google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, April 14, 2014 Sean Dobbin and the CHSVT Cruciverbalism Class

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Apr 14, 2014

Monday, April 14, 2014 Sean Dobbin and the CHSVT Cruciverbalism Class

Theme: One for the Guys - Four sets of Double Ds.

17A. Hand Vac maker : DIRT DEVIL


29A. Special "Jeopardy!" square : DAILY DOUBLE. Double dose.



40A. Cavity filler's letters, or, said another way, a hint to 17-, 29-, 49- and 65-Across : DDS. Doctor of Dental Science

49A. A&E reality series featuring the Robertson family : DUCK DYNASTY



65A. Computer component : DISK DRIVE. I'll leave this for CED to discover.

When you solve in Across Lite, click on View, then Notepad, you'll see below (Other on-line websites do not support Notepad):

Sean Dobbin is an English teacher at the Community High School of Vermont (CHSVT) in St. Johnsbury. His cruciverbalism class, for which students earn fractional credit, involves vocabulary, writing, and other areas of English. 12 students worked with Mr. Dobbin on today's puzzle.

Argyle here. The real story is not so much about the puzzle (tho it's a fine puzzle indeed) but about the constructors themselves. I see Mr. Dobbin had a solo puzzle in the NY Times but this, I think, is a first for the Cruciverbalism Class. Click here to read more about Sean Dobbin.

Across:

1. Steady look : GAZE

5. Uneducated guess : STAB. Or WAG, in our argot.

9. Knife and fork separator, in a place setting : PLATE. That must be in the fancy restaurants; in the diner, all three utensils are wrapped up as one in a napkin.

14. Black cat, to some : OMEN

15. Like a guru : WISE

16. Long-eared hoppers : HARES

19. Haloed messenger : ANGEL

20. Nocturnal annoyance : SNORE

21. Once in a while : OFF AND ON. Like my snoring. Honest!
23. Until now : YET

25. Road groove : RUT. Deeper than this.

26. Bermuda hrs. : AST. (Atlantic Standard Time)

36. Stir-fried hodgepodge : CHOP SUEY

38. Ad-lib comedy style : IMPROV. (improvisation)

39. Hailed vehicle : TAXI

42. Comedian Cook : DANE. No clip. YouTube trouble.

43. "The Real Slim Shady" rapper : EMINEM. Same excuse. Honest!

46. Big name in gloves : ISOTONER

51. Arid : DRY

52. Past-tense verb that sounds like a number : ATE

53. EMT technique : CPR

55. Squirrel's discard : NUTSHELL

60. Continental bank notes : EUROs

64. Hauled to the hoosegow : RAN IN

67. Speak one's mind : OPINE

68. Good earth : LOAM

69. Peak : APEX

70. Moisten, as a lawn : WATER

71. Tolkien tree creatures : ENTs

72. Ash Wednesday-to-Easter time : LENT. Almost over.

Down:

1. Zeus and Apollo : GODS

2. Idi of Uganda : AMIN

3. None : ZERO

4. Way in : ENTRY

5. Nor. neighbor : SWE. Norway / Sweden

6. DVR pioneer : TIVO

7. "Not a chance!" : "AS IF!"

8. Steeple section with a ringer : BELFRY. Where my bats are.

9. "The __ of the Opera" : PHANTOM

10. Touch down : LAND

11. Jason's ship : ARGO

12. New driver, often : TEEN

13. Immigrant's subj. : ESL. (English as a second language)

18. Closing documents : DEEDS

22. German automaker : AUDI

24. Cross-shaped Greek letter : TAU

26. Played a part (in) : ACTED

27. SeaWorld orca : SHAMU. In the news lately.

28. Poisonous, as waste : TOXIC

30. Mil. roadside hazard : IED. (improvised explosive device)

31. Winona's "Beetlejuice" role : LYDIA. OK, it's working again. Honest!



32. Prom hairstyle : UPDO

33. Mark with an iron : BRAND

34. Introvert : LONER

35. "__ Breath You Take": Police hit : EVERY. Video(4:13)

37. Internal color of a medium steak : PINK. Anybody give 'sous vide' a try after we had it awhile ago.

41. Puncture sound : [SSS]

44. 1970s Mary Tyler Moore co-star : ED ASNER

45. Folk story : MYTH

47. Non-prescription: Abbr. : OTC. (over-the-counter)

48. Used a keyboard : TYPED

50. Tattoo tool : NEEDLE

54. Not urban : RURAL

55. California wine valley : NAPA

56. Textbook chapter : UNIT

57. Fork prong : TINE

58. Big cat : LION

59. Test for a future atty. : LSAT. (Law School Admission Test)

61. Like a red tomato : RIPE

62. Cookie cooker : OVEN. Cutie cluer.

63. Modern message between trysters, perhaps : SEXT. A sexual text between lovers.

64. Spreadsheet feature : ROW

66. Metric distances: Abbr. : KMs. (kilometers)


Argyle


68 comments:

  1. Ye want to be king? Don't be hasty.
    Your heirs will be inclined to waste ye.
    You'll not die abed,
    You might lose your head;
    However you go, you'll DY NASTY!

    There once was a DEVIL named Drubble
    Who always was getting in trouble.
    It was causing despair
    When he went anywhere --
    Which was why Beelzebub paid him DOUBLE!

    ReplyDelete
  2. The tabloids will print DAILY DIRT
    About pols who DUCK their deserts.
    If their work is defective
    They're still re-elected;
    But it's a scandal to be chasing a skirt!

    There once was a D.D.S., Dennis,
    Who all of his life was a dentist.
    The DRIVE on his drill
    Always gave him a thrill;
    And the buffing DISK made him a menace!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Morning, all!

    Fine Monday puzzle. I had a few missteps with WON instead of ATE, ACME instead of APEX and CMS instead of KMS, but everything else was smooth. That C in CMS actually kept me from getting the *tada* at first. I thought DISC DRIVES seemed a bit odd when I put it in the first time around, so I knew just where to look...

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  4. Sext was new for this old timer(I don't even text yet). Luckily, Euros gave it up. Fun Monday with no real issues.

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  5. Fun puzzle. Speed-run, for me. Nice write-up. Good start to the week!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats to Sean, David, Caleb and the rest of the class on their LAT debut. It was an enjoyable Monday puzzle. Thanks for the write-up and links Argyle.

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  7. Lovely Monday puzzle when I only have a few minutes. Grandson is sleeping in. I waited to fill in DISC or DISK, but otherwise a speed run.

    Thanks, Argyle, for your expo. They are always great.

    Montana

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  8. Good morning!

    This was a no-prob Monday. I never knew there was such a thing as a cruciverbalism class. The "partial" credit would indicate the school's not overly enthused about its educational value. This was a nice effort. Well done, class.

    My first DirecTV DVR was a TIVO. That was years ago. Can you even get a non-DVR satellite or cable tuner today? Time-shifting has become a way of life. SEXTing, not so much for me.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good Morning, Argyle and Friends. I enjoyed this puzzle by Sean Dobbin and his CHSVT Class. I was also intrigued that he is from St. Johnsbury. That's the home of my grandmother so I know the town well. It is also the home of the Fairbanks Museum, where I spent many hours as a child.

    Hand up for wanting WON instead of ATE for the past tense verb that sounds like a number.

    QOD: Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stringer until you have accomplished a purpose ~ not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember. ~ Anne Sullivan (Apr. 14, 1866 ~ Oct. 20, 1936)

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good Morning Everybody! Super easy puzzle today. My only write over occurred when I entered SPOON at 9A instead of PLATE>

    My favorite clue was 52A: Past-tense verb that sounds like a number: ATE.

    Our friend, "AS IF" makes another appearance.

    Have a great week!

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  11. Not much to say other than a hand up for DISC/DISK.

    But a question: Why, in the write-up, is the final "S" smaller than the other letters for some answers (e.g. EUROs, ENTs, KMs) and not for others (e.g. HARES, GODS)? I could understand it if the "S" wasn't part of the answer but it is. Thanks.

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  12. Good morning all.

    Thank you team CHSVT, and thank you Argyle.

    Me too ! I started counting and got to WON !

    Off to work. Later.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Everyone ~~

    Today's puzzle was a half-a-mugger as I zipped through quickly ~ fine for a Monday! My one write-over was Text before SEXT. And I'm WONdering why I never thought of WON before ATE - huh.

    Thanks for your info and comments, Argyle ~ nice to learn about the constructors. I had no idea about the "CHSVT Cruciverbalism" listed below the puzzle.

    Nice work, Sean Dobbin & Class!

    Spring has sprung and it's SO nice to open the windows ~ I've got kitties sitting in three of them! =^..^=

    Enjoy your Monday!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thank you for a fine puzzle, Sean Dobbin. I’m glad to see there is such a thing as a Cruciverbalism class. Thank you for a fine review, Argyle.

    This was a quick but fun puzzle. There were some clues I never saw until I read the review because the perps had filled them in.

    WBS. I, too, had ONE before ATE, ACME before APEX, and CMS before KMS. I also had SAGE before WISE and DISC before DISK. Fortunately the perps saved me every time.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Enjoyable Monday 10 minute speed-run today. Thanks Sean and the Cruciverbalism class.

    ATE filled in from perps so I didn't want WON. But I read the clue too quickly and filled in our old friend OREO instead of OVEN. Perps took care of that mistake also. I did the same with SPOON instead of PLATE.

    I'm not familiar with Hoosegow but again the perps saved the day.

    After this long cold winter, our roads have potholes not RUTS!

    Arthur Chen played Jeopardy by jumping around looking for DAILY DOUBLES. We had this discussion before.

    Like Mari, I noticed AS IF again.

    I like my steak medium-well with only a slight amount of pink.

    Have spent many years dealing with OTCs and Rxs.

    ReplyDelete
  16. CanadianEh!

    Hoosegow is slang for jail.

    The origin is the Mexican Spanish word juzgado, tribunal or courtroom.

    I hear it used in Western movies, although the first usage is early 20th century.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hello Puzzlers -

    Typical speed run. Hand up for Won before Ate. I accessed this puzzle via Cruciverb's newly restored Archive section, and imported it into the Crosswords app as usual. This time, however, the puzzle notes opened automatically - that's never happened before, so I assume it's a new feature. It's timely, considering that today's notes are a big part of the puzzle's backstory.

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  18. The byline for this fine Monday puzzle gave rise to who did what – Sean, the kids or Rich. BTW, when I do puzzles at school every kid wants to take a STAB but nobody knew UMAMI or WEAKSAUCE, hmmm…

    Musings
    -I cut my Nebraska beef with the fork in my left hand and knife in the right but never use this continental style to raise it to my mouth
    -Spring weather is OFF AND ON and not here permanently YET (81°F Saturday, freezing yesterday)
    -IMPROV? Subbing in a class dependent on the internet and have the network go down. YIKES!
    -EMINEM’s mansion was featured in Aerial America’s feature on Michigan
    -A troubled 49er (who dwarfs the police officers) got RAN IN for saying “bomb” when he was searched at LAX this weekend. Not his first trip to the hoosegow.
    -.5” of precipitation (rain and snow) yesterday stopped our lawn WATERing regimen (not regiment)
    -TIVO thinks Spence is gay (1:17)
    -I hope Sean’s TEENS aren’t texting and driving. It can wait!! And 63 down is never a good idea. Duh!
    -Look who’s using a branding Iron
    -What was Harry Chapin’s TAXI driver’s dream before he wound up in a hack?

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hoosegow is my favorite slang word for jail, along with The Pokey. The Slammer just isn't as much fun.

    "Every Breath You Take" is a spooky little song - it's kinda menacing. I'm amazed that people choose it as a wedding song, thinking it's sweet and loving, when in reality it's about stalking. The singer Sting said pretty much the same thing.

    Rain is forecast for tomorrow, sorry Montana! We'll make the best of it.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Good Morning:

    A nice start to the week but a FIW for me due to disc/disk. Otherwise, smooth as silk.

    Thanks, Sean Dobbin and Class, and thanks, Argyle, for your witty expo.

    Very mild right now but cooler temps tomorrow. Still very windy, more like March than April.

    Have a great day.

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  21. Argyle, if you want to try sous vide at home, you'll need a spare $330 for the equipment. Personally, I'll pass. I also don't need one of those $300+ Kitchenaid stand mixers.

    Husker, he wanted to fly. You've gotta admit that the continental style is much more efficient than the American fork shuffle.

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  22. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Sean Dobbib & Class, for an excellent puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for the fine review.

    I believe that these youth and their teacher constructing this fine puzzle is outstanding. Congrats to all of you! Great approach to education.

    Puzzle was a good Monday level. Zipped through it.

    Since I am now using the newspaper every day, I did have an inkblot. I wrote in TEXT instead of SEXT. Fixed it quickly.

    Liked OPINE. I always enjoy that word.

    I have lots of nutshells on my deck, from what the squirrels leave. I feed them Sunflower seeds and they leave the shells. The wind blows them away eventually.

    Our old buddy Idi AMIN has arrived again. He is probably the most famous crossword personality there is. of course, his other fame preceded his crossword appearances.

    I really enjoyed PHANTOM of the Opera. great music!

    BELFRY was good. Rare word.

    Lots to do today. I have to finish reading this book for my club tonight. It is not my type of book. But, I am slogging through it. "Where'd you go, Bernadette"

    According to Dudley, Cruciverb is working again? I think I will try it.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    (1121 34866836)

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  23. Good morning everyone.

    WEES. Quick clean solve; no strikethroughs or searches needed. I liked the theme. I did not know DUCK DYNASTY, but perp help sufficed. Same with LYDIA, but somehow was able to dredge ISOTONER from the bilges of my brain.
    I get the feeling that participating in Seth Dobbin's class is a lot of fun. Thank you all for a great start to the week.

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  24. This was a pleasant Monday morning romp. And it's quite a compliment to the class that put it together. Good Job CHSVT!

    Last week on Idol Alex Preston offered his version of Every Breath You Take. It's been covered aplenty, but I don't think I've ever heard this much of a departure from the original. A very pleasant take on the song.

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  25. Nice puzzle by Seth Dobbins and his class. Good for a Monday also. I just have one question........was the Comedian Cook from the Muppets? If so, that was the Swedish Chef.morka morka mork, or whatever.If not, then I'd like to know who is this Comedian..being a chef myself (and funny too) especially when I make Danish.

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  26. Hi everyone:

    My class and I are beyond psyched to have this puzzle in the LAT! I'll probably never make any serious money as a constructor or editor, so teaching this class is as close to a dream job as I can get.

    Seriously, major props to Community High School of Vermont for allowing teachers and students to soar. This isn't your typical school, and these aren't your typical students. I've worked at a few other schools and know of many others -- in my opinion, none are as philosophically progressive or brilliantly staffed as this one. I'm one lucky teacher!

    Thanks to C.C. and others for this blog, and thanks to everyone else for your thoughts. Thanks also to Rich Norris for being an absolute pleasure to work with.

    Look for more from us. :)


    Sean

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  27. Thank you Sean, for you and your class contribution, for a nice and easy puzzle. I wasn't aware of the unusual nature of your class until I read all about it. (Thanks, Argyle -). I think you are doing something very noble, and I'm sure you will have a greater impact on many lives than a lot of government programs. God bless you.

    Argyle - thank you for your commentary - funny and fresh, as usual. I loved that song from The Police and Sting - and the first time I understood every single word.

    Have a nice day, all.

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  28. Very interesting back story on this one- thanks for sharing, Argyle! And thanks for stopping by Sean! As a constructor myself, I know for a fact that you can't quit your day job...

    But I, for one, am looking forward to more puzzles from you and your class!

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  29. Puzzle payment goes to charity, by the way!

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  30. So about the small 's', I feel that with the base word being all caps that is easier to recognize if I make the 's' small. Just my personal preference.

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  31. Hi Gang -

    Congrats to Sean and his students. Nice start to the week.

    I got thrown by ENTRY/YET, of all things.

    Speaking of that "S" or "s" at the end of a word, here is Sean DobbinS with some IMPROV.

    Had ED ASNER before ATE, so WON was never in play. Speaking of WON the TIGERS LOST to the Padres.

    Again.

    Cool regards!
    JzB

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  32. Hi Y'all! Guess we could call this a real "class-y" puzzle. Fun! And fun to think of those young brains putting this together.

    Oh phooey! I thought OFF AND ON, CHOP SUEY, ISOTONER, and NUT SHELL were part of the theme and couldn't "get" the theme. I missed the unifier clue because it filled while I was doing downs.

    80* on Saturday, rain all day yesterday but warm, snow in the night and freezing today. Don't know what it will do to all the beautiful blooming fruit & ornamental trees. Probably no fruit set on.

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  33. Congratulations to Sean and his CHNVT Cruciverbalism Class for a FUN Monday puzzle.
    I hope a lot of "first-time-solvers" decide today is the day to try a LAT Crossword.
    Looking forward to enjoying more puzzles from this group.

    NOT WBS ... had ATE, APEX, KMS and DISK-DRIVE on first entry.


    A "toast" to All at Sunset.
    Cheers!!!

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  34. Good day, all, and especially the CHSVT class and their teacher, Sean Dobbin! As Widwan said, a noble endeavor and fun way to learn.

    It was not only fast and easy but clever, too with some fresh clues.

    ATE was filled by perps ASNER and MYTH so won never was in play for me either.

    Argyle, my table is always properly set with PLATE separating knife and forks. Some habits just never die and that's one of them.

    Someone persuaded my to watch DUCK DYNASTY and so I did, once, and can't understand the attraction. Of course, I don't like any reality shows but that one seems more pointless than most.

    One writeover, ACME before APEX. Again, thanks to Mr. Dobbins and his class. I look forward to more.

    Have a fine Monday, everyone!

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  35. Thank you Sean Dobbin and your class for the first rate puzzle! Knowing who you are adds to the pleasure of solving this one. Thanks, Argyle, for the fun expo.

    WEES. No problems with this one.

    Have a wonderful week, everyone!

    Pat

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  36. Let me add my thanks for stopping by Sean. In my 42 years of teaching, kids most remember when we did things out of the box such as dropping eggs, shooting off rockets, setting of dry ice bombs, traveling to Kennedy Space Center and Disney, etc. Going the extra mile is what makes learning fun and a few minutes away from UNIT 17 ain’t hurtin’ nobody (do those double negatives cancel each other out?)! ;-)
    Congrats on being selected by a big boy puzzle guy like Rich.

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  37. Hello everybody. What Lucina said. Best wishes.

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  38. I am a long-time follower, first-time poster.

    As an English Teacher in East LA, I always scoff when teaching handbooks suggest creating crossword puzzles to enhance students' vocabularies. Today, however, I simply had to eat crow as I put in the fill.

    Clearly, The Police and Beetlejuice references belong to the teacher.

    In turn, the students had a say in Eminem, Dane Cook, Duck Dynasty, and Sext. All in all, nothing weak sauce about these answers; in fact, they were far more accessible than this past Saturday's proper-name laden WAG fest.

    Unfortunately, the central DDS fill was my morning's bane. I wanted ADA so bad that I was simply doomed to get two letters wrong. Oh well.

    Thanks Sean Dobbin. Likewise, if your students are monitoring these comments, Bravo I say to you.

    ReplyDelete
  39. What a fun Monday puzzle. As soon as I saw the constructors I was excited to see how it would work. Not a speed run, but totally doable with cool clues and answers. "Cavity filler" is a pretty novel description for a dentist! And then having his title refer to the Double Ds was really clever. So congratulations, Sean, and Class! And thanks for stopping by, Sean.

    Internet problems continue even though we got a new modem. So if I miss checking in with the blog, that's the problem.

    Meanwhile, have a great Monday, everybody!

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  40. Special thank to Sean for stopping by! I wonder what his students think of us old fogies' comments on their fine puzzle? One of last week's Frazz strips seems especially appropriate today for the substitute teachers in our midst.

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  41. Argyle,
    I was delighted by this morning's analysis and explication, particularly to come across (first time for me) the fancy word for what we all do.
    From now on, when anyone asks how I spend my spare time, I shall be proud to tell them I am a confirmed Cruciverbalist.

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  42. Happy Monday everybody!

    Pretty much the same experience as others regarding write-overs, with these added: SWAG for STAB, ALIT for LAND, and RAWLINGS for ISOTONER (different kind of glove, but it is baseball season, and it fit, so....)

    The Chicago Trib version of the puzzle also started with a "pop up" note on the back story of the puzzle constructors. Wish I could've attended a school with a crossword elective....

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  43. Dobbin and class have blessed us with a fine Monday morning example - a pzl not too hard, but stocked with enjoyable clues and fills. CHOP SUEY & NUT SHELL were my favorites of the non-theme answers-- words I don't expect to see.
    And I think this was a first for SEXT. SEXTing is apparently a trend among a generation or two younger than mine. In our day we just slipped hand-scrawled notes to one another in Jr-High--usually through a third party, so the gossip mill could share a little taste.

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  44. Hello, I was wondering what is the average number of weeks you must wait to get a response from a puzzle you sent?

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  45. Kevin:
    Welcome! I hope you stay and become a regular. Many here are teachers, retired or active.

    And I hope you have reconsidered your position on crossword puzzles as an effective teaching tool. Speaking as one who was introduced to them in fourth grade, I can say they have contributed to my life long learning and continued love of research even at an advanced age. Kudos to you and all like you, a not always appreciated classroom teacher.

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  46. This was a fun and easy puzzle today. Only write over was text/sext.

    Abejo: I read "Where'd You Go Bernadette?" when it first came out after reading a very good review of it. Although I thought it was O.K, I was disappointed.

    I like my steak rare (red).

    Nancy

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  47. Hi all,
    This was a mind blowing puzzle and really fun. After all, this was not a typical high school and these young people will have a better chance in life because they have teachers who seek to understand their needs and a state that gives them a chance.

    The puzzle was fun, I finished most of it. For 21A I first had 'at random' but it didn't fit.
    I got it from the perps in the end.

    I was amused at snore and did get Duck Dynasty but I don't care for the show.

    Last night we were supposed to get a little snow. When we got up this AM it had snowed about 4 inches and the trees were covered with wet snow. It was beautiful and is still on a lot of them. We have a lot of oak trees and pine trees on the hills by us.

    Hope you all have a god evening!
    Marge

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  48. Good afternoon Argyle and all,

    What a nice start to the week. How fun that class must be! Kudos to Mr. Dobbins, his students and Rich Norris.Hope we see more from this group.

    Had to say I had to let a few letters fall in before seeing eminem and Duck Dynasty. Unlike everyone else, I wrote in hard drive before realizing it was disk.

    Kevin, my last fill was DDs...an ah ha when finally the light went on.

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  49. Greetings!

    Interesting puzzle, Sean and class. Also, nice if you to drop by. Nice review, Santa. Enjoyed the theme. Have a DIRT DEVIL portable in my closet that never worked.

    Roses blooming like mad. Must take some pics.

    Russian fellow returning for remainder of semester tonight. Will get to catch up on last week's The Americans. Will also (probably) have a warm meal!

    Cheers!

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  50. I saw the names of the writers and was curious to see what they had to offer us on a Monday! I was not disappointed!

    Had SPOON before PLATE, Saw UPDO and ASIF were back again, For a couple of letters I didn't get DIRTDEVIL because I had one years ago, it worked poorly, so it was pitched and never thought of again. Until today.

    Yeah, Every Breath You Take was creepy. I remember Sting saying so as well.

    Welcome, Kevin. I am kind of new here as well, read a lot before I got up the nerve
    to post. Wasn't a LAUSD teacher, but I had several grand years as a TA here in East Hollywood and did work with my own children for many tumultuous years of their public school education.

    Have a visitor coming this week from Virginia Beach, VA so I don't know if I will be on much this week.Everyone have a wonderful week!

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  51. Thank you for such a great puzzle!

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  52. I just wanted to throw this out, for all of you to consider,

    Could the answer for DISK DRIVE and KMs, be also have worked for...

    the alternate Answers of DISC DRIVE and CMs ??

    Please give your opinions.

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  53. Lucina:
    Thanks for the warm welcome! I am eager to return... especially when my teaching load permits me the time.

    JD:
    Thanks for making me feel less reprehensible for missing the DDs fill, which was egregious on two accounts: 1) I normally put much more thought into solving the key to a puzzle's theme; 2) inserting ADA was inane insofar as a Puncture sound is most certainly not "ass"--which sort of makes we one for committing such a gaff. I suppose, in retrospect, my intense dislike of going to the dentist inclined me toward rushing away from filling this puzzle's own cavity as hastily as possible.

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  54. What a wonderful way to teach spelling, tense, math, critical thinking and pop culture, history, and all the other liberal arts than to DO a daily xword puzzle (and to create one every once in a while!) Wish i could have been in Mr. Dobbin`s class!

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  55. FOOD FOR THOUGHT: IMO, I think that if the clue was metric measure, it would have worked either way. I think of a KM as a distance and a measure, but a CM as just a measure.

    Overall I found today's puzzle to be very nice.

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  56. Lucina, did you happen to see OwenKL's response to you late last night - regarding his law? I am sure he is waiting with bated breath (and whispering humbleness) for any recognition/response from you or the Corner...

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  57. Thanks, Sean and class - fun start to the week. Thanks for the expo, Argyle.

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  58. I've been doing crosswords since they were invented — literally! And I love this one. Not to hard; not too easy. I look for more from you and your class. (And I was about to give up on decent education!)

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  59. Lucina, I was glad to see you get a shout out in today's puzzle.

    I like Owen's Law.

    I like my steak high-quality and rarish; anywhere close to medium-rare.

    It was an absolutely beautiful day for a short bike ride. The ocean was lovely, the temperature about 70, the sky was azure and the sea breeze was pleasant. I had a double macchiato and then helped some kids make sense out of solving algebra word problems with two variables.

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  60. To the teacher and his fortunate class...I wish there were more instructors such as you. My granddaughter is in 5th grade and all the concentrate on is prepping for tests and taking tests and I wonder how much they are actually learning. I wish the would do more 'outside the box' tasks such as the one you allowed for your students. Thanks for a great start to the week and we look forward to more.

    My only other comment is in re Argyle's ref to DD. I worked on a Gov't program called Reg DD. Needless to say, the fellas on the project had quite a heyday with that.

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  61. Ooops, also wanted to comment on Owen's Law. The day it was published I must have missed as I have been wondering what it was referring to. As usual, very clever and appropriate, Owen.

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  62. Anonymous@6:04
    Thanks for the nudge. I had completely forgotten to check last night's post.

    OwenKL:
    I love that law! It must have been posted while I was away. Yes, nits are so inevitable as to be regarded as law.

    BillG:
    Thanks for remembering but if you recall the puzzle theme is only double D.

    I'm glad you enjoyed solving on paper. I thought you would.

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  63. I will not state the obvious. Or will I?

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  64. Lucina, well maybe the shout out was to Lois, our DD Virginia girl (IIRC).

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  65. DISK/KM or DISC/CM, Are both equally good answers? I have discovered that in “computer terminology today it is common for the k-spelling to refer mainly to magnetic storage devices” such as DISK DRIVE
    “The c-spelling is now used consistently for optical media such as the compact disc and similar technologies.”
    I believe CM and KM are both metric distances. The distance between City A and City B is 10 KMs. , but on the map the distance between them is 2 CMs. The eyeglass fitter measures the distance between my eyes in CMs, not KMs.
    So DISK is the key as to whether we needed a K or C.

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  66. The Early Bird gets the wormApril 15, 2014 at 5:35 AM

    Hallooo,

    Is anybody listening ?? Anybody ?

    Whats with the blog ?

    Someone's asleep at the wheelhouse ?

    I finished the puzzle and came here to read your comments. But ...

    The rooster is crowing - the worms are crawling out (somewhere - ) - a light drift of snow hovers over the ground awaiting the dawn - and no Crossword Corner.

    Well, I realize this is a voluntary exercise and we should be patient.

    Take your time.

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  67. Whether you spell it DISK or DISC 66-down is still a correct answer!

    ReplyDelete

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