google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday, February 8, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

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Feb 8, 2015

Sunday, February 8, 2015 Marti DuGuay-Carpenter

Theme:  "Movie Trailers". Our lovely Marti has appended a word to familiar movie titles and then hilarity ensued as the resulting phrase made sense but in a fun way. My favorite was 

56A. Movie about a morning mixer? : THE BREAKFAST CLUB SODAwhich in this case seems to be Coca Cola and not CLUB SODA. Gotta love product placement fees!
 

22A. Movie about a second-place swordsman? : BLADE RUNNER UP - Probably had a bad epee

39A. Movie about a case of brilliance? : THE SHINING EXAMPLE

80A. Movie about remedial grammar? : BACK TO THE FUTURE TENSE - When we hit 88 mph, we will have returned to 1985

96A. Movie about a gabfest getting out of hand? : RAGING BULL SESSION (not much gabbing going on in this session)


119A. Movie about a Brownie coming of age? : GONE GIRL SCOUT - she sold me some Thin Mints and then split

I always have a good time with Marti's puzzles and this was no exception. I'll bet her fertile brain produced a big bone pile of rejected entries that didn't make the cut. 

After blogging for C.C. two weeks ago and Marti today, may I submit a humble entry - "Strength Of An Attractive Female"
 

                        Power"  

Get your popcorn, turn off your cell phones, sit back and enjoy the show! 

Across        

1. "Shucks!" : AW GEE

6. Alley roamers : TOM CATS - a venue our kitty will never see

13. Relatives of bolts : SCREWS - Betcha you've got a drawer at home full of both like we do
 
 

19. Contemporary of Burns : BENNY

20. Central __ : AMERICA - I only know Panama and Guatemala on a map for sure. You?
 
 

21. Red choice : CLARET - Yup, it's Marti's puzzle!

24. Went around : ROTATED - We ROTATED kids every 12 weeks for 34 years so I got everyone of the 400+ Eighth graders. No wonder I can't remember them!

26. Fifth-century invader : ATTILA - Romans called him "The Scourge of God"

27. As above, in footnotes : IDEM - Not IBID. Footnoting was "The Scourge of College" for me. 

28. Logan of "60 Minutes" : LARA

29. Con opening : NEO

30. It might include problems : TEST - Was that Central America test above a problem?

32. Syria's most populous city : ALEPPO - Millions have fled

35. Stupefyin' Jones creator : CAPP - Julie Newmar wowed 'em in that role on Broadway and reprised the character in the 1959 movie version of Lil' Abner.
 

36. Rocks, maybe : ICE - not allowed in some venues ;-)

44. "Finale Ultimo" chorus in "The Sound of Music" : NUNS - Reprise #2. The NUNS sang Climb Every Mountain against this fabulous backdrop.
 
 

46. Dire destiny : DOOM

47. Actress Vardalos : NIA - Tom Hanks' wife Rita Wilson, of Greek heritage, convinced him to see NIA's play and then Hanks' company, Playtone, got the movie off the ground.
 
 

48. Mudville dud : CASEY - He shouldna taken two strikes!

49. Per se : AS SUCH

52. Cocktail word for "strained" : COLADA - Learning for me. I've strained to get to the car after too many pina coladas.

54. "12 Angry Men" actor Cobb : LEE J - Did that kid really kill his dad or not?

61. Rembrandt van __ : RYN - He went by his first name like Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni 

62. One who gives a hoot : OWL

63. Some "MIB" characters : ET'S -  I liked 'em better in Close Encounters

64. Prefix with metric : ISO - As in ISOMETRIC exercise. Let's all pause for three reps!
 
 

65. Guns : REVS - Followed by "She's real fine my 409..."

67. 1977 Steely Dan album : AJA - Pronounced Asia, the name of a Korean bride taken by Donald Fagen's friend's brother's wife

68. Fisher daughter on "Six Feet Under" : CLAIRE

70. Eur. peak on the Decade Volcanoes list : MT ETNA - Lots of company.
 
 

73. Slammer : PEN

74. Milkweed features : PODS - Here is a piece of Milkweed Pod art by our constructor Marti that she calls Parakeets. Yeah, I know, she's pretty talented! 
 

76. 911 responder, for short : EMT

77. Game-winning line : O O O 
 
 

78. Austrian article : EIN - Ich bin EIN Berliner still gives me goosebumps 

79. Bard's preposition : ERE

86. River islets : AITS - sometimes, what gets learned here, stays here

87. Steps in for : ACTS AS - In the last Husker bowl game, another coach had to ACT AS the head coach for fired Bo Pelini

88. One might get a return : SENDER - Only Big Girls Don't Cry kept Elvis' Return To SENDER from the #1 spot in December 1962

89. Pre-Little League game : T-BALL

92. "Selena" star, to fans : J LO

93. Ton : SLEW

95. Paper or plastic alternative : TOTE
 

102. Agree silently : NOD 

103. Solo often in Italian : ARIA - I'll take Nessun Dorma

104. It had a big part in "The Ten Commandments" : RED SEA - Big "Part"? Good one Marti!

105. Tater : SPUD 

107. Denver winter hrs. : MST

108. Big do : FETE

109. Popular tablet : I PAD - Don't ask Joann to choose between her iPad and me!

113. Blows : ERUPTS - See map at 70A for examples

117. Naval attire : PEA COAT - I'd be willing to bet there's some of these hanging in closets among our sea-going (sea-went) sailors here at the Corner.
 
 

122. Laid-back : AT EASE - Now if the space is between the A and the T...

123. Like the Empire State Building : ART DECO

124. Helped by the jet stream, as a flight : EARLY - A BOAC flight from NY to London arrived an hour and a half early recently as a 200 mph jet stream pushed it up to near the speed of sound

125. ATM part : TELLER

126. "Ah, it's clear now!" : YES I SEE

127. Inscribed pillar : STELE


Down:

1. Group whose logo looks the same in a mirror : ABBA - Hey, this would work, but not as I just typed it.
 
 

2. Shoemaker's strip : WELT

3. Flying pest : GNAT

4. Call the whole thing off : END IT - "Just take one dip and END IT!"
 
 

5. Lace hole : EYELET
6. Start of ancient Troy? : TAU τροία
7. Upscale hotel chain : OMNI

8. Heal : MEND 

9. First Nations tribe : CREE 

10. Aviator : AIRMAN - Sgt. Major Dickerson had trouble with this AIRMAN.
 
 

11. Horned Frogs' sch. : TCU

12. Flower in trees? : SAP - Aha, Marti, you didn't get me!

13. Pickle : SCRAPE

14. Laundry brand : CLOROX

15. Pro __ : RATA

16. The Gay '90s, e.g. : ERA

17. Messy-meal handouts : WET-NAPS - With a side of ribs

18. Church feature : STEEPLE - C'mon, you've made this STEEPLE, haven't you?
 
 

23. Impetuous : RASH

25. Grumpy companion : DOPEY

28. Evian Championship co-sanctioning org. : LPGA

31. CNN founder Turner : TED

33. Godiva competitor : LINDT
 

34. "Giant Brain" introduced in 1946 : ENIAC

35. Key of 20 Haydn symphonies : C MAJOR

36. Caught : IN A TRAP - Speaking of Elvis, which of his songs has "IN A TRAP" in the lyric? It's my favorite.

37. Plum position : CUSHY JOB - Thanks for the raise, Dad!

38. Baja city : ENSENADA - Inlet or cove in español

40. Put (away), as money : SOCK

41. Bojangles, e.g. : HOOFER 

42. "Sorry, can't stop to chat" : I'M LATE - I'M LATE, for a very important date...

43. Whizzes : ACES

45. Hero : SUB

50. Gator relative : CROC 

51. Computer company co-founder Bill : HEWLETT - Garage in Palo Alto, CA where Bill started. California named it "The Birthplace Of Silicon Valley".
 

53. Braying beast : ASS

54. Sheen : LUSTER

55. Piano keys not played in a 35-Down scale : EBONIES - Not a sharp or flat in sight.
 
 
57. Los __ : ALAMOS - A more destructive birthplace

58. A bad one can raise one's score : LIE

59. Trust : DEPEND ON

60. Put off by : AVERSE TO 

66. Showed disdain : SNEERED - What Elvis did when he sang Return To Sender

69. Hairy sitcom cousin : ITT

70. Airy dessert : MOUSSE - You can see some of that air here.
 

71. Bottom lines : TOTALS

72. Hold 'em opener : ANTE

75. Colleague of Thomas : SCALIA

77. O'er and o'er : OFT - Tis OFT we see ere and o'er 

81. Brickmaking tool : KILN

82. Lecture sites : HALLS

83. Paris' __ des Beaux-Arts : ECOLE

84. Doesn't allow to gather dust : USES -  Our theme song?
 
 

85. Otolaryngology doc : ENT - An ENT had my head scanned and it revealed nothing. Wait a minute... 

89. Lady's friend : TRAMP

90. Stool, often : BAR SEAT

91. Inflame : AGITATE

92. Patron saint of lost causes : JUDE

94. "America's Dairyland": Abbr. : WIS - Maybe not... 
 

97. Washday challenge : GREASE

98. Outdo : BETTER - What musical featured, Anything You Can Do, I Can Do BETTER?

99. Superdome team : SAINTS - Their post-Katrina success culminating in the 07/08 Super Bowl win really help put NOLA back on its feet

100. GM subsidiary : OPEL

101. Drinks on a 90-Down : NURSES

106. Old Venetian coin : DUCAT

108. Mustang that just arrived : FOAL - cute

110. Mani go-with : PEDI - had one last year, haven't been back

111. A long time : AGES

112. Rollers for high rollers : DICE

114. Tiny sweater? : PORE - cute too

115. Eponymous 18th-century agriculturist Jethro __ : TULL - His invention of the horse drawn seed drill helped fuel the British Agricultural Revolution.
 
 
116. Eye sore : STYE

118. Animation still : CEL - This 1935 CEL, the first with Mickey Mouse in color, sold for $420,000. Most, if not all, animators are now laid off.
 

119. Lively : GAY

120. Vein contents : ORE

121. Anagram of 120-Down : ROE - nice coupling finish!

No puzzle to do, no blog to write and I sang and played in church last night. Hmmm... I wonder if that old sock drawer needs a look-see. 
 

46 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great puzzling experience, especially in comparison to Friday's headache from which I've yet to fully recover.

That said, when someone refers to a puzzle as a "poser," what do they mean? For example, on Friday someone referred to the puzzle for that day as "perfect for a Friday poser."

Thanks. And have a great Sunday.

Rainman said...

I was pleased to see Marti's name on the puzzle, congratulations again. Nice summary, Gary. Now I see clearly why Julie Newmar was a hit! (She could act, too.)

I liked the theme and the puzzle fill. Finding titles that would fit, I'm guessing, is a big part of a work like this. I slid through this one in average speed successfully. Although I recall having to go down the alphabet on more than one. RYN? Perps, but not easy ones, CUSHYJOB, ENSENADA, INATRAP. Almost every compass point had something I wasn't certain about. Learning moments. So in the end, it was a relief to get through it with a minimum of scar tissue.

Gary, that HEWLETT garage in Palo Alto is on the National Register of Historic Places, and I have to go see it when it stops raining up there. If.

Madame Defarge said...

Thanks Marti for both a challenge and a delight. Fun. My favorite was the REDSEA's big part. That made me chuckle. I also liked Start of Troy; after Tee was a miss, I moved to TAU.

Thanks Gary for the explanations. Yep, when we moved to our townhouse, there were plenty of drawers filled with nuts, bolts and SCREWS. There were also all sorts of mismatched cords for electronics. Must have been that "waste not, want not" upbringing.

Enjoy the day.

Lemonade714 said...

This is one of my all time favorite Marti puzzles. It was chock-a-block with wit and misdirection but very doable. RYN as the variant spelling was the hardest for me to get done, and COLADA was a learning moment.

I owned a PEA COAT when I lived where it got cold, and my son has one now in Denver. No boat required...

HG nice review, marti stay warm.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Nice romp, Marti! Nice writeup, Husker! In answer to your questions -- Suspicious Minds and Annie Get Your Gun. See, still got it. Mind like a steel whatchamacallit.

BTW, back in 1954 when she appeared in Seven Brides For Seven Brothers she was still Julie Newmeyer. And yes, there's still a PEACOAT in my closet -- the only part of that uniform that still survives. Hasn't been cold enough to wear it since I moved south back in '79. Why do I keep that old thing?

Anybody still get that paper/plastic option. It's all plastic around here; haven't seen a paper bag in ages.

When they laid out our town, they named the street Michaelangelo [sic]. Last year new street signs were put up. Now it's Michael Angelo, to add insult to injury.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Well, I got off to a rocky start with this one. Could only get AWGEE/GNAT in the NW corner and eventually left it to work on the rest of the puzzle. Got the theme early on and had a delightful time figuring out the theme answers.

I managed to make it through most of the rest of the puzzle with no major issues, but got stumped for awhile in the west. RYN just wouldn't come to me and I didn't know ENSENADA. I was also looking for the name of a song at 44A. Once I finally guessed NUNS, however, the whole section came together.

Back up in the NW, I finally just took out AW GEE and GNAT and started from scratch. This let me put in ABORT at 4D, which made me realize that 1A was actually AW MAN and 3D was MITE. Of course, that was all completely wrong. What saved me was when I finally figured out the theme answer BLADE RUNNER-UP, which had to be right and gave me the foothold I needed. WELT meant nothing to me as clued, but I went with it since it worked with everything else.

desper-otto said...

Husker, I've just gotta ask. "bride of Donald Fagen's friend's brother's wife?" Aja had a bride?

Unknown said...

The Week in Review:

M 5:04 T 7:15 W 7:44 T 7:25 F 18:48 S 34:10 S 20:11

C.C.'s "Roman numeral" puzzle on Tuesday was fun. Wednesday's was the first time I'd ever seen PRAT without "fall". Friday's very clever theme took awhile to figure out (and I still don't get the "-/" in the cluing). It would have been a DNF with a triple natick in the south central but I WAGed ELMO, ELAH, and NAVI (haven't seen Avatar) and heard the "TaDa!".

Then there was the Saturday Silkie. I stalled with only about 50% filled. Then I pushed on and stalled again with about 75% filled. Then I pushed on. That's the way to solve a Silkie. In hindsight, the fills were not that remarkable. The clues were. Thinking outside the box is mandatory.

Finally, Marti's puzzle was everything a Sunday puzzle should be.

The dreaded "wintry mix" is in the forecast, followed by brutally cold temps.

See y'all next weekend. If I survive.

HeartRx said...

I hate it when I have a Sunday puzzle. There's nothing for me to do but twiddle my thumbs until I get to read the write-up. Thanks for all the entertainment, HG!

Especially PRETTY WOMAN POWER – Good one!
And, 122-a “Laid back.” A T E A S E – your…best…comment…evah!!

d-otto already beat me to it with your movie questions. AW, GEE!

Lemony, for more on the “ij” vs. “y” spelling, see this explanation of the Dutch dipthong. Even the Dutch themselves often substitute "y" for "ij" in their writing. Go figure. So, until RYN Weaver hits the Billboard Top 100, I guess constructors will have to fall back on the classic artist's alternate spelling. (^0^)

Ergo said...

Thank you Gary and Marti.

As difficult as yesterdays puzzle was, today's was comparably enjoyable.

Fond memory from high school playing the role of Dr. Finsdale in the musical Lil' Abner. I was the only one at liberty to ogle "Stupefying Jones." Rather surprising that they allowed catholic high school kids to portray rather risqué scenes in the mid 70's.

Lucina said...

Greetings, puzzlers.
Classy cinematic theme, Marti and great review, Gary. Thank you, both.

As always on Sunday, I start in slow motion, gradually gather momentum and it's done! ''

AMERICA was the first fill and though I had some suspicions in the NW, I wait for more convincing proof before entering a fill. This grid took strong reliance on perps to complete the theme answers, but with only a few letters in place I could identify the titles.

There is a restaurant here called THE BREAKFAST CLUB.

Sadly, I had two errors, embarrassingly, COLADA was one and OFT the other. I played around with the spelling of LINDT for so long that I forgot to erase the T and had LINTT.

This was, nevertheless, a fun SESSION.

Have a fantastically fun Sunday, everyone!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

It's always a pleasure to see Marti as the constructor and especially so with this Sunday offering. Is this your debut Sunday, Marti?

I liked everything about it: theme, fill, cluing (devious as some of it was!) and the delightful theme answers. Fav was The Breakfast Club Soda. If all Sunday puzzles were as clean and straightforward as this one, I would be quite satisfied.

Congrats, Marti, for a sparkling gem, and thanks, HG, for the witty and wise review. (I wonder if Tin saw the rocks=_ _ _. On second thought, I don't think he does the Sunday puzzle.)

Have a great day.

HeartRx said...

Irish Miss, this is my third Sunday puzzle, and my 50th solo puzzle. BTW, I knew it would be safe to sneak in _ _ _, since as you noticed, Tin doesn't do the Sunday puzzles usually. But just to be safe, I also included 90-D BAR SEAT and 101-D NURSES "Drinks on a 90-Down."

Irish Miss said...

Wow, Marti, those numbers are impressive, indeed! 😉

desper-otto said...

Marti, congrats on the big 5-0. I knew you'd created a bunch of puzzles, but had no idea it was so many.

Anon@6:31 -- seems nobody is inclined to answer. One definition of a poser is one who asks a question. A second definition is "a difficult or perplexing question or problem."

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

How nice to have a Manageable Marti following the effort-intensive Saturday Silkie! Chugged through with just a few glitches, sussed the theme early for once. Favorite clue: "It had a big part..." Thanks, Marti! By the way, do you have room for a bit more snow? :-)

Steely Dan's superb Aja was the first CD I ever bought when converting from LP's. It's a refined bit of musical craftsmanship.

Li'l Abner was before my time, and I get the idea I missed out on something great. I can well imagine that Julie Newmar had a stupefying effect...after all, she rocked the Catwoman costume!

Morning, Husker, thanks for 'splaining.

TTP said...



Great puzzle Marti. Savored every minute of it. As well, Gary's excellent write up.

Loved the "big part in 10 Commandments" clue.

3 areas had me perplexed. On the west side I had AS MUCH, THE BREAK..., CUSHY JOB, AJA and BACK TO... Much much later got ICE for "Rocks" when ORE appeared at the bottom, and corrected "Per se" to AS SUCH. ENSENADA then broke the area wide open. Tough clue for NUNS.

First had RELIANCE for "Trust" at 59D. That threw me off in that area. But with "...CLUB SODA" that had to be wrong. Then took a while to see that CAN wasn't correct for "Slammer." DEPEND ON and AVERSE TO came easily after discarding can to the recycling bin.

We most often use totes, but ask for paper bags before plastic when the totes aren't with us. We recycle more than we toss.

In the Southeast I had OPaL instead of OPEL, which made ERUPTS hard to see. I made the southeast much harder than it was. The perps made ERUPTS evident.

A few other mistakes got easily corrected with perps, such as having Debbie Reynold's daughter instead of CLAIRE.

GrannyAnny said...

Really liked this puzzle, Marti, and enjoyed your write-up, as always, Gary.
The northeast remained mostly blank until the end when I finally gave up on NAPKINS at 17D and took it out. Then everything fell into place nicely. Too many admiring "Hah's! while working on this one to make a list of what I enjoyed most -- it would be too long!
Thanks again, Marti.

C6D6 Peg said...

Loved the puzzle, Marti! Thanks for a nice challenge and theme. Congratulations on the big 5-0! Looking to get another 50 from you.

GH, great job on the blog. You're getting to be a regular doing it.

Thanks and all have a good week!

fodel said...

Isn't it time we note that this is NOT the Sunday puzzle for the L.A. Times... Unless you mean Louisansa, not Los Angeles.

HeartRx said...

Irish Miss @ 11:31, thanks, but I would love to go back and count all the puzzles CC has had published - not just in the LA Times, but the NY TImes, Red CrossWord book, and several other venues. I'd bet it would be at least 5 times my number!

Big Easy said...

Marti- I thought this would be a breeze after I filled the NW in about one minute, even with WELT and IDEM being unknowns. Footnotes are a complete waste of most students' time because they most of them will never do research. After ALEPPO the puzzle stayed whiter and whiter.

I always have trouble with ATTILA and ALEPPO, usually Italian, type words trying to remember if the double consonant is first or second. COLADA and JETHRO TULL were learning moments, with the first being a popular drink (always frozen around here) and the TULL is the name of a band. 'Thick As A Brick'

Husker- I always thought of Pretty Woman and Rocky I, II, III, IV being male and female fairy tales. Hooker marries a billionaire and loan shark enforcer becoming heavyweight champion.

I finished this puzzle with no writeovers and only slowdowns were COLT or FOAL, SNORTED or SNEERED and AEON or AGES. I liked the side-by-side answers of DEPEND ON and AVERSE TO. Other unknowns solved by perps were ENSENADA, HOOFER, CLAIRE, WET NAPS. The last one could came from sleeping in the tub. I've just never used NAP for Napkin.

I'm am grateful that you used movies that I am actually familiar with even though I never saw RAGING BULL or THE SHINING. A movie about a second place swordsman- DEAD MAN not WALKING.

TTP said...


Marti, congratulations on your 50th ! And ditto you on the praise to HG for Pretty Woman Power and A TEASE.

Speaking of NURSES, the first Sunday after the Superbowl is our standard date for our annual Golf League preseason "winter" meeting. New rules are proposed and discussed, and then voted on. Then we nominate and elect officers. I didn't go. I didn't want to get elected, and can live with whatever (if any) rule changes. The meetings have gotten shorter though the years. It's more or less a pretext for the boys to all get together again. Not much NURSING going on around on those bar stools. I'll pass.

Dudley, I agree about AJA. Still have it on vinyl and also recorded it to cassette at the time.

Anonymous said...

36 down: caught

ans. "in a trap"

Elvis lyric? "Suspicious Minds", of course.

Bill G. said...

Good morning/afternoon! This was a fun challenge, especially because I persevered and finished it with no red letters. Yeah me! I got stuck in places having tried rods instead of REVS for guns. (A rod is a gun in old crime fiction.) I was sure that Burns was Robert instead of George. (Do constructors put in that stuff on purpose to confuse me or is it just an accident caused by my brain?) I couldn't make sense of the two squares in front of ETNA at first. And I kept stumbling onward toward the finish line. Thanks Marti and Gary.

It's almost all paper here; plastic has been banned. We use cloth totes.

There's a sad local news story. A black family had a burning tire thrown at their front door in the middle of the night. It's hard for me to believe that kind of stuff still goes on, even in this relatively affluent bedroom community. Geez...

Argyle said...

Fodel, this is the Sunday puzzle FROM the LAT, syndicated version. The paper itself publishes a different puzzle, Merl Reagle’s Sunday crossword.

Spitzboov said...

Good afternoon everyone.

Ran the snowblower this morning to make room for the next storm on its way. So just finished the cw now. Very enjoyable puzzle. Lots of bright fill but not hard. liked the theme. Good job, Marti.

61a - RYN or Rijn means Rhine. In 1949 the Dutch standardized their orthography so that it is completely phonetic. (If one were to take dictation, one could spell everything correctly even if the words are unfamiliar.) So the IJ digraph is standard with Y being an old form. Place names and persons names in many cases have retained the old spelling. Even though Dutch nouns are no longer inflected, some have retained their original inflection from long ago. Den Helder (a port) and Den Haag (The Hague) are 2 examples. (Definite article 'The' is 'de' or 'het' depending on gender, - 'het' is neuter.)

125a - TELLER - Comes from the same cognate root as 'toll'.

105a - SPUD - A sailor on KP would sometimes be called a spud cox's'n.

Yellowrocks said...

Really cute theme, Marti, and clever misdirections. I was busy, so I did it in three sittings, each time with a fresh perspective. Congrats on the big 5 Oh. Knowing it was you, I was sure the red was a wine.
BLADE RUNNER UP and RAGING BULL SESSION came easily and were a big help.
HG, I enjoy your style.
Today Talbot's was selling $80-$100 pants for $19.99. I was pleased that I could go pants shopping, trying on 10 pairs, just 13 days after surgery and that I took such a small size. But the petites dragged on the floor by three inches. In my condition 3 inch heels are not an option and neither is hemming, because the pants were also long in the body. Maybe some of you can benefit from this one day only sale.
I can now go up 6 or 8 stairs with only one foot on each step. My goal by next weekend is to be able to go down one foot on each step. Much more difficult.
Big Easy, good luck to your wife. Did she have a bilateral replacement? Very challenging, I think. She is lucky to have you.My circumstances force me to be entirely self sustaining, so I am having a serial bilateral, the second act in March.

HeartRx said...

Spitzboov, I was hoping you would elaborate on the Dutch spelling. My link @ 8:17 demonstrates your comment about place names. Several of the photos show "Y" being used instead of "ij." The train station proudly displays a modern blue and white sign using the new spelling, while the old station itself stubbornly sticks with the "y" on its facade.

YR, it sounds like you are making slow and steady progress - congratulations!

Lemonade714 said...

Big Easy;

DEAD MAN NOT WALKING

does not fit the theme; as her title advises it is a movie TRAILER, meaning the new word is added to the end of the Movie title, or using HG's big word, appended.

Avg Joe said...

Got to this outing later than normal due to a late paper, but it was worth the wait. Got the theme with the first entry and they fell in order. That's not to say it was easy, but the theme answers did seem easier than the balance of the fill. Enjoyed it a great deal, and congratulations on hitting 50 Marti!!! Hope you're not getting hit too hard with the latest car in this train of storms.

Good job on the recap, HG. You're really becoming a natural at this.

Speaking of the movie theme, we watched Boyhood last night on DVD. Interesting, but not much of a payoff. DW said when it was over "It took 12 years to make. Not sure it took much less time to watch."

Anonymous said...

I got 95A, but the standard definition of TOTE bag does not exclude paper or plastic.

CrossEyedDave said...

Did the puzzle before lunch, very enjoyable. For once I had perps, lots of perps, and they kept me going till it was done. But the afternoon was a real drag as I had to drive DW to a NJ Youth Choir fund raiser so she could sell raffle tickets. (not my idea of a fun afternoon...)

Breakfast soda? Hmmm, which one do you recommend?

Blade runner up? I wouldn't worry about him, I would worry about his son...

The Shining Example: Dang scary, if you ask me...

Back to the future tense? Hmm, I am torn. I don't know which is worst, (worse,,worser??) trying to sing this stupid song. or reading this stupid joke...

Raging Bull Session? You need one of these..

Hmm, I am not familiar with "gone girl," I hope it's not like this...

Jayce said...

Great puzzle and terrific writeup. Thanks to Marti and Gary. What a pleasant way to start the morning!

TTP said...

Some of these are pretty funny, so I thought I would share.

Official-looking graphs show unofficial statistics from our daily lives that are at once unexpected and glaringly obvious.


Who was lamenting the other day about the misuse of lose versus loose ? Was that you Husker Gary ? Notice the "Content of Women's magazine graph" ...

Lucina said...

CED:
Your GONEGIRL depiction is not too far from the movie.

Barry G. said...

*sigh*

They are now predicting another 18-24 inches of the white stuff for tonight through Tuesday. School is already canceled and my wife will be working from home as the Governor has asked non-essential personnel to stay out of Boston.

I'm not at my wit's end yet, but I can see it from here...

GarlicGal said...

Funday Sunday. Thanks Marti. It took me a good 50 minutes to complete, but I was smiling the whole time! Loved the write up, Gary.

I've been hit and miss posting lately. Very busy at work but mostly experiencing laptop problems. Yes folks, my laptop is enjoying a stay at the local Betty Ford Rehab and Detox Center for PC's. Maybe she will be released this week.

Looking forward to a not so busy week!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Just back from Lincoln to watch [insert grandchild] [insert activity]
-Blogging Marti and C.C.’s puzzles are an honor. I am like a footnote to all the work they do. I still appreciate the compliments but…
-Yeah, Otto, that AJA sentence looked like a mouth with too many teeth in it.
-TTP – I saw that lose/loose misuse among those fun graphs
-Youngest daughter was stunned to see $10 sweaters get marked up to $100 in October and then marked down 70% to $30 in March.
-I have been surprised twice by the fact that the LA Times carries a Merle Reagle puzzle on Sunday
-Fabulous Betty Hutton and Howard Keel from Annie Get Your Gun
-Ultimate Elvis performance where he is “caught IN A TRAP. My favorite.
-CONGRATS on 50 puzzles Marti!
-Good night from the heartland

Big Easy said...

Yellowrocks- she only had the right knee replaced, a symptom of playing tennis for 60 years. The surgeon mainly works on athletes, using a some type of robot drug called Experel that basically keeps the pain away for 3-4 days. But it comes back, and she is now taking oxycodone 3 times daily, but she is walking around a lot, up and down the driveway.

Speaking of the SAINTS, I pass the SUPERDOME on a regular basis. If any of you guys are interested, Tom Benson ( 87 years old owner of the Saints) is having a big court battle with his kids over BiG MONEY because he decided to give EVERYTHING to his third wife ( his previous two died).

Bill G. said...

This feature from Sunday Morning might bring tears to your eyes. It's the story of one of the Lost Boys of Sudan who is now a member of the US Army at Fort Bragg. I love his obvious patriotism. A Lost Boy's story

Irish Miss said...

Bill G - You have a knack for bringing us heartfelt stories, whether they be furry friends or heroic humans. Thank you!

Anonymous T said...

Just lurking today said...

Marti - I wish I had time to suss the whole puzzle today, but chores gottta be done. I liked the theme and BREAKFAST CLUB SODA is my fav - loved the movie. I'm the epitome of Anthony Michael Hall's character; the nerd w/ stoner friends... :-)

Barry G. - you got my contractor off the hook. I got an email an hour ago saying he couldn't get out of Boston in the AM. I'll trust you it's true.

YR - I'm happy to hear about your progress, but please don't push too hard.

Bill G. - I'm w/ IM. As much as we moan about US policy, we are still the shining light. Great story, thanks for linking.

CED - The GONE GIRL scout. F'n LOL. I sent the link to my bro in CHI. [is that how my youngest sold 400 boxes in 1 day?!? - She and I will have a sit down...]

Thanks HG and everyone else for the pleasure of lurking.

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

BillG:
I'll always be grateful to you for Sunday Morning which I now record and view later. That is a heartwarming and heart rending story.

If you want another one that will enhance your gratitude for living in this country, go see Leviathan, a story of oppression and abuse of authority in present day Russia.

Anonymous said...

This isn't the same puzzle I saw in the LA Times 2/8 by Merl Reagle, Double DATING. I noticed, previously, that the online Sunday puzzle doesn't match what I see here, but I thought the version in the paper would be the same. Weekdays are all the same, though.

-xeyed xworder

Abejo said...

Good Tuesday morning, folks. Thank you, Marti, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Husker Gary, for a fine review.

Started this Sunday night. Got tired and went to bed. Finished it Monday morning. Was going to report in, but my wife borrowed the paper and took it to work to do the Sudoku. So, here I am on Tuesday.

Bounced around and got a few words here and there. Got the theme early on and that really helped with the puzzle. I have not seen all those movies, but I have heard of them.

Tries WET ONES for 17D. Fixed that to WET NAPS.

Had LOSER for 48A. Fixed that to CASEY. I should have known that up front.

Had IRITATE for 91D. Fixed that to AGITATE. I even had IRRITATE spelled wrong. should have known right there.

Tried SAVE for 40D. Fixed that to SOCK. As you can see I had a lot of inkblots.

Anyhow, the puzzle came together nicely. Enjoyed it.

See you on Wednesday.

abejo

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