google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, August 1 2012, Norfleet Pruden

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Aug 1, 2012

Wednesday, August 1 2012, Norfleet Pruden

theme: that's gross!

17A. One in a dozen difficult jobs : LABOR OF HERCULES. greek mythology. hercules performed twelve labors given to him by king eurystheus.

32A. One in a dozen old family lines : TRIBE OF ISRAEL. old testament. jacob had twelve sons, from whom descended the twelve tribes of israel.

52A. One in a dozen constellations : SIGN OF THE ZODIAC. wikipedia says in both astrology and historical astronomy, the zodiac is a circle of twelve divisions of celestial longitude that are centered upon the elliptic: the apparent path of the sun across the celestial sphere over the course of a year.

melissa here.

very straightforward theme, but i had to stare at the theme answers for a while to figure it out. the zodiac gave it away. i know very little about mythology, and had no idea about labor of hercules.

twelve dozen is a gross, and twelve gross are called a great gross.

a dozen, a gross, and a score,
plus three times the square root of four,
divided by seven,
plus five times eleven,
equals nine squared plus zero, no more.

across:

1. Use as an ingredient : ADD IN

6. Coordinating pillowcase : SHAM.

10. Big fishhook : GAFF



14. "__ evil ..." : SEE NO

15. Something in the air : AURA. i like this clue.

16. Fisherman's gadget : LURE

20. Command from le général : ORDRE. french for order.

21. If nothing else : AT LEAST

22. Strait of Gibraltar port : TANGIER. pretty.

24. Antiseptic element : IODINE

25. "As Husbands Go" novelist Susan : ISAACS

26. Without : SANS. merriam webster says: Middle English saun, sans, from Anglo-French san, sanz, modification of Latin sine without.

28. Mountain goat's perch : TOR. wikipedia: A tor is a large, free-standing residual mass (rock outcrop) that rises abruptly from the surrounding smooth and gentle slopes of a rounded hill summit or ridge crest. like this.

29. V __ Victor : AS IN

30. Mischievous sprites : PIXIES

37. Wrongly desires : COVETS

38. Fed. crash investigator : NTSB. national transportation safety board.

40. Commotion : ADO

43. "Nothing's stopping us" : LET'S. i suppose.

44. Change the expiration of, as milk : REDATE. re-dating …. never a good idea. let's not.

46. Fishy fellows? : MERMEN. just seems wrong.




48. Event after morning twilight : SUNRISE

49. Find after digging : UNEARTH

51. __ pool : TIDAL

56. Cupid's counterpart : EROS

57. The Miners of Conf. USA : UTEP. university of texas at el paso.

58. Shakespearean barmaid : WENCH

59. No longer in the oven : DONE. by that definition, i guess these are done.




60. Some hosp. staffers : LPN'S. licensed practical nurse.

61. Seamless transition : SEGUE

down:

1. Subj. taught in silence : ASL. american sign language.

2. Justice Dept. division : DEA. drug enforcement administration.

3. Sophisticatedly charming : DEBONAIR

4. Like ammonia, chemically : INORGANIC

5. Alternative to Alpine, in skiing : NORDIC

6. Not as dangerous : SAFER

7. "What'd you say?" : HUH?

8. Cordoned-off space : AREA. seems a little weak.

9. Bond's were shaken : MARTINIS. the apostrophe gave it away.

10. Bonded, in a way : GLUED

11. Café specification : AU LAIT. coffee with milk.

12. California's largest inland city : FRESNO. didn't know this trivia.

13. Rankle, as resentment : FESTER.




18. Metal-yielding rocks : ORES

19. The Yankees' Mariano Rivera, e.g. : CLOSER

22. Niña's aunt : TIA. spanish.

23. Mgr.'s helper : ASST. assistant.

26. Puts through a strainer : SIFTS

27. Center of rotation : AXIS

30. One who "can survive everything but a misprint": Wilde : POET. oscar.

31. "A Summer Place" actress : SANDRA DEE

33. Ravel classic : BOLERO

34. Momentous : EVENTFUL

35. Online stores, collectively : E-TAILING. wanted e-tailers.

36. WWII carriers : LST'S. wikipedia: the military designation for naval vessels created during World War II to support amphibious operations by carrying significant quantities of vehicles, cargo, and landing troops directly onto an unimproved shore.

39. Comb user : BEE. honeycomb.

40. Pleasantly diverted : AMUSED

41. Young Vito Corleone portrayer in "The Godfather Part II" : DE NIRO

42. End of an old trail : OREGON. the oregon trail ran from independence, missouri to oregon city, oregon.

44. Phillies catcher Carlos : RUIZ

45. Provides funding for : ENDOWS

47. Pastor's place : MANSE. residence of a minister.

48. Instruction manual segments : STEPS

50. URL leader : HTTP. hypertext transfer protocol.

53. Feathery layer : HEN. great clue.

54. Start to puncture? : ACU. acupuncture.

55. Cohort of Fidel : CHE. castro and guevera.

Answer grid.

melissa

From C.C.:


Please click here about about the 2nd National Brain Game Challenge to be held on Sept 30, 2012. It's a part of "a collaborative effort by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America and Merl Reagle to boost awareness of lifestyle choices that promote brain health, as well as raise awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. (Merl’s mother in law had Alzheimer’s disease)".

60 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks Norfleet, Melissa--great work!

Hand up for ETAILERS!

The Russian contingent has been feeding me well. Probably have gained ten pounds. Will really miss their company when they leave next Tuesday. Mouth problems a bit less severe, but I sense that I will be eating pulverized vegetables until I can get some implants.

Evidently some jerk tried to use my google account. Instead of telling me this, gmail just refused repeatedly to accept my password. It took hours to get the mess straightened out. I had to type in those unreadable words they give you several times. Never thought I was going to get the whole thing straightened out!

Cheers!

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed the puzzle and the write up.

The cookie picture reminded me of a "Grate way to save cookies":
http://purposelyfrugal.com/2011/03/05/a-grate-way-to-save-cookies/#.UBkBJGt5mK0

(also a dozen cookies or doughnuts!)

Argyle said...

Grate cookie link.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, MelissaBee and friends. Strange Wednesday puzzle. There were some fun clue, however.

I really liked the Feathery Layer = HEN.

Bond's were Shaken = MARTINIs and Bonded in a way = GLUED were nice Clechos.

I was also amused by the Comb User = BEE.

Just last week, I read a story about a company in Florida that makes Mermaid and Mermen tails. I would probably drown in one of those tails.

Thanks for all those who expressed concern for me yesterday. The wisdom teeth are gone, but a was able to complete today's puzzle this morning. I guess I didn't lose all my wisdom. It wasn't as bad as I feared, but I am staying home from work for the rest of the week.

White Rabbit! Have a good August, everyone.

In honor of Jerry Garcia's birthday, here is today's QOD: Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil. ~ Jerry Garcia

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Strange puzzle. It looked pretty daunting at first, and there were plenty of ramped up clues, but in the end I managed to sail through it pretty quickly nonetheless. It helped that all three theme answers were familiar to me, once I finally figured out their clues.

And yes, hand up for ETAILERS...

HeartRx said...

Good morning melissa, C.C. et al.

I loved your theme title melissa! Thanks for all the fun factoids.

After yesterday's debacle, I approached this one with some trepidation. I had filled in LABOR OF...and wanted to put "love", but then there were all those empty spaces trailing after it. Since I knew the rule of crossword puzzles is to put a single letter into each square, I realized that must not be right.

Same thing with the clue for POET - I really wanted to put "Oscar" in there, but then that darned "one letter per square" rule confounded me again.

When I finally started playing by the rules, everything seemed to fall into place. Funny how that goes. I loved seeing NORDIC and our shaken MARTINIS. But ETAILING just rubbed me the wrong way. Still, a nicely put together puzzle.

desper-otto said...

Good morning Wednesday warriors!

Cute poem, Melissa. I'd never seen it before. And thanks for 'splaining BEE (comb). I knew BEE had to be right, but couldn't get the comb connection.

Otherwise, no big problems with today's offering. Here's another hand up for ETAILERS, though, but SEGUE fixed that. I suspect UTEP crossing HTTP may prove to be a Natick for some.

Today I get to fight with the health insurance folks again. They took two payments last month, and refused to refund one of 'em. Instead they sent me a letter telling me I was paid through the end of August. So today, yup, they sucked another payment out of my checking account. I'll be spending a great part of today in on-hold hell. Wish me luck.

Hahtoolah, good to hear that your ordeal is over. Are you on pain medication, or are you toughing it out?

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Great write-up, Melissa.

I'll go with MB's theme call. I note, though when the first letters of the long acrosses are taken in left to right column, we get LST. Lst's can hold dozens of troops, tanks, etc. Fun solve, a few strikethroughs, but no lookups were needed. Wondered if the author's name was another Rich Norris alias? Good hump day workout.

In MB's explanation of 52a, I believe 'ecliptic' is meant vice 'elliptic'. Might have been a typo.

Enjoy the day.

Argyle said...

This is Norfleet's second offering. The first was in 2009 link with a theme much like Monday's. There was much discussion of his name then also.

PK said...

Not a gross solve in the nasty sense. Fun for me! Some really pretty links, thanks, Melissa! That mountain sheep needed a good brushing though.

Had some problems in the NE. Put "reel" for 16A. After doing the rest of the puzzle, finally looked at a map and plugged in FRESNO since I had AT LEAST and TOR. The rest came easily. Never heard of the Labors of Hercules. I'm seriously deficient on mythology.

I have read all off Susan Isaacs, including that book.

My DIL sent me a cute link yesterday: Lil'Fred "I'm Farming Maybe". Warning, it has bare tits in it.

Yellowrocks said...

Something a little fishy about this puzzle. 10A,. 18A, 46A.

I thought some might question SANS, but Meliissa forestalled that with the dictionary def.

The theme was evident with the 12 LABORS OF HERCULES, making this puzzle quite easy.

I had the ING first, so ETAILING didn't bother me.

Lucina, you mentioned the sad passing of Maeve Binchey yesterday. I enjoy her novels.

DO Ain't it awful? Good luck.

Fermatprime and Hahatool, glad things are looking up for you.

Grating burnt cookies is like scraping burnt toast, okay but not great.

Spitzboov said...

Argyle @ 0740. Thanks. I have an earworm? about it. I had an earlier bank account with Fleet which merged with Norstar. Now we have B of A megabank.

Hand up for e-tailers, too.

Argyle said...

PK, is this your link? Farm It, Maybe(3:13) by Li'l Fred.

(It's teats, down on the farm.)

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Norfleet Pruden, for a great puzzle. Thank you, as well, Melissa Bee, for a great review. Really liked that little poem you included.

Well, all I have to say is that this is one of the best puzzles I have done lately. Not easy at all, but very clever throughout.

I could not get started in the North at all, so I headed South. My first answer was DONE for 59A. Got that corner pretty easily.

I had SIGN, so SIGN OF THE ZODIAC appeared. Then with a couple perp letters was able to easily get TRIBE OF ISRAEL. LABOR OF HERCULES was a little tougher.

Thought BEE for 39D was clever. Also MARTINIS for 9D. As Melissa said, the apostrophe was the key to that answer.

Never heard of MERMEN, but it fit.

Wagged ORDRE for 20A. I am getting better at french.

FRESNO was interesting. Never realized that fact. I have driven by it scores of times while heading up and down the San Joaquin Valley. I really enjoyed those drives. I love agriculture.

Glad you are feeling better better, Hahtoolah. My last wisdom tooth was extracted years ago by the same doctor that took my wife's gall bladder out. Multi-talented doctor.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

Abejo said...

Good link PK and Argyle.

Abejo

PK said...

Thanks, Argyle, for doing the linkage. I know how we spell it on the farm, but I wanted to titillate a response. Boy, you were Johnny-on-the-spot getting to that one. LOL!

Y'all remember my telling about my next-door neighbors who had the wild half-nude July 4 party? They moved out over the weekend after only two months--the record for shortest stay. I heard the rental manager over there talking on his cell phone. Don't know what the words were, but the tone was angry. So the neighborhood is back to staid and decorus.

Anonymous said...

TTP'er here. 50 min, 52 sec. Thank you Norfleet and thank you Melissa !

No lookups, no help. Final result was no GAFFs, or, to state another way, SANS errors, and a very rewarding TA DA !

Yesterday Suave. Today Debonair. How about Yesterday, Smooth, Today, Rough ? Are we sure this wasn't a Friday puzzle ? Especially with 10A, 16A and 46A Fish clues... I'm hungry.

Would never have known 25A ISAACS.

All three theme answers were wags that validated through perps. LA something ROFHERCULES, something OFISRAEL, and something FTHEZOD something.

Resorted to using the Wheel of Fortune approach. Stare at the word awhile. Ok, Ok, that has to be LABOR, so, yes, that's it ! And now DEBONAIR and INORGANIC down ! Move on, OK, that's TRIBEOFISRAEL ! And Bolero ! Back on a roll. C'mon, c'mon, clock's ticking. What next ? OFTHEZOD ? Of the zodiac ! Of course. SIGNOFTHEZODIAC.

At 40D I now have A_USED. Was going to throw in a B but re-read the clue. Still don't know whether I was amused or abused. Just kidding. Great puzzle Norfleet Pruden !

Can't think of a 61A to end my comments. How about this for a 19D ?

Will check back in later !

Irish Miss said...

Good morning all:

Thanks, Mr. Pruden, for a fun and challenging Wednesday puzzle, and thanks, MB, for your great expo.

Another hand up for etailers. Finished w/o help but didn't really understand the theme until coming here. Liked the clues for hen and bee.

Hatoolah, hope you feel better by the minute!

So far, our Maine weather is on the cloudy side. Maybe the sun will appear later. I hope it doesn't rain as we got soaked last night returning from dinner. (New England clam chowder and Maine steamers. Yum! Today I have a date with a baked, stuffed lobster. Double Yum!)

Happy August 1st!

Mari said...

Anon @ 8:33 am: I liked your CLOSER!

Nice puzzle today with a few hang up. I also don't know my Greek mythology. I loved the clues for HEN and BEE.

Some good words today: COVETS, ENDOWS, MANSE, EVENTFUL, TANGIER. (Tangier than what? ha ha)

I can't believe my favorite month (July) is over already. One more month and we'll be heading towards autumn.

Have a great day everybody (and a great August!)

Husker Gary said...

Okay, I had to erase the “S” in the middle of all three theme answers in this clever puzzle but I had a good time! With a name like Norfleet, it has to be good!

Musings
-Sheldon’s (and my) take on Signs of the Zodiac (:25)
-gAff/Aulait crossing slowed this non-fisherman who drinks coffee black but it all came through. Get thee begone Natick!
-With this drought (SANS rain), AT LEAST it isn’t flooding like last summer
-Omaha has a Tangier Shrine group. They ride vehicles in parades, put on a circus and help a lot of kids.
-I always have to spell my surname – S AS IN sam, C, H, L, A, P, AS IN paul, F AS IN frank, E, R. Next life, I’m coming back as SMITH.
-The American gymnasts look like PIXIES to me. Talented and not mischievous. No results from me ;-)
-Thou shalt not COVET thy neighbor’s ass!
-When UTEP was Texas Western, they won the NCAA basketball championship in 1966 and are credited with setting in motion the desegregation of college basketball. They started 5 black players for the first time in NCAA history.
-The Las Vegas 51’s are a minor league baseball team named after AREA 51
-What musical contains the song Look at me, I’m SANDRA DEE (“lousy with virginity!”)
-The Oregon Trail met the Mormon Trail at Kearney, NE
-I’m going to see a chiropractor for my back today. Is ACUpuncture next?

Argyle said...

TTP, loved your comment. Now...how about some class to your handle? I think XIVTP is next?

kazie said...

Brilliant puzzle, and fun blogging. hands up for ETAILERS but the collectively in the clue got me thinking, since SEGUE had to be needed at the bottom. I loved BEE and HEN when those pennies finally dropped. Several unknowns kept me guessing, but that's normal for me after Tuesdays.

Happy hump day!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

This was one of those puzzles that presented me a whole block, the NE, that just wouldn't fill in. All I had was AT LEAST. I didn't have confidence in GLUED or HERCULES. Never thought of Fresno as being large.

Haven't seen IODINE in years. When I was a tyke, our ancient medicine cabinet had a bottle of that along with Tincture of Merthiolate and Phisohex for cleaning up boo-boos. I guess all that stuff was loaded into the last covered wagon...

Anony-Mouse said...

Thank you Mr. Pruden for a very nice puzzle - (couldn't complete ... ).

Thank you MelissaB for those lovely pictures - I stared at the mountain goat, like forever - so dreamy, so alone, so awespiring ... and thank you for your interesting blog as well.

Thank you Argyle for linking the 'farm song' - charming young singer - seems to really love the farm. That's one job I don't think I could ever handle.

Ammonia (NH3) is the one inorganic chemical that is so indispensable for all of organic existence. For E.T.'s, it may even be a substitute for water, according to NASA scientists.

MelissaB, I worked, with great fun, on your mathematical poem. Because of my eyesight, I thought there was a comma after 'three times ' - and that misled me for a while. (SPOILER ! ) for those who didn't try it -

12 + 144 + 20 = 176 + (3x2) = 182 / 7 = 26 + (5 x 11 ) = 81 = 9*2



ALT QOD:- When I was young, I used to think that wealth and power would bring me happiness. I was right. ~ Gahan Wilson.

HeartRx said...

Dudley @ 9:46, our medicine closet had all those too, plus a bottle of the dreaded cod liver oil !!

Hahtoolah said...

Can anyone explain why there would be a change in the expiration date on milk? Sour milk would be gross.

JD said...

Good morning Melissa, C.C., et al,

Never would have figured out the theme connection, Melissa. Great title! Had no problem filling them, but did have a few holes left over: aulaiT/Tor,acU/segUe, and utep over lpns wasn't easy until I filled hens.

Cute clues for poet and mermen.

Hahtoolah, hope you have a speedy recovery.

Lucina, was sorry to hear about one of my favorite authors,Maeve Binchey.

Fermatprime, I am going to copy those silly little words in a minute, but if I have no luck I'll be an anon again.

JD

JD said...

woo-hoo!

Zcarguy said...

Fresno is the 5th largest city in California, its larger than Sacramento believe it or not. hot as hell tho 106 yesterday, I live here , I know.

Hand up for Etailers , but that Wench told me different , wanted Envies for 37A,

I was Amused with Endow and Dinero

Fore.!

Ron Worden said...

Good morning to all and happy hump day. Good wed. puzzle. Hand up for E-tailers, also had feats of hercules. To Husker Gary Grease is the word. Have a great day to all RJW.

Lucina said...

Hello, Melissa BEE and all. Thanks for explaining the theme, MB.

MARTINIS gave me the first toehold, finished that middle and sashayed down to the bottom. SEGUE was in place so ETAILING was no problem after I corrected NTSB; had NSTB at first.

Snell yesterday, LURE and GAFF today. Wonder if it will be fish tomorrow.

Loved the clues for HEN and BEE.

Dudley, those medicines were in our bathroom, too, and we were required to take a cod liver oil pill daily.

News to me that FRESNO is that populated and I have been to TANGIER. Gibraltar is actually an interesting place to visit.

I wonder if Norfleet Pruden is an anagram of his real name. Anyway, thank you, NP, for a good puzzle today.

I hope your Wednesday is wonderful, everyone!

Bill G. said...

Gary, I remember that from Grease. That was a very enjoyable musical.

I really liked the "Feathery layer" clue. That one had me going until I got a crossing letter or two.

Melissa Bee, I remember that one from years ago.
(12 + 144 + 20 + 3sqrt4)/7 + (5 x 11) = 9^2 + 0

I thought it went, "A dozen, a gross and a score, plus three times the square root of four, divided by seven plus five times 11 equals nine squared and not a bit more.

Here's a cute little puzzle for you guys. Write a word name in each blank to make the following sentence true. (In other words, write “five” in a blank, not 5.)

This sentence contains ___ Ts, ___ Es and ___ Ss.

Misty said...

When I saw those two grid-spanners this morning, I couldn't believe this was a Wednesday puzzle. But slowly, slowly it all fell into place, including two items I didn't get until Melissa explained: BEE and UTEP. I even gave a lecture at University of Texas, El Paso, once--but who knew they were Miners?

I also almost goofed when I put in VIXENS instead of PIXIES. And I too had never heard of MERMEN (even though I got it) and wouldn't have believed it until Melissa's photo. So, in the end this turned out to be a fun Wednesday puzzle--thanks, NP and Melissa!

Glad Hahtoolah survived the wisdom teeth trauma okay. I now have eye drops for my pink eye. Our clinic has a cool new system: the doctor typed the prescription into a computer, and when I got to the pharmacy, the little bottle of drops was waiting for me. Ah, technology!

Have a good Wednesday, everybody? Does that White Rabbit have something to do with our day?

chin said...

Dudley asked about iodine. Maybe four or five years ago I tried to buy a bottle of that miracle stuff. The pharmacy tech didn't even know what I was talking about. I was later told (unconfirmed) that some government agency has banned it. You can buy betadine but it doesn't work as well as I remember iodine working. But then I don't work as well as I remember working.

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. Fun puzzle today,and thank you for your writeup, Melissa Bee. Favorite clue was Feathery layer. Hand up for entering ETAILERS at first. Pencilled in ANHYDROUS for the ammonia clue, which, although being a terrific fill, messed me up royally in the entire OREGON and Washington area. INORGANIC is a pretty doggone good fill, too!

LW and I used to do a lot of Nordic skiing when we were younger. Our son was more of a downhill guy. Lots of adventures and misadventures.

Gary, I never had any trouble remembering your last name.

Mari, I laughed at your take on TANGIER.

Years ago FRESNO, as the so-called raisin capital of the world, was the butt of jokes. "Oh, I heard it on the grapevine..."

I agree with Hahtoolah: why would anybody redate the expiration date on milk, or any product for that matter? As a crossword clue, I guess it can be forgiven.

Off to the office to do some CSI work. Best wishes to you all.

Anonymous said...

Of course, I said white rabbit at 3.00am this morning then promptly fell back asleep. Think I'm good for August. Nice to know somebody else is on the White Rabbit page besides my family.

Good puzzle, first gimme was Labor of Hercules and then smooth fill in.

Husker Gary said...

Musings 2

-Great farm video, Argyle. That grain is going to be very high priced this year. Corn for food or ethanol? The battle lines are being drawn.
-Mari, my fav month is September – school, football, fall weather, my birthday (Virgo, despite what Sheldon and I said earlier!)
-Jayce, it never occurred to me that you KNEW my last name. Tin’s last name and mine are Swiss and are pretty uncommon. Kids usually spell it schlapHer instead of schlapFer.
-BTW, other than having to spell my name phonetically on the phone, my other pet peeve is having people give a call back number on the answering machine so fast or slur the numbers that I can’t get them written down!
-Grease is a fun movie but lyrics in Greased Lightning ain’t PG rated! The stage play is even darker and more profane but still it’s a hoot!
-REDATE is what my daughter is now doing with her fifth match.com guy. He is a band director at Lincoln Southeast High School and after Missy told him to slow down they split up and now they are on a very good path with marriage in their plans. She kissed a lot of frogs to get this prince.
-Them dern Frogs can’t tell their RE’s from their ER’s :D

Spitzboov said...

This sentence contains five T's, six E's and eight S's.

CrossEyedDave said...

I had to work hard to figure this one out, all my theme answers were just isolated letters. Finally, at the end, a clue i knew! 55D cohort of Fidel = Che (IFC on cable tv has been showing the movie a lot lately, otherwise i never would have known.) which gave me a word ending in "C"
(zodiac, of course!) which was promptly followed by Isreal & Hercules. After that the puzzle went smoothly except for "UTEP" (means nothing to an East Coast guy like me!)

While most of you had trouble with the NE, (Gaff was easy because of all the fishing video's i watch.) i had nothing at all in the NW all the way down to "asin" (29A) except for "labor." Even a break for lunch did not help. I finally had to Google the "As Husbands Go" novelist, which i do not feel is cheating because i did not have a snowballs chance in hell of knowing it anyway! That led to nordic/addin/debonair/inorganic/tangier/asl/dea! (Phew!)

I need to check with Jayce to see if i skip a DNF post, & simply put WMAO (worked my ass off!)

Anonymous said...

thought today should have been a friday or thursday. many words never heard of . might have gotten 53 d faster if there was a ? at the end of clue. Favorite was 9 d. awesome. merman, c'me on..lpns We uSE tHAt AbbR. ALot. Loved Sandra Dee. ACU was clever. A bit of trivia the "HOUSES OF ILL REPUTE" in central Europe where it is legal have big "EROS" signs in front of them,like non lit neon signs.

Irish Miss said...

The mention of iodine reminds me of an experience I had a few years ago. I was on a cruise and injured my leg while on a shore excursion. When I got back to the ship, I went to the infirmary thinking they would just cleanse the cut and bandage it. Unfortunately, it was more severe than I thought and needed stitches. The female physician was from South Africa, I believe, and had a strong accent, so when she asked me if I was allergic to eye-o-din, I think she had to repeat it three times before I realized she meant iodine.

Had a baked, stuffed lobster for lunch and now I am a stuffed lady! It was super delicious. We say goodbye to Maine tomorrow. Will be sorry to leave such a beautiful area.

Irish Miss said...

Correction: she pronounced it e-o-din. That's why it was so hard to understand.

Bill G. said...

Spitz, excellent. Nobody else? Did you enjoy it? Find it interesting? Difficult? Easy? I found myself chuckling after I had worked on it a few minutes.

I was driving home from grocery shopping locally when I passed two police officers approaching a house gate steathily. One of them had a pistol drawn. I don't think I've ever seen that before locally. It was a bit disconcerting.

Unknown said...

Printed this one out last night, worked awhile and left it. Had a much easier time this AM, some that I missed last night just appeared before me!
FRESNO -easy, grew up in Sacto.
LSTS- believe my dad was on an LC in WWII.
Will spend up to an hour and a half at my dad's waiting for the repair guy from LAZBOY to come fix his chair.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

This was a good puzzle, but I'm not going to comment on it.

It's been a very tough week in bumpaland. Yesterday, my sister's husband had some sort of a seizure, fell, hit his head and had severe brain trauma. Just now as I was writing this sentence, we got a message that his EEG is flatline. He will be an organ donor.

This was sudden and shocking.

Life is so uncertain. If you love someone, and haven't mentioned it lately, this would be a really good time to go and do that.

Sorry for the downer.

JzB

Bill G. said...

JzB, good thoughts and condolences for you and your sister. What a sad thing. Crossword puzzles don't seem so important right now. Best wishes for all of the family and friends.

Hahtoolah said...

Jazzbumpa: I am so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

Misty said...

My goodness, JazzB--what a desperately shocking and sad event for your family! My heart just goes out to all of you,

PK said...

Jazzbumpa, my sympathy on the loss of your BIL These sudden deaths are so devastating for those left behind. I'm sure you are a comfort to your sister.

Yellowrocks said...

JzB, so sorry to hear about your brother in law. I am feeling for all of you and especially your sister.

At my age, we lose the invincibility of youth. I have seen so many instances of people I know and love failing suddenly. When that happens, I often think of Intimations of Mortality rather than Intimations of Immortality. We have to show our love while we can and we have to make the best, most loving use of the life we have left.

On a brighter note, Irish Miss, I am sooo jealous of all those delicious lobster and clam, etc. repasts in ME. On our ME vacation we actually spent more money on food than on entertainment. Of, course, the wonderful loveliness of nature there is free. Really, I am so happy for you, Irish Miss. Enjoy.

UTEP is common crosswordese. Even when I don't get the clue, I know it as a possible university name.

We had all those named cures as a child. I still have Merthiolate and it works well. I like Neosporin. Even its no name version is good. I haven’t heard of campho phenique since I was a child. We were given cod liver oil drops for a short time, but mom let up on that. We were always outdoors in the sun getting our vitamin D.

CrossEyedDave said...

I think all the times i was using iodine as a kid, it was really mercurochrome, (you know, that red stuff that stained.)now banned because it contained a trace amount of mercury.

Aw crap JzB,

( i was going to say something, but all that comes out is...)

Aw crap JzB,,,

Well, still alive,,, there must be an uplifting link out there somewhere...

CrossEyedDave said...

Well, i looked far & wide, & while i found 1 or 2 good things, nothing seemed to fit. Then it dawned on me, what cheers me up most when i'm down,

Vince Guaraldi

(i hope it helps...)

God Bless Man...

CrossEyedDave said...

cast your fate to the wind

Manac said...

Marti,
Rules in Xwords?
Rules
Yellowrocks and IM.
Lobster going for 3.99 a lb in NE. going to get about four 1 1/2 pounders
tomorrow and some steamers and make a
good mess of the kitchen stove.
JzB, my condolences to you.

Manac said...

Lets try this again
Rules

Bill G. said...

Thanks. I LOVE Calvin and Hobbes.

I also like Vince Guaraldi's music. It's all good but I can't help thinking about Charlie Brown.

Lucina said...

Jazzbumpa:
I am so sorry for you, your sister and all your family. That is so devastating, especially when it happens so suddenly. You take care. My prayers are winging their way to you.

Anonymous said...

Jazzbumpa,

It is such a shock to have someone go so quickly. You & your family have my sympathy & prayers.

I had to google a few names & we had the g & i reversed in Tangier for a long time which kept us from making progress in that corner. finally, finished the puzzle.

Dot

JD said...

Bumpa, so sorry to hear about your brother-in-law...so quick, very similar to Creature's husband.Luckily your sister has you and your family to help her through this.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Guy! Thanks so much for my daily challenge. Good one!