google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 David Poole

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Oct 25, 2011

Tuesday, October 25, 2011 David Poole

Theme: Funny Business - Humorous re-interpretation of four common phrases to relate them to four comedians.

20A. Posh digs for comic Billy? : CRYSTAL PALACE. Billy Crystal clip. (2:54) The original Crystal Palace was a cast-iron and glass building erected in Hyde Park, London, England, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. Image.

34A. Rumors about comic Eric? : IDLE GOSSIP. Eric Idle Clip.(3:49) A founding member of Monty Python.

41A. Theme song for comic Chris? : ROCK ANTHEM. Chris Rock Clip.(2:33) An American comedian, was on SNL.

55A. Topics for comic Martin? : SHORT SUBJECTS. Martin Short Clip. (5:06) A Canadian actor who also is an alumnus of SNL.

Argyle here. Interview with David here. I thought today was harder than yesterday but many didn't agree with my assessment yesterday, so what do I know. Maybe these comedians are more familiar than yesterday's old songs.

Across:

1. Persian __ : GULF

5. Argentina's PerĂ³n : JUAN

9. Spectrum producer : PRISM

14. One of two Monopoly squares: Abbr. : UTIL. The utilities: the water works and the electric company.

15. Not a supporter : ANTI

16. Greek column type : IONIC

17. Morro Castle site : CUBA. Castillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morro is a picturesque fortress guarding the entrance to Havana bay in Havana, Cuba. Image.

18. Desktop image : ICON

19. Bakery array : CAKES

23. Owing too much money : IN A HOLE

24. Getaway for Gandhi : ASHRAM. A religious retreat or community where a Hindu holy man lives.

27. Feathery accessory : BOA

28. Barley beards : AWNS. Barley beards fan out. Anyone who has handled barley knows that the beards have serrated edges.(I didn't know. Maybe that's why they have the separate name for them. AWNS). Tiny barbs catch when you rub from the ends towards seeds. Image.

30. Latin 101 verb : AMO

31. Fine cotton : PIMA. The name Pima was applied in honor of the Pima Indians, who helped raise the cotton on USDA experimental farms in Arizona in the early 1900s.

37. Decree : EDICT

39. Spring mo. : APR.

40. Public commotion : SCENE

44. Yankee nickname since 2004 : A-ROD. Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez, third baseman.

45. Radius starting point: Abbr. : CTR. Center.

46. Lower intestinal parts : ILEA. We had this last Friday, October 21.

47. Work in a museum : ART

49. Major or Mrs. of old comics : HOOPLE. The Major. The strip was "Our Boarding House".

51. Deo __: thanks to God : GRATIAS

58. Sunday singers : CHOIR

60. Part of IBM: Abbr. : INTL.

61. "The Man Who Fell to Earth" director Nicolas : ROEG. Image.

62. Plunder : RIFLE

63. Abate : EASE

64. Give off, as light : EMIT

65. Sculls in a quad scull, e.g. : OCTAD. Eight.

66. 1974 Gould/Sutherland spoof : "SPYS"

67. Retreats with remotes : DENS

Down:

1. Name on some fashionable sunglasses : GUCCI

2. Complete reversal : U-TURN

3. Algeria neighbor : LIBYA

4. Scene from the past, in films : FLASHBACK

5. Game called zesta-punta in Basque : JAI ALAI

6. "I give up!" : "UNCLE!"

7. On : ATOP

8. 1492 caravel : NINA. Maybe like this ship.

9. Some cubist paintings : PICASSOs

10. Exterminator's target : ROACH

11. Feature of some pens : INK ERASER

12. "Sprechen __ Deutsch?" : SIE

13. Game show VIPs : MCs Master of Ceremonies

21. Furthermore : TOO

22. January 1st song word : LANG. "Auld Lang Syne"

25. Kind of acid in protein : AMINO

26. Hybrid bike : MOPED

28. Leader in Athens? : ALPHA. Greek alphabet.

29. Existed : WERE

31. Roost : PERCH

32. "What did __ deserve this?" : I DO TO

33. Windows manufacturer : MICROSOFT

35. Go out with : DATE

36. Strewn : SCATTERED

38. Like a well-fitting suit : TAILORED

42. D'back or Card : NLer

43. Aggies and steelies : MARBLES

48. British rule in India : RAJ

50. Temple U. setting : PHILA. Founded in 1884 in Philadelphia, PA.

51. Bold : GUTSY

52. "Ready or not, here __!" : I COME

53. Ordered takeout, say : ATE IN

54. NCOs two levels above cpl. : SSGTs. Staff Sergeant.

56. Exec's rackful : TIES

57. Breeze : SNAP

58. Zagreb's country, to the IOC : CRO

59. Blazin' Blueberry drink brand : HI-C


Argyle

76 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Loved the punny theme today. Most of the fill was rock solid as well, so all-in-all a very enjoyable experience. I did not know/remember ROEG, but the perps took care of him in short order (gee -- that sounds like he was the victim of a Mafia hit, doesn't it?)

The only minor sticking point for me today was in the SW corner where I didn't know HOOPLE, couldn't guess CRO and refused to accept that PHILA could possibly be an acceptable abbreviation. I did finally (and begrudgingly) stick in PHILA and that was the end of it, but it still rankles a bit.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. This was a fun puzzle, but I bit more challenging than our usual Tuesday fare. That's probably because I could only think of Persian Rugs, and I don't wear Gucci anything, so it took a while for that Northwest corner to fall into place.

I loved the theme. Three of the four comics featured were regulars on Saturday Night Live.

Today we get the full U-TURN, whereas yesterday we only got a UEY.

I agree with Barry G on the PHILA entry, but I have seen the city abbreviated that way.

Today would be (9-Down) Pablo PICASSO's 130th birthday. He died in 1973. In his honor, here is today's:

QOD: It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child. ~ Pablo Picasso

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

A fun Tuesday puzzle. The theme answers all required some perp help, but the solution eventually appeared. Did not know some ink pens are available with erasers. Must be real messy?

Roeg, ashram, & octad were learning moments that will likely be forgotten by the end of the day.

Imagine Tinbeni didn't have trouble with 58D.

Knew HIC, Blazin' Blueberry unknown. Maybe I'll try it.

Phila didn't bother me. Have seen that abbreviation used often although I prefer Philly.

Enjoy your day.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thanks, David Poole, for a real good puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the write-up.

Could not get started in the NW. Got JUAN easy enough for 5A. Filled in that section.

The only theme answer I knew was Billy CRYSTAL. The rest I did not. Got them with perps. I don't watch much TV. Too many crosswords to do.

No problem with PHILA. I have seen that abbreviation my whole life.

Did not know the movies SPYS 66A, but it sounds funny. I might have to check that out.

Did not know ROEG, perps filled it in.

Will probably be seeing MOPED like bikes more in the future with gas prices up.

Today, off to Paxton, IL.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Jeanne said...

Good Morning all, Been awhile since I posted, but try to check in a few times a week. Hope all is well with people in “The Corner”. Enjoyed today’s puzzle; as many times as I saw Jai Alai in puzzles, I don’t remember it ever being clued as zesta-punta. Sprechen sie Duetsch is a common phrase here in PA Dutch Country. But no, I cannot speak German. My stupid moment came when I was trying to come up with a window manufacturer. Since we just had all the windows replaced in our home--guess where my mind went to first.
@JD, thanks for remembering me. Still only one grandson but he is a joy. Love the pictures of your three little ones. Absolutely adorable. I still use Kitty B’s recipe for Minestrone Soup. Hope all is well with her. Take care all and have a great day.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning, all. Thanks for the write up Argyle. Yes, I, too, thought of rugs, but the 'rules' generally don't allow the use of a plural without some indication that it will be a plural, so I switched to thinking about places. Entered the GULF/GUCCI corner and just kept going.

When I got to the SE corner I filled the downs off of GRATIAS and then thought I must have something wrong. Who/ what is a ROEG? Read the clue and still wasn't sure, but perps were all solid so it stayed.

Cute theme and lots somewhat unusual fill.

Off to try the Conundrum puzzle.

Sfingi said...

Kinda silly.

Two write-overs: syne before LANG, Mar before APR.

Thought Morro castle was in Puerto Rico. But is it a castle or a fortress? Apparently the most famous is an ocean liner SS Morro Castle which in 1934 had a fire that killed 134.

Love the movie, The Man Who Fell to Earth, with David Bowie, which shoed that even extra-terrestrials can become alcoholics.

Major Hoople is oldster stuff.

Getaway for Gandhi - that was his problem - he never took a vacation!

Anonymous said...

Phila. is and always has been, a common abbreviation for Philadelphia.

Mari said...

Pretty smooth puzzle except for one stunner: 65. Sculls in a quad scull, e.g.: OCTAD.

Yellowrocks said...

Very satisfying puzzle and write up. Great clues. Even though I know all today's comedians and did not know any of yesterday's songs, this puzzle was more thought provoking,just slighty more time consuming than yesterday's romp.

We have used ink erasers, attached to pens or not, for many years. The good ones are not messy. I do my X-words in ink so I can see waht I write. I write tentative ans. lightly, because newsprint tears easily.

In the USA ASHRAMS were very popular in the 60's and early 70's. Many were associated with the hippie culture.

My mother who was born 102 years ago spoke of playing with AGGIES and STEELIES. I never knew anyone who played that kind of marbles during my lifetime, although they probably exist.

PHILA and Philly are used interchangeably quite frequently in our newspapers for both regular news and sports.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Ah, a Tuesday with a bit more pepper in it. Couldn't remember AWNS, same as last week when it appeared in some random puzzle. Never heard of ROEG, and Major HOOPLE was before my time.

Tried BOLLE before GUCCI emerged. Good thing AROD filled himself in, sports clues are mostly hieroglyphics to me.

There's talk of snow this week. Oh hell.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up & links.

Hondo: CRO, 58-D, was my first entry.
I must admit, Zagreb, and the wonderful people in Croatia, was my favorite 'Ex-Pat' location/job.

Hahtool: Had Persian 'rugs' also before that FLASHBACK showed me it was GULF.

Themes WERE in quickly.
Fave was that IDLE GOSSIP. (We get that here sometimes).
ASHRAM, HOOPLE & ROEG all perps.

In all the years I've been doing crosswords ... can't say ANY entry ever rankled me.

Cheers to all at Sunset.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

Thank you for the concise explanations on this one, Argyle. I vaguely knew about Chris ROCK, but still don’t know what a ROCK ANTHEM is, though. (Note to self: update iPod with some contemporary hits, and remove HANKY PANKY, TUTTI FRUTTI, STUPID CUPID and WOOLY BULLY…)

I also had no clue about ROEG. Other than that, which filled nicely with perps, this was a really smooth puzzle.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Grumpy 1 said...

You've got to try the Curious Conundrum puzzle! Marti and Don G teamed up and came up with a really clever puzzle that some will love and some will hate. give it a go.

Tony S. said...

@Barry G
Your short order comment also sounds like the hit was in a diner.
Hmm.

Grumpy 1 said...

Top 100 (and then some) Rock Anthems This should give you enough stuff to stuff in your iPod. Wooly Bully is 131. The only similar in the top 100 is Louie Louie.

Lemonade714 said...

Happy Tuesday:

Fun puzzle and theme, but it would have been nice to use four ex-SNL comedians, maybe CHEVY NOVA, or whatever. Sorry ERIC.

Marti, all you need to know about ROCK ANTHEMS.

Lemonade714 said...

G man, I guess we were on a wavelength, but you type faster

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Thanks for the write-u, Argyle.

Thought the cw was a little more difficult than the usual Tuesday. Agree with Hahtool. But the whole left side went down real easily. Then had to pick my way up the right side. WAGged ASHRAM and PRISM to complete it. The theme was fun; esp. SHORT SUBJECTS and IDLE GOSSIP. Fpr Morro Castle, I wanted New Jersey first because of the shipwreck site. But 4 letters and the perps augered for CUBA. I guess it's a feature of Havana's harbor. Few foreign words today: SIE, AMO, but the perps were kind.

Have a great day.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Love the theme. ROEG and HOOPLE were complete unknowns. Stumbled hard over PHILA and RIFLE, but both are valid. (Grrr) An OCTAD of sculls will be quickly forgotten - like AWN always is.

Always get a charge from IONIC.

Cheers!
JzB

kazie said...

Enjoyed the theme today, and got them all fairly easily. Unknowns were ROEG, HOOPLE and PHILA which made a mess of the SW when I guessed CHILE and didn't notice that OCTED looked strange. Since I had never heard of Hoople or Temple U, and would never have thought Phila could be acceptable for Philly, I decided to stay with what I had there.

Like Jeanne, I first thought of the real windows, but only for a second. When cleaning ours last month, I discovered one whose seal has been broken and there's humidity between the glazing panes. We're looking into what can be done, so I guess glass windows occurred to me first for that reason too.

Off to make bread and try Don and Marti's CW while it rises.

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you David Poole for a very nice puzzle, and Argyle for an excellent delivery. I finished, and I even got the theme, I think ! ( Whew ).

I was surprised to see 'Ashram', literally means 'sans/without work', but actually a yoga or religious commune. Not too many ashrams, nowadays, even in India. Gandhi was supposedly a stickler for 'volunteer' work - he absolutely and emphatically insisted that every single one of the visitors, to his ashram, had to take turns to clean the ditch latrines, manually, by themselves - no exceptions. A very severe lifestyle - no wonder, people follow him by words, but not by deed.


Alt QOD: - I gave my cats a bath the other day. They love it. It's fun for me, too, but the fur sticks to my tongue. ~ Steve Martin.

Have a nice week, you all.

SouthernBelle said...

@BarryG.: Today was much quicker due to your help in using arrow, space bar and tab key...thank you, thank you!
@yellowrocks: Yep, today's puzzle proved that I am 81 years old! Played with steelies so yesterday's puzzle was easy.....knew the songs. Today was the opposite, only knew Billy Crystal.

It is really great being able to read the comments again.....missed you guys!

Guess living with family is better than nursing home...but....

Steve said...

Same SW trouble as a lot of previous commenters, and PHILA was new to me. OCTAD seemed very obscure.

Nice theme and fill, but SSGTS seemed something of a stretch to my mind.

Qli said...

Flew through this one until I got to the SW corner. Maj. Hoople was one I've never heard of, the abbreviation for Philadelphia threw me off, and I really wanted loot to be a noun. Otherwise, a fun puzzle.

Yellowrocks said...

In my mind, in sculliing, the craft is propelled by pairs of oars. I had --TAD, so knew the clue was numerical. QUAD in the clue indicated 4 and four pairs became OCTADS.

KAZIE, I had humidity between the glass layers in my window, also. It was still under warranty so I contacted my installer who replaced it free of charge. For out of warranty windows, I would still contact an installer. If you have to pay for it, replacing just the glass is likley less expensive than replacing the entire window. BTW for a time, I was a virtual scheduler/Gal Friday for a home improvement company/window installer.

Husker Gary said...

Phone rang yesterday on the 17th tee box asking if I could sub. Well here I am, “Back in the saddle again!” Just right Tuesday offering, David! AWNS, RAJ, ASHRAM, ROEG, OCTAD and PIMA were a little “late in the weekish” but no prob Bob. Sometimes you know more than you think you know.

Musings
-Crystal Palace was code name in War Games where “confidence is high” that the end of the world was at hand
-Oh yeah, Eva was married!
-Reggie – Mr. October, AROD – Mr. April
-I’ve had kids buy $200 sunglasses in Cocoa Beach! Yikes!
-SPYS not M*A*S*H
-4 letters with 1492 in clue? Duh!
-ALER’s and NLER’s are playing a fun World Series!
-Dang, someone sent some 16 year olds in here. Have a rankle-free Tuesday.

ant said...

I loved the near clusters of 9-9-8 letter words going down (33D/4D/38D & 9D/36D/11D). As PG might have said, that's some sparkly fill right there!

I also liked seeing JAI ALAI in its entirety.

The Major HOOPLE reference reminded me of Mr Hooper from Sesame Street. Haven't thought about him in years, though I remember his death being a big deal on the show.

Clear Ayes said...

Good Morning All, I was rather surprised that all the theme guys weren't regular SNL guys, but Eric IDLE has appeared four times as host of the show, so I guess he comes close.

I wonder why I knew 49A)HOOPLE and had a miserable time with 1A)Persian GULF (CATS? RUGS?) and with 59D)HI-C.

MPPuzzler said...

All in all it was a fun puzzle. Nice write-up Argyle.

I had trouble getting traction, especially for a Tuesday puzzle, but eventually it clicked. I particularly liked the 8 and 9 letter fill - 'sparkly' is the right word for it. AWN is one of the strangest words I've come across, only in CWs. Yeah, 4 SNLrs would have been nice - I'm a big Idle/Python fan.

Marge said...

Hi all,
After a couple weeks of not doing the blog I finally got around to it. Last week we did we did meals on wheels and that cuts the day in two but it is a fun thing to do.

This week I am down in Ga. at my daughters (I really came to see my 20 month great grandson). They change so fast and learn so much the first couple years.

I did yesterdays puzzle and enjoyed it, had no dictionary so had to rely on the perps. It was an easy one, thank goodness.

I am using my sil's computer and it is a Mac so I make a lot of goofs.

Have a good day all!
Marge

eddyB said...

Hello.

Today's was as easy as yesterday's.
Knew all four and didn't stop for links.

San Juan,PR also has a Morro Castle
guarding the harbor. Sailed under her guns a few times.

Was one of the extra 200k who dropped Netflix.

Yahoo/comics calling todays 9 Chickweed Lane Monday's. So there!

StL in seven? Hope so.

Fliers on hockey score board is PHI. Sharks in NAS tonight.

Take care. eddy

Lucina said...

Hello, puzzlers. Argyle, thank you, for a smooth blog. I'll have to check links later after I collect my car from the shop.

Quite a few FLASHBACKS in this puzzle as I recall HOOPLE, and MARBLES. On our playground boys always played marbles during recess while we girls jumped rope.

GULF and GUCCI helped to fill that NW corner with EASE though my mind flirted with RUGS and glass windows,too.

As most of you I thought the SW corner looked strange with PHILA and HIC (OH, HI-C)but it wouldn't be the first time I was puzzled.

Erasable pens are very handy for crosswords though they don't last long.

Jeanne and Marge, good to see you.
MOM, welcome back.

Have a super Tuesday, everyone!

Sphinxter said...

eddy,
The dates at the top of the comics on Yahoo are next to arrows, indicating that the arrows will take you to those dates. The comics for "today" show only yesterday's date/arrow, since you can't go to tomorrow's comic yet. It does not mean today's date. Go back a few days, and you'll see what I mean.
Also, located below the comic panel are previously run panels showing the correct date.
So there!

HeartRx said...

eddyB, thank you for clearing up my one foggy moment from today's puzzle!!! I thought that I recalled visiting Morro Castle during a cruise ship stopover. But the perps here demanded CUBA...and I thought "Marti, your senility is showing - you can't have been in CUBA!"

So I did remember correctly, and it was the one in Puerto Rico that I visited!

Mari said...

YellowRocks @ 10:37 AM:

Thanks, Very helpful.

Jerome said...

Something stinks when INKERASER becomes IRAN REEKS.... but it's sweet when FLASHBACK so easily turns to HALFBACKS.

Lucina said...

Yellowrocks:
Yes. I also thank you as the clue at 65A meant nothing to me but OCTAD fit and equal two quads.

Not Dali said...

Lucina, your flashback sounds like a Norman Rockwell painting.
Except, in typical Norman Rockwell fashion, there should be a folksy twist.
You go, girl!

Susan said...

Thanks David and Argyle--fun, easy puzzle and great commentary.

All that came to mind immediately for Persian was cats--probably because last night I found a section on eBay that shows cats and dogs and other pets needing homes in my area. I spent over an hour looking at them and wantng to brng them all home.



A year ago August I had to have my darling Felina put to sleep. I am ready now for another cat.

Argyle said...

Yellowrocks, whom are the new avatar?

Anonymous said...

Liked todays puzzle. Put auld for 22d cause i thought the clue wanted first word. 54d must have been ment for marines. They are the only ones who abbreviate that way. Navy sailors coast gaurd and airforce dont have cpls. Have a good day!!

Argyle said...

R U AF? Army and National Guard have corporal E-4.

kazie said...

Yellowrocks,
Thanks for the advice on our window. We have contacted our contractor, who is looking into the warranty situation. the house is 14 years old, so we're not sure how long the warranty is. And he also mentioned the replacement of just the glass if a warranty isn't in force.

Lucina said...

Why, thank you, Dali! As you may or may not know in the 1940s and 50s the lines between female and male activities were firmly drawn, Mr. Rockwell notwithstanding. That, of course, is what lends the charming humor to that painting.

Spitzboov said...

re 56d. A visit to the DOD website on enlisted ranks shows that the clue apparently applies to the Marines. The only service where a SSGT is 2 levels above a CPL.
E4 - E6.

Yellowrocks said...

My avatar shows my 13 year old grandson, Ken, in the lead at Scout camp during the summer of 2010. He was chosen to lead his unit. He loves camping and scouting. His picture was in Scouting Magazine. Perhaps you can see it more clearly in the link.
Link Brownsea Boys
from Proud Grandma

Unknown said...

This one gave me a few fits. Phila? Really? Octad, Cro and Spys were unknowns to me/learning moments. Ditto to the comment about that.
Thanks for the explanations.
I am slowly getting back into the swing of things. NOLA and the cruise were a wonderful break in the month for us. Life is so calm these days that even a cup of coffee and a beignet is an exciting treat. Of course, the couchon de lait ain't bad either!
Spelling?

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

Barry G et al,
Can you see the new blog favicon CC? If not, close your brower. Then start again. Can you see it?

KeaauRich said...

Aloha all,
As stupid as I felt last week, I am feeling brilliant this week. Yesterday and today were both a 57D for me, and i'm posting this before attempting the curious conundrum so as not to ruin my streak.

So do most of you use dictionaries while solving? That was always a controvery in my family. Dad believed it to be cheating, while grandpa said "Hell, the person who made the puzzle used one...". In general i'm inclinded to follow my dad's philosophy, tho i slip on occasion. Google is, however, strictly prohibited.

Tinbeni said...

C.C.
If your favicon is that wonderful picture of you with the Flag then I salute you.

Anonymous said...

What's a 'favicon cc'?

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

Tinbeni,
Nope, Just letter CC. Simple.

Anonymous,
Favicon is the web icon (in your address bar). Previously I was just using Blogger's standard B.

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

Southern Belle,
A belated Happy 81st Birthday. I'm pleased you're back.

Jeanne,
Great to see you too. I missed your comments.

Argyle said...

Enlisted Ranks

The Army National Guard uses the same rank structure and insignias as the Army.

Jazzbumpa said...

C.C. -

I closed my browsers and turned off my computer, but couldn't get the favicon to show until I cleared the day's cach from history. Same thing for both Firefox and Chrome.

"CC" looks very cool.

Cheers!
JzB

Anonymous said...

How do I see the favicon? I have IE.

eddyB said...

Further discussion isn't worth my
time and I don't really care what
day of the week it says. I just
don't like being called names. It is nice that Frank can read your mind.

eddy.

Jayce said...

The CC is cool.

Jayce said...

The CC looks good in IE, too.

dodo1925 said...

Evening everyone,

Another lovely offering. This week has been great so far! Several unknowns: Roeg, Hoople (haven't seen that strip in years!),Rock Anthem, but plenty of friendly perps to make them doable! I loved it, David! Thank you. And Another nice writeup, Argyle; You never fail us!

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Finally got to the rest of the puzzle this afternoon after my meeting. I tend to agree with Argyle that this puzzle was harder than yesterday's puzzle.

I did manage to finish, but wasn't familiar with Roeg. The perps took care of that for me. Also, Awns is a word that I've learned doing CW's. Amazing the number of new vacabulary one accumulates doing the daily CW!

It was good to see Jeanne back with us today.

KeaauRich, My mother-in-law always thought I was cheating when I used my Dictionary while doing the CW. I always told her is was "learning", not cheating. I have learned many of those elusive words(see previous comment) using a CW Dictionary and now some of them are in my permanent memory bank.

Chickie said...

Dodo, I just saw your new avatar. Wonder who those ladies are with you in Stockton? That was an amazing afternoon we spent together.

To our newbies: This blog has brought together people who didn't know each other personally, but had the desire to meet face to face. Our West Coast group has met several times, and I know there are several other groups in different parts of the country who have had get-togethers in the past.

Not only have our vocabularies expanded, but our friendships, too.

Frank said...

eddyB – Yikes! No mind-reading here. If I was called a fat gasbag, I’d be annoyed, too. But after reading the strip, I understood where S was coming from, and why Argyle at first removed the initial post, then restored it. I actually gasped when I read that original post, until I read the link. I'm sorry that I said it was funny.

Nothing to really add about the puzzle today. It seems it's all been said. Though I do miss your sign-offs, JzB.

Seldom Seen said...

Here is a ROCK ANTHEM performed by Mott The HOOPLE.

Had a FLASHBACK to more DF days when I read the answers(only) to 52d and 23a back to back.

There is some IDLE GOSSIP that LaRussa has lost his MARBLES after watching that SCENE unfold last night. I hope that NLER hasn't cried UNCLE, there is still time to execute a UTURN and finish ATOP the baseball world.

alt theme entries:
eddie MURPHY BED
chevy CHASE SCENE
jane CURTAIN ROD
garret MORRIS THE CAT
al FRANKEN STEIN and
joe PISCOPO....oh nevermind

dodo1925 said...

Thank you, Chickie! It was fun, wasn't it? I'm sorry the picture doesn't have better resolution. I had help changing the avatar; I hope I'll be able to do it again! I suppose there are ways that I could enhance the resolution, but I'm lucky to get the pic here at all!

CC I just love that picture of you. Are you sure you're not a child bride? Boomer?

eddyB said...

I didn't see the first post untill Argyle restored it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have said a thing. If I say: "You fat gasbag", I'm not talking about a cartoon. Besides,
I just lost a pound by shaving off my beard.

Sharks by one. Back to hockey.

eddy

Anony-Mouse said...

This is for Jazzbumpa - this is Vidwan827 - but I lost my password.

I know you live in the Toledo area - and your heritage/ ancestry is East European (?). I just got a call from a financial planner about some 'offerings' in the Toledo area. Apparently the famous restaurant - Tony Packo's had to go on the auction block, and was bought out by Bennets of the Burger King franchise conglomerate, and all because of a big fight among the heirs of Tony Packo ! Perhaps you can relate to this.

If you remember Tony Packo's ( of Toledo - of the Hungarian hot dogs ) was the restaurant made famous by Cpl. Klinger ( Jamie Farr ) of the M. A. S. H. fame - the cross dressing corporal ....

Clear Ayes said...

Dodo, what charming friends you have! I don't know who is the prettiest. I do know they are all (well, most of them...I never did get the computer program working properly) smart and funny! I'm looking forward to seeing you all again.

Spitzboov said...

Some time lapse photography of Life of Flowers. Enlarge to full screen if your computer can handle it.

JD said...

Buona sera C.C., Argyle et al,

Definitely a harder puzzle for me ..wagged more that I like. That SW corner was a DNF..no time to fiddle with hoople/phila or cro/octad..could have researched.

Keaau Rich, the 1st year I did cw's I googled continuously and I kept a word book.At one point I wrote several inane stories using all the new words, but gave up around the F or G saga; not a writer.I don't see it as cheating. If you have the time..or you care about the topic, I see it as a learning moment. I think it may be a personal choice.Just seeing an answer doesn't put it in my memory bank. That's why the conversations and the attachments added here are so great.We have great bloggers!

Jeanne, LOVED seeing you today. I know you must be busy and very happy.

Dodo, what a great group. That was a fun day. Something to look forward to.

eddy...woohoo! a win!!

JD said...

Spitzboov, that was BEAUTIFUL!! Thanks for sharing.

Lucina said...

Dodo:
Lovely new avatar! Those ladies look pleased, especially the one in front! LOL

Anonymous said...

Argyle look it up you are wrong. Cpl is a rank. Just cuss your an e-4 does not mean your a cpl. you have to command troops.

NewlyRetired said...

anon, you couldn't be more wrong - it has nothing to do with "commanding troops".

Argyle said...

Argue with Wikipedia. Section.