google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday July 27th 2017 Pancho Harrison

Advertisements

Jul 27, 2017

Thursday July 27th 2017 Pancho Harrison

Theme: Beau Knows (and so do Jeff, Dorothy and Lloyd)

14A. *Billboard entry : POP SONG. Sometimes known as the middle eight, the bridge usually follows the second chorus in a pop song and forms a stylistic break. Many great examples could be referenced, but let's go with "Born To Run" from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. The bridge follows the great Clarence Clemons and his sax solo at around the 2:10 mark

20A. *Upright instrument in a bluegrass band : BASS FIDDLE. There's the bridge in the middle with the strings crossing it:



36A. *Place to land when there's no land in sight : AIRCRAFT CARRIER

On a traditional vessel, the bridge spans the superstructure from port to starboard. Due to the fact that you can't put a bridge on the flight deck, the bridge is off to one side.

49A. *LensCrafters products : EYE GLASSES. The bit in the middle that kids break and repair with a band-aid for maximum nerdiness.


and the reveal:

61A. Hollywood family name ... and what the answers to starred clues have in common : BRIDGES. Brothers Beau and Jeff and parents Lloyd and Dorothy.

Nice theme here and some tricky Thursday-level cluing to keep us on our toes. I made couple of missteps in the northwest that slowed me up, but once I gave them a second thought it all fell into place up there. Let's see what jumps out.

Across:

1. "Dawn of the Dead" (1978) director : ROMERO. Thank you, crosses.

7. Street, in Stuttgart : STRASSE

16. "S'pose so" : I RECKON

17. First of a film series about Damien Thorn : THE OMEN. Scared the living daylights out of me, as did the Exorcist. No more horror movies for me after that. I don't do scary.

18. Cultural environments : MILIEUS

19. Marines NCO : S/SGT Staff Sergeant.

22. Head of Hollywood : EDITH. Lots of Hollywood and movie references today.

24. Switchback feature : ESS. Bends.

25. Bordeaux wine : CLARET. The English name for the classic Bordeaux blends; pick two or more varietals from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec and mix. Winemakers in the US produce a similar blend known as Meritage, usually mispronounced with a long "a" at the end. It is "merit-idge" not "merit-arge"

28. Hankering : ITCH

30. Mauna __ : LOA. Could be KOA. Wait for the cross.

33. 19-Across boss : LOOIE. Slang for lieutenant. Pronounced left-tenant in the UK for no good reason I can see.

34. Conniption : FIT

35. "Oh, crud!" : DANG!

40. Span. miss : SRTA. Senorita.

41. "U R 2 funny!" : LOL' Laugh Out Loud in text-speak.

42. Goosebump-inducing : EERIE. See The Omen, above.

43. Neptune's realm : SEA

44. Hot state : RAGE

45. Irritating inconvenience : HASSLE

46. Post-Manhattan Project org. : A.E.C. Nice logo:


47. Selling points? : SHOPS. Nice clue.

53. Grouch : CRAB

57. "Let's talk in my office" : NOT HERE

58. Word in many hymns : REJOICE

60. "Inka Dinka Doo" singer : DURANTE. More crosses, thank you.

62. Son of Clytemnestra : ORESTES. Complicated family. His mother killed his father, then Orestes killed his mother to avenge the deed. All kinds of complications ensued.

63. Campaign ugliness : SMEARS

Down:

1. Official accts. : RPTS. Reports. Not a fan of this one.

2. Sounds of amazement : OOHS. Tried WOWS, didn't work.

3. Compressed video file format : MPEG. Moving Picture Experts Group? Really? Who knew?

4. Abstruse knowledge : ESOTERICA

5. Com can follow it : ROM. Once I took out my first try DOT here and thought twice about WOWS things started to come together in this area. It was my last section to finish.

6. At all : ONE BIT

7. "The Urbz: __ in the City": video game : SIMS. Guesswork. I knew the game Sim City, I didn't know this title.

8. Long-odds bet : TRIFECTA. One-two-three in the race. I won a quite sizable sum of money at Santa Anita when I hit a trifecta. It was a complete fluke, I was looking at the next race in the Racing Form when I picked my numbers.

9. It's often put on a dog : RELISH. Nice clue again. Relish, mustard. No ketchup, ever.

10. Litmus reddeners : ACIDS. Alkalis turn litmus paper blue, if chemistry lesson memory serves me correct. Or was that Universal Indicator Paper? It's been a while since science class.

11. Short itinerary? : SKED.

12. Motown music : SOUL

13. First word of Massachusetts' motto : ENSE. Quite a mouthful, this motto:

"Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem" Usually translated as "By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty".

15. Pest in a swarm : GNAT

21. Lazy : SHIFTLESS

23. Stag, for one : DEER

25. Elegance : CLASS

26. French wine valley : LOIRE. France has some beautiful countryside, including the quite stunning Loire Valley. Did you see the Tour de France this last three weeks? Plenty of aerial shots of the French countryside. Beautiful.


27. Main artery : AORTA. Not the 405 or the 101 in this neck of the woods.

29. It may be nervous : TIC

30. Hibernation spots : LAIRS

31. NBC newsman Roger : O'NEIL. Nailed it. Finally got this name set in my head.

32. Come to terms : AGREE

35. Specification regarding threads : DRESS CODE. Great clue.

37. Like many steakhouse menus : A LA CARTE. Just steakhouses?

38. London bank? : FOG. The legendary and notorious London fogs are a thing of the past since the introduction of the Clean Air Act and the phasing out of coal fires for heating homes. The air is still pretty bad, mainly from emissions from diesel engines (taxis and buses).

39. Harvest : REAP

44. Give in : RELENT

45. Unmannerly sorts, in Canadian slang : HOSERS. We had a discussion about this a couple of months ago when it appeared in another Thursday puzzle.

46. Turkish honorifics : AGHAS. That middle "H" seem to make me stumble.

48. Window box plant : HERB. I've got basil in mine.

49. Opposite of exo- : ENDO-

50. Part of FYI : YOUR. For Your Information.

51. Raison d'__ : ETRE. Reason for being, literally.

52. Witnesses : SEES

54. Latvian capital : RIGA

55. Taiwan-based computer giant : ACER. I thought until recently this company had gone out of business, but no.

56. Gershwin heroine : BESS

59. Parsons of "Hidden Figures" : JIM

Wow, that went quickly. So here's the grid, and I'm done!

Steve



45 comments:

fermatprime said...

Hi everyone!

Thanks to Pancho and Steve!

Cool puzzle.

Didn't like RPTS, either, Steve! ENSE was perps as was some of HOSERS. (Guess I forgot.)

Misty: Sorry about the BCC. (Been there, done that.)

Jayce: What are you taking for the a Fib? I am on Pradaxa. I have bruises. Boy, do I get bruises!

Hope to see you all tomorrow!



Lemonade714 said...

Good morning:

Up early with a return of our first LA Times constructor, Pancho Harrison. My sons liked the SIMS video games and I thought it was an interesting approach The building of cities etc. and the creation of characters was fun.

I often wondered about the left-tenant history, but then again I have never understood the Worcester = Wooster.

I have not seen Hidden Figures but it sounded like a movie worth watching.

Have a great day - thank you Pancho and Steve.

SwenglishMom said...

Thanks for the write-up! Much appreciated as I couldn't find the "bridges". I liked the puzzle very much. Romero was a no-brainer owing to his passing this month. Rest In Peace zombie director. Durante was also easy for me, is 56 the age at which "Inka-Dinka-Doo" immediately brings up visions of The Schnoz? But I chose Top song instead of Pop song so I never had the chance to be irritated at "rpts."

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Ack! Another DNF. TOP SONG and JPEG kept RPTS and ROMERO from appearing. I'm familiar with actor Cesar (The Joker) ROMERO, but not the director George, so that was no help. I'll take my Pancho punch and go sulk.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, despite three cheats (ROMERO, THE OMEN and JIM Parsons). Nary a V8 can in the bunch. Bad cells were tOP SONG and STRASSa.

There are meds for afib but Pradax and my choice, Xarelto, just help prevent afib from causing strokes. I tried beta blockers and other meds along with electrocardioversion (would THAT be a great CW fill!) but nothing worked. I'm out of rhythm all of the time. I took rat poison (coumadin) until the modern stuff came out.

Thanks for the good wishes for our camping trip. Yesterday we found the typical nits (washing machine wouldn't work, DVR had to be refreshed at the DirecTV web site, router didn't want to use my cell phone for its WAN). As Gilda used to say, "it's always something". Short trip today to the historic Colonial Beach area. John Wilkes Booth tried to escape across the Potomac to there, and George Washington was born nearby.

From yesterday, don't forget the Road Runner muscle car. Worth big bucks today.

Yellowrocks said...

I was going great guns until I returned to the NW and was stymied there. With DO, Jinx and Swenglish Mom, I am in good company. I had DOT and didn't think of ROM COM, a term I have heard, but never use. I had JPEG and doubted the J, but I don't know MPEG.
In hindsight I could have eventually gotten the others, but had no chance with ROMERO, R in RPTS and M in MPEG. It's always a disappointment to move along so well and then come to a screeching halt. It seemed Wednesday easy, except for the NW.
I liked the BRIDGES theme and after the reveal I could spot them.
My SIL had severe afib and went through two rounds of catheter ablation. The afib has stopped, but she still gets very weak and tired.
Jayce, Fermatprime and Jinx best wishes on your afib. I hope medication alone will conquer it.
Jinx, I hope your camping trip is HASSLE free from here on out.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! OOH Pancho, such a mind bending hard one. Thanks! Thanks, Steve, for your usual great enlightenment.

I had no chance at finding the complex and clever BRIDGES theme. I had just filled the entire puzzle when it disappeared for the second time. We had a surprise day of rain yesterday. Every time it rains, my Safari keeps flipping out. BFF tried to email me another rainy day and got a "return as undeliverable" post. Makes me CRABby.

Only fill the first pass through the top tier was OOHS. I googled ABSTRUSE right away and guessed ESOTERICA which wasn't in my vocabulary either but I had a vague idea what it meant.

STRAdts before STRASSE. Ten to one before TRIFECTA. What do I know? I don't gamble. Quite a few entries I couldn't get at first. Actually, it would be easier and more encouraging to me to tell you the fills I'm proud of getting right away: DURANTE, EDITH, ACIDS, LOIRE.

No "collar" but RELISH on the dog.

SWENGLISH MOM: I was thinking about you yesterday. EERIE!

Misty, I hope they get that pesky BCC for good this time. Good luck!

Hondo, Bon voyage! Hope you're a happy camper, Jinx, I like your trip RPTS.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I stumbled, like others, in the NW with Com/Rom and JPEG/MPEG for a while. I kind of knew Romero, but it took ages for the full name to surface. It was a fresh and clever theme and offered some fun cluing and fill, as Steve noted. Jeff Bridges has always been a favorite of mine. He is one of the few Hollywood stars who has enjoyed a long, happy marriage and "normal" lifestyle, I.e., scandal-free.

Thanks, Pancho, for a fun romp and thanks, Steve, for the grand tour. BTW, I share your avoidance of horror films.

Speaking of films, I have Lion to watch tonight and I believe Hidden Figures is next in my Netflix queue.

Misty, sorry to hear of the BCC recurrence; good luck in two weeks.

I just went back to see the picture of Oswald; other than the long ears, he doesn't look like any rabbit I've ever seen! 🐇

Another gloomy, rainy day. Who hijacked summer?

Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Pancho and Steve for a fun trip. The NW finally fell when I took out Dot and slid Rom in. WEES about rpts. Dresscode was good! I take Eliquis so it looks like we have all the bases covered. Expensive but much easier than warfarin. Nice day in Chicago weatherwise. Hope yours is good too! JB2

BunnyM said...

Good morning all!

I RECKON this wasn't too tough for a Thursday but I needed the reveal to get the BRIDGES theme. Nice work from Pancho with some fresh clues and fills and just enough crunch for a good workout.

Thanks, Steve for your wonderful guidance! I "don't do scary" either. Although I did know ROMERO as I'm familiar with his work and as SwenglishMom said with his recent passing being in the news, it was a gimme. However, I'd forgotten the Damien Thorn character and had The X Men for THEOMEN, LOL 😂 ESOTERICA took awhile due to this and not knowing LOOIE.

I had the same thought as Steve about ALACARTE - why just Steakhouses?

The SE corner was the last to fill because I couldn't remember RIGA( my one cheat. Maybe one day this will finally stick in my brain) but I have an ACER laptop and knew that JIM Parsons (Sheldon!) was in "Hidden Figures" but it didn't immediately come to me. BTW, Lemonade- it's an excellent film. You should watch it if you get the chance.

Perps- ENSE, AEC, DURANTE and TRIFECTA which I didn't know was a betting term. I only knew it as a group of three perfect or desirable things. My BFF lives in Houston now, so when she comes home for a visit says "Skyline chili, Graeters ice cream and LaRosas pizza are the Cincinnati trifecta" since she can't get any of them in Texas.

Wish you all a wonderful day!


BunnyM said...

Irish Miss -your Netflix lineup is good! Both Lion and Hidden Figures are great movies based on true stories. The casting was excellent and both are uplifting in their own way, although Lion was heartbreaking. It's easy to seee why both were nominated for so many awards. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

We don't get Pancho's puzzles often, but I look forward to their appearance. Somewhat gnarly but with a broad scope of fill. Today he sprinkled around just enough easy stuff that they could serve as a nucleation point for dendritic fill to expand from. Great theme building on bridges.
AIRCRAFT CARRIER - I have spent brief periods on three: the Yorktown, the Philippine Sea, and the Randolph. The Randolph I was choppered to and hi-lined from. An exciting couple days. I stood my first watch ever on the Yorktown, which is now berthed as a museum ship in Charleston, SC. They are known affectionately in Navy slang as "bird farms".

desper-otto said...

I spent a year and a half on a "bird farm." It was an old WWII "attack" carrier, CVA-31 USS Bon Homme Richard, known affectionately as Bonnie Dick. It originally had two enlisted mess decks for feeding a crew of 2500. One of those mess decks was converted to berthing space, so crew size could be increased. More people and reduced facilities to feed 'em -- what's wrong with that picture? Most of our time was spent on short training cruises, but also included a 7-month WestPac cruise during the Viet Nam conflict. It took 400 gallons of fresh water converted to steam to launch each aircraft. The ship's evaporators couldn't keep up, so we would switch to mandatory salt water showers whenever we were "on the line." Our crew of 3000 racked up more than 1000 cases of VD during that cruise, though many of those were "re-peters." When we finally sailed back into our home port at San Diego, we proudly flew a banner: "Bonnie Dick is not a social disease!" That was the ship's final cruise. It was moth-balled in '71 and sold for scrap in '92.

Hungry Mother said...

A bit crunchy today, but got it. @desper-otto: I was in Thailand in 1963 with the Army engineers. We all cheered when the captain announced that our VD percentage had surpassed that of the troops in Korea.

MJ said...

Good day to all!

Too many unknowns to finish unassisted. The NW was my Waterloo. Googled for ROMERO and THE OMEN which changed dOt to ROM to proceed "com". Favorite clue/answer was "It's often put on dogs" for RELISH. Thanks for the grand tour, Steve.

I am off to meet a childhood friend (my first BFF) for brunch. Enjoy the day!

Unknown said...

Have your Cardiologist recommend a good Electrophyologist to do an Ablation (semi invasive procedure and short recovery). I went back to work the next day and AFib cured completely.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-ROMERO/RPTS (yuk!) gave me two bad cells
-Hollywood family was on one clue line and the reveal on top of the next clue column and so the reveal laid there unnoticed
-Does using the word MILIEU make you sound pretentious?
-You use a lot of those switchback ESS’s to drive up Pike’s Peak
-90-day-wonder second LOOIES (OCS grads) have trouble impressing SSGT’s
-“RAGE, RAGE against the dying of the light”
-I prefer my horror movie devices to be EERIE and not gross
-When our principal was upset, he conducted what we called a “closed door meeting” in his office
-SMEARS – “My opponent is a known masticator”
-Long odds TRIFECTA – hitting three green lights in a row in this town
-Our junior high DRESS CODE of finger-tip-length for skirt length wasn’t full proof for girls with long arms
-Our guide called this the Marine Layer not FOG
-Off to mow MIL’s lawn

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Pancho Harrison, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.

Puzzle went fairly easily after I got a start in the SE. However, when i got to the NW, everything slowed down. That was my last to finish. The easiest word in the NW was GNAT.

Theme took me a while to figure out. Then it hit me.

DURANTE gave me ENDO.

HOSERS was new to me. And, I grew up 28 miles from Canada.

Now I have to go to yesterday and report in on that puzzle. Finished it at 12:30AM last night.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

PK said...

Ahoy, Sailors! I spent time with a retired Navy Commander who had been a "Tail Hooker" aka pilot on a carrier during the conflict in Vietnam. He said that all officers who had not previously had the procedure were given mandatory circumcisions while enroute to the war zone in an effort to prevent social diseases.

WikWak said...

GNATS... love those GN words.

I hit the trifecta at Sportsman's Park in Chicago in my ute. Found out later it had set some sort of record for lowest payout on a trifecta there. Yep; that's my kind of luck.

(t)OP SONGS instead of POP SONGS held me back for a while.

And Cruciverb is back and up to date! Got to use my Crosswords app for the first time in weeks. Yay.

Lucina said...

WEES. Thank you, Pancho Harrison, for forcing me to think long and hard through most of this puzzle. And thank you, Steve, for the illumination. The NW, however, gave me a FIT! I knew that director had recently died but couldn't come up with his name. Finally I Googled it, got rid of JPEG but still had topSONG not POPSONG.

All else fell in place eventually and as Steve noted, LOA confirmed once the perps nailed it. Changed RATS to DANG and DRESSCODE emerged. RIGA is taught in 4th grade geography and BRIDGES have all been some of my favorite actors, especially Lloyd.

If you haven't seen Hidden Figures, do yourself a favor and watch it. It's wonderful.

Have a lovely day, everyone!

AnonymousPVX said...

A bit of a toughie today, like some others I had Topsong and not Popsong so I agree with those who didn't like RPTS, haha.

Again, the problem yesterday wasn't so much "Vette" being abbreviated, Chevy being part of the clue, it was the fact that it just wasn't, isn't, and never has been a muscle car. <=== That's a period at the end of that statement.

Misty said...

Well, this was a Thursday toughie for me, with the northwest and the southeast stumping me into having to cheat. I'm afraid I never got the BRIDGES theme either, until Steve explained it. I actually thought the theme might be something about complaints, what with DANG, HASSLE, RAGE, FIT, and the like. I felt more like that, than wanting to REJOICE. But hey, not your fault, Pancho--just my slowness this morning. And fun expo, as always, Steve.

Fermatprime, PK, and Irish Miss--more thanks on the good luck wishes in dealing with my BCC. Glad to have an easy abbreviation for it.

Have a good day, everybody!

Bill G said...

Thanks Pancho and Steve. I too had trouble with RPTS.

Lucina, I think it was you who recommended "The Shelters of Stone." I've liked the other books in the series that I have read so I was anxious to try this one. I'm about 100 pages into the book and nothing has occurred except her being tediously introduced to everybody in a new clan. I'm waiting for something interesting to happen. Soon I hope...

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta- DA!
G'Day, fellow solvers! Today's challenge from Mr. Harrison felt about right for a Thursday pzl. Had to wait for the perps at both LOA and HOSERS (to be sure they weren't KOA and POSERS, right?)
LOOIE? I thought we were no longer allowing such informalisms (no "Vette" for "Corvette," etc.), at least not w/o a hint in the clue. As for why Brits say "Left-tenant" (in their army, but not their navy), the answer should be obvious, Steve. That's just the way it's spelled!

Pax.

Unknown said...

TADA here as well. I only know three directors opie, Spielberg and Lucas. but an alphabet run found R..omero the only one that makes sense. which made me change topsong to pop song. hate "rpts" but it fits. Finally really really hate "Looie" . It's a disparaging term for a young officer more in movies than in real life. I spent thirty years around all three branches including stints in DoD graduate level classes and never once heard the term. Vowel rich so I see why one might need it, but I can still hate it.
Finally the Durante fill makes me feel old today (67). Seems like "the Shnozz" was on the old black and white Zenith at least once a week So..."Goodnight Mrs. Calabash wherever you are"

Unknown said...

And one more thing...Did anyone know off the top of their head...O...R...E...S...T...E...S ?
seemed like random letters that just appeared when the easy perps were filled in.

I am going to call my friend Captain (won't say her name) who is O-6 retired. She had a distinguished career in Navy Intel but her degree is in Classical Languages. Smartest person I ever had working for me. Bet she hasn't a clue for this clue.

Yellowrocks said...

I am sure the Captain knows Homer and Orestes. I got Orestes from only the O, just sayin'. Not all that arcane.
Bill G.@ 1:40, I agree.
I am enjoying the cool temps in the 70's, but I would like to see the sun.
IMO informalisms without a hint are fine from Thurs. to Sun.
Alan has been home sick again all week. This time we saw the urologist. Likely it is just an infection. I am thankful the scariest malady has been ruled out for now. Also it seems that his breathing problems are the result of anxiety. Although nothing major has been happening, with the constant episodes, I am reacting with out-of-proportion anxiety and the blues. You all are a spot of sanity in my life.

Anonymous said...

I've had smooth sailing this week until today. Needed several look-ups to get the correct answer. Of course, I didn't get the theme. Thanks for the challenge, Pancho. I really needed your guided tour, Steve. Thanks for the help.

My dog had a collar. dOt/ROM. Ten to one/TRIFECTA. tOPSONG/POPSONG.

My EYEGLASSES are from LensCrafters.

Positive thoughts going out to all who are facing woes.

Safe travels to those who are on the move.

BunnyM- I've never learned to like Skyline, I rarely eat pizza, but 2 thumbs up for Graeter's ice cream!

Enjoy your Thursday!

Misty said...

Sorry to hear of Alan's problems, Yellowrocks. Hang in there.

WikWak said...

Yellowrocks: I have been called many things in my life but a "spot of sanity"? That's a first! :)
But seriously, I have two close friends who deal with anxiety as best they can, and I know how difficult it is for their families. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Big Easy said...

A toughie for me with a DNF today. ROMERO (or the movie), THE OMEN, ROM Com, RPTS as abbr for appts. I RECKON my knowledge of those added up to zero. Total unknowns. Too much of a HASSLE to finish the NW. The rest of the fills were easy until the SE, with SIMS and ORESTES ( Clytemnestra sounds like a disease, one of the ones some of you guys have been talking about) in the SW being filled by perps. I had filled DRESS CARE instead of CODE, had no idea what could be grown in a 'Window box', unfamiliar with JIM Parsons, so the BRIDGES were never 'crossed' by perps.

But challenges are what puzzles are supposed to be. And I didn't rise to the occasion today. My hat's off to those who did and to Pancho and Steve.

Unknown said...

"Re-peters". LOL! Not something I've heard before, tho maybe familiar to some. Highlight of the comments for me!

Jayce said...

A good, Thursday-hard puzzle from one of my favorite constructors. WEES regarding RPTS, not seeing the bridges in the answers to the starred clues, and liking the RELISH clue.

I'll add my hearty agreement about Hidden Figures and Lion.

Fermatprime, I am also taking Pradaxa, and I tolerate it very well. I think we all understand that "blood thinners" aka anti-coagulants do not actually treat the a-fib itself. The wonderful cardiologist I saw on Tuesday explained very clearly why I am not a candidate for cardioversion, medication, or ablation therapy. So, like Jinx, I am and will be out of rhythm all the time. The cardiologist also said something very significant, namely that my going on a regimen of regular exercise (not strenuous, just walks around the neighborhood, back and forth in supermarket aisles, and stuff like that) will very likely reveal that the reason I get easily winded and feel the need to rest is due to my being out of shape much more than due to the a-fib.

Fermatprime, please be careful not to bang up against stuff, as it will, as you have pointed out, make you bruise easily.

Very interesting stories from several of you about being aboard ship during your Navy service. Thanks for telling us all about your experiences.

Boy oh boy do I remember LaRosa's pizza! Many years ago (about 1995 or so, I think) I spent 2 months in Cincinnati working with a team to get Buddy LaRosa's first centralized "call center" up and running. Lots of fun, and I ate a LOT of pizza, but man oh man that city sure rolls up the sidewalks early in the evening. The only decent night spots were across the river in Covington, Kentucky, where we all spent most of our evenings. One of my colleagues was even a certified Kentucky Colonel!

Best wishes to you all.

CrossEyedDave said...

My attempt at trying to solve this puzzle...

and, it felt like this...

In fact, it feels like I am still paying for this puzzle...

desper-otto said...

Jayce, DW and I walk three miles every morning. We've been doing it for years. My bad back is still bad, but doesn't bother me nearly as much. I highly recommend it. Doesn't have to be speed-walking -- we don't saunter, but only clock out at 3 mph. That works out to a one-hour "march" around the 'hood each day.

Lucina said...

Chuck Lindgren2:41:
It's true ORESTES would be a difficult one to grok unless one had studied Greek mythology or read esoteric works. That is all included in a Liberal Arts degree so I consider myself fortunate in that respect. I've also accumulated an immense amount of trivial data.

YR:
Keep on keeping on! I'm sorry Alan is having further problems.

Jayce said...

desper-otto, that is excellent for you and your DW! Congratulations. As of now I'm just starting out, currently 5 minutes a day. Our (my) goal is increase a little each week until reaching at least 30 minutes per day. The goal destination is the home of a friend of ours who lives about a mile away, and eventually to the local coffee shop, which is about 2 miles away. Of course there is always the walk back home again. Doc suggested I don't try too hard, don't knock myself out, because I'll just get overly tired and discouraged. He says don't worry if it takes months to get there. And yes, a bad back can certainly make it more difficult, as I know, but the walking helps the back, too.

BunnyM said...

Pat- my husband and I are Skyline fanatics and eat there every Saturday. Graeter's Mocha Chip ice cream is my favorite. Just wish it wasn't so expensive (and fattening, lol) I also get my glasses at LensCrafters- I'm so impatient to get my new ones, so love the quick service. Last time I bought them, I got "1 year same as cash" - nice deal :)

Jayce- great story about LaRosa's. That's funny about not finding night life around- Cincy did used to be pretty boring! It has improved over the last several years, especially Downtown and in Over The Rhine ( used to be a very high crime rate there. It has improved but still the worst in the city, I believe) There's a brewery district now and many bars/great restaurants. We don't get out much anymore but always enjoyed Newport and Covington more when we did.

Yellowrocks- my heart goes out to you and Alan. My youngest daughter suffers from anxiety, too. Most of the time her medicine keeps it under control but when it doesn't- well, as you know it can be very debilitating not only mentally and emotionally but physically as well. It does affect all involved and is so frustrating and heartbreaking as a mother to not be able to "fix it". I totally understand your feelings of anxiety and the blues and finding solace here. Hugs to you :)

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

FIW w/ 4 bad squares (but no lookups!). Thanks Pancho for a puzzle that I thought I'd never get but almost did. Thanks Steve for the expo with The Boss in the background.

CED, your middle-link illustrates my solving experience; step/ink carefully :-). 1st pass I got SOUL, GNAT giving me SONG (wanted hit-song; but waited), TIC, FIT, LOL, ENDO, YOUR... Finally! Two letters in a row... EYE GLASSES, NOT HERE, DURANTE, ENTRY, RELUCTANT, HERB, SHOPS, HOSERS, ACER. Now what? :-). Lots of glancing at it over the day ensued... [hey, I missed 3 down, I know that!, helped in the NW]

WO: aArG b/f DANG
ESPs: ROMERO, RPTS, CLARET, LOIRE (bold are WAGs), OREnTES, AGHAn (missed the plural!), EDITH, RYGA, ONEIL.

Bad squares: OK, so I spelt the FIDDLE like BASEball, not the fish. So, @7d I'm looking at -I-E. "Life in the city?" "FILI-US?", OOH, MILIEUS, Time in the City. Also, 7a xing 13d, I guessed oNSE. Then there's the N instead of S in ORESTES.

Fav: I went with HOSERS last time so I could link Bob & Doug; I do like the word ESOTERICA. I wanted it w/ just the S from Song but wouldn't commit.

BunnyM - I too wanted XMEN but my fav more. Steve, I'm with you on scary (and violent) movies; don't watch whats I can't un-SEES.

YR - We're all thinking of you.

I enjoyed everyone's .mil stories; thanks for the smiles (re-peter LOL!)

HG - RE: MILIEU sounding pretentious?; NOT HERE.

Cheers, -T

Me too said...

KEA not KOA

Big Easy said...

Lucina-"That is all included in a Liberal Arts degree"

These days a Liberal Arts degree and $4.00 ( or more) will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks. It will also leave most graduates deeply in debt with few prospects of paying it back.

Yellowrocks said...

Misty, Wik Wak, Lucina, Anon T, and Bunny, thank you for your kind thoughts and support. Bunny, right on. We are in the same boat. My thoughts are with you and your daughter.
Agnes, did you send me an ecard? If so, many thanks. I will open it when you tell me it is legit.

Lucina said...

Big Easy:
You're right, of course. I was just fortunate to be born in a time when the cost of a college education was within reach.

Picard said...

Can't believe I FIR. WEES about the NW. Not really fair or satisfying there. Seemed like more of a Saturday level.

Hand up for TOP SONG before POP SONG. Hand up for DOT before ROM. Also tried NON. Anyone else?

Hand up that RPTS and LOOIE both seem unfair.

Loved Hidden Figures. Still do not know who was JIM Parsons. Was thinking Parsons was a woman.

Tried ASUS before ACER. Anyone else?

Other unknowns/unfair: LOIRE/CLARET crossing. Especially w that damned LOOIE. HOSERS and ENSE also unknown.

Anyone else think Roger MUDD even though it does not fit? Don't know Roger ONEIL.