google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, January 6, 2017, Gary Schlapfer & C.C. Burnikel

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Jan 6, 2017

Friday, January 6, 2017, Gary Schlapfer & C.C. Burnikel

Title: Why don't your glasses fall off? The NOSE knows!

Almost as if planned, JzB lauded puzzles which use different definitions for the same word on Wednesday. So like magic, C.C. and Husker Gary are here with a classic example of that type of puzzle. Actually there are many other meanings for bridge - part of a musical composition - part of a guitar - and the above referenced nose. This team picked two grid spanners and two 13s to pack in the theme. All four definitions are fair and took time to come up with the symmetrical fill. They managed some fun fill like INGEST, GO FAST,  G-SUITS, TOSTADA, THE WIRE, I GOTTA RUN and DUDE RANCH. As always with a C.C. monitored puzzle there are some great clues. Let's get to work!

17A. Bridge : CARD GAME FOR FOUR (15). One of my favorite card games.

23A. Bridge : HELMSMAN'S POST (13). The Captain  often is there as well, ask Sulu.

52A. Bridge : RIVER CROSSING (13). We still have a few covered bridges in Connecticut. LINK.

62A. Bridge : DENTAL APPLIANCE (15). I had one that fell out.

Across

1. Carnival Cruise Line headquarters : MIAMI. The ultimate gimme for me; I live in South Florida and I have been to their offices having owned a travel agency.

6. Net gain? : GOAL. Punny!

10. One often taking a bow : GIFT. Yes, this time it is BOW (o) not BOW (ow).

14. How many crosswords are solved : IN PEN. In ink, with a pen? Or maybe they are referring to incarcerated people.

15. Plot to plow : ACRE. nice!

16. Creepy look : OGLE.

20. Young Skywalker's nickname : ANI. He was played by a boy named Jake Lloyd. As Dr. Frak N. Furter would say " FAME is fleeting..."

21. "At Wit's End" columnist Bombeck : ERMA.

22. Like Cheerios : OATEN. Entering the food zone.

27. Liked a lot, with "up" : ATE.

28. Taqueria order : TOSTADA. See three foodies in a row. I think the word just means "Toasted."

31. A3 or Q7 : AUDI.

34. Leave : DEPART.

37. Whistle-blower : REF. Very cute clue.

38. Way around the block? : SHUNT. Wonderful, how to avoid an arterial blockage.

40. Luau band : LEI. How many have been to Hawaii?

41. Meatball medium : SAUCE. Food. Gravy to many Italians.

43. Roll in the yard : SOD. Again nice phrasing.

44. Inn crowd option : RAMADA. More puns.

47. Cause of some closings : SNOW.

48. HBO drama set in Baltimore : THE WIRE.

50. __ Friday's : TGI.
.
58. Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque prayer : OMANI. One from Oman. Oman is an absolute monarchy. The Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said has been the hereditary leader of the country since 1970.  Sultan Qaboos is the longest-serving current ruler in the Middle East,  and sixth-longest current-reigning monarch in the world.

60. Sci-fi navigator : SULU. I told you could ask him.

61. Gen __ : XER.

66. Number of times a horse can enter the Kentucky Derby : ONCE. As a three year old.

67. "Dies __" : IRAE.

68. Copy, in a way : TRACE.

69. Essen's region : RUHR.

70. Celebrate an anniversary, say, with "out" : DINE.

71. Secretly watch : SPY ON.

Down:

1. Hebrew prophet : MICAH. ONE of 12 minor prophets in Judaism, but embraced by Christianity.

2. Absurd : INANE.

3. __ fool : APRIL.

4. Club __ : MED. All inclusive vacation, now with 68 locations, including LINK.

5. Take in : INGEST.

6. Harmful ray type : GAMMA. Just ask Bruce Banner!

7. More than 70% of Earth's surface : OCEAN.

8. Lab greeting : ARF.

9. "Ars gratia artis" is written in an arc around his head : LEO. MGM Lion.

10. Zoom along : GO FAST.

11. "Time for me to split" : I GOTTA RUN.

12. Smoke passage : FLUE.

13. Gull relative : TERN.

18. Carrying, so to speak : ARMED.

19. Hen holders : ROOSTS.

24. Common street name : MAIN.

25. Strait-laced : STAID.

26. __ ejemplo : POR. For example...not too hard

29. Geometric art style : DECO. Art is always fun. LINK.

30. Several : A FEW.

31. Start of a subordinate title: Abbr. : ASST.

32. "You meant 8 p.m. not a.m.?" : UH OH.

33. Vacation spot with horseback riding : DUDE RANCH.

35. Toon often seen in a hunting hat : ELMER.

36. Shelled veggie : PEA.

39. "Jeopardy!" staple : TRIVIA.

42. Flaws and all : AS IS. Many homes and used cars are sol this way.



45. Is for everyone? : ARE. Really cute clue.

46. Bikini in the Pacific, e.g. : ATOLL. Well used by the military. 

49. It starts a bit before Christmas : WINTER. 4 days, C.E.

51. Astronauts' gear : G-SUITS. From our resident astronaut we have  an anti-gravity garment worn by fighter pilots. When they are pulling positive G's, the suit inflates and prevents blood from pooling in their feet and legs which would cause them to lose consciousness. NASA astronauts also wear g-suits when they experience Orthostatic Intolerance. LINK

53. Channel with a "Congressional Chronicle" online archive : C-SPAN.

54. Kolkata cash : RUPEE. No more Calcutta.

55. Slangy refusal : IXNAY. Pig latin...

56. Wafer brand : NECCO.  HG? Those of us of an age...



57. Place to find a flag : GREEN. Another HG moment with a golf course clue.

58. Le Pew's defense : ODOR.  Pepe.


59. Dish list : MENU.

63. Limit : LID. Put a lid on it!?!

64. Jackie O's second : ARI. Aristotle Onassis.

65. "Shirt Front and Fork" artist : ARP. Jean Arp or Hans Arp (16 September 1886 – 7 June 1966) was a German-French sculptor, painter, poet, and abstract artist in other media such as torn and pasted paper. When Arp spoke in German he referred to himself as "Hans", and when he spoke in French he referred to himself as "Jean".


What a great way to start my 2017 blogging. Thanks and thank you all. Lemonade bad sciatica and all saying see ya.

52 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Husker, CC and Lemonade!

Took a bit but got 'er done sans cheats.

Perped and WAGged were: MIAMI, OMANI, ONCE, MICAH and LEO.

Have a great day!

desper-otto said...

Good morning! [Brrrrrr -- temps are below 40]

Nice puzzle, Husker and C.C. Tried RAT for the "Whistle-blower," and DADA for the "Geometric art style." But that made the "Meatball medium" SAUDI???? Wite-Out, please. Otherwise, this was a nice Friday romp, sans problems. I don't really care for IN PEN, but that's probably just me.

Lemon, in answer to your LEI question: All of 'em.

MICAH -- was he a flaky prophet?

UH OH, I think my Orthostatic Intolerance may be kicking in...

TTP said...

Good morning all. Thank you Husker Gary and CC. Thank you Lemonade.

Started to climb the stairs from the SW to the NE, but deviated early and ended up solving the bottom third first.

So many fresh clues, with plenty of diversions. A little of a lot to please everyone. Culinary, sports, Sci-Fi, geography, mystery, travel, leisure, and hospitality, gardening and yard work, slang, games, arts and architecture, foreign languages, earth sciences, and more.

Should be a Spitzboov favorite, with the references to Bridge in CARD GAME FOUR FOR and HELMSMANS POST.

I thought, "Now, how am I going to know the name of a prayer intoned in the Sultan Qabos Grand Mosque, wherever that is ?" Clever clue.

If not for SOD, I would have been inclined to put in OOPS in for "You meant 8 p.m. not a.m.?" That area took a few minutes, because the AUDI clue of "A3 or Q7" wasn't bringing anything immediately to mind.

And I sure wasn't thinking inanimate object for "One often taking a bow." Excellent.

Gotta run for now. Back later. Hope everyone enjoys this one as much as I did. Very fun.

Big Easy said...

Good work C.C. & H.G., but I found it a tad too easy for a Friday, with SHUNT, THE WIRE, & OMANI being the only unknowns. Went NW to SE with no changes. BRIDGE- something presidents need to build to get Congress to work with them. They don't watch C-SPAN, and I don't blame them; like watching paint dry.

IN PEN- that' how I always work crosswords.
SAUCE- everybody in New Orleans call it 'gravy', as in Tomato Gravy & Meatballs.
DENTAL APPLIANCE- I have a GOLD BRIDGE and have told Diane to have it ripped out if I drop dead and hock it.

Lemonade, let's hope your back starts feeling better.

thehondohurricane said...


I was totally taken in by CC & husker. The North filled in without hesitation and had me thinking this was going to be a quickie. The Central section slowed me down, but I eventually sussed my way thru it. The South brought me to a complete halt for a time. 32D, UHOH was a long time arriving. SHUNT was a ??? and I couldn't remember THE WIRE, which happened to be a favorite of mine. It was brutal, but I found it compelling.

But in the end a DNF because IXNAY was totally unknown and for 61A I wagged dER. I was pretty sure IdNAY would do me in and it did.

57D recognizes Gary's past time, Golf. but A CC puzzle with a baseball clue?

The one inch prediction for snow has turned into three, so it's time to grab the shovel.

Tinbeni said...

Happy Epiphany ... when you live in Tarpon Springs, Florida this is the "best day" of the year.

The Greeks take over ... and there is the "Cross Toss" in Spring Bayou around 1:00 pm.

Luckily, today is going to be around 73 degrees and sunny.

Husker Gary & C.C. Thank You for a FUN Friday puzzle. Enjoyed the Bridge themes.

Fave today was that "Way around the block?" SHUNT ... and a V-8 can smack.

Although "It starts a bit before Christmas," WINTER was a close second, and a second V-8 can smack.

Will be "Toasting-At-Sunset" with OUZO ... the only acceptable libation here today.
Cheers!

Yellowrocks said...

Very clever puzzle, Gary and CC. Much faster and easier than yesterday's puzzle. Interesting clues. Very solid perps. OMANI was a great misdirection, not the prayer said but the person praying. No unknowns. Wagged AUDI from the A and MICAH from the C. DECO and ARP have become crosswordese.
Great write-up, Lemon. Feel better soon. Sciatica is a PIA. LOL Sorry, not a laughing matter when it acts up.
I like NECCO wafers. They are still available.
Alan doesn't doesn't have a bridge, but he has 100% implants,20 of them, no original teeth. $$$$. Two days ago he lost two crowns off the implants. More $$.
We played bridge a lot in college instead of studying. My fiance was really into bridge. After that I used to belong to a fun bridge club which folded 15 or more years ago. I have forgotten all the conventions and strategies, because I have no-one to play with now. I used to follow Bobby Wolff's bridge column, but it is beyond me now after all this time.
I had better get to work. See ya.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Hand up for rat. Also had pigs for DINE, euro for RUPEE and Nilla for NECCO. I had CSPAN, erased it because I was so sure of pigs out, then put it back in when DENTAL APPLIANCE forced its way in. Didn't know ANI Skywalker, where THE WIRE was set, LEO (from perps - assumed it was a statue of a pope until Lemonade's reveal), where Kolkata is, and NECCO.

NERD ALERT - I didn't think of a medical SHUNT at first. I'm more familiar with its use in analog transistor circuitry. A designer keeps DC current from being shorted to ground with a low-value resistor, then puts a SHUNT capacitor around the resistor to allow AC (the stuff you are amplifying) to have an easy path to ground.

Previous DW did XWs in pen - but she used the erasable type. I took up the pastime 20 years later, and have yet to try one in pen.

It is supposed to start SNOWing here tonight and we should have 6 or 8 inches before it is done. That will be crippling. I think I'll go to the grocery this afternoon to look at the empty shelves. Some schools have already cancelled Monday classes. Our friends north and east of us just laugh.

I greatly enjoyed today's puzzle. Thanks HG and CC. And thanks to Lemonade for another fine reveal.

OwenKL said...

FIR! But only got two licks written last night, intending to do a couple more this morning, but slept in instead.

{C+, B-.}

Mr. SULU is manning the HELMSMAN'S POST
Piloting the ship to some far-off coast!
Beyond the skies
The Enterprise
Is seeking new worlds -- for men feeling their oats!

There ONCE was a miss from MIAMI
Who took up with a sheik-ish OMANI
He gave her rich GIFTS,
But left her a Miss,
And now A FEW kids call her Mammy.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Great intro by Lemon; great puzzle from Husker and C.C.

Thanks for the SO, TTP, yes, the theme fill made my day. Including RIVER CROSSING, as much of my career and life has been associated with rivers. Fortunately, no DENTAL APPLIANCES yet.
Read the clue for NECCO as water brand, not wafer. Our paper's font is not good for the f, t, discrimination.
RUHR - Re region. The Germans would say RUHR Gebiet. Ruhr region. Essen is also the infinitive for: 'to eat' and serves as a noun for 'food'. You can imagine the play on words we would sometimes have while growing up in my Mom's kitchen.
32d - 8 am vs 8 pm. This points out one of the pitfalls of not using Military Time. 0800 would be crystal clear vs 2000.
am = ante meridian; pm = post meridian. These are also a bit of an anacronym. since noon in the clock sense is not the same as solar noon. Right now our solar noon is 1208. The difference stems from correctios for ones local longitude relative to the time zone meridian, and the Equation of Time, which is a function of Earth's orbit.
IN PEN - How I do my puzzle. No white-out needed today.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Great fun today! Thanks Gary and C.C. for a very doable puzzle with a few edges for me. Once I found my first bridge, I was on a roll. Loved SHUNT and REF--my mind wasn't there initially. Very nice.

Lemonade, thanks for another terrific tour. Feel better. DH is struggling with sciatica also. No fun for either of you!

TTP (last night): I know lots of knitters who love their stashes. Sometimes it almost seems an Olympic Event to hoard yarn, but not moi. I have a very moderate stash, which annoys me anyway because it makes me feel like I'm not getting enough done; a hobby is supposed to be fun! Love that you didn't chastise your MIL as you hauled the boxes and bags to your car!

It's quite "chilly" here--sunny and 3 degrees. Knitting and reading in front of the fireplace are in order. Stay cozy wherever you are.

BunnyM said...

Good morning all!
What a fun Friday puzzle - thanks CC and Gary. Loved the bridge theme ( I have never played the card game) and all the clever clues.
Thanks Lemonade for your write up. I can sympathize with your back pain. I have degenerative disc disease, scoliosis, and arthritis of the spine. It causes my sciatica to act up more often than I'd care for. Surgery and injections have been part of my life for awhile. Got an early start with all this in my 30's. Now I'm closer to 50 than I'd like to be, lol, and it's one day at a time! Back pain is not something I'd wish on anyone. Hope you get some relief!

This one seemed a bit easier than yesterday despite my missteps. INPEN seemed odd - wanted ink. I do my puzzles in pencil. I'm a certified paper and pencil geek. I used to swear by 'Mirado Classic' pencils by PaperMate until an old school chum who works in the Senate convinced me to try The General Pencil Company's products. I just started using their 'Cedar Pointe' and love them :)

I also had Oops for UHOH; had leer/OGLE, Erne/TERN, Desert/DEPART, Stern/STAID

Favorites were GOAL, GIFT, SAUCE, ATOLL, SULU ( DH is an avid Trekkie) LEI was an Aha! moment - was thinking musical performers.
TOSTADA - there's a wonderful little taqueria on Isla Mujeres that has delicious Salbutes. I love watching them fry the tostadas which are made to order.

desper-otto - lol about your MICAH comment :) I have a cousin with that name. I've never met another Micah, so always thought it was unique.
Brrrrrr is right - 5 degrees here this morning. My poor dog collapsed before being able to get back in the house due to his paws being so cold. This was only after a few minutes of romping through the snow. This weather is too much on my arthritic body - perhaps I need a trip to MIAMI! ;)

Have a great day everyone!

CanadianEh! said...

I found this CW somewhat easy for a Friday at first but then got held up in the NE corner. Thanks for the fun C.C., Husker G, and Lemonade (feel better soon).

I had Star before GIFT, Erne before TERN, and Leer before OGLE giving me Oatie not OATEN and causing my problem in the NE.

Hand up for Rat before REF (clever especially with GOAL!). Up late last night watching the World Junior Hockey final. Congrats to USA on shoot-out win over Canada. Great hockey.

Like YR and TTP,I was misdirected with prayer.
ERMA today not Irma. ARF for IM.

Noted mini travel theme with cruise line, LEI, and Club MED. Perhaps it is time to get out of the WINTER SNOW. Hawaii is still on my bucket list.

Are all Americans ARMED? Huge difference in attitude to guns between Canada and US.

Have a great day. LOL Jinx re closing school for 6 inches of SNOW!

kazie said...

I envy Tin and any others in the south today. Here it's 2 below with minus 30 to 40 wind chill. Probably why I'm suffering permanent brain freeze this week.

The only time I use ink in puzzles is when putting in corrections and missing bits after checking here, so that they are differentiated from the rest. Today that included parts of these: SHUNT, TRIVIA, ARE, SPY ON, and the last letters of all that fed into PY ON. I transposed RA to AR in RAMADA.

Those who work, enjoy P.O.E.T.S. Day: Piss Off Early, Tomorrow's Saturday!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-What a treat to work with real pros like C.C. and Lila Cherry. I got out my list of clues from when I composed them on October 5th and was glad to see quite a few got in with little or no editing.
-This captain did not stay at the HELM
-Mom always solved IN PEN. Me? Never!
-The Husker men’s BB team had a big 2-OT win last night and the REF’s “let ‘em play” with very little whistle blowing
-I couldn’t figure out the SHUNT clue. Turns out it was mine. DOH!
-Did you ever TRACE like this growing up? It was the only way I could “draw”
-GO FAST track advice
-A school’s Executive ASST. (secretary) really runs most schools.
-Nice write-up as always Lemon and, yeah, I INGESTED a lotta NECCO wafers.
-When you play winter golf here, you may find some of those flags frozen into the hole
-My ARP clue was “Dada but not Mama”.
-Thanks for the kind comments. I’m off for a space presentation for sixty second graders. If I’m not back by 3 p.m….

oc4beach said...


Thanks to CC and HG for the nice easier than usual Friday treat. Lemon, despite being in pain, conducted the tour through the puzzle admirably.

I got most of the puzzle with a few hitches along the way. But, I did get it done without help. Luckily I don't do the puzzle INPEN or ININK which I had to begin with. Perps were my usual saviors to getting the theme clues filled in correctly and a few of the other fills.

I was thinking medically when I put in STENT vs SHUNT, but that would have been through the block instead of around the block.

I lived near Baltimore for many years and really enjoyed The Wire. It was very real to life and matched a lot of the actual news that came out of Baltimore (or as locals would say, BALLMORE)

I spent many hours playing BRIDGE when I should have been studying. For a while it was like an obsession with marathon games lasting for days. During the Great Blackout of 1965 in New York after I graduated, my bridge group played bridge by candlelight the whole time the lights were out. DW doesn't like bridge, so, the obsession is a thing of the past.

I still get NECCO wafers every now and then. NECCO also still makes the iconic SKY BAR which my sister and I get for each other's birthdays. We'll split a box of 36 that will last for a few months. It brings back childhood memories.

I had a friend who was a Double Ace fighter pilot in Korea who told many tales that involved G-Suits. His real passion, though, was golf. He would always take his putter and prize driver with him in the cockpit when he flew to other AFBs in the US. Apparently just about every major AFB has at least one golf course.

The temperature here started out at 15° and is supposed to warm up to 22° with snow last night. Stay warm everyone.

inanehiker said...

Fairly fast for a Friday - but I think that's because I got the gridspanners pretty quickly.
I was on D-Otto's wavelength with RAT before REF and DADA before DECO. At first I thought the AUDI clue was something about Bingo- before the Doh! that there is no Q in Bingo! I waited for perps on MICAH because I also thought of MOSES.
I only attempt crosswords IN PEN when I can't find a pencil and only in the first half of the week! Staying cozy this morning at home, though it is rising to a whopping 10 degrees now.

Thanks HG and CC! Stay warm!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I'm always happy to see CC's byline, whether it's solo or duo and on a Friday, it's frosting on the cake! 🎂. The cluing was on the mischievous side which is always fun when it's fair, as it was today. I never saw "The Wire" but it was easy to infer. OTOH, I thought the clue for Audi was referring to chess moves. I didn't fall into the "rat" trap because it doesn't accurately describe a whistleblower, who is usually a good person trying to correct a wrong. Of course, the guilty party might disagree with that! 🐀. Necco wafers bring back childhood memories; my favorite was the chocolate and the licorice (yuck!) were given away,

Many thanks, CC, Gary, and Lemonade for a fun and enjoyable challenge and summary. Feel better, Lemony.

Lucina from yesterday: you can get clotted cream from iGourmet.com. I'm not sure if it's imported but I've purchased many products from this source and have always been satisfied with the quality and service.

Have a great day.

I'm not sure what our temp is

C6D6 Peg said...

Thanks, HG and CC. Fun, easier than normal Friday. Loved the clues and theme. Nice job!

Thanks, also, Lemonade, for your fun write-up.

Stay warm all!

Irish Miss said...

Sorry for that dangling sentence. I'm not sure what our temp is but it's darn cold!

Yellowrocks said...

My 8:21 post was repeated at 10:49 under a strange name. What gives?

Lucina said...

Muy bien hecho, Gary! I like a smooth solve with clever clues which you had aplenty. Mostly I sashayed through the grid especially in the north. Loved the GIFT CLUE.

Count me in for DADA before DECO and REF made me laugh. The BRIDGE themes were fairly easy but I've never seen THE WIRE and I was thinking, A IS for everyone so WInE seemed okay. The next place where I came skidding down was the SE. SNEAK went in and I didn't check the downs which I normally do so didn't see the glaring errors.

Luau band is a tricky and new way to clue LEI. Yes, Lem, I've been to Hawaii, all islands except Lanai, even Molokai. My late DH loved it there and was the only place he ever wanted to vacation.

This was great fun with some really refreshing and amusing clues. You must do it again, Gary. BRIDGE the gap!

Lemonade, sciatica is so painful I admire you for fulfilling your duty today in spite of it. For me a weekly massage in the lower back finally cured me of it. I found a retired masseuse who didn't charge much.

Thank you again, Gary, and many special thanks to Lemonade who persevered in the midst of pain to give us his weekly erudite guidance.

Have a lovely day, everyone!

Steve said...

Nice one, guys! Had a few do-overs and missteps, but all good in the end.

Thanks for the write-up Lemon, hope your back gets better.

Argyle said...

How many remember Micah Torrance?

Sailorman said...

Would someone please explain the are is for everyone clue. I'm missing something here.

Jayce said...

C.C. and Gary's excellent puzzle! I liked the sparkling answers and sneaky-punny-clever clues. As Spitzboov sometimes says, BZ! And your writeup today was stellar, Lemonade.

Although not as cold as it is for many of you, our back yard thermometer was pointing at 20 degrees F this morning. I expect we'll have some more frozen dead plants today. The hedge bordering our garage is half the size it used to be and many of our potted plants look like wilted spinach. But that's nothing compared to a cold Wisconsin winter! (We lived in Tomah for a while, so I know.)

Irish Miss, your iGourmet suggestion is a good one. Thank you for it.

Best wishes to you all.

Misty said...

Woohoo! I got a Friday Gary and C.C. puzzle--without even a bit of cheating! Yea! Hurray! What a great start to the weekend! Many thanks, you two, and you too, Lemonade. Hope you and Bunny M get relief from your back pain soon!

What a fun puzzle! My favorite was the "bow" clue for GIFT. I had the GI and couldn't imagine anyone taking a bow after a concert whose name or title would start with GI. Burst out laughing when I finally got it.

Many thanks for the ARP comments, Lemonade. Never heard him called Hans--interesting.

Sailorman, if I understand it correctly, the difference is:

"He IS home"
"They ARE home" or 'Everyone is home' versus 'The guys ARE home'.

Have a great weekend coming up, everybody!

Anonymous said...

To Sailer Man
Is is singular ( He is a man.). Are is used as a plural(for many). (They are leaving.)

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi Gang -

C.C and Gary on a Friday. Most excellent.

Love the theme. Feel bad that I never thought of it.

Really nice execution with two grid spanners. Nice fill, good clues.

Terrific job, you two.

The BRiDGE column is right next to the puzzle in the FREEP. Todays entry shows a declarer making a sound 3 NT bid, and going down without taking a single trick. Oddities do happen.

Wings scored 4 last night, while shutting out the Kings. Record is now 17-17-5. Middling mediocrity.

Watched the USA vs Canada Jrs. for the gold medal last night. Excellent, fast paced game. USA won it 5-4 in a shoot out. Really a shame somebody had to lose.

Cool regards!
JzB

Jayce said...

Canadian Eh, when I lived in Montana everybody had guns and knew how to care for them, to keep them locked up when not in use, and to use them responsibly and safely. I had 2 guns: a single-barrel shotgun for hunting ducks and pheasant, and a bolt action (single shot) 237 Roberts rifle for deer, antelope, and jackrabbit hunting. Nobody I knew wore a sidearm. And nobody I knew would ever dream of having a fully automatic "killing machine."

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling thoughts":

Congrat's to HG (and CC) for a clever, if not very difficult Friday Crossword. It was certainly tough enough, but when I can do a Friday/Saturday puzzle without help from Google, I rank it as "not difficult".

Hand up for one who solves on paper, IN PEN. No eraser for me; if I err, I just write over. Fortunate there were only two write overs; 1d and 30d, each of which was easily corrected.

I thought MIAMI was correct for 1a but decided to fill today's answers from the bottom up. And when using that strategy, it took awhile for me to see all of the "bridges"

I can tell it's been too long since I've played golf when the answer for 57d did not register

47a - also a clue and answer that makes absolutely no sense to me anymore! 😜
Oops - just saw another mistake - had DEPORT instead of DEPART in 34a

31a was an easy solve as I have been an AUDI owner for 14 yrs; A4 and A5. Visited the factory and museum in Ingolstadt Germany. A long way from the RUHR. Ingolstadt is about a 45 minute drive north of Munich

No limerick today

The 12th day of Christmas is upon us; all decorations are being packed up

Thanks Lemonade for the informative recap; hope your sciatic nerves relax - very painful, I know

Longbeachlee said...

So the LA Times crossword guy lives in Florida. What is there left to believe in?

Sailorman said...

To Misty and Anon. Thanks. I still think that's subtle cluing. Surprised everyone got it. Of course it would have helped if I knew the name of the tv show. A great puzzle otherwise.

Yellowrocks said...

It seems sinister that someone reposted my entire post under a name in a differnet alphabet. Seriously, any thoughts on this?

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

I ATE this up. Thanks HG & CC for a fun RUN. Thanks Lem for the expo - Pop takes 2 or 3 Aleves for his pain-in-the-...

WO: No one else went with TRIbek [sic] b/f TRIVIA?
ESPs: MICAH, OMANI [LOL!], RUHR, and IRAE.

Fun c/a's: 6a, 10a, 44a, INGEST xing ATE, and, Fav: 45d - LOL!

{B+,B}

D-O: Yep, WINTER's here for a few days. I nearly put Advent IN PEN @49d
Jinx - exactly what I was thinking re: SHUNT.

Kazie - all Friday's are P.O.E.T.S. Day. We work 4-9's and 4 on Fri.

I GOTTA RUN, er, DEPART for now... Play later.

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

YR - yes, I saw that. It was to get a link to malware on the blog (the Arabic looking Avitar linked to a .co or something - Argyle removed it before I wrote the whole thing down). Cheers, -T

Bobby Plant said...

Ah, Excuse me.
Oh will you excuse me.
I'm just trying to find the bridge... Has anybody seen the bridge?

(Have you seen the bridge?)
I ain't seen the bridge!

(Where's that confounded bridge?)

chefwen said...

I've been waiting for another Husker/C.C. puzzle, I had so much fun with the last one. This one was just as much fun, just a lot shorter than that big 'ol Sunday one. All the way through it I kept saying "O.K. That one is a Gary clue".
Very clever puzzle. Thanks Gary and C.C.

Yellowrocks said...

I received a message that someone tried to sign on to my account yesterday. Should I change my Google acct password? Where do I find it?







Wilbur Charles said...

They don't make skybars like they used to. The NECCO plant was in Charlestown I believe. That's Mass.

I see we had LEN Deighton the other day. In his middle trilogy I think he's alluding to something. Dodo,was a clue. Revenge for something Bernard's father did is another. The conclusion is too sinister to post here.

Back to today. I agree with what's been excellently posted. All A's for Gary, CC and Lemonade. I'll up Owen to B B+. I'm sipping on regular coffee as we speak so maybe I can do a replacement 'lick for Moe.

I FIWed on TOSTADA because I went to the French PAR Example. I never got GIFT until Lemonade explained it.

I use pen. I recall being told there's a book on how to change letters. 650 possibilities, right?

I'll be back

WC

Ol' Man Keith said...

MIAMI means only one thing to me--and to my wife: the worst airport experience we have ever had.
We were returning from a cruise - NOT on Carnival, I hasten to add; that might have made it worse.
This was when I was in the earliest stages of stenosis and neuropathy & could still manage to walk reasonable distances. But nothing had prepared us for the senseless layout of the lengthy corridors with unmarked distances of MIA--the aptly-acronymed airport from Hell.
After walking, then limping, and then stumbling along through hectares of connecting halls to find our flight, I gave in and we called for a cart or wheelchair to transport me and the luggage I was trying to move (my wife was already overburdened). That's when we were told that chairs were all booked for nearly an hour, and that invalids should make advance reservations.
We knew there was nothing to be gained by explaining that I hadn't been an invalid until forced to walk forever in MIA's endless corridors. It might have helped if they had posted distances rather just than a taunting succession of arrows pointing dumbly to the next turn... and the next... and &c....
Years later I have made my peace with many travel inconveniences of memory, from a dirt-floor hotel in Croatia to unflushable toilets in Peru, but I shall never forgive MIA for ruining our return--and wrecking my back.
Sometimes it helps to vent.
Thanks for reading.

Traveler said...

Keith: your rant about the Miami airport is unfortunate considering the unfolding tragic shooting at the ft lauderdale airport.

Anonymous said...

Today was a fun, easy romp for a Friday! Thank you, C.C. and HG! Enjoyed the write-up, Argyle.

I had all the same issues as those mentioned so no reason to revisit them.

I think we got up to 18* today. I require it to be at least 20* to walk the dog, so no mingling with Old Man Winter today. Maybe tomorrow.

Happy Friday!

Pat

Argyle said...

That would be Lemonade.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, Argyle! Senior moment! Thanks, Lemonade!

Pat

Yellowrocks said...

I changed my Google acct. password. I found no odd use in my history.I wonder what the warning was. I canned it too quickly.If someone added a device would I know?
I found Alan's missing crowns in the trash. Yucky coffee grounds and other nasties. Might save some $$$$. It took 36 hours to find out what happened to the crowns. He is home with a cold. Still playing whack a mole most days.

Wilbur Charles said...

Mr Lloyd who played Ani(Skywalker) is a sad case indeed. As I mentioned earlier, he was the only one in the whole saga that ever did any actual acting.

Carrie Fisher alluded to that in one of her interviews

WC

AnonymousPVX said...

Nice puzzle today.

Lemonade714 said...

Hard to be lighthearted after the incident at FLL. My prayers to all who were involved
I spent the day at the emergency room
Home now, feeling a bit better. Thanks for all the kind words and good thoughts
It is important to emphasize the good things in life when bad crazy things happen
Wishing you all protection from crazy evil

Misty said...

Traveler, Keith may not yet have heard of the terrible Fort Lauderdale shooting. It is a devastating event.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Thanks, Misty for understanding what Traveler seems to have missed--and chosen to take the worst way. I certainly meant no disrespect to any who were harmed by the Ft. Lauderdale catastrophe, and you are right in that I did not know of that event.
These outbreaks are just sickening.
Thank you for your courtesy.

Picard said...

Fun theme!

Did anyone else think IN BED for How many crosswords are solved? I also finish them IN PEN.

In the late 70s I lived right by the NECCO factory in Cambridge, MA. Every day there was a new fragrance as they changed the production line!