google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, April 9, 2014 Bernice Gordon

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Apr 9, 2014

Wednesday, April 9, 2014 Bernice Gordon

Theme: FANNY BONE.  Well, not really, but you know I wouldn't be able to resist.  What we have is a classic VOWEL PROGRESSION.  Each two-word theme answer begins with the letter combination F_N-, and the blank is filled in with a vowel.  Progressing through the puzzle in order, the theme answer vowels are A, E, I, O, and U, just like the alphabet.  Why? Y not?

17. Waist bag : FANNY PACK.  Not a trash container, but a carrying pouch worn around the waist.  You can read here why it is not called a FANNY PACK outside the U.S.A.

25. Herbal remedy for indigestion : FENNEL TEA.  I did not know that.

38. Renege : FINK OUT.   Slang term.

50. Piece of Le Creuset cookware : FONDUE POT.   Device for melting cheese, into which can be dipped bread chunks on skewers.  Tasty, and you can have fun doing it.




60. Sense of humor : FUNNY BONE.  And a good joke might tickle it, my theme title not withstanding.

Hi Gang, JzB here to guide your stroll through the alphabet, and this puzzle by Bernice Gordon.  Now 100 years old, she has been publishing puzzles since 1952, when I was the goofy little four-eyed kindergarden kid who hated finger painting.  You can read about her and some of her puzzles, including this one, in this Philadelphia Inquirer article




Lets see what we can find, and no JAY walking!

Across:

1. Lead-in for bird or walk : JAY.  JAY birds I understand.  I've been told not to JAY walk since at least the first grade, but had to learn that a JAY is a beginner, or someone not very good at something.  So a JAY WALKER is one recklessly crossing a street away from a cross walk. Though this illustration looks dangerous, note that the umpire is calling the runner safe.


  

4. Nervous and irritable : UPSET.  Like a coach when his team loses to an inferior rival.

9. Thai cash : BAHT.  About 3.1 cents at the current exchange rate.

13. Musician Turner : IKE.  Also famous for his uncertain number of marriages [between 5 and 13] and beating Tina Turner.

14. Words Alice read on a cake : EAT ME.   Eating too much cake can make one too large, as she discovered.

15. Month in Madrid : ENERO.  Alliterative clues often hint at foreign language fill.

19. Once more : AGAIN.  

20. "It's __ bet": "No risk" : A SAFE.  I wanted A SURE, but can assure you that was wrong.

21. Everlasting, to a poet : ETERNE.

22. Cal. entry : APPT.   Calendar and appointment.  Note abrv. in cl. and ans. 

27. Custard dishes : QUICHES.  Would you eat one on a train?  Could I egg you on?

30. River in NW France : ORNE

31. "The Star-Spangled Banner," e.g. : ANTHEM.

32. Countdown-ending número : UNO.   When launching Spanish rockets [cohetes.]

33. Leveling wedge : SHIM.  A tapered spacer used to provide a better fit or level surface.

37. Pen name : BIC.  Cute misdirection.. BIC is a brand name for a pen company.

41. Amin of Uganda : IDI

42. Twice vier : ACHT.  Vier is 4. German, I fear.

44. Word of surprise : GEE.  GEE whiz golly wow!

45. __ Zee: area where the Hudson River widens : TAPPAN.  This wide spot in the river is named for the TAPPAN sub tribe of the Delaware people and the Dutch word Zee, meaning wide expanse of water.  In this region the river is about 5 miles wide.

47. Taj Mahal home : AGRA.  Popular crossword destination.

49. Heavenly higher-ups, in Christianity : SERAPHS.  The highest ranking angels.

54. Chess piece : ROOK

55. People with skill : ADEPTS.  Like Bernice.

56. Place to store valuables : VAULT.

59. Station : DEPOT.

64. Old hat : STALE.  Unfashionably out of date, passé Fashionably out of date is retro.

65. Popeye creator Segar : ELZIE.  I will never remember this.

66. Type of museum : WAX.  A place exhibiting WAX-constructed human likenesses, typically of the famous and infamous.

67. Kane's Rosebud, e.g. : SLED.  Citizen Kane.

68. Nobel-winning Irish poet : YEATS. William Butler.  He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1923.

69. It may need a boost : EGO.  I suppose a Nobel Prize might do that for you.

Down:

1. Peanut butter brand : JIF.  Because it spreads so quickly?

2. Alias, for short : A.K.AAlso Known As.

3. Hankering : YEN.   I thought about going to Japan, but didn't have the YEN to travel.

4. They may be done by ones who have gone too far : UEYS.  U-turns.  Clever clue for a word with variant spellings

5. Family nickname : PAPA.  The perp A SURE gave me PAPU.  I prefer Bumpa.

6. Support crews : STAFFS.  A SURE got in the way here, as well.

7. Game show personality : EMCEE. Master of Ceremonies, with the initials spelt out.  What do you call that kind of construction?

8. "__War": Shatner series : TEK.  This series of Sci-Fi novels was conceived by William Shatner and ghost written by Ron Goulart.

9. Defeated : BEATEN. Like everyone who played the U. Conn. men's basketball team in the NCAA tournament, or the U Conn. women's team all year. 

10. 49-Across, por ejemplo : ANGELES. Spanish Angels.  "For example" rendered in Spanish hints at the language of the fill.

11. Soul partner : HEART. Time for a retro musical interlude.  [I thought this was interesting.]
 


12. Puzzle video game with three heroes : TRINE.  Check it out.

16. Top draft status : ONE-A.  We've had an all volunteer army since 1973.

18. "Of course!" : NATCH.  Derived from "naturally," I presume.

21. Along the way : EN ROUTE.

22. Red Sea port on its own gulf : AQABA.  Jordan's only coastal city.

23. __ Wars: Rome vs. Carthage : PUNIC.  The PUNICS were the people of Carthage.

24. Tuner's concern : PITCH.  Piano tuner.  You can't tune a fish.

26. Words to Nanette? : NO, NONO, NO, Nanette is the 1925 musical that gave us the songs Tea For Two and I Want to Be Happy.

28. Playboy nickname : HEF.  Hugh Hefner.

29. Political fugitives : EMIGRES. People who have migrated out, usually with a connotation of political or social self-exile.

32. Island instrument : UKE.  Hawaiian Islands, Ukelele.  Here is a strange and beautiful version of one of my favorite songs.






 


34. River horse : HIPPO.  Short for hippopotamus, which is Greek for river horse.

35. Snake River state : IDAHO.  River snake is ποτάμι φίδι.

36. Belarus capital : MINSK.

39. Tide type : NEAP.  This occurs just after the first and third quarters of the moon, when the sun and moon are at right angles relative to the earth, and their gravitational forces work against each other.  Thus, the difference between high and low tide is minimized.

40. Roofer's supply : TAR.  Tiles, shingles, nails and rolled EPDM won't fit.

43. Stage in a frog's life : TADPOLE.  A.K.A. Pollywog, this is the larval stage of toads and frogs.

46. Medicare section for physician services : PART B.  Part A covers hospitalization.


48. Destroyed the inside of, as a building : GUTTED.  My sister just bought a house, and the kitchen will be GUTTED and totally reconfigured.

49. Verse segment : STANZA. Here, the word "Verse" means a poem. A group of lines forming the basic metrical unit of a poem is called a STANZA, from the Latin for a stopping place, or, alternatively, a verse.  Confused?  I could be wurst.

50. Hula Hoop et al. : FADS.  Back to my childhood. Less retro than NO, NO, Nanette, though.

51. "Golden Boy" dramatist : ODETS.  Clifford.  In this 1937 play, the hero is torn between commercial success and artistic fulfillment.

52. India neighbor : NEPAL.  Good place to get high.

53. Small egg : OVULE.  A small or immature ovum.

57. Workbook chapter : UNIT.

58. Strong alkalis : LYES.  LYE is sodium hydroxide (NaOH.)  And that's the truth.


60. "30 Rock" star : FEY.  Tina.



61. Be indebted to : OWE.

62. Pick on : NAG.

63. Outer: Pref. : EXO

All done.  Not quite everything from A to Z, but we did travel from A to U.  Hope you enjoyed the journey.

Cool regards!
JzB

70 comments:

George Barany said...

How absolutely delightful to see a puzzle by Bernice Gordon. Spoiler alert, but some of you might enjoy What's the Difference? that I wrote back in June 2013 when she was "only" 99.

I also want to tell those of you who are sports fans about two more puzzles, which may be relevant now that both the men's and women's NCAA basketball champions have been crowned. Chronologically first, Barn to Garden, followed immediately by Fast-Breaking News. We from the Land of 10,000 Lakes hope you enjoy these 2014 puzzles, and are anxious to "go dancing" in 2015.

bfly said...

Rolled thru Mon. and Tue. puzzle and was cakewalking today until that speed bump got me, Aqaba. Really? So not fair. Thouhgt 42(a) was eight in some language but thought it was probably an e or an i, didn't guess "a". I'll be ready for tomorrow's shenanigans though.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Another little gem from Ms. Gordon. A bit crunchy in spots (FENNEL TEA? TRINE?) but nothing too hard. I like the fact that she uses slang that I actually remember from my youth, such as FINK OUT. Plus all the SPANISH was a nice change from the usual glut of French we get.

I knew that QUICHE is made from eggs, but I never realized it was considered a form of custard. Live and learn.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

It was a treat to blog a puzzle by Bernice.

Technical note - I had to replace both of the music videos, which mysteriously disappeared overnight. So, if you got here ahead of me, you might have missed them.

Up early and off to judge a science fair today.

Have a great Wednesday, everyone.

Cool Regards!
JzB

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, JazzBumpa and friends. Ms. Gordon's puzzles always make me smile. I enjoy Vowel Progression puzzles, but was slightly befuddle when I began and ended FANNY PACK and FUNNY BONE. I briefly thought the remaining vowels would end in NNY, too.

Hand up for the (un)SURE Bet.

Today is HEF's 88th birthday, so ...

QOD: It’s good to be selfish. But not so self-centered that you never listen to other people. ~ Hugh Hefner (Apr. 9, 1926)

HeartRx said...

Good morning Jazzbumpa, C.C. et al.

Fun write-up, Jazzb, as always! I did get here earlier and didn't see the music videos. I'll have to go back and check those out.

I really enjoy Ms. Gordon's puzzles, too. When I saw FANNY PACK and FENNEL TEA I immediately looked for the other vowel progressions.

At 1-A I had to check the downs to decide between "cat" or JAY for my bird-walk. And those French rivers always get me - this time ORNE needed all four perps!

So it took some thought to fill in the answers, but that's what make hump days so fun!

Anonymous said...

""Of course!" : NATCH"

Oh ma God. This is so, like, totally lame, ya know, that I'm totally, like, tempted to use profanity, fer sure.

Barf out. Gag me with a spoon.

Like, totally.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This was mostly a walk in the park. Mostly. My "pen name" BOS (Dickens) became BIC and my WAR museum turned to WAX. BACK OUT became FINK OUT and OCHO turned to ACHT (both my Spanish and German are non-existent).

Interesting that we had both A SAFE and a VAULT today. I only knew TAPPAN as a kitchen range. And does anybody still do FONDUE?

Nice writeup, JzB. I wasn't familiar with EPDM -- we don't have a lot of low-pitch roofs hereabouts. I guess it's sort of a rubber EPiDerMis. Speaking of roofs and such, Marti, how's that ceiling?

Annual physical complete with dreaded digital exam later this morning. What fun!

LaLaLinda said...

Hi All ~~

The whole time I was working on this I kept thinking of how Bernice is 100 years old and still constructing puzzles! What an amazing woman!

~ I caught the theme quickly and had no problems, but did have a learning moment: ADEPT can be a noun.

~ I had read just before starting the puzzle that today is HEF's 88th birthday and then he popped into the puzzle.

~ A wonderful write-up, JazzB ~ lots of info, nice musical links and I especially enjoyed your comment on 9D - " Defeated : BEATEN. Like everyone who played the U. Conn. men's basketball team in the NCAA tournament, or the U Conn. women's team all year." An amazing feat for our state teams: " UConn wins men's & women's titles in same season for 2nd time (2004)"

Sorry for boring all the non-sports people. Now I'll be quiet and just go back to my struggling Red Sox. :-)

Lemonade714 said...

Just a wonderful fun, but challenging work from Ms. Gordon. I loved seeing Hefner on his birthday, the Gee Zee juxtaposition and the tough ones like Trine and Elzie.

JzB great job also.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Bernice Gordon, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.

I am really impressed with Mrs. Gordon. What a great example for all of us.

Got started easily in the NW, but slowed down a bit as I progressed.

I tried A SURE for 20, but quickly changed that to A SAFE with STAFFS for 6D. A little ink blot here.

PUNIC was easy. For some reason I remember that.

ACHT came with a couple perps. I am not big on foreign languages.

Liked the theme. Very clever.

SHIM was easy. One of the best devices used by man. We used to shim the bays and racks in the telephone exchanges because the floors were notoriously uneven.

Liked ANGELES, as in the big city in California.

I was thinking of TRASHED for 48D, but it would not fit. GUTTED appeared after a while.

Went to one funeral last night. The place was packed by people from all over Illinois. Next one is tomorrow morning in Oak Lawn.

Lots to do today. Cooking for about 20 people tonight. Shepherd's Pie is the menu. Easy to make and tastes good.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(51 2526652)

Yellowrocks said...

Fun, easy puzzle in which I made three absolutely lame brain errors. I'm too embarrassed to admit which ones. No nits, few unknowns. but all were perpable.
I started Tuesday with 3 big personal snafus not of my making and finished with three more caused by me. Yesterday I thought, "Tomorrow is a new day," but the snafus continue. ARRRGH!
Funny, funny write up JzzB. You made me laugh.
I can't see the attraction of HEF. I never cared for him.

FONDUE is baaaack! It is now retro, not stale. FONDUE POTS are selling like hotcakes. There are many fondue restaurants and many many available recipes. I have been making fondue for supper on Easter night for many years.
Fondu and QUICHE are among the favorites in this cheese loving family. I make a crust-less spinach-cheddar quiche which is very popular with guests. I prefer it without the crust. Besides it has fewer calories.

Did you hear about the new computer virus? It is really necessary to change my whole list of passwords?

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Nothing says “tourist” like a FANNY PACK
-It’s so ironic that after all the RENEGING of the US gov’t, the racist phrase “Indian giver” was coined
-Leno’s JAY Walking (5:12) segment shows that there are a lot of people who are blissfully ignorant
-Two traps vis-à-vis our ANTHEM – Forgetting the words and/or failing miserably to hit the note on “free”
-This UNO gave me a Master’s Degree
-Ubiquitous – BIC pens in a school or office (needed spell check for ubiquitous)
-The Seinfeld phrase for keeping a secret is “It’s in the VAULT”
-Skippy Super Chunk is not only brand of peanut butter you can buy? Who knew?
-My hometown – Drive two blocks, flip a UEY, drive two blocks, flip a UEY, ad nauseum
-PAPA taught Elise how to play HEART and Soul on her new piano. She showed me Für Elise
-Being ONE-A in the late 60’s was a nightmare
-Some feel HEF did as much to objectify women sexually as anyone
-I’ve had worse jobs than TARRING a roof in July, but I can’t think of one just now
-I have Part A, PART B, Part D, Medicare extended with dental, and nursing home insurance and don’t really understand any of it.
-I’m making a presentation to 60 fourth graders today following their astronomy UNIT
-Joann and I went to this FONDUE restaurant and I’m too embarrassed to tell you what we spent to have our curiosity slaked.
-What 1962 epic movie features The Battle of Aqaba? (I watched it again last week)

Dennis said...

Good morning, gang - just outstanding to see another puzzle from the amazing Ms. Gordon. To be capable of doing more than drooling at 100 is pretty impressive, much less creating clever crossword puzzles.

Pretty straightforward solve, and my only 'meh' moment was NATCH. Liked the vowel progression theme. Jazz, a most enjoyable write-up, as always.

Yellowrocks, yeah, I think it's worth changing them; this breach has nasty potential.

My 'procedure' yesterday was, uh, interesting. I didn't quite understand the part about taking off shorts and underwear, but leaving on shirt and shoes; I thought maybe they were making a porn movie. However, any excitement over that possibility quickly disappeared (literally) when they unveiled the 'insertion device'. Long story short, it wasn't as bad as I expected, just extremely uncomfortable, and the results were all negative so they have no idea where the trace of blood came from.

Thanks for the good wishes yesterday and the several emails I got, some of which were hilarious. This is truly a great group - it's provided a lot of enjoyment over the past six years.

Hope it's a great day for everyone.

desper-otto said...

Husker, that would be Orahnce of Arabia. Speaking of video, was anybody else right in the middle of a season of 24 when it suddenly disappeared from NetFlix? [Expletive deleted]

Dennis, I'm nowhere near 100 and I'm already an impressive drooler!

It's probably a good idea to change your passwords, but what a hassle! I use 1 Password to generate complex passwords and keep track of 'em. But if I want to use the same apps on my Android, I have to manually type the #47Aqbc9H^85. Ugh!

Northwest Runner said...

But, but, but Israel Kamakawiwoʻole played guitar. For a cool and inventive ukelele performance, check out Jake Shimabukuro.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Cute puzzler but not easy! Thanks, Bernice! Thanks, JzB, witty as usual!

I tried to spell AQABA with a "K" and wondered why it kept turning red.

Do you think the Hawaiian in the video (whose name has gone over the rainbow of my mind) just forgot the words or what? Lovely anyway.

FANNY PACK: My daughter was a Rotary Scholar in New Zealand who wanted to buy a FP for a hiking trip. She asked several male students where to go to buy one and couldn't understand why they just looked embarrassed and didn't answer. Finally, an older lady nearby said, "Dear do you need a Tampax?" Then my daughter was embarrassed.

I've only ever had chocolate FONDUE to dip bananas and strawberries etc. FONDUE never really caught on in our hearty-eating farmer group the first time it was popular. But real men would eat QUICHE.

Lemon & Marti, I enjoyed your puzzle yesterday.

Good for Bernice, but I sincerely hope I don't have to haul this defective body around until I'm 100.

kjinkc said...

Did I miss something or is this a pangram? I thought it was.

JzB - Crossed the Tappan Zee bridge many times but never knew the name origin. Thanks for the expo.

Having lived in Australia for 1 year, I learned early on that you never call a waist pack a fanny pack.

My new goal in life is to live to be 100 and have all the mental capacities of today's constructor. What a gift!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

A special pleasure to work on one of Bernice's puzzles. Hope she keeps 'em coming. No real issues today. Had the h and a reversed in BAHT for awhile, but perps showed the way.
Zwei mal Vier macht ACHT was a gimme.
Got FINK OUT ok. We used to just say "fink". Also a noun.
AQABA is the only Red Sea gulf with 5 letters.
UEYS - I still use "180's"

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

A little chewy here and there but, overall, a quick solve. Hand up for sure before safe and war before wax.

Kudos to Bernice and bravo to JzB, who is in rare form this morning!

We have a bright, sunshiny day, if a little on the cool side.

Congrats to UConn's men and women!

Have a great day.

No-Vice worder said...

Brand new here and pretty new to X-words. Looks like a fun group.

Vowel progression looked like it included the second letter of the second word as well until I got to fink out. Fondue pot got me thinking about it again. Fun puzzle by an astonishing lady.

Anonymous said...

Israel "Iz" Kaʻanoʻi Kamakawiwoʻole played the ukulele.
He was one of the greatest Hawaiian musicians. Some would say the greatest. He died too young at age 38.
There are lots of Utube videos of him.
Mahalo, Kerry from Careefree

HeartRx said...

d-otto @ 7:35, good luck with that exam. Did you have to study really hard for it? BTW, the contractor (as usual) didn’t show up, so we still have a GUTTED ceiling in the DR. Supposedly, tomorrow will be the day…we’ll see.

LaLaLinda, I thought of you as soon as I heard that the men’s and women’s UConn teams both won their championship games. I hope you celebrated in style!!

Anonymous said...

If the 'virus' -- strange to see a malapropism from YR -- you're talking about is the Heartbleed exploit, there's no point in changing passwords until the fixes have been made to the servers' software.

C6D6 Peg said...

Smooth working puzzle by Ms. Gordon. The theme was easy to figure out, and the fill was very nice. Simply amazing that she's still pumping out puzzles! Keep it up!

JzB - nice, fun write-up.

Anonymous said...

Anyone else getting tired of repeated themes such as vowel progressions?

Misty said...

What a FUN(NY) puzzle this morning, and having never heard of Bernice Gordon I pictured her as young, what with all the slang and hip stuff. Great job, Bernice--keep it up! JazzB, what a detailed, informative expo--and on such a busy day yet. Many thanks!

Dennis, so glad you're okay. And hope all goes well for you too, Desper-otto. Doctors visits are no fun, are they? But they save us a lot of grief, no doubt.

Glad I'm not the only one to put WAR before WAX. I use JIF to bribe our dogs, so should have gotten that one a lot sooner. And I skipped over VIER, not registering that it was a number in German, and so didn't get in until the perps filled in ACHT. But there was so much cool stuff that I did get right away that I feel pretty smart this morning.

No Vice worder, welcome to the cozy Corner.

Have a great Wednesday, everybody!

Argyle said...

So yes, this is a pangram.

Welcome, No-Vice worder. You have the makings of a constructor. I first read your name as No-Vice wonder and then realized you're a novice worder. Cool.

Anonymous said...

Zwiemal is twice in german. Should have had it with Vier so we new it was a foreign clue. Cause vier is a form of vie in english. Ate up clue.

Lucina said...

Good day, super puzzlers! Funny and informative commentary, Jzb, thank you.

Congratulations to Bernice! I can only hope to function half as well as I age.

What a fun and easy romp this was with some familiar places
ssuch as MINSK which I visited but not AQABA in my recent trip. Went the opposite way to the Dead Sea.

TAPPAN jumped out immediately so I must have heard of it or seen it. ACHT took four perps as German is really difficult for me though I'm trying to learn the numbers at least.

ELZIE Segar? Really? I have to read up on that.

I've used mint TEA for indigestion but never FENNEL. Good to know.

LalaLinda:
Though I'm not the least interested in sports, I'm very happy for those of you who are and it makes me smile when I see your enthusiasm over the championships.

Anons who complain about the puzzle themes, etc., should really try constructing their own, don't you think?

I uploaded my pictures but now I can't recall how I sent them so I'll have to work on that.

Have a superb Wednesday, everyone!

Tinbeni said...

Bernice Gordon: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle. You Go-Girl!!!

Jazz: Enjoyed your write-up & links very much. Great Job!

Anon @11:20 Vowel Progression themes are generally clever & subtle.
Plus, when you consider how many X-Word puzzles are constructed ... inevitable.

All unknowns (TRINE, MINSK, ODETS, ELZIE) and NATCH were easily perped.

Nothing to drink ... time to wander over to the Pub.
Cheers!!!

Spitzboov said...

TAPPEN Zee - Notwithstanding JzB's description of its origin (I found the same result in Wiki.), I checked my Dutch-English dictionary. TAPPEN is the plural of 'tap' or 'bung' and may be a verb infinitive meaning to draw(from). Source of water flowing into Lower Hudson/NY Bay? Dutch named places in NYS use the orthography and vocabulary of the early 1600's colonists, which wasn't particularly standardized.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Happy B'day, HEF! I salute America's most famous modern-day Puritan, a boy raised strictly who nevertheless made good!
I only made 98% on today's pzl. MINSK did me in. I had SHIV instead of SHIM for the perp, and that didn't give me enough to zero in on the otherwise familiar name of the Belarus capital.
Following Al Cyone's suggestion, I'm test driving a color version of my avatar. I like it, but the eyes don't stand out quite as starkly as on the B/W version. Any comments?

Lemonade714 said...

Dennis glad your test was negative. I am going through a similar puzzle for the doctor. Cat scan next.

It is amazing that a small school like UConn could actually have become the basketball power. 4 men's titles (tied for 5th all time) and 9 ladies' titles (#1!). Storrs in on the east side of Connecticut and not only where I went to college and graduate school but a mere 19 miles from my home. I will never forget when they beat Bill Bradley and Princeton in the NCAA tournament.

john28man said...

A great puzzle by a grand centenarian constructor.

I have to call this a DNF because I couldn't bring up UPSEY or UEYS.

Lucina said...

Dennis:
I wish you well on your tests and general good health. Live long and prosper, to borrow a quote.

Tinbeni said...

OMK
I like your Avatar in the color version. Eyes stand-out quite nicely!
but, then again, I'm looking through eyes via my Avatar. LOL !!!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Thanks, Tinbeni,

BTW, yours makes my mouth water. Courvoisier?

Jayce said...

Hello everybody. I enjoyed the puzzle today, as well as your writeup, Jazzb, and all your comments, everybody.

HeartRx said...

Dennis @ 9:02, you don't even want to know what mental image I had as I read your description of the procedure!!!

OMK, your avatar certainly is...colorful. I think it looks happier than the B&W version. Can you tilt your head down, so I can see how it takes on a sorrowful look at that angle? (^o^)

Bill G. said...

I enjoyed the puzzle and the writeup. Thanks Bernice and JzB.

As LLLinda said, I didn't know ADEPTS could be a noun and plural. It didn't seem right but I should have known better.

Ukulele is often misspelled. I didn't know the correct spelling until I learned it from a CW puzzle several years ago.

Spitz, I use 180s too

I always enjoyed Leno's Jaywalking. That was an especially good one though. Of course, a person like most of us who knows most of the answers would never make it on the air. We wouldn't be funny...

Yellowrocks said...

ANON @10:55 thanks for the name of the latest computer threat. I heard the tail end of a news report early this morning telling of a serious computer threat and advising changing all passwords. I had no idea of the type of threat, its name or its nature. I came here seeking enlightenment instead of sneers. I thought this issue might affect others and be of common concern. Any takers?
MEA CULPA, I should have said THREAT inside of virus, not knowing any particulars.

I try to provide enlightenment on issues that are in my wheel house. I eagerly look forward to enlightenment from those whose interests and expertise are in similar or widely different wheel houses, such as computers. I greatly appreciate all I have learned from so many Cornerites.

CrossEyedDave said...

Re: Yesterday, having been "bitten" by a bee, (I was feeding it olive loaf, long story, but as Tinbeni would know, there was Cognac involved...) I know full well that they can bite as well as sting. I found a ten minute technical video explaining how they bite with their mandibles, & a close up pic of bee mandibles.

I was about about to post, when I realized that no one was going to care about this much technical info, so I hit the delete button...

Reading the late nite made me think maybe there was interest, but the 1st thing I pulled up was this, & it made me realize there is no point in arguing with Walter Brennan.

CrossEyedDave said...

Jzb, thanks for the origin of Tappan, I have driven over that bridge many times, When you said it was 5 miles across, it seemed a little long to me, so I checked (90 feet wide? *&^%$ literal pC!)

Sorry, 16,014 feet = about 3.2 miles. (What I would like to know is where did the money come from to build a bridge across the "widest" part of the river...)

Northwest runner @9:35, Thanks for pointing out "Jake."

Yo Dude! I appreciate covering up the speedo, but this aint working!

Hmm, Fennel Tea, good to know...

Sorry, but Google has not caught up with such old sayings as Fink Out...

I was looking for a funny Fondue Pot, when I came across these people who thought they could fill it with oil to use as a quick deep fry????

Funny Bone

Anonymous said...

Do wait until an antivirus program is written for this bug. Otherwise your new passwords will also be hacked.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

What a great day. Bright and sunny here, mid 50's. Doing the science fair with the grade school kids is always a treat. Inquiring young minds and some well thought out presentations.

Glad all the people whose opinions matter liked Bernice's puzzle.

Thanks for all the kind comments on my write-up. Not quite the Nobel prize, but still a nice ego boost.

Israel was a big guy, but not so big a guitar in his hands would look like a UKE - which that most definitely was in his vid. He had an amazing voice, and left us far too soon.

Cheers!
JzB

Lucina said...

HGary:
A few years ago we took a friend to The Melting Pot for her birthday and since no one warned me about the price, I was unprepared and embarrassed. It's preposterous, although the nice waiter spent a lot of time at our table personally stirring and telling us about the contents of the pot. It was good, I'm glad to report.

YR:
I just read an article in The New York Times about the new virus and it stated to change your passwords only after you have been notified that the owner/server has secured the site. Otherwise you might be giving the malicious hackers your new password.

The Frog said...

Tin, you would think that after standing on a Corner and raising your glass to each and every one of them every day for years, these people would know the difference between scotch and brandy!

"The stroke of death is as a lover's pinch - which hurts and is desired."
-Wm. Shakespeare

Bill G. said...

CED, thanks for the info. I always enjoy a chance to appreciate Lauren Bacall again.

YR, I could be wrong but I'm hoping the fact I use a Mac will help insulate me from viruses and other nasty computer things.

Unknown said...

This was a fun puzzle. Thank you Bernice Gordon. Thank you Jazzbumpa for a fun right up.

I still make swiss cheese fondue occasionally. It's a great winter dish served with vegetable beef soup. There's a restaurant in Nevada City a few miles from Auburn where I live who's specialty is fondue. Although I've never ordered it. I prefer their wonderful shrimp scampi. When people order the meat fondue, the waiters walk through the restaurant shouting "hot oil" so that no one accidentally bumps into them. That could be disastrous.

Nancy

JJM said...

I know I won't be around when it's my 100th. Wow! It's be really interesting to meet and talk to her. I'm amazed, truly!

CrossEyedDave said...

Re: Today's puzzle,

WYRS (What YellowRocks said)
Some lame brain errors, No Nits, a few unknowns. But all in all, a "perpable puzzle."

What struck me most about this puzzle was that it was just above my difficulty level, but with enough perps to keep me going.

Thank you Bernice for an entriguing puzzle.

HG@8:55, Yr jaywalking segment gave me a segue for this oft seen teachers lament. It had many oldies, but a few new ones I had not seen that I thought I should post.

Anonymous said...

What does the term 'perp' mean referring to a crossword puzzle

CrossEyedDave said...

Across & down are perpendicular,

So,, downs are perps to the acrosses, & acrosses are perps to the downs.

(or, in the case of puzzles, they sometimes both abet the crime...)

Ron E said...

Thanks Crossed eyed Dave for the 'perps' definition, obvious now, but I didn't see it

Ol' Man Keith said...

HeartRX,

Hmm. Not sure "happier" is what's wanted. As for changing the angle, I can't find anything on line except straight on mugshots.
I'm gonna hafta get a good one for myself, so's I can shoot him at any angle. It would be a great assignment for a lighting class..

LaLaLinda said...

Marti ~ with my "whoopin' and hollerin" the cats scattered to quieter quarters. =^..^= Ya think they'd be used to it by now, with baseball leading into basketball ~ it's never-ending!

Lucina ~ thanks for your comments ~ you're very understanding. I enjoy watching the kids on both teams celebrating their wins ~ they look so happy and their parents look so proud!

Al Cyone said...

Ol' Man Keith@6:51: "I can't find anything on line except straight on mugshots."

Here's more from where that came.

Fantastic article about Bernice Gordon. I really hope I have her attitude and demeanor when I'm that age. She sounds like a no-nonsense kind of gal, but with a FUNNYBONE.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

It was great to see Bernice's name! Love her puzzles. Great expo, Jazz!

Took some going around checking to get the ta-da.

First has sePT instead on APPT, which really gummed up the works.

Will have to read the daily news from MacWorld to find out about virus.

Cheers!

Manac said...

Dave.
Teachers Lament link... Frigging funny! My gut hurts from laughing.
Reminds me of a few pop quizzes I was unprepared for way back when.

Maci45 said...

Enjoyed today's' puzzle, but I did hit some snags....I always forget what rivers are where, and the AQABA was way out of my league. Had SURE before SAFE, and WAR before WAX too.

Always so amazing to see someone of Bernice Gorden's age constructing crossword puzzles! I feel lucky getting through the M-T-W ones!
Just got a Care package from my sister in New Orleans, she sent Mardi Gras beads from the parade Muses, a Dog Day Afternoon T shirt, two demitasse cups, and two boxes of Quakers Grits, which is much cheaper in New Orleans than here in L.A.

CanadianEh! said...

Late to the party again after working all day. What a fun puzzle to finish the day. I should be so ADEPT at 100. Thanks Bernice.

I used a FANNY PACK on our African safari when we saw HIPPOs! Daughter was mortified when she saw the photos on Facebook because they are so STALE. They may not be trendy but they work well to hold your essentials safely and leave your hands free IMHO.

BTW those HIPPOs may look like they are sleeping in the water but they can move very quickly. Tourist had been killed shortly before our visit getting too close to get a photo.

It's been a long time since I visited the WAX MUSEUM on Clifton Hill in Niagara Falls. I used to be afraid of the Horror Chamber when I was a child but when I returned with my own children, it was not so scary.

Dennis said...

Lemon, good luck with your tests. Been said before, getting old's not for the faint of heart.

Marti, probably best left unsaid, lol. Anyway, couldn't be worse than the image I had of the procedure before I went through it.

Misty, Lucina, thanks for the thoughts. Guess I'm not as invulnerable as I thought I was...

I read that Mars was supposed to be highly visible for a stretch of days now, but I still haven't spotted it; anybody else looking? (The good news is that I can't see Uranus.)

Bill G. said...

CED, I enjoyed your Teacher's Lament. I hafd seen some of them before but they are still good.

Dennis, imagine where the sun is right now. Draw an imaginary line through the Earth, past where you are standing and up into the sky. Mars should be near that point in the sky. Also, imagine an arc from east to west across the sky, the same arc that the sun and moon follow each day. Mars should be somewhere along that arc high up overhead. It will look like a fairly bright orange star (without much twinkling) though not as bright as Jupiter or Venus. You should be able to find it (following those directions) but it's really nothing super special. It is closer to the Earth than usual but it's still not that impressive.

Ol' Man Keith said...

AL Cyone,

That's a *great* array you found. I think HeartRX might like to look at the middle one in the second row. That seems to show a different ("sorrowful"?) look.

Bill G. said...

A raven needs help with some porcupine quills.

kjinkc said...

Dave - Love the Teachers Lament article. You remember Art Linkletter and his 'Kids Say the Darndest Things'? You can't make this stuff up and kids are just so truthful. Got several belly laughs which is always good for the soul. Thanks for sharing.

CanadianEH - We've found the best muffin tops (yes real muffin tops like the ones they were going to sell on Seinfeld). The cranbran ones are the best and guess what? They're made in Canada. They're called Vitatops by Vitalicious. They are only 100 calories, very moist and tasty. I just had to give a shout out to such a good product from Canada!

Off to tackle tomorrow's puzzle...

Bill G. said...

I got the Final Jeopardy question right for a change. "The Mayo Clinic Mile is a walking path that features 1 mile, 5K & 10K routes within this structure." I didn't know the answer but I guessed The Mall of America. Bingo! I'll bet all of you Minnesotans and neighbors got it too.

Barbara, Bonnie and Jordan just pulled in from a three-day car trip north. They drove up the coast, went to Monterrey, Carmel, Big Sur, visited several missions, drove around the 17-mile Drive and saw the scenic Lone Cypress.

Maci45 said...

Dennis, we could get a pretty good view of Mars last night here in L.A.

Yellowrocks said...

Teacher's Lament was very funny.
Thanks, Lucina @4:05 and ANON @3:50. I am waiting. I have never had a virus or any other incursion in my 20 years on the computer. I have strong security, get automatic updates, and am very careful.
Canadian EH @8:36 I agree that fanny packs are very handy. I carry a fanny pack with the strap shortened and worn over one shoulder like a purse. When I need my hands free or am hiking I belt it on and wear it to the side in front.