google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday March 13, 2018 Rich Proulx

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Mar 13, 2018

Tuesday March 13, 2018 Rich Proulx

Theme: The measurement in each theme entry is clued by its metric measurement.

 20A. 113-gram sandwich, more or less : QUARTER POUNDER

 24A. About 1.8 meters deep : SIX FEET UNDER

 46A. 37.9-liter topper, roughly : TEN-GALLON HAT
 
 54A. Proceed another 1.6 kilometers or so : GO THE EXTRA MILE

C.C. here. Argyle is sick. I'm going to just put the skeletal entries here. Will fill in more later.

Back now.

Looks like this is a debut from Rich Proulx. Congratulations! He gave us 72-worder today. It's in the themeless territory.

Across:   

1. Kind of guitar : BASS

5. Foul-smelling : FETID. This word looks dirty too.

10. Bouillabaisse, e.g. : STEW

14. Where the Jazz play : UTAH

15. Dodge : EVADE

16. Weighty book : TOME

17A. Signed up, as to vote : REGISTERED. We also have 60A: Double-checked before cutting: REMEASURED.  Often constructors avoid long Across entries for fear solvers will think they're themers, but today the clues make the theme clear.

19. Military group : UNIT. Tiny clue/answer dupe: 35. Mall unit : STORE. Did you go to the Fashion Show Mall last week,  Big Easy?
 
22. Sleeping woe : APNEA

23. Like Oberlin College since it opened in 1833 : CO-ED

31. Watch pocket : FOB

34. Approaches : NEARS

36. Word after New or teen : AGER

38. Hidden drug supply : STASH

40. Big gulp : SWIG

41. Insurance case : CLAIM

43. TV ex-military group led by Hannibal Smith : A TEAM. Only know Mr. T was in it.


45. Mario Bros. console : NES

49. Fatty liver spread : PATE. Have some!



50. Hybrid pack animals : MULES

59. Christmas tree topper's topper : HALO

61. Congregation's "I agree!" : AMEN

62. Geometry calculations : AREAS

63. Track assignment : LANE

64. Arnaz with two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame : DESI. I just learned that Gene Autry had five stars.

65. Toy truck brand : TONKA

66. Old Russian leader : TSAR

Down:

1. Traditional Islamic garment : BURQA

2. Thoroughly delighted in : ATE UP. Nope, Picard, I did nothing special for Chinese Spring Festival. I did treat myself with a bag of Chinese dumplings. As for places in China, I suggest Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xi'an (my hometown), Hangzhou and Tibet.



3. Cosmologist Carl : SAGAN

4. Counties across the pond : SHIRES

5. Lavish party : FETE

6. At any time : EVER

7. Firewood protector : TARP Also 18. Wood finish : STAIN

8. Logical beginning? : IDEO. Ideological.

9. Subtract : DEDUCT

10. They often have class : STUDENTS

11. Softened, as rhetoric : TONED DOWN

12. Kuwaiti leader : EMIR

13. Rainy : WET
 
21. We, to one who says "oui" : NOUS. Just French "we".

25. Ballot markings : Xes

26. Deadly : FATAL

27. Muse for Shelley : ERATO

28. German industrial city : ESSEN

29. Cleveland's lake : ERIE. How long have you been with Amazon, Abejo?

30. Govt. agency rules : REGS

31. Something known to be true : FACT

32. Eye rudely : OGLE. Also 47. Eye rudely : LEER AT

33. Tall, skinny sorts : BEANPOLES. Great fill.

37. Tubular pasta : RIGATONI

39. "So there!" : HAH

42. Course with squares and cubes : MATH

44. What babies create, and vice versa? : MAMAS. I got via crosses.
 
48. Ruckus : TUMULT

51. Turkish coins : LIRAS

52. Kagan of the Supreme Court : ELENA

53. Meal where the 10 Plagues of Egypt are recalled : SEDER

54. Mario Bros., for one : GAME

55. Architect Saarinen : EERO

56. Magneto's enemies : X-MEN

57. Hardwood prized for outdoor furniture : TEAK

58. Tabula __ : RASA

59. Owned : HAD


Updated at 11:15am:
 
Santa was admitted into the Saratoga hospital last night. His friend Jennifer said he was dangerously sick yesterday. He'll be in the hospital for a few days.

Please send him your positive thoughts. Keep him in your prayers.

Thank you! Get well soon, Santa!

C.C.
Argyle our Santa

70 comments:

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Sailed through this one with nary a snag. Well, one. I tried a K in BURQA -- quickly fixed. Thanx, Rich and C.C. Get better, Argyle.

Always thought a FOB was something attached to the watch, as opposed to a watch pocket. I see it can be both.

Taxing day. Back later, maybe.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Pretty much a speed run today.

I guess most of us are of an age to remember the Beach Boys’ “Long Tall Texan”, a none-too-serious song that featured a big, wide horse and a ten-gallon hat.

It’s snowing here, right enough, and it looks like it means it.

Morning C.C. and Argyle, best wishes all around!

Oas said...

Easy first pass FIR this morning . RASA was unknown as was NES but they filled in easily enough.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

I knew RASA, but only from crosswords. I didn't know NOUS (we've had it before, but it didn't stick) and that Magneto was anything other than an electrical generator. I erased NOLA for UTAH (last time I paid attention to the NBA they hadn't yet moved), and SaDER for SEDER.

I've always liked MATH, but if you aren't this Jimmy Buffett song might make you smile.

Thanks to Rich and CC for a fun early-week exercise.

Unknown said...

Nice, clean puzzle to start the day. Thanks, Rich, for the excellent work, and to C.C. for GOing THE EXTRA MILE, as always. Get better soon, Argyle. I used to be a BEANPOLE but, alas, time and good living (bad living??) have taken their toll. Maybe I ATE UP too much STEW and RIGATONI washed down by too many SWIGs of BASS ale? In my defence, I have at least eschewed QUARTERPOUNDERs so, to quote Bill Murray in Caddyshack, "I've got that going for me". Have a great day, all....

Jinx in Norfolk said...

...if you don't, not if you aren't...

Anonymous said...

The FOB is the chain attached to a pocket watch, not the pocket.

HALOS top angels; STARS top Christmas trees.

Most TEN GALLON HATS hold only a gallon or so, hence less than 4 liters.

And there are unknown FACTS.

Today's misspellings:

HAH (HA)
EXES (EX'S)

Lemonade714 said...

So cool we have people to correct all the errors in crossword puzzles. It is sad that we do not have a name and/or email address to thank him/her.

Feel better soon Argyle. Thank you C.C.

The puzzle was fun, and the theme tight. I think the constructor has had two NY Times publications and he mentioned that he is a foodie, which shows with QUARTER POUNDER, STEW, PATE, and RIGATONI for example. And the timely reference to the upcoming Passover meal - the SEDER.

Thank you, Rich.

inanehiker said...

Nice quick solve today once I was in measurements mode.

Get well Argyle, thanks CC for stepping in.
And Congrats to Rich !

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Get well soon, Argyle; You don't want to miss the beauty of the last few days of Winter.

WEES. Quick solve. Theme fill geared to engineers, who have to convert units often. NOUS was HS French. We have ESSEN frequently. No nits. Good job, Rich.

Yellowrocks said...

Fun theme. I especially liked remeasure. The U.S. customary units were remeasured in metric units in the clues.
Thanks for filling in, CC. You are so dedicated. Argyle, feel better.

Anon@7:20. You awaken the teacher in me. You need to do your homework and LIU, before you post. I always do because I don't want to end up with egg on my face.
*FOB has several meanings. BTW, did your auto come with a FOB to unlock the doors?
1. a chain attached to a watch for carrying in a waistcoat or waistband pocket.
2. a small ornament attached to a watch chain.
3. a small pocket for carrying a watch.
4. a tab on a key ring.
*Around here you see far more angels than stars atop Christmas trees. especially in homes. You can buy such pretty ones. I love mine.
*You misread the clue for 10 gallon. It said 37.7 liter topper. Almost 40 liters, not almost 4 liters.
*The dictionary gives EXES as the most common plural of ex
*HAH and it's variant HA are both correct according to the dictionary.
*Anything known to be objectively true is a fact. All things known to be true are facts, but not all facts are known by all people.
It is amazing to me these days that so many people have their own "facts." What has become of objective truth?

Yellowrocks said...

We are not talking about what the hat holds, we are remeasuring the phrase, "ten gallons." The hat does not hold ten gallons, either.

xtulmkr said...

There are known facts and unknown facts. Before stating something as a fact, one should take the time to verify it.

From Dictionary.com:
fob:
noun
1.
a small pocket just below the waistline in trousers for a watch, keys, change, etc.
Compare watch pocket.
2.
a short chain or ribbon, usually with a medallion or similar ornament, attached to a watch and worn hanging from a pocket.
3.
the medallion or ornament itself.

hah:
interjection
1. ha

Been to several of the places recommended by C.C.; Beijing, Guangzhou, and Xi'an.

xtulmkr said...

Jinx in Norfolk: Just wondering, if Jimmy Buffet thought math sucks, what did he use to measure the beats of his music?

oc4beach said...


Nice puzzle. Rich did a nice job converting old saws to metric.

But the metric system isn't what I(we) grew up with. To me it's like driving in England on the left side of the road, it just doesn't feel right. I know the conversions, and even have an app that does the conversions if I want to use it. I mean no offense by my little rant. Just an opinion.

For years I had never heard of Sleep Apnea. Now it and CPAP machines seem to be everywhere, even in my own bedroom. It is showing up in ads and I have seen it on some TV shows. Even though the machine works, it is annoying to wear. I don't like being tethered to the machine. (Rant #2)

Argyle, I hope you get feeling better soon.

I hope this Nor'easter moves on quickly and all of those affected get back to normal soon.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I breezed through this with only one w/o, Avoid/Evade and nary a hiccup. Some fun fill, too, like Beanpoles. As YR pointed out, Remeasure could have been the reveal. I'm not sure if I've ever had a Quarter Pounder or a Big Mac, for that matter. If I did, it was a loooong time ago.

Thanks, Rich for a clever and enjoyable offering and congrats on this debut and thanks, CC, for going to bat for our dear Santa. Get well soon, Santa.

It's snowing but very small flakes; I don't think we're going to get more than a few inches but Dudley may be in for a lot more.

Spitz @ 8:27 ~ I chucked at your optimistic "last few days of winter" comment. Don't count Old Man Winter out yet as he is full of surprises. 😇

YR, Lemonade, and xtulmkr, thank you for putting our pesty pedant in his/her place.

Have a great day.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

xtulmkr, JB writes songs about himself and his experiences, but also the people he has run into or heard about through the coconut telegraph. He hasn't PERSONALLY "...run my share of grass...", but he probably HAS made enough money to buy Miami. My guess is he hasn't pissed any of it away, unless you count his predilection for aircraft and sailboats. He probably loves math, at least the math his accountants perform.

Anyway, I wouldn't expect him to get stuck on stage with "a-one, a-two, a-what's next".

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Rich Proulx, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, C.C., for a fine review.

Get well soon, Argyle. You are missed.

C.C.: I have been with Amazon Fresh since November, 2016. First part-time and have been full time since September of 2017. I work nights, 7 nights out of 14. 5:00 PM to 4:30 AM. We sell groceries. I am in the warehouse. I was hired over the internet. Never talked to a human being about the job. It is a new world. I notice you posed your question by ERIE. You knew I would see it there.

Puzzle was fine. Worked it last night via cruciverb after I got home from being an Election Judge (early voting).

Liked the theme. As opposed to others, I enjoy the metric system and would have no problem if we converted in this country to that. I like how everything interacts, 1 cc of water weights 1 gram, etc.

Liked ERIE at 29D. All the solution from Cleveland really hurt Lake Erie for years. However, it has been cleaned up in Cleveland and the Lake has come back. The Cuyahoga River used to catch on fire, and then flowed into Lake Erie.

I know a lot of people that have sleep APNEA. I had a sleep test once and passed. No Apnea for me, thank goodness.

Anyhow, have to run. Lots to do today and then Early Voting Judge this afternoon and evening.

See you tomorrow. I did the Sunday and Monday crosswords. No time to report in, but I may do that later.

Abejo

( )

SwampCat said...

Lots to like in this easy Tuesday puzzle. Thanks, Rich. I loved 44D , What babies create. Yep, you ain't a MAMA till you have a baby. The theme was fun.

Argyle, get well soon! We need you. Thanks, CC for always coming to our rescue.

I refuse to join the FOB Kerfluffle. Words evolve. Maybe watch pockets came to be called fob pockets because of the fobs attached to ..... oh it gets too complicated. Just chill. The fill was obvious.

CrossEyedDave said...

Get well soon Argyle!

Running early today,
(lost a filling, dentist appt. got to get ready.)

So just posting to keep my pace in the Blog...

Oh, what the heck! As long as I'm here...

The correct way to weight yourself!

CrossEyedDave said...

Oh, what the heckle!

FOB is a freight term
that is short for
Freight On Board
or point of origin.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Give ‘em an inch and they’ll take a kilometer! I hope Argyle is recovering well.
-A teacher for whom I sub actually does GO THE EXTRA MILE
-When I was in 1776 I got to sing, “In foul, FETID, fuming, foggy, filthy Philadelphia”
-The UTAH Jazz started in NOLA where there is Jazz and the LA Lakers started in Minneapolis where…
-My APNEA went from a score of 33 to 8 in two days with my CPAP. Headed for 0
-My FOB which I have replaced twice @ $250 a pop. I now have it on a lanyard
-All you need to know about LANES
-TONKA – from the Sioux word Tanka meaning “big”
-AMEN and Hallelujah are said in our church without much conviction
-A SHIRE Reeve maintained law and order in the shire. Today that word is…
-FACTS are still subject to spin
-An official OGLE/LEER site
-Our new appliances just arrived!

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Hi guys,

Argyle was admitted into the Saratoga hospital last night. His friend Jennifer said he was dangerously sick yesterday. He'll be in the hospital for a few days.

Please send him your positive thoughts. Keep him in your prayers.

SwampCat said...

C.C., thanks for telling us about Argyle. Prayers coming from here.

Misty said...

So sorry to hear about Argyle--thank you for the update, C.C. He'll be in our thoughts and prayers in the next few days.

Had a little trouble in the northwest corner at the beginning and worried that this might be a Tuesday toughie. But it all fell into place very nicely, and the fun theme emerged right away. Many thanks, Rich, and thank you for filling in for our Santa, C.C.

Yellowrocks, many thanks for being our hard-working FACT checker, and you too, xtulmkr (do you have a nickname, by any chance?).

Northern Boy, you do a delightful posting, very enjoyable.

Have a great day, everybody.

Wilbur Charles said...

I feared as much, get well Santa. Thx for pinch-hitting CC, from the land of lakes and once Lakers. And.. the Wyatt Earp of the Shire was the Sherif(f).

Wood(s) finish: 2nd

This went very fast except for the mess I made in SE with REMEMBERED.

The post that never got posted ( I fell asleep) mentioned Creeque Alley coming on Sirius 60s. "Sol and Denny..." .

And naturally followed by Scott MacKenzie's San Francisco

Hi Picard

I'll be back

WC

Lemonade714 said...

I had a bad feeling when Argyle, who never misses a blog, did not appear today. Anyway, all the best thoughts and prayers for Scott for a full a speedy recovery. I was there last year and it all helps to get better.

Lucina said...

Argyle, please get well and soon! I'm sending you prayers and positive thoughts. C.C., thank you for going the EXTRA MILE.

Except for BURKA/BURQA (hi, d-o)this was fun to sashay through as the theme spanners were quickly sussed and filled.

My Christmas tree topper alternates between a star and an angel of which I have a handmade one created by one of my sisters. So to me HALO is appropriate.

As for the metric system, having traveled through many countries that use it, I am quite used to it and most children are now taught to measure in metric.

Thank you and congratulations, Rich!

Have a marvelous day, everyone!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Prayers streaming for Argyle. I wondered if he were ill yesterday with only the bare FACTS expo. Hope you are getting better, dear man!

Thanks for the amusing puzzle, Rich. Had trouble getting a start and the NW was the last to fill. Couldn't come up with BASS/BURQA or anything there the first run through. When I finally tried BUR, wanted a "C" or "K" so that stayed white longer. "Thoroughly delighted in" = ATE IT UP? Meh! Did put the Jazz in UTAH. That's all. TARP & TOME were the only fills on the entire first tier at first run, then slowly began to fill it. Got UNDER only in the first two theme fills, so thought that would continue in the others. Nope. Didn't help that UNDER was part of POUNDER either. When I finally got going, I sailed through the rest.

"Wood finish" = STAIN? Not to me. STAIN is a process before the polyurethane "finish". Goodness knows I've done many miles/kilometers of this in my home and in my son's house. Alas, no more. Enjoyed that.

BEANPOLE: surgeon told my son that Aaron was the thinnest person he'd ever operated on. Made the process easier, but not desirable otherwise. Aaron had to have a trip to the ER for IV's yesterday because of severe dehydration. He'd been unable to retain anything he ate for two days. Parents very worried. They don't know if it was the meds or he caught a "bug".

SwampCat said...

PK, prayers also for Aaron.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Acclimating to a CPAP apparatus takes time but this configuration allows me a lot of freedom with the pivot on top.
-My science teacher told me in 1959 that America will be completely on the metric system within ten years. Not so in USA, Myanmar and Liberia.
-In 42 years of teaching science I ONLY used the metric system and my meds are 20 mg, 200 mg, 12.5 mg and .075 mg

Big Easy said...

Get well soon Argyle.

A rare one today with ZERO unknowns. I have a Chemistry degree and ran a wholesale drug company for many years, so the Metric:English equivalents were like falling off a log. I made the employees learn them because some drug companies used English units and others used metric. One company would list a pint as 473ml, while another would have 480cc or ml. One would list an ounce as 28gm and another 28.4gm. Many Rx liquids are still sold in pints (16oz) but insurance and Medicare must be billed my the ml.

Answer to 19A for C.C.'s question- NO. Big Easy doesn't go on vacation to go shopping-NEVER. That's a 'woman thing'. But I had to walk through the Miracle Mile Shopping Center about 8 times because it is strategically placed between the Planet Hollywood Hotel and their parking garage. But if i wanted to waste even MORE money on more EXPENSIVE things, the 'Shops at Crystal' was directly across the street from our hotel with Tiffany, Prada, Bvlgari, Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Dior and many others. Every major hotel has built their own malls, complete with multiple bars, restaurants, and nightclubs.

Jinx- when the Jazz were in NOLA, a friend worked at a drilling company that bought season tickets directly on the court, next to the players' and coaches' wives. None of the execs ever went, so we went there all the time-FREE. I remember Pete Maravich playing and Elgin Baylor was a coach. You're old enough to remember them.

Dudley said...

OC4Beach from yesterday - it never occurred to me the Chuck Lorre vanity cards might be accumulated in some website. Makes sense, now that you mention it. Have you ever slow-stepped through the opening titles on Big Bang Theory to see all the human achievement milestones? It’s kind of fun...

Spitz is right, of course, engineers have to deal with mix’n’matching of units all the time. It’s possible to come up with some impractical but fun units, of which my favorite has to be “furlongs per fortnight”.

Relatedly: on another blog there is a signature phrase “Americans are slowly inching toward the Metric system”.

IM is right too. Whereas we skated by on the last two storms with minimum impact, today we are getting well and truly whomped with snow. However, the noontime broadcast showed slightly reduced forecast accumulation here, so I guess we’ll wind up with less than a foot. I was in Boston all day yesterday, but made sure to scoot outta there - they’re due for perhaps two feet.

Thanks for the Argyle update, C.C. To Scott himself I send wishes for speedy recovery!

Ol' Man Keith said...

Poor, poor Argyle! That photo is rending! Please get better soon, dear friend!
Thanks for subbing, C.C. - and thanks to Mr. Proulx for a neatly themed pzl.
(I've always wondered how to pronounce Proulx. Is the "x" silent, or the "l"? Is the vowel a diphthong, as in "ow" or "owe," or will a single phoneme "oo," as in "do," do?)

Ta- DA! The only hitch I had was, just like yesterday, some hesitation at the start, not knowing where to go to connect 1A with 1D. But things opened up pretty quickly.

Misty, how was your sleep last night?

____________
Diagonal Report: Same as yesterday, two main diagonals, NW to SE and NE to SW. No sub-diags; no hidden messages.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Speaking of APNEA and CPAP gadgetry, my wife wears the apparatus every night. It has been a godsend - for both of us. Now she can sleep with relative ease, and I needn't wear earplugs to drown her snores. The gadget has completely quelled the audio.

oc4beach writes that APNEA was not widely known until recently, and now it seems to be everywhere. Well, for some (not all) sufferers, it used to be known as snoring.
Snoring can be a stand-alone problem, or - as in our case - it can be symptomatic of a deeper malfunction.

_________
PS. I have to add that the hose makes me think of an elephant trunk, and there are times in the middle of the night when I'll wake up and be, well... a little bit startled.
Just sayin' ...

AnonymousPVX said...

Best wishes to Argyle.

Nice Tuesday puzzle with little issue. BURKA/BURQA was the only markup.

CrossEyedDave said...

Argyle in the hospital?!?!

I must find him the best Argyle get well cake I can find!

Zhouqin (C.C.) Burnikel said...

Thank you, everyone. I just talked with Argyle and told him all your best wishes and Dave's sweet cake. He sounded happy.

oc4beach said...


OMK @1:01pm: It looks like it had to get a fancy name for something to be done about it.

I have a friend who suffers from Narcolepsy which results in him losing consciousness for a few seconds to minutes at odd times (mostly bad times.) during the day.

Best wishes for Argyle's speedy recovery.

Jayce said...

I hope you get better quickly, Argyle.
Thanks for filling in today, C.C.
Fun puzzle. I liked it and liked the theme. BEANPOLE is a cool word. I was called that many times when I was younger (because I was one.)
AGER is not a cool word, and as far as I can tell from researching on the internet (yes, I looked it up) it is not a "word" following "teen." "Teenager" is one word. "New ager" is, however, two words.
I, too, don't "click" with the metric system in daily life. Being an engineer, I certainly use it in my profession, but it has not become at all natural for me to think in terms of it in daily life.
Best wishes to you all, and especially to Argyle.

Anonymous said...

Argyle and Aaron, please get better soon! Try to stay out of hospitals, they have lots of germs in them.

Becky

Irish Miss said...

Scott > Argyle > Santa > Warmest wishes for a speedy recovery. CC, thanks for keeping us informed.

I saw a neighbor (new?) walking the most unusual looking dog earlier today. The dog's body was white, almost sheep-like but his head and tail were dark, if not black. He was about the size of a Standard Poodle, maybe a tad shorter. I'm familiar with lots of breeds but not this one.

I'm still adjusting to the time change.

Picard said...

Oh, my! We need you, Argyle! I was worried when his Monday post was so simple with no images or links. Sending all the best thoughts your way!

CC: Thank you for the China tips! Those dumplings look delicious! In Boston we called those "Peking Ravioli"! DW and I went out for Dim Sum this past weekend. I have a Chinese friend in San Francisco who really knows how to pick them for us, so here we just take our chances.

WEES an easy fun ride today! Loved the clue for NOUS! In physics we use two different metric systems CGS or MKS depending on the context. English, not so much. But I have learned the conversions over the years. Helpful for DW who only knows metric. WEES about FOB and looking it up before commenting! Learning moment!

Here is my article on our recent performance of TURKISH music and sensual/skillful belly dancing.

The lead dancer/choreographer is my friend Cris! Basimah (the ! is part of her name). And another friend Simone was making her debut in the Veil Dance.

Husker Gary: Thanks for explaining the JAZZ origin! Not much JAZZ in Utah!

Plenty of spectacular scenery in UTAH as experienced by DW and me.

Plenty of HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME photos to share another time.

Picard said...

Wilbur Charles: Thanks for the greeting! I am happy someone else remembers Creeque Alley from the Mamas and PAPAS who featured recently!

Here again are the Mamas and PAPAS singing of DENNY and the rest of them!

Learning moment that it is ZAL not SOL!

Yellowrocks said...

Argyle, sorry to hear you are in the hospital. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
PK, Aaron and family, my thoughts and prayers are with you, too. I hope this set back is temporary.
oc4beach, I had a friend at my dinner table who lost consciousness for a minute due to that. She warned us ahead of time and said it happens frequently.
Thankfully the storm fizzled here. There was a coating on the cars and trees, but the roads, even at 7:00 AM, were only wet. The snow was tapering off by 10:00 AM and soon was gone. Our schools opened on time. I am sorry to hear that those east and north of us are having a blizzard. Please check in and let us know you are okay.
CE DAVE, thanks for reminding us of Freight On Board. The reason I find English so fascinating is that there are so many ways to parse it. My native Japanese instructor held that this is not true in her language. We gaigin (non Japanese) students found many anomalies in Japanese which the native speakers do not recognize. I wonder whether some of us Americans are more aware of the anomalies in the English language than others.
Picard, great pics of Bryce Canyon. My favorite. Also love the Mamas and the Papas.

D4E4H in BLACK said...

C.C. Burnikel 136P

Thanks for letting Argyle know we are wishing him recovery that is speedy, and complete.

Today's paraprosdokian: "Smile from year to year!"

This will help Argyle if each of us do smile.  The story behind my saying takes us to the LIA where I volunteered as an "Airport Ambassador" welcoming travelers to Louisville.

In the computer that I used in the booth, I created a sheet of the saying with a font as large as possible on standard paper, repeating it until the page was full.  I copied the page, cut it into strips, and handed them to tired people.  Most grinned, laughed, and thanked me.

WEES for the CW.

Dave

Tinbeni said...

Get well soon Argyle.

C.C. Good job on the write-up.

Rich: Thank you for a FUN Tuesday puzzle. I liked the theme.

zcheers!

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Big Easy - I sure do remember the Maravich days for the Jazz. When he played for his dad at LSU I saw him play in Lexington against my Wildcats. It was a Saturday afternoon game televised nationally, which only happened with one or two games per week. (There was no ESPN, and TV feeds hadn't found their way to satellites, at least not routinely. Remote feeds traveled over telco microwave networks and were very expensive.)

No one could handle Maravich. Adolph Rupp tried several guards to stop him, and several fouled out trying. Finally Rupp assigned his best athlete, center Dan Issel. Dan had a little more success, but Pistol Pete still got more than 50 points. Kentucky still won by 20+ points. One of Rupp's famous quotes was "the best defense is 100 points per game." And his teams got there a lot. It was the days of stopping the clock after every score and every foul (except offensive fouls) was a shooting foul.

Lucina said...

C.C.
Thank you for the update on Argyle. My prayers continue for him.

PK:
Prayers for Aaron, too. I'm sorry to learn of his setback.

Picard:
Gorgeous photos of the dances, orchestra and of Utah! Though it's so close to my state I've not been there so it's still on my list of states to visit.

Bill G said...

I too love Bryce Canyon. It's high enough to be cooler as well as beautiful.

I agree with Jayce (as usual). The metric system is great for science and for the math needed with units in science. But our old customary system seems more intuitive for daily use. Dividing units in half and half again to get smaller units seems more intuitive than dividing into tenths. Both work great for simple daily use depending on which you grew up using.

On my trip to the supermarket this morning, I got some favorite food in honor of St. Patrick's Day. A corned beef brisket, a head of cabbage, some small carrots and some fingerling potatoes. I can't wait...

Best wishes Argyle! I look forward to your guiding hand again.

“Money is like manure; it's not worth a thing unless it's spread around encouraging young things to grow.”

~ Thornton Wilder

Misty said...

Thanks for asking, Ol'Man Keith--I had a good night's sleep without any meds last night. Am praying it will work again tonight because I have an early meeting tomorrow morning.

Thanks for the Santa update, C.C. And I'm so sorry to hear about Aaron's setback. Hope he feels well again soon.

xtulmkr said...

Misty: I've had several nicknames over the years, some less disparaging than others. The moniker I am using here alludes to my former occupation as a tool and die maker.

PK said...

Thanks again for your prayers and kind wishes for Aaron! The good news is he is not having the intense pain in his back. Now if they can just reverse the eating disorder which is related somehow to the scoliosis. They think for the latest problem that he picked up a bug in the waiting room before his surgery.

Picard: Enjoyed the belly dancer pictures, even though my browser wouldn't play the dances. At one time, I had a record and instructions and was learning belly dancing in the privacy of my home in an effort to slim my waist. I'd always had flexibility there. Then I got pregnant for the fourth time (no connection to the dancing) and forgot all about that exercise afterward. I still like to watch a good dancer.

I went to the grocery store today. Person who packed my groceries was coughing while doing so. I was not thrilled.

Anonymous said...

This was a bit crunchy for me. The NW wouldn't fill, the Mid-West was a word here and there, then it started falling into place. Thank you. Rich P., and to C.C. for pinch-hitting.

Positive thoughts going out to Argyle and Aaron. May you recover quickly.

Have a nice evening.

Picard said...

Tabula RASA is all about the idea of nature vs nurture. Are we born as a "blank slate" (Tabula RASA) or do we inherit qualities for good or for bad?

Yellowrocks: Glad you enjoyed my Bryce Canyon UTAH photos! Glad it is also your favorite place! Tied with it is Arches in UTAH. Have you been there? And glad you are also a Mamas and Papas fan.

Lucina: Glad you enjoyed the UTAH photos and Middle East music and dance. Yes, you must go to UTAH! So much spectacular beauty!

PK: Glad you enjoyed the belly dance photos!
The videos are the best, but here are some stills I captured from the Grand Finale video!

I got to be friends with Cris! Basimah through photographing her and she really plays into my camera! I am very much honored!

Jinx: Thanks for the Jimmy Buffet MATH song. I am a MATH guy, too, but it is a fun song!

xtulmkr: Many of us can do MATH without needing to do it consciously. Many musicians can feel the beat directly.

Wilbur Charles said...

Picard, I meant to ask you, why did they name it "Creeque Alley".

There was a special on Pete Maravich I was watching last night . It was interesting that his last stop was the Boston Celtics, a team with the opposite philosophy of having a big scoring star.

Of course then came Larry Bird .

I was a devotee of college b-ball in the seventies. Pre-cable . One of the big events was an ACC game prior to the Sunday afternoon Superbowl game.

WC

Picard said...

Wilbur Charles: Thanks for asking! I looked it up when I posted it and found this explanation on Wikipedia which explains some otherwise odd lyrics:

The title of the song, which does not occur in the lyrics, is derived from Creque or Crequi (pronounced "creaky"[3]) Alley,[4] home to a club in the Virgin Islands where John and Michelle Phillips' original group, the New Journeymen, spent time on vacation.[5]

The lyric "Greasin' on American Express cards" harks back to that time, during which they could only make ends meet by using their American Express cards,[6] and the lyric "Duffy's good vibrations, and our imaginations, can't go on indefinitely" refers to Hugh Duffy, the owner of the club on Creeque Alley. Duffy later owned Chez Shack in Vieques, Puerto Rico.[7]

Lemonade714 said...

What a nice bunch of people pulling together for health for Scott, Aaron and all of us. Thank you again for stopping by Rebecca.

CanadianEh! said...

Just lurking tonight as I have been AWOL due to a busy week.
Thoughts and prayers for Argyle (and continued for Aaron).

This Canadian knows Metric. I must find time to solve this CW!

CanadianEh! said...

Well that was quick (perhaps I had seen a few of the answers in my lurk). Thanks Rich and C.C.

WEES by this hour. I did note OGLE and LEER AT.
I was reminded of the adage, "Measure twice, cut once" with REMEASURE.

Lucina said...

Watching Jeopardy! tonight, MENSA appeared as the Latin word for table. What an interesting coincidence after yesterday's discussion!

PK said...

You can't tell me Big Brother ain't watchin'. I just went to YouTube and displayed on my usually seen grid is a "Belly Dance to trim your Waist" video that I have never seen before. Spooky!

Now if they would just provide a tutorial on how to get my email unlocked....

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

With no one but me at home, I started a passion project and I'm just now coming up for air.

Thanks Craig and Argyle and everyone who posted yesterday: {B,B-,(A)} {Cute}. WEES w/ AHAs b/f OHOS. Yes Lucina - funny today re: Mensa.

Thank's Rich for today's puzzle. Thanks C.C. for stepping in for Argyle (and for the updates - I'll leave you to be the conduit of info and leave him alone).

And Scott - Get you're butt out of that hospital and back to your post!
//AKA: Get well soon friend

YR sorry to hear about Aaron's set-back.

Only WO today was SEDaR. I know my metrics - it was all we used in EE. It was weird taking Thermo or Mech - WTF is a BTU?!? :-). I'd convert everything to metric, do the math, and then back to US. It was so much easier in SI.

Thanks CED for all the fun links. I enjoyed everyone's comments. Bill G - nice QOD.

This break is over - I had a huge breakthrough in a gnarly issue in some code-syntax. I'm writing this project as I learn a new language... back at it. #HackThePlanet

Y'all have a great night.

Cheers, -T

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to Rich and C.!

Well wishes for Santa and Aaron!

Cute theme! No problems,

More rain here!

Hope to see you all tomorrow!

Dudley said...

Puzzlers, it saddens me to report that the whole of humankind has lost one of the greatest minds, that of Stephen Hawking.

Anonymous T said...

Dudley - Sadness. It was amazing that he could live so long as he did and keep working. RIP Hawking. -T

Lucina said...

R.I.P. Stephen Hawking. He defied all expectations for his longevity.

Yellowrocks said...

Anon T, thanks for asking. Alan is fine. We are sending healing thoughts to PK's grandson, Aaron.
I would be in favor of changing to the metric system. It so much easier to work with. After a few months we would be thinking in metric. It would become intuitive.
I have been waking around 3 or4 AM every morning and not being able to get back to sleep for two hours or so.

Michael said...

I've been watching Norwegian train videos -- quite calming to view miles and kilometers of snow-covered land [that I don't have to shovel!] -- but when the posted speed limit for the train is 110 kph, the number simply does not render easily into our mph system. If I were running the train, an accident could easily happen before I could translate that into 68 mph.

Lemonade714 said...

RIP Stephen Hawking- time to step up Sheldon!