google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Bruce Haight

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Oct 19, 2016

Wednesday, October 19, 2016 Bruce Haight

Theme: NUMBERS GAME.  The theme answers can be parsed by splitting off the last few letters, which in each case then constitute the spelt out name of a number.  These also appear in numerical order, which is a nice, elegant touch.  For some of them the pronunciation changes.  Fun theme for me, since I get a kick out of alternate parsings.

17 A. Does well at the casino? : BREAKS EVEN.   Since the house has a persistent advantage, one who BREAKS EVEN actually is doing well.  SEVEN is considered by some to be a lucky number.  So parsing this letter grouping to split off the number SEVEN might actually be a lucky BREAK.

25 A. Cereal box factoid : NET WEIGHT.   This is the WEIGHT of the contents of the box.  The weight of the container is called the tare, and added together they give you the total WEIGHT.  Maybe you'll get EIGHT servings, and eating them might affect your WEIGHT.

50 A. Opera house level : MEZZANINE.  This traces back to the Latin word for median, and refers to a building level between two floors, in this case the main auditorium and the balcony.  NINE is the number of either ladies dancing on the stage, or the Nazgul, though I'm not sure how that is relevant.

60 A. Bullied : BROW-BEATEN.  Influenced by verbal or psychological intimidation and abuse, rather than physical harm, though that might be threatened.   This can happen because the TEN Commandments did not include "Thou Salt Not BROW BEAT."

And the unifier -- 37 A. Concert finale ... and what 17-, 25-, 50- and 60-Across have in common: CLOSING NUMBER.  That's the last song of the performance, and points us to the tail end of each theme answer.  Having the unifier in the middle makes for nice symmetry, but can give away too much too soon, if you're filling in with top down sequence.

Good closing number - but we're just getting started!

Hi gang, JazzBumba on the job, though I'm not much of a numerologist.  Let's go check out the words and letters.  That's more my speed.

Across

1. Unlike this clue, obviously : LAST.  So, the LAST really will be first - at least in the context of this grid.

5. Driving force? : MOTOR.  Usually this phrase is figurative, but here, it is literal, since a MOTOR provides the driving force for a vehicle or some other kind of machine.  So why the question mark?

10. Bar regulars, and then some : SOTS.  Habitual drunkards.  The word originates in medieval Latin, coming to us via late Old English, where it referred to a foolish person.  The current meaning dates from the late 16th century.

14. Bible book before Romans : ACTS. Of The Apostles.

15. One-named singer with 10 Grammys : ADELE.



16. William of "Broadcast News" : HURT. [b 1950]



19. On : ATOP.  Sitting upon.

20. URL ending : COM.  For a commercial enterprise. Others are EDU for schools and ORG for organizations.

21. Bridge call : AHOY.   The bridge of a ship, not something uttered in a card game.

22. Hang loosely : DRAPE.  

23. Star's statuette : OSCAR.  For Academy Award winners.

28. Mushroom cloud makers : A-TESTS.    Of explosive nuclear devices.

30. Pale : WAN.  Strangely, this traces back to an Old English word meaning dark black.  Go figure.

31. __ shadow : EYE.   Cosmetic type.

32. Tip to one side : TILT.  Lean over.

33. Etiquette expert Baldrige who was Jackie Kennedy's social secretary : LETITIA. [1926-2012]  Author of 20 books and a newspaper column who also ran her own PR firm.

41. Comes back with : REPLIES.  Not RETORTS, I discovered.

42. Hardly scads : A DAB.  Some undefined small quantity

44. Beer choice, briefly : IPA.  India Pale Ale - a hoppy brew originally formulated to be stable on the long sea voyage from Mother England.

47. Part of un mes : DIA.   Spanish month and day.

48. Ready for the piano recital : IN TUNE.  I could go on and on about this, but the comma of Pythagorus is too difficult to explain.

54. "Ugh!" : YECCH.  An expression of disgust, and my reaction to this fill.

55. Climbed aboard : GOT ON.   Could also be GOT IN.

56. Some Neruda poems : ODES.  Pablo Neruda was the pen name and later legal name of Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto [1904 - 1973.]

58. Hawaiian tuna : AHI.  Yellowfin tuna.

59. Snack since 1912 : OREO.   Creme filling between two chocolate cookie layers.

63. Musée Marc Chagall city : NICE.  In France.

64. Ancient Greek region : IONIA.  In present day Turkey.

65. Conversation piece? : WORD.  Sentence fragment.  Make sure you parse it properly.

66. __ chair : EASY.  A place to relax.

67. Minute : TEENY. Tiny.

68. Archer of myth : EROS. Bringer of love.  This is why it's called arrowticism.

Down

1. Researcher's garb : LAB COAT.  For chemists, doctors, and lab workers.


2. Puzzle with a quote : ACROSTIC.  Explained here.

3. Recent medical research subject : STEM CELL.  An undifferentiated cell that is capable of developing into any of a variety of specific cell types.

4. Org. operating full-body scanners : TSA.  The Transportation Security Administration.

5. Prepare, as avocados for guacamole : MASH.  Guac a al Bumpa:  Two avocados, mashed; one 10 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies; two tomatillas, finely diced; chopped cilantro, onion and garlic to taste.  Magnifico!

6. Ancient theater : ODEON.   Greek.

7. "Tradition" singer : TEVYE.  From Fiddler On The Roof.


He does have quite a bit of help

8. "Bravo!" : OLE. Cheers heard in sports arenas where Spanish is spoken.

9. "You eediot!" speaker of cartoons : REN.  Stimpy's costar.

10. Ventriloquist Lewis : SHARI.  


11. Delighted state? : OUTAGE.  Now this is clever.  When the electricity is out, you are left in the dark, powerless.

12. Prize in a case : TROPHY.   An OSCAR, frex.

13. Fla. city : ST. PETErsburg.

18. Go-__ : KART.  A small racing car with a lightweight or skeleton body.

22. Overalls material : DENIM.  Also blue jeans.

24. Financier aboard the Titanic : ASTOR.  John Jacob. [1864-1912]  He went down with the ship.

26. Strong string : TWINE.  From the same root as two and twin, a strong string made from two or more strands twisted together.

27. 1960s dance : WATUSI.



29. Add sneakily : SLIP IN.  As when late for a meeting, hoping to not be noticed.

34. China's Zhou __ : EN LAI. [1898 - 1976]   First Premier of the People's Republic of China, serving from 1949 until his death.

35. "In Here, It's Always Friday" letters : TGI.  From the Restaurant chain TGI Friday's.

36. Diminish : ABATE.  Reduce in magnitude or intensity.

38. Enterprise choice : SEDAN.   Rental car, having nothing to do with Star Trek.

39. Academic figure : EDUCATOR.  Teacher.

40. Southwestern farm owner : RANCHERO.  Spanish for rancher.  

43. Rear ends : BEHINDS.



44. "See ya!" : I'M GONE.  Not quite - gotta finish the downs.

45. Everycity, USA : PEORIA.   This idea originated in one of Horatio Alger's plays.

46. Tenochtitlán natives : AZTECS.   They dominated meso-America in the 14th through 16th centuries and are noted for the practice of human sacrifice.

49. Where to see IBM and JNJ : NYSE.   Stock symbols on the New York Stock Exchange.

51. Deschanel of the musical duo She & Him : ZOOEY.


52. Whom to trust, in "The X-Files" : NO ONE.  Closing tag line used in certain episodes.

53. Astronomer Hubble : EDWIN. [1889 - 1953]  American astronomer who showed that the universe is expanding, and provided evidence that far off objects considered to be nebulae were actually galaxies. 

57. PayPal's former parent : EBAY.  

60. Morsel : BIT.  Or bite, perhaps an ort.

61. Salmon eggs : ROE.  Fish eggs, in general are referred to as ROE.

62. More than impress : AWE.  A reaction of wonder to something grand, sublime or powerful.

And thus ends this little number.  Hope you enjoyed it.  Mind your traditions and go in peace, my friends.

Cool regards!

JzB



 
Note from C.C.:

Anon T (Tony) and I made today's WSJ. You can click here to print out pdf. Read Jim's review after you're done. Congrats on your WSJ debut, Tony!
 
 
Anon T, Giza, Feb 2014


35 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Cool puzzle, Bruce! Fantastic write-up, Jazz!

Took awhile, but no cheats!

Did not know PEORIA. IPA gets me all of the time.

Harv coming home tomorrow, so my several day dinner fast will be ending. (If you don't count Dr. Mercola's protein bars.)

Have a great day!

OwenKL said...

{A-, A-, A-, A.}

There once was a swamp who dared to aspire
To be more respected than YECCHY and dire!
Not fen, marsh, or bog;
But IN TUNES, like that dog!
His new name would be OSCAR, in full, OSCAR Mire!

There once was a ham from IONIA
Who played in many Greek ODEA.
He directed each scene
To the MEZZANINE,
And the ACTS went out to PEORIA!

EDWIN was a wealthy RANCHERO,
A target for EROS' arrow!
Since the farm was remote,
He took up with a goat,
But their kid was a fine caballero!

ST. PETE had to field the complaints
About Abner. They said he ATE STS.!
But all that AB ATE
Was esteemed DR. APE,
Who'd prescribed Chunky Monkey for faints!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Enjoyed this puzzle (ie: did not Haight it). The write-overs resulted from my own stupidity -- HaRT, though I knew it was HURT, and Erwin though I knew it was EDWIN. Loved the "delighted state," NORTH KOREA was too long. Thanx, Bruce.

JzB, Nazgul? I had no idea you were a LOTR fan. The "arrowticism" there is mainly provided by Legolas.

Now off to try that WSJ puzzle...

desper-otto said...

Nicely done, Tony and C.C. I worked quickly to a DNF, screwing up 66a and 30d. Cute theme, though.

MJ said...

Good day to all!

Fun puzzle, smooth numerical progression. Bonus number at 52D NOONE. Favorite clue/answer was "Delighted state?" for OUTAGE. ZOOEY Deschanel and LETITIA Baldrige were both 100% perpped. Thanks, Bruce, for a fine puzzle, and thanks JazzBumpa for your guidance and great links.

Congrats to AnonT and C. C. for your NYT publication.

Enjoy the day!

TTP said...


Today was slightly more difficult than Monday and Tuesday. The NW and NC doubled my solve time. It all came together eventually.

Without reasoning, entered AbombS instead of ATESTS. One entry way out of my wheelhouse: TEVYE, because the song title drew a complete blank. Like the WATUSI, before my time. But we have had TEVYE enough times that it was recognizable. Another that I had no idea on was the Titanic financier: ASTOR.

Knew that Spitzboov would know all of the Bridge game argot, and then quickly realized that I'd be hard pressed to come up with ten bridge related terms. Let's see... Bid, no bid, open, seat, east, west, north, south, Goren, Sharif. Hey, that's ten !

Finally changed bombs to TESTS and that let me see KART, then OSCAR, and then COAT proved COM over edu, org and other top level domain abbreviations. So then LAB COAT and it all finally came together. Don't think I've ever solved an ACROSTIC, but I have seen them in the paper.

Speaking of wheelhouse, I guess one would call AHOY from the bridge. I suppose no need to yell from the deck anymore, with loudspeakers and a microphone aboard.

Never heard of LETITIA Baldridge, but she perped in easily enough.

Good start to the day. Thanks Bruce. Enjoyed reading your review JzB !

Bruce Haight said...

My initial submission had most of these theme entries but the numbers were not in order. Rich had me redo it with 7,8,9, and 10 in order. Pro touch - thanks Rich! Bruce Haight

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Don't ask where my brain was while solving this puzzle because, other than seeing the Nine and the Ten, the rest sailed right over my head. It didn't help matters with my parsing of Break Seven or that I completely missed (W)eight. To be truthful, I was mumbling and grumbling about what I considered a mish-mash until I came here and got my comeuppance. Talk about light bulbs going on and V8 cans smacking away!

Congrats, Bruce, on a well-executed and clever theme, with just the right amount of crunchiness for a Wednesday and thanks, JzB for your "de-lighting" and delightful and elucidating explication. I am duly chastened.

Congrats to Tony and CC for the WSJ entry-will get to it later.

Misty, so glad you enjoyed yesterday's puzzle!

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Jazz, I agree with the intro paragraph and the reveal placement in your fine write-up
-I see the NET WEIGHT but much of the volume is nitrogen gas to retard spoilage
-They don’t have an OSCAR
-We may have had a similar childhood if you see TILT and think “pinball machine”
-My “ear” isn’t enough, I need an electronic device to keep my guitar IN TUNE.
-I suppose a LAB COAT at the Clinique counter is more impressive than an apron
-I suspect our creepy cwd friend the OGLER does full body scans too
-OLE sung at a unexpected sports venue (1:36) with minimal Spanish spoken
-We are touring Boys Town today where Spencer Tracy’s OSCAR Trophy for the movie is kept in a case
-Would the Watusi be considered racist today?
-“See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!” - Middle School eloquence
-Congrats Tony and C.C.! I can’t wait to solve it
-Of whom was Kenny Rogers singing with “Somewhere in the darkness, [man/title] he BROKE EVEN”

oc4beach said...


Bruce hit the right numbers with this one. JzB nicely clarified the answers that I didn't get on their own.

I'm curious if anyone got 11(d) just from the clue without help from perps.

At first I tried HITSITBIG before BREAKSEVEN. I usually set a dollar limit when I go to a casino and when the money is gone, I leave. If I get at least a few hours of entertainment out of it I consider myself lucky. I do prefer the old fashioned Slot Machines with the arm and coins rather than the new ones that you push a button and use a money card. Just not as much fun.

I didn't know LETITIA but ADELE had to be the 5-letter singer. I also knew EDWIN Hubble since my DW worked as a financial manager on the Hubble Space Telescope program at NASA.

Have a great day, everyone.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

The hurrierder I go, the BEHINDer I get.
Sometimes when I see pug-nosed pets, I wonder if they were too close behind something which stopped suddenly.

Good puzzle today with just a BIT of a bite. No searches, one erasure; had ort BEFORE bit.
Went thru the bridge call rumination, too. No bridge argot word I could think of starting with A. (Had KART as a cross.) So, assuming a vessel, needed to have a bridge opened to pass, AHOY seemed apt. I like TTP's scenario better. I can easily see bridge person hailing a nearby vessel with a megaphone or bull horn with AHOY. Or even, while mooring, waking up someone on a dock to handle lines.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I guess I just wasn't in tune with Bruce. I Googled for LETITIA, NICE, AZTEC and ZOOEY. Erased list for TILT and ort for BIT. The Watusi got a SO in the hit song Little Latin Lupe Lu. Didn't know that "will it play in Peoira" referred to a generic American city, not specifically to the one in Illinois. Favorite clue was "academic figure" for EDUCATOR - I was searching my mind for something along the lines of GPA. Least favorite was "does well at the casino" for BREAKS EVEN. I think that's a loser's attitude.

Thanks Jazz for the good write=up. I would never have understood OUTAGE as being de-lighted without your help. There were two errors in the reveal (NICE and A DAB), but that's just a nit.

For me, this was a great Friday puzzle offered up on a Wednesday.

Big Easy said...

I got a late start today, stumbled on the opening clues, wanting LEAN or LIST or EDU,NET, or ORG, ACROSTIC was all perps, before .COM and TILT righted the ship. Thanks for the clarity of 'De-lighted' state because the cross of HURT and OUTAGE was a WAG because no other vowel made sense. Hurt & Broadcast News were both unknown.

'Ugh'-YECCH- I have the same feelings for this answer as JzB. YUCK anybody?
RANCHERO- wasn't that a Ford pickup truck on a car body?
LETITIA and ZOOEY- let's hope future constructor use proper 'Etiquette' to leave them out of future puzzles because I had no idea who they were.

As for CLOSING NUMBER, I always try to ignore the give away answer until the end because it spoils the rest of the puzzle, making it too easy. But I had already filled 'SING NUMBER' by perps and CLO was obvious.

Lucina said...

Thank you, Bruce Haight, for an entertaining puzzle today! Does your name rhyme with WEIGHT?

And thanks to JazzB for de-lighting the nuances of the theme. I had not checked the numbers and find it clever that they appear in order.

Zhou En Lai always gives me pause because I opt for LAO instead. Fortunately, MEZZANINE clinched the I. Otherwise, this proved to be a smooth sashay and all I had to do was SLIP IN the letters. OUTAGE gets the TROPHY on this one.

CSO to all present and past EDUCATORs at the Corner!

Ii was pleasing to see AZTEC, OLE, DIA, and RANCHERO.

Adios, amigos y amigas! I wish you un dia perfecto!

C6D6 Peg said...

Thanks, Bruce, for a delightful outing today. Fav clue was "Delighted State?" Very clever!

Thanks, JzB, for a great write-up. Loved your "Sing Sing Sing" video. That group is pretty large, and talented!

Congrats to AnonT for his WSJ debut with C.C. Finished quickly, but had to review closely to get the theme! Thanks!

CrossEyedDave said...

Delightful puzzle, but a tough one to suss out,
which made it all the more enjoyable.

The NE corner almost did me in,since I had droop instead of drape,
combined with a power failure, a guy I never heard of,
& an FLA.city??? (does this mean it's abbreviated?)
Lessee, FlaCity blank, blank, blank, P, T, Blank,
(Ocapta?)
(Oh fer Pete's sake..)
(light bulb/V8 moment!)

Funny closing number: but will it play in Peoria?

Onto the WSJ...

Anonymous said...

YECCH! You can't misspell a word you never see in print.

E-BAY was the parent of PayPal when PayPal obeyed.

Misty said...

What a great puzzle week this is, to get this fun one after the delightful Irish Miss and C.C. offering yesterday. Loved this puzzle, Bruce (and thanks for stopping by), and got the whole thing even with some of the clever misleading clues (de-lighted and bridge call, e.g.). And that cool opening "clue" clue! Also fun expo, JazzB--very cute elephant butts.

This puzzle evoked some sweet memories from the past, especially SHARI Lewis. I always assume I don't know any music clues and so never even tried to get "Tradition" until TEVYE fell into place with perps. My goodness, I've only seen "Fiddler on the Roof" a half dozen times, and practically know "Tradition" by heart.

Congratulations, Anon T and C.C.!

Have a great day, everybody!

Ol' Man Keith said...

C.C., Congrats on WSJ !!
There aren't too many words with more than one "Z," and I congratulate Mr. Haight for including MEZZANINE. As for the theme, he handles it brilliantly. I only wish I would spot themes earlier on. As usual, I didn't see this one coming, even with the subtle hint at 37-A.
Today's pzl was tough, but do-able w/o any cheats, even of the softest kind. I would peg this at my top level of difficulty, the class of Xwd that makes me work, tempts me to cheat, but comes home to Papa just before I cave. Thank you, BH!
And thank you, JzB! Especially for that lovely pic of elephant heinies - and for explaining OUTAGE as a "Delighted [De-Lighted] state." I was skeptical about that one but am happily resolved.

Sorry I was absent yesterday. I had an MRI test scheduled, one that required fasting, and it threw me off my daily timing. No medical problem, just a routine test, but enough of an intrusion to break my schedule.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Fun time today. That Sing, Sing, Sing vid was from a concert this summer.

My day tomorrow is a log jam, so I probably won't check in. Maybe Friday.

This is my busiest week of the year.

Cool Regards!
JzB

Unknown said...

WSJ

Anonymous said...

JzB, loved the Sing Sing Sing. It's always been a favorite. But--when did the drum solo from In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida sneak into it?! (Also a personal favorite)

CrossEyedDave said...

Breaks seven?

Hey! my net weight is 8 pounds!

Have you ever seen the inside of the Sydney Opera House?
Which one is the Mezzanine?

Is it possible for God to be ahead of his time?

Jayce said...

Cool puzzle, nifty theme. Especially loved the "delighted" clue.

Bill G. said...

Hi all.

Very enjoyable. Thanks Bruce and JzB.

I've never been a fan of Jewish-style music like "Tradition." I know I'll be in the minority here but most of that genre of music is in a minor key and therefore doesn't feel happy and satisfying to me. JMO.

Keith, I know what you mean about schedules and habits. It's hard for me to change my routine without feeling a little stressed and having it mess up other parts of my day. I know I didn't used to be like that. When did I become an old fogy?

We owe a lot to Tesla for our not being in a DELIGHTED environment. His work with AC electricity made it easier to transmit electrical power over large distances.

I'll watch the debate but I'm sure it will be just more of the same...

Go Dodgers!

Jayce said...

Bill G, thanks for your comments. As for music in the minor key, I understand why you feel that way, as the minor key in traditional western music often explicitly signals sadness, desperation, angst, etc. Interestingly, it is just the opposite with traditional Jewish music, in which the minor key is uplifting and sad songs are in major keys.

I feel the same way about disruptions in my usual routines and schedules. I don't know when you became an old fogy, but I think I became one about 10 years ago.

Interesting that plans for a new "smart" grid are based on using very high voltage DC to transmit power over long distances. That doesn't in any way diminish Mr. Tesla's invaluable contributions.

I'll watch the debate tonight, too. I expect the same but hope for better. No feet left after shooting himself in the foot so many times. I expect more holes in his feet tonight. It pains me to see someone so consistently and severely sabotage himself.

Jayce said...

Welp, Tony, the WSJ puzzle was too hard for me. Good job, though!

CrossEyedDave said...

Anonymous-t, sorry, had to cheat on the WSJ...
Major lack or perpage, minor lack of knowledge,,(or was it visa- versa?)

Jayce!

Intriguing!

Your reference to minor keys sounding uplifting,
& major keys sounding sad, had me searching all over for examples...

I am a little confused, the sheet music says "tradition" is in CMajor.

Other searches only confused me more...

Can you pls provide an example of a "happy" sounding song
that is in a minor key pls?

( I even tracked down some happy minor key music from Mozart,
but when I went to get the sheet music it came up in a Major key
Thwarting my efforts...)

Jayce said...

CrossEyedDave, I believe Hava Nageela is a happy song. Check out Klezmer music, too.

Wilbur Charles said...

First. Loved the puzzle and JzB's most excellent write-up. OWEN really liked 4, I liked 1 best.

I'm delighted DELIGHTED went over well in here. I had SOT and ATOP and of course, SHARI Lewis. So, I can almost say I got OUTAGE, sans peeps.

I might have things mixed up but there was an old Kukla, Fran and Ollie puppet team on very old TV. Followed by When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain sung by the "Fat Lady" as referred to by Yogi as in "It ain't over til...

Cubs just dodged a bullet. Boy are announcers stupid. Add Instant Replay to flopping and screaming to my list of "Hates".

I agree that this was perfect Wed difficulty and cleverness. Kept looking for CC as coauthor.

I thought the "Driving force" might be METAL as in fairway metal.

MJ said...

Anon T and C.C., great puzzle over at the WSJ site. Congratulations on a wonderful collaboration! Took me awhile to suss the theme, even with the title and reveal. I've just recently started doing the WSJ puzzles, and particularly enjoy trying to solve the Friday metas.

I took myself to the movie theater today, "Senior Special" day. Saw "The Man called Ove", a Swedish film with sub-titles. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Anybody else seen it?

See you tomorrow!

Bill G. said...

I would like to try the WSJ puzzle but I can't find it in the Across Lite format. Suggestions?

Regarding music in a minor key sounding unhappy (to me), I agree that Hava Nagila is a spirited, happy song because of its rhythm and tempo. But I'm guessing if it were played slowly, it would sound mournful and unhappy, at least to me.

The debate seemed even more unpleasant than before.

Damn Dodgers...

TX Ms said...

Congratulations to Anon-T and our Corner Mentor! I tackled it this morning but didn't have a speed run as did D-O and C6D6 Peg. Finally got 'er done without help. The reveal clue helped to connect the head-scratching "dots." Absolutely no clue as to GPS maker (yes, I've got one foot in the cave as y'all have surmised), Facebook HQs?- certainly not accessible in my cave, my wrong "totally hammered" answer was due to a different substance (not "stoned"), never "read" or saw Snow White cartoons, and the answer for "preparation for a final" would have been easier with "before a final." Whew! Thank you, Anon-T and C.C. for the cerebral work-out on a Wednesday! (D-O, maybe it's your daily marches pre-7AM that get your neurotransmitters arcing?) :-)

Anonymous T said...

AHOY All!

Late to the dance (dinner with Microsoft and the team tonight...) so will keep it short(ish). First, thanks Bruce - this was great! I agree Rich (and all the editors) kick-it-up a BIT. W/o them (and my kind mentor) these puzzles would never be as clean or as fun.

JzB thanks for great the writeup. I still have tunes to listen to if I can't sleep.

Alas, FIW - I in LiTITA seemed a good a vowel as any... :-(

WOs: Aboms b/f ATESTS (Hi, TTP!) and brain-fart for tons b/f A DAB - thanks Jinx for calling that and NICE out; I really thought "Crud! 3 wrong squares!" Upon 1st inspection.

ESPs: LiLTITIA / iNLAI (and a Bzzt! WAG) and TEVYE [kinda looked familiar after seeing it, but I don't know why]. At least ADELE only took 2/5 perps today :-)

Spelling of ZOOEY is odd to me as Youngest needs one less O and no Y. She had to be the 1st in her class to nail the spelling of her name.

Fav: Dang Bruce you're making this hard... It was nice that NICE was the ans. and not the clue; I love me an IPA, but I'll have to go w/ WATUSI just 'cuz I love the Blues Brothers [and would otherwise not know the answer (right Splynter & Tawnya?) :-)]

And I have to give a nod to both 1a and Delighted. I got LAST first (after checking 4d as a perp) and LOL'd.

OKL - your muse is strong today. {4xA}

Misty - I loved SHARI Lewis as a kid. Brings back memories too of watching TV w/ Grands.

CED - LOL SEVEN+ years of bad luck [college tuition starts next year. Oy!]

C.C. Thanks for the SO re: our WSJ. Of course, I can't thank you enough for your mentorship. I hope my puzzle muse returns soon - a kind 39d is still waiting on me/muse.

Now, let's see if I can solve the WSJ - why is REN in my head?

Cheers, -T

Picard said...

Did anyone else notice that the NUMBER answers were SEVEN through TEN in proper sequence top to bottom? That was impressive! Not sure why those numbers, though.

The story of TEVYE and Fiddler on the Roof was the story of our own family 100 years ago. Glad they escaped the brutal anti-Jewish pogroms of the Czar to come here!

Hand up for considering AbombS before ATESTS.

Did not know that Astor was on the Titanic. But I know of his luxury Astoria Hotel in New York.