google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, November 17, 2016 Jeffrey Wechsler

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Nov 17, 2016

Thursday, November 17, 2016 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE.


The circles, if you got to see them, are located in quasi-symmetrically placed vertical words. In each case, they contain the letters P I N, in that order.  If we start with the unifier, all will become clear.  This is the first puzzle I know of with a split unifier since the first one that C. C. and I did together.  

7 D. With 36-Down, what you can't do regarding this puzzle's circled letters : HEAR A.

36 D. See 7-Down ... or, with "a," what you can see in this puzzle's circled letters : PIN DROP.

If it's really quiet, you can HEAR A PIN DROP.  But you can't in this puzzle, since it's the written, not the spoken word.  [Though reading aloud is allowed.] The theme entries each contain the word PIN, and in the vertical orientation, the PINS are DROPPING.

2 D. Flooring wood : PINE.  Pretty common.  I prefer oak.

5 D. Custody : KEEPING.  As in safe KEEPING.

49 D. One of a gripping tool pair : PINCER.  Half of this item.


59 D. Go around : SPIN.  Demonstrated here by our oldest granddaughter.


Another unusual aspect of this grid is the bilateral vertical symmetry.  [There is neither horizontal nor rotational symmetry.] This, along with the very careful placement of the theme entries allows for 5D and 49 D to have a characteristic I don't recall ever seeing before - similar right-left placement, with vertical displacement and different length. This is a very unusual and creative construction.

Across

1. Touch off : SPARK.  To begin something, but since the implication is something inflammatory, it's generally not pleasant.

6. Electrical unit : OHM.  Are you resistant to this entry?  Did you want AMP?  That's more along the lines of current events, for which there will be a charge.

9. What wind ensembles usually tune to : B FLAT.  This hung me up.  Not my most typical playing venue.  In orchestra we tune to A.  In jazz band we tune the reeds to A and the brass to B FLAT.  Of course, the trombone has the infinite capacity to play any note out of tune. Meanwhile, the whole NE corner gave me fits.

14. Actress Anouk whose last name means "beloved" : AIMEE.   [b 1932] Starting her career at age 14, she later appeared in La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2, A Man and a Woman, and 67 other films, mostly in French, and won many awards.


15. Place for grazing : LEA.  A meadow. This relates back to Old English, German, and ultimately Sanskrit words for an open space.

16. Appreciative cry : BRAVO.

17. Travelocity ad figure : GNOME.




18. "Hotel du __": Anita Brookner novel : LAC. A story of disappointment and self-discovery set in a hotel on the shore of Lake Geneva.

19. Still : QUIET.  Like a time when you can hear the sounds of silence.

20. Fabulous writer? : AESOP.  Author of many fables.  In this one we see the silence of the lambs.

21. Roth __ : IRA.  Subject to strict contribution limits, but not subject to mandatory withdrawal.

22. Washer function : RINSE. The soap removal cycle.

23. Production capacity review : LINE AUDIT.  For trouble shooting or improving the efficiency of a manufacturing production line.

26. Refused : SAID NO.

29. Very deep places : ABYSMS.  I had forgotten that this archaic word exists, and was perplexed that ABYSSES didn't fit.  It goes back to medieval Latin and came into English ca. 1150, somehow acquiring a Greek ending along the way.  It refers to hell, the bottomless pit, the great deep, the primal chaos.   Nietzsche advises us to not stare into it.

33. Shore soarer : ERN.   Sea eagle.  Paleo-crossword vocabulary.

34. Bellyachers : GRIPERS.  Complainers, not to be confused with grippers, which are PINCERS, nor Ronald Reagan, who played the Gipper.

38. Excessively : TOO.  As in TOO much of my siliness.

39. Work (on), as 9-Down : GNAW.  A fine old Anglo-Saxon word meaning to bite and chew on something.



41. "__ Romance": Jerome Kern song : A FINE.  Some better music.


42. TV princess : XENA.




43. Radamès' love : AIDA.  From the opera.

44. Cover letter letters : ENClosure.

45. Far from bold : MEEK.  Opposites.

46. Pentax competitor : LEICA.  Cameras.

48. Cholesterol initials : LDL.  Low Density Lipoprotein.  You want your LDL to be low, and your HDL to be high.

49. Hides : PELTS.   Animal skins.

50. "U slay me!" : LOL.  Texters argot, abbrv. for Laughing Out Loud.

51. Chorus syllable : TRA- la-la.

52. Travelers' bus. : INSurance.  Company name.

53. Teddy's Mount Rushmore neighbor : ABE.   Faces on the mountain.

55. Kitchen appliance : GAS OVEN.

58. Inflation fig. : PSI.  I wanted CPI, but it's tire pressure, not economics.

61. Office fasteners : JUMBO PAPER CLIPS.



64. Like battleships : ARMORED.

65. Get by the sentry : SNEAK IN.

66. Looked inside, in a way : X-RAYED.   Medical imaging.

67. Show the ropes : ORIENT.   Help someone get acclimated to a new position or circumstance.

Down

1. It's a long story : SAGA.  Or EPIC.  Needs perps.

3. "The Cookie Never Crumbles" co-author Wally : AMOS.  [b. 1936] Talent agent who started selling cookies in L.A. in 1975.

4. Alter the shape of : REMOLD.

6. Kukla cohort : OLLIE.  Along with Fran Allison.




8. Portuguese territory until 1999 : MACAU.  Autonomous region on the south coast of China, across the pearl River delta from Hong Cong.

9. Pitmaster's offering : BBQ RIBS.

10. Like dessert wines : FRUITY.

11. "... this skull has __ in the earth ... ": Hamlet : LAIN.  Not to be confused with Nunckle Tim's shin.

Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio: a fellow
of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy: he hath
borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how
abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rims at
it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know
not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your
gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment,
that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one
now, to mock your own grinning? quite chap-fallen?

12. Urban rtes. : AVES.  AVEnues are routes, not rites.  I was off in the wrong direction.

13. Membership drive gift : TOTE.  carry-all bag.

24. "The Thin Man" role : NORA.  Nick and NORA Charles, from the indicated 1934 comedy-mystery movie that was based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett.  
25. Have what it takes : DARE.  Having the courage to do something.  If you have what it takes, you might succeed.  Otherwise  .  .  . ?

26. "The Goldbergs" actor George : SEGAL.  A program that not only have I never seen, but before now never knew existed.  Based on the childhood and 80's family life of the show's creator and producer Adam F. Goldberg.

27. Links legend, familiarly : ARNIE. Palmer

28. Conflicted : IN A DILEMMA.  A choice between unpleasant alternatives.

30. Classic golf shoe feature : STEEL SPIKE.  For gripping the turf.

31. "Haystacks" series painter : MONET.  Claude [1840 - 1946].

32. Overcharges : SOAKS.  

35. "That really depressed me" : I FELT SAD.    Expression of woe.

37. Isolated communities : ENCLAVES.  A place different in character form the surrounding area.

40. City south of Fort Worth : WACO.  

42. Magneto's enemies : X-MEN.  A group of superheroes from the Marvel Comic universe.  Each is a mutant with a unique special ability.

47. Sharer of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize : AL GORE. [b 1948] Former U.S. vice-president.

53. Trojan War hero : AJAX.  Fought with Hector several times.

54. "Hamilton" role : BURR.   Aaron. [1756 - 1836]  He was sitting vice president at the time of their famous duel.

56. Mocked : APED.  Made fun of.  Not so much fun on the receiving end.

57. Puzzlemaker Rubik : ERNO.

60. Hall & Oates' "Say It __ So" : ISN'T.   Not a fan, so no link.

62. Son : BOY.

63. My __, Vietnam : LAI.  That village that had to be destroyed in order to be liberated.  Kind of a downer to end on.

Well, that wraps it up.  Hope the silence wasn't oppressive.

Cool regards!
JzB





39 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks, JW and Jazz!

Managed to slog through it sans cheats, but several things took a while.

I've never heard of LINE AUDIT, STEEL SPIKE or ABYSM.

Jazz, there were several Thin Man movies. I loved them all (a bit before my time, though).

B FLAT was a gimme. I played in several orchestras (a reasonably inept violist).

Have a great day!

OwenKL said...

Many passes, but FIR! Last fill was ABYSMS. Had a hard time believing that was really a word! Started on the Mensa site, so didn't have circles to PIN this theme down, but finished with the Cruciverb version, where a circle told me 1a wasn't StARt.

I FELT SAD that the country is IN A DILEMMA
There's no simple solution, as in the cinema
GRIPERS protest
At passion's behest;
Controversy has given the nation an enema!

Look around, in these Times, we're in A FINE mess
How nice it would be if we gave it a rest!
What future awaits
From ABYSMS of hate?
One side want more, the other wants less!

Nowhere is it QUIET, no one offers a sop,
No place to escape, to HEAR A PIN DROP!
In ENCLAVES on each side
There are MEEK who reside,
KEEPING a SPARK of compromise hot!

The debate rages on, from coast to coast
New York to Los Angeles, who gets to boast?
The choice is before us:
Will Shortz or Rich Norris --
In what trying Times should one be engrossed?

Anonymous said...

I don't understand if your description explains it but I like how the PIN "drops" as it moves from left to right across the grid.

OwenKL said...

Oops. One long poem, so it all gets {A}.

Tinbeni said...

Jazz: Excellent write-up & links.

Jeffrey: Thank You for a FUN Thursday puzzle. Enjoyed the PIN-DROP theme.

OK, I will admit at 34-a, Bellyachers, at first I wanted "ANON's" but it wouldn't fit and the perps filled in GRIPERS.

Fave today was BBQ RIBS ... my NEW traditional Thanksgiving Day meal.

(From yesterday ... Michael @ 5:36 pm ... to be specific, those "Two Fingers of Scotch, Neat" are the ones on my left hand. LOL)

Cheers!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I STARTed this puzzle, and put TEAK on my floors. Bzzzzt! Remembered Anouk AIMEE, and that set me straight. I liked the puzzle, but do feel that "I FELT SAD" is meh as a long answer. Thanks, JW.

JzB, in my life the "sound of silence" has a pronounced high-pitched ringing sound. I hate it. Your Hamlet quote includes "gibes" which some have claimed to be "unknown."

From retirement to age 70, I consistently made an annual ROTH coversion from my regular IRA. Helped to reduce the size of my RMD. Not enough, though.

TTP said...


Good morning all.

You have to be ready to look for multiple word fill in Jeffrey's puzzles. Today was no different. Fun puzzle, and it felt like a Thursday leaning towards Friday puzzle :>).

I liked the patterns in the grid. Made a kind of a big X. Then, in the solve - the arrangement of the PINS.

I can HEAR A PIN DROP when it's a big clevis pin falling to the floor.

Anyway, great review JzB. Man, that XENA looks like she is Lawless.

Anonymous said...

ASTA woulda fit insteada NORA, but three perps wouldn't allow it.

We used to spell it MACAO.

inanehiker said...

Enjoyed the creative puzzle - once I realized all the circles were PIN it sped up the solve. Biggest slow down for me was when I put CHASMS in for ABYSMS and took a while to get it back out to finish up the NE - 50% right as Splynter would say!

Thanks JZB and JW!

Yellowrocks said...

With two dropping PINs I found the theme. ANON, the spelling of PIN goes down, so it drops. The perps HEAR A gave me PIN DROP as soon as I read the clue. Fun puzzle. I had just a little pause in the SW corner. I doubted AJAX because of the X and I had ReicO. I actually had to write in AJAX to find JUMBO and AL GORE.
Although The Thin Man debuted in 1934 before I was born this oldie with William Powel and Myrna Loy is one of my favorites. Wiki says, "In 1997, the film was added to the United States National Film Registry having been deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." In 2000 American Film Institute designated the film as one of the great comedies in the previous hundred years of cinema."
I won first prize as the Travelocity Gnome one Halloween.
TOTES are given as awards for everything. Who needs a dozen totes? I would rather that charities spend my entire donation on their primary mission.
I was in the orchestra pit for a time, until I thought of BBQ with the Q in quiet.
SPARK (v) is often negative, spark a fight, spark a revolution. It can also be positive, as in spark an interest, spark further research. As a teacher I tried to SPARK my students' curiosity.
I enjoyed this puzzle which was Wed. level except for the SW corner which was Thur. Level for me. Great, expo, Jazz.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A fun, clever challenge. I got PIN DROP and then wanted 2 Down to be TEN as in TEN PIN DROP but soon saw it was PIN all around!
-A use of PINCERS more familiar to me
-Oops, a roomful of 7th graders just walked in.

Jazzbumpa said...

Yes, i should have mentioned that the PIN drops three spaces in each left to right appearance in the grid.

But that subtle and elegant detail escaped me.

Well done, Jeffrey!

Cool regards!

JzB

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I almost got a JW without help, but fell short at the unfortunate cross of Hotel du LAC and MACAU. More like a Friday or Saturday cross, but the rest of the puzzle was just right for Thursday.

Getting PIN definitely helped me fill the grid. I remember when talking long distance involved hisses and pops that were part of the old analog long distance network. Then Sprint started its fiber optic network, and advertised that their connection was so good you could hear a PIN DROP. It was true, but the improvement was due to conversion to digital transmission, not solely to fiber optics.

I wanted the winds to tune to an oboe, not BFLAT. Learning moment that I'll probably remember. I wanted to give Jeffrey hell about ABYSsS before MONET showed me the error of my ways. I had Barbque before BBQ RIBS and metal cleats before STEEL SPIKES. And my favorite today, I had CPI (consumer price index) instead of PSI for "inflation fig.".

Thanks for another nice puzzle, Jeffrey. I'm losing my fear of your offerings. And good job on the expo, JazzB.

Lucina said...

What a beautiful pattern and theme from Jeffrey Wechsler! I love the placement of the PINs as they drop. Thank you, JW. And I was on his wave length almost from the beginning. One write over at MACAU; spelled it MACAw but AUDIT corrected it.

I liked the clues for XRAYED and PSI, inflation fig.

Thank you, JZB; I like the way you sort out the details to make them meaningful.

Yesterday I was AWOL but finished the puzzle. My family met again to make tamales. I don't recall if I mentioned that someone inadvertently left the freezer door slightly ajar and thirty dozen tamales were ruined! What a waste of time, money and materials. It was heartbreaking, but we had to carry on. Yesterday we were shorthanded so we made only 16 dz.

Have a splendid day, everyone!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This wasn't as difficult as some of JW's offerings, but it wasn't a walk in the park, either. I'm glad someone else mentioned the Macao spelling as that's the only way I have ever seen it spelled. Thoughts, anyone? Abysms was a gimme as it was used and debated recently in that other paper's CW blog. The theme was clever and the cluing and execution spot-on, all leading to an enjoyable solve.

Thanks, Jeffrey, for a Thursday treat and thanks, JzB, for the witty and whimsical write-up.

Tony, glad you finally got the DW problem solved; just watch out for adventurous felines, ala Mr. Meow's link. 🐱

Have a great day.

Big Easy said...

I had a hard time starting and if it weren't for the circled PIN I don't think I would have finished. With three PINs in place I just filled in 36D and changed LINE COUNT to LINE AUDIT, which enabled the NE to fall.

ABYSMS gave me a fit. CHASMS or ABBYSSES are words I knew but not ABYSMS. I DARE say that it was A FINE mess in that area for the longest. A FINE Romance was perps; maybe it could have been "________ time to leave me Lucille".

STEEL SPIKES are banned on every course I've played on.
Anon@ 7:51- I spelled it MACAO and left it for a while.

Jim in Norfolk- B-FLAT- when we tuned to the OBOE's B-FLAT, it was a 'C' for us/we trumpet players. One full note off and I could never understand why somebody did it that way.

PSI for inflation measure was good but one of these years a constructor will have the answer as BAR and very few people will know it.

Yellowrocks said...

Lucina, I feel for your loss of all those tamales and all that work. How devastating! It was good that your family could help to recoup about half of them.
Owen KL, great long poem today.
IM, yes, the placement of the dropping PINS was fantastic.
I learned today that MACAO can be spelled MACAU, which is how the Portuguese spelled it when they first came upon it. On Google, you can find many examples of both spellings. Indeed, MACAU does not seem rare.

C6D6 Peg said...

Thanks, JW, for a fun puzzle. Took longer than normal, but it was worth it!

Thanks, JzB for a great write-up and sharing the learning moments!

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

If yesterday's puzzle was "chunky", this one had all of the "nuts" unshelled! I struggled quite a bit, even though I solved the theme early on. WEES, a very clever concept by JW, and as well, a "punny" recap by JzB.

I too had CHASMS before ABYSMS; had CARE before DARE in 25d before I realized there was no such thing as a LINE AUCIT.
METAL before STEEL with the SPIKES in 30d, and I'd argue that when metal spikes were allowed, they weren't made just of steel. In checking Google, nearly every reference to the classic golf shoe spikes is "metal". A nit, maybe, but hey, that's why we're here, yes??! 😜

Other smudges occurred at 19a where I had AS YET before QUIET. Not sure that I would agree that ALL dessert wines are "fruity". Sweet yes, fruity, not always. Vin Santo comes to mind as a dessert wine that's not fruity ...

And since I had an official "DNF", as even with a complete alphabet run in 63d and 67a, I could not ORIENT the correct answer. No LAI. 😜

Hope this one ISNT too political:

As we face global warming's ABYSM,
Let's accept the "Agreement"; go with 'em.
If Trump needs some assistance
He would get no resistance
If he just applied some ALGOREithms.

Lemonade714 said...

I agree with anon 5:59 that the visual of the pin dropping is the best part of this JW special. The skill to create this grid and include an unexpected grid-spanner just to add to the unique symmetry is wonderful.

Anouk Aimee was one of the beautiful french actresses of my youth - not Brigitte Bardot or Catherine Deneuve, but very nice to look at.

Anonymous said...

Yellowrocks. I'm glad you see the pin dropping across the grid now. It's the best part of the puzzle and it seems you missed it or didn't appreciate me pointing it out to you earlier.

CanadianEh! said...

Fun Thursday puzzle. Thanks Jeffrey and JzB. I got the theme early which helped to fill in the PINs. Very elegant grid. NE was the last to fall.

I had similar difficulties to most of you. What kind of RIBS (BBQ), what kind of SPIKE (METAL), what kind of PAPERCLIPS (JUMBO), what kind of oven (GAS)?
I had I FELT Bad before SAD, Reform before REMOLD, and dredged ABYSMS out of my memory when Abysses wouldn't fit.

Great work today OwenKL!
Lucina, I think that I FELT SAD would apply to the loss of all those tamales.
YR, glad to hear yesterday that Alan is doing well.

Lucina said...

Yes, I FELT SAD! In fact, when my sister called to tell me about it, I was devastated! It took me a few days to recover. Thank you for your sympathy. It's comforting.

Misty said...

I usually gasp with worry when I see a Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle, and this one started out a bit tough. But what a delight! I got the PINDROP half-way though, which made me laugh and helped with the two remaining dropping PINs. And JazzB, your careful description of the construction of the grid is one of the best and made me appreciate one of the great gifts of this blog--helping us understand the skill it takes to construct not just the clues and answers but the overall design of the puzzle. And, yes, thanks, Anonymous, for pointing out that the PINs drop not only in the circles, but as they move across the grid. Wonderful puzzle--many thanks, Jeffrey, Jazz, and all.

Yellowrocks, I too was daunted by the Southwest at first. And the northeast corner made me really nervous when the Q appeared above RINSE, and I figured you can't have a Q without a U following. But a "washer function" starting with a U? Can't be right. Huge relief when BBQ RIBS finally fell into place.

So, on Saturday I'm flying to Pennsylvania to spend Thanksgiving with my Dad and brother--my first trip to the north in winter in about ten years. As a result I'm having lots of trouble packing--can't even find a wool cap or other warm head covering. And to think I spent most of my twenties in Buffalo and Michigan. Am just praying I have a safe trip and don't catch pneumonia while I'm there. Wish me luck.

Have a great day, everybody!

Yellowrocks said...

Sorry, ANON @ 12:41. I guess I was half asleep. Thanks. Wish I knew who you were.

CrossEyedDave said...

Another Jeffrey Wechsler DNF,
(but I did get the theme...)

Best part?

I forgot I DNF'd, & 8 hours later Got to see what stymied me...

Not too bad actually, left blank the "C" in Macau/Lac.
(hmm, I will let myself slide on the strange spelling/natick combo...)

However, I did not get the last L in LOL?
or Al gore???
Probably because I felt Bad instead of sad @ 35d
(Laboven?)
Hmm, I should have realized my mistake when the entire alphabet
would not reveal a kitchen appliance...

Abysms did not deter me, as this word comes up often in my day to day internet searchings...

Speaking of Kitchen appliances, Here's a blast from the past!Mary tyler Moore in a Bunny Suit?
(Anon-T, if the guy who sold you the DW did not have a girl in a bunny suit, you got ripped off!)

Anywho...

For me, missing stuff is an artform...

However, I still can't seem to identify with
this silence, & pins thing...

CrossEyedDave said...

California to Pennsylvania?

Bummer!

But!

I would not call November in Pa "winter"

a sweater should be all you need...

Good luck Misty!



Ol' Man Keith said...

The first time I can remember where the theme answers actually helped to solve the pzl. Thanks, Jeffrey Wechsler, for showing me a useful theme!

Like yesterday's entry, this one was right on the cusp for me--seemingly too difficult but gradually yielding to persistence. Only ABYSMS fooled me, and it was deservedly odd enough to do so.

Jayce said...

Excellent construction; very ingenious. I was intimidated by Jeff's byline, but it turned out to be a tad easier than I expected, probably due to the PINs. I also was thrown by the BFLAT; we always tuned to "Concert A."

Spelling of Chinese words with Roman letters ("Romanization") is confusing because there have been several schemes for doing so, the latest being the official "pinyin." /begin rant/ To me, however, changing the way one Romanizes the name of a historic figure to something different, even though the new spelling is the latest version, is to literally change his name. For example, I could never imagine Chou En Lai's surname as Zhou, or even Joe; it wouldn't, to me, be the same guy. Chiang Kai Shek could never be Jiang in my mind. So, was he Mao Tse Tung, or is he now some different guy Mao Ze Dong? I would be very angry if I were forced to known as, say, "Zhaiss" simply because someone decided to use the alphabet in a different, perhaps non-standard way. And speaking of non-standard, what other Roman alphabet-using language in the world pronounces "Q" as "CH" (qi = chi) or "C" as "TS" (cai = tsai) or "Z" as "DZ" (zai = dzai) or ZH as J (zhen = jen) and so on. Doggone it, to me it is a total misuse of the Roman alphabet. /end rant/

Best wishes to you all.

Wilbur Charles said...

I thought I might have heard that a TUBA could be used. That's what I know about music. Nada.

Famous AMOS. Doh.

NE was a corker. Do I stick with RINSE and BRAVO. CHASM was a tough pit to get out of.

Yep. STEEL Shafts and Metal SPIKES. Of course, most use the graphite shafts nowadays.

I noticed it was a JW and thought oboy! And I was right. I think this is what a Thursday is supposed to be.

I disagree Owen. Last is A+. We don't grade Moe. Just, Salut! Good timing for those with the GNAWing fear of a coming ABYSM

What was that book? Apres Ca, le Deluge!

Oh yeah, Jb. Great stuff. I've got to go back and hit the links. I keep saying those words and I've got cobwebs on the clubs


WC

AnonymousPVX said...

Got to it late, I think that helped, as I had to trudge through. A,tough Thursday but very fair and solvable.

Spitzboov said...

Good Evening Everyone.

Just got the puzzle done. Wouldn't want to miss a Wechsler wonder.
Ended up solving down the sides and doing the upper center last. Finally parsed LINE AUDIT which included the 7d/36d conundrum. Likede use of X and Q which are minimally used. X started 3 words, and Q was used w/o the normal U following @ 9d. Good job, Jeff and nice intro by JzB. Liked your take on B FLAT.
GAS OVEN - Gas is quite a bargain these days. On my last gas bill, the energy charge was only 17¢ per therm, well under futures trading levels.

Quite a day. Away to Upstate University Teaching Hospital, Syracuse, at the crack of dawn for an 0930 operation to remove margins and a sentinal node for biopsy in connection with melanoma previously removed from upper back area. Had general anesthesia. Doc does a lot of these, so I felt to be in good hands. Actual procedure took about an hour. Hopefully results will not show further spread of malignant cells. Thanks again for your previous good wishes.

TTP said...

Spitzboov, I'm pulling for you.

Bill G. said...

Good luck Spitz. I hope all goes well.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

DNF - WestCentral was my downfall - I didn't know the names and they all crossed. Thanks Jeffrey for a fun and well constructed (an helpful!) theme but if MIL didn't text me "I knew AIDA, ... [I stopped reading there - spoilers!] I'd never got the D to get IN A DILEMMA to finish the SW - I was still deciding between Tom (Jefferson) and ABE then.

Thanks JzB for the writeup. Simon & Garfunkel at the top made for a pleasant read of your link filled expo. Oh, and you filled in SEGAL and LEICA xing.

WOs: ABYSeS [sic], DeLEMMA [sic]. Hand-up for Asta b/f NORA
ESPs: AIMEE, LAC, MACAU, oh, heck too many.

BBQ wasn't an issue for me - every week there's a story about a Pitmaster in the HOU paper :-)

Fav: c/a for PELTS and PSI. 52a was cute too. I enjoy things that make my mind turn left.

Ergo... {A+ (greatly enjoyed the left-turn into the puzzle LINEs) }. {++ for Moe!}

Misty - Stay warm! I always forget how cold it really gets up there when I visit Pop (in IL).

Lucina - Argg! I FEEL SAD for you, your lost work, and lost Tamales - tragic!

Good luck Spitz!

Has anyone seen a real NPR TOTE? I know it's a running joke on Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me but I've never received a TOTE for a donation (though, I usually eschew the tchotchkes).

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

Good luck, Spitz. I hope all turns out well.

Thanks, Tony. I felt like crying.

Anonymous T said...

CED - Closing down, I rediscovered the dishwasher link. OMG - I'd have paid double for MTM in a cat(?) suit - she's hot(point). Thanks. And, yeah, no chick posing as a bunny?!? I got ripped! :-)

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

My "Chick as a Bunny"
would be funny
If
the link worked.
C, -T

Picard said...

Beautiful construction! Thanks, Anonymous, for pointing out that the PIN not only drops downward, but that the PINs fall downward left to right.

I am happy to have found a site that has circles. If anyone else is having trouble finding it, here it is:

http://games.latimes.com/games/daily-crossword/