google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, May 20, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Advertisements

May 20, 2013

Monday, May 20, 2013 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Fore! - Actually, it is right in the fairway. The three most common scores you can make on a hole of golf start the first three of four grid-spanning entries; the unifier being the last one.

17A. 1978 hit for the Commodores : "THREE TIMES A LADY". LINK (3:39)

23A. Safety feature at a dangerous intersection : FOUR-WAY STOP SIGN. Example, also called ALL WAY.

50A. False start punishment, in football : FIVE-YARD PENALTY

58A. As expected, or, golfwise, a hint to numbers found in 17-, 23- and 50-Across : PAR FOR THE COURSE

Argyle all teed up and ready to let'er rip. Starting a Monday with grid-spans is impressive and a good drive, unlike some of my real first tee drives. The fill is on par with a Monday; a couple of crunchy nuggets but no Naticks. Personally, I like the look of the two cheaters in the corners.

Across:

1. Finders' shouts : A-HAs

5. Maternity ward event : BIRTH

10. Formal title : SIR

13. Destroy : RUIN

14. Legend automaker : ACURA. This is the luxury vehicle division of Honda.

15. 1988 Cy Young winner Hershiser : OREL. You're not surprised to see baseball clues, are you?

20. Microbe : GERM

21. Minnesota Wild's org. : NHL. (National Hockey League)

22. Status __ : QUO

28. Boxer played by Will Smith : ALI

29. __ the finish : IN AT. (but not Orb)

30. Give one's word : VOW

31. Business bigwig : TITAN. The first gods in Greek mythology. Real biggies. (LINK)

33. Olympics sled : LUGE. Rosebud!

 
 
35. Mideast sultanate : OMAN

39. English : John :: Welsh : __ : EVAN. It is of Welsh and Hebrew origin. (seems an odd combo)

40. High male voice : TENOR


41. Pro __: in proportion : RATA

42. Like the night : DARK

43. Seek prey : HUNT

44. Agriculture goddess on the New Jersey state seal : CERES. Roman goddess. Yellowrocks can link this.

45. Bigger than med. : LGE.

47. Multinational coin : EURO

49. Scintilla : BIT

55. Hush-hush maritime org. : ONI. (Office of Naval Intelligence)(that's all I can tell you. Shh!)

56. AAA suggestion : RTE

57. Just hanging out : IDLE

64. Work on the deck : SWAB. Mopping.

65. Steamed : IRATE

66. The stuff of legends : MYTH

67. 25-Down student : ELI. 25D. New Haven sch. : YALE U.

68. Shows up : COMES

69. Gets the picture : SEES

Down:

1. Museum display : ART

2. "How's that again?" : "HUH?"

3. Instrument "played" for a hairbrush microphone user : AIR GUITAR. Ad for the microphone. LINK Order your's NOW!

4. Scornful look : SNEER

5. Role for Keaton and Kilmer : BATMAN

6. "Here," on Metro maps : [ICI] In France.

7. Mojito liquor : RUM. Dennis, are you drinking mojitos?

8. Former Senator Lott : TRENT. Mississippi Republican Senator, 1989 – 2007.

9. Discuss in detail : HASH OVER. I prefer my hash with eggs.

10. Note after fa : SOL

11. Kirkuk native : IRAQI
 

12. Excavated anew : REDUG

16. France's third most populous cité : LYON

18. "Desert Fox" Rommel : ERWIN. WW II tank commander in Africa.

19. Dog food brand : ALPO

23. Meant to happen : FATED

24. Tony whose #6 was retired by the Twins : OLIVA

26. Dumbfounded : STUNNED

27. Gave one's word : SWORE

32. Oft-sprained joint : ANKLE

34. Hopped out of bed : GOT UP

36. Bread with swirls stolen by Jerry in a classic "Seinfeld" episode : MARBLE RYE


37. What the dog did with the homework? : ATE IT

38. Foul, as weather : NASTY

40. Showy : THEATRIC

44. Time-share unit : CONDO

46. Greek street food : GYRO

48. Treats again, as a sprain : RE-ICES

50. Dandy fellows : FOPS. Are you a Dapper Dan man?

51. Blown away : IN AWE

52. Like YouTube videos gone wild : VIRAL. I'm in awe of some of them but always with a grain of salt.

53. Nostalgia-inducing : RETRO

54. Homecoming group : ALUMS

59. "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity" org. : FBI

60. Nonkosher meat : HAM

61. Printemps follower : ÉTÉ. We're back in France...

62. Holy mlle. : STE.. ...again.

63. Puzzled comments : EH's I hope you are no longer puzzled.
 
 
Argyle




Boomer (C.C.'s husband)  and #6 Oliva
Oliva looking at Boomer's Hartland statues. The big guy on the left is former Twin Juan Berenguer. The background picture is Hall-of-Famer Bert Blyleven.

78 comments:

fermatprime said...

Hi, all!

Thought this was a bit crunchy for a Monday! But fun, CC! Had trouble understanding clue for AIR GUITAR. Thanks Argyle!

Forced myself to watch season finale of Mister Selfridge. Decided that I really find Jeremy Piven almost too annoying to watch. (I am not alone. Went to IMDB.)

Have a query about Pat Sajak's Monday crossword. (Yes, I work those, too. Even had a Natick the other day.) Why is an illegal mound move a BALK?

Have a great day!

Swell pictures of Boomer and Oliva!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

A sparkling Monday effort from our fearless leader. I thought the theme was brilliant in that all the phrases were perfectly in the language.

Mostly easy, but surprising to see ONI and LYONS in a Monday puzzle. I'd say the same about OLIVA, but this is a C.C. puzzle, after all...

Not being a huge "Seinfeld" fan, it took me awhile to come up with the otherwise straightforward MARBLE RYE. "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity", on the other hand, seemed a little too easy a clue for FBI, given the initials.

Fermat: I'm not a baseball expert, but "mound" refers to the pitcher's mound and a BALK is when the pitcher starts his pitching motion and then stops and throws to a base (to try and get out a runner who has left the base). Once he starts the pitching motion, he is required to follow through. It's amazing what one can learn from "Peanuts" cartoons, eh?

[inancej]

thehondohurricane said...


hello everyone,

In a hurry .... it's the day for us who remain to pay our respects to departed family members at the cemetery.

Not many issues today, but did have a couple of guesses that made me rely on the perps. 55A ONI & 36D MARBLE RYE were outside of my wheelhouse. Wasn't a Seinfeld fan & never dealt with the Navy where I was employed, only USAF.

CC, nice pix of Boomer & Tony. How about a pix of the Hartland Ted?




HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

Nice write-up, Argyle. I thought this was a perfect Monday puzzle, with a nod to Husker G. who always makes PAR FOR THE COURSE, right?

C.C., you managed to sprinkle in enough zest to keep it fun. I loved seeing AIR GUITAR and the Seinfeld clue for MARBLE RYE. Then there were the clechos for VOW and SWORE, which crossed each other.

I actually even remembered OREL Hershiser and Tony OLIVA. Yay!!!

Have a good week, everyone!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Didn't even look at the creator's name until I hit OLIVA, and then I knew.

Argyle, laughed at your "Dapper Dan" comment. Couldn't get your microphone link to work.

Later in the week OREL would be a city on the Oka. I thought the Welsh John was going to be EWAN rather than EVAN. Where does EWAN come from?

Mari said...

Good morning everybody ... Happy New Week!

I went with EMIR instead of OMAN for 35 across, but otherwise it was smooth sailing.

I knew CERES because there is a statue of her atop the Chicago Board of Trade. When the building was completed they didn't think any other building in the area would ever reach it's height, so they completed Ceres without a face. Today there are many buildings in the area that are much taller, including the Sears/Willis Tower!

desper-otto said...

Mari, that statue looks like it may have been sculpted by early 20th century artist, Art Deco.

Argyle said...

I'm working on some glitches now. Link is fixed and one of the videos is back, Three Welsh tenors.

Vidwan827 said...

Thank you CC for a nice and easy puzzle. I had no real problems, except I was not familiar with ONI (learnt something) and the FBI motto. I thought 'Fidelity' was a copyright of the Marine Corps, but that would have taken 4 letters.

I had 'Gin' before 'Rum', for a Mojito. These too-many concoctions are making me dizzy .....**

**Since 'Moderation' is "ON" in the evenings, does this mean I have to do without my RDA of Mojitos ?? May I partake of my much-needed Mojitos, with my breakfast cereal instead ?

Thank you, Argyle, as always, for your entertainment.

I read the REAL 'Titan' - all about John D. Rockafella' by Ron Chernow. Now, he really walked this Earth, and his war - Titanomachy - was with the U. S. Supreme Court - those men in black robes sans hoodies - and he lost. Isn't democracy wonderful.

Orel H. spent his 'retirement' in Cleveland, with the Indians. I don't pay attention to sports, but I believe he used to throw the opening pitch and then went to the bull pen to sign a few autographs. He was sponsored by the American Dental association to popularize 'ORAL' hygiene. Amongst the fans, that is - not the tobacco chewing pitchers.

Have a nice day, you all.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone. Thank you Argyle for your erudite write-up. Liked the way you explained the theme and the puzzle lay-out.

Slightly crunchy as Argyle said. Once I got PAR FOR THE COURSE, it was easy to go back afill in the other grid spanners. Had 'arose' before GOT UP was gotten by getting LUGE, TENOR, and HUNT. Like the way C.C. is getting into the French: ICI, ÉTÉ, and where they speak it, LYON.

No Naticks today, although we spent the weekend in Natick, MA.

Have a great day.

LaLaLinda said...

Hi Everyone ~~

What a great puzzle, C.C.! You added zest to a Monday offering and made it fun to solve.

I thought I was so smart going down and filling in FIVE- and SIX- after getting the THREE- and FOUR- answers. Hah ~ not to be! I was able to finish it all fairly quickly.

Of course I loved the baseball clues and smiled at your managing to get OLIVA in there. Nice pics of him and Boomer.

~ I didn't look at the clue for 27D closely enough and filled in 'Swear' after getting VOW at 30A. Had to change 'Rainy' to NASTY for 'Foul weather' and 'Emir' to OMAN.

~ Once again I'll blame my newspaper for 62D which looked like 'Holy mile.' Stumped me until perps showed me the 'mlle.' Well, I do have my annual eye exam next month! ;-)

~ Loved the cluing for Printemps follower / ETE and Nostalgia-inducing / RETRO.

~ Great write-up, Argyle. Thanks for the Seinfeld clip. I've seen every episode many times and I still watch reruns!

~ Bill G. - I hope Barbara is doing better today.

MJ said...

Thanks for the write-up, Argyle. Loved the Welsh tenors link!

C.C., I am in awe of the three-four-five in the language grid-spanners. Awesome!

Enjoy the day!

kazie said...

Managed to suss out all the sport clues, and appreciated the help from the French here, although cité is really only used for fortified/walled towns. Ville would have been more correct, but less guessable for most I suppose. I don't really know why the English version of Lyons added the "s".

On the whole about the right level for Monday. So thanks C.C., for a fun start to our week!

Michael B said...

Thank you, CC for a fun Monday!
All went well, spent some time with MARBLE RYE. Is not something have heard of here on the left coast, maybe more right coast thing.

TTP said...

Good morning all.

Thank you CC and thank you Argyle.

Nailed the spanners without much help from the perps. Same with AIR GUITAR and MARBLE RYE. Only needed PAR to get the unifier.

Pretty much a speed run after a restless night. Alas, a failure. Had ALUMn.

Fun stuff.

TTP said...

I forgot to mention the double take I did when I opened up your image for the 4 way stop sign.

Saw E. Harrison Ave and said to myself that I know a Harrison Ave. Then said to myself that the street does look familiar, and finally made out the crossing street name, President.

No wonder it looked familiar. It's less than 10 miles from my house.

Abejo, Mari, take a look. It's in Wheaton. North on President takes you to Geneva Rd and South takes you to Danada. East on Harrison takes you to College Ave and Glen Ellyn and west takes you towards Winfield.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

My annoyance at Cruciverb being down AGAIN dissolved as soon as I saw the constructor's name. Great theme and lively fill made for a fun and fast solve. Was not familiar with ONI but makes perfect sense.

Thanks, CC, for a nice intro to a new week in Puzzle-land and kudos to Argyle for a scintillating expo! Lovely pictures of Boomer and Mr. O.

Does anyone have any idea why Cruciverb is down on a seemingly regular schedule every two weeks or so, usually on a Monday?

Bill G. - Hope Barbara is feeling better.

Happy Monday.

Montana said...

Couldn’t get the puzzle on my iPad, so waited until morning to use my desktop. I can print the puzzle from my local online newspaper. Like D-O said, I didn’t look at the constructor until I saw Oliva, then saw it is a CC puzzle.

When I saw Kirkuk native, I wasn’t concentrating and thought Keokuk—so, Iowan fit. Cleared the cobwebs with the perps and corrected it. My daughter attended college in Quincy, IL, so we drove through Keokuk often over four years time.
Did the same daydreaming with M_TH. Looked like it would be a clue for math (after all, I was a math teacher), but THE STUFF OF LEGENDS? What the heck? So I did a mental alphabet fun and got to mYth after 25 letters. Duh!

I have never watched Seinfeld. Why did he want the bread so much?

Thanks, CC, for a nice Monday puzzle, and thanks, Argyle, for the expo.

Montana

Misty said...

I love starting a week with a C.C. puzzle and here's why. I don't know anything about sports and yet here we have one with references to golf, football, baseball, hockey, boxing, and even Olympic sledding. And I still got the whole thing! Yay! My only erasure came when I first put ERICH instead of ERWIN for Rommel. I had a wonderful friend named JOHN who named his son EVAN because the family had a Welsh background. Anyway, wonderful puzzle, many thanks, C.C. And a great expo, Argyle.

I wish we had watched more "Seinfeld."

Handsome dude, Boomer!

Have a great week, everybody!

JJM said...

My grandfather stared working at CBOT 1n 1910, two bldgs. before the current location at LaSalle & Jackson where the goddess of Grain- Ceres stands atop the building watching over the harvests

Lucina said...

Hello, Argyle, C.C. and all.

WEES. You all nailed it and I agree. The sports clues, the theme and all were a walk in the park. Thank you, C.C.! You are becoming a TITAN among constructors and that's no MYTH.

And there is nothing to HASH OVER as it is quite straightforward. I love Lionel Richie's voice so that was an added bonus.

Didn't we SEE Kirkuk native yesterday or Saturday? Nice.

How is Barbara doing, Bill?

Have a great Monday, everyone!

kazie said...

Bill,
Hope Barbara is on a smooth road to recovery.

Boomer,
Great photos!

I found some Seinfeld episodes better than others. It was always a matter of knowing and anticipating the characters' expected reactions. In that respect, a lot like TBBT. The marble rye thing was one of those where it was just Jerry's insistence on getting what he wanted and not wanting to be outdone by circumstances.

Lucina said...

Great photos, Boomer and Oliva! I assume Oliva is from the Dominican Republic, right?

Anonymous said...

Hard drive died. This is my kindle fire. Slow for typing. Great puzzle cc.
Yellowrocks

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

What a nice start to the week. A little baseball, a little golf, some hints of Minnesota, plus AIR GUITAR and MARBLE RYE -- Yum!

As a Sr. citizen, I can say there are a few RETRO things I've REDUG.

Mixed baseball feelings. Tigers are in a tailspin and played an absolutely awful game last night. Watching it was painful.

But Nate's team won a tournament this weekend, so that was pretty nice.

Granddaughter Amanda took top spots in a dance competition this weekend for both solo and duet, and Danny, Ryan and Alexa were in a musical production of Tarzan. Fabulous show, and all the kids were terrific.

Great weekend, great start to the new week - but oh, those Tigers (sigh.)

Cool regards!
JzB

Qli said...

Thanks, C.C., for a great puzzle, and impressive pics of Boomer with Twins greats. My hubby will be impressed! and thanks , Argyle, for a great expo and links; the tenors video is fabulous.

Speaking of mojitos, Crystal Lite has a new Mojito flavor which is not bad if you like sugar-free drinks.

Hope Bill's Barbara is better. as well as YR's hard drive.

Lost a wonderful young former student and coworker to a horrible accident last week. Her car was squished between two semis. Too much bad oilfield traffic in areas not designed to handle that amount of volume. Tragic.



Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Finally had a morning/day when I could finish a puzzsle before nine P.M. I thought that we were due for a C.C. puzzle when I opened the paper and there she was.

I enjoyed this puzzle, though I had several unknowns. Evan, Acura, and Oni for three. Most were doable with perps, so the puzzle came together surprisingly fast. If I had spelled Lyon/Leon correctly "Three Times A Lady" would have come much more quickly than it did.

Thanks for the writeup, Argyle.

Great pictures of Boomer and Oliva.

This week is also looking like it will be as busy as the last one, so I'll be working on puzzles near bedtime again. I try hard to read the blog every day and keep up with everybody's doings.

We have a grandson graduating from San Jose State U. (Our Alma Mater) this week. He won the outstanding Aeronautical Engineering award this year. We are really proud of his accomplishments.

Have a great day, everyone.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Just back from 36 holes where I got all the scores in CC’s lovely puzzle and, uh, a few others. SIX PACK ABS, SEVEN COME ELEVEN
-Read y’all when we get back from Omaha

Lucina said...

Chickie:
Congratulations on your grandson's achievements! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, so I know where he got his genes!

Sfingi said...

Easy, though never heard of ONI.
Had map before RTE.

@Chickie - impressive.

Love MARBLE RYE, (or, I would say, MARBLEd RYE), but couldn't stand the Seinfeld show. So glad they all went to jail in the final episode. MARBLED RYE used to be a deli thing, but now its all over (the East Coast, I guess). Arnold is one brand.

Like Misty - never noticed the sports. Maybe it's Monday, or maybe I've learned something.

Question - how do you play AIR GUITAR and hold the hairbrush at the same time?

@Mari - did they skip the face because they thought no one would ever see it? Note: CERES is a Roman goddess, but her daughter belongs to Sicily.

Jayce said...

nvidelic SocietyHello everybody. A nice sparkly puzzle today; enjoyed filling it. Like LaLaLinda, after I got THREE and FOUR, I blithely pencilled in FIVE and SIX. I should have read the clues first. Speaking of clues, my favorite by far was what the dog did with the homework; I laughed heartily.
Seeing Kirkuk native made me immediately think of KURD, but this time it wasn't.
One thing I enjoy doing is going back to see how a fill was clued after I have already filled it from the perps. Eg: having filled BIT I was curious how C.C. had clued it. Scintilla indeed!
As kazie pointed out, it's odd how English changed Lyon to Lyons; it is equally odd how sauternes has become sauterne in English. Vacation (singular) is les vacances (plural) in French. And yet pants is (are?) still pants.
Best wishes to you all.

CrossEyedDave said...

I have not done the puzzle yet, (I am saving it for later.) I wanted to get some chores done first.

I was weedwacking the patio, when over the noise of my gas weedwacker, I thought I heard one of my girls screaming "Dad!" When I turned to look, there was this poor little guy trying to run away, but he was too young to even walk!

(must have been born last night!)

#2

#3

#4

Jayce said...

Okay, now I see why so0metimes the captcha appears at the beginning of some of your posts.
Congratulations to your grandson, Misty.
Sfingi, after watching several episodes of Commisario Montalbano we have grown rather fond of Sicily. (I know I know, it's just TV, not real life, but it's as close as we'll ever get.)
If Evan comes from Welsh, perhaps Ewan comes from Scottish?

Bill G. said...

Thanks CC and Argyle. That was an enjoyable Monday puzzle. (I knew the answer to 25D had to be Yale but YALEU threw me off for a while.

Thanks for all of your good wishes. Barbara seems to be coming along fine. We'll see how effective the pain medication is. The physical therapist is showing her how to deal with the walker and stairs. Apparently, I need a lesson too.

AnnieB8491 said...

Good afternoon all - Thanks for a fun puzzle C.C. and great write-up Argyle. Smooth sailing for me today. Only a few perps needed to complete today's grid.
Clever cluing and fill-ins for the theme and the unifier. I even remembered ICI from 2 years of French 45+ years ago.
Had 2 of the grandkids all weekend, then 2/3 thirds of our family for dinner yesterday - 10 of us, 3 missing. My dining room table is quickly getting too small.
Glanced at Saturday's and Sunday's puzzle, didn't fill much in either of them, so was looking forward to Monday's puzzle to make me feel smart again. :)

Bill - Good wishes coming Barbara's way for a pain-free recovery.

Beautiful day here in central NY. Hubby opened pool today, but 55 deg. is waaaaay to cold for swimming. Plus, have to chlorine it and clean it. Maybe weather will be nice for this weekend.

Enjoy the rest of today everyone.

caovity

AnnieB8491 said...

Also, did my first 5K race of the year on Saturday. 36:49 - my best 5K time so far this year. There were no awards for the over 40 runners, but myself and another older (75) gentleman were called up and recognized for our completion and time (he did it in 27:53). There was a huge hill towards the 1 mile mark that did me in. I walked it last year, vowed to run it this year. Made it almost all the way up, but no dice. I'll try to do better next year. I've now done a 10K, 8K and 5K so far this year. Will try to do 1 race a month from now on. Am doing the Boilermaker 5K in July, and plan on doing the Palio 5K in Saratoga NY in September. Have to find some for June and August.

desper-otto said...

I think I should mention it again.

If you haven't been following Brain Games, there are four 30-minute episodes tonight on NatGeo from 7-9 CDT (8-10 EDT). It's not a sports competition, it's about how your brain deals with the world around you -- the assumptions it makes, the details it misses, and how easily it can be fooled. I really think that if you enjoy crossword puzzles that you'd enjoy Brain Games. I guarantee that you'll learn something...and have fun doing it. Commercial over.

TTP said...

nvidelic SocietyHello to you too, Jayce :>)

D-O, thanks for the reminder on Brain Games. Will make it a point to watch unless my freedom of choice is usurped.

Didn't get a chance to do Saturday and Sunday's puzzles. Looks like I missed a couple of beauties.

Another tornado lit down in Moore OK. This tornado was a mile and a half wide an the devastation looks real bad. Moore is on I-35 and is on the south side of Oklahoma City.

CrossEyedDave said...

Well, I managed to get through all the sports, & even the French, (I must be improving) but in the end was caught up in a recurring failure of mine. (I don't know my tenses...)

It's hard enough being lost in space, but lost in time? (& you expect me to learn foreign languages?)

27D Gave one's word,,, I put "swear" & never looked back (sigh...) I knew what the dog did (ate it), but I did not have the weather forecast (nasty), & I did not have the proportions (rata?) Add to that an agricultural Goddess on a State Seal, & it made me lose my marbles several times. (I kept changing marble rye,,, what an inkblot...)

Oh well, thanks CC, for the puzzlement.

Irish Miss said...

AnnieB - You might want to check out Freihofersrun.com.

CED - Beautuful animal pictures. See, there are other creatures in the animal kingdom besides those mice-chasing meow-ers! (-;

Chickie - Congratulations to your grandson.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Treat of a puzzle, C.C.! Great expo, Argyle! I love the Lionel Ritchey version--so intimate! The Welsh Tenors was soul lifting.

I needed some soul lifting since I had to dig out my mother's old aluminum "walker" on Saturday. All the walking on uneven ground trying to get grass planted, dislocated something in my bad foot. When I step down there is pain and I am not sure it will hold my weight. I keep trying to adjust it back in place. The swelling is down today so maybe...

CED: Oh, deer! I thought fawns could run at birth. He looks gray in the picture. What kind of deer do you have there?

PK said...

My AF son moved his family back to OKlahoma City area last fall. I saw they'd had tornados there late yesterday and was apprehensive when I couldn't get them on the phone. However, they are okay. His inlaws had just driven away when the sirens went off. They spent some time in their underground tornado shelter.
Meanwhile hundreds of miles away, we had very heavy rains and a tornado watch, so a nervous few hours. My only problem was realizing I forgot to get my yardman to clean out my eaves troughs.

Lemonade714 said...

How great to have C.C. and Argyle to start the week. I loved the golf progression (I have a tournament June 7 and with knees bad, have not played, eep!)

So late not much else to say, but Fermat the puzzle maker is James Sajdak, Pat Sajak does wheel of fortune, or maybe he created a puzzle somewhere which I do not know. I think there are 16 or 19 regular daily puzzles.

SIX PACK ABS is not a grid spanner; maybe SIX GUN TERRITORY.

By the way, for those of you bored by our discussion/obsession with Rose Leslie/Ygritte from GOT, she played Gwen in Downton Abbey to show what a small world it is even in tvland.

Vidman, good to see you regularly.

JzB, awesome family.

Boomer you look so ar home with Mr. Oliva.

YR hang in there

Husker Gary said...


-Grid spanners on Monday, WOW!
-Nice snap of Boomer and #6 but I prefer the one with CC
-Like Linda, I love(d) Seinfeld and remember the MARBLE RYE episode fondly. Misty, reruns are all over the dial, warm up your DVR.
-A BALK in baseball is not called very often but could be
-Spitz, is it hard to explain Natick, MA to everyone?
-News reports that include the words Oklahoma and an EF 4 tornado never end well. What a horrible disaster but they did seem to be as prepared as they could be.
-What is a moderation setting? Who decides to set it? What are the criteria? Why is it only set in the evening?

CrossEyedDave said...

Irish Miss, you know I love all (hmm, ok most) animals...

Pk, I have no (Ideer) what kind of deer this is. (If you asked my wife, it's the flower eating kind...)

I thought they could run at birth too, but this one was running on 2 legs, & dragging 2. (I am not sure which ones, it was a blur...) When I tracked it down under my pine tree, it had one leg facing forward, & the other underneath its body. (I have pics, but on the cell phone they come out as thumbnails.)

I blame all the chemicals here in Jersey, (Hmm, it might explain our Governor too...) In the paper today, some one wants to introduce legislation that when the sewer treatment plants overflow, the public gets notified. Well, when the hurricane Floyd came thru, the Whippany river smelled so bad, you could not go outside! If that doesn't notify you, I don't know what will...

Argyle said...

I am the moderator. I see all the comments first and decide if it's snarky. Old snarky anon comes out at night. Usually.

Husker Gary said...

Oh

desper-otto said...

Husker, you seem to be repeating yourself.

Bill G. said...

CED, that's a beautiful little fellow. Where's Mommy? I would want to keep him/her as a backyard pet even though it's probably not a good idea. I didn't know NJ was rural enough to have these critters running around freely and having babies.

I went to the hospital to get a joint physical therapy session on climbing stairs with the walker. I passed. They decided to kick her out today so we managed to get her home and in the house. They are delivering the knee-moving machine in a while. Whew! Thank goodness for Medicare and health insurance. I'm guessing the total bill, doctors and hospital, would be over $100K. Crazy!

Thanks again for all the good wishes. Who knew that a CW puzzle blog would be a source of so much emotional support.

Is the snarky anon acting up again so early in the evening or is this just a preventative measure?

ARGYLE SUCKS CANAL WATER! (Let's see if that get moderated out.) :>)

Argyle said...

If only I could edit....

Anonymous said...

He'll only come out at night
The lean and hungry type
Nothing is new, I've seen him here before
Watching and waiting
He's sitting with you but his eyes are on the blog
So many have paid to see
What you think you're getting for free
The man is wild, a he-cat tamed by the purr of a jaguar
Moneys the matter
If you're in it for love you aint gonna get too far

Oh Oh here he comes
Watch out boy he'll make you laugh
Oh Oh here he comes
He's a snarky anon

I wouldn't if I were you
I know what he can do
He's deadly man, and he could really rip your world apart
Mind over matter
The beauty is there but a beast is in the heart

Husker Gary said...

Sorry, I put in my post, type in the "magic code" and it does not go. I wait and repeat the process and it posts along with the original. I see why now. I see why now. ;-)

Argyle said...

We also have the option of only letting blues post but I would miss a lot of anons and all our black letter posters.

Any comments are appreciated, either here or email.

Manac said...

Put in Oliva without hesitation knowing who the constructor was.

Irish Miss @ 4:46, Why, I do believe you're trying to Muscle in on my territory :)

Dave, It's a White Tailed deer and obviously hurt. Did you call Fish & Game? You know... Those people you are are supposed to pay for that license you probably don't have. They can at least give referrals for help if it still around.

Bill, Their natural habitat around that area has shrunk so much. Many of them get hit by cars.

aka thelma said...

CED... your fawn is adorable... is the mother around... ?? he is going to get hungry :)

I don't know about deer, but a cow will leave behind a calf that is sickly... like not walking perhaps...

Don't have any idea what kind of deer you have in your area, but looks like what we called white tail deer... state of washington

Keep an eye on him.. I too think he should probably be walking...

thelma

CrossEyedDave said...

Manac, this is N.J.! I have (& paid for)a license for just about everything, except breathing. (I'm sure that's next.)

It is just getting dark, & I am waiting for Momma Deer to come back.
The pictures I took were on high zoom, because I did not want to get to close & scare it. This thing is much smaller than it looks in the pics, you could hold it in two hands.

(note: that green line thru its face in the 1st pic,,, is a blade of grass...)

Vidwan827 said...

C.E.D. , I live 20 miles outside of Cleveland, OH, and I've had a baby deer-fawn delivered next to my front sloop, about 6 years ago. We have always had a small herd of deer roaming our backyard on most days. They are all flower-loving, especially fond of geraniums, - 'white tails'. The fawn, screamed/yelped when it saw 'us'. The only time I've heard any deer make any sound. It ran and then plumped itself down in a nearby flower bed under our Magnolia tree. Then it went to sleep. I put out a couple of apples, a papaya and some pears, quartered and seeded, in case it was hungry. It totally ignored me. Overnight, the mother apparently came in, ate all the fruit, took custody of her kid, and was never seen again. Since hunting is forbidden in the 6 counties nearby, I would like to think that it is still around here, somewhere. Unless, it was killed in an auto collision, 322 last year, alone.

Jayce said...

Argyle, I've been a chat room moderator so I know how difficult it is to deal with certain situations and to make decisions that will accomplish the greatest good. I admire how you manage to not get sucked into controversy and I encourage you to keep staying aloof and objective. Thank you.

Argyle said...

I'll try making it Google accounts only when I go to bed. pk and misty don't make many late night comments and the regular blues can post as usual.

Good idea?

Snarky Anon ( one of them - ) said...

Santa, not to keep you up all night - but - are ethnic jokes considered snarky? Particularly, if I happen to be THAT ethnic ?

I distinctly remember that clue for 'ethnic' jokes in a CW, around last week. The clue said,'Joke allowed, if self-deprecatory'. Or something like that.

In due and careful consideration of your bedtime curfew, your arduous R.E.M. routine and associated APNEA, etc., this snarky Anon, has declared a truce from dusk to dawn. So there.

I cannot speak for the others, circling the shadows. But I wish you'd just 'dele' them, tomorrow morning. A few hours of fame ain't gonna lift their spirits that much. Life is short, and you shouldn't be sweating the small stuff. A good night's sleep is very important, even if you are in the vicinity of New York City.

Happy Moderation.

Argyle said...

New York City...worlds away.

Ethnic joke by a regular would be handled off-line.

Allowing only Google accounts should eliminate all the snarks. It's unfortunate if some innocents don't get to post but they can wait until morning. Or if I'm up in the middle of the night playing golf online, I can moderate then, also.

Irish Miss said...

Manac @ 7:22 - Far be it from me to meddle in the antics of the Katzenjammer Kids! (-:

TTP said...

Desper-otto,

I liked Brain Games. I had the bus going in the correct direction, but for the wrong reason. The 6 year olds got the correct answer for the "right" reason. Good stuff. Thanks again.

Good night all.

Bill G. said...

Fermatprime, I see I'm not the only person that finds Jeremy Piven annoying. However, I am enjoying Foyle's War.

Argyle, I think you've hit upon a very good solution; that is, Blues only at night after you've gone to bed. If it has some unforeseen drawback, it's easy to change in the future.

What's the big deal with ethnic jokes? I'm a Scot and my friend told me a very funny joke about a Scot so cheap that he considered repairing a damaged condom rather than paying full price for a new one. (That wasn't supposed to be funny though the whole joke was very funny when he told it full of embellishments and a Scottish accent.) I was making the point (badly perhaps) that an ethnic joke isn't necessarily a bad thing. It is, of course, when it is offensive toward the ethnicity involved. Lots of vaudeville comedians got famous and lasted a long time using ethnic humor.

I have a old friend back in Virginia who always wants to tell me ethnic jokes that are usually offensive. I try getting out of the experience without hurting his feelings. Then, I have a local friend who tells jokes that are never very funny but are always very dirty. He doesn't seem to be able to see a distinction. If in a group, I try to politely excuse myself as soon as I can tell he is about to tell a joke.

CrossEyedDave said...

Argyle, being a New Yorker who has heard it all, I agree with Anon @8:15.

If it's really that bad, you can delete it in the morning. Beside free speech, we are all old enough to make our own decisions as to what we want to read...(& ignore...) but at least,,, give "us" the choice!

Manac said...

Bill, Dave and et alia, Is this an Ethnic Joke?

windhover said...

Speaking as one who has been deleted by him, I trust Argyle's judgement.

Bill G. said...

Heh heh, yes, but not an offensive one.

Barbara's getting around slowly with a walker and a cane. Soon, they are supposed to deliver the machine that keeps flexing her knee, even when she's asleep. We also got an ice machine that provides ice water to a compress on her knee to cut down on pain and swelling. It works OK but the trouble is it took the whole tub of ice cubes from our automatic ice-maker to fill the machine half full. So it'll be another day or more before we can fill it up with ice again. We'll probably go back to bags of frozen vegetables in the meantime.

I just found this and I thought some of you might enjoy it. Squirrel, not dogs or cats.

Lucina said...

fermat and Bill:
Re: Jeremy Pivens
Don't you think he is portraying Mr. Selfridge's personality? Obviously he was disliked as indicated in the satirical play of last night.

Lucina said...

Bill:
I used to buy 20 pound ice bags when my friend was recuperating. It takes lots and lots of ice.

Anonymous said...

Good night everyone.

Chickie, I hope you read this - maybe tomorrow. Congratulations to your grandson on the honor given. Sounds impressive.

And belated happy birthday to Grumpy1, if you still read these. It would be good to hear from you once in a while.

Cheers

kazie said...

Jayce,
Your examples of singular to plural translations are of interest when you realize that the French vacances translates to the plural holidays in British English (to be on holidays), and pantalon is singular in French as is Hose in German for pants. Logical really --it is only one garment after all.

Sorry to be only getting back so late--busy day.

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a swell Monday puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the swell review.

Well, checking in late tonight. I was in Nashville this morning and tried to get the puzzle via cruciverb, but it was not there this morning. So, I bought a Nashville Tennessean and they did not have our puzzle either. I did work it, though. When I got back to Illinois I got our newspaper puzzle and worked it after my meeting that I had. Finished it about an hour ago, then got caught in a downpour running for the train.

The puzzle was fine. Theme was excellent with four grid spanners.

ICI was tough at 6D. We do have Metros in the US.

ONI was tough, but it makes sense.

I did not have time to read all the comments. Just got home and I am hitting the hay. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(xmophil)

Abejo said...

TTP:

Yes, I looked at the four-way stop after I read your note. I am not familiar with that corner in Wheaton.

You are probably correct. Of course Harrison starts in the city and probably continues all the way to the Fox River in one fashion or another.

I live near Devon, which starts in Chicago. My church is on Congress which starts in Chicago.

Good catch.

Abejo

(ksballys)

Bill G. said...

Lucina, I may have to buy bags of ice too but I'm hopeful that plastic bags of frozen vegetables will work well enough while I wait a day or so for the automatic ice maker to replenish itself. Now that I read what I wrote, bags of ice might be more of a nuisance (back and forth to the store) but would probably work better. We'll see.

Just now, the fellow came by to set up the motorized knee flexer. I can't imagine how a poorer out-of-work person with no health insurance and Medicare could ever survive this expense. I guess they would have to go without a new knee.

fermatprime said...

Bill: Been through the bit with the machine when I had triple compound fracture. Really was too much of a hassle for a person who is mostly alone. Barbara is lucky to have you!!!

Lemonade: There is indeed a Pat Sajak daily puzzle! I have not lost my marbles. Here is the Link. But you possibly cannot work it as it is included in the Puzzle Society package I pay a whole $15/year for. Of course, Sajak does not write the puzzles I have seen--other authors are listed.

Lucina: read the imdb entry on the show! Bill and I are not alone!

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

Hondo,
Click here for the statute. This is nice too: Ted Williams Says Drink Moxie.

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

I feel that Moderation takes away the rapid-fire fun banters & spontaneity off the Comments section and puts too much pressure on Argyle.

So, from now on, the Moderation is off. However, only regular Blue Posters can comment in the evenings when Argyle goes to sleep.

Things remain unchanged in the day time. Thanks for your understanding.