google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, February 16, 2017 C.C.Burnikel

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Feb 16, 2017

Thursday, February 16, 2017 C.C.Burnikel

Theme: Stock Showdown - who would you back in a race between a Harley, a Ferrari and an Avis rental car?

The reveal sets up what we're looking for in the theme:

66A. Market representative? : TICKER SYMBOL

and indeed we find that the very apt ticker symbol and the company it represents intersect each other in the three theme pairs:

8D. Auto with a prancing horse logo, whose company 66-Across ends 18-Across : FERRARI and
18A. Fitness challenge : OBSTACLE RACE

Here's the 2016 Formula 1 model. Sex on a stick.


49A. Bike whose company 66-Across ends 26-Down : HARLEY and
26D. Unreserved way to go : WHOLE HOG

"Hog" was originally the nickname for a Harley dating back to the 20's, and adopted later as an acronym by the Harley Owners' Group.

50A. Name on a shuttle, whose company 66-Across ends 24-Down : AVIS and
24D. Alternative energy vehicle : SOLAR CAR

This car, developed by the University of Sydney, is set to be the first street-legal solar vehicle when it is registered in Australia in 2017.


Before we get into the meat of the theme and the puzzle, let's just get one thing clear regarding 39D. This puzzle was created last year and was accepted for publication in August 2016, so don't try to read anything more into it.

Clever theme from C.C. She told me that it went through quite a lot of back-and-forth with Rich at the concept stage before it was ready to go. Out of the many thousands of companies traded on NASDAQ and the NYSE there are precious few with a punny symbol, and even fewer where it can intersect the name.

Note the consistency in that the ticker symbol is the final word of a two-word phrase - good stuff. Add in some nice crunchy fill and a polished layout (and C.C's "trademark" baseball references) and you can't get much better. Let's see what else jumps out:

Across:

1. Truly wretched : ABJECT. Great start.

7. E equivalent, on scores : F FLAT. Both notes are en-harmonic equivalents, but not regarded as the same note.

12. Bygone space station : MIR

15. Reaction to a comeback : TOUCHÉ! 

16. Contact : REACH

17. Long-necked bird : EMU

20. Metz moniker : NOM. I'm finally getting it that Metz is in France, not Germany. Mon nom est Étienne, en français.

21. Colo. setting : M.S.T. Mountain time for the Colorado folks.

22. See-through : SHEER. Like these curtains, which were the first examples of sheer fabric that sprung to my mind. Honestly, Officer ...



23. Even-odds situation : TOSS-UP

25. Scand. land : SWEden. Cold and dark over there at the moment.

27. Not much : A DAB. I tripped up on this one - I had A TAD first, corrected the T with FREEDOM and then forgot to go back and fix the B.

29. Nosebag fill : OATS. Also used in porridge,as C.C. noted on Sunday. Use rolled oats, not instant.

30. Male pal, in slang : BRAH. This is a Hawai'ian islands expression. The hipster surfer dudes in Southern California have picked up on it, and frankly, it sounds quite wrong coming from an Orange County high schooler.

32. Cold sore relief product : ORAJEL. You can get Zovirax OTC in the UK which blasts a cold sore into extinction within 24 hours if you use it the second you feel that first tingle.

35. Cellist with multiple Grammys : YO YO MA

38. Baseball collectibles : MINI BATS. You can't get much more mini than this:



41. Pure : SINLESS. Pure as the driven snow, like me, hence my admiration for sheer curtains.

43. Stated as fact : AVERRED

45. Sits in a cell : DOES TIME

48. Set up in a glade, say : ENCAMP

51. Lamb sandwich : GYRO. Food! I've waxed lyrical about these before. The Mad Greek, Baker, CA off the I-15.

54. Pamplona kudos : OLÉS

56. Outrage : IRE

57. Mountain predator : COUGAR

60. Trojan War epic : ILIAD

62. Church based in SLC, Utah : L.D.S. Latter Day Saints, the Mormon church in Salt Lake City.

65. Center : HUB

69. Foofaraw : ADO

70. "American Buffalo" playwright : MAMET

71. Erie Canal city : ALBANY

72. Passel : TON. A bunch, a pack, an indeterminate number. I like the word.

73. More than amuses : SLAYS

74. Greenery : PLANTS

Down:

1. Splitting target : ATOM

2. Short cuts : BOBS. Oh - haircuts!

3. Reagan-era slogan : JUST SAY NO

4. Outer: Pref. : ECT-

5. Run after : CHASE

6. __ support : TECH. Shot myself in the foot with ARCH first. This whole top-left corner was nothing but trouble for me, with the exception of the Nancy Reagan slogan.

7. Liberty : FREEDOM

9. Mike Trout's team, on scoreboards : LAA. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, clumsily. I've been to Angel Stadium - it's one of the few sporting venues where they don't completely fleece you for parking, beer and a dog.

10. Check no. : ACCT.

11. "Sons of Anarchy" actor Rossi : THEO. Thank you, crosses.

12. Brainy bunch : MENSA

13. Passing remark? : I'M OUT. See ya! No, wait, I've got some more puzzle to blog.

14. Beef cuts : RUMPS

19. Field : LEA

28. "Hulk" star Eric : BANA. Thank you, crosses. My blecho for today.

30. Fly-__: air passes : BYS. A USAAF formation usually comes over the top of my house on January 1st on the way to and from the Rose Bowl fly-by. One year there was a stealth bomber too, that was an eerie sight.

31. Juicer's juice? : ROID. Steroids. Nice clue.

33. Nonsense : JIVE

34. "__ Holden": Irving Bacheller novel : EBEN. What? Who? Crosses all the way. I discover it was published in 1900 and was a best-seller in 1901 and 1902.Now I don't feel so bad.

36. Cactus League spring training city : MESA, Arizona. I went to a spring training game between the Reds and Giants a few years ago in nearby Scottsdale. Really good fun. The Giants won the World Series that year.

37. Neil deGrasse Tyson subj. : ASTRonomy.

39. Blizzard restriction, perhaps : TRAVEL BAN

40. Final Four matchup : SEMI. Semi-final in a single elimination competition. Four to be winnowed down to two for the final.

42. Rural storehouse : SILO

44. Plays usually involving the SS : DPS. Double plays. Shortstops.


46. "I'm a fan!" : ME LIKEY!

47. Shoelace holders : EYELETS. You thread your aglets through your eyelets when you're putting laces in your shoes.

51. IM option : G-CHAT. Google Chat instant messaging.

52. "Seriously?" : YOU DO?

53. Apply, as sunscreen : RUB ON. I spray mine on, then rub.

55. Respectful word : SIR

56. Pastoral piece : IDYLL


How sweet is the Shepherd's sweet lot
From the morn to the evening he strays;
He shall follow his sheep all the day,
And his tongue shall be filled with praise.

For he hears the lamb's innocent call,
And he hears the ewe's tender reply;
He is watchful while they are in peace,
For they know when their Shepherd is nigh.

"The Shepherd" by William Blake

58. Stop-offs before big dates, maybe : ATM'S

59. Muscat money : RIAL. They don't come out of  ATM's in Oman, they come out of these things: آلة الصراف الآلي

61. Rush job letters : ASAP

63. "Knock it off!" : DON'T!

64. Stallone and Stone : SLYS

67. Nashville awards gp. : C.M.A. Country Music Association.

68. Mgmt. degree : M.B.A. A Master's degree in Business Administration.

I think that should do it from me. Happy Thursday, everyone!

Steve



52 comments:

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks CC and Steve!

Feeling awful so took longer than usual. Ate something that doesn't like me, evidently.

Got THEO, MAMET, EBEN and DPS from perps.

Have a great day!

OwenKL said...

FIRbTD! Had BYe > BYS, and didn't notice the meaningless perp until the lack of ta-da warned me to double-check. Difficult with a lot of names I didn't know and needed ESP for.

Convoluted theme! More-so than I'm used to seeing in LAT! -- Fri or Sat level, IMHO.

44d I thought was a Double Play involving the Short Stop.

gromETS > EYELETS, touCH > REACH (with TOUCHE right next door!) amongst other false starts.

I spent my freshman year while I was still a LDS at BYU, home of the COUGARs.

58d I couldn't think of any place to stop-off but the pharmacy for some condoms before big dates.

{B, C, B+, C+.}

I've got SHEER speed, said the FERRARI!
I've got road FREEDOM, said the HARLEY!
I'm not special, said AVIS,
Not on anyone's A-list.
But I am everywhere from Azusa to ALBANY!

The EMU and the oyster were CHATTING one day
When the oyster said, in an off-hand way,
"Sands RUB ON inside us
And can cause pearlitis."
Said the EMU, "I can cure you for Medicare and co-pay!"

There was a dumb genius from MESA
Her traits were all over the place, uh,
Her I.Q. was one-sixty!
Her tits she named Trixie!
She fit perfectly well into MENSA!

The COUGAR most solemnly AVERRED
She SLAYS only the weak of the herd.
She still can't eat PLANTS
They all give her cramps,
And of boy-toys she claims she's been cured!

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Good one, C.C. ME LIKEY. Not sure what a DPS or GCHAT is, and don't think I've seen BRAH before -- at least not spelled that way. Nice to see ...HOG crossing HARLEY. Poor Steve, this one was mostly food-free, unless you count RUMPS and OATS.

PLANTS reminds me that Phil, the philodendron, is showing signs of life. DW chopped off all the leaves after the big freeze, and only a four-limbed "octopus" remained. Yesterday a leaf started growing out of the top of one of those stalks. Maybe Phil will make it after all.

TTP said...

Good morning. Thank you CC and thank you Steve.

WHOA ! Talk about a test. Tour de force. Tough cluing, and I didn't grasp the theme connections very quickly.

Not a lot of first pass fill. ATOM, LAA, MST, OATS, GYRO, OLES, LDS, RIAL, CMA and MBA. Even other fill, that now looks easy in retrospect, had to be proven.

Good misdirection. we get RUMPS rather than loins, and A DAB rather than a tad.

Passing remark clue was great. One of the better clues, YTD, IMHO.

ME LIKEY ! Have a friend that says that. College grad. He's smart. Just seems so out of character when he says it.

Steve, I'll take the Tesla Model S. 0 to 60 in 2.28 seconds. That's incredible.

A CSO to Peg and her husband !

Glad you all liked that Marriage Proposal video. I thought it was fun and worth sharing.

Hungry Mother said...

A bit difficult for a Thursday. Girding myself for tomorrow.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes (such as today and yesterday), the theme seems to get in the way of any otherwise enjoyable puzzle. The "cleverness" factor can detract from the solving experience.

Pat Tillman was an excellent football player and is an American hero.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Great puzzle, wrong publication. Does People Magazine have crosswords?

Looked up BANA (had BAN_ already). Having ORAgEL instead of ORAJEL made me doubt gIVE (I had "guff" at first), and was my only bad cell at the end. Also looked up the meaning of "foofaraw", which gave me ADO, which made me change RUB iN and YOU tO. Also erased anat for ASTR.

I wonder how many MLB players will admit to having minibats?

Try as I might, I could not fit "liquor store" into the fill for "stop-off before big dates".

Thanks, CC, for this tough puzzle. I missed several of the BB references, the most obvious being DPs with ss's involved. I wonder if I would have gotten it if it had been clued "plays usually involving sixes, fours and threes".

Also thanks to Steve for another entertaining tour. I'll bet cops know that when someone starts with "Honest, officer" the next thing said will be a lie.

Tinbeni said...

Nice, informative write-up Steve. Good Job!

C.C. Thanks for a FUN Thursday puzzle. Easy going theme since I own RACE & HOG stocks.

Never heard of BRAH as a "Male pal" ... only BRO ... oh well, a learning moment to forget by noon.

Needed ESP to get THEO, EBEN, G-CHAT ... thanks perps!

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

Yellowrocks said...

Very crunchy for a Thursday. I wagged the R in BRAH and ROID. It just seemed wrong, but better than anything else. Filled it right in too much time.
I am a confused. I read that there is no symbol for FARRARI which trades under FIAT with the ticker symbol F. RACE? Really?
This is short. Gotta run.

Tinbeni said...

Yellowrocks
F is the stock symbol for FORD
RACE is the stock symbol for FERRARI

Anonymous said...

Steve, as stated before Pat Tillman is an American hero and a huge personal hero of mine despite some naysayers. But he did not go to BYU and surely doesn't need that story mistold. He went to Arizon State University. He is also highly respected there not as a dumb jock but as a loving, brave, funny, loyal human being. Please clean it up.

Tinbeni said...

YR
Oh, and BTW ...

FIAT CHRYSLER Automobiles NV trades on the NYSE with the symbol FACU

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Zoomed right through, but I didn't quite catch the theme, probably because I didn't realize that Race was a stock symbol. I gather that somewhere in each stock exchange there is an office where ticker symbols are assigned; I hope there is a little sense of humor within that work...

Relatedly, in the world of air navigation, there is a need for pronounceable names for the hundreds of navigation waypoints scattered over the land. Some are simple, such as Bosox near Boston, and some are frisky, such as Coors near Milwaukee. Both of those have been around for ages. GPS navigation has required that a great many new names be invented, such as the approach sequence near Portsmouth NH. That one has five waypoints named as follows: "Itawt, Itawa, Puddy, Tatt, Ideed". Yup, even the stodgy world of government can have a lighter side.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Tough one. Needed a little help wirh EBEN and BANA - slow getting ORAJEL. Some good cluing - such as for ATOM and BOBS.
Steve @ 59a, those look like ATMs to me. (per Google pictures)
ALBANY - The original Erie canal terminated at Albany. The modern canal terminates at Waterford, several miles upstream on the Hudson above Albany, and above the Federal Lock and Dam at Troy, NY. The foot of the dam is the head of sea level; 153 miles inland from NYC.

Anonymous said...

Brian Billick was the football player who told his own story of the "LDS or Mormon" question when he transferred to BYU. Billick is more commonly known for his time as a coach and analyst on tv.

Pat Tillman died serving our country after willingly foregoing millions in the NFL.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-This amazing puzzle took some real effort, which gave me a true sense of accomplishment. Steve’s last summative paragraph is right on the mark!
-A heart-melting one-minute OBSTACLE COURSE!
-Pieces of the MIR (Russian for peace) breaking up over the South Pacific
-A famous Churchill’s TOUCHE’ phrase ended, “If you were my wife, I’d drink it”
-My daughter got a cell phone so she could always be REACHED but…
-TV programs usually skip announcing MST start times
-AVER gets all dressed up today in the past tense
-LDS issue
-We have a non-stop flight to D.C. next month. No HUB necessary
-George Carlin SLAYED me, both before and after he went blue
-Han and Strassman first split the ATOM in Nazi Germany
-If your shot is farther away in golf, you also say, “I’M OUT”
-After much ADO, a small group always seem to reach the FINAL FOUR SEMIS
-Hmmm… a stop before a big date?

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

Wow! - tough go today. Worked from the bottom up. NW corner was last to fall. Something about "Truly wretched" = ABJECT feels off to me, so I resisted entering it.

Finally made it through, though

Didn't know those SYMBOLS. Back in the day, Chrysler was C.

With equal tempering, F FLAT and E really are the same note, just going by different names to suit the context. In other tempering systems , enharmonic equivalents can have slightly different frequencies.

There is a complicated history behind all this, going all the way back to the ancient Greeks. Octaves and perfect fifths are frequencies in 2:1 and 3:2 ratios respectively. But if you CHASE them up the piano keyboard, eventually the series of fifths and the series of octaves end up on the same note. Sadly, though, the calculated frequencies are different, and that difference is called the coma of Pythagorus. How that difference is smoothed out over the octave accounts for the various approaches to tempering the scale.

You can read more about it if interested.

http://legacy.earlham.edu/~tobeyfo/musictheory/Book1/FFH1_CH1/1N_Pythagorean_Comma.html

http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/scales.html

Cool regards!
JzB

C6D6 Peg said...

Tough outing, but FIR after way too much time! Also thought it was more of a Friday puzzle. Certainly, not a typical LAT offering. Nice job, C.C.

Thanks for CSO (and TTP for remembering).

Nice write-up, Steve, as usual. Have a Gyro for me when you go!

oc4beach said...


Definitely a rough ride today from CC, very challenging. Steve splained everything nicely and provided the V8 can head slaps. Today I needed Red Letters and Every Single Perp to finish, so therefore an official DNF. However, I didn't have to resort to Google.

After going through the Across clues once, I only had eight words, mostly three letter words plus YOYOMA and ILIAD. The Down clues added a few more words, but I had a few errors along the way.

- EXO vs ECT
- LOT vs TON
- ATAD vs ADAB
- ABREVA vs ORAJEL. The Orajel I remember was for toothaches and baby teething relief. How many of your kids were treated with Orajel when they were teething?

After once across and once down, there was a lot of white space in the puzzle. Eventually the perps prevailed and I filled it all in in about twice as long as usual.

HG: The LDS issue with Starbucks is interesting. They are touting Hot Chocolate for non-caffeine drinkers. However, Starbucks Hot Chocolate has 25 milligrams of caffeine. Not as much as coffee, but enough to upset those who don't want caffeine.

I hope everyone has a great day.




Lucina said...

Tough going is right but then I never do well with sports clues involved. I had to search for the unknown names, Mike Trout, Irving Bacheller and THEO Rossi. Like others, the bottom blossomed first and spread upward. Ironically I have a MINIBAT which obviously someone left here but I didn't think of it. I agonized over that one.

I really wanted OBSTACLEcourse but it didn't fit.

Oh, well. Win some, lose some. I lost this one but thank you, C.C., for the challenge and Steve for the interesting tour.

Learning moment: RACE is a TICKERSYMBOL.

Sptiz:
I always appreciate your insights and today's was interesting.

Have a delightful day, everyone!

Chairman Moe said...

"puzzling thoughts":

A CSO (of sorts) to IM (not the GCHAT) who lives close to ALBANY

A bit of a crunchy C.C. - for me, anyway - as I had several write-overs, and ended up finishing incorrectly due to a misspell and a WAG that was wrong. RIBS > BOBS; ARCH > TECH; EXT > ECT; ORAGEL was the misspelled word. My SW corner ( San Diego / Tijuana ) was the WAG that was wrong. I totally didn't get that IM meant "Instant Messenger") and G CHAT was not registering. I rarely do that anyway. Occasional IM on Facebook and I text on the phone, but nothing (here) on Google. Nice re-cap from Steve and another clever xword from our Fearless Leader . . .

Here is a limerick, for a change:

There's a lawyer whose certain aspect
Comes across when he hasn't fact-checked.
See, his vowels will slur
When the lie does occur,
As he cries out in court: "I, ABJECT!"

CrossEyedDave said...

Before I read the Blog & comment on CC's masterpiece of puzzlement,
I just finished reading last nights late comments and have to add:

To Irish Miss, & Misty.

My apologies,

I had said I stopped watching Bond movies a while ago,
however, I just Googled the list & discovered that I have
only ever seen the first 5 of the 26 James Bond films!

So I guess that puts me closer to a non watcher than I thought I was...

(Hmm, are they on Netflix? let's see how long will it take to watch 20 movies...)
(plus, how much popcorn should I buy? Bill G, is there a math equation for that?)

Misty, as to what to recommend, I am at a loss.
However, I did watch one more recent Bond film,
& it blew me away!

Casino Royale 2006

The background scenery is beautiful, the action is unbelievable,
and believe it or not, ladies man James actually falls in love!
(It does not end well...)

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A double play (DP) t-shirt that took me a while to figure out. Hint: SS’s are a 6 when using a baseball score sheet.
-I never say anything to the officer who stops me. I sit quietly with my hands on the steering wheel and only answer his questions while never offering excuses
-A colleague of mine always used this line, “An excuse only satisfies the giver”
-A matter of taste – I like these puzzles with a gimmick
-This Nebraska Air Guard FLY OVER made the hair on the back of my neck stand up
-I’m guessing a lot of Mormons consume caffeine, like my Jewish friends who love bacon and Catholic friends who love cheeseburgers everyday during Lent.
-This just in on that matter from yesterday’s SLC Tribune

CanadianEh! said...

Thursday challenge today. Thanks for the fun C.C. and Steve.
Who would I back, Steve? It's a TOSSUP.

I managed to finish on the MENSA site and got the theme.
C.C. and Rich were prescient with 39D.

I smiled at the JIVE talking with Foofaraw, Passel, ME LIKEY and BRAH (I'm more familiar with Bro).

My Canadian ABM before ATM gave me a Bicker Symbol.
Moved from Nor to DEN to SWE.
THEO, EBEN, BANA required perps.
ASAP is STAT in medical terms.
56D IDYLL could be clued as pastoral piece or pastoral peace!

My PLANTS are providing inside Greenery (and some colour with amaryllis) but I am eager for spring.

Have a great day. Belated Happy Birthday to Hondo.

Big Easy said...

I won't say ME NO LIKEY nor was it 'Truly wretched (ABJECT), but it was difficult to finish due to so many unknowns: BRAH, MAMET, LAA, THEO Rossi, EBAN Holden, G-CHAT, Fly-BYS,Eric BANA, and I've heard of OBSTACLE COURSE but not an obstacle RACE.

What kind of ROID Rage? steROID or hemorRhOID?
SS- I was thinking GESTAPO, not Short-stop.



Steve- 'ABBREVA' is a product available in the USA; (right-on oc4beach about the use of Ora-Jel) expensive but IT WORKS. Both were developed by the conglomerate Glaxo-Smith Kline-Burroughs Wellcome-Beecham. ORA-JEL has been around forever but 'it' was always associated with teething in infants or toothache, not COLD SORES. I guess they now have a 'line extension' of their name to treat cold sores.

AnonymousPVX said...

Tough and crunchy, but got the solve.

Didn't care for "me likely", even if it is fan boy hip now to make fun of Asians with a phrase no Asian would be caught dead saying. Like watching Bonanza - a favorite BTW - and seeing the cook mince around like a good Chinese was expected to do 50 years ago.

AnonymousPVX said...

"likey" above, not "likely" ,spellcheck strikes again

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

"Brah"? "Me likey"? I finished but these and a few other clue answers were quite a stretch. Held off on CMA as I reasoned the "A" was part of country music "awards" and "awards" was already part of the clue.

The "Albany to Buffalo" Erie canal used to pass right through our downtown in Utica NY till it was filled in and a new wider canal a mile or so north was built using parts of the Mohawk River called the Barge Canal...in Utica the canal system is again referred to as the Erie Canal. Great recreational venue for kayaking/canoing and biking and hiking along parallel trails. In balmy weather dining at a restaurant on a terrace overlooking the canal is a treat as well. Or sitting with a cup of coffee and dessert...filling in the daily crossword challenge in the Utica Observer-Dispatch after checking out the obits!!...lol

CrossEyedDave said...

Longest DNF ever...
Theme helped, but the NW corner bested me.
The only perp I had was "chase"
and 1d splitting target "hair" was not working out.
( i even tried to justify the R in hair with 21a= Rocky Mtn Time...)


Other misthoughts:
20a Metz moniker is not NYM?
38a I had miniHats instead of minibats
I was sure I saw them somewhere...
(hmm, maybe it was those little plastic football helmets...)
& melikey, I dunno... (I wonder if it's an abbreviation of M"i"ckey likes it...)
Male pal in slang?
& greenery (74a) is bound to cause a Monty Python Shrubbery link...
37d had to be left blank until perpage because it could have
easily been COSMology.

HG, that Churchill quote requires context.

A very foul mouthed flyby

but you could toss me in the Spam Filter...

CrossEyedDave said...

Dudly, that GPS waypoint list is hilarious!
I wonder if there is a list of others anywhere...

Jet limbo,how low can you go.

better quality, but longer. 11:16

Irish Miss said...

Hi Everyone:

Late to the dance due to getting sidetracked, which happens more and more these days. This CC offering gave me a run for my money but, in the end, I prevailed. Eben and Theo were unknowns but Bana is a regular. I didn't bother checking the cross-references because it makes me as dizzy as trying to figure out Bill G's math problems or, even worse, deciphering, much less understanding, what TTP and Anoymous T and the rest of the "Techies" are talking about. Phew! In any event, I've yet to meet a CC puzzle that I didn't enjoy solving.

Nicely done, CC, and thanks to Steve for 'splainin' it all so clearly.

Happy Birthday to Casey! 🍖

Have just been notified by Discover that there was "suspicious" activity on my account so they are cancelling my card and sending me a new one. (I checked my statement and there is nothing amiss.) So, now I have to change the number with 6 automatic-billing vendors. This is my 3rd new card in 3-4 years and the fifth or sixth in the last 8-9 years. As Cathy would say, ACK!

Spitz, in the Spring, the waters below that Troy Lock and Dam are inundated by striper fisherman. IIRC, the stripers chase the herring (menhaden?) all the way up the Hudson from New York/Long Island Sound.

Chairman Moe, thanks for the Albany SO. Canadian Eh, do you pronounce it Al-bany? That's how the vacationing Canadians I knew in Florida said it. We say All-bany although one of my sisters says Aw-bany. As Tin would say, "Go figure" and as Jayce would say, Sheesh" and as Misty would say, Woo Hoo!" And as Bugs Bunny would say, "That's All, Folks!" (There must be a reason for my silliness but I'm not sure what it is.) 🤓

Have a great day.

oc4beach said...



Hg: A while back (about 12 years) when I was still working in Aerospace, I went to the Small Satellite Conference in Logan, Utah at the Utah State University. At all of the official meals and functions the only thing we had to drink was Lemonade and Water, no coffee or tea even decaf coffee let alone no Scotch or Bourbon. So, one afternoon when I had some time to kill, I drove up to Bear Lake which straddles the Idaho and Utah border. I stopped at a MiniMart for gas and asked the attendant for some Decaf coffee. He got very indignant and said they only had regular coffee because anybody in Utah who drinks coffee drinks REAL Coffee. Who knew.

As I understand it Mormons will not even drink Decaf coffee because it has about 3% caffeine in it.

Misty said...

Oh, my, this was a real toughie all right, and should have been a Saturday, IMHO. I also don't know my STOCK market, I guess, so the theme just didn't fall into place for me either, although at least I got some of the vehicles (not my strong point either).

But C.C., I will always love something about your puzzles, if not everything, so here are some of my favorites: MENSA (had a friend once who suggested I try out for it, but given how I'm doing on crosswords lately, it's a good thing I didn't); YO YO MA (wish I could hear his music sometime); MAMET (I think I might have seen "American Buffalo" when I lived in Buffalo); ILIAD (Homer will always be a great love of mine, and I don't mean Simpson); IDYLL (loved, loved, loved that poem, Steve)--how's that for a list of favorites!

Thanks for the Bond suggestions, Cross-Eyed Dave--I'll have to get my Netflix started back up again and see if I can get a hold of it.

Loved your silliness today, Irish Miss.

Had my second nosebleed in a month, yesterday. Don't understand what's going on.

Have a good day, everybody!

Jayce said...

Whoo, this was a hard one! Many names unknown to me. I had to get ole man Google to help me out several times. Misspelled ORAJEL as Oragel, and figured GIVE must therefore be a valid variant of JIVE, so FIW. Turning on red letters exposed that error immediately. Very interesting and imaginative theme, so indicative of C.C.'s razor sharp mind.

Steve, thank you for your excellent explanations.

Irish Miss, your silliness today is quite endearing.

Best wishes to you all.

Chairman Moe said...

CED, at various way-points . . .

Cool videos! Your "jet limbo" brought back a memory of a pun I did on wine and limbo, when I coined the phrase: How Merlot can you go?

And of course, one cannot mention the word Merlot without recalling this scene from the movie "Sideways" (warning, an f-bomb is spoken by the protagonist)

'twas once a wine aficionado,
Who was skilled at dancing the limbo.
While holding her wine
She arches her spine,
To see just how Merlot she can go!

CanadianEh! said...

Irish Miss @2:58 - Guilty as charged with Al-bany. Never thought of pronouncing it All-bany. LOL!

“Never underestimate the healing power of silliness and absurdity.”
― Steve Maraboli

Ol' Man Keith said...

Very hard, but I needed only two look-ups to crack C.C.'s challenge. A nice pzl for nearly-Friday!

I had GCHAT crossing down from GYRO. Turned out I was right, even though I didn't trust/understand GCHAT.

My first fill was MIR. Who can forget that "Bygone space station"? Watch out; look up! Don't let it hit ya!

I produced the VA premiere of American Buffalo, so MAMET was a gimme. Had BANA early on, although I never watched the "Hulk." He must just be a part of general Americana by now.

Another gimme: YOYO MA gave a master class for a few of our students. He chose one of my smartest guys for a one-on-one lesson, which was both brilliant and funny.

Mon nom en français est Keith. Toujours Keith. "Keith" is either from East Lothian (Scotland) or from the Middle English for "home" or "family," so unfortunately not translatable. Not pronounceable either in French - because of its "th" ending.

But thank you, Etienne, et Merci!

OwenKL said...

A comment from an anti-baseballer like me on 44d is embarrassing unless readers know that Steve originally wrote it was a football play of a
Deep Pass involving a Strong Safety, which was a perfectly good alternate meaning (and not just an alternative fact).

oc4beach said...


Misty: Many of the James Bond movies are free to stream if you have Amazon Prime.

Misty said...

I didn't know that, oc4beach. I don't have Amazon Prime, but I'll think about signing up for it. Thanks for the suggestion.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for the editing.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Where to start w/ this fun-theme'd pzl? I finished it during my 8a meeting (I love dial-in meetings; no one knows you are doing something else during minutia) with only minor left-field thoughts [life-support? Barn b/f SILO]. Like TTP said - lotta white on 1st pass b/f I noticed it was a C.C. Pzl and locked in on her wavelength.

I love the execution C.C. Not only did the TICKER SYMBOL x the product, but every one was at the start of the TICKER or company. And I learnt all the TICKERS; none of these are in my portfolio! Icing - all the ME LIKIE [sic - SLAY fixed me] c/as. Thanks to you and Rich for sticking-out this idea.

Fun expo Steve. Your "Sex on a Stick" comment made me LOL! My Alfa is the baby-brother of FERRARI; it exudes sexy --- until I get in it; then she's only a 6 :-)

WOs: ME LIKie; ORAgEL; RUB iN
ESPs: ECT, THEO, EBEN, MAMET

Just fun: 44d had me thinking "The Producers" b/f Baseball; YO YO MA [there's your link Misty] spelled out; REACH for Contact [HG - DW has a cell phone like your daughter's :-)]; the word TOUCHÉ [pussy cat!]

Fav(s): It's a total TOSS UP - c/a for IM OUT?, c/a for ROID?, just seeing FERRARI in the pzl?, or is it the c/a for the unifier? [I kept thinking of the sales-folk that chap my RUMP w/ incessant phone calls]

{B, B-, B, A-} {Cute, ME LIKEY it MERlot :-)}.
PVX - is that really where ME LIKEY comes from? I ask b/c I've always use it ala "This new iPhone NO LIKEY 3.5" ear-bud plugs."

Oc4 - Kept ORAJEL on hand for 5 years while the girls teeth'd. It never gelled that it wasn't spelt 'gel'.

IM - You're feeling giddy 'cuz you got a 2nd SO at 51d's clue :-). I'll second HBD wishes to Casey.

CED - I have a MINI baseball hat/helmet the kids' ice cream was served in at the ball park that my Ren (of Stimpy fame) fart-doll now dons. Go 'Stros!
And, not to disappoint, a nice little one, not too expensive....

Cheers, -T

Wilbur Charles said...

I got home about 630 and dropped into a McDonald's for a coffee(decaf) and the xword. I already knew it was a CC.

I was quickly BEREFT and DEJECTed. Theme at no point was any help and OBSTACLEs abounded.

YOYOMA was a rock which faced MESA. Strangely, ILIAD turned out to be a perp.

I walked out the door at 740. Quickly, forgave CC since I got the whole thing.

Even MINI BATS. She throws a bone to a guy whi knew Clint Hartung and I had no idea about some 7 ltr baseball collectable.

Steve, I enjoyed the write-up. Owen, I liked #3 best. PwD C-Moe.

Well. Is 127 and change the right answer

I had 4 would be Bluejays in my van and so wanted to stump them with that baseball hypotenuse question.

WC

Ps. How much more difficult can Fri be.

TTP said...




I thought ME LIKEY came from the Cookie Monster. I only know it as "Very good, I want more."

Irish Miss - I like your lighthearted style.

Don't know about anyone else, but I've just finished off my box of Whitman's Sampler. Like Rory said, "...we're gonna need a bigger box."




CrossEyedDave said...

TTP, Hey yeah! Me likey does sound like something Cookie Monster would say.

But I still think one down should have been Chair without the "C"

And Anonymous T,

the final word on Greenery...

Anonymous T said...

CED - ME LIKEY John Oliver... Did you watch the Out takes? It SLAYS. -T

CrossEyedDave said...

I actually found it "from" the outtakes,
but when I saw the link at the end, I knew you'd find it!

But what was hard for me was should I link this?

Anonymous said...

While we are all linking videos:

Pat Tillman

Click if you can handle it. What a man. You ever meet a special or destined man?

CrossEyedDave said...

And finally,

(ah, the wisdom of the 5 post rule...)

Any Spamalot aficionado would know
that the African vs European swallow was discussed at length
at the french castle earlier in the film...

Anonymous T said...

Who are you so wise in the way of science?

Quest was a great movie that, if your attn span was greater than a gnat (or a Millenial), is so deeply and meta-funny. Thank CED. -T

Anonymous T said...

CED - BTW, your [C]hair clip allong w/ your 1d entry is meta-LO 2xL...

If anyone is still up, a little story...
I thought I was trapped!
I tried to get the trash tonight out but the garage door wouldn't go up. In fact the door looked like it was going to break up (like the MIR) w/ the motor struggling. I disconnected the drive train and play'd w/ it trying to find the glitch.

Then I WD40'd the heck out of it thinking there was wheel not rolling. I even emailed boss-man that I may not be in due to this...

My stubborn bum spent 20 minutes trying to figure it out before I thought out-side of the garage...

The door was snag'd... On Eldest's car parked waytoo close. It caught her license plate frame... D'Oh!

Yet another puzzle solved :-). Nite, -T

Picard said...

I loved the theme which involved layers of cleverness!

But I struggled in the end to WAG BRAH/ROID as both were unknowns and seemed wrong. Wrong.

And I was sure BANA was wrong, but I was wrong. So, I FIR. EBEN took ESP. Plenty of other unknowns, including GCHAT.

Hand up with Big Easy thinking SS was about the Nazis. Thanks for the explanation which was more peaceful!

My previous music teacher would get very angry if we claimed E was the same note as F-FLAT! My current teacher is more forgiving. As a math person I am fascinated with the music theory challenges of creating scales on fixed-note instruments.

Did anyone else think ITEM as split target before ATOM?