google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, Mar 31st, 2012, Barry C. Silk

Gary's Blog Map

Mar 31, 2012

Saturday, Mar 31st, 2012, Barry C. Silk

Theme: None

Words: 72

Blocks: 30

I sensed it was about time for a Silkie, and I was not wrong. A slight variation on the pinwheel, with triple-9's in the down pattern, but only a pair of 11's across - rare to see cheater squares from our constructor. Some proper names flummoxed me, but I did finish, in my personal allotted time; we have -

17A. Dawn star : TONY ORLANDO - Oddly, I already had 1-down, and so I thought this was going to be "PLANET VENUS", which is the 'dawn star'; presently it's the 'evening star' at magnitude -4.5. here's a page for any amateur astronomers out there. As for Tony, he's here.

55A. City south of Mombasa : DAR Es SALAAM - Tanzania, Africa - map, to the right

13A. Fright to the max : SHEER TERROR - this is my kind of sheer

51A. Emergency exit : ESCAPE HATCH - Nailed it, with no crossings, either - what's your favorite "escape hatch" movie moment ???

ON~ward ~!!!

ACROSS:

1. Play matchmaker for : FIX UP

6. Support spec : B-CUP - ya know, I was going to put in _ CUP, but I thought, no, we're not that DF here, are we???

10. Shorten : LOP

16. Maine in D.C., e.g. : AVE - map, at the bottom

18. With 36-Across, many a thirtysomething, briefly : GEN and 36A. See 18-Across : XER

19. Mil. address : APO - A little edification for you

20. Emollient : BALM

21. Concealed : COVERT

23. Netflix transactions : RENTALS

25. National Museum of Indonesia setting : JAKARTA - more geography - was a movie in the late 80's, too, that I liked.

26. Hagen of Broadway : UTA

27. Bowler's accessory : ROSIN BAG - When I play goalie at deck hockey, I use my bowling shoes for better side-to-side "slip"; a rosin bag is for better grip - baseball, too, right C.C.? (!)

28. Astrologer Dixon : JEANE - I knew this, but not how to spell the name.

31. Al __ : DENTE

32. Skeletal opening? : EXO

33. Optic layer : UVEA

34. All CIA directors, to date : MALES

35. It's opposite the face : PEEN - Ah, hammer - sad to say, I did not think of this right away - but then again, I use claw hammers all the time....

37. Exposes : BARES

38. Braces : GIRDS

39. 480-grain ounce, e.g. : TROY UNIT - The Wiki

41. Spot : PIP

42. Loser : ALSO-RAN

43. Writing pair : PEN-PALS - I once wrote to my cousin in England for a whole year during my teens; it was great getting the letter, but we just didn't have much in common.

47. Easy outs : POP-UPS - More baseball for our eager fans awaiting opening day; personally, I am keyed up for the presently NHL-leading Rangers to run deep into June.

48. "Lulu" composer : BERG

49. __ cit.: in the place sited : LOC. - The Wiki

50. Fertilization targets : OVA

54. Word to a dog : SIC - Not SIT, BEG, and ROLL OVER did not fit

56. Compass dir. : ENE - WAGed ESE, since "S" is pretty popular at the end of crossword entries - made 29D a little tough to parse

57. Pop singer Quatro : SUZI

58. Thomas of old TV : MARLO - Nailed her, uh, I mean, it....

DOWN:

1. Procyon or Polaris : F-STAR - I am an amateur astronomer, I have an eight-inch...telescope (easy lois) - looking forward to April's night sky; most people know Polaris as the "North Star"; Procyon is in the constellation Canis Minor, down by Orion; Pollux is one of the "twins" of Gemini

2. Wishful words : I HOPE -....I am the winner of over a half billion dollars - then again, I would probably kill myself with the toys I KNOW I would be buying - amphibious planes, McLaren sports cars, etc. - of course, the Castle would come first....



3. It follows iodine in the periodic table : XENON - OK, I "cheated" - I have the periodic table app on my phone, so I looked - and it was not At, so it must be Xe

4. One-eighty : UEY - starting to get popular in CWs now....180°, U-turn slang

5. Will process : PROBATE

6. "Carol of the __" : BELLS

7. Squeeze : CRAM

8. Decorative vase : URN

9. Audio feeds : PODCASTS

10. Pilsner, for one : LAGER BEER

11. Like most wage earners, so they say : OVER-TAXED

12. Okra cross sections, e.g. : PENTAGONS - Image

14. Refrain syllables : TRA-LA

15. Team prankster's target, often : ROOKIE

22. Delivery aid : VAN

24. Sandwich choice : TUNA

25. 1930 winner of golf's Grand Slam : JONES (Bobby)

27. Find a new tenant for : RE-LET

28. Prepare to compare : JUXTAPOSE - always a great word

29. Bloomin' : Brit : __ : Yank : EVER-LOVIN'

30. Rocket scientist's industry : AEROSPACE

31. "Things" singer, 1962 : DARIN - singer Bobby - feel free to link away ~!!

34. Battle of Bull Run site : MANASSAS - last geography lesson

35. Wally __, whom Lou Gehrig replaced as Yankee first baseman : PIPP - I defer to our baseball and crossword blog host for this one (From C.C.: Pipp asked the day off because he had a headache. He later said "I took the two most expensive aspirins in history".)

37. Did a new mom's job : BURPED

38. Plain-woven fabric : GINGHAM - I did not know this was "this"

40. One of us : YOU

41. Parisian pops : PERES

43. Popular pop : PEPSI - personally, I prefer Dr. Pepper

44. Union site : ALTAR

45. Express alternative : LOCAL

46. Jerk : SCHMO

48. Contemporary of Collins and Mitchell : BAEZ - I thought I was clever, thinking this was an astronaut, like HAIZ (but I knew it was HAISE), since Michael Collins was in the capsule on Apollo 11, and Edgar Mitchell was on the moon for Apollo 14....nope....

52. Grand __: wine classification : CRU

53. Like : À LA




Splynter

69 comments:

  1. Greetings!

    Difficult Silkie for me. Thanks to Barry and Splynter.

    Had to introduce red letters. My geography failed me and JONES was my third choice for golfer after Snead and Hogan. Drat! Favorite answer: JUXTAPOSE.

    Am really tired after the great garage clean-up. Had to sit in wheelchair (a back killer) for four hours and try to supervise several people trying to throw away the good stuff! Lots of stuff survived for Salvation Army (but several items of clothing had been destroyed by determined vermin). Did not find any of the stuff that I was seeking, but encountered several things that flummoxed me.

    Happy weekend all!

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  2. I had a difficult time with this one. Finally gave up doing it in the applet and printed it out, finishing it on paper (for some reason I prefer doing it on paper).

    Couldn't figure out the theme. At first, having S-star and B-cup, I thought I saw a theme coming. But upon finishing, no more such answers. Still looked at the grid for some time trying to figure out what the theme was.

    I finished with a error: Put in Sumarta for the Indonesian Museum setting, also giving me Sones for the 1930s golfer (I had no idea) and roomie for prankster's target.

    The SE Dar es Salaam I got entirely from perps (again no idea). The last to fall was Al ___ and Audio feeds. Was looking for someone named Al; finally thought of al dente. Still don't know what pod casts are.

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  3. Referring to yesterday's blog, Fermat primes are numbers of the form 2^(2^n)+1 that are prime. Unfortunately, not having a calculator, Fermat did not see that although the first 5 (beginning with n = 0) are prime, the next one is not. (It is 641 times 6700417. A prime factor would have to be of the form 64k + 1, so it is rather easy to find the 641. I wonder if Fermat knew this!) It is not known whether or not there are any more Fermat primes. It seems very unlikely that there are (if there is one it must be larger than the number of electrons in the universe). I am really fond of these 5 numbers: 3, 5, 17, 257, 65537 (except for the 3).

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  4. Good day folks,

    From rainy and dank, Ct., surprisingly, a Silkie success for Hondo. After the first pass through, lots of empty white squares, but it started to slowly come together with further effort.

    Splynter, great write up and I like your kind of sheer a lot better then our constructor's.

    Favorite escape movies are Stalag 17, The Great Escape, & Victory.

    I had UIE first but SHEER TERROR fixed that and got me TONY ORLANDO. After 30 + years in the industry, AEROSPACE was a gimme. I knew PIPP was correct, but the crossing PIP had me wondering until PERES & GINGHAM appeared.

    I'd say more Swags then Wags today, but guesswork was a big part of the solve. Eraser had a decent work out. But it was a fun puzzle. Happy I stuck it out.

    "See you" Monday.

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  5. NW George was in the spam filter so I guess it is being finicky again today.

    If your post doesn't show up right away, we will retrieve it eventually.

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  6. Morning, all!

    Definitely a challenge today, but mot of my problems were of my own making. I threw down TESTATE at 5D, which seemed like an obviously correct choice after the last three letters were confirmed by the perps. Alas, the first four letters weren't so accommodating... It took me until nearly the bitter end to rectify my mistake and move on.

    Elsewhere, ROSIN BAG meant absolutely nothing to me and took every perp to get. I also tried NAPE and then NECK before finally (and grudgingly) accepting PEEN. Also, no idea who JONES was and it took awhile to remember Bobby DARIN.

    Overall, a great puzzle and a terrific mental workout for a Saturday.

    Now, I wonder if I won that $640+ Million last night...

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  7. Nice puzzle a little difficult as I did not get much sleep wondering how I was going to spend my( $231 million after taxes.) 3 dollars.

    Barry unless you bought your ticket in Baltimore, MD I think you fell a few numbers short. I know I did. enjoy your weekends all.

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  8. RE: spam filter

    I don't know if this has anything to do with my previous post going to the spam filter but ...

    I tried to edit my preview by clicking on the edit, only to get half width of my post in a box. Tried to back out but ended up publishing it. Guess I should have just closed the preview, then published the post.

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  9. Hello Puzzlers -

    It took a lot of rewrites, but I managed a solid no-peeky. The NW came together easily, while the whole rest of the puzzle was as white as an Antarctic plain. Very few fills looked obvious, and even some of those turned out wrong. My first break came at AEROSPACE which wasn't obvious. I needed all those letters to gain some ground!

    Thanks Splynter, especially enjoyed the astronomy material. Our property is such that we have a clear view of Venus each night.

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  10. Good morning all. Great write up, Splynter.

    Saturday Silkies are always a good challange and this one didn't disappoint. I found toe holds all over the grid and was able to work off of those, but still ran into a few snags that took some extra effort to straighten out.

    TONY ORLANDO took all but a couple of perps before I finally caught the misdirection.

    The bottom middle area was the last to fall. I had SUsI and wasn't parsing DAR_S SALAAM into three parts. I should have known that, but it just didn't come to me. I wagged the B in BERG and the E in DAR ES. I finally got enough brain cells functioning to see that it was SUZI and BAEZ.

    Some would say it's because of the PENTAGON and AEROSPACE expenditures that we're OVERTAXED. I think I'll have a LAGER BEER and contemplate that for a while.

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  11. thought this would be a DNF, but slowly and with some adjustments for escape "route" for hatch and Danny instead of Marlo for old TV (I was thinking really old TV), it came together. Always a sense of accomplishment when the first area to fill is the SW.

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  12. Hello, Saturday Soldiers!

    Fun, but tough, puzzle today. But it's Saturday, right? I guessed G-STARS (was I thinking G-String?) and BCUZ (support spec, BCUZ I said so).

    I knew DARESSALAAM, but wasn't sure how to spell it. I let the perps figure that out. I immediately wrote in BAEZ, but had no idea who SUZI was. DANNY finally gave way to MARLO.

    It took PODCASTS a long time to fall, (BCUZ of that "Z") but the absolute last entry was ROSIN BAG. I was looking for misdirection there and was trying to figure out what sort of hat accessory it could be.

    Still, I came in several minutes ahead of my self-imposed time limit, so all is good.

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  13. An interesting challenge for me. Equal to most Silkies, yet different. I found more toe-holds than usual (mostly on the west coast), but had more difficulty with other clues. Hands up for thinking the Collins cohort was an astronaut, not Joan Baez. Last 2 cells to fall were the 1st and 2nd P's in Pipp. Odd crossing of homonyms, that.

    All's well that ends correctly. Have a great day. It's predicted to be 88 here on the plains!

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  14. Wonderful Saturday Silkie from the bottom up, where I finished! Juxtapose? Wow! Nice SHEER link from Splynter but none for BCUP?

    Musings
    -The planet Venus is an evening “star” and has been spectacular paired with Jupiter in the west sky for months
    -I was thinking of this Dawn at first
    -I had an ESCAPE ROUTE first. All dictators seem to have a getaway plan for when all their minions have died for the noble cause.
    -I also had a SET UP instead of a FIX UP to start and DANNY for MARLO
    -JEANE purported to predict JFK’s assassination and then sold a lot of books. Why didn’t those psychics all buy APPLE in 1980 and get money down on Joe Namath in 1969?
    -I had an 8th grader last week whose goes by “Lulu”
    -Polaris is the only point in the sky that never moves. Hey, maybe we could navigate by that!
    -It took a while for PODCASTS to come and I was, uh, listening to one as I worked and drinking from my AEROSPACE NASA mug
    -Kyle Orton got “Wally Pipped” by Tim Tebow this season
    -PEPSI has been supplanted by Mt. Dew by my kids
    -I missed the astronaut speculations, Splynter, and I have Fred Haise’s autograph in his book Lost Moon

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  15. Good morning Splynter, C.C. et al.

    Thanks for all the astronomy lessons today, Splynter. I filled in _STAR on 1D and had to wait for the perps to tell me that first letter.

    XENON seemed a logical choice for 3D because I finally sussed FIX UP from PROBATE, and that got me going in the north. Everything else fell pretty quickly into place. It really helped that I knew JEANE, JONES,BAEZ and MARLO. I forgot SUZI Quattro, but didn't need her.

    Have a great day, everyone!

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  16. Musings 2
    -Here is the picture Megan and me who honored me last Thursday. I’m the elderly gentleman on the left and she is the great kid on the right!
    -Fabulous cartoon for the Tinman, Joe! You’re right, it’ll be pushing 90°F in the hinterlands today. Gotta mow anyway! Do I yell “Ole!” before I start my Toro?
    -I did not know the geometry of Okra
    -ARGON and RADON were my first elementary guesses

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  17. Good morning all. Thanks for the commentary, Splynter.

    Another Saturday super special Silkie solve. Special because no look-ups were needed. Favorite fill was JUXTAPOSE. With that X, I got XER and GEN. For 1d, wanted stars at first, but with FIXUP, F STAR made sense. Also gave me XENON. Had to be a noble gas because iodine is a halide and just to the left of the Nobles on the periodic table. Couldn't think of any city south of Mombasa at 55a, but the perps helped with DA and reminded me of DAR ES SALAAM. Also nailed PEEN after a bit, which was my favorite clue. JAKARTA and BAEZ were WAGs. As is his wont, Barry's long downs and acrosses are usually daunting, but filled with ordinary phrases and names. Nice texture to the whole puzzle.

    Enjoy the day.

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  18. I don't get 41A - Spot/Pip. Can anyone explain?

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  19. My new personal best time with A Saturday Silkie; NW George, there are no themes on Saturday. Splynter you have this themeless write up down pat, thanks. I also fell into astronauts for a while, probably because of the astronomy that came first. Great pic HG.

    Odd the world is warmer than So.Fla.

    No 500 million here, ah well

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  20. Good morning all...

    Mr. Silk is wicked wise. My puzzle looks like swiss cheese.Lots of learning moments...more needed!
    Bookmarked Sky and Telescope, Splynter..thanks.

    Favorite escape hatch..no hesitation there.Steve Mc Queen in The Great Escape.Who could forget that motorcycle ride?

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  21. Hello.

    Iowa has three new baby eagles.
    Momma eagle was feeding them.

    SJ tied for 10th. Dallas visits
    tonight.

    Haven't been able to see the triplet at night due to cloud cover.

    Mowed the front yesterday. Worked
    2 and rested in wheelchair for 10.
    Love the smell of new cut grass.

    Practice and qual at Barber today.

    eddy

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  22. mtnest995@9:50 -- I looked at Lemonade's link, and didn't see any Spot/Pip explanation. I've heard people refer to the spots on a deck of cards as pips. That's what led me to enter PIP in that space.

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  23. Husker, if your Toro is as tempermental as mine was, the OLE comes after the &^$%*(# thing finally starts.

    Avg Joe, I always liked Wiley's Dictionary in the BC comic strip. Hmmmmm, a crossword theme of clues according to Wiley? That could be fun.

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  24. PIP one of the spots on dice, playing cards, or dominoes.
    -Dictionary.ocm

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  25. Adding to the above, pips also refer to the spots on dice.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pip_(counting)

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  26. Had to Google some, like JONES, PIPP.

    Had Danny before MARLO. To me, she's new TV.

    Didn't know OKRA showed a pentagon on cross section. The most dreadful veggie in the world. Should be a pentacle.

    Fine puzzle.

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  27. Sfingi, I take it you're not a gumbo fan. Okra is an essential ingredient (thickener) for Cajun gumbo. I'm not sure what it tastes like "straight" -- there are so many flavors in gumbo and the okra just gets mixed in with the others. I'll bet you don't suck crawdad heads, either. Neither do I. I do like the spicy tails though when they're boiled up Cajun-style. And this from someone who grew up thinking crawdad was a four-letter word: bait.

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  28. F-star refers to spectral type (luminosity, temperature, color). The only choices are O, B, A, F, G, K, and M. Only F fits 1-Across.

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  29. more learning moments:
    troy weight
    grand cru
    Jakarta is spelled with a K
    a bowler's accessory is not C.C.- Hi Boomer!

    Fermat, hope you slept well after an exhausting day

    eddyb, well, tonight is it..it may put a damper on "Fan Appreciation Day"...or not.

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  30. Thanks desper-Otto and Anon. Now that you mention it, I think we've had this before with the clue dot on a die. I got it right with perps, but was left scratching my head.

    Enjoyed the puzzle but did have to resort to assistance. Had light beer before lager (lager and beer seem synonymous). Also had nursed before burped. Couldn't remember correct spelling of Manassas - shame on me. Other than those spots, WEES.

    Enjoy your weekend. Looking forward to tomorrow - Sundays are always fun.

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  31. This was the easiest Silkie yet! I had way more trouble with Wednesdays puzzle. I sailed right thru until I got to the SE. Had to look up PIPP and BERG. Once I got those, everything else just filled in. Favorite word: JUXTAPOSE. Hand up for having DANNY instead of MARLO, and I considered TERRY also. (I dont think Terry-Thomas did much TV tho...)

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  32. Here's hoping our own TROY UNIT(39A), Irish Miss, is feeling better.

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  33. Sfingi and Desper-otto, DH introduced me to pickled okra when we were down in South Carolina one time. Until then, I had always hated the stuff. Now, I look for it whenever I can!

    And yes, I do suck the heads of crawdads . One of the people who stayed with us in Florida last week is a chef in New Orleans, and he boiled up 100 pounds of them for the group. He also made gumbo one night. Yummm!

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  34. YOU finish the puzzle (geez.what a slog) but I "Got'er done!
    Then come here and read Splynter's Excellent write-up, and think to myself: "The answers are SOOOO obvious. (NOW!) Why did this take so long???"

    When I'm not sure of an answer, I "circle" the clue #. There are 21 circles today. A 'new' high.

    Fell for the 'uie'-v-UEY trap.

    Avg.Joe: SCOTCHGARD, too funny. I would never leave my Pinch on a Bar.

    I agree with Grumpy; A Wiley's Dictionary puzzle would be a hoot.

    Husker: Nice Pic. Also enjoyed the Dawn tune (and others on the link).

    Glad to see there were 3 winners last night. Hope they can "get-by" on "only" approx. $230 mil., pre-tax, each.

    Cheers to all at Sunset.

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  35. I have to admit I groaned when I saw it was a Silkie, and sure enough, this was a DNF for me. But I did get, and loved, TONY ORLANDO for 'Dawn star'--that was inspired, Barry. And great write-up, Splynter. Learning both a lot of math and astronomy in two days is pretty heady, in more ways than one.

    I also put DANNY instead of MARLO, at first, but loved both their shows. And admire their work for St. Jude's Hospital.

    Have cooked OKRA on occasion but still don't get---ooh, I just got it. Okra has these (five?) little sides, I guess, and that's why a slice is a PENTAGON. Oh, Silkie.

    Has anybody heard from Irish Miss? I just pray her cold didn't turn into pneumonia.

    Have a great weekend, everybody.

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  36. Hello, weekend warriors. And thank you, Splynter for the great review. Thought of you at PEEN which I got from going through the alphabet to finish -EEN.

    Good WAGs and guesses got me through this and most were easy to suss. I chuckled at TONY ORLANDO for the same reason as Splynter.

    Once B-CUP emerged so did POD CASTS and the remainder of the NE corner.

    JEANE Dixon and Bobby DARIN fell right in place. The SE however gave me fits and I had to resort to Google for PIPP and BERG and couldn't finish DAR ES SALAAM because spelled MANASSAS with an E. Also had DANNY before MARLO.

    A wonderful workout from Barry, thank you.

    You all have a joyous Saturday!

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  37. Hello everybody. So, is March going out like a lamb or a lion? I guess it depends on where you live.

    As I was working this puzzle I kept thinking, "Wow, I'm really on Barry Silk's wavelength today." Having read your comments I find others of you also felt this was a tad easier than you expected. Plenty of challenge, and lots of fun. I especially liked the cluing for TONY ORLANDO, OVERTAXED, and BAEZ. Didn't know at first whether 25A was going to be SUMATRA or JAKARTA.

    Sfingi, pentacle indeed! LOL

    A coupla my favorite ESCAPE HATCH movie moments are in Alien and 2001:A Space Odyssey.

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  38. I was amazed that I got a Silky so easily. Must have been on his wave length. The East came pretty easy.

    Bobby Jones is the only person to do the Grand Slam of Golf,winning all four majors. In Bobby's time it was the US & British Open and the US & British Amateurs.

    In Modern times it is the Masters, US & British Opens and the PGA.

    Jack Nicklaus won all four at various times but not all four at once. Sam Snead didn't wil the US Open. Ben Hogan, because air travel wasn't available, could not get back from the UK in time to compete in the PGA. Tiger Woods won all four in a row but the Masters was in the year after the other three.

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  39. Good morning all:

    Thanks, Argyle @ 12:04 and Misty @ 12:26 for your concern. (Misty, I know you expressed your concern several times over the last few days, as did others; I read the posts each day but didn't have the energy or mental acuity to do any posting' but I did appreciate the kind thoughts.)

    I don't think I have ever been this sick in my life. I feel better but am still dealing with a horrific cough and the conjunctivitis is still a problem, but is not as bad as it was. I hope to be bac to normal soon.

    On a lighter note, today was a DNF because of pip and Pipp. Forgot that spot can be pip and never heard of Pipp. Overall, I thought it was a smoother and easier
    Silk and also, Saturday. Of course, perps helped a lot

    I know the scar stories are old news but I'd like to add a few. When I was two years old, my mother was using
    one of those old-fashioned meat grinders, the kind you clamp to a table. In the proverbial blink of an eye, I
    inserted my right index finger into one of the holes and
    my four year old brother promptly turned the handle,
    lopping off the tip of my finger.

    He scurried under a bed and spent the rest of the day announcing to everyone who came through the door that "I" got me finger cut off, not mentioning his starring role. The tip was sewn back on but the finger is about 3/4 of normal length, with a thick, unattractive nail. I don't use the finger for typing, tying or untying knots, entering phone numbers, etc. It's almost like it isn't there.

    I have more tales but I think this is probably longer than it should be, so thanks, Barry S for a great puzzle, and thanks to Splynter for a nice expo.

    Happy Saturday to everyone.

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  40. Good afternoon to all and happy weekend. Before I turned the page I had a premonition of a Sat. Silkie. Took a little longer but I got it with some wags and perps. Thanks Splynter love to read your insights. Never played deck hockey but when I was a referee for inline hockey I got to officiate deck hockey at a few tournaments.I would rather skate why stroll when you can roll! I am ready for a busy Mon. doctor at 10a.m. and fitting for prosthesis at 11:30. Have a great weekend to all,RJW.

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  41. I am proud to say "I did a Saturday Silkie without ANY red letters." (lots of look ups though...)

    I thought i would tackle just the NW corner as a mini puzzle because of the star clue, & had to Google when Argon didn't fit. Next think i knew NW was done, so onto the NE...
    Many look ups and learning moments later, i had to dump poor old Danny boy, but it was worth it.

    Knowing there are many retired teachers on the Blog, i thought you might get a chuckle out of this little girl from Dublin.

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  42. Hi Gang! Thanks for the write-up, Splynter.

    This one had me both "huzzah" ing and "boo" ing - I thought TONY ORLANDO was awesome, liked PENTAGONS, OVERTAXES and PENPALS was really nice!

    I had SET UP before FIX UP, so a bit of rework needed there.

    Liked B-CUP, of course I did :)

    Boo for F-STAR and X-ER.

    Back in town between trips, so barber, laundry and dry-cleaners today.

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  43. Grumpy1 @ 10:41, OK, I'll start the list of theme entries:

    WARBLING
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    Military medals



    (Your turn!)

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  44. CANTALOUPE



    Question from the bride's father after seeing the wedding planners estimate.


    (Shamelessly lifted from the WIKI entry:-)

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  45. Great to have you back, Irish Miss 11:55--with a scar story, yet!

    Ron 1:56, we'll look forward to hearing how your appointment went, tomorrow.

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  46. Alas, I'm never on Silkie's wave length. I got the northwest corner all filled out and thought I was on a roll. No such luck! Thanks, Splynter.

    PROBATE was a given. Years ago I was executor of two estates in three years. 'Nuff said.

    Wanted 10A b0b because I thought 10D was a beerstein. All kinds of problems there. I can't tolerate alcohol so I'm at a disadvantage on CWs.

    Thanks for the BAEZ link. Back when I played guitar in a club (women's social type) group, I did a lot of Joan's songs. Finally, gave up guitar because every time I practiced, my 3-yr.-old son would go do something incredibly naughty. My favorite was "Babe, I'm Going To Leave You". My son would cry when I sang. When I figured out it was that song, I decided it wasn't worth singing. He took it literally.

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  47. PROBATE
    .
    .
    .
    .
    What bass masters use?

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  48. Irish Miss:
    I'm so glad you're feeling a wee bit better. Good thoughts for a complete recovery.

    RonWorden:
    Positive thoughts for you, too, that the fitting goes well.

    CED:
    Very funny video and I'm sure many students feel that way about their school and teachers.

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  49. PROBATE




    One level below Master

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  50. SHEER TERROR




    One who rips off her lingerie

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  51. Good luck, Ron and Irish Miss.

    CED, funny phone call! One of the comments below it seemed to imply it was a spoof. Still funny...

    It reminded me of one of the funniest recordings I've ever heard. It's from a British radio show where the hosts are trying to get the woman on the phone to say Potatoes. The dialect is 'scouse' from Merseyside, an area near Liverpool from whence came the Beatles. I would probably understand it better with subtitles but it makes me laugh anyway until my eyes are tearing up. Radio phone call

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  52. Misty and Lucina:

    Thank you both for your kind thoughts.

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  53. And thanks to Bill G for his thoughts and the very funny Radio Phone Call. Just what I needed- a good, out-loud laugh.

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  54. You all have my respect. I have yet to finish a Silkie without the blog. I guess that means that I have something to aspire to.

    March is going out like a lamb here; DH just mowed the lawn for the first time this year!

    I also had DANNY, when "That Girl" was much more my era. Go figure.

    Fermatprime, I think "determined vermin" would be a great name for a band! or as a clue in a crossword.

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  55. BillG's linking Lara's Theme performed by Chet Atkins last night sent me on a quest. I came across this performance of Vincent, written by Don McLean.

    Pay particular attention to the look on Chet's face: There's nothing in the world he'd rather be doing than playing that Yakety Axe. I've never seen that look, to that depth, on anyone's face other than David Gilmour. Enjoy.

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  56. Avg Joe: Interesting that you should have selected Vincent, which is about van Gogh, since yesterday marked the 159th anniversary of his birth.

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  57. Vincent was lovely. Thanks. It's hard to beat a classical guitar when played well and Chet Atkins was one of the best ever. I love the part at about 1:17 when he starts tossing in some harmonics.

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  58. Have a male relative who is a butcher...many years ago, he cut off his left, index finger between the second joint and his hand ( and the tip of the "bad" finger.") They packed it in ice and took him to a hospital where a surgeon had residency who specialized in hands and arms. He re-attached it...in two weeks it had a modicum of feeling but looked like a badly burned, grilled-cooked weiner. After 18 years, it`s a bit shorter than it should be and won`t curl completely, but he has his index finger...after the Dr. told him, "Son, you`ll get well a lot quicker if you let me make you a nice nubbin."

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  59. Van Gogh admirer, I was not aware of the anniversary. That's purely a coincidence, but a fortunate one. Given that, it only seems appropriate to link the original Don McLean version, since it might just be the most beautiful mellow rock song ever written. Thanks for the comment.

    Vincent, the original.

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  60. pk @ 3:44

    I can't tolerate French, so "I" am at a disadvantage at CW's.

    (actually, that's not true, i have learned more French here than in the last 50 years.) But what really burns my butt is when i can't answer a beer clue, makes me want to turn in my Budweiser Brewmaster Certificate...

    Which reminds me, Bill G., I had never heard of Leo Kottke, or Doc Watson. I had heard of Chet Atkins, but never saw him play! If you do not hear from me for a couple of days, it's because i locked myself in a closet try'in to relearn how to pick a guitar...

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  61. I took classical guitar lessons for years from a fellow who was really talented; a great player and arranger. I got to where I could play some music decently by memorization but alas, I had no talent except stick-to-it-ivness.

    Another good old-time picker was Merle Travis.

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  62. HeartRx got me web surfing:

    Ramification
    .
    .
    .
    A consequence that is forced down your throat.

    Politician
    .
    .
    .

    Someone who shakes your hand before an election, and your confidence after it.


    Stalemate
    .
    .
    .
    A leading cause of divorce.


    I also found "Argle-Bargle," a loud argument...I could not get the thought of Santa yelling at some one out of my head until i realized it's spelled wrong...

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  63. I'd like you guys to watch this clip of Jim Stafford playing "Classical Gas" Clip and he does like it Victor Borge. Tell me, is he any good(and watch closely at3:27).

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  64. Exceptional guitar playing. It didn't bear a lot of resemblance to what Mason Williams wrote, but it was great!

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  65. I had never heard Chet Atkins version of Vincent. Thanks for that. I had never heard of Jim Stafford either. It's amazing what I learn from this blog.

    Here are Chet and Jim playing something together. Duet
    It looks so effortless when pros play.

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  66. Marti & CED: loved the definitions.

    AVGJoe: great Vincent with pix.

    Lots of good guitar links, thanks. Many old favorites. Browsed the side tunes too.

    Windhover: Were you watching the Kentucky Final Four game? Just watched Kansas WIN a game that they played so badly the first half. They've done that often. So it will be Kentucky and Kansas for the championship on Monday.

    CEDave: I truly hope French doesn't cause the same reaction for you that beer does for me.

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