google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, February 9, 2015 Joel Mackerry

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Feb 9, 2015

Monday, February 9, 2015 Joel Mackerry

Theme: Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights. The lights come back on when the start of these five seemingly random entries are brought together by the unifier.

17A. *Handy tool to have when you're out of loose-leaf paper : HOLE PUNCH. Black Hole - where the car keys go.

29A. *Amulet : MAGIC CHARM. Black Magic - how the keys disappeared.

37A. *Prime ballpark accommodation : BOX SEAT. Black Box - in the news all to often.

39A. *Architectural style featuring geometric shapes : ART DECO. Black Art - without an 's' on Art, it is African American Art.

44A. *Stand-up venue : COMEDY CLUB. Black Comedy - definitely two meanings; comedy that employs morbid, gloomy, grotesque, or calamitous situations in its plot or comedy either by African Americans or shows featuring characters of African ethnicity. Redd Foxx had it all covered.

60A. Ostracize ... and what the first words of the answers to starred clues comprise : BLACKLIST. In our sense, BLACK LIST.

Argyle here with another debut and a good one at that. A few tough words and some crosswordese but all in all, a good start to the week.

Across:

1. "The Alphabet Song" opening : A B C D

5. Closed : SHUT

9. Postpone : DEFER

14. Lemony in taste : SOUR. Our first CSO. (Coincidental Shout Out)

15. "__ Lisa" : MONA

16. Overjoy : ELATE. If Mona was elated, she didn't show it.

19. Red-suited reindeer driver : SANTA. My personal CSO.

20. China's Zhou __ : ENLAI

21. Forming a queue : LINING UP

23. Memory aid, such as "HOMES" for the Great Lakes : MNEMONIC

26. Amount paid : COST

34. Sch. in the smallest state : URI. (University of Rhode Island)

35. T-shirt sizes, for short : SML. small, medium, large

36. Sound portion of a movie : AUDIO

41. Amazed : IN AWE

42. Regret : RUE

43. "__ Misérables" : LES

48. French father : PÈRE

49. Kids' show host with a "Neighborhood" : MR. ROGERS



51. "Will you marry me?" is one : PROPOSAL

55. Flusters : FAZES

59. Deceived : LED ON

63. Submit tax returns online : eFILE. Timely.

64. Actor Lugosi : BELA

65. Sulk : MOPE

66. Small and unimportant : DINKY

67. Cheese from the Netherlands : EDAM

                  Gill Brooks

68. Winter fall : SNOW. Enough already!

Down:

1. Arthur of tennis : ASHE. Crossword's favorite player.

2. Timely benefit : BOON

3. Select with care : CULL

4. Imagined while sleeping : DREAMT. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

5. Church-founded Dallas sch. : SMU. (Southern Methodist University)

6. Luv : HON. Not exactly abbreviations; I'm not sure what to call them.

7. Clean with Liquid-Plumr : UNCLOG

8. Hummus paste : TAHINI

9. Dry up : DESICCATE. The little packages you find with some items is desiccant.

10. Vivacity : ELAN

11. Vampire tooth : FANG. Normally, they come in pairs.

12. Caesar's immortal "And you?" : "ET TU?"

13. Gather in a field : REAP

18. Bowler's target : PIN. CSO Boomer.

22. Actor Cage, in tabloids : NIC

24. Austen heroine : EMMA. "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich."

25. Milkshake additive : MALT. How common is it? You have to ask for it around here.

26. Like Rubik's creation : CUBIC

27. Maine college town : ORONO

28. Early riser's hr. : SIX AM

30. 1963 Paul Newman film : "HUD"

31. Dancer Astaire : ADELE. She was Fred's elder sister, and his partner in a 27-year career in vaudeville and theater, beginning when he was five and she was eight.

32. Potato cutter : RICER. I wouldn't want to be that potato; Julia looks demented.

33. Bullwinkle, for one : MOOSE



35. Start-up cash : SEED MONEY

38. Nor. neighbor : SWE. Norway/Sweden

39. Cut __: dance, in old slang : A RUG

40. Hick : RUBE

45. 1520 and 2015, e.g.: Abbr. : YRs

46. Buster who played Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon : CRABBE. He was raised in Hawaii. I didn't know that. Wiki link

47. Lazed : LOLLED

48. Biblical songs : PSALMS

50. Bobby's monogram, in '60s politics : RFK. Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy

51. Argued in court : PLED

52. Lower-interest mtge. : REFI. (ReFinance)

53. Norse war god : ODIN

54. President when Texas was annexed : POLK

56. Utah national park : ZION

57. 1960s-'70s Boston Bruins nickname : ESPO. Phil Esposito

58. Hearty dish : STEW

61. Pie __ mode : À LA

62. Pic taker : CAM. picture/camera


Argyle

Note from C.C.

Happy Birthday to our talented Saturday Stud Splynter! Hope you're having fun making the board/card game during your precious one-week vacation. I love reading what you think of the  puzzle every Saturday and getting a glimpse of what's going on in your life. Thanks for all your hard work, Splynter!




70 comments:

  1. If everything that's black was white
    Would we then see in darkest night?
    But in the sky
    No stars pass by --
    Sometimes it's nice to have no light!

    If all things that are whites were blacks
    Would good or bad guys still wear hats?
    Western shootin'
    Could get confusin'
    When Nell ties Snidely to the tracks!

    If whites and blacks made up the spectrum,
    Gay pride flags then soon would get glum.
    We'd soon be jaded
    If colors faded
    And tie-dyed shirts* would just seem dumb!


    *
    Also Pop-Tart Kitty & Rainbow Dash. Anything else?

    ReplyDelete
  2. RUBE RUE and Rubik' s CUBE all we are missing is Manga' s kid.

    A fine Monday, welcome Joel and thank you Santa baby

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  3. 51D The past tense of "plead" is "pleaded," not PLED.

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  4. A very happy birthday to our Saturday stalwart Splynter, and many more

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  5. Morning, all (and Happy Birthday to Splynter)!

    I found this to be a very straightforward and enjoyable Monday solve. But then, I've been doing these for awhile and have no trouble with stuff like TAHINI, ADELE, ENLAI, CRABBE, etc. I can imagine a novice solver might find this a bit on the challenging side for a Monday, but it was right in my sweet spot.

    The past tense of "plead" is "pleaded," not PLED. Unless, of course, you're a lawyer, in which case it is most definitely PLED. I pleaded with him not to admit his guilt, but he PLED guilty anyway...

    MAKE THE SNOW STOP!!!

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  6. What Barry G said, mostly Nice puzzle for a Monday. Good debut for Joel Mackerry.

    Happy Natal Anniversary, Splynter. Thanks, Argyle for the elucidating enlightenment. And thanks to all you who donate their time to the Corner to make it a more enjoyable place.

    I got MNEMONIC and others on the first pass, but found I knew not how to spell DESICCATE, the C in mnemonic, and that caused me some delay.

    Never got the BLACK theme, doh. I might have come up with it had I been solving it with pencil/paper.

    I recall driving thru ORONO once and was amazed at why the primary street was called Main, not Maine Street, and also the immense number of hotels/motels in such a small town. 300 or so?

    Happy Monday everyone.

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  7. Good morning!

    Nice debut, Joel. Yes, she did look demented, Argyle. I remember well those Bullwinkle bits. Hey, how did that get missed as a name for a breakfast cereal? Lotsa first names in this one: Desi, Uri, Les, Art.

    Interesting to see MNEMONIC and TAHINI in a Monday puzzle. Learning moment: I didn't know how to spell DESICCATE; I tried two Ss and one C.

    According to my dictionary the past tense of Plead can be Pleaded or Pled. With Bleed and Flee it can only be Bled and Fled.

    Happy Birthday, Splynter. I do enjoy the tales of your adventures.

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  8. Good Morning,

    Thanks, Joel, for the puzzle. Nice write up, Argyle, with another shout out to Hamlet. So many ideas from the mind of the troubled Prince of Denmark, and the play has quite a few characters giving advice. My seniors loved the guy. He made their troubles look like pieces of cake.

    I enjoyed this today: enough to cause a bit of trouble but very Monday doable in the end. Some easily fixable errors here like delay for DEFER and so on.

    Barry, we in the Midwest do not mean to send you so much snow, but IMHO any moisture moving out of here turns to wintery white when it crosses the Appalachian Trail. Sorry. ;-)

    Happy Birthday, Splynter. Enjoy your productive week.

    Stay cozy!

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  9. Hello Puzzlers -

    First, HBTY Splynter! I enjoy your Saturdays.

    Piece of cake today. Managed to overlook the theme, it went so fast.

    Morning, Argyle! I remember all those "Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit outta my hat!" bits, plus the one in which Bullwinkle pulls out Rocky and says "Well, I'm getting close..." Fun stuff.

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  10. Good morning all !

    Thank you Joel Mackerry and Argyle.

    Quick and fun solve to start the week.

    Happy Birthday Splynter.

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  11. Happy Birthday Splynter!!

    A fun outing today. A bit crunchy, but very doable. Had the same issue with desiccate, but perps made it work. Needed the reveal for the theme, but it was obvious after that. The only nit I had was a misunderstanding. Thought SML meant small, so the plural didn't match. Got it, but wondered about it. Never thought of Small, Medium and Large.

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  12. Good morning, everyone.

    Happy Birthday, Splynter! I'm with C.C. in saying how much I enjoy your Saturday write-ups, sprinkled with gossipy tidbits about your life and projects. Have a great day - maybe your birthday candles will keep you warm in this latest wintry mix!!
    ¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*♫♥♫¸¸¸.•*¨*

    This was a fun puzzle from another new constructor. I have to admit that my time for completion was drawn out by a couple minutes as I paused before getting to the "reveal" to see if I could figure out the theme. Nope - it took B-L-A-C***** to make it appear.

    Great write-up, Argyle! (I will not click on that Mr Rogers ear worm...I will not click on that Mr. Rogers ear worm...I will not click on that Mr. Rogers ear worm...I will not click on that Mr. Rogers ear worm....)

    (Darn it...I already have that Mr. Rogers ear worm going through my head!!!)

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  13. Happy birthday, Splynter and many more.
    Fast, enjoyable puzzle, Joel. Argyle, I especially like when you include as many explanations as you did today. Thanks.
    In the 50's, Malt shops were popular hangouts for teens.
    I needed to find which letter would be doubled in DESICCATE.
    I suspect Julia was in her late 80's when that photo was taken. It seemed to me that in her last TV appearances she was barely hanging in there. I always liked her and also the movie, Julie & Julia,

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  14. Good morning gang!

    Huge groan at 1A- ABCD... Really?

    Yes, Six AM is over two hours late for me.

    And why the heck am I blogging this early
    in the day you ask? SNOW





    Its a guy thing.

    Back to it!

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  15. Happy Birthday to Splynter!

    And thanks Joel for the nice debut Monday puzzle!

    No problems at all here today--with the puzzle at least. I agree with Mme Defarge, that any weather we can pass along to the eastern seaboard is out of our control (and our hair!)

    I wonder if there are acceptable regular equivalents to the past tense forms wept, swept, slept, kept, burnt or leapt? Somehow weeped, sweeped, sleeped, keeped, burned and leaped all sound wrong to me, (some more than others) or is that just a British English thing? Some verbs definitely don't have the regular -ed past form, especially those related to the German equivalents that end in -n or -en: given, driven, etc.

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  16. Good day,

    I've always been tolerant of winter, but this one sucks! Not 100% sure, but i think this is the third Monday in a row with a winter storm, this one having started on Saturday past. Supposed to end tomorrow AM with more coming on Thursday. And what we received is minor leagues compared to what my son in Newburyport, Ma, Marti,& and Barry are dealing with.

    Now that I've gotten that off my chest, for my first attempt at a solve in over a week (been sick) this was a fun challenge. As Argyle said, "a good start to the week."

    I'm still pretty much out of it so I'll not do any word smithing today. It was successfully completed with lots of need for an eraser.

    Happy birthday Splynter. Does your employment still leave you time to get between the pipes on occasion?

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  17. Oops! I think my last line was a jump to past participles, not simple past forms. Either way, a lot of our irregular verb forms can be blamed on the German origins of English.

    Another nit of mine comes to mind: the use of past participles swum, shrunk, stunk, begun, etc. when the simple past form should be swam, shrank, stank, began.

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  18. Musings
    -Odd word MNEOMIC which I knew crossing TAHINI which I didn’t (don’t) made for some work but the crossings were Monday level and so…
    -Even if your team stinks, you could enjoy a game from luxury BOX SEATS like these
    -Frasier chided Daphne because his “BLACK ART” was to be displayed askew
    -Hollywood’s BLACK LIST turned that industry upside down mid-last century
    -Most teams who win this event DEFER their decision
    -I’ve waited in Disney queues for well over an hour
    -1929’s Wings was the first and last Oscar winner without AUDIO
    -The mess at Turbo Tax will delay my e-filing for a while
    -An Omaha supermarket chain whose name came from that famous WWI song
    -My meds are full of DESICCATES
    -At 6:30 a.m. my avatar’s alarm goes off
    -I used to get $10,000 SEED MONEY every spring for my detasseling business in 20 minutes. Then that VP retired and the back went corporate
    -Look who’s number 10
    -HBD, Splynter!

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  19. Musings 2
    -Finally, a movie for us!!
    -We went to see The Imitation Game Saturday and it was wonderful. It tells the story of the British team that broke the German Enigma code.
    -What might really interest the members of our little clique is that some of the recruiting for this team was done by having candidates solve a crossword puzzle. It was thought making relationships between letters and words were very helpful in breaking codes such as those posited by Germany (or our great constructors!). ;-)
    -Here is the fascinating story and the actual puzzle printed in the London Times on January 13, 1942 to CULL out possible team members
    -This scene shows Alan Turing IN AWE that a woman did it in the least time and was put on the team.
    -I guarantee you’ll enjoy the film.

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  20. Hi there~!

    I did not get to the puzzle, but I do thank you all for the birthday compliments....
    HeartRx, the # of candles might just burn the house down~!
    Hondo - unless the weather disrupts my working at the restaurant, I should be between the pipes on Wednesday
    C.C. the faster I get the work done, the more I can dedicate my time to the game. I am very excited about making the prototype.

    Splynter

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  21. Argyle: Outstanding write-up. I especially enjoyed the Rocky and Bullwinkle link.

    Glad I did this ... otherwise I wouldn't get a chance to say:
    "Happy Birthday!" to Splynter my favorite goalie.

    Well I had to do this FUN Monday puzzle on the computer (no Tampa Bay Times until next week at the New Villa Incognito).
    Have to admit it was easier to enter the letters ... but I still prefer Black Ink pen on newsprint!

    Did notice ALL of the CSO's.

    Hmmm, I wonder if taking 8 days to pack-up my "stuff" is moving (pun intended!) too slowly?

    Cheers!

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  22. Good morning everyone.

    Good theme; but had to wait for the unifier, BLACK LIST to see it. Agree with Barry's difficulty assessment. No searches needed; filled it straightforward top to bottom. Did have 'unplug' before UNCLOG.

    HEARTY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO SPLYNTER!

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  23. Ack! I FIW'd a Monday! (*&$% dead tree version has no TADA...)

    35A T shirt sizes, I automatically added an "S" at the end & jumped over it for some perps, but filled everything anyway leaving SMS (smalls? ok i guess) & forgot to double check the downs! Milk additive = mast (rats... I got caught in a trap...)

    HBD Splynter (I was looking for a United Parcel Service cake, but it didn't work out too well...)

    For Dudley @7:35

    1A really busted my chops... (It had to be a trick clue...)

    Learning moment: There are 2 C's in desicate...

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  24. Greetings, puzzlers! You rock today, SANTA!

    Happy birthday, Splynter. You're the icing on the Saturday cake!

    WEES about this puzzle. Thank you, Joel Mackerry for a swift and witty sashay through the grid.

    Ditto on hesitating at double Cs for DESICCATE. I believe it's one I've never had to write before.

    Kazie:
    How right you are about the misuse of the past participle for the simple past. It drives me crazy, especially swum for swam and sung for sang which are the most used in the language. Even among news broadcasters who formerly set the standard for English usage.

    End of rant.

    Have a delightful Monday, everyone!

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  25. Yes, yes, yes on the Imitation Game movie! It is exceedingly well done and acted. I hope it wins many Oscars.

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  26. Good Morning:

    Easy, peasy start to the week. Needed the reveal to catch the theme but cluing and fill were Monday fare. Love the word mnemonic!

    Thanks Joel and Argyle for a smooth and pleasant ride. Enjoyed the CSO's to Lemony, who is far from sour, Santa, who is Ho ho ho cheerful, and Boomer, who is our favorite "striker."

    Happy Birthday, Splynter. Hope you have a great day and a productive week with your game project.

    Feel better, Hondo.

    Gave a great day.

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  27. Morning all!

    "This is a Monday?" was my 1st thought in passing though the grid. But most of my 1st thoughts were right, so I guess it was a Monday. Thanks Joel, it was fun and COST me nuthin'.

    My only write-over was AUDIO for score @36a

    SANTA - another twinkling write-up today.

    Here's pathetic - in addition to knowing everything about MOOSE and Squirrel, this song is all I know about POLK.

    BOX SEATs are no way to enjoy a ball game; put me down the 1st base line.

    In the lab we'd use DESICCANTs to DESICCATE samples for true wt. of impurities. Hand up for no idea how to spell it.

    HBD Splynter - I can never do a Sat, but enjoy your write-ups and project reports (I'm still looking forward to building the rook table).

    Cheers, -T

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  28. Black Hole? Sorry, I couldn't use the other pic...

    I don't know how I wound up with this pic for Black Magic, most were not funny, or racist. I guess I was thinking Splynters Birthday... UPS...?

    Black Box Wisdom...

    Again, the black art links were racist, so I went with black & white art...

    Black Comedy?

    OK, A black list that hopefully won't offend anyone...

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  29. Greetings!

    Thanks, Joel and Santa!

    Nice, easy romp. Only hesitation was spelling of DESICCATE.

    Many happy returns, Splinter!

    Spoiler Hooray for Edith!

    Cheers!

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  30. Husker and Lucina, thanks so much for reminding us about The Imitation Game. The LW and I have been meaning to get out and see it, and we will if it ever stops snowing.

    CED 10:17 - yep, that's the one!

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  31. This puzzle took a little longer than the usual Monday but I got the theme (and noted all the CSOs).

    Hand up for not spelling DESICCATE properly. I went from POUT to MOUE to MOPE, had CUBED before CUBIC, and TART before SOUR.

    I wanted DREAMED before DREAMT. Surprising that a Canadian would be more familiar with the American spelling than the British!

    When daughter lived in S. Korea, she commented on the cultural difference with QUEUEs. She learned to suppress her Canadian-learned style and use her elbows.

    HBD Splynter.

    We have had enough SNOW here also. Good day for STEW.

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  32. Good morning Argyle and all,

    Some very interesting words for a Monday, but lots of fun and somewhat a smooth fill. I had no idea how black list had anything to do with hole, etc til I read Argyle's thoughts. Had no idea a ricer is used for potatoes, but then I would not make it on jr. chef . Tahini? no clue..LOL I used almost all the perps for desiccate, but was "in awe" of Joel's 1st puzzle.

    After 4 days of glorious rain, we once more have sun. Hope all of you in the path of the latest nasty storm are doing OK.

    Happy birthday Splynter! Kudos to you for blogging the puzzle for us every Saturday. Pretty much, I just read and learn from you. Thanks!

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  33. Hey CED, I recognize that guy in your last link. It's Brian Williams!

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  34. CED - For you @1:05ish the BLACK HOLE cat. For equity, Manac on Dogs. Or, maybe switch that PROPOSAL.

    I'll SHUT up now. C, -T

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  35. Here is a video of Manac playing outside with his buddy.

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  36. fermatprime @10:50 AM
    I agree with you. Hooray for Edith!

    Last night was wonderful!
    8:00pm Downton Abbey 2/1/15 Episode (repeat)
    9:00pm Downton Abbey New Episode
    10:00pm Casablanca on TCM

    Best 4 hour stretch of TV viewing ever !!!


    TO ALL linking today ... Great LINKS !!!

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  37. Hi gang -

    HBD Splynter.

    Fine Monday puzzle

    UNPLUG has way too many common letters.

    DELAY - DETER - DEFER

    I'm a big fan of MOOSE in general and Bulwinkle in particular.

    I should be able to spel DESSICATE.
    But I ccan't

    Good ones, Owen.

    Off to Kroger with the LW

    Cool regards!
    JzB

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  38. What a relief to get this delightful Monday puzzle after the bears on Friday and Saturday--many, many thanks, Joel! I loved all the entertainment references. Buster CRABBE was a childhood favorite of mine (wish I could remember the TV series). Great to remember MR. ROGERS and BULLWINKLE. Wonderful novel, EMMA. Never saw ADELE Astaire dance, sadly. And, of course, COMEDY CLUB.

    One silly moment for me. Still sleepy, I read HUMMUS PASTE as HUMOROUS PASTE and thought, what on earth will that be?

    Fun expo, Argyle, and have a wonderful, wonderful birthday, Splynter.

    Enjoy a great start to the week, everybody!

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  39. Good morning. Happy birthday Splynter! I enjoy your weekend work. Thanks. Also, thanks to Joel and Argyle.

    I've always liked Brian Williams. I feel sorry about the mess he's gotten himself into. Brian, meet Lara Logan.

    There used to be a fast food place near here called Foster's Freeze. One of their flavors was a coffee malted. Yum!

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  40. JD,
    I've had several ricers give up on me--the top handles are not always strong enough to withstand the pressure needed to get through even a well cooked spud. My solution? Cheat--I use my heavy duty one bought in Germany, and I mash all the potatoes first, then only rice the top layer in the serving dish. It looks just as good and nobody needs to know the rest isn't riced, since it all packs down after a few digs into it with the serving spoon anyway.

    Lucina,
    Thanks for the agreement--I'm glad I'm not the only one. Those "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" movie ads drove me nuts!

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  41. Fermat 10:50 - hand up! I'm glad Edith took a stand! I feel a bit sorry for the farmer's wife, but it appears she understood. Now that Edith is head of a publishing company, let's see her grow and prosper.

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  42. Now this is more like it. Easy, breezy. The only problem I had was spelling MNEMONIC. So I looked at 4D, put it in, and got the first letter correct. DESICCATE was no problem as I already had 21A and 29A in. The theme was no problem.

    How is 6AM late? What do you people do that gets you up to start in the "middle of the night"? I read some of the previous late night/early morning posts, and have to ask, do some of you NOT sleep?

    It's after 1PM. Sitting in bed doing this puzzle. Let me get my lazy self up and do something useful.

    Good day all.

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  43. Good afternoon everyone.

    Fun puzzle today, but I misspelled Mnemonic (used a P rather than an M), as well as DESICCATE of course.

    Happy birthday Splynter. Hope you have fun.

    Cheers

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  44. Downton actor updates we have seen recently
    -POSTER - Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) has a lead role in current and very successful Paddington. We saw Monuments Men last year
    -ACTOR - Tom Branson (Allen Leech) as a communist spy in aforementioned The Imitation Game we saw Saturday
    -PAST TRAILER – this summer we saw Lady Mary Crawley (Michelle Dockery) as a passenger on the Liam Neeson film Non-Stop
    -PREVIEW - Lady Violet Crawley (Dame Maggie Smith) with a wonderful role in The Second Best Marigold Hotel in trailer prior to the aforementioned, aforementioned movie ;-)
    -They were all fine, but does anyone think the first three would have those roles without Downton credits

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  45. HG - You forced me out of my SOUR mood... Liam Neeson in a MAGIC COMEDY bit. I'm iN AWE of Key and Peele.

    For an ARTistic interlude, here's Sound Garden w/ BLACK HOLE sun. UM'MA not like it, but it's on the MONEY for the 90's FAZE.*

    Cheers, -T
    *sorry, that is bad, but I had to go with it 'cuz I had LES... Is Argyle gonna PUNCH me or just CULL this?

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  46. Dudley:

    I have not had a chance to watch DOWNTON ABBEY yet.

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  47. A delightful debut from Mr. MacKerry and an entertaining explication from our Argyle. I would have aced this puzzle if I could have spelt dessiccate and pneumonic, but I cuddn't. Perps to the rescue.

    HBD Splynter, and many happy returns.

    Not to rub it in for our friends in the Northeast, but DW and I saw our first robin of spring under our bird/squirrel feeder today. Those of you in New England should take heart. If the first of the robins has made it back as far as the mid-Atlantic, spring can't be that far behind for all of us.

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  48. This was a good Monday puzzle. Congrats, Joel M! Thanks for the expo, Argyle!

    I had enough answers in place that dessicate/desiccate wasn't an issue. For some reason I knew MNEMONIC.

    Happy Birthday, Splynter! Thanks for your work on the Saturday stumpers!


    I hope all in the NE are safe during this storm. Hopefully this is your last one of the season.

    Have a great week.

    Pat

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  49. Bluehen @ 2:03, are you sure that was a robin, and not just a chickadee with a chapped chest????

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  50. Good afternoon!
    HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SPLYNTER!

    I am the mother of 40-year old twins today. Feeling old.

    I also thought this was a 'tough' Monday puzzle, but did solve it. Just took longer time than usual. I did search for the theme and didn't get it. Had to wait for morning write up. Thanks, Argyle.

    Montana

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  51. Anon -T @ 11:10, Stirring the kettle
    today, are we?

    Actually those were amusing.

    Coneyro @ 12:04, You may find it hard to believe....
    But it is called Work :(

    And some friendly words about Karma

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  52. Happy Birthday, Splynter!

    Congratulations on the debut, Joel, and for including one of my favorite words - DREAMT - it's the only English word that ends in -AMT.

    Years ago, and pre-Internet Word Searches, my ex boss challenged me to find the TWO words that end with -AMT. I got DREAMT after a couple of hours, and after a couple of days admitted defeat and pleaded for the answer.

    He told me he'd made a mistake and there was only one. I don't think I ever forgave him for that!

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  53. Manac - I guess Karma really is a bitch... -T

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  54. Bumper sticker I saw several years ago: "Your Karma just ran over my Dogma."

    That said, WTH, I saw my first Bluebird yesterday. Not sure if their migration pattern is the same as that of Robins, but they are closely related birds.

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  55. As if I needed more reminding of impending fogydom, I watched a few minutes, here and there, of the Grammy awards. I liked Tony Bennett of course but watching Lady Gaga fawning over him as if they were teenagers in heat was a little disconcerting.

    Our daughter, Bonnie, found some videos of Dan's family. I was watching some videos of him interacting with his kids when they were young. Very enjoyable. I realize we missed most of that, partly because of his wife. Though we've been very supportive of their family when they've run into problems and Barbara has put a lot of effort in Christmas presents, etc. for all of them, Amy has hardly spoken to us or included us in their communications. Dunno why. So we've missed lots of their family's history until now. Sad...

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  56. Good evening, folks. Thank you, Joel Mackerry, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Argyle, for a fine review.

    Happy Birthday, Splynter, and many more. Enjoy your input.

    Got MNEMONIC right off the bat. Used those for 36 years in telephony. That is how we talked. My favorite was SATT. Strowger Automatic Toll Ticketing. Our product invented and first produced in 1957. I installed a bunch of that equipment through the years.

    Liked the theme. Excellent!

    Did not know TAHINI. I have heard of Hummus.

    I usually get up at SIX AM. Earlier if necessary.

    I finished the Sunday puzzle this morning. Got too tired last night. I will report on that in Sunday's blog. Saturday I did not do. Busy all day.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ( )

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  57. Bill G, when our children grow and move on with their lives, those in-laws can make a difference. I have one d-i-l like that (out of 3) but I also was one of those to my husband because I absolutely Hated to go visit his favorite brother & family. Over the years we spent less and less time visiting them and it was my fault. And I comunicated with them as little as possible. I realize I won't be part of two grandson's lives, but I have other grandchildren to dote on, so I try not to stress over it.

    Just got word that my sister-in-law in Harlingen, TX passed away, so I am going to see if I can get to her funeral.

    Montana

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  58. Occasional Lurker from Oil Derrick Tiger Eye off the coast of Straits of HormuzFebruary 9, 2015 at 10:52 PM

    Hello all, Hi Lucina,

    I wonder what sort of Karma got me here. ;-D)

    I am resting on the helipad off an Oil Derrick Tiger Eye off the Straits of Hormuz. Oil Tankers gently nudging U S warships as they gingerly cross one another in the busiest shipping lanes in the world. I gently waved to the Chief mate ( CPO ? ) "Yankee Doodle", on the USS Endurance, and he pleasantly waved back through his binoculars.

    And the fishermen in dhows fish for Sarsa, Mahsa, Rui and Khansi with their nylon seines.

    The temperature is 98, rather a cool day, ---- air conditioning is set at a chilly 68oF. I was surprised yesterday when I went to the local supermarket. ALL the cars in the parking lot were running on idle, while the owners were shopping inside. !!!! When I mentioned this to my local guide and employer, he seemed uninterested. He was truly surprised when I told him somebody might steal his car, while he was inside the grocery store. 'Why would anybody want to do that ? '. I should invite him to spend a week in Detroit or even Washington DC... They keep the cars running so the air conditioned cars are at 68oF, no more.

    When I told him, that that crazy idea contributes to global warming - he said that he hoped the global warming would help melt the heavy snow in Boston.

    I sure hope it does.
    Great blog Santa Argyle, even though I got an entirely different puzzle. The newspaper who subscribe to the LA Times crossword march to a different drummer ....

    Later folks, good morning - or good night at the case may be.

    Finally, I AM A ROBOT !!! There.

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  59. What an interesting message from Occasional Lurker on the Straits of Hormuz apparently working on an oil rig.

    I've heard that particular strait is the busiest in the world, so be careful there, OL.

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  60. Tiger Eye, your post is WAY too long. Break it up next time.

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  61. Two questions:

    Isn't tiger eye's post under 20 lines?

    What's the reasoning behind keeping posts under twenty lines?

    Why would breaking the story into two posts make it less annoying?

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  62. OcL - I thought you said something about teaching the other day...

    I'm sure Spitz and the other vets would agree, don't go all Geraldo on us and give away asset positions. But do keep reporting on life in cheap-oil country.

    On TAHINI - I make my own hummus so there's a jar in the fridge. It's the easiest thing to build. 1 can of chick-peas (garbanzo beans) (drained), garlic, dry pepper (Lucina knows the best), lemon and TAHINI in a food processor. Eat w/ pita or even a Saltine.

    MIL and I just got finished revisiting the BOON of this 1st time constructor. She hadn't a SOUR note and also enjoyed the unusual Monday fill (SEED MONEY, DESICCATE, MNEMONIC), so nice going Joel, my MIL is IN AWE too.

    Bill G. It is sad, but take it day by day is all I can say... You've been in my thoughts since the accident. Positive thoughts always your way.

    Cheers, -T

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  63. The blog overview site doesn't show over twenty lines, it just cuts it off. The post in question ended with, 'anybody want to do that?' I...

    So if you want your post read by administration, break it up.

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  64. When "The Alphabet Song" opening was ABCD, and the next clue was closing, I expected WXYZ.

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  65. Sorry, the past tense of pleaded is never "pled" - always "pleaded."

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  66. Kevin, Thanks for stopping by. I love hearing about the construction and editing process.

    Barry G., I would spend the money on a roof rake. Ours has saved many an ice dam. Not to mention we don't heat the second floor: we let the heat rise from the first floor. It provides for a slower thaw. We seldom have icicles.

    Stay cozy, everyone.

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