google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, August 8, 2014, David Poole

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Aug 8, 2014

Friday, August 8, 2014, David Poole

Theme: Double your fun,  A?

Each of the 5 theme answers has the last letter of the last word in a phrase doubled and an A is added to create a totally different phrase, clued with wit. With no intention to offend anyone, since I live in a community that is 60% 1st generation Italians, the rhythm of the new word created sounds to me like an Italian speaking English. For me that enhanced the whimsy and enjoyment of the puzzle. David is more than 5 years into his second career in making puzzles, and has made some really great ones; read his INTERVIEW. While I loved the theme, the word count, blocks and fill are mostly a Thursday feel for me. The sparkle was present in ALOMAR,  AMULET,  C-NOTES,  MOGULS, SERENE,  UGANDA,  VOODOO, LIBERIA, COMANECI, and KICKED IN without too many 3/4 letter fill and only a few omnipresent ones like ATE and ANTE.  Let's see how it all sounded to you.


17A. Oversized European import? : JUMBO JETTA (10) We recently had the VW Jetta clued as model since 1979, and we all know Jumbo Jets, pioneered by the 747.

25A. Summer known for kitchen supplies? : TEFLON DONNA (11). He was the TEFLON DON because no charges brought against him would stick.  Like other teflon, it wore out and he died in prison. I wonder if this was the seed answer inspired by GOTTILove to Love You Baby.

37A. Be nostalgic for old Nordic currency? : MISS THE MARKKA (13).  I know nothing of this FINNISH currency but Finns double vowels often, I hope you did not Miss the Mark on this one. .

52A. Poignant game show personality? : MOVING VANNA. (11) Other than a turn as Al's dream girl on Married With Children, I have never seen Vanna White express any emotion, but i love the clue/fill almost as much as I hate moving.

61A. Expert on Icelandic sagas? : MISTER EDDA (10) We have seen Edda so often and Mister Ed, now they are together...well I am cold just reading about Iceland and Finland, let's move on.


Across:

1. Type type : PICA. Once upon a time I knew pica and elite and no more.

5. He was originally called Dippy Dawg : GOOFY.I did not know this but with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck it was not hard to guess that Walt like double letters.

10. Plastic option : VISA. Good Friday clue/fill.

14. Doofus : BOOB. No one commented on my Thong link last week, so I think this is safe... LINK.

15. Navel observation : INNIE. Loved the simple misdirection.

16. Turow book set at Harvard : ONE-L.

19. Other, in Oaxaca : OTRO. Spanish.

20. Half a sci-fi name : ARTOO. According to WOOKIEEPEDIA.

21. Cash in : REDEEM. Reminds me of the old Sperry and Hutchinson green stamps.

23. "Wow!" : MAN. Really vague, but so are our children.

28. News __ : ITEM.

30. Christmas purchase : FIR. Tree.

31. Campaign target : VOTER.

32. Tamper with : DOCTOR.

35. In development, as software : BETA. By now you all must know about Beta testers, and even constructors use them. (Hey Annette hope you are feeling better).

42. Cath. honorific : MSGR. Monseigneur. From the French. LINK.

43. Running without moving : IDLING. Especially for cars.

45. Pal of Picasso : AMIGO. Spanish.

49. Mannerism : TIC.

51. Classic name in shoes : MCAN.Thom?

56. Sunflower St. school : KSU. This is the third different clue for KSU in the last few weeks. Notice the flower on the flag.

57. Lake Victoria country : UGANDA. There are more than one. This is one of Africa's GREAT LAKES.

58. Tapenade ingredient : OLIVE. If you like olives and capers with a hint of anchovy...any recipes out there?

60. Breather : LUNG. This clue is how you make 4 letter fill Friday hard.

66. "A Shot in the Dark" actress Sommer : ELKE. She is back, and the nude scene with Peter Sellers has been linked enough.

67. Lead in the theater? : USHER. Not the star, but the one who takes you to your seat. I did that at the Candlewood Lake Theater.

68. Knee-slapper : RIOT. Funnnnnnnnnnnny.

69. Winter Palace resident : TSAR.

70. Head lock : TRESS. The space eliminates the wrestling hold.

71. Join the game : ANTE. One that requires betting.

Down:

1. Lunchbox staple, casually : PBJ. My first fill. Peanut Butter & Jelly.

2. Marker : IOU. Another Friday repeat.

3. Gymnast with five Olympic golds : COMANECI. The C from pica gave me this 10 all growed up.

4. E.g., e.g. : ABBReviation.

5. Boy toy : G I JOE. Did you like the movie?

6. Unrepeated event, in England : ONE OFF. David used this 1/18/2013 in a Friday where marti blogged and linked to the expression.

7. Mich. neighbor : ONTario, Canada. I believe David is from Canada, eh? Eh?

8. Qualified : FIT.

9. Long : YEARN. I long for the perfect write-up.

10. Gris-gris wearer's practice : VOODOO. Who do the voodoo like you do? A partial clecho:45D. Gris-gris, for one : AMULET. All you need to know about this TALISMAN.

11. Aim : INTENT.

12. Composed : SERENE.

13. Baseball family name : ALOMAR. Sandy Jr., Roberto a Hall of Famer and Sandy Sr., Nice to see someone other than the Alous.

18. Giant star : OTT. More baseball.

22. Composer Grieg : EDVARD. A Norwegian. We all know Peer Gynt.

23. Season opener? : MID-season form.

24. Tiny bit : ATOM.

26. Country settled by freed American slaves : LIBERIA. This is a HISTORY that was not taught when I was in school.

27. Home of Utah Valley University : OREM.

29. High pts. : MTS. Mounts, or Mountains. 46D. Downhill challenges : MOGULS. A little early skiing CSO for marti.

33. Performing siblings' surname : OSMOND. Donnie and Marie? I met marie in 1979 when this was filmed.

34. ACLU concerns : RTS.

36. __ chi : TAI.

38. "Curb Appeal" network : HGTV. Home and Garden Television.

39. Airline to Amsterdam : KLM. Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij N.V.

40. Began to take effect : KICKED IN. Have the drugs kicked in yet?

41. Santa __: West Coast winds : ANAS.

44. Horned grazer : GNU. Who knew?

47. Fashionista Trump : IVANKA. It is good to be born rich. LINK.

48. Turmeric relative : GINGER.  Want to know ALL?
 
50. Bills featuring Ben : C-NOTES. One Hundred Dollar bills, so nicknamed as Century Notes

53. Full extent : GAMUT. Like Amazon, from A to Z.

54. Cards, e.g. : NLERS, The baseball St. Louis version, not the football Arizona ones.

55. Broadcast : AIR.

59. Designer Wang : VERA.  Some of the Fall Collection.

62. Neighbor of Leb. : ISRael.

63. Dam or madam : SHE. Nope, no safe way to comment.

64. Part of a modern address : DOT. How com you did not know this?

65. Had : ATE. I had grilled salmon, you?

Well I often eat when I am writing this, so it is fitting that I leave you on a food note (sounds like...?) Thanks David. Nice week end all and be sure and stop in and visit with Splynter as he unravels the mystery of the themeless Saturday: lemonade out.

81 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    I was mostly on Mr. Poole's mental wavelength this morning, so I breezed through most of the puzzle. I didn't know ALOMAR, but the perps were solid. Well, mostly solid. OTRO could have been OTRA, but ALOMAR looked more likely than ALAMAR.

    I've also never heard of MARKKA, but by then I had sussed the theme and was able to guess it.

    The one spot that caused me any real grief was LUNG. I originally went with REST and then changed it to LULL. LULL had two letters correct so I was sure it had to be right. But then I didn't get the *TADA* and realized I was looking at IVALKA and GINLER...

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  2. There once was a practitioner of VOODOO
    Who tried to cast a mean hoodoo.
    But instead of a zombie
    He summoned his Mommy
    And found himself in deep doo-doo.

    Apologies for being so late today. Spent the night virus hunting, and still haven't put together my cryptic clues for today.

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  3. Good morning!

    I had a premonition we'd get a David Poole puzzle this morning. :D

    I also fell into the LULL, IVALKA, GINLER trap. I also entered PLUTO where GOOFY needed to be. And with O_I__, my tapenade ingredient began life as an ONION. All were easily corrected.

    Nice job, Mr. Poole. Nice, meaty writeup, Lemonade.

    Time to pound the pavement on that 3-mile march...

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  4. This one whupped me

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  5. For a few minutes I was staring into the face of a DNF. I had entered KLH (the audio company) instead of KLM (the airline). That led to HAAN for the shoe company (Cole Haan). So far so good? I was sure that Kansas was the Sunflower State (having bicycled across it on a TransAm ride) but that left me with nothing for "Began to take effect". (It also didn't help that I didn't pick up on the double-letter aspect of the theme.) Anyway, I eventually changed KLH to KLM, that gave me MCAN, and all was right with the world.

    [14:28]

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  6. Good morning all,

    Not so easy for me - and not my favorite type of puzzle - but it was educational, as was Lemonade's write up.

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  7. Good morning!

    Fun writeup, for a fun puzzle, Lemony. I loved your "Italian accent" take on the theme. My favorite entry was MISS THE MARKKA. That was a real gimme, since my father was Finnish.

    The juicy fill added to all the enjoyment of solving. You already mentioned some of the best, like VOODOO, KICKED IN and C-NOTES. But I liked GI JOE (as clued), EDVARD (one of my favorite composers) and of course, MOGULS !!!

    Bill G. from last night, really fun beer bottle video @ 1:00 AM.

    Anon T - it is "stained" glass, not stain. Just as it should be, ICED tea!

    TGIF!!

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  8. Anon-T, I'm with Marti on the stained glass and iced tea.

    From last night's discussion about unwanted phone calls, have you guys tried NoMoRoBo? They monitor the source of your incoming ring. If it's one of the numbers in their database of robo-callers, they hang up on 'em after the first ring. I signed up a couple of months ago. All you have to do is never answer on the first ring. Sweet! Now if only they'd add those political callers to their database...

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  9. day late limerick :

    for some the use of a blinker they spurn
    and those that leave them on should burn
    but what really makes me sick
    are those that start to click
    when they're already in mid-turn.

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  10. Hi! Needed you all for Ivanka. I was almost sure Elke was right but the only fashionable Trump I knew was Ivanna. I guess she's way out of the picture by now? My American is all pre-2000. Elne however didn't sound right.

    Boy were Finns happy to go to the Euro. This was not so long ago, 2002. The following year Sseden voted down switching disappointing hubby, but then Greece happened . . . and Swedish exports became too expensive for most of the rest of the world.

    Thanks for some nice distraction while bringing the office home and escaping through cooking Sheperds Pie with my lovely elk broth.

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  11. A fun theme and clever cluing make for a fun Friday! Thanks David.

    Music
    -I thought ELKE for Summer but she is SOMMER and, oh yeah, 66 across
    -MARKKA, GRIS GRIS, IVANKA, ONE OFF (Sorry, Marti) were new to me and loved seeing cwd staple EDDA moved up to theme fill
    -VANNA has had work done and so has this OSMOND.. You go girls!!
    -This VISA card keeps me in golf balls when I REDEEM my points
    -An amazing/annoying/necessary facet of talk shows is that they can take a single news ITEM and drone on for hours – like whether this document was DOCTORED. Quit already!
    -No real Christmas trees here, FIR or otherwise, for years
    -Guess who bought a BETA machine in 1980
    -The MGSR in my grandchildren’s church doesn’t realize how long kids can listen during a homily
    -Oh, you mean Pablo’s generic friend
    -A VOODOO legend in Portland, Oregon
    -My fav EDVARD piece is his piano concerto, even the DISCO version

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  12. Enjoyed the theme and the learning moments (eg markka), as well as Lemonade's explanation. But I'm with Swenglish Mom-- Ivana Trump was the fashionista while Ivanka is quite the businesswoman (Wharton School of Business) though she obviously dresses quite nicely. Easy to figure out since Ivana didn't have enough letters.

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    Replies
    1. OK! I didn't even have the right spelling. Now to look up Ivanka . . .

      Delete
  13. One more thing (does warning of an unsavory verb in the third sentence make you more or less likely to read on?)
    -Name the RIOT of a movie with this scintillating dialogue: This is my ninth sick day this semester. It's getting pretty tough coming up with new illnesses. If I go for ten, I'm probably gonna have to barf up a LUNG. So, I better make this one count.

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  14. Lemon: Enjoyed your write-up & links.
    David: Thank you for a FUN Friday puzzle.
    Husker: That would be "Ferris Bueller's Day Off."

    OK, I went to that 1/18/2013 link of Marti's for "ONE-OFF" ... glad that it is a British expression.
    If I "Knocked ONE-OFF" ... I'd probably want to repeat it (20 minutes later, lol).

    Fave today was that PB+J ... after more than 60 years, I still enjoy them like when I was a kid.

    Learning moment was ED VARD, never heard of him ... but, then again, he's never heard of me.

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

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  15. Just to preface, I construct my limericks/poems BEFORE reading this blog. Guess Owen and I were thinking alike this AM, though I tried to use a few more of the solves in the rhyme!! ;^)

    The Star Wars robot named ARTOO
    Had a chance to practice VOODOO.
    He asked C3PO,
    Who most quickly said, "No",
    So he tried someone else that he GNU!

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  16. Hello Puzzlers -

    Breezed right through, except for that Ivana/Ivanka thing.

    Now, Bill G, was that you who linked the Bottle Boys on behalf of Thelma last night? You can't imagine how much time my household has been spending on YouTube this morning as a result! That rendition of Billie Jean rocks.

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  17. D-O you had a premonition about David Poole? While he is regular, he is not that regular. Can you pick five numbers from 1 to 36 for me?

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  18. Desper-otto, are you sure NoMoRoBo is safe? It sounds too good to be true, like a lot of internet scams do. Maybe I'm a little leery right now since I just had my identity stolen for the second time. (Why do they call it "identity theft"? I'm still me. It's my money they stole.) Anyway,please confirm if you have used it without any incidents.

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  19. Ok, now that you've stopped groaning after reading my limerick . . . some "puzzling" thoughts:

    The "South", again, was the first zone of the puzzle to fill in. After getting AMIGO/MOGULS/ELKE and TSAR (and some help from my better half with IVANKA and GINGER) the SW was complete. GAMUT just came to me (great clue/solve BTW); I also knew GNU, et al, so the SE fell just as quickly.

    Didn't so much as "get" the theme as I did see it after completing 37 and 52A - which of course made 17A and 25A easier once the letters became clear/obvious. I had several write-overs for 10D even though VISA was already in its spot. I had IND before ONT in 7D and SYR before ISR in 62D. I misspelled TAI in 36D and had INTEND before INTENT in 11D. Otherwise, a clean crossword!! ;^)
    My TADA! came when I filled in 16A (ONEL) which was clearly a perp.

    Well done, Mr. Poole. An easier Friday than most but still a challenge. Even today's SUDOKU was not "Fridayish" . . .

    Reporting from sunny SW FL . . .

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  20. Lemonade, my "premonition" resulted from landing in the middle of the Friday blog yesterday morning. Lucina did also. I think Argyle fixed it.

    BlueHen, after a couple of months it seems to be perfectly safe. It traps a couple of robocalls on my line every day. I still receive my robo prescription refill and appointment reminder calls. I really don't see a downside to NoMoRoBo. It doesn't work will all phone service providers, though. I use Vonage, and it works fine with them.

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  21. Good Morning:

    I thoroughly enjoyed this puzzle and, other than a bump here and there, breezed through it quite readily. Clever theme and lots of fresh fill.

    Thanks, David, for a fun Friday solve and thanks, Lemony, for an entertaining expo.

    CSO to PK with KSU. Fav theme answer was Moving Vanna.

    Have a great day.

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  22. Gretings, Puzzle People!

    This started slowly for me, but once I KICKED IN to David's wave length, I was on a roll. The NE filled first then on to the center. Picasso's friend started as GRECO but that didn't work well at all until AMIGO emerged.

    Like Lemonade, PICA and elite were once part of my working vocabulary and I still love PB&J so that gave me a head start in that corner.

    Thanks to David and Lemonade for USHERing in the weekend.

    Have yourselves a fine Friday, everyone!

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  23. desper-otto & Lemonade:
    That's true; when I opened the Blog yesterday, I saw Friday's and was flustered for a few moments before realizing what happened. Forcing myself not to look, I reopened it to Thursday's Blog. It was a strange experience.

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  24. DO @ 9:08 - I checked the NoMoRoBo web site for additional information and discovered my carrier, Verizon, is not covered. Boo hoo. :-(. Another alternative would be a call-blocking device. I'll have to do some research. Thanks for the info, anyway.

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  25. D-otto @ 9:08, I'm going to have to look into that nomorobo thing...

    I have a blacklist feature on my system that allows me to add phone numbers from robo-callers. But they make use of Fake caller IDs to make you think the call is legit. Every time they call, their phone number could be changed to a new one - so if you add the caller ID number you see on your phone, to the blacklist, it probably is not the number that they are calling from. Nomorobo seems to get past that by looking at the call's behavior - if it is being sent to multiple lines, etc. Sounds good to me!

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  26. After getting MOVING VANNA, I figured out the rest of the theme. Then I got stumped, took a break, and came back and finished the rest of the puzzle! Except for MaSTER EDDA, but the blank was filled and I didn't notice ASR and felt good about finishing until I came here and saw my mistake. Still, a nice way to spend part of my morning.

    Have a good day, everyone.

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  27. Hi gang -

    Made it through, with some struggles. OK, lots of struggles, a few wags, and plenty of perp help.

    I sussed the theme, but that didn't help much. TEFLON DONNA was very slow to KICK IN.

    Also still enjoy a good PBJ. Kirkland Peanut butter is excellent.

    Never got my cocktail in yesterday. Wasn't in quite the right mood for one. Did have a Sam Adams Summer Ale with dinner - a very likely repeat with tonight's tacos.

    If Ivanka were anorexic, she'd be Paris Hilton.

    My turn to vacuum.

    Cool Regards, AMOGOs!
    JzB [occasionally GOOFY]

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  28. I thought this puzzle was much easier than either WED or THUR. It's funny how sometimes you are on the same wavelength as the constructor, and other times you're just clueless.

    Have a good weekend all.

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  29. I just read the posts from last night and enjoyed the empty beer bottle routine. That's the best use of any beer bottles, IMHO. Sorry about that, beer drinkers.

    Also, it's definitely stained-glass, Anon-T.

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  30. Well, I thought I had this one licked after cracking through the mid-western sector (I needed to look up synonyms for "Wow" to get MAN), but I left an error in the NE corner. I was content with ALAMAS as a baseball family name (cuz I don't follow baseball) but, as we all know now, that answer went south on me, taking OTRA (with an A) and VOTES (with an S) along with it.
    Grrr.
    Still, I had a lot of satisfaction cracking through the rest on my own bat. Thank you, David Poole--and Lemonade for the solid write-up.

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  31. JazzBumpa @ 10:51 -

    Also still enjoy a good PBJ. Kirkland Peanut butter is excellent.

    I found a new favorite brand of PB called Peanut Butter and Company. The one I am enjoying right now is called The Bee's Knees

    Never got my cocktail in yesterday.

    I hate when that happens!!

    Did have a Sam Adams Summer Ale with dinner

    are you by any chance a craft beer fan? I enjoy most anything by Sierra Nevada, and right now am also into Victory DirtWolf. Good and hoppy!

    My turn to vacuum.

    I don't know about you, but when it's my turn to vacuum I merely pretend that I am mowing the lawn. I even overlap my wheel marks. Just haven't figured out where the carpet clippings are . . . our sweeper must have a "mulcher"!!

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  32. Hmmmm...its like deja vu all over again.

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  33. A Friday toughie, as it should be, I suppose. The theme on this one was really a lot of fun, and in the end I got everything except the Turow book's last letter. Had ONE_ and A_OMAR but no clue about that one space. Still, a delight--so, many thanks, David Poole. And, of course, you too, Lemonade, for the ever helpful expo.

    Have a great Friday, everybody!

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  34. Sure Walt Disney liked alliterative characters but so does Stan Lee.

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  35. Hi Y'all! This puzzle just did MISS THE MARKKA with me because I didn't quite understand the puns (or whatever they are) in the theme fills. An okay Friday-level puzzle otherwise. I did catch on to the double-letter-A gimmick on the first one which helped on the rest. Some hard fills. Some easy ones.

    ONE OFF: never heard of this. DOCTOR for tamper? Meh! Don't know what Tapinade is.

    As usual, I knew COMANECI but not how to spell it so it wouldn't turn red.

    Liked "lead in the theater" for USHER.

    VERA Wang may be okay for girls with no BOOBS. Her styles don't seem to be designed for full-figured women.

    IVANKA came easily for me for some reason. I didn't think Ivana had two "N's".

    Woohoo we had an inch and a half of rain!

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  36. I get screwed up with slang terms--thought breather was a rest/lull, just WBS, and the names I do know escape my overworked brain (newsletter time right now), but mostly I simply don't know them. I always thought Trump was Ivanna--not Ivanka. it took practically the whole time before I gave up to see the theme, but by then it was no help since I've never hear of TEFLON DON or the MARK, other than for Germany, so definitely not Nordic. I also thought HAM was what is bought at Christmas time, since most trees bought here are pines, not firs as in Europe. And gris-gris???? I've never heard that before. Wondered what it has to do with the color gray.

    Crashed for the end of week.

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  37. Man! I put in VOTES at 31A, rendering myself unable to decide upon OTRO or OTRA because of not knowing either ALAMAS or ALOMAS. I have now bandaged up the hole where I shot myself in the foot.

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  38. The Nomorobo has an improved and modified version of its system to Nomorobonobo.(version sex).
    It not only prevents robo phone calls, it also prevents those pesky invisible bonobo chimpanzees from entering your house and messing up your love life. Since Bonobos are so sex obsessed they can wreak havoc to your sex life. People think of sex all the time. So, keeping bonobos out of the household can mean a return to normalcy and a return to ordinary sex. If however, you have been invaded and are into the hyped up version, then the Nomorobonobo can be further modified with the Bonorobohobo subroutine, which still keeps out the robo calls except, unless if they are also pornographic, and bonobos continue to be welcome to invade your household. Recommended and endorsed. by the Planned Parenthood, NOW and Pro-choice.

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  39. Good morning!

    I had more mistakes than I would like to report.

    My favorite fill was MOVING VANNA; I liked how it had an extra layer of meaning, insofar that Vanna moves the letters around.

    Argyle @ 9:25, Thanks for the turn signal limerick!

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  40. Raj, nice link. Argyle, the PB looks very good. Do they ship to Whole Foods?

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  41. Well this is definitely an Old World puzzle today with EDVARD GRIEG, EDDA, MARKKA,ELKE Sommer (and DONNA SUMMER), and KLM-Amsterdam representing northern Europe and AMULET, GNU, VOODOO, GRIS-GRIS, LIBERIA, AND UGANDA representing Africa. I'll leave out ISRael since that is just a fill in, with the only other possibility being SYR. Okay technically it could have been the MEDiterranean Sea.

    This was an exceptionally easy puzzle for a Friday. As soon as I solved JUMBOJETTA, I went ahead and placed an 'A' at the end of the theme clues. My only unknowns were GOOFY and OLIVE, as I had was unfamiliar with Tapenade. My last fill was 23A, MAN, and I didn't get the clue until I filled in DOCTOR.

    BTW, didn't one of the ALOMARs get fined for spitting on someone a few years back?

    Everybody have a nice weekend and don't put the GRIS-GRIS on anybody.

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  42. Big Easy @ 2:25 - that would be Roberto Alomar - when he was with Baltimore. Umpire was John Hirschbeck. Here is a video (0:29) of Robbie when he played for Cleveland Indians. He was quite a talent on the field, but also a hothead. His brother Sandy was much more civilized.

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  43. I thought this little girl from somewhere down under was a real cutie. I like her accent too. Cutie!

    Pecos Bill and his trusty horse were about to call it a day and return to camp. They were thirsty and needed to get some water from a nearby river. So Pecos Bill rode 1 mile due south from his present location to the river and got the water. Then he rode 3 miles due east along the river’s edge and then 3 miles due north back to camp. The total distance Pecos Bill rode to the river, along the river and then back to camp was 7 miles. Could he have gone to the river for water and then ridden back to camp in a shorter distance? What is the shortest distance he could ride to go to the river and then back to camp?

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  44. Here is a more complete article on Roberto Alomar's spitting incident

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  45. Lemonade-I see you like to shop at Whole PAYCHECK. I made a lot of money on their stock, but I would never shop there. My wife and I walked in a few years back and when I saw the people carrying I-Phones, wearing Oakleys, and the parking lot was filled with many Volvos, BMWs, and Range Rovers, I knew these people would gladly buy overpriced groceries. I was correct. I dumped the stock a year ago after doubling my money.

    Same reason Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline, and other online travel sites quote higher prices for people who own Apple computers. They overpay thinking they are getting a better product.

    The're not.

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  46. Lots of baseball today. Did y'all see this heart warming video from last night?

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  47. My family learned a harsh lesson from using Orbitz. A large group of us attended a wedding in Hawaii and one of my nieces had booked their flight with Orbitz. On the return trip they were booked on a flight that had been cancelled one year before and Orbitz would do nothing to help. Fortunately, the airline came to the rescue and found seats for them. I will never use their services.

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  48. PK
    Thanks for that "Foul-ball" link.

    Can't tell you "How many times" I've seen an adult scramble for a foul-ball, then "hold-it-up" in glee when he beat out a kid for the freebie prize.

    I've caught a few, over the years, and the FIRST thing I did was look around for a Little League aged kid (boy or girl) to give it to ... so they could "hold-it-up" ...

    The expression on that little girls face was "priceless!"

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  49. So, Ol' Man Keith, oh ye of foreheadda magnificentta, it looks like we both had the same experience/trouble with ALAMAS.

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  50. Bill G @ 2:36

    5.242640687119285 miles?

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  51. Chairman -

    PB and honey is a great combo

    I am a craft beer fan, but I'm more of an Imbev and CoorsMiller anti fan. I like to support smaller businesses an local things, wherever I happen to be.

    Many good brewers here in MI -Shorts, New Holland, Bells, Arbor, etc.

    Like your sweeping quip. Never thought of it that way.

    Argyle -
    Kirkland PB is pure peanuts with a little sea salt.

    I detect a martini in my future . . .

    Cheers!
    JzB

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  52. JzB @ 3:59 - please, call me "Moe"!

    MI craft beers are great. Last year about this time we finally got Founders here in FL. That is perhaps my favorite from your state, although it's tough to rule out Bell's Two Hearted Ale as a "go to" brew. Founders' Double Trouble is another I've been enjoying this summer - wish it were available here year 'round. Looking for their Rubaeus to arrive (hopefully). Saw that they use 3,175 pounds of fresh raspberries in each batch. I figure if it's any good, I can have my beer AND fruit intake all at once! ;^)

    A martini man? Now, you're talking! Make mine Bombay Sapphire (or Booth's, in a pinch) - on the rocks - with a jalapeno-stuffed olive. And maybe an eyedropper measure of Vermouth just so it can qualify as a martini . . .

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  53. Greetings!

    Can't finish reading this now! So maybe comments later.

    Amusing puzzle, David. Really got a kick out of the theme entries!

    Nice expo, as usual, Lemon.

    Cheers!

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  54. Moe -

    Jedem das siene.

    My typical martini is 3 oz gordons, 1 oz new amsterdam, and 1 oz M&R vermouth with 3 honking big pimiento olives.

    Today I used 3 oz Knickerbocker gin from the New Holland brewery/distillery and 1 oz M&R. Delightful.

    Your the 2nd person to tell me Bells 2 hearted is a "go to" brew in exactly those words - and it's at the top of my list.

    Somehow, I've missed Founders. I think there's some time left though.

    Cheers!
    Jz

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  55. DNF

    WBS ( Except with a lot of cheating...)

    There is a Jumbo Jetta! It's called the super guppy!

    I looked up Teflon Donna, She's a Roller Girl...
    (also, The baddest female gangsters of all time...)

    I came up with nothing re: "missed the markka." But for for some reason this pic was listed under it?

    Hmm, my memories of Vanna & funny moving vans seem to have a common theme...

    Don't remind me about poor Mr. Ed...

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  56. Good afternoon everyone.

    Good one today. ∅ in the top half at first, but had some success in the South. When I had enough letters to suss MISS THE MARK_A the clue made sense. (Having been to Helsinki and used the 5 markka ($1.25) coin, I see why they would miss it for the Euro.) When VANNA fell, the schtick was confirmed, and I inserted A's at the end of the remaining theme fills.
    Although there were many misdirections, no searches or white-out was needed.

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  57. JzB

    Jedem das seine? Genau!

    I do like your martini recipe, though. Honking big olives, regardless of what they're stuffed with, beat the hell out of a twist. And Gin trumps Vodka.

    As for Founders, they are from Grand Rapids. I'm sure their offerings can be found wherever you purchase beer in MI. The Red Rye IPA is really good (if you like that style). And since you like Sam Adams Summer Ale, try the Founders Harvest Ale. It is one of their specialty brews and should be in your market now.

    Cheers!

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  58. Once again, I must note that the "Al Cyone" who posted @1:34 is not this Al Cyone.

    I'm not sure why she feels compelled to post under my name.

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  59. I want to thank Bill G for being kind enough to post
    "What to do when you've finished all the beer" for me.. :) I'm glad a few of you enjoyed it.....

    Puzzle was a DNF - but I enjoyed the write up and the comments.... :) :)

    Hope the rest of your day and evening is magnificent..

    thelma :)

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  60. Kevin (3:23), close. You can make the necessary distance traveled even a little bit less, either using a little calculus (I only remember a little) or by cleverly redrawing the diagram. Let's call the starting point S and the ending point F. Let's call the point where you first intersect the river O. You are going due south to O and then diagonally (hypotenuse) to F, right? Suppose you move O a bit to the right (east). Then you will have two diagonals (hypotenuses? hypoteni?) and that will be a little shorter. How much shorter can you make it?

    AKA Thelma, you are very welcome.

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  61. Bill G. Ahh, you got me. I did not think of moving the direction Pecos took from the starting point to the river. I should track down that math textbook David Poole wrote (as mentioned in the interview Lemonade kindly linked) to bone up on my algebra/calculus skills.

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  62. JzB 3:59 - How true! PB and honey has been my go-to sammich for decades. Mmmmmm

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  63. The original PK did not post the baseball thing under my "name". I don't do baseball. I dated a baseball player many years ago when I was young and foolish and still played a little softball. Haven't liked it since. I do keep a baseball bat next to the front door to thrust (gently) between the snarling jaws of fighting tomcats on my porch. My kids tease me about that.

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  64. This CW was not exactly a walk in the park but I got it done (on paper too!).

    Happy to see Ontario today in the right location and not in CA!

    I remember Roberto Alomar from his days as a Toronto Blue Jay. He was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010 and currently lives in Toronto and acts as special advisor to the Blue Jays.

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  65. Wow! (Man!) Some people are so skillful and clever. Clever loader

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  66. All C people will use 'your' name because until you g I blue it is up fir grabs. We have all kinds coming to the Corner.

    A quick so to Jeannie wherever she nay be.

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  67. Favorite craft beer: Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA or the current seasonal offering from Stewart's Brewing Co. Favorite martini: 4 parts very good vodka (I prefer Belvedere), I part Gordon's gin, and a splash of Lillet, with an olive stuffed with blue cheese. Favorite cocktail overall: a Manhattan made with Red Stag (seriously, try it) Go to drink: either rum and coke or a mojito.

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  68. Al Cyone, fer sure,August 8, 2014 at 9:41 PM

    This is the real, dyed-in-the-wool Al Cyone. Also, I'm standing up and have a micro mini, and a thong, and real nice legs.

    I'm not the first Al Cyone, and wonder why Al Cyone number two objects to my name being bandied about. Plus I've been Pirate, and Molly too. I feel compelled to be a Cyone cuz my father was Cyborg No.1 and my mom was a Klingon. I did not write the other two posts and a pox on both their houses. Peace, love, friendship and lots of Nano-Nano. The next time you see an Al Cyone post, dream a little dream of me.

    Also Lemon aids, lets us get this straight - I'm definitely not 'fir grabbing' anyone. If anyone's doing the fir grabbing its my current boyfriend, who is definitely not a baseball player, thank the Gods.

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  69. Bill G. on your Pecos Bull and horse problem.

    If they start at initial position, at Pt. A. and go south 1 mi. to Pt. B - then they go 3 mi. along the river, due east to Pt.C.

    Then go 3 mi. north to camp at Pt.D.

    If E is the midpoint of BC, and if Pecos goes A to E, then E to D.

    Then he and the horse travel two hypotenuse(s), = sqrt( 1*2 + 1.5*2) + sqrt (1.5*2 + 3*2) = sqrt(3.25) + sqrt(11.25)= 1.802 776 + 3.354 102 = 5.156 878 mi.

    Assuming, of course, that it is possible, on the terrain.

    If E is NOT the mid-point of BC but moves along the scale from B to C, we can work out an equation the double differential derivative of which could be used to establish a minima or a maxima or both or neither.

    If E is the midpoint of BC, the distance will be 5.156 877 5

    If E is 1 mile from B, and 2 mi. from C the dist. will be 5.019 765

    If E is 2 mi. from B, and 1 mile from C, the dist. will be 5.398 3455

    I'm just too lazy and sleepy to work out the equation and the double differential derivative. So, 5.019 765 is my best answer, and if you get a lower number, you know what you can do with it and just where you can park it. ;- ^)


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  70. I made a spreadsheet and divided first contact with the river into .05 mile increments that add up to 3 miles and then put those values on a spreadsheet and calculated the hypotenuses formed with the 1 mile west boundary and 3 mile east boundary being constant. It turns out that at contacting the river .75 east of due south of the starting point and 2.25 miles due west of due south of the camp gives you a 1.25 mile hypotenuse SSE to the river and a 3.75 mile hypotenuse NNW to the camp gives a total of 5 miles. Bill?

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  71. Husker Gary,
    Is your quote form Ferris Buehler's Day Off?

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  72. Anonymous Meth Geni-ass (9:53) has the right idea and the best answer so far. To get the shortest answer, you need to continue with his/her calculus approach or try guess-and-check or redraw the diagram in a clever way that makes the answer quickly obvious.

    I just got an e-mail from Gary with the minimum distance of 5 miles. Excellent!

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  73. Bill G, Mythbusters did a segment on viral videos of some outlandish stunts with back-end loaders that were as good if not better than that. They were able to replicate every stunt. Check it out.

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  74. Bill G.

    I think you might be my new favorite person in the universe. Your Clever Loader link made me laugh so hard inside I almost choked: I have never seen a better visual representation of the futility I feel when I try to teach my incoming students to read/write/think. Moreover, while I was watching the video, my wife just finished giving our four-year-old son a bath when he said, "Mama, can you take the bubbles out of my butt?" How can anyone ask for a better juxtaposition? Incidentally, my wife, Brandi (named after the song), wants to know why I am so happy all of a sudden.

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  75. Kevin, let me introduce you to some of the Anons who, in the recent past, have seemed to be of a different persuasion ...

    Tell Brandi I said Hi.

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  76. Bill G.

    If you are you referring to last Thursday's blood-laden Anon bash, I would rather not be introduced. Working in academia, I have seen enough people struggle over small rewards. I am just glad to solve a puzzle or two and have a good time at it. I think my 5 posts are over, so I bid you all and Bill G a good night.

    And my wife kinda of gets it, but what else can she say Brandi says goodnight too?

    ReplyDelete
  77. Hi all!

    Really late post so maybe I was just being lazy on Mr. Poole's puzzle - it kicked my butt. NW & SW are the only fully-filled areas with smatterings about. Thanks LEM for the answers - wish I'd have seen them yesterday ;-)

    Marti, D-O & Lucina - thanks for stained/stain usage. Being a middle generation (X-er), I hear both.

    HG - Anon is right - Totally Matt B. in Ferris Bueller's Day Off - I watched that with the girls a few months ago. Youngest thinks she can fool me and skip school - I'm about as bad a role-model as the Ausie-dad. (thanks Bill - that was funny!)

    Mmmm Beer - Houston's Saint Arnold's Summer Ale or Weed Wacker is my choice now. Martinis? Beefeater gin w/ dry Martini & Ross - dirty - olive, onion, olive garnish (I need a little snack later :-)).

    Mom sent me clover-honey from her hives so I will try switching from PBJ to PB-H.

    Have a great weekend!

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete

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