google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, Apr 4th, 2015, John Lieb

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Apr 4, 2015

Saturday, Apr 4th, 2015, John Lieb

Theme: None

Words: 70 (missing J,Q,X,Z)

Blocks: 27

   I have done well with Mr. Lieb's puzzles in the past, but today it was looking pretty bleak.  The first across pass yielded only about 5 answers, and then on the down run, little more.  Caught a break with a few well-placed W.A.G.s, and I happened to know a few of the proper names, too.  Alas, I did cheat - one look-up, and one verification - so I have to admit to a DNF.  Drat.  Two spanners, two 10-letter movie reference* climbers, and triple 9-letter corners made up the long fill;

17a. Donkey in "Shrek" et al. : ANIMAL SIDEKICKS - when one "ponders" other animal sidekicks, one might recall a TV show from '79-'81;











54a. "Been there, done that" : "NOT MY FIRST RODEO" - I found a little history here

13d. 2014 A.L. MVP : MIKE TROUT


28d. Wet blanket, in modern lingo : FUN SPONGE - new phrase to me, but I do like it - I'll use it to describe the way vague circumferential Saturday clues suck the joy out of some puzzles

Down-ar~!

ACROSS:

1. Franchise spawned in the '60s : STAR TREK - my personal favorite of the show's variations was "The Next Generation", which was my generation's version; the original was a bit too dry for me, and the latest version of the franchise, the "young" original crew, just doesn't do it justice, IMHO

9. Away for the summer, maybe : AT CAMP - nailed it; felt like I was off to a good start

15. White Sox nickname, with "the" : PALE HOSE - I thought this might be a specific person, but it's a reference to their uniform - white socks = pale hose

16. Longtime Ottoman Empire territory : BOSNIA

















19. Dedicate : DEVOTE

20. Lug : TOTE

21. Worked (up) : HET

22. They're just looking : EYERS - oh, those 'socket sets'

23. Cries for attention : "HEYS~!"

24. NFLer Ronnie for whom a defensive award is named : LOTT - the Wiki

25. Remote power source : AA CELL - almost got me thinking "distant", and not TV/DVR

27. Land overseas : TERRE - I had terrA to start; good enough for me

28. Univ. staff : FACulty - not TAs; made the SW very slow in solving

31. Prevent from going to seed : MOW

32. Organization level : ECHELON

34. Sam Samudio's spoken opening in "Wooly Bully" : UNO DOS - link away~!

36. Sea-dwelling Greek god : NEREUS - Poseidon didn't fit; neither did NEPTUNE, the Roman version

37. Most populous OPEC nation : NIGERIA - OK, I cheated - sort of....I went and found a list of OPEC nations, because I had ---ERIA; ALGeria would have worked, too, but only 23% the population

39. Ask to be excused, with "off" : BEG

40. It merged with Sprint in 1983 : GTE

41. Command before a click : SMILE - dah~! Stuck in computer, not camera mode

42. Treated for traction, in a way : SALTED - Did anyone else think of this traction~?
45. Cocktail party fare : PÂTÉ - ya know, I have always heard this word in jokes, on TV, etc., but never actually knew what it was

46. Securely : FAST - as in "the bolt held the door fast"; there's quite a few homographs for 'fast'

47. Overseas denials : NEINS - Ach~! German~!

51. Taxonomic suffix : OTA - what I found was that this guy is of the subclass "pterygota"


52. "The Secret of __": 1982 animated movie : NIMH - I remembered the name, but not the movie - IMDb trivia

53. "Working Class Hero" songwriter : LENNON

57. "Brighton Rock" author : GREENE - I was missing the first letter, and "G" seemed to make the most sense, but I did Google to check

58. Doing a lawn job : AERATING

59. Lamb treats : ESSAYS - oh, so crafty - Charles Lamb, not "KEBABS" as I first tried

60. Hoodwinks : MISLEADS

DOWN:

1. Garden aid : SPADE - I tried "STAKE" off the "S" in Star Trek

2. Second-longest-serving Chief Justice : TANEY - perps

3. Not out of the game : ALIVE

4. Suckerfish : REMORA

5*. Song featured in "Moonstruck" : THAT'S AMORE

6. Break for a certain wannabe : ROLE - ah.  Crossing the "Sox" clue, this was way too vague for me; now I get it - an actor wannabe

7. Mariner cap insignia : ESS


8. "Reservoir Dogs" actor : KEITEL - and a lot of other Tarantino movies, too

9. Disables the alarm, say : ABETS - cute

10. Tip in Vegas : TOKE - seen this in crosswords before; not the 'toke' I grew up with

11. TV franchise since 2000 : CSI

12. Relay part : ANCHOR LEG

14. Acceptable form of back talk? : PAST TENSE - Har-har~!

18. His epitaph includes "knight" and "man of letters" : DOYLE - Sir Arthur Conan

23. Fell : HEW

24. Creepy look : LEER

26. Mozart title starter : COSI

27*. 1927 Buster Keaton film : THE GENERAL - totally not my generation - IMDb

29. Some film artists : ANIMATORS - q.v. 52a

30. Ponders : COGITATES

33. "For a life gone digital" news source : CNET

35. Editor's mark : DELE - or STET~? I can't tell with these crossings~!

38. "Same here" : "AS AM I"

39. Deli order : BLT

43. Hindu community : ASHRAM - dredged this one up from the depths

44. Represent : DENOTE

46. High winds : FIFES - ah, not like "zephyr", but high-pitched musical instruments

48. Bhopal locale : INDIA - well, the spelling should have clued me into a 'general' idea of where to find it

49. Continuously : NO END

50. Makes out, across the Pond : SNOGS - learned from "Harry Potter"

52. Part of a Fifth Ave. address : NY, NY - I'm here in LI, NY

53. A and P, e.g.: Abbr. : LTRS - More deceptive if it had been clued A & P - as in the mrkt

55. Apology opener : MEA - culpa

56. Dante's half-dozen : SEI - Italian "six"

Splynter

69 comments:

Manac said...

Got my butt kicked on this one.
Nothing would click and a few WTF's!

Off to do something fun compared to this puzzle....Work

Read you all tonight.

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

I found this one to be cruel and unusual, not to mention beyond my ability.

I finally managed to get the entire right half of the grid filled in, after making total guesses for MIKE TROUT (never heard of him) Ronnie LOTT (never heard of him) and NEREUS. How fun (NOT!) that these all intersected...

The left half of the puzzle was a disaster area that remained blank for a long time. I finally pieced together the NW corner after accepting that EYERS was a thing, but I have never heard of PALE HOSE before and couldn't guess the crossing ESS from the clue. I was thinking navy seamen for "Mariner" and first tried USS and then, when STAR TREK appeared, switch it to ENS (for "Ensign"). That left me with PALE HONE, which seemed just as good an answer (or bad an answer, as the case may be) as any.

In the SW, I just couldn't guess at the OPEN nation. Well, I could guess, but I guessed wrong. With only RIA in place I actually went with ERITRIA. Then, after looking up OPEN online Is witched it to ALGERIA. *sigh* The fact that FUN SPONGE and GREENE were more complete and utter unknowns didn't help matters.

TOKE?

inanehiker said...

Kept thinking this would be a DNF - lots of erasures....but it finally came together. Didn't help that I firmly clung to wrong answers like DONNE for DOYLE for awhile. WBS about USS instead of ESS - guess it was Saturday - so no question mark at the end of the clue.
Nigeria is always the OPEC nation that doesn't hang with the others, so I remembered it from the past.
Happy Saturday, thanks Splynter, John and tonight -- Go Badgers!!

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning,

Definitely a DNF, but I didn't think it would be when I had COGITATES on the first down pass. I feel like I should consider "what Thumper said."

Thanks, Splynter, for adding some fun this morning.

Barry G. said...

I have no idea why I typed OPEN (twice!) instead of OPEC...

TTP said...


For me, the east side was easier than west. And bottom was easier than top.

Had my lawn dethatched and AERATED last weekend. As well as having the garden beds cleaned and edged.

I was ABROAD before I was AT CAMP. MIKE TROUT told me that ABROAD was incorrect. ANCHOR LEG was parsed with the O from LOTT and the L from ECHELON.

Those two made finishing the east and northeast much easier. NEREUS was all perps. PAST TENSE was classic. Loved it.

I was shopping at SAKS Fifth Ave. But gridspanner NOT MY FIRST RODEO told me SAKS was incorrect.

Finally just gave up on most of the west and northwest.

Chairman Moe from yesterday. Great recovery. That would be a memorable birdie. No, never golfed at Pottowatamie. Almost. I ran a league at Pheasant Run Resort. We got rained out there. Pottowatamie was allowing play. We couldn't get > 50 % of the guys to drive over and play in the drizzling rain. That league had 28 golfers.

Time for the mideast geography quiz again. Might be easier than the puzzle ?

Map Game

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Anon -T, this one was not easy.

With a few lucky guesses (Trout? There's a ball player named Trout?), and with Keitel in recent memory, I was able to find letters for most of the thing. Nereus was a complete unknown but mostly perp-able. Same with that guy Lott.

That SW corner was another matter. Even with Not My First Rodeo, Cogitates, and Essays all filled in, I couldn't see Animators and the rest. Algeria didn't help. Never heard of Fun Sponge, and haven't heard Wooly Bully since it was new, so the towel was in-thrown. Solid DNF.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I can't believe I got the whole thing! The first pass yielded very little low-hanging fruit. Got a little foothold down south. Still, I knew it was going to be a fail, so I started a major WAGfest. Hand up for KEBABS, part of the 5th Avenue address was SAKS, A and P was GROC, and it was EINE rather than COSI. Wite-Out to the rescue! Final WAG was the T where LOTT crossed TROUT. At last, the grid was full. My newspaper never says "Tada," so I came here to learn the bad news. Hey, I lucked out!

I think one of the funniest things I ever saw was Guy and Raina singing "One TOKE Over The Line" on a Lawrence Welk show rerun. Obviously, Welk had no idea what that song was about. Laugh! I thought my pants would never dry.

HeartRx said...

Yep, a total WAG fest and complete fail. It was MIKE TRO*T crossing NERE*S that got me today. I guessed at "i" because I was thinking of the NEREIDS. But I guess I must not have noticed that the D had gone missing on me.

Oh yeah, and I also hung on to DOnnE instead of DOYLE for way too long.

TTP, your mideast geography game was much more fun than the puzzle, and even more humbling...

Avg Joe said...

Probably the biggest wagfest I've ever had. I was throwing them in from the street in most cases, and several worked...starting with Keitel. So many unknowns, but they made enough sense that it couldn't be anything else (Fun Sponge, Pale Hose, e.g.) Made most, if not all the errors already mentioned along the way, but got all corrected save for one. Went with Assram and Nims for a FIW.

Here's the Lancy and Co song D-O mentions, and worth a repeat One Toke

SwampCat said...

Uncle! You win, Mr. Lieb!

On the first pass I had three...CSI, Greene, and essays. Not a good start.

Thanks for explaining it, Splynter. Some of the clues were funny once I understood, but I would never have figured them out.

oc4beach said...

This is NOT MY FIRST RODEO, but it didn't take long for the bucking bronco to throw me. A DNF today. But what should I expect from a Saturday puzzle.

Oh well, an easy Monday puzzle will be here soon.

I'm off to hunt and gather at the supermarket.

Have a great day everyone.

Anonymous said...

This puzzle was a total 'fun sponge!'

HowardW said...

My baseball knowledge stood me in good stead with ESS, PALE HOSE, MIKE TROUT. Of course, that made me think of baseball expansion teams for 1A. It also helped that I remember "Wooly Bully". [Obligatory link -- first time I've seen them rather than heard.] But not much else on the first go-round. Even though it started out slowly, it ended with a decent time. I've been keeping a time log for 4 weeks now, and this was better than prior Saturdays.

Some nice ambiguities for misdirection, "Lamb treats" and "high winds" being my favorites. I followed Splynter up the wrong tree for TRACTION, and I was another who tried DONNE rather than DOYLE. NEREUS was new, but I remembered NEREIDS as water nymphs, so an easy guess. KEITEL another guess with KE-T-- in place. Still don't know TANEY or FUN SPONGE, all perps.

Happy Passover to those who overate at a Seder last night -- my turn is tonight.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Only complete was the SE corner. Held "fast" to too many wrong answers. It's one day before Easter and is currently snowing in upstate NY. Green Christmas, White Easter.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

For the second day in a row, I will defer to Thumper. This was a big DNF due to the NW corner. Pale Hose??? Almost, but not quite as head-scratching as Fun Sponge. Nuffield said.

Splinter, bravo for your expo.

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

Sorry, auto correct strikes again! Nuff said!

desper-otto said...

Wow, Avg Joe, they must've done that song more than once -- or else my faulty memory is even faultier than I remember it to be. I distinctly remember it was Lawrence, hisseff, who did the intro, and it was Guy and Raina singing it.

Avg Joe said...

The mind is the second thing to go......

Myron Floren said...

It's Guy and Ralna (not Guy and Raina).

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

I'm with Splynter. Too much look-up to be enjoyable, but bulled through it for the experience.
Got the bottom half without too much ado, but just couldn't get the snowball rolling in the NW. And NEREUS? No comment.
Wanted 'shanks' befpre ESSAYS - good clue.
BOSNIA - Our area has received many Bosnian refugees. They seem to be hard workers.
In hindsight, I thought John did a pretty good cluing job.

Big Easy said...

Too tough for me today. STAR TREK, FUN SPONGE, & COGITATES did me in. I couldn't get FAC ( wanted TAS or RAS), figured sponge would have to be in it but taxonomy has too many possibilities and cogitate is a new word for me. As for the Star Trek, I never heard of TANEY, knew it was Seattle but was unfamiliar with their cap and didn't know KEITEL.

Other unknowns were NEREUS, GTE, MIKE TROUT, DOYLE,NIMH, & GREENE-all were 100% perps. Wooly Bully's UNO DOS, one two three was a gimme along with NIGERIA both those were about the only ones. Idiotic song but one of my favorites.

AT CAMP, AA CELL, FAST, & BOSNIA were WAGS that enabled me to solve most of the puzzle but I fizzled today. DNF.

VirginiaSycamore said...

Hello all,

Here in Cleveland we had a warm April Fool's Day,but it snowed last night and is 31 F now.

I recalled Bhopal from the 1984 tragedy where pesticide plant spill that killed thousands or people.
Wiki Link

Had to use the red letters a lot to get some names. Had A and P as a groc.
I read up on Ronnie Lott. He actually had the tip of a crushed little finger amputated because he didn't want to miss an entire season. Of course that decade the 49ers won the Super Bowl 4 times.
Wiki Link

C6D6 Peg said...

Pretty tough challenge today from Mr. Lieb, but ultimately finished with WAG for PALEHOSE. Had CONSIDERS before COGITATES. Loved the clue for PASTTENSE. Thanks, John Lieb.

Splynter, good job on explaining some things that didn't make sense at all.

desper-otto said...

Myron, the eyes are the third thing to go.

Husker Gary said...

All of a sudden FUN SPONGE and ANIMATORS filled in and I was done on this Saturday tester! Don’t ask how long it took but I had fun

Musings
-Not so much: SAKS, CORP (A & P), ACTRESSES, DOLTS, TERRA, Any famous White Sox player, GTT
-How ‘bout this ANIMAL SIDEKICK? (1:00)
-MVP Trout and his teammates were swept by the KC Royals in the playoffs and he struck out to end the last game
-How about this counselor AT CAMP? (2:26)
-Ronnie Lott was rated the #4 best hitter in NFL history
-MOWERS are coming to life around here
-I’ve heard Wooly Bully hundreds of times but struggled for the answer
-We believe in AERATING but not power raking which can be harmful
-In 1963 a group of Catholic school children sprinkled JFK’s continuously burning flame with holy water and it went out and had to be relit
-Adjunct to “One Toke Over The Line” story. Our very religious choir director had her middle school kids sing John Lennon’s Imagine which is overtly anti-religion. I seemed to be the only one smirking.
-What 1950’s TV show had this line preceding the click, “Hold it! I think you’re going to like this picture” in its intro?

Splash said...

After years following this blog, this is my first entry. Greetings! He was speaking my language today versus DNF so many other Saturdays. Trust me, I usually worry if it's a Silkie Saturday. Or Wilbur, or... But I smiled when I saw the MVP clue. My favorite player! He also had mini themes I knew and liked including 4 gardening, many movie/tv and 3 countries, oddly all ending in "ia". Thank you Mr. Lieb!

Mainly today, I wanted to thank all of you for unknowingly helping me learn how to solve crosswords. Whether in recaps or comments, I can always find some gems! The summaries are great & I learn so much from the definitions and links. (Had to shorten-20 line limit!)

Question. Has anyone found a pencil that writes pretty dark on the newspaper? I've tried mechanical & wood, probably all #2. Thanks!

coneyro said...

I know that Saturday is supposed to be a head-scrat hing endeavor, but does it have to be cruel?

FUNSPONGE, COGNITATES? For real?

At 50D I put the British word SHAGS instead of SNOGS, which in their terminology raises "making out" to another level. I think it is a vulgar term. If so, sorry...

CSI...Honestly, I have never understood why people go gaga over this show. Tried it, but never could get into it. My favorite police procedural is Law & Order SVU. Now that's part of a worthy (IMO) franchise.

Loved that "WOOLY BULLY" song. Now it won't leave my head. Here dog, here dog.....

Nothing else interesting stands out.

Hope your holiday weekend fills you up with food, family, faith and fun.

Peace be with you all.

coneyro said...

Head-scratching...oops my bad.

CrossEyedDave said...

From now on, when I say "What Manac said," it will mean (WTF!)

(CC, pls add that to Olio:)

WBS Plus Tokes.

Spitzboov said...

Splash @ 1105 - Welcome aboard.

You asked"Has anyone found a pencil that writes pretty dark on the newspaper? I've tried mechanical & wood, probably all #2."

No I haven't. That's why I use dark ball point and have card backing underneath. (Keep a little white-out gunk nearby, too)

Irish Miss said...

Splash @ 11:05 Welcome! Your cute-as-a-button avatar just made my day happier! I hope you join in on the fun and camaraderie of the Corner, not to mention the treasure trove of knowledge.

tiptoethru said...

A tote was "haul" and a Las Vegas tip was a "tell," and then it was a total fun sponge. DNF! But, I can still come here and not feel as though I'm too much of a dunce. Thanks all for the explanations and to Mr. Lieb for a challenging exertion and I'm off to chores. There's hope in the Black Hills that spring may be coming!

Argyle said...

Splash, try a art supplies. Someone said an etching pencil works but a bit smudgy.

It's Gail & Dale on "One Toke".

coneyro said...

Just a P.S. After all these years, I just looked up the Wooly Bully reference, and found out it is "hey dog", and not "here dog". Fifty years for the correction. Wow!

Misty said...

Welcome, Splash! Your sweet post redeemed an otherwise brutal morning for me! So great to hear from you!

Modern Guy said...

Welcome Splash.

What's a pencil?

I happily solve the puzzle online (the Mensa site). On paper they'd be mostly frustrating DNFs. Online I find I get better and better.

A week (a day?) doesn't go by here where we don't have someone complain that the paper didn't arrive, or the type was too small to read, or they had too many erasures and/or smudges and/or inkblots. All those problems are solved online.

I realize that, just as there are people who prefer physical books to e-books, there are people who prefer solving crossword puzzles with pencil (or pen) and paper. I would only suggest they give the other option an honest try (a week?) before reverting to type (pun intended).

Chairman Moe said...

TTP @ 7:45 Pheasant Run! Brings back memories. I played it a few times; great track if you could hit it straight - didn't fit my wild and long game! I used their driving range and practice facility a lot, which used to be across the street from the resort. Last time I was in St Chuck I noticed they had razed the driving range for more hotel expansion.

Another one of my "regular" golf tracks was St Andrews. I also recall a few "memorable" NYE parties at St Andrews. Their all you can drink open bar kicked my a$$. Our neighborhood used to rent a school bus to take all of us over and back on NYE so we wouldn't have to worry about a DUI

Swagomatic said...

Using a pen is tempting fate. I always use a pencil. A Bic disposable with .07 mm lead. I much prefer paper over computer. Oh, yeah, get off my lawn, etc, etc.

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

Figures, that with some easy mid-week puzzles we were due for a tough one on Saturday

I HTC several times, and even THAT didn't always help. Ironic perhaps that the first clue I solved was White Sox = PALE HOSE. As a kid I was a huge baseball fan. Not so much anymore, as I had to Google MIKE TROUT as the MVP. I know about him but honestly never paid attention to his MVP honors

Speaking of baseball, certain acronyms and abbreviations are pretty well known to most fans, and non-fans: RBI and ERA come to mind. But now, the following acronyms are creeping into baseball statistics: OPS (sounds rather clandestine to me), WHIP (has the game gone to dominatrixes?!), WPA (I thought the depression/recession was over?), WAR (c'mon, it's just a game!) and BACON (now you have my attention! Everything's better with bacon!) are among the new categories being used to "grade" baseball players.

Back when I followed baseball it was pretty simple: hit for average and/or power; pitch with control and allow few runs; do the fundamentals - know how to sacrifice, etc. I guess now, when the AVERAGE MLB salary is $4M per year per player, you need far more statistics to show their worth. Sorry, but if you can't hit your weight, you don't deserve to play in the big leagues, let alone make $4M.

Rant over ...

Jayce said...

This was a hard one indeed. Had to look up several references. At least I knew Ronnie Lott, which even amazes myself since I know so few sports figures. There were many clues that didn't make sense until after I got the answer, which Argyle has remarked on. I did fill it all in, though.
Best wishes to you all.

Madame Defarge said...

Splash@11:05. I use an Eraser Mate pen in black. It erases pretty well on the newsprint. I am pretty new here and love all the fun. There are great people here: Witty, brilliant and kind! Enjoy the ride.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Very nasty this one!
But come on in! The company's FINE.
Thanks, Splynter! And many other colleagues - for not making me feel so isolatedly stupid. This was a five star wringer.
I see that even the best of the world class aces who frequent this blog couldn't crack Mr. Lieb's pzl--without at least a few lookups. Too many crosses with wide-open possibilities for answers.
When it was all over, and my pulse was back to normal, I thought, "Well, maybe I could have cracked this or that section w/o looking up that one..."

But no, I was just kidding myself. I wss trying a little delusion for a large reassurance. Then, tail between my legs, I turned to Splynter's words--and felt sane again.
Thanks, all!

Bluehen said...

Very difficult puzzle. After the first pass for tlhf I had so few fills that I braced for a toughie. The next pass wasn't much better, so I turned on red letter help and still it was a slog. I finished and got the "Tada", but not without major cheating. Way too many unknowns and devious cluing. Came here and was relieved to see that I was not alone. My hat is off to those of you who solved this puzzle without cheating. Very well done.

Gotta get back to prepping for tomorrow's feast with all of the immediate family. Nice to have them all home.

CYA

Rainman said...

Welcome, Splash. I was in your same boat until just a few months ago so I understand.

If you must have a pencil, I can't help you, but I agree that the PaperMate Erasermate is good. Comes in blue, black and red, et al. It's erasable for a few hours until the ink sets, then it's a bit more difficult. Old-ish eyes like it better than pencil-faint marks..

After I started offering my (lame) comments, some of you helped me get started on solving by computer. Thanks. My favorite and easiest site is the mensa.org site... the price is right and it's reliable, so far. I just have to remember to turn the volume down before the fanfare, providing I ever get one. I do other CWs in pen & ink or erasable ink.

Today's puzzle was not all that bad. The secret for me is to wait until I'm fully alert and have patience to finish. NOT MY FIRST RODEO, this crossword puzzle. Several very clever misdirections, I thought. Enjoyed it. Thanks, John Lieb. Thanks, Splynter.

Spitzboov said...

How to use the pronoun toi:

Une danse avec toi

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

First, thanks Splynter. I was pulling out my hair on this one - once again you saved what little is left of my mind / sanity.

Welcome to the Corner Splash - I can't recommend a pencil but I use a black Pilot G2 .05mm which can write lightly on a WAG (and nicely rounds out the black & white of the paper on a Monday :-)).

Modern Guy@12:18 - "I route therefore You Are" was the MANTRA (SYIK*) in my networking days. I am still highly connected, but puzzles on a screen are no fun - you just can't see everything at once. And I've had enough of screens for a day.

Dudley - Heck no this wasn't easy. I was only picking on you because you were the 1st to post "easy." I was "brilliant!" for getting a Fri and the Cornerites checked my ego. No worries :-)

Oh, the puzzle... Total DNF. I spent over an hour in the north and then got on with my day. I only got 1a after 11d got me off my fast-food thought train with "franchise". I got 25a after a 9d Google. I did get 17a so I'm not a total dip-weed (TOKE!).

Splynter - I love both the orig and STNG. I've not seen any of the "young" TREK stuff.

Cheers, -T
*So Yesterday, I Know. Gotta keep up with the lingo (FUN SPONGE(?), not even my 16yro uses that)

Argyle said...

Let's try that again.

Splash, try a art supplies. Someone said a sketching pencil works but a bit smudgy.

61Rampy said...

Answer to Huskers question: "Love That Bob!" starring Bob Cummings. Much easier to answer that than most of the puzzle answers.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Did anyone else notice the black cross in the middle of this CW grid? Very appropriate for the season and the fact that some of us felt crucified by the time we filled this. I used so many red-letter runs in the top third, that I felt bloody.

Learning moment: I had no idea that the Ottoman Empire covered so much territory. I just thought it was Turkey. Thanks for the great map and rest of the expo, Valiant Splynter!

I got the SW part first and branched out and upward. Got COGITATE & KEITEL wag'd fairly early.
JUst nothing in this puzzle came easy though. I'm proud only of my perseverance.

Lovely spring day here. My son's family took me out for a belated birthday dinner since they were snowed in O'Hare airport on the day. I gave him his birthday gift early. We all had a good visit with a show of their spring break pictures of Dominican Republic. I heard a lot of stories of very friendly natives and "suicidal" drivers.

Manac said...

What Dave said!

Anyone else think of this
Animal Sidekick?

Leonard Skinner said...

RIP Bob Burns

Used Car Salesperson said...

Here is an ANIMAL SIDEKICK* prompting a couple of LEERs.

*He's such a dog!

Madame Defarge said...

Splynter,

Thanks for being so welcoming. I am a newbie here since late fall. You are kind to newbies. That's important as many like myself have felt intimidated to become more involved. Marti said it would be more fun if I became active. She was right! Thanks for your "hospitality."

Thanks so much..

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Yup Rampy, it was Love That Bob (25:22) You can see the intro in this video and see if you want to watch the full 25 minutes.
-I also wrote to Manac telling him I already had linked to Clyde this morning! ;-)

Husker Gary said...

Madame DeFarge – welcome to the “Blue” side of the pool

Madame Defarge said...

Thanks, Gary.

I am loving being on the blue side. I have grown very fond of this crowd--not only for the wit and intelligence, but the delightful caring for each other. Despite many of the shortcomings of the cyber world, this site is wonderful.

Be well!

Argyle said...

Gary, was 10:54 AM suppose to be Clyde? I see a picture of kids with balloons.

Lucina said...

I'm late, late for a very important date! Had to work, and I do mean WORK off and on today as I'm preparing for tomorrow's festivities.

So, I managed to solve the SE by myself even with all the MISLEADS by John Lieb. But then turned to Google in all other areas, LOTT, MIKE TROUT, UNO DOS, all of which are way, way out of my wheel house. But then, I stumbled around and finally finished.

I agree with Barry, well said, cruel and unusual although had I leisure time today and could have spent two or three hours on it, maybe I would have done it by myself.

Thank you, Splynter, for your always sparkling review and John Lieb for the mental workout.

I'm wishing you each and everyone a joyous Easter or Passover!

Husker Gary said...

Oops! That is my granddaughter’s International Baccalaureate Class that I thought I had copied to Facebook and not the one-minute compilation of Clyde’s adventures with Clint Eastwood which was supposed to got there. Proofreading, who needs proofreading? Where’s the DELE/MEA CULPA key?
Sorry Dave!

Lucina said...

The Secret of Nimh, book and movie, were favorites with fourth graders so I saw it MANY times.

Manac said...

Ummm, before Gary berates me any more( You should have read his nasty email ;). Did anyone else just get a picture of a classroom with staff and students
holding balloons instead of his "supposedly" Clyde link??

Argyle said...

Phew! Good to know they weren't animal sidekicks although they do look dangerous.

Manac said...

Gary,
Read Joe's post @ 9:42 :)

Lucina said...

Splash:
Welcome! As some others have mentioned here, an art pencil works wonderfully on puzzles, dark yet erasable. I attach an eraser since they usually don't have one.

Anonymous T said...

Just back from a wonderful dinner at Antonia's (lobster ravioli) says...

Nothing to do with the puzzle:
While at dinner, eldest mentioned that 2015 is the year Marty went to in the future. Furthermore, we should be "The Future" for Halloween and I should be Doc (I have the hair for it). Youngest already found a Delorian for a daily rate online. CED, Manac, Bill G, Argyle et.al. - any other fun ideas?

More importantly - anyone know how to convince a DW to play along? (she had that "are you f***ing Bonkers? Oh, h*** no!" look on her face). Lucina, YR, IM, Blue Iris? 'Common what would it take?

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

AnonT:
It looks to me like a golden opportunity for some prime bribery. You surely know what rings her bells and would bring her to her knees!

Good luck!

Bill G. said...

AnonT, wow! I wish I could come up with ideas like that. It sounds like great fun.

My last really good idea was years ago when we first heard about a diamond "tennis bracelet." At the time, we both played tennis, it was a big anniversary coming up and I managed to get a nice one. I've been living off that idea ever since. I need something else new and big for this June.

Anonymous T said...

BIll G - yep, these kids are quick and I'm keen on the follow through for giggles. For June, try putting rose petals by the door with a small trail to a drawn bath. with more petals floating. Fun may ensue. (Don't put petals on the bed - they'll end up where you dont want them)

Lucina - I know her buttons, but to get DW to go w/ a nerd theme is gonna be tough. Maybe I'll just turn up in a DMC and ask for forgiveness later :-)

Y'all have a good night. Cheers, -T