google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, August 10, 2012, Steven J. St. John

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Aug 10, 2012

Friday, August 10, 2012, Steven J. St. John

Theme: C. C. where are you? Oh there you are, at the beginning of the first word in each of the four theme answers (and twice in one!) right before a word beginning with "L." Our friend and part time visitor SJ SJ is back with a Friday offering just right to set the mood for the weekend, one Q short of a pangram. Steven lives and teaches in Orlando, which is where my youngest (who graduated from U. of Central Florida) and I started our journey with the 26 foot truck on the way to Denver. This is a very nice tight puzzle with low word count and lots of originality, nice long fill, punny theme pictures, but it reminds me why I do not try this. Welcome to Fridays SJ, sorry I missed marti, C.C. and Jeff Chen, but now to dissect this war on my neurons after my week off for my cross-country trek.

20A. Problem for French Open tennis officials? : CLAY ON THE LINE.(13) Lots of fun stuff here, but you need to know they play on the red clay at Roland Garros, the only major tennis event left on clay. SJ laid it on the line for us today. (my marti nit; why is it not CLAY ON THE CLINE, maybe clued with Aiken sings Patsy?)

30A. Challenge for an aspiring vascular surgeon? : CLOTS TO LEARN (12). Blood clots being a big part of that surgery, and certainly must be learned.

38A. "Come on-a My House" and "Hey There"? : CLOONEY TUNES (12). Aunt ROSEMARY not George; no cartoons here.

49A. Daily chore for Travolta? : CLEFT CLEANING (13). Great visual, though I do not believe Scientologists are at all liberal.

Across:

1. Mouth part : JAW. My first thought was, really? Then my jaw dropped, and it was all good.

4. Pay a call : STOP IN. SJ seems to have taken up the mantle of the late Dan Naddor in using these word combo answers.

10. 2011 NBA MVP Derrick : ROSE. The Chicago Bull STAR. (4:37).

14. Big time : ERA. Nice change on an old word.

15. Legalese adverb : HERETO. hereinafter, heretofore ad nauseam.

16. Dark, in verse : EBON. Like Othello.

17. It can be placed at a window : BET. At the track; nice clue.

18. While : EVEN AS. See, another one.

19. Much : A LOT. Some grammer gramma? LINK.

23. Deserves a treat, perhaps : BEHAVES. I did my Austin Powers' link last time.

25. Niamey is its capital : NIGER. The only thing I know about this COUNTRY is that it is not Nigeria, but next to it.

26. Number from the past : OLDIE. Musical number, nice!

27. Some columnists : BLOGGERS. Hmm, right next to oldie, I wonder if he was thinking of me?

33. 23-Down holder : KEG. with 23D. Dark quaff : BOCK. Nice Friday word (quaff) in the clue and a BEER shout out for my aspiring brewer son.

34. Bikini event, briefly : H TEST. Not my first thought of a bikini, i do not like it atoll. See below.

35. Spill-handling org. : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency.
42. Ran last in : ANCHORED. very Olympic friendly; did you all see this RACE? (1:13).

45. Converse : SPEAK.

46. Word in some font names : SERIF. INFORMATION.

47. Chums : COHORTS. This stems from the Roman fighting unit within their army.

53. St. ___: Rose's Minnesota home town on "The Golden Girls" : OLAF.

54. Top with no back : HALTER. I like how this crosses 40D. Concert mementos : T SHIRTS.

55. Hypotheticals : IFS.

58. Longtime Eastern European leader : TITO. The Yugoslavian leader, who like Franco is still dead. (SNL anyone?)

59. Words of exhaustion : I'M BEAT. How did he know I am so tired; loading driving 1,991 miles, unloading; whew!

60. Wild scene : ZOO.

61. Discovered : SEEN.

62. Choice examples : PEARLS. Wisdom, often comes before SWINE. Please see the August 9 edition. Lois, Carol, Jeannie?

63. Abbr. on a business card : EXTension.

Down:

1. Bush from Florida : JEB. The youngest brother, initially.

2. "___ you happy now?" : ARE. I hope so, I am working hard here.

3. Burglar alarm alternative : WATCHDOG. Another nice clue.

4. Rural bundles : SHEAVES. More nice fill, perfect Friday Fodder.

5. Musical milkman : TEVYE. Did you recall he was a MILK MAN?(7:34)

6. 100-year-old treats : OREOS. Man, those must be really stale by now.

7. Eponymous 17th-century settler : PENN. This Quaker wanted to name the state Sylvania for its lush forests.

8. "Do ___ once!" : IT AT.

9. Light chow : NOSH. Is this Yiddish word in the language?

10. Work on wheels, perhaps : REALIGN. More good long fill.

11. Make beholden : OBLIGE. SJ SJ makes us beholden for his fine entertainment.

12. Better, to an impatient boss : SOONER. Or later.

13. Appears onstage : ENTERS. Am I the only one who thought of Snagglepuss?

21. Café supply : LAIT. French for Milk. Au lait, ole!

22. Caltech grad, perhaps: Abbr. : ENGR. Engineer. which is nearby 35D. Command from Captain Kirk : ENERGIZE which appeals to me.

24D. Cover girl McPherson : ELLE. A better bikini image.

27. Many a wine : BLEND. The dirty rats!

28. Suffix with Congo : LESE.

29. Like some cereal : OATY. Which is near 32D. Tribe met by Lewis and Clark : OTOE. We drove over the trail.

31. 2011 superhero film starring Chris Hemsworth : THOR. The MOVIE. (2:33)

36. Gardener's supply : PEAT. Not Erle Stanley.

37. Shows curiosity : ASKS.

38. Elegant fabric : CHIFFON. SHOP?

39. Artistic digs : LOFT.

41. "Once ___..." : UPON. Likely story.

42. Sporty ties : ASCOTS. Named for the British race course where they were (are) worn proudly. Maybe.

43. First name in circumnavigation : NELLIE BLY, the famous reporter, who liked Jules Verne. LINK.

44. Be artistic : CREATE.

47. Do lunch? : CATER. Almost neighboring anagrams.

48. Center with an MBA : O'NEAL. Not an honorary one, but earned by SHAQUILLE.

50. Circuit holder : CHIP. Likely micro.

51. Hobbled : LAME, or many of my jokes.

52. Largest island in the Tuscan archipelago : ELBA. We have learned much about this little place.

56. Deceive : FOX. Well I hope SJ did not out fox you today, and make you turn to drink, and become...

57. Inebriate : SOT. Anyway, on that note, time to mosey on out of here. Nice to be back. Thank you Mr. Sinjin, and thank you all for being there.
Lemonade

Note from C.C.:

John Lampkin constructed today's NYT. It's his first themeless. Congrats, John!

58 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Classic Friday puzzle. Tough overall, but eventually doable after multiple passes through both the acrosses and the downs. I just kept chipping away a little bit at a time...

Did not know Derrick ROSE at all or that Shaquille ONEAL had an MBA. Not bein an imbiber, I also didn't realize that many wines are BLENDs. And I totally don't get Lemonade's "dirty rat" comment.

Tried TUTU (as in Desmond) before TITO, just because. A Bishop is a type of "leader," right? And Africa is, er, sort of near Eastern Europe...

All right, I'M BEAT. Hopefully I'll be more ENERGIZEd tomorrow...

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. I figured out the theme after getting CLAY ON THE LINE and CLOTS TO LEARN (which was my favorite theme clue). I'm not so sure about CLEFT CLEANING. I looked at Left Cleaning for the longest time, before I realized the common phrase is probably Left Leaning.

I liked the Fiddler On the Roof Reference to Tevye the Milkman.

The first name in circumnavigation had me thinking of one of the early explorers, but I liked seeing NELLIE Bly.

My first thought was Lip for Mouth Part, but JEB Bush gave me the JAW.

Although I didn't know Niamey was the capital of NIGER, that country has been in the Olympic News recently with its countryman. Here's a story from the BEEB about the Rower from Niger.

Apropos of nothing, here is a funny photo from Be'er Sheva.

Lemonade: Good to have you back. We were worried about you since you were away for so long.

In honor of a former President's 138th birthday, here is today's QOD: When we are sick, we want an uncommon doctor; when we have a construction job to do, we want an uncommon engineer, and when we are at war, we want an uncommon general. It is only when we get into politics that we are satisfied with the common man. ~ Herbert Hoover

Anonymous said...

Shaquille O'Neal earned his degree online through the University of Phoenix.

desper-otto said...

TGIF, everybody.

This puzzle was driving me "Bugs" until I got CLOONEY TUNES. That gave me the theme and I was off and running. I even finished in good time for a Friday. Thanx, Steven. Lemonade, I liked your atoll ALOT.

Tevye was a milkman, but not a rich man.

I liked the theme answers, except for CLEFT CLEANING. I thought that one was a little LAME; the others were PEARLS.

kazie said...

Other than having to WAG a few names, and hanging on to CLEFTS SHAVING for far too long, this was a pretty easy Friday for me. I started wondering if he really had two clefts and then decided to scrap the SHAVING and see what new things the perps would bring. They delivered nicely. TITO I did know, Elba I had to guess, since I knew nothing about islands near Tuscany, and figured that was the only island I did know of in that area.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

kazie said...

Forgot to mention I got and immediately liked the theme too. it helped quite a bit here and there.

Blue Iris said...

Good Morning...can't tell if I slept last night or not. Thought,oh well, I'll do cwd and see if I get tired.

Thought puzzle had a overall Old World feel to it... PENN,SHEAVES,TEVYE,PEARLS,COHORTS,NELLIE,LAME ( but then there were BLOGGERS and HALTERS )

Had lip before JAW, limp before LAME, lie before FOX, and drop in before STOPIN.

Enjoyed clues for IFS, NOSH, COHORTS and PEARLS. CLOTS TO LEARN made me laugh. Would have been a good joke while working in med- surg.

Steven J. St. John said...

I want you all to know that the clue I submitted for BLOGGERS was:

Contributors to LA Times Crossword Corner, for example

I had the feeling it wouldn't pass the edit, as it might look a little self-serving (like cluing NORRIS as LA Times crossword editor). Still, I tried!

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

A great Friday challenge from SJSJ. Thank you, and thanks to Lemony for the fine expo. Welcome back, Lemon.

Had mug before keg and Atest before Htest; other than that, things went pretty smoothly Favorite was Clooney Tunes.

Did the puzzle on my iPad last night which was good as I didn't get this morning's newspaper. I have had nothing but problem after problem with the carrier for the last two weeks. I'm ready to cancel but I really prefer a newspaper in hand rather than reading it on line.

Have a fun Friday!

P.S. Bill G and Mari~The "spicy" language on "Suits" really escalated in last night's episode.

Anonymous said...

Barry G.: Evidently, LM doesn`t care for blended wines...

Lemonade714 said...

Anon at 8:04, yes Shaq got his MBA online, which is why I linked the story. BG and anon at 9:22, I was over-tired and blending wine did not seem fair when I was writing.

SJ SJ, thanks for stopping by, you could have just clued "Argyle and Jazzbumpa" for BLOGGERS, and let the rest of the world scratch their heads, or not, but thanks for the almost plug.

James said...

My mother grew up in Yugoslavia. She used to tell me that when she was young, there was a one word answer for everything. Tito.

In regards to 40D TSHIRT...
there was a rule in my concert going days (HS-College), I think it was a federal statute, that a concert T had to be worn the very next day at school BEFORE being washed and with no regard as to what was spilled on it or what "incense" it flowed through.

Rules are rules.

Ron Worden said...

Good morning and happy Fri. To all. Thanks SJS for a fun brain exercise today, and Lemon glad your back and in fine form. Really liked 10d as well as the ones for chip and lame. Thanks for Checking in and attempting to get props for the bloggers. Have a great day to all. RJW.

Sfingi said...

Made all the above mistakes and also, "Beam me up," for ENERGIZE.

CrossEyedDave said...

Wow, that was tough, never would have done it without red letter help.

SJSJ, Thanks! for the puzzle, & the plug!

1 last update (i hope!) my daughter is now asking for the pain meds... But they work,,, ( i hope she doesn't get used to them) I just had to share with you,,,

When we were in the ER, i wanted to watch the 2 Specialists working on her foot with scalpels & strange looking washing implements (looked like a manual power eyewash!) in hopes i could learn how to take care of this thing at home. As i was holding her hand, she said to me, "don't look!" I asked why? She said, "because i am looking at your face!"

Montana said...

I do Friday puzzles with the red letters turned on. The solving experience is different when one does that. One letter often triggers the correct response. If there are three words one is considering, the ‘red’ letter will tell which one to fill in and thus help with the other perps.

I had surprisingly few red letters. Enjoyed the puzzle, even got the theme before coming to the blog.

As I said before, bumper crops are being harvested here north of the Missouri River. Lots of ecstatic farmers and ranchers. For them, it is a great year to have grain to sell.

Husker: If I were to return to the Black Hills, I would definitely see the laser light show at the Chief Joseph Memorial if they still have it. It has been four years since I was there, but I like that kind of show. Have you ever been to Medora, ND? They have a musical presentation all summer honoring Teddy Roosevelt. We watched it one night and the Chief Joseph show the next night.

Have a good weekend,
Montana

Lemonade714 said...

James I could not agree more about the concert t-shirts, which often were more memorable than the show, or maybe my memory was hazy.

I thought CLOONEY TUNES and CLOTS TO LEARN were both superb answers and this was a fun Friday with few 3 letter clunkers. Not easy but not obscure.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Somehow, I am enjoying this puzzle more now than while working on it.

I do like added-letter themes, CLEFT CLEANING breaks the pattern, though, with two added to the otherwise tight C-L- construction.

I remember Rosey from my yout', but not well enough to associate either of those songs with her. C'mon-a-my-house is from 1951!

My nit is the T_OR - _-TEST Natick. A-TEST, N-TEST, and now H-TEST?!? And stamping a Marvel logo on one of the Aesir doth not reduce him to a mere Superhero. So boo on that clue!

Other than that, a fine, tough Friday-level puzzle with many PEARLS.

Just had a REALIGNment yesterday, but still struggled with that one.

Odd to see IT AT, not AT IT. Spoils an otherwise wonderful visual. (sigh)

Lemonade - from now on, I'm going to call you cookie.

You were away fer so long.

Cool regards,
JzB

Anonymous said...

Hardest in a while. Best in a while. I really loved this one! This is how a Friday crossword should be. Not to many question (?) or abbr. clues. "Perhaps" questions are cop outs but only three. Loved 31d, 59a and 38a. Good job!

Tinbeni said...

Lemon: Thanks for explaining my DNF.

Had drOP-IN for STOP-IN and just wouldn't come off it.

Also, for 56-D, Deceive, had CON, which fit my 63-A, Bus.Card Abbr. INC.

My faves today were BOCK crossing KEG (something I do know a-little about, lol).

James: I agree about the concert T-SHIRTS. Didn't realize it was a Fed.Law. "incense" yeah, that's the ticket. Too funny!

Barry G. You're right ... South Africa is practically NEXT-TO Eastern Europe.

Noticed that the American Ladies have 26 or the 39 USA Gold Medals (51 of the 90 total heading into today).
Always knew American Girls were the best.
Our girls rock!!!

A 'toast' to all at Sunset.
Cheers!

Lemonade714 said...

Cookie? I have been called Kookie before, but cookie...hmm, just not 10 years old.

I remember hearing "C/mon a my house" on the radio all the time, but we diod not have TV until 1956.

Marti?

Lemonade714 said...

Can you believe not a single medal of any kind for US boxing? MMA has added to the death knell for this sport in the US.

JJM said...

Normally Fri puzzles take me a while so maybe it's just me, but I solved this in Mon/Tues type time. Fav answer was CLOTS TO LEARN.

Tinbeni said...

Lemon:
Are you discounting Claressa Shields, the 17yo middleweight from Flint, Mich.
SHE won the Gold Medal (beat the Russian).

But seriously, the way they "score" boxing at the Olympics is a joke.
About a week ago I watched a match where one boxer KNOCKED-DOWN the other 6 times ... and "based on scoring" LOST the match (he TOTALLY DOMINATED!!!!).

C'mon ...

PK said...

SJSJ, loved the puzzle, although I almost despaired at first. Watched Olympics and kept hacking away.

CLOONEYTUNES was my first theme find. I could probably still sing all the words for Rosie's hits. She had a great one about a DOG!

However, since CT sort of rhymes, I wanted the others to rhyme too. Slowed me up. I had CLEFTChin__ins until Lemonade cleared that up. Then I went on and got that block of words.

FOXed me on that one. I gave up and put 63A EmT.

Hands up for aTEST. And for a while had IMshoT. Didn't know BOCK beer, even though I had it & KEG.

The NW block filled at once. Elated to get a successful start. ROSE was a gimmee, but ONEAL came last. OLAF and TITO I knew.

NELLIE a struggle. Wanted Drake's or Magellan's first name which it took a while to remember.

Glad you're home and well, Lemony. Life on the road looks much different from the co-pilot seat of a big truck doesn't it? See things you can't in a car.

Misty said...

This one took a lot of cheating and I was pretty grumpy about it until I saw SSJ's sweet thought about making us the BLOGGERS. And your write-up helped my mood too--thanks, Lemonade.

I did love CLOONEY TUNES, but would never have gotten CLEFT CLEANING without cheating. Of course, thought "Beam me up" for the Kirk command, and never heard of CLAY on French courts. But I should have gotten TEVYE for the "Musical Milkman" since I've seen "Fiddler" only a million times. Anyway, on mornings like this I'm really thankful for this blog.

Awesome show at the "Pageant of the Masters" in Laguna Beach last night. Glad I got our tickets early.

Have a great Friday, everybody!

Lemonade714 said...

Oops, I meant to say US Men's boxing, as there was also Flyweight Marlen Esparza who came through Wednesday, winning a bronze medal.

It is just hard to believe the tradition of Clay, Frazier, Foreman, Leonard, de la Hoya and on and on did not inspire any new fighters.

PK said...

The main thing I learned this morning doing the crossword was not to hold my breathe with the synchronized swim teams under water which I was watching. They can stay under longer than I...GASP, GASP! Lack of oxygen is not conducive to puzzle solving.

CED, glad your daughter is progressing. Hope she is all better by start of school. Watching your child in pain is more painful than being inflicted yourself.

Husker Gary said...

What a wonderful Friday puzzle by S²J! It took effort but was always “doable”. Top middle took the most time with no DROP or LOOK in, DURING not making the cut and rural bundles not BALES.

Musings
-CLOONEY TUNES exposed theme, was helpful and gave me a laugh.
-Derrick’s absence cost the Bulls any post season mojo
-Sheldon rewarded Penny with chocolates when she BEHAVED (2:45)
-Elise and Hudson know the OLDIE Sh Boom, Sh Boom from movie Cars
-I’ve seen 1,600 meter relay teams that have a great ANCHOR make up over 100 yards in a lap
-Golden Girls are a fav around here. Betty White now seems to be making a living by being 90 and saying some very off color things.
-Grandma Opal had drank too much wine when she started singing Bringing in the SHEAVES at Thanksgiving
-Job didn’t have much on TEVYE.
-If ELLE wants to wear that, I won’t HALTER. How wonder how many square yards (inches) are in that swim wear?
-Former student lives in a 200 sq ft. LOFT in Greenwich Village
-MIL’s CATERer did a fabulous job
-Gotta make lunch after morning of golf and this great puzzle. Read y’all later.

HeartRx said...

Good afternoon everyone!

Fun blog today, and I have to agree with you about "clay on the cline", lemony. If left leaning becomes cleft cleaning, then the other double "l" phrase deserves the same treatment. But then again, that would mess up the symmetry of the grid, which is an even bigger no-no. I wasn't crazy about CLOTS TO LEARN or CLEFT CLEANING (both kind of icky visuals), but hey - that's just me. So there, I've had my nits, and I am happy now!

When I saw your comments about the OREOS I cracked up, because that was exactly my thought when I filled it in!

I did like seeing BLOGGERS, WATCH DOG, CHIFFON and ENERGIZE in the grid. I didn't know Derrick ROSE (there's another one, besides Pete?), or that Shaquille O'NEAL had an MBA, so those two were totally perp-dependent! It seemed really easy for a Friday, without a lot of drek, so congratulations SJSJ for a fine Friday offering!

Bill G. said...

Hot here again today. But I know it's way worse for many of you. But most of you have A/C I'm guessing.

I thought this was harder than usual. I liked it but it was a struggle for me.

It looks as if the Lakers will be in the running next year. They got Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. That sounds like an upgrade to me. Now if the Dodgers could only hit...

I always liked Rosemary Clooney.

Lucina said...

Hello, hello! Glad to see you back, Lemonade with your PEARLS of wit and wisdom.

And a big thank you to SJSJ for this Olympian effort. After JAW and JEB I skipped over to the NE and sashayed right down THE LINE. CLOONEY TUNES was clever and gave me the theme.

In calligraphy SERIFs are important!

The entire NW gave me fits for a long time so I finally got up, showered and dressed then returned to it and the lights went on although I had BECK not BOCK, changed BED (as in flower) to BET and WATCH DOG emerged.

When CLAY ON THE LINE appeared so did the rest of the top central. Now I feel that I have to NOSH. All that effort made me hungry.

Sadly I failed to check for errors and had some lulus at BECK/ELDCE/LACT and forgot the S in SHEAVES. Sigh. I still have (C)LOTS TO LEARN!

It's a great start to the weekend!

Have a fabulous Friday, everyone!

Husker Gary said...

Musings 2

-FERDIE for Ferdinand Magellan as circumnavigator first name?
-Steven, nice shout out to us BLOGGERS here ;-)
-Irish, I prefer the paper in my hand too but our carriers have been very good, except for the time I found the OWH in the roof gutter two months after I complained I had gotten no paper.
-I told you yesterday of my T SHIRT gift. No stains or mal odors, just the honest love of a nine year old.
-Did Captain Kirk ever say, Beam Me Up?
-Montana, thanks for the heads up on the laser show (Is it the one at the Crazy Horse Monument?)! I wish you weren’t so far away or we could meet in Hill City, SD.
-My chiropractor has my back reALIGNed. No pain in the morning for the first time in years.
-If the image of ALI at the opening ceremonies doesn’t explain the demise of boxing, I don’t know what will. The NFL is shaking in its boots too according to George Will - “300 lb men that are as fast as cats have too much kinetic energy for the game to be safe anymore.”
-p.s. We had Arby’s for lunch.

CrossEyedDave said...

I have learned a lot of things reading this Blog, but 1 i never expected to like was Sheldon, & Big Bang Theory.

I must see if i can watch this series from the beginning online somewhere...

Dudley (8/9 @ 10:31pm) mentioned Sheldon's telepresence bot, & having no idea what that was i searched YouTube & found this. I do not know if it was what Dudley was talking about, but it is freakin hilarious!

CrossEyedDave said...

Tinbeni, Don't ever offer Sheldon "cheers at sunset!"

HeartRx said...

Lemon @ 12:10, no - sorry. "C'mon a my house" was before my time. I was still playing with rattles when that one came out. We did get a TV around the same time you did. I think my sisters considered it a heaven-sent babysitter for me!

Lucina said...

Forgot. I was a big fan not only ofRosemary CLOONEY in the 50s, but also Jo Stafford, Peggy Lee, Doris Day, Theresa Brewer and many males, too such as Ed Ames, Perry Como, Bing Crosby, etc., etc.

Bill G. said...

Lucina, Mills Brothers too?

Marti, you young whippersnapper!

We got a TV about 1955. At 5pm, I could be found watching the test pattern until Howdy Doody came on.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Fun puzzle today, some nice cluing, and a nifty theme gimmick. However, the extra added C in Cleft Cleaning bothered me. But it certainly evoked an interesting mental image!

Hahtoolah, that was a funny photo indeed.

desper-otto said...

Lucina, don't forget Eddie Fisher, Patti Page, the Four Aces and the Four Lads.

Lucina said...

Bill G. and desper-otto:
You got it! Those were fantastic singers all. I actually have a few of the vinyl records but no player, alas.

I believe there is a now a device to record records into CDs which I would dearly like to have.

tampagirl said...

Loved the puzzle today. I am a newcomer to this blog but would like to be a part of it. There is a certain cameradery (spelling?)among you that I like. Don't forget Pat Boone as a singer.

Bill G. said...

Lucina, why not save the vinyl and just buy a few new Mills Brothers CDs. You can find them on Amazon and other places.

Tampagirl, good to have you here. Why not flesh out your profile?

Tinbeni said...

CED: ROTFLMAO ... clip should be titled: Sheldon NOT drinking. Too funny.

Funny how things work out ... when TBBT first came on, Sheldon was actually the "2nd Banana".
Really like how the "Producer's" were smart enough to to raise his characters status.

RE: 6-D, 100yo treats ... my first thought was "Twinkies" ...
Their packages have a Jan.1 2125 expiration date. (As if ...)

Cheers (the Sun is setting somewhere!)

Avg Joe said...

My first thought on 100 year old treats was something related to aged liquor. Had the same thought about anything else....gotta be stale. But oreos started to appear via perps and did recall that they fit the pattern, so went with it.

Otherwise, I found this to be very challenging and almost....almost DNF. Finally did a mental alphabet run on that V in Tevye and Even so and nothing else made any sense at all. Had I solved with red letter help, it would have been a cheating finish. No better than a mouth full of feathers. Not knowing seems better, even when wrong.

Tinbeni said...

tampagirl: welcome to the party.
We always like 'newbies' joining in the FUN.


On the subject of the Olympics:
I just read that Belgium says it sent home a female swimmer from the London Games for "inappropriate behavior" for appearing drunk in public.
picky, picky, picky ...


Well that explains why I never tried to make the team.
And I'm a "Gold Medal" quality athlete if "Beer-Pong" ever becomes an event!

Time for another toast!

thehondohurricane said...

Lucina, Bill G, Desper-otto,

Can't argue with any of your choices, but Georgia Gibb still is a favorite of mine because of one song, Tweedle Dee. And let us not overlook Ole Blue eyes, Mr Sinatra.

My roomie's mother took us to the Fountainbleu to see Frank for my 21st birthday.

Bill G. said...

Especially for Lucina: You Always Hurt the One You Love.

For Hondo: Georgia Gibbs I had forgotten how much I liked that song.

Lucina said...

Bill G:
Thank you! I love that mellow sound. And I do have one Mills Brothers CD.

Good idea about saving the vinyls. Luckily the A/C keeps everything cool or they would undoubtedly have melted by now.

Jayce said...

Lucina, I have been wanting something like that too, to record my vinyls onto CD. I saw a nice little Sony model in an electronics store a year ago, and now I wish I would have bought it. Audio-Technica used to make one, too. Basically an inexpensive turntable with electronics inside to connect it your computer's USB port, and software to run on the computer. It was only $125, too! Now I don't see anything like them in any stores any more; don't know if it's because the manufacturers stopped making them or what. Waah!
And to think I coulda *had* that V8!

Irish Miss said...

CED @1:53 ~ You are in for a treat catching up on the past TBBT shows. And the clip was the one Dudley was referring to.

Welcome, Tampagirl.

Does anyone remember John Gary? He never made it big but he had a beautiful voice, with a 3 octave range. I worked for an RCA distributorship and often spent almost my entire paycheck in the Record Dept. Johnny Mathis was another favorite, as well as Nat King Cole.

Lucina said...

And Sam Cooke! Now there is a voice that can send me to the moon! Now I've spent my 5 so until tomorrow.

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you Steven St. John for a good, but tough puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for the excellent write-up.

Fermatprime. Met Harvey today. He is a swell fellow. We agreed to me later in the weekend. Sent you a photo, albeit a little fuzzy from my cell phone.

This puzzle was tough for me. CLAY ON THE LINE was my last entry. Had no idea about that.

Got TITO easily. OLAF was tough. Remember the show, but the town?

Not a lot of time tonight. Gotta run

Tampagirl. Welcome.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Dennis said...

Jayce, Lucina et al - friends of mine have this vinyl to cd converter and swear by it. Hope this helps.

ARBAON said...

Hey Tampa girl. I spend part of my year in your area! Just got back, in fact. Don`t forget to vote in the primaries the 14th!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks for puzzle, write-up, SJSJ and Lemon!

Too tired to work it well at 2 in the morning. So saved results and continued after late lunch after swimming guests. (A young boy clobbered me on the head.) Finally got it all. No cheats!

However, reading this blog has practically put me to sleep. So peaceful on full tummy. Enjoyed your comments though!

Thanks Abejo!

Cheers!

Bea said...

Thanks Steven for a doable Friday puzzle. I had "friends" for 47A for a long time until of course it didn't work any more.
Irish Miss, I agree that the language on "Suits" is getting worse every week it seems. They must be pushing the envelope. I don't believe someone of Jessica's stature & class would talk like that. Reruns on Sunday mornings bleep the language. It still remains one of my fave shows though. Have a good weekend everyone.

Irish Miss said...

Bea said @ 11:01~ Suits is one of my favorite shows also, and while the language has escalated, it is still not x- rated. I suppose it is realistic for that level of corporate discourse. In any case, it is a great show and I wish it would be picked up by a major network and have a full season.