google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday March 31, 2013 Andrew J. Ries

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Mar 31, 2013

Sunday March 31, 2013 Andrew J. Ries

Theme: "Support Group" -  12 AA meets in the middle of each theme entry.

23A. Tibetan breed : LHASA APSO. In Tibetan, Apso means "bearded".


24A. Cinematographer's concern : CAMERA ANGLE

30A. First Bond girl : URSULA ANDRESS. Looking for shells?


45A. Orange County seat : SANTA ANA

47A. Max Ernst, for one : DADA ARTIST

55A. Crimson Tide's home : TUSCALOOSA ALABAMA. Marti's husband's alma mater.
 
80A. "The Voice" coach : CHRISTINA AGUILERA. She is taking a break now. Shakira is in.

 

87A. Interactive website plug-in : JAVA APPLET

91A. Unusual thing : RARA AVIS

106A. Its largest hub is in Atlanta : DELTA AIRLINES

113A. First Japanese car to be produced in the U.S. : HONDA ACCORD

116A. Mozart highlight : OPERA ARIA. Is there any non-opera ARIA?

Reveal entry:
69A. Event where the number 12 is important, and a feature of 12 two-word answers in this puzzle : AA MEETING. Their 12-step progress.

I counted 145 theme squares. This is crazily brilliant. Normally we have around 100. Unlike the scrabbly KK's, AA's are easier to deal with, but it takes skill to make the grid so smooth.

Today's constructor Andrew Ries is from Minnesota. I glanced at his website before but never went to "About me". After looking at his picture this morning, I realized he's the host of the Minnesota Crossword Tournament. So I met you, Andrew!

Across:

1. Festive occasion : GALA

5. Stinging remark : BARB

9. Italian for "small rolls" : PANINI. I had an eggplant panini once. Pretty good. Hard to make eggplant tasty.

15. Epps of "House" : OMAR

19. One working on figures? : ICE SKATER. Not Weight watchers.

21. Knocked the socks off : AMAZED

22. Goody-goody's "headwear" : HALO

26. Patriotic org. : DAR. Daughters of the American Revolution.

27. Starts the haggling at : ASKS. Is the "at" needed in the end?

29. Powerful perch : THRONE

36. Let the tears go : SOB. Sad. "Nothing Compares 2 U"!

37. In the past : AGO

39. Rocker Young : NEIL

40. Real estate listing abbr. : RMs

41. Palm tree nut : ARECA. Did you want BETEL as well?

43. Cuban of the Dallas Mavericks, e.g. : OWNER. Mark Cuban.

50. Bases-loaded walk stat : RBI

51. Well-stated : APT

54. Literally, "the tar" : LA BREA

61. Mao's successor : HUA. Gimme! Hua Guofeng. He ended Cultural Revolution in 1976. But ousted by Deng Xiaoping in 1978. I remember this poster vividly. The guy in the middle is Hua. Extremely loyal to Mao.



64. Jobs offering of 2007 : iPHONE

65. Former Bears coach : DITKA (Mike)

66. Full or half holds : NELSONs

68. Train-stopping spots: Abbr. : STAs

72. Once, archaically : ERST

73. Texas Hold 'em variety : NO LIMIT

76. Believing in the green-cheese moon, say : NAIVE

77. Smoothing tool : PLANER. Splynter probably uses it everyday.

79. Leveling initials : TNT

84. Rub with oil : ANOINT
 
85. Evelyn Waugh, but not George Eliot : MAN. George Eliot's real name is Mary Anne Evans.

86. Pujols blasts: Abbr. : HRS. Pujols is Boomer's favorite player.

96. Scare : ALARM

97. Reacted to a massage : AAHED

100. __-de-France : ILE

101. Wolfe who tracks crooks : NERO

102. "Licensed to __": Beastie Boys album : ILL. Doesn't make sense grammatically.

103. Sea-Tac posting : ARR

109. Turtledove : DEARIE

111. Hair disheveler : GUST. Oh, you need So Sexy serum. It smells amazing. 

112. Ambulance VIP : EMT

122. Ancient Andean : INCA

123. Just as prescribed : TO A TEE. We often see TO A T.

124. Save a date, say : MAKE PLANS

125. Consider : DEEM

126. Bugs : ANNOYS

127. Flower stalk : STEM

128. Wrist-directed reprimand : SLAP

Down:

1. "The Simpsons" real estate agent Gunderson : GIL. No idea. The only Gunderson I know is Jerome.

2. Hamburger beef? : ACH. Ha ha. Ham & pineapple for us today.

3. Shows the way (to) : LEADS IN. Is "to" necessary here?

4. Military attack : ASSAULT

5. Ovine bleat : BAA. MAA too.

6. Men's tennis org. : ATP. Association of Tennis Professionals. And 44D. 6-Down counterpart founded by Billie Jean King : WTA. Women's Tennis Association.

7. Thing in court : RES

8. Like some shoulders : BROAD

9. Lambeau Field pro : PACKER. Quite a few Packers' flags/signs in our neighborhood.

10. Saved up : AMASSED

11. Site of '60s action : NAM

12. Modern ending? : IZE. Modernize.  

13. "Darn it!" : NERTS.  In Chinese, it's "Ta Ma De", pronounced just like it's written. Urban dictionary has it wrong. It's not the F word. Just "Dammit!"

14. State with a panhandle : IDAHO. Which state do you think is the most popular in Xword?

15. [Gasp!] : OH NO

16. Oscar winner Anna : MAGNANI. Alien to me. Wiki says she won Oscar for "her portrayal of a Sicilian widow in The Rose Tattoo".


17. Asserts sans proof : ALLEGES

18. Fish eggs : ROE

20. Bush advisor Rove : KARL. Big fund raiser.

25. Like koalas : ARBOREAL

28. Mexican Mrs. : SRA

30. Young __ : UNS

31. "Bloom" star Stephen : REA. I've only seen his "The Crying Game" & "Michael Collin" & "Prêt-à-Porter".

32. Ideal for growing : ARABLE

33. OB/GYN test : AMNIO

34. Org. in the film "Sneakers" : NSA

35. Italy's La __ : SCALA

38. Morsel : ORT

42. Very little : A DAB

46. Ireland's __ Islands : ARAN. Stumped me last time.

48. Go out with __ : A BANG

49. Soldat's weapon : ARME. Soldat = Solider. French.

51. "__ sure you're aware …" : AS I'M

52. One of Edison's 1,000-plus : PATENT

53. Put in the crosshairs : TAKE AIM
 
55. Quaint "Not so" : 'TISN'T

56. B.J. or Justin of baseball : UPTON. They're brothers.


57. Commandment verb : SHALT

58. Mozart's "__ fan tutte" : COSI

59. Seraglio room : ODA

60. J.Lo, for one : LATINA

61. Mezzo Marilyn : HORNE

62. Racing great Bobby : UNSER. Brother of Al.

63. Stars at the Forum? : ASTRA. Latin.

67. Official emblem : SEAL

69. Aweigh : ATRIP. And APEAK. Real words in Spitzboov's world. Let's see if we can have a week sans A* words next week.

70. US Open champ between John and Mats : IVAN (Lendl). OK, John McEnroe. Mats Wilander is a stranger to me.

71. Grant-providing gp. : NEA

74. '60s defense secretary : McNAMARA (Robert). No escape from Vietnam.

75. Chain with stacks : IHOP. What's your favorite food at IHOP?

77. Coddled kitty, e.g. : PURRER

78. Crossword-solving Simpson : LISA. This is the episode with Merl Reagle & Will Shortz. Maybe someone can dig out the YouTube clip.

81. At a Lakers home game, e.g. : IN LA. Hi there, Bill, have you ever been to a Lakers' game?

82. Place : STEAD

83. '90s U.N. secretary-general Boutros-__ : GHALI. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. I just found out that Boutros is Arabic for "Peter". 

84. River past Berne : AAR
 
87. Start of a rhyming Basque game : JAI. Jai alai.

88. Finished : ALL DONE!

89. Element's combining power : VALENCE

90. 2011 Liam Neeson film involving a wolf pack : THE GREY. Never saw the movie. Gray wolves.

91. Fjord-like inlet : RIA

92. Pink Floyd album including "Dogs" and "Sheep" : ANIMALS. Very helpful clue.

93. Abdominal : VENTRAL. Also a new word to me.

94. Mad-as-all-get-out state : IRE

95. Tapped-out letters : SOS. D'oh!

98. Gets away from : ELUDES

99. Boozer's affliction : DTS. Delirium tremens. The shakes.

104. Stampede rope : RIATA

105. Casing outing, briefly : RECON. Reconnaissance.

107. Physics bits : ATOMS

108. Spring : LEAP

110. Pop singer Lambert : ADAM. Runner-up of "American Idol" 8th season. Noted for his use of eyeliner.


 
113. Kept under wraps : HID

114. Crushable container : CAN

115. Native Nebraskan : OTO

117. Search, with "down" : PAT

118. Scratch (out) : EKE

119. Sleep lab acronym : REM. Rapid Eye Movement.

120. TV chef Garten : INA. Love her "Barefoot Contessa".


Guess who this lady is? Don't raise your hand, D-Otto!
 

121. Cause of Cleo's demise : ASP


C.C.


45 comments:

  1. Hello, All!

    Swell puzzle, Andrew! Fine write-up, CC!

    Having been a member of AA, cottoned to the theme right away. Took a while, but I got 'er done correctly!

    IPHONE was a gimme! Hooray!

    PK: Perhaps you could get a video hookup? I sure would. After my cat was killed and my truck scratched, I almost had the whole system installed everywhere. Just didn't get around to it. Still on my list.

    Tax man had good news. Those huge medical expenses (besides the holistic dentist the walk-in tub and numerous pool repairs) actually helped this year. No payment due. (This should surely flag an audit. "What," the IRS will say, "she always has to pay a bunch!"

    Oh well, I'll enjoy it while it lasts!

    Have a great sunday! (Hope that it will be sunny here like yesterday, unexpectedly!)

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  2. (Left out a parenthesis but am not anal enough today to go back and delete the entry, etc., even though it is copied.) Time for beddy-bye!

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  3. Morning, all!

    Fun puzzle today. Got the theme very early on, but didn't really need it since all the theme answers were adequately clued and none were particularly obscure (although I had a bit of trouble spelling TUSCALOOSA). Still, each was a delight to discover along the way.

    Got tripped up a bit with HUA, MAGNANI, UPTON, GIL, INA, ATP, WTA, and ARAN, but the perps came to rescue each time. Barely remembered ARECA and ATRIP from previous puzzles, or else those would have tripped me up as well.

    Really liked the cluing for IHOP "Chain with stacks"), ASTRA ("Stars at the Forum") and ACH ("Hamburger beef"). I was sure that last one was going to be MOO... ^_^

    [gramosup]

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  4. A nice sunday puzzle from Andrew and a great write up from CC. not a watcher of the barefoot contessa but the other picture I believe is Chef Bridget Lancaster of America's Test Kitchen.

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  5. Not a fan of "A" words, but one has to marvel at the pun on Aweigh (away) and Atrip.

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  6. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Andrew Ries, for a swell Sunday puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for the swell review.

    Got started early. Have a lot to do today.

    Started at the top and worked my way down. Lot of blank squares, needless to say.

    Caught the theme after a while. I did not think of AA at 69A for quite a while. Eventually figured it out, then some of my previous answers made sense.

    Had CENTRAL for a while at 93D. Fixed that to VENTRAL after RARA AVIS appeared.

    Liked NELSONS for 66A.

    Did not know SANTA ANA was the seat of Orange County. I used to work in that county, many years ago. I probably knew it then.

    Happy Easter everyone. See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    (ohstomai)

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  7. Good morning!

    I got the theme early on, but this was still a struggle with so many unfmiliar names. I didn't understand "Pujols blast" = hours. Oh, different HRS. Everything perped out OK in the end, and it came in well within my personal time limit.

    If the "Boutrous" in Boutrous Boutrous-Ghali is Peter, then does "Ghali" mean Pumpkin?

    My TISN'T started out as TAIN'T.

    Thanks for the shoutout, C.C. Yes, Bridget is my favorite TV chef. I got a lesson yesterday for making old-style apple dumplings. Sounds delicious! I may have to try them.

    I think the "at" in "Starts the haggling at" is helpful. The merchant sets the ASKing price, and the customers haggle down from that.

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  8. A pox on the plethora of proper names.

    Apuzzler@7:32, I see no pun intended. Aweigh and atrip both mean the anchor has cleared the bottom, I believe.

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  9. Argyle@8:02 -- He was away on a trip.

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  10. Good morning C.C. et al.

    Thanks for the shout out to DH's alma mater, C.C. I also thought of Jerome at 1D. Fun puzzle, but it almost seemed like a themeless because all the theme entries were normal phrases without any puns or tricky clues involved. Still, a pretty smooth solve start to finish.

    I liked the clue for ICE SKATER, because I was trying to fit in accountant or IRS agent for "One working on figures." And "Hamburger beef" for ACH got me for a while, even though I have seen it before.

    Time to go make some Easter eggs (scrambled, not dyed.) Have a fun day everyone!

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  11. Pretty nice Sunday puzzle. I got all except 5 words in a little central group: GHALI, RIA, HRS, RARA, and ILE. Not bad for me, on a Sunday.

    Have an enjoyable day everyone. After church I am treating my daughter and a friend of hers to Easter Brunch.

    Montana

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  12. Good morning everyone. Thanks for the commentary, C.C.

    A little crunchy but easier than some Sundays. Found myself not looking at all the perp clues. Interesting AA theme generating an eclectic fill. No look-ups needed. Good job, Andrew.

    We never used ATRIP, but then I wasn't in the Deck division, either. It's possible the Bos'n mates could have. Both aweigh and atrip are in my nautical glossary.

    Bill G - Last evening you asked about Virgin Mobile. It may be that you have to call them since the plan is not advertised. They automatically charge my charge card every 3 mos. for $15 + fees and taxes. I guess you would call this a prepaid plan. Your calls are charged against the balance. If it gets low you can 'top up' and prepay additionally. It doesn't time out; the balance is always there until you use it.
    I've also seen a recent ad for Spottalk for $5/month and 10¢/minute but I don't know the details.
    Hope this helps.

    Happy Easter

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  13. Hi Y'all! Happy Easter! I was AMAZED at this clever puzzle, Andrew Ries! Having done PR work for an AA group and knowing the 12 steps to recovery, the theme came easy. The rest was a bit of a struggle, but one step at a time...

    Great as always, C. C.!

    I knew only about half the names. I could see the faces for MAGNANI and ADAM but took a while for the names to surface. URSULA ANDRESS came instantly as did CHRISTINA AGUILERA. MCNAMARA was a gimmee as soon as I had the MC. I knew Mark Cuban and tried his first name--no fit. DUH!

    Wanted Texas for panhandle state. Got IDAHO on fifth try. Hair disheveling: wanted wind. Then I got "ust" and put in an "L"--more fun than a "G"!

    Lakers clue a gimmee. Watched Kobe Bryant surpass Wilt Chamberlain with career points over 31,000 + several hundred last night.

    Lots of trouble in SW corner: didn't know 87A&D or VALENCE. Last to fill: 9A&D PANINI/PACKER, NERTS? ARECA? Groan! Love red-letter help.

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  14. Fermatprime: Congrats on no tax. Remembering all the pain & frustrations you had getting those expenses, I think you deserve a break somewhere. I'll keep my fingers crossed for no audit.

    I'm thinking of getting a "nanny cam" with a motion sensor if I can find one. Radio Shack? Need to call around.

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  15. That should have read "Last Night I watched Kobe Bryant surpass Wilt Chamberlain's record career point over 31,000+several hundred." He didn't make several hundred last night.

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  16. PK, I'm glad to hear you are taking matters into your own hands! We have several Lorex cameras around our house. You can order them online, and their tech support is wonderful.

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  17. Did not have a chance to post yesterday, we succeeded with a Saturday Silkie! Just wanted to wish a Happy Easter to all who celebrate ! Will download this puzzle & save it for tonight!

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  18. Hi All ~~

    This went much faster than a usual Sunday puzzle for me. Finding the unifier early helped with some of the theme answers. I wonder if I would have picked up on the theme if I hadn't run into the unifier so soon. Very enjoyable ~ thanks, Andrew Ries!

    ~ Favorites were ones that have already been mentioned: 2D - Hamburger beef - ACH, 75D - chain with stacks - IHOP. Of course I also liked 77D - Coddled kitty - PURRER. I would have to say that my kitties are coddled. =^..^=

    ~ I had a HONDA ACCORD from 1991-2008 and then bought another one that year. The old one was still running great but I just wanted a new car.

    ~ Thanks for a very informative write-up, C.C. I would think that Nebraska would be a state that seems to be mentioned a lot in puzzles.

    Off to spend Easter with my family at my niece's house. Enjoy the day, everyone!

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  19. Good Morning:

    Found this fairly easy but with enough crunch to make it interesting. Caught the theme early with camera angle. Had a few miscues: accuses before alleges; at sea before a trip; evades before eludes; Carl before Karl. But perps came to the rescue for the grand TA DA.

    So, thank you Mr. Ries for a Sunday smoothie and thank you CC for a great expo. And, CC, please continue to enlighten us with your comments and opinions about China and its culture.

    Happy Easter.

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  20. I watched a segment about "learning thermostats" on Ask This Old House yesterday. It was made by Nest and seemed pretty neat. But $250 seems pretty steep for a thermostat, even if it can learn your lifestyle. Any of you have experience with this one? A couple people claim they saved the entire purchase price in just a few months via reduced energy bills. I'm curious...but I'm also cheap.

    PK -- LUST for GUST. Too funny!

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  21. Hi there~!

    Yep, as a card-carrying member of AA, this was one of the few theme titles I filled in immediately. Liked seeing DTs in the same puzzle - a suggestion, maybe?

    Lots of 'A's in the grid, and a good number of the common crossword answers; ARR, OTO, EKE, ASP, BAA, ORT, STAS, INCA, OMAR, AAHED,(la)SCALA....

    These days the planer is off to the side, C.C.; it's my TROWEL (bzzzt~!) that is getting the leveling done~! I should have some pics up on the blog this week.

    Happy Easter to all~!

    Splynter

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  22. OH -

    I have seen the "NEST" display at my Lowe's H.I. store, but have not had the chance to explore it in detail, D-Otto....

    Splynter

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  23. desper-otto, we have a Radio Thermostat that is programmable. Our model was only about $140. We set it for different temps at different times of day, and even for different days of the week. I don't know how much it has saved in energy bills, but it is very convenient. It is also tied into our security system, so when our alarm is set for "Away from home" mode, the thermostat automatically drops the temp in the house to 58.

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  24. Marti, thanks for the Lorex info. One of the models looks like just what I need. Hate to spend that much, but I've got more money than sleep lately.

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  25. Hey Rain Man, are you finished with reading that telephone book?

    No. I'm only UPTON.

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  26. So your fiinished with the ATOMS?

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  27. Marti, thanx for the info.

    Charlie Babbitt, are you actually Jerome in disguise?

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  28. Hello everybody. I liked the thematic parts of this puzzle, and was delighted to see full names. There were many of the other parts of the puzzle I didn't like very much, such as the 3-letter abbreviations and so many sports references. The only theme entry that bothered me was OPERA ARIA.

    I still don't get Pujols HRS.

    Splynter, do you really use a PLANER, or a plane?

    Best wishes to you all.

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  29. Jayce, I may be wrong (it's happened once before), but I'm guessing those HRS are home runs. And to my way of thinking, a plane is a hand tool, but a planer is an electric power tool that shaves lumber to a pre-specified thickness.

    I think that's five. Tomorrow...

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  30. I will echo what Jayce said:

    I still don't get Pujols HRS.

    If it involves baseball, ok, but not everybody knows every person on every team to ever play the game.

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  31. desper-otto, thanks. Yeah, I guess maybe HRS stands for home runs. Does anybody ever say, write, or put that abbreviation on scoreboards? Seriously, where is it used? Thanks also for clearing up PLANER.

    Lest I appear to be nothing but a complainer today, I must say I think ICE SKATER, NELSONS, VALENCE, VENTRAL, and ARBOREAL, to name a few, are great fill!

    Oh, and I wanted ROTINI for "small rolls" at first. And I thought the clue for MAN was excellently clever.

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  32. Yep, DO, that's about right. There are two basic types of planers. Jointer-planers that are primarily used to true up the edges of lumber and usually are no more than 6" wide, and thickness planers that do just what it sounds like. they genrally are between 13 and 18" wide. A hand held plane can be either electric or Armstrong.

    Fun puzzle today. Nothing terribly difficult, but not a breeze either. Liked seeing Animals. That's one of the lesser known Floyd albums.

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  33. Hi all, got everything except the Beastie Boys thing.

    Jayce and Rampy:
    HR Is just the score-keeping way to write home run.
    BB base on balls (walk)
    HP hit by pitch
    E error etc.
    Thank you C.C. for the great write-up today.
    I want to go back now and look up that hair gel.

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  34. Just wondering.....
    That picture at the end is Ina Garten , not
    Bridget Lancaster

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  35. My nit was not with the HRS, but with Pujols name. Is it a person, place, or thing? However, now that I looked it up, I have the answer.
    Albert Pujols

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  36. The LAT is on a run of good to very good to excellent CW puzzles. Rich and the constructors are to be commended. So, thank you.

    This one took me a while. I'm no speed-solver for sure.

    A little later I'll be hiding some Easter Eggs for my grandson. He may be catching on to my ploy of hiding the yellow eggs in the lemon tree!

    Thanks Spitz!

    CC, yes I have been to a Lakers game; maybe just one many years ago. The tickets are VERY expensive and that's just to sit up in the nose-bleed tiers. The celebrities and rich folks can afford to sit courtside. So I watch on TV. I'm not sure they'll even make the playoffs. It's hard to figure out why but the Lakers are most likely doomed this year. When the season started, I thought adding Steve Nash and Dwight Howard into the mix with Kobe Bryant would result in a powerhouse, but no. Even if they do make the playoffs, their first-round opponent will most likely be Oklahoma City so that will probably be the end to the Lakers' season (if not sooner).

    Oh well. Say, the Dodgers look to be a much-improved hitting team this year. Now if they all can stay healthy. Hope springs eternal...

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  37. Happy Easter everyone!

    Almost, but no cigarillo today – done in by four letters in the East.

    Write-overs: Halas for Ditka, ETA for ARR, dietician for ice skater, bad lighting for camera angle, cry for sob, rap for ill, ist for ize, ute for oto, wind for gust (at least that one was in the right zip code)….

    Really enjoyed the double As – Ursula Andress was the first “reveal.” Other double As: AAr, bAA and AAhed.

    The Upton brothers will play on the same team, the Atlanta Braves, this year (speaking of As). Opening Day for the defending World Series Champs tomorrow in Chavez Ravine – Go Giants! (Sorry Bill)

    My second car was a 1979 Honda Accord. Until I T-boned another driver, causing the front end to crush like an aluminum can – in other words, it Accordianed…. (groan….)

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  38. Good afternoon, gang -- just back from a three-day getaway down south. No comms whatsoever; no phones, no pads, no laptops, no papers, nuttin. Very relaxing but tiring, with the surf being a bit restless.

    A very enjoyable puzzle for me today with a lot of clues that were in my wheelhouse, especially the sports ones. Could've done without seeing MCNAMARA, who resided just a few clicks below jane effin' fonda on my list of people I'd like to see hit by a speeding train or two. On the other hand, absolutely loved 'Hamburger beef?' and 'Stars at the Forum'. Not so much 'Turtledove'/DEARIE.

    Marti, I bought a Lorex system too, after several years of having one in the store. Good bang for the buck, and great peace of mind to be able to view your house from anywhere. I've seen units on sale at Costco several times. And you're right - their tech support is first-rate.

    Vegas Doc, loved the 'accordioned' line.

    Happy Easter - hope it's been a great weekend for everyone.

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  39. Harpy Easter to all.

    I enjoyed puzzle and write up very much; the wit involved in coming up with 12 theme answers to mirror the 12 steps was great.

    The Atlanta Braves traded for both of the Upton brothers, so they are now on the same team.

    Albert Pujols has been an MVP twice as well as leading the Cardinals to a couple of WS (World Series) titles. He is a consistent Home Run HITTER averaging more than 40 each year for his 12 year career.

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  40. I started this fine puzzle at 8 am but two grandkids wanted to play and that was that. I finished at 6:15 pm after seeing their taillights heading for the capital city. The 10 year-old started the puzzle with me and wanted Nebraska for panhandle state and didn’t know TUSCALOOSA for his favorite college football team.
    My dad and half of his friends could have used AA but that wasn’t done in the 50’s. The difference between a drunk and an alcoholic? Drunks don’t go the meetings. I admire all who have made the decision to tackle this demon and have defeated it. Hear, hear! I wish my dad had done so.

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  41. Well, we just finished Easter dinner. It was half of a (prime) prime rib roast from Costco. The whole thing was over $100 even at Costco. Also, Caesar salad, shrimp cocktail, roasted Brussels sprouts, yams, rice something and fruit olio. The dishwasher is humming away. I am getting sleepy...

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  42. Fun puzzle that took no time at all. Hope all had a nice Easter. Our brunch was great.

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  43. Enjoyed the puzzle...... even got most of it done... :) :)

    Hoping you all had a wonderful Easter day...

    thelma

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  44. A doable Sunday puzzle. Worked on grid with my husband while dinner was cooking. I waited to read comments after my son left this evening. Happy Easter to all!

    I noticed DTs (delium tremens) were described as shakes. As I mentioned, I worked in Alcoholic/Psych as a young nurse. DTs entail shivering, palpitation, hallucinations, sweating, paranoia, convulsions, and death.In other words "pure torture." 5% alcoholics progress to delium tremens with a 35% mortality rate. Now they use chemical sedatives to control symptoms, but back then we tied them down to the bed or put in padded rooms. Many movies/shows have acted out DT's, but I think 1962 "Days of Wine And Roses" did a good job of showing the desperation. Thank God for organizations like AA.

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