google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, April 13, 2018, David Alfred Bywaters

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Apr 13, 2018

Friday, April 13, 2018, David Alfred Bywaters

Title: Better dead than red.

David returns for his third 2018 Friday. and his 5th overall. I still know very little about the man other than he loves obscure Victorian novels and creating crosswords, even though he has stopped by several times. His website DAVID ALFRED BYWATERS has new puzzle and new book every Saturday. Oh, and his great-grandmother loved puzzles and took a good picture. The idea is simple-  the three letter word RED is added to a two part phrase.  There is a sound change for each vowel preceding the RED, but thetheme clues, are  all fun mental pictures.   The reveal is a bit tricky as you have to see the RED infiltrating the words. Most of the fill was in my wheelhouse, but SAHM sounded like the number three in Thai. There really some fun ones, like YO HO HO, BASS CLEF, and IN A PIE. Anyway, on with the show.

24A. State of mind induced by monotonous music?: SONIC BOREDOM (12). SONIC BOOM gets repurposed.

32A. BBQ item with a char?: SEARED DOG (9). SEA DOG becomes burned hot dog.

43A. Object of trout-fishing veneration?: SACRED FLY (9). SAC FLY (the baseball abbreviation for sacrifice fly) gets reeled in as a fisherperson.

49A. Aversion to rodeo performers?: COWBOY HATRED (12). COWBOY HAT get chased away.

And the reveal-
63A. Post-WWII fear of infiltration apparently confirmed by four puzzle answers: RED SCARE (8).

Across:

1. Grooming tool: COMB. 

5. Put two and two together: ADD.

8. Attentive to the schedule: PROMPT.

14. Pentagon measure: AREA. Not the Pentagon, but a pentagon.

15. Basic substance: LYE.

16. Rum accompaniment?: YO HO HO If you have been to Disney World, this was a gimme.
We also have 34D. Three-note refrain: EI EI O. 

17. Staff symbol: BASS CLEF.

19. Handled vessel: TEAPOT.

20. Ease, as thirst: SLAKE. If you drink your tea, you often will say 21A. Cry of one whose thirst is eased: AAH. Contiguous clecho.

23. Artist Magritte: RENE. The Belgian surrealist.

28. Sphere: ORB.

31. Bring into harmony: ATTUNE. Simply AT + TUNE.

35. Left-hand page: VERSO.

40. Croatia neighbor: SERBIA.

41. Toe problem: BUNION. I will refrain from posting any pictures.

42. The Beatles' "All My Loving," e.g.: OLDIE.



46. Where some nursery rhyme baking occurs: IN A PIE.
Four and twenty blackbirds. Baked in a pie. When the pie was opened. The birds began to sing—. Wasn't that a dainty dish. To set before the king? The king was in the counting-house. Counting out his money,. The queen was in the parlor. Eating bread and honey,. The maid was in the garden. Hanging out the clothes.

48. Deceive: FOX. This took a while.

55. Multicolored gem: OPAL. Probabaly the gem that appears most often in CW puzzles, and  CSO to Kazie.

56. Kvbrick opvs?: MMI. If you studied Latin for 6or 7 years, this jumped out as the Roman "v" is our modern "U" making the clue 'Kubrick opus.' MMI = 2001 (a space odessey).

57. Takes a nap, say: RESTS. Some straight forward clue/fill. 68A. Was aware of: KNEW. 71A. Recognizes: SEES.

61. Make over: REVAMP.

66. Get all wet: DRENCH. 67A. Rower: OAR.And 64D. Listener: EAR all mislead with simplicity.

69. Big Apple Theater District restaurant: SARDIS. The food was never that good but the atmosphere was fun and it was always fun after the theater.

70. Cook, in a way: FRY. Can you think of a different three letter alternative?

Down:

1. Wine choices: CABS. Cabarnet.

2. Spoken: ORAL

3. Tableland: MESA. A CSO to Lucy and our other desert contributors.

4. Revels (in), as praise: BASKS in the glory.

5. The lot (of): ALL.

6. Henna, e.g.: DYE.

7. In actuality: DE FACTO. More Latin.

8. Big name in British comedy: PYTHON. Did you ever wonder WHY?

9. Beluga yield: ROE. Fish eggs.

10. United hub: O'HARE.

11. Island vacation ride: MOPED. Last time I drove one in the Bahamas I hit a wall; vision has been an issue for a while.

12. Amplifier switch: PHONO. Tape, CD.

13. Tribal symbol: TOTEM. An Eastern European Navajo, might be known as Totem Pole?

18. Board boss: CEOChief Executive Officer.

22. "Snug as __ ... ": A BUG in a rug.

25. Uno menos uno, to Unamuno: NADA. One minus one equal nothing in Spanish. The Friday element is the use of this educator, philosopher, and author, LINK, who I did not know.

26. "__ be a pleasure": IT'D

27. Variety show: REVUE

28. __ buco: OSSO. We recently had a reference to GIADA DE LAURENTIS.

29. Rod attachment: REEL. Sounds fishy to me.

30. Homer, e.g.: BARD. No Friday love for Will?

33. Batter's stat: RBI.  Runs Batted In.

36. Close: END

37. Jazz phrase: RIFF. I know it more from guitars but it is a short repeated phrase in popular music and jazz, typically used as an introduction or refrain in a song.

38. Concerto cadenza, e.g.: SOLO. A cadenza is a virtuoso solo passage inserted into a movement in a concerto or other work, typically near the end.

39D. Banded stone: ONYX

41. Uncle Remus title: BRER

43. Doug of the Sir Douglas Quintet with the hit "She's About a Mover": SAHM
I have never hear of the IMPORTANT singer musician.

44. Two: A PAIR OF.

45. Op. __: CIT. This is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase opere citato, meaning "in the work cited." It is used in an endnote or footnote to refer the reader to a previously cited work, standing in for repetition of the full title of the work

47. Mythological maidens: NYMPHS.

49. Electrical connections: CORDS.

50. Monteverdi work: OPERA. More music. You know HIM?

51. Go back and forth: WAVER.

52. Flavorless: BLAND.

53. Med. treatment areas: ERS. Emergency Rooms.

54. Card groups: DECKS.

58. Sound: SANE.

59. Shoe insert: TREE. Foot fits as well.

60. Follows a pattern, perhaps: SEWS. Another example of a simple but misleading clue.

62. 2006 Verizon acquisition: MCI. A nice fake out as this is not a Roman Numeral.

65. Arid: DRY.

This is a puzzle might have pleased JzB the most as it so full of music. It was fun for me, but I do not have any Monteverdi stories. I guess I cannot get all the way through a Friday the 13th without  any mention of that dubious day. In case anyone wondered, I do not own a hockey mask. Maybe David does. Lemonade out.

53 comments:

OwenKL said...

Derelict by Young E. Allisonbetter known as "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest"

Fifteen men in RED blood dressed,
A bottle of rum and a YO HO HO!
Chests of gold into doubloons pressed,
They'll spend no more, no mo' ho ho!

No boat was launched with OAR in check
Tars driven mad by gold ho ho!
No soul remained on the gore-DRENCHED DECK
Only gulls cry yo ho ho!

The SEA-DOG crew are laid to REST
Over the rail, ye heave ho ho ho
The ocean's bosom they loved the best,
No wenches now they'll KNOW ho ho!

~/~

One man in red surveys the wreck
He laughs at it all, ho ho ho ho!
He'll salvage gold for his elves paychecks,
Skimming WAVES in a sleigh shouting ho ho ho!

fermatprime said...

Greetings!

Thanks to David and Lemonade!

Fun puzzle. No problems except for SAHM. Had trouble piecing together the upper right corner.

Have a great day!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

What Fermat said. Sahm was the only speed bump in a smooth road.

D O from yesterday - hand up for not knowing the serif g. How did a researcher figure out that cultural weakness?

JzB from yesterday - I see, evidently the quarterback is the main beneficiary of the softer ball. Do we therefore suppose the QB arranged for it? How would such a thing get discovered in a game? Is a soft ball either helpful or harmful to any other player along the way?

Big Easy said...

Well I never studied Latin for 6-7 years (zero would be it), so the "Kvbrick opvs" crossing the singer of the One Hit Wonder by the Sir Douglas Quintet - MMI & SAHM- was the Achilles heel today. Left it blank.

But the RED was an easy spot for the themes, and the rest of the puzzle was easy. Only changed GTE to MCI and Op ART to "Op. CIT", not noticing the '.' on the first go around.

FOX for 'Deceive'- all perps

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

We had a blizzard this morning -- lotsa Wite-Out. Started right off with REDS crossing RAKE, and so it went. ON TIME was PROMPTly replaced. REVISE/REVAMP, SPLASH/DRENCH. But I got 'er done. Yay! Thanx, DAB and Lemonade.

Monteverdi -- Sounds like a bluegrass outfit. It'd be Monteverdi and the Green Mountain Boys.

PHONO -- You've gotta look long and hard to find a stereo amplifier with a PHONO input today. If you find one it's either a) obsolete or b) more than $500.

I'm probably one of three people still alive who remembers She's About A Mover.. The other two are DAB and Doug Sahm.

Yellowrocks said...

Fairly easy for a Friday, except for the M in SAHM and MMI. I knew the clue meant Kubrick Opus and so was looking for a Roman numeral, but SAHM seemed wrong and I didn't know MMI. I can't find any reference to it. Can anyone expand on MMI?
I was thinking HO HO HO instead of YO HO HO, which made PYTHON hard. Duh!
Alan has been doing extremely well these last months with only little temporary glitches here and there. He was great on Wednesday right up until 3PM. By 4PM his old malady returned, anxiety, depression, extreme fatigue, among other things. Such a sudden turn around. We had been decreasing his meds successfully and I though he was stabilized after one month at this last level. Yesterday the doctor increased his meds and suggested this episode should be temporary. I hope so.
I made an appointment with my orthopedist and will ask for PT and massage.
It looks like we should have spring at last this weekend. Above normal temps are expected. The forsythia is finally coming out, the daffodils are blooming, a few deciduous trees are getting little red flowers. No sign of cherry tree buds here as yet, but the Bound Brook Chery Blossom Festival, not far away, finally got full bloom just in time.

D4E4H in BLACK said...

Oh what a beautiful morning on the Corner!

Thank you Mr. David Alfred Bywaters for this CW that was mixed between Easy Peasy, and next to impossible.  I had to BAV twice, first at the Natick of 56A  MMI, and 43D SAHM, and then in the NE cell at 8A/8D.  Most of that cell was white till I took that leap of face.

Thanks Lemonade for your informative review.

Ðave

Lemonade714 said...

MMI = 2001 A SPACE ODYSSEY

Yellowrocks said...

Thanks, Lemonade, another V-8 can moment.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

My puzzle was on a recto page today. Nifty theme but I had to come here to read about it. Thanx, Lemon. Got the u-v shift with Kubrick, but didn't make the connection with MMI. That and not knowing SAHM and CIT, made that a Natick AREA. But it's Friday.
TOTEM - Watching a Tony Fleming film on You Tube the other night, he said that the the Haida who lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands (now Haida Gwaii) would never destroy a TOTEM that had fallen due to age or whatever, but it would be left where it was to gradually return to nature.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Feeling better; thanks for the good wishes. I think lots of people have this right now. It's sort of non-specific blahs. Nothing serious. I did take a long nap yesterday. Thought of Wik Wak. Belated birthday wishes. I hope your celebration included more than a long nap.

Thanks, David, for a solid puzzle. I struggled with my addled brain, but your construction was a sound Firday challenge. My fave was MMI, but I didn't see the v's in the clue until my second pass. Lots of V-8 cans flying around the Corner lately. I wanted crus for CABS. I don't partake of sweet drinks, except for classic Old Fashioneds, so I struggled with rum. I started with Kaluha. (No laughing, Tinbeni!) Nicely done with YO HO HO!

Great run-through, Lemonade! Thanks for letting me know how the reveal worked. Duh--once again for me. You outdid yourself today with excellent links. Nice!

Yes, there are signs of Spring here, but more snow is in the forecast. My bowl of petunias on the patio is recovering nicely. Yay! They are very hardy little gals.

Have a very sunny day wherever you are and regardless of the what the weatherman says.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

For a Friday, this was on the easy side except for the MMI-Sahm crossing. I wrote in Sahl at first, thinking, at least Sahl is a name I've heard of but crosses nixed that notion. I did get the tada but only by wagging that pesky M. My only w/o was On Time/Prompt. (Hi, DO) My favorite was fill was Yo Ho Ho, which brought a chuckle. I saw the RED gimmick but I think the reveal is a bit of a stretch, although Lemony's interpretation is acceptable, I guess.

Thanks, DAB, for a smooth Friday (Sahm excepted) solve and thanks, Lemony, for the sparkling summary and visuals.

WikWak, a very Happy Burthday, belatedly. 🎂🎁🎉🎈🍾

YR, I hope this setback with Alan is short lived. Good luck with the PT.

Madame DeFarge, glad you're feeling better.

Argyle, all the best wishes. Hope to hear from you soon!

The less said about our current and future weather forecasts, the better.

Have a great day.

Bill G said...

Hi everybody. I enjoyed that, both the fun theme and some of the clever clues. Thanks Mr. Bywaters and Lemon.

Several of you referred to the helpful V-8 can. Do any of you actually drink the stuff? I do, about half a can a day. I like it but as you can tell from most of my posts, it really doesn't help me to avoid my periodic lapses into stupidity.

Picard said...

Argh! Hand up with Irish Miss I put SAHL. I took two years of Latin, so I got that it was a Roman number. The Roman numeral had to be I, V, X, L, C, D or M. I could not figure out what was special about MLI=1051 but I left it that way. Too bad, as it was a clever clue!

Otherwise I found it a surprisingly smooth ride for a Friday. And I got the theme quickly. The RED SCARE ruined the lives of a lot of good people. And it led to overthrowing progressive governments like the one in Iran in the 1950s. We are dealing with the "blowback" (unforeseen consequences) of those bad decisions today. Apologies if this history is too political.

Here we were at the MESAs of Sedona, Arizona on Sunday this week!

I never get tired of those views! Lucky Lucina you live there! I also have photos of some RENE MAGRITTE paintings in Chicago. Maybe later. Gotta run!

Lucina said...

Finishing the top lulled me into complacency until I hit SAHM, a total unknown. Like IM, SAHL was familiar and had to research RIFF to finish that AREA. Thank you for explaining MMI, Lemonade.

I know VERSO and ONYX but FOX by itself seems like a stretch. Outfox, yes.

As for the theme, I saw SONIC BOOM, SEA DOG, RED FLY, COWBOY HAT and wondered what was the connection. Oh, RED!

Thank you, again, Lemonade; you always enlighten me with your thorough analysis.

Thanks to David A.B. for the fun today.

Have a fabulous day, everyone! I am sending beams and beams of warm sunshine your way.

JJM said...

Easy Friday Puzzle. I got the Stanley Kubrick clue almost immediately. I suppose 5 years of Latin and 1 year of Greek helps. BTW, my favorite Kubrick movie (and there are some really quality ones) has to be "Full Metal Jacket".

surfersrule said...

Sahm was a gimme as I just watched the documentary on him a couple days ago. Also, saw him perform several times in Austin during the '90s....unfortunately, Doug died in his sleep in a motel room in NM circa 1998.

WikWak said...

WEES about the south side being the slowdown. Also about knowing the last name of "Sir Douglas"; I recalled the song right away. D-O, who's the third guy? [grins]

Thanks for the birthday wishes. It was a very nice day, capped by dinner with good friends. We did get a surprise when we got to the restaurant and saw the flashing lights of several police cars near the entrance. As it turned out, Lombard police were shadowing the wait staff inside; helping deliver meals, bussing tables, refilling drinks, etc. It was "tip a cop" night and all tip money collected went to the Special Olympics. Very nice to see, and lots of fun inside, where the police nearly outnumbered the staff. They were all in uniform; no guns but I noticed that they did all have tasers. Best moment: when one of the officers dropped a stack of plates and got a round of applause.

Today is as gloomy as yesterday was sunny and warm. Must be April.

Have a great day, all.

Misty said...

Woohoo! Woohoo! I got a perfect Friday puzzle--many thanks, David--and I loved the theme and found all the REDs right away. This is one of the best puzzle weeks I've had in a long time, and it feels great. (Tomorrow's Saturday will halt that, but no problem). I also loved the variety of clues and especially all the allusions to children's verses and rhymes. And even though math is not my strong point, I got MMI 2001 with that clever Kubrick clue (I remember the movie). Fun write-up, Lemonade, and thanks again, David, for a great Friday treat. (Totally wiped out any Friday the 13th gloom).

Hope Alan recovers quickly, Yellowrocks, and so glad you're feeling better again, Madame Degarge.

Nice to hear about all the sunshine and spring flowers coming up

Have a great end of the week, everybody!

AnonymousPVX said...

I was happy to get the solve, I thought the clueing rather tricky.

Misty....sometime the thought of the Saturday puzzle psychs one out before you even start. Stay positive!

D4E4H in BLACK said...

63A Post-WWII fear of infiltration apparently confirmed by four puzzle answers : RED SCARE

 - - At the risk of violating the political no no, could the nation be in another "Red Scare?"

43D Doug SAHM was a country music artist before he formed the "Sirs."  His first song was "A Real American Joe"  which I am unable to hear on the 'puter I'm using.  Here is the URL.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=%22a+real+american+joe%22&view=detail&mid=98E1F955B3B6BE0C09A998E1F955B3B6BE0C09A9&FORM=VIRE

Ðave

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

DNF/FIW as I Natick'd the SAHM/MMI x-ing, as well as the FLY/RIFF/SOLO/FOX, in the "Outer Banks". Started out, seemingly easy, and I got all the "REDs". Nice puzzle D.A.B., but too many proper names. Great recap, L714

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the surgery that's kept me CF, touch wood. I count my blessings each and every day. Thank you, Dr Kaouk and your marvelous team.

To the plagiarist checker from yesterday: yes, I knew that was an old "saw". When you re-read my comment, I used it as an example/hypothetical; I never claimed it as mine. And for that matter, nearly every pun has been copied or re-written slightly, over the years ...

So, speaking of puns and today's puzzle, here's a couple Moe-kus for you to fathom:

Mom wouldn't let teen
Ride a Harley. So you know,
He probably MOPED.

Giant lumberjack
Had bony spur, near big toe.
Was that Paul's BUNION?

Yellowrocks said...

Bill G, I am a fan of V-8 juice, but I would prefer not to have V-8 can moments. That saying was here when I came aboard almost 8 years ago, so I was not in on it's origin. It always brings this picture to mind of someone drinking a small can of V-8 while solving the puzzle. When the solver comes upon a "DUH! I should have known that" moment he raises his fist to his forehead in frustration, clunking it with the can.
I liked the Moe-kus.
I was chagrinned not to think of the movie, 2001, and to take so long to change HO HO HO to Yo HO HO.
There was talk on the blog this week of Japanese SENRYU poetry. I find this article interesting. PS, there are also humorous senryu. I am not as much a purest about senryu as I am about haiku.
senryu

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Like Big Easy (and others), I didn't know SAH_ x M_I. Unlike BE, that lack of knowledge didn't keep me from WAGging "L". Good Friday clue, DAB. Gettable, but one has to know opus ---->odyssey. Thanks both to DAB and Lemonade for a fun Friday outing. I should have FIR.

I knew that the VZ acquisition wasn't GTE because that one was circa 2000. I still have the scars.

D-O, I know what a phono jack is, but haven't ever seen a phono SWITCH. I remember She's About a Mover, but don't think I ever knew who performed it.

I thought uno menos uno was cero, not nada. En ingles, one minus one doesn't equal nothing, it equals zero. The concept of zero was a giant leap forward in mathematics.

Picard, I'm told that the glass skyways on some skyscrapers have electronics embedded in them that make it appear to pedestrians that the glass is cracking. Apparently it is very scary even if you've been tipped off that its going to happen.

I read in the paper today that police have recovered a stolen painting by our old crossword friend Marc Chagall.

desper-otto said...

Jinx, I think the puzzle creator was referring to an input selector switch -- Tuner, Tape, Aux, Phono, etc. All analog inputs are usually made via phono (RCA) jacks. But to have a Phono input, the amp must have a built-in RIAA phono preamplifier. Vinyl LPs have become a rarity, so most amp manufacturers no longer include a phono preamp.

WikWak@11:39, Jinx is that third guy. [grins]

Husker Gary said...

Subbing swamped me today and so I just got this wonderful puzzle done.

Lemonade714 said...

in Black here is a Doug Sahm VERSION OF A REAL AMERICAN JOE that I like.

Lemonade714 said...

The V-8 can moment is the dual realization that you now understand the answer and that you should have understood immediately. You made a poor choice - you could have had a V-8.

CrossEyedDave said...

DNF...

Too many failures to list, other than my Bunion was Fungus...

Never been to Sardi's,
My guess would have been The Palm Restaurant. Used to be an Annual event, Dine at the Palm, see a play.


Not sure how to make silly with this theme...
Except, I always shake my feet off getting out of the shower
so the next person does not have to step on a wet mat.
However, when DW goes 1st, I am always stepping onto a wet mat!
Hmm, maybe this theme can be useful after all.

A mat that turns red when wet!

HeHe, Red Scare! Oh this prank would get some giggles during the divorce proceedings...

Jinx in Norfolk said...

D-O, thanks. Now I remember. Or you could use an external preamp with a 1.5V output and plug it into any input.

Jayce said...

I enjoyed this puzzle. Hand up for figuring out MMI but not knowing SAHM. As usual I overthought the theme: having the S in SONIC and having SACRED and SEARED, I thought the theme was based on some sort of S--RED letter substitution. Learning here what the real theme is, I appreciate it much more. My only nit is that IN A PIE is not where the baking occurs; an oven or equivalent is where the PIE and all that is IN it are baked. I love that RUM-YOHOHO accompaniment.

I believe ATTUNE is actually one word.

What else besides thirst (and curiosity, which is a kind of thirst) is SLAKED?

I agree with Jinx's comment about NADA vs cero. I also agree that PHONO is not a switch; it is an input or option that can be selected by a switch.

Anyway, enough nit picking.

I also like V8 juice, but drink minimal amounts of it because of the large amounts of sodium (salt) in it.

Best wishes to you all.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta- DA!
Another one from Mr. Bywaters that seems impossible, but yields to steady, concentrated attention.
This was thoroughly enjoyable throughout. Only the NE corner resisted for a time, but once I realized that 8D PYTHON was the name of a group rather than an individual, the path was clear.
I just viewed Kubrick's 2001: a Space Odyssey again, so MMI was fresh in mind.


____________
Diagonal Report: Nothing to report For the second time in memory there are no diagonals.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi gang -

I did, indeed, enjoy this puzzle, though I don't love OPERA and the Sir Douglas Quintet is a total unknown. I live in BASS CLEF, with occasional uncomfortable excursions into TENOR CLEF.

I'm still a bit baffled by RED SCARE. Yes, RED is infiltrated into the theme fill, but how does that relate to a SCARE?

Other than that, the theme entries are amusing.

Nicely done.

Happy weekend, everyone.

Cool regards!
JzB

Yellowrocks said...

Lemonade, I remember the V-8 commercial. You were there and obviously know the history. I have had my image for 8-years. It will not leave me and somehow I prefer it. V-8 low sodium has 95 mg sodium. FDA recommends between 1500 and 2300 (at the upper limits) units per day.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Jayce,
I almost agree with you regarding IN A PIE. That gave me pause too. But when you think about it (and there are some clues that really ask us to think about it), the reference is to the unnamed blackbirds being baked, and only secondarily to the PIE itself.

There were a lot of them: "Four and twenty" in fact.
And where were they baked?
IN A ...

Misty said...

Good question, Jazzb. Well, I guess a SONIC BOOM might SCARE us a lot. A SEA DOG probably not so much. A SAC FLY, maybe a little. But a COWBOY HAT--surely not (and don't call me Shirley).

No tomato Juice for Me said...



V8 Moments

Lucina said...

My immediate response to "uno menos uno" was also CERO but then I saw it wouldn't work and opted for NADA which, I guess, can be an equivalent to zero.

Thank you, Lemonade, for the link to Sir Doug SAHM. At least now I have a reference and if he is known for country music then I understand why I'm unfamiliar with him.

Anonymous said...

DO. You may not have been to a local music store recently but Vinyl record sales are soaring. Much infrastructure has been invested into their manufacturing. Most teens these days own both a record collection and a turntable to play them. I think I read somewhere that vinyl sales have surpassed CD sales again. Kids these days either buy records or download the music or both as many of the vinyl packages include free downloads.

It is heartening to watch the kids flipping through the bins as I once did. They are even wearing old(new) tshirts with prints like MC5 and Todd Rundgren.

Jayce said...

Ol' Man Keith, thanks for your explanation re blackbirds IN THE PIE. I understand better now.

Wilbur Charles said...

I didn't Grok the latin, hence MCI. And, as far as I knew PT THON was an English comic . Finally, I had IT'L and SEALOG.
But I've been fighting this flu bug.

Misty, thanks a bunch for the V8 can link, all this time I envisioned people whacking their heads with the can itself.

WC

PS I also tried FUNGUS .

Wilbur Charles said...

Btw, did anyone else try NODES before CORDS?

WC

Roy said...

Got the four theme answers and the reveal, but did not see the theme. I saw SONIC BO*OM and COWBOY HAT*. SAC* FLY was new to me. I am familiar with SEA* DOG, but couldn't see it through the image of that poor barbecued puppy.

Took me a while to Sing a Song of Sixpence.

Couldn't think of a three-letter Kvbrick movie, but M_I gave me 2001 (not MLI=1051).

I was trying to remember the Spanish for zero until perps forced NADA.

i do remember She's About a Mover but not the Sir Douglas Quintet; never heard of SAHM.

V8 moment.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thank you, David & Lemony.

This puzzle took dogged persistence, especially in the NE and SW. The funniest thing was having _O_BOYHAT and couldn't come up with COW. Finally tacked on RED and had a COW when I saw the answer. Oh, duh!

Lot of stuff I couldn't understand. WEES. I did get the RED insertion with the first one and was okay with the RED SCARE reveal. I remember the RED SCARE politically especially as a young adult moving from the wide open spaces of the west to Massachusetts around the time of the Bay of Pigs failure in Cuba. News reports made everyone afraid of the possibility of red commie missiles from Cuba raining down on us. Not politics. History. Real RED SCARE.

One nit: "Pattern following, perhaps" = SEWS. Not accurate. You follow a pattern to make "cuts" or to "knit", not "sew". That's more my field of expertise than other parts of the puzzle with Latin & space movies. I made all my clothes & my kids' clothes when they were young.

Very warm & springlike these past three days. Wind threatening stormy weather now. Predicted: single digit sub-freezing temps by Sunday. Sob! No fruit on the trees this year, I thought, then wondered why I came up with that. Haven't had fruit trees to pick from for 15 years. You can take the girl off the farm but can't take the farm out of the old girl.

Mike Sherline said...

I think the key word in the reveal clue (63A) is "infiltration". The original phrases have nothing to do with the clues/answers, it's just that "red" has INFILTRATED all of those phrases to make the answer words. So there's no thought of anybody being scared of a cowboy hat, sea dog, sac fly or sonic boom. After WWII we were supposed to be scared of infiltration by reds (communists).

Picard said...

Jinx: Yes, a friend sent me this link:

This is a glass bridge in China. I think I would indeed find this upsetting even if I knew it was coming!

Also, I found my photos at the Chicago Art Institute.

There are at least two by RENE MAGRITTE!

The locomotive coming out of the fireplace is called "Time Transfixed". The one with the cannon is called "On the Threshold of Liberty". You will also recognize the painting I am posing with!

Anonymous T said...

Hello from Denver! [and dang it's cold!]

Finished the puzzle on my flight and read everyone while I'm waiting for my Army Brother to arrive from STL and then we'll Uber over to my other Brother's house. //it's Army's Bro's Uber because I refuse to use it - cabbies don't take my data :-)

FIW :-(
I didn't know Doug _AHM nor Op. _IT and was staring at _A_REDFLY. Gadfly? (Bzzt), aha!, BARred FLY! That makes sense (if you don't re-read the clue before declaring 'done.')

Thanks David for a fun challenge and LEM for the Friday-chaser with the Palin link.

WOs: other than putting answers in other's squares, I started writing Waffle for WAVER.
ESP: SLAKE - that's a new-to-me word
Favs: PYTHON and YO HO HO.
Runner up: c/a for MMI; a much easier "get" than it's perp.

{A+} {ha!, cute}

Mike - that's the way I thought of it too. The RED SCARE was more like there were commies (REDS) everywhere [Les Nessman's paranoia comes to mind]

YR - sorry to hear of Alan's relapse. Hopefully it's short lived.

PK - Funny! I had COWBOY-A-RED and it took me forever to come up with HAT. Talk about a V8-moment!

BillG. I too love V8. Well, any tomato-juice product for that matter (esp. Bloody Marys). V8 commercial (updated)[:20]

CED - I gotta get that bath-mat for next 4/1.

I'll jump into the PHONO debate. The "switch" on my amp/pre-amp read PHONO to play a 33&1/3rd or a 45. [I'm so young we didn't have 78s in my day :-)].
The amp I got last year for the garage has Aux 1 and Aux 2. I've not tried a turntable on it -- just my sat radio & old iPhone (for podcasts).
@3:41 said it, the kids love records anew. Eldest visits the vintage stores in Norman to find pressed wax. However, Vinyl may be jumping the shark. [/. - the comments are funny]

Cheers, -T

Yellowrocks said...

In college I sewed the always fashionable "little black dress" from silk. I also sewed a lined dotted swiss dress and several skirts. In this sense I consider sewing a dress to be the whole process from following the pattern to pressing the seams on the finished product. One dictionary says, "SEW- make a (garment) by sewing." In sewing class and 4H we learned the whole process. When I repair clothing, I consider just the needle and thread part to be sewing.
When I had babies and toddlers I stopped sewing garments and never got back to it. I didn't like having the unfinished work lie around for more than a few days. Now that I have time I have lost the urge to sew.
Thanks for all the best wishes for Alan.
Picard, I enjoyed the memories of beautiful Sedona.

Lucina said...

I also was an avid seamstress in my youth and right up until my daughter was born so to me, following a pattern makes sense. In the literal sense as PK explains is just that, following the pattern to cut the fabric. But in a more general sense, sewing is following a pattern one has in mind, from cutting to sewing. Even more generally, a pattern can be a habit; I once was in the habit of sewing all my and my daughter's clothes. I followed a pattern of behavior.

Anonymous said...

The "board boss" is the COB – chairman of the board – not the CEO, chief executive officer. The board is the CEO's boss. (Granted, sometimes it's the same person.)

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Picard, I think I would soil myself.

CrossEyedDave said...

Just keeping my place as to how far I read the Blog...

Lemonade714 said...

T., did you make it to the Maven hotel and Poka Lola Social Club?

I might have jumped if I were on the glass bridge