.

I'm surprised that "Numbers after nine, often"
ONE-ONE evoked thoughts of baseball.
As for that certain date, I always refer to it as
"September 11th, 2001" ... Never 9/11.
9-1-1 = emergency number.
9/11 is a Porsche!

(After Pearl Harbor did people refer to
"December 7th, 1941, a date that will live in infamy"
as 12/7 ???)

And I needed the perps for that UN ANNAN and the wall writing MENE.

NTSB was a gimmie.

Jazz: Good luck, though I hope my "Evil-Empire" wins.

Cheers !!!

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning! Great interview, C.C. and great blog, Marti. Another hand up for wanting the obvious 'epi'. MEARA and ANTON were gimmes for me so I left MENE in, even though I wasn't sure about it. Learning moment for today.

Major screwup in the NE, though. I started with 'tsar', changed the S to Z when I figured out which half of ten I was looking for, but didn't bother to change the T to C. Doesn't The Trib have all of the answers, too?

Since tin doesn't span two words, it doesn't qualify as part of the theme as defined by the constructor. The same with the second occurance of GOLD.

Great puzzle.

Anony-Mouse said...

I wasn't going to pitch in , today - but I did want to thank Marti for making a commitment of taking up a share in this arduous job of blogging. Thanks to ALL of you blog commentators - even and especially on the days I don't even open the blog.

The interview with the constructor made me feel a little better - because the puzzle left me unhappy. Ironically Al would have liked it - being a chemist in his 'former' life.



Alt QOD: (Of a sort ... )

When good things happen to me, I may wait two weeks to tell someone because I like the word "fortnight".~ Demetri Martin.

( for whatever its worth, I didn't get this either ....)

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Thanks for the informative write-up, Marti.

This puzzle was fun to do. BATTLE CREEK was an early entry, and accelerated the whole NW solve. The unifier defined at 37a helped me get APPLE A DAY. I had the same trouble in the NE as Grumpy. Thought the Trib had all the answers. Ha ha. MENE and MEARA came easily. WESTS - I sat at the East seat the other night ;-). Liked the clue for WEBS. ONE ONE - I thought of 911 the emergency number. Nostalgic to see ESSO every once in a while.

Enjoy the day.

Anonymous said...

Marti, this is not directed at you, since you did the explanation, perfectly and admirably.

Since we are on the day of the week, with arcane, obscure and esoteric rules - I have a question.

IF there had been a Secretary General of the United Nations, who was a Muslim - (Boutros Boutros-Ghali was Copt - an Egyptian Christian - )-

and since MOST Muslims have no last names or patronymics - father related - ( - to the point, that most Afghans like Pashtuns have one only name - e. g. Najibullah - ) -

Would 'ZEROS' been an acceptable answer to the 52 Acr. answer as Ban's predecessor ( one of - ) ?

Probably.

One man's cleverness is another man's bane.

Avg Joe said...

Off topic, but I came across this YouTube clip of Steve Jobs' 2005 commencement speech at Stanford. It's a very good use of 15 minutes of your time.

Steve Jobs RIP

Yellowrocks said...

I posted this AM and immediately left for one of many medical appointments for my disabled adult son.
While driving I was chagrined to realize I called, "mene mene tekel upharsin" English, instead of a transliteration to our English alphabet.

eddyB said...

Hello. Yellowrocks to answer your question from last night. I was more surprised by the quickness of Argyle's response than anything. Ferm posted at 2AM and Argyle at 5AM. I would have thought he would have waited awhile like I just did. Yes, everyone gets a CT time stamp. Imagine the confusion if everyone posted in local time.

I forgot to mention last night in an e-mail that I now have the option of
when and how much insulin to take.
Hope she reads this.

Back to regular routine.
Hockey tonight! Free on DirecTV.

eddy

Unknown said...

What a fun puzzle to start the day! Thanks to Marti for the great blog and to Mr. collins for the clever clues.
The Czar/red cross was my favorite.
I am loving the baseball clues! We are cheering for the Cardinals because of the family connection. The Cards are a big favorite in Memphis.
Sam and Dave recorded at Stax in Memphis. Not too long ago Stax was a cw clue. The studio is now a museum and a non-profit foundation. Its goal to get kids singing and performing instead of dropping out of school and living a life of crime.
Hold on; I'm comin'......over and out!

Lucina said...

Greetings Marti, C.C. and all puzzlers.

Ditto, what a fun puzzle today though it took a while to find a toehold. COSTAS was easy as I love the Olympics and he had a long track record before that.

It took a while for my brain to percolate and give me ANTON and BATTLECREEK, then I was off and running.

Half of 10, ZERO also took a while then the light went on and like others I had TRIB not CRIB.

EPI lurked in my mind but not for long and 9 one-one was clever, too.

Thank you, Peter, for a good time today.

Have a delightful Thursday, everyone!

eddyB said...

Hi.

Have the electric chain saw back together but have to wait until it stops raining to work on the ivy.

A record 34 cars are entered for the last race of the season. P1 will be very important to get in front of the
pack.

The new Tesla S is said to able to out run some 911 models. Would be interesting to see.

TIIFN. eddy

HeartRx said...

Anon @ 9:41, That's an interesting point. I guess in that case, they would just use the name the person goes by, (like the supermodel "Iman")? And they could clue it using either the first OR last name of the predecessor/successor? I don't know if it has ever come up before...

Avg. Joe, wonderful clip of Steve Jobs. Particularly poignant was his third story about the cancer biopsy. R.I.P.

Yellowrocks, I was laughing so hard at "meanie, meanie, tickle your parson", that I didn't even notice you called the Hebrew words "English"! At least now, that phrase will stick in my head the next time MENE pops up in a crossword - thanks!

fermatprime said...

Without Steve Jobs, I never would have amounted to much in mathematics. I am deeply saddened. I used Apple computers in the 1970's to do work in number theory. From then on I owned many, many Macs to create five videos on mathematical symmetry, more papers on number theory and symmetry and five books.

Here is an excellent article from Macworld yesterday.

Here is an outstanding video
of Jobs speaking at Stanford in 2005.
LLF
(Apologies to Ave Joe for repeat.)

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed this puzzle and thanks for the sparkling write up Marti. I didn't mind EVENER even though I've never heard it used by anyone else. The constructor probably needed some Es and the word makes perfect sense. I guess it boils down to the fact that I sussed it out OK and so it doesn't bother me. It is a Thursday after all.

I too have used Apple computers since the Apple II. I enjoyed learning a little bit about programming in Basic and even ran a couple of summer school classes where I taught students rudimentary programming. RIP Steve Jobs.

Bill G. said...

I finished reading The Help a couple of weeks ago. Then my daughter recommended and lent me her copy of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Have any of you read it? I really enjoyed it. It's about a young Chinese boy in 1942 or so who doesn't fit in with his all caucasian schoolmates very well. He becomes friends with a young Japanese girl. But then her family has to go to a relocation camp and they are separated. The story moves back and forth between them at a young age and then him as an older man. It's a wonderful love story. Plus, it gave me some insight into that part of our history and how our Japanese citizens were treated.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I managed to finish today, but had to look up Devo and Eugene O'Neill. I should have known O'Neill, but I don't know the names of everything he wrote.

I did sus the theme after filling in the unifier, and was surprised to find a different element in each answer. Very unique. Often we have the same word i.e. Gold in all four. I looked for that first, but was surprised and pleased to find different words in each answer.

I thoughat that Union acquisiton/ inlaw was a great clue.

Thank you Marti, for a great writeup. I enjoyed all the illustrations today. Also thanks to Peter Collins for a fun puzzle. Besides anyone who has four daughters is a-one in my book. We have four daughters and there was never a dull moment in our household while they were growing up.

Argyle said...

eddyB, whatcha talkin' about? My post to Ferm WAS a minute after hers.

Husker Gary said...

Joe, Sam and Janet Evening? With apologies to Rogers and Hammerstein and Emile de Becque!

Mom, I loved the Memphis Redbird Stadium in downtown Memphis! We saw it after we left the ducks at the Peabody!

Anony – I guess the person of good fortune wanted to be able to say that it occurred a fortnight ago

Yellowrocks – thanks for the Hebrew lesson!

Maniac – no frost here yet and none predicted for the next 10 days at least. Farmers love having their corn out in the field yet and reducing how much they have to pay to dry it after harvest. Big payday in Cornland this autumn!! No recession here in agriculture.

Argyle said...

There was a second NEON in 45-Down, crossing EUGENE O'NEILL.(51-Across)

Frank said...

EVENER is a perfectly legitimate word. It is used quite a bit in hockey and soccer.

I did, however, have issues with 24A and 33A. Each of these is an abbreviation, but not indicated as such in the clue. Yes, I know UPC and REC are "common," but...c'mon!

Lucina said...

Oh, BOY, oh, BOY, wow! The low temps are here to stay. Can you tell I'm glad? We even had a few drops of rain.

Yellowrocks:
Yes, thank you for that tip on how to recall MENE. Now I'll remember it.

Chickie:
I agree! Anyone with four daughter is a winner. We are four sisters and enjoy each other's company anytime we can.

Peter, I just now had time to read the interview. Really interesting how the creative mind works and congratulations on all your success.

HeartRx said...

Bill G., "Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet" is on my list...don't give away the ending! (Did they get back together after the war?) (...no, DONT TELL ME!!)

Fermatprime, I couldn't open your link, but I did read the article in MacWorld by Jason Snell. Is that the one you meant? Very moving...

Frank @ 2:15, re: abbr. It's funny, but years ago, we would always get a hint when the answer was more than one word. Slowly, editors started dropping that hint and now we never see it in the LAT. If an abbreviation is very common, or if the spelled out words are almost never used (except in the Wiki article, to define the acronym), the clue sometimes doesn't suggest "abbr.", especially in end-of-week puzzles.

Mainiac said...

Husker, Glad to hear the end of the growing season is good. The northern schools just finished their harvest break for potatoes. No numbers yet but I'm hearing its down a bit due to the wet summer they had.

I've got to cover everything again tonight. Low is supposed to be 31 degrees.

Jayce said...

Fermatprime, five books! I am impressed. Five high-fives for you.

Anonymous said...

Good puzzle and writeup.

I logged onto my new IMAC last night to read this blog and was startled by a large picture on the screen of Steve Jobs in healthier days. I had heard he died on Jeopardy, too. I used MACs the last ten years of my newspaper career. Such a relief after ten years on a manual typewriter. So Hail and Farewell, Mr. Jobs! So sad that he could change the face of communications and do nothing about a devastating disease.- PK
ps:Isn't Joon a gutsy player!

Avg Joe said...

Gary, Yes, you're on the right track. But by "source" I meant where it appeared in print. Hint: think cartoon...a retired cartoon.

Since we're giving frost reports, we haven't had one here yet. So far our lowest low has been 39. Lincoln has seen lower temps, but we're ~300' higher in elevation. Avg first frost date is 10/10. Earliest is approx 9/12 and the latest I've ever witnessed was 10/30.

And yes Anon@3:34. Joon is very gutsy. Yesterday when he bet it all but $100 all I could say was "No balls, no babies!" On again today. I hope he breaks Ken's record.

Frank said...

Marti,
That's right! I hadn't even noticed the demise of the "(2 words)".

I can't wait for the "?" in the punny clues ("Union acquisition?") to start disappearing. Too many of the cute answers are given away ahead of time. Imagine if 16A was clued without the "?".

Someone earlier in the week (or was it last week?) was complaining about misdirection, but I think misdirection is the backbone of crossword cluing. The best constructors (& editors) write clues knowing there can be more than one answer, especially when that answer may possibly be partially filled (emaG vs bloG).

Thanks for the write up today, and the response. And enjoy your coming bleary-eyed Thursdays...!

eddyB said...

Argyle. That is what I said. 2AM and
5AM were your local times. Both your post times were 4AM.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Marti - you really are a naughty girl.

Nice to see BATTLE CREEK - not too far from home. Also enjoyed seeing CZAR spelt the normal way. Coming from the auto industry, I certainly know the NTSB.

Clever theme today, and lots of 6+ fill - nice. Would the extraneous occurrences of TIN and the second NEON be considered flaws? How aout GOLD-A? The double of TEN in 16A clue and 43A fill is certainly an inelegance.

Only a meanie would cross ANTON with MENE. EA/WE-ST and M/N-SEC gave me pause. ONE-ONE escaped me completely.

I don't watch soccer, but I guess EVENER is used in hockey. Never heard it in any other sport.

Sam and Janet. Timely econ lesson at no extra charge.

Thoughts on tonight's game 5 can be found on my BLOG. It will be DOOM for somebody.

CHEESE - I mean cheers!
JzB

Lucina said...

Bill G:
I read and enjoyed Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. It's poignant and historically based.

I have a friend who as a toddler was placed in one of those camps along with her family here in AZ.

However, I was less than enamored with The Postmistress.

HeartRx said...

Argyle, clever catch at the second NEON appearing in 45D. Hmm..does that bother anyone?

Oh wait...I see that Jazzb. already addressed that one. I dunno. It's awfully difficult not to have some stragglers in a puzzle like this. But the placement of the theme entries pointed to the "obvious" hidden elements. I'm not saying for or against...just sayin'.

Yellowrocks said...

Yay for Frank! Sometimes announcing the punny clues by "?" is just too easy. The misdirections are the most interesting part of X-word clues. Let's begin to anticipate them. I agree with what HaertRx said in regard to abbreviations and acronyms in late week puzzles. We should come to accept the common ones without notice.

Jayce said...

Jazzb, thanks for the Sam and Janet link. Interesting article.

Hahtoolah said...

Bill G: I read Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I enjoyed the book and learned more about a dark part of our not-so-distant history.

HeartRx: I highly recommend the book. You and I have similar tastes in reading materials.

Tinbeni said...

HeartRx:
I liked the extra GOLDa and oNE-ONe.

Plus the TIN seemed like a "shout-out."

In fact, when I look at my completed grids ...
I almost always find a hidden "Pinch" and "Scotch."

Jazz:
Really enjoyed the "Sam & Janet" link.
Your BLOG re: tonights game was amazing.

fermatprime said...

I do not know why my links were bad. I was told to remove http when I went to post.

Here is an excellent eulogy by David Pogue, the hard way:
http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/06/steve-jobs-imitated-never-duplicated/?ref=personaltechemail&nl=technology&emc=cta1

HeartRx said...

Hahtool, thanks. Now I am definitely going to read it, right after I finish this month’s book club selection of “Between Here and April” by Deborah Cogan.

Tin, I think every crossword would have at least one entry containing T-I-N. But, try as I might, I can almost never find one with H-E-A-R-T-R-X…

Fermatprime, thank you for copying the link to Pogue’s article. Wonderfully expressed, and Jobs will surely be sorely missed in the years to come.

HeartRx said...

BTW, I really want to thank C.C. for putting her faith in me, and allowing me the honor of expressing my (sometimes DF) opinions here on a regular basis. I promise I will do my best to keep up to the standards of my fellow bloggers. And just as a caveat, here are some things you need to know about me:
1.) I always enjoy everyone’s opinion (even if it might be wrong, haha).
2.) I never say anything to intentionally hurt anyone’s feelings (so if you are offended, then see #1.)
3.) Sometimes I speak before filtering…so just chill.
4.) I have no religious or political zeal, so if you want to get into one of those discussions, feel free. I will just ignore you.
5.) I am passionate about my marriage, skiing, golf, kayaking, hiking and reading (in more or less that order…OK, marriage is definitely first on the list).
6.) Everyone else is smarter than I am. So if I make a dumb mistake, please correct me!

Thanks and hugs.

Jazzbumpa said...

Marti -

I am passionate about my marriage and reading. The middle of your list is very foreign to me.

I think you are smarter than all of us.

Tigers up 3-1. At the moment. I'm digging through a bottle of Chuck's Cabernet. Oh, wow - for 7th inning stretch they have a guy singing God Bless America. I'm real sap for stuff like this.

Tin - Thanks. Another thing I'm passionate about is my collection of Detroit Sports Teams.

It's only because of Krugman that I know Sam and Janet.

Cheers - and go Tigers!
JzB

Bill G. said...

The rain is gone leaving beautiful cool weather for a couple of days. Then it's supposed to warm up.

Good luck for your Detroit boys. I, however, have to root for the Yankees. Otherwise, my wife will be distraught and it will be all doom and gloom around here for me for a few days.

I just ordered thin crust pizza and an antipasto salad for tonight.

HeartRx said...

Jazzb, as long as you are passionate about something, that is all that matters, right??

BillG, I guess it beats leftover meatloaf most of the time...

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. It is late. Just got to Edinboro, PA. Getting ready for Kegs and Eggs on Saturday.

Thank you, Peter, for an interesting and somewhat both easy and difficult puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the swell write-up.

Started this puzzle on a high note. It seemed almost too easy for a Thursday. As it turned out, it was quite difficult.

Enjoyed 10D CZAR. Usually the constructor uses TSAR. I feel the CZAR is the best spelling for the former ruler of Russia. Of course, I inked in TSAR first, because that is what Is normally done. I changed it, happily.

I missed 37A. Had SURPLUS E ELEMENT. I felt it did not look right. Got all the others, but could not see the connection. Did not get NESSIE, had NESSUE. Oh well, you can't get them all.

MENE was a total unknown. But, I will check that out. I have no idea how I would have known that, but crosswords have taught me a lot. As an example, I learned that I really like Stilton cheese from a crossword.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Yellowrocks said...

I can't find tonight's Jeopardy online. I wanted to see how Joon did.

Grumpy 1 said...

This link will get you the first part. The second part will be in the sidebar.

Tinbeni said...

Jazz:
I guess I'll have to wait another year to get the 28th ...

Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be rooting for your Tiger's over the Ranger's.

Bill G. said...

I watched Jeopardy tonight. Joon pulled it out by an eyelash.

I like this pizza, especially after I learned to reheat it in the oven instead of the microwave. BTW, I love cold leftover meatloaf sandwiches.

Abejo, have you tried Gorgonzola yet? I found I like the crumbly version better than the creamier version.

Doom and gloom.

Jazzbumpa said...

Marti -

I am passionate about many things: music, frex.

And I LOVE left-over meat loaf.

It's over. Tigers hung on. What a terrifying game.

Tinbeni - your guys gave it everything they had. It could not have been any closer. Somebody always ends up disappointed. I'm exhausted, but too wired to go to sleep.

BillG - the LW is also a big sports fan. We have felt your wife's pain, many times here in Detroit.

Maybe it's the Tigers turn, now.

On to Texas.

Cheers!
JzB

Tinbeni said...

HeartRx:

I love your list.

Mine is also identical ... But # 5.
would be I am passionate about Gal-Pal, Avatar and Beach-Walking.
Oh, and the "Evil-Empire" during my favorite sport baseball season.

Your humor makes my day whenever I read your BLOGs of our daily puzzle passion.

Tinbeni said...

Jazz:
I guess I'll have to wait another year to get the 28th ...

Congrats !!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be rooting for YOUR Tiger's over the Ranger's !!!


... Hey, the Tampa Bay Lightning Season starts ... TODAY !!!


(Hmmm, where did that 11:45pm congrats to Jazz go ???)
(10:45PM CDT)

Bill G. said...

JzB, Barbara grew up on Long Island and her childhood baseball hero was Mickey Mantle. She's been a Yankee fan ever since. Good luck to your Tigers. I think they'll have a tough time against the Phillies if they get that far.

Lucina said...

HeartRX:
I love your list, too. And I also think you are smarter than most of us.

I am passionate about cwd puzzles, this blog, reading, yoga and a few other things.

Joon has had two narrow misses. I hope he can sustain the momentum.

thehondohurricane said...

Marti,

Your list has me thinking about what "Rows My Boat".

#1 is lucy. Heck, she's put up with me for over 50 years. Deserves all I can do for her to make her life easier and more fun.

Other passions, in no particular order are:

Reading, Riley (my Collie), the Evil Empire, Giants FB, sons & their families, local minor league baseball, & this blog.

Arthritis & stenosis have taken away most of the physical activities I always enjoyed, especially golf.

I'm glad you will be a weekly regular on the blog.

Argyle said...

Tinbeni, yor 10:45 was stuck in the spam filter. Sorry but I didn't catch it til now.

Anonymous said...

Put tsar like all other crosswords answers were in past. Since this was a stump the chump author he used czar!!!! Have some continuity people!!!! U even say it in the answer. Wtf!!!!!