google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday May 1, 2016 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

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May 1, 2016

Sunday May 1, 2016 Kathleen Fay O'Brien

 Theme:  "Floss" (F-loss). F sound is dropped from the start of one word in each theme entry.
 
23A. Perfect apartment deal? : GOLDEN LEASE. Golden Fleece.  For Jason and the Argonauts.

25A. Saying "Break a leg," say? : STAGE RITE. Stage fright.

46A. Plumbing school basic? : WRENCH LESSON. French lesson for Splynter.

71A. Traditional wisdom about hustlers? : DANCE LORE. Dance floor.

95A. Astronomers' monthly reading? : ORBS MAGAZINE. Forbes magazine.

119A. Song about a yellow ribbon? : OAK BALLAD. Folk ballad.

123A. Hooting, mostly? : OWL LANGUAGE. Foul language.
  
35D. Supply at the thermometer factory? : READY MERCURY. Freddie Mercury.

40D. Beet-flavored drink? : ROOT COCKTAIL. Fruit cocktail.

What a great title. I recall kicking around  a "Drop the f-bomb" idea with Don G ages ago.

All theme entries go through spelling changes. Very consistent. Kathleen dropped three F sound from the last word, 6 from the first word. No odd man out.

Across:    

1. Some "No Passing" road sections : ESSES

6. Journalist Roberts : COKIE

11. Tests with printed patterns, briefly : ECGs. Had to wait for the C as I just could not nail CATTY (12D. Showing one's claws, so to speak).
 
15. "Phooey!" : DANG. And 34. "Phooey!" : NERTS

19. 1814 treaty site : GHENT. Treaty of Ghent.

20. Dadaism pioneer : ERNST (Max)

21. Worn item that actually originated in Ecuador : PANAMA HAT. I'd have chickened out and broke this answer and LIE AROUND (125A. Relax) into two entries.

26. "TMI!" : SPARE ME

27. __ Authority : PORT

29. Minor adjustment : TWEAK. Rich often tweaks 50% of the clues. I fare slightly better on Sundays. But totally suck on Mondays/Tuesdays.

30. Descendant of Sperry Rand : UNISYS. Unknown trivia to me.

32. Likely to pry : NOSY

38. Traditionally red structure : BARN

41. Roller with leaves : TEA CART. Tea leaves.

43. Situation of intense scrutiny : HOT SEAT

45. Preview to a view, for short : IMO. Tricky clue.
 
49. Islands staple : TARO

50. "__ here!" : LOOKEE

52. Glide on powder : SKI. Did not think of snow.

53. Portent : OMEN

55. N.L. lineup absentees : DHs.  Also 74A. Ernie Banks epithet : MR. CUB And 17D. 2015 N.L. MVP Bryce Harper, e.g. : NAT

56. Highly values : ESTEEMS

58. The 114th began in 2015 : CONGRESS. So the Supreme Court is older than Congress?

62. "Roundabout" rockers : YES. Unfamiliar with the band or the song.

63. Flip over : CAPSIZE

66. It has all five black keys in its scale : D FLAT. Got via crosses.

67. Singer Mann : AIMEE

69. Black, in verse : EBON

73. Go like hotcakes : SELL

76. Karnak's country : EGYPT

77. "Please help me out" : BE A DEAR

80. Sound of fear : EEK

81. Sunday dinner entrée : RIB ROAST. We don't have a traditional Sunday dinner. How about your family?

84. Little shooter : MINICAM. Great clue.

87. Traitor : RAT

88. Scottish hillside : BRAE

89. Lager alternative : ALE

92. Working : ON DUTY

93. Top-billed : STAR
 
100. CD-__ : ROM

101. Canton natives : OHIOANS. I always think of Guangzhou when I see "Canton".
 
103. Key part of Bruce Wayne's wardrobe : BATSUIT

104. 10001 letters : NY NY. Zip code.

105. "M.O." rapper : NELLY

106. Many a reception : GALA

107. Emulate Cher in the '70s : GO SOLO. Also 130. Cher's former partner : SONNY

110. __ law : LEASH

113. Valley where David fought Goliath : ELAH. Valley of Elah.

115. Came out : EMERGED
 
126. Backs (away) : SHIES

127. Ottoman Empire founder : OSMAN

128. Banned apple spray : ALAR. And 122D. Banned bug spray : DDT

 129. Part of Q.E.D. : ERAT

131. Storage facilities : SHEDS

Down:

1. They're usually broken before use : EGGS. Also got via crosses. D'oh!

2. Mom-and-pop enterprise : SHOP

3. Ward of Hollywood : SELA

4. Evasive strategy : END RUN

5. Dutchman who painted "The Surprise" : STEEN. Can you link "The Surprise" painting for me?

6. Frozen pizza brand : CELESTE

7. Rock to refine : ORE

8. Hiker's burden : KNAPSACK

9. Schoolyard retort : IS SO

10. Infinite : ETERNAL

11. Some 45-rpm records : EPs

13. Nibble : GNAW

14. Wise one : SAGE

15. Most gloomy : DARKEST. Don't lose hope.


16. Sushi fish : AHI. Not our regular EEL.

18. Old AT&T rival : GTE

22. Was serious about : MEANT

24. Abbr. for people with only two names : NMI. I don't have middle name.
 
28. Raced : TORE

31. Desires : YENS

33. Rd. atlas listings : STS

36. Chapel Hill athlete : TAR HEEL

37. Eponymous Fox weekly news show : STOSSEL (John). Never watched his show.


38. Anger : BILE

39. Biblical prophet : AMOS

42. Stylish : CHIC

43. Betting favorite, often : HOME TEAM

44. People : ONES

46. Cry : WEEP

47. Radiation units : REMs. Learned from doing xwords. Never know what it stands for.

48. Like a June day, to Lowell : SO RARE


51. Reeves of "John Wick" : KEANU
 
54. Codebreaker's org. : NSA

57. "May I approach" court conferences : SIDEBARS. Tiny BAR dupe with ROLLBAR (94. Racecar safety feature) 
 
59. "Awake and Sing!" dramatist : ODETS (Clifford)

60. Patriots' org. : NFL

61. Goo amount : GLOB

64. Croatian capital : ZAGREB. Tinbeni's old haunt.

65. Companion of Ares : ENYO. I forgot. We had this sometime ago.

68. "Again ... " : I SAID

69. "Nature" author : EMERSON

70. Live partner : BREATHE. Live and breathe.

72. Tax season VIP : CPA

75. "I need a short break" : BRB (Be Right Back)

78. Belmonts frontman : DION

79. Kin of -trix : ENNE. Or ETTE.

82. Golfer's choice : IRON

83. Luggage danglers : TAGS
 
85. Loads : A TON. Not A LOT.

86. "Goodness!" : MY MY. And 117. "Goodness!" : EGAD

90. Texas Air Force base : LAUGHLIN. Well, gimme for D-Otto and Anon-T. Unknown to me.

91. He played Emile in Broadway's "South Pacific" : EZIO (Pinza). I only watched the movie "South Pacific". I talk like Bloody Mary.
 
96. Agcy. that aids start-ups : SBA

97. Guy : MALE

98. Stumped : AT A LOSS

99. "Piece of cake" : IT'S EASY

102. Annually : A YEAR. A partial.

104. "I have time" : NO RUSH

106. Togo neighbor : GHANA

108. Every, in an Rx : OMN. I won't dare to put this or TER in a grid. Rich just told me he would not allow DAMN any more.

109. The 5,922 of a Taj Mahal model : LEGOS

111. Natural balm : ALOE

112. Mark indicating a musical phrase : SLUR

114. Dr. Seuss's "Horton Hears __" : A WHO

116. Phone download : GAME

118. TV sites : DENS

119. Ipanema greeting : OLA

120. Confine to bed, maybe : AIL. Boomer had to take a cane when we walked yesterday. His right hip gave him so much pain. He normally toughs it out the elbow and shoulder pain. This hip pain is something else.
121. Mauna __ : KEA

124. Novelist Deighton : LEN

C.C.

44 comments:

  1. Morning, all!

    The first theme answer I got was STAGE RITE and I thought we were dealing with simple puns here (STAGE RITE punning on STAGE RIGHT). That had me really scratching my head when the perps got me WRENCH LESSONS, but the light bulb finally went on and I had a lot of fun with the rest of the theme answers after that.

    Not too hard overall, but a couple of really tricky spots for me. The first was on the East Coast where I had a whole munch of missteps. ELO instead of YES (which forced me awkwardly into STOSOLL instead of STOSSEL), MINIGUN before MINICAM, and OH MY instead of MY MY. Plus, I had no clue what "10001 letters" was referring to until the perps finally gave me NYNY.

    The second and even trickier spot was right in the center. I finally changed DAR to NFL, but I wasn't sure which key had 5 "black notes", didn't know who wrote "Awake and Sing", didn't know/remember ENYO, and though the "hustlers" in the clue for 71A was referring to con men, not dancers. I finally guessed DFLAT and ODETS, and with DA_CELORE in place I was able to get DANCE LORE.

    The rest was pretty straightforward, as I said, but I still have trouble reconciling "Confine to bed, maybe" with AIL. The tenses just don't seem to work for me. If you confine (somebody else) to bed, they are AILing. Or if you AIL, you might be "confined" to bed, not "confine". I just don't get it...

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  2. Hello Puzzlers -

    WBS about Ail as clued. Otherwise, early grokking of the theme made all the difference (aided by the title), resulting in a straightforward solve.

    That bit about "Mr. Cub" being an epithet has me confused. I've absorbed the idea that an epithet is always offensive, but maybe that's just wrong.

    Morning C.C.! Nice to have you at the reins today.

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  3. Good morning!

    Got the theme and thought it was cute. Hand up for thinking the "Confine to bed" clue was a tense issue. Four-letter "Radiation units" -- gotta be REMS or RADS. I finished successfully due to a couple of lucky WAGs. I'd been staring at REA__MERCURY. The perp clues were total mysteries. READY seemed to be the only word that fit the theme clue, but what the heck is a FREADY MERCURY? Finally, I just let it be, and came here for my comeuppance.

    For the record, part of my annual physical was a heart test. The doctor told me the data is now recorded electronically, so the hard-copy printout is superfluous. He gave it to me as a keepsake. Computer-printed at the top of it was ECG, not EKG. It was comforting that the word next to ECG was "normal."

    C.C., LAUGHLIN was not a gimme to me. I'd recognize Forts Hood or Bliss and AFBs Randolph or Lackland. Laughlin AFB is almost 400 miles from here. I'd recognize Laughlin as a gambling town in northern Arizona.

    CANTON also reminds me of Guangzhou, C.C. It's the only major Chinese city I've visited, and only briefly at that.

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  4. The title made grokking the theme easy. I doubted YES, but the Y seemed firm. My only hangup was to try to fit clue 55A into the grid at 56A and vice versa. The hangup was gone when I realized that.
    I was thinking of the BELMONT race track at first, not the singers. OH MY before MY MY.
    I liked that the spelling of the word which lost the F was always changed in the answer.
    I have been to ELAH in Israel. It is just a big open field, but our guide dramatized the David vs Goliath incident for us. In both Israeli trips the guides were top notch, better than most.
    Epithets can be negative or positive. Negative is probably more common. The dog, man's best friend, is an epithet, too.
    Thanks for the comments about computer frustration yesterday. I did mean navigating through a slide show.
    PK, from Friday, I am sure your size 13s from long ago would be 10s today. I saved a few old dresses for keepsakes. The size standards have been lowered. The old 12s are too small for me today, but today's 12s are too large for me.
    I wondered about CONFINE TO BED, MAYBE/AIL. It is hard to justify.

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  5. We are the ChampionsMay 1, 2016 at 7:54 AM

    Desper-Otto: Freddy Mercury of Queen

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  6. Good morning all.

    Wow, that was exhausting. Read the title before stating and knew we would be dropping an F, but that only helped a bit. North and west went very quickly, but I really bogged down at DION and ENNE and BE A DEAR, and southward from there.

    GO SOLO, ITS EASY and AT A LOSS intersections with OMN, LAUGHLIN and OWL LANGUAGE made that bottom take longer than the entire rest of the puzzle. Perhaps I should have had a cup of coffee or put it down for a while and come back to it later.

    But no time. This morning I need to get moving. A friend is coming over and I will be taking him out to teach how to hunt for a cruciverbalist's favorite mushroom.

    CC, thank you. I always think of Ohio first when I see Canton. Also, my mother would make a roast of some kind at least two Sundays a month. It might be a pork roast, a roast chicken or turkey, or a beef roast. These days, our Sunday meal is seldom a roast unless we are having family or friends over.

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  7. "Yes" has been a British rock band since 1968. "Roundabout" is the opening track of their hit 1971 album "Fragile"

    Freddy Mercury (died 1991) was lead singer and songwriter for the '80s glam-rock band Queen.

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  8. There were a couple of comments (one of them mine) a few weeks ago about how the Remington Rand typewriter company moved into computers with the UNIVAC model, became Sperry Rand, then merged with Burroughs to become UNISYS.

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  9. I had a hard time teasing this one out. Took forever to get started, but finally got somewhat of a toehold in the MI region then worked around the eastern seaboard. The Rosetta stone was getting Ready Mercury with enough perp help. Already had Stage Rite, but that stood on it's own enough I didn't realize it was a theme entry. Wrench Lesson seemed a bit forced, the other themers were pretty amusing.

    My biggest issue with proper tense was self-imposed at Emerged. I was sure that TV sites had to be either sets or lots. Assuming sets was right after Owl Language filled, the tense for emerged didn't fit, so it took a long time to suss out those Dens. Lots of complete unknowns, such as Osman, Elah, OMN and Stossel. Yes was a gimme. The two most notable members, Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, had respectable solo careers after Yes broke up.

    At any rate, this was quite a bit harder than typical for Sunday, but got it in the end. Thank you C.C.

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  10. Good Morning.

    Anyone know where the sun is hiding out?

    Long slog for me because I was trapped in a couple of seemingly obvious places. I could not get out of China at Canton: Ah, ha! OHIOAN! My favorite was TEACART. Fun. Thanks, Kathleen.

    Thank you for the tour, C. C.. Nicely done, as usual.

    Dudley: epithet is a neutrally a nickname. In some cases that could become derisive, so your response is not off base.

    TTP: sounds like you must be with a pal from Berwyn, IL!

    Have a fine day, everyone.

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  11. Good Morning:

    This was a very clever theme and fill, ergo, an enjoyable solve. Had a few hiccups but nothing that the perps didn't correct. Thought of Tin at Zagreb, even though I had to wait on the perps to fill it in. My biggest holdup was having Lackland as the AFB. (Many a letter to my first love was sent there. I can still remember his Serial Number (is that the correct terminology?) after all these years. My fav theme answer is Owl Language.

    Kudos, Kathleen, on a fun start to the merry month of May and thanks, CC, for guiding us along. My mother always had a roast dinner on Sunday: chicken, beef, lamb, pork or her favorite, turkey. She loved turkey so much that we had it on Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's Day and several Sundays throughout the year. I can remember one holiday when she cooked a 32 pound bird! I never cook a roast for just myself, but once in a while, I will have roast chicken. CC, sorry to hear of Boomer's aches and pains; I hope he gets some relief soon!

    I don't normally watch Sunday Morning but I happened upon it earlier at the half-way mark. There were several very interesting and touching segments. Now I know why Bill G and Lucina enjoy it so much. It was a nice reprieve from the political punditry pummeling the airwaves 24/7.

    Have a great day.

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  12. Steen did not paint "The Surprise", it was painted by Claude-Marie Dubufe and he was French, not Dutch. Surprised at the poor fact-checking that went into this clue.

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  13. Good Morning!
    I had trouble in several areas that others did, but did anyone else try ROBIN before COKIE? That slowed me down considerably!
    As a teenager I had 45 rpm records but didn't call them eps. Anyone know what ep stands for?
    Thanks to KFO for a challenging puzzle and to C.C. for explaining BRB in her always well-written summary.
    Have a lovely day, everyone.

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  14. Hi everybody. This was fun but hard in places. Fun theme. Thanks Kathleen and CC. I agree that AIL doesn't seem to match the clue. Mistake or are we missing something? Thanks

    Irish Miss, I'm glad you enjoyed Sunday Morning. I have it recorded and will watch it later.

    Good wishes for Boomer.

    Maripro, EP stands for Extended Play; not as long as LP.

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  15. White Rabbit, white rabbit.

    An EP is an extended play that contains more than one song, but not an album. They were generally played at 33 1/3 rpm.

    I believe anon is correct about the painting error. While Jan Steen is one of the Dutch Masters (not a cigar) neither C.C. in doing her write up or anyone can find a painting titled the Surprise by Steen.

    The guitar beginning to the Yes > SONG Roundabout I am sure is familiar to all of you, and as mentioned it was the first cut on the FRAGILE album, which I think may have introduced Rick Wakeman as their keyboard player. My ex-wife loved the band.

    i hope May is a great month for all

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  16. Maripro, as Bill G said, they were Extended Play 45's with two songs per side. A 12-song 33-1/3 LP could be released as three 4-song EP's.

    C.C. best wishes to Boomer. Unfortunately, he's getting to the age where daily aches and pains become the norm rather than the exception. I've been at that age for a while now. I'm told you never outgrow it. [sigh]

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  17. Fun solve today and the F-theme really helped. WRENCHLESSON was the first one I cracked then that entire middle area spread out. Current popular culture usually defeats me, e.g. READYMERCURY, and I had no idea what the reference was. I've never heard of YES or roundabout rockers. I know. I'm not hip. Classical music is my companion most of the day.

    My Cantonese were CHINESE, too, for a very long time until EMERSON replaced them with OHIOANS.

    Also I had SHOES before EGGS and wasn't sure whether it would be SELA Ward or Ward Bond. It all worked out I'm happy to say, thank you, Kathleen Fay O'Brien and thank you, C.C. I'm sorry to hear Boomer is Ailing. My only observation on AIL as clued is that both agree on tense though, YES, it does seem awkward.

    Have a happy day, everyone!

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  18. EP's - they were all 45's, the extending playing time was achieved by compressing the groove.

    "The Surprise" error, well, surprised me, but hey, no-one's perfect.

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  19. One of the purposes of a crossword puzzle is to learn something new. Example: 47D. should have been "REMS is shorthand for Roentgen Equivalent in Man" instead of indicating that you don't know what it means.
    45A should have been "In My Opinion" 37D Does anyone care if you haven't watched his show?

    Let's have more info than personal comments about who had to use a cane due to pain, etc.

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  20. I like The Corner because it offers learning oportunities for us word and language lovers. But it is also a community of virtual friends, many of whom have been together for quite a few years. As friends we like hearing about one another and supporting one another. I would miss the camaraderie if it were banned.

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  21. No one has said anything about "banning" personal camaraderie. I was only stating that for the people who are not members of your "family," have more info given on the answers and less on whether someone has aches and pains and has to use a cane. Unless, of course, this is a "family" where no one else is allowed in.

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  22. This took me quite a while to finish, but finish it I did. I really liked the OWL LANGUAGE entry, and WRENCH LESSON is my 2nd favorite. I was going for FOLK BALLAD which led me to putting in LIL instead of AIL. I had to turn on red letters to see that L was wrong. Putting in the letter A got me the "tada" but it left me scratching my head, not only because of the AIL thing as many of you have mentioned, but also because I didn't get what yellow ribbon had to do with OAK (or OLK for that matter).

    I have heard of Yes only because of Trevor Rabin who later went on to write music for movies such as Snakes On a Plane and Get Smart.

    I started using a cane about a year ago because my sciatic nerve not only causes pain but also causes my right leg to almost collapse at unpredictable times. My wife also has pain in her right hip. How come it's always the right hip and not the left one? Would it have anything to do with being "right footed"?

    I went through basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, and also never heard of Laughlin AFB. Isn't the town of Laughlin in Nevada not Arizona?

    We always had roast beef on Sundays. Dad was pretty inflexible about that.

    I enjoy watching Meet the Press on Sunday mornings.

    I'm glad your ECG was normal, desper-otto.

    Irish Miss, yep, serial number is the correct term. I think I still remember mine.

    Best wishes to you all.

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  23. JAYCE, yes you're correct, LAUGHLIN is in Nevada.

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  24. Well, there were so many unknowns I had to do a lot of cheating to finish this puzzle, and didn't get the theme until C.C.'s reveal. But still fun, so thanks, Kathleen, and you too, C.C. for the very helpful expo. Hope Boomer's walking gets easier again.

    Have a great Sunday, everybody!

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  25. Welcome to our table. We love new friends. Join in our camaraderie. Discuss the puzzle.Ask questions. Make thought provoking comments we can respond to. You will find how eager we are to engage with your thoughts. Always an open seat for interesting new people.








    Always room for more. We accept you with open arms.

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  26. I got a real late start and caught the missing F at STAGE RITE, not noticing it on the GOLDEN LEASE. It took way too long to finish, with the center fills ob BRB, SIDEBARS, ENYO, and ODETS eventually finishing it, but they were unknowns. CELESTE, SO RARE, STOSSEL, NELLY, & KEANU were also filled by perps, with CELESTE & SO RARE being total unknowns.

    I know the UNISYS because of their attempt to enter the PC business many years ago with an overpriced product that we turned down ( we wrote software for drugstores and ultimately chose Dell). DDT- it would take care of both West Nile and Zika viruses at once.

    OMN or TER -what's wrong with them? Are they 'owl language'?

    Madame- the sun is definitely hiding here with BOTH the Jazz Fest and the Zurich Open Golf Classic being delayed.
    maripro- Cokie and Robin are New Orleans produts. Cokie's dad, Hale & Lindy Boggs were both the 2nd district Congressman for quite a few years. Robin's sister is a local newscaster.

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  27. To clarify two nits:

    Laughlin AFB is in Del Rio, TX

    "Dutchman who painted The Surprise" was a clue used by Gene Newman in an LAT crossword on May 10, 2006 with the answer being Steen. However, none of the official art sites I visited attribute said title to him. As the King of Siam said, "Tis a puzzlement."

    Happy May Day. 🌷 🌺 🌸 💐 🌼

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  28. This is the only song by Nelly that I really know and don't judge me but I love the first line. (Don't clink if you get offended by mild language - he is a rapper...)

    Yes also did "Owner of a lonely heart" and the video was so icky I still can't watch it (but I'll share it!)

    If "damn" isn't allowed anymore, what will Rhett say?

    The Surprise is just gorgeous but I wouldn't have gotten it even if it was clued correctly. No big worries from me...

    I didn't get the theme despite it being so obvious. Oh well.

    Here's a Queen favorite with the line Ready, Freddie?

    Laughlin is in Nevada, but the other side of the river is Arizona so I understand the confusion. Easy mistake...

    @anon: some people comment daily, some not so often. People contribute all kinds of random things (lyrics, birthday cakes, links to songs, information about a topic in the puzzle...) but they also share their ups and downs with each other. I have laughed and cried at things I have read here. If something isn't answered in the write-up, just ask the group and you will get a thorough response - often with links - to help you understand better. Everyone is welcome and I rarely see any exclusionary behavior even to snarky trolls. This truly is a lovely group of people from all over that come together to discuss both their lives and this puzzle. Hope you come back and share some of yourself with the group.

    Have a great day!

    t.

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  29. Hi Y'all! Got the theme with WRENCH LESSON. Problem was deciding which were theme entries to be helped by knowing, like the two downs: READY MERCURY & ROOT COCKTAIL. Found them very amusing when filled, especially OWL LANGUAGE.

    Another learning experience. Lot of unknowns and vague (to me) clues such as two "phooeys" and "Again... and "traditional dance wisdom about hustlers". Meh! Several answers didn't make sense to me after they perped in. Didn't know YES was a band.

    1a ESSES stumped me a long time but knew GHENT (don't know why). 95A confidently typed in ORBit -- nope.

    Anon at 12:42: How dare you attack our C.C.? If she's concerned about Boomer, we're concerned too. Empathy is a big part of this blog.

    Frustrating Saturday for me. Washer refused to pump out water and spin with a load of mostly sweat pants & shirts. These are hard to wring out by hand. I became a "big dipper" with a quart-sized container to transfer all those dirty soapy gallons to the sink drain. Then I found I was standing in water all over the floor because the container was cracked into which I put the still dripping clothes. Hauled the clothes in another container over to daughter's house to spin, rinse & spin again. Hauled them home to the clothes dryer because daughter was AILing. Now I have to take my tape measure & see if I can find a new washer that will fit in my space. Thanks to those of you who have posted problems so I know to measure. That's the value of a blog which includes personal experiences and not just crossword stuff.

    YR: didn't know dress sizes had changed so much. Realized I haven't tried on or worn a dress since my last son married in 1998.

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  30. Got up late, had a delightful struggle through Kathleen’s puzzle and finished in the car on the way to Omaha because Joann agreed to punt church! Yay team!

    Musings
    -Some rent-control apts in NYC do have GOLDEN LEASES
    -My astronomers had to forget about ORB(ITS)
    -I guess the L in FOLK can be considered silent
    -I’ve seen 16 rpm EPS where a radio friend put the needle down at 1 pm and he was free for over an hour
    -The only real losers in the War of 1812 were native Americans
    -TMI – men in our senior golf league chronicling their latest medical procedures!
    -Many Pols of all stripes avoid his HOT SEAT
    -It seems easy to CAPSIZE in a kayak
    -The Egyptian ship was called The KARNAK in this great movie
    -Our Sunday entrée was mom’s unbeatable fried chicken
    -We teachers try to keep kids ON TASK not DUTY
    -Canton was Chinese and Swiss before it was OHIOAN
    -Good Luck MOM AND POP
    -NFL HOME TEAM advantage by team
    -Is Nellie a racist about Emile and his children in South Pacific?
    -Name the song with And as I go, I love to sing, My KNAPSACK on my back

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  31. Steve is certainly correct that EPs initially were 45 rpm, but that did change and per wiki..."A double extended play is the name typically given to vinyl records or compact discs released as a set of two discs, each of which would normally qualify as an EP. The name is thus analogous to double album. As vinyl records, the most common format for the double EP, they consist of a pair of 7" discs recorded at 45 or 33 1⁄3 rpm, or two 12" discs recorded at 45 rpm."

    I guess I was thinking of the EP's used in jukeboxes which were oddly 33 1⁄3 rpm, but I have seen both formats during my time. In any case I was wrong in my blanket statement and thank Steve for the clarification.

    As for the anon who wanted more information, thank you for the contribution but remember, puzzles are a game not an assignment. Learning is part of the fun, but there are many parts and as a weekly blogger, I assure you we all highlight information we think worth sharing in addition to our aches, pains and broken bones. As far as criticizing C.C.'s write up, until you have blogged hundreds of puzzles spending endless hours solving, searching and commenting, do not assume you would have done anything differently. The number of words in A Sunday make commenting on all of them unrealistic. Read the other puzzle blogs and you will see we discuss much more than most, if not all.

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  32. Hi all, back from the first fungi hunt of the season. Success !

    We had been in the woods for about twenty minutes, and all the time I'm talking to my friend about what trees to look for, what ground and growth conditions, what the recent weather has to have been, etc.

    Then I hear, "Is this what they are ?"

    We quickly found 5 more big and thick and meaty freshly EMERGED yellow MORELS. He found 4 and I found 2. Then nothing more. But now I know. The woods here are just about ready. Should be a bumper crop if I can get out enough times this year. Conditions have been great.

    Took a couple of pictures of mine with a ruler and a quarter for perspective, and then cleaned, pan fried, and ate them. They are so good.

    Madame DeFarge, every year I forget to go to the Houby festival in Berwyn. That's in October I think. I need to learn to id some of the types that I haven't dared to eat. BTW, my "student" today is originally from Honduras and lives just up the street from me. This is the second time I've taken a newbie morel hunting and they have spotted them before me !

    PK, my new GE washer from Home Depot was delivered Friday. I spent a few hours researching using Consumer Reports. Did two loads yesterday and I am really impressed, although I will tell you that the new HE washers make more clicks, gurgles, spitting, and other weird noises than you might imagine. The $20+ something annual subscription for online research at CR has paid for itself many times over.

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  33. And yes, those were some pretty chickenshit remarks from the anon at 12:42.

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  34. Yes, and chicken-hearted as well as chickenshit. It doesn't take much character or backbone to express an opinion behind a shield of "Anonymous". Sad...

    If EPs and the like are recorded by squeezing the grooves on a record closer together, the quality is degraded. The wiggles in one groove 'bleed through' and affect the wiggles in the adjacent grooves, especially on loud passages that have bigger wiggles.

    Gary, regarding your TMI, my wife used to comment on the difference between going to my son's slow-pitch softball games compared to mine. She would sit in the stands and visit with the other girlfriends and wives. My son's audiences would be commenting on who broke up with whom, local bars, great parties, etc. The group of attendees at my games would have different conversations involving kidney stones, side effects of different medications, etc. It used to seem funny. Now, not so much...

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  35. One of my favorite trivia questions that had me scratching my head for a while was "How many grooves are there on an average LP?" I went from a few hundred to a few thousand, until someone kicked me in the shin and told me "Dummy! two - one on each side".

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  36. TTP@4:08

    Sounds like you made sunshine out of a dreary day! Success!

    Nice, Madame D

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  37. Steve, good one! I would have fallen right in to the obvious trap also!

    I used to play old records by putting a pin or needle into the bottom of a cone I made out of paper. I would put the needle in the grove and some low fidelity sounds would come out of the cone.

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  38. Gary: Valdereeee, valderaaaaa, valdereeee, valderahahahaha! Don't know the title/name. Something about a wanderer?

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  39. Obernkirchen Children's ChoirMay 1, 2016 at 10:24 PM

    re: HG poser

    The Happy Wanderer

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  40. Hi All:

    On my nth beer in SPI! The lightweights went to bed so I thought I'd catch up on the blog.

    Dad's DW started the puzzle earlier and I looked at it. I played for a bit and put it down for another beer w/ my Bro and, after he retired to his chamber, I came here to catch up.

    NERTS! If I'da had brains enough about me I would have seen Rich was the editor and it was a Sunday LAT! I coulda been a contender... But after C.C.'s writeup; it's just a cheat now. Thanks C.C. and Kathleen.

    C.C. - Like D-O I was looking for Lackland b/f LAUGHLIN came up. Until I looked it up, I was worried I mis-read/heard Lackland. I did lineman class at the latter for 2 weeks in San Antonio in '95-ish; It's nowhere near the former.

    Yes, Yes, YR & tawnya - A wonderful group here at the Corner who opens arms to new folks - even dopes like me. For the most part I want to play puzzle, learn, and hear how my eFriends are doing. If it's TMI; I can scroll past but I don't, 'cuz I care. At best we can provide support to other Cornerites (like YR & Lucina w/ their diets - you go girls!) or Bill G dealing w/ current tribulations. C.C. - We're all pulling for Boomer.

    Bill G. from Friday: So glad to hear Barbara is feeling better - feeling is being.

    Thanks LEM for Roundabout link. YES - I'll listen again as I go to bed.

    PK - TTP is right on the new HE washers - mine clicks about 15 times as it senses a load, re-adjusts, and then starts the water. Where you put the soap was a mystery for a week.

    TTP - on mushroom hunting: My Uncle always asked me where the orange mushrooms were - for his tea I think...

    I'll get the Trib tomorrow so I can play w/ y'all for real.

    Cheers, -T

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  41. I agree that the write-ups here are great. NERTS and STOSSEL threw me. How is STOSSEL eponymous?? I had a lot of trouble with the NE corner. I wanted EEL and SEER and DOURest and wasn't sure about NAT. LEN Deighton is one of my favs
    I'm about to reread his nine part mole series. I think he's embedded something interesting in the series.
    Sorry this is so late. I have to leave and return to get these and never give up

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  42. On clue 58, no, Congress first sat on 4 March 1789, and the Supreme Court began its fist session on 2 February 1790.

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  43. A-ha! A Congress session is for two years at a time.

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