google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, February 12th, 2016 Jeffrey Wechsler

Advertisements

Feb 12, 2016

Friday, February 12th, 2016 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Eye-YO of the Tiger?

17A . Generic City Hall dog? : MAYORS ROVER. Mars Rover. Does anyone actually call their dog Rover? Or Rex, or Fido? We should be told.

29A. Why some seek a certain cactus? : FOR PEYOTE'S SAKE. For Pete's sake. I remember reading a couple of Carlos Castaneda's books back in the day in which he wrote of some wonderful out-of-body experiences after taking peyote. In hindsight, he was just stoned out of his gourd.

35A. Essay on meditation? : YOGI TRACT. GI Tract. If you want an amazing journey through the human gastrointestinal tract, read Mary Roach's book "Gulp". Tell her Steve sent you.

45A. Eschew medical attention? : STAY OFF DOCTORS. Staff Doctors. Also known as Attending Physicians.

58A. Fighter whose stock greeting affects 17-, 29-, 35- and 45-Across : ROCKY BALBOA. Hero of the "Rocky" movie series of which I have seen - none of them.

Yo Corner!  Nice enough theme - before I got down to the reveal I'd already started to uncover the theme answers and was trying to find a common punning pronunciation-change when I saw the actual connection. The purist in me isn't terribly fond of YOGI TRACT - the YO at the beginning is the odd man out of the four and I'm not sure that "GI Tract" is particularly "in the language". I didn't have a problem filling it in, so as they say, no harm, no foul.

The puzzle is quite heavy on the themeage which sometimes makes for scrappy fill, but this one was pretty smooth. Let's see what pops out:

Across:

1. Item in a '60s drug bust : LSD TAB. Doesn't anyone get busted for LSD any more, or is that so last century?

7. Marshal Tito, for one : SLAV. His middle name was "Broz", which is rather nice considering the next entry ....

11. Friendly address : BRO

14. Make effervescent : AERATE. Nice word.

15. Queen's place : HIVE

16. Move on water : OAR

19. Caustic chemical : LYE

20. __ Toy Barn: "Toy Story 2" setting : AL'S. I cried in Toy Story 2. There, I admitted it.

21. Japanese volcano Mount __ : ASO. Japan's tallest active volcano erupted last year.


22. Guzzle : SWILL. I wanted SWIG until I had a square left over.

24. Half a prison? : SING. Sing. Maximum security correctional facility in New York State.

26. Suffix for professionals : -IST. I'd have said "some professionals". Attornist? Accountist? Not really.

28. Toon who often wore a Metallica T-shirt : BEAVIS. Definitely not to everyone's sense of humor. Most printable: "Did you know when you eat rump roast you’re eating a cow’s butt?"


32. Bacchanal vessel : EWER

33. Rested : SAT

34. Choler : IRE. I always try to convince myself that "choler" is a type of bread.

39. Arboreal critter : APE

41. "__ believer!" : I'M A. Here's Neil Diamond's song played by the very young-looking Monkees.

42. Icon with a curved arrow : UNDO

49. Certify : ATTEST

50. LAX stat : ARR

51. "Let her not say __ that keep you here": "Antony and Cleopatra" : 'TIS I. Guessed. Guessed right! Yay!

53. Language from which "julep" is derived : FARSI. Persian gul-āb, rose-water. I'm not sure Kentucky Derby-goers would recognize it.

54. Centrifuge site : LAB

56. Rosamund's "Gone Girl" co-star : BEN

57. Green beginning? : ECO-, as in eco-friendly.

63. However, to texters : THO. I never abbreviate when I text, it's just anathema to me. I tease my friend's mom (who is in her 70's) that she sounds like a teenager when she texts - it's all "OMG, Ur so LOL 2 funny". It's almost pathetic :)

64. __ dixit : IPSE. Came close to a personal natick'ed with the "S". I didn't know the abbreviation for the Confederate army, and my Latin deserted me for a while. After a quick alphabet run I decided IPSE was more likely than any of the others, although IPRE was tempting for a while.

65. Shape, as dough for cloverleaf rolls : BALL UP. Food!


66. Strong desire : YEN

67. Lacking a date : STAG

68. Adam, of the "Bonanza" brothers : ELDEST

Down:

1. Holy men who turn prayer wheels : LAMAS

2. Cousteau's concern : SEA LIFE. I tried to make SEALING (as in seal-hunting) work for a while.

3. Oxymoronic skiing condition : DRY SNOW. I've called it dry powder, or powder snow. Today, for the first time, I'm calling it dry snow.

4. All-encompassing concept : TAO

5. Gillette brand : ATRA

6. "Empress of the Blues" Smith : BESSIE

7. "The Tudors" sta. : SHO

8. Actress Tyler : LIV. Talented actress. She's a lot better looking than her dad, that's for sure.



9. GPS datum : AVE

10. Frost output : VERSES

11. Eponymous South American leader : BOLIVAR

12. Beamish? : RAY-LIKE. Wonderful to see a Lewis Carroll nonsense word in a truly ingenious setting. Best clue/answer of the week for me.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
      Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
      He chortled in his joy.
’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
      Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
      And the mome raths outgrabe.

13. Warning words : OR ELSE

18. Upbeat : ROSY

23. "Obviously, right?" : WAS IT NOT?

25. Their colour is affected by melanin : GREY EYES. Note the "colour" to clue "grey". "Color" would clue "gray". Awesomeness! I didn't know that melanin affected the eye color, but there's plenty of fascinating reading out there on the Interwebs.

27. Fare on a flat tortilla : TOSTADA. Food! Tostada= Toasted. Here's a Mexico City breakfast. Yum!


28. __ test : BETA. Usually for software before it ships commercially. Be prepared for loads of "undocumented features" (a.k.a. bugs).

30. Master : PRO

31. Roofing sealer : TAR

36. One of a biblical trio : GIFT. Another nice clue/answer. KING didn't work with what I already had filled in, so I was looking along the MAGI lines for some translation of king/wise man, then - aha! There were three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh.

37. Global financial org. : I.M.F.

38. Tournament elimination point : CUT

39. Diplomatic case : ATTACHÉ

40. Dutch landowner in colonial America : PATROON. Solid crosses got this one for me.

43. Court action : DRIBBLE. Like a no-look pass - great misdirection here!

44. Bony : OSSEOUS

45. __ pin : SAFETY

46. Pluto's Egyptian counterpart : OSIRIS. This came in dribs and drabs via the crosses. I'll file this one away for future reference.

47. Alternative to de Gaulle : ORLY. I was at CDG a couple of weeks ago. ORY used to be the main Paris airport until CDG opened and now handles mainly domestic traffic.

48. Buster who portrayed Flash Gordon : CRABBE

52. Uncalled for : INAPT

55. Canaanite deity : BAAL

59. Decide : OPT

60. Lee side: Abbr. : CSA. The Confederate States of America. I didn't know that until today.

61. Cooper's creation : KEG

62. Honorary legal deg. : LL.D. The "LL" is an interesting hangover from the degree awarded by the University of Cambridge in the UK - it denoted the holder was qualified to practice both branches of law - Canon (church) Law and Civil Law, so "Doctor of Laws".

That's it from me - the grid's below:

Steve.


Note from C.C.:

Happy Birthday to our sweet LaLaLinda! Linda used to post daily and shared with us many fun facts of her life, her cats and her Red Sox. She still reads our blog, but her health issue & the flareups have prevented her from participating actively. If anyone has tips on how to lessen the arthritic pain, please share with us on the blog. I've heard great stories about the apple cider vinegar and honey combo. Our local Target actually carries the Bragg brand.




69 comments:

Barry G. said...

Morning, all (and Happy Birthday, LaLaLinda)!

Definitely a Friday challenge today. I got the theme at FOR PEYOTES SAKE, which helped a bit, but it was still a struggle. Hardest section was definitely the SE, where IS IT NOT took every cross and I still wasn't sure it was correct since it seemed an awfully awkward thing to say. In that same section I initially went with OSTEOUS (which isn't a real word) which hid TIS I from view. In fact, I ended up looking at TITI for awhile and scratching my head before the light bulb finally went on.

Four degrees outside today. Supposed to be something like -9 Saturday night. I guess it beats a ton of snow, but BRRRRR!!!!

Barry G. said...

Sorry, make that WAS IT NOT. I told you it was hard for me to get... ^_^

TTP said...

Thank you Steve and Jeffrey. Happy Birthday LaLaLinda.

Yea, east and south side were bugaboos today. And I had ROCKY BALBOA before the other YO answers.

Used to be good fishing in the BOLIVAR peninsula, or so I'm told.

Oh well. Gotta run. I don't text. Is this close ?

CYA. BZ 2day. TTYL.


fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, Jeffrey and Steve!

Cute theme!

I mentioned late last night that I finally got the internet working again. Boy. How frustrating to have one's internet down!

No problems with either puzzle. ASO was perped tonight.

Happy, happy birthday, Linda! Count me in with the arthritis.

Cheers!

Jerome said...

"What's your favorite Belafonte song, Rocky?"

"Dayo, Adrian!"

Lemonade714 said...

Another fun Friday from JW with Steve providing the roadmap. A puzzle with PEYOTE and LSD both in the grid...how 60s.

Like all of the Fridays this had tough cluing and stuff like OSA OSSEOUS and OSIRIS. THe multiple word fill also BALL UP, SEA LIFE, WAS IT NOT, and others.

PATROON?

But we did get some Shakespeare and a nice ride. Thanks Jeffrey and Steve.

Lemonade714 said...

Happy healing birthday to Linda. My grandmother drank a small glass of the Apple cider vinegar with honey every night until she died age 95. She swore by it for all her ailments.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Alas, d-o screwed it up again! That's twice this week. Had LSD LAB crossing LAO rather than TAO. Bzzzzzzt! Dang!

Lady at the tax site texted me a question this week, and was shocked when she received an error message -- I can't receive texts. She estimated there are only two such Luddites in the world, and she had to get stuck working with one of 'em!

Happy birthday, LaLaLinda! With PEYOTE and LSD in the puzzle, may you enjoy a pain-free day.

Tinbeni said...

Happy Birthday LaLaLinda

Steve: Nice write-up ... surprised to hear you haven't seen ROCKY.
(It did win Best Picture) ...

Well it's Friday ... otherwise known as "add-a-letter(s), create wacky phrases" day.
Jeffrey: Thank YO for a FUN Friday with an great theme.

Faves today, oh, yeah! there were more than one ...
LSD-TAB, SWILL and the Cooper's creation, KEG ... I does like the stuff in KEGS!

Cheer!

Hungry Mother said...

Got it when I figured out the theme. Nice Friday slog.

billocohoes said...

Never known a ROVER, but lots of dogs named Rex, and a few (plus one cat) named FIDO. Dogs have been called Fido since the ancient Romans, "fido" being the root for "faithful" as in fidelity, or semper fideles.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Got thru the puzzle today without losing it. Yay! Enjoyed it despite a few rough spots, Jeffrey. I even got the theme. Yay me! Thanks, Steve! for explaining there were normal phrases when the YO was removed. I wasn't sharp enough to see that.

IPSO before IPSE. One of a Biblical trio wasn't Noah's son Shem. Why I thought of that before magi, I don't know.

ASO is a volcano that erupted last year? I must not have figured out what name they were calling it. Didn't remember ASO.

The name Buster CRABBE sounds like an STD. Certainly isn't dashing enough to play Flash Gordon! Flash was a real "funny paper" stud when I was a kid.

I had a "hippy" theme party once around 1967 for a bunch of young matrons and passed around a plate of sugar cubes with a drop of green food coloring on each. Told these young wives and mothers it was LSD. Everyone took one and sucked on it waiting to get high. This was before we knew the problems caused by the drug. I think they were a little disappointed when I finally confessed it wasn't LSD. This bunch was silly enough to have fun without any illegal substances. Or even legal ones. We just got high on being away from diapering babies for the evening.

PK said...

Happy birthday, LaLaLinda! May you have a pain-free special day.

Avg Joe said...

Yep. LSD Lab/Lao was my downfall too. Even considered Tao, but opted out. Bzzt! Still, it was quite fun. Liked Peyote's sake best of the themers. Lots of other fun stuff too. Was very surprised to dredge Orly, Bessie, Crabbe and Patroon out of the grey matter, but they did show up with nominal perps.

Thanks for the expo and for switching days, Steve!

I've never known a Rover, Rex or Fido, but there was a Spot in my home town. A mostly white dog with one round black marking about the size of a frisbee on one side. I mean....what else could you call him??

And Happy Birthday Linda!

Yellowrocks said...

Happy birthday,Linda.
42A Icon with a curved arrow? Nike? Amazon? No. UNDO crossing CUT. Bzzzt! I got TIS I, and WAS IT NOT, but not DRIBBLE, I was in a court of law or sports court. I knew PATROON (5th grade history)and IPSE (Ipse dixit, he himself said it, from Grisham legal novels).
Fun puzzle.
GI TRACT is in the language if you have been in the hospital. Anesthesia interferes with the GI TRACT. YOGI is a practitioner of YOGA, so I thought this one was quite logical.
20 minutes to drive Alan 10 miles today, instead of 65 minutes. Fridays are always good.

Lemonade714 said...

In honor of the puzzle today, upcoming Valentine's Day and marti's birthday
i offer you this VIDEO

Lemonade714 said...

Yes, 4.7 million google hits for "GI Tract", though I agree with the comments by Steve about the structure

Anonymous said...

What a refreshing summary, yo.

Loved seeing BEAVIS the grid. There are a few quality puzzles with younger, fresher fill being produced. Buzz feed is one. It's about time.

DRY SNOW at ski resorts is often referred to as champagne powder. Careful where you use it though, Steamboat Springs Resort has it trademarked.

The Great Cornholio said...

Yo, Lemony.
Only one more post left for the day.
Make it a good one!

Heh, heh, yeah. Heh, heh.

Husker Gary said...

MA[YO]RS ROVER stood out like a brick in a punch bowl to this NASA guy and the gimmick was had. OSSEUS/INAPT/BEN/TISI were the last to yield on this nice Friday puzzle.

Musings
-My GI TRACT is 35cm shorter than it was a year ago
-The STAFF DOCTOR at my hospital during the aforementioned procedure was called a HospitalIST. New to me.
-Language decline – Brother, Brotha, BRO, Brah
-I was a PRO TEACHIST
-Gee, I wonder why Japan has so many quakes and volcanoes?
-Neil wrote "I'm a Believer," "A Little Bit Me, a Little Bit You," "Look Out (Here Comes Tomorrow)," and "Love to Love” for himself but the Monkees covers were released before his versions and became hits
-Most common Centrifuge use?
-STAG Films is not a term heard any more
-Our last SNOW was not DRY. My snow blower had all it wanted.
-Amen on Liv and her emaciated father
-Beamish R _ Y _ _ _ _ was screaming for ROY G BIV
-A better biblical trio?
-Tiger has now missed the CUT in three straight majors
-HBD Linda!

Lucina said...

Hello, friends!

Happy painless birthday, LalaLinda!!

Yippee, I finished a Jeffrey Wex with only two bad cells! Some Fridays it takes a very long time to complete it.

THO not from experience, I recall LSDTAB and the 60s. Eerily, BESSIE just seeped out of my memory, literally, as I don't recall anything about her. On the other hand, BOLIVAR took way to long to emerge. And not having seen any of the ROCKYBALBOA movies, I've heard enough about them to know the names.

My bad cells were at IMF/YOGI. I had YOGA, of corse, and IPSO/IPSE. I just didn't check it. As for Shakespeare, even if I don't know the exact quotation, I can suss it from the context.

Hnnm TOSTADA, that gives me an idea for dinner tonight as it's a meatless Friday.

Thank you, Jeffrey and Steve! Twas a frolic today, both the puzzle and the commentary.

Enjoy a wonderful day, everyone!

Lucina said...

Yikes! I should check for spelling: course, not corse; too long, not to long.

Steve, I'm with you on texting fully complete words so of course it takes me longer, but, what's the hurry? And I only recently acquired the texting feature on my new phone.

thehondohurricane said...


Happy birthday Linda.

Must be Friday, got my butt kicked good. Made it through the South, but it did not help much and the North ended up a field of snow.

Kept hoping one of the theme clues in the North would be YO Adrian and it would establish a foothold, but it "weren't" to be.


I've been dealing with arthritis for a long time. Most of my issues deal with deterioration in the spine, but they have affected many of my physical activities. Two surgical procedures, numerous PT visitations have resulted in minimal and short term gains. Regular visitations to the chiropractor have helped. I'm at the point that I do physically what I can, no matter how long it takes.
I feel very fortunate because I know there are many suffering from arthritis a lot worse off then I am.


Bill G. said...

Thanks Jeffrey and Steve. That was fun and challenging with a very clever theme. I look forward to these Friday puzzles much more than the upcoming Saturday slog.

Happy birthday LLLinda. Good luck with the arthritis pain. I hope you can get the symptoms under control.

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone:

I struggled with this for a long while, but finally put it all together for the tada! What a diabolically clever theme. With Yogitract, my thoughts were of Yogi Berra, at first. Anyway, it was a lot of fun.

Thanks, JW, for keeping us on our toes and thanks, Steve, for all the "food for thought."

A very Happy Birthday to Linda: I hope you have a good and special day.

DO, if you're a Luddite because your phone doesn't accept texts, what does that make me who doesn't even have a cell phone? ☎️

As Barry said, we're in the Polar Vortex for the next few days! 🌬 ☃ 💨

Have a great day. And stay warm!

Anonymous said...

A glass of water with 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and 1 teaspoons of honey. It dissolves the crystal deposits of uric acid between the joints.

Try it.

CrossEyedDave said...

Happy Birthday LaLaLinda!

I slogged my way thru this puzzle to a TDNF
in the waiting room while DW had 3 wisdom teeth removed...

(it did keep my mind busy though...)

C6D6 Peg said...

Nice them and puzzle, Jeffrey. Enjoyed the challenge even though it took longer than a usual Friday. SE was the last to fall.

Thanks, Steve, for the great write-up. Loved the "Eye-YO"

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Chipped away without too much trouble, and once the theme light came on, the remaining pieces fell into place. Was It Not took a while to settle on.

Hello Steve, I only saw the first Rocky movie and thought it was underwhelming. I never saw the need to view the rest.

CED from yesterday - I didn't know about Oak Island or the Margate Grotto. Some hours were consumed reading up on those attractions.

-T from yesterday- then you came along with The Suffers, and more time was lost listening to that bunch! They sound good...

Dudley said...

And HBTY LaLaLinda!

AnonymousPVX said...

Had osteous for osseous, which gave tite instead of tisi. Never sussed it out.

Kind of a tough one for me today.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

All it took to UNDO me was the SE region. What a mess that was!

Got the theme very late in the game. Great puzzle over all by I'm very disappointed with the "Half a . . ." clue. Let's relegate that to the dustbin of crossword history.

Turmeric is supposed to be pain relieving and anti-inflammatory, among many other health benefits.

Apple cider vinegar has done wonderful things for my G. I. TRACT, which does sound in the language to me.

Cool regards!
JzB

Chickie said...

Hello Everyone, First, Happy Birthday, La La Linda. Have a lovely day.
I ALMOST finished a Jeffrey Wechsler today. I had Poetry where Verses went, so that area was where I went wrong. I have never watched the "Tudors" so didn't know that answer and I had Rte. instead of Ave. Just one little area not done was a good show for me!

Today was my first "free" day where I could sit and do the crossword while drinking my morning coffee. I even "got" the theme, so I felt good about that.

I'll have to look into apple cider vinegar.

Have a great day, everyone and a lovely weekend, also.

Chickie said...

Desper-Otto, Count me in as a non-texter, also. My phone is not smart!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Got off the a GREAT start on Mr. Wechsler's opus, but slowed down considerably after the first few minutes. His many three-space answers helped it to seem a lot easier than it was. Still, I got through with minimal cheating (just to confirm a couple of WAGs), and appreciated the pzl's balance of gimmes and knuckle-biters.
Steve's appreciation of Lewis Carroll equals mine. I did a one-man show as the Reverend Mr. "Do-do" Dogdson for a year back in the '70s. I wasn't particularly good in the role, but I gained a love of the man and his work as Lewis Carroll. Later on, I had the pleasure of mentoring a group of my students who toured other campuses with a rap version of Jabberwocky. It goes surprisingly well with hip-hop rhythms.
Happy birthday LaLaLinda! And to all a Happy Darwin Day!

Bill G. said...

Irish Miss, no cell phone! Whoa! Me too!

CanadianEh! said...

A challenge from Mr. W today. I kept coming back to it and finally finished. Thanks Steve for explaining what I didn't understand.

Hand up for LSD Lab but I knew Rich would not allow that with LAB at 54A.
I had Solo before STAG and thought of the pressure to not be that way on Valentine's Day!

Loved the use of "colour" to match grey. I filled it in automatically without even noticing.

The Tudors was shown on the CBC in Canada.

My profession ends in IST.

HBD to LaLaLinda.

Lucina said...


One night on the way to teach my ESL class, my car stopped with a big problem and just by sheer luck it was close enough to a convenience store that I could use their telephone. So when cell phones became available and a rep came to the college and offered us a good program, I bought one and have steadily upgraded mine though not to a smart phone. It's also handy for staying in touch when traveling around the country.

Irish Miss said...

Bill G - Glad to know I'm in such good company! 😉

Ol' Man Keith said...

Irish M & Bill G,
I get you! I resisted having a cell phone for years and years. I couldn't understand why everyone around me was so eager to be in mobile contact. For me, the phone meant "work" or telemarketers. Once I'd passed my teen years it was no longer a social instrument.
Carrying a phone felt to me like belling the cat -- and I was the cat!
In my later years, however, my wife convinced me that carrying a cell was a safety matter. I have had one now for two years--no frills, no texting (or sexting!), no games, no extra apps--and I never, ever tell my number to anyone. I have made three calls on it, two to let people know I was running late, and one to the 911 operator when I got jammed by a stuck elevator.

Misty said...

I knew this would be a Friday toughie, but I like Jeff Wechsler puzzles so I worked really hard and actually got most of it, including the clever theme relatively early. In the end I still had to cheat in order to finish up, but it was all worth it. Loved seeing the rhyme from "Jabberwocky," Steve.

Have a wonderful birthday, LaLaLinda!

And have a great weekend coming up, everybody!

CrossEyedDave said...

Ol' Man Keith,

Liked your Darwin day link, but the Lewis Carroll link
said "either expired or not allowed?"

I also resisted a smartphone for many years.
I thought it was because I did not need anything better than my
old flip phone, but it was really because my Daughters would break their phones,
& use my upgrade before I could.

When I finally got one, I found it has more uses that I could possibly imagine,
& really began to appreciate it when I got lost in the woods without a compass.
Not only does it have a compass, altimeter (if desired, it's one of those appy thingies.) instant weather radar, it comes with a map function that always tells you where you are!
Not only that, I could switch it to satellite mode to see real time terrain, or use
Google maps contour maps/terrain maps to plot the best way to bushwack out of there!

Daughter #3 uses it to ask Siri directions to the nearest Starbucks. (I don't get it, they are everywhere...)

But Tinbeni, just imagine, you verbally ask your phone for directions to the nearest liqueur
store from your location, & it gives you a map, a little dot for you, & a blue line to follow!

Texting is simplified too! just press the little microphone icon at the bottom
of the keyboard & talk! It will print out every word you said (with autocorrect typos)
& give you an option (with a magnifying glass!) to correct the autocorrect at the touch of the screen!

& now with YouTube, Netflix (& many others) you can watch entire movies on your phone!

Anonymous said...

CED, my handy dandy little phone also is a dictionary, flashlight, camera, remote control, calculator, cheapest gas within 5 miles locator, solitaire player, scrabble game and barroom discussion equalizer (instantly provides correct answer for stupid drunk trivial arguements).

I use it every day all the time. Today my phone alerted me that gas was rising this afternoon in my area (gas buddy app) and knowing I needed a few things at home depot...I took a picture of the model number on my furnace filter and a couple other needed parts...checked the current traffic conditions to decide whether to take short interstate route or stay on surface roads. And then scanned all gas stations en route to see which still had gas for 1.39 and had not yet raised to 1.59. Very handy indeed.

Also it's the most important safety device I own. We'll just behind brakes and seat belt.

Tinbeni said...

CED @3:50
I'm ROTFLMAO ...
The nearest Liqueur Store from Villa Incognito is probably less than 100 yards from my front door.
jeez ... I could practically crawl there ... lol
Though the "preferred" one (with better prices) is less than a mile.

I've lived practically my whole life in Pinellas County ...
probably don't really need a GPS Road Map to anywhere I want to go.

But my "Flip-Phone" does allow me to send "text messages" and take photo's ... just have never gotten around to using those features.

Why send a "text-message" ... you got your phone in your hand, and the other person's phone number ... here is a concept ... CALL Them !!!

Too each their own ... it's ALL GOOD !!!

Time to get ready for a beautiful Sunset.
Cheers!

CrossEyedDave said...

P.S., Tinbeni,

Unfortunately, so far there is no app that will help you
"if you can't follow the line,"
but you can always call for delivery!

I have come to embrace text, it is delightful for communicating
with people you don't necessarily want to talk to.
For instance, picking up Daughter # (1,2, or 3) from school
instead of losing my cool, i simply text
"get the &%$#@! out here!"

Or that Daughter that won't shut up...
(I won't say which one...)
She knows to text me rather than hear,
"I have to hang up now, I am getting sweaty ear..."
(usually these kind of conversations require getting together in person anyway...)

Ol' Man Keith said...

CE-Dave,
Hmm. I don't know why the Carroll link didn't work, as it is to the same site (Facebook) as the URL for Darwin. You might try again at Lewis Carroll again, as I find that it still works for me. Good luck!
~ OMK

Anonymous said...

I imagine there were some luddites back in the day who claimed "who needs color tv? My b & w set works just fine!"

More uses I just remembered. When we put our name in to the hostess at many local restaurants, they text us to let us know our table is ready. Also the parking attendant at my wife's doctor/medical complex gives us a claim ticket with a phone number and code on it. I text it as the doctor sends us on our way and by the time we get to the front door our car is waiting while the other neanderthals are waiting in line.

Just the other night on local news they were reminding people how to be safe while shoveling snow and the last tip in all caps was "carry your cell phone with you at all times."

PK said...

I got a cell phone when I was moving back to the farm from a town apartment and expected to be there only a short time before moving to the city. The phone company wanted a $50 fee for hook-up to a land line each time which would have been $150 in three years. So I spent $50 on a flip phone and was glad I did. I had it with me going cross country in Canada on a bus so my realtor & family could contact me when problems arose about the new house deal. I love it because all my most called numbers are programmed into the phone and I rarely have to use a phone book. Just speed dial. Very handy when out and about and get calls you don't want to miss or are supposed to meet up with someone and can't find exactly where they are.

Avg Joe said...

If ever there was a call to duty to provide appropriate tuneagement, this conversation about an app for Tin is it! Here ya go Tin: Show Me the Way

I have a flip phone too. It will receive and send texts, but I refuse to join the club. I get a few, but very few. A few years back I got a text from a friend that had also been a holdout, but had just gotten his first cell phone. He sent me a message saying "Joe, do you do this text thing?" I called him and said "No!" then hung up.

Jayce said...

A fun and pretty challenging puzzle. I like Jeffrey Wechsler's puzzles and always find them to be difficult. I solved all of this one without having to look anything up, which is unusual.

My profession ends in EER, which is what I entered at 26A at first. Of course I put in SOLO at 67A at first, as several of you also did.

My wife had to talk me into getting an iPhone when my old flip phone died. Now I can't remember why I resisted it.

I saw Rocky and felt about it the same way Dudley did.

I'm going to try out apple cider vinegar and honey.

Best wishes to you all, and special happy birthday wishes to LaLaLinda.

Big Easy said...

This puzzle started easy in the NW and got progressively harder with an ultimate DNF due to the incorrect cross of OSSEOUS & TIS I. Steve- you guess right; I guessed wrong with a 'T'. Also correctly guessed INAPT instead of UNAPT. Could have been either.

I filled ROCKY and guessed BALBOA before any of the theme fills but it didn't help much as I struggled but did get them in the end. So many unknowns fills and clues- BEAVIS, Gone Girl's BEN, 'cloverleaf roll', LLD, PATROON, Beamish- RAY LIKE, Mt. ASO. I had a couple of WAGs figuring PEYOTE would be the cactus product.

Michael said...

Dear Irish Miss:

If we don't even have a cell phone, are we beyond "luddites," perhaps to being "luddless" (Or -- dare I say it? -- sensible)?

<< CED, my handy dandy little phone also is a dictionary, flashlight, camera, remote control, calculator, cheapest gas within 5 miles locator, solitaire player, scrabble game and barroom discussion equalizer (instantly provides correct answer for stupid drunk trivial arguements). >>

That's all well and good, Mr. Anonymous, but it seems to me that there is also a real, crying need for distance, silence, time to ponder and macerate all the debris that flows into our in-boxes daily. It's nice to have that new app, yet we are so overflowing with noise, that we don't listen.

Yellowrocks said...

I have a flip phone so I can be contacted when I am out, family, friends, doctors, square dancers. Good for emergencies. I use my tablet for email, Internet, ebooks when I am out. No need for more. I do not use the camera in the phone. I have used it for a flashlight. I do a few texts, but not much.

Big Easy said...

I see we have many LUDDITES out there. I've had a cell phone- a Motorola brick-phone since 1990 ( business purposes) and I remember that it was $50/month for 150 minutes. But it worked 15 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. Then came free weekends. Then free calls after 7 pm. Next phone was $50/month for 500 minutes with unlimited nights and weekends. And the price kept going down and the minutes kept going up.

House phone/ land line- only use it for the alarm system. When I need to make a call anywhere in the world, I usually use Google Talk or Google Voice through my desktop computer.
Cost?? ZERO.

Texting?? It's free but I might text once a week.

CrossEyedDave said...

Oh, one more thing that I have been using my smartphone for lately!

I got a splinter & could not see it even with my glasses,
pulled out the old Iphone, turned on the camera,
& zoomed in on my finger until my fingerprints filled the screen.
It was a tiny bit of fiberglass that I was finally able to see enough
to grab it with a pair of tweezers!

I am sure this would help reading the menu when you have forgotten your glasses!

(or those tiny nutrition labels.)
(or the small print on your prescription.)

Anonymous said...

Yep cell phones are nice even life saving. Smartphones are awesome even life changing. I wonder why so many people resist. I think it's partly because they are sick and tired of hearing the converts extolling the virtues.

For us it has actually brought my grandkids and us closer. They don't like talking to grandma every day (teenagers!) Bit they enjoy texting us short msgs now and then and even include pictures of good grades, sporting events and other weird crazy things. It's a hoot! It sooo much easier than email and we'll times are a changing and I don't want to be left behind.

If it all gets too much... I just turn it off. Easy peasy. As a matter of fact it's a rule in my luncheon group: no smartphones, no grandkids talk and no doctor/medical talk. Although lately a few of us stay late and pull out our smartphones to show off all the pics the grandkids and their parents have texted us over the past month.

Yellowrocks said...

I got a phone call when the Final Jeopardy answer and winners were revealed tonight. Drat! Could someone please email me the answer and tell me who the winner was. Thanks.

LaLaLinda said...

Thank you so much for the birthday wishes ~ it's been a good day. I'm sure arthritis is common to most of us. That and fibromyalgia flare-ups are causing my problems right now. Oh well, this too shall pass ~ soon I hope!

I appreciate the health tips. I do take turmeric (I'll add honey) and was taking Braggs apple cider vinegar - must get back to it. I know both are beneficial.

Time for the annual lobster and cannoli! :-)

Manac said...

Speaking of cell phones

Anonymous said...

Somewhat ironic that manac posted that picture to a chat room where we all "interact" electronically every day. Isn't what happens here daily exactly what those girls are doing in the picture. All this shade is just another example of the older generation moaning about kids these days. Remember how our parents used dread the future after seeing elvis shake his hips and the Beatles long hair? Believe me, the kids these days are just fine. They also respect the environment much more than our generation ever did. They're still cleaning up our messes. Contrary to the chicken little media and doomsday candidates, America is not goin to hell in a handbasket. I believe my grandchildren are going to do great things. Clutching their smartphones all the while...

Anonymous said...

Who or what is an elvis ?

TX Ms said...

Avg Joe - HILARIOUS! Or is this an old joke that I've missed in the past and I've been had? No matter ... I loved it.

CrossEyedDave said...

Yellowrocks,


Jeopardy 2/12/2016

plus! 14 things you didn't know you could do with your Iphone!

my favorite is #7, but why do they hide these things!

TX Ms said...

Avg Joe - meant to add: Since I'm a Luddite flip phone user, I would have done the same thing if I had your creativity. :0

Avg Joe said...

TX Ms, I don't know that it was creative. It's just my way of dealing with technology when I'd rather not. FWIW, the recipient of that call is still a close friend......he just knows better than to text me if he wants to communicate.

This entire thread, and Manac's post in particular, speaks to a chronic inability in modern society to communicate in any meaningful way. Superficial relationships tend to rule the day. Back when I first joined this community, I spoke of "imaginary friends". That's not to say there aren't real friendships to be found here. I've several of my own. But I fear far too many folks mistake an electronic contact with someone that seems friendly, but that the've never met, for a true friend that knows them in the ways that really matter. Facebook and the like is interesting, but unimportant. Face time with those that know your past, understand your present and believe in your future is what really matters.

Anonymous T said...

Hi all:

Suffice to say at this hour I DNF'd another Jeff Wex. The SE is still mostly blank and, after reading Steve's write-up, I see didn't stand a chance. I did get the ROCKY theme, but couldn't fully flush-out the '?' clues, YO.

Ave Joe @ 5:06p LOL!

On smart phones - I'm keen w/ mine. It's like a Swiss-Army knife always at the ready w/ a tool I need - IIF I need it. Other than talk, txt, & pics the flashlight is most used. Well, that and a word game while I'm on the can.

Fav & W/o GREY (not hair) EYES. Just for the Colourful clue.

Sorry for the time sink Dudley. Hope it was worth it. :-)

HBD LLLinda! Get back on the vinegar & post!

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Oh, one other wonderful use is FaceTime (not quite what Ave Joe meant at 9:11p) on iThings. The kids & I FaceTime Pop some weekends just so we can all see eachother. My Brother & I will FaceTime (free!) while he's overseas. C, -T

Yellowrocks said...

Thanks for the Jeopardy update, Dave. I had the same wrong response as the two losing contestants.

Anonymous said...

Avg Joe, I imagine you would love a smartphone for the weather apps alone. Following Nebraska sports in real time would be a benefit for when your schedule demands that you be away from a tv or computer.

Texting is only a tool for short quick notes to already important people in your life. It is not intended to replace a long phone call or beer drinking sessions on the back porch or fireside. Just a quick " be there in 10" or "can't talk now, I'll call you in an hour" is why it is a mostly invaluable tool.