google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday Jan 6, 2013 Julian Lim

Gary's Blog Map

Jan 6, 2013

Sunday Jan 6, 2013 Julian Lim

Theme: "Scuse Me" - W is replaced by SQU in each theme entry.

 24A. Unoiled robot's problem? : SQUEAK IN THE KNEES. Weak in the knees.

 38A. Embarrassed parrot's cry? : SQUAWK OF SHAME. Walk of shame.

 52A. Lottery winner's reaction, perhaps? : SQUEAL OF FORTUNE. Wheel of Fortune.

 73A. Sudden storm in Hunan? : THE GREAT SQUALL OF CHINA. The Great Wall of China. Hunan is known for its spicy food. Chairman Mao's hometown.

 85A. Shout when zucchini falls off the boat? : SQUASH OVERBOARD. Wash overboard.

 101A. Escort at the farmyard ball? : CHICKEN SQUIRE. Fun clue. Chicken wire.

 120A. Any Mr. Magoo story? : THE SQUINTER'S TALE.  The Winter's Tale.

This puzzle reminds me a bit of Dan Naddor's "Quilting Bee" to "Wilting Bee" puzzle. 

Q's are tough to work in the grid, but every Q crossing in this grid is solid. I like Q ending words: COMPAQ, IRAQ, Avenue Q,  and of course the beautiful Maggie Q.

Across:

1. Fight reminder : SCAR

5. Joined : WED. So Simon Cowell confirmed that he's dating Carmen Electra, but she's not his girlfriend. Sounds cold to me.

8. Kuwaiti, e.g. : ARABIAN

15. Cut (back) : DIAL

19. Benedict XVI, e.g. : POPE

20. Rather than : AS OPPOSED TO. We don't often see long non-theme Across entries.

22. "I'll pay" : ON ME

23. Red sky, to some : OMEN

26. The "O" of OWN : OPRAH. She's no Ellen.

28. Sign about a space shortage, briefly : SRO (Standing Room Only)

29. Feel a strong need (for) : STARVE

30. Sinusitis-treating MD : ENT

31. Relevant element : FACTOR

33. 18-Down's rank: Abbr. : INSP. 18. Scotland Yard inspector in Sherlock Holmes stories : LESTRADE. Clue/Answer dupe here. Tough to avoid on Sundays.

36. Use an entrance : GO IN

37. __ es Salaam : DAR

42. Deli selection : BLT

43. Peruvian songstress Sumac : YMA

44. Palme __: Cannes prize : D'OR

45. Rattan alternative : OSIER

47. "Half-caf" was added to it in 2012 : OED. Coffee. Half regular + Half decaf.

48. "Modern Family" role : MANNY
59. Et __ : ALII

60. Dickens's "__ Mutual Friend" : OUR

61. Religious title starter : DALAI

62. Decked out at the Forum : TOGAED. Did not know toga can be a verb.

65. Troy story? : ILIAD. Woody would like this clue.

69. Raves about : RANTS AT

77. __ Lake, town near Lake Placid : SARANAC. Total unknown.

78. App for long-distance partners : SKYPE

79. Israeli tender : SHEKEL


80. Hot again : RETRO

82. Prefix with caching : GEO. Dave's Geocaching.

84. True-to-life : REAL

92. Soft vocal signals : PSSTs

93. Distillery container : TUN

94. Hokkaido port city : OTARU. No idea.

95. Here, to Henri : ICI

97. Embarrassed : RED

98. Capital gain? : ISM. Capitalism.

108. Like Beethoven's Sonata Op. 109 : IN E

109. Omani tender : RIAL

111. __-Pei : SHAR. Literally "Sand".

112. "Mansfield Park" novelist : AUSTEN (Jane)

113. M ÷ IV : CCL

114. Vegging out : AT REST

117. Xhosa and Zulu are among its official langs. : RSA

119. Do a legislature's job : ENACT

125. Pre-'90s orchard spray : ALAR

126. 30 Seconds to Mars frontman Jared : LETO

127. Latin Mass prayer : PATERNOSTER. "Our father". Gimme for Lucina.

128. Foul : VILE

129. Belgian river : YSER

130. Three-ball family project, typically : SNOWMAN. Snowball!

131. Zero has one : ZEE. Fun clue for a so so answer.

132. Ivy growing for 300+ years : YALE
        
Down:

1. Send-ups : SPOOFS

2. 2002 HP acquisition : COMPAQ. During Carly Fiorina's reign.

3. Overview : APERCU. Not an easy word.

4. Opera director Scotto : RENATA. New to me also.

5. "I __ had!" : WAS

6. Titles in court, for short : ESQs

7. Brad of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" : DOURIF. No memory of this guy. Saw the movie long time ago.

8. Mental health org. : APA

9. Seoul protector : ROK (Republic of Korea).

10. Craigslist caveat : AS IS

11. Proclivity : BENT

12. Place for a pet name : ID TAG. Find this dog, you'll be in Dennis Lehane's next book. He wrote "Mystic River" and "Gone, Baby, Gone".


13. Thumping : ATHROB. Never used this word in my life. Husker Gary, yes, I did speak English before I came to the US.

14. "I will fear __": Psalm 23 : NO EVIL

15. Get into : DON

16. "Don't leave me" : I NEED YOU. Nice long answer.

17. Cry from the flock : AMEN AMEN

21. Menial laborers : PEONS

25. Ohio's __ State : KENT

27. "Hey, Tex" : HOWDY

32. "Top Hat" studio : RKO

34. It's about a foot : SHOE. What were you picturing?

35. "Qué __?" : PASA

39. -ish : OR SO

40. "Cool" sum : MIL

41. Anti-discrimination initials : EEO. Or EOE.

46. Mail svc. that may cover a general store : RFD (Rural Free Delivery)

48. Quarterback Ryan et al. : MATTs

49. Island greeting : ALOHA. Hi there Chefwen.

50. Landlocked African land : NIGER

51. Falls for two lovers? : NIAGARA. Sweet clue.

53. Stop : QUIT

54. Bookmarked addresses, briefly : URLs

55. Gambling game : FARO

56. Five Norwegian royals : OLAFS

57. Dressing with wings : RANCH. Salad dressing.

58. Some church supporters : TITHERS

63. Seaside soarers : ERNES. And 67. Seaside diver : AUK

64. Donne's "__ Be Not Proud" : DEATH

66. 95% of them are between 70 and 130 : IQs. Dennis belongs to those 2%.

68. Time to seize? : DAY. Seize the day.

70. "Oliver Twist" antagonist : SIKES (Bill). Never read "Oliver Twist".

71. "That's __ trick!" : A NEAT

72. Some latte sizes : TALLS

74. Phobia beginning : ACRO. Acrophobia.

75. Natalie Gulbis's org. : LPGA. I bet Splynter loves Natalie. Look at her long legs! We followed her a few holes last time in the US Open. She had the most followers.



76. Sinister stare : LEER

81. Ab __: anew : OVO

83. Anthony Hopkins's "Thor" role : ODIN. To me, he's always Hannibal Lecter.

85. To the letter : STRICTLY

86. Slakes : QUENCHES

87. Stet : UNDELETE

88. "You know the rest," for short : ETC

89. "We're winning!" : RAH. We lost. The Vikings.

90. Jewish ritual : BRIS. Rite of circumcision.

91. "That smarts!" : OUCH

92. Feeling felt in fits : PIQUE

96. Lee's letters : CSA. R. E. Lee.

98. Big oil exporter : IRAQ

99. Fitness test components : SIT-UPS. Mainly your abs.

100. Maid of fiction : MARIAN. Maid Marian. Robin Hood.

102. Zippy racers : KARTS

103. Faux : ERSATZ. I was rather surprised by the travel bag design in those Target + Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection. You can't see clearly, but the pictures on the biggest bag is very Kama Sutra.

104. "Anchors Aweigh" org. : US NAVY.  Spitzboov & D-Otto are both Ex-Navy.

105. 1990 World Cup host, locally : ITALIA

106. Manufacturer's nightmare : RECALL. Same for consumers.

107. Menu listing : ENTREE

110. Allegro's opposite : LENTO

115. Stressful thing to get into : STEW. No stew here. But every time Boomer's foot nerve or hip arthritis flares up, I'm more stressed than he is.

116. Four years, perhaps : TERM

118. Away from most of the blowing : ALEE

121. Campus gp. : SOR

122. Molecular code carrier : RNA

123. William, to Charles : SON

124. Afore : ERE

C.C.


66 comments:

  1. Greetings!

    Really amusing puzzle! Thanks, Julian! Swell expo, CC!

    Loved the theme entries. But didn't quite understand wASH OVERBOARD(?)

    MANNY was unknown that perps filled in. (MATTS also.) Otherwise, everything cool!

    Have a super Sunday, all!

    ReplyDelete
  2. LEER right after Natalie: Priceless!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Morning, all!

    Loved, loved, LOVED the theme today. Absolutely delightful, and every theme answer produced at least a chuckle. Well, every answer except THE SQUINTERS TALE, which I struggled with until the bitter end. Not at all familiar with "The Winter's Tale" -- is that Chaucer?

    Wasn't quite as enamored with some of the regular fill, however...

    * APA meant nothing to me and I really wanted AMA.

    * Does anybody actually cry AMEN AMEN (instead of just AMEN)?

    * RENATA? No idea. Ditto for SARANAC [wasn't that the sand monster in "Return of the Jedi"?] and SIKES (wanted FAGIN).

    * Couldn't quite equate RANTS AT with "Raves about."

    All minor nits, of course. And I need to point out that I was totally flummoxed by "It's about a foot" (I tried SPAN for awhile) until I finally got it and then absolutely loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. OK, so it was Shakespeare and not Chaucer. Close? Probably not...

    ReplyDelete
  5. I guess I need "Sunday" glasses. I spent minutes wondering why I hadn't heard the "TaDa!" before realizing I had left a blank square where the "O" in OTARU belonged. Doh!

    And I was a bit surprised by the duplicate clue/answer for INSP LESTRADE. I would have thought that was a crossword no-no. Wouldn't "Scotland Yard detective" have worked?

    But the "SQ" theme was fun, especially, for this English major, THESQUINTERSTALE. [32:17]

    The dogs go home today, effectively halving the biomass of my humble home. I think I'll miss them. For about half a day.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello Puzzlers -

    Struggled with this one, a few too many unknowns. Never heard of Natalie Gulbis, I'm sorry to say - she seems well placed to bring up the hotness factor of women's golf by quite a few points. Kept reading the clue Stet as Stat, which stalled that corner until the very end.

    Morning CC, so glad you could shed light on this tricky grid.

    I need hardly remind Downton Abbey fans that the new season begins tonight. I suspect that there'll be a comment or two at the Corner tomorrow...

    Cheers, All!

    ReplyDelete
  7. HOWDY pardner. Life is simpler when you plow around the stump. ASOPPOSEDTO stopping your progress.

    One of these days I'm going to have a cup of coffee before I start these Friday, Saturday and Sunday puzzles and see if it makes a difference. Got the theme easily enough and smiled at each reveal, but spent way too much time trying to suss or wag at single missing letters. That crossing C at SARANAC and ACRO was the last to fill, and a total wag after G. Ditto R in DAR LESTRADE. Crossing O in OVO OTARU. Crossing K in SHEKEL and SIKES. Crossing T in LENTO PATERNOSTER. Don't know why I struggled with 5A WED, 5D WAS, but it sure made 7D DOURIF tough. And a mystery as to why I put in CARBON for relevant element and left it there as long as I did.

    Vaya con Dios. I have to go read the write up and see what else I missed.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good Morning, C.C. and friends. Interesting Sunday puzzle.

    I learned of YMA Sumac from doing the crosswords. She has an incredible vocal range.

    QOD: Life is like an onion. You peel it off a layer at a time, and sometimes you weep. ~ Carl Sandburg (Jan. 6, 1878 ~ July 22, 1967)

    ReplyDelete
  9. so many unknowns.

    ReplyDelete
  10. SOLID Sunday offering. Thank you.


    "Couldn't quite equate RANTS AT with 'Raves about.'"

    Hand up.


    "QOD: Life is like an onion. You peel it off a layer at a time, and sometimes you weep"

    ... but sooner or later most eyes become inured to it.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good Morning, C.C. and Sunday soldiers.

    I got the theme early, and quickly worked my way to a DNF. My personal Natick was the "M" at the MATTS/MANNY cross. I wasn't familiar with either, and I WAGged an "N" -- OUCH!

    WAS -- What Argyle Said.

    Thanks for the shoutout, C.C. I was overjoyed to become Ex -- Spitz, I think, not so much.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you CC and thank you Julian Lin.

    16D I Need You .

    I know a lot of golfing buddies that went all goo-goo over Natalie Gulbis, but she reminds me too much of an old girlfriend. On the LPGA, I prefer Paula Creamer.

    Al, those two GSDs think you are part of the pack, and they are going to miss you as well.

    ReplyDelete
  13. TTP: The great thing about dogs (at least from the dogs' perspective) is that the current pack is the only pack that matters. By this time tomorrow they'll be happily living in the moment, with no sense of nostalgia.

    And now I'm going to take this opportunity to point out the juxtaposition of 90 and 91 Down: BRIS and OUCH.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Al, I know, but like many dog lovers, I still want to apply those human characteristics to them. Besides, wait until they see you again. They'll know.

    What is the word when one applies human characteristics to animals ? I think it's personification with inanimate objects.

    ReplyDelete
  15. TTP, I think you want the word "anthropomorphism."

    Hands up for loving the theme, and having a little extra difficulty with some of the crosses. I had the same reaction as Argyle about BRIS next to OUCH, LOL!!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Marti, thank you. That is the word I was wanting. Although, after reading the WIKI article and comparing to some other forums and definitions, I think I'm going to have to reconsider my view that personification applies only to inanimate objects.

    I see that my earlier 16D link did not post I Need You . That song made me think of If You Leave Me Now

    ReplyDelete
  17. Good morning:

    This was a DNF for me because of the "R" cross of Dar and Lestrade; never heard of either. Very clever theme, Julian, and well- executed. Nice expo, CC.

    Geo caching certainly brought CED to mind. Troy story a given for this Troy lass as was Saranac Lake, which is located in the nearby Adirondacks.

    We are supposed to have temps in the 40's by mid-week; our wacky weather continues.

    Have a super Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good morning everyone. Thanks C.C for the commentary and shoutout to the USN.

    Delightful theme. I had a SQUEAL of delight when I sussed CHICKEN SQUIRE followed by THE GREAT SQUALL OF CHINA. A REAL hoot. I thought 'Troy story' was a TALE that Irish Miss was going to tell us :-) Finally verified that YSER, a frequent visiter usually dubbed as North Sea feeder is in Flanders/Belgium. I always liked the word QUENCH. Lots of Q words today. Unknowns like DOURIF and RENATA came easily from the perps. Good job, Julian.

    Enjoy your Sunday.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Good day!

    Loved the themes of this Julian Lim offering and your detailed expo, C.C. Thank you both.

    You are right. I filled PATER NOSTER without any perps. We udr Latin quite a lot at our church because our pastor loves it.

    Some very clever clues in this puzzle and I managed to fill the theme answers very quickly. That was fun.

    Not much more time to comment as I have to go set up the altar. I'm a sacristan this month.

    Have a stupendous Sunday, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Oops. Too fast. Should be "we use Latin."

    ReplyDelete
  21. Oops. Missed Argyle's earlier (and more subtle) reference to 90D and 91D. Should have known someone would have already mentioned it.

    ReplyDelete
  22. It was a tossup between O and A in 54, not remembering my Latin, and ATARU sounded perfectly fine. Ah, well, any MLB batter would kill for a .500 average.

    Got the theme early on, with SQUEALOFFORTUNE, which was a big help. Spent many a Saturday evening in pubs around SARANAC lake in the days of my yout'. Lots of feelings in common with earlier posters, especially the reactions to the 90D/91D association -- OUCH, indeed!

    This has been a surprisingly easy but enjoyable week, puzzle-wise. Funny, I think of Sunday as the end of the puzzle week, but as the first day of the week for just about everything else.

    I hope everyone has a pleasant rest-of-the-week or week, as the case may be.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Lucina @ 10:21

    I though "udr" must have been Latin for "utter".

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hi there,

    I enjoyed this and got it all but I just don't get the title

    meaning,Scuse me for missing W?

    Help! and TIA

    ReplyDelete
  25. Bottles of Saranac, if you can't get there in person.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Tricky, but delightful. Favorite clue was 34D for SHOE, but also loved SQUASH OVERBOARD. Like anyone would rescue a zucchini! Around here we lock our car doors in late summer, so nobody can put extra zucchini in them.

    Too bad about the Vikings, but woohoo Bison! Great game. Those Texas bars ran out of beer again this year. Never underestimate the thirst of NDSU fans.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hello everybody. I liked this puzzle a lot! (I think I said the exact same thing yesterday.) A lovely way to spend Sunday morning. Always good to read all your comments, too.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Dudley:
    I've been prepping myself for Downton Abbey by watching seasons 1 & 2 on DVD.

    anonymoua@11:06
    Totus admirabilis! LOL

    ReplyDelete
  29. Not an easy solve today but loved the theme when it started to appear to me. Niagara Falls was a given but this Canadian always has to remember to spell zee instead of zed! Didn't know apercu.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I loved this theme, the delightful fill, and CC's explanation.

    DNF Are you smarter than a third grader? I blush to admit the answer for me is no! I learned Roman numerals in the third grade and taught them for a lifetime in elementary school. (Was I more interested in Roman hands?) I was so sure the answer to 113A was 250 and so sure that CCV was right that I would not correct it. How could I insist that V was 50? Duh! Brain freeze.

    As for 87D, although I had the key of E for Beethoven's sonata. I didn't know LETO, so that darned V flummoxed me in finding UNDELETE. GRR!

    Then, I am very aware of OTARU in Hokkaido but had written OVA instead of “ab OVO” and didn't notice it and return to correct it.. As my mom would say, "Nobody's home upstairs."

    AMEN AMEN has caused this ear worm to play all day. Please go to 7:25 for the Amen portion.
    Link Amen Chorus

    ReplyDelete
  31. Looked daunting at first. Loved the theme, lots of fun.
    YR, your link made me think of this video.
    Silent Monks
    Notice the position change of signs when the tenors, altos and sopranos sing. Kinda cute IMHO

    ReplyDelete
  32. Good Afternoon everyone!

    My solving got a late start because the paper wasn’t delivered this morn. I like to do a “pen to paper” solve on the 21 x 21’s. Can you say…. DTs?

    Lots of unknowns for me today – mostly the words with multiple vowels (osier, alii, dalai, otaru, ETC.). Crosses filled in most, but not all, so DNF. Moral victory for getting all theme answers, tho.

    Natalie Gulbis makes her home in Las Vegas, and so is very popular here. For more than one reason. Not that I’m being a creepy old guy or anything….

    Lestrade was a gimme. Basil Rathbone is still the ultimate Holmes for me, but Jonny Lee Miller is pretty good, as was Jeremy Brett. I think I read somewhere that Holmes has been portrayed by more different actors than any other fictional character….

    WEES about 90D, 91D. Do you think this was done on purpose?

    ReplyDelete
  33. HOWDY Y'all, Real Q-TEE of a puzzle, Julian! Hard but engrossing.Thanks for everything, C.C.

    I despaired of doing this one at first. My first theme revelation was the GREAT SQUALL...which was a big help in proceeding. Unknowns APERCU & RENATA next door made a mess. At one point, I had "part of" then "fartor" then stayed with "fact of" instead of FACTOR. Also WEES.

    BRIS is more than OUCH. In our small hospital, I was right across the hall when our Catholic doctor did this to my oldest son. He cried in outrage. I cried too, feeling I had betrayed him. They kept bringing him in to me all day because he kept crying like his heart was broken. Do Jewish BRIS performers use any "number". My Dr. didn't.

    Thought the 3-ball family project was almost DF. Did they need surgery too?

    Without CED I wouldn't have known GEOcache. THX!

    Capital-IST looked good. Didn't recheck 100D.

    DOURIF? I just read the book. Never heard of him.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Good Sunday Morning ! AMEN AMEN
    My roommate in nursing school attended a black Baptist church. She always wanted me to go and now I wish I had made the time to go with her. I was too wrapped up in my husband-to-be and attending church with him. She brought me a tape of her service and there was a lot more going on then just two AMEN AMEN... It would have been a fun experience.

    I didn't know APERCU, DOURIF,or LESTRADE.
    SLAKES for quenches somehow reminds me of a pirate movie??
    TOGAED seemed a bit of a stretch.

    Loved 3 ball family project being SNOWMAN.
    I was so busy giggling thru "SQU" long answers, I didn't even notice that it could be replaced with a "W"...
    Qli, Rescuing a Zucchini made me picture Veggie Tales videos. LOL

    Lucinda, I'm very impressed at 55 years of teaching. I hope your retirement activities are very rewarding. You deserve it!

    Femat, hope you are recuperating well from surgical procedure. I'm always walking/running in my dreams, too. Maybe that's why I sleep so much:)

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hard puzzle for me but enjoyable. Thanks Julian and CC.

    Count me as another one who didn't know APERCUE or ATHROB. Also, Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes does it for me, more so than the modern versions. However, I've never understood how the director thought clever Sherlock would tolerate such a bumbling Watson.

    Speaking of Maid Marian, that reminds me of one of my all time favorite movies; "Robin and Marian." It's a terrific Robin Hood adventure story along with a great love story between an aging Robin Hood (Sean Connery) and Maid Marian (Audrey Hepburn). No dry eyes for me at the ending.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Here's another little crossword for your enjoyment:
    It's on a 4 x 4 grid with no black squares.

    Some of the answers, though, are more than four letters long, so they stick out at the edges. They never run more than one space beyond, though.

    When finished, the protruding letters, read clockwise, form a four letter word—the answer to this puzzle.

    Clues are in order from top to bottom and from left to right.

    Across:
    Like some vaccines.
    Tripoli's country.
    Church official.
    Abominable snowman.

    Down:
    Unwise investment.
    Fairground attraction.
    Aid in a felony.
    Line from a song.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Brad Dourif did a beautiful job of portraying the young man with a stutter and slashed his wrists at the end of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". I'll never forget how his stutter was "cured" by a roll in the hay with a prostitute (he regained some self-confidence) and then reappeared with a vengeance when nurse Ratched said she'd tell his mommy. Made me cry.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Unusual 1st time actor in Robin Hood film with Maid MARION

    ReplyDelete
  39. Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Julian Lim, for a great Sunday puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for the swell review.

    This puzzle was not easy to get through. I bounced around all over. Took me quite a while to get the theme. Once I did, it helped a lot. THE GREAT SQUALL OF CHINA gave it to me. Once I had that I was off and running.

    I also thought using "inspector" for the clue and INSP the second answer was odd. i held off writing it in for a long time.

    Liked QUENCHES for Slakes. good words.

    TITHERS was a good one for 58D. More of us should do that. I admit, I do not.

    NIAGARA was easy for 51D. I grew up 100 miles from Niagara Falls. Saw it many times. Several times from an airplane flying pretty low over it. Probably illegal now.

    We have had SARANAC before. Just took me a while to remember the last couple letters. DEATH helped.

    Tried KENO for 55D before FARO. Not a big gambler.

    Now that the puzzle is finished I have to take down my Christmas Tree.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ReplyDelete
  40. Shows you how much I sleep... I wished everyone a Happy Sunday morning at 3:33 in the afternoon.

    Pas de chat,I shared the "singing monks" with my husband. Very cute and funny. Video at a much better angle than the one that got 11 million hits.
    Otto and Spitz, are you both retired navy? My FIL was a retired navy chief and then settled in KS as a recruiter. My husband and his brother both served in the Navy, too.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Blue Iris: I agree,I picked that one because it is the best version, I think.
    One more, if you haven't seen it already.

    RANDOM ACTS OF CULTURE

    ReplyDelete
  42. Bill G @1546:

    face?

    Blue Iris @ 1624: Yes, retired Navy. Sounds like you have strong Navy ties. Any good sea stories?

    ReplyDelete
  43. Bill G. Ack! I can't get 1D or 3A!!!

    YR @2:34, I also had CCV, but i thought the answer was 225...

    Pas De Chat, I was not going to watch the video because i had seen it before. I am glad i did because your version was much better!

    ReplyDelete
  44. Bill G:
    cafe, if you ignore your specific directions, which I forgot.

    CED Think! Think!

    Re Roman numerals.
    They're always appearing in crosswords and I knew all of them, but kept mixing up 50 and 500.
    Now I think to myself
    HUNDRED contains a "D"
    So 5 HUNDRED is "D"

    ReplyDelete
  45. Tx Pas, i got it!

    Face!

    No wait, cafe!


    Wait a sec, he said clockwise!

    ReplyDelete
  46. Dennis, Spitz, yes. Well done. Pas, good too. You forgot my directions at 3:46?? Your CRS is much worse than mine. :>) I like your trick for remembering 500 in Roman Numerals. And 50 doesn't contain an L so L must be fifty. Oh well, maybe not...

    Spitz, I love that version of Robin Hood. It's classy and fun; not dark like so many more recent versions.

    CED, go around any way you want to. Good work!

    ReplyDelete
  47. Bill G: Got any more puzzles?
    My Sunday date with Merl Reagle
    is a REBUS !!!!
    Ack(What Dave said)
    I am so disappointed when it's a
    *!#?%!! REBUS!
    Yes, I had to go back and read your instructions again. Sometimes do that in clues too. Read them too quickly.

    ReplyDelete
  48. I was trying to find funny SQ stuff, but i got squeamish!

    I spent all day looking for a good Geocaching clip for you, but they are all good!

    So, Here is a Puzzle Cache that is close to me. Note the Coords,(N 40° 45.540 W 074° 23.960) is only a starting point. You need to find something similar in the story.


    The amazing thing about this story is that it was written just to hide the co-ordinates like you see above.

    I cannot remember how the puzzle was solved, but it was like, every 3rd ( or 5th or 8th, i can't remember ) gives you a syllable that is part of the co=ords!!!

    ReplyDelete
  49. This is the first time in my life I have ever confused V and L in Roman numerals. It is something like rereading my post and, even though I am a good speller, not catching my typos. I know what I meant and believe that I couldn't possibly have mistaken such an easy thing.

    Bill G. I was surpeised how easy your 4x4 puzzle was.

    Pas de chat, I enjoyed your monk's chorus and Random Acts of Culture, especailly the latter, a real "feel good" piece.

    I thin APERCU is such a neat word that I always remember it. (So far, that is. If I can screw up Roman numeral V, I can screw up anything.)

    ReplyDelete
  50. CED @ 1747 - So it's at the SE edge of the parking lot at the soccer field in Memorial Park?

    ReplyDelete
  51. Spitzboov,

    hmm, if you are using the co ords i printed, that would be the SE edge of the parking lot. The actual cache is in the woods about 1/4 mile away.

    The actual coords can be found by reading the story & finding the spacing of the syllables that spell out n.o.r.t.h.f.o.r.t.y.f.o.r.t.y.f.i.v.e.etc....

    ReplyDelete
  52. Bill G,

    Thanks for offering a solvable puzzle.

    Here are 6 for you to solve. If you get any one of them, you can earn a cool Million !

    Millennium Prize Problems

    ReplyDelete
  53. or maybe it was whole words, i don't remember????

    Sorry for posting a puzzle i forgot the answer to....

    (it took me weeks, with help to figure it out, but the answer was so elegant, i was very impressed..)

    ReplyDelete
  54. Spitz @ 9:48 - As you spent 4 years at RPI, I am sure you have a Troy story or two of your own! (-:

    ReplyDelete
  55. Why does my LA Times crossword not match this one? My paper has one by Merl Reagle called "A Liberating Experience." Any suggestions on where I can get help for this puzzle?

    ReplyDelete
  56. Anon go here for the puzzle or just leer at This

    ReplyDelete
  57. We are all confused about Merl's puzzles. Crosswordfiend has a Merl but not, "A Liberating Experience". They have "In the Mood".

    ReplyDelete
  58. C.C., congratulations on having the clever clue of the month!

    ReplyDelete
  59. Lucina,
    Thanks. It's Rich's clue. I told Paul when he informed me last Saturday.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Oh the funny thing is that I've been short-listing the clever clues for Paul for a few years. He never knew I was making puzzles.

    ReplyDelete
  61. fermatprime said... Monday morning,

    Worked Merl's Liberating puzzle. Quite a lot of fun! Really enjoy puzzles with substitutions! Have missed them greatly since we started having puzzles delivered
    to us on line! You can find his puzzle at the Washington Post
    site!

    January 7, 2013 5:45 AM

    Still don't know what happened at Crosswordfiend. They have taken back the old one but haven't blogged the new one yet.

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.