google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, December 3rd 2014 Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

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Dec 3, 2014

Wednesday, December 3rd 2014 Bruce Venzke and Gail Grabowski

Theme: "Alpen Mix" - The first word of the four theme answers is an anagram of these five letters.


17A. Geometry subject : PLANE FIGURE. I'm on one. An Airbus A320, according to "the safety card in the seatback pocket in front of me".

28A. Vertical window dressings : PANEL CURTAINS. I'm not an interior designer, so a new phrase for me. What other kinds of curtains are there?

47A. Carrier based in Kathmandu : NEPAL AIRLINES. Small letter-counting hesitation between LINES and WAYS and then no problem. I'd love to be on an NAL plane to Kathmandu right now, but UAL back to LAX for me.

61A. Place for some exiled prisoners : PENAL COLONY.

Hi all - Steve here, en route home from a visit to Mexico. I still don't understand why there isn't an internet cable trailing out of the back of the airplane and I can still do this! Thoroughly enjoyable puzzle from Gail and Bruce, and I was able to make a fifth anagram from the letters - "Alpen" is a muesli from the UK, so a perfect "mixture" theme title (for me, anyway!).

No "reveal" entry either leaving us to figure it out for ourselves - I didn't see the theme until I was finished, so it was a nice "aha" when I looked for it. Word of the day for me was QUIRKINESS - it was my final fill and all the nicer for trying to puzzle out an odd letter combination.

Across:

1. Quizmaster's request : ANSWER. Seems a little curt for a "request".

7. Enjoy the sun : BASK. I have to confess I've been doing a bit of this over the last few days.

11. Four times a day, in an Rx : QID. OK, if you say so. No clue.

14. Whodunit plot element : MOTIVE. Professor Plum in the library with the lead pipe. Is there a motive in "Clue"? It's so long since I've played the game. It's called "Cluedo" in England, by the way.

15. Aunt Bee's grandnephew : OPIE

16. Verse starter? : UNI. Universe.


19. Portfolio holding, briefly : IRA

20. Upset : SORE

21. Cards with pics : ID'S

22. Cuban bandleader __ Prado, "King of the Mambo" : PEREZ. Here's a quick taste of "Mambo No. 5" in "True Stereo". I think the vocal track needs a little work though.

24. Western tie : BOLO

26. Haughty look : SMIRK

32. LPGA garment : SKORT, Great clue for an odd wardrobe item

34. "Do it, __ will!" : OR I

35. Lose one's cool : SNAP

36. Bud : PAL

37. Where many pioneers headed : OUT WEST

41. U.K. record label : EMI. "Electric and Music Industries Ltd." founded in 1931. (Yes, I had to look that up).

42. More than enough : A LOT

44. Scoreboard letters : RHE. I'm slowly learning. Runs, Hits, Errors. Baseball! Here's the scoreboard from my hometown Dodger Stadium:


45. Initial stage : ONSET

51. Autumn stones : OPALS

52. "What __?" : OF IT

53. "Never needs sharpening" brand : GINSU

55. Certain Ivy Leaguer : ELI

56. Senator Cochran of Mississippi : THAD. Nice to meet you Mr. Thad Cochran.

60. Special forces weapon : UZI

65. Sneaker part : TOE

66. Work on film : EDIT

67. Carol opening : ADESTE. I read today that there's actually a statute dating from 1938 in New York (usually ignored) that you can't sell Christmas trees until December 1st. I'd like to see a statute that you can't play Christmas carols on any public PA until December 24th, and you must stop on December 26th. Bah humbug!

68. '60s antiwar org. : S.D.S.

69. Knocks : RAPS

70. Stacked like Tupperware : NESTED. Not mine, however hard I try. Jumbled in the cupboard with mismatched lids. How does that happen?

Down:

1. Music boosters : AMPS

2. Brief legal plea : NOLO. I think it's short for "Nolo Contendere" but I'm not going to commit to that until I consult with my attorney. I know my rights.

3. Rating symbol : STAR

4. Place offering two-ounce servings : WINE BAR. 2 ozs? That's not even a taste!

5. December 24, e.g. : EVE. Today you can play Adeste Fideles in public, according to Steve's Law.

6. Send an amended 1040, say : RE-FILE

7. Swampy spots : BOGS

8. Calcutta Tech grad on "The Simpsons" : APU

9. Respectful title : SIR

10. "That's yours now" : KEEP IT

11. Eccentricity : QUIRKINESS

12. Memo leadoff : INRE. I'd really like to use this intro, but somehow it doesn't seem appropriate in an email. If we ever went back to typewriters and inter-office memoranda I'd jump at the chance.

13. Cameron of "Bad Teacher" : DIAZ

18. Much-admired one : IDOL

23. Significant stretches : ERAS

25. Not fooled by : ON TO

26. "Fine by me" : SURE

27. Hosp. diagnostics : M.R.I.S

28. Rides during chukkers : POLO PONIES.

29. Cringe : COWER

30. Parents' selection : NAME

31. Polish partner : SPIT

32. Wing measurement : SPAN. They're measured by the bucket in Buffalo, I hear.

33. Farmers' market veggie : KALE

38. River to the Caspian : URAL

39. What we have here : THIS. Cue "Cool Hand Luke" clip.

40. Singer Braxton : TONI

43. Pub hardware : TAPS

46. Plants with stinging hairs : NETTLES. A summertime hazard all over England when I was growing up. You can make nettle soup, but it never tasted of much.

48. "Time After Time" singer : LAUPER. She has a great voice. I'd link the YouTube video but it comes up with a really annoying kids' video game ad first, so I'll spare you that.

49. Take it easy : LOLL

50. Promiser's caveat : IF I CAN. Seems a little squirrelly to add a caveat to a promise.

53. Inner workings : GUTS

54. Tommy Hilfiger rival : IZOD

55. Works on a sub : EATS

57. Quizmaster, e.g. : HOST. Two quizmasters today.

58. Get in on the deal : ANTE

59. Like purple hair : DYED

62. Child expert LeShan : EDA

63. Something in the air, perhaps : NIP

64. Laudatory work : ODE

That's it from me today. California's getting some welcome rain, let's see how many mudslides are triggered - hopefully nothing serious.

Steve


58 comments:

TTP said...


Good morning all.

What was the MOTIVE for this puzzle ? Do you have an ANSWER ? Go ahead and SMIRK. I liked it A LOT !

Did you see the news video about the guy that tried to drive his Mustang across the Golden Gate Bridge... sidewalk ? Got wedged in. Must have spent too much time at the WINE BAR.


Thank you Bruce, Gail and Steve. Fun stuff this AM !

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Today's solve was slow, but doable, and I had no idea what the theme was during or after.

PLANE FIGURE and PANEL CURTAINS seemed like awkward, made-up phrases and I needed a lot of perp help to get them. I'm sure they're both perfectly valid, but they just seemed so odd to me that I was sure the theme involved some sort of tricky, punny word play that I just wasn't getting.

PEREZ was another complete unknown and I hesitated guessing at it since I didn't realize PEREZ could be a first name.

I had a minor setback when I went with GINZU instead of GINSU, but that didn't last long.

Is A LOT really equivalent to "more than enough"? You can never be too rich or too thin, as they say, and I can certainly imagine having A LOT of something but still needing (or at least wanting) more...

JCJ said...

Great fun for a Wednesday morning. It's the holiday season when ADESTE begins showing up.

Lemonade714 said...

Well we have four true anagrams (our local Publix had a section of foods from England and ALPEN is prominently displayed) which is a great Wednesday.

PEREZ PRADO? THAD COCHRAN?

Enjoy all, thanks Steve.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Steve and friends. This felt more like a Monday puzzle to me. I sped through it.

I didn't see that it was an Anagram puzzle, however, until after I finished and tried to find a unifying theme. When I first got PLANE FIGURE, I though we might be going for homonyms. As in Plane/Plain Figure.

Amusing to see Quizmaster twice.

Senator William THAD Cochran's 77th birthday is Sunday, Dec. 7.

QOD: A story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order. ~ Jean-Luc Godard (b. Dec. 3, 1930)

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This one felt like a Monday -- zoom, zoom. I even got the theme when PLANE and PANEL had appeared. Maybe I've got a little Gunderson in me?

RHE made no sense to me, but I let it stand. I get it now.

Back in '58 PEREZ Prado had a big hit with Patricia. Also with Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White. I'd link, but I can't find a decent fidelity version of either.

I'm with Steve when it comes to Christmas music. There's an FM station in Houston that plays ***ONLY*** Christmas music beginning Thanksgiving weekend. My dentist used to use that station as his in-office Muzak. His hygienist quit one December. I'll bet that was the reason. Speaking of that, I'm off for my regular cleaning this morning. Check y'all later.

thehondohurricane said...

Hello again,

Fun puzzle, bt not without a few hold ups. Most of the difficult was in the central section. Never heard of SKORT and I was sure it was wrong. NETTLED & POLO PONIES were also slow to fall. But in the end the crossing O for 45A & 49D did me in. I had entered I for some reason and just never caught it.

So I finished, but with error.

Happy Hump Day

CrossEyedDave said...

Always enjoy learning new words doing a crossword puzzle, Poliponies, I wonder what it means... Uh, er, Skort? (Oh rats...)

Also, 31D, what has spit got to do with Poland? (How rude...)

Oh well, 37A give me an excuse to go dancin' (2:59) Skip the 1st 1:30 if you are in a hurry...

Avg Joe said...

A tale of two puzzles. The fill was enjoyable yet challenging for me. Lots to like. But the theme? Not having heard of Alpen, I had no clue, and anagrams are such base cleverness to me that I have to give it a fail rating overall. Or...what Thumper said.

Steve, I tried any number of Cyndi Lauper clips, and every one had at least a 15 second ad. So, here's Eva Cassidy with a very nice cover. I did get a big chortle out of purple hair and Lauper being in the same grid. I'd guess that was by design.

Yellowrocks said...

Quick and easy today. With PLANE and PANEL I saw the anagram theme. My favorite POLO PONIES reference:
Link POLO PONIES
I have been looking for tier curtains for my remodeled bathroom. All I see in stores are PANEL CURTAINS which are ubiquitous. You can buy tiers online, but I find the computer colors to be very inaccurate. I'd like to actually see them before I buy.
Having taught geometry I know that PLANE FIGURES (two dimensional,not 3-D solids) are also ubiquitous.
SKORTS are shorts with a panel in front to make them look like skirts.You do see them quite a bit in summer.
Link SKORTS
Six snafus with Alan before 8:30 AM. He needlessly ended up staying home from work.

Dan said...

Avg Joe said it all. Constructors think they're clever with these nonsense themes and anagrams. They're not. And can I go a week without seeing a Simpson clue !!! This wasn't a relaxing puzzle for me. On to the next.

Anonymous said...

You didn't need ALPEN to solve the puzzle. It is a title supplied by Steve, a clever one, I think.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

(Cold woke me up early. So I thought I'd chime in after a nice coughing spell.)

Thanks Bruce and Gail and Steve! Fun puzzle. Muddled through it. SKORT: favorite newish word.

Meant to comment on all of the rain in the past few days. Supposed to be one more rainy day. Seemed like a miracle.

Cheers!

JD said...

Good morning all,

Fun puzzle Gail and Bruce, although I wonder how many have heard of Alpen. No problem, I rarely catch on to the theme, especially if it's an anagram. The only real problem Was morphing unordinary into quirkiness. Curtains, Perez and snap said I was OK, but the other 7 letters were agin me. Also had to change is it to of it.

Steve, as always, nice write up. And yes, the rain is heavenly, but it may bring mud slides in places that people should not have built houses.

Big Easy said...

A definite speed run today with only PEREZ being the only unheard of answer. I never saw the theme until I finished and it was easy looking back.

SKORTs or SKORT- Tennis players call them skorts and golfers call it skort. Same thing.

Although it was easy to get, Had never run across the term PANEL CURTAINS. As usual, I can never decide it it is BMI or EMI, and ADA ASA IDA or EDA. I also thought GINSU was spelled with a Z but I already had TAPS in place.

WINE BAR? 2 oz? Get serious. What's the use. I pour 3 oz of gin when I make a double gin&tonic. Personally, I never had seen a wine bar until two weeks ago when I was in San Francisco. There might be some in town, but not where I go. There certainly are none on Bourbon Street.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Nice puzzle from Bruce and Gail today. Saw the theme immediately after segueing from PLANE FIGURE to PANEL CURTAINS. (We've used 'vertical blinds'. Don't know if they're the same.)
NESTED - Our destroyer division would moor NESTED to the pier if the port had insufficient pier space and the outboard ships didn't need to go 'cold iron'.
NETTLES - The Holstein coat-of arms features a silver NETTLE.

Have a good day.

Betty said...

Lemony, thanks for the excellent theme break-down @ 6:55! I really appreciate you adding your 2¢ to Steve's apparently inadequate explication.

Or - is this your way of saying you want the Wednesday write-ups, and Steve can do the Friday ones...?

Lime Rickey said...

Speaking of PLANEs, why is a lazy dog like a sheet of writing paper? Click here (and scroll down to #5).

HeartRx said...

Good morning everyone.

I had to check the constructor's name to be sure this wasn't an offering from Jerome. Even if you don't like anagram puzzles, there was a lot in this one to like - QUIRKINESS, POLOPONIES (a la Norton), and purple hair that is DYED (great visual clue!), among others.

Favorite answer today was WINE BAR. I have been to many, and yes - 2 oz is not a lot, but when you are tasting an entire flight of wines, they do add up!

Great write-up Steve. I loved your take on the theme with "ALPEN mix." That would have been a great unifier!

General Poo Bah of Gooogle said...



This just in ;-D)

Google will soon no longer require the dreaded and dreadful Capchas or Kapchas.

Its extensive research on bloggers ( and non-human A.I. behavior - ) has enabled Goooogle To now tell that you're not a robot with just one click !!! .

Read all about it and rejoice.

(For some of us, let the evil trolling begin.)

For those of us, with a fetish for typing out their Capchas, just continue to type in a jumble of letters and numbers - as usual - if that's how you get your kicks.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Gail and Bruce, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.

This was pretty easy. The theme appeared at the end. I figured it out, OK.

My biggest hangup was the NE corner. Did not know QID, PEREZ, or DIAZ. But with trial and error and a wag or two I got it. First inkblot.

I wrote in TIKI BAR for 4D. Then fixed that to WINE BAR after a perp or two. Second inkblot.

Liked GUTS.

APU was easy once I had BASK, OPIE, and PLANE FIGURE. Piece of cake.

Now I know EMI.

Still not feeling well with this shingles thing. It will pass, or I will.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

(257)

Husker Gary said...

ALPEN anagrams were not in my ken (or Barbie) today. The forest got in the way of the trees!

Musings
-It seems that if you fly out of a NEPAL airport, you’d better get the nose up quickly
-A PENAL COLONY movie I don’t need to see again
-I never get the real MOTIVE until the last minutes of the Perry Mason shows on YouTube
-Those LPGA SKORTS seem to be worn by many great Asian players today
-I did “Lose my cool” with one boy two months ago but handled him much better yesterday. Substitute teacher credo!
-If I hear “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” or “Holly Jolly Christmas” one more time…
-I have seen the Norelco shaver I want to buy have any where from a 0 STAR – 5 STAR rating by users on Consumer Reports
-KEEP IT - “You break it, you bought it”
-A response of “SURE” by a grandchild gets this from Papa, “I’d like either yes, please or no thank you”
-Yup, I remember poloponies and Prado’s hits
-The pre-show of photos at the EPCOT Kodak Pavilion featured LAUPNER’s beautiful True Colors

Husker Gary said...

For regulars here at the blog only:

Our favorite (or not so favorite) city of Natick, MA will now be known not just as a the 7.3 mile mark of the Boston Marathon but also the home of an Institute of VERY HIGH learning. Click on the Academics tab to see what they offer!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Like others, saw the theme after plane and panel. Breezed through with no bumps or write-overs.

Nice job, Gail and Bruce and thanks to Steve for keeping us informed and entertained at the same time!

We have a gloomy, windy day but with mild temps in the upper 40's; not bad for December.

Lucina, is it tamale-making time yet?

YR, Abejo, Ferm, CC, and anyone else who is ailing, feel better soon!

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

HG @9:45 - Just one more sign of a world gone mad, IMO.

Yellowrocks said...

Link panel curtains

Fermatprime, I hope your cold passes quickly. How are you feeling, CC?

Yes, I agree, Marti. Four ounces per taste of 6 wines would do you in.

Ergo said...

Thank you Bruce, Gail and Steve. Today was trash or treasure. I could have done without the breakfast table discoveries of SPIT and GUTS.

Knowing SKORT was a rare treat, and the long answers revealed easy (although I did try my darnedest to get NEPALAIRLINES to start with the letter 'P.' Seeing that the other long answers began with that letter).

Husker Gary - I'm not gonna ask where you come up with this stuff, but the Institute of VERY HIGH learning is unfathomable!

Lucina said...

Greetings, puzzlers!

I love an anagram grid from Bruce and Gail. THIS one was clear to me once NEPAL emerged. Clever!

Very smooth sashaying throughout although Damaso PEREZ Prado took a long time to sneak out of a deep recess where it had lain dormant. Latinos often have two surnames and might not ever use their first one.

THAD Cochran is new to me but two tablets of stinging NETTLES are my daily dose for sinusitis.

Ditto on thinking GINSU contained a Z but TAPS precluded that.

Great puzzle and analysis by Steve, thank you.

Enjoy your Wednesday, everyone!

Lucina said...

IrishMiss:
Yes, making tamales is definitely on our schedule. The only weekend available to all family members is Dec. 20th so we'll assemble at that time.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

For those who don't like anagrams - go try sudoku. Guaranteed 100% anagram free.

For those who don't like our regulars, go write your own damn blog. Or not. But just go.

could not SKIRT the POLIPONIES trap. Loved the Honeymooners clip.

Here's a better known PEREZ Prado tune. Not the greatest audio, but still OK.

QUIRKINESS is great fresh fill.

Cool regards!
JzB

Ol' Man Keith said...

Screwed up in the middle. Had TIE instead of RHE. Otherwise perfecto!

Jazzbumpa said...

I forgot to mention I'm going to be a repeat offender breaking Steve's Law at the Dearborn Tree Lighting ceremony on the 8th, The Royal oak Symphony concert on the 12th, and The Schoolcraft Jazz Band Winter Wonders concert on the 15th.

Also, granddaughter Amanda will once again be the Sugar Plum Fairie in the Livonis Civic Ballet production of The Nutracker on the 13th and 14th.

We're a bad, bad bunch.

Cheers!
JzB

Anonymous said...

Steve, good happenstance that you knew of Alpen. On the other hand I think you confused your audience.

Good thing you aren't Puerto Rican or knew of plena.

JB in Va said...

Enjoyed this puzzle. Hesitated at PEREZ, but perps were good. My only trouble was the SW. THAD crossing NETTLES held me up. RHE? Oh, runs, hits, and errors. Had a dyslexia moment, as it looked liked HRE, the Holy Roman Empire. Agree about the Christmas playing at stores, dentist and doctors offices and salons. Just think of the people who work there. (Hair pulling time?)
Have a good Hump Day.

Misty said...



My post just got erased for some reason. Will try once more, but only once more.

Delightful puzzle, Bruce and Gail--took a little work but doable. Glad you all explained SKORT. It's always nice to see little OPIE in a puzzle, and since I actually like Christmas music, I also welcomed ADESTE.

Have a great day, everybody.

Bill G. said...

Well, that was pleasant fun. I'm not a fan of anagram puzzles 'cause I never see them right away. Plus, I never heard of Alpen. No matter. Still an enjoyable puzzle.

I LOVE the Laurel and Hardy clip. I had accidentally stumbled upon it a year or so ago so now I've enjoyed it twice. They are brilliant and so is their choreographer.

CanadianEh! said...

I finished this without seeing the theme but it didn't matter. Thanks Bruce & Gail, and thanks to Steve for a witty blog. I smiled at the Buffalo wing reference and the Cool Hand Luke clip (I think the egg-eating scene in that movie is the most memorable!)

PLANE FIGURE geometry for Bill G and WINE BAR for Tin and Marti.

I always have to wait for perps for ARAL or URAL. I had Sneer before SMIRK and did not understand RHE until I came here (we usually have ERA or RBI).

QID was easy in my profession. ADESTE is fine with me as I am writing Christmas cards. Not as many people send them any more.

carol said...

Hi all, this was a very nice Wed puzzle! I got hung up a bit on SKORT...I put in SKIRT. I know what a skort is but it's not a word in my working vocabulary :)

I'm no good at math so 17A would have been very hard if not for all the perps.

I'm sure you all remember the GINSU knife commercials...drove me crazy. I have never owned one, has anyone? Are they a joke or are they worth buying?

Glad to see a lot of 'old timers' are still here on the blog. It's been a loooonnng time since I commented.

JazzGrumpa said...

Hey kids! Get off my lawn!

Go nag a ram!

Bluehen said...

Another delight from Venzke and Grabowsky. Pretty much a speed run, although SKORT was a learning moment. Thank you Bruce and Gail for a great puzzle and thank you, Steve, for another entertaining expo.

Carol @ 1:11, I have had a couple of Ginsu knives for probably 20 years and use them a lot, though they are not all-purpose knives, IMO. I would never carve meat with them, but they are my go-to knives for slicing vegetables. This despite the fact that I have full sets of Heinkels and Victorinox.

Life Long Student said...

Husker Gary - A very big thank you for that illuminating VERY HIGH educational website on VERY HIGH learning in Natick (?) MA. Finally, the efforts of some dedicated people to have an intelligent drug policy is making waves and evolving euphoria. Although I do not live in any of those states, we are looking forward to some of the 'action' to come our way. (If you are going to do it, might as well do it right.)

I wonder what sort of (maximum - ) GPA is required of those entering students to the NorthEastern University. Are they allowed to have any 'A' grades in high school at all ? And is there any upper cutoff limit mandated to the IQ of applicants ? - to prevent the local Ivy Leaguers from jumping ship.

I am sure they will all pay off their federal garanteed student loans in the shortest possible time.

The 'passing out' degree, ( pun intended) I presume, would be the B.F.A.C.E. - Bachelor in the Fine Arts of Cannabis Existentialism.

My Capcha is 420 - well, whatdya know ?

River Doc said...

Happy Wednesday everybody!

Did not BOG down on this one at all and finished in a usual time for mid-week....

CSO to Tin at 63D...?

Finally, Steve, that is one old picture of the scoreboard at Chavez Ravine. Some of the players I recognize from their numbers are Barry Bonds, Will Clark, Matt Williams (SF), Eric Karros, and Orel Hershiser (LA)....

Lucina said...

YR:
Do any of the sites for curtains offer swatches. I've seen some that do and it's nice to have them.

Avg Joe said...

Funny what you can learn. I had no idea I'd stumbled into Animal Farm. Evidently only certain animals are equal enough that they can make critical comments.

Jerome said...

While USING my GINSU it became dull. I'm SUING!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Another smooth solve today. The theme became apparent early and sped up some of the later answers.

We've had a Ginsu for ages. As with so many of those permanently sharp things it has a scalloped edge, pretty much like a tree saw. Not magic, but effective. It does well on bread and frozen stuff.

Based on recommendations here at the Corner, we watched Babette's Feast last night via Netflix. Beautifully made film!

For those who like foreign films, I again recommend a Finnish creation named Christmas Story. Note that it is not at all like the familiar A Christmas Story even though the names are similar. It's beautifully shot in Finnish Lapland. Available on DVD from Netflix.

Anonymous said...

My northeast corner stayed blank until I came here to find out what I didn't know. QID, PEREZ,oh my!. I enjoyed the challenge, Gail and Bruce, and needed your help, Steve. The rest of it filled quite nicely.

D-O; thanks for explaining who PEREZ Prado is. "Patricia" has always been a favorite of mine, probably because that's my name.

I used to wear skorts, back in the day. A manager at work called them hockey shorts.

We listened to all Christmas music on our travels this past weekend and I'm sick of all of it! The day before Thanksgiving is waay too early to start with it.

I'm happy to know that California is finally getting rain and I hope it doesn't cause landslides or other problems.

Happy Wednesday!

Pat

Argyle said...

The meatball rolled off her spork and landed on her skort.

carol said...

Argyle, LOL

A girl who played golf as a sport
Forgot to put on a skort
On the last green
Her undies were seen
And the girl was taken to court

Anonymous said...

I came here today to see if lemony screwed up his analysis of NOLO only to be disappointed he decided not to expose himself as a LOON.

Wayne from Chicago said...

Actually, like the song says, there are 12 Days of Christmas! It runs until the Feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6th.

Wayne from Chicago said...

Q.I.D. is from the Latin quater in die. My Dad was a pharmacist!

Anonymous said...

Wow, Jazzgrumpa, wow.

Its fairly obvious a snooty clique exists here at the corner but your comments earlier were just minacious. Are you and the so called 'regulars' the only posters that are allowed voice their opinions and personal preferences as to what is enjoyable or disappointing in certain puzzles?

Anonymous T said...

Hi puzzle pals!

I had all the ANSWERs but one. I should have continued my alphabet-run to Z at 13d/22a. I gave up one past 1/2.

Only other ink-blot Laze was first fill at 49d. An ELI fixed that one. Thanks to Bruce & Gail for another fun run and Steve for HOSTing OUTWEST.

WEES - fav: QUIRKINESS.

DW wants PANEL CURTAINS to cover the wood blinds in the master. I don't get it, but mine is not to question why, just BASK in the glory following install. Don't SMIRK.

HG - I've always dreamed of going back to school. A PhD in PoT?

LLS@2:09 very funny.

Lucina - I've seen what it takes to make Tamales - tip 'o the hat.

The only song I know with GINSU knife as a lyric (@3:09 if you get BOGged down).

Cheers and a Toast to our PAL TIN,
-T

Dwyane said...

WADE a minute! I thought dupes among the clues and answers were verboten...?

Lucina said...

AnonT:
That's right and why we conscript as many family members as possible to make and assemble the tamales. Besides, the younger generation learns the ropes and we hope, continues the tradition after us.

Anonymous T said...

Lucina - that's why I've conscripted the kids to help press pizzelles :-) It is a fun happy time for all of us to cook while listening to (non-Christmas) music.

My ODE to Cyndi - if DW needs a tree-branch cut, I go get Cyndi, my loppers.

OK, SURE that's a T(H)AD lame, I won't COWER, but, please, don't PENALize me and SPIT in my WINE.

Cindy LAUPER on OTM. It's about an hour long, but that DYED haired woman is KEEPin' IT real.

Did ya'll see Argyle Sweater today? Roman numerals - when a constructor TAPS out?

Cheers, -T

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Yellowrocks,
I had a little setback last night, but overall, I think my worst is over.