google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, January 31, 2012 Allan E. Parrish

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Jan 31, 2012

Tuesday, January 31, 2012 Allan E. Parrish

Theme: Easy Anagram - So easy, it's a snap ... or an anagram of it.

17A. Bakery cookware : MUFFIN PANS

28A. Quiet times for baby ... and mom : AFTERNOON NAPS

44A. Ability to focus : ATTENTION SPAN

58A. Crisp cookie : GINGER SNAP

El Gray here. Allan has been MIA the past year but is back with a nice Tuesday offering. I did have some difficulty but I think that was just me. Discovering the last word in the themes is an anagram didn't happen until the whole thing was done. No problem.

Across:

1. Woo : COURT

6. Goldfish or koi : CARP

10. Peak : ACME. and 10D. Very top : APEX

14. Sleep malady : APNEA

15. 1847 Melville work : OMOO

16. Sound repeated before "fizz fizz," in ads : PLOP


19. Coin on the Continent : EURO

20. Non-revenue-generating TV ad : PSA. Public Service Announcement (PSA)

21. Quite befuddled : LOST

22. Southwestern cuisine : TEX MEX

24. Water pitcher part : SPOUT

26. Bro's sib : SIS

27. Work at : PLY. As in PLY one's trade.

32. Orchestra section : REEDS

33. Period of watchful attention : VIGIL

34. Mimic with wings : MYNA. "And I can dance, too!"


35. Steals the bank blueprints for, e.g. : ABETS

37. Haunted house outbursts : EEKS

41. Not even once : NEVER

43. Chair maker Charles : EAMES. Charles Eames was greatly influenced by the Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen (whose son Eero, also an architect, would become a partner and friend). Charles married "Ray" Kaiser and together they continued their work in architecture and modern furniture design.

47. Photo taker : CAMera

49. Gallery work : ART

50. Sacred song : MOTET. The name comes either from the Latin movere, ("to move") or a Latinized version of Old French mot, "word" or "verbal utterance." The Medieval Latin for "motet" is motectum, and the Italian mottetto was also used. If the word is from Latin, the name describes the movement of the different voices against one another. (Per Wikipedia)
Or
motet - "choral composition on a sacred text," late 14c., from O.Fr. motet (13c.), dim. of mot "word," from L. mutum "grunt, murmur." (per Online Etymology Dictionary)

51. Sister of Magda and Eva : ZSA ZSA. The Gabor sisters. Photo: Zsa Zsa Gabor, left, with her sisters Magda, center, and Eva, on Dec. 20, 1955.

53. Medium, e.g. : SIZE

54. Singer Sumac : YMA. We haven't "heard" from her lately.

57. Complexion concern : ACNE

61. Fishing gear : RODS

62. Cole Porter's "Well, Did You __?" : EVAH. Clip(3:33)

63. To-be, in politics : ELECT. Usually stuck on the end of the position, as in Senator-elect.

64. ER "Immediately!" : "STAT!"

65. USAF NCO : SSGT. Staff Sergeant E-5.

66. Lavishes affection (on) : DOTES

Down:

1. Temporary shelter : CAMP

2. Numbered musical piece : OPUS. Are his days numbered?


3. Remove, as a seatbelt : UNFASTEN

4. Gridiron official : REF

5. Some sewers : TAILORS. They may be alterers, too.

6. Admits guilt for, as a lesser charge : COPS TO

7. Latin I verb : AMAT. The big three: amo, amas, amat.

8. Jaworski of "Monday Night Football" : RON. "The Polish Rifle" was raised in the steel town of Lackawanna, New York.(near Buffalo) He quarterbacked for Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia Eagles, Miami Dolphins, and Kansas City Chiefs.

9. Bulletin board items : POSTINGS

11. Small groups, as of bushes : CLUMPS

12. Edible mushroom : MOREL

13. Strong adhesive : EPOXY

18. Bill or gates, e.g. : NOUN

23. Morales of "La Bamba" : ESAI. We may be seeing more of him. According to IMDb, he has roles in production, one in pre-production, and one in post-production.

25. Nit-picking type : PEDANT. Hmmm? Who do we know ....

26. Irritated state : SNIT. Those hairsplitters are alright unless they get in a SNIT.

28. Kind of wrestling done while sitting : ARM

29. Seven-time Emmy winner Tina : FEY. She is great!

30. Not concealed : OVERT

31. Bring contentment to : PLEASE

35. Sports section decimals : AVERAGEs. Interesting clue.

36. Hunched (over) : BENT

38. Uncontested, as a late-game hockey goal : EMPTY NET. Perhaps Splynter can tell us when this tactic makes sense.

39. Mauna __ : KEA. is a volcano on the island of Hawaii and neighbor of Mauna Loa volcano.


40. Job application ID : SSN

42. JFK guesstimates : ETAs

43. Walked into : ENTERED

44. Actress Bearse or Plummer : AMANDA. Bearse was Marcy on "Married with Children". Plummer was "Honey Bunny" in  Pulp Fiction.

45. "Consider me a maybe" : "I MIGHT"

46. Flow slowly : OOZE

47. Industry leaders : CZARS

48. Dandy's neckwear : ASCOT


52. Pep : ZEST

53. Unexpected complication : SNAG

55. Mugging defense : MACE

56. Bldg. units : APTs

59. ER hookups : IVs

60. __-pitch softball : SLO


Argyle

Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to Bill G, who always brightens my day with his fun links and cheerful comments.

2) Happy Birthday also to Barry G's little boy Joshua, who turns 7 years old today. Hope you're getting better and enjoyed your Pizza Party last weekend.

122 comments:

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

This one had a lot of pepper for a Tuesday. Had to zig and zag and make a lot of corrections, especially where I had put ATTENTIVENESS.

Lots of unknowns, can't keep ESAI/ESAU straight, didn't know there was a third Gabor sister. Had to study the completed grid to spot the theme. It looks like we're one Q away from a pangram.

I like a Tuesday that has some spine!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Thanks for the birthday wishes for my son, C.C. We survived the pizza party and will be having a small family gathering tonight with Thai food and cake.

The puzzle was no speed run for me today, although there was nothing particularly hard about it. I think the clues were just a bit more obscure overall than usual. I didn't know EAMES or RON, but those were the only unknown. I wasn't crazy about CAM or NOUN, but whatever. And, as with Argyle, I didn't have a clue what the theme was until after I completed the puzzle.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

I know Jerome will love this one, but I’m not a big fan of the anagram theme. In this one, the theme entries don’t seem to have much “zip”, and have nothing to do with each other. I caught on at AFTERNOON NAPS, for that very reason. “What do afternoon naps and muffin pans have to do with each other?” (“Oh, it’s the anagram at the ends…”)

The fill was decent, but overall left me flat. COPS TO and EMPTY NET were minor sticking points. But seeing ACNE, APNEA, IVs and the emergency room STAT in the same puzzle left me a little depressed. By the end of it I wanted to reach for some PLOP PLOP Alka Seltzer.

Oh well, moving on…

Lucina said...

Good day, El Gray (Argyle) C.C. and all.

Happy birthday Bill G. I agree that you always bring cheer and entertainment with your fun videos and POSTINGS.

And happy birthday to Barry's Joshua!

Another speed run today with anagrams. Nicely done, Allan E. Parrish. Thank you.

In spite of the many sports references this was quite doable and I sussed my way through it.

LOL, NAPS are not just for babies and moms!

Tricky clue, some sewers, TAILORS.

Now I shall return to sleep as this was a rare bout of insomnia for me.

You all have a delightful Tuesday!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and Friends. I had to check my calendar today to be sure this was only a Tuesday. I slowly plodded through this on and eventually got the theme after filling in AFTERNOON NAPS and GINGER SNAPS.

I wasn't fooled by the Sewer. I knew immediately that it referred to one who sews.

I learned that a Temporary Shelter is not a Tent, but a CAMP.

I also learned that to Remove a Seatbelt does not mean to Unbuckle it, but to UNFASTEN it.

Nice to see YMA Sumac again. She used to make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.
YMA Sumac again. S

Like Dudley, I always get confused with ESAI Morales' name. (Not to be confused with the long absent MOREL.)

Happy Birthday, Joshua!

Happy Birthday, Bill G.

In honor of Molly Ivins, who died 5 years ago, today, here's the QOD: Satire is traditionally the weapon of the powerless against the powerful. ~ Molly Ivins

HeartRx said...

Barry G., big birthday hugs to your little guy – what a cutie!

And Bill G., I had to dig a little to find this one, but in honor of the candles on your cake, I offer you this. (Best viewed at full screen…with volume turned up LOUD!!).

Middletown Bomber said...

Not a speed run for me either. But this is a good tuesday offering. I knew the gabor sisters 3(they were in an episode of the loveboat back in the 70s) Unfortunately I forgot how to spell ZSAZSA so it took a few minutes and cross fill. I have no problems with esai morales (I remember he was in Bad Boys with Sean Penn but his name was Pedro Morales then)

Did not know that Eames first name was charles (though my wife owns an original eames lounger)

With all puzzles I learned some new things

Thanks for the write up argyle.

Argyle said...

I see from the other blog that there is something called the Shortz Factor and we have two of the top seven today, so I'll shamelessly link it here.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Allan Parrish, for a swell puzzle. Thank you, as well, Argyle, for the review.

Happy Birthday to Barry's son and Bill G. Many more.

This puzzle was quite easy. My only write-over was KEA instead of LOA. We see Mauna Loa much more often, so I confidently wrote it in. That will teach me.

I did not know AMANDA, but perps filled it.

To me a CAMP is not necessarily a shelter. Look at old cowboy movies, they made CAMP and slept under the stars all the time. I suspect they had no mosquitoes in the wild west.

Shortz Factor was interesting. Thank you, Argyle.

Fun puzzle. Zipped right through it.

Abejo

desper-otto said...

Good morning, friends.

Much tougher than yesterday. ZSAZSA and TEXMEX were gimmes. Thank you El Gray for explaining how ELECT could mean "to be" (doh!). MOTET was a learning moment -- sounds like something to drink.

And I thought Shortz Factor would be a reference to that leggy model from last week, not ESAI and YMA.

Ciao!
Torpedo Set

kazie said...

Great puzzle for a Tuesday! I didn't know EAMES, YMA, RON, had POLE before RODS, and readily admit to being a PEDANT and proud of it! It irks me no end when people misuse their own language, such as the oft mentioned pronoun or verb forms. Right, Sally?

I also think CAM is still an abbreviation. I got the anagram theme fairly early, but didn't know if I was missing something.

Happy Birthday, Bill! Wonderful family pic!

And Barry, please let Josh know we all wish him a HB too! He sure is a cutie!

kazie said...

I forgot to say AMANDA was another unknown name for me, and I'm also wondering how an EMPTY NET can be an unquestioned goal. That was my last fill and a pure uneducated WAG.

Mari said...

Fun Tuesday with some cute clues. I loved 5D Sewer/TAILORS, 53A Medium, eg: SIZES (I tried SEERS), 18D Bill or gates: NOUN. I learned what MOTET (not psalm?) and PEDANT mean.

Cool words of the day: PLOT and SNIT!

Happy Birthdays All Around! (It's my brother's bday today too)

Mari said...

Oops: I meant PLOP and SNIT

Husker Gary said...

I looked for more in the theme than just an anagram but it was just fine as it was. Some blind alleys and clever cluing made it nice.

Musings
-HBD to Bill and Joshua!
-The warmest January day in the history of Nebraska made for a great golf day yesterday
-Good teachers know the ATTENTION SPAN of teenagers
-Goldfish are just CARP that know somebody
-Here is my handle, here is my SPOUT…
-Were the Gabor’s the Kardashian’s of another era but more subtle?
-Mr. Holland wrote his OPUS despite son with special needs, a non-supportive administration, money problems and an infatuation with a lovely adolescent
-Again, not Ed Norton sewers, but ya gotta love these signs on septic tank trucks especially about political promises
-Empty net - going off the pill is sometimes called “pulling the goalie”

Bobby Orr said...

Kazie, it is an uncontested goal.

This happens when the goalie leaves the net empty so he can help his teammates score a goal on the other end of the ice. He would do this only late in the game when it is their only chance to win. The plan backfires if they allow the puck to get by them and the other team gets to score an easy uncontested goal.

CrossEyedDave said...

Morning Puzzlers,

As usual, i have not even started the puzzle yet, but when i saw this i could not wait to SHARE this. it is one of about 100 images on Julian Lennon's Facebook Wall Photos.

If you cannot access directly, let me know and i will post one a day, some of them are too good to pass up.

Syd the kid said...

usually we ask the goalie to leave the ice and let a scorer like me replace him.

goalie's can't skate!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning Argyle, and all.

Happy Birthday to Bill G.

The puzzle seemed to have a little more of a Wednesday feel to it. Words like MOTET, CAM and PEDANT. But it was fun to do. Got the SNAPpy anagram theme after the second across and it was helpful in sussing out the last two. Had Loa before KEA and 'ever' before EVAH. No other issues; no lookups needed.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Argyle, the reference to the Shortz factor was great for us addicts and a nice complement to your write-up. The comments below the article are also interesting!

Tin, courage my friend, the primary will be over today!

Fore!

JD said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al,

Like Lucina I had one of those rare sleepless nights. Thought this was an easy Wed. and then realized it was Tues.Rarely do I look up anything in the beginning of the week, but Eames was not a gimme. I didn't see the anagrams until El Grey's write up. BTW, I very much enjoyed reading The Shortz Factor..more incite into puzzling.I see we had 2 of the top 7 today.

Motet was an unknown and I put ever for evah so I was a bit slow finishing that section.I wanted tainted for sewers, but kept waiting for the V8 moment to come.

Happy birthday Bill. Can't wait to hear to hear what/where you went to lunch/dinner. It always sounds so good. Hope there is cake.

HB Joshua. We love hearing about your Mr. Cutie-pie.

desper-otto said...

Forgot to say HBD to Bill G (love your videos) and to young, pizza-partying Josh.

Husker, the Gabors *were* the Kardashians of an earlier era, and they weren't more subtle. Zsa Zsa had a whole raft of marriages (nine, I think), and loved to be in the news and on the TV talk shows.

Yellowrocks said...

Argyle, great write up. I enjoyed your Shortz Factor link, but could not access the 10 Hall of Fame Names. It is good to have an objective way to measure it, but some well known names are not that obscure, even though they are not often listed in the newspaper.

If it is not too much trouble, could someone please copy the names and post them here? Thank you.

I enjoyed that this puzzle took a tad more time and thought than the ususal Tues. There was nothing obscure. To new puzzlers, stepping up to a slightly more challenging puzzle from time to time, even if we need to use Mr. G. is a way to increase our skills. I continue to try to stretch in this regard. It works.

In this puzzle the theme didn't matter, although I found it right off. Looking at it as a themeless, it was a good Tues. puzzle.

Yellowrocks said...

Bobby Orr, I suspect you are behind most of the alter egos in this blog. I also suspect that you are an easily recognizable regular. Whatever. . . I enjoy your humor.

Tinbeni said...

El Gray: Grande' write-up!

Hmmm, a Tuesday with some bite.
We've seen the anagram theme before.
This one was kinda boring.

MOTET was the learning moment.

You know you've been doing CW's for a while when EAMES (chair) & YMA are gimmies.

Happy Birthday: Joshua, Bill G., Mari's brother.

Dudley: Didn't see a 'J' or 'W' either.

Husker: Glad to hear you got to cuss yesterday.
Liked the Septic Tank truck link.
"We haul Milk on the Weekend" and "Your #2 is Our #1" got an actual "Out-Loud" Laugh.

At Sunset I get to "toast" the end of the negative (nasty, half-truth, NASTY!) political ads.
(Can the Septic Tank truck haul them away?)

Cheers!!!

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

A little more challenging for a Tuesday but overall fun. I didn't get the anagram theme until I checked in here but that may have been the result of doing the puzzle at 2:00 am on my iPad.

Nice review, Argyle. BTW, what does El Grey mean?

Have a super Tuesday.

PS. Great link CeD @ 8:31-laugh-out loud funny.

Husker Gary said...

Otto, you’re probably right in that the Gabor’s were also merely famous for being famous and "naughty". However, the press coverage was not as intense nor the details as intimate and divorce was the ultimate tabloid fodder then (Mommy Dearest, etc. came later). I wonder if any of Zsa Zsa’s marriages lasted such a short time as the recent Kardashian fiasco. Ya gotta love "progress?".

No publicity is bad publicity; “just spell my name right, dahling!”

Really FORE this time!

desper-otto said...

YR, here's the top 7 in reverse order.
Uri Geller -- mentalist
Yma Sumac -- Peruvian singer
Mel Ott -- Baseball Hall of Famer
Esai Morales -- Actor
Erté -- Franco-Russian print artist
Charlotte Rae -- actress
Erle Stanley Gardner -- mystery author

Irish Miss, El Gray is an anagram.

kazie said...

I also forgot that MOTET was an unknown for me.

Thanks Bobby Orr, for empty net. I was thinking of the puck not being in the net, not the goalie. I guess everyone knows I don't know anything about team sports.

Jill D in CA said...

I am a long time puzzler and love any sort of word games,but have nowhere near the expertise of those who post on this site. When I discovered the site, I was thrilled! Every day after I do the puzzle I look at the day's post, love the bits of information about the clues, love the links, love to read all the comments!! I use the site to "cheat" when I can't go another inch! Have learned a lot from all of you! I miss Sundays as I do the NY TImes puzzle which comes in my local paper. Thanks to all who contribute - I look forward to each day's offering. One thing -could someone PLEASE explain the meaning of PERPS?

Avg Joe said...

I found this one pretty challenging. Much harder than typical for Tues. Right out of the chute you had Camp instead of Tent, and the misdirects kept on coming. Last to fill was Empty Net, as already noted by many.

The exact nature of the theme eluded me too. I thought it was simply NAP spelled both forward and backward, so thanks for clearing that up El Gray.

Duty calls. But at least it's another beautiful day in NE and we don't have an election :-)

PK said...

Hi Y'all,

Enjoyed the puzzle and commentary! Hands up for unbuckled and not liking CAMP for "shelter". And I spelled tailor with an "e", FEY with an "a" so muddled about there. Erased and reworked when I noticed the anagram.

Hahtool, thanks for the Yma link! Think maybe I heard her sing on a record in grade school, but not since! What an instrument!

Did anyone else notice at the end of the hilarious honey wagon clip was an ad for Manolo Blanik shoes? The price for those things are a piece of crap too.

Happy birthdays to Gary and Joshua! My oldest grandson's birthday yesterday.

Yellowrocks said...

Jill D. welcome. If you do the NYT Sunday, you are pretty good, even if you have to research a few.

Desper-Otto,
Thanks for the names.My first acquaintance with all of them, except Esai and Yma, was outside of crosswords.

Happy Birthday Bill G. Every day I eagerly look forward to your posts and links. Thank you.
HB to Joshua. I am glad you are feeling well now.

Mainiac, any news of Hank?

Ron Worden said...

Good morning to all, thanks to you Argyle,and Mr.Parrish for a fun puzzle.Got the anag. reveal about the same time as Marti. probably becaus I like the Jumble puzzles also. The idea of pulling the goalie is to bring on an extra attacker if you are down by a goal,and it is usually in the last minute of reg. time to try and tie the game to force o.t. If your opponent steals the puck and puts it in the empty-net then it ices the win for them. Have a great day RJW.

Anonymous said...

Goalies are skaters, too - just not the same "kind" of skater

Irish Miss said...

Desper-otto @ 9:14

Thanks for the heads up on El Gray. I guess my "gray" matter is still asleep this morning.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning El Gray and your French brother Le Gray... is your wife a rye gal?

HB Bill and Josh.

I figured out the theme after the third entry but didn't need it to complete the puzzle. I had to rely on perps to get some of the names, but I surprised myself by remembering MOTET from other puzzles.

Kazi, I thought CAM was properly clued. Photo (shortened from photograph) indicated a shortened word would also be the entry. CAM is very much 'in the language', just as photo is. I really don't consider shortened words that are pronounced just as they are written to be true abbreviations... just lazy speech.

Fairly easy for a Wednesday. Nothing to CARP about. Oh, I remembered OMOO for a change.

carol said...

Hi all,
I'm with HeartRx on the anagrams - I don't much care for them. I never did get the theme for this puzzle...I rarely do though.

34A really stumped me, I was not thinking of birds and wondered what sort of mimic would wear wings! Aarghhh. Mimics, mimes, clowns, magicians - dump 'em all! They all give me the creeps.

Happy birthday Bill!! Keep us laughing with your clever posts.
Hope you have a wonderful 'lunch' for your special day...let us know what it was, ok? :)

Barry G..say happy birthday to Joshua - 7 is a great age!

Were the Gabor sisters the Kardashians (sp) of yesteryear?? They didn't seem to do much of anything except collect men and diamonds. Oh...well I guess they did do 'something'.

GarlicGal said...

Just a quick post...off to have coffee with the Crossword Coven this a.m. Wish Dodo, Lucina and CA could join us!

Have a great day everyone and HBTY, Bill G.!

Argyle said...

Jill D in CA,

We call the entries that are at a right angle to the word you are trying to solve perps, short for perpendicular.

roybobbr: said...

yellowrocks: You`re very perceptive (and your screen name is quite DF!)

Yellowrocks said...

The best way to understand and remember the word MOTET is to hear an example. I like the rich interweaving of voices. It's kind of like eating a very rich dessert. One is delightful. A full meal (or evening) of motets would be too rich.
Link Motet 2:06

Lucina said...

HuskerG:
LOL at the septic truck signs. Thanks for posting.

Interesting about the Will Shortz Factor. i believe a few other names should be there, too, such as EERO, ESAU, though I understand why they didn't make the cut.

JD:
I'm sorry to hear you were awake as well. My consolation is that the newspaper arrives before 4 A.M.

Lucina said...

Garlic Gal:
Have fun! Summer will be here before you know it and we can all meet again.

Fred Shero said...

@ anon 10:09

No, in fact. In a pure hcokey sense, when they refer to a 'skater' they mean any player *but* a goalie.

Lemonade714 said...

Well since I love anagrams, this puzzle and the theme fit nicely, though I certainly agree some of the fill was not Tuesday level, it was still quite doable.

Allan Parrish was one of the most frequent contributors to the old TMS syndicate of puzzles, which were the ones our fearless leader began blogging. In fact, his FEBRUARY 1, 2008 puzzle was the day both Rex Parker and Amy Renaldo (Orange) stopped by to say hello and 'meet' C.C..

The Shortz factor was obviously the the product of a puzzling mind; well done. I wonder what the Will Weng factor will be?

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Mr. Parrish for a very nice puzzle, it was a little harder for a Tues. but doable. MOTET was the last to fall - that is my word of the day.

Thank you Argyle, for a charming commentary. I wondered about El Gray - tho' I realized it was meant to be an anagram, but why ? I 'got' the SNAP theme early on, but failed to connect it to your name, err alter ego, until Desper-otto's comment.

Thank you Argyle, for the Will Shortz factor. At least all the name were familiar to me, by now. As a former statistician, I am quite in admiration to Mr. Gaffney, for putting the right 'universe' constraints and limiting himself to causative T factor variables. Nicely done, with the proper algorithms and ratios.



ALT QOD:- We're not allowed to do anything to nature anymore, except look at it. It's like porn with leaves. ~ Dennis Miller.

Hahtoolah said...

Carol: Eva Gabor played the rich city wife on Green Acres.

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed the puzzle. No muss, no fuss. I did get the theme before I filled in the last theme word. I have a buddy who does the crossword puzzles all the time but never bothers to notice the theme. I think he misses out on half the fun.

I enjoyed seeing AFTERNOON NAP in a puzzle. Many years ago I was staying home with our first child since Barbara was working on her advanced degree in Psychology and I was laid off. (Hang in there Jeannie!) I remember how much I looked forward to Tim's afternoon nap. A little quiet time finally!

Happy birthday to Joshua! And thanks for all the birthday wishes from you guys. My kids were available last weekend (and not so much during the week because of jobs). We all went out for lunch at a new, upscale Mexican restaurant. You can see a little bit of us at the restaurant in the avatar photo. I am glad to hear that many of you enjoy the occasional links and videos. Sometimes I'm afraid maybe I shouldn't stray off topic.

Time for a birthday nap.

Misty said...

A total speed run for me today--yay! Thanks, Mr. Parrish, for a great puzzle! I agree with Mari about the cleverness of SEWER and some of the other clues. My only Duh moment came when I saw "El Gray" and figured we had a new writer. Tricky, Argyle, and fun!

One question. With my husband's stroke and all I've spent tons of time in ERs but never heard anyone yell or say STAT. What does that mean?

Also, I just loved Eva Gabor on "Green Acres." She was utterly delightful and refutes the notion that the Gabors were famous only for being famous. I could watch every one of those episodes again.

Finally, I'm so happy that Joshua's pizza party was a great success! Hope yours is just as great, Bill G.

Steve said...

@Jill D - I call "perps" crosses, but that's just me.

Nice write-up there, Leargy.

I sometimes have vertical dyslexia and have trouble parsing a down partial answer. I spent longer than I thought possible trying to figure out what "I'M ????" could be as the answer for 45D.

Then a super V8 moment. Nice Tuesday, very enjoyable. I learned MOTET's true meaning, I always thought it was a recurring theme in a piece of music.

My back tells me I need an EAMES chair in my home office.

Happy Tuesday!

Anony-Mouse said...

"Stat' - in a short form medical terminology, means 'immediately'.

Comes from the latin 'statim' - which probably means the same thing.

Most patient families probably would NOT hear this word spoken, in their presence, because it is not meant to said in front of 'strangers' or 'laymen', (in the hospital). This is the same reason the police say 'code' words, that laymen listening on police scanners would not 'understand or comprehend'. (You don't want to cause unnecessary worry, nervousness or peturbation.)

However, 'Stat' is apparently very often used in TV medical soap operas - which I never watch. ( because they are so ridiculous ).

However, when the word 'stat' , or other equivalent Code words are used, it is considered a very serious matter, and all available med personnel are supposed to respond.

eddyB said...

Bound to see a few empty nets tonight. Hockey resumes after the ASG with an almost full schedule.

In defence of goalies:
They can skate, they have scored
unassisted goals and have met the other goalie at center ice for a fight. Just harder for them because of all of the padding that they wear.

take care. eddy

carol said...

Hahtool, yes, I remember seeing Eva Gabor on that show...I think I watched it about 3 times. She was a passable actress, but on the whole the whole Gabor family was 'on the hunt' for whatever Hollywood could offer them. I believe they succeeded. They had a lot of 'hutzpah'(or however it's spelled -LOL)

Misty said...

Many thanks, Anony-mouse 10:40, for the extremely clear and helpful explanation. I guess I should start watching "Grey's Anatomy" more. Or is that "El Gray's Anatomy"?

Jerome said...

CAROL SAID (who does not like anagrams) "I SOLD A CAR"

"But Lois,at Crosswordword Corner, told me the doctor you sold it to claimed it was a lemon"

"DOC'S A LIAR! LOIS, A CARD!"

I bet you really hate 'em now.

Tinbeni said...

Lemon:
Thanks for the February 1, 2008 link.

(Kinda reminded me of HeartRx's earlier link).

Zcarguy said...

Morning all,
HB Bill G. and Joshua

I heard that one time when ZsaZsa was on the late Johnny Carson show , she asked him if he'd like to pet her " pussycat " ? and he answered " if you take that cat off your lap " she sewed him for that remark .

Is that a true story ?

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.

Thoroughly enjoyed today's puzzle. Easier than yesterday's for me. I did miss KEA and had loa, so couldn't grok what the outburst from haunted house would be.

kazie; Obviously I agree about being taken aback by people misusing their own language. (What has happened to "almost"? See it frequently as just "most", as in "Most everyone is here."

Happy Birthday Bill G. and Barry's Joshua.

Cheers

Anonymous said...

P.S Huckster: truly enjoyed and laughed at the septic tank signs. Thank you.

desper-otto said...

Zcarguy, I think that can be relegated to the status of an
Urban Legend

CrossEyedDave said...

More like a Friday to me, took an hour, an in the end i had to Google some names. I would have preferred the clue for "camp" to have been "like Marx brothers movies." (which i am sure CC would not watch)

I had "sailors" for 5D because i remember sewing sails, until i was woo'd by the perp. I starting writing "opennet" at 38D, but stopped myself when i realized it was a letter short, but in ink, it left an "O", which kept convincing me that haunted house outbursts must be "Boo's."

Desper-otto @12:28

i was convinced that i saw that episode, but reading yr Urban Legends made me realize it was the Fonda/carson dialogue that i saw, and just remembered it wrong.

Irish Miss said...

Is everyone enjoying the spring-like weather we have today in upstate New York? It is 54 degrees and sunny-more like May than Jan. 31. I wonder what Mother Nature has up her sleeve for Feb. and Mar. We shall soon find out!

Happy Tuesday,

Dudley said...

Irish Miss - Hand up for basking in awesome weather! I'm sitting in a sunny window in a coffe shop, and it's downright toasty. MMMMMMMM

Saw a flock of robins at rest in a tree a few minutes ago. However, I bet we're in for a real face slap in February.

Spitzboov said...

Irish Miss - Where in upstate NY do you live? We have 52º.

Is this impossible?

eddyB said...

Hello.

Don't know how I talked Brian into
giving me the Fob to start the XF,
but, was able to take it for a drive. Reminded me so much of my XK
120 days.

Went up to finish the crab from the Pro Bowl Party. We had a delightful Chardonnay from Oz.

eddy

windhover said...

62 in the Ky. River Valley @ 2:30.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

A fairly quick puzzle for me today. I started with MUFFINtins but that didn't last long. Didn't catch the theme until I finished and studied the long answers. Thanks for the write-up, Argyle. Great pics & links!

When I first started doing crosswords I remember coming across MOTET quite often and thinking it was somehow related to words like 'octet' and 'nonet.' Today I actually remembered the 'sacred song' meaning. Some stuff does stick!

We, too, are basking here in CT at 57 degrees.

Barry G ~ Hope Joshua enjoys his 7th birthday!

Happy Birthday to you, Bill G! I really enjoy your posts and hearing about your yummy lunches!

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

HBD, Bill.

And a HBD to Joshua. Our Josh turned 4, just 11 days ago.

Alas, a DNF in the SW corner. Sussed Zsazsa from the second Z, in the perp, ZEST. Had ASCOT too. But misspelt STET, didn't know AMANDA, though she is our oldest granddaughter. POLE for RODS. CZAR just wouldn't fall. (sigh)

Yellowrocks is quite right about the MOTET. Music pre-about 1600 was conceptually very different from what we are used to hearing - outside of church. This is why it is so easily identifiable as archaic.

Here is another short example from the master, himself.

Cheers!
JzB

Hahtoolah said...

It' 75 in southern Louisiana and that is cooler than it has been for the last few days. Unusually warm this winter, which is definitely confusing the flowering plants.

Jazzbumpa said...

Steve -

For MOTET you were thinking of MOTIF.

Spitz - yes, that is impossible.

54 in Metro Detroit, and mostly sunny.

Cheers!
JzB

Lemonade714 said...

I am getting old and forgetful; happy birthday Bill G and mini-Barry G.; G what a day!

80 here in So.Fla, no more Dennis jinx, or is he back in NJ?

Jerome, do you have one other than Jeer Mo? Lemon the melon.

Argyle is also La Grey. to complete his multilingual name.

CrossEyedDave said...

i wanted to be like Argyle, but CrossEyedDave came up as DECAYED SERVOS

Lucina said...

it's a sunny 70 degs. here in the Valley of the Sun and delightful to be outside.

Seldom Seen said...

LEMONADE can turn bad and become DEMON ALE

Lemonade714 said...

Barry G., and Joshua; I hope you are healed from your illness; it reminded me of my 7th birthday which came right after the famous flood of 1955, where our town was not only flooded, but blown up from Magnesium and then buried in sand when the waters receded, leaving us three weeks without power. No birthday party that year.

Seldom Seen said...

I heard ALLAN E. PARRISH was tweeting about this puzzle's theme. His tweet? PANS R ALL I HEAR

Mari said...

Anony-Mouse @ 11:30 am: My DH was in the hospital a few months ago and I kept hearing calls for "Code Red" "Code Yellow" and "Code Blue" - perhaps one of these means STAT.

I also loved the septic humor. My DH works in plumbing, so I passed HG's link along and we both got a chuckle.

Dudley said...

Spitz- if not impossible, at least highly improbable!

Mari said...

58 deg in Chicago...in Chicago? In January? Egad!

Marge said...

Hi all,
This wasn't as hard,I didn't think. Had tent before camp,took awhile to get Zsazsa, and 44A was the last of the themes to come.

I did know Motet: I had read the book about the Von Trapp Family and the second part was about their life in USA.When they traveled their music was classical and very religious. They sang a lot of Motets. None of the fun stuff that was in the movie. The first part of the book was like the movie except for the music. The second was rather boring.

BillG and Barry's son, Joshua, I hope you have great birthdays today.


Husker- thanks for the link to Septic tank trucks.That was funny!

Our temp. is 50 degrees here in south central Wis.today.

Good afternoon to all!
Marge

CrazyCat said...

Hello all
Happy Birthday to Bill G and Joshua.
Thanks Argyle.

The were two areas that tripped me up for a while today. One was the cross of EVAH and I MIGHT since I wrote in EVER first. SNEG just wasn't doing it for me.

The other part was the MOTET, EMPTY NET and YMA cross.
Had no idea what EMPTY NET was. Sports clues! For me it was a WAG. Thank you for the explanations. Blanked on YMA since she hasn't been around in a while. MOTET was my WOTD. I love that kind of music. Just didn't know what it was called. Thanks Yellowrocks and JZB.

AMANDA is Christopher Plummer's daughter. I think he has a good chance of winning the Oscar for supporting actor in "Beginners."

CrazyCat said...

The anagram of my real first name is stinker. How sad : (

Seldom Seen said...

What did ALLAN E. PARRISH think of my first anagram?

Like a REAL SHARP NAIL on a chalkboard.

Irish Miss said...

Spitzboov @ 1:32

I am in Troy. Your video link was unbelievable! I don't know which of these made me more queasy: your acrobat's performance or yesterday's pictures of the Grand Canyon Sky Walk.

Mari said...

My anagram is AIM A BARB.

I'm one "B" over I AM A BAR

Avg Joe said...

It's 58 F here in SE Nebraska. Last nights low was 37. Our average high is mid 30's and overnight lows in the low teens. I'll take it!

Lemonade714 said...

Sorry Kristen, but it would be worse if STINKER were your name.

SEEN you are amazing, you manage to get an anagram and a beer reference all in one.

Cross-eed, did you ever drive a CADDY OVERSEES?

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else notice the cleverness of the placement of those anagrams? 1st and 4th were pans/snap 2nd and 3rd naps/span -letter reversal! To me that brought the wow factor of a somewhat tame theme up quite a notch. cw

Spitzboov said...

Irish Miss - Thanks for the info. I grew up in your neighborhood. (Saratoga Co; and 4 yrs at RPI).

I think the Grand Canyon Sky Walk was submitted by Husker Gary.

Anon @ 3:28 - Interesting observation.

Anonymous said...

I haven't read through all the comments, but please someone tell me they posted the "morel" picture.

Carol, Melissabee, Lois, come on Clearayes....C.C.

Yellowrocks said...

JAZZ I enjoyed the Palestrina. Thanks.

ROYROBBR, I guess I'm naive. To me my screen name reflects bonhomie, offering warm hugs to all. How is it DF?

I'm soon off to the Square Dance. If my knees don't allow me to dance the whole time, at least, I'll collect YELLOWROCKS

Steven J. St. John said...

Lemonade714 - you've said "hello" to me a couple of times but I usually post late in the day and don't get to say hello back - so hello!

Another enjoyable puzzle. I saw the theme early but tried not to brainstorm the other anagrams to save the surprise.

I apologize if this has been commented on before, but I loved the way TEXMEX and ZSAZSA filled symmetrical spots in the grid. It is clever enough to fit one double x or double z word in the grid, but to fit them symmetrically, and to have regular everyday words crossing the x's and z's - that's nice construction! (And a total bonus... not part of the theme.)

Lemonade714 said...

jeannie:

Your timing is impecable; for the newbies, this is the official plant of the Corner due to its resemblance to Dennis' favorite body part. Or was it C.C.'s favorite?
In any case, the is a large part of our DF past and I agree with jeannie, it needs be seen by the rest
Morel .

Bill G. said...

Well, my big birthday excitement so far has been getting a free full-service car wash! It can only go downhill from there.

HeartRx said...

Lemonade @ 10:56, is this the link you wanted to mention?

Loved all the comments today. The sewer trucks were hilarious, Husker G!!

Blue Iris said...

I've missed reading blog commentaries the last four days because we visited our son at college. He is a veteran using his GI Bill now. The university had a remote control plane fly-in on Saturday.

Avg Joe said...

Those morels are cute little buggers. But what are they gonna be when they grow up?

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, This was harder than most Tuesday puzzles for me. I didn't know Actresses Bearse or Plummer. The only Plummer I could think of was Christopher.

I made missteps with pole for rods/fishing gear and Seer for Medium instead of size. Also, the Empty net for a late hockey score didn't appear as I had Uma instead of Yma. I know better, just put in "how it sounds", rather than "how it's was spelled".

Hands up, too, for unbuckle and tent. But that's what that big pink eraser on the other end of my pencil is for.

Happy birthday to Bill G. You always seem to find just the right link to enhance the puzzle experience.

Happy Birthday to Joshua. Being seven is magic!

Nice write up ElGray( Argyle).

Moral Lester said...

Lemonade, Jeannie, et al-
The picture of the morel reminds me of an album cover by the The Big F. They were what was left of the band Berlin after Terri Nunn left.

Not only can you see the cover of the album here, you can also buy a used copy for only a penny!

PK said...

Yikes, I wished the wrong guy, Happy Birthday! BillG. a most sincere Happy Birthday. You enhance my days with your links!

Blue Iris said...

Actually submitted before I was ready, but it is all good. Unknowns for me were Eames, Yma,and Amanda. I was able to finish with perps. 48D clue reminded me of Stephen Colbert being called a "dandy" by South Carolina woman. Wish I could link but I"m tech challenged. Motet was a learning moment and one of the reasons I enjoyed this blog. Enjoyed CrossEyedDave's link photo story and HuskerGary's septic truck link. Can't believe it is 62 degrees on the last day in January. No snow this year in eastern Kansas.

Tinbeni said...

HeartRx @4:08
Thank you for the 2.1.08 link.

Hmmmm, something about a puzzle with a BENT, MOREL, RODS, OVERT, SIZE, OOZE.

OMG, I just realized that after the 'idiot' politicans leave I'm going to be inundated with Super Bowl coverage.
Seriously folks:
IT ... IS ... Just ... A ... Football Game !!!

Oh well, time to toast my freezing Sunset ...
It's down to 79 Right, NOW !!!

Cheers!

Moral Lester said...

Decayed Servos-
Thanks to you, I now know that I am a STEAMROLLER, among other things (some much more apropos than others).
SERRATE MOLL? REAM TOLLERS? SORER MALLET?
Egad, is right!

Chickie said...

The Mini-coven had a great coffee clatch this morning. We shared pictures from JD's family Birthday trip to San Diego, and E-mail letters from Dodo and CA.

The best part, though, was seeing the list of winners, and the times posted at the Morgan Hill Crossword tournament this past weekend. Garlic Gal did herself proud, and her sister was a real winner with a very good time and no mistakes.

It sounded as if everyone had a great time.

WM didn't make it today, as her new granddaughter was born yesterday. She went to see the new baby instead of having coffee with the three of us. Can't imagine why?

Have a great evening, everyone.

Blue Iris said...

Kazie, I think it was last Thurs. that you ask about my health concerns. Thanks for asking and I'll try to give the shortest answer possible. Leave to a nurse not to have an illness that can be commonly explained. Due to four blood transfusions, I contracted three vector-borne diseases that remained undiagnosed for 20+ years. This caused destruction to digestion system, muscles,and joints. I have increased blood clotting and decreased memory. The later symptom is why I started crossword puzzles. I sleep alot so that is why I usually post late in the day. Hope this isn't TMI!

Anonymous said...

BillG...HERE is my big SMOOCH for you on your birthday. BarryG, I don't think it would be appropriate for your son. Give him an extra scoop of icecream.

Morels, so tasty in so many ways. You need to be in the mideast to find them though.

Broke down and gave up spending money on a gas grill. Someone gave me a full sized Weber and I am re-learning. Tonight I think I smoked pork chops instead of grilling them. Good flavor though as I took the time today and marinated them in soy, garlic (2cloves chopped), ginger, juice of an orange, honey, and pepper.

Bill G. said...

Jeannie, great to see you back today. The pork chops sound great. Thanks for your long-distance birthday present.

Dennis said...

Ah, the morel rears its head again. While it's hardly (forgive me) my favorite body part (that would be something from the distaff side), it's always nice to be reminded of our DF days.

Still waiting on the news.

eddyB, great car, that XK120. How come you didn't hang on to it? I'm thinking seriously of hanging on to the car I have now if the damn deer will just leave me alone.

Just talked to some friends back in NJ - they're within 18 degrees of here in Boca; jeez, somebody's gonna pay dearly up there before winter's over. I just hope I'm in and out fast enough.

Jeannie, good to see you back in the saddle. So to speak.

CrossEyedDave said...

Holy Canoli!
i just discovered something...

i wanted to respond to Lemonade714's caddy oversees anagram, and had a tough time finding it now that the blog is over 100 posts. A Geocaching friend of mine (Moozehead2020) that creates "extreme" puzzle caches was guiding me thru 1 of his HTML puzzles and gave me this short cut:

press "ctrl" and "F" together, and a window will drop down from the upper right. Type in lemonade, and you can see and speed to every occurrence of the word in the blog!

carol said...

The good old morel, brings back fond memories. Dennis standing in his front yard imitating one of the finer specimens of this most interesting plant.

Jeannie, good to see you back in the cooking arena. We have a kettle Weber that we bought nearly 30 years ago and maybe have used it 5 times...obviously, we are not big BBQ people. Love what others prepare on their BBQ's but don't like to mess with them.

CrossEyedDave said...

Lemonade714 (ctrl+F to find the time)

Funny you mentioned "caddy oversees."
Yes i was, once. i was 8 years old in Rose Bay, Sydney, and used to make money by retrieving golf balls out of a 6' deep concrete storm water channel for 6 pence a ball. i once tried my hand at caddying, but the guy got so pissed off that i could not tell him what club to use, that i never tried again.

That whole story was to use the anagram Groaned Felony=annoyed golfer, but i cant remember why...

kazie said...

Blue Iris,
Not TMI at all. I can't imagine living for so long with something progressive like that without knowing what it was. I'm sorry you've had to suffer that way. Thank you for taking time to explain.

JD said...

Lucina, no worries..I had 5 "commuter" xwds saved up, and I ran off a copy of ours...all done undercover as DH sawed some logs.I went and got coffee for daughter who has a nasty sinus type cold and took the boys to daycare while I had a lovely morning with Garlic Gal and Chickie...always a treat. Marveled @ G.G.'s scores at the Crossword convention.

Picked up the boys @ 2, and it was play-doh time (home made and still warm ) I don't think my little guys see it as therapy.

Cross eyed Dave, I wonder if you could use that trick for finding C.C.'s original DF photo of our morel. I've never seen these in any markets.

Here's my contribution of a sacred song.(beware: it's a Monty Python ditty)

dodo1925 said...

Hello Friends,

Bill G. Happ'y, happy birthday! It sounds as though you've had a good one! And Barry, please give Josh a big hug from an old lady and wish him the best!

I'm never going to get through the comments tonight, so I just want to get this in before you all jump
into beds!

I have been finishing the puzzles, but I seem to jave some kind of a time challenge lately. You are all in my mind and my heart, though.

dodo

Lucina said...

JD:
That video is hilarious! And it sounds like you made good use of your extra time this morning.

Wish I could have joined you for lunch.

JD said...

Lucina, you were missed. It will be great seeing you this summer.

CrazyCat said...

Lemonade

Kind of late here on the west coast, but just finished reading the comments of the day.

Yeah, I think my parents might have called me a STINKER or maybe something worse during my teens. I actually like my real name. It was kind of different back in the day. Not so much now.

Did no one mention that you had a major shout out from Doug P @ 63A in the NYT puzzle today?!!!

Kristen

Anonymous said...

Maybe tomorrow I might even comment on the puzzle I solve everyday. Couldn't pass up the "morel" ommission. Glad I caught it.

CrossEyedDave said...

JD@10:16

Oh Great, you just had to put that Monty Python clip up! Now today is going to be the most posts ever. (& i have to read every one of them!)

Oh Well,,, i must add to the Chaos...

Avg Joe 1/30 @1:33

It is unusually warm here, i saw a pair of Tits in my front yard this morning...

Anonymous said...

I must protest. 1-D, "CAMP," does not fulfill the answer to the clue, "Temporary Shelter." A camp is a place where you erect a temporary shelter, or it is a verb that describes the act of staying for awhile in a place where you have probably erected a temporary shelter. You don't go to the hardware store, or the sporting goods store to "buy a camp." You go to buy a "tarp" or a "tent," which are ... temporary shelters.

50-A, "MOTET," is not a "sacred song," per se. It is a choral musical composition, and it "may" be a sacred song, but it is does not necessarily have a sacred character. Many, if not most, motets have no religious or sacred character about them.

Lastly, as I live in the Southwest (where we eat Tex-Mex), I know very little about hockey, other than it is a sport with a lot of gratuitous violence. So, I have never heard of an "empty net." It seems strange to me that an "empty net" would describe any kind of goal, late game or otherwise.

Argyle said...

While I agree with you on the first two points, you do have hockey (link) in the Southwest, both ice and in-line skate. I am not a fan of hockey but understand an empty net goal. No need to close the barn door if the horse is gone; get out there and try to catch him.