google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, February 24, 2012, Ian Livengood

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Feb 24, 2012

Friday, February 24, 2012, Ian Livengood

Theme: Wear one brown shoe and one black shoe. In each of 4 sets of adjoining 2- word, 10 letter fill, the first word in each pair is switched, and clued to reflect the new and silly result. 2 sets are across and 2 are down. If ever a puzzle needed getting some perp help, and also needing to understand the theme, it was this effort by Mr. Livengood who presented an ambitious 8 theme answers plus two five letter related clues and for me a central hidden unifier. The sets appear in each of the 4 quadrants. It was deja vu all over again for me, as we have our second consecutive Friday where we last saw the constructor in February, 2011. He also had last Friday's NYT, and apparently like 10 letter stacks. I had a fun time once I saw the trick, and then appreciated the humor in the cluing. let's see each theme pair presented together

(Added later: The TV shows in each pair are swapped. Thanks, June & others.)

13A. Dieter's snack?: THREE CHIPS. Literally a very small snack, but paired with
17A. Crop production toast?: CORN CHEERS. Do you get a mental picture of farmers in the fields rooting on the ear pickers? Anyway, if you pair the words by color, you see the original phrases, which are not funny. "ChiPs" & "Cheers".

62A. Buckaroo at sea?: LOST COWBOY. I cannot imagine the Lone ranger on a ship.
66A. Dance and theater in Texas?" DALLAS ARTS. Like Uma, people either love or hate Jerry Jones' Cowboys. "Lost" & "Dallas".

10D. One giving pep talks between acts of "Carmen"?: OPERA COACH. my mental pic is of the cast of an Opera in a locker room with Mike Ditka, between acts.
11D. Maternity ward?: LABOR HOUSE . My mother worked for 40 years as an OB nurse birthing them babies, but did not care much for the Opera House. "Coach" & "House".


28D. Pews, at times?: AMEN STANDS
29D. Intersection where cabs hang out?: TAXI CORNER. Amen Corner is the famous three hole stretch at the Masters in Augusta. "Amen" & "Taxi".


24D. With 35-Down, fairs, and a hint to making sense of this puzzle's pairs of adjacent 10-letter answers : TRADE.
35D. See 24-Down: SHOWS. get it, TRADING PLACES. (0:41)

And the clue which made me see the theme, so I class it an undisclosed unifier.
39A. Useless footwear: ODD SHOE.

Across:

1. Woolly grazers: EWES. We begin a little sheepishly, but this is good for our confidence.

5. It follows John: ACTS. In the Christian Bible.

9. Defunct Olympic sport: POLO. Introduced in 1900, the skilled horseman competed for the last time in the famous 1936 Berlin Olympiad.

16. On __ with: A PAR. From Golf, mean equal to, which Tiger is no longer, as his putting stroke, has left him.

18. 5'7" Spud who won an NBA Slam Dunk contest: WEBB. Obscure sports fact, but for us short people, we will remember his DUNKS. (1:29)

19. Words before coming or out: HAS IT. A Naddorish double word.

20. Telegraph sound: DIT. DAT is the other one. I am sure you all know Dit Dit Dit Dat Dat Dat Dit Dit Dit.

21. Lover of Psyche: EROS. These stories are either hit or MYTH.

22. Artist's pad: LOFT. Not where he draws, but sleeps. Cool.

25. Ability to detect a certain orientation: GAYDAR. Wow, is this an unPC clue, or does it only seem so because it is followed by, 27A. Not like at all: HATE?

30. PLO part: ORGanization. Palestine Liberation Organization.

32. Boxing statistic: REACH. Long arms help keep your opponent at bay.

33. Actress Thurman: UMA. People either love or hate her. She was great in Pulp Fiction.
34. Saint in red: CLAUS. A new clue for old St. Nick.

36. Raised entrance area: STOOP. In New England and new York, we sat on the steps, not the porch.

38. Ave. paralleling Park: LEXington, one of many parallel avenues in Manhattan.

41. Switz. neighbor: AUStria. Hmm, three abbreviation pairs already.

42. Soul: ANIMA. From the Latin, the root word of Animation, as well Carl Jung's theories of Anima and Animus, and an accepted religious name for the human soul.

44. Waist-length jackets: ETONS. Made famous from the English school UNIFORMS.

45. Gray gp : CSA. Confederate States of America.

46. Stray chasers: SCATS. I love this reversal clue, as he is not looking for someone chasing after a stray, but what one says to chase a stray away. SCAT CAT!

48. Not own outright, with "on": OWE. The American Dream.

49. Pique: WHET. Not to be confused with Marti's Piquet deck, which may have piques your curiosity, or whetted your appetite.

50. Debate choices: TOPICS.

52. Piano sonatas, usually: SOLI. To be played alone, or solo.

54. It covers all the bases: TARP. Our baseball shout out to C.C., as when they put out the tarpaulin during a rain delay, it covers the infield and all the bases.

55. Tuna of the Pacific: AHI. Never knew there was so much to learn about these fishies. LINK. hey Robin wherever you are. A nice shout out to our old Hawaiian contingent.

57. Golden __: AGERS. In tribute to CA, and all of us on the sunnyside of 60, I LINK post this poetic gem:
61. Rice from New Orleans: ANNE. Author of many Vampire books, like LESTAT played by the above pretty boy.

65. It has banks in Germany and Poland: ODER. How many think this river clue stinks?

67. Red areas, once: Abbr : SSRS. members of the old Soviet bloc.

68. Case workers, briefly: TECS. Technicians. (Correction: Tecs = Detectives.)

69. The greater part: MOST. as Yogi would say, we got the bigger half done.

Down:

1. Do some glass cutting, perhaps: ETCH. You want to come up and see my etchings, dear?

2. "Take it easy!": WHOA. Damn, that is exactly what she said! Telling me to not...

3. Goes astray: ERRS. Not to be confused with our earlier cats. Or maybe I am just...

4. Declining from old age: SENILE.

5. Bavarian carp?: ACH. Reminds of this SONG (2:44) and beer. I will let KZ explain.

6. Friend of Fidel: CHE. Ernesto (Che) Guevara was born in Rosario in Argentine in 1928.

7. Knotted: TIED. If these are synonymous, why do we say the couple tied the knot?

8. Mistletoe piece: SPRIG. Maybe after they kissed at Christmas, where he also...

9. Played with, in a way: PAWED AT her; hmmm.

12. Balls: ORBS. Oh how I miss Buckeye and some of our other Morel posters.

14. __-1: "Ghostbusters" auto: ECTO.
15. Relatively cool red giant: S STAR. We had nice discussion of star classifications in a puzzle by our own JEROME.

23. Fail in business: FOLD. Many businesses have folded their tents in the last few years.

26. Acknowledgments: YESES.

27. Pacific dance: HULA. Did you all see Kelly Ripa this week in Hawaii? Or her in this x-rated COMMERCIAL? (1:14).

31. Joie de vivre: GUSTO. The joy of life is our french lesson of the day.

34. Tropical ring-tailed critter: COATI. Crossword staple animal.

37. H.S. sophs may take it: PSAT.

40. Basie's "__'Clock Jump": ONE O. Like this CLIP (3:11).

43. Auto club employees: MAPPERS. Not with all the GPS systems out there.

47. Hot tea hazard: SCALD. Or coffee at McDonald's if you want to get rich.

49. Ojibwa home: WIGWAM. Not a Teepee, but THIS.

51. Young pig : SHOAT.
53. Thailand neighbor: LAOS. Right next to 54D. New Mexico ski resort: TAOS.

56. Buried treasure site, often: ISLE.

58. Iberian river: EBRO. The Iberian Peninsula, home for Spain and Portugal.

59. Disintegrates: ROTS. You hope it disintegrates after the smell gets bad.

60. Part of MS-DOS: Abbr. : SYSTem.

63. Dr. Mom's forte: TLC. Tender Loving Care.

64. __ in Charlie: C AS. I thought it was C As In Corpse? It is a mystery to me.
And it is a mystery how quickly the weeks go by and this will be the final Friday in February, 2012; I hope it is a good one, and you enjoyed the puzzle and our brief time together, until next week...

Lemonade

109 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Another DNF for me, I'm afraid. Lots of tricky clues, but I successfully navigated the shoals along the edges until I finally struck a large reef in the center and sunk.

Part of it was my own fault - -I had LIB instead of ORG at 30A and just refused to let it go. It worked nicely with FLOP at 23D, which I also thought to be unassailable. And that gave me OPEN TOE at 39A, which I thought was a bit of an unfair thing to call "useless."

Having said that, though, I strongly object to the clues for CLAUS and OWE, which kept me from seeing my mistakes. There's Santa CLAUS and Saint Nicholas, but whoever heard of Saint CLAUS??? Alright, probably everybody in the world but me, but still...

And what the @^%$! is "on OWE"? Maybe it's a regional thing, or maybe I'm just exposing my ignorance yet again, but I've never heard this phrase in my life and it just seems wrong, wrong, wrong to me.

As a result of my mistakes and those two horrible clues/answers, I never did get the theme reveal (or GUSTO, for that matter) and therefore had no idea what was going on with the rest of the puzzle. Kinda made the whole thing a bit less enjoyable for me.

Anonymous said...

um, its "OWE on"

As in, "How much do you still owe on that Chrysler 300?"

Steven J. St. John said...

The clue I didn't like was Declining from old age/SENILE. It just seems like the clue is prompting a verb, not a known.

Otherwise, BRILLIANT puzzle. The theme is clever, and the requirement to stack 4 pairs of 10's seems like it would be a constructing nightmare. But then to also put the 2 5-letter revealing clue in symmetrical places in the center, and near one another to boot - that's a thing of beauty.

It was a hard solve, but appropriate for a Friday.

Steven J. St. John said...

^^^
Not a known? Not a noun!

(Was that Freudian?)

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. I enjoyed today's puzzle. It seemed a tad easier than the usual Friday puzzle. I caught the theme early on with the twisted CORN CHEERS and THREE CHIPS.

Since I did not know AMINA and had never heard of AMEN CORNER, that theme answer was the last to fall into place.

My favorite clue was It Covers All the Bases = TARP.

I also liked Artist's Pad = LOFT.

It seemed a bit mean to have the Golden AGERS in the same puzzle as the SENILE. And GAYDAR just seemed wrong.

I initially tried One Shoe instead of the ODD SHOE.

Who could possible hate UMA?

QOD: Life is the garment we continually alter but which never seems to fit. ~ David McCord.

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Another DNF, thanks to the NE corner. For 10D I had OPERA FORCE and 11D LABOR ?OUS?. I felt force was dead on and refused to change it. Boxing Stat and Pique were not registering. Kept thinking KO's or TKO's were the boxing stat, but they wouldn't fit.

Still, this was an entertaining puzzle. Favorite was 65A, it has banks in Germany and Poland/ ODER.

We had a surprise visitor last night, 3 to 4 inches of the white stuff, so its time to go and do you know what!

Barry G. said...

@Anonymous: OK, I'll admit -- "OWE on" does make a bit more sense than "on OWE"... ^_^

Anonymous said...

Tec is short for detective, not technician. As in "the detective was on the case".

desper-otto said...

Happy Saturday eve, all.

Finished in normal time and then stopped to see if I could find the theme. No. Sigh... Guess I'm just a LOST COWBOY.

Lemon, I've seen it as DIT and DAH or DIH and DAH, but never DIT and DAT. Loved your Golden Ager link. The river may stink, but I thought the clue had a fine aroma.

Queen Elizabeth said...

With a name like Ian Livengood, we expected more puns in this puzzle. We are not amused.

The Brooklyn Kid said...

Good Morning Lemonade, and thanks for sharing your puzzle skills with us, and humor.
Useless trivia dept.: stoop is an Anglicized version of the Dutch word "stoep". The Dutch invented row housing, I believe, which helped create this architectural feature.
Great puzzle today - tres formidable.

desper-otto said...

How does one lose a shoe, unless one is a horse? I can believe an odd sock (its mate gobbled up by the dryer), but odd shoe?

Kinsey M. said...

Lemony-
TECS refer to gumshoes, not technicians. You should know better than that!

Anonymous said...

I appreciate your daily summaries of the puzzles. It helps me to understand some obscure clues/answers. Did you miss something in the theme today? The unifier is not simply about "trading places". Each 2-word 10 letter pair has the name of a TV show, that needs to be swapped, e.g. "Chips" and Cheers", "Coach" and "House", etc.

J. Ann Olson said...

The sets of words are to be cross-referenced. 13 & 17 become three cheers and corn chips. 10 &11 become opera house and labor coach. Get it? Very clever.

Middletown Bomber said...

tough friday puzzle. Since I now do the puzzle on line since my local paper dropped the lat crossword raised its price and now is sensoring its news.
I sort of thought the use of Taos and Laos was interesting. Like Barry I also had problems 34A (Saint in Red) should be Nick but as he is one and the same with Santa Claus I can see the constructors logic. Gaydar brought on a chuckle The South east corner came last and when the perps finished the puzzle i had a head slapper. well it is friday. Is Silk in our immediate future only time will tell.

Mari said...

Saturday eve? I love it, Otto!

Woo-Hoo! I finally finished a Saturday Eve puzzle!

I had a few hang ups. I tried OKAPI instead of COATI and RSA instead of CSA (I've got to read more history). WBS on Saint in Red. (BTW: Some people wear red on St. Anthony day, which is March 19.)

I was surprised to see GAYDAR in a QWP.

The only thing I didn't get was the theme...until I came here.

Here's to a speedy work day and a wonderful weekend! :)

Middletown Bomber said...

in Re 805 anon: Nice Catch.

on the tv show sub theme

south puzzle theme answers first words are:
Taxi, Amen, Lost, and Dallas

North Puzzle theme answers Last words are:
Chips, Cheers, Coach and House.

Yellowrocks said...

I loved the punny theme pairs. and the many other puns: LOFT, TARP, RICE from New Orleans, ACH. it has BANKS in Germany and Poland.
Lemonade I enjoyed your blog, especially the Golden Ager poem.

D.O. How can anyone lose a shoe? Ask a teacher or a mother. We frequently had a scrounge around for the mate of the odd shoe.

ANON @ 8:05 Interesting observation that each pair also names a TV show.

In this housing market, many have been sadly reminded that they do not really own a house when they still OWE on it.

My gay friends do not find GAYDAR unPC. There is a saying, HATE is not a family value.

At 65A My first reaction was river. TAOS supplied the O and made it easy.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.

Thanks for the fun this morning, Lemon. You made a good point about “tied the knot”, that started me thinking. How can you tie a knot? You won’t have a knot until after. you have done some manipulation. So, shouldn’t it be “tied the rope”? Once a rope is tied, it can be said to be “knotted” (or tied). OK, enough…I have work to do…

The theme was extremely ambitious, and I can’t imagine trying to work eight double-stacked 10-letter entries PLUS a unifier into a 15x15 grid, with all the theme entries containing one word TV shows! So I expected some less than stellar fill (a par, has it, org, lex, aus, cas, ssrs, tecs, one o, syst, cas). But for my solving experience, a clever theme like this more than makes up for it.

I had the Japanese cartoon genre ANIMe mixed up with ANIMA for a minute. Loved the clue for SCATS and TARP. GAYDAR is just a more popular way of saying “biometrics”, and it’s a lot zippier.
T.G.I.F.

Argyle said...

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Friday, February 24, 2012, Ian Livengood":

Tec is short for detective, not technician. As in "the detective was on the case".

Posted by Anonymous to L.A.Times Crossword Corner at February 24, 2012 7:11 AM (8:11 EST)

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Thanks Lemon for the informative comments.

Got all the theme fills, but didn't understand the clue for 13a. Dieter is a German male first name, so didn't parse it to di-eter until coming here. Wondered why Dieter would eat 3 chips. D'uh. Had to look up POLO, but all the rest of the fill came eventually. Very creative puzzle and fun to work on.

STOOP- Dutch 'stoep' (sounds the same). "Hoeper de Poeo zat op de Stoep" from an old drinking song. (Hooper the Poop sat on the Stoop)

Have a great day.

Captain Obvious said...

Odd shoes -- No.

Trade shows -- Yes.

D'oh!

Thank you Anons.

Tinbeni said...

This was brilliant on so many levels.
TRADE SHOWS ... then I see the CHIPS and CHEERS at 13&17 across.
The other themes then fell easily.

Thanks Lemon for a nice write-up.
Ian for a FUN (but tough) Friday.

Cheers, with GUSTO, at Sunset.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Ian, for a terrific puzzle. It was tough, but I got it. Thank you, Lemonade, for the great write-up.

I roamed around on this for a while. My first theme answer was LOST COWBOY. Then DALLAS ARTS appeared with some perps. That gave me the idea of swapping words.

Two answers I had no idea of, S STAR and GAYDAR. Still don't, but got them with perps and wags. lucked out.

49D had me stumped for a while. Thought a state or country was wanted. Finally WIGWAM became obvious.

Wanted ODD SOCK for a while, but TRADE SHOWS fixed that to ODD SHOE. Have I ever had an ODD SHOE? Yes.

I am late today because of shoveling my driveway. Got a few inches of wet, heavy, snow.

See you tomorrow. I am off to Springfield and will probably do this on the IPAD enroute.

Abejo

Husker Gary said...

Wow! This was a hoot and took my “A” game all the way. I am not worthy Ian! Those stacks with clever themes look impossible to construct to me! Seeing the TV titles at the end was a bonus! Did I say Wow?

Musings
-3 chips? Betcha I can’t eat just one.
-Sports need Yankees, Cowboys and Heat to hate/love.
-Seeing Amen Corner on TV will mean spring is here!
-Can’t believe Tiger missed ANOTHER short putt yesterday
-GAYDAR ain’t infallible
-It’s PORCH here, never been on a STOOP
-Oh, ETON has collars AND coats
-Uma’s picture WHETted my curiosity
-Sorry Lemon, I liked the ODER clue
-Ever gotten slimed by ECTOplasm?
-My red giant was Betelgeuse until I counted squares (as I sit here basking in our GSTAR)

kevin b. said...

the color coding on the explanation page is incorrect and thus very confusing. as i understand it: you trade the shows and come up with common phrases so the shows should be highlighted. or am i mistaken? also, i don't get the odd shoe tie in. could you please explain. thank you.

Pathetic said...

Barry G. said:
"And what the @^%$! is "on OWE"?
... and it just seems wrong, wrong, wrong to me."

It doesn't expose your ignorance.

It does expose your one dimensional way of thinking.

*David* said...

I really liked this one, had an imaginative wrinkle to it. It flowed nicely until the East Coast which I could not crack for some reason. Spent half my time over there until REACH finally opened it up for me. I had GAYDAR and it kept bothering me as wrong which distracted me.

Whitey said...

9:51, you certainly fit your moniker.

I thought this was a fantastic puzzle that must have been extremely difficult to construct. The multi-layered theme was awesome, so awesome that many (including moi) did not even see it until coming here. Nice job, Ian Livengood!

Lemonade714 said...

Ian certainly had many things going on in his theme creation; I clearly see the trading of the one word TV show titles, but find it hard to believe the other words fitting together was coincidence. Ah well, must pay more attention to the unifier myself. mea culpa.

I guess I will be docked a night's pay....

Lemonade714 said...

I had a complete blank on this SHOW . All I can say is amen.

Anonymous said...

its not a coincidence!!! that IS the theme!

Warren said...

Hi gang, a real toughie with all the unknowns today. 25A:'Gadar'? 64D:'CAS'?

Re: 34D Coati,

If you type: Ring Tailed into Google the Ring Tailed Lemur is the first choice and our favorite.

Lemonade714 said...

My point is there is much more going on than simply trading the shows; I am applauding the ingenuity of all the levels used to create this puzzle. Sadly one level escaped me as I was preparing the write up, a level which is terribly easy if you slow down and read his unifier. I obviously did not. It is not my first mistake nor will it be my last.

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

I did finish w/o help but it was a mighty struggle. Kudos to the constructor and also to Lemonade for his detailed expo. I didn't get the theme until I came here. I thought it was a tad more difficult than the usual Friday.

Happy Friday, everyone.

Irish Miss said...

Mari @8:27: I'm not sure about St. Anthony but March 19th is definitely St. Joseph's day. It is also the day when the swallows return to Capistrano.

Yellowrocks said...

AMEN CORNER I learned this term first as those supporteres who agree enthusiastically with their leader in almost every case. Then I learned it as the place where the most devout worshippers sit.(Actually this was its original meaning.) Then I knew it as a section of the Augusta National Golf Club. Today I see it is also the name of a recording and of a band.
Link Amen Corner


Lemonade, I suspect the main theme today is what you described and a sub theme is the name of the TV shows. I can hardly wait for Ian Liviengood to tell us how he conjured up this wonderfully complex puzzle.

One meaning of TIE is form (as a bow or a knot)

JD said...

Good morning,

Nothing came last since it was a DNF. I appreciated the effort and cleverness it took to create and arrange this bugger. I did figure out the switches, but too many unknowns for me to WAG and perp.Knowing the amen corner would have helped.Loved the tarp clue.

Lemon, thanks for explaining scats, Lex, etons, anima, Webb, polo and reach. Loved your links, esp the poem.

Desper-otto...kids and dogs

15D-thought of Mars..not a fit, but today (in 1969) we were sent the 1st close up shots of that planet from Mariner6.

Anonymous said...

Excellent puzzle today. A solid Friday offering with a great twist involving "trading" "shows." That's the theme, which escaped me for longer than I'd like to admit, and seems to have escaped others here. Taxi & Cheers are two of the all-time best sit-coms.

I've only heard "gaydar" used by homosexuals, so seems fine to me.

YR: you can also ask a father about oddshoes.

Lemonade714 said...

ODD SHOE has to do with mismatched pairs. THREE CHEERS is a common pair; THREE CHIPS is not a common pair.
One brown and one black make up an uncommon pair of shoes.

desper-otto said...

YR @ 10:55: That brings up a related question. Do I tie my tie, or do I knot it? And who was it who thought it would be cute for men to wear a noose around their necks anyway?

Fortunately for me, my previous employer adopted a casual dress code back in '96. I haven't had occasion to wear a tie since then. Besides, it would look foolish with my blue jeans.

Mari said...

Irish Miss @ 10:51 - Oops - I meant St. Joe
Lemonade: If your write-up contained "mistakes" I didn't see them. As always, I always enjoy the daily CWP and appreciate the Corner's explanations.

Anonymous said...

Lemony, please let it go. Odd shoe has nothing to do with the theme. One black shoe and one brown shoe are not a pair. They are two odd shoes. So you missed the theme. No big deal. We all make mistakes. Trying to explain the mistake is a mistake.

Argyle said...

Let's not forget the bolo; the tie you don't tie.

Anonymous said...

the color coding is now correct.

Anonymous said...

ODD SHOE has nothing to do with the theme. Not really sure why people are confused about that.

Misty said...

Brilliant puzzle, Ian, and terrific write-up Lemonade. This was a toughie and I had the same problems many of my fellow bloggers did--e.g. LIB for ORG, etc. But I finished it perfectly--although only after taking a break with a Sudoku--to give my grey matter a little rest. Was delighted when I figured out the trading places theme--although I failed to see the four Downs until Lemonade's write-up.

Still don't get SCATS for 'Stray chasers." But otherwise I'm content and ready for a good Friday, no pun intended.

desper-otto said...

I'm pretty sure that odd shoe refers to the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors! :)

Anonymous said...

Found this one a bit challenging.

DIT was obvious but in 60 years of Morse Code experience I have never encountered "dat".

SSR's were not part of the Soviet Bloc. They were part of the USSR. The bloc included Eastern European countries aligned with or under the domination of the USSR.

Why does a Native American wear a head dress? To keep his wig wam.

Seldom Seen said...

@HeartRx Re: tie a knot

You got me thinking. How about "bake a cake"? If you were to "bake" a "cake" wouldn't that burn it? You should bake the batter. No wait, isn't that what happened to Ryan Braun? You should bake the stuff that makes a cake.

And knit a scarf(wouldn't that make a big knot?)

Ron Worden said...

Good afternoon and happy Fri to all. Wow it took till today to get a toughie. Thanks Ian, and Lemon for a great write-up. Sometimes I never get the themes till I get to this site,and multiple themes whew! Lately I Have lots of odd shoes hanging around. If only I could be as perfect as anon.@10:13 maybe thats why you won't I.D. yourself. Have a great day.RJW

Lucina said...

Greetings, puzzlers! Thank you, Lemonade, for your always zesty blogging and informational writing. I saw the transposed phrases but not the TV titles.

Yowza! I loved this puzzle! Misdirection is what I live for in a puzzle and this had it to the core.

It looked daunting on first pass, but once the center filled with LOFT and FOLD, after my mental debate with LIB, PAL, ORG and ORG won, TRADESHOWS gave me the theme.

At that point I also had AMEN STANDS and TAXI CORNER though I had reversed them initially then realized the trick.

Then I was on Ian's wave length and filled the cells with GUSTO. The NE stumped me for a long while until GAYDAR jumped out at me. Then COACH and HOUSE appeared.

What a fantastic romp today. Thank you, Ian.

Have a great Friday, everyone!

Seldom Seen said...

Forgot to mention.

I thought this puzzle was awesome.

Mari said...

Desper-otto @ 11:22 am: You may be onto something! I always have to pull the wads of paper out when trying on new shoes!

And I can't stand having a pebble in my shoe. :)

Jerome said...

My kind of puzzle. Great wordplay. GAYDAR in the LAT. My, my, ain't we gettin' sassy.

Thanks for reminding me, Lemonade, that I once was able to write a puzzle and get it published,

Vairnut said...

I liked this puzzle today. Got the South done in record time, but that came to a screeching halt in the North. Made some WAGs, and everything fell into place. Only had 2 problems after finishing: I did not see that the theme answers were TV shows until I came to the Corner here, and since I cant read my own writing sometimes, I could not figure out what SEATS meant for 46A. Turns out I really did have the "C", but it looked like an "E". I also wanted "ONESOCK", and thought 5A was going to be AMOS. After CHIPping away, finally got it all.

Tinbeni said...

Misty, I think SCATS had to do with what someone yells at stray cats.

SCAT! SCAT! (as in, get out of here!), ergo, it's a "Stray chaser."

I thought this was a clever clue/answer.

Same with the ODER having "banks" in Germany and Poland.

Hey NORM ... CHEERS !!!

Lucina said...

I have often heard GAYDAR used on TV and in fact that is how I learned it so I see no reason for it to be UN PC.

Dudley:
From last night, I am not familiar with Frank's Hot Sauce. Is that a regional product? And actually I love Tabasco; hot is what I like.

Mari, I see you got the scoop on St. Joseph's day, March 19th, from Irish Miss.

Lucina said...

ODD SHOES are not as useless as we might think. There is a National Odd Shoe Exchange for people with only one leg. RonW, do you know about that?

Misty said...

Thanks, Tinbeni 11:46! I should have gotten that--duh! At any rate, I'll join you in toasting Norm of 'Cheers'!

Zcarguy said...

Morning all,

If I'm correct ... Regarding the theme, then this puzzle is more brilliant than I and most of you thought...
Here's my take, Odd Shoe is part of the theme

Odd Labor , House shoes , Coach Shoes, Opera shoe
Odd House , Odd Coach, Shoe Stand , Odd Corner, Amen Cheers, I think you get my drift,

And the pairs of 10s are Odd Couples, you trade them any wichway you want,

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

FORE..!

eddyB said...

Hello.

Puzzle was like a fine wine - so
complex.

APOD shows Auriga and its O star.

Sure hope the eagle eggs in the Decorah nest are being kept warm.
There is snow in the nest again.

Record highs yesterday. 80 in the back yard.

Two days untill Daytona. Danica's
No 10 car totally destroyed yesterday.

Back to the book.

eb

Rube said...

Kinda got the theme early on when the NW was still only partially filled and TRADE inferred trading parts of the 10s. Unfortunately I thought it was SideS that were being traded. This did make the solve much easier knowing there were two word phrases being "traded". Later, SHOWS showed up, but I kept thinking "sides". Finally, after all was finished, went back and looked at the theme again, and saw why SHOWS made sense.

I first saw GAYDAR in a NYT puzzle about a year ago. A lively discussion ensued and the term was accepted as not pejorative. In fact, some of the Jewish bloggers pointed out that jewdar was also acceptable in polite conversation.

Ian, us 49er fans do not like to see DALLAS COWBOYS in our crosswords. Let's keep it clean in the future. Otherwise, a very enjoyable puzzle.

It took me way too long in the NE, but that was because I kept PArEDup for far too long. Finally realized the wrong spelling, (it would have been "paired up" for played with). Also remembered sitting on the STOOP back in my college days, (40 years ago), and all worked out.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Wow! And once again, Wow! a Fugue among puzzles. (No extra charge for the prelude.)

90 theme squares, plus an ODD SHOE.

GAYDAR is sassy, indeed!

Desper-otto kind of beat me to this, but on the day I tied the knot, I also knotted my tie.

When I finally found my ODD SHOE it had a piece of paper, a rock, and a pair of scissors in it. What's up with that?

Bumpa privilege: I get away with calling my granddaughter LEXI, or just LEX, sometimes. However, her brothers MUST call her ALEXA.

MOST EWES are wooly.
X-Words now open to GAYDAR TOPICS.
What wuold an EROS TARP cover?

A SOLI can also mean a section playing unison or parallel harmony as in this Basie classic. (No extra charge for the SOLOS.)

Cheers!
JzB not SENILE . . . yet

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Wow, wow, and triple wow. What an amazing puzzle! It was fun fun fun to work it out, and I pat pat pat myself on the back for finishing it without having to look anything up.

Didn't fully understand and appreciate everything until coming here and reading all your comments. Thank you, Lemonade and everybody.

May everyone's legs, feet, and knees heal soon.

Best wishes to you all.

Casnj said...

What an AMAZING puzzle from "Ian Livengood"!! Got a glimpse of the theme (trading the second word in the paired entries) but totally missed the TV show connection.

No "ta-da" today since I counted on perps for the Pacific tuna and had StOAT instead of ShOAT for the young pig. Been away from the farm too long, I guess.

Hope CC and daily writers nominate this as one of the "Best of 2012" if there is such a list.

Lemonade714 said...

jewdar, have never heard the phrase.

Anonymous said...

just another thing you missed

Lemonade714 said...

yup, just another thing.

On the Santa Claus front, the name comes from SINTERKLAAS which means SAINT CLAUS. SANTA is often used to mean saint, such as Santa Maria, Santa Ana. I doubt anyone has ever said Saint Claus, but the Red clue seemed very easy.

Bill G. said...

That was a very enjoyable though tough puzzle. I didn't fully understand the theme beyond switching the second word but I liked it even though I had to turn on red letters toward the end.

There's a pretty show in the western skies for the next several days. The crescent moon joins Venus and Jupiter. Venus and Jupiter are getting closer together and will continue to do so up to about March 12th and 13th. However, for the next couple of nights, the crescent moon is in the same area and makes a pretty celestial triangle.

This in one of the best nature videos I've ever seen. It's from the BBC and narrated by David Attenborough. Enjoy!

Bill G. said...

Here's another I just stumbled across. I can't explain why I enjoy this kind of thing so much but I certainly do. Flash mob

Anonymous said...

Before I walked down the aisle to "tie the knot" I had to "knot the tie".

kazie said...

DNF today. couldn't get POLO, A PAR, WEBB, never heard GAYDAR before--what is it? Also missed REACH, ANIMA, AMEN and SCATS, thus also COATI and MAPPERS, which I don't get at all--What do auto employees do that requires mapping?

Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, it was fine. I got the theme, sort of, without having 10D or 11D, and not knowing the phrase amen corner. i have to admit wanting SOCK before SHOE too.

I was OK with ODER, remembering that the Oder/Neiße line was the boundary between Germany and Poland during WWI, or was it WWII, or both?

Hope I haven't duplicated too much that's already been said. Late to the party today after trying to conquer this in several sittings. So off to see what's been said before.

Papa Cass said...

The "trading shows" theme was marvelously constructed. Not only were the answers placed diagonally but the TV show names were on a vertical and horizontal axis. Super.

If you find it hard to "tie a knot" than it's pretty tough to "tie your shoes."

And Rube I won't feel bad about seeing Dallas Cowboys in this puzzle since it shares the answer with LOST.

Toodles all

Rupaul said...

Gaydar

CrazyCat said...

Wow! This got my super duper puzzle award (whatever that is)! Loved it even though it took forever and a day.

Thanks for your write-up Lemon. I didn't notice the TV show part of the theme either. Have never heard of AMEN CORNER or AMEN the show. Thanks for the link.

I really had a difficult time with the NE. Took me AEON to get POLO, WEBB, REACH and PAWED AT. As far as 25A, GAYDAR came to mind as soon as I read the clue, but I couldn't believe it was actually in the puzzle. I waited until the end to finally succumb. I learned that word from a gay friend decades ago.

I had GER for the Swiss neighbor and couldn't get my mind past AARP for 45A, across GRAY gp.

No SCATS please!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

I did very well on Thursday's puzzle but did not get a chance to blog. Today was another story. Turned on red letters for a bit. Saw the place-trades but was oblivious to the shows.

Excellent puzzle, Ian; fine explanation, Lemon!

I essentially live in one room. It has been searched over and over for my missing blue clog! Incredible!

I read an article by Dr. Mercola citing root canals as a source of many ailments, including A-fib, which I have now. Having three debts already, I am reluctant to have the dead teeth removed and replaced. But thinking seriously about selling something that is tied up.

Does anyone else here watch MI-5 on PBS? Fascinating, entertaining, extremely well-done but depressing show. Leads often killed off, too.

Have a great weekend!

Tinbeni said...

There are several theories as to why we say "the couple tied the knot."

The most likely theory is that the phrase originates from the ancient wedding tradition of binding the hands together in the ceremony of “handfasting”.

It is unclear when the tradition of "handfasting" began. Some say it dates back to Ancient Greece or Rome but it was particularly prevalent in the Celtic tradition in Ireland and Scotland in Medieval times.

"Handfasting" was even included in the movie Braveheart, a movie set in the 13th century, which is precisely around the time when the term “tying the knot” was first seen in textual records.
Specifically in the 1225 text, "The Legend of St. Katherine."

The tying of the hands together is symbolic of the "couple coming together as one" in a lasting, strong, unbreakable bond.

Sometimes ... for as long as 72 days.

(Above per Google research).

CrazyCat said...

Desper-otto 7:58
I am a notorious shoe loser. I kick them off all over the house and they either end up under furniture or get carried off by a dog. It drives the DH crazy.

I have an ODD SHOE basket as well as an ODD SOCK basket.

@Rube 12:55 I was a STOOP sitter back in college too. STOOPS were big in Philly and Delaware - lots of row houses, um, I mean townhouses.

Has anyone here every looked down during the day and found out that their shoes didn't match?

I once went to work with a navy pump and a black pump. It was dark when I got dressed. I tried to keep my feet under my desk all day.

HeartRx said...

Seen @ 11:27, funny! I’m baking some batter right now, and it really does smell good.

Bill G. @ 2:05 and :07, wonderful videos, both. Thanks for sharing!

Lemonade714 said...

I always thought the marriage knot was the one tied in the morel. Ah well, guess it is why mine did not last, marriage that is.

Thanks for the info tinman

KZ any Ach du lieber Augustin thoughts?

Husker Gary said...

Golden Ager Musings 2

-Crazy, Black pants and blue socks but not mismatched shoes! Black and navy blue are still hard for me when I am trying not to use much light so my DW can sleep.

-Being detected on some kid’s GAYDAR in Middle School is brutal.

-Had LEMUR first too as the Omaha Doorly Zoo
is a world renowned resource for them

-As a very young child, my wife once lost a shoe while using a facility that was a forerunner of modern plumbing. Her mother fished it out. Yikes!

-Bill, I love the Flash Mobs that don’t involve crime

-Tin, tied together for 72 days? A matrimonial death match? My aunt and uncle despised each other for the last 30 years of their 60-year marriage in a 2,000 sq ft house and now are in a 200 sq ft room at the rest home.

desper-otto said...

CrazyCat@3:41 : Being colorblind I often have to be "checked" before leaving the house. I remember looking down and asking DW if my socks matched, and she answered, "Yup, but your shoes don't."

When I was on Guam I was looking for my green Bermuda shorts. DW informed me that I didn't have any green ones. I finally located them, and she pronounced them to be muted blue, gold and tan. I maintained that they were green. When we got to the base radio station she collared the first sailor she saw and demanded to know what color my shorts were. He replied, "Green." He was color-blind too.

Tinbeni said...

Husker:
72 days was "a-shot" at Kim K. and her sham wedding/marriage last year.

Lemon:
Your shout-out to Sue Grafton and her
"C-AS-in-Corpse" mystery got a lol.

CrazyCat:
I don't think anyone here would want you to SCAT.
You're too funny.

Time to get ready for Sunset.
CHEERS!!!

eddyB said...

Hello.

Jean Auel had mating couples have their hands tied together during the mating ceremony. Ayla tied the hands of a brother and sister
together for fighting.

Just saying that Jean did a lot of research when writing her books.

eb

Husker Gary said...

Oops Tin. A little slow on the uptake today while quickly scanning posts. Off to watch more high school basketball tonight.

BTW, we had a brief white-out snow event here and then 5 minutes later it was sunny and very pleasant. Spring is getting close.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, A DNF for me today. I understood the clue after getting the Three Cheers, Corn Chips switch, but couldn't for the life of me figure out Arts, and Cowboy. I had Acts and Broncos--So easy when I came here to find my answers!

Hands up for Lib instead of Org and other mistakes. Barry said it all--again!

Trade Shows to me are not fairs, though in the literal sense, they are. I couldn't get a fair such as county or state fair out of my mind set. I also wanted Golden Girls, not Agers. Oh well, it is Friday after all.

I also felt that the Gaydar was very UnPC. We are trying so hard to be mindful of all orientations, and to put a name to one is just wrong--at least for a crossword puzzle. Just my opinion.

Have a great weekend, everyone.

Mikey said...

A surprising F (as opposed to DNF) for me today, although it took from 7AM to 4:30PM. Not in one sitting, mind you, and the last half hour or so interrupted by snoozes on a chaise in Sanibel.

I decided to test the MAPPERS vs GPS vs other guidance services on the trip down here, asking AAA and all the others for directions from home. The MAPPERS were by far the worst, suggesting a much longer (distance), boring, and longer (time) route. The clear winner was Bing Maps, with my ancient Garmin GPS a close second.

And did I mention the puzzle, finally was excellent.

Chickie said...

If anyone has every been to Chuck-E-Cheese and played in that horrible ball pit the shoes are lost all the time.

My class won a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese and I lost a parent chaperone on that field trip. She was in the ball pit having a great old time and said she was looking for a lost shoe!!! I didn't believe a word of it.

My friend has a club foot and wears two different shoe sizes. She trades off the sizes she can't use in the National Odd Shoe Exchange. It has saved her a lot of money over the years.

CrazyCat said...

@Tin - I liked your 72 day reference. Kim K - now there's AN ASS. Oops, that is so YEST.

Desper O - My dad was color blind. He thought everything was green. My mom had to approve his choices also.

Husker - Yikes! INRE: the shoe/latrine story. A couple of years ago my male cat was "pissed" that I was packing my bag to go on a trip. He relieved himself on a very expensive shoe. Sad to say I kept the cat and got rid of the shoes. What was I thinking?

Anonymous said...

34D Thought Lemur

CrazyCat said...

Chickie - LOL! Ugh! Those filthy, smelly ball pits! They were so gross! I always threw my kids in the tub when we got home. I also considered giving them a round of antibiotics. Seriously!

Anonymous said...

Lemonade in regards to your comment after the answer to 47 down about suing McDonald to get rich, I assume you were attempting to be funny. The fact is the 79 year old woman who brought that suit got 3rd degree burns. McD used to keep coffee so hot you had 2-3 seconds before it would burn you. This American Life (radio show)is a great place to get the real story. Just wanted to let you know. Thanks

KeaauRich said...

Aloha all..long time no "talk story" with you all, but I still check in frequently and enjoy your comments. I'm surprised at all who think GAYDAR is unPC. As a gay man I don't find it unPC at all, and I agree that it is often a highly unreliable ability. Fortunately my gaydar was fully engaged when I met my partner 14 years ago.

Even though I live in Hawaii, my response to "Would you like some AHI" is "Oh, no", which sounds like "ono" which means "delicious" in Hawaiian -- and is also the name of a fish in Hawaiian. Do I want any "ono ono" then? No thanks, it doesn't WHET my appetite :)

Ron Worden said...

To Anon@6:23 I'll bet you text and drive because in my mind that's just like driving and drinking scalding hot coffee....just sayin RJW.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

What a fantastic puzzle! It's all been said, but I just wanted to add my appreciation for this masterpiece. I did get the theme word crosses but I did not notice the TRADE SHOWS! Looking back, I recognize almost all of the TV shows but I just didn't see it until it was brought to my attention after coming here. I often miss that extra layer of complexity but it's fun looking for it!

I really thought that ODD SHOE, sitting right in the middle, was somehow related to the other two words clued as unifiers. I guess it's all on how you look at it.

Thanks, Lemonade for all the info in your write-up and the interesting links - I learned a lot.

~~ I liked the two cat-related clues/answers - SCAT and PAWED AT. >^:^<

~~ ANIMA and MAPPERS were the last to fill. 'Boxing statistic' - REACH also took some time and perps.

~~ It wasn't easy and it took a while, but I really enjoyed this ~ lots of fun cluing!

Lucina said...

KeaauRich;
First, what fun to see you again! And thank you for validating the use of the term GAYDAR. Any time I have heard it, it was in a positive context and by gays.

And congratulations on finding your partner!

Sfingi said...

Got the theme, though it was odd, but not the stuff right in the middle.
Had Flop for FOLD, Open tOE for ODD SHOE, lib for ORG, and thus DNF.

Of course, the real Saint Nicolas is dark, gaunt and dour, and saved some sisters from prostitution by putting a dowry in their shoes.

I lack GAYDAR. Went to both Jr. Prom and Sr. Ball with gay guys.

@Desperotto - where do all those single shoes come from that decorate the streets?

Anonymous said...

C as in Charlie like A as in Alpha, B as in Bravo - military and cops use it to "spell" things out to ensure the listener doesn't mistake the sound/letter.

JD said...

Bill, smiled watching both of your videos. You are a peach.

Aloha KeaauRich

Sfingi- me too, but weren't we all back then? Great friends, fun dates.

Anyone ever have to wipe all data off your ipad and start over? grrr...it's annoying and takes time to set it back up.

eddy, WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Fermaprime, did a doctor confirm that your teeth are the reason for having A fib?

Frenchie said...

Great job by all! I'm really impressed! I did the puzzle late last night and much of it was over my head.
I think I have beeach-dar! I sensed it in many of the remarks. Ouch!

Lemonade714 said...

Finally one of our Hawaiian posters checked in, great. what a fun day, thanks all.

JD said...

Bill, this one's for you...well, and anyone else who enjoys his evening videos.

Bill G. said...

JD, that was pretty, and fun. Thanks.

I was flipping channels and I came across Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Later, Cash Cab. I'll bet if we could cram five or six of us in the Cash Cab, we could split a nice hunk of change.

Yellowrocks said...

I agree with KeaauRich @ 6:50 and Lucina @ 7:32, Gaydar is not unPC . I learned the word from my gay friends. I am amazed at how much more accurate their gaydar is than mine.

Yes,I have worn two different styles of shoes after dressing in semi-darknees. I have also worn navy socks, thinking they were black. After I had the cast off the foot I had broken, I bought two pairs of shoes in the same style and color, one pair two sizes larger than the other. I used a small one on the good foot and a larger one on the broken foot. I never thought of the Odd Shoe Exchange.

My color blind husband came home from work and accused me of pairing up mismatched socks for him. His colleagues had been ribbing him all day. It turns out the socks matched and his friends were leading him down the garden path.

It's been a fun day with this puzzle and this blog. My only regret is that Ian Livengood didn't check in.

Gertie said...

YR-
I believe there's a possibility that Ian did check in today. Maybe that was him at 8:05 AM?

JD-
eddyB is reading the Millennium Series. He is on the third book right now: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest.

Lemony-
Don't you worry your pretty little head about what anyone says in missing the theme today. You do a wonderful job, and we all have our off days once in a while. Trade shows! You've got to admit it was quite clever!

Anonymous said...

Managed to finish, but only because I had plenty of time. Took well over an hour.

The common star classifications OBAFGKM, Oh Be A Fine Girl Kiss Me didn't help with SSTAR, which I guess comes between the K's and the M's. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S_star.

My wife is still complaining about SCATS being just BAD.

Anonymous said...

Don't know C as in corpse was just a throw away mystery joke, but it really is C as in charlie for a reason: the ch sound is the unique c sound and will not be misheard as an S or a K. Thats why charlie company.