google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, November 22, 2013, Steve Blais

Gary's Blog Map

Nov 22, 2013

Friday, November 22, 2013, Steve Blais

Theme: Where did I hide my computer?

Each of the four sets of words has the names of a computer manufacturing companies overlapping the adjacent fill, with a reveal.  The first row and the last row each result in two companies, the middle two rows use all three clues to create a single company.. You have to see a puzzle as row 1 through 15 to understand the reveal. This was one of the hardest themes in a long time for me to suss out even though I said earlier I love run-ons, as well as puns and anagrams. To use up 5 complete rows (1/3 of the grid) for a theme is awesome. I am always surprised when a theme starts with 1A, but Steve has made us work even on his Monday and Tuesday efforts. This is his 11th LAT published in less than 2 years, along with a NYT in April. I missed blogging his only other Friday when our Steve took over while I was out for the New Year holiday a couple of months ago. Lots of nice fill like EL PASO,  EVEN SO, LETHAL,  MINGUS, SESAME, SPOT ON, DAMAGES,  SEE TO IT, HIGHNESS, LEMONADE, DATE STAMP and GENE AUTRY.

1A. Brother of Raúl and Juanita : FIDEL along with 6A. Purple candle scent : LILAC. This gives us DELL computers. Living in So.Fla, Fidel was a gimme. 11A. Poetic time reference : ERE. ACER.

20A. Calendar entry : EVENT and 21A. Kyrgyzstan city : OSH and 22A. Construction beams : I-BARS. TOSHIBA. If you want to know more about OSH, this is a LINK.

58A. Source of much Indian tea : ASSAM. A very productive REGION. 60A. Sky light? : SUN. How cute is this for a three letter fill. 61A. Pumpkin, e.g. : GOURD. SAMSUNG.

69. Diddy ditty : RAP. Another cute three letter one. Has Sean Combs changed his name again, or only P. Diddy? 70A. Arraignment answers : PLEAS. APPLE. Arraignment is the first step of any criminal case where you say guilty or not guilty. 71A. "That's all __, dude": "Not my fault" : ON YOU. SONY.

and the unifier,  which shows you the name of the computer companies are chopped in pieces (hacked)
40A. Web concerns ... and based on six familiar names hidden in rows 1, 4, 12 and 15 of this puzzle grid, what the black squares in those rows symbolize : COMPUTER HACKERS. Interesting theme which certainly did not help solve any of the puzzle.

Across:

14. Tequila source : AGAVE.

15. Month in Madrid : ENERO. Spanish January.

16. Sprinkling on French fries? : SEL. French salt.

17. Uses as a reference : CITES.

18. Many pets : MUTTS. Mongrels, apparently shortened from muttonheads.

19. For example : SAY.

24. Julia's "Ocean's Twelve" role : TESS. 


25. Legend of the links : SNEAD. Slammin' Sammy, still three victories ahead of Tiger.

27. Old __, Connecticut : LYME. Near where I grew up.


28. "They went __ in a Sieve, they did": Lear : TO SEA. A shout out for our own OwenKL, as Mr. Lear was a renowned limercist and poet. UPDATE: It appears Mr. Lear may have started all this Limerick stuff. LINK.

30. Logan of "60 Minutes" : LARA. A South African raised journalist involved in controversy.

32. Words in a dish : À LA. Mode anyone?

34. Relinquish : CEDE.

36. Jazz double bassist Charlie : MINGUS. Fun fill.  I defer to JzB to discuss this ARTIST. (5:03)

43. West Texas city : EL PASO.

44. Approaching : NIGH. Basically near. Did you all watch the Professor Proton, Bill Nye the science guy episode of TBBT?

45. Tiny complaint : NIT. marti?

46. Uno y dos y tres : SEIS. One plus two plus three equals 6, but more Spanish.

48. Migratory birds : GEESE.

50. Oaf : LOUT.

53. Some Staples employees : TECHS.

55. Bear whose bed was too hard :  PAPA. Goldilocks, where are you?

62. Moo __ pork : SHU.

63. Graduated series : SCALE. On a scale of 1 to 10 what did you think?

65. 10th-century Holy Roman emperor : OTTO I. Constructors like his vowels.

66. Mountain end : EER. Mountaineer.

67. Increases, with "up" : RAMPS.

68. "It Wasn't All Velvet" memoirist : TORME. The Velvet Fog. JAZZ.

Down:

1. Aspect : FACET.

2. "Just tell me" : I GIVE. Guess who gave me all the answers to the test? I do not know, just tell me. I give.

3. Librarian's device : DATE STAMP. Nice long fresh fill. Not to be confused with the mark you get put on your hand when you are out at the club getting hammered.

4. Nevertheless : EVEN SO.

5. Out of concern that : LEST.

6. Summer quaff : LEMONADE. Thanks Steve for the major shout out on a Friday. Steve B. comments at puzzle blogs often.

7. Taken : IN USE.

8. More than harmful : LETHAL.

9. Works on walls : ART. Not re-wallpapering.

10. Mozart's "__ fan tutte" : COSI. A tribute (?) to Women? LINK.

11. David Sedaris work : ESSAY.  This GUY.

12. Lack faith in a truce, maybe : RE-ARM.

13. "Family Ties" mother : ELYSE. The lovely Meredith BAXTER.


23. Space on a form : BLANK.

25. "I want results!" : SEE TO IT. My mental PICTURE. (0:15).

26. Lawsuit goal : DAMAGES.

29. "__ Me While I Kiss This Guy": book of misheard lyrics : SCUSE. My unknown of the day; the lyric is from Jimi Hendrix; he was kissing the sky.

31. Loaded, in Limoges : RICHE. French, like our friend the Nouveau riche.

32. Big club : ACE. Or big spade, or big heart or big diamond. I guess this does not conflict with the hidden ACER above.

33. Cyberchuckle : LOL. So many old people thought this meant 'lots of love'.

35. Predatory bird : ERN.

37. Singer and longtime owner of baseball's Angels : GENE AUTRY. My favorite singing COWBOY.

38. Sch. 30 miles south of Providence : URI. University of Rhode Island.

39. Bygone boomer : SST. The Concorde.

41. Elbows to nibble : PASTA.

42. Royal title : HIGHNESS. You think because they sat on thrones?

47. Bagel choice : SESAME. Sez who?

49. Perfect : SPOT ON.

50. __ tag : LASER.  The reigning CHAMPS? (0:35).

51. "Ulysses" actor Milo : O'SHEA. He died this year. LINK.

52. Take by force : USURP.

54. Apology ending : CULPA. Latin: Mea Culpa.

56. Teaser : PROMO.

57. Parting mot : ADIEU. More French.

59. Dealership amt. : MSRP. Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price.

61. Attend : GO TO. Where did you go to college? Was it in....

64. Western st. : CALifornia?

Nope I am a UConn Husky. And a tired one at that, having conducted 8 real estate closings yesterday. Well we are sneaking up on Thanksgiving and my time to thank C.C., each and everyone of you, and each person who has contributed over the years. It is great fun to do this for those who read and discuss the puzzles and the perspectives. I also want to thank Argyle who is amazing, melissa, Ron and Steve, who are fun and funny,  marti who is divine and Splynter who is incomparable. Also Mr. Blais, thank you also for the puzzle. Finally, 50 years ago, I was coming back to my dorm room after an intramural football game, when I saw the events in Dallas. I remember it like yesterday.

Lemonade



58 comments:

  1. Good morning all ! Up very early today. Friday shout out to LEMONADE !

    No real troubles even with some uncertainties (I or Y in ELYSE ?) and a few unknowns such as (Old) LYME, MINGUS and OTTOI, but the peps made those easy. Write overs included EL PASO (had ODESSA) and PROMO (had poser).

    Never figured out the theme. I was thinking something along the lines of Identity Theft or some such... Thanks LEMONADE !

    Plenty to like with this puzzle, based solely on the clues and fill, incl works on walls = ART, Elbows to nibble = PASTA and others. No NITs. Thanks David Blaise !

    GENE AUTRY was a very easy fill today. Knew he owned the Angels, and it didn't hurt that Sierra Sue starring GENE AUTRY and Smiley Burnette was on one Encore channel early this AM, and as I flipped to the next, they were starring in Git Along Little Dogies. Flipped back to that channel about 5AM, and the same two are starring in Yodelin Kid From Pine Ridge. While waiting to read the writeup, I decided to do the USA Today puzzle. It's creator is Gary Cooper.

    Historic day.

    See all y'all later 'n at.

    ReplyDelete
  2. [DELL, TOSHIBA, & SAMSUNG weren't too bad, while ACER & SONY were bears. But I saved the best one until last!]

    Let me tell you a story, it's one I know well,
    About the skunk cabbage grower whose crops wouldn't sell.
    He'd follow the market on his computer machine,
    Until in frustration he kicked in the screen!
    Hi-ho-the-derry-o, he's the farmer in the DELL!

    An F grade means no effort by the eff-er,
    While lost in the woods is the dee-er.
    The future's cloudy for the cee-er,
    But it's a party for the bee-er,
    And the best hand of all for the ACE-ER

    If King Solomon had had a computa',
    At marriage, he might have been astuta'.
    An online dating screen
    Would have found him his Queen,
    And together, they could've run off TO SHEBA!

    The phrase seems to trip off the tongue,
    But when first on someone they're sprung
    In disgust they say, "Damn,
    That's Green Eggs And Ham!"
    Till they hear of the paean SAM SUNG!

    I've got to lim something for SONY,
    Or else I'll feel like a phony.
    To my Muse I'll appeal,
    I would even kneel,
    But there's a hole in my pant-leg, I must sew knee!

    The orchard was an excellent provider.
    This year's crops were both crisper and wider.
    The farmer's daughter was seduced,
    When she chugged fermented juice,
    And got more than APPLE cider inside 'er!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Morning, all!

    OSH, MINGUS and LYME, Oh My!

    The theme was utter gibberish to me and remained completely impenetrable even after solving. Fortunately, it wasn't necessary to actually solve anything.

    Some nice cluing, and the fill was mostly smooth except for the bizarre outliers mentioned above. Bizarre to me, at least.

    [cederle]

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. Interesting theme, but the unifier was definitely needed to figure out the theme After the puzzle was completed.

    The LYMES in Connecticut gave us the name of Lyme Disease, a painful and debilitating nerve disease that is not now limited to New England.

    In Louisiana we are now seeing the migrating Pelicans, not ERNs. The lake near my house is white with migrating Pelicans right now.

    Elbows to Nibble = PASTA was my favorite clue.

    QOD: I told my psychiatrist that everyone hates me. He said I was being ridiculous ~ everyone hasn’t met me yet. ~ Rodney Dangerfield (Nov. 22, 1921 ~ Oct. 5 2004)

    [diretura]

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good morning, all!

    My DEADLY turned LETHAL, but otherwise my grid is pristine this morning. Theme? There was a theme?

    I'll bet Bill G supplied the clue for 46a. Hahtoolah, thanks for the info on LYME. I was wondering if that was where the disease was first diagnosed.

    Misheard song lyrics: "You fill out my census." And from my ute, in Patti Page's Cross Over The Bridge -- "Put your pickle packs behind you, and true romance will find you…"

    Yesterday Marti called Dudley a doric, and today Lemonade called Marti a NIT. Hmmmmm….

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good morning all!

    This was an enjoyable Friday challenge. I got COMPUTER HACKERS, so I suspected the theme was going to be names of computers split between words. Problem was, I only saw four of them - I totally missed ACER and APPLE !!

    Fun write up and links today. Moi?? a NIT picker?? Hmmpf...

    TGIF!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I completed the top left hand corner and thought I was going to finally solve a Friday puzzle but it never came together.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good morning, everyone.
    After first pass through, reading clues both directions, I had about 2/3 of the puzzle completed. And it is FRIDAY!!
    But, RE ARM, ELYSE, LYME, OSHER and RAP gave me a DNF. But I have to tell you I feel pretty good about what I accomplished.
    My thought as I solved was, "I bet those crossword pros are going to post how easy this puzzle was for a Friday."

    I got the theme at SAMSUNG, but didn't see ACER and APPLE. Learned those were in there, this morning.

    I was at a college SUB working on calculus homework with classmates when the news of Kennedy's death was announced.

    Hahtoolah, I live by a refuge where hundred of pelicans nest in spring/summer. Years ago I was able to take my science students there on field trips. Older students were able to take air boats out to the main island and walk among the hatching young. (They no longer allow that.)

    Have a good day,
    Montana

    ReplyDelete
  9. Solving the puzzle was fairly easy but I couldn't get the theme until I read this blog.

    sel French
    culpa Latin
    Shu Chinese (I doubt it)
    seis Spanish
    Osh Kyrgyzstanish
    enero Spanish

    It seems that puzzles are getting more answers in foreign languages.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Steve Blais got me again, but I had fun anyway. The theme totally escaped me.
    I agree with George; lots more foreign language answers; keeps us on our toes.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good morning everyone. Nice intro, Lemon, and good explanation of the theme, which mostly escaped me before coming here.

    WBaQS - What Barry G and Qli said. But eventually got most of it ok. Mucked up the SE by missing the TORME/PROMO cross. Had trouble in the NE and SW, too, but eventually prevailed. Nice shout-out to LEMONADE. Good job, Steve.

    EL PASO - also Spanish.

    GENE AUTRY - When our ship would return to home port, the ship's band would play "Back in the Saddle Again".

    D-Otto(I) - Sorry about your cat. I hope they catch the perp.

    ReplyDelete
  12. 50 years ago I was a senior in Arlington Nebraska High School. Today, 50 years later to the day, I am subbing on another Friday at the same school. Karma, baby.

    Music
    -I was trying to think of the Spanish word for brother rather than a proper noun
    -In Law and Order arraignments the DA usually requests remand
    -Is ENERO the only Spanish month here ;-)?
    -The TECH difference between Ocean’s 11 and 12 is amazing
    -If you’re ever in Rosa’s Cantina in El Paso, leave Felina alone!
    -All email is DATE STAMPED, traceable and admissible! Judge Judy loves using them for evidence.
    -Enjoy these funny variations on when life gives you LEMONS
    -JFK told the Russian to disarm and not REARM Cuba in 1962
    -My granddaughter got hired here on the spot at $8.50/hr. They have great elbows to nibble. Avg. Joe, if you’re ever around 27th and Pine Lake, drop in and see if Emma is working.
    -EASSEM was in the Word Jumble yesterday and I missed it. The third word down is usually the hardest one.
    -MEA CULPA is not a familiar junior high refrain
    -We saw robins this week that did not get the MIGRATE memo. It was around 10°F last night and so…

    ReplyDelete
  13. HG

    I have often wondered why it is no. 3 which is the hardest jumble.

    Noodles sounds interesting with Italian, Thai, Indonesian and other cultures noodle dishes. Good luck to Emma; what is her job?

    ReplyDelete
  14. Wow! I thought I was doing well for a Friday with no red letter help. But I couldn't figure out the theme until I got here. Thanks Lemon. It didn't help that I am not used to counting rows in crossword and was looking in 1A, 4D etc. and it just did not make sense. Duh!!

    Wanted ARNIE for LEGEND OF THE LINKS.

    BYGONE BOOMER-SST, LOADED IN LIMOGE=RICHE and ELBOWS TO NIBBLE=PASTA evoked a LOL!

    I still remember our high school principal informing us on closing announcements that JFK had been shot. Spent the whole weekend glued to the TV and Walter Cronkite. One of those "you never forget" moments for Canadians also.

    ReplyDelete
  15. DH loves to do the Word Jumble. He will do the 5 clues and then leave the final answer for me to figure out. Often I can figure it out without even looking at the clues.

    ReplyDelete
  16. What I didn't know, I got via the perps, so very doable. Didn't remember the spelling of ELYSE. Didn't get the theme until I came here. Thanks, Lemonade!

    I do the Jumble every day, and I hadn't noticed the pattern of the third word being the hard one. I will pay attention to that from here on.

    50 years ago, I was a sophomore in high school when the Principal came over the PA system with the news. I vividly remember going home and finding my mother crying as she met me at the door. We spent a lot of that weekend watching events unfold on TV, including Sunday morning.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I think Owen's limericks are especially good today.

    ReplyDelete
  18. -Lemon, their food is wonderful with lots of choices. She started out busing and wrapping up silverware in napkins. She is smart and meets people so well; she will be taking orders in, uh, short order. Her 15 year old car needed $800 in repairs and she is helping mom and dad out with that. Your one-year-old granddaughter is lovely but seeing them turn out great is amazing. She skipped those insufferable, eye-rolling teen years.
    -If you ever find yourself in south Lincoln, NE, Emma will let you claim to be me and get you 20% off.
    -Jazz, I just asked a 12 year old trombone player if he had ever heard 76 Trombones and he looked at me like I had two heads. I played the final scene for him on YouTube and he was amazed.
    -Well I’m off to teach 20 Kindergartners music. Yikes!
    -BTW, After much research, I haven’t seen sufficient evidence to dissuade me from the fact that Oswald did it and acted alone.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Tough puzzle with a theme too obscure for me to solve. Got the grid filled correctly, but couldn't translate the reveal. Kept thinking the reference to the black squares meant that another letter should be inferred. Oh well, it didn't detract from the fun stuff.

    Gary, I wasn't aware of Noodles. I've eaten at the nearby Macaroni Grill a few times, but not there.

    50 years ago I was in 3rd grade and vividly remember the announcement as the Head Penguin went room to room. School was immediately dismissed and little more got done on the farm that weekend than milking the cows. We all huddled around the TV for most of that time. My most searing memory, however, is seeing Jack Ruby shoot Lee Harvey Oswald on live television.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Good Morning:

    Clever (very!) theme, long, fresh fill, fair cluing, and a fun solve = a very enjoyable Friday challenge. I guess I was on Steve's wave length as I sashayed Lucina-style with nary a bump. After the reveal, I did get the companies, but, like others, missed Acer and Sony. Didn't read the clue carefully enough, as it did say 6.

    Thanks, Steve, for a nice warm-up for whatever the Saturday sorcerers conjure up and thanks, Lemony, for the witty write-up. Nice shout-out, especially on your expo day.

    Manac, sorry to hear about your hand; hope it heals quickly. I didn't understand your reference to NY?

    Somber day of remembrance.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hola, mon cheri and ach, ach this Friday morning! (Might as well practice some foreign greetings.) What a lovely shout out, LEMONADE, and some zesty fill for you to analyze.

    Yowza! Steve B. beat me to a pulp today as Charlie MINGUS is unknown to me, nor is ASSAM, misspelled ELYSE/ELISE and I did my own HACKing of URI and SST. It wasn't pretty.

    However, I did manage to sashay the rest of it starting easily with FIDEL, AGAVE (also Spanish), ENERO and SEL.

    I managed to suss TO SEA (on a sieve, made me chuckle) and had major write overs at NIGH/HEAR, HIGHNESS/REGINAII, but finally polished up that region.

    GENE AUTRY/TORME was a fun crossing and I feel that OTTO I is almost a friend. Hi, desper-otto!

    It's a wonderfully rare rainy day here today so a great time to hunker down and do indoor tasks.

    Have a peaceful and joy filled Friday, everyone!

    ReplyDelete
  22. On this day of remembrance my memory is like a still-life of our Pastor going room to room announcing the tragic news of our President's assassination. I was 25 and teaching sixth grade in Denver and felt paralyzed the rest of the day.

    The entire weekend was spent spellbound watching TV.

    R.I.P. JFK

    ReplyDelete
  23. Clever, clever, clever puzzle, Steve! Many thanks for this delight. Mind you, this was no speed run and for a while I thought I wouldn't get more than 2/3 finished. But in the end it worked perfectly and I even got the theme--albeit without ACER and SONY. So, a great way to start a Friday, especially with the shout-out to LEMONADE!

    Hahtoolah, thanks for explaining LYME. Our neighbor has LYME disease--sad.

    Manac, hope your hand heals quickly.

    I was actually teaching 5th grade in a Catholic school in Bethesda, Maryland, when the PA system came on and announced the shot (we all knelt and said a rosary right away) and then the death of JFK. The night before his funeral some of us teachers stood in a forty block long line waiting to get to the Capitol to pay our respects, but it was closed before we made it there. Since Kennedy was Catholic, this hit my school particularly hard.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hello Puzzlers -

    I hold that today's design is just ingenious. It's a clever concept that must have been hard to do. Well done, Steve Blais!

    I've tried to remember whether I had any sense of what was going on 50 years ago, but nothing comes to mind. I was little then.

    Husker from yesterday - loved the Frasier clip!

    Cheers All

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hello again…

    Husker, have to agree with you about the 3rd Jumble, although today's was an exception to the rule. Also agree with your conclusion on Oswald. I think the best of your Lemon offerings was "If life gives you lemons, minor surgery can turn them into melons." That scanning electronic microscope (say that three times fast) Frazier clip was great.

    Thanks for all the kind words about our cat. I'm sure he wasn't totally blameless -- that neighbor didn't come to our yard to shoot him. But he was a very friendly cat and didn't deserve to be offed.

    It was 71 degrees when I got up. It's 48 now and still falling. Is predicted to remain in the 40's through Tuesday. That's not the Texas weather I signed up for.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Fridays make me feel like the White Rabbit in Alice In wonderland, (I'm Late!) So I rushed thru this puzzle with the red letters on. (I don't know why, it takes all the fun out of it.)

    But I did want to post my mental picture of 25D I want results.

    Here's some misheard lyrics that have been corrected in writing.

    Hmm, they left out Aerosmiths "Dude looks like a lady." I still hear "Dance, Dance, Do the lucky lady." ( I thought it was some new dance song...)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Obviously the events of 11/22/63 will only resonate with people born before 1955 or so. The picture of John-john saluting the casket still moves me. I see no proof but certainly enjoy reading all the various conspiracy theory books, both fiction and non-fiction, and enjoyed Steven King's take as well. There are so many things we will never know, but I wonder, with modern technology and cameras everywhere, would we have the same doubts now? For example, can you get anything from a bullet to show who handled it?

    I was fascinated by the history of our Presidents whereby each one elected in the 20 year cycle beginning in 1840 died in office until Mr. Reagen, who was shot. You can read about this bizarre CURSE .

    ReplyDelete
  28. LEMONADE: Nice write-up & informative links.

    The "extra-letters" in the theme revealed rows threw me for a loop for a while.
    For instance, I saw DEL-L & AC-ER in row one ... but wondered for a while about the "fi, il, e" not used.

    Got a laugh at the SCUSE clue.

    50 years ago was my Dad's 44th birthday.
    We didn't celebrate or enjoy his cake.
    21 years later, when he turned 65, I flew my brother (his 1st born) secretly here for Thanksgiving.
    When we went to dinner at the Club I remember saying: "Reservations for Four."
    My Dad corrected me: "Reservations for Three."
    And Peter stepped out ... and I said: "Can't he join us?"

    Many "toasts-of-remembrance" tonight at Sunset.
    The first one is to my Father.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Greetings!

    Ran through this one in record time but did not figure out the theme answers. Thanks Steve Blais, Lemonade.

    Fifty years ago, I was attending a talk in the auditorium in the Math Bldg. at Caltech late in the afternoon. I was sitting at the back. The dean came in and told me (me?) the news. He asked whether he should announce and cancel the remainder of the talk. I said yes.

    Manac: hope the right hand feels better soon! (I have grown used to typing with my left hand.)

    Rain here has been replaced by very cold (for us) wind

    Have a good day!

    ReplyDelete
  30. Where do you people get your Jumbles? The Puzzle Society site was down for remodeling for a few days. Got 3 days worth last night. SESAME was very fast! I only average about half the maximum score (just not fast enough). Do much better at Jumble Crossword!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Tin

    Excellent story. Happy anniversary of the 94 years since his birth.

    ReplyDelete
  32. JB in VA
    50 years ago, I was in the sixth grade and at home sick, and I never got sick. Saw the events unfold watching TV and called school. I was a good student, so the principle believed me when I told him what happened. I was in shock and I think being at home with my Mom helped me deal with tragedy.

    ReplyDelete
  33. -I did enjoy the Bob Newhart/Bill Nye episode of TBBT. BTW, one of Sheldon’s quirks is identifying “his spot” and no one else can sit there. I’m telling you that is true in teacher’s lounges too when the sub sits in someone’s “spot” at lunch. You get told, only half jokingly that {insert name} sits there!
    -I usually do the Jumble without writing the words out but SESAME got me yesterday
    -Great story Tinman!
    -I wondered today how impressed I would have been if 50 years ago if a teacher had told me that she remembered where she was and what she was doing when he heard McKinley had been shot.

    ReplyDelete
  34. HG

    What a fascinating thought about McKinley. I had a few teachers in grammar school who were old enough, but I never heard a word. Also no word about Mayor Cermak shooting. Perhaps the difference is that television make each of u feel much more a part of these tragedies. The visual enhances the memory. Though I keep hearing smell is the best memory tag...

    ReplyDelete
  35. I was very pleased when I found the computer theme names though I'm not sure the black squares made perfect sense to me. Thanks Steve and Lemon.

    I came across some old half-hour Gene Autry TV shows. I used to watch them when they originally aired. Now, they seem so hokey.

    Gary, I remember 'assigned seats' in the teacher's lounge. When I started teaching in 1969, the older teachers always had their favorite spots in the teacher's room at lunch. I found a new spot. Many of them smoked at the time. I would come in and open a window which helped a little. On cold days, some of the women teachers wanted the windows to remain closed. Geez, I nearly died.

    My buddy and I pulled a couple of pranks. Some of the teachers wanted a water cooler with jugs of bottled water. They paid for it so naturally the rest of us didn't drink their special water. One late afternoon, my buddy and I poured out the mostly-empty jug and partially refilled it with tap water. None of the water snobs noticed except for one young teacher who seemed to be aware that we seemed overly-interested in how she liked the water.

    Another time, my buddy and I confiscated some 'poppers' from a student; little firecracker that made a loud pop when you threw them. We snuck into the female teacher's toilet and placed a couple under the toilet seat. Then we sat around and waited. Wouldn't you know, the next 'customer' in the restroom was the principal.

    ReplyDelete
  36. @ Manac 1:00 p.m.

    I get the Daily Jumble here. Sometimes you have to click "No Thanks" on an ad.

    http://www.uclickgames.com/jumble/online/daily/tmjmf?fpr=AwsOas&

    ReplyDelete
  37. Hi Y'all! WEES. The puzzle was okay for a Friday. I had to do 3 red-letter alphabet runs to get squares #1, #37 & #59. The latter I wanted an "F" for "factory" suggested retail price. DUH! I only worked at two car dealerships in my career.

    As to the theme, I found it obscure and annoying because I couldn't figure out what he meant by rows 1, 4, 12 & 15. I finally spit him a raspberry and went to bed, deciding I didn't care.

    The day Kennedy was shot, I was keeping books at a car dealership and went to the courthouse with a handful of car titles. The women in the treasurer's office were all clustered around a radio. I was annoyed that no one seemed inclined to wait on me and I was in a hurry. Finally, I yelled over to them and one of them told me Kennedy was shot. I can't remember if I got my titles processed that day or not.

    Thanks, Lemon, all the music soothed me.

    ReplyDelete
  38. This was easier than usual for Friday but still a challenge. Thanks, Steve Blais. Excellent write-up Lemonade.

    Like others I only saw 4 companies and didn't understand that the names were "hacked". Interesting theme.

    Manac- best wishes for a speedy recovery.

    Tin-love the story

    50 years ago I was a high school freshman. My class came out of Phys Ed to crowded halls, some sobbing, otherwise quiet. We couldn't hear the PA announcements in the locker room. When I got to Algebra I found out what had happened. No teaching was done for the rest of the day and the radio was on.

    The Cincinnati Enquirer has the Jumble every day. Typically I find the 3rd word to be the hardest.

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  39. Tinbeni:
    Yes, that is a touching story and an unfortunate way to recall your Dad's birthday, similar in sadness to those born on 9/11.

    ReplyDelete
  40. I just went to head out for a short bike ride but there were raindrops accumulating on my car. Lucy tried to appropriate our rain yesterday but she didn't get it all. There was enough for both of us I guess.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Manac, get better soon, you didn't say how this happened?


    Lemon, I really do not remember the day JFK was shot. I was 8 years old & in Australia, I remember watching it on TV but didn't really understand what was going on in a far away country.

    I will never forget the the day Martin Luther King was shot. I was in 5th grade in PS59 in Manahattan. The Principal came on the PA system to announce it & then said the school would be closed for the rest of the day. At that point, being single minded elementary students, the entire school erupted into cheering...

    The Principal was so mad he chewed us out over the PA System for the next hour.

    I hope no one takes this the wrong way, we were just kids that didn't know anything about assasination. The Principal made sure we understood, & it was a much more somber experience later that year when RFK was shot.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I can think of nothing more poignant to post on this fateful anniversary than Walter Cronkite

    And since we're discussing the relativity of the event to other ages, this one ranks right up there with the "Where were you...." conversation
    Day of infamy

    History is fluid, but we all have our moments that will never be forgotten. For most of us on this board, we do remember 11/22/63, 4/4/68, 6/6/68 and 9/11/01. A smaller number might remember 12/7/41. Let's all hope that we never have to endure any more of these indelible dates in history.

    ReplyDelete
  43. Evening All.
    miss this by one 1 letter. Just could not parse Rearm! Had Rears, don't know where mind mind was. No clue on the theme, like CanadianEh! I was looking at the clue #s.
    Thank you all for your concern. The accident was more or less a rub salt in the wound incident, My refrigerator quit on me Sunday night and while replacing it Monday it slipped off the dolly at the door and caught my hand full force. Starting to get feeling back in the fingers, Thank God for Percocet;~)

    Irish Miss, The NY reference was to a link i posted the other day Jiffy Jeff ( That joke starts around 4:45 but there is some adult language)
    Fermatprime, I'm starting to get used to type left handed.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Funny group here. Curious about the names Tinbeni, Lemonade714 and fermatprime.

    ReplyDelete
  45. My name is a portmanteau from growing up in the 60s when Quaaludes were introduced. They were stamped Lemmon 714, combining that name with the cooling beverage seemed funny 5 years ago.

    Our Fermatrime is a math person who chose this THEORY .

    Tinman should answer his own as it is more personal.

    Welcome to our world

    ReplyDelete
  46. Never would have figured out the theme without Lemonade's help. Liked space on a form- BLANK and tricky elbows to nibble-PASTA.

    I still deal with the "tornado damage" that LYME Disease left behind. I hate that word as much as the word cancer.

    I was a third grader when the principal announced President Kennedy had been shot and killed. One boy in the class said," Good, my Daddy hates him." Two little girls cried. I don't remember watching TV, but remember looking at Life magazine over and over.

    My twin's 27th birthday is tomorrow. This year will a transition year for them. Kate graduates with her PhD in Toxicology, Dec 18th. John graduates with degree in Airframe and Avionics this next May. He is applying to start work on his Masters. We can't believe how blessed we feel to watch them succeed. Both will be here for Thanksgiving. Older sister and SIL can't make it from Florida.

    BTW, the twins are having a hard time understanding all the coverage of JFK's assassination 50 years later. Very hard to explain the grief and end of an era that occurred that day.

    ReplyDelete
  47. Hola Everyone, I finished the puzzle with only one error. I put in I for Y in Elyse. I thought Sai was an odd answer for For Example.

    A very clever way to "Hack" the computers today. Unfortunately, I didn't get the theme until I read Lemon's excellent writeup.

    Favorite clues today were Elbows to Nibble/Pasta and Sky Light/Sun.
    The recent rain washed the Skylights in my kitchen so now the Sky Light shines through them once again.

    I was in Cali, Colombia, SA 50 years ago teaching at a small private American School. The school was out in the country. The only way we could get news about President Kennedy being shot, was by short wave radio. The faculty crowded into the Director's office, sat on the floor, and listened to BBC news by short wave. We were starved for news, (No TV for us) so went downtown as soon as the buses came back for the faculty to buy a Miami Herald, but he paper had not reached us yet in Cali. All the streets were lined with American Flags, tied with black ribbons and people stopped us on the streets to say how sorry they were about El Presidente. It was hard being so far away from home.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Avg Joe : I don't remember the dates you selected in 1968, but i vividly remember January 28, 1986.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Anon (6:00), so how come you're not curious about my name? No respect I tell ya, I don't get no respect...

    ReplyDelete
  50. Aeronautics Fan, the 68 dates were the assassination dates for MLK and RFK. And I'd agree, the shuttle explosion(s) were equally memorableable dates.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Good evening, folks. Thank you, Steve Blais, for a fine puzzle, but a tough one. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.

    Well,I worked on this off and on all day. Never got it all done. Maybe too much french.

    I did get ASSAM. That was easy.

    OTTO I was easy.

    TORME was easy due to velvet.

    Liked REARM. Good one and true.

    Knew GENE AUTRY. Piece of cake.

    COMPUTER HACKERS was arrived at easily. Thye are the scourge of the earth.

    I am about to crash.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    (clesrey)

    ReplyDelete
  52. Manac, nope. I enjoyed the clip. He had a funny shtick but I can't imagine what it would have been like to have lived with him on a long-term basis. I'm guessing he would drive a person crazy after a few days.

    ReplyDelete
  53. G'Eve all:

    What a fantastic puzzle. Very well constructed and and subsequent expo, but poorly solved....

    I had three Googles to get me past the ~45% I got on my own, but I could not crack the SW. dOlT just wouldn't budge. I had SHU and nothing else and had to CEDE. I couldn't even get the theme until LEM 'splain'd it. Which is sad, because COMPUTER HACKER is what I is. Abejo, I'll explain in a few...

    I thought I had the theme when I got SUN (microsystems) now owned by Oracle and was looking for UNIX or Bill Joy somewhere.... It never showed. I also had the mental fart going 1d & 4d looking for a reveal. V-8 to the GOURD - wrong thinking....

    WEES said for favs.

    CED - I had the same problem w/ Manford Man's "Blinded by the Light." I tried to find the Kids in the Hall / Vacant Lot card game of the discussion, but it's poor quality video.

    D-O: Time for us to visit Lucina. This cold is ridiculous in Nov. BTW, it took almost 2hs to go 35 miles this morning. Why do people forget how to drive in the rain?

    Tin - Great Story. My brother (R) and I did the same to our brother (N) when he returned from Iraq. I got into STL about and hour ahead of time. Bro R & I caught up at the bar. When N landed, R got him. I stayed in the corridor "reading the paper." I snuck up behind N. Having just returned - Bad Idea (TM). I almost got flattened...

    Being born in the Year of the Dog, I'm too young for JFK to have the same impact... Like @7:51, 1986 is it for me (in a library for lunch at HS when my doofus friend broke the news - I didn't belive him. I said he was a doofus...)

    Re: Jumble. Nope. Being dyslexic the letters look fine where they are...

    Nice to see you back Iris.

    Cheers, -T

    Oh, Abejo - There are "black-hat", "white-hat", and simple criminal hackers. My hat's mostly white and I protect companies' data, reputation, etc. The criminals want money. Black-hats are in it for the Lulz*. The white-hats don't do illegal things. White-hats are black-hats at heart with a mortgage... :-)

    *Lulz = basically "s***s & giggles."

    ReplyDelete
  54. Haven't posted this week as daughter had a lung resection due to histoplasmosis. She's still hospitalized and it's day-to-day for a come-home date.

    I am old enough to remember this day 50 years ago. I heard the news on my radio at work. It seemed the world I grew up in was never going to be quite the same again.

    Enjoyed the puzzle. Did not find Acer, and had forgotten to look for 6 answers. WEES about favs.

    A very old misinterpretation that I recall was one of the ten commandments often recited as "Thou shall not commit a dog tree". Oh to be so innocent again.

    Good night all...

    ReplyDelete
  55. khinkc:

    I had to look up histoplasmosis. It seems that if confined to the lungs, it's not a problem after treatment - mind you, I just read what this iThing defined for me. We'll keep her in our thoughts.

    -T

    ReplyDelete
  56. And kjinkc - "an then conscious Pilot washed his hands" before he sentenced Christ to death... At 7, it took a month of hearing this before I did the math on the Wright brothers v. Roman times. :-) -T

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.