google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday July 28, 2013 Ed Sessa

Advertisements

Jul 28, 2013

Sunday July 28, 2013 Ed Sessa

Theme: "Networking" - Theme entries all have TV channels as initials.

 27A. *"Perhaps" : THERE'S NO TELLING. TNT. Endless "Law & Order".

 41A. *Snacks not needing an oven : NO-BAKE COOKIES. NBC.

 53A. *"When I say so," militarily speaking : AT MY COMMAND. AMC.

 78A. *Signature song for Sammy Davis Jr. : THE CANDY MAN. TCM. Online version has no asterisk. But it should.

 88A. *Practically guaranteed : ALL BUT CERTAIN. ABC.

 107A. *Ambushed : TAKEN BY SURPRISE. TBS.

 16D. *Fair forecast : CLEAR BLUE SKIES. CBS.

 48D. *Settling request : PLEASE BE SEATED. PBS.

 91D. Weekly magazine where the initials of the answers to starred clues can be found : TV GUIDE

Often I have a basic idea of where the theme is going after scanning at the title. Not today. Clueless until I hit the reveal entry, which intersects 2 more theme entries.

The gridding would be a bit trickier if Ed tried to place TV GUIDE in the very lower right corner or central row. Intersection can ease up the filling considerably. Look at how nice today's long 9's (total 8) are.

Across:
 
1. Mature : ADULT

6. One of a typical schooner's pair : MAST

10. Water holders : DAMS

14. Sees eye to eye? : FACES. I don't get this clue.

19. Patty Hearst's SLA alias : TANIA

20. Alice's immortalizer : ARLO. This type of "Immortalizer" or "immortal" clue always cracks me up.

21. Inclusive ending : ET AL

22. Kate's TV mate : ALLIE

23. Bug-hits-windshield sound : SPLAT. Vivid clue.

24. Lab gel medium : AGAR

25. Stage highlight : ARIA

26. "CSI" part? : SCENE. Crime Scene Investigation.

30. Wedding proposal? : TOAST. Nice clue.

31. You-__: rural addresses : UNS. I only know y'all.

32. Fight unit: Abbr. : RND. Oh, round. Boxing.

33. Connection facilitators, briefly : ISPs

34. Fireplace place : HEARTH

35. Computer in a cubicle : DESK TOP

37. Wild talk : RANT

39. Roll on the ball field : SOD

40. "__ Mir Bist Du Schoen" (Andrews Sisters hit) : BEI. Literally "north" in Chinese, as in Beijing.

45. Tiger's ex : ELIN

46. Chem lab tube : PIPET. New word to me also.


49. Well-coiffed Byrnes : EDD

50. Cupid's wings : ALAE. The adjective is ALAR. We used to see these two a lot in the old Tribune puzzle.

51. __ bean: sprouts source : MUNG. Boomer like bean sprouts in his chow mein, served over rice. Very strange.

52. Cast member's part : ROLE

57. Military meal : MESS

58. Private insignia : ONE STRIPE

60. Carrie's org. on "Homeland" : CIA

61. Poor grades : DEEs

63. Smokey Bear broadcast, briefly : PSA

64. Like __ out of hell : A BAT

65. Critic Reed : REX

66. Rachael Ray sautéing initialism : EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
 
68. Royal Botanic Gardens locale : KEW

71. Big hauler : SEMI

73. Wet expanse : SEA. And 55D. Wet expanse : OCEAN

74. Auto trip problem : BLOWN TIRE

76. Court answer : PLEA

82. Psychic's verb : READ

83. Soldiers under Lee : REBs

84. Flor del amor : ROSA. My yellow tea rose must hate our garden, Marti.

85. Great Basin native : UTE. Gary & D-Otto use UTE a lot.

86. Oktober endings : FESTS. Oktoberfests.

87. Fancy molding : OGEE

93. __-relief : BAS

94. School support gp. : PTA

95. A fourth of doce : TRES.  doce = 12.

96. Carrion consumer : VULTURE

100. FĂștbol cheer : OLE OLE

102. Computer info : DATA. 74. 102-Across units : BYTES.

104. "Wow" : GEE

105. Homer's neighbor : NED (Flanders). The Simpsons.

106. Close call : SCARE

112. Trig function : COTAN. I could only think of COSEC, Bill G.

113. No longer happening : OVER

114. Places : LOCI

115. Beetles, perhaps : AUTOS

116. Driver's lic., e.g. : IDENT (Identification).

117. Herb used with potatoes : DILL. I only like chives with potatoes.

118. Benediction opener : O GOD

119. Oodles : SLEWS

120. Like marshes : SEDGY. OK.

121. Operation Overlord time : D-DAY

122. Hinged entrance : GATE

123. "The Gondoliers" girl : TESSA. I forgot. We had this before.

Down:

1. Like some retired racehorses : AT STUD

2. Apollo's nymph : DAPHNE. She didn't like him & became a laurel tree to escape his advances. She should have just come to America.

3. Conditional word : UNLESS. You want OR ELSE too?

4. One may be exposed during cross-examination : LIAR

5. Ore-Ida morsel : TATER TOT

6. Kettles from Cape Flattery : MA AND PA

7. Jason's vessel : ARGO. Hello Lemonade!

8. Shutter part : SLAT

9. Sped : TORE

10. Gives a hand : DEALS TO

11. Anchor position : ATRIP. Spitzboov & D-Otto won't mind this A* word.

12. Sewer lines : MAINS

13. Metallic by-product : SLAG

14. Followed a Lenten routine : FASTED

15. Big name in siding : ALCOA. I need the more obvious "foil" or "wrap" to make this a gimme.

17. Hardly dim bulbs : EINSTEINS

18. Hallucinate : SEE THINGS. Tricky to parse.

28. Hoity-toity sort : SNOB

29. Type starter : LINO. Linotype.

34. Cleaned, as a deck : HOSED DOWN

36. Low benders : KNEES

37. Try a new shade on : RE-DYE

38. "High Voltage" rockers : AC/DC

39. Bean who played Boromir in "The Lord of the Rings" films : SEAN. Never saw the series. Is he bad or good?


42. Neat : KEMPT. Only know unkempt.

43. __ Sutra : KAMA

44. Waterfront gp. : ILA (International Longshoremen's Association)

45. Supermodel born Melissa Miller : EMME. Wow, her name is quite close to the real supermodel Marisa Miller.
Emme

Marisa Miller

46. Stage aid : PROP

47. Charged atoms : IONS

53. Settle things, in a way : ARBITRATE

54. Familia member : TIA

56. Potpourri : MIX

59. Skye cap : TAM

62. Geological stretch : EON

65. "The Crying Game" actor : REA (Stephen). I saw the movie in Cantonese. So shocked.

66. Wabbit hunter : ELMER

67. U.S. govt. broadcaster : VOA

69. Latin 101 word : ERAT

70. Forms a union : WEDS

72. Relax : EASE

73. Wound covering : SCAB

75. Nottingham's river : TRENT

76. Schnoz like Durante's : PROBOSCIS. Another new word to me.

77. System of laws : LEGAL CODE

79. Havana hi : HOLA 
 
80. Course for would-be U.S. citizens : ESL
 
81. Il __: Mussolini : DUCE
 
86. Walk by singly : FILE PAST
 
89. To the nth degree : UTTERLY. I'd like to try Anonymous T's pizza crust some day. Sounds delicious!
 
90. Air__: low-cost carrier : TRAN

92. Heifetz's teacher : AUER (Leopold). Hungarian violinist.
 

94. More than enough : PLENTY
 
97. Gets together : UNITES

98. Seeds again : RE-SOWS

99. Historic Mesopotamian city : EDESSA. Today known as Urfa in southeast Turkey.

101. Long-armed ape : ORANG

102. Judean king : DAVID

103. Cub Scout leader : AKELA. Learned from Xwords.

107. Sweeney with scissors : TODD. So straightforward.

108. Opine online : BLOG. I blog.

109. Meditative practice : YOGA. Star Tribune just mentioned an outdoor weekly yoga somewhere near our neighborhood.

110. Many a bagpiper : SCOT

111. Reign : RULE

C.C.


57 comments:

Bill G. said...

Well, even though I'm only halfway through the puzzle, I couldn't resist posting late (early?) before I went to bed. Jordan is staying over and he was slow getting to sleep.

I thought Kettles from Cape Flattery was clever. I got MAANDPA from perps and I had to stare at it for a while before it made sense. Gives a hand = DEALSTO was clever too. I'm sure I'll find more to like when I finish tomorrow morning.

See ya.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Finished puzzle with no cheats. Lots of fun. Thanks, Ed, CC! Nice to be able to blog before bed!

Am behind in blog-reading due to depression.

EMME is a real supermodel too, CC!!!

Swimming friend called to say her knees have conked out completely, so that she won't be coming tomorrow. Darn!

Watched the end of the 5th season of George Gently w/o knowing what was going to happen. Bummer. (But, they say that a short season six will be produced at the end of this year. Who knows when it will play here!

Have a great Sunday!

fermatprime said...

BTW, have a pink quarter-sized spot on my forearm. Anybody ever had something similar?

Anonymous said...

14A - When two people of the same height face each other, they see "eye-to-eye".

Burrito34 said...

Good Sunday morning!

This was a good challenging Sunday puzzle although I resorted to using the "solve letter" option twice and the switch from "master" mode to "regular" mode (aka red letter) once.

I also never got what was meant by the "networking" theme and didn't see the television network initials until seeing the "reveal" in today's blog.

Overall, I needed a lot of help from the perps with a few WAG's thrown in except for the following:

10A: Water holders: Tried cups and urns but ended up using the solve-a-letter-o matic which revealed "d." Then it occurred to me that it was "dams."

45A: Tiger's ex and 45D: Supermodel born Melissa Miller.

No idea. Used the solver for the first letter of each one, "E".

After this, still didn't get the ding; (I much prefer the older "ta-da" sound btw). Red letter time then.

I guessed 51A was a "lung" bean but found that it was instead a "mung" bean. Never heard of it before.

Very enjoyable today. I don't usually do a DNF because in finishing crosswords even with help, I enjoy learning new things. So for me I guess you could call it a DNFWH (Did not finish without help.) I hope you all have a pleasant Sunday.

Argyle said...

Twice in one month; Burrito, you're becoming a regular.

River Doc said...

Happy Sunday everybody! Or perhaps I should say HOLA BLOG!

TDNF today. 98% filled correctly, missed a couple of cells. The MAIN issue was having no knowledge whatsoever of Rachael Ray-isms, so 62D could’ve been either ERA or EON, yielding either BLOW A TIRE or BLOWN TIRE at 74A. My coin flip came up tails….

BTW, ISMS is what I had for ISPS at 33A…. Should’ve known better, with a theme of Networking….

Not that I’m Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take It Anymore! or anything – that would be a RANT….

Other write-overs were SAIL for MAST, STATION for DESKTOP, CRIME for SCENE, ALL for UNS, ELLE for EMME, and ON for AT (MY COMMAND)….

As a wee young-UN, I eagerly awaited the TV GUIDE Fall Preview issue, my Bible to the upcoming season. And, yes, MA AND PA would agree that I watched WAY too much telly as a kid….

KEMPT just doesn’t look right. I’m familiar with unkempt, but who uses kempt? Kinda like how no one is ever gruntled, just disgruntled….

Didja happen to notice the OCEAN behind C.C.’s pic of Marisa Miller? Neither did I….

Having a brat with your bier in Munchen in Ocktober = Sausage FEST…? Okay, let’s not go there….

And on that note, I gotta SCOoT….

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Wow, I must be running late this morning... ^_^

Had to guess at the crossing of EDESSA/TESSA, but it pretty much had to be an "A". Struggled a bit in the north central with ATRIP/DEALSTO/ETAL/DAMS, etc., but once I finally got ISPS the rest slowly fell into place.

Everything else was pretty smooth today. Bonus points for getting AUER with no perp help!

Now, if only I can read the capcha this morning...

[nistsci?]

Anonymous said...

Argyle, Burritos will make you regular quickly.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Nice puzzle, Ed Sessa. Nice writeup (and thanks for the shoutouts), C.C. BTW, print edition was also lacking an asterisk at 78A. My only writeover today: SOGGY before SEDGY.

I almost lost the battle at 6D. I had MAAN_PA and figured it was going to turn out to be a MAssachusetts something. Plus I dyslexically read "fight unit" as "flight unit," and couldn't figure out what a RN_ would be. Finally the V-8 can arrived. I used to love MA AND PA Kettle movies in my ute.

ARLO Guthrie's Alices Restaurant is a Vietnam-era classic. I got to play it one time on AFR. Just one time. If you've never heard it, you owe it to yourself to give it a listing

C.C., Sean Bean plays a royal son of Gondor, and a member of Frodo's original Fellowship of the Ring. He was unable to resist the ring's power, and tried to take it from Frodo. But, he died heroically in battle, protecting the others. So in the final analysis he's neither good nor bad -- just interesting.

desper-otto said...

Listing / Listen -- more dyslexia.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Enjoyed this one, despite lots of abbrev. I couldn't figure out today and some unknowns crossing I had to red-letter. Thanks, Ed.

What is ISPS? I knew DOCE was a number but couldn't remember which one in my pre-breakfast haze. Duh!

Didn't know COTAN, only cosine. EMME not "elle".

My husband loved my potato soup with DILL & basil.

PROBOSCIS came easily. We learned the word in H.S. sophomore biology class and used it instead of "nose" all year. "Go blow your PROBOSCIS" was always good for a teenager laugh.

I didn't see "The Crying Game" so didn't know REA. Was surprised it was shown in Cantonese, C.C.! Glad you blog.

Didn't remember Cape Flattery but saw all the MA AND PA movies. Finally WAGd PA thinking it would be wrong after looking at MAAND several times.

Argyle said...

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Yellowrocks said...

Great puzzle. I had two hiccups which I finally resolved. The thought "sewer lines" was a pun and wrote SEAMS instead of MAINS. I spelled HOSED DOWN with one D, so the crosses didn't fit until I changed it.
We have had EVOO and EMME before.
I like roasted potatoes with olive oil and rosemary.
Boomer, I like chow mein with bean sprouts over rice, too. CC, we've Americanized it.
Interesting about gruntled and KEMPT.
Link kempt
ISP Internet Service Provider

TTP said...

HOLA, amigos y amigettes.

Thank you Ed Sessa, and thank you CC !

CC, please see Yinz.

Also, for Anchor position, I thought... "Where Boomer bowls."

The high temp in Chicago yesterday was 65 degrees. Set a record for lowest high ever on the date.(Records from the ice age are unavailable.) Not supposed to break 70 degrees today.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, C.C. and friends. Fun Sunday puzzle. I had to go back and look at the theme answers after I finished the puzzle and read the unifier to get the theme though.

I liked the crossing of the SEA and OCEAN.

Rex Reed is an LSU graduate, so we are continuing our Louisiana theme.

QOD: If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you matters very much. Jacqueline Kennedy (July 28, 1929 ~ May 19, 1994)

[raiduam]

Anonymous said...

I hope Jackie spoke better than that.

Yellowrocks said...

Ferm, Sorry you are feeling down. I have sent you 2 emails. Is your address still the same?
Yellowrocks from Kathy

Husker Gary said...

-Theme was fun but only useful in the rearview mirror on Ed’s just right Sunday exercise.

Musings
-Alzheimer’s precursor? I know I’ve seen that Law and Order before but can’t remember how it comes out
-ON instead of AT MY COMMAND gave me ORBIT… and NIA for a few minutes
-CLEAR BLUE SKIES and cool here on the plains (record low of 48°F Friday night)
-Alice the restaurateur not the one through the looking glass or the one at Mel’s
-A lotta bosses can see or trace your DESKTOP activity
-Earl Weaver was the king of baseball RANTS
-He TORE out like A BAT out of hell
-My little stretch of Hwy 30 to the course has lots of SEMIS
-Joe Pesci entered a PLEA of Not Guilty for the UTES, CC ;-)
-GEE, Dani OGEE is my good friend and former colleague
-The Royals had a SCARE in the 9th last night as the CWS got two on and no one out in a 1 – 0 win (5 in a row!)
-I am so OVER responding to anon’s BLOGS
-MAANDPA just stood there and defied me to understand it
-I toyed with SEAMS for Sewer lines
-What Raymond Burr character routinely exposed a LIAR on the stand?

Hahtoolah said...

Anon, you're right. She probably included the word "do" in her sentence. Just checking to see if anyone is paying attention, LOL.

Last week WADE BOGGS appeared and several bloggers thought of Hale Boggs. His widow, Lindy Boggs, who was well accomplished in her own right, died yesterday at age 97.

Argyle said...

Now Gary, I think more often the liar was in the gallery.

ON MY COMMAND fits the clue better, to start an action. Militarily, a leader would say the troops are AT MY COMMAND.

River Doc said...

YR, thanks for the gruntled / kempt link.

Lucina said...

HOLA, BLOGgers! I find it interesting, C.C., that The Crying Game was available in Cantonese but I suppose any movie can be translated. Nice BLOG, BTW.

I had a fun time with this puzzle as it seemed so dense with all kinds of expressions. We have WEDS, UNITES, AKELA (learned from XWDS), MUNG, and so on and yet a DNF. My Macedonian city was EDESSI as TESSA is not known nor is A TRIP with reference to anchors. I had ATRIA for some reason. Still it was fun.

Thank you, Ed Sessa which rhymes with TESSA. Was that intentional?

Have a splendid Sunday, everyone!

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone:

A clever and "entertaining" Sunday offering from Mr. Sessa with a sharp, concise expo from CC; thanks to you both.

When I didn't get the TADA, I was perplexed, but soon discovered the culprits: I had resods for resows, and sleds for slews. (Don't ask!) Anyway, an FBI-Finished But Incorrectly!

Thanks to Chickie, hola was a gimme!

Hatoolah @ 10:59 - I admire your gracefulness.

Have a great day.

stombs said...

A quibble: "You-uns" is a single address, not a plural. "You-unses" would be "urban addresses."

thehondohurricane said...

HG

Perry Mason

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Yep, C.C., this puzzle was A TRIP. The right side was a little crunchier than the left, but it all was gotten, eventually. Never utilized the theme, though, but the theme fill was sussed ok.
OGEE appears a lot. It is also the cross-sectional shape of the spillway of many DAMS.
KEMPT - Related to the German 'kÀmmen' - 'to comb';
'gekÀmmt' - 'combed'.
I thought EDESSA was in modern Turkey; C. C. confirmed it.

ed said...

Lucina - to answer your question, TESSA was not intentional, and I don't think I would have kept in an "unliked" word such as EDESSA except that it offered a sneaky way with the crossing S to get my name in the puzzle. Thanks for all the comments and critiques.

HeartRx said...

Good...mafternoon, all.

I started posting in the AM, but it will be PM by the time I'm done...

Great write-up, C.C. My yellow tea rose is going strong, and still has tons of buds. But I have a coral one that I love even more. Such an eye-catching color in the garden!

I was also looking for the theme as I solved, and finally gave up on about the fourth theme entry. And I stared at SEETHINGS and wondered how an adverb meaning "Very angry" could possibly be plural, or how it could mean hallucinate! Duh! Parse it, Marti!!

But with the reveal, all the entries seemed rock solid to me, and I thought it was very clever to come up with so many three letter phrases that were abbr. of networks.

Bill G. said...

OK, I finished it. A very pleasant and clever offering from Mr. Sessa. Thanks Ed and CC.

CC, there are six basic trigonometry ratios: Sine, Cosine, Tangent, Cotangent, Secant, Cosecant.

Seeing KEMPT was fun. It reminds me of the really GREAT essay from the New Yorker I reprinted a year or two ago called "How I Met My Wife" with lots of words like kempt and gruntled. Either CC or I can reprint it if anyone is interested.

Have a nice Sunday! Go Dodgers!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Made it through in the usual time today, what with a few unknowns here and there. Hello Ninja C.C.! I'm frequently amazed at your knowledge of American cultural bits & pieces. Today I wonder how you became familiar with Alice's Restaurant, the peculiar war protest song from Arlo Guthrie.

My first job out of college was in Pittsburgh. I was incompatible with the place, so I only stayed a year, but that was more than enough to have heard the "you-uns" word spoken by locals. At the time it was spelled "Yunz" in my experience. It was either singular or plural as far as I could figure.

Hello Yellowrocks - enjoyed the kempt link. Such words are fun. I think I commented once before about a favorite of mine, "underwhelmed". Maybe it'll be legitimate some day!

TTP said...

Dudley,

See my link Yinz at 8:50, which will also explain you-uns n'at.

How's the addition coming ? You under roof yet ?

Had to keep telling DW, "It's going to be nice, it's going to be nice." as we did ours. Mine took quite a while, but I did a lot of the work myself, and project managed the job.

Back to the yard work for now. Break time is over. The grass needs mowed. :>)

Anonymous said...

Would someone please explain atrip for "anchor position" to me? Thanks!

Yellowrocks said...

The anchor is aweigh or ATRIP when it is just drawn from its hold in the ground and hangs perpendicularly.
from WORDNIK

Ashamed-of-us said...

Can someone please explain how to use Google to me? Thanks!

Anonymous said...

There is no insignia for a Private; however, a single stripe is the insignia for a Private First Class. A Private is an E1 and a PFC is an E2.

Jayce said...

Keith Fowler's facial hair is more kempt than mine.

Lucina said...

Thank you, ED. I couldn't fail to notice that your name fairly jumped out of that corner.

There is so much learning here at the Corner. I am now especially starting to appreciate German with spitzboov's contributions. Thank you for that, Spitz.

Dudley said...

TTP 1:48 - I did see the Yinz link. It came as a surprise that the spelling shifted, if in fact it did. I got to thinking about it, and the best I can recall is that I got "Yunz" from the Pittsburgh version of those "How to Speak..." books, shown to me when I first arrived in 1982.

As for the construction project: it's actually a whole house, about 2000 square feet. The whole thing is up & roofed, except that the garage and mudroom are not roof-shingled yet. The various tradesmen are in doing rough plumbing and wiring. Windows, doors, and porch are next. the process has not been without problems, of course, but the builder is a reasonable guy and we work that stuff out.

We were warned, fair and square, that building a house is stressful. HOW TRUE!! Cost is the biggest thing, but additionally the decision-making just wears you down. I hope Marti can come over soon and assess the place, to give an unbiased report to the Corner.

Dudley said...

Anon 2:35 - I never realized that Private and PFC weren't the same. Thanks for that tidbit.

About Dill: I find I don't like the flavor of dill. A little goes a very long way, and I guess it's easy to overdo. Ninja C.C. has the right idea, using chive with potato. mmmmmm

Spitzboov said...

Anon @ 1435 - A private in the Army has ONE STRIPE and is an E2 according to the DOD web site. A PFC in the Army is an E3.

Lucina - You're welcome. Kazie and YR also post a lot of germane (no pun intended) material. I learn from them, too.

Avg Joe said...

Dudley, the decisions can be a bit challenging....but if you remember only these two responses your life will be easier: (1): Yes Dear. (2): Beige.

Desper Otto, I agree on Alice's Restaurant. I'd add, if you only listen to it once, make it on Thanksgiving.

Dudley said...

I've exercised the Yes Dear quite a bit.

Example: I hate whirly ceiling fans. She wants one right smack dab centered over the bed. Yes Dear.

Nuther example: I hate sliding screens on patio doors. She says the ten screened windows aren't enough air, the patio door has to be screened too. Yes Dear.

Nuther nuther example: I would love a maple floor. The lady sez no. Yes Dear.

Give me Strength

Jerome said...

Lucina- What's really interesting is Ed Sessa uses Edessa, which crosses Tessa. Coincidence? More than likely. But, I wouldn't bet on it.

Lucina said...

Jerome:
I wouldn't either. It's quite clever, really.

Anonymous said...

Spitz @ 3:44
In the US Army that I was in (1945-1953), a Private had no arm decoration. A Private First class had one chevron on his sleeve. Anon @ 14:35 was right!

CrossEyedDave said...

I'm back! (& with a sore back!)

The campsite we went to is not one we would normally have chosen because it is so beautiful it has become a tourist trap. But it is about 100 yards uphill from a stream that runs year round. I discovered it by accident about 2 years ago, & showed it to my friend Jamie last year. It looked like a Boyscout jamboree got caught in the rain because in addition to candy bar wrappers everywhere, there were sleeping bags, coats & pillows all over the place. When the mess was still there a year later, Jamie & I decided we had to so something, & spent an overnite there just to clean it up.

3- 30 gallon garbage bags later, it looks a lot better.

When we finally took a break, I opened the paper to find "A MARTI PUZZLE!" Since I knew the author, & the 1st theme clue was "camping sties," I just had to finish it!

(24 hours l8r) I am still working on this B*** of a puzzle! (Doesn't sound like Marti at all...) & because the ONLY PEN I HAD was "Red Ink" it was really annoying.

Because I busted my (expletive deleted) trying to finish, I think you should take this pic, & send it to LAT, & tell them they owe you $250.00 for the puzzle!

Dennis said...

anon@5:25, this puzzle wasn't done in the 40's or 50's. Currently, an Army Private (E-2) has one stripe; a PFC (E-3) has one stripe with a rocker.

CrossEyedDave said...

Lol! (Re: Friday) I just looked at my 16A entry & saw that my answer to the clue: far beyond the norm=ultra, was "wacko" (LOL!)

Re: Saturday

New cars without turn indicators?
(The Gov't would never allow it...)

Re: Melissa pics, when I 1st saw 133 pics, I was like (oh no!) but watching them all was really a hoot! only ,,, who was the the face with the sunglasses on a stick???
(OH) & @ 2:02pm,,, clicking links IS NOT OPTIONAL! However bailing from the link due to commercials is perfectly acceptable...)

Finally,, Mountain Dew Glow Sticks are a fraud!?!? Damn, & I was going to try & restore my headlights with toothpaste!

Career Lifer said...



This would be correct:

<a href="http://http://www.army.mil/symbols/armyranks.html>US Army Symbols and Insignias</a>

Anonymous said...

Can someone explain to me why my Sunday LA Times crossword is different than the one discussed in this blog??

Yellowrocks said...

I was fascinated by tonight's 60 Minutes because my master’s study/ thesis was about altruism in primary school age children. Tonight a segment dealt with altruism in babies. The studies reported by 60 Minutes showed that babies have an innate sense of justice. On the other hand, babies showed a built in bias towards others like themselves, even in trivial matters. A mixed bag. Further studies showed that older children who had been acculturated toward kindness were influenced towards being altruistic, as my thesis reported. So much to learn, so little time.
I just finished Mitch Albom’s The Time Keeper. Very odd, but very interesting. It teaches that our obsession with time binds us and makes us unfeeling. We should seize each moment and gratefully live in it. I have to be content to live in the moment. Carpe dium.

desper-otto said...

Anon@7:12 -- Just because it's called the L.A. Times Sunday Crossword doesn't mean that the L.A. Times is somehow associated with it. Actually, the newspaper syndicates the crossword, but chooses to print a different puzzle on Sundays. Go figure.

Bill G. said...

Anon (1:55), I wasn't familiar with the word ATRIP either. According to the online Free Dictionary, it means "Just clear of the bottom, no longer caught on the bottom, aweigh." Now we both have a new word in our vocabulary. (I see that Yellowrocks already answered this question. Now you have two answers.) :>)

Anon (7:12), I don't know why the LA Times does it the way they do but it confused me too at first. The print edition runs the Merl Reagle puzzle; the one we get here is different. I dunno why they do it but it's been that way for years. Both are high-quality Sunday puzzles. Take your pick. But if you want to talk about the same puzzle as the rest of us, the puzzle in the print edition won't be the right one.

As usual, I liked "Sunday Morning" today. There were enjoyable segments on tree houses and leis. Then it ended with the wonderfully emotional photo essay about a Bur Oak tree in Wisconsin. Great stuff!

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, C.C. For the fine review.

Could not get started in the NW, so started with MAST in the north center. Got ARGO, SLAT, and TORE easily. MA AND PA came much later.

First theme answer was THE CANDY MAN. My last to get was CLEAR BLUE SKIES. I could not figure the link from TV GUIDE for these until my last answer. Then it clicked.

My two cents on 31A you-UNS, rural addresses. I worked all around Pittsburgh for quite a few years. Pittsburgh is not rural, but a big city. Second largest in Pennsylvania. That is the way the locals (born and raised in that area) all talk. To me that term is a Pittsburgh and Ohio Valley "Pittsburghese". There are others: GUMMIES-rubber bands or sneakers. JUMBO-baloney. RED THE HOUSE-clean the house.

Took me forever to get DEALS TO for 10D for gives a hand. Had ASSISTS at first. Very clever clue.

I agree with C.C. For 117A, DILL. My favorite with potatoes is also chives. I grow chives in my garden. Slathering of butter and sour cream goes well with chives.

So what is KEW for 68A Royal Botanical Gardens locale?

On my way to PA. See you in the morning, hopefully in PA.

Abejo

(theycni)

Yellowrocks said...

I learned ATRIP from all those Royal Navy novels I read.
Poster @ 2:21. There is a beginning moment for everyone. I did secure several excellent books and resources but most of my computer learning has been on a need to know basis. I could’t learn computing as an end in itself. I am pragmatic. I need a job to accomplish or a fact I’m intensely curious about. Then I will move heaven and earth to get satisfaction.
The one hour Googling course I took left me cold and uneducated. I learned the most about Googling from crossword puzzles years before I found The Corner. I couldn’t wait for the next day to see the answers to those clues I didn’t know and those I “WAG”ed. I tried various searching strategies and became better and better refining my skills. The need to know spurred me on.
I hesitate to offer you advice because my self-taught strategy is probably unorthodox. Maybe one of our great computer techies will offer to let you email him/her for advice.

Bill G. said...

The Dodgers have a young, talented rookie named Puig who escaped from Cuba and was hired on by the Dodgers. He has a big ego and is a bit of a hot dog. However, he is a good hitter, runs fast and has a cannon for an arm.

I don't know much about Puig as a person and since he speaks little English, I don't know much about him from interviews. He seems to make dumb mistakes, sometimes more than once, like trying to steal third with two outs and a good hitter up. There is very little upside and a huge downside if he gets thrown out. But he's tried it several times. The coach must really have to grit his teeth and bite his lip. I wonder if he fusses at Puig when things like that happen. It must be hard to coach and teach a player with a big ego, who comes from poverty and is now making big bucks.

(An old joke that I'm repeating 'cause I like it so much.)
Imagine the coach getting frustrated finally and yelling at him something like, "You know what's wrong with you? You're ignorant and apathetic! Do you know what that means?"

Puig responds, "I don't know and I don't care."