google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, Sep 20th, 2014 Brad Wilber

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Sep 20, 2014

Saturday, Sep 20th, 2014 Brad Wilber

Theme: BW

Words: 72 (missing Q,X)

Blocks: 35

  Another solo Saturday from Brad Wilber, with a deceptively easy-looking grid.  I found today's puzzle had what I would call "reverse solvability" - that is, the long answers filled in with little effort, but the shorter ones really baffled me.  8- and 6-letter triple stack corners that did not look intimidating, and just two 10-letter phrases crossing two of the four 9-letter runs rounding out the longer spans;

6d. Moles may cross them : ENEMY LINES

30d. One might include "Go skydiving" : BUCKET LIST

o, a, r d n w....?!?!

ACROSS:

1. Pirate inducted at Cooperstown in 1988 : STARGELL - Ah, Baseball to start; took some perps for me to WAG this one; I am sure C.C. nailed it - she can elaborate (From C.C.: I think he's TTP's favorite player, lifelong Pirate.)



9. Tuning shortcut : PRESET - I was in a guitar frame of mind; this is more like your AM/FM, Sirius and Pandora kind of tuning; I call my Pandora station "Myynde Wax" - there's a story behind it....

15. Try to pick up : COME ON TO - There's a girl at the restaurant where I built the benches that likes to scratch my back; do you think it's an attempt to "come on to" me~??

16. Make wrinkly : RUMPLE - I was tempted to try "CREASE"

17. Auto safety feature : HEADREST - simple, but effective

18. Capital with an Algonquin name : OTTAWA - Albany (NY) fit, too, but....

19. Abound : TEEM

20. Many a jayvee athlete : SOPH - tried "TEEN" first

22. Org. with an online Patriot Index : D.A.R. - Daughters of the American Revolution

23. Loan applicant's asset : STEADY JOB - It's getting close to new car time; I have a steady job, a high credit score, and a Dodge with 251,000 miles on it

26. Barnyard cries : BRAYS

28. Much of the New Testament is attributed to him : PAUL - I waited on perps

29. Longtime Ivory rival : LIFEBUOY - soap makers - makes me think of "A Christmas Story"

31. 11-Down skill : CPR - circumreferential, ugh; 11. 31-Across pro : EMT

32. Ins. giant : AIG

33. Citrus whose juice is used in Asian cuisine : YUZU - new to me; the Wiki


34. Give as a task : ASSIGN - Don't get me started on "tasks"....

36. Brno natives : CZECHs


40. 1960s role for Bamboo Harvester : Mr. ED - I had 'M-ED' and had to duck to avoid the V-8 can

42. Word with run or jump : SKI - ski run, ski jump

43. Self-satisfied sound : "HEH~!"

44. Requiem Mass segment : DIES IRAE - the full phrase

46. "The Phantom Tollbooth" protagonist : MILO - all perps

47. Loin cut : T-BONE - toyed with throwing this in to start; then the "N" showed

49. Words of resignation : C'EST LA VIE - Frawnche - but it does remind me of this video


51. URL ending : ORG - uhhh, .com, .edu, .biz....

52. Did a sendup of : APED - mimicry

54. Heroine with notable buns : LEIA - hey now, these buns


55. Pungent condiment : WASABI

57. Took for a ride : SWINDLED

61. Standoffish type : ICICLE - back in college, there was a girl all the guys referred to as the "ice princess" - ironically, she asked ME out....

62. Like the trade winds : EASTERLY

63. Hitching post attachment : TETHER

64. Stop and go, say : ANTONYMS

DOWN:

1. Ivy, e.g.: Abbr. : SCH - meh. 

2. Part of Italy where Calabria is, figuratively : TOE


3. Curtis Cup contenders : AMATEURS - Golf - sort of like the Ryder Cup; more here

4. Bridge do-over : RE-DEAL

5. Hurt in a ring : GORED - Ask Evander Holyfield

7. West Point grads: Abbr. : LTs

8. Much : LOTS OF

9. Hold (up) : PROP

10. Performer in every episode of "Laugh-In" : RUTH BUZZI

12. Relaxing outing : SPA DAY

13. Super Bowl XXXIII MVP : ELWAY

14. Drops during lows : TEARS - my last fill was the "R"; took a moment to see 'drops' as a noun and not a verb

21. Jump, in a way : OBEY

23. Employer of vets: Abbr. : SPCA - ah, those kind of vets

24. Four-note piece : TAPS

25. It may be up : JIG - "Surrender...the jig is up"

27. Casanova : ROUE

32. Accommodating : AGREEABLE

35. Hacker's cry : "I'M IN~!"

37. Knight life ideal : CHIVALRY - it's not dead

38. Port opener : HELI - heliport

39. Braking system component : SHOE - I think they need replacing on my van, but I am still working on the leaf spring


41. Ones spotted in casinos : DICE - this could have been very deceptive, indeed; ones, spotted, dice....lots to work with

42. Carrier to Copenhagen : SAS - Airline

44. Lallygags : DOGS IT

45. Site with an important part in a 1956 film? : RED SEA - part?  Har-HAR~!!!

46. Winless horse : MAIDEN

47. Specifically : TO WIT

48. Reinforce : BRACE

50. Measures taken slowly? : LENTO - musical direction

53. Seaside strolling spot : PIER

56. Rats along the Rhine? : ACH - exclamations; "Rats~!" and "Ach~!"

58. Peaked : WAN - skin color, 'to wit'

59. London's earliest water pipes were made with it : ELM - I wanted "WOOD"; did not realize we were looking for a specific type

60. Beginning to function? : DYS - DYSfunction(al) - don't I know it

Splynter

57 comments:

Argyle said...

Now that's funny...start off with a Pirate the day after Talk Like a Pirate day.

Lemonade714 said...

Argyle, you took the words right out of my mouth.

As Splynter suitably wrote not difficult for a Saturday though some of the wit made the clues misleading
I had not seen BRNO in a long while and do not know guys.

Thanks BW and Splynter there is no irony in an ice princess asking you out.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Not overly difficult, but still I had to chip away here and there to get established. Roué is one of those words only known because of puzzles; tried Rake first. Once Czech got in there, Ruth Buzzi was unmistakeable to a person of a certain age. I can see where a young person might miss that...

Relatedly: recently I chatted with the young owner of a 1976 Cessna 150, just like the one I used to have. I was describing the paint job my airplane had, which was patriotically themed because of the Bicentennial. I soon realized he had no idea what that was. Ach, I feel old.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Well, this one ended up as a great big DNF for me. Lots of white spaces left after my initial pass through the grid, and had trouble getting a TOE hold anywhere. Actually, TOE was one of the first answers I actually felt comfortable with...

STARGELL was a complete unknown that blocked me in the NW. Went with BRADY instead of ELWAY at 13 after getting the final Y. Yeah, I should know better. The crossing of OBEY (as clued) and YUZU was just cruel. And the SE corner finally forced me to turn on the red-letter help to complete it.

Overall, I think it was the cluing that did me in. Just too much for me today, but kudos to those who found this one easy.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Tweren't easy, but twas done. For some stupid reason I started with LIFE SOAP (maybe I was thinking of Mikey's cereal?) and took way too long to let it go. Hand up for RAKE. I DYSlexically read TURNING instead of TUNING. D'oh! Don't think I've ever heard of YUZU. But somehow, I prevailed. SESST LAH VYE.

Wanted TIP before TOE. Those maps always confuse me. Once again I thought Calabria was supposed to be that little square thingee in the middle of the Adriatic.

Anyone else wonder why one who DOG SITs is a lallygagger?

desper-otto said...

And I always thought it was lollygag, with an O.

Splynter said...

Hi again~!

Lemon - I did not tell the whole story about the ice princess; I was so not going to say anything based on what the others had said that it was ironic that she said something to me.

Splynter

Big Easy said...

Well- today's puzzle is a clever one by one Wilber that has an answer of MR. ED, whose 'owner' was WILBUR. It was a slow start that accelerated from LENTO to allegro. The only time I had a cougar COME ONTO me I was too young and ignorant to know what she really meant when she rolled down her window and asked me: ' do you have the time?' Well C'EST LA VIE. You live and learn.


Just like Splynter perps got YUZU and PAUL. I made a few WAGs with OTTAWA BRAYS HEADREST and APED. I wanted TIN for ELM and originally put WESTERLY for EASTERLY before realizing that the clue for 58D, Peaked, used the pronunciation with two syllables instead of one. I am really not a fan of answers that could be anything, such as HEH on 43A, because it is totally dependent on the cross.

5D-GORED- My great uncle was gored ( and killed) by a bull on his farm in Trinidad.I think of that every time I see these idiots in the news running in front of bulls.

Signing off as my wife comes out of the bedroom singing "ROCK ME MOMMA LIKE A WAGON WHEEL'; we went to a Darius Rucker concert last night, getting home after midnight.

HeartRx said...

Good morning everyone!

With STARGELL at 1-Across, I knew I was doomed from the start. Total DNF in the mid-west. I never did get PAUL, TAPS, SPCA or CPR. Never heard of YUZU, hand up for “teen” before SOPH, and I had “mal” before DYS.

d-otto, I also filled in DOG SIT and wondered how that meant to “lallygag.” Another V-8 moment when I read Splynter’s write-up. Oh. DOGS…IT.

It was still fun along the way.

HeartRx said...

I just went back and read yesterday's write-up and comments. Sorry I missed all the fun! We were straight out all day, but I'll have to let Allen know about all the fun wishes.

CED, thanks for the ingredients - I gave them to Allen and he made his own cake (I don't bake.) It came out really good - a pound cake in a bundt pan, with fresh strawberries on top. Yumm! We had one of those sparkly lotus birthday candles that plays "Happy Birthday." After about 30 seconds of the annoying music, I had to take it into the kitchen and destroy it to stop it from playing!

I did get to do the puzzle, and laughed out loud when I read the theme riddle and answers. How could I miss Talk Like a Pirate Day???? Arrrrgh...

PK said...

Hi Y'all! First pass through, I only had TOE, LTS, LOTS OF, TEEM, SOPH in the top 2/3 of the puzzle. The bottom third was somewhat better. Filled it then worked back up. But interesting challenge, Brad.

Never heard of STARGELL-- all perps. YUZU? Yuz kidding!

Heroine with notable buns wasn't Kim Kardashian?

I could see RUTH BUZZI in my mind but couldn't remember her name until the ZZ appeared. I tried Goldie Hawn, Arte Johnson, Steve....

The first time I ever heard of John ELWAY, my kid was a page in the state capitol. It was early in his career and ELWAY had done something remarkable. The legislature did a short tribute and the whole house stood and applauded. I was in the balcony going, "Who?" Soon was told.

Splynter, dear, if the MAIDEN is scratching your back, it's a pretty good clue that she'd like to get her hands on the rest of you. Trust me! Ask her out if you like her at all & she is single. Also thanks for the great expo!

Prof T said...

Wow...Big DNF for me as well today. Too many unknowns and clunky clues. By 9 AM I had already spent way too much time, with way too much white space.

Avg Joe said...

Nothing easy about this one. Prolly set a new record for erasures, but ultimately prevailed. Had lots of trouble everywhere (and hand up for wondering about dog sit until that light went on). But the NE was the toughest to crack. Finally getting Ruth gave me Buzzi, but that still left me with a wag for "Sposay". I'd misspelled the capital as Ottowa, and knew the start to AR had to be D or S. but finally that penny dropped and it was finis! Grueling, but doable.

Husker Gary said...

What torturous joy! It took a fair amount of time but it’s done after I traded CEST LA VIE for CAME CLOSE

Musings
-Like Big Easy, I loved MR ED as fill on a puzzle by Wilber
-CLEMENTE, SEATBELT, GALLAHAD, CODAS, ALBANY, FLANK fit too
-30 Down was on American Movie Classics last night.
-Hudson has 6 PRESETS on band 4 of our XM car radio
-Now if she starts scratching your front… ;-)
-HEADRESTS are not the only safety feature missing in this 1957 Chevy
-The creek at our course is TEEMING with shad (I’m told)
-General’s wife at PX, “Do you have any LIFEBUOY?” Private, now stationed at the North Pole, “Just try me, sister”
-YUZU, who knew?
-As a sub, you keep your mouth shut and ASSIGN the horrible homework
-Gladys Ormphby and Tyrone F. Horneigh (3:21)
-ELWAY refused to play for the Colts who drafted him and wound up as a Bronco
-I’M IN! (2:37)
-Oh, PEE’-KID not PEEKT

Gramma Jean said...

didn't anyone have seatbelt for 17A??

Dan said...

Not fun at all. Cluing was just too much for me. Never heard of yuzu and my wife is Thai. They mostly use lime juice and coconut milk.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I must have been on Brad's wavelength with this one, as I had little trouble solving it. My only hiccup was soft soap/lifebuoy. Unknowns such as yuzu and Brno natives=Czechs came easily enough with perps.

Thanks, BW, for a good Saturday challenge that was just right and thanks to Splynter for keeping us informed and entertained.

Marti - Your expression "We were straight out all day" reminded me of my girl friend who lived in Amherst for 35 years. She said that a lot but it's not an expression we use here; at least I've never heard it from anyone else but her. Must be a Massachusetts (or maybe New England) phrase. Like wicked good! :-)

I'm looking forward to the start of the new season shows on tv. There are a couple of new shows that look promising, in addition to old favorites like The Good Wife, The Blacklist, Blue Bloods, etc. I will also have 14 hours of The Roosevelts to watch. Yikes!

Have a great day.

Dudley said...

Something different: viewing The Roosevelts has clarified a bit of nautical history for me. You see, in the Mystic Seaport collection there is a lovely 25' sloop named Vireo, which FDR bought specifically for his children to use at Campobello Island. The craft was bought used, on Long Island if I recall.

It's a long piece of ocean between NY and New Brunswick, so FDR had the sloop hauled up onto a Navy destroyer that was carrying him to Campobello in 1920. I always wondered how he managed such a luxurious delivery, but now I see (from the film) that FDR held a high Cabinet post in the Navy Dept. and that he routinely hitched rides on destroyers to get to the summer place. The film even says he steered the vessels himself, skillfully, in New Brunswick. Nice work if you can get it.

Lemonade714 said...

Isn't it odd that Elway who refused the Colts now orchestrated the signing of Peyton Manning away from Indy to Denver?

How about a franchise that drafted Elway, Manning and Andrew Luck? For the football fans, what if San Diego had kept Eli and Philip Rivers went to the Giants?

I was not aware of the variant lallygag but then it sounds the same LINK

Marti we missed you but glad you enjoyed your day off from the Corner

Steve said...

Hand up for RAKE before ROUE, I'm reading a book where "The Rake's Progress" features in the plot, so I guess that was at the forefront of my mind.

Other than that, I'd call this a romp - definitely on Brad's wavelength. Thanks for the write-up, Splynter.

Argyle said...

I'll bet I'm not the only one that had 35D. Hacker's cry : "FORE!"

Lemonade714 said...

Never saw the clue for 35D, filled by peeps- it does make one wonder what they shout during a skins game?

BarbieMom said...

You are sixteen going on seventeen
Fellows will fall in line
Eager young lads and roues and cads
Offer you food and wine

I have loved the word r "roue" ever since I learned this song from "The sound of Music". Fun puzzle today. C'est la vie was my final entry.

Anonymous said...

lemony, when you say that 35d was filled in by peeps, was is the original chick peeps or the more seasonal appropriate Peeps?

Misty said...


I have to day I hated this puzzle almost as much as a Silkie. My only redemption came from Barry and Marti who also found it tough. On top of everything, my earliest answers were pretty depressing: C'EST LA VIE, BUCKET LIST, DIES IRAE. At my age, you don't need to dwell on that stuff. Well, okay, there was RUTH BUZZI, who lightened things up just a little. And it was clever to juxtapose ROUE with CHIVALRY. But YUZU? Give me a break. And I hate those 11 DOWN SKILL and 31 ACROSS PRO clues. Still have no idea what EMT is.

Sigh. But hey, Splynter's blog and all the comments were funny, so that helped. Let's hope everyone has a great weekend, in any case!

Lucina said...

Greetings, word wizards! That includes you, too, Splynter. Thanks for the expo, especially DOGS IT.

Like others this started out slowly for me, LENTO. Luckily DIES IRAE provided a TOEhold then BUCKETLIST piggy backed on that. LEIA came easily as my daughter loved those buns on her long hair.

No idea about STARGELL but once I had --ARGELL it fell; however, ELWAY is well known in these parts for a car dealership.

YUZU?? Thank you, perps.

Thank you, Brad Wilbur for some really clever cluing, especially "drops during lows" TEARS, and many others.

Have a sensational Saturday, everyone!

CrossEyedDave said...

Puzzle was way to hard for me, but I am glad I cheated my way thru it for all the learning experiences.

I am not one to buy things over the internet yet, so maybe my local stationary has one of these birthday candles.

I could not imagine how elm wood was used for water pipes, & it was hard to track down. But it turns out the stuff is pretty waterproof! This site has clickable pictures that make sense of how it was done.

Mr Ed was a favorite as a kid, but I never knew his real name. A Wiki search turned up a bunch of special guest stars on the show that I probably did not recognize when I was younger...

Mae West, it's the whole episode, so poke around 7 & 13 minutes for some "Westisms."

Clint Eastwood, that's Donna Douglas of Beverly Hillbillies fame as his girlfriend.

Also listed were:

Zsa Zsa Gabor
Leo Durocher
Jon Provost
Sebastian Cabot
Jack LaLanne
Alan Hale Jr.

MPPuzzler said...

Interestingly, today's Chicago Tribune issued a correction to the clue for ORL in last Thursday's puzzle, as "The Magic, on scoreboards". A little before that they corrected the clue for STROS reflecting their switch from the NL to the AL.

I guess someone there reads this blog!

Jerome said...

Apparently the Ice Princess wanted to be with a real man. In that case the question is, did "The ICEMAN COMETH?" Yeah, I know, my morel compass just went south.

Bluehen said...

Started off gangbusters. Like Splynter the longest answers came easier than many of them shorter ones. Thought I must have been on BW's wavelength until I got to the southeast corner. That corner took as long as all the rest of the puzzle! Couldn't come up with CHIVALRY for the life of me, though I knew when it finally revealed itself I was going to hate myself. Actually, I don't hate myself as much as I hate growing older. Of course, when you consider the alterative. . . Finally finished without out help, so I got to enjoy my "Tada moment". Great puzzle Mr. Wilber. Informative and entertaining expo, Splynter. Thanks to both.

Bluehen said...

"the shorter ones", obviously. Damn spellcheck.

Avg Joe said...

It's always something out here on the prairie. I just found the biggest painted turtle I've seen in my life in our garage. His shell was 7 1/2" from front to rear. I got him back outdoors and headed toward the nearby pond.

At least it wasn't the 18" snapper I found in there a couple of years ago.

Argyle said...

Dang it! Missed the Tunbridge(VT) World Fair again this year. It was last week. Anyway, one demostration on Antique Hill is a pump log borer making wooden pipes.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Very tough. It has been a tough week for me. For some reason my Xwd mojo has flown. This one took three lookups, so only came in at 94%. But when I look at the result, I think it should have been 98 or 100% - and would have been if I'd been in the zone.

TOE was my first entry point, and then, just as Splynter says, I found the long fills easier than the short ones. BUCKET LIST and ENEMY LINES were easy. I cheated to get DIES IRAE, although I should have got that one. I knew the answer but was unwilling to scratch deep enough.

ACH du Lieber!

Ol' Man Keith said...

I didn't know the horse-race meaning of MAIDEN, nor anything about the fruit called YUZU (had PLUM 1st) so I thank Mr. Wilber for the learning points. I liked the cleverness of the RED SEA clue and of the clue for JIG.
Not a fan of HEH. Of the clue or the answer.
And my hand is up for TEEN before SOPH.

See ya next week...

tiptoethru said...

This one was not a breeze! I toiled and slogged and scratched my head until the only clues left were mostly in the SE corner. So, here I am---where the answers are fun and the comments are "funner!" Gramma Jean, I had seat belts too, but thought that was way too easy for a Saturday answer. But I left it there for quite a while. I knew the British had wooden water pipes, but went with tin anyway. Now that the empty spaces are filled, I can head to the laundry chores. Such is life.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle a lot. It was very difficult for me, and at first I despaired of ever getting a single answer. Then CZECHS, which I knew, showed up, giving me RUTH BUZZ_ and CHIVALRY. Then LEIA and DIES IRAE and my despair began to dissipate. I like chipping away at a crossword puzzle like this. Thank you, Brad Wilbur, for another fine effort.

Thank you, Splynter, for another fine writeup. I have never failed to enjoy reading what you have to say.

And now I shall read what all the rest of you have to say.

Jayce said...

Dang, I just noticed I left the letter crossing _UZU and OBE_ blank. I've never heard of YUZU, I confess. Jump? "How high, sir?"

My favorite Pittsburgh Pirate is/was Kent Tekulve, whose pitching was a pleasure to watch.

Argyle said...

Tunbridge
At 2:01 in the slide show is the wood pipe being augured.

Argyle said...

Autocorrect strikes again. Augured should have been augered.

Bill G. said...

That was a typical Saturday puzzle for me; enjoyable in parts, but no theme and hard enough that I needed some help to finish. Hand up for 'lollygagger.'

We had a strange and expensive hassle yesterday. We had solar panels installed on our roof and a couple of screws and nails were accidentally left in our driveway, one of which ended up in Barbara's 2011 Yaris's tire. She decided to take her car to the local Toyota dealer with whom she had a pretty good relationship. I told her to get the tire patched instead of replaced. When she came back, she told me the service manager told her the tires were cracked and needed to be replaced, all four tires! I couldn't believe it. We went back to the dealer, I picked up one of the tires and took it to a local tire guy who I trusted. He agreed that the tires were compromised and should have been replaced. So then I wasn't upset with the Toyota service manager anymore but I wondered why three-year-old Goodyear tires with 8,800 miles would have a problem? So, I will be talking to one or two of the Toyota service bosses and customer service types to see if they agree and will provide some sort of financial relief. I guess the good news is that we are in a position not to be financially devastated by such an occurance.

HeartRx said...

Gramma Jean @ 9:33, oh yeah, I had that mistake too…

Argyle @ 10:34, oh yeah, I had that mistake, too…

Irish Miss, I guess there are a lot of expressions like that in New England. My favorite one is, “I was busier than a one-legged indian in an a**-kicking contest.”

Bill G. said...

Hand up for not knowing YUZU either. Thanks Brad and Splynter.

Jayce, was Kent Tekulve the sidearm submariner? If so, I remember him too.

It's much cooler here this week. The high temperatures are in the low to middle 70s. Whew!

Splynter, when I was younger, I wasn't mature enough and clever enough to read the signals sent by the opposite sex. I'm still no expert but I'm a little wiser now. Trust me, getting your back scratched is about equivalent to her saying, "Why don't you call me sometime?"

Rick said...

For me, this one was Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaard!

Jayce said...

Bill G, that would be he. The way his body twisted when he pitched was amazing to watch. The son of a friend of ours who played in Little League with our son pitched just like that!

Splynter, probably yes, but go slow and don't come on too strong. Have you told her it feels good and you like it?

HeartRx, I used once used that "busier than a one-legged man" expression while chatting (on the phone) with an English colleague and he seemed totally unimpressed. His response to me was "Why, he could just lie on his back and kick all the arse he wants!" I just rolled my eyes, knowing he couldn't see it over the phone.

Dudley, I see Czech led you to Ruth Buzzi also. I guess we're both persons of a certain age, though you sure seem to be a good 15-20 years younger than I.

Anonymous said...

I'm busier than a one armed paper hanger.

Jayce said...

Anonymous @ 3:55 PM, yep, there's that one, too.

CrossEyedDave said...

Argyle, thanks for the fair pictures, that looks like a lot of fun! Unfortunately now I feel sorry I missed it too... Wait a sec, if a gallon of syrup weighs 11 lbs, does that mean it contains 3 lbs of sugar?

Bill G, your nail in the driveway story struck a nerve. The same thing happened to me, but I just got the tire fixed. It did however remind of the good luck bad luck indian chief story, however when I tried to find it the Indian Chief has turned into a Chinese farmer?

Hmm, I don't know what this (above) website is, but I may be here a while. I just clicked on one of the recent additions & found this.

inanehiker said...

This one was extremely slooooow, but eventually finished, which made it all the more satisfying, as I thought at first-- just throw up your hands and go to the blog!!

Really didn't like the clue for "heh" and didn't find it later by looking it up, but knew it must be right because of the cross with heli-port.

Bruce D. said...

Splynter! MAIDEN in the puzzle, and no shout-out to your favorite band OF ALL TIME?! C'mon, man!

Up the Irons!

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling" thoughts ...
**today's xword went pretty smoothly and quickly; perps helped me in most all quadrants - no look-ups or WAGS - but I did go LENTO when I couldn't remember how Ruth spelled her last name (BUZZI).
**write-overs included FILET before TBONE; RESTS before LENTO; and of course my near Natick when I misspelled BUZZI
**Having spent a few years in Pittsburgh, STARGELL was a gimme; met him once in 1974 I believe. The man was HUGE. I shook his hand and it felt like he was wearing his baseball glove - his hand was twice as big as mine, easy. But also one of the nicest sports figures I've met; he was very respectful and did not come across as an ego-filled jerk

** looks like the Pirates might repeat as a Wild Card in the NL playoffs. They had gone from 1993-2012 without a playoff appearance, and each of those years they had a losing record (sub .500)

**enjoy the rest of the weekend; be back next week ...

Spitzboov said...

Good evening everyone.

Finally solved a Wilbur puzzle without cursing.
After establishing a firm anchor at OTTAWA, the solve took root and slowly spread S and W. Brno people are Moravians. Moravia and Bohemia make up the CZECH republic. So, of course, they are Czechs. When I was a kid, our neighbors were Czechs from Brno. Somehow they had been allowed to emigrate after the Nazi invasion.
Liked TETHER and C'EST LA VIE.
YUZU was a 1st for me.

Bill G - Sorry about your tire degradation problem.
I have used only Michelins on our cars for the last 25 years. One time we bought a new used car which came with another brand of tire. I negotiated a price concession so we could equip it with Michelins after purchase.
On a recent new car purchase, I wanted Michelins but the dealer couldn't guarantee it. Luckily it came through with Michelins. I probably would have been happy with Pirelli's, too.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

This one killed me. Cheated a lot!

Went to luncheon for faculty emeriti from Science and Math, yesterday. Had to get up at the crack of dawn (for me). That hour Thurs. to have hair done. Didn't last very well.

Anybody watching The Intruders? Like John Simm a lot but this ne is rather depressing.

Cheers!

Bill G. said...

Here's what happened to a foul ball from Derek Jeter. Foul ball

Kitties and bunnies Love among the animals

Blue Iris said...

STARGELL? Lallygag equals DOGSIT? YUZA?( Has anyone here used this Asian citrus fruit?

I consider myself a novice crossword solver and only started doing puzzles after I was confined to home a couple of years ago. I was proud of myself when I knew C"EST LA VIE (I never took French), ANTONYMS ,DIES IRAE, WAN , DAR, TEEM, and LENTO (musical education lacking). I knew these right away from just learning crosswordese.

Interestiiinnng.... RUTH BUZZI fill gave me CZECH.

MY son ate a spoonful of WASABI before someone could stop him. Not good!

Hope everyone is having a nice fall weekend. My husband, Dennis, just finished making a ramp from the backdoor. Much better for me than steps.

Blue Iris said...

My husband (40-something at the time) was working as a post master in a small Kansas town. A college girl would come and visit while picking up her mail daily. My husband made the comment that he had a coupon from the new restaurant and we were going there to eat that night. She said, "I'll go with you and you don't even have to have a coupon." My husband come home and said, Did she COME ON TO me?" We laughed. A few weeks later , I was going to meet her but decided not to because I had feelings like I might kill her.

Lucina said...

Blue Iris:
That's really funny. I enjoyed your story.