google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, July 22, 2014 C.C. Burnikel

Gary's Blog Map

Jul 22, 2014

Tuesday, July 22, 2014 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: If you see them, it's already too late - Split up between two words.                           

39A. Elite Navy group that's fittingly camouflaged in the four longest answers in this puzzle : SEALS

17A. Faulty smoke detectors, e.g. : FALSE ALARMS

24A. Comedian Handler's talk show : CHELSEA LATELY. The show is on E! LINK(2:57)

49A. Higher than zero, on an altimeter : ABOVE SEA LEVEL

60A. Countries with strong economic ties, say : CLOSE ALLIES

Argyle here. C.C. there. Good time everywhere. But where are the Seals? Spit up 2&2, then 3&1 twice and back to 2&2.

Across:

1. Curved sword : SABER

6. Glad shelfmate : HEFTY. Plastic bags.

11. Pint-size : WEE

14. Justice Samuel : ALITO

15. Blast from the past : OLDIE

16. Veal cordon bleu stuffing : HAM

19. DSL offerer : ISP. Someone might say DSL is means of transmission and not an Internet Service Provider but not me.

20. Photo lab abbr. : ENL. (enlargement)

21. It may be gluten-free : DIET

22. Impressionist Claude : MONET. Gluten-free flat bread? Update: Tarte Tatin.


28. Many Southwestern homes : ADOBEs

30. Tennille of pop's Captain & Tennille : TONI

31. Cap brim : VISOR

32. Debatable : MOOT

34. Spot for a remote : SOFA. (between the cushions)

38. Bach's "Mass __ Minor" : IN B

40. Zen garden fish : KOI

41. High-protein beans : SOYs

43. British aristocrat : EARL

44. Poppy product : OPIUM


46. Bowled over : AWED

48. Bells and whistles : FRILLS

54. "E! News" subject : CELEB

55. Big Mack : SEMI

56. A/C capacity meas. : BTU. We here are in for a test of our A/C's.

59. Campus aides, for short : TAs. (teaching assistant)

64. Ozzie Smith's number : ONE


65. Autumn blossom : ASTER

66. Chai __: Starbucks order : LATTE

67. Director Howard : RON

68. Like old attics : MUSTY. I went with DUSTY first.

69. Fencing swords : ÉPÉEs

Down:

1. Bank vault : SAFE

2. "Moon Shot" co-author Shepard : ALAN. The Inside Story of America's Race to the Moon.

3. Portrayer of TV's Dr. Cliff Huxtable : BILL COSBY. Great show.

4. "Avatar" extras : ETs

5. Short-antlered critter : ROE DEER

6. Boring outcomes? : HOLEs. Cute.

7. Bring joy to : ELATE

8. Prez on a dime : FDR. (Franklin D. Roosevelt)

9. Journalist Russert : TIM


10. Overly agreeable guy : YES MAN

11. Snivel : WHINE

12. Prop for van Gogh : EASEL

13. Unthreatening, as some threats : EMPTY

18. Feels sick : AILs

23. Milo's film friend : OTIS



25. "Game of Thrones" channel : HBO. (Home Box Office)

26. Lagoon-enclosing isle : ATOLL

27. Oodles : LOTS

28. Rental car choice : AVIS

29. "The Flintstones" pet : DINO

32. Victor at Gettysburg : MEADE. General George Gordon Meade (1815-1872) Born in Cadiz, Spain. More info.

33. Sculling need : OAR

35. "This may be a trick, but tell me" : "OK, I'LL BITE"

36. Umpire's call : FOUL

37. Points (at) : AIMS

39. Gets the point : SEEs

42. Copy to the hard drive : SAVE

44. First name in popcorn : ORVILLE. Most popcorn from Orville Redenbacher are gluten free.

45. Dessert slice : PIE

47. Video chat need : WEBCAM

48. Tornado response gp. : FEMA. (Federal Emergency Management Agency)

49. Audition hopeful : ACTOR

50. Number-calling game : BEANO

51. Daily Planet cub reporter : OLSEN

52. Selling point : ASSET

53. Not fully trusting : LEERY

57. Beret's perch : TÊTE. On a French head.

58. Puts to work : USEs

61. Fighting Tigers' sch. : LSU. (Louisiana State University)

62. Tiebreakers, briefly : OTs. (overtime)

63. Once around the track : LAP


Argyle


Note from C.C.:

Happy 53rd wedding anniversary to Hondo and his wife Lucy. How are you celebrating this year, Hondo? Block Island?


64 comments:

  1. There once was a wily old Saxon
    Who would signal his men with a klaxon.
    The frequent FALSE ALARM
    Made his men do it harm,
    They jettisoned that Saxon klaxon with sacks on!

    The men were soundly successful
    In stealing that horn of the devil!
    In a bag they stowed it,
    In the bay they rowed it,
    Then they pitched it BELOW SEA LEVEL!

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Here's a Cryptic clue for a word in today's puzzle. Keep in mind that the wordplay half of a Cryptic clue deals with the answer as a collection of letters, and not with meanings.
    Ferrules of umbrellas last very briefly in bad weather (4)

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  2. Morning, all (and Happy Anniversary, Hondo)!

    Very smooth Tuesday puzzle. I had SOYA instead of SOYS at first and needed the perps to figure out what number Ozzie Smith was, but that was about it.

    For some reason, I thought the theme was going to be something tricky or punny after getting FALSE ALARMS, but it turned out to just be a hidden word theme instead. I didn't need to know the theme to solve the theme answers, but it was nice to get the reveal and go back to find the SEALS.

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  3. Good morning, everyone!

    And Happy Anniversary, thehondohurricane! I hope you two treat yourselves to something extra special today!
    ¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫

    Argyle, I think the "flatbread" in Monet's painting is actually a tarte Tatin, an old French dessert which originated at the Hotel Tatin.

    I always enjoy a C.C. offering. This one seemed even easier than yesterday's to me, so again I missed a lot of the clues/answers until I came here. I loved "Boring outcomes?" for HOLES. And OK, I'LL BITE was fun.

    My only stumble was that I had BingO before perps showed me the error of my ways, and changed it to BEANO. I thought that was an anti-gas medicine?

    Another nice day in the Northeast today. Perfect for kayaking, or hiking or playing golf...or...scraping paint. Ugh! No excuses today.

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  4. Good morning!

    Things went smoothly with a couple of exceptions: SARAN/HEFTY and BINGO/BEANO. It was nice to see SABER and EPEES in opposite corners of the grid. I'd never heard of CHELSEA LATELY, and didn't know that Game of Thrones was on HBO, but they filled anyway.

    Argyle, I don't think the clue is hinting that DSL is an ISP, but that your ISP may offer a DSL connection. ATT, for example. But the ancient wiring on my side of town won't support DSL.

    Nice shoutout to the Louisiana contingent. Geaux Tigers!

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  5. Oops! Happy anniversary, Hondo. Fifty three years and you're still together. That's quite an accomplishment.

    Marti, if you forgot to take your BEANO before, you might wind up counting things after.

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  6. Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

    I started in the South and worked my way up.

    I have inkblots all over my puzzle. A little too confident on some, initially. IKE/FDR; ATT/ISP; SAFE/FAIR/FOUL; TRADE ALLIES/CLOSE ALLIES; BINGO/BEANO.

    I think everybody is right on DSL. It stands for Digital Subscriber Line. It is a piece of equipment in the central office that provides internet service and telephone service over a twisted copper pair. There were some in the past that were called ADSL, Asynchronous Digital Subscribe Line. They had more throughput in one direction than the other.

    Liked the theme. We read a lot about Navy SEALS in many novels.

    ABOVE SEA LEVEL reminded me of our recent Mission Trip to New York City. We worked at Far Rockaway. It is a sandbar about 5 feet above sea level (estimate).

    Lots to do. see you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    (9310)

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  7. Happy Anniversary, Hondo!

    Abejo

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  8. Good morning all,

    A fun puzzle, with clean crisp cluing and no gimmicks. I liked (and was going to comment on) the same clues as Marti.

    Speaking of SEALS, I recently watched most of GI JANE again.

    No bingo error here. I already had CELEB, ONE and RON, and then TAS, ACTOR and OLSEN came.

    I would watch the Cardinals just to see Ozzie play. IMO, a much better player and teammate than Templeton and his ego.

    I seemed to take notice that we had a lot of adjectives today, but as I scan back, I don't see as many in the answers as I thought. Maybe it was in the clues and answers.

    Good point on EPEE and SABER Desper-otto. You were on the cutting edge with that remark.

    Happy anniversary Hondo and Lucy !

    Photo Sphere is back.

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  9. Musings
    -Ozzie and FOUL? This lovely puzzle has to be C.C.’s
    -Osama, there are some SEALS here to see you
    -The altimeter would read 11’ below SEA Level on the Amsterdam tarmac
    -SABER/SABRE, LOTS/TONS, BEANO/BINGO
    -In this film noir, Jimmy Stewart uses a film ENL to prove a witness was lying
    -I wonder if the impressionist MONET did Jimmy Cagney – “You dirty rat”
    -I’ve had LOTS of ADOBE pdf’s come through my ISP
    -Stupidity in a VISOR
    -I have three remotes for equipment in my man cave
    -The EARL of Grantham will return to our TV screens in a few months. He’s the one on the right; they killed the other guy off two years ago.
    -How ‘bout this SEMI’s interior?
    -TIM had no agenda and asked both D’s and R’s tough questions.
    -The Bikini ATOLL was a nuclear punching bag for us in the 50’s
    -Happy Anniversary, Skip! Some marriages today ain’t making 53 days. Wow!
    -I’m off to try and get a ball into some boring outcomes
    -What does WEE Willie Winkie wear in his nursery rhyme?

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  10. Thanks for the clever cluing, C.C.!

    Wee Wilie wears his nightgown, Husker.

    My father-in-law's name was ORVILLE. I fell into the BINGO/BEANO trap.

    Was DINO the first purple dinosaur on TV? or was he blue?

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  11. PS: Happy anniversary to Husker and his wife. Hope you have an especially fun day!


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  12. Fun puzzle just right for Tuesday. Didn't fall into the Bingo trap because perps were mostly in place.

    Happy Anniversary Hondo. That is an accomplishment!

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  13. Hi Y'all! Great one, C.C.! I found the SEALS okay! Thanks, Argyle!

    Only one thing to say about SABER & EPEE in opposite corners: Engarde!

    Like Marti, I never heard of a game called BEANO and thought it was only a flatulence reducing medication.

    For some dumb reason I tried to rename the popcorn king "Arnold" first. Oh, ORVILLE!

    My sentiments toward GLUTEN free are much like Charlize's. My daughter has gone gluten free. I am glad this helps her problems. I tried it for a while and got no relief from mine, so am happily being a gluten glutton again. I am relieved since a big chunk of my income comes from gluten-bearing wheat farming. Got a nice check yesterday.

    Happy Anniversary, Hondo & Lucy!

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  14. Hello Puzzlers -

    First, Happy Anniversary Hondo!

    Did the puzzle at the LAT Games site again, due to the latest Cruciverb debacle. Man, that's a lousy interface! It took a lot of the fun out of CC's clever puzzle. Still, I enjoyed the puzzle itself, and thought it was a bit more of a challenge than a typical Tuesday. Hand up for Bingo before Beano.

    I learned about Navy SEALs with the publication of Dick Marcinko's books on the subject. More recently, I've gotten the idea from other ex-SEAL authors that he was a disgrace to the Navy. I don't know where the truth lies.

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  15. I would argue that the clue for 32A should have been something like "not worthy of debate", but since the answer for 32D is "MEADE", my point is "MOOT".

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  16. Good Morning:

    A nice, smooth Tuesday offering from CC. Caught the theme very early and except for bingo/ beano, everything just fell into place.

    Nice job, CC, and nice expo, Argyle. It's starting to heat up already and the humidity is climbing rapidly, so, thank goodness for the A/C. Bad t-storms coming tomorrow.

    Happy Anniversary, Hondo and Lucy. Hope you do something special to celebrate.

    Have a great day.

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  17. Maverick - I was thinking along the same lines. Over the years I've absorbed the idea that contemporary usage of "moot" relates only to pointlessness of further debate. However, a quick look around the Interweb reinforces a different meaning, more like that in the clue.

    Realistically, even if it's correct, I'd be uncomfortable using "moot" in that way in a public setting like Town Meeting. Chances are, the listeners wouldn't be on the same page.

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  18. Good morning everyone.

    Happy Anniversary to Hondo and Lucy.

    Nice shout-out to the SEALS today. Thank you C.C.
    Only serious slowdown was getting BEANO. Did not know it was the name for Bingo before it bacame Bingo. But the perps were adamant that it should be BEANO. I liked the 2 long downs, too.
    Favorite clue/fill was boring outcomes - HOLES.
    Good Tuesday romp.


    ECSTASY:
    A feeling when you feel
    You are going to feel
    A feeling
    You have never felt before

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  19. WEES, I too, had a few x-outs and do-overs. FAIR/FOUL; DUSTY/MUSTY; OLSON/OLSEN. Also, I had ROEbuck first before ROEDEER. Must've had SEARS on my mind, not SEALS! (LOL!)

    Today's limerick:

    There once was a pretty young soul,
    Having tan lines was her summer's goal;
    To the Marshalls she went,
    But holed up in a tent;
    As she had no Bikini ATOLL!

    And one in "general":

    I have found a neat little trick,
    For building the best limerick;
    Find some words that rhyme,
    It works all the time;
    What? You thought there was a gimmick??!

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  20. Husker Gary @ 8:09 - that stupidity in a visor link was amazing - glad his cap didn't have MY alma mater's name on it!

    desper-otto @ 6:47 - GEAUX TIGERS indeed! Hope the Mad Hatter has a few tricks up his sleeve this year . . . tough schedule

    Also, with regard to the SABER/EPEES corners, glad they weren't intersecting . . . Crossing Swords

    Moe

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  21. I love, love, love a Tuesday C.C. puzzle--gets my day off to a delightful start! And this one was special fun for me because I got FALSE ALARMS right away and so figured out how the SEAL theme was going to work. This made it almost a speed run for me. Many thanks, C.C., and you too, Argyle, for the usual fun expo.

    Only sticking point: never heard of CHELSEA LATELY, but I put the SEAL in early, and that helped.

    If we had let our two doxies, DUSTY and MISTY (JR), mate, we would have had to call the pup MUSTY.

    Happy anniversary, Hondo!

    Have a great day, everybody!

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  22. Good morning!

    A fun C.C. puzzle with an Argyle title. I love the SEALs tagline!

    WEES re: BEANO... I had KEANO(?) and kept trying to parse AK-OVESES-LEVEL... I was going to cry FOUL then found the B and C.C. was SAFE!

    HA Hondo!

    Cheers, -T

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  23. 1256Hola Everyone, A very unusual summer rain soaked our newspaper, so I had to go online to read the news and print out the crossword. At least I had access to the online version of the newspaper.


    I didn't know Chelsea Lately, or Beano, but both were easily filled in with the perps.

    Thanks C.C. for your hidden word puzzle, and Argyle for your expo. C.C. you had a double edged sword today. I loved that the first and last words were both types of swords.

    I had one problem with TA's and RA's. Both are campus aides, and I had to wait for the downs to confirm TA's.

    Gloomy and humid here today. Not a typical CA weather pattern. We almost never have a summer rain and this one woke me this morning. Rather nice for a change.

    Happy anniversary Hondo. Enjoy your special day.

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  24. Greetings, all!

    Happy anniversary, Hondo and Lucy!

    C.C., as always, your puzzles provide a fun romp. Loved the clue for HOLES.

    I sailed right along with the SEALS and even with the unknown CHELSEA LATELY, it filled nicely thanks to perps.

    My only erasure was ROEBUCK but then DIET and ADOBES gave me DEER. And while a few southwestern homes are made with ADOBE, it is too time consuming and expensive for widespread use.

    In the "old days" it was used because the townsmen got together and built it, usually as a gift for newlyweds. As a child I witnessed those events in the small town where my grandparents lived. Dirt and straw were plentiful materials there.

    desper-otto:
    Good catch on SABER/EPEES and PK, nice ONE!

    Have a sensational Tuesday, everyone!

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  25. Dino & Barney (the Dinosaur)= both Purple

    At my son's Pony League Tournament last weekend, some kid did a standing somersault ala Ozzie Smith

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  26. Thanks for the fun puzzle CC and writeup Mr. Argyle.

    Happy anniversary Hondo and Lucy. 53 is a long time. It seems to me that the number of years the couples here have been married is well above the national average. Do CW solvers make for longer marriages?

    Rats! I missed investing in the bottled-water bandwagon 20 or so years ago. More recently, I've missed the gluten-free bandwagon. Double rats!

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  27. HeartRX, Thanx for info ab. Tarte Tatin. I was wondering where the name came from. We had tarte Tatin last night @ the dinner my French class gave for our teacher, who's getting married next month.

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  28. Happy Anniversary, Hondo and Lucy! Have a great day.

    Montana

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  29. Happy Anniversary Hondo & Lucy!

    Fun CC puzzle, just enough gimmes for a Tuesday level, yet enough misdirection to make it interesting!

    I found the Seals right away...

    However my "dusty" attic gave me a perp of "webcad." I decided CC wasn't into those kind of video chats & reluctantly changed it to musty.

    What challenged me most was the SW corner. I should have known CC would include a baseball reference, but I never heard of the guy. Am I the only guy that put Keeno 1st? (Oh, I'm the only guy that didn't know Keno was spelled/spelt with one E...) So Bingo it was until Cileb started annoying me.

    The hardest part was trying to find a song for the only Ozzie I know, Curiously, he is somehow tied in with baseball, as he eats bats...

    To put it bluntly, The SW corner gave me gas....

    Some Seal Humor

    I would include funnier seal stuff, (but they know where I live...)

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  30. Congratulations, Hondo and Lucy!

    Fun puzzle today, which is to say I enjoyed it. Thank you for making it, C.C. Hand up for making most of the same erasures that many of you did. Hand up also for liking the clue for HOLES.

    Lucina, I see it is extra hot even for your area, and will continue to be so for the next week. I trust you are weathering the heat well.

    Tinbeni, you haven't mentioned any trips to Croatia for quite a while. Are you still in the same line of business? Any trips planned in the foreseeable future?

    So, HeartRx, how much paint have you scraped so far today?

    Best wishes to you all.

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  31. Marti, if you're outside scraping paint today, then believe me, I feel your pain. Today we're emptying a 90 year old "barn", which really began life as a jumbo chicken coop, in preparation for professional demolition on Thursday. It's hot in there!

    Some of the corners haven't seen the light of day since the 20's, and haven't been cleaned since then either. Talk about grubby.

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  32. Happy 53rd Anniversary Hondo & Lucy!!!

    C.C. Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle. The HOLES clue was clever!

    Jayce: The Ex-Pat Consulting has ended for this year.
    Gee, I'm stuck just enjoying Florida and my West Coast Sunsets.
    Cheers!!!

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  33. This was a quick, fun Tuesday morning romp! Thanks, C.C.! Enjoyed the expo, Argyle!

    I did yesterday's puzzle after a 5 hour drive--not a good outcome. Today went much better.

    Favorite clue: 39A Elite Navy group--SEALS. One of my brothers was a SEAL. Thanks to all of you for your service.

    Least favorite clue/ans.: It may be gluten-free--DIET. Sorry, PK, I tried eating wheat again after being gluten-free for a year and I still have horrible effects. No wheat for me.

    I had BingO before BEANO, but the rest fell into place.

    Have a wonderful day, all!

    Pat

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  34. A happy anniversary to Hondo & Lucy!

    This was an easy go for a Tuesday, about what it should be I guess. Like Barry G, I expected the theme answers to be punnier. Even with the concealed SEALs, I missed the extra kick that comes when the answers carry double or triple meanings.
    Yep, the opposition of SABER and EPEES was neat. Now, if only we'd had rapier and scimitar in the other corners...

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  35. Very Nice blog, Argyle.

    Seriously, does the altimeter go below 'zero' ? Like, if you were flying at the 'water level', over the Dead Sea, would the altimeter show MINUS 1388 feet ( below sea level )?

    CED, thanks for your SEALs humor. We all know where you live. You have been kept alive, ONLY because we ALL want a cake for our birthdays. ;-D) BTW, I loved your 'ejection' cat. Do they sell those contraptions at PetSmart ? ;-D)

    On the subject of 'Gluten-free' and all related products. I have come across numerous eminent studies, which claim that the Gluten allergy affects less than one percent of Americans. This sudden fad for eating Gluten free foods is just hype, and it is a totally useless worry about a non existing, so called problem, and in typical american fashion, has been blown all out of proportion. What next, - starch free ?

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  36. I've seen signs in the grocery store emblazoned with "Gluten Free!" for lettuce, spinach, and other produce, as well as referring to fish and meat. Wow, I'm definitely gonna buy me some of THAT stuff now!

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  37. Casually Curious IIJuly 22, 2014 at 3:03 PM

    I would like to amend my earlier post, on the matter of 'Gluten free'. I don't want to appear ( nor am I -) insensitive, callous or snarky to those who have a serious Gluten allergy reaction. (There, but for the grace of God, go I -).

    But numerous scientific studies, in peer reviewed, journals have shown that SOME of this Gluten allergy(-ies) are psychosomatic and indeed, irrational or at least, unexplained. In at least, 3 "double blind" studies, in the last 3 years, at Ivy League universities, of randomized treatment, and randomized diets, showed a statistically significant error among people claiming Gluten allergies. In the opinion of the doctor-researchers, there was a consensus that with MANY people who have Gluten allergies, often that is not the case and they either have some other underlying problem which is totally unrelated or the sufferers use the Gluten allergy, as a peg, to hang their general malaise or ailment.

    Unfortunately, testing for Gluten allergy is very expensive, and time consuming and by a process of elimination. Thus the true reason may never be found. End of rant.

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  38. Most food allergies don't make sense to anyone, even the sufferer. And sometimes the effects are worse than at other times. For instance, I have been allergic to tomatoes for many years. Occasionally, I eat something with tomatoes and have little or no allergic response. Yesterday noon I ate spaghetti and a delicious tomato meat sauce. I woke up at midnight with the worst case of hives I've had in years. Took some big doses of antihistamines to calm down.

    I believe the people with gluten intolerance have a much better idea whether or not they can eat the stuff than a bunch of researchers. Allergies are very personal and specific. Also frustrating as heck.

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  39. Later to the Anniversary Party, my best wishes for the next 53 years Hondo.

    Timing of raising children is interesting I loved Milo and Otis and hated Barney. Loved Boring: HOLES clue/fill.I adored how Argyle worked Monet into the write up finding the awesome poppy pic.

    Thanks C.C., thank you A.

    Did you ever wonder as Tom Hanks won all those Oscars if the voters were confused when they checked the box ☐ T Hanks. Thanks....

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  40. Jayce:
    Thank you for asking. Outdoor activity for me is limited as very early mornings or late evenings are the best times to be out and about. I find myself watering plants at around 10 P.M. and only necessary trips to the grocery store, etc.

    This week the forecast calls for 116 degs. and that's early for intense heat. Usually those temps arrive in August and that's when I plan to exit the desert for a while.

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  41. Misty, that was funny about DUSTY + MISTY --> MUSTY.

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  42. Willow, glad I could help with the origins of tarte Tatin - my mother used to make them whenever she didn't have time to make a "real" apple pie. Truth to tell, I loved them even more. Caramelized apple yumminess!

    Jayce and Dudley, my shoulders are throbbing tonight from scraping. (What, maybe two feet of trim??) But, the guys got almost the entire back of the house re-done with new clapboards. So no scraping needed there. Yay!!

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  43. Lucina, if you want to "exit the desert," may I suggest a trip to the Northeast? Our days in August average highs in the low 80's and lows in the 60's...(I'll pick you up at Logan!!) We can get togethah and have some lobstah!!

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  44. WEES, but also had WELLS>HOLES.

    Lucina, ADOBE is still the most common way to build in this part of the SW. We have forests, so scarcity of wood isn't a problem, as I understand it is in the Middle East. But it does require an abnormally dry climate, if you've ever read Tony Hillerman's report on the Great Taos Flood of 1935.

    Ferrules of umbrellas last | very briefly | in | bad weather (4)
    [Ferrules Of Umbrellas Last] [initials only] [=] [FOUL]

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  45. Hello everyone,

    Many thanks to everyone from Lucy and I for your best wishes today. I would never have thought she would have put up with me this long .

    Purposely, we did not have any "big time" plans for the occasion. Had lunch on the shoreline and dipped our toes in the LI Sound.

    Never did get to the puzzle today because of a full calendar. Hope to get back on track tomorrow.

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  46. Greetings!

    Swell puzzle and expo, CC and Santa!

    Loved HOLES! Didn't get BEANO on first try.

    Cheers!

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  47. Happy Anniversary, Hondo and Lucy!

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  48. Happy Anniversary, Hondo and Lucy! May you celebrate many more!

    Pat

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  49. Lucina - Marti offers free room & board* in Boston - with 95 heat and 95 humidity, I'm in! Lobster rolls are pretty good, but the ante pasta in the north end is something ALITO would write a ruling on as the best.

    I read CHELSEA's book a few years back. OMG! I have two girls...

    HG - re: VISOR link. LOL! Um, D-O I hope you're not an Aggie. Down here if you're not one, Aggies are the punching bag (think (pick ethnicity) joke).

    I gotta find a Fat Albert link to praise BILL COSBY. But, dinner calls. Cheers, -T
    *oh, you have to strip old paint from those boards.

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  50. The Bill Cosby Show, when the family did a lip sync to Ray Charles's "Night Time is the Right Time" was one of the best sitcom episodes ever. Right behind that was the one where Cliff used Monopoly money to try to teach Theo about the problems of being "a regular person." I'd watch them both all over again any time and still laugh.

    I see where Chipotle stock went way up today. There's one about a mile away. I'll have to try it sometime. I'm a fan of pretty much any Mexican food.

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  51. Casually Curious 2:41 - I don't know about gluten anything, but I do know altimeters. The answer is: yes. Modern altimeters, essentially WWII designs, are required to be accurate to at least 1,000 feet below sea level. The tolerances in that range are quite tight, as well. Skimming the surface of the Dead Sea, the altimeter will read properly. It requires awareness on the part of the pilot, though, because the numeric altitude dial markings must be ignored, and the altitude reading interpreted sort of backwards.

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  52. Dudley, just trying to picture this accurately. If so, 150' below sea level would produce a readout of 850?

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  53. Bill G.

    I guess you mean this one.

    Chipotle is yummy. Gluten-free it ain't. Youngest was on a very restrictive DIET after a stomach problem resulting from well water. It took about 8 months for the flora in her gut to build back up so she could tolerate dairy and gluten again (I kept telling DW we should do a poo-transfusion, but I was poo-poo'd so the point was MOOT).

    Dudley - tell me & Joe it (is or ain't?) so. Inquiring minds want to know.

    Cheers, -T

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  54. CEO Moe - The 2014 LSU football season starts with a tough game against my Badgers in Houston. The Fighting Tigers fly north to Wisconsin in 2016 to play the Badgers in Lambeau Field (home of my Green Bay Packers). Just hoping for a good, competitive game.

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  55. Anon T, Re Chelsea's book: Don't worry about your girls. Girls who have strong male roll models growing up (aka fathers) don't do serial one night stands.

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  56. AnonT: Heh heh... Yep, that's the one. I can recite most of it word-for-word.

    I know there is a fairly serious auto-immune disorder that a few people have called Celiac disease, a bad reaction to gluten. Still, there are a bunch of other people who seem proud to proclaim they're avoiding gluten as if it were something bad like trans-fat. And advertisers jump on the bandwagon proclaiming their product to be gluten-free. (I see it appears as if I'm repeating a couple of other posts but since I took the trouble to type it, I won't delete it.)

    I haven't watched the last two Endeavors. I know I'm going to be annoyed by the cliffhanger ending that has been mentioned. Rats! I started recording the Hercule Poirot programs and have watched a couple but I haven't decided what I think of them yet. I loved the movie version of "Murder on the Orient Express" as much for the beautiful train scenery as the clever plot. Wouldn't it have been great to have had the opportunity and the money to take a trip first class on those old steam locomotives?

    My last train was on a house swap vacation in England. The first morning we wandered to the local station and were waiting on the platform for the local train when the Intercity 125 went thundering by. I had my back to the track and didn't see or hear it until it roared by at 125 mph. It scared me half to death.

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  57. Avg. Joe - that's it exactly. At -150 feet the long pointer will be at the dial position normally read as 850. The short pointer will be just a bit to the left of zero, and that's the main visual cue that the instrument is below sea level.

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  58. Thanks PK - I hope I do my job.

    Dudley - cool. I didn't know that.

    The Coz on Fallon. The man hasn't lost a beat since Noah. C, -T

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  59. Well, I now understand why some of you reacted to the final "Endeavour" (realized I haven't been giving it the British spelling)as you did. Quite disturbing in many respects, but I'm hooked and do want to see what happens next. My poor husband has been tuning out, however--the complexity of the plots is just too much for him, and I must say, for me too, a little bit.

    Jayce, glad you liked my MUSTY!

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  60. HeartRx@5:02:
    Marti, drat, now you tell me! Plans have been made, verified, & paid for to go Northwest! Had I known of your offer of hospitality I would have gone without hesitation. Maybe next year; leaving the desert in midsummer is imperative.

    OwenKL:
    You're right. I hadn't thought of New Mexico where they artfully preserve that adobe style in buildings.

    Re: the gluten discussion. My daughter, who since her first pregnancy has experienced severe and debilitating migraine headaches, stopped eating gluten some time ago, as well as some other foods, and has some noticeable improvement in the severity and frequency of the headaches.

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  61. BillG:
    I think that part of the shock at the end of Endeavour was the unexpectedness. Knowing that something undesirable will happen may soften it for you. It does make me eager for the next series.

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  62. 49A: Radar altimeters measure from the surface below the plane. Only pressure altimeters measure from sea level.

    11D: Whining and sniveling are two different things. I know. I hear and see them both.

    64A: Who is Ozzie Smith? Some kind of round-ball player?

    32A: If the point is "moot," then it is NOT debatable?

    5D: Although a roe deer is small, compared to some other deer, measuring about 27" at the shoulder, the antlers of an adult male average 9", which represents 1/3 of its shoulder height. I wouldn't call that "short-antlered."


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  63. Re 64: A picture isn't worth a thousand words?

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