google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, January 3 2018, Ed Sessa

Gary's Blog Map

Jan 3, 2018

Wednesday, January 3 2018, Ed Sessa

Theme: 

19. Deliberately damage : VANDALIZE

24. Smoke from Cuba : HAVANA CIGAR

35. Milk : TAKE ADVANTAGE OF 

43. Some Downton Abbey staff : MEN SERVANTS 

52. Starting at 19-Across and ending here, vehicle making its way through five long answers : MOVING VAN

Did you spot the MOVING VAN? Some of those theme answers filled in slow - especially TAKE ADVANTAGE OF and MAN SERVANTS. My favorite Van, below.


Across:

1. Lighthouse emission : BEAM

5. Routine material : JOKES. Now I get it.

10. Mystery novelist Paretsky : SARA

14. "Sesame Street" giggler : ELMO

15. How cut-up raw veggies are often served : ON A PLATTER

17. "Bridge of Spies" spy Rudolf __ : ABEL. Tom Hanks movie. 


18. "Casablanca" actor : PETER LORRE

21. Some running shoes : AVIAS

22. Made oneself scarce : HID

23. Bingo-like game : BEANO. As Johnny Carson would say, I did not know this.

30. Euro pop? : PERE

31. Go from pillar to post : ROAM. New phrase to me.

32. Gaza Strip gp. : PLO

40. Classified postings : ADS

41. Word with hall or house : TOWN

42. __ pricing : UNIT

47. 38th-parallel land : KOREA

 
50. Many millennia : EON

51. Just enough to taste, with "of" : A HINT

58. Expressed with only gestures : PANTOMIMED

60. Greasy : OILY

61. Walk-in emergency center : URGENT CARE. Popular destination this time of year.

62. Mess setting : BASE

63. Zap with a weapon : TASE

64. Like giraffes and horses : MANED.

65. Token receiver : SLOT

Down:

1. Young Cleaver, for short : BEAV

 
2. Idris of "Luther" : ELBA

3. Service call? : AMEN. Great clue.

4. Penicillin source : MOLD

5. She sang about McGee : JOPLIN. Arlo's lead-in to "McGee" from his great Live in Sydney album.


6. Iroquois tribe : ONEIDA

7. Willy or Lenny of Manhattan deli fame : KATZ

8. Pentathlon sword : EPEE

9. 35mm camera type : SLR

10. Russell __ Candies : STOVER

11. Heart chambers : ATRIA. Moving too fast, saw the A and tried AORTA.

12. Played over : RERAN

13. "You __ cool!" : ARE SO

16. Selma's state : ALABAMA

20. "So that's the puzzle theme!" : AHA

24. Torso topper : HEAD

25. Torah chests : ARKS. Jewish Virtual Library.

26. One of a vivacious pair? : VEE

27. Origami bird : CRANE
 


28. Discontinued Saturn model : ION

29. Noir weapon : GAT

30. School support org. : PTA

32. Cooped (up) : PENT

33. Co-worker of Clark : LOIS. Superman.

34. "The good is __ interred with their bones": Antony : OFT. From Shakespeare's Julius
Caesar - Act 3, Scene 2.

36. Stuffed one's face : ATE A TON

37. Throw on : DON

38. Jettas, e.g. : VWS

39. Rev : GUN. As an engine.

43. Protégé : MENTEE

44. Midnight rider : REVERE

45. Like a ripped-up check : VOIDED

46. Taylor of fashion : ANN

47. On the blink : KAPUT

48. Maureen of "The Quiet Man" : O'HARA

49. Wedding bands : RINGS. Sneaky.

52. Layered mineral : MICA

53. Arabian Sea sultanate : OMAN. Wiki.

54. Loads : GOBS

55. Vaccine holder : VIAL

56. "Not only that ... " : ALSO

57. Politburo no : NYET. Politiburo =
the principal policymaking committee in the former Soviet Union.

59. "Newhart" production co. : MTM


71 comments:

  1. Greetings!

    Thanks to Ed and mb!

    A few thing that I did not know: ABEL, JOPLIN and KATZ. But no problem. Things worked out OK.

    Harv has been really sick again. Dr. Mercola Mitomix bars have been dinners.

    Hope to see you all tomorrow!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Y'all! Fun and MOVING puzzle, thanks, Ed. Interesting and fun expo, Melissa. Loved the Starry Night VAN Gogh VAN GO.

    Didn't know ABEL. Did know SARA Paretsky. I read her books. However, I tried to enter her down instead of across. Duh!

    Heard a lot about the 38th Parallel as a kid during the Korean War so knew this. Hope it was the first and only Korean War.

    PERE evaded me again! Twice in a week! ONEIDA was a WAG with only the "N". Yay!

    Can anyone tell me why music links are turning up on my screen as just black squares I can't get into? Pictures of the VAN, BEAV, 38th P. showed up fine.

    Fermatprime: so sorry Harv is sick. Hope he gets well soon, both for his sake and yours!

    Had word that my Oklahoma kids arrived home from London safe and sound. They flew into Dallas and bussed home. I was a little worried because my BFF had heard from her son in Dallas earlier that some freeway overpasses were icey and closed. Must have warmed up. No ice here. We had a "heat wave" with temps up to 23*F.

    ReplyDelete
  3. DNF¡ Had a natick at AVI_S + REi_N, partly because I didn't realize I had misspelt LORiE¡

    I did spot the VAN before I got to the reveal, though I was amused by how the reveal was presented.

    M.T.M. was Mary Tyler Moore,
    A Hollywood powerhouse, that's for sure!
    Drama to comedy
    There was a lot to see,
    They produced T.V. shows galore!

    Cut-up veggies ON A PLATTER,
    Served at parties amid the patter.
    A HAVANA CIGAR,
    Jim BEAM at the bar,
    And tasteless JOKES, it's all just natter!

    {C, C-.}

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning!

    Now that's a new use of BEANO. Was only familiar with "BEANO before..." MENTEE is a CSO to mentor Bill G. Only mistake: OVERATE morphed into ATE A TON with a little help from Wite-Out. I actually noticed the MOVING VAN. Will wonders never cease? Thanx, Ed and MelissaBee.

    Temps in the 20's this morning. Phil, the huge philodendron outside the bedroom windows, crashed overnight. Also happened last year. He didn't fully recover until July.

    No walkee today due to the lack of clement weather.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thank you Ed Sessa and Melissa.

    AHA ! So that's the puzzle theme!
    Got Idris ELBA this time. He helped ABEL perp in.
    Had rod before GAT.
    I remember Dudley writing about his first venture to the KATZ deli.
    DW came home from work yesterday with a 2 lb box of Russell STOVER candy she received as a Christmas gift. Since the caffeine negatively affects her sleep...

    PK, try rebooting your PC.


    Gregg Allman - Midnight Rider (1973)

    And while I was there, I picked this one up for you, Melissa.

    Oh, what the heck Paul Revere and the Raiders - Kicks - 1967

    ReplyDelete
  6. Used to place Beano in Massachusetts, apparently Bingo was illegal.

    Had "mentee" filled in but had to look it up. New word for me.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The KATZes were unknown to me.

    I see that it’s in the dictionary, but the double plural of MENSERVANTS grates somehow.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello Puzzlers -

    Technical DNF today. I got Naticked where Elba met Abel. Interesting theme idea, though.

    TTP - I’m glad someone remembered my Katz Deli experience! I went looking for an old photo of that sandwich, but it’s long gone.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Melissa,

    It's all your fault. I listened to Arlo "Live in Sydney" then had to enjoy the "City of New Orleans."

    Then I cried thru "I can't help falling in love with you" time and time again.

    Now back to your review. After the items above, nothing else stirred me. Thanks for my tears.

    Mr. Ed Sessa, thanks for this VANtastic CW. I caught the theme at 52A and could fill AN into the other longing lines. I FIR.

    Dave 2 Videos

    ReplyDelete
  10. Good morning everyone.

    Always enjoy Ed's puzzles and this did not disappoint. When I sussed the moving VAN schtick, I thought that was neat. Liked the ABEL clue - different than the usual fare. Grew up with KAPUT. Liked the VEE clue.
    ONEIDA - The only Iroquois tribe that sided with the Colonials during the revolution. (We had Thanksgiving buffet at their Turning Stone Casino. Very elegant.)
    BEAM - Every lighthouse beam is unique for its coast, so a mariner knows exactly which light he/she is seeing. Different beam types include fixed, alternating, flashing, occulting, and the length of time between phases. Many have, say, a red light through part of the arc to warn of hazardous shoals, rocks, etc.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good workout for Wednesday . Names can be trouble spots , like Elba, Abel, and Stover. Had to look up Russel Candies to be sure. Puzzled over mentee a bit but realized a protege would need a mentor so mentee made sense. Didn't catch on to jokes and Joplin till I saw Casablanca actor would be Peter somebody. Finished product looks neat with only one write over, the B at 2 D and 17 A . Always do my crosswords in ink.

    ReplyDelete
  12. FIW, misWAGging the Natick of ELiA x AiEL. My only erasure was emir for OMAN.

    In ten days I'll be in Wildwood, Fl staying about a mile from a Russell STOVER factory. They often get busses coming in for the tour and factory store.

    Isn't "discontinued Saturn model" redundant?

    We have restaurateurs named "Katz" here, Richard and son Rich. Great pizza and Americanized Mexican fare, heavy on seafood. I wonder if they are related to the famous NYC family.

    PK, if I remember correctly, we are still at war with North Korea. Seems to me that there is just a cease fire between the sides. Lets pray that it stays ceased.

    Melissa, I too really enjoyed the psychedelic van that opened your tour. I've owned two vans, including a 1972 VW microbus. I think I've used about every pun in the book, including my favorite, ending in the old punch line "look at Vincent's van go!". Thanks for the write up. And thanks, Ed, for a fun puzzle despite the Natick.

    We finally bust through the freeze barrier today, with highs near 38. To be punished by 6 inches of snow tonight and tomorrow, crippling for this area. The cold snap is predicted to be over on Monday, thank goodness.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Jinx, we were never "at war" with North Korea. Harry Truman called it a "police action." He never asked congress for a formal war declaration.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Melissa Bee, for a fine review.

    Got through the puzzle with a little struggling. Enjoyed it. The theme appeared as I got to the bottom corner at 52A. Then I went back and found them all.

    Liked the word MENTEE. I do not think I have heard it before, but it sounds logical.

    Took me a while to get MANED at 64A. I was trying to think of some technical or latin word for a four legged animal. Thank you perps.

    Never heard of the Manhattan deli KATZ. I am really not a NYC person.

    13 degrees above zero this morning. That's like a heat wave.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ( )

    ReplyDelete
  15. Musings
    -The stacked 10’s were just fabulous window dressing and searching for the theme in those environs didn’t work
    -Twin obscure names EL_A/A_EL made for my first fail of 2018
    -Gotta run to see my “pain doctor”

    ReplyDelete
  16. This week's relative difficulty ratings. See yesterday's post for an explanation of my method. In a nutshell, the higher the ratio & percentage, the higher my solve time was relative to my norm for that day of the week.

    Day, Solve Time, 26-wk Median, Ratio, %, Rating

    Mon 4:06 4:05 1.00 52.4% Medium
    Tue 5:18 4:27 1.19 87.7% Challenging
    Wed 4:21 4:42 0.93 33.0% Easy-Medium

    ReplyDelete
  17. Good Morning:

    This was a pretty straightforward solve with no bumps along the way. I, too, started with Aorta before Atria but that was short-lived. No other w/os or unknowns. Idris Elba is becoming a crossword staple, with Jessica Alba close behind. The revealer was a pleasant Aha which is usually the norm with an Ed Sessa puzzle.

    Thanks, Mr. Ed, for a fun and enjoyable mid-week treat and thanks, Melissa, for guiding us along.

    FLN, Picard, I just looked at your lovely family photos. Has anyone ever mentioned that your brother looks a lot like Sam Waterston?

    No Nigerian windfalls this morning but PayPal is freezing my non-existing account unless I provide my current account information. I was surprised to read that I am a "Dear Beloved Customer". Also surprised to see that we now use Janvier in lieu of January. How trés chic!

    Spitz, your mention of Turning Stone prompts me to ask if you have ever heard whether TS has been adversely affected by the new casino in Schenectady? I've never been to either so I don't know how they compare, but I do know a couple of people who continue to go to TS despite Schenectady being so much closer.

    Ferm, hope Harvey gets better soon for both your sakes.

    PK, judging by the time you posted, either the insomnia is back or you've become an early bird intentionally. (Either reason makes this night owl tired!)

    I miss our daily dose of Dave's (CED) humor.mcome back soon, Mr. Meow! 🐱

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Jinx, that's exactly what I thought when I got to the "discontinued Saturn model". Wait... what?

    Abejo, you should live here... only about 5 miles southeast of you... it's 23 here, 10 more than you have. Get out the deck chairs and croquet sets!

    Nice puzzle today. Filled in from top to bottom without even noticing many of the vertical clues.

    Well, can't sit here all morning; errands errands errands.

    Have a good day, all!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ignore the 'm', just Come back soon!

    ReplyDelete

  20. Ed Sessa always provides a puzzle worth doing and today's was no exception. MB drove the van right through to the solution.

    I have seen Idris Elba in a number of shows and movies. He is a very good actor. An alternate answer for Elba could be ISLA or ISLE.

    The temperature in Central PA started out at 0.5° this morning and is scheduled for a high of 27° before dropping to below zero numbers in the next few days. The bad thing is this is not unique and some areas will see record lows and weather that they have not seen in a long time, if ever. This nasty N'orEaster will bring a lot of misery to many along the entire eastern seaboard. My sister is wintering in North Myrtle Beach and not enjoying it yet.

    Stay warm everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I lost my post when I deleted it to correct a small mistake. I was sure I had copied it, but alas it is gone.
    I found this one easy and fast except for the NW. I thought of BEAV right away because Alan watches all the old sitcoms, but I wrote BEAM in both 1D and 1A. The reveal reminded me to find the V in 19A so I changed the M to V and then remembered the Z in KATZ for VANDALALIZE. TA DA.
    We have a Quiet Man pub here where the men (and women) are not at all quiet, so I never go there. I like pubs and restaurants where you can carry on a conversation at a normal volume.
    On Netflix I enjoyed the movie, Quiet Man, with John Wayne, Maureen O’Hara and Barry Fitzgerald.
    I don’t hear pillar to post these days, but apparently everyone knows what it means.
    We have fought in plenty of undeclared wars, including Korea. Wikipedia: ”An undeclared war is a military conflict between two or more nations without either side issuing a formal declaration of war. The term is sometimes used to include any disagreement or conflict fought about without an official declaration.”
    Fermatprime , I worry about you when you don’t have dinner. I hope things are soon back to normal.
    The deep freeze, ice and snow in the south, even Florida, where they are not prepared for it, is concerning. I am also concerned for you folks in New England where the forecast is for hurricane force winds, deep snow, and bitter cold. I fervently hope your power and heat say on. We will get only a few inches of snow, but the deep freeze continues.

    ReplyDelete
  22. Thanks to Mr. Sessa and Ms. Bee.
    The puzzle, like 92.2% of LA Times puzzles was inventive and enjoyable. Medium - just right for a Wednesday. Although much of the fill was easy some of the VWS and MENTEE, ELBA, ROAM (because of the clue), kept me scratching my head.
    I immediately thought Cygnet Swan for the origami. Slowed me down some.
    My teacher's son invited me (25 years ago) to fold origami with the third or fourth grade class. I thought it would be easy to introduce origami to young children. A simple box. Each fold had to be shown to them personally.Slow going. Like their heads are completely empty and you have to fill them. Teachers deserve more money.
    Van Go was a character in a novel I read by Percival Everett. Mr. Everett penned the novel within a novel with Van Go as a anti-stereotypical cliche of a parody of a hood in a ghetto. Strange novel, but I like strange. I read three of his books. Interesting, but not exactly suspenseful shoot-em-ups.(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasure_(novel))
    Rick

    ReplyDelete
  23. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for the MOVING VAN experience!

    We have two fine actors today, PETER LORRE and Idris ELBA. I finally quit watching Luther because the violence level increased and I can do without that.

    Lighthouse BEAM recalls The Light Between Oceans by Stedman, a really good novel that takes place in Perth, Australia.

    My late DH was stationed near the 38th parallel in Korea where he learned to sleep sitting up and would awaken at the least sound. He warned me to never wake him suddenly. He wasn't armed but he had a powerful arm.

    KATZ's deli is fun to tour.

    Thank you, Melissa Bee. I liked the VAN go-ing.

    Have warm and fuzzy day, everyone! I'll send you some warm thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Greetings!

    Fun "MOVING VAN" puzzle from Ed. Thanks for the expo, melissa bee, especially the "Starry Night Van Go". Correctly wagged the "B" at the crossing of ABEL and ELBA to get the "tada". I have a vague recollection of having seen Idris ELBA in a crossword before.

    Enjoy the day!

    ReplyDelete
  25. Hey you kids, get off my Homeric epics. For the word mentee to make sense, we would need to have the verb ment. If mentor is a verb then a synonym for protege (besides maybe telemachus) would be mentoree. Another way corporate buzzwords have leaked into everyday language. It's not too early in the year for constructors and editors to ban this expression from puzzles.

    ReplyDelete
  26. MJ, you are correct. From a quick scan, it looks as if Idris Elba first came to the LA Times puzzles courtesy of Mary Lou Guizzo:

    Monday, January 25, 2016 Mary Lou Guizzo
    Saturday, Nov 19th, 2016, Erik Agard
    Saturday, May 20th, 2017, Erik Agard
    Saturday, Jul 29th, 2017, Mary Lou Guizzo
    Friday, August 4, 2017, Jeffrey Wechsler
    Friday, December 22, 2017, Paul Cuerdon
    Wednesday, January 3 2018, Ed Sessa

    Northwest Runner, I agree. Definitely a corporate buzzword. Got so tired of hearing it thrown around for skills transfer. Mentor / mentee sounds so much more "corporate" than trainer / trainee.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Irish Miss, I was shocked! SHOCKED!! (Casablanca reference) to hear the Schenectady casino was doing much less business than predicted by the developers. Only so much gambling money to go around.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Who sez the English language always makes sense or is logical? Mentee has been an accepted part of the English language for 50+ years, ever since 1965, I think. It's too late to ban it now that the camel has its nose in the tent. Tutee is also acceptable, but mentoree is not.
    Example: "Learning objectives include designated time with the mentee in fundamentals skills lab, gerontology clinical, and one-on-one periodically throughout the semester."
    from "Peer mentoring in a community college nursing program."
    Our language changes, not according to logic, but according to custom. After much usage new words and forms become accepted and then legitimate. Later the neologisms become common and are vigorously defended by purists.
    Some people say La Brea Tar Pits is wrong because Brea means tar, so the tar tar pits. But, illogical as it is, that is the correct name.
    SEED can mean to remove seeds. My DIL seeds cucumbers before adding them to salads. I like seeded rye bread, caraway seeds added. I dust my furniture to remove dust and dust some pastries by adding confectioners sugar.
    Never a dull moment for the logophile.

    ReplyDelete
  29. D4H4E:
    If you click on my name it will open my biographical information and answer some of your questions.

    I agree with YR about the changing nature of language and though I would dearly love to see "pure" English, it doesn't happen. Usage dominates what lasts in idiomatic expressions.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I loved doing this Ed Sessa puzzle this morning, and was excited to hope I finally got my first whole puzzle without cheating of the new year. Alas, 'twas not to be, although the problem was a small mistake on my part. I put VANDALISM instead of VANDALIZE, guess I didn't catch that I needed the verb and not the noun. And since I didn't know the deli, KATS looked okay to me. But I should have figured out EPEE since it appears in crosswords so regularly. But I still loved this puzzle, watching all the VANs fill in and getting the expectant reveal down below. And I loved that the long answers were all so doable. So, many thanks, Ed Sessa, and you too, Melissa, for the great pics and expo.

    Liked your poems, Owen.

    Sorry to hear about Harv, Fermatprime--hope he feels better soon.

    Fascinating explanation about those lighthouse BEAMs--many thanks, Spitzboov.

    Have a great day, everybody!

    ReplyDelete
  31. Spitz, I was interested in your discussion of lighthouse beams. I have listened to numerous lighthouse talks, but you have added to my lore.

    Some words that were seriously looked down on in the past have become the "pure" English of today. And some words we look down on today, were considered "pure" and absolutely fine, even scholarly, in the past. The more I read about this, the less "pure" I become. It is all relative. For centuries people have decried the debasement of English, only to have later generations accept this supposed debasement as standard and even use it in scholarly works.
    Usage determines what idioms last, and, even more important, what eventually becomes standard English.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Ack! I have been missed!

    I tried to post every day on my phone
    but now I have a whole bunch of notices from google
    saying someone was trying to steal my password...

    (Just as well that you did not see my posts,
    it was just a lot of complaints about technology hates me...)

    FIW! Crossing 2d &17a was a total Natick,
    Idris of luther? You couldn't find an easier clue for Elba?

    12d played over=reran
    (yet play over=rerun)
    (does this feel strange to anyone else?)
    Oh well, just skip the vowel and wait for perps...

    For you Irish Miss!

    I would explaain/complaain but... ($%#@ stuck "a" key...)

    When I saw the reveal, I reaally thought we would have scrambled "van," not just moving van.

    When I was younger, aand could only afford a motorcycle,
    I did a lot of scrambling when it came to moving stuff...

    ReplyDelete
  33. And now purely for puzzling not usage nit picking. Can anyone think of a word other than fiance(e) in which English maintains the male/female e/ee ending?

    ReplyDelete
  34. @Fermatprime
    You live in Northridge CA. Vons delivers groceries.
    VONS
    I can't understand having nothing to eat in your house.
    No frozen dinners, no soup, no canned goods, no pasta, rice, nothing???
    Please stock up on food so that you have something besides those bars.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hand up ELBA/ABEL a Natick, but I did WAG it correctly to FIR. Yes, we have seen this ELBA fairly recently. KATZ also unknown. Thanks, Melissa Bee for the learning moment about BEANO.

    Here are some photos of me right on the 38TH PARALLEL on the border of North and South KOREA

    In one photo you can see me standing next to a South KOREAN soldier in an aggressive stance. We are actually standing in a room inside North KOREA. At any time someone could enter that door behind us and do something nasty. He is there to protect me. Brave guy. Apparently, there have been some scary incidents.

    Yes, technically never at war and technically never at peace. Agree, PK, let's hope we get through the current tensions peacefully.

    D4E4H: Yesterday you asked about a post I made the day before that looked like this:

    There is a big difference between a debt and an investment!

    No, it was not a broken link. I was just trying to emphasize this distinction that is often lost on people. There is a difference between borrowing money to build a high speed rail system vs borrowing money to give tax breaks to people who already have more money than they can ever spend. The former is likely to have a large return on the investment. The latter... Not so likely.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Yellowrocks, you misunderstood. At least you misunderstood me.

    I was agreeing with Northwest Runner about mentor / mentee becoming a corporate buzzword.

    Just as we had to endure sigma (six and lean), paradigm (breaking and shifting), move the needle, wild duck and other buzzwords and phrases ad nauseum. On a daily basis, sometimes for months on end until the new buzzwords started to get thrown around. After hearing certain buzzwords time after time, ya just get tired of hearing them.

    Conference calls, internal newsletters, memos - you couldn't avoid them. They were omnipresent.

    One old boy tried to popularize "That dog won't hunt" but he wasn't high enough on the food chain to have others start babbling it. Plus, it just came across as too-down-home-south to ever become a buzzword phrase. It just didn't sound "corporate- enough" in our culture.

    I agree that words and phrases evolve over time. We should be flexible. For instance, some certain people might rail against "miso soup" and lecture about it, but it is commonly accepted and found as a menu item at restaurants far and wide across this country.

    I guess it all depends on your perspective.

    ReplyDelete
  37. My bad.
    Ed Sessa worked his clever way around me. I misunderstood "Euro pop?" at 30A and settled for something called PORI, hoping to be set straight by Melissa Bee's response. Well, she re-focused me all right, and I realized that my misreading cost me four wrong fills.

    Otherwise, this was a fine Wednesday pzl, with reasonable challenges followed by regular breakthroughs, plus a neat theme, just the kind of Xwd one wants to start the morning.
    No diagonals, but if they were an everyday thing, why would I bother seeking them?

    I'm just coming to the last episode of season 1 of Goliath, and for anyone interested, I am happy to recommend it. It has fine character acting and offers enough twists on the old mystery and courtroom drama formulae to keep it interesting throughout. The series title comes from one episode when the star, Billy Bob Thornton, references the biblical encounter between David and the Philistine giant. But the spirit of the title runs through every episode, in which viewers are treated to non-traditional, disruptive behavior (i.e., David's mismatched size & hurled stones) overturning formal "establishment" legal procedures (Goliath's stature).
    For those curious about our everyday SoCal environment, the series gives an authentic glimpse into borderline sleaze life along the PCH.*

    Looking back over cruciverbal friends' postings, I see I am not alone in just missing a happy Ta- DA! today. Owen, Dudley, Misty and others have registered the same kind of minor mistakes as mine.
    Hm.
    (Sniff, sniff...) Is there something in the air?

    __________________
    * PCH = Pacific Coast Highway

    ReplyDelete
  38. I found this Wednesday solve to be medium difficulty (sanfranman!). Thanks for the fun, Ed and Melissa.

    I smiled when I saw how the VANs MOVed one space to the right from top left side to bottom right. Extra clever!

    I also smiled at ELBA clued other than "Ere I saw . . ".
    We also had Maureen OHARA rather than the usual Gone with the Wind clue.

    My penicillin source would be spelled MoUld but yesterday's Jell-O shapers=MOLDS was fine. I guess I do not consistently use the British version.

    My Noir weapon at 29D started as a Gun and moved to GAT, but GUN was needed for 39D Rev.
    Talc changed to MICA.
    SARA ABEL, KATZ required Perps.

    Daughter was in S.KOREA for two years. I am currently reading The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeon-seo Lee who defected from N. KOREA. Interesting.
    Better than the "My button is bigger than your button" school-yard silliness in the current news.

    Enjoy the day and stay warm!

    ReplyDelete
  39. Cool puzzle. Fun to solve. Some terrific fill! Interesting that BEAV and BEAM cross. Also ABEL and ELBA. Always like an Ed Sessa work.

    ReplyDelete
  40. NW Runner: BLOND/BLONDE, and I'm sure there are others. Pronounced the same, so only different in writing.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Picard FLN
    Please see my post 1-2, 911P

    Mike Sherline FLN 1250A
    Can you see the bigly ocean from home? On which volcano are you up 1000'?

    I-M 942A
    Wrote "I miss our daily dose of Dave's (CED) humor. Come back soon, Mr. Meow! 🐱" Your editor took out the "M." Why is he "Mr. Meow?"

    CED is my mentor so I miss him also. My investigation uncovered the following:

    CED 12-23-17 1048A
    He loved the kitties, and afear'd the unusual Grid. He wished "Happy Birthday to Misty!" with cake, and sand.

    The cake had sparklers on it, but "These legs are "For you Splynter!"

    On 12-25 647P
    He had a cake For Yellowrocks and fermatprime.

    On 12-27 351P
    "Sitting on the beach in Naples Fla, 80 degrees...
    Forgot to bring back up phone battery." This may be the snafu.

    Dave 2

    ReplyDelete
  42. Hi All!

    Back to the balmy (by comparison - Δ 40F for the lows) Houston area from IL. I've played all the puzzles and read everyone but didn't have the gumption to post - ague had me gripped since Monday morn. I'm still not 100% but feel 10x better.

    Thanks Ed for a fun puzzle; the theme was cute and the fill sparkled. Thanks mb for the expo and Van Morrison.

    Hand up for FIW @2dx17a. I guessed ELLA on the former and hadn't a clue about the latter.

    WOs: Gun b/f GAT, MaN SERVANTS
    ESPs: OHARA, OMAN, ONEIDA
    Fav PANTOMIMED. 1) for getting it into a grid and 2) horses [Python]

    Other sparkle: KAPUT, JOKES as clued, cluing @25a

    {C, B+}

    Thanks Spitz for the info on BEAMs. Who'da thunk?
    Fermat - I hope Harv gets better soon

    Yesterday being a travel day, I did get to play WSJ and C.C.'s ornery/disobedient NYT. Thanks C.C.!

    FLN - Thanks TTP for calling out OAS on The Who /The Guess Who; I was gonna hafta post even not feeling well -- esp. after Jinx said "did not know this." :-) OAS - no worries; I've gotten things in my head I find out years later were not right (and likely still have some ready to pop-out and embarrass me :-))

    'Pure' English? That'd be no pun.

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  43. Fun puzzle, Mr. Sessa, and great write-up, Melissa - thanks! Great pic of VanGo!

    Spitzboov, and thank you for the lighthouse beams "codes" - interesting and something I've not heard about before.

    Irish Miss, I always enjoy your continued scam updates.

    Stay warm, everyone. I can't wait to move the plants outside; the hibiscus branches are bent against the ceiling.

    ReplyDelete
  44. billocohoes @ 11:39 ~ I hear you loud and clear. Another example of pie-in-the sky promises.

    CED @ 12:37 ~ Nothing like a Unicorn to brighten my day! The tortoise helped, too! Hurry back, we need some laughs to help us cope with the freezing temps! (Enjoy the Florida sun as long as you can! 🌞)

    ReplyDelete
  45. Rene, Renee. I'm sure the difference would be known only to those who speak French.

    Whoever mentioned the WSJ puzzle, thank you! I found it and was able to print it and I'll solve it later at leisure.

    ReplyDelete
  46. I agree with the others who noted, more or less, that ALL Saturn models are discontinued.

    So....back from Christmas in Connecticut....while I was visiting (I lived there for 50+ years) I had the pleasure of an ice storm, well below freezing weather, and snow.

    So now I’m back in SC and I have an ice storm, below freezing weather, and snow. A lot of it. All in one day.

    Not exactly why I moved here haha.

    ReplyDelete
  47. IM @ 0942 re: trés chic. LMAO.

    RE: Turning Stone. We don't gamble much so I haven't got a bead on whether the casino at Schenectady affects them. Don't recall our local press speaking to that. We go to TS because of the food. BTW, they have some terrific restaurants $$$$$ in addition to their holiday buffets.

    Lighthouse 'BEAMS'. I tried to give a very brief intro. Anyone wanting some more detail could go to WIKI, searching on 'light characteristic'. Dutton's or Bowditch's Navigation should have a chapter on Lighthouses. Specific waterway Pilots should have descriptions on each light or beacon on the waterway. Charts also describe each light characteristic in the chart area.

    ReplyDelete
  48. TTP, our posts crossed in the ether so I did not see yours until you pointed it out. I totally agree. These clichés seem more common in the corporate world. Let's run it up the flagpole and see who salutes. Let's throw it against the wall and see what sticks. Ugh! Not so common in my milieu.
    About miso, I still disagree. I have eaten in plenty of Japanese restaurants, my DIL is Japanese, I have toured in Japan twice. I just looked up menus at local Japanese restaurants. Even under the heading SOUPS, it says miso SOUP, not just miso. It is like calling vegetable soup, vegetable. If soup was in the question, as "What kind of soup would you like?" the answer could be vegetable or miso. But without soup being mentioned you would not out of the blue say I would like some miso or I would like some vegetable. My DIL and I would not say we are cooking miso. This is not a nit, it's a huge distinction. Only people who do not know what miso is would make this rookie mistake.
    A CRANE is the quintessential origami creation. When I taught fifth grade, during several weeks of having a snow covered playground we had to have indoor recess. During my lunch/planning time, 40 fifth graders and I folded 1000 origami cranes to send to the Hiroshima Peace memorial in Japan.
    See the Children’s Monument and click on the story of Sadako.
    Peace Memorial
    Part of my follow-on for my Japanese fellowship was to have my class host each of the other classes in turn. Each of my student paired with a visiting student to teach how to make an origami fish.
    Sadly, after taking years of Japanese language classes I no longer know much Japanese, but I remember the customs.

    ReplyDelete
  49. D4E4H @ 2:10 ~ CED is Mr. Meow (to me, anyway) because he loves kittens and cats and treats us with endless feline-themed links. (Every now and then, I subtly remind him that canines need some recognition, as well.) Hint, hint,; wink, wink!

    TxMs @ 2:31 ~ Today's scam took the cake with that salutation: Dear Beloved Customer and Janvier, 2018!

    Feel better, Anon T.

    Where is Mr. Tin, BTW?

    ReplyDelete
  50. Ol'Man Keith, "sleaze" along the PCH? Surely not!

    ReplyDelete
  51. Anon - T, welcome back. I hope it didn't come across as "calling out" Oas. Just correcting the misunderstanding.

    Yellowrocks, I said "miso soup" not just "miso". Not sure why you are thinking I was saying it should only be miso. I would order miso soup, but like Lemonade pointed out...

    May or may not have a dashi base, correct ? :>)

    ReplyDelete
  52. Sorry, but I have been having a terrible time with anything
    technological lately,

    so this is a test.

    Belated Merry Xmas from the Gordons...

    ReplyDelete
  53. I got a new Ipad mini 4
    which when plugged in showed a pattern like a scottish kilt,
    & then nothing. 1/2 hour of charging lead to a superheated
    Ipad that burned anyone who tried to touch it...

    (returned, and replaced...)

    Got a Roomba,

    well, not really a Roomba, a Hoover rogue 970.
    The Hoover works great, but the APP needed to control it really sucks.
    (how ironic...)
    at 1st it would not work at all,
    Then it did not like the password to my WIFI,
    Then it would not connect to (a server?)
    When I got back a week later I called Hoover
    who said, yes it is their fault & they are trying to fix their server...
    in the meantime it works great on manual,
    but I would love to be able to program it to go where & when i want.

    Then the Blog disconnect glitch happened,
    (I don't exist to Google)
    (Unless I use my home PC)

    Luckily, one of my girls got me the perfect
    Xmas gift to deal with all this frustration.
    Can you tell what it is?

    ReplyDelete
  54. Picard, allowing people to keep money they have earned is neither a debt nor an investment. The problem isn't that taxes are too low, the problem is that government costs too much.

    The top 1% earn almost 20% of the income, and pay almost 40% of federal income tax. The bottom 90% pay a combined 30% of federal income tax. Ever read "Atlas Shrugged"?

    I ignored your rant the first time, but you just had to repeat it and I just had to respond.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Taxes are the price we pay for civilized society.

    ReplyDelete
  56. TTP, I read Lemon's post before. "To someone very familiar with Japanese cooking and eating, miso has more meanings than soup, but to the vast majority of the world miso means the soup because we only see it as soup."
    Not so. My point exactly. You can buy miso in so many grocery stores. It appears more and more in recipes. I believe that the majority of people who go to Japanese restaurants are not such neophytes that they believe that all miso is soup. Looking at the menu would be a clue. It seems to me that most diners there have had multiple experiences. I have never heard of miso soup without the dashi base. Everything is convenience these days. I have seen dashi ingredients packaged in tea bag like pouches to which you only need to add boiling water . I am amazed that the traditional Japanese have taken on convenience in countless ways. My experience in Japan needs updating.
    I used to enjoy cooking Japanese cuisine when sensei and my class came to visit. Since the class has disbanded I seldom do. Although my DIL is very encouraging I never cook Japanese for her, except for miso glazed salmon. I am sure her dishes are more authentic. It is like carrying coals to Newcastle. And Alan has very prosaic tastes.
    I hope we all survive the coming storm, especially the threat of power outages.

    ReplyDelete
  57. Yellowrocks, we are saying the same thing.

    Tonight I am making fajitas.
    Tonight I am making soup.

    Tonight I am making chicken fajitas.
    Tonight I am making miso soup.

    Lemonade pointed out that most people would just call it miso. Most people know what fajitas are. Most people know what soup is. Some people would rail against "Miso soup" thinking it redundant. I'm certain that the are people that can go to a Japanese restaurant and order Miso and they'll get the miso soup. Just as I am certain that there are people that can go El Polo Loco and order fajitas and they'll get chicken fajitas.

    I think D-O is asking us to play nice :>)

    Or is he talking about those that want to hijack the blog ?

    Thanks Jinx. It's not whether I agree or disagree, but this isn't the venue.

    Picard, please keep it off this blog. We all have opinions. Let's keep it to the puzzles and word definition nuances around here.

    ReplyDelete
  58. This picard character seems pretty self absorbed. Everyday he posts his personal pictures in a sad attempt to bring attention to himself. Then, on a few occasions, he ignores the rules of the blog(because they couldn't possibly apply to him) and talka politics. If they don't cause a response, he does it again a day or two later just to make sure people are reading his posts.

    ReplyDelete
  59. It's time to lighten up with some nonsense.

    7D. Willy or Lenny of Manhattan deli fame : KATZ

    This is where a memorable scene is shot in Katz Deli "When Harry met Sally."

    Dave 2

    ReplyDelete
  60. Actually I enjoy Picard's pictures and stories. Just not his politics.

    ReplyDelete
  61. My comment while being quoted accurately, my comment related to the majority of the world. I do not believe most people reading this blog eat at Japanese restaurants or any Asian restaurants, or are familiar with the meanings of miso. That is just my opinion. I also do not believe most people eat Thai food and know you have to be very careful to avoid having the top of your head come off from the spiciness. I also am surprised this has become such a topic of discussion. Yellowrocks, I know very few who have a Japanese d-i-l or who have traveled to Japan. Do you think it is possible your experience has changed your knowledge about miso?

    I think discussion and even disagreement is playing nice; I expressed an opinion which might be wrong. But it was not an opinion on politics, religion or a personal attack on any individual. Those are C.C.'s rules. This is her creation.

    C.C. is really hot, getting multiple publications in all three major crossword venues. Hope she over her flu/cold.

    Speaking of cold it is supposed to be 41 degrees here tonight.



    ReplyDelete
  62. I like a good political discussion as much as the next guy but not at the Corner. If you're keen on getting it off your chest, I'm sure they're lining up at the local pub to hear your opinion, that is as long as you're buyin'.

    Of course, there's taking 'no poli' too far. I think we can safely discuss Nixon or Taft; it's just the last 30 years are "too soon." :-)

    Good to see you back CED - looks like we need the levity.

    Learned of Katz's from The Deli Man. [trailer]

    Well, DW's got the crud now. The girls got their flu shot (though, I read wrong strain) and have been taking care of us with bullion and tea.

    TTP - at my old firm there were a couple of guys who's mantra was "That dog don't hunt." Annoying but not nearly as bad as "grid" computing (a/k/a "cloud"), and, the new one, Digital Transformation (it means automation with a "metrics" dash-boards for management). And the ever-present "synergies" (a/k/a layoffs).

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
  63. TTP: thanks for the come back. However, I have an IMAC and don't exactly know what reboot it means. Would that be turn disconnect from power source then turn it back on?

    IM: Staying up all night for the parade messed up my sleep patterns again. It takes days to "reboot" me. My eating schedule is haywire too. I was going to bed at 2 a.m. and getting up at 10. Today I went to bed at 9:30 a.m. (for the third time) and slept until 4 p.m.

    Picard: why did you go to Korea? Business or vacation. I was surprised to see all the green in Korea. Back during the war all the news reels were on black and white film and there was a lot of war ruination. So I think of Korea as colorless. I have the same mental imprint with the depression: black, white & gray. i was surprised to finally realize the sun shined then and too much, actually. Duh!

    If you have been a news reporter/analyst, it is hard to remember the "political ban". Politics just naturally invade our thinking.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Dave 2, thank you for that hilarious scene; never saw the movie, but that scene has been around and is still funny. Thanks for the mood-lightener.

    ReplyDelete
  65. If you haven't seen When Harry Met Sally, do you know that the woman asking for "whatever she's having" is Rob Reiner's mother?

    I love that scene/movie!

    ReplyDelete
  66. Thanks, Lucina. Reiner's mom "stole" that scene lol! I'll certainly watch WHMS next time it airs on cable.

    Anon-T, never have made it to Kenny & Ziggy's yet, but after watching that clip, I'm hankering for a pastrami sandwich - not good at midnight.

    ReplyDelete
  67. PK @8:46:

    On a Mac, go up to the upper left corner, to the 'Apple' menu, and click on 'Restart' ... so simple even an Irishman like me can do it!

    ReplyDelete
  68. Michael: never had been told what to do with this directive. Maybe why I can't get updates to work. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  69. Hello everyone. You all crack me up! I come to this corner to check my puzzles and try to make sense of answers I don't understand. You all provide much more than that. Love all the wisdom and wit! I am about 2 weeks behind on my puzzles because I like to print alot out at once and do them old school on paper. Since I am so behind I don't know if anyone will see this and I need some clarification on this CW. 26D, VEE? Is this referring to the two letters V in the word vivacious? I was thinking VIM as in 'vim and vigor'that didn't work! Also 30A,euro pop? Pere? I don't get it! Can anyone explain? Thanks, I'm following you��!

    ReplyDelete
  70. Any comment posted after the week of the publication of a puzzle is sent to a moderation folder. Someone will see it eventually.

    26. One of a vivacious pair? : VEE Yes, reference to the two 'V's.

    30. Euro pop? : PERE PÈRE, French for father.

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.