google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, January 29, 2013 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

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Jan 29, 2013

Tuesday, January 29, 2013 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

 Theme: I Don't Do Windows - Four compound nouns and a reveal. The revelation is both parts of the theme entries can work as verbs and all are related to keeping things spic and span.

20A. *4-0 World Series win, e.g. : CLEAN SWEEP

41A. *Broom alternative : DUST MOP

11D. *Scouring aid : SCRUB BRUSH

28D. *Graffiti maker’s medium : SPRAY PAINT

57A. Designed for two functions, and a hint to the answers to starred clues : DOUBLE-DUTY

Argyle here. An easier construct than yesterday but with an extra layer to the solve. Monday and Tuesday make a good start to the week.

My stress test was uneventful and, as usual, I won't get the results for a month. Thank you for your concerns.

Across:

1. Bit of high jinks : ANTIC

6. Eastern European : SLAV. and 6D. Side with a sandwich : SLAW

10. Sounds of disapproval : TSKS. I waited to see if it was TUTS.

14. Team leader : COACH

15. Hang (around) in a hammock, say : LAZE

16. Dos cubed : OCHO. 2³ = 8 (Spanish)

17. Second-largest Indian city : DELHI

18. Play parts : ACTS. and something else we've seen a lot of: 69A. Colony critters : ANTS

19. Say grace, say : PRAY

22. Salad fish : TUNA

23. Make illegal : BAN

24. Spy for Moses : CALEB. Moses appointed a team of twelve men to explore the land, only Caleb and Joshua remembered to "Fear not, neither be discouraged".

26. Bit of schoolyard disagreement : "AM SO!"

29. Gardner of Hollywood : AVA

32. Under the covers : IN BED

35. “The Shield” force, briefly : LAPD
 

36. Diabolical sorts : FIENDS

39. “Norma __” : RAE

40. Pooling vehicle : CAR

42. www bookmark : URL

43. Org. with many specialists : AMA

44. Online newsgroup system : USENET

45. Nora was his mistress : ASTA. The dog from the Thin Man movies.

46. Justin Timberlake’s former band : *NSYNC

48. Fir feller : AXE. Cute alliteration.

49. Bok __: cabbage : CHOY
 

50. Nudges : POKES

53. Corrosive stuff : LYE

55. Cashless deal : SWAP

63. Buffalo’s lake : ERIE

64. Not nuts : SANE

65. Run to the window : GO SEE

66. Gave for a while : LENT

67. Malevolent : EVIL

68. Great enthusiasm : GUSTO

70. Riga resident : LETT. (Latvian)

71. Scatter about : STREW

Down:

1. Adapter letters : AC/DC

2. Carolers’ offering : NOEL

3. Shakespeare’s “The Winter’s __” : TALE. Sparknotes

4. Sleepy Hollow schoolteacher Crane : ICHABOD.
"On mounting a rising ground, which brought the figure of his fellow-traveller in relief against the sky, gigantic in height, and muffled in a cloak, Ichabod was horror-struck on perceiving that he was headless!--but his horror was still more increased on observing that the head, which should have rested on his shoulders, was carried before him on the pommel of his saddle!"

- Washington Irving, "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

5. Plates for company : CHINA

7. Bridal gown trim : LACE

8. Ancient Mexican : AZTEC

9. Italian scooter : VESPA

10. David Letterman list : TOP TEN

12. Genghis __ : KHAN

13. Tofu source : SOYA

21. Bureaucratic bungles : SNAFUS

25. Speech therapist’s concern : LISP

26. Highway to Fairbanks : ALCAN
 

27. Sirs’ counterparts : MA'AMS

30. Clamping device : VISE

31. MetLife competitor : AETNA

33. Turn a deaf __ : EAR TO

34. Airport annoyance : DELAY

37. Carlsbad Caverns locale: Abbr. : N. MEX.

38. “I’m listening!” : "DO TELL!"

41. “Watch your head!” : "DUCK!"

 
 

45. Prevailed against, slangily : ACED OUT

47. Common rental restriction : [NO PETS]. Cats are an exception, right?

51. Four-wheeled flop : EDSEL. Nobody's first car was an Edsel?

52. Dry Italian wine : SOAVE

54. Safecrackers : YEGGS

55. Ward of “CSI: NY” : SELA. Entered her name without a second thought.

56. Small songbird : WREN

58. Army division : UNIT

59. Shot at the bar : BELT

60. Cold War country: Abbr. : USSR

61. Mal de __: Henri’s headache : TÊTE

62. “That hurts!” : "YEOW!"


Argyle


104 comments:

Lemonade714 said...

we are seeing more visually appealing grids like this. Overall a speed run but lots of fun. thank you Gail and Bruce. Glad your test was uneventful Argyle.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Pretty straightforward Tuesday puzzle. I finished without understanding the theme and then spend an extra minute or two unsuccessfully trying to figure it out. The best I could come up with was that each theme answer was a two word phrase that was an adjective-noun, and each case both words could also be verbs that related somehow to cleaning. That seemed a bit of a stretch, though, so I was sure I was missing something....

[Capcha today is 511 assagag. Not sure what to make of that, but it sounds unpleasant...]

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Barry G et al,
I need you to do a test. Can you click on the Archive section of the blog front page (lower right corner), then click on 2012, then Dec, Nov & Oct.

I encountered a "Reported Attack Warning" when I tried to access the Nov archive. Argyle, Dennis & Lemonade did not. How about you?

Dec, Oct and other months are fine.

Also, let me know what anti-virus software you're using. Mine is Kaspersky.

thehondohurricane said...

Good morning everyone,

Happy to hear your good news Argyle. Gail's been busy. I believe this is her third appearance month and the second in collboration with Bruce.

Fun puzzle today without any DELAYS, unlike the industry clued in 34D. Favorite was Fir feller/AXE.

My first post today disappeared when my CAPCHA was verbal. Couldn't understand a word it was saying. Now I have some letters which are difficult to read. Here goes.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. Good to see you and hope all is well.

This was a fun Tuesday puzzle. Once again I had to go back and read some of the clue whose answers were filled in on the first round.

Hand up for wanting Soup and Sandwich instead of SLAW and Sandwich. You know who you are!

Nora was his Mistress = ASTA was a fun clue. All I learned about The Thin Man, I learned from doing the crosswords. Nick, Nora and Asta is my complete knowledge.

My favorite clue was Fir Feller = AXE.

My favorite COACH.

I couldn't have a pet in my first apartment, but a cat was allowed in my second apartment.

QOD: Start every day off with a smile and get it over with. ~ W.C. Fields (Jan. 29, 1880 ~ Dec. 25, 1946)

Hahtoolah said...

C.C.: I didn't have any problems clicking on the archived months. Hope you get your issues resolved.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Hahtoolah,
Thanks. This is an isolated case affecting a few, including D-Otto, TTP and myself.

Thanks for yesterday's NEARS explanation also. Certain simple things confuse me.

thehondohurricane said...

Cc,

Just sent you an Email, but I'm not confident it got through. When clicking on November it shows a warning that reads WARNING: VISITING THIS SITE MAY HARM YOUR COMPUTER. It goes on to explain there may b a Malware issue and recommends contacting the corner.

Dennis said...

Good morning, gang - another speed run, again a tad over four minutes. As with Barry, I wasn't quite sure what to make of the theme answers but it made sense when I got the unifier.

Any thoughts on last night's The Following? Some of the events seem a bit improbable, but I've bought in. SPOILER ALERT: People died.

Hope it's a great day for everyone; having a bit of a relapse here.

MJ said...

C.C.--I had no trouble accessing any of the archived puzzles, though they are now offered in weekly increments rather than monthly as in the past.

Pleasant offering from Gail and Bruce, no hang-ups, no nits. Don't remember seeing Ichabod in a puzzle before, at least not on a Tuesday.

Enjoy the day!

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

MJ,
Thank you. I changed it to Weekly earlier to test with D-Otto and Hondo.

Now I've restored it to Monthly. Any warning when you click on the Nov archive?

Al Cyone said...

The only glitch was having LATT instead of LETT though SOAVE trumped that one. [6:42]

I received a Chrome malware warning after clicking on the November 2012 archive link. I don't use any active anit-virus software (it's over-hyped). I have a PC running Windows XP SP3.

desper-otto said...

Good morning, crew!

This was another speed run, so it must be Tuesday. No problems.

Argyle, I'm sure you meant to say that cats are exceptional. How long did it take to "cool down" after the stress test? It didn't comfort me that some young intern was standing by during my test in case I had a heart attack.

My mail order glasses finally arrived yesterday. The prescription is right, but the location of the bifocal is ridiculous--it's a thin teardrop at the very bottom of the lens. If I look down to read, I'm looking directly at the line atop the bifocal rather than through it, and see a split image of what I'm trying to read. Maybe this wasn't one of my greatest ideas...

Argyle said...

D-O, did you go the chemical injection route? I'm not sure what it means but I didn't suffer like I was warned I would. And I'm not complaining.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Gail and Bruce, for a swell Tuesday puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell write-up.

Argyle, glad no snags with your test. Good luck on the results.

This puzzle was pretty easy to get through. Tuesday should be.

SLAV for 6A reminds me of the 8coolant pounds of kielbasa and two pounds of kiszka I am bringing back with me drom Erie. I froze it an have it in an insulated bag.

CALEB was easy. We have had this spy in the past.

I agree with Hahtoolah, ASTA, and Nick and Nora are old favorites.

Caught the theme. DUSTMOP clinched it.

Hey, good old ERIE again for 63A. Just left there, the city and the lake, not the canal or fort.

Did not know TETE for 61D. Perped it. I will try to remember that, however. My french is really coming along. Oui Oui.

Argyle, I believe it is KHAN for 12D.

Just left Waterloo, IN. Should be in Chicago in a couple hours.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

desper-otto said...

Argyle, mine was an old-school stress test. I was hooked up to an EKG machine, and then had to do the treadmill as they increased the speed and the pitch simultaneously. Stressful!

Argyle said...

Yes, KHAN is correct. I always get in trouble if I can't cut & paste. lol

When did Cruciverb come back on line? Anybody?

Argyle said...

D-O, did one of those years ago. I think I was pounding the treadmill so hard as they elevated it, they stopped me early.

Abejo said...

Well, Captcha took me over an hour to get through. I tried it on my IPad and the characters would not appear. Tried several time. Tried the audible. Could not understand it.

Finally I pulled the blog up pn my phone and retyped my entire message. My phone would not display the Captcha letters. Tried audible, and could not understand. Selected text and it worked.

We will see if I can get this message out from my phone.

Abejo

Mari said...

Hello Everyone,

This puzzle went pretty smoothly for me. I PERPed SOAVE and LETT and tried OUCH for YEOW, but otherwide everything fell into place.

VESPA reminded me of Howard on TBBT.

Dennis @ 6:31 AM: I watched The Following last night and I agree. Somewhat unlikely, but I'm getting interested. A lot less gore last night than in the pilot.

Mari said...

I never type the number in the captcha - just the letters. It always goes through without the numbers.

Anonymous said...

I got the Malware message when I typed on the November archive.

jilldinCA said...

If it weren't for coming here, I would almost never see the theme. No trouble with Cruciverb, yeseterday or today. Got a warning when clicking on November archive. Also have some weird message in the CAPTCHA box, a little square with a ? in the middle. Let's see if I can post anyway. Fun puzzle, and Argyle write up excellent, as always.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

When you were doing your stress test, did you happen to notice the crash cart in the room? They usually "hide" it behind the door, so the patient won't freak out!

Very smooth fill, but when I got to the unifier I was still scratching my head. Three of the theme entries had to do with cleaning, but SPRAY PAINT just didn't fit the pattern. I might dust, sweep, mop, etc. But I don't think I would SPRAY? I might spray polish onto something, but the verb would always have an object, imho. And to me, PAINT is part of upkeep, not cleaning. Ah well, so I have a nit - what else is new?

Sfingi said...

@Hahtoolah - You must watch the old Myrna Loy movies! Ignore the smoking.

(Question - isn't Jewish literacy like, 100%? Every once in a while I send a book to my H.S. friend in Metulla. Wish we still had book rate there.)

Some apartments base pettage (?) on the weight of the bitty buddy. Or fur feller. Under 10.

Today, the captcha was a small square. I had to hit on the hearing icon to get the actual captcha.

Anonymous said...

CC: I have an Apple MacBook Pro with no antivirus program. I successfully retrieved a Nov 2012 blog.

Abejo said...

Argyle: Cruciverb worked late last night, both dates the 28th and the 29th. I had to try this message four times so far. The captcha was not usable. I will try again.

Abejo

Abejo said...

Argyle: What worked for the last message was setting my phone to 4G. The captcha with the letters appeared.

Abejo

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

I got the below email from Yellowrocks. Did anyone experience similar problem?

"Hi CC,
I don't see a CAPTCHA image to copy. I see a box with a red X in it. Then it says
"re CAPTCHA challenge image".
When I click on it nothing happens."

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Abejo,
Just saw your trouble.

Yellowrocks said...

Marti, I had some question akin to yours about the theme answers. I hope Gail will sign in and 'splain.

I liked The Thin Man movies. Netflix has them.

Very quick, straightforward puzzle today. No unknowns.

My Captcha word has returned.

HeartRx said...

YR, I had more problems than that with the theme, but didn't want to belabor the point. As clued, "clean sweep" and "spray paint" have nothing to do with cleaning, while "dust mop" and scrub brush" are specifically clued in relation to cleaning. Maybe I just wasn't crazy about the theme, because I hate cleaning house! Such a waste of time, when I could be skiing, instead. Besides, it's just going to get dirty again, LOL!

Lucina said...

Hello, friends. Argyle, glad to see you back and relieved your stress test wasn't stressful.

Nice speed run from Gail and Bruce. Sashayed nicely all the way with one glaring mistake. I had SUBWAY PAINT and didn't bother to check it. Drat!

loved the fir feller, AXE, clue.

Haven't tried the archive but I shall after posting.

Have a terrific Tuesday, everyone!

Lucina said...

C.C.
No warnings appeared for any of the months cited. I use Norton anti virus.

Abejo said...

C.C. and Argyle:

The following is a summary of my captcha experience this weekend:

1. When I used my IPad with a wifi signal, captcha worked fine.

2. When I used my IPad without wifi, but with a strong cell phone signal, captcha worked.

3. When I used my IPad with a weak cell phone signal, captcha did not work.

4. When I used my smartphone with a strong cell phone signal, and switched to 4G, captcha worked.

5. When I used my smartphone with a weak cell phone signal, and on 3G, captcha did not work.

My two cents.

Abejo

Spitzboov said...

Good morning all. Welcome back, Argyle. Glad to see your test experience was "unremarkable".

Pretty much marched across and down simultaneously without incident. Cute theme. No erasures nor lookups. We seem to get EDSEL a lot. Back in about 1958, when the Edsel first came out, I remember a college friend dubbing it a "Mercury sucking a lemon" referring to its grill. Thanks Gail and Bruce for a nifty solve.

My capcha appears to be working correctly; I use Safari.

Husker Gary said...

Argyle, I’m glad your test was as non-stressful as this puzzle. Good luck with the results.

Musings
-Going for a CLEAN SWEEP is an excuse for overly zealous fans to bring brooms to baseball games where their team has won the first 3 of a 4 game series. Really?
-SPRAY PAINTED Rail car graffiti is amazing. Who does this stuff?
-BTW, a necessary job in detasseling seed corn is to have someone SPRAY PAINT the 1st plant in the male rows (where the tassels are left on the plant) red and the first plant in the sterile rows (where plant is bred to produce an ear but sterile pollen) white.
-KFC has great SLAW
-Ethel is the subject of many TSK TSK’s around Downton – “Let (s)he that is without sin…”
-Wicked TUNA on Nat Geo
-Frank Sinatra frequently had 29 across 32 across
-Justin Timberlake is a 6 handicap golfer (Uh, that’s really good!)
-I’ve read that it is unlikely that the natives did SWAP Manhattan for a few Venetian Beads
-Judge Judy has to resolve whether something was given or LENT many times. She’s great!
-How do you pronounce Genghis Kahn? Take your pick from these Asian speakers.
-What movie with a great rock and roll title song had a main character named (W)Ren McCormack?

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

To those who encountered warnings when accessing November in the Archive earlier, can you try again? What do you see now?

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

Easy, breezy Tuesday offering. Nice work, Gail and Bruce, and hats off to Argyle, as usual. Fir feller is a cute clue and I also like seeing Asta. Years ago, FDR's dog, Fala, was a CW favorite.

It's a gloomy day here with rain expected later on. I wish I could stay put, but I have a doctor's appt. this afternoon.

Happy Tuesday

Pinto said...

Husker, I see nothing wrong with fans bringing brooms to the ballpark when they are on the verge of a CLEAN SWEEP.

Although I am not a fanatic fan , I think they add to the stadium experience.

I vote for all cheeseheads, panda hat wearing, broom toting and face and body painters to continue to practice their craft!

Anony Mouse said...

Thank you Gail and Bruce for a nice and doable puzzle. Really enjoyed it. I had a little trouble with 'Soave/Soava' ( don't drink wine - ), and 'Lett/Latt'.

Thank you, Argyle, for a wonderful, familiar commentary. Very reassuring. So glad, your stress test went off well. A stress test is like a 'make-up' exam, you know you're in trouble when they ask you to take it in the first place.

Argyle, I was surprised when you said you had to wait 30 days to get the results for the stress test. I had one over 10 years ago, and the 'tech' gave me 90% of the results before I put my shirt back on. The doc gave me 95% of the results about 20 minutes later.

Don't discount what the 'tech' knows - she may not be a MD/PhD, but they have run the test so many times, that he/she knows it inside and out. Its just that they are not 'qualified' or 'authorized' to tell you. I remember, very well, her last words,' Mums the word... and act "pleasantly surprised" when Dr. --- gives you the results.' Remember, Cardiology is not rocket science .... yet.

Thank you Bill G., for the link to 'The Great Flydini', last night. Absolutely hilarious.

Have a good week, you guys, and best wishes.

Husker Gary said...

Pinto, I’ve sat behind painted fanatics that have blocked my view with props or simply by staying standing, wearing those goofy corn cob hats and foam fingers (cheese hats in Wisconsin) and demanding that I stand up or make more noise or… Anyone who wants to bring those brooms or a giant D with a fence is fine with me if they don’t hold them up in front of me or tell me how I should watch the game. It seems silly to me but who cares if it’s not bothering anyone and it does add to the atmosphere. Most of it is confined to the student section anyway. Ah, youth and alcohol.
Those Husker bodies in the car backseat to which you linked are much less annoying, but they have never shown up in Section 49!

CrossEyedDave said...

Still in the middle of the puzzle, but had to take a break to do some chores.

Vegas Doc (late last nite) Loved your "Spooky" video, & wanted to tell you what a handsome cat! Most cats talk with their tails, but Spookys' tail speaks volumes... I did not say so last nite as i was saving my final (5th) post just in case Manac & I got into a "silly-fest." (luv-ya Manac, you keep me on my toes!) I went to email you this am, but your profile does not have an email link:(

On a serious note, i had to post with one eye closed before finishing todays puzzle due to breaking NASA news. Bill G. Asteriod, 8th magnitude on 2/15, speed 2 moon widths per minute,, get your telescope ready!

Irish Miss, still trying to dig up my Kitty pics, they are stuck in my old computer. I may have to scan them anew...

Zcarguy said...

Morning all ,

I've been very busy opening a new office and a new store, still not done but getting there .

I don't think the theme has anything to do with cleaning ,
Each theme answer when split gives you two duties or verbs related to each other. IMO

Fore !

AnnieB8491 said...

Hello All - Thank you Gail and Bruce for a speedy Tuesday puzzle, and thanks to Argyle for the write-up. Glad your stress test was uneventful and hope results are good. My husband had a chemical stress test (he had bad knees at the time) and thought he was going to die. But it didn't red flag anything for them. A year later (2007) they found a widow-maker doing a catheterization. He had a quadruple bypass and is doing fine.
Breezed thru early this morning but wanted to get a bike ride in before it got too hot - supposed to be mid 80's today here. Only unknowns were Yeggs and Soava. I had Lapp before Latt fell into place, and Yeggs was filled in with DoubleDuty. I also had OUCH and was leery about 57A ending in O, but after DoubleDuty, YEOW was a gimme.
Favorite clue was "the Edsel was nobody's first car?" lol
Loved The Thin Man
I remember Sela Ward from the Sisters series - was sad when it was cancelled.
Erie and Ant - 2 days in a row.

Misty said...

Another speed run this morning--is this a great week, or what! Many thanks, Gail and Bruce. And Argyle, I loved being reminded of poor ICHABOD's fright! Sorry to hear you have to wait a whole month for results of your test. Hope it doesn't STRESS you out too much!

I wondered how you were going to avoid explaining SNAFUS to us. Very clever!

Loved Sally Fields in "Norma REA"--one of her best roles ever.

Have a terrific Tuesday, everybody!

Bill G. said...

That was a very pleasant Tuesday puzzle. Not a stress test at all. :>) Thanks Argyle!

I see where a few people are getting upset with VW for a little ad where some midwestern folks are speaking with a Jamaican accent. It's a shame they don't have anything important to get upset about. I find the ad enjoyable and it brings a smile to my face.

Anony-mouse, I'm glad you liked The Great Flydini. Me too. It's both a good magic routine and a very funny comedy routine.

CED, that asteroid is both very dim and moving. I would have a very little chance of seeing it. OTOH, there is supposed to be a very showy comet coming by later this year.

Dennis said...

AnnieB, great Firebird - still have it?

Also, I noticed that you're a fellow Vince Flynn fan; have you read his latest? I also started reading Brad Taylor, based on a recommendation from Vince - well-written, same genre. You might look into it.

Jeanne said...

C.C.
Just wanted to let you know that I get the warning page from last November. I'm using Firefox 18.0. Will check the other months later.

kazie said...

Sorry to be a no show yesterday and late today. No real issues worth a detailed comment though, and I've been busy finishing up the newsletter and updating my FB page a bit.

Argyle,
I'm very glad the stress test was uneventful. Hopefully that bodes well for the results when they do appear.

Montana said...

Liked this Tuesday puzzle. Same comments as others.
Good to see you back, Argyle.
I also have really come to appreciate CruciVerb. I do the puzzles more often now on my iPad than print them out.

Major snowstorm just moved in 10 minutes ago. It almost looks foggy out with so much snow coming down. I should say snow is flying by, west to east, it is blowing so hard. -40 wind chill temps tonight. Warnings are out.

Montana

61Rampy said...

Hand up for wanting OUCH instead of YEOW. I couldnt imagine 65A ending in "U", however. SOAVA was a total unknown, solved by perps.
My wife's first car WAS a 58 Edsel Convertible. (long before I knew her). Otherwise, major speed run today.

61Rampy said...

Oh, and so far, NO trouble with Captcha. (knock on wood)

jilldinCA said...

C.C. When I try to access November archive, I still get the warning. I use Safari. Problem with CACPTCHA is over now.

Barry G. said...

[i]I need you to do a test. Can you click on the Archive section of the blog front page (lower right corner), then click on 2012, then Dec, Nov & Oct.[/i]

I also got the attack warning for November. I'm using Norton Anti-Virus, but it seems to be a Google/Firefox thing and not due to antivirus protection.

If it helps identify the problem, the alert message had the following information:

Of the 108 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 1 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2013-01-26, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2013-01-23.

Malicious software is hosted on 1 domain(s), including widelyranginginterests.com/.

2 domain(s) appear to be functioning as intermediaries for distributing malware to visitors of this site, including couponaholic.net/, blogspot.co.il/.

Irish Miss said...

I am sitting in an Italian restaurant owned by a man who survived the Andrea Doria accident, waiting patiently for my pizza. Yum! Then on to my doctor appt.

River Doc said...

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Technical DNF, since I had to use the red letters to get Lett instead of Latt….

When the Giants lost the first two games in the best three-out-of-five series in the first round of the playoffs last year, the fans in Cincinnati made sure to bring their brooms to the next game. One broom in particular was noted by the announcers as being the sorriest looking broom they had ever seen. It kinda looked like the broom of the Wicked Witch of the West after it had been set aflame (not a lot of “brush” left). So naturally the Giants won the next three games to advance, and some pundits blamed the Reds’ collapse on the funky broom….

Ren McCormack was played by Kevin Bacon in the original Footloose!

C.C., I got the Malware warning when trying to access the November archives. I use Chrome and have McAfee anti-virus software.

Awol said...

Good day to all.
Speed run today to be followed by speedy runs about town.
QOD: Creativity is intelligence having fun. ~ Albert Einstein


River Doc said...

CED, thanks for the kind words about Spooky, and you’re right about his tail. My profile has been updated to include e-mail.

Regarding much ado over nothing, apparently Taco Bell has pulled a TV commercial because it was offensive to some folks. The ad was promoting their Taco 12-pack, and said that “bringing a vegetable plate to a party is like punting on fourth-and-one.” The complaints were that the ad discouraged people from eating vegetables….

Can’t we all just get along?

Lucina said...

Misty:
Sally Fields is wonderful as Mary Todd Lincoln. She even RESEMBLES her.

I had forgotten to welcome all the newbies here, AnnieB8491, JildinCa and AWOL. Loved the meaning you posted.

I also use only the letters in the capcha and have had no problems . . . yet.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

CC, no November malware messages here on the destop PC running IE and Norton.

Bill G, loved the Great Flydini! I miss Johnny, and the comedy of Steve Martin.

The Edsel was a bit before my time. I recall my mom saying that they hyped the living daylights out of the car prior to its unveiling, and that the machine itself was nothing interesting.

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Nice write-up. Hope you're NOT "stressed" about the test results.

Lucina (yest) ... yeah, I was kidding about DA.

C.C. Same results as Vegas Doc @12:19. I also use Chrome and have McAfee anti-virus software.

Gail & Bruce: I really liked your DOUBLE DUTY themes. Thank you for a FUN puzzle.

Fave today was ASTA (because I prefer Dogs!)

A "toast" to ALL at Sunset (or when "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere").
Cheers !!!

Pookie said...

C.C. I got the warning page for Nov.
Going to scan right now with Norton

PK said...

Hi Y'all, I swept through the puzzle, doing it on line for the first time last night. Pretty easy with the red-letter alerts. My newspaper has reduced the size of the puzzle so I had to do it with a magnifier yesterday. I had been enlarging it on my copier which is now on the fritz. I am now in the 21st century doing it on line. Will see how the weekend ones go.

Liked the puzzle, Gail & Bruce! Hate to clean, but like having it done. Great comments, Argyle! Glad you are okay.

My husband had a thalium stress test in 1985 and was rushed to a surgical suite where he had angioplasty for a 90% blockage of the aorta at the left bundle branch--a "widow-maker". He then had at least one stress test a year for 11 years. He died on the treadmill in 1996.

The treadmill was not the cause. The cause was running around a strange city doing errands in 105 degree weather when he was having chest pains. I was thankful that he made it to the cardiologist's instead of having the "event" in city traffic.

I was thankful that the original stress test and resulting procedure gave me ten good years with him in which we got our children raised.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Tinbeni et al,
Now I changed the Archive frequency from Monthly to Weekly. Can you click on any of the November 2012 posts safely?

Al Cyone said...

Unlike monthly warning, no malware warning on any of the November 2012 weeks. (Chrome on PC running Windows XP w/o anti-virus.)

CrossEyedDave said...

Ack, DNF! I got hung up in the SE corner. I had 57A=D-U-LE(maybe S/ maybe D)U-Y, & thought 52D might be S"U"AVE.

I was sure the 1st word of 57A was going to be "dual" so much that i thought 56D unit was wrong. Then I Googled Riga & had no idea how to get "Latvian" into 70A

So i go to the Blog, & Dennis @6:31am does the puzzle in "four minutes?"

I just spent the last hour watching epic fails on YouTube (+ one TBBT clip) just to try & cheer myself up :(

Oh, I got the warning on the November Archives. Mine was a Google Chrome warning, but if you read the fine print, it says it found nothing wrong. Very confusing!

CanadianEh! said...

I had trouble with the theme also but I thought the "double duty" was that the word pairs had similar meanings - clean/sweep, dust/mop, spray/paint, scrub/brush. Anybody else see it that way??
Hadn't read Sleepy Hollow for a long time - don't you just love the name ICHABOD! LOL
ANTS and ERIE are occurring regularly
Alaska/Canada highway is the other side of the country for me. Alaska cruise is still on my bucket list.

Bill G. said...

Have any of you noticed that when you record an episode of some old shows on a DVR, you miss the last minute or so? I recorded an old episode of both the Cosby Show and The Andy Griffith Show and missed the last minute or so of both. It wasn't a big deal but I don't understand it. The guide on the DVR shows the start time and end time to be on the half hour, say 9:30 to 10:00. You push Record and it records EXACTLY those times to the second. But, the show always runs over a bit, something like 30 seconds and you miss the very end. You could always set the show to record an extra minute if you think of it but that interferes if you happen to record the show immediately after it. I know, I know; in the overall grand scheme of things, it's not a big deal. But it's a minor annoyance and don't understand it. BTW, that seems to be true more and more often, that I just don't get it.

I don't get THIS either. Here's a link to that new VW SUPERBOWL ADVERTISEMENT I mentioned earlier with the Jamaican accent. It makes me smile. What do you think? Offensive or not?

Anonymous said...

downton abbey said:

does anyone else like to eat lemons?

Stan Jewison, Technovent UT said...

I used the latest version of Firefox and tried to get into the vantage near-recent archives and got the statutory Malware warning. Analyzing the blog directory source code indicates that the problem is not necessarily with the browser, it is probably the kernel-code in the blog sub-sub-root directory. That kernel directed loop needs to be disabled, or at least altered to a subdurate function, but it appears to be proprietary of the host, viz. Google. This kernel shift routine appears to setoff the McAfee antivirus foot sequencer thus the response. While talking to them, you would definitely want to inquire as to whether this was a recent addition, by Google, supposedly as additional security protection.

The kernel is probably in the sub-dir //PLL.Kneww.gfed.44hGty.exe./cc038mol;, or in the sub-sub-root // Pficus.wrnl759./gefd.8Hytt.9bjL27 and is in the normally hidden files, and unfortunately cleverly concealed from view, which itself, would be enough to be deceptive. We would definitely bring this to Google's technical support's attention. We cannot vouch for sure, whether this actually releases a worm virus, like Dp.drizzle or EKaput, ( which has a penchance of affinity for emails, and especially Hypertext, sent via the blog ), but could be deceptively camouflaging the actual virus or viruses, which would hitch on to a comment maker or linking on to the Hypertext. We suggest that in the meanwhile, all comment makers run a virus scan, especially in the .exe. files, after the comment has been posted on the blog, it would be prudent.

This (and probably other ), similar sub-root routines, are triggering the malware warning, but since they are resident in the main trunk directory of the blog itself, they cannot be third party altered, but may have caused the recent shutdown, of this and other similar blogs, by Google. Hope this helps.

Dennis said...

Loved the ad. How any of those PC dolts don't 'get it' is beyond me.

I hope VW doesn't give in and pull the ad. If Jamaicans found it funny (and VW did do their homework in that regard), then there shouldn't be a problem.

Stan, good stuff, but now my head hurts again.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Stan,
Thank you a bunch. I'm forwarding your post to my Blogger forum contact.

Misty said...

Lucina, you're absolutely right--Sally Fields was terrific as Mary Todd Lincoln. She made it clear by her performance why Todd might have been considered insane when she was mainly traumatized by the loss of her son. Very moving. (Hope that's not a spoiler, but I'm hoping we all more or less know the Lincoln story)

PK how sad that you lost your husband when he worked so hard to stay well.

River Doc said...

Bill G, this annoying little practice was conceived by the TV “suits” a number of years ago. The thinking goes as follows: Let’s say you have a show you want to watch on NBC from 8:00 to 8:30, and a show on ABC from 8:30 to 9:00. So NBC “cleverly” extends the first show to end at 8:33, thinking that if you really want to watch the first show, you may not switch over to ABC at 8:34 because you’ve already missed the first four minutes of the second show. The F/X network is notorious for this practice.

That being said, whenever I’m taping Justified or Sons of Anarchy, I edit the end time for the recording on the DVR by a few minutes – problem solved.

C.C., I re-accessed the (now weekly) 2012 posts with no malware warning.

Yellowrocks said...

Only have a minute. I've been running from event to event and will not stop until 11:00 PM. I have Norton and can access the NOv. 2012 blogs without a warning.
So auf wiedersehen. I'm on the road again.

Al Cyone said...

Stan @ 2:39 says: The kernel is probably in the sub-dir //PLL.Kneww.gfed.44hGty.exe./cc038mol;, or in the sub-sub-root // Pficus.wrnl759./gefd.8Hytt.9bjL27

I was thinking the exact same thing!

Except for the part about the kernel.

And the other stuff.

Rasta 4 ever said...

Whata, no Bob Marley, reefers, jerkies an dread locks ? We Jumicans be potesting at the VW showrooms tomarraw. Ever seen a budder drive a foksiwagon huh ? Who dey foolin maan.

Marge said...

Hi all!
Another fun puzzle but it took me awhile to finish.

I liked The Thin Man movies when I was a teenager. I probably saw all of them but when the clue said Mistress I thought "Nora" was married. I finally realized it was Asta. duh! I should have had a V-8.

Annie: Sela Ward is now on CSI NY on Fridays nights. I like her a lot better than the previous leading lady.

I liked the double words in the puzzle when I finally figured it out.

Have a good evening all!
Marge

Hahtoolah said...

Al Cynon @ 2:53. My thoughts exactly!

HeartRx said...

Bill G., loved the VW ad. Why anyone would be offended by it is beyond me. Are the people acting stupid or being obnoxious? No, they are just being happy. Which, as far as I'm concerned, is something that more people should try...

Tinbeni said...

C.C. Just tested. No warning on weekly November posts.

Bill G. No problem with the VW Ad.
Made me think "da suits" just need a to click on Mart's "happy" link ...
"smoke-a-blunt" and "be happy" ... hmmmm, dat gives me an idea ...
Irie !

aka thelma said...

C.C.
No warnings for me on Nov or Oct... I am using safari at the time... and capcha looks fine...

Enjoyed the puzzle and the write up... :) thanx everyone for all your efforts...

Argyle I'm glad your test went well... thought I was gonna die with the last one I took..... :)

Now that I have said capcha looks fine I will see if it works... :)

thelma

Java Mama said...

Good evening all! Great Tuesday puzzle, Gail and Bruce, thanks for a fun outing. Good to see you back in the saddle again, Argyle. Fingers crossed for good news on your test. Haven't seen YEGG in a while. Was thinking of car lease restrictions before NO PETS appeared. Other than that, pretty much WEES about the solve. Lucina and Misty, agree with you both on Sally Fields as Mary Todd Lincoln. She portrayed MTL as much more than the crazy lady we usually see. She was so complex -- a feisty, fragile, intelligent, vain and vivacious steel magnolia. (Apologies for any typos...sending from my phone, and I'm lousy at the touchscreen keyboard.). Have a lovely evening everyone!

Pookie said...

Ran Norton, Spybot and Vundo.
Nice puzzle and what Stan said LOL

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Fun puzzle, Gail and Bruce! Swell expo, Argyle!

Hope all results of the stress test come in OK, Santa!
Did you wear a holter monitor previous to test? I went through all of this before being diagnosed with a-fib.

Sorry to hear about your husband, PK.

Stomach still on the fritz. Maybe time to try to contact internist (usually fruitless).

Cheers!

TTP said...

Still haven't done the puzzle or read the comments - other than the one from Stan, that I was referenced to offline.

Caveat emptor.

I would not search and then click on links to either the poster's name or purported company reference.

Fair warning.

CrossEyedDave said...

Double Duty dust mop

Double Duty scrub brush

Double Duty spray paint

& a Clean Sweep

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, A nice Tuesday puzzle which took only about 15 minutes to complete. Fast for me.

I learned Yegg from doing CW's. I had never heard (or used) the word before.

I thought that Pooling vehicle/car, Fir feller/axe, and Nora was his mistress/Asta were the fun clues for today.

I'm glad, Argyle, that your stress test was uneventful, but the waiting to hear results is always more stress than the test sometimes.

I was on a treadmill this afternoon, but at the gym, so I could program it to my liking. LOL.

Have a great day everyone.

Manac said...

Fine puzzle today but Spray Paint left me scratching my head. That's why I come here.

Bill, saw nothing wrong with the ad except that its just another annoying TV ad.

Cat owners Beware (I think Dave's cat sent it to me asking for help) :-)

Anonymous said...

Thank you Bruce and Gail for a fun puzzle! A couple slowdowns, a couple write-overs, but pretty smooth.

It's been a great day. Temperature in the mid-60's made it very nice for walking dogs at the shelter. We had enough volunteers out that all the dogs got out to play. I had no problem with the Jumble, Basic Crossword and just the ones mentioned above with the Advanced (LAT) Crossword. Tomorrow will be another challenge.

So far I've been able to read the captchas without much trouble.

Have a nice evening.

Irish Miss said...

Manac @ 6:06 - I laughed so hard at the cat's diary i brought on a fit of coughing! Too funny.

Tinbeni, I thought of you this afternoon. While waiting to check out at the doctor's office, somehow I lost my balance and was a little tipsy trying to regain it. The man in front of me noticed and asked if I was all right and I said, " Yes, and I haven't even been drinking; it's too early for that," to which he replied, "Oh, but it's 5:00 o'clock somewhere."

Stan J @ 2:39 - Are you the one who made Linda Blair's head spin in The Exorcist? -:)

Manac said...

Dave,
Can your cat(s) do This ?
Or get away with This?

Bill G. said...

Jordan is in second grade and knows some of his multiplication facts but not quite all of them. It had become my responsibility somehow 'cause I'm the only one tough enough to persevere over his complaining and whining. So we managed this evening with only an occasional raised voice. Then we watched a bit of Ellen. Now he's back to playing games on an iPhone.

Anonymous said...

RE: Pinto's Picture #3

Is that white SUV a Ford or a Chevy?

Anonymous said...

Forgot to add:

Nice '61 Rampy!

Bill G. said...

Manac, yes it's another TV ad but for me, some are annoying and some are enjoyable (the first few times). I enjoyed last years' VW ad with the little boy dressed as Darth Vader several times and would be happy to watch it again today. I remember enjoying some of the Budweiser ads. And there are others that I dislike so much that I am wearing out the Fast Forward button on my DVR remote.

Blue Iris said...

Too late to comment yesterday. I'm glad Argyle's med test went well. Usually no news in medicine is good news.

I also think soup goes with a sandwich. SLAW goes with BBQ.

Learned Alaskan highway is the ALCAN.

Welcome, AnnieB and Awol!

We have a small local college in Topeka, KS. called Washburn University named after ICHABOD Washburn, who was an abolitionist. ICHABOD is also its mascot. One of my daughters graduated from there.

CrossEyedDave said...

Manac, I think the dogs are out for a joyride in a hot car. My kitty has her own car!

& you would be surprised what cats can get away with...

But you have got me on the diary, my cat won't let me see hers!

Manac said...

Bill,
I guess I could have conveyed that a little better. I just feel that there are more ads than programming these days. Even the classic channels that I like are getting bad. Netflix and DVD's are always an alternative but can get limited. I don't have a DVR, I know, I must be a Heretic :-)

Manac said...

Dave,

At least my dog knew better that to touch my BEER

Anonymous said...

Washburn University men's sports teams are called the Ichabods but the women's teams are called the Lady Blues (the school color). Guess the women didn't want to be called the Icky bods or something.

61Rampy said...

Thanks anon@9:20. I use it as a work truck all the time.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Al Cyone et al,
Thanks for the helpful feedback.

Jeanne,
Nice to see you again.