google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, September 18, 2014 Julian Lim

Gary's Blog Map

Sep 18, 2014

Thursday, September 18, 2014 Julian Lim

Theme:


18-Across. "Take your time" : NICE AND EASY. I immediately thought of this.

24-Across. 1993 film loosely based on the Jamaican bobsled team : COOL RUNNINGS. I never saw the film, but who doesn't know the team?!?

46-Across. NCAA regional semifinals, familiarly : SWEET SIXTEEN. National Collegiate Athletic Association. Basketball.

55-Across. Green-skinned movie villain : WICKED WITCH. From "The Wizard of Oz."

In this puzzle, the reveal is placed smack in the middle of the grid:
37-Across. Beginning auspiciously ... like 18-, 24-, 46- and 55-Across? : OFF TO A GOOD START. The theme refers to synonyms, or slang terms, for "GOOD."  NICE is easily substituted for GOOD. COOL and SWEET are relatively modern slang terms.  But I was surprised to find out that WICKED as a synonym for "good" is regional to Boston! (OK, I confess - I have used the term.)


Across

1. Scavenging seabird : ERN.

4. "You gotta be kidding me!" : AW, MAN!

9. "Cast Away" star : HANKS. Other than "Wilson," his basketball volleyball sidekick, Tom HANKS was basically a one-man show in that movie. [Correction - thanks to Anon. @ 11:24]

14. With 12-Down, Rodin sculpture : THE. and 12-Down. See 14-Across : KISS.

15. "__ the big deal?" : WHAT'S.

16. Bustling : ABOIL.

17. Sound that may be averted by holding one's breath : HIC. Or not drinking the whole bottle...

20. Machu Picchu dweller : INCA.

22. Mashed taro, mostly : POI. The only other ingredient is water!

23. Promising words : OATHS.

27. Cry : WEEP.

28. Graphic beginning? : GEO.graphic.

29. Sass : LIP.

32. Watch carefully : GUARD.

34. Equipped : ABLE.

36. __ wave : SINE.

40. Works on, as homework : DOES.

41. Vocalist Vannelli : GINO. Never heard of him.

42. Heavy reading? : TOMES. Literally!

43. Ukr., once : SSRSoviet Socialist Republic. Ukraine ceased to be one with the dissolution in 1991.

44. Disney World visitor's airport, on bag tags : ORL.ando.

45. Bluish hue : CYAN. RGB = 0, 255, 255.

51. Acadia National Park locale : MAINE. Gimme!

53. Word with game or room : WAR.

54. Like lingerie models : SEXY. I would have added the word "most" before "lingerie models."

58. __City: computer game : SIM.

59. Bull on a glue container : ELMER. Borden's originally made ELMER's glue. Elmer was so named because he was supposedly the mate of "Elsie" the cow, another Borden's logo.

60. Beaufort __ : SCALE. Measurement of wind force.

61. World Cup cheer : OLÉ.

62. Anoint : BLESS.

63. Celebrated 2014 sports retiree : JETER. Derek is playing his 20th (and final) season with the New York Yankees, winning many awards during his stint.

64. Site site : NET.


Down

1. Moral code : ETHIC.

2. Safari sight : RHINO.

3. Colorful candy since 1847 : NECCO WAFER. NECCO = New England Confectionary Company. Their plant in Revere, MA is unmistakeable.

4. Grass bristle : AWN.

5. Throw together : WHIP UP. I like to WHIP UP a frittata every so often, throwing together whatever I have in the 'fridg.

6. Georgia's __-Bibb County : MACON. Bibb county just merged with MACON this year, after the referendum was approved in 2012.

7. Enjoyed some home cooking : ATE IN.

8. Codebreaker's org. : NSANational Security Agency.

9. Tried one's hand : HAD A GO.

10. Provides inside information for, say : ABETS.

11. 2014 Russell Crowe title role : NOAH. Have not seen this latest epic from director Aronofsky.

13. Foxy : SLY.

19. "You don't have to" : NO NEED.

21. They may be red : ALERTS.

25. More than modify : REDO. Would that be a "mulligan," Husker G.?

26. Dome-shaped abode : IGLOO.

29. "Love Actually" co-star : LIAM NEESON. It's all about love...actually.

30. Memo words : IN RE.

31. Chinchillas, at times : PETS.

32. "American __": Neil Gaiman novel : GODS. Hugo and Nebula award-winning fantasy novel. Anyone read it?

33. Sci-fi staples : UFOS.

34. Like acrobats : AGILE. I would have added the word "most" before "acrobats."

35. "__ appétit!" : BON.

36. Weasel kin : STOATS.

38. "It's a deal!" : AGREED.

39. Charon's river : STYX.

44. Title holders : OWNERS.

45. Group with a common bond : CIRCLE.

46. "Oliver Twist" bad guy : SIKES. Despicable "friend" of Fagan's, who beat his dog until the dog needed stitches. He got his just desserts in the end, though.

47. Double : TWICE.

48. Grabbed a stool next to : SAT AT.

49. Banishment : EXILE.

50. Queens athlete, for short : NY MET.

51. Flour producer : MILL.

52. Peak : ACME. It's always an apex/ACME dilemma for me.

55. Site site : WEB.

56. Paper with NYSE news : WSJ. New York Stock Exchange news is covered in the Wall Street Journal.

57. Part of HRH : HER. Royal Highness.

That's all for now!
Marti


Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to Marti's husband Allen! Hope you can take a day off working on the next door house and enjoy this special day.




Allen (Ole Miss alum) mentioned he yelled this when he was 8 years old:

Hotty Toddy
Are you ready?
Hell yea!
Damn right!
Hotty Toddy, gosh almighty,
Who the hell are we?
HEY!
Flim Flam, Bim Bam, OLE MISS GOD DAMN!


65 comments:

  1. Orlando's airport code isn't ORL but MCO-- it use to be a military base before becoming an airport, the code MCO stands for McCoy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This was a nice, i mean cool, no sweet, actually wicked fun puzzle. The write up was mighty fine like the pudding of my youth.

    I had no recollection of Liam Neeson, the action hero du jour being in Love Actually but it is always fun to see complete names and his was evident with a little peep help.

    Necco Wafers are also a good childhood memory. Thanks Julian and Marti and HBD to Allen, you have Marti as your yearlong present

    ReplyDelete
  3. Morning, all!

    I found this to be, for the most part, way too easy for a Thursday. There were a few potential bumps, but in each case the perps were rock solid.

    Like Lemonade, I didn't know that LIAM NEESON was in Love Actually (to be honest, I never saw the movie and don't know anybody in it), but with LIAMN in place it was pretty easy to guess.

    Vocalist VANELLI would have tripped me up, since I only know about Milli Vanilli (and yes, I know it's spelled differently), except that this same clue appeared in another puzzle recently (perhaps in the NYT).

    As for WICKED... I actually did pause there, figuring that it couldn't possibly be right. I mean, I'm from the Boston area and have used it all my life, but I couldn't believe it would be clued in a national crossword that way. Go figure...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh -- NECCO Wafers are also local to Boston. Is Julian Lim a Bostonian by any chance?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Barry C.C. interviewed the Singapore based Mr. Lim here interview who came to the US to study and could well have studied in Boston.

    ORL is the.code.for Orlando's train station, but MCO is the correct code at the airport

    ReplyDelete
  6. Good morning, gang - I thought this was a nice Thursday offering albeit a bit on the easy side. Got off to a happy start with NECCO WAFERS -- can't tell you how many rolls of the chocolate ones I've put away. I needed perps for COOL RUNNINGS, a movie I'm not familiar with. For me anyway, the theme reveal didn't provide much help, as the theme clues were pretty self-explanatory. And it's nice to see Liam Neeson in the puzzle; I really like him in the roles he's had lately.

    My only hesitation was with 48D, 'Grabbed a stool next to' -- SAT BY seems more appropriate than SAT AT. Besides that nit, I thought it was another solid effort from Julian.
    Today was supposed to be a deep-sea fishing day, but it got canceled last night due to the potential for nasty weather offshore. Good day for a book, and I just started reading The Means by Douglas Brunt, a behind-the-scenes (fictional) look at Presidential elections. Has anyone here read it?

    Happy Birthday, Allen - and as Lemonade said, you've already got a great present.

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good morning!

    Zipped right through this one. All the way to the DNF. My computer game was SIn CITY and my Queens athlete was a NY nET. [sigh]

    I did not know that the witched wick had green skin. That's what happens when you're color-blind. WICKED is also used to mean good in the Harry Potter books -- I think Ron Weasley uses it.

    When mom whipped up something from the fridge she often called it mustgos -- this must go and this must go...

    Marti, please pass on happy birthday wishes to Allen from the Cornerites.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I will pass along the good wishes to Allen - thanks! But it is a little early - his birthday is actually tomorrow. (Thanks for thinking of him, C.C.!!)

    We will celebrate on Sunday by attending an Oktoberfest event at The Vienna restaurant. The food is bound to be authentic, and I believe The Stratton Mountain Boys will be taking up their oom-pah instruments to provide music. Should be lots of fun!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Good morning everybody!

    This was a good puzzle, with only a few mystery words for me: SIKES SINE wave, Beaufort SCALE, Vocalist GINO Vannelli.

    I couldn't figure out how WICKED fit in with the other good words. But now that I've read the blog it makes sense. I used to hear kids say something was "WICKED" when they thought it was cool - but that was many moons ago.

    Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  10. where as most travelers have MCO on their luggage tags. ORL does refer to an airport in Orlando Florida. ORL is Orlando Executive Airport. Not sure how many commercial or charter flights fly in and out of this airport. I venture to guess that at least one Disney visitor in a million flies into this airport. I know the last time I went to Disney in Florida my family and I flew into MCO.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Marti,
    I'm hopeless! Alan, Bama, now wrong date.

    Ergo,
    Same with Marti, I've shelved themes because I can't make a workable set.

    Pje,
    Can you email me (crosswordc@gmail.com)?

    ReplyDelete
  12. Happy birthday a day late, DO.
    Grabbed a stool and sat next to the bar/ SAT AT the bar.
    Although WICKED was a uniquely New England phrase it has now spread to other states. I've heard it here in NJ in everyday speech and in business names, Wicked Good Spice Mixes, Trenton, NJ.
    Wicked Good Restaurant, Lehighton, PA.
    Many CA business call themselves WICKED GOOD. For example:
    Wicked Good Print Productions, SF, CA.
    Wicked Good Pizza, Vista, CA.
    And many more.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi Y'all! Enjoyed the puzzle, Julian. Great expo, Marti.

    Never ever heard WICKED used for good out here in the boonies. But then we don't have the mafia here either. We have a lot of creeps and criminals who I think are wicked but not good.

    I though Hugh Grant was in "Love Actually". Didn't fit. I'm about to decide maybe I didn't see the movie, which I know is BillG's favorite.

    Never heard of GINO Vanelli, but he's GOOD to look at and listen to. Looks like he might be slightly WICKED.

    Hand up for nETS before METS.

    Never had a NECCO WAFER. They do sell out here I think. I just liked something else.

    ReplyDelete
  14. That was a Wicked puzzle in a number of ways. Not too bad for a Thursday.

    NECCO Wafers were a long time ago favorite, but who remembers the NECCO Sky Bar? It was the first candy with 4 distinct fillings. This was my favorite nickel candy bar and still is at a dollar. They are hard to find but some candy stores and Wegmans have them.

    I hope everyone has a nice, cool, sweet, wicked day.

    ReplyDelete
  15. jbeatioc4beach, I never knew Necco made Sky Bars. I loved them back in the day, although I'd only eat three sections, excluding the peanut one, which was always between the vanilla and fudge.

    For some reason, Sky Bars made me think of Nik-L-Nips, those wax bottles with flavored syrup inside. We'd drink the syrup, then chew the wax for a while. Simple pleasures.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ergo (a.k.a. Husker Chuck)September 18, 2014 at 10:10 AM


    Pretty straightforward for a Thursday.

    Classic candies chatter brought to mind "Hippie-Sippie." Little chocolate BB's that were sucked up through a straw. We'd end up aspirating several by accident and then hacking up chocolate colored phlegm for a couple of days. The FDA eventually (and wisely) pulled the product.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I'm a retired airline pilot as well as retired military. You got me with ORL vs MCO. Was it a mistake or just a clever mislead? I do like your blog. Makes me feel rather dumb at times.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good Morning:

    A fairly easy Thursday offering, no bumps or nits. Liked Maine above wicked-that is such a common expression Down East. Nice mention of Jeter, a class act and nice mention of one of Bill G's favorite movies, Love, Actually. Nice job, Mr. Lim and ditto, Marti.

    Dennis, I don't know if you are aware of this tidbit but Douglas Brunt is married to Megyn Kelly, of Fox News. In fact, he was on her show recently, promoting his book. Let us know if you like it.

    We're enjoying a picture-perfect September day: sunny, cool, and clean and crisp!

    Have a great day.



    ReplyDelete
  19. Ergo, I never heard of those, so I looked them up. Here's what Wiki said: "Hippy Sippy was a candy introduced in the late 1960s. It derived its name from its packaging: small multi-colored pellets contained in a toy package syringe.[1][2] The intent was to mimick drug usage in the hippie culture, primarily through the toy syringe being a reminder of heroin, and secondarily through the multi-colored candy being a reminder of uppers and downers." It's no wonder they were short-lived.

    AFHerkdriver, how long did you drive 130's? I always loved that plane, in spite of the noise in the back. Had some great rides in them.

    ReplyDelete
  20. "puzzling thought (singular)"

    **WEES - The clue (44A) clearly states, "Disney World visitor's airport on bag tags". Even if Disney World visitors would fly into ORL (the Executive Airport for Orlando), I doubt their bags would have been "tagged". Anyone flying in there would be on a private plane - no need for bag tags. MCO is the correct answer; probably should have had an edit before publishing.

    Rant over . . . no limerick today; not inspired . . . must be all of this gloomy/rainy weather we're having . . .

    ReplyDelete
  21. Sometimes ignorance really is bliss. I had the R and L from crosses, and didn't think at all while throwing in ORL (though I was expecting the clue to be for URL). Agree that, as it's clued, it's plain wrong.

    Still, it was a fun romp with lots to like and Thu level all the way.

    Thanks IM for reminding me of where I've heard "Wicked Good". It's the descriptor used in the promotional material for my L.L. Bean slippers... from Maine.

    I'm pretty sure that Trader Joe's also uses the term, but not as certain.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Irish Miss, yes, I did know the connection; matter of fact, it's one of the reasons I bought the book. I love 'behind the scenes' stuff, especially when the author has access. Although denied, one of the characters is said to be patterned after Megyn, and I have to admit, I'm a bit taken with her. Amazingly smart and quick, and certainly one good-looking woman.

    If it's something you think you'd enjoy reading, I'd be glad to send it to you when I finish.

    ReplyDelete
  23. In re "wicked", I note that "bad" is (or was) a U.S. slang term for "good".

    Reversals happen all the time. We also have "killer", "mean" and "terrific" to mean good (or even better). I am sure there are many more.

    Classic examples in other contexts include:

    "Nice", which meant "stupid" in Middle English; and

    "Awful", which was once more or less synonymous with "awesome", meaning "inspiring awe"; but they have diverged to opposite (though watered-down) meanings today.

    NC

    ReplyDelete
  24. P.S.

    It's the BIG VOTE today, but I suspect that the Scots will be way too canny to vote YES to independence, when they are being offered further devolved powers without having to deal with the burdens of (their share of) the national debt, defense, a new currency, uncertainty of being accepted in the E.U., etc.

    P.P.S. That was not a political statement.

    NC

    ReplyDelete

  25. Drat. I worked really hard on this Julian Lim puzzle and almost got the whole thing, but in the end had to cheat and look up BEAUFORT SCALE. Like Dennis, I thought SAT BY fit better, and I should have gotten TWICE instead of fooling around with TWINS. Still, fun theme--thanks, Julian, and you too Marti, for your always delightful expos.

    Wish Allen a happy birthday for us, tomorrow!

    Have a great Thursday, everybody!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Super quick solve for a Thursday, only hesitation was Net/Met & Sin/Sim.

    Insignificant clarification: Wilson was a volleyball in Cast Away.

    I used to enjoy Pete's Wicked Ale - but it's been 15+ years since I've had/seen one.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I saw Julian Lim & groaned, but I actually got off to a very good start with this puzzle. Filled in 90% before the puzzling began!

    Unlike

    these

    people

    On the lighter side...

    Oh wait, I forgot one....

    Allen, Happy Birthday tomorrow! (Sorry about the premature cake...)

    Marty, I started watching your bad acrobats link, but then I got sidetracked with this one on the sidebar. Amazingly language is not a barrier...

    & as a public service announcement, I give you The Empty Pickle Jar. (I love pickles, so I thought this was going to be a downer...)

    ReplyDelete
  28. Greetings!

    (Can't believe that I woke up at 7:30. Can't go back to sleep.)

    Great puzzle, Julian! Smart expo, Marti, as usual!

    Saw GINO recently in some puzzle, also.

    NECCO WAFERS was mostly perps. Did not have candy as a kid. Did not buy candy for my kids. (Sigh.)

    Had to leave AC on to go to sleep. Woke up freezing. (That will be remedied soon, I'll wager. It has been over 105 degrees for way too many days.)

    Anybody see Extant last night?

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Others seem to have found it easy, but this was strangely difficult for me. Maybe it's that I'm feeling a bit under the weather today. My ol' brain just didn't want to make any leaps, even tiny ones.

    Still, I appreciated the good write up by Marti.

    ReplyDelete
  30. fermatprime@ 11:42,

    Yes, I enjoyed Extant last night. A fine season ending, although a tad predictable. I was only an occasional viewer, but it seems well written for a pop series.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Hello, puzzlers. Waaaay late to the dance today due to oversleeping. Felt WICKED good.

    For being a Julian Lim creation, this was NICE AND EASY but was bit IFF TI A GOOD START. After filling the NW, I skipped, hopped and moved around until finding a foothold in the south and working my way up.

    My ignorance of sports dogs me and so NYNETS/SIN seemed as good as not.

    Thank you to Julian whose puzzles usually daunt me and to Marti for a lively expo. Happy birthday to Alan tomorrow.

    I hope you all are having an awesome Thursday!

    ReplyDelete
  32. I must not be entirely awake! That should read, I was not OFF TO A GOOD START.

    Oh, oh. The captcha is back to undecipherable words.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hi everybody. Yes, Love Actually is one of my favorite movies. Liam Neeson played the father of the young boy who was so totally lost and in love. Neeson was a very sympathetic character, unlike most of the action characters in his more recent movies.

    Here is a great lip sync battle among Jimmy Fallon, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani from last night. My favorites were the first (Puttin on the Ritz including a cowboy boot tap dance), Spike Jones' Cocktails for Two and Lionel Ritchie/Diana Ross duet, Endless Love with Stefani and Shelton taking the opposite parts. I thought it was really entertaining stuff. I hope you enjoy it. Lip Sync

    ReplyDelete
  34. ORL is in fact the airport code for Orlando Executive Airport. MCO is the code for Orlando International Airport.
    Constructors and editors always check their facts when cluing. Solvers... well, some solvers just like to say "Gottcha!"... even when they don't.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Straight-forward puzzle today until I hit the south central area.

    Beaufort SOUND before SCALE, hand up for trying to use TWINS before DOUBLE, and SIN before SIM City.

    ORL was a WAG but I agree that the cluing is incorrect.

    I remember watching COOL RUNNINGS with my sons. They loved it!

    I don't think we have NECCO WAFERS here but I am not a big candy eater.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Jerome @1:46 - see Chairman Moe @ 10:26 for why we think the cluing for ORL is problematic.

    ReplyDelete
  37. C.C., it was sweet of you to think of him, with everything else you have on your plate!!

    (Whenever there is a Mississippi - Alabama game now, the cats know enough to stay out of the living room)

    ReplyDelete
  38. Sorry, Canadian, Moe is simply flat out wrong and you're grasping at straws with him. ORL has not one, but two baggage claim areas. Obviously many people check their bags in and claim them later. Why would anyone presume those bags aren't tagged for identification?

    ReplyDelete
  39. The evil doer, Sikes, got his JUST DESSERTS. Funny, that used to be written JUST DESERTS, what he justly deserved. This use of DESERTS is becoming so uncommon that DESSERTS is sometimes used instead. Speak about changes in the English language! Both are now correct. But I continue to feel baddies should get NO DESSERTS, neither pudding nor pie, for being so evil, that is their JUST DESERTS.
    A local women's club had a social called JUST DESERTS (sic) DESSERTS.
    Sounded kinda dry to me.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Fun puzzle - thanks for the expo, Marti.

    Funny how often these coincidences come up, but last night I was fiddling around with a theme idea where WICKED WITCH was one of the theme entries, and I was Googling "Wicked good" because it was a line I remembered hearing in a movie. Then along I come here a few hours later and ....

    ReplyDelete


  41. CED - Your links were magnificent, as usual. I'm glad I came by.

    I had seen the lithe and agile Ukrainian pole dancer, (in the talent contest), before, but it was still a pleasure to watch her again. Somewhat rather exotic for my taste - but you have to admire her for her extremely hard work, dedication and stamina.

    Thank you also for the "Pickle Jar". I must show that video to my wife, my kids, my brothers, my SILs, my neighbor's kids, .... and I must watch again, myself, at least once a week. Thank you.

    Thank you Marti for a very nice blog, for quite a difficult puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  42. ORL baggage carousal

    I still agree the average Disney visitor doesn't use this airport.

    ReplyDelete
  43. This was a very enjoyable puzzle. I originally had NYMET, but then I thought the game must be SIN City, so I changed it to NYNET. Alas, it was a DNF because of that.

    CED - Thank you for the Empty Pickle Jar. A concept everyone should live by.

    Bill G - Loved the lip sync link.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Dennis @ 11:05 - I agree with you on Megyn's intelligence, poise and her stunning good looks. She is from my area as is another intelligent, articulate and poised young woman, Kirsten Gillibrand, our Junior Senator from New York. I saw her yesterday on Charlie Rose.

    I'll take you up on your kind offer when you are finished with The Means, if you think it's worth reading. Thank you.

    CED - Loved The Empty Pickle Jar.

    Just got back from the doctor after getting two cortisone injections in the base of both of my thumbs. ACK!

    ReplyDelete
  45. Hola Everyone, A few glitches today, but I did manage to finish with two lookups in Google.

    I've been doing the puzzles, but haven't had time to come to the blog except to quickly read the entries.

    I had three or four missteps today so had to erase several times. Hogan for Igloo, Wail for Weep and Couldn't figure anything for Beaufort except something from South Carolina. We've been there and there is a shore, many inns, and is very picturesque. Nothing would fit.

    I haven't heard of Gino Vannelli, but that filled in with the perps.

    I'll read the rest of the blog later.

    Off to buy my husband a new suit. He has been putting this off for way too long!

    Have a great day, everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  46. Before I go, Happy Birthday to Allen, and thanks Marti for the great writeup today.

    ReplyDelete
  47. CED:
    As always your links are enjoyable and funny; I especially liked the empty pickle job.

    BillG:
    That lip sync video was great, too.

    Thank you both for providing us with entertainment. And now I've wasted way too much time.

    ReplyDelete
  48. I guess I just don't get it at all. I thought I knew what auspiciously meant, and after looking up the definition seeing that I was correct, I don't understand how 37A clue relates to the reveal at all, or the rest of the theme answers. But since all of you do, then I can only conclude that I'm wrong and just don't get it.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Agree with those who think that the MCO/ORL clue is technically correct, but seems like an odd clue if the constructor knew that the major airport was MCO. It could have been written slightly differently, something like, "the other airpt. at Disney World."

    Also agree that the SATAT clue goes more with SATBY than SATAT.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Some days you get the bear....other days.....well.

    Today, I got the answer to final Jeopardy. Not bad since 2 of 3 contestants didn't.. A minor point of pride, but I wasn't in the game so it's moot.. But I clearly am wrong, wrong, wrong on the validity of the clue for ORL.

    Tomorrow, I shall try harder.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Musings
    -My Goodness, a woman actually expected me to teach today! I had to prepare three lessons and had some other things to do but the kids were wonderful. Oh well, I thought I’d at least put in something…
    -Julian’s puzzle was fun at a Thursday level
    -Getting to the SWEET SIXTEEN can save a coach’s job
    -HANKS lost copious amounts of weight to play that Castaway role
    -Sneaking up behind a student a yelling BOO will get rid of those HIC’s. I first went for PEW holding your nose.
    -I’ve had MCO (not ORL) and OMA on many a bag in my travels with kids
    -I drive an ACADIA
    -Interesting lingerie Marti!
    -I haven’t had a NECCO since…
    -You have to “take the temperature” of the foursome for mulligan’s, gimmes and tee honors, Marti!
    -Me too on wax bottles with syrup, Dennis
    -HBD Allen! Isn’t Marti like a present everyday?

    ReplyDelete
  52. I thought this was easy for a Thursday. Thanks, Julian. Excellent expo, Marti.

    I rarely fly so I had no idea of the airport designations.

    I remember having Necco Wafers. Haven't seen them in years, but I haven't looked for them, either.

    Happy Birthday tomorrow, Allen. Hope you have many more.

    This is a working weekend at the parent's place so I'll be back Monday night. Have a great weekend.

    Pat

    ReplyDelete
  53. "Constructors and editors always check their facts when cluing. Solvers... well, some solvers just like to say "Gottcha!"... even when they don't."

    So, is it fair to say that constructors and editors are never wrong? Interesting. Jerome?

    ReplyDelete
  54. It is getting that time of year to pick apples. Or drink coffee and eat caramels. How do you like dem apples?

    ReplyDelete
  55. Just for s&g's let's imagine for a moment that the airport clue was: "tag info for a National Western Stock Show attendant" or some such.

    OK, now let's imagine that the answer was APA, not DEN. Would that be wrong? Of course not. Centennial is known to be one of the busiest GA airports in the country, it's an international airport, and it had 775 movements per day on avg in 2010. By contrast, ORL had an avg of 597 movements per day in the same year. Neither is a slouch by any means, but APA has the edge in traffic by a measurable margin.

    So. The question begs. How many people could be expected to know that APA is the answer without at least 3 perps?

    Granted the answer in this case was entirely intuitive, but it's still genuinely obscure to all but a eensy teensy minority that actually know the airport codes.

    Foul? Prolly not. Unfair? Absolutely.

    I'm done.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Good evening, folks. Thank you, Julian Lim, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Marti, for a fine review.

    Worked this while travelling through Indiana. Almost to Ohio now.

    Happy birthday tomorrow, Allen. That is just in case I forget tomorrow.

    Enjoyed this puzzle. Got through it quite easily for a Thursday.

    I had no problem with the theme. Got the answers without the 37A, but it made sense. Expecting success. Positive outlook. Etc.

    If old Putin has his way, Ukraine may be an SSR again.

    My problem area was Beaufort SCALE. I could not get the TWICE and the CIRCLES for quite a while. Finally Imgot them and SCALE appeared.

    Liked the lively discussion about the airports in Orlando. I got the answer right, not knowing there were two airports. Argyle had a good photo that explains it all.

    In Ohio now. We will stay near Toledo, which is about half way to Johnsonburg. Finish in the morning. It is my wife's 45th High School Reunion. I volunteered to be on the committee. I went last year and it was a ball.

    See you tomorrow from Pennsylvania.

    Abejo

    (2829)

    ReplyDelete
  57. Argyle @ 3:33

    Curious as to where you got your picture? I googled baggage claim at ORL (code for the Executive Airport) and it came up empty. Your photo looks like it's from MCO (the commercial/international airport).

    Jerome @ 3:11

    Please show me where you found two baggage claim areas at the ORL (Executive Airport) facility? I find it surprising that an executive airport that has no commercial flights would have TWO baggage claim areas . . .

    My "guess" - based on having flown into other "Executive" airports (on a non-commercial flight) - is that yes, a tag system could be used by the originating airport. But it would be a pretty "simple" tag, more for bag identification than actually having the airport code on it.

    Most Executive airports have a limited baggage claim area, especially if no commercial carriers fly there. People who disembark from a 6-12 passenger private plane are not going to find the same kind of baggage treatment as they are accustomed to at a commercial airport. Heck, at some places they may even find themselves carrying the bags from the plane themselves.

    I stand by my original comments! Maybe Julian Lim can chirp in here and explain the cluing for this.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Happy belated Birthday, D-Otto!

    Happy early Birthday, Allen! Hope you enjoy making the birthday cake CED provided for you--LOL!

    AGILE-I don't remember what that felt like...

    Stopped having children after the twins. Didn't want to do that TWICE! The "Mother of Twins" representative that visited me in the hospital had 3 sets of twins.

    My husband and kids gave me a powered utensil to WHIP UP eggs.
    Never used and sold in garage sale.

    A friend mentioned he like NECCO WAFERS, in his youth, and had an office full of them the next week. First I heard of them...Guess they also make Valentine conversational hearts.

    We never saw a RHINO while on medical safari (Kenya, 1979) because Idi Amin killed most of them.

    BTW, we like War Eagle MILL in Arkansas. Huge flea market in October yearly.

    Dr. appointments and physical therapy keeping me busy. Husband's football game over, so we're going to watch 3rd night of Roosevelts on DVR.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Hello Puzzlers -

    Late again. Not much to add except I thought of HeartRx immediately when Wicked showed up in the puzzle. I heard "wicked good" a lot in my college days at Lowell (northwest of Boston).

    I bought my first airplane, a humble little Cessna 150, at Orlando Executive (ORL) in 1984. It's definitely not an airport with scheduled service, being much too small for heavy aircraft.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Lucina, Blue Iris and everybody else; I find it surprising how good-quality the old photographs are in The Roosevelts. It's also interesting how 'The Ken Burns Effect' can make a bunch of still photographs much more watchable over a long period of time.

    On a completely different subject, Rescue of a baby swan

    ReplyDelete
  61. When solving this puzzle I read, "Disney World visitor's airport on bag tags." I immediately thought "MCO". When it became clear that it was "ORL", I thought, wow, how wrong is this! I understand Rich's and Jerome's take, but they are wrong. I was a travel agent for 35 years and never once sent anyone to ORL.

    ReplyDelete
  62. When I saw the clue for 44A I immediately wrote ORL because of the Disney connection but with no idea if there was an airport there or not. No problem.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Chairman Moe @ 10 pm
    you are right, that is MCO. I was on ORL site but failed to notice I was switched to MCO. The main site was the official website of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority:
    Orlando International Airport and Orlando Executive Airport

    ReplyDelete
  64. JJM @5:40, auspicious means "giving or being a sign of future success," and "beginning auspiciously" sounds like a good description of "off to a good start." Then each of the others has a synonym for "good" at the beginning ("start") of the answer.

    Does that make sense?

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.