google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, March 5, 2013 Mel Rosen

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Mar 5, 2013

Tuesday, March 5, 2013 Mel Rosen

Theme: Vowel Progression - Five two-word entries; first word starts P_TT with a vowel progressing from A to U. Added bonus, the added vowels are all of the short variety.

18A. Singer called the "Godmother of Punk" : PATTI SMITH. (She doesn't seem to have any short songs!)

23A. Misdemeanor : PETTY CRIME

38A. Set in opposition to : PITTED AGAINST

50A. One given to bad language : POTTY MOUTH

57A. Finishing the 18th, say : PUTTING OUT. (Awkward phrasing, to my ear.)

Argyle here. I've got nothing to say. C.C.?

From C.C.: Here is a picture of today's constructor Mel Rosen and his wife Peggy at the 2002 ACPT tournament. Mel coined the phrase Cruciverbalist, meaning "crossword aficionado".



Across:

1. Politicos Reagan and Paul : RONs

5. Do some healing : MEND

9. Mallorcan seaport : PALMA. Spanish name for Majorca.


14. Lit sign in a dark theater : EXIT

15. Operatic song : ARIA

16. Regions : AREAs

17. Playground frolicker : TYKE

20. Not getting any younger : AGING

22. Mozart's "Così fan __" : TUTTE. Overture(4:22)

26. Reheat leftovers, in a way : NUKE

30. "Bambi" doe : ENA. (Bambi's aunt)

31. Pep rally yell : RAH

32. Grabbed at will : SEIZED

34. Triangular Indian pastry : SAMOSA. Wash it down with a Mimosa?


37. Bufferin targets : PAINS. Aspirin with an antacid buffer made by Novartis.

41. Land, in Le Havre : TERRE On the English Channel. Map

42. Puts into office : ELECTS

43. Enthusiastic reply to "Who wants ice cream?" : "I DO! I DO!"

45. Classical lead-in : NEO

46. Involuntary sign of nerves : TIC

49. Color for a panther? : PINK. Earwig warning. Theme(2:39)

54. Movie reviewer Roger : EBERT

56. China's Zhou __ : ENLAI

62. Caplet or gelcap : PILL. Bufferin comes only as a tablet.

63. Dentist's insertion : CROWN. A more straightforward clue than the other day.

64. Where the clergy sit, in many churches : APSE

65. Mayberry boy : OPIE. Another Ron.

66. It's found in veins : BLOOD. Still, there might be iron in those veins.

67. Tiny time div. : NSEC. (nanosecond)

68. MADD ads, e.g. : PSA's. (Mothers Against Drunk Driving/public service announcements)

Down:

1. Put on a new cassette : RETAPE. Iffy.

2. Roughly 21% of the atmosphere : OXYGEN

3. "La Femme __" : NIKITA. Trailer with subtitles.


4. Angioplasty implant : STENT. A stent is a small mesh tube that's used to treat narrow or weak arteries. They have had their problems.

5. "You are here" document : MAP

6. Timeline time : ERA

7. Capone cohort Frank : NITTI. He's been making an appearance frequently.

8. Factual tidbit : DATUM

9. Yesterday's tense : PAST

10. Azerbaijani's neighbors : ARMENIANS. As the map shows, Armenia is landlocked.


11. Welcoming wreath : LEI

12. Welcoming floor covering : MAT

13. Bit of fire evidence : ASH

19. Adherents: Suff. : ITEs

21. Danced wildly : GYRATED

24. Amounted (to) : CAME

25. __ Island : RHODE

27. Weapons from Israel : UZIs

28. Mild-mannered fictional reporter : KENT. Clark

29. L.A. Times staffers : EDs. (editors)

33. Exemplification : EPITOME

34. Ump's call : "STRIKE TWO!"

35. Erie Canal mule : SAL. She's a good ole gal.

36. Athlete's promoter : AGENT

38. Mani partner, salonwise : PEDI. (manicure and pedicure)

39. Laundry room tool : IRON

40. __-deucy : ACEY. (card game)

41. Advice at the track : TIP

44. Pop one's cork? : OPEN

46. Blooms from bulbs : TULIPS. Soon.

47. Home to Firenze : ITALIA. Both Italian spellings.

48. __ rellenos: stuffed Mexican dish : CHILES. Yum!

51. Church keyboard : ORGAN

52. Sporty car roofs : T-TOPS

53. Seuss's "Hop __" : ON POP

55. Difficult situation : BIND

57. Pollutant banned by Cong. in 1979 : PCB. An oil formerly used in transformers.

58. www address : URL

59. On top of everything else : TOO

60. Employ : USE

61. Investigator, slangily : TEC


Argyle

Note from C.C.:

1) You can click here (MENSA website) to solve the puzzle in old format.

2)Here are three adorable pictures of the 4-month-old Charlotte, Lemonade's granddaughter.

Hello, Crossword Corner!

80 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I was worried for a bit in the NE when 9A was a complete mystery and I couldn't think of any neighbors of Azerbaijanis. Perps came to the rescue, though, to remind me of ARMENIANS and get me every single letter of PALMA.

Everything else was smooth sailing this morning, thankfully. I agree that PUTTING OUT is a bit awkward, but I'm pretty sure we've seen it here before and by the time I saw it I had already figured out the theme and it was easy to guess.

[blapd]
[eraude]

fermatprime said...

Hello all!

Blogged very late last night! Don't imagine many people saw it. Here is a new extreme! Really would have gone to sleep if I weren't suffering from nasty stomach.

Thanks Mel! Fun puzzle! Nice expo, Argyle!

Went very quickly (for me). Waited until an extra letter to finish STRIKE...

Not much else to say. Lots of things just aren't working around here. Friend Harvey took a picture of my remaining cat (can you believe that once I had 13?) but when I plug the camera into the computer no pictures reading after 2008 are visible. (It's a Lumix.) Why???

Have a pleasant Tuesday!

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. I was clearly on Mel's wavelength today. I got the theme with PATTI and PETTY, so knew we were on a Vowel Progression. Many of the clues were filled in before I even got a chance to read the clue.

Since Frank NITTI appeared recently, I recognized him today.

I had a PEDI recently. I generally skip the Manis.

I think I have an IRON somewhere in my house. It may be near the Laundry room!!!

La Femme NIKITA was also an English language television series. But the movie came first.

Nice photos of your adorable little granddaughter, Lemonade.

QOD: Exhilaration is that feeling you get just after a great idea hits you, and just before you realize what’s wrong with it. ~ Rex Harrison (Mar. 5, 1908 ~ June 2, 1990)

[nabowq]
[pirantsb]

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

What Hatoolah said. Except that I haven't had a pedi recently. CC doesn't approve. :-)

Middletown Bomber said...

argyle,
Great write up. Mel: great puzzle I agree with argyle and Barry that PUTTING OUT was awkward. As I was thinking about the common pronunciation for that phrase, and what it had to do with golf when i had the AHA moment. Otherwise a fairly easy puzzle. I really dislike the tribune's new format. So thank you to CC for locating the old format.

TTP said...

Good morning all !

Thank you Mel Rosen and thank you Argyle.

Two Tuesday failures for me.
1) Intersecting S at SAMOSA and SAL. If we've had either before, perps filled them for me. Why Sal ? I will try to look up.
2) Forgot to look for the theme.

Putt out and putting out might sound awkward but they are often heard. In stroke play, I don't offer many gimmes. Putt it out. In match play perhaps, if it's close. Pick it up. No thanks, I'll be putting out.

Lemonade, it looks to me like that little girl deserves to be spoiled. Are you doing your share ?

61Rampy said...

WBS about the NE corner. Also had trouble with SAMOSA & Sal. Didnt know either. Otherwise a smooth easy solve. Agreed that PUTTING OUT and RETAPE are iffy. Sussed the theme right away. Off to work now.

uanufac

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This was another easy romp, top to bottom. I disagree, PUTTING OUT isn't awkward, it was just clued improperly. "Amounted to" also.

Thought of Dudley and Husker at "Main"/PEDI.

The IRS paid our tax site a visit last week for an impromptu audit. Fortunately, we passed. Volunteering two mornings a week we processed 276 returns with zero rejects in February. I think that's pretty good.

TTP and Rampy, Sal is mentioned in Low Bridge, an old song about the Erie Canal.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Mel Rosen, for a swell tuesday puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell review.

Easy start. Got all up North except for PATTI SMITH. She came later. Just had Frank NITTI the other day.

Did not know SAMOSA. Perped it.

Theme was easy except for the vowel run. I missed that. Just focused on the P TT.

ORGAN and APSE crossing. Both churchy words.

CHILES rellenos are my favorite Mexican dish. I first had them living in California. That is all I order in a Mexican restaurant (if they have them).

Started snowing here, then quit for a while. Supposed to be heavy later on. I am scheduled to give a talk at a lunch in Glenview today. We will see how that goes.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(blcingi)

thehondohurricane said...

Good morning everyone,

Have no problem with PUTTING OUT or the cluing for it. If not for arthritis, I'd still be doing it.

My problems today were the SE corner and my ignorance of Mexican dishes, Seuss, and MADD ads. So for 68A I ended up wagging OSAA instead of P
SAS. Messing up both a Monday & Tuesday puzzle is embarrassing.

Grabbed onto the theme clues early on, but not the vowel progression. I'm not familiar with PATTI SMITH and POTTY MOUTH is a new expression. I was thinking about a different expression, but luckily it wouldn't fit.

Did find the overall puzzle a bit dicey for this early into the week, but almost everything worked out ok!

AnnieB8491 said...

Good Morning All - Fun puzzle today Mel and great write up Argyle. Thank you both.
Pretty smooth today.
Needed perps to get PALMA.
Missed the 'S' in SAMOSA/SAL - not familiar with either.
19D - ITES or ISES ?? - can never remember and didn't know TUTTE.
I got the theme but like Abejo, I missed the progression.
I used to watch La Femme NIKITA on USA network at 11 p.m., it was my 'nightlight' show. lol
I did remember NITTI from before - maybe my mind is getting better ;)
Re 57A: I had the INGOUT first, then added PUTT to it, didn't see the questionable pronunciation until reading Argyle's expo.
As always, I enjoyed your QOD Hahtoolah.
A beautiful granddaughter Lemonade. Have fun spoiling her. We had 3 grandsons before any granddaughters. After 3 boys of my own, I'm finally having fun buying little girl clothes. :)

Have a great Tuesday everyone!

enPfenc

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

A fast and fun puzzle - thanks, Mel Rosen. I quickly filled most of the NE corner, but really hesitated at RETAPE. As Argyle pointed out - seems "iffy" for the clue as worded.

~ PETTY CRIME was my first theme fill and the rest came quickly due to the vowel progression pattern.

~ Most everything was straightforward. My one write-over was 'Lodes' before VEINS ~ thought I was being smart, but it is Tuesday after all.

~ I relied on perps for NIKITA, PALMA, SAMOSA and ARMENIANS.

~ Thanks for your write-up, and geography lesson, Argyle - was unsure about the location of ARMENIA.

~ Lemonade ~ Charlotte is a little doll ~ so sweet!

~ I quickly looked at the later comments from last night, but I'm going back to read them again - so many great stories! Thanks to all who shared.

Off to round up another kitty for a vet visit ~~

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Nice picture of Mel and Peggy. Also cute picture of Lemon's granddaughter.

Nice offering by Mel, enjoyable theme, and a nice balance of fill. like RAH and SAMOSA; ARMENIANS and STRIKE TWO. No look-uos, no nits. Colorful; I enjoyed it a lot.

Do cats really do this?

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

POTTY MOUTH and PUTTING OUT, LOL!! I agree with Desper-otto, that I had a totally different definition for that one when I saw it...

Would "Putty knife" be a common item to most people?

I would love to see a vowel progression where the theme entries are actually somehow related to each other. But at least this one had the same beginning letters in all five entries.

Charlotte just keeps getting more and more adorable, Lemonade!

Have a great day, everyone!

Lucina said...

Hello, Peeps. Glad to see you back, Argyle.

What a nice offering from Mel Rosen, quick to fill and I even noticed the vowel progression with double T all the way.

WEES about NITTI and I remembered. As for RETAPE, the clue, put on a new tape simply means record on a new tape, doesn't it?

So PALMA de Mallorca is the complete name. Learning moment for me.

Also it's nice to see CHILES spelled the Spanish way instead of chilis. That just makes me wince. I love CHILES rellenos if they are cooked right. That isn't always the case.

Have a fine Tuesday, everyone!

Lucina said...

Lemonade, Charlotte is a winner! What wonderful photos and I agree, you must spoil her.

It's also nice to see Mel Rosen and his wife.

Yellowrocks said...

Easy but fun. Hi right back atcha, sweet Charlotte.
-It seems some of the golfers here recognize PUTTING OUT. I accepted it on faith.
Alternate QOD "Every man takes the limit of his own vision for the limits of the world."-Arthur Schopenhauer. When I first saw this it reminded me of crossword solvers. We tend to doubt as “iffy” anything outside our own experience.
-I wondered about 1 A, put on a new cassette, until I realized it meant put that song on a new cassette or RETAPE it, instead of put a new cassette on the player.
-The history of the ARMENIANS is full of tragedy, even genocide.(See Wiki) I had some Armenians acquaintances.
-In my mind I always pronounce URL as “earl.” Sometimes I slip and say this to others HUH?? I think it’s better said that way.
-At 62D I carelessly wrote TBARS. We’ve had it so often. So for where the clergy sit, I had A( R )SE. OOPS. At least I had a good laugh.

Anony Mouse said...

Thank you Mel Rosen for a nice and easy puzzle. Really loved it. Thank you, Argyle, back in your catbird seat for your interesting and cogent explanations. The samosas look delicious - but they tend to be very oily. The only thing that eluded me was the vowel progression - I was so elated on the completion of the puzzle, that I did not look for any hidden charms within ....

Lemonade, your granddaughter is so cute and cuddly and sugar and spice and everything nice. Mazel Tov, and enjoy.

Have a nice day, all.

Anonymous said...

Mel coined the phrase cruciverbalist to mean "crossword afficianado".

Can one word be a phrase or is it just a new word ? Genuine question.

kazie said...

Great baby pix, Lemonade! Charlotte is a real cutie.

Be prepared for some of Lea as soon as I sort the hundred or so that we came back with! She was 5 weeks old when we arrived there, 7 weeks as we left yesterday, and already showing signs of being a prodigy (that's grandma talking!)

My only nattick for today was the SAMOSA/SAL crossing, but I guessed correctly, and perps helped me in other places, such as ARMENIANS and PUTTING OUT, where I agree on the awkward homonymic spelling. I starte by guessing PUTTED GOUT, which made no sense whatever, so it was good that BIND and OPEN were there to help.

Anyone else getting snow today? We only saw sun for a couple of hours the whole time in Chemnitz, so when we heard about the foot of snow expected here last night, we were horrified. Fortunately it didn't start until about 7 am today so we had no problems getting back last night.

Avg Joe said...

An enjoyable solve today. Thank you Mr Rosen. Good to see you back Argyle. Hope the day off was wasted with impunity.

Like many Palma and Samosa were all perps and Nitti was easy only due to repetition. Understood the theme after the second one, which helped. But I still hesitated at Pitted and Putted. Agree that the latter is a common term.

Patti Smith is far more than a one hit wonder, but her best known was co-written by The Boss: Because the Night.

Seeing Chilis Rellenos reminded me that gardening season has started. All of my Anaheims and all but one of my Anchos have sprouted under lights. Next to come will be eggs and maters.

klilly said...

I read hop on pop to all three of my boys. It was one of our favorite dr. Seuss books. I don't recall seeing it in a puzzle before.

Easy fun puzzle.

Klilly

Have a great day?

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-PETTY CRIMES (esp. getting cash for gambling) seem to be tripping up a lot of politicos around here
-Granddaughter is a sweetie but some of her male Facebook friends have POTTY MOUTHS. Are we more sensitive to “f-bombs” than the current generation and do they realize those comments liver forever?
-I watched Dead Poet’s Society Wednesday where a boy SIEZED the day but with tragic consequences
-Some passengers on the ill fated Carnival Cruise kissed TERRE Firma upon arrival in Mobile, Alabama
-Who wants French fries (or any other potato dish)? I DO! I DO!
-Someone other than Peter Sellers as Clouseau in PINK Panther? Mon Dieu!
-Paul Stynsberg’s Word of the Day site featured ENLAI yesterday. You should subscribe.
-NETV ran a positive anti texting/driving PSA and a negative teen drinking/driving PSA during the High School State Tourney Broadcasts
-Trainers often RETAPE athletes who get hurt during a game (better than this clue)
-NASA abandoned using a 100% Oxygen atmosphere in spacecraft after the horrible Apollo 1 disaster on the launch pad
-Are any singular/plural usages more violated than DATUM/DATA?
-Seeing no more ASH trays anywhere is fine with me!
-Bo Pelini let his hair down yesterday at practice and GYRATED to the Harlem Shake. What a shocker!
-She chased him around the sanctuary and caught him by the ORGAN.
-I enjoyed constructor Peter’s comment last night and it confirmed that Rich adds a lot of LA references
-What Brian De PALMA filmed coined the phrase, “Say hello to my leetle friend”?
-Who is the first baseball aficionado here to say who NUKE Larouche was?

Abejo said...

Peripatetic Pendant:

From yesterday. Thank you for the Khaled Hosseini description. I knew I knew that name. I read both books. They were outstanding!

Abejo

(propyl)
(citareas)

Tinbeni said...

Husker: Scarface
And don't you mean NUKE LaLoosh (played by Tim Robbins) in the movie Bull Durham.

Abejo said...

Husker Gary:

I am with you. I cannot stand foul language in public, including the Internet. People just have no consideration for John Q Public.

Abejo

(ommgro)

Tinbeni said...

Argyle: Hope you enjoyed your day off yesterday.
I'm enjoying the "ear-worm" ...

Mel: Thank you for a FUN Tuesday offering.

Got a laugh out of ORGAN crossing PUTTING OUT.

Cheers !!!

Anonymous said...

2798iNice run through the alphabet today.
Easy enough even for me.

Desper-otto: I used your little fun fact about occlupanids to annoy my children yesterday via text msgs. Whoever set up the research group definitely has a warped sense of humor.

FYI: Today is National Cheese Doodle Day. Now there is a lot of empty calories.

CanadianEh! said...

Got the theme quickly today but PATTI came last. Also not a fan of the RETAPE clue. Thanks Yellowrocks for the alternate meaning explanation (and yesterday too)
Daughter-in-law loves SAMOSAs and I am developing a taste for them. CHILES can be too hot!
Wanted ACHES before PAINS for Bufferin.
Granddaughters are wonderful to spoil!!

Unknown said...

Yes, a nice Tuesday offering! Nice to know I was not the only one scratching my head at SAL. What is a SAL? But now I know, from comments.

Husker Gary said...

-Dang it, Tin, you’re right. I wasn’t sure how to spell NUKE’s last name and when I went to Googleville, “Nuke Larouche Bull Durham” showed up first on auto-complete and I went with it not remembering the spelling of the last name exactly. Bull Durham has to be the best minor league movie ever. Baseball Almanac’s Top 10 Baseball Movies.
-BTW, how close are you to these horrible Tampa events? Hang on!

Newborn Newbie said...

For Lemonade and his darling grand-daughter - baby blogger

Anonymous said...

"Putting out" is a very common golf term, but is done on every hole, not just the 18th.

chin said...

The mention of Sal the mule on the Erie Canal reminds me of the C&O Canal, some remnants of which can be seen in and near Washington. I remember taking a class trip on it in the early 1950's from Georgetown to Great Falls and back. The barge was pulled by mules on the tow path. As far as I know, it was only used for tour excursions but the locks were fully operational and we had a fun and memorable time.

Misty said...

Fun speed romp, Mel--many thanks--and great pic of you and your wife! Argyle, great expo, as always. Once I had PATTI and PETTY I expected PITY, POTTY, and PUTTY, but I was glad I was a little off since you don't want your puzzles to be too predictable. Loved seeing WELCOME MAT right after WELCOME WREATH.

We visit an Indian restaurant with friends regularly and always get SAMOSAS. But I remember only the taste, not the name so had to depend on perps for this one. Along with CHILES RELLENOS, one of my husband's favorites, this puzzle made me hungry!Ice cream for dessert (I DO I DO) would finish this dinner off nicely, wouldn't it?

Pretty head-wear on sweet little Charlotte! Do those little headbands with the flowers have a name? They've totally replaced baby bonnets, as far as I can tell.

Have a great Tuesday, everybody!

CrossEyedDave said...

Oh dear,,, I am breaking 1 of my own rules by posting when I have not yet read the write up or Blog... But, I assume, (yes, that's when trouble starts.) That you are all here to learn new things, like I am...

Today, I learned, (with apologies to Kazie) that I may be Nuts, Because of my heritage. I mean, how else can you explain this 7 minute video

1) I must apologize to all who say "rabbit rabbit" on the 1st of the month...
2) I must apologize to Herpetologists.
3) I must Apologize to Australians everywhere for insinuating the are Nuts!
4)I only posted because I thought you all might want to learn something unusual in our day & age...

HeartRx said...

CED, I HATE SNAKES !!!! (Must be the Indiana Jones in me...)

Irish Miss said...

Good afternoon:

A fun, easy Tuesday offering, so thanks Mel Rosen and thanks Argyle for the fine expo. No problems and not nits, so all is well.

The pictures of sweet Charlotte brought some sunshine into this gloomy March day. Spoil away, Lemony!

Does anyone else watch Monday Mornings? Despite it being way over the top, I have been watching it and enjoying Alfred Molina immensely. Last night had Hal Holbrook as a guest star. I saw him several years ago in his portrayal of Mark Twain. What a talented man!

Happy Tuesday.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Nice puzzle. I took a swag at SAMOSA/SAL and got it right, but missed the TUTTI/ARMINIANS intersection. My last boss, a lady of Armenian descent and I retired on the same day, now more than 4 yrs ago (Yikes!) Had a filling repaired this a.m. by my Armenian dentist.

Desper-otto - I saw what you did there.

That baseball movie list is now obsolete, since it doesn't include MONEYBALL.

Cool regards!
JzB

Anonymous said...

Good afternoon everyone.

Great puzzle. I did it with the help of DH in SW corner. As he played baseball and knows mysteries of computers, I correctly figured that he could do that corner.

Liked the shout out to me: SAL.

Also enjoyed the cute pix of Lemonade's granddaughter. Thanks C.C.

Cheers

Ol' Man Keith said...

Tuesday
9 minutes.

kazie said...

CED,
No offense taken on the snake bloke. There are a few idiots in every mob!

Bill G. said...

Good puzzle. Getting the theme early on definitely helped. I discovered I didn't know how to spell TUTTE.

Potty mouth was fun to see in a puzzle. What about Toilet Tongue? Latrine Lips?

I remember my father showing me the C&O canal. He belonged to a canoe club right near the canal. I love to see the locks in operation. So simple and yet so clever.

I'm OK with snakes so long as somebody can guarantee me that they aren't poisonous. I remember an episode of Dirty Jobs where Mike Rowe was trying to capture some water snakes. A couple of them bit him. They weren't poisonous but the bite still hurt plenty. (I miss that show.)

Adder Admirer said...

C.E.D. You are the greatest youtube expert ever ! Do they pay you per click ?, if not, they certainly should. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for your teaching and research on this blog.

Catching 4 Taipans ? with his bare hands, each of which could have easily killed 5 people, to catch a wild rabbit ? Nows theres a Real reality show. His bravado and ultimate skill proves that Crocodile Dundee and 'The Crocodile Hunter',Steve Irwin, are not exceptional people, down under, but there is probably one like them in every town.

JD said...

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

Thought I would get this one done in no time, but alas, I missed Frank on his visit, so had no idea how to complete Nit?i or tutte. Had petty theft before datum which led me to crime.Wagged nseC/teC. ah-nano second. Thanks Argyle.

Acey-deucy:don't know that game, but have heard of it. Truman's fav. this week is RACK-O.

Hand up for loving chiles relleno when made correctly.

CEDave, that guy is NUTS! He said the net did not harm the rabbits, but WHAT is he going to do with them?

Charlotte is precious... beautiful smile!

Have you ever heard of Dr. Seuss's Butter Battle? Celebrated his b'day by reading to kindergarteners on Friday.Much longer than most of his. The Zooks and the Yooks had a battle over eating bread with the butter side down.

The Iditarod started on Sunday, and our favorite musher, Jeff King, is in 5th place at the moment.

PK said...

Hi Y'all, great puzzle! Great expo, Argyle! Thanks!

I got both the theme and progression for once. Woohoo! Putting out/organ cross had me wiggling my eyebrows.

Couldn't believe no one seemed to know the Erie Canal song. I immediately wrote SAL. It was in our grade school song book. Thanks, D.O. for the link. I knew every word. When we got to choose what song to sing, the boys always wanted this. They got to shout, "Low Bridge" and everybody thought it was funny that everybody had to duck, which we all did in our seats with accompanying giggles.

My youngest son learned to read at 3 with HOP ON POP, although he really wanted to read Fox in Sox.

Husker Gary said...

-I gotta admit Dave, if I had to list the topics I would see in the blog today, a bloke (Thanks Kazie) hunting rabbits with venomous snakes would not have made the cut. Did I miss the reason why he was doing this or was it just sport?-Another “shorter word for a plural” duet - MEDIUM/MEDIA. Very common to hear, “The media IS…”
-You shouldn’t PUTT OUT with an IRON.
-I remember that paean to Sal too.
-Aren’t most of our memories of a NIKITA is this short, fat bully?

Lemonade714 said...

Wonderful to see Mel Rosen; for the newbies go read his interview.

Thanks C.C. for posting my girl and to all of you with kind words/

Off to the Doctor to preserve myself to play with her.

Ciao.

Lucina said...

PK:
I, too, was surprised at how many had not heard of SAL and the Erie Canal song. It was in our grade school song book as well and I clearly remember singing it.

Lemonade:
That baby is absolutely adorable.

CrossEyedDave said...

Always wanting to promote learning, here is a 3 minute video on how to putt out.

For some reason I am having trouble finding a video on how to put out, but I will keep looking...

JD said...

desper-otto, thanks for the Erie Canal Song. Lucina and PK, it must be our age. No one has those song books any more. Many of today's kids don't know nursery rhymes either, unless they are in a cartoon.

Forgot to thank you, Mel, for a most enjoyable romp. It was nice to see your picture too.

chefwen said...

Almost as easy as yesterday's puzzle.

Had to change 1A from RepS to RONS and PATTy to PATTI. Minor!

Time for lunch, this one made me hungry.

PK said...

Lemon, Charlotte is beautiful! I'm always surprised when I see babies with those bands on their heads. My babies would never leave anything on their heads unless it was tied tightly under their chins and then they fought to get it off. Maybe they just wanted to see what was up there.

Pookie said...

Libretto from Cosi fan Tutti-Frutti:

Che vuole gelato?

Lo voglio! Lo voglio!

CED that guy needs more coffee.

We've had Sal lots of times. I guess I'm old enough to know that from old songbooks.
I've got an old mule and her name is Sal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
She's a good old worker and a good old pal
Fifteen years on the Erie Canal
We've hauled some barges in our day
Filled with lumber, coal, and hay
And every inch of the way we know
From Albany to Buffalo

Can we all get to "virtually" hold Charlotte? Gee, what a cutey.

Jerome said...

Hahtoola- Perfect QOD for constructors.

Marti- I'm with you on PUTTY KNIFE.

And PUTTING OUT... well, unfortunately many of us older dudes could use an AGING ORGAN STENT. I DO! I DO!

Bill G. said...

CED, nuts indeed! I was torn between being interested in something I'd never heard of (or even imagined) before and being pissed off by a bloke who seems to enjoy killing rabbits with venomous snakes.

I just got back from getting a haircut and voting for City Council (not at the same place though).

How does a BLT with avocado sound for lunch today?

While eating my BLTA, I came across two articles in the LAT. One was about St. Paul's School, a prestigious boarding school in New Hampshire; the other about an etiquette class at MIT. St. Paul's sounds old-fashioned and very appealing except for the $50,000 a year price tag. The etiquette class is one of the most popular elective classes offered. No dunking except for biscotti. No open-toed shoes at job interviews. (Why is that? Too casual?)

Java Mama said...

Good evening, everyone! Very enjoyable Tuesday puzzle, thanks Mel. The vowel progression theme was fun. Thanks for a fine expo, Argyle.

I admit to thinking of the DF meaning of PUTTING OUT, never having heard the golf version. Absolutely love, love the PINK Panther films – no matter how many times I see this scene, it leaves me doubled over from laughing. Bufferin was the go-to PAIN reliever at our house when I was growing up.

Delightful pictures of Charlotte, Lemony. She seems like a happy little girl. And Kazie, I look forward to seeing photos of baby Lea soon.

Marge said...

Hi all,

Interesting puzzzle, got it done with some help. Got the double Ts but not the Vowel Progression.

I tried to sing the Erie canal song and only got some of it and DH finally came up with Sal. I was glsd to see it on the blog.

We have a friend who lives in Armenia. She with UMCOR. That's 'United Methodist Committee On Relief'.

Lemon, that baby is beautiful.

Have a good evening.
Marge

Misty said...

Okay, well, since I got no answer to what those baby headbands are called, I had to go to the web. This turned up a business called "Princess Bowtique: Custom Bows for your Baby." There they have photos of "Vintage Infant Headbands," "Baby Flower Headbands," "Bling Hairbow Headbands," and "Sports Hairbows." Personally, I think Charlotte would look great in any of them.

Here's the link, if anyone is interested: http://www.princessbowtique.net/category_2/Baby-Headbands.htm

GarlicGal said...

Hand up for knowing about Sal and the song. (Except it's "fifteen miles on the Erie Canal".) Thank you to Mrs. Jean Patterson, my 4th grade teacher who played the piano and made sure we had music in our classroom. And I still have the song book - don't tell the school district. Those were the days...

Charlotte=cutie pie! My girls never kept anything on their heads either.

Puzzle was a quickie. Thank you Mel Rosen.

Pookie said...

Garlic Gal:
I've looked up this song too many times today.
We learned "years" but I've seen either/or or both.

LYRICS

Sfingi said...

Didn't know PALMA, SAMOSA, or Hop ON POP.

I always liked the name PALMA. One girl who had that name, changed it to Pamela. Disappointing, but I guess she didn't want to stand out.

For some reason, I always like these vowel series.

I have an occasional PEDI, but don't have enough nails for a mani.

@GarlicGAl - as some one who has lived 68 years near the Erie Canal, it was originally 15 YEARS in the song.

The question we have is, is SAL Sally or Salvatore?

Do you want Tutti Frutti? Me, Me, Mimi. Wrong opera.

PK said...

SFingi, aren't mules neither sex? I thought they were a cross breed that couldn't reproduce.

PK said...

Hahtoolah, I looked at your avatar a very long time and blew it up bigger before I could see what the heck it was. Interesting composition.

Spitzboov said...

Mule Named Sal

Mule power operated on the Champlain section until about 1913.

JD said...

This one's for Charlotte.

Curious Cat said...

I read the verses, thanks to Pas De Chat, '.. and her name s Sal'.

and like PK, I thought, how could 'she' be a female ?

But, mules are born like all of God's creatures, male and female.

See Mule Wiki

They just can't reproduce because of a genetic defect of mis-matched chromosomes. But in the wiki article above, apparently female mules can reproduce, in rare cases.

JD said...

Gosh, I disappeared

Spitzboov said...

Mule Named Sal.

Mule power operated on the Champlain Section until about 1913.

Spitzboov said...

Gosh I disappeared, too. Twice.ithxpos

Avg Joe said...

Mules aren't androgynous, they're sterile (mostly). Big difference.

Anonymous said...

Too bad, we can't fix some classes of humans the same way.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, I'm late to the party today, but did have fun doing the puzzle. The theme presented itself with the first two entries.

There isn't anything new to add.

Lemon, that granddaughter of yours will be winning beauty pageants very soon.

For those of you who enjoyed Khaled Housseni's other two books, he will have a new one going on sale in May. It is titled " And the Mountains Echoed". I loved his other books. He lives here in our area so I enjoyed reading about local land marks and activities.

Have a great rest of the evening, everyone.

Lemonade714 said...

You all are very sweet, I look forward to showing her all of your comments one day. Interesting about the headbands.

Hahtoolah said...

Thanks for the head's up about the new Khaled Hosseini book, Chickie

Argyle said...

No idea why some of you got pulled into the filter.

Ree said...

Hi everyone , very late to the program today ! Fun puzzle , liked the vowel progression . The baby pictures are precious !

Pookie said...

JD @ 8:23
CUTE to the third power!!!!

Bill G. said...

JD, what a great video! (I see Pas has been reviewing her algebra. Good on ya!) Not only is the end result cute but I am amazed at how someone could accomplish that. I guess the old expression "Seeing is believing" needs to be discarded.

Lucina said...

Chickie:
Thanks you for the notice about a new book by K. Housseni. I loved his other two.