google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Jeff Stillman

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May 29, 2012

Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Jeff Stillman

Theme: The Fab Four


20A. #1 hit by a 30-Across member : "BAND ON THE RUN". Paul McCartney & Wings Clip.(5:14) There is an extensive write-up with it.

30A. '60s pop group : BEATLES

35A. #1 hit by a 30-Across member : "MY SWEET LORD". George Harrison Clip.(4:57) I've never heard this version and had a hard time believing it really was George. (still not sure)

44A. #1 hit by a 30-Across member : "IMAGINE". John Lennon Clip.(3:32)

54A. #1 hit by a 30-Across member : "YOU'RE SIXTEEN". Ringo Starr Clip.(2:47)

Argyle here. It was tough listening to all those clips but somebody had to do it.

Across:

1. Canal locale : PANAMA. "A man, a plan, a canal – Panama!" Famous palindrome.

7. Exile isle : ELBA. "Able was I ere I saw Elba" Another one.

11. Young boy : LAD

14. Mount where Noah's ark landed : ARARAT

15. Color similar to aqua : TEAL

16. "__ was saying ..." : AS I

17. Staccato's opposite : LEGATO. Detached versus smoothly, per this handy site.

18. "B.C." creator Johnny : HART. Comic strip.

19. Mex. neighbor : USA

23. Longtime U.K. record label : EMI. There is a connection between EMI, Apple Records and the Beatles.

26. Speechifier's spot : DAIS

27. Botanical puffiness : EDEMA

28. High-pitched flute : PICCOLO

32. Shady spot : ARBOR

33. Detective's lead : CLUE

40. Ain't as it should be? : ISN'T. Clever clue.

41. Bring together : UNITE

49. Gasoline ratings : OCTANES

51. Parceled (out) : DOLED

52. Sharer's word : OURS

53. Tree juice : SAP

58. Advanced legal deg. : LL.M. (Master of Laws)

59. Top of the line : A-ONE

60. Stylish Oldsmobiles : ALEROs. Gone but not forgotten.

64. PC linking acronym : LAN. A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, or office building. (Wiki)

65. __ Gaga : LADY. I have no idea what this clip is about. It is a collection of clips of the Beatles while Lady Gaga sings Let's play a Love Game.

66. Catches some z's : SLEEPS

67. Doo-wop's __ Na Na : SHA

68. Terrier named for a Scottish isle : SKYE

69. Expansive home : ESTATE

Down:

1. Bud : PAL

2. "My lips __ sealed" : ARE

3. Re-re-re-remind? : NAG. "If I told you once, I've told you five times ..."

4. Oman man, usually : ARAB

5. Bullfighters : MATADORS. We had TORERO yesterday. Both fight the bull but it is the MATADOR that may kill the bull.

6. Keyless : ATONAL. Tricky clue.

7. Spirit of a people : ETHOS

8. Hamburger grading word : LEAN

9. Starr of the NFL : BART. Card. No relation to Ringo Starr.

10. '50s tennis standout Gibson : ALTHEA



11. Bay leaf source : LAUREL

12. Undertake, as responsibilities : ASSUME

13. Rigg and Ross : DIANAs. A couple of candid shots. Rigg; Ross.

21. Bishop's domain : DIOCESE

22. N.J. summer setting : EDT

23. Org. with a monthly "Go Green!" newsletter : EPA. The May issue.

24. Craft whose name means "peace" : MIR. The space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001.

25. SALT weapon : ICBM. (Strategic Arms Limitation Talks/InterContinental Ballistic Missile)

29. Playfully noncommittal : COY

30. "Keep your opinions to yourself!" : "BUTT OUT!". Unfortunately, we must tell some Anons to do this when they cross the line. Oh wait, we delete and ignore the trolls.

31. Long-bodied swimmer : EEL

34. Novelist Deighton : LEN

36. Carry the day : WIN

37. Bests in the market : OUTSELLS. (both verbs)

38. Messenger molecule : RNA

39. Headache intensifiers : DINS

42. Afternoon social : TEA

43. Debatable mental ability : ESP. (ExtraSensory Perception)

44. Poems with pastoral themes : IDYLLs. Idylls of the King, published between 1856 and 1885, is a cycle of twelve narrative poems by the English poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson. Care to read them? Link.

45. Do-re-mi : MOOLAH

46. Mount Holyoke grad : ALUMNA. Although Mount Holyoke only considers female applicants for admission, it will award diplomas to transgendered students who become male or identify themselves as male by the time they complete their studies. So are they ALUMNA or ALUNUS?

47. Lang. of Luther : GER.

48. Worthy principles : IDEALS

50. Pressed-pants feature : CREASE

52. Yellow-and-white daisy : OXEYE

55. Linger in the Jacuzzi : SOAK

56. Memorial Day race, informally : INDY

57. Old Nair rival : NEET

61. "Michael Collins" actor Stephen : REA. He may not have much on this side of the Atlantic but check out his IMDb entry.

62. Pick, with "for" : OPT

63. U-turn from NNW : SSE. (HDG's)


Argyle


68 comments:

  1. Greetings!

    Fun puzzles, Mon/Tues. Thanks Argyle, etc.

    No problems.

    It has been a lonely holiday. However, I did get to swim twice. Watched some old movies. One of my favorites (please don't laugh) True Lies.

    Have a nice week.

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  2. Morning, all!

    Enjoyable romp today. Had some minor confusion in the NE corner after misspelling LAUREL as LAURAL and DIANAS as DIANES (and ending with EDAME instead of EDEMA as a result), but that was about it for missteps. I had a little struggle trying to remember how to spell DIOCESE (I briefly tried DIOSCES), but that was quickly taken care of by the perps.

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  3. Got up early - did the puzzle. Thank you Mr.Stillman for a wonderful puzzle, thank you Argyle for a wonderful blog and great links - and ... and not deleting my last nights posts - which I rued immediately afterwards.

    I loved and was in ultimate awe of the Beatle's songs and tunes - but never really, really understood them ( or the language ? - ) ... thanks to you I listened to 'Band on the run' -with lyrics. Still don't understand the song, but love it. They, especially Paul were geniuses in their own right.

    Omanis, though they are on the edge of the peninsula, - because of their sea faring occupations, have a lot of Iranian-Pakistani- Indian- Sri Lanka blood/DNA/ racial haplotypes. Oman, which has no oil, is considered one of USA's most faithful allies in that area.

    Have a good you week, all.

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  4. Is it really 6.10 , my watch shows 7.11 ... is the blog on Atlantic Daylght. time ?... or Eastern STANDARD Time ?

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  5. Good day folks,

    I don't dislike the Beatles, but I've never felt the urge to commit each of their song titles to memory either. As such, this was a bit of a grind for a Tuesday.

    LEGATO, LLM, & RNA (wanted DNA) added to my woes because they were not a the top of my oft used vocabulary either..

    Got a kick out of Do-re-mi/MOOLAH. I thought MY SWEET LORD was My Sweet Lady and that had me messed up for a while. But Autsells convinced me I had a problem. Lastly, I can never remember if it's DAIS or DIAS.

    Bueno "dais" all.

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  6. Anony-Mouse,
    Central Time. Welcome back!

    PK,
    Thanks for the sweet words. 100 sit-ups before and after shower to get my abs under control. That's all.

    Lucina,
    Sun, not YAT, means "grandchild" in Chinese. Also, no plural form in Chinese. No articles either.

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  7. Hello Puzzlers -

    Had to chime in today since so much interesting stuff showed up in the puzzle. Filled everything right in, with a pause at EDEMA, since I didn't know the botanical connection. Today's big surprise: bay leaves! I never knew they were LAUREL.

    Morning, Argyle, and thanks for the memories. So glad you included both palindromes. I wonder whether the constructor put in both words deliberately.

    The Beatles accomplished so much. I am still in awe of their creative output, and how well they performed even when they were just kids.

    Mount Holyoke is dear to me. I spent many happy hours there, both studying and socializing, back in the day. Male students from the other schools in the Five Colleges collective are permitted to take classes there, but I don't think it happens often. The distance between Amherst and South Hadley makes it inconvenient.

    Good Day all!

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  8. I have hardly touched my coffee due to the fact that I did this puzzle as fast as I could write - but anything with the Fab 4 is fine with me.

    Musings
    -With all the diversity in music today, a phenomenon like the BEATLES will never reoccur
    -A choir director I taught with was steeped in Lutheranism but had her kids sing IMAGINE which views an ideal world sans religion.
    -Ringo was the luckiest man in R ‘n R history and I’ll take this version of You’re Sixteen any day.
    -Dad served WW II in Panama and always wanted to go back but never got more than 50 miles from his birthplace after coming home.
    -EDEMA first aid? ICE – Ice/Compression/Elevation. Done it many times!
    -PICCOLO has two C’s ANOINT only one N. No wonder I ain’t in that spelling bee!
    -From REO’s to ALERO’s, the Olds name lives on only in cwd’s
    -I sang next to a man yesterday who was ATONAL
    -I’d be more likely to watch Diana’s Avengers before the current blockbuster
    -Have you ever heard of this Moolah? Man, I gotta get out more!
    -C.C., those sit-ups seem to be working just fine!!

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  9. Hola everyone,
    Just back from a 15 day grand tour of Spain with about 830 photos to sort and edit before sharing. That shows great reserve on my part, since I didn't snap everything I saw. There was so much to see and experience. It was our first time back there in 41 years since DH and I met in Granada in 1971. Since we celebrate our 40th later this year, we thought it an appropriate time to go.

    Puzzle-wise, after a two week hiatus, I had relatively few pauses today, and none yesterday, though with the 100's of emails to deal with, and a pile of laundry, I didn't get to the blog until now. Good to be back.

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  10. Retroactive Musing
    -I got that thing out of my CRAW yesterday when incredible circumstances put me adjacent to someone with whom I had an issue in our church’s cemetery. I was very tactful and he and I had a wonderful resolution to that issue (yes, I can be tactful). Now I can walk down the street and greet him without that gnawing feeling in my stomach. I try to follow Ann Landers’ dictum of “Is anything better because I say/do this?” and in this case the answer was overwhelmingly yes.

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  11. I was a staunch fan of the Beatles in the day, but like Hondo, never can remember song titles or most of the words. I just knew I admired their talent and loved their music.

    Anony-mouse,
    The blog time is Central Daylight Time at this time of year.

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  12. Call me a nit-picker, but "Band on the Run" was not a Beatles song. Nor was, "My Sweet Lord" and "You're Sixteen". Paul McCartney formed the band "Wings" after the Beatles break-up. George Harrison made the "My Sweet Lord" recording after that break-up also. Ringo sang "You're Sixteen" but I am not sure whether it was recorded before or after the end of the Beatles. "Imagine" was a John Lennon recording. None of these songs are listed as Beatles' recordings. All were, however, recorded by Beatles members.
    Thanks for the links, Sox!
    As always, enjoy the day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The clue was a hit by a

      Beatles member, not by the group. Thus the clue is correct.

      Delete
    2. Imagine was not #1in in the U.S. it was #3.

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

    Thanks for the fun write up, Argyle! I didn't "get" the Lady Gaga clip, either. But I was on your wavelength with the PANAMA and ELBA palindromes. (I always have to say the ELBA one to myself, to remember if it is ELBA or Elbe.) (Duh...)

    I remember seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan for the first time. My sister and I pretended to be in a state of ecstasy when my parents returned home from visiting friends that night. Honestly, I didn't see what all the fuss was about at the time, but now I realize just how talented each of the members was in his own right.

    This puzzle was a fine tribute, and I did breeze through it since I was familiar with all the songs.

    Have a nice day, everyone!

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  14. That's the entire point, Mom. These are solo hits that each of the Beatles charted after they broke up.

    Great puzzle!

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  15. Now that was a fun theme! I picked up the theme early with BANDONTHERUN / BEATLES, and so it was interesting to find out which other ex-Beatle songs hit #1. I like it when the theme makes you want to work the whole puzzle like that.

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  16. Good morning, Argyle and gang. Thanks for the expo and links.

    No problems on this one. I figured out all of the titles after a few perps, so I must have been paying more attention to the music back then than I thought.

    Welcome back Kazie. It sounds like you had a wonderful trip back to "the scene of the crime".

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  17. I'm with Hondo and Kazie. I tried MY SWEET LOVE for 35A, even though I know the song well.

    I liked the clue for 45D: Do-re-mi MOOLAH, even though I didn't get it at first. And Husker, yes I do know about The Fabulous Moolah. DH watches wrestling on TV. Moolah would appear on WWE every now and again before she passed away.

    I also liked the clue for 40A: Ain't as it should be? ISNT.

    When DH says I NAG I say BUTT OUT!

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  18. Ack! i thought i aced it, but i put EST for 22D (rats!)

    Re: 64A, now that my daughter is home from college, all of i sudden my PC keeps popping up "IP Conflict!"

    Carrie & RIngo??? This explains the Blues Bros. scene where she wants to kill him. ( i can't find the scene where he gets out of this mess, its really good!)

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  19. This is unbelievable. I sent a whole section on this blog earlier. I just stopped back in to see what's cooking, and my post was not there.

    I am not going to rewrite it. I did enjoy the puzzle.

    Maybe I made an error.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  20. Good morning everyone:

    Fun and easy Tuesday offering. Thanks, Jeff, and Argyle for your efforts and expo. Had one write-over, meted before doled. (I'm not sure if meted is even a word.)

    Mari, what do you think of the latest twist and turns of The Killing? I think they've gone a bit over the top.

    Happy Tuesday all.

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  21. Fun puzzle, Great write-up! Enjoyed all the Beatles stuff but I agree, the My Sweet Lord clip sounded more like Arlo Guthrie than George!

    For some reason I had a horrible time in the lower left (SW?) completely spaced on Moolah, tholoved the clue when it finally came to me, and I'm not sure I've ever heard LLM?

    Does anyone actually "get" Lady GaGa?

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  22. Greetings, puzzle people. Thanks, Argyle; you rock!

    Wow! This was a sashay and like Gary I barely drank any of my coffee it was that fast.

    My youngest sister who was about 13 at the time loved the BEATLES and played the records all day, every day so I grew to love them, too.

    What a clever puzzle by Jeff Stillman, it's A ONE.

    One tiny nit that ISN'T really; MATADORS is the anglicized version. In Spanish the plural would be MATADORES. In my head I want that extra syllable.

    Thank you, C.C. for clarifying SUN for me. Would you then indicate the number to specify plural grandchildren?
    Birthday party today so I must go.

    Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!

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  23. Same clue, same answer (7d) in NYT puzzle today. Didn`t know "bay leaf" came from a laurel...my learning moment for the day. Can never remember how to spell "ararat." Sorry my favorite Beatles" song wasn`t included: "Michelle."
    Kazie, good to "see" you home. I await your pics.
    BTW: Cluing "edema" as "botanical puffiness" made it harder (and less DF) than "anatomical puffiness."
    We`ve seen a lot of cluing for "opt" lately, haven`t we?
    In keeping with the bay leaf coming from the laurel tree (bush?):
    How long was the Hundred Year`s war? Where are Panama hats made? From what animal do we get "catgut?" In which month do Russians celebrate the "October revolution? From what are the bristles of a camel-hair brush made? After which animal are the Canary Islands named. What color is the purple finch? From which country do Chinese gooseberries come? What color is an airplanes "black box?

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  24. BTW, in the newer format, longer line-length allows gabby people such as me to "say" more, but quantity doesn`t always equal quality. :)

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  25. A "black box" isn't black. I'ts bright orange so that it can be found in wreckage.

    Flight Data Recorder

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  26. Got up early this AM...going back to bed soon. Guessed Beatles when clued 60s group and thought it can't be that easy. Got songs after filling in down clues. Didn't realize there was a hit from each Beatle until reading Argyle's blog. I was surprised to see young Carrie Fisher in Ringo's video.

    Killed time by watching American Justice on the murder of John Lennon. Started listening to Cynthia Lennon's book on tape.

    Remember sister and I dancing to Beatles' 45 records in our neighbor friend's basement. Middle school kids still dance to Beatles along with Brittany, Michael Buble, and the chicken dance. Much more ecletic then we were as teenagers.

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  27. These days Chinese gooseberries are Kiwis that come from the land of the long white cloud--New Zealand.

    I've known about bay/laurel leaves ever since my stay in France in 1970-71. The French for them is lauriers: feuilles du laurier, in the diary that I used while there--it had a recipe for each day of the year. Some of them found their way into my recipe scrapbook when I got home.

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  28. Hi gang -

    Never was much of a Beatles fan, but knew all these post-quartet titles.

    Misplet ELBA as ALBA. Can't IMAGINE why.

    Why the L does IDYLL have so many L's?

    If I did 100 sit-ups after the shower, I would need another shower. If I could do 100 sit-ups . . .

    MY SWEET LORD, I've run out of things to say.

    Cool regards!
    JzB

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  29. I don't understand 26A "dais" answer.

    Musical term reference sheet is quite helpful.

    Kazie, congratulations on your trip back to Spain for your 40th! We want to have family pictures taken for our 40th, but can't decide if going on trip or having reception.

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  30. ARBAON:

    All your items sound like ones that a friend of mine has put in a Philadelphia Newspaper. Is there a connection?

    Abejo

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  31. Fun Tuesday puzzle, thanks, Jeff. And of course, Argyle, for the great write-up. Got BEATLES early, but the songs took a while to fall into place--except for IMAGINE. Still enjoyed working it all out.

    Thought TORERO and MATADOR were the same? No? I love animals too much to approve of bullfighting, so never looked into it too closely.

    But I love Spain, even though I visited there only once: on my honeymoon in Seville! So Kazie, it's wonderful to hear of your anniversary trip there.

    Anony-Mouse, fascinating discussion of OMAN. And Arbaon, your silly questions made me laugh.

    Have a great Tuesday, everybody.

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  32. Avg Joe: You`re on to something!

    Abejo: No connection Of which I`m aware.

    Kazie: Correctamundo!

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  33. Fun puzzle! Fun commentary, Argyle!

    Fast puzzle today. One almost boo-boo when I saw all but the 2nd letter at 27A and started to put in an "N" then decided Enema probably was not a Rich approved word. Then read the clues.

    C.C.: I'm impressed. I'm doing good to do one situp when it's time to get out of bed then hoist my leg over the tub. You go, girl!

    Did you ever wonder who engineers LADY GaGa's clothes and shoes? I'm thinking maybe the wardrobe mistress that Circus Soleil fired.

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  34. Good afternoon to all and thanks to Jeff Stillman for a fun Beatles solo hits puzzle. Thanks Argyle for the links.Here's something from the college of musical knowledge,George Harrison was sued by the Chiffons as My Sweet Lord sounded a lot like He's So Fine. He lost the case in court. Have a great day to all. RJW.

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  35. Dave Letterman Fun Facts are back!

    A1 Steak sauce was named that so the company would be listed first in the phone book.

    Fun puzzle. Glad to be back had some computer problems but now I'm back after a long hiatus.

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  36. Did not like puzzle . Counted 11 abbreviation or acronym clues. Not good for a Tuesday. Loved theme though. Red state democrat, awesome antidote to start week!

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  37. I'm a big Beatles fan so no probs with the song titles. I suspected something tricky was afoot when I saw the unusually high number of black squares, 42.

    Suspicions continued when I saw the dual 7-letter entries at 28/30 Across and 44/49 Across. One of each pair was obviously connected to the theme---BEATLES and I ME MINE. But for the other two---PICCOLO and OCTANES---I couldn't figure out how they related to the theme.

    They were the same letter number and were symmetrically placed with the theme entries, so I thought the connection would be revealed later in the puzzle, but it was not to be.

    It gave a kinda unbalanced look and feel to the puzzle for me.

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  38. My two boys were four and seven when the Beatles first appeared on the ecene. My wife and I were still in the "Song from Moulin Rouge" so we didn't get it. Bot listening to these four and also their nore famous songs such as "Hey, Jude" and "Let it Be" sure makes we wonder what I didn't like about their genre.

    The puzzle seemed to me about right for a Tuesday.

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  39. Misty,
    You'll be pleased to know that bullfighting is now banned in Catalonia (Barcelona area), and there's a movement growing for other areas to follow suit. Apparently bullfights began in a tiny town called Ronda, which is amazing for its deep gorges and a ravine which separate the town into two parts.

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  40. avg joe's response was priceless.

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  41. Red State, Using that same reasoning, I decided many years ago that if I were to ever change my name it would be: Aaron Aardvark. :-)

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  42. What is this "phone book" you speak of?

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  43. Hello everybody. I actually noticed the pattern of black squares and the layout of the grid today, to which I usually pay no attention. I guess it was a two globs of black on the left-center and right-center that caught my eye.

    For some reason I laughed out loud at the crossing of DAIS and DIOCESE.

    Almost, but not quite, had a Natick at BART (sport figure), ALTHEA (another sport figure), and BANDONTHERUN (which I was unfamiliar with). I guessed that THE was the only thing that made sense to fill out BANDON_ _ _RUN.

    I love clues like "Ain't as it should be" and "Keyless."

    MOOLAH made me think of Hatoolah. How are you doing, Hahtoolah?

    Welcome back, kazie. So glad you had a good time. Lovely way to celebrate your 40th. Congratulations.

    Jazzbumpa, I love what you said about 100 situps.

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  44. Kazie 12:18, that's great news! Thanks for letting me know!

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  45. Argyle, when I started reading your blog I thought you were turning this place into a clip joint!

    Arbaon, Panama hats are made in Ecuador. And camels hair brushes can be made from the fur/hairs of several different animals...none of them a camel.

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  46. Good afternoon everyone. Good commenting, Argyle.

    Little late to the party today after completing the cw this morning without incident. Not much new to add. Like others, I came to appreciate the Beatles' talent only long after they made their mark. Easy enough puzzle. Seemed to be a few more black squares than the norm. LADY Gaga seems like a nice person. Learning for the day was that bay leaf was a LAUREL. Wondered why PANAMA and ARARAT, each with 3 a's, were stacked. Perps seemed routine, though. Always like OXEYE in a puzzle.

    Thanks Jeff for an entertaining offering.

    Thunderboomers on the way.

    Enjoy the day.

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  47. Hi all,

    Fun offering today, loved the Beatles (still do)... very talented!!

    The SW corner nearly did me in! I couldn't think what DO-RE-MI would be other than SCALES. I had no idea about Mt Holyoke or what those poems were. sigh. Other than that I enjoyed the puzzle.

    Hope all of you are well, it's been quite some time since I last commented. All is well with us, I just took a 'puzzle' breather and now am back with fresh eyes but apparently not as fresh a brain (and it's only Tuesday) arghhh@!

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  48. Normally i would devour any puzzle that included the Beatles, but Argyle covered it exceptionally well. I tried to Wiki what would devour Beatles, but they said i was a cannibal!

    100 year war lasted 116 years
    panama hats are made in Ecuador
    Catgut comes from sheep
    Oct. Revolution is celebrated Nov 7th.
    Canary Islands are named after Canaria, or island of the dogs.
    The male purple finch is rasberry red, the female=boring brown.

    Arbaon, what is the correct word for these questions? As they in no way fall under the category of stupid questions.

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  49. Today is the 51st anniversary of the beatles performance at the Top Ten Club, 136 Reeperbahn, Hamburg, Germany. Lots of music with Sha Na Na, Legato and Lady Gaga who has made so much money that like Madonna, there is no point in criticizing her. She knows much more about marketing than we ever will.

    I very much enjoyed the puzzle and Argyle your double palindromic perception was perfect.

    It is probably not coincidental that the great Althea Gibson appears in today's offering, as the French Open isplayed at Roalnd Garros, as that is where she won her first grand slam even in 1956. She also went on to play professional golf on the LPGA, since there was no money for womens' tennis when she was young.

    Do-re-mi and Moolah were both very common phrases for money in 30's and 40's detective fiction; I am not sure which came first, "Give your dough." or Do-re-mi.

    Is ALUNUS a typo or an abstract pun?

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  50. speaking of stupid questions...

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  51. (and) speaking of typos...

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  52. Kazie, so glad to see you back, Anony-mouse and Carol and Red State welcome home. Where is Hatoolah? Where did May go?

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  53. xeyed Dave: They came to me titled: "Exit exam for high school." I knew they were "trick" questions but I did not know the answers, either. I rather suspect that they are a compilation of "tricky" questions on actual exams. Even though I have an MA degree, I`m in preschool according to this.
    Lemonade714: You`re a BIG man to take the high road. You have my admiration.

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  54. I seem to recall from the very deep recesses of my memory an old Samoan song that starts out something like, "Ha too la, ha too la, oi ah ah ay ..." Seriously. It just now popped into my head, sorta like an ear worm.

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  55. As Will Shakespeare almost said, Rose by any other name would still be sweet....Thank you

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  56. Without researching, I always wondered why The Beatles chose that particular name to represent their group. Whatever the reason, it worked, and it stuck!

    Back to work today after a 4 day hiatus --- ugh ---, but it was good to be back. All caught up now.

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  57. Years ago, I picked up massive amounts of bay leaves (and a few branches) on our way to Lake Arrowhead. Used them to discourage the bugs in the pantry!

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  58. Hi puzzle folks,

    Argyle, love your write ups, always entertaining
    and something to learn, thanks for the Italian
    Musical Terms that will come in VERY handy.

    Husker, have you every thought about doing an
    expo one day for “The Corner”. You are
    a RIOT!! I look forward to your musings
    everyday.

    Let’s see, the Fab 4 landed shortly after I gave
    birth so I was a little busy at the time. It took
    forever to recognize their music on the radio.

    22A, we always called it Daylight Savings Time,
    still do.

    61D tried to remember who played Dev, then
    remembered is was Alan Rickman.. Bought
    the video while in Ireland only to discover it
    wouldn’t play on a U S VCR. Oh well enjoyed
    visiting Kilmainham Gaol.

    92° here today, it is still May right?

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  59. I hope you don't think I was criticizing Lady GaGA. I wasn't. I recognize her genius and even like her music. However, as a former seamstress who did some tricky wedding finery and stage costumes, I really do wonder who dresses her? Does she do the designs? Some of the costumes would be very difficult and need some engineering to work right. To my eye, Circus Soliel costumes are the closest thing to what GAGA wears.

    Gary: I'm glad you were successful in resolving your issues with a reasonable man. Those problems can really eat at a person. However, there are some people who are neither reasonable or desiring of peace and no amount of tact and diplomacy will help with that kind. Congrats!

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  60. Good evening all,

    Not much to say since it has all been said..great links Argyle.
    Like Stephen St. John, it is fun when you catch onto the theme right away and can't wait to see where the clues lead to.Imagine was the only one I needed no perps at all.

    My problem area: EM_/_CBM...always those shorties.LL.M wasn't in my head either.

    Kazie, welcome back, AND good to see you Carol.

    Still removing wallpaper...sigh.

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  61. oops, forgot to add my bit of musical humor . Here are The Piano Guys playing Pacabel's Canon in D. Delightful!

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  62. Could someone please explain the do-re-me/moolah clue? I still don't get it. First time post even though I read the blog everyday.
    Thanks!
    Liz

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  63. Liz, Do-re-me and moolah are both slang words for money.

    I am not a fan of Lady Gaga's music. Nothing against her, I tend not to like any modern popular music. I suspect I would enjoy it if she put out a CD of Patsy Cline songs. Fat chance! I do think she is talented, puts on a good show and seems to be a nice person.

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  64. I was saddened to learn that Doc Watson has passed away. He's a blind flat-picking guitar player who could play circles around most folks. Here's a good example of him and his music from Prairie Home Companion. I love it! Doc Watson.

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