google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, January 21, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

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Jan 21, 2015

Wednesday, January 21, 2015 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Man Up! The start of each theme entry is a slangy synonym for a male.

17A. Well-worn, as comfy shoes : BROKEN IN. These are pretty broken in - I'm not sure how comfortable they are though:


25A. University of North Carolina city : CHAPEL HILL. UNC was the first college in the US to open to the public.

39A. Firehouse crews : LADDER COMPANIES. I want to have a crack at the rear-steering job.

51A. Relaxing soak : BUBBLE BATH. Ahhh!


64A. Lead singer, and a hint to the beginning of 17-, 25-, 39- and 51-Across : FRONT-MAN. Choose your own favorite front-man link. Here's one of mine - the talented and very confused Noel Gallagher from Oasis.

Well, it's Wednesday! Steve here with C.C.'s second solo outing of the year. She has quite a prodigious output! I had to hunt and peck a little in the top half - the ELSA/LIN cross was something of a WAG, but there wasn't much else that was going to make sense there, so not too much of a problem in the end.

I didn't get the theme until the reveal and thought it was pretty neat when I saw it. The two long downs were both great - I don't recall seeing either of them in a puzzle before.

Let's check out the rest.

Across:

1. Band aid : AMP. Nigel Tufnell's volume controls famously go up to 11.


4. "Lohengrin" soprano : ELSA. The role "Elsa of Brabant" is voiced by a soprano.

8. High-priced : STEEP

13. Saint-Tropez sea : MER. On the French riviera between Marseille and Cannes.

14. Chicken (out) : WIMP

15. Wildly impulsive : MADCAP

19. "Finito!" : I'M DONE

20. Stretches on the road : LIMOS

21. Inventor Nikola : TESLA

23. Director who sued Spike TV for using his name : LEE. The case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. I've got my attorney handy for when Viacom decides to launch "Steve TV".

24. British prep school : ETON. Oh dear - I'm calling this a rare cluing misstep from Rich. Eton isn't a prep school. You attend a prep school before you go on to a school such as Eton.

27. Fives and tens : CASH

29. Clueless : ASEA. If would be fun, if not strictly fair, to clue this without a clue at all!

30. Lennon's love : ONO

32. Door fasteners : HASPS

35. TV radio station : WKRP. I never saw the show, but the call letters are easy enough to remember.

43. Rural road sign silhouette : DEER. I'm never quite sure how to react to these warning signs - the "Falling Rocks" one is another. There's not a lot you can actually do about the potential hazard.

44. Shellac ingredient : RESIN. I discover that it's a bug secretion and is also used as a food glaze! Fun clue pairing with 40D too.

45. Insect egg : NIT

46. Not a pretty fruit : UGLI. Food! It's actually not that bad-looking:

49. Surprise for the taste buds : TANG

56. Almost closed : AJAR

59. Pee Wee Reese's number : ONE. Baseball! C.C. at work here.

60. "Chasing Pavements" singer : ADELE. She won a "Best Vocal Performance" Grammy for the song.

61. English class lesson : USAGE

62. Like a plum tomato : OBLONG. Food! I'm going to go make a sandwich, this puzzle is making me hungry.

66. Royal residence : PALACE. This is the entrance to Hampton Court Palace in London, one of Henry VIII's homes. I used to live close by, needless to say my entryway didn't look much like this.




67. Apple product : IPOD. Fill in the "I" and then wait for crosses.

68. Gift-wrapping time, often : EVE

69. Hinged entrances : GATES. Some gates slide open, are they technically not gates?

70. Beantown hockey great : ESPO. Inspiration for the "JESUS SAVES! But Esposito scores on the rebound!" bumper sticker.

71. Do needlework : SEW

Down:

1. Carefree pace : AMBLE

2. Reason for a raise : MERIT

3. Virtual coupon, briefly : PROMO CODE. The ones I get never seem to have much effect.

4. Farm ladies : EWES

5. Civil Rights Memorial architect : LIN. Maya Lin. The inscription comes from Martin Luther King Jr's "I have a dream" speech.


6. Will of "I Am Legend" : SMITH

7. Sleep lab study : APNEA

8. Looks pleased : SMILES

9. Wrapped cantina food : TAMALE. Food! My local Farmer's Market has a stall selling the best tamales I've ever tasted. There's something magical about the masa.

10. Baseball Hall of Famer Roush : EDD. Aha! I was waiting for C.C.'s second baseball reference. I had to wait longer to fill it in though - all crosses. Reds center fielder elected to the Hall in 1962.

11. Bad bacteria : E.COLI

12. Science fair judges, e.g. : PANEL

16. Orange coat : PEEL.

18. Hawaii's __ Coast : KONA

22. Some jerks : SPASMS

25. Burn a bit : CHAR

26. Gibson's "Bird on a Wire" co-star : HAWN.

28. "__ Will Be Loved": Maroon 5 hit : SHE. This is one of those songs that I've heard a hundred times and didn't know what it was called, or who recorded it.

30. Word with country or world : OLD

31. "You wish, laddie!" : NAE

33. Writer on scrolls : SCRIBE

34. Usher's creator : POE. "The Fall of the House of Usher" published in 1839.

36. Nickname for LeBron : KING JAMES. Now back with the Cleveland Cavaliers after his sojourn in Miami. For a guy who is listed at 6'8" and 250lbs, that's one heck of a "Small Forward".



37. Outdoor gear brand : REI. Recreational Equipment Inc, apparently. Crosses for me.

38. L.A. clock setting : PST

40. Shellac : DRUB. I can't find the origin of this usage - anyone?

41. Nitty-gritty : PITH

42. "Wheel of Fortune" purchase : AN "A"

47. Carom : GLANCE

48. Ibex resting places : LEDGES. Here's an Alpine ibex in Italy. I used to see these frequently when I was skiing in the Alps.


50. Political cartoonist Thomas : NAST. The "Father of the American Cartoon". No relation to the publisher Condé Nast, which surprised me.

51. Cartoon flapper : BOOP. Betty Boop cartoons were shown on children's television in the UK when I was a kid. In hindsight, they weren't exactly suitable!

52. Put away, as groceries : UNBAG. It sometimes seems harder work than shopping for them in the first place.

53. "Twilight" heroine : BELLA. Thank you, crosses. I didn't even notice this fill until I was writing up the blog. Bella Swan, as portrayed by Kristen Stewart. Now I know, although in about two minutes time I'll forget all about her.

54. Michael Caine role : ALFIE

55. U. of Maryland team : TERPS. Formally the "Terrapins". How many other team nicknames have a nickname? I can't think of any offhand.

57. Tequila source : AGAVE. The finest blue agave plants are carefully guarded - crop thefts are not unknown during periods of shortage.

58. Make one's Fortune last longer? : RENEW. Not renewing a magazine subscription is a fun way to see how many offers you receive to try to get you back. Sports Illustrated pretty much offer you the editorship if you'll re-sign.

61. Counterclockwise arrow function : UNDO. It's funny how toolbar icons become embedded in our understanding.

63. Cereal grass : OAT

65. "Alley __" : OOP.  A fun basketball play to see.

And with that, mes amis, this is Steve signing off.


Note from C.C.: 

Happy 7th Anniversary to our blog! A big "Thank you" to our sweet LaLaLinda for remembering it. I completely forgot it. I need to be punished!

Dear friends, I became a constructor because of your active participation and constant encouragement. Thank you for being here.

62 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Thanks for the kind words yesterday. Still sick, unfortunately. I'd go to the doctor, but what would be the point?

Got through this one without much effort, but totally missed the theme as I was focused on the entire first word of each theme answer. Biggest struggle was in the SW where I had trouble coming up with GLANCE and BOOP.

Lemonade714 said...

The CLUING seemed harder than a Wednesday, not only the ELSA LIN crossing but big EDD Roush, REI a complete unknown and others made this a real work out.

I also was surprised by the ETON clue as we learned they call them 'public schools.' In the US we prep for college.

BELLA and BOOP have been on tv enough they were easy, but thinking PROMO CODE also was a struggle.

Thanks C.C. and Steve

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I stumbled here and there on C.C.'s offering. With CHA in place, I confidently inked in CHARLESTON. And those scrolls? Written by a SEMITE, of course.

Nice CSO to Lucina with TAMALE (again). Steve, I had the same thought about ETON.

A family in our town cleared a second lot beside their house, and put a fancy wrought-iron fence around it. Then they bought a pre-fabbed shed and had to tear down part of their fence to get it onto the lot. They had a wide GATE -- just not wide enough. And, yes, this one was a slider rather than a swinger.

desper-otto said...

For Steve: (Don't ask me what all those abbreviations mean!)

Drub
Drub \Drub\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Drubbed}; p. pr. & vb. n.
{Drubbing}.] [Cf. Prov. E. drab to beat, Icel. & Sw. drabba
to hit, beat, Dan. dr[ae]be to slay, and perh. OE. drepen to
strike, kill, AS. drepan to strike, G. & D. freffen to hit,
touch, Icel. drepa to strike, kill.]
To beat with a stick; to thrash; to cudgel.

Soundly Drubbed with a good honest cudgel.
--L'Estrange.

Drub \Drub\, n.
A blow with a cudgel; a thump. --Addison.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, C.C. and friends. I was able to sail through this puzzle, but the theme rather eluded me. I wondered how BROKEN BUBBLE LADDER meshed with the FRONTMAN.

Nice Shout Out to Lucina with the TAMALE.

Eddy Redmayne (No. 11), who is up for an Oscar for his portrayal of Stephen Hawking, and Prince William (No. 20) were classmates at ETON.

QOD: Age appears to be best in four things: old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust and old authors to read. ~ Francis Bacon (Jan. 21, 1561 ~ Apr. 9, 1626)

TTP said...

Good morning all.

My routine is all messed up, but there was nothing routine about this puzzle. As Lemonade pointed out, the cluing seemed harder than a normal Wednesday. Made for a good challenge.

Thank you CC and Steve. Great stuff.

Steve, Terrapins (Terps), Georgia Bulldogs (Dawgs), Pittsburgh Pirates (Bucs)...

thehondohurricane said...

Good day,

An enjoyable offering from CC. What better way to start the day? Lots of fun clues, some of which brought back memories.....both good and bad.

A favorite was DRUB. Thinking back to my playing days, I was sometimes the DRUBber and sometimes the DRUBbee.

52D UNBAG not a term I can recall hearing too often.

Really liked 58D Make ones fortune last longer/RENEW.

I've sold a few cards of his, but I'm embarrassed to say I'd forgotten Mr Roush is EDD, not Ed. Had me going for a while.

Finally, was it over 37 years ago I would l;look forward to seeing Jennifer on WKRP? Seems like only yesterday.

Thanks to Steve for the write up, but now I have to re-read his write up & see if I will be able to figure out today's theme.

Have a fun Hump Day

HeartRx said...

Happy 7th blog anniversary, C.C.! I went back and read some of your very early posts. It's amazing how quickly you have captured the nuances of Engligh, let alone construct so many fun puzzles of your own!

Today's was a fine example of your clean fill, with a tricky theme that eluded me until the very end. But smooth sailing through the whole thing.

And Argyle, thanks for being C.C.'s right hand man day in and day out!

Qli said...

Thanks for this puzzle, C.C., and for starting this blog.
I don't always comment, but I do always come here for the fun of hearing from everyone!

Fun to see the ETON class photo, Steve! I am torn between which Brit to root for at the Oscars. I also like Cumberbatch for his portrayal of Alan Turing.

I had LINES instead of LIMO, and not paying much attention to college sports other than the Bison, I filled in Charleston instead of CHAPEL HILL, but perps fixed that.

Rainman said...

Thanks for what I think is an exceptional write-up today, Steve.

Very clever clueing, C.C. One of my faves today: RENEW, referring to extending one's Fortune. Extending your Saturday Evening Post might not work so well!!

Took me a while but finally came up with CHAPELHILL, which opened up the north.

I, too, noticed ETON, but can't question it without research. The Brits probably have a term for those picking NITs.

I loved the first Twilight book with BELLA, then it just seemed to betray my interest, or I lost interest. I loved the NW setting in WA which seemed to come alive in the first story.

Thanks, C.C. Well done. Prodigious? for Prolific? Anyway, keep them coming.

Happy Anniversary, Blog. And don't call me a WIMP.

Madame Defarge said...

Happy Anniversary, C.C. Thanks for providing such an entertaining space. Today is also my "anniversaire," so I appreciate Hatoolah's Bacon quote. I am meeting an old friend for lunch; we have been pals almost all our lives. An old friend is a dear gift.

This was a good day for me. Because I ran across so successfully, the verticals came pretty easily. I did not get the theme, so thanks Steve.

Those shoes are pretty broken in by someone who spent a lot of time on his knees--tile? floors? concrete. . . ? I hope he was wearing knee pads--ouch!

I liked ESPO. Wanted Orr--eh, not enough letters! I looked for C.C.'s baseball clues, and it was fun to find a melange of sports.

Loved UNBAG: Do you need help to your car? No, thanks, but could you come home and put everything away?

Have a great day!

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Opened up the paper to the puzzle page and there was C.C. challenging me. Had to skip to MER to get started. Found the W side easier than the E. But then the anchors began to take hold with WKRP, TAMALE, and TERPS. Theme fills were routine, but even after getting the reveal, I had to read Steve's write-up to get its full application.
A good Wednesday level puzzle with the right amount of head-scratching.

Happy 7th anniversary to the Corner.

thehondohurricane said...

Good grief!

Totally missed it. CC. Happy seventh. You are a part of a lot of lives everyday. Thank you for your effort.

Hahtoolah said...

Happy Anniversary to the crossword corner blog. I found the blog about 5.5 years ago. It has been fun to meet so many people here. Thank you, C.C.

kazie said...

Happy 7th Anniversary C.C.!

I had a struggle to get through this one and got three things wrong so no cigars today. I thought it was hard for a Wednesday, but maybe it's the flu and my just wanting to go back to bed. Or else I'm giving up on modern culture--sport, music etc.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Loved the cluing for ORANGE, WKRP and AMP. Dang she’s good!
-Brother went to BRO and now it’s this
-BROKEN IN is Joann’s threshold for “garage sale” material
-Seem a little STEEP to you?
-Did the Duke of Ellington actually say “The Battle of Waterloo was won on the playing fields of ETON”?
-I tipped my TV installer $10 in CASH? Enough/Too much?
-Ya can’t link this enough: Fabulous DEER crossing phone call (3:52)
-Fossil tree RESIN called amber was a big part of Jurassic Park
-How is unfortified Highclere (home of Downton Abbey) called a castle and not a palace?
-Teacher raises are based on making it through to another year, not MERIT
-The Natinal Civil Rights museum is right next to this infamous building
-What made MONA looked so pleased?
-I wonder if the two Starbucks in KONA serve KONA grown coffee
-Worst Wheel of Fortune failure for a million dollars (1:21)
-UNBAG beats DISBAG ;-)
-Happy 7th C.C. and thanks for making this a wonderful place for us!

desper-otto said...

I wasn't here for the beginning of the blog, but I started hanging out here shortly after I retired. Thanks, C.C., for providing us a home away from home. You meet the nicest people here.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Before I opened the puzzle, I was aware that today was CC's Corner's anniversary, so you can imagine my delight at seeing her name as constructor! (Remembering the date is easy as today is also the Feast of St. Agnes.)

Really enjoyed the clever theme and some "toothsome" clues and fill. Had to stare at the first words for a few minutes before realizing just part of the word was being referenced. Nice job, CC, and great summary, Steve. BTW, one of my brothers was the tillerman an on a hook and ladder for years, much to my nervous mother's chagrin.

Lucina, your tamales CSO is giving Abejo's Erie and Tin's _ _ _ a run for the money. Hatoolah, loved your QOD. Barry G and Kazie, feel better soon.

Last but not least, a very sincere thank you to CC for not only starting this forum, but maintaining and nurturing it all these years. Thanks, also, to Argyle, Steve, JzB, Marti, Lemonade, Splynter, and Husker Gary for the time and effort you all give to make the rest of us so happy to be part of this " family."

Have a great day

Bit Easy said...

Congratulations C.C. on both your puzzle and blog.

I am with Steve on the crossing of ELSA and LIN, along with REI and BELLA. WAG on the first two and perps on the other two. I thought Pee Wee Reese's number was playing second fiddle to Dizzy Dean. Oh, his uniform number.

I had no idea that there was a theme until I read Steve's write up. FRONTMAN was all perps.

I always stumble on RESIN or ROSIN and even thought I wasn't sure, I was fairly certain that 'Edgar A.-Winnie The-POO' was not the creater of USHER.

I subscribed to Fortune Mag about 6 years ago ($10/year special), dropped it because it was fluff, and I get a request every month to RENEW. Not worth my time to read.

JD said...

Happy 7th anniversary C.C.!! I love your little corner, and all the wonderful people who keep it going. Thank you, thank and thank you! And, an extra thanks to all of you who do the daily write ups, and figure out the theme for us.

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful! A C.C. puzzle and the anniversary of the blog. Congrats. Thanks also to Steve as I didn't get the theme until I came here.

Completed this puzzle on my IPAD (IPOD, IMAC) for the first time to try out Cruciverb. Worked just fine but no Tada��

Smiled at cluing for LIMOS and EVE. Had CASTLE before PALACE. Noted CSO to Lucina, and clechos? of BOOP and OOP.

ESPO is well-known here as he played junior hockey for the St. Catharines Teepees. In the latest hockey news, Wayne Gretzky is a grandfather.

Nice Cuppa said...

Many Happy Returns, CC

However:

In defense of Escherichia coli (E. coli) .

I must object to your unwarranted vilification of E. coli. Just because a few extreme variants happen to be pathogenic does not justify referring to all E. coli as "bad". In fact, the vast majority do an outstanding job in your gut every day: breaking down food you could not otherwise digest, providing essential vitamins that your body does not make, AND fighting off genuinely harmful bacteria.

There are something like 100 bacteria for every human cell in your body, and the vast majority of them are doing something good; otherwise you would be dead, or very sick.

This knowledge has led to the concept of the MACROBIOME, which recognizes that it is not US versus THEM, but rather that WE cannot live with THEM .

End of polemic.

NC

UAAlum72 said...

Steve, while you can't do much about Falling Rocks on your head, the warning sign is to make you be aware that rocks may be sitting in the road for hours afterward (hence NY using "Fallen Rock Zone", or "Slide Area"). Same with deer, both alive or as roadkill.

CrossEyedDave said...

Ack! Forgive me CC, being your 7th anniversary I must post, even tho I am experiencing a crossword funny link dry spell.. (The last week has been really tough to find funny links...)

Lead singer reminds me of a joke:

How many lead singers does it take to replace a light bulb?

(Just one, to hold it while the world revolves around him...)

Suzie said...

Thank you CC. I have been reading the blog daily for five years and appreciate it every day. s

Misty said...

How wonderful to get a C.C. puzzle on the 7th Anniversary of this wonderful blog! Thank you, dear C.C., for both gifts!

Puzzle was a bit challenging for a Wednesday, but a lot of fun. Loved seeing BUBBLEBATH--and great pic, Steve! Couldn't imagine what the theme was going to be, and even after I got it, had to look hard at the clues to finally get those fellows in parts of the first words. A wonderful AHA! moment!

Irish Miss, happy St. Agnes day, and I share your tribute to all the puzzle commentators as well as C.C.

Have a great day, everybody!

Tinbeni said...

What a FUN Wednesday puzzle and theme!

I once had a "fake" Betty BOOP wristwatch.
(SHE was "in color" and was always in "Black and White" in her cartoons).

The one libation I'm not a big fan of is Tequila but I know its source is AGAVE.

Well it is sunny and 75, heading to a beautiful Sunset toast!
Cheers!!!

Anonymous said...

Happy Blog Anniversary, C.C.! Thanks to Argyle for going to the Crossword Confidential site and directing several of us to this wonderful corner of the crossword world.

After the expected easy Monday and Tuesday puzzles, today was a challenge. It took some work, but that's what it's all about. Thanks, C.C. and to Steve, for the expo.


Best wishes for a speedy recovery to those who are under the weather.

Happy Wednesday.

Pat

Avg Joe said...

7 years! Now that's keeping score in a good way. Congratulations, C.C.

And it was very fortunate to have your own construction featured on the same day.

coneyro said...

Are you sure it's Wednesday? This puzzle was soooo easy! After getting 64A, I just knew what it meant because l'd already filled in the crosses pertinent to the reveal. I remember watching Bobby Orr and his Bruins take on the NY Rangers. My first husband took me to Madison Square Garden. He loved hockey. My present one does not, but he is an expert on football, baseball, tennis and golf, and knows rules, regulations, stats and trivia on most other sports. He's a fanatic! Well, happy anniversary to the blog. May it continue to enlighten, entertain and feed our desire for knowledge for many years to come. Good day y'all.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Congrats C.C. on this blogaversary and yet another puzzle published. Awesome!

I think I first came here in April of '09. Good times and lots of good folks.

Tough go for me today. Could not find the wave length. Finally made it through though.

Excellent theme with a great reveal - really clever.

We just had our wedding anniversary on Saturday - 24 wonderful years. I am one luck guy.

Snowy here. Michigan January.

Cool regards!
JzB

Yellowrocks said...

CC many thanks for initiating and maintaining this wonderful blog, the highlight of my day.
Happy anniversary to JzB and his Mrs.

GrannyAnny said...

CC's puzzle today was fun and I managed to finish it in about average time for a Wednesday.

On it's seventh anniversary I also want to thank CC and all the other explicators and contributors who have made the blog a daily "must read" for me the past few years. Also my thanks to the people who must spend a lot of time finding links that relate to the puzzle.

That said... Husker Gary @ 9:35 I did a double-take at your ETON reference.... Duke of ELLINGTON? Yes, I know it's a typo, but it's still giving me a chuckle.

Barry and Kazie please take extra-good care of yourselves if you think you have the flu the vaccine didn't include. I had it most of December and yes, Kazie, it does scramble your brain a for a while.

Chickie said...

Hola Everyone, Happy 7th anniversary to C.C. This blog has been a source of new friends, learning, and pure enjoyment for me. Thank you C.C. and all of you who contribute each day.

I enjoyed this puzzle today. A bit crunchy for me, but doable. I loved the clues, Band aid/Amp, Some jerks/Spasms, and Make one's Fortune last longer/Renew. The last clue took me a while to suss, but the capital letter for Fortune finally did it! A proper name would mean more than just the money one has come by. All fun today. However, the theme eluded me until I read Steve's comments.

Loved seeing C.C.'s name on this puzzle. Did the publisher remember it was a significant anniversary for her?

Have a great day everyone.

Chickie said...

At our HMO in one of the departments, the receptionist is a Betty Boop collector. She must have 50 different Betty Boop items in her cubicle. People have started bringing her things to add to the collection and she mentioned the other day, that she was going to have to rotate things as the collection has become too big for her place at the check in desk.

This has been fun to watch as it has grown. I didn't know there were so many items devoted to this cartoon character. She is very popular.

Anonymous said...

Got the theme fast. Got 17 a , 25 a and 51 a but not 39 a. Guessed that it had to be ladder something. Did not get ladder companies til late. Crapy clue. 70 a didn't know. Some clues like for spasms , amp and renew definitely Friday clues. Eh Puzzle

Lemonade714 said...

Chickie, I think you might be correct about Rich schedulibg C.C's puzzle today to hightlight her anniversary.
I too forgot that today was the day, to focused on my stuff, I guess. Married one month today....
C.C. this blog and all the people have been a great addition to my world, thank you. Some day I may go back and determine when I first lurked and then posted. Whenver it was, the time has gone quickly. Thank you

Anonymous said...

Ever hear the saying, "One man's meat is another man's poison?"I enjoyed all those clues today.

livingston2 said...

Thanks

Ergo said...


Thank you Steve and C.C.

I started this puzzle with a "Yes! What a rare treat, a C.C. Wednesday!" An hour later I was mumbling "Man...a rare DNF on a C.C. Wednesday..."

LADDER came fine, COMPANIES did not for some reason.

Room for a limerick. So here's a favorite from my childhood:

There once as a lady from Eton,
whose figure had plenty of meat on.
She said 'marry me dear,'
and you'll find that my rear,
is a nice place to warm your cold feet on.

Ergo said...

There once WAS a lady from Eton.


Sakes...

CrossEyedDave said...

This calls for (a little) cake!

Bill G. said...

Hi everybody! Though it goes without saying, I'll say it anyway. I really enjoy this blog and I appreciate all of you who make it work so well. Specifically, I liked today's puzzle and the explication. (I'm going to try to get 'explicate' into my speaking vocabulary from now on.) Thanks CC and Steve.

I don't remember when I arrived here but it was probably around 2010. For some help, I Googled a clue and one of pages directed me here. Lucky me! It expanded my crossword horizons and it expanded my group of friends.

I started to make a contribution to CC for this blog. I couldn't use a credit card but apparently need to use PayPal. I had to sign up again with a new credit card and I got caught in a PayPal vortex. I finally gave up but I will try again. PayPal doesn't seem very user-friendly to me.

Here's a fun little video about some dogs who are not clear on the concept of playing fetch, bless their hearts. Dogs who need work on 'fetching'

Irish Miss said...

Bill G: I just laughed myself silly at that "fetch" video! Thanks for sharing.

CrossEyedDave said...

(Sigh)

Why I didn't want to post earlier...

(been looking all day & this is all I could come up with...)

Bro...

Chap... (1st time a funny cat pic failed me...)

Lad... (a reason not to look at the next link...)

Bub?

Hopefully I can save it with this front man...

If all else fails, go with a bad joke...

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Happy Blog Anniversary! It's been interesting seeing how the participation has changed over the last few years. Thanks, C.C. and all you sous-chef helpers, for all you do. This is a fun community.

No real speed bumps today. Nice to see our brilliant scientist Tesla again, I don't think we've had him lately.

Yellowrocks said...

Me, too, Bill G. Although I have donated to the blog through pay Pal before, I needed to sign up again. And there was no link to which to send the donation. I hope this problem is fixed soon because this 7th anniversary is an ideal time to make our appreciation tangible,

coneyro said...

A late correction. I was thinking of Bobby Orr, when Phil Esposito was who I was referring to. Both were great players though, and Phil was both a Bruin and later a Ranger.

Anonymous T said...

HI all!

There, IM DONE with these MADCAP pals!

Thanks C.C. for the puzzle and this blog. I found The Corner about a year after LA Crossword Confidential went dark. So glad I did.

Thanks Steve for the write-up! You confirmed I guessed the L in ELSA/LIN correctly and that changing to E from AN A in ADELE was ONE good write-over. I didn't get RENEW until you 'splained it.

Fav - WKRP (in Cincinnati). I've been watching episodes each night for my EOD laugh.

HG - I liked the DEER link. I think I mentioned DWs friend pronouncing X-ING a zing.

Here's a line of LIMOS. I bet gas usage is measured GPM (gallons per mile).

Cheers, -T

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Swell puzzle, CC! No problems.

Great explication, Steve!

Happy Blog Anniversary, CC!

Care giver just came. A rather late brunch!!!

Russian former colleague and his family brought dinner last night. (They had been sick for a month.) (Alexander acquired very nice wife with 3 kids 2 years ago.) I do love their dinners as they bend over backwards to accommodate the visiccitudes of my diet for my food. The kids have a blast in my heated pool in pool house.

I had not been sleeping due to lack of dinner. Latest experiment with protein bars failed miserably.

Happy Anniversary Jazz! (Your picture reminds me of a teacher that I had that was in the Mummers.)

Cheers!

Anonymous T said...

Sweet - reCAPTCHA made me pick a pasta. Now I'm hungry. C, -T

Arnold said...

@Anon-t

I read the first line of the limo description in that link for DallasVIP limo company. Then I read it again and again. I thought, am I crazy?? Hummers in WWII movies? Whaaaat?

Wonder which employee wrote that. Maybe the owners' 18 year old? We had Hummvees in 1942? No wonder we won the war!

Anonymous T said...

Arnold - That's funny. Having seen stretch-hummers around Houston, I just looked for a picture of one - I didn't even read about Schwarzenegger's WWII exploits - SMILES.

I first saw the Humvee during Desert Shield while readying for D. Storm. Impressive vehicle - not the WIMPy thing you see on the roads today. Cheers, -T

Husker Gary said...

-Yikes, Granny! I did put Duke Ellington didn’t I? Thanks for the gentle reminder. I read it was Wellington, I knew it was Wellington, I thought I typed Wellington but…
-Maybe I’ll have some Beef Ellington at our favorite restaurant this week. ;-)
- As long as I am misspelling in that British references, here’s an EATON

Steve said...

Maybe I'll put my thinking cap on and come up with a recipe for Beef Ellington - that deserves some serious attention!

Happy Blogiversary C.C.! I missed the date too when I did my write-up.

JD said...

Good evening all...of course the cluing is harder. It's a C.C. CREATION! Always clever cluing that sometime sends me to Google to be able to finish.. I saw bro, lad, and bub, but could not come up with frontman without wagging terms and looking up Nast. Kudos to you that know all of those..

Happy anniversary Lemon. So glad you have found happiness.

Bill, I laughed so hard watching those pitiful dogs. Fun stuff!

Saw many many farm ladies on my recent trip to New Zealand, a land of postcard pictures around every corner.

Bill G. said...

CED, not a bad joke at all. I rather liked it.

Anonymous T said...

Oh, what the heck... I'm sure I've linked it before, but here's WKRP's last episode for those still awake needing another SMILE. Bill G. will agree Bailey is a hot TAMALE.

Happy 7th for the blog - glad I've found many eFriends!

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

And Steve - since you've never seen WKRP - here's the PROMO / pilot that sets the stage. C, -T

Bill G. said...

I LOVE WKRP! Bailey was hot! Very cute, smart and seemed more attainable than Jennifer.

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

Dave et al,
Thanks for the sweet words, everyone. I'm so blessed to have loyal & caring eFriends (thanks, Anon-T) like you.

Rainman said...

WKRP was great. Just enough raunch for the 80s. That episode AnonymousT posted did not seem to be the last one ever... they kind of signed off like the format was to be changed but everyone keeps their jobs. That was my understanding, but I could be wrong.

Yes, Jan Smithers who played Bailey Quarters was young and sweet compared to Loni Anderson, who married Burt Reynolds. To my surprise, Jan was married to James Brolin (Mr. Barbra Streisand).

Thanks, sincerely... that was a great episode, and I'm wondering if we'll ever have another raunchy sitcom. Until then, we're suck with The Goldbergs, or something.