google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, October 7, 2013 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

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Oct 7, 2013

Monday, October 7, 2013 Gail Grabowski and Bruce Venzke

Theme: Make Your Bed - You may not want to sleep in these beds, formed by putting the first word of the theme entries at the HEAD of BED.

20A. *Space-saving computer monitor : FLAT SCREEN. Flat bed, I think of trucks.

59A. *Title racehorse in a 2003 film : SEABISCUIT. Sea bed. Seabiscuit is named for his father, Hard Tack, as hardtack or "sea biscuit" is the name for a type of cracker eaten by sailors.

11D. *Start-up capital : SEED MONEY. Seed bed, time to get them ready for winter.

35D. *Jalapeño, for one : HOT PEPPER. Hot bed, a central point of activity but originally a rack where hot metal was placed to cool.
 
Reveal entry:

40A. Untidy waking-up hair condition, and what the first word of the answers to starred clues can be : BED HEAD. Not a problem for the follically challenged.

Sleepyhead Argyle here. [yawn] A nice start to the week today. Notice the scarcity of abbreviations.

Across:

1. A dromedary has one : HUMP. (Camel)

5. Smart guy? : ALECK. Complete with the K at the end.

10. Exec's "I need it now!" : ASAP. (As Soon As Possible)

14. Black-and-white snack : OREO. Food!

15. Military training group : CADRE. Déjà vu.

16. Actress Hatcher : TERI

17. Like a clock reading 5:05 at 5:00 : FAST. Unless it still reads 5:05 at 6:00.

18. "Eat!" : "DIG IN!". Food!

19. Tenant's expense : RENT

22. Fateful March day : IDES

23. Equipment on a balance sheet, e.g. : ASSET

24. Immunity builder : SERUM

26. Cuban dance : RUMBA. I might dance, if I had enough Cuba Libre.

30. Defective cars : LEMONS

33. Devious laughs : HEHs

36. "That stings!" : "OUCH!"

38. Often __: about half the time : AS NOT. Whole different meaning with a different parsing.

39. Foofaraw : ADO. The origin(1930–35) of foofaraw is uncertain but it may be related to visual mish-mash.

42. Historical span : ERA

43. Posh : RITZY

45. Freezer bag feature : SEAL

46. Bluish hue : CYAN. I'd say a bit more than -ish.

47. Go away : DEPART

49. Southern speech feature : DRAWL

51. Turn out to be : END UP

53. Zodiac transition points : CUSPS

57. Arizona Indian : HOPI

63. Mont Blanc, par exemple : ALPE. French

64. Rabbit relatives : HARES

65. Foreign Legion cap : KEPI. Also French.


66. Falsehoods : LIES

67. "Fame" singer Cara : IRENE. Clip(3:55)

68. First family's garden site? : EDEN

69. Oater stronghold : FORT. In the old Westerns.

70. Tickle pink : ELATE

71. Cubicle furnishing : DESK

Down:

1. Labor leader who vanished in 1975 : HOFFA. Jimmy.

2. Range dividing Europe and Asia : URALS

3. Southwestern tablelands : MESAs

4. Kiln users : POTTERS

5. Adaptable, electrically : AC/DC

6. Wilderness home : LAIR

7. Rim : EDGE

8. Reacts to a tearjerker : CRIES

9. Pet's home away from home : KENNEL

10. Some hotel lobbies : ATRIUMS. Or atria.

12. "Rule, Britannia" composer : ARNE. Thomas, Wiki link.

13. Depressing situation, with "the" : PITS. Déjà vu.

21. Early Beatle Sutcliffe : STU

25. Enjoy King and Koontz : READ. (Authors)

27. Cohort of Curly : MOE. (Stooges)

28. Future blossoms : BUDS

29. Felt pain : ACHED

31. Director Ephron : NORA

32. Kenton of jazz : STAN


33. Difficult : HARD

34. Falco of "The Sopranos" : EDIE

37. Listen to : HEAR

40. Polar explorer Richard : BYRD

41. Menu words : À LA

44. Most off-the-wall : ZANIEST

46. Sounded like a chicken : CLUCKED

48. Buttocks, informally : TUSHIE

A bit different from Stan Kenton, eh?

50. Loos, for short : WCs. (water closet)

52. Necklace gem : PEARL

54. Soft leather : SUEDE

55. Plumber's concerns : PIPES

56. Reek : STINK

57. Football game division : HALF

58. Hodgepodge : OLIO

60. Real estate measurement : AREA

61. Curved : BENT

62. "That makes sense" : "I SEE"


Argyle


51 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Smooth solve today, although I did think the cluing was off in a few spots for a Monday. Of all the STANs out there, is Mr. Kenton rally that famous? Never heard of him, personally. And why clue AREA with regard to real estate (I tried ACRE at first).

In other news, I think that might be the first time I've ever seen TUSHIE in print, although I certainly heard it often enough growing up...

[ductct]

OwenKL said...

SEEDBED
The outlook was not very sunny
Bob's rival was nobody's honey.
But he quit in a flash
When Bob offered him cash;
Don't call it a bribe, but "cede money".

FLATBED
The agency had a routine,
They wouldn't rent flats sight-unseen.
To assure for their clients
The building's compliance
They conducted a proper flat screen.

HOTBED
Rauol was a smooth Latin stepper
Who'd dance with any rich heifer.
To keep peppy the fink
Stole my energy drink.
He cha-chaed and chugged the hot pepper.

SEABED
The crescent-roll baker, no bigot,
Saw his product caused many to fidgit.
"Since this lunate confection
Has Islamic connection,
I'll relent and rename it C-biscuit."

A simple Monday puzzle, though I wouldn't have guessed the theme without the reveal. But putting them to bed in poetic form was the hardest I've done so far, since all four key words ended with the same syllable.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Argyle and friends. A Monday morning speed run.

Hand up for wanting Acre instead of AREA.

Teri's were real and spectacular, but Jerry never found out.

Great limericks, Owen!

QOD: When you learn something from people, or from a culture, you accept it as a gift, and it is your lifelong commitment to preserve it and build on it. ~ Yo-Yo Ma (Oct 7, 1955)

[unavolo]

thehondohurricane said...

Hello everyone,

Quick solve to begin the week with only one or two mis-steps that were quickly resolved. I did not take issue with AREA. We've seen it in that context often enough. Besides HARES was already filled in and I was sure it was right.

I can't recall ever hearing TUSHIE . Heard Tush often enough.

Slowdowns: 51A End AS/END UP; 33A Hees/HEHS.

Looks like the Rays are cooked. Red Sox fans becoming complete TUSHIE's and they were out in force this weekend .









desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Zip, Zip! Done. I missed a lot of clues in my mad dash to the bottom. But that's the way a Monday's supposed to be, right? I never heard the expression BED HEAD, but I can relate.

I thought SEABISCUIT's sire was Man O' War, but I don't follow horse racing. The only horse names I knew were those on the old cardboard, spin-the-thingie, kid's game.

kazie said...

Only two write overs: ACRE/AREA and OR NOT/AS NOT. The rest was a welcome start to a busy Monday. See you all later. I even wrote myself a list for today!

Anonymous said...

Boring fill.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Easy puzzle and straightforward theme today. No issues but I thought CADRE was a little stiff. It's not like your going to have a training exercise and then announce "Here come the CADRE to run the (drill)". But I guess the core of knowledgeable people running the training are tacitly understood to be CADRE.

DIGIN - Reminded me that as youngsters we always heard "Hau rin". Hau rein in standard German. Idiom - means "Go for it!" I think hau is a cognate of the English 'hew'.

Have a great day.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Gail and Bruce, for a fine Monday puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the fine review.

Yes, this puzzle was easy, but it is Monday.

Of course there were a few stumblers. I had ACRE first for 60D, but realized it was not right. AREA worked fine and it is logical. Real Estate are houses, too. And you measure then in square feet, AREA.

Did not know IRENE Cara. She fell with perps.

Knew KEPI from crosswords of the past and always remembered it. Remember seeing Charles DeGaulle wearing one (photos).

TUSHIE was not easy. Perped it.

Liked the theme.

Great limerick OwenKL. Keep 'em coming.

Raining here in Johnsonburg. Lots to do inside, so I am good.

Normally my cell phone has very low reception while in Johnsonburg, like one bar. This morning it has six full bars. I wonder if Sprint put a tower near here. Maybe the clouds and rain are warping the signal somehow. Not complaining. I use the cell phone to pull up the puzzle while I type on this blog, so I can see the completed puzzle.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(cfitner)

Husker Gary said...

Musings (subbing today and so I can't log in)
-We had our SEED bed so hopped up the cukes practically jumped out of the ground
-Yeah, Hahtoolah, I remember that line. I’ll bet they were!
-Wouldn’t you say,” If the culture you learn contains craziness, you are not obligated to maintain it?”
-Some of us are old enough to remember Salk SERUM injections
-I’ve only owned one LEMON in my life but bought some for my daughters when they were in high school
-In 1979 shortstop Gary Templeton felt snubbed when he not chosen to be a sub and not start the All Star Game and famously said, “If I ain’t startin’, I ain’t DEPARTin’”
-“Yeah, STU, that John and Paul look like a bunch of stiffs to me”
-Public WC’s we found in Europe were dirty, ancient and expensive
-In what song does a guy see “a girl my lord in a FLAT-bed Ford slowin’ down to take a look at me”
-KIDS!

Vidwan827 said...

Thank you Gail and Bruce for a nice and easy puzzle, and Argyle for a stimulating commentary.

Follically challenged, indeed.

Have a nice day, you all.

HeartRx said...

Good morning Argyle, C.C. et al.

This is just the right mix for a Monday: simple theme, easy fill, no misdirections. And Argyle to sum it all up!

H.G. "Take it Easy" by Jackson Browne, covered by the Eagles. I just listened to it yesterday...

Have a nice start to the week, everyone!

Anonymous said...

WBS plus is asap really only an exec's demand?

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

An easy-peasy, breezy start to the week. Thanks, Gail and Bruce, and thanks, Argyle, for your expo.

We are expecting a very windy, stormy day. I guess our Indian Summer is over. Hope Windhover wasn't affected by the severe flooding.

Have a great Monday.

Martin said...

I finished it on the bus home. (The kakuro took a long time so I didn't have time to finish the puzzle before work.) I originally wanted FANCY for RITZY and LEAKS for PIPES. I had DESIST before I got DEPART.

Lucina said...

Greetings, friends!

It's a pleasure to romp through a nice, easy puzzle today. Thank you, Gail and Bruce. RITZY/ZANIEST cossing was fun.

BEDHEAD is a line of shampoo and conditioner which I've seen on the shelf.

Well, I'm back from a really exhilarating weekend with my family in California where we walked a 5K for cancer funds. My niece has advanced stage breast cancer and experimental drugs are now being tried on her. She is six years beyond her initial prognosis.

However, I ACHED badly but feel good after a complete night's slseep.

Friday I tried the puzzle in the car on the way and got most of it but didn't get the unknown CARRIE (under) WOOD. I see that many of you didn't didn't like it. I always enjoy a challenge.

OwenKL:
Your poems are better and better.

Have a terrific Monday, everyone!

Misty said...

I love a speed run on a Monday morning, especially if it's from the Dynamic Gail and Bruce Duo! And especially with Argyle in great form ("follically challenged"--LOL).

Owen was in great shape this morning too ("cede money" LOL).

I actually missed the reveal at first and put REDHEAD instead of BEDHEAD. Figured RED SEA made sense and so did RED HOT. But then things got a little weird with RED FLAT, so I thankfully went back and checked the clue and changed it to BEDHEAD.

Never saw "The Sopranos" when it was on, but love EDIE Falco in "Nurse Jackie."

Have a great week, everybody!

Bill G. said...

I always like Monday puzzles. Count me in for having ACRE instead of AREA. That plus TUSHES instead of TUSHIE made the bottom part hardest to complete correctly. Dunno why but I thought RUMBA had an H in it. Thanks Gail, Bruce and Argyle!

The Dodgers looked pretty good yesterday.

Maverick said...

I had the theme mixed up and bass-ackward. FLAT HEAD (screwdriver), HOT HEAD (easily enraged), SEED HEAD (like a dandelion), SEA HEAD (w/c or loo on a boat?) LOL. Good thing I didn't stick with my original answer of BED HAIR. Heh-Heh.

Tinbeni said...

Jazz & Bill G. Good luck to your Tiger's and Dodger's.

Hondo: It ain't over 'til the Fat Lady sings ... though I think she is warming up.
Now that it is an Elimination Game I'm expecting a better result.
We were 3 for 3 in 'those' last week. Go Rays!!!

Gail & Bruce, Thank you for a FUN Monday offering.

Argyle, Thanks for the ZZ Top.

It's "Five o'clock somewhere!"
Cheers!!!

JD said...

Good morning all,
What a treat to have a Gail and Bruce smoothie this morning. No asterisks in our paper, but didn't need theme to zip right through.

Agyle, you always do a great job giving us the complete scoop.Thx.

Here in the Bay Area, the question always is, "What is the sq. footage?" Nothing was abbreviated so it had to be area.

Thanks Owen for the laughs.

Lucina, it's caring people like you who donate time and $ to the ACS that make it possible to create experimental drugs. Hope your niece got one that will be a winner.Our 2 day walk up to SF is a blister buster.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! This puzzle was the fastest finish I've had yet at 9 minutes. Thanks Gail & Bruce. Thanks, Argyle for your input!

Spitz: When my son was in AFROTC, he used the word CADRE often. His CADRE Commander had been a POW in Viet Nam and was a great human being. He taught military history with a compassion for the oppressed that left an indelible mark on my son. My son was Cadet Commander his senior year.

My son had had flu and was having difficulty doing his required two-mile run the next day. The CADRE Commander saw him struggling, came out and ran beside him, encouraging him all the way and showing what a great leader can do. My son kept his qualification and scholarship and has done well as an AF officer.

My husband died before my son's junior year. The CADRE took my son under their "wings" and kept him uplifted to an amazing degree. Without their help, he would have dropped out of school. So the word CADRE has special heart-warming meaning to me. I did not expect this of tough military men.

Spitzboov said...

PK - Thanks for putting CADRE in perspective. Could be the word is used more in the AF community. I was just ruminating about my own experience with the word.

Blue Iris said...

.I needed this fast solve on a Monday.
Didn't know CUSPS, KEPI, and CADRE. All were fulled in by perps.

My husband said they used the term CADRE when sending out data collectors in the post office. USPS uses many military terms since veterans have preference in hiring.

Splynter, my husband used to "boo" UPS trucks when they passed. He was a very loyal employee. LOL

OweKL, you out did yourself today!

Off to see pain specialist.

Steve said...

D-Otto - you might be thinking of War Admiral, the 'Bicuit's opponent in the famous match race.

If you've not read the Laura Hillenbrand book "Seabiscuit" it's a tremendous story. You don't need to be a horse racing fan to thoroughly enjoy it, she's a master storyteller.

Thanks for the write=-up, Argyle.

desper-otto said...

Thanks for all of the PC advice and offers of assistance yesterday. After strong endorsements from Fermat, HeartRx, Bill G, Spitz and Abejo, I decided to join the Apple Corps. Thanks to you guys, this is my first post from my brand new iMac.

After 30+ years of Microsoft OS's, I'm finding the learning curve to be a little steep -- for example, the key labeled "Delete" is really the backspace key. (So just how do you delete the character to the right of the cursor, like a "normal" delete key?) I'm sure I'll figure it all out eventually, but there'll probably be some howls of frustration along the way.

River Doc said...

Happy Monday everybody!

Like The Eagles, I was able to "Take It Easy" throughout today's offering. Not one write-over (but only because I waited for perps to tell me that ACRE was not possible.)....

Speaking of which, I am seeing a lot of "square footage" references in the houses I'm looking at. Some can be deceiving (unusable attic space) - you really need to visit the property to get the proper perspective....

Hondo, Tin, and all other baseball fans, all you have to do is go back to last year when the Giants staved off a half dozen or so elimination games to eventually win the whole thing. That's the beauty of baseball. There is no "clock" and you could be down by 10 runs in the 9th inning and still have a chance to win the game....

Spitzboov said...

D-Otto - On deleting to the right of the curser.
I have the 17' wide keyboard. It has a delete (forward) key to the right of the backslash (\) key. It is also to the left of the (end) key. Congrats on your new computer.

Bill G. said...

I see where Esquire magazine has proclaimed Scarlett Johansson as the Sexiest Woman Alive. They'll get no argument from me.

PK, I enjoyed your CADRE comments.

Lucina, you weren't anywhere near Manhattan Beach were you? Rats! I hope I didn't miss seeing you. BTW, have you got around to watching Sunday Morning?

Vegas Doc, I completely agree with you about one of the appealing features of baseball.

D-O, congratulations! I hope you enjoy your new iMac. I'm sure it will take a little getting-used-to. An earlier iMac of mine used to have a Forward delete key to delete characters to the right of the cursor. When I got my newer iMac with a smaller, wireless keyboard, I missed having that key. I think there are more sophisticated solutions including buying a new full-size keyboard but here is a simple solution that I just discovered by searching after reading your post. Hold down the 'fn' key at the lower-left of your keyboard while hitting Delete. If you search around, you can probably find other solutions.

Lucina said...

JD:
Thank you for the good thoughts and kudos to you for a two day run! I'm sure I'd find that impossible.

Lucina said...

BillG:
No, I haven't yet seen Sunday Morning but am looking forward to it probably this P.M.

We were in Redlands for the Walk and I don't know how far that is from Manhattan Beach. If you receive the L.A. Times Newspaper, you might see photos and possibly an article.

CanadianEh! said...

Fun Monday puzzle and solved with no red letter help!
Hand up for ACRE before AREA
I think we have had the ATRIUMS/ATRIA discussion previously. I prefer Atria.

desper-otto said...

Bill G, thanks. I, too, have the small wireless keyboard with no "forward delete" key. But your solution, fn+Delete works. I also found that Control+D works. I may prefer that since it can be done with one hand. Livin' and learnin' here...

Manac said...

Super quick one today. A lot got filled in before I even read the clues.
I think C.C. Posted the unknown fourth member of ZZ TOP Yesterday.

Go Sox!

CrossEyedDave said...

Argyle (CC: Desper-otto)

I always us my Microsoft PC to view the Blog, but being rushed this AM, I picked up DWs Ipad.

The write up had two huge gaps in it, & thought it was very unlike Argyle, but thought no more of it until just now when I went to look at later comments on my PC.

The two huge gaps turned out to be YouTube videos, (the pic of the Kepi hat was fine on the Ipad)

I wonder if people even know what they are missing using the Ipad???

Also, every time I use my finger to scroll down the page, the entire screen goes blue with the word "copy" in the middle, & won't go away unless I refresh the page. Very annoying, yet it doesn't happen on other sites???

some more beds on the unusual side...

HeartRx said...

desper-otto, congrats on joining the "simple life" of Apple users. And yes, I was also dragged howling and screaming all the way when DH persuaded me to switch. But now I can't believe how easy life is...

PK, lovely connections to CADRE - thanks for sharing!

And how could I forget to thank OwenKL for his brilliant additions to this daily blog? I especially loved "cede-money"!!!

Lucina, my mother died from complications of breast cancer, but I am a survivor myself (12 years, yay!!) "Save the TaTas!!"

CED, I agree with you about the limitations of the iPad. I only use mine to play games or read my kindle downloads - never to read the blog or post. I just find it too difficult to deal with the small screen and "touch" keyboard. But on my iMac or MacBook, I don't have any problems seeing the videos.

desper-otto said...

CED, I couldn't see those YouTube videos either -- missing shortcut. I needed to install Adobe Flash Player and then reboot so it'd be recognized.

PK said...

DO, On your IMAC anything you want to delete, one letter or the whole paragraph or page, just position your cursor, press down on cursor and drag it over whatever you want to delete so that it turns blue, then hit delete. You can also color in whatever you want to cut and paste the same way by dragging down under your edit section on the header.

PK said...

Spitz, maybe the word CADRE is used more in high school & regular university ROTC. Aren't you a Naval Academy grad? I've seen the word in our local paper used with stories of the local high school ROTC program. I had never heard of high school ROTC before I moved to this city. I think CADRE denotes just military teachers rather than civilian professors. At the Naval Academy all the teachers are military, aren't they?

Anonymous said...

CED I don't see these missing videos either, on my IPad ..... Just the blank spaces . So I leave the videos to my imagination. c'est la vie.


BTW, thanks to your lineups . I loved ALL the beds with the young women already in them ... Who knew that was a viable option.? Thanks for the pictures.



Also if you are getting blue pages with the COPy phrase, too often, your fingering is all wrong . Get some practice with your middle finger ..

JD said...

Lucina, that is a 2 day WALK, not run. Oh my...I even hate to run on the tread mill.

PK, such a nice story about the cadre.

CED, the ipad does have lots of limitations. I can read the blog, but can't get the attachments, videos, etc., and many times it won't accept my pass word so that I can blog, which is frustrating when we travel. I can send mail and play Scrabble.

Spitzboov said...

PK @ 1641 - I was commissioned through the Naval ROTC at RPI in Troy, NY. It's a long time ago, but I don't remember hearing cadre there.
The Naval Academy has civilian as well as military instructors.

Qli said...

Thanks to everyone involved in today's puzzle and blog. I experience BEDHEAD every morning, but try not to say anything because my DH is one of the follicularly challenged.

OLIO for hodgepodge was a new one for me, and I also thought there was an H in RUMBA. is it because it's in Spanish?

Hand up for ACRE at first. Had to use perps for ATRIUMS, because I was thinking atria.

There are two Ragdoll cats for sale in the newspaper. I am soooo tempted...


TTP said...

Thank you Gail and Bruce. And nice review sleepyhead !

Almost had the dreaded Monday DNF. I could picture Falco, but couldn't easily recall her first name. I had HaHS for "Devious laughs, and aDIE just didn't look correct. iDIE, oDIE and uDIE didn't look right either, so I went with EDIE even though I didn't like HEHS until I made it singular, tripled it, and thought of Boris Badenov from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show.

thehondohurricane said...

Vegas Doc.

You are right, but the Giants pitching got them through each series. I want(ed) to see a Rays/Pirates series, but the odds on that are not good.

However, what I really I want is for someone to send the Sox home.

CrossEyedDave said...

Heh, heh,heh, very funny Anon @4:43

Wait a sec,,, Dang it TTP,
I went back & looked & I had "Hah" for devious laughs...

Rats!


Bedhead #1

Bedhead#2

Bedhead#3

& all this talk about bedhead reminded me of the tragic story of Medusa.

Mr. Creosote said...

C'mon CED, I know you wanted to do it but are still a little gun shy:

Bed Head hair care products

p.s. Would someone please pass the cat?

Anonymous said...

At the Air Force Academy, the upperclassmen who train the Doolies (or basics) in basic training are called the cadre. They don't designate their profs or other staff that way. (recent info with a child who is finishing there)

River Doc said...

Well, Hondo, the Rays just got one back.... The journey of a thousand miles, etc, etc, etc....

Anonymous T said...

G'Night all!

Fun, easy puzzle with the Acre/AREA hand up here too.

Gail and Bruce produced a fun Monday, Argyle made things more fun, and OKL put it over the top with the quatrains (I hope that's the right word). And reading everyones reaction was coffee that made the sweet go down.

D-O That new Mac decision was quick. I'm glad you are mostly enjoying it. They are visually very appealing...

For folks with an iPad, get a Logitech keyboard for it. It's a bit small, but for us touch typists, it's almost mandatory. This post in on a iPad/Logitech.

Bill G - I'm glad Esquire hasn't met DW. Even going into hear 40's (she's gonna kill me for that), she's the sexiest woman alive.

Re: CADRE - I always thought that was the group being taught not the folks in charge. I was in ROTC in HS (got me an extra stripe and punnishment in Basic), and we were the CADRE. Either way, c/a fits.

And, just because I'm a dumb-dumb, I spelled the horse as SEABuSCUIT. ISEE fell very late.

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Oh, and Bill G. It just got down to 62 here. I'm freezing by a** off... I can only relate with this... Python :-) C, -T