google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, March 20, 2012 Pam Amick Klawitter

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Mar 20, 2012

Tuesday, March 20, 2012 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: Densmore, Krieger, Manzarek and Morrison - Better known as "The Doors" and whose song, Love Me Two Times(3:20) is appropriate because each theme is a pair of doors.

17A. *Where some carry keys : FRONT POCKET. FRONT door needs no explanation but POCKET door may, except for Splynter. A POCKET door is the type that slides into the wall. I hope you can look at this video(0:26) and not think the Starship Enterprise; I couldn't.

26A. *Behind-the-scenes area : BACKSTAGE. BACK door, STAGE door

37A. *Peugeot or Renault, e.g. : FRENCH CAR. FRENCH doors, may be exterior or interior. Who remembers CARs with suicide doors?




51A. *Campaign in rural areas : BARN STORM. BARN door, STORM door

60A. School entrances, or, in a way, what each answer to a starred clue has : DOUBLE DOORS



Argyle here. I hope Pam will forgive my facetious theme interpretation. I doubt The Doors ever crossed her mind. I'm always impressed by these doubled theme entries. Throw in some decent fill, no Naticks that I could see and you have a very good Tuesday puzzle.

Across:

1. Stove fuel : GAS. "Now we're cooking with GAS." Things in the kitchen became much easier once the wood/coal stoves were replaced by GAS.

4. Consent (to) : ACCEDE

10. Sauna sounds : AHs

13. Tiny troublemaker : IMP

14. Drink ordered dry or dirty : MARTINI. A dirty martini contains a splash of olive brine or olive juice.

16. Cheer word : "RAH!"

19. Pie __ mode : À LA. The Cambridge Hotel(NY), said to be the birth place of this dessert is to appear on Chef Ramsay's "Hotel Hell" later this spring.

20. New Mexico art colony : TAOS

21. Volcano output : ASH

22. Flavor : SAPOR

24. Author Ferber and actress Best : EDNAs

29. Reno roller : DIE. Nice alliteration.

30. "Now I __ me down ..." : LAY

32. One more : ANOTHER

33. Two-time N.L. batting champ Lefty : O'DOUL. He started as a pitcher, left because of a sore arm and came back as a power hitter. Won the batting title in 1929 and 1932.

35. The Beatles' "__ Love You" : PS I. This version(2:08) has Andy White on drums. Trivia runs on the screen during the song. Andy White now lives in New Jersey. link.

36. Physics particle : ION

40. Coppertone letters : SPF. (sun protection factor)

42. Remote batteries : AA's

43. Krispy __ doughnuts : KREME. Mmmmmm, donuts.



46. Nonbeliever : ATHEIST

48. "This __ ripoff!" : IS A

49. Farm worker? : ANT. Did anyone actually have an ant farm?

53. Slow, to Schumann : LENTO. Schumann was a German composer.

55. Brazilian writer Jorge : AMADO. Took all the perps to bring him in.

56. Velvet finish? : EEN. Velveteen.

58. "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" singer : CHER. This clip was the most visually interesting that I found.

59. Grafton's "__ for Corpse" : C IS

64. One for Monet : UNE. French.

65. Evaporated : DRIED UP

66. MGM mascot : LEO. The lion.

67. Airline to Stockholm : SAS. Scandinavian Airlines or SAS, previously Scandinavian Airlines System.

68. Trattoria desserts : GELATI. Well! It appears it is both singular and plural. Help?

69. Time workers: Abbr. : EDs (Editors). The magazine.

Down:

1. Like geniuses : GIFTED

2. Medium with a lot of talk : AM RADIO

3. Ate, as soup : SPOONED

4. Price to pay: Abbr. : AMT. (amount)

5. Bullfighter's cloak : CAPA. Spanish for cape.

6. "Road" film co-star : CROSBY. "On the Road to..." pictures starred Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, and Dorothy Lamour.

7. __ Sketch: drawing toy : ETCH A

8. Hägar creator Browne : DIK. His son, Chris Browne, continues the strip.

9. Suffix with benz- : ENE

10. Wind River Reservation tribe : ARAPAHO. In the heart of Wyoming. Map.

11. Kind of lamp with a tungsten filament : HALOGEN

12. One who doesn't hog : SHARER

15. "__ Easy": Ronstadt hit : IT'S SO. Clip.(2:41)

18. Decoding org. : NSA. (National Security Agency)

23. Something to wear : ATTIRE

25. Sot's speech problem : SLUR

27. Money : CASH

28. Atlantic Division NBA team : KNICKS. The New York Knickerbockers, commonly known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City.

31. Balt. Orioles' div. : AL EAST. The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

34. Step on someone's toes, so to speak : OFFEND

35. Mac alternatives : PCs. (personal computer)

38. Brussels-based defense gp. : NATO

39. Shrinking sea : ARAL

40. Marathoner's need : STAMINA

41. They may be coined : PHRASES

44. Street opening : MANHOLE

45. Became a contestant : ENTERED

46. Gadget you can count on? : ABACUS

47. "This ___": "How strange" : IS ODD

48. Well-heeled Marcos : IMELDA. She is an elected Congresswoman - in the Philippines.

50. Sculptors' subjects : TORSOs

52. Resist authority : REBEL

54. Earth-friendly prefix : ECO

57. Neither an ally nor an enemy: Abbr. : NEUTral. Only three more letters, seems unnecessary to abbreviate. Fixed: with a tip of the hat to D-otto.

61. Common URL ender : .ORG

62. Slangy about-face : UIE

63. Printer resolution meas. : DPI. (dots per inch)


Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Spitzboov (Al), who sent me this beautiful Annin flag when I became a US citizen in 2010. Spitzboov often finds delightful clips for us to enjoy. Off the blog, he always gives me wise advice and solid feedback on various crossword ideas.

73 comments:

  1. Happy Spring Everybody!

    Had to get that in.

    :-)

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  2. Morning, all!

    Happy B-Day, Spitzboov!

    Went through this one pretty quickly. Didn't notice the theme until I was finished. No major hangups, but I wasn't familiar with AMADO and only barely remembered O'DOUL.

    I believe that GELATI is the plural of GELATO, but I could be wrong.

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  3. Greetings!

    Fun puzzle, Pamela; fine write-up, as usual, Argyle!

    Cute theme; easy to suss out answers.

    Having tough time since my opthamologist has been cavalier about replacing the eye drops that I have had to take since cataract operations. Eyes get all cloudy without them. Want to finish taxes but cannot see well enough.Hopefully I'll get something tomorrow. (Previous med, Xibrom, is not being made anymore.)

    Happy, happy birthday, Splynter!

    Hoping to get to sleep!

    Cheers!

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  4. Good morning, Argyle, C.C. and gang, from sunny Boca Raton. I guess we're now officially Floridians, even though we'll be in the hotel for a month or so. The past month, with the move and the sale of the store, has been one hell of a roller coaster ride with some pretty serious snags that popped up, but the bottom line is that we made it, and hopefully the moving van will too.

    As to the puzzle, it went smoothly although I fell into the capa/cape trap. Outside of that and Jorge Amado, no muss, no fuss.

    Argyle, outstanding take on the theme. And yes, I had an ant farm years ago, then sold them in the hobby store for many years. They now come two ways, the sandy mix most will remember, and a blue gel that supposedly supplies nutrients as well.

    Happy birthday, Spitzboov - hope it's a BZ day for you, and as Dudley said, Happy Spring to everyone. Anybody still getting snow?

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  5. Hello Puzzlers -

    HBTY, Spitzboov, and many more.

    A nice smooth Tuesday puzzle. Hand up for needing all perps to get AMADO. No perps needed for Krispy KREME - I try not to eat a lot of junk, but that's a tasty doughnut. Luckily they aren't available here.

    Argyle - another solid summary! Yes, I had an ant farm as a kid. The ants all died quickly. I was told that the plastic of which the farm was made was innately toxic to ants.

    I guess there have been lots of cars with suicide doors, but I best recall the mid 60's Continental. It seemed so impressive at the time. Now, not so much.

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  6. Good day folks,

    I didn't find this puzzle very interesting at all. Picked up a cold and that likely is the cause for my Tuesday funk.

    I entered ANT for 13A at first, but the perps got me to IMP. ANT came later. For 68A. I started with GELATS, but 63D , DPI, corrected that error. KRISPY KREME did not last long in Ct. I still prefer DUNKIN.

    Aamado an unknown, but perps got it done.

    Happy Birthday Spitzboov.

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  7. Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Interesting puzzle. I got the DOORS theme early on (but never thought of the band. Jim Morrison is the only member whose name I knew, so when i read your theme title, I thought I had done the wrong puzzle for a moment.)

    I wanted Slurped instead of SPOONED for Ate, As Soup.

    I wasn't fooled by the Time Workers = EDS, as we have seen that clued that way before.

    Street Opening = MAN HOLE was my favorite clue.

    I also liked Well-Heeled Marcos = IMELDA.

    Happy Birthday, Spitzboov. Always fun to read your comments.

    QOD: Exhilaration is that feeling you get just after a great idea hits you, and just before you realize what's wrong with it. ~ Rex Harrison

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  8. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Pam A. Klawitter, for a very good puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell review.

    This seemed more like a Wednesday level puzzle to me.

    Lots of perped answers: SAPOR, ODOUL, GELATI, CAPA, DIK.

    Liked 46D ABACUS. Good clue: Gadget you can count on.

    We've seen UIE 62D quite a bit lately, with different forms of spelling.

    Theme answers came without too much trouble. Very clever.

    Today is election Day in Illinois. I am supporting a friend who is running for State Senator. I will be on the phone all day. See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  9. Morning, all!

    Lots of false starts today: OIL/GAS, COM/ORG, UEY/UIE, ACCEPT/ACCEDE, CAPE/CAPA.

    Krispy Kreme expanded too fast, and contracted just as quickly. There aren't any left in the Houston area.

    Argyle, it's really three, not two at 57D.

    HBD Spitzboov. Sail on!

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  10. Oops, I forgot. Happy Birthday, Spitzboov, and many happy returns.

    Abejo

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  11. Great write up nice puzzle good difficulty for a Tuesday. Took a little longer as I was and still am eating breakfast. Today is the first day of spring so don't forget to get your free water ice from your local Rita's Water ice. If you have one.

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  12. Good morning, Argyle and all.

    Happy Birthday to our resident rascal. Many, many more to come.

    Hahtoolah, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one that slurped my soup before I SPOONED it.

    I worked this one from top to bottom so all theme entries were in place before I got to the DOUBLE DOORS. Cute!

    Welcome to our newest full time Floridian. Glad to see you've arrived safely, Dennis. Led us know when you get a hand(le) on your new business opportunities.

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  13. Good morning, happy spring to all, and happy birthday to Spitzboov! What a great and cheery bunch!

    Smooth and easy puzzle (except for AMADO, O'DOUL and IMELDA). My shoe closet is more Payless than Imelda!

    Krispy Kreme couldn't compete with Dunkin in Chicago.

    Today's theme reminded me of this place.

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  14. PS: I counted 29 3-letter word answers. (Yes, I am that much of a nerd.)

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  15. HBTY Spitzboov!

    Welcome back Dennis!
    We definitely are past the snow. We've had 80's for about a week now. I'm not sure about spring--I think it lost its way this year.

    Fun CW for Tuesday, although I flubbed it in a few areas: wondered how doors could be anything to do with pantpockets--totally forgot pocket doors although I did know what they are. Didn't see that DOUBLE referred to the pair of door references in each theme answer.

    I also had SAVOR/SAPOR, not knowing ARAPAHO; AFFRONT/OFFEND, hence ODAUL/ODOUL (a complete unknown), SPR/SPF, and AMATO/AMADO. Didn't notice ATHOIST or I might have gone back to fix things a bit better. I didn't think about the musical LENTO having to be Italian, and confidently wrote in LENTE thinking how tricky to use a German named composer with a French word, assuming he must have lived/worked in France.

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  16. Good morning everyone. Thanks for the write-up, Argyle. Thanks, C.C. for the good wishes and kind words. And thanks to you all for the birthday felicitations. It is truly a special honor to be a participant in this fine group.

    WEES about the puzzle. Not much to add. Another way to clue EEN. And a revisit to the DRIED UP ARAL Sea. SAS was a gimme, having flown the EWR-ARN (Newark -Stockholm) route.

    Enjoy the day.

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  17. Thank you Pam Klawitter for a nice and challenging puzzle - for a moment I thought I might not finish.... I coulda sweared that the 'ho' in the Indian tribe had a 'e' at the end of it. Thank you Argyle for explaining what I gave up on trying to understand on the 'double doors' - I felt I might as well leave the arcane explanation to mavens like you. Thank you for Cher's song -loved it, and brought back sweet memories.

    The toughest answer was 31D - the 'Orioles' - 'AmLeague' just wouldn't fit, but the perps saved me.

    Etch-A-Sketch closed down in Canton, Ohio, about 7 years ago.... the world moves on.

    Our neighborhood public school, elitist, exclusionary and expensive, ( based on my RE taxes - ) also has elaborate metal detectors, a coupla cops, with a K-9 in attendance, AND an in-house lawyer to handle 'privacy' issues .... Parkinson's Law on schools - Spending rises to use up all the (tax) money that rolls in.....


    ALT QOD:- Never argue with a fool. Onlookers may not be able to tell the difference. ~ Mark Twain.

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  18. Thanks to Pam for a great puzzle which brought back memories, and to Argyle for the witty writeup.

    I once saw a photo of IMELDA's shoe closet, a truly amazing place.

    Hand up for SLURPING soup before perps set me straight. (I now have better manners.)

    Mari, you sound like a bean counter, hahaha!

    Fermatprime, hope your eyes are better soon.

    Happy birthday to Spitzboov, and happy spring to everyone!

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  19. Etch-a-Sketch was made by Ohio Art Company in Bryan, Ohio. They are now being made in China.

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  20. P.S. There were pocket doors in my grandparents' house. Fun for us as kids to play with until we got our fingers in the way.

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  21. I enjoyed this theme a lot. My habit is to avoid the reveal as long as possible, so I had all the answers beforehand, but didn't realize that both words tied in. Very clever.

    In addition to the 64 Continental mentioned by Dudley, I also remember the early 50's Studebaker's that had rear suicide doors. Not nearly as cool as the 2 door Chief(?) that looked the same from either end.

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  22. Spitzboov, Happy Birthday!

    Argyle, Great write-up & links.

    Nice DOUBLE DOORS theme.
    Lefty O'DOUL a bit obscure but easily perped.
    Makes me wonder (IS-ODD?) sometimes when I see a clue, count the number of letters (on my ABACUS), and make a correct WAG.
    Happened today with the ARAPAHO tribe.

    Hand up for having an ANT Farm (crematorium?).
    They didn't do very well in direct sunlight.

    A Spring Cheer (RAH!!!) to all at Sunset.

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  23. Good morning everyone:

    Happy Birthday, Spitzboov, have a great day.

    Nice write-up, Argyle, and a fun puzzle, Pam. No hang-ups, pretty smooth sailing, Favorite clues were for Imelda and manhole.

    Our high today is going to be 76 degrees. That is hard to believe for March 20th. I wonder what the summer will be like.

    Krispy Kremes didn't make it in our area, either. They started out like gangbusters but eventually folded. Where are they most popular?

    Happy Tuesday to all and welcome to Spring!

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  24. Liked the theme and construction and the fill and what the heck, the puzzle was fun, too. Smooth, yet thought provoking.

    Rarely are these double theme answers so enjoyable. Just right Tuesday.

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  25. I cant resist commenting on (Cher's) Gypsies. I have a scholarly friend who has done extensive, well documented studies on Gypsies - who, are (now) known indisputably, to be of East Indian origin. Their language 'Rom' or 'Sinti', their grammar and vocabulary and quaint customs (at least some of the better ones - ) have similar counterparts in the Indian subcontinent, both India and Pakistan.

    I 'ran into' some Gypsies during my travels, notably in Paris, in Spain and in Italy, (where they have become a perfidious nuisance, to say the least .... ) where they all (unsuccessfully-) tried to pick my pockets, despite my intermittent and increasingly insistent slapping of their wrists...

    Its is more than with a touch of quiet humor that I have realized that my distant cousins, despite the oppression, discrimination and overwhelming odds, that they have faced, that they continue to have some 'meaningful impact' on western societies, for better or for worse ...

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  26. Argyle, i like your take on the Doors.

    HBD SpitzBoov, Smooth Sailing.

    Imelda Marcos closet.

    Thought i aced the puzzle today, but i know i wrote "cape," and i am sure i wrote "ash." I am going to have to dig thru the recycling to see what the heck i wrote???

    (Also put gelato, i wouldn't know the difference between a DPO & a DPI if you hit me with it.)

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  27. Ahei! Nun kommt die schöne Zeit, Der kleinen Vögel holder Sang! Es grunnt die Linde weit und breit
    Zergangen ist der Winter lang.

    Schon üben Blumen zart und bunt
    Auf grüner Heide ihren Schein.
    Nun wird manch krankes Herz gesund,
    Und Trost zieht auch in meines ein.

    Last I heard, Schumann was German, so slow should be "langsam." Ha!

    Bought a tiny etch-a-sketch recently, and a tiny 8-ball.

    What is this "perped"?

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  28. Sfingi @10:34
    "Perped" means I got the answer via "the perpendiculars" (the crossing letters).

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  29. Sfingi, also see "Comments Section Abbrevs." on the blog front page for a list of all of them.

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  30. Hola, amigos y amigas. Thanks, Argyle, for a fun blog. Nice take on the DOORS and I loved the musical links.

    Happy, happy birthday, Spitzboov. Have a lovely time today.

    And thank you Pam, for today's speed run. When I see so many sports clues I nearly choke, but the perps were kind.

    Loved the clues for IMELDA, PHRASES, and ABACUS.

    My bathroom has a POCKET DOOR to separate the shower and toilet area from the vanity and closet.

    Dennis, I'm glad you're back and happy for you that all is working out well.

    DOUBLE your fun today, everyone!

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  31. This was a fine Tuesday puzzle, more interesting than the usual Tues. I enjoyed your great expo, Argyle, especially the musical links and the Gypsy pictures.

    Happy Birthday, Spitzboov. I always look forward to your posts.

    Sfingi, thanks for the lovely poem. Here is my rough translation. I minored in German 50years ago, so please forgive the mistakes. BTW, as I recollect, langsam is an adverb meaning slowly and lang is an adjective meaning long.

    Ah, now comes the beautiful time,
    with the little birds’ lovely song.
    The linden trees are becoming green far and wide.
    The long winter is melting.

    Already the delicate, colorful flowers
    Cast their glow on the green meadow.
    Now many a sick heart becomes healthy,
    And solace pulls at my own heart, as well.

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  32. Irish Miss: Krispy Kremes seem to be big in my area of the South, along with Mary Lee donuts. I miss the Dunking' Donuts, of which there are none here. When I was in Chicago last week, I visited the Dunking' Donuts several times. I prefer them to the Krispy Kremes.

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  33. Yellowrocks,
    You did a fine job of translating the poem. I doubt if I could do as well with a language experience so far in my past. In fact, now that I am more closely associated with German through my son's in-laws, I seem to be forgetting too much of my French, and that's much more recent for me than your German experience.

    Sfingi,
    Thank you too, for the poem.

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  34. Good afternoon everyone.

    I thought this was a bit tough for a Tuesday. More like a Wednesday. Did not get AM RADIO; had AMRADI and could make nothing of it. And didn't know ODOUL, even though I had DOU.

    Happy birthday, Spitz. Hope you and Betty have a fine celebration.

    Cheers

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  35. Lovely puzzle, Pam--many thanks, though I would not have registered the second (i.e. DOUBLE) DOOR in each theme answer without Argyle's write-up (probably because I hadn't heard POCKET door before). But very clever and cool--both the puzzle and the write-up.

    Loved the DOUBLE meaning of Imelda's well-heeled life. Did she ever suspect she'd become a crossword puzzle joke?

    I have not heard SAPOR as 'flavor' before. Got ODOUL only because my husband has been drinking O'Doul's non-alcoholic (well, almost) beer since his stroke.

    Happy birthday, Spitzboov! And many thanks to Sfingi and Yellowrocks for the lyrical Spring poem!

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  36. Qli @ 9:37 am: I work in finance, so I guess you could say I'm a bean counter. Math was my worst subject in school - funny how those things work out.

    My true love is history. After I win the lottery I'll be working in a museum or writing history books.

    I bet you all have some interesting hobbies (besides QWPs)!

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  37. Hello.

    Our 70s built home has pocket
    doors.

    Remember our family car with suicide doors. There is a picture
    of my feet hanging out of the car
    arriving at grandparents farm.

    Tied for 9th with LA and one point
    behind PHX and DAL. PHX plays DAL
    and SJ plays LA tonight. Something
    will change the standings.

    Trying to finish the Clancy book
    and figure out for whom Melanie
    is really working.

    eddy

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  38. Hello everybody. What a fact-filled and interesting writeup, Argyle. Thank you. Fun puzzle as well. Pretty much WEES, but I did have a near-Natick at the crossing of ODOUL and ALEAST. SAPOR and AMADO came only from the perps.

    As for LENTO, I believe such Italian terms were pretty much used universally in classical music, regardless of the nationality and native language of the composer. Schumann certainly used them.

    Sunny and 60 out today.

    Warm birthday greetings to you, Spitzboov, and best everyday wishes to you all.

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  39. Hi all,
    I enjoyed this puzzle but it wasn't real easy.

    I also had ant at 13A until I got am radio and spooned, but they both needed the perps. I did think it was funny when I got ant later on.

    Kazie, I'm glad you memtioned the weather up there as it's been the same here. I've been wondering how warm it was at home.

    Yellowrock, thank you for the translation on that poem. It's really nice.

    Happy birthday, Spitzboov!
    Thanks also to C.C.and Argyle for this blog!

    In case Pam reads this blog, I was interested in her 2 last names. I once had a teacher named Amick and I have a friend in northern Wis. whose last name is Klawitter.
    Marge

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  40. Susan,
    I noticed you are fron Santa Fe. Have you lived there long? I lived in Espanola for 3 years in the mid-50s. That's a long time ago but I still get homesick for New Mexico!
    Marge

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  41. Since the Theme was "Double Doors", and included Krispy Kreme,,, i thought this link was in order...

    (aw comeon, put yr glasses on, i couldn't get it any bigger...)

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  42. Is it correct to say "rabbit rabbit" on the first day of spring? What about "hare! hare!" ?

    Jim Morrison lived a truly tragic and too short life.

    To the newest Floridian: It really is where the fountain of youth resides...else why would so many "seniors" come here? You`ll be eating "early birds" and wearing speedos before you know it, Dennis.

    BTW: No one can offend you without your permission...(and offend could be spelled: off---end)

    My work is done here, for today :)

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  43. Hi gang -

    Terrific theme - very impressive.

    Spitz - HBD, you rascal.

    Dennis -welcome back.

    Argyle - what an insightful take on the theme - well played, sir!

    Sfingi - Thanks for the poem. Yellowrocks - lovely translation. My German, which always was weak, is far in the past, but I did get the gist of it - kinda, sorta.

    Jayce is right - classical scores are loaded with Italian directions - though we sometimes see German on German music.

    I must be vertically challenged. PHRASES, written down like that is hard for me to read. (Boy, does that sentence feel wrong.)

    DRIED UP MARTINI? I like mine not too dry - 4/1. Which reminds me - I haven't had one in months.

    I had MODELS for scultor's subjects. Now pondering their GIFTED TORSOS . . .

    ABACUS SHARER - someone you can count on.

    Bomber - I loves me some Rita's water ice GELATI! A rare treat, since all the locations are hundreds of miles away.

    Cool regards!
    JzB

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  44. CED@2:18&2:30:
    Very funny and cute links!

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  45. CED: My job blocked some of your links, but I loved the ones I could access!

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  46. Hahtoolah @ 11:36-Thanks for that info. I had never even heard of KK until they came into the area. (Not really surprising since I don't drink coffee and I don't like donuts.)

    Thanks to Sfingi and Yellowrocks for the lovely poem.

    CEDave-Loved your Weight Watchers doors.

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  47. Enjoyed the puzzle, Pam and the write-up and links, Argyle! You cheered me up.

    CED: your links are aDOORable!

    Happy Birthday, Spitzboov! Hope you blow out all your candles.

    Remembered the delightful day my husband and I followed the Wind River from near its source to the reservoir. I had been very involved in state water issues, so was very excited to stumble onto this.

    Does anyone else like "Dancing With the Stars"? Fun premier last night. As close to partying as I get.

    Watched "Descendants" later--major bummer! I would have turned it off, but hated to leave George struggling on alone. Kept hoping for a happy ending. Sure didn't get one. Too close to personal experiences for comfort! The only three Clooney pictures, I've watched all left me wishing I hadn't.

    My neighborhood is blooming trees beautiful now. A bit soggy with two days of rain.

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  48. Thought today was a misleading theme. 60A School entrances, or, in a way , what each ANSWER to a starred clue has. To me it is asking what the whole answer not just a word. Front pocket, double doors? Barn storm, double doors? Etc. 8d is asking for creator not who is continuing the comic strip. Answers like halogen, Amado and accede (IN A WAY) make today sort of a difficult one. But if the 60A clue is leaning on the words IN A WAY, then this is definitely not a tuesday puzzle. Liked man hole and thought Stamina clues were excellent!

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  49. Good afternoon to all and HB to Spitzbov. Fun and easy Tues. Thanks for the Write-up Argyle.Loved the Doors. My uncle went to junior college with Jim Morrison in St.Pete. I worked at a Cadillac dealer after high school,and they bought a 1958 eldorado that had suicide doors and a brushed aluminum roof for the showroom floor. Krispy Kremes are a southern thing we used to sit in their parking lot and wait for the HOT light to come on before going in. So good when they are fresh out of the fryer. have a great day to all and welcome to Fla.Dennis. RJW

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  50. Hi all! Happy Spring. It's finally starting to warm up here in SoCal.

    Thanks for your write-up Argyle and Happy Birthday Spitzboov.

    I did the puzzle and am just now returning to it via the comments. I didn't really have any problems to speak of except that I read AL EAST as ALE AST and had no idea what it meant.

    I had an ANT farm or two along the way. Tinbeni - Your ANT farm comment almost made me fall off chair. LOL!

    Dennis - glad things are falling into place for you.

    Sfingi - I liked your beautiful song and Yellowrocks' translation.

    Irish Miss - I hear you about WWFs!

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  51. Good Evening Argyle, CC, et al., Great job, Argyle, as always. Loved the links...esp the Doors. keeping them playing. Great stuff! Love how you think!

    Never heard of O'Doul except as a non-alcohol beer-O'Doul's. Strange but one daughter is a non-drinker. Great DD...designated driver.. not referring to my application as a client to Dennis' new lube-a-boob
    business venture in Fl.
    Dennis: let me know when you're up and coming. I'll make the trip.

    KK is legendary around here but there's only one store whereas there are 1/2 a doz Dunkins. I just drink...the coffee.

    Happy Birthday, Spitzboov. Wish you many many more. Cheers to you tonight many times over.

    CC: love that pic of you and the sweet thoughtful gift from Spitzboov. We are soooo proud of you...forever.

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  52. Post #5, i'm max'd out.

    i wanted to post some funny sailor stuff for SpitzBoov's Birthday, but everything on the internet that's birthday+sailor is Sailor Moon, so i googled SPITZBOOV + BIRTHDAY and this is what i got:

    interesting

    Page 6,,, Barry G's Avatar comes up (scary)
    page 11= Lurch (LOL)

    i should do this for all your birthday's :)

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  53. PK - I loved the "Dancing" premier last night. Also agree about The Descendants. I thought it was well done, but the subject matter was too close to home for me. I did love the music and the cinematography, and of course, George. I went to see on New Year's Eve. That was not a good idea.

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  54. Hi All ~~

    I enjoyed today's puzzle ... it seemed a little tougher than a usual Tuesday, but it was fun to solve. I ENTERED those DOUBLE DOORS many times in my teaching days.

    ~~ A great write-up, Argyle - thanks for all the info and entertainment!

    ~~ Dennis ~ Glad things seem to be settling down for you.

    ~~ PK & CrazyCat - I, too, really enjoyed "DWTS" last night. Seems to be a good group this year ... no real obvious "clunkers" yet. ;-)

    ~~ Happy Birthday, Spitzboov! I always enjoy your posts and I've learned a lot from you. Hope you've had a wonderful day.

    We've had a beautiful first day of spring here in CT!

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  55. HBDTY Spitzboov and many more; I also am so crazy busy I am not sure if I posted my BD wishes for Warren, but here they are again.

    Pamela always entertains, as does Argyle, too late to say anything new except Sailor Moon always seemed creepy to me, the German poem and translation was great for a spring day; my favorite still being

    Spring has sprung
    The Grass has Ris
    I wonder where
    The birdies is

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  56. Part I:

    A successful rancher died and left everything to his devoted wife.
    She was a very good-looking woman and determined to keep the ranch,
    but knew very little about ranching, so she decided to place an ad in the
    newspaper for a ranch hand..

    Two cowboys applied for the job. One was gay and the other a drunk.

    She thought long and hard about it, and when no one else applied she
    decided to hire the gay guy, figuring it would be safer to have him around
    the house than the drunk.

    He proved to be a hard worker who put in long hours every day and knew a
    lot about ranching.

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  57. PartII

    For weeks, the two of them worked, and the ranch was doing very well.

    Then one day, the rancher's widow said to the hired hand, "You have done a really good job, and the ranch looks great. You should go into town and kick up your heels." The hired hand readily agreed and went into town one
    Saturday night.

    One o'clock came, however, and he didn't return.

    Two o'clock and no hired hand.

    Finally he returned a round two-thirty, and upon entering the room, he found the rancher's widow sitting by the fireplace with a glass of wine, waiting for him.

    She quietly called him over to her..

    "Unbutton my blouse and take it off," she said.

    Trembling, he did as she directed. "Now take off my boots."

    He did as she asked, ever so slowly. "Now take off my socks."
    He removed each gently and placed them neatly by her boots.

    "Now take off my skirt."

    He slowly unbuttoned it, constantly watching her eyes in the fire light.

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  58. "Now take off my bra.." Again, with trembling hands, he did as he was told and dropped it to the floor.

    Then she looked at him and said, "If you ever wear my clothes into town again, you're fired."

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  59. Happy Birthday Spitzboov!

    Nice write-up Argyle. Love the Doors, so enjoyed that link.

    I had to look hard at the theme answers when I was done to see the double-doors. Very clever.

    @Barry G - correct about GELATO/GELATI. You're talking FOOD! here, right up my alley!

    "Spring is sprung, the grass is ris
    I wonder where the birdies is?
    They say the bird is on the wing
    But that's absurd
    The wing is on the bird!"

    What else? Oh yes - manholes. You know they're round because that's the only shape that won't fall into the hole? That factoid has never failed to fascinate me. Yes, I'm easily amused.

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  60. Lemonade: your joke was a riot!

    I wasn't keen on The Descendants, either, but most people I know raved about it. I thought the kids were just brats, and Clooney has performed better in other roles. I'll admit, I am not a Clooney fan, but have seen him in better roles.

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  61. Given the recent events in Sanford, FL, gotta post this tune from Emmylou. My Name is Emmett Till.

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  62. Gay cowboys wearing female clothing! Classic. Awesome joke. I know a gay guy who wears girly clothes!

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  63. Hi everyone,

    Jayce, thanks for asking about my real estate career. Unfortunately, it's going nowhere. Lots of outgo and no income. I've been told there are five realtors for every house for sale in Santa Fe. I've done nothing since Christmas. I need to find a new qualified broker.

    CrazyCat and Irish Miss, I can't figure out how to play Words With Friends. Are there rules somewhere?

    Yes, Marge, I've lived in Santa Fe since 1986. The first twenty yeas were all in the same house. Now I live nine miles south of town off of Turquoise Trail--eight miles north of Madrid. I, also love it here.

    Fun puzzle and great write-up. Thanks Pamela and Argyle.

    Happy Birthday Spitzboov and happy spring to all.

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  64. Hi all. I haven't had a chance to finish the puzzle yet. We had our appointment with our CPA this morning to get our income tax finalized. Then we went out to Robio's for fish tacos for lunch. Then a short bike ride and a macchiato. Then an hour of tutoring a student in 2nd-year algebra and now back to puzzling. But first, here's a very enjoyable video for you animal lovers. It's about a dog who's best pal is a deer. Enjoy!
    Dog and deer

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  65. Well, i don't care if i am over my posting limit,,,

    Bill G. i enjoyed that Dog & Deer video very much. Thanks.

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  66. OK, I didn't want to forget to wish Spitz a happy birthday. I always enjoy your posts. In fact, I enjoyed the puzzle, the writeup, the comments and all the links. A good day at the puzzling home.

    CED, glad you liked it.

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  67. Susan @ 6:26-Words With Friends is played like Scrabble but is different in some ways. For example, the letter values are different as is the board layout. The major difference is the words that it accepts, or better yet, the non-words.

    I don't know of any written rules but you can play against someone the computer chooses for you or if you know a friend's screen name, you can invite her/him to play. Let me know if you need any help getting started.

    BillG @ 6:49-Dog and Deer=BIg Smile! Thanks!

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  68. Lemonade:
    That was hilarious! Thank you.

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  69. Susan 6:26 This beginners guide to Words with Friends really helped.

    How to play Words With Friends

    Lemonade - funny joke!

    CED and Bill G - I'm going to watch your links later tonight.

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  70. This has got to be one of the prettiest places in the world right now. Enjoy the cherry blossoms.

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