google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, July 12 2016, C.C. Burnikel

Gary's Blog Map

Jul 12, 2016

Tuesday, July 12 2016, C.C. Burnikel

 Theme: E-Phrases.

17A. *On the same page : IN HARMONY. eHarmony.

40A. *Auto buyer's consideration : CAR LOAN. E-Loan.

11D. *Illegal activity that threatens elephants : IVORY TRADE. E-Trade

30D. *Jamaican resort : MONTEGO BAY. eBay.

64A. Online business, and a hint to the ends of the answers to starred clues : E-COMMERCE 

Melissa here. Another clever theme by C.C. I didn't realize how many E-Phrases were specific to commerce. Fun puzzle, nice to see theme answers both across AND down.

Across 

1. Piece of cake : SNAP

5. Forever and a day : AGES

9. Tony who was a teammate of Carew and Killebrew : OLIVA. This has C.C.'s fingerprints all over it.


14. Some bra fabric : LACE

15. Little bit : IOTA

16. Put a lid on : COVER

19. Steakhouse order : T-BONE

20. "You never know" : MAYBE

21. Where honorees may sit : DAIS

23. Miss Chile's title: Abbr. : SRTA. Se
ñorita. 

24. Rowing pair : OARS

26. Ragged : TATTY

28. Gingerbread house roof toppers : GUMDROPS

32. Get really mad : SEETHE

35. "Hey, sailor!" : AHOY

36. Glide above the clouds : SOAR

38. False step : ERROR

39. Actor McKellen : IAN

42. Andy's doll pal : ANN

43. Eccentric : NUTSO. Tried NUTTY first.

45. Base lullaby : TAPS. One of the last to fall for me - great clue.

46. Likelihood : ODDS

47. Nods off : SLEEPS

49. Multiwinner race outcome : DEAD HEAT

51. Say hello to : GREET

53. Take down __: humble : A PEG

54. Silo filler : CROP. Tried CORN first.

56. Landlocked African nation : CHAD. Unknown.

58. Like a soldier at attention : ERECT

62. Pigeonhole : LABEL

66. Muscat native : OMANI





67. Ready for picking : RIPE

68. "Very true!" : AMEN

69. Fee-based entertainment service : PAY TV

70. Biblical garden : EDEN

71. Little shavers : TADS

Down:

1. Like the chance of winning a lottery : SLIM

2. Grandpa's love : NANA. This one hung me up - wasn't thinking of a person.

3. In need of a massage : ACHY

4. Journalism award : PEABODY. The Peabody story.

5. Prepare to fire : AIM

6. Sore loser's opposite : GOOD SPORT

7. Volcano in Italy : ETNA

8. "__ with flowers" : SAY IT

9. Mo. for scary costumes : OCT

10. Bib-wearer's entrée : LOBSTER. Was thinking some kind of baby food at first.

12. Blow off some steam : VENT

13. General vicinity : AREA

18. Tail end : REAR

22. Texas NBA team, on scoreboards : SAS. San Antonio Spurs.

25. Civil rights icon Parks : ROSA


27. Prom attendee : TEEN

28. Profits : GAINS

29. Company with orange-and-white trucks : U-HAUL

31. Soup go-with, at lunch : SALAD

33. Fit automaker : HONDA

34. Auditing giant __ & Young : ERNST

37. Ali boxing technique : ROPE-A-DOPE. Interesting.

 

40. Deal with things : COPE

41. "Right this minute!" : ASAP

44. 70-Across tempter : SERPENT

46. "Just my luck!" : OH GREAT

48. "Just a __!" : SEC

50. Regard : DEEM

52. At that place : THERE

54. Hoofbeat sound : CLOP

55. "__ Lama Ding Dong": doo-wop hit : RAMA

57. Battery fluid : ACID

59. Humorist Bombeck : ERMA

60. Kept in the loop, briefly : CC'ED

61. Bills with Hamilton on them : TENS

63. Tyler of "The Leftovers" : LIV

65. Fellows : MEN




57 comments:

  1. This was only a Tuesday? I got it, but it was a struggle. Needed the reveal to get the theme, too. Not sure if I've ever heard of E-LOAN, and the other three are so different I didn't mentally class them together. Hardest fill was IVORY HUNTING, POACHING, RUNNING...?

    {A-, B+, A, B+.}

    The SERPENT and LOBSTER were chatting in EDEN
    About the number of legs had between 'em.
    The crustacean had TEN,
    The snake had two, then,
    "To evolve any more, I'll have to kickoff all breedin'!"

    IAN and ANN went to visit their NANA.
    She GREETED them warmly and gave each a banana!
    "The skins we will cobble,
    So in slippers you'll wobble,
    And thus we'll slip in to see the wise RAMA-LAMA!"

    Gransel and Hettle left a trail of GUMDROPS
    As they rode on their plow horse, clippity-CLOP.
    The birds and the squirrels
    Of course ate their pearls --
    And made a trail of critters trying to unglue their chops!

    Mr. PEABODY, with pet TAD Sherman in tow,
    Traveled backwards in time, to see a volcano!
    They found where Vulcan SLEEPS,
    'Neath Mount ETNA that SEETHES --
    And borrowed his forge to cook T-BONES to go!

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  2. Thank you CC and Melissa.

    An appropriate puzzle for today as the world's largest e-Commerce company is having its second annual Amazon Prime Day. As a result, Walmart, Target, Best Buy and others are having big sales of their own. I think they miss the point that Amazon is really trying to GAIN more Prime customers.

    Started in the SE. Didn't know that I stumbled by entering ALERT for soldiers at attention. Everything else filled easily on the climb to the NW. Nailed PEABODY. Don't know why.

    SLIM - Like the chance of winning the Lottery. You never know. MAYBE. I know I'd rather bet on the markets. The S&P closed yesterday at an all time high.

    E-LOAN again. I think 4 or 5 times this year. Becoming crosswordese. Last was on June 29th in Tony and CC's collaboration. I was thinking about buying a CD from them a few months ago. Banco Popular sibling.

    Tony Oliva. I think one of CC's very favorites.

    Five time world champion San Antonio Spur Tim Duncan retired yesterday. Power Forward. 19 years in the league. The Spurs made the playoffs every single year. No farewell tour. No hoopla. About the polar opposite of say, a Kobe Bryant type.

    A belated Happy Birthday to Don G and Canadian Eh ! (Saw Tony's post from last night.)

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  3. Morning, all!

    Pretty straightforward today, with a few bumps along the road. Almost turfed it at the crossing of TATTY (obscure) and SAS (unknown) until I finally thought of San Antonio Spurs. And a hand up for NUTTY before NUTSO. Also, was looking for something more specific than CROP for "Silo filler" (like CORN), so that took a bit of doing, especially since it crossed the unfamiliar MONTEGO BAY.

    Cute theme!

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  4. Hello Puzzlers -

    Hand up for Corn and Nutty before perps suggested otherwise. Otherwise pretty smooth going. Thanks MBee!

    I didn't know it was Amazon Prime day, until the offers started hitting the email box this morning.

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  5. Good morning!

    Theme? Of course not! Had a tough time parsing MONTE GOBAY, thanks for straightenin' me out, Melissa. I notice that CC SO'd herself at 60d. Hand up for NUTTY, but didn't even see TAPS -- it was already there. Not familiar with TATTY -- I'd probably say RATTY. Had no idea about SAS, but the perps were solid.

    Didn't we see PEABODY this past Sunday?

    I don't see CROP as a silo filler. The silos of my ute were filled with chopped up corn stalks -- the CROP (the ears of corn) had already been removed and were stored in the corn crib.

    Interesting that E-Commerce turned up on Prime Day. Planned or serendipitous? I didn't buy anything on Prime Day last year, and probably won't this year, either. I do think the Prime membership is worth the $100/year.

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  6. AHOY everyone.

    Mostly easy today. But had taBle before LABEL. No look-ups needed.
    51a - GREET - Germanic link of the day. German grüßen; L. German gröten, Dutch groeten.
    Are AHOY and GREET clechos?

    Have a great day.

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  7. Melissa: Excellent write-up & links. Great Job!

    C.C. Thak you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle, enjoyed the "E" theme.

    Faves today ...
    1) CCed (Nice self-referenced CSO).
    2) MONTEGO BAY ... I've flown into Sangster Int'l Airport 54 times.
    3) OLIVA ... I remember your picture with him.

    SAS was timely since Tim Duncan, their star, retired yesterday after 19 seasons.

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

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  8. The NE was a slow start today, but I moved on and came back to it from the bottom up and then it all fell into place. WEES about NUTTY vs NUTSO. PEABODY was easier to remember since it was a clue in the "body" themed Sunday puzzle. I already had the P in place so I didn't fall in to the CORN vs CROP issue. I smiled at the CC in the SE corner - like an artist signing a painting - CC was signing her work!

    Thanks Melissa and CC!

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  9. Good morning, folks. Thank you, C.C., for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a fine review.

    This puzzle was a little crunchy, but certainly doable in a short time.

    Got the theme definer and all the theme answers, but could not figure it out until I came here. Oh well, it is early and I have not had my five cups of Earl Grey yet.

    Liked the PEABODY definition. Interesting.

    I can never remember how to spell ERMA. E or I. ERECT fixed that.

    Not sure what the clue Fit Automaker means for HONDA. Maybe it's buried in an ad that I never watch.

    I never wear a bib eating a LOBSTER, because I never eat LOBSTER.

    Might get some rain today. We need a little. See you tomorrow from Normal, IL.

    Abejo

    ( )

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  10. Good Morning!

    Thanks C.C. and Melissa for an enjoyable puzzle and a fine walk through.

    My favorites was TAPS. Couldn't grab the "base" aspect of the clue for a long time. Like Melissa, I also wanted some sort of baby food for LOBSTER. I don't wear a bib when eating lobster--they are more trouble than they are worth.

    Have a fine day today!

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  11. As desper-otto suggested, you don't put the whole CROP in the silo, just the HUSKAGE (SILAGE). Call 54A a foul.

    And where's the "abbr." or "briefly" or "for short" in 41D, "Right this minute!" = ASAP?

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  12. Nice work, CC and MB. NUTTY before NUTSO. We had PEABODY this past Sunday. SAS was all perps. NANA was my first thought.
    I use TATTY. The exteriors of our condos are becoming quite TATTY. The Condo Assn. (Does it have an N?) has dithered on the renovation for several years. This week an engineer inspected the property to draw up plans. MAYBE the renovation will happen. If it falls through again I will SEETHE.
    DO, I was curious whether silage could be a crop so I looked it up. The PA extension service says, "Corn harvested for silage is an important feed crop on most Pennsylvania farms, where cropland often is limited." Just a thought.
    I have an "on the other hand" type of mind. If something appears to be black, I find a little white in it. If it appears to be white, I find a little black in it. Every day, quite apart from the blog, I research many "on the other hands" to satisfy my curiosity. Imagine how I react to candidates and pundits on both sides. "There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us,that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us."
    No one-up manship intended when I share.

    My take on gingerbread houses:
    ornate

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  13. Good Morning:

    A nice, smooth offering from CC with a fresh and timely theme. Only a few hiccups here and there, e.g., nutty/nutso. Interesting to see Peabody again and chuckled at Oliva (you-know-who's idol) and CCed! Clever theme+good clues+fresh fill=Enjoyable and satisfying solve!

    Nicely done, CC, and ditto to MelissaB for the recap.

    Tomorrow is the beginning of several days of the 3 H's. ACK!!!!

    Bill G, how is Barbara doing? YR, how is Alan?

    I needed a plumber yesterday for a very minor issue; he was here 10 minutes and charged me $50.00 which I thought was a tad high but, OTOH, he came the same day I called him, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

    Have a great day.

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  14. @Abejo: The Fit is a Honda model, along with the Civic, etc. Real small; you've seen them all over and didn't realize it.

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  15. Worst puzzle in recent memory.

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  16. OK Let's see how good I am at remembering the '64 Twins ( the year Oliva won Rookie of the year). Granted I was seven but loved/still loves Baseball.

    LF- Harmon Killebrew
    CF- ??? Hall
    RF- Tony Olivia
    3rd- ?????
    SS- Zolio Versailles
    2nd- ?????
    1st- Don Mincher/Bobby Allison
    C- Earl Battey

    P! Jim Kaat
    P2- Mudcat Grant
    P3- Camilio Pasqual
    P4- ????


    Not bad for a Cub Fan (6 out of 9) !

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  17. Not bad, JJM. Of course, that's only six more than I got.

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  18. It took a while to get going, but somewhere in the middle the words started to fill in. Perps then took over and I was able to complete the puzzle. I didn't get the theme until the puzzle was solved, but didn't need it.

    Good one CC and good review MB.

    There are times when some farmers put the whole corn stalk and ears into a silo, but usually just the stalk, chopped of course.

    Have a great on today.

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  19. PIECE OF CAKE today. Thanks C.C. and Melissa bee.
    I too noted the CSO with CCED and repeat of PEABODY from Sunday.

    Hand up for Nutsy before NUTSO and Corn before CROP. I tried Close before COVER and waited for perps to decide between Tots and TADS.
    I wanted a sandwich with my soup but only SALAD would fit.

    Thanks for all the Bday greetings.

    Owen, did you misname Gransel and Hettle deliberately in verse 3 or am I missing something? Enjoyed your work today.

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  20. "Puzzling Thoughts":

    a couple ink blots here and THERE . . . as others said, had NUTTY before NUTSO; my only other ERROR was having SEE RED before SEETHE. Other than that, the puzzle came at about the speed I usually do Tuesdays. CC beat me up the last time she had one I did here (a Friday, perhaps?), so I felt better about racing through today's. But I'll be a GOOD SPORT and say "good job" to both CC and MB for the construction and recap

    MONTEGO BAY, GUM DROPS, and ROPE-A-DOPE were all new solves; it's nice to see "fresh" answers in xWord puzzles, instead of the same old, same old. And CC does it as well as any of our constructors.

    I've purchased a number of things from eBAY and other eCOMMERCE sites, including Amazon. One year nearly all of my Christmas purchases for family (all out-of-town) was done through Amazon, and the savings - especially in the shipping AREA - was huge. I realize there is something "personal" missing when a present isn't wrapped (and also the "excited anticipation" that comes from a wrapped gift, sitting 'neath the Christmas tree) but then again, I'm a guy, and when I'm finished wrapping packages, they look pretty TATTY!

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  21. A nice Tuesday puzzle with a bit of crunch, well constructed and clued.

    Yes, I said just about the same thing yesterday. Maybe it's "Crunchy Week". I guess we will see tomorrow.

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  22. Odds and ends...

    Yesterday, it was mentioned that the moon/Jupiter photo was reversed. Good catch. However, astronomical telescopes almost always invert the images due to the design of the optics. They usually just leave them that way when they publish them since most astronomical subject matter looks just as good upside down.

    The guy who ran into the back of my car and damaged my bike, bumper and trunk, came by yesterday and dropped off $200, a reasonable compromise for my two old vehicles. He also invited us to come to his restaurant and have dinner on him.

    Irish Miss, I think your plumber's $50 was very reasonable. It doesn't just pay for 10 minutes of his time but his knowledge and experience, gas and insurance for his truck. office expenses, tools, driving time both ways, etc. But you already knew that I'm sure...

    Barbara is feeling OK. She has to go back for biopsies and is probably going to have some chemotherapy and bladder surgery. She is managing OK with all of that hanging over her head. I, on the other hand, am a mess...

    If you're like me, you've seen this video before. Also, like me, you'll enjoy it all over again. (Turn on your sounds.) BEST FRIENDS

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  23. Hello Everyone, My sentiments were the same as others about the crunchiness of today's puzzle. I had the very first entry wrong with easy instead of snap. That was my first erasure, but not the last. Feed before Crop, Eons before Ages were just a couple more.

    Thank you C.C. for a fun puzzle and Melissa for a great write up. It was good to see you today.

    The middle section on the eastern edge was a problem for me. I couldn't remember Ernst and didn't know who made the Fit. However, some of the sports items came really easily for a change. Somehow Rope A Dope came fast and easy. That started me off with the whole central section and things started to fall into place.

    I don't get the newspaper and don't like to do the puzzle on-line, so I printed it out today, and enjoyed doing the CW with my coffee. Much nicer for me to use pencil and paper.

    Have a great day, everyone.

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  24. Chairman MOE. starting when I was laid up with a severely broken and reconstructed foot, I have been ordering many Christmas and other gifts from Amazon with free shipping. Mostly I have Amazon send the gifts to me to wrap because I will see the recipients. For those far away, Amazon ships to them at no charge and I pay a small fee for gift wrap. The saving on postage more than offsets the price of gift wrap.
    Are you farmers harvesting a sweet corn crop and them making silage as a by-product with the stalks? That way your argument is sound. Where I grew up the farmers raised field corn where the only use for the ears were as feed so the ears were
    ground up with the other silage. In that case the whole crop fills the silo. I checked to see that I am not mistaken. I found many articles about processing silage with the stalks and kernels.

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  25. Super fast fill today. Caught the theme after IN HARMONY & IVORY TRADE but CAR LOAN didn't ring a bell. SAS stands for SAN ANTONIO SHOES and it is a branded and I think copyrighted abbreviation.

    I am not familiar with the term TATTY and I had NUTTY before the snake corrected it.

    TTP- As for Amazon Prime I have bought some things through Amazon but am not a Prime member. It annoys the hell out of me that they store your credit card so it forces me to delete the payment setup every single time after I place the order. Wal-Mart is easier for me because I can just go to the store (less than one mile) and pick it up from their customer service counter with no shipping charges. I don't like things that I have paid for left on my porch.

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  26. Hated today. 31d worst clue. I dont know anyone who eats soup and a salad for lunch. Should have been or. Threw me off. 60 down should have had abbrv in clue. Grampa love is nana? Not momma or Gramma bad clue. Nuff said.

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  27. Great job C.C. and Melissa! Thank you both.

    WEES except I found this fast and easy with many of the same write overs. ANON preceded ASAP which is so common as to not require a notice of abbreviation. Alert before ERECT when CC'ED appeared. Nice CSO!

    PEABODY as many have mentioned was seen yesterday. SAS to me means San Antonio Shoe Company which makes very comfortable shoes. I thought of Tinbeni at MONTEGO BAY.

    Bill G:
    That's a great outcome for your fender bender.

    Does anyone else watch Vicious on PBS? It stars IAN McKellen and Derek Jacobi. Very funny satire.

    Have yourselves a GREAT day, everyone! Mani pedi day.

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  28. I'm sorry, Big Easy, about noting SAS. You must have been posting while I was typing.

    Oh, my, some anons must have gotten up on the wrong side today. Nit, nit, nit about not much. Very petty.

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  29. Gmony @ 12:01
    I agree, Soup or Salad, not Soup And Salad.
    But:
    60 Down: The word "Briefly" is the clue for abbreviation
    2 Down: Nana is an extremely common nickname for Grandma.

    Very fun puzzle, much easier than Monday's puzzle.

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  30. Very late start today, Thursday....oh, wait, this is Tuesday? Looks like a Thursday CW to me! Didn't think I'd even finish it for a while, but slowly things fell into place. NUTTY - NUTSY - NUTSO. Anyway, quite a workout for a Tuesday!! Thanx, C.C.! Nice write-up, thanx, Melissa! Owen, not very keen on your limericks today, I'd give 'em all a "C". Better than I can do, but not up to your usual standards.

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  31. gmony and R Emerson. One of our favorite restaurants here offers a Soup & Salad Combo for $7.99. Others offer similar fare. Sorry this is giving some people indigestion.

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  32. Gmony & Robert Emerson: I don't totally agree with you on Soup or Salad. That is the case in some places, but Olive Garden and a number of independent eateries around here have Soup & Salad as a lunchtime special. It's usually what I have when I go to the Olive Garden.

    Bill G: There is an argument to be made as to what is "Up" or "Down" in space. It's all relative.

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  33. Always a thrill to wake up and see a C.C. puzzle! This one started a bit rough for me because I put OF ONE MIND instead of IN HARMONY. That took a while to fix. Fortunately I got IVORY TRADE early one, and that helped. But even though there was a bit of a crunch, I eventually got the whole thing--Yay! Many thanks, C.C., and you too, Melissa.

    Will be thinking of you and Barbara during your tough time, Bill G.

    Have a great day, everybody!

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  34. There I was, in the middle of a very entertaining pzl, when I said to myself, "This looks like something C.C. would give us." With a quick shift of eyes I checked the byline, and Sure Enough! - there was her name!
    I guess that means I'm becoming adept enough to spot some creators' signatures. I can't quite explain it. C.C.'s style is based on a solid theme with clever cluing leading to familiar idiomatic expressions. She never veers far from jargon we actually use and takes care that proper names and some rarer words can be sussed via perps.

    So, thank you, C.C., for another sparkling crossword! And thank you, Melissa Bee, for a straightforward explication.

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  35. After I posted, I realized that even if the "foods" soup and salad don't go together, the words "soup" and "salad" often go together. "Would you like soup or salad with your meal?"

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  36. Another 2” of rain and the only one complaining is my farmer friend who usually has a brown yard by now and doesn’t have to mow it. SILOS will be bursting this fall

    Musings
    -Me too, Melissa, on the summation
    -This dye job seems to help curtail IVORY poaching
    -To ERR(OR) is human, to really mess up takes a computer
    -The TAPS scene in a classic movie (1:44)
    -I’d be a great Wal~Mart GREETER but can’t be on my feet for 8 hrs
    -Everybody’s tomatoes will be RIPE on the same day
    -Tim Duncan contributed to the end with no hoopla. Kobe selfishly hung on for max contracts and really hurt the Lakers
    -Happy Birthday, Candian Eh! I don’t speak Canadian so you’ll have to make do with a Nebraska sentiment! ☺

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  37. Re: Yest.
    Chairman Moe, interesting backstory on your name.
    However, when I saw you like wine, I thought you might appreciate
    a link I sent to DW recently. note that the 1st pic is actually 8 pics...

    Anon @ 9:18, pls see a Dr.(it might be Alzheimer's...)

    Gmony @ 12:01
    I thought the clue was spot on,
    but the more I think about it,
    ever since my diet, soup & a salad are now dinner...
    Just out of curiosity, what do you normally eat for lunch?

    CC: Nutso?
    (I'm insulted...)
    (I prefer to be thought of as eccentric...)

    online shopping,

    Caveat...

    "Let the buyer beware..."

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  38. Owen, I just received an email showing you as the sender but I know it's not from you. It's showing a link which I ignored. This is not the first time I've received emails supposedly from you.

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  39. Irish Miss,

    I have rec'd several of these Spam's from people in my address book.
    but they are easy to pin out by looking at the actual senders name (right click,view source...)

    It is becoming a world wide problem.

    1st: note that it may not be Owen's email address book that was hacked,
    it may be yours...
    2nd, don't freak out, note difference between hacked, & spoofed...

    3rd, check your "sent file" from time to time for msgs that were not from you
    Further reading...

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  40. CED @3:52 - Thanks for the info. I always check to see who the actual sender is and in this case it's from a Mark Thompson of Thompson Long Range, in Parker, Utah. I guess it is a shooting/hunting school. There were 4 other recipients listed, all of our names beginning with A. I haven't had any other problems so I believe Owen's address book was probably hacked. Have no idea what the link is for and won't be finding out, either. 👿

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  41. Irish Miss- I'll admit I'm biased towards your plumber since I was a tradesman myself. That said, his fee was not at all unreasonable. On the high end, perhaps, but fair. I consider tradesmen and women to be as highly skilled and educated as doctors and lawyers or any other white collar worker and business person. We usually accept their fees without question.
    However, your plumber could have taken the chance on turning that fee into hundreds down the road by simply saying, " This one is on me. Here's my card. If you have problems again, or know anyone who does, I'm a call away and I'd be glad to help."
    By the way, I know your plumber, and luckily I just happened to be in the bar as he was buying a round of drinks with a fifty dollar bill...

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  42. Reading a post written by Jerome is like watching a newscast by Brian Williams. Yeah, it might be full of information but the past transgressions cause me to look at it sideways with one eye opened and my face scrunched up. To ignore it and just move on doesn't "do it" for me. Ymmv.

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  43. "Soup and salad". . . I think many of you would enjoy Dan Jurafsky's, _The Language of Food: A Linguist Reads the Menu_

    It reads a bit dry like a thesis that's been repurposed for public consumption. But the material is fascinating.

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  44. CED @ 3:03

    Had not seen those wine "cellars" - thanks for the link. Doubt we could install any of the below ground ones here in FL as I think the water table a bit too high to keep things from flooding . . . the above ground "cellars" that are most popular here resemble a fancy refrigerator. Most have dual zone storage to keep reds and whites at the "perfect" temperature. Of course, whenever an extended power outage occurs, all bets are off . . .

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  45. On returning from the nail salon today I passed a restaurant which had a large sidewalk menu posted with "soup and salad: $6.99.

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  46. AHOY All:

    Piece of cake, Easy as pie, It's a SNAP and a treat to a play puzzle that's been throughly C.C.ED! Thanks C.C. and Melissa B!

    With IVORY TRADE and then CAR LOAN in the center I was thinking about ways to finance a vehicle was the theme - hey, MAYBE. Finally, when the GUM, er, penny, DROPS w/ E COMMERCE, I got it.

    No nit w/ Soup and SALAD - Asst. has that combo sometime when she wants to watch calories.

    WOs: easy (hi Chickie!) b/f SNAP and FYI'd b/f CYA'd b/f CCED. [I was at work when that filled :-)]

    ESP: MONTEGO BAY

    Fav: I've got to put ROPE A DOPE; just fun to say.
    Though, when I thought Even for 1d, (didn't ink! - remember, I had easy @1a) I was thinking ODDS & Even*... You Bet Your Life I was going to link Rush (5:00, lyrics for OKL).

    {A, B, A, A+}
    C, Eh! - OKL used the names from the puzzle in #3.

    Not bad Bill G. Enjoy that dinner!

    YR - LOL re: your condo Ass.(n)

    HG - That bull elephant didn't look too happy w/ pink tusks.

    CED - I had the same thought re: NUTSO (about you, not me :-))

    Cheers, -T
    *ODDS are even for everyone but the State...

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  47. Lucina- Long, long ago I was, shall I say, one toke over the line and in a restaurant with three friends. After ordering my entree the waiter asked if I wanted soup or salad with my meal. My foggy brain heard that as "super salad" and I replied that medium size would be fine. He asked if I was referring to soup or salad and I asked how many different sizes of super salad they had. I don't remember the outcome...
    By the way, I'm sure your nails are very pretty. I hope your hammer looks just as nice.

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  48. Lucina,

    I loved "Vicious," and am wondering if this is a new series or one of the old ones? Can you tell me the day and time it is on PBS, and I'll check it out. If it's a new series, I definitely want to see it!

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  49. I think it was awesome to have this puzzle on Prime shopping day and a perfect pairing of Melissa B and C.C.
    The WSJ had a puzzle with ICE the theme...sorry Tin.

    JJM, I used to watch and know baseball like that, not anymore- but I do know you left out Jim Perry from the pitchers, I do not remember the CF Hall. I also think 1965 wAs their big year

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  50. I cant believe I missed the return of Endeavor

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  51. I feel the need to explain 'You Bet Your Life' as it's a downer w/o context. It's the final song on the album Roll the Bones. The title-song has the refrain:

    Why are we here?
    Because we're here
    Roll the Bones
    Roll the Bones
    Why does it happen?
    Because it happens
    Roll the Bones
    Roll the Bones

    If you care to watch it - Roll the Bones. If not, the crux is that life is random - you're born into it and 90+% is random luck. I feel like one of the lucky ones; 3rd-gen Italian born in the US. DW is awesome, kids are talented and smart... Life's been good to me so far. (Walsh [on SNL? Certainly on something... :-)])

    IM - I sent you a msg off-blog - It's the real me :-). (Ooh, that reminds me of another song... The Who ).

    Can you tell I'm bored? A deep-dive query I'm running has only processed 147M records in >90 minutes. I want to SEE THE results!

    Cheers, -T

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  52. This one's a bit late to post, but I dragged up an oldie but goodie limerick to mention on "Prime" day ... Hope a few get to enjoy;

    You can shop on the web for pajamas,
    And then book a nice trip to Bahamas;
    But before you are done,
    Don't forget "Amazon",
    For it's there you can find some Piranhas!

    And with the Rio Olympics just a few weeks away this has a double meaning perhaps. Sorry it doesn't "quite rhyme", or scan ...

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  53. Anon-T @ 7:22 - Re bull elephant with pink tusks. When I saw HG's picture, I thought... well, just leave it alone. Loved your comment! :-)

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  54. CanadianEh: Gransel and Hettle was just for fun. The original H&G didn't have a horse, and didn't drop GUMDROPS.

    unclefred: Sorry I disappointed you. Different tastes, different priorities. I rate storytelling way above poetic rules, but obviously sometimes the 5-line limit makes it awfully difficult. The first poem today is an exceptional example.

    In my mind was an entire story following the first two lines, of the SERPENT and LOBSTER comparing legs, the snake being envious, but EDEN was static, nothing ever died, so nothing was ever born or mutated. The best way to change that unchanging condition and allow evolution was to get Eve to sin, which would bring sex into the world. An entire re-writing of Genesis without Satan or evil! I could easily have expanded that to a multi-stanza poem. Heck, someone with more talent than me could probably have expanded it to a book! But I had ideas bubbling in my head for some of the other words in the hopper, so opted instead to condense it all into that single (perhaps enigmatic) last line.

    IM: The stolen address book has come up before. I get them from others every once in a while. No way to stop it, but I hope all of my friends are scam-literate enough as you are to not fall for such blatant phishing messages. CED: good advice, thank you!

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  55. Owen. This Twins talk has me wondering if someone with the talent (nudge, wink) could come up with a "Tony, Harmon, Rod Carew" similar to Willy, Mickey and the Duke".
    I had a summer job shucking lobsters by the binfull. Stuffed myself the first few days then it was back to my Bologna sandwich. Probably with American cheese since this was pre-Velveeta days. Took me a long time to actually buy lobster

    tGUR

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For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

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