google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, August 24 2017 Peg Slay

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Aug 24, 2017

Thursday, August 24 2017 Peg Slay

Theme: The Doors - all the words on the edges of the grid are types of doors as the hint has it:

38A. Not alfresco, and what this puzzle is vis-à-vis its border answers : INDOORS

The Corner's own C6D6 Peg is the constructor-in-residence today. Great word-play with the theme - all the non-theme answers are "Indoors" Artfully done and some nice fill - EXCELLED AT, COOK STRAIT, KEYNOTE and my favorite MALINGER. Good job.

We were having a discussion last week about people's different solving methods - I tend to go once across and once down, then fill in what's left, so I thought you might like to see my first pass across. I used to be a lot more careful about checking crosses when I solved on pen and paper, but now there's no inkblots I just have at it. You can see the central east was going to cause some rework, but nothing slowed me down too badly.


Let''s see what else Peg cooked up for us, or rang the bells:

Across:

1. Support financially : BACK

5. Hurricane, e.g. : STORM. Here's Rory Storm and the Hurricanes playing at the Jive Hive in 1960. That's Ringo Starr on the drums.

10. Drainpipe section : TRAP. P-Trap, not for what you might think. It's shaped like a "P"

14. Face cream additive : ALOE

15. Medicare component : PART A. Fill in PART and go back for A/B

16. Leaping critter : HARE

17. Depend (on) : RELY

18. Had superior skills in : EXCELLED AT

20. Word on really bright Crayolas : NEON. Brightens up your day:


21. Jazz great Montgomery : WES

22. Helen Reddy's "__ Woman" : I AM

23. Commentary page : OP-ED Someone asked last week what OP-EDS meant, I didn't really explain. Opinion pieces opposite the editorial page of a newspaper.

25. Turned out to be : ENDED UP

29. Blew hard : GUSTED

32. Way back when : AGES AGO. I progressed from LONG thru EONS to AGES. Got there in the end. The long way around.

33. Helped start the pot : ANTE'D

34. Comic Johnson : ARTE. See "almost Natick'ed" at 25D

36. Big __ : MAC. Oh, not SUR then. Darn. I confess that I recently ordered a Big Mac and Fries via Uber Eats when I'd spent the evening out with some friends and was home and had the munchies. It was either get back in an Uber and go get it myself, or save myself the Uber ride back and forth. Sometimes, junk food is just what you need. Delivered to your door.

37. Regret : RUE. I didn't rue the Big Mac.

41. Craft built in the 2014 film "Noah" : ARK. I tried "Bagel Delivery Van" but it didn't fit.

42. Nile snake : ASP

43. Yemeni seaport : ADEN

44. Speed : HASTE

46. Become resentful : GET SORE

49. Vampire's bed? : CASKET. Corrected my COFFIN misstep.

50. Painter Manet : EDOUARD Started to fill this in and then hesitated about the spelling; I think my first thought was right. This is "A bar at the Folies-Bergère" in London's National Gallery. Back when I was impoverished and making a pittance at my first real job, I was amazed to find that London's public galleries and museums were free. I spent quite some time looking at this painting trying to figure out if the off-kilter reflection of the server was the result of a warped mirror or just playful imagery by Manet.


51. Sketch material : GAGS

52. Commuter org. in the Loop : C.T.A. Chicago Transit Authority.

53. __ Butterworth : MRS

54. "Wild Blue Yonder" mil. group : USAF

58. Waterway between the major islands of New Zealand : COOK STRAIT. I couldn't pull this out of my brain bank on my first pass across the puzzle. I've sailed in the Cook Strait - on an America's Cup yacht. The decks were teflon-coated, not easy to stay in one place!

62. Leg-covering skirt : MAXI

63. Green Gables heroine : ANNE

64. Boardroom prop : EASEL

65. Part of FEMA: Abbr. : EMER. Federal Emergency Management Agency. Came in for a lot of criticism in the afterrmath of Hurricane Katrina

66. Caboose place : REAR. Back of the train. We call them guard's vans back in the old country. Because they were vans. And they had a guard in them.

67. Broadway platform : STAGE. All the world is one.

68. Fries, for instance : SIDE. Big Mac. Fries. Uber Eats. Yay!

Down:

1. Silo neighbor : BARN

2. Toward protection, at sea : ALEE. Also the side of the boat to be if you feel a touch of the mal de mer.

3. Great Sand Dunes National Park st. : COLO. rado. Can't you ski down them? Yes, apparently you can:


4. Pinnacle of a lecture series : KEYNOTE

5. Erupted : SPEWED. I'd make a connection to 2D but it's breakfast time for many.

6. Strained : TAXED

7. Tolkien henchmen : ORCS. Not exactly men. Hench-things.

8. GPS suggestion : RTE

9. Feign illness to avoid work : MALINGER. Great word. My mom used to accuse us of malingering when we tried to skip a day of school. She was right most of the time, until the time I came down with measles and she wouldn't hear a word of it.

10. Motifs : THEMES

11. "Far out, dude!" : RAD!

12. Notre Dame's Parseghian : ARA

13. Kennel guest : PET

19. Put on board : LADE. I think it's a 17th-century typo that no-one bothered to fix.

24. Spa treatment : PEDI

25. Big name in stationery : EATON. I was almost Natick'ed with T here. I did a full alphabet run until on the second pass EATON almost sounded familiar. It was my best guess so in it went.

26. Ornamental fabric : DAMASK

27. Lorre's "Casablanca" character : UGARTE. Thank you crosses, I always forget this.

28. Pita feature : POCKET Food! The gyro is one of my favorite sandwiches.

29. Tech company's origin, perhaps : GARAGE. Apple, HP and Microsoft all started off in garages. Dell started off in Michael Dell's dorm room at the University of Texas

30. On the shelf : UNUSED

31. Move in the direction of : STEP TO

34. Threw in : ADDED

35. Sushi roll topping : ROE. Food! I like to top my sushi rolls with Sujiko roe, from the salmon, and the tiny Tobiko roe from flying fish.

39. Tells a story : NARRATES

40. Layered do : SHAG

45. Takes for granted : ASSUMES

47. Lollipop : SUCKER

48. Feed bag feed : OATS

49. Once-per-player chess move : CASTLE. King side or Queen side if I recall from my youth. I haven't played chess for years.

51. "Norwegian Dances" composer : GRIEG

53. Tamale dough : MASA. I buy mine from the local Vallarta market, it's much lighter than when I tried to make my own.

55. Scandinavian language : SAMI. Nailed it! Remembered this from a little while ago. The road signs need a lot of lettering:


56. Used a hatchet on : AXED

57. Cause for alarm : FIRE

58. Honda or Hyundai : CAR. My current car is a Hyundai. It's the Genesis brand, so it doesn't actually have a Hyundai badge on it.

59. Pepsi product that's also its calorie count : ONE

60. Springsteen's "Working __ Dream" : ON A. Not sure I know this one from The Boss.

61. Scoundrel : RAT

That was fun, thanks Peg! Here's the grid and I'm done!

Steve


56 comments:

  1. Greetings!

    Thanks to Peg and Steve!

    Internet was down. Glad to have it back!

    Not much was puzzling! But needed help with: WES, MAC, COOK STRAIT and UGARTE. But got 'er done!

    Medicare has a part D, too, but you're still a youngster, Steve!

    Did my best ever on Word Solitaire! I was fourth in the world for a while! (But that was at 9:40 PM PDT. So I probably got clobbered later.)

    Hope to see you all tomorrow!

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  2. Someone left gate open at 3:30. Must have been caregiver. I was at k-laser place. Millie got out. Someone found her and took her to my vet (name on her rabies tag.) I was so relieved when I picked up my phone messages at 5:30. I do not even have the good Samaritan's name, but sure would like to thank her. Nearly had a nervous breakdown.

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  3. The STORM winds had GUSTED across the shores,
    In the CASTLE they huddled, safe(?) INDOORS.
    ANNE looked in the BACK, it
    Had a DAMASK-lined CASKET!
    A NOTE on the pillow read, "Gone batting till fours"!

    The RAT didn't like work, he said he was a thinker!
    Things he EXCELLED AT, you could count on one finger!
    That was the THEME
    Of his daily dream --
    Trying to plan a RAD way to MALINGER!

    {B-, B.}

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  4. My technique is to work across until I get an answer, then I work down off that. I try not to do any fill except for answers that I have one or more letters. If I get stuck I go back to the acrosses.

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  5. Why didn't you expand on the theme of IN DOORS, as in BACK door; STORM door; TRAP door; PET door; POCKET door; FIRE door; SIDE door; STAGE door; REAR door; CAR door; GARAGE door; and BARN door?

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  6. Good morning!

    Thank you, C6D6 Peg for a nice midweek outing. As usual, I failed to read the complete reveal clue, so I totally missed the theme until Steve's explication. Impressive, Peg. Hand up for Big SUR -- that was my only overwrite. I liked seeing Cook Strait, Damask, Keynote and Malingers.

    I used EATON Corrasable Bond for typing school papers. I learned on NPR this week that Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, added an errata section to his several-hundred-page manifesto. He'd typed it on a 1930's manual typewriter and couldn't easily correct errors.

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  7. Puzzled, Steve mentioned it in his very first line, "Theme: The Doors - all the words on the edges of the grid are types of doors...." He probably figured we were smart enough to find 'em on our own.

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  8. I work the puzzles one across, one down, and back and forth.The ink splotches just look ugly, with the only one on my grid today being PANTED changed to GUSTED. The section with MALINGERER, EATON (unk), AGES AGO, DAMASK (unk), AND UGARTE took more time than the rest of the puzzle.

    I knew EDOUARD Manet but not the correct spelling of Eddie's name.
    ASSUMES- if you assume something it makes an ASS out of U and ME. ASS/U/ME!!!
    ARA Parseghian died last week.

    Good work C6D6. You EXCELLED AT this job. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to finish but it ENDED UP just fine.

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  9. Crossword star ARA Parseghian died this month at 94.

    MASA SAMI and WES were crosses

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  10. That's a lot of doors - but no awkward fill to make it work!
    Great job Peg and thanks for the blog Steve!

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  11. Good day to all!

    Great puzzle. Very impressive to fit in so many doors. Thanks Peg. I didn't know COOK STRAIT or SAMI. Love the word MALINGER. Thanks for the expo, Steve.

    Fermatprime--So glad Millie has been returned to the safety of home.

    OMK--Thanks for the update. Hope the pain eases up, and best wishes for continued healing.

    Enjoy the day!

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  12. Good morning everyone.

    Thanks, Peg, for a fine puzzle.
    Got the theme quickly after the reveal. Had to go back to 1a and change BAnK to BACK. That invited COLO which made more sense than what I had. I had to gingerly spell EDOUARD, too. Makes sense if one realizes the French digraph 'ou' gives the 'w' sound as in "oui".
    No searches, no other strikethroughs. Thanks Steve for a great intro.
    COOK STRAIT - Cook mapped much of the New Zealand coast. With the recently invented chronometer, he had the tools to do it. Earlier he had mapped much of the Newfoundland coast.
    COLO - Steve's sand dune picture depicts aeolian deposits.
    DOORS - Couldn't help but think of 'watertight' DOORS which must have been rapidly closed by ships' crews involved in the recent 7th Fleet collisions.
    ALEE - We never really used the word. In very rough weather we typically would try to pick a comfortable course with a quartering wind. I would think the word is more common in the sailing culture.

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  13. Good morning all!

    Fun puzzle and great THEME(S) from C6D6 Peg- you EXCELLED AT including so many DOORS,

    Thanks, Steve for a great review. I also had Long/AGES AGO .
    Like Bob, I also solve across and work off those fills for the down answers. I often end up with fills via perps without seeing the clue first; sometimes they're wrong though :)
    Steve- my daughter is driving a Hyundai Genesis coupe right now. That's the loaner the dealership gave her while working on her Accent. It's being "fixed" for the fifth time in two years( the time it failed between the 4th and 5th was less than 48 hours) The power steering keeps going out. We now have "a case that has been escalated to the regent department" after my DH talked to the manager of the dealership, customer service and wrote a letter to Hyundai corporate. We will pursue the Lemon Law if need be, as it seems to fall under this. We've been loyal Hyundai customers for 14 years but they've not handled the situation well with her car. Anyway, that Genesis is a RAD CAR! She wants to keep it, lol.

    Besides having Long/Ages, I had Bank/BACK which made COLO /NOLO. What? This was a learning moment as I didn't know that Colorado has a Great Sand Dunes National Park- I was only aware of the one in Michigan, which we've visited many times

    Other unknowns: LADE, UGARTE, GRIEG, SAMI and the Springsteen song. Not a big fan of "The Boss" ( I don't even like that nickname, lol. Apologies to any fans out there)

    Per yesterday @Big Easy- Isla Mujeres has gotten extremely popular in the last several years mainly due to the internet and the local government there really pushing tourism. We started going there four years ago; the last two have been much more crowded. There are only three resorts but many condos, apartments and private homes for rent. The violence in Cancun is due to gang on gang drug wars and from my understanding, is mostly in the downtown area and not near the resorts. Tourism is their bread and butter but I'm sure there will be repercussions from the negative press and State Department warning. We personally didn't care for Cancun because it's so touristy and Americanized. I hope the island doesn't get that way but it's probably inevitable. It is, for now, a totally different world than the mainland.

    OwenKL- glad to know you're healing nicely but hoping the pain is gone soon!
    TX MS- stay safe with the STORMS, rains and flooding. I saw some pics of it and it looks scary and dangerous.

    Another cool morning with the promise of a beautiful, clear, sunny day with temps in the 70's and low humidity- just wonderful!

    Hope everyone has a great day :)

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  14. Hi gang -

    Peg - What a great puzzle! Virtuoso construction with the entire perimeter included; lots of fresh and interesting fill - with no clunkers, and great fun to work on. Congrats on a really fine accomplishment!

    My way of solving is to start at the NW corner and work the acrosses and downs in that region, then move on, left to right and top to bottom , cherry picking the easy fill for a first pass. At that point there will be random fill and lots of white space. Rinse and repeat.

    Spitz - I didn't know that sense of aeolian. In music, the aeolian mode is the the natural minor. An example is the Christmas hymn Come Emmanuel.

    Bunny - you're speaking of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. i didn't know that was a National anything. I'll be playing a gig there next summer on the Sunday after the 4th of July.

    Learning stuff today. See what happens when you're not careful!

    TX MS @ yesterday. I haven't timed a blog effort in a long time. I don't do it in one sitting. Typically, it totals about four hours, or so.

    Cool regards!

    JzB

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  15. Good Morning:

    This was a fun solve with a surprise reveal: Indoors, Indeed! I met a few stumbling blocks along the way, I.e., Sami, Gusted, Cook Strait, etc., but perps were fair, so no complaints. As I corrected Big Sur to Big Mac, I thought "I'll bet Steve threw in Mac without hesitating" but his initial grid proves me wrong. A fine example of what happens when you ass u me! Also had Les before Wes and, inexplicably, Arc before Ark. (Don't ask!)

    Nicely done, Peg, and thanks, Steve, for the neato expo. (Your solving pattern is mine, also.)

    DO @ 6:58 ~ The Errata page you refer to played an important part in the profiling of Ted Kaczynski's age and academic background, according to the min-series I'm watching on Discovery.

    Ferm, so glad that Millie is safe and sound.

    OMK, hope you're pain free soon!

    Have a great day.

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  16. The one and only Wes Montgomery.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqLDTKun4so

    Cheers!

    JzB

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  17. Thanks to all for your nice comments. This was a "bear" and took several revisions, and over a year from submission to publication. A lot of changes and even some doors that were not used (FRENCH, PANEL). Thanks to Rich for his patience and guidance!

    Nice write-up, Steve, and glad I could get some "Food!" in there for you!

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  18. JzB and Bunny M - On a training cruise on USS Havre in 1964, we sailed to and fro past Sleeping Bear Point (Sand Dunes) on our way to the Manitou and Fox Islands. We anchored overnight in the little cove on S. Manitou Island. The height of the Dunes as seen from the sea side in L. Michigan was spectacular.

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  19. Hi Y'all! I aDOOR this puzzle, Peg! Fast & fun! Very clever.

    Great expo, Steve! Felt the wind on my face when you spoke of sailing COOK STRAIT. Strange how COOK STRAIT was placed above ANNE, the name of my daughter who was a Rotary Scholar to Dun Edin, New Zealand on the South Island.

    We visited Great Sand Dunes National Park when all my kids still lived at home. Awesome, in every sense of the word, that mountains of sand were piled up in back of the first range of Rocky Mountains with no ocean in sight. Probably left over from when there was a great sea there? My kids tried to climb a little way but it was too tiring in high altitude and sinking in soft sand. More fun was watching a chipmunk sit on their Dad's boot and accept bread from him.

    Knew Manet's name but forgot the "U". I always thought the other female figure was another barmaid and not a mirrored image, Steve. Usually there are bottles in front of a bar mirror, aren't there?

    Only unknown: SAMI, UGARTE.

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  20. I had to perp in INDOORS. I still don't get it. "Border answers". Duh. It had to do with my solving method:

    Go to restaurant and order breakfast
    Read sports, comics and bridge
    Go to A section and browse my way to OP-ED Pages
    If Friday or Saturday go-to PART B
    Else start in NW and fill away
    Go-to Millie
    PARTB: Look for anything to fill, go-to PITA
    MILLIE: Glad she's safe, Ferma-T
    Go-to Wilbur
    PITA: Have lunch, fill a few more squares
    Go-to GETSORE
    WILBUR: Open blog, exit
    GETSORE: Keep at it, do something else, move supper to lunch, go-to PITA

    Fortunately for the corner I have to run

    Owen. Two W's. Loved both

    Steve, thank you. Reminded me of the LOLLYPOP Song "Been all round the world"

    Oops. Rollerskate song

    WC

    PS. Yep. I'm in an endless loop on the weekend

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  21. Thank you, Peg, for opening up the DOORway in this puzzle! It's impressive.

    Mostly I solve across then down so the unknowns usually emerge. Today all the fill was familiar and like Spitz I also gingerly worked on EDOUARD. Knew his name but unsure of the spelling.

    I'll take a CSO at MASA! It won't be long until tamale time. And UGARTE came easily since I've watched Casablanca so many times but misspelled it as UGARDI at first.

    Thank you, Peg and Steve!

    Have a fantastic day, everyone!

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  22. I agree with PK. I think it's a second barmaid. If it were a reflection would we not see the back of the gentleman she's serving in the foreground ?

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  23. Musings
    -Seeing no long fills, I really wondered what the theme was going to be and then Peg’s wonderful idea hit me!
    -Seeing Steve’s M.O. for solving was interesting but made me uneasy! :-)
    -Those who did BACK this recent Broadway play lost big money
    -Loved the Rory STORM link. The repetitive guitar riff reminded me of Peter Gunn
    -I EXCELLED AT math but HASTE kept me from better grades
    -Nobody delivered GAGS better and faster than Laugh In
    -All people in the caboose did was MALINGER and so they were replaced by this ETD (end of train device)
    -The DUNES we saw were in Oregon near the Pacific Coast Highway
    -I wonder if this company makes stationery
    -Ugarte – “You despise me don’t you?” Rick – “If I ever gave you any thought, I probably would.”
    -What device that was “too tall for the shelf so it stood 90 years on the floor” did we sing of growing up?
    -I loved Bogie’s NARRATION in his noir classics like The Maltese Falcon (also with LORRE)
    -That SAMI street sign probably is equivalent to Maple Street

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  24. Hi everybody. Thanks Peg and Steve. Very enjoyable!

    I start in the upper-left and work across. Then I ratchet down one clump and go across again. Repeat as needed. Then I go back and start correcting mistakes and filling in. I usually finish up after about two or three passes. I usually don't need any external help until about Thursday or so.

    There is a sand-dune cliff here in Manhattan Beach. It is the centerpiece of a city park. Years ago I ran up it as a training exercise. By the time I was about halfway up, I realized my 'running' was just barely walking. My legs felt leaden.

    The A/C installation is finally complete. The weather has been pleasant lately but the central cooling should get a good workout this weekend when it's supposed to heat up. I am looking forward to the cool indoor breezes.

    Tin: Belated happy birthday!

    Gary: That would be my grandfather's clock.

    Best wishes to everybody (and their pets) who are feeling sub-par.

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  25. A puzzle that easily could be called a themeless without the reveal. The way it was set up allowed a lot more flexibility in the fill which while smooth was not very interesting. A vote for as it is something different. It appears that Rich likes gimmicks that follow the border of the grid as I've seen a few of these over the past couple of years.

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  26. I liked this puzzle. Beautiful job, Peg. I agree with Jazzbumpa (ARTE?) about lots of fresh and interesting fill, with no clunkers, and great fun to work on. I believe the first time I ever heard the word MALINGER or malingerer was in the military service. Hand up for entering SUR and COFFIN at first. AGESAGO looks like an Italian cheese. I think SHAG has a special meaning in England.

    Glad you got Millie back, fermatprime.

    Best wishes to you all.

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  27. Congratulations, C6D6 Peg! I enjoyed and finished a Thursday! Great expo, Steve!

    My only w/o was Load/LADE. Finding all the doors was easy.

    My Lollipop ear worm.

    Belated birthday wishes for a great day, Tinbeni.

    Fermatprime, I'm happy to hear that Millie is home safely.

    Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore by Ken Scott Photography.

    I hope everyone has a great day!

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  28. Fun puzzle today. Thanks Peg and Steve.

    I had the BARN, GARAGE, CAR when I saw the reveal and thought it meant things that kept you indoor. Soon I saw the Doors.
    I noted lots of -ED (past tense) endings especially on the west. I often fill in the endings (ED, ING, S) even when I don't know the whole word.
    Usually I work all the Across clues and then the Downs but sometimes I check perps. Sometimes I start using the Downs after just the top section if I am not having much luck with the Across clues. Variety is the spice of life.

    I had Haste before HURRY and ENDED As before UP. I had Cat before PET and Dogs before GAGS (different kind of sketch!).
    I waited for Big MAC to fill in because it could have been many things.
    How much leg are we covering? All of it with a MAXI (less with a MIDI).

    I'm not familiar with EATON stationery. The EATON name was iconic in Canada for their stores and catalogues but they went bankrupt in 1999.

    Canada's universal coverage health system does not have a PART A (or B) and I waited for perps.

    PK - glad to hear that Millie is home safe and sound.
    Husker G - That device "stopped short, never to go again, when the old man died".

    Enjoy the day. It is cooler and beautiful here.

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  29. Three days ina row, a gimmick puzzle that you don't need to know the gimmick to solve. Some kind of record, appreciated.

    This one was pretty neat. Nicely clued and well constructed (obviously).

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  30. CanadianEh: Wrong name for Millie's owner. It's Fermatprime. Somebody the other day referred to me about Ferm's friend's relative who was murdered. Took me several days to figure out what was meant. I am indeed flattered to be mistaken for this very smart lady, but alas, it isn't me.

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  31. Just back from a trip to Wally-World. Made a "staples" run and laid in a large supply of beer for when Harvey comes calling. The truck's got a full tank of gas; there's plenty of food in the fridge, and we've got a natural gas generator to keep the lights on, so we're ready to hunker down for the duration. We've also got pre-cut plywood for all 17 windows, but I don't plan to put 'em up. This looks to be a rain, rather than wind, event around here. If we get the predicted rainfall, Peach Creek's likely to flood and our little town could be isolated for a few days. Anon-T and TxMs, you'll be closer to the "action." Made any preparations?

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  32. Great Thursday puzzle, Peg--many thanks! I did well with just one little slip-up, and thought the theme was kind of fascinating, working all around the grid. And thanks for confirming all the INDOORS, Puzzled.

    MASA and SAMI were both unknowns to me, but thank goodness the across answers helped fill them in. Who or what is Mrs. Butterworth again? I kept picturing Robin Williams, but he played Mrs. Doubtfire, didn't he? Fun write-up, Steve--many thanks.

    Fermatprime, so relieved you got Millie back. I would just be devastated if Dusty got out, and double-checked to make sure his collar tag has our phone number on it.

    Have a great day, everybody!

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  33. Misty, Mrs. Butterworth is a brand of ersatz maple syrup.

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  34. @puzzled @6:46AM - I did in my intro line. Sorry if you missed it.

    Regarding the Manet Mystery, this comes from the www.manet.org website:

    "In addition to the social tensions evoked by the painting's subject, Manet's composition presents a visual puzzle. The barmaid looks directly at the viewer, while the mirror behind her reflects the large hall and patrons of the Folies-Bergère. Manet seems to have painted the image from a viewpoint directly opposite the barmaid. Yet this viewpoint is contradicted by the reflection of the objects on the bar and the figures of the barmaid and a patron off to the right. Given such inconsistencies, Manet seems not to have offered a single, determinate position from which to confidently make sense of the whole."

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  35. Nice puzzle, got unknowns MASA and SAMI from perps. I never forgave ARA for going for the tie in 1966. I've never rooted for a Notre Dame team since, and even though he passed, I never will.

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  36. WOW! What a FUN solving experience today.

    Irish Miss: Thank you for the e-cards you emailed me yesterday.

    PK Yes 65 is the real number.
    (I remember that ear-worm "When I'm 64" running through my head last year).

    Cheers!

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  37. My apologies. I meant to say fermatprime when I commented that I was glad that Millie was home.
    Thanks PK for clarifying.

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  38. Thank you, Desper-otto. I haven't eaten a pancake in years, and so clearly don't know my maple syrup. The things I learn on this blog!

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  39. Ferm:
    I echo the warm feelings about Millie being home. I can only imagine your relief.

    In the puzzle, I had CRANE before EATON. Gone are the days when planning a visit to a stationery shop was high on my agenda. Most don't exist although we discovered one in Carmel, CA. For me it was like breathing fresh oxygen.

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  40. Given the E and T I thought perhaps there were visiting VETs, perhaps for difficult neutering.

    HM, the buildup to that famous MSU vs ND game was only matched by Clay vs Liston.
    Anticlimactic is an understatement. Ara was lucky to come out with the tie but I actually attended a BC-UMass game in Amherst that day.

    I guy ran around offering 10-1 on Liston and I took a bucks worth. He resented that I insisted on collecting the sawbuck.

    Ok. I looked it up. AL FRESCO means in the outdoors eg. Dining. I was thinking of the alternate definition of a type of painting. I notice there's a restaurant chain in Tampa Bay with that name.

    So the opposite was INDOORS.

    WC

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  41. First, thanks ALL! - today & yesterday - for your kind wishes regarding my post-op healing. My ear is feeling MUCH better today, so I think it's time for me to drop the subject.
    Unless there's an unusual turn ahead. Who knows?

    For now: Ta-DA! Today's pzl from Ms. Slay was fun but surprisingly easy for this time of the week. Steve, I appreciate your showing us your method of solving. I have explained mine already, and today's grid was easy enough that I could follow my favored path (NW direct as a dart to SE) with no hiccups. Usually I allow myself to deviate after Wednesday, but maybe this will be one of those weeks when I'll have a straight shot from Monday through Saturday!
    Who knows ...?

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  42. How appropriate this puzzle was for the day we got back home from our vacation in DOOR County, WI! Loved it.
    JzB: I do the puzzles the same way. Don't really know why--I just do.

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  43. Steve, interesting write-up from Manet website. I wasn't trying to contradict--just saying what I always thought about it. I had a print of it in a book of impressionist paintings and I stared at it too many AGESAGO. I just never saw a mirror. Still don't, but if you say so... Wish we could ask Manet. Wonder if he was hitting the absinthe while painting and that is why the perspective is awry.

    D-O: Just saw the national weather report on your approaching storm. Hope you and all our gulf coast cornerites stay out of harm's way. My granddaughter is now living on the ninth floor of a dorm at Loyolla in New Orleans. She's probably all right. Her grandma will be a nervous wreck until the storm is over. Saw the NOLA mayor wondering if the pumps would be working in time. Isn't that a Corps of Engineers responsibility? My daughter said to me, "If it gets bad, she has a car and she can leave." Since she has no experience driving down there, that scared me even worse thinking of her waiting until it gets bad to take action. Aaaagh!

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  44. The puzzle away fun and surprisingly easy for this late in the week.....just on Peg's wavelength I suppose. Thanks Peg for the fun! Steve....always a pleasure! I solve the way you do. It just works for me.

    Now as to our friends in Texas.....are you all Okay??!!!! D-O glad you have made preparations. TxMs and AnonT....tell me what you are doing! After our floods here, rain is feared. Harvey seems to be avoiding Louisiana but we are all in this together. I feel for our friends in Texas..... Stay safe!

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  45. Steve, thanks for the extra info. on Manets Mystery. I've always wondered. He couldn't have just made a mistake. So,what did he mean to do? Interesting.

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  46. PK, I have been thinking about your granddaughter also. But the main storm doesn't seem to be heading here. We will get rain, no doubt, after it has passed, but our pumps can handle that.

    I know grandma worrying! Done some of that myself! But she seems to in a safe place. Loyola has issued directives about how to handle any bad weather. It's a big school. And I'm sure it never rains on the ninth floor!

    I'll keep you informed if I hear anything from our locale weather people.

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  47. SwampCat: Hope you are right. The one newscast I saw said the hurricane is expected to make landfall in Texas, return to the gulf then move into LA. Sounds strange to me. They were worrying about all the oil wells in the gulf. As for my granddaughter, I hope she has learned to listen to weather information.

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  48. PK, the school will INSURE she hears the weather reports!! The Jesuits run a tight ship at Loyola! They will keep her safe no matter what happens.

    I agree the weather reports are confusing. But the main storm does not seem to e doing here. I'll keep in touch!

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  49. Big Easy's Little BrotherAugust 24, 2017 at 8:16 PM

    PK: the CORPS responsibility stops at the Lever. The pumps that malfunctioned are under the control on the city. Don't worry about your granddaughter, though. She is in high ground at Loyola.

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  50. HG! Your mystery song is about a grandfather clock that stopped, dead, never to run again when the old man died.

    We, also, had a grandfather clock on the floor which my husband wound, faithfully, each week. It was an old family heirloom which he loved. When he went into the hospital for what be his last illness before he died, I wound the clock...and it ran.

    Then he died. I never could get that clock running again!!

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  51. SwampCat & BELB: Thanks so much. I feel better. A little anyway.

    SwampCat: Your story about the clock is very poignant. We had a Black Forest Cuckoo Clock given to us as a wedding present by my husband's parents. He was always tweaking the weights on it so it ran on time. After he died, it never ran anywhere near the
    correct time. I finally gave up and let it stop. It had performed well for 33 years.

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  52. Hi All!

    I got the THEME reveal before the V8 hit that the border clues were DOORS and that help'd nail GARAGE vs. 'dumb idea and venture capitalist money(?)' (which didn't fit anyway). Thanks Peg for the puzzle; I thought I recognized your by-line when I looked down from the fill.

    About 1/2 through (when the V8 hit) I though, "this grid had to be a bugger to execute so smoothly." And you confirmed said, Peg, thank's for stopping into the Corner.

    Steve - I had the same thought as HG w/ "Peter Gunn?" at the intro of Rory & Hurricanes. I really liked the DOORS "Riders on the STORM" and got hungry again for trying to build my own sushi w/ your Flyingfish ROE.

    WOs: Hand up; LoDE b/f LADE.
    WAG'd by butt of in the Central East. I almost remembered DAMASK, UGARTE ENDED UP saved by said, and 2 ABC-runs to think of ARTE Johnson; Very Interesting , I thought.
    ESPs: SAMI, EATON, spelling of EDOUARD, GRIEG

    Fav: I'm going w/ GAGS just because I love funny bits.

    Solving - I'm a little bouncy-around but usually read 1a, 1d, 2d, 3d, and see what works with that area. If I think something and a perp agrees, then I fill and try to complete the area (except longs) and move to the next "block"; rinse, repeat.

    {A, B+}

    Fermat - good news re: Millie. And putting the PET's vet number on the tag is probably better than meeting a stranger [even if you don't get to thank them].

    Lucina - I thought of you and tamales @ MASA. Thanks to your sharing recipes, that's etched in there. Re: Carmel's Stationery store; when we visited in June, Eldest nearly pee'd herself in excitement walking in. Some Millennials do appreciate the AGES AGO (it seems) art of writing w/ ink & pulp.

    Everything's fine so far in Texas. I'm southwest of H-Town and I don't expect much from Harvey except lots of rain and a weekend of reading instead of working [I'll MALINGER "but my power's out?" :-)*]. Where TxMs is will likely get flooding and she won't really be able to get out. D-O probably doesn't want to go anywhere anyway ('cept around the 3-mile block). PK - NOLA's mostly exempt (for now) from Harvey; do tell her to stay put - the roads will be more dangerous that Campus!

    As far as prep'ing..., -T is always ready. I've got 3 propane tanks (+3 blow-torch tanks!:-)), batteries are always at hand, a coin bucket w/ $$ in it (If ATMS no workie), and toilet paper to barter with :-). All I'm going to do is bring "blowy-things that can break a window" (furniture, etc) from the patio into the GARAGE and LADE in some Zip-Locs full of water in the freezer in case power goes out. I've got plenty of water in the pool to flush the toilet.

    Cheers, -T
    *Of course, my boss's-boss's-peer's Assistant must collude with me; she lives down the block.

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  53. Swamp - Aha! - your line gave me HG's puzzle. I heard it once and didn't place it from HG's intro. Here it is from Johnny Cash. -T

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  54. Oh, and for those who want to follow Harvey w/ out having to watch the STAGE'd SUCKER/moron on TV getting pummeled by rain... Eric Berger started a blog after he "left" the Chorn re: Space City Weather. He's not alarmist and will tell you the best he knows in his professional opinion. I turn to him pre-sh** hitting the fan / AM radio is all I gots.

    And, based on what I just read on Eric's site, I'll stop by Spec's (booze store) on the way home tomorrow to LODE in a few bottles of wine in case the Hurricane party lasts 'till Tuesday :-)

    Cheers, -T

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  55. AnonT:
    Thank you for posting a link to Johnny Cash singing My Grandfather's Clock. I love it! And I'm so pleased that your daughter enjoyed Spencer's Stationery Store. They have such unique items.

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  56. We are just back from a long road trip to Oregon to experience the eclipse. Wow. There is nothing like a total eclipse. A 99.99% partial eclipse is nothing at all like total. Otherworldly, awe-some and memorable.

    Learning moment about the COLO sand dunes! Never heard of these!

    Here http://swt.org/hikesierra/denneenchristmas04/ are my photos of our own sand dunes near Guadalupe in San Luis Obispo County in California.

    Hand up for COFFIN before CASKET. Even though there were plenty of unknowns it was a pretty smooth ride. And plenty of fun! Good for you, Peg, for seeing this through for a year to get it published!

    I have a copy of an old CTA poster "Avoid Street Congestion" showing the elevated line speeding above the traffic.

    Unknowns: UGARTE, MASA, ONA, COOK STRAIT, WES, ARA, SHAG, ARTE.

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