google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday May 4, 2014 Wren Schultz

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May 4, 2014

Sunday May 4, 2014 Wren Schultz

Theme: "Never Mind" - IT is removed from each theme entry.

23A. Mashed potatoes feature? : CENTER OF GRAVY. Center of gravity.

34A. Signature clothes-washing move? : CREATIVE WRING. Creative writing.

51A. Bear with backup musicians? : SMOKEY AND THE BAND. Smokey and the Bandit.

69A. Heads-up from your co-star about a former mate in the wings? : EX STAGE LEFT. Exit stage left.

87A. Home of robot jugglers and digital clowns? : ELECTRONIC CIRCUS. Electronic circuits.

104A. Stylist's jobs? : BUILDING PERMS. Building permits. 

Reveal entry:

118A. "Never mind," and a hint to this puzzle's theme : FORGET ABOUT IT

69A is an odd man out in that it's the only them entry where the first word has IT dropped. Rich must like the answer a lot to allow for the inconsistency. Argyle sent me this clip to share with you.

I think this is Wren Schultz's debut puzzle. Congratulations! Sunday's grid is at least twice as hard to make as the weekday grids. Not sure if this is our Wren.

Across:

1. "100 Years...100 Movies" org. : AFI (American Film Institute)

4. Bill and Hillary, e.g. : ELIs. They met at Yale.

8. Gives a boost, say : AIDs

12. Direction from Columbus, Ohio, to Columbia, S.C. : SSE

15. Mister Rogers' network : PBS

18. Fall back on : RESORT TO

20. "True __": 2010 Best Picture nominee : GRIT. By the Cohen Brothers. Native Minnesotans.

21. Sound qualities : TIMBRES

25. Board at a station : ENTRAIN

26. Prefix with meter : ALTI

27. Nebraska native : OTOE

28. Martini garnish : OLIVE

30. Wheat whiskers : AWNS. Does Quinoa have AWNs also? Our local Star Tribune has a fantastic Quinoa Salad the other day.



31. Jefferson and others, religiously : DEISTS

37. Marine eagle : ERN

38. Rap sheet letters : AKA

40. BTWs, in letters : PSS

41. Casually considered, with "with" : TOYED

42. Walk unsteadily : LIMP

44. Takei role : SULU

47. "__ I know ..." : AS FAR

58. Simpson judge : ITO (Lance)

59. Cookie sellers : SCOUTS. Wish they would find some other creative outlets.

60. Night sky feline : LEO

61. Stoked : FUELED

62. 86-Across, overseas : LTD. And 86. 62-Across, in the States : INC

63. Shot : PHOTO

64. Poker variety : OMAHA. Ben Affleck was just caught counting cards at the Hard Rock Casino last Thursday.

66. Dismissal : OUSTER

68. Picturesque Japanese peak : FUJI

69.  "A Jug of Wine ..." poet: OMAR

75. Granola cousin : MUESLI. Sweet Argyle sent me a bottle of New York maple syrup. I used a bit to marinate my salmon the other day. Delicious! Will make some granola next week.

77. Take in : ADOPT

78. Put up : ERECT

79. China's Chou En-__ : LAI. Loved him.

80. Tried it : HAD A GO (at)

84. Innovative musician Brian : ENO

85. Crime scene clues : PRINTS

90. Sweater type : V NECK

92. In : COOL

93. Decimal opening : HEXA. Six.

94. "Peg Woffington" author : READE (Charles). Never heard of the book or the author.


97. Flips, e.g. : DOS. Flip is hairstyle?

100. Have some grub : EAT

101. Moon and Starr: Abbr. : QBs. Bart Starr. Warren Moon. Great clue.

109. Tennis rival of Roger : RAFAEL (Nadal)

111. Sticky situation : MESS

112. Helicopter part : ROTOR

113. Wide sizes : EEES

115. O'Neill's "__ Christie" : ANNA

116. Briefs : CLUES IN. Not underwear.

122. Nomeite, for one : ALASKAN

123. Salad dressing initialism, à la Rachael Ray : EVOO. Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

124. Cut off : ALIENATE

125. Business card abbr. : TEL

126. Game show purchase : AN "E"

127. Bring under control, with "in" : REIN

128. Watch over : TEND

129. Lawn roll : SOD

Down:

1. Skee-Ball locale : ARCADE

2. Antenna : FEELER

3. Left for the day, maybe : ISN'T IN

4. Poetic preposition : ERE

5. Copier size: Abbr. : LTR

6. Accord starter : I, TOO. I'd prefer this clued as a partial.

7. Start to celebrate? : SOFT C. The first letter in celebrate.

8. Goes along : AGREES

9. George's lyrical brother : IRA (Gershwin)

10. Torn-up turf piece : DIVOT

11. PDA pokers : STYLI. Parse it as "Poke-rs".

12. "Wildboyz" co-host : STEVE-O. No idea. They look ridiculous.



13. Muscular : SINEWY

14. CPR pro : EMT

15. Shrimp kin : PRAWN

16. "__ John Malkovich" : BEING

17. Govt. nos. : SSNs

19. Spunkmeyer of cookie fame : OTIS

22. Pippi's do : BRAIDS

24. Trail food : GORP.  Read here. "Good Old Raisins and Peanuts" makes sense to me.

29. ICU sight : IV TUBE

32. Chat up : TALK TO

33. What's up? : SKIES. The clue is calling for singular SKY, isn't it?

35. Right hand: Abbr. : ASST

36. Checks in the accounting office : RE-ADDS

39. Actress Poehler : AMY

43. Where to get dates : PALMS. Date palms.

45. Old TV dial letters : UHF

46. Romanian coin : LEU. Learned from doing crosswords.


48. List on the left : FILE MENU

49. Acts like an opposite? : ATTRACTS. Nice clue.

50. Piece for a hood : ROD

51. "Kinderszenen" composer : SCHUMANN. Got via crosses. I know nothing about classical music. Anything western was forbidden when I grew up.

52. Milk for kids? : MOO JUICE

53. Unlikely lint-gatherer : OUTIE

54. "No ice, please" : NEAT

55. Qatar's capital : DOHA

56. Calling for a lookup? : ALOFT. Oh, like this. Are you going to get a new cat, Dave?


57. Not masc. or fem. : NEUT

59. Sunscreen letters : SPF

64. Rust, e.g. : OXIDE

65. Turkish bigwig : AGA. Or BEY.

67. Like an inner tube : TORIC

69. Mideast flier : EL AL

70. Legendary tree site : EDEN. Tree of Knowledge & Tree of Life.

71. Anderson of "WKRP in Cincinnati" : LONI

72. Distinctive time : EPOCH

74. Some NFL linemen : RTd (Right Tackles)

76. Mideast currency : SHEKEL. Israeli currency.

78. List in a subsequent printing, perhaps : ERRATA

79. Actress Tyler : LIV

81. Sound common to Boston and New York : ACCENT. I can't tell the distinctions between those two. 

82. Pontiac muscle car : GTO

83. Goal for explorer Coronado : ORO. Gold is "Kim" in Korean, as in Kim Jong-Il or Kim Jong-un.

85. "Up" studio : PIXAR

88. Ye follower, often : OLDE

89. Average mark : CEE

91. War precipitators : CRISES

95. Name of six popes : ADRIAN

96. Singer Warwick : DIONNE

98. Old trail terminus : OREGON

99. Barrie baddie : SMEE

101. City of Botany Bay flier : QANTAS. Acronym for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services".

102. 1800s Mexican leader Juárez : BENITO. I forgot this guy. We had him before.


103. Scheduled : SLATED

104. Ball focus : BELLE

105. Standard : USUAL

106. Errand runner : GOFER

107. Erase all doubt about : PROVE. Have any of you seen "Doubt"?  Is Father Flynn bad or innocent?

108. Attack : SET AT

110. Man-goat deity : FAUN. Satyr in Greek.

111. Doc-to-be's exam : MCAT

114. Clearance event : SALE

117. Reggae relative : SKA

119. "Vive le __!" : ROI

120. Rubbish receptacle : BIN

121. Heavy ref. : OED (Oxford English Dictionary)

C.C.


50 comments:

  1. If I were to FORGET ABOUT IT
    I really would not care a wh**.
    In fact, I'd subm**
    My excuse: I adm**
    I usually forget all kinds of sh**!

    DNF. NW and SE both defeated me. Probably WEE(is going to)S, so I won't bother re-hashing/pre-hashing.

    {beithodu <--Can I leave the it out?}

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  2. Thanks C.C. for another enjoyable writeup, this time for a debut construction by Wren Schultz. The peptide chemist in me can't wait for the day that editors allow LEU to be clued as an abbreviation for leucine, LYS as an abbreviation for lysine, etc. -- it would make our tasks so much easier!

    So, consider the LAT as your 100%. Would you like another 25% of puzzling. Well, today is your lucky day. Please try "Jedi hope you know today's date"--a puzzle uniquely created for today!

    Hope you like IT (one of the several IT left over from today's LAT)!

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  3. Morning, all!

    I couldn't make out the title on this one, but it didn't take me too long to figure out what was going on with the theme and that helped immensely.

    Pretty smooth sailing overall, with a few notable speed bumps (to mix a metaphor). Did not know READE, so I needed all the perps to get it. I resisted putting in ACCENT at 81D, since the Boston ACCENT and New York ACCENT are distinct (and I'm saying this as someone who has lived in the Boston area all my life and whose mother grew up in New York).

    The biggest speed bump of all, however (and the very last thing I entered in the grid) was the crossing of READD and ASFAR. I just didn't get the clue for RE-ADD, which is my fault. But the clue for AS FAR was just... wrong? As far as I know, there's no such phrase as "AS FAR I know". I was down to RE_DD and _SFAR and still couldn't figure out what to enter. I finally went with an A on the off chance that Rich had made a rare error on the clue (even though I still didn't understand READD) and was both surprised and dismayed when I got the *TADA*.

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  4. Whew! I pushed well past my usual self-imposed cut-off time with this one. The four missing words, all in the NW, weren't things I didn't know, just things I couldn't "see". So I figured they'd have to eventually yield to brute force. The first V-8 moment came with SOFTC. That felt good. Then came ELIS though, for some reason, I've always associated Bill and Hil with Harvard and Wellesley (maybe because she went there). That left a WAG for the "O" in ITOO and OTOE. I should have remembered the latter but, like yesterday's SMEW, I never do.

    "Accord starter" gets my vote for worst clue of the year (though, when faced with "ITOO", I'm not sure what I'd come up with).

    [35:08]

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  5. Hey George Barany, I am a biochemistry researcher. I wish there was more science in puzzles too!

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  6. Hello Puzzlers -

    Stumbled around on this one until I could see the theme trend. The title certainly wasn't a give-away this time, but the unifier made sense of it.

    The clue & fill at 47a "AS FAR I know" seems wrong to me. It needs another "as", doesn't it?

    Morning, C.C., I'm glad you were alerted to the famous "exit, stage left" for which Snagglepuss was known. That was standard Saturday stuff when I was a kid.

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  7. Good Morning, C.C. and friends. After getting SMOKEY AND THE BAND, I realized we were missing an IT, and the unifier confirmed that.

    Nice shout out to some of our regulars ~ NEAT and DOHA.

    Several complete unknowns as well. Who knew Peg Woffington and Charles Reade?

    QOD: The best thing to hold onto in life is each other. ~ Audrey Hepburn (May 4, 1928 ~ Jan. 20, 1993)

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  8. Good morning!

    I found lots of ways to go wrong with this one: EXT/TEL, AERIAL/FEELER, FILAMENT/FILEMENU (I was still thinking "Crime scene clues.") STYLI stymied me for some time, even though I had one in my hand. Still got 'er done in under 30, even with a break to let the cat in, a break to feed the cat, and a break to let the cat back out.

    In addition to the shout-outs Hahtoolah mentioned, we had DIVOT (Husker), Chou En LAI (C.C.), and OTOE (Avg Joe).

    So, will you be having GORP, MUESLI or granola on your hike? C.C., America's Test Kitchen (or was it Cook's Country?) made granola on yesterday's episode. Maple syrup was one of the ingredients.

    The old joke used to be: Mister Rogers is still alive and still on public TV. Lawrence Welk is still dead and still on public TV. Of course, now they're both gone.

    I agree with Dudley, the clue for 47a needed an "as." But there was an "as" in the answer so there shouldn't be an "as" in the clue. Sort of a pain in the "as" situation.

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  9. Welcome Wren and thanks C.C.

    I am surprised you have not heard of Steve-O made famous from the Jackass movies.

    WBS said about some of the clue/fill.

    READE is usually clued as Aptly named author. I recall Marti asking about one of his books, "did anyone Reads it?"

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  10. D Otto - I hadn't thought of that. Evidently that rule about not having part of the answer in the clue is inflexible. At least it offers an explanation.

    In other news, both Google's doodle and Hahtoolah's QOD remind me that it's Audrey Hepburn's birthday. Happy Birthday, Audrey, we miss you!

    It's also Star Wars Day. May the Fourth be with you!

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  11. I, TOO, am in accord with Barry, Dudley and Otto AS FAR as it goes.

    Got stuck the longest on Moon and Starr: Couldn't get KEITH and RINGO out of my head.

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  12. AS FAR got me, too. It definitely needs another as!

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  13. Pretty tough for a Sunday, but able to muddle through in an hour or less. Had lots of trouble, but the worst was filling Amos instead of Otis. That was tricky. Didn't even notice the AWOL "as" in 47A, but it was all perps except the A, so it didn't bother me until seeing the discussion here. Favorite clue (perhaps in weeks) was Moon and Starr. Primarily since all I could think of we're Keith and Ringo....both drummers.

    CC, "Doubt" is such a great movie because you don't know in the end. The title is the perfect choice because that all you're left with. And on the topic of granola, I'd like to make a shameless pitch for Ladera Original. I'd imagine the Bay Area contingent knows of it, but it might not be known elsewhere. Very, very good stuff!!

    I don't think the clue for 81D implies the two accents are similar (they're not) but only that each is distinctive. NY less than Boston, perhaps, but then there's the Bronx accent.

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  14. Musings
    -A fun, clever romp today with two Nebraska references. All is good!
    -Bill and Hill’s dirty laundry is all out there
    -Pols behind in the polls will RESORT TO about anything
    -I watched an old What’s My Line last night whose mystery guest was AKA Marion Morrison
    -SULU made me replace INTERN with IVTUBE. SHEKEL eliminated MUSELI for MUSSLI
    -Astronomical LEO hibernates in the summer
    -Yeah, I don’t think Keith Moon and Ringo Starr ever played QB
    -Another fine MESS (:16)
    -No one in DC can REIN in spending. I guess I shouldn’t worry
    -Gee, I wonder who she wants to watch over me? (2:16). Lyrics by George’s brother IRA.
    -Recent remark to my friend, “My God, you’re well off and 68; hire someone to put down that SOD!”
    -For $50 at the ARCADE, Hudson and Elise can win enough tickets to buy $1.67 worth of junk
    -You shot a 71? You’d better RE-ADD that Harvey.
    -Julia Sweeney’s Pat was the hilarious personification of NEUT (4:26)
    -Barbara EDEN as Jeannie in 1965 and 2013
    -Jennifer had all A’s until I gave her a CEE in 8th grade science where memorizing was not useful. She never spent a day in college but was 6’ tall and beautiful, so…
    -Those OREGON-bound travelers probably saw some OTOES on their way through here
    -I am SLATED for 10 sub jobs in May already as teachers are taking personal days in droves!

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  15. One other thought on the accent clue. The direction my mind went was a body of water. It would have very cool to have a near chlecho with: Sound common to New York and Connecticut = Lawn Guyland.

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  16. Hi there~!

    I thought there was an "AS" missing, too, but the explanation that the word can't appear in the clue as well as the answer works for me.

    Bumppo, "I, TOO" was stuck in drummer mode~!

    F@#$k%n~! SOFT C got me again~!

    I prefer May the Fourth Be With You over Cinco De Mayo....

    Great cat pic, C.C. - perfect for the clue~!

    Splynter

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  17. I liked the theme answers. They were very clever. I, TOO had AMOS first. Alas, I RESORTED to Googling Spunkmeyer to get OTIS. So I was faster and more successful yesterday with Barry Silk.
    I agree 47A needs another AS. If AS cannot be in both the clue and the answer, then that entry needs to be eliminated.
    United Airline resurrected its popular "Fly the Friendly SKIES" slogan in September 2013.
    The excellent movie DOUBT left the outcome in doubt, but I lean toward "guilty" for the priest.
    I believe every region has an ACCENT, although most think they do not. I realized this when my sister's Chicago area friends remarked on my accent, which I thought I did not have. THEY had an accent. I have been reading about this lately. A Texan would certainly think a New Yorker of any borough has an accent.
    Lemonade @ 8:21. I, TOO, thought of "Aptly named author."

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  18. Well, even though I finished this puzzle I had to grind it out. With no knowledge of Wildboyz, Pippi, Kinderszenen, 'Peg Woffington', Juarez, or Jug of Wine, it was slow going. My first impulse on 4A Bill and Hillary was EXES even though they are still married, and ELIS was my last fill because in my mind an Accord starter is on a Honda. I wonder who else thought of Keith Moon and Ringo Starr, both drummers, instead of Warren Moon and Bart Starr, both quarterbacks.

    I got the theme on CENTER OF GRAVY, especially since it drives my wife nuts that I want gravy on nothing. the perps got me through the unknowns with SCHUMANN OMAR TORIC MUESLI BENITO LEU BRAID STEVEO AND PSS ( BTW is the name of many schools- Rooker T. Washington).

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  19. Happy Sunday everybody!

    Got all of the themes except the top two. Oh well, fun puzzle anyway....

    Although I TOO AGREE about the LIMP cluing nits mentioned ALOFT....

    Hands up for trying to force DRS as an abbreviation for drummers....

    CRIMES for CRISES, LIES for GRIT, MOM for MOO, AMC for AFI, and PLUMS for PALMS....

    Wasn't Mr Rogers' sweater a cardigan, not a V NECK...?

    Got into trouble once by saying I couldn't tell the difference between an Australian and a New Zealand ACCENT....

    Finally, thanks Wren for the COOL double shout out (at 55D and 111D)...!

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  20. Rock - Paper-Scissors isn't all luck. Who knew?

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  21. Thank you for the puzzle, Wren. Congratulations on your first LAT! Thank you for the excellent review, C.C. I learned several things today.

    I thought this puzzle was a good challenge, and about right for a Sunday puzzle. I finished it in about an hour, with no red letter help and no look-ups. Yay!

    I didn’t “get” the theme title Never Mind. My first theme answer was SMOKY AND THE BAND. Did anyone notice ITO right next to it? That confused me about the theme until I got FORGET ABOUT IT. Then that helped me with the other theme answers.

    I had TCM before AFI, DEMS before ELIS, FYI before PSS, LEK before LEU, REEL before REIN.

    I had to ponder what Nomeite is. Element? Nope. Ore? Nope. Gem? Nope. ALASKAN! D’oh!

    I didn’t know STEVE-O. I don’t watch MTV. Hoping it’s “one and done”. Also didn’t know SCHUMANN wrote something called “Kinderszenen".

    I couldn’t parse RE-ADDS , I didn’t “get” PDA pokers STYLI, and I didn’t know QANTAS is an acronym until I read C.C.’s review. Thanks, C.C.!

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  22. Hi Everyone:

    I guess I'm in a grumpy state today because this is a definite Thumper, at least for me.

    Great write-up, CC.

    Have a relaxing Sunday.

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  23. I found parts of this puzzle to be stumbling blocks, the last of which was the lower left corner. I got it done and enjoyed most of the process. (I didn't much care for 'Accord starter' either. Thanks Wren and CC. (I like the name 'Wren.'

    I was watching some TV last night when I came across the end of "Love Actually" on a cable movie channel. I watched the end again and found myself staring at the TV smiling and with tears in my eyes. Dunno why that movie has such a big effect on me...

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  24. Hello C.C. et al.

    Informative write-up, as always, C.C. I never thought about it, but being denied the pleasure of classical music would be a hard think for me to get used to!

    I had no clue about AFI and forgot that Billary went to Yale. Then I entered REveRT TO instead of RESORT TO and like d-otto wanted “aerial” instead of FEELER. Sheesh, a start like that and I still managed to finish without any lookups!!

    Hand up for doing a double take on the AS FAR clue – I got a kick out of your comment on that one, d-otto!

    I think “What’s up” is OK for the clue, C.C. “The sky” or “the SKIES” are pretty much interchangeable, with “the skies” being slightly more poetic. Unless you are talking about weather, and then you often hear “clear skies” said by some non-poetic meteorologists…

    Oh, and New Yorkers have an accent. People in Boston do not. ;-)

    Have a great day everyone!

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  25. Hi Y'all! Like Irish Miss this left me grumpy and mumbling to myself. It was a MESS of red on my first, second and third tries. Most of the top half was blank as I gravitated to the bottom. I couldn't read the title either, but did finally get enough theme answers to get IT. Oh well, red is my favorite color.

    Thank you for another interesting expo, C.C. You always come through for us.

    Like AvgJoe, I was thinking of a body of water for "sound". Good one, Joe! I'm enough of a natural mimic, I usually have the local accent soon after arriving without trying.

    I never heard of Wildboyz. They look SINEWY, but grumpy. Probably from riding bareback -- well, bare almost everything. Looks very uncomfortable.

    LEU was neu to me.

    DOHA was a gimmee thanks to our Doc.

    Husker, your lovely student probably had enough natural chemistry, she didn't need a science grade.

    Owen, today you wrote the lyrics to my song of life. Crosswords are supposed to be an antidote.

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  26. Good afternoon everyone.

    Good Sunday workout. Liked the theme 'losing IT'. Theme fills were fun. No searches needed. Agree with Barry G about the AS FAR clue.

    Have a great day.

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  27. This was just a great puzzle. FORGET ABOUT IT...

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  28. Credit where due. Lawn Guyland is a direct quote from Splynter, a resident.

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  29. I enjoyed the puzzle and writeup. Thanks C.C.

    In the Chicago Tribune print version, the clue for 25A was 'Put aboard a train' which made me think ENTRAIN was incorrect. Similarly, 47A had 'as' in both the clue and answer. Was it an editing error? Apparantly the on-line versions or other papers had it right.

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  30. C.C. said:

    "59. Cookie sellers : SCOUTS. Wish they would find some other creative outlets."

    Well, I think the Girl Scouts once tried to raise money with a traveling musical group. Here they are from a tour stop in Washington D.C..

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  31. C.C. --

    Yes, FLIP is a hairdo or hairstyle.

    From Wiki:

    “A women's style that was popular in the 1960s. Characterized by upward curling ("flipped") ends. Leslie Gore wore the flip in 1963 and Cybill Shepherd wore it as a beauty queen in 1966.”

    Also:

    Flip Hairstyles eHow

    Mary Tyler Moore Flip Images

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  32. Hello, puzzlers. I'm really puzzling for this: The Arizona Republic had a completely different puzzle, Body Language by Robin Stears. A very nice one but still, not the one blogged. Boo. Hiss.

    I hope you're all enjoying a delightful Sunday. 100s here for the first time this season.

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  33. This Greenland shrimper/floating factory sells its product as Greenland PRAWNS. It is on the Smithsonian 'Mighty Ships series. See Akamalik . (There are 2 short videos in the 2nd panel.)

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  34. I'm posting before reading any comments so I may be duplicating thoughts here. 13d is not correct. Sinews are tendons connected to muscles, not muscles themselves. Even Longfellow knew the difference - "large and sinewy hands" while the muscles were in the smithy's "brawny arms."
    Other than that I thought this was a somewhat easy xw esp for Sunday. Got the theme as soon as I filled in 223a so I figured out what the theme phrase would likely be - at 118a. Much easier than Fri or Sat's xw's!

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  35. Hey Lucina, lots of enigmas re. CWs, such as why did you get a different puzzle? Why do the LAT print edition run a different puzzle (Merl Reagle?) on Sundays? Wouldn't it be great if Rich Norris would stop by from time to time to say Hi and answer some of our questions.

    We have had almost a week of super-hot weather. I guess it headed your way. It's cooler today.

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  36. Thank you Wren Schultz for a fun puzzle, and thank you C.C. for your write-up.

    OwenKL, I really liked your poem.

    Like some of you, I also had AMOS before OTIS and AERIAL before FEELER.

    I figured out the theme after a couple of the theme answers and before seeing the unifier.

    I knew STEVEO because a couple of seasons ago, he was on Dancing with the Stars (he wasn't very good at it). The picture of him bareback on a horse reminded me of when I was a teenager and in the summertime, I sometimes rode my horse bareback while wearing shorts. What a sweaty, hairy mess.

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  37. LOL I found "__ I know ..." in another one of Wren's puzzle but that time it was "__ as I know..." so I'd bet Rich made the change.

    Anyone else try her puzzles?(on her site)

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  38. Very late to the party, I did the puzzle early, then got sidetracked by the days events. I made some notes to discuss, but now I am having trouble interpreting them...

    Overall, I really enjoyed the puzzle because 50% of the across & downs filled in easily, leaving a large open net of puzzling, which steadily got harder, until it became impossible not to cheat...

    From my notes:
    30A Wheat whiskers = Awns?
    99D Barrie baddie = Smee (I have no idea...) whats Barrie got to do with Peter Pan?
    64A Never heard of it... But it pisses me off the the Casinos can ban you because you are too good at the game...
    75A Muesli???
    6D Itoo? ( Is that a relative of R2D2?)

    & finally, 56D Calling for a lookup = aloft, totally eluded me until I saw your picture CC! Am I going to get a new cat? Yes, someday. But PK was special, she adopted me. When I gave her some turkey as a feral, she reciprocated by bringing a a dead rabbit into my kitchen with its throat slit. (What a mess, blood everywhere. DW still doesn't know...)

    Note: DW is afraid of animals. So when PK took over the basement with her 2nd (of 3) litters of kittens (before I got her fixed.) It was a tough go. I felt like I was hiding refugees during WWII, & yet DW would buy cat food every Sunday? Even after she stepped on cat puke under her dining room table in her bare feet!

    So, who is the real hero here, me for taking in a Feral, or DW for putting up with me...

    Am I going to get another cat?

    Yes, if one adopts me, but for now, after 14 years, I think DW deserves a break...

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  39. One thing I enjoy about this Blog (besides understanding the CW) is all of the links everyone adds. (Spitz, I watched both the vids under "Akamalik.) Fascinating....)

    Here is something you might enjoy.
    It makes you think what else are we capable of...?

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  40. Greetings!

    Swell puzzle, Wren, and expo, CC! Thanks!

    Liked the theme. Went to the Mensa site to read the title, as it was a mess on the upuzzle.com site. Cute theme.

    Sorry gang, but I wasted far too much time on AS FAR! Rich can have a piece of my mind. Especially after reading the above comment on the other AS being included in another puzzle. Sometimes adherence to a rule is just ridiculous.

    HG: I assume you meant John Wayne?

    CC: It's supposed to be CIRCUITS.

    Wow. A numeric captcha. My cup runneth over.

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  41. If the answer can't be in the clue, then why did they have "govt. nos." as the clue for SSNS (Social Security Numbers)???

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  42. Good evening, folks. Thank you, Wren Schultz, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.

    Well, folks, I read your comments. My Chicago Tribune newspaper had "_______as I know" for 47A. So, AS FAR came easily. They must use different clues here and there.

    The Trib also had "Put aboard a train" for the clue for 25A. That seemed odd to have the clue with the same word as the answer ENTRAIN. This puzzle review has "Board at a station", which seems better.

    I had a problem with RE ADDS. I did not figure in the space. Got it, though.

    Theme was fine.

    Never heard of STEVE O.

    Liked EX STAGE LEFT.

    Got EVOO, strangely enough. We have had that before.

    Getting late. See you tomorrow.

    abejo

    (nedentle partly)

    ReplyDelete
  43. Tough one for me today, didn't know Doha and many others. Oddly enough, husband and I had lunch in New Haven today, on the Yale campus. Talked about how they're known as bulldogs, which prompted me to ask my husband what an eli is.(Elihu Yale,founder.) Can't believe it took me so long to come up with the Bill and Hill answer. How weird is that! As a person with a NY accent would say, fuhgeddabout it. Have a great week!

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  44. Regarding 93A: Hexadecimal is base sixteen, not base six.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Well, I went to the Mensa site and printed today's puzzle. It filled easily but the thrill was gone now that the day is almost finished. I liked it and wished I'd had it earlier. I liked all your comments, too.

    BillG:
    Yes, the hot weather is definitely here now. Thanks a lot! LOL

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  46. Regarding 93A: Hexadecimal is base sixteen, not base six

    Yes but doesn't change the fact hexa is six. Decimal is ten; together you get base sixteen.

    ReplyDelete
  47. On the bright side after my disappointment of not having the LAT puzzle this morning, the AZ REP carried a John Lampkin, undoubtedly from last week, titled "Predictable Departures" that was really fun.

    Good night all.

    ReplyDelete
  48. A big thanks to you all for doing my puzzle, and for staying so positive about it. I could see it being easy to rip into an author or editor for clues that don't jump out at you or seem stupid, and on the whole, that isn't done which is awesome!

    Just a couple thoughts:
    * Thanks for linking to my blog!
    * I consider the ASFAR hubbub to be accurate: I think it's a typo (got through my editing and missed Mr. Norris's too)
    * Some of the stuff you've never heard of, I've never heard of either: Wildboyz, Charles Reade, or flip (as a hair do). They were all changed in the edit. (I had "One of MTV's Jackasses" (I totally understand the change), "Duane ____ (Drugstore Chain)", and "It's better than uno").
    * For the accent clue, I had "Cockney, for one". Personally like that clue better, but I'm fine with the replacement.
    * To the non-OTIS people, I offer this poem, written by my dad who showed it to me after I read your comments
    * I'm a dude (a common mistake, since my name is statistically more common among women)
    * This whole process, from creation, to final edit, to feedback/review has been so interesting and fun! Thanks for all your part in it.
    * Any specific questions or thoughts, feel free to e-mail me via my blog.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Moon and Starr... Also two famous drummers: Kieth (The Who) & Ringo!

    ReplyDelete

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