google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, Apr 13th, 2013, John Farmer

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Apr 13, 2013

Saturday, Apr 13th, 2013, John Farmer

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,V,X)

Blocks: 27

   Hey~!  I finally finished a Farmer Saturday without red-letter help, and in a respectable time as well~!  There were many "alternate" answers to clues today, which could have led to a much harder solve, and some clechos, too.  Pretty pinwheel with a staircase center, triple 9's, triple 8's.  Worth a mention at the top today:

15A. Coroner's conclusion : "IT'S MURDER~!" - Frequent segment in TV shows like "Law & Order", "CSI", "Rizzoli & Isles", etc; personally, I like "CUPPI" - Case Undetermined Pending Police Investigation

67A. Something to throw when you're down : PITY PARTY - I was at a birthday party tonight; anyone here been to a "pity" party lately?

14D. Villainous : SINISTER - from being on the left hand side, which in the Latin is Sinistral, and "unfavorable"; right-handedness is Dextral; I am 'sinister' by the way....

36. One of The United States' six : TIME ZONE



                    d~!

               r

          a

     w

  n

o

ACROSS:

1. Trial run for a far-fetched argument, say : LAUGH TEST - not familiar with this phrase; I was trying to get LITMUS TEST to fit

10. Developing areas : WOMBS - had UTERI to start

16. China from Japan : IMARI


17. Escape : STEAL AWAY - an Ozzy Osbourne song, for those who care; speaking of "Escape", I am looking at a 2006 Ford Escape hybrid, $9K, 68,000mi, 36MPG - depending on the UPS outcome

18. Pre-heist job : RECONaissance - I had "SCOPE", as in 'case the joint';  conflicted with my first choice for 53A."...overhead view" = (tele)SCOPE

19. Begin to develop : BUD - they're showing up here~!  I just whacked down much of the apple tree in our backyard; it was literally choking itself, and the inedible fruit attracts wasps

20. Provençal sauce : AIOLI - that 'eh' crossword garlic mayonaisse

21. As a friend, to François : EN AMI - eh, more Frawnch

22. Encumbrance : ONUS

24. Tender cuts : LOINS

26. Familia titles: Abbr. : SRAs

27. Buddha's birthplace, per most scholars : NEPAL

29. Slack : DOG IT

31. Lake of the Woods prov. : ONTario

32. "Hanging __ Moment": 2001 Lifehouse hit : BY A

34. "When pigs fly!" : "NO CHANCE~!"

36. Winter Palace rule : TSARISM - I put in TSARINA to start(?); also could have been CZARISM, too, and thrown you

40. Not so cool : NERDIER - the 'hip' kind of cool

41. Whistling past the graveyard, so to speak : IN DENIAL - or knee deep on a trip to Egypt....

43. May honoree : MOM

44. __-jongg : MAH

45. Pitch indicator : G CLEF and then the "G" moves to the backside in   56A. Cause of a hair-raising experience? : ZERO G - and a clecho with 35D. Pitching specialists : AD MEN - different kind of pitch, tho

47. BB? : BETAS - um, as in two "B"s ??? (Note from C.C.: I don't get the clue either.)

51. Manages somehow, with "out" : EKES

53. Aid for an overhead view : STILT - ah, not SCOPE;  stilts so you can see over heads

55. Nobel Laureate portrayed in "A Beautiful Mind" : NASH

58. Regatta racer : SLOOP - ah, not YACHT

60. Sew up : ICE - ah, not END

61. Philip Glass's "Waiting for the Barbarians," e.g. : OPERA - with a title like that, I can envision the Viking Fat Lady singing

62. Author whose only published novel won a Pulitzer : HARPER LEE

64. Saltpeter : NITER - Every time I see 'saltpeter', my mind says "hey, that's NITER, right~? Or maybe I'm wrong~?"; then the perps fill it in....

65. "Be right with you!" : "ONE SECOND~!"

66. Schoolboy jackets : ETONS - From the school outside London, which is NOT in continental Europe; see 1D.

DOWN:

1. Westernmost capital in Continental Europe : LISBON - (Portugal); I stopped myself before finishing "LONDON"

2. Harmonize : ATTUNE

3. Tapped out : USED UP

4. TV debut of 1975, for short : GMA - Good Morning America, not "SNL" - Saturday Night Live

5. Dance in a raffia skirt : HULA - can't pass up a "skirt" link....


6. Track : TRAIL

7. Title director in a 1994 biopic : ED WOOD - did not see this movie

8. Aquarium attraction : SEA LION

9. Fitting activity : TRYING ON  - and clecho 48D. Fitting employee : TAILOR

10. Spy wear, maybe : WIRE

11. Tarot cards, e.g. : OMENS - I have a deck of TAROT cards; I like them for the art, but I do treat them as having an "aura", so they're wrapped in silk - not Barry Silk, mind you

12. Salad component : MACARONI

13. Modern-day male bonding : BROMANCE - I am just not into the "Hangover"-type movies, and I do not consider any of male friends as part of a Bro - mance. 

23. 1999 Stanley Cup finals competitor : SABRE - from Buffalo; not STARS, the winners in 1999; Dallas made it to the Cup final the next year, too, but lost to the NJ Devils; tonight it's Rangers v. Islanders for 7th place in the Eastern Conference - should be a game worthy of the early rivalry between these two teams that has not had much weight lately, since the Islanders last playoff appearance was 2003

25. Unlikely command to a Chihuahua : SIC 'EM

28. Prone : LYING - we had this discussion recently

30. Beat : THROB

33. Converse rival : ASICS - Sneaker companies

37. Hostile environment : SNAKE PIT - also the name of Slash's band for two albums after Guns N' Roses - the first one was titled "It's Five O'clock Somewhere", Tin~!

38. Follow : ADHERE TO

39. Jukebox setting : MALT SHOP

42. "Sweet __": Oscar-winning song from "Waikiki Wedding" : LEILANI

46. Piece of broccoli : FLORET

49. Rise : ASCENT

50. Ally of the Brat Pack : SHEEDY - I mis-read this on the first pass as "RAT" pack; in the 80's, the "Brat Pack" included these actors/actresses

52. "Either/Or" writer Kierkegaard : SØREN - Also mentioned in the "Types" personality book that I frequently talk about; more here

54. Stowe slave girl : TOPSY - not familiar with her; all perps for me

57. Long-nosed fish : GARS - did the fish(es) fool you?

59. Sound often prohibited? : PEEP - "Not a peep from you, young lady~!"

63. Kelly Clarkson record label : RCA

    I passed my UPS driving test despite stalling at a green light in traffic; I was prepared for the crappiest stick-shift they could find (all the 'good' trucks were out on deliveries) and I actually "delivered" a package, as opposed to 'driving around the block'....now I have to wait for either a really busy Spring/Summer, or the next contract in August, when new terms might lead to more retirements.  Thanks for the kind words~!

 Splynter



61 comments:

  1. Home from a concert in time to see the write-up already posted. Thanks Splynter.

    I found this to be a hard one, but you will g e t no pity party from me.
    I too am gauche.

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  2. Oh man, one of my harder Saturdays in a while, no red letter or googling, but far more time than I'm used to. The cat meowing to come in the study and then go out the study and then come in the study and then etc. didn't help either.

    My Indian bias, having lived there, showed in thinking that most scholars thought the Buddha was from INDIA, not NEPAL, although Wikipedia agrees with the crossword.

    Thought SLOOP was a YACHT, and partly because of that just had the worst time in the SE corner. Didn't help that I had thought FLORET was spelled "Floweret."

    And when I filled out every square, I got no satisfying "tada" sound, so I had to go back over every clue until I finally saw that PITY PARDY made no sense and therefore ASCEND must instead be ASCENT. "tada." Yea!

    Phew, that one had me mopping my brow.

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  3. Hi Early birds! When I started, I thought this would end up a PITY PARTY for me, but it slowly came together with fewer red-letter runs than usual on Saturday. Thanks, Splynter. Glad your driving test went okay.

    Only knew Noritake china which didn't fit. Perped it.

    10a had women before WOMBS. Duh!

    Still don't understand BB?/BETAS.

    I knew LISBON right off. Sweet LEILANI came flowing into my mind with great HARMONY after I'd passed the clue as unknown.

    I had no idea who Ally SHEEDY is/was. Don't ever remember hearing the name.

    Speaking of India, where oh where has our Anony-mouse gone?

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  4. Hello Puzzlers -

    It took some thinking, but I managed a no-peeky on this tricky puzz. Really wanted Toga Party at 67a - it boosted the spirits in Animal House, after all!

    Ally Sheedy was the weirdo in The Breakfast Club; a young, pretty, and red headed Molly Ringwald was the cutie in that movie. Later we got to see just how adorable Ally could be, as Stephanie in Short Circuit. Seems the Brat Pack mostly faded away...

    Cheers All

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  5. Morning, all!

    Unlike Splynter, this one defeated me utterly. Got about 2/3 of the way through and just gave up.

    In other news, I'm feeling slightly better, my wife is still feeling bad, and we had to call 911 last night to send my 80-year-old mother-in-law (who lives with us) to the hospital since she had a 103+ fever and was incoherent. By late last night she was responding to treatment and should be coming back home today.

    [ssusink]

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  6. Good morning Splynter, C.C. et al.

    Verrrry intrest-ink write-up today, Splynter. And congrats on passing the driving test! I didn't hesitate to put in BETAS for the clue "BB?" because they are Greek B's.

    For some reason I had LAUGH fEST instead of TEST, and wondered how fRAIL could be a synonym of "Track." So a big DNF for me. Other than that, it seemed pretty easy for a Saturday.

    Loved seeing PITY PARTY, BROMANCE and SNAKE PIT, and the clue for MALT SHOP ("Juke box setting") threw me for a while. V-8 can moment when I figured it out!

    I remember TOPSY from this scene in "The King and I" more than from "Uncle Tom's Cabin." She appears at 1:01.

    Geez, Barry - you are having a bad couple weeks, aren't you? Get well soon, all of you!

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  7. Only the second time in my sad, pathetic life that I've completed the Saturday puzzle without peeking at some answers. Sure it's only 8:54 AM, but it's Martini Time!

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  8. My paper had "One of America's Nine for 36 down. Was thinking of Supreme Court Justices.

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  9. This was a toughy, but no peeky. I couldn't get a toehold at the coffee shop, only a few words here and there. So I came home and sat in my work chair and the answers began to come, but slowly. It took one hour at home.
    I never heard of SHEEDY and wagged the H in NASH. I enjoyed "A Beautiful Mind," but couldn't remember the character's name.
    ASICS was all perps.
    I was annoyed that i couldn't recall IMARI without the ARI perps. We saw some interesting IMARI ware in Japan.
    This puzzle was a fun challenge.
    HARPER LEE's To Kill a Mockingbird was one of my all-time favorite movies.
    Congrats on passing the driving test, Splynter. As usual, great blog.
    Barry I do hope your wife and MIL heal quickly.
    I'm off to Lebanon for my SIL's memorial service.

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  10. If I plumbed my nether regions, I think they’d be empty as I put all that content on John’s great puzzle! It took patience and nerve to put in some “I think so” answers even if they turned out wrong. Very rewarding!

    Musings
    -Tianlang Guan could have thrown a PITY PARTY but handled the penalty situation and press conference with class and maturity far beyond his 14 years
    -I tried to come up with a Supreme Court Justice for one of America’s nine at first, too
    -1 Across’s are usually not as unfamiliar to me as LAUGH TEST
    -We’ve done RECON to see if a restaurant is too crowded or pricey
    -The maple I see every day out my west sun room window as I do this puzzle is full of BUDS and a robin had built a nest that the starlings took apart but Mr. Red Breast is building again this morning
    -Some NFL prospects never make it because scouts could see that they sometimes DOG IT (no “motor”).
    -I’ve challenged parents who were/are IN DENIAL about behaviors of their offspring. Risky!
    -James Burke obtaining ZERØ G on Earth (4:13). ZERØ/ SØREN ;-)
    -Not a beanSTALK for an overhead view either
    -The Chinese harvested pig manure to make saltpeter to mix with sulfur and charcoal to make gunpowder
    -When Joann says, “ONE SECOND”, I know I’ve got a couple of minutes yet
    -Everybody has Spy equipment these days. Tread lightly.
    -Try to foster a BROMANCE in my golf club and you might walk funny for a while
    -Reptile Gardens in Rapid City, SD took out their rattleSNAKE PIT a few years ago. Scary but hard to maintain.
    -CC, the web has had both Guan Tianlang AND Tianlang Guan. Would his friends say, “What up, Tianlang?”
    -In what movie was Ally SHEEDY trying to help Matthew Broderick prevent “Global Thermonuclear War”?

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  11. Good morning!

    Late to the party today. I drove down to the park before sunrise to help the folks set up for the Founders' Day celebration. When I was ready to come back home the !%*#^&@$! truck wouldn't start. Wouldn't even think of starting. Wouldn't even "click." The battery is new; it's gotta be something else. So now I'm waiting for the tow truck to show up to drag it off to the service shop. Humbug!

    Oh, there was a puzzle, wasn't there? Splynter, I fell into every trap that you did, and maybe some that you didn't -- END/ICE, YACHT/SLOOP, LONDON/LISBON, SNL/GMA, FLOWER/FLORET. And I can never remember what cup goes with which sport. HARPER LEE and MALT SHOP popped out immediately. It still took me longer than allotted, but I prevailed.

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  12. Marti I put in BETA easily also but do not really understand the clue. Why do two Bs indicate Greek.

    Barry and all the , I hope you all heal soon.

    YR have a safe trip.

    Harper Lee wrote a romance as her second book which did not please many.

    Ally Sheedy was busy for a while but all of the Breakfast Club have disappeared.

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  13. Good morning:

    I finished w/o help but not w/o some hair-pulling, teeth-gnashing, and plenty of muttering. Therefore, I'll follow Thumper's advice. Amen.

    Nice expo, Splynter, and congrats on passing your driver's test.

    I was so happy that the penalty stroke didn't keep that young golfer from making history. His poise and focus certainly belie his youth. I wish him the best in the next two rounds.

    Have a relaxing Saturday.

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  14. Lemony, it's all Greek to me (^0^)

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  15. A DNF for me today. I did manage to complete it with 3 or 4 googles, but it took that to gain footing in the NW and to render additional aid in the SE. Tough, and more work that preferred.

    DO, I've fallen into the trap of thinking "It couldn't be the battery! It's new." at least twice when in fact it was the battery. They don't make them like they used to, and new batteries fail with far more regularity than you'd expect. If you are inclined, yank it and take it to the store you bought it for testing.

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  16. OMG, another rule brouhaha at the Master’s today. Tiger Woods clearly violated a rule he should have known yesterday that should have elicited an immediate disqualification. However, the PGA has decided to try to only assess a two-stroke penalty which is an obvious circumvention of the rule in a blatant attempt to keep Tiger playing for TV ratings. The entire golf world is holding its breath to see if the PGA will do the right thing by disqualifying Tiger or if Tiger will do the right thing and withdraw. The remaining pros want him to leave the tournament just as they would have to. The ultimate irony is that Tiger unintentionally revealed the violation in his post-round interview and prompted the PGA to initiate an investigation that resulted in this current mess. What a soap opera!

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  17. my paper (the detroit free press) also read 'nine' for the 36D TIMEZONE clue...didn't stop me from nailing the entire puzzle in roughly one hour...don't chime in too often, but i love this blog...john in michigan

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  18. Hi All ~~

    Wow - what a battle! I almost gave up but decided to see how far I could get. For me, this was beyond a Silkie frustration level, and after two full mugs of coffee I was only about half way through. I'm amazed that somehow, after MUCH time, I finished with no look-ups. I really thought I had 34A of completing this! There were names that I probably should have known, but didn't. That really held things up.

    I filled in SNL right away because that was one I was sure of. HAH. Having the wrong clue at 36D (I, too, had 'One of America's nine') didn't help matters. When TIME ZONE eventually filled in, I thought, "I'll just let Splynter explain this to me." Thanks, Splynter - you explained that and SO much more! Congrats, also, on your driving test!

    I had many alternate answers in mind in a number of places: at 67A - before I got enough perps for PITY PARTY I was thinking of throwing in the towel, throwing a hiss fit ... before MALT SHOP I was trying to think of settings on the actual jukebox.

    All in all, this challenged me more than any puzzle in recent memory, but after first hating it, I've decided it probably gave my brain a much needed workout. :-)

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  19. I'm usually not a fan of social media. I don't care where you are, what you are eating and with whom. But in Tiger's case this morning, it's awesome.

    Tiger is playing for pride, history, money(his and others) and for the good of golf itself(where would golf be without Tiger?). He needs to focus on today's round and prepare as he normally does. So....no questions please, but here is a statement. Ain't technology grand?

    Wonder how that BROMANCE between Lance Armstrong and Matthew McConaughey is going?

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  20. Well, this sure wasn't much easier than a Silkie, and I only got the SW on my first try before I had to start cheating. Only domestic stuff seemed to work after that. Made broccoli last night, so got FLORET, and got LOINS. Got AIOLI but that made me think of a green salad, so put ESCAROLE instead of MACARONI. Thinking about clothes, got both TAILOR and TRYING ON, but that was about it.

    Would have gotten HARPER LEE if TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD had been mentioned, but got NASH only as a guess, even though I too loved "A Beautiful Mind."

    Marti, I too thought of "The King and I" to guess the little slave girl, but all I could remember was "Run, Eliza, run," and so put in ELIZA instead of TOPSY. That messed up the SE for the longest time.

    Splynter, congratulations!

    And what a rough week you and your family are having, Barry. Hope your wife and mother-in-law recover very soon.

    Have a great weekend, everybody!

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  21. Speaking of drama, have any of you been following the Monopoly token's drama in Pearls Before Swine.

    p.s. Changing the Monopoly tokens was just a blatant money grab by Hasbro. IMHO

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  22. (From Yest) Bill G@7:56, I have not seen that All In The Family chair clip in years. Thanks! But as far as the gay guy at the bar... it was totally unbelievable! I mean, when have you EVER seen two guys leave 2 beers totally untouched at a bar?!?!?

    re: todays puzzle,,, Oh I long for the day when I do a Saturday puzzle for the challenge, & not an excuse for a pity party! There were so many things I have questions for:
    29A Slack = Dog it???
    60A sew up = ice???
    Maybe I am just not on the right wavelength, I mean, I still think 3D tapped out should = morsed...

    24A tender cuts, I had the red letters on & could not understand why the middle letters were red in "lions." ( I hope it is not a sign of senility.)

    Splynter, 47A bb?=Beta (to Be's, I thought that was the best explanation for a difficult clue, ever!)

    15A Murder, reminded me how irritating it was when my my 3 daughters say "but I didn't mean to do it!" So I started replying, " Oh, so it's manslaughter!" It hasn't stopped them from saying it, but it happens so often that now I irritate them, instead of the other way around...

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  23. Well I knew ED WOOD, HARPER LEE, NASH and SHEEDY.
    Got about 2/3rds before I came across ICE.
    Irish Miss, you know how I feel about ICE ...

    Thumper will tell you (:11)

    BravesFan @7:56 "It's Five O'clock Somewhere!"
    Words I live by.
    Cheers!!!

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  24. I felt sorry for the teen golfer for getting the penalty until I heard he was warned 4 times for slow play....I would hate to be playing behind him..he needs to respect the other players

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  25. As long as we are posting comics,
    For all you retired teachers on the Blog!

    Oh, & while I was looking for clips today, I came across an Ad I actually liked! For any "old" Trekkies on the Blog!

    I have not had a chance to find out if this is fake, or if we have another mystery on our hands. Giant spirals found on Google earth?

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  26. Pinto,

    Rule 33 was put in place in 2011 because of HDTV , where viewers can sometimes see infractions golfers didn't realize they made e.g. Ball slightly moved , the club barely brushed the sand etc.

    That results In a 2 stroke penalty instead of DQ for incorrect score card ,

    In my opinion it's different than Tiger's situation , Tiger violated a rule he should've known , he knowingly dropped the ball 2 yards further back after witnessing the result of his first shot , giving himself a better advantage .

    If we can't hold the #1 golfer accountable for rule violations , who else can we ? A 14 year old amateur ?

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  27. SL Zalmeh: I have no dog in this fight. I'm rooting for the old man! I was merely making a comment about social media. I think its awesome that we get instant feedback. Like Graeme McDowell's tweet, “Take the fact that it was Tiger out of the equation and it is a fair ruling. Since it is him, the debate begins about TV ratings, etc., etc.”

    Speaking of social media, here is Kobe Bryant's Facebook entry after tearing his Achille's tendon last night:
    From Kobe Bryant’s Facebook

    “This is such BS! All the training and sacrifice just flew out the window with one step that I’ve done millions of times! The frustration is unbearable. The anger is rage. Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that?? I have NO CLUE. Do I have the consistent will to overcome this thing? Maybe I should break out the rocking chair and reminisce on the career that was. Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me…Then again maybe not! It’s 3:30am, my foot feels like dead weight, my head is spinning from the pain meds and I’m wide awake. Forgive my Venting but what’s the purpose of social media if I won’t bring it to you Real No Image?? Feels good to vent, let it out. To feel as if THIS is the WORST thing EVER! Because After ALL the venting, a real perspective sets in. There are far greater issues/challenges in the world then a torn achilles. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, find the silver lining and get to work with the same belief, same drive and same conviction as ever. One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day. “If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear”. Ive always loved that quote. Thats “mamba mentality” we don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer. I know it’s a long post but I’m Facebook Venting LOL. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep and be excited for surgery tomorrow. First step of a new challenge. Guess I will be Coach Vino the rest of this season. I have faith in my teammates. They will come thru. Thank you for all your prayers and support. Much Love Always.

    Mamba Out”

    Interesting times.

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  28. Hello, Weekend Warriors! This John Farmer toughie handed me my second DNF in a row thanks to the NW corner. Suspected that SNL wasn’t right at 4D but couldn’t come up with an alternative. At least there’s Splynter’s swell write-up as compensation, so no PITY PARTY for me. Glad to hear your driving test was successful.

    Liked Spy Wear, Maybe = WIRE and Slack = DOG IT. Surprised myself by knowing the Stanley Cup is a hockey trophy and the SABRES are a hockey team – that’s just about the sum total of my hockey database. Appreciated the many clechos Splynter mentioned, and will add HULA and Sweet LEILANI to the list for the Hawaiian connection.

    CED, from last night -- thanks for the advice. I’ll try giving the little wire-nibbler some rawhides to distract him.

    Barry, hope everyone in your family gets well soon. Take care.

    Have a great Saturday, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  29. CED @ 12:14, I watched the video of those spirals and they looked fake to me. But I went to google maps and found them myself - they are really there. Could it be that they are made by farmers in that rather dry area to simplify irrigation?

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  30. Hello everybody. I agree that this was a very hard puzzle. I had to look several things up in order to finish it, but overall it was a rewarding, albeit long, trek.

    I think calls by referees and decisions by rules committees are often as seemingly arbitrary and illogical as some rulings handed down by judges in court. All I can do is shake my head and wonder, "What was he/she/they thinking?"

    Best wishes to you all.

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  31. Avg Joe, I thought about the battery, but the radio, headlights, fan were all working and the voltmeter needle was in the green. Turned out to be a bad starter. I told the guy that he'd replaced that starter only eight months (and less than 3,000 miles) ago. He went off to do some "research" on my file, but came back and said he'd replace it under warranty. Probably won't be ready until Tuesday, but it'll be free. Whew!

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  32. desper-otto, that's good news.

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  33. Good afternoon everyone.

    Splynter, congratulations on passing your driver's test for UPS.

    A hard Saturday which finally came together. Needed some cw dictionary help in the SE with fill like SHEEDY, TOPSY, and HARPER LEE. Too many proper names, I guess. Don't really get the BB's clue. BB is a hull no. preface for a battleship. but that doesn't apply here.
    But it got done without Google, so I'm satisfied.

    Have a nice day.

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  34. Another difficult and frustrating Saturday puzzle. Why do I bother? Because it's there and because it means I can come here and enter into the conversation. The worst area for me was in the vicinity of INDENIAL, an odd answer for the "Whistling past the graveyard" clue. GCLEF, TOPSY and TSARISM were over my head too.

    Splynter, continued best wishes for you.

    D-O, I'm glad you got free restarterized.

    Yep, Kobe and the Lakers are screwed. Then, the Dodgers lost one of their starting pitchers in the basebrawl through no fault of his own.

    I'm sure if I got a chance to fly in the Vomit Comet, it would live up to its nickname. I have a strong tendency for motion sickness. Thanks goodness for Marazine.

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  35. Tough but fair, sez I.

    I finished in about an hour, nowhere near a best for a Saturday, but respectable. Like many others I was thrown by first entering SNL, which prevented an early breakthrough in the NW sector. WOMBS slowed me down in the NE (I wanted BURBS), but I needed WIRE, so that finally set me straight with the W in place.

    I had TSARIST early on. The switch to TSARISM opened up a slew of other answers; funny how one letter sometimes makes such a difference.

    Yes, the LA Times also had "America's nine," which made TIME ZONE easy.

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  36. Hello, all!

    Congratulations, Splynter! Have been waiting to hear results.

    No patience for puzzle w/o reds, as usual on Saturday. Still do not get: DOG IT. HELP!

    Please, we prefer "trekkers!" (Great commercial!)

    It's grim looking outside today. Drat.

    Cheers!

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  37. Fermatprime @2:55: "Dog it" is a slang expression meaning to act lazily, like an athlete who is slacking off and not giving the game his/her best effort.

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  38. * Two newlyweds go into a hotel. The groom says, "We would like a suite." The clerk asks, "Bridal?" The bride answers, "No thanks. He'll just hold onto my ears until I get the hang of it."

    * The dentist says to the patient, "That tooth's gotta come out!"
    "Oh, n-o-oo!", she says, "I'd rather have another baby than have a tooth pulled."
    The dentist replies, "Well, make up your mind; I've gotta adjust the chair."

    * A midget joined a nudist camp but they asked him to leave. He kept poking his nose into everybody else's business.

    * Why can't you hear a Pterodactyl go to the bathroom? 'Cause the P is silent.

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  39. I also wondered about DOG IT, but perps were solid. Then I thought of "going to the dogs." Does that fit the idea?

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  40. I thought this was very difficult. I finished with google help. Puzzles like this make me feel like I should read more. I read lots so maybe the brain cells are going.

    Oh well out to ride my bike.. They say exercise is good for the brain..

    Enjoy your weekend

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  41. We did well today , just hung up on the NE corner ! Not as difficult as a Silkie , but challenging ! A nice array of clues ! Congrats to Splynter! Our friend worked for UPS for years. It's hard work, unfortunately he suffered a debilitating back injury, be careful !

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  42. Good day, weekend solvers!

    Splynter, congratulations on passing your test!

    Barry, I hope your family is soon completely well.

    I'm very late to dance today because a friend and I went to the Scottsdale Culinary Festival. It was great fun with endless options for food and drink from the numerous tents. Music was also provided and the weather today is glorious.

    Anyway, I had started the puzzle before leaving and the SE was done as well as the center. Ally SHEEDY jumped out for some reason. Next the NW, LISBON, a beautiful city of which I have lovely memories, then had to change IN TUNE to ATTUNE and that filled.

    When I came home and looked with fresh eyes the NE just flowed out once MACARONI was in place.

    I had to look up TOPSY as that simply did not surface and our newspaper also had One of America's Nine so ditto for thinking about the Supremes, judges that is.

    Thank you, John Farmer for a challenging puzzle that really worked my gray cells.

    I hope your Saturday has been spectacular, everyone!

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  43. Hello folks! I am long-time lurker, first time poster from the Northwest. I hope there's room for a mid-20s young 'un!

    I finished successfully (87 minutes), but I needed help for SHEEDY and confirmation for MALT SHOP. I also had SNL/GMA and ASCEND/ASCENT, plus OSKAR/SOREN, TESSA/TOPSY. Difficult, but reasonable, puzzle.

    For "BB?", each "B" represents the capitalized version of the Greek letter beta, like A = capitalized alpha (α = lower-case alpha), B = Beta (β = beta), Г = Gamma (γ = gamma), etc. So BB means two BETAs. Also, to "slack" means to not put forth one's full effort, which means one may DOG IT.

    My paper also had "One of America’s nine" for 36-Down.

    Congratulations Splynter on passing your UPS test! Thank you for the fun blog! I'm sorry about you and your family's health, Barry G; I hope you all get better. I hope to come here more often. I wish you all nothing but the very best!

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  44. I don't think "Going to the dogs" is related to "dogging it." A person who's dogging it could be called a slacker. A baseball player hits a popup and jogs to first base. His manager would get on his case for dogging it, a very common expression in those circumstances I think.

    Hello PAB. Welcome aboard!

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  45. Greetings from Indianapolis. I have been lurking off and on. Mostly off. Bill. G. thank you for your contributions a couple of days ago, on Archie Bunker, about women lifting chairs trick, which men can't do. I think the trick works because men have longer feet-sole length spreads so they tend to stand farther away from the wall, where their head is resting, and so they cant make up for the drastic shift of their center of gravity to lift the chair up, while their head is still on the wall. I also did not get the 'Bridal suite' joke today, is it clean enough to explain in greater detail ?

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  46. Lizzie, it's the difference between 'bridal' and 'bridle'.

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  47. Welcome PAB and Lizzie B ~ stick around!

    Barry ~ I hope your family is doing better today.

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  48. Hi Lizzie B. Thanks for your feedback. I see Argyle weighed in on bridal vs. bridle. If it needs more explaining than that, then it wasn't a very good joke. I'd say a general rule is that hardly anybody who wants a joke explained ever finds it funny. Also, there are funny jokes that are clean and funny jokes that are dirty. I have a teacher friend who doesn't quite understand that. He tells jokes that are dirty but not funny. When he starts to tell a joke, if possible, I excuse myself and go somewhere else.

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  49. Barry, the "crude" has really hit your family hard. Hope you all three are back to normal soon.

    CED, your manslaughter comment reminded me how many times my husband told the kids about the boy who cried wolf...they just said ugh and finished it for him.

    Chihuahua and SIC EM- I met a few feisty and mean small dogs that think they are big dogs.

    Liked whistling past graveyard meaning IN DENIAL.

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  50. Welcome Lizzie and PAB! We learn a lot from each other here...please keep in touch!

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  51. Today was such a beautiful day and lovely ride to attend a sad occasion.
    We have discussed on the blog whether Lebanon, PA is still PA Dutch. In late afternoon on a Saturday we very carefully share the road with Amish horse and buggy set ups. We did again today.
    West along Rte. 78 in PA spring is about one week ahead of what it is here, although it is still far behind normal. With the blue skies, puffy white clouds, and greening nature the countryside was beautiful.

    Last night on my Kindle Fire I saw a new notation concerning how many hours it would take to finish the book at the pace I was reading. How handy! I turned off the Kindle and when I turned it on this morning the notation was gone. Has anyone else seen it? Could you please tell me how to turn it on again?
    My captcha is Must eat.

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  52. Hmmm, Clean dirty jokes tonight huh.

    Bill G. had just finished reading a new book entitled, 'You Can Be The Man of Your House.'

    He stormed to his wife in the kitchen and announced, 'From now on, you need to know that I am the man of this house and my word is Law. You will prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I'm finished eating my meal, you will serve me a sumptuous dessert.

    After dinner, you are going to draw me a bath so I can relax. You will wash my back and towel me dry and bring me my robe.

    Then, you will massage my feet and hands. Then tomorrow, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?'

    His Wife Barbara replied, "The frigging funeral director would be my first guess."

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  53. Thanks Argyle and Bill. G. I figured it was understood as bridle, a heterograph. But I still don't know if the bridle goes on the man or the woman, ;>) and why - or how it relates to suite ( pronounced 'sweet' ?). Is there something called a sweet bridle ? What was the bride's confused thinking ?


    Maybe I'll just file the joke away, in my memory, and ask my close friend next week, if he understands it. Sometimes it helps to be a man to 'get' the joke and the humor. I am not opposed to raunchy jokes, so long as its in friendly company. I know just what you mean, about explaining jokes, sometimes jokes have to hit you in the gut, or they're not funny. I know a couple of newly wed jokes - like " I can't, because it's Lent". but if the audience is not Catholic christian, like muslims, for example, they'd probably just gawk at you. Good night and thanks.

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  54. Manac, how right you are. The Man of the house, that's me. She can make the little decisions and I make will all the big, important decisions. She decides how to invest our money, what new car to buy, etc. I decide what to do about the US economy, when to get out of Afganistan, etc. Important stuff! And she better not forget it!

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  55. Thinking of you Hondo.

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  56. Hi, is the B for Borden, Lizzie?
    Welcome along with PAB. Please comment away.

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  57. BB? : BETAS

    Might it be BlackBerry betas?

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