Theme: Knock-knock. Who's There? For good or for ill, the root of many jokes. Share your favorites in comments. Theme song No. 1. Theme song No. 2. Here, the theme answers end in a word that is synonymous with KNOCK. Knock can be a forceful physical contact, or severe criticism - as used here.
17A. Ice Cube genre : GANGSTA RAP. Ice Cube is a rap artist. I will not link. But OTOH, I will not give him a bad RAP.
25A. It's not as bad as the fire, metaphorically : FRYING PAN. From the FRYING PAN to the fire is just making a bad situation worse. A critic would PAN that action.
37A. Bases loaded opportunity : GRAND SLAM. This occurs when you bid and make a contract to take all 13 tricks. Wait. Hold on - this is from C.C. so we must have baseball. That GRAND SLAM is a home run hit with the bases loaded. Would you SLAM me for referring to bridge?
52A. All out : FULL BLAST. Holding nothing back. Amping it up to 11. Blogging this puzzle is a BLAST, so I won't BLAST it.
And the unifier: 61. Start of a joke, either part of which is synonymous with the ends of 17-, 25-, 37- and 52-across : KNOCK-KNOCK. Who's there? Jamaican. Jamaican who? Jamaican me stand out in the cold. (I was Jamaican that up.)
Hi gang, it's JazzBumpa, and that's no joke. Our dynamic - and prolific - duo has come up with another Wednesday challenge. Are we up to it?
Across:
1. Actor Alan: LADD. We could also include Cheryl Jean Stoppelmoor, who married Alan LADD's son David, and kept her married name after their divorce, probably because it's easier to spell. Actually I think Cheryl is more of a lass.
5. Vegas draw, with "the" : STRIP. The L.V. STRIP is a little over 4 miles of Las Vegas Blvd. extending outside the city limits, and home to many tourist attractions.
10. Pumped ride : BIKE. You pump up the tires, and peddle it all over town - until you get tired.
14. Cookie shaped like two of its letters : OREO. I don't know of any cookies shaped like R's and E's
15. Hot and bothered : IRATE. Angered. That is one interpretation. Vide infra.
16. Like some graffiti: Abbr. : ANON. Anonymous. Unsigned artwork.
19. Bar flier : DART. Darts are thrown in bars and pubs. Clever play on "bar fly."
20. Molding that sounds like two letters : OGEE, Oh, gee, It looks like an "S."
21. "The Big Easy" golfer : ELS. Ernie. "Big Easy" is his nickname. I did not know that.
22. Legal suffix : ESE. I dont speak legalESE.
23. Faun-like deity : SATYR. Perpetually hot and bothered mythical goat-man entity. Knock-knock. Who's there? It's a SATYR. It's a SATYR who? It's a SATYRday night. C'mon out and party, you old goat.
28. Size up : EYE-BALL. This could mean study carefully, ogle, or make a rough visual estimate. Knock . . . on second thought, we'll let this one go.
30. Prolonged pain : AGONY.
31. City near Pheonix : MESA. Also, third largest in the state, after Phoenix and Tucson. Number 10 is a Surprise.
32. Dog bones destiny, perhaps : BURIAL. Do dogs really do this, or is it only in cartoons?
36. Macavity creator's monogram: T.S.E. T.S. Elliott takes us from dogs to CATS. Macavity is one of the jellicles.
40. U.S. Airways has one in Phoenix : HUB. Back to Arizona. An airline hub is an airport used as a transfer point among major destinations.
43. Sitcom planet people : ORKANS. In the TV series Mork and Mindy, Mork was from Ork, and Orson was still there. Knock knock Who's there. Mork. Mork who? Mork canned laughter - it's TV! Nanu, nanu!
44. Big name in direct sales : AVON. Ding-dong. Who's there? Avon: Purveyor of makeup, skincare, hair care, fragrance, bath and body products, marketed right inside your home (if you let them in), and famous for their trade mark, "AVON calling" tag line.
48. Pasta pkg. purchase : ONE LB. Oodles of noodles? Nope, only ONE LB.
50. Fifi's "Wow!" : OOH-LA LA. From About.com we learn: The French phrase oh là là isn't so much an expression as an interjection. It can indicate surprise, disappointment, commiseration, distress, annoyance... any moderately strong reaction to something that was just said or done. It can be strengthened with additional là's, always in pairs. I guess WOW! works. Maybe even in a SATYRical way.
56. Draw a bead on : AIM AT. EYE BALL the thing in your sights.
57. Hefty sandwich : SUB. SUBmarine, hoagy, grinder, Dagwood . . .
58. Philosophy ending : ISM. Suffix for any belief system, not necessarily philosophical.
59. Therefore : ERGO. We just has this one yesterday, ERGO, the word for the week.
60. Gambit : RUSE. I wanted PLOY. Either way, a cunning or devious action used to gain an advantage.
65. "Very funny!" : HA-HA. Likely response to a KNOCK-KNOCK joke.
66. Goosebump-inducing : EERIE. Weird, outre, spooky . . .
67. Morales in movies : ESAI. One of those movie lads.
68. Lena of "Chocolat" : OLIN. Definitely a lass.
69. More than fear : DREAD. Of something EERIER, perhaps.
70. Actor Bruce : DERN. We could include Laura and have a father-daughter acting pair. Just to bring it full circle, Laura's mother is actress Diane LADD, who is related to Tennessee Williams, but not to Alan LADD. Can't keep them straight without a program.
Down:
1. Regular record : LOG. A ship's captain, frex., would make daily entries in the ship's LOG
2. Palindromic Altar : ARA is Latin for Altar, it is one of the 48 constellations described in the 2nd Century by Ptolemy, and one of the 88 recognized by the International Astronomy Union.
3. Indicates : DENOTES. Frex: the fourth line on the treble clef DENOTES D notes.
5. Vegas draw, with "the" : STRIP. The L.V. STRIP is a little over 4 miles of Las Vegas Blvd. extending outside the city limits, and home to many tourist attractions.
10. Pumped ride : BIKE. You pump up the tires, and peddle it all over town - until you get tired.
14. Cookie shaped like two of its letters : OREO. I don't know of any cookies shaped like R's and E's
15. Hot and bothered : IRATE. Angered. That is one interpretation. Vide infra.
16. Like some graffiti: Abbr. : ANON. Anonymous. Unsigned artwork.
19. Bar flier : DART. Darts are thrown in bars and pubs. Clever play on "bar fly."
20. Molding that sounds like two letters : OGEE, Oh, gee, It looks like an "S."
21. "The Big Easy" golfer : ELS. Ernie. "Big Easy" is his nickname. I did not know that.
22. Legal suffix : ESE. I dont speak legalESE.
23. Faun-like deity : SATYR. Perpetually hot and bothered mythical goat-man entity. Knock-knock. Who's there? It's a SATYR. It's a SATYR who? It's a SATYRday night. C'mon out and party, you old goat.
28. Size up : EYE-BALL. This could mean study carefully, ogle, or make a rough visual estimate. Knock . . . on second thought, we'll let this one go.
30. Prolonged pain : AGONY.
31. City near Pheonix : MESA. Also, third largest in the state, after Phoenix and Tucson. Number 10 is a Surprise.
32. Dog bones destiny, perhaps : BURIAL. Do dogs really do this, or is it only in cartoons?
36. Macavity creator's monogram: T.S.E. T.S. Elliott takes us from dogs to CATS. Macavity is one of the jellicles.
40. U.S. Airways has one in Phoenix : HUB. Back to Arizona. An airline hub is an airport used as a transfer point among major destinations.
43. Sitcom planet people : ORKANS. In the TV series Mork and Mindy, Mork was from Ork, and Orson was still there. Knock knock Who's there. Mork. Mork who? Mork canned laughter - it's TV! Nanu, nanu!
44. Big name in direct sales : AVON. Ding-dong. Who's there? Avon: Purveyor of makeup, skincare, hair care, fragrance, bath and body products, marketed right inside your home (if you let them in), and famous for their trade mark, "AVON calling" tag line.
48. Pasta pkg. purchase : ONE LB. Oodles of noodles? Nope, only ONE LB.
50. Fifi's "Wow!" : OOH-LA LA. From About.com we learn: The French phrase oh là là isn't so much an expression as an interjection. It can indicate surprise, disappointment, commiseration, distress, annoyance... any moderately strong reaction to something that was just said or done. It can be strengthened with additional là's, always in pairs. I guess WOW! works. Maybe even in a SATYRical way.
56. Draw a bead on : AIM AT. EYE BALL the thing in your sights.
57. Hefty sandwich : SUB. SUBmarine, hoagy, grinder, Dagwood . . .
58. Philosophy ending : ISM. Suffix for any belief system, not necessarily philosophical.
59. Therefore : ERGO. We just has this one yesterday, ERGO, the word for the week.
60. Gambit : RUSE. I wanted PLOY. Either way, a cunning or devious action used to gain an advantage.
65. "Very funny!" : HA-HA. Likely response to a KNOCK-KNOCK joke.
66. Goosebump-inducing : EERIE. Weird, outre, spooky . . .
67. Morales in movies : ESAI. One of those movie lads.
68. Lena of "Chocolat" : OLIN. Definitely a lass.
69. More than fear : DREAD. Of something EERIER, perhaps.
70. Actor Bruce : DERN. We could include Laura and have a father-daughter acting pair. Just to bring it full circle, Laura's mother is actress Diane LADD, who is related to Tennessee Williams, but not to Alan LADD. Can't keep them straight without a program.
Down:
1. Regular record : LOG. A ship's captain, frex., would make daily entries in the ship's LOG
2. Palindromic Altar : ARA is Latin for Altar, it is one of the 48 constellations described in the 2nd Century by Ptolemy, and one of the 88 recognized by the International Astronomy Union.
3. Indicates : DENOTES. Frex: the fourth line on the treble clef DENOTES D notes.
4. Takeout request : DOGGY BAG. For taking left overs. out of the restaurant I just ask for a box.
5. Online destination : SITE. Like this blog. I like this blog.
6. Singing syllable : TRA. Nonsense non-word, sometimes found in songs.
7. Harder to find : RARER.
8. Apennines locate : ITALY. The mountainous backbone of the Italian peninsula.
9. Soft drink choice: PEPSI. Some chose Coke.
10. Good for nothing : BAD EGG. Probably not as bad as an evil doer, villain, or black hat.
11. Up the creek : IN A SPOT. Or in a fix.
12. Seoul mates? : KOREANS. Seoul is the capital of Korea. Capital Korean lovers would be Seoul mates. So, is the Korean National Anthem Seoul Music?
13. Tonsillitis M.D. : E.N.T. Ears, Nose and Throat specialist. M.D. is a hint that the answer will be an abbreviation.
18. Fluids in shots : SERA. Plural of serum
23. Divinity sch. : SEM. Seminary. 'Nother Abbrv.
24. Seamans' agreement : AYE. Nautical talk for "Yes."
25. Fail : FLUNK. You could get slammed for dong that.
26. Disney lioness : NALA. From The Lion King.
27. "Science Guy" Bill : NYE. He explained everything.
29. Angle iron : L-BAR. Is this better than I-Bar?
33. Old vitamin no. : R.D.A. Recommended Daily Allowance. Now it's D.V. - Daily Value.
34. Playground retort : IS NOT. Is too. Is not . . .
35. To boot : ALSO.
38. Lynda Bird's married name : ROBB. President Johnson's elder daughter Linda married Marine Captain Charles Robb after being engaged to Bernard Rosenbach, whom she dropped to date actor George Hamilton. Robb went on to be Lieutenant Governor and then Governor of Virginia, and later two-term senator from Virginia.
39. Bad-mouthed : MALIGNED. A bonus synonym for KNOCKED.
40. Pro football's is in Canton, Oh. : H.O.F. Hall Of Fame.
41. Strange : UNUSUAL. Less than EERIE.
42. "The Blues Brothers" co-star : BELUSHI. John, along with Dan Akroyd, were Famous Chicago Blues Men.
45. "Scram!" : VAMOOSE. Get outta here! A corruption of Spanish vamanos.
46. Pay extension? : OLA. A suffix. PayOLA was an illegal scheme to bribe radio stations to plug certain pop music songs, back in the 50's.
47. Old "King" Cole : NAT. Yes, he was called "King" back in the day. Can't pass up the chance to show him a little LOVE. (From his last recording session.)
49. J.Crew rival : L.L. BEAN. Mail order clothing and accessories.
51. "Listen!" : HARK. Pay attention!
53. Went for : LIKED.
54. Actor with seven Emmys : ASNER. Ed. He was great as Lou Grant.
55. Gooey treat : S'MORE. Toasted marshmallow and a chocolate square tucked between graham crackers. One good way to get sticky fingers.
59. Squeezed (out) : EKED. This frequently gets squeezed into crossword puzzles.
60. P, to Plato : RHO. The Greek letter RHO looks like a "P", but is really an "R." Confused? This should be easy as PI.
62. "The Company," briefly : C.I.A. A TV miniseries from 2007 about the Central Intelligence Agency's operations over the decades following WW II.
63. Golf, for one. : CAR. Automobile - a Volkswagen, to be specific.
64. Mom and pop : KIN. In our family, it's all relative.
Answer grid.
Well, that about RAPs it up. Hope you had a BLAST like I did.
Cheers!
JzB
Here is a note from C.C. & Don:
"Our original unifier for this puzzle is SMEAR CAMPAIGN (to be placed in the very middle of the grid). Rich felt SMEAR has an indication of falseness in it, while our other criticism words do not. He suggested "knock". Don and I went with KNOCK KNOCK and revised our other theme entries."
88 comments:
Good Morning, Jazzbumpa and friends. Wow! I had to check my calendar to determine that today is only Wednesday on this puzzle. Good commentary, JazzB.
There is actually an actors named Alan who can appear in crossword puzzles whose last isn't ALDA!!!??? What a way to start!
My other error was to think that a Soft Drink Choice was Decaf (what my hubby drinks) instead of PEPSI. Decaf gave me the STRID as the Vegas Draw, which let me see the error of my ways.
I frequently ask for a Doggy Bag when I eat out. Servings are so large. Sometimes the doggy bag sits in my refrigerator for a few weeks before getting thrown out.
QOD: Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. ~ Mark Twain
I am glad that i am not the only one who tried to force Alda in 1-A
nice puzzle Don and CC.
Morning, all!
Definitely a Wednesday level puzzle today. Not too tough, but certainly more of a challenge than the last two days. As with Hahtool, I started out confidently with ALDA at 1A and floundered for a bit as a result.
ORKAN was perfectly inferable from the clue, but I honestly wondered whether this was the first time the word had ever been printed before. A quick Google search, however, turned up the following from the German version of Wikipedia:
Kyrill ist der Name des Orkans, der am 18./19. Januar 2007 das öffentliche Leben in weiten Teilen Europas beeinträchtigte und in Böen Windgeschwindigkeiten bis zu 225 km/h erreichte.
I have no idea what it means, but there you have it...
Jazz: Wonderful write-up & links.
Don G. & C.C. Thank you for a FUN Wednesday!!!
BUT, there is one ... little ... problem.
Mort told me the people from Ork are NOT called ORKANS ... they're OrkLINGS.
OK, here's my joke:
KNOCK, KNOCK.
Who's there?
Howie.
Howie who?
Howie gonna hide this affair from your husband?
(groan, the typical knock-knock joke response).
Cheers to all at Sunset.
Knock knock
Who's there?
Alan Alda.
Alan Alda who?
Alan Alda time - until it's Ladd.
Cheers!
JzB
Jazzbumpa, stick to the horns.
Good morning Jazzbumpa, C.C. et al.
Wowza, what a fun puzzle from our dynamic duo!! OK, so I admit I also had Alda in stead of LADD at 1A. But when I filled in 14A with OREO, I knew one of ‘em had to go. So that was the only hitch in my giddy-up.
I loved seeing EYEBALL and OOH-LA-LA placed symmetrically. With five theme entries, it’s tough to get really smooth fill, but I didn’t see anything in here that made me wrinkle my nose. Great stuff, you guys.
Here's my joke:
Knock Knock.
It's open - come on in !
Happy Hump Day, everyone!
Good morning, all!
What a fun puzzle and funny write-up. Thanks to CC, Don and Jazz!
Hand up for Alda.
JD: Perhaps the obvious choice for Closer villain is crabby Cmdr. Taylor. So it's probably not he. How about Buzz? Anyone else have thoughts?
In lieu of sleep, I just watched The Advocate
on Showtime. Ah, Colin Firth in 1993! Very well made and interesting historical drama (based on a real person), but the full-frontal nudity (female, of course) was a bit off-putting. Imdb cites only one goof, which I thought was appalling, in the crawl at the end. How could anyone not proof-read a single short page?
Cheers!
Knock, Knock!
Who's there?
Dwayne.
Dwayne who?
Dwayne the bathtub, I'm dwowning.
I'll make it unanimous (at least so far) with ALDA before LADD. Also had EBAY before AVON. But everything worked out. Also learned that Cheryl is not Alan's daughter as I'd always thought. And no, I've never heard of an LBAR. Good to see that ERGO is still with us. I think he was an alien played by Dom Deluise in one of the Stargate SG-1 episodes.
@Yellowrocks (from yesterday), this past year we suffered the worst drought in living memory here in SE Texas. In midsummer, during one of our daily 3-mile marches around the hood, I noticed that a neighbor's plaster pig had gone tits up in the flower bed. (Am I allowed to say that? Well I said it.) I thought that said a lot, so I snapped a photo of it. ERGO, the avatar.
Those of a "certain age" will be the only ones who get this:
Knock knock
Who`s there?
Amos
Amos who?
A mosquito bit me
Knock knock
Who`s there?
Andy
Andy who?
And he bit me again!
Fun puzzle. Tough enough for mid week, but sussable. I didn't fall for the Alda trap because I always at least try the crosses first. Wasn't sure about Log, but was sure of Oreo. So Ladd was my first entry. But I did not know that Cheryl was not Alan's daughter!! Thanks for the puzzle C.C. and Don and thanks for the fun write up Jazz.
BTW, when I read the clue for Burial, I remembered I used to think that it was only in the cartoons. But I'm here to report that when our Rotty was young he would bury almost anything he could get his chops on. Many a leather bone was buried in our back yard. But the worst incident was when he grabbed the bolts that I'd just taken off the lawnmower while sharpening the blade. I found one, but the other one is still interred somewhere in that yard. So yes. Some dogs really do bury treasure.
Mornin' to all,
Guess we're getting in a rut.....hands up for ALDA....again, and again.
Knock, knock
Who's there?
Ken
Ken who?
Ken I come in? It's very cold out here.
Doesn't seem possible it is Wednesday (hump day) already.
desper-otto said:
"I'll make it unanimous (at least so far) with ALDA before LADD."
NOPE !!!
Like Avg.Joe, I looked at the down clues before writing in LADD.
Plus, I knew Don G. & C.C. weren't going to make it THAT easy.
Yep, still unanimous with ALDA. Great puzzle and hats off to the two of you for putting in Alan when it wasn't ALDA. Cheers. Have a great day.
Great puzzle, CC and Don.
Perfect Wednesday!
No Alda; perp checker.
Enjoying all the 'knock' jokes. Always have liked them.
Jazz, thanks for a fun write-up. I think I have to reread some.
Argyle, I forgot to thank you yesterday. Thank you.
Have a nice day everyone.
best.post.ever.
Knock, knock
Who's there?
Lettuce
Lettuce who?
Lettuce in, it's cold outside!
Knock, knock
Who's there?
Avon Lady -- you're doorbell's broken!
Knock, knock
Who's there?
Atch
Atch who?
Gesundheit!
Knock, knock
Who's there?
Tank
Tank who?
You're welcome!
[Can you tell I have a six-year-old at home?]
@Tinman: I apologize. I thought all of the posts above mine had mea culpas. You had an advantage, though. You had the foreknowledge (is that a word?)that it was a DG/CCB puzzle. I didn't learn that until I came here after finishing it.
Now, thanks to CC, I can't get that image of Brandon DeWilde screaming "Shane!" out of my head.
Good morning JazzB and all. Another great puzzle from Don and C.C.
Got the theme fills easily enough, but didn't connect them to the unifier until I was done. Sigh. I'm with Hahtool; I had Alda before changing to LADD, Eclectic mix of fill. Quite a few non-primary definition type clues making it more of a later in the week puzzle. No lookups were needed.
Creature, it's good to see you back.
Happy belated birthdays to those who celebrated one in the last few days.
Off to play some bridge. Maybe I'll get real lucky and bid and make a GRAND SLAM.
Good day folks,
Well, I had Ladd right off the bat. Only because I looked at the clue for one down and saw that AOG wasn't going to fly. Before ending up with ORKANS, I tried ORKINS & ORKONS. No rational for either, just "wagging".
As far as dogs burying bones, mine doesn't . he simply digs the holes. When I fill them in, he will re-dig them. Parts of my yard look like a bomb zone.
CC & Don G created a fun puzzle and agree with others, it was a Wednesday offering. My eraser got a pretty good work out.
Have to run, hectic day ahead.
Happy hump day .
Good day folks,
Well, I had Ladd right off the bat. Only because I looked at the clue for one down and saw that AOG wasn't going to fly. Before ending up with ORKANS, I tried ORKINS & ORKONS. No rational for either, just "wagging".
As far as dogs burying bones, mine doesn't . he simply digs the holes. When I fill them in, he will re-dig them. Parts of my yard look like a bomb zone.
CC & Don G created a fun puzzle and agree with others, it was a Wednesday offering. My eraser got a pretty good work out.
Have to run, hectic day ahead.
Happy hump day .
A clever puzzle (and theme insight) that challenged both ends of my pencil, a great write-up and golf on December 28. Life is good!
Musings
-Fav? Knock knock. Who’s th… MOO! IMPATIENT COW!
-LADD not ALDA, BLAST not FORCE, ISNOT not AMTOO, HUB not TER., OOHLALA not MONDIEU
-GANGSTARAPpers get out of the hood as fast as they can
-Dutch letter cookies at the fabulous Jaarsma Bakery in Pella, Iowa are all THIS letter
-Watching a train go by can give you a great anon. art show
-If you hear from a marginal acquaintance out of the blue, it might be about AVON or AMWAY
-Lena seems to favor the same underwear as Christina yesterday
-My mother never sang TRA, she just made up words
-Do you think OJ would be voted into Canton today? Me either.
It always bugs me when I get bogged down at the start and bog I did with the knee-jerk ALDA not LADD. (Those getting it right the first time, please indicate so). That led to s l o w ness since I did not know OGEE, but eventually worked it out as L_L could not possibly be an altar. So filling everything else in and working back - no errors. OOOOH LALA, I do like to fill in all the squares this easily.
I tried to enter ZUTALORS into 50 A but maybe that's too crude for a PG-13 puzzle anyhew. I also wondered how far a mainstream puzzle would go cluing "STRIP" as there are to me no real attractions (haha) is Vegas (But clearly rote-ed in the answer as they make me go there every year on average for meetings). Could have fun with that on a late week puzzle.
Remarkably free of cruddy fill I liked seeing another CATS character this week, but the other may have been NYT.
I for one as an Ortho guy loved BONE BURIAL.
Cheers
Oh yes ...
Knock knock
.Who's there?
Gorilla
.Gorilla who?
[sung] Gorilla my dreams, I love you!
Not a knock knock, but a fun holiday joke –
A woman was fired for sewing additions onto the Tickle Me Elmo dolls.
When asked why she was doing this, she replied, “You said to give every Elmo two test tickles!”
Fore!
Thank you Don and CC for a VERY nice puzzle. I barely eked it. I was not so confident of the theme - but JzB explained it. I really enjoyed the crossword - Thank you.
Jazzy, your commentary is wonderful - but after I saw your Ooh La La LINK, I thought you had either lost your mind or your musical temperament. A Hindi song ? OMG ! Are you losing your marbles ?
Ooh la la tu-hai-meri fantasy
Ooh la la you-are-my fantasy
Rule of thumb for Hindi movies -
1. 0.1% maybe good, difficult to say,
2. Avoid Aishwarya Rai at all costs.
Have a happy rest of the season, all.
Alt QOD:- I learnt to play the piano on my mother's knee. But when I reached seven, we bought a piano. ~ Victor Borge.
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Silly
Silly who?
(Long pause)
Silly me! I forgot the punchline.
Great puzzle C.C. and Don. Lot's of chuckles, JazzB.
Yes, I started out with Alda, but wrote it in very lightly since I thought it was just a little too obvious for our dynamic Duo on a Wednesday.
Hot and bothered? Irked? Carol? Nope, Irate.
Lots of fun stuff in this one. I liked the 'pumped ride'. Time to head off to the gym and pump the pedals on the stationary bike for a while this morning.
Greetings, cyber pals. Jazzbumpa, you slay me! Very funny blog.
C.C. and Don, thank you again for your UNUSUAL puzzle which I LIKED.
Okay, ALDA instantly popped out on seeing Alan. I do usually check the downs but it seemed obvious, not!
All else, though, fell easily, OOHLALA. I love using that expression.
It's a great time to be in Phoenix, MESA, or Surprise right now because the weather is wonderful.
I hope you all have a gorgeous Wednesday! I'm off to a party.
RE: The Closer, I also think the leak is Cmdr Taylor because he always feels slighted and in need of recognition and respect.
I recorded the last episode so I can watch it just before the new ones to refresh my memory.
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
AVON.
AVON who?
AVON to be alone.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Don and C.C., for a great Wednesday puzzle. Really enjoyed it. Thank you, as well, Jazzbumpa, for the great write-up.
Well, I am happy to report I wanted ALDA at first, but since I always check a crossword before writing an answer, I held up after seeing ARA for 2D. LADD came later.
Got GANGSTARAP with perps. The rest were easy.
Thought Seoul mates/KOREANS was good.
Had no idea where Apennines was. Now I know. But, will I remember? Time will tell.
Knock Knock. Who's there? Madam. Madam who? Ma Damn foot's caught in the door.
Snowing in Johnsonburg, PA.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Avg Joe, worse things could happen to your lawnmower. See here.
KNOCKKNOCK.
Who's there?
Dead ant.
Dead ant who?
Dead ant. Dead ant. Dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant, dead ant... (3:08)
Something tells me I wouldn't want to meet Elvis on a dark street. But hey. At least he didn't bury it. :-)
Who's there?
Sam n' Janet
You know the rest...
Fun puzzle and write-up. Thanks.
Oh, and thanks for the shout-out CC!
Hi all,
Well, I am a member of the 'ALDA' club...I didn't know what REGULAR RECORD (1D) and PALINDROMIC ALTAR (2D) meant for a moment or two...then I figured out LOG but not ARA. Never did get GANGSTA RAP.
Got to give the V-8 can a workout over 19A...Thought of TART first...I've seen a few of those 'flyin' from bar to bar. Or just plain ol' BAR FLYS.
I love Land's End silk tops. Great for wearing under sweatshirts or tops when biking in the cold. Washable too!
Still don't understand 29D.
And now for something totally different. What are those little "signs" that appear at the start of the CBS TV Shows. Like..
#CSI
or
#CRIMINAL MINDS
Is that supposed to tell me something other than the name of the show I'm watching? Or am I just too old to understand?
As soon as I saw the constructors were Don and C.C. I knew this was going to be a fun puzzle. Then came JzB's delightful write-up and those dozens of hilarious Knock-knock jokes that got my hump day off to an lol start! Thanks, everybody! It's great to be back!
desper-otto:
I believe it's called a "hash tag" but have no idea what to do with it.
Hello Puzzlers -
I'm coming to you from Marti's lovely house today! I had no trouble making friends with her cats, they seem to know I adore kitties.
Marti here...I can vouch for the cats being suckers for anyone who will stop to pet them.
Yup, Alan ALDA took a seat at 1A and stayed quite a while.
I hear ya on that...
All in all I enjoyed this puzzle immensly, with its family of theme entries - well done, DGCC!
Hi gang -
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Arthur.
Arthur Who?
Arthur Mometer says only 18 degrees this morning.
How did I know 1A was LADD? I'll be DERNed if I let my secret out.
I do remember Amos 'n' Andy.
Barry - I love 6-yr-old humor, though some of it is a bit too mature for me.
Anony-Mouse - I know nothing about Bollywood movies, but when Teh Googly brings me a gem like that, I just can't turn it down.
Ant - Fabulous Mancini link. That is an all-star band.
Gary - The right response to those letter cookies is OGEE!
Almost linked this . . . uh -- inspirational SATYR pic in the main post, but wimped out. NSFW, library, many other sedate locations or the presence of small children. OOH-LA-LA -- It leaves nothing to the imagination! You have been warned.
Also wanted to find a more interesting pic of ESAI for the ladies, but evidently the dude never takes his shirt off. Here's Alan LADD, back in the day. He's been gone for almost 48 years.
Cheers!
JzB the FULL BLAST trombonist
Wonderful puzzle and write up; thank you all.
29D, many pry bars are L shaped like LBAR . When I worked in a rubber factory we used them to pry open the heated molds of electric parts.
Half way there. Enjoy all
Carol -
For 29 D, angle iron: an L-BAR is a metal section formed into the shape of the letter "L."
JzB
Desper-otto and Lucina,
I believe the hash tag (#) indicates you can follow the show on Twitter. Not 100% sure though, as I'm not a Twitter-er (or would that be a Twit?)
Nice puzzle, Dynamic Duo!
JzB - Nice write-up, as always you go above and beyond. One thing - if you're going to peddle your bike around town, you're going to eventually sell it and end up with nothing to pedal home on.
ALDA, Yes, me too.
@Desper-otto - the # Hash-tag indicates a Twitter account name. If you're a Twitter-er (which I am decidedly not) you can "follow" #CSI or #Desper-otto and you'll get all kinds of text message-length musings about the show or what Desper-otto is thinking. Apparently many people like to do this.
@Anony-mous - the Indian Embassy in San Francisco plays Hindi movies while you wait in line to submit your passport for an Indian visa. As the process can take quite some time, it certainly beats staring at the walls. I watched one last time I was up there about a forbidden love between an Indian Hindu girl and an Pakistani Moslem boy. The dancing was awesome!!!
Knock Knock.
Who's There.
Orange.
Orange Who?
Orange you glad I'm not adding another knock-knock joke?
Thanks to JzB for another entertaining write-up.
I'm a proud member of Club Alda, though I should have known better. My dad was named after Alan Ladd.
Today my favorietes were OGEE and OREO.
Tinbeni, will you be hosting us all for this year's stellar New Year's Eve party? I bet your bar is stocked and ready to go! :)
If you ask a construction worker where the L-BAR is, he might say "you mean that lesbian joint around the corner?"
But ask him where the ANGLE IRON is and he'll direct you to a pile of construction material.
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Little Boy Blue
Little Boy Blue Who?
Jerry Sandusky
Good morning JzBumpa, Dynamic Duo et al,
Lots of fun fill today. Yup, hand up for Alda and next to it sat SLOTS.I automatically do the 1st 2 rows across and then switch over to downs. Eventually the Magic Rub saved me.
Bumpa, you always give us a fun ride.
Loved the pig story, Desper-otto.
Knock, knock
Who's there
General Lee
General Lee who?
Generally I do not tell jokes
I'm going to spend the rest of the day wondering just how long the models had to pose for that Satyr Nymph painting......
Then I'm going to spend the evening wondering if they actually got paid for it.
the prescription for some ooh la la:
starland vocal band
Thanx, Steve for the hash-tag enlightenment. You are a true font of oracular knowledge.
Good afternoon everyone.
My paper has for 49D Lands' End rival, which made it a gimme unlike your clue of J Crew.
Ditto for putting Alda for 1A. Quickly removed.
Thanks for an interesting puzzle C.C. and Don, and for a most fascinating write up Jazz.
Cheers
Jazz: thanks much for the picture....it really is worth more than a thousand words. I won't forget LBar again.
Seen: (12:03) Naughty you! :)
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Ice Cream
Ice Cream who?
Ice cream if you don't let me in.
Mari, I missed your post on the hash-tags. You actually beat Steve to the punch. Thanks for chirping in. I'm neither a Twitterer nor a Face-Bookie, so that stuff is foreign to me. I still have a dumb phone and use email.
Otto - No problem. I prefer a dumb phone and email too. I never thought I'd be outdated, but the 20-somethings at work run rings around me techno-wise. I'd swear their talking in a different language with all their Twitter, 4G and Google Chrome talk. At least we can blog, right Otto?
HELP!!!
I've been clicking on all the great links in the blog, but every time I do, when I click the back arrow key in the top left corner of my screen to come back to the blog, I find myself back at the top of the blog at the first post. Then I have to scroll down to try to find the post where I left off before clicking on the link.
Is there a way to come back to the post I clicked on the link from instead of going all the way back to the top each time? With 60 to 100 plus posts, this gets time-consuming. (I use Google Chrome.)
Thanks.
Len, right-click on the link and choose "Open link in new tab". WHen finished viewing just close that tab and you're back where you started.
Right click the link and select open in a new window .Then when you cl;ose the link you will be back where you clicked
Hello.
Thanks CC.
To the person last nigh6t who doesn't get it. There is nothing to get. We are just lighting candles to bring light into the world.
The number of gift cars coming in
tells me that this blog is a family. I am just the project coordinator. The people who are sending in the gift cards are the people who are sending the Kindle.
Thank you. eddy
Btw. The falcon and eagle cams have been turned on.
eddy
@Fermat'
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Sue.
Sue who?
Sudoku much at the Washington Post?
decent LAT Sudoku
With this talk of Indian movies, I have to stick a plug in for Bend it Like Beckham. It's a fun movie with a lot of heart.
Len, dunno about Chrome. With Firefox, hold down Shift when you click on a link. It will open a new window for the link. When you close it, you will be right where you were in the old window. That's a nice improvement in my blogging experience.
Fun puzzle. Hand up for ALDA instead of LADD. C.C., did you guys do that on purpose knowing it would screw us up? Good job!
LLLinda said she enjoyed the Kennedy Center Honors last night. I recorded it and am almost finished watching it. I felt it was a great validation of my taste in old fogy music. I didn't know of Barbara Cook but she sings music that I've always enjoyed including something from my favorite musical, The Music Man. Also, Neil Diamond's music is so easy to enjoy. I loved the whole audience standing and singing along with Sweet Caroline.
Dennis???? No comment on Lemonade working in a rubber factory?
Guilty for Alda. And I thought--oh man, this is gonna be a too easy one! Never judge a puzzle by its' Alda.
Thanks Don and CC. Great puzzle. Jazz--awesome.
desper-otto and lemon
Thanks a bunch! Tried both. 'Open in new window' works best for me just because I usu. have so many open tabs at the bottom of the screen already.
All that scrolling was making me dizzy! Scrollin' scrollin' scrollin' down the river...
Mari:
Alas, my bar only has Pinch.
OK, there's some Jamaican Rum, Russian Vodka, Tangueray Gin, Maraska Pelinkovac (a Croatian Liqueur) ... maybe a few beers.
And some of Gal-Pal's Chardonnay's.
As for "stellar New Year's Eve party" ...
I usually start "toasting" with Sydney, Australia
(8:00 am, my EST).
By the time I get to Zagreb (6:00 pm) I'm in for the evening.
Then there's the "Don't Drink and Drive" thingy.
This I NEVER undersood ...
If you "Don't Drink and Drive" how are you going to get anywhere???
But I'm not going anywhere on "Amateur Night."
Desper-otto and Mari: I'm with you techno-wise. No Twit(ter) (careful, Lois) here...or Facebook (shudder).
The # sign has always meant 'POUND' or NUMBER to me, buy hey, I'm back with T-Rex (to some).
EDDY - This is a crossword forum. NOT a charity box.
I can say this, because I'm Irish.
Me: Have you heard the Irish "Knock Knock" joke?
Person: No?
Me: You start ...
Person: Knock Knock!
Me: Who's there?
Person:
@ANON @2:35 We on this blog are a little community (or family) who actually care about one another. We are really into language and cross word puzzles, but we are also really into our blogging community here.
This is the way this blog was set up. Like minded newvies are always welcome. Those who want puzzle talk only are really not our type.
Hello everybody. I liked this puzzle a lot; it gave me much enjoyment and many chuckles, smiles, and 'aha's. Very well constructed!
And yes, I fell into the Alan ALDA trap right off the bat.
Jazzb, thanks ever so much for your blog. Your sense of humor really made my day.
Last to fall, but gave me the biggest chuckle, was BURIAL. Great fill and well clued!
Interesting about the various LADDs. Very cool that another actor, DERN, was the fill in the diagonally opposite corner. Sorta like that 6 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon thing. Or an Erdős number of 2?
Best wishes to you all.
well Jzb, i'm certainly glad you did not give credence to the obnoxous person in 17 Across.
eddy:
Where do we send? I tried your e-mail but with no success.
Today some friends celebrated a belated birthday for me and among other things, I received the GWTDT trilogy boxed set of DVDs. I have the best friends! They know what I like.
To CC and Don,
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Uri.
Uri who?
Uri great puzzle constructor.
To Jzzb:
Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Uri.
Uri who?
Uri a very witty fellow.
Interesting, doable Wed. Clever theme. I thought of the ubiquitous Alda first, but looked at the perps and wasn't taken in.
A warm Corner thanks to Marti and her family for today's hospitality (and coffee!). Rest assured, cyber friends, she is a clever, fun, and interesting person!
Anonymous @ 4:11 pm: I prefer Ice-T to Ice Cube. But only when watchintg Ice-T on Law & Order ;)
OK, I'll admit it.
I like "Neat" Cube and "Neat"-T.
Here's the puzzler:
If I go outside (and stay outside) RIGHT NOW, now far would I have to go to be freezing?
(And y'all know I abhor ICE & live in Dunedin, FL).
PS Cheers, the Sun is Setting.
I, too, address my joke to Fermat:
Knock, Knock
Who's there?
Euclid.
Euclid who?
Euclid also try sudoku.org.uk.
Sue who?
Why, everyone you can, of course!
chapstick52, thanks for noticing my appearance as the straight man; interestingly enough your blog name was one of my nicknames in high school
Why did they call you 52?
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Procrastinator
Procrastinator who?
Hold on, tell me later.
Knock,knock!
Who's there?
Sam and Janet!
Sam and Janet who?
"SAM AND JANET EVENING...."
Knock,knock!
Who's there?
To.
To who?
To whom.
Knock knock!
Who's there?
Algorithm.
Algorithm who?
Algorithm! Algomusic! I got my gal, who could ask for anything more?
A guy start to walk into a club wearing a t-shirt. The doorman yells, "Hey, you can't come in here without a tie!"
Frustrated, the guy goes back to his car and frantically rummages through it looking for something to use as a tie. Finally, out of frustration, he grabs a set of jumper cables and ties them around his neck in a bow.
Walking back up to the doorman, he asks, "Will this do?"
"Sure," says the doorman, "but don't try to start anything."
Do you suppose satyr is where the expression "old goat" came from? What a gross looking specimen!
I would have had a perfect score but was stumped by Orkans and RDA. I never cared for that Mork & Mindy show. I had RDI thinking it was roman numerals for some reason! Or maybe it was my chemistry kicking in, thinking it was some sort of potassium?
Fermatprime, I hate to tell you, but I have been working the Sudoku on Washington Post, and it is not nearly the same level of difficulty. When I used to do them on LAT, the Thursday & especially Friday puzzles were often so difficult that I had to enter those little notes in order to solve. These have all been so simple they bore me. If you like easier puzzles, then go for it, but I am sorely disappointed. Wish LAT had never changed the format.
Puzzle and review were great! Have a good night all.
Greetings pals,
Either I'm getting better or Wednesday is getting easier. Finished with no lookups but plenty of help from perps.
Thanks for a fun puzzle, CC and Don!
I have to go for a bit but I'll be back to see if I'm right on all counts.
Hi Everyone ~~
Well, it's all been said but I enjoyed your puzzle C.C. & Don G. Some really fun cluing ... I liked 'Seoul mates.' I also liked TRA, HAHA, and OOHLALA! I didn't get the theme until the unifier which then helped me with FULL BLAST. All the rest went pretty smoothly.
As always I was very entertained by your write-up, JzB, Great work! Thanks for the many links.
Bill G. ~ I spent some time today on YouTube checking out performances from the two honorees from the Kennedy Center Honors whose work I wasn't familiar with ... Barbara Cook and Sonny Rollins. I also played some Yo-Yo Ma and Neil Diamond. I do love all that "old fogy music!" ;-)
Alas, I don't know any good jokes, but in honor of JzB's inspirational knowledge of classical art, I offer this medieval cautionary tale. Which may be apocryphal.
King Arthur was about to set off on another Crusade but was concerned that, during his extended absence, Queen Guinevere's virtue might be compromised.
So he had her fitted with a uniquely designed chastity belt. Based on the guillotine principle. (Narrator aside: a little variation on the Procrustes theme. HEH, HEH)
Upon his return he ordered a physical examination for all the Knights of the Round Table and, sure enough, all were found to be missing a chunk of a certain appendage often airbrushed from Classical Art.
All but one. Only Sir Lancelot passed the physical with flying colors.
The King said: "Congratulations, Sir. As a reward for being my most loyal and trustworthy Knight, you have only to ask and anything in my Kingdom will be yours!"
But Sir Lancelot was speechless.
Knock Knock
Who's there?
Little old lady
Little old lady who?
I didn't know you could yodel!
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