google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Friday, May 4, 2018, David Alfred Bywaters

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May 4, 2018

Friday, May 4, 2018, David Alfred Bywaters

Title: F-f-f-f-friday!

A little déjà vu as David is back again with an add a letter puzzle. This variation has the letter "F" added to the first word in a two word in the language phrase. We have five themers plus a reveal using 62 squares. This placed many restrictions on the grid, and there was little room for long sparkly fill. But there was quite a bit of humor in theme fill and cluing.  FLAB COAT and FACTION FIGURE  both tickled my Fancy and I did not feel ANTZY, or is it ANTSY?

Not feeling all that sparkly myself as the reality of Scott's passing hangs heavy. But as melissa said, the show must go on.

17A. Origami academy?: FOLD SCHOOL (10). A bit of foreshadowing. The owl and the humor.

23A. Exhaust from the carnival food tent?: FAIR POLLUTION (13).
You can watch this VIDEO.

32A. Scary beach phenomenon?: FIN SIGHT (8).
You can watch this VIDEO.

41A. Garment tailored to flatter your waist?: FLAB COAT (8). Well, flatter is asking too much. VIDEO.

47A. Divisive politician?: FACTION FIGURE (13). No politics, no link.

59A. Boldness, and a hint to five long puzzle answers: EFFRONTERY (10). I like this reveal. with EFF (the word for the letter F) which is put on the front.

Okay, to work.

Across:

1. Like many superheroes: CAPED. And crusaders. I watched AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR last Friday. No spoilers but we enjoyed the 2 1/2 hours.

6. Paper items: NEWS. I struggled with this at first, trying to think of things made of paper especially after the Origami clue/fill.

10. Rock-blasting equipment: AMPS. I nailed this; all the years on the road paid off.

14. Kind of acid used in food flavoring: AMINO. You like reading, here is the LINK.

15. Dos x dos x dos: OCHO. Spanish multiplication.

16. Indian garb: SARI. This picture wraps up this garment.

19. Chimney liner: SOOT. How true, and deceptive.

20. Victorian, e.g.: ERA.

21. Erelong: SOON. Before long.

22. Physicist who left Italy in 1938 to protect his Jewish wife: FERMI. The "wife" was a remarkable woman in her own RIGHT.

27. Hand over: CEDE.

28. Small wake maker: OAR. Another simple, but cute clue/fill.

29. Cowboy, at times: ROPER. Mmm.

37. Pitcher with no arms: EWER. The old baseball misdirection. My grandmother had some Roseville.

38. Backbone: SPINE.

40. Forest grazers: DOES. A heteronym.

43. Growing things: FLORA.

44. Quotable boxer: ALI.

45. Story: TALE.


53. Filmmaker born Konigsberg: ALLEN. Better know as Woody. Based on the virulent hatred of this man, I am surprised he is still in puzzles.

54. Barbarian: OGRE.

55. Nickname derived from "Mortgage Association": MAE. FNMA. GNMA. SLMA. When my grandmother retired she had very little in savings and minimal Social Security. My father helped her put the money into GNMA stock which was paying 10% monthly dividend, it really helped her.

58. Glasses, in adspeak: SPEX. Not wrong, just meh.

62. Yonder thing: THAT.

63. Hawaiian island: MAUI.

64. She turned Odysseus' crew to swine: CIRCE. The inspiration for Game of Thrones?

65. Antoinette preposition: SANS. We had this "without" this week.

66. Highland hats: TAMS. This would fit in the hat puzzle.

67. Toys on strings: YOYOS. I go up and down on this toy.

Down:

1. Tea and cake purveyor: CAFE.

2. Deity with a bow: AMOR. The same number of letters as EROS.

3. Rice dish: PILAF. Stir in onion and cook until onion becomes translucent, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Mix in the rice and chicken broth. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender, and the liquid has been absorbed - 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Finish: END.

5. Set of related documents: DOSSIER. This is late 19th century: from French, denoting a bundle of papers with a label on the back, from dos ‘back,’ based on Latin dorsum. Various.

6. Optimism opposite: NO HOPE.

7. Prefix suggesting affordability: ECONO.

8. Journalist's question: WHO.

9. Fa-la link: SOL.

10. Factory equipment, e.g.: ASSET.

11. "The Piano" extra: MAORI.

12. Publicity video: PROMO.

13. Peaceful protest: SIT IN. My brothers and I were in graduate school in Storrs for the EVENTS depicted here. But we never considered a 47D. Some protests: FASTS.

18. Electrical supply: CORD. Fun, as without the cord it will not get there.

22. Symbols of wealth: FURS.

24. Bitter: ACERB. I like acerbic better.

25. Meat cut: LOIN. Pork loin is a cut of meat from a pig, created from the tissue along the dorsal side of the rib cage. Various.

26. Exit __: LANE.

29. Penalty caller: REF.

30. Talkative "Winnie the Pooh" character: OWL. Like Rabbit, he was not a stuffed animal that was brought to life, just a character created by Milne. He has been voiced by Craig Ferguson (Winnie the Pooh); Hal Smith (The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh); Jack Warden (Alice in Wonderland) and Andre Stojka (The Tigger Movie). The shadow fell.

31. Edible sphere: PEA. A nice mental picture.

32. Able: FIT. I may not be fit, but I go to the gym three days a week now, I do not want to be an...

33. Lazybones: IDLER.

34. Unappealing viscous material: GOO.

35. The Beatles' "I Saw __ Standing There": HER.

36. Org. using wands: TSATransportation Security Administration. And, 60D. Airport org.: FAAFederal Aviation Administration.

38. Aria, usually: SOLO.

39. Royal annoyance?: PAIN. Rhymes with...

42. Biblical brother: CAIN.

43. Orator's skill: FLUENCY.

45. Fertile Crescent waterway: TIGRIS. No love for the Euphrates?

46. Farming prefix: AGRO. Sounds like 56D. With the bow, on a score: ARCO. A musical score; usually used as a direction in music for players of stringed instruments. Various.

48. Top dog: ALPHA.

49. Unarmed, to a cop: CLEAN.

50. Modern messages: TEXTS.

51. End of a giant sequence: FO FUM. Fee fi

52. Nail-filing abrasive: EMERY. I am board with this clue/fill. It rubs me the wrong way.

57. Watchers: EYES.

59. Life-saving pro: EMTEmergency Medical Technician.

61. Spanish uncle: TIO. My grandchildren have learned some Spanish, and call some of their uncles Tio.

I found this a fairly fast finish. I hope you enjoyed it and welcome to May. Still hard to focus on humor. Thanks, David. Lemonade out.

61 comments:

fermatprime@gmail.com said...

Greetings!

Thanks to David and Lemonade!

Fairly obvious theme!

Did not know OWL. Otherwise pretty rapid to fill.

Have a great day!

OwenKL said...

The first one was inspired by Misty, the second by the TBBT character.

"FO FUM, FAA SOL fee fi!"
Said the OGRE out of Sky!
"I see a Limey
Hid behind me!
Thanks to Lasik on these EYES!"

There was a MAORI named Howie
Said his canoe was a wowie!
"Each stroke of my OAR
Sends me so FAST from shore,
I've paddled in six strokes to MAUI!"

A Highland shepherd with rams
FIT them all with elegant TAMS!
He said on the NEWS,
"They'll impress the ewes,
And make them better EWERS, than SANS!"

{A-, A-, B.}

Lemonade714 said...

Mr. Toad took the low road to buy some Spode.

Lemonade714 said...

Before I completely forget MAY THE 4TH BE WITH YOU .

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Darn, Lemonade, you stole my "May the fourth..." comment. I enjoyed DAB's effing puzzle and finished it in good time SANS need for Wite-Out. Our "small cube" of the other day was back as "dos x dos x dos." I'll accept IDLER as a CSO to moi. Thanx, David and Lemonade.

Yellowrocks said...

Was this a Friday puzzle? It was a quick solve. The theme helped a lot. IMHO it seemed more like Wed. or Thur. I found yesterday's puzzle more Friday-like. David I enjoyed your puns.
10A Rock blasting equipment could have been a pile driver. When a taught, a pile driver battered away at the rock 15 feet from my classroom window for weeks. They were laying the foundation for a new wing. The noise and shocks drove us crazy. Sometimes I had my class gather up their books and papers and sit in the hallway in another part of the school. Everyday I allowed the class a little time to stand by the window and watch. That kept them from having to look out the window while they were working.
Today we have plenty of faction figures of all stripes, including the electorate. Ben Franklin said, "We must all hang together, or we shall assuredly all hang separately." We will be hanged figuratively if can't come together. The electorate has to cooperate before the politicians will do so.

Oas said...

Good morning to all this bright and sunny spring day . Just right planting & seedig the garden and flower beds .
FIR
Thanks David for a fun puzzle and L714 for the review.
Caught the theme early but even so needed some perps and crosses to finish.
Wanted “acrid” before ROPER and EWER gave me ACERB.
Unknowns were FERMI,MAE, and CIRCE.
Favorite fill was AMPS.
Slowest theme answer to come was FINSIGHT.
Thanks OWENKL for the poetry. A boat cruise to MAUI is still on my bucket list.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Lemon's intro was spot on. Thanks. Enjoyed the theme. Pretty clever. Once I saw where the F's went, I pre-filled the last couple. Initially got stuck in the SW, so stopped and made my oatmeal. Came back and, voilà, ALLEN, SPEX, and SANS dropped right in. Re: sparkly fill; I thought EFFRONTERY was excellent.
CORD - Electric supply, really? It's not a battery, or pumped storage reservoir, or a power plant. It's a conduit.
Königsberg - Was the capital of East Prussia. After WWII it became Kaliningrad, Russia.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun & Flowing puzzle, thanks DAB. I got the theme early but thought adding one EFF was too simple to be right so kept looking for something more. Didn't really need more. Liked the reveal word. Liked the puns.

Lemonade: thanks for a sparkly expo. I especially liked the Laura FERMI bio. Usually don't read this type of link in its entirety, but did read every word of hers. Fascinating. I had to look up Storrs to see where it was. Never heard of it. How many brothers did you have that were all in grad school at the same time?

Roo before OWL. I didn't remember this character at all, despite reading Pooh books to my girls many times. Didn't see the movies -- kids must have been too old for it by then.



Husker Gary said...

Musings
-I think David’s fun puzzle gave me a record number of erasures
-FACTION FIGURES first look at who is offering a bill not the bill’s content
-SPEX reminds me of these two ads
-Somehow we got the designation as being a preferred traveler and we go in the short TSA line where shoes stay on and computers in the bag
-Most every TSA agent I’ve interacted with has been either friendly or at least neutral
-When McCluskey frisked Michael Corleone in the car, he said “He’s CLEAN”. Little did he know Michael had a gun hidden at the restaurant
-I love to TEXT because I can think over my response
-Those CORDS are everywhere inside and outside of our house at Christmas
-This is still a different place SANS Argyle

Big Easy said...

A-FFFFF-ter filling FOLD SCHOOL it was fairly obvious as to how the puzzle would play out. Even the word EFFRONTERY, which I've never heard anybody actually say, was an easy guess. One change- ACRID to ACERB (never heard anybody say that one either).

FLAB COAT- flatter? NO. Hide your FLAB?- Yes. But the pockets are very useful.

AMINO acids usually aren't used to flavor; they are mixed with other flavors. Better tasting through chemistry.

Madame Defarge said...

Good Morning.

Agreed. Still feeling a little off, and we've got lots going on here.

Thanks David and Lemonade. Did Thursday and Friday puzzles shuffle this week? ;-)

Steve, thanks for your closing comment yesterday.

Have a good day.

Lemonade714 said...

OK I had two older brothers. I was 2 years and 174. days younger than the oldest.Sadly I am the only one left

When we all took a class together the professors were surprised during attendance

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Ditto to this being an easy, breezy Friday, most likely due to the obvious theme word play. However, Miss Head in The Clouds missed the consistent F factor until the reveal. Sometimes my obliviousness scares me. Two w/o's: Left/Lane and Oahu/Maui and two unknowns, as clued: Circe and Tigris. Favorite themer was Flab Coat.

Thanks, David, for a fun Friday and thanks, Lemony, for a fun and fact-filled summary.

Misty, I hope you're bright-eyed and bushy tailed after the cataract surgery!

YR, I'm glad Alan had such a wonderful birthday celebration and that he's back on his feet for the actual birth date festivities that you have planned. I nominate you for Mother of the Year!

Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

Hopefully one day Hollywood will accept the fact that Woody Allen is a bad man. It only took them 40 years to recognize that Roman Polanski is a predator and finally expelled him from their privileged fraternity. Bill Cosby has been shunned as well as Harvey Weinstein. How many countless others are they knowingly harboring? It amazes me how revered is that community

CanadianEh! said...

Fabulous Friday with lots of Effs!. Thanks for the Fun, David and Lemonade.
I saw the additional theme Fs early, which helped the solve. EFFRONTERY was brilliant!

I thought I had a Natick with 26D, 28A and 22D because I had Exit LINE, and OI_ and FU-S was just not resolving. LANE fixed things.

Anon has been appearing here so often that I entered it before SOON.
Royal annoyance? made me think of the Princess and the PEA, but I needed Pea for 31D.
I wanted Specs but SPEX filled the spot. Is SPEX an American thing; I don't remember seeing it very much here?
Even this Canadian remembered the Fanny MAE mortgage crisis of 2008.
It is safer to be on MAUI today than on Big Island near Kilauea volcano which is erupting.
I think of AMINO acids and proteins. Learning moment re food flavoring.

Best wishes to all.

Anonymous said...

Can't wait til Monday so I can whip through a 'mensaless' puzzle!

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

Lemonade,
Reminds me of a quote by Gene Klavan regarding July 4th:

“If you go forth on the fourth with a fifth, you may not be fit to go forth on the fifth!”

desper-otto said...

To Houstonians, Specs has a different meaning. It's a roughly one-square-block liquor emporium with wines, liquor and finer foods. In addition to the "mother ship," they've got over 100 locations.

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

I neglected to click th notify box. I hope this transmits my message to email.

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

Sorry for the re-post. I neglected to select notify.

Magilla Go-Rilla said...

Lemonade,
Reminds me of a quote by Gene Klavan regarding July 4th:

“If you go forth on the fourth with a fifth, you may not be fit to go forth on the fifth!”

Chairman Moe said...

"Puzzling Thoughts":

Effor awhile, this puzzle was driving me effin' crazy! Effinally effigured it out ... aeffter getting FLAB COAT as the effirst theme solve. I eff'd up 2d with EROS>AMOR (Cupid wouldn't fit), so I started at the bottom of the puzzle, and worked north. Only other WO's were: DEER>DOES, and GRID>CORD.

Moe-ku in 5-5-7:

Cellist's boyhood friend's
Favorite question:
Can I play with YOYO's, Ma?

Regular Moe-ku:

OGRE is just "meh".
His "Fee, Fi, FO FUM", is now
Pretty much, "ho hum"

Moe-l'ick:

In an Inter-Galactical tableau,
The big news was who didn't play polo.
The Alliance was trounced
After it was announced
That they'd have to play Empire, SANS SOLO.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 1024a

Remember when the academy awarded Roman Polanski a best director award in 2002 and the sheeple gathered with their noses in the air rose to give a standing ovation. I wonder if they still support him now they have expelled him from the academy?

D4E4H in BLACK said...

First I must enter old business:

CanadianEh!  at 11:30 AM

CSO at 66A received.

Thanks for the HBD wishes.  Did you know The song "Happy Birthday to You" has been attributed to two Louisville sisters Patty and Mildred J. Hill in 1893.  Wiki has an interesting write up.

New Business:

Nice CW.

There being no Funny Business, I declare this meeting adjourned.

Ðave

Lucina said...

Thank you, DAB and Lemonade for this Friday fulfillment!

I saw the starting Fs and laughed at the ensuing puns. F/ACTIONFIGURE is a contradiction if you think about the clue. FACTION, YES; ACTION, no. SANS SPINE, IMHO.

Drat! I had two major errors: DEER not DOES and ergo, no GOO or TSA. Also no TEXT, just some sort of gibberish which I didn't examine closely enough to correct. Ah, me. I'll play the age card.

However, FLUENCY in Spanish gave me OCHO.

Thank you for linking that article, Lem; I read half and will finish it later. I'm waiting for a service person to work on my washing machine. Again. The last one replaced the motor but that wasn't the problem.

Today is my daughter and S-I-L's anniversary. Yes, they are avid Star Wars fans.

Enjoy the day, everyone!

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle and laughed out loud at the image created in my mind by FLAB COAT. Agree that EFFRONTERY is a wonderful word. I am making it my Word Of The Day.
My mother's family had Winnie The Pooh nicknames. My mother was called Pooh and her mother was the wise WOL. (Yes, that is how it's misspelled in the book.) Actually, now that I think about it, my mother's two sisters' nicknames were not Winnie The Pooh ones; they were affectionately called Phantom and Gussie. Nobody knows why.
I agree with Spitzboov about CORD.
I agree with Lemonade about SPEX.
Loved the clue for PAIN; my sister often used to call me a royal one.
From what I gather from watching British shows on TV, AGGRO is a common slang way of saying aggravation.
An absolutely marvelous movie by and about a MAORI village and family is Whale Rider. Filmed in New Zealand. I highly recommend it.
I needn't mention what DOSSIER has been in the news a lot lately.
Predictably, before carving a LOIN of beef at dinner, my father would always go through the silly ritual of tapping it with the side of the carving knife and dubbing it "Sir Loin." My father loved his little rituals and routines.
Best wishes to you all.

desper-otto said...

Jayce, my father also had his little "routines" that would cause no end of embarrassment to the rest of the family. At a restaurant..."Reservation? Heck, do I look like an Indian?" His grandson continues the tradition: "Reservation? Yes I do, but I've decided to eat here anyway."

AnonymousPVX said...

Anytime I see the word “reservation” I think of the Seinfeld episode.

This was not a typical Friday puzzle, or maybe it got mixed up with yesterday’s. At any rate, a walk through solve.

On to Saturday.

PK said...

I'm trying to decide if DAB & Rich had the EFFRONTERY to mean a CSO to me with FLAB COAT & LOIN (which is COATed with the FLAB). Probably just me being paranoid again.

Magilla: got a chuckle with your 4ths & 5th. Reminds me of the plaque I saw: "one tequila, two tequila, three tequila more, four tequila, five tequila, six tequila - floor.

Lucina said...

Well, my washing machine had the EFFRONTERY (I like it, too, Jayce) to not make the noise it previously made! The repairman thought it might have been out of balance. It's fine now.

You are all very funny, Jayce, d-o, PK. Thanks for the laughs.

CrossEyedDave said...

I often had the effrontery to post
so many links that I would get kicked into the Spam filter, Argyle would always get me out.
So I am trying to get kicked into the Spam filter, lets see what happens...

Old School?

Fare Pollution?

Insight?

Lab coat? Wait a sec, that's a Beagle!

Oooh! I'd buy one!

PK said...

Gee, I guess a bunch of us had always wanted to use the word EFFRONTERY and never found an opportunity. Today's the day, guys & gals. Have at it. Lots of fun!

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, David Alfred Bywaters, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Lemonade, for a fine review.

Got through this easier than most Fridays. Finished on my way home from work this morning on the train.

Liked the theme. Took me awhile to get it though.

CIRCE was not in my head, but once I had four of the letters it was easy.

Never knew the story of FERMI. Even though he is very famous in Chicago. FERMI Labs is not far from where I live.

Happy belated Birthday, D4E4H, and many more. Nice talking with you the other day.

Well, I am off to work right now. See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks DAB for the Fine Friday(?) Fun. I caught your gimmick at F-OLD SCHOOL and was off to the races... Almost. I had F-AIR cOndiTION for a spell.

Alas, FIW - diabolical of you to cross CIRCE and ARCO. On the plus-side; I nailed FERMI w/ only the I from SITIN.

Thanks Lem for the expo and history of OWL's voicers.

WOs: @23a [see: above], EMoRY.
ESPs: MAORI, ALLEN (as clue'd)
Fav: FO FUM as clue'd - very nice!

{A-,A,B+} {brilliant!, cute, ha!}

D-O: Lem stole your Fourth and you got my effing :-)

Spitz - hand up. W/ the C in place I wanted Cell b/f CORD.

@10:41 ANON - how long you been solving? For the first few years, I could only get a Monday or Tuesday reliably. For a year+, every Wed had ONE OR MORE wrong square but it was mostly done. Now I'm up to getting Friday's w/ one or two "bzzt" squares. Saturday is still a climb. Keep at it and, more importantly, have fun.

Today is may be May the Fourth (be with you [and also with you]*) but DW and I started dating 3/4 (of '88, if you care) - the day all Wars begin.
Wars' start, you ask? Yes, March Fourth! //I'll see myself out :-)

Cheers, -T
*Sorry, Catholic humour...

Ol' Man Keith said...

As Lemonade says, "The show must go on."

So, Ta- DA! My thanks to Mr. Bywaters for a eminently doable Friday affair.

Hmm. "By the waters of Babylon ...."
(Sorry. I'm sure this is old hat to you.)

There were really some catchy clues today. I guess my fave was for 19A. Lemon noted it as both "true" and "deceptive," and I will offer that I first answered with HOOD (probably not SOLO in that regard).

Hmm. Nothing yet from our Misty. I hope that means she is enjoying a restful morning while recovering from her eye operation.

Afterthought: "The show must go on," is a favorite slogan in my field, a sentiment probably coined at first by a producer. But it caught on with performers and is internalized by every actor I know.
Like others, I have performed while suffering with ailments and hopped on meds that would blast the life from an ordinary man. There is good reason recent commercials have insisted on using "real people and not actors," because actors are simply invulnerable to the afflictions besetting the average joe.

I missed one week of shows in my early career. As a kid actor in San Francisco, I played Henry Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth at the old Opera Ring. I was still a college undergrad by day, and running from class to class while picking up so many minor illnesses that our family doctor threw me into the hospital for a collapsing immune system.
I had the inglorious duty of phoning my director from my hospital room. He tried to talk me into sneaking out for that night's show and maybe for the next day's matinee - to give him time to get my understudy up to speed.
And I might have agreed! - if my mom hadn't been sitting by the phone during our conversation.
And here's the thing: I have felt guilty ever since.


____________
Diagonal Report: Oh, no! I started out as usual on the left side of the grid and saw right away there were no diagonals to be had. My stomach jumped! Could it be this was yet another instance of a diagonal-free pzl? We have already had two in recent days - and several since I spotted the first one a month ago.
Ah, but no. Whew. The mirror side offered up a typical 3-way slash. So, three is the answer today.
And again no hidden messages.

Chairman Moe said...

3/4 of 88 made me think of:

1) 88 keys on a piano
2) three quarter time

Sounds like your relationship's been a waltz in the park! 😀😜

Ol' Man Keith said...

Hey Anon T,

I like your Catholic humor. March Fourth, indeed...

You can stick around. You & Colbert.

Anonymous T said...

OMK - on the mirror side you have ALI crossing ALI @44a... (Am I playing this game correctly yet?)

Interesting about you picking up so many ails that your immune system was near exhaustion considering your relative longevity. What didn't kill you made you literally stronger. -T

Misty said...

It's wonderful to be back on the blog, after missing a day--and I don't even know where to start--with the puzzle or thank yous for all the lovely good wishes. First, the puzzle was a delight, David. I had an early post-op eye doctor appointment this morning, so woke up at 6:30 and thought I'd just glance at the puzzle. Instead, I was able to get it done with just a little anxiety in the southwest. Yay! Many thanks for helping my Friday get off to such a good start. My only remaining mystery remains the SANS Antoinette clue? I got the answer but still don't get it. Any more information, Lemonade? But lots of fun.

So had a very trying day yesterday with a 12:15 surgery appointment and long waits and lots of questions and questions and the surgery not occurring until around 2 pm. By then I was exhausted and a nervous wreck, and afterwards felt I couldn't see a thing with the huge black glasses I had to wear on the ride home. Could hardly see the TV and couldn't watch "Wheel of Fortune" because without glasses I couldn't see the letters in the boxes. A difficult and depressing day. But the post-op session this morning was great. Wait wasn't too long, and Doctor said the eye looked great. Have a kazillion drops to use over next weeks (my right eye surgery is on May 17). But the great news is that without that big plastic eye protector off I can go back to wearing my glasses, so now I can see again. Not perfectly, but enough to read all the blog postings and they were wonderful and made my day.

So, a million thanks, Owen, for devoting your first poem to me. And to Irish Miss, and PK (thanks for warning me about the drops and the trouble reading). And to Ol'Man Keith, and Bill G., and Lucina, and AnonT, and Canadian Eh, and Spitzboov! Thank you all so much for your incredibly kind good wishes.

Sorry, I forgot your birthday, Dave--hope it was wonderful. Also liked your poems, Chairman Moe. And Argyle, we're still thinking of you with love.

Have a wonderful weekend coming up, everybody.

Anonymous T said...

Misty - Glad to read things went well and you can already see again! Cheers, -T

Michael said...

Well, whaddayaknow? If we have EFFRONTERY, in our modern, hip, unbiased, equal-opportunity world, shouldn't there be EBBACKERY too? Maybe even ESSIDERY?

Like Anon-T says, "I'll see myself out :-)"

Anonymous said...

Wow, this was much easier than yesterday's puzzle! Thank you, DAB, for the fun time. Thank you, Lemonade, for the great expo.

I got the theme (unusual for me) at FOLDSCHOOL. I wanted rip tide for 32a Scary beach phenomenon but Frip tide doesn't make sense. Perps to the rescue. The rest were pretty easy.

I ordered 2 pair of SPEX this week.

Misty, glad to hear that you are recovering well. DH had his eyes done last year and is happy with the results. My turn will be in a couple years.

Have a good evening and weekend.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Misty!
Happy to see you back, young lady...
And to know you are seeing well again.

Pat,
My wife also ordered two pair o' SPEX just yesterday.
Small world dept.

Jayce,
Your family's use of Pooh-names reminds me that in a previous chat room (in a prior existence) I was given the moniker "Roo."
Would you believe it?!

Bill G said...

I made up this sentence while in college because I like the way it sounded.

"I was taken aback by her effrontery,"

It's hard to work into day-to-day conversation though...

Ol' Man Keith said...

Anon T,
ALI crossing ALI is certainly interesting. There really are no rules for the diagonals - beyond tracking them and using them as my first line for solving the pzls.

Everybody has a preferred approach to the grid. Some start at the top left sector and work down all the way to the bottom right. Others scan the clues for the ones yielding obvious answers. I like to proceed down a diagonal line. It is how I start, but I'm not married to it.
As for messages, I am not really looking for individual words along the diagonal axes, although they sometimes pop out. What I'm hoping for - and it is just me, so far! - is to find a constructor who will use one or more diags to send a concealed message.
So far, no luck. Constructors can be very clever. They are superior wordsmiths, but up to now I haven't seen one who wants to play this particular game.

I guess I am influenced in this by an earlier period in life when I was reading of the work of anti-Stratfordians. These are the folk who can't accept that Shakespeare wrote the great plays and so spent lives, whole careers, digging up concealed messages in the sonnets and plays to prove, for instance, that "I FRANCIS BACON AM THE TRUE AUTHOR."
-or-
"I KIT MARLOWE WRIT THIS."

They would find these messages in, say, a column of initial letters in a sonnet, or in every second letter of every third line of Hamlet's act III soliloquy.

In comparison, my searching the diagonals is child's play.
But as I say, so far, I seem to be be only child.

Lucina said...

Misty:
Congratulations on a successful cataract removal! One milestone down and one more to go. Now that you know what to expect perhaps you'll be better prepared for it.

OMK:
For the kind of pattern you are searching I suggest looking outside the LA Times. Some constructors have devious construction techniques but in a different site though I can't suggest one. Possibly others might know.

AnonT:
I hear your "and also with you."

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Welcome back Misty! Cataract surgery isn't a big deal unless its YOUR cataract surgery. Had one done several years ago and am nearly a candidate for the other one. Hope your vision is great once everything has healed.

-T and Anon: I've been doing the LATCW for maybe 5 years and STILL get very few Saturdays. Last week I didn't get a single FIR (without help; to me getting help is an auto-DNF). I do usually FIR M-Tu-W, about 2/3 Th, 1/3 F and 1/2 Sundays. I think that native intelligence (or lack thereof) may come into play in my case.

I got the FIR today, but hand up for erasing anon, oahu and eros. I did know CIRCE because a friend had two cats, one by that name and the other with another crossword name "Isis". He insisted that I learn the mythology in order to pet the cats.

Thanks DAB and Lemonade for the fun outing.

Picard said...

Misty: Glad your cataract surgery went well! Great that you already can see! Good luck with the right eye!

Got the theme fairly quickly which helped with some of the solves. Fun! Learning moment that AMINO acids can be used in food flavoring. Just know them as the building blocks of our bodies, encoded by our DNA. I remember a poster in the hall at our university advertising an analytical instrument: "It's AMINO World!"

FERMI was a gimme for this physics guy. But learning moment about his wife's other achievements. Thanks, Lemonade! Did anyone else think TUG before OAR?

Here are some of my photos on MAUI.

MAUI is not as fashionable as it once was, but it may still be my favorite Hawaiian island. Note the gravestone of Charles Lindbergh. As with Woody ALLEN, he was hated by many, too. Creative minds are often complex minds.

Here I was at a Paris CAFE near my hotel a couple of years ago.

I was pleased to find a tiny room for under a hundred dollars a night with a shared bathroom. It is hard to find such places in the US.

A friend who worked for the FAA gave my and some of my other friends this tour of our Santa Barbara Airport control tower.

Note the date in January 2001. After 9/11 my FAA friend told me all such tours have been cancelled.

Anonymous said...

OMK, I was playing Gwen in the Goodman Theater production of The Royal Family in Chicago, way back in the day (it was an apprentice contract), when I almost threw up on the actor proposing to me downstage about three feet from the first row. It turned into a cough, (Thank you, Jesus) but then I had hundreds of black dots flying into my eyes. I changed the blocking so I could hold onto pieces of furniture and finished the scene, and the performance. Turns out I had a 104 degree fever, and missed three performances. Didn't feel guilty and I"m sure my understudy did a great job.

Becky

PK said...

Michael & BillG: bravo on your EFFRONTERY, etc. LOL!

Misty, glad to hear everything went well.

Wilbur Charles said...

I did the xword this morning. Busy until now . At first I only noticed that the themes began with F. I had FLUE before SOOT and SIREN before CIRCE. And FASHION before FACTION. Reading the clue helped there .

Not only do I agree with YR and others that Thursday was the tougher day but I've had my days mixed up ever since .

Misty, sans=without which is a preposition in French as in "Poisson sans boisson est poison"*

And I too rejoice in your success. I stupidly worried that you might have driven to the eye surgery. That's because I drove home from the VA with eye drops in my eyes .

The FERMI story reminds me of A Man Called Intrepid (Stevenson of MI?**) who shepherded Neils Bohr out of Denmark to keep the Nazis from using his atomic energy knowledge.

Tolkien as I related once, paralleled the tale in LOtR using STRIDER for Intrepid and even using the same alias "Underhill" for Frodo that Stevenson used for Bohr.

I imagine British Secret Service were not amused . Perhaps that's why initially LOtR didn't sell.

That's enough for now

WC

** I can never remember which is foreign vs domestic

* Fish without drink(eg wine) is poison

Lemonade714 said...

Becky,

Just imagine how "famous" your performance would be in this day and age of camera phones and YouTube. Every time I regret not having pictures of some person or event in my life, I think about all the things I have done that I would not want to see online. So speaking of LOTR, why were you in New Zealand?

Effrontery - taken aback wow.

Misty said...

Again, thank you so much for your further comments, Pat and Ol'Man Keith, and Jinx and Picard and AnonT and Lucina. I'll try not to bother you any more with my eye situation until the second cataract surgery in two weeks. Wilbur--thank you--I do know the meaning of "sans" but just can't imagine what it has to do with Antoinette? But somethings just remain a mystery.

OwenKL said...

Antoinette was the tip-off that the answer was French.

Wilbur Charles said...

Misty, perhaps this will refresh your memory: "Qu'ils mangent de la brioche".

In fact weren't we just talking about cake or was that yesterday.

And that's MARIE Antoinette.

And since I'm here I must give kudos or W's to Owen. C-Moe doesn't like grades so I merely say his trio was up to standard. And why am I "UP"? Since the story begins on Tuesday it's obviously too long and boring. Suffice to say, any coffee messes with my sleep big time.

And finally, nice job Lemonade. "Virulent hatred"? Does that mean "Whats New Pussycat?" won't be airing on TMC?

WC in the gloaming

Misty said...

Thanks Owen and Wilbur--I finally got it all.

Lucina said...

Picard:
Wonderful photos as always.

I was shocked when reading Lindbergh's biography and learned of his double life. I've been a fan of his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh since high school when I read her poetry so I was offended for her that he had a second family in Germany. Up until then I knew nothing about it.

Anonymous said...

So...we move on. Things have changed. Good luck with whence we came.

Lucina said...

Anonymous@12:22:
That's very cryptic.

OwenKL said...

Lucina: I hadn't heard this about Lindbergh before! I knew of his Nazi sympathies, but not the double life!