google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Saturday, January 20, 2018 Alex Bajcz

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Jan 20, 2018

Saturday, January 20, 2018 Alex Bajcz

THE DOCTOR IS IN

A nice Saturday (corrected) workout supplied by Alex Bajcz (rhymes with badges). He did his B.S. and M.S. in Michigan and then, true to his crossword lineage, got his Ph.D. in, wait for it, ORONO, ME in Ecology and Environmental Science. It can't be more perfect than that. Here we see that Alec has scaled the 852' peak of Norumbega Mountain in Acadia National Park (more crosswordese) in Maine. I wonder if he had OREOS while at the summit. 😏


Husker Gary here at his Saturday post! l had to test many areas before I got one of these for a good start in this challenging exercise.



Here two things in my life that served as long fills and proved to be helpful:

18. Company that pioneered metal drivers in golf : TAYLOR MADE - They dominate my golf bag



23. Thing to get one's claws into : SCRATCHING POST - One of Lily's topped with her favorite perch



Let's now explore the rest of the delightful word environment Alex has proposed for us:

Across

1. Color in the brown family : ECRU 

5. Dusty trail figure : PARD(ner) - I imagine he might be dusty after a month on a cattle drive


9. Board that decides without voting : OUIJA - Didn't you always accuse someone else of pushing the planchette (yes, that is what it is called)?

14. Flow hindrance : CLOT - The cause of death for Jimmy Stewart

15. Not expected : UNHERALDED - If you follow college football, you know UNHERALDED University of Central Florida had an undefeated season and the Huskers then hired their coach for $5M/year

17. Duck-like bird : COOT -  or Today's blogger : Old ____

19. Perrier units : LITERS - I prefer my water not sparkle

21. Only one fed. holiday falls on it annually : THU - Oh yeah, it's when Macy's has a parade, the Lions play football and Black Friday is the next day! 😏


22. A hockey player may check with one : HIP

27. Often-glazed delicacy : ROAST HAM

28. Tail of a cartoon dog? : DOO - Ruh, roh if you didn't know Scooby DOO!

29. Actress __-Margret : ANN - This Swedish beauty  does not like being called Ann or Annie Olsson

30. Hosp. areas : ERS - You find DRS in ERS and ORS

31. Lake Itasca, vis-à-vis the Mississippi : SOURCE 



35. Out indefinitely : IN A COMA

38. Certain landing aid : PONTOON - Very handy if you're landing a plane on Lake Itasca



39. Sara Roosevelt's maiden name : DELANO - Sara and her little boy Franklin in 1893




40. Gordon Shumway's title alias, in a sitcom : ALF - I have never ALFED

41. "I didn't need to know that" : Too Much Information - Do you want to hear about my operation? 52. Strong denial : I DO NOT

42. Book after Exod. : LEV - Google the 76 things LEVITICUS prohibits. Some people have cherry-picked from the list to justify their beliefs

43. Settled things : MEDIATED

46. They go on until dawn : SLUMBER PARTIES - One of the rigors of having daughters

50. More at the end? : IER

51. Many a boat, to its skipper : SHE - In Latin ship means Navis which is  a feminine word

54. Fulfill, as a promise : MAKE GOOD ON - He did MAKE GOOD ON his famous promise!



58. Advanced : LENT 

59. Pac-12 student : OREGON DUCK - My cousin's brother is the head BB coach at OREGON where the DUCKS play on this very distinctive court



60. Colon, in analogies : IS TO - Did you ever take the Miller's?



61. Parachute fabric : NYLON

62. Bldg. units : APTS - With our new $300M chicken plant being built, our city is proposing to build over 200 APTS across the street from us.

63. Pipe organ component : STOP - Wow! That's a lot of 'em!




Down

1. O.T. book : ECCL - Pete Seeger turned this lovely passage into a hit song called Turn, Turn, Turn

2. Fancy enamelwork : CLOISONNÉ - (Kloy zuh nay) - Enamelwork in which colored areas are separated by thin metal bands, fixed edgewise to the ground. I had no idea but it's beautiful!


TIME OUT - Think of something you absolutely hate doing! Now insert that in the blank below.

3. Endodontic therapy : ROOT CANAL - ____ is about as fun as a ROOT CANAL

4. Says : UTTERS

5. Tries to pick up : PUTS THE MOVES ON and 33. Flirts with : COMES ONTO. A little mini-theme, Alex? 😏

6. Political commentator Navarro : ANA - Okay, if you say so.

7. Drummer's creations : RHYTHMS - Our crossword friend here provided RHYTHMS for a fairly popular group of British lads.



8. 2010 Commonwealth Games host city : DELHI - After gaining independence in 1950, India remained in a loose association called the Commonwealth

9. One making a splash? : OAR

10. Rail stop between Stuttgart and Munich : ULM



11. State in both the Pacific and Mountain time zones : IDAHO - Same for Oregon in that area

12. "A __ Fury": "Star Wars" DVD segment : JEDIS

13. More than competent : ADEPT

16. They may involve cheap shots : ROUNDS OF DRINKS - It was so hot on the day I got my hole-in-one that the ROUNDS OF DRINKS only cost me $50 ($20 tip for attendant) because most everyone else had gone home

20. Urban omnivore : RAT

24. Word of amore : CARA - Jay Black of Jay And The Americans still getting it done at 72 with fabulous CARA MIA!


25. Mob hiree : GOON - Luca Brasi, Don Corleone's GOON, wound up "sleeping with the fishes"

26. Show displeasure : POUT - Better not... 

27. Carefully timed operation : RAID

32. Worst of the worst : ROTTENEST

34. Lover of Geraint : ENID - Welsh folklore reworked by Tennyson 




36. Bad state for sailing : CALM - Blush, I first put IOWA!

37. Seat for a priority boarder : ONE-B - It takes good eyes to see that on this 767 that is an aisle seat in first class 



38. Part of a bargain, maybe : PLEA - 97% of Federal cases wind up with the accused entering a PLEA of guilty for a reduced sentence

40. Hyper : AMPED UP

44. "__ be a shame if ... " : IT'D


45. Mediterranean sauces : AIOLIS 

46. Do only what he says : SIMON 
"SIMON says put up your hand!"
"Now put it back down!" 
"Aha, you're out!" 😛

47. "Rescue Me" star Denis : LEARY and 48. "Did I do that?" TV nerd : URKEL and 49. Sitcom with a 1974 wedding episode : RHODA. Three TV series that did not make it into our living room

53. Sporty car roof : T-TOP - Moviedom's most famous?



55. A big one might be fragile : EGO - See Bandit above

56. Geometric suffix : GON - C.C.'s  favorite pentaGON



57. Eighth mo. in the old Roman calendar : OCT 



Now you guys can tell the Doctor where it hurts:

DA GRID



55 comments:

  1. Good Saturday Morning Cornerites,

    Whew what a puzzle! On first pass across I found only a few short words. The same for down. However P & P eventually allowed me to FIR. I'll leave the blow by blow to others. Thanks to Alex Bajcz for such a challenging CW and for Husker Gary's tour thru it.

    HG, "A nice Sunday workout" I have a hard enough time keeping up with the day, without a tease from you. Could you have meant Saturn's day?

    I was preparing to ask for further info on 60A, "Colon, in analogies : IS TO" when I got it. hat: head as coat: body.

    For those who passed up links yesterday, I thought I had some enjoyable ones at 1205P, and 123P, with a noteworthy personal tale at 236P. If you scanned these posts, I invite your review.

    Dave 2

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  2. When Taylor Made first came out with the steel headed drive it had the nickname, Pittsburgh Persimmon. Older golfers will understand the reference.

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  3. Easy Saturday today. Right on Alex' wavelength - I was picking up what he was putting down. Time for some cold desert golf, sans TaylorMade.

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  4. Good morning!

    Cartboy, did we do the same puzzle? Ufda! Got 'er done, but it took some heavy lifting. Was slowed down by BAKED HAM and SLEEPER PARTIES (thought the guy's name was ERKEL). And with ...ON in place, I thought maybe that "Certain landing aid" might be an AILERON -- don't know what one does, but it sounds plane-related. Thanx for the workout, Alex and for the explication, Husker.

    ULM: Entered immediately. Only 3-letter German city I know.

    ANN-MARGRET: Remember her mostly as a singer, though she had a memorable role in Carnal Knowledge. So did Art Garfunkel.

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  5. Quite a workout , Alex . Had to think outside the box a little . First to fill were the shorter ones in the NE. Ulm came easy simplt because it's been seen twice lately. Fairly doable puzzle that needed only acouple of look ups Delano , Alf and when it looked like Oregon Duck might fit , looked it up to make sure. In the end needed to change the SE I'LL NOT to I DO NOT , SENT to LENT, and AS TO to IS TO to get the last AIOLIS to finish. Have been to Itasca Park a few times . Very bright yellow coloring in the fall. Enjoyed the comentary Husker G.



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  6. Once again there was an interesting late night discussion, this time about the death of Tom Petty. It is sad that so many successful people fall under the deadly spell of opioids. I could not wait to stop taking them last year, and my recovery picked up steam once I did stop. Though I believe these drugs, like other mood-altering substances, are not properly monitored by the doctors. He was taking: "fentanyl, oxycodone, temazepam, alprazolam, citalopram, acetyl fentanyl, and despropionyl fentanyl." In case you need to know this FENTANYL .

    They may involve cheap shots: ROUNDS OF DRINKS was my favorite. It fits in with HG's mini-theme. I had forgotten about that Enid, but it was all good. Thanks Alex and HG.

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  7. Fun puzzle. Lots of creative clues and answers! Really enjoyed it!

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  8. Did I ever get off on the wrong foot before completing it. "Metal drive"- first thought that fit- TRUE TEMPER before TAYLOR MADE. "Drummer's creations"= RAT-A-TAT before RHYTHMS. The North was the last to fall. All I had was ECRU, OUIJA, IDAHO, & DELHI. Below the SCRATCHING POST was a much (relatively) faster fill. Many false starts that slowed me down. RETIRED became IN A COMA, the CALM did not come before the GALE but after, ERKEL changed his name to URKEL, and my RACE became a RAID.

    CLOISONNE is a new word for me. CARA- no idea, all perps. ULM was a three word WAG.
    FYI, those three TV shows never made it to my house either; never heard of 'Rescue Me".

    Bob Niles- Using a "Metal-wood", how do you 'hit it on the screws?"

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  9. I started at the bottom and found it easier than most Saturdays. The top was about the usual challenge. Puts the moves on and round of drinks were my entrees into the top half. Here's to Tin. Thanks for a fun solve, Alex and Gary.
    LEARY, ANA, and TAYLOR MADE, my last fill, needed perps and wags.
    I was surprised at ROAST HAM as a delicacy. It seems like common fare to me.
    I thought of mb at PLEA bargain. Innocent people are sometimes forced to accept a plea bargain to avoid a life sentence. I am always surprised when the Innocence Project conclusively proves an inmate not guilty and the prosecutors will not give up. I would feel so guilty sentencing an innocent person.
    I took the Miller's Analogies exam and aced it. Beforehand I used a book of trial tests to see what kinds of analogies to expect. The test was very much like the flexible thinking of crossword puzzle solving. It required a certain amount of knowledge and looking for unusual connections. Many questions required far more knowledge than the examples in the expo.
    I took one Oxycontin pill and stumbled around and slurred my words like a drunk. I took no more of them.
    DELANO made sense, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. IDAHO was the only five letter state in that area.
    I helped to supervise a mixed (boys and girls) slumber party in a church. No sleep at all that night.
    I have a Cloisonne bracelet. Very pretty.

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  10. I am in awe of anyone who solved this one. I just gave up and went on to the Sudoku.

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    Replies
    1. I am in awe of anyone who can do a Saturday Sudoku

      WC

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  11. Good Morning:

    I really enjoyed this offering, even though I had a few bumps to overcome. I had Clog/Clot and On Leave/In a Coma. We rarely see two Bible books. (I have the entire Ecclesiastes (sp?) verse illustrated and framed in my kitchen.) I'm only familiar with Baked ham, not roasted. I know they're the same but roasted ham sounds odd to me. Regional? Thought of CED at Scratching Post; next time Lily will pop into my head. If HG's mini-theme entries appeared in that other paper, Rex would go ballistic.

    Thanks, Alex, for a satisfying and enjoyable solve and thanks, HG, for the sparkling write up and, as always, the cheery and striking visuals.

    FLN, TTP, I'm glad I'm not the only one who put Sun before Dud in Thursday's puzzle!

    It's nice and sunny here with temps in the 40's expected. Should get rid of a good deal of snow.

    Have a great day.

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  12. Phew is right! Been doing crosswords a long time and this ranks up there with the most difficult I’ve been able to solve. On first pass, I had but 3 fills...got another cup of coffee and settled in. Southwest was first to fall then Mideast followed by northeast. After that it was a slow chug up the mountain, but finally arrived. Really enjoyed the challenge...thanks Alex. Hope all have a great day!

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  13. From Allrecipes.com, "Fresh roasted ham is coated with an easy glaze of mustard and maple syrup." I prefer mustard and honey. There are quite a few recipes for roasted ham or roast ham.
    There is a square dance today and another on Monday. I will skip today's and go Monday because I am in charge of that one. Tonight I am going to a club with a friend to hear a band. I need to sit. My PIA is somewhat better until I try cleaning and then the pain returns. It feels like someone gave me a good kick in the pants.
    This is a good excuse to sit here and read "The Homegoing " by Yaa Gyasi. I am enjoying this great recommendation.

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  14. Thanks, Alex, for a challenging, but winnable Saturday! Nothing to dislike at all about this puzzle!

    HG, another great write-up. You da man!

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  15. The prescience of the Blog: re 57d, earlier this month I had a post about the old pre-Julian Roman calendar, mentioning that "September thru December were the 7th thru 10th months of the year"

    Didn't get any poem written today, but one of the words today was in a poem I did for the Ancient Order of Curmudgeons about a week ago:

    I'm a curmudgeon, I'm an old coot!
    They think I'm a softy, now ain't that a hoot!
    I'm cantankerous as Hell,
    And I'm cranky as well!
    Now git off my lawn afore I give you a boot!

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  16. "Puzzling Thoughts":

    I hit the Trifecta today: Sudoku, Jumble, and LA Times xword - all solved without breaking a sweat. And for a Saturday, that's a good thing, for me. My EGO remains intact! 😜

    There were certainly some write-overs: ORIGIN > SOURCE (31a); ERKEL > URKEL; SENT > LENT; I DIDN'T > I DO NOT.

    WOS, ROAST HAM did not hit me as a "delicacy". I was thinking something in the pastry family, but once the perps filled, ROAST HAM it was. Boar's Head is my favorite deli ham, but a good Smithfield one is what I'd use for a big gathering

    I used to sit in ONE B when I traveled for a living. Don't miss it, ONE Bit

    I know Tinbeni doesn't usually visit here on weekends, but I know he filled in ROUND OF DRINKS without hesitation! Sometimes having had too many ROUNDS of drinks made me feel as if I was IN A COMA.

    SIMON for 46d was the most clever clue

    HG, great recap. I liked seeing the time zone map. Was unaware that so many mid-western states fall into two time zones.

    My Moe-ku:

    The seamstress plays golf.
    As you probably know, her
    Clubs are TAYLORMADE

    My limerick du jour:

    F1 driver from Germany, Fritz,
    Has a problem; he'll frequently schvitz.
    He co-founded new spray;
    Keeps him dry on race day.
    A deodorant brand called "Stop Pits".

    Happy weekend, all.

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  17. DNF, but not too bad for me. Looked up DELANO and ANA Navarro. I knew the boat was a SHE after realizing "money-guzzling tub" wouldn't fit. Five unknowns and about that many erasures. I often give up early on Saturday puzzles, so this one was a real treat. Thanks to Alex and to Gary for a fun Saturday.

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  18. Well, this was, of course, a toughie for me. I got only a small handful of answers (ADEPT, ANN, T-TOP, APTS, STOP, and, yay! ULM) before I gave up and started cheating. Then soon it started to fill in with some fun items. Had to laugh when I saw SIMON says, and how nice to remember RHODA's wedding. ULM usually has an Einstein clue, but like Desper-otto, it's also the only three-word German city I know. So, thank you for a tough but very clever puzzle, Alex, and a delightful write-up, Husker Gary.

    Okay, I'm finally going to ask what FIR means. Have been seeing it in puzzle discussions for ten years and kept waiting for it to come to me. Now I want to know.

    Funny poem, Owen.

    Have a great weekend, everybody!

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  19. From yesterday, when we had all of the "___EYE" answers, I didn't get s chance to post or see other posts, but I wanted to see if anyone else recalled one of the more famous SIDE EYE photos of all times? A classic, for sure.

    Also, from today, I'm sure others here with a Y chromosome were equally infatuated with ANN-MARGARET when she co-starred in Bye Bye, Birdie. Not for her voice, but honestly, as a puerile 10 yr old when this movie debuted, the last thing that Moe was focusing on was her lousy voice! 😜

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  20. Hello everyone.

    Couldn't get the solve fully kick-started, so traded in a look-see of TAYLOR MADE and SCRATCHING POST and got the whole rest of the solve unaided. It was worth it because there were many fine clues and lots of interesting fill. Thanks Alex. Got DELANO once I could remember FDR's middle name. Not too many German cities in the Bavarian region with 3 letters; ULM seemed like a good guess since it appears with some regularity in puzzles. IDAHO was easy; not many states with 5 letters in the Pacific/Mountain time zone area.
    PONTOON - That's like saying a plane landing at LGA has wheels for a landing aid.
    APTS - I would think the APTS being built across from the chicken factory would need lots of air freshener capacity. PHEW!!!
    Re navis - Our word nave comes from the same Latin root.
    SHE - "The idea of a ship as a feminine presence has become embedded in maritime tradition but the reason for it is cloudy. Some sources suggest it's because the Latin word for ship, "navis" is feminine, but this doesn't hold water. We get the word "table" from the Latin word "tabula", also feminine, yet we don't think of a table as a "she".

    Far more plausible is the concept of "she" with its connotation of motherhood, and therefore protection, a desirable characteristic in a vessel. There's irony in this since the presence of a real woman on board a ship was considered bad luck in times long past, although this might have more to do with the distraction a woman might cause to the male sailors on board."

    But then there's this:

    "Why are ships called she?

    A ship is called a she because there is always a great deal of bustle around her; there is usually a gang of men about; she has a waist and stays; it takes a lot of paint to keep her good-looking; it is not the initial expense that breaks you, it is the upkeep; she can be all decked out; it takes an experienced man to handle her correctly; and without a man at the helm, she is absolutely uncontrollable. She shows her topsides, hides her bottom and, when coming into port, always heads for the buoys.”

    In fact, the English language gets the word "ship" from the Middle High German "schiff", and that's a neuter noun. This romantic tradition is changing. Since 2002, Lloyd's List, which began reporting shipping news since 1734, has referred to all vessels as "it", and many news sources have adopted this new convention. Happily, most sailors have not.





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  21. What @10:33a said...

    I could finish the SW but didn't stand a chance up north. Almost got the NE but couldn't remember the order of OU [Boomer Sooner!] in OUIJA. CSO to Splynter at HIP Check.

    Thanks Alex for the challenge and HG for the expo. 2d would never have filled. Funny, HG, your sidebar re: ROOT CANAL IS TO...

    16d. I wanted Happy Hour DRINKS or some such where they use liquor from the well instead of the shelf. I suppose if someone else is buying it's a Cheap Shot for me but, c'mon, let's go w/ 12yro at least :-)

    Fav: The GOONs saying IT'D be a shame... [Python]

    {A+} {Cute, groan :-)}

    FLN - Thanks TTP for fixing my sentence. I had one of those deja vu moments that I shook off because, well, I just heard it. D'Oh.

    I don't know why I got RHODA out of the gate but SHE gave me the pronoun [thanks Spitz for the back-story[ies].

    C, Eh! Did you too have LITRES @19a given Perrier in the clue?

    TIme to cut Phil's 'hair'... Y'all have a great Saturday!

    Cheers, -T

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  22. good puzzle ! almost a TADA but I had to look at a German map to be sure ULM was a city and when ECRU, CLOT, COOT, Liters. SCRATCHING POST (great clue !) etc revealed 9 seemingly unrelated letters I had to use a dictionary ! I was sure Calloway invented the metal wood but there are only 4 major club manufacturers since NIKE dropped out. Only TAYLORMADE had enough letters. Only Pings and an Addams hybrid in my bag but I am in the market for new irons. Any non golfers that got close to finishing today has my utmost respect.

    Have a great NO Government Saturday !

    ...and two bible books for an agnostic/ atheist like me is a bit unfair !

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  23. Thank you so much, Chairman Moe--so good to get it at last.

    HG, your blog pictures today are a treat!

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  24. Chuck L. Funny re: two Bible books, but, as I've found, agnostics/atheists know their Bible better than most... So not unfair.

    Of course, I kept reading 1d as Off-Track to go w/ GOON & IT'D be a shame :-) The penny dropped after an hour or so. -T

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  25. Thanks, Alex, for a just-right Saturday head-scratcher, and H-G, always love your links, and thanks for the hockey clip - "check" in this instance may mean "stop"? I've only seen one hockey game.

    ECRU opened up the NW easily: ECCL., CLOISONNE, ROOT CANAL (had one two weeks ago, not bad at all thanks to the deadening); along with the other easy fills: SCRATCHING POST (thought about all the kitties here at the Corner), DELANO, ULM (WEES, only three-letter German town I know of; New Ulm here in TX where some of my distant relatives lived), PONTOON, OREGON DUCKS. But then the "fun" began - luckily perps and WAGs helped with the rest, but TAYLOR MADE took forever - but a gimme for the many golfers here.

    YR, I am with you re oxycontin! When I had a pinched nerve, I took a half tab after I got to work (I always drove in), and whoa! My usually dour attitude changed instantly to a happy-go-lucky one (co-workers were wondering what happened), and I just felt loopy. Needless to say, that half-tab was the last one I ever took. Co-workers were disappointed.

    Off to the store for shrimp and andouille sausage for a pot of Jambalaya. Have a good weekend everyone.

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  26. "Grumpier Old Men" had both Ann-Margret and Sophia Loren, along with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau the grumpy old men.

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  27. Wow, what a toughie....had to just keep at it, moving around when one part went nowhere. Cannot believe I got the solve on this, I do agree with above posters, this was one of the toughest ever, IMO.

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  28. This was very tough for me, too. If you found it easy, good for you! The NW fell easily, though. I love CLOISONNE and have a bird made in that style. ANA filled in quickly, I don't know why and when I turned the TV on CNN, there she was!

    Most of the bottom and center was a slow slog, URKEL as eRKEL kept me hostage for a long while. Finally I looked up SLUMBER PARTIES and saw my error. Drat!

    JEDIS Fury was also unknown and had to be researched so that gave me OUIJA.

    Very tedious solve, today, but thank you, Gary for your detailed commentary and sharp graphics.

    AELERON was my first choice, too, and thought of Dudley but PONTOON sailed through. I loved RHODA and ALF though didn't recall Gordon Shumway.

    I hope you're all having a sensational Saturday!

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  29. This may be a nit and I don't want to be a grouchy old man but here goes. We have: "My cousin's brother is the head BB coach at OREGON where the DUCKS play on this very distinctive court." Isn't your cousin's brother also your cousin as well?

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  30. @2:53 - I had to think about that. See, my family tree, unlike those in Arkansas, forks a lot [sorry, Cheap Shot]. I have a cousin who's brother is a STEP removed.... You HIP [Check, please] to that?

    And I'll see myself out. :-) -T

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  31. I loved this puzzle. It made me think and envision relationships in new ways. For example, OUIJA board, not board of directors. I love love love the fresh long fill such as TAYLOR MADE, ROUNDS OF DRINKS, etc. A beautiful balance of tricky ("What's he getting at?") and solvability. Thank you, Alex Bajcz! And high-five, jfromvt.
    Gary, your explication added immensely to my enjoyment.
    Good wishes to you all.

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  32. I had no P+P this morning, so after a couple of fairly serious scan-throughs, I grabbed the Google mouse and used it liberally.

    Congrats to Yellowrocks and Irish Miss and to everyone who managed to ace this chewy Saturday morsel. I know how I feel when I knock off a toughie like this, so let me add my small acknowledgement to their joy in winning.

    I have nothing against Mr. Bajcz's (rhymes with "fadges," cf. Twelfth Night, II/ii, Viola: "How will this fadge?") contribution; it's just that my reserve patience was tapped earlier in the week. I rather enjoyed the cluing - and the surprise use of sub-diagonals.*

    That's all from me, I guess. I know it might have become "very tedious," as Lucina found it, but some days you just have to decide not to let that happen...

    ________________
    Diagonal report: *The surprise of the week was the discovery here of two side-by-side sub-diagonals (NW to SE, squares 2 to 210 & 16 to 224), while neither the main diagonal nor the mirrors came into play.

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  33. Congrats to you too, Jayce!
    I would have included you in my first plaudits, but you posted while I was busy scribbling.

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  34. Musings
    -I’m glad some of you like my “stream of consciousness” style of blogging!
    -Anonymous - I struggled with that “cousin” denotation. The Oregon coach is Dana Altman from Wilber, NE. His sister married my second cousin and so is Dana my 1) cousin as well, 2) second cousin once removed 3) second cousin by marriage or something else?
    -The huge chicken plant is being built two miles from here but some do not want that type of housing in the ‘hood.
    -Ann-Margaret and Sophia Loren were the class of this movie with two frumpy old men.
    -Ann-Margaret sang? ;-)
    -I went to the Car Show in Omaha for the 10th year in a row with my grandson. I didn’t really want to go but if grandkids call and ask us, we are out the door!
    -Irish, why would Rex go ballistic about the mini-theme?

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  35. Where's Dudley when we need him?

    D-O 709A & Lucy 235P
    I thought those things were "aelerons", too but D-O was correct with "AILERON -- don't know what one does, but it sounds plane-related." This comes from French and means "little wing or fin." There is one at the tip of each wing to control rolling or banking. In the aileron is the "Trim Tab" which gives even more precise control.

    The equivalent moveable section of the tail is the "Rudder."

    Lemony 844A
    Re. opioids, wrote "I could not wait to stop taking them last year, and my recovery picked up steam once I did stop."

    I have been on Norco for several years, and see no way to decrease my pain without using it. What technique did you use? CSO for your success.

    Chairman Moe 1157A
    Wrote "My EGO remains intact! 😜" As I read that sentence, I was struck by how closely EGO resembles EGG both in the looks of the words, and in their fragility, ie. Humtdy Dumpty had a great fall, but his EGO remained intact. Oh sure!

    Misty 1206p
    Chair. M answered your question, but there is more to learn. FIR implies you were "Right" with no help. On the other hand, FIW means that you had to obtain letters to complete the puzzle. Both FIR and FIW are in the "Comments Section Abbrs" which is to the right of 31A, Lake Itasca in today's review.

    Dave 2

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  36. Hi everybody. I'm not a fan of Saturday's difficult themeless puzzles but I liked this one better than most. I wouldn't continue to attempt them except for the assistance of an occasional red letter. Thanks Alex and Gary.

    Moe, I sure do remember that Loren/Mansfield photo. It is fun to look at and, when it first came out, it sure caught the interest of my young adult libido.

    Spitz, thanks for all the interesting info.

    While wandering through the cable menus, I came across "Fried Green Tomatoes." I've seen it several times and parts of it many times more. Good stuff! I remember really enjoying the book too. You?

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  37. AnonT @ 327p

    My opinion of you just dropped a few notches. I find jokes about southerners in poor taste. I guess they are politically correct because "they're just dumb white people". If they were black or Latino then the jokes would be forbidden.

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  38. HG, be prepared for APT dwellers complaining about the smell. Happened in Albany when developers built houses around a pig farm. Didn't matter who was there first. That's why they sell the apts in winter when they can't smell the livestock.

    Anon-T remember OUIJA is named for "yes" in French and German - OUI and JA

    And HG I don't think you're related to Dana, but his nieces/nephews (if any) are your second cousins once removed. Bubba, my brother lived just across the border from West Virginia, and many Mountaineers told him the jokes on WVA breeding had some basis in fact. At least anon apologized in advance. I hope you've never talked about rude, insular New Yorkers.

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  39. HG @ 4:01 ~ Rex is ultra, ultra PC and the phrases "Puts the moves on" and "Comes on to" would make him see red. He would find both incredibly sexist, insulting, and demeaning.

    Dave 2 @ 5:22 ~ My own personal meaning for FIW is completing the puzzle without seeing an error and not getting the Tada. That means you entered an incorrect letter or two. Ergo, you finished it, but it was wrong. (If you solved on paper, you wouldn't know you made a mistake until you came to the Corner.)

    Billocohoes @ 6:26 ~ What Albany neighborhood would that be?

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  40. Billocohoes, so....many....things....wrong...my head...is....exploding.

    So if one apologizes, rudeness is acceptable?

    If it's true it's fair game? Skin color, hair type, personal histories, country of origin? Shame!

    I prefer my jokes not to have victims.

    The New Yorkers I've interacted with were all mostly very pleasant. Especially the two young gentlemen who help me to navigate a confusing subway station so I could go visit ground zero. Never will forget those guys. Tears...

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  41. This was tough! Next to last to fall was PARD/DELHI/ANA/TAYLOR MADE. Last to fall was ECRU/ECCL/CLOT/CLOISONNE... To FIR. Felt like an accomplishment!

    The only golf company I ever heard of is TITLEIST. TAYLOR MADE UTTERly unknown! Learning moment. Learning moment about Sara DELANO. My favorite president was FDR and I know the D comes from DELANO.

    Hand up for ULM being the only three letter German city I know. Only because of Einstein. Hand up wanted LITRES for a Euro company. Thanks Husker Gary for the clip explaining the HIP check!

    AIOLIS unknown! Know Tabouli and Tahini. Only know URKEL from these puzzles. Other unknowns: ENID, ALF, DENIS LEARY

    Here I took a flight on a PONTOON plane in Alaska.

    We returned by boat to Ketchikan. One of these de Havilland planes crashed shortly before I did this flight. Another crashed soon after. I just know it was a beautiful flight over spectacular scenery and highly recommend it.

    A friend generously gave me these recordings of another LEARY who was once a Harvard professor.

    It was a bit of a project to transfer them to these MP3 files. Feel free to download and enjoy them!

    From yesterday:
    CanadianEh and AnonymousT: Glad you also were thinking F FLAT for E ALTERNATIVE. But the actual answer was quite amusing!

    AnonymousT: Regarding coffee and engineers, yes, I am not like the others. I watched fellow engineers pull all nighters, drinking coffee. Not me. Turns out getting enough sleep leads to creative solutions and meeting deadlines. Never missed a deadline. Never drank coffee. Never stayed up late. We really need to value sleep far more than we do!

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  42. Well this was a challenge and my newspaper has a multitude of inkblots. Thanks for the fun Alex and Husker G.

    AnonT - LOL, yes they sell our Perrier in Litres here!

    Why do they call them SLUMBER PARTIES when there is never any slumber?

    My bad state for sailing was a Gale before CALM.

    Too late for more.

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  43. Dave 2: it depends on the cause of your pain; your pain threshold, how well you can relax your mind, meditate etc. I am not pain-free, but I will take some pain to avoid the pain pills. I do take some Tylenol.

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  44. Hello Puzzlers -

    Quite late to the party...this was a tricky rascal, involving lots of trial and error. This type is easier to handle on a computer than on paper.

    I see that D2 and others have figured out most of the movable control surfaces on aircraft. Picard, meanwhile, had the fun of riding in the world’s best, ruggedest backwoods utility aircraft, the DHC-2 Beaver. Those things are legendary! Harrison Ford has one, and the retail tycoon Nordstrom has two.

    Evening, Husker, I’m glad Lilly uses her personal furniture. We got a nice kitty condo for our cat, but she couldn’t be bothered with it.

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  45. Jayce @332 opined precisely my thoughts. I despaired completely but I was shuttle driving all day so I had the advantage of filling and letting my cerebellum do the heavy lifting.

    This was old fashioned Saturday difficulty. I'm enjoying all the commentary.

    IM, my thoughts exactly although I'm shocked that Rex of all people would object to Mr Bajcz. In fact the group Rex would feel right at home with is Owen's Order of Curmudgeons.

    Speaking of PC and golf, a really funny guy, Fuzzy Zoeller had a great joke he'd been waiting to tell if a black golfer won the Masters. The winner selects the menu ànd he loved to see the faces when okra, lima beans and Brussels sprouts appeared.

    It went completely sour, he was branded and only survived because he was teamed with Tiger and the camera caught them laughing and joking.

    Tiger, the son of a Thai mother served hamburgers and fries. I was so proud of Tiger and my contempt for PC remains firm.

    And speaking of.. Nebraska had a freshman sensation running back circa 1995 who in a tree more complicated than HG's cousin, was a step cousin of my neice. He was black, she white.

    Nero Wolfe solved a case because of the use of the term "Ortho cousin". I can't count my cousins, at least 50 and if you go to the "removes" there must be 200.

    Oh well I certainly have droned on. Moe and Owen keep'em com'n.

    WC who's FIWs came on Monday and Wednesday

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  46. Dave and Irish Miss, thanks for expanding my information on FIR by telling me about FIW. I just keep learning and learning--many thanks!

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  47. Bubba - lighten up! All jokes are either based in 1/2 truths or beliefs that are "common" enough you don't have to explain it.

    Funny: Tonight at dinner, I told DW that I found out Peter Falk was not Italian. She was shocked and then asked "So, what, other than being in the mob, are you Italians known for?"

    I thought of da Vinci, Caruso, Fermi and said "Art, Music, Mathematics, Physics..."

    "No, I meant, like, pizza parlors, being Catholic and... What else?"

    She's right, many of my 1st-generation American-Italian friends' parents had a pizza joint.

    "Oh, and cars that won't start?"

    Ouch, that one hurt... #Humor.

    -T

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  48. You do you T.

    I'm not mad at you.

    Just disappointed.

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  49. AnonT, you certainly didn't post anything that I found offensive. Some people seem to get their feather ruffled too easily.

    Good night...

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  50. Dudley: Thanks for sharing in the joy of my de Havilland PONTOON flight! And thanks for identifying the model. I could not remember if it was an Otter or a Beaver. Any idea why two of them had crashed so close together at that time (July 2007)?

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  51. Of course Al Capp contrived "Dogpatch", a parody of life in Arkansas, a very popular musical was produced and ran on Broadway. Every conceivable stereotypic
    character of strong women, dumb men etc was used. To the delight of both rural and non-rural America.

    As I recall they actually found "Dogpatch" in Arkansas.

    WC

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  52. WC, very cool that you can make that Nero Wolfe Ortho cousin reference. Have you red the continuation series by Robert Goldsborough?

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  53. There will never be a puzzle as hard to decipher and solve as Anon T's posts.

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