google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, June 26th 2013, Paul Cuerdon

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Jun 26, 2013

Wednesday, June 26th 2013, Paul Cuerdon

Theme: Sigmund is Psycho (analytical) and the reveal helps us identify some "mouthy" phrases

20A Liar's trait? : FORKED TONGUE. I went to Google a nice pic for this and amongst the first that came up was one of George W. Bush, one of yesterday's pair of Texas P'sOTUS. I've no idea why this should be so.

34A. Cold-sounding windup toy : CHATTERING TEETH. Mine aren't chattering today, I'm in Washington D.C. at 96F and what feels like 200% humidity.

40A. Warning to a sassy kid : DON'T GIVE ME NO LIP. Sassy kid might respond "Don't give me no bad grammar".

and the unifier:
51A. Freud's diagnosis of 20-, 34- and 40-Across? : ORAL FIXATION. Is that why he's smoking a cigar?



Happy Wednesday everyone - Steve here with a nice mid-week outing from Paul. I dove right in, and it seemed plain sailing until I got stalled in the middle and then in the south. I thought IDLE HANDS was part of the theme until I couldn't see how LOVE SCENE fitted with anything else, so that slowed me down for a while. Let's see what else we have.

Across:

1. Louis or P.W., the first and last South African prime ministers : BOTHA. I knew this right away, but then pondered why P.W. was the last, until I realized post-apartheid South Africa has a president, not a prime minister.

6. Disney World vehicle : TRAM

10. Avoid : SHUN

14. Common font : ARIAL. If the personal computer has done anything, it's made us all font experts. Two decades ago most of us would have been hard-pressed to name anything beyond Times New Roman or Helvetica.

15. Reprobate : ROUE.

16. Vigilant : WARY

17. Diamond game with no pitching : T-BALL. The first and only time my daughter played T-ball she was so proud of her new glove that she forgot to watch the ball and got a line drive straight in her "theme". A split lip, floods of tears and she never played again. I wonder what happened to the glove?

18. Devil's tools, proverbially : IDLE HANDS.

22. Dieter's shortening? : CAL. Slimmed-down calories. Nice.

25. Old cry of disapproval : FIE

26. "... her kerchief and __ my cap ..." : I IN. Ma was in her kerchief on the night before Christmas.

27. Response to a pointer : I SEE IT

29. Pesters for payment : DUNS. You wouldn't be pestered if you weren't late, let's be fair.

31. __ in Juliet : JAS. I'd  love to explain this one to you, but it was all perps for me and I have no idea what this is all about. Any offers?

37. Razor name : ATRA

38. RN's assignment : ICU. I worked in a hospital for a while when I left high school and was often assigned to mop the floors of the Intensive Care Unit. The Registered Nurses had rather more lofty responsibilities.

39. Kett of old funnies : ETTA

45. Quiz response: Abbr. : ANS

46. "Sorry to say ..." : ALAS

47. Setting : LOCALE

48. CIO partner : AFL. I was wondering who partner's the Chief Information Officer when the labor union penny dropped.

49. Rummy : SOT

50. Hot air : GAS

57. Feature of many a romantic comedy : LOVE SCENE. This one from "Ghost" has me weeping every time I see it.


58. High-minded : NOBLE

62. Church attachment? : GOER. I liked this one!

63. Embroidered ltr. : INIT. I need a stack of handkerchiefs when I watch "Ghost", but none of them have my initials embroidered on them.

64. Words to live by : CREED. As practiced by church attachments.

65. High style : AFRO

66. Highland caps : TAMS

67. Expels : EMITS

Down:

1. Ball club : BAT. Great little clue/answer.

2. Celestial body : ORB

3. Acapulco aunt : TIA

4. __ Moon Bay, California : HALF.  One of the biggest surf breaks in the world is just north of the town. Scary stuff.


5. The whole enchilada : ALL OF IT

6. First wheels : TRIKE

7. Was carried by, as a bus : RODE

8. New Year's word : AULD. "Auld Reekie" is a nickname for Edinburgh, pretty much the only other time I've heard the word used.

9. One may be called by a manager : MEETING

10. Hall of Famer Lynn of the Steelers : SWANN

11. Consort (with) : HANG

12. Karachi language : URDU

13. Where "X" means "U.S. Steel" : NYSE. I never knew this, and a great way to clue the abbreviated New York Stock Exchange.

19. Run up the flagpole : HOIST

21. Sacrament : RITE

22. Loud bug : CICADA They are loud, but somehow very soothing when it's all you can hear on a warm tropical night.

23. Actor Kutcher : ASHTON. I didn't put Demi Moore's picture on here to annoy him, I promise.

24. Catches on : LEARNS

28. One of America's cinquante : ETAT. Nicely obtuse, but difficult for non-francophones to know that we're talking about the fifty states.

29. Chops up : DICES

30. One on a one? : UNUM. Perps again, and no adequate explanation from me. Any ideas?

31. International traveler's concern : JET LAG. Happens with coast-to-coast trips too. I had a good travel day today though - I'm now on the TSA "pre screened" list so I got to zip through security without getting undressed and my laptop and deodorant stayed in the bag; then United upgraded me and finally Avis ran out of little cars and gave me a Mustang Convertible instead. I've had worse trips!

32. Hun ruler : ATTILA

33. Molds : SHAPES

35. 1972 Derby winner __ Ridge : RIVA

36. Fair-hiring initials : EEOC. More perps. I couldn't recall the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

41. Fishing hooks : GAFFS. Big, big hooks on a long pole.

42. Under-the-table : ILLICIT

43. "The Time Machine" people : ELOI. I always want to put "ELON" when I see this clue. Which I did today, of course.

44. Never ever : NOT ONCE

48. '90s-'00s Olds model : ALERO

49. Cancels a takeout order? : STETS. Great. Best clue of the day, IMHO.

51. Lingerie brand : OLGA. Perps!

52. Spot for shingles : ROOF. I filled in BACK first before it had to come out. Flashbacks to my hospital worker days maybe.

53. Claim : AVER

54. TV friend of Gabrielle : XENA

55. Lively, in mus. : ANIM. From the Italian "animato", animated.

56. "Cheers" cheer : NORM. I saw George Wendt in my local bar a few weeks ago, and it was all I could do to stop myself "Norm!"-ing. It really must get old.

59. "__ Mir Bist Du Schoen": Andrews Sisters hit : BEI. Better late then never for a little musical interlude

60. Court do-over : LET

61. Masthead VIPs : EDS. Sadly, their are fewer and fewer newspapers for editors to get their name on the masthead today.

That's about does it for me; time to see if I can avoid any 31D problems. Have a great day!

Steve


Note from C.C.:

Happy 48th wedding anniversary to dear Spitzboov (Al) and his lovely wife Betty!

 US Coast Guard Academy, New London, CT,
 August 2012

Please click here and  here to see more pictures of them (and our Naples Corner crowd).

85 comments:

  1. Steve, I can be of help with one but not the other. "J" as in Juliet (Grafton not included). No bloody clue what UNUM means, but I'm curious (yellow)....

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  2. Check your wallet for the other one.

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  3. Unum is "one" in Latin. Look on the back of a one-dollar bill.
    "J" as in Juliet.

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  4. Hi Y'all! I found this hard, but about right for Wed. Good one, Paul C. I thought the theme would be body parts before it got "mouthy". Annoyingly, the puzzle vanished and I had to start over 3 times. Once I wasn't even touching either keyboard or mouse. Grrr! Why does this happen?

    Thanks, Steve for taking this one on the road.

    No clue about the BOTHAS. Certainly never counted to cinquant in French. Perps filled these.

    I tried illegal before ILLICIT.

    Happy Anniversary, Spitz & Betty! May you have many more.

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  5. No Latin on the back of Qatari rials, do I get a "pass" on this one...?

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  6. Morning, all (and Happy Anniversary, Spitzboov)!

    Got through this one in one piece, but needed some serious perp help along the way. Did not know BOTHA, SWANN, RIVA, BEI or OLGA (as clued, at least). Wasn't fond of the "bad grammar" in 40A, but it is what it is.

    On the other hand, I had no problem with UNUM of JAS, so that has to be worth something...

    [rgycomt]

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  7. Good morning Steve, C.C. et al.

    Happy anniversary Spitzboov!! Wow, 48 years and she is still smiling??? You must be doing something right!

    I had lots of fun with this one. And I agree with you Steve, that “Cancels a take out order” for STETS is the clue of the day! But hand up for my under-the-table dealings being ILLegal before they were ILLICIT.

    Have a fun day everyone, and try to stay cool!

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  8. Good Morning, Steve and friends. I don't need to get my head examined after completing today's puzzle.

    I see that others have helped you out with the J AS in Juliet and E Pluribus UNUM, which means: Out of many ~ ONE.

    My favorite clue was Ball Club = BAT. That was a great misdirection. The light bulb was lit only after the perps filled in all the letters.

    I initially tried Ousts instead of EMIT for Expels.

    I also tried Illegal instead of ILLICIT.

    Happy Anniversary Spitzboov and Betty and many, many more.

    QOD: You cannot make yourself feel something you do not feel, but you can make yourself do right in spite of your feelings. ~ Pearl S. Buck (June 26, 1892 ~ Mar. 6, 1973)

    [upsiffi]

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  9. Can someone please explain the purple and yellow colors on the answer grid?

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  10. Good morning!

    I had no problems with this one. And I won't put my hand up for ILLEGAL -- ILLICIT was my first thought. My first thought for DICES was MINCES, but I ran out of room.

    Steve, I can't believe you think the sound of a CICADA is soothing. Are you sure you're not thinking of crickets? A CICADA sounds like a buzz saw on sheet metal.

    Three mile march, here I come...

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  11. Purple. means illicit, illegal,dangerous and - racy.

    Yellow means scared.

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  12. Or, for a more helpful answer...

    In that particular application, the word currently being answered is highlighted in purple and the letter current being entered is highlighted in yellow.

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  13. The purple word and the yellow letter just indicates where the blog writer stopped, in his final solution.

    The way the program works, he has to finish somewhere, so he just arbitrarily decides which will be his / her last word and last letter.

    While it is his absolute discretion, the word and the latter have NO significance whatsoever. It just provides a pleasant contrast in an otherwise black and white puzzle.

    Hope this helps.

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  14. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Paul Cuerdon, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for the great write-up.

    Happy Anniversary, Spitzboov and Betty. Two more for the big Five Oh.

    Puzzle went mostly easy, for a Wednesday. The bottom part gave me trouble. Got through it.

    BOTHA was easy once I had a letter. Really enjoy the CICADAs every 17 years. Nature is amazing.

    I also tried OUSTS for 67A. EMITS came after I got some up and down words.

    ILLICIT came slowly. I was thinking of under the table as being drunk. Oh well.

    UNUM was easy. We have had that many times.

    A bunch of us went to Angelo Brocato Ice Cream parlor last night. Been in New Orleans since 1905. Quite a place. great ice cream.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    (ommctr)

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  15. Good Morning Everybody.

    Good puzzle today, but PERPS were needed on ROUE, ETAT, FIE and DUNS.

    I liked:
    - 65A: High Style: AFRO
    - 52D: Spot for Shingles: ROOF
    - 1D: Ball Club: BAT

    Spitz: 48 years? Amazing! You and Mrs. Spitz are role models for others to live up to. I wish you many more happy years together!

    Lookin' good Naples group!

    Has anybody seen the Geico commercial with the camel who's happy on Wednesdays?

    Have a nice day.

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  16. Hello everyone,

    Well, no getting around it...... thanks to the SE, a DNF. Up to that point, all was going smoothly.

    We are (were) supposed to have the CICADA migration this year in CT, but they have yet to appear in my neck of the woods. Hope it stays that way.

    Failure to come up with ORAL FIXATION was my downfall. Had Ital for INIT, and Ousts for EMITS.58A was blank and for 49D I had S-E-S. STETS never entered my mind. 59, 60 & 6iD's were all ??????????.

    XENA, & ANIM were also absent from my grey matter too. Rough ending, but an enjoyable solve up to the SE.

    Happy 48th to Spitz and Betty.




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  17. "One on a one" = look at a one dollar bill

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  18. Good morning everyone. Thanks C.C. and others for your anniversary wishes. We are blest.

    Fairly easy one today on Hump Day. Somehow BOTHA welled up from news stories in the distant past. Thought UNUM and STETS had terrific clues. Goofed up ANIM but otherwise the perps were ample, and the theme filled in easily. Good job, Paul.

    BEI Mir Bis Du Schön - We have umlauts here frequently and I know they are hard for some speakers to pronounce. Frustrating because I know you want to render to the German language the beauty and grace lurking beneath the surface. Here is a primer (6:31) explaining how easy it is to pronounce umlauts, [ch], and the v, w, enigma.

    Still raining here; have a good day.

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  19. Spitz, that was a great Sweden video you posted last night. How do you manage to link them so they show up full-screen?

    Bill G, from last night, ECABD results in something north of 82 billion. I haven't got the patience to see if I can find a bigger one.

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  20. Good Morning:

    Had a few bumps but perps saved the day. Nice job, Paul C. and nice, breezy expo, Steve.

    Like the clues for Bat, Stets, Roof, and Afro. The Devil's tools, proverbially, brought to mind what the nuns were forever warning (scaring?) us about: "An idle mind is the Devil's workshop."

    More t-storms predicted for today and the rest of the week, but at least the temps are going to drop into the 80's which is a little better than 90+.

    Happy Wednesday.

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  21. Oops, forgot! Happy Anniversary to Spitz and Betty!

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  22. OK, here's something positive:
    49D "Cancels a takeout order? STETS" is the best pun of the year.

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  23. D-O @ 0954 said "How do you manage to link them so they show up full-screen?"

    It's just a 1080p video link sent to me by someone else. I hit FULL SCREEN on my 24" IMAC and I was dumfounded by the clarity of the video. The submitter to You Tube must have used an advanced protocol. I'm not enough nuanced in video to give you a better answer. Glad you and others liked it.

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  24. I, too, thought IDLE HANDS would be part of a body parts theme, at first. Fun theme.
    The cicadas seem to be very localized, nothing here, and then a few miles away it is noisily infested. I enjoy the insect sounds in the woods on an August evening, but the cicadas are too much for me.
    Fortunately, I don't feel jet lag either way to and from Europe or on the way out to Israel and Japan. I arrive bright eyed and bushy tailed. Coming home from Japan is a different story, but I except some of the problem was going 24 hours with no sleep. We had to be out of our hotel early in the AM for a late afternoon flight with a layover both times.
    Happy Anniversary, Spitz and Betty. How nice to see such a long, happy marriage.
    Spitz, thanks for your German pronunciation Primer. It’s the best I have seen.

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  25. I didn't answer Steve's JAS and UNUM questions because I knew that by the time I posted they would have been answered several times.
    I’m in the midst of a good old PA Dutch (German) spring cleaning which I do in the summer, instead. I go through everything I own in drawers and closets, cleaning and discarding what’s not used or needed. The charm of my condo is its airiness and openness. I can’t have piles of stuff hanging around. We clean in, under, around, and behind everything. It does make things easier to lay my hands on. I find things I have forgotten I own.

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  26. I thought political rants are forbidden on this blog.
    Spyder those were uncalled for and biased comments. bet your a republican. Nuff said.
    Don't really post much anymore here since Tinbeni was tossed.
    RJW.

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  27. Happy Anniversary SB and many, many more. Now that Dennis is here with Annette and I, we really need to try one Florida Fryup, or something.

    I thought Cancels a takeout order?: STETS and Ball Club:BAT were excellent.

    Steve, we established yesterday neither Bush was born in Texas. The father was born in Milton, Massachusetts and the son in New Haven, Connecticut. In my early memories, PRESCOTT BUSH was one of our senators. He was a champion of birth control and civil rights, though he abandoned his friend Nelson Rockefeller when Nelson divorced and married the woman he was having an affair with.

    Like the rumors about the KENNEDY family profiting from Nazi involvement, there were STORIES about Mr. Bush.

    I include these links not as politics and not to be debated, but as fascinating history which I was alive to see but too young to observe..

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  28. Well, this was no speed run, but the work paid off with lots of fun clues and answers. I too loved STETS, although I agree with Steve's kid's retort about the rotten grammar. But great fun, so many thanks, Paul!

    The AULD is from "AULD LANG SYNE," isn't it?

    Lovely photo, Spitz and Betty, and congratulations on your anniversary!

    Have a great Wednesday, everybody!

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  29. This was tough, but I finally got it after getting rid of OUSTS in the corner. Well done, Paul Cuerdon. Good mental workout while chewing on my breakfast of dried mango and raw almonds (kinda fit in with the oral theme, I thought) Love the way Steve's English is just a smidge British; always a pleasure to read his posts!

    GOER had me going till perps got it.

    Sorry to see that spyder's nasty comment has stayed posted for so long...and what happened to Tinbeni? I seem to have missed something along the line.

    I saw a photo of GAFFS in the paper recently; they use 'em for snagging paddlefish from the Missouri river. Awful looking things, those gaffs. Some people think paddlefish are awful looking things, too. I hear their roe make great tasting caviar.

    Happy Anniversary, Spitz and Betty!

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  30. Thanks Paul and Steve! Happy anniversary Spitz.

    I also liked the STETS clue.

    D-O, good job! No need to look further. Also, good job to a late-night anon yesterday.

    My brain has mostly turned to Jello. I knew Barbara wanted to take a shower and leave early for a quilting class so I was dismayed when I woke up (on my own, no alarm) and thought I had overslept by almost two hours. So I rushed into the shower while mentally preparing my apology. Turns out I was early by over an hour and had misread the clock. Geez...!

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  31. PS I forgot to say thanks to Spitz for the German lesson. Listening to the part on "r" brought back great memories of my paternal grandmother, Rosa.

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  32. I really liked this one. I got "Stets" but didn't like or understand it. After finishing, it dawned on me just how brilliant it was!

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  33. My sister once had CICADAs in Baltimore, and another annoying sound was the crunch of their exoskeletons underfoot.

    Did not know there was a HALF MOON, CA. NYS has one near Albany, and it's named after Henrik Hudson's vessel.

    Anyway, I blew this puzzle. First, I had "pitchfork" before IDLEHANDS, and "know" before HANG (as in Biblically know) and before I saw the clues involved parts about the mouth, and never heard of Mr. SWANN. Did like the clues "consort with" and "devil's tools" crossing.

    Later, I had "ORAL seX slIps" before ORAL FIXATION. Wow. DNF on a Wed. (Never heard of GAFFS used this way.)

    Got to go back to bed and wake up on the other side.

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  34. Happy Hump Day, all...

    Easy enough for a Weds puzz. I remembered the BOTHA boys, and the rest was pretty clear sailing.

    I'm in agreement with Misty and others who disliked 40A. Shouldn't a bad grammar answer be reserved for a like-tainted clue? Nothing suggested that this "sassy kid" was also ignorant.

    I hesitated only over EMITS, but had to go with it. OUSTS seems a more accurate response to "Expels," which has an element of force or intentionality in it, as would EJECTs. EMITS is passive, whereas OUSTS puts a shoulder to it.

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  35. Cancels a take-out order.
    STayS.
    You want that to go? Yes.
    Never mind I'll eat it here.
    Relunctantly put in STETS, but it FINALLY dawned on me that it was editing. DUH!!
    Happy 48th Spitzboov!

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  36. didn't like stets. missed the commotion...what happened to tinbeni?

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  37. a-ha! Thanks pas de chat. That was the last one that did not click.

    I literally laughed out loud filling in oral fixation.I think we had many conversations about that in high school.

    Tball is a hoot to watch, as most of those little guys have no idea what is going on, and play in the dirt. While filling that, it jogged the clever answer, bat. Fun puzzle,Paul.

    31 D- I thought of money exchange, lost luggage, passport, before jet lag.

    Happy anniversary Spitz and Betty. bob and I have really enjoyed watching last night's P.P.

    Lemon, enjoyed both articles, and I see them as history not rumors.

    Sfingi, Half Moon Bay is a quaint town about 30 miles south of S.F., but not easy to get to. They have the best Pumpkin Festival ever.People come from all over caravaning their biggest pumpkins for the contest.

    Steve, thanks for the write up this morning; must be hard to find time while traveling.

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  38. George Bernard ShawJune 26, 2013 at 1:03 PM

    All censorships exist to prevent anyone from challenging current conceptions and existing institutions. All progress is initiated by challenging current conceptions, and executed by supplanting existing institutions. Consequently the first condition of progress is the removal of censorship.

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  39. If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all.

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  40. Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.

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  41. Do C.C. and/or Argyle feel angry, sad or embarrassed when they delete posts for fear of offending lemony?

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  42. FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!

    Please shut up children.

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  43. I guess the answer is embarrassed...

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  44. Please explain, "embarrassed".

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  45. As a blog character flaw. 'I'm embarrassed to say we delete any post that tries to explain the lemony/tinbeni situation.'

    or

    'I'm embarrassed that we won't allow our participating audience to freely express their opinions because our membership are thinned skinned and too naive to make their own judgements'

    [yukover]

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  46. anons/fake names: If you don't like it here, I don't believe your asses are chained down.

    Just like TV. Don't like the station, CHANGE IT.

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  47. Blogger told me this poster with fake names is in my Gmail Contact List. Stop it.

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  48. Sorry, neither one because I'm not embarrassed. I'm sad because there are little minded people on this blog.

    Do you even do crosswords?

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  49. Don't feed the trolls....

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  50. Why, yes i do!

    Did you see that Bernice Gordon(aged 99) and David Steinberg (aged 16) collaborated on a puzzle themed AGE DIFFERENCE? Awesome puzzle that was published in today's New York Times.

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  51. Corollary: Please don't be a troll.

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  52. "unum" is on the $1 bill

    the letter "j" as in ...

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  53. Here is a link to an article about David and Bernice.

    Great Story!

    p.s. The reveal in the puzzle was 38 across. Their age difference is 83 years! Fantastic!

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  54. Very nice.

    So what do you get out of making persistent personal attacks?

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  55. They are not attacks. Just statements of fact.

    5 and I'm out!

    Cheers!

    [hummocu]

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  56. It seems the Anons are in tune with the puzzle theme today... What did I miss???

    A big DNF today,

    A big anniversary wish to Spitz & Betty!

    Hmm,,, there must be something funny I can link about todays theme...

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  57. I challenge you to show any personal attacks contained in the deleted posts of 12:06 and 12:07(not mine).

    Now, the previous post by pass de chat, definitely is. But, its ok, I can take it.

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  58. J as in Juliet is found in the Dept of Defense phonetic alphabet. Other examples are A as in Alpha, B as in Bravo, C as in Charlie, D as in Delta,.......
    The phonetic alphabet evolves. In WWII it began A as in Able, B as in Baker, C as in Charlie, D as in Dog...

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  59. Good natured troll-eyJune 26, 2013 at 2:51 PM

    C.E.D. ..... Hope the amorous (?) couple in Romania, both had a good hospitalization insurance plan ....

    Argyle, I didn't know we had so many famous novelists on this blog. ;-)


    Is Noam Chomsky, a linguist or a liberal political hack. .?

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  60. Hi gang -

    Happy Anniversary Spitz and Betty!

    Big DNF today. Forgot all about XENA, can't stand RomComs, didn't make the rummy-SOT connection, and OLGA's sells sandwiches and salads.

    Very bad bottom third for me.

    Drew a total blank on STET, which is, indeed, brilliant.

    Good puzzle despite my shortcomings.

    Went to Costco this morning, but forgot to buy the 100 lb bag of Troll Chow.

    Cool regards!
    JzB

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  61. EMITS/EXPELS is right on with me.
    A chimney EMITS dangerous gases. A chimney EXPELS dangerous gases.
    But we can't say, the police EMITTED the profanity spouting objector from the town meeting, in place of saying that they EXPELED him. Context is everything, which makes the misdirections in crosswords so interesting.

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  62. Thanks Mr. Cuerdon for a fun puzzle. Thanks Steve for your blog.
    My favorite clue was "Response to a pointer" All I had was IT, I was thinking about a bird dog. "Go get it" Fetch it". But "I SEE IT" was really fun! Like when we were kids.

    Doha Doc, your profile says Las Vegas, why are you in Qatar?

    JazzB: too funny about the Troll Chow!

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  63. Per the Wictionary, hackery is "Advocacy of a position when motivated by political allegiance, public relations interests, or for other reasons considered crass compared to personal conviction."

    I guess you can look at the consistency of an author's positions with regard to a variety of issues, or to similar issues in different contexts and detect if there is conviction or hackery.

    If you think something is right when your side does it, but wrong when the other side does it, then you're a hack.

    It aint rocket science.

    Cheers!
    JzB

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  64. If I'd only had a one dollar bill I could have done this one. Only had a twenty (Yuppie food stamp).
    I'm not very good at crosswords - can barely do the Mondays... it's down hill after that and I just go to the LA Times site if I don't want to wait for the next day. One week I actually did all of the m-f. It must have been an "off" week for the ones who made them. I'm all innocence - why do you call them "perps"? thanks

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  65. 'pas de cat' reminds me of something I once overheard while dining in a questionable Chinese restaurant in Brooklyn.

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  66. This puzzle had some really good DF clues & answers such as "response to a pointer", but I had a headache and wasn't in the mood.

    When the troll starts jabbing, I always think, "OH no, drunk again!" Sounds like a SOT on a bender.

    Hahtoolah, I liked the quote from Pearl Buck. I learned a lot about men & women interplay from reading her as a teenager. Wise lady.

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  67. Good evening Steve, CC, et al., Fun Puzzle! I do love me some Freud! Sex and aggression are alive and well... everywhere apparently. Excellent write up, Steve. How did you manage to do this on the run? Impressive!

    I had to LOL at the outrageously wonderful Freudian references,
    from Forked Tongue down to ORAL FIXATION & LOVE SCENE...even NOBLE GAS depending on the LOCALE and who/what EMITS it. A lot of 'hot air' (but not NOBLE) around here today it seems. I SEE IT, now I don't, I SEE IT, now I don't..yes, ICU....my Freudian SOTs CREED. It's all good. Loved this puzzle!

    Enjoy your night.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Easygoing troll-eyJune 26, 2013 at 4:42 PM

    Actually, 'Pass the chaat' could have been heard in a questionable Indian restaurant in Brooklyn, NY, as well.

    Chaat is a spicy side dish with boiled chick peas, wheat crackers, yoghurt and sweet brown sauce.

    Argyle, your patience and genial disposition towards scofflaws, here at the blog, is remarkable and admirable.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Forgot: Happy Anniversary Spitz and Betty. I wish you many more years of marital blitz..I mean bliss. Oh, that Freud pops up just everywhere! Cheers!

    JzB: great observation! There's a term for that perspective...'in group bias'....not Freudian at all but I bet we can find some repressed memories somewhere to justify it.

    Santa Baby, no resolution yet but my chimney sweep comes tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Re: 31 across
    NATO alphabet
    A: Alpha
    B: Bravo
    C: Charlie
    D: Delta
    E: Echo
    F: Foxtrot
    G: Golf
    H: Hotel
    I: India
    J: Juliet
    K: Kilo
    L: Lima
    M: Mike
    N: November
    O: Oscar
    P: Papa
    Q: Quebec
    R: Romeo
    S: Sierra
    T: Tango
    U: Uniform
    V: Victor
    W: Whiskey
    X: X-Ray
    Y: Yankee
    Z: Zulu

    ReplyDelete
  71. I finally found this. It was in my email from a "crazy cat" friend.

    HOW TO CATCH A CAT

    ReplyDelete
  72. Lois, how nice to see you though I had a feeling you might be aroused from your posting slumber by this puzzle.

    O do miss your special perspective.

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  73. Hola Everyone, Late in finishing the puzzle--I should say doing as much as I could without help. My problems were all experienced by others, so I'll not expand on their comments.

    I wanted to say Happy Anniversary to Spitz and Betty. May you have many more happy years together.

    My one "Duh" today was embroidered ltr. I read it as embroidered literature. It was so easy it was hard!

    Have a great evening everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  74. Alive and well. And finally caught up. Interesting day, as in "may you live in interesting times".
    Hi Lois.

    ReplyDelete
  75. Hi, all!!

    Swell puzzle, Paul! Amusing expo, Steve!

    Loved STET.

    Am really hurting from tooth extraction. Bridge removed. Am on liquid diet until Monday at lease. Sheesh!

    Happy anniversary, Spitz and Betty, and many more!

    Cheers!

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  76. Lois, so good to see you. Thanks for your good wishes

    Thanks to everyone for wishing us well on our anniversary. We treated ourselves to a fine dinner at our local Indian casino - Wildflowers at Turning Stone Casino. You can google it. I had the Pepper Crusted Black Cod while Betty had the Dover Sole. For dessert I had the Caramel Maschiato; I wanted to see what all the hubbub was about.

    Anon @ 1816hrs. Your list is mostly correct except that A is rendered as Alfa.

    ReplyDelete
  77. I though these were amusing:

    Part 1

    ARAPROSDOKIANS... (Winston Churchill loved them) are figures of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently humorous.

    1. Where there's a will, I want to be in it.

    2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you, but it's still on my list.

    3. Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

    4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

    5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

    6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

    7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

    8. They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

    9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

    10. Buses stop in bus stations. Trains stop in train stations. On my desk is a work station .

    11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted pay cheques.

    12. In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR."

    13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

    14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

    ReplyDelete
  78. Part 2

    15. Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

    16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

    17. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

    18. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

    19. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

    20. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

    21. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

    22. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

    23. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

    24. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

    25. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

    26. Where there's a will, there are relatives.

    Finally:

    I'm supposed to respect my elders, but it’s getting harder and harder for me to find one now.

    ReplyDelete
  79. Larry,great to see you as well. When I saw Lois I immediately thought of you, and of course the rest of the old guard.

    Fermat, we do love our word play. Thanks

    ReplyDelete
  80. Fermatprime, I enjoyed those.

    Lois, are you working over the summer? How's Virginia? Hot and humid? Have the cicadas arrived? I remember them when I was a kid in Falls Church.

    Spitz, that anniversary dinner sounds really good.

    Pas, fun cat link!

    Somebody must have accidentally rattled the snarky anons cages today. (Why do you suppose the Blogger spell checker doesn't recognize "Snarky"?

    ReplyDelete
  81. Windhover - so good to see you. I was just thinking about you and how I have missed your wit and wisdom.

    ReplyDelete

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