google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, February 13 2013, Janice Luttrell and Patti Varol

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Feb 13, 2013

Wednesday, February 13 2013, Janice Luttrell and Patti Varol

theme: two of a kind  - "Double" can precede both words in each theme entry, which also contains repeated & consecutive letters.

17. Titanic compartment on the lowest level : BOILER ROOM. there are several definitions, but the first one best fits our theme (from thefreedictionary.com): An area, as in a building or on a ship, that houses one or more steam boilers or hot-water tanks. double boiler. double room.

26. Setup of a sort : BLIND DATE. two strangers on a date arranged by a mutual friend. what could go wrong? double-blind. double-date.

50. Country kitchen design option : DUTCH DOOR. a door that is split horizontally into two parts, so that the top and bottom can open/close separately. double dutch. double door.



60. Verify : CROSS CHECK. two meanings here. 1: in hockey, checking is a technique to separate the player from the puck, by pushing or hitting against either the player's body or the puck.  most forms of checking are legal, but cross checking, in which the shaft of the stick is held with both hands, is illegal and results in a penalty. 2: cross checking also means to check (data) against two sources. double cross. double check.

37. Drive-in offering, and what 17-, 26-, 50- or 60-Across has, in more ways than one : DOUBLE FEATURE. two feature movies shown one after another, with an intermission in between. there are only two drive-in theaters left in the bay area, one in san jose and one in santa cruz. i think you have to be under 40 to be able to stay awake for two movies in a row.

melissa here. 

this puzzle obviously took a lot of thought to put together (by two women)

across:

1. Medical amts. : CC'S. cc!

4. Be accountable (for) : ANSWER

10. Remove, as coupons : CLIP. or hangnails.

14. Ernst collaborator : ARP. Max Ernst (1891 – 1976) and Jean Arp (1886 – 1966)  were “lifelong friends, these two avant-garde artists were among the founders of the DADA movement… They questioned traditional society and used art to explore new moralities, politics and social structures.

15. Electronic music genre : TECHNO

16. Spherical opening? : HEMIsphere.

19. "All __": 1931 tune : OF ME. frank's cover (2:43).

20. Height: Pref. : ACRO. as in acrophobia.

21. Lord's Prayer opener : OUR father who art in heaven ...

22. Arterial trunk : AORTA

24. __ León: Monterrey's state : NUEVO. one of the 31 states within mexico.



29. Okay : ASSENT

31. Okay : NOD. clecho.

32. Project, with "out" : JUT

33. Mediterranean capital : BEIRUT. capital of lebanon.

36. Farm female : MARE. equine. and 62d. Udder woman? : COW. for some reason i don't love this clue.

41. 1% of a cool mil : TENG. absolutely no idea. google says teng is a rare chinese surname, and a flying snake in chinese mythology - but neither seems to fit here. who can clear this up? (From C.C.: Parse it as TEN G. Also, Teng is not obscure. Teresa Teng was very very famous. "Wherever there are Chinese people, the songs of Teresa Teng can be heard." No exaggeration. Teng is the same as Deng in Mandarin, as in Deng Xiaoping.)



42. Lethargic : TORPID

43. Stein filler : ALE

44. Poet's contraction : O'ER (over); and 58. Poet's preposition : THRO

46. Discography entries : ALBUMS

54. Wash softly against : LAP AT

55. Words after "What a coincidence!" : SO AM I

56. Muppet friend of Elmo : ZOE


59. Italian carmaker : FIAT

63. "Poppycock!" : BOSH. we've probably seen this before but i didn't remember it.

64. Find, as a frequency : TUNE TO

65. Whopper, e.g. : LIE

66. Very dark : INKY

67. It has its ups and downs : SEE-SAW

68. Family guy : DAD

down

1. Poolside structure : CABANA. at the copa.

2. Springtime bloomer : CROCUS



3. Tapering tops : SPIRES. breathtaking spire on the chrysler building.

4. Wore (away) : ATE

5. Fiery emperor? : NERO. if you're interested

6. Clean with effort : SCRUB

7. Fingerprint ridge : WHORL

8. Ambient music pioneer Brian : ENO

9. Parmesan alternative : ROMANO. yum.

10. A minor, for one : CHORD

11. Didn't quite close : LEFT AJAR

12. Childish : IMMATURE

13. Slapstick prop : PIE

18. Film Volkswagen with "53" painted on it : LOVEBUG. 1969 disney film.


23. Singular : ODD

25. Mark on an otherwise perfect record? : ONE B. as opposed to straight a's.

27. Place in the earth : INTER. underground, i suppose.

28. Hot time in France : ETE. french summer.

30. Dawn-dusk link : TIL

34. Like the '80s look, now : RETRO. 

i wear your granddad's clothes
i look incredible
i'm in this big-a@@ coat
from the thrift shop down the road

35. Tabloid subj. : UFO

36. Spa treatment : MUD BATH. popular in calistoga, ca.

37. Aspect of paranoia : DELUSION

38. Person in the know : ONE TO ASK. aka, mom.

39. Therapists' org. : APA. american psychological association.

40. Cultivate : TILL

41. Smidge : TAD

44. Unit of resistance : OHM

45. Official orders : EDICTS

47. Defended, as family honor : UPHELD

48. Brady Bunch girl : MARCIA

49. Fed the fire : STOKED

51. Cartoonist Guisewite or her title character : CATHY

52. Depleted layer : OZONE

53. Blooms for lovers : ROSES

57. "¿Cómo __?" : ESTA

59. Justice Dept. division : FBI

61. Wish one hadn't : RUE

melissa


105 comments:

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

No speed bumps today, with one exception: I didn't take the time to do the math, and decided that 1% of a million had to be ONE G. Oops!

Morning MB, thanks for elucidating today.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Made pretty quick progress through this one until I stripped a gear at the crossing of ONETOASK and SOAMI. I had ONET_ASK and S_AMI and just couldn't come up with anything that made sense. So I checked and double-checked all the crosses over and over again, but couldn't find any mistake. ONE TRASK? SWAMI?

Took me about five minutes of desperation before I came up with the "O" and parsed the answers correctly.

I liked the theme and appreciated all the effort that went into it, although I thought some of the "double" phrases were a bit week (Double DOOR and Double ROOM didn't exactly pop). Fortunately, I didn't actually need to know the theme to get the theme answers due to the way they were clued.

[loksnd]

Lemonade714 said...

Melissa, thank you for an all girl morning with you and the creative twins. Fun, though I agree with Barry about double room.

It is odd how when writing up a puzzle you can get blinders and not see a parse like ten g, though we did get a lovely picture.

Enjoy all.

melissa bee said...

good morning all,

thank you c.c., for the TEN G explanation - it seems obvious now. i wish i could remember where i saw the 'rare' surname .. it was one of the results that google listed when i was searching.

hope to check in later, enjoy your day.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Melissa Been. This was a pretty easy Wednesday, but it had a lot of fun clues. The first two theme answers differed from the latter two by having the first word end with the same letter that began the second word.

I initially tried Child for A Minor. Hey, I was only off by two letters.

Massage fit into the MUD BATH spaces for the Spa Treatment.

I also tried Grow instead of TILL for cultivate. This puzzle, thus, had two Tills (TILL and TIL).

I rather liked the Fiery Emperor = NERO.

I see someone explained the explanation of ONE-G as in One Grand, which is one percent of 1M.

Can someone explain why SO AM I would follow the words: What A Coincidence!

In honor of his 90th Birthday, here is today's QOD: Never wait for trouble. ~ Chuck Yeager (Feb. 13, 1923)

I must be a robot on the first, second and third tries!
[asnoun]

TTP said...

Good morning all !

Momentarily had metoo for "what a coincidence", and massage for "Spa treatment"

My DOH! moment ? ONETOAS- became ONE TOAST for a couple of seconds.

TORPID is new word for me. Looked like I was going to need TORrID there, but was pretty confident about APA. I know what torrid means; it's far from lethargic. So filled in the 1st R and got the TA DA! Yea !

Time to read the write up and see what every one else is saying.

Anony Mouse said...

Thank you Mss. Luttrell and Varol, for a very nice puzzle. Thank you melissa b for the commentary. I was thinking of you when I mistakenly filled in 'Massage' under 36D for 'Spa treatment'.

I found it a difficult puzzle, for some reason. I had 'Latch Door' before 'Dutch Door' and 'One' before 'Odd', and so on.

'Ten G' was the first clue I got - just simple math - one percent.

Yesterday, I referred to a 'cathode' for protecting the shell of a hot water heater. Silly me ! It should have been a 'sacrificial' anode for the cathode (iron shell of boiler) protection. Thank you, Jayce, for ever-so-tactfully pointing it out. I should have known - one of my clients made large magnesium sacrificial anodes for the local electrical power company.

Saffron spice is made of the dried stigmas and styles (attaching stalks) of the Crocus Sativus (Saffron Crocus) flowers.

FIAT is now the majority owner of Chrysler !!! I am totally lost, how a foreign company could get a majority ownership, of a major U.S. government-bailed-out auto company - WITH ABSOLUTELY NO MONEY DOWN ??? Will wonders never cease ....

Have a nice day, you guys and best wishes.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Hand up for Massage before I wound up in the MUDBATH. Also for INFANTIL (until I ran out of spaces) before IMMATURE.

Hahtoolah, how 'bout this?

I'm a Yalie.
What a coincidence, so am I.

Probably wouldn't be heard in New Haven, though.

I've heard the expression Double Dutch, but have no idea what it means. Anybody?

Hahtoolah said...

Thanks, Desper-Otto. That makes sense now.

Double Dutch is a jump roping maneuver where two ropes are used simultaneously and the jumper (1 or more) has to jump them both without tripping.

I would have answered you sooner if I could just figure out the secret word.

[dvistvo]

TTP said...

Thank you Janice Luttrell and Patti Varol. Fun puzzle. Just noticed we also had a synonym with EDICT and FIAT. Thank you Melissa B. I enjoyed your write up.

When family came in, we spent a few nights in downtown Chicago and stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in River North. Unfortunately, we couldn't get a double room. We were apart by a few doors down the hall.

Double dutch is big in Chicago. They even show it on TV from time to time. I had trouble with one jump rope.

You are a Film Noir fan ? So am I. They are having a double feature at the Camera 12. Would you like to go ?

I have to go. See you all later.

Anony Mouse said...

'Double Dutch' is the expression wherein two people go one a date - and neither of them pays the bill.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Janice and Patti, for a very good Wednesday puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for the swell review.

$10,000. Just another way of saying it.

Started this one in the NE. Worked down, them back across, then up to the NW. Kind of a clockwise circle.

DOUBLE FEATURE was just about my last entry. I had INTER spelled as INTUR. Finally figured that out.

TORPID was slow in coming, but it arrived.

WHORL took me a while. Then I remembered.

Enjoyed ARP. A few gimmies are appreciated.

Got to run to Chicago to get my CTA card replaced. I broke it, then my temporary card expired, with money on it.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(dsvion)

desper-otto said...

Thanks, Hahtoolah.

Avg Joe, from last night -- that theater renovation sounds like a great civic project. We're trying to do something similar -- raise money and get a matching grant to rebuild the pool house at our community swimming pool. With a population of only 1500 and virtually no businesses, that's a major project for our little city.

thehondohurricane said...

Good morning everyone,

Whew! What a grind to get this solved. Many mis-steps on my part that did not help.

TenK before TENG, Lat up before LAP AT, Massage before MUDBATH, Nueve before NUEVO, and one or two others.

For 60A I wanted Cross Exam, but I never felt comfortable with it. Took awhile for me to remember LOVEBUG and I can't ever remember the Brady off springs.

Was not able to establish a foothold that enabled me to move along at a decent pace. It was one or two letters at a time.

kforesh

Middletown Bomber said...

Nice puzzle for a wednesday to to hard and not to easy just right for humpday.

Avg Joe said...

I had trouble too. Started out in Washington great guns. Montana slowed me down. Eventually it all came together, but the theme was not much help.

DO, We don't live in Crete and never have. So it's more just an interesting observation from a distance for us. But it's heartening to see it taking place. I did decide to make the contribution even though we won't be going to the gala on Saturday. Despite horrible seating, it's nice to have that type of option for late first run movies with nominal inconvenience.

Mari said...

Good morning everybody. Happy Wednesday.

Nice shout out to CC at 1A. I didn't know there was more than one of you.

Nice puzzle today. I'm with Dudley, thinking it was OneG instead of Ten.

And like TTP, TORPID is a new word for me.

I was trying to fit the word HERBIE into 18D. I remember his as Herbie the LOVE BUG.

I liked seeing IMMATURE and ODD in the same puzzle. Those words don't describe us at all! :)

Enjoy your day.

(Ourcheen)

kazie said...

Got it all, but had to guess MARCIA, considered POOH before BOSH, PASSÉ/RETRO and CHILD/CHORD. Had no trouble seeing TEN G after writing the numeral and looking at it after removing the last two digits.

Some of the doubles were unknown to me, such as the hockey reference. Also APA is a learning moment.

All in all a fun romp!!

LaLaLinda said...

Hi Everyone ~~

Maybe I did too much birthday celebrating yesterday (HA!) but I had a tough time getting started on this today. I came up empty as I attempted my usual start in the NW corner - ( how did I not get CCs!) - and eventually got going with 4A & 4D - ANSWER and ATE.

I had no problem parsing TEN G but missed simple things, with write-overs at 10A - 'Snip' before CLIP, 6D - 'Scour' before SCRUB and really got hung up on 25D - 'Mark on an otherwise perfect record.' I was thinking 'blemish' so I filled in 'Spot.' Finally, after getting the B in DOUBLE FEATURE, the light dawned.

With the RR and OO in BOILER ROOM, I first thought each theme answer would have double letters twice ~ nope. I looked again and figured it out. Wow ~ I hope I wake up soon!

I enjoyed your colorful write-up, Melissa ~ lots of info and great pics and links.

Welcome back, Michele (D.A.) - glad you're feeling better. You're enjoying your new Kindle? SOAMI! :-)

Anonymous said...

Nice Wednesday stroll through the park, except "Place in the earth : INTER," which is weak.

Dudley said...

Husker from yesterday - what a coincidence. I've had Fiddler on the Roof tunes running through my head for a couple of weeks now, because Lord Grantham reminded me of Tevye and his untraditional daughters.

Dudley said...

Anon - are you thinking of INTER as a verb? As in, "he was interred at Greenwood Cemetery". Doesn't seem weak to me.

Yellowrocks said...

This was just right for a Wednesday. Most sections were filled in withour hesitation, just waiting for confirmation by using Across and Down together. A few small crunches made it a Wednesday puzzle.
-Like Hahtoolah, after the first two theme answers I thought the end of the first word would be the beginning of the second word.
-Googling DOUBLE ROOM I see many slightly different meanings. When we travel the AAA guide calls a room used by two people a DOUBLE ROOM. A twin room is one type of double room. My son and I prefer a double room with two double beds. This is often the fairly standard double room. For AAA, a single room is a room used by only one person. It may or may not have two beds. On tours I have found that a single room has a twin bed and is often cramped and skimpy, not even half as large as a double room. Ironically you often pay a large single supplement for this tiny room. I usually travel with a companion.
-DOUBLE DOOR-, a side by side refrigerator is a DOUBLE DOOR refrigerator. You see side by side double doors in entries, shed doors, etc.

pjmugs said...

Three days in a row now I breezed through with only a few minor hmmms (as in "Hmmm, is that really correct?"). If I keep up at this pace, I will be feeling positively brilliant by the end of the week. I won't hold my breath.

When I was a kid, we lived in a house that had a DUTCHDOOR that opened onto the patio. I loved that door because the bottom part was perfectly kid-sized and I could come and go through there like I had a secret entrance.

Once again, the pug didn't come close to winning at Westminster but I can't say that the affenpinscher didn't deserve the cup. In his honor I changed my avatar to our other furkid, Peanut. She doesn't have his bearing or discipline (she's actually quite a hot mess, but she is black so they have something in common.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-C’mon you had CHILD for A Minor, didn’t you? AOLTA just didn’t make sense so…
-I have many pleasant foggy windshield memories of Drive-In DOUBLE FEATURES.
-Anybody up for this DOUBLE DUTCH? Loved your definition AM!
-Acrophobiacs (I live with one) aren’t going HERE!. Enjoy the pix and music!
-I’ve always heard TEN GS but only in 60 year old movies
-The Grammys still award ALBUM of the Year but what kid today has held an actual ALBUM?
-I’d love to be in Hawaii watching the Pacific LAP AT the shore in February (however you pronounce it).
-Fix It Again Tony ;-)
-The only BOSH I know plays for the Miami Heat. I’ve heard of Brits saying TOSH. Steve?
-Remember when in the event of a nuclear attack, you were to TUNE TO one of these Conelrad Stations. Pretty RETRO, huh?
-Where do those ODD socks go?
-Yeah, I had some report cards with ONE B. The rest were…
-The only Shakespeare I ever memorized had the phrase “…the good is oft INTERred with their bones”. Name the speaker.
-Our daughters and grandchildren still know who the ONE TO ASK in this household is.
-Before minimum tillage, farmers would TILL from Dawn TIL dusk around here. Not so much now.
-I last saw MARCIA on a celebrity roast being as profane as everyone else
-Yup, Dudley, them there Grantham girls are a pesky lot!
-50°F and sunny today so…

Anonymous said...

We get the puzzle in the daily paper so I solve it with pen/paper. And write-overs. Today I solved it online for the first time! What a fun feeling to get the "ta da"!

Thank you, ladies, for the puzzle and the write-up.

I've solved three puzzles in a row. I wonder if I'll keep going as the puzzles get harder. Thank goodness for this blog and the comments. I'm learning.

Pat

(qfeteck)

Pinto said...

I really liked todays puzzle.

Thanks for the write-up Melissa. Loved your reference to the Thrift Shop. Did your kids turn you on to it or are you hip just like me?

Kazie, I didn't see a "hockey reference" any more than I saw a "comedian who had a sitcom" reference.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Seemed to use a little more white-out than usual for a Wednesday but eventually it all came home without any lookups. Some clever clueing such as for CHORD ( I had 'child' at first) and SPIRES. Some gimmes too like FIAT and OZONE. Had trouble getting WHORL spelt right. Nailed NUEVO Leon, though.

BOILER ROOM - Here is a longitudinal CROSS-section of the RMS Titanic showing the boiler rooms and coal bunkers on the lowest level.

Have a good day.

kazie said...

Pinto,
I was referring to Melissa's explanation for 60A.

As to thrift shops, I have a volunteer duty to work at one several times a year for our church. I always feel like I need several showers after a half day there. I save on clothes by rarely throwing any of mine away.

61Rampy said...

Good Wednesday puzzle! Hand up for SCoUr/ SCRUB, I too wanted Herbie, and thought it might be a MUDpack. I also thought fed the fire might be fannED. I thought COW was going to be sOW, since the second word after CROSS could start with an S. Momentarily had TUNE in instead of TO. Otherwise, easy speed run today. I noticed the shout-out to CC.
(wcomeha)

Anonymous said...

Ten G means 10 Grand. A grand is a slang term for a thousand. 1% of a mil is ten grand.

Pinto said...

@Anony Mouse: I agree with you about the Fiat/Chrysler fiasco. I wonder how many people noticed that the most patriotic commercials during the Super Bowl were from Jeep and Dodge. Both owned by a foreign corporation!

"I call that getting swindled and perished. I call that getting strict by a business." just like those $20 briefs and $50 t-shirts!

HeartRx said...

SHOOT!! I submitted a puzzle with this same theme to Rich on December 31st. I hadn't heard back from him yet, but I can now guess what his answer will be! I even had three of the same entries:
BLIND DATE
CROSS CHECK
DUTCH DOOR
But, I had STANDARD FEATURE instead of BOILER ROOM, and my unifier was DOUBLE PLAY instead of DOUBLE FEATURE. Arrgh...

Pinto said...

Link gif

Lucina said...

Hello, all. Thanks, Melissa, for a chatty blog with some nice links. I'll CHECK them all later.

Nice speed run today though I needed both across and down to complete the theme answers which I didn't understand until reading M's blog.

I find it funny that some had CHILD for A Minor and would have fallen into that same trap except that OF ME was there to guide CHORD.

My spa also had MASSAGE before MUD BATH. We usually go to Palm Springs for that but haven't been in a while. That and HEMI/SEMI were my only write overs.

I didn't know ZOE but it perped itself. TEN G also filled itself with DELUSION and ONE TO ASK. LOVE BUG was there, too.

Thank you, Janice and Patti for a nice puzzle and some fun today.

My sister set me up on two BLIND DATES when I first came home but they did not work out.

How many will buy ROSES tomorrow?

Have a great Wednesday, everyone!
(Deinima)

Tinbeni said...

Melissa: Wonderful write-up and links.
Janice & Patti: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday offering.

LaLaLinda: With BOILER-ROOM, I also thought each theme would have double, double-letters.

Mari: My first thought for the movie VW #53 was also HERBIE (wouldn't fit). GMTA

pjmugs: The Affenpinscher, Banana Joe is a cutie.
Your avatar, Peanut, has moved into my second place.
(Who am I kidding, I liked all the pooches. And will never like the prissy cuts they give the Poodles!)

Husker: I think it would be a hoot to skydive off the Skywalk.

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

Ol' Man Keith said...

Fairly easy today. I don't always finish Wednesdays before heading off to work. I liked the "double" theme--simple, not overly clever. Enjoyable, so Thanks!

Tinbeni said...

Hmmm, 52-D, Depleted layer, OZONE.

Yet today there is this article that says the Ozone layer hole has decreased.

Ozone decreasing

I might need some Avatar to ponder this development.
Cheers!!!

melissa bee said...

pinto, ding ding ding! i love that song, wondered if any one would know it. hip just like you ;).

thanks to everyone who explained TENG --- i know what it means but my eyes would not separate it into two words, all i could see last night was TENG - just couldn't make sense of it.

thanks also to all the well-wishes on my new job. part of the reason i'm having trouble seeing straight is i am in the middle of a full week of all day team meetings - just brutal. i need to book a massage ;).

Misty said...

Well, this was no speed run, for sure. I first got only the bottom half and it was quite a slog to fill in the top. But in the end it all worked, so thanks for a perfect Wednesday puzzle, Janice and Patti. And I loved your thrift shop lyrics, Melissa. Did you write them?

Like many of you I had MASSAGE and SNIP. Even worse, I had THOU instead of TEN G. I'm actually pretty good with money, but not with math--worrisome.

I miss the cartoon "Cathy."

My husband and I started our relationship over a coincidence. We discovered we both had tan female short-haired dachshunds. Wouldn't have won Westminster, but we loved them anyway.

Oops, I think I'm out of lines. Have a great day, everybody!

Irish Miss said...

Good afternoon:

Fun puzzle with a little more bite than a usual Wednesday, IMO, that is. I also thought the theme referred to double letters in the theme answers, but, thanks to Melissa, I now know the real theme.

Had massage at first, Alicia before Marica (never saw the Brady Bunch in my life)' and atria before aorta. Good job, Janice and Patti.

HG - I share your wife's acrophobia, big time.

Marti - all your hard work in vain! Would Rich hold onto your puzzle for future publication after a certain amount of time had passed?

Have a great Wednesday.

Misty said...

Marti, I agree with Irish Miss. Maybe you could tweak your puzzle a little and it could run at a later time. We love your puzzles and would find it a treat to have it whenever.

melissa bee said...

misty, those are lyrics from a hip-hop song by macklemore & ryan lewis. the video is easy to find on youtube - may be offensive to some, which is why i didn't link it. (i think it's both genius and hilarious.)

Yellowrocks said...

Marti, Would your puzzle qualify for one of our Curious Conundrums?

CrossEyedDave said...

Took a long break when i could not get the last letter, then WAG'd myself into a FIW. I thought 25D would be "spot" or "blot" but finally settled on 24A as Nuev"a" Leon. That left me with A NEB??? I must have stared at that neb for a 1/2 hour... Oh Well...

WEES on other inkblots, plus cultivate was grow, then farm, before till.

Spitzboov, Tx for the Titanic blueprint! I was going to look one up because I was sure there was "something" under the boiler room!

Anonymouse, I hear you,,, as I sit crying in my Budweiser...

HG! Conelrad!!! All i can say is "Holy Udder Woman!"

Re: Skywalk, read up on it before you go. Apparently it is a huge rip off, but who could blame the Indians for wanting to get even with the White Man.

48D I remember when MarciaMarciaMarcia! was a catchphrase, but watching the clip, it seems pretty tame now.

Captcha

Awol said...

Wonderful hump day offering.

I adore the word TORPID. So slothful.
Speaking of which:

Flying Sloth

Keith, you began your career as cottage cheese?
Seriously?
We need to hear more about that.

[rfansfa]

Awol said...

Broken link. Let's try again.

Flying Sloth 2

[ekSAsco]

61Rampy said...

Regarding what Tin said about the ozone layer: I teach automotive Air Conditioning, and we have to follow EPA rules. The EPA states that there is NO RELEASING of refrigerant to the atmosphere. If you get caught doing so, they can fine you over $32,000! This is true of all A/C, not just auto. This law has been in effect since 1994. As of 2003, the ozone layer had begun to heal itself. So, maybe we CAN make a difference?!?!?

Anonymous said...

Not a fun puzzle, no flow at all. Too many awkward clues. TenG shld read ten g's. Tune to shld be tune in. Etc.
When I see these girls again, I will skip the puzzle. Glad you all liked it, but not my cup of tea.

CrossEyedDave said...

No fair with the doubles! I can only come up with so many funny pics ya know!

Boiler Room

It didn't start out as a double date.

The only dutch doors i ever saw were on Mr.Ed.

Bad sport cross check

Uhh,,, I am not sure i want to see this double feature.

Captcha

Jerome said...

Marti- Don't you hate it when that happens. But here's the ultimate bummer. Patti is the Patti that's going to inform you that Rich has used that theme before! Almost unbelievable.

IMMATURE- Answer to the question
"Which one of you is Victor?"

Pookie said...

WEES
Massage, Tune in, Split door, Thought the drive-in had something to do with burgers and malts, or root beer. Took forever to get FEATURE.
Finished, but was afraid I might not.
BOSH????

ntachtn

HeartRx said...

Jerome, Patti and I have already emailed each other, chuckling over the coincidence!

To answer those who asked if I could still publish it, I would say "no." I try to make all my puzzles originals, and check carefully to see if a theme has been used before. And one with so many overlapping theme entries would just not be considered original.

But I still enjoyed Janice and Patti's puzzle!

Yellowrocks said...

After so many years of computer carefulness, I think "I have been had!" There is a Fed Ex tracking scam. Fed Ex couldn't deliver the package and you ahould print a receipt and take it to the nearest facilty. I clicked on print and then immediately was wise to the scam. I Googled it and read that the scam introduced malware to your computer. I phoned Fed Ex and found it was not a valid tracking number. I ran a deep scam with no malware found. My computer does shoot down malware. How will I know whether or not I have been infected? I wised up one second too late.

Bill G. said...

That was a very pleasant Wednesday puzzle. Thanks Janice, Patti and Melissa. I though "Place in the earth" for INTER was very clever. Even after I got it with crossing letters, I had to stare at it for a bit before it made sense. I wonder if Janice and Patti came up with that one or was it a Rich creation? But I see where Anon at 8:56 has declared it to be weak so I guess I must be confused. I am looking forward to his upcoming CW publication.

Lately, when I go to Cruciverb to download some other puzzle like The Onion today, I get an error message NOT FOUND. What's up with that?

It's a relief that they apparently cornered and killed the rogue policeman last night. The whole thing is a shame.

The rear bumper on my Camry got itself into a little accident with the woman across the street. The local Toyota dealer has a guy whose only job is to refinish bumpers. It's nice of them to fix it for me quicker and more cheaply than taking it to a regular body shop.

Almost every time I go to the local grocery store, I bring home some flowers. They brighten up the kitchen. I did get some yellow roses last trip.

I find sloths very interesting. They only have two speeds. Very slow and not quite so slow.

Bill G. said...

A rectangle minus a rectangle
You have a large rectangular piece of cardboard with a smaller rectangular hole cut out of it somewhere with any orientation. How can you cut the cardboard into two pieces so that both parts have the same area?

CrossEyedDave said...

Yellowrocks,

after reading the attached i would not be too concerned UNLESS i did BANKING on that computer!

Not knowing what computer, operating system, antivirus etc... it gets complicated. I hope you have a good antivirus, many are free, some catch what other don't.

can you access yr antivirus interface? it can tell you if it finds something.

Captcha

Ree said...

Hi everyone! Got a little held up in the southwest corner and as many have mentioned, did not know the word torpid.
The streets and sidewalks are much more clear today, looks like an all clear for school tomorrow! There were plows all over today pushing back as much as they could... the storm that was due for this weekend looks like it misses us!! Thank goodness!

Spitzboov said...

Anon @ 1246 - You TUNE TO a frequency, in the act of tuning in a station. Ie: To tune in station WGY in our area, you tune to 810 kHz. Hope this helps.

Irish Miss said...

Finally got around to watching the Monday segment of the dog show and was thrilled to see "my" Bichon win the non-sporting group! (My LH used to say our Bichon was in the bred-to-do-nothing-but-sit-on-your-lap group.) Sorry the Bichon didn't win Best In Show, but the Affenpincher (sp?) certainly deserved to win.

Tinbeni said...

Irish Miss:
There were 187 separate breeds judged at the Westminister Dog Show.

I was able to "narrow-it-down" to ... 186 Best In Show winners.

OK, I admit it, I did not like that dog that won last year.
It looked more like a "rat" to me.

Hope you enjoy your Dewar's.
Cheers !!!

willow said...

Fun puzzle! Love the shout-out to C.C.!
DH & i are among those lucky ducks: early retirees. We do most things in a leisurely if not TORPID manner. In addition, we live on the far western edge of the Pacific Time Zone. Therefore, I'm often too late to post. We do the puzzle together, passing it back & forth, asking each other for opinions & help. Is that cheating? Well, we enjoy it!

Avg Joe said...

YR, I had a nasty malware infestation a few years ago and one of my sons set me up with HiJack This. I'm not technically proficient enough to know exactly what was done before he handed it off to me, but I do know it worked well. It's a free service that relies on donations. I know this isn't much help, but consider it a recommendation if you are able to get it installed and running on your own. A simple search will at least give you a chance to investigate it.

Marge said...

wssioHi all,
I was glad to find some of you had some problems with this because I certainly did. Got the top and the bottom but not much in between.

1A I had mgs,for milagrams but that didn't work so decided it was CCs.

The temp now is 40 and more of our snow and ice are melting. I sure hope we don't get much more cold weather this year.

Have a good evening!
Marge

Anonymous said...

The south instructs to TUNE TO SEESAW.

Marge said...

I see I messed up again with the robot thing. My computer is so touchy-I accidently hit the wrong key and words end up in the wrong place. Oh well!
Marge

JD said...

Amen! I am just happy that I finished. The top half took me forever, but then words seemed to click..not bosh,nor torpid. Perps weren't as friendly. I scoured instead of scrubbed, and had a massage instead of a mud bath.

Thought of you Melissa. Hope the new job rocks! Thanks for the write-up. Hope you tune in later.

Loved Double Dutch as a kid when my shoes were not yet flop flop flopping.

inteneff

john28man said...

Maybe it is because I am an engineer but in 41D Ididn't see a $ so I put in TENK. "K" is a meant to be KILO which is a thousand in the Metric System. Others are MILLI (One Thoudnadth) MICRO (One Millionth).

Argyle said...

(I didn't do the math)

41A ; I slapped in ONE G and thought how cool is that after having O NEG yesterday. Not to be.

Avatar of my dog, Chipper, helping cart autumn leaves away.

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

Bill G,
Now you need to pay to get the Onion puzzles. "Not found" happened last time when you tried to download the Boston Globe puzzle from Cruciverb.
Remember?

Yellowrocks,
Please check your email. I sent you the Microsoft Security Scanner link TTP gave to me last time. It's free and works great.

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

I'm pretty happy with our Kaspersky, by the way.

PK said...

Hi Y'all, fun puzzle! Fun expo, Melissa!

WEES! I learned Beirut was on the Mediterranean. Duh!

I had the wrong spelling of MARshA. As for ONE B & ONE TO ASK, I had them right but thought one had to be wrong since using the same word twice in a puzzle is supposedly a NO NO!

HG: Marc Anthony, who comes to buy Caesar not to praise him?

Place in earth? 1. plant 2. crypt 3. INTER.

Lately, I'm so TORPID I could give a sloth some serious competition. I need to get back on daylight schedule.

Seldom Seen said...

I am STOKED that baseball is right around the corner! But I had to do a DOUBLE take at some pictures posted on a Reds blog today:

Reds' field in Goodyear Arizona.

Reds' field in Cincinnati.

kobrienmv said...

Shouldn't the clue for 55Across be "Words before 'What a coincidence!'"?

Anonymous said...

1000 equals 1 grand or 1 G

TTP said...

Between work and and an appointment, I had a lot of reading to do to catch up on the blog.

Y-R, after reading your ~9:10 post, I guess I should have tried to book "adjoining rooms"...

As CC noted, I would start with the Microsoft Security Scanner if you are Windows based. If that runs clean, your PC, is most likely fine. However, if you have any doubts, then search for and run the Microsoft Malicious Software Removal Tool.

Dave ID'd the probable bug based on your description. Good deal.
The bug has been around awhile, so any good antivirus programs will be able to identify it and heuristics of it.

The dilemma is that a bug may alter your previously installed antivirus program. So it's a good idea to run the Security Scanner and take actions based on the results.

Marge, me too. Like Marti said the other day, I am sooo ready for spring.

Argyle, I like your avatar ! My boy lays down on the porch and watches me do the yard work.

TTP said...

Darn it. Another typo. Trying yet again.

Should proof my work. Or quit trying to do too many things at once. Just read what I typed.

Should have said "will use heuristics to identify any probable variants of it." Duh!

Sfingi said...

Much better than NYT's offering, today. However, they both had SEESAW
and ETE.
Sub-themes: 2 poetic words and 2 odd measurements.

Had CHilD before CHORD (a minor, for one).

Liked INTER.

Once rented an apartment with DOUBLE DOORS to a large porch.

@Dudley - each multiple that leads to another comma is by 1,000. Don't mean to make you sleepy.

But agree with @kobrienmv.

Yellowrocks said...

DO I agree with your take on SO AM I.
"I'm a Yalie."
"What a coincidence,SO AM I."
Words after what a coincidence are SO AM I.

Thanks all for the help on my computer glitch. All your suggested sites come up "no problem," but Norton says over and over it is compromised and its patch doesn't work. I'll turn the computer off and try again tomorrow.

Today was "one of those days." I also deleted a document I had worked 90 minutes on and then shut down WORD. Good-bye 90 minutes! Doing any more today invites disaster.
Good night.

Manac said...

Evening everyone,
Nice Wednesday puzzle but Double boiler and Double blind threw off the theme for me. Don't remember hearing of either. Blog to the rescue to clear things up!

Looks like the dog lovers are gaining a foothold here :-)

TTP, My "Girl" was at my side constantly, mowing the lawn or clearing the driveway of snow. Even took her to work with me all the time. Never had to worry about getting paid. I let her do the collecting :) Now starting to look around for a pup, but I refuse to go to a puppy mill. I'll take my time for the right opportunity.

Later

fermatprime said...

Hello there.

Thank you Janice, Patti and mb! Very clever!

Hand up for CHilD and SCoUr. But these were only MINOR slowdowns.

Argyle: what kind of pooch?

Noticed that Castle had Gina Torres (Suits) as guest star. Anyone have reaction to this episode?

Happy hump evening!

Anonymous said...

The anon who hates salt water softeners said...
To "Dad": I visit her often...she`s widowed and I make a 2,000 mile round trip several times a year to see after her. Now don`t you feel snarky!

posterboy said...

To Hahtoolah:

"I'm a Scorpio" could lead to "what a coincidence, so am I."

Argyle said...

Chipper was a free mutt.

Bill G. said...

It's a beautiful day here today. I went on a short bike ride and stopped by a little Mexican restaurant half a block from the ocean, La Playita. I didn't especially like their fish tacos but they make the BEST chicken tortilla soup (with the possible exception of Lucina). Their special ingredient, avocado.

Animal Tracks slideshow.


Polar bears playing with dogs.

CanadianEh! said...

Late to post today. Spent the day judging Gr. 7/8 projects at Science Fair. Tiring work but some good projects. Even a project on impurities in drinking water reminding me of discussion of CC's problem.
Nice theme today - thanks Melissa for explaining. I got the double letters but had missed the other.
Wanted Massage before MUDBATH.
Thanks Heart Rx for yesterday's memory tip!

Irish Miss said...

Tin @ 3:04 - I agree-all the dogs were deserving. It's way past 5:00' but Cheers, anyway!

Bill G @ 7:10 - Enjoyed your links, especially the polar bears with the dogs.

Argyle, Chipper is a cute mutt-ski!

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Hands up for falling in the Child/minor trap and also for putting in One G for Ten G. I didn't do the math either. None of the perps would fit, so that was changed pretty fast. I've never had a mud bath at a Spa, but I have had a massage.

I'm very late this evening, but wanted to thank Melissa Bee for the Acro definition. I was thinking of being tall or up in the air.

Every thing else has been hashed over, so I won't add anything else to the already talked about puzzle.

My mother and father-in-law had a dutch door into their family room from the patio. My girls loved it because they played store and whatever else the split door would lend itself to in their imaginations. It was a fun thing for them to do while visiting their grandparents.

Have a good rest of the evening everyone.

Chickie said...

Manac, A Double Boiler is a two pot set up where you put water to boil in the bottom pot and place the liquid in the top to be cooked over the boiling water.

A Double Blind study is what comes to mind when I hear the term Double Blind. I participated in a double blind medical study about five years ago.

windhover said...

Jerome:
Your Victor Mature joke reminded me of that famous musical question , "By the way, which one's Pink?"

Inter is only weak if you're not aware that "terra" is Latin for earth or land.

Don't anyone faint, but I'm about to make a(nother) puzzle
comment. I haven't had time to check in today, so was able to do the puzzle before reading the blog. Sometimes I get them as much as two weeks late.
This puzzle is why my favorites are Wednesday and Thursday; a challenge, but not a b--- breaker. Over the past year or so I've reached the point where I can, with persistence that involves coming back to it several times. But the mid-week puzzles are my speed. No TV and no movies since the LOTR trilogy contributes to my ineptness, but in fact I'll probably never be a solver who cruises through on Saturday. They're still fun to try, though.
Road trip for the weekend, so no puzzles for me till next week.
firwsnL

JD said...

Bill, loved both links, especially the bears.
question: Since you always have a fabulous lunch, do you usually eat a big dinner too?

Argyle, just looking at your beautiful Chipper makes me long to have a dog again. He sure has a great coat for winter.

meesvis

Lucina said...

Argyle, I love your Chipper.

Today on Anderson Cooper's show, Banana Joe, visited. He is adorable and he could make me want another dog again but that's not going to happen, And yes, I prefer dogs rather than cats. My daughter likes both.

mehgove

Manac said...

Chickie,
Thank you for the explanations.
This blog is what makes doing the LAT crossword puzzle so enjoyable. If you have a ? someone here will always shed some light on it. It has been said more than once. " Either it is in your wheelhouse or it isn't."

Time for a dose of Tin's cheers!

Bill G. said...

JD, I don't always have a fabulous lunch; I just write about the better ones. Sometimes lunch is some salad and a half-can of soup, sometimes leftovers.

Argyle said...

Yes, Chipper was a great dog. A credit to his breed which, in his case, would have been breeds.

Anony Mouse said...

Bill G. If you happen to read this, please give the answer to your " rectangle within a rectangle " construction problem, tomorrow. I have tried all sorts of solutions, including actually cutting a rectangle(s), but the solution seems to elude me.

Someone, told me that, Jacob 'Jack' Lew, Previously White House Chief of Staff, now nominated to be Secretary of the US Treasury, has a very funny, loopy signature which will be printed on all the US Dollar bills during 'his' term.

Here it is.

HERE IS HIS SIGNATURE

Seldom Seen said...

Manac said: "Looks like the dog lovers are gaining a foothold here :-)"

Well don't look now but they may even be getting a leg up.

[catirld] no kidding!

Bill G. said...

Dear Anony Mouse: Here is the answer to the rectangle puzzle. You can find the center of a rectangle by drawing the two diagonals. Any other line passing through that center point will divide the rectangle into two equal mirror-image parts. So, using diagonals, find the center of both rectangles. Draw a line extending through the centers of both rectangles and that line will have divided the cardboard rectangle into two pieces with equal areas.

I hope that makes sense. Let me know if it doesn't

Manac said...

Seen,
Heh Heh, Heh.

That was good for a chuckle and a half!

Love the humor here!

Irish Miss said...

Argyle @ 10:02 - You said "was" a great dog. Is he no longer with us?

Lucina @ 9:37 - I have to fight the urge quite often to not get another dog. As much as I would love to have one, I know I do not want the responsibility or the sacrifice required of a pet owner.

Bill G @ 10:15 - No, it doesn't make sense and never will. Pass the Excedrin! (-:

Awol said...

Bill G:
Your rectangle puzzle is an elegant delight.
Thank you for sharing it.

[Loudyil]

Anony Mouse said...

Bill G. Thank you for the solution. I had been trying exactly the same approach, but since I did not bother to use my 'set square' and protractor, I was not getting very accurate results. Plus, since I chose my inner rectangle to be 'tilted' I had a problem lining up the edges - plus I was finding the center point of the rectangles, by bisecting their sides. In any case, my, far too numerous, diagrams were a mess, and I could not get the 'ta-da'. God, I should have realized - since the inner rectangle could be in any orientation - that the answer had to do with the respective mid points.

Very nice puzzle. Must remember this puzzle. Thank you.

Bill G. said...

Awol, Anony Mouse, I'm glad you liked the rectangle puzzle. Me too.

Awol, would you consider filling out more of your profile? I see we're almost neighbors.

Argyle said...

Unfortunately, Chipper is gone lo these many years. RIP.

Awol said...

Bill G.:
Okey Dokey. The deed is done.
Profile updated.
Used to live on the ocean in SF and enjoy vicariously your lunches at the beach.
Cheers

[stomapu]