google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, December 12, 2013 Robert W. Harris

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Dec 12, 2013

Thursday, December 12, 2013 Robert W. Harris

Theme: 100 Years of Puzzling

16-Across. How to start working on a 35-Across : EXAMINE ALL CLUES.

35-Across. Pastime that will celebrate its 100th anniversary on 12/21/2013 : CROSSWORD PUZZLE.

54-Across. How to finish working on a 35-Across : WRITE THE ANSWERS.

17-Down. Inventor of the 35-Across : ARTHUR WYNNE.

Of course, I am well aware of the impending anniversary, and when I saw the clue for 16-A, I immediately checked the letter count at 35-Across. I filled that one and 17-Down immediately, which gave me wide swaths that were filled in seconds, and prevented a lot of mis-steps that I would otherwise have had with the tricky clueing on this one.

Across:

1. Keyless : ATONAL. Not like "keyless lock," but lacking a key, musically.

7. Top : BLOUSE.

13. Crude dudes : CAVEMEN. Cute misdirection with 7-Down. Crude meas. : BBL. and 9-Down. Crude fleet : OILERS.

15. Some woodwind players : OBOISTS.

18. Missile spot : SILO.

19. Socially awkward type : NERD.

20. Fish-eating eagle : ERNE.

21. Talking Trans Am of classic TV : KITT. From the '80s TV show.


22. Speak incessantly about : HARP ON. Waffled between "carp on" and "harp on."

24. Spenser's "The __ Queene" : FAERIE.

28. Some elimination rounds : HEATS.

30. Quite a lot : OFTEN.

31. Kirsten of "Melancholia" : DUNST. Never saw the movie. You?

32. Otologist's concern : EAR.

38. Saturn model until 2007 : ION.

39. Pet sounds : MEOWS. I bet dog lovers entered "woofs," right?

40. Nostrils : NARES.

41. Name of eight English kings : HENRY. And who didn't think of this song?

42. Lunch, say : REPAST.

43. It may be used after a break : SPLINT.

46. Requisite : NEED.

48. Quite a while : AEON.

49. Not even semi-pro? : ANTI. Favorite clue of the day!

50. Vocalist James : ETTA. At last...a clue I can relate to!

58. Corrida figures : TOREROS.

59. Gets in order : LINES UP. (As ducks in a row.)

60. Tense : ON EDGE.

61. Satisfies the munchies : NOSHES.

Down:

1. Nails, as a test : ACES.

2. Doorman's cry : TAXI.

3. Roundish : OVAL.

4. Literary sea captain : NEMO.

5. Porthos, to Aramis : AMI. French for male friend.

6. Gentle giant in "Of Mice and Men" : LENNIE.

8. __ cit. : LOC. Latin abbr. for "loco citato," or "in the place cited."

10. Seize : USURP.

11. Pool worker : STENO. Are there really still stenos out there?

12. Chief Ruhr River valley city : ESSEN. Our favorite German city makes an appearance.

14. Discontinued depilatory : NEET.

15. Long-established : OLD. I guess I must be long-established.

21. Branches on some trees : KINSMEN. Family trees, that is.

22. Metal fastener : HASP.

23. Adjusted (to) : ATTUNED.

24. Central points : FOCI.

25. High style : AFRO. Nice misdirection.

26. Avenger John Steed's alma mater : ETON. (He's the one on the left…)



27. Thing in court? : RES. Latin for "thing."

29. Limits : ENDS.

31. __ prize : DOOR.

32. Biblical reformer : EZRA.

33. Brown or golden drinks : ALES.

34. Take ten : REST.

36. Made an exit : WENT.

37. Microwave : ZAP.

41. Was indirect : HINTED.

42. Keep from getting out of control : REIN IN.

43. Took care of : SAW TO.

44. Former Argentine ruler : PERON.

45. Longest river in France : LOIRE.

47. Catchall abbr. : ET. AL. More Latin abbr. for "et alia," meaning "and others." And, how I usually include everyone in my morning greeting.

49. Sounds of contentment : AHS.

50. Woolly females : EWES.

51. Composer who was a CBS reporter : TESH (John). Prolific composer and award-winning broadcaster. I couldn't decide which of his works to link, so I'll let you choose your own.

52. Veracious : TRUE. I read this as "voracious" at first.

53. Threatening slitherers : ASPS.

55. Centimeter-gram-second unit : ERG.

56. Shoe part : TOE.

57. __ Balls: Hostess snack food : SNO. They did a tie-in with "Green Lantern" movie by putting these on shelves.  I wouldn't even think about eating one.


And for all our contractors on the blog, this should make you smile. It is what we found underneath the ugly ceramic tiles in the living room next door, woo-hoo!!!:


That's all for today. See you next week!

Marti

 

Note from C.C.:

I failed to mention an important step in yesterday's Big Avatar Picture instruction. Here it is again:

Click on your Blue Name, then "Edit Profile" on the upper right, then scroll down to "Profile Picture", then click on  "From the web. Paste an image URL below". Then paste. Then hit the Right Arrow button on your keyboard. Then wait for your picture to appear. Once it does, click on "Save Profile".

I'm eager to see if any of you can succeed today.




63 comments:

Lemonade714 said...

NARES, really? Actually this seemed like a very easy Thursday but that is not a word I have ever seen before.

I loved the Veracious misdirection, took a moment to recall the spelling of Lennie not Kenny and once the theme was apparent zzz upped through.

Thanks for the Herman' s Hernia Marti. They are performing near here soon. Also a wonderful Diana Rich.

Thanks Mr. WOLFE

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Have not been able to post lately, but thanks to all of the puzzle makers and reviews this week. No problem with themes. Today's puzzle was fun. No problems.

Sleep has been impossible all week.

Bill G: I, too, enjoy Foyle's War. It is always over too quickly.

Am going to have first prolotherapy treatment for back tomorrow. Hugely expensive.

Cheers to all!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Got the theme early on which helped immensely, but still needed every single perp to get ARTHUR WYNN. Hopefully, I'll remember his name when the 200th anniversary of the CROSSWORD PUZZLE rolls around...

[stereju]

OwenKL said...

[How is Wynne pronounced? Is it a homophone for win, wine, wayne, when, or whinny? It's important to a poet since they don't rhyme the same. Probably there are branches of the family that use each of those, but a check of several online sites seem to favor whinny by a narrow margin over win. How did Arthur pronounce it? I haven't found that out for certain, but judging from some of his spiritual progeny of today's crossword solvers, I think it would be whine.]

I wonder if, in nineteen-thirteen,
When ARTHUR WYNNE had this scheme,
He had any premonition
That this PUZZLE composition
Would ever-after be known his life's theme?

With a CROSSWORD, what do you do?
First, you EXAMINE ALL CLUES.
Some are obtuse
And hard to deduce,
While others come out of the blue!

As you solve each clue, WRITE THE ANSWERS.
They'll swirl round the grid like ball dancers.
Don't worry about blanks,
They'll slowly close ranks,
Each word-find another advancer.

When your sweetie is too tired to nuzzle,
And there's not enough wine left to guzzle,
Then to fill up your leisure
And give yourself pleasure,
You can't beat a good CROSSWORD PUZZLE!

(51D, Composer who was also... made me think of Steven Sondheim (I think he was the one) who composed both Broadway shows AND crossword puzzles.)

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Owen,
Can you check your mail box? I wrote you an email yesterday afternoon.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Marti and friends. I enjoyed this crossword commemorative puzzle. Getting CROSSWORD PUZZLE certainly helped with the remaining theme answers, although I must admit, I did google ARTHUR WYNNE's name.

Several years ago (in 1998), the US Postal Service commemorated the anniversary of the CROSSWORD.

Dave Brubeck only took FIVE.

I was finding Ahab instead of NEMO.

I also wanted a Crutch instead of a SPLINT for something I know I used after breaking my kneecap.

QOD: Nothing is more humiliating than to see idiots succeed in enterprises we have failed in. ~ Gustave Flaubert (Dec. 12, 1821 ~ May 8, 1880)

[julsongy]

Middletown Bomber said...

I believe Arthur Wynne's last name is pronounced "Win" I grew up in the Philadelphia suburbs near the village of Wynnewood (named for Thomas Wynne, the personal physician for William Penn) hope this helps you out Owen

Al Cyone said...

I too had AHAB before NEMO and was completely misled by "Top" so BLOUSE was my penultimate fill.

[10:02]

Montana said...

Good morning, everyone!
This has been a great week for me doing the puzzles. Although this was a DNF, I only bogged down in the very middle section and perped my way out of it. I consider it a personal DNF, however, because I had the red letters on.

Have a good day,

Montana

Patrick said...

I think NARES has been in the puzzle often. My blog search feature isn't working properly so I can't verify, but I do know Ed Sessa used it as recently as October 27, 2013.

Is Herman's Hernia similar to a Maydl's Hernia or a Amyand's Hernia? And why are you blaming Marti?

Yellowrocks said...

Thanks to Arthur Wynne for the many hours of pleasure our favorite pastime gives us.
I thought of CROSSWORD PUZZLE right away and the perimeter was a fast sashay.The middle was a little crunchier. I didn't know ARTHUR WYNNE, KITT, and DUNST. I perped most of that fill, but the T and U were WAGs. At first I tried ARCHER, but it didn't mesh with KIT-. Lots of fun.
I wondered why Rich didn't save this puzzle for 12/21, but then realized it is too easy for a Saturday.
I learned NARES from xwords.

Montana said...

Baby is asleep. I have a minute.

NARES is a common word for science teachers.
Sports and literature clues are not common clues for me, so our different backgrounds make for fun discussions on this Corner.

Glad to be a resident here,

Montana

TTP said...

Neat Puzzle !!! Thank you Robert Harris, and thank you Marti.

Way to go Owen !

Never heard of ARTHUR WYNNE, and unlike ABNER DOUBLEDAY, will probably forget his name by tomorrow, even though I am a great fan of his invention. Arthur, look at what you have DUNST ! Speaking of which, if the clue has Kirsten, and the answer has 5 letters, DUNST is going in.

Hand up for Ahab at first. And, first had elan for high style.

Favorite was the ATONAL clue. I got fooled by tree branches.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day !

Woof, woof !

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

A bit of a toughie but not as bad as last Thursday.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Robert W. Harris, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the fine review.

OwenKL, extra good poem today. Keep them coming, Brother!

Marti: Looks like they found a hardwood floor under the tile. Is that correct?

Wow! This puzzle was great!

Got a few of the short Downs. Read the Clue for 16A and then checked 35A. Did a couple short Downs there and then tried CROSSWORD PUZZLE. It fit. From there the rest was pretty easy.

I did not know ARTHUR WYNNE, but with a handful of perps I got the name.

I wanted CHECK THE ANSWERS for 54A, but it was not working. With PERON and LOIRE I deduced WRITE THE ANSWERS.

ERG was tough until I had two of the letters. I knew it was a unit of work from more crosswords than I can count, but did not know the metric connection. Now I do. Hope I remember it.

NARES was easy. We have had that before.

HENRY was easy. I am reading a book entitled "The Plantagenets" by Dan Jones. There are some Henrys in it. Quite a history of early England.

I even got AMI after two letters. Now for the four letter french words.

This puzzle seemed more a Wednesday level. But, who cares. I loved it!

Back to the eye doctor today for a pressure test on my left eye, from my laser surgery yesterday. If all is well, they will do my right eye probably next week.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(ruterner)

Mari said...

Good morning everybody! So now I know the history of the crossword puzzle. I'm surprised they are only 100 years old.

I found a couple of stellar clues here:
- 49A: Not even semi-pro? ANTI
- 21D: Branches on some trees: KINSMEN
- 25D: High Style: AFRO

It is abslutely frigid in Chicago this morning. I bet my cats are thankful for their fur coats (and heated house). Have a great day and stay warm!

CanadianEh! said...

Wow. Completed in 22 minutes with no red letter or Google helps!! When I got the Crossword Puzzle clue, I was off to the races. Any unknowns were filled in with the perps until I got the TADA.

Loved the misdirection of KEYLESS=ATONAL and POOL WORKER=STENO. Also noted old spelling for AEON and FAERIE.

OTOLOGISTS may also be ENTs in which case they deal with NARES!

Hand up for CRUTCH before SPLINT.

I thought of the Herman's Hermits song "I'm Henry the VIII, I am".

Cold here today. -10C

Martin said...

Finished today but I had false starts. Kind of wanted READ ALL THE CLUES. EXAMINE ALL CLUES sounds forced.

Weekend Reader said...

Nice puzzle, and memorable theme, though rather difficult in parts. Thank you Robert Harris and Marti ... Both wonderful.

Wynne ? .... Maybe I should add a couple of extraneous vowels to my name,.... And become a crossword clue.

ANTI was a wonderful clue, that I never got.

Bil. G. And AnonT and CED from last night ... Very interesting about the circumference of the earth. Erato. Measured at 40,000. Kms. , actually 40,000 + ~ 0.1. % Or 0.2% ... Max 40,075 Kms. Was Erato. Very accurate or very lucky ?

Have a good day, all.

buckeye bob said...

From yesterday...

EOE and HeartRx - thank you.

Now as Splynter says, Onward!

Husker Gary said...

Hmmm… CROSSWORD PUZZLE has 15 letters and many of the grids are 15 cells wide. Coincidence or karma? There was so much to like in the celebratory exercise. Thanks to Arthur, Robert, Rich and Marti!

Musings
-December 21, of course, is the day with the least daylight. Maybe that’s why Arthur came up with the idea around then. I’m just sayin’…
-Army Class A BLOUSE
-In the ‘60’s our small town became ATTUNED to missile SILOS that joined our grain SILOS
-HEATS on OVALS
-Some critics called Pet Sounds one of the most influential “sounds” ever
-LINES UP? De rigueur in elementary school.
-Would you feel safe if he were your TAXI driver?
-Unusual FOCI generator
-EZRA was the name of the 12’ Boa that clamped onto my hand one morning. He was soon out the DOOR.
-“Papa, how did you make popcorn before you ZAPPED it in a microwave?”
-I’ve questioned someone’s veracity but have never called anyone veracious
-In what movie 1980 movie did three members of the STENO pool kidnap their corrupt boss?

Lucina said...

Good day, Puzzlers!

This was fun romp! I love a crossword about crosswords! Of course I didn't recall ARTHUR Wynne but every letter perped wonderfully.

LENNIE was slow in coming, too, since it has been almost 100 years since I read Of Mice and Men. I guess that makes me very well established!

As Mari noted, some stellar clues emerged for:

SPLINT
ANTI
AFRO

Thank you, Robert W. Harris and Marti. Today provided some top entertainment.

Have thoroughly thrilling Thursday, everyone! I'll be cooking meat for tamales.

Lucina said...

HG:
Was it 9 to 5?

HeartRx said...

Good morning all!

Arthur Wynne was the editor of the puzzle page of the NY World. He was asked to create a new game for readers, to be published on the Sunday before Christmas. He developed the word puzzle based on an old childhood game called "Magic Squares."

Wynne called the new game "Word-Cross," but someone in the typesetting department made a mistake, and the CROSSWORD puzzle was born...

Bill G. said...

Wow! This puzzle seemed pretty hard but I was enjoying it, I persevered and ended up with a 'Tada' with no Googling or red letters. That was a real accomplishment for me. I finished late last night and wrote this about 11pm local time so I wouldn't forget my solving experience.

Right away I had trouble with 'keyless' and 'top.' I did suss out STENO. I don't know how I remembered how to spell FAERIE but I did. NARES appeared with mostly all crosses. Lots of the clues seemed hard and tricky but fair once I figured them out. Some crossing letters began to make me suspect that the theme answers might have something to do with one of our favorite pastimes. No real nits or Naticks (which is mostly the case when I can solve a puzzle with no help or lookups). All in all, a very satisfying experience. Thanks Mr. Harris and Marti.

I know I've said it before but I'm really enjoying Foyle's War, even in repeats now. In addition to the tricky crime solving, I think the ambiance gives me a much better insight into what the Brits must have gone through. How can you not love a show with Michael Kitchen and where his driver's real name is Honeysuckle Weeks. Here's what one article had to say about her and her character, Sam (Samantha). "THE couple's relationship (her and her new husband) is of the period: they had a low-key wedding and displays of affection are kept behind closed doors. There is no nudity in Foyle's War and Honeysuckle says: "I don't think anyone would want to see me nude to be honest. They would be horrified.
"Even my husband Lorne says: 'No, you don't want to get your kit off. It's not what people want to see in Sam.'" Honeysuckle has become very fond of her fictional alter ego but feels there is little of her own personality in the prim and proper character. "I'm sure there is some of me in her but unlike her I'm not the tidiest person. And Sam has standards which I definitely would fail to meet."

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Very enjoyable tribute to one of our favorite past times. Lots of fresh cluing and misdirection. Had a few hiccups in the SW corner, but finished in due time w/o help. Nice job, Mr. Harris, and great expo, Ms. Marti.

Very cold but clear and sunny. (Not as frigid as what the Chicago contingent is enduring! Stay warm, Mari, Abejo, and TTP, or is it -T?)

Have a terrific Thursday.

thehondohurricane said...

Hello all,

Lots of good cluing today making for an enjoyable solve.

KITT (thought of Eartha), DUNST, & ARTHUR WYNNE needed heavy reliance on perps.

HG, If a boa clamped onto me, I'd be taking the "dirt nap." Ditto, even if it was an ASP. I can't stand those slithering @##%$$!

HENRY II my favorite. He has been called one of England's best, but he was a lousy father & husband. He could pick the ladies though. Eleanor & Rosamund Clifford wouldn't be slouches today.

LENNIE was easy, Of Mice & Men always been a Steinbeck fav.

OBOIST had me reeling. Can't ever recall seeing the term, but it made sense once I woke up.

John Steed dad a lot of good traits, including ETON, but Emma was my fav.

Thanks for the nice write up Marti.

From ice bound Ct, enjoy your day.



Misty said...

Lots of fun for a Thursday morning--many thanks, Robert! I just bought Merl Reagle's 100 Crossword Anniversary book which gives a history of the crossword puzzle, so that theme fell into place quickly for me. Even so, I didn't remember the name of ARTHUR WYNNE, and had to work that one out. All the same, many thanks, ARTHUR, doing fabulous crosswords in the sky, I hope, for all the pleasure you've given millions over the years.

Agree with Mari about the cleverness of the ANTI, KINSMEN, and AFRO clues. And many more.

Your new floor will be fabulous, Marti.

Have a great day, everybody!

CED Admirer said...

Bill G. I hope you are still here. From yesterday, Carl Sagan's video on Eratosthenes measurement of the circumference of the Earth ...

To put Eratosthenes "measurement of the earth's circumference", to sleep ... I read up on him, and found he was born in Cyrene , now Shahhat, Libya. 32.85oN 21.86oE and lived in Alexandria, Egypt whose geographical location is. 31.198oN 29.92E.

Both cities have almost the same latitude, and still, either of them, are not quite on the Tropic of. Cancer, so the sun on the Summer Solstice day. ---- June 21, could NOT have been directly overhead, at either place ....

Plus ... The shadow would be the same length and same angle at both places.!!! Because of the same latitudes .....

But, I was wrong ... The other place, he did his experimental studies, was Syrene, now Aswan Egypt 24.089o N 32.899o E ----- which IS close to the 23.5o N --- the Tropic of Cancer, so the sun was pretty much directly overhead on the day of the summer solstice !!!

Anyway, others, much more smarter and more dedicated than me, have done a better, wonderful job.

Eratosthenes Measurement of the Earth

I am finished with this subject.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fastest finish on a Thursday. Enjoyable romp, Robert. Great one, Marti!

Last to fill was the BL in the BLOUSE/BBL cross. That puzzlement almost made me cross.

NARES? Nostril? Took every perp to sniff that one out.

I liked how AHS crossed WRITE THE ANSWER. AHS is how we feel if we successfully fill the puzzle.

We had RES recently but I successfully forgot it already.

What impressed me about your Eratosthene stuff was that he was doing this in 240 BC in Egypt and supposes a round earth. The news apparently never got to Italy centuries later when Galileo was punished for heresy for his round earth theory. I like history more than math & science.

Sunny, 40 degrees here. I'll go out and do deep breathing. Tomorrow ice and snow predicted.

Anonymous T said...

Hey All:

A meta-CROSSWORD! If it was only as easy as EXAMINEtheCLUES and WRITETHEANSWERS... Whew! Never-the-less, a fun offering from Mr. Harris and great write-up from Marti.

My grid was mostly blank when I got to 35a and I thought CrosswordPuzzle. I checked the first z at 37d and ZAP - off to the races. I still, I needed 2 Googles.

At 16a, I did have the before ALL. That messed up OLD, so I thought NERD was wrong. What am I then, a geek, a dork, a dweeb (no, to long)...?

WEES re: Favs. Fun orthogonal thoughts.

Didn't someone post the history of the crossword a few weeks ago or did I stumble onto it myself? That's how I remembered WYNNE (I read that and thought that's gonna be an answer one day!), but not ARTHUR (not that I'd have spelled it that way anyway).

IM - You're right, TTP is in CHI, -T is in HOU. The confusion is TTP is from here and I there. :-)

Cheers, -T

River Doc said...

Happy Thursday everybody!

Wow, a crossword puzzle-themed crossword puzzle. I like it...!

Unfortunately, one letter short of the TaDa, since I initially typed in REELED IN, then forgot to go back and correct once perps filled in the other crosses. Guess I should've examined the answers in addition to the clues, eh...?

Hands up for reading voracious....

Misspelled FAERIE at first, but perps fixed that fiasco....

HG, I'd feel safer with Reverend Jim than I would with Travis Bickle as my taxi driver....

Bill G. said...

The step that gives me a problem in posting a photo of myself from the web is the first step of getting a photo with a URL since I don't have a web page. Any advice for an easy approach?

Mr. Admirer (12:03), thanks for the additional input. I too am finished with the topic except to explain it to my grandson or anyone else who will sit still and listen to me explain how much I admire the accomplishment of very smart guy from 2000 years ago.

Anonymous T said...

Bill G:

I thought there was an file button.

You might also try:

file://localhost/c:/path/path/filename.jpg

I'll try when I get my laptop up later.

Cheers, -T

Anonymous said...

HG 9 TO 5 GOOD MOVIE. HAVE ANY OF YOU MEMORY OF 'IT HAPPENED IN BROOKLYN' WATCHED IT AGAIN TO
DAY . DURANTE,SINATRA AND LAWFORD HAVE GREAT LINES ABOUT HOW YOU KNOW THE ONE YOU LOVE. SEE IT IF YOU CAN.
Anon jr

Anonymous said...

Also wanted to say thank God for A Wynne.where would we all be without this diversion. Anon jr

CrossEyedDave said...

Nice puzzle, a bit tricky in places. It took me forever to suss out faerie/afro, & I thought Peron might be Evita for some reason...

But the only river I know in France is the Seine, (which conveniently fit, dang it!) but I successfully wagged the R in Toreros, so I guess I can't cry Natick....

I found this Bio on Mr Wynne, but wasn't going to post it until I discovered how lacking Wiki's version is.

CED Admirer, you're finished with the subject? (not if Bill G & I have anything to do with it...) How do you think we measured the distance to the nearest star?

(Hint, do not look up heliocentric parallax,,, but I found it fascinating...)

CrossEyedDave said...

Bill G., sorry, I forgot your Q.

I have found the easiest way to post a pic on the Blog from the web is to upload it to Facebook. Just be sure to link the close up (clicked on) pic's URL & not the tiny one on the 1st page or people have to sign on.

Once you have the big pic version, just right click your mouse & choose copy image URL, then paste it where ever you want.

If you do not have a Facebook acct, try the free photo websites. I use shutterfly.

Ol' Man Keith said...

No, I never heard of NARES before either (Sing. NARIS, Adj. NARIAL), but the daily Crossword makes it so, and I must allow it (or them) in all conversation from now on.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, What a fun puzzle today. Despite some of the mis-directions in the clues, I managed to get it all on my own today.

My comments would echo those of just about everyone else today. A learning moment, though, was Tesh. I didn't realize he was also a broadcaster.

Favorites today: High Style/Afro, and Branches on some trees/Kinsmen.

Thanks you Marti for the great writeup. Your house next door may end up with some nice things hidden from view. Or what was under the tile isn't so nice?
It looked like a brick floor.

Bill G. Foyle's War has been a favorite in our household for a very long time. We even like all the reruns. We've seen Honeysuckle Weeks in a couple of other British programs, and didn't like her characters. Somehow she has taken on Sam's persona for us.

Have a lovely evening, everyone.

TTP said...

Thought I'd catch up on the comments. It's fun to see what has happened and how topics have changed over the day. Still surprised that I've seen no commentary about the signer in South Africa.

Well stated Anonymous T, "A meta-CROSSWORD! If it was only as easy as EXAMINE THE CLUES and WRITE THE ANSWERS." There are some super quick solvers on this site that do these in short order. They've got years of experience on people like us. I have to remind myself every once in a while that I've only been doing puzzles on a daily basis a little over a year and a half. D-O, would you care to share how long ?

And thanks for setting Irish Miss straight ! My ego is sufferring. :>) I think I may change my handle. Maybe Transplanted Texan TTP ? Doc changes his every time he changes locations ! Vegas Doc, River Doc, Doha Doc, and Wassup Doc. Well, maybe that last one isn't accurate. He's definitely not Papa Doc.

Time for this evening's REPAST ! See y'all on the flip side.


HeartRx said...

Abejo and Chickie, what we found under the ugly (cracked) ceramic tiles in the living room was a lovely hardwood floor. My contractor will refinish it to it's original beauty, and we don't have to install ugly engineered laminate flooring. I will post more pictures as we proceed with the process. I know some on the corner will appreciate the restoration...

desper-otto said...

I'm late to the party -- 600+ miles today and another 600 tomorrow and I'll be home. What does it mean when the ABS warning light comes on, but only after 400 miles that day. It's done that three times in the past week. Is it trying to tell me not to drive so much? I've decided it's a sensor error. Can you imagine taking it to the shop, "Oh, just take it for a 500-mile spin. You'll see what I'm talking about."

Am I the only one who immediately entered NARES? I'm sure we've seen that several times before. And I even remembered that Spenser (who couldn't spell Spencer) spelled Fairy as FAERIE.

TTP, to answer your question, I've been doing the daily puzzles for about 30 years. That means I'm an experienced puzzler, not necessarily a good one. I started in earnest back when I was taking the Park 'n Ride to work in downtown Houston. The ride was 20 minutes long, so I always tried to finish before the trip was over.

Husker Gary said...

-It’s finally going to get back up to the 40’s today and so we are going to beat the ground hog and stick our nose out of our burrow and go to Omaha.
-You bet, Lucina!
-Right you are Doc, I well remember this this iconic scene with Travis Bickle
-NARES was a quick fill for me (lotta dissecting)

TTP said...

Oooh, I ate too much.

Desper-otto, thanks for sharing. BTW, did you know that it's 1200 miles from Madison to Houston ? :>)

On a whim, I threw those into MapQuest after your comments... Probably not your trip, but the distance is right. BTW, I'd guess sensor. Maybe stop by the local auto parts store when you get home, and let them do a readout for diagnostic codes.

Time to hit the hay. See y'all tomorrow.

desper-otto said...

TTP: You got the "M" right, but I went west rather than north. Mesa v Madison (haven't been in WI since '88, and if I were to visit, December would not be my first choice). Haven't seen my sister since 2000, and she's in the hospital in Mesa. Figured it was time I made a visit.

Auto anon said...

Desper-Otto---- I used to have a Chevy celebrity, which used to have a very stiff steering wheel, (power steering -), when I started her up in the morning..... And I had a hard time reversing her in the morning.

But once I got her going, and drove out of my driveway, ---- she never gave me any problem with my power steering or my reverse gear for the rest of the day, as long as I kept driving her... Off and on.

Then the next morning ... Back again, that stiffness in the power steering and the reverse gear. But only for the first ten minutes...

I just called it her "morning sickness". Never fixed it.

I sold the used car to a divorcee lady ... And told her the truth and the strange case of the morning sickness. She said,' you don't have to explain - I know exactly what you're talking about'... And bought the car.

Irish Miss said...

TTP and -T- You two are so confusing that I'll probably never be able to keep you straight. But that's okay, it doesn't matter where you're from, it's where you're at that counts! And you are both a pleasant addition to the blog. (-:

kjinkc said...

Good late evening all. I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle of puzzling. I've been an avid fan for many years and yet never knew the history.

I need some advice. I got an early Christmas gift from some of my kids, a MS Surface tablet. I can't get the puzzle to come up on either the Mensa site or via the LA Times crossword page. On LA Times, the ad box appears, but not ad displays and thus no puzzle. Is there software I need or is it impossible to do on a tablet? Any help would be appreciated as my HP laptop I've been using is 9+ years old and slow and heavy (kinda like me I guess!)

Love all the discussion about the circumference of the earth and Owen's daily compositions.

Lemonade714 said...

Kj good to see you. Puzzles can be done on some tablets but you need to have the proper apps. I would go to where itwas bought and have them assist you.

kjinkc said...

Lemon-
I believe it was bought at Best Buy on Black Friday. I'll give the a jingle tomorrow. If that doesn't pan out, I think this was also available on MicroSoft's website...I will search there as well. I was in hopes somebody already had the magic answer, however, this is great advice. Many thanks.

Anonymous T said...

hjinkc - can you get the tablet to print? I've heard the Trib's web-site has the printable times. I've not used the surface yet (I have an iPad and a pleathera of laptops and some "old-timey" computers). I'll get one if my new employer needs me to have it. Personally, I like to do (or at least try) the pzl in the paper in ink (that way I know what I'm sure of) -- there's lots of splotches today :-)

Bill - I've yet to pull my laptop out of my backpack to check the file:// suggestion. I'll put it on tomorrow's todo. No guarantee, but it's on my list.

IM - I'm OK with being confused with TTP (and TTP seems to be OK with it too). Seems we are in the same line of work and have roughly the same puzzle-solving exp. under our belts. We're both glad folks like you are on the blog.

BTW - MIL wants to know how many put Rhine or Rhone for 45d at first (my hand's up for Rhine - but I'm an geo-idiot).

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

AnonT:
Neither. I was certain the Rhone wasn't the longest and the Rhine is mostly in Germany. I waited for two letters and that gave me LOIRE. It's one we've seen before.

I'm exhausted from cooking and shredding meat today and tomorrow we'll start early making tamales so I likely won't get here until very late. I want to wish you all a very good Friday.

Pork is one of the meats we use along with beef for the red chile and I had the devil of a time finding nice pork. Does anyone know if there is an issue with pork? All the shoulders I saw were highly marbled so I finally used several small loins which worked well.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Extra late to the party today. Enjoyed the puzzle, but that was hours ago. Crossword history was vaguely familiar, but I wouldn't have been able to recall the inventor's name.

Did everyone catch this year's Christmas episode of TBBT? Kaley Cuoco fans must have been pleased! :-)

And that cold air that Mari was talking about earlier? It's here now. Brrrr.

Anonymous T said...

Lucina - Like I said, I'm a geo-idiot :-) I got to visit the Rhine on a two week tour with the German NATO troops in '91, but that's about all I know about Euro-geo other than from books.

MMMMMmmmm Tamales. The immigrant families 'round these parts make the most delicious ones this time of year. There's a hole-in-the-wall (inside the corner gas station) that makes them soooo good. Like anything worth eating, it takes a lot of effort. I spent 3 hours on pizelles last night - that's just peanuts to Tamales. More power to ya Lucina! See you late tomorrow.

Cheers, -T

kjinkc said...

Anon T - There is a print icon, but I haven't tried to use it yet as I would need to download the printer software. As time allows, I'll give it a try.

Thanks for the suggestion.
KJ

CrossEyedDave said...

In honor of the 100th birthday of crosswords...

(for the late night crowd...)

one for me

one for manac

& one for all

Anonymous T said...

@144 / @146 - interesting the CAPTCHA is the same two minutes later...

If you're the Friday Snark - the rule is, you have to wait for LEM to post his expo first... Just sayin'

If you aren't the snark, then see Montana @7:44a for NARES. Apparently it's a scientific term. I didn't know it either and any letter would have sufficed for the N. Almost a natnik for me, but I guessed correctly.

Did anyone read Baldo today?
Tia: "Dr Garcia says I need a hearing aid, but they cost $2000."
Son: "So, you're getting one?"
Tia: "No. No one ever tells me anything worth $2000."

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

CED - that last one looked like the British x-words I've tried - and subsequently failed at miserably.

The one with the pup - he didn't care. The cat seemed more focused :-)

kjinkc - try to get the print drivers if you can. I've got to pay $9 to get my iThingy to print. The iThing is convenient, but it can't do real work like my laptop.*

I just counted - this post puts me over. -T out.

*for TTP - its a kBuntu install w/ XP, Win7, and throw-away VMs on top.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Bill G,
You can use your Blog Archive photo I put on my Ginger Roots. Try to copy and paste this one:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-usEkOVVUPuA/Uby6QV1HonI/AAAAAAAAMtg/lPlPfUMdhQE/s1600/Bill3.PNG

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Also, Bill, what I normally do is Google "Bill G, Crossword Corner" and use the Google Images button to find all your pictures. Then pick one I Like, then click on "View Image" and get the URL address.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

KJ in KC,
I think you're the first one on our blog to own a Surface. You can go to Windows Store to search for crossword app. Make sure the app has LA Times crossword in their lineup.

There are some big names in the crossword app market: Standalone, CRUX, Shortyz, etc. Some only runs on iPad/iPhone, some on Android.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Anon-T,
To answer your rejected puzzles the other day, George Barany runs some on his website.