google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, November 1, 2011 Todd Gross

Gary's Blog Map

Nov 1, 2011

Tuesday, November 1, 2011 Todd Gross

Theme: "Tennis, anyone?" Scores at a tennis match, from LOVE(zero) to GAME.

18A. Missing someone special : LOVE-SICK

23A. Start of a fictional sea shanty : FIFTEEN MEN

34A. '80s-'90s ABC drama : "THIRTY SOMETHING"

49A. Quick nap : FORTY WINKS

54A. Competitive look : GAME FACE

65A. Where one hears the starts of 18-, 23-, 34-, 49- and 54-Across : TENNIS

Some bonus entries: 64A. Divisions in 65-Across : SETS and 43D. Court figures : JUDGES. The tennis line judge gets yelled at sometimes. We're missing a crossword favorite though, AD IN.

Argyle here. Anchored with a grid-spanner in the middle and the reveal in the lower right, a neat looking grid. Almost like a tennis doubles set up. This is Todd's second LAT puzzle and is quite similar to the first.

Across:

1. Held, as a protest : STAGED

7. Beggar's request : ALMS

11. T-shirt sizes, for short : S M L Small, Medium, Large.

14. Bow user : ARCHER

15. Homebuyer's request : LOAN

16. "Bali __" : HAI. From South Pacific.

17. "Great" Russian emperor : PETER I

20. Modern recording device : TIVO

22. "Now, listen to me ..." : "SEE HERE"

27. Flair : ELAN

28. "Was __ forward?" : I TOO

29. Have on : WEAR

30. Enjoys the shallows : WADES

31. Duke U.'s conference : ACC. Atlantic Coast Conference.

32. Jib or spinnaker : SAIL. On the chance Jeannie is watching, "Is Lo-Li-Ta out of the water yet?"

33. Flab : FAT

40. Time workers, briefly : EDs. Time, the magazine; their EDitors.

41. Topsoil : DIRT

42. Not worth a __ : SOU. Sou is used as slang for a small coin of little value, as in sans le sou. "I'm broke", "without money".

43. Doorposts : JAMBS

46. Male swine : BOAR


47. Poetic black : EBON

48. Layer between the sclera and retina : UVEA. A good image.

51. Interrupt : DISTURB

53. Adam's second : ABEL

56. Black Sea port : ODESSA. I used this map because it shows the Sea of Azov.

60. Before, in an ode : ERE

61. Country south of Iran : OMAN. Map.

62. Discrimination based on years : AGEISM. See 21-Down.

63. Damascus is its cap. : SYR. SYRia. See the map at 61-Across.

Down:

1. Oozy tree output : SAP

2. Italian trio : TRE

3. Performance : ACT

4. Inner city area : GHETTO

5. Weird : EERIE. Anybody see some great costumes last night?

6. Garage entrances : DRIVEWAYS

7. More than most : ALL

8. Not so tight : LOOSER. Like this?(1:31)

9. Expert : MAVEN

10. Bygone knife : SNEE. SnickerSNEE.

11. Protection against spears : SHIELD

12. Gordon of "Oklahoma!" (1955) : MACRAE. Clip.(3:24)

13. Notes similarities (to) : LIKENS

19. Blade cover : SHEATH

21. "__ the loneliest number": old song lyric : ONE IS. Hey, who said OLD; I smell AGEISM here. Here, hear the clip.(2:56)

23. Italian automaker : FIAT. In a filing dated 22 July 2011, Chrysler reported that Fiat held 53.5% interest.

24. Skin irritation : ITCH

25. Centers of attention : FOCI. Not sure what the following means.

Cluster analysis of gaze points determined empirical foci of attention. The comparison between these foci and model-generated saliency centres based on ...

26. Unpleasant smell : MALODOR

30. Measure of power : WATT

32. Conventions, for short : STDs. That's short for STANDARDS. You MIGHT get the other STD at a convention. (My bad!)

33. Interisland transport : FERRY BOAT

35. Dealer's incentive : REBATE. Incentive to sell these Fiats or the following.

36. Sporty Mazda : MIATA. The model was introduced in 1989 at the Chicago Auto Show.

37. Literary ID : ISBN. International Standard Book Number. Ha! There are 9, 10, and now 13 numbered ISBN's.

38. Barnes & Noble e-book reader : NOOK. This. Anybody used one?

39. Six-shooters : GUNS. “I know what you’re thinking: 'Did he fire six shots, or only five?' Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement, I’ve kinda lost track myself. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: 'Do I feel lucky?' Well, do ya, punk?” from Dirty Harry.

44. Zoo section : AVIARY

45. German physician from whose name a spellbinding word evolved : MESMER. Mesmerize - to spellbind; fascinate.

46. Black-spotted feline : BOBCAT, Here, kitty, kitty.

47. Brennan of "Private Benjamin" : EILEEN. She portrayed Capt. Doreen Lewis in this 1980 film. She was Goldie Hawn's nemesis. Pic.

49. Oil holder : FRAME. Tricky. Oil painting.

50. Golfer's lofted iron : WEDGE

52. Sci-fi subjects : UFOs

55. One-point Scrabble letters : ENs

57. It can be carnal or cardinal : SIN

58. Govt. assistance program : SSI. Supplemental Security Income.

59. Trans __: certain Pontiacs : AMs. The Trans Am was a specialty package for the Firebird, 1969–2002.

Now that you've had your breakfast, here is Fifteen Men(on a dead man's chest) with lyrics.

Argyle

Note from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to Carol and happy 41st wedding anniversary also.

2) Here is a nice photo from our always entertaining & amusing Husker Gary, taken on his last day as a full-time teacher.

59 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    This one started out as a total speed run, but then I started sinking into a metaphorical swamp. I think it all started going wrong when I assumed that 11A ended in S because of the way it was clued. And then I confidently entered SIXTEEN MEN at 23A. Oops.

    "Time workers, briefly" completely flummoxed me this time around, despite the fact that we've seen this particular trick clue before.

    "Oil holder" for FRAME also threw me. Great clue, I just wasn't on my game this morning.

    JOKERS seemed a perfectly reasonable answer for 43D (I actually tried JESTERS first, but it didn't fit). Wrong court!

    I did finally manage to muddle though all of this unassisted, but it took a lot longer than expected...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello.

    Nice smooth solve last night. Top to bottom and left to right. Available on cruciverb.com at 7 PM.

    Enjoyed the two shout outs. Ebon
    was my college nickname.

    Odessa is where the USPS package
    begins the journey.

    Up early because of a very low gloucose reading and a cold sweat.
    Had to change T shirt.

    Have a nice day and Happy November.

    eddy

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  3. Good Morning, Argyle and friends. White Rabbit on this first day of November!

    This was a good puzzle for a Tuesday. Although I am not big on tennis, I have heard many of the game's terms. After getting TENNIS, I was quickly able to go back and fill in the rest of the theme clues. I had initially tried Home Sick instead of LOVE SICK.

    I also had a spot of trouble in the SW corner.

    The Time Workers got me again! We've seen that clued before and I fall for it every time.

    My favorite clue was Oil Holder = FRAME. Oh, the art work, not the Black Gold that we had yesterday!

    I have a Nook and I love it. I use it to download books from my library. I'm currently reading Game of Thrones. Not my usual fare, but I am enjoying it.

    Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary, Carol. How nice to have a husband as a birthday present!

    Very violent night in New Orleans last night.

    QOD: A woman has to be intelligent, have charm, a sense of humor, and be kind. It's the same qualities I require from a man. ~ Catherine Deneuve

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  4. Good morning:

    As a child, I loved Treasure Island and have ridden the Pirates of the Caribbean Ride at Disney World countless times, so

    "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest--

    ...Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
    Drink and the devil had done for the rest--
    ...Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"

    YOu all have hit the high spots, so thanks Argyle and Mr. Gross, and Happy November all, and especially Carol for her bday and the rest.

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  5. Todd,
    Great to see your by-line this morning. Been a long time.

    Seen,
    Amazing you could see BOOB, though it does not really abut SEEN grid-wise. Happy to hear you liked the RARE clue. I was excited it survived. My favorite is actually Mantle's 1956 card. Also, you're right about Splynter's favicon. Good eye.

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  6. After 150 trick or treaters last night, we ran out of candy and had to turn off the lights. Majority were lovely and polite Hispanic kids from south part of town! Very cool!

    Musings
    -It was easy to ACE Todd’s fun offering!
    -Thirty Something replaced teen angst with the post adolescent variety
    -Will OWS’s STAGED protests survive the snow?
    -South Pacific and Oklahoma crossed in NE!
    -Gordon MacRae was a Jersey boy who came to live in Lincoln, NE. He sang national anthem at many UNL games and his daughter went to high school with my SIL.
    -Plural led me to SMS instead of SML
    -Splynter, I can install door jambs!
    -Contemporaries of mine complain about AGEISM
    -Ballroom jeans? HILARIOUS, Arglye!!
    -FIAT? Fix It Again Tony
    -A MIATA was part of a brief mid-life fling for me! Effort to get in and out plus driving in the snow brought me back to reality!
    -Eileen Brennan: Private Benjamin as Warren Oates: ?. Guesses?

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  7. Argyle: Great job, yet again.

    FUN Tuesday.

    BTW ... if those other 14 guys want any ... they better bring their own 'bottle-of-Rum' ...

    Cheers !!!

    FYI: If you want to see Damascus, Syria, it's on the 61-A, OMAN map; not on the 56-A, ODESSA map.

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  8. Argyle: Forgot to comment on your question yesterday. Watergate does not bother me, does your conscience bother you? Tell the truth. :)

    As for today "I gots to know" did you think of this today?

    Thanks C.C. for the Splynter answer.

    Btw, those damn kids got me last night for passing out toothbrushes!

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  9. An aside to Tinman, It is going to be 65°F here today and 41°F with possible snow and rain tomorrow. Guess what I’ll be doing today? Yup, FORE!

    And to dear Clear Ayes on the same subject:

    Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
    Old Time is still a-flying;
    And this same flower that smiles today,
    Tomorrow will be dying.

    Didn’t know I was even somewhat literate, did you, my friend?

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  10. Good Morning, folks. Thanks, Todd, for a swell Tuesday puzzle. thank you, Argyle, for the review and the several links. The jeans one was great.

    Zipped through this pretty easily. No write-overs. That is rare for me.

    Thought MAVEN was a good answer. Kind of a rare word.

    SOU was not a word I have ever heard. Got it with perps.

    Landed in Damascus, Syria, once. That was an experience. Quite a mix of people at the airport.

    Great theme. It all came together easily.

    Enjoyed UVEA and the link. I was able to see exactly where my Glaucoma problem is.

    Thanks all. See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  11. Good morning. Great Tuesday puzzle and excellent write up, Argyle. EDS didn't fool me this time. See, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

    As soon as I got to FORTY I knew we were scoring TENNIS, but I finished the puzzle feeling somewhat incomplete. We had the scores, the GAME, the SET but no match. I guess we keep playing.

    Congratulations, Carol, on your anniversary and your birthday. May there be many more of both.

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  12. Thank you, Tinbeni, I took care of that little snafu.

    Seen, I hadn't heard that song before. Thank you.

    We did have match yesterday, Grumpy. Maybe it was a precursor.

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  13. Argyle:
    Lagavulin 16, Oban 14 ...
    Yeah, I love your new Avatar!!!

    Researched (from yesterday) the Asyla scotch.
    Seems a bit "light" for my taste.


    Husker, I hope your WEDGE is accurate.
    FORE !!!

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  14. Good morning Everyone. Thanks for the commentary, Argyle.

    Do you think Dr. MESMER was the first mesmerizer? Thought this was appropriate for a Tuesday level. Got the tennis theme early on. Never can remember the MACRAE spelling but the perps took care of that. Liked the longer downs DRIVEWAYS and FERRY BOAT. Saw a NOOK ad in the paper yesterday. Liked the clever clue for FRAME. Good job, Todd.

    Happy Birthday and Anniversary, Carol. Hope you have a great day.

    I didn't know this was possible, but here is some lake skimming by an ATV.

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  15. Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

    Not much to add that hasn't been said already, so I won't. Just stopping by to thank you Argyle for a fun write-up, and Todd Gross for a fun and creative puzzle!

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  16. Enjoyed the puzzle and Argyle's writeup and links. Found the puzzle to be a straightforward solve. But Argyle does raise a question -- just who was Azov anyway?

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  17. SML almost tricked me for the same reason as Barry G. I thought it would be SMS for 'smalls', but I left it blank until perps confirmed what was needed. Ditto for Time workers and oil holders.

    Tried LONESOME for a while instead of LOVESICK, and I always get UVEA and UREA confused, (thanks Argyle, for that diagram) so those were my only erasures in what ended up as slightly more difficult than yesterday but a very satisfying solve.

    I liked the theme which I sussed out after reading the unifier clue.

    Carol,
    Double congrats on your day!

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  18. Also, trouble in SW. Had a monkeY section and got JAMmed up. Also had oceloT before BOBCAT.

    Of course, the whole theme was a guessing game for me, since it was a sport.

    Damascus, oldest city in the Western world.

    Hubster got himself and buddies into trouble in grade school when the teacher said, "A male pig is a BOAR, a female pig is a____. He gave a rhyming answer, and he and his buddies had to "stay after," but nobody gave him up.

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  19. Dagnabit! Forgot to wish you a very happy birthday and anniversary, Carol! But don't you feel cheated that you only have one celebration, instead of two?? My late husband and I were married on Valentine's Day...BIG mistake. Because it was also my birthday. So THREE occasions rolled into one!!

    Husker, it is such a pleasure to see kids actually enjoying their class. You must be a great inspiration to them!

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  20. Hi All,

    Nice puzzle, Todd, kudos also to Argyle!

    Favorite answer, FRAME. TENNIS answers came rather quickly.

    Root canal (2 hr.) yesterday horrible. Have to undergo part 2 in about a week. Can't eat much, and am, of course, starving! Brain has been addled.

    Apologies Lemon. Never criticized anyone's spelling before, that I can recall. Realized that it was a typo from a highly intelligent being. I use very blown-up screen to type. Have very little problem seeing colors. When I have to fix up Harvey's computers I immediately increase all font sizes to 16 point. Drives him crazy.

    Cheers to Carol! Have many more!

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  21. Good Morning All, I got stumped on the cross of abbreviations 32D)STDS and 40A)EDS. I WAGed the "D", but had to come here to make sure.

    I didn't know MESMER either, but perps had most of it filled in before I had a chance to ponder.

    I'm not a tennis player, but I've seen enough of it on TV to understand the scoring system. After I understood that 23A) was FIFTEEN, rather than SIXTEEN, the theme filled in pretty easily.

    fermatprime, I'm sorry you weren't as fortunate at the dentist as I was. I just broke his expensive machine (teehee)....not really, but it wouldn't work with me in it.

    Nicely done, HG. "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" is one of Robert Herrick's most famous poems. He might not have been referring to golf, but any carpe diem is a good carpe diem!

    Happy Annibirthary, Carol! Enjoy yourselves.

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  22. Scrabble anyone? I expected one of you logophyles would have reacted to the Scrabble clue. I love Scrabble, although I am not a super ace because I don't get an opportunity to play it often enough. Does any one else play it? Have you played "Scrabble Upwords!" where letters are piled on top of letters? It is fun but takes a totally different strategy to score the most points.

    You all have about covered the points to be made on today's puzzle.

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  23. Happy Birthdiversary, Carol!

    Just like @Clear Ayes above, my last fill was the STD/EDS cross. I was muttering "Natick" as I alphabet-walked up and down until Duh! D!

    My trivia contribution to the day - the LOVE score in tennis (zero, for @Sfingi and the other non-sports-folks) comes from the french "l'oeuf" - the egg, representing the shape of the numeral.

    Nice go Todd.

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  24. Good morning everyone.

    Happy birthday, Carol, and happy anniversary to you and your DH. Hope you enjoy your special day.

    And a nice pic, Husker. How do you enjoy subbing? I hated it when I moved to Florida and didn't want to be re-certified in another state in that I was certified in ME, NY, NJ, and NM. So my subbing career was very short-lived.

    Any comments about the puzzle have been made. I DNF. Maybe I'm not up to snuff after being away for a month. And I never learned tennis.

    Cheers

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  25. Thank you Mr. Todd Gross for a very nice puzzle and thank you, Argyle for a fascinating commentary. I had no problem with the puzzle itself, and the tennis theme was evident - though I never played tennis. Thank God, Ad-In was NOT there ! ( lol )

    I did not know 'EDs' and 'frame' , but guessed them. I still didn't know why they were right, until you illuminated my path. I had thought 'Flame' might be an appropriate answer for 'oil', but no.

    I have 2 cousins who work in computer intel and monitoring in the disconnected/ discombulated (?) 'tip' part of Oman, 4 miles across from Iran. They help keep track of every single goddammed ship, kayak, canoe and animal , man or vermin that passes thru the Straits of Hormuz (Sp. ?). They work as contractors to the US Navy, and they think that is the coolest job that they'll ever have, and they also consider that area to be the safest part of the world. To each their own.

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  26. ALT QOD : - At Jewish weddings they break a glass. At Irish ones, they break glasses, bottles, chairs and the groom's neck. ~ George Carlin.

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  27. Hi All!

    Great puzzle, Todd. Thank you.

    Spitzboov, yours is the best match, so far, for my experience. Argyle, the ‘jeans’ really is a belly laugh. …er..uh

    Annibirthday! CA- brilliant. Carol- in your honor. Hope all is well- miss you bad. Have a wonderful day!

    CA, we have needed that word for quite a while! Well, off and on, anyway. Maybe it will get Carol back to the fold. No one can replace her humor; I need that surprise belly laugh she gives me from time to time. Super timing!

    Back to the salt mines.

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  28. Happy birthday and anniversary, Carol!

    I had LOVELORN for LOVESICK at first. I figured out the theme before I got to the reveal. That doesn't always happen for me.

    Gary, I loved that photo of you and your students. I'll bet you were a great science teacher. Fun stuff to look at too, most of which I have also. The floating glove and the lava lamp for two. Do you have or have you ever seen a Mova globe? Very cool!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I'm with you, Argyle! To me, an old song lyric would be by Cole Porter, not Three Dog Night. Ouch!

    Anyone know how old this young whippersnapper of a constructor is? That certainly couldn't have been Rich's clue, could it?

    Excuse me while I go take some Geritol, seeing as how old I am...

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  30. Great Tuesday puzzle and write-up, Mr. Gross and Argyle--thanks!

    After getting 15, 30 and 40 pretty much fell into place even without knowing anything about tennis.

    @Steve: first explanation I've ever gotten for the "love" in tennis! Many thanks!

    Enjoyed being reminded of 'Oklahoma.' And can never hear 'Odessa' without thinking of Sergei Eisenstein's 'The Battleship Potkemkin.'Now there's a classic for you!

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  31. Sporty Mazda? Uh... they're *ALL* sporty. That's Mazda's schtick. The MIATA is a definitive sports car. It's not sport-y, it's pure sport.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Tuttle,
    I agree. I drive a Mazda 6 now, my third one, having owned two when I was still in Oz. Those were before they had separate model names though. the first was bought in '68 and had a 1500cc engine and a retractable radio antenna. So cool for its day. the second was 1600, but not nearly so cool.

    Anony-Mouse,
    And before German weddings, they hold something called a Polterabend. Traditionally the couple's friends would bring crockery to smash on the ground outside the couple's abode. These days they hold a special event complete with a dumpster, because they have to clean up not only crockery, but porcelain of any kind--old toilets, bathroom sinks, you name it, they bring it. It's part of the ritual to make sure the couple can cooperate on frustrating tasks, especially if they fill the dumpster and the friends tip it over again.

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  33. Hi gang -

    I had lots of troublw with this one. Looking at the finished product, I can't understand why. Good, tight theme, and some pretty nice fill.

    Between the islands are the FERRY BOAT DRIVEWAYS.

    I had rehearsal last night, but the LW said we only had 27 T-or-T-ers. Typical for our street.

    We're getting new carpeting today.

    WE got a nook a couple of weeks ago, but in the press of other things, haven't done much with it.

    Hatool - Game of Thrones is magnificent. I'm about 1/3 through book 5.

    Speaking of "Missing someone special", can anyone identify the movie and the blonde in the audience? She looks pretty special, though I was a new-borne in 1947.

    Cheers!
    JzB AGEISM . . .

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  34. Greetings,puzzlers. Thanks, Argyle, for a fun write up; loved the ballroom jeans link!

    And Thank you, Todd Gross for a lovely Tuesday puzzle. I'm not sports oriented either but have heard enough about tennis to recognize the terminology though my solving FOCI was not on the sport, just the words.

    I felt like a SAP at 40A, Time workers, EDS because we have seen that before and just realized I left it blank. Grrr

    Happy birthday, Carol and happy anniversary! I hope you pop in today.

    I'm off for a much needed hair cut. Have a fantastic Tuesday, everyone!

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  35. An idle thought: Two new "with it" uses of words that I'm not crazy about. One is "brand" referring to a person's image and the other is "trending" referring to what is the big discussion topic, usually on Twitter.

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  36. Apparently it is Dorothy Patrick, but she does bear a striking resemblance to Ingrid Bergman.

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  37. Hi all, just popped in to say thank you for all the good wishes today.

    Hope all of you are doing well.
    I'll be back soon.

    We are going to the coast today, just like we did 41 years ago...strange co-coincidence and not really planned to this special date.

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  38. Marti, thanks for the comment! I did have fun with kids but they always knew who the alpha dog was!

    Sallie, subbing has been fun (see alpha dog comment above) and like grandparenting, you can pick and choose when you want to get into the game! Subbing at my old high school was, as Yogi said, déjà vu all over again!

    CA, glad you liked my poem reference! For Marti you have to make a word that incorporates birthday, anniversary and Valentine’s Day! Our anniversary is 4 days from Valentine’s Day!

    Bill, I have never seen the globe you mentioned but will research it. All the toys I accumulated over the years made teaching just that much more enjoyable. The space ships in the foreground were a gift from a man who is the head of the National Weather Service here and was a thank you for the interest in science I generated in his sons!

    Are there any takers on my movie question:

    Eileen Brennan is to Private Benjamin

    as

    Warren Oates is to _______

    ReplyDelete
  39. Great puzzle Mr. Gross. Argyle, you provided some medicinal laughs today, thanks! But, dear Argyle, one hopes you didn't speak from experience about conventions.

    The "C" in the FOCI/ACC cross stymied me.

    Something was denned up in an old shed when I was cleaning out the farmstead for sale. I thought I smelled CAT, but didn't know what size so stayed out. Spores said, "large". Junkman came to take out an old car and wanted to try to start it. I said, "Better not, something's living in there." He got down on hands & knees and hooked a chain to the frame under the front bumper. He saw EYES at the back and came running back, yelling, "Get in the truck!" We both hopped in and he eased the car out. All we saw was a short-tailed blur headed over the hill to the creek. "Bobcat!" we both said and laughed at ourselves. They can be vicious if cornered.

    While on the Clapton link, "Autumn Leaves" is worth listening to in this season. (Or any time.)
    -PK

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  40. I thought this was a thursday puzzle except for the theme. Malodor mave aviary uvea ebon foci are tuesday answers? Trio is trio in italian 42 never heard of. Did learn proper spelling for jamb. Didnt like ageism. I asked a person who sued cause of it and he never heard of it in that regard. Loved the theme. If i had not picked up on it fast i would have been stumped today. Go niners!

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  41. "Are there any takers on my movie question:

    Eileen Brennan is to Private Benjamin

    as

    Warren Oates is to"
    .. Stripes. If you're talking about the character, drill sergeant Hulka was the bane of Private Winger.

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  42. I thought you would like to know Sunday's constructor visited our blog today.

    Thanks for the write-up and congratulations, C.C., and the kind words from all of you. I'm glad you liked the puzzle and took the time to let me know. :) - Jonathan
    By Jonathan L. O'Rourke on Sunday Oct 30, 2011 at 2:49 PM

    Posted by Jonathan L. O'Rourke to L.A.Times Crossword Corner at November 1, 2011 2:49 PM

    ReplyDelete
  43. Argyle: Excellent job. Thank you for the oil frame explanation. I just couldn’t grok that one. Love 10-S and having it featured here. Good stuff.
    Spitz: thank you for the ATV skimming video. Never knew that could be done either. Sooo cool. Looked like it could jar your teeth LOOSE tho’.
    CA and Steve: great word coinage. LOL cute!
    Carol: Happy Happy Birthday and Anniversary. Wish you many many more of each/both.
    Santa baby: That ‘ballroom jeans’ video was hilarious! Loved it. Also want to order a few pairs for Christmas…and what goes in ‘em. Just about 54 days before you get really really busy…save me for last, ok?

    Enjoy your night.

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  44. Kazie- About UVEA, UREA. You're not going to see UREA in a puzzle. Big breakfast test problem. But it sure could bail out a constructor in a tough area of a grid... all those lovely vowels.

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  45. Spitzboov:

    Excellent detective work.

    Hmmm . . . Dorothy Patrick is to NEW ORLEANS as Ingred Bergman is to __________.

    (Full disclosure: I have no idea.)

    Carpet looks great. The LW is delighted.

    Alas, she caught the cold I haven't quite gotten over.

    Cheers!
    JzB germ sharer

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  46. It's been an intresting afternoon for watching wildlife in our backyard. We normally see a flock of ibises, several Muscovey ducks, a few herons of various types, and a greater egret or two foraging through the yard and along the lake bank. Today they were joined by a large wood stork and later the 8 ft alligator crawled up on the lawn to catch some rays. Shortly after the alligator went back in the water a bobcat streaked out from between our neighbor's and the next house and nailed a Muscovy. He left when I went out to get pictures but soon came back and carried off his prey.

    Unfortunately, the only camera I had handy only has 3X optical zoom, but at 8 megapixel, they blow up fairly well. I'll post them to an online site and link them tomorrow.

    Keep in mind that we live in a residential neighborhood with most lots of 1/3 acre. Ours is about 1 acre, but still small for the amount of wildlife we see.

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  47. Grumpy 1:
    That's a surprising number of wildlife creatures you see. For a minute I thought you lived in a nature preserve.

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  48. Hi all,
    This puzzle was interesting but hard for a Tues. I got a couple of the theme answers but goofed on a couple. I also had homesick for love sick.

    The last 2 letters, a and e got me 12D. Had Iraq for Oman but it was east of Iran, I saw on the map.

    Ave.Joe- That is my favorate scene from Casablanca. Thanks for putting it on.

    Abejo-My husband takes drops for glaucoma. His eyelashes have gotten so long they rub on his glasses. Do yours do that?

    Husker-I was so happy Nebraska beat Michigan St. Saturday. The Badgers have had some problems lately.

    Thanks to all who make this blog so much fun?
    Marge

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  49. Good evening all,

    I loved this puzzle; thank you, Todd Gross! A perfect Tuesday one, unlike yesterday's which seemed pretty hard for a Monday!

    Argyle, thank you, too, for the writeup, the music, and the humor. Loved the Duluth Trading Co. ad. I'm sending it on to several friends! Hilarious! I occasionally get a catalog from Duluth Trading Co. in case anyone thought it was fictitious. Don't know if they ever had an ad like that, tho.

    Like CA and Joe I put in sixteen instead of fifteen. I guess I was thinking of tons. That's when I got the tennis clue! It's about the only sport I know much about.

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  50. Hello everybody. No time to comment. Good puzzle, lots of fun. Best wishes to you all.

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  51. That clip of Ingrid Bergman from Casablanca reminded me of how beautiful she was. It also reminded me of my favorite clip from Casablanca. La Marseillaise

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  52. Argyle - I missed the Duluth link until just now - hilarious! Reminded me of the folks at Mystery Science Theater 3000 suggesting names for David Ryder's character in "Space Mutiny". Never fails to make me chuckle.

    Link

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  53. This is the best interactive sky map I've ever seen. You can see the Milky Way and everything else in outstanding detail. You can zoom in or out, pan in all directions and get Info on the constellations and other things of interest. Outstanding!

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  54. Great interactive map, Bill G. If you have an iPhone or iPad you have to get the Star Walk interactive app. $2.99 for iPhone, $4.99 for iPad. The display is similar to your interactive map, but it uses the GPS and angular sensors to move the display to match what you are seeing in the sky beyond the iPad. It's a fantastic program.

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  55. Grumpy, yes I briefly saw that app on my son's phone. Very impressive and cleverly done. However, at a quick glance, I don't think it has the same quality of detail that this one does. This is a stitched panorama of many high-quality photographs taken through a telescope.

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  56. Hola Everyone, Just dropped in to wish Carol a Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary. Enjoy your trip to the coast.

    I've been too busy to finish the puzzles during the day, and just completed Mon. and Tues. puzzles this evening. Both were fun, though a bit tougher than usual early week fare.

    Another busy day tomorrow--I'm working at our Thrift Shop and it is the second day of our annual Christmas Boutique. Always a fun, but hectic time.

    Enjoy the rest of the week eveyone. I'll drop in again when things calm down.

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  57. Bill G:
    What a fascinating link! Thank you.

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