google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wendesday Oct 19, 2011 Jack McInturff

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Oct 19, 2011

Wendesday Oct 19, 2011 Jack McInturff

Theme: I'VE GOT A SECRET (59. Long-running game show, and a hint to the starts of 20-, 28-, 37- and 51-Across :) - Secret can precede the first word of each common phrase.

20A. Add-on for a large party's tab : SERVICE CHARGE. Secret Service.

28A. Even thieves have one, it's said : CODE OF HONOR. Secret code.

37A. Largest city in California's wine country : SANTA ROSA. Secret Santa.

51A. Nickname seen on a Northeast license plate : GARDEN STATE. Secret Garden.

As Alan Sues once started his weekly quips on Laugh-In, "Boomer Here".

Keeping in mind that I am not the super solver that some of you are, this puzzle challenged me a bit, but I thought it was pretty workable. At first I wanted to put something like twenty per cent for 20A, guilty conscience for the thieves. I have a sister in Santa Rosa, and I've seen NJ Garden State plates. Once I got to Garry Moore's "I've Got a Secret" after a few down clues, things fell into place. Then I spent ten minutes trying to remember who was on the panel of "I've got a secret". I remembered Bill Cullen and deadpan Henry Morgan. I think a lot of other guest stars rotated.

Across:

1. Black Panthers co-founder : SEALE (Bobby) - The other guy was Malcolm X?

6. Sprightly dances : JIGS

10. What race winners break : TAPE - They also break ribbons, records, and sometimes a foot.

14. Flip chart stand : EASEL - A frequent crossword entry

15. "Typee" continuation : OMOO - I believe this was the sorority in "Revenge of the Nerds"

16. Fancy molding : OGEE - Another frequent crossword. I sometimes say "O Gee" when I leave a ten pin. Sometimes I use four different letters.

17. First name in British sports cars : ASTON - James Caan drives an Aston Martin in "Las Vegas".

18. Freshness : SASS

19. River to the Caspian : URAL

23. Deposed Amin : IDI - Many changes going on in the world

24. Siesta : NAP

25. In the lead : AHEAD - Sometimes by a head, other times just a nose

33. No-win situation : TIE

34. Banjo's place : KNEE - Oh Susanna! Don't you cry for me

35. Age-old stories : LORE - The thing I like best about folklore is all the BS that gets added to it as it is passed down through the ages.

36. Sphere : ORB

42. Classic Capek play : RUR - I'm not so sure about Classic. I've never heard of it

45. In fighting trim : LEAN - mean machine

46. Chachi's mother-in-law, to Fonzie : MRS. C - Who would have thought Henry Winkler would come up with a crossword. AAYYYYYYY!

50. Outback runner : EMU - A member of the sorority in "Revenge of the Nerds".

55. Fruity soda brand : FANTA - I had Crush in there for a while.

57. King at Versailles : ROI - Is this RO the first?

58. Down-for-the-count count : TEN - Lots of ways to clue 10. I like number of pins to knock over for a strike

64. Cures : TANS - Sorry, I didn't get this one

66. Rugged vehicles : UTES - Or this one. I thought Utes were a nomadic tribe. Maybe they drove Humvees?

67. Writer Zora __ Hurston : NEALE

68. Sweeten the pot a little? : ANTE - Well, the pot starts with ante. The sweetening doesn't start till you see the twenty and raise fifty.

69. One and only : LONE - How about Ranger with a mask. Clayton Moore - Could have been on opposite Garry Moore, and his identity was secret. Hi Ho Silver!

70. More pleasant : NICER

71. Axe : BOOT - Donald Trump's Apprentice, or what the Vikings need to do with McNabb.

72. Hang in the balance : PEND

73. Jays and O's : ALers - ALers and NLers Series starts tonight. Good luck Albert!

Down:

1. Wishing one hadn't rocked the boat? : SEASICK

2. Entered carefully, as a highway : EASED ON - I had eased in. Then I eased on some Wite-Out to fix.

3. With a leg on each side of : ASTRIDE

4. Pope of 903 : LEO V - At first I thought Love was spelled wrong. In spite of popular opinion, I was not alive when Leo the fifth was pope.

5. Periodic weather disruption : EL NINO - I own an El Nino, Storm bowling ball from the late nineties, and a darn good one.

6. Crèche figure : JOSEPH - Didn't know Creche was the Nativity scene. Had to Google it. Is that Cheating??

7. Apple for the teacher? : iMAC - I get it, My first computer was an Apple IIe. Technology has passed me by now.

8. Mild oath : GOSH - Left another ten pin

9. Wrigley slugger : SOSA - I'm pretty good at baseball clues. Got Sammy right away.

10. "Not my problem" : TOUGH

11. Go along with : AGREE TO

12. Whistle bead : PEA - I think they just put little round plastic things in now

13. Fish lacking pelvic fins : EEL - not sure an eel is a fish.

21. Half-__: coffee order : CAF - And not too good. I like full strength

22. Some steak orders : RARES - Rare is an adjective. Don't like to see it plural, but I'll let it go this time. Don't let it happen again.

26. Go public with : AIR - or Bill Cosby's famous skit - "Why is there air?"

27. New girl in gown? : DEB

29. Some Caltech grads : EEs - Electrical Engineers? or just erstwhile eggheads?

30. "__ of Our Birth": Isle of Man national anthem : O LAND. Here.

31. Negative conjunction : NOR

32. Some Spanish escudos were made of it : ORO - We used to use this as an acronym for Our records only. Now it probably is a hashtag on Twittter.

38. Pond accumulation : ALGAE - AKA Scum

39. PBS benefactor : NEA

40. Blacktop material : TAR

41. Tbsp. or tsp. : AMT

42. Yellow-flag carrier : REF - I'm so old I remember when they used bright pinkish red.

43. Emma's portrayer in "The Avengers" : UMA - Another sorority sister in "Revenge of the Nerds."

44. Chance upon : RUN INTO

47. Wearying grind : RAT RACE - Until one breaks the Tape, or the other breaks a foot.

48. Joe Greene or Lynn Swann, notably : STEELER - Another easy clue for me.

49. Focal points : CENTERS - or the guys in front of Bradshaw. Hut hut

52. Wiped clean : ERASED

53. Calculator figs. : NOs.

54. Crayola's "burnt" color : SIENNA - Orange didn't fit.

56. Soap box? : TV SET - Soaps aren't doing so hot any more. I think they were originally called soap operas because the sponsors were soaps. (DUZ duz everything). Now I guess most daytime shows are car insurance operas.

60. Chug-a-lug : GULP - A big one at 7 - 11

61. Platte River tribe : OTOE

62. Grand Ole Opry st. : TENN - Good Grief, I've been to the Opry. I was trying to remember what STREET ! it was on. Duh. Even a caveman knows it's in Tennessee.

63. Put a roof on : CEIL

64. Key below the tilde : TAB

65. Diciembre ends it : ANO - This is either Spanish or something is spelled wrong.

Answer grid.

Have a great day!

Boomer - Hmmmmm

"When I get older, losing my hair, just a few days from now
Will you still be sending me a Valentine, Birthday greetings, bottle of wine.
If I had been out till quarter of three, Will you lock the door.
Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64".

Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - Sometime in the 60's

81 comments:

HeartRx said...

Good Monring Boomer, C.C. et al.

Thanks for the fun write-up, Boomer! Are we going in reverse this week? This really seemed like a Monday puzzle to me. The clues were all really straight forward, with no misdirection.

When using a “word that can come before/after” theme, it’s nice if the unifier makes sense when tied to the other theme entries, as we saw in Patti Varol’s October 12th puzzle. In that one, TIGHT ENDS hinted at how the last words of the other theme entries could be an “ending” for the word “tight”.

But I’VE GOT A SECRET didn’t seem quite so elegant. TOP SECRET(s) might have hinted that the top (or beginning) of the other phrases could be “topped” with the word “secret”. But that entry needed a 13-letter phrase, not a 9- or 10-letter one. Changing SERVICE CHARGE to SANTA CLAUS could have provided the necessary symmetry...

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Pretty straightforward puzzle today, I thought. I couldn't remember Bobby SEALE at first and had no idea about SANTA ROSA, but both came via the perps pretty easily. And it took me a few extra seconds to remember the movie version of "The Avengers" (never saw it). And everything else was right in my wheelhouse.

And yes, I knew what a crèche is... ^_^

HeartRx said...

OMOO seems to be popping up a lot lately…whatever happened to our beloved TESLA?

Seeing Bobby SEALE at 1a threw me right back to the sixties. His co-counder was Huey Newton. Since retiring from the Black Panters, Bobby continues to be a dedicated activist by publishing a cookbook called “Barbeque’n With Bobby”, and advertising Ben & Jerry’s ice cream…how times have changed!

Anyway, happy hump day, everyone!

HeartRx said...

(Barry, you broke my train of thought, LOL!)

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

Tuttle & Warren,
The PrefBar does the trick. Xie Xie!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Boomer and friends. Good to see you, Boomer! Your humor in your commentary really had me laughing!

Today's puzzle was a speed-run for me. I had to go back and read some of the clues because I had already filled in the answers.

I liked the crossing of EASEL and EASED ON (I, too, had initially written in Edged In.)

I was also amused seeing OMOO next to OGEE. Little things amuse me.

Boomer, your comment about the French King RO the first was hilarious!

My favorite clue was What Race Winners Break = TAPE.

QOD: Beware of endeavoring to become a great man in a hurry. One such attempt in ten thousand may succeed. These are fearful odds. ~ Benjamin Disraeli

desper-otto said...

Much easier than yesterday. Just a mad dash to the bottom.

Boomer, Cures = tans -- as in curing leather by tanning it.

RUR may not be a classic play (it's about robots, as I recall), but it is a classic crossword answer.

Grumpy 1 said...

Happy hump day, Boomer and all. Great write up! Methinks someone has been been watching too many reruns of "Revenge of the Nerds". LOL

This has to be the easiest puzzle I've done in a long time. Remembering Bobby SEALE and having just had OMOO really helped. There were several down clues that I never read until I got here. My only unknown was NEALE and I wasn't thrilled with CEIL for 'put a roof on', but with everthing but the 'E' in place, there wasn't any doubt about either word.

Argyle said...

Boomer, you are in fine fettle today. The Isle of Man anthem led me to discover that the Bee Gees were born there. Here they sing Ellan Vannin (unofficial anthem of Isle of Man ). Clip(4:40)

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Real easy solve today without any hold ups or Huhs.
When solving a puzzle, I'm more into neatness then speed runs, but todays effort took less then 15 minutes.

When I noticed the crossing of Otoe & Utes, I wondered how many times those tribes fought each other.

Happy hump day.

Argyle said...

I always get a giggle out of the following two pictures. Princess Diana sitting on Prince Charles's Aston Marton and he was not happy (aluminium fenders). One and Two. She doesn't look repentant.

Hahtoolah said...

Those photos are hysterical. Charles wasn't happy when he learned William was driving the car with the emergency brake on after the Royal Wedding. William's excuse was the roar of the crowd prevented him from hearing the grind on the brake.

Tinbeni said...

Boomer: Excellent write-up.
With that RO-I (the first), what a hoot!
I score it a 300!

I also thought twenty percent for that large party SERVICE CHARGE.

Really liked the reveal, I'VE GOT A SECRET.

OK, I don't mind when a few answers, UMA & OMOO, are in a puzzle two days in-a-row.
But geez, OMOO is in the EXACT same place.
The EXACT same place!!!
At least move it to another part of the grid.

Since it wasn't "burnt" Orange, I had to wait for the perps to get that Crayola color SIENNA.
While solving I was wondering:
"When was the last time I looked at the "colors" in a Crayola Box ... 45 years ago???"

Since neither my "Evil-Empire" or Rays are in the World Series, my "Cheers" will be to y'all at Sunset.

Mari said...

Hah! I love 56D Soap Box: TV Set. I was thinking maybe riser? (before fill). As in Soap Box to orate.

I dug 7D too: Apple for teacher: IMAC.

73A had me scratching my head, and I never knew CEIL was a word. :)

Abejo said...

Good Morning, folks. Thanks, Jack M., for a great puzzle. Thanks, especially, Boomer, for the outstanding write-up. Enjoyed the Isle of Man songs, both of them.

Could not get started in the NW, at first. Dropped down the the South Center. ALGAE, NEA, TAR, SANTA ROSA, NOR, ORO all came easily. From there I spread out.

I goofed up and put IVORY for 56D, because of the "V" Missed the question mark. Eventually fixed that to TV SET.

Thought 63D CEIL was excellent. We have had that before, some time ago.

I don't get UTES. Must be a car style or brand name.

If an EEL has gills, it is a fish. Do EELS have gills?

See you tomorrow. Abejo

Mari said...

desper-otto, RUR stands for "Rossum's Universal Robots"....who knew?

window man said...

As college students near Chicago in 1969, we occasionally went in to attend the Chicago 7 trial, which was open to the public. Bobby Seale was ordered bound and gagged by Judge Hoffman, who was very short, due to his outbursts in the courtroom. I've never heard of that done before or since. I wonder what ever became of him.

Argyle said...

Hey, Boomer, you say technology has passed you by. Then how come you know about hashtags and I had to look it up?

Rick said...

NOt Malcom X but Eldridge Cleaver---Soul on Ice. Thanks

Husker Gary said...

Boomer, yup, I had a few pauses too, esp. in SW (TANS and BOOT), and remember I’ve Got A Secret very well. It was a pleasant show sponsored by Winston cigarettes peopled with B list celebs that today are on Dancing With The Stars. Fun puzzle and clever write-up with its own theme on this hump day!

Musings
-Forest Gump said, “Thank you for inviting me to your Black Panther party!”
-OGEE, I missed that $&*^ 3 foot putt!
-I was trying to think of WHO deposed Amin, not the savage barbarian himself!
-LORE – the older I get, the better I was!
-I have never heard of UTES as a class of vehicles
-I had BIPEDAL for leg on each side
-LEOI, LEOV or LEOX? Can’t be LEOD!
-SOSA had more drugs than Walgreens!
-Don’t know about Isle of Man but here is a controversial use of an anthem
-Gotta love this Chug a Lug

Abejo said...

To Bill G:

Just saw your photos from yesterday. They were great. Thank you.

To various people:

Thank you for the examples of "ISO" yesterday.

Abejo

Grumpy 1 said...

Tinman, of course Ceil is a word... well, a person actually. She was the person on the other end of many of Betty Walker's phone conversations. "Hello, Ceil?"

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Another quick solve, with few unknowns. Took a minute to remember Bobby SEALE, but burnt SIENNA went right in (I remember liking that color when I was a kid).

I had forgotten the Typee/Omoo link, but luckily somebody mentioned just that within the last few days.

The word UTES is familiar in Australia, where I heard it applied mainly to the numerous small pickup trucks with aftermarket bodies having folding sides. Very useful utility vehicles, those. I've never heard UTES used in the States however.

Good work, Boomer, and good to see you!

desper-otto said...

Abejo and Husker Gary, I'm told sport utility vehicles are commonly called utes -- I've never personally heard anyone say it, though.

Mari, I sure didn't know about Rossum's Universal Robots, but the general robot theme somehow got filed in my store of useless knowledge.

Avg Joe said...

Great writeup Boomer. You missed your calling. Pat Paulsen would be proud of your brand of humor.

I don't know about the rest of the US, but around here you hear the term Sport Ute often. I've never heard Ute by itself, though. Then there's the smaller class like the Rav4 and CRV that are often called Sport Cutes.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Good commenting, Boomer. Re: Had to Google it. Is that Cheating?? - - LMAO

GOSH this one wasn't bad at all. The theme phrases came easily and unknowns like FANTA and LEO V were aided by the perps. Remembered RUR from the other day. I'm posting from an IMAC.

KNEE - German: Knie, Low German: Knee. The 'k' and 'n' are both pronounced. The 'ee' has a long 'a' sound.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Bill G, I join others in lauding your incredible pix of yesterday. They were great and painful at the same time for those of us who experienced that level of poverty. I never forget where I came from.

Tinbeni said...

Grumpy 1:
re: CEIL
Thank you for the clarification.

I just wished I had commented about it ...

Anony-Mouse said...

Very nice puzzle Mr. McInturff, I struggled, I finished it, I enjoyed it. Didn't understand CEIL or TANS , but that is minor. Thanks to blogs, above, I now understand it.

Boomer, you have a lovable, humorous and laconic style - I love it. Thank you - its a delight to read. Here's to more 'spares' in your future. The only spare I have, is unfortunately around my tummy.

From Yesterday, - Thank you-s to Steve, Tino Techie (Greg), Spitzboov and especially JD's link, for the 'neutrino' deal. And Dennis', Seen and melissa bee's jokes. After I posted that outburst, on such a strange subject, I felt that I might overstepped the blog etiquette. It is comforting to know that there are others who are interested in those things.

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Bill. G. for the archived photo link, yesterday- I cant help but feel that those photos may still be valid and current in many parts of the world, today - even as of right now.

Until I was reminded of 'tanning leather', I never thought of 'tanning' as a cure for anything, except for an inferiority complex. Tanning causes cancer.


Alt QOD:- Any foreigner in America can do an easy magic trick. Just buy a daily paper and see your country disappear. ~ Julian Barnes.

(speaking for myself, how true.)

GarlicGal said...

Good morning all. Thank you Boomer and C.C. as always!

Finished the puzzle rather quickly then spent 10 mins. trying to figure out the theme. Duh! We watched I've Got A Secret every week. Bennett Cerf, Arlene Francis, Dorothy Kilgallen, Harry Morgan... great banter between all of them.

Re: yesterdays puzzle - loved the clip on Indians not playing Indians. It made me think of another Indian character (dot, not feather) Gunga Din Din played by Sam Jaffe, of all people. Gotta love casting folks.

This morning off to have coffee with the South Bay Coven - WOO HOO! Wish CA, Dodo and Lucina could join us. Be prepared - in case your ears start to burn! lol

ht said...

Window Man, Judge Hoffman continued to serve on the bench until his death in 1983. Although by the 80s he was considered so abusive and erratic that no new cases were supposed to be assigned to him.

Grumpy 1 said...

Anony-mouse, when my dad would threaten to 'tan my hide' it sure cured me of wanting to sass him back... Re: yesterday's discussion, who knew a crossword blog would be home to so many experts on particle physics with a sense of humor.

I tried to find a Youtube vid of Betty Walker and her "Hello, Ceil?" routine, but the closest I could come was this (2:45)

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed the puzzle. Thanks for the excellent writeup, Boomer.

I'm glad so many of you enjoyed the archived photos from around 1940. It reminds me what much of the US was like about the time many of us were born.

Garlic Gal, what South Bay were you referring to? The coastal area around here is usually called the South Bay.

A fun quote from Roz: Frasier asked Roz, "Don't you enjoy going out to gourmet restaurants?"
She replied, "My typical date's idea of a gourmet evening is Take out, make out,
and home by Letterman!"

Nice Cuppa said...

Thanks Boomer, JM & RN

Gosh, O gee, almost cute, except for:

UMA - has always played Mrs. Peel. We have always been at war with Eurasia. The past ain't what it used to be (either, Yogi).

UTES - but happy to hear that someone uses the word.

CEIL - the word is archaic, and the definition is incorrect - it refers to the lining of a roof, not the roof per se.

Actually, I never heard of "I've got a secret" - never made it across the pond I suppose. But that's my problem.

NC

Frank said...

Mouse, your Alt QOD is very timely. Julian Barnes just won the Man Booker prize for The Sense of an Ending. I haven't read it yet (just came out), but I really enjoyed Arthur & George and A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters. Haven't read anything else by him, though.

As far as UTES - I think that's who Cousin Vinny was defending in that trial down South.

sherry said...

How about Dorothy Gilgalen,not sure of the spelling of her last name.Didn't get 64A either, "Tans", for the clue cures. Kept questioning
22D, "rares", plural? Anyway liked the puzzle, fun!

GarlicGal said...

Bill G, that would be the San Francisco Bay Area...except a little more south.

Utes = My Cousin Vinny. Love it Frank!

JD said...

Good morning Boomer et al,

Boomer, You are too funny; always enjoy your comments.

This was very smooth for a Wed.. Ceil and UTES were odd, but if they worked, it's all good.Didn't catch on to the theme until coming here.

Wish someone would have given me an IMAC!Teachers were the last to get computers and they were already outdated.

Burnt Sienna was my favorite color as a kid-had to get the big box to get one.I have hoarded all my black crayons for my art classes, even the nubs.

Bill, south of SF Bay- San Jose, Gilroy, Los Gatos.....What bay is in your area? Later...after coffee.

Ron Worden said...

Good day to all, thanks Boomer for a great write-up. I got some great chuckles. Smooth puzzle today.Took a little bit to recall I've got a secret but had most of the puzzle by then. I refereed lots of hockey games my whistle had a cork ball inside. Agree never heard of ceil used anywhere but in another c.w. Sgt. Peppers was great watched the remake with Peter Frampton and the Bee Gees just the other day on VH1-C To Tinbeni I was a young boy in St. Pete and my dad took me to Cards spring training games and practices so they are my N.L.team. So go Cards R.W.

Misty said...

Happy Birthday, coming up, Boomer!

Thought I got this whole solve, except wasn't sure about "tans" and "tab"--which I got right. As soon as I sat down at the computer, there was the tilde above the Tab. But goofed on 'ref' (put 'Reb') and 'Fanta' (put'Banta'). Like Sfingi, I'm not great on sports, or soft drinks either, I guess.

Many thanks, Garlic Gal, for reminding me of the whole cast of "I've Got a Secret"--a delightful show I watched for many years.

Thought 'Uma' crossing 'emu' was cute!

Off to the doctor for annual check-ups this morning.

Steve said...

Charged into this one, got half-way down and hit a brick wall, the whole southern section had me "Saturdaying" for a while - filling in what I could, going back around, trying again. Eventually it all fell into place though.

RARES has been discussed before and I still don't like it; usage example would be a waiter at a steak joint relaying to the chef "Two rares, two medium-wells, one well". I don't buy it.

CIEL? Hmmm - not convinced. Better to clue as "Paris sky" or something?

Let's retire Herman Melville novels for a day or two, eh?

I forgot about the Avengers movie, and was digging around for some nickname for Diana Rigg that would fit. Showing my age.

Minor nit - SOSA doesn't play for the Cubs anymore, so shouldn't he be clued as an "ex" in some way?

@Anony-Mouse - three favorite physics jokes:

A neutron walks into a bar, asks the bartender "How much for a drink?" He replies "For you, no charge".

Heisenberg is pulled over by a cop on the autobahn. The cop asks "Do you know how fast you were going?" Heisenberg replies "No, but I know where I am"

A student on a train looks up and sees Einstein. Delighted, he asks "Excuse me, Professor, does Boston stop at this train?"

Lucina said...

Hello, Boomer, C.C. and oh, so many cyberfriends; it's a lovely long list!

Love your humorous blogging style, Boomer.

You have said it all and I can only comment that this is one of the easiest by Jack McInturff. He usually TANS my hide, so to speak.

Even the sports clues were easily perped though ALERS still smarts.

As many of you I'm so happy to be out of the RATRACE!

Clever clues, I thought:
new girl in gown, DEB
apple for the teacher, IMAC
banjo's place, KNEE

JD:
You are so right! We were the last to have computers.

Misty:
Good luck with your check up. I hope you pass!

Garlic Gal:
Oh, how I wish I could join you! Have a wonderful time.

Enjoy your Wednesday, everyone!

Frank said...

Here's a clip of that UTES reference, for those who haven't seen the movie.

Lucina said...

Steve: LOL!

Barbara Ann said...

Darn it, I missed Dennis again! And he hasn't answer my emails.

This is a great blog though, and so much fun to read!

Anony-Mouse said...

A neutrino walks into the bar.

The bartender goes, 'You want a glass-a Galiano, or a nice-a cake-a ?'

Says the neutrino, 'Why do you think I'm Italian ? '.

OR

A neutrino walks into a bar, the bartender tells him, 'You just left ....'.


My non-scientist take on this whole thing is that if neutrinos exist, and they have no mass, no charge or anything else - then they are lighter than 'light' and unlike 'light', they can also pass through solid objects and would pass through the whole Earth, in a straight line, in a trillionth of a pico-second. In fact there may gazillions of them passing through you right now. Why, on God's green earth , would they want to wait and linger for you to detect them ??

Bill G. said...

JD and Garlic Gal, our South Bay is in the LA area, sometimes called Santa Monica Bay. It would include Malibu, Santa Monica, Playa del Rey, El Segundo, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach Torrance and Palos Verdes.

Tinbeni said...

Ron W.
It's for that same reason why I'll probably be pulling for the Card's in the Series. I attended many a game at Al Lang Field, on the waterfront
The Yankee's had Spring Training in St.Pete, when I was a kid, in the 50's/early 60's.
It's why I love my "Evil-Empire."
I remember getting Mickey Mantle's autograph on a baseball card.
It probably ended up in my bike-spokes in about a week.
(Hey, that's what was important to an 8 year old).

Steve (and the others from Yesterday):
I love neutrino jokes.
Too funny !!!

(Watch-out though ... our "Snarky Anon" will get on your case about comment length).

Avg Joe said...

I don't know any physics jokes, but if you folks are going to have a one-liner fest, I'm joining in.

My favorite: "More hay Trigger?" "No thanks Roy. I'm stuffed."

Wiki-lover said...

Sherry said,' ... Didn't get the 64A either, "tans" for the clue cures. Kept questioning.'

Tanning is the process of making leather from the skin of animals, which does not easily decompose. The word 'tanning' comes from the use of 'tannin', a chemical phenolic acid derived from the bark of Oak and Fir trees. Old German - "tanna " - relating to Oak and Fir barks - in turn related to the modern 'Tannenbaum'.

Thus to 'tan' is to 'cure' leather, rid it of all the gunky, smelly, fibrous, bacteria-laden - you get the point.

'Other' crucial chemicals used in the tanning process include dung ( mostly of dogs and pigeons - ) , urine ( collected from street corner 'piss-pots' ), cedar oil, alum, mercury derivatives - and God knows what else.

Too much information ?

Leather GUCCI belts anyone ?

Sam Malone said...

Anony-Mouse,
If neutrinos can't be bothered with lingering around, why do they keep showing up in my bar?

Bill G. said...

I've enjoyed all the jokes, physics and otherwise.

A horse walks into a bar. The bartender asks, "Say, why the long face?"

A grasshopper was into a bar. The bartender says, "Say, we have a drink named after you." The grasshopper replies, "You have a drink named Irving?"

Norm said...

Sam, maybe they're trying to Cheer(s) you up, for next week.

Bird Lover said...

A Hasidic (ultra- Orthodox ) bearded and side-curled Jew walks into a bar, with a huge, bright reddish- orange parrot on his shoulder.

The bartender says, 'Hey, where do you get him ?. I always wanted one of those. Where can I find them ? '

The bird goes, 'I found him in Brooklyn Heights, - they are all over the place and very easy to spot .'

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Boomer - I always enjoy your take.

O GEE, I struggled a bit with this puzzle that everyone else thought was so EASEL. Couldn't get AHEAD.

Theme was opaque to me.

For some reason, I was thinking burnt UMBER.

I agree: no mo' OMOO - unless it crosses EMU, OGEE o' OTOE.

Way back in school days, there was a German teacher called Mrs. Bignie. The students called her Frau Grosses Knee, but not to her Gesicht.

LEO V and RO I walk into a bar . . .

Cheers!
JzB Diana Rigg fan

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Fun puzzle, interesting comments, humor-filled writeup, and funny jokes. What a great day!

I have a theory about those faster than light neutrinos. Seriously. I'm no physicist, but I've read up a little bit on quantumly "entangled" particles, two particles who behave identically and completely simultaneously, not matter how distantly separated. Einstein called it "spooky action at a distance" because of the implication that something, some means of communication between the two particles, was travelling faster than light. Since it is also theorized that some particles (bosons) act as carriers of force between other particles (fermions), I theorize that it might be such speedy neutrinos that act as the instantaneous carrier between entangled particles.

ant said...

A guy walks into a bar. "Ow!"

A lady walks into a bar and asks the bartender for a double entendre. So he gave it to her.

(That last one's for you, Sam! Cheers!)

Anonymous said...

Hell, guys them ain't neutrinos them's ghosts!

Bill G. said...

OK, two great videos. The first is flowers blooming in slow motion, in high def. and with music.

The second is a dog swimming and playing with his buddy, a dolphin.

Flowers

Dog and dolphin

Seldom Seen said...

In an episode of Seinfeld, George tells Jerry that he is dating Sienna.

Jerry replies "You're dating a crayon?!?"

World Series prediction: At some point Tony LaRussa, Chris Carpenter or Yadier Molina will complain(whine) about something trivial. Go Rangers(especially Josh Hamilton)!

Boomer said...

Hello Again,
Three strings walk into a bar... The first string orders a Jack Daniels. The bartender says, "You look like a string. Sorry, we don't serve strings here." The second string orders a beer. The bartender says, "Didn't you hear me? We don't serve strings here.) The third string goes to the bathroom, unravels the top of his string, and ties himself into a pretzel shape. He goes back to the bar and orders a Manhattan. The bartender says, "Wait a minute, aren't you a string, too?"

"No, I'm afraid not"

Steve said...

@Jazzbumpa - I had "umber" in my mind too. When I was a kid and I was given a box of watercolor paints (which seemed to happen every Christmas) you got a tin with about two dozen colors and a brush, one of the colors was always "Burnt Umber".

Of course, kids being kids, all the colors gradually got mixed in with each other and you ended up with 24 varieties of "pond scum brown-green"

Lucina said...

Jazz:
You are so funny!

Bill B:
Great videos, thank you. A friend had sent me the one with flowers.

dodo said...

Hi gang,

Boomer, great job! I love your funnybone!Thanks.

Good Grief, Our blog is now so big, I'm going to have to take an Evelyn Wood speed reading course so I can read everything in one day!

I finally threw in the towel for now right after Misty. BTW, I made the same Banta/Reb goof that you did, Misty! So much for my sports knowledge. I did wonder what a yellow flag would mean, though. "I'm cowardly?" but then why not use white and surrender. Oh well.

GG, How I would love to have joined you all, too. It's great that we all want to hang on to this friendship, isn't it? Shows what good people C.C. has managed to get together! Thanks, C.C., if you're out there still.

DD

Grumpy 1 said...

A termite walks into a bar and asks "Where's the bartender?"

Anonymous said...

Its "Is your bar tender here?"

Warren said...

I couldn't resist,

here's a link to Deer Hide Tanning...

;-)

HeartRx said...

Bill G., wonderful videos...I am a sucker for both flowers and animals, so I can't decide which one I liked best...Oh, wait - YOU are the best !!

Boomer, "Frayed knot", LOL!!!

Grumpy, "Where's the bar tender" works for me!!

Tea Party Budget Analyst said...

1. NEUTRINO - Originally postulated by Wolfgang Pauli in 1930.
2. Enrico Fermi named the 'neutrino' - Italian for 'little neutron'.
3. in 1942, Kan-chang Wang ( Wan Ganchang ) Chinese scientist proposed detection method for neutrino, but did not have the equipment. In 1956 Cowan, Reimes et al. used his paper, and (indirectly) discovered/confirmed its presence. (Nobel Prize 1995). KC Wang never got a Nobel, but went on to become the father of the Chinese Nuclear Bomb.
4. On EVERY SECOND, Approx 6.5 x 10*10 - 65 Billion neutrinos from the Sun, bombard your body per every square centimeter of your skin. Phat people, take notice !
5. Cost of Large Hadron Collider, French-Swiss border, to detect neutrinos. $ 16 Billion plus $ 4 Billion annual operating cost for the past 15 years.About $ 76 Billion plus.
15 feet diam. wide tunnel, 17 miles diameter of loop, average ~ 350 feet deep below the earth. --- (Wait there's more ) cooled to a temperature of minus 271.4 oC , which is below the temperature of outer space ( minus 270.5 oC). This alone could have paid for a room air conditioner for every man, woman and child in the country of Greece.

KeaauRich said...

Today's trivia: the word "robot" was introduced in the aforementioned play RUR.

Jesus walks into a bar and says "i'll just have a glass of water. "

Easy peasy puzzle today, loved it! Aloha all till tomorrow...

Jayce said...

You all are so funny :)

Brunette said...

Blonde walks into a bar, and tells the bartender, 'I'd like a jumbo Martini, and I would like to propose to pay for it 'in kind'.

The bartender is immediately interested, and he leans over, with a sneer, and says , ' Well, well, well, what is your proposition ?'.

The blonde says,'Well, I'm a lover of the blog on the Crossword corner so -

OMG, I forgot the punch line.

Actually you could (take your choice of - ) under, over, below, above, during, by, what, which, who etc.

I realize these are a form of a preposition, not a proposition, but you have to remember this was supposed to be a blonde joke.

Jazzbumpa said...

Neutrino enters a bar, and before the bar tender can say anything, it says, "Never mind, I'm just passing through."

JzB

Lucina said...

Brunette:
Funny joke but a little too blonde; who, which, what aren't prepositions.

JZ:
Funny.

Spitzboov said...

Ever wonder what the speed of lightning would be if it didn't zigzag?

one more? said...

One night a couple are upstairs sleeping in bed when the doorbell rings. The husband goes downstairs to open the door and sees a drunk standing in the rain. The drunk says"I need a push". The husband starts yelling at the drunk "its dark and raining and its 3 in the morning so no! I will not and slams the door and marches back upstairs. His wife says shame on you, that happened to us already, now get back down and help that man. Husband goes back downstairs,opens door and says "hey, you still need that push?" Drunk says yea. Husband says where are you? Drunk says "on your swing"

Avg Joe said...

All right. It's time I went to bed. So one more for me.

What's the difference between a light sleeper and a hard sleeper?







Well.....A light sleeper sleeps with a light on.....

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Really late in finishing the puzzle today. I didn't get done before our coffee with the Coven this morning, then had a Dr.'s appt. this afternoon.

The Dr. had changed my meds so had to have the blood test results read, then got my Shingles Shot, then to the Pharmacy after that. Each time I managed to get a few more answers to the CW in place.
I'd just get into the puzzle and my name would be called! So, here I am after dinner and reading this very funny blog. Loved the jokes, everyone.

It was nice to see you, Boomer. Your sense of humor is always welcome.

JD shared the pictures of her latest trip and we enjoyed seeing them on her I-pad. What a great gadget that is!

Good night, everyone.

Dudley said...

Ooh it got late! But anyway...

-Knock knock!

-Who's there?

-It's probably Heisenberg!

Johanna said...

I am a big time Crossword lover and like almost all your commentators I too felt the puzzle for this week was quite straightforward which is nice:);P
Check this brainteaser link , I love solving Bts too -
www.iqtestexperts.com/brainteasers/