google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Michael Dewey

Gary's Blog Map

Apr 24, 2012

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 Michael Dewey

Theme: Strong as the Weakest - The last of the unifier can also follow the end of the theme entries.

61A. Elusive evolutionary connection, or the elusive feature of the ends of 18-Across and 3- and 28-Down : MISSING LINK


18A. Florida Keys, e.g. : ISLAND CHAIN


3D. Injury-prone area for pitchers : ROTATOR CUFF

28D. Meat ingredient in many stuffing recipes : PORK SAUSAGE


Argyle here. It appears that this is Michael's debut LAT puzzle but he had a successful Monday debut in NYT in January. He seems to have a future in fine fill.

Across:

1. Place to stand around with a round : BAR. I'll drink to that.

4. Musical triad : CHORD. Three or more musical tones sounded simultaneously.

9. Desert plants : CACTI

14. Self-image : EGO

15. New staffer : HIREE

16. Popular email provider : YAHOO. Might want to add "once" to the clue.

17. Field for 19- or 40-Down : ART. and so 19D. Surrealist Salvador : DALI. and 40D. Spanish muralist José María : SERT

20. Master : LEARN

22. "You're on!" : "DEAL!"

23. The Beatles' last studio album : "LET IT BE". Please read the Wikipedia article before arguing about this.

26. Slip-up on the set : BLOOPER

31. Seeping : OOZING

33. Best-selling touchscreen device : iPHONE

34. Co. that makes stuff : MFR. (manufacturer)

36. Tyrolean refrain : YODEL. This area.

38. Ambulance wail : SIREN

39. Middle-earth menaces : ORCs

41. "Get out of my sight" : "GO NOW!"

43. Gumbo veggie : OKRA

44. "24" superagent Jack : BAUER

46. Diamond surface : FACET

48. Fa-la link : SOL

49. "Sure, let's do lunch" : "I'M FREE"

51. Everest expert : SHERPA. The native guides.

53. The one in a one-two, usually : LEFT JAB. Followed by a right cross. (boxing)

55. Explore caves : SPELUNK

58. Top Olympic medals, in Barcelona : OROs. Spanish gold.

60. Bandleader Kay : KYSER



67. Give the heave-ho : AXE

68. Committee type : AD HOC

69. Lamp dwellers : GENII

70. Something to chew : GUM. Literally.

71. Fort __, Indiana : WAYNE

72. Pilfer : SWIPE

73. New Orleans-to-Miami dir. : ESE

Down:

1. What really matters : BE ALL. Clue/answer seems incomplete, not all.

2. Come to terms : AGREE

4. Cheaply made : CHINTZY

5. Bathrobe designation : HIS

6. NBA's Magic, on scoreboards : ORL

7. Tackle Tolstoy, say : READ. Tried to, once, but he busted the tackle.

8. Cygnus supergiant : DENEB

9. One-eyed monster : CYCLOPS. And seldom seen as an answer.

10. Sigh of pleasure : AAH!

11. All the tea in China? : CHA. Literally, again. Chinese word for tea.

12. You, to Yves : TOI. You need some French.

13. + molecule, e.g. : ION

21. Carnival setting : RIO

24. Bookstore sect. : BIOG. (biographies)

25. Words before "time" or "the line" : END OF

27. Buckeye's home : OHIO. Where have you gone, Buckeye? The Pretenders (6:13)

29. Año beginning : ENERO. Spanish.

30. Kidney-related : RENAL

32. Actress Rowlands et al. : GENAs. Seen here with James Garner in "The Notebook".


34. Big name in oil : MOBIL

35. Bowling score sheet division : FRAME

37. Highland waters : LOCHS

42. Blubber : WEEP

45. Shout "Hallelujah!" : REJOICE

47. One who can do a perfect Vulcan salute : TREKKIE


50. Come by honestly : EARN

52. Tissue box word : PLY

54. 5-time A.L. batting champ Wade : BOGGS. Primarily with the Boston Red Sox.

56. Connection : NEXUS

57. Krispy __: doughnut chain : KREME

59. Did in, as a dragon : SLEW

61. Animal's gullet : MAW

62. Mont. neighbor : IDA.

63. Just short : SHY

64. Holy Trinity member : SON. (Father, SON, and Holy Spirit)

65. Pasta suffix : INI

66. 1-Across quickie : NIP


Argyle

Note from C.C.:

This info is for those who own their own blogs and do not like the look of the new Blogger interface.

To go back to the old Blogger format, just click on the Blogger logo (white B inside an orange square) on the upper left corner of your screen, then click on the Blogger Options button on the upper right corner (besides English/under Me), then click on Old Blogger interface.

77 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    Fun puzzle today, although a little sparse on the themage [Is "themage" even a word? If not, it should be...]

    I had no idea that CHA was the Chinese word for tea (neither my wife nor her parents ever drink the stuff, so it has never come up before).

    I AGREE that BE ALL seems to be lacking a bit, but I suppose it is accurate enough and now I know what the BE ALL in "BE ALL and end all" actually means.

    MFR threw me for a loop. Wasn't expecting it and didn't really care for it once I got it.

    I believe the politically correct term these days is TREKKERS, but I'm sure some fans still refer to themselves as TREKKIES. I put in TREKKERS, however, and hit a minor bump in the road as a result.

    BOGGS, KYSER and BAUER -- three names I actually knew for a change!

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  2. Be sure to check out Google today. One of their better ones.

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  3. Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I thought this was a bit tough for a Tuesday. MISSING LINK came easily, which pointed me in the right direction for the other theme clues.

    2-Across made me think of Chord Overstreet from Glee.

    I was not familiar with Jose SERT, but I think he has appeared in the puzzles before.

    Highland Waters = LOCHS was my favorite clue.

    The perps filled in BEALL, which was all I could see after it was filled in. Oh, that was supposed to be two words!

    Crosby and Hope took a Road to RIO.

    QOD: Tradition is tending the flame; it's not worshiping the ashes. ~ Gustav Mahler

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  4. Trekkie is still a proper term. Basically a trekkie is a trecker on steroids. A rather simple puzzle today. I had no need to rush and I still did this puzzle in tuesday speed run time. Good puzzle and a good write-up as usual.

    to Anon@617 that zipper drove me nuts.

    PA and De don't forget to vote today.

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  5. Morning, all.

    I agree that BEALL seems awkward. But other than that, there's a whole lot to like in this puzzle.

    I used to watch 24, but I just couldn't remember Jack BAUER's last name. Odd, because it's my grandmother's maiden name.

    I'd been working my way down by entering the across answers only. That worked fine until I wrote SCRAM smack-dab in the middle. That seemed much better than GONOW for "Get out of my sight" -- for a little while, anyway.

    Time to GONOW.

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  6. I liked this fill, more interesting than we see on most Tuesdays.
    What does BE ALL AND END ALL have to do with the expression, Bee's Knees?
    Link Bee's Knees

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  7. Yes, Argyle, Michael seems to have a future in fine and fresh fill – ya gotta love SPELUNK.

    Musings
    -My iPhone is a big part of my life now, especially while Joann is shopping.
    -Tin and I probably have YODELer kin somewhere in Suisse.
    -GO NOW was a hit for The Moody Blues but Knights in White Satin was their best.
    -I was linking Fa and La with LAS at first after donning my gay apparel
    -ORL’s Dwight Howard is the antithesis of this week’s Jeremy LIN
    -Gotta love Sheldon!
    -Hahtool, Great QOD!

    We are off to help chaperone 54 kindergartners on a field trip to UNL this morning. I might need a NIP first!

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  8. Good day folks,

    This was a tough solve for me today, especially the Mideast and Southeast. Sherpa, Sausage Spelunk, Kyser, & Trekkie took forever to appear. Plenty of trial and error to finish this off. When I changed N.O. to Miami from SSE to ESE, PORK SAUSAGE was solved and that got me going.

    Despite my troubles, I did enjoy this puzzle.

    Back in the day, never went into a BAR for a quickie, but often hoped for one when arriving home. Those thoughts were always NIPped in the bud!

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  9. For 4 D, 'Cheaply made' - I had CHINese - but I knew that was too unPC, and could not be right.

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  10. I found this a bit hard for a Tuesday but got it all in the end. I didn't know names other than DALI and GENAs, but combining perps and WAGS meant the others were no trouble. BAUER was recognizable after I got most of it, but I hardly ever watched the show due to my supply of adrenalin being in danger of running out every time I did. I really don't enjoy any sci fi. I guess I prefer at least a veneer of reality.

    Nice write up.

    Yesterday I didn't have time to get here at all but had no problems with that CW.

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  11. Good morning everybody. Nice Tuesday level puzzle.

    I liked 24A: Co. that makes Stuff: MFR, and 69A: Lamp Dwellers: GENII. I liked MFR because the clue was so vague. For some reason it had me thinking of this stuff. I wonder if you could buy it here?

    I didn't know KYSER or DENEB or CHA (very clever).

    I'm off to read up on BE ALL to figue out what to clue meant.

    Cute Google page, Anon.

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  12. '24' and Jack Bauer were not sci-fi.

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  13. Good morning everyone. Thanks for the write-up, Argyle.

    Seemed a little harder than the usual Tuesday fare, but was fun to work on. Generally advanced from top to bottom; the longer theme fills were easy enough. No lookups were needed and the were no erasures. I thought the puzzle seemed to have a nice word variation. Good job, Michael.

    DENEB - For you early risers it currently can be seen at 4 am local time at about 54º altitude and 68º azimuth (ENE).

    Enjoy the day.

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  14. First off, thanks for the picture of Sheldon Cooper, PhD, one of TV's best ever characters. ROCK PAPER SCISSORS LIZARD SPOCK!

    @any-none-muss 6.17 a.m.
    Yes the Google Doodle is way cool today.

    Very good puzzle today CHINTZY, SPELUNK, GENII and GENAS all in one puzzle.

    So wonderful to see Anatomic Structures (esp. my Orthopaedics) clued properly!

    A new positioning of the theme for me, but I'm not so much into PPR (Perfect Puzzle Rules)

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  15. C.C. - I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings - that was never intended - but my comment was meant to be an honest one.

    I had 'CHIN---', so 'Chinese' is an understandable, (though, in this case, incorrect ) logical answer.

    BTW, 'cheap' does not mean 'shoddy'. I have lots of China made tools, because, although they don't look so nice, they do the job, and are at less than half the price. Nobody would buy shoddy stuff for very long. The fact that the Chinese mfr'ers have made such massive inroads into the US market, obviously means that the market has accepted them, and price is one the major determining factors in that decision. I can confidently state that I am not a racist, but to ignore the obvious, and pretend it doesn't exist, would also be a form of racism.

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  16. Good morning.
    Great puzzle and write up today. After struggling yesterday, I found this one to be what I expect early in the week. I couldn't sleep last night, so did the puzzle at 1 am but that is too early to post here. Worked across and down at the same time and finished fairly quickly. I even got the theme, which is rare for me.
    With the 'Be All' answer, I immediately thought of the Army slogan (from 1980-2001) to "Be All You Can Be." In the TV ad they sang," Be All That You Can Be." I listened to it on YouTube this morning to see if my memory was correct about the words.
    Yesterday, USA Today had an article, "The End of Cheap China: World must adjust to new reality." It said the cheap labor pool in China is evaporating.
    I slowed at MFR and MOBIL, but perps helped. I watched 24, but didn't know how to spell BAUER.
    I was a TREKKIE and I went SPELUNKING when I was young. Didn't like caves, and outgrew Star Trek.
    Have a great day everyone. It should be in the high 80s again today.
    Montana

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  17. Chintz originated in India. In the 1600's it was shipped to Europe where it was all the rage and was expensive and rare. By the mid 1700's England and France, as well, were producing chintz.
    I find it interesting that something that was so rare and expensive now is the basis for our word CHINTZY, cheap and tawdry.

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  18. Kay KYSER and his Kollege of Musical knowledge was actually before my time, but I heard a lot about him.

    Never heard of SERT. He was a Nabi, but I guess his lack of use of color failed to attract my interest. Other Nabis that I like were Maillol, Bonnard, Vuillard.

    Thanx for the picture of Sheldon. I discovered The Big Bang Theory this year - just in time to watch 4 episodes a night.

    Those monkeys are cute.

    So, we're supposed to know Chinese words, now? Why did I study German and Italian?

    @Desper-otto - as I'm sure you know, BAUER means farmer in German. Maybe you can create an image of Kiefer sitting on a John Deere?

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  19. Do you remember Jessica Tandy teaching Morgan Freeman to spell Bauer in "Driving Miss Daisy"?

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  20. Good morning to all and happy Tues.Thanks Argyle and to Mr. Dewey. Started of with war for 1A and we all,but then when I got to nip I changed the w to a b and that was my only smudge. Have a great day to all RJW.

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  21. Good morning all:

    Thanks, Michael, for a fun, fair Tuesday offering. Any trouble spots were eased by perps. Good expo, Argyle.

    I'm glad we have so many Sheldon fans here; he is in a class by himself.

    Hatoolah, today's QOD carries a great deal of meaning. Thank you for this daily treat.

    Happy Tuesday to all.

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  22. The picture of Sheldon is from the Spock doll episode mentioned last week, which I am sure A. chose for continiuity sake.

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  23. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Michael Dewey, for a swell puzzle. Thank you, as well, Argyle, for the equally swell review.

    Started at 1A and figured it should be BAR, but I held off until I got 1D. I did not get 1D for most of the puzzle because I was Puzzled about the Clue. Seems like others were as well. I had all the other perps and BAR was obviously the answer to 1A, so I entered the "B"

    In the NE corner, thank goodness for CACTI and YAHOO and ISLAND CHAIN. That gave me CHA and TOI, which I did not know. And, I drink tea (Earl Grey) by the multi-cups full each day. I will try to remember that word.

    Had to think twice about the plural of GENIE, GENII. It worked.

    Had IPADII for 33A for a short while. fixed that quickly after OHIO showed up.

    Theme was good. Easy to arrive at. Clever.

    To anon: Good response.

    Gave my pint of blood today. What I like is 48 hours after you donate you can call in and get your cholesterol number, free of charge. It's like a mini-physical.

    Today is my wife and my 36th Anniversary. Hooray! It is also my mother's 88th birthday. Unfortunately, she is not in good health.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  24. Happy Anniversary, Abejo. And I am sending birthday wishes to your mother, too.

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  25. Morning all,
    I agree with some of you that this was a little tougher than a normal Tuesday , as usual for me , the proper names gave me fit, but the perps came to the rescue

    I can nit pik at 1 down but I'll just 23 across

    With Cacti at 9A and Island Chain at 18A , I thought 9D had 3 letters too many....!

    Fore....

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  26. Nabi , from the Arabic, means 'one who prophesizes' ( i.e. the Prophet ).

    Rasul ( or Rasool ) is the 'messenger'.

    There is a minor academic ( semi-religious ) dispute as to whether the two words are synonymous.

    As to what Sfingi meant, was probably more along the lines of Lemonade's link of avant-garde artists ( Spell. ?).

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  27. Did the CW while wathing PHX and CHI last night. No problems.

    Didn't go in for blood tests like I was supposed to. Don't want to know the results. Eyes are a different story

    The new JP Beaumont novel begins
    like the others. He is doing the NYT online while having a cup of coffee. Later switches to iced tea.

    A good morning to go back to bed untill it warms up a little.

    eddy

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  28. Keifer, (Or did you mean Kiefer , meaning pine tree in German),

    I should have made it clearer--as well as not liking "24", I can't stand sci-fi. I didn't mean it to sound like I thought "24" was sci-fi, but for the sake of economizing on words, I put both thoughts in one sentence.

    Bauer is interesting in German, since the verb bauen means to build. But a builder is a Baumeister, never Bauer, although farmers probably did, and probably still do, quite a bit of building.

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  29. Please explain how "What really matters" can mean "be all?!"

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  30. Great debut here, Michael, with a puzzle that was not a speed run, but quite doable. I got it even without having heard of BOGGS, KYSER, or BAUER. And loved your visuals, Argyle, many thanks.

    I did have a weird moment with the theme, when I went 'missing chain' (OK), 'missing cuff' (OK), and 'missing sausage' (Noooooo). That's the fun in the process.

    Abejo 10:19 have a wonderful anniversary, and happy birthday wishes to your mom.

    Have a great Tuesday everybody. We had a friend to dinner last night and so missed 'Dancing with the Stars.' But we'll watch the taped version tonight.

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  31. I think Les Nabis were so dubbed because they were 'prophets' of a new presentation of art moving away from the impressionists.

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  32. The fill in today's puzzle is outstanding. It doesn't get any better than this.

    Just awful-

    YODEL- Hey, Shannon!

    JOE, ERIC, REJOICE!

    BOGGS- Wouldn't it be neat
    if Wade's name
    was really Pete.

    C.C.'S PLOY- Keeping an eye out for a CYCLOPS.

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  33. Enjoyed the puzzle, commentary, and links! Thanks.

    BOGGS and SERT were new names for me. Hahtoolah: I zoom into the blog double size, so the SERT link came on as one big crotch view. Startling! LOL!

    Don't understand what is DENEB?

    Happy anniversary, Abejo! May there be many more!

    Kazie, I can't read Sci-Fi either. Too nightmarish.

    BillG: thanks for the hood latch info last night. Haven't been out to try it yet, but will. Jordan is so cute! My youngest grandson had his 5th birthday yesterday, but is too far away for me to be there. His mama sent pictures.

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  34. ANON @11:38. The idiom, BE ALL AND END ALL, means the most important part (what really matters). It was used in Macbeth by Shakespeare. In my experience the entire idiom is always used. The END ALL is not dropped. Being familiar the idiom, I accepeted BE ALL for 1D as a truncated version.

    I have been wondering why I knew CHA. I realized CHA is also Japanese, often called O CHA, O being an honorific. The Japanese also say O SUSHI, honorable sushi.

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  35. Hello, cyber friends. Thanks, Argyle, for helping me LEARN something today.

    What a nifty puzzle by Michael Dewey! I sashayed to the right, then left, then down and it was done. CACTI gave me the first fill and it took off from there.

    I hesitated at BAR because it seemed too easy and I couldn't cross it with anything until EGO and ART emerged. Same with ORCS.

    Who said "the end all and the BE ALL of all existence?"

    I've never watched 24 but have seen BAUER here many times as well as Wade BOGGS. DENEB is another crossword gem I've LEARNed.

    Flubbed NEXUS because I was thinking of Miami, OHIO, ENE. Also didn't notice GENII as I had ITI for pasta suffix.

    SERT started as MIRO then I remembered his name is Joan not Jose.

    Yesterday I forgot to mention that one of my favorite duets is ISLANDs in the Stream by Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers.

    Ciao for now. Have a great Tuesday, everyone!

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  36. PK @ 11:37 -- DENEB is the name of a supergiant star in the constellation Cygnus (the swan).

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  37. Abejo, happy anniversary! And happy birthday to your mother, too!

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  38. Abejo: Happy Anniversary to you and your wife and Happy Birthday to your mom.

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  39. PK: re: what is DENEB?
    What D O said. See my post @0909 earlier. One of the 60 or so stars commonly used in celestial navigation.

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  40. BEALLs is a major department store in Florida. I've known many women that would say it is definitly what really matters, especially on senior sale days.

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  41. Good afternoon everyone.

    Abejo, have a good celebration for your anniversary. And I hope your mother's health improves and that she can enjoy her birthday.

    I also enjoyed this puzzle even though I DNF. Was stuck in the middle top. But SPELUNK (which my spell check does not like) and the theme answers were fun to get.

    And a great write up as always, Argyle

    Cheers

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  42. I really enjoyed today's puzzle, after the cross & downs which had lots of unknowns, and just enough "gimme's" to splatter the entire outer circumference, i noticed a symmetry. Starting with "bar" & ending with "nip". i had also very lightly penned 4A third, & 72A steal thinking they might be wrong which added to the symmetry.

    Then something unusual happened. I started in the NE @11, thru 12 & 1 o'clock. Then 3 & 5. (Sausage pointed to the theme "link" @6, then 7,8,9 o'clock. Then i made the run down the stairs in the middle which gave me trekkie & finally changed slay to slew.

    The whole puzzle was solved like a giant clockwork corkscrew! But it wasn't until i turned on my PC & saw the Google homepage that i realized that the whole puzzle really came together like a "zipper."

    Supposedly a scenic tour of Cygnus & the star Deneb, @ 10:31 its so long i have't seen it myself yet. (hope its good.)

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  43. PK : LOL!

    Lucina: Miro was my first thought, but then I, too, remembered his first name was actually Joan.

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  44. Haven't read other bloggs but wasnt Abbey Road Beatles last studio album? Let It Be was last released but recorded before. Dont want to cause a stir just asking a question.

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    Replies
    1. Maybe "last album released" should have been in clue instead of studio.

      Delete
  45. Good morning Argyle,C.C. et al,

    Took a tad longer than a usual Tues, not knowing Bauer, Sert,Kyser or Deneb. Enjoyed the theme answers, Michael. I just made too many wrong 1st guesses.

    Wonder if I will be able to locate Deneb since it is the 19th brightest star, a "blue-white supergiant", a nice learning moment.

    CC @ 8:52 :-)

    Abejo, good to know about blood, and Happy Anniversary with many more to come.Sorry about Mom.

    Husker, brave man...hope you have lots of band aids and hugs.
    My middle grandson (2 1/2) has been with me for a few days as he got that awful baby virus, "hand,foot and mouth". Hard to eat anything but ice cream and Popsicles.

    Anyone do anything special on Earth day? So many people in our area participate in clean ups. We like doing the near-by creeks.

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  46. Cross eyed Dave, it is good. Thanks for posting.

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  47. Hi gang -

    A fine puzzle today. I fond it a bit hard for a Tuesday.

    PORK SAUSAGE and ROTATOR CUFF - Wow!

    I'm judging a science fair tomorrow, then have rehearsal in the evening. Probably won't make it here.

    Cool regards!
    JzB

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  48. Heigh-Ho all. Fun, quick puzzle today. I actually knew the proper names - makes solving so much easier...DUH!

    Chintzy is a great word. My Mom used to use it, but I don't hear it much anymore. "Irk" was another of her favorites. "That really irks me"! Isn't it funny things you remember - my Mom passed away 30 yrs. ago and I can still hear her!

    And ORCS. I never know whether to fill in ORCS or ENTS. Never read Tolkien, don't plan to, no clue about middle earth...so there.

    EddyB - I'm going to check out JP Beaumont. I've been reading a lot of Michael Connelly (I'm hooked on Harry Bosch).

    Now I have to check out the google doodle and try my luck at today's NYT's.

    Happy anniversary to Abejo & Wife & happy birthday wishes to your Mom.

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  49. Abejo,
    Happy anniversary and a birthday wish for your mother. I hope she is able to celebrate even in a small way.

    Anon @ 1:05,
    Read the link Argyle provided in the original blog today. The song "Let it Be" was recorded earlier but not the album.

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  50. Happy Anniversary Abejo

    Porky Pig Blooper, (we may have had this b/4, but too good to pass up)

    Here is the secret to the missing link.

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  51. Abejo, happy anniversary to you and your wife. Doesn't time fly? And I hope your mother is able to enjoy her happy day as well. Was it intentional that you married on her birthday? What a fun way to remember two important events!

    I really loved this puzzle - just enough snap to make it interesting, but simple enough for a Tuesday. Since I'm really late to the party today, I'll just sit back and enjoy the links that you all have so thoughtfully provided.

    Every puzzle unwraps all kinds of interesting tidbits. But today, I had an eye-opener with YR's "Bee's Knees" link @ 7:28. I always wondered about that expression...now I know!

    Have a nice evening everyone!

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  52. anon@3:10, yeah, I agree, but she appears to be clothed...

    One must judge the complete package.

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  53. I remember when items made in Japan were considered inferior and unworthy of purchase. Japan named a city USA so that products could be stamped "made in USA." Shortly after WWII some items (kids cars for example) were made from metal from cans and if you turned the car over, you frequently could read part of the can's original label.

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  54. For once I realy liked todays puzzle. FUN FUN. Except "earn". I saw Tony Sapranos uncle Junior use the word "Earn." I dont think he meant honestly. HEH HEH.

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  55. Hi All ~~

    A fun puzzle today and as others have said a bit tougher than a usual Tuesday. I really enjoyed your write-up, Argyle ... lots of good info and wonderful graphics and links.

    ~~ I shouted "Hallelujah" last night when the Red Sox finally won a game. (Sorry, C.C)

    ~~ Like Husker Gary, I thought of the Moody Blues with 41A - GO NOW

    ~~ I've been a bit (OK, a lot) pre-occupied with decisions to be made regarding my kitty ... she had more blood work done last week. The vet called today and we're going ahead with treatment for what appears to be Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Some injections and more tests coming on Thursday. She certainly doesn't act like she's not feeling well ... for that I am grateful.

    ~~ Happy Anniversary to you and your wife, Abejo, and my best wishes also to your mother.

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  56. Garlic Gal.

    The Beaumont novels take place in Seattle. There are 20 of them so far. Happy reading. The other JA Jance novels take place in Sedona and down around Tucson, AZ.

    Jance is a word smith.

    Almost ready to start Connelly' 9 Dragons. He is an unlisted co-author on the Nikki Heat series and plays poker on Castle with
    Patterson.

    eddy

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  57. I agree that Michael Dewey has a great future in crosswords! 1A was my favorite clue.

    Loved SPELUNK, a great word from my childhood reading., Wanted Gnats for "lamp dweller" at first. Tis the season for the little pests already. By the time they end up in the lamp, they are dead, so not really "dwelling", I suppose.

    Thanks to Yellowrocks for the info on bee's knees. Fun to find out where phrases come from.

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  58. Spitzboov & Dotto: thanks for the info. After reading the early post with azimuth, figured it had to be a star. But thought it sounded more like a man-made satellite. What a strange name.

    Eddie & GarlicGal: I've read all of Jance & Connelly and eagerly await new ones. Some I've read several times.
    I'm about 2/3 through the Sara Paretsky series right now. Don't like hers as well as the other two.

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  59. I went now...to the Moody Blues' "Go Now" and discovered they weren't the first to record it. Forthwith, Bessie Banks and Go Now(2:46).

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  60. Yellowrocks:
    I just now had a chance to read the article on "Bees Knees" and it almost bowled me over! That is fascinating!
    Thank you for posting it.

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  61. I didn't see any mention of Gena Rowlands, other than a few comments that nobody's ever heard of her. This is a shame; she is an accomplished actress (up in years by now I would imagine). One of my favorite movies is called "Strangers, the Story of a Mother and Daughter." She starred in this with Bette Davis, and I absolutely loved it. The performances from both women were top-notch. It reminded me of the relationship I had with my own Mother (not that great). I bought a used VHS version of it from Amazon, but cannot play it because my VCR doesn't work anymore. I think you all should see the movie if you get a chance, it has lots to offer and an unforgettable ending.

    Never heard of ORCS or SERT, so messed that up. Did not know middle-earth had to do with Tolkien. I also screwed up Trekkie- had Trekkee, so missed Genii. Oh well, better luck tomorrow! Overall though, I really enjoyed all the cool fill in this puzzle, especially SHERPA and SPELUNK. Argyle - I liked the way you explained the theme clues with photographs. Different, but nice, and it served the purpose!

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  62. Forgot to mention, the movie was made for television, back around 1979. Gena was married to John Cassavetes, an actor, who appeared on Columbo a number of times. He is deceased now. I also think Gena guest-starred on Columbo a few times. She was good there too!

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  63. LA CW Addict: Gene Rowlands was also in A Woman Under the Influence, which was directed by her husband, John Cassavetes. I agree, she has enormous talent.

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  64. I too think Gena Rowlands is a wonderful actress, and that she and John Cassavetes and Peter Falk did terrific work together. Am glad LA CW Addict and Hahtoolah have drawn attention to her impressive work.

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  65. Dennis: You always soldier on!

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  66. PK, I'm missing reading Robert B. Parker now that he's no longer among us. Good characters and dialog. What about Jance? Is she an author I might like? If so, which book would be a good place to start?

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  67. Gena Rowlands did a very fine job as the mother of Gibbs' murdered wife a couple of years ago. She also did a fine Betty Ford, and even worked on Peyton Place

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  68. BillG, if you are a Parker fan, you might like Stuart Woods. He writes a sparser dialogue in his more recent stuff. Very prolific. His earlier books were better, I think, but I buy everything he does. My favorite are "White Cargo", "Deep Lie" and "Run Before the Wind".

    I don't know why you wouldn't like J.A. Jance. She has four series going. Do you buy? Books or electronic reader? I'd recommend Googling a web page of the author where you can get synopses and see what you think.

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  69. PK, thanks. I am anxious to give Jance a try. I would like a suggestion about what series and books to start with. Which are your favorites?

    I have always gotten books before but my kids gave my a Nook as a present so I am anxious to try something with it.

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  70. First time catching this blog, and what a great job you did, especially with the opening rundown.

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  71. Welcome, Ivan. What brought you by?

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