google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Gary Steinmehl(1937-2012)

Advertisements

Mar 27, 2012

Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Gary Steinmehl(1937-2012)

Theme: Pep Rally - Combine the ends of the theme entries and you get the unifier.

20A. The smile on an email happy face : PARENTHESIS

37A. Barrier-breaking noise : SONIC BOOM

56A. Exalted group leader, facetiously : GRAND POOBAH

65A. Encouraging cry, such as the one formed by the ends of 20-, 37-, and 56-Across : CHEER

Argyle here. Today's constructor passed away in January. C.C. interviewed him in April, 2010. link. Scroll the comments to see his take on his family's name.

Today's theme may have been hard to suss without the unifier. Certainly, some of the entries harder than normal Tuesday's but do reflect Gary's interests; bridge, jazz, sports, etc. But like all puzzles, I have found one man's Natick is another man's gimme.

Triple seven letter files in all four corners.

Across:

1. __ Tomé and Príncipe : SÃO. The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea. Map.

4. Cap on spending, say : LIMIT

9. Norwegian Sea arm : FJORD

14. Footed vase : URN

15. Habituate : ENURE

16. Friend of Fido : ROVER. "Woof!"

17. Agt.'s cut : PCT. (%)

18. Grouchy Muppet : OSCAR

19. The other side : ENEMY

23. Director Reiner : ROB

24. Jazz singer Anita : O'DAY. Skylark(3:07)

25. Vatican City is one : ENCLAVE

27. Split end in a uniform : RECEIVER. A football player that lines up apart from the formation.

32. Air-conditioned : COOLED

33. Tut's cousin? : "TSK!"

34. Andrea __: ill-fated vessel : DORIA. Collided with the MS Stockholm in 1956 off the coast of Nantucket, MA. The Wikipedia article is interesting in how the sinking was handled, given the recent Costa Concordia event.

36. 88 or 98 automaker : OLDS. Not only your father's Olds but your grandfather's, too. Bill Haley and his Comets sing about his "88". Clip.

40. "Pygmalion" playwright : SHAW. (George Bernard Shaw)

43. Reeves of "Speed" : KEANU. Movie with co-star Sandra Bullock.

44. Palindromic Altar : ARA. A southern constellation situated between Scorpius and Triangulum Australe. Which ties in with 42-Down. Supergiant in Scorpius : ANTARES. Antares is a star in the constellation Scorpius.

47. Bridge holding such as ace-queen : TENACE. Nothing to do with TEN ACE. Derived from the same root as TONGS and indicates a pair of cards that is missing the intervening card.

50. Surprises : STARTLES. Verbs.

52. More decrepit : RATTIER

54. Wuss : WIMP

55. Topsy's playmate in "Uncle Tom's Cabin" : EVA



61. __ cotta : TERRA

63. Household cleanser : BORAX. Still available, I believe. 20 Mule Team® Borax

64. Alternate identity letters : AKA. (also known as)

66. Trumpet sound : BLARE

67. __ canto: singing style : BEL. BEL canto (Italian, "beautiful singing") is an Italian opera term. It has several different meanings and is subject to a wide array of interpretations.(per Wikipedia)

68. Leno and Letterman, e.g. : HOSTS. If you're up late.

69. Artist Grant Wood, by birth : IOWAN. So maybe American Gothic were his neighbors.



70. Bermuda hrs. : AST. Summer hours would be ADT (Atlantic Daylight Time)

Down:

1. Provide for, as a dependent : SUPPORT

2. Teen haunts : ARCADES

3. According to plan : ON TRACK

4. Ponce de __ : LEON. He led an expedition to Florida, looking for the Fountain of Youth. And still they come.

5. R&D site : INST.. (institute, such as RPI, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

6. A whole lot : MUCH

7. "Dies __": Latin hymn : IRAE. (Day of Wrath)

8. Short and sweet : TERSE. Not necessarily sweet but you get the point.

9. Mural on wet plaster : FRESCO

10. Comedian Lovitz : JON. Feel free to link your favorite clip.

11. From one end to the other : OVERALL

12. Took out : REMOVED

13. Ditches where creeks once were : DRY BEDS. Oddly clued.

21. A patch may cover one : EYE

22. Co. designation : INC. (incorporated)

26. Rise up dramatically : LOOM

28. Courtroom oath : "I DO". Swear to tell the truth.

29. Otto __ Bismarck : VON. (1815–1898)

30. The Phantom of the Opera : ERIK

31. Puts through a food press : RICES

35. Blind as __ : A BAT

37. Babe Ruth's sultanate? : SWAT. Just one of his nicknames was The Sultan of Swat, coined by sportswriter, Warren Brown.

38. "I'm __ roll!" : ON A

39. Wilder's "__ Town" : OUR

40. Final race leg : STRETCH

41. Bum's rush : HEAVE-HO

44. Woodcutter who stole from thieves : ALI BABA

45. New versions of old films : REMAKES

46. Paving material : ASPHALT

48. Perfectos, e.g. : CIGARS

49. Suffix with profit : EER

51. Pair : TWO

53. Jewish holy man : RABBI

57. __ contendere: court plea : NOLO

58. Shootout shout : "DRAW!"



59. Lawyer's aide : PARA. Shortened from paralegal.

60. Plow pullers : OXEN

62. Inactive mil. status : RET. (retired)


Argyle

78 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Sad to be reminded that the constructor recently passed away, although it's nice to see that his memory (and legacy) lives on.

I found today's puzzle to be a bit crunchier than normal for a Tuesday, what with TENACE, EVA, ARA, ODAY (none of which exactly spring immediately to mind). I also got off onto the wrong foot by confidently putting in ARROYO at 13D (hey, it fit!)

Overall, though, it was a fine puzzle and I thought the theme was cute. My only nit would be that PARA at 59D is an abbreviation (of paralegal) and probably should have been clued as such in some way. I blame that on Rich the editor, however, and not on Gary.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Gary Steinmehl (RIP), for a great Tuesday puzzle. thank you, Argyle, for an equally great review. So sorry to hear that our Constructor has passed away. I read the interview and he really was into this.

Got started in the NW with a couple of Acrosses, and then the Downs appeared, which gave me the rest of the Acrosses.

Everything else in the North and East fell into place. ENURE was with perps. TENACE I did not know. Got it with perps. A new word for me. ANTARES appeared with a few perps and a wag.

Great start for the day.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Ok, I had to check my calendar to see today really is Tuesday. The top half came very slowly to me, although I found the bottom half easier. Although, I needed all the theme clues to get the unifying CHEER.

Here is my favorite Sultan.

I liked seeing Tut's Cousin = TSK.

My PARA is invaluable to me. I don't know what I would do if she took another job.

BEL Canto is also a novel by Ann Patchett about a singer.

No idea about TENACE, so thanks for the explanation, Argyle.

Today marks Ludwig Mies van der Rohe's 126th birthday. He appears with some frequency in the crosswords (although not today). He was famous for his architectural work and the expression "Less is More."

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

Today's offering was one of the more difficult Tuesday puzzles I can recall, yet I found it fair and ultimately (almost) doable. The NE and SW corners were the biggest obstacles. Of course I had a few sloppy goofs too such as Dorea instead of Doria.31D, RICES, straightened that out. For 26D, I began with ZOOM, but I didn't think ENCZAVE would fly and LOOM seemed to do the trick. Never thought of the Vatican as an ENCLAVE.

Still when I finished, I felt something was wrong, but couldn't come up with the error. Turns out I need to brush up on my Norwegian. I had FIORD rather than FJORD. Never even entered my mind. I was convinced there was someone, somewhere named ION.

Despite another DNF, I had a lot of fun today. Too bad Gary won't be able to give us a follow up puzzle.

Grumpy 1 said...

Good morning, all. Thanks for the writeup, Argyle.

Sad that our constructor is no longer with us. He certainly left a good puzzle to remember him by. I wonder if he had others in the pipeline?

What's not to like in a puzzle with the Sultan of SWAT, CIGARS, and a GRAND POOBAH? Lots of new and clever fill.

Not being a bridge player, TENACE was a total unknown, but all of the crossing entries were known so it filled itself. I couldn't recall ODAY, although the name rang a bell when it emerged. Everything else was pretty smooth.

Grant Wood, IOWAN, was a gimme. The house in the background was the childhood home of the man that founded the consulting firm where I spent the last 25 years of my working days.

My take on PARA (my brother is one) is that it is so commonly used by itself that no indication of abbreviation is needed, although, on a Tuesday, you might expect it to be indicated.

desper-otto said...

Morning, everybody!

I thought this was just right for a Tuesday. It had some really nice fill and took about a minute longer than yesterday to complete.

As usual, I totally missed the theme. In fact, I even missed the unifier. The SW corner was filled via the downs; the perps looked ok, so I never read the across clues.

Argyle, thanks for the learning moments: meaning of TENACE and geography of the Bay of Guinea.

Hmmm. Looks like the comments page has another new format today...

Middletown Bomber said...

Good tuesday offering. This puzzle had answers I either knew or did not know the downs helped me on the accrosses and the accrosses help on the downs which is normal for me a bit harder than yesterdays great write-up as usual argyle.

Anonymous said...

for america gothic the model he used his sisster and his dentest

Dob said...

A rabbi is not a holy man. He/She is a teacher or leader of a Synagogue.

Lucina said...

Good morning, friends. Thanks, Argyle, especially for Sultan of SWAT which emerged independently but I did not understand.

Insomnia today so I'm glad the newspaper is delivered very early.

CHEERs for a lovely puzzle by Gary Steinmehl (RIP)and I'm sorry he's gone.

Sashayed very quickly as I was on his wave length and STARTLED to see PARENTHESIS. Thought the theme would involve punctuation.

No nits, no picks, just a quick solve.

I don't recall that ALI BABA was a woodcutter.

Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!

Anonymous said...

Thought yesterday's was the easiest Monday in memory, and today's was the most difficult Tuesday in memory.

Sorry to hear about the passing of a talented man.

Sfingi said...

Had a "Natick" at TENACE and ANTARES, otherwise fine. Believe PARA should have been indicated as an abbrev.

Once had paper dolls of Little EVA and Topsy that fit into a paper triangle to hang on the Xmas tree. When asked where she came from, Topsy replied, "I just growed." There were also rag dolls which were half Eva and half Topsy, depending which way they were held, with different colored dresses. Very annoying, since they couldn't play together.

kazie said...

Is everyone else's comment window different again today? I wondered if having the comment box at the bottom is to encourage us to read before writing? Anyway, I narrowed the window to half screen to make the reading easier, since otherwise it traipsed across the full width.

Sorry to hear of Gary's passing.

I did fine until the SW corner did me in completely, in addition to the NW STO/SAO, and not knowing what to do with TRCA?ES. I couldn't see any connection in the theme endings. They certainly didn't sound like any cheer I've heard. In addition to not knowing anything about sport, CIGARS, astronomy or bridge, I also have a problem coming up with the names I should know: e.g. SHAW, and having FEEBLER for RATTIER didn't help a bit. In all, a much harder Tuesday than I've ever encountered.

Mari said...

Three Cheers for Gary Steinmehl!

The Other Side: ENEMY took me a bit to figure out. And I definately did not know the meaning of 27A: Split End in a Uniform: RECEIVER.

For Courtroom Oath (28D) I wanted VOW.

Other than than all went well.

KEANU and IOWAN are odd looking words with a lot of vowels.

Remind me to never name a ship (or boat) Andrea.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-SAC’s flight pattern in the 60’s took it over my hometown and the SONIC BOOMs broke dishes and spooked livestock until the problem got fixed
-Congress? Can you say Cap On Spending?
-ROB Reiner’s Stand By Me is a fav!
-George Costanza lost an apartment to a survivor of the Andrea Doria
-The Costa Concordia skipper will go down as one of the biggest cowards in history
-I remember KEANU as the ditzy boyfriend in wonderful movie Parenthood. Steve Martin had the great line, “My whole life is “have to”!
-ANTARES is the “heart of the scorpion”
-A few years ago, the Platte River was a dry bed for miles. NOT last year!
-Many REMAKES should have stayed in the can! What is your least favorite? Pink Panther, Caddy shack II, Grease II, as nauseum
-Do you remember the TV show sponsored by Twenty Mule Team BORAX and its most famous host?

kazie said...

Mies van der Rohe was later associated with the Bauhaus movement which in turn influenced Frank Lloyd Wright.

DRY BED rivers are common in Oz. When I was in the Northern Territory, I learned that there they are called "upside down" rivers, since the water lurks under the sand in the riverbed, if you dig far enough. I had a friend from western NSW, where she said they used to have champagne breakfasts after wool shed dances in the DRY BED of a local river. I think they slept off the night's imbibing first in the river bed too.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

I definitely thought this was a challenging Tuesday puzzle. Like Barry G, I wanted "arroyo" at 13D, and then I tried to remember if there were any Norwegian seas ending in "a" at 9A. (Sigh)

It was a fun theme, and when I saw the unifier, it helped me fill in 20A. PARENTHESIS just wasn't going to appear without some mind-joggling help!

RIP, Mr. Steinmehl. Your legacy lives on.

Grumpy 1 said...

husker, that would be "Death valley Days", and some guy that went on to be a better president than actor... IMO.

xyz said...

As opposed to the garbage at the NYT today, I greatly enjoyed this puzzle, very smooth as help when needed came in a cross or two.

R.I.P. Gary, lovely puzzle today.


Loved seeing AST Atlantic Standard Time - as we love Bermuda!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Thanks for the explanations, Argyle.

WBS. Before getting the unifier at 65a, I wondered if the theme had something to do with the lead-in to the long acrosses. PARENT, SON, GRAND???. But it all worked out. Nice alternate clue for ARA. Liked ANTARES. 4 of the 12 long downs start with 'A'. I'd heard of TENACE but we always just call it the pair of cards missing the intervening card. Hand up for being RET.

I have a recollection of having worked on Gary's puzzles in the past. I'm sorry for his passing.

Have a great day.

Lemonade714 said...

How insteresting; the comments box moved to the bottom, but I can get it back to the side by expanding the page.

Anyway, the puzzle was fun, clearly more challenging than many Tuesdays, but like all of Mr. Steinmehl's work, very doable. We will miss you sir.

CHEERS and CHEERLEADERS are an important part of American Sport with SIS BOOM BAH a regular like my favorite, RAH RAH REE, kick 'em in the knee; RAH RAH RASS, kick 'em in the other knee.

Also, you may know this LINK

Yellowrocks said...

When I was a child my parents always played music like the Anita O'Day clip and also classical music. The link brought me back to my childhood.

SIS BOOM BAH Hurray for Gary Steinmehl and his fun Tuesday puzzle. So sorry to hear of Gary's passing.

HG. I remember Death Valley Days and the 20 Mule Team Borax commercial. Here is the first episode. You might just watch the commercial in the very beginning.
Link text
I liked split end in uniform= RECEIVER. A split end is a positon in football and is one of the RECEIVERs.

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

Good puzzle and nice expo, Argyle.

I found it a little more difficult than a typical Tuesday but perps did the trick. Gary, RIP.

Speaking of the Andrea Doria, we have a survivor in the area who was a young boy, immigrating to America from Italy with his family. He now owns a very successful Italian restaurant.

Still having trouble with my eye watering; I can barely see. We won't even get into the rest of my symptoms; suffice it to say I can hardly wait to see the doctor this afternoon.

Happy Tuesday everyone.

Qli said...

WooHoo! I finished this great Tuesday puzzle without help from Google. The north central area finally fell with a WAG for INST, which helped ENURE show up.

I do remember the Twenty Mule Team BORAX commercials, but didn't remember the show they sponsored.

Now for a "better late than never" note:
Thanks to Bill G for including the link to BGT on March 25. I finally watched it this morning. The Charlotte and Jonathan clip knocked my socks off. (or would have, but I was still in my jammies and slippers.) It will be fun to see where they go in their careers.

Ron Worden said...

Good morning to all,Thanks for the insights Argyle. R.I.P. to Mr.Steinmehl. Much harder for me than most Tues. Got the bottom half first than the top came to me without any help just had to think a little.Only smudge was on 12D. Loved fjord spelled with a j. not an i. Have a great day to all RJW.

Tinbeni said...

OVERALL, a FUN Tuesday offering.

I felt kinda sad while solving knowing our constructor had recently died. RIP Mr. Steinmehl.

A toast to all at Sunset!

eddyB said...

Hello. YIPPEE! Six to go.

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone. (EDT)

What Lemonade said about moving the size to the R will make the comment section appear on the R. So you can have it where it pleases you.

The puzzle? DNF Did get the theme, and SIS helped me get PARENTHESIS. I was trying to figure out colons and whatever, since I don't make the faces in my email. DH who played a lot of football and was an Army Sgt. couldn't figure out that split end in a uniform referred to football. He was fixed on uniform.

I agree about what I know about RABBI. He's not equivalent to a minister or pastor.

RIP Mr. Steinmehl.

And to all bloggers:
Cheers

Anonymous said...

Against my better judgement, I feel I should post this. I have tried to assist in raising the intellectual level of this blog with some bits of nonpolitical, non-controversial - information, knowledge and some wisdom ( however humbly) and what do I get ? ... some scatological remarks from one of the 'regulars' ?? ... (see yesterday's postings).

I choose to remain an Anon, not because I am afraid of any one or all of you - I merely don't have a big ego ( or the need of one - ) to flaunt around.

Grumpy 1, regarding your obscene remarks, if this has been your intention, all along, to hog the blog, you're welcome to go ahead, because I am not going to post here anymore.

You don't deserve me.

Argyle, thanks for the link to the Andrea Doria. Learnt a lot about altruism in the face of death.

Lucina said...

Argyle:
I forgot to thank you for explaining RECEIVERS as I had no idea what the clue meant. Strange cluing, actually.

Jerome said...

I'm sure Gary was a gentleman and a fine man. I know he was a great constructor.

Not so great-

The only GRANDPOOBAH in my family was my HOBO GRANDPA

DRY BEDS- What us older men hope for every morning

Tinbeni said...

Aw gee ...
Now I'm going to miss the comments from the Jawbone of_____an Anon. lol

CHEERS to Grumpy 1 !!!

PK said...

RIP Mr. Steinmehl. C.C.'s great interview made a fitting tribute. Great puzzle with lots of learning moments WEES. Great comments & links, Argyle!

Got all the theme answers before most of the perps.

Never heard of the island nation. The map said "NORTH" Atlantic. Can that be right? Since it's between Africa and South America, shouldn't it be "SOUTH" Atlantic?

Woke early to thunder and pea-sized hail.

What is R&D? Someone please explain.

I spelled ERIc so goofed up cEANU. Only error.

I'd like to have $1 for every Bill Haley record I ever danced to--especially "Rock Around the Clock", a favorite at my high school hops.

My sis and I used to make up our own irreverent cheers with SIS BOOM BAH! Can't remember a one, but we thought they were very risque, usually involving a faculty member or someone we didn't like. BAH was followed with wild giggling.

PK said...

Hey Lois, is the split end in a uniform/receiver risque enough for you?

Misty said...

Looked at the constructor before I even started the puzzle, and it made me sad to realize that he wouldn't see it printed and wouldn't see our comments. Thanks for your explanation, Argyle.

No speed run, for sure--pretty tough for a Tuesday, I thought, although I got it all eventually. The theme helped a lot.

I wish they wouldn't keep changing our blog format. I was finally getting used to the compulsory preview, and now another change.

Irish Miss 10:13, I've been hoping that your eyes would be better this morning and so sorry to hear they're not. Am glad you're going to the doctor. Let us know how it goes.

Have a good day, everybody!

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Yay! The wide screen format means we can type really long comments without going over the 25-line limit. hehe.

gauche gaucho said...

...and let`s face it...we are ALL split ends...

gauche gaucho said...

...unless you are one of those anal rententives...you know who you are...

CrossEyedDave said...

Another format change? Oh Well, i can use it to plead ignorance at how many lines i used...
(p.s., i forgot, how do you change text size again?)

I have started to look at the Constructors name b/4 i do a puzzle, my 1st paranoid thought was, Oh Great, yesterday a kid, and today a dead guy, must be a plot to stop us from nitpicking. But seriously, i do not remember a puzzle (& blog) that made me write so many notes to talk about.

Sean Yest@9:20pm
Excellent! If it were in a real puzzle, i would vote yours for clever clue of the month

Tawnya, Yest@9:25 = Classic!

For SpitzBoov (i picked it out b/4 i saw Andrea Doria in the puzzle,,,i swear...)

Argyle, (& all) i must go back and replay in depth all yr links. it's before my time but it sounds like Bill Haley may have influenced The Beatles. Would u believe i never saw Death Valley Days, looks interesting! (& a 24 minute clip)
Yay! John Wayne introducing Gunsmoke! (with my herniated disks, & limp, i will always identify with Chester

13D oddly clued?
(if it were my puzzle, i am sure i would have clued it "loose bladder goal," to which Rich would have edited to "arroyo")

Yay, HuskerGary is still with us!

Lemonade, i wish i could find a team to cheer on as much as i like the Cowboys Cheerleaders. :)
P.s. Johnny Carson had me hysterical before he even told the joke!!!

Anon@11:46
Don't go away mad, you just need to identify yourself as apart from all the other Anons in the world. You do not have to create an "identity", just a name to seperate you from the crowd.

May i suggest you use this Avatar

Aw Nuts! the text window is the same size, i lost count, but i think i used up all 5 posts!

Avg Joe said...

PK, According to my globe, Sao Tome and Principe are almost exactly on the equator. Since the notation on the map is north of the islands, it is correctly labeled as North Atlantic.

CrazyCat said...

First puzzle I've done in a few days and it was a tough one for a Tuesday. Thanks for the recap Argyle. Sad to hear that Mr. Steinmehl is no longer with us. I've enjoyed his constructions.

I didn't finish because of the crossing of TENACE and HEAVE HO. Am I the only one that doesn't know what a "Bum's rush" is? I thought it might be Sterno...

Spitzboov said...

PK - Sao Tome is ~20nm N of the Equator. N Atlantic seems appropriate here.

Jayce - LOL at your WS comment.

CED - I've seen similar displays before. Here is a video Link . Pretty funny.

Jayce said...

Fun puzzle today. Loved the Tut's cousin and Babe Ruth's sultanate clues! Couldn't remember whether it was DORIA or DOREA, so waited for RICES to emerge, which, by the way, I initially pencilled in as DICES.

DH and I have fond memories of our visits to Death Valley and seeing a big 20-mule Team Borax billboard. Many years ago I had a gig as a consultant at the Borax factory in a town called Boron, California. Man oh man, everything within a mile of that place is covered with white powdery stuff; it gets in your clothes but, guess what, it is easy to wash out :) Not so easy to get it out of electronic equipment, though.

That lighthouse confrontation is funny!

Bill G. said...

This is the 100th year of the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C. They are just spectacular!

Marge said...

Hi all,
Yes,a hard puzzle today. I got about 3/4ths of it until I had to search some clues.

I can never forget OUR TOWN. It was my classes senior play. Many in the audience did not understand it. I was one of the mourners.

I hadn't seen the Babe Ruth Sultanate for a long time-I couldn't remember the answer. I got it eventually.

Barry G: I didn't think about arroya for 13D. It would have been a good answer if it fit. It did take awhile to get drybed. I had daybed first and wondered what kind of a ditch it was.LOL

I didn't understand 43D until I came here what, HEAVE HO was.

Fresco only came with the perps. I spelled fjord with the J but noticed in my CW dict. that it is sometimes spelled with an I.

Have a great day, all!
Marge

Marge said...

PS
One thing about having the blog preview at the bottom is we can see what it looks like as soon as publish.
Marge

Irish Miss said...

Misty @ 12:15-again, thanks for your concern. Diagnosis is a very nasty cold which has affected my throat, chest, sinuses, and left eye problem, which is viral conjunctivitis, aka pink eye. No drops available for viral- type, so it just has to run it's course, as does the cold. I was prescribed a cortisone nasal spray which should help clear the nasal/sinus passages. I hope the next few days will bring some relief.

Qli said...

Glad Irish Miss has a relatively benign answer to the eye problem.

Cross Eyed Dave, thanks for the links that cracked me up!

It's sad that Gary Steinmehl won't be constructing any more crosswords. In this life, anyway...

Bill G. said...

I bought five lottery tickets since the pot is up to $363 million. I promise to share some of it when I win.

Here is the advice from a seven-time lottery winner, Richard Lustig, in Florida. It's worth just what it costs you.

1. Pick your own numbers. Don’t leave it up to the machine. Lustig advises against playing Quick Picks, the phrase describing the number the computer picks for you when you don’t use your own.

2. Do your homework. Go online and make sure the set or sets of numbers you play have never come up before.

3. Stick with your strategy. You have to learn what number to play and how often to play. Commit to your numbers and stick to your strategy.

4. Avoid lottery fever. When jackpots get this high, Lustig says, people tend to get lottery fever and spend a lot more than they normally would or can afford. Don’t go crazy; the odds are still the same no matter how much you spend.

IMO, the only part of his strategy that is any good is the last part.

Spitzboov said...

FJORD - Norse, Firth - Scottish/English, Förde - German are all cognates. Even the words fare, ferry. ford and port are from the same roots. If you are interested in these word origins, you might like this Link . Jerome?

Anonymous said...

New Zealand also has fiords!

Anonymous said...

Good tuesday puzzle? My a$$!? Start of another in consistent week. But yesterdays was easy and last friday simple. Bet u tomorrows should have been today.....gmony.....cheers all.

Husker Gary said...

Argyle, your commentary was first rate as always but I would be remiss if I didn’t single out the clip of John Wayne pitching that new show Gunsmoke. Fabulous!!

Right as always Grumpy! The show was Death Valley Days and the occasional host was our 40th president.

Dave, thanks for the kind comment. Golf, subbing and yard work have eaten up my blogging time but I still work the puzzles every day. On the course Sunday, one man hit his ball into the group ahead of him twice and starting choking the guy who complained. The sheriff had to be called. Yikes! It’s a frickin’ game!

PK, R & D is Research and Development that is done at lots of INST(itutions).

The USA Today puzzle had this Natick crossing for me with the down clue – Eight line verse form (TRIO_ET) and the across clue Afghan coin PU_. Anyone? Bueller?

Alex Jaloway said...

Very difficult for me today. It seems that ENURE is also a proper spelling for INURE but I did not like this. I didn't like the clue for LOOM either. Maybe I am not cut out for this crossword stuff. I like the clever clues and not the "obsure" (my words so as not to offend the pros) ones.

Does the average person know what ENURE means?

I am hoping tomorrow's puzzle help bring back some confidence.

Dennis said...

Gary, 'L'.

Misty said...

I too am glad that the problem is only a nasty cold, Irish Miss 2:27pm. I began seeing Facebook messages about people having awful 5 day colds, and oddly enough, a few weeks later that's exactly what I had. So I'll keep my fingers crossed that after 5 days you'll feel much better, even if there's still an occasional cough or sniffle. In the meantime, just take really good care of yourself.

Husker Gary said...

Dennis, yup! I didn't get it without dancing through the keyboard after switching to Regular and off the Master level. I usually make my 9 minute deadline on that puzzle and find it enjoyable as well but a step or two below our gems here.

Off to Lincoln for yet another soccer game at the 9 year old level!

CrossEyedDave said...

OMG! I'm sorry, but i keep replaying Lemonade's clip, Describe the sound when a sheep explodes...LMAO!

Grumpy 1 said...

Anonymous @ 11:46

I usually avoid feeding anonymous trolls, but since you saw fit to single me out, among the several that responded negatively to you yesterday, I'll break that rule.

You claim not to have an ego and then state that you have tried to "assist in raising the intellectual level of this blog with some bits of nonpolitical, non-controversial - information, knowledge and some wisdom" and "we don't deserve you." Isn't that the very definition of an a big ego? You feel that you are in a unique position to raise our "intellectual level"? I think not. What have you contributed that any poster here could not find in a two minute Google search IF they were interested in the subject?

Hog the blog? How laughable! I have fewer lines/posts per day average than a few dozen other regulars, some days I don't post at all.

Bye Bye, Anon, dont' let the door hit you in the backside on the way out, It might give you a headache.

Jayce said...

My mom often used to say, "You're growing like Topsy." I never knew what it meant nor gave it much thought until today. Wow. I love learning.

She also used to say, "You're room looks like a cyclone struck it." I never paid it much attention except to casually wonder what a "strucket" is. Never believed my room looked like such a thing.

PK said...

Re map: Thanks, guys! DUH! Didn't think about the equator being the demarcation for the Atlantic or remember that it was that far south. Back to my atlas reading. Apparently have neglected it far too long.

Re R&D: thanks, Gary.

BillG: re lottery; is that sharing declaration an open offer to all your many good and loving friends here on the blog? We'll all pray for your good fortune no matter your decision on distribution.

CrossEyedDave said...

Grumpy@5:08
Forgive me, (love yr posts)
but i disagree, I sense that Anon@11:46 has input that could be useful to us all, if we just knew who he/she was?

Anon, pls come back as "somebody."

If you have useful input, i would love to hear it, but if you do not have a name, we do not know who to praise.

Bill G. Re: lotto
what does my 2 cents get me?

Grumpy1

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Very poignant to work a great puzzle after the constructor has gone beyond.

Lots of trouble - not in River City, but in the NW corner. Anita KERR - No - O'DAY, mate. Couldn't come up with a abrv for "commission." Plus, I wanted another 3-letter pharaoh. TSK. Eventually got back ON TRACK, with no outside SUPPORT.

IOWAN Gothic (3:20 at the clip - provided you are contrary . . .)

It's always a great moment at the bridge table when the opponent leads into your TENACE.

Jerome - May you always wake in DRY BEDS.

Granddaughter Samantha is a CHEER leader.

Trumpets :: BLARE. Trombones :: blat.

MUCH CHEER!
JzB no idea ALI BABA was a woodcutter

Argyle said...

I looked long enough to find what a tenace was but I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

Jzb? anybody?

CrossEyedDave said...

I too tried to look up Tenace,
Argyle, i don't know anything about Bridge, but i think you and i are Acey/duecey players...

Hoyle said...

I'm thinking its like an inside straight draw. A gutshot draw. Or a bellybuster.

Its as good as the next card.

dodo1925 said...

Hi, kids,

A really good puzzle today, but a bit harder than most Tuesdays. I'm glad to see that it wasn't just me. Great narrative and links, Argyle.

I think I've developed narcolepsy. I just can't seem to get enough sleep. Overslept this a.m. and missed my morning walk. Then I dropped off twice for a couple of hours each. That should total about 12 hrs.I hope I can sleep tonight.

Fermatprime, I wish I could transfer some of this to you.

I do hope the anon. who has left us wasn't Vidwan (have I got that right?) He was pretty intellectual, but IMHO too humble to describe himself in such a condescending way! Maybe I mean too polite. A nice guy. I miss him.

Lemonade714 said...

Alex J.

What makes puzzling and this Corner so special is the absence of any 'average' people. We are each unique, knowing some things better and others less. No body knows them all and there should not be a sense of competition as much as a sense of sharing. Just picture what C.C. has accomplished as a non-English speaking person to now being part of the creative world. We each add an ingredient, and it takes all of them to make the stew.

sasses said...

Thank you for your info about my little rag doll. I did not know (but should have guessed) that she represented Topsy and Eva. I still have it after seventy years. Sasses

Jazzbumpa said...

Argyle and Dave-

A tenace is neither a good thing nor a bad thing. It is a thing - and a situation to be dealt with.

How it plays out depends on the circumstances. Sometimes you can lose a trick to the opponent on your left (called "Throwing him in,) causing him to lead up to your hand.

Then, if you're holding, say, King-Jack, you can win the trick with the cheapest card necessary.

If the opponent on your right had the lead, he could lead through your tenace, giving his partner a chance to win with the queen.

A good bridge player gets a lot of information from the bidding, and after the initial lead, when dummy comes down, has a very good idea of where the important cards are placed. Hence the knowledge of how and when to throw in an opponent.

Hope this helps.

JzB

Bill G. said...

Jayce and CED, Yep, keep your fingers crossed.

Hoyle said...

Like I said, it depends on the next "card" or luck.

Avg Joe said...

What?

I'm not average? :-~

Argyle said...

Topsy and Eva Doll image.

Web Site.

Bill G. said...

Treadmills can be evil machines, especially for those with adventurous spirit but poor judgment.

HUTCH said...

To all anons!! Please dont quit .I need you!!

Bill G. said...

Rats!

Lucina said...

Aww, Bill, I'm sorry you didn't win. Better luck next time when it will be worth over 4 hundred million!