google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, February 22 2012 Gareth Bain

Advertisements

Feb 22, 2012

Wednesday, February 22 2012 Gareth Bain

Theme: Walt and Oscar make Beautiful music. Five (!) theme answers are Best Song Oscar winners from Disney animated movies. Two of them grid spanning, two are almost, and the middle one misses only by two. Wow. I had no idea.

17A. Best Original Song Oscar winner from ... Disney's "Pocahontas" : COLORS OF THE WIND. Who is the savage?

23A. ... Disney's "Aladdin" : A WHOLE NEW WORLD. Magic Carpet Ride.

39A. ... Disney's "Song of the South" : ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH. Mr. Bluebird's on my shoulder.

53A. ... Disney's "Mary Poppins" : CHIM CHIM CHER-EE. Are you feeling lucky?

61A. ... Disney's "Monsters, Inc." : IF I DIDN'T HAVE YOU. Those dreams do come true.

Hi. gang. Jazzbumpa here. It's my pleasure to take you on a wonderful musical adventure today. There was a time when Gareth and I were joined at the virtual interface - just by chance, each of my blogging dates lined up with his puzzle publications. I think we hit three in a row that way. But this is our first meeting since then, and it's been far too long. Let's segue right into the action.

Across:

1. '50s-'60s Bronx Bombers nickname, with "The" : MICK. Mickey Mantle - not Mouse. Takes me back to my youth. Also a nice baseball entry for our lovely hostess. His cards are collectable.

5. South Seas tuber : TARO. This starchy tuber is a common food in Oceania. The raw tuber is toxic.

9. Oceans : RAFTS. A secondary meaning for both words is a large quantity. Extra credit for crossing the ocean on a RAFT.

14. Like the team before @, on schedules : AWAY. The visiting team in a sporting event, like the Red Wings who went down 2-1 in Chicago. Dang!

15. Not much : A BIT. Neither an ocean nor a raft.

16. Hotel courts : ATRIA. Plural of ATRIUM - an open court, often several stories high. ATRIA are also heart chambers. There is a hotel chain called ATRIA in India. I want to hear Tony Bennett sing "I Left My Heart in Banglore."

20. Little one : TOT.

21. __-tzu : LAO. One of many variant spellings for the name of the author of the Tao Te Ching. He said, "A good traveler has no fixed plans, and is not intent on arriving." But I'll bet he always appreciates a nice ATRIUM.

22. On the calmer side : ALEE. The side of the boat that is sheltered from the wind, no matter what color.

28. Headache : WOE. A bit of an oblique meaning, I think. But in my experience, a headache truly is a WOEful thing.

29. WSJ headline : LBO. Leveraged Buy Out, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. The specialty of vulture capitalists. Note Abbrv. in cl. & ans.

30. __ rock: music genre : ALT. Alternative. What - no abbrv?!? My daughter was an alternative music fan before she came out of the country closet. (sigh)

31. Faux pas : NO NO. A mistake, or a taboo. No, No, Nanette, thou shalt not faux upon thy pas. Why not? Je ne sais pas!

33. Bars with hidden prices? : UPC. Not a tavern with a mystery tab. Universal Price Code. TRES clever.

35. Evensong? : TAPS. Back to my youth again. This signaled the end of the day at Boy Scout Camp.

43. Wed. vis-à-vis Thu. : YEST. YEST? Do you jest? Can't find this abbrv for YESTERDAY on The Google.

44. Reed of The Velvet Underground : LOU. Doot-doot. Doot-doot-da-doot-doot-doot.

45. Expel, as lava : SPEW.

47. Western treaty gp. : OAS.. Organization of American States.

50. Periods prec. soccer shootouts : OTS. Over Times precede shootouts. Sadly, this aberration has also infested hockey.

52. Before, poetically : ERE. Abel was I ERE I got Cained.

58. French city mostly destroyed in 1944 : CAEN. The ravages of war.

59. Golf's Woosnam : IAN. Not a golf fan, so this seems a bit obscure. Is Gareth giving us a rough time, or is he treating us in a fair way?

60. Tyler of "Jersey Girl" : LIV. I always think of her as Arwen Undomiel.

67. Athena's shield : AEGIS. The handiwork of Hephaestus, blacksmith to the gods. "...and among them went bright-eyed Athene, holding the precious AEGIS which is ageless and immortal: a hundred tassels of pure gold hang fluttering from it, tight-woven each of them, and each the worth of a hundred oxen." I think Homer Simpson said that.

68. "__ chic!" : TRES. "Very smart" At the height of fashion

69. File's partner : RANK. The individual members of an organization, irrespective of leadership. The phrase comes from the RANKS and files of soldiers in formation. Back in my youth, we had them in marching band, too.

70. Actor Milo : O'SHEA. He was in The Dream Team. But the only part I can remember clearly is the one played by Peter Boyle.

71. Holiday tubers : YAMS. Not at all poisonous, these tubers are common in Asia, Africa, South America, and - yes, Oceania. They are not the same thing as sweet potatoes.

72. __-Ball : SKEE. An arcade game in which the player rolls balls up an incline and attempts to get them to fall into a hole. Not a bad game, but I prefer Calvinball.

Down:

1. Brolly user's garment : MAC. Since a brolly is an English umbrella, I assume MAC refers to a Mackintosh raincoat, made from rubberized fabric to repel water. First sold in 1824, the coat is named for its Scottish inventor, Charles Macintosh. The careful reader will notice the two names are spelt differently. This is mysterious, and we just have to live with it.

2. __ Jima : IWO. A Volcanic island that was a critical WW II battle site.

3. '20s White House nickname : CAL. Calvin Coolidge. I think he might have invented calvinball.

4. 1997 ecological protocol city : KYOTO. The KYOTO protocols set binding limits on 37 countries for greenhouse gas emissions.

5. Gustatory sensor : TASTE BUD. Flavor receptors n the tongue. They have their own map. Note that kissing is sweet.

6. Blood typing abbr. : ABO.

7. Sight site : RIFLE. Another clever clue. A sight is a visual aiming aid on a gun.

8. Bilingual Canadian city : OTTAWA. Never been there. I went to Montreal once, and most everybody there spoke English. Beautiful and lively place.

9. John who explored the Canadian Arctic : RAE. Learning moment. He was a Scottish Dr. who explored Northern Canada. The Inuit nicknamed him Aglooka, "he who takes long strides." Not this guy.

10. Openly hostile : AT WAR. I'm pretty sure we've never been AT WAR with Oceania.

11. Showy extra : FRILL.

12. Like tridents : TINED.

13. Marquis de __ : SADE. The eponym for sadism. Lovely man. Just don't get too close to him.

18. Three-sixty in a canoe : ROLL. Three sixty is a full circle. Do it like this.

19. Coyote call : HOWL.

23. Grain beard : AWN. If I see this 500 more times, I might remember it.

24. Suffering from vertigo : WOOZY. I put in DIZZY.

25. Legendary skater Sonja : HENIE. Don't try this at home. At least 360 360's.

26. "Ixnay!" : NOPE. Negatory, good buddy.

27. Sgt. Snorkel's dog : OTTO. From Beetle Bailey

32. Covert __: spy stuff : OPS. Operations. My step-son Tom is in Air Force Special Ops. I have no idea what he does.

34. Disney frame : CEL. A single cartoon frame, from the time when animation was all done by hand.

36. Some mag spreads : ADS.

37. Flat hand, in a game : PAPER. Not familiar with this expression. Is this a hand that is so bad the cards aren't worth the paper they're printed on?

38. __ Khan: "The Jungle Book" tiger : SHERE. This Disney villain is no Tigger.

40. Elemental bit : ATOM. The building block of chemistry.

41. Judgment Day : DOOM.

42. Blow away in competition : OUT CLASS.

46. Pint-size : WEE.

48. Low-pH substance : ACID. A molecule usually characterized by an ionizable hydrogen atom

49. Crudely built home : SHANTY.

51. Switchblade : SHIV.

53. Tables-on-the-street restaurants : CAFES.

54. "__-Ho": Dwarfs song : HEIGH. Another irresistible Disney tune.

55. Non-mainstream film : INDIE. Independent. Not associated with a major studio.

56. Prefix with mural : INTRA. Within the walls of an institution, like sports competitions within a school.

57. Civil rights activist Medgar : EVERS. He was a WW II veteran and field secretary for the NAACP who was murdered in 1963 by a member of the White Citizens Council.

58. "Farewell, cara mia" : CIAO. Hasta la vista, baby.

62. Metaphor words : IS A. The eye is a mirror of the soul.

63. Skirt line : HEM.

64. Asian plow puller : YAK. That's a lot of bull.

65. Vague pronoun : ONE. Or a specific pronoun, if you're THE ONE

66. Hawaiian strings : UKE. ONE last musical Disney moment.

Answer grid.

Fine. A fine musical excursion without too many sour notes. I always enjoy Gareth's puzzles, and this one seemed especially well done. Hope you liked it as much as I did.

Cheers!
JzB

103 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

My knowledge of Oscar winning movie songs is shockingly inadequate, so this was a bit rough today. Fortunately, I've at least heard of 3 of the 5 songs (even if I didn't know they were Oscar winners). COLORS OF THE WIND and IF I DIDN'T HAVE YOU were completely unknown, though.

Most of the rest of the puzzle was smooth, but I had some of the same issues as Jazz. DIZZY is a much better answer for the clue at 24D than WOOZY, and YEST is just annoying.

I was also curious about cluing DOOM as "judgment day." In my mind, DOOM is always a bad thing, but "judgment day" could be good or bad, depending on how you lived your life. I guess that's just me, though, and they probably are synonymous.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

More pepper than average for a Wednesday. Quite a few unknowns. Caught on to the theme when I finally had enough letters to get ZIPADEE... For once the theme helped with the solve.

Enjoyed the write-up JazzB, keep up the good work!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Had a harder than usual time with this. Cute write-up, Jazz!

Must try to get some sleep. Just wanted to comment that: Perhaps Mrs. Bates wanted more money! A fantastic show overall. Can't wait for January's offerings!

Swimming companion Chris finally had her shoulder MRI-ed. Has to have extensive surgery. Too bad mine cannot be fixed (they figure I won't live through replacement). Would be a good time to do so.

Happy hump day!

Argyle said...

Good Morning,

About 37-Down : Rock breaks scissors. Scissors cuts paper. Paper covers rock.

Rock = fist

Scissors = fingers open vee-shaped

Paper = flat hand

Further instructions here

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, JazzBumpa and friends. This was a good Wednesday puzzle. I hadn't seen all of those Disney movies, but had probably heard the songs enough to fill in the answers (with a little help from the perps).

I learned that suffering from Vertigo is not to be dizzy but to be WOOZY.

My favorite clue was Sight Site = RIFLE.

I thought of Max Woosnam instead of IAN Woosman. At least I knew Max played some sports.

In honor of our First President, here is today's QOD: It is far better to be alone, than to be in bad company. ~ George Washington

HeartRx said...

Good morning Jazzbumpa C.C. et al.

What an appropriate puzzle for you to blog, Jazzb!! With the Oscars coming up on Sunday, the puzzle also fits into the hype this week about who will be nominated. Impressive number of theme entries stuffed into a 15 x 15 grid, with hardly any dreck.

This was a really fast solve, and seemed more like a Monday puzzle to me. The theme was obvious from the start, so I only had to dig into the recesses of my brain to dredge up the answers. My biggest problem was remembering how to spell ZIP A DEE DOO DAH (zip ah de do daa?) and CHIM CHIM CHEREE (chim chim cherie?)

Thanks Gareth, for starting my hump day on a happy note! (No pun intended)

Anonymous said...

The flat hand in the game is the game of rock, paper scissors.

Avg Joe said...

Lots of sticking points for me on this one. But the final one to fall was the M at the 1A/1D crossing. I'd completely forgotten what a brolly was even though we had it a month or two ago. All in all, a Thursday level in my mind, but enjoyable.

AND...a very fine write up Jazz!

Lemonade714 said...

JzB, good to see you and Gareth reunited. I thought this was really well done, and not quite as easy as Marti says, especially since I did not know the titles to all the songs, but it was quite fair. WOOZY is Dizzy, so I was fine there, and MAX Woosnam? IAN won the Masters and is very small, wee woosie.

I enjoyed the extra Disney references, and even
53D. Tables-on-the-street restaurants brought to mind this sidewalk CAFE .

Well whistling Wednesday to all...

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Rock, paper, scissors. Got it!

Now. Couldn't come up with it at 1:00 a.m.

Cheers!
JzB

Middletown Bomber said...

nice wednesday Puzzle Caught the theme at the 2nd theme clue so I knew the songs but not the titles. Most of the clues were fairly easy. and where I did not get the across the down helped me out. enjoy hump day all.

desper-otto said...

Good Morning, all!

I only knew two of the songs, so I was thankful for the (mostly) easy perps. Of course, 27D was a gimme.

I don't personally equate faux pas with no-no. The former is just a mistake while the latter is taboo. (My former boss visited a historic home and later raved about the faux pas wall finishes. Only in Texas!)

kazie said...

DNF. Had to come here for the last two themes. It didn't help that nonsense syllables I couldn't spell or see a word in were involved in 53A, and 54D, and since I never watch musicals I was totally unfamiliar with all themes answers but 39A.

All in all, about a Friday for me. Soooo many complete unknowns, including names that crossed, RAFTS/RAE and LIV/EVERS, plus OAS, none of which I had heard of. The rest were wags or perps.

Jazz,
Nice blogging. Music is your language--not mine.

SouthernBelle said...

Mornin' to all,

Three days in a row now...and didn't have to red-letter! Today's puzzle did take longer to finish. Maybe being bedridden for a while has helped me settle down and again enjoy the puzzle, instead of trying to make it a speed run. I think sips of coffee while pondering answers helps too.

Coach J said...

Monsters Inc is a fun movie and being a Disney aficionado helped alot, but not enough. Technical DNF for me today...just couldn't pull together the NE corner. Maybe if I had a little more time but for some reason was impatient. I guess my morning meeting with my tax guy looming was too much to bear. Oh well, fun puzzle and good write-up. Good day to all!

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Gareth, for a very good puzzle. Maybe a little tough for a Wednesday, but I got it. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a great write-up. You put a lot of work into that.

My first answer in the NW was IWO. After that I had to head South.

I filled in the SE and worked my way North. Bounced around a lot.

ZIPADEEDOODAH was my first theme answer. CHIMCHIMCHEREE came next. The rest I did not know, but they appeared with perps.

I always envisioned a SHIV as kind of a home-made knife.

Thought 7D Sight site/RIFLE was clever.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Anonymous said...

How does the daily blogger find out who is the author of the daily puzzle?

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Ditto Kazie. Too many unknowns mixed in with a theme fills that I wasn't familiar with. Perps were of some help, but in the end, there were too many clues outside of my sandbox. Flat hand, Jungle Book tiger, Ixnay (wanted NOT I) were some of my WTF's.

I really thought this was going to be a walk in the park as I wrote in MICK for 1A, but my thinking was quickly changed.

These DNF's are becoming too common. Guess I'll have to give up the Chardonnay and revert back to the Makers Mark!

Jazz, thanks for clearing up the mud for me.

Steven J. St. John said...

I wanted to congratulate the constructor - what a tight and ambitious theme. Not only that, but the choice of songs used was great too - Chim-chim-cheree isn't a word you see in puzzles everyday. 5 stars.

Anonymous - the puzzle's author is given on the LA Times online version of the puzzle and on the downloadable .puz file for Across lite solvers at Cruciverb.com. It may also be published in the LAT paper too - though sadly puzzle authors are often not listed in papers (like my own Orlando Sentinel) that syndicate the puzzle.

Avg Joe said...

Piggybacking on Mr. St. John's comment, here in NE there are 2 papers that feature the LAT puzzle. Mine, the Lincoln Journal Star, gives the name of the constructor. Gary's, The Omaha World Herald, does not (as least the few times I've seen it lately). I find it very useful to know that information going in. As you become more familiar with the talents of the individuals, it gives you an idea of what you're facing.

Mari said...

Argyle @ 6:00 am:

About 37D, fans of the TV show The Big Bang Theory prefer to play Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. JazB: thanks for having the patience to produce a nice breezy writeup. Worth the read.

Like others I only had heard some of the songs, but the perps helped alot (RAFTS). I usually like Gareth's puzzles; this one was a little sticky. Had to look up AEGIS. MICK was awkward; my paper did not have an apostrophe after Bombers. Learnt that the plural of Dwarf can be spelt Dwarfs as well as Dwarves. Nice long downs of TASTE BUDS and OUT CLASS.

CIAO

Mari said...

With no kids or grandkids there was no way I knew most of the Disney songs. I was able to perp them out. Related downs worked nice too. I never knew 54D was spelled HEIGH-Ho.

This was a double wammy for me because I didn't know IAN, O'SHEA, HENIE, SHERE, EVERS, RAE, and MICK. (How the heck did I finish this one?)

LBO was right up my alley. Don't worry Jzb - we prefer to leave the "Vulture Capital" to the sharks!

Husker Gary said...

I had to work this on my VAIO at a McDonalds in Lincoln and either this puzzle was tougher than the usual Wed. fare or it’s just that I hate the online format! Thanks Gareth!

Musings
-This HUGE Disney fan enjoyed all the fills
-Zip-a-dee-doo-dah is the theme song on Splash Mt.
-No Supercalifragilistic-expialidocious
-The Mick was my hero back when athlete's shortcomings were not public fodder
-Not me Tao, I wanna know where I’m going and when I’m gettin’ there
-I scan the UPC with my iPhone and have gotten better prices!
-Politicians SPEW!
-I much prefer Jersey BOYS
-HBO’s http://www.hbo.com/the-pacific/index.html showed IWO and other Pacific fighting VERY graphically!
-Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, it’s off to work I OWE!

Husker Gary said...

Addendum
-Joe is right; I never know the author or title except on Sunday. I am writing this just 10 miles from where Joe lives but our day here in the capital is full of obligations. He and I will get together some day. Anyone else traveling near the Platte is welcome to join us!
-Jazz, your write up was fun as always and I just thought I would tell you that my daughter is dating a music teacher who named his two boys for Jazz saxophonists. One is named Hawkin for Coleman Hawkins and the other is Parker for Charlie Parker.
-Mari, Downton and Big Bang are standard fare at my house these days! Big Bang is the only sitcom to ever have a full time physicist on the set at all times as a technical advisor. It’s a hoot and the girl is ostensibly from Nebraska.

Tinbeni said...

Jazz: Wonderful write-up & links!

Gareth: Thanks for a FUN Wednesday.

Any puzzle with WOOZY, ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH, YAK, UKE and a "roshambo" answer (PAPER) is fine with me.

My destroyed French city was ST-LO before CAEN.

Anon@7:22am: Dang, I was hoping Argyle was going to "clear-that-up" at 6:00am.

HeartRx@6:26am: No hype here about who will be nominated.

Note to Constructors:
Clue what you want. How you want.
I will never find your clues or answers:
(1) Pathetic or (2) Annoying.
I'll just enjoy solving your offering.

A "toast" to (almost) ALL at Sunset.

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

Great write-up, Jazz, and neat puzzle Mr. Bain.

Found this a little bumpier than a usual Wednesday. Had trouble in NE corner and was familiar with only two of the songs. Perps helped a lot so I finished w/o help. Had dizzy first and had no idea about flat hand in a game, even though Big Band is one of my favorite shows.

Happy Wednesday to all.

Jul said...

Hey, guys, I'm new, but I did want to mention that, since I am more a 47-year-old child than a grown-up, a flat hand is paper from the game, "Rock, Paper, Scissors." Even beat my kids on that one!

Argyle said...

This was in the spam net and the wrong spot, too.


Think today's answer to "flat hand in a game" might refer to Rock, Paper, Sissors
By teddi on Notes to Crossword Constructors at 9:52 AM

Anonymous said...

Red Wings Rock!!

Lucina said...

A hearty hello, JazzB and all.

Thank you for your entertaining commentary, JZB; you crack me up.

Well, now, the hours and hours of watching Disney movies with my granddaughter finally paid off.

COLORS OF THE WIND did not readily come to mind but when I slid to the bottom, it all came together.

Count me in for DIZZY before WOOZY and only TAPS helped me cap PAPER and SHERE as both left me at sea.

Also did not know the MICK and had to use Webster's for brolly which then gave me MAC.

Loved the clue for UPC and TAPS.

Thank you lots, Gareth Bain, for this lovely romp. The AZ Republic does publish the name.

On this day of reflection and ashes, my prayers will include all blog friends today.

Warren said...

Hi gang, an enjoyable puzzle and great write up - reminds me our visit to the Disney museum last weekend.

Anonymous said...

Got ashes?

windhover said...

Lucina,
Thank you.

Husker Gary said...

AMEN to Brother Tin's pronouncement:

Note to Constructors:
Clue what you want. How you want.
I will never find your clues or answers:
(1) Pathetic or (2) Annoying.
I'll just enjoy solving your offering.


The puzzle that our constructors and Rich put out everyday is a nice part of my life and I have great personal admiration for their efforts.

Qli said...

This was a toughie. Took too long, so it was a DNF; didn't know about the tiger and was thinking of a card game for the PAPER hand. Got the songs pretty quickly, with some help from perps. thanks for all the links in your write-up. JzB.

Mari, I also mentally added "lizard, Spock". Big Bang and Downton are two shows I catch faithfully.

I laughed so hard over those "faux pas wall finishes"! Thanks, desper-otto.

Zcarguy said...

Morning all,

Not as easy as YEST. DNF for me but I'll LIV
I knew I was DOOMed when I read all the
Disney clues.
I counted a total of 27 three letter answers
finished off with YAK ONE UKE and I'm like
WOE that's A BIT too much for my TASTE BUD.

CIAO

FORE..

Bill G. said...

Happy Wednesday! I enjoyed the puzzle and the writeup. Thanks. I too didn't get 'Flat hand in a game' at first. I think it's because the word 'hand' means the cards you are holding in a card game. But I did figure it out, was going to explain it but I'm too slow and three hours behind many of you.

I will third the comments by Tinbeni and H Gary.

I think it's amazing that Disney and his cohorts could take drawings and make them move and tell a story that would make me laugh and cry. What talent!

I realize that three of my all-time favorite movies are old and in black-and-white. 'Casablanca' would be near the top of the list. I came across the other two on cable, recorded them and am watching them again for probably the fifth time. They are 'The Third Man' and 'Witness for the Prosecution.' There are so many memorable scenes from 'The Third Man.' The introduction of Orson Welles into the story, the enormous Ferris wheel, the chase through the sewers, etc. Great stuff!

Anonymous said...

You don't roll a canoe, you roll a kayak. Unless this was a racing canoe with a deck? You would be swamped and fall out of a regular canoe, making 180' maybe, but not 360'.

Anonymous said...

the ans, paper, in today's puzzle refers to the game paper rock sissors.

Anonymous said...

Here is a marvelous Chim Chim Cher-ee dubbed into Russian.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNg9lyG3CyA

desper-otto said...

I can't believe that no one has has mentioned that flat hand is a reference to the game rock, paper, scissors. :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, now I get it. Finally someone explained it.

Spitzboov said...

I wonder what the teachers of French think about this ?

Tinbeni said...

Bill G.
I'm with ya, caught The Third Man just the other night on TCM.
(It is probably my favorite station).

At "this moment" I'm enjoying Dr.Strangelove.

desper-OTTO:
(oops, forgot to memtion your "shout-out" today):
I hope another Anon explains 37-D as the game
"Rock, PAPER, Sissors."
lol

Cheers!!!

Papa Cass said...

Husker @ 9:07 the way I've heard it is:

I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.

I've seen people roll a kayak and it's pretty neat. I've only since someone 180 a canoe, but it was a small lake.

Tinbeni @ 9:33 Does whining count? I see more of that then anything else.

Fun puzzle, witty recap.

Jerome said...

Rock-Paper-Scissors is also called Roshambo.

IF I DIDN'T HAVE YOU, you'd have a blank square at 66 across.

Okay, one more time. Rich sends out the puzzle with the author's name. If your paper's editor is deleting the name that's unadulterated BS! Call them, e-mail them, occupy her/his office with a sign that says, "99% of solvers demand to know the author's name!" But be nice.

Misty said...

For sure not a speed run today, but a delight nonetheless--many thanks, Gareth! And JazzB, I cracked up over your Homer Simpson attribution!

Milo O'Shea played Leopold Bloom in the 1967 Joseph Strick film of James Joyce's 'Ulysses.' Am currently showing this to folks at our local Senior Center.

Fermatprime @5:48 and others: I'm intrigued by the discussion that Richard might have had Mrs. Bates killed. Wish Season 3 of 'Downton Abbey' would arrive sooner. We're really psyched for it.

I also though DIZZY rather than 'WOOZY' at first. My husband has been woozy on sitting up in bed in the mornings, and our family doctor suggests it might be 'benign positional vertigo' caused by his inability to turn in bed at night. We should probably watch Hitchcock's "Vertigo" sometime. That would certainly make him feel better!

Have a great hump day, everybody!

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Enjoyed the puzzle today, but the award-winning song titles were hard for me. Hand up for putting in DIZZY and then having to erase 3/5 of it to make room for WOOZY.

Man oh man, LIV Tyler sure gets around. You see her everywhere.

Did YEST make LOU SPEW?

John RAE is a new name to me. Johnny Ray is an old name to me. I wonder if he wore a MAC or carried a brolly when Walkin' in the Rain?

It was a NONO for Popeye to say I YAMS what I YAMS.

Loved the clue for RIFLE.

I agree Montreal is a lovely city.

OSHEA, can you see?

I'm off to the office. Best wishes to you all.

Jazzbumpa said...

I'm happy to report that the Detroit Free Press prints the constructors' names.

I'm not so happy to report that I always lose at rock-paper-scissors.

Though I quickly recognized ZIP-A-DEE-DOO-DAH and CHIM CHIM CHER-EE, I needed perp help for the spelling, and YouTube help for the hyphenation.

My M-I-L is the only person I know who actually uses the word WOOZY.

Yes, there are several 3-letter words in this puzzle. That is an artifact of having long theme fill in a space limited grid. The alternative is a wide-open Saturday style grid, where it can be very hard to get a foot hold.

I grouse about a lot of things in puzzles, but 3-letter words don't bother me at all.

Most especially if they open up A WHOLE NEW WORLD.

None of these theme answers have ever been used in a NYT puzzle. Nor has HEIGH. OUTCLASS has only been used once. FRILL, MICK, SHANTY and TASTE BUD are also very fresh, with only 2 or three appearances each. However, ERE is hyperactive at 345 NYT appearances.

Cheers!
JzB needs a nap

Seldom Seen said...

What a MICK SKEE mouse puzzle. ;)

Lucina said...

desper-otto:
What a nice shout out to you today!

I failed to mention that the clue for RIFLE was brilliant.

CrazyCat said...

Heigh Ho and thanks for the play-by-play JazzB.

I usually find Gareth's puzzles on the tough side and this one today didn't disappoint.

Many years of taking my kids to Disney movies and spending countless hours at Disneyland helped out here. We have almost all the movies on VHS. Too bad we can't play them any more now that we have Blu Ray.

The cross of RAE and RAFTS was the last to go - WAG.

SHIV was my WOTD. Not really up on knives except for the ones I chop vegetables with.

57D Medgar EVERS' widow, Myrlie EVERS-Williams graduated from Pomona College here in Claremont after her husband's death. Her granddaughter was in my son's high school class.

Avg Joe said...

Time to take the TV discussion in a different direction :-)

I see from the "trending" lists on Yahoo that Jamie Lee Curtis is getting a lot of interest today. She put in a good performance last night on NCIS, and the tabloids are just short of proclaiming her as "Back". I hope she does become a regular. It's a great show and I've always liked her. Looks like she'd fit in nicely.

Oh. The new avatar was prompted by the discussions by you birders last night. This picture was taken right out my front door 2 years ago in late January. Eagles have made an extraordinary comeback in the past 4 decades, but it's still not that common to see one in your front yard.

Ron Worden said...

Good afternoon to all and happy hump day. Great puzzle Gareth and thanks to JazzB. Hands up to Tin and Bill G. I have to agree totally. Loved the Disney song themes. I never win at rock,paper,scissors. Knew heigh ho as I have seen it before. Went for my prosthesis but it needed some fine-tuning before I get it. One more thought even though its been said before. Treat the puzzles as a learning experience,look it up or just look here for help it is not a sin! Tampa Bay Times always includes the authors name. Have a great day to all RJW.

eddyB said...

Would love to see someone do a 360
in my canoe.

Wings 23 straight at home!

Thinking that maybe I should watch
Abbey.

eddy

Mari said...

Avg Joe @ 1:12 pm: Do you prefer NCIS or NCIS LA? IMHO LA never has anything to do with anything Naval. DH likes both so we watch both, but I'm liking LA less and less.

carol said...

Hi all....pesky thing this puzzle. I am with HeartRx in the spelling of the songs. I also knew only 2 of them.

29A WSJ headline...I was going to put WTH, but knew that wasn't it.

Could someone please explain 50A. I read Jazz's but still don't understand. How does an over time period precede a 'shootout', what ever that is??? I know nothing about soccer as you can tell :)

BROLLY, by golly, it's not something I'll forget...cute name.
Being from western Oregon, I use the Mac and the Brolly a lot!!!

Avg Joe said...

Mari, I like both NCIS's on their own merits, and nearly equally. The original is probably a slight a favorite for me, but the character development in both is good enough to earn praise. And, they are different enough that you really don't feel like one is a rehash of the other. As spin offs go, I think they are both great shows. (Remember: NCIS is a spin off from JAG).

CrossEyedDave said...

JzB, great write up as usual, just one complaint, when you linked Lou Reed it sent me on a YouTube Link musical excursion that took an hour for me to get back to the Blog!

I always circle my WAGs that do not make sense to me, so i can review them on the Blog. Today i had seven circles, and after reading all the across answers thought i aced it. It was reviewing the downs that i discovered that three of my WAGs were wrong. (i hope this is not an indication of Alzheimers...)

Grew up with Disney, just cant remember all the words to the songs. Curious thing tho...my youngest (now 13) hates everything Disney, and refuses to watch any Disney movie. (i would think she was adopted, except i was there at her birth.)Aside from at least one dead parent in every Disney movie, (except 1001 dalmations)i cannot get her to reveal what it is that she dislikes. (any psychiatrists reading the blog?)

Anonymous said...

Zcarguy @ 10:53

Great post! Made me laugh...
Thanks!

Lucina said...

Mari and AvgJoe:
I like both NCIS. The first is, of course, the better one, but I do like the interaction of the characters with each other. And LLCoolJ is hot!

desper-otto said...

Mari, I prefer the original NCIS, though I do miss the interaction between Tony and Kate. Too bad she wanted out.

LA is OK. Dekes/Kinsey are enjoyable, but Hettie is no Gibbs. And I was sort of turned off by LLCJ's on-air promo -- "watch MY show, NCIS-LA." Sorry, Lucina.

Mari said...

I also liked JAG.

Desper-Otto: I agree: Heddy is no Gibs.

For Criminal Minds viewers: Prentiss is leaving (again).

Too bad there are no crossword puzzle shows ;)

carol said...

Jazz, I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed your write-up...always amuses me (in a good way) :)


CE Dave: When did your daughter begin to dislike Disney stuff?? Seems strange doesn't it. She might have been frightened by one of the movies. I remember watching The Wizard of Oz (I know, not a Disney movie) when I was about 7 and that witch scared the &^*# out of me. I had dreams for months! Those were before the days of ratings. But hey, I reacted the same way when I say Psycho at age 17! Couldn't take a shower for years without thinking about it.

Ron Worden said...

To Carol@2:o4 This refers to overtime in a soccer final. also in soccer the shootout is really called pk's (penalty kicks) taken from the penalty spot 15yards in front of the keeper. In hockey it is refered to as a shootout as the shooter starts at the center face off spot and advances the puck toward the goalie and tries to deke him and put the puck in the net.Hope this helps RJW.

Tinbeni said...

Ron Worden:
Was hoping to hear your "good-news" about getting the prosthesis today.

Sorry to hear it needs some "Fine-tuning" before you get it.

I guess being "Skippy" for a few more days isn't too bad.

YOU get my "first toast" at Sunset.

Ron Worden said...

Thanks Tinman yeah no biggie waited this long and all is good Lightning is on a roll even after trading some good players.RJW I may have a snort myself after i'm in the recliner.Cheers back at ya.

Jazzbumpa said...

Carol -

To add to what Ron said, in hockey, if the game is tied at the end of regulation time, they play an extra abbreviated period, with one fewer player - the overtime. First score wins. If nobody scores, they go to the hated shootout.

Obviously, in championship games, there needs to be a tie-breaking mechanism. For regular season games, I don't see the need. And tie breakers are perverse. In O/T they change the rules, so the the decision is actually based on a different version of the game. The shoot out is even worse. They throw the whole game away, and go to a series on on-on-one's.

In baseball, at least they keep playing the same game.

I'm ready for some Mud Hens!

Cheers!
JzB

Tuttle said...

Does the clue for 1A have an apostrophe that didn't print out for me? The "Bronx Bombers" nickname is The Yankees (or vice-versa). A 50s-60s Bronx Bomber's nickname was The MICK.

I also don't think "faux pas" is synonymous with NO-NO. One must make a step for it to be false. Interestingly though, the French term that would be synonymous with it is pronounced almost exactly the same: Faut Pas (must not).

carol said...

Ron and Jazz: thanks guys!! I do appreciate the time you took to explain this to me. I will now look up 'DEKE' (I know we had it in a recent puzzle). See how we all get educated in one way or another on this great blog??

Ron: I admire your patience and attitude about your prosthesis. I'm sure the wait will be well worth it.

PK said...

Hi Y'all,

Jzbmp, you are really on a ROLL today. Many chuckles! Got WOOZY holding my breath with the canoe guy over and over. Then going round with Sonja... She didn't do jumps!? I'll come back this evening and listen to all the music.

Enjoyed what I got on the puzzle, but lots of unknowns. Couldn't remember how to spell Ciao so SW unfilled. Never heard of 61A. Forgot HEIGH despite having the sheet music as a kid.

My grandsons that I watch vidoes with went from Wiggles to Power Rangers and super heros. Don't seem to like Disney either. Maybe too much sentimentality? The newer ones don't appeal to me either.

QOD: Maybe that's why I'm becoming a hermit.

Irish Miss said...

Desper-otto @ 8:00 a.m.: Your boss' "faux pas" made me think of a former neighbor who, when asked how his sick wife was doing, said "She's feeling better but she's not out of the woodwork yet."

Lucina @ 10:25: Thank you for your thoughtfulness.

Speaking of tv shows, is anyone else a fan of A Person of Interest and Blue Bloods? I love both. But, then again, what's not to like about Jim Caviezel and Tom Selleck?

BTW, can any of you iPad users recommend any interesting or fun apps. I have a gift card that I would like to use. I already have Scrabble, Words With Friends and Cruciverb. Thanks.

Yellowrocks said...

Jazz, loved your tuneful and very informative blog. Gareth thanks for an entertaining Wed, level puzzle.

Tibeni @ 9:30 and others. Right on!!

FAUX PAS to me is a social error, a violation of accepted norms, thus a NO NO. DO, LOL at your boss's take on FAUX PAS.

The oxycodone after my surgey made me WOOZY. I have heard this used often before. I acted drunk. needed support walking, and talked "mush mouth." I only took the one dose.

The mythological orgins of our current word, AEGIS, are fascinating.

Since so many think that rolling a canoe 360 is impossible, how do you explain Jazz's link? I don't know. Just asking.

Bill G @ 10:59, Witnees for the Prosecution is one of my all time favorites. I can't count how many times I have watched it.

Yellowrocks said...

IMHO alt rock is pronouncesd alt rock, not alternative rock, so it cannot be an abbreviation. Also we often see it writtem without the dot at the end.. Doc is not an abbr. but Dr. is. They are pronounced differently.

Barry @5:39, I agree that Judgement Day could be either good or bad, but in certain circles the majority of the world is doomed on Judgement Day.
Link Doom's Day

I am truly grateful to those who add the posting time to their references to past posts. I can just use Ctrl F, type in the time, and I see the post you cited.

Lucina said...

IrishMiss:
Tom Selleck's character in Blue Bloods turned me off; he's too grim. I use that time to watch recordings from other nights and have not had a chance to watch Person of Interest. Guess I should record it and watch it.

I have watched only a part of the Clinton documentary; I'll catch up on the weekend.

Anonymous said...

The only soccer shootout I know of, was for brief time in the MLS. The rest of the soccer world goes to penalty kicks after OT.

CrazyCat said...

Zcarguy@10:53 Thanks for a good chuckle. You too Jayce@11:56 for your LOU SPEW comment.

Hahtool 6:17 - I like your avatar today! My cats sleep in the bathroom sink in the summer. It's cute, but annoying.

PK@3:34 and CED@2:11 My daughter was way more of a Disney movie fan than my son. We did drag him along one Christmas Eve to see the Little Mermaid. Also made him see the theatrical productions of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King. Years later he reluctantly admitted to really enjoying them both.

Disneyland was another thing. We live so close that we went a lot. I was glad when the kids could drive and were able to go on their own. They went to proms there and their grad nights were at the Disneyland Hotel.

Ron Worden said...

To PK @3:34 I taught figure,hockey, and speed skating on wheels for 25 years. When Henie skated many years ago it was considered less elegant for the ladies to jump like the men did. althogh I believe she could do an axel and single jumps but as you can see she spun like a top.RJW.

Wanda Woman said...

A Disney themed puzzle? SQUEEEEEE!

I'm a Disney geek and loved this offering!

I thought the flat hand clue was a bridge reference (the card game, not the Golden Gate kind). However, after reading through 78 comments, I think it may have something to do with rock-paper-scissors.

Perhaps I'll wait to see if more posters can confirm this.

Be good humans.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

I enjoyed this puzzle and the wonderful 'theme' songs ... thanks for the links, Jazz and for a most enjoyable write-up!

As several others have mentioned, the lack of an apostrophe at 1A really held me up in that corner. I was trying to think of a nickname for the entire Yankees team rather than one player. I finally gave in to MICK and was able to complete that section.

~~ Lots of unknowns -- perps and WAGS to the rescue in MANY places! The last to fill were RAFTS and RAE.

~~ Fun clue for RIFLE and I really liked 'Gustatory sensor' - TASTEBUD.

~~ I never realized people actually flip canoes on purpose!

~~ I've read lots of INDIE authors on my Kindle and have discovered some really good writers.

~~ Medication has often made me WOOZY.

CIAO!

Anonymous said...

"The Mick" was a nickname among the Bronx Bomber Yankees, as opposed to a reference to a single Bronx Bomber. Similar to "1990s Chicago Bulls star" = Michael Jordan.

CrossEyedDave said...

Carol@2:36 & CrazyCat@4:20

i think you have helped me solve a mystery that has plagued me for, (gosh, is it 10 years now?)

i looked up a chronological list of Disney movies, and knew that Alladin was the 1st movie we could not get her to watch, but all the previous movies were not that frightening, (except for Snow White's Witch) It was CrazyCat's mention of DisneyLand that lit a bulb! All these years i thought it was the movies, but when she was 3, we took her and her sisters to DisneyWorld. I always hated the lines, (and maybe that rubbed off) but we were waiting about an hour in line for the Little Mermaid Ride, when her sister(about 8@the time) took off running while we were stuck in line. Of course this produced terror in us, and i was left to hold place in line with 2 kids while Mom tried to Hogtie a runaway. (I wonder if she's scarred for life?)

Avg Joe said...

CED, based on your description, here's my prognosis. She's not scarred for life, she's liberated. She saw through the shameless commercialism of all that is Disney and said "NO MAS!"

At least that's how things like this are interpreted on my planet....no matter how demented or deluded. :-)

Bill G. said...

I really enjoy having MSNBC as a homepage. If you aren't crazy about your own homepage, I'd give MSNBC.msn.com a try. This is one of their regular features called Animal Tracks. It's a very enjoyable animal slide slow. Just click on each slide to advance to the next one.
Animal Tracks

Tennisegg said...

Couldn't understand yest as an abbrev. either never seen it - soccer before penalties are extra time not overtime so if abbrev should be ets - Ian Woosnam is # 3 in the world but he is Welsh - paper as in flat hand is rock, scissors, paper - outclass is one word not two

Hahtoolah said...

Milo O'Shea was in The Verdict, which also starred Paul Newman.

Jayce said...

I liked that movie, The Verdict, a lot.

CrossEyedDave said...

I believe there is good and bad in everything, but it never ceases to amaze me that there are people who could watch that Colors of the Wind clip, and not be moved. Ignorance is not healthy, and to turn your back on something is sorrowful,,, I come to the Blog to learn things, things i never knew i never knew, and i hope my daughter will someday be the same.

CrazyCat said...

CED 4:53

You reminded me of the time my daughter got lost at Disneyland when she was six. That scarred *me* for life. We found her after about 10 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity. She was fine. I was a wreck!

PK said...

CED 6:17, I can no longer watch tear-jerker fiction or reality images because of the toll on my body a crying jag will produce. If the tears well up, the images go off. Once a person experiences a prolonged period of stress and tragedy, canned stuff is toxic waste one doesn't need. I hope you never reach a point you can understand this. I care about things. Self-preservation is a priority for me now.

Susan said...

Your comments about movies, Disneyland, etc. and their reality to children reminds me of my daughter when she was five. We were packing and getting ready for our move to Kansas. That night the Wizard of Oz was on TV and we all watched it--popcorn, the works.

Later , when I was tucking her in bed, her chin started to tremble and her eyes teared up. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "Mama, I don't ever want to live where everything is just black and white."

Avg Joe said...

Susan, I don't either. Everything does indeed look worse in black and white*. However, the rules of conduct on this blog prevent me from railing about the dearth of Kodachrome these days.

(*Save for a few classic movies.)

tawnya said...

good evening all!!

totally loved today's puzzle - finally got to use some knowledge i had long ago deemed "useless" (like knowing just about every Disney song!). random factoid: the movie "Song of the South" has never been released in its entirety on VHS/DVD because it's considered racist. i remember the Disneyland attraction growing up but it didn't last thru the '80's.

@CE Dave 2:11 - i right-click on the links to "open in a new tab" and often end up with so many tabs open i have to click on an arrow to see the rest! saves me from using the back button and losing my place.

@carol 2:36 - the flying monkeys still scare me!!!

have used YEST as an abbreviation frequently when texting (before the invention of autocorrect )(warning: very unintentional but hilariously explicit language)

overall a great puzzle - i had a fun time with it and following all the links today. thanks to JazzB and Gareth for a relaxing evening!

t.

Jim said...

My newspaper screwed up printing this crossword puzzle...is there a place I can go online and download and print?

Bill G. said...

Jim, you can go to the LA Times homepage or to Cruciverb. Also, the Chicago Tribune. I hope one of those will work well for you.

thehondohurricane said...

Anon@4:42PM

"The Mick" was Mickey Mantle only. The Bronx Bombers was the reference to the entire team. There is no dispute in the separation of the two names.

Lucina said...

Jim:
You can also go to page 1 of this blog and click on LA Times Crossword Online. You will have the option to print it.

kazie said...

Spitz,
Compare what the French are doing with Mademoiselle to what the Germans have already long ago done to Fräulein. Young women have been addressed as Frau there for some time.

Sorry to respond so late, but I only just came back here for the first time since this morning.

CrossEyedDave said...

Sorry i checked in so late...

PK, i wish your name was in blue so i could email you.

Anonymous said...

Hondo at 9:28: I was explaining to an earlier poster why there was no apostrophe in Bronx Bombers".

xyz said...

3 letters for an answer with an abbr. Clue stretches a Weds a bit. Cool theme, too many orts, so not top marks today.

xyz said...

IAN & WOOZY quite the pair, BTW. Must be golff nuts!