google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 1, 2012 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

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May 1, 2012

Tuesday, May 1, 2012 Don Gagliardo & C.C. Burnikel

Theme: What has many eyes but cannot see? - No, not Mississippi but good guess. Today we are looking for POTATO and five words that may precede(HEAD) it just as they do in their individual phrases.

17A. *Steady, unobtrusive background sound : WHITE NOISE. White potato.

24A. *Highly charged, as a topic : HOT BUTTON. Hot potato: an awkward or delicate matter.

31A. *Sleeper sofa : COUCH BED. Couch potato: subject of many TV ads.



44A. *Nouveau riche : NEW MONEY. New potato: a young potato of any variety.

50A. *Especially favorable agreement : SWEET DEAL. Sweet potato, a favorite at holidays. Are sweet potato fries common in your area?

62A. Mr. who debuted 5/1/1952, or in a way, what the first word of the answers to starred clues can be : POTATO HEAD. Also, a star in the Toy Story movies.


Argyle here with a semi-tough Tuesday offering from the Dynamic Duo. Only 13 three-letter entries and no cheater squares. Two long descenders and some old and some new fill. Yes, there are more potato phrases but they can't all be mentioned ... in the puzzle but can be in the comments. Try not to duplicate someone else's suggestion.

Across:

1. Short trips : HOPS. I know that isn't the way HOPS would be clued by some of you.

5. Daylong march : ETAPE. Hello, old friend.

10. Baseball cards unit : PACK

14. Swiss river : AARE

15. Stereotypical dog name : ROVER

16. __ Bator, Mongolia : ULAN

19. Pixar fish : NEMO

20. "Roots" hero __ Kinte : KUNTA


21. China's Mao __-tung : TSE

22. Gap rival : J.CREW

23. The Blue Jays, on scoreboards : TOR. (Toronto)

26. Bustle of activity : ADO

28. Kids' touching game : TAG

30. Automaker with a four-ring logo : AUDI

34. Soothing words : SOLACE

38. Bk. before Job : ESTH.

39. Slow-moving tree-hanging animal : SLOTH

41. Fingered, as a perp : ID'ed

42. Arnaz-Ball studio : DESILU

46. Feudal slave : SERF

48. Chou En-__ : LAI

49. Intractable beast : ASS

54. Dallas sch. : SMU. (Southern Methodist University)

56. Shopping meccas : MALLS

57. D-Day craft : LST. (Landing Ship, Tank)

58. They're often cluttered in offices : DESKS

61. Entr'__ : ACTE. French, means "between the acts".

64. Hershey's toffee bar : SKOR


65. __ Gay: WWII plane : ENOLA

66. "See ya" : "TA TA"

67. Sugar pies : HONs. Not pastry but words you might call your sweetie.

68. Heat-resistant glassware : PYREX. For baking your potato casseroles.

69. Out of control : AMOK

Down:

1. Taloned bird : HAWK. Cornell red-tailed hawk cam.

2. Pacific island on which much of "Lost" was filmed : OAHU

3. Hard copies : PRINTOUTS

4. Contentious confrontation : SET-TO

5. Directional ending : ERN

6. Dental whitening agent : TOOTH GEL

7. French order-carrying craft : AVISO. Another old friend.

8. Former coin of Spain : PESETA. 70 pesetas = 1 U.S. dollar, circa 1970.

9. Cockney's "in this place" : 'ERE

10. Strict observance of formalities : PUNCTILIO. based in Latin.

11. Warning : ALERT

12. Brief acting role : CAMEO

13. Familiar : KNOWN

18. Only planet with exactly one moon : EARTH

22. Sensei's teaching : JUDO

25. Baloney : BUSHWA. It has been around since the Twenties.

26. Scored a hole-in-one on : ACED

27. Unit of reality? : DOSE. A dose of reality, a wake-up call.

29. Silly : ABSURD

32. Con men : CHISELERS. From back in the day when coins were made of precious metal. This took me WAY too long to find. Link.

33. King of the ring : DON. (boxing promoter) Cute clue.

35. On and on and on and ... : AD NAUSEAM

36. Average marks : CEE's

37. Ice cream brand : EDY'S

40. Revealing, like the heart in a Poe title : TELL-TALE

43. "We're in!" : "LET'S!". You might think of this as responses from in a group to a suggestion to go for pizza.

45. Mess up : MISDO

47. More than a misdemeanor : FELONY

50. Hard tennis shot : SMASH

51. Screwball : WACKO

52. "Your Song" singer John : ELTON

53. Fur tycoon : ASTOR

55. Zubin with a baton : MEHTA. Something to get your blood going 'Carmen' Overture.(3:34)

59. Green Hornet's sidekick : KATO. From the comic, movies, radio and TV show. In the television series he was portrayed by Bruce Lee.

60. State west of Minn. : S. DAK.

62. Get-up-and-go : PEP

63. Income __ : TAX


Argyle

Note from C.C. & Don:

Don came up with this theme. We originally had KANYE WEST for 35D, but it resulted in a few weak entries. I learned not to get attached to any entry from constructing this puzzle.

65 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Nice, well-executed theme today. Blew through most of the puzzle in typical Tuesday style, but did get hung up in a few spots.

Both PUNCTILIO and BUSHWA were new to me. I had the first two letter of BUSHWA and really wanted a different two word phrase, but (a) it didn't fit and (b) it wasn't particularly family-friendly...

I've seen AVISO in puzzles before, but I think this was the first time I've seen it clued this way (I was unaware of the French connection).

I resisted putting in LETS at 43 until I had every perp, and even then wasn't comfortable with it. I appreciate Argyle's explanation, but it still seems a bit forced.

Oh -- and I really wanted WACKY instead of WACKO for 51D. I think of WACKY being screwball whereas WACKO is just plain deranged. But that's probably just me...

Barry G. said...

To my last comment, I don't think they called Michael Jackson "Wacko Jacko" because he was fun-loving and zany... ^_^

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

A bit harder than yesterday's! Thanks, Kevin, Don, CC, Argyle!

Do not seem to remember ETAPE or AVISO very readily.

Was reading and forgot just how late it was. Anybody hear read Dana Stabenow's Liam Campbell books?

Easy to read with new/old iPad 1 someone donated, with very large print available.

Jayce--thanks for shout out; did some internet searching. Had not realized all this was going on. Wouldn't be surprised if the Riemann Hypothesis was necessary for proof of original conjecture.

Susan--so sorry about your kitty. I know how you feel.

Must try to sleep!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I thought this was a semi-tough Tuesday puzzle, too, but I may my way through. I easily got WHITE NOISE, but Mr. POTATO HEAD certainly helped with the rest of the theme clues. I kept looking for my Mashed Potatoes.

I saw Zubin MEHTA conducting the orchestra at the Vienna Opera House a few years ago.

If we've seen ETAPE before, I'd forgotten.

BUSHWA was a new word to me also.

Yesterday marked the bicentennial of Louisiana's statehood.

QOD: Saving is a very fine thing; especially if your parents have done it for you. ~ Winston Churchill

Anonymous said...

What is an etape

thehondohurricane said...

Good day folks,

I'm going to steal a term from Barry and describe today's puzzle as "crunchy", especially for a Tuesday. Got it done, but it was a lot of jumping around from one section to another. An uneven solve.

I've always thought of ETAPE as some sort of protective structure and AVISO as a type of service organization. My learning moments of the day.

10A, PACK, stirred a few greedy thoughts. Would sure like to find a few unopened packs from the 40's, 50.s or even the 60's.

I don't think JCREW has reached the CT malls yet, but seeing I spend very little time in malls, who knows. LaLinda?

For 56A, started with MARTS, perps gave me MALLS.

Lemonade, thank you for the CARMEN OVERTURE. I'm by no means an expert, but I do enjoy classical music. Vivaldi favorite composer. All his music is upbeat.

desper-otto said...

Good morning, all!

I'll be number three who's never heard of BUSHWA. I'd heard of punctilious, but not PUNCTILIO. And I would have bet money that NAUSEAM had two u's in it.

SOLACE is a really nice, slow, Scott Joplin rag.

This puzzle felt tougher than the typical Tuesday, but it was still a pretty fast solve. Thanks, DG and CC. And Argyle, BUSHWA's really been around that long? Where has it been hiding?

Avg Joe said...

I found it harder than typical for Tuesday, but enjoyable as well. Bushwa and Punctilio were my WOTDs as well.

Susan, I'm very sorry to hear about your kitty.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Don and C.C., for a really good puzzle. Thank you, as well, Argyle, for a great review.

First, let me thank Argyle for the Red Hawk Nest link. That was great. I watched it for quite a while. May go back later.

Started easily in the NW. HOPS, AARE, HAWK, OAHU, and PRINTOUTS were easy. SET TO and KUNTA came later.

I remembered AVISO from previous crosswords. Did not know ETAPE. Got it with perps. ROVER was easy as well as ERE.

The NE was also easy for the most part. PUNCTILIO fell later. That is a new word for me. The first part of the word made sense. The last part I needed perps to complete.

Never heard of JCREW. I am not much of a shopper.

44A NEW MONEY fell after a while. I was looking for a french word. Thank goodness it turned out to be english.

62A POTATO HEAD was easy after I had a couple letters.

Needed perps for AD NAUSEAM.

All in all, liked the puzzle. Thank goodness for all the perps that helped me with some tough words.

6D TOOTHGEL reminds me that I have a dentist appointment at 9:00 this morning. Just a checkup, hopefully nothing else. However, this guy is pretty good. I had a cap that I cracked one time eating popcorn. He said it had to be replaced. I asked the office lady how much it would cost me. She said nothing. It is under warranty because I got the original cap there. That was a first for me.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Barry G. said...

ETAPE is usually clued in crossword puzzles as "a day's march," although it can also apparently mean "a place where troops camp after a day's march." I've only ever seen it in crossword puzzles.

AVISO is another bit of old-timey crosswordese that is usually clued as "dispatch boat." As I mentioned, I've never seen it clued as a "French" craft before, and a quick peek at my dictionary indicates that the word comes from the Spanish "avisar" (which means "to advise"), so I'm really wondering what the French connection is here.

I dunno, it's bad enough to use an obscure word like this on a Tuesday, but I think Rich should have at least clued it in a more standard way instead of adding one obscurity onto another.

Abejo said...

To Husker Gary:

Took a look at your church. Beautiful. Also, your singing was great too. Glad to see you are involved.

Abejo

Husker Gary said...

Just back from running out to buy a new eraser! Thanks for a lovely workout Don and C.C., you owe my 29 ¢ ;-). I had a MR POTATO HEAD when it was new and potatoes are the main reason my poor knees are carrying too many pounds!

Musings
-Surprised I knew AVISO, ETAPE and PUNCTILIO.
-Had to “respell” ad nauseAm, Kato,
-Daughter gets white noise by “tuning” radio in between stations
-My BUTTON was first a potato
-Have you ever had to lift a sofa bed? OMG, they’re heavy!
-Sweet potato fries are here but give me an Idaho Russet every time. New potatoes are just around the corner.
-Athletes that can really jump are said to have “HOPS” or “UPS”
-My baseball cards? Yup, mom…
-AUDI has four rings and Mitsubishi means three diamonds
-Lucy could only “stand by her man” so long
-SKOR is my favorite candy bar
-Elton’s music and showmanship are first-rate!
-The most famous movie CAMEOS were by what director?
-What musical was about someone with NEW MONEY from Leadville, Colorado?

thehondohurricane said...

HG,

The one and only Otto Preminger

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

More difficult than usual for a Tuesday offering but quite doable. Never heard of punctilio or Skor candy bar but have seen etape in other cw's. Good job Don and CC and good expo, Argyle.

Happy May Day everyone.

Irish Miss said...

HG @ 8:02. I think Alfred Hitchcock was famous for his numerous cameos. Or does his just appearing in the background qualify as a cameo?

Husker Gary said...

Addendum to yesterday

-Thanks for all the nice comments (and restraint on bad ones) about my singing yesterday. Yes, our $12,000,000 church is impressive.
-Susan, we lost two kitties that were 17 and 15 years old and Joann steadfastly refuses to get another one because of the heartbreak she felt on those two occasions. Our condolences.
-PK, about great grandpa MacManimey, who fought at SHILOH and had children very late in life. I don’t know how old my great grandma (nobody ever talked about her) was but I thought it was pretty cool that grandma OPAL (not OPEL), who I knew for 50 years, had a father in the civil war. She remembered him as very cold and distant and never telling about fighting in that horrible conflict.
-BTW, she was pretty cold and distant too because she married a man who came back from WWI with what today would surely be called post traumatic stress and was never the same. Not all casualties of war died.

Mari said...

Happy Tuesday everyone. Lots of great words today - some had me chuckling. WACKO, BUSHWA, ABSURD, CHISELERS, AD NAUSEUM and the obligatory ASS.

WBS regarding WACKO.
WEES regarding PUNCTILIO.

On October 19, 2009 my beautiful black cat Glenn crossed The Rainbow Bridge. A new kitten filled part of the hole in my heart, but I still miss my "Little G".

This is for Susan.

thehondohurricane said...

Damn it..... I meant Alfred Hitchcock.... don't know why Otto popped into my "peabrain". Thanks for waking me up Irish Miss.

Irish Miss said...

Susan:

I am so sorry about your cat.

kazie said...

Very nice Tuesday CW from our dynamic duo. I got slapped around a bit in the SE with not knowing SMU or MEHTA. I took a guess at the first letter of the name and put DEHTA. Other than that, WAGS got me all other unknowns: BUSHWA, KATO, and the end of punctiliO.

AVISO appears in my French dictionary thus:
aviso [avi'zo], n.m. (Naut.) Aviso, dispatch boat, sloop, gunboat.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C., Don G. et al.

Thanks for the explanations and wonderful video cam of the red-tailed hawk, Argyle! And what could be better to start the day, than to hear Zubin MEHTA doing the Carmen overture??

Fun theme today, and the revealer helped me go back and fill in where I had a couple blanks.

I had a rough time for a Tuesday, same as others have mentioned. PUNCTILIO and BUSHWA nearly did me in on the northeast section. I loved seeing AD NAUSEAM !! I'm so glad you used that entry instead of "Kanye West", C.C. and Don!

Husker, I would guess that the Leadville new money movie would be "The Unsinkable Molly Brown". Loved that one!!

I hope May brings plenty of flowers, but right now we are getting some of the remaining April showers here in the NE. Happy May Day everyone!

Mari said...

Jayce @ April 30: I agree that Lindsey Buckingham is an amazingly talented musician.

CED and Blue Iris @ April 30: Al Capone may have liked the ladies a bit too much. He died of syphillis in his home in Miami in 1947. At the time of death he was nuttier than the proverbial fruitcake. He probably couldn't tie his shoelaces, much less manage a criminal empire.

It's May Day and their expecting a lot of protests in downtown Chicago. There are police and security personnel everywhere!

Anonymous said...

J CREW has been a popular retailer in many states for at least 20 years. Michelle Obama wears J CREW.
Link Michelle Obama
Link store locations

Yellowrocks said...

Oops! Snafu! Try again for Michelle in J CREW wear.
Link Michelle?

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Thanks for the comments, Argyle.

A little tough for a Tuesday as Argyle commented. For me it was the SW that was slow to evolve. But a little white-out took care of it. A little too quick to write in Disney; but then remembered DESILU. Also wrote in nous before ACTE. Wanted smart deal (smart potato?) before I saw that SWEET DEAL would work. Some good EARTHy fill like CHISELERS and WACKO.

Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

As I made my way down, the white and couch had me remembering some wacko Liberace performance. Then Elton had me going waaaay wrong!! All sorted eventually, but very surprised!! Good fun for a Tues. Thanks!!

Montana said...

This was a tough, Tuesday puzzle.
WEEs. I slogged through it and only missed one square, the A in etape and aviso. Guessed that one wrong.

After finishing, thought back on it as an enjoyable puzzle. Thanks to the constructors and Argyle.

No JCrew in Montana, but sweet potato bites are a favorite at senior meals.

Happy May Day!

Montana

Lucina said...

Good day, friends. Thanks, Argyle and the Dynamic Duo!

This was like a game of TAG; one letter touched another and it was done. Nice to see some old friends as has been mentioned. AVISO is a Spanish word meaning warning, to warn.

WEES on BUSHWA. New word for me and I also thought ADNAUSEAM ended in -um. Thanks to crosswords, ENOLA, KATO, EDYS and Chou En LAI are permanently embedded in my brain.

I love SWEET potato fries! But EDYS is not found in these parts.

Ironically, my HOT BUTTON started as HOT POTATO until perps changed it. And for some reason I had SCOR instead of SKOR.

This weekend I shall make POTATO salad for my daughter's birthday along with five of her cousins and one aunt. Big party Saturday.

TOOTH GEL might figure in my dentist visit today in a couple of hours.

Enjoy your May Day, everyone!

Anonymous said...

Good morning everyone.

This, as has been frequently said, was a bit tough for a Tuesday. But I got it. Put off BUSHWA because I couldn't believe that it was correct. Haven't heard it for many years, and my punctilious mother thought it not a proper word for me to say.

Fermat, I have read and enjoyed all the Dana Stabenow books out to date.
Besides the Liam ones, the ones on the sea are also great reads.

I must tell you what I always remember on May first (I believe it's a British saying).
Haroo, haray, the first of May.
Outdoor screwing starts today.

Cheers

Misty said...

Well, I was so excited to see the Dynamic Duo, but I have to say this felt more like a Friday puzzle than a Tuesday. I got it eventually, thanks to the theme, but even when I was done I'd never heard of BUSHWA, ETAPE, and AVISO. I kept looking at BUSHWA, shaking my head and saying "that can't be a word"!

Cloudy, rainy morning, not shaping up to be a great day.

palos said...

Today's puzzle seemed contrived and not an enjoyable way to start the morning.

I've heard of a sofa bed, but not a couch bed. You can agitate someone and push their button, but that doesn't make for a hot button. Tooth gel and tooth paste both clean your teeth, but neither are necessarily a whitening agent.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Wonderful write-up & esp. the 'Carmen' Overture.

Rabbit, Rabbit on this May Day. They're havin' a party in Moscow!

FUN (more like a Wednesday) Tuesday offering from our dynamic-duo. Thanks Don G. & C.C.

I'm wondering if the clue for ENOLA Gay could just be "WWII plane"?
I put in ETAPE with the AVISO crossing and thought "Must be something I learned doing these."

Once thought about becoming a priest but "I couldn't wait a whole week for NEW MONEY!"

Susan, sorry to hear about your cat. tears ...

A 'toast' to all at Sunset.

Argyle said...

Sallie!

Enough bushwa about AVISO. Here is the Wikipedia link and although they call them a small boat, Google the image and they look pretty big.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Tough Tuesday. AVISO + ETAPE = Natick.

HOPS on "rabbit, rabbit" day! We saw a couple of fat rabbits in our yard the other day, scoping out our not yet planted vegetable garden.

I do like the hi-carb theme. Plus some baseball, cards, and a Chinese connection.

Pardon the PUNCTILIO, but I must call BUSHWA on 46A. SERFs, though not free as we think of it today, were absolutely not slaves. One of many qualitative differences is that in slavery, the master owns the person of the slave; in serfdom the master owns a portion of the labor output of the serf, either as a stated labor quantity, a stated output quantity, or some combination. Not a SWEET DEAL.

Here is some SOLACE.

Cheers, and TATA!
JzB

Ron Worden said...

Good afternoon to all. Thanks Don and C.C.for a fun Tues. and Argyle as always for your write-up. To HUSKERG: I vote for Speilberg who made cameos in a lot of his movies. I saw "Unsinkable Mollie Brown in 1975 in Westbury N.Y. with Tammy Grimes and Howard Keel. First time I saw theater in the round quite amazing! A great day to all. RJW.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Welp, ended up leaving the "A" square crossing AVISO and ETAPE blank. I thought of writing it in but it would have been a pure guess and would mean nothing to me. Dang.

Loved BUSHWA. My mom used to say that a lot when she thought one of us kids were scamming her, ie, lying to her.

WEES on PUNCTILIOus.

Gimmes included KUNTA, SLOTH, AUDI, ELTON, ASTOR, MEHTA, and NEMO. I'll never forget the indomitable Kunta Kinte.

Watched a Youtube video today of Maria Menounos dancing an amazing Paso Doble with Derek Hough on DWTS last night. As Bruno (one of the judges) said, spellbinding!

Desper-otto, I like SOLACE, the Scott Joplin rag. I think it is one of his more emotionally moving pieces.

On the other hand, the movie Quantum of Solace made no sense to me. At least Craig Daniels gave a good performance.

Best wishes to you all, and may Louisiana celebrate another 100 years in, um, 100 years from now :)

Unknown said...

Harder than usual so early in the week. But then again, I'm dumber than a sack of rocks!

eddyB said...

RR.
Small town nearby is called Alviso.
Boats used to come down the Bay and deliver mail to SJ.
SJ falcons to get leg bands today.
Nice Tuesday CW.

eddy

Jayce said...

I mean Daniel Craig. Sheesh.

Bill G. said...

Thanks C.C., Don and Argyle. Happy May everybody.

I'm in the minority by not being a big fan of Daniel Craig. He always looks too intense and angry. I think James Bond should be played with a little sense of humor. Of course, when you start out with Sean Connery, it's got to go downhill from there.

I love Solace too. I'm a big fan of all of Scott Joplin's rags. For two things a little different, here is Chet Atkins playing The Entertainer. And here is another American piano composer, a little earlier than Scott Joplin, call Gottschalk. His "The Dying Poet'' is lyrical and lovely. Let me know what you think.

xyz said...

Tough road for me

PK said...

Wasn't there a musical or opera called "The Ballad of Baby Doe" about a Leadville, CO miner's paramore? I'm thinking the last name was Tabor and a bunch of us went and peeked in the windows of their mansion in Denver back in 1960 just before it was torn down. Been too long ago.

PK said...

Susan, did you see my late-night post to you yesterday?

CrossEyedDave said...

Was it just yesterday i said "give us something for us couch potatoes," (i should be more careful what i wish for.)

After failing the last DG/CC puzzle on a Wednesday, i thought they were doing me a favor with a Tuesday puzzle. I ended up perp WAGging my way into "panctilio" (16A "alan" Bator, mongolia, - why not?) & an "E" at the end of "ovise" plus a "pesena" gave me "henbutton," ( i dunno, i thought it might be a midwestern saying, i got mad as a wet hen stuck in my head.)

Hawk Cam = awesome!

18D planet with 1 moon, (Plutonians will be offended!)

WBS, 51D every time i am about to hit the publish button i wonder if this will come off as wacky, or wacko... (don't answer that, this is one area i prefer to remain ignorant.)

low energy drinks

couch potato cake

me on a good day

original Mr. Potatohead commercial $2.00???

Anonymous said...

Another tough Tuesday. Never heard of some stuff especialy for a Tuesday. Got it done though, but it wasn' t fun like last Thursdays or week from last Fridays.

CrazyCat said...

First of all, Susan I'm sorry about your kitty. Our cat, Madeline, who moved with us from NY to FL to TX and then to CA was a victim of a coyote.

Thanks Argyle for your write-up. Thanks also to CC and Dan for a puzzle with a theme about one of my favorite things. Sweet potato fries are big in CA. Some are really good, others are soggy.

I prefer a smooth cruise on Tuesday and this was a little bumpy. I know AVISO and ETAPE from CWs, but the clues today really threw me off. PUNCTILIO was new to me. I was surprised to see it on a Tuesday. I have never heard a sofa bed called a COUCH BED. Maybe it's just me. Thought 27D Unit of reality - DOSE was cute!

J CREW is everywhere and a favorite of the first lady. I don't really consider it a GAP rival. It's way pricier and much more on trend.

Grumpy 1 said...

ETAPE? Isn't that what holds the Internet together?

Jayce said...

Grumpy 1, good one.

Bill G, I'll have to listen to that Gottschalk piece a few more times in order to form an opinion on it that is worth sharing. Did you like it?

Abejo said...

Jeanne:

Are you with us? We are doing Vidalia Onions this weekend. Got any good recipes?

Abejo

Husker Gary said...

Musings 2 after, well, you know what….
-Here is the Cameo director I was thinking of
-As many have said already, the nouveau riche musical comedy character was The Unsinkable Molly Brown who survived the Titanic sinking. The music for the Broadway show was written by Meredith Willson from Mason City, IA. Another of his works was my favorite musical of all time based somewhat on his hometown and if you don’t know what it was, then you probably ain’t into musicals!
-As I have mentioned before, the Enola Gay was built in Omaha on a site that is now Stratcom.
-When certain vices are illegal, men like Capone get rich! He was NOT unsinkable and graced the halls of Alcatraz at one time.

Marge said...

Hi all,
this puzzle was harder than yesterday but better than last Tuesday. I don't remember that theme but I didn't do much of it either.

I never heard of Skors. I seldom buy candy bars anymore as there is too much temptation when I get them home.If they get that far.

Bushwa was a new word. I was sure I had it wrong but all the perps fit.

Don and C.C.I was thinking LANDS'END would be a good answer for 22A but it didn't fit.

Liked 42A,Desilu,sure got a lot of laughs from that studio.

Have a good evening all!
Marge

LA CW Addict said...

Loved the potato theme today. It is one of my favorite foods. Never ever heard of Bushwa; is the word Bushwhack somehow related? I know there is an "h" in bushwhack, but who knows?

Argyle or anyone - one more time, can you explain cheater squares, or show an example?

Susan, so sorry about your cat. It doesn't sound good. Try to figure you'll never see it again, or else you'll just be setting yourself up for daily disappointment. Make sure to contact your local SPCA just in case. Back in 2000, I lost a cat I had had for 10 years. He just never came home. I looked for him everywhere for 6 months, including the SPCA. I would go in the SPCA and come out bawling because my cat wasn't there, and there were so many others that needed adopting. Finally, I adopted a 5-month old silver tabby I named Sylvestor. He is now 12 and in good health. Needless to say, the rest of my cats all became "indoor" from that point on. Sometimes things just happen in life for no apparent reason. This does not help right now; you will still feel devastated. Don't look at any photos for awhile. You will be in my thoughts; I know what you are going through and it's awful.

Susan said...

Thank you to the many of you who have sent kind words to me about my cat. Husker, I had another kitty for 18 years that had to be put to sleep. It was two years before I got this one. Like you and your wife it took us a long time to get another one.

Mari, I love your poem.

Susan said...

Yes, PK, I did see your post--thank you. I don't have much hope, though, because there are so many coyotes here and a mountain lion was seen just a few weeks ago.

Argyle said...

Definition: Any black square which can be removed from a crossword diagram, along with its symmetrically opposite black square, without decreasing the total word count of the puzzle. A puzzle may be rejected if its diagram contains too many cheater black squares. An exception was the recent snake puzzle where the squares were added to form a graphic grid.

LA CW Addict said...

I view heartbreak upon the loss of a pet as part of life, unpleasant as it is to experience. If one did not feel that way, then one has no business owning a pet.

Just think what would happen to all those poor animals in the pound if everybody took the attitude that they would never adopt again because of the grief after a loss. I do think this is harder on older people though. I am noticing that I am having more difficulty each time. Sometimes waiting for a time between pets is a good thing.

Ultimately, life is not a bowl of cherries, but time sure does help with the healing process.

Anonymous said...

Sallie!!!!

dodo said...

Greetings Group,

Well, surprisingly todays puzzle didn't seem as difficult fo me as it seems to have to a number of you. Just luck, I guess. It was lots of fun/ Thanks C.C. and Don.

I knew 'etape' from many old crosswords; I'd love to know how it's pronounced. For some reason 'aviso' brings to mind "The African Queen", can't think why. I must have read it somewhere, too. I remember thnking it was a strange word for a type of boat.

My dad used to say 'bushwas', tho I was a bit surprised that it was right. I too wanted 'adnauseUm' until it woouldnt work. I don't remember ever seeing 'pnctilio' before, but it seemed appropriate.

BTW, Sallie, I loved your little ditty, but couldn't help thinking what your punctilious mama would think!

I do wish somebody would tell me the meaning of 'WEE(s).' I've been askin'

Hahtoolah said...

Sallie: your little rhyme is adorable!

Jayce said...

Dodo, WEES stands for What Everybody Else Said.

Lucina said...

Sallie:
Cute!! I forgot to mention it earlier.

HUTCH said...

With all due respect! Bushwah is a curse word from the 30's meaning B.S.! Bushwacker is an assassin who hides behind a bush and shoots you in the back!

CrazyCat said...

Saillie - just had time to carefully read all the comments. My mom used to say that little rhyme, once we were old enough (in our 30s). I would just roll my eyes and say "Oh Mother!"

David Bowman said...

I rate crosswords on how few clues I have circled at the end. Clues are circled when their answers leave me clueless: 5A- ETAPE (huh?); 67A- HONS (wha?); 7D- AVISO (okay!?); 10D- PUNCTILIO (???); 25D- BUSHWA (new one on me); 33D- DON (???); 37D- EDYS (neverheardofit); 43D- LETS (dont get it); and 45D- MISDO (really?). I'll be watching for future crosswords by Gagliardo and Burniket. It'll save me 25 minutes in the morning.

Argyle said...

Your ego is showing.