google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday January 25th 2018 C.C.Burnikel

Gary's Blog Map

Jan 25, 2018

Thursday January 25th 2018 C.C.Burnikel

Theme:

16A. *Tony Hawk legwear : SKATE PANTS. They look like a pair of jeans to me.


36A. *Stick in the snow : SKI POLE. When we used to ski the Courcheval couloirs in the Alps, a fall near the top meant a long, long slide before there was any chance of getting back on your feet. By that time, you had usually strewn both skis, both poles, your sunglasses and your beanie down hundreds of meters of steep slope. We called it "having a yard sale".

56A. *Drawing needs : SKETCH PADS

10D. *Medicated dermal strip : SKIN PATCH. Here's one with some mighty claims:


31D. *Military chaplains : SKY PILOTS. Fun expression.

and the reveal:

41d. Search dogs' target ... and a phonetic hint to the answers to starred clues : ESCAPEE - Ess-Kay-Pee

Third Thursday in a row for C.C. and a nice theme again. I like the across-and-down theme style, with the reveal coming in well towards the end. Solid theme answers too, so a lot to like. Let's see what else jumps out:

Across:

1. Apple Store display : MACS

5. Centipede developer : ATARI. Classic arcade game of the 80's. If you want a walk down memory lane, here's an official Atari Centipede emulator.

10. Farm digs : STY

13. Tennis legend for whom a "Courage Award" is named : ASHE

14. French upper house : SÉNAT. It even has its own logo:


15. Hershey bar : SKOR. Hershey's has the recipe on their website. You can substitute the Hershey's chocolate chips with something that tastes more like real chocolate.

18. Helps out : AIDS

19. Unpretentious : HUMBLE

20. Turned it down : SAID NO

22. Nadal's birthplace : SPAIN. Rafa, the tennis idol.

23. Snatch, as a toy? : DOGNAP. I'd never heard of this term to pinch someone's toy, so I Googled it to get the skinny, and all I could come up with was that genuine dog-theft crime, which leads me to believe the "toy" in the clue must refer to real dogs in the "toy" breeds group. Nicely obscure, if I'm reading this correctly.

24. Composer Franck : CESAR. After a rocky start to his musical career, he became a respected professor at the Paris Conservatoire.

26. Luggage attachments : ID TAGS

29. Soak up the sun : BASK

32. Blue Grotto resort : CAPRI. You can bask on Capri.

34. Boy king : TUT

35. "That's gross!" : ICK!

38. Premier __: wine designation : CRU. For Bordeaux red wines, there are only five wines classified as Premier Crus: Château Lafite, Château Latour, Château Margaux, Château Haut-Brion and Château Mouton Rothschild

39. Word before watch or window : BAY

40. Signs away : CEDES

41. Israeli politician Barak : EHUD. Thank you, crosses.

42. Nurses, as a drink : SIPS ON. Not something I tend to make a habit of. Maybe if it's a Premier Cru Bordeaux.

44. Chills out : RESTS

47. "No harm done" : I'M OKAY

49. Waited nervously, perhaps : PACED

52. Wheat protein : GLUTEN

53. Tree with durable wood : ACACIA

55. Fellas : BROS

59. Inauguration words : OATH

60. Dairy mascot : ELSIE

61. Canal completed in 1825 : ERIE

62. Belly dance muscles : ABS

63. Kennel cries : YELPS

64. "Hairspray" mom : EDNA. I took my daughter to a live performance of Hairspray at the Hollywood Bowl a few years ago. At the intermission she informed me that I was apparently the only heterosexual man in the entire audience. I think she was right.

Down:

1. British side : MASH. Food! This is the traditional dish of pie, mash and liquor - eel pie, mashed potatoes and parsley sauce. Blue-collar chow from east and south-east London.


2. Words on a help desk sign : ASK US

3. Ring leader? : CHAMP

4. Reversal of fortune : SETBACK

5. Trees of the species Populus tremula : ASPENS

6. "Eat Drink Man Woman" drink : TEA. Ang Lee's first critical and box office success released in 1994.

7. Former Texas governor Richards : ANN

8. "Midnight Cowboy" con man : RATSO. I always want "RIZZO" first, then talk myself down.

9. Delivery room cry : IT'S A GIRL!

11. Fuss : TO DO

12. Cen. components : YRS. 100 years in a century.

15. 1978 Peace co-Nobelist : SADAT. Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Israel's Menachim Begin.

17. Tahari of fashion : ELIE

21. Many a low-budget flick : INDIE

23. Decorator's choice : DRAPERY

25. Corrosive liquid : ACID. I think alkalis too?

27. Expert : GURU

28. Drywall support : STUD

29. Spill catchers : BIBS

30. Smoothie berry : ACAI

33. Sit for a snap : POSE

36. Hurry along : SCOOT

37. Creator of Randle McMurphy and Chief Bromden : KEN KESEY. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

43. Flatten : SMUSH

45. Garage units : SPACES

46. Dash dial : TACH

48. A high-top hides it : ANKLE

50. Hallmark.com choice : E-CARD

51. Bumped off : DID IN

52. Snatch : GRAB

54. On the Pacific : ASEA

55. Showgirl's accessory : BOA

57. Course for intl. students : E.S.L.

58. Lead : TIP


That about wraps things up from me. Here's the grid:

Steve


53 comments:

  1. Good morning C.C., Steve, and fellow Cornerites,

    Thank you C.C. for this challenge. Each time I thought I would have to BAV, somehow, from somewhere the letters came, and I FIR

    Thank you Steve for your review.

    May each who read this note have a wonderful day.

    Dave 2

    ReplyDelete
  2. Greetings!

    Swell puzzle, CC! Great write-up, Steve!

    No problems! Didn't know ELIE. A new clue for this one!

    Hope to see you all tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Two thousand YEARS ago, of our world's solar whirl,
    A star in the East caused wonders to unfurl!
    In a manger to be placed,
    Kings and shepherds PACED,
    To hear the midwife -- proclaim, IT'S A GIRL!

    {A-.}

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanx C.C. and Steve . Wow , finished in record time for a Thurs puzzle. Had to change smash to SMUSH to get GLUTEN . A few unkowns filled on easily enough like EHUD and never heard of SKATEPANTS. Paused a little at DOGNAP but then thot of stuffed toys , bears, monkeys and DOG okay. Was pleasantly surprised at how quickly it all came together. -- drive safe love intensely :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good Morning!

    Gotta love a puzzle that's got SMUSH in it. Wonderful word. To my mind SKATE PANTS would be jeans with holes torn in the knees. I've got some. Yes, I noticed the S-P, no I didn't notice the K. Guess who blew past the reveal again? Thanx, C.C. and Steve.

    Gotta run. Annual tax season kickoff meeting this morning.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Finally a FIR! Erased "three" (as in three-ring) for CHAMP. Erased GLUTEN when SMaSH appeared, then fixed that to SMUSH when perps made it obvious that GLUTEN was correct after all. Don't know Tony Hawk, Franck, Edna, "eat, drink, man, woman", sky pilots, McMurphy, Bromden or premier cru. Back in my drinking days I liked California whites and Chile reds, but never developed a taste for wines from France (except when some vendor was buying).

    My favorite was "snatch, as a toy" once the V8 can met the cranium. Thanks CC for the fun exercise. And thanks to Steve for showing us around this challenging puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Musings
    -I kept saying SKP but didn’t grok ESCAPEE Reminded me of this game
    -SKOR bars taste like my favorite ice cream – butter brickle
    -Unintentionally funniest line I ever heard in a teacher’s meeting – “All teachers with AIDS, please stay after we adjourn”
    -He SAID NO to the role on the left to take the one on the right. Of course later he played EDNA.
    -Steve, is it difficult to unscrew the caps on those five wines? :-)
    -Are BIBS a good fashion choice to meet the Prime Minister of your country?
    -My friend in Brooklyn pays big money to have a parking SPACE along with her apartment
    -I wore both high and low tops in my yute

    ReplyDelete
  8. Had to ask the bride who Tony Hawk was before the NW came together.

    Our Help Desk’s sign should’ve been “Have you read the manual yet?”

    ReplyDelete
  9. Smooth steady solve with perps to the rescue for ELIE vs options of Elin or ELia.
    I enjoy SKOR or Heath bars - variations of the same candy bar taste especially as an ice cream topping or mix-in.

    My conversations with the IT help desk start with my saying: "Yes, I've already gotten out of the program and restarted. Yes,I have already turned off my computer and rebooted...." I feel like saying - "I wouldn't be calling you if I hadn't already tried 5 or 6 things to fix the issue myself!"

    Tony Hawk was "in my wheelhouse" as mom to boys - he is quite skilled on a skateboard and has a line of clothing for boys and young men at Target.

    Have a good day- thanks CC and HG!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Actually Tony Hawk's clothing line isn't at Target now that I think of it - it's at Kohls!
    Wake up brain!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Fun puzzle, CC. I saw the SK and P in each theme answer but could not relate them to ESCAPEE. V-8 can moment.
    23A Toy did not fool me. Small dog. It had to be either PETNAP or DOGNAP. I am sure IM got this one. And to continue the dog vocalizations, YELP.
    SIP ON was a gimme, sippin' whiskey. Whiskey and whisky are sipped and savored, not gulped. Hi, Tin.
    I have an acquaintance who insists that using the word drapes is wrong and it should be draperies. Honey, the times they are a changing.
    I never heard of skate pants or Tony Hawk. Perps and wags to the rescue. I see skate pants are advertised in many places, some quite high end. Many of them look just like ordinary jeans or leggings. Do we need to change clothing for every activity?
    The only other completely unknown was ELIE Tahari. Perped it. I needed a few perps to recall some answers, but they were not unknown.
    I admired Ann Richards.
    Billo, what manual? They are now found only online and are a chore to wade through. I just Google my question, giving the product name and/or number and find good answers to choose from. 98+% successful. These days I get the impression that 50% of the help desks aides know less than I do and so are no help at all. I try to avoid them. Some don't even have enough English to understand the problem.
    I finished the novel, Homegoing, which was recommended here. Historical fiction about Africa, slavery and the black experience in the US. Fascinating. I highly endorse it.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Good morning everyone.

    A Thursday grunt. Agree with Steve about SKATE PANTS, but had gotten the theme so I knew it led off with SK and had a P somewhere. Got it all except was SMUSHed by SKOR in the NE. Mostly a smooth puzzle with some good cluing.
    CAPRI and the Blue Grotto made me remember "A Ghost at Noon" by Alberto Moravia, set in Capri, which we had to read in Freshman English at RPI.
    ICK is the 1st person singular pronoun for 'I' in L. German. - German is Ich.

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I also did not know ELIE who is an Iranian Israeli fashion designer. He is the designer of ready-to-wear clothing and fashion accessories. Looking at his prices, Oo will not be wearing these.

    The toy dog (yes Steve, I am sure she was referencing the dog breed in wonderful clue fill) was very enjoyable. C.C. through in a kennel clue as well. Also, TAHARI and ATARI - hmm.

    HG, where did you find that game and what is it? Notice the Low tops are under high and vice versa.

    Happy Thursday

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good Morning. C.C.'s 11th year is off with a bang. The SK_P was an easy spot that didn't ESCAPE(E) today. I filled SKY PADRES before the PILOTS came into place. SKY PILOT- a song by Eric Burdon. I had no idea what the "Eat Drink Man Woman" drink was but with TE already in place TEA seemed a good bet. ELIE was all perps.

    SKATE PANTS- never heard of them but with Tony Hawk it was an easy WAG.
    SKIN PATCH- I ran a wholesale drug company for 28 years but I never saw that term on any product before except for a skin GRAFT. Band-Aid, Nicoderm, ICY-Hot,...etc.
    SMUSH or SMASH- I know that they are different but really mean the same thing. Rarely hear SMUSH used.
    DOGNAPping and holding for ransom happens a lot.

    ANN Richards-gov,TX- total goofball only known for saying that George W. Bush was born with a silver foot in his mouth. I don't know if she was an alcoholic but she always sounded drunk. YR, if you can tell me anything admirable about her it will be news to me.

    Steve, as far as attending plays and musical dramas (that your children are not acting in) are concerned, your daughter was spot on. That's why I never go.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Not so difficult for a Thursday. That’s the day I usually begin getting in trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hello Puzzlers -

    In the NW corner, I had Ask Me at first, and that downright stubbornized the area. Got there eventually. Thanks, C.C.!

    Gluten: I am neither doctor nor dietitian, but nevertheless I remain suspicious that gluten-free foods are unnecessary for the vast majority of the population.

    Morning, Steve - perhaps you are aware of the Courchevel Airport. It’s definitely a challenge, being sloped like a ski jump. There’s not much flat ground around the tops of the Alps. The French aviation authority requires special training and authorization to use that runway (and others scattered around the nation).

    Smiled out loud at “yard sale”, a phrase I learned from my energetic nieces and nephew, strong skiers all.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Good Morning:

    All I can say is CC's productivity is surpassed only by her creativity! This clever play on words wouldn't occur to me if I lived to be 100. There were several unknowns: Centipede, Franck, Blue Grotto, "Eat Drink Man Woman", and Tanari but perps were solid, so no real problems. Only w/o was Ask Me/Ask Us. I only know Skor from crosswords but who could not know the ubiquitous Erie! Hi, Abejo. Ken Kesey was a gimme. And the canine streak continues with Yelps and Dog Nap! Take that, Mr. Meow!

    Thanks, CC, for a fun solve and thanks, Steve, for the grand tour.

    PK, any news on your missing neighbor?

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I started reviewing just now with HG 736A and with each point he made, and again with YR 832A I would normally be inspired to respond, but after my scolding by Desper-otto FLN 515P I'm so busy licking the wounds to my psyche that you will be spared my comments today.

    I do hope that my earlier CW review was vanilla enough for acceptance.

    Dave

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thank you CC and thank you Steve.

    Another day, another filled in wring. This time with two errors. One typo and one spelling error. Nuts. Guess I'm eating HUMBLE pie this week for past braggadocio.

    After getting ESCAPEE early on. I was looking for words or phrases lacking an E. Then it clicked.
    SMaSH before SMUSH. Wagged the E at the ELIE CESAR intersection. BrA before BOA.
    The SK...P helped with SKATE PANTS.


    Steve, that Château company seems to have the corner on Bordeaux Premier Cru red wines :>)
    SIPS, SUPS, SOPS - orad ? To the mouth. SAPS - drains, patsies. SEPS - IRA Simplified Employee Pensions. SYPS ?

    Husker Gary - Those Converse Chuck Taylor's were the best gym shoes for the basketball court back in the day.

    Billocohoes, and the end-user then asks, "The one called Operators Guide ? Yes, I have it. Wait a second while I take the plastic wrapping off it."

    A neighbor bears a striking resemblance to Nurse Ratched, in projected personality and physical characteristics, right down to the facial expressions. Smiling and laughing are not a normal part of her repertoire. Even more chilling is that she's a supervisor / manager in an elder care facility. Bet she scares the willies out of the staff and residents who have seen the movie.

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  20. Wow! What a clever workout. I had so many unknowns I never thought I'd finish, but the perps were solid and I persevered . Thanks, C.C.

    Steve, you gave us another delicious expo.

    Owen? What can I say? When I stop laughing I'll try to respond.

    ReplyDelete
  21. C.C. Burnikel’s shrewd puzzle and Steve's discerning commentary. Seems this is a Thursday staple. But a great team.

    Didn’t know most of the names. Although, Ken Kesey rang a bell when “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” was brought up. He put out a collection of essays, by himself and other friends of his, called, “Kesey’s GARAGE Sale.” Imbibing of drugs had much to do with it, and probably a lot to do with it not selling well.

    British side had my brain working overtime. Kept thinking about the American Revolution. Side – like SLAW, but that would be, what, German side?

    Showgirl’s accessory? Why that would have to be Bra, right. That’s all I can thing of, I guess.

    The first time I heard the phrase SKY PILOT was in the sitcom M.A.S.H., when I think HAWKeye said to the padre, “…you old sky pilot, you.” Did C.C. see that episode?

    Sorry, no. It wasn’t Hawkeye it was Henry Blake saying solong to the padre on is way home to the United States. (Tragic ending – plane shot down and he dies).

    Didn’t know Elie, Franck, Nadal, that movie, and why is ELSIE a dairy mascot? That would be Elmer’s glue, no?

    No time for my short story. Next week, I promise.
    Rick

    ReplyDelete
  22. Okay, I'm answering my own question.
    Why is there a picture of a cow on Elmer's Glue?
    It's not a cow.
    The logo for the brand was based upon "Elmer the Bull", mate of Borden Inc.'s advertising mascot Elsie the Cow, during the 20th century. Elmer's image continues to be featured in the company logo.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thank you to C.C. and Steve, you're a fabulous Thursday duo!

    I immediately spotted STY and then kept going along the east side all the way down, across the bottom, then center and finally, NW corner. Whew!

    In the SW, BRA/BROS was a SETBACK for a while but then GRAB gave me GLUTEN and I changed SKYPADRES to SKYPILOTS and was done there. Up north, MASH finally occurred to me. I didn't know about Tony Hawks' SKATEPANTS but having seen him fly on his skateboard at the Olympics, I'm not surprised.

    C.C.'s impressive creativity continues to amaze me: sit for a snap, POSE is a good example.

    However, I can think of other clues for STUD. And I like to send E-CARDs.

    PK, do keep us posted on your missing neighbor. Rick, I look forward to your next story. And Dave, don't be intimidated by anyone here.

    Thank you again, Steve, for your always keen perspective.

    I hope all are having a marvelous day!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Musings
    -Lemon, that game is on Amazon (of course) but Wal Mart shows it too.
    -TTP, those Chuck Taylor shoes are now fashionable for girls. Imagine my surprise the first time I saw a 16-yr-old girl wearing the same footwear that was so integral to my “wardrobe” high school days!
    -Steve, I laughed out loud at the “yard sale” comment. It made me think of of this iconic image
    -Help manual? I don’t need no stinkin’ help manual. Then I wind up finding it online. Oops!
    -Off to sub in math for my nephew (afternoon only) for which the district will METE out a crummy $70

    ReplyDelete
  25. Woohoo! Woohoo! I not only got a Thursday puzzle, I got a C.C. Thursday puzzle! Yay! This is turning out to be a great week for me, having gotten Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and now this. Remember that I didn't manage to FIR a single puzzle during the first week of the New Year, which made me worry that maybe turning 73 had whacked my brain. So when I have a great week like this, even getting a crunchy C.C. Thursday--it's wonderful! I even got the theme--well, most of it, and circled all the SKs, though didn't get the Ps until Steve's write-up. Anyway, many thanks, C.C., for this fun experience!

    We had a bizarre outage in our neighborhood last night--not the electricity but wi-fi. I was watching TV and suddenly there were no more channels available, and I could only watch already taped shows for the rest of the evening. When I tried to call a neighbor to find out what's going on, the phone wasn't working. When I got on the computer to e-mail and ask, no messages going out, and no Facebook or Crossword corner or anything. The only thing that worked was the I phone, which I am just learning how to use. That's how I learned that it wasn't just my house but all the houses in the neighborhood that were having this problem. Had trouble sleeping, but thank goodness, this morning all seems to be well again. But this was a scary experience. If you didn't have an I phone and had an emergency, you wouldn't be able to get 911.

    Have a good day, everybody!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Hi Y'all! Yay, I have internet this morning. Loved C.C.'s clever theme reveal although I had to say it aloud to get the SK..P. Chuckle! Great puzzle.

    Another great expo from Steve. After reading the SKIN PATCH claim, I had a vision of a sunken square in my belly fat where the patch melted in.

    SKATE PANTS: stretchy with draw-string waist. I think that's what my DIL buys for her two active, very skinny boys. One was an avid SKATE boarder, so they'd know Tony Hawk. I've watched him on TV so a puzzle gimmee.

    Gary, Bibs may not be a good choice to meet a P.M. but a gag would be a good choice for at least one person to meet her.

    IM: not much new on my neighbor. An ambulance & a fire truck, lights flashing & sirens whooping, pulled up there later but I didn't see them take anyone in. Later four very large uniformed men wearing blue latex gloves silently exited, looking at me two houses away, got in their trucks and drove away without flashers. Another neighbor's pickup was over there, but left while I was in the house. I didn't walk over there because it is an uphill climb I didn't feel up to. The last I had heard they were checking local rehabs & nursing homes to see if she was in one. If I get to feeling better, I need to walk down the hill to the pickup lady's house and see what's new.

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  27. CanadianEh, I just read the great link you sent me on "The Steeple-Jack" poem by Marianne Moore. Wish I had read it before my class, because it made some points that would have been helpful. But my class turned out great all the same. Had only 9 (senior--elderly, not high school) students who were very knowledgeable, and they enjoyed my slide show and our discussion of the poem. So now I'm looking forward to the one we'll do in February on Virginia Woolf's 'To the Lighthouse.' Thanks again, for your link.

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  28. And finally, Sky Pilot?

    Off to walk the neighbors Husky, hopefully before she
    finished devouring the rest of my neighbors couch...

    (Bad dog!)

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  29. CED @ 11:20 ~ Loved your kitty in "The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!" The pooch on skies ain't too shabby, either! Thanks for the chuckles.

    PK, keep us posted on your missing neighbor.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Am I the only one who felt that a fun puzzle was spoiled by the ELIE/CESAR Natick? Sorry, CC, but this seemed unfair to me. I FIW with ELIA/CASAR which seemed just as likely.

    Rick: Thanks for the learning moment about Elmer not ELSIE on Elmer's glue.

    On the way to NIAGARA FALLS (yesterday) we stopped at this museum of the ERIE CANAL in Syracuse, New York.

    My parents met at Syracuse University, but this was the first time I ever saw the town.

    Here are my photos of ANN RICHARDS campaigning for Walter Capps who was running for Congress here in Southern California back in 1996.

    ANN RICHARDS was hilariously funny. Capps did eventually win. But he died after being hit by a drunk driver on our dangerous mountain pass Highway 154. His wife Lois Capps went on to hold that seat for many years.

    I just know KEN KESEY as part of the Merry Pranksters who battled the Establishment and promoted the mind-expanding powers of LSD. I forgot that he had a day job, too!

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  31. I just never got to do Wednesday so I dashed off both over breakfast. I thought Wednesday was clued like a CC but never checked today until Steve's write-up that I'd just done a CC.

    My solving today which I traced ended up looking like that Aardvark eg South from SPAIN, then NE to east etc. We just had SENAT n'est-ce pas?

    The Freshman English "At Noon" was Darkness. I never saw Apocalypse Now" in it's entirety but I thought it captured the Vietnam mindset.

    I have once took the ferry to Martha's Vineyard to pick up a toy poodle and take him/her back to Nashua. I was rehabbing from heart surgery so I volunteered.

    Owen great l'ick but I don't get it. Did anybody do the NYT with all the "/"s? PVX? Sheesh. I check out Rex when I get the time. By the time I finish there's no one to talk to.

    Those SKIN PATCHes are for aches and pains these days. Betsy swears by them. She's recovering from a Catholic inquision about her Reiki. Egad, 1500 all over again

    WC

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  32. PS. Now over to Wed to check out the "Inquisition" of D4Dave-2

    WC

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  33. Ever notice that a person who escapes
    from somewhere should be called an
    "escaper"and the institution he escapes
    from should be the escapee.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Elmer's glue features the bull; but Elsie, the cow, is on more products than Elmer. "She was voted one of the ten most outstanding marketing mascots of all time, and today her face adorns the packages of Eagle Brand Condensed Milk (Borden’s original product), Borden Dairy Products, and she is also mascot for the 22,000-member Dairy Farmers of America.
    A cow logo seems natural for dairy products. Glue is not a dairy product, so her mate, Elmer, filled the bill.
    Why not skin patch? "A dermal patch or skin patch is a medicated adhesive patch that is placed on the skin to deliver a medication into the skin." Seems common place to me.
    Big Easy, seeing the tenor of your remarks about Ann Richards, I decline engaging in a kerfuffle which would be against blog rules. Even a stopped clock is correct once a day. To each his own.
    Cesar Franck’s setting to Panis Angelicus is very famous.
    Placido Domingo

    Dave2, please don’t read so much into that quip. I took it as lighthearted. Your views are very welcome here. I would love to hear your response to my post.

    ReplyDelete
  35. The suffix -ee has several meanings and uses.
    The beneficiary of an act: employee, donee, grantee.
    The performer of an act: escapee, returnee, standee.

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  36. Dave (CED) where do you come up with these pics? Okay, the internet - but where do you come up with these pics! The last one with the sky writing - looks shopped, maybe. Yeah - an info desk wouldn't have a council. I guessed at the NW corner and couldn't believe my guesses turned out right.

    And Picard's pictures of the Erie Canal museum. Wonderful and great! So now I don't have to go. Elizabeth Cotten was one of your pictures. Bluesy guitar playing with chords and picking that is amazing. Her voice now (or when Freight Train was recorded and uploaded) is gravely at 92 years old, but beautiful.

    Thanks

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  37. From what I remember from MASH, the actor playing Henry Blake became too big for his britches on the hit show. So when he left, the producers supposedly killed him off so that he couldn’t ever return.

    Some deceptively tough clueing today. I agree that 17D and 24A were tough crosses.

    I did do the NYT with all the / s, indicating double letters. Cute.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Rick@1:13,

    it's pure serendipity,
    I just take the theme, and look at it Crosseyed until it amuses me...

    Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't...

    Cute usually works...

    But, more importantly, get in here and help me!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Hi Puzzle Pals!

    Yippie! Another C.C. with Steve to GURU us through the PACEs. Thanks both.

    Easier solve (IMHO) than yesterday. With respect to the theme... I was the eludee. I saw the SK-P but it took Steve to spell it out for me. A second helping of thanks Steve (or would you prefer MASH?)

    WOs: Boys b/f BROS. ASK ME before I was HUMBLE'd again.
    ESPs: KEN KENSEY, EDNA, SPAIN, CESAR, ELIE (Picard - my coin came up tails (E) for the lucky win!)
    Fav: I love the words SCOOT [esp. when C, Eh! SAYs it :-)] and SMUSH.
    Toy==Dog didn't fool me but Ring Leader? had me scratching my head [abc-run needed for the P. //that V-8 hurt!]
    I also circled 51d as a fun (for an Italian) c/a :-)

    {A!}

    Rick - here's some back-story about ELSIE and Elmer from our 17 Jul '17 conversation about milk/glue. [Dude, they were married!]

    Many of the folks from the "Help Desk" are across the hall from me. Sometimes I shake my head at their conversations which mostly go like this. :-)

    Back to the salt-mine; lots more TODO today.

    Cheers, -T

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  40. Great Escape today. Thanks for the fun C.C. and Steve.
    I love that the Brit got to show us the MASH but I'll pass on the eel pie - can I substitute Bangers?

    Hand up for ASK me before US.
    I had Grab At for "Snatch, as a toy" moving to Kidnap before DOGNAP (clever misdirection). Then I needed GRAB for 52D.
    I had Woofs before YELPS. No ARFs or YIPs today (hello IM!).
    Smiled at cross of SPACES and PACED.
    Lots of trees today too with ASPENS, ACACIA (not to be confused with ACAI), and ASH(E).

    Yes, AnonT, I smiled at SMUSH and SCOOT (rhymes with boot LOL).

    Glad your session went well Misty. Here are Margaret Atwood's interesting thoughts on To The Lighthouse.
    AtwoodOnToTheLighthouse

    Happy Robbie Burns Day. No haggis at this house. ICK.

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  41. How the heck does CC come up with this stuff? Good stuff! Like Irish Miss, I never in 100 years would see ESCAPEE as S-K-P, let alone take that and build it into a complete construction. I liked this puzzle.

    TTP, last night you asked me if I had ever considered a hybrid. Yes, sir, enthusiastically. We have owned and enjoyed driving a Camry hybrid for 10 years. I love the technology. Very cool that the gasoline engine doesn't burn gas idling at red lights, and our brake pads are barely worn down at all even after all this time.

    Gotta go; might write more later.

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  42. Ta- DA!
    But this was a doozy. For me the almost-disaster was the NW corner, where I could not get myself past ASK ME for the fill at 2D. Only when I realized I could not fit ESPANA in at 22A was I able to face the music. For the longest time I balked at ASK_S, unable to think of the objective first person plural.
    (Sigh) My ol' walnut is limping today...

    But all in all, a very neat theme from C.C. and a yeoman follow-up from Steve. I enjoyed the illustrations, esp. the logo for the French SENAT and the photo for MASH. I wonder: Does the French SENAT enjoy greater respect than our guys 'n gals? Is democracy doing well anywhere on this planet? As for that educational group photo including MASH, I wondered what had become of its traditional co-star, Bangers?
    Here they are, folks, reunited especially for your eating pleasure, the ever-delightful team of Bangers & Mash!

    __________
    Diagonal Report: Two from C.C.! One from NW to SE and its mirror from NE to SW, a large "X" for us. I admit to being a little excited when I saw it came from C.C., so I hoped maybe - just maybe! - there might be a hidden message.
    But Alas! no such luck....

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  43. Misty!
    I just read your post & hasten to congratulate you on your continuing streak! Brava - Molto ben fatto, cara signora!

    But I'm really writing to respond to your blackout notice. We too were struck with a long cut-off from our cable supplier. It was not long after we woke up this morning that we found none of of communication devices was operational.
    We have our TV cable, our internet, and our landline phone all covered by the same cable company, so when a blackout hits, we are pretty much in the dark. Luckily, we have our cell phones, the only way we could report our outage (outrage?) to the company.
    We learned later that it was affecting our entire region of Orange County.
    While it was on, we of course didn't know how long it would last. So we started to plan for the evening ahead: what if we couldn't watch our TV shows?! I proposed we get out the cards and board games. The blackout caused us to think of what people used to do in olden days. My wife's mom said we could always read. I proposed that my wife brush up on her zither and that we scour the house for songbooks.
    "Singing is a great way of bonding the family," I said, "And then we can all go to bed at 9:00."

    Panic was averted when just around noon all our devices came back on.
    Whew, what a close one...!

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  44. Rick: Thanks for the kind words about my ERIE Canal museum photos. Learning moment about Elizabeth Cotten!

    AnonymousT: You got it exactly right! It was a coin toss between E and A on that irritating Natick! Lucky you!

    CanadianEh: From yesterday, glad you enjoyed the thundering roar of my Canadian NIAGARA Falls video clips.

    Does anyone else remember the ERIE Canal Song? This is the original version and it is actually called Low Bridge, Everybody Down.

    Learning moment for me. I loved singing this in school. But the original version had rather different words. Lots of verses. And some would have been pretty coarse for kids to sing!

    This version sung by Pete Seeger is closer to what I remember.

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  45. I think this puzzle is easier then either Tuesday or Wednesday! Thanks, C.C., for the fun. I saw the S and P but couldn't make sense of the K in the middle. Thanks for the expo and links, Steve.

    Least favorite c/a:52a Wheat protein/GLUTEN. Having a sensitivity to it is annoying, to say the least. The only good thing is that the consequences of eating it makes anything containing it not even a temptation.

    Of course I liked the YELP answer! I hear a lot of those and arfs, yips, bays, at the shelter.

    Jayce, I, too, drive a hybrid! I have a Ford Escape. I am very smug at stop lights when I'm not adding to the ozone problem. I like trying to keep the vehicle in the electric motor and get the best mileage I can.

    Happy Thursday, what's left of it!

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  46. Desper-otto, I think you've told us before, but I don't remember. I seem to recall that you do tax preparation service on a volunteer or nominal fee basis. And you do M.O.W . My respect for you keeps growing.

    Dash T, I liked your help desk video. I think it was someone here that couldn't get their printer to work. I recall that it was unplugged. Might have been on another blog.

    It never surprises me that highly educated individuals struggle with basic PD and can't solve relatively basic technology problems. What does surprise me is how individuals deal with their frustrations with technology. To the defense of users, interfaces are about as standard as there are opinions. And it is easy to denigrate help desks.

    I would suggest that younger people are generally far more flexible and adaptive, and those of us in older generations as a rule tend to give those young people less credit than they deserve.

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  47. Ol'Man Keith, I can't believe you had the same sort of internet blackout this morning as we did last night! What on earth is going on in Orange County. Great relief that all is okay with both of us again, but isn't this a bit scary!

    CanadianEh, I will look up Margaret Atwood on Virginia Woolf tomorrow! Thanks so much for alerting me to this! That's great!

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  48. OMK - what? Read?*

    I didn't BASK in the idea of all my services tied to one provider - too many eggs in a basket. In fact, in addition to cell, land-line, and cable, I have DSL to make sure I don't go dark. #Redundancy These screens won't refresh themselves! :-)

    TTP - LOL on user interfaces. And, then as soon as users are used to them, Microsoft adds a "Ribbon." :-)

    //Quick "I'm a user too" story:
    I'm setting up two-factor authentican for my company (what you know what you have - like if the bank sends you a text to finish login). It seems like the Vendor's product is still in development (SaaS). I went to log-in to the admin interface and entered my token-code.

    REJECTED
    Frustrated already, I sent the Vendor's SME (subject matter expert) an email. "IT DOESN'T WORK. AGAIN!"

    About 3 minutes later I realized what I did wrong and re-mailed the SME. The dish of crow I was munching on...
    "Um, duh, It's two-factor. First my password THEN the Token-code. Sorry dude."

    Cheers, -T
    *I'm joking; I read pulp every night, even if it's just the paper, to rest the eyes. I've got two books on IoT and AI I'm into now.

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  49. Dudley: "stubbornized"! Great neologism!

    To whom it may be of interest: For most of you, this probably wouldn't be worth the effort. It may not even be possible on a tablet. But for a few of us who have time hanging heavy on our hands, it may be a neat little trick!
    When referring to a previous comment, especially From Last Night, capture the URL of the date at the bottom of the comment (on my Win10 I right-click it and choose "copy link location" -- YMMV). Then plug that into a tag around your comment, like so:
    <a href=https://crosswordcorner.blogspot.com/...?showComment=151...635>FLN</a>
    The link will go straight to the comment!
    There are at least 3 versions of the comments page. The links (date in color) are only available on one of them. Clicking the constructor's name at the top of the page will get you to the correct one.

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  50. OKL - I meant to comment on Dudley's Stubornized - a perfect word for that pesky fill that you "know" is right (until it's not!) and blocks everything else. Thanks for reminding me. Also, cool trick on back-linking FLN. I'll put that in my back-pocket.

    ==not apropos of anything==
    YR - I have a citation of CLICKBAIT for you (I know you didn't ask but this may come up and you can whip it out)...

    Horowitz in the NYT - The Good Pope Frank commenting on Fake News goes to the analogy in the Garden; the snake was the first purveyor of "fake news" to Eve.

    "[The Pope] observed that fake news is effective because, like the snake in the garden, it insidiously mimics real news, and is "captious" - pope for clickbait - meaning..."

    I LOL'd at that ['pope speak' - c'mon that's funny] as well as the article underneath about a camel "beauty" pageant in Saudi (wow - how hard up are they?) that has disqualified 12 (camels) for use of BOTOX.

    Cheers, -T

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  51. AnonT:
    I heard those two items in the news and I'm still shaking my head over them, but each for a different reason. The Pope is wise. The Saudis, well, they live in the desert which has been known to derange the mind.

    ReplyDelete

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