google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, October 5, 2011 Clive Probert

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Oct 5, 2011

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 Clive Probert

Theme: things that go bump in the night. three annoying things that might keep you awake.

17A. Honk ... honk ... honk ... : AUTOMOBILE ALARM. dane cook's thoughts. (turn down your volume first)

27A. Woof ... woof ... woof ... : BARKING DOGS

42A. Drip ... drip ... drip ... : LEAKY FAUCET

54A. What you'll get as a result of 17-, 27- or 42-Across? Not! : GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

melissa here.

four noticeable Down 9's are featured in this puzzle, intersecting two theme answers each.

Across:

1. The duck in "Peter and the Wolf" : OBOE. wikipedia article.

5. Hail : GREET. tricky clue, needed perps.

10. 1996 title role for Gwyneth : EMMA. based on the jane austen novel. and another austen novel, 30A. Youngest "Pride and Prejudice" Bennet sister : LYDIA

14. "Project Runway" host Heidi : KLUM. have never seen the show, but knew the name.

15. Ardent lover : ROMEO

16. Business jet company founder : LEAR

20. Conifer with springy wood : YEW. springy wood ... snort.

21. Help in a bad way : ABET

22. Jargon : LINGO

23. City on the Shatt al-Arab waterway : BASRA. in southern iraq.

25. Cheeky pet? : HAMSTER

31. Love, in Málaga : AMOR. spain.

32. In the center of : AMID

36. Bonehead : DOLT

37. Pong maker : ATARI

38. Brit's floor covering : LINO. did not know this, perps again.

39. Men : GUYS. some guys are just guys. speaking of which, tiger is at the resort this week for the fry's open.

40. "Will be," in a Day song : SERA. doris day. que sera, sera.

41. Prefix meaning "hundred" : CENTI. centimeter.

44. Mime who created Bip the Clown : MARCEAU. marcel.

48. Fragrant compound : ESTER

49. Gesundheit evoker : ACHOO

50. Walrus's weapon : TUSK

52. Filmmaker's deg. : MFA. master of fine arts.

58. Normandy river : ORNE

59. Kentucky pioneer : BOONE. daniel.

60. Like lawn spots in need of reseeding : BARE

61. Some wallet bills : ONES

62. Social customs : MORES. the accepted traditional customs and usages of a particular social group.

63. Jeanne and Geneviève: Abbr. : STES. saintes.

Down:

1. "Sure" : OKAY

2. Roy Orbison song that was a top ten hit for Linda Ronstadt : BLUE BAYOU

3. On the surface : OUTWARDLY

4. Expressive rock genre : EMO

5. "To Where You Are" singer Josh : GROBAN

6. Spa convenience : ROBE

7. Send out : EMIT

8. Sargasso Sea denizen : EEL. had no idea.

9. It may be tapped at a concert : TOE. or keg.

10. Brat Pack novelist Bret Easton __ : ELLIS. learning moment for me. from wikipedia: "The expression "literary Brat Pack" refers to the three young, East-coast American authors, Bret Easton Ellis, Tama Janowitz and Jay McInerney, who emerged in USA in the 1980s. It is a twist on the label brat pack that had previously been applied to a group of young American actors earlier that decade."

11. Intended : MEANT

12. Bart's mom : MARGE. the simpsons.

13. Mail at the castle : ARMOR. chainmail.

18. "Ave __" : MARIA

19. Poor request? : ALMS

24. "Saturday Night Live" fare : SKITS

25. "Yippee!" : HOORAY

26. Business opening? : AGRI. agribusiness.

27. Skyscraper, e.g.: Abbr. : BLDG. specific clue for a generic answer.

28. Cake, in Calais : GATEAU. french.

29. Former Berlin currency, briefly : D-MARK. wikipedia: "commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark."

32. Kayak maker : ALEUT. indigenous people of the aleutian islands in alaska and russia.

33. Pie filling that may include beef : MINCEMEAT. that's just wrong. do you like it, blll g.?

34. Meddle : INTERFERE

35. "Just __!" : DO IT. nike slogan.

37. Where landlubbers prefer not to be : ASEA

41. Winery containers : CASKS

42. Boxer Spinks : LEON

43. Admits, with "up" : FESSES

44. Cartoon Mr. : MAGOO

45. Squirrel's find : ACORN

46. Avignon's river : RHONE. france.

47. Works on a program : CODES

50. Red-bearded god : THOR. god of thunder.

51. __ Reader : UTNE

53. Rock of Gibraltar mammals : APES

55. Creator of Watson, a memorable 2011 "Jeopardy!" winner : IBM

56. Gunk : GOO. ew.

57. Ft-__: energy units : LBS foot-pound = a unit of work equal to the work or energy needed to lift a one-pound weight a distance of one foot against the force of the earth's gravity.

Answer grid.

melissa

72 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    Nice Wednesday workout! I had trouble with the theme answers until I got the reveal, after which I was able to go back and fill in the themes pretty quickly.

    Most of the non-theme fill was pretty straightforward, except for the West Coast. I was not familiar with LYDIA, couldn't remember BASRA, didn't know that Roy Orbison first perfomed BLUE BAYOU and was mystified by BLDG. Getting the crossing BARKING DOGS actually opened up the grid for me there and let me finish.

    The only other problem I encountered today was entirely my own fault due to fumble fingering the keyboard. I somehow ended up typing GTEET instead of GREET at 5A and AUTOMOMILE instead of AUTOMOBILE at 17A, which gave me TOME at 6D. TOME is a perfectly valid word, so it didn't triggger any alarms until I looked at the clue and went WTF? Since when do they give out large books at spas??? ^_^

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  2. Good day folks,

    This was a pretty good workout for me, especially the West. But, I found myself jumping around quite a bit, going from the NW to the SE to the CE, etc. In other words, a lot of "hunt & peck". The theme clues came together w/o too much difficulty, but I struggled with what Barry calls straightforward fills. A lot of guessing when I was a letter or two short.

    A couple of screw ups slowed me down too. Had fir for yew and dope, then dodo for dolt. Also began with BFA instead of MFA for 52A.

    Even though it was a grind, Clive came up with fun clues that made me think, making it an enjoyable grind.

    Melissa Bee, thanks for your write up.

    Have a great hump day.

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  3. Good Morning, MelissaBee and friends. This seemed more like a Monday level puzzle than a Wednesday one. Ironically, I did not get a GOOD NIGHT SLEEP last night, although not because of AUTOMOBILE ALARMS, BARKING DOGS or LEAKY FAUCETS. So, I got up completed the puzzle sometime in the wee hours of the morning.

    Some really fun clues here today. I especially liked Poor Request = ALMS.

    Help in a Bad Way = ABET was also amusing.

    Nice shout out to our friend MARGE. I bet she doesn't have tall blue hair, though.

    QOD: The proper time to influence the character of a child is about 100 years before he is born. ~ William Ralph Inge

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  4. Hello Puzzlers - Zoomed through with just a few glitches, such as "just A SEC!" . Never watched Project Runway, but Heidi Klum is, well, memorable enough.

    Took a minute to remember YEW, a very resilient variety of wood that was ideal for making archery bows. It's also a good structural wood. Some yew timbers were salvaged after a fire at Hampton Court Palace in England; having been damaged, the timbers were turned into wooden dinner plates like those of the Tudor period and sold. I bought a couple of them just for fun.

    Thanks MB, loved the links!

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  5. Most baseball fans have heard of the "Linda Ronstadt Fastball"...

    ...yeah, it just "blew by you".

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  6. Good Morning Melissa Bee and all,

    Like, Hahtool, my sleep habits have been so interrupted that I solve in the wee hours. I just usually fall back to sleep, then omit posting, cause I’m so behind until very late.

    This puzzle was nice and easy for a Wednesday. Perps helped speed it along. The theme was clever and quickly revealed itself. Thanks, Clive.

    I hesitated over the crossing of BASRA/GROBAN; finally the A won out over an I.

    Nice blogging, MelissaB; thank you.

    Have enjoyed the posts lately; also, some fun links, thanks all.

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  7. Good morning everyone. Thanks for the comments, MB.

    Lots of littoral related clues, today: RHONE, BLUE BAYOU, ORNE, ASEA, ALEUT, TUSK, APES and EEL. The theme phrases were relatively easy, and so was the unifier except that I did not see the 'not!' at first so I initially entered 'poor' for GOOD. MAGOO and CODES straightened that out. Got YEW by remembering "Robin Hood". No lookups needed.

    Have a great day.

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  8. First, filled in the blanks: Ave Maria,
    Just DO-IT!, and Ft-LBS.

    Then concentrated on the reveal:
    GOOD-NIGHTS-SLEEP, which I get every night ...for about 4 hours.

    Two learning moments: Josh GROBAN & Bret Easton ELLIS. I'm sure I'll forget them by noon.

    Barry G.: Mystified(?) by BLDG for building?
    I don't get it. It's a fairly common abbr. IMO

    Seen: Too funny! So true.
    (Just ask the Rays: Why the early exit?)

    Jazz: I always like it when series go to the MAX.

    We'll "toast" each-other at Sunset.

    Cheers !!!

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  9. Hey everybody, I found this to be the easiest puzzle so far this week, which shows how diverse the solving experience is, since the comments already show some split on this one.

    mb entertaining as always, and Mr. Probert is another grand master, who had me fooled for a moment, as i could not understand how a good night's sleep came from all the racket, then i saw the Not!

    Never heard of literary brat pack, but it was filled by perps, so it goes sometimes.

    Good to be home.

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  10. Clever title, Melissa. Like Hahtool, it seemed to me to be a Monday type puzzle. I happened to start at the bottom which made it easy.

    27D Skyscraper is an eg. of a building. Seems legit to me.

    Dudley, interesting story on salvaged yew timbers. I, too, thought right away of the resilient (springy) wood used for archery bows.

    I don't care for traditional mince meat pie containing suet and/or beef. However, I love (meatless) mince pie containing minced (chopped up)raisins, currants, apples, brown sugar, rum and spices.

    Liked ALMS and ABET.
    ELLIS and GROBAN were unfamiliar, but easily sussed from the PERPS.

    Thanks to all who indulged me yesterday with your solving methods. I enjoyed reading them.

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  11. Barry G.: Mystified(?) by BLDG for building?
    I don't get it. It's a fairly common abbr. IMO


    Sorry, I just meant I couldn't think of a four letter abbreviation that fit the clue "Skyscraper, e.g." You're right, BLDG is fairly common -- it just didn't come to mind at first.

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  12. Good Morning Melissa, C.C. et al.

    I loved the Dana Cook link, mb – thanks for the warning about the volume, though!

    Fun puzzle, which I also thought was more Mon-Tue level. Getting the theme entries right away helped with the rest of the fill. Not much else to comment on, as there were not too many deceptive clues here.

    I wonder if Watson would have won against Joon Pahk on “Jeopardy!”?

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  13. Our little crossword group here in Birmingham really misses Dennis and his comments to start the day's blog. Is he coming back?

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  14. Hi all,

    I am not doing to well, sleep-wise. Thus I blogged at 1:00am PST and here I am again.

    Nice puzzle, Clive; fine write-up, melissa.

    Somewhat of a runaway. Favorite answer: ARMOR.

    Unbelievably, it has begun to rain. Not those 10 drops only that we have had recently. We sure need it!

    Will try connecting with the arms of Morpheus again.

    Happy hump day!

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  15. HeartRx: Do not think Pahk as good as Jennings. But, we'll see!

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  16. More French, less rivers!

    Maybe it's just me, maybe it's because I went to school during the 60s and 70s when Education did another turnaround and was embracing Peoples and Cultures and eschewed geography, but I am completely clueless as to anything on maps that is not a major land mass.

    I'm aware--dimly--of the few that crop up as Crossword Faves, but can't seem to recall where they originate or flow past or to. Sigh. Thankfully, there are always some helps up and down to put me out of my misery.

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  17. Good morning, all. This certainly wasn't 'a once across, once down and done' puzzle. I kept hitting unknowns or 'can't quite recall' entries. But then some of the perps would seem way to easy and get me going again. The theme and reveal were pretty obvious and helped get some of the not-so-obvious fill, too.

    Joon Pahk has made more in the last two days than he will in years of crossword constructing. Very impressive win yesterday. I went back and read C.C.'s interview with him. It was quite interesting.

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  18. Good morning.

    I'm in the camp that thinks this was at least as easy as the past 2 days. Not a speed run, but no major stumbling blocks. And who can't like a puzzle with the gimme Blue Bayou?

    Like the puzzle last week about airline annoyances, you have to wonder when and where this puzzle was constructed. At the breakfast table at 5:00AM with a schooner of strong coffee and a scowl on the face would be my guess.

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  19. Joon is quite fun to watch, and it feels like we are part of the process, as it shows we puzzlers know lots of stuff. Watson knows all.

    Joon also has nerve, and betting it all was great, thought the math problems are always easy.

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  20. Hi there~!

    Thanks, mb, for the write-up -

    LOVED your chainmail link, and I always like to see "Castle" in a puzzle somewhere - ARMOR and AMOR today, AMID and EMIT.

    Guessed LEAKY FAUCET to start, and the rest came after a few perps.

    Thanks, too, for the Dane Cook bit.

    School tonight ~!

    Splynter

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  21. Thank you Mr. Clive Probert for a very nice puzzle and melissabee for a very entertaining commentary.

    I really did not think I could have completed this puzzle, but the bricks started filling in, bit by bit. The simple theme really helped.

    I had 'Fir' for 'yew', but I eventually got the right answer. Yew trees have some toxic ingredients, but now some of the alkaloids and lindanes have found use in anti-cancer drugs, like Taxol, paclitaxel and Docetaxel for lung and breast cancers.

    The only song I know by Roy Orbison, is 'Pretty woman - walking down the street'.


    Alt QOD: - I was left in no doubt as to the severity of the hangover when a cat stamped into the room. ~ P. G. Wodehouse. ( in 'Jeeves' )

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  22. Good morning, folks, barely. Thank you, Clive, for a swell puzzle. Nice to see your review again, Melissa.

    This puzzle was quite easy for a Wednesday. The theme came easily. I have experienced all of those sleep inhibitors.

    BASRA came easy. Lived near there for a while.

    BLUE BAYOU came easily. My favorite of Roy Orbison was "Only the Lonely"

    Wagged KLUM and EMO. Lucked out.

    Had a problem with GATEAU. As always, my French is lousy.

    Did not know that APES were on Gibraltar. Interesting.

    Could not watch Joon since I have no TV in Pennsylvania.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  23. Very pleasant Wednesday puzzle. Thanks for the writeup too.

    JD, the rain has started. I'm hoping for steady rain all day. The sound of rain on the skylights might put me in the mood for a little nap.

    Argyle and Fermatprime; yes, I read them. I do think posts late in the day, especially west coast time, seldom get responded to.

    Melissa, regarding Mincemeat; I've never had it.

    Say, do any of you know the country of origin of Joon Pahk's name? I think if he had bet it all on Final Jeapordy last night, he would have been either the highest daily winner or close to it.

    I'm glad for my wife's sake that the Yankees won last night. Otherwise, the rain wouldn't be the only gloomy thing around here.

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  24. Hi gang -

    Looking at the finished product, I realize I should like this puzzle more than I do. Oh well. Long theme answers and down 9's - nice. And it only took 14 1/2 minutes to DO IT.

    Even misunderstood M's comment and was looking for TOES (9-D's) everywhere. (sigh)

    The OBOE is SONIA, but she doesn't fit. The wolf is - of course - TROMBONES!

    Sweet, fruity smells come from ESTERS.

    When two French rivers cross, which is the affluent?

    Seen -

    It's OKAY by me if it's OKAY BAYOU.

    Tin Man - Sure - it aint over 'till it's over. Bring on the CASKS. This is enough to make a drinking man out of me -- oh, wait . . .

    Cheers!
    JzB not really that much of a wolf

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  25. Tin,
    Perhaps if you cut back on the Sunset Toasts, a full 8-hour GOODNIGHTSSLEEP would be the reward.

    Then, again, a pinch to grow an inch...

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  26. Good morning Melissa, C.C. et al,

    This was the speediest Wed. puzzle ever..for me, and easier than M/T's. I had 2 slip-ups: spelled Groban/ Grogan, and could not recall yeW, so had to count on filling outWardly.There were only a few today that I had to count on perp help.

    Mince meat just looks wrong for a pie; it was my Dad's favorite.

    Grumpy, thanks for the heads up on Joon Pahk's interview.Will reread.

    As we grow older it's harder to get a good night's sleep..sigh

    Melissa, funny..snort,snort.

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  27. AVE, Melissa and puzzle group. Thank you for the lovely blogging, MB.

    A nice speed run for Wednesday though I was unsure about OBOE but when KLUM,EMMA and LEAR emerged, my pencil flew.

    Once AUTOMOBILEALARM rang out, the other theme clues were easy.

    LYDIA popped out as I just saw Pride and Prejudice on Sunday. Love that Colin Firth.

    Some really clever cluing for TOE, ARMOR and HAMSTER.

    My grandmother's meatless MINCEMEAT
    was delicious. I wish I had learned to make it.

    Have a fantastic Wednesday, everyone!

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  28. Hi, Gang,

    This was a really enjoyable puzzle. Fun! I sailed right along waiting for the boom to fall, as it did the other day when the bottom third changed my tempo. It didn't show up until the revealllll and some of its perps.
    The only unkown was 'utne' which I'e never heard of, but I went ahead and worked out those three letter sticklers, 55A, 56A, 57A. Well I guess I should call them unknowns,too, since I had to fill in everything else in order to get them. 'goo' could have been several thing, so that was a matter of choice.

    Anyway, Clive Probert, I really, really liked this one, so thans; and MB, as usual, great commentary.

    Cheerio!

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  29. Lucinda,
    Nonesuch (brand name)Mince makes a meatless variety in a jar. It just needs to be dumped in an unbaked pie crust and baked. It is very good as is. My Mom used to "doctor it up," by adding extra fruit, spices, and rum.
    We can find Nonesuch in the supermarkets around here only at Thanksgiving time, but often we have to ask where it is. It is one of my favorites.

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  30. I'm surprised that no one has mentioned the best known brand of mincemeat pie filling... Oh, I forgot, everyone here cooks everything from scratch. LOL. We always had mincemeat pie as an aalternative to pumpkin at Thanksgiving and it was always made with NoneSuch brand filling. According to the ingredients list, it does indeed contain beef but it's mostly apples and raisins.

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  31. Can anyone explain what WTF means? Barry? I hope its not what first comes to mind.

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  32. Yellowrocks, you posted while i was looking up the link for NoneSuch. Once again we're thinking alike.

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  33. Hahtool, what a lovely picture! You look like a young Ingrid Bergman!

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  34. First of all, let me assure fermatprime that I did read her post yesterday. Now to read all of yours today.

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  35. Hello.

    Agree with PG about the theme.
    It only takes one barking dog and
    it is car alarm. We have both in the neighborhood.

    Anyone else reminded of The Fugitive
    when watching Unforgettable?

    Have to get out the chain saw and clear away the ivy that peeled off the wall during last night's storm.
    But, blue sky is disappearing. Looks like more rain on the way.

    The season starts tomorrow!

    eddy

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  36. Anon @ 1:11

    It is what first comes to mind.

    Cheers!
    JzB

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  37. Oops, I lied! Didnt know Grogan or Ellis (although that was my DH's name).

    No mincemeat pie, thanks.

    Anon@ 1.11. That's right. Sorry.

    Should I know Watson? I don't.

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  38. Dodo - Watson was the computer that played on Jepardy against Ken Jennings last year.

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  39. Watson was the IBM computer that took on two past champions (including Ken Jennings) on Jeopardy and won. (Oops, sorry Hahtool.)

    Dodo, I thought your avatar name was going to show up in this puzzle when I came across Bonehead/DO-- but it turned out to be DOLT instead.

    Here's a neat video of an eagle owl? coming in for a landing in super slow motion.

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  40. I learned Josh Groban from seeing him co-host with Kelly on Regis and Kelly show. He is apparently being considered as a replacement when Regis retires in November.

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  41. Hahtool:
    Beautiful photo and yes, you do resemble Ingrid Bergman.

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  42. Great puzzle! Strange, but the ones Barry dislikes are the easy ones for me.

    Thanks for the music links although I get to browsing the other listed musical delights and almost forget to come back here.

    Bill G.-great owl clip! How do you come up with such diverse and interesting links?

    PK

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  43. My first time here today, despite having finished the CW early in the day. Really enjoyed it though, although I was stuck for a while in the east by having INUIT and WAIT for ALEUT and DO IT but perps helped eventually and I should have known LINO, we had it at home too.

    I was momentarily thrown thinking all the themes would be animal noises, having taken honk as a pig oink. But AUTOMOBILE fixed that pretty quickly.

    Will be gone all day tomorrow to a funeral, so will probably not be back until Friday, which may mean not until Monday the way I've been going lately.

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  44. PK: I think there's some sort of an editor in my brain. I see something on my FC bulletin board or on my wife's Facebook page. If I enjoy it, I figure the Crossword Corner denizens will too. I found the eagle owl link in a Canadian friend's post yesterday. I'm glad you liked it.

    More stuffed birds puzzle

    Write a type of bird in each set of blanks from left to right, one letter per blank, to complete the longer word.

    _ NO_B_ _ K

    C_ _GIR_

    _ _NDI _ OR_

    B_LLI_E_ _ N_

    _ _ CATI_ _

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  45. Easy-Peasy for a Wednesday. How about the Groban-Romeo cross?
    Thanks MB for write-up!
    Off to dinner now at one of our favorite spots.
    Bye now.

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  46. and
    3) hawk
    5) loon

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  47. Heron today, gone tomorrow. Live life with no egrets.

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  48. I have really enjoyed the early offerings this week and I hope to get back to blogging after family and school obligations this past week. I enjoyed all the wrtie-ups and posts from youse guys!!

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  49. Fermatprime:
    Whether first thing in the morning or later in the day, I always try to read the late night posts and I'm often surprised by how many there are.

    Believe me, every time I read about your woes I say a prayer for you that you may be alleviated.

    Hahtool:
    Ingrid or Isabella, you are beautiful!

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  50. Hola EAveryone, Another speed run for me today. Easier than Monday and Tuesday, both.

    Groban and Ellis were two unknowns, but the perps filled those in for me.

    Mail at the Castle/Armor, and Cheeky pet/Hamster were both favorite fills today.

    All of the Sleep interupting answers have kept us awake from time to time. Someone in our neighborhood has a honking car alarm that goes off at 2-3 am about once a month! Really annoying.

    I think that insomnia is catching and that the blog is spreading the disease!! I've been an insomniac for a number of years, but I usually get up and read and wait for the morning paper to do the crossword.

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  51. Thanks Melissa B. for the great writeup. I enjoyed your links, too.

    With the golf tournament in progress, I hope the traffic on 101isn't too bad these next couple of days. Our office is in Morgan Hill and my husband has to drive right by the course every morning.

    Of course, if the rain keeps up it could be a problem for the golf tournament. We never get rain this early in the season. The wine growers are holding their breath. Our friend's vineyard got 1.2 inches of rain yesterday, also lots of wind.

    Hahtool, I love your new Avatar. Thanks for sharing.

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  52. OOOH! Frustrated! During the second half of Jeopardy! ABC interrupted to announce the death of Steve Jobs.

    While that is sad and ultimately devastating for his family and company, I believe a simple announcement would have sufficed; instead it was a full biography.

    If anyone saw or sees Joon's "salsa" answer please post it as that made a huge difference at the end. Thanks.

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  53. I'm lucky! I sleep like a log. I do wake several times during the night but go right back to sleep. Sometimes I even fall asleep after breakfast while doing the CW~~Narcolepsy?

    Neighbors across the levie have a dog they must leave out all day and he yelps for hours. Makes my throat hurt! Sometimes it's at night, too. I can't figure out why the surrounding neighbors haven't complained! It bothers me more in the daytime than at night.

    WH, I meant when Ingrid was young,and I think she was just as beautiful, or even more so, than Isabella. My DH was in love with her. He called her "drenchingly beautiful". Quite a word man.

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  54. chickie, if you're talking about the course that you see from 101, coyote creek, that's a different course. Cordevalle is a bit further south in san martin and tucked away, west of 101, can't be seen from the highway. traffic wasn't bad today but I expect it will get worse as the week progresses. Cordevalle has leased a few empty lots for parking off of some of the main roads nearby, which will tie things up also....

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  55. I put a comment on yesterday's list just now and it will not copy here. Have no idea why. It's still there and is a message for Fermatprime, so if you're reading this FM, go back to Tuesdays comments, please.

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  56. Hello.

    The passing of Steve IS big news. May he rest in peace.

    Made one pass with the chain saw and
    chain came off the drive socket. Started to rain again any way. Back to the drawing board.

    Two more days of 60s and rain in the forecast. Expect to see snow on Mt
    Hamilton tomorrow.

    Two comments a minute apart were actually three hours apart. Amazing!

    Added another blanket to the bed.

    eddy

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  57. When I hear a car alarm going off, I never think, "Oh, somebody is stealing that car." I just get frustrated at the annoying noise. I wonder why anybody bothers with them. I have one on my 1993 Camry I bought used and I stopped setting it soon after I got the car. In hot weather, I often leave the windows down and moon roof open if I'm just going to be away from the car for a little while. My friend in Maine used to leave her windows down and the keys in the ignition so she wouldn't forget where they were.

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  58. Joon won again, but he had a tougher time getting there tonight. You can catch the show here for the first half and here for the second half of the show.

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  59. BillG,
    I have a 1984 F-150 pickup that bought in 1996. The key has never been out of the ignition since I've owned it. But the truck is ugly enough that no one would consider stealing it.

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  60. BillG, So you live in a beach community where the weather is perfect most of the time and there is very little crime and you can leave your windows down and still have a car and ride your bike without gettin robbed etc, etc, etc. I get it. Stop rubbing it in.

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  61. It's been a while, but I've lived in neighborhoods where it was prudent to empty the glove box and leave the doors unlocked. The chances of getting a POS car stolen were low, but the chances of getting broken into were high. YMMV.

    PS: RIP Steve Jobs.

    PPS: Go Joon!!

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  62. I'm/we're very disappointed that nobody in this nice group saw fit to answer my question this morning. Do you have to be blue to get an answer?

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  63. Ruth

    From what I know, Dennis is keeping a low profile, but does look in and offer comments from time to time.

    On the Mince pie; it is one of my favorites at Thanksgiving, too. We just use the store bought filling. Yum, yum.

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  64. Ruth, I'm sorry that your question was overlooked or not answered, but none of us know if/when Dennis might return to the blog. We hope he is reading and will pop in but that's his decision to make.

    If you read the blog regularly, you know that many questions from non-blue members get answered and sometimes questions from 'blues' slip by without an answer. We prefer that our regulars 'go blue' as we have had instances of someone adopting the name of another poster when they aren't blue. Gets confusing to say the least.

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  65. Previously AnonymousOctober 5, 2011 at 9:30 PM

    That main Anonymous poster must get really peeved to have so many different views attributed to him/her. Some funny, some irreverent, some mean, some sad, some stupid, some spiteful. But mostly ignored. That's why I switched. I want to be known as my own person. Anonymously.

    Btw, there's really no such thing as a stupid post, just a stupid response. DON'T FEED THE TROLLS!

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  66. I am saddened to learn of Steve Jobs death. We have been an Apple family for 25 years. He was a revolutionary. May he rest in peace.

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  67. Grumpy, thanks for the quick links to Joon on Jeopardy. I have square danced the last three evenings and missed the show. I watch it on You Tube. You speeded up the access.

    As Lakeland Square Dance club president I have to attend everything. I can't back out, but once I arrive I have a ball! It keeps me young, provides exercise and fun, and helps form many new friendships.

    eddyB, You said,"Two comments a minute apart were actually three hours apart. Amazing!" At first I wondered why my comments posted one hour earlier than I wrote them. I surmised that since cc lives in Minnesota everything on the blog posts in Central Time. Does this speak to your comment or not?

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  68. Speaking of car alarms: our 1970 Ford Maverick certainly didn't have an alarm, but it did have one of those newfangled horn button arrangements which required a push somewhere on the soft vinyl cover of the steering wheel spokes. Buried within that vinyl were, I guess, a pair of flexible metal contact strips; these were meant to touch only when you meant to honk the horn.

    Trouble was...on those coldest winter nights, the near-zero ones, those contact strips somehow touched, and the horn would blow and blow and blow until some poor slob (read: me) could tug on enough warm duds to stumble out to the driveway and deal with it. Wretched thing.

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  69. dodo1925 said...
    Ferma, I read you, too! I wish I could convey to you whatever it is that puts me to sleep!. Maybe it's the morning coffee. Perhaps you should try that and see what happens! The dr. put my mom on ritalin in her dotage to pep her up; Some of the kids I taught had to take that to calm down! Ya never know. Years ago I had a neighbor who would have a cup of coffee when she couldn't sleep. She swore it helped.

    October 5, 2011 7:19 PM

    Dodo, your second message was caught in the spam filter. No idea why. It's there at 7:32 PM now.

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  70. Grumpy1:
    Thank you very much for the link to Jeopardy! I had no idea it was available on You Tube. I should have guessed but technology is never my first choice.

    Ruth:
    I miss Dennis, too, and hope he appears once in a while. That has happened in the past and we can only hope.

    Also, thanks to all who mentioned None Such mincemeat filling. Now I have to find it. Oh, yes, there's the Internet, isn't there?

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