google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday. May 3, 2013, Norm Gugenbiller

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May 3, 2013

Friday. May 3, 2013, Norm Gugenbiller

Theme: Gold-diggers unite! Anna Nicole Smith and the Life of Riley.

Each of the three similarly clued answers describe someone who is wealthy who takes care of another, usually a person taking advantage of the rich one. This is one of our infrequent puzzles from Mr. Guggenbiller, who also has 3 solos at the NYT, but none in years. A more conventional Friday than we have have seen in a while, with many fun fills like COASTERS, DRIP DRY, LIP READER,  MACEDONIA, MR. CLEAN, ROUGHAGE, and SCARFED. A workout but another different doable effort. I wonder if Cheers made his life miserable.

18A. Supporter # 1 : RICH UNCLE. (9) Mine used to buy us toys, and then kept them in his attic so they would not get broken. Only our little hearts were broken.


24A. Supporter # 2 : SUGAR DADDY. (10).  Like Anna Nicole's 90+ husband. Are they so named because they are suckers?

53A. Supporter # 3 : MEAL TICKET.(10). Ironically, Anna Nicole was the other Howard Stern's meal ticket.

Sort of a reveal,

59A. Supporters 1, 2 and 3 : FREE RIDES.(9).
Bonus themeage:

47D. Where you might be with this puzzle's 59-Across? : FAT CITY.(7). This is a type of slang that adds city to a word to indicate a "location" of some condition. The idea being only rich people could afford getting fat.

On to the rest,

Across:

1. Tricky stroke : MASSE. Do not know why, but this popped right into my head. I used to play lots of pool, but I was never good at this shot. Without getting this, the corner would have been a bear.

6. Don't deny : ADMIT. In pleadings, the answer can be as simple as admitted or denied.

11. Fr. address : MME. Mademoiselle. Not an address, but an address. "Bon Jour, MME." This is the cleanest version



14. Belief of more than a billion : ISLAM.

15. It's tossed : TRASH. I was happy with SALAD until I wasn't.

16. Jets coach Ryan : REX. One of the twin sons of coaching legend Buddy Ryan. They finally released Tebow this week. Rex is a foot fetishist. Don't you want to be famous?

17. Watts of "The Impossible" : NAOMI.

20. Hip-hop Dr. : DRE. He is so popular he is back for an encore this week.

21. Carp : GRIPE. Not to be confused with CRIPES.

23. Word with power or panel : SOLAR. This was easy because they were talking on the radio this morning about this awesome CAR. Dennis, there is a used one for sale in Palm Beach for $69,000.00 if you are interested.

27. In transit : SENT. This should be easy but was not.

28. Chosen groups : ELITES.

29. Fiber source : ROUGHAGE. I never really knew this word, but I was always told to eat my salad (back again!) for the roughage. As a child it did not sound appealing at all.

31. Portable digs : TENT. Nice simple clue.

32. Traveling Wilburys co-founder Jeff : LYNNE. More famous from his days with ELO.

33. Nancy Drew's guy : NED. Back again.

34. Sherpa's sighting : YETI. The abominable snowman. I finally got to watch the Castle episode with Ioan Gruffudd, who played Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four Movies, as well as Horatio Hornblower in the PBS movies. He has been in lots of movies, ladies, and was 'married' to Jessica Alba in the FF movies.

37. Clichéd film assistant : IGOR. Was there any better than Marty Feldman? (1:37).

39. Volume control? : SHH. For three letter fill, I liked this one.

42. Old-style shade : SEPIA. The color of old photographs.

44. Minnesota's St. ___ College : OLAF. Is it real or merely part of the GOLDEN GIRLS?

48. Wood protectors : COASTERS. My mind was all about varnish, etc. for too long.

50. Prison in 1971 news : ATTICA. Generally we do not hear about prisons unless there are escapes or riots.

52. "I ___ stupid!" : AM SO. I often feel that way when blogging.

55. Like wall phones : RETRO. Yes but only if they have rotary dial.

57. Come to ___ : A HALT. This is how to avoid the dreaded A words.

58. Abbr. used for brevity : ETC. Justice Holmes who agreed that brevity is the soul of wit, wrote all of his opinions standing on the theory that weak knees inspire concise writing. Sadly for you all, I am sitting.

61. Asian capital : HANOI. Vietnam.

63. Shakespearean adverb : E'EN. Love my Shakespeare.

64. Aces : GREAT.

65. It may be historical : EVENT.

66. Deg. for Tim Whatley on "Seinfeld" : DDSDoctor of Dental Science. LINK. (1:06) played by Bryan Cranston who is now a big hit on Breaking Bad, after a stint in Malcolm in the Middle.

67. Things found around the house : YARDS. Nicely literal but deceptive clue.

68. Nephew of Donald : DEWEY. No not Huey, nor Louie. Donald was not the rich one.

Down:

1. Outlook : MINDSET. These next few are all good and Friday worth.

2. In most instances : AS A RULE. This took all the perps.

3. Red liqueur : SLOE GIN. I always think of it as Pink Gin. Anyone like Singapore Slings? Have some stories....

4. "The Lord of the Rings" hobbit : SAM. Samwise Gamgee, played brilliantly by SEAN ASTIN, (3:21) Gomez Addams' son.

5. Political fugitive : EMIGRE. This is great fill, but the clue was misleading me.

6. Chest chambers : ATRIA. Of the heart.

7. Hang on a line : DRIP DRY. Alliteration is always welcome.

8. Landlocked European country : MACEDONIA. My American geography lack made this a struggle. Alexander the Great and his father Philip II were from there.

9. Qualifying suffix : ISH. This was hardish?

10. Consequently : THUS. I had to work harder to finISH?

11. Magic Eraser spokesman : MR. CLEAN. He was the cool bald guy like Yul Brynner and Kojak.

12. Mishmash : MELANGE. Great word.

13. Put to vigorous use : EXERTED. I hope none of us over-exerted our brains for this one.

19. Bite : NOSH. American Yiddish.

22. Hwys. : RDS.

25. One who may object: Abbr. : ATTY. I wish they would do courtroom objections on TV with some degree of reality.

26. Egg foo ___ : YUNG. Is this real Chinese C.C.? (From C.C.: I never heard of Egg foo young/yung until I came to the US.)

30. Former Prizm maker : GEO.

32. One who can see what you mean : LIP READER. I love this clue, takes thought to get there.

35. Appraisal no. : ESTimate.

36. Overflow : TEEM.

38. Scholarship-offering federal gp. : ROTC. Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

39. Inhaled, with "down" : SCARFED. Just picture a big man at an all you can eat buffet, or Michelle at lunch.

40. Had a big hit : HOMERED. A nice baseball reference.

41. Moves quickly : HASTENS. Do you all remember my hasten Jason poem?

43. Leads : IS AHEAD. Lots of tricky two word fill to parse.

45. As good as ever : LIKE NEW. See, what did I tell you?

46. Salon solvent : ACETONE. Oh the smell! There is a nail place on my walk and I have to circle wide to avoid the fumes; I do not know how the workers do it day after day. All the more reason to do your own grooming.

49. Embittered : SORE.

50. N.L. city : ATLanta.

51. Pledged, in a way : TITHED. One tenth your earnings.

54. Continues : LASTS. This is a trait which is very important if you plan to go to an

56. Unrestrained indulgence : ORGY. Now that we have a theme for our summer solstice party....

60. Portfolio letters : IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

62. Lettered Bklyn. thoroughfare : AVE. A rather esoteric bit of trivia as Brooklyn, N.Y. has all 26, A to Z, and since Z is the end, It is time for me to end my Friday tour having guided us through the pitfalls and joys of another word journey. Half way to summer, and it snowed again. be safe and be warm, but not too warm.

Lemonade out.

Note from C.C.:

Here are 3 more pretty pictures of Lemonade's granddaughter Charlotte. So much much love, hope & pride in the first one. 

Sweet Charlotte & her loving parents



66 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Missed it by this much...

Got the theme pretty early on and thought that most of the puzzle was fairly straightforward. Struggled in the SW for a bit until HOMERED, COASTERS and SCARFED finally resolved themselves.

The SE is where I died, or so I thought. I couldn't remember if it was OLAV of OLAF at 47A, but neither VATCITY nor FATCITY made any sense to me. So I tried them both, and neither one got me the *TADA*. Searched the entire puzzle for errors and couldn't find any.

Finally turned on the red letter help and had a D'OH moment when I realized there was no hobbit named HAM and that the "tricky stroke" was a MASSE and not a MASHE.

*sigh*

[bjecttee]

River Doc said...

Happy TGIF everybody!

Nice puzzle today, with lots of longISH answers! A real MELANGE of minutia! Unfortunately, I came to A grinding HALT in the SW, so DNF….

Write (or would that be Wrong?) overs: hustled for hastened, eer for een, dated for retro, salad for trash, a head for a halt….

Much as I enjoy pool, I never did master the MASSE shot – probably too afraid I’d put a rip in the felt….

First time I tried SLOE GIN was in college. Also the last time….

I was going to end with three links, but Lemon beat me to Scrooge McDuck swimming in money (how does he not get hurt doing that?), Igor with a long “I” and an ELO clip. Believe it or not, my first two linx were exactly the same as Lemon’s choices! Oh, what the hell, here’s ELO’s Best Song, imho….

HeartRx said...

Good morning Lemonade, C.C. et al.

It took me longer to read your write-up than it did to do the puzzle, Lemony! Thanks for all the good tidbits and links. And I just adored those pictures. Such a treasure you have in that granddaughter and her happy parents!

I loved your comment about SUGAR DADDY. So true - there is a sucker born every minute!

Cute theme, and pretty smooth fill all in all. No real problem areas, but I did have to pause for perps in a few places.

For anyone who is interested, here is a good explanation of the MASSE shot. 1:34

Have a great day - TGIF!

thehondohurricane said...


Howdy folks,

Finally got one done without wanting to rant and rave at/about the constructor or the cluing. Too may enjoyable clues to mention all of them, but a few were; all the theme clues., 67A, 32D, 39D,40D, & 43D.

Unlike yesterday's AT BAT, 40D Had a big hit/HOMERED is right on.

This has been a tough week for solving and I'm glad it's over. Two shows this weekend, likely to be slow, but I made a commitment and I'll keep it

"talk" to you Monday.


desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This seemed easy for a Friday. My only inkblot is in California. I started with SCARFED, but decided the "volume control?" must be hair GEL, so SCARFED became GOBBLED. FREE RIDES changed it back, and SHH appeared at last.

Wasn't MELANGE the worm-excreted opiate of Frank Herbert's Dune novels?

You're right about the SUGAR DADDYs being suckers. At that advanced age it's about all they can do.

Hahtoolah said...

Good morning, Lemonade and friends. Adolph Spreckels was the original Sugar Daddy. He made is money in the sugar industry and married a impoverished young woman.

My favorite clue was Things Found Around the House = YARDS.

QOD: Don’t be humble … you’re not that great. ~ Golda Meir (May 3, 1898 ~ Dec. 8, 1978)

[roatro]
[nfirtch]

TTP said...

Flying start on this one, nailing MASSE, ISLAM, NAOMI and DRE in seconds. Then hosed my self in the north central with AGREE instead of ADMIT, which interlocked well with ERGO in lieu of THUS. So ended up getting supported # 2 SUGAR DADDY before getting # 1 RICH UNCLE.

Also flew through the Southeast, with a momentary delay by dint of entering DAFFY as Donald's nephew. LIKE NEW gave me the W, and then Huey, DEWEY and Louie waddled in. Must make it a point to remember that Donald is Disney and Daffy is Warner Bros.

Didn't care for "leads" IS A HEAD until I thought about it in the context of a race. The guy that's our team leader at work is not a leader, nor inspiring, nor goal/objective oriented, nor a news maker. He is however good at plagiarizing work, incorrectly regurgitating facts and numbers, and opining on others failures while in a group setting. He is exceptional at being a news reporter and being able to read presentations word for word, and seems to have mastered all the cheek to cheek skills. I pretty much ignore him.

SCARFED - Wanted WOLFED or WOLVED but they didn't work due to letter count. GOBBLED did, but also didn't work with FIXED, as in my fixed position wall phones. That was the toughest area for me. Finally turned on red-letter assist and got rid of fixed. Afresh anew, soon had HOMERED which led to AM SO and COASTERS was next.

Great puzzle Norm. Lemonade, will read you after a bit. Looking forward to it.

HeartRx said...

d-otto, I am still cleaning the coffee off my screen after reading you last comment !!!

TTP, I see you took yesterday's new phrase to heart!

61Rampy said...

First pass on todays puzz resulted in lots of white. Finally got started in the center, eventually filled in the south, and ended up back in the north. Little by little, the squares got filled in. Several WAGs later, it was done! No look-ups, and my red pen didnt help. I AM SO STUPID when I read the clue, then put the word in the wrong boxes. Now, THAT makes a mess of things.

Mari said...

Happy Friday Everybody! It's finally here! Today's theme clues point to "Things I'll Never Have". I keep telling myself I'm 20 years or 1 winning lottery ticket away from retirement.

And as predicted, I did better today than yesterday. Thursday's puzzles are becoming my bane.

I liked:
- 39A: Volume Control? SHH (although I liked Otto's GEL, that works in an odd way too)
- 42A: Old-style Shade: SEPIA
- 67A: Things Found Around the House: YARDS (genius!) I was thinking of things laying around the inside of the house. In my case it would be junk (and cats).

I found last night's TBBT to be cute, but not particularly funny. Did you see it?

Well, I hope you have a super day and a wonderful weekend!

Mari said...

PS: Lemonade - I love Charlotte's little purple party dress!

Diane said...

Ahhhhhh, much better today! Hard but doable. Loved "lip reader" and "melange". My Dad always used the word "gripe" but I don't hear it much anymore. That baby!! I want one sooo badly (grandchild that is)!

Anony Mouse said...

Thank you Lemonade for your gentle and cheerful explanations. The puzzle was too difficult for me. Alas, there is no class, to advance my CW solving mass. ( Wow, it rhymes - ).

Thank you Hahtoolah, for Sugar Daddy, which I think I'd read before, probably in one of your earlier posts. Still interesting, never the less. She did well, and finally did become a lady of class.

Lemonade, your photos are absolutely awespiring, and you have a wonderful family. Mazel tov, and may they bring you much joy and happiness. For a child to be brought into this world with such love and hope is like perching them on the topmost mountain peak and augurs well for their future. I am in rather a pensive mood, because I have been reading, 'May you be the mother of a hundred sons' by Elisabeth Bumiller, (Publ.1988, Fawcett Columbine). It is about feminism in India ( or the lack of it - ), female infanticide, and other more indelicate subjects. It is a beautiful, well written book, and having revelled in my two daughters, I can very much relate to it.

Have a nice day, you all.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi Everyone ~~

I finally finished this but it took more time than a usual Friday and my newspaper TEEMed with write-overs ~ lots of erasing! I found it to be very enjoyable, though ~ thanks for the challenge, Norm Guggenbiller.

~ Carom before MASSE, 'Usually' / AS A RULE, Came to 'An end' / 'A head' / A HALT, and at 62D - Lettered Bklyn. thoroughfare - Lie / AVE. (Not sure where the Long Island Expressway is located.)

~ Like Lemonade, I remember my mother talking about ROUGHAGE - I guess 'fiber' wasn't fahionable back then. I also thought of "Golden Girls" at 44A.

~ Strangely, whenever I come across the word MELANGE, I'm reminded of an old "Odd Couple" episode where Felix questioned Oscar as to his dinner creation and the response was "Goop MELANGE."

~ Favorites were LIP READER and HOMERED.

~ Nice write-up, Lemonade - enjoyed the explanations, pics, links and especially your comments. What a beautiful family ~ Charlotte is so sweet!

Spitzboov said...

good morning everyone. Nice pictures, Lemonade.

A good workout, today. Finally got a foothold in the SE and filled it in. Knew ATTICA - lived in western NY at the time. Began to get the theme with MEAL TICKET. Had a NATICK at the MASSE/SAM crossing. Took awhile to get the 'Y' in YARDS; and to suss GREAT for aces. At least I got DEWEY, and Seinfeld's dentist right.

MACEDONIA was the only landlocked country I could think of with the right number of letters. Greece and Macedonia argue about the name.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

It seems that I have always been the giver rather than the givee for largesse. I suppose I should consider myself lucky enough to be able to do so. Nice Friday puzzle, Nahm!

Musings
-SUGAR DADDY? It can be symbiotic, rich people ain’t usually stupid.
-My UNCLE was not RICH, he married a MEAL TICKET
-ADMIT it? Not a chance, Mirandize me!
-“I object, my client seems to be telling the truth!”
-99+% of the followers of ISLAM just want to live and let live
-REX is a blowhard but looks like a lot of fun
-A lot of the surface area of the ISS is SOLAR panels
-Remember this famous ROUGHAGE commercial (:30)?
-A lotta Lutheran kids around here go to St. OLAF
-RETRO – “Papa, what is that box on the wall with the curly cord?”
-Behind the scenes of hilarious Seinfeld LIP READING (2:35) episode
-Do constructors seem to put in a lot of baseball references or is this Rich’s fine hand?

Irish Miss said...

Good morning:

Didn't have any real hang-ups as most was pretty straight forward. Liked the theme and the cluing. Thanks, Norm, for a Friday-worthy challenge and thanks, Lemony, for a witty expo. Your family pictures are delightful and Charlotte is as cute as can be!

Mari, I thought TBBT was one of the best of the season, mainly because of the talented Bob Newhart. His timing and understated delivery are priceless. It was also refreshing to enjoy a half hour without the usual emphasis on sexual hi-jinks and female bodily
functions. I DVRed Person of Interest and Elementary.

Have a great Friday.

Yellowrocks said...

St. Olaf is famous for its choir.
Link St. Olaf choir

Lovely pics of Charlotte.

Catch y'all later.

thehondohurricane said...

St Olav's choir is now bookmarked into the Hondo library. Thanks YR'

Mari said...

Irish Miss @ 10:08 AM: I'm right with you on TBBT and PofI. I have a "hot date" with Mr. Finch and Mr. Reese tonight!

Java Mama said...

Happy Friday, everyone! Really enjoyed this one, Norm, even though it took some persistence to get through it. Lots of fun theme fill, with FAT CITY being my favorite. Nice write-up, Lemonade. Loved the pictures of little Charlotte – she is a treasure. We’re heading down to Texas soon to see our precious Lucy, and I can’t wait to scoop her up.

The NW was the biggest challenge, since I’m not familiar with NAOMI Watts and was thinking golf for the tricky stroke at 1A (not that it made any difference, since I don’t know much golf lingo, either). Started out with Came to A BOIL at 57A, but perps showed me the error of my ways. Got a chuckle out of SHH for Volume Control.

Glorious weather today, with highs in the upper 70s. Good day to give the flower beds some much-needed attention before heading to the annual civic garden center sale this weekend.

Have a wonderful day, all!

Ol' Man Keith said...

This ended up as a DNF even though I thought I'd finished (only "thought" it because I'd Googled twice), but then I found the same mistake that Barry (& others) almost made-- using MASHE for MASSE. I had settled for HAM because I don't know the hobbits. I probably should, but they are of another generation. I fall asleep eery time I try to watch the movie, 12 to 15 minutes in....

I liked the theme. I wish the LA Times would give us the title, but it came clear when I hit RICH UNCLE in tandem with 47D, FAT CITY.

My favorite this Friday? Easy. It was SHH for "volume control."

Husker Gary said...

For no particular reason (Forest Gump)
-On a Pawn Stars episode I watched last night a man was selling some food pouches that were made in NATICK, MA for the Apollo 11 Moonshot (He wanted $400 and Rick gave him $50).
That piqued my curiosity and I looked it up. Besides being a word we use around here a lot and its being the 8th mile in the Boston Marathon, Natick has a research facility there - The Natick Soldier Systems Center, that has developed many items that NASA has put to use.
This site claims it has the patent on some form of TANG (seen here occasionally) that was popularized by John Glenn during America’s first orbital flight and is featured in this commercial (:30).

JJM said...

Once I figured out the the theme, things went quickly & smoothly... it just took a while to figure out the theme as I had only parts of the answers.

What an adorable kid Charlotte is!

Lucina said...

Greetings super solvers! And thank you, Lemonade, for your measured and gentle remarks. Your family is precious and Charlotte is adorable.

WEES. My solving experience was similar to most of you including the MASHE/MASSE trap but I didn't know enough to change it so DNF for me.

Yet the rest of the challenge was a rewarding trip. I loved seeing MELANGE, ACETONE, LIP READER, EXERTED, ETC.

YARDS was brilliantly clued.

Like many of you SALAD preceded TRASH, FEEL before AM SO, ERE then E'EN. I always DRIP DRY my laundry so that should have been easy but it took a long while to emerge.

St. OLAF's choir is familiar to me as they used to tour and give concerts here.

Congratulations, Norm Guggenbiller, for your adept misdirections which I loved.

Have a wonderful Friday, everyone!

Anonymous said...

Finally a puzzle with no obscure answers...way easier than yesterday's...finally solved one besides a Monday or Tuesday

desper-otto said...

Husker, I remember TANG and it's connection to the Mercury program very well. "Drink TANG and Go!" -- yes, indeed. I can't recall seeing TANG recently. I found an interesting on-line article about it.

Norm Gugenbiller, is that you at 12:40?

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Norm Guggenbiller, for a great puzzle. Thank you Lemonade, for the great review. Enjoyed your family shots. Beautiful granddaughter.

Got started slowly with this puzzle, but picked up speed as I got a foothold here and there. Better than yesterday, which I could not finish.

Got all three theme answers, plus FAT CITY, before I got FREE RIDES.

Lots of long vertical answers in this puzzle. They did not come easily.

Liked MACEDONIA. I have a friend who grew up there. That is why I got it quickly.

Eventually got MASSE for 1A. After a couple letters I knew what was meant. I was thinking golf at first.

Tried selling onions yesterday and today. Rained some yesterday. Rained a lot today. Hopefully tomorrow will be better weather.

I worked yesterday's puzzle until I was blue in the face. No cigar. The NW corner was bad news. Today was much better.

See you tomorrow. I will be doing the puzzle out at an onion site.

Abejo

(enreewm)

Bumppo said...

Glad you were able to "suss" GREAT for "aces," Spitzboov; I don't get it.

I don't get GEO for "former Prizm maker," either. "Geo" was a "make" (now often called a "marque"), not the maker. The maker was General Motors. And Geo was a sub-marque of the Chevrolet marque. Who makes Corvettes? Corvette, Chevrolet or GM? I'm going with GM.

Misty said...

My husband's caregiver woke up ill this morning and after a couple hours it became clear that we had to call 911. I had to go to the doctor and then physical therapy for a back injury a week and a half ago, and so am unable to help my husband get out of bed, have breakfast, etc. until a substitute caregiver can be found and arrives. So we're pretty much on hold this morning.

While waiting, I took the crossword puzzle in to my husband, and with a little cheating we managed to finish it in bed. One little comfort, while we wait to get some help and get our day started.

Lovely photos of Charlotte, Lemonade!

Wish you all a great Friday!

Lucina said...

Misty:
I am so sorry about your and your husband's illness. That helpless feeling is not fun. I hope you both soon feel better. Please keep us posted.

Lucina said...

Oops, sorry I just realized it was the caregiver who was ill. My wishes remain the same.

Misty said...

Many thanks, Lucina. A substitute caregiver who has taken care of my husband before, just arrived. So we are going to be okay. Now we'll just pray that our regular caregiver will be all right and able to return to us before too long.

Spitzboov said...

Bumppo - Aces - From the urban dictionary: An adjective synonymous with excellent, cool, great.
I really like my english teacher; he's aces!
If you substitute GREAT for aces here, it works.

You don't suppose Norm Guggenbiller is an alias for someone who already has a lot of aliases?

Bill G. said...

Misty, best wishes for you and your husband. I hope the caregiver is OK and that you guys find someone else reliable to help you out. Good luck!

Somebody down the block is having tree work done and the incessant whining of a chain saw is unavoidable and annoying. I think it actually makes me feel tired. Also the trash trucks are doing their noisy thing. Oh well, these too will pass. It's hotter than usual too; not Lucina hot but hotter than I like it (about 85 degrees F).

desper-otto said...

So you think Lucina is really hot, Bill G? (So do I).

We've got high winds, but no bad weather. I just heard a power transformer "pop!" down the street. Makes me glad that I've got a whole house backup generator. Doubt that the people down the street are enjoying it quite so much. The last time this happened it took about 5 hours for Entergy to isolate and resolve the problem.

Bill G. said...

"You know your from East Rockaway, NY when....."

"None of us care about voting for mayor."

The first one above is on a Facebook page for Barbara's hometown and high school. The second one is a headline on Joel Stein's column today in Time Magazine. I know the first one is unequivocally wrong but what about the second one? Has it become acceptable usage these days because it's been misused like that so often or is it still unequivocally wrong?

Lemonade714 said...

Bill G. what are you looking for?

Anonymous said...

Attention, as always.

Lucina said...

Ooh! All of a sudden I feel really hot! And I'm indoors . . .

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. I started out with a lot of unfilled area, and began to feel a tad intimidated from not knowing a single doggone answer. Sometimes I didn't even know what a clue meant or what the cluer was getting at. But finally I found an answer here and there that I either knew or had enough confidence to guess at, and that got me going. Unlike yesterday, which I DNF, I completed today's without having to "cheat" in any way, and I feel pretty good about it. There was a lot to like in this puzzle once I got past the "Huh?" stage. Best wishes to you all.

TTP said...

OK, winding down my day and still haven't read the write up, but just finished reading the comments so far, and 2 have made me laugh out loud.

1)Desper-otto at 1:01 "Norm Gugenbiller, is that you at 12:40?"

and

2) Lemonade at 4:19 "Bill G. what are you looking for ?"

So many other fine quips here. Loved Blue Iris the other day.

Marti, yes, it's a new phrase, by dint of yesterday's puzzle !

Jayce said...

Wanted LUXEMBOURG for the landlocked country but it wouldn't fit. LUXEMBURG didn't work either. I didn't realize Macedonia was landlocked; I thought it had a coastline. I'll look at the map in a minute.

Jayce said...

Ah, I must have been thinking of Montenegro, which does have a coastline.

"You know you're from East Rockaway, NY when....."

"None of us cares about voting for mayor."

normg said...

Okay....no, that's not me at 12:40, yes...real name, "Cheers" tv show not a problem...and have been called "nahm" more than once. Thanks all for the kind words. :-) Norm G.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Great one, Norm! Great as always, Lemon.

This puzzle is about what too many people would like to have. But what they have to do to get it sounds too costly! Money ain't everything.

PBS shows a Christmas Special of St. Olaf's Choir that is really special.

We had a wooden wall phone with crank handle when i was growing up. Didn't go to dial until I was a senior in HS.

Hang on a line: thought that would be talking too long on a telephone.

DesperOtto: Honey, you're on a roll today! LOL!

Blue Iris: from last night, I'm always surprised when you say you are small. You seem to have such a BIG personality and BIG heart.

All my late husband needed to impersonate MR. CLEAN was a gold earring in one lobe.

Argyle said...

This would have the perfect place for Diane to post, "Norman".

ELO - Telephone Line(4:56)

Spitzboov said...

Bill G.

None may be used to mean not one or not any.The 1st sense requires a single verb, the 2nd sense needs a plural. To wit:

"I bought 3 books, none (not one) of which was very expensive."

"None (not any) of them have finished their work"

Hope this helps.

Yellowrocks said...

This has been a very trying day for me. This morning I learned that by 2014 NJ DDD is planning to disallow some clients’, such as my son’s, participation in the sheltered workshop he now thrives in. Hopefully we parents can kick up enough fuss to derail the initiative.
I received a letter this afternoon saying that my son could soon lose Medicaid, meaning all medical services beyond Medicare, all social services, and prescription coverage.
I plan to fight this. I am consulting an attorney for the disabled, but I am quite shaken.

ELO Ole! said...

Hold on Tight

Pookie said...

Norm G:
Loved loved loved this puzzle!!!
No nits, finished it all, straight-forward cluing.
What a beautiful baby, Lemonade.
She looks so happy. :-)

CrossEyedDave said...

Oh dear, I can't even say Wees because I failed dismally at this puzzle. To give you an idea, I thought 62D lettered Bklyn thoroughfare had to be "BQE." (Brooklyn/Queens Expressway for you non natives.)

The write up & comments took me longer than the puzzle, hours in fact. One link led to another, & another. Lemonade, @4d you mentioned Sean Astin as son of John Astin (Gomez Addams) which surprised me, so I looked it up, & was even more surprised at what reads like a tabloid at the Supermarket checkout! Sean was Patty Dukes son! & was reported to be the son of Desi Arnez Jr! (you have to read the Wiki to find out who the real father was...)

Doha Doc@6am awesome ELO clip! (be sure to check out side links:Strange magic & Country Sisters, Cotton Eye Joe...)

11D Mr. Clean reminded me of the ending to The Doors Touch me You can hear "stronger than dirt" are the last 4 notes

I wanted to find something funny for 39D "scarfed," but had to stop at this pic.

Misty said...

Yellowrocks, what terrible news you've received today concerning all the services and supports for your son. I can't tell you how sorry I am to hear this. What a blow! We can only hope and pray that you'll find a way to be able to retain at least some of this totally critical support. My heart goes out to you.

Bill G. said...

Yellowrocks, best wishes and good luck for you and your son. I hope things work out well for you.

Thanks Spitz, that makes sense. I'd never thought of it both ways before.

Kalendi said...

DNF, never do on Fridays, but I always come here for the write up and comments. You all are fun to read. I loved the LOTR and Michael W Smith video clip (two of my favorites).

PK said...

YR: How devastating that the powers that be should do this to your son and you. Let's hope they are just testing the waters to see how much whiplash they get. I hope they get lots of it.

The governor here was trying to shut down the facility for the most disabled citizens, thinking they could be mainstreamed. His efforts were finally quashed at least for now. Most of these people were totally dependent and had nowhere else to go. So stupid of the gov.

I hope this can be rectified without serious toll on your health from the stress and agrivation. Hang in there, dear lady!

Misty said...

Bill G., thank you for all your kind and caring messages today.

Lemonade714 said...

YR best wishes. Misty,likewise.

Norm,cool that you stopped by.

CED,I can depend on you always. Thanks

D-O thank you for all your words and humor.

Also, thanks for all the kind words, especially about
the little bundle of joy







Manac said...

Not sorry Bill, But the sound of a chainsaw is music to my ears. To me it means heat for the winter. I take anything but pine and poplar. Now I even Balk at Elm, like Argyle mentioned a while back, its good firewood but almost impossible to split.
And this was a DNF for me today. Masse and Sam, and I've had a pool table for years. Oh Well.

Yellowrocks said...

Misty, what a blow to have three of you down at the same time, your hubby, you with your back, and your usual caregiver, all together. I hope things soon return to a more even keel. They say bad news comes in threes. I hope your run of bad luck is done. You deserve a break.
Thanks to all for your support and, ELO, thanks for the song. The DDD initiative is very top down. The clients, the clients' families, and the lower and middle level caregivers who deal directly with the clients were not consulted in any way. The rules are made by the ivory tower intellectuals. The proposal is idiotic and totally impractical. They don't know the problems our sons and daughters face. They can’t be convinced that some clients will never join the mainstream and will never be really employable, even at a minimum wage. As a teacher and a mother of a challenged son, I thought the mainstreaming in the public schools did more harm than good, except for the very top tier of the disabled who were just a bit below the norm.
Dear bloggers, your kindness helps so much.

JD said...

Good evening Lemon, C.C., et al,

What a fun puzzle even though I couldn't complete it. Was happy with filling all of the theme answers. Slow at first, but bit by bit things finally fell into place. Such great clues: old style shade, wood protectors, things found around the house...

Misty, you are a gem and hope all goes well in the next few days..weeks..months for you.

Lemonade, thanks for sharing your picture perfect Charlotte,and your beautiful family with us.Always a thank you for your write up, a pleasure to read even when I don't do the puzzle.

Crispy816 said...

Evening all!

A rare Friday non-head-scratch-er for me. Since I usually jump all over the place while solving (on paper), I had FAT CITY & went from there. Thank you Mr. Gugenbiller for a do-able Friday puzzle & thank you Mr. Ade for your great write-up. I'll second the vote for the purple party dress!

Yellowrocks @5:04 : As a parent of a son with disabilities, I feel for you. I can relate to your outrage even though my son is only 11. I never thought I could become such a b**ch until I had to fight to get services. Hang in there & be the squeaky wheel no matter what it takes.

Crispy

Lemonade714 said...

Thanks JD and Crispy.

fermatprime said...

Misty: I sympathize a great deal with your situation. My caregiver usually comes when she is sick, though. (Better than starvation.) I take a huge amount of vitamins and other pills (such as Astaxanthin and Resveratol) and I have succeeded in avoiding her bugs for several years. (So far!)

YR: That is TERRIBLE!

D-O: Do they still kill girl babies in India? So very sad.

Had a molar extracted today. Good thing that I have not been hungry!

Not much patience with puzzle, so cheated after a while. Brain not working well.

Have a good weekend, all!

fermatprime said...

Swell pics, Lemon!

Bumppo said...

Bill G. and Spitzboov: Take Spitsboov's analysis one step further. He says, "None may be used to mean not one or not any. The 1st sense requires a single verb, the 2nd sense needs a plural."

But the second, "not any," is merely short for "not anyone." "None" is singular all day. Joel Stein's "None of us care about voting for mayor" is simply wrong.

Modern wordsmiths agree with Spitzboov, however. See Patricia O'Conner, Woe Is I, who says, at pp. 27-28 of the 2003 paperback edition: " . . . [G]enerations of us were taught (incorrectly) as schoolchildren [her parentheses] that none is always singular because it means 'not one.' . . . But none has always been closer in meaning to 'not any,' and most authorities agree it's usually plural: 'None of Tyson's teeth were chipped.' . . . " (emphases in original).

O'Conner is wrong. She seems simply not to understand that "any," itself, is singular.

Fowler agrees with O'Conner, but not so specifically, and not eruditely at all. He says "the O.E.D. explicitly states that pl. construction is commoner." But common does not mean right, as Bill G. suggested; and Fowler, co-author of the Concise O.E.D., overlooks the fact that the Oxford English Dictionary is, and always has been, a reportorial dictionary, not an authoritative dictionary (that's why it's so thick).