google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, April 9, 2015, Marti Duguay-Carpenter

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Apr 9, 2015

Thursday, April 9, 2015, Marti Duguay-Carpenter

Theme: Now where did I hide my dope?

Another treat for me as marti and I have switched so I can blog her Thursday effort. It seems particularly timely as I have recently returned from visiting my son who lives in Denver. Denver has now added a new dimension to its nickname of mile high city. As a child of the sixties, it is very strange to walk around and see the marijuana shops. Anyway, on to the puzzle. It involves hiding a word (DOPE) which spans two-word fill. In the first three the break is D OPE, with the last DO PE. Not an expert on Thursday word length, but we do have a less than 5 letter average. Aside from theme answers, the longest fill is 6 letters, featuring DROWSE,  ENGULF,  HOODOO, NOVELS,  OBJECT,  OWED ON,  SEVERE,  SPIRAL,  SPONGE,  TAIPAN,  TENONS and ZEALOT. She was nice enough to include a J. So let us dance....

18A. Genre that often includes a ballet : GRAND OPERA. am familiar with the TERM generally but I am not as high brow as miss m.

23A. TV teaser before the first commercial : COLD OPENING. Another TERM I do not know, but it was easily inferred.

37A. James Bond and others : FIELD OPERATIVES. Wiki prefers the TERM Field Agents.

52A. "Great" 1975 Redford role : WALDO PEPPER. I actually was glancing through the various clues when I saw this one, immediately put in the answer and saw the Theme and went back to fill the rest. This MOVIE character may have been based on a real pilot who died flying in a movie.

And the reveal:

58A. Skinny, so to speak, or what's hidden in 18-, 23-, 37- and 52-Across : INSIDE DOPE (10)  A perfect reveal, as the DOPE is on the inside of the theme answers. An interesting slang word, the SKINNY on skinny.

Now for the skinny on the rest....

Across:

1. "That's terrible!" : OH NO.


5. Like some stockings : MESH. Oh my, Splynter?
Easy for them to say

9. Guck : SLIME. It reminds me of this scene from a slime MOVIE.

14. Windfall : BOON.

15. "The Salt-N-__ Show" : PEPA. The answer was easily inferable as I know the group but never heard of the SHOW.

16. Trojan War figure : PARIS. Now a name for the ladies, but this was a ladies man who stole away Helen from her Greek husband leading to war and the great measure of female beauty- the millihelen.

17. Roman god of the sky : JOVE. By Jove, I knew it was not Jupiter.

20. Utopias : EDENS.

22. Excited, with "up" : WOUND. Picture children with too much candy in them .

26. Côte d'Azur sight : MER. The sea in French. Not to be confused with 12D. Orbiter for 15 years : MIR. It seemed that it lasted longer. LINK.

29. Lean-__ : TOS.

30. Nasser's confed. : UARUnited Arab Republics. marti likes her initialisms.(#1).

31. Harsh : SEVERE. Winter 2014-5 in NE?

33. Swamp : ENGULF. I was thinking like the Everglades, not being swamped.

36. Bone-dry : ARID. I like the clue.

42. Open org. : USGAUnited States Golf Association. (#2) See, I told you.

43. Second book in Clavell's "Asian Saga" : TAI-PAN. Not be confused with 61D. One might keep you from seeing the show : PAN. Of the SERIES of Books, I think SHOGUN is the most famous.

44. Fanatic : ZEALOT.Another interesting WORD which is appropriate for the season.

47. One-up : TOP.

48. Time zone word: Abbr. : STD. Standard as opposed to daylight.

51. Buddhist branch : ZEN.

56. Free-for-all : MELEE.A fun word

57. Savanna heavyweight : RHINO.

63. Lined up, with "in" : A ROW.

64. Movers' challenge : PIANO.


65. Degree holder : GRADuate.

66. Without : SANS.

67. Choose to join : OPT IN.

68. Ages and ages : EONS.

69. Choice word : ELSE.


Down:

1. Protest : OBJECT.

2. Jinx : HOODOO. Again? Who cursed me?

3. King output : NOVELS. Probably she means Stephen, not Don or Martin Luther nor Elvis.

4. Upright : ON END.

5. EPA sticker stat : MPGMiles Per Gallon (#3).

6. Adverb in odes : E'ER.

7. Produce : SPAWN.

8. Capital NE of Vientiane : HANOI.

9. Quick learner : SPONGE.

10. "Dragnet" force, briefly : LAPDLos Angeles Police Department (#4).

11. Rage : IRE.

13. Spanish "that" : ESA.

19. Pressures for payment : DUNS.

21. Ting or ping : SOUND. Ting?

24. When doubled, a South Pacific capital : PAGO. The capital of American Samoa, PAGO PAGO has nothing to with a volcano in Papua, New Guinea named Pago, which may or may not...

25. Blow : ERUPT.

26. First name in game shows : MERV. Griffin, responsible for both Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

27. Iroquoian people : ERIE. Do we have any Native Americans reading this?

28. Cabs and syrahs : REDS. No Cincinnati to commemorate the baseball season? Oops, marti does not like baseball.

32. "You're So ___": 1973 #1 hit : VAIN

33a. Carrier that doesn't fly on the Sabbath : EL AL.

34. Where to hear maas and baas : LEA. Paa!

35. Popular chip : FRITO. Corn chips which led to nacho chips.

37. __ bass : FUZZ. A musical interlude; the effect can be from the amp or a pedal.
xxxx

38. Words of understanding : I SEE.

39. Eddie __, detective involved in the actual "French Connection" : EGAN.His OBITUARY.

40. Each : A POP.

41. Slender candle : TAPER. Finally, the TAPER from BG's April Fool's Day post.

45. Was in debt regarding : OWED ON.

46. Yarn : TALE. You may spin one but it will not make a scarf.

48. Fusilli shape : SPIRAL. A fun pasta.
Twist and shout

49. Mortise partners : TENONS. We have had this debate before.

50. Nod : DROWSE.

53. Pigeon's place : LEDGE.

54. Golden, in Guadalajara : DE ORO.

55. Full moon, e.g. : PHASE.

56. Thigh-high attire : MINI.
More for Splynter?

58. 2010 GM financial event : IPOInitial Public Offering (#5).

59. Little bite : NIP.

60. Did nothing : SAT.




62. Magazine VIPs : EDS. Editors.

Well Lemonade thanking marti for the chance to explain her work, and  now I'm on my way to create a new recipe to prepare food with matzoh, though the fusilli and Cecile both look yummy.


48 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Delightful puzzle. Didn't get the theme until the theme reveal, but it was a nice extra.

Struggled a bit at the beginning when I tried ERECT instead of ONEND and, later, VOODOO instead of HOODOO, but that sorted itself out eventually.

Lower down, I didn't know/recall FUZZ (although I have a vague memory now of seeing it the puzzle a long time ago) or EGAN, and originally went with USTA instead of USGA. ETAN just looked wrong, though, so I tried EGAN and got the *TADA*.

As an aside, I read a comment online today from somebody who had only vaguely heard of Abbot & Costello's famous "Who's on first" routine and thought it was very obscure to include in a crossword puzzle. And this was from somebody about my age (closing in on 50). I was gobsmacked that anybody would find the most famous comedy routine EVER to be at all obscure. Just wondering if anybody else feels this way or whether I'm just getting old...

Boomer said...

BG@5:58: I'm frequently surprised by what people here will say they've never heard of. Of course everyone has gaps in their knowledge (due to age, background, culture, etc.) but there are some things that I think everyone should know about. It's what called E.D. Hirsch called "cultural literacy". (Our own C.C.'s cultural literacy is very impressive considering this isn't her native culture.)

Here are some cultural literacy tests.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I always look forward to seeing Marti's name at the bottom of the puzzle page. I know there'll be some interesting fill, not much sports, and some clever misdirection. I was not disappointed today.

EGAN reminds me that (shame on me!) I've never seen The French Connection, but it is on my list of NetFlix movies that I keep next to the TV. I'll get to it eventually.

BLOW always reminds me of the Murphy Brown episode about the birth of Murphy's baby. I can just see newsman Jim Dial screaming, "Look out, she's gonna BLOW!". Probably never happened, but it's a good memory.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. Challenging Thursday puzzle for me today. Fun theme and I easily got the INSIDE DOPE. Other clues, however, were not so fast. I am not familiar with the phrase COLD OPENING.

The year before The Great WALDO PEPPER, came Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby.

Anyone else think of Fusilli Jerry?

I wanted Silk stockings before the MESH ones.

QOD: On my income tax 1040 it says “Check this box if you are blind.” I wanted to put a check mark about three inches away. ~ Tom Lehrer (b. Apr. 9, 1928)

TTP said...

Good morning all. I found all the dopes. I needed it for GRAND OPERA.

Thank you Marti and Lemonade.

No idea on EGAN, although it was a great movie. So I guessed USTA. Don't they host an Open in Flushing Meadows ?

Big Easy said...

COLD OPENING was a new term for me. That along with JOVE and HOODOO caused the NW to be the last to fall. Down here we put the gris-gris on 'em for a jinx. Or burn black candles (TAPERs?).

I guessed the theme at 'DOPENING' after the DOPERA. Unknowns were Eddie EGAN, JOVE, REDS, DE ORO, fusilli-SPIRAL, and TAIPAN. Salt-N-PEPA I only know from the GEICO commercial that has been running lately.

'Cultural literacy' is what I would consider to be a snob's term to describe those who haven't read to co-called must read books or attended opera, symphony, or art galleries. They believe in their own moral, cultural superiority, sorta like an athlete who believes his own press clippings. Everyone doesn't come from the same place or have them same financial or educational opportunities. And to try and fake it makes a wannabe High-brow a low-brow.

FUZZ bass- definitely a product of the 60s.

inanehiker said...

Good puzzle, Marti. My northwest was the slowest to fill partly because of starting with ERECT like Barry said, never heard of COLD OPENING, and not being sure of which King was being referenced. I kept thinking it might be Elvis, but no song of his came to mind.
Thanks Lemonade for filling in.

Barry G. said...

I knew COLD OPENING as a term to describe what they do on Saturday Night Live. They jump right into a sketch with no introduction and only at the end of the sketch do they announce, "Live from New York..." and then proceed with the opening credits.

Avg Joe said...

A fun puzzle Marti. And an excellent theme title, Lemonade!

Had to do a lot of grazing to get this filled. It wasn't terribly slow, but nothing seemed to come easily. But due to that, I saw the Dopes emerge as I went, so the reveal was pretty easy to get.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning!

Thanks Marti. It was fun even though I didn't see the theme. Struggled to recall GREAT WALDO PEPPER after I couldn't get Redford as Gatsby out of my head. In our house we called FUSILLI caterpillars. It made for interesting table conversation of friends stayed for dinner! I liked TALE for yarn--it's always important to be able to knit a good tale!

Thanks, Lemonde for working on your day off! ;-)

On E. D. Hirsch's Cultural Literacy: I see both sides of this coin. I kept a copy in my classroom for kids to peruse when they had some time. I wanted them to see that there was plenty outside our little community, but I never saw it as a way to put down their experiences and cultures. I never used it as a teaching tool, just exposure for those who may have been curious. I also had plenty of texts out for the kids who could wing their way through Hirsch but knew little of their classmates cultural experiences. No heads down in my class. Finish something early? Grab a book off the table.

It's raining madly. Surely, this will wash away the winter filth.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

First, CC and Argyle, now Marti! What a treat.

Had silk before mesh but that was soon corrected. Never heard of hoodoo, cold opening, or fuzz bass, but perps were solid, so no hang-ups. Needed the reveal to catch the theme, which brought a smile.

Nice job, Marti, and an enjoyable and informative expo, Lemony. Thank you both.

Chilly, damp, and dreary here right now. Where oh where is Spring?

Have a great day.

C6D6 Peg said...

Enjoyed the puzzle, Marti! Only guess was on EGAN. Could have been USTA or USGA. Went with EGAN, so it was a complete solve! Didn't understand PAN, unless it was the camera moving.

Thanks for filling in Lemonade. You're lucky you get to blog Marti's puzzles very often.

Tinbeni said...

Marti: Thank You for a FUN Thursday puzzle.
Hmmm, a DOPE theme ... that gives me an idea ...

Sorry to hear some of you are having rainy weather ...
It is another beautiful, sunny day here in the Tampa Bay Area ... perfect for a walk on the beach.

A "Toast-To-ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!

kazie said...

Third Corner constructor in one week! Congrats to all! Unfortunately, my day is awaiting me and I got too impatient to hang on long enough to figure out the top.

I couldn't get MESH because I clung to OER/EER, and that killed both HANOI (I knew what was needed, but in typical form for me lately I couldn't come up with the name) and SPAWN. I also had HORSE/PARIS, thinking only of HELEN as the alternative, so that corner was a mess too. It was definitely a day to start at the bottom, but the top never emerged this time.

Argyle said...

Peg, I took it to mean a bad review.

61D. One might keep you from seeing the show : PAN

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Yep - bottoms up on this one, NW last to fall. HORROR and NOVELS - 6 letters A POP. COLD OPENING is new to me.

EDENS - does Barbara have a sister?

Hidden word puzzles - how do you even come up with them?

Nicely done, Marti. Maybe a tad easier than the typical Thus.

We have a couple granddaughters for a sleepover tonight. Not sure if i'll get to the Corner tomorrow.

Wet, foggy and cold here - not a great day for baseball. But, since it seems that no two Detroit teams can win on the same day, I'll take a Tigers rain out this afternoon for a Red Wings win in Montreal tonight.

Cool regards!
JzB

Bill G. said...

Hello everybody. I read Lemon's writeup but not any of the comments yet. But I just wanted to jump in with my two-cents worth before it's all been said.

I enjoyed the puzzle as I expected to when I saw Marti's byline. But I didn't have much fun where I start in the upper-left corner. I had trouble with JOVE, TOS and COLD OPENING. I thought Jupiter was the god but he wouldn't fit. Zeus fit but was Greek. What to do? I've never heard of COLD OPENING but maybe that's on me. TOS (as in lean tos) seemed like a stretch and a bit unfair. But I think Marti and Rich are always fair and it is Thursday so it must have been necessary to make the grid work. I'll be interested to see if others had as much trouble in that corner as I did. But when I used a little red-letter help, everything finally come together and I enjoyed the final product. Thanks Marti and Lemon.

Ergo said...


Thank you Marti and Lemon.

I think this is the first time I completed the reveal (INSIDEDOPE) before any of the theme answers.

And heaven knows, I needed it! My grid was a desert before the PERPS for "INSIDE" gave me a WAG for "DOPE." I could then work my way back into the meat of the puzzle.

Thanks for a fun offering.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

A stellar week with another Cornerite offering.
Thanks Marti - good job. And a good skinny on the puzzle construction by Lemon.

Got FUZZ and most of the NW last with some good wagging But finished SANS strikethroughs, so I was happy.
ENGULF - Finally took swamp to be a verb as in "I was swamped with homework" so ratcheted up the cultural level a bit, and got 'engulf'.

Husker Gary said...

After fighting my way out of the NW corner, this was a hoot! My KING had MLK NOBELS, KING Agency MODELS and of course ERECT was no help, GIFT was not a windfall and HOODOO?

Musings
-Source of some great COLD OPENINGS (5:10)
-I had a big problem MESHING gears in my brother’s truck
-Rotten Tomatoes PANned The da Vinci Code and I loved it
-ZEALOTS make lousy negotiators
-Sports fanatics can cause MELEES when their team wins
-The most famous use of the word SANS came in Act II Scene VII
-“Choice” word at my childhood supper table, “This or NOTHING”
-One 1967 Dragnet episode had Joe and Bill trying to break up an magazine subscription racket. Wow, talk about your low level crime!
-A very funny resurrection of Merv!
-A Marti puzzle SANS vino? Please!
-I can eat copious amounts of FRITOS even though I know I’ll be sick
-Apollo 11 landed during a waxing crescent PHASE whose long shadows made landmarks stand out more

Anonymous said...

A bit strange to first define "fuzz bass" as a musical interlude rather than the sound effect produced on the bass. The effect is used in solos, but does not necessarily require an interlude.

CanadianEh! said...

Fun puzzle today even if the NW corner seems to have held everybody up. Thanks Marti and Lemonade.

I filled in REDS quickly knowing Marti's preferences. Hand up for Horse before PARIS and Erect before ON END. Also, Reved up before WOUND UP,Enfold before ENGULF, Alum before GRAD.

Of course I thought of Redford as Jay Gatsby before Waldo Pepper. Interesting that we had PEPPER and PEPA today.

Rainy here but at least it is a little warmer!

Misty said...

A perfect Thursday puzzle, Marti--challenging but doable and a lot of fun. And nice pics, Lemonade!

Never heard of SPONGE for a quick learner, and FUZZ BASS and COLD OPENING were also new to me.

Didn't know EGAN, and so worried that I would goof up on the Open org. But then I remembered all the buzz about golf and the Masters and put in the G: Voila! I got it!

Off to teach a class about Leopold Bloom at the Senior Center this afternoon.

Have a great day, everybody!

Anonymous said...

28D CABS and SYRAHS / REDs (wines) I knew a Marti puzzle had to have wine in there somehow.
Great puzzle, Marti. Lemon, fun informative post.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Many of you had the same trouble I had with the NW corner. It would have been my undoing, except that I finally thought to switch from JUNO to JOVE.
Should have known the Romans wouldn't have turned the whole Sky over to a godDESS when they had a perfectly fine male figure at hand.

coneyro said...

I always feel better when my problems coincide with the other great minds on this blog. Puts me in good company, and makes me feel less of a dum dum.

WEES about COLDOPENING and EGAN/ETAN.

Getting INSIDEDOPE quickly, helped to fill in the long answers. I, too, had the NW completed at a snail's pace. My break was 1A /OHNO, which gave me the "N" for 3D. That led to an AHA as in the correct KING=NOVELS. Then the rest fell into place.

I know that you have to think "outside the box" and being a very literal person, it sometimes proves to be a challenge for me. I've learned that the obvious too often is wrong, so I use word association and think of any and all usages and contexts. Getting better at it. Now I only wish I could improve on my sense of humor.

I did not like NOD/DROWSE. Perps for and wag for TAIPAN, then realized I DID know the title after all.

Puzzle was at a decent Thursday level. Surprisingly, all done, but I had to "earn my pay" on it. The harder the effort, the more deserving the prize.

"Cursed" with another beautiful Florida day. Too bad for me.....Until tomorrow..

Lucina said...

Hola, friends!

How nice to see you on a Thursday, Lemonade. Thanks for subbing.

I felt like a real DOPE in the NW corner. It took waaaay too long to finish. I don't know COLD OPENING and king output was too misleading. Finally, I erased everything and started over going on my instincts and by JOVE, it worked!

Well done, Marti, thank you!

Also, I forgot to finish USGA/EGAN and left it with a blank cell. Drat!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Lemonade714 said...

I agree with Argyle that PAN meant a bad review.

Thanks C Eh for pointing out PEPA PEPPER; I missed it completely

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Not exactly a speed run today, but not a mind bender either. Didn't know Grand Opera was a thing, frinstance, but it was well perped. Hand up for Erect before On End. Egan was 100% perps. Thanks for a nice Thursday challenge, Marti!

About Cold Opening: I didn't know that was the name of the TV technique. I always called that opening a "hook". Correspondingly, the quick segment after the last commercial I call a "stinger" even though that's probably wrong. Show biz seems to have a name for everything - I recall a Bob Newhart special in which he demonstrated a "slow burn", what the actor does when he is expected by the situation to say something profound, but is speechless.

JD said...

good morning,

was excited to see a puzzle from Marti, but it seemed like doomsday on my first go around. I had way too many errors for it to be fun for me, but enjoyed... As always...the cleverness of its creation. How you even saw DOPE in Waldo Pepper boggles my mind.

loved savanna heavyweight!

Enjoy your day... I'm taking the boys golfing... Should be a hoot.

Qli said...

Nice work, Marti! and great links, Lemonade.
Interesting thoughts, Boomer @6:51. FUZZ bass was not in my wheelhouse, but it is now! I didn't realize I knew about GRANDOPERA, but it just came to me.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Much fun, Marti! Thanks, Lemony!

I, too, had a big snowy white expanse in the NW. That would be what I call a COLD OPENING and last to fill. Never heard of that term. I kept laboring on and perps showed up the DOPEs when I had nothing much else in place. The light dawned. Very helpful elsewhere to fill that in.

Didn't remember WALDO PEPPER. Didn't see the movie although my husband would have loved it.

Salt-N-PEPA filled because of the commercial but I didn't remember what they sold. "Push it!"

HOODOOs are strange rock formations in Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah. I tried to "hex" something in the puzzle.

Cabs & syrahs aren't forms of transportation? I wondered when REDS perped up. I thought most cabs were yellow. I googled syrah after reading Lemon's expo which didn't really explain it to me. Wine? Whoda thunk it? Oh, cabernet?

I've heard of FUZZ bust not bass.

Definition I liked when I saw it years ago: "Culture is what you do with what you have." In our farming community several artists made delightful wheat weavings.

Anonymous said...

You win, Marti! This was a typical Thursday DNF for me. The only DOPE I found was the one staring back at me from the monitor screen! Lemonade, thank you for filling in all my blank squares. I did enjoy what I was able to finish.

I liked the FRITO leading to Nacho chip. We're having nachos for dinner tonight.

I've retained enough from studying French that MER and SANS are gimmees.

It took a long time to figure out which King we were talking about. I've read two of his books and that's it. I don't enjoy the genre.

I had most of the problems that have been mentioned so won't rehash them.

Warm and humid today, bringing rain and thunderstorms. We've had enough rain for a while. The best thing about the weather is what it does to my curly hair.

Have a nice evening.

Pat

I'm a LarryS said...

I must OBJECT to that NW corner to, either I was HOODOOed (never heard of that) or it was just too hard even for Thursday. Lean-TOS isn't fair without an indication of a plural. I could have noodled on that corner for an hour without finishing. Too many ambiguous and misdirecting clues and obscure answers. Had to cry uncle.

C6D6 Peg said...

Argyle & Lemonade - thanks for the PAN explanation..... now it makes sense.

SwampCat said...

You win, Marti,but I had a good time losing to you! No, I didn't finish, but I learned a lot and realized I knew. A lot. Can't beat that!

Sponge didn't compute for Quick Learner until I realized I call my pre-schoolers little sponges because they remember everything... even when I wish they wouldnt!! I don't know if that equals "quick learner" but I can't complain about the clue.

Hoodoo sounds wrong to me because we wallow in VOOdoo down here in the Swamp, but again,,I can't complain.

And there were so many fun things...well, thanks for the puzzle, and the expo!!

HeartRx said...

By JOVE, I never realized that NW corner would be such a stickler. Rich mainly used my clues as submitted, except that I had "Lean-___ (rough shelters)" at 29-A. and "Grafton output" at 3-D.

But, I hope it provided a small entertainment for some!

Anonymous said...

As we learned this week, JINX can be a verb.
Hoodoo Definition
dictionary.search.yahoo.com
tr.v.
• 1. To practice hoodoo on; affect with a charm or curse.
• 2. To bring bad luck to.

SwampCat said...

LOTS of entertainment, Marti!! Thanks!

SwampCat said...

....and may I comment on 28d?

I knew they were wines...so I confidently put in "wine". Ah, but it was plural, and the perps were unhappy.

So I changed it to "vins"...hey! Kulchur! Wrong.....

Finally the perps gave me "reds" and I felt like a Dumkoff!

A very humbling experience! LOL

Madame Defarge said...

HeartRx at 5:26

Indeed you did!! Thank you so much,

Rainman said...

Exceptionally enjoyable puzzle, Marti. Just the right difficulty for a quick but enjoyable completion. Not exactly a sled run, more like a slalom. It was also a learning experience; afterwards, I had to look up FUZZ and COLDOPENING. Never heard of either. And once again, the NW was last to reveal itself.

Thanks to everyone yesterday, including FactChecker and Lucina, for teaching me that there is a distinction AND a difference between the auk and the great auk. Everything I had read referred simply to the auk. But that was not the point... my point was that it seems very rare, almost impossible, for any extinction to be documented (if that's the word) precisely at the time of extinction, such as the (Great) auk. We ignored that part, but it is very good to learn there are still auks out there.

Cabs and syrahs. REDS. A quick slam dunk. Marti, was this your clue, and did you consider the Reds movie? I liked everything about it though, just as it was. Great job.

Nice write-up, Lemonade.

HeartRx said...

Rainman @ 6:22, you must know that as my avatar is a glass of wine, "Cabs and syrahs" HAD to be my original clue!! LOL

Argyle said...

"Bones", 7 min. cold opening.

Bill G. said...

Marti, I was definitely entertained and enjoyed your puzzle even though the NW corner was tough for me. I would have done much better with your original clue for TOS before Rick edited it.

Being a fogy, my musical taste is stuck in the 50s and 60s. I just heard this performance by Bette Midler that fit my tastes just perfectly. Be My Baby

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, Marti and Lemon!

Puzzle was tough for me, but I finally made it through w/o cheats! FUZZ BASS really had me shaking my head. Was overwhelmed when I put in the U and got the TA-DA.

It has turned cold here. Even a frost warning last night. (Fortunately for my kalanchoes and tomatoes, it did not freeze.)

Cheers!

(Now, time to rake the culture quiz!)

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

Marti, always enjoy your puzzles, and as well Lemony's recap. No speed run; took my time and didn't HTC

Also Marti, I am quite a wine geek, too. Syrah is perhaps my favorite RED varietal. I'm particularly fond of Northern Rhones from either Cote-Rotie or Hermitage. If you've never tried these you must.

Anonymous T said...

Let's try this again said...

Hi all!

This DOPE left his puzzle at the office so DGTF.* GRAND OPERA was my 1st theme answer and that gave me the skinny on others. I recall the NE was still blank (___D OPENING) and there were smatterings of white that needed sussing.

Thanks Marti - I always have fun with your puzzles. Thanks Lem for filling in today.

Cheers, -T
*Didn't Get To Finish