google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, August 17, 2012, Chuck Deodene

Advertisements

Aug 17, 2012

Friday, August 17, 2012, Chuck Deodene

Theme: Chief Inspector Dreyfus where did you get that TIC? (9:12) The theme answers are all in the language two word phrases with TIC added to the end of the first word to create a new and amusing phrase. This is a blast from the past, as Mr. Deodene has not been seen here since 2009. He is an experienced constructor who has been often published in the NY Times since 1995. I found this easy in places, challenging in others with both old and new elements, and some really nice clues.

17A. Berserk flutterer? : LUNATIC MOTH (11). John L could give you more info on the LUNA, while I have had a great deal of experience chasing the lunatic moths around my apartment.

24A. Trans-Alaska pipeline repairer? : ARCTIC WELDER. We have all seen these in operation.


53A. Alluring facial feature? : ROMANTIC NOSE. My favorite image, even though I cannot imagine what one looks like, I know ROMAN ones, but Romantic noses?

65A Assembly celebating digestion? : PEPTIC RALLY. Did we all cheer for this answer? Or did it give you an ulcer?

The unifier

40A. Like one afflicted with the added elements in 17-, 24-, 53- and 65-Across? : NERVOUS (TIC).

Across:

1. Unlikely hits : B-SIDES. I was beside myself with joy that I could start well.

7. Hiring may accompany one : BOOM. No politics, but it would be nice to have a hiring boom.

11. Classic Pontiac : GTO. Gran Turisimo Omlogato. My brother had a 1968. John DeLorean designed this for Pontiac and took the name from the Ferrari.

14. Unkeyed : ATONAL. What is with all the ATONALITY in our puzzles?

15. Lead-in to a congratulatory cry : ATTA. waugan is where my mother was born, but I think he means BOY/GIRL.

16. Punch lines? : OWS. When was the last time you were punched, or punched anyone? Nice misdirection with the punny clue.

19. Pen name : BIC. Rhymes with....

20. Sacred carving, perhaps : IDOL. Ba'al for example.
21. Place with pint-size servings? : PUB. Oh goodie, a beer clue and again nice pun on the pint sized. My youngest has job in Denver already.

22. Source of silky wool : ALPACA. I'll pack a nice SWEATER for you and one of those models for me.

27. Central American port named for an explorer : BALBOA. This city in Panama was named for the Spanish EXPLORER who was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from America. he was no relation to

30. Rhein tributary : AARE. We have this word often, also spelled AAR, is the longest in Switzerland.

31. Kwik-E-Mart owner : APU. One of our many regular Simpsons references.

32. Like most people : ASIAN. Simple but deceptive; there are many more Asian on the Earth than any other kind of people, many have restaurants in South Florida.

35. Skewed : AWRY. he said with a wry smile.

39. Jacuzzi feature : JET. They mean the hot tub, not Tim Tebow.

43. Wide size : EEE.

44. Cousin of a toe loop : AXEL. Ice skating maneuver, and a reminder of our dear friend Clear Ayes to whom we send our healing prayers and our red shoed friend Robin, who we see quite infrequently.

46. Operative : AGENT. Provocateur.

47. Body wrap offerer : SPA. I tried to fit Dennis, but I guess he limits his work to the personal mobile mammogram.

48. "This ___ outrage!" : IS AN. Well, I did not think it was gooing badly....

51. Something that matters : FACTOR.

58. "Yay!" : HOORAH. Hoorah

59. Community property word : OUR. A nice legal concept hidden in there, referring to states where a husband & wife are considered to each own 50% of everything owned in a marriage.

60. Campus appointment : DEAN.

64. Dash sizes : EMS. This is a 1960's crossword answer from the Will Weng days at the NY Times.
68. Imitate : APE.

69. Pound or pint : UNIT. Another reference to the pint; I wonder if Chuck likes his Ale Pale?

70. About 2% of the Earth's surface : EUROPE. No wonder there are more Asians.

71. Not likely to pipe up : SHY. like our friend marti.

72. Family nickname : PAPA. My Father used to say, "My son is shy, shy a few brains." He was really a sweet man.

73. Surcease : DESIST. we finish the first half with a $5.00 clue word, and now the rest.

Down:

1. Indonesian resort island : BALI.. A great honeymoon spot.


2. Body-piercing choice : STUD. All the ladies, women and girls I know have told me they prefer have their bodies pierced by a Stud.

3. Prefix with sphere : IONO. Eastern Airlines used the name for their club room at the airports. I met Buddy Hackett there in between flights and we were both doing the NY Times Sunday puzzle.

4. Swab analysis site : DNA LAB. or the CSI office on TV.

5. Dispose of a course : EAT. Another nice turn of phrase.

6. Boxed-set box : SLIPCASE. Not familiar with this TERM.

7. Disney classic set in a forest : BAMBI. Or Ena's nephew. Did you know there were four different actors who provided the voice of Bambi?

8. Nebraska native : OTO. Sounds like...

9. River separating Ontario and Quebec : OTTAWA.

10. "Resurrection Symphony" composer : MAHLER. The entire SYMPHONY(24:17) takes an hour a half, so I picked the excerpt.

11. Stink up the fridge : GO BAD. Don't you just hate when that happens?

12. Doubly : TWICE. So many choices, perhaps this LINK.(0:30).

13. Thespian honor : OSCAR. Wellllll, I know an actor is a thespian, but the word is more associated with the stage.

18. Sever : CUT.

23. Defendant's response : PLEA. Only in criminal cases, there are many more civil defendants who file answers.

25. Reddish equine : ROAN. According to wiki, "A horse with intermixed white and colored hairs of any color is usually called a roan. However, such mixtures, which can appear superficially similar, are caused by a number of separate genetic factors. Identifiable types of roans include true or classic roan, varnish roan, and rabicano, though other currently unknown factors may be responsible for ambiguous roaning".

26. Where rocking is not suggested : CANOE. You must listen to this SONG(2:41).

27. Mexicali's peninsula : BAJA.

28. Top : APEX. or ACME.

29. Mandolin kin : LUTE.

33. Native of Shiraz : IRANI.

34. Diamond no. : AVG. Nor on your ring but on the filed, like batting average.
36. 1940 Field’s co-star : WEST. The MOVIE (10:50).
37. Certain seizure, for short : REPO.ssession.

38. Wine datum : YEAR. one of the fascinating things about grapes and wines is each year really is different.

41. Natural : UNFORCED.

42. Some stops: Abbr. : STAS. Stations.

45. One who embroiders to excess : LIAR. ah, finally, the lawyer reference.

49. Grab : SNAP UP. Not a sna pup.

50. Aegis wielder : ATHENA. There is debate about this SHIELD. The word comes from the Latin meaning basically protection, and we use it in America to signify if someone is under the sponsorship of a powerful person or group.

52. Chest sources : CEDARS. because of the nice smell of the wood, these became the favorite for Hope Chests for generations.

53. Large flightless birds : RHEAS. We have this a lot, along with Ms. Perlman as the singular.

54. Flair : OOMPH. I am working to give this some.

55. Go casually : MOSEY. Almost time for me to mosey on out of your living rooms.

56. Literally, "baked" : COTTA. hence Terra Cotta, baked earth.

57. Rapa ___ : NUI. Easter Island, both the place, the people and their language, I think. A nice Friday piece of knowledge.

61. Wells race : ELOI. Yvette, my tasty morsel, where are you?

62. Brenner Pass locale : ALPS. Between Italy and Austria.

63. Novgorod no : NYET. A little Russian lesson.
 
66. Doozy : PIP. Well, was this a Pip or what?

67. Be penitent : RUE. Well I hope you do not rue the day I started doing these write ups, and as usual it was fun. Thank you for all your help and enjoy the week end. Mr. Deodene welcome back and stop and say hello to our cast of characters.


Lemonade

60 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I blazed through most of this and definitely found it to be on the easy side. The theme was interesting and I got it right at the start, which helped immensely. And there were too many nice clues to mention.

The only sticking place for me today was down south, where I had SNATCH instead of SNAP UP. I was so sure that was right that I removed ATHENA since I knew that 69A couldn't start with CN. Again, though, knowing the theme let me get 65A and that took care of that.

Learning moment of the day was the definition of COTTA.

Just as an FYI -- I will be traveling for a week starting tomorrow and likely will not be able to check in from the road.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. This was a fun Friday puzzle. I loved all the fresh and funny clues. LUNATIC MOTH was my first theme fill, but it was not on the first pass.

I especially liked:
Pen Name = BIC. Quite literally!
One Who Embroiders to Excess = LIAR.
Certain Seizure = REPO Man.

Community Property Word = What is yours is mine and what is mine is mine.

Isn't the expression, Don't Rock the BOAT? not Don't rock the CANOE?

Today's QOD is especially for Fermatprime in honor of Fermat's 401th birthday: It is impossible for any number which is a power greater than the second to be written as a sum of two like powers. I have a truly marvelous demonstration of this proposition which this margin is too narrow to contain. ~ Pierre de Fermat

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Chuck Deodone, for a great puzzle. Thank you, as well Lemonade, for a really great write-up. You outdid yourself.

Got started in the North better than I had anticipated. Was slow on OWS at 16A, but TWICE fixed that.

All the theme answers came easily.

Wanted LYRE for 29D, but LUTE became obvious with my old buddy APU. I have never seen that show, but APU will be with me for life.

My last area was the SW. Still do not know what EMS at 64A relates to. Any help?

It is pretty cool here in NE Illinois right now. Amazingly great weather. Maybe I'll cut the grass for the first time in 6 or 8 weeks.

I think I have a week or so with nothing pressing. I may head to Pennsylvania and see how my experimental garden is progressing. Just have to get these 18 stitches out of my hand first. That is Monday. I finished the last of my pills for this accident last night. That means I will have a beer or two tonight. Can't wait!

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

HeartRx said...

Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.

Thanks for the zippy review, as always Lemonade. Let me "pipe up" and say I really enjoyed this puzzle, but your comments made me laugh even more! Oh, and thanks for the "Rock the Boat" ear worm....I have to go back and play the Mahler piece again, I guess!

My one stupid mistake was spelling BAJA as "Baha". What the heck does "hET" have to do with a Jacuzzi, I might ask? Well, it took me a while to find that, so slightly longer than my typical Friday time. Maybe I can redeem myself next week?

Have a nice trip, Barry G. We'll try to hold down the fort until you return!

Abejo, the EM Dash is an old printing term and refers to the width of a dash. The "EM dash" is a long dash, like this: -- . An "EN" dash is half the width: -

TGIF!!

Yellowrocks said...

Fun puzzle. The nervous TIC theme made it easy. Lemonade, you are a marvel, posting late last night and then coming up with a breezy, informative blog early this AM.

-I was disappointed that Nebraska natvie was not HG.

-Shiraz at dawn? I'll save mine for a toast at sunset. LOL. According to wineintro.com, the Shiraz grape was once thought to have originated in Persia, but recent research indicates the grape is a native of the Rhone valley, in France. Yes, there is a town in the middle east named Shiraz that has made wine for centuries. However, that town is NOT where the Shiraz grape came from.
Another name for SHIRAZ is syrah.

I, too had snatch befeor SNAP UP. I toyed with icon before IDOL.

Favorites;
punch lines = OWS
place for pint sized servings = PUB
one who embroiders to excess = LIAR
like most people = ASIANS

Tinbeni, deepest condolences on the loss of your friend.

Mari said...

Wow - I buzzed right through this one. Must be my personal best for a Friday.

Some good clues here: I liked 45D: One who embroiders to excess: LIARS. I do some needlepoint and cross stitch, so this one had me stumped for a bit.

I also liked 52D: Chest sources: CEDARS.

My learning moment was in 73A: Surcrease: DESIST. I'll have to see if I can use that in a sentence today.

The Air & Water Show is in Chicago this weekend. Here at the office concentration is often interrupted when the practicing pilots buzz over the City. They were practicing yesterday and they'll be at it again today. It's kind of exciting, but to me it always signals the end of summer.

Have a nice weekend. I'll pop back in to read comments if I have a chance. They're always a hoot!

Mari said...

Abejo: I must have missed it. 18 stitches? Wow! How did you hurt your hand.

Hahtoolah: I remember seeing Repo Man back in the 80's. Some good music on the soundtrack for the 1980's punk rocker that I was.

Almost forgot: I loved Punch Lines: OWS!

desper-otto said...

Wow. I glanced at the first clue, immediately penned in BSIDES, and I was off and running. Hand up for SNATCH. Kinda glad it was SNAP UP. I shudder to think what Lemon might have linked. This one was very fast for a Friday.

CEDAR chests were purchased, because the aromatic cedar was supposed to repel insects (EM DASH) particularly moths. Does anybody still buy them? Does Lane still make 'em?

TTP said...

Late start and tough times with the puzzle this AM. Gimmes were GTO, ATONAL, ALPACA, APU, ISAN, DEAN, EMS, APE, OTTAWA, TWICE, OSCAR, PLEA, BAJA, APEX, LUTE, IRANI, WEST, REPO, YEAR,and NYET, and then had to fight for so many more fills. It took so long to get BAMBI and BOOM and ATTA ! At an hour, I only had white spaces here and there in the last 6 rows. At that point turned on red letter help and no errors. I was actually hoping for some in the south. But nooo !

I really liked the clue for 45D LIAR. 41D UNFORCED took a while to parse. 52D CEDARS was a stretch, but finally appeared. Hadn't a clue on 57D NUI. 59A originally HOORAy instead of HOORAH. My last fill was the crossing Y at 55D and 71A MOSEY and SHY. DOH ! What a long time to get to that TA DA, albeit red letter help. Time to post and read the write up.

Lemonade714 said...

Good morning

I was using a borrowed computer to write the blog, so there a few errors which have been fixed.

D-O as to your concern about my link for SNATCH, really? I have become the soul of discretion.

Another leadoff batter going to the sidelines, good luck BG: maybe we can get Fermatprime or Bill G. to stay up late and post first and be sure we all see their words.
marti thank you for the "EM" discussion, for those who must know more LINK . Like ERS, EMS was very big in the crosswords of my youth.

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

Great Friday challenge, Mr. Deodone. Had a few tricky areas but perps and patience solved them. Liked the clues for liar, pub, Cedars, and Asians. Hand up for snatch before snap up. Great expo, Lemonade.

Many years ago, a local jeweler would give each female, graduating high school, a miniature cedar hope chest that could be used as a jewelry box or for other keepsakes; it even had a lock and tiny key.

Happy Friday to all.

kazie said...

I loved this, perhaps because it's the first time for ages that I've completed a Friday without serious problems. Like Barry I was stuck with SNATCH for a while, but not married to it as he described. I also didn't understand EMS until it was explained here--thank you! Some down clues I didn't even have to read, such as 5D. Figuring what the theme was early helped me get the last two of them.

Bic, originally a French product, is used by the French like we use the word Kleenex for tissues. If someone needs a pen, they say "Tu as un Bic?"--Do you have a Bic? I loved that clue, also ASIANS.

desper-otto said...

Husker, that looks like a great park. I didn't know there were any forests left in Nebraska. Bastrop State Park here in Texas was very nice. Last year 90% of it burned in a massive forest fire. Its going to take at least a generation before it'll be back anywhere close to what it was in its glory days. Sad.

Husker Gary said...

What delightful torture, Chuck. You left just Easter eggs around that once they were located provided just enough info to come to a successful conclusion. The most famous person with TICs is Michael J. Fox who has Parkinson’s. It looks like he is getting a new TV series. That is inspiring.

Musings
-These may not be BOOM times, but WELDERS and truck drivers are in high demand. Neighbor’s daughter with a theater arts degree is booking appointments for a rug cleaning company.
-It was hard to tell what the B-SIDE was on Beatles records (you remember records, don’t you?).
-An ATTA BOY is about all excellent teachers can hope for. Even the Dali Lama stiffed his caddy!
-We have JETS in our tub. Never use ‘em.
-Did Tom Arnold get half of Roseanne’s stuff?
-The cost of dumpy houses we see on HGN in EUROPE is exorbitant!
-Grandkids call me PAPA and I love it.
-A huge man with multiple STUDS and tattoos enjoyed telling me about his body artwork at the bowling alley last night but bemoaned the fact that they were a hindrance to getting a job. Reminds me of the punch line to the old joke, “Doctor, doctor it hurts when I do this.” “Well,…)
-As we left the Fontanelle Forest boardwalk (see in link) yesterday after a great walk in 70°F temps, a mama deer and two BAMBI’s crossed our path 10 feet away. The grandkids were AWEstruck.
-We have had a detour for 3 months because the state is building a new bridge over the OTOe Creek south of town. Thanks for the shout out YR! Yellow rocks to you!
-_ _ H L _ _ composer? Short list. Charles Emerson Winchester loved his music, even his depresseing Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children)
-I thought of not rocking ABOAT to not rock in tribute to Stubby Kaye.
-Doing REPO work ain’t for sissies. Ever see the TV show?
-Daughter doesn’t say 7 year old Elise embroiders, she “embellishes”.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

HOORAH for another cheat-free Friday. After groking the theme things fell into place.

A great offering, Chuck. Very interesting review Lermon.
Had but 3 hours of sleep.Typing atrocious. zzzzzzzzz. More later!

*David* said...

Pretty quick work of this puzzle today. The theme fell quickly where I got NERVOUS before any of the theme fill was entered. Once I got the TIC it moved even faster. Only place where I slowed was where I put SNATCH for SNAP UP. Any cluing that was a bit stiff fell easily with the crosses. Puzzle was nice and breezy.

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Mr. Chuck DeodEne ( misspelled by many, as Deodone, as above - ) for a wonderful puzzle - nearly completed it - a personal best, for a Friday.

Your last name sounds like an aromatic cyclic-hydrocarbon molecule, alas, no such actual name exists, yet .... Benzene, Napthalene, Anthracene and Pyrene are already taken.

Thank you Lemonade, for your charming and self-deprecating wit - your blog is always a pleasure.... it more than makes up for a difficult Friday. Actually, I did solve a Friday puzzle, last month .... but it was in a paper in Nashville .... and you know how simple minded dem southerners can be .... just kidding, Lemonade !

I learnt 2 new words today - Instar, ( devlop. stages of an insect, like a moth - ) and 'Cotta' meaning baked. Thank you. And I thought Instar was that lousy GM navigation system ....

Have a nice weekend, you all.

Abejo said...

HeartRx and Lemonade, et al: Thanks for the explanations of EM. I will try to remember that for the next time.

Mari: Got 18 stitches on Monday the 6th while pulling a dead branch out of a tree with a rope. It came down and I did not run fast enough. One end of one branch literally speared my right hand. Fortunately, no broken bones or cut tendons. Just a big hole. Stitches come out on Monday. Thanks for your concern.

Abejo

Lemonade714 said...

HG:

The world of VINYL is not dead after all; both of my sons have turntables.

Abejo, keep healing, though I think you know you are supposed to wear those work gloves when doing tree work.

FP, good to see you this early, have a nice nap.

john28man said...

This makes six in a row finished although the SW was really ahrd for me and I had to look up a couple of facts or definitions.

Ron Worden said...

Good afternoon and happy Friday to all. Fun puzzle Mr.Deodene, and thans Lemon great write-up. The top part went fast and got the unifier easily, then I stalled a bit. Once romantic came to me the rest fell in place. Never thought of snatch because something else comes to my mind when I hear that!
Have a great day to all and happy weekend. RJW.

desper-otto said...

Now how did I manage to comment on Husker's park a minute before he posted it? I must be a real wizard!

Lucina said...

Greetings and salutations to all. Lemonade, your blog is more of an educational discourse which also entertains. Thank you.

Ironically, today is the first day this week that I didn't have at least one cell wrong! Although it was a scrabbly walk, I skipped around until the end. Seeing the theme answers, (LUNA)TIC MOTH and (ARC)TIC WELDER definitely helped with the other two.

Without ever watching the show I shall soon know the entire cast of the Simpsons thanks to puzzling. APU is now firmly embedded.

WEES as most of you noted the really funny clues. And glad to know that COTTA means baked. Interesting, too about BIC, Kazie.

Novgorod is also the birthplace of Rachmaninoff and a music festival is held there every year, in August I believe. We were there one June and preparations were in full gear.

Have a stupendous Friday, everyone!

Anonymous said...

Re: Canoe...Thought you were going to use THIS song:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7kzsZreG0o

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Well, I got my wines mixed up, confusing Muscat with Shiraz, so I filled OMANI instead of IRANI which prevented me from finishing the middle. DNF because of that. Otherwise I found this to be a mixed bag of easy and difficult clues and answers, which I enjoyed sinking my teeth into. Tonight, no Muscat or Shiraz, but rather a glass of Merlot.

Lemonade714 said...

Anon's LINK.

My youngest son was in the play in high school as Harry the Horse.

Bumppo said...

58-A is misspelled. The correct spelling is HURRAH, and the correct spelling of the slangier alternative is HOORAY. Yes, yes, I realize that modern dictionaries allow also the inverted spellings HURRAY and HOORAH (the latter being the spelling in today's puzzle); but the New Oxford American, to its credit, does not countenance HOORAH, and the Macmillan Dictionary for Children does not list either of those two variants.

The problem is, there are no standards any more. And without standards, how can anyone create or solve a valid crossword puzzle? When you get HURRA, you should be able to finish with an H; and when you get HOORA, you should be able to finish with a Y.

Jayce said...

Ooops, I posted my comments before reading all of yours, and I now see Yellowrocks beat me to the wine metaphor re Shiraz. Sorry, I did not mean to step on anybody's toes.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

A bit late to the party but - wait for it - What Barry Said. Right down to the incorrect SNATCH fill.

I'm getting teased for writing this, so I better sign off.

Husker Gary said...

Otto, I posted while I was supervising a 7 and 10 year old and some of my syntax in the first posting was questionable at best. I deleted that but obviously not before you read it and even my later second posting wasn’t a stellar effort. Dang kids ;-)

Lemon, I rolled a piece of typing paper into a cone, put a straight pin in the small end and then put the needle in the groove of a 33 1/3 RPM record on a turntable and the kids were blown away by the barely intelligible but clearly recognizable sound emanating from my old record. BTW, the slide rule that only gives 3 – 4 significant figures wowed them too.

Lucina, I have to keep my APU’s separate from my MOE’s. ¡Ay Carumba! (:02)

Off to mow and then get the house back in order after the invasion of the little people.

HeartRx said...

Husker and Lucina, I always want to put ABU instead of APU. Maybe I'll remember it someday? Then there's Disco STU to add to the mix....

Lemonade714 said...

For those of you who never want to watch the Simpsons but want to know the character names for puzzles here ais a schema(tic) of EVERY SIMPSON CHARACTER , now it might be easier to watch all the shows; your choice.

Blue Iris said...

Just read yesterday's late night conversation... very funny! Maybe you guys should go on the road!

I started off with across clues and got 4 three-letter fills. Downs gave BALI and STUD which then gave me 1A BSIDES. That clued me into DNALAB. I continued to skip around until I decided I would RUE the day without red-letter help. Enjoyed fresh clues and answers, but didn't get theme till Lemon's very informative and fun write-up.

My husband made me a beautiful CEDARS chest in college. They were told to use only the red portion of the cedar which makes for a lot of waste. Since we were poor married college students, he got permission to use white portion of the cedar too. It turned out beautifully. I use it as a coffee table in my family room 30+ years later.

Yellowrocks said...

The Oxford English Dictionary gives HURRAH as the most formal, literary spelling. There are often several correct spellings, usages, pronunciations, etc. beyond the most formal. Crosswords puzzles, especially, use some of the less common forms.Because English is a living language which continues to develop and change, the rules and standards also change with the times. This does not mean that there are no standards. If we insist that there are hide-bound immutable rules and standards English cannot grow.

Sorry for the rant. I'll get off my hobby horse now.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Hands up for Snatch before Snap up. Like Barry, this was an unusually easy Friday puzzle. The theme was fun and once I had the first two theme answers in, the rest were easier to come by.

Canoe didn't come too easily, as I've always heard, Don't rock the boat. The perps took care of that, but it isn't an idiom that I usually use.

My favorites today: Disposed of a course/Eat and Pen name/Bic.

In going back over the puzzle when I read Lemons writeup, I had left out the M in Oomph. so technically I had a DNF today.

Thanks, Heart RX for the clarification of Em dash. I also had a question mark after that clue.

Have a great trip, Barry, and a wonderful weekend everyone.

CrossEyedDave said...

I don't remember much of the puzzle that i did this a.m. (i guess i'll have to do it again!) but i loved lemonades "tic" link & watched all 9 minutes of it! I remember wanting to put in "hip, hip" somewhere for the hoorah clue lead in...

Anyway, just unwinding from a long work day, & its even more work to try & find funny links for "tic." But i thought this magic trick was kinda cool!

Chickie said...

Irish Miss, I still have my miniature cedar chest which I got from the local jeweler when I graduated from high school.

My mother's cedar chest always has a prominent place in our house. Her father made is for her wedding gift. My granddaughter has it now. I don't think cedar chests are as popular as they once were. Too bad, as they were very useful pieces of furniture.

Bill G. said...

Fun Tic Tac trick. It's not often that I can suss out a magic trick but I was able to figure out that one. Makes it all the more enjoyable.

We have my mother's cedar chest. I love the smell.

How did the snail communicate with the crab? He used his shell phone.

Here are some really nice animal photos from MSNBC. Click on each photo to advance the slide show. Animal Tracks. If you keep going to the second slide show, there's a really neat photo of a sea horse.

Lemonade714 said...

CED, Thank you for watching and enjoying the Herbert Lom link.The reason we take hours to prepare the blog is to inform and entertain

Qli said...

Chickie and Irish Miss, I also got one of those tiny cedar chests at graduation. No clue where it is now...We got my MILs Lane CEDAR chest when she moved to assisted living. Full of blankets and stuff. Nothing fascinating like my Mom's used to contain: old formals, wedding dress and shoes, Grandpa's old raccoon coat, etc. Lots of time spent raiding that chest as a youngster!

I was too pooped after work, so the puzzle bamboozled me today. I was dismayed to see how easy it was for most of you! but it's the weekend and I am off! WooHoo! (to quote Homer Simpson)

HeartRx said...

Lemony @ 3:39, would you believe I actually looked on there until I found Disco STU (lower right quadrant) and APU dskgljgdskjerreityo (Sp.?) in the lower left !!

CED, cool Tic-Tac trick! I thought he might have been using a "trick quarter" (another magic giveaway). I was one of the first three female members of The Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA in the late 70's. My late husband owned a professional shop for magicians there. On any given Saturday, I might walk in and see him teaching close-up magic to David Copperfield, Doug Henning, Orson Wells and others equally famous! I almost rear-ended Tony Curtis in his Silver Cloud Rolls Royce one time in the driveway of the Magic Castle because he stopped short of the Valet space!! (True story - I think I still have my Magic Castle membership card somewhere. Now, where did I put that thing? ...It disappeared!!)

Montana said...

Ali, Chickie, and Irish Miss,
I also got one of those mini cedar chests. No idea whatever happened to it. I'd forgotten about it until I read these posts.
Did the puzzle with red squares this morning, so I had lots of help.
Have a good weekend,
Montana

dodo1925 said...

Greetings, old friends,

This is my third try and I'm getting tired of typing. Just want to send my love to all of you and to thank you, C.C., for making all of this possible. I've enjoyed the blog and you sent me some wonderful new friends.

Lemon your write up was exceptional and the puzzle was fun. Marti, I got your "hello".You should try our Sierra snow sometime and pay us a visit. CA was going to be here but had some problems at the last minute. But she sounds chipper and seems to be taking everything in her stride in her wonderful way! She lives closer to me than before, so we hope to get together once in a while.

The others will probably tell you more. We were so busy chatting that nobody thought about taking pix so we have nothing to offer in that respect. Next time we'll do better!

Love to you all, dodo



HeartRx said...

Dodo, so happy to hear from you, and knowing that CA is still her chipper self!! Maybe this winter I will take you up on your offer of Sierra snow!!

dodo1925 said...

My! what an incoherent comment I wrote; probably because I'd written so much of it the first two times.

I didn't start out about CA and the others so that you had a reference! We had our little coven last Tuesday. Just four of us, Chickie, JD, Garlic Girl, and me. We had a wonderful visit and hope to be able to have CA with us another time.

Sorry, I went all over the map in my first posting.

dodo

Irish Miss said...

Qli, Chickie,and Montana: Hearing that you all received the miniature cedar chests make me think (if I am remembering correctly) that these were a promotional give-away by Lane, the company that marketed the chest as a Hope Chest for prospective brides.

Irish Miss said...

" makes me think"

Bill G. said...

Dodo, you're always apologizing for your posts and it never seems necessary. I always enjoy reading what you write.

Marti, it was fun to be reminded about the Magic Castle. We've been there twice I think. My favorite thing was being able to sit down at a table with a close-up magician. I always kinda knew what he was doing but he did it so well that I was spellbound.

Montana said...

Since we live in such different parts of the country it must have been a promotion by a large company like Lane. It wasn't something girls who graduated in previous years ever mentioned, so the little chests were quite a surprise gift.
Montana

HeartRx said...

Bill G., then you must not have ever sat at a table with my dear late husband as a magician...you would never have known how he did it!!

PK said...

Fermatprime, Yes, I read your post answering my question about Harvey. How fortunate you are to have an attentive friend like him. You must have taught him well when he was a student. Hope your bathroom turns out well and is a great comfort. I've looked at those advertisements and considered.

Montana said...

There was a musical tribute to teachers on CBS tonight. Did anyone else watch it?

Lemonade714 said...

You tell 'em marti; a good magician creates magic either by their skill or the innovation, but either way it is magic.
One is coming by now and

fermatprime said...

My younger son used to express his chagrin about inheriting my quasi-Roman nose!
Roman nose

My daughter inherited my mother's beautiful cedar hope chest. She (my daughter) referred to it as her hopeless chest as it was several years before she married!

Thanks for the shout out, Hahtoolah!

windhover said...

Hello Bumppo,
I read your resume/web page, and the Courier-Journal article, and I have a question: What variety of tomatoes are you growing along with the weed?
I'm a contrary farmer up in Garrard County (the most backward place I have ever lived, which is exactly why I'm staying here) and the lone member of a political party, the DSAPLAC. I believe you could be the second member.

kazie said...

WH,
Good to see you back, if only to send a mysterious message. Stay cool!

Argyle said...

Bumppo commented at 1:34. Check out his profile and the message won't be so mysterious.

Anonymous said...

Bumppo is a drive-by commenter.

He shows up, spews his opinion, then disappears into his holler.

Both of his comments are about his strict usage parameters.

Note to Natty: puzzles are for fun, they are not a dissertation.

Relax Natty Bumppo. Your profile suggests you know how.

That being said, I'd love to have a beer with you someday!

Bumppo said...

Yellowrocks 8/17 @4:11 p.m., Anonymous 8/18 @3:49 p.m.:

If you don't want to recognize HOORAH as a misspelling, then you have to recognize the 58-A clue as a foul: The standard (pardon the expression) is that when a variant spelling is called for, the clue includes "var." or somesuch.

Or maybe it did: The clue was "Yay!" That's a misspelling itself. The correct spelling is "yea."

Anonymous said...

Stick around Bumppo. (Which is var. for "read the blog for a longer period of time.") You will learn the general rules of thumb for the crossword world.

You'll come to see that you might get a hint(i.e. var.) on Monday or Tuesday but as the week rolls on and the difficulty increases, you will need to decipher that for yourself! Its a little game of deception the constructors and editors like to play. As well do I.