google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, December 13 2017, Brian Gubin

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Dec 13, 2017

Wednesday, December 13 2017, Brian Gubin

Theme: PET NAMES
 
3. *Friendly words to departing guests : GLAD YOU CAME. LADY is the Cocker Spaniel from Disney's Lady And The Tramp.
 
10. *Like medicine that works quickly : FAST ACTING. Regular crossword solvers recognize  ASTA as the Wire Fox Terrier from The Thin Man series.
 
21. *Extremely retro food regimen? : PALEO DIET. PAL, a Collie, was the original Lassie.
 
30. *"Cruel Summer" band : BANANARAMA. NANA is a St. Bernard who appears in Disney's 1953 animated film Peter Pan.
 
26. Common yoga pose ... and a hint to hidden names in the answers to starred clues : DOWNWARD DOG
 
Melissa here. A fun change to see down theme answers - and doubly fun for all the dog lovers.
 
Across:
 
1. Brainiac : EGGHEAD
 
8. Campus eatery, for short : CAF. I've never heard this shortened form uttered.
 
11. Flying Solo? : HAN. Star Wars - fun clue.
 
14. Brewpub brew : PALE ALE
 
15. Auburn University home : ALABAMA
 
17. #2 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time : CLAPTON. See the list here.
 
18. Burger bun flavorings : SESAMES. Did not come easy - have never seen this pluralized.
 
19. Out-of-date : OLD
 
20. Usual people in a roundup? : SUSPECTS
 
22. Small dogs : TOYS. Dog breeds by size.
 
24. Trafficking org. : DEA. Drug Enforcement Administration.
 
25. Insisted on it : SAID SO
 
29. Gaming rookie, in slang : NOOB. Aka, Newbie.
 
31. "Treasure Island" author's initials : RLS. Robert Louis Stevenson.


33. Cape : CLOAK. Jane Eyre wore one.
 
34. Six-sided state : UTAH. See?
 
 
36. Steinbeck's "__ of Eden" : EAST
 
38. Simple card game : WAR
 
39. Pal of Sleepy : DOC. The Seven Dwarfs.
 
41. "Taras Bulba" novelist Gogol : NIKOLAI
 
43. Org. with Thunder and Heat : NBA
 
44. Eggs in a lab : OVA
 
45. Amino __ : ACID
 
46. Chew (on) : GNAW
 
48. Male bodybuilder : HE MAN. Or a little rascal.
 
 
50. Uncle, in Mexico : TIO
 
52. Homecoming figure : GRAD
 
54. Rock show venues : ARENAS
 
56. U.K. country : ENG
 
58. Palm smartphone : TREO
 
60. Welcomers at the church door : GREETERS. Or Walmart.
 
 
63. Car seller's employer: Abbr. : DLR. Dealer.
 
64. Like some celebrity memoirs : TELL ALL.
 
67. Desperate : DO OR DIE
 
69. Salaries : INCOMES
 
70. Composer Puccini : GIACOMO. Never knew his first name. "The greatest composer of Italian opera after Verdi". Wikipedia.
 
 
71. 28-Down, essentially : POD
 
72. Solid __ rock : AS A
 
73. Steams up : ENRAGES
 
Down:
 
1. Spaceship Earth locale : EPCOT
 
2. Unit at the pumps : GALLON

4. Old-school "cool" : HEP
 
5. Has : EATS
 
6. Spoken : ALOUD
 
7. More heavily populated : DENSER
 
8. Attorney's assignment : CASE
 
9. Smart guys? : ALECS

11. Smoked meat : HAM
 
12. Zion Church letters : AME. I did not know this.
 
13. "One Mic" rapper : NAS. Wikipedia.
 
 
 
16. Pasta sauce herb : BASIL
 
23. Drunkard : SOT
 
27. Former Swedish automaker : SAAB
 
28. Southern veggie : OKRA
 
32. Mineo of movies : SAL
 
35. Hyphenated fruit drink brand : HI-C
 
37. Droop : SAG
 
39. Qatar's capital : DOHA
 
40. Done : OVER
 
42. Young fox : KIT
 
47. Hotel lobby hangings : ART
 
49. Prefix with Saxon : ANGLO
 
51. Nervous : ON EDGE
 
53. Remove calcium deposits from : DELIME
 
55. Tennis great Monica : SELES
 
57. Area below the abdomen : GROIN
 
59. Cookie bits in some Milka chocolate bars : OREOS
 
61. "Born Free" lioness : ELSA
 
62. Fly high : SOAR
 
64. Gratuity : TIP
 
65. Rock producer Brian : ENO
 
66. HDTV choice : LCD
 
68. HDTV brand : RCA





58 comments:

TTP said...

Good morning. Thank you Brian Gubin and thank you Melissa.

Vas ist los ? Der hunde is los, and die katze ist in der keller !

A debut for Brian. And a dog-related theme ! You're aces in my book Brian. GLAD YOU CAME !

Melissa, Thanks for link to the Top 100 list. Was going to look.

10 and counting. Validity checking all the crosses has prevented the dumb errors. Slowing down has quelled all the typos. This one took just under 13 minutes, and no (zero, nil, none) keyboarding mistakes. Yay !

DELIME - It seems inevitable that I have to soak my power washer nozzles in CLR before they'll work.

See all y'all later n'at !

D4E4H said...

Good morning Cornys,
Thanks to Brian Gubin for this pleasant CW. Thanks to Melissa for an excellent review. I noticed that the dog names are a bright blue color. They must be links. You too can have this brightness on your links. If you make them BOLD before you put them in the link lingo, they will be beautiful, and I will notice them easier.
-On the link for Pal / Lassie, I recommend Jim who is just to the right of Lassie's info. His abilities were amazing.
-My favorite asana is the upward cat.
-Chet Atkins is rated #21 / 100 best guitarists. He's #1 in my book.
-The dog link shows a picture of Chihuahua and a great Dane. They are the same species, and could breed in theory.
-Puccini's "Musetta's Waltz" beautifully washed out the earworms. I saw listed new videos of Anna Netrebko which I will save for another time.
-OMK will be blocked on both corner to corner routes.
On to the CW
-I used A - D runs filling more squares on each pass until there was one more to fill at 1A / 6D A. The big word lines were each filled in enough by perps that I could suss them with ease.
-I look forward to reading your impression.
CW Mate!
Dave 2

KS said...

Paleodiet also has the dog "Odie" in it from the comic strip Garfield. I almost think this is a better answer as it is a character's name like the other answers.

Lemonade714 said...

Melissa, welcome back to Wednesday.

Brian congratulations on what appears to be both your LAT and national puzzle debut. I am curious if PAL or ODIE was your inspiration for PALEO DIET.

I do not believe I ever heard of MILKA, but OREO was easy.

Only the perps allowed NIKOLAI and GIACOMO to appear. I doubt I will remember these.

Thanks, mb and BG.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Nice Wednesday puzzle, but I didn't get the dog names until I came here. Didn't know NIKOLI, GIACOMO, AME or BANANARAMA. Erased king for GRAD and lds for AME.

Dave 2, I'm sure you heard the story about the Chihuahua that impregnated the Great Dane. He was yelled at, but had an excuse - "somebody put me up to it!"

Thanks to Brian and MB for a fun Wednesday. Off to the classroom in the frigid weather.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning Melissa Bee and friends. Interesting to have a down theme for a change. I got the DOWNWARD DOG, but didn't look for the specific dog names.

I learned that the Homecoming Figure is not the King, but a GRAD.

I also learned that Has is not Owns, but EATS.

QOD: Talking and eloquence are not the same: to speak and to speak well are two things. A fool may talk, but a wise man speaks. ~ Heinrich Heine (né Christian Johann Heinrich Heine, Dec. 13, 1797 ~ Feb. 17, 1856)

Oas said...

In dem keller?

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Yeah, I missed the reveal again, so I never noticed the theme. I agree with KS that the dog hidden in PALEODIET had to be ODIE. RAD-to-HIP-to-HEP and OWNS-EATS kept the EGGHEAD for appearing for awhile. The GREETERS at Wal*Mart serve double duty -- they also check the register receipts for unbagged mdse (aka beer cases) for folks leaving the store. Nice debut, Brian. Melissa, I enjoyed the ride.

I take issue with that Top 100 list. Mark Knopfler deserves better than 44. Worse, Doc Watson didn't even make the list. Travesty!

Oas said...

TTP you woke up some long ago ggrade school language lessson . I had to go uber, unter, for und zwischen to solve the puzzle today . All fell into place except flying solo. Thanx

Lemonade714 said...

Tom, I agree about the list. There were so many odd; guitarists who were in successful bands but did nothing to advance the play of the instrument.

Coach J said...

Definitely ODIE, right? I liked the puzzle but I thought it was pretty easy for a Wednesday...maybe it was just “in my wheelhouse”. Anyway, hope all have a pleasant hump day...off to work.

Irish Miss said...


Good Morning:

I'll bet there was some caterwauling in Mr. Meow's house this morning, seeing all the woof-woofs and no purrs! I agree that Odie is the name, not Pal which is too visibly obvious and too obscure, at least to me, having never heard any other name but Lassie. Nana was an unknown, as well, but easy to suss out.The theme was well hidden until the fun reveal.

Thanks, Brian, for a cute and cheerful canine crossword challenge and congrats on your debut and thanks, Melissa, for the expo and links, especially the beautiful music of Puccini.

Hatoolah, what a wise and spot on quote!

Trubrit, FLN, I always tape the show so I'll be watching it later; thanks for the heads-up about Chelsea.

Have a great day.



Spitzboov said...

TTP - ……in der Keller……. should be ……in dem Keller……. dative case for masc. noun. Your phrase about the dog and cat made me chortle. Not trying to be pedantic here. I had to look it up. Just trying to make myself a little better at German grammar. (Won't go into spelling; I don't want to spoil the jocularity.)

Did not know DOWNWARD DOG or TREO, and blew POD. Had pups before TOYS. GIACOMO from perps was a learning.
41a - Yul Brynner was in the movie. Have never seen re-runs.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-High School sub today, so life is much less hectic
-We called our cafeteria the GAG
-I’m all for reasoning with a child but sometimes it’s, “Because I SAID SO!”
-Frank Costanza’s lawyer was played by Larry David in a CAPE
-I look around here today and imagine what kids will not come back for homecoming
-Field goal kickers can sit all game and then have a DO OR DIE situation at the end
-Spaceship Earth is not just a symbol it has a wonderful ride inside
-Kids are done with their assignment and are now on their phones. Life is good!

Big Easy said...

DOGgonit! I couldn't find any connecting theme after finishing the puzzle. after reading the clue for and filling DOWNWARD DOG I found LADY, ODIE, & ASTA but NANA was a DOG I had never seen. But there was no DO OR DIE moment today; an easy puzzle.

GIACOMO, NIKOLAI, NOOB, AME, NAS- I filled them; did I 'know' them- not really, perped.
CAF- I agree with Melissa.

'Greatest Guitarist'- very subjective and that only includes famous ones from famous bands. The best ones are probably studio musicians who like their day jobs and don't bother to go on tour. Currently, I'll go with Keith URBAN.

MissScarlet said...

Yes, definitely Odie.
Also, want to mention that Asta is a fox terrier only in the films because there was a trained one available (see also the dog in Bringing Up Baby with Grant and Hepburn). Asta was a female miniature schnauzer in the books.

CanadianEh! said...

Great CW for dog lovers today. Thanks for the fun, Brian and melissa bee.
The tada arrived on Mensa site and my completed puzzle disappeared so quickly that I did not get a chance to go back and look at the theme answers and find the DOWNWARD DOGs. But it did not affect the solve. 22D TOYS ties into the theme also.

Hand up for Hip before HEP, King before GRAD, and for needing perps for Giacomo and Nikolai.

ELSA today not Nola.
Some outerwear today with cape/CLOAK. We are cold enough here to need a parka.
Canada has litres not GALLONs.

Great QOD, Hahtoolah.

Wishing you all a good day.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

I agree with Coach J--an easy wheelhouse Wednesday for me also. Congrats, Brian, on your debut. Quite a nice start. I wanted FAA before DEA. Ha! I was trying to be clever. Loved flying solo for HAN. I only know the names of the Star Wars characters from the first film--which I have said before, my grandson adamantly corrects me about that not being the first story! C, Eh: I, too, toyed with Nala before ELSA. I DELIME my coffee maker with good old vinegar. I know people who just throw them out because they don't realize what's going on.

Thanks, Melissa, for the tour. Nicely done.

Gary: DO OR DIE--I had two of those high school players. My son was a pitcher, and my daughter a soccer goalie saving those horrible penalty/tie breaker shots. Mom did a lot of pacing away from the stands.

I'm off to do yesterday's puzzle with the very interesting grid. Then off to UPS to finish Santa's work.

Have a lovely day, everyone.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Brian Gubin, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a fine review.

My first answer was EAST for 36A. Then I spread from there in all directions. Steinbeck's just caught my eye.

Liked the theme. Only I did not know all the dogs. Knew ASTA and LADY.

Getting to know ENO pretty well. We seem to get him a lot lately.

Hahtoolah, liked your QOD.

Unknowns were: NIKOLAI, TREO, GIACOMO, PALEO DIET, AME, NAS, BANANARAMA. Perps and wags to the rescue.

Liked the link to the top one hundred list. Interesting.

It was pretty warm while I was guarding the crossing this morning. 26 degrees.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

OwenKL said...

Had to do it by hand again, so more careful about checking perps than I am online, but managed to FIR with no blots. I give myself partial credit on getting the theme. I'd found LADY, LEO (in PALEO), ODIE, ASTA, and NANA before the reveal, but didn't think of lady, Leo, or nana as dog names, so was still trying to suss the connection. PAL I didn't consider, because even before seeing the reveal, I was looking for words IN the long entries, which means BETWEEN the first and last letters exclusive. [just looked it up on Wiki: "Leo, nickname for a giant breed of dog, the Leonberger, named after the town of Leonberg in Germany."

Lucina said...

An easy one today, thank you, Brian Gubin. And congratulations on your debut!

I'm very familiar with DOWNWARDDOG and many other yoga poses which I've resumed doing lately. The stretching is so good for my aging muscles.

GIACOMO Puccini is also well known to me from listening to the classical music station where biographical information about composers is often provided. Thank you, Melissa, for La Boheme; not only is it rapturously sounding music it also reminds me of Moonstruck where it is played almost throughout the movie.

Milka is a new learning for me and easily perped.

Thank you for your commentary, Melissa, and hope to see you every Wednesday.

Have a delightful day, everyone!

OwenKL said...

HAN thought a PALEO DIET was not beyond the pale,
Beer was an OLD invention, a primitive PALE ALE!
He brewed some in a bucket,
But a leaking hole took it --
He should have first DE-LIMED what made the pail ail!

{A.}

Gubdude said...

Constructor here. Thanks all for the positive feedback and kind words!

Yes - ODIE was the dog I intended for PALEODIET. Pal as a dog is news to me!

I kind of assumed this would be a Monday/Tuesday but obviously Rich thought Wednesday. I was just happy he deemed it worthy.

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling thoughts":

Welcome to the puzzle works, Brian Gubin. Nice job; had Wednesday-like difficulty even though, like TTP, it solved in record time, and with no ink blots. My newspaper page looks rather pristine. No errors, cheats, or write-overs. I don't set the timer when I solve but I'm pretty sure I did it in less than 15 min

A couple of "huh's?" (CAF, NOOB); several perps (NAS, OREOS, PALEO, DOHA); but in the end, Melissa Bee confirmed that I FIW.

No licks today, but three Moe-kus:

Humpty Dumpty asked
Wizard of Oz for a brain.
Call him an EGG HEAD?

Audience's line
For, "Me Tarzan, you Jane":
"HE MAN, she woman."

Hooker, who's paid by
The hour, said to her "John",
"I'm so GLAD YOU CAME."

The groans begin .... NOW!

Misty said...

Fun Wednesday puzzle, Brian--many thanks! I worked my way through it with a problem only in the northwest, because I put OWNS instead of EATS for the "has." That messed me up for quite a while until EGG____ filled in and I realized it had to be HEAD. Whew! Finally got it! By then I was too tired to even think about a theme until I came to the blog and saw Melissa's dog theme announcement. Had to go back to look for the pups, and like others, I too got ODIE rather then PAL. Was very happy that I got both NICOLAI and GIACOMO, not my art specialties but they were stuck somewhere in my brain. Melissa, two great pics this morning: I now finally understand why UTAH is a six-sided state, and I finally know what an OKRA looks like (never saw one, never ate one). The things you learn in Crossword Puzzles and on our blog.

Have a great day, everybody!

xtulmkr said...

Lee Ritenour, Leo Kottke, Phil Keaggy, Wes Montgomery...the list goes on.

melissa bee said...

hi all,

yep, totally missed ODIE - thanks to Gubdude for confirming what others suspected. fantastic debut, congratulations.

desperotto - couldn't agree more about knopfler.

thanks lemon and lucina - appears i'm back to wednesdays (2/month).

Picard said...

I am not a dog person, but I enjoyed the puzzle. Hand up for ODIE. Never heard of any of the other DOWNWARD DOG names except for ASTA in these puzzles.

NIKOLAI/SAL a Natick. I can deal with an obscure name. What is unfair is when two of them cross. In this case I did WAG it correctly to FIR. Hand up for learning moment that GIACOMO is PUCCINI's first name.

Here we were in UTAH last year.

Bryce Canyon UTAH is one of my favorite places in the world.

This was our car when we lived in Europe. Made by that other Swedish automaker that is not SAAB. They are still in business.

I do not carry a phone, TREO or otherwise. But I still carry a PALM TX PDA. When I am at a convention, people are amazed at this futuristic device that fits in my pocket, but allows me to type notes on a full-sized keyboard. Newer is not always better!

Thank you Anonymous T, CanadianEh and others for the very kind comments yesterday regarding my Dalai LAMA Mandala photos and other posts. There is a recording of the Dalai LAMA's speech here, Dudley. I will see if I can find it and create a link. The original link with my Mandala photos is dead.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Yes, a fun pzl today. Thanks, Mr. Gubin!
This one called on a bunch of WAGs to really get under way.

And then, Ta- DAH!

These multi-word answers seem daunting at first, but when they turn out to correspond (in the main) with your first impulsive answers, they are very encouraging--and (in the funny way of Xwd-landia) add energy to your morning!

Tinbeni said...

Melissa: Good job on the write-up. Very informative.

Brian: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle. I enjoyed the DOWNWARD DOG theme.

Learning moment of the day was 29-a, "rookie, in slang" ... NOOB ... I've heard "Newbie" before ... but never "NOOB" ... and I'm sure I will forget it by Sunset.

Speaking, of which, I will be "Toasting Y'ALL" when that happens.
Cheers!

Argyle said...

My first dog was Pal. That's Rags in my picture though.

CrossEyedDave said...

KS @ 6:09, great catch! Definitely Odie!

(For those unfamiliar with Odie...)

Late today, I had to walk my next door neighbors Siberian Husky. (No Joke!)
1 year old, female, not trained, and 60 pounds!
She already ripped my coat in some serious roughhousing...
(I have become her favorite chew toy...)

It's sort of like this:

Oh yes, and there's lots of this...

tawnya said...

Dogs!!! I like dogs!!!

Adorable theme - thank you so much, Brian. Welcome to the Corner! Hope to see you more often. Thanx MB for the write-up.

BANANARAMA should be featured more often, if only so I can use some of the random knowledge stored in my brain. Cruel Summer was all over the radio in 1983 and I loved them! Google says they did a 30 year reunion tour!

Off to work!

Happy Wednesday :)

t.

Jayce said...

Nice puzzle. Well done. Except for CAF and SESAMES. Liked EGGHEAD and DOOORDIE. Excellent clue for SUSPECTS. Three hefty proper names: CLAPTON, NIKOLAI, and GIACOMO. One mid-sized proper name: SELES. And five small proper names: DOC, ENO, NAS, SAL, and HAN, which is also well-clued. Throw in RLS, too, why not. Lotsa names!

Saw Chelsea in NCIS:New Orleans last night.

I like okra in gumbo; that's about it, though.

Good wishes to you all.

Roy said...

Got all the starred clues before the reveal; did not go back to look for the dog names.

Had a coworker on the PALEO DIET; the stuff he ate looked disgusting.

Long time since I heard of BANANARAMA.

Had ARTISAN before PALE ALE; everything seems to be artisan(al) nowadays.

Melissa, thanks for finally showing me Utah's six aides.

NIKOLAI Gogol: did not recall his first name until crosses showed me the Russian name (НИКОЛАЙ).

Did remember GIACCOMO Puccini.

Smart ALECkS?

Misty said...

I just saw a Monarch butterfly land on one of our milkweed plants in the back! Can you believe it--in December! I'm just stunned--and totally delighted by this lovely gift.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Misty,
I remember the first winter I flew into SoCal, back when Orange County's airport was an over-sized Quonset hut (before it was named after John Wayne), to visit a friend who was a founding faculty member of UC Irvine.
We stayed at his place overlooking a section of beach at Corona del Mar. I was shocked - d'you hear, shocked! - to see swimmers frolicking among the waves in mid-December. It seemed so unnatural, immoral even.
Much later, when I joined the same faculty, I lived for part of my first year in the old Balboa Inn, on Balboa Peninsula. I always loved the water, so found I could swim almost every day!
Even when the weather turned chilly, the water was fine, and anyway I could race from the shoreline to my shower. Only in mid-March did the water turn so cold it forced my diaphragm to heave - a dangerous thing for a swimmer. For a couple of weeks in early spring the water stayed too cold to enjoy.
Once things warmed up, I moved from beach to beach, learning the best spots all the way down to San Diego. I particularly enjoyed swimming off San Onofre.
I was pretty much a straight swimmer, not into surfboarding. I took up Scuba diving for a while, esp. out to the Channel Islands.
This was back in the '80s, so I don't know if the same conditions apply. I expect climate change to wreak (gradual?) havoc with old weather patterns. In any event, SoCal weather is unlike anywhere else on earth.

TTP said...


Oas and Spitzboov, thank you. Yes, as you both noted, it should be dem Keller. I'm sure my spelling is off too, but glad you verstehe my attempt. Should be, "was ist los", correct ?

As many times as I heard it, I should know it word for word.

When I served in Germany, GIs would say "was ist los ?" to each other as a greeting in the "what's going on ?" connotation.

I greeted my future wife's oldest brother Sep with was ist los at the first Christmas dinner gathering of the family after we started dating. He replied with the joke and everyone burst out laughing.

All these years later, and I still get kidded with that response.

Ol' Man Keith said...

D4E4H @5:37,
Yes sir! Unfortunately, you're right - about my diagonals being blocked in both directions. The first interruption comes at square 49.
But that wasn't such a loss today. At least it freed me to explore other fills. I found the clues along the diagonal chewier than in other sectors, so at least I could permit myself to jump around sooner than I otherwise might.

Bill G said...

Dave 2, I completely agree with Chet Atkins. He wasn't into showy or fast (though he could do that too) as much as rhythmic and melodic. And then there was Andres Segovia and all of his disciples of the classical guitar.

Ol' Man Keith, I agree that the weather around here is great (though there are more Santa Ana weather conditions (hot and dry winds) than there used to be. The Pacific still warms up in the summer but it never gets as warm as the waves on the east coast beaches. I'm ready for some rain!

Misty said...

Ol'Man Keith, how wonderful that you were able to enjoy our wonderful coastline so fully during your many years here. I hardly ever get to the beach anymore, even though I can see the ocean any time I drive from the Top of the World down into Laguna. You're inspiring me to make visits to the beach a New Year's resolution.

OwenKL said...

BTW, let it be noted that the word is spelt N00B, or even better NØØB, but not NOOB.

Jayce said...

I really like Lindsey Buckingham's guitar playing, especially I'm So Afraid and Big Love from their album "The
Dance."

Spitzboov said...

TTP @ 1442:

Was ist los? is correct. Kind of idiom; ie, it can mean "What's the problem", "What's happening?", Wa's'up? Many nuances, some depending on context.

CrossEyedDave said...

Hmm,

Bananarama was totally lost on me...

Back around then, I was listening to Allman Bros,
Led Zep, Jethro Tull, Joni Mitchell, & Yes...

So When You guys say Bananarama, I was thinking this...

Oh God! I have got to get "that" outta my head...

Lessee, Better memories...

AnonymousPVX said...

A nice typical,Wednesday puzzle, didn’t care about the theme, not needed to solve.

Wilbur Charles said...

Actually, SOLVING the theme is part of the Solve. Of which I failed. First to grok that we were looking for dog names and then not finding any.

I started real slow. My "technique" is to find one solid fill/cross. I hoped Mr Gubin wasn't expecting us to know the actual town in ALABAMA and BASIL seemed tasty.

But from there it was all downhill. Betsy's into YOGA and the Naticks were all Norwoods. I had to guess GIACOMO. I had a parrot named that who flew away one day, never to be seen again.

We had Siberians in the nineties. We're down to a pair of crimson bellied conures now.

Melissa B, that was forunate that you linked PAL. What a story.

Moe, since CLAP and GROIN were in the grid I can see how whore-humor arose. And Owen had the penultimate pun. I had thought that DEBILE might be 51D.

I had a friend that swam every day at St Pete Beach. He self published a book 12 Billion Years that he showed to a couple that were enthusiastic about it. They "Took off for the coast" and the book showed up in the theme song of TBBT.

He got poisoning from the Gulf oil spill and died of cancer.

WC

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks Brian for an easy Wed puzzle and for stopping in to clarify ODIE, Gubdude. Congrats on the debut!

Thanks mb for the expo and saving me a Google to Guitar Gods //can't believe Alex Lifeson is only 98 on that list... Alas, RUSH gets no respect from Rolling Stone.

Little Rascal's HE MAN's women-hater's club "sound-track" is used at the beginning of REO Speedwagon's Rough Guys song. //sorry, no links today - pressed for time.

WO: DEL b/f DLR @63a
ESPs: NIKOLAI, GIACOMO, AME.
Fav: Seeing TREO in the grid. I'm cool w/ my iPhone but I do miss my TREO 650.

{B+} {Cutes, HA!}

Eldest uses CAF. Me: "You going to that Thai place again w/ your friends." "No, we're just going to the CAF."

OKL provided the correct spelling of N00B. Mostly used derogatorily to those who don't know the eRoom / asks questions easily found in the FAQ.

Well, I'm off to an NBA game. Let's see if Rockets can go to 11. Like TTP, they've got 10 in a row. #IHopeImNotTheJinx

Cheers, -T

Yellowrocks said...

Interesting puzzle. I moved on to other things as soon as I finished solving and didn't get back to look for the clever theme.
Favorite was flying solo/HAN.
I do not care for okra. Slimy.
Have you seen the oldie, Rebel Without a Cause, in Netflix recently? Sal Mineo costarred. His name always reminds me of a former student unfortunately named named Sal Minella.
Picard, Bryce Canyon is my favorite also. Such beautiful scenery. Thanks for the memories.
I preferred Epcot to Disney World in Orlando.
We have many AME (African Methodist Episcopal) churches near here.
I needed a few perps to jog my recall of Giacoma and Nikolai.
I spent many an hour in the college caf playing bridge with my finace instead of practicing the piano, ergo, I cannot play the piano. He was a music major and played the piano well. BTW We did call it the caf.
Years later I spent many hours playing WAR and other games with my grandson.
DOHA CSO to former Cornerite DOHA DOC.
I spent the day resting my back (stenosis) by finishing my Christmas cards and wrapping mail away gifts which I schlepped to the post office. Tomorrow I will tackle the decorating again.
From yesterday, Picard you received pennies for Hanukkah? These days in this affluent neighborhood the kids receive $100 toys and electronics, still not as lavish as their Christian friends receive.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! I'll see if I can stay awake long enough to post. I think I'm going into winter hibernation mode. I did the puzzle at midnight. Didn't see the dogs except for the reveal. Think I was looking for breeds. Great fast fun, Brian. Thanks for a good one, melissa.

CLAPTON/EPCOT was the last to fill. Wasn't familiar enough with his music to remember he played guitar until I had some perps.

My grandson got a husky pup for Christmas. Haven't seen it yet. His last dog, a part mastiff, was run over playing games with his dad's moving pickup. My grandson is a football playing husky 12 yr. old so I guess he can handle a husky dog. On the farmstead, it'll have plenty of room to run. Hope it isn't as set on knocking down old grandma's as the last dog was.

Picard: liked the Bryce Canyon photos. Been there on a bus trip but didn't go down into the Canyon which was fine with me at the time.

Lucina said...

Picard:
I love your photos of Bryce Canyon! As close we live to Utah I have never been farther than Page, AZ which lies on the border. My late DH left us before we could make that trip and I just haven't gotten around to it. I must correct that.

I'm not a fan of rap music and before today's puzzle had not heard of NAS then he appeared on the news! You just never know where knowledge will take you! Apparently he's a big star!

Well, I feel ever so much better today. I believe I'll be able to carry on and I'm really far behind. By now decorating should be done but that will start tomorrow. At least the cards are mailed.

Coach J said...

MADAME DEFARGE, do you use CLR to de-lime your coffee maker? I always used vinegar to clean it out.
YELLOWROCKS, I like pickled okra...tasty with a sandwich or in a Bloody Mary. Also, I prefer EPCOT at WDW as well...especially the food and wine festival in the fall. Animal Kingdom is my second favorite...the Avatar virtual reality experience is great.

Lucina said...

Madame DeFarge:
I agree that vinegar is an excellent cleaner for the coffee maker. Once every 30 days keeps it nice.

Anonymous T said...

#NotTheJinx says...

Rockets cruised after the first 20 points to 11 wins in a row. I was near-court on the Rocket's bench side and Bro (in Ohio for some reason) saw me on TV a number of times. I have a pic to prove it. #NotAn00b :-)

MDE DeFarge & Lucina: Vinegar is excellent to DELIME most anything. A little Apple Cider vinegar will DELIME your insides too! Just a Hint from Heloise.

How'd Fantasy Island's Tatoo chide the bartender upon receiving an ungarnished Corona?
DE LIME! DE LIME!

//I'll see myself out...
-T

Anonymous T said...

Coda - YR I too thought of DOHA Doc @39d. I hope he'll chime in again; he was fun. -T

Unknown said...

AME = African Methodist Episcopal

Argyle said...

melissa's comment was a link to the Wiki page about AME, perhaps you missed it.

Madame Defarge said...

Coach J: I always use vinegar to clean the coffee makers. Also, I soak paper towels and wrap them around any minerals on the faucets. Also any glass I constantly use to water plants. Red wine vinegar is for salads, white for cleaning! 😉