google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, August 23, 2012 Richard F. Mausser

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Aug 23, 2012

Thursday, August 23, 2012 Richard F. Mausser

Theme: Where in the world...?

17A. Cairo's location? : FIFTY ACROSS. Why, it's 50A. "Aida" setting : EGYPT!

61A. Havana's location? : SEVEN ACROSS. And that would be 7A. It's east of Yucatán : CUBA

11D. Jerusalem's location? : TWELVE DOWN. Of course, we find 12D. Mount Carmel locale : ISRAEL

28D. Lima's location? : THIRTY DOWN. And finally, we go to 30D. Cole Porter's Indiana hometown : PERU

Fun theme, with a word search to find the locales hinted at by the theme entries. I loved this unique theme, using crossword locations to find geographical locales!

Marti here. I got back from the races in Saratoga, unpacked, then re-packed to go down to the Cape for a few days. I got home late in the evening, just in time to sort out the rest...

Across:

1. Chandelier danglers : PRISMS. One prism on my antique Viennese chandelier cost me $25 to replace...At that rate, I could sell the chandelier and pay off the mortgage!

11. Nervous reaction : TIC

14. Prophet in Babylon : DANIEL

15. Short mystery writer? : ANON. HaHa!! loved this clue.

16. Evergreen State sch. : WSU. Washington State University. And 18D. 16-Across mascot : COUGAR

19. Miss a fly : ERR. I assume that would mean, missing a fly ball in baseball??

20. Get licked by : LOSE TO.

21. Place to fill a flask : CHEM LAB. Not my first thought on this one!

23. She played Honey in "Dr. No" : URSULA. Andress. This chick.

25. Flood zone structure : LEVEE

26. Letters followed by a colon : HTTP

29. [I'm in trouble!] : GULP

31. Neuter, as a stallion : GELD

32. Backrub response : AAH

33. Short race : DRAG. I never could understand this sport...seems like a waste of good rubber, to me!

35. "Holy Toledo!" : EGAD

37. More succulent : JUICIER

39. Breakfast in a bar : GRANOLA

42. Red herring : RUSE

43. Paint ineptly : DAUB. Like this one?



44. Walked away with : WON

45. Two-timers : RATS

47. Briquettes, e.g. : FUEL. Charcoal briquettes used to fuel the grill...

49. Exclusively : ONLY

52. Texas slugger Cruz : NELSON.

55. Where some manners are important : BEDSIDE

57. Sports negotiating group : OWNERS

60. "Need ___ on?" : I GO. Why...I must!

64. Blue ___ : LAW. Blue Laws mostly have to do with the prohibition of alcohol sales on Sundays...but in Illinois, it also relates to car sales! (Go figure!)

65. Sheet music symbol : CLEF

66. Bit of roller coaster drama : PLUNGE. Yikes!

67. Hosp. worker : LPN. Licensed Practical Nurse.

68. Help with an answer : HINT. I could have used a few when solving this one!

69. It has 100 seats : SENATE

Down:


1. Common email attachment format : PDF. Portable Document Format.

2. Support bar : RAIL

3. What FAQs offer : INFO

4. Shows interest : SITS UP

5. Filmmaker Russ : MEYER. He is best known for his low-budget sexploitation films that featured campy humor, sly satire and large-breasted women. Sounds like he would fit right in on this blog!

6. Mattress supports : SLATS

7. Caboose, for one : CAR

8. Petroleum giant that merged with Chevron in 2005 : UNOCAL. New to me.

9. Hogwash : BOSH

10. Adams who shot El Capitan : ANSEL. Stunning photographs!



13. Kept in check : CURBED

22. Fox of "Transformers" : MEGAN. You like her?

24. Big galoot : LUG

26. Uris novel, with "The" : HAJ. I haven't read it (yet). You?

27. Upsilon preceder : TAU

33. Bad-mouth : DIS

34. Diver's domain : REEF

36. Debatable "gift" : GAB

38. Crescent moon points : CUSPS

39. Tank unit : GALLON

40. "OMG, too funny!" : LOL. "Laugh Out Loud!"

41. "___ volunteers?" : ANY

43. What makes an amp damp? : DEE. Did the clue fool you?

45. Send a new invoice to : REBILL

46. Marital challenge, perhaps : AGE GAP. Oh, I don't know...some of my best husbands were older than me!

48. Rugged : UNEVEN

49. Like many an extra-inning game : ONE RUN

51. Former CBS head Laurence : TISCH. Needed all the perps for this one!

53. Trades : SWAPS

54. Réunion attendee : ONCLE. French for "uncle".

56. Lunch spot : DELI

58. Novelest Jaffe : RONA

59. USAF rank above senior airman : SSGT. Staff Sergeant.

62. Newt, once : EFT

63. Make sure : SEE

Answer grid.

Until next Thursday,

Hugs!
Marti

Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Tinbeni! I'm raising my mug of soy milk, Cheers!

70 comments:

Mokus said...

Previous CWPs have taught me that Lima is in Ohio. This one claims it's in Peru. Thanks for helping me understand how DEE made an amp damp.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Marti and friends. The electricity went out last night and is still out. It would have to happen on a day I am supposed to go out of town!

No time to do the puzzle yet, but I did have to wish Tinbini a very happy birthday! You look so young!

Since it is our 20 something anniversary, here is today's QOD: They say marriages are made in heaven. But so is thunder and lightening. - Clint Eastwood.

Al Cyone said...

I was initially stumped by the theme but then something "clicked" and I got it. Fifteen minutes later (?) I was done. Very clever (the puzzle, not me) and enjoyable.

desper-otto said...

So it was PERU and not GARY. Hmmm. Got the theme early, and that helped quite a bit. But it seemed to take forever for CHEM LAB to appear. It also took awhile to suss the DEE.

HBD, Tinman!

Off for the three-mile march...

thehondohurricane said...


Hello all,

Wasn't crazy about the cluing in this puzzle, but I will give Richard credit for his originality. Once I picked up on the constructor's MO. it went pretty smoothly.

Biggest hang-up was 30D where I just wouldn't give up on GARY. I kept thinking Cole Porter was the composer for the song "Gary Indiana, Gary Indiana, my hometown", or however it was worded.

Tin, happy birthday. Have a great toast at sundown. By the way, looks like the Rays and Yanks are in a dogfight. You for the Rays?

Yellowrocks said...

Marti, It sounds like you had a great vacation.

I loved the theme of this puzzle, too. I got THIRTY DOWN and PERU early on. The names of the countries then helped me find the answers indicating their location in the puzzle.

I liked DEE and ANON.

Hahtoolh, have a great anniversary.

Tinbeni, I wish you a very happy birthday. I hope you will do something fun.

PK. I was out of posts the other day, but I enjoyed your writing about 4H, especailly the pig. The kids were lucky to have your support.

kazie said...

HBTY, Tinbeni! nice to finally see you up close and personal!

I thought I would have to give up on this until the first them fell. Then I was able to fill in everything fairly easily. But before that I felt it was more like a Saturday than Thursday. Enjoyable once the penny dropped.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Mr.Mausser, for a great puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the swell review.

Got started slowly. Gave up on the North and headed South.

My first answer was SENATE for 69A. My second, HINT for 68A. My third LPN, for 67A. I was on a run!

For 16A I put VER thinking the clue said Evergreen State. I did not see the sch. Eventually I figured out the Evergreen State was Washington, not Vermont and the clue had sch. in it. Other than that 16A was a piece of cake.

TIC came easily, then ERR, then LEVEE, then GELD. I finally had most of TWELVE. Got it. ISRAEL was right next to TWELVE. DOWN became obvious. I had the theme.

That really helped with the puzzle. It pretty much fell together after that.

Had DEEP for 34D for a while. Nothing was coming together in the center. REEF appeared, as well as FUEL and DRAG.

Had RAJ first for 26D, then HAJ became obvious. I have not read that book, but I may pick it up. I enjoy Leon Uris' books. Just read Armageddon. Only released fifty years ago, but still excellent.

This puzzle was very clever. My hat off to Mr. Richard F. Mausser.

HBD Tinbeni. I'll have a suds in your honor tonight.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Abejo said...

Happy Anniversary, Hahtoolah. Always enjoy you commentary and QODs.

Abejo

Spitzboov said...

Good Morning all.

I agree with Hondo and others about the puzzle.

Happy anniversary, Hahtoolah!

HBTY Tinbeni. Nice pic. Is that a map of the Dalmatian coast behind you?

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

I found this a tad more difficult than the usual Thursday offering. I did finish w/o help but needed perps in several areas. Went astray early on with MSGT instead of SSGT, rep instead of eft (thinking Gingrich), uncle instead of oncle. Liked the clues for dee, bedside, and anon.

Nice job, Richard, and great expo, Marti.

Happy Birthday, Tinbeni, and Happy Anniversary, Hatoolah.

I read The Haj many, many years ago; I enjoyed all of Leon Uris' novels. Another favorite was Herman Wouk.

I was playing Draw Something (similar to Pictionary) on my iPad and my word to draw was LUKE. Well, I choose to write Matthew, Mark, ----' and John. My playing partner went though every combination of letters under the sun and finally hit on Luke. He then sent me the following message: "I'm 74 years old! I don't know the names of any of these rock stars". My laugh for the day.

Happy Thursday to all.

Mari said...

Irish Miss - that's really funny!

Interesting puzzle today. At first I was lost, but then it started to click. It went from almost too hard to being almost too easy.

Some great clues here: 43D: What makes an amp damp? DEE. Boy did this one have me stumped. Very clever.

I also liked 15A: Short mystery writer? ANON. Perfect!

10D Adams who shot El Capitan had me going to. I thought these were characters from some classic literature I missed out on reading.

Happy Anniversary to Hahtool and Happy Birthday to the no longer mysterious Tinbeni. I hope you both have a wonderful day! (Yesterday was DH's B-Day.)

Montana said...

Interesting puzzle and great review. Thanks, Marti.

I got the theme, but still needed red letter help today.

Happy Birthday, Tinbeni, and Happy Anniversary, Hatoolah.

Have a nice day everyone,
Montana

HeartRx said...

Good morning all!

I did C.C.'s puzzle yesterday, and thought it was really clever! Unfortunately, our Cape house Wi-Fi was not the greatest, so I kept getting kicked off the internet. Aggravation wasn't the order of the day, so instead of commenting, I went to the beach! But I loved the puzzle, C.C. !

Just catching up with everything this AM - Happy Birthday Tinbeni (I'll have a couple toasts at sunset for you!), and Happy Anniversary, Hahtoolah (I'll have a couple more for you!!) I hope no one else is having a celebration today, because I will be hammered by dusk!!

Yellowrocks said...

Tinbeni, great picture.

My first thought for chandelier danglers.
Link images

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

HBD, Tinman, you handsome devil. I like the company you keep.

Happy Aniv. Hatoolah.

I feel as if I should like this puzzle more than I do. Pretty typical Thus experience: looked intractable at first, but chipping away eventually got it. Sort of. Messed up a couple of spots.

Mixed feelings about the theme. It is clever and original, though.

THIRTY and OHIO share the HI in the same location. That sent me down a wrong track - to the wrong continent.

Unlike the rest of you, I loath "What makes an amp damp." Self-referential clue and a spelt-out letter. A double dose of what I hate the most.

NELSON Cruz single-handedly destroyed the Tigers in the playoffs last year.

I'm a bit out of sorts today. Gloria went to T-town yesterday, and ended up staying there. Her mother fell again - 3rd time in 9 mos - and was in the hospital overnight. Nothing broken, I think. It's all a bit mysterious.

Elder care gets complicated when you're 75 miles away.

Cool regards!
JzB

Avg Joe said...

Happy Birthday Tin. It is nice to see what you look like. I hope all you Tampans can avoid the hurricane.

And Happy Anniversary Hahtoolah. Do something special.

I'm with Jazz on the clue for Dee. Seemed too contrived. But the rest was clever and for once the theme was very helpful in the solve.

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Mr. Mauser, for a very challenging puzzle and Marti for a enchanting, charming blog.... somehow the puzzle was beyond my XW IQ. Nice, though.

I could not post yesterday, because I was in a place I'd rather not mention, where I was relieved of all my personal effects,(temporarily). I did manage to snag a newspaper, and borrowed a ballpen off of my wife ... and completed it ALL ...rather difficult clues, for me anyway, and I did it all in 'ink' - a new experience. I got the theme and the companies - GE was the last to 'fall'. Thank you CC. I also met Sergey Brin's sister, who was sitting alongside me,( He co-created Google - )... later, I saw her off ... haven't seen a late model Rolls Royce in recent years .... she offered me a ride, but I thought it classier to politely decline ... Well, that's was the most exciting thing yesterday....

ALT QOD:- I would much prefer to work as a judge than a coal miner because of the absence of falling coal. ~ Peter Cook.

Have a good week, you all.

Argyle said...

Jzb, it might be a good idea to check her meds. Side effects are often not mentioned. A pharmacist might tell you of any drug interactions that might be causing trouble.

Misty said...

Clever, clever, clever. I was so stumped by the way 'Jerusalem's location' assembled these weird letter combinations until it hit me! After that it was just a hoot! No problem at all with DEE--I've learned to expect this sort of thing. I love an unusual theme, and this one was great, Richard--thanks! And I loved the pix, Marti!

Have a wonderful birthday, Tinbeni. Hope it's okay to tip a glass of Merlot to you at sundown!

desper-otto said...

Anony-mouse, that Peter Cook quote comes from a quite long skit in Beyond The Fringe. My favorite part is his comment that a miner who is too old and sick and stupid to do his job properly must go. Whereas the exact opposite applies to the judges.

Lucina said...

Hello, my friends. Marti, glad you made it back on time though it sounds like a wonderful vacation for you.

Happy birthday, Tinbeni! I can guess what you'll do at sundown.

And happy anniversary, Hahtoolah! I do love your QOD.

And I really liked this puzzle. To quote JZB: it "looked intractable at first but chipping away at it eventually got it."

Finishing the NE corner got me ISRAEL then TWELVE DOWN gave me a HINT as to the theme so then I took the PLUNGE and went looking for those answers.

My BFF is from PERU, IN and has often told me of Cole Porter's home which is a local attraction there.

This was a cleverly devised puzzle with fresh cluing which made many lights go off for me. I loved the cluing for DEE but then I'm easily amused. Thank you, Mr. Mausser.

I haven't read anything by Uris but it sounds like perhaps I should.

Most fav clue: Adams who shot El Capitan, ANSEL.

I hope your Thursday is fabulous, everyone!

Sfingi said...

"Well, that's different," as they say in the Midwest, in underspeak. That's as harsh as they get, so I'll leave it at that.

I had to multi-Google before I could really get started: CUBA, WSU and its COUGAR, NELSON, UNOCAL, MEGAN, MEYER.

Had eGoGAP before AGEGAP.

@Jazzbumpa - unfortunately not so mysterious. I assume she's aged. When my mother started falling, we tried to get her to use a walker, but she was in denial. After a 17-stitch cut on her head, she went to a Home, which I had wanted to avoid. We also had arguments over car keys and Depends. Many people are and will be going through this as the elderly get into their '90s.

Mbg55 said...

I still do not understand this: newt, once = eft. Huh?

Irish Miss said...

In my post, I meant chose, not choose. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

Mgb55 re Newt..eft is a baby
newt (salamander)an amphibian not pol

GarlicGal said...

I had quite a time with the puzzle this morning. That whole DRAG/REEF/FUEL/DEE mid area really had me adrift. Finally...finally the lights came on.

Happy B-day Tinbeni. We'll be toasting on the other coast in your honor. I prefer Bombay and tonic, though!

Batten down the hatches all you Floridians.

Lemonade714 said...

late again.

Hi, HBDTY Tinman; no more undercover work for you now that your face is a household word. HATY Hatoolah.

And many more for both of you.

I thought this was quite creative, and some of the clues as mentioned extra fun, but am I the only one here who loved the juxtaposition of GULP and GELD? Also thought the clue for OWNERS was new.

HONEY RYDER the first Bond girl and one of the tamest of Fleming's very un-pc names for hsi women.

Speaking of which, you all should watch a little of RUSS MEYER and his cinema magic.

How were the ponies for you miss marti? my TVG was down so I lost track of the track.

Tinbeni said...

Richard F. Mausser: What a FUN Thursday offering (once I caught on to the theme).
Very clever cluing and fresh construction. Thank you!

OK, For 21-A, Place to fill a flask, I wanted WET-BAR (wouldn't fit) before CHEM-LAB emerged.
39-A,Breakfast in a Bar ... yeah, I wanted 'Pinch' (again, it wouldn't fit!!!). Doubt I'd have GRANOLA, LOL.
Needed perps for a bunch of names: MEGAN, HAJ, RONA, TISCH, UNOCAL and NELSON.
No help needed for remembering URSULA as my favorite Bond-Girl, Honey.

Hahtoolah: Happy Annivesary!

Thank you all for the kind B-Day wishes. I'm told that '60' is a big one.

Spitz: Yup, that picture is from my Ex-PAT days in Croatia, probably taken 2005. (When I was a kid of 53).
And that is the Dalmatian coast in the pic. The girl is Vesna. My favorite Croatian!

Hondo: I've been a N.Y.Yankee fan since I was about 5yo (they had spring training then in St. Pete).
As such they are team 1-A.
Here at Villa Incognito we refer to the Tampa Bay Rays as "the kids". They're sort-of a 1-B favorite team.
Should be a great pennant race.

Irish Miss: Funny joke of the day. LOL !!!

Avg,Joe: The 'weather-guys' say Isaac is heading for Tampa Bay. Oh, there will be some wind here (Thanks, RNC) but since they (the weather-guys) say we'll be hit ... latest has it going directly over Tampa Bay ... it will probably head for New Orleans, Just sayin'...

Lucina: Well the Sun is setting somewhere. Y'all will have to start earlier to catch up with me.
Cheers!!!

Avg Joe said...

Tin, here's a birthday tune for you :-)

Trying to reason

I just had a few minutes to watch TWC, and yes, it does look like Isaac is headed your way. Hope not.

Yellowrocks said...

Sfingi,I understand. Unfortunately we had a very similar experience with my MIL at age 97. She suddenly couldn't walk along with the other problems. She passed on after less than a year in the nursing home.

Bill G. said...

Happy birthday Tinman! Happy anniversary Hahtoolah! (Say, I'll bet you have already explained it but what's the significance of your screen name?)

Even though I haven't read these comments yet, I thought I would post before doing so. I don't know about everybody else but I thought this puzzle was tricky and hard. I needed a HINT from red letters showing me when I had erred. If tomorrow's is harder, I'm going to be in trouble. Once I sussed out the theme idea, it did help a bit with the solving. I like when that happens.

Here's a little puzzle for those who might enjoy it. It takes logic and very little math.

Huey, Dewey and Louie
Three cards, each with a positive whole number written on it, are lying face-down on a table. Huey, Dewey and Louie are told that the numbers are all different, they add to 13 and they are in increasing order from left to right. Huey looks at the number of the leftmost card and says, “I don’t have enough information to determine the other two numbers.” Dewey looks at the rightmost card and says, “I can’t either.” Louie looks at the middle card and says he doesn’t have enough information either. Assuming that each person hears the others and reasons perfectly, what number is on the middle card?

CrossEyedDave said...

I was stumped this am, & took a break. When i came back i saw the across & down words in the puzzle, & since i already had all the locations, it became very easy.

Tinbeni, thinking of you on your Birthday!

Hatoolah, Happy Anniversary!


Anony-Mouse @ 10am
relieved of your possessions temporarily??? Sounds like airport security...

Ron Worden said...

Good afternoon to all and happy Friday eve.Thanks Marti for your write-up. Wees I had to stare at it for a while,but it finally fell into place.
Happy anniversary Hatoolah.
Happy Birthday Tinbeni! On a Sat.back in the old days of spring training my Dad and I would go to see the Cards,Mets,and Yankees all in one day at their practice fields. Then when I was older I worked over by Azeala and would go to see the Mets on my lunch hour.
Have a great day to all.RJW.

Anonymous said...

Tinbeni, your posts keep disappearing, then reappearing with differences. Three times now. How does that happen?

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Desper-otto for your info on the QOD. I never understood the quote, so thanks for the background info. If one sees the ages of the US Supreme Court Justices, one realizes that we are a couple of decades behind in making new law - I guess that's what 'stare decisis' is all about ...

The real reason for this post is that I read yesterdays snarky comment (for) YellowRocks. I too, have been castigated for providing too much information - and I nearly quit, once, in disgust. But then I realized that one or a few comments do not a blog make. YellowRocks, if you are reading this - do not be disheartened - nobody has the right to tell you about your comments ( except the webmaster - ), so keep at it .... I for myself, peruse your posts closely, and always find them very informative and interesting. Know-it-all's are welcome to pass on your posts and continue on .... so, Go for it, Girl !

Ron Worden said...

BTW: GO RAYS RJW.

Bill G. said...

What makes a woman look sexy? Ignoring the body's effect, some women have pretty faces but don't appear sexy (at least to me). Some women have faces that just seem to exude sex appeal but I don't know why. The reason this question occurred to me is the photo of Megan Fox that Marti linked. Very sexy I thought. Another would be Anna Kournikova, the Russian tennis player. Then there's Sophia Vergara from Modern Family. Other nominations?

Husker Gary said...

What a fun and helpful device today Richard!

Musings
-Happy birthday Tinman! I hope Hurricane Isaac knows who it’s messing with in Tampa! Nice snap, my friend and the female to your right is…
-Happy Anny Hahtoolah. I guess it depends on how you generate your own thunder and lightning.
-Thanks for the compliments on my cute grandkids yesterday. Maybe this DNA stuff is overrated.
-Third TIC we’ve had in a short time.
-WSU is called Wazoo. They’ve got talent up the…
-CHEM LAB not speakeasy (Tell ‘em Marti sent ‘ya).
-LEVEEs took a hit last summer and this summer they are unnecessary
-Great history and aerial pix of a NE DRAG STRIP
-Pols throw out Red Herrings all the time to avoid substantial debate
-I haven’t used Briquettes in years and don’t miss the mess
-Good BEDSIDE manner used to be used during house calls. Forget that now.
-Blue Laws did very little to curtail liquor sales
-Cabooses are an anachronism today after they became a symbol of railroad featherbedding
-GAB on the golf course is not always welcome
-AGE GAP May/December romances (scroll down for pix)
-Gospel writer bathroom hijinks – Matthew Marks Luke in John.
-My apostrophes are looking like this when I post - ’. Wassup with that?

Spitzboov said...

Bill G @1311 - The middle card is a 4.

Misty said...

Don't know how I missed your anniversary, Hahtoolah--but congratulations, and wishes for many, many more!

Jerry said...

Was waiting for HuskerGary to mention the RUSS MEYER reference from a Seinfeld episode. oh well

Husker Gary said...

Thought about that Seinfeld line but...

Tin, I'll raise a nice glass of the best tap water in America to you tonight at supper. Maybe we can celebrate properly next May in Orlando.

Off for a checkup.

Lemonade714 said...

Season 4, episode 23

[setting: Monk's]

(Jerry and Elaine at a booth)

ELAINE: (to the waitress) Could we get a little more? (she doesn't listen and walks away) Aghh... You know ever since this new owner took over, the service here is *really* slow.

JERRY: Yeah. Have you noticed anything else that's different since the new management?

ELAINE: Mmm. They're putting a little lemon in the tuna. I love that.

JERRY: Beside that. Look at the waitresses.

ELAINE: Yeah? (we see that all the waitresses have big breasts)

JERRY: What physical characteristic would you say is common to all of them?

ELAINE: Ah...

JERRY: I mean look at this. Every waitress working here has the same proportions. Wouldn't you say?

ELAINE: Yes, I would say.

JERRY: What's going on here. How is that possible?

ELAINE: Do you think it's a coincidence?

JERRY: No. I haven't seen four women like this together outside of a Russ Meyer film..

(the waitress finally came with the coffee)

Anony-Mouse said...

CED ... it was a little more painful... I'll leave it at that...

Bill G., against my better sense, I took a stab at your puzzle...

The only combinations, in numbers ascending order, sorted by (common) 'middle card', are:


1+3+9 1+4+8 1+5+7

2+3+8 2+4+7 2+5+6

3+4+6

In 3,4,6 .... the first card '3' is unique, so out ...the Huey first card, '3' would have solved it.

In 1,3,9... the last card '9' is unique, so out.... the Dewey last '9' card would have solved it.

in the 2,3,8 ...the center '3' is unique,once Huey couldn't solve it .... the Louie '3' card would have solved it.

So, the only combs left are 1+4+8 1+5+7

2+4+7 2+5+6

So, if second man(last card) Dewey had a end '6' or a '8' it would have been solved ... it can only be 148 or 256 ... so the RHS card had to be a '7'.

Then the only combs left are 157 and 247 ... so the center card would have to be a 4 or 5 ... I'm sorry, I can't make out any closer than that.

Anonymous said...

Anony-mous

Doctor's appointment? Maybe at the Cleveland Clinic?

CrossEyedDave said...

The things you learn on this Blog!

I never heard of Russ Meyer until today!

Anonymous said...

Anon @2:26 MYOB

Mark S. said...

Did anyone solve Bill's puzzle?

1-4-8

1 can't - could be 1-3-9 or 1-4-8
4 can't - could be 1-4-8 or 2-4-7
8 can't - could be 1-4-8 or 2-3-8

4 is the middle card

PK said...

Hard, but satisfying, this puzzle. Thought PRISMS but didn't write it down, so NW last to fill. First to come was TWELVE & ISRAEL so I kept trying to put in "tribe" for a bit. Then "aha" happened and I filled in all the theme answers. Had to check with Marti to believe PRISMS. Crystals didn't fit.

HBD Tinbeni and HA Hahtoolah! And many more..!

BillG: another QOD: "If you have sex appeal, you don't need anything else. If you don't, nothing else matters... Marilyn Monroe (If I remember correctly.)

As to age gap: After my husband died, I had a much younger colleague coming on pretty strong to me. My oldest child is only 2 yrs. younger than he. I kept telling him I was old enough to be his mother. Since his mother was 45 when she had him, he couldn't see it. Finally, I showed him my wedding picture and said, "I have not been a virgin in your lifetime." That cooled him off.

Math Challenged Dwarf said...

If Anony-mouse's analysis is presumed correct, (let us say, for the moment - ), and the final combinations are 157 and 247 , shouldn't the last duck, with the middle card, 'have to' arrive at the correct answer ? If the middle card is a 5, its 157 and if the middle card is a 4, its 247.

Well, maybe, that's precisely why they are ducks, not Einsteins. Perhaps, they were undergoing 'lavage' for pate' de foie gras. Very inhuman or er, inanimaly (?).

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Warm wishes for many more birthdays, Tinbeni, and for many more wedding anniversaries, Hahtoolah.

I thought the theme today was clever as heck, although once I figured it out it made a lot of the remaining puzzle much easier to solve, virtually filling itself.

I actually liked the amp damp clue and answer. Was looking for an answer indicating actual dampness, or being damped as in damping the fire. Amplifiers do have a characteristic called damping factor, which my engineer mind was also looking for.

DAB yesterday, DAUB today. I guess a little didn't do us.

Does one use a toothbrush or a Q-tip for CLEF cleaning?

I GO now. Best wishes to you all.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

A lot tougher puzzle at first, but then the light came on and dispersed the fog.

Once I filled in PRISM, I resolved to mention Marti's chandelier prism before she could do so - but alas, I forgot it was her day to elucidate. Just let me say the chandelier is lovely!

HeartRx said...

Dudley, thanks for thinking about the PRISM - but it's a real bi*ch to clean!!

Russ MEYER sounds like he is the Mel Brooks of porn...


Bill G. said...

Russ Meyer had no notable talents except to find ways to show off big-breasted women in sexy ways. He certainly captured my teenage fantacies.

Spitz, do you want to explain your logic or shall I? There's no guessing or silly stuff involved.

Hahtoolah said...

Thank you all for your Anniversary wishes. My husband and I are very lucky to have a long and happy marriage. We are celebrating by going to one of our favorite fancy restaurants.

Spitzboov said...

Bill G @ 1746 - Go ahead. You offered the logic puzzle.

thehondohurricane said...

Bill G,

Sexy ladies.
#1a I'm married to numero uno.

1b Michelle Pfeiffer

2 "Two" many to mention.

Manac said...

Evening all, thought this was going to be a tough nut to crack until I got the theme and it fell nicely. Lemon, I remember that Seinfeld scene well but never knew who Russ Meyer was, it all makes sense now.
Bill G. That pic of Megan fox looks like her face was spray painted on so good looking? Maybe. Sexy? Whatever floats your boat. Just glad you mentioned my girlfriend Anna Kournikova. And shall we revisit last night and Teri Garr? Yum!

Jayce said...

Megan Fox really isn't my type, I guess. I'm not attracted to her at all.

Linda said...

My former Email address no longer works because I didn`t sign on to it often enough. Here is a new one for my friends who still wish to contact me.

lws@hushmail.me

Greetings to CC and the rest of the blog family.

Bill G. said...

Huey, Dewey and Louie:
There are eight triples possible on the cards: 3,4,6; 2,5,6; 2,4,7; 2,3,8; 1,5,7; 1,4,8; 1,3,9 and 1,2,10. Huey must not have seen a three or he would have known that 3,4,6 was the only possibility. Dewey must not have seen a six, nine or 10 or he would have been able to determine the answer. So Louie has four possibilities left; 1,4,8; 1,5,7; 2,3,8 and 2,4,7. You can eliminate the second and third combinations since Louie wasn’t sure either. So there were two possibilities left and therefore, four must have been the number on the middle card.

chefwen said...

Happy Birthday Tinbeni!!! I miss you over at Rex's place, what did he do to piss you off?

Thought the puzzle was great, loved the gimmick once I figured it out.

Thanks Mr. Mausser

Manac said...

Bill G. Please! Please! Please do not take offense at this but this was all I could think of after trying to do that little problem of yours. Tylenol
My head hurt!

Crossword Counter-intel Security-ish said...

Ple##@#a%$se ge##@t t^$#he KG**B a$#g%$ent Off of th#@!is Bl*&$og !!

Nyet, Nyet, Nyet ...das-vi-daniya !!@!!

Nyet Russiya Rubelisash availabisch 'ere >>>>

Now you going-sch home-sh and staying-sch there , and not bothering-sch us no more #@#@

Kapisch ?

Dudley said...

Just went back and clicked the Megan Fox link. Nice looking, I guess, but doesn't do it for me.

Anony-Mouse said...

Bill G. - I was trying to reconcile my approach to solving the problem, with your solution.

And after much thought, I realized I eliminated 238 before I eliminated 256, and that made all the difference.

238 is eliminated based on the middle #3, which occurs in step 3,and the number 238 itself, should pass the scrutiny at step 2., and proceed on to step 3.

whereas 256 elimination is based on the last number i.e. 6, which is based on step 2, so should be done earlier... and does not survive the culling in step 2.

so, I had 148 157 247 & 256

AND You had

148 157 247 & 238

and thus, in the 3rd step, .... the 3rd # was irrelevant, for culling-sorting, and the second # was the ONLY one that counted, ( as it should - ), so your elimination was more accurate.

So close, and yet, ... a miss is as good as a mile.

Have a good night.

Manac said...

Bill, I hope this makes up for my last post I'm speechless

Blue Iris said...

Hope you had a happy birthday, Tinbini!

Hahtoolah, you celebrate your anniversary the same day as my parents.

Thought of CHEMLAB flask right away. When my daughter graduates with Ph.D in Phar/Tox I hope to serve beverages in chem flask so it looks like poison. Glass flask are very expensive so I hope to run across party replicas or maybe test tubes, etc. Any creative ideas would be appreciated?!?

Miss old docs with good BEDSIDE manners. You can almost see the the dollar signs in these new guys eyes. They wouldn't want to spend more than the allotted time with any one patient.

Blue Laws really didn't have to do with the prohibition of alcohol. They prohibited purchasing anything you could use to do work. For instance, we couldn't buy a broom,pots& pans, etc. in the 1970's, in Arkansas. You were suppose to be resting on the seventh day. They probably added alcohol in there for good measure.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I finished the puzzle late so didn't read the blog until this late hour.

I wanted to wish Tinbeni a very happy birthday and many, many more. I know you must have had a toast (or two) to celebrate.

Also, Happy Anniversary, Hatoolah. May you both have many more years together.

Heart RX, thanks for the writeup. I'm jealous of your vacation(s). It sounds like you had a great time.

I don't think I've ever done a puzzle like the one today. It was clever, but not easy to decipher until the Israel, Twelve down clue became clear. Clever and fun.

Good night, everyone.