Theme: Most telling put downs - Each humorous two-word answer consists of a noun preceded by a two-syllable verb
that indicates a negative action or feeling, and whose second syllable
connects with the noun to yield an in-the-language phrase, all clued as "Put down ..." Or to put it simply, DE is added to the start of each noun phrase.
17A. Put down toddlers? : DECRY BABIES. To DECRY is to publicly denounce. CRY BABIES complain, whether they have a reason to or not.
28A. Put down formal education? : DEGRADE SCHOOL. To DEGRADE is treat or regard someone with disrespect. GRADE SCHOOL
is the designation for grades 1 through some number between 5 and 8,
depending on whether your district has middle school and what year it
starts.
48A. Put down thoroughfares? : DEMEAN STREETS. DEMEAN means to cause a severe loss of dignity or respect. MEAN STREETS, besides being a 1973 Martin Scorsese movie, means a part of town known for violence and crime.
64A. Put down a rock genre? : DEBASE METAL. DEBASE means to reduce the value or quality of something. BASE METAL is something other than a precious metal. Copper, tin and zinc all qualify.
Hi
gang, JazzBumpa here. Rather a brilliant theme, IMHO. But I love word
play of all sorts. This kind of involuted pun is somewhat akin to the
old Tom Swifty. Kinda, sorta, maybe.
Across:
1. Stockpile : AMASS.
6. A.L. West player : ASTRO. Cellar dwellers from Houston.
11. Place to see reeds : FEN. Bog, swamp.
14. Like some trains and anesthetics : LOCAL. Odd pairing, but I can't quibble.
15. "Gigi" star Leslie : CARON. She was 27 when they made this movie. Maurice Chevalier was a bit older. My grandmother had a thing for him, as did Gigi's.
16. Pollution-policing org. : EPA. Environmental Protection Agency
19. It's in many poems : TIS. Keeping with the involution idea, it's "it's" turned inside out, Would a poet do that? 'TIS a shame.
20. Wirehair of whodunits : ASTA. Nick and Nora's terrier.
21. Start of a morning diner order : A CUP. Of coffee, tea, hemlock, bile . . .
22. Hunt illegally : POACH. Why would anyone ever illegally hunt an egg?
24. Petty of "A League of Their Own" : LORI. Can't say I remember her.
26. Sediment : LEES. Dregs in wine making.
33. Handle the helm : STEER.
35. They're not from around here, briefly : ET'S. Extra-Terrestrials.
36. Ship of Greek myth : ARGO. Jason and the Argonauts. They went for the gold, and got fleeced.
37. Rand who created Dagny Taggart : AYN. Worst! Novel! Ever!
38. Went by : ELAPSED.
42. The Matterhorn, e.g. : ALP.
43. Plumbing concern : DRIP.
45. GI entertainers : USO. United Service Organizations
46. British __ : ISLES. There are well over 100 of them. I'm rather fond of Islay.
52. Hook's sidekick : SMEE. He's getting to be a regular here.
53. Caesarean rebuke : ET TU. And you, Brutus? Very disappointing day for Julie.
54. "Me too!" : SO DO I.
57. Pay, as expenses : MEET.
59. Russian assembly : DUMA. Government council.
63. Fuss : ADO.
67. Spruce cousin : FIR. Evergreen trees.
68. Soothing application : SALVE. What -- not ALOE?!?
69. Cockamamie : INANE. Now, that's just silly.
70. Comics cry : EEK. I tawt I taw a mouse.
71. Ancestral diagrams : TREES. Not to be confused with 67 A.
72. Dumas swordsman : ATHOS. One of the musketeers. But shouldn't they have been the three swordsmen?
Down:
1. "The West Wing" Emmy winner : ALDA. Alan
2. Homer's hangout : MOE'S. 'Tis HOMER Simpson, not the Greek poet.
3. IRA part: Abbr. : ACCT. Individual Retirement Account.
4. Big name in frozen desserts : SARA LEE. Everybody doesn't like something . . .
5. Crafty : SLY. Like advertising slogans
6. Thorny shrub : ACACIA. With a strange flower.
7. "Elephant Boy" actor : SABU. Of 1940's movie fame.
8. Rare sights in nurseries : TRIPLETS. babies, not plants.
9. Lobster eggs : ROE. Fish eggs, too.
10. How many writers work : ON SPEC. Writing done without a guaranteed sale for the finished work.
11. Greek salad topper : FETA. What I had for dinner, with enough leftover for tomorrow's lunch. [Well, today, as you're reading this.]
12. Larger-than-life : EPIC.
13. 1950s Rambler maker : NASH. Compact car, famous, at the time.
18. Virologist who worked with Epstein : BARR. Wikipedia: The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), also called human herpes virus 4 (HHV-4), is a virus of the herpes family, and is one of the most common viruses in humans.
23. Worker protection agcy. : OSHA. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
25. Storybook baddie : OGRE.
27. To be, to Brutus : ESSE. Him again? Latin
28. Wrangler material : DENIM. Forever in blue jeans.
29. Station : DEPOT. A heavy handed station master is the DEPOT despot. Don't mess with his tea pot.
30. 47-Downs have to talk their way out of them : ORALS. Clever. Exams for certain students, like dental hygienists, perhaps.
31. Look at lecherously : OGLE. Makin' eyes.
32. Cuts off : LOPS.
33. H.S. sobriety crusaders : S.A.D.D. Students Against Destructive Decisions.
34. Spare, in Soho : TYRE. Spare tire, nor an extra of anything else. British spelling. Soho London.
39. Moon over Marseille : LUNE. French.
40. Put together : ASSEMBLE. Who assembled the DUMA?
41. Waist management : DIET. Cute.
44. Cuban cabbage? : PESO. Money.
47. Loan recipient, often : STUDENT. Of the collegial variety.
49. In the center of : AMIDST.
50. Popular pieces : REESE'S. Candy.
51. Rock follower? : ETTE. The famous dancing troupe at Radio City Music Hall. Granddaughter Amanda spent a week with them earlier this month. Still hate these affix clues, though.
54. Sound partner : SAFE.
55. Drooling comics dog : ODIE. From Garfield
56. Idiot : DORK. Is that really what this means?
58. Water-draining aid : EAVE.
It's raining here, and the downspout on my garage came disconnected from
the EAVE. I'll deal with it tomorrow. [Today, as you read this.]
60. Canyonlands National Park locale : UTAH.
61. Hand, to Jorge : MANO. Español.
62. Pub server's trayful : ALES.
65. Tuner's asset : EAR.
66. "Mamma __!" : MIA. Italian expression cum ABBA musical.
Well, among other things, we've had movies, song and dance, salad and a snack. Pretty filling, I'd say. Hope you enjoyed the excursion.
Cool regards!
JzB
83 comments:
Morning, all!
Really enjoyed the theme on this one. The fill overall was very smooth as well, although I struggled a bit in spots such as the ACACIA/CARON crossing. It didn't help that I had BABU instead of SABU at first for some unknown reason.
And can I just say, what a boring way to clue A CUP... ^_^
[avyndar]
Happy Wednesday everybody!
De Doc made this one a lot harder than it should’ve been. I was one letter off when entering MEAN STREETS, and so none of the possible latter perps made any sense (DEPOS? TEESES? RTTE?). After so much head scratching that I needed a SALVE, my INANE error was corrected and the Ta-Da was sounded….
The only “DEe” I got in GRADE SCHOOL was for penmanship – thank God for typewriters and later computers! Somehow, I was never too worried about this low mark….
Write-overs included EGGS for A CUP and DOLT for DORK. Still don’t agree with this last clue - a dork is a nerd, not an idiot. In fact, many dorks are quite brilliant, in their own (dorky) way….
WAGs = LEES, BARR and TREE (Huh? D’Oh!)….
SAFE is also a partner to SANE, as in boxed fireworks purchases….
Amusing to see ET and REESES Pieces in the same puzzle…!
The Giants are also cellar dwellers this season. They could become only the second team to go from first to worst in one season (at least the ‘97 Marlins had a legitimate excuse – their owner traded all their good players after winning the Series….)
Nobody doesn’t like SARA LEE. Except Chuck Norris….
Well, back to the grindstone….
Lori Riley played Kit Keller, Dottie's sister.
Who?
Good morning everybody. Another nice puzzle today. I always seem to have trouble with names, and BARR crossing LORI didn't help. Other than those two, it was smooth sailing.
I liked the clues for 50D: Popular Pieces: REESES, and 44D Cuban Cabbage? PESO.
Doha: I like your comment about "D" in grade school!
While I have a quiet moment I'm going to read all of your posts from yesterday. Always an entertaining way to spend some time!
Have a perfect day.
Mornin' to all,
IMHO, this was NOT a fun puzzle!
No struggle, just couldn't figure out what Pancho was up to!
Ferm @ yesterday: Glad to hear that Charlie is hanging in there.
Good morning Jazzbumpa, C.C. et al.
Fun puzzle, and an equally entertaining write up, Jazzb! I loved the link to "Little NASH Rambler." Hadn't heard that one in a loooong time! (Now I have an ear worm for the rest of the day!)
I sputtered and struggled to get going on this one.The ASTRO/CARON/ACACIA/SABU/BARR/LORI crossings were not coming easily to mind. I finally remembered the Epstein-BARR virus, which changed my "over" ("Start of a morning diner order" - must be "over easy", right??? Wrong,!) to A CUP...
Then everything started falling into place, and I finished in no time.
Happy hump day, everyone!
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Pancho Harrison, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for the fine review.
Regarding AYN Rand and Atlas Shrugged, I really enjoyed that book. Had quite a message. Took her ten years to write it. It was a long one, however.
My first theme answer was DEGRADE SCHOOL. Then I understood. The others came easier.
Tried MUGS for 62D before ALES became obvious.
ACACIA is one of my favorite plants.
SABU was unknown, perped it.
I have eaten my fair share of FETA cheese in my life.
I always thought SADD meant Students Against Drunk Driving, so I learned something today. Thank you Jazz.
Did not know BARR for 18D. I wanted to enter SALK at first, but held off. Perped it.
Off to my day. Going to Reza's for dinner tonight in Oak Brook.
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(geesje)
SADD changed their name in 1997.
I liked this puzzle. I started at the bottom. I wanted heavy metal or something related to a rock band. I filed in debase metal but didn't get it until I read the write up. It is hard to let go of an idea. The other parts of the puzzle were very clever and fun.
I know we have not talked about corn for a while.. But I was in the northeast last week and was able to buy a dozen for 3.50. It was soo good. You just can't find really good sweet corn in texas..
Thanks for the write up..
Good morning everyone. Good well explained intro, JzB.
Piece of cake today. Monday feel. Got DE…… early with DEBASE METAL, and tried the DE prefix on the other theme phrases and; voilà!, BARR came near the end; having remembered Epstein-Barr. Liked the LOCAL clue. Local is heavily used with both, very different words and contexts. Love REESES pieces. Favorite birthday 'cake' is Reeses ice cream cake by Friendly's.
Good job, Pancho.
Have a great day.
I'm late to the party today. A little pug followed us home on our walk yesterday. We finally located the owner, but he works nights, so it was this morning before we could coordinate a reunion. Both owner and dog seemed happy.
This puzzle stirred lots of memories. My grandfather used to drive me out to watch the city team's baseball practice on Tuesday nights. And he drove that NASH to Florida every winter -- he died when I was 4. We just had REESE'S pieces in BILL G's candy quiz the other day.
MANO reminded me of what's gotta be the absolute worst movie ever made: Manos, The Hands Of Fate.
I also fell into the SALK/BARR trap, and my LEES started out as SILT. Otherwise, it was a very straight-forward solve today. Enjoyed it.
Islay? Is that pig latin, JzB?
Hi there~!
Greast write-up, JazzB~!
I had (orchestra) PIT for a place for reeds - thought I was being clever.
I tried making a crossword with a similar theme, using "DELIGHT" - never got it right tho.
And a MEAN STREET(S) music link
Splynter
Hi. I couldn't get ASTRO, CARON, A CUP, LEES or NASH. I had QUINTETS and not TRIPLETS so I had the right idea but it was no help getting the perps.
Good Morning:
Today's offering is one that leads me to the question (as is so often the case) "How do these constructors come up with such imaginative themes?". It continues to amaze me.
Nice job, Poncho, and great expo, JazzB.
Isn't today Tin's birthday? If so, best wishes, Tin, for a super day with a bit of Pinch!
Have a great day.
Although the Astros are cellar dwellers now I still love and support my home team! They will once again be contenders and fierce competitors. Until then, all can keep laughing.
Thanks for the puzzle and blog.
I missed SABU, TRIPLETS, and BABIES so a DNF. There were others I didn't know but perps came to the rescue.
For several months I have always had a big white space where a YouTube video is posted in the blog. For whatever reason, they were both there and worked on my iPad this morning. The blog is still great to read every morning, even without videos.
Have a good day, everyone,
Montana
Beep! Beep! I drove a 1959 Mauve Nash Rambler which my dad bought during my senior year in H.S. I didn't have a new car to drive again until 2003.
A fun puzzle, Pancho! Always enjoy your humor, JazzB. I didn't realize there were so many British Isles.
I got the theme with DECRY & DEGRADE but thought the followup words were too easy to be correct so didn't fill them in until the perps proved up.
Didn't know know SABU or DUMA or BARR, although after I got the latter, it did make more sense. Roseanne was the only BARR that first came to mind.
62D Beer? Mugs? Pitchers? no ALES. What ails me?
My favorite dessert right now is the Reeces Pieces pie slice at KFC. Only allow myself one every two weeks with grilled chicken and coleslaw.
Montana, I have an IPad too, and I too used to have a white space, where the youtube videos used to be posted, on this blog. I figured that was due to the enmity between Apple and Microsoft, and Google. I gradually got used to it. Que sera sera....
But, today, it's all there , and what serendipity !! - And I loved, loved , loved the song of the Little Nash Rambler. Heard it four times already .....
Thank you Pancho Harrison for a wonderful puzzle, and JazzB for a wonderful blog. Loved the puzzle, the solve and the blog, most of all.
I must read more about the Epstein Barr virus. I too, had Salk ( Sabin wouldn't fit - ), before I got Barr. Probably one of Roseanne's ex-boyfriends .... ( actually, it was a woman, Yvonne Barr, a doctoral student of Epstein ... ...)
And,I also need to read on Ayn Rand. Maybe I should read Atlas Shrugged, all over again. I think her philosophy was on the freedom of the individual and on our fundamental rights, and government non interference, and on laissez faire economics ......
JazzB, since your other blog is on economics, I'm sure you're in the know, that a person, no less than Alan Greenspan, was an ardent admirer of Ayn Rand ..... And started a fan club for her. ..
Have a good day, you all.
Just had to post this coincidental (although reversed) captcha: cussedDe.
I enjoyed the clue for TIS. I usually get a kick out of misdirections buried within the clue.
This Wednesday pzl seemed easier than usual, almost at a Monday level. My only re-write was DORK for DOLT.
Trivia: Leslie CARON was once married to Sir Peter Hall. She was a sometime hostess at Royal Shakespeare dos when I was a student in Stratford several decades back.
Vidwan,
I too read and enjoyed Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead. But I was 20 at the time and knew little or nothing about life.
Do a little research on Ayn Rand and you'll find that late(r) in her life she ended up living and surviving in circumstances very counter to her philosophy.
Religious fundamentalists who espouse her philosophy conveniently forget that she was a life long atheist.
As for Greenspan, it was his acolytes and policies that blew up the economy 5 years ago.
Not politics, anon; economics. 101.
Jazz: Excellent write-up ... with the line of the year:
"Why would anyone ever illegally hunt an egg?" (POACH)
After DEGRADE SCHOOL fell, the other themes were easy.
Actually remembered SABU was the "Elephant Boy" actor and LORI Petty from "A League of Their Own."
ONLY needed 4 perps to get BARR.
Of course, my fave today was ALES.
Irish Miss @10:02: My B-Day was last Friday.
But I'm sure Pinch will make an appearance today (soon!).
Cheers!!!
Good morning Bumpa, C.C., and all,
Loved the word play, Pancho.
Humorous write-up, Bumpa.Enjoyed the Gigi link.
Started off by googling the A.L. West teams.(sigh) I wanted to put Giant, but thought roe was correct.Looked up Barr also since a cup was not a gimme....nor were lees and eave. I ended up wagging duMa/Mano to finish. WAGG to MADD to SADD.
Jason and the Argonauts was a class favorite after completing a mythology unit.The animation was ahead of its time.
I remember enjoying Atlas Shrugged, but then it probably was because I was so pleased with myself for reading such a large book way back then.
Have a beautiful day.CA could sure use that rain to help put out that wild fire.
Hello again windy,
As easy as it would be to agree with you in lockstep, I prefer to form my own thoughts and opinions from my personal experiences and philosophies. Yours are well documented here and are truly predictable. I, however, will continue to live under my preferred precepts and conclusions.
Greetings, Friends. I enjoyed your expo, Jazz. TIS very funny.
This was a quick and easy frolic. DEGRADESCHOOL gave me the theme gimmick then I started each one with DE- and sashayed right along.
I chuckled at the pairing of "trains and anesthetics" which seemed so diverse, but they can both be LOCAL.
Cute and clever clues:
waist management, DIET
popular pieces, REESES
(thought of Bill G.'s candy puzzle)
Tricky clue: A CUP
We've seen that one clued differently!
Have a wonderful Wednesday, everyone!
My lasting image of LORI PETTY is the scene from 'Point Break' when she changes out of her bikini into street clothes on the roadside next to her car. Mmmmmm, sexy! Tried to find on youtube but no joy so far.
Did some research of her to find out she lived in Omaha before her acting career. She seems to be a free spirit and creative differences on the set of 'Demolition Man' caused her to lose her role to Sandra Bullock and derailed her career.
Hollywood seems like a place where it is very easy to get blackballed if you are not in the proper cliques.
Hi Hank,
As is your and everyone's right and responsibility as a citizen. My most common complaint is "received knowledge" wherein a person has done no independent thinking.
One nit: my personal beliefs and behavior have evolved (read:changed) over many years, so I mildly disagree with "truly predictable". That said, I'm fully aware that my worldview is far from universal, and that I have no right to try and impose it on anyone. I do reserve the right to make a case for it.
We all live in the same world (physically); how we experience it is deeply personal. Your point is taken, here's mine.
Fun theme, Pancho--many thanks! But this was still a bit of a Wednesday toughie for me, even though I eventually got it all. Had the same problems with the upper middle as Marti and Mari (e.g. the crossing of BARR and LORI). And I too thought SADD stood for Students against Drunk Driving. But still a lot of fun, especially all the BABIES and TRIPLETS, and a very helpful, great expo by JazzB.
Saw a clip from MAMMA MIA last week and tried to remember if Meryl Streep was really bad in that movie for the first time in her life. I love seeing her daughters on TV, though--both charming.
Have always loved Leslie CARON too!
I read AYN Rand right after high school and even then thought her politics pretty much consigned the poor and downtrodden to hell, by implication. Did I get it wrong?
Have a great Wednesday, everybody!
Tin @ 11:52 - Please forgive my mental lapse re your birthday. I can't believe I forgot this in less than a week. But I think CED shares some of the blame as I thought he referenced the 28th the other day when he was teasing you about those ice cube thingies. In any case, birthday or not, enjoy a Pinch, or two! (-:
BTW, weatherwise, the 3 H's are back, at least through Monday.
Misty, I am familiar with Mery's daughter, Mamie, from The Good Wife but I can't place a second daughter. What has she been in?
Musings
-A very adequate humpday offering
-Have you ever let your driver’s license ELAPSE?
-My family came from Heiden, Switzerland which is at the foot of an ALP and above Lake Constance. Beautiful!
-Denim pants are made for every size not on a DIET
-ET loved REESES Pieces. Why Mars declined having its M&M’s in the movie
Hi gang -
I read Atlas Shrugged when I was 17, and at that age it impressed me. But I was young and didn't know any better. Now - all politics aside - in my view, it is a poorly plotted, terribly characterized, wordy, overblown, clumsily written manifesto of a genuinely ugly and unworkable world view, masquerading as a novel.
But if you think selfishness is a virtue and altruism is a vice [that really is the whole thing in a nutshell,] then you might be quite comfortable with it. To each his own, and have a nice day. But also recognize that Rand was an atheist, something many of her present day fans chose to ignore, and, as has been pointed out, she did end up relying on the hated government dole.
So far as I can tell, she had no sense of irony.
And if you have libertarian tendencies, you might as well know that she hated libertarians.
If you like stories about the success of mythical American-style rugged individualism with a strong libertarian bent, Heinlein is a LOT more entertaining. Time Enough For Love is a rambling, picaresque tour de force, and Glory Road is unadulterated raucous fun.
Manos, Hands of Fate was an unbelievably bad movie, but a great MST3K episode.
Cool regards!
JzB
Misty,
Ayn Rand's politics do not "consign the poor and downtrodded to hell." They put themselves there all on their own.
Her philosophy is one of selfishness: take care of yourself, because no one else will (or should).
As long as were talking politics and opinions, don't you find it interesting that today our Nobel Peace Prize winning President is orating about about peace and the love of our fellow man, yet tomorrow he will bomb the sh*t out of Syria, no doubt killing hundreds of human beings?
God bless America.
Anon@2:47p
The irony doesn't stop there. The POTUS is upset that Assad killed some rebels using illegal weapons but the USA has been killing these same rebels(al quaeda) with any means possible(drones) for over 12 years. So now we fight for the terrorists that brought down the twin towers. All for one and one for all!
This is gonna get interesting. Better make some popcorn!
Cease and desist. This is not an appropriate discussion for this blog. NO POLITICS!
Extra butter on mine, Joe. :) Hold the salt though, it could get rubbed into the wounds.
All those above have a point. So do I, which is why I usually wear a hat.
JazzB; yes.
Hi everybody! I got the theme early on and it helped with the solving. I wouldn't have thought Dork meant Idiot exactly but the more I thought about it, I think it's OK. Most online dictionaries agree. Dork: a dull, slow-witted, or socially inept person. I enjoyed your witty writeup JzB.
I enjoyed The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged in college though I don't remember why. Since then, I've evolved and moved on.
We had a retired teachers' breakfast this morning, always held on the first day of school.
Once again it's the usual suspects.
I read Atlas Shrugged many, many years ago and thought it was vastly overblown and overrated. Definitely it would not make any list of the best books.
In all seriousness, I picked up a paperback copy of Atlas Shrugged at a garage sale 30 some years ago, but never got around to it. In the fall of 2008 when the financial world was tottering on the brink, I dug it out and read it.....took nearly a year.
The greatest irony I can see with the modern day fans is that they all see themselves as Hank Rearden or Dagney Taggart, never realizing they are just a part of the huddled masses with vacant looks on their faces. Even though it's romanticized in the book, there are only a few dozen Captains of industry. Everyone else is cannon fodder.
JazzB summed it up very well!
Have another pain pill A...hole
From 6:22 AM Change Riley to Petty. Riley was nibbling on my slippers at that time.
LOL
Boy, do I feel ignorant! I never even heard of Ayn Rand until I started doing crosswords a few years ago.
PK @ 1614 - I had forgotten that I had heard of her until getting into crosswords some time ago. She has a very convenient 3 letter first name very useful to puzzledom. We need words like eel, o'er, ait, and Uzi, too. Then there's 'atrip'.
Windhover and Jazzbumpa, I appreciate your opinions.
Actually, everybody, I appreciate your opinions.
Wees, (except for the political comments...) I started slowly, but this time the theme helped immensely. A Cup gave me fits, & dork was unexpected. However the "DE" theme always brings me back to one thing... Um, er,, sorry,,, two things...
The Little Nash rambler link was wonderful. I haven't heard that in ages. Beep Beep,
But at the end, I was struggling because for some reason I put Homers Hangout as "Mel's", but of course, the theme came to the rescue & I had to change it to Moe's.
Irish Miss, I believe her other daughter's name is Grace Gummer and that she plays the young woman on the Romney team in this season's "The Newsroom." She reminded me so much of Mamie Gummer that I checked the credits the last time we watched the show, and there it was. Here's a short piece about her on a blog: http://blog.aarp.org/2013/08/19/the-gummer-girls-follow-mom-into-acting/
There are very few novels written that propagate such passionate opposing opinions as does AYN's, which was published over 50 years ago. So, if just for that, it is, undoubtedly, an impressive literary feat.
[helprd] (no kidding. what does rd stand for?)
Greetings!
Enjoyed your puzzle, Pancho, and your coverage, Jazz!
No problems. Really a speed run for a Wednesday.
Happy hump day!
Am I the only one who's wondering who Hondo's opening line at 3:59 was directed at?
Or am I just the only one not in on the joke?
I would say it was directed towards himself...he has a bad wing.
I think Hank has it right. It started when put Lori Reilly instead of Lori Petty, so I said Who?
He has rotator cuff problems and I believe Reilly is his dog(a sweetheart, from the looks), hence pain pills and Reilly's distraction caused the typo.
3:59 was explanation of 6:22.
I always wanted to be 'cool' but I never really was. The cool kids in my high school and college were in fraternities. At Cornell, I was in a co-op that suited me very well but we weren't cool. At lunch today, I was looking around and noticed some young adults. To be cool these days, here's some things I'd have to work on. They tended to laugh loudly, at stuff that didn't seem particularly funny. They all paid more attention to their thumbs on their smart phones than to each other. Most of them said 'like' a lot; often several times in one sentence.
Fiddling with my new DVR, I came across some old reruns of Cash Cab. Partly because of the host, I really like that show, about as well as Jeopardy. I don't like 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' much at all. Most of the questions are about impossibly arcane trivia.
re: windy@12:21
Thats the difference between you and me, windy, I don't feel a need to make a case for my thoughts.
Bill G., I loved Ben Bailey in "Cash Cab" and always looked for his cab number 1G12 or 7N78 when I was in NYC. But then they made a spinoff in Chicago with Beth Melewski. Ugh!! She just didn't have Ben's sense of humor of delivery. Where are you seeing re-runs??
Splynter/9"48'
Awesme musical link
Ah the good old days of Lois,Carol, Dennis and Jeannie double entendres, C A's poems, Wolf Mom paintings and Windhover expressing opinions. And Buckeye.
Anyway, thanks JzB and Pancho who penned our first LATimes puzzle
Lemonade, yeah, I miss 'em too. Fun times.
Animal Tracks slide show.
Marti, yes I didn't like the Beth spinoff in Chicago either. Ben's personality makes all the difference. I found the reruns on one of the local independent stations, KDOC, though I think I've found it in the past on other stations including PBS or The Discovery Channel. They aren't making new shows anymore though I can't imagine why not since, when I Googled it, it was very popular. Dirty Jobs got cancelled too. Aargh!
Lemonade, Dennis what we need is some inventive genius Lois, Jeanne, Carol and Buckeye and Hawkeye look alikes.
Dennis, you take the first two characters, Lemon, you take the next two and I'll be Buckeye Bob.
Now I need some super REM sleep, so I can practice his style.
Now, what did buckeye Bob sound like ?
Where is Harvey ?
Lemon, don't forget Dick and Melissa, who rarely tunes in.
JzB, thanks for your take on Ayn Rand. I have no memory of that book, but I'm sure I'm a different person today than I was at 18... a very impressionable age.
Dennis and Lemonade
I agree with you both. Even since I have been lurking around here it seems to have changed for whatever reasons of the day. Not enough to keep me from lurking of course....... :)
Dennis have you finished that Thanksgiving Day puzzle yet..... ?? :)
Hope you all have a great Labor Day holiday.
thelma
Those days are gone forever, you oldies who mourn for the wonderful repartee of the past. How is this supposed to make the newer current posters feel? We try, but just don't measure up? Boo! Hiss! Sorta like some guy who cries on the shoulder of his second about how wonderful his first wife was and wonders why she'd unhappy and probably will also divorce him. Get a clue!
Good Eve All:
Wow, what a day to miss the fun. The client computers I'm working on are secured, so no blogging there...
The pzl was fun. Thanks Mr. Harrison & JazzB for the entertaining pzl & write up and fodder for comment.
Never the less, a DNF. I got the themes (fun!), but the names in Mid-north did me in. ASTRO was almost a DNF. I went through the teams in my head and thought, wait there are 5 in all leagues now... Doh! Home town team. We couldn't have had that clue last year :-) I do miss the NL though.
WEES re: favs. ASTA made me laugh.
Splyner - VH! 'Nuff Said.
Bill G. - Did you get those speakers?
Before logging on tonight I was livid. Daughter brought me her Geometry quiz. 53. Ouch. I wasn't mad at that, just a quiz. No, I checked her homework (intro to planes). I asked do you know what a plane is? No. Well what did your teach say? She didn't she just wrote on the board. That's when I flipped! You can't learn geometry from definitions on a board! And this is PAP (Pre-advanced placement - new cross-word ans). Bill G. & HG - thoughts?
/rant
My introduction to Rand was 2112 from Rush. Great song! Not so great philosophy. But both pure freedom or pure "for the good" is dystopian to me. As I've aged, I see we _are_ our brothers keeper - even if, one could argue, for the selfish reasons of them not infecting us with their deseases (healthcare) or harrasing us as we go down the street (welfare). i.e. pay _them_ to leave _us_ alone, as it were.
Of course, I also don't like to see folks starve.
My three laws of Human-ics is:
1. Take care of self
2. Take care of family
3. Take care of others
in that order (1 precedes 2, because if I'm not doing my part, I'm no good to anyone).
Cheers,
-T
T - All in all, a pretty good philosophy.
PK - Since you and I have seemed to have some rapport and things in common, I'll explain the difference, and, I think what Lemonade and Dennis mean by their comments.
You say you are PK, a farm widow who still owns a farm somewhere on the Great Plains. I'm sure you're just that. But you could just as easily be a guy living in his mother's basement in Peoria.
On the other hand, when Lois came to Lexington for her daughter's wedding, we met for drinks. When Lucina came east, my wife and I had dinner with her and a friend. ClearAyes, another Lois, once had the password to my Google account so she could change my avatar occasionally, since I couldn't do so on my iPhone. I have a large painting on the wall of my house done by the California artist known here as Wolfmom. I could go on.
I know we "old timers" are all quite happy that this crossword blog created by CC has been so successful. But it was and is something more than just a discussion of the days puzzle. How many things can you say about a Monday puzzle after "speed run"? And the Saturday puzzles regularly kick my ass, not all of which I can blame on not owning a TV since 1973. They're simply often beyond my abilities. But I read the commentary anyway, and not just to improve my skills.
This still is a community of sorts, but not the the same sense it was before. I don't think our indulging in some nostalgia for that time constitutes an insult to you or any other new posters, and we certainly don't begrudge your presence. I find you and many of the other "new" folks interesting and a positive development (though not as interesting as it would be if you really were a guy in his Mom's basement. That would be tres cool.)
The other "new" development is that each of us seems to have our own personal anon tormenter. Mine is actually more benign than some of the others, though no less annoying. (We'll find out shortly if he/she stays up late. )
Good night.
"PK", you miss the point. Nobody said the blog now is bad - it's just gone in a different direction. It's still an excellent blog in which to participate, otherwise those of us who reminisce about those raucous, DF days would be long gone. It's kinda like those 'remember?' emails we all get about the things of the past: we miss them, but we also enjoy we have now.
Different doesn't mean bad.
JD, good point, especially Melissa.
aka thelma, yes, and it was a lot of fun, and took forever. I did email you eons ago to thank you and tell you how much I enjoyed it; it was really great of you to send it.
anon @10:29, if I "took" those first two, I'd probably never be heard from again.
For those who don't know what RUSH (the band, not the radio personality) is I found this . It's not too METAL (actually, I consider it prod-rock).
WWS (Windhover) - in a way this is a little community of folks who like crosswords and mostly get along. Seldom are the "blue" people snarky. People are honest about their failings in the pzl and we can say "Even I knew that" and feel smart, or "Barry G didn't get it either, I don't feel so dumb" While we touch on third-rails, most keep it pzl related and in good humour. Franky, this is a much nicer and sweeter group of folks that Rex's NYT site.
And who knows, you might get a recipie for meatballs. I'm going to have to work this weekend Lucina, so I have to wait :-(
Cheers, -T
AnonT, I looked at some of the reviews of the Logitech speakers in the $20 - $80 range. The reviews were very mixed with regard to quality. Though it's hard to tell from their ads, I'm thinking all of them are powered from the wall or an AC adapter. But, my older speakers seem to have cured themselves, and when they're working OK, I'm happy with their improvement over the computer speakers. Chet Atkins on Pandora is sounding great as I type. So, if it ain't still broke...
So much to comment on just now. I need to be careful and thoughtful because it's easy for me to get misinterpreted if I don't choose my words carefully.
I had kind of the same thoughts as PK; I felt as if I and the other newer folks apparently don't quite measure up to some of the missing oldtimers. I know that wasn't what was said, but it still left me with a little bit of that impression. I enjoyed all of those old-timers and their contributions too. Still, that I know of, nobody made them disappear and most of us including CC (I'm guessing) would be pleased if they would reappear. So I for one invite them all back because I always enjoyed reading what they had to say. (Dennis, I read what you wrote after I had written all of this. I agree; things are different but not bad.) BTW, I may have the one who was inadvertently mostly responsible for Buckeye's departure. It certainly wasn't intended.
Bill G:
I guess I don't know what fun it was before I joined, but I like everyone here (ex. Friday Snark). I have held back once or thrice (another fun word), just to stay within community norms. As a noob, I don't want to be the a** (or speak and show my ignorance).
Any thoughts on how to approach daughter's Geometry teacher? If she really is writing the definitions of lines and planes on the board, I want to encourage her to make the STUDENTS (whew, x-word ref) visualize lines, planes, conics, etc. Email me directly if you want to take off-blog and still have my work email
Re: speakers - "if it workie, no touchie" :-) Cheers, -T
Dennis.... glad you enjoyed the puzzle.... won't be too long before it is turkey day again.... :) :)
I am really sorry tho that I didn't get your email after you finished the puzzle... :( I really must check my spam ? closer... :)
Hope you all have a good rest of the nite...
thelma
This blog is fun, yet there is a definite heirarchy. It takes 20 years to join the assencion. Good Luck to you.
@12:53 Anon
I'm sure there's the "1%" that posts the main page, but for the most part, "going blue" and posting interesting ideas / questions is really all it takes to get accepted around here - at least from my experience.
Hierarchies exist in all communities - the "elders," the brightest, the strongest, what ever. Bill G, HG, YR, Lucina, et.al., have been here longer than I (here being the blog and the planet) so, deference is warranted.
C.C. is the founder, so I'm sure she's the boss, but it seems she spreads the wealth to "good" solvers (not me!) and interesting posters / linkers. I've off-blogged with her, and she seems sweet and non-pretentious.
Heck, I'm probably even the worst solver here, but I have fun both w/ x-word and everyone's day-to-day. YMMV.
Of course, I may not be aware of a sub-text here, so...
-T
AnonT, sorry. I meant to reply to your questions earlier but I got sidetracked. The truth is, I don't know how to reply. I would know better if I saw how the teacher explained things. Points, lines, planes, etc. aren't real things. They are concepts that are useful in dealing with geometrical ideas. A point is infinitely small; just an imaginary location. A line is infinitely long and infinitely thin but we draw things that represent the concept of a line. If I were explaining the concept of a plane, I would say that it represents an infinitely large, infinitely thin surface. I would say it's like the idea of a table top or the floor except that they aren't perfectly flat, aren't infinitely thin and don't extend forever. Then we'd talk about these ideas and show how we draw and represent these imaginary concepts with real things. It ought to take five minutes or so to get these ideas across and I don't think I could do a good job by just writing on the board. Maybe a good PowerPoint presentation would work but I always trust my ability to explain the concepts and answer questions.
Is this an experienced teacher with a decent reputation? Your daughter may get used to her way of getting the concepts across. If not, you better be prepared to add your two-cents worth in (or else import me into Texas for some tutoring). :>)
Good luck with all this. I hope I've helped a little.
BillG
I've not met the teacher yet, so DD (dear daughter) may not be telling everything. From DD, the teacher doesn't "say" anything about the lesson, but writes it on the board and say's copy it, quiz tomorrow, here's the homework.
I spent 1.5hr explaining and getting DD to visualize planes in space - how many times can they intersect? What do you see where they intersect? What if they are ||? I took DD 3-D too to create a point at 3 intersections - she started to get it.
All of my great teachers were animated and "showed" things so you could see it in your head. Two calc professors (married) were both in the "rocket racket" in their days and made it real. I can still do most of it in my head (I'm EE, not math).
I was just curious how you'd respond if a guy came in, and, after assessing, said your pedagogy needs work? My DW usually handles issues at school, but her PhD is in English. This one's on me.
Thanks for the response I'll email you so we can take this off-blog if you want to advise. Oh, and if you want a junket to TX, make sure it's October or March :-)
Thanks 5 - I'm out. -T
After reading tonight's posts, I have come to a conclusion.
I think we should all refrain from contributing to the blog unless we are of the raucous originals.
So only dennis, lemony, windy, dick, melissa, lois, carol, jeannie, lucina, jzb and wolfmom need apply.
Wouldn't that be a quiet blog?
Over post - but here it goes @1:38a Anon...
Just splinter the group and make your own Raucous LAT Corner. Blogger.com is free, but daily is a commitment. I'll visit, I just won't be allowed to post. If it holds, sweet, more fun! Let us know. -T
PK,
If I were perfectly happy with the old days when the blog was dominated by a very few who enjoyed mostly DF talk, I would not have limited the post to 5/per day or capped the post length.
We lost readers then because the blog tone was way too DF heavy. Anyone remember Chris From LA?
I can't be more happier with the blog these days. Caring posters, quality posts. This is the best group we've had.
Bill G,
Re: Buckeye. You over-thought. Some withdrew because of health reason. Some got bored & found other interests. People come and go.
I thought it was a very good puzzle. Failed at the M that intersected at DUMA and MANO. Thank you Pancho and thank you JzB.
I've been out of my routine the last 3 weeks or so, and not posting as I normally would. I enjoy the write ups every day. I also enjoy most of the blog posts, but have grown a bit weary of the personal attacks.
A belatedly Happy Birthday to those I may have missed, such as Chickie, Tinbeni, Montana, Lemonade and Vidwan. Hope I didn't miss anyone.
I find Lemonade's 9:39p comment most offensive.
Dennis' @ 12:07a was a close second.
Windy's @ 11:56p feels like when someone hugs you and leaves a "kick me" sticker on your back.
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