google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 Steve Blais

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Nov 20, 2012

Tuesday, November 20, 2012 Steve Blais

Theme: Are you ready to play? - All answers are related to the TV game show where to family groups try to match their answers to what a one hundred people said. For those unfamiliar with it, here is Part 1 of the 1976 ABC premiere of Family Feud. Clip(8:29) You can skip the intro's and start at 4:15.

18. Show hosted by 23-Across : "FAMILY FEUD"

23. Popular TV personality (11/20/1932-6/2/2012) : RICHARD DAWSON

39. 18-Across list topper : NUMBER ONE ANSWER

49. With "the," 23-Across's nickname on 18-Across : KISSING BANDIT

60. 23-Across's catchphrase on 18-Across : "SURVEY SAID!"

Argyle here. How's this for a theme? A piece of cake for fans and a bear if you've never seen it. The current host is Steve Harvey.

The puzzle is anchored in the middle by a grid spanner. The corners are substantial. The fill seems decent although a couple seem oddly clued. This is his fourth puzzle this year. He said he would be back soon in the comments on October 17.

Across:

1. Winter coaster : SLED

5. "Go __, Tigers!": 1968 Detroit baseball theme song : GET 'EM. Clip.(1:29)

10. Verb for thou : DOST

14. Vehicle at a stand : TAXI

15. Martini garnish : OLIVE

16. Empty room phenomenon : ECHO

17. Unattributed, as a quote: Abbr. : ANON

20. Uncommon, to Caesar : RARA

21. Taking care of the job : ON IT

22. Muse for poets : ERATO

26. Syr. neighbor : ISR. (Syria/Israel) 45A. Syr. neighbor : LEB. (Syria/Lebanon)

27. Royal Navy letters : HMS (Her or His Majesty's Ship)

28. Brightness nos. : IQ's

30. Put a match to : IGNITE

35. Vocal quality : TONE

42. Proboscis : NOSE

Ha cha cha!

43. Did, at some point : USED TO

44. Fish-fowl connector : NOR. "Neither fish nor fowl" - Cliché, not any recognizable thing.

47. Go toe-to-toe : VIE. Meh.

56. Healing plants : ALOEs

58. Lugosi of horror films : BELA

59. Flag Day month : JUNE

62. Area behind a high altar : APSE

63. "Aha!" : "I SEE!"

64. Blue Cross competitor : AETNA. Health insurance giants.

65. Part of an agenda : ITEM

66. Migratory herring : SHAD. The shad spends most of its life at sea, but swims up fresh rivers to spawn. Wiki

67. California berry farm founder : KNOTT


68. Used car sites : LOTS

Down:

1. Percussionist from Liverpool : STARR. (Ringo)

2. Hawaiian porch : LANAI. How is our Hawaiian contingent doing?

3. Ritualistic evictions : EXORCISMS

4. Singers Washington and Shore : DINAHs. Washington(2:09) and Shore(2:50)

5. Cost : GO FOR

6. Spiral-horned antelope : ELAND

7. Faint of heart : TIMID

8. Madonna title role : "EVITA"

9. B or C of the Spice Girls : MEL. Melanie B rown("Scary Spice") or Melanie C hisholm("Sporty Spice").

10. Sits on the kitchen counter until dinner, say : DEFROSTS. Not recommended.

11. Indian __ : OCEAN

12. Not even ajar : SHUT

13. Chore list heading : TO DO

19. Quaint country consent : "YES'M"

24. Grammy winner India.__ : ARIE. Clip(3:46)

25. Bread choice : WHEAT

28. Place to overnight : INN

29. Quid pro __ : QUO. ("this for that" in Latin)

31. Future beetles : GRUBS

32. Rejection on top of rejection : NOs

33. Opal finish? : INE

34. Brother of Jack and Bobby : TED. Kennedys

36. Admitted : OWNED UP TO

37. Opposite of paleo- : NEO. (old/new)

38. Act inappropriately : ERR

40. Accepted : BELIEVED

41. Bright star : NOVA

46. Latin 101 word : ESSE

48. Behind bars : IN JAIL

49. Where to get Seoul food : KOREA

50. "A Doll's House" playwright : IBSEN

51. "That's so cool!" : "NEATO!"

52. Quick flash : GLINT

53. Needing practice in : BAD AT

54. Smaller map, often : INSET

55. Rains cats and dogs : TEEMS. (meh)

56. Auction condition : AS IS

57. One who rarely has low spirits? : LUSH

61. Hog the phone : YAK


Argyle

Note from C.C.:

Here is a happy photo of the always cheerful Bill G and his adorable 8-year-old grandson Jordan. The photo was taken on Nov 18 in their backyard. So green.



75 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    Wow, this one seems awfully... dated. I didn't realize that Richard Dawson died earlier this year, but it has certainly been awhile since he hosted FAMILY FEUD, hasn't it? Fortunately, I remember watching it years ago, but I had no idea his nickname was the KISSING BANDIT and still messed up on his catch phrase (I had SURVEY SAYS instead of SURVEY SAID).

    The rest of the puzzle was fine. I had to wait until the very end to finally get the D in DOST because (a) I couldn't get HAST out of my mind and (b) I misspelled the Mr DAWSON's name as DAWSEN at first. For awhile I thought that 10D was going to be BE FRESH or something like that, and I couldn't believe that BOST was any sort of valid word, let alone a verb.

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  2. Greetings!

    Thanks for nice puzzle, Steve B.! Nice write-up, as usual, Argyle!!

    Did not like that show or the host. (Wasn't really my type of show. Must have been desperate to have tried it.)

    Never parsed GETEM. Too tired, I guess.No problems. Almost as fast as dear Lila's!

    Cool picture, Bill!

    Cheers!

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  3. Hi all!

    Told you I'd be back ;) I hope you all enjoyed the puzzle. As a kid I always liked watching Family Feud (among other game shows) and when I heard Mr. Dawson had passed away I thought a tribute puzzle was in order. And we share the same birthday, so that just sealed the deal. Hope you all have a great day!

    Steve

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  4. Hi Steve,

    Did you try to make the perps easy, knowing some may not have seen the show. I always liked it myself and think Steve Harvey is a great host.

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  5. Like Barry G. I initially had HAST instead of DOST. I also got hung up with DAWKIN instead of DAWSON. Doh! Once that was fixed I was home free. [7:51]

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  6. Dawson was my favorite on Hogan's Heroes. A nice tribute. Well I take to the skies today, so enjoy and my wishes for a happy holiday week to all. Charlotte here comes Grampa.

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  7. Good morning,

    I remember Richard Dawson from Hogan's Heroes and had completely forgotten he had hosted Family Feud. As a result, I had a lot of blanks throughout until SURVEY SAID arrived. From that point on the theme fills fell into place and I got it finished quickly.

    Hand up for HAST before DOST. Never knew GO GETEM TIGERS was a theme song in 1968. I'm guessing, but I think that was the year McLain won 30 games and Lolich saved their butts in the series against the Cards.

    28A Brightness Nos/IQ'S and 57D One Who Rarely Has Low Spirits/LUSH gave me a chuckle or two.

    Enjoyable puzzle...thanks Steve.

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  8. Good morning,folks. Thank you, Steve Blais, for a swell puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell review.

    Mostly an easy Tuesday puzzle. Took me a while to get FAMILY FEUD. I had RICHARD DAWSON first. I had watched that show a few times, but not much. I never was into TV a lot.

    Enjoyed KNOTT for 67A. Been there a few times when I lived in California. I remember the guy that helped make the farm famous was a man named Boysen. He developed the boysenberry at Knotts Farm. Sure is good jam.

    Hots spots of the middle east hit the puzzle. ISR, SYR, and LEB.

    I also thought of HAST for10A, but held off until I had a crossword. Then I wrote DOST.

    Much to do today. See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  9. Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Today's was a speed run. I mostly remember RICHARD DAWSON from the reruns of Hogan's Heroes.

    When I was in the Girl Scouts, we learned a song about making new friend, but keeping the old. This puzzle made me think of updating the lyrics to: Make new friends / but keep the old / one is NEO and the other is PALEO.

    Here is a famous HMS ship.

    Happy Birthday, Steve, and thanks for stopping by.

    QOD: An extraordinary amount of arrogance is present in any claim of having been the first in inventing something. ~ Benoît Mandelbrot (November 20, 1924 ~ October 14, 2010)

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  10. To: HeartRx and buckeye bob: Thank you for answering my Rich alias question of yesterday. I guess I never looked at the stuff on the right side of the Blog.

    To: Bill G. Nice photo of you and your grandson.

    Happy Birthday yesterday Creature. Miss you.

    Once again. See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  11. Thank you Steve Blais and thank you Argyle. Argyle, that makes two references by you for Shoo Fly Pie in just a few days. Has a craving set in ? I can only get through one small piece of it.

    I had 23A RICH---D----- and thought of that Brit, but not enough to get 18A --M-----UD to be sure. When I got to 39A and had NUM------------,with the list topper clue, all fell into place.

    Is it an automatic reaction, when encountering or filling a Q, to automatically look at the crossing Q word clue ? I read this question recently, "My fixture is rated for 60W. My 15W CFL bulb puts out the equivalent of 60W incandescent according to the package. Is 15W the max CFL I can use in my fixture ?" Had to have IQs in at 28A because LUMENS would not fit.

    At 55D, all I could think of was Hatoolah's recent avatar.

    Nice pic of you and your grandson Bill G

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  12. Thank you Steve Blais, for your wonderful puzzle - I absolutely loved it .... and thank you for your early post. Speaking for myself, I feel I'm going to have a great day. Thank you, again.

    Thank you, Argyle for your nice commentary. I didn't know the 'Tigers' or their fight song, and am not familiar with Spice girls - I'm sure the spices I use, every day, are just as delightful and esoteric. And as for the Martini garnish, maybe I'll have one soon, first time, this year.

    Hahtoolah, what does your avatar mean ? - my next door neighbor has moved, so I'll have to go down the street, to find out. I wasn't in the Girl Scouts, (I couldn't - ), but my 2 kids were, and I remember that song well. Your version seems like a nice update in free verse.

    Have a good week, you all - and best wishes.

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  13. I enjoyed your puzzle, Steve. I've never been a big daytime TV fan, but the perps were helpful. Nice to have you repeating. Keep 'em coming!

    Thank you so much for the well wishes for my birthday. Truly dear old friends I feel I've known for so long, cheering me through. My heart is full.

    Bill , you and Jordan make quite a pair. Lucky Jordan.

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  14. Good morning everybody. This was an easy one for me - I used to watch Family Feud when I was a kid. WBS on "SURVEY SAYS vs. SAID".

    Happy birthday Steve Blais!

    Nice shout out to our resident ANON's on 17A.

    I liked:
    - 28A: Brightness Nos.: IQS, and
    - 57D: One who rarely has low spirits? LUSH. (Nice with Martini Garnish referenced in 15A).

    Have a great day!

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  15. Bill G. - Very nice picture of you and your grandson. Enjoy the season. Love your puzzles.

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  16. For a while, thought Syr. was an abbreviation for Syracuse.

    Had SAys before SAID.

    Wanted (Desperately Seeking) Susan before EVITA.

    GETEM/MEL was a Natick for me.

    So much for easy Tuesday.

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  17. Creature: Always great to see you.
    Bill G.: Nice picture with Jordan.

    Hmmm, LUSH and OLIVE were my faves today. (I wonder why?)

    Cheers!

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  18. Timely: Thanksgiving Family Feud.

    Are you guys ready for Thursday?

    Do we have any Black Friday super shoppers here?

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  19. Quite a fun romp. The perps did it for me since I wasn't a Family Feud fan -- kind of behind times too. Never heard of India Arie?? Oh we'll, liked the "owned up to". Do any of you remember when crosswords posted how many words were in the answer?

    Happy Turkey Day. You can shop at Wal Mart!

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  20. Good morning all. Nice intro, Argyle.

    The NUMBER ONE ANSWER is KOREA - Seoul food. Steve must have liked "Family Feud". I was thinking 'hast' for DOST, too, but OCEAN took care of that. For 'Syr' neighbor (Syracuse?) I was thinking 'Uca' (Utica), well D'uh, then figured the rest of the country wouldn't get it on a Tuesday, so had to be Syria - Israel; ISR. Overall, easy but bright puzzle.

    Nice picture of BillG and Jordan. Looks like he could be a future Marine.

    Have a great day

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  21. Good morning to all and happy birthday Steve, thanks for the puzzle. Nice links Argyle hats off to you. I was a big fan of Hogans Heroes and Family Feud. Richard Dawson was a great comedic actor in my opinion.

    My DW likes to go out and fight the masses on Black Friday, me not at all. I will stay in bed and wait to hear all about it at breakfast.

    Have a great day to all.RJW.

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  22. Hi all,

    It seemed to take me forever to get a first word in this puzzle. Once I did, it all came together without too much loss of my hair. I had no idea about Spice Girls, just stared at 11D and thought of BURN...I must need more coffee.
    Also stared at 24D even after I had the answer, never heard of her/him/it.

    The term TEEMS (55D) is a new one to me for rain. Living in western Oregon all my life (almost), I know rain in all forms and names. That was not one of them.

    Creature, so good to see your comment. Glad you are doing better, we all miss your cheerful additions to the blog.

    Bill, great picture...such two good looking guys :)

    Lemon, that picture of your little grand-daughter is just darling!! She is sooo cute.

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  23. A tribute to RICHARD DAWSON? How ‘bout dat? Some thought he was a little on the creepy side and he stopped kissing women on the show after he had a child with a woman he met as a contestant on the show. I initially thought he was ON TV from 1932 – 2012. Gotta get these glasses adjusted. HBD Steve and thanks for our present!

    Musings
    -Our ANON’s DOST protest too much.
    -The ECHO in the church where I first sang every Sunday was so bad that they hung baffles from the ceiling to mitigate that annoyance (the echo, not me, I think…)
    -I paid an incredible amount (over $100) for a TAXI to take grandson and me to and from his first major league baseball game. I never spent money any better than that.
    -Gas fireplace pilot light went out and I tried to IGNITE it. It made me very nervous but I think the piezoelectric sparker needs to be replaced.
    -On Flag Day, the 4th, etc our Avenue of Flags here runs for over 2 miles
    -“Wit” from my childhood - I SEE said the blind man to his deaf wife on the disconnected telephone.
    -Ringo is one of many middling talents who caught the coattails of geniuses.
    -Joann has been DEFROSTing our turkey in the garage fridge for 2 days now
    -Congressional motto – Quid Pro QUO. Statesmanship is for suckers.
    -Before we had a hybrid fescue lawn, June bugs signaled that our blue grass was full of ravenous grubs
    -A LUSH has a high IQ (Inebriation Quotient)
    -Great picture Jordan! That guy with you seems “puzzled” ;-)

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  24. I'll be back to read comments later.

    Pretty much a total WAG for me today as I've never watched game show or reality TV. But I did get it all unassisted. It helped that I'd been to Knott's Berry Farm and was able to suss out most of the perps needed for the long answers.

    I was gone all last week with no internet connection at my son's in Little Rock. he uses his phone but has no hot spot I could hook into.

    Yesterday I got it all too, and knew about Lila Cherry from previous appearances. After working through most of his book that Lucina recommended earlier, recognized his wacky cluing here and there as well.

    Great photo, Bill!

    Off to a meeting and then more settling back in here. Later.

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  25. Thanks for an interesting puzzle and write-up.
    I watch Family Feud on occasion, so found this an easy puzzle.

    Nice picture, Bill G. Isn't it nice to have grandchildren? Family found out yesterday, we are expecting another one in May.

    Dinah Shore was a relative (through marriage to George Montgomery). After she became famous, she didn't think she should have to do any farmstead chores during holiday visits to MT.

    I have joined the madness on Black Friday with my children, mostly just to hold a place in line while they started at a different store. I personally don't want anything bad enough to endure the hecticness inside the stores.

    It's a great day,
    Montana

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  26. Good morning!

    I'm a little late to the party today. Completed my 3-mile march before coming here.

    The puzzle went pretty smoothly except for that HAST/DOST error. Another hand up for SURVEY SAYS. It turned into a quick Tuesday solve. Thanks, Steve.

    Argyle, I associate two different signature songs with the two Dinah's: Washington -- What A Difference A Day Makes and Shore -- Sweet Violets.

    Creature, good to see you back here. Hope you're doing better.

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  27. Creature, glad to hear from you again and know you are well.

    Mari, thank you for link of the Thanksgiving Family Feud. It is so appropriate and timely. For my first 10 years in the US, I used to wonder why families became so dysfunctional and confrontational at Thanksgiving. Since then, I've learnt a lot. Now, I see it, first hand.

    I think it really has to do with the 'me, and mine' society and the innate selfishness (of members - ), within the extended family. And I have a theory that this inward ego-ness has very much to do with the relative super-affluence and wealth of the typical American. Poorer peoples in the rest of the world have barely enough resources to cope with the common demands of life - that they are forced and obligated to stick together, (and their resources - ) as relatives, - and this causes people to suppress their personal needs, desires and ambitions for the greater cause of their extended families and society. Thus no personal animosity.

    End of rant.

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  28. Anyone else think that "Lush" could have also been clued as ....."One who is often low on spirits" ?
    Because, you know, they have drank them all up.

    Just a thought.

    Loved the puzzle, and always thought Richard Dawson was the epitome of game show hosts.

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  29. Steady 80 said:
    As we age, memories seem to fade. Can't handle puzzles with anything from Star Wars, Harry Potter, rock singers, French, or proper names. To me, "Speed run" has an entirely different connotation. But I have figured out how to feel good; I've renamed Monday (Thursday), and Tuesday (Friday). Now I feel wonderful solving the two hardest puzzles of the week.

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  30. Well, since I didn't watch FAMILY FEUD this was certainly no speed run for me, as Argyle predicted. But I still finished, thanks to helpful perps, so many thanks, Steve!

    I liked all the musical references in this one (STARR, EVITA, DINAH). Of course, now I'll have "See the USA in your Chevrolet" and "Don't cry for me, Argentina" buzzing through my head all day. I guess I can live with that.

    Sweet pic, Bill G.

    Dad and brother arrived for Thanksgiving visit, so I'll have to leave TV dinners behind and actually cook tonight! Wish me luck! (My sweet husband was the chef in the family before his stroke).

    Have a great Tuesday, everybody!

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  31. Good day! Argyle, I'm thankful for your steady and witty appearances the first part of the week.

    Happy birthday, Steve Blais! Thank you for this clever speed run.

    I like FAMILY FEUD and occasionally watch it. Steve Harvey is very good.

    RICHARD DAWSON was a great host and as others have said, one of the best on Hogan's Heroes.

    Initially I thought 39A would start as QUESTION but a little thinking led me to correct that.

    BillG: So nice to see you and Jordan.

    Creature: Very nice to see you. I hope you are doing well.

    Yesterday we shopped for the tamale ingredients. We plan to make them on Sunday.

    Most of my Christmas shopping is finished so no need to go Friday.

    Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!

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  32. Nice Tuesday walk in the park.

    "The current host [of Family Feud] is Steve Harvey."

    Steve Harvey used to star in "The Steve Harvey Show," which according to Wikipedia "never achieved critical acclaim outside of the African-American community, a matter about which Harvey has often complained."

    Funny how people complain about problems of their own making.

    In one of the show's episodes, Harvey proclaimed "I don't like doing things for white people."

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  33. Well, I'm really late to the party and everyone has taken the words out of my mouth. Hand up for "hast" before DOST, and SURVEY "says" instead of SAID.

    Anon @ 10:28, I agree that the LUSH would often have "low spirits" because of drinking them all. That, and the clue for TEEMS were a bit odd to me. But I did enjoy the puzzle, and filled it in with the usual Tuesday tempo.

    Creature, so glad to hear from you!!

    And Happy Birthday Steve.
    .:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.

    Bill G. sweet picture - who's that old guy behind you?

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  34. So...only American families argue?

    ...and there is no personal animosity in the poorer communities of the world?

    Quick, someone notify Amnesty International. Their will be done

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  35. from C.C., a new pick-up line in the bars. "Hi, care to write my biography?"

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  36. HeartRx @11:32 & Anon @10:28

    First off, they do sell "spirits" in CASES!

    Secondly, I don't think the clue was referring to the supply of "spirits" the LUSH had on hand, but rather to his/her mood or emotional state.
    ie: The guests were in high spirits.


    General question of the day.
    Why are you Thankful?
    (For example: Bill G. is Thankful for having such a wondereful grandson, Jordan.)


    In my case, I'm Thankful for C.C.'s Crossword Corner.

    and ...

    I'm Thankful that it's ALWAYS 5 o'clock somewhere!

    Cheers !!!

    November 20, 2012 11:49 AM

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  37. Thank you for all the birthday wishes, and I'm glad you enjoyed my Tuesday offering!

    And thank you Hahtoolah for that quote. Benoit Mandelbrot and I also share a birthday?? Sweet!

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  38. Oh, and @Argyle, yes, I did try to make the perps reasonably easy :)

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  39. Hi all,

    This was a fun puzzle although I had to cheat a little.

    What a beautiful day today here in Ga. It's 60 degrees now and getting warmer. My son keeps telling me to come out on the deck, but I want to finish this first.

    Mari-I liked the Broom Hilda cartoon, hadn't seen it for a long time.

    I always liked Family Feud. Except for the kissing, I liked Richard Dawson. Also liked most of the other hosts. Recently, we could only get it on The Game Show channel and mostly repeats. Now, the current ones are on a local channel.

    Seen: that episode where they were all laughing was so funny.

    We are almost ready for Thanksgiving dinner. Our son is having at his place this year. My daughter is bringing the turkey, the rest we will do at Son's.

    Thank you for the comments about daughter's dog.

    And thank you for this puzzle Steve and CC for the blog.

    Marge

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  40. Good afternoon:

    Late to the dance due to busy, busy morning.

    Nice Tuesday offering, Steve, and ditto for Argyle's expo. Hand up for survey says. Happy Birthday, Steve, and thanks for dropping by.

    Great photo, Bill G; Jordan is a cutie!

    I will be having Thanksgiving dinner at my sister Peg's house; no cooking for lucky me! And the day after, will be celebrating Amelia's ( Halloween Catwoman) 5 th birthday.

    As far as shopping on Black Friday, I'd rather eat dirt.

    Happy Tuesday to all!

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  41. Tin @ 11;49, well, that's why I read this blog every day. I was looking at spirits as the liquor itself, not the mood of the imbibee...

    Oh, and I am thankful that I don't have anyone to shop for on Black Friday!! DH just gets a gift certificate. Maybe I'll splurge this year and buy him a Christmas card as well. (^0^)

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  42. Hi Y'all, Fun puzzle, Steve, Hope thou DOST have a happy birthday! Great one, Argyle!

    We watched Family Feud a lot back when we only had 2 or 3 channels. I liked it except for the kissing. It was on with Steve Harvey after I moved her for awhile, but can't find it now.

    wilt/hast/DOST

    Mel B. was on DWTS or I wouldn't have known her.

    I went once to Black Friday with my SIL in Kansas City. Terrifying! Only shop on the most crowd-free days for groceries. Rarely shop otherwise.

    Wouldn't you like to be a fly on the wall to see Lemon's joy when he first holds Charlotte?

    Anonymouse: You are right about the different attitudes in America and "emerging" countries. See the joyous look on children's faces in some of the African countries where they have nothing and don't know it. Contrast that with the selfish, dissatisfied look on some American children who are thankful for nothing they are given.




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  43. Easy and fun. Just right for a Tuesday.

    Jordan lives about a mile away so we get to spend a lot of time together. Certain things have evolved into things that he expects to do with Grandpa; chess, Monopoly, Hangman, riding a bicycle along the ocean, practicing his math facts, etc.

    Lots of gasoline
    I'll bet a lot of you don't know that you can't pump your own gas in Oregon. Why do you suppose that is? I think I know. But I digress.
    Humphrey has gotten a job in Oregon pumping gas. It was slow until 5pm and then he pumped gas for six customers in 15 minutes.
    When the fumes had settled, Humphrey had pumped 16, 18, 22, 23, 24 and 34 gallons of gas. Some of the customers bought regular, some bought the middle grade and exactly one bought Super. If he sold twice as much regular as mid-grade, how many gallons of each kind of fuel did he pump?

    When I first saw this puzzle, I wasn't much interested. It looked as if the solution would be tedious guess-and-check and not very analytical. I discovered the puzzle could be approached analytically and was cleverer than I had supposed. (I wrote this aside to encourage you to look for a clever approach.)

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  44. Whew! Just returned from the grocery store where it's already a three ring circus. I have only three dishes to cook: sweet potatoes w/and w/o marshmallow, green bean casserole, and cranberry jell-o ring w/cream cheese. Easy shopping. Then go to my niece's house Thursday.

    I have so much to be thankful for: first my wonderful family, daughter, SIL, granddaughters; my large extended family. I love them all dearly.

    And so many groups I belong to, friends in the Book Club, Sorority, former work friends and of course this extraordinary group on the Blog Corner. You all light up my day, every day. C.C. you created a remarkable "club" here and I'm grateful to have found you.

    I give profound thanks for all of the above.

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  45. White Friday shopperNovember 20, 2012 at 2:12 PM

    Two 'Black' Fridays ago, well after the initial rush, I was shopping at a big box store at 3 pm. when a woman, pushing her overloaded cart, barged into me like a Patton tank, cussed me out, never apologized, and huffed and puffed her way towards the cashier. When I picked myself up from the floor, I discovered she had dropped her wallet nearby, with some money and all her credit cards. I was sorely tempted to drop the whole thing in the nearest Salvation Army kettle, ouside, and make her sweat it out, when a saner mind prevailed, and I gave the purse to the manager.

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  46. Bill g.
    Regular 76 (18+24+34)
    Mid-Grade 38 (16+22)
    Super 23

    Since Regular was twice as much as Mid-Grade the answer had to be Even and divisible by 3.
    Hence, the Super had to be the 23.
    The rest was simple math.

    BTW, My Honda CRZ Hybrid only holds 10.6 gallons ... barely 400 miles on the open road.

    Cheers !


    PS There isn't anything that could get me to Go-shopping on Black Friday.
    (Unless they were giving away Pinch for FREE !!!)

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  47. Steve - As you obviously realize, today my father would have been 80 years old. Since he passed away in June this is the first birthday without him and it is quite a difficult time as you can imagine.

    I just want to thank you for such a nice tribute to my father... It made the whole family smile.

    Gary Dawson

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  48. Tin, I came up with the same answers as you.

    And BillG, why aren't people allowed to pump their own gas in Oregon? Some sort of anti-flatulence ordinance?

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  49. Puzzle was fast solve since parsed Family Feud connection easily.
    Liked brightness nos. = IQs. I never knew my IQ number and something tells me I should be thankful.
    **I am thankful I found this blog that helps me keep whatever IQ points I have left.

    Happy Birthday, Steve B. And belated Happy Birthday to Creature. Very lovely picture Bill G. and Jordan.

    We get to share Thanksgiving break with my son and his two friends from college. One young Muslim man from Pennsylvania. ( Parents immigrated from Senegal ) The other young man was born in China and grew up in Japan. This so much fun! My son's ( and his twin sister's )26th Birthday is the day after Thanksgiving day this year.

    Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!! I will be baking most of the day on Wednesday.

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  50. Awesome puzzle, Steve. To get five theme answers like that is a great achievement. The fill and clues were also enjoyable. Thanks for a first-class puzzle!

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  51. PK (1:47) Loved your astute comment about African children as opposed to ours...so true for the majority of them.

    White Friday Shopper: You have a good heart - I would have dropped the wallet in the kettle!! Would have served her right!

    I'm with Irish Miss....no shopping for me anywhere near that date.
    We quit exchanging gifts a few years ago except for our 2 grandchildren. Best idea we ever had.

    Desper-O: here in Oregon, it's some old law that prevents us from pumping our own gas...which is fine with me! I'd hate to do that!
    I think there is only one other state that pumps their own...think it's NJ. Dennis???? or anyone??

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  52. G'day to all, especially to all the pie and dessert makers..who are probably quite busy today,

    Nice tribute to R. Dawson and his show. I wasn't a fan, but had a hard time changing the channel if I happened upon it. So, that part was fun, but didn't enjoy the numerous dull 2 word answers.

    Hand up for hast, and I guess no one else was as dumb to put in Plato before Erato.Sheesh!

    Gary, Flag Day is on the 14th..our ann., hard to forget.. probably a typo.

    Creature,always nice to hear from you.

    Bill, great picture. Many of us are blessed to have our grandchildren close by.

    Today was Grandparents' Day at Truman's school...loved the body and hand movements as his K class sang Skiddi marinkee doo, Waddly Acha Doodley Doo, and others that I can't spell either.

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  53. Very special to have Gary Dawson check in today.

    Who knows who lurks on our perimeters?

    Pumping gas in Oregon: My husband and I visited our daughter in Portland when her husband was attending the culinary school. We first got there in late afternoon and my husband decided to fill up with gas on the outskirts before finding our kids' house. My husband was a muscular guy that people just didn't mess with. He got out and started filling the tank like he always did.

    This scrawny kid came running out and almost hysterically told DH that he wasn't supposed to do that. DH couldn't figure out who he was talking to or why, so he just kept filling. That poor kid was almost in tears and we thought he was nuts.

    Later our kids told us the law. What happens if you scoff at the law? Are you fined? Do you have to suck the gas back out? Are you hauled off to jail? What horrible fate did we escape narrowly?

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  54. Gary, I do hope Steve drops in again to see your post. We have no way of contacting him though.

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  55. I just read that it's a $500.00 fine for pumping your own gas in Oregon.

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  56. Bill G. - I got the answer too, but Tinbeni beat me to it... funny, I used the same logic, of divisible by 3. If more than one 'combination' was divisible by 3, it could have led to an 'indeterminate' solution.


    Earlier, this morning and afternoon, I was out shopping for 'accoustical false ceiling hang tiles', for some replacements . (somebody's got to do it.) Fortunately, no mad rush on those items or at that store. Talking of electronics, I have a 40" Sony Trinitron, in very good condition, less than 100 hours viewing .... I wonder if it would have any trade-in value ....

    I also had to go in for a prostate exam, and a possible biopsy. While chatting up with my urologist, I mentioned that I had just found out that the gallbladder was 'pear shaped' ( See the last xword melissa b blogged...) and that I found it out through a xword blog ... It appears that the good Doc also does the L A Times CW as well and wrote down this blog address URL...

    See, Each One, Teach One and Recruit One - and that's the way to build up this blog.lol.

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  57. PK: thanks for making me LOL at your rendition of the 'gas hysterics' in Portland. (that's my city) and thanks to Argyle for the info on what the fine is. I guess they have to 'catch' you first. Don't know how they would do that. If it were me, I'd leave before the cops got there. Maybe they get your info from your credit card and send you a bill but what about paying in cash?

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  58. I know that in New Jersey, you cant pump your own gas. I always thought that law was enacted to increase employment - and decrease the greatest unemployment rate index that occurs with minorities, high school dropouts , small type felons and those over 60 yrs. old.

    Except that most of the above don't like the hours and boredom of pumping gas - so the gas stations are now being pumped (and run - ) by illegal immigrants ! It seems fairly obvious, if you know what to look for - I have met many of my countrymen that way.

    You might fool Mother Nature but you better not mess with Uncle Economics and Aunt Capitalism.



    Depser-Otto, you can pump ( and discharge - ) your 'own' gas in New Jersey - that is if the gas was produced by your bodily functions. All innate, captive, self-generated gases are exempt from that regulation. ( I think - ). So, to remove any concern on your part - it is not an anti-flatulence regulation. lol.

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  59. Re: not being able to pump your own gas in Oregon, I think it's because they want to make sure you don't overfill your tank causing spills and excess gas fumes that cause pollution.

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  60. Anony-Mouse:
    Could you please send me an Email?

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  61. Bill G.
    What a great picture of you and Jordan. I couldn't tell who was happier, you with a grandson like Jordan or Jordan with a grandpa like you. Either way you are both fortunate to have each other and so close by at that. I'm not there yet but all my children are adults now so only time will tell.
    My best to all!
    Dan

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  62. Sad comments about 'our' children. I wonder when sweet Charlotte will display "the selfish, dissatisfied look" of the "typical American" mentioned by PK and Anony-mouse.

    Very uplifting comments.

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  63. Re: pumping your own gas.
    Traveling through NJ way back when, I stopped to fill up and without even thinking got out and started to pump my gas. This guy then ran out and started yelling at me in a heavy accent and broken English that I can't do that. I told him in my ever so polite, calm, cool and collective manner where he could go and what he could do to himself. I only found out after I reached my destination that you can't do that in NJ. Who Knew!

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  64. When we first encountered "You can't pump your own gas" in Oregon, maybe 15 years ago, an older gentleman showed up quickly to do it for us. I wasn't used to it but it worked fine.

    Manac, thanks for the kind comment about our photo. I looked up your Profile and noticed you are into archery. When I was young, my father had bales with a target set up in our 1.5 acre yard. We could get to about 60 yards. What we did was called field archery, sort of like archery golf in the woods. My father was pretty good. I won a couple of awards too because when we went to a meet, I sometimes was the only Junior. It was a fun thing for us to do together.

    Good job on the gasoline puzzle.

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  65. Argyle, this Hawaiian contingent is doing great, thanks for askin'.

    Late FIL and I would watch Family Feud religiously, knew we would do great on the show, but no other family members were interested. BAAHH!

    Great Tuesday puzzle, thanks Steve and Happy Birthday!



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  66. When I was at my 12-yr-old grandson's birthday supper the other night, he was delighted with a big bill.

    However, the soon-to-be 7-yr-old will expect a gift. He really doesn't think money is a gift, because Mom plants it in a savings account usually. He gave me orders that I have to come back in two weeks for his birthday.

    Trouble is, I don't really know what all he has. His other grandparents buy things year round and they are competitive. I got lucky once and bought him something that truly delighted him, so he thinks I'm going to come up with another winner. I, who hate to shop! Groan!

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  67. Bill,
    I meant every word of it. that is adorable. As for archery my first bow was a recurve as a youth. I finally gave in to a compound later on but I never gave in to sights, trigger releases or any other BS as I call it.
    I'm old school I guess and always just take aim and shoot. I do usually hit what I aim at but that's why I consider it a sport. I don't hunt only target shoot but some have taken the fun out of it by making it so complicated.Ah well! so much for the good old days.
    Dan

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  68. Dan, that sounds like my father and me. He had a recurved bow, made of wood laminated with fiberglass I think, maybe about 44 pounds. No sights or other gimmicks; I think he called it instinctive. He had aluminum arrows. With field archery, as best I can remember, we would go to a range laid out in the woods with 18 targets of various sizes from 20 yards to 70 yards, four arrows per target. I was always amazed at the more modern bows made with pulleys, etc. I guess they were easier to hold pulled back fully. Sure looked strange though. Robin Hood wouldn't have approved.

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  69. What a great treat to have Dickie Dawson's son to stop by. See what you started C.C.

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  70. Argyle, I am thankful to you for the writeup. I remember Mr. Dawson well from Hogans' Heros. I didn't watch Family Feud so had to suss out the other theme answers.

    Thank you Steve for this nice tribute to a very funny actor/emcee. Gary, it was so nice of you to stop by the blog. My heart goes out to you to make it through this first holiday season without him.

    I continued my work with the nursing home yesterday to "solve" the issue with my friend. She is my significant other's mom. I have known her for twenty years and she has no family left except the one son. Bill G. I empathize with you. It is very hard on my partner, so I try to do as much as I can to ease that for him. You are blessed to live so close and be so involved in grandchild's life. They are gifts in our lives!

    Happy Thanksgiving to all here who read this message.

    No Friday shopping for me except online. I'm with PK, the least busy day is when I go to the store.

    This puzzle was a nice Tuesday level retreat!

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