google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, November 1, 2017 Matt Skoczen

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Nov 1, 2017

Wednesday, November 1, 2017 Matt Skoczen

Theme: Yes, Sir! Anagram.

17. Restaurant review pricing symbol : DOLLAR SIGN

25. Grad's memento : CLASS RING

40. British Columbia's capital is on it : VANCOUVER ISLAND

46. Equal chance : FAIR SHAKE

61. "Baby Got Back" rapper, and a hint to this puzzle's circles : SIR MIX-A-LOT

Would have been difficult to see those MIXed up letters without the circles. 

Across        

1. Olympic swimmer Buster who played Buck Rogers : CRABBE
 
7. Naughty : BAD
 
10. Queequeg's captain : AHAB. Moby Dick.
 
14. "Yowzah!" : OO-LA-LA
 
15. 365 días : ANO
 
16. Place for a long winter's nap : LAIR

19. __ bar : TIKI
 

20. Physicians' gp. : AMA
 
21. Cheese couleur : BLEU
 
22. Like some bread : OATEN
 
23. Out of __: not together : SYNC

28. Wagering parlors: Abbr. : OTB'S.
Off Track Betting - sanctioned gambling on horse racing outside a race track.
 
31. Printer problem : JAM
 
32. Key with no sharps or flats : A MINOR
35. Slatted window : JALOUSIE

42. Where a tennis server's doubles partner is usually positioned : AT THE NET
 
43. Most cordial : NICEST
 
44. Like this ans. : ACR
 
45. Diamond bag : BASE
 
51. Slide __ : RULE
 
55. Slangy negative : IX-NAY
 
56. School whose a cappella group is the Whiffenpoofs : YALE. Sounds like a creature from Dr. Suess.

59. Albany is its cap. : NYS
 
60. Nabisco cracker : RITZ
 
64. Extra : MORE
 
65. Boxing legend : ALI
 
66. Catty? : FELINE. Cute.
 
67. Cookie monster? : AMOS
 
68. Center of Austria? : TEE
 
69. Fly to flee : TSETSE

Down
 
1. Musical endings : CODAS
 
2. Unlike most airline seating : ROOMY
 
3. Poe's middle name : ALLAN
 
4. Statement amt. : BAL
 
5. Spoil the surprise : BLAB
 
6. English nobleman : EARL
 
7. Olympic skater Oksana : BAIUL
 
8. Country in SW Afr. : ANG. Angola.



9. Put on : DON
 
10. Place to say "I do" : ALTAR. Nine and a wake up.
 

11. Port-au-Prince's country : HAITI
 
12. Singer whose fans are called Claymates : AIKEN
 
13. __ to light: reveal : BRING
 
18. "Just a few __" : SECS
 
22. Gradual absorption : OSMOSIS
 
24. Marine snail : CONCH

 
26. Open a bit : AJAR
 
27. City in central Kansas : SALINA
 
29. Not the least bit challenging : TOO EASY
 
30. Mimosa time : BRUNCH
 
32. Glamorous Gardner : AVA


                                                                     Sophia Loren
33. Yoga class need : MAT
 
34. Statement amt. : INT
 
35. Hot tub water agitator : JET
 
36. Stomach problem : ULCER
 
37. RSVP convenience : SAE. Self Addressed Envelope.
 
38. Officeholders : INS
 
39. July hrs. in Georgia : EDT
 
41. "Bates Motel" actress Farmiga : VERA
 
45. Shine : BEAM
 
46. Terra __ : FIRMA. Not Cotta.
 
47. Self-evident principle : AXIOM
 
48. Opening words : INTRO
 
49. Reduces to rubble : RAZES

50. Four-time NBA All-Star __ Irving : KYRIE
 
52. Not illuminated : UNLIT
 
53. Rhone cathedral city : LYONS
 
54. Lauder of cosmetics : ESTEE
 
57. Emotional boost : LIFT
 
58. Former union members? : EXES
 
61. Posed (for) : SAT
 
62. __-de-France : ILE
 
63. Oktoberfest quaff : ALE

61 comments:

  1. There was a young man from VANCOUVER
    Who drank too much ALE to maneuver!
    One girl that he saw,
    He thought, OO LA LA!
    But next morning, she looked more like Hoover!

    (Herbert or J.Edgar -- does it matter?)

    Think about it for just a few SECS,
    You'll see a problem with televised sects
    Is that good they define,
    Has a large DOLLAR SIGN,
    While BAD is all kinds of sex!

    {B, B-.}

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  2. Good morning!

    Wrote CRABBE down rather than across (noticed immediately when it wouldn't fit) and my memento was a CLASS BOOK at first. Otherwise, this was a smooth solve. Thanx, Matt.

    "Nine and a wakeup" -- were you in the military, Melissa? We counted days until we got out. You're counting the other way. Congrats in advance.

    The other day it was SALINAS, today SALINA.

    A CONCH shell is the famous "hold it to your ear and listen to the sound of the ocean" shell. It's pronounced konk.

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  3. Good Morning, MelissaBee and friends. Quick and easy Wednesday solve, but without the circles, I didn't go back to find the anagrams of SIR.

    One reason I hate flying, is due to the cramped quarters. Most seats on the plane are definitely not ROOMY.

    When is a door not a door? When it's AJAR!.

    JALOUSIE is a new word for me. I've seen those windows, but don't have any in my house.

    QOD: Students don’t know who Mark Twain was because he wasn’t in the test. ~ Kinky Friedman (b. Nov. 1, 1944)

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  4. Good Wednesday-level puzzle. No erasures today for a change, but didn't know BC's capital, BAIUL, or VERA Farmiga. I didn't think I knew SIR MIX A LOT, but after he perped his way in I realized I had heard of him. I wanted Julius for NBA's Irving before i remembered that "Dr. J" was an Erving. I haven't been to an NBA game since Magic retired with AIDS. I didn't know until last night that Magic is a part owner of the Dodgers.

    Justin Verlander pitched for our local Old Dominion University, and Justin Turner played for our AAA minor league Norfolk Tides, so I didn't know who to cheer for last night. No dilemma tonight with Verlander's season over (unless he pinch runs) - GO DODGERS. I've never been the Astrodome, but I did watch a lot of games at Dodger Stadium prior to my divorce from MLB.

    Thanks Matt and melissa bee for a fun Wednesday morning.

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  5. Does anyone know what is going on with the Mensa site? No Monday or Tuesday puzzle this week.

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  6. A minor scale still has one flat, though the chord doesn’t.

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  7. Isn't that a picture of Sophia Loren?

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  8. Dom, I had the same thought.

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  9. Nice puzzle today. In spite of burning elephant dung on the front of our vehicle and loads of bug spray, I still got one bite on the ear from a TSETSE on safari in Zambia (next to ANG). Here’s what they look like: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10154123289930769&set=a.10154123276895769.1073741864.801410768&type=3&theater.

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  10. Easy puzzle today. Having the circles I soon saw the jumbled SIR. Clever reveal clue.
    My single unfamiliar fill was KYRIE, all perps. My only acquaintance with the word is in Kyrie eleison (Greek for "Lord, have mercy") a song in the Christian liturgy in which the faithful praise the Lord and implore his mercy.
    I knew BAIUL right off, but needed to confirm the spelling.
    Coming home from Austria my cramped plane seat was even less ROOMY because I sat next to a huge man who lifted the armrest in order to fit at all and oozed onto half of my seat and covered half of my tray table. Fortunately there was room in the middle section, and after the plane took off he moved to occupy two seats there. What if there were no available seats? I would have been stuck for hours.
    MY MIL pronounced JALOUSIE juhLOUSY.
    I agree that the picture looks like Sophia Loren.

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  11. Hungry Mother, your TSETSE fly looks suspiciously like a marathon entrant named Wild Bill. Perhaps that's because I don't have a FacePlant account.

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  12. Thanks MB.

    No issues. They are correct. That is Sophia Loren.

    Desper-otto, inre: "We counted days until we got out." So what was the SOP for a sailor that was short - say three weeks, and his ship was going out for three or fours months or longer ? Shore duty ?



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  13. I don't get ACR for 44A. It's not an acronym is it? Other than that I understood the rest but it wasn't easy...too many slang and unfamiliar cultural terms for my liking.

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    Replies
    1. This confused me too. "ABR" should be the answer.

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  14. Hi Kazie. ACRoss. Like this ans(wer). Across.

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  15. IRS embedded into FAIR SHAKE is an oxymoron, no?

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  16. Good morning everyone.

    ACR for 'across'. 44 across. Yeh, I know………. Same for center of Austria.- TEE. SO to our Tony -T?

    Overall, I liked today's puzzle. With the c from CONCH, I got VANCOUVER ISLAND early, which helped a lot. The stirred up SIRs in the circles helped get SIR MIX ALOT, so, for once, the circles were helpful. FELINE fell right in for catty.
    FIR; no searches needed.

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  17. TTP, I really don't know. We had completed a WestPac cruise in November. By spring the aircraft carrier was in the process of decommissioning. The ship was due to leave San Diego for Bremerton, WA to complete the process when I black-mailed the X Division Officer for a four-month early-out. (I really didn't want to go void-cleaning.) The day the ship left San Diego for Bremerton I hopped on my motorcycle and headed for Arizona just in case the Navy decided to change it's mind. But, in answer to your question, I suspect the "short-timer" would be left ashore and assigned some menial chores until separation day arrived. I lucked out; being separated from a ship was much simpler/faster than being separated ashore.

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  18. I believe that's Sophia Loren, not Ava Gardener

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  19. Good Morning:

    I saw the SIR early on (how could I miss it?) but the reveal was a surprise and a new name for me. No real hang-ups but perps were needed in a few spots. Nice CSO to Mr. Meow at Catty=Feline and to Misty with the Austria clue. Seeing Fair Shake reminded me of CC's and my recent puzzle with that as a reveal.

    Thanks, Matt, for a mid-week treat and thanks Melissa, for pinch hitting on a Wednesday. If you have any Halloween-related pictures of your granddaughter, we'd love to see them. I'm betting she was a Princess!

    I didn't have one trick or treater but I never do, as our development is off the beaten path. Because of this, I never even buy candy, but if by some strange reason my doorbell did ring, I had plenty of my Gibble's snack-size potato chips to hand out! (Thanks, oc4beach!)

    Have a great day.

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  20. A minor, in its natural form, has no sharps or flats, as it is the relative minor of C Major.

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  21. Musings
    -We shut our porch light off at 7:30 last night after 228 trick or treaters. We heard Thank You from almost all of them!
    -Baby Got Back seems to be played at all wedding dances these days. In today’s climate…
    -What are we gonna tell our friends when they say “OO LA LA?”
    -When the Huskers play on TV, the local radio call is as much as 9 seconds OUT OF SYNC
    -Secretaries are expected to be able to fix all printer issues including JAMS
    -The peril of being AT THE NET (:32)
    -You have to know a lot of math just to use a SLIDE RULE with its limited significant figures
    -We will soon hear “DON we now our gay apparel” Fa, La, La, La…
    -A Jacqueline Matthews crossword puzzle appears every day by our comics that many here might consider to be TOO EASY
    -No side of our Moon is forever UNLIT but the same side always faces Earth

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  22. Thanks TTP and Spitzboov. I fear my brain is in a bit of a fog this morning due to my poor vision since retinal detachment surgery a month ago, which was aggravated further this morning by too much screen time yesterday. The surgery involved insertion of a gas bubble which bobs around, and is now decreasing in size to the point of its upper boundary appearing to bisect the middle of what cloudy vision I have in that eye so far. It was a struggle even to decipher the clue numbers today.

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  23. OWEN, your first limerick is an A, clever and a little naughty.
    No issues with the solve and I liked the clueing.
    In regard to Halloween, we saw a lot fewer trick-or-treaters this year than last...which meant more samples for me. Off to the gym!

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  24. OOLALA, I did not find this CW TOO EASY. Thanks for the fun, Matt and melissabee.
    Several unknown names today like CRABBE, AIKEN, KYRIE, even SIR MIXALOT. I had to wait for perps for the L in BAIUL. But I was on the LA Times site (since Mensa is down) with circles, and saw the SIR theme. (Reminded me of To SIR with Love!)

    JALOUSIE was a complete unknown probably because we don't have them in Canada. DH says that they would be impossible to seal for winter and would be drafty!
    DH (ret. ENGR) also loved to use Slide RULE. Younger generation doesn't need.

    But this Canadian knew VANCOUVER ISLAND. Beautiful spot. If you visit, be sure to see Butchart Gardens. Empress Hotel in Victoria is worth a visit. Splurge for afternoon tea!
    TeaAtTheEmpress
    ButchartGardens

    Some languages today with ANO, BLEU and ILE.
    I moved from Cave to LAIR, Glow to BEAM and FAIR Share to SHAKE. Yes Melissa, I waited for perps to decide between Cotta or FIRMA.
    Clues for TSETSE and ACR brought a smile.
    I had to change from the diamond gem to baseball for BASE (and it wasn't even a C.C. puzzle). You would think that a brain that was tired from watching the Dodgers-Astros game last night would have jumped to baseball first.

    John Cooper@7:34 - The A minor key signature as well as A natural minor scale has no sharps or flats. A harmonic minor has the 7th note raised by one semitone (ie. G sharp). I really wanted C major for that clue. (We had CODAs too!)

    Enjoy the day.

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  25. "Puzzling Thoughts":

    Owen, I had another "Hoover" metaphor going on for your first limerick - I won't post what I think would be a more clever and graphic 5th line ...

    This puzzle was TOO EASY - for me, at least. I will sometimes have a pristine page on Weds, but not always. Great and clever clues - but I guess I was totally tuned into MS today, and had no C's, W's, or E's.

    Nice music clips today, Melissa Bee!

    Learning moment ---> JALOUSIE is pronounced "ZHAW - loo - zee"

    A limerick from the summer that I don't think I shared with The Corner, as I was AWOL back then:

    On the 4th of July we all knew,
    What the wine drinker just likes to do:
    He gets wine and some cheese,
    Using his expertise,
    As he drinks both a red, white, with BLEU.

    And one from this past year:

    During flight, when he summoned the crew,
    He asked them if there's anything new
    To eat. Perhaps some cheese.
    May I have Stilton, please?
    "How 'bout Swiss?" They said, out of the BLEU.

    And this, for our erstwhile poster and blog re-capper jZb:

    The trombonists were locked in a duel,
    When one thought that the other was cruel,
    For just calling them out
    For wrong note played. No doubt,
    He had broken the sacred SLIDE RULE.

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  26. Chairman Moe, where did you find that pronunciation? Most dictionaries indicate a short a in jal to rhyme with pal, a schwa, and then a long see. The accent is on the first syllable. From my experience that is exactly what I always hear.
    (jaləˌsē) JAL uh see
    BTW, I liked your limericks, CM.
    Kaze, sorry to hear about your eye problem. Not being able to read easily is a real annoyance. I hope you recover quickly.
    I think of Buster Crabbe mostly as an actor. I have seen him in vintage movies. I had forgotten he was an Olympic swimmer.
    I have heard of Sir Mix-a-Lot, but know nothing else about him. Sometimes that little bit of knowledge is very helpful in crossword solving. Other times having only a little bit of knowledge leads us astray, especially if we are dead set on holding to it and will consider no other options.

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  27. Thank you, Matt Skoczen and Melissa! This was TOO EASY and I finished it even before pouring my coffee. Well, except I had KEATON before CRABBE.

    Having visited VANCOUVERISLAND, that was quickly filled. KYRIE as clued is unknown to me but only as YR explained. JALOUSIE is a new word for me though I've seen those windows. Clever clue for TSETSE.

    Naughty or nice lists will soon be making an appearance and I hope no one here is on the BAD one.

    Kazie, I'm sorry to hear about your eye ailment and hope it heals well and soon.

    Wishing you all a very good day!

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  28. Relatively easy Wednesday. I was at the VA for blood drawing. I had just peed when I noticed that she wanted a urine sample.

    But I had my trusty TBT* so after perusing the review of Thor and Ragnarok I decided I could provide it. TMI I guess. I might see the movie.

    Kinky Friedman is another class of '62 I see, eh Misty? He often guest'ed with Imus. And another Friedman left TBRays to architect this Dodger WS team.

    But the Blue boys have wasted their bullpen although they will surely try to get innings in relief from Kershaw.

    My pork and red meat days are over but I'll have some bacon and eggs twice a week with the xword.

    Seeya WC

    * TB is Tampa Bay, a fictional area that comprises Tampa, St Pete etc. As in TB Times.

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  29. Thanks, Matt, and Melissa, for the entertainment this am. FIW with FAIRSHARE not FAIRSHAKE..... oh well.....

    I thought it was C Major as well..... but I guess anything in the key of C has no flats or sharps!

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  30. 1585-95; < French < Italian gelosia jealousy; so called because such blinds afford a view while hiding the viewer

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  31. Never heard of SIR MIXALOT, but it made for a fun puzzle and quick solve.

    Was thinking that "Like this ans." would be ABR for abbreviated.

    Quite a few unknowns, easily solved with crosses: VERA, AIKEN, BAIUL (looked impossibly wrong), CRABBE, KYRIE

    I know the man who was CIA station chief in ANGola in the 70s. Some horrific stories of CIA atrocities. He eventually resigned in utter disgust.

    Learning moment that ILE-de-France is not the same as ILE de la Cite. But Wikipedia indicates it could have its origin there.

    Here I was in front of a famous landmark on ILE de la Cite two years ago. Magnificent.

    Plenty of OOLALA in that city.

    Scary about the TSETSE bite, Hungry Mother. What happened to you as a result of the bite?

    My grandparents moved to Florida in their retirement. I learned the word JALOUSIE then, as they had those windows to give them a cooling ocean breeze.

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  32. We had JALOUSIE windows in our off-base cottage on Guam. The all-time record low temperature on Guam is 65°, so insulating properties of those windows was a non-issue. YR, we also pronounced it as you indicated. Chairman Moe's example sounds the way a French speaker would pronounce it.

    Back in the day I cast my ballot for Kinky Friedman when he was running for governor of Texas.

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  33. CM, your pronunciation sounds French. I have never heard it said that way before. Oh, those French! OO LA LA. Could be MIL's juh LOUSY is close, after all.The other examples on your site sound like mine, as do most dictionary examples, both online and in my huge unabridged tome. Interesting.
    I was surprised that so many solvers have not heard of jalousies. They are also called louver windows. In warmer climates they may be used in the main part of the home. Here they are typically used for porches and sun rooms.

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    1. It was the first link that popped up when I googled the word for pronunciation. I knew the word when I read the clue, and how to spell it, but my first thought of how to pronounce it was: ja-LUCY! Oh, this crazy language of ours ...

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  34. Kazie, you are welcome; I hope you have a speedy recovery and your vision returns to normal.

    Thanks D-O. I wouldn't think that a short-timer would be deployed to sea in those kinds of scenarios, but you never know.

    Wow Gary, that's a lot of trick or treaters. We had a few of the younger ones that needed a prompt from their parents to say thank you, but I don't recall any others that failed to say it. Pretty nice to see that even the unsupervised children were polite.

    I love Halloween just to see the beaming eyes and excitement in the children's faces. And their costumes. The mother of one little sister brother act crafted a pair of pumpkin outfits for them. Really creative. But rather bulky and probably better for the stage or still shots. The little brother had discarded part of his into the wagon that mom and dad were pulling, but still so cute !

    The inevitable became evitable. No 9 PM or later ringing of the doorbell last night after we turned off the pumpkin lights, porch light, and eave lights around the house. It hasn't stopped them from coming in the past. Perhaps the parents grew weary or sated their little girl's candy quest in her father's old neighborhood.

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  35. I'm already dreading the "coming attractions"!
    The pzls coming over the next few days - through the weekend - are bound to be killers, given how easy-peasy they've been so far this week!

    I expected something tougher from Mr. Skoczen.
    Don't get me wrong. Today's entry was fun. I enjoyed learning about SIR MIXALOT - that he's even a real person. But after pausing a few times before such brain teasers as 7D and 55A, and giving up trying to fathom ACR, I found that most of today's answers pretty much inked themselves.

    Here's hoping that Misty and other SoCal friends have as smooth sailing today as yrs trly.

    Go Dodgers!

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  36. HG, Wake Up Little Susie. Everly Brothers?

    C-Eh, thank you so much for that beautiful Butchart Gardens clip - such breathtaking colors! Eden in the fall.

    D-O, re Kinkie. He got my vote also. I figured TX politics is such a zoo, why not elect a real-life humorist? Besides being a novelist/singer, he also "founded Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, also located near Kerrville, whose mission is to care for stray, abused and aging animals; more than 1,000 dogs have been saved from animal euthanasia." I was surprised to learn that he served in the Peace Corp in Borneo and Indonesia after college.

    Kazie, I hope your vision problems clear up soon.

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  37. Hi all!

    Ran thru the puzzle today so quickly that I didn't see some of the downs! Fun as always and I got the theme right away. Had no problem with Sir Mix Alot as I can still sing the whole song word for word. The video will offend our Saturday Anon but Splynter will appreciate it :)

    I'm missing the Mensa site but am getting used to the site Cruciverb takes me to. Having circles is a novelty! I know Owen said Mensa will be down a few days but does anyone know why it's broken? Or a for-sure-it'll-be-up-by day?

    The game last night had me on the edge of my seat. I'll be working tonight but getting updates on my phone. There will be tears no matter who wins, but I'm hoping for happy ones tonight! What a series!!!!

    The TseTse flies look like regular flies to me. I'm guessing either you get really good at identifying them or just assume all flies are bad flies. Similar to Malaria carrying mosquitoes - can't tell which ones carry it so just avoid them all?

    Yesterday's comments had an angry elf up early. Kinda wish you would just delete the insulting ones but appreciate you affording them their freedom of speech. I hope those referred to are able to ignore them and are well aware how much we appreciate your input and limericks, too!

    Happy Wednesday :)

    GO DODGERS!!!!

    t.

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  38. I almost, almost, almost got the whole thing except for one silly cheat because I had EATEN for the bread, instead of OATEN. This may have been because I had to have "blood work" done at the doctor's office this morning, and so had to fast after midnight. As a result I did the puzzle before any coffee or milk or anything, and was so hungry I would like to have EATEN some bread. So, didn't do as well as you, Ol'Man Keith.

    But except for that, the puzzle was great fun! Many thanks, Matt! I got the SIR anagrams pretty early, and loved getting a long across like VANCOUVER ISLAND. Yes, Irish Miss, I didn't let the AUSTRIA clue fool me and put in TEE right away. Thank you too, for your always delightful write-up, Melissa.

    Didn't know the Friedman dude, Wilbur, even if he was a member of our 62 class.

    Just finished my morning cereal (not sure if it was OATEN, but it sure was EATEN).

    Have a great day, everybody!

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  39. Fun puzzle. I found the mixed-up SIRS even with no circles.

    I had to get my 2011 Camry smogged for the first time. It passed with flying colors. Easy peasy...

    I am tutoring today from 4 pm to 6 pm. Thank goodness for the DVR. Go Dodgers!

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  40. From yesterday's Halloween comments --

    We also had a much-diminished turnout: nobody before 6:50 PDT, 37 total, dead after 9 p.m. We used to have hordes, 80s to 100s, a few years ago.

    Changing demographics (less children), I'd guess, plus Game 6, plus generalized fear.

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  41. Kaze, ope your sight comes back as good as new. I worked with a guy who had to have his eye fluids drained completely for some complex surgery. When the fluid started to replenish itself, his sight started to become clear from the top down. How eerie! I had forgotten that our lens' invert the image on our optic nerve, and that our mind flips it. He has great vision now, and said the worst part of the whole process was that he had to sleep sitting up for a while as the fluids replenished. The best part was that the surgeon wouldn't let him fly because of the pressure changes, and he frequently flew for business.

    tawnya, thanks for the musical links over the past few days. I think I can write the HTML to do that, but I don't know how you find all of those musical troves to link to.

    Thanks Anon T for pointing out the Chrome SO yesterday. I hadn't seen it. Cute.

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  42. hi all,

    desper-otto - my dad was in the military, but i hear that count-down method from lots of non-military folk. thanks for the congrats.

    irish miss - thanks for asking, i DO have pics from my little grandlove's halloween last night. she was tinkerbell. really. she WAS tinkerbell ;). i'll send a couple to cc to post. would love to see others here, too. we got TONS of all ages - all so polite. one little darling even remarked "you have a lovely house."

    husker - i did see that song on lots of wedding playlists. i'm still making mine - anyone have suggestions other than the common ones always heard at weddings?

    kazie - that sounds terribly annoying.

    canadianeh! - one of my favorite vacations (twice) was amtrak to vancouver. visited both the empress and butchart gardens and loved both. also spent most of a day at the
    royal british columbia museum which was fantastic.

    chairman moe, thx.

    thanks also to whoever amended the sophia loren / ava gardner error (argyle?). the misleading link to that sophia loren pic is: http://7wallpapers.net/wp-content/uploads/15_Ava-Gardner.jpg

    loren and gardner - both such beauties. very similar eyes.

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  43. Continuing from yesterday (I think), I have heard of people doing bad things to Halloween candy but it was never first or second-hand experiences. I never gave much credence to it. The tampering with Tylenol may have actually happened but the response was CYA overkill. Nowadays, everything is sealed up so tightly that I often need to use tools to get open a medicine container or a can of nuts. As Nero Wolfe would say, Pfui!

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  44. The Tylenol tampering was real, was terrifying, and remains unsolved.

    There’s a show, “Adam Ruins Everything” where he debunks - with actual verifiable facts, sometimes with references right on the screen - various things. He just debunked the Halloween candy myth - never an actual case. Ever.

    Jalousie windows were on a lot of people’s 3 season porches and beach houses. Not good otherwise because you really cannot seal them as noted.

    Kind of a crunchy puzzle today. Theme not needed, wondering why he even bothered. Would have made more sense in April.

    Love a game 7 and this has been a tremendous series.

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  45. Hi Y'all! I thought this was easier than Monday's puzzle. Thanks, Matt & Melissa!

    Never heard of SIR MIXALOT (ESP) but got the theme with the reveal. No circles on Merriam-Webster.

    I've been to VANCOUVER ISLAND and Buchart Gardens. I have some art hanging on my wall to remind me of VANCOUVER market place. Buchart Gardens are spectacular. Unimaginable if you have never been there.

    Thought OSMOSIS & ULCER next to each other was apt.

    After doing the puzzle, I went googled and watched Oksana BAIUL's Olympic Gold Medal performance. I remember she did some moves I'd never seen before. However, the required moves & jumps to win these days are more difficult and spoil the individuality of the skaters for me.

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  46. Gary, with all your former students, it's not surprising that you get a lot of Halloweeners. I actually knew a medical professional who claimed he gave out individually wrapped Ex-lax "chocolates" to trick-or-treaters. He said they probably needed something like that but he was a little worried about the kid who took a handful and hoped he waited to eat them when he got home.

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  47. Bill G @2:20

    When you set your DVR for Game Seven tonight, be sure to be pre-emptive and tape all the following shows - til past midnight.
    You may expect to be home shortly after your class, but
    One never knows, do One?

    I got distracted at home on Sunday night, so couldn't watch some of the significant Game Five action live. Even Fox's extra innings buffer failed to anticipate the game's duration. Five Hours and Seventeen Minutes!
    Luckily, I'd learned from prior mishaps to tape well into the following morning. While it wasn't a happy outcome for the Dodgers I'm glad I could see that marathon game for myself.
    It was a testament to how well-matched these powerful teams are.
    Wagnerian! - both in virtues and flaws.

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  48. I wasn't familiar with Jalousie or Salina, KS so I had to guess the 'L'. They both sounded feasible but I couldn't shake the feeling I was getting mixed up with Salinas, CA.

    Surely Osmosis involves transition across a semi-permeable layer, not absorption?

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  49. Cool puzzle. Solved it quickly but "funly." Been to Butchart Gardens; outstanding. Wife had fun touching the pig's nose. Don't know if they let you do that any more. Melissa, speaking of Wagnerian, maybe you might like the prelude music to Wagner's Lohengrin for the joyous recessionary music (traditionally Mendelssohn's wedding march.) The main theme of the 4th movement of the first symphony of Brahms might be good for when you walk up the aisle.

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  50. Hi All!

    I found Matt's offering crunchy for a Wednesday. I had to WAG 5 squares but I got them all right! Thanks Matt for the fun.

    Thanks mb for pinch-hitting the expo and the picture of a JALOUSIE - that's a new one on me (I know it as louvered windows as YR pointed out). LOL'd on Dr. Sues comment.

    WOs: N/A
    ESPs: CRABBE, BAIUL, VERA, KYRIE; +WAGs ANO, JALOUSIE. Was it Eva or AVA? -I guessed A MINOR

    I'm still confused on how Officeholders==INS

    Fav: c/a for BASE.
    Runner-up: CONCH - IIRC that was the symbol of power in The Lord of the (tse-tse?) Flies. Oh, the clue 'Fly to flee' was cute too.

    {A, B} {cute x3}

    Kazie - sorry to hear about more eye issues. Hope it heals soon.

    Hahtoolah - LOL Kinky QOD - how true of Texas' teaching to the test. D-O, you voted for Kinky?!? I like the cut of your jib. //your's too TxMs

    PVX - Found it! Adam Ruins Everything. [<5m]

    Tawnya beat me to Sir Mix-a-Lot, so, I'll just tell a little story.
    I was giving a presentation @ the manager's meeting on Splunk and how it eats & processes data. My peers could tell I was getting a little over-nerd'cited talking about slicing and dicing everything for security intel.

    One pear joked at me: "Calm down -T. We get it, you like playing with this stuff..."

    I unbutton'd my dress shirt a bit to show my under-Splunk TEE and rap'd[link] ala SIR Lot:

    "I.... like big data, I cannot lie."

    Um, the response was MIX'd... I'm still employed though :-)

    Go 'Stros! -T

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  51. Those in political office are the ins. The others are the outs

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  52. 3rd Inning.
    Not an auspicious start for our Dodgers ...

    But both are mighty good teams.
    Given that it's a 7th game, it can still be anybody's Series.

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  53. OMK - It sure is "still [...] anybody's Series.'" I know it looks good for the 'Stros right now but the Dodgers are playing Houston... TxMs knows of the heartbreak in H-Town of which I speak. -T

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  54. Bill G. Good game. I was on edge through the last 6 outs....

    OMG - A once ever in a row!!! TxMs, D-O, a toast to the Dodgers and their fans for a good series.

    Cheers, -T

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  55. Congratulations Astros and their fans. Tonight, they were certainly the better team. Watching the Dodgers flail away in order to come in second best was a little like kissing ones sister. The Astros were excellent. AnonT, I'm sure all of your advice and coaching finally paid off! :>)

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  56. Anon-T, I was so darned superstitious that I closed out the crossword blog when OMK posted that his team wasn't doing so well in the 3rd. It wasn't until the 7th that I allowed myself to sneak a peak on Yahoo news sidebar for the score. Don't do that again, Marilyn, because against the Royals (2015) we had it clinched in the 7th only to lose. Never looked again until I heard screams from the house next door. What? Halloween was last night.

    Turned on local news (preempting regularly-scheduled shows) reporting showed that sporting goods stores are open for business @ 11:30pm - absolute hysteria. Plus, Correa proposed to his girlfriend of two years right after the game.

    To all Dodgers' fans, all your games were well-fought and they showed a lot of talent and grit: reasons why I couldn't watch, only record, the WS games.

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  57. Yep. I had to stay away since I had it taped. I knew they're be updates.

    Misty, you and I were giving blood at the same time.

    I did predict Darvish' demise. The Manager's graveyards are filled with sliders up in the strike zone.

    Two young teams, we may see them again.

    WC

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  58. We have had it before. The Ans. is ACRoss although it is an ABbReviation, too.

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