google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday March 15, 2017 Mark McClain

Gary's Blog Map

Mar 15, 2017

Wednesday March 15, 2017 Mark McClain

Theme: B MOVIES (38A. Low-budget cinema ... and, literally, the four longest puzzle answers ) - All four moves are in the pattern of B* B*.

 17A. 1980 Clint Eastwood film about a Wild West show : BRONCO BILLY

 23A. 1965 Jerry Lewis/Tony Curtis farce involving flight attendants : BOEING BOEING. Heard of this one.

 51A. 2005 Christian Bale superhero thriller : BATMAN BEGINS. This one was popular.


 62A. 2003 Disney animated feature with talking grizzlies : BROTHER BEAR

Hello Everyone. Boomer here. I am looking forward to March Madness, however I am a terrible fan.  I watched many Minnesota Gopher games on TV this year, some good and some bad.  I don't have much confidence that they will extend their season too far in Milwaukee.  This puzzle was not a big hit either.  I can say that I never attended any of these movies.  Seems as if some were all a Big Box Office Bust.

Across:
     
1. Franklin's faith : DEISM - I suppose this refers to Benjamin but I am not familiar with this faith.

6. Civil rights org. : NAACP -

11. Nursery offering : SOD - Spring is nearly here, nurseries will be buzzing next month.

14. More than just saber-rattling : AT WAR - did not like this clue. 

15. Not as well : ILLER - Another stretch of the English language.  I never heard anyone say they were iller.

16. Numero __ : UNO

19. Elton's title : SIR - I remember when rock was young.  (So was I).

20. Forward : SEND ON

21. "Isn't that something" : GEE - A Whiz of a word.

22. "Hold it right there!" : WHOA - A Roy Rogers command to Trigger.

26. Prey for cheetahs : IMPALAS - We rented an Impala in Las Vegas but we were not Cheetahs.  Vegas frowns on Cheetahs.

29. Little League airer : ESPN - From Williamsport, PA.  But thank you ESPN for hanging in there and televising a bowling tournament once in a while.

30. Fishing spot : PIER

31. GPS suggestion : RTE

33. Milk source : UDDER - Utter nonsense - our milk source is the dairy case at the grocery store.

37. Pro : ACE - Top of a royal flush. a pro is not always an ace. 

41. Program file ending : EXE

42. Two-step, e.g. : DANCE - How about NCAA big March event?

44. College URL ending : EDU

45. Lyra's brightest star : VEGA - This is another Chevrolet in this puzzle.

46. Et __ : ALIA - Stumped me here.

49. Really dull : INSIPID

55. Jackson 5 hairdo : AFRO - I don't remember Afros on the five.  I do remember Dr. J and Oscar Gamble.  Michael Jordan changed all that.

56. Item under many a top : BRA

57. Requiring quarters, briefly : COIN-OP  You don't see many vending machines taking coins any more.  They all ask for your folding money.

61. __ Mini: Nintendo console : WII - Never played WII.  I heard they had bowling though.

64. Hip-hop Dr. : DRE - Sorry, I guess I am not into Hip-Hop.

65. New York mayor before Koch : BEAME (Abe)

66. Top-flight : ELITE 

67. "Of course!" : YES

68. Asp cousin : ADDER - An asp is a snake.  An adder is the guy at the rental car desk, figuring your bill.

69. Robert's "Out of Africa" role : DENYS - Never saw this movie either.

 Down:

1. Puts on gently : DABS - as in make up

2. Basic French verb : ETRE - I took two quarters of French but I only remember French fries and toast.

3. Victor's cry : I WON - Good for you

4. Shallows hazard : SAND BAR - Can be a bummer for a boat.

5. Hip dude : MR COOL - The Fonz???

6. Tip of a Bic : NIB

7. Set straight : ALIGN 

8. Claim : ALLEGE

9. Tabloid subjects : CELEBS -- Tabloids are stupid.  Watch gossip channels

10. Snoop : PRY - I don't know about snoop.  Sometimes you have to pry open your wallet.

11. Rolls with rice : SUSHI - This is a fishy subject,  I have never eaten sushi and I am pretty sure I never will.

12. Salad bar sliver : ONION .

13. Bandanna cousin : DO- RAG - Not sure if you can cover an Afro with one of these.

18. Like challenging push-ups : ONE-ARM - Never could do a one- arm push-up.

22. Go on (one's way) : WEND - I think you have to go crooked to wend.

24. Comparison phrase : IS TO

25. Composer's work : OPUS

26. Tablet with Mini and Pro versions : iPAD - I see a ton of these around - The iToys made Apple rich and famous

27. Flaky mineral : MICA

28. Hammer end : PEEN - Others have a claw

32. Genesis matriarch : EVE - Apple picker.

34. Thought-provoking : DEEP - I have not provoked too many deep thoughts about this puzzle.

35. Army vet : EX-GI

36. Predict using, as tea leaves : READ - and tell a fortune.

38. Banjo legend Fleck : BELA

39. "Gotcha, man" : I DIG - Maynard G. Krebs made this popular

40. Special Olympics founder Shriver : EUNICE - Sorry, never heard of her, but I donated all of my bowling trophies to the special Olympics. They put on new plates and sometimes figures as necessary and give them to smiling kids.

43. Hunter's garb, for short : CAMO - What used to be Vietnam and Iraq attire is now fashionable at home.

45. Easily seen : VISIBLE

47. Deep-seated : INBRED

48. Using one's passport, say : ABROAD - I think you even need a passport now to go to Canada.

50. Didn't sleep quietly : SNORED 

51. Indecent : BAWDY - Some St. Patrick's Day decorations

 52. Burning : AFIRE - Johnny Cash love.

53. Takes a shot at : TRIES

54. Cake words Alice abided by :- EAT ME

58. Düsseldorf denial : NEIN - I wonder how Germans say "Nope" ?

59. Like granola bars : OATY - Mares eat oats and does eat oats but little lambs eat ivy.

60. W. or LBJ : PRES - I was around for both of these guys.  Ike and Truman also.

62. Management major's deg. : BBA - Bachelor of Business Administration.

63. __ Honor : HER


Note from C.C.:

Our Melissa B has redesigned the Adopt an Inmate website. She never mentioned her work in her Crossword Corner blog write-ups, but she has been totally devoted to her "Adopt an Inmate" cause the past few years. Melissa has published many stories and artwork from the inmates. Her site has become a great source of resources for many inmates and their families. So proud of her work!

47 comments:

  1. Hi everyone!

    Thanks to Mark and Boomer!

    Only unknowns were DENYS and BELA.

    (You should have heard of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, Boomer!)

    Thanks again for good wishes. Cough getting better. Still sore all over.

    Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  2. FIR! A bit crunchy.
    I had DEISt and IWiN for quite a while in the NW, which slowed me down. (DEISM is often discussed on anti-religion sites as the Founding Father's precursor to Atheism.)
    More quickly detected TOSSED > SNORED, AS AN > IS TO, SHOALES > SANDBAR, misspelt ALEDGE > ALLEGE. Wanted DINESEN > DENYS.
    Never heard of ONION "slivers".
    DO RAG I've seen in puzzles before, but it's not a part of my working vocabulary.
    Figured the theme was movie titles, but nothing more specific until I got the reveal, which led me to change MBA > BBA.
    57a I was trying to think of a term for billeting before perps gave COIN-OP.

    Overslept, so only time for one poem, but I think it's an {A}.

    Herbivorous aliens were expected from VEGA,
    But they ate our ambassador, DOCTOR Ortega!
    Who knew smart pods
    Who grew out of SOD
    Thought of people as ONIONS at a bodega?

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good morning!

    Thought this one was al dente, and it bit me in the end -- the Z in PREZ. DNF! Anybody else try INNATE or INBORN? Tried YER Honor before HER became obvious. Should I take offense at DO-RAG?

    Boomer, good for you, donating your old bowling trophies to the Special Olympics. I agree that ILLER is really awkward. "Yeah, I was iller than a dog last night." Vegas may not like Cheetahs, but Cougars are always welcome.

    Busy day. Gotta run...

    ReplyDelete
  4. I liked this offering from Bruce. I agree with Boomer that ILLER a stretch, but am OK with the rest. Erased halt for Wait, then Wait for WHOA. Also erased FIRES for TRIES. Bronco Billy was the only B-B movie I had heard of. Didn't know DENYS, ETRE or BELA Fleck. I read the clue "salad bar silver" and tried to believe the fill might be "tongs". But I was confident with SIR, UNO and BOEING and re-read the clue.

    I had a bunch of trophies left over from a sailboat race I ran (the second day was cancelled). I called the local Special Olympics to donate them. They sounded offended and told me that they didn't use re-purposed trophies. I offered them to a local charity that helps train and find jobs for mentally challenged adults and they were delighted to have them.

    Thanks to Mark and Boomer for a fun Wednesday wake-up.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm with Boomer - I've only seen 1 of these movies, but the BB pattern made it an easy run.
    I think Special Olympics has some variation as they are locally run operations until you get to the state and national competitions.

    Thanks Boomer - always enjoy your dry wit- and Mark.
    Off to work!

    ReplyDelete
  6. D-N-F ... Thanks Boomer for explaining my Ink Blot.

    Never heard of the B-MOVIE, BOEING BOEING.

    Saw Out of Africa but I thought his name was Denis not DENYS. WTH is OATi?

    Oh well, I guess I got bitten by the Ides of March.

    At least tomorrow, St.Pats Day Eve may be better.

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Good morning all

    Thanks Mark for a crunchy puzzle with a great theme. You made me work today :) Thanks Boomer for your witty write up- I had to LOL at many of your comments!

    I got off to a bad start with the NW corner. It was the last part I finished. I knew BRONCOBILLY but could not dredge up the Billy part to save my life. It was a doh! moment when I finally gave up and cheated. I already had the BMOVIE fill/theme but it didn't help with that one.

    BOEINGBOEING- never heard of/saw this movie and it didn't help that I had AsTo/ISTO for 24D

    Agree with Boomer and Jinx that ILLER just seems like an awkward word. Jinx- I also read "sliver" as silver so I had knife for ONION which worked for a bit due to the N from UNO and I from SIR.

    "Fishing spot" tried pond for PIER until PEEN made it right.

    Boomer- I'm surprised you've never heard of EUNICE Kennedy Shriver. She's sister of JFK and mother to Maria Shriver, ex-wife of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Her husband Sargent Shriver created the Peace Corps. I've always been interested in the Kennedy family, though and my paternal grandmother's name was Eunice, so I guess that's one reason her story sticks in my brain :)

    Another doh! moment was BEAME- I didn't know his name but should have gotten it with the perps but BBA wasn't coming to me either. I'm blaming my partially functioning brain today on a combo of the freezing temps and pain. Definitely in a "brain fog" this morning!

    DENYS, DEISM and ATWAR were also unknowns.

    Nice work, Melissa Bee! Thanks for the link, C.C. :)

    Hope everyone is warm and safe from the wrath of Stella and that everyone has a wonderful Wednesday!

    ReplyDelete
  8. After getting the first BOEING I realized it was doubled. So I had the theme, BB, which made for a faster solve. I should have realized before the reveal that they were all B movies.
    Not surprisingly, most viewers find these titles nor memorable. B movies are by definition cheaply made and usually not high quality.
    I saw Out of Africa, but didn't remember the odd spelling of DENYS, which I perped. Sad movie.
    I loved African Queen, one of my favorites, and have seen it at least 3 times.
    Although WEND and WIND come from the same root, I believe WEND does not have to be winding. I may be wrong, but to me wending is more rambling and casual. WEND is used mostly in "wend one's way" and in describing the path of bills to be enacted, deals, etc.
    At our diner I asked for onion on my sandwich and was given a slab a quarter inch thick. Ugh! Now I ask for slivers of onion.
    Boomer, humorous blog.
    Your mention of a wallet reminds me. A tourist opened his Velcro clasped wallet to pay a Scottish inn keeper. The inn keeper said,"That's a fine wallet for a Scotsman. It cries when you open it."

    ReplyDelete
  9. Not being a movie watcher I can say that I had never heard of any of those movies but figured after BRONCO BILLY that the theme would be B-B- that's b-b-b. All four movies were perped, along with DENYS and BELA Fleck.

    EUNICE Shriver- never heard of JFK's sister, Maria Shriver's mother and EX-mother in law of Arnold Schwarzenegger?

    ONE ARM pushups? Anybody here ever do one? No me.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Enjoyed the editorial remarks at the beginning. Always good to have someone else verify my thoughts on the puzzle.
    I too saw SILVER instead of SLIVER and couldn't find housing ending in NOP.
    B&B kinda too easy for a Wednesday.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good day to all!

    Found this more challenging than usual for Wednesday. BELA Fleck and DENYS were both 100% perpped. Thanks for the puzzle, Mark, and thanks for the witty write-up, Boomer. Always nice to hear from you.

    Is anyone else having difficulty accessing the puzzle form the Crossword Corner link? I only get about half the puzzle, so am now doing the puzzle at the Mensa site.

    Enjoy the day!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good Morning:

    This was a pretty easy theme to suss and even though I never heard of Boeing Boeing or Brother Bear, they filled in easily enough. Iller is like fingernails on a blackboard (showing my age) and like others, I read sliver as silver. Chuckled at udder and adder. Overall, an easy solve.

    Thanks, Mark, for a mid-week meander and thanks, Boomer, for guiding the way so humorously.

    We got about 20" of snow and today's temps will be bitter-cold with the wind chill. Guess who's staying put? It's a good day to catch up on my DVR queue.

    Ferm, continue to feel better!

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Good morning all. Thank you Mark, and thank you Melissa.

    Quick solve. No real stumpers.

    Boomer, the only one I saw was Bronco Billy. After all, it had Clint Eastwood. Kept waiting for it to get better. It didn't.

    DENYS and BELA ? No idea, but they were solid w/ perps. Vaguely know of BATMAN BEGINS, but never heard of the other two movies. Perps filled the lion's share of those.

    I wonder if anyone here will admit that they SNORED through all four of these INSIPID movies ? Were they really B Movies, or just flops ? Here's a list: The 100 Best “B Movies” of All Time. Recognized a few of the titles.

    Big Easy, yep.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Hi All!

    Thank you Mark for the crunchy puzzle. I've only seen two of the MOVIES but the theme helped me PRY open the west corners.

    Fun expo Boomer. LOL'd at Cheetahs (and D-O's Cougars).

    WO: DEISt/IWiN (hi OKL), MBA, Pond, aSTO. Wrong UttER.
    ESPs: BELA, DENYS, BEAME
    Thumper: ILLER (you B illin')

    Fav: COIN-OP c/a. I too was looking for barracks or some such.
    Runner up: B MOVIE (Box Car Blues) from another B-Movie, The Blues Brothers, duo.

    The Canadian Moose in Brother Bear are my favorite part of that movie.

    {A}

    BigE - I could do ONE ARM's after basic; but not in the last 25 yrs.
    YR - Funny Velcro wallet story; I know my buddies in Aberdeen would agree w/ the inn-keeper.

    ABROAD? - DW is both right now :-)

    Y'all have a great day!

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  15. Sorry for that deleted post - had a bad URL.

    Thanks, all for the pithy comments about this puzzle. Sorry to see that clue for ILLER, but it seems Rich always goes that way instead of the rap slang. I admit to being a bit of a movie buff, and I have heard of all these (though not seen all of them). I can appreciate that for someone who's not much into movies, this could be a real unfun slog to perp the theme entries . . . so apologies to those in that category. Keep the faith!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi gang -

    I had mixed feelings about this puzzle. Like the double B's of the theme.

    I was scheduled to do the write up today, but we lost power twice recently, and the internet was slow to recover both times, so I withdrew. Thanks to Boomer for pinch rolling for me!

    Several thousand in our area still were without power from the first event - a heavy wind storm last Wed, when ours went out again Monday morning. I think everybody is up and running now. Several days without power in cold weather is a real hardship. We were lucky in that respect.

    Cool [wintery] regards!
    JzB

    ReplyDelete
  17. Musings
    -I just finished reading two books to 2nd graders. Man, I love middle school
    -Franklin and Jefferson shunned organized religion in favor of DEISM
    -Ever heard of this conjugation of ILL?
    -Some schools are not recognizing ELITE students any more but ELITE bowlers like Boomer still get rewarded and are good enough to share their rewards
    -Syzygy is the name for this ALIGNment
    -Good running backs can be said to be able to WEND their way through tacklers
    -Remember these DEEP Thoughts back when SNL was funny?
    -Do you need a passport to take a cruise in the Caribbean?
    -ONION on a burger, fried or raw? I’m in the latter camp.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you, Mark McClain. I enjoyed your BB theme. Like others I may have heard of some of these movies, but didn't see them. The titles were easy to suss, though.

    DEISM immediately came to mind. I have read the biography of several founding fathers and they all seemed to adhere to the idea that there is a God but they didn't cotton to organized religion.

    Out of Africa was so long ago I would not have recalled DENYS but I recently read a book that featured Isak Denison and DENYS as friends with the main character.

    Many thanks, Boomer. I always enjoy your witty blogging. And congratulations on donating your trophies to a worthy cause.

    Today my Nissan will be picked up for donation; at 13 years old it isn't worth repairing.

    Have a delightful day, everyone, even if you're snowbound!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Wees, our only suffering from the Blizzard of 17'
    is this is the 2nd day without a dead tree crossword puzzle.
    (The Ipad is ok, but I am not puzzled if I don't get inkblots on my fingers...)

    61a WII, I remember playing the golf on the WII,
    threw my shoulder out for a week!

    Cake words Alice abided by, how do I link thee, let me count the ways...

    Anon T, Brother Bear! Tx 4 the clip, looks like a good watch!

    (I have heard of all the theme listed movies, but not seen a single one...)

    Oh! Sandbars, dangerous? Not in Miami, they are a party place!
    (note: I did not watch this entire link, so I cannot vouch for its content...)
    But I remember hanging out with a hundred other boats in 3 feet of water drinking MaiTai's,
    Awesome!
    (Except one of my friends kept trying to scare me with stories about "SeaLice.")

    Also, TTP loved the B-movie list! (ah memories...)

    But wait, does it have to be low budget to be classified a "B" movie?
    What about "A Hard Days Night?"
    Ok,Ok, B for Beatles is a bit of a stretch...
    but I needed a segue to post this awesome 1/2 hour link of Why & how to play it!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Someone here used to look up the frequency of the use of certain words. If anyone still does this, will you please look up iller. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  21. 12. Salad bar sliver : ONION .

    HG, I am serious about my onions.
    The burger must contain cooked or fried onions inside,
    and raw on top!

    Also, Claussen makes the best pickles.
    (always chilled, never boiled.)
    (best zero calorie dieter snack ever, except for the salt...)
    When the jar is empty, to stop myself from drinking the brine straight,
    I slice (sliver up?) an onion and dump it into the brine.
    The next day, I have a weeks worth of pickled onions!
    (another zero calorie snack!)

    Unfortunately, once you pickle the onions, the brine is ruined,
    & must be discarded.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Even a sliver is too much onion. This clue took me waaay too long, as I (along with several others) kept reading the clue as 'silver'.
    Husker: you may have them any way you wish; this is America, after all. I personally will have them on somebody else's hamburger. I believe I am the only person in DuPage County (population >900,000) who doesn't like onions...

    Otherwise a quick run through an easy puzzle. Thanks to Mark & Boomer.

    ReplyDelete

  23. CrossEyedDave, you got 17' of snow ? :>)

    Yellowrocks, the last measured frequency of iller was 0.0000013914 %.
    Illin was less, at 0.0000002511 %. It was nearly twice that in 1951.

    Iller has been used 9 times in LA Times Crossword puzzles.
    Robin Stears got it right, Dec 18, 2015, as a tributary of the Danube. It enters at Ulm.

    Is either of those what you needed ?

    ReplyDelete
  24. TTP, ok, misplaced watchamacallit...

    Anywho, Non guitarists look away:
    (teachers,however,take note:)




    This guy blew me away:)

    It's 20 minutes, but this guys infectious enthusiasm really got me going.

    The Genius of John Lennon Guitar by Mike Pachelli

    ReplyDelete
  25. Kind of a breeze today.

    I agree that ILLER is unfortunate, I hate when street talk becomes a crossword answer.

    As above, hard to believe that EUNICE was an unknown for Boomer, the Kennedy clan is rather well known.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Thanks, TTP. Although ILLER, meaning sicker, is in the dictionary it is hard to find samples of its usage. I was wondering how much iller is actually used. Nine times in the LAT? Rich must like it. I suppose it is mostly crosswordese. I think the river would be a better reference. We have learned other rivers.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hi All!!

    Been a bit since I've written but I have been checking in! I'm on Spring Break this week and enjoying every minute! I've been reading, napping, catching up on TV and movies, and lots of other boring yet totally enjoyable stuff. The only thing I haven't done is start on my yard work. For the entire month of February, the weather was gorgeous and I was trapped inside - making plans of what I would accomplish when I had this week off. Of course, now it's 34 degrees and miserable. Glad we didn't get 20 inches of snow yesterday - hope you make it ok IM!

    Lovely puzzle today, Mark - I've seen Brother Bear and Batman Begins but the others were new. I thought it was the perfect Wednesday difficulty. I agree with ILLER being a reach, but I'd be down with Illin.

    I loved the reference to Bela Fleck - he's so talented!

    Thanks -T for the Blues Brothers link, I also thought it would have fit perfectly with the theme. It's one of my all time favorites! Here's the INTRO with my favorite song!

    Certainly appreciated the link to the Adopt an Inmate, very interesting cause and I look forward to learning more about it.

    Happy Wednesday!

    t.

    ReplyDelete
  28. I too found this a crunchy Wednesday puzzle, but got almost all of it with just one or two letters out of place. Didn't know the movies, but enjoyed the theme--thanks, Mark, and thanks also for checking in with us. And Boomer, your write-up was really funny and enjoyable, many thanks for that.

    I kept wanting to put DENISON (ISAK) instead of DENYS--it's been a long time since I saw "Out of Africa," and so thanks for the picture of Meryl and Robert, Boomer.

    Talked to my Dad in Pennsylvania yesterday--my brother was home because he couldn't get to work because of the snow. Hope you all get plowed out and back to normal life soon.

    Have a great day, everybody!

    ReplyDelete
  29. On first pass through the Across clues I had a sea of white (similar to the view out of my window after 2 days of snow!). Thankfully the Down clues filled things in. Thanks for the fun Mark and Boomer.

    On this Ides of March, I wanted to fill in Et Tu not ET ALIA.

    I was misdirected by the nursery clue into thinking about a baby's coo not SOD.
    Hand up for MBA before BBA (but BROTHERBEAR fit and Mother didn't).
    Enjoyed seeing the IPAD and WII clues.

    The scenery in Out of Africa was beautiful (and watching Robert Redford in his prime wasn't bad either!). There is a Karen Blixen Museum in Nairobi.

    Yes we all need passports now (since 9-11) to visit our neighbours to the south (and vice-versa). Recent reports of Canadians travelling on Canadian passports being turned back at the US border are troubling (and certainly not good for tourism!).
    CancellingUSTrips

    Wishing improved health to fermatprime and relieved pain to Bunny M.
    Bravo Melissa Bee.
    Glad to see you back today, tawyna.
    AnonT - thanks for the Canadian Moose link. LOL. (and DW had better not see the ABROAD comment or you will be ILLER!)

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Thank you, Mark, for an interesting puzzle, and thank you, Boomer, for being frank about your feelings about it.

    MJ, the reason you got only half the puzzle on the "new and improved" (not!) LA Times puzzle site is probably because you have the page zoomed in to enlarge it. This used to work fine, but now if you try to enlarge the puzzle beyond a certain point the ads just cover it up. I think it's a terrible design. What's worse is that if you pause for a while while mulling over an answer, an ad will pop up, covering everything, and you're forced to watch a video for 15 seconds or so. and sometimes, when the ad is finished, the puzzle doesn't re-appear until you click on it again. Mensa, here I come!

    I also do not cotton to organized religion.

    Melissa, thank you for your good and compassionate work. Best wishes to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Rats!
    I had a good run at this one. Or thought I did! I figured it was not too difficult as one by one the tougher fills gradually yielded to perps and WAGs. But finally I had to yield to one cheat--to get BROTHER BEAR.
    This is because I resisted the BBA answer at 62D. I'm not that familiar with our business school, but I'm pretty sure the professional focus is on the MBA, while the undergrad degrees are either BAs or BSs.

    Of course this led me to search for a Disney movie about bears with a title beginning with "Mr." Yes, the theme hinted that it should start with a "B," but we had another possible theme with the earlier instance of "Mr" at 5D.

    DEISM is widely (if not universally) considered to be the founders' accommodation to organized religion. They were highly influenced by the Enlightenment but not ready to abandon the Christianity of their families and peers. They rejected biblical revelation and supernatural intervention in human affairs. They revered Jesus as a moral teacher. They asserted that God set everything in motion and then, after endowing Man with reason and the ability to grasp and affect the universe, left things alone. These tenets are close to my own ideas, although I prefer the label "non-theist" to Deist, and I particularly reject "atheist," as it feels angry and aggressive.

    Jefferson and Franklin are the leading names associated with DEISM. Hamilton may have been another, but he rejected the cold-hearted Deistic leaders of the French Revolution calling instead for more Christian morality.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Rutt & Tuke take to the slopes. LINK

    ReplyDelete
  33. Hey Mark, thanks for stopping by. I don't think anyone was dis'in' your puzzle just 'cuz we didn't see the movies. ILLER was... um,... [Maybe Rich will read all the illin' comments today :-)]. Thanks again for a fun pzl.

    JzB - I was worried. Thanks for checking in.

    TTP - re: B-Movie list. Plan 9 got some love; But, but, but... None for UHF, Amazon Women on the Moon, Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death? Mothra vs. Godzilla?!?

    CED - Your video is safe to the end (though she repeats herself wrapping-up the segment (too much Land Shark beer, me thinks)). Also, Brilliant! Re: ONIONS in brine. Eldest goes through a jar a week and I hate dumpin' the juice.

    Tawnya - Thanks for the BELA link; Now I know. Hey, you've got 3 days left to lull before that last day when you'll get all the yard work done at once ;-). Enjoy!

    C, Eh! - Sad. I'm sure some law-maker will now tell us we're safer because para-military groups (with some bad dudettes) won't be flowing over our northern border.

    Guys, Boomer didn't know. Ok? Throw him a link so he can learn about EUNICE and Mama. ;-)

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  34. Eunice Shriver was JFK sister who married Sargent Shiver.

    ReplyDelete
  35. ILLER

    LA Times - March 15, 2017
    Universal Crossword - March 12, 2017
    The Guardian Quick - March 2, 2017
    Universal Crossword - Feb. 1, 2017
    Rock & Roll - Dec. 18, 2016
    Universal Crossword - Nov. 28, 2016
    LA Times Sunday Calendar - Oct. 30, 2016
    LA Times - Oct. 30, 2016
    Universal Crossword - Oct. 18, 2016
    Rock & Roll - Aug. 14, 2016
    The Guardian Quick - July 22, 2016
    Universal Crossword - July 10, 2016
    Buzzfeed - June 14, 2016
    Pat Sajak Code Letter - June 13, 2016
    Pat Sajak Code Letter - March 26, 2016
    Newsday - Jan. 28, 2016
    LA Times - Dec. 18, 2015
    Universal Crossword - Dec. 2, 2015
    USA Today - Dec. 1, 2015
    Pat Sajak Code Letter - Oct. 17, 2015
    View All

    ReplyDelete
  36. Pretty easy for a Wednesday. I knew some of the movies, but the crosses were all easy anyway. Expecting some real crunch tomorrow.

    ReplyDelete
  37. I'm sorry but am still trying to recover from "ILLER" which, being in total shock, I failed to mention in my earlier post. More ill is the accepted term and as a former teacher of grammar I object to just slapping an -er to create the comparison.

    Lemonade:
    That list is surprising and I'm sure I've seen the term before. I just don't like it. Oh, well.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Jayce--Thanks for the feedback. I guess I'll just stick with the Mensa site. I already have to do Sunday puzzles there anyway.

    ReplyDelete
  39. MJ, you're welcome.

    Lucina, I totally agree with you about ILLER. By the way, our granddaughter is currently performing in Bullets Over Broadway at the Phoenix Theater. We have tickets to the Sunday matinee performance on March 26. Perhaps you might be interested in seeing the show, too.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Jayce, I'm not so sure about DISorganized religion, for that matter.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Mark, I really liked your puzzle and theme. The two BB s and the solid perps meant we did not necessarily need to know the movies. We realize iller was not yours. I hope we see more of you soon.


    ReplyDelete
  42. The illest puzzle and write up of the week!

    ReplyDelete
  43. Hmm, I agree that Iller was a bit off,
    but I didn't think people would get sick over it...

    (Spellcheck doesn't like it either...)

    Anon-T, LMAO Eunice! I had not seen that one!

    Jayce: I hear you re: LATimes crossword puzzle site.
    I was forced to use it on VK & learned to hate it.
    However, the past 2 snow days have tempered my emotions somewhat.
    They are now "New & Improved" (which probably means we will pay for it down the road...)
    but I was pleasantly surprised to be able to skip the Ad, & really like the menu option
    of adding sidebar clues across & down.

    I think it may depend on what platform you are using to access it.
    Home PC was so so,
    Iphone was like trying to play on a postage stamp...
    but the Ipad (safari) was surprisingly smooth in usage & layout
    (if you choose the right menu options...)

    ReplyDelete
  44. Jayce:
    Thank you for the information about Bullets over Broadway. I'll look into tickets. How exciting for you to have your granddaughter on stage!

    ReplyDelete
  45. This was the smoothest run thru of the week for me. I didn't know there was a river named ILLER.

    I finally found last Thursday's paper and rapidly knocked it off. Perhaps I'll revisit that blog

    I liked Mark's xword and I really enjoyed Boomer's write-up. And Owen's 'lick.

    WC

    ReplyDelete
  46. Glad that so many fellow bloggers here know that most of our founders subscribed to DEISM. Yes, in modern times this would almost certainly translate to atheism. They believed only in God as the initial cosmological creator. They did not believe in any other powers of this God. And they were openly hostile to other religious stories and claims.

    I got the theme fairly quickly due to perps. But I had not heard of a single one of these movies!

    The stumbling block for me was the same as for everyone else: I never heard of a BBA. At first I thought maybe the theme involved MR then B.

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.