google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, February 26, 2015 Mike Buckley

Gary's Blog Map

Feb 26, 2015

Thursday, February 26, 2015 Mike Buckley

Theme: "The Great Imposter" *

17. It's fraudulent : FORGED CHECK.

27. It's fabricated : TRUMPED UP CHARGE.

46. It's fake : COUNTERFEIT NOTE.

56. Race errors, and what 17-, 27- and 46-Across have : FALSE STARTS.

*Remember the 1961 movie starring Tony Curtis? I thought of it immediately when I saw the theme.

Only 72 words and 29 blocks, with a whopping sixteen 7-letter words. Woo-hoo, Saturday level stuff!  And lots of challenging fill, too. Let's see what I mean...


Across

1. Wrap giant : ALCOA. Ummm..."Saran" also fits.

6. Reliever Orosco with the MLB record for career pitching appearances : JESSE. I nailed it! (...after getting J-E-S-S-* from the perps.)

11. Center of excellence? : ELS. The two "Ls" in the word, not a think tank.

14. Quaking causes : FEARS.

15. Plant pest : APHID. I long for the days of pinching APHIDs off my roses!

16. Rest one's dogs, so to speak : SIT. "Dogs" is a slang word for feet.

19. "Double Fantasy" artist : ONO. How do I clue thee? Let me count the ways...

20. Extras in an env. : ENCS. Enclosures.

21. Squeezed (out) : EKED.

22. Web-footed critter : OTTER. I was looking for some kind of duck.

24. Mustard, for one: Abbr. : COL.onel.

25. Encouraging shouts : OLEs.

26. Shout : SCREAM. Ole!

30. ''Saint Joan'' star Jean : SEBERG. A tragic figure in filmdom.

31. __ Locks: St. Marys River rapids bypass : SOO.

32. Hid the gray in : DYED.

33. Brewers' outfielder Braun : RYAN. Nailed it! (...after getting the R-Y-A-N from perps.)

35. Creator of Della : ERLE. Stanley Gardner - "Perry Mason."

37. Morales of film : ESAI.

40. Part of a foot : TOE.

42. Pompous authority : POOBAH. Great word!

49. Beer with "Since 1775" on its label : STROHS.

50. Big dos :'FROS. Afros.

51. Grazing area : LEA.

52. More of that : THOSE. I think this was my favorite clue.

53. Detective Peter of old TV : GUNN. Played by?

54. Estate attorney's concern : HEIR.

55. __ Lingus : AER.

59. Mrs., in much of the Americas : SRA. Señora.

60. Classic six-couplet poem : TREES. Joyce Kilmer.

61. Has __: can save face : AN OUT.

62. Triumphant cry : YES. [insert fist pump]

63. Dost espy : SEEST.

64. Has a sudden inspiration? : GASPS. My second favorite clue.


Down

1. Gets to : AFFECTS. I don't let most things get to me. Life's too short.

2. Heroine of Beethoven's "Fidelio" : LEONORE. Beethoven's only opera!

3. AAA, for one : CAR CLUB.
and semi-clecho:
4. AAA et al. : ORGS.

5. Enzyme suffix : ASE.

6. Hiked, with "up" : JACKED.

7. "The Comedy of Errors" setting : EPHESUS.

8. Word with wood or water : SHED.

9. Quote qualifier : SIC.

10. Ex-mayor with a cameo in "The Muppets Take Manhattan" : ED KOCH.

11. Abstruse stuff : ESOTERY. OK, but I usually use the word "esoterica." You?

12. Pedigree : LINEAGE.

13. Came (in) dramatically : STORMED.

18. Convention attendees : DELEGATES.

23. Exploit : TRADE ON. "He traded on his good looks to..."

25. "Live at the __": Patsy Cline album : OPRY. Can you tell which line she flubbed on this early recording?

26. Venomous arachnids : SCORPIONS.

28. Sources of fine wool : MERINOS.

29. "... rapping at my chamber door" poet : POE. From "The Raven."

34. Fish-fowl link : NOR. What is neither fish NOR flesh, feathers nor bone, but still has fingers and thumbs of its own? (Answer, below.)

36. Filming sites : LOTS.

37. Heaven on earth : ECSTASY.

38. "Told ya!" : SO THERE.

39. Natural light shows : AURORAS.

41. Pours out : EFFUSES.

43. Short, tailored jackets : BOLEROS. Like this.

44. Really dug something : ATE IT UP.

45. San Simeon family : HEARSTS.

47. Guards may prevent them : THEFTS.

48. Antarctic explorer Shackleton : ERNEST. I have read every book I could find about his ill-fated trip. My favorite was "The Endurance: Shackleton's legendary Antarctic expedition," by Caroline Alexander. This picture almost looks like Boston harbor this week.

53. Pure delight : GLEE.

54. 1985 U.S. Open champ Mandlikova : HANA.

57. Modern art? : ARE. Cute misdirection.

58. Recess game : TAG. Or phone game.

"Your're IT !!"
Marti

Answer to 34-Down: A glove.
Note from C.C.:

Please send positive thoughts (or say a prayer) to Husker Gary, who's having an important operation tomorrow. Please also keep Yellowrocks in your thoughts. She fell on ice last week and broke some of the stitches from her knee surgery. She needs repair surgery soon.

Joann, Granddaughter Elise & Gary
 
Yellowrocks (Kathy)

78 comments:

  1. The COUNTERFEIT vase was just dreck
    But Sam liked it, so thought, "What the heck,
    It's a cute little thing
    Even if it's not Ming,
    And when I buy it, I'll have urned this FORGED CHECK!"

    The police found explosives on Marge
    They assumed she was a bomber at large.
    But they'd made a mistake,
    The T.N.T. was all fake,
    She'd been held for a TRUMPED-UP CHARGE!

    Sally took her schoolwork to heart,
    So in the spelling contest gladly took part.
    But she blew the whole bee
    With P-H-A-L-S-E --
    She was eliminated for her FALSE START!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Craig Stevens was the cool star, Peter Gunn,almost as cool as our own Marti.

    JEAN SEBERG got the role before she was 18.

    Thanks Marti.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Too many write-overs to be worth listing. Finally filled, but no ta-da, so turned on red letters. lit up two naticks that I had WAGed: LENORa+SaBERG and MERIeNOS+ESAu -- I tried multiple letters in that second junction, but the first error was unsuspected, so even if I'd hit the right one, no ta-da would have let me know.

    Quibble with the reveal, in that the whole of the other theme entries were falsifications, not just the starts, but that's just a nit, not a real problem.

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  4. Wow, nice offering today by Mike Buckley. Although it took a bit longer than usual because of all the unknowns, guessing got me through it.

    I stumbled through JESSE (Orosco) although I have been aware of and impressed by him. SEBERG came from deep down, long ago… and perps. SOO locks was a guess. My last entry was changing YEA/AURORAE to YES/AURORAS.

    Clever misdirection today, too. (ESOTERY? Abstruse? New ones.) And I guess I should have know a SCORPION was an arachnid, but I didn’t.

    Great theme today and interestingly laid out on the grid.

    ERNEST Shackleton was the subject of one of the greatest survival stories (a true one) ever experienced. As I recall, the Antarctic ice “ate” their ship during WWI and all his crew incredibly survived the better part of two years as a result of their knowledge, skills and leadership… and a lot of luck. I, too, can't get enough of this tale.

    Thanks, Marti. Now on to Friday, yikes.

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  5. Oh, it's Hana not Anna. What was
    I thinking.

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  6. This was a nice puzzle by Mike Buckley that put a smile on my face right off the top with JESSE Orosco, who was the closer on the 1986 New York Mets World Series champions, as shown in this iconic image. Marti's writeup was fun and lively.

    One small nit: I happen to be more used to the POOH-BAH (extra H) spelling used in Gilbert and Sullivan's "Mikado" -- this inspired me to track down this video clip, and for good luck, a second clip. However, I see now that in the crossworld, both the "with H" and the "without H" spellings have been used multiple times.

    Finally, allow me to call to the attention of C.C.'s readership The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance, a puzzle co-constructed with Ellen Ross that celebrates a much-celebrated (as per the TV broadcast this past Sunday) film. Be sure to check out the "midrash" that explains what is going on. We hope you like it!

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  7. Morning, all (and positive thoughts to Husker Gary and Yellowrocks)!

    This one was a bit of a bear for me. The obscure (to me) baseball clues were bad enough, but those at least had some fair crossings (well, except for the also obscure -- as clued -- EPHESUS).

    What really killed me was the entire NW. I didn't know SEBERG at all, barely knew (but couldn't remember how to spell) LEONORE, was totally fooled by the two AAA clues, and had to put up with CON. Plus, I had a total brain fart and couldn't think of the FORGED part of FORGED CHECK.

    I did eventually come up with FORGED, however, which gave me enough of a foothold to finish unassisted, but I still think that was an ugly, ugly corner...

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  8. Good morning!

    Marti, I was perpin' right along with you on JESSE and RYAN. And, yes, ESOTERY seems a stretch. Overall, this was a very nice romp with some clever fill.

    Your "Life's too short" comment took me back to this past weekend. I got so PO'd at a PayPal site that after 15 frustrating minutes, I cancelled my account.

    I looked at Peter Gunn's face, knew I should know the name, but in the end had to go to Mr. G. Sigh. The mind is a terrible thing to lose.

    Husker, I know you've been making light of this surgery, but it sounds plenty serious to me. Good luck, my friend. And YR, sorry to hear about your setback. Best wishes for a speedy recovery to you, also.

    Gotta run...

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  9. Good Morning, Marti and friends. I will attribute my poor performance to my lack of sleep. Ouch! This puzzle hurt!

    I confidently wrote in Saran for the Giant Wrap and it was downhill from there.

    Although the game of Clue crossed my mind when I read Mustard, for one, abbr., I quickly wrote down Gas. Again, it was my lack of sleep that ignored the "abbr."

    Peter GUNN was way before my time, but I do recognize the theme song.

    Stay warm, everyone!

    QOD: Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world, except money. ~ Johnny Cash (Feb. 26, 1932 ~ Sept. 12, 2003)

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  10. First and foremost, best wishes on the upcoming surgery for Husker Gary and YellowRocks. I'm sending out all the positive energy that an old curmudgeon can muster.

    I must have been on Mr. Buckley's wavelength this morning because I thought this puzzle was a little lighter than most Thursdays. Not many write overs and completed in 2/3 normal time. Thank you Mike and thank you Heart Rx for an entertaining expo, as always.

    Lemonade714: Ditto on Craig Stevens as Peter Gunn, but Lola Albright was the real star of that show.

    Hands up for "esoterica".

    Strohs since 1775? Was there even a Milwaukee in 1775? There has to be more to that story.

    Marti: Wouldn't leather gloves be flesh?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Easy puzzle today for a Thursday, except WEES about ESOTERY. The ones I didn't know were all perpable (not sure if that is a word)
    Will keep Gary and Kathy in my prayers!
    Thanks for the write-up Marti!

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  12. One tough puzzle. Way too many FALSE STARTS that required a WAG on the cross of LEONORE and SEBERG to complete- never saw or heard of either. I'm glad I knew ALCOA bought Reynolds years ago so I knew 1A but it didn't keep me from taking 30 minutes to complete. EPHESUS-100% perps. JESSE and RYAN- don't follow baseball. ESOTERic- yes; ESOTER-Y- new to me.

    STROH'S- is it made anymore? Haven't seen it in years. I'm have a AAA card and chuckle because it is that Automobile club of MISSOURI, not America.

    TRUMPED UP CHARGES?? That would describe most of our outgoing AG's allegations against every bank and business.

    Great puzzle.

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  13. Ephesus: ancient and incredible
    Craig Stevens: cooler and handsomer than anyone
    Mustard: I put con (condiment)no?
    Esotery: I am 77, new word for me
    Jean Seberg: old name

    Hope people with illness recover quickly.

    love: "Trees"
    Long winter, live in Connecticut
    101 inches in Boston

    Have good days.

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  14. Oops. Not Milwaukee, Detroit of course.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Positive thoughts going out to HG and YR!!

    Bluehen, my gloves are knitted, so no "flesh." ;-)

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  16. No point in listing all my misses today, but I want to send good wishes to Husker and Yellowrocks. Hope all goes well for each of you!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hello, puzzlers.

    I also was on Mike Buckley's wave length and easily sashayed my way downward. ALCOA was first and since I had -SSE thought JESSE must be Mr. Orosco's name.

    Hand up for CONdiment which gave way to COL at CAR CLUB. LEONORE just popped right out. ESOTERY? If you say so.

    Loved seeing ECSTASY and EFFUSES. SCORPIONS love the desert but I would not SCREAM if I saw one.

    Thank you for the puzzle fun, Mike, and Marti for your sparkling review. I ATE IT UP.

    Prayers for Gary and Cathy.

    Have a fun day today, everyone!

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  18. Hello everyone,

    This was a tale of two puzzles for me today. The north flowed smoothly and the South was a bear. The only North issue I questioned was ESOTERY. A new word and clue how it is defined. I'll pull out my Webster's later.

    The South was a slow go and eventually came down to three wags. The crossing B for POOBAH & BOLEROS, the crossing O for THOSE & AURORAS were ok.

    But still a FIW. For 63A had SpEST & for 57D had ArP. I was banking on ArP.

    I agree with Blue Hen, Lola Albright was the star of the show.

    Husker, will be looking forward to you having a speedy recovery and a quick return to the first tee. You will be in my prayers.

    YR, this winter is taking it's toll in so many ways. I hope the corrective surgery gets you back on your recovery schedule with a minimal delay.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Musings
    -All very doable at a Thursday level
    -Marti, is your answer GLOVES?
    -Detecting COUNTERFEIT NOTES with a sharpie
    -I got an envelope Monday full of LINEAGE ENCL’s. It seems I had a relative excommunicated from the Puritans by John Alden and Miles Standish
    -The early Perry Mason TV shows were ERLE’s stories. The latter were “based on characters created by ERLE”.
    -Famous NYC FRO
    -Peter Gunn had the best TV theme ever thanks to Henry Mancini. Can’t link to it too often!
    -ONO TRADES ON her husband’s talent
    -Solving a clever clue can educe a GASP from me. Hey, I used educe in a sentence!
    -Two AAA’s and not one battery or cell
    -Omaha hotel prices are really JACKED UP during The College World Series
    -The famous 40 Acres backLOT
    -Thanks for the good wishes C.C., et al. I am doing the dreaded “Prep” today for my bowel surgery and so I may be, uh, in and out. ;-)
    -Yellowrocks to Yellowrocks from me too.

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  20. Marti: Thank you for explaining my (many!) errors.
    [My "Extras in an env." was a SASE. OH well, a D N F).

    As for the line Patsy Cline flubbed ... I have no idea, but I did enjoy 3 of her songs.

    Husker, Good Luck with your surgery tomorrow.
    Yellowrocks: Ouch!

    Fave today was STROHS ... go figure ...

    Cheers!

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  21. I hope everything goes very well for you Gary. You too, YR. Keep us posted.

    This puzzle was Saturday level for me. I rarely enter an answer without crossing proof, and there was none to be found in the north. (e.g. Alcoa) Eventually ended up solving from the bottom up, and did get it all, but it was never easy.

    Oh, Gary. I actually wrote down an xword staple somewhere other than a grid for the first time in my life yesterday. I was editing a report that required a few changes. I'd crossed out 2 words, then wrote "stet". First time for everything, I guess.

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  22. Good Morning:

    I had a few stumbles but, eventually, perps saved the day. Had Saran/Alcoa, these/those, Moreau/Seaberg, holler/scream, and saes/encs.

    Thanks to Mike and Marti for a fun Thursday experience.

    Sending the very best wishes to Gary and Kathy. May all go well; you'll be in my prayers.

    BTW, I watched St. Vincent yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed it. There was some pretty rough language and a few graphic scenes, but, overall, it was a warm-hearted story about a tragically flawed man, seemingly with no redeeming qualities, until a young boy digs into Vincent's life and finds his true nature. Bill Murray was terrific.

    Have a great day.

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  23. Very nice, challenging puzzle today, Mike. Thank you for your creation.

    Nice job, Marti, as always.

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  24. Oh, Marti:
    Did you mean The Great Imposter? I believe Tony Curtis was in that.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I know it's not Saturday, but the puzzle doesn't. The top wasn't bad. But starting at 30A with SEBERG, I grinded to a halt. From there I stumbled, tripped, and eventually fell. A really BIG DNF. Once I lost my confidence, it was over. Some of the down clues did me in i.e. BOLEROS, HANA, HEARSTS. ERNEST.

    My thoughts and good wishes to Husker and Yellowrocks .

    Stay safe and secure.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thursday LAT puzzles are my weekly favorites and Mike Buckley's met my expectations very nicely.

    Enjoyed your write-up as usual, Marti. In answer to your question re 11D (ABSTRUSE, ESOTERY, ESOTERICA) I think I usually use ..."Over my head"...!

    Count me among all those who are thinking of you, YR and Husker. Always look forward to the comments from both of you. And thanks for the link to the Peter Gunn theme, Gary. I was hoping someone would do that.

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  27. P.S. I may be thick, but could someone explain 57D to me. I don't get MODERN ART/ARE connection.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Wherefore art thou Romeo?

    art now are

    ReplyDelete
  29. coneyro, ART is an archaic form of "are", as in "How Great Thou Art".

    ReplyDelete

  30. Well, I usually really struggle with Thursday puzzles, but for reasons I don't understand this one felt almost like a speed run to me. Maybe because I guessed the theme right after getting that fraudulent CHECK, and that made the other theme answers fall into place pretty quickly. I read FALSE STARTS to mean that the start of each theme answer referred to something false, not that the whole answer was a false start.

    So thanks for giving me a great start to my morning, Mike. And you too, Marti, for your always fun write-up.

    Am hoping someone will get us a few lines of "Trees"--a sweet poem.

    So sorry to hear about your fall on the ice, Yellowrocks. Bad enough to have to endure the horrible weather without getting hurt. And Gary, I'll be praying for you too for a quick recovery.

    Have a great day, everybody!

    ReplyDelete
  31. I thought this was an excellent puzzle with clever cluing. I got stalled in the upper-left and lower-left but eventually made it through. Thanks Mike and Marti.

    Best wishes for Gary and Kathy. I hope all goes smoothly. I'm hoping for the best possible outcomes and that you are both back giving us your insight soon.

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  32. Most important, best wishes and prayers for both HG and Yellowrocks


    With all the anons we have, we could make our own film

    The great ImPOSTer

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  33. Not just a few lines of "Trees" . . . all of them.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Hello Puzzlers -

    Straightforward solve today, no major delays. Peter Gunn was before my time, but my folks had the Best of Mancini album, which naturally included the famous theme; in that way I learned of the show's existence. Mancini was top-notch, IMO.

    Morning Marti! Always nice to see your style.

    Husker and YR, wishing you both speedy recoveries.

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  35. WKS-what Kazie said. I enjoyed what I could fill in but lots of mistakes/unknowns.

    I've been to the Soo Locks.

    I love the Peter Gunn theme. Thanks for the link, HG.

    Positive thoughts to HG and YR.

    Pat

    ReplyDelete


  36. Best Wishes and Sincere Prayers for Husker Gary and Yellow Rocks.



    While medical problems are no laughing matter, I can't help but remember one of Jack Benny's one liners ...

    'When I was in the hospital, I got this Get Well card ...
    The Bridge Club has officially voted 7 to 2 to wish you a speedy recovery. ...'

    ReplyDelete
  37. Offtopic @10:19am yesterday,

    Often a theme reveal entry is highlighted if I snip the Answer Grid from the Mensa site (Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays & occasionally Wednesdays).

    Argyle & Marti often highlight all the theme entries in their write-ups. Steve tends to highlight the letter that gives him trouble during the solve.

    Welcome to the blog.

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  38. Boleros seem to delineate what modern dress is all about -

    - more and more fuss about (covering up - ) less and less.

    Look at all those lovely Boleros.

    ReplyDelete
  39. HOla Everyone, Thinking about Husker Gary and Yellowrocks, both.
    Healing thoughts!

    Tough puzzle for me. I had to Google too much to have a satisfactory ending today.

    Even so--as I've always said,"It is a learning experience".

    Thanks, Marti for the writeup. I always enjoy your input. It is enlightening and enjoyable.
    Have a great day, everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Other than Lemonade, Avg Joe, Yellowrocks, Irish Miss, Hahtoolah, Jayce and Tinbeni, does anyone else here access the blog via AOL or Yahoo?

    Argyle and I can't get comments to our email accounts from those 7 regulars. Argyle suspects the trouble might be AOL or Yahoo.

    ReplyDelete
  41. "puzzling thoughts"

    Thoughts and prayers go out for HG and YR - hoping for the best

    Struggled a bit and looked up a few answers; got all but one spot (ORGS and ENCS just didn't register. Didn't care for the fact that the clue AAA was used both for CAR CLUB and ORG(S) - I tried to shoe horn BATTERY into 3D but that screwed up 1A

    I will be off the grid for a week+. Going to see family up North (we must be absolutely CRAZY) - events are such that we had to go now instead of later in the Spring/Summer when the weather would be more accommodating. Will be a big shock to go from 80* to well below freezing

    Nice lim's today, OwenKL - I was trying to come up with one that combined FROS, STROHS and THOSE but nothing registered

    See y'all in a week or so . . .

    ReplyDelete
  42. C.C. and friends- unless you want your every move tracked, you should NEVER access a web-site through a third party. Too many lurkers out there. I just go directly to the web address. NO middlemen.

    ReplyDelete
  43. C.C., I don't access the blog through Yahoo either. I simply have a Yahoo email account. And have nothing AOL. I access the blog directly through my ISP using Firefox as a browser.

    For the past 3-4 weeks, I've been getting a message from both your accounts whenever I post. It's a simple delivery failure message. But I haven't sent a message to either of you during that time. It's not every single time, but it is most of them. I'm guessing that you are getting some similar message on your end(s).

    ReplyDelete
  44. C.C.
    I've noticed that after I post ... a comment appears in my Yahoo email account: As a "did not deliver" comment (two actually, one for you and one for Argyle).

    I signed-out and am betting "dollars to donuts" that I will have 2 undelivered messages awaiting me after posting this comment.

    At least they don't show up in my "spam" comment section ... since I never open (or even look at) those.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Tinbini @2:00. I, too, have been getting undeliverable notices ostensibly from/to Argyle and C.C.

    ReplyDelete
  46. So far, the common thread is that we all have yahoo email accounts, and I know Kathy has an AOL account. Since the blog is gmail based, maybe it's retaliation :-)

    ReplyDelete
  47. I didn't receive ... either the Dollars or the Donuts ...

    And NOW I'm kinda hungry ... lol

    ReplyDelete
  48. Sooooo, I signed out of this sight ... let's see what happens.

    Yeah, the "Real Tinbeni" ...

    ReplyDelete
  49. I'll try it too. Lesssee what happens.

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  50. Sooooo, the @ 2:21pm comment as "Ersatz Tinbeni" didn't get the 2 "did not deliver" emails.

    Came back ...
    Re-Signed in ...

    Now let's see if they (the 2 "did not deliver" email comments appear in my Yahoo email account.

    ReplyDelete
  51. C.C.
    Only got one that time ... the one to your gmail account.

    ReplyDelete
  52. I didn't get any delivery fails from my bogus Joe posting either. Tin, I will often see a lag on the two message. One comes in immediately, the other sometimes 15 minutes later. But I always get them in pairs when I do get them.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Big Easy & Avg Joe,
    Sorry, I meant to ask if others use AOL mail or Yahoo mail as their email address when they sign in to the blog. Every comment on this blog is sent to Argyle's and my email accounts for Comments management purpose.

    No, Joe, I don't get "delivery failure message" on my end. I just don't see your comments in my mail box.

    Bogus Joe and Bogus Tinbeni,
    Now I see both of you in mail box. I'm fine as long as all your comments make it to the blog

    ReplyDelete
  54. Avg.Joe
    And I got the other one (plus 2 more) when I checked after my 2:29pm comment.

    ReplyDelete
  55. I'm gonna try this as Bogus Joe while I'm still logged in on Gmail. C.C., if you see this in your mailbox, does it identify me, or does it just show up as Bogus Joe.

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  56. Hi gang -

    First, best wishes and good luck to YR and Gary.

    I had loads of trouble with today's genuinely great puzzle. Finally made it through, though. Clever clues, and excellent fill. Really well done.

    Of course I hate the self-referential center of excellence clue.

    Jean Seberg hit that sweet spot between epic beauty and girl next door.

    Even after I had COL filled in, I didn't get it. Not cutting the mustard, I guess.

    Owen - brilliant limericks. Love the way you found alternate meanings.
    Can't agree with your quibble, though. The first false word is simply a modifier for what follows - which is an in the language phrase.

    More limericks, if anyone is interested.

    Mancini wrote great TV themes, but my fav is still the score from the awful movie Breakfast a Tiffany's. My especial favorite song on the album is HOLLY, which curiously never is heard in the movie. Dick Nash on trombone.

    My favorite Bolero. [14:49]

    Cool regards!
    JzB



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  57. HG, if you guessed "gloves" before reading my answer, bravo! Although, I think that is a fairly old riddle, kind of like "What's black and white and re(a)d all over?"

    Here's another one:
    What gets wetter and wetter the more it dries?

    Lucina, yes - Tony Curtis was in "The Great Imposter." That's why I used it as the title for my comments. ;-)

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  58. Avg Joe et al,
    I just learned that this problem is not limited to our blog. Hopefully Blogger (owned by Google) fixes the glitch soon.

    Please just ignore those failure to delivery messages. But please email Argyle or me if your comments do not appear on the blog.

    ReplyDelete
  59. CC and Argyle - I just removed my AOL address from my account information. Check to see if this appears in your inbox.

    ReplyDelete
  60. JzB @ 2:39

    COLonel Mustard was a character/suspect in the children's board game Clue

    The link will give you an insight to the characters/suspects and game information. Players acquire clues from their opponents and try to solve a "whodunit" by guessing the character, the weapon and the location. As in, Colonel Mustard with a knife in the study.

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  61. Moe -

    Thanx. I tried to indicate, in my own oblique way, that I did suss it after reading here.

    We've played Clue with the grandkiddies a lot over the years, so I'm quite familiar with the game.

    I guess it was too oblique.

    Cheers!
    JzB

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  62. Argyle @ 3:16 - Then I guess it's as CC mentioned, a Blogger glitch. I tried. 😔

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  63. Many thanks, Joyce Kilmer. I didn't remember those "Trees" being quite that--er, sexy. Guess I haven't read or heard the poem since my more innocent high school days.

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  64. JzB @ 3:17

    Wanted to mention, that without even having to click on your Bolero link, I knew that it was the piece by Maurice Ravel. Thanks a lot; now I have that tune spinning through my head!! ;^)

    Comments on that piece:

    So, when I DID finally click on the link to listen, the tune in my head was about 1 step flat. Not too bad, considering I haven't played or sung a note in awhile . . .

    Also, is that a trombone solo at the 8:15 mark? I love how Ravel introduces the woodwinds (flute, clarinet, oboe, sax) and then moved to brass - the strings don't get featured until over 2/3 of the way through. And pity the poor percussionist playing on this piece; 14+ minutes of the same cadence.

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  65. Greetings!

    Thanks, Mike and Marti!

    Fun puzzle; great expo.

    No problems. (Started with saran first and soon got wise. Tsk.)

    Sending good wishes to Gary and YR! Hope everything goes smoothly!

    Went to the nursery yesterday. They had warning signs all over the place for the tomato plants. Said that they were pressured into getting them even though a hard frost might still kill them. (I am crossing my fingers.)

    Cheers!

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  66. HG, my thoughts are with you as you undergo surgery tomorrow. 8.IYellowrocks.

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  67. Good afternoon everyone.

    Held off on ALCOA until entering downs: ASE, ORGS and, later, CAR CLUB. Except for APHID, ED KOCH and OTTER, filled it from the bottom up, like others. SOO was a gimme. Chuckled at POOBAH when it loomed. Impressed with the 2 nine-letter downs and 16 seven-letter downs as Marti stated.
    Enjoyed the puzzle, Mike.

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  68. I thought the "COL" was short for color - is it still a win if you solve it by luck? :)

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  69. Thank you all for your kind thoughts and well wishes. When I see the doc tomorrow I will have a better idea of what is happening.

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  70. HeartRx, you're taking me back to my childhood with these riddles. The answer to the second? . . A towel.

    Looking back at the first riddle again I hereby withdraw my semi-nit. In the context stated "Neither fish nor flesh" flesh must mean meat, not skin as I interpreted it. Sorry. I'll slink back into my hole now.

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  71. ++Vibes to both YR & HG; basically what TIN said. Cheers, -T

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  72. Just got back from my daughters High School, opening night of their version of Godspell. (2 more nights to go...)

    This puzzle really kicked my butt.
    ( I wasn't going to post, to busy licking my wounds...)

    Just wanted to say Good Luck to Husker Gary & Yellowrocks,
    pls have a speedy recovery.

    P.S. HG, 40 Acres Backlot was an awesome link! I doubt everyone could examine every photo, but you cannot pass Captain Kirk passing Floyds Barber Shop from the Andy Griffith Show!

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  73. P.P.S.

    Re: AOL/Yahoo bugs etc...

    Recently I have been having having trouble getting the Blog to load on my computer, it just gets stuck..

    Sometimes reloading works, & sometimes I am in limbo forever.

    I found out that it is caused by my McAfee antivirus software. It just doesn't like the Blog!

    While I am trying to figure out how to make the Blog an exception to its overzealous nature, I sometimes have to shut off the McAfee Firewall to access the Blog. (& turn it back on before clicking any links...)

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