google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday May 26, 2013 Matt Skoczen

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May 26, 2013

Sunday May 26, 2013 Matt Skoczen

Theme: "Business Meetings" - LLC meets in the middle of 9 theme entries.
 
 23A. "Gladiator" Best Actor winner : RUSSELL CROWE. I liked his "A Beautiful Mind" as well.

39A. Ended up where one started : CAME FULL CIRCLE
 
58A. Hotel supervisor : BELL CAPTAIN. Supervisor of bellhops.

70A. One in a hospital room display : GET WELL CARD. Get well soon, Lucina!

83A. Annual sports event, familiarly : FALL CLASSIC. World Series! I could not find the  Mariners/Rangers (Friday) bad call clip on YouTube. Anyone else?


102A. One may include Barbies : DOLL COLLECTION.  JD collects Cinderella dolls. 113A. 102-Across chorus, maybe : MAMAS

124A. Triceps-strengthening exercise also called a French press : SKULL CRUSHER. Looks hard. Let's just stick to our Russian twists.



17D. Old West showman : BUFFALO BILL CODY. Buffalo Bills was named after him.

46D. Marx Brothers forte : SCREWBALL COMEDY

125D. Business "meeting" hidden in nine puzzle answers : LLC

As soon as I downloaded the puzzle and read the title, I figure there must be something meet in the middle. LLC! Very clever. I guess you could hide INC also. Maybe it's done before.

Love the theme entry placement. Always amazed when others make the intersection work.

Across:

1. They're put up in fights : DUKES. Put up your dukes.

6. Zany : MADCAP

12. Small car brand : MATCHBOX

20. 12-time NBA All-Star Thomas : ISIAH. He stumped some last time.

21. San Francisco mayor, 1968-'76 : ALIOTO (Joseph). Learned from doing Xword.

22. Draft-y building? : ALE HOUSE. Thanks for the - y mark!

25. High-reaching ruminants : GIRAFFES

26. Stomach opening? : GASTRO. A rather long prefix.

27. In-crowd : ELITE

29. ["Boohoo"] : SNIFF

30. Eastern Nevada city : ELY. What is it famous for, Doha Doc?

31. Silents star Negri : POLA

34. Old European capital : LIRA. Last Sunday we had: "Former capital of Italy" : LIRA. My comment: I bet this clue would stump the Pope (Call me, maybe?). Capital refers to "money" here. Euro now.

36. 900 and 9000 : SAABS

44. Poet Edgar __ Masters : LEE

45. Long Beach sch. : CSU

47. Hackled headwear : SHAKO. The plumes are hackles.


48. Florence farewell : CIAO

49. Theater section : LOGE

50. Ipso __ : FACTO

52. About to faint : AREEL. How can we live without the A* word?

54. Cinematic sled : ROSEBUD. "Citizen Kane".

56. Supplier of household dishes : DIRECTV. Satellite dish.

62. Explosive state : IRE

63. Editing mark : CARET

66. Frosty material? : COAL. Nice clue.

67. Modern address : URL

68. They really never come home, figuratively : COWS. Til the cows come home.

74. Some cameras, for short : SLRs

77. Preschooler's protector : BIB. I attended school at age 7. How about you? I knew not even one Chinese character before then, having brought up by my grandma who had bound feet & was illiterate. I miss her so so much!

79. Skylab org. : NASA

80. Asparagus unit : SPEAR. I like oven-roasted asparagus.

82. "The Little Mermaid" collectible : CEL

87. Colorful Italian dessert : SPUMONI

89. Not what a fox wants to hear : TALLY HO. Our next-door neighbor keeps feeding squirrels. They're ruining my garden.

90. 100 kopeks : RUBLE

93. Syndicated computer adviser Mr. __ : MODEM. TTP might read his columns. Not me. Never heard of the guy.

94. Sole : ONLY

95. Flamenco cries : OLES

98. Tilts a little : LEANS

100. Affirmative at sea : AYE

101. __-1701: Starship Enterprise markings : NCC. For Naval Construction Contract, per Wiki. "Star Trek".

106. Home of Iwatayama Monkey Park : KYOTO. Guessed. Have you been there, Yellowrocks?

108. Baking __ : SODA

109. This, to Tito : ESTA.  Or ESTO.

110. Some undergrad degs. : BAs

116. Colorful tank fish : TETRA

119. "__ Full of Love": "Les Miz" song : A HEART. One 6-letter partial is allowed in LAT.

121. Take over, as a role : STEP INTO

127. Banquet product : TV DINNER. Frozen dinner brand Banquet.

128. Floral parts : SEPALS

129. Acid type : AMINO

130. Hospital recreation areas : DAY ROOMS

131. Look : ASPECT. Noun.

132. Under, to Byron : NEATH
        
Down:

1. Musical lament : DIRGE

2. Run-of-the-mill : USUAL

3. __ Suzuki, mother of Bond's unborn child at the end of Fleming's "You Only Live Twice" : KISSY. I had no idea Bond had a child.


4. Vane direction : EAST

5. Nepalese people : SHERPA. Some are. I don't like this clue.

6. Evil, to Yvette : MAL

7. Proof is its std. of strength : ALC (Alcohol)

8. Desperate : DIRE

9. Slangy "Excellent!" : COOL

10. Whenever you want : AT WILL

11. Like Shakespeare : POETIC

12. GQ, e.g., briefly : MAG

13. Laila and Tatyana : ALIs

14. Coastal bird : TERN

15. Lounging site : CHAISE. The girl with the perfect legs. I bet Splynter wants to consort with her in the bar.


16. 1992 Nicholson role : HOFFA



18. Sweet ending : OSE

19. Marks on a ballot : X'ES

24. They have shuttles : LOOMS. Tricky clue.

28. Szmanda of "CSI" : ERIC. Doesn't ring a bell.


32. City on the Seine : LE HAVRE

33. Where many travelers come from? : AFAR

35. "Entourage" agent Gold : ARI

37. Kicked off : BEGUN

38. Sesame __ : SEED. Love deep-fried sesame rice balls.

39. Precious : CUTE

40. Tiny Tim's instrument : UKE

41. Leopold's nefarious partner : LOEB

42. Turin term of affection : CARA. "Dear".

43. Script "L" feature : LOOP

45. African capital : CAIRO

49. Some military transports : LEARS. Unaware that Lears are used in the military as well, Dudley!

50. S&L guarantor : FDIC

51. Job: Abbr. : OCC (Occupation)

53. Baroque composer Jean-Marie : LECLAIR. No idea!

55. R-V connectors : STU. Alphabet.

57. Graffiti ID : TAG

59. Online guffaw : LOL

60. Érié and others : LACS. French for "lakes".

61. Applaud : CLAP

64. Sicilian spewer : ETNA

65. Christmas or Carroll poem opening : 'TWAS

69. Inane : SILLY

71. Mulholland Drive segment : ESS

72. Is offended by : RESENTS

73. Fist bump : DAP. Like this.


75. Taylor of "The Nanny" : RENEE. Fran's mother.

76. Opposite of likely : SLIM. Chance.

78. Activist Nellie : BLY

81. Cuba libre liquor : RUM

83. __-pants: foppish : FANCY

84. Sound on a track? : CHOO. Train tracks for the dumb blondes in Manac's joke.

85. Hang loose : LOLL

86. Glean : CULL

88. Haunted house sound : MOAN

89. Honky-__ : TONK

91. Honey source : BEE. Hi there Melissa!

92. Victoria's Secret frill : LACE. I like this one. But in pink. Pretty & comfy.

96. Lullaby trio? : ELS. Three L's in Lullaby.

97. British poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, for one : SCOT. Not familiar with the poet. Wiki says She is the first woman, the first Scot and the first gay to hold the position.

99. Plucked instrument : SITAR

102. Piece with pips : DOMINO

103. Ukrainian port : ODESSA

104. Fried Hanukkah fare : LATKES. Never had Latkes before.

105. Obama, by birth : OAHUAN

107. Hoglike mammal : TAPIR

110. Coastal Brazilian state : BAHIA


111. "__ we all?" : AREN'T

112. German brewer Bernhard : STROH. Founder of Stroh's.

114. Dating word : ANNO. The A in A.D. Not the dating I had in mind.

115. Floral part : STEM

117. __ Arena: Kentucky Wildcats home : RUPP. Gimme for PK.

118. Latin wings : ALAE

120. Carlisle's wife in "Twilight" : ESME. Played by Elizabeth Reaser.


121. Part of 126-Down: Abbr. : STD. 126. Western Fla. Panhandle setting : CST

122. Norris Dam prog. : TVA

123. Surg. centers : ORs

C.C.


Added later:

Don't miss this article on Rich's philosophy on cluing.

64 comments:

  1. Happy Sunday everyone!

    It’s amazing how turning on one or two red letters will open a floodgate of answers after a few laps around the puzzle grid. Reddening the A and C of MATCHBOX caused the entire NE section to fall for me today (I was trying to force some derivative of MITSUBISHI)….

    Of course, it wouldn’t be Sunday without the USUAL erasure marks, such as ERNE for TERN, ZAIRE for CAIRO, NEO for URL, SNOW for COAL, EXS for XES, and so on….

    Joe Alioto was the Richard Daley of the West Coast, imho (apologies to Sam Yorty)….

    It’s name is the U.S.S. Enterprise, but the hull marking is NCC-1701. Takes me back to when young Trekkie Doc built the Revell model. The term Trekkie wasn’t nearly as divisive then as it has become today….

    C.C., I’ve never been to Ely. It’s one of those podunk little towns you pass through on the way to somewhere else. Ely’s claim to fame is either (a) the birthplace of Pat Nixon, or (b) the smallest community in the U.S. ever to have received scheduled passenger jet service operated by United Airlines on a year-round basis, per Wiki….

    Cara Mia why, must we say goodbye…?

    Finally, the end of yesterday’s Giants game was truly one for the books. The Giants, winners of 2 of the last 3 FALL CLASSICS, had fallen behind 5-4 in the top of the 10th inning, and then in the bottom of the 10th with a man aboard this happened…!

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  2. Morning, all!

    Very easy, straightforward puzzle today... except for the parts that were insanely obscure (to me, at least).

    BELL CAPTAIN? Seriously? Never heard of it and really resisted filling in BELL as the letters started revealing themselves.

    What the @^%$! does "hackled" mean? With feathers, right. I always thought hackles were the hairs on the back of my neck. Live and learn.

    BAHIA, ESME, STROH, OHAHUAN and AHEART made that little SE corner nearly impossible.

    SKULL CRUSHER crossing RUPP was another sticking point. Although, now that I've seen the picture, I can understand why the exercise is so named (especially if you lose your grip).

    I thought I was well versed on my composers, classical or otherwise, but LECLAIR is a complete unknown to me.

    KISSY/ELY almost sank me in the NW because I couldn't remember if the town was ELI or ELY. But KISSI didn't look likely as a name (even though KISSY is just, well, stupid).

    Other than that, though, smooth sailing... ^_^

    [hmdeal]

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  3. Good morning!

    I liked this puzzle, though I didn't get the theme until the reveal, and by then all the theme answers were filled in. There were several unknowns (at least to me), but the perps helped. Florida was the toughest area today.

    I visited KYOTO back in '69, but now I get it confused with Nagoya. Was that dolphin castle in KYOTO or Nagoya? I remember noticing that Tokyo and KYOTO were written with the same two Japanese characters -- just reversed.

    Remember when DIRECTV first became available? I didn't want to appear to be an early adopter -- I waited until the second day. I've still got that same account number. It's below 166,000 (and they probably didn't start with 1).

    I watched an interesting documentary on the TVA a couple of weeks ago. Throughout I was saying to myself, "I know that voice. It's...." Finally "Beau Bridges" popped into my head. Turned out to be correct.

    DAP to me is that stuff that comes in a tube, and you buy it at Home Depot. I was unfamiliar with the fist-bump meaning.

    C.C., you mentioned yesterday that your grandpa had two wives. Did you call both of them grandma?

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  4. Good morning C.C. et al.

    Thank you so much for explaining “Hackled headwear,” C.C. If I have seen it before, I had totally forgotten. The other one that threw me was defining DAP as a “fist bump,” because I kept reading it as “Fist Pump.” Perps finally gave me the answer. And OAHUAN looked really strange to me, but it worked.

    My real problem was in the NW corner. It didn’t help that I had stupidly spelled ISIAH as ISaAH. When I finally saw that KASS- might be KISSY, it fixed that and gave me the ta-da moment. Barry – Bond movies are full of silly names. Remember Pussy Galore?

    I got the theme after looking at the title and realizing that all the entries had LLC in them. But I had to spend several minutes looking for the reveal because it had snuck by me when I was filling the bottom.

    I guess it’s going to be relatively nice, so I really can’t put off planting those flowers today. Oh well, it beats housework!

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  5. Good day everyone,

    Well two weekend days in a row for doing the puzzle & two days of failure. At least today I felt I had a chance to finish, unlike yesterday.

    The NE and SW were my undoing. GQ/MAG never came to me. Had Ole House. ALEHOUSE did not cross my mind even though I was not confident about Mog.

    In the South I had Appear for 111A. Mis-spelling of LATKES was a result of my not carefully reviewing the fills, but 125D & 126D were wags I was thinking LLC, but to me that is Limited Liability Corp (or Company) and has nothing to do with a "business meeting". CSR looked as valid as CST which was one of the few clues I did not like at all. LLA was a concern. Done in by an incorrect interpretation. Such is life!

    All in all, the past two days disasters will make me very happy I will be back to be peddling my old cardboard next weekend.

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  6. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Matt Skoczen, for a great puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for the swell review.

    Well, I was working in the garden yesterday and quit after I got tired. Went to the drug store and bought a Sunday Trib to start the puzzle early. After getting three words I had to get ready to go to a get-together with my wife with some friends. Got home and was so tired I went to bed. Basically I wasted $1.99 for the Sunday Trib. Finished the puzzle this morning. The upside is, my wife now has double coupons.

    Got the NW corner easily. That is where easy stopped.

    Bounced around all over the puzzle writing in the gimmies. Finally got DOLL COLLECTION at the bottom. Then FALL CLASSIC. Looked at 125D and wrote in the obvious, LLC. That all helped with the rest of the puzzle.

    Liked CST for 126D. Very clever. That helped with STD for 121D. ANNO was clever as well, for 114D.

    CAIRO fell after a couple letters to get me started there.

    ROSEBUD came slowly as I had BEGAN instead of BEGUN. Finally got it. I remembered that sled having seen the movie many years ago. Used to appear in crosswords now and then.

    OAHUAN was also a good one. Took a few get-started letters to get it.

    ERIE got my attention. However, the french connotation was confusing. Lake Erie is named after the Eriez Indians. It was not a french name. Even though the french initially settled the area, then driven out by the British and new Americans.

    Anyhow, off to church and then more gardening. Want to get it all planted this weekend, then off to Pennsylvania to do it again.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    (annuxcel)



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  7. The theme LLC helped tremendously today. Matchbox was clever.
    I have been to Kyoto twice. It is a lovely place with buildings that survived the war. At first it was to be the target for the A bomb, but fortunately it was spared. We saw working geisha there.
    I love stir fried asparagus with garlic and drops of olive oil and sesame oil.
    Banquet TV dinner is an oxymoron.
    Ever since I was little,
    German potato pancakes were a big favorite. I was surprised to discover that they were the same as latkes, except we used flour instead of matzo meal.
    The old movies had bell captains. Speaking of which, I watched Vertigo last night. No bell captain, though.

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  8. Abejo, I'm curious. How do you pronounce your screen name? Is it Uh-Bay'-Ho or maybe Abe'-Joe? Or is it something completely different? I'd hate to tell Pas De Chat how her screen name gets pronounced in my head.

    BillG, I liked your "bridge out" joke from last night. Pat, liked your stupid husband joke also.

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  9. Hello Puzzlers -

    Began this puzzle last night after a long and tiring day, and couldn't get anything to work. After a decent night's sleep, it seemed easy.

    Never heard of Dap as a fist bump.

    Morning, CC - I vaguely recall that we discussed the military version of the Lear 35, known as the C-21, right here on the Corner. Darned if I recall why. Anyhow I was surprised when that answer emerged today.

    Speaking of nice legs: I watched Bull Durham last night for the first time. Susan Sarandon's legs are a big feature of the film, and YOWZA they are nice.

    Cheers all!

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  10. C.C., here is the video of the bad call. It loads(slowly) at the bottom of the page. It shows the different reactions from each teams' broadcast crew.

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  11. Musings
    -BILL, SELL, COLLECT sent me elsewhere looking for the business theme but finished without it helping or hurting me. I think of an LLC as a business structure rather than a meeting.
    -SKULL CRUSHER is new to this workout guy
    -ISIAH Thomas was a first rate player but a big time bust as a coach
    -I had some GASTRO issues yesterday after too much Wal Mart chicken on our family picnic
    -I don’t like today’s cameras where you have to look at a screen to frame a picture. I liked my old SLR where I could look through the viewfinder and keep my other eye open at the same time to better follow the scene
    -Most of us started at age 5 CC. What a story about your childhood!
    -Mr. MODEM? Never heard of him. I’ll take her
    -Check out these disgusting “nutrition” facts on a TV DINNER
    -He gave all the birds marijuana – He wanted to leave no TERN unstoned ;-)
    -World’s richest UKE (:49) player in China
    -That frilly Victoria Secret ensemble – pretty? Yes. Comfy? Hmmm…
    -CST was a big deal in the 2000 election. Some had called FL for Gore while ignoring that polls were still open in the panhandle.
    -In what TV comedy did Dick Sargent have to STEP INto a role?

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  12. D-O, You inspired me to look up the characters for Tokyo and Kyoto. Kyo-to does seem to be the reverse of To-kyo.The "kyo" character is the same in both and means capital. However, the "to" character is different and has a different meaning and a very slight difference in pronunciation. Kyoto means capital city and Tokyo means eastern capital.

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  13. Good morning all !

    My streak carries on. 3 white spaces I had no clue on, and 1 red letter revealed when I went to Regular skill level. The three white spaces were due to LEHAVRE crossing with POLA, SHAKO and DIRECTV. I was thinking Corning Ware or Chinet (???). I didn't know how to spell LATKES. Looking at it now, SEPALS would be a more regular word form than SIPALS.

    What really slowed me down was having 'back to the start' in lieu of CAME FULL CIRCLE, and 'new born baby' for GET WELL CARD as the answer for "One in a hosp room display." Had a heck of a time with Cinematic sled. Had _OS_BaD and double checked every clue until I realized BEGIN, BEGAN, BEGUN. Changing the a to U and it was just a sec to to realize ROSEBUD.

    Lapsed on ESTA versus otra. 'This' versus 'other' in my broken espanol. Nailed Érié due to Fond du Lac, as in bottom of the lake, which just might be where Nicholson's 1992 character may be. Lac Érié, that is...

    Time to read CC and the comments.

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  14. Good morning everyone. Always enjoy C.C.'s intros.

    Fairly easy Sunday. Got the theme fill easily; favorite was BUFFALO BILL CODY.

    66a COAL. Did not 'get' it. Initially thought of 'hoar'.
    68a, COWS. Our cows came home twice a day to be milked. No complaints.

    77a BIB - In 1944, we had no preschool or kindergarten; I started 1st grade at age 5. Like C.C., I had no knowledge of Chinese characters, either.

    60d, LACS. - I agree with Abejo on L. Erie. I don't think the French spell it with the é form. Maybe Kazie will weigh in and straighten us out. BTW, I found a Wiki site in French that did use the é as in the puzzle. Sigh.

    Have a great day.

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  15. YR, I guess my memory is just like the rest of me -- it only half works.

    Do you suppose Isiah Thomas' mother and Oprah Winfrey's mother knew each other? (Isaiah/Orpah)

    Seeing MODEM in the puzzle reminded me of "going to the cups" with my 300 BAUD analog modem. Remember that? Later I was amazed at the speed of my Universal Robotics 1200 BAUD modem, and even later my 9600 BAUD modem.

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  16. Yellowrocks - I believe Dick Sargent replaced Larry Hagman in "I Dream of Jeannie."
    Thanks, C. C. for explaining "hackles." We all learn so much from you.

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  17. Thank you Matt Skoczen ! And thank you CC !

    Yes, I agree with "Thanks for the - y mark!" at 22A. That was the give-away for me. No, I have never heard of Mr Modem. But I still have the old dial sound of a modem
    forever etched in my head.

    Doha Doc, Don't know how I have no recall of that song. At 119A, I was thinking of A World Without Love

    Barry, before your time, but perhaps watching Jerry Lewis in "The Bell Boy" would firmly implant BELL CAPTAIN ? I was thinking it was ELK, Nevada.

    Husker Gary, Dick York in Bewitched ?

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  18. -Yes, TTP, he replaced Dick Benjamin in Bewitched. Here is another STEP IN on a popular TV show.
    Can you name this show?

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  19. Hello, Troops. Thank you so much, C.C. for your well wishes. I almost feel normal and will blame my ebbing energy for any errors today. GASTRO issues have plagued me for three days.

    RUSSELL CROWE started me in the NW and count me as one who didn't know Bond had a child. KISSY fits into the Fleming coterie of names as Marti noted. Of course who wouldn't want to have a child with BOND, AKA Sean Connery? It is surprising that aren't more children.

    Through most of this I was on Matt's wave length until the center west, where DIRECTTV met OCC/TAG and LEHAVRE was a complete shambles because SHAKO was completely unknown.

    MATCHBOX took an inordinately long time because like some of you I was searching for a different car brand but HOFFA and CHAISE led me in the right direction. I can see the advantage of red letters, but of course newspapers don't have that.

    There is much to like about this puzzle and I did complete most of it so considering my weakened physical state, I feel good about that.

    You all have a super Sunday!

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  20. Oh, I started kindergarten at age 6 because being a December baby I had to wait until the following year. September 1st is the cutoff date.

    I'm not sure if I knew any letters or words, but I took to them like a duck to water and haven't let go. For me learning is one of the thrills in life.

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  21. Construction notebook: How clues are constructed. LINK

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  22. Spitzboov@9:54am

    You have cows?

    I wanted to email you for your opinion of Monsanto's growth hormone for increased milk production, but your email is not listed.

    There is a 10 minute video circulating on Facebook about 2 Fox reporters being fired for refusing to squash the story, & I would like to hear more than one side of the story. I hesitate to link it, as CC does not want politics on the Blog.

    Pls email me directly if you have an opinion on this...

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  23. Good Morning:

    I did the puzzle in the wee hours of this morning and finished w/o help, although some areas needed perps and wags. Saw the LLC connection but didn't fully understand the "meeting" part until reading CC's typically concise and enlightening expo. Thanks, CC, and thanks, Matt, for a quite enjoyable Sunday romp.

    Our high temp today will only be 58 and right now, it's very windy and cloudy. At least it has stopped raining, after yesterday's deluge. Hard to believe May is almost over.

    Glad to hear you are feeling better, Lucina.

    Happy Sunday.

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  24. Here is a short article about writing crossword puzzle clues for different days of the week.

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  25. Hi Y'all! Fun puzzle with interesting fill, Matt! Doable with perps!

    Very informative, C.C., as usual! I didn't understand the Ali sisters until I read your blog. Nor did I get what kind of dishes were DIRECT V. Duh! Time for bed by that time.

    50D: I thought FSLIC was the Savings & Loan insurer--it was when two of ours went into receivership. Did they change it to FDIC?

    ISIAH Thomas (retired) has a namesake player in the NBA now.

    Dudley: the LEAR military C21 was discussed because I mentioned that my AF son's first pilot assignment was the C21. Beauty of a plane.

    My six grandsons love MATCHBOX cars. A gimmee after a stumble with Maseratti.

    I was in HS marching band with a HACKLED SHAKO but we didn't call them that. The yellow feathers were a pain to keep nice. Kept them in a cardboard tube like a heavy toilet paper roll until time to march, otherwise they got bent and frowsy looking.

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  26. D-Otto,
    I called her "Da Po" (Big Grandma) and I just called my Grandma "Po". I actually had no memory of how "Da Po" looked like or how my Grandpa held me. Nothing. I was dense as a child. But I remember every little thing my "Po" did for me. She lived to be 88 and died in my arms.

    Now, as Yellowrocks pointed out, Tokyo & Kyoto share an identical character, the Kyo part, meaning "capital". However, the To in Tokyo means "East" (Tokyo is east of the then capital city Kyoto), while the To in Kyoto actually spells "Capital" also.

    Japanese got these words from Chinese. So Kyo = Jing (as in Beijing). Bei = North/Northern, So Beijing = Northern Capital.

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  27. Snarky,
    That's it. Thank you.

    Husker Gary,
    Trust me. That lacy one is indeed comfortable. Notice how wide the waistband is?

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  28. Being a Dec. baby I started first grade at age 5. Like Lucina I also took to words and reading like a duck to water. I always loved school and learning. I agree learning is one of the thrills in my life. One of the best things about retirement is being able to read two books a week and Google whatever pops into my head. Lucina I almost always feel a kindred spirit when you post.

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  29. Just couldn't finish.
    ISaIH, LATKaS SEPALS RUPP SHAKO did me in.
    Got the theme, but alas DNF.
    Thanks for the fun puzzle Matt.
    And as always, thank you C.C. for your review and for this blog.

    D-O, I asked Abejo about his name pronunciation awhile ago, but can't find it. Now I have forgotten his reply. Yikes! Which part of brain is still working? LOL

    My blog name is a ballet step,
    pas (step) de (of) chat (cat).
    it looks like this (:20)
    pas de chat
    And it's pronounced like
    THIS

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  30. Windhover,
    Have a cow?

    Lionel Richie,
    See 11:20am post.

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  31. Thanks, Pas de Chat. I'll try to remember it. I knew it was frawnch (per Splynter), and I was "hearing" potty shot.

    PK, it used to be FLSIC, but they went bust. FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.), the same outfit that insures bank deposits, took over the job.

    C.C., thanks for the info on your Po and Da Po. I knew one of my grandmothers quite well. The other died long before I was born. And both of my grandfathers died when I was four, so I knew them only a little. I've got some good memories, though.

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  32. Dick Sargent STEPPED INTO the role of Darrin Stephens, played by DICK YORK.

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  33. I enjoyed the puzzle, the writeup and Rick's cluing comments. Thanks Matt and CC.

    But AREEL? Please!

    I always think Elizabeth Reaser has a sexy-looking face and personality. Dunno why but I do.

    Thanks for the walkoff Giants video. Very exciting! Oooh, and that blown call video is priceless, If I were the umpire, I probably would have missed it too but in slo-mo replay, it's just amazing. Thanks Mr. Snarky.

    The Dodgers now have a one-game winning streak. Their best pitcher is on the mound today. Clayton Kershaw may be the best pitcher in baseball right now. His ERA for the last 1000 innings is the best ever by ANY pitcher. He seems to be a very nice guy too.

    I hardly use a cell phone and don't have a Facebook account. I look at my wife's Facebook page from time to time though. What's with the photos of pretty girls that say something like, "Press 1 in comments to see what happens? Unbelieveable!" and then nothing happens of course. I don't bother pressing anything but what is the intent of the original post?

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  34. My maternal Grandmom loved me to the point where I could do nothing wrong in her eyes. Therefore, I was very good when she was around to live up to her expectations. She was my favorite person in all the world and I kept telling her she was going to be my bridesmaid when I grew up. That tickled her. She died of cancer when I was 11 and I still mourn her.

    I went to first grade at age six and felt like the dumbest kid alive. A poor teacher. The next year I had an exceptional teacher who taught phonics and my love affair with words and learning began. I was so enamored, I went home and taught my four-year-old sister to read playing "school".

    My farmer tells me one of my wheat fields was in a hail storm corridor. The west end of the field where the hail started is kind of bent over but the east end is completely mowed off with nothing left. Thank goodness for insurance. My other fields are still okay. Storm season is an anxious time for wheat.

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  35. SCREWBALL COMEDY and BUFFALO BILL CODY are terrific! WELL CONSTRUCTED, Matt!

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  36. CC, the source of the discomfort on that lovely set of underwear had nothing to do with the waistband ;-).

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  37. Hello everybody. Well, I didn't like this puzzle much. I needed help to finish it and even then some of the answers made no sense to me. Unlike yesterday's puzzle by SJSJ, which came awfully close to being included in my masterpieces list. Man oh man it was so damn well constructed! Friday's puzzle was hard and I also needed help to finish it. Afterwards I simply felt like "eh" and promptly forgot what it was about.

    Our son called his grandmother, my wife's mother, Po-po, and his grandfather Gong-gong. He still calls them that today when referring to them. I get kind of a kick out of how my wife's younger siblings call me jie-fu, which means husband of older sister. I feel honored to be called that, especially by her brother whom I have always admired and respected.

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  38. I was watching the Dodgers' pre-game show. One of the announcers was explaining that a middle school boy was going to interview Don Mattingly. The announcer said, "You're going to hear from the manager now. It's not Steve or I though,..." I don't intentionally look for that kind of stuff but I can't seem to help but notice it.

    Also heard was:
    "I'll be honest with you,..."
    "If you will,..."
    "That being said,..."

    What do you call those kind of sentence fillers? They don't seem to really contribute anything of value but just add words to a sentence to make it sound more sophisticated. Maybe you can think of some more of them.

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  39. Bill G:
    Massive conflagration
    Skyrocketing prices
    Embattled mayor
    Having said that (similar to your "That being said")
    Coming up, we'll tell you not only how but who and why (they never do)
    New evidence in the case of...(nope, nothing new)
    A ship crashed into the bridge (nope, a semi sideswiped a girder)

    I obviously have no respect whatsoever for TV news. It's getting so bad they actually quite often report false information, not to speak of reporting no information at all.

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  40. D-O:

    My screen name is Abejo. Pronounced Ab-e-Jo, with an accent on the Jo, and a hard "J". As in Ahb e JOE. It means Water of Barley (beer) in Farsi (Persian). Ab means water. Jo means barley.

    All liquids that you drink that are the juice of a fruit or vegetable in Iran are Ab--something.

    ie: Abegojefarengi (tomato juice)

    Abenaranji (orange juice)

    Abanar (pomegranite juice)

    Abeseeb (apple juice)

    I lived in Iran for 3 years and drank my share of Abejo.

    Hope that helps. Thanks for asking.

    Abejo

    (dexeuro)

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  41. Jayce, I agree with you. "Your family could be in imminent danger. We'll have details tonight at 10." If the danger is so imminent, why should I wait another four hours for the details? (I used to do some broadcast news. In those olden days, if something was "big" we never held it back. Maybe that's why my broadcast career was so short.) On a side note, I just learned this month that my '70's station manager died six years ago. I guess I can stop waiting for payment for writing his '77 license renewal application. :)

    PK, I meant FSLIC. But if I had corrected it, that'd be five for the day, and I couldn't have written his.

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  42. CED @ 1123 - I believe I used the past tense. ~ 50 years ago. Part of my youth. Re: Monsanto, I've heard of the issue, but do not know enough to comment.

    Jayce and Bill G. - Agree with your take on the news. I get IRED when they have 'breaking news' but it can wait until they do several commercials.

    Did anyone see CBS Sunday Morning where they did a piece on 'No problem' which they say people born after 1980 seem to use a lot?

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  43. Speaking of older relatives who are precious to us, I drove across town to visit my 88 year old aunt whom I hadn't seen in about two years. She has shrunk and suffers from a variety of maladies, but her mind is sharp as a tack. We had a good time reminiscing.

    I have wonderful memories of both grandmothers who tended us when we were children and even my paternal great-grandparents; she who was a devoted reader of paperbacks. She ordered them through the mail and spent hours reading. She lived into her 80s.

    Yellowrocks:
    Thank you. I feel complimented and feel the same affinity for you and your love of language and learning. It is now pure joy to drop everything and just read for hours.

    BTW, I miscalculated earlier. I started school at 5 and turned 6 that December so was usually one of the oldest in my class.

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  44. I'm going to make a shameless plug for a new book my daughter in law has just published. It's only available as a Kindle book; it's called Fairy Tales for Bad Girls, written by J. Lynnes, which is my DIL's pen name. It's a collection of erotica stories and poems, and is only available from Amazon for $3.99.

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  45. Spitz, yes I saw the piece about "No problem" and enjoyed it. It's been a pet peeve of Barbara's and, therefore, it's become one of mine too. Where I hear it often is when I thank a waitperson for something, like refilling my Arnold Palmer, and they say "No problem" instead of "You're welcome."

    If you have an unobstructed view of the western sky, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury will be visible in a close triangle. (Mercury is the dimmest of the three and will be the hardest to spot.) Just Venus and Jupiter will be even closer tomorrow.

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  46. Abejo, thanks for the explanation of your name again. I had forgotten.

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  47. Spitzboov, yes DW and I watched that this AM. It's been a personal irritant for awhile. That and "you guys", but "no problem" has to be the worst.

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  48. I plead guilty to saying "No problem" instead of "You're welcome" many many times. Sometimes, but not always, after I've said it I think I should have simply said "You're welcome." Sometimes "No problem" does seem to me apropos.

    I didn't go to kindergarten. I started first grade when I was 6. For some reason I remember a girl in my class who always called me Mr. Beering. If I knew what I know now, I realize she liked me in her little first grade way. Funny how I always was attracted to and wanted the girls who didn't give a crap about me and overlooked or ignored the girls who actually liked me because I never picked up that they liked me. God, i was such an idiot back then! (maybe still am!)

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  49. Hi, all!

    Great puzzle and expo, Matt and CC! Not really any complaints. Favorite answer: COAL.

    If I wait to do these things when I am alive, they go much more smoothly! Of course, then I blog late. Am having bad fibro attack and did not swim today. Very little sleep. Want to go back to sleep, but fear that it is impossible.

    Started kindergarten at age 5.5.

    Feel better, Lucina and Sallie!

    No caregiver tomorrow. But perhaps Harv will come. (He tends to prepare a dinner or sorts but it doesn't end up with me until some ghastly hour like 12:30 or 1 AM. Tonight I am alone and will have a bowl of lentils at 10 PM, perhaps.)

    HBO has a production called Behind the Candelabra tonight--about Liberace. Michael Douglas as the pianist. (My mother forced me to watch all TV pop music shows whilst I lived there. She would not have made me watch Liberace if she knew he was gay, as she was extremely Victorian. However, none of use knew that there was such an orientation. Anyway, I hated the show.)

    Cheers!

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  50. One of the worst "news" no-information / disinformation shows to which I have been subjected was the one talking about the Boston Marathon terrorists. This was playing in the doctor's waiting room when I went in for routine tests. I sat there for over an hour while they rehashed very little. No remote available so I just had to endure. Funny thing was my blood pressure was high enough that the doctor sent the nurse out to retake it while I was paying my bill. Blood pressure was then more normal.

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  51. One of my greatest irritants are people who say "Where are you at?". Or just "Where you at?". Watch any episode of COPS. Those same people will describe a man who just raped, beat, or killed someone as "This gentleman". AARGH.

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  52. If you've never eaten latkes, you are missing a yummy dish.

    Ellie

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  53. In addition to the heretofore mentioned verbal irritants, I'll add my personal, nails-on-the-blackboard, shudder-causing, bite-my-tongue, headache inducers.

    I feel badly.
    Just between you and I
    My sister and me went shopping.
    I should have went to bed earlier.

    I get annoyed at no problem instead of you're welcome but not as annoyed as when clerks, receptionists,
    medical techs, etc., continually address me as "hon."

    I often wonder where some of these annoying phrases originate. There for a while, the popular response to some good news, or even bad news was "SHUT UP! Now, it's SHUT THE FRONT DOOR! Rachael Ray uses STFD constantly.

    One of my nieces dated a guy whose response to any
    and all requests, even a simple, "Steve, would you please pass the salt?" was an invigorating AB So LUTE ly! Thank God he' s gone from the scene.

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  54. I agree with you. They don't teach proper grammar in school these days and I flinch when I see or hear the glaring mistakes like The Smith's instead of The Smiths. Grrrrr

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  55. auntie-em, you are going to be regular, I hope.

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  56. On and off I guess. This is the first time I've posted on this blog. DH and I are xword puzzle nuts so I'm always in here to check on the answers and remarks.

    Thanks for your nice comment
    auntie-em

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  57. I have a January birthday and would have had to wait a year to start first grade. My parents thought I was fairly bright and didn't want me to wait so they had me go to a private school for first grade. The next year I was put into public school on a trial basis for first grade again to evaluate whether I was ready or not. It was a split session; I came at 12 and got out at three. Apparently I did OK and after a week, I was told to go upstairs to Mrs. Goodwin's second-grade room. I got there at 12 as usual and this new class got out at 2 pm everyday. Cool! I liked second grade even better. After a week or so, my new teacher said, "Billy, how come you can't get here at nine am like all of the other kids? Oh no! Second grade wasn't going to be so super after all...

    Irish Miss, Auntie-Em, etc., agreed. When you hear those grammatical mistakes on a TV show, like "just between you and I", it means the writer had to write those words, somebody read the script and didn't correct it, the actors recited the lines without objection, the director thought it was OK, the editors let it go by, an on and on. Amazing...

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  58. Bill G - when my almost 50 year old son says "me and Jacque went out", I correct him by saying "Jacque and I". So what does the brat do - he says "oh you went too?". Can't win. Even the well educated people today use improper grammar. I think it's too late to do much about it.

    auntie-em in freezing CT. Where is summer?

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  59. Enjoyed today's long fills.
    BUFFALO BILL CODY
    SCREW BALL COMEDY
    RUSSELL CROWE was a given.
    Finished with help of perps and WAGS.

    The cut-off for Kindergarten was Jan. 1st. I was born in January and my sister was born 23 months later in December. We were 23 months apart, but only one year apart in school. We always had the same friends even in High School. We had to ride the bus 45 minutes to school and always sat in the same seat on the bus. It's a good thing we didn't get into too much trouble because everyone knew the two red-heads in my community.

    I stayed all night with my Grandma every weekend. She would make cinnamon rolls "out of the can" and have frozen pizza for lunch. She thought these were truly miraculous 1960's inventions. We would just sit and drink coffee at the kitchen table. I, too, miss her very much.

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  60. Auntie-em, I'll second Argyle's wish in hoping you hang out and contribute more regularly. I would enjoy it if you would flesh out your résumé/profile a bit. Where are you from? What do you and DH do other than CWs?

    Auntie-em, right! That's one of my theories of why the I/me confusion exists. All of his life, your son said things like, "Can me and Jacque go play?" and you corrected him saying, "Can Jacque and ???" so he (and everybody else) got the impression that "I" is good and there's something wrong with "me." Just my feeble theory.

    I'm watching bits and pieces of "Dr. No" on cable for probably the tenth time.

    If you like Elvis and you enjoy beautiful hymns, here's my father's favorite. How Great Thou Art.

    Here's Susan Boyle's version. Another perspective.

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  61. I was reading one of my old "Reminisce" magazines today. In 1924, the school teacher had this system while teaching in a one room school house.
    Raised hand with forefinger = need drink of water
    two fingers = bathroom
    three fingers = pencil sharpener
    four fingers = permission to talk to another student
    all five fingers = wanted to ask the teacher a question or knew the answer to a question.
    Just found this interesting. I always marvel at the class pictures with students sitting at their desk with hands neatly folded on the desk top.

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  62. Auntie-em:

    Welcome. I like the way you think!

    Abejo

    (usoview)

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  63. I'll add to the "bad language" discussion the overuse of the word "like." I blame the popular TV show Friends for this one. Every third word or so was "like." It sounded like (!), ya know, like, the movie Valley Girl....

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