google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, Dec 10th, Robert A. Doll

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Dec 10, 2011

Saturday, Dec 10th, Robert A. Doll

Theme: None

Words: 70

Blocks: 38

I did the research and found that Mr. Doll has done a Saturday puzzle for the LAT once in 2010, and 2009. I don't keep up with the other paper's grids. Robert's last puzzle was Sunday's "Fish Heads", during the Hurricane Irene days - seems so long ago, now that we are two weeks from Christmas Eve.

Anyway, a sort of 'sideways' grid, with two 12-letter down fills;

8. Feature of many a monster movie : MASS HYSTERIA - Mob mentality, like in the movie Frankenstein, but it reminds me more of this scene, from my generation

20. Called for : NECESSITATED - a rare occurrence for me, a 12-letter fill that is one word, and not underlined in red because spell-check is having a problem with it

Well, when it comes to tough puzzles, these that have one-word clues that define synonyms are the ones that really thwart me, and it gets worse when it's more than one word - for example;

17A. Try : BID - STAB, TEST, ATTEMPT, ugh - what's another three-letter word for this???

18A. Saw : ESPIED - and then there's the 'stuck in carpenter' problem, so it's not the tool, it's the verb that is echoed in 59A

27A. Entered : KEYED IN - well, I was fairly certain that it was -- IN, so I tried WALKED, WENT, AMBLED, nope, nuh-uh, not it....

13A. Miss __ : A CUE - Ah....not AMERICA, U.S.A., MANNERS, but a stage flub

6D. Inconsequential : FRILLY - YEEEACHT ~!!! OK, I get it, but I was looking for that juicy fill, like MINOR, EFFETE, FAILED - oh, I do love that tingle in the brain at the final letter ~!

ANY way, for me, BURSTING was was burst this puzzle open for me.

Onward ~!

ACROSS:

1. Engage in logrolling : BIRL - been in Crosswords before, but I couldn't recall it

5. Not quite right : OFF

8. Life Savers, e.g. : MINTS - again, not CANDY, or RINGS

14. Depression era prog. : NRA

15. 1983 World Cup skiing champ McKinney : TAMARA

16. Abel, vis-à-vis Adam: Abbr. : DESCendant

19. Controversial fuel : ETHANOL

21. Annoys : HASSLES

22. "No way!" : "GET REAL~!"

23. Kyrgyzstan border town : OSH

24. Birmingham band, briefly : ELO - Black Sabbath didn't fit

25. Fed. auditing agency : GAO - we just had this, too

26. Shout : CRY

29. But, to Brutus : SED - yeah, I took Latin for 4 years, and it didn't come to me

30. Replete : BURSTING - and this is where I '10.D' it

31. Divisions politiques : ETATS - French for state, becoming a standard

34. Pig thief of rhyme : TOM - Don't know this - filled in via perps

35. Waterproof boots brand : TOTES - Used to be a popular commercial at Christmas when I was growing up - they had slippers and umbrellas, too

36. One arriving during the overture, say : LATE SHOW - as in, "how rude, he was a late show and interrupted my view"

38. Literary contraction : EEN - Evening

39. Platoon provender : K-RATION

40. Lending letters : APR - not IOU, but Annual Percentage Rate

41. Small trip : HOP - not a JOG

44. Words With Friends, e.g. : APPlication, for one's smart phone - I don't have this particular one

45. Macavity creator's monogram : TSE - total WAG, but what can I say?

46. Idle fancy : CHIMERA - more familiar with the "animal" than this definition


48. Tray carrier, perhaps : BARMAID

50. Series of clips : TRAILER

51. Sleep inducer : OPIATE - well, sure, but so is beer, if you take enough of it - I would know....

52. Airport screening org. : TSA

53. They're above pvts. : CPLs - corporals

54. Kisser : NECKER - in this case, it's not the mouth, it's the person - and he's getting frisky

55. Overseas assent : OUI

56. Playground rejoinder : AM SO

57. Corporate __ : GREED

58. 45, say: Abbr. : RPM

59. No longer hidden : SEEN

DOWN:

1. No-goodnik : BAD EGG

2. Summer cooler : ICETEA - oh I am so not going to say it, but ARGH~!

3. Form hastily, as judgment : RUSH TO

4. Old Renault : LeCAR - Image

5. In agreement : ON BOARD

7. It doesn't last : FAD

9. Troublemakers : IMPS

10. Passed the test in a big way : NAILED IT - This is C.C.'s phrase - I learned it from her blog here

11. Mountain demarcation : TREELINE - not ALTITUDE, but it sounded right - treeline makes much more sense

12. "Teen Angel" et al. : SAD SONGS - et. al. means "and others', but I goofed by filling in _ _ SONG, and it wasn't working

15. Enticing ad : TEASER

21. Nonsense : HOKUM

28. Harrow rival : ETON

29. Leave be : STET

30. Stem at sea : BOW - the front of a ship

31. Quick Draw McGraw alter ego with a guitar for a weapon : EL KABONG - never heard of him - here he is

32. Roofer's material : TAR PAPER - well, now you're talkin' - Tar Paper is just that - paper saturated in tar, and used as an underlayment for roofing, siding, and decking applications

33. With consequences : AT A PRICE

34. In shape : TONED

37. Sock seller : HOSIER - my kind of hosiery

38. Joseph's second son : EPHRAIM - I was curious

40. Elicits a scolding : ACTS UP

41. Distressed request : HELP ME - I had J from JOG at 41A - leaving me J_ _P ME - and, well, JUMP ME is a request, but I swear, I was thinking about the car battery ~!!! (lol)

42. Ultimatum words : OR ELSE

43. Protestant cleric : PARSON

47. Layered minerals : MICAS

49. Auto title datum : MAKE - Make, model, year, mileage

52. Perch for a puma : TOR - rock ledge - here he is leaving

Answer grid.

Splynter

Question from C.C.:

I got a new computer with Windows 7 yesterday. When I go to Chicago Tribune's puzzle website in my Firefox browser, the Options, Print, Solve buttons do not work. Does anyone know why? They are perfectly fine in Internet Explorer, but I'm not fond of IE. I did get a "A fatal error has been detected by the Java Runtime Environment" message when I downloaded Java update.

55 comments:

len said...

Hi all,
First, "stitch in (time)", "to a (tee)", etc. are recognizable phrases."Miss a cue" is not. I don't think a clue like this is fair to the solver.
Second, I have never heard of the adjective "frilly" used as a synonym for inconsequential. Frilly petticoat, okay, but a concern would be frivolous, not frilly.
Third, don't think "necker" is a real word.
Four, can someone explain how 30D, "stem at sea" means bow?
It's almost 3am Pacific, so maybe I'm just out of it, but when I see a puzzle like this I can't help thinking that I really MISS Sylvia Bursztyn!

Dennis said...

Len - I've heard 'miss a cue' used before; I don't think it's all that rare. Agree about 'frilly' - not really synonymous, and necker's not in my dictionary. As to 'stem at sea', think of the term 'stem to stern' and you'll make the connection.

I'll hopefully post something later, but this puzzle really chewed me up. Enjoyed the fight, but the puzzle won.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

The left side of this puzzle went down in near record time for a Saturday. I also wasn't fond of A CUE, but I knew BIRL and was delighted to see my old friend EL KABONG in the grid (I loved that cartoon as a kid and often hit my son over the head with an empty paper towel roll or such with a loud KABONG!) I hesitated a bit with APP, only because I've never heard of the APP in the clue, but it was easy to get (and understand) with a little help from the perps.

The right side of the puzzle, on the other hand, was a nightmare and it almost defeated me. TAMARA was a complete unknown. I knew that TOTES made umbrellas, but that's it. OSH? Not in my lexicon. ELO is from Birmingham? If you say so. EPHRAIM? Sure, why not. And, while it's true that some Lifesavers are mints, I always preferred the fruit flavored ones and had RINGS instead...

Mother Goose said...

Tom, Tom, the piper's son
Stole a pig and away did run;
The pig was eat;
And Tom was beat,
And Tom ran roaring
Down the street.

Apropos to see Words With Friends (APP) today since that was the game that got Alec Baldwin kicked off a plane earlier this week.

Argyle said...

Hey, Mother, how do you play Words with Friends?

It was A CLUE and FRILLY that made me turn on the red letters to see if they were right.

Interesting grid layout. An 'O' dead center. I had MPH for 45 and that messed me up bad.

June Wolfe said...

Splynter: Have you ever hear anyone say for example "we cleaned the car from stem to stern"? The etymology of the expression is based on the literal meaning of from the stem to the stern (from the front end to the back end of a ship)

drltbk said...

Stem to stern is where 30d comes from

Argyle said...

Spylnter and Dennis, I read your write up and your comment, in case you're wondering if they are missing. (re: 30D)

desper-otto said...

@Barry, my experience was just the opposite. I had no traction in the west, but the east fell quickly. Never heard of ELKABONG so I wound up with CRATION rather than KRATION. I guess that's technically a DNF. The top center section was the last to fall. When I finally got ONBOARD the rest fell into place.

I agree about FRILLY being badly clued. Good thing HeartRx isn't here today with ICETEA in the puzzle.

@Splynter, Macavity was one of T.S. Eliot's cats who had his own song in the Broadway show.

SouthernBelle said...

Mornin' to all,

C.C.: Glad you have a new computer. Did you have to call the Geek Squad or just went out and bought a new one? I use Firefox and for some reason it doesn't like JAVA. Maybe someone else has a better answer...I'm not a computer whiz.

Clues in today's puzzle, IMHO, were off the grid. Not a fun puzzle!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Finished but not without help. Had to Goog TAMARA, and while I remember Quickdraw McGraw, I don't remember El Kabong - sounds like a fun character in the Wiki description! Clearly Barry had an advantage with that one.

Tried WPA for the Depression program. I agree FRILLY doesn't match the clue very well.

I remember the Renault R-5 LeCar. My neighbor had one, and when it quickly reached the end of its useful life, he parked it in his swampy back field. Some years later I was called upon to yank it out with my tractor for disposal. Not much of a vehicle.

Dennis said...

Argyle, made me laugh.

Avg Joe said...

What a workout!! The first 2 fills I had after going through the entire grid were LeCar and Etats. Knew right then it was gonna be a long day.

I don't have a problem with "frilly", but flat didn't like "a cue". Still, lot's of learning moments and a fight well fought. Rather amazed I was able to finish it.

Argyle said...

Maybe this will get Buckeye to come out.

Miss Ohio

Hit or miss - I'll take the Miss.

Spitzboov said...

Good Morning all. Great write-up, Splynter.

This one took a long time to get, although the right side was easy enough. Liked seeing CHIMERA, one of my favorite words. (I used it in a memo once and got a big frown from the boss). I had 'teacart' before BAR MAID. CPLS worked but there are a whole raft of ranks above pvt. I think NECKER stinks out loud. Liked ÉTATS and OUI; they gave a little balance and were easy. My only trouble with BOW was that with my eyes, the font of the clue came out as stern, not stem. Dennis said it right. I thought RPM was clever. The long downs gave the puzzle its character. Most of the fill was fun to suss; and it is Saturday.

Enjoy your weekend.

Mikey said...

C.C. - I'm using Firefox 6.0.2 on this computer, with Java Plug-in 1.6.0_29 and everything works OK. Another computer runs FF 8.0 with the same Java Plug-in and also works OK. Check for any popup blockers and cookie settings.

Now, back to today's puzzle, which for me rhymed with Witch, as they say. Everything was pretty much blank except for 34A TOM and 45A TSE, until I got to the SE corner, where I started getting hits at about 52A and went from there. A few initial tries (HEIR, FLIMSY, ESPYED) didn't last for very long.

Ultimately, it all boiled down to trying to justify DESC at 16A. I was very happy with HEIR at first, but the perps shot it down, and eventually it had to be DESC. So, I unhappily came here to see what the story was; thanks, Splynter.

Middletown Bomber said...

This was a tough one for a saturday. I knew a few out right and a few took several minutes to recall, but mostly It was letter fill with clues i knew and then memory to see terms worked. the clues were vague and a few extra words would have made it easier for a saturday puzzle.

len said...

Thanks, Barry, for the insight on stem to stern. Nothing worse than still not getting that slap-in-the-forehead feeling even after you know the answer.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning, all. Thanks for all of the explanations, Splynter.

I was surprised at how easily this one solved for me. I couldn't come up with BIRL at first, so started looking at downs and saw ICE TEA and RUSH TO right away. With the crossings ETHANOL and GAO, that corner fell easily. TREE LINE gave me a strong entry to the NE, OR ELSE crossing TRAILER opened the SE and TARPAPER crossing OPIATE started the SW. Unknown OSH filled itself.

I really had to dig deep to remember EL KABONG and make the decision between C and K RATION.

No nits to pick. FRILLY and BID seemed a little OFF, but it is Saturday and I expect the clues to get down to the third or fourth level of dictionary definitions.

Great puzzle, IMO.

Splynter said...

Hi There ~!

C.C., I am wondering if the new computer has affected the way the blog presents on mobile devices - I checked the blog on my I-p.o.s. this morning, and got a much different visual than I normally get; Usually, it is typically the same view as seen here, when I come to the blog to read comments. Now it seems to be tied to the "new" and crummier look of the daily puzzle page.

Just my observation....I also see that "answer grid" is larger now, too.

Thanks, Mother, that's a new one for me ~!

I heard the story about Alec Baldwin on Wed., and he was on Conan this week saying how he can be drinking in NY constantly, because "someone else does the driving", he said. I did not know this was the APP he was on - maybe Rich tweaked the clue to be "hip"....

Splynter

Tinbeni said...

I thought the clues today for some of the answers was pure HOKUM.

After hitting my 2-mug time limit, I went back and filled in what I "wanted" the answer to be.

As such, my 2-D, Summer cooler is SCOTCH.
51-A, Sleep inducer is SCOTCH.
41-D, Distressed request ... you got it, it was SCOTCH.

Cheers to One-and-All !!!

Splynter said...

Tinbeni,

I hear ya ~!

Used to be KEGGER for me ~!

Splynter

Trucker said...

If you want the old format, try the Hartford Courant, at least for now.
http://www.courant.com/features/games-puzzle-crossword,0,4172846.htmlstory

Misty said...

My goodness, that Mr. Doll constructs one difficult Saturday puzzle! Only the SE corner fell quickly into place for me. Had to cheat to jump-start the other corners. For a change, I'm agreeing with all the grouchy comments on CLUEs that were off and therefore easy to MISS.

Any word on how Lemonade is doing?

eddyB said...

Hello.

Staying with Vista/IE/cruciverb
.com for now. No problems. Windows
Seven still in the box.

Lemon still in ICU. HE says he doing better in short emails to family and friends. Will hear what the doctors have to say later.
Appreciates the support from the Corner. So, keep lighting those candles. They seem to work.

Off to San Mateo to have the printer interface work.

later. eddy

Pauline said...

Going into my favourite wrong answer file -- my husband's suggestion for 13A: "Miss A-cup."

Ron Worden said...

Good Sat.to all and happy weekend. WoW after a pretty easy week this was a toughie for me. As a rule in reference to a cue it should be missed a cue because I dont believe an actor would plan to and risk a scolding from the director. I concur with Barry as lifesavers come in many flavors,liked the wild cherry best. To Tinbeni and Splynter my sleep inducer of choice is Captain Morgan Have a great day to all RJW.

Warren said...

Hi C.C.;

RE: Today's puzzle? My wife and I teamed up and finished it under a 1/2 hour.

RE: FireFox issue? I'm running FF 8.0 on a Windows 7 64 bit PC and I just tried printed the puzzle and answer OK?

Which version of FF are you using?

Today is the 2nd day of our 3 day pottery sale, I just stopped home to do some chores before going back.

Jayce said...

This puzzle clobbered me. It also frustrated me, because solving one quadrant of it contributed almost nothing toward helping to solve another quadrant of it, because of the placement of black squares like walls to almost completely separate one section from another. For example, I managed to solve the SE section first, but it didn't help me one whit in getting a leg up in, say, the SW corner. After solving 1/4 of the puzzle, and then 2/4 of it, I was no further ahead in reaching the goal of solving the whole thing. I found that to be exceedingly frustrating.

Many of the clues were frustratingly unhelpful too.

My first pass (across and down) through netted me only TOM (I knew the nursery rhyme), TSA, and ETON. Despair engulfed me as I stared at all the blank space.

I expect hard, but jeeez.

Jayce said...

Miss Asia? Miss Ohio? Miss Iowa? Miss mama? Miss a lot? Jeeez.

When I was a youth, we guys all had a "necker's knob" on the steering wheel of our cars.

Bill G. said...

I miss Sylvia Bursztyn too! Also, if I remember correctly, she originally had a partner who died.

Hey Jayce, I had one of them too, on my used 1950 Ford my parents gave me for the best Christmas present ever. I think we called it a necking knob though. I also added a Bermuda bell to the car. It was installed underneath the car with a plunger protruding though a hole in the floorboard near my left heel. I loved the sound it made.

Jayce said...

Hey Splynter, which do you prefer for roofing: plywood or OSB? And what is your opinion about traditional tar paper vs. fiberglass reinforced felt membranes?

Jayce said...

Bill G, very cool. I have to admit I have not heard of a Bermuda bell, but it sounds like a cool gadget.

Okay, I promised myself I would not nitpick about this puzzle, but I just can't hold back. I am familiar with calling people who arrive late at a concert or opera late comers, and it is common to say "show up late." But "late show" = late comer? Nope nope nope. Not even late showER. I don't think anybody says "Darn that annoying late show." A "late show" is a show that is presented later in the evening, as in "Will you stay for the late show?"

I know I know, it's just a crossword puzzle, but still it bothered me.

Lately Silent said...

Jayce, how about a show whose demographics have tanked, the advertisers have pulled out, the show has 'demised', and has been cancelled midway through the season ?

Would that (also ) be the 'late' show ? lol, ;-0)

BTW, you nit is perfectly valid, I'm just pulling your leg. Your comments are always welcome, and good reading and you are such a genial gentleman. Its just that its a slow day at the blog, and I am trying to drum up some interest.

I say, lets all join together, and investigate Mr. Doll's antecedents.

Anonymous said...

If you don't show up, you're a no-show - so I guess if you show up late, you're a late-show.
Just make sure, if you do show, to stay silent.

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

Mike,
Thanks. My Add-ons says Java Console 6.0.29 is disabled because it's incompatible with Firefox 8.0.1, and there's no button to enable it.

SouthernBelle,
The Geek Squad guy transferred our old data to the new computer.

Seldom Seen said...

The APP didn't get Alec kicked off the plane. Mr. Baldwin's Hollywood elite ego got him kicked off the plane.

Funny, when a flight attendant asks me to turn my electronics off, I just say "o.k.". I dont run to the bathroom and slam the door like a spoiled brat.

Do you remember when ALEC BALDWIN berated his daughter during a BAD WINE CALL?

ALEC BALDWIN is IN LEWD CABAL with other obnoxious jerks,

crosswordgirl said...

hmmm,
so, 54A doesn't start with a P?

Well alrighty then

Thanks for everything

Yellowrocks said...

Tough Saturday, but enjoyable. I googled two clues. My biggest hang up was ODD for OFF. Even though OFF is better I held on to ODD almost to the very end.

Jayce I agree, one of my first thoughts was how the quadrants were almost independent of each other.

I remember NECKING in my college days and also the NECKER KNOB for DWN (driving while necking.) I guess most of us were NECKERS back then LOL.

Grumpy, I found no nits either. I like seeing the lesser used defintions of words on Fri. and Sat. It keeps our vocabulary sharp. Even when I miss them and get a DNF, I really like them.

I, too, thought LATE SHOW could be similar in construction to NO SHOW.

Lemoade, my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Splynter said...

Hi Again ~!

crosswordgirl, that is a valid answer - just a quick 'peck' on the cheek, right ???

Jayce - as for tar paper, it's cheap and effective, but it does depend of the application - same with OSB - I used it for my shed, roof and all, with traditional tar paper. If it were my HOUSE, I think I would upgrade. Same with cabinets - plywood over MDF.

Splynter

Annette said...

I used to usher at a local theater years ago. My least favorite part of it was having to hold the LATE SHOWs outside the theater until whatever interval had passed, as set by each production. Some of the people would get very upset that we were making them miss part of the play, not appreciating it had been their fault and that their entrance would disrupt those seated around them.

My sister got me set up with Words With Friends over Thanksgiving. I found my 1st game very frustrating because the rules were different than I recall from the board game, and they weren't clearly spelled out either! So I kept having my turns rejected. I was finally winning by our 3rd game, and space was tight on the board. I had a great entry for my next turn, although I was sure she'd unintentionally block it. So I'm anxiouosly awaiting her play...and she goes off for a long weekend in Disney World, leaving me hanging!!

eddyB said...

hello.

Out of ICU. More tests.

Printer working again.

Going to pottery sale AM and back to San Mateo for dinner tomorrow.

Beautiful sight last night.

eddy

Argyle said...

I want to share an experience with you about drinking and driving.

As you well know, some of us have been known to have had brushes with the authorities on our way home from the odd social session over the years.

Well, I finally did something about it. A couple of nights ago I was out for a few drinks with some pals and had a few too many whiskeys as well as two beers; but knowing full well I may have been slightly over the limit, I did something I've never done before - I took a bus home.

I arrived back safely and without incident which was a real surprise, since I had never driven a bus before and have no idea where I got this one.

Misty said...

@Argyle, LOL as the kids text.

Avg Joe said...

Argyle, I actually did laugh out loud reading that (despite the UnPC nature of it all).

This one's for You.

Jayce said...

Argyle, good one!

Bill G. said...

Good one, Argyle!

Here are some nice photos of last night's lunar eclipse courtesy of MSNBC.
Eclipse

Steve said...

For an old coot like me, "45" cluing RPM was a didn't-think-twice gimme.

Nice puzzle! Thanks for the write-up, Splynter!

True story - back in the UK a number of years ago, a cop pulled over a guy and his wife driving home one night during the Holiday season. He asks the guy if he's been drinking, and gets the reply "Of course, I've been to a party, I've been drinking all night". The cop asks him to get out of the car so that he can blow the breathalyzer, and the guy asks "Why?". The cop explains that he's just admitted driving drunk. Chap laughs "I'm drunk, but I'm not driving" - the car was an import with right-hand drive - his wife was driving.

Steve said...

DOH! I mean left-hand drive

Scotty said...

Wonderful, Argyle! You should try to get a 'necker's knob' today! I had rotator cuff surgery a couple of years ago and searched for one of those things only to learn that they can be installed only by places that do special handicap installations or modifications and you have to produce documentation of your disability that requires it. Sheesh - all I wanted was a little help spinning the wheel for a few weeks.

Yellowrocks said...

I considered pecker instead of NECKER as plausible for a few seconds. I read a British novel that instead of, "Keep your chin up," or "Stiff upper lip," said "Keep your pecker up." Considering it also has a DF meaning, (Imagine encouraging a teenager with that one!) I searched for another answer.

In the same novel, instead of "Shall I wake you in the morning?" they said, "Shall I knock you up in the morning?"

Some tourist guides rehearse the common phrases and gestures that are harmless in one culture, but extremely insulting in another.

Lucina said...

Greetings, Weekend Warriors! Nicely done, splynter, thank you.

Late today because I was at my own party having fun. No bounce house; the kids played soccer in the back yard.

I started the puzzle early this morning, finished the SE, worked on it off and on between chores then the next phase, filled the SE, then the SW though did not know ELKABONG and had two blank cells. Drat!

After the party, came home and finished the NW and none of this was easy, a slog all the way.

Any nits I just have to attribute it to a Saturday level of difficulty.

Thank you for the challenge, Robert Doll.

I hope Saturday was delightful for you and Lemonade is in my prayers.

Anonymous said...

Three good ole boys died on Christmas Eve and were met by Saint Peter at the pearly gates.

'In honor of this season' Saint Peter said, 'You must each possess something that symbolizes Christmas to get into heaven.'

The cowboy from Texas fumbled through his pockets and pulled out a lighter. He flicked it on. 'It represents a candle', he said.

'You may pass through the pearly gates' Saint Peter said.

The logger from Minnesota reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of keys. He shook them and said, 'They're bells.'

Saint Peter said 'You may pass through the pearly gates'.

The old Fighter pilot from Georgia started searching desperately through his pockets and finally pulled out a pair of women's panties.

St. Peter looked at the man with a raised eyebrow and asked, 'And just what do those symbolize?'

The old fighter pilot replied, 'These are Carol's.

Anonymous said...

Good night all. I am truly a late show!

Splynter, this has been a truly funny set of comments. I didn't even try the puzzle, and reading this I'm glad I didn't. But honestly I have been laughing out loud at some of the comments and jokes. Well done, folks.

Cheers

*David* said...

Weird solve, initial reaction was no toeholds. Then they came fast and furious on the east puzzle. The west puzzle took much more time. Liked the interesting shape of the puzzle but really did not like the fill on this one. I parsed EL KABONG as ELKA BONG, that fill should not have been in there, whack!