google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Pam Amick Klawitter

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Mar 12, 2014

Wednesday, March 12, 2014 Pam Amick Klawitter

Theme: "There's a funny echo in here". The first word (all have 7 letters) of each theme answer is repeated and split into two to form a punning new phrase.

20A. Signed agreement mailed by someone in prison? : CONSENT CON SENT

24A. Backs a fashion venture? : INVESTS IN VESTS

41A. Authorize two bros' get-together? : MANDATE MAN DATE

47A. Songwriter's dream? : FORTUNE FOR TUNE

Top o' the Morning to you all! Steve here with Pam's latest outing. It took me a little while to get moving with this one, I was picking around the flyover states for some time before the penny dropped with MANDATE MAN DATE. The theme definitely helped me by providing crosses in more a few places. I thought was a fun puzzle nicely put together.

Let's see what else we've got.

Across:

1. Deer guy : STAG

5. Dian Fossey subjects : APES.  Because you can't cram "Gorillas" into four squares.

9. Walking tall : ERECT

14. Snoop (around) : POKE

15. Son of Leah and Jacob : LEVI. Thank you perps, Biblical characters are not one of my strong suits.

16. One unlikely to bring home the bacon? : VEGAN

17. Work on galleys : EDIT

18. Works by Raphael and Michelangelo, e.g. : ITALIAN ART. Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni and Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino are thankfully known by their shortened names.

22. "... kissed thee __ killed thee": Othello : ERE I. I thought this could be a Cockney "I kissed thee 'ere; I killed thee over there" but then I saw sense.

23. NYC-based insurance co. : A.I.G. Recipient of the biggest government bailout in US history.

31. Eyelid inflammations : STYES

32. Dogwood, e.g. : TREE

33. Sock part : TOE

34. Pottery oven : KILN

35. Drag through the mud : SMEAR

37. Gardener's bagful : SOIL

38. Rescuer of Odysseus : INO. The Goddess gave him a protective cloak after his ship was wrecked. Seems an odd thing to give him - why not another ship? Curious folk, those Greek gods.

39. Irene of "Fame" : CARA. Legwarmers, leotards and big hair can be found here.

40. Gainesville is about halfway between it and Jacksonville : OCALA. Who knew the world had a horse capital?


45. "Double Fantasy" artist : ONO

46. Measurement named for a body part : FOOT. The original standardized yard was the distance from Henry I's nose to the tip of his thumb when his arm was outstretched. History does not report on the length of his feet, but if you're going to use a King to provide standard measurements you may as well make the most of it and use whatever else he's got handy.

54. Rites of passage : MILESTONES

55. Heathrow postings: Abbr. : E.T.A.s. When I fly into Heathrow on United, we usually park at a gate so far away from the terminal building that you need to factor in about half an hour to walk from the plane to Immigration.

56. Point a finger at : BLAME

57. Dark purple : PUCE. A learning moment. I always thought it was a pale color.

58. Charlie Brown cry : RATS

59. Title role for Michael or Jude : ALFIE. Caine in the original, Law in the remake.

60. New newts : EFTS

61. "Off with you!" : SHOO

Down:

1. Job detail : SPEC

2. Commotion : TO-DO

3. Analogous : AKIN

4. Avenges a wrong : GETS EVEN

5. Runway shapes : A-LINES. Runway as in catwalk.


6. Bob __, first NBA player to be named MVP (1956) : PETTIT. Crosses, crosses and more crosses.

7. FEMA recommendation, maybe : EVAC. Hmmmmm. Not thrilled with this one, but the "maybe" gives fair warning.

8. Storage structure : SILO

9. Like some press conference answers : EVASIVE. Usually, ALL of Bill Belichick's answers are evasive, whether the Patriots win or lose.

10. Go back (on) : RENEGE

11. "A Summer Place" co-star Richard : EGAN

12. Dessert conveyance : CART. 


I said "Dessert" not "Desert"
13. "Rizzoli & Isles" airer : TNT. I can't say I've ever watched this. Anyone?

19. More ridiculous : INANER

21. Spanish 101 word : ERES

24. 1986 rock autobiography : I, TINA. She still looks great.



25. Windbreaker fabric : NYLON

26. Cook, as dumplings : STEAM

27. One may be rolled over : IRA

28. Weasel kin : STOAT

29. Patterned fabric : TOILE

30. Ward of "CSI: NY" : SELA. I finally remembered her name without having to wait for crosses today! Yay!

31. Two percent alternative : SKIM. In the UK, Gold Top milk from Channel Island cows contains an eye-popping 6% fat. It is delicious though!

Guernsey Cow
35. Skipped : SAT OUT

36. C-ration successor : MRE. Officially, "Meals, Ready to Eat". Unofficially "Meals, Rarely Edible"; "Meals, Rejected by the Enemy" and "Materiel Resembling Edibles".

37. Throws here and there : SCATTERS

39. Fails to understand : CAN'T SEE

40. Funk : ODOR. Does this mean that when I'm in a funk I smell?

42. Musical scale sequence : DO-RE-MI.  We had the full scale in last Sunday's puzzle.

43. Produce a change in : AFFECT

44. Scary Wild West circles? : NOOSES

47. Meet, as needs : FILL

48. Norwegian saint : OLAF. I need the cross for OLAF/OLAV

49. "Won't do it" : NOPE

50. Plenty, in slang : ENUF

51. Bonneville Salt Flats site : UTAH. Setting for the wonderful movie "The World's Fastest Indian". If you've not seen it, check it out, it's great. You don't have to be into motorcycles or speed records to enjoy it.


52. Peacekeeping acronym : NATO. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Describing a military alliance as a peacekeeping acronym may seem a little strange, but NATO forces are deployed to areas of civil or military unrest as a "peacekeeping force".

53. Name on a Canadian pump : ESSO. The Exxon Mobil brand name used outside the US.

54. Mgmt. degree : M.B.A.

That's pretty much it for today. As the French probably don't say "C'est une wrappe".

Steve



73 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    This one also got off to a slow start with me, but for me it was INVESTS IN VESTS that got things going. I really liked the clue on that one as well. Once I figured out the theme, it was pretty easy to get the rest of the theme answers with a little perp help, despite the fact that the cluing was a bit clunky on the other theme answers and the theme answers themselves weren't as smooth as INVESTS IN VESTS.

    INO totally stumped me and I didn't trust it even after getting all the letters via the perps.

    Had SHED instead of SILO up top for awhile, which bogged me down a bit, but that was about it for miscues today. I didn't know EGAN, but the perps were solid and the name sounded familiar enough to accept without hesitation.

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  2. Edgar Allen couldn't write a new story
    All his plots seemed dated and hoary.
    Some advice from a friend
    Put his pains to an end;
    The fellow said, "Poe, try poetry!"

    Casablanca is a really great flick,
    A bar owner romancing a chick.
    When it showed on the screen
    It was all tinted green,
    So for Bogart, here's a lime Rick limerick!

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  3. WBS about everything. Difficult, but I caught on to the theme quickly, and that helped. For 20a I wanted a "signed agreement on a pamphlet by someone in prison", i.e. a CON TRACT CONTRACT. The mid-East was last to fall. I had STOAT and the theme entries, but lOam instead of SOIL, maAmi instead of OCALA, and couldn't figure TOILE, SELA, SCATTERS, or ODOR.

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  4. Greetings!

    Have been absent for a few days. Had to take driver's written exam. Since I was shaky getting up for my photo, they decided to make me return and take the driving test. Sick before, sick after. Feel infinitely better today.

    Thanks, Pamela. Loved your puzzle, though it took a while to get going. Great theme. Got one and the others fell! Great expo, Steve!

    Missed saying HBDTY to Steve and Mari. Hope that yours were great!

    Cheers!

    PS: Questions on written test bore no resemblance to online sample written tests!

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  5. Forgot to mention that I have watched every episode of Rizzoli and Isles. Good show!

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  6. Good Morning, Steve and friends. I loved this echoing puzzle. Like Barry, the INVESTS IN VESTS was my Rosetta Stone for figuring out the theme. I thought this was a tad easier than the usual Wednesday fare.

    I learned, however, that (ice cream) CONE is not the Dessert Conveyance.

    LEAH was the mother of six of the Tribes of Israel: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulum.

    Bob PETTIT is a Louisiana boy and LSU graduate. His LSU basketball number is retired and is hanging from the rafters at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center.

    What's It All About? I never saw either Alfie movie.

    QOD: All human beings are also dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together. ~ Jack Kerouac (Mar. 12, 1922 ~ Oct. 21, 1969)

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  7. Started off fast in the NW and stumbled around. Perps helped solve many including INO TOILE OCALA PUCE. FEMA only cleans up after disasters, wasting a lot of money. Theme was easy to get.

    6D Bob PETTIT was a great forward in the NBA from LSU. He was also the president of a local three branch bank that financed my wife's first NEW car.

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  8. Good morning everyone,

    Picked up the theme with INVESTSINVESTS so that really got me rolling. Thought the first two were clever, the last two...MEH.

    Least favorite clue was 40D Funk/ODOR. Did not & still doesn't make sense to me.

    I trusted perps to give me INO. She/he has been completely deleted from memory.

    Wanted Cousey (Bob) for 6D, but as much as it was deserved, it was not to be. I did not look it up, but he may have retired by then. PETTIT was deserving but Cousey should have been the first recipient.

    Tried Plaid in 29D before TOILE.

    Happy hump day to all,

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  9. It started out stickier than I would have expected (hoped for?) on a Wednesday but MANDATE revealed the theme which, as noted, was a huge help.

    I knew no INO (or is it pronounced "EE-no"?).

    Spent much too long on a typo hunt only to realize that I had put ING (instead of AIG) for the insurance company (ING sponsors the New York City Marathon) and, for some reason, kept overlooking the weird effects on 9 and 19 Down.

    Yesterday it got up to 62°. It felt great. Tonight the temps are supposed to plummet and the rain will quickly turn to freezing rain then sleet then snow. Highs on Thursday well below freezing (with strong winds) and lows Thursday night in the single digits. It's lions-and-lambs time in the beautiful mid-Hudson valley.

    [11:42]

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  10. Good morning!

    I seldom get the theme, but I got this right off at CONSENT CON SENT, and was off and running. No write-overs today.

    PETTTIT came flying off my pen. It seems the only sports figures I recognize lived back in the Jurassic.

    Steve, perhaps Belichick is just being bellicose.

    PUCE reminds me of a prison movie, can't remember which one, where one of the prisoners (played by Ray Walston, I think) wants some PUCE paint. It must have been an important plot point to stick in my memory. Definitely a B movie, though.

    I cannot imagine anyone ever saying INANER, can you? That's the inanest thing I've ever heard of.

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  11. Good morning Steve, C.C. et al.

    Yep, WEES.

    Did you know that the name of the color PUCE comes from the French word for flea? (I didn't!!) It is a dark reddish / purplish brown. It was first used as the name for the color to describe the bloodstains from fleas' droppings on bed linens, that would remain even after laundering.

    Happy Hump Day, everyone!

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  12. After hopping around a bit, I found FORTUNE FOR TUNE. Some writers are paid a fortune for their tunes. and other tunes which became very popular were sold for a song.
    With the FORTUNE answer I was off and running, as DO said. I already had CONSENT from perps, so filled that in. I parsed it as CON SENT CONSENT, which seems APTER. (See last week's nits.) I expected comments on INANER, but it is legit.
    I thought all the theme answers were very reasonable.
    MANDATE MAN DATE, to officially authorize or decree a meeting of two men.
    My write overs were caused by placing the correct answers in the wrong cells. Those little numbers are difficult to see.
    My first acquaintance with PUCE, as you might have guessed, was in a novel. The heroine wore a PUCE slip. I looked it up. I often read with a dictionary, either paper or online. I looked PUCE up just now and found a color chart with many variations.

    Link color chart

    HeartX, yes, I heard that. You beat me to it. I had just teed up a link about the flea, but have deleted it.

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  13. A gin drink that has a nice schtick
    Uses sugar and juice for a kick.
    For this rickey a verse
    I now will rehearse:
    This, my friends, is a lime rick limerick!

    I couldn't decide which verse to use today. This version is for our own Tinbeni!
    Hand up for Rizzoli & Isles, never seen Alfie, didn't recognize INO, SHED before SILO, GETS BACK before GETS EVEN.
    As a clue, funk was in bad odor. And INANER smelled funkey, too.

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  14. This puzzle literally gave me a headache.

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  15. Good Morning:

    Fun and clever theme with no real snags. Didn't care for inaner, evac, or enuf, but, overall, a good effort, Pam. Always enjoy Steve's comments.

    We are in for Lord knows what later: could be rain, sleet, or snow, or possibly all three. As Al Cyone said, temps are going to plummet tonight, so tomorrow morning will be an _ _ y (in deference to Tin) commute. Spring, where forth art thou?

    Have a great day.

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  16. I believe I first knew FUNK as a strong offensive odor. It is also a depressed state of mind, a state of paralyzing fear, a slump (said of the economy), and a type of music. FUNKY has even more nuances.
    One of FEMA's primary jobs is evacuation. See their website. For example, "The Federal Emergency Management Agency is soliciting companies to provide operational support for a “motor coach evacuation of the general population” of the United States in response to a declared emergency or a natural disaster."
    FEMA is an abbbreviation, as is EVAC, so no nit for me.

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  17. Hi All ~~

    I enjoyed solving this. I thought I might have figured things out right after CONSENT CONSENT and that was confirmed after INVESTS IN VESTS. A fun theme - thanks, Pam Amick Klawitter.

    ~ I actually was thinking CON SENT CONSENT instead of CONSENT CON SENT but I guess it's all the same.

    ~ 5D had me stumped for a bit when 'Apron' didn't fit with perps but then the light dawned - not THAT kind of runway.

    ~ I thought of Bill G. saying - "RATS".

    ~ I've been known to have my husband check out a 'funky' smell from something in the fridge so I wasn't sure about how FUNK was used here.

    As usual I chuckled throughout your write-up, Steve ~ especially today's choice of FOOT measurement and your MRE options!

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  18. Good morning everyone.

    Buck or STAG. Took a plunge with GETS EVEN, ergo STAG, an we were off. Got the theme gimmick with FORTUNE FOR TUNE, and worked my way back to the top. Did have eluSIVE before EVASIVE, a better answer. Some nice alternate meanings such as FILL.
    Pam has been here before; I enjoy her puzzles.

    'Wir liegen unter beschoss' ("The Longest Day") from large, very wet, snow flakes, the forerunner of still another winter storm to be visited upon us in this seemingly endless winter.

    Otherwise, have a great day.

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  19. Thank you for the puzzle, Pam. Thank you for the fine review, Steve.

    I thought this puzzle was about right for a Wednesday. I liked the word echo theme. It must have been difficult to find word echoes that fit in a CW puzzle.

    WBS about the theme. It was the same for me.

    I had more unknowns than usual, but the perps helped me get them, such as LEVI, ERE I, INO, PETTIT.

    I had IAG before AIG (d’oh!), OAST before KILN, SEED before SOIL, TAMPA before OCALA, but the perps helped me there too.

    I have never heard anyone use FUNK to mean odor. Down or blue, yes. Music, yes. Odor, no. Likewise I have never heard anyone say INANER, or for that matter, INANE in any form. Yes, I know they are legit. Just saying…

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  20. I too parsed as CON SENT CONSENT, but also MAN DATE MANDATE, which makes it even - 2 first word, 2 last word.
    Knew PETTIT, as he just married one of my mom's best friends. Saw him at lunch before Mardi Gras!

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  21. Enjoyed the puzzle, Pam! And, Steve, your write-ups are always entertaining.

    Favorite clue: One unlikely to bring home the bacon? : VEGAN

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  22. Can someone please explain why the filled in grids at the bottom of each post has some rows shaded and one or more letters highlighted?

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  23. Lack of perps combined with bad WAGs stopped me from completing a single theme answer.

    21D tres is a beginning Spanish word.

    39D can't get (unfortunately)

    28D Otter is not Weasel kin?

    29D for the life of me, I cannot understand why I thought "worst" was a patterned fabric... (isn't there a word that sounds like "worst" that refers to the twill pattern of an English jacket?)

    I guess I have to say I did not complete this sort of Nordic Marathon. (Fin ish Finish...) Ok, Ok, it stinks, but lets see you try to create one of these echos!

    echo

    echo

    echo?

    echo??

    echo???

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  24. Gainesville to Jacksoville is about 70 miles.
    Ocala to Gainesville is about 34 miles.
    Tampa to Ocala is about 97 miles.
    Ocala to Jacksonville is about 101 miles.

    OCALA is about halfway between Tampa and Jacksonville.

    'ENUF said.

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  25. "Feline, work those A-LINES" - Cat Walk Catwalk

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  26. CED, funny ECHO links.
    It seems you were "bested" by "worsted." LOL. One of the fabrics made from worsted is a twill, often wool for suits.
    TOILE can be a twill weave linen fabric. Here are some TOILE patterns.
    These toile images remind me of Williamsburg,VA. Toile was very popular among the well to do in colonial America.

    Link toile patterns

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  27. Hello Puzzlers -

    This is a good day to use WBS. I had the same solve experience, including Shed. That one mistake bollixed the neighborhood for a while.

    CED - as I understand it, worsted wool has been prepared and spun certain ways to give it particular cloth-making properties. It does not refer to a style or pattern. (I have a friend who both does crosswords and spins her own fine yarns.) I tried Moiré in that spot first, didnt work out.

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  28. The fourth puzzle answer on Wheel of Fortune last night was CLEVER CROSSWORD CLUES.

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  29. @Anon 10:30

    The grid is a screenshot taken by the blogger of the puzzle they completed. I use Across Lite to work the puzzle on my computer - the software highlights the across or down I'm working on in gray and the current letter in red - I was working the OCALA answer and the A was the last letter I filled.

    Some of the team highlight the theme answers and any letter pairs involved.

    Hope this helps!

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  30. I did the puzzle but it's time to drive from Bozeman to Great Falls. Beautiful highway and dry roads today. I've seen way too much snow the last few days!

    I'll read the blog tonight.

    Have a good day,
    Montana

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  31. Pam, this has to be one of the cleverest themes I've encountered in a puzzle! I just loved it! Like others, I did parse them a little differently than Steve did, with CON SENT CONSENT and MAN DATE MANDATE. But a total pleasure to solve--many thanks!

    Clever riff on the theme, Owen. And Josie, your riff was too funny!

    Marti, thanks for cluing us in about PUCE. Remind me never to wear that color again. Like my pups, I'm not crazy about fleas.

    Have a great Wednesday, everybody!

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  32. A haystack (also known as a hayrick)
    Is made of straw piled high by a hick.
    So a verse I will suit
    To a pile of green fruit:
    I'm writing a lime rick limerick!

    Third (and last, aren't you glad!) variation.

    YR: "Tune for a fortune, song for a song;" :-))

    Nit: MANDATE is a commanding order, not just an authorizing permission. A MAN DATE MANDATE is what homophobes irrationally fear.

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  33. Good morning,

    Well, I was my own worst enemy on this one. I had trouble getting started so put in answers without knowing perps giving me plenty of write overs and a few trips to the BIG G.

    nose to poke
    passed out to sat out
    plum to puce
    gets back to gets even
    otter to stoat
    rodeos to nooses. PHEW!

    Alines, evac and mre were all perped... probably others, like the theme answers.

    Sort of enjoyable, but more exasperating.Nothing came quickly.

    There was a cartoon out called Donald in Math Magicland which explained much of the math vocabulary to kids, like foot. It's probably on you tube now.

    Off to Costa Rica for awhile... hope to find some WIFI.

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  34. Enjoyed this deceptive double-timer! I also caught on with MANDATE MAN DATE, and not before. Up till then, those theme clues seemed unnecessarily wacky - but then I saw the sense of them. Good job, Ms Klawitter!
    ODOR, BTW, has a secondary meaning of "favor." It is plausible for one to be in good or bad odor with one's friends. I suppose it will eventually lose that positive spin, as it's mainly used today to speak of someone in "bad odor."

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  35. Hi gang -

    Though I sussed the theme, this was a struggle start to finish - over 20 minutes. And I missed the INO- I TINA natick.

    Way outside my wheelhouse.

    MANDATE^2 clue seems off.

    Mis-spelt OLAV, so ALFIE was not forthcoming.

    Maybe tomorrow will be a better day.

    Many inches of snow here. Lots of things cancelled, including the two things I was double booked for tonight.

    Tigers home opener in 19 days.

    Cool regards!
    JzB

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  36. Happy Wednesday everybody!

    Finished in Wednesday afternoon / Thursday morning time. Greatly assisted in the Pacific NW by getting the theme early....

    Hands up for OTTER. Also tried TRAY for CART, SO LA TI for DO RE MI, PHD for MBA, LIKE for AKIN, NUFF for ENUF and HART for STAG....

    Fan of Rizzoli and Isles, mostly for the impossibly thin Angie Harmon....

    Finally, nice echos CED...!

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  37. Hi Y'all! At last, a puzzle that didn't disappear on me, so I could enjoy it. I didn't have the double-word theme until FORTUNE, but that helped me fill the rest since not much had been filled above that. Did the bottom third then worked back up. Took some study before the cleverness of the puzzle sunk in with INVESTS IN VESTS. Oh! LOL! Thanks, Pam! Thanks, Steve!

    I have a niece in OCALA but she doesn't horse around.

    Steve, that camel looks like he has only 3 legs! I had to look a long time to see the outline of a 4th.

    I've never heard anyone say INANE either -- especially me. Took a long time for me to get so I could remember what it meant.

    The winter storm predicted here turned out to just be a big wind. If any moisture came out of those clouds, it blew into another county. I hope all you snow-weary easterners escape the snow too.

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  38. JD@1:57

    I have never seen Donald in Math Magicland. (I must have been in Australia when it was shown...)

    I don't have time right now (these are mostly 1/2 hour shows) but I linked it here to remind me to check it out later.

    Bill G, after I watch a few of these Donald shows, I'll be back to try & tackle your puzzles!

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  39. There is a feeding frenzy at the bird feeder; I think they know something.

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  40. Back from Jamaica, and greeted by a wonderful theme. I agree with Tinman about Ocala, having lived in Gainesville for 12 years.

    Bob Petit was a great basketball player for the St. Louis Hawks.

    Rizzoli and Isles, an ex-star of Law and Order and ex- star of NCIS with the psychiatrist from SOPRANOS

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  41. Owen -

    Brilliant lime ricks today.

    Cheers!
    JzB

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  42. Yellowrocks@8:55: "FEMA is an abbreviation, as is EVAC, so no nit for me.

    Well, it's an abbreviation in the sense that it's a shortened version of the complete name but it's not an abbreviation in the same way that EVAC is.

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  43. Al: YR has made her proclamation and she is never wrong. Don't argue with her logic.

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  44. AL, I misspoke. FEMA/EVAC are not abbreviations, but shortened forms. So still no nit.
    Owen, my favorite Lime Rick was the one dedicated to Tin.
    Among the many meanings of mandate is to authorize or sanction. So that makes the clue just fine.
    BTW, isn't sanction a wonderful word with two opposite meanings? 1. authorize (approve) or 2. penalize disapprove.) Dust is another word of that type. 1. Dust the cake with confectioner's sugar. Add dust. 2. Dust the furniture. Remove dust.
    Want to experience FUNK? Pack up for the laundry the pile of uniforms the football or baseball team discarded after a game in the heat.
    In my reading today I came across the word TWEE, which many scorned in a LAT puzzle months ago. "The lady wore a twee suit." It means excessively cute. I think most educated people are so caught up in the sense of what they read, that they ignore words like this which do not materially affect the sense of the piece. Backing up to savor these words and then rereading to pick up the continuity is very interesting.

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  45. CEDave, how cool that "Donald" is still out there. It was one of the better educational "films" we had in the 70's for little ones.Then along came Schoolhouse Rock.

    EddyB (RIP) loved Rizzoli and Isles, but we both agreed the books are better. Will Rizzoli settle down? In the novels, she is married with a baby.

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  46. Yellowrocks@4:10: "FEMA/EVAC are not abbreviations, but shortened forms. So still no nit."

    An abbreviation is, by definition, a shortened form of a longer word (or words) so they're both abbreviations.

    I look forward to your first nit.

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  47. I would have thought that FEMA is an acronym, from Federal Emergency Management Agency.

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  48. OwenKL
    I appreciate the Lime Rick ...
    But if it is "dedicated" it should be Scotch ... not gin.

    On Saturday my perps filled in RYES ... and I commented about there being "No booze" in the grid.
    (Later retracted.)

    So now the only thing to drink is SKIM (milk) ???????
    Never touch the stuff. Yuck!!!

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  49. Apparently, I still have this spoke stuck up my patootie. Any suggestions on where I can find the appropriate FEMA EVAC Plan?

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  50. The last Rizzoli and Isles for the season is next week. Two characters, Frost and Papa Rizzoli, will not be around in the summer, sad to say, as the actors have died.

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  51. We interrupt this li'l dustup for a PSA:

    Jeaopordy fans....tune in tonight.

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  52. Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, Pam Klawitter, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for the fine review.

    Was gone most of the day. Worked the puzzle after I got home.

    Gave blood this morning at 7:30. They gave me a sticker that said I have given 53 pints to this blood bank. Kind of made me feel empty. But full in another way.

    Well, if OCALA is the horse capital of the world, as Steve says, I can add to that that I worked in the mule capital of the world, Bishop, CA. Interesting place. Lots of history there.

    The puzzle started slowly. I bounced around and could not catch the theme. Finally INVESTS INVESTS appeared after some perps. OK. The rest fell within minutes.

    Then tada! The puzzle was done.

    Tried to squeeze in ESAU for 15A, a couple letters did not match. EVAC gave me LEVI. Then iI remembered That Esau was Jacob's brother, not his son. They were both Isaac's son's.

    TOILE was with perps.

    Liked ITALIAN Art. I am reading "Inferno" by Dan Brown right now. It is chock full of Italian Art. Too bad I cannot see it. But, the book is very descriptive.

    Anyhow, off to church for a Lenten Service and Soup Supper. In reverse order.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    (7 22563839)
    (43 62524652)

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  53. A sticker not a merit badge?

    Oh, the humanity!

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  54. Abejo @ 5:03 (twice)

    Soup Supper? Lenten Svce?

    Gotta be a Lutheran, too!

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  55. JD@1:57&4:26

    I am hooked on this Blog & must tune in daily, because I never know where it will take me.

    I spent the 1/2 hour after dinner to peruse an episode of Donald in Mathmagic land, & was intrigued by a section about 3 cushion billiards between 17 & 22 minutes. I have never heard of this game before, but I have tried to play pool, & wondered if this "diamond system" works on a regular pool table.

    A little research later, & it turns out, "it does!

    Now, I do not have a pool table, but my neighbor does. Hmm, I wonder how I can finagle my way over there & practice some of these diamond system shots without him knowing...

    By the way, curiously, my neighbors name is Donald...

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  56. CED - show up at your neighbor's house with a six-pack (no, better make it a case), and I'm sure he'll be more than happy to share his table with you.

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  57. This puzzle was brilliant. My secretary did not quite approve of "man date," but she's a little old fashioned.

    This is my first comment since a frustrated and profane comment I made as "Anonymous" a couple of weeks ago, for which I apologize (the blog's html rejection message was a bit retarded; but that's the way it is, I guess). I appreciate Argyle's helping me through the frustration.

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  58. CEDave, I love your curiosity, and excitement about learning about anything and everything.

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  59. First time poster, I hope no one minds this very late intrusion.

    Good theme today, great cluing (for 14A I had NOSE at first), and excellent fill except two or three less than ideal entries (the EREI/ERES crossing comes to mind).

    A few missed theme opportunities:

    INANER INANER: More ridiculous at the most-visited area of a hospital.
    SATOUT SATOUT: Skipped the Argentine horse race tipster.
    SCATTERS SCATTERS: Chases off jazz singers' group.
    PETTIT PETTIT: Tufted bird kept by the NBA's first MVP.

    I always enjoy the write-ups and the spirited and funny discussions that follow. Thank you.

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  60. Don: Yeah, you got it. Lutheran for 63 years. Methodist for 5 before that.

    Abejo

    (146 65383929)

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  61. AliasZ - much better late than never, thanks for the great additions!

    Bumppo - you're amongst friends!

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  62. HI all...

    No FORTUNE for me for me, a DNF in the northern-square states and in the Carolinas. I had to google Fossey to get APES but still couldn't get ALINES (never heard of it). 22a ETTU? why not?

    Over in the Carolinas, 40a was OCean, so 30d became SEan. I thought about Twall at 29d, but didn't know it was spelled TOIL-E. I even paid for TOILE wall paper in our 1st house - I guess I didn't review the invoice closely ENUF.

    I did get all the theme answers and loved 'em! WEES 20a and 41a (re: spacing).

    Fav moment was the aha! at 27d. I was thinking, wimp, can, cat, dog, um, um... IRA! Funny.

    Thanks Steve for the write-up and MRE meanings. Here's another - MIT and Rice Engineers (a local consultancy).

    Bill G. I loved the comedian joke. I talked to dear wife about trying amateur night. She laughed at (not with) me. CANTSEE the humour in that.

    CED - thanks for the echo (echo (echo (echo)))s.

    Cheers, -T

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  63. Oh, yes. Welcome AliasZ and Bumppo. Like Steve said, we're a friendly group here. AliasZ, I can already see your avatar - a big Z w/ sunglasses on.

    OK Lutherans, do you guys enjoy Prairie Home Companion? That's how I knew St. OLAF.

    C, -T

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  64. I bask in my ignorance......what does WBS mean?
    Jeopardy .... He had a great run!
    Lots of holes in my puzzle today. But, the crossword in LAT is sometimes the highlight of my day, so I struggled through with a few cheats here.

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  65. Mary - WBS - What Barry Said. Since he and Owen are the 1st to post, folks just compare their solve to Barry's. WEES - is What Everyone Else Said for when you post late like me. BTW (by the way) C.C. put a bunch of this in the cleo section of the main page.

    I agree with you re: enjoying the puzzle after work & dinner & SHOOing the kids to bed.

    Cheers, -T

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  66. And Jacob and Leah had a bunch o' boys.

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  67. Thanks, Anonymous T. I will check out the Cleo section. So many initials nowadays.... The Blog is my new favorite place to be. I'm new to it, but have been enjoying reading what the 'experts' here have to say and the things they mention that would go unnoticed by most. Thanks again.

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  68. Mary - I'm sorry, it's Olio not Cleo. Brain cramp. C, -T

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  69. Fermatprime, I read several articles on affect/effect. I thought I understood when to use each one but it is more complicated than I knew. I don't think the 'correct' answer is clear to me in this particular case.

    AnonT, I'm glad you liked the comedian joke yesterday. Here's another one I just found.

    When I heard that oxygen and magnesium hooked up I was like OMg.

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  70. Jeopardy was interesting. I would never have guessed the outcome when the new contestants were introduced. I won't be missing Arthur. He's very smart and a good player but I just didn't find him likeable. I wonder what he would be like 'to have a beer with'?

    * Never trust an atom. They make up everything.

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  71. Arthur seemed off his rhythm through the whole show tonight. He missed some of the simplest clues.(Imagine "Two Penny Opera"!) When he hit $0, my wife remembered that he'd been wiped out before. But I said then that he was off his game and I doubted he'd recover.
    At the end I even wondered if the fix was in.

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