Theme: We need to talk - Types of talk lead off the four theme entries.
17A. Club used as a weapon, say : BLUNT INSTRUMENT
29A. Kid-friendly comfort food : FRANK AND BEANS
48A. Tests during which checking notes is allowed : OPEN BOOK EXAMS
64A. Candid sort : STRAIGHT SHOOTER
Argyle here. No beating around the bush, I'll go directly to the write-up. Two grid spanners anchor this text-book puzzle. Two other long entries complete the theme. A strong mix of fill. You might remember, Ms. Miller gave us the 4-H puzzle last summer. Link
Across:
1. Employment agency listings : JOBS
5. Fried Cajun veggie : OKRA. Hmm, is it Cajun before it's fried?
9. WWII conference site : YALTA. The Yalta Conference in February 1945 with Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Joseph Stalin was held on on the north coast of the Black Sea.
14. Billion extension : AIRE. (billionaire)
15. Steady guy : BEAU
16. He hunted with a club in the "Odyssey" : ORION. And got his own constellation.
20. Nonagenarian actress White : BETTY. Betty turned 91 last month, Jan. 17 (nonagenarian is between 90 and 100 years old). She is incredible.
21. Yeats or Keats : POET
22. Color, as Easter eggs : DYE
23. Summer quencher : ADE
24. Dorm VIPs : RA's. (Resident Assistant)
27. Where Lux. is : EUR. (Luxembourg/Europe)
36. Soothing additive : ALOE
38. River through Sudan : NILE. And in part, in Kenya, Eritrea, Congo, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Egypt, and Ethiopia.
39. Country rocker Steve : EARLE. Here is a song you might not know: The Galway Girl(3:14)
40. Sable maker, briefly : MERC. (Mercury)
41. Turn __ ear : A DEAF
43. Pub projectile : DART. They have flights so they fly true.
44. Former Portuguese territory in China : MACAO. Also spelled Macau, was transferred to China at the end of 1999.
46. Prefix with -pus : OCTO
47. Abates : EBBS
51. Gymnast's goal : TEN. The perfect score.
52. Deli bread : RYE
53. Art on skin, slangily : TAT. Tats have their own TV shows now.
56. Draw upon : USE
59. Not as much : LESS
62. Calf-roping gear : RIATA
68. Street toughs : PUNKS
69. Diamond Head's island : OAHU
70. Aromatic drinks : TEAs
71. Go on tiptoe : SNEAK
72. Small songbird : WREN
73. Wine area near Turin : ASTI
Down:
1. "Star Wars" gangster : JABBA. No links before breakfast, please.
2. No longer squeaky : OILED
3. Xbox battle game : BRUTE FORCE. Squad team player game that may be played single player or multiplayer.
4. Told to go : SENT
5. Asian tie : OBI
6. Barbie's guy : KEN. Except when she took up with Blaine that time.
7. Grating voice : RASP
8. One might get stuck in a jam : AUTO
9. Video-sharing website : YOUTUBE. Where would we be without it. Right, CED?
10. Radius's limb : ARM
11. Committed perjury : LIED
12. Randall who played Felix Unger : TONY. The TV version of "The Odd Couple", with Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. 32D. More like Felix Unger : NEATER
13. Chip in a chip : ANTE. And if you didn't have a 'bad hand', then 28D. "__ and weep!": poker winner's cry : READ 'EM
18. Supermodel Banks : TYRA
19. Marsh stalk : REED
25. Tolstoy's Karenina : ANNA
26. Snowmobile brand : SKI-DOO. Ride 'em if you got 'em.
30. Take back : RECANT
31. Smart guy? : ALECK
33. African countries on the Mediterranean, e.g. : ARAB STATES
34. Mediation agcy. : NLRB. (National Labor Relations Board)
35. Congeals : SETS
36. Target practice supply : AMMO
37. "... one giant __ for mankind" : LEAP
42. Cunning : FOXY
45. Washington Monument, for one : OBELISK
49. Universal blood type, for short : O NEG.
50. Related to flying : AERO
54. Had lunch in : ATE AT
55. Foot bones : TARSI
56. Letter carrier's org. : USPS. (United States Postal Service)
57. Leave speechless : STUN
58. Marine eagle : ERNE
60. Vegas event : SHOW
61. Kindergartner's reward : STAR
63. Tiny bit : IOTA
65. Wanted-poster letters : AKA. (also known as)
66. Sailor's pronoun : SHE. (because ships are referred to as "she")
67. Attila, notably : HUN
Argyle
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear LaLaLinda, whose caring and loving personality shines through in each of her posts.
Note from C.C.:
Happy Birthday to dear LaLaLinda, whose caring and loving personality shines through in each of her posts.
105 comments:
Good morning, folks. thank you, Melanie Miller, for a swell Tuesday puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell review.
Happy Birthday, LaLaLinda. I always look forward to your posts.
Got started so easily in the North, I thought this was a monday puzzle. Got a bit tougher as I got to the center area.
The theme answers were easily discovered. I like FRANK AND BEANS. I usually call it wieners and beans.
OPEN BOOK EXAMS are not as easy as you would think, as I recall from 50 plus years ago.
Did not know MACAO was a Portuguese colony. Thank you.
I bet the NLRB does not do much these days. As opposed to decades ago.
Could not sleep,so I got up early and worked the puzzle.
We have Fat Tuesday tonight at church. Our quartet is playing some appropriate songs.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
Bill G, Avg Joe, Chickie & 61Rampy,
D'oh! All these years I thought water softeners soften the water so I could safely drink. I would not have noticed the water stain problem had we not got a new faucet and I saw how quickly it got the hard water stains.
So what do you use to clean the stains? Vinegar?
Morning, all (and Happy Birthday, LaLaLinda)!
Pretty smooth solve today, although there were a few bumps along the way. Couldn't think of the theme even after solving and had to rely on Argyle's able assistance.
EARLE was unknown to me as was BRUTE FORCE (as clued, at least). And I really wanted the crossword staple ALAR instead of AERO. And... that's pretty much it. As I said, everything else was smooth sailing today.
[torsetsa]
Thank you, Argyle, for a fine puzzle review, and for clearing up a real head scratcher - I could not for the life of me figure out what kind of blood type is ONE - G ! D'oh! Otherwise, pretty quick solve, and fun. Early here in California - Abejo, there must be something in the air, I have been pretty much sleepless for the last 2 nights - more time to look around the Web for new Crossword sites. Happy B'Day to LLL! And many more! Lime -a -way for hard water stains, and a pumice stone!
Happy Birthday La. Did you enjoy sharing your day with honest Abe?
A fun romp, I liked draw upon directly after TAT. I have always said FRANKS AND BEANS but understand losing the s.
Well enjoy Fat Tuesday all
Thank you Argyle for the write up and to melanie for the tuesday puzzle. this was almost a speed run for me fairly easy for a tuesday. I did not notice the theme until the write up and even then it was short and sweet.
Would never have thought frank and beans whould be considered a kid friendly comfort food I always thought that combo was rather gross but then again I never liked baked beans.
CC: hard water stains can be cleaned up with vinigar on your dishes if it they are on your clothes try anything with BORAX.
WAKE UP BOUDREAUX ! It's Mardi Gras ! Pancake Day, Plum Pudding Day, Fat Tuesday. Fill up today. Wonder where I can get some Okra ?
Thank you Melanie Miller and thank you Argyle. Good stuff all around.
I stubbed my toe on RECANT. Had RECAll for a few seconds.
I still can't believe that Barbie took up with Blaine.
Happy birthday LaLaLinda !!!
Good morning everyone,
Happy birthday LaLa Linda. Hope you are able to get out and enjoy whatever you want to do today.
Pretty straightforward puzzle today with only an issue or two.
54D, Had lunch in/ATE AT doesn't make a lot of sense, but I'm sure someone can 'splain it.
I always have FRANKS AND BEANS, never only one Frank.
Never know it it's YALTA or Malta. I usually start with the Y.
I remember the Movie MACAO from the 50's. Starred Robert Mitchum & a sexy co-star..... Jane Russell I think.
We can now exit our driveway but I guess the streets are still a mess in the neighborhood. Some of the snowbanks on either side of the driveway are at least 4 feet high. We'll be looking at snow on Memorial Day!
CC: also hard water stain any can be removed with vinegar here is a link to a website
http://www.diylife.com/2010/07/23/the-daily-fix-remove-hard-water-stains/
But any older dish detergent contains phosphates or a phosphate additive. even Calgon water softener will do the trick
Typical Tuesday. I also mix up Yalta and Malta (and usually pick the wrong one first!). Had STEP before LEAP (hasty reading of the clue). And I, too, think franks should be plural (especially if they're cut up and mixed in with the beans). With a mom from New England I could practically live on baked beans (B&M being the brand of choice). [5:21]
Good Morning, Argyle and friends.
It's Mardi Gras, so Laisser les bon tomps rouler! Today is a State holiday for me!
Another easy Tuesday puzzle. I liked the clues, but not so much with the theme. Fun to see the Radius = ARM and Foot = TARSI in the same puzzle.
I learned that Congeals is SETS and not Gels.
I learned that Take Back is RACANT and not Recall.
Happy Birthday, LaLaLinda! Hope you have a great day and have dug out from under all the snow.
QOD: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. ~ Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12, 1809 ~ April 15, 1865)
Happy Fat Tuesday! Tomorrow you relent.
Got the puzzle, but never got the theme. Typical! I wanted OEDI before OCTO as my pus preceder.
Happy Birthday, LaLaLinda. Don't tell me you got a new snow shovel for your birthday!
C.C., In the upper tier of states where you live, and where the water is super-hard, there are often two cold water faucets in the kitchen. One is for cooking/drinking, because it tastes better. The other is for washing, because it sudses (is that a word?) better.
Barry G: Oakland Street. I have been there. Pretty narrow street with a steep hill.
Abejo
Hello Puzzlers -
Breezy puzzle today. Brute Force was unknown, as I've never even seen an X-box, but it was well perped.
Happy birthday LaLaLinda!
We had the hotdog & baked bean dish on Friday nights when I was a kid. It was layered with bacon and American cheese. We called it Beanie Wienie. It was a real treat! Right after that came Friday night TV: Nanny and the Professor, Brady Bunch, Partridge Family...
I'm told the same dish is popular in Maine, only the hotdogs have to be dyed an unnatural color of red or it just doesn't seem right. It's a local thing.
Jill,
I think I used Lime-A-Way before. It smells rather bad.
Middletown Bomber,
That's a great site. Thanks for the link. Our washing machine works great. I just want the kitchen faucet look sparkly clean.
Desper-otto,
Our new kitchen faucet has one single handle. It turns on both hot and cold water.
The tap water is not drinkable in China. You have to boil it. But I don't ever remember this water stain problem.
Hahtoolah:
Really like that Abraham Lincoln quote.
Abejo
CC, hard water stains (calcium/magnesium carbonate) are most easily removed with hydrochloric (muriatic) oro sulfamic acid. These may be purchased at a hardware store or Home Depot/Lowe's. Mix 1-2 tbps in a cup of warm water. Thoroughly wet the stained area. Scrub with a soft scrub pad if staining is severe. Rinse well with water and repeat as necessary.
Tuesday sleepwalk through the park. Thanks.
"YOUTUBE. Where would we be without it?"
...enjoying some semblance of privacy because Google wouldn't be spying on you.
"QOD: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt."
...unless one isn't a fool, in which case it's perfectly fine to speak out.
DW just told me I forgot Punchki Day ! Surely you have had Punchkis ? I'm confident Abejo has !
Punchki Images and
Punchki Day
Enjoy your state holiday Hatoolah.
CC, we also have very hard water. Our water runs through a sediment remover first. It's about the same size as the water softener. Then it goes through the water softener. We still get staining and calcium buildup, but it's manageable. We buy bottled water for the coffee pot, cooking and drinking.
Let's get this out of the way without further ado: Paul Simon Happy Fat Tuesday!
And Happy Birthday, LLL. Nice day to have a BDay.
Enjoyable romp today. Crunchy, but lots of perp assistance. Didn't know the O spelling of Macao, so the U had to be erased, but it had to be. Looking for the theme after completion, I wondered if Force and States were involved, as in "stated forcefully" but gave that idea up quickly.
We always called it Beanie Weenie instead of Franks and Beans, Dudley....which reminds me of a joke...
Overheard in a gay bar around closing time:
"Can I be frank?"
"Sure. As long as I can be Frank tomorrow night."
Some festive music for the day.
C.C., if you follow that Anon's advice, make sure you wear rubber gloves!
Avg Joe, reminds me of the line from Long Kiss Goodnight. It went something like, "I'm always frank and earnest. In Philadelphia I'm Frank, in Chicago I'm Ernest."
I remember that MACAO used to be a gambling mecca. Hydrofoils routinely transported the gamblers from Hong Kong to Macao and back.
Thank you Melanie Miller for a nice and easy puzzle. Really loved it. Thank you Argyle for a scintillating commentary.
'Open Book' exams are actually / can-be quite difficult. I was 'tutoring' a would-be electrician in Ohio, to pass the electrical contractor's test, which is 'open book'. He required 5 tries. Not a very motivated student. In the end, even I could have taken the exam and passed it. ( You have to have 5 years of 'internship' and work experience, and I have never worked as an elec. repairman - just studied elec. engineering.)
The Washington Monument is 'topped off' with a pyramid of a very expensive metal - Aluminum ! Although Al is one of the most common elements on the earth's crust, - before Hall's electrolytic process, devlop. in Toledo, OH, Al was more expensive than gold. It even lined the crowns of some French kings. Thanks to Hahtoolah, I now know that the San Jacinto monument, in Texas, is even taller than the Washington monument.
The pesky chemicals that causes hard water deposit are not Sodium /Calcium / Magnesium Carbonates and bi-carbonates, - but Silicates - which are soluble only in very hot water. Also they are marginally affected by acids, like vinegar. Generally I just scrape them out with elbow grease.
Thank you Husker Gary and D-Otto, yesterday, for the many uses of WD-40.
For the woman, who does not have a repairman-husband around the house, WD-40 and duct tape is all you need. If something's moving, and shouldn't be, use duct tape. If its the other way around, use WD-40.
Have a good week, you all and best wishes.
Good Morning All - Eazy Breezy for me today - and I can't say that very often. Thanks Melanie for a fun cw and Argyle for your great write-up. Only a couple of bumps that perps fixed. Wanted GANGS before PUNKS, wanted OLDS before MERC, LASSO before RIATA. My son is a big Star Wars fan (even now at 39) so knew JABBA, familiar with TARSI as I broke one in my foot when I was young. I agree with Abejo that OPEN BOOK EXAMS are far from easy. As a late in life college student - all I wanted was easy. lol
I missed the theme until the write up, and agree with some about FRANKS - my grandson likes franks with spaghettios.
Happy Birthday LaLaLinda - Hope you have a great day!
Not many areas of the country have enough Si dissolved in water to plate out on fixtures. More typically, silicates used in some detergents are combined with hard water and plate out on surfaces that are not well rinsed. That being said, I would definitely try the the hydrochloric/sulfamic acid route first. If that is unsuccessful after a few rinsings you might try some hydrofluoric acid (which will dissolve silicious soils). Hydrofluoric acid will be somewhat more difficult to find, but it is present in some car wash detergents, especially those that are used to clean wheels and/or aluminum parts. (HF will not damage soft metals). If you use a HF product, definitely wear gloves and avoid skin contact. Rinse any treated surface very well with water. I'm an industrial chemist and have been making products like these for many years. I guarantee results!
Barry G: Oakland Street. I have been there. Pretty narrow street with a steep hill.
Abejo
Thanks, errr... what?
Oh, wait... Is that where your sister lives that you mentioned two days ago? Yeah, that's about 1/2 mile away from our house. Not a good day for narrow steep hills today, that's for sure. I just came back from walking my son to school and every surface was coated with a sheet of ice from the sleeting we had yesterday. I slipped at least 10 times, but fortunately managed to keep my balance.
[intedrn]
AnonyMouse, that wasn't me expounding on the uses of WD-40. I just follow this Chart.
Good Morning Everybody! Wow, there are a lot of posts ahead of mine this morning - chatty group today!
Happy Birthday LaLaLi!
This was a very easy puzzle for me, except I couldn't figure out how to tie the theme answers together, until I came here.
Speaking of ONEG, I used to enjoy seeing the band Type O Negative play live, until the singer died of a heart attack a few years ago. I still enjoy listening to their music.
Enjoy your Fat Tuesday!
Barry G.: My Avatar is myself and my four siblings, taken in my sister's house on Oakland St. several years ago. She is the one on the far left. We are in order chronologically.
Abejo
Cute chart Otto.
Loved the Lincoln quote Hahtoolah.
This will be a three day weekend for me, thank you Mr. Presidents.
Barry G.: My sister said it was quite icy after a lot of rain yesterday.
Abejo
Abejo - which one is you?
Oops my link didn't work.
I'm curious who saw the Lincoln movie with Daniel Day Lewis. I'd like to see it and am wondering what you thought of it.
TTP: Yes, I have had many paczki's. I will get some today to take to church tonight.
Abejo
This puzzle was even easier than yesterday’s, but fun.
-One FRANK AND BEANS is pretty stingy. Dropping the S sounds odd. For lunch Mom “doctored up” canned baked beans with bacon, onions, and seasoning. For dinner we had homemade baked beans. Sometimes we had baked lima beans using dried beans. Yummy.
-TARSI. My sister in Lisle, IL slipped on the ice shoveling snow on Feb. 2 and broke her right ankle in two places. She needed to have pins and a plate installed.
-I agree that OPEN BOOK TESTS are usually more difficult than others. Rather than memorizing and regurgitating facts, the student has to understand and analyze the material. As a student I liked this kind of test. The connections between ideas are interesting. Dry facts can always be looked up.
Mari: I am the one on the far right as you are looking at the picture. Taken about 10 years ago, I think. We have not changed much. Except I have a beard for the winter.
Abejo
Happy Birthday, LaLaLinda, and let the good times roll!!
.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:._.:*~*:.
Nice theme on this Fat Tuesday. I had a little hiccup in the east with the crossing of EARLE and NLRB. Can never remember the order of letters, and sometimes even confuse it with the NRA. Finally changed “EndS” to EBBS, and was able to dredge the correct sequence out of the recesses.
Hand up for wanting FRANK(s) AND BEANS. That was standard Saturday fare at our house. But we always had Boston Brown Bread to go with it.
Anony-mouse and D-otto, good advice about duct tape and WD-40 !! Shall I tell DH he is now redundant? And yesterday, thanks for all the uses of WD-40, Husker G.. I have a stainless steel refrigerator, stove and trash can, and we are constantly wiping them down. Yesterday I grabbed the can of WD-40 and ran to the kitchen. DH followed, thinking I was about to do something that needed supervision. He was amazed when I sprayed it on the ‘frig and wiped it to a spotless shine. TA-DAAAH!!!
HeartRx - I forgot about Boston Brown Bread - loved it. One of things from long ago I fondly remember, along with Honey Butter on toast. Yummm
-Happy birthday, LLL. Have a spectacular day.
-Being Episcopalian, i.e. Anglican, we celebrate Shrove Tuesday with pancakes. Not to my taste. Being born PA Dutch, i.e. German, we celebrated Fastnacht Day on Fat Tuesday with deep fried doughnuts made with yeast. YUM! They are a lot of trouble to make so I don’t make them any longer, but I surely miss them,
Link Fastnachts
Musings
-I like people to be OPEN and STRAIGHT with me and BLUNT if I’m slow on the uptake. Sometimes I have to RECANT if I don’t follow the QOD!
-One of the most famous BILLIONAIRES in the world lives in a modest house in Omaha
-I always gave OPEN BOOK EXAMS. Some A+ memorizers failed miserably on them.
-The Paterno family issued a report a few days ago saying that Joe did not turn a DEAF EAR to what was going on with Jerry Sandusky. Doing what is required and what is right aren’t necessarily the same.
-TAT artists have their own show now and so do pawn brokers, gater hunters, restorers, lumberjacks, truck drivers, parking meter attendants, repo men, et al
-A week on OAHU between Christmas and New Years remains one of the best vacations of our lives.
-Was there a SNEAK day for seniors when you were in high school?
-Sometimes you have to abandon caution with a task and resort to BRUTE FORCE
-Who were the better “couple” – Lemmon and Matthau or Randall and Klugman (he of the RASPY voice)?
-Will READ ‘EM AND WEEP apply to your perusal of your tax forms this year?
-TYRA - rant or good advice? (2:22)
-Can you think of the James Bond movie where he hid from the bad guys underwater breathing through a REED?
-Interesting info and a Matthew Brady picture of the Washington Monument OBELISK
-USPS carriers might be getting Saturdays off soon.
-Birthday wishes from Jan and Dean for La La Linda! All right it’s more Li Li but still the thought is there!
Hahtoolah:
I quoted your Lincoln quote to a friend this morning on the phone. He responded that he was familiar with that quote and that the setting was that Lincoln's wife was berating him for not speaking up at some event, and that people would think he was dumb. He responded to his wife with your quote: "QOD: Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. ~ Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12, 1809 ~ April 15, 1865)
Abejo
Mari, We saw Lincoln this past weekend and thought it was fantastic. The only thing I'd recommend is making sure it's a theater with good seats. We saw it at an old theater and it nearly killed me. Long....but great movie:-)
Happy Birthday LaLa Linda! and many more!
Only one real hiccup today and that was needing perps for NLRB, since I had no idea what it was or who EARLE is. Actually though, I never did figure out the theme connection either.
Although it appeared easily, FRANK AND BEANS should be considered a reminder that what kids like isn't always what's best for them! I don't think I ever would have thought of it as a meal for my kids.
LaLaLinda: Happy Birthday! I'll "toast you at sunset.
Husker: DR NO
Mari: Lincoln deserves the praise it receives. Wonderful movie.
Melanie: Thank you for a FUN Tuesday offering.
Irish Miss: I'm on "pins-and-needles" in anticipation of the Westminister Dog Show winner tonight.
Really like my "broken clock."
Cheers !!!
MACAO was the island the Chinese allowed foreigners to go to for trade (including slaves) to keep them off the mainland. Those annoying Europeans were forever trying to steal secrets and push Catholicism.
We say FRANK AND BEANS here; I prefer mine w/o the FRANK.
Never noticed the theme.
Happy Birthday, LaLaLinda!
I don't ever recall solving an LA puzzle straight through across. I was one word short of doing that today. I didn't know EARLE. I got it with mental perps, but what an interesting solve.
Montana
Pretty quick solve today, but I have only ever heard of FRANKS AND BEANS. One frank sounds weird.
I also have the Yalta/Malta disease but luckily chose the right one today.
Anony mouse, I love the WD-40 and duct tape advice. Those items are staples around this house even though my DH is pretty handy.
Yellowrocks, I live right in the heart of PA Dutch fastnacht country. I love them too but dang, they are a dense little piece of pastry. Oh well, it's only once a year, what's the harm, right? :)
Happy Birthday to LaLaLinda, I hope you have a great day!
-Tin, yup, Sean Connery was in the REEDS with Ursula Andress who was in that fabulous bikini (1:26). All in all, not a bad place to be although he might have been doing some heavy breathing through that reed. (BTW, her voice was dubbed in by another actress because her Swiss accent was too heavy but the body was definitely hers!)
-Side note – ain’t it interesting that Connery spent the night sleeping on the beach and woke up clean shaven, not a hair out of place and with perfectly pressed clothes,. Ah, movie magic!
-Joe, Lincoln truly shows how American history is much more nuanced than what is taught. Was the old theater where you saw the movie in Lincoln? We’ll have to avoid it.
-Sfingi, we used the plural FRANKS. MacaroniS and Cheese… Hmmm…
-CC, the drinking and outside water for all our houses has always been hard and everything else went/goes through the softener. The salt taste was not pleasant to drink and soft water makes more suds. We bought a water filter for our daughter after oldest grandchild was born but pediatrician told her to use hard water because of the minerals in it. That was 46 years ago…
-Oops, that was 16 years ago on that water filter. Daughter is 46 and Emma is 16.
-I’m not thinking so clearly as plumbers are putting in a new water heater right now and repairman is fixing leaky washer after he fixed water through the door in the fridge last week. This was also after having our kitchen drain snaked out last week with potato peelings blocking passage. Home ownership can be expen$$$ive.
Hi Everyone ~ ~
Thanks so much for all the birthday wishes ~ C.C.'s kitty pic and Husker Gary's song added to the fun. You've all brightened my day and I'm happy to be part of such a wonderful group of people!
I figured out today's theme only after finishing the puzzle ~ had to study the theme answers a bit to be sure. Thanks for all the helpful explanations in your write-up, Argyle.
~ I, too, wanted more than one FRANK with my BEANS.
~ Smart 'Alec' always comes to mind before ALECK. We may have once had that discussion here ... or not.
~ Lots of first names today: TYRA, KEN, (FRANK), BETTY, TONY, ANNA, (ALECK?)
~ Favorite was 'Chip in a chip' - ANTE.
~ I chuckled at 54D - 'Had lunch in' - ATEAT because of the way it's usually parsed here at the Corner. ;-)
My birthday lunch with my sisters is postponed until the streets are easier to maneuver. However my husband is planning lobster and cheesecake for later. I will definitely be feeling FAT Tuesday!
Major speed run today. Only issue was with RECANT- I had RECIND, although I now see that I has that misspelled. I wondered why a gymnasts goal would be a dEN?? I also wasn't sure about the theme until I came to the corner. We never use the term FRANKS- they are HOT DOGS. I knew Steve EARLE because that is my cousins name! And is it RIATA or REATA?? Malta or YALTA???
Hppy Birthday La La Linda!
Gary, no, not in Lincoln. Same small town to the west we've talked about. It's a neat old place. Tickets are $5, a barrel of popcorn is $3 and you can arrive at 3 minutes to show time, park on the street, walk a half block and get a good seat. The down side is that it's 30 years older than I am and the seats are original. I hurt for 2 days after sitting through 21/2 hours of movie.
Good morning everyone. Good intro, Argyle.
Happy Birthday, La La Linda.
Easy one today. Pretty much filled downward from the top. Didn't know ORION was in "Odyssey" but knew he was a hunter with his own constellation. Bright stars include Rigel and Betelgeuse. I thought the puzzle had a snappy beat to it today with fill like SKIDOO, MERC, READEM, and RIATA. A 4-H'er would think ATEAT could be clued as part of an udder. Agree with Abejo on the OPEN BOOK EXAMS.
BH sometimes asks what I would like for a meal and I would answer FRANK AND BEANS. She doesn't ask very often.
Enjoy your Shrove Tuesday.
Nice Tuesday puzzle and solved without too many problems. Thanks Argyle for explaining the theme!
Happy Birthday LaLa Linda.
Many in the NE still need SKIDOOs but much of our snow has melted.
Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield is tweeting wonderful photos from space.
Son and family will be heading into Sudan tomorrow. Their patio will be on the White NILE.
I see that CC's mouse got OILED again!
Hand up for MALTA before YALTA.
Wanted Mac and cheese for the comfort food. I have never had OKRA.
Saw Lincoln a couple of weeks ago. Good movie but I had to stretch to remember my American history.
Good morning:
This was a neat puzzle with nary a blip in sight. Liked the theme and straight -forward cluing. Thanks, Melanie, and thanks to Argyle for his usual super expo.
Have a very Happy Birthday, Linda, and enjoy that lobster, one of my favorite foods.
Tin @ 8:47 - I didn't get to see the dog show last night but I taped it and will watch it sometime later on. I'm looking forward to tonight, also.
Have a great Tuesday.
Greetings, puzzlers. 55 comments already! Thank you, Argyle for another CANDID review.
Happy, happy birthday LaLaLinda! I hope you celebrate in a special way. You are in good company with Abe Lincoln.
Nice speed run today, not as fast as yesterday's, but still fast. MACAU held up OBELISK but not for long. I don't recall seeing it spelled with an O but I'll yield.
Never heard of BRUTE FORCE but easy to WAG.
The image of JABBA the Hutt is indelible in my mind, breakfast or not. His creator, Stuart Freeborn died just last week at age 98.
His obit was in our local newspaper.
Now I'll read what you all had to say.
Have a wonderful Tuesday, everyone!
Happy Birthday, LLL. Sound like you married well. Lobster AND cheesecake; yum!
Breezed through this puzzle but didn't get the theme until I got to the blog. Glad there are all of you in the blogosphere to give my brain a workout.
Watched a tribute show last night for BETTY White's 91 birthday. She has been a hoot for a long time. Now I am looking forward to the dog show that I recorded last night, but am saving it for when I get my Valentines finished. (Never got around to Christmas cards this past holiday).
My poor Barbie had to make do with an Allen doll (allegedly Midge's boyfriend), because I thought he was cuter than KEN.
CC, hearing about your water issues made me remember the water of my youth. On our farm the water was very soft, and didn't make good tasting coffee or Kool-aid. The minerals would precipitate out on the ice cubes, leaving a salty crust, so we had to rinse them before using. Ah, the good old days!
Hand up for liking the movie Lincoln! It's wonderful and if you saw 60 minutes Sunday, they parsed it for accuracy. Apparently the only error in the film was having only two of the Connecticut bloc vote for the amendment when in fact all four voted.
OK, a "nit" ...
They changed the Gymnasts scoring system before the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"The new system is based on two separate panels of scores.
The A panel judges the requirements, difficulty, and connections of a routine.
The scoring starts at zero and then adds points accordingly.
The B panel judges the execution of a routine, and the scoring starts at 10 with points deducted accordingly for execution and for any applicable violations such as stepping out of bounds or being over the time limit.
The two panels are then added together for the final score.
Fans will soon see good scores such as 15.75 instead of 9.5.
A very good score will range in the 15s and 16s."
Though we (guys) still use TEN when watching the girls on the beach.
Cheers !!!
With so much discussion about water heaters, I have to pitch in about the cathodic protection that the glass lined water heaters have, which is the main protection against corrosion.
Link Water Heater Cathode protection
As the article explains, once your Mg cathode has worn out, your water heater will rust very rapidly. If you maintain your cathode protection periodically, the heater will last 30 years or indefinitely !
BTW, I have only replaced the cathode, in my water heater, once.
As with autos, trucks etc. it is the 'weakest' link that undermines the whole machine. For the water heater, it is that small prong of the cathode-protection.
For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost - for the want of a shoe, the horse was lost, - for the want of a horse, the battle was lost.
HF, Hydrofluoric Acid, as noted above, is a very corrosive acid, which will 'eat' glass - so it cannot be stored in glass containers. But, it is ideal for dissolving silicates, since ordinary glass itself is a Sodium-Calcium silicate complex.
Anony-Mouse: Thank you for the in-depth article about the water heater cathode protection. I have printed it and I think I will check in to mine.
Abejo
Happy B-Day LaLaLinda
I agree wees, "Franken" Beans sound a little creepy!
68A Street toughs, i had thugs b/4 punks
60D Vegas event, i has S-OW Snow! That would be an event in Vegas! (I was a little disappointed when the H appeared...)
I also tried to squeeze "platy" in front of "pus" for a while.
Lastly, Earle/NLRB was a personal Natick. It did not help that misread 34A as "meditation agcy", but I WAGed the L & spent quite a bit of time trying to figure out what NLRB stood for? (Not Lazy, Reading Book???)
Abejo:
@ 5:39
@ 6:46
@ 7:08
@ 7:57
@ 8:01
@ 8:04
@ 8:05
@ 8:23
@11:11
There is a 5 comment per day limit.
NINE is way excessive.
Oh Nuts! I forgot to add a comment about 1D Jabba!
Years ago a local radio station ruined the song "Aquarius" for me by doing a parody titlted "A Hairy Ass." Now whenever i hear that song i have to change the station...
Jabba The Hut now always reminds me of the movie "Spaceballs". But luckily the Mel Brooks version is an improvement...
Fun puzzle this morning, many thanks, Melissa! After I finished it, I kept looking for the reveal because I couldn't imagine what all those long phrases had in common. Finally got it, even before Argyle's help, thank goodness. But like Jill, kept wondering what blood-type One-G was.
Loved the reminders of some of my favorite TV people: Betty White and Tony Randall. How sad that we recently lost Jack Klugman.
Speaking of favorites: Happy Birthday, LaLaLinda, one of my favorite posters!
Question for Barry--what's the item in parentheses at the bottom of your post these days?
Have a great Tuesday, everybody, but don't get Fat!
Husker,
Remember, macaroni is already the Italian plural form.
CanadianEh! @ 9:46, The way I remember the Lincoln era is by this poem that I learned a long time ago:
“In sixty-one, the war begun.
In sixty-two, ‘twas half through.
In sixty-three, the slaves were free.
In sixty-four, the war was o’er.
In sixty-five, the President died.”
Not entirely accurate, since the Civil War officially ended in 1865, but it does help jog the old noodle.
Nice of Rich to give us a nice Honest(BLUNT FRANK OPEN STRAIGHT) puzzle on Honest ABE's birthday.
So why is LIED in the grid?!?
-The last repairman has left and we are $2,000 lighter after this last week! Now the water heater is heating, the drain is draining, the washing machine is not leaking and the water dispenser is, uh, dispensing.
-I know Kazie; I was just having some mindless fun with plurals ;-) BTW, assuming my idiocy is almost always a sure bet!
-In this time of ongoing 150th anniversaries of Civil War events, Spielberg has a big movie, O’Reilly has a book that has been on the NY Times bestseller list for over a year and now the History Channel is going to start a series on Sunday called Killing Lincoln
-It’s 42F, sunny and no wind – FORE!
Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al,
I'll be candid...this was a quickie for me.. easy WAGS too. I had to count on Argyle again for the theme, and his wonderful write-up. Had recind for recant, and mispelled obelisk. I wondered why DIN wasn't WIN. Thought I'd go back and fix it, but CRS got the best of me.
Happy birthday ♪♩♬♫•*¨*•.❤.•*¨*•♫♪•.¸¸.•´♫♪♩♬*¨*`•.♥.•´*♫♪♩♬ LaLaLinda, and Mr. Lincoln.
Lucina, it was a good couple of months for movies.. usually there are just a few. Anyone read why Argo wasn't nominated?
Husker: Your "Killing Lincoln" link indiated the movie is on National Geographic channel.
(I'm going to watch the FINAL Downton Abbey and catch K-L on rerun).
JD: per wiki
"ARGO received seven nominations at the 85th Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay (Chris Terrio) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Alan Arkin).
Argo also earned five Golden Globe nominations, and won the Best Picture – Drama, and Best Director, while being nominated for Best Supporting Actor for Arkin. It won the award for the Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 19th Screen Actors Guild Awards with Alan Arkin being nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.
It also won Best film, Best Editing, and Best Director for Ben Affleck at the 66th British Academy Film Awards.
The "hoop-la" is that Ben didn't get a Director's nomination.
Sun is past the yardarm ...
Cheers !!!
Hello everybody, and happy birthday wishes to you, LaLaLinda. Sheesh, another birthday already? :)
Like Lemonade, I have always said FRANKS AND BEANS. Also like Lemonade, I understand losing the s. My comfort food as a kid was macaroni and cheese.
For a long time, due to BLUNT INSTRUMENT and BRUTE FORCE, I thought the theme had something to do with violent assault.
I so much wanted OEDI as the prefix with pus.
Thank you, Melanie Miller, for a fun puzzle, and thank you, Argyle, for your fact-filled writeup.
This should have been an easy one, but I blanked on NLRB, thinking NLRD would suffice. That gave me ENDS for 47 across, "Abates." I knew that wasn't accurate but close (for EBBS) so that I could blame the maker rather than my loose answer.
All of this is a roundabout way of explaining why I ended up with ARAN STATES in place of ARAB STATES. At that I was really prepared to complain-- until, that is, I found out that I was the guilty party!
Hello all.
Fine puzzle, Melanie! Swell write-up, Argyle!
Am really quite pooped after rush to neurologist's office yesterday (failed to wake up on time) and subsequent long wait. (Receptionist really was ticked off. We had tried to call but phone was perpetually busy.)
Coincidentally, reading the blog today reminded me that the water softener people are coming this afternoon. (I shall have to stay alert!)
Thanks for thinking of me yesterday, CED. The poor dog in the video! I made the mistake of wading into the comments. Many were dreadful. Went through about 25. Very saddening. The dog and I are different cases, though. I need desperately to get some exercise.
(I suppose that Barry has been giving us his captchas!)
Have a wonderful birthday, LaLa Linda! Lobster and cheesecake--yummm!
I vote we all give our captchas as the last line of our posts. It so interesting.
[tsprina}
Tinbeni, I DID know all of that...I was speaking of the snub to Ben Aflect. Sorry, not very clear.
Husker, that's why we have a rule at our house -- no potato peels down the disposal.
BTW, yesterday was the anniversary of the Yalta Conference, 2/11/1945.
Did you notice that the Betty White special was billed as the "2nd Annual 90th Birthday" thingee.
Avg Joe, has that theater installed a wide-screen, or did you watch it in the "original" 4-by-3 35mm ratio?
The Captcha I had this morning was cute -- ennoyin
oops, Afflect. I understand that there are 10 movies up for best picture and all 10 can't have the director nominated, but it could well win best picture. It is unusual for a picture that was done so well, not to pay tribute to its director.
HBTY LLL!!! Lobstah! m m m m m
Natick for EARLE and NLRB or whatever it was.
I actually put AnA for AKA and couldn't figure what PUNnS were. LOL
What was I thinking?
Here's a little NOLA music and dig his costume .........
Dr. John
unitiev
That information about hot water heater anode rods is very interesting and valuable. Thank you!
DO, It's the old screen, and on 35mm film....but they are being forced to go to a digital format late this year, so the town is having a bunch of fund raisers to help defray the cost. The theater is privately owned, but it's impossible to justify $85K in expenditures at $5 a ticket. It's pretty neat the way everyone is pitching in. Next week they're having a $100 per head private sscreening with limo service provided. A side benefit of that is free popcorn for life.... Another fundraiser is accepting beer cans for sale as scrap....I'm doing all I can:-)
On the topic of movie nominations, we watched Beasts of a Southern Wild last night on Netflix. VERY strange movie! Can't say I enjoyed it, but the little girl puts on an amazing performance that might just win her the Youngest ever Oscar.
Last effort aborted after failing miserably.
Here's more on the theater efforts. This has been interesting to observe because this small town (6,000~)theater has become a poster child for those in similar situations around the country. In small towns, theaters are a local resource, and hardly a profit center. I've heard from a couple of friends in far off places that they've read about this.
From the Lincoln Journal Star: Isis.
And from the local college: Doane.
We're not sure yet whether we'll go to the gala. My back is still recovering. But free popcorn for life is an interesting lure...
AvgJoe: OMG!!! I went to the Isis Theater website and looked at the prices.
You guys gotta see this.
Plus it says they only need $26,000 more because they got a grant from Crete. Sounds like a great town.
(Except for the snow, maybe...)
I'm a SoCal native, sorry.
popcorn and candy
surets
Happy birthday LL Linda!
Gary, I haven't read past your post yet but If memory serves, that movie was Dr. No.
Beautiful weather today. Blue skies, temperature about 60.
Some old neighbors just dropped back in town for a couple of days and we went out to lunch with them. I had something I haven't had in years, sea bass. The waiter removed the bones from a whole fish. It was very tasty. Just the right amount of fresh fish flavor. The vegetables were al dente. The waiter brought a complimentary little dessert cup with some really smooth custard and with red fruit syrup on top. Excellent!
Excellent commentary on the LAT puzzle Bill G.
Hi Y'all, Great puzzle! Great expo, Argyle! Thanks for entertainment at 4 a.m. WEES!
My husband and kids were ardent beanie wienie eaters. I'm not sure why someone would think it wasn't healthy fare. Lots of protein. I didn't like the after effects for me.
Has anyone seen Betty White's "Off Their Rockers". Some of it is pretty funny. The oldies leave the people they've pranked smiling.
Happy Birthday, LaLaLinda!
Watching the coverage last night of the Pope resigning, I wondered how such a frail old man could stand up and hold up such heavy robes. Bet Peter wasn't impeded by such raiment.
The first car I bought alone was a MERC Sable. Loved that red car.
A man-friend was a Lincoln memorabilia collector. The story I liked best was that Mary remodeled the house in Illinois while Lincoln was away, adding a second story. When Lincoln came home, he walked down the street and asked someone if they could tell him where Mr. Lincoln lived.
Another QOD: "A dog, I have always said, is prose; a cat is a poem." --Jean Burden.
What do you think? True?
I'm reading the new Maeve Binchy book published after her death. Wondering if this is the last one or if she had completed another. It's a pretty good gossipy read which I was in the mood for.
Avg Joe: I agree with you about Beasts of the Southern Wild. It was an "interesting" movie, but Quvenzhane Wallis, the young actress who played Hushpuppy was just amazing.
The Pope announces that he is resigning at the end of the month and then the Vatican is struck by Lightening. A coincidence? A sign? Eerie!
[ockgoom]
Speaking of cats.
-Tin, I’ll probably do the same thing DVR-wise.
-Does anyone else see Lord Grantham as the upper crust version of Tevye as far as failing to keep his daughters in his perceived proper path?
-Bill G, yes it was Dr. No and Tin got it this morning and I linked to the scene of Ursula emerging from the ocean in her iconic bikini at 9:27 am. Hubba, hubba!
-I wanted to take Hudson to this James Bond Concert at the Holland Center in Omaha because he loves the 007 movies but we didn’t get there.
-Here is Henry Mancini’s Version of this so familiar theme.
-Otto, we’re giving up potatoes down the drain for Lent!
Good night everyone.
Extremely late to the dance, and not much to say.
Happy birthday LaLaLinda. Everything said about you today is true.
Cheers
Thinking about taking a cruise.
Anyone have experiences ? Do you really have to be on a higher deck to have a better experience ?
Fun puzzle today ! Enjoying the time to do the puzzles earlier these past few days with the days off from school . We are off again tomorrow ! More clean up to be done here in the middle of CT , two more chances of storms this week , hope the forecast is wrong , no place to put the snow! The comments are so much fun to read . Can anyone help with how to add an avatar ? Thought I did it correctly when I set up my google account , but no luck ! Thank you ! CC, thanks for the welcome , so enjoy your blog!!!!
The Jeopardy Teen Tournament Final is a DON'T MISS !!!
(Reminded me of when Joon played!)
Ree: Email Bill G. he can explain Avatar easily.
(All I can do is drink it!).
Anon @6:49 re: Cruises
It really depends on your "snob quotient" ...
When I'm on vacation, how "high" I am has nothing to do with which deck I'm on ... unless I'm on the deck. lol
Cheers !!!
Theater Seats for Seniors
An old man lay sprawled across three entire seats in the movie theater.
When the usher came by and noticed this, he whispered to the old man, "Sorry sir, but you're only allowed one seat."
The old man just groaned but didn't budge. The usher became more impatient. "Sir, if you don't get up from there I'm going to have to call the manager."
Once again, the old man just groaned. The usher marched briskly back up the aisle, and in a moment he returned with the manager. Together the two of them tried repeatedly to move the old disheveled man, but with no success. Finally they summoned the police.
The officer surveyed the situation briefly then asked, "All right buddy what's your name?" "Fred," the old man moaned. "Where ya from, Fred?" asked the police officer.
With terrible pain in his voice, and without moving a muscle, Fred replied, "The balcony."
I, too, didn't even check for a theme until coming to Argyle's great expo. And I was also wondering what kind of blood type was ONE-G. But these puzzles sure do teach you quite a bit.
La La Linda...Happy Birthday!!
My DH loves his pork'n beans, especially with hot dogs cut up in there. He used to eat them straight out of the can...no heating required! So, that is a great last minute dinner when time is pretty much gone, although I do insist on heating them and he gets all the cut-up hot dogs.
Mari...The movie was great! And if you want a better look at how it all went down, the book "Team of Rivals" by Doris Kearns Goodwin is absolutely fantastic.
Having bred and shown Afghan Hounds for many years, Westminster is always a fun time. Was happy to see the very lovely black Afghan Hound make the cut. Making the cut at such a big event is almost as good as winning a ribbon. Notice, I said ALMOST...
Now to watch the rest of the story...
And so glad there wasn't any damage to our corner from Nemo..
and YR, wishing your sister a quick recovery...well the quickest possible, anyway.. from her broken ankle. Unfortunately, the exquisite beauty of this season can sometimes get lost in the shuffle when we need to actually get out in it.
Have a good night, all!
Good evening, everyone! A nice, smooth solve with no nits or Naticks. Thanks for the fun theme, Melanie … it was right to the point. Great expo, Argyle; I always learn something from your write-ups.
I’m so late to the party, that it’s pretty much all been said about the puzzle. Thanks for the Paul Simon “Mardi Gras” link, Average Joe – just the ticket for today. Marti, we always had our Boston Brown Bread spread with cream cheese … dee-lish!
Mari, I’ll weigh in with the others on Lincoln – definitely worth going to see. It says something about the quality of the story-telling that I found myself on the edge of my seat when they were voting on the amendment, even though we all know how it comes out.
Last, but not least, a very happy birthday to LaLaLinda! Hope you enjoyed it all, especially the lobster and cheesecake for dinner.
Now to catch the Jeopardy Teen Tournament finale on DVR. Good night, all.
[odsrool]
Just wanted to check in to thank you all again for the kind words and good wishes. The stuffed lobster tails were delicious and although it did not look as good as the cake in CED's link, the cheesecake I just finished was sooo good. A great day!
LaLaLinda, Don't know how CED found that picture of YOUR cake, but it just shows how great a group this bunch of rag-tag crossword solvers is.
Glad you had such a nice day, and many more!
otasga
Argyle - You made the NY Times puzzle today, thought of you when I filled it in.
We always called it Beans & Wienies. I doctor the beans up with bacon, diced onion, a little palm or brown sugar and about a 1/2 tsp. of dried mustard (preferably, Chinese mustard)
Happy Birthday LaLaLinda
Good evening all,
Michele here, under new blogger name. thanks Argyle for the explanation today of this fun puzzle. This was a straight-forward easy Tuesday.
Happy Birthday LLL!
Finally feeling well for the first time since the flu. I made it to from from Houston today unscathed. Received a Kindle for Christmas yesterday! How fun is that?
Have a great evening.
Hola Everyone, Happy Birthday, LaLa Linda, and many, many,more. Wise and caring people are born on the same day as Lincoln.
Lime Away is a good way to take care of hard water build up. We use it sparingly as it is pretty caustic.
Hondo, I'm sure someone has already addressed this, but yesterday I ate at a great restaurant. The lunch was excellent. I hope this makes that answer a little clearer.
Since I'm so late this evening all of the puzzle has been picked apart and put back together again. I'll just say that it was finished early this a.m. but I had an all day meeting so couldn't read the comments until now.
See everyone tomorrow.
It sounds like they may have caught and killed the rogue policeman in the mountains around here. I hope it's finally all over.
Good speech I thought. Now if all of them can work together, maybe we can solve some of the problems.
Ree, e-mail me if you want help including a photo when you log in. Click on my blue name and look for my e-mail address.
chefwen @9:11 PM
I probably would have selected your avatar as "Best in Show" at the Westminister Dog Show.
pjmugs @9:09 AM Your dog avatar would have been a close second.
fermatprime's "old avatar" third ...
Gal Pal told me, that out of 187 breeds, I liked ... oh, ALL of them.
(Though SHE knows I can't stand the prissy cut they give the Poodles and a few others!)
No *** SPOILER ALERT *** needed, the winner IS a great Pooch!
and Spring Training opens here in Tampa Bay on Wednesday.
I love it when a plan comes together!
Time for a "Night-Cap" ...
Cheers !!!
February 12,
Chefwen, your baked beans sound just like mom's lunch baked beans.
MMM Good.
PK, Maeve Binchey is one of my favorite authors. I will have to look for her latest novel.
Pennybanks, thanks for your kind thoughts about my sister's ankle.
pjmugs, yes those fastnachts were dense. I suppose as others have mentioned, the best part of our food memories are the love they represented.
CC, did you try the Screamers to chase away your mouse. The mice don't die, they just leave.
Good night all.
Yellowrocks,
I did not find Mouse Screamers at Walgreens or Target. I just left the door wide open every time I shoveled snow in our driveway or deck. I hope the mouse found his way out.
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