google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, September 30, 2016 Joseph Groat

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Sep 30, 2016

Friday, September 30, 2016 Joseph Groat

Theme: Common Sense(s)

It was in 2015 when Joseph Groat first appeared in the L.A.T., and that was also my first attempt at blogging.  This is his third appearance.  For this outing, the theme is in the clues rather than the answers – no reveal required.  The theme answers include three grid-spanners and two twelves.  Impressive. Plus, it’s a pangram!  For any newbies in the audience, a pangram contains all 26 letters of the alphabet. But like many puzzles with heavy themage, this one requires lots of gluey 3-letter abbreviations to make things work.  Still, it was a fun solve.

17A. Sight : POINT OF INTEREST. A stopping point along the highway.

23A. Hearing : COURT INQUIRY.   Law, not tennis.

39A. Smell : MINUSCULE AMOUNT.   A tinge, a hint, a soupçon (always wanted to find a use for that word).

51A. Touch : I-POD COMPUTER. Apple model.  I think of it as a tiny jukebox rather than a computer.  Probably just me.

61A. Taste : ART CRITIC'S ASSET.  At least the good ones.

Across:

1. __ salad : COBB.  A WAG right off the bat, but a good one.

5. Maddux who won four consecutive Cy Young Awards : GREG. All perps.  I remember Lester, but he spelled it with an O, not a U.  So did my former BIL.

9. Prominent feature of toondom's Droopy Dog : JOWLS.  That word evokes images of Leo G. Carroll.  Remember him from Topper and The Man From U.N.C.L.E.?  Don’t you think Thomas Gibson of Criminal Minds is starting to look a lot like him?




 

14.  Efficient : ABLE. If you say so.  Very loose equivalency.

15. Dunkirk dream : REVE. Sounds like “rev” as in reverend or engine.  Dunkirk is in France.

16. 2003 LPGA Rookie of the Year : OCHOA, Lorena  No idea, but there was an Ochoa in my boot camp company, so once the name appeared, I let it stand.



        

20. Cuttlefish pigment : SEPIA.  “Sepia-toned” does have a better ring to it than “cuttlefish-toned.”

21. "Homeland" org. : CIA.  A couple of years ago I received a free year of SHO as a loyalty reward from DirecTV.  I chose SHO over another premium channel so I could watch  “Homeland.”  Turned out to be the show’s final season, and a short season at that.  Bzzzzt!




  
Claire Danes (Carrie Mathison) and Mandy Patinkin (Saul Berenson)  in “Homeland”

22. Wyo. neighbor : NEBraska  I tried ORE and IDA first.  Note the proximity to 9d.

28. Acting sister of Lynn : VANESSA . The British Redgrave sisters.  She’s set to receive the  Gielgud Award for her lifetime achievement.
 
31. Big biceps, at the gym : GUNS.  Mine are more like pea-shooters.

32. Form 1040 calc. : AGI.  Adjusted Gross Income – the number that appears at the bottom of Page 1 of Form 1040.  You want it to be as low as you can get it.  This is your gross income minus adjustments, but before deductions and credits.  Got that?




 

33. Like law school trials : MOCK.  Thought of Moot Court first, a la The Paper Chase.

36. Befuddled : AT SEA.  Better than the frowned-upon ASEA.

43. Burns art? : POESY.  Wasn’t fooled, but I did try POEMS first.  You?

44. Omission in logic : LEAP. Faith, too.

45. Ltr. holder : ENV for the USPS

46. Macy's department : MEN'S

48. Sierra __ : NEVADAS.  Home to Mount Whitney and Yosemite.

55. Led : RAN.  Hmmm, that could be clued as “Led or bled.”

56. __ Park Lincoln of "Knots Landing" : LAR (short for Laurie, methinks).  She played Linda Fairgate.  I recall the title, but don’t think I ever saw an episode.  Without the TV reference, I would’ve guessed that Lar Park Lincoln was a recreational area in Nebraska’s capital.



      
Her name reminds me of this song in a Virginia Woolf stream-of-consciousness sort of way.

57. Playgroup demand : GIMME.  Was this a gimme for you?

66. Reno-__ Intl. Airport : TAHOE. Reno is near Lake Tahoe on the Nevada-California border.

67. Magnate : CZAR. That was my first thought; I was surprised when it turned out to be right.

68. Goddess of discord : ERIS. Evokes memories of the Mirror of Erised from the Harry Potter books.  Erised is desire spelled backwards.  You see in the mirror what you want to see.

69. Cape Ann's county : ESSEX. Perps to the rescue.  My knowledge of New England geography is sketchy, at best.  But I still remember, “Maine – Augusta, New Hampshire – Concord, Vermont – Montpelier, Massachusetts – Boston, Connecticut – Hartford, Rhode Island – Providence” from my grade school days.  I could do all 50 back then...well, ok, 48.  South Carolina’s capital was the toughest to remember.  Do you know it without looking it up?

70. Bottom lines : HEMS. Inked it right in – didn’t even consider NETS.

71. Energetic : SPRY. Not so much as I used to be.

Down:


1. Crosswords are often solved in them : CAPS.  Tried CARS first, but ROINT__ wasn’t going anywhere.

2. Black wind : OBOE.  Another first guess that turned out to be correct.

3. Observation in a tower : BLIP.  And another.

4. Playgroup warning : BE NICE.  Usually an admonishment to a cat at our house.

5. Garden product word : GRO.


6. Call the game : REF. Crossword-friendlier letters than UMP.

7. Throw out : EVICT

8. Powerful lamp contents : GENII.  We usually see it as Genie.  She can’t leap tall buildings in a single bound, but she can open garage doors with a single click.




9. Average beverage? : JOE.  Wow, SO if I ever saw one!

10. Text-scanning technology, briefly : OCR.  Optical Character Recognition.

11. Like some conditionally ordered stock : WHEN ISSUED. Got it, but not sure I understand it.  The “stock” is apparently company stock, not merchandise, and it’s not yet for sale.

12. Mr. Wrong? : LOSER

13. Didn't act : SAT BY. This was my keyway to New England.

18. __ Ski Valley, site of Kachina Peak : TAOS.  Another fortuitous WAG.  I knew that a kachina is a Hopi doll – the Heard Museum in Phoenix has a large collection.


  
 
19. Sharpness : TANG

24. Camp Pendleton letters : USMC.  Main West Coast base of the Marine Corps, not far from San Diego.

25. "The Phantom of the Opera" role : RAOUL.  I knew Erik and Christine, but not Raoul.  Vowel-friendly, though.

26. Esse __ videri: North Carolina motto : QUAM.  “To be, rather than to seem” (to be). Yeah, I had to look it up.  Interesting fact:  Although North Carolina was one of the original 13 states, it didn’t adopt a motto until 1893 – 118 years later. 


27. Biblical preposition : UNTO
 



28. Siren : VAMP. Theda was the original.




29. Currency exchange fee : AGIO.  Hello, old cw friend.  Long time, no see.

30. Three quarters : NINE MONTHS .Not 75 cents.

34. A.L. Central team : CLE.  Cleveland, I’m guessin’.  This from the guy who thought S.D. in baseball was South Dakota.

35. He played Kevin in "The Devil's Advocate" : KEANU Reeves. Al Pacino played a great Satan.


 

 37. Lombardy Castle city : ENNA. Perps, four in all.
 



38. Off-rd. rides : ATVS. All-Terrain Vehicles.

40. Discounted, perhaps : USED.  You bet it’s discounted, if I’m gonna buy it.

41. Four-fifths of a pop band? : SYNC.  Missing the initial N.  I was gonna link a song, but suddenly realized I didn’t recognize any of them.

42. Adopt-__.com: humane online gp. : A PET.  Inferable.

47. Songs for singles : SOLI. Sorta grates, doesn’t it?  Or is that just my east Texas redneck mentality?

49. Chevy named for a star : VEGA.  Also the NOVA, affectionately known as the “no-go.”

50. Pops up : ARISES

51. Steamed : IRATE

52. Law office workers : PARAS.  Merriam-Webster doesn’t recognize this as a stand-alone word, except as a unit of Turkish currency.

MedicineNet says, “Para- (prefix): A prefix with many meanings, including: alongside of, beside, near, resembling, beyond, apart from, and abnormal.”

The workers are paralegals – you pick which of those meanings fits.

53. Contest : MATCH

54. Contest lure : PRIZE

58. Car sticker letters : MSRP.  Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price – always dicker up from dealer cost, never down from MSRP.

59. Prime minister before Rabin : MEIR. Interesting woman.  Born in Kiev, but lived in Milwaukee.  She was the third woman in history to be named a Prime Minister.

60. "Whoever you are, find whatever you're into" website : ETSY. Had to double-check to make certain this wasn’t a C.C. puzzle.

62. Iowa campus : COE.  As I’ve mentioned before, I used to work just up the street from the campus.  Could’ve been bad, but the sandbags held in Cedar Rapids this week.  City hall is on an island in the middle of the river.  Normally, the island resembles a ship.


63. T. __ : REX

64. Pic taker : CAM

65. Jun. gown wearers : SRS.  In these parts graduation is held in May, and the gowns are back in the rental house by June.

As you’ve surely guessed by now, Lemonade took today off – his firm has been switching offices this week, so I got a chance to sub.  It’s been fun.  You’ll find him back next week, same bat-time, same bat-channel.


desper-otto

 
 
Note from C.C.:
 
Happy Birthday to Pje (Pat) and her husband! They were born in the same day and same year. Pat was born in the morning, her husband in the afternoon. Have a fantastic birthday celebration, Pat!


73 comments:

Lemonade714 said...

How fun to wake up to D-O making his second appearance as Mr. Groat's personal blogger.
I knew all the sports references but ENNA was also a complete unknown. ESSEX as the county did not spring to mind.

The German handling of the battle for DUNKIRK remains a puzzlement.

My only nit is HEARING instead of SOUND.

THANK YOU TOM and JG

OwenKL said...

DNF for me today. Swath of white (and then red) across the center-west and center middle. MOOT > MOCK, TIES > MENS, AS IS > USED, IPaD > IPOD, NINE-teNTHS > NINE-MONTHS.
Liked the theme, but IPOD COMPUTER was a stretch, and MINUSCULE AMOUNT was even stretchier. I interpreted it the same as d-o, but really doubt you'd find that in any thesaurus!

Other second-guesses corrected before I hit the red: TUNA > CHEF > COBB, POEMS > POSEY, GENII > GENIE, EDGE > TANG, ETNA > ENNA, ARII > SOLI, (T)GIF > (T)REX.
ARGUE > MATCH, thinking contest before contest, since the next clue had contest in a sense that contest wouldn't have fit into. Maid Of Honor > SenioRS. Wanted SUMS > HEMS, but already had the E in place. Recognized REVE as a conjugate for reverie.

Argyle said...

I started reading the expo and realized I hadn't finished the puzzle. Decided I didn't care and kept reading. Quite Thumperish, the puzzle not the write-up.

OwenKL said...

{C-, C+, C.}

There's a resort in New Mexico named TAOS.
And in the SIERRA NEVADAS named TAHOE,
If you think one's in Nevada
Then that's your errata,
The California NEVADAS are geographical chaos!

[Lousy POSEY, but it needed to be said.]

If ever you're lost, and AT SEA,
And a giant cuttlefish you should see,
Its ink of dark SEPIA
May aesthetically appeal to ya,
But in photos a SEPIA SEA's all you'd seize!

VANESSA was a PARA-legal whose love-life was failing
So for distraction she took up PARA-sailing!
Her LEAP as sail-user
Crashed like a LOSER,
But love came as a PARA-medic while she was ailing!

Hungry Mother said...

Had GENIE and COURTENQUIRY; doh!

Anonymous said...

It would be interesting for lemony to explain his nit without sounding...um ....wrong. Sound? Really? Should 39a be ODOR?

Anonymous said...

Can we retire all clues that refer to some state's motto?

Hungry Mother said...

After some Googling, I think my answers are correct.

desper-otto said...

Hungry Mother, "enquire" is a British variant of "inquire" and "genii" is an accepted variant of "genie." I agree that your answer works, but it's "court inquiry" that appears in the answer grid Joseph Groat submitted.

thehondohurricane said...


Lorena Ochoa was the top ladies golfer for many years. After she married, she retired in order to raise a family. Can't remember, but she may have been having some physical issues that were affecting her game a bit. I've always admired her.... an athlete making the "big bucks" prematurely walking away from her profession for family and leaving a lot of money on the table

As far as today's puzzle...... another DNF.

Avg Joe said...

Whoa! This beast took more than a minuscule amount of effort to wade through....and I'd agree that the answers for Smell and Touch were a serious stretch. But managed to get through it all in double the normal time...so there's that.

D-O, if anything, I'd guess the Joe answer was a self-reference by Mr Groat. But thanks nonetheless.

I did go with Genie and Enquiry. And I don't consider it an error. However, just for S&G's I went back to the LAT site and turned on red letters. Yup. The E turned red. So I guess Mr Groat was just wrong on that one :-)

Anonymous said...

This whole puzzle was lame. Since when are paralegals called PARAS? What sense does it make to misspell MINISCULE?

Since when is "Jun." an abbreviation for June, or, for that matter, when was there ever any abbreviation for June? "Jn," maybe, but now let's see if we can come up with an abbreviation for May.

Some dictionaries recognize GENII as the plural of GENIE, but that is actually the plural of GENIUS (the plural of GENIE is GENIES).

And, SOLI are "songs for singles"? Jesus Louise.

Let's see: 1893 minus 118 = 1775. North Carolina became a "state" in 1775? That depends on the "Mecklenburg County Declaration of Independence," the date of which is in some doubt.

Anonymous said...

Owen, you really should read your "posey" out loud before publishing it. Your meter and rhyming are, shall we say, off? Or, does your lack of hearing (see how that works, Lemony?) affect your internal sense of scheme?

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Nice informative intro, C.C.

Hard one today, but eventually got most of it. More WAGs than I like to use. AT SEA was a guess this time but it helped kick-start the east. Liked the theme, although it was initially hard to get a handhold on.
Dunkirk - I think the French spell it Dunkirque but I've seen both. Located at the extreme western edge of Flanders, it is probably influenced by Flemish orthography.
RÊVE - Le Rêve Passe (The Dream passes, French historical song)

TTP said...

Extra ! Extra ! Extra ! Read all about it ! Desper-otto got the theme !

A refreshing Friday for a change. For me at least.

There were easy enough answers in every section, and getting sections tied together made for a really fast start. After sputtering a bit, and then stalling completely, I put the puzzle down. An hour or so later, unfilled letters in MINUSCULE AMOUNT, NINE MONTHS and ART CRITICS ASSET practically jumped off the page.

I didn't have the issue with eNQUIRY. I didn't question GENII. I know we've had GENII before.

Did have EjeCT before EVICT. I would have accepted unknown REjE as well as unknown REVE, but POINT OF INTEREST required the letter I, and eject was EVICTed.

POESY and SYNC were the last to fill and only came after getting the first U from MINUSCULE to give me USED. I got stuck on the Discounted clue there, trying to think of a four letter past tense word for dismiss or reject. Best I could come up with was shed, as in, "she shed those criticisms as the rantings of a fool." Compound that with thinking of Burns art as some kind of social statement until POESY became apparent from USED. Whew !

Shout out to Average Joe, the stoic Nebraskan.

There's a good explanation of WHEN ISSUED at Investopedia.

Some clues and answers may be contested and criticized, but I much prefer this type to the puzzles where sounds or syllables are added or subtracted to phrases or words. I get the creativity of those, but the goofy spellings just don't register with me.

MJ said...

Greetings to all!

Both the puzzle and the theme were beyond me today. My hat is off to everyone who finishes this puzzle without help.

Great job of guest blogging today, desper-otto. Nice photos , especially the Lombardy castle.

Enjoy the day!

Fixed it for you said...

Sierra Nevadas has Tahoe
Though Taos is in New Mexico
In N-V one is not
Another state is the spot
Bring a map of C-A ere you go!

Yellowrocks said...

-Got it with red letters and lotsa extra time. MOOT before MOCK. Enjoyed the puzzle. D-O great pinch hitting. Hello, AVG JOE. Owen KL, I especially liked the Vanessa poem.
-Spellcheck flags miniscule with the I and the dictionary calls it a variant. It seems the I and the U in the middle are used about equally. Machts nichts.
-A single singer performs a solo. Several single singers on the program perform soli.
-GENII is actually the plural of genius and genie.

-From yesterday: In the Friday real estate ads today BSMT is used liberally, for instance, "Lovey 2BR, 1.5 bath townhome. Wood floors throughout, full fin bsmt."
Around here a garden apartment is a low rise, usually with 2 floors and no basement. It has a landscaped lawn or garden.

-Two glorious weeks with the 7/8 full glass. Mother's intuition knew it was not permanent,hence the unease. Now its back on the medical merry-go-round. -Bill G and Chickie how are your spouses? Kudos to you, care-giving is arduous. Bluehen, any news?

Avg Joe said...

Oh, yeah. I meant to comment on BSMT from yesterday. I had no problem with it at all. I use that abbreviation on an almost daily basis. But then I speak realty jive (with apologies to Barbara Billingsly).

Whitey said...


Wow, what a vile piece of garbage this particular anon is...

Anonymous said...

How about a puzzle a lot less "mensas?"

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

What Avg. Joe said. This one took a lot of thinking, and reworking, and a few guesses. Got there in the end, without red letters, but not before going through the Genie/Genii change of mind. I thought "enquiry" was more like British usage as D Otto said at 7:37, but let it stand because I was thinking "Genii" was the plural, and the clue seemed singular. Now, I get the idea that "Genie" and "Genii" are both singular, and probably equally right. Presumably the word is a transliteration from Arabic or Farsi or some such.

oc4beach said...



Officially a DNF because it took Red Letters to get it done. I didn't see or even look for the theme in the clues. Not one of my favorites, but a reasonable Friday puzzle and a great write-up today.

Thomas Gibson will be written out of "Criminal Minds" because he was fired from the show for a physical confrontation he had with a writer on the show. Apparently he has anger issues. I had stopped watching the show a while ago because they kept upping the level of depravity of the stories.

Dictionary.com recognizes PARA as a word meaning Paralegal.

I wanted MARIAH for a black wind vs. OBOE, but it didn't fit. I also tried MOOT before MOCK. Oh well.

Although I wouldn't refer to it as a computer, an IPod Touch is truly a computer that has most of the same capabilities as an IPad and an IPhone and can be used to make phone calls over wifi. It has more computing power than the on-board computers that were used in the early days of space exploration on the Apollo program and the ground-based control computers that filled up large rooms. Isn't technology amazing,

Enjoy National Mudpack Day. With all the rain we're getting there is a lot of mud here.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I am going to defer to my loyal friend, Thumper.

DO, you might not know a lot about baseball but you are a reliable and productive pinch-hitter. Thank you.

Nice CSO to our resident Average Joe!

I was disappointed that last night's "Bull" was a repeat. It must have been to change it into a Thursday night time slot. I'm glad I have the DVR function as the other night there were 3 of my shows on at the same time. Makes the outrageous Time Warner bill a little more palatable. (Very "little, that is")

Have a great day.

Big Easy said...

This was a real grind-it-out fill this morning. Unknowns galore. There were very few GIMME answers today.The NE was the last to fall after changing EJECT to EVICT, SAT ON to SAT BY, and GENIE to GENII. I knew OCHOA ( smart enough to quit on top), 'Droopy Dog' was an unknown,wanted IDAho, could remember 'character recognition' but had CR_ instead of _CR. Then I opened my eyes and Optical finished OCR. But in that corner alone GENII, REVE, QUAM, and GUNS were unknowns and it was hard to finish. And LAR, TAOS, KEANU,and ENNA were also perped.

Touch- I have three grandkids who communicate through the I-POD Touch using Face Time.
Smell? that clue 'stunk'- just kidding.
Taste- don't you just love all the phony people who try to make you like what they like and look down on you if you don't agree. My wife says I have no 'taste' in clothing. She's right and I DON'T CARE.

D-O- Oregon is on the other side of Idaho from Wyoming.
Hungry Mother- I had to take a hard look at GENII and let it stand.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang.

Glad so many of you enjoyed this puzzle. For me, it was drudgery. Had to G-Spot a few things to even get a foot hold.

Ended a DNF. NW corner got me. Could not see the POINT, even with COBB, SEPIA [after googling] and BE NICE in place.

Not pleased with Black wind [what -- no love for clarinets?], AGIO, ENNA, GENII or MINUSCULE. PARAS grates.

IPOD is a COMPUTER? Really?

Scratching my balding pate over WHEN ISSUED.

Like the theme, but too much in this puzzle is foreign, iffy or a stretch too far for my taste. A little is OK. But too much is too much. I'll give it a C+.

Exciting final baseball weekend in the A. L with so much up for grabs. Yesterday a weather system hovered over Detroit all day, causing 5 in. of rain, localized flooding and a postponement till Monday [if needed] of the Tigers game with CLE [aka 34D.] Second wild card spot and playoff seeding at stake. Orioles and Jays are both 87-72; Tigers, with a game in hand, are 85-73 and still have an outside chance to displace one of them. Tigers go to ATL for 3, Orioles finish against the Yanks, and the Jays go to Boston.

Cool regards!
JzB

Bill G. said...

I finished and enjoyed most of the struggle. Tough as appropriate for a Friday. Yes, I needed a little red-letter support. I will be looking forward to the next early week puzzles. Thanks Joseph and DO.

YR and others: Barbara is coming along OK. I have to take her for chemo in a few minutes. She got nauseated the last time. The doctor is added another anti-nausea drip to her medication. Geez...

C6D6 Peg said...

This was a tougher than usual Friday, trying to suss the theme answers. But a definite challenge. Thank you Joseph!

D-O, a GREAT job of pinch-hitting. I started reading your intro, and didn't believe that Lemonade started blogging in 2015. Was glad to see your name at the bottom. Thank you for a fun walk-through.

LACW ADDICT said...

AT ANON @8:46 AM

According to Merriam Webster, Minuscule IS the proper spelling. Miniscule is a variant that arose in the late 19th century and is considered incorrect by most standards. So.... found out I have been misspelling it all along, to my great dismay ... and learned something to boot!

AnonymousPVX said...

Was completely lost with this one. That hasn't happened in quite some time. I actually quit trying as I could gain no foothold anywhere.

I thought the clueing quite deceptive, but again I just wasn't on whatever wavelength the constructor was.

inanehiker said...

Quite the challenge today - went for POEMS instead of POESY and since I spelled MINUSCULE wrong it left NSNC in which was still a right answer for the clue. Also WEES about having the GENIE/ ENQUIRY instead. Since I work it on paper, I didn't find the alternate spellings of using the "I" until I got here!

Thanks D-OTTO for blogging and Joseph for the puzzle!
Beautiful weekend here - headed up to Columbia today to the RootsnBluesnBBQ festival today for some good music and food! My husband is going to run the 1/2 marathon in the morning as well.

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Hello everyone,
I forgot to say "Happy Birthday" to our dear Pat earlier. She and her husband were born in the same day /same year. Mea culpa, Pat!

TTP,
Love your first line!

Spitzbov,
[Half a drum] wrote today's blog post.

MJ,
So nice to see you post regularly now.

Irish Miss said...

Pat (Pje) - A very Happy Birthday to you and hubby. Does he tease you about marrying an "older" woman? 😉

Oc4beach - I, too, stopped watching "Criminal Minds" years ago due to the graphic gore and horrendous depravity. Ugh!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Weeks of perfect golf weather are hard to ignore
-USED didn’t come because I couldn’t let go of MINISCULE. POESY and AGIO didn’t help there either but I got them
-One bad cell on this excellent puzzle works for me
-Grandson called an hour ago and so we are off to “Valla’s Pumpkin Patch” for the 12th year in a row.
-Read y’all later

desper-otto said...

TTP, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn once in a while.

Big Easy, apparently my knowledge of NW geography is just as sketchy as my knowledge of New England. Aren't you glad I didn't choose a career in cartography?

Inanehiker, is that the Columbia I can never remember?

Sailor said...

A crunchier-than-usual Friday puzzle from the LATimes, for sure! I mostly enjoyed the wrestling match, too.

But I've gotta say that I'm not buyin' "smell" as a clue for MINUSCULEAMOUNT. You can smell a rat, or smell the roses, and in each case the metaphor suggests a significant odor or aroma. I assume Mr. Groat was thinking along the lines of "whiff" which does, in fact, imply a MINISCULEAMOUNT but unfortunately does not fit the theme.

Jayce said...

Gosh, I'm torn. Heart vs head, I think. My head says this is a well-constructed puzzle suitably difficult for a Friday. My heart didn't particularly enjoy it. One highly redeeming feature is the excellent clue for JOE. I learned that Joseph Groat didn't do this crossword in a CAR or in a CAB. Was only half fooled by Burns art, entering POEMS at first. I really don't like clues/answers that are from state mottoes. I had never heard of AGIO, learned about it, and will likely have forgotten it by tomorrow.

Thanks for the lovely write-up, desper-otto, and a special thanks for that UNTO cartoon.

Best wishes to you and your spouses.

Spitzboov said...

D-O - Sorry. My kudo should have been addressed to you. Nice lively intro.
Saw the "posted by" credit, so didn't look further.

unclefred said...

Not thrilled with this CW. GENII? POESY? SOLI? RAN? (As clued) and several others that I just didn't like. Terrific write-up, though, D-O, thanx!! Owen, u off your feed today. I give u a C- across the board.

Misty said...

Happy Birthday Pat and husband--how cute that you're exactly the same age!

I watched the second episode of "Designated Survivor" last night, and really like it so far. I'm also still enjoying "The Good Place." Thanks for warning me about "Criminal Minds"--doesn't sound like something I'd enjoy.

Have a great weekend coming up, everybody!

Jayce said...

I confess I also like "Designated Survivor" and wish it was 2 hours instead of 1 hour because there's so much going on. I have a feeling "Bull" isn't going to last long because it is already uninteresting and repetitive.

Anonymous said...

Test

Ol' Man Keith said...

A most amusing illustration for UNTO, desper-Otto! Your mind knows where my funny bone is.

I confess to a couple of cheats on this one. Which ones? I forget. If I had to remember, I might also have to count, and I prefer to stop at two. Mr. Groat is a tough challenger. Once I had my toe-hold, though, it was a mind sharpening experience and much appreciated.
My first solve was RÊVE, which boosted my confidence, as I generally don't know French, but that's a favorite word of mine. Say it slowly and with your deepest comfortable voice, and it will feel like onomatopoeia. Better yet, say the infinitive, Rêver, in the same way. I can induce a daydream this way...
My first solve of a long fill was MINUSCULE AMOUNT, so that let me in on the theme, which was mighty important to finish today's pzl.

Unknown said...

No chance without wikkie and IMB. Too hard for this relative novice. "LAR" ? ENNE ? Ochoa...I still don't get Burns art. I already don't even try on Saturday. Must I give up on Friday too? :((

and I got some of the more obscure like OCR (engineer by trade)...when issued ( price for stock prior to being officially issue usually a secondary offering) Havent seen one of these for a few years though.

Oh well...Back to general relativity ...easier to understand than this puzzle.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

To the chagrin of some, I'm sure, I'm back from the Splunk .conf in Orlando and have the T-Shirt to prove it; this one says "Drop your breaches."

Finished with Google-help and wrong (FWH/W?). Ave JOE & HungryMother - yep, I too let GENIE stand. JOsEph, thanks for the puzzle. D-O thanks for the writeup {A+}.

Lookups - 19a, 22a, 56a, 18d, 25d. One more and I would have TITT.

WOs: WESS - EjeCT plus I had Omen (took a long time to let it go - foreboding it was :-)) for 2d and SOLo for 47d.

62d = ESP. I still don't know what COE means (I'll Google it when my quota's lifted :-))

Fav: c/a 9d. Who didn't think of our NEB regular there?

{C--,C, A-}

HBD to Pat & DH. Also, congrats on WSJ the other day [slowly catching up w/ the Corner...]

Well, one thing positive about 'Stros going to the AL is I am ABLE to root for the Cubs (not 34d!) again.

Cheers, -T

Bill G. said...

As usual, I find myself agreeing with Jayce. I liked Michael Weatherly's character on NCIS. By comparison, BULL doesn't have new plots to keep my interest and the characters aren't especially likable. I feel just the reverse about DESIGNATED SURVIVOR. Likable characters and interesting story.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Designated Survivor shares the problem common to several new shows. Like Bull, The Good Place, and others, its premise is tantalizing, but what's to do after we get over the initial hump? DS can devote a dozen episodes to persuading governors and military types that Kiefer is smarter than they thought, but then he's just another president trying to fix a dystopian country. In GP, Eleanor needs a few episodes to reveal that she's not the only one who's been mis-assigned in the afterlife. And Bull can pretend to its own brand of ethics while actually gaming the system for only so long before it is just another trial procedural.
When you think about it, these shows with off-beat premises are what we consumers expect and deserve. Given our notoriously short attention spans, we're much more engaged by a wacky premise than by a long game. But of course it is only a well-written, well-acted long game that will keep our interest. I think of it as the Lost syndrome. That was a show that was highly seductive in season one, but then its lack of a full narrative became evident. Its writers tried time and again to suggest a massive secret behind everything, but sometime mid-way in season two their flailing and dog-paddling grew embarrassing.
I hope some of the new shows will have the wit to refresh their ideas after season one. Especially Good Place, which boasts several charming, funny actors. Sometimes a show that survives its debut season will attract better writers as it continues.

desper-otto said...

Anon-T, COE isn't an abbreviation, it's just the name of a private college in Cedar Rapids, IA.

Chuck Lindgren, I'm not certain, but I assumed Mr. Groat was referring to Scottish poet Robert Burns. That clue probably should've had an apostrophe, but that would've spoiled the misdirection. It's late-week, after all, so the rules are a little less rigid.

Pat, Happy Birthday.

C6D6Peg, congrats on your WSJ debut. Missed that yesterday.

I'm probably over the limit, so I'd better call it a day.

Lemonade714 said...

Lighten up anons and have a sense of humor...or would that be the sixth sense?

A nice, calm, and respectable lady
went into the pharmacy, walked up
to the pharmacist, looked straight
into his eyes, and said,
"I would like to buy some cyanide."
The pharmacist asked,
"Why in the world do you need cyanide?"
The lady replied, "I need it to poison my husband."
The pharmacist's eyes got big and he exclaimed,
"Lord have mercy!
I can't give you cyanide to kill your husband
Absolutely not!
You CANNOT have any cyanide!"
The lady reached into her purse
and pulled out a picture of her husband
in bed with the pharmacist's wife.
The pharmacist looked at the picture and said,
"You didn't tell me you had a prescription."
Life is not perfect. Life is not easy. Life is good!

Lemonade714 said...

D-O there is a sub-set that allows the blogger of the day unlimited posts to converse with and respond to

Anonymous T said...

D-O: Thanks for the info on COE; saved me a Google. And, Hey, you're the host, you can't go over your limit - esp. on a Friday :-)

Oops, I got the wrong p. WRT the WSJ. Mea Culpa...[I should write things down!] Congrats Peg.

The Burns art? clue was cute and I got it but tried to stuff POEtry in too few squares at 1st.

Re: TV. I don't watch much. Mr. Robot is our fav now and is pretty good though some of the depravity is beginning to grate on me. For shows of the past, I really dig'd John from Cincinnati (still available from HBO on demand) and the BBC's version of Life on Mars.

Play later - nap time. Cheers, -T

Irish Miss said...

I'm a little confused and hope someone will clarify. As far as I know, "Bull" debuted last week and last night's episode was a repeat of that show. Ergo, there has been only one episode, so far. Some of the comments would suggest otherwise so I'm just wondering if I missed something?

Ol' Man Keith said...

Loved the first season of Mr. Robot, but have given up now. Too many indulgent and dreamy riffs for me. I appreciated the acting and the "look" was often cool, but the writing has lost its modesty and with it much of its allure.

One of the ways my wife and I evaluate the intelligence of TV scripts is how many times we find ourselves shouting at the screen. Like Jeopardy, when we'll call out the responses before the contestants, we will yell at series' characters when they are too slow-witted to pick up a clue or think of whatever's needed next, plot-wise.
When we hear ourselves doing this too often, we know the script is treating its own dramatis personae like dunderheads. Time to switch channels. Or, as our new DVR system would have it, time to choose a movie or another backed-up program.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Irish,

You might have caught a re-run. We have had two Bull episodes here. The first was the gay kid who was accused of murder, and the latest was the lady pilot accused of bad cockpit judgment.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

A bit too much for me today. I looked up QUAM and ENNA, and fixed MINiSCULE with Google. Still had three errors - gmo for GRO, genie for GENII, and acat for APET. Too many unknowns to list. Didn't really enjoy the workout, but that may partially due to watching the Ryder Cup while doing the puzzle. Probably don't stand a chance tomorrow, but I'll give it a look while cheering on the home team.

Big Easy said...

D-O, Your knowledge of the NW geography is at the genius level compared to my knowledge of TV, Movies, Shakespeare, baseball (since 1970) and the supposed Great Books's authors ( and not so great authors). Almost all my answers come from perps and WAGs.

But in 2002 I won an audition to compete on 'You can win Ben Stein's Money' and he quit the show. Damn. As opposed to Jeopardy, your money wasn't subtracted for a wrong answer.

Anonymous T said...

Big E - are you saying he skipped class? :-)

Avg Joe said...

I'll add my enthusiasm for Designated Survivor. And my serious reservations about Bull.

Keith, I enjoy your take on things theatrical, and you bring up points about DS I hadn't considered. Specifically the long game. The sense I get is that they will find their way to muddle through the early days of chaos and actually form a government that works. Yeah, I know....too rosy. But if the first two installments are an indication, the writing and acting is good enough to make you want to cheer out loud, and I hope it has legs enough to last a long time without becoming trite. It reminds me a lot of West Wing at this point....and that's a good thing.

Unknown said...

Fun puzzle today. Tough but fair.

I have to disagree with most of today's gripes with the exception of PARAS, which I might have clued: Legals, medics and troopers.

GENII is the plural of genie, and is clued plural: Contents, not content.

POESY is an archaic word for poetry.

SOLI is plural for solo, as clued.

The five senses are: Touch, Taste, Sight, Smell and HEARING, not SOUND.

Miniscule and Minuscule are both correct. No spelling error here.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Avg Joe,
You're absolutely right! That would be something, for DS to create a government that actually works! What a great subject for writers, and how enticing it must be to have a challenge like that!
Can you imagine what would happen if a pop TV show created fictional solutions to our governmental problems? I mean, if they were able to create solutions that a wide viewership found acceptable? Not just fake answers and bubble-dwelling utopias for the right or left, but responsible compromises and serious, constitutionally correct answers?
I'm pretty sure it can't be done. But what if?!!

CrossEyedDave said...

Wees, this one was a real bear.
Not on my wavelength,
Out of my wheelhouse,
(Thumper is a rabbit right? well he must have had babies with this one...)

Am I the only one who is totally confused by 55a led=ran?
bled=ran,yes
led=ran???
what has leading have to do with running,
you don't have to be running to be leading...
I don't get it...

Happy Birthday PJE.

& Hubby...

Spitzboov said...

CED - He led a company; He ran a company.

Happy Birthday Pat and Husband!

Tinbeni said...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Pje (Pat) and her Hubby!
Amazing that two people, born on the same day, found each other ...
... just curious, do you call him "kid" since you arrived hours earlier???

I "toasted-you-both" at Sunset.
Cheers

Irish Miss said...

OMK - Thanks so much for the clarification. I swear, sometimes my brain lives in another ZIP code. I still don't understand why there was a rerun of a show that just started, though, especially after having shown the second episode.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Enna is a town in Sicily...Lombardy is a "regione" in northern Italy, (capital Milan) so how is Enna a Lombardy Castle? Well google says there is a Castello di Lombardia in Enna, Sicily! "Dio mio!"

Anonymous said...

I had no patience to work on this one today. Sorry, Joseph G., you were way over my head today. Thanks for the expo, D-O. I had a few answers and most of them were wrong so I gave up.

BillG: I hope Barbara responds well to her treatments.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. Today is 9 months after the holidays so there are plenty of birthdays celebrated today. We know another couple both born on this day, the same year, and she's older than he. I also know a few other people who celebrate their birthdays today. DH rarely makes jokes about marrying an older woman; after 40+ years, the jokes have gotten old.

Have a great weekend!

Pat

Lemonade714 said...

HBDTY to mr and Mrs PJE and many more

MJ said...

Happy birthday, Pat! I wish you many more wonderful years and celebrations.

C.C., thank you for welcoming me back to the blog. You are so sweet!

Wilbur Charles said...

I just lost the whole thing. I'll not repost, just want to say, great job JOEseph Groat, Owen, whoever actually did the write-up and CC for dropping by.

? The old hootie owl hooty-hooed to who?

The GUR

Bill G. said...

Wilbur, that would be Tammy, wouldn't it?

Argyle said...

hooty-hooed to the dove; Tammy's in love.

Anonymous T said...

Just me?

USMC, Adjust, Adapt, and Overcome (even when a rack is a drying one) xing MOCK trial and the COURT of the Spanish ENQUIREY, er, Inquisition.

I'll see myself out. C, -T

Wilbur Charles said...

I didn't know folks were still up at nearly midnight. Yep, the owl hooty-hooed to the dove. That song came on my Sirius oldies just as I was nearly finishing.

Lemony's joke made my day, even if afterwards I seemed to recall hearing it before.

And, I also recall "A scent of a Woman". I guess that would be MINUSCULE.

Apparently, we have all types in here except lawyers to clear up the PARAS question.

Plenty of jailhouse, barracks etc

The not so UNREAD