google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, Jul 13th, 2013, Barry C. Silk

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Jul 13, 2013

Saturday, Jul 13th, 2013, Barry C. Silk

Theme: Saturday Silkie

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X)

Blocks: 31

  July 13, 2013, and a Silkie~!  Lots of two-word answers, and a whole bunch of person & place names today from our Mr. Silk.  I did really well with this one, but I had "help" on clues like 38A.  Triple 9's & 5's, and 8's & 6's in the downs, reminds me of these ancient patterns.  Two climbers, 12 letters long;

6D. Study of extraterrestrial life : ASTROBIOLOGY

21D. Chain reaction metaphor : DOMINO EFFECT - nailed it, with little in the way of perps

and some others of note;

17A. Lock-related nickname : CARROT TOP - Red heads, that kind of lock; you would not catch me calling HER 'carrot-top'

38A. Seat of New York's Nassau County : MINEOLA - HEY~! A Lawn Guyland shout-out~!  All I know of Mineola is that it's a stop on the LIRR on the way to the Garden for Ranger games

34D. Home to the Big 12's Cyclones : AMES, IOWA - I had amesio-a, and it just looked wrong, especially in the "down" position

ON
    WARD~!

ACROSS:

1. Free-of-charge transactions? : CASH SALES - no credit card needed

10. Summers of old? : ABACI - F&X%R$PHT@TH ~!  Got me again; sum-mers....

15. Meet : INTERSECT

16. Shrimplike critters : KRILL - anyone remember this movie?

18. Jellyfish kin : CORAL

19. Aftershave additive : ALOE

20. Hot : RILED

22. Squat : ZERO - as in Diddly-squat

23. It determines 28-Across: Abbr. : D.O.B. - Date of Birth; with 28A. Number based on 23-Across : AGE - one of those circular clue pairs that irks BarryG

24. Become compost : ROT

25. Alley roamer : TOM - ah, not CAT

27. Reduce in intensity : DIM - ah, not EBB, not DIE

29. Flow out : EBB - oh, there it is~!....and a clecho follows;

30. Flow out : EMANATE

32. Comics patient of Dr. Liz Wilson : ODIE - Garfield comic strip

33. ADHD drug : RITALIN

34. Immortal college coach Amos __ Stagg : ALONZO - all perps

37. Sue Ann __, Betty White's role on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" : NIVENS

40. Sanctified : HOLY

41. "The Lion in Winter" queen : ELEANOR

42. Ref. with about 600,000 word-forms : OED - Oxford English Dictionary

43. "Speak up" reactions : EHs?

46. Actor Mineo : SAL - Crossword staple

47. Massage target : EGO - oooh, very good

48. Deg. requiring workshops : MFA - Master of Fine Arts - I wanted to go to college for Film Making; lots of workshops; writing, lighting, camera work, editing, and a movie as a final project; I have not given up yet, and I have some screen credit to my name - worked on a movie in Cincinnati OH in 1997, and then again for the 48-hr film project 6 years later

49. Intend : AIM

50. Endnote abbr. : IBID

52. Jazz musician __ Lateef : YUSEF

54. "It was nothing" : I TRY

55. Ready to draw : ON TAP - not "ITCHY" ( as in trigger finger )

57. "You got lucky" mutterer : SORE LOSER

59. Eloi girl saved from drowning by the Time Traveller : WEENA - I saw "The Time Machine" on TV a few months ago; 60's science fiction

60. Cabinet department : EDUCATION

61. Deck out : ARRAY

62. General at the Alamo : SANTA ANNA

DOWN:

1. Shrill insect : CICADA - L.I. did not get hit this cycle; I think we were too far north this time

2. Like slide rules : ANALOG

3. Flash producer : STROBE

4. Present : HERE

5. Sign of an overflow : SRO - Standing Room Only

7. "That's enough" : LET IT BE

8. EPA science : ECOLogy

9. Brother of the Apostle Andrew : ST. PETER

10. Lab org.? : AKC - Another crossword fooler - LABrador, that is, and the American Kennel Club

11. Tito's real name : BROZ - The Wiki

12. Large terrier : AIREDALE - This puzzle is going to the dogs....

13. Allergy-treating brand : CLARITIN

14. Broken mirrors, to some : ILL OMENS

24. Defensive team's goal line to 20 yard line, in football lingo : RED ZONE

26. Dahl's precocious title girl : MATILDA

31. Sub group : NAVY

32. Top status : ONE A

35. Comic strip set in Arkansas : LI'L ABNER

36. 53-Down size : ONE LITER and; 53D. It makes a fizz fizz : SODA

39. Gets excited : AROUSES

40. Dramatic game winner : HOME RUN - ah, some baseball for C.C.

43. Doesn't go out, maybe : EATS IN

44. Employ : HIRE ON

45. Atlanta suburb : SMYRNA


51. Bill who created José Jiménez : DANA - WAY before my time; The Steve Allen Show

54. Smidge : IOTA - ioWa and ioTa

56. Visit the cashier : PAY - with Discover this time?

58. MLB's Halos, on scoreboards : L.A.Angels - More Baseball

Splynter

53 comments:

HeartRx said...

Good morning Splynter, C.C. et al.

I see you had some of the same missteps as I did - "cat" before TOM, "ebb" before DIM, and the killer old time summers for ABACI.

It was pretty white for a looooong time, but I picked and poked and pecked my way through without any lookups.

It was almost a DNF because I needed the B in ABACI. BROZ Tito was not in my wheelhouse, and I had "bad" OMEN at first. But A*ACb looked mightily suspicious, and KRILa and CORAd screamed out for ILL. Once I changed that, I still stared at A*ACI, wondering what the latin name for "summers" might be. Big time V8 whack on the head when I finally got it!!

My head still hurts...

Argyle said...

Pass the V-8 over here, please.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Hand up for CAT and EBB before TOM and DIM.

Some unknown names, including MINEOLA, ALONOZO, NIVENS, but in each case I got enough letters via the perps to make decent guesses. Fortunately, each of the names actually looked like real names.

When my son was in Kindergarten, his teacher said he probably had ADHD and that we should consider putting him on RITALIN. At the end of his second grade year, however, the school principal said he definitely has ADHD... but we shouldn't even think of putting him on RITALIN since he is excelling academically and the ADHD doesn't seem to be having an adverse effect on his social skills either. I guess he's just naturally hyperactive...

[BOADITU]
[ogrcemi]

desper-otto said...

Good morning, weekend warriors!

I was on Barry Silk's wavelength with this one. This had to be my fastest Saturday ever. My first two entries were CASH SALES and ABACI, then I stair-stepped down the entire west coast and back up in the east.

I remember "My name Jose Jimenez" quite well. I remembered Tito's real name: Josip BROZ. With just the RE I WAGged RED ZONE. I was on a roll! But is there really a baseball team named the Halos? News to me.

My bicycle awaits...

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

The NW started out blank, but from there everything flowed quickly. Enough perps were in place to avoid the Cat/Tom and Ebb/Dim swaps. Hand up for Bad Omen first, though.

Broz was 100% perps. The whole Tito story is fuzzy to me anyhow. For that matter the whole Eastern Europe story is a little hard for me to grasp.

Last year I got acquainted with a lovely redhead who, against all odds, found something likeable in me. I would definitely not call her Carrot Top - it could have been perilous.

Cheers All

Husker Gary said...

CLARITAN and RITALIN gave me a pharmacological toehold and off I went on a delightful Saturday excursion with a very doable Silkie!

Musings
-ASTROBIOLOGISTS are getting more and more Goldilocks Planets to study
-If you don’t LET IT BE, the DOMINO EFFECT can kick in. Road rage?
-I’ve spent some very cold afternoons watching the Huskers in Ames, IA and I live about an hour from MINEOLA, IA
-Summers, numbers and flowers. I get them now.
-ELENORE not ELEANOR ear worm
-Sue Ann NIVENS was a great character in a wonderful ensemble
-Water dropping in “slow motion” in a STROBE light
-Famous RED ZONE TD by a 308 lb receiver
-To a 10 year old, his weak ground ball where the defense makes three throwing errors and he circles the bases is a HOME RUN
-Who “in all of his glory”, was not ARRAYed like the “one of the lilies of the field”?

Yellowrocks said...

Like D/O I found this to be the fastest Silkie ever. I did it in solid quadrants, SW, NE, NW, SE. Very "perpable."
Amos Alonzo STAGG Sr. and Jr. coached at my alma mater, Susquehanna U. The school named a field after them. Go Crusaders!
Splynter, regarding your picture, the emphasis is not on the Carrot TOP, but on the bottom. LOL
Katharine Hepburn played a wonderful Eleanor in the movie Lion in Winter. She is one of my faves.
A famous madam gave advice to wives. You must always massage their EGOs, as well as other parts.
IBID, I loved writing research papers as a student and as a tutor. It is such an exciting learning experience to look things up. After finally moving from books to Internet, I am even more into research. I also enjoy explaining things. I would die a thousand deaths when I saw my fellow students present thick papers compared to mine. Fortunately the profs read the papers instead of weighing them, and I came out fine.

thehondohurricane said...

Good day everyone,

Guilty of Cat before TOM also. Refused to believe BAD OMEN was wrong. As a result, ABACI, KRILL. & CORAL were out of my area of knowledge today, hence another DNF

But the rest flowed for me. The SW, with all the sports clues, was a no brainer. SE & NW took a little more effort, but I got 'em. The NE...see above.

Loved seeing ELEANOR, a favorite of mine. She and Henry II made some kind of history!

Wanted Walk Off before HOME RUN for 40D, Prawn for 16A.

D-O. The Los Angeles ANGELS are sometimes called the HALOS by the sports scribes and fans.

Argyle said...

"Elenore" was a parody of "Happy Together" and surprised the group when it became a hit. Wikipedia LINK.

John A. said...

"ill" omens instead of the MUCH more suitable/acceptable "bad" omens made it impossible to nail ABACI...not a fan of that set-up

Avg Joe said...

I feared that a Silkie this way came, and that proved correct. Chipped away for a long time and had only about 1/4 filled, mostly on the west side. Wasn't fooled by Abaci and figured that AKC had to be correct, but wanted Prawn so bad that I refused to enter the KC. Had enough perps that Alonzo looked likely, but gave in and googled to be sure.....and while I was there also googled for Nivens. That was enough to crack it open and finish, but still a DNF with the two searches.

Very interesting about Elenore, Argyle! Who knew?!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Easy Saturday today, but it still had the rich texture that I look for in Barry's puzzles. Luckily, I got several key anchors early; ST PETER, INTERSECT, MINEOLA, and EDUCATION - SANTA ANNA. Wondered if it was cat or TOM, but St Peter took care of it. RITALIN was a WAG.
Liked 31d, sub group - NAVY. Nice shout out to the Silent Service.

Wondering how many DF comments 39d will generate today.

Have a great day.

Argyle said...

For sub group, I wanted Italian or mixed.

And now a group you're really going to like: LINK. (starts@0:43)

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Barry Silk is my nemesis! On the first pass, ROT, ODIE & CLARITIN were all I got on the top half. Then remembered RITALIN. Hated the entire top half.

CASH SALES does not equate with "free of charge" to me, despite the credit card connotation. The goods are not free. I have few credit card fees because I pay my cards off each month.

ST PETER wasn't Andrew's brother. Simon Peter was. He wasn't a SainT until many years after his death when the relationship was no longer in effect.

Gimmee: AMES, IOWA. Been there. Only Splynter would know MINEOLA. I was lucky to know Long Island. Thanks Splynter, for struggling through this and making sense of it.

The bottom half was slightly better so I got a toe-hold and worked back up. Did know ELEANOR, SAL, and SANTA ANNA, but not the other names or towns.

I thought TITO was Michael Jackson's brother.

Out here in the boonies, we seldom see SRO.

D-O: You are impressive!

Yellowrocks said...

I like ILL OMEN.
From a crossword favorite son, Lao Tzu:
“Arms are instruments of ill omen. When one is compelled to use them, it is best to do so without relish. There is no glory in victory, and to glorify it despite this is to exult in the killing of men."
Time magazine uses ILL OMEN quite frequently. Among many others:
1. “The ascent of Greece's ultra-nationalist Golden Dawn party is an ill omen for Europe.”
2. “Jan 29, 2013 • Revolt of Egypt’s Canal Cities: An Ill Omen for Morsi. ...”
3. “It is an ill omen for democracy when South American dictators discuss it. “
4. “TURKEY As the late afternoon sun fell gleaming on the domes and minarets of Istanbul one day this week, a bird of ill omen winged in from the west.”

Lucina (from last night) I remember your support of A words. I always feel a sisterhood with you in your remarks about your love of words.

Java Mama said...

Good morning everyone! Great start to the weekend with this savory Silkie. Thanks for the entertaining write-up, Splynter. I was thinking of this CARROT TOP, but the one you linked is much cuter. By the way, as a Cincinnati girl I’m curious about the name of the movie you worked on here in 1997.

Was feeling pretty good about getting through this one in quicker-than-usual Saturday time, only to find I had misspelled CLARiTIN as CLARaTIN. That gave me DAM at 27A, which made sense to me, as in reducing the intensity of water flow. Despite the DNF, there was lots to like here. My faves were: Sub Group = NAVY; Ready to Draw = ON TAP; and Lab. Org.? = AKC. The very last to fall was the 23A / 28A loop of D.O.B. / AGE – so simple, so hard.

I get to spend the afternoon minding baby Lucy while Daughter and SIL start moving into their new apartment – I think I got the better end of that deal ;-)

Have a fantastic weekend, all!

Anonymous said...

In regard to the saints. If you want to get technical St. Peter is "St." Andrew's brother. Don't "rile" St. Peter or he won't unlock the pearly gates to let you in. You don't want to be a "sore loser" with a big "ego" and end up in "Mineola" I also thought Santa Anna was spelled "Ana" and resisted until the perps gave me no choice.

klilly said...

Almost was able to finish a Saturday. Thanks yellowrocks for the info on ill omen.. I always learn something from you.

It was E.B whites birthday the other day and I loved the following quote

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.

Klilly

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

A very typical Silkie but, alas, a DNF due to having Let It Go instead of Be and not seeing Astrobiology in full. Hand up for Bad Omen, but I filled in Tom and AKC immediately. Abaci finally dawned on me which cleared up that corner nicely.

Even though Silkie's are hard to get through, I usually finish w/o help, so today was disappointing for me. But, many thanks, Barry for keeping us on our toes, and thanks to Splynter for the enjoyable expo.

We have had a few days of pleasant temps and low humidity, but the 3 H's are due back starting tomorrow and we're looking at 90's + temps all week. I have a graduation party this afternoon so I'm grateful for the more comfortable weather.

Happy Saturday.

desper-otto said...

Hondo@8:11 -- Thanks for clearing that up.

My first experience with my new Weber grill was called on account of rain. Everything was going great until I came inside to watch the evening news. A sudden, unexpected shower popped up; I swear most of the water found it's way through the vent holes in the top of the grill, dousing the coals and splashing ashes up onto the food. Ugh! Maybe tonight will be better.

Lucina said...

Hello, Splynter, our Saturday stalwart and all.

WEES. Although it was a sheet of snow to start with, this was very doable. I began with ODIE then ROT, EBB and ALONZO just slid out of nowhere! It surprised me.

No sashaying today, just slowly one cell at a time and it was almost done with much WAGGING. I did finally decide to look up BROZ because the NE was last and I have much to do today including two birthday parties.

For a long while I thought DONNA Summers but couldn't work anything else with it then after mulling on LAB thought of dogs and AKC came to the rescue. Fun time.

DNF though because I didn't know WEENA, AMES, IOWA or Bill DANA so had all kinds of errors there. Still it was worthwhile and great fun.

Thank you, Barry Silk!

Have a sensational Saturday, everyone! It's a partying day for me.

Misty said...

I can't believe it, I can't believe it, I can't believe it! I got my FIRST Silkie EVER! I still can't believe it. I promised myself if I ever got a Saturday Silkie I would stop referring to Mr. S as "the dreaded Silkie." And now that day has come. Many thanks, Barry, for a very tough but apparently doable puzzle!

I say 'apparently' because even though I got it, I was sure lots of my choices were probably wrong. ABACI shook down with the perps but I didn't understand it until Splynter's expo. Never heard of KRILL and was pretty sure that was wrong too. Until I saw Dudley's comment I had no idea how CARROT TOP had anything to do with devices for securing doors. And so on with lots of other items. So in my case a lot of the success was sheer luck--but I'll take it!

Great start to a sunny Saturday! Have a great weekend everybody!

Splynter said...

Hi again~!

Java Mama, the movie was "The Golem", made-for-TV by Scott Wegener who at the time worked for WCPO TV (ch7). It was aired in Apr 2000. Best time I ever had NOT getting paid. I did eveything but act and direct; continuity, set construction, special effects, stand-in, extra, and editing.

The second film with Scott was a great challenge - the teams were given 48hrs starting Friday 7pm, and everyone was given the same quote, prop and character to use, but the 'genre' was a random selection. We were lucky, and drew "action"....try getting a rocket launcher in a "western" or "musical"~!

We shot some interior scenes for Golem in St. Frances De Sales, and I climbed the 216 steps to the skylights of the steeple. Great story of "Big Joe" was told to me back then~!

Splynter

Ol' Man Keith said...

A good one for a Saturday. This was hard for me. It didn't start out that way. In fact, my first fill was DOMINO EFFECT, a long one that gave me confidence that others would fall just as easily.

But, alas, no. For a while, it was relatively smooth sailing. The bottom and middle came easily. But then I could not make any headway in the NE corner until I Googled to get ABACI. I had ABA I, but did not know the name of the drug (CLARITIN) that was the perp to give me the missing fill letter. Grr.

ABACI is a very clever answer ("Summers of old?"). It is apparently a frequent crossword visitor, just new to me.

I liked SRO ("Sign of an overflow") and the coupling of DOB and AGE.

Nice work, Mr. Silk.

Java Mama said...

Splynter, glad you enjoyed your time working on the movie in the Queen City. Although I'm familiar with St. Francis De Sales Church, I didn't know that "Big Joe" was the largest swinging bell ever cast in the United States (per Wiki). Hope you get a chance to use your many creative talents in movies again some day.

Bumppo said...

Re 35D: "Comic strip set in Arkansas LI[']L ABNER": Al Capp located Dogpatch in Kentucky in early comic strips, then went generic Southern with it. But he joked that Dogpatch was based on Seabrook, New Hampshire, where he vacationed.

Oh, well: What we Kentuckians call an "Arkansas gate" is known in Arkansas as a "Kentucky gate."

Bumppo said...

Here's the link to "Arkansas Gate" that I was unable to embed:
http://borf_books.tripod.com/hankbump/Arkansas_Gate.mpg

PK said...

Klily: really loved the E.B. White quote.

Anon: I'm not worried about riling St. Peter. I long ago gave up getting admitted. I figure St. Pete will insist on a "mulligan" and zap me into a reincarnation to try again.

I always remember KRILL because it blows my mind that something as big as a type of whale exclusively eats something that tiny.

I guess with a Silkie I need to count the blessings of the answers I get right and be satisfied, instead of getting so frustrated with all the red-letters at almost every try. Red-letters equate with a nose-thumbing to me.

Lemonade714 said...

It is such fun to watch the one time newbies get used to the Silkies and discover the joy of finishing without help.

HG you going to go to Omaha to watch the final round of the Senior US Open?

Barry Silk really knows how to clue.

Terrible storms left by Chantal, be careful out there

Jayce said...

Excellent puzzles yesterday and today. Well, all week, actually. Fun and challenging. Enjoyable, as always, to read all your comments. Outstanding writeup, Splynter, as usual. So, were you moviemaking in Cincinnati when Pason was there? LOL

Bill G. said...

I got 'er done with red-letter help. Summer got me again.

My wife contributed to the local high school's football team fundraising effort by buying a car wash ticket. It wasn't the best car wash but it was pretty efficient driving through various groups spraying, soaping, rinsing, drying, etc. Wet cheerleaders were part of the appeal. Anyway, my 20-year-old car used for driving me and my bike down to the beach is cleaner and I supported the local team.

The best chain reaction demo was in the Walt Disney movie, "Our Friend, the Atom". It included lots of mouse traps loaded with two ping-pong balls. When one trap was triggered, it realeased two balls triggering two more traps, then four traps and so on. Walt Disney did those kinds of things so well. I loved his early TV shows including animals, Davy Crockett, etc. An American icon.

Hi Jayce!

Off to the market.

john28man said...

Like Miaty,I finished my first Saturday puzzle. My first entry was ROT which gave me REDDOG and I worked my way counterclockwise until I got to the end.

I did not get why ABACI was right until I got here. Thanks, Splynter.

I think Tito was the closest a country will ever get to a benevolent dictator.

Pookie said...

Hi all, Thanks, Splynter.
Done in by ABACI and BROZ.
DNF for CLARITaN and RITILaN.
But hey, further than I've ever gotten on a Silkie.
Yesterday was diabolical for me.
Belatedly Happy Birthday, Sallie!
Or however I'm supposed to phrase it.
Hope you had a nice day and all your wishes come true!

HeartRx said...

Misty, congratulations! Doesn't it feel great to conquer one of these toughies? Perseverance always wins, and you deserve a gold star for sticking to it and never giving up.

HeartRx said...

john28man @ 2:31, oops! I should have read all the comments before I posted - ditto @ 4:38 for you!!

Misty said...

Marti, many thanks. You've been my Saturday inspiration for a long time, and I owe my exciting feat today largely to your thought advice and encouragement!

Husker Gary said...

-Lemon, my SIL and grandson and I are watching the 3rd round of the Senior Open in my sunroom. Grandson is putting into a ball return between shots. I had many chances to go sit in the sun for this but chose not to.
-One of the pros said he thought Nebraska was flat and was so surprised by the changes in elevation on the Omaha Country Club.
-The USGA was charging people $120 for the privilege of working at the tournament and had a waiting list. Omaha is a great big event (College World Series, NCAA VB playoff record attendance, three consecutive sold out Olympic Swim trials, etc.) town but not quite big enough to support a permanent pro team.
-I have seen RITALIN be a blessing for a child and for the entire class when I didn’t have to attend to him so much. Is it overused? Could be.
-Bill, I remember that nuclear chain reaction demo on Disney World too. Those wet cheerleaders might cause a chain reaction too, my friend ;-)
-PK, I may have used all my mulligans.
-BTW, answer to my ARRAY question: Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. No religion, just beautiful prose.

Anonymous said...

Another fun Silkie, always feel like a sleuth.

It would be nice to be given a warning, like many times the bloggers do, when their links are soft porn, so I know when not to open them. Could have done without the carrot top pic.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Well, I did manage to refrain from being impatient on this one--so, what Misty said!

Thanks Barry, Splynter!

Am going to have to spend a bundle to have roof repaired. Got a firm from Angie's List, that had a cheap inspection deal. Oh, joy!

Cheers!

Splynter said...

Hi again~!

OK, how about Molly Quinn instead?

Splynter

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Barry Silk, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Splynter, for the great review.

Well, I just bounced around and got a few here and here. I think my first entry was OED for 42A. CICADA and ANALOG fell for 1and 2D. Got a foothold here.

AKC was easy. That really helped with the NE.

RITALIN came slowly. Had trouble spelling it.

LIL ABNER was my favorite comic strip.

Did not know MINEOLA. Perped it.

SANTA ANNA was easy. Eventually pieced it all together.

Congratulations to Misty and John28man. First Saturday Silkie.

On my way back from Bloomington, IL. Coming back again next week.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(bnotelsr)

Ol' Man Keith said...

I forgot to lodge my protest to ST PETER. I object to the use of the abbreviation for Saint when there was no hint of it in the clue. Are we British now, ignoring the use of the period (or, ahem, the full stop)? Am I missing something? Isn't that the usual practice--to provide a sample abbreviation in the clue if the answer needs that form?

I got it anyway, so this is not sour grapes, but an inquiry aspiring to a complaint.

Why not "Andrew's bro" in the cluing? Or a mention of the venue as "the NT"?

desper-otto said...

Keith, all's fair in love and xwords. I just try to solve 'em. Win some, lose some. Love the challenge.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Desper-otto (Love the name!):

I agree with "Win some, lose some" and "Love the challenge." As I grow more familiar with the xword playing field, however, I occasionally see a shift in practice. This one tells me either I haven't properly understood the rules or there's been a breach by the maker.

Can anybody help me out with this one?

Bill G. said...

Keith, good question. I think it would be neat if Rich were to hang out more often around here and would comment on questions like yours.

Windhover or others, why are goats often raised on farms? People don't eat their meat, do they? Goats' milk isn't in high demand. So why raise goats (other than the little fellers are awfully cute).

Argyle said...

Cheese.

Qli said...

I had fun with this one, but it was a DNF.
Hate to sound like a SORE LOSER, but I thought there were too many names in the fill.

My favorite clues today were lab org and summers of old. I like the way Barry clues his puzzles.

TTP said...

Keith, I started to answer that I think those types of "guidelines" go out the window as we get to Friday and Saturday. But I've only been doing the puzzle daily for about a year now, so I'm not the best one to comment on that.


That "about a year" thought got me wondering when I first commented, so I looked back through the archives.

My first comment was on a Saturday and it was a Barry Silk puzzle ! Not only that, it was 365 days ago today !

That was me as Anonymous First Time Commenter @ 11:11 right between Marti and Misty !

I must be getting better. July 14th 2012 took me 1 hr, 49 minutes, and July 13th 2013 took me 1 hr 29 minutes.

TTP said...

Oops, that should have been 11:22.

Keith, as I read the comments, I noted that Natty Bumpo posted a similar concern about 'no hint to an abbreviation in the clue' with clue Workout Unit and answer REP.

thehondohurricane said...


Doesn't bother me if it's Saint or ST. Part of the challenge is to figure it out.

Anonymous said...

love Molly Quinn, and love "Castle", thanks, Splynter

Lucina said...

Hondo:
You hit the nail on the head! Part of the challenge of solving crosswords is grasping whatever the constructor throws at you, abbr., no abbr., foreign words, etc. Where is the fun if it's all simply a synonym that you're looking for?

IMO any puzzle that forces thinking is a great puzzle.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Thanks for all who weighed in to answer my question about abbreviations. I suppose the best answer is that the so-called "rules" may go out the window as each week progresses.

Let me add that it isn't that we *need* the Xword makers to stick to the rules. The more skilled we become in solving, we find we manage to decode even inconsistent cluing. In this particular case (ST instead of SAINT), I had not yet come across that break in the practice of hinting at a short form answer. We solvers don't invent the rules after all; we just follow 'em, taking a wee dose of pride in figuring them out.

As I learn more (and I have only been here about a year) I sense that many xword fans, both makers and solvers, are creatures of habit. I simply found this slip jarring -- a small shock in our usual course, even though it is one we can absorb. Almost as surprising as finding TSAR spelled CZAR!