3-Down. "Sesame Street" segment with Dorothy the goldfish : ELMO'S WORLD.
4-Down. Combat with one survivor : FIGHT TO THE DEATH.
9-Down. Input for a personnel interviewer : FIRST IMPRESSION.
31-Down. "Dolphin Tale" co-star : ASHLEY JUDD.
And the reveal:
39-Across. Lullaby setting, and a hint to the starts of 3-, 4-, 9- and 31-Down : TREETOP. My reaction? 62-Down: AHA! "Now it's clear!" I honestly did not see the theme until the reveal. Nicely done, with the four theme answers going down the grid, with the TREE at the TOP of each one, all three letters. Very consistent. Let's see what else Jeffrey has to offer.
Across:
1. Took in : ATE.
4. Cartoon huntsman : FUDD.
8. One of the five Olympic rings : AFRICA. The original designer (Pierre de Coubertin) chose the colors from the flags of all the countries involved in the Olympics. Before 1951 the Olympic Charter did specify that blue = Europe, yellow = Asia, black = Africa, green = Australia/Oceania and red = America. That statement was later removed, since it did not appear to be the designer's original intention.
14. __ Harbour, Fla. : BAL.
15. Memo term : IN RE.
16. Jeweled headgear : DIADEM.
17. Electrical unit : OHM. And 28-Across. Power units : WATTS.
18. France, in the time of the 6-Down : GAUL. And 6-Down. Pre-Christian Celtic priests : DRUIDS.
19. Julio's partner in wine : ERNEST. The Gallo Brothers.
20. Sponge : MOOCH.
22. The Beatles' "__ Just Seen a Face" : I'VE. I refuse to link songs any more. You Tube has put annoying ads on every page now.
24. ERA and others : STATS.
25. Enchant : BESOT.
26. Mark : DENOTE.
30. Thought before taking a risk : DO I DARE? (Oh sure, go ahead!)
34. Excessively affected : TOO TOO.
36. First name in Chicago politics : RAHM. Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago.
37. Pathetic : SAD.
38. Good Friday mo., often : APR.
41. Group __ : HUG. Awww, how sweet!
42. 4-Across frame : CEL.
43. Golden __: Drake's ship : HIND. Forgot the name of his ship - she was originally called Pelican, but he changed the name half way around the world.
44. How aspirin is taken : ORALLY.
46. Single sock, e.g. : ODDMENT. I don't think I've ever seen this ODD word before.
48. "We hold __ truths ..." : THESE.
49. Superfan : ADORER.
51. Art nouveau, say : STYLE.
54. Musical flip : B-SIDE.
57. Sumac of song : YMA. She could span more than four octaves with her voice.
58. Man of letters? : SAJAK. "Wheel of Fortune." (Can I buy an __ ?)
59. Hard to believe : UNREAL.
61. __ B'rith : B'NAI.
63. Down Under school : UNI. Late week doesn't indicate "for short." Kazie, do you call university "UNI"?
64. Mutual respect : COMITY. Another word that took all the perps to see.
65. Second : ECHO. "I ECHO your thoughts."
66. "Football Night in America" co-host Patrick : DAN.
67. Envelop : SWATHE. Another late-week word.
68. List maker : DEAN. DEAN's List.
69. More than scratch the surface : DIG.
Down:
1. Enola Gay payload : A BOMB.
2. Lake bordering the Silver and Golden states : TAHOE.
5. Actress Merkel : UNA. She was big in early Hollywood.
7. Go deeply (into) : DELVE.
8. Citrusy drink : ADE.
10. Carried on : RANTED.
11. "The very __!" : IDEA.
12. "__ la vie!" : C'EST. "That's life!"
13. Figs. : AMTS. Amounts. Not to be confused with FIGs from today's tree.
21. Oft-checked item : COAT. Nice misdirection.
23. Use as a terminus : END AT.
27. "I know! Pick me!" : OOH OOH!
29. Città on the Po : TORINO. "Turin," in Italian.
32. Castro of Cuba : RAUL. Fidel's little brother.
33. Neither cool nor collected : EDGY.
34. Food truck offering : TACO.
35. Non-news page : OP ED. "OPposite the EDitorial"
36. It may precede meat and potatoes : RED. I was thinking of an appetizer or salad at first. RED meat / RED potatoes.
40. Sweepstakes mail-in : ENTRY.
45. Sleuthing films canine : ASTA.
47. Got there : MADE IT.
48. Semiconscious state : TRANCE.
50. Set : EMBED.
52. Island only 2% owned by Hawaii : LANAI. The other 98% is privately owned by Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle.
53. Barely acquiring, with "out" : EKING.
54. Tampa NFL team : BUCS. Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
55. Bamboozle : SNOW. We only got about three inches of bamboozle from the big storm this week.
56. "__ la Douce" : IRMA.
60. Pipe cleaner : LYE. I wanted those fuzzy arts & crafts things...
62. "Now it's clear!" : AHA. Just as I said at the beginning!
That's it for me today. See you next week!
Marti
Tall Ships Sailed Both Sea And Sky
ReplyDeleteThe crewman in the TREE TOP, elsewise known as crow's nest,
Could shout down to the hELMsman what he saw from east to west.
The captain FIGured placement
By stars up in the FIRmament.
And the sky awASH at dawn or dusk the weather would attest.
After writing the above, I did some fact-checking. I found a lot of references to treetops being called crow's nest, but not vice versa. I read the Horatio Hornblower books, and was sure I'd seen tree as slang for mast, and treetop for crows nest. Am I becoming demented?
Defeated by 5 words in the SW + three words in the SE. WEEWS (what everyone else will say), I'm sure.
ReplyDeleteAn ODDMENT: TOO-TOO and OOH, OOH are both ECHOic terms.
I was surprised to see FIG instead of oak, which was sacred to the DRUIDS of Britain and GAUL; particularly since "Figs." was a clue. We also had "Sumac" among the clues. And I don't think the connection is too far out that "aspirin" is refined willow bark.
Synonyms: DELVE & DIG.
Morning, all!
ReplyDeleteHome again, home again, jiggedy-jig.
Fun puzzle today, except for ODDMENT. Seriously? It's always nice to learn new words, but that was just such an outlier today that I kept checking and double-checking the crosses to see where I had gone wrong.
Minor glitch in the middle due to going with HART instead of HIND at first. The certainty of ENTRY took care of that soon enough, however.
Also really wanted BAR Harbor instead of BAL Harbor, but once again the perps forced the correct answer on me. And yes, I know that Bar Harbor is in Maine...
Not much to say (too cold?) except to note that, once again, the (very clever) theme eluded me.
ReplyDelete2° at sunrise here in the beautiful mid-Hudson valley. It might make it up to 20° today.
[10:44]
Bonus Question: What Rod McKuen song features my completion time in the chorus? Click here for the answer (including covers by The Kingston Trio, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Hank Williams, Jr.).
Hint: I had no idea it was a Rod McKuen song so don't let that throw you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a challenging puzzle, Jeffrey. Thank you for a great review, Marti.
ReplyDeleteWhat Marti said – I’ve never seen or heard ODDMENT and COMITY before. Needed the perps. Learning moments. Now if I can just remember them…
WBS – I had BAR Harbor before BAL Harbor.
Didn’t see the theme until I read Marti’s review.
Had to turn on red letter help to finish. Argh! But then it is Thursday.
Good morning!
ReplyDeleteI, too, thought it was going to be "BAH" Harbor. When BAL showed up i realized YMA wrong, so I read the rest of that clue. AHA!
I would have thought the clue for RED was really clever….if I'd read it. Must've already been filled in.
Marti, I was not aware that Drake forgot the name of his ship, and that's why he changed it. :>}
Learning moment: COMITY -- I don't remember seeing it before. Will I remember it now? Definitely not.
TV weather folks are all agog warning of the WINTER STORM arriving later today. Down here that means cold, rainy, and the possibility of sleet. Sleet plus Houston drivers is a recipe for disaster.
Where does the name 'HIND'
ReplyDeletecome from ? Certainly not
from 'REAR' ?
Anon@7:41 -- A hind is a deer.
ReplyDeleteGood morning everybody. Well this one was tougher than I thought. I filled in much of the clues, thinking I had them correct. And then I came here and found out I had several wrong! I missed on COMITY, DIADEM and ODDMENT for starters. I had LOOFA instead of MOOCH for sponge. But I did catch the theme with the FIG, ASH, ELM and FIR trees.
ReplyDeleteOh well - better luck tomorrow. (Or not, since Friday's puzzles are always doozies!)
Still freezing in Chicago. I hope you have a great day!
The Pelican was renamed by Drake in mid-voyage, calling her Golden Hind to compliment his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton, whose armorial crest was a golden 'hind' (a female deer).
ReplyDeleteWiki
note: It also was spelled Hinde.
Must get my eyes examined. I thought Argyle wrote "amoral crest."
ReplyDeleteTTP (from last night), I just gotta ask, was it you or the vendor who practices ballet? OOH, OOH, I think I just got the answer. My captcha is "notven." Really.
Good morning everyone.
ReplyDeleteFun theme today. Liked the long downs. Ultimately got it all without lookups. HIND was a gimme. SAJAK was clever fill.
MOOCH - We had a cat named MOOCHER. A calico cat; she lived for 20 yrs. Great mouser.
25a, Enchant. The voice call of my ship (see avatar). An ODDMENT remembered from over 50 yrs ago.
Off to play some bridge.
Have a great day.
Jeffrey, thanks for a just right Thursday puzzle. I liked your theme and the way you set the trees at the tops of columns.
ReplyDeleteNursery rhymes sometimes seem sadistic. “When the bow breaks the cradle will fall. Down will come baby, cradle and all.’ Many of the rhymes were said to have political meanings. See Wiki.
Marti, I always look forward to terrific Thursdays with you. You never disappoint me.
There were no unknowns today. It was just meaty enough to be interesting.
COMITY seems common in reading the news and even novels. I got it from just the M in IRMA. COMITY or, more likely, lack thereof, is frequently used in regard to Congress. From the NYT, January 2013,”As the 113th Congress convened just after noon, leaders of both parties in both chambers tried to strike a note of COMITY after the struggles of a Congress marred by acrimony almost to its final minutes.”
ReplyDeleteODDMENT took a while, but then I remembered seeing it in print at times. Here is an example from the New York Times. “Such curiosity turns up some odd bits and pieces.. . . . . Another ODDMENT that rose to the surface recently came from the Securities and Exchange Commission.”
UNI was all perps. Then came the V-8 can slap. I have frequently read it in novels by British authors, and so I assume that it is also used Down Under.
Yes, Marti, I do call it UNI, I took a long time after moving here to start using "college" instead. I went to Sydney Uni, and there, (map) the colleges were, and still are, residence halls.
ReplyDeleteI got really stuck in the SW corner today, but caught the theme early on after I found the reveal while cruising for a foothold. I actually enjoyed the rest of it though, but I don't like being stumped. I had AMMITY/COMITY, didn't know BUCS, and so SNOW, BSIDE and SWATHE just weren't forthcoming at all.
AnonT - using your new abbr FLN (from last night) - Warning, this has political overtones so if you might be offended, don't click. In re: Springsteen's Born To Run Version II Apologies, but this was just too good to pass up.
ReplyDeleteAlso, you're very honorable to fess up to your mistakes. I was always of the mind it's best to say 'I messed up, and now how can I fix it?'
Marti - Having lived in Australia for a year, I was quite familiar with Uni. My xmas card from a friend this year notes her daughter has just started Uni. I believe 'down' there, they wouldn't consider it an abbr.
Puzzle was fun but felt bamboozled by oddment and comity. Something odd and comedic about these words.
Good day to all on this frosty, snowy morning. Some work required today to finish and I still didn't get the theme! What do Elmo, Fight, first, and Ashley have to do with Treetop?? OOHOOH it is only the "starts" not the 1st word!! V-8 can smack. Thanks Marti.
ReplyDeleteWanted TIARA for DIADEM but it was 1 letter short. Also wanted ARGO at 1st for HIND. Oops wrong boat!
Smiled at MUSICAL FLIP=BSIDE, LISTMAKER=DEAN, CHECKED ITEM=COAT and MANOF LETTERS=SAJAK.
Never heard of COMITY. I was trying to use USI (University of South Australia)and ownership of LANAI was a learning moment.
Small nit with cluing for ASPIRIN as it can also be given rectally although it is not used that way very much any more! More exact cluing would have been "usual route"
From Harry Potter - Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem Image & Source.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteGodd day all,
Hand up for ODDMENT & COMITY. Even though I was unaware of either word, I went with them only because the perps were solid.
65A Second/ECHO & 68A List Maker/DEAN gave me a yuk or two.
Never got the theme until Marti explained, but they were easy solves.
Finally solved BSIDE w/o a big hassle. That fill usually beats me up. Can't decide if I like TOOTOO & OOHOOH or hate them. Wasn't crazy about the cluing for EKING either.
In spite of my bitches, this was an enjoyable solve. Even learned who is Chi towns current crook (aah Mayor). Sorry Marie, I'm sure he's a straight arrow politician, but that's from someone who believes in Santa too.
From frigid Ct, enjoy your day. D-O, stay home if at all possible. Driving in ice isn't ever fun, no matter where you live.
Musings
ReplyDelete-Thursday level fun
-Would you consider going to the Sochi Olympics today?
-It’s below zero here and so Elmer FUDD’s hat would work just fine
-The Yankees have signed this Japanese star pitcher for $155M whose STATS last year were 24 – 0 with a 1.27 ERA
-In 1776, the southern colonies took exception to one of “these truths to be self-evident”
-SAJAK has made a lot of money with no apparent talent. You go Pat!
-ECHOing your boss’s thoughts is a good practice for advancement. DO I DARE…? Nope.
-Second guessing the A BOMB decision 69 years ago without the context of the times is difficult
-I can’t remember ever checking my COAT somewhere.
-I remember the Readers Digest Sweepstakes’ urging us to, “Come on , mail it in”
-Barry singing Looks Like We MADE IT (3:31). No ads for me, Marti, but who knows…
-I’ve been on lotsa lists but none the DEAN made up
-Frustrated as a failure at being a lawyer, M*A*S*H doctor Charles Emerson Winchester tries to wow the court with some Latin: “Unum pilule acetylsalicylicus, tres in diem, post sebum”. When angrily told to tell what it means, he sheepishly replies, “ASPIRIN, three times per day”.
ReplyDeleteHG,
I would have absolutely no problem if the USA decides to keep their athletes home. I believe Sochi is an accident waiting to happen.
Musings 2 - This time it’s personal
ReplyDeleteI have stumbled onto The History Channel’s wonderful 14-part series The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire. I am only on the 5th installment and have encountered GAUL, DRUIDS, CELTS, AFRICA and FIGHT TO THE DEATH that we saw today and so much more. I have linked to the first installment in the series and the rest will appear to the right. I highly recommend it.
HG - I knew the Yanks signing of the new pitcher, but did not know the particulars of his wife. Thanks for the link.
ReplyDelete(4729 gincrat) I thought there's at least a couple of folks on our blog who would enjoy this captcha
Hello, puzzlers.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Marti and Jeffrey for the fun today! I really enjoyed this as it took a bit more thought than usual. The long downs were especially impressive.
Loved "man of letters", SAJAK who was originally a meteorologist in Chicago, I believe.
COMITY/LIE almost got me because like Marti, I was thinking of the fuzzy pipe cleaners. Cute pic, too.
Since I've read so very much Brit Lit, HIND was easy.
And I recall in the dim past Kazie telling us about UNI.
For anyone who is visiting here, do take the time to eat at Monti's in Tempe. It's my second visit there in a week and the food is superb! Even the mundane baked potato was unusually tasty.
Have a fantastic Thursday, everyone!
Hi All ~
ReplyDeleteI found this to be a bit of a challenge in places but fun to solve. I'm with the crowd on ODDMENT and COMITY. I'd like to think I'll remember them, but ...
~ My usual 1A starting point wasn't a quick fill. I first thought of 'Take in' as altering in sewing and then as giving someone a place to stay. Third time's a charm!
~At 4D I started confidently filling in FIGHT TO THE finish, before running out of room.
~ Write-over ~ 21D - Oft-checked item - Fact before COAT
~ Thanks for your write-up, Marti ~ I enjoyed your comments. Interesting info on the Olympic rings.
We're still freezing ~ enjoy your day!
Good Morning:
ReplyDeleteGreat puzzle! Jeffrey! Lots of fun clues/fill and a very clever and well-executed theme, which I did suss out before reading Miss Marti's entertaining expo. Marti, loved the "Group Hug" gang. Are they lemurs?
It's 5 degrees here right now with a predicted high of 15. On the plus side, it's bright and sunny.
I have a sister who uses the word "oddments" in place of odds and ends. I, OTOH, have never used it in my life. Then again, she also says prying when she means preying. I guess we all have our own little idiosyncrasies.
Has anyone downloaded the app, Candy Crush Saga? I guess it is wildly popular. I KNOW it is wildly addictive and frustrating as all get out!
The Trees by Rush
ReplyDeleteApologies for any commercials you might encounter but it is better than any subscription fee, right?
Hello Puzzlers -
ReplyDeleteNot sure how it happened, but I ended up in a TDNF. I had Diadem right early on, then sort of overwrote it putting in Ests instead of Amts. Since I don't know Ashley Judd, I bollixed that whole SE corner for the longest time, for one thing thinking the man of letters had to be Santa.
I always thought it would be fun to have a Victorian looking store sign advertising "Assorted & Sundry Oddments & Bits". May yet make one, just for fun.
Husker - thanks for that link. I think I will get hooked into that series easily enough.
Travel to Sochi? No thanks, you couldn't pay me to go. And anyway it's cold enough right here.
Ummm, Dudley, fyi: Sochi weather
ReplyDeleteI could tell you how you ended up with a TDNF or even a DNF but I'll let it go.
Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jeffrey Wechsler, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for the fine review.
ReplyDeleteWell, I have been absent for most of the past week. Sorry. I have done the puzzles, but just too busy and too far away to log in. Today, I am in Edinboro, PA, and here I am.
The puzzle was fine. A little tough, but it is Thursday.
Theme was excellent, but I never got it until I came here. Looked, but not hard enough.
As others, COMITY and ODDMENT were prepped and wagged. Got them and they made sense.
The NE corner was my slow spot (I always have at least one). ERNEST was easy. DIADEM came very slowly. AFRICA and STATS were my last. Tried SEST for CEST. Fixed it with AFRICA. OK.
Interesting stories about HIND and LANAI.
Liked A BOMB. Kind of a reverse clue/word. Usually we are guessing at ENOLA or GAY. From what I understand, ENOLA meant ALONE spelled backwards and GAY is the pilot's mother's name. The pilot was I think, Paul Tibbets, or something close.
CEL again. Lots of those lately.
Anyhow, it is just as cold here in PA as it is in Chicago. Pretty much the same latitude. My sister and her husband had a drain trap freeze and a house they own in Erie had broken water lines. When it gets cold, things happen.
My mother is doing better. She was put in the hospital Sunday with double pneumonia. She is 89. Looks like she will pull through. We were not sure a few days ago. Thank the Lord!
See you tomorrow.
Abejo
(lyinins appears)
Anon @ 10:54 - Yes, Sochi will be one of the 'warmest ever' Winter Olympics. Here are some stats: Sochi has a humid subtropical climate at the lower elevations. February and March are the coldest months, with average temperature 11 °C (52 °F) during the day and 4 °C (39 °F) at night. Temperatures drop below freezing every winter for one or two days. I assume the mountainous regions cold enough to support the necessary events. I believe Vancouver faced having to make snow as it too happened to be warm there in 2010.
ReplyDeleteAnd another appropriate captcha (ectforc FIRst)
To: CanadianEh! at 9:14 AM
ReplyDeleteFor those who speak out of their HIND
ORALLY suits the clue just fine.
I got a Thursday puzzle--Yay! Lots of fun with this one, many thanks, Jeff. I got the theme only after the reveal, but missed that all those TREES were at the TOP of the answers until I read Marti's expo. Cute pics of PIPE CLEANERS and GROUP HUGGERS, by the way, Marti.
ReplyDeleteHeard of COMITY, but not ODDMENT although I still got it. Also started with BAR before BAL.
My husband watches "Wheel of Fortune" every night. I bet Pat SAJA would love being called "A MAN OF LETTERS."
Hope your mother has a good recovery, Abejo.
Have a great Thursday, everybody!
Greetings!
ReplyDeleteInteresting puzzle and expo, Jeffrey and Marti!
I too did not know ODDMENT and COMITY, but they had to be there! Got the theme. No cheats. Puzzle Society had typo on clue for LANAI. They can't seem to handle percent signs.
I, too, loved the little lemurs (I think?)
I seem to recall that "ashes, ashes" referred to plague or smallpox.
Cheers!
@abejo 11:10 a.m.
ReplyDeleteActually, Paul Tibbets selected the plane while it was still on the assembly line and named it after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets.
Here is the Wiki on him. See the Early Life section.
Paul Tibbets Wiki
Here is the Wiki on the plane.
Enola Gay Wiki
HGary:
ReplyDeleteFrom yesterday's links: very impressive and informative video about Our Gang and The Little Rascals, especially Alfalfa. I know next to nothing about them so it was educational for me. Thank you for linking that.
Intriguing captcha:
The ypeCfoto
Musings 3
ReplyDelete-Where Colonel Tibbets was when he picked the plane on the assembly line that he subsequently named after his mother Enola Gay
-I’d never go to Sochi but feel our Olympians will probably be safe and that we should never give in to crazy people
-kjinkc – not only is that site about the newest Yankee interesting, because that pitcher is married to a Japanese pop star, but scrolling down two screens shows how American culture has permeated Japanese movies
-Lucina, the E! Channel had a series that is now online that is called Mysteries and Scandals (this link is for Joan Crawford) that reveals the much less elegant side of Hollywood. Bobby Darin’s secret about blew me away!
Tuesday night I was preparing dinner--another farm favorite--and it involved a lot of chopping and cutting. In the middle of quartering a Brussels sprout, the knife slipped and sliced deeply into my little finger, right at the tip on the side. Holy crap, did that thing bleed like hell. Of course I was home alone. I applied pressure with a paper towel and held my hand above my head and ran to the bathroom. Do you know how hard it is to try to open a box of bandaids and then put one on with only one hand, all the while trying to keep the cut hand elevated? It is damned hard. And bloody. AND--do you know how hard it is to type with your left little finger all bandaged up and sore? Do you KNOW how many words have A's in them? Too effing many is how many. I should have had stitches, but since that requires a visit to the hospital, that would be a NO.
ReplyDeleteJust finished and felt a moment of pride. While I was "puzzling" over this one my brain seemed to be stuck in taffy...maybe it was? Pretty challenging for a Thursday. Now I'm worried what Friday and Saturday may have in store for my "taffyfied" brain?
ReplyDeleteI believe Larry Ellison bought his share of Lanai from David Murdoch, CEO of Dole Foods. According to the residents, the first thing Murdoch did when he bought Lanai in the 1980's was to burn the pineapple fields - ripe fruit and all. Residents had to work multiple jobs at the two resorts and the airport .
ReplyDeleteMarti, nice write-up. Is the HUG picture from Meerkat Manor? (1:31)
ReplyDeleteE-King? (The ruler of Web Sites?)
Is this another new 'E' word brought to us by by the Internet?
Geez, I'm barely use to ecash, etail etc.
BUCS was a gimme for someone living in the Tampa Bay area.
BAL Harbour, Fla. TOO-TOO (lol)
Well the Sun is over the Yardarm.
Cheers!!!
"Shall I part my hair behind - DO I DARE to eat a peach?" Eliot had a relatively low bar for risky behavior. But wasn't it he who pointed in his love song to the perils that lurk in the commonplace?
ReplyDeleteI thought I'd be stuck by my SE answers because I wasn't sure of LANAI, but it was the NW that gave me a DNF. I settled for ERMO'S WORLD because I was more than tempted (as others were) by BAR Harbor.
I missed the theme entirely until I read Marti's writeup. It could help (wouldn't hurt) if the LA Times would print the theme title.
Those "lemurs" are meerkats. Photo by Fajar Andriyant, taken at Indonesia's Taman Safari Zoo.
ReplyDeleteKF - I don't think there is a theme for LA Times to print. The theme that we see on this blog is provided by our own folks such as Marti. Am I correct in this assumption?
ReplyDeleteHappy Thursday everybody!
ReplyDeleteDespite the same two unknowns as 98% of us, finally got the Ta-Da in less than 30 minutes....
I can never confidently enter B SIDE, because it's SIDE B in some of the puzzles....
BESOT = enchanted...? I must remember that whenever someone thinks I've had TOO TOO much to drink....
MOOCH is Coach Steve Mariuchi's quite (imho) appropriate nickname....
My mom used to work as a teller in the Merced Bank of America used by the Gallo brothers. Ernest was a pain in the HIND to the workers there. To this day she still refers to their wine as "foot wash"....
Hands up for knowing SFD's ship as the Golden HindE. Drake's Bay is about 20 miles east of where I grew up....
Finally, TV's most famous OOH OOH is a tie between Gunther Toody and Arnold Horshack. Although Arnold's was actually used in Mr. Kotter's classroom, so....
The clue for 52D made me wonder: does a governmental body NEED to own any of its subject property to retain sovereignty?
ReplyDeleteOr is it that the 2% of LANAI allegedly owned by Hawaii is the only governing portion?
Hi Y'all! I filled the puzzle with red-letters and was gratified when none showed up in places I expected to be wrong, such as COMITY and ODDMENT. I had trouble thinking of ORALLY when I wanted "by mouth". Duh!
ReplyDeleteI knew LANAI somehow and confidently typed it in. Must have heard something watching HGTV when they were looking a privately-owned Islands.
The theme remained in the TREE TOP as far as I was concerned, waiting for Marti to shed some light on the matter. Thanks for a great write-up.
D-O: hope the ORAL part that lost it's tooth yesterday is healing and giving you no pain.
Keith: Did you find the fountain of youth at perhaps BAL Harbour or is your new avatar from a few years ago.
Copycat PK is back at 1:12 p.m. I never said "effing" in my life. I wish you had enough imagination to find a different moniker.
kjinkc @2:17 - I may be wrong, but I'd like to know the real answer too. I think someone here once told me that the Times chose not to print the titles. But my memory may be tricking me.
ReplyDeletePlease, someone who KNOWS, are theme titles, such as today's "Rockin' Robin," provided by the puzzle maker or the Crossword Corner blogger? Is the LA Times alone in leaving titles out?
Monday through Friday the blogger supplies the theme title.
ReplyDeletePK @ 2:34, ya got me!
ReplyDeleteMy latest avatar is from 1971.
The photo means a lot to me. I had recently stepped into a new job in Richmond VA, and they needed some publicity shots. My new secretary, a very maternal type, volunteered her daughter, a professional photographer, who followed me around for a day when she was home for a Thanksgiving break. I loved all the photos, but we used this one in the next year's program.
The very next Thanksgiving, as my secretary was waiting for her daughter to fly back again for the family gathering, the small plane went down, and her daughter was killed. This photo, one of the last creations of her daughter, was printed and republished for an entire year - and it served as a private bond between my secretary and me.
Thanks, Argyle!
ReplyDeleteI won't make the same mistake.
Kf
Abejo, best wishes for a speedy recovery to your mom.
ReplyDeletePK,I thought that didn't sound like you. I am getting annoyed with this person who is not so clever as he thinks he is.
KF, you hansdsome devil, you.
Started off breezing thru the NW like a Monday, I was wondering how this rated a Thursday puzzle, when WEES, Oddment, Comity, Diadem, Ouch!
ReplyDeleteI managed to complete it, & even get the theme, but it wasn't easy. Just the way a good puzzle should be...
Lye reminds me of cranky Plumbers at the housing projects. They would always come back grumbling with a 12 inch section of pipe, & tell me "never use lye to unclog a drain!" "The only way to get it out, is to cut it out!" I went to look it up to see why people use it to unclog drains, & was surpised that it is also used as a tenderizer in the crust of baked Cantonese moon cakes?!?! See Wiki
Pretty, Stark...
Claims to be The Worlds Best Treehouse. But I like it's location...
& then there's fine dining?
Afternoon All,
ReplyDeleteThis theme completely eluded me.
Thanks to Marti for the explanation:)
Too Too and Ooh Ooh were real groaners! One, maybe ...but both in the same puzzle?
44A Aspirin
That movie you all must know.
CED, your link called “Pretty, Stark” reminds me of the University of Oregon’s basketball court design. Here’s a link to that hardwood court, as well as a few other creative college basketball courts. Personally, I prefer the UNLV court…. basketball court design link
ReplyDeleteLate to the party after having to party too late yesterday (political, not pleasure; fund raising not fun raising). Anyway, once again the Thursday combination of JW and marti brought home a very successful puzzle and explanation.
ReplyDeleteThe common law doctrine of comity is the basis for enforcement of foreign judgments state to state as well nation to nation. Oddment however sounds odd.
I liked: Lake bordering the Silver and Golden states : TAHOE both because it is an interesting clue, and the place is awesome.
There is no solution for the non-blue PK aper, as each of us could sign in as PK. Not trying to pressure her, but it is a fact.
KF, there are days when the hardest part of blogging is to devise a Theme title that captures the creators intent, and hopefully amuses the Corner.
CED, my image of Pretty Stark.
ReplyDeleteI have always thought that OPED meant and referred to the OPinion and EDitorial page.
ReplyDeleteHi gang -
ReplyDeleteOriginal theme, and elegantly executed. Remember what the late Dan Naddor taught us about the trade off between theme and fill.
I guess the reason so few know COMITY here is that we don't discuss politics. I've only heard it used in the context of the ideal state of the Senate.
Needed a lot of perp help today, and made a couple of typos in the process. Not an asy puzzle, but I enjoyed it.
Cool regards!
JzB
Phew! What a day I've had. Work first (starting by answering emails at 4:30 AM EST), then I had to drive DH to an appointment to test for glaucoma (negative results, thank goodness!), followed by more paperwork for the Austria export shipment, then next door to paint the trim in the rear bedroom…
ReplyDeleteI did manage to catch up on all your comments while waiting at the optometrist, but I find it difficult to post on my iPhone. So, maybe late at the corner, but better late than never!!
d-otto @ 7:31, Oops! I've been tagged by the grammar Nazi! (^0^)
HG @ 9:32, when I searched "Barry Manilow 'Looks Like We Made It' You Tube," all the links had the annoying ads. So maybe they are just targeting me? (Am I being paranoid here???)
IM @ 10:23, no, they are adorable MEERKATS (see Tinbeni's 1:54 post)
Abejo @ 11:10, so glad to hear the good news about your mom!!
kjinkc @ , yes - the daily LAT xwords do not publish a theme title. The theme noted on this blog is strictly the imagination of the ones who write up the puzzle that day. (BTW, I really wanted to link The Jackson Five's "Rockin' Robin" today, but the dreaded ad popped up on You Tube! But, if you are willing to waste 4 seconds, here's the link.)
C.C., could you or one of the other bloggers tell us how to go blue again? Or how to retrieve our blue identity if we lost it, which is what seems to have happened to me. My computer crashed on Monday, and although I'm now set up with a new computer, I lost my blue name on the blog again.
ReplyDeleteIrish Miss ~
ReplyDeleteIn October, out of curiosity, (my niece often talked about it) I downloaded Candy Crush onto my Kindle Fire. I guess there are lots of other ways to spend my time but yes, it's very addicting! I've been stuck on a level for a while and that kind of takes away the fun, so I haven't been spending/wasting as much time lately. :-)
Anon @ 3:54, nope! That is a common misconception that we have discussed here before. OP-ED means exactly what I posted. Believe me, the daily posters of the LAT puzzle do check their facts thoroughly.
ReplyDeletePK, I really would love to see you go blue…when I read "PK's" earlier post, I thought to myself that it didn't sound like you...
Misty, (& PK)
ReplyDeleteI remember having trouble going Blue, & I do not remember how I did it. Today I cannot even backtrack because my account is already set up.
However,,,
According to Ehow, it is easy & only takes 4 steps.
The Blogger site they refer to is simply BLOGGER.COM
Late. Had a brutal assignment today.
ReplyDeleteA pretty tough offering today, but got it. Remembered comity and filled that with just the C and M. It's been in at least a few crosswords. Oddment really threw me, but the perps were too solid to forsake it. All else was without major difficulty. The theme was interesting and took several minutes to suss out, even with the reveal. But I did find the lack of symmetry less than attractive. Must have been a slow day, I guess.
Yesterday, D-O borrowed from Johnny Cash (and I'm stealing that one). That was followed by Mari channelling Neil Young from "Out on the Weekend". With today's headlines re another Canadian, I couldn't help but sing: "Think I'll pack it in and rent a Lamborghini. Take it down to Miami."...... Somehow that just doesn't have the same ring to it.
Anon @ 3:54: I think what is confusing re OPED is that many papers(I know my hometown paper does) put "Opinion" atop the page where the OPED is printed. Hell, even these guys do it. And then someone refers to the page as the OPED page or opinion page.
ReplyDeleteIn playing with crosswords, this clue/answer has taught me that OPED is a feature of the Opinion page(s). As in, OPposite the opinion of the EDitoral.
Hope this helps.
cisday;GOING BLUE Creating an account was the sticking point for me. Under Olio- How to Post a Comment, it says, "The best and most fun way to mingle with others is to sign up for a Google/Blogger account. It's easy, all you need is a private email account and it does not have to be Gmail." How do you sign up for this account? I monkeyed around and found it by myself. More straight forward, easy to follow directions might encourage others to try.
ReplyDeleteMisty & PK,
ReplyDeleteThere appear to be additional steps to going Blue, apparently because Blogger is made by Google, you need a Google account first. Try these steps:
1) Search for Google Account
2) if you click on the 1st thingie, you should get this screen to creat an account. note the use own email address option, a good thing unless you want to create a Gmail email account & have two emails like i do.
3) fill out the required stuff,
4) I don't know what happens after the blue "next step button," but with a Google acct you can go to Blogger.com & sign in. From there go to edit profile.
Misty, stop!!!
ReplyDeleteYou already have an account.
You just need to sign in.
Anon @7:31
ReplyDeleteGood call on Misty!
Pk however probably needs to.
My biggest mistake was that I ended up making multiple accounts. (So why am I giving advice???)
CED... Your biggest mistake?
ReplyDeleteYou can do Better
Thank you all for your information. However, going blue doesn't stop the basic problem of harassment which is what this is. Dear Lemonade can vouch for that. Right now, I choose to remain "in the black" which is where every good accountant hopes to be. Believe me, I have some very sound reasons for doing so.
ReplyDeleteI've had to deal with harassment in one form or another at most stages of my life. I feel sorry for people who can't think of something more productive to do. Poor pitiful types.
Once again friends, the PK at 8:40p is not the PK who has been blogging for 2 years.
ReplyDeleteThis is getting to be bullying at it worst.
A nice fun Thursday puzzle, probably a little easier than usual since it took less than 20 minutes while simultaneously carrying on a text conversation with my brother.
ReplyDeleteAshley Judd was easy (with 3 or 4 perps) even though I didn't recognize the movie title. She's known in these parts as the #1 Kentucky Wildcat fan, and can often be seen (on TV) leading cheers. Plus my daughter was in one of her classes at Uni, back in the day.
PK, I knew right away the earlier post was not you, but I have to ask, how in the world do you manage to speak without using the word? A lot of people these days couldn't carry on a conversation without it.
And if you "have your reasons" for not going blue, it's on us to let that go. I for one know which is which, anyway. The classless can rarely imitate the classy successfully.
Or maybe I can't. :-)
ReplyDeleteI suppose pk could give C.C. and I a secret code and we would delete all posts that don't have it.
ReplyDeleteLaLaLinda @ 4:59 - I'm glad I'm not the only one taken in by this game. I, too, was stuck on a level and just when I was ready to quit, I succeeded in moving on. I think it is programmed that way, so you don't quit. Words With Friends is so much more rewarding. I hope your regular posts mean you are feeling better. (-:
ReplyDeleteManac, LMAO!
ReplyDelete(not because of the cat...)
But I bought that exact stupid vacuum for the new house, (what a mistake!) & everyone is saying I should return it!
(but how can I return it 4 months later, dang it,,, I should have got a canister!)
CED,
ReplyDeleteI need to introduce you to my MIL.
She could manage to return a used package of Depends!
Just saying :-)
Hi all:
ReplyDeleteI thought I was actually going to get a Thursday without a lookup, but then the SW corner got me.
I had ODDgENT for single sock. I donno, maybe like calling someone and ODD duck? I thought about putting an M there, but thought it was spelled ODDiMENT.
LaLa - I couldn't finish finish either. So DEATH it was.
@24a I put soApS in at 1st. Is that laundry detergent still made?
CESp made me rethink that. DIADEM was all perps.
@39a I had T_EE_OP and couldn't bust throuh until I realized setting -- as in place, not volume on the sound machine to put baby to sleep.
All that said, I did enjoy Jeffrey's puzzle in fits and starts between meetings (3 min here, 5 min there) and Marti's write-up was informative esp to fix the SW.
Fav. TACO. I'm hungry.
kjinkc - I heard about Fallon's spoof, but never saw it. Thanks for the link.
ODDAnon aka N. Peart @10:41 beat me to linking The TREEs from the best band to push the WATTS. CanadianEh? what does the Great White North think of the boys?
D-O - Commuters were practicing ice-driving demolition-derby before it even got wet or cold. Two accidents this morning kept 59 backed up -- HW 6 to Galleria Area was about 2 hours. This is why I'm EDGY when I see DW's auto w/ less than 1/4 tank (and she has the hybrid!).
What's an EE's meditation mantra? OHMMMMMM..
Cheers, -T
Argyle@9:13 We'll go with your idea.
ReplyDeleteThe PK at 8:40 IS DEFINITELY the one who has posted for two years. And I'm not going to give anyone a secret code as anon at 10:03 seems to accept in my behalf. This whole thing is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteOkay, Copycat, we've noticed you. Go back in your hole.
Argyle, the thing is that you couldn't be sure which PK is giving you the secret code. Thank you for trying though.
ReplyDeleteMisty,
ReplyDeleteNotice the words "Sign In" at the top right of our blog front page? Click on it and proceed accordingly.
Yellowrocks @6:44pm,
ReplyDeleteHow straightforward can we go? As I mentioned to you via emails, so many others have succeeded and created a Blogger account.
PK is an exception. She mentioned on the blog many times that she did not want to go Blue. And she has her own reasons not to go Blue and not to contact anyone on the blog. We should just respect her decision.
Yeah, I'm a exception. Deal with it.
ReplyDelete