google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Monday, May 8, 2017 Steven L. Zisser

Gary's Blog Map

May 8, 2017

Monday, May 8, 2017 Steven L. Zisser

Theme: No Reveal Monday - As easy as one, two, three ... um, four.

17A. Mega-mall convenience: ONE-STOP SHOPPING

25A. Small-time bad guy: TWO-BIT GANGSTER

42A. Office attire with a vest: THREE-PIECE SUIT

56A. Barbershop quartet blend: FOUR-PART HARMONY

Argyle here. Great symmetry, tight consistency, and outstanding length; two fifteens and two fourteens. The theme has undoubtedly been done before but has it been done as well? Our constructor hasn't been very productive with his puzzles but has been published in various venues, including the LAT and the NYT.

Across:

1. Word with ball or driver: SCREW

6. Great Salt Lake state: UTAH

10. Sharp knocks: RAPS

14. 1971 Clapton classic: "LAYLA"



15. Pre-Columbian prefix with America: MESO. Mesoamerica, Wikipedia.

16. Director Kazan: ELIA. "On the Waterfront", "A Streetcar Named Desire", "East of Eden".

20. Horror director Craven: WES. "A Nightmare on Elm Street", "Scream", "The Last House on the Left".

21. Foot or inch, e.g.: UNIT

22. Founder of Taoism: LAO-TSE

23. Has office hours: IS IN

24. Bro and sis: SIBS

31. Pueblo-dwelling people: HOPI


32. "Whatever floats your __": BOAT

33. Igor's workplace: LAB. "... it's pronounced "eye-gore."

35. Drops the ball: ERRs

36. Shrimp relative: PRAWN

38. Adriatic resort: LIDO. If you prefer something closer to home.


39. Federal hush-hush org.: NSA. (No Such Agency)

40. Common-interest voting group: BLOC

41. State after North Dakota, alphabetically: OHIO

47. Online auction site: E-BAY

48. Part of many old German duchy names: SAXE

49. Belief systems: CREDOs

52. Razor brand: ATRA

53. Photo taker: CAM. Both photo and CAM are shortened words.

59. Other, in Oaxaca: OTRA


60. Moniker: NAME

61. Fountain drinks: MALTS

62. Broadway offering: SHOW

63. God with a hammer: THOR

64. Baker's dough raiser: YEAST

Down:

1. Like snail-mail, compared to email: SLOW

2. Mr. Peanut prop: CANE


3. Deli breads: RYEs

4. LLL: ELs. I've never seen this before.

5. '60s dance: WATUSI. "Wah-a, wah, wah-a Watusi
Oh, baby, it's the dance made-a for romance".

6. Calling balls and strikes, say: UMPING

7. Exam: TEST

8. Fireplace remains: ASH

9. Ruffian: HOOLIGAN

10. Share, as an internet meme: REPOST

11. Dismounted: ALIT

12. Kegler's targets: PINS

13. "Parsley, __, Rosemary and Thyme": SAGE



18. Getting the job done: ON IT

19. Blue Ribbon brewer: PABST

23. Sacred bird of ancient Egypt: IBIS

24. Winter bank makeup: SNOW

25. Partner of now: THEN

26. Bottom-of-the-barrel: WORST

27. Daytime TV celeb who founded Harpo Productions: OPRAH

28. Beaded calculators: ABACI. Hello, old friend.

29. Root or Yale: ELIHU. Elihu Root was Secretary of War under Theodore Roosevelt. Elihu Yale was the benefactor of Yale University.

30. Wheel spokes, essentially: RADII

34. Cowboy's footwear: BOOT

36. Agreeable: PLEASANT

37. Stringy: ROPY

38. Diet successfully: LOSE

40. Jazz genre: BEBOP

43. Make a new sketch of: REDRAW

44. Bible book named for a woman: ESTHER

45. Adored one, in Asti: CARA. "Cara Mia mine." Province of Asti.


46. Formerly in the military: EX-ARMY

49. Corp. fiscal execs: CFOs. (chief financial officer)

50. __ IRA: ROTH

51. Continental coin: EURO

52. Prefix with sphere: ATMO

53. Coca-__: COLA

54. "Carpenter" crawlers: ANTS

55. Computer adventure game: MYST

57. Cheerleader's word: RAH

58. Wisecracking West: MAE. "One and one is two; two and two is four; and "five will get you ten" if you work it right!"

Argyle


Note from C.C.:

Our TTP went morel hunting yesterday morning. He said below. He normally sautes the fresh morels in butter. D-Otto likes them deep-fried in beer batter. There are wooded area in our neighborhood, but no morels.


"Not a lot this morning, but enough.  Found 10 but only 7 were worth bringing back home.  The other 3 were already dried out and decomposing.

We had an overnight frost advisory, so I think most of them crawled back under the leaves.

4 of them were good sized at over 3" long and 1.5" thick.  The largest was over 4 and 2 inches thick."




46 comments:

  1. Crosswordly, I'm at a level where Monday thru Wednesday are trivial, barring a rare natick, so don't comment on puzzles until Thursday. But I will toss in one l'ick for the day.
    {B+.}

    The ARMY of the X-Men is mighty and complex.
    (They call them "Men", but really there are some of either sex.)
    Their treasurer was SLOW,
    But an efficient C.F.O.
    Then he died and came back a ghost, the ecto- EX- X Exec!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi everyone!

    Cute puzzle Steven! Cool expo, Santa!

    CC: Cool puzzle in NYT!

    Didn't know LAYLA.

    Have a great day!

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  3. Although I liked Steven's construction overall, I didn't like "office hours" for IS IN, and thought that ELS was clumsily, if imaginatively, clued. I suppose that "countryman of a Player" and similar clues have been overused lately. Just nits about an otherwise solid effort.

    I didn't know MESO America, CARA or kegler. My only erasure was ELIas for ELIHU; should have known better.

    Clapton did two fantastic versions of LAYLA, the first with Derek and the Dominoes and the second, slower solo acoustic version later. I loved the first from the first time I heard it, but the second took me a long time to appreciate. In addition to Clapton's incredible guitar work, the original featured a fantastic piano riff.

    Thanks Steven and Santa for a fun start to the first Monday of this week

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  4. Good morning!

    Overslept, but still managed the LAT, NYT (Congrats, C.C.), Jumble and Sudoku before 6:45. Now, what to do for the rest of the day? Thanx, Steven and Argyle.

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  5. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Steven Zisser, for a fine puzzle. Thank you,Argyle, for a fine review.

    Zipped through quickly. Liked the theme. I figured it out after TWO. That helped with the other two.

    I am confused about MESO. Is the puzzle saying that this part of the world was called MESOAMERICA before Columbus came over? That does not sound right. Nobody knew we were here except the Vikings, who actually beat Columbus. I think.

    Thought RADII was clever.

    HARPO studios was torn down in Chicago. Maybe the company still exists.

    Wonder where the name ELIHU originates?

    Have to run. Getting ready for guarding the crossing.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ( )

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  6. Morning,

    Nice puzzle to start to what "should be" a quiet week. MESO American a new term for me. One erasure today. Began 22A with MAO, before HOOLIGAN correctly amended it to LAO. Everything else no problem.

    We're taking the Queen Mary to England and back in July/august. I'm really into the cruising part, but the dress rules are UGH UGH. My wardrobe of Jeans, shorts, tees, & sneakers ain't gonna cut it. It's been 23 years since I dressed in "work clothes". My wife is salivating waiting ti take me to a men's store. I'm cringing.

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  7. Good Morning.

    Congrats to the successful hunters of the elusive morel!

    Back again after another crazy week with my daughter. It's not as if her broken foot is a terrible injury--just immobilizing. Unfortunately, this is my 38 year-old child with ADD. Not joking. It's very difficult for her to be still. She has a boot now, but still no walking on it. I've taken her to lunch, errands, doc, parks and so on--mostly for changes of scenery. She lives 26 miles from us, although, now that 90 (between 294 and Elgin) has been upgraded and widened with bottlenecks reconfigured, it's not such a bad drive. I live in Evanston, she in Hoffman Estates. She's a PE teacher whose greatest concern is rehab and being able to run again. Thanks to all of you who have offered good wishes.

    Today was a joy. I am so much happier when I do my morning puzzle. Great start to the week. I missed last week after Monday, so perhaps there is some CW binging around the bend.

    Thanks for the fun Steven. I liked LLL instead of Ernie for a change. Thanks, Argyle, for another set of fine links.

    oc4beach from last week: tearing out knitting is called frogging: Rip it. Rip it. Ha!
    PK: tearing out knitting is a cause for poor language choice--best done in private. ;-)

    Have a fine day. Finally: the sun. It's still mighty cool here in Evanston IL. The winds off Lake Michigan were so wild this weekend that the Third Coast surfers were out en masse.

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  8. Is great! Ilove this puzzles. Thanks!

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  9. Good day to all!

    What an elegant offering from Steven Zisser today. Two grid-spanners, two near spanners, and the word HOOLIGAN to boot. Such a pleasurable solve. Thanks for the tour, Argyle. Glad to see Eric Clapton made his way to the show. I wondered at first.

    Enjoy the day!

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  10. Nice, easy offering from Steven today. I enjoyed the long fills with the 1,2,3,4 sequence.
    Thanks. Argyle for a great review!

    No real issues other than the perps of PINS, SAXE and ELIHU.
    Abejo- I had an uncle with the NAME ELIHU, so was also curious about the origin

    Sunny but cool here in OHIO. But more rain tomorrow- enough already!

    TTP- Wow- those morels are impressive!
    Madame Defarge- best wishes to your daughter for a full and speedy recovery. Glad that your commute has been shortened- how nice it is of you to be such a help to her :)

    Hope everyone has a wonderful day.

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  11. WJS: "Has office hours" does not mean IS IN. When people call the lawyer on Saturday or Sunday, he tells them he has office hours (they're not on the weekend, and he's not lying).

    ReplyDelete
  12. Those morels look good. I've never had them.

    Good morning, everyone. I love starting the week with an 'easy' puzzle. I only needed one pass across and down to finish today. As I read Argyle's expo, I guess I didn't even read a lot of the down clues as the squares were already filled. Thanks, Argyle.
    I enjoy the challenge of later in the week, also.

    I attended many graduation festivities at my alma mater, MSU-Northern, this weekend. I helped with luncheons, dinners, walks, tours, etc for the 1967 "Golden" alumni grads. Interesting to see Secret Service around as the speaker was the Secretary of Interior. Weather was incredible but then we had 90°s in the afternoons for a couple days. Kind of early in the year for those temps. Time to start working out in the yard. Buying a new home, one doesn't know what may show up in the flower beds during the first year.

    Montana

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  13. Good morning all. Thank you Steven and thank you Argyle.

    Fell asleep around 8:30 last night watching the Cubs and Yankees. Woke up four hours later and the game was still on.

    Started the puzzle when I couldn't get back to sleep, but put it down and watched the rest of the game. Then slept in really late (for me).

    Finished the puzzle just a little bit ago. Fun stuff. Liked the music Monday selections Argyle.

    Madame DeFarge, from one who knows, that is a trek! I used to drive from near St Charles to Morton Grove once or twice a week. Once, with time to waste, I took Golf Rd all the way to Shermer, and then down to Morton Grove. What a waste of time.

    Bunny M, you should have seen the ones that got away !

    My neighbor sent a link to this article from the Wisconsin State Journal: ON WISCONSIN | HUNTING FOR MUSHROOMS

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  14. More like a trivia contest today, unusual for the LAT puzzle in my observation. It was OK for me today, but I do prefer wordplay.

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  15. Nice puzzle from Steve. As easy as 1, 2, 3 ...& 4. Enjoyable tour by Argyle.

    When I got THREEPIECESUIT and FOURPARTHARMONY, it was evident what the other two clues were, so I went back and filled them in. The rest of the fill was nice and easy.

    I'm not complaining, but wouldn't footwear be plural? Although there are people who just wear one shoe, most wear shoes.

    Frost this morning and another frost advisory for tomorrow. It's sunny now but hasn't warmed up too much in Central PA. I'm ready for warm weather to get here and stay here for a while.

    Graduation at the University was this past weekend, and now most of the over 41,000+ students are gone and we have our town back for a week until the smaller number of students arrive for the first summer semester. Many of the remaining students are the grad students still working on their degrees and many of the international students (Approximately 6,700) who typically do not go home between semesters. It should be safer to drive down College Avenue without worrying about running over students who do not pay attention to traffic. Also, eating out is easier without so many students in town. But, this too shall pass.


    Nice puzzle from Steve. As easy as 1, 2, 3 ...& 4. Enjoyable tour by Argyle.

    When I got THREEPIECESUIT and FOURPARTHARMONY, it was evident what the other two clues were, so I went back and filled them in. The rest of the fill was nice and easy.

    I'm not complaining, but wouldn't footwear be plural? Although there are people who just wear one shoe, most wear shoes.

    Frost this morning and another frost advisory for tomorrow. It's sunny now but hasn't warmed up too much in Central PA. I'm ready for warm weather to get here and stay here for a while.

    Graduation at the University was this past weekend, and now most of the over 41,000+ students are gone and we have our town back for a week until the smaller number of students arrive for the first summer semester. Many of the remaining students are the grad students still working on their degrees and many of the international students (Approximately 6,700) who typically do not go home between semesters. It should be safer to drive down College Avenue without worrying about running over students who do not pay attention to traffic. Also, eating out is easier without so many students in town. But, this too shall pass.

    It may sound like I'm complaining today, but I don't mean to be.

    Have a great day everyone.

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  16. Hi Y'all! Good one, Steven! Thanks again, Argyle.

    Last to fill was the 2nd "L" in LAYLA. Duh! I could hear the song, but not that letter. LLL made no sense to me. I had the "E" and the "S". I even tried singing lalala. You'd think that would be a big hint on LAYLA. Finally resorted to a red-letter run on Monday which I rarely do. ELS? Oh sure.

    TTP: "And the MOREL of the story is..."

    Never noticed the number progression. Trying to get on a daytime schedule, I took a sleeping pill and went to bed at 10 p.m. I got up at 8 a.m. Had a good sleep but I'm dopy and staggering around like a drunk. Don't know if it is worth it. Wish my daughter had chosen an evening barbeque or something instead of a brunch to honor our graduate. I will persevere since I CARA bout her.

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  17. Thank you, Steven and Argyle, for Monday's amusement. It's so good to be solving puzzles again after a two week hiatus.

    With no problems, this filled as quickly as I could write and the theme became evident after ONE, TWO. The Kegler clue was unknown to me but emerged as did ROPY which I didn't even see until the review. And MYST is known only through CWs. I had a laugh at HOOLIGAN.

    MESO means middle so MESO-American would be in Central America and Mexico.

    Have a delightful day, everyone!

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  18. Fun easy puzzle.
    The area called Meso America did have an extensive pre-Columbian culture, but of course, was not named Meso America at that time. For a long period of time I was very into Native American cultures, so I knew this fill.
    I figured one boot was an article of footwear.
    Between three medical appointments, I will be cooking all day and dancing tonight. Gotta run.

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  19. "Puzzling Thoughts":

    Thanks to Steven Z and Santa A for my Monday AM enjoyment

    As others said, the LLL had me scratching my head, but "golfer from S Africa" and "overhead trains" are clues that are becoming hackneyed

    After reading the recap I realized I used the wrong tense for 43d, so 59a was incorrect, too. REDREW and OTRE became my Natick. No other errors or omissions but a FIW, nonetheless

    MAE West was the female version of Henny Youngman, IMO. One of her classics was when she approached a cowboy at a rodeo and asked, "how tall are you without your horse?" He replied, "well, ma'am, I'm six foot and seven inches." To which MAE said, "Never mind about the six feet, let's just talk about the seven inches!"

    An Owen and a Moe-Ku:

    Would you say that it might be bourgeois,
    When instead of just giving huzzah,
    The opponents of Utes,
    In their new THREE PIECE SUITS,
    Stand as ONE and shout out: SCREW U-TAH?"

    Sheldon, Leonard, Raj
    And Howard. TV Geeks with
    FOUR PART HARMONY

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  20. Good Morning!

    My first run through the acrosses left a lot of white space, but the downs help me fill it all in. Like many of you, I had several unknowns but perps led me the right direction. Well done, Steve. Hope we see more of you! Thank you Argyle for the expose!

    The only LIDO I know of is the classic Boz Scaggs. Puts on a great show if you ever get the chance to see him.

    Wasn't sure how to spell WATUSI, but thanks to Ray Charles in The Blues Brothers movie, I know what it looks like!

    I sing this FOUR PART HARMONY all winter in Missouri. Even ten years later, I still get homesick, as this SoCal girl is always cold! Also found this great list of the 25 Best Harmonies.

    Did anyone else sing this cheesy States song to figure out OHIO?

    @PK - I've heard great things about using Melatonin to help change your sleep habits. People say it works amazingly well and leaves no hangover effect.

    Welcome home, Lucina!

    @Jinx - I also miss the piano piece at the end of Clapton's solo versions of Layla. It's always been my favorite part of the song. Also, I was very happy to read that your new fur-pal Zoe is doing so well!

    Thanks for all the warm wishes yesterday!

    Happy Monday!

    t.

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  21. Well, that was pleasant and fun. Thanks Steven and Argyle.

    I've never had a morel that I can remember, or any other gourmet mushroom that I know of. If you cook up those morels, are they significantly different in taste from the commercial mushrooms I buy at the market? I'm sure the thrill of the hunt adds to their flavor but otherwise?

    Years ago, some folks here turned me on to The Big Bang Theory. I found that many of the earlier episodes were appealing and funny, up there close to Modern Family. Lately, their writing seems to have going downhill. As the funny stuff has gotten weaker, the laugh track has gotten louder and more obtrusive. Some weak scene that is supposed to be funny hardly elicits even a smile from me, yet the canned laughter is loud enough to be appropriate for a stand-up routine from the golden years of comedy. Very annoying.

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  22. Thank you, Mr. Zisser! You too, Argyle!

    Neat idea, nicely wrought! Well explained. What more can one ask?

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  23. Interesting morel article, TTP. Two of the towns mentioned are among the state's most mispronounced: Muscoda and Rio. A Madison radio station where I worked for a time had its studios and transmitter site in Fitchburg, also mentioned in the article. Brought back some memories.

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  24. Hi Everyone:

    Somehow the morning got frittered away and here it is afternoon. In any case, this was an easy, breezy Monday with a simple, but well-executed theme. No hiccups, so, smooth sailing.

    Thanks, Steven, for bringing some sunshine into this dreary, rainy (again, still, continued) May day and thanks, Argyle, for the guided tour. Congrats to CC on today's NY Times appearance!

    Hondo, that voyage sounds exciting and getting "gussied" up is a small price to pay for the adventure, IMHO! 😉

    PK, glad you made it to the grocery store! Now all you have to do is get to bed at a decent time and get a good night's sleep. (I know it's not easy to break a cycle like the one you've been in. Good luck!)

    Bill G, TBBT went off the rails several years ago when the writers focused more on crude humor rather than the nerdy humor that was the hallmark of its initial success. What passes for "funny" on most current comedy shows is truly pathetic.

    Have a great day.

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  25. May 8th, 1977; freaky snow storm in Ithaca and freaky people in Barton Hall. link

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  26. Jayce, if you get in here, there's potent medicine for gout: Indomethacin. I ran to the VA for some and when my primary care doctor asked me why I said " The Captain's Platter". And he responded(wait for this, YR) "Stupid,stupid, stupid". My answer: Yep.

    A Monday that was perpable but had some clever cluing. I liked Argyle's write-up.
    Owen, B+ here too. And same for C-Moe. I don't know how you come up with those Moe-kus.

    WC

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  27. Delightful Monday speed-run, Steven--many thanks! I quickly got the number theme, which helped a lot, and enjoyed some of the clever groupings, like the financial CFOS, ROTH IRA, and EURO next to each other. My only nervous moment came when I wasn't positive CAM was the photo taker--never heard that short version of camera. But thank goodness MYST was right for the computer game, which I also, of course, didn't know. But everything else was a PLEASANT breeze. And thank you, always, for the great expo, Argyle.

    Never had a morel, but they're attractive, aren't they?

    Sorry to hear about your daughter's, and your, difficult time, Madame Defarge.

    Have a great week, everybody! I have a niece of Rowland's visiting tomorrow, and may miss getting on the blog. Also, a generally busy week. But will give it my best effort.

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  28. Hello Everyone.

    Internet modem crapped out yesterday in mid-afternoon. Spectrum tech just swapped out a new one, and all is right with the world again.

    Welcome back, Lucina; we missed you.

    No particular comment on today's solve which was easy. No issues.
    ELIHU Root - As Secretary of State, he helped negotiate the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 with Canada. The Niagara Treaty of 1950 is an amendment to that Treaty.
    The Root Glen in nearby Clinton, NY is worth a visit if you are ever in this area.

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  29. Easy-peasy Monday outing, a theme/gimmick that did not interfere with the puzzle, the only acceptable kind to me.

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  30. Tinbeni @ the Library ...

    Well ya gotta like a puzzle that starts off with SCREW over LAYLA.

    Steven: Thank you for a FUN Monday puzzle with an easy theme.

    Fave today, in addition to SCREW & LAYLA, was (of course) PABST.
    If it is a booze answer, you know it is going to be a fave of mine!

    Also liked 28-d, ABACI, since I've been informed that I am a "Retired Bean-Counter."

    Hope everyone has a great week.

    Cheers!

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  31. Musings
    -What Argyle said!
    -My ONE STOP SHOPPING is amazon.com and I am happy to pay Nebraska state tax there
    -Ah, FOUR PART HARMONY! (4:42) Plus counterpoint
    -Brigham and the Mormons made the UTAH desert bloom
    -UNIT – Give ‘em a centimeter and they’ll take a kilometer
    -Grandson’s team didn’t ERR that much yesterday but gave up 16 walks (5 pitchers) to get beat 23 – 1 by a team they beat the night before. UMPING was fine.
    -BLOC voting makes Congressional debate moot
    -With all the phone CAMS around, you can’t quietly get dragged off an airplane
    -What’s the most you’d pay to see a Broadway show?
    -HOOLIGANS of my yute carried an attitude but not a gun
    -How bad were the SNOW BANKS in the 1949 Nebraska blizzard?
    -ROPY or Pahoehoe lava
    -My neighbor’s wife dominates her pastor husband; turns out she’s an EXMARINE
    -Bill, I agree about Big Bang. Roseanne and Friends went down hill as well when they became full of themselves

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  32. ELIHU. A portmanteau for an institution of learning covering grades 1 thruogh 16 for dyslexics.

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  33. @ HG - And then there's the 2.54centimeterworm. Wonder what they're called in Canada?

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  34. Husker - I was picturing exactly that segment for harmony - one of my favorite moments in film! Hiring the Buffalo Bills as the school board was pure genius.

    A cappella singing is popular around here, especially with all the colleges around. However, the fine blending and close harmony we've come to expect is going away, to judge by what is heard at local jamborees. There's more of an emphasis on reproducing pop tunes using solo voice with group accompaniment in place of instruments, always with lots of percussive "beat boxes". The kids eat that stuff up, but I just hate it, because the harmonies just aren't there.

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  35. Hello Monday! Great start to the week! Thanks, Steven! Great expo and links, Argyle!

    Only w/o's were UMPIre/UMPING and sodaS/MALTS. Saw the theme after ONE and TWO.

    Fav: 12d Simon and Garfunkel's Parsley, SAGE, Rosemary and Thyme. My favorite song by my favorite group!

    Welcome back, Lucina! And thanks for explaining MESO.

    Have a wonderful week.

    Pat

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  36. Pat - Better than Bridge Over Troubled Waters?

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  37. Jinx, I think they're tied for favorite.

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  38. Hi All!

    Well that was certainly not normal Monday fare. I feel bad for those just starting out puzzling. Thank you Seven for a fun puzzle; certainly had some crunch for a Monday! I liked your fresh cluing (c/as for RADII, LLL, PINS, SAGE stand out).

    Thanks Argyle for the expo - and the tunes. Though, I think Tawnya topped 'ya with LIDO [and she stole my Ray Charles link too!] :-)

    Thanks C.C. for sharing TTPs morels. TTP, my uncle (in SPI) taught me a bit about mushroom hunting but he was looking for something more mind-bending! that, at 8yro, I wasn't allowed to eat :-)

    WOs: N/A
    ESPs: ELIA, LIDO, ELIHU, CARA, PINS, SAXE - obviously some successful WAGs in there too

    Fav: 9d. Both Ruffian and HOOLIGAN are fun words.

    Who else wanted to enter '150' @4d thinking it was Roman numerals?
    Is it cheating to spell OPRAH (I can never remember the letters' order after OP) by writing in the clue (Harpo) backwards?

    {B} {2x Cute}

    Oc4 - re: One BOOT... I think M. Defarge answered that - her daughter :-(

    Tin - I LOL'd at your 1st line.

    HG - iCAMs capture the oddest moments; that's how I know there's no Bigfoot nor UFOs. With a CAM in everyone's hand, we'd have snaps by now.

    Tawnya - I gotta go back to Boz Scaggs... No one our age seems to know of 'em. How did you come about learning? My dad was a divorced swing'n' dude in the '70s and he had the album (which I eventually "acquired").

    Time to build dinner b/f everyone returns from their after-school activities but I'll leave you with my favorite HOOLIGANS, The Who. [That was the title of their '80's era greatest hits double-album]

    Cheers, -T

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  39. Hi again!

    Two things then the dogs must eat or they will eat me ;)

    @C.C. - I just finished the NYT puzzle for today. Well done! It's interesting how your clues vary from LAT to NYT and I was wondering if that is your doing or that of the editors. Also, do you make puzzles for certain papers or just submit to all and hope for the best? Lastly, I was reading the comments on Wordplay and there are several people wondering how you went from the C.C. byline to Zhouqin.

    @Anon-T: Funny you should ask about Boz Scaggs. I feel like I've always known Lido and Lowdown and the name Boz Scaggs. Several years ago, when I lived in SLO, Ca, he came thru on tour and played at Avila Beach. The local news radio channel was giving away tickets and I won them by being the right caller. So my friend and I went and drank a lot of wine and sang along to all the songs we knew! Turns out I knew a lot of his songs but I'm not sure why! My mother has quite a wide range of taste in music and she exposed me to it all, I guess.

    Off to feed the starving, neglected, wasting-away-to-nothing pack!

    t.

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  40. Hi again - thanks D-O and Tawnya for the heads up on the NYT. I went to the corner store and they still had one paper left. 16a was ESP and square 16 was a WAG but made sense w/ the Theme reveal. 'Twas fun C.C. And Rex didn't even pan you this go-round :-)

    Tawnya - some folks say my taste is eclectic too but I just like what's good - even if it's Sir Mix Alot [sp?], Run D.M.C., or Johnny Cash. [I don't know Art, but I know what I like :-)]
    BTW, a little-birdie told me / shared that Boz still makes music. Here's a little quiet jazz/blues to slow down the night. I may have to buy the album and see what else is there. Cheers, -T

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  41. Enjoyed the musical links - Buffalo Bills, The Who and Boz Scaggs. Excellent!

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  42. Welcome back Lucina. You were missed.

    Desper-otto, I liked that MissPronouncer link. Every state should have one of those.

    Bill G, yes, they taste significantly different. Far better.

    Anonymous T - yeah, don't ingest those mushrooms that grow on cow dung.

    Tawnya, I am remiss for failing to congratulate you. Great job !

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