22A. Film about a convict's lame claims of innocence? : JAILHOUSE CROCK. Jailhouse Rock. Elvis movie.
39A. Film about St. Peter's favorite striped stone? : HEAVEN'S AGATE. Heaven's Gate.
60A. Film about the last of the old-time schoolteachers? : A FAREWELL TO MARMS. A Farewell to Arms.
70A. Film about dealing with a class of five-year-olds? : KINDERGARTEN COPE. Kindergarten Cop.
91A. Film about yet another complaint? : THE THIRD MOAN. The Third Man.
112A. Film about a devastating blizzard? : APOCALYPSE SNOW. Apocalypse Now (Thanks, Howard!)
I don't get the last one. The key word does not change meaning at all. The S entry is added probably because there are not enough themage. (Updated: I parsed 112A wrong earlier.)
The other five are all nice, though I did not know COPE can be a noun in 70A. Great selection of movies. Tough job when the movies have to be in order.
Across:
1. Many a reggae musician : RASTA. Their god is JAH.
6. Flavor : SAPOR
11. Involved stories : EPICS. Had SAGAs first.
16. Montezuma's people : AZTECS
18. Books smaller than quartos : OCTAVOS. Two more number-related entries: 15. Sonnet section : SESTET. 6. And 73. The Supreme Court, for one : ENNEAD. 9.
20. Arenas, say : VENUES
24. Play the market : INVEST. Hope you don't own GE.
25. European skyline sight : ALP
26. __ Marbles: historic sculptures : ELGIN
27. Longtime film critic for The New Yorker : KAEL (Pauline)
29. "¿Cómo __ usted?" : ESTA
30. Pays attention to : HEEDS
32. Chow line? : LEASH. Great clue.
35. P&L report column : YTD
36. High hat : MITER
37. "__ was saying ... " : AS I
38. Go public with : AIR
42. Wildebeests : GNUS. Look at his face. It's like having a charcoal face mask on.
44. Barrel-bottom stuff : LEES
45. Cookie baking session output : BATCH. I don't bake cookies. I buy these Daifuku for treat.
46. Put to the test : TRIED
48. K-12 : EL-HI. Sad to see it's back.
49. River to the North Sea : YSER
50. Stage hog : HAM
53. Lady of León : SENORA
55. Duck : EVADE
57. Inherent character : NATURE
59. Back muscle, familiarly : LAT
64. First husband of Bathsheba : URIAH. Her second husband was King David.
67. Bar stock : ICE
68. Aurora's Greek counterpart : EOS
69. Leftover : EXTRA
76. Arles article : LES
77. Form of aphasia involving the inability to name objects : ANOMIA. Oh, I might have it. I just say "that thing in our junk drawer..." to Boomer.
78. Loi maker : SENAT. French "senate".
79. Hot spots : STOVES
82. "Do the Right Thing" pizzeria owner : SAL
83. Disco family name : GIBB
86. Cherbourg cherub : ANGE. French for "angel".
87. It usually involves a getaway car : HEIST
88. Plump Capp critter : SHMOO
89. "Beowulf" beverage : MEAD
90. "Well done!" : GOOD
95. __ Colinas: upscale neighborhood in Irving, Texas : LAS. Unknown to me. Wiki says it's located between Dallas and Fort Worth. Must your EDINA, D-Otto/AnonT.
96. Diminish : EBB
99. Rival of Paris : ROMEO
100. Marshal at Waterloo : NEY. Our old pal.
101. Cause harm : DO ILL
103. Studied, with "over" : PORED
105. "Sounds like fun to me!" : I'M IN
106. Utah lily : SEGO
107. Metaphor for opportunities : DOORS
109. Pie in the sky? : UFO
110. Jaguar, e.g. : BIG CAT
117. À la King : EERILY. Stephen King.
118. Calmed down : SEDATED. Boomer just got me Vicks Formula 44. The dry cough just won't leave me. Thankfully no more fever/shivering.
119. Stylish filmmaker : AUTEUR. The likes of Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino, etc.
120. Chill : RELAX
121. Runoff collector : SEWER
122. Commuter's read : DAILY
Down:
1. Indian prince : RAJAH
2. Georgia's state wildflower : AZALEA. The Masters.
3. Mushroom stems : STIPES. Another learning moment for me.
4. Bus. card info : TEL
5. Yearns : ACHES
6. Extended operatic solo : SCENA
7. PDX tower group : ATC. OK, PDX is the code for Portland International Airport.
8. Most golfers never break it : PAR. For the round, right? Most golfers can make a par on a Par 3.
9. Ab __: from the start : OVO
10. 1990 Stallone flick with the tagline "Go For It" : ROCKY V
11. Bad to the bone : EVIL
12. Stock holder : PEN
13. Protest bitterly (against) : INVEIGH
14. Hill with one steep side : CUESTA. Good to learn.
17. One before la : SOL
18. Basket material : OSIER. See here.
19. Achieve with minimal effort : SKATE BY
21. Impolite look : STARE
23. Hybrid fruits : UGLIs
28. Author Ferber et al. : EDNAs
31. Make a stand : DIG IN. I don't get how these two are equivalents.
33. Put on hold : SHELVE
34. Variety show set in Kornfield Kounty : HEE HAW. We see HEE alone often.
36. Fabric beltmaker's technique : MACRAME
38. Lindley of "Three's Company" : AUDRA. Another stranger to me.
40. Line to the audience : ASIDE
41. Gregg user : STENO
43. "The Matrix" hero : NEO
44. Some wolves : LEERERS
46. Catherine the Great, e.g. : TSARINA
47. Vitamin A form : RETINOL. Important additive in eye creams.
50. Moves speedily : HURTLES
51. One often shared in flight : ARMREST
52. Flat-topped lands : MESAS
54. "I don't give __" : A FIG
56. In : ELECTED
58. Duty : TAX
59. "Witness" actor Haas : LUKAS
61. Obamacare, briefly : ACA. Sure wish I still had my pre-ACA plan. It's 1/3 of what I'm paying now.
62. John, to Ringo : LOO
63. Recipe amts. : TSPs
65. Gen.'s counterpart : ADM
66. Fictional miners' work song : HEIGH HO
71. "Spider-Man" director : RAIMI (Sam)
72. Latin lover's line : TE AMO
74. Where Tara Lipinski won her Olympics gold medal at age 15 : NAGANO
75. Community character : ETHOS
80. War on Poverty agcy. : OEO (Office of Economic Opportunity)
81. Hulu offering : VIDEO
84. Carried : BORNE
85. Spanish convenience stores : BODEGAS. Great fill.
88. Lettering guide : STENCIL
90. Lively country dance : GALOP
91. Extended family : TRIBE. Have any of you tried that those ancestry DNA tests? So glad I don't need one.
92. More cozy : HOMIER
93. Political fugitive : EMIGRE
94. Mr. Magoo et al. : MYOPES
95. Bridges in movies : LLOYD
97. Sultanate on the South China Sea : BRUNEI. Surrounded by Malaysia.
98. Make dirty : BEFOUL
102. One in an airport taxi line, for the most part : IDLER
103. False: Pref. : PSEUD
104. Bridal estate : DOWRY. This looks like my mom's dowry chest. Traditional Chinese dowries often include pretty bed sheets, blankets, new clothing for the bride, etc. My mom later put our rationed sugar in this chest, fearing my brother and I would steal the sugar. The chest was locked of course. The sugar was only used for desserts during Chinese Spring Festival.
106. "Come Sail Away" band : STYX
108. ANC country : RSA
111. Mobile home: Abbr. : ALA
113. "__ to Billie Joe" : ODE
114. Cry near the ears : CAW
115. Broke bread : ATE
116. B&O stop : STA
Happy
birthday to dear Madame DeFarge, who turns 70 years old today. She
looks young. Hope you guys can have another get-together this year
with TTP, the mysterious problem solver of our blog.
 | |
| Madame DeFarge and Abejo, Nov 15, 2017 |
Thank you!
C.C.
57 comments:
Happy birthday to the blog! Many thanks to you and all the writers for your efforts.
The last theme entry should be parsed as "Apocalypse snow", changing the last word as the other entries do.
Thank you a lot, Howard!
FIW Almost DNF, because of a double natick at sAPOR + sCENA + aTC, but WAGged them correctly, while another natick waited for me at NAjANO + ANjE. Red letter told me that was my only error, but after plugging in R, then V, I gave up and pressed the reveal button.
The fantasy movie was a grand pic
Of Montezuma leading the AZTEC
Against Catherina
The Russian TSARINA --
They would call it the Tsar Wars EPIC!
The director fancied himself an AUTEUR,
And wore a permanent LEER of hauteur!
But he weren't worth A FIG
When talkies got big --
His career's DOOR became a detour!
To his girlfriend, coach said, "TE AMO,
To the BODEGA now I must go!
To get snacks for team A,
B, C, D, and hey,
We've got them all the way to TEAM O!"
The jackass gave a guffaw
...of "HEE-HAW!"
As the dwarfs in a row
...sang "HEIGH HO!"
And Abbott told Costello
About some Doctor fellow --
Well, he TRIED, but Lou
...asked, "Who Who?"
{B, B+, A-, C.}
C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!-- --C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!--
C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!-- --C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!--
C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!-- --C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!--
C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!-- --C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!--
C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!-- --C.C., Happy tenth anniversary!--
Dave
Congratulations, C.C., and to all the bloggers! Ten years is a mightily impressive feat. Owen, I particularly liked your Tsar Wars riff.
This was a fun one to make. There are so many choices of famous movies, and I went through hundreds, looking for those of workable lengths where I could add the appropriate letters to "produce" funny "remakes." Then I picked out the best pairs of matching lengths and went from there. Rich liked all but two - Walking (A)t All and Some Like it (S)hot, so I found replacements, Heaven's Agate and Apocalypse Snow, which I do think are improvements. We had some Apocalypse Snow in the east this month, but it's a balmy 50 degrees in Philly for the Eagles game today. Go, Birds! Beat those rascally Vikings. (with apologies to our Minnesota friends.)
Good morning!
I zipped right along on this one, all the way to the DNF. Immediately inked in SAPOR, but don't know why. Tried DAVID before URIAH barged in; the only URIAH I'm familiar with is HEEP. Thanx for 'splainin' the PDX group, C.C. I only recently learned about BRUNEI. We used to call the whole shebang Borneo. I've heard of LAS Colinas, but only vaguely. It's 250 miles away. What did me in was ANOMIE/REIMI. Didn't know the director. The SCHMOO/RAIMI cross could also have been a natick for some, but I remembered the SCHMOO.
Nicely done, Mr. Coulter. I got all the movies, and then forgot to look at the circled letters to find the CAMEO.
Happy birthday, Madame Defarge, and happy birthday to the blog, may its tribe increase (with apologies to Leigh Hunt).
Good Morning, C.C., and friends. Interesting and challenging puzzle. I missed the spelling of CAMEOS throughout the theme answers, though.
The ELGIN Marbles are quite controversial.
LAS Colinas is known for its mustangs.
I learned of Marshall NEY from doing the crosswords.
ALAbama immediately came to mind when I read of the Mobile Home.
Hand up for Sagas before EPICS.
I learned that the Bar Stock is not Rum but ICE. Sorry, Tin!
I also learned that Hot Spots are not Saunas, but STOVES.
Happy Anniversary to the Blog. Hard to believe it's been 10 years. I think I came along about a year and a half later.
QOD: We are put on this earth to have a good time. This makes other people feed good. And the cycle continues. ~ Wolfman Jack (né Robert Weston Smith; Jan. 21, 1938 ~ July 1, 1995)
Hello Puzzlers -
Technical DNF today. I got Naticked at Sapor x Scena and ATC. Otherwise, smooth sailing, and a really fun theme! Favorite clue was Chow line, had to smile at that one.
Happy Anniversary C.C. and the Corner! Ten years went by kinda fast.
Picard from last night - I took a look in the NTSB database, and found a Beaver crash on July 27, 2007 in the Misty Fjords. I assume that was right after your day trip. However, I couldn’t find any other Beaver accident earlier in the month, and therefore can’t guess at an accident correlation. Was the earlier one a different model of airplane, maybe?
A Farewell to Marms: our town has just two of the old one-room schools left. One has been preserved as a museum. The last surviving schoolmarm, Miss Zoudlick, had taught in the latter school right up until it was closed. She had a strong interest in preserving history, and having no heirs, she donated her belongings to the museum. Her house, a well preserved example of a colonial farmhouse, was in her will to be left to the Historical Society. However, as her age advanced and memory deteriorated, a neighbor coerced her into changing the will and leaving the house to him instead - he even drove her to the lawyer’s office to sign the new will. After her death, the house was torn down and the lot re-used. There is still resentment over that!
Musings
-I was on the AM band and Paul was broadcasting in FM - SAPOR, SCENA, ATC, LOI, SENAT, ENNEAD left 8 blanks. Frustrating when they cross each other.
-My hat is off to all that HURTLED through and SKATED BY on this one
-A 630 yd PAR 3 in RSA that costs $200 to play this one hole and requires a helicopter to get to the tee
-Gimmick was fun
-HBD, Madame DeFarge! No knitting today! :-)
I liked the theme, but didn't get THETHIRDMOAN, so not a total finish in the SW corner. Too many obscure and arcane answers for my liking.
Hi Y'all! Congratulations to C.C. and to all our dedicated bloggers both past and current on achieving ten years of this communal affair with words. After having no internet for two days, probably because of melting APOCALYPSE SNOW, I was doubly glad to be back on in time to celebrate with y'all. I was having severe cw withdrawal symptoms.
Thank you, Paul, for a big learning experience. I had 15 new words to overcome here today. Hand up for being stumped in the NC block where everything but OSIER and PAR were unknown & couldn't think of PAR until the very last.
INVEIGH & HEIGH HO not spelled as expected.
Ala King was just plain weird for a clue to get EERILY. Took awhile to put that together.
NOGANO & BODEGAS were known but hiding behind a brain ridge for awhile.
Hahtoolah, thank you for the links to ELGIN marbles & LAS Colinas mustangs. One tour I took visited a place in TAOS (I think) which casts the bronze statues using the lost wax method. Very interesting.
Happy Birthday, Madame DeFarge! I enjoy your comments.
10 years is pretty cool. If I started blog, I'd quit in about a week due to lack of conviction.
Certainly better than that "fiendish" other blog. I'm always amazed at the timeliness. Even when I'm up at 4am doing a couple of puzzles to start my day and getting the mind to fire on at least one cylinder, the monologue and solution are posted. Certainly a testament to the coordination and backing each other up when life happens - travel, sickness, hangovers, etc.
Thanks for doing what you do.
Happy birthday, Madame DeFarge!
Thank you, Paul Coulter, I was in your wave length all the way through this puzzle! From RASTA and AZTECS to DAILY and EERILY. I couldn't wrap my brain around that, so thank you, C.C. for elucidating. Oh, STEPHEN King, not the royal kind.
C.C., it's good to have you back and almost wholly well, it seems; and congratulations on ten years of the Blog! Thank you for CAMEO which I forgot to go back and parse.
I, and all other teachers and former teachers here, can take a CSO at AFAREWELLTOMARMS.
HEIGHHO crossing SHMOO made me chuckle for some reason; I could see those two cartoons waving at each other.
About my only W/O was changing HASTENS to HURTLES, otherwise, it was smooth solving all the way.
Have a superb day, everyone! We're having a cold snap here!
Good morning and happy birthday to the blog and Moe . Thanx for the continuous enjoyment of puzzling and blogging . Only one story to share today about an experience at age 15 of apocalyptic proportions . Severest blizzard in my memory. After 3 days of heavy snow and blowing snow,we and the neighbours were running out of milk. The dairy farm where we purchased our milk was located a half mile or so outside of our small hamlet. Myself and a neighbour's boy were sent to get the milk. The danger was getting disoriented and lost in the storm, so we tied a rope about 12 feet long between us at our waists and set out. We got there alright and with two one gallon pails each we headed back. Now it was against wind and much tougher going. Sure enough my friend panicked started running this way and that screaming and arguing that we were going the wrong way. I was not disoriented and waited until I could show him, by digging down a few inches that we were still on the gravel road leading to town. He settled down and we kept going. In town there was more shelter and better visibility and much less danger of getting lost. Thanks to the rope we stayed together and made it back . To this day I really love summer!!
Hi everybody! Another puzzle solved mostly right by me without being able to explain the theme. I could see the clues represented tne new punny expression but I would never have connected them to CAMEO. Thanks Paul and CC. And Happy Anniversary to us all!
91A reminded of how much I like the movie THE THIRD MAN? It's a black and white masterpiece, right up there close to CASABLANCA. I would watch it yet again if it showed up on cable. Do you like it too?
Good Morning:
If ever I needed a lot of P and P, today was the day. I think I broke my longest finish-time record on a Sunday-puzzle at 1:12. 😡 I finished w/o help but it was definitely not easy. I had two many w/os to list and too many unknowns to admit to so I'll leave it at that. One C/A has me befuddled: Bottom of the barrel stuff = Lees. Anyone? Armrest took forever because I read flight as fight; I guess I'm a Myope, also. I caught the theme early but I still struggled in many places due to some difficult (IMO) cluing. When the circled letters hinted toward Cameos, that gave me ATC which opened up that section. I was truly amazed when I got the Tada and not at all surprised when I saw the 1:12. My fav was Chow line = Leash. I was thinking a line of dog food.
Thanks, Paul, for a very challenging offering and for your comments and thanks, CC, for the detailed wrap up and cultural insights.
Happy 10th Anniversary, CC, and many thanks to you for starting this Corner "where everybody knows your name" and where everybody feels at home. Your time, efforts and dedication are greatly appreciated, as are those of Argyle, Melissa, Ron, Steve, Lemony, and Gary. Thank you all.
Happy Birthday, Madame DeFarge, I hope it's a very special day. 🎂🎉🍾🎁🎈 (Today is also the Feast of St. Agnes.)
Bill G, to answer your movie questions: I've never seen "The Third Man" from start to finish but I'm sure I would enjoy it based on the portions I've seen. Love the theme music. I loved Fried Green Tomatoes, the movie, but didn't read the book. "Casablanca" is a favorite, also.
Have a great day.
Happy Anniversary, C.C., and thank you for all your wonderful work with our blog!
And thank you for checking in with us, Paul C. It's always interesting to learn how the challenges of making puzzles actually work.
This was a real toughie for me and I only got the ends of the top and other spots here and there before I had to start cheating. But I still enjoyed the cleverness of the clues and the delightful movie theme answers.
Have a wonderful birthday, Madame Defargue.
Fun first poem, Owen.
Found an interesting spelling error in the LA Times television grid this morning. The description of tonight's episode of "Victoria"--one of my favorites--was "despite giving birth to a healthy mail heir, Victoria is filled with sorrow." A "mail heir"? Hmmm--hard to imagine.
Have a good Sunday, everybody.
So if the ruler of Russia was the Tsar and his wife was the Tsarina, would that have made their children Tsardines?
CW: An impossible one by Mr. Paul Coulter, reviewed by our beloved C.C.. Thanks to each of you.
22A
"Elvis move." Are you a fan of what his hips did, or is "movie" missing an eye?
77A
A _____ by any other ANOMIA would smell as ______.
Now I have seen the term for my most frustrating condition. It's a shame I won't be able to say it.
31D
Make a stand : DIG IN. "I don't get how these two are equivalents."
Thank goodness you have never had to dig a fox hole. Old saying goes something like "There are no atheists in fox holes."
34D
BR549, and Gloom despair and agony on me.
54D
"I don't give __" : A FIG The words I wanted each had 4 letters, d---m and s---t, but they wouldn't fit. Aw fig.
62D
John, to Ringo : LOO What about Paul and George? I spent so much effort working the CW that I am just now seeing the plays on words. They just go on and on.
104D
Bridal estate : DOWRY I thought it was just money or cows.
Dave 2D
Fun puzzle. I made steady progress until the SW. I soon filled CAMEO in the circles and realized they were the letters that were added to movie titles, a huge leg up.I finally parsed most of the SW and even figured King meant the author and guessed eerie. My down fall was the Y in eerily. All I could think of was the group STAX instead of STYX. Just another alphabet run and I would have had it.
CSO to Senora Lucina.
When people public ally AIR their personal problems on talk shows, sometime it is TMI. I have stopped watching them.
I had ATC for PDK but didn't understand it until I looked up ATC after I finished. Air Traffic Control.
After getting SENAT I realized LOI means law.
Take a stand=dig in. Dig in means "to stick to an established position, e.g. in an argument, and fight stubbornly to maintain it."
Happy birthday, Madame DeFarge. I hope you have a wonderful day.
CC, thank for starting this wonderful blog and sticking with it. It is the highlight of my day.Also thanks to all the those who put so much time in the the expos and to all the Cornerites, my virtual family.
At 10:44 meant happy B day Madam D
Irish Miss: Lees refers to wine making.
Happy 10th Birthday to the Blog! Congratulations, CC! And Happy Birthday Madam DeFarge! Looking good!
CC: When I get a cough that will not go away, I have found there is no substitute for codeine. I have saved and rationed a supply from past surgeries. Despite being years past the expiration date, they still work OK. Perhaps your doctor will give you a prescription for a bit. Just use it sparingly.
Hand up I found this really hard! Last to fall: ENNEAD/SENAT that just looked wrong. But I was wrong and I did FIR. Did not know MYOPE was a word!
Here I was 13 years old visiting the ELGIN MARBLES in the British Museum with my family. Yes, that is me with the camera!
Tough call whether to keep them or return them to Greece. This problem has occurred all over the world with relics seemingly legally purchased then later demanded back. So far they remain in London.
CC: Discussing the ACA might offend some, so I will refrain. I will just say it is a complex issue that many countries have solved. Wish we would learn to look to other countries once in awhile for solutions.
We have many MESAs in this part of the country. Maybe more photos another time. Too many other things happening today. And, yes, the freeway is still closed after two weeks with no way out of town. Another case where maybe other countries would have a better solution.
Unknowns: ATC, HEIGH HO, SAPOR, SCENA... Too many more!
I don't have much time before the guests arrive for our nearly yearly "Championship Sunday" football party, but I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the anniversary of this blog. Ten years! Way to go, CC, and the rest of the stalwarts. I don't chime in very much anymore, but I still do at least the LA Times crossword and check this blog daily. Like YR, this community is like a virtual family to me. Thank you all. Oh, and CC: Thanks for the heads-up regarding Erik Agard's "Food for Thought" crossword puzzle book. So far, very enjoyable.
MME D: A very Happy Birthday to you, and may you find one of Paul Powell's long lost shoeboxes. To all of the others whose birthdays, anniversaries, etc. I have failed to acknowledge; mea culpa. It's not that I don't care. It's just that be the time I get around to posting, it has all been said, and usually far more eloquently than I could.
I need to sign off. The guests are starting to arrive and I hear a handcrafted Irish Red Ale calling my name!
Cya!
Musings
-Title of this song from Going My Way? – “But if you don't care a feather or a FIG, You may grow up to be a pig”
-People who air their dirty laundry on the air are making it up or enhancing their story for the producers but are definitely getting a trip and a stipend. There’s a reason the remote will change channels or turn the set off.
-Wine LEES. I have no idea how I knew this!
-Nebraska’s own Bess Streeter Aldrich wrote this amazing book about life on the prairie, including the Blizzard of ‘88
-In The Crown, Prince Charles is asked why he is dressed in a certain way, he responds, it’s just A LA MODE (fashion of the day).
-Bluehen – I enjoyed your post and your turn of the phrase, “nearly yearly” dearly!
I liked this puzzle very much, but it was too hard for me to solve without looking stuff up. Learned some new things. All is good.
Happy birthday greetings to you, Madame.
Thanks to C.C. and everybody for this blog. Reading all your comments and interacting with you magnifies the pleasure I get from the puzzle multi-fold.
SENORA Burnikel. 10 years slogging away. Thanks. Way above by pay scale to be able to finish it today. Perped ones that I didn't know but did solve were: CUESTA, MITER, ANOMIA (or aphasia), KAEL, ANGE, AUDRA, A FIG, RAIMI, GALOP, LUKAS, HEIGH HO, & OEO. Made a correct WAG for LAS instead of LOS crossing the unknown GALOP. There was no way to get the Minnesota region with the crosses of four unheard of unknowns: OVTAVOS, SCENA, ATC, & OVO. The Miami Beach area was missed with BESOIL instead of BEFOUL crossing the incorrect AUTEIR in place of the unknown AUTEIR. I missed the great clue "Pie in the sky" for a UFO. After filling the "A la King" using perps, I noticed the capital "K" on King and realized why it was EERILY.
I don't give a DAMN but has anybody heard of anybody giving A FIG? Not this boy.
Break PAR? Dream on. I broke PAR on the back nine at Lakewood once and shot PAR on the front nine of another course followed by a stellar 50+ on the back nine.
Picard- CODEINE is really the ONLY thing that will STOP a cough but it's very addictive for certain people and DW is allergic to codeine.
Happy Birthday to the blog and to Madame DeFarge!
I found today's puzzle to be challenging yet enjoyable. With no circles at the Mensa site, I missed the elegant progression of CAMEOS before coming here. Like others, my favorite clue/answer was "Chow line?" for LEASH. Thanks for the expo, C.C., and for all you have done for ten years to build and maintain this wonderful forum. So sorry to hear that you are still in recovery mode.
Dudley--What a sad story about your town's last schoolmarm.
Have a great day!
Thank you Paul and thank you CC. Glad you are feeling comparatively better.
Happy Birthday Madame DeFarge !
And Happy Anniversary on the blog CC ! So happy I stumbled upon it one day.
Tough solve today after a restless night. Sleep, wake up. Repeat. Then finally slept soundly sometime after 5 AM until after 10. Still feeling groggy. Thought my solving experience today was just me, but after reading the comments, I see I'm hardly alone.
Gotta get moving. See all y'all later n'at !
How is it so many of us have heard of give a fig? Shakespeare used it. This is a little DF, but interesting.
Give a fig
I have found quite a few similar references.
"The saying, I don’t give a fig”, means complete lack of concern about an event and it originates from the Spanish Fico (Fig) which gave its name to a traditional gesture of contempt made by placing the thumb between the first and second fingers. The gesture was common in Shakespeare’s time and was known as The Fig of Spain. The modern-day equivalent is the “V” sign." This sign was used in my H.S. but not the idiom.
Bluehen, I've missed you. I always appreciated your comments and never thought of them as rehashing what has already been said. Besides, I like to see the confirmation and building of consensus around certain thoughts. Please don't be a stranger. We like to keep in touch with our friends.
Picard, I often worry about you. How do your grocers and other vendors of needed commodities restock their shelves? Several years ago one the biggest headaches of a week's long, wide spread, post storm power failure here was the lack of availability of much needed goods, especially groceries and gasoline.
Dudley, it seems so frequently that failing seniors are duped out of thier final wishes for their property. "There oughta be a law!"
The Song from "Going My Way" was called "High Hopes". and the line is "If don't care a Fearther or a FIG you may grow up to be a pig"
That should be "Feather"
OAS @ 10:44 ~ What a harrowing experience! Did you swear off milk after that day?
YR @ 12:14 ~ Not only did my myopic eyes mistake flight for fight, but they completely missed the letter-added-to-the movies resulting in Cameos. I just thought they were randomly chosen to spell Cameos! Good eye, girl!
Hatoolah @ 12:28 ~ Thanks for the learning moment on Lees. I know little to nothing about wine. The only Lees that came to mind were Lees jeans and then I thought, well there were bell bottoms so maybe there were barrel bottoms. Double Doh!
Bluehen @ 1:22 ~ Maybe tomorrow you could tell us what was on the menu today. I, for one, always enjoy hearing about your culinary capers, no pun intended!
Happy birthday, Madame DeFarge!
I P & Ped my way thru the CW filling in the North easily, and then came the slogging. I BAV at 19A / 9D concentrating on oVo. I might have seen octaVo if I had been concentrating on it. It took me three tries to complete the CW.
HowardW 342A
Love your speed reader. Meow power to ya.
Misty 1145A
I can see your confusion, "healthy mail heir" It should have read "mail cheirrier."
WikWak 1153A
Asked if they were Tsardines? Only if they came from Tsardinia.
Yellowrocks 1514P
Wrote "my virtual family." May I have the keys to the virtual car, and a 50 for gas?
Picard 101P
Wrote "the freeway is still closed after two weeks with no way out of town"
How is this affecting goods and services?
Dave with 2 ways out of town
Sunday lurk say...
DNS (Did not start, Misty :-)) this one and wow! If it took IM >1h I'm glad DW and I spent our time planning '18.
{A,B+,B-,A}
Picard - hook up w/ OAS and a rope? Sorry to hear you're still mud'd in. OAS - um, I don't want to say anything bad about your parents... But what the hell were they thinking? Or were you just that keen on Milk?
BlueHen - I'll second YR on the added voices. I thought BigE was off w/ not giving a FIG but now I know why folk say it. I've heard FIG but though people were being careful to not drop the F-Bomb. I've heard not giving a DAMN nor a flying-F* too (never understood the latter either!).
Happy Birthday Mde DeFarge. I enjoy your comments and take on life... Hahtoolah's QOD sums it up. I wish your day be wonderful!
The other reason I'm chiming in... Happy 10th C.C.! I came late to the party (after L.A. Crossword Confidential (CC? Coincidence? ;-) went dark). I'm glad I did. I got to eKnow the likes of the regulars and the past-regulars like AveJoe & Garlic Gal.
And, of course, a special thanks (in no particular order) to JzB, HG, Steve, Lem, mb, Splynter, Argyle and Boomer for dedication and smart / funny expos. Especially on those DNF days.
Can you tell, I too enjoy the Company at the Corner?
Cheers, -T
PS - HG, is that Par 3 in RSA from the BLUE TEE?
PPS - Beer making has lees too... Older bottles had special "lips" at the bottom to hold it down whilst you swill.
Has anyone noticed the Date at the top of the Blog has it being Nov 21 2018 ? Irish Miss -- I still love milk and cookies :-)) Hat 12:28 right on with the Lees. Was an avid wine maker for years until my wine stock leveled out at about 350 bottles. Good stuff . Mostly red wines , some whites and a few lower alcohol friut . You may find LEES at times in Red wines bought at wine shops .
WikWak@11:53,
Try as I might, I could not stifle my LOL!
D4E4H@11:56, re:54d
I wish I had said that...
Happy Birthday Madam Defarge!
CC, 10 years requires a special cake!
DNF. never heard of "sapor" and the abundance of foreign words left me little chance. I fixated on lady of leon having some religious significance instead of Spanish woman. strange DNF for me as I got the theme quickly. I still have no idea what a quartos or a octovos has to do with books. Oh well third or fourth DNF this year. Proud to have gotten SHMOO from deep into my childhood.
!!@#$%^&*( Brady....Not a jag fan but totally anti Patriot, never understood why on 3-18 3 linebackers are 8 yards deep. Totally useless but I see this defensive formation again and again.
Congrats on ten years. This is a rapidly dying hobby but it helps keep us old f****s sharp. Thanks for the blog.
Thank you, AnonT for the info, and thanks, Dave, for the chuckle.
Happy HAPPY Birthday, Madame Defarge!
I'm glad I checked in on a Sunday (unusual for me), else I might have missed your 70th. Welcome to the Septuagenarian Sector & the Ways of the Wise!
Thanks to C.C for keeping track of these important dates!
Delighted to see the SHMOO made it to a place of honor. I loved those lil' critters. They were a tremendous fad!
I still bring them up in conversations these days about the ethics of veganism. Among their other virtues, these happy beasties' main desire in life was to be eaten up by their human pals. To that end they could change their flavor - to meet your desire! - from ribs or fried chicken to (the most popular, Mmm ...) scrumptious po'k chops!
Happy Anniversary C.C. This is an amazing feat. I first read sometime late in 2008. My initial comment was as Anonymous. I became Lemonade in 2009 and went on the imaginary payroll in 2010.
I love it and really enjoy the experience. It fills a part of my life.
Thank you C.C., my fellow bloggers, past and present, the regulars past and present and anyone who has taken the time to read or comment.
The next 10 will be easier.
And of course, a great Shout-Out to C.C., the Creative Crown-princess of Cruciverbalia!
Let me add my congratulations and my thanks to her and to everyone she named who contribute their time and brilliance to keeping this corner alive and well! You have our deep appreciation.
Ten years already? They just flew by.
Happy birthday Madame Defarge- party hearty but do not lose your head.
"Puzzling Thoughts":
Late to the party; HBTY Madame DeFarge / many happy returns. Happy Anniversary CC and your LA TIMES XWORD BLOG. Very cool indeed.
As for today's puzzle, I FIW/DNF/Didn't give A FIG (which at first I had as FAG, as I thought bar supply was "ALE") ... you name it, I screwed it up
The theme was ok; i actually "got" 4 of the 5 spanners with little trouble; HEAVEN'S AGATE filled after perps led me to the answer. I wanted PEARLY to somehow fit.
Too many unknowns: SAPOR, OCTAVIOS, GALOP, et al, slowed me down. Even cheats didn't help. I always thought Sunday puzzles were just supposed to long; not long and unsolvable. Oh well, Monday's paper will be here in less than 12 hours
LEES was known by this poster, for sure. I love talking about it when I do wine tastings. It's different than malolactic fermentation, which also gives acidic wines a "rounder" mouth-feel. I've been able to train my palate to know the difference, though they're very similar. I love talking about sparkling wine, especially Champagne, or wines that are made like Champagne
Serengeti Times
Has quite a clever motto:
"No GNUS is good news"
What angers me the most about today's LAT mess is that I wasted my entire afternoon struggling with its arcane and cryptic defs. Minus a few calls, I lost over four hours of my waning life on this mess. Yep! You're dad gum correct I'm angry!!! Please - I don't need a sermon about where to find "easy" puzzles. That's downright demeaning. I've been doing LAT puzzles for decades and I have a right to bitch occasionally. Today's entry was a slug and a disappointment. BTW: This is my first entry here - and will probably be my last. Another mess like today and I'll likely cancel my subscription.
Re. AnonT 350P
Is there a sexagenarian (60+) who can 'splain it to him. "I've heard not giving a DAMN nor a flying-F* too (never understood the latter either!)."
Oas 403P
"Nov 21 2018" This is the first month of the year, and I'm a NOVice at this. Next.
CED 516P
I wish I had spelled --d--n-- correctly. With mn at the end I guessed it came from Greece, but it is Latin.
Re. cakes, you must have flour everywhere. They are works of art. Many years ago a woman brought a birthday cake to work. She said it was a sponge cake, and she was correct. The birthday person tried to cut it, but couldn't. She had frosted a large sponge.
Chuck 533P
Sapor slipped under my word radar, but it means a property (as bitterness) affecting the sense of taste. It is important enough for the --Sapor Restaurant--to use it in it's name. Drop by next time you are in L.A..
Dave 2 thanks to CED, my hero
Dudley: Thanks for checking on the Beaver crashes. Yes, that is the one I meant. Misty Fjords I think was part of our flight, too. Yes, perhaps the other one was a different model of plane. I suppose coincidences do happen. I worry much more about real risks like driving! But the coincidence with my flight was a bit eerie at the time!
Big Easy: Thanks for validating the power of codeine for coughs. Yes, some people do have a problem with addiction. But it can be valuable when necessary. As with so many things: The right tool for the right job!
YellowRocks, D4E4H and AnonymousT: Thank you for your concern. Amazingly, today we re-joined civilization. The freeway has re-opened this afternoon after nearly two weeks closed.
After one week the rail line re-opened, so that allowed freight and mail through. Passenger service demand was far greater than our utterly inadequate single West Coast rail could handle. Huge mobs gathered at the rail station. Even having a ticket was no guarantee of boarding.
There was one alternative: Heading far North and coming around that way. One article described it in exact distance terms: It was exactly the same as going between Brooklyn and Manhattan via Vermont. Not practical for humans, but it was used for some goods transport.
My DW for example could not work for the past two weeks because there was no practical route to her work.
We are OK for now... Until it rains again. Only 25% of the loose material came down in that one storm. That was the only storm we have had in nearly a year. More could come.
Also, the damage to some areas may be permanent with no practical remedy possible. Thanks again for your concern!
Griper 751P
Thanks so much for sharing your grief with us. You wrote "This is my first entry here - and will probably be my last ." As a parting gift I offer this blog that seems to fit you better.
bye.
Dave 2
Hello everyone.
Happy Birthday to Mme. DeFarge. Hope you had a great day.
Happy 10th anniversary to the Corner. After over 8 years, I've gotten somewhat inured to it, but upon reflection, it remains a very special place with salt of the earth correspondents. C. C. has cobbled together and nourished a unique site.
My gratitude and appreciation to CC for this blog, not to speak of her excellent xwords. Mme DeFarge, hbd, love your posts.
SAPOR got me, in hindsight it had to be S not V(apor). I was Naticked. Lots of difficult fill after a lightening start. It was hard finding perps for the obscure
Btw, ROMEO as a rival of Paris?? And ATC?? PDX tower group??? Of 209+ clues 180 were difficult to say the least. Not for the amateur at all.
Owen, prescience? How about my Al Capp talk last night. And as Lemonade noticed I even slipped in a Nero Wolfe reference. Btw, yes I have read a Goldsborough, but not lately.
So, Paul put the icing on the weekend HAM*; As Rick might have said: "We always have Monday".
WC
PS, thanks for the spoiler at 553. I'm watching the Pat's game on tape and there's hope I guess.
*Ham again. Ark survivor?
Greetings all,
I initially came here to say thank you to Paul and C.C. for a fine puzzle. I missed yesterday to 3/4 grade and 5/6 grade basketball games and a surprise dinner outing. So this morning I was determined to be a responsible Cornerite. I sussed the theme at KINDERGARTEN COPE, but my fave as an OLD English teacher was FAREWELL TO MARMS!! Although EERILY clued as A la King was wonderful.
C. C., thank you so much for all you have done to provide us with a wonderful hangout: camaraderie, mental exercise, a fount of amazing information, but most of all, for gathering such caring people with amazing wit--not even considering the serendipitous possibility of meeting the most charming Abeyo on a dreary Fall afternoon simply because my license plate revealed my identity.
I thank you for your amazing wishes. I will bask in this elder moment for now and offer some comments tomorrow or Tuesday. You have delighted me on this remarkable birthday. A cruciverophile should be able to find the words, but. . . . Merci beaucoup! Janice ;>)
Anonymous T -- My shared memory was getting quite long . I could have mentioned that there was only one parent to make decisions, mother. After three days of no transportation or outside communication the cupboard nearly bare and seven siblings younger than I, getting hungry it was a no brainer to me that I should go get milk. Mom could do wonders with milk flour and eggs. She is now in her nineties and still going strong. Drives car ,lives in her own apt, from a fixed pension income buys about 150 Christmas gifts each year for her children , grands, greatgrands,greatgreat grands married in and boyfriends and girlfriens of some. If you.ve not experienced poverty you might not understand how special a person she is.
OAS, you most eloquently conveyed just how special the lady is.
Boy, it's as tough to be anti-Patriot as it is lucky to be a Brady fan.
I forgot to give kudos to our poets. C-Moe, an hilarious Haiku.
WC. Yawning
Thank you WC
OAS:
I can appreciate your mom's creativity with food. Mine was that way, too. She could create a meal with seemingly nothing, which is how our household often found itself. Lucky you that you still have her.
Is anyone else watching Victoria on PBS? It's a bit sappy at times, but I guess she and Albert really loved each other. It's an interesting historical period.
Truly, the Corner is an oasis ... many other blogs you have to slap down the ravenous beasties before they chew on you, but here there is, simply, civility. So let us pray that with ten down, there may be many more to come!
And thank you to all, for all the effort and experience that are shared so abundantly, and to all, a good night and a better 2018.
My pleasure!
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