google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, October 16, 2015, Mark Bickham

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Oct 16, 2015

Friday, October 16, 2015, Mark Bickham

Theme: Tiny puns.

Mark B, is back with simple concept, where phrases which include a diminutive, are re-imagined by witty cluing. I found a couple to be very funny, but it did not feel entirely like a theme. His July effort which was on a Friday used legal terms which were clued in non-legal ways. Here the size aspect is vital to both the base phrase and the new definition. I hope he stops by, as he often does, because I have a nagging feeling I missed something. The rest was an interesting mix of very hard fill and very easy answers. GLADIOLI, LOOKS BAD, IDIOT LIGHT,  and SUGAR SUGAR are the featured non-theme long fill. Let's see the rest.

17A. Hummingbird feature? : SMALL BILL (9). Do you have any ones on you, I want to buy some food for the hummingbirds, they have such short noses.

26A. Foothills? : SHORT RANGE (10). My drone does not go very far, it cannot get close to the mountains.

37A. Hot Wheels Volkswagen? : MINIATURE GOLF (12). I love this one. They actually EXIST. The seed entry, or maybe

50A. Potty-training tool? : LITTLE JOHN (10). Charlotte was out of diapers before she was two because of this device.

60A. Mouthpiece for a Lilliputian horse? : TEENSY BIT (9). Very cute.

Across:

1. Type of hippo : PYGMY. I spent way too much time trying to work this into the theme.
6. 59-Down product : ATM. I am not in favor of these gratuitous cross-references that make you look at the bottom of the puzzle this early. Not sure why this was needed.

9. Color guard accessory : SABER. The ceremonial sword.  Not a flower.
14. Child on TV for decades : JULIA. Ah, not that kind of Child, but the incomparable....


15. Virgo preceder : LEO. One of the easy ones.

16. "I'm here" : USE ME. This required the perps, not synonymous for me.

19. Enjoyed Vegas : GAMED. Not gambled...

20. Valley : DALE.

21. Place to live in Spain : CASA. House?

23. Sore feeling : IRE. Not achy but angry.

24. Purported ancestor of Ragnar Lothbrok on TV's "Vikings" : ODIN. I do not know this History Channel SERIES (3:15).

29. Crazy scene : ZOO. An unPC TERM now.

30. Call-day link : IT A. I wish I could; it has been a long week.

31. Value : ESTEEM.

32. Did a cobbler's job : SOLED. Shoe enough....

34. Stain : IMBRUE. To stain (something, especially one's hands or sword)."they were unwilling to imbrue their hands in his blood." Mark keeps an extensive word list to build his puzzles. This is a Friday word.

41. Hoedown move : DO-SI-DO. A wonderful CSO for our recovering dancer, YR.

42. Taking place : AFOOT. Hmm, dancing, cobblers and now this....

44. Is in store for : AWAITS.

47. Pine product : TAR. We recently linked the George Brett pine tar incident.

49. Maker of the GreenSaver Produce Keeper : OXO.
53. Absolut rival : SKYY.  Vodka in a blue bottle.

54. Explosive letters : TNT.  har har.

55. Collector's __ : ITEM. See another easy one.

56. Reveals in an unwelcome way : OUTS. Speaking of unPC, is there any good context for this meaning?

58. Naming : ID-ING.  I guess when you are naming a perpetrator....

64. Nursery supply : MULCH.

65. Psyche component : EGO. Id and superego.

66. Hiding __ : PLACE.

67. No longer an item : APART.

68. Oversaw : RAN. The business.

69. Teamed (with) : SIDED.

Down:

1. Jams : PJS.

2. Good remark? : YUM. What you say when it is good.

3. Plants with sword-shaped leaves : GLADIOLI. More swords...

4. Lombardy's capital : MILAN.

5. Everyone in Mississippi? : Y'ALL.

6. Big ring name : ALI. Muhammed.


7. AT&T, for short : TELCO. We had this before.

8. Grinder : MOLAR. Not the sandwich, the tooth. hard.

9. 1969 hit with the line "You are my candy girl" : SUGAR SUGAR. You want the Music VIDEO (3:02)?

10. Botanist Gray : ASA. No idea of this PIONEER, but he fits with the flowers.

11. Candy heart words : BE MINE. marti...


12. Show one's face : EMERGE.

13. Make amends for : REDEEM.

18. Outdo : BEST.

22. Volume measure : STERE. A cubic metre.

24. Abbr. on some cans : OZS. Ounces, also volume.

25. Hardly a happy ending : DOOM.

27. Where the Santa Maria sank, nowadays : HAITI. How many remember this HISTORY.

28. Dined on, biblically : ATE OF.

30. Dash warning : IDIOT LIGHT. Modern technology. LINK.

33. "I suggest you move on" : END IT.

35. Pie makeup? : MUD.

36. Stock : BROTH. The key to much cooking.

38. Plus : ASSET.

39. Doesn't exactly help one's reputation : LOOKS BAD.

40. Stunning or cunning : FOXY. One for Splynter? LINK.

43. One under a tree, maybe : TOY. Only 70 shopping days left  until Christmas.

44. Nissan sedan : ALTIMA.

45. Start of a pitch : WIND-UP.

46. Fifth-century Roman Empire enemy : ATTILA. Never really thought about when the Hun was at large.

48. In a little while : ANON. Our one Shakespeare hint this Friday.

51. 1996 A.L. Rookie of the Year : JETER. Who knew...

52. Psi follower : OMEGA. Straight Greek alphabet.

53. Needles : STYLI. here it is Latin that matters, the I plural for us is needed.

57. Org. whose logo features an eagle head : USPS. United States Postal Service

59. 6-Across maker : NCR. National Cash Register.

61. Awfully long time : EON.

62. Rocks in a bucket : ICE. Look away Tinman....

63. "Ideas worth spreading" acronym : TEDTechnology Entertainment & Design. LINK

So we have reached the end of another Friday; thank you Mark, time to get ready for the beginning of the costume party season. Be careful out there, lemonade out.


Notes from C.C.:

1) Happy Birthday to dear CrossEyedDave! Thanks for the joy and happiness you've brought to me and many regulars the past few years. You're our sunshine!


2) Happy Birthday to Bluehen as well! I'm stealing a picture Dave got for you last year.


3) Welcome back, PK! Irish Miss just emailed me about you the other day. Now we need to hear from Montana, who has not replied to my email yet. We're quite concerned.

56 comments:

  1. Morning, all [And a Happy Birthday to Dave & Bluehen]!

    Figured out the clever and witty theme early on, which helped immensely with the rest of the solve. IMBRUE was a complete unknown which just looked wrong in the grid, but the perps were rock solid so I left it. Didn't really care for GAMED, but that was my only minor nit. Overall a solid, fun Friday puzzle for me.

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  2. Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. Fun puzzle. My first theme answers, however, were SMALL BILL and LITTLE JOHN, so I was mislead into thinking the theme had to do with men's names.

    Pie Makeup = MUD was my favorite clue of the puzzle.

    Gambling is illegal in Louisiana, but GAMING is okay, hence the casinos. Maybe the same is true in Nevada?

    Glad to see you back, PK. I was worried about you, so glad to know you are okay.

    Happy Birthday Bluehen and Crosseyed Dave. Hope you both have a special day.

    QOD: Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing is worth knowing can be taught. ~ Oscar Wilde (Oct. 16, 1854 ~ Nov. 30, 1900)

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  3. Good morning!

    This one looked "iffy" for quite some time. When I finally used Wite-Out on ATONES things began to click. The Bible got me in trouble again with ATETH. The whole eastern seaboard was slow to appear, but worth the effort. This one even included shoutouts to Tin, YR (no Oxford comma here) and the ubiquitous ANONs. Nicely done, Mark Bickham.

    Happy Birthday, CED and BlueHen!

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  4. Happy birthday CED LINK and Bluehen LINK .

    It is good to have you back Susan.

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  5. "Jams : PJS."

    Sorry, but no.

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  6. Happy Birthday CED and Bluehen!!

    Thanks for the Friday challenge, Mark. I stalled at JULIA wondering how that was possible. Ha! That was my favorite clue, however. This is technically a DNF as I never made sense of the cross at IMBRUE and STERE. I stared guessing letters, but no luck in understanding what it all meant. So: always something to learn here.

    Thanks, Lemonade. I especially liked the beautiful, full patch of GLADIOLI!

    Off to take a neighbor to the Hospital for a treatment. I look forward to reading everyone's comments later today.

    Have a good one!

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  7. I struggled from the start in the north with Y'ALL and ALI alone in a sea of white. After not working my way through the middle, the south filled easily, except that I didn't finish reading 56A's clue and filled OPES for reveals; OUTS and STYLI were my last fills after I reread the clues.

    The 'small' theme was easy to pick out. IMBRUE and TED were all perps as I had never heard of either. OXO I have seen from puzzles before but it was strictly perps. Trouble in the NW initially spelling PIGMY for PYGMY, guessing ERIK, THOR, or LIEF for ODIN, waffling between VALE or DALE, and I thought GLADIOLU was spelled GLADIOLA. But plural latin words can end in 'I'.

    Hahtoolah- gambling IS legal in Louisiana, as long as the HOUSE DOES NOT TAKE A CUT.
    Happy birthday CED and BH.

    Lemonade- ASA Gray is a crossword staple, along with ADA, OK, Mel OTT, Ernie ELS. Just glad I don't see jai ALAI, ANIL, ARIL, or AWN much these days.

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  8. I was beaten today. Had two misspellings at OXi and SKYe, giving me Tie for the down. Looked good enough, so I'll take the FIW. Enjoyed the theme and got all of those right after a little head scratching. Even got Imbrue, but wasn't entirely sure of it.

    Happy Birthday CED and Blue Hen. Hope you can do something crazy.

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  9. I have to take a FIW for this, because not knowing SKYY, I had SKYe (like the isle) which gave me TOe for "One under a tree, maybe" --- hmmm, shoe tree perhaps. Anyway, when I didn't get the "ta-da", I went back to this sore spot and fixed it, but if I had been working on paper I'd have left it at that.

    WBS about IMBRUE, and with Anon (8:07) concerning "Jams" as a clue. Excellent Friday-level puzzle, especially liked misdirections for JULIA Child and MUD pie.

    Thanks Mark & Lemonade! And a happy birthday to CED & Bluehen!

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  10. Happy Birthday CED & Bluehen

    Lemon: Excellent write-up and informative links.

    D N F ... 62-d, Rocks in a bucket, to me are just Rocks-in-a-bucket ...

    I did like seeing some booze, SKYY vodka, in the grid.
    (Geez, over the last few weeks I thought Puzzle Prohibition had been enacted).

    Cheers!

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  11. Been a bit under the weather the past couple days. Hayfever-like symptoms keeping me muddled and sleepy, though it's not pollen season, is it?

    DNF for me today, though I got all but the NE corner on my own. Let's see if I can get my thinker in gear enough to write a limerick.

    A SMALL-time burglar named Blackie McGuire
    Profited LITTLE from the goods he'd acquire
    He'd reached the age
    Of SHORT memory fade,
    Each heist, "why'd I come here?", he'd enquire!

    At breakfast, while waiting for coffee to brew,
    We peruse the paper for something to do.
    The puzzles beckon
    For us to reckon,
    Where bloody deeds won't our outlook IMBRUE!

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  12. Pretty fast and fun solve today. Thank your Mark and thank you Lemonmade. I especially liked the IDIOT light story, and can relate.

    JULIA was my first entry. GLADIOLI wasn't far behind. It helps to have a green thumb (and a wife that's been in the industry for over two decades). SUGAR SUGAR was also easy. Talk about bubble gum music ! That song might be the epitome of that genre.

    Y'ALL was even easier. How many times have I closed with "See all Y'ALL later n'at. ?" That's an expression you could only get from someone with a southern mother and yankee father.

    Nailed IMBRUE as well. That is, after having the --BRU-. Not sure why it came so quickly. It's probably a word that I have learned from doing puzzles, or was in a recent read and I had to go look it up.

    West gave me a bit of an issue because of a self-inflicted wound. My "cobbler's job" wasn't a repair. It was first SHOED. And my crazy scene was initially an ADO before it was a ZOO.

    In the end though, a FIW. I spelled it PiGMY and never looked back.

    Some kids didn't like playing sports. Some kids liked playing but weren't very good. Sometimes it was tough being team captain and having to pick in the last round. I never heard "USE ME." I heard "pick me, pick me!" That NE section was the last to fall.

    It will be the CUBS and the Mets. Accompanying the series will be the usual silly "if you win" bets by the pols. You can pretty much be guaranteed that one of them will be the thin slice / deep dish bet.

    Happy birthday Dave ! Happy birthday Bluehen ! Welcome back PK ! Montana, we are having roll call. A simple 16 A (the clue) would suffice.

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  13. Interesting that thete are so many Latin words today, EGO, LEO, and the plurals ending in -I. But also the less well-known verbs--
    OXO, oxare: to hug and kiss.
    DOSIDO, dosidere: to dance while intertwining arms.

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  14. Happy birthday Dave & Bluehen,

    DNF today. Picked up 3 of the theme fills. but not much of the rest was clicking. Honestly, not too much interest in puzzledom today. Was up most of the night watching Mets/Dodgers game & then Mets celebrating into the wee hours.

    Working weekend, so see you Monday.

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  15. Good Morning:

    First things first: Welcome back, PK. Not only were you missed, you had us worried. And a very Happy Birthday to the one and only Dave the Rave and to Sleepless in Delaware, Bluehen! Hope your day is special! 🎁 🎂 🎈

    Caught the theme early on but had a few missteps: Little bit/Teensy bit, dell/dale, appear/emerge, etc. In the end, though, it was a FIW due to space instead of place for Hiding ------. Silly error! Nice CSO's to YR and Tin. I wonder if Tin goes "Brrrrr" whenever he sees that dreaded _ _ _ word?

    Is anyone watching the new shows Quantico and Code Black? Quantico is sort of over the top and Code Black is more graphic than I would like, but, so far, I'm still watching both. Public Morals has kept me mesmerized but horrified by the violence and corruption, mainly because it's fact-based.

    Have a great day.

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  16. Definitely a DNF today since I had to use Red Letter help a lot today. Good puzzle though. Good write-up Lemon.

    I see that we have HAITI again this week. Does that mean that we will be seeing it many more times in the near future?

    Owen: You're right, it's not exactly pollen season, but now that the heat has been turned on I think there is more dust circulating than usual. That always bothers me. Hope your head clears up.

    Have a great day everyone!



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  17. Big Easy: it's a question of semantics. Gambling as defined in Louisiana law is a criminal felony offense. Gaming, on the other hand, is okay. Gaming as defined by Louisiana law is not considered 'gambling '.

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  18. Nice theme and challenging puzzle! Thanks, Mark, for allowing the "TA-DA" to turn up.

    Haven't heard "Idiot Light" in a long time.... nice!

    Thanks, Lemonade, for a nice outing!

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  19. Sorry, I forgot to thank Mark and Lemony for a challenging and enjoyable puzzle and expo. Thank you both!

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  20. I thought this was a cute little puzzle. It was mostly easy for a Friday. Although I have seen it in crosswords frequently, I missed the last Y in SKYY and TOY. I stopped my initial ABC run through when I got to W. DUH! Then I switched to red letters and the IDIOT LIGHT came on. Lemonade, great pictures and info.
    I wasn't impeded by JAMS/PJS, but IMO JAMMIES would have been a better clue.
    Thanks for the CSO. I have been dosido-ing since late July, two months after my last surgery. I dance the entire dance two to four times a week. What fun! I am 90% - 95% recovered. I can do almost anything I please with little pain, but I am stiff in the early AM. I need my aquatic and gym exercises to keep me supple.
    A very happy birthday to Dave and Blue Hen. Those were awesome cakes.
    Owen, my sympathies with your allergies. It is still ragweed season here and outdoor mold is active. The growing season is becoming longer. The first frost, forecast for Saturday and Sunday nights, should kill both ragweed and molds.

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  21. I forgot to mention how the color was up here. Spotty. Some very nice trees but still a lot of green but then, some have gone to brown. Most leaves are still hanging on though.

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  22. There may be some "dosidere" in the derivation of DOSIDO, but it's more reliably attributed as a corruption of "dos à dos" (the second s is silent, and the first would be, too, if the word stood alone) – French (or Cajun) for "back to back." It's a move called in square dancing and some other dances. I've seen it spelled usually as "dos i dos" and "dos y dos" (second s silent in both cases), substituting the Polish and Spanish words for "and," respectively, for the French "to."

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  23. Freond -
    Very funny! But surely dosidere should mean "to dance back-to-back."

    Hahtoolah -
    Is the distinction that "gaming" has a license? Or is that certain games are considered "gaming" and others are "gambling"? I'm curious because the NFL seems to condone the now-ubiquitous for-money fantasy football, while it still doesn't allow the more traditional Las Vegas-style betting. I don't understand the distinction there, either.

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    Replies
    1. Right you are, HowardW. I confused it with allemandere. It's been a long time.

      Delete
  24. Cute theme, a little too cute at times; meh in several places.

    LEMONADE: "The truth will OUT" is PC (intransitive use of the verb).

    (Animal) ZOO non-PC? Then give it its full name, "Zoological Gardens".

    ID-ing for "naming" - meh. Used in this "reverse" sense (i.e., "giving a name" rather than "obtaining a name (ID)), it is surely an abbr. of "identifying", and should be indicated as such.

    Try telling a hummingbird he has a small bill - they are long, thin, and often very sharp - it's all relative, of course.

    JAMS/PJS - nursery meh,

    "I'm here", so "use me", only makes sense in a masochistic, nefarious, or exploitative sense. The exclamation, "I'm here!", suggesting the "user" had simply overlooked the presence/utility of the other person (for some innocent purpose), would have been much better.

    TUT, TUT. The word ITEM in clue (67A) and answer (55A), and not far apart, either. Did RIch veto using a cross-reference here? i.e. Clue for 67A could have been "No longer a 55A".

    I enjoyed seeing "IMBRUE", which I dredged up from some gray recess, along with STERE (although I do not see the need for a special word for a cubic meter - STERE is just Frawnch for "solid").

    My car is too old to have "Idiot Lights", so I was not familiar with the term., but I enjoyed Lemonade's link. The Idiots in this case are presumably those who take their car in for service whenever the "Check Engine" light comes on. As Click and Clack famously remarked: By far the cheapest solution when the Check Engine light comes on is a small strip of black tape placed strategically on the dashboard, i.e., obscuring the light.

    No-one says STYLI, do they? But at least it is a legit. Latin plural.

    TED was new to me, but when revealed by the crosses I was happy to see that it was a true acronym. But it did remind me of the airline spin-off company "TED - part of UNITED" - Perhaps the only PUN written on the side of aircraft.

    Why, oh Why, 2 Y's in SKYY? Russian has 3 letters representing the letter i - short (ы) long (и) and intermediate (й). And Russian masculine adjectives (nominative case) end in 2 of them (ый), so I thought SKYY might be a play on the typical adjectival ending -скый' (typically transliterated with a single i/y as a -ski or -sky). The problem is, VODKA is a feminine word, so the adjective should end in -A or -AYA [think STOLICHNAYA, POLSKA, UKRAINSKA]. ABSOLUT VODKA is Swedish, which is not a slavic language, and so does not recognize the gender of VODKA. Here ends today's lesson in Russian Grammar.

    до свидания, товорищи!

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  25. Happy birthday, Cross Eyed Dave, and many happy returns. Let me lend my voice to yesterday's chorus and say that I would also like to see you solve some puzzles, if only occasionally as a substitute.

    Seems that you like to fish, too. That's a nice one in the picture; it looks like a big ole' bronze belly male bluegill. I caught a lot of them in my youth in the Midwest. Nowadays I'm limited to the occasional fresh water trout or whatever the ocean yields.

    A really tough puzzle today, with some very clever cluing and some that I just did not care for. I agree with Lemony on 16a. Not synonymous. 34a took ESP and was a learning moment for me. Lots of CSOs in the puzzle including one for me at 39d (Well, what do you expect from someone celebrating the 33rd anniversary of his 39th birthday?). DW is treating me to dinner at our favorite restaurant this evening. That will be the highlight of an otherwise low-key day.

    Cya!

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  26. Jayce, I almost forgot.. (and others, in ref to Jayce's concerns from last night).

    Supposedly, the Flashplayer vulnerability has only been targeted so far, and you are probably safe loading the puzzle from the Mensa and other reputable websites. As always, I wouldn't click on links that you get in emails from unknown senders.

    Not sure where you are going to be able to do the LATIMES puzzle online and not use Flash.

    Adobe released a new code level today, as they committed to do. So at minimum, you would probably want to update to it.

    You can check your version by going to:
    Flash Player Help

    The latest version for both Windows and Mac versions, regardless of browser, is now 19.0.0.226.

    If you use multiple browsers (ie, Explorer, Firefox etc) you should check each one as described above. Chrome on Windows operating system is embedded and will automatically update to 19.0.0.226. Don't know MAC.

    Alternately, you can check your Flash code level (version) by right clicking on the puzzle (or any other Flash powered content).

    If you go the alternate route, and you have Flash installed as an Add-On, and you are at 19.0.0.207 or earlier, you can securely update here:
    Adobe Flashplayer.


    OK, I gotta get back to re-grouting tile.

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  27. Hi gang -

    Well, this one beat me up. Clever puzzle, and I did suss the theme, but couldn't crack the code.

    Another lesson in humility.

    HBD Dave and Bluhen.

    Happy weekend everyone.

    Cool regards!
    JzB

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  28. I thought the word was IMBUE. Another lesson, another reminder that our brains can hold onto all sorts of "givens" that can turn out to be wrong... The "R" makes IMBUE into something more permanent--and worse.

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  29. Greetings, friends and a happy Friday! It's Lemonade as our capable guide!

    Although I got through this even with a CSO to me, but in the end Mark beat me. I don't recall seeing SKYY with double Y. A book I recently read featured a red MINIATURE GOLF as a major clue in the mystery otherwise I would not have known it existed.

    Thank you Mark and Lemonade.

    Have a sensational day, everyone!


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  30. Anonymous !11:29, right on! It means back to back in square dancing. It is a specific move. We spell it dos a dos We sometimes say we are dosido-ing when we are square dancing, but that is just in jest.

    Square dancing uses many different genres of music, not necessarily county and western. It is called in English all around the world. I square danced in Japan and Canada. At U.S. and Canadian conventions I danced with people from many countries. They often did not know enough English to carry on an English conversation, but they did know all the English language square dance calls, often better than we native born did. the first part of a square dance set is choreographed by combining the learned steps in unique ways which the dancers do not know beforehand.The second part follows a pattern and used a song.
    Here is a very simple example.
    Link example
    Yellowrocks (square dance hugs)

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  31. Hi all //sigh...

    I 2x checked'd the calendar, but I think it's wrong... Today is a Sat, right?

    Mark, you BEST'd me. I couldn't get anything started in the N (I I had "four" in 4d (both I's and S's, that's gotta be right, right? - No). Nor was hello, for "I'm Here" @ 16a nor I Luv U (love?) at 11d.

    TDNF and TITT. Thanks Lem for the writeup (and all the answers - I can stop pulling my hair out now).

    At least I nailed the N. Central and the SW corner. In the SE (nonapropos for Tin) I got ICE.

    Here's Julia played by Dan Ackroyd on SNL (Dora was all I had@14a and I kept trying to add letters to her name).

    Looking forward to tonight's KCR-TBJ game tonight. I hope the pitchers don't get ugly like their last game.

    HBD Bluehen & CED. CED - keep thinking about a 1x / month writeup; at least you did better than I today.

    Cheers, -T

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  32. This was hard for me and I needed a couple of hints. I had trouble with SABER. I've never heard of STERE. IMBRUE was hard for me. Thanks Mark and Lemon.

    Happy birthday CED and Bluehen. I hope you have a great day and great upcoming years. (Bluehen, please tell us about your dinner at your favorite restaurant.)

    I recorded Masterpiece Classic and got two new shows by accident. (At least they were new to me.) One was called Indian Summers and the other was Home Fires. I am having a hard time getting into Indian Summers but Home Fires is right up my alley in terms of being set in the WW II era. It feels a little like another favorite of mine, Foyle's War. Have any of you watched either Home Fires or Indian Summer? Opinions?

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  33. Use me did not raise an eyebrow here.
    "Use me" and "Pick me" can both be construed as words for volunteering. "Use me" is not always pejorative. In the Christian Gospel context, "Use me" is "I am willing to help."
    In the words of a Gospel song:

    "If you can use anything Lord, You can use me
    If You can use anything Lord, You can use me
    Take my hands Lord and my feet
    Touch my heart Lord, speak through me
    If You can use anything Lord, You can use me."

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  34. Hi Y'all! Thanks, Lemonade & Mark!

    The puzzle was hard for me too. The clues dredged up very little from my mind. After the first pass, I had only LEO in the top tier. STERE, IMBRUE, TED & NCR were all perps. Finally filled what I could all over then resorted to two red-letter runs and filled it all.

    I was still wondering what sit-com had a child star named Julia until Lemony 'splained it.

    My "change oil" idiot light was never reset when the tech changed my oil last time. At least I hope he did.

    Happy Birthday, CEDave & BlueHen!

    Thank you for the welcomes and your concerns. Actually, I probably would have been back much sooner but I screwed up my right shoulder a year ago and it kept getting worse. At the low point, I couldn't use the arm at all and didn't drive for almost a month. My left shoulder was starting to hurt which really scared me. I finally got out my anatomy book and started manhandling the shoulder and got things back in place. Then I took extreme measures and quit wearing my bra while at home. All I've got to say about that is, "My summer was a big flop". Whatever was torn in the shoulder has now healed enough that I can use the arm -- just can't raise it all the way. Pain gone. Yay! I'm grateful for small blessings.

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  35. I was in such a rush I failed to with Blue Hen and our remarkable Dave a happy birthday. Happy birthday to each of you. I hope you're celebrating.

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  36. BillG:
    I tried watching Indian Summers but found it really slow so didn't continue. The other one, Home Fires, is really fine with good acting and a rounded plot line.

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  37. I agree with a couple of comments above for sure even though I was able to finish.

    I could have gotten there with "Jammie's" but I have never heard them called "jams". I thought that was what musicians did. Or what you put on your browned starch discs. (Sorry but those Conehead commercials resonate with me).

    And this played like a Saturday for sure.

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  38. Just want to wish Blue Hen and Cross Eyed Dave "Happy Birthday."

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  39. Hello everybody. Hand up for getting stuck at the R crossing STERE and IMBRUE. Agree about some of the 'meh' answers and clues. Liked the JULIA Child clue and MUD pie clue. The Grinder clue for MOLAR was pretty cool, too.
    TTP, thanks for your opinion about Adobe Flash, and thanks to you, too, Anonymous T.
    Bill G, haven't seen either Home Fires or Indian Summer, so no opinion on those. Tonight LW and I are looking forward to The Escape Artist on Masterpiece.
    Happy birthday greetings to Bluehen and CrossEyedDave, and best wishes to you all.

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  40. Jayce, I looked up The Escape Artist because it sounds like something I would really enjoy but I can't seem to find it tonight. Help!

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  41. Hello puzzlers, & thank you all for the Birthday wishes!
    I am in a bit of a rush as I must get ready for dinner at Scalini Fideli's with
    our neighbors. It's a fancy place, & normally I would resist getting all gussied
    up, but their food is so good!

    Wees on the puzzle. I went as far as I could in ink, & then had to go red letter.
    I just could not get on Mark Bickhams wavelength!
    ( I think he is several harmonies higher than mine...)

    Lemon, thanks for the JC Omelete video. (I made a copy to show the kids!)
    (They actually make their own breakfasts now!)

    HBD Blue Hen! (Hmm, that bird looks a lot bigger than a year ago...)

    I found this under small Bill. It doesn't quite fit the theme, but I am in a rush...

    Short Range?

    Miniature Golf?

    Which reminds me, Irish Miss, did you know my Birthday is also National Feral Cat Day?

    Little John? (Hmm, I am sensing a mini theme here...)

    & in conclusion,here is a teensy bit of advice.

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  42. I have GOT to have that Bill the Cat poster!!! ROTFLMAO!

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  43. Musings
    -Chiropractor, vacuuming and a wonderful round of golf on a beautiful course on a beautiful day delayed my posting.
    -The NW was a shutout until YUM broke the dam!
    -If you have grandchildren, HUNGRY HIPPO was a candidate.
    -I was trying to think of a ‘toon Child that was on TV for a decade
    -Pawn Stars got this LARGE BILL. There are only 150 still around
    -Check out these Disney MINIATURE GOLF holes
    -I don’t think Lee surrendered his SABER at Appomattox
    -SUGAR SUGAR was a freebie!
    -Now we have to run to a benefit for a friend with cancer

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  44. Bill:
    It's my belief that PBS schedules are set differently in each state. This I've noticed when some bloggers have mentioned a program that already showed here or appears some weeks later. I can't find The Escape Artist in my schedule either. I've looked in the PBS booklet.

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  45. Grouting tile is NOT one of my favorite things to do, but it's done, and I can move on to the next part of refreshing that bathroom. Caulking, priming, painting and more are on the list...

    I've taken flak before for admitting that I solve the USA Crossword puzzle daily, but it is either there or the SFGATE daily puzzle that seems to have STERE quite frequently. I figure the more you do, the better and quicker you get. Seems to be working.

    Jayce, you're welcome. I hadn't seen that Anonymous T had already replied to your question. Methinks that the days of Adobe Flash are numbered, but while it is here, it is best to keep it updated. Or just remove/disable completely, but that would mean you can't get certain content at many sites, such as at the NFL site, where I'm getting my hind end taken to the cleaners in fantasy football.

    I couldn't find the hilarious review and commentary of this video by the WGN morning news, but this is how some of our very law abiding and courteous friends to the north celebrated the Game 5 victory over the Texas Rangers. Toronto - Yonge-Dundas Square Celebration. Perhaps fans south of the border should take a clue after a major victory ?

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  46. Bill G, all I know is that The Escape Artist is on PBS tonight at 10:00.

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  47. Today was a typical DNF for me. Thank you, Mark Bickham, for the challenge. Thank you, Lemonade, for the expo.

    I hope CED and Bluehen have had wonderful birthdays! May you celebrate many more!

    CED: LOVE the Bill the Cat poster! Thanks for it!

    Happy weekend eve to all!

    Pat

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  48. Greetings!

    Thanks, Mark and Lemon.

    Cute theme.

    A FIW for me. Haven't heard of an idiot light.

    Have stopped watching Quantico. Too confusing.

    Cheers!

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  49. Whoops! Forgot belated HBD to Dave and Bluhen. Hope it was great!

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  50. DW & I just returned from the cantina. Mental note - she's down at 0.8 margaritas if there's no food...

    CED - That's the best version of the serenity prayer I've ever read - LOL! I hope the dinner was worth the suit & tie, pants & socks, or whatever gussy is to you. HBD.

    TTP - I emailed Jayce offline. But yeah, Flash's days are numbered (T -512 or -1024?)

    FermatP - I learned IDIOT LIGHT from Tom & Ray on Car Talk. Black tape == fix! :-)*

    Wow #36 had to pitch his best to get out of tough spots that he put himself in and did w/ 111 of them. Great game! HG - I knows yous smilin'

    Since the 'Stros are out... Go Cubbies!

    Cheers, -T
    *sorry, couldn't find audio

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  51. Sorry to double-post but I think some of Y'ALL would like this from our local joke writer, Pradeep Anand, in the H Chron...

    "John Deere's manure spreader is the only equipment the company won't stand behind"

    C, -T

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  52. "Puzzling thoughts":

    Too late to opine so I will just add to the birthday wishes, albeit a day late now, to CED and Bluehen - hope you both enjoyed your natal day

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  53. Hello Puzzlers -

    Still cruising through Bavaria, with limited WiFi coverage. We've barely seen the sun for a week, temps in the 40's, but Germany is still beautiful. Having coffee in an ancient village is a suitable offset for an overcast.

    Made a few blunders in the puzzle but got there in the end. Auf Wiedersehen!

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