google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, January 8, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

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Jan 8, 2013

Tuesday, January 8, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Desiccation - Fruit that is known as something else when it has been dried out begins each of the themes. Unifier occupies the last across.

17A. Traditional Christmas dessert : PLUM PUDDING

60A. Coffee break treat : PRUNE DANISH

30A. Sweet spread : GRAPE JELLY

47A. Fiber-rich cereal : RAISIN BRAN

69A. Helped with dinner cleanup--or, a hint to the relationship between the starts of 60-/17-Across and 47-/30-Across : DRIED

Argyle here. Remember what I said yesterday? Today C.C. shows us how to really do cross references. Go from a ripe fruit to a dried fruit. And fun to blog, too.

Across:

1. Allow in : ADMIT

6. Behind the times : PASSÉ

11. Keg insert : TAP

14. Nasty : SEAMY

15. Idol whose fans are called Claymates : AIKEN


16. Acapulco article : UNA

19. ER personnel : RN's

20. Swings about : SLUES

21. Crunchy snack : CORN NUT

23. LeBron James, e.g. : NBA STAR. (National Basketball Association). Forward for the Miami Heat.

26. Ruler in old St. Petersburg : TSAR

27. __ Diamond : HOPE. Worth between 200 and 250 million dollars. (Additional curse, no charge.)


32. More than vexation : IRE

33. Red Army leader Trotsky : LEON

34. Run-of-the-mill : SO-SO

35. Liquid-Plumr rival : DRANO

37. Jamaican music genre : SKA

39. Something to skip at the beach : STONE

42. Bollywood dress : SARI. Bollywood is the informal term for the film industry based in Mumbai, India.

44. Face cream ingredient : ALOE

46. Kenny G plays one : SAX

50. Hung on to : KEPT

51. "Show Boat" novelist Ferber : EDNA. The 1926 novel was a Broadway musical and a film. Wikipedia article.

52. Roger with 17 Grand Slam wins : FEDERER. The Swiss Maestro. Story.

54. Shrinking Asian lake : ARAL SEA

56. Scary bacteria : E. COLI

59. Downturn : DIP

64. "Little Red Book" chairman : MAO

65. Chipped in a chip : ANTED. Cute.

66. Comics friend of Nancy : ROLLO. And others.


67. Windup : END

68. Dallied (with) : TOYED

Down:

1. Dangerous reptile in the Nile delta : ASP

2. Pol. convention attendees : DELs.

3. Rough up : MAUL

4. Not susceptible : IMMUNE

5. Laid-back sort : TYPE B

6. Push-up bra feature : PAD

7. It may be financial : AID

8. Slopes headwear : SKI CAP

9. Men of La Mancha : SEÑORes. Three syllables.

10. Career for a sci. major : ENGR. "The engineering science major combines the understanding of basic engineering practices with in-depth knowledge of the fundamentals of the engineering sciences: electricity and magnetism, fluid and solid mechanics, mathematics, computer applications, materials, and thermodynamics and heat transfer. With this broad training, engineering science graduates are prepared for multidisciplinary engineering careers and a wide range of employment options." - Pennsylvania State University

11. Sets free : TURNS LOOSE

12. Once-a-year bloomer : ANNUAL

13. 60-Across, for one : PASTRY. 60A. Coffee break treat : PRUNE DANISH

18. Grammarian's concern : USAGE

22. Explosive experiment : N-TEST

24. Sellout signs, briefly : SRO's

25. Big mug : TANKARD

27. Holed up : HID

28. NHL legend Bobby : ORR

29. Well-matched pair : PEAS IN A POD

31. No-way man? : JOSÉ. The name was probably chosen for the rhyme with 'No-Way'.

33. "Tank Girl" star Petty : LORI

36. Sounding stuffy : NASAL

38. Winglike parts : ALAE

40. Short rest : NAP. Take 'em all the time.

41. Office contact no. : EXT. (extension)

43. Really hot spot : INFERNO. Just ask Dante.

45. No right __: traffic sign : ON RED

47. Software installation info file : [READ ME]

48. Rocky's love : ADRIAN


49. Loveliness : BEAUTY

50. Swedish currency : KRONOR. Plural of Krona. Sweden is a member state of the European Union but doesn't use the euro.

53. Digital greeting : E-CARD

55. Lovers' clash : SPAT

57. Taylor of "Mystic Pizza" : LILI. On the right.


58. One of the Antilles : ISLE. (Caribbean Sea) Isn't anything an island anymore?

61. Alumna bio word : NÉE

62. Teacher's deg. : Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

63. Coal carrier : HOD


Argyle

74 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    Always nice to see a solo effort from our fearless leader!

    Mostly smooth solve today with a few potholes along the way. I didn't grok the theme at all during the solve this time around, so it was no help (although very clever).

    Had SKI HAT instead of SKI CAP at first, and that proved to be a minor stumbling block for awhile. I'm not familiar with CORN NUT, so that didn't help matters any.

    I also had KRONER instead of KRONER. RELLO didn't look quite right, but I wasn't familiar with ROLLO and therefore wasn't sure. I finally changed the E to an O in order to get the *tada*, but that would have killed me had I been solving on paper.

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  2. Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

    As I was loading the puzzle, the thought flashed across my mind that we were due for a C.C. construction, and TADA! There it was! Fun theme, but it took the reveal for me to “get” the connection. Duh!

    WBS about SKI hat, CORN NUTs and KRONeR. I did know ROLLO, but I kept trying to fit “Sluggo” in that spot. Arrrgh…

    I liked the clue for ANTED, “Chipped in a chip.” And I chuckled when I saw the clue for PAD. Great stuff, C.C. And thanks for the expo, Argyle. Not a fan of AIKEN, but I do love that song!

    Have a great day, everyone!

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  3. Good Morning, Argyle and friends. What a fun puzzle from our blog hostess. I caught on to the theme on the first pass when I uncovered the PLUM, GRAPE and RAISIN. I struggled a bit in the NE corner, however.

    I am glad to see the RNs in the ER. In my experience, however, Physician's Assistants are taking over the role the nurses used to have in the ER.

    The HOPE Diamond is a big attraction at the Smithsonian.

    Show Boat is playing at the Houston Opera this season. A contrast to the heavier Wagner that is also playing, I suppose.

    My favorite clue/answer was No Way Man = JOSE.

    QOD: People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining. ~ Stephen Hawking (January 8, 1942)

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  4. Greetings!

    Was stuck on a 6 x 6 sudoku for a friend. Takes too much time to work in Illustrator but I was too lazy to get up. Sob! Was only using half a brain also. Sob, again!

    Nice theme, CC, nice expo, Argyle!

    Took way too much time, even though I caught the theme early. Knew it wasn't ReLLO! Way past bedtime. Hope to get a new pair of computer lenses tomorrow if Harv is feeling semi-good and I can get out of bed!

    Cheers!

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  5. Another fun C.C. Tuesday. I liked the aloe/alas cross and having Ferber next to Federer was nice. The dried aspect is a perfect connector for us in SoFla.

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  6. A stickier Tuesday than usual. I got hung up in the SE corner with donuts instead of DANISH (and first thought of Sluggo, not ROLLO). Once that was straightened out I got hung up in the NW corner. Wasted (?) precious minutes plugging in letters with no "TaDa" until, finally, SLUES worked. A new one on me. [16:53]

    Hand up for not thinking of CORNNUT (had cocanut for awhile) and kroner before KRONOR. Also thought Neil before HOPE.

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  7. Good morning everyone,

    This was a slugfest for me today, but I eventually got it done.

    Aiken previously unknown to me and I'm sure he will be again before day's end.

    Can't say I have ever had a crunchy snack called CORN NUT. RAISIN BRAN a morning treat for me once or twice a week.

    Never am able to remember if it's ARAL or URAL. Same with HOD, often want to write in Pod.

    When Sluggo wouldn't fit, I knew it had to be ROLLO. (the rich kid).

    Thanks CC. In spite of my difficulties, it was a fun puzzle with lots of clever cluing.

    Not a great day ahead.... off to the dentist for a cap. Even though dentistry is usually painless, visits make me feel like I'm entering a chamber of horrors.



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  8. Splynter: Congratulations on making it 8 years !!!

    C.C. Thank you for a FUN Tuesday. PAD got the laugh-of-the-day.

    Argyle: ISLE held me up because I was trying to think of a particular island name.
    (Only 4 letter name I could think of was Cuba, and I already had E-COLI).

    Hmmmm, PASTRY with some GRAPE-JELLY sounds nice ... then time for a NAP.

    A "toast" to all at Sunset.
    Cheers !!!

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  9. Today, Jan 9th, that self anointed hound dog was born in 1935 in Tupelo MS.

    Thank you CC and thank you Argyle. Actually did the puzzle a few hours ago. Fell asleep when the BCS game was 21-0 and work up at 3 AM.

    Fell into some of the same traps such as SKI hat, KRONes, donuts, and also had a few of my own, such as neil DIAMOND, cocaNUT and E-bOLa. None were long lived. Got the theme easily enough and found it clever. I prefer dried plums to prunes.

    Federer er er, er er was no problem, and gave me the E in ALEA, which might be a problem for those that didn't know Federer. I would have type ALAr but knew my Roger was correct.

    SLUES was new but filled with perps.

    Time to focus on work. Don't be cruel.

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  10. Other than not knowing ROLLO, (I could only remember Sluggo,) and misspelling kroner/KRONOR, I had no real problems today. I did think it was a bit more twisty than a usual Tuesday, but then our creative and fearless leader always likes to give us a challenge, doesn't she?

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  11. I'm getting hungry! PLUM PUDDING, CORN NUTs, GRAPE JELLY, RAISIN BRAN, PRUNE DANISH, PEAS IN A POD, Mystic Pizza? Where's my fork?

    Great puzzle, I also liked the clue about JOSE.

    Hahtoolah @ 6:16 am: "People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining. ~ Stephen Hawking" Well then how come Hawking made time for Sheldon Cooper? ;)

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  12. CC, how do you find time for all you do, including constructing these incredible puzzles? How do you keep up with us? Do you have a file on the interests of all the regulars? You always seem to remember what we like.

    Clever cluing and theme. Before the reveal I got that they were all fruits, but didn't see the pairing PLUM/PRUNE. I was thinking today was Wed. so I found the puzzle especially easy.

    I was looking for a plant type before the simple ANNUAL. Perps saved me. That reminded me that, when I was a kid, an older lady had a Night Blooming Cereus that bloomed for only one night a year. The flower died by dawn. My family, with all of us six kids, was invited to see the bloom. I don't remember being particularly impressed by the flower, but I do remember the kindness to an old lady, helping her celebrate the highlight of her year. None of us children objected or even felt put upon. Life seemed gentler then. I am amazed that i still remember the name of the plant

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  13. PS: I only knew of Nancy's friend Sluggo, so I tried SLUGO and was obviously wrong.

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  14. The Hope Diamond curse reminded me of this old saw:
    A businessman boarded a plane to find, sitting next to him, an elegant woman wearing the largest, most stunning diamond ring he had ever seen. He asked her about it.
    "This is the Klopman diamond," she said. "It is beautiful, but it's like the Hope diamond; there is a terrible curse that goes with it."
    "What's the curse?" the man asked.
    "Mr. Klopman."

    I can never nap in the daytime no matter how exhausted I am, unless I am ill. Instead, I read or watch old sitcoms or westerns on TV. Andy Griffith, Bonanza, etc.

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  15. TTP, today is only the eighth of January but it is still the King's birthday. He would have been 78 years old today. Almost related to todays puzzle. Tutti Frutti(2:00)

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  16. Argyle:
    Clay AIKEN's singing "When a Man Loves a Woman" ???
    C'mon !!!!!

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  17. Doh ! Thanks Argyle. I knew it was today because they kept playing different songs on the morning news. Have no idea why I thought today was the 9th.

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  18. Tin @ 8:36 am: Too Funny!

    The Chicago Tribune misprinted the clue for 69A. Instead of saying the relationship between the starts of 60-/17-Across it says 0-/17-Across. No wonder I was confuzzled!

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  19. Tinbeni, that was for the Claymates out there, not for human consumption.

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  20. Todays puzzle clues started off feeling more like a friday for me, but once i got the theme, it turned out kinda sweet...

    I thought i had it figured out except for 66A, which i couldn't decide if it was ratso, or risso? Thinking it had to be one or the other, i came to the Blog only to find i totally messed up! Not only that, 21A Crunchy snack, i put Coconut! But Wait! With this Blog only, you can have 2, (count em ) 2, stupidities, if like me you changed 21A to coc"a"nut to make 22D "A" test!

    Oh Well....

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  21. Cross referencing and fun cluing made for a great Tuesday. Of course the theme escaped me until the reveal but this fan of dried fruit had a good time! Thanks C.C.!

    Musings
    -We bought some dried apricots and cranberries at Sam’s Club Sunday. How come they don’t have a different name than the antecedent fruit?
    -I had my SQUELCH’S GRAPE JELLY (Sunday reference) on an English muffin this morning
    -The RN’S I see now are all former students. They’re learning a lot about Mr. Schlapfer!
    -I’m glad LeBron wasn’t an NBA EASTER ;-)
    -Clay Aiken vs. Percy Sledge? That’s like the Bama/Irish game last night. Not even close. Hey, I took ND and the points for a dime against my grandson.
    -I had to dig for ROLLO when it wasn’t Sluggo (another set of comics that got pitched!)
    -I can remember when those DELS actually decided something at the convention
    -60’s TURN me LOOSE
    -My
    Christmas ANNUALS
    were beautiful this year (Yeah, I shoulda turned off the lamp)
    -USAGE? So whom is PASSE now according to the OED?
    -READ ME? Yeah, and we all read those Log On agreements word for word too, don’t we?
    -I prefer E CARDS on both ends – sending and receiving. How long do you keep the cardboard ones?

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  22. Tin @ 8:36, now I know why it seemed odd that Argyle posted Aiken's song instead of Percy Sledge's version. I should have known there was a method to his madness!

    TTP, DH was born in Memphis, but he grew up in Tupelo, MS. We drove through there on one of our trips, and he showed me Elvis' birthplace. The house is only about 20' x 20'...a far cry from his Graceland home!

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  23. Marti, I toyed with the irony of the direct object of When A Man Loves A Woman but opted for the difference in vocal ability to not offend anyone. I too should have known! Also, we have been to Graceland and were surprised at how modest it was in comparison to some of the mansions that entertainers have now. Some of his rooms set the standard for gauche. 360° view of Jungle Room

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  24. Hi there ~!

    Thanks, TIN~! Celebrating on Thurdsay, the 31st.

    Splynter

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  25. Thank You C.C. for a wonderful yet challenging puzzle. I had a tough time, so I looked at the day of the week - its Tuesday - so I plugged on, and got most of it. I had 'A Test' and 'Cocanut' (?). Thank you Argyle, for your most interesting commentary.

    The field of study that differentiates engineers from the so called 'pure' scientists - Physicists, Chemists, Medicine, Biochemists etc., - is the preponderance of applied Math, not sciences. Think Rocket Science. ( I was a chemical engineer, in my past life.)

    I use and have bought a lot of La Mancha Saffron, .... 'the finest Saffron in the world ....' - so much so that I used to think 'La Mancha' was synonymous and meant saffron. I realize now that it is only the region where it is grown - and a brand name. It is used in the Spanish dish,'paella' (good XWord). Actually, the spanish word for saffron, is 'Azafran,( de la India )'. BTW, the best saffron does not come from India.

    Have a good week, you all and best wishes.

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  26. Hello Puzzlers -

    WBS. It took a bit to remember Rollo, the rich kid in the Nancy universe. He didn't appear often, I guess.

    Favorite clue: No Way Man. I hope that was yours, CC!

    The theme reminds me of a package of prunes in my kitchen. It has "Pitted Dried Plums" in large letters on the label, and "Prunes" in small letters. I guess this is a re-branding thing. Prunes must not be sexy enough.

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  27. Good morning:

    Great effort, CC, with a very clever theme and cluing. Fun expo, Argyle. I thought it had a tad more bite than a typical Tuesday but got the TA-DA with no help. Didn't get the theme until the unifier.

    Steve, wherever you are, you must be so disappointed with last night's game; me, too.

    Experiencing a January thaw this week with temps in the 40's. A temporary reprieve, I'm sure.

    Happy Tuesday.

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  28. So-so Tuesday offering.

    "Coffee break treat : PRUNE DANISH"

    PRUNEs and DRANO both "treat" plumbing issues.


    "QOD: People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining"

    ...unless they're people who are also always angry or complaining. Birds of a feather...


    "Clay AIKEN's singing "When a Man Loves a Woman" ???
    C'mon !!!!!"

    Really. Clay Aiken singing "When a man loves a woman" is like Elton John singing "Don't go breaking my heart" with Kiki Dee, or Freddie Mercury singing about how a girl broke his heart in "Need your loving tonight."


    "I took ND and the points for a dime against my grandson."

    Your grandson's sharp.

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  29. Good morning Argyle, C.C. and all,

    Well, this is why I come here...so many clever clues, and a theme I did not see.Bless you Argyle.You do fill in the blanks.

    Guess I was the only one who slid in carrots,sigh,and Neil.Corn nuts, the sneaky snack I could sniff out in my classroom.
    Loved "chipped in chip", although I thought of golf at first.

    Like YR, I was trying to fit in an annual that began with an a.Your Night blooming cereus story reminded me of some hilarious sitcom awhile back where everyone missed the blooming of a Century Plant.

    When the fog lifts, it will be a beautiful day.Bill, as I recall, Jan. is a gorgeous month at the beach. Yes?

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  30. Thank you, thank you, Dynamic UNA (did I get that right?). I actually found this a bit tough and ended up with the same COCANUT problem as many others. I knew it wasn't right because the down had to be an abbreviation of ENGINEER. And I should have known that the A-Test could also be an N-TEST. But after putting in REGGY I remembered ROLLO. Thanks for reminding me about Aunt Fritzi, by the way, Argyle. I'd totally forgotten about her. My favorite clue was NO-WAY MAN, too, like many of you. Anyway, a huge amount of fun--many thanks, C.C.

    Have a great Tuesday, everybody!

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  31. From the Lion King, "I've got a lovely bunch of cOcOnuts." It's that pesky second O that led some astray. Just remember the DF meaning of that line.
    Link text

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  32. Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a swell Tuesday puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell write-up.

    Got started easily with ASP, but that's where it stopped in the NW.

    Headed East and then South and filled most in. One write-over was I had SENIORS for 9D, then fixed that to SENORES. I should have known better, being a foreign language nut as i am.

    Also had ALAR instead of ALAE for 38D. My second, and last, write-over.

    The theme answers were pretty easy. I have never eaten PLUM PUDDING.

    Not a fan of CORN NUTs. My wife likes them, however.

    As Mari said, I did this in the Chicago Tribune this morning. It showed the 69A wording as 0-/17-Across and 47-/30-Across. I did not pick up on that clue. Had I looked harder I probably could have figured it our, but the puzzle was already done.

    I really hope the Russkis fix that Aral Sea problem they created. We really should take care of our planet.

    After reading this blog and realizing it was Elvis's birthday, I called my sister in Pennsylvania and asked her who's birthday it was today. She answered Elvis Presley. She once commented and questioned why people call her and others "Elvis Freaks." If you saw her house you would know. All the walls are full of "Elvis stuff." Anyhow, we all have our "things" in life.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

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  33. Late to the party today. I had to go and get my head examined -- well, my eyes anyway. Boy, those folks have sure gotten expensive. An eye exam plus lenses for my old frames would have come to $360. I settled for just the $85 exam and am getting the lenses on-line for $100. Anybody else tried mail-order prescription lenses?

    DW is an EDD. She says her friends may call her Susan, but I should call her Doctor.

    JD, I was visiting my folks in Tempe some years ago. A neighbor came banging on the door at 7 AM excited that her desert whatchamacallit was blooming! We got up, had breakfast, and finally wandered over to see the bloomin' thing. Oops! We were informed it only blooms for a few minutes, and we'd missed it.

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  34. Good afternoon? Argyle, CC, et al., Excellent fun puzzle and great write up and links. I had to laugh at the Aiken/When a man link. Santa you are hilarious! Good song tho'.

    JD: LOL no kidding about the smell of the Corn nuts. And they're as hard as rocks. I fail to appreciate the attraction, but ya can sure sniff 'em out. They're PASSE now it seems. Nowadays, I'm sniffing out STONEd kids. Happens about as often as a 9th grader bringing in an open Budweiser Limerita to class. No way, JOSE! (loved that!) Not unless she had enough for me, which she didn't. SOSO SARI. That was the END of her. Sent her to Security. I KEPT the drink (just kidding.
    ..wanted to tho'. What a waste..on both levels). It happens ANNUALly but not often. It's all good.

    Enjoy your day.

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  35. JD, I don't know if there is any rule of thumb. It's been rainy but not enough for me yet. It's been cool and windy. Today looks very nice.

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  36. Thanks CC for a challenging puzzle agt least for me.

    Seeing ecoli here amde me think back to my college days when it was used regularly in beginning Bacteriology Lab. The present dangerous type must be a mutant of that original bacteria.

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  37. Speaking of prunes and plums, if a prune is just a dehydrated plum, then what is prune juice? Why not just call it condensed plum juice?

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  38. Hi all,
    this was a harder puzzle but a really good one. I got the theme early, which is unusual for me. I started at SE and dicovered the letters n i s h and got Danish and went from there. It made me hungry.

    Our paper also had 0-/17 for 69A.

    Our son was in 'Man of La Mancha' twice- once in FDL(remember what that means?) when he was in college and once in Baraboo a few years later. He played the sidekick Sancho Panza both times.

    We had Ecoli in our well several months ago and had to have our well flushed with clorine.

    I am feeling better every day-have less pain. I use the walker now part of the time so my DH doesn't have to push all the time. He doesn't mind pushing but I need to do some things myself if I want to recover. About 10 years ago we made an addition to our house which included a second bathroom and had the forsight to put a walk in shower with a seat, thank goodness.

    Hope you all have a great day.
    Marge

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  39. Hi Y'all, Our beloved leader gave us a good Tuesday workout. Thanks, C.C! Do you have total recall?

    Nice one, Argyle!

    Clay Aiken was my pick to win American Idol. But 2nd place gave him a good career. You notice he had to be given the words to that song! Not in his repertoire, no way, JOSE!

    I remember watching the 1951 version of "Show Boat" when I was 10 or 11 and loving it. Some of the best show tunes ever, which I sang for many years. Watched it a few years ago and still love it.
    Since I watched the '51 version, I was amused to see EDNA at 51A. Coincidence or planned?

    Raisin Bran is my breakfast every morning with unsweetened applesauce, no sugar. Add an egg.
    Prunes is a favorite snack.

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  40. Hi gang -

    Fun and a nice Tuesday challenge from C.C. today.

    Next time somebody tells me to dry up, I'll think of this puzzle.

    For some reason, I'm very amused by "No way man."

    PEAS IN A POD is really fresh fill - though I usually eat frozen PEAS [after thawing, of course.]

    I always choose something other than GRAPE JELLY, but then when I have it, I like it a lot.

    ISLE NEE island.

    They really, really hate LeBron in Cleveland.

    Had my I-TEST this a.m. and am still a bit dilated. No glaucoma or macular degeneration, no advance in incipient cataracts, and not enough prescription change to justify new specs.

    Kenny G - so many notes, so little music. My favorite tenor player died in a traffic accident in Dec 2002. Here's an example, with some great piano playing by Dave Kikoski on this original tune, as well.

    Cool regards!
    JzB

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  41. Desper-Otto, I have high myopia and a host of other eye problems and I used to spend over $ 760 for a pair of glasses. I cannot wear contacts, or bifocals, or tinted glasses. All the members of my family also have some form of myopia - short-sighted-ness. The total cost of our glasses and contacts used to go through the roof. Thanks to Online purchases, the cost has become much more manageable.

    The only measure, the online optometrists need, which is generally not on your Opthalmologst/Optometrist Rx Presc. is the interpupillary distance. You can have this measured at your prescribing Opth.

    My friend, who has kerato-conus, a peculiar oval shape of the surface of the cornea, has been able to find an Opthalmologist, ONLINE, who will 'fit' a custom made contact lens, and who works within a 100 miles from here - for one-third of what his current Opt. was going to charge him.

    Online shopping, in theory works, because there is always someone, somewhere, who needs your business and will try hard to make it worth your while to get it.

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  42. Nice work, C.C. and Argyle. I loved "chipped in a chip"!

    Enjoyed the Clay Aiken clip. The guy has loads of talent, even if he isn't quite everyone's cup of tea (or PRUNE juice). Thought he should have won his season of AI.

    Not all E. coli is the scary variant, but all E. coli IS stinky.

    Got SRO only because we went to a sold-out game at Wrigley field, and had to stand until some people ahead of us left.

    Good point about Hawking/Cooper, Mari @ 8:11.

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  43. I was looking for images of desiccated fruit, when i came upon this strange website. hopefully it will open to the shrunken heads from desiccated apples so you will not have to see everything i saw. If it does open at the top, scroll 3/4 of the way down to "appleheads" fall art.

    Some things should not be desiccated.

    Elvis Bday! So thats why TMC is showing Elvis movies all day!

    CED Public Service Announcement...

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  44. A very enjoyable puzzle C.C.

    I took a different route in misspelling 50D since I went with Kronar. But it all worked out in the end.

    Since it seems to be pick on Clay Aiken day, I was reminded of the Idol show where Casey and Michael played a duet of Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman. A good cover, but the best part is Ellen's comment at 2:35.

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  45. Am I the only one who thought of PURPLE PLUMS and PURPLE GRAPES while reading Argyle's non-Purple prose?

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  46. Hola Everyone, A clever, fun puzzle today, C.C. I loved the theme. I worked the CW at lunch time. I was, believe it or not, eating dried fruit as one of my lunch treats while finishing up this puzzle. We dried lots of apples and even our persimmons this year.

    Corn Nut was a bit slow in coming. Coconut wouldn't fit so I changed it to CocAnut to make A test. I see others did the same thing.

    I should have thought a bit more about cornnut as we were in a Peruvian mountain village where there were fields of husked corn drying. We were told that they would all be going into the Corn Nut market. I hadn't thought much about where corn nuts would be grown--not in a remote Peruvian village, for sure.

    Our dentist has given a thumbs down to Corn Nuts. They are VERY hard on the teeth.

    Thanks, Argyle for posting the Nancy Cartoon characters. This brought back long ago memories.

    JD, It has turned out to be a beautiful day here, once the fog lifted the sun came out and things are drying out. But rain again tomorrow!!

    An animal is digging up our front lawn every night. A big patch is in terrible shape. We think it is a skunk looking for grubs. Everything is wet, muddy, and mucky right now from all the rain.

    Have a great day everyone.

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  47. Congratulations C.C. !!!!
    COcoNUTS was my mistake. Thought it would be CORN something, should have listened to myself.
    WEES about KRONeR and ReLLO.
    This was no walk in the park for me.
    Nice theme!
    JazzB Never heard of Bob Berg.
    Heavy Coltrane influence playing and composing ( Giant Steps)
    Good sound, too sad about the accident.
    Sad for CA that Huell Howser passed.
    I always liked his shows about California's Gold. R.I.P.

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  48. Lovely sunny 57 degree day here. I opened up the house to air out the winter blahs!

    Strangely, I got "cor-n---" and immediately thought cornnuts. I only tasted them once, but I associated being shocked when I was a child. My family were staunch tee-totalers as were most of the dry town where I grew up.

    My Girl Scout troop was meeting and one girl had corn nuts which she passed around. My beloved adult leader said, "All we need with this is some cold beer."

    I was so shocked! I hadn't known before that any woman would lower herself to drink this evil vile stuff (according to what I had been taught by the matrons of temperance). I laugh now. Strange what a memory digs up when you have too much time on your hands.

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  49. Was looking for a pic of my dog for TTP that is so uncanny like his avatar but alas, I think it was lost in a hard drive crash. I did come across these that I haven't seen in a while. My humble abode. I think Splynter and others will appreciate them. There is one that TIN might get a chuckle out of. All rated G but backwards in order. First time with photobucket!
    Oh! HG, that little girl on the boulder is the one I warned you about.
    My how they grow!

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  50. I tried to access both HG & Manac's picture links and got a flash & blank page. Manac's said it was a private album. What's the deal?

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  51. Got HG's, but not Manac's
    No Corn Nuts, Jordan almonds or Abbazabba's for me anymore.
    My dentist already has enough of my money.

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  52. Sorry about that.
    Try it again, Like I said it was my first time with photobucket.

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  53. Manac – I’m sorry but she doesn’t look too threatening! She looks too sweet – it must be her mother’s influence ;-)

    I get my meds through the mail and get a 90 day supply for what I was paying for a 60 day supply (one month at a time) at the drug store and they are delivered to my door. Are my eyeglasses next? $650 A POP is pretty steep at Wal Mart.

    I’m good for about 3 CORN NUTS and then, not so much.

    If you guys write to Chefwen, she’ll send you some great muffin recipes that are pretty much idiot-proof. BTW, has anyone been watching the golf from Maui where they are trying to play in 40 – 50 mph winds just east of her? Yikes.

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  54. p.s. I let my grandson pick the team in the national championship game. Last year, he picked LSU and I took victorious Bama but never brought it up to him the next day when we were golfing and never got my dime. This year, I'll have to take my lumps when I see him - "Hey, Papa, did you see that Bama won that game?" It's fun but I'm out a dime!

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  55. OK Manac, it worked.
    Don't get why Tin would chuckle.
    Cute little girl. Great picture of her.

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  56. The most difficult piece was the " Rollo" and "kronor" reference as I thought the currency was spelled with an "e".
    Smooth work otherwise. Nice puzzle.

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  57. Pas and HG,
    Thanks for the compliments of Nicole.
    She can now look me straight in the eye and has a mean right cross.
    And no lie. We lived in that house during the entire renovation process.

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  58. Manac, photobucket pics worked fine for me, very nice!

    CC: What the heck are CornNuts?
    I have never heard of them. Google images didn't help much, & YouTube gave me This...

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  59. Manac:
    Nice photo's. Especially the one with the Sunset gleaming (off the metal).
    The STONE Nicole is on is probably to big to "skip-at-the-beach."

    We don't have many STONE's on our beaches.
    Just pristine white sand.

    Cheers !!!

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  60. Hello, cyber friends.

    Almost missed the party today due to having to attend the funeral of a 93 year old friend. Actually, she was one of my sister's ex-mother-in-law and it was in a town a little over an hour away, Miami, AZ.

    Fun puzzle, C.C. which I finished before I left but had to leave before posting.

    I'm sure all has been said about it so I'll just read your posts. I ADMIT, I liked it very much.

    I HOPE your Tuesday was delightful, everyone!

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  61. Good evening, C.C., Argyle and Corner Denizens all! Thanks for a fun Tuesday puzzle, C.C. with enough spice to keep us on our toes. Always enjoy your write-ups, Argyle. Fell into some of the same traps as others (misspelled KRONOR and wanted Sluggo instead of ROLLO). Nice long down non-theme fill with PEAS IN A POD and TURNS LOOSE. Fun theme – our local specialty food store carries a large variety of dried fruits, including my favorite dried strawberries. So sweet, they’re like eating candy!

    The Bollywood reference reminds me of “Bride and Prejudice” a terrific feel-good version of the Jane Austen classic. Infectious music and dancing, wonderful costumes and charming actors. Great if you need a little mood booster.

    Yellow Rocks @ 8:20 loved the Klopman Diamond gag!

    Time to head to the kitchen and rattle the pots and pans. Only got part way through the posts, so maybe will catch up later. But that’ll have to wait until DH and I get our Downton Abbey fix – it’s been hard trying to avoid the spoilers while talking to co-workers.

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  62. Tin: Sunset???
    I was looking for Pinch on the counter in the T-shirt picture. LOL

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  63. Manac:
    Fire it up !!! Duh ...
    One of my FAVORITE expressions.
    (Along with: Smoke 'em if you got 'em).
    Too funny.

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  64. Ditto, CED; I never heard of corn nuts, either.

    Manac, nice pictures.

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  65. desper-otto, a friend of mine gets his glasses at Sears..2 for $100..maybe the rate has gone up. Also heard that COSTCO had a great inexpensive service also.

    Manac, loved the pictures of Nicole, your dog and the rebuild.

    Thinking that skipping stones at the ocean would be a bit challenging, compared with a river or lake.

    Saw Les Miserable today. Glad I had enough tissues. Enjoyed it more than the stage production, which is unusual.

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  66. Does it seem as if Ellen has the most attractive women in her audience?

    Lucina, do you have El Pollo Loco in your area? Have you listened to their TV advertisements? The guy who does the voice over has an interesting accent but it doesn't sound genuine to me. What do you think?

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  67. Bill G: I live in SoCal and the accent is bogus, just like the Geico Gecko.
    We have an English sax player in the quintet, and I pleaded with him to audition for the voice-over!
    It seems to me that in the 60's we were constantly subjected to "fake" Southern accents in TV and mostly Tennessee Williams movies.
    There is nothing worse than a "bad imitation of the wrong concept" ...IMHO
    And why would you pay 10 bucks for a whole chicken when you can get one for 5 at most places???
    I think El Pollo Loco is on its way out. Especially when here you have at least 3 Latino markets that cook up the REAL stuff.

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  68. My very besr wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year to all the blog regulars...and to CC for the proliferation of her excellent xword puzzles.
    Question? Has anyone heard from Jimbo? Please check in, my friend.

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  69. Argyle, thank you for blogging the puzzle today. C.C., we have to stop meeting like this! No seriously I loved so many of the clues even when they were difficult. It is so incredible that you are able to keep coming up with these great puzzles. This was just fun to work on, right down to the last box I completed. When I was done I had really worked my across and down muscles. I have learned that even on a Tuesday with C.C. puzzles I don't fill in a box just because I'm pretty sure that I know the answer.

    Didn't write anything in for 66A so I had R_LL_. Learned about SLUES. I get my ORR's and OTT's confused.

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  70. To thehondohurricane - Here's a tip that I learned from someone on this blog awhile ago: Aral - think seA. Ural - think moUntains. It works for me. Now if I could only keep alge, alar, agar, alae straight. HA!

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  71. Garlic Gal,
    I will try to remember that too. Thanks for the tip. How is your friend with Parkinson's?

    Bad thunderstorms here in the Tx.

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  72. BillG@8:15
    El Pollo Loco moved out of AZ some years ago and so did the commercials. So I'm sorry I can't answer your question.

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  73. Lucina - just curious... I am in glendale and there is one up the street from me not too far away... no.. I have not seen the commercial.. or any commercial for them... have no idea if there is another one anywhere near... but that one is there... :)

    Congratulations on your retirement.. your little ones will miss you....

    thelma

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