google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Sunday July 17th, 2016 Matt McKinley

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Jul 17, 2016

Sunday July 17th, 2016 Matt McKinley

Theme:  "Crescendo" - P is changed into F. All key words go through spelling changes. 

23A. Brilliant bit of deception? : LUMINOUS FEINT. Luminous paint.

37A. Taciturn circus entertainers? : QUIET FLEAS. Quiet please.
 
66A. Panel judging phobic reactions? : JURY OF ONE'S FEARS. Jury of one's peers.

95A. Award ceremony side dish? : NOBEL FRIES. Nobel prizes.
 
113A. Gradually doze during a long meeting? : FADE BY THE HOUR. Paid by the hour.
 
14D. Charge in an Everglades water taxi? : ALLIGATOR FARE. Alligator pear. Avocado.

56D. "Charlie's Angels" actress on her sloop? : FARRAH SAILING. Parasailing. Two of the changes happen with the first word.

Matt, are you reading our blog? Great title! The more I solve/make Sunday puzzles, the more I realize how hard it is to find an apt title, esp with sound addition/deletion/replacement theme.

It's a fantastic feeling when you find out that you can make the themers intersect. Intersecting often makes filling easier. But it takes skills and luck to make the intersection happen. Matt also breaks the top.botto edges into 5/7/7 rather than our conventional four parts (4/4/5/5, e.g.) like the left/right edges. 


Across:

1. Concentrate : FOCUS

6. Impose restraints on : SHACKLE. Great entry.

13. Talladega sight : RACE CAR

20. Creamy white : IVORY

21. Assemble at a theater, say : QUEUE UP. Crossing its pluralized homophone CUES (9. They often precede entrances).

22. Like Hobart College : ALL-MALE. Unfamiliar with Hobart College.
 
25. Goes by : ELAPSES

26. Roadie's burden : AMP

27. Source of many med. terms : LAT. OK, Latin.

28. Toledo title: Abbr. : SRA. Notice the alliteration, a common cluing feature for foreign words. Also 98. Brest "but" : MAIS. Also  17. Roberto's residence : CASA
            
29. Unhurt : INTACT

30. Mississippi explorer : LA SALLE

34. Clemson U. is in it : ACC

36. Like a brioche : EGGY

 40. Joshua trees, e.g. : YUCCAS

42. Variety of tricks? : BAG. OK, bag of tricks.

45. Baseball news : TRADES. A few more baseball entries: 93. Switch-hitter with the most career homers : MANTLE. Eddie MURRAY has the same letter count. 117. League championship : PENNANT. And 84D. '60s-'70s bullpen star Sparky : LYLE

46. Skater Babilonia : TAI. And 49. 19th-century French composer Édouard : LALO. I learned both from doing crosswords.

48. Predicament metaphor : BOAT. I don't get this one, D-Otto.


50. "This came as no surprise" : I KNEW

51. Domain : REALM

53. Okay : SO SO

54. Sci. with biomes : ECOL

55. Muscle mag display : PECs

56. On the occasion of : FOR

57. "Breaking Bad" channel : AMC. Also 106. "Breaking Bad" drug : METH. Rich normally eschews the drug reference.

59. Mislead : THROW OFF

61. Crafty : SLY

62. Scotch and soda, e.g. : BAR ORDERS. When was the last time you went to a bar?

65. Passes out : FAINTS

69. Co-star of Boyer in "Algiers" : LAMARR (Hedy)


72. FEMA concerns : DISASTERS

73. Org. found in alleys : PBA. Here is Boomer with Walter Ray Williams, arguably the best bowler in the world. Boomer was attending Walter Ray's clinic yesterday, TTP. He'll bowl the Pro-Am this afternoon. PBA50 stops at Treasure Island (MN) every year.




76. Good place for views : OP-ED PAGE. Nice clue/answer.

79. Service inaccuracy : LET

80. T size : LGE

81. Many a Mideast native : ARAB

82. Florida's __ City : DADE

83. Lanford Wilson's "The __ Baltimore" : HOTL


85. An arm and a leg : LIMBS. Literal. Not PRICEY.

87. Cutting : ACERB

88. Crossword component : GRID

89. Influence : SWAY

90. "__-hoo!" : YOO

91. Makeup mishap : SMUDGE

92. Sequence-shortening letters : ETC
 
99. Eponymous tree, streetwise : ELM. Do you know most streets in Japan do not have names?


101. Triage priorities : TRAUMAS

102. Get to bubble over? : RE-BOIL. Fun clue for a blah answer.

105. Milne's absent-minded Mr. : PIM

107. Supergirl's symbol : ESS

108. Enlisted mil. rank : PFC

111. Not bright at all : IDIOTIC. Also 11. Folly : LUNACY


118. Its NYSE symbol is "X" : US STEEL. Gimme!

119. Commemorative 1999 Broadway revue : FOSSE. Got via crosses.

120. Part of Procter & Gamble : AND SIGN

121. Savings vehicle named for a sen. : ROTH IRA

122. Jacket material : TWEED. Not SUEDE.


Down:

1. Nike competitor : FILA

2. Reproductive cell : OVUM

3. Cooperation : COMPLIANCY. Compliance is more common.

4. Sch. near Providence : URI

5. Unit, for one: Abbr. : SYN. Unit is a synonym of "one"?

6. Sudden wind increase : SQUALL

7. Disco activity : HUSTLE

8. Pershing's WWI command : AEF. American Expeditionary Forces. We see ETO more often.


10. Actress Knightley : KEIRA


12. Capable, jokingly : EPT

13. Arctic coast explorer : RAE

15. Metallic noises : CLANGS

16. Like some promises, alas : EMPTY. Alas!


18. Oldest Baldwin brother : ALEC. Always dueling with paparazzi.

19. Others : REST. OK, and others (the rest).

24. Five Norse kings : OLAFS

31. Yellow fever mosquito : AEDES. Very irrational spelling.

32. Cioppino, e.g. : STEW

33. "Do I dare to __ peach?": Eliot : EAT A. Peaches are in season now. So good.

35. Bear young : CUBS. Shouldn't it be "Bears young"?

36. Online payment : E-CASH

37. Versatile Unilever brand : Q-TIPS

38. "Family Matters" nerd : URKEL

39. Dressing ingredient : SALAD OIL. My standard dressing is sesame oil & apple cider vinegar & this mustard combo.


41. Ducklike bird : COOT

42. "Almost anything can be improved with the addition of __": Jasper Fforde : BACON. Boomer agrees.

43. In the air : ALOFT

44. Enjoys the links : GOLFS. And 51. Links star McIlroy : RORY

47. Quite a lot : IMMENSELY

49. Martin's partner : LEWIS. Dean Martin. Jerry Lewis.


52. Sock ending : EROO
 
58. First act? : CREATION. Nice clue as well.

60. Crew members : OARS

62. Tupperware sound : BURP

63. Mail svc. in the sticks : RFD

64. Derisive sound : SSS

66. Burned-out : JADED

67. Unit of work: Abbr. : FT-LB

68. Neurol. readouts : EEGs

69. Ski resort centerpiece : LODGE

70. Split : APART

71. Doc : MEDIC

73. Make susceptible : PREDISPOSE. Not a fill we see often.

74. Canal transport : BARGE

75. Supérieurs des moines : ABBES. Went all French.

77. They often have matching caps : GOWNS


78. State of France : ETAT

81. Honda luxury brand : ACURA


86. No longer relevant : MOOT. Point.

87. Radio option : AM FM

91. Snow remnants : SLUSH

93. Cocktail with an umbrella : MAI TAI

94. Rio Grande city : EL PASO

96. Ice cream company founder : BREYER. Not EDY today.


97. Locale in a 1987 Cheech Marin title : EAST LA. Born in East LA.


98. Mars' pair : MOONS

100. Thick : MIDST

102. Kelly of talk : RIPA

103. First place? : EDEN. Not GOLD.

104. Firmly attach : BIND

109. Protection in a box : FUSE. Boomer and I fixed our garbage disposal without calling the repair guy. Yay! We just put a hex wrench in that hex-shaped hole and turned it back and forth a few times. Don't put potato peels in the disposal!

110. Street __ : CRED

112. UPS unit : CTN. What Splynter deals with daily. Keen eye on the grid pattern yesterday, by the way!

113. Natural coat : FUR

114. In Chinese, the "north" part of China's "northern capital" : BEI. As in Beijing. I mentioned this a while ago. Bei=North. Jing = Capital. Nan= South. So Nanjing is "Southern capital".


115. Terrestrial newt : EFT

116. Question as to technique : HOW?

C.C.


48 comments:

George Barany said...

@Matt McKinley's puzzle gave me quite a workout, but then several good laughs after I finally cracked the theme. I'll have to ask for NOBEL_FRIES next time I visit Sweden. Lovely coupling of "First place?" for EDEN and "First act?" for CREATION.

Thanks too to C.C. for an interesting writeup, from which I finally understand what BEI means. "Predicament metaphor" refers to the idiom "we're all in the same BOAT." AEF ("American Expeditionary Forces") is WWI, ETO ("European Theater of Operations") is WWII.

Changing subjects, our friend @Liz Gorski constructed a very elegant multi-layered Sunday-sized puzzle that just appeared in the Wall Street Journal, accessible by clicking here. I recommend it with high enthusiasm.

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, Matt and CC!

This was a monster effort. Took a looong time. Finally got 'er done sans cheats.

Many perps and WAGs. FILA, AEF, BACON, RORY, BEI and FUSE.

I am really tired!

Cheers! Have a great Sunday!

OwenKL said...

FIW. Thought 69a would be Dorothy LAMOUR, and suspected I had a problem when JADED crossed it, but was sure enough of BUUP that I didn't even think of changing that U. I suppose a lot of you were in the same BOAT!

Took me a while to figure out the theme, but once I did, it helped IMMENSELY to get the last few.

{A, B-, B+, C+}

As the differing dignitaries gathered on the dais
The photographer told them to FOCUS on the ficus.
If they didn't budge
The picture wouldn't SMUDGE;
But a fight broke out, the camera was fractured in the fracas!

ALMOST ANYTHING CAN BE IMPROVED WITH THE ADDITION OF BACON!
So said Jasper Fforde, and I think him not mistaken!
On the grill, that sizzling sound
Can make breakfast talk profound,
And the smell alone can make it joy to waken!

Down in New Mexico, the desert thrives with YUCCAS
In Alaska seals are hunted by natives in mukluk-as
While over in Kentucky
Colonel Sanders, getting plucky,
Spends his time in battering and frying up his cluckas!

The strokes of LUMINOUS PAINT were very faint,
In daylight they in fact seemed but a FEINT.
But nighttime in the forest
When we saw the scene before us,
The beauty of it made us all feel FAINT!

Barry G. said...

Morning, all!

Fun Sunday puzzle. I got the theme early on, which really helped in many places. Where it didn't help, however, was with QUIETFLEAS. I had the FLEAS and knew the base phrase had to involve PLEAS (as in more than one PLEA) and just couldn't think of any sort of PLEA that would fit. COURT PLEAS? Even after finally getting everything via the perps, I was still left with a sour taste in my my mouth thinking that "Quiet Pleas" wasn't much of a phrase and certainly not very common. Then I came here and the scales fell from my eyes. Obviously, I didn't realize that every theme involved a change in spelling...

A few other tough spots here and there. Didn't know that AEF was a thing and was sure I had a mistake somewhere when the perps filled it in. ALLIGATOR FAIRS started out as ALLIGATOR FEES (before I grokked the theme) and PREDISPOSE started out as PREDESTINE for no good reason. HOTL/LYLE/MANTLE gave me fits as well, but fortunately I had at least heard of Mickey MANTLE and was able to guess at the other two.

Anonymous said...

Cc, we are all in the same boat trying to figure out why Crescendo is an apt title for this puzzle.

Quite the predicament, eh?

Unknown said...

Very fun, tough puzzle. I managed to finish with no cheats, but it took a while.

Seems to me that scotch and soda is a single drink and therefore an ORDER, not ORDERS, unless you order them in separate glasses.

We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now. Martin Luther King, Jr.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Overslept, and late to the party this morning. My biggest fox pass was MATS for the entrance preceders, and I kept it far too long. I would chime in, but George, OKL, and Anon have already explained the BOAT reference. Anon@6:28, so far as the puzzle title is concerned, p (piano) = soft and f (forte) = loud, thus the crescendo.

I'm a big fan of the ROTH IRA. By delaying SS until 70, I was able to use those low income years to make Roth conversions at favorable tax rates. There's the additional benefit of lowering the amount of the RMD's going forward.

C.C., Bear is like Deer, Fish and Elk -- singular and plural rolled into one. I'm sure there are others. If there are no street names in Japan, how can you give directions there? Or are they all numbered?

Time for that 8-mile bike ride before the sun gets too high....

desper-otto said...

And Robert.

Lemonade714 said...

A very enjoyable Sunday. The title which takes the p(iano) to f(orte) = crescendo for the title is awesome. Changing e spelling in each theme is also well done.

Not much that was too obscure, DADE CITY is a small town in the middle of Florida not close to Miami-Dade county which apparently everyone knew. COOT MOOT was cute. My high school roommate went to HOBART to play lacrosse. The small upstate NY school has won numerous national titles in lacrosse. They are actually part of a co-ed college with William Smith.

Thanks all

Lemonade714 said...

Oops D-O posted while I waxed poetic about Hobart.

Owen I thought your second was by far your best today

Foxy Brown said...

D-O: I loved your "Fox Pass"!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I enjoyed the theme and the word play but it was an FIW due to not letting go of Lamour. Lamarr never even entered my mind. Oh well, it was fun, anyway.

Thanks, Matt, for a smooth Sunday solve (except off the Lamour lapse) and thanks, CC, for the detailed summary. After reading DO's explanation of the the title, I agree that it is especially inspired.

Bill G and Lucina, I remembered to watch Sunday Morning (a rarity, for me) and was well rewarded; hope you both get to see it.

Have a great day.

MJ said...

Good Morning to all!

Fun puzzle and very informative expo (thanks, C.C.!), but alas a FIW for me. Had I KNoW instead of I KNEW which crossed that pesky mosquito that I had no clue about. QUIET FLEAS was my favorite theme answer.

Enjoy the day!

TTP said...

Thank you Matt and CC.

A Talladega pACE CAR started the event, but a RACE CAR won.

Hi CC. Tell Boomer I said to put ten in the pit in each frame. Of course on the first ball. I think Walter Ray is the best ever.

Also keeping with the PBA and baseball mini-theme, one could describe Pete Rose's (aka Charlie HUSTLE) collision with catcher Ray FOSSE in the 1970 All Star Game as "Rose bowled over FOSSE."

Keith, How many CUES have you reacted to over the years ?

Morgan bought out Carnegie and redubbed the empire as US STEEL.

AEF commander John Pershing. One of only two Generals to ever hold six stars.

EAT A Peach. Also the album by the Allman Brothers Band that I had on an 8-Track. The single Melissa was a hit.

Bear, like deer, can be plural. These are called collective nouns.

Loving the GOLF competition going on at The Open at Royal Troon in Scotland. Mickleson and Stenson are putting on a show.

Bill G. said...

Irish Miss, I have it set to record on my DVR so I don't have to worry about missing Sunday Morning. Thanks for the heads up. As a result of your comment, I'm looking forward to it even more than usual.

Barbara comes from Long Island and is a life-long Yankees fan. She loved Mickey Mantle!

tawnya said...

Morning all!

Thank you, Matt, for the enjoyable Sunday puzzle. And CC for the great write up. I also need an explanation for how people give directions in Japan with no street names. Although I have gone places around here by following directions like "Go past the white fence then go right at the fork, over the creek and then left at the second Dollar General..." so I imagine it's something like that? But how do they get mail? And what about 911? So many questions...

Yay for baseball!!! I love the sporty clues!

I did not like MAI TAI, TAI, and MAIS all in one place. Too repetitive.

And I think Tin would say the answer to "Scotch and Soda" would be some version of DONOTDOIT!

@owen, you underestimate the bacon one - it made my stomach growl! A+ :)

Wishing you all a lovely Sunday!

t.

Anonymous said...

"Cc, we are all in the same boat trying to figure out why Crescendo is an apt title for this puzzle.

Quite the predicament, eh?"

This was posted 4.5 hours ago. Any clarity, yet? Anything? Anyone?? Hello???

Row, row, row your boat ...

Anonymous said...

"The title which takes the p(iano) to f(orte) = crescendo for the title is awesome."

That doesn't help.

At all.

desper-otto said...

How 'bout what I posted at 7:26?

C6D6 Peg said...

Anon - why Crescendo is an apt title?

In music, quieter is marked with P or PP or PPP (soft, softer, and very soft) and Loud is marked with F's (Forte). Crescendo is a musical term that tells one to go from soft to loud (P to F). Hope that helps a bit!

Thanks Matt, and C.C. for a great puzzle and write-up!

Chairman Moe said...

I rarely post on Sunday (even eschewing my "Puzzling Thoughts" "entrance") - but since I solved this without a Google I felt the need to crow a little. But my real reason to post was to congratulate Henrik Stenson on winning the Open Championship at Troon in Scotland. Sets a record low score (264) for four rounds at a Major; tied Johnny Miller's score for low round on the final day of a Major (63 - a record which had stood for 43 years), and defeated Phil Mickelson whose 65 was his personal best score for a final round in a Major. What great GOLF!

As for the puzzle, I had numerous corrections, and the West Coast was the last part of the GRID to fall. Liked the theme, and despite being a 6 year+ Floridian, today was the first time I'd heard of an ALLIGATOR PEAR (for Avocado).

CrossEyedDave said...

I am very confused,
I thought themes had to have some rhyme or reason.

I see none in this "crescendo" theme...

Let's see, P to F. OK...
The clues to answers are excellent, but how the original phrases were
changed makes no sense to me...

Luminous paint. Ok the the p is an f & e changed to a, on the the next one.

Quiet please. Ok the p is again an f, but instead of an e changing to a, the "last" E is dropped. OK, trying to find a pattern here, on to the next one...

Jury of one's peers. OK, P 2 F again, but the A is changed to E. Still not seeing a pattern...

Nobel prizes. Hmm, P 2 F, so far so good, but the Z is dropped?
How does this fit in with the other theme answers?
We have had E's changed to A's
We have had last E's dropped
We have had A's changed to E's
& now a Z is dropped?

Moving on...

Paid by the hour. P 2 F again, OK, but I is dropped & E is added at the end...
(I think this constructor is trying to kill me...)

Alligator pear.OK,some semblance of a theme again. P2F,E moved to the end...

Parasailing. Hmm,P2F, add an R & an H?

Well, maybe I can condone a theme of "crescendo"
if it refers to the gradual increase in my frustration at how this theme came to be.

(could I be over analyzing this?)

CrossEyedDave said...

C6D6 Peg, Thank you, that was very helpful.
Never considered that. interesting analogy.

But I am still confused by the vowel/consonant/letter changes all over the place...

Husker Gary said...

This was a struggle and a good time. AVIA/FILA and RPI/URI slowed the start but the witty theme fill was amusing and helpful.

Musings
-LUMINOUS PAINT reminded me of this element of Ocean’s 11
-FADE BY THE HOUR – our faculty once spent an hour debating adjectives for our mission statement. ZZZZZZ…
-Disney fans will recognize this ride which has the longest QUEUE in the park
-Substitute teachers better have a BAG of tricks!
-Three other families dictate what we do FOR holidays
-No dummy she, Heddy invented a communications system for WWII
-LIMBS for fuel
-COMPLIANCY and ACERB both have more common forms
-EMPTY promises? Oh yeah, it’s an election year!
-Some thought RORY would be the next Tiger. Not so much…
-When Boomer lifts his 16 lb ball 2’, he’s done 21 FTLB’s of work
-Read y’all later!

Anonymous said...

Is P F Changs familiar enough to name this one P F Changes?

maripro said...

I, too, had Dorothy before Hedy who was a brilliant inventor as well as glamorous movie star.
C.C. has previously explained that bei means north, and, wonder of wonders, I remembered it!
It took a long time to figure out the theme, but that just added to the challenge.
Thanks Matt and C.C.

Anonymous said...

"-When Boomer lifts his 16 lb ball 2’, he’s done 21 FTLB’s of work"

Typo?? Should be 32 foot-pounds (16 lb is a force, and distance is 2 feet, and WORK = FORCE*DISTANCE = 16*2 = 32)

Anonymous said...

That thing in P&G is an AMPERSAND. "Discover the power of & with AT&T."

In the same BOAT – up Shit Crick?

Yes, Robert E, scotch and soda are two elements but one ORDER.

Jerome said...

Dave- You're trying to find some pattern in the letters beyond the P/F change. There isn't one because there's no need for it. Regardless of the spelling you still get punny, rhyming phrases from common ones. Lets say you had a theme with a G/R change-

GHOST STORY is the base phrase, but the theme answer and clue are-
ROAST STORY- Tongue-in cheek anecdotes at a celebrity dinner?

That's all there is to it... GHOST BECOMES ROAST. The only pattern that needs to be followed in the other themers would be a G/R change. The HOST in GHOST and the OAST in ROAST have no importance whatsoever beyond the rhyme.

Lemonade714 said...

No Rory, no Jordan but 40 year old Henrik Stenson and 46 year old Phil Mickelson put on an amazing show, with Phil adding to his resume of 2nd place finishes in majors. He ties Arnold Palmer with 10, second only to Jack Nicklaus who has 19 seconds to go along with 18 firsts.

Physics....I thought the formula for work was more than weight times distance?

Chairman Moe said...

If you haven't as yet heard the news,
There's a liquor store giving free booze!
To those folks who are fine
Calmly standing in line;
You must just mind your own "peace and QUEUES".

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, Matt! Great expo, C.C.! Yay, I remembered you explaining BEI was north.

The puzzle wasn't online when I tried to do it just after midnight. Finally got to it this afternoon. Crescendo had the "do" covered by the byline so I thought it said Crescent for a long time. I got the "p" to "F" gimmick after a while and realized it was Crescendo, but didn't put it together until coming here. I certainly had the soft to loud meaning drilled into my head as a kid.

Caught the last hours of the British Open yesterday & today. That GOLF course is a monster. How they came up with -17 & -19 on it, is miraculous. The competition between the two must be super charged electricity.

RORY is one of the young GOLF studs who won't be at the Olympics because of Zika. Child producing aged guys are smart. Four days of golf on a GOLF course would seem to maximize the danger of meeting mosquitos in lush foliage more than for other athletes.

Wanted Chocolate before BACON. Wouldn't fit. BACON would be my second choice.

The top middle section stumped me awhile with the SQUALL/QUEUE UP cross.

Last to fill was the TRADES/AEDES & STEW cross. Didn't remember the mosquito name & never heard of ciopino.

Jayce said...

What a wonderfully constructed puzzle. I had a hard time with it at first, but eventually got the hang of it. When I saw QUIET (which was the first theme answer I solved) I started expecting other "sound volume" words stepping from QUIET to LOUD. Finally I got the p-to-f gimmick and poof the light bulb came on. Pretty fine stuff!
Best whooshes to you all.

Bill G. said...

Did any of you happen to catch the beach volleyball tournament on NBC today? It's at the pier about a mile from where I live. I ride past that location almost every day except for the few days around the tournament when the area is too congested.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Late to the dance today. Struggled in a few places, even though I grokked the theme early, partly because I'd never heard of alligator pears. Now that they've been explained, it makes sense. AEF was all perps. Darned if I remember the earlier explanation of Bei, but thanks, C.C.!

The theme title Crescendo is the cleverest I've ever seen. Good work!

Jordan Spieth said...

Lemon,
Phil Michelson just broke the tie, with Arnold Palmer, by recording his 11th runner up finish in a golf major.

Big Easy said...

I finished the puzzle early this morning after wrestling the QUEUE UP, CUES, KEIRA, EPT section. I did it by the hardest.Tried QUARTER & QUINTET and TIA & TIO before QUEUE UP & SRA came around but never heard of KEIRA and I was pretty inEPT in my solving. LAMOUR before LAMARR because Dorothy Lamour was a local girl.

I caught the p->f change but didn't associate it with dynamics; thanks for the explantaion C.C. The Q-TIPS kind of threw me as a Unilever product. It was made by Cheesebrough-Ponds and I just looked it up. Unilever purchased Cheesebrough in 1987; All my invoices never mentioned it. BEI and HOTL were unknowns filled by perps.

Barry- ETO in WW-II; AEF in WWI.

Was watching the British Open while working this puzzle and it got preempted because some lunatic from Missouri shot six police in Baton Rouge, killing three of them. It's been a miserable weekend with that, Nice, France and the attempted coup in Turkey. From what I read later, Phil played great but Henrik just played better, but remember it's just a game.

Yellowrocks said...

Dudley, yes, the title, Crescendo, made this substitution puzzle so clever. Another layer of cleverness was that Matt did not take the easy way. In addition to the F for P, he further changed the spelling in every theme answer, not in any specific way, but always a change. Not PAINT/FAINT, but FEINT. Not FLEAS/PLEAS, but PLEASE. Not FRIES/PRIES, but PRIZE. Not FARE/PARE but PEAR. Others were less apt, but still a change in spelling.
FADE/PAID. FEARS/PEERS. PARA/FARRAH. I love it. Faster than normal Sunday. The theme was very helpful.
In our cheese loving family, I was surprised my spinach hating Dad loved my sister's spinach/cheddar pie. He said put cheese on anything and I'll love it. Bacon would be a close second.
Alan feels great today Yea! Maybe we have the proper mix of medication. What a cocktail he takes.
So I went square dancing this afternoon. Such a pleasant time!

Misty said...

Well, it took a bit of cheating, not uncommon for me on the weekend, but I got it all done in the end and enjoyed working on the puzzle. I was especially happy that most of the theme answers fell into place without too much trouble. But I sure was glad to get C.C.'s explanation of the theme and some of the more obscure items. Still, a fun Sunday morning, thanks to Matt--and a fun afternoon, thanks to C.C.

Have a great Sunday evening, and a great week coming up, everybody.

Argyle said...

spinach/cheddar pie w/ bacon - YUM!

Dudley said...

+1

Jerome said...

Argyle- I'm also a bacon, cheddar, spinach lover. Try your pie with 80% lean hamburger and onions. That's a double yum!

Lucina said...

Almost missed the party today but finished the puzzle, most of it early this morning. I had no time to post. My family came for dinner so the majority of the afternoon was spent cooking then eating followed by visiting.

WEES on almost all the comments. It was slow but methodical and fun to fill the long theme answers. Thank you all for the crescendo explanations, something I had forgotten about.

Thanks Matt McKinley and C.C. I had forgotten about BEI meaning north but got it right in the puzzle.

C.C., I'm sorry to hear about your disposal troubles. That is a big lesson you need only once: no peels of any kind or onions either. The manage to squirm under the blade and plug the whole thing. Good job that you repaired it yourselves!

Yes, I watched Sunday Morning. Love that program!

I hope you all had a wonde4rful day! See you next week!

Unknown said...

Thank you for explaining the title!

Roselyn said...

I don't get the crescendo theme. Someone please explains.

Argyle said...

Please read the comments.

Wilbur Charles said...

I've got Wed half done over cracked and salad at Tuesdays. Meanwhile, I'd finally finished this slog this morning. Delicious agony, only the theme saved me.

Fe. I thought of sailing and PARA and said "Wasn't Fawcett an angel? Duh. FARRAH. That's slogging. I've confessed before to stupidity bordering on IDIOTIC.

Some neat poesy today, can't imagine a quiet QUEUE for free booze.

I've never felt that cooked onions belonged in much but yes, if you cooked it, bacon fit most anything.

Ugh. All that Yankee talk. Prior to Bill Buckner Redsox malaise prominently featured the INFAMOUS* Sparky Lyle trade

* I had tried to fit this for LUMINOUS

Yes, this is lengthy but Un Read so I'm taking liberties.

PPS I got all excited thinking Jordan Spieth had joined our group. Sort of like Mickey Mantle square dancing.

One last PS. I had the Open taped and thought I could avoid all mention on Sunday and lo and behold, McDonald's has it on. Whodathunkit

Picard said...

I struggled with the theme when I got ALLIGATOR FARE and had no idea what that had been transformed from. Here in Santa Barbara County, CA we grow a large portion of the nation's avocados. But I have never heard them called "alligator pears".

When I finally got the P to F theme, I was utterly unable to figure out why that was "Crescendo" until the helpful explanation here! And I do perform as a musician sometimes!

A learning moment for me that Joshua Trees are YUCCAS. I love visiting Joshua Tree National Park and visited there in April on my way to Tucson for a convention.

Never heard of sockEROO. Huh?

And the first time I heard of Hedy LAMARR was when I saw Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles as a kid. My parents had to explain the joke to me.