google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, May 17 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

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May 17, 2018

Thursday, May 17 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Triple Play. Not a baseball theme, but you can sing along with a Latin "cha cha cha" dance track.

19A. Trousers in the Liberace Museum?: CHI-CHI CHINOS. Probably covered in rhinestones and other sparkly stuff.

32A. Less colorful African carpet?: DRABBER BERBER. The Berber people are indigenous to North Africa. This traditional carpet definitely isn't drab:


39A. Surfeit of sweets?: BONBON BONANZA. Bonbons originated from the French in the 17th century, meaning "good-good".

53A. Made-to-order drum?: CUSTOM TOM-TOM. Officially, a cylindrical drum without snares.

Another nice puzzle from Jeffrey. The names in the long downs could have caused some conniptions, but that's what makes for skilled construction and editing - it's all about the crosses if the proper name is unknown to you, Claire Danes in my case. Throw in some crunch and some Thursday-level cluing and you've got yourself an enjoyable romp into Cruciverb-land.

What else have we got? Let's go and look:

Across:

1. Selfies, e.g.: PICS

5. Consumer protection org.: B.B.B. Better Business Bureau.

8. Grey Poupon variety: DIJON. Mustard. Grey Poupon is one of the better-known brand names.

13. "I must be cruel, __ to be kind": Hamlet: ONLY

14. Bar mixer: COLA. Coke and Pepsi are the cola heavyweights. Some think that Coke tried to trademark the word "cola" - not so, they trademarked Coca-Cola, the script of the name and the design of the bottle.

15. Slip away from: EVADE

16. __ all-time low: AT AN. David Bowie's "Ashes to Ashes" just popped into my head:

"Ashes to ashes, funk to funky
We know Major Tom's a junkie
Strung out in heaven's high
Hitting an all-time low"

17. "Beat it!": SCAT!

18. Bit of Blake: VERSE. The most well-known Blake is William:

"To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, 
hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour."

22. Guffaw syllable: HAR. Har.

23. Estadio cheer: OLÉ

24. Hardware item: NUT.

25. Overalls part: BIB. The part covering the chest.

28. Aquarium fish: TETRA

30. Title for Maggie Smith: DAME. British actress of renown. Played the redoubtable Dowager in "Downton Abbey"



 "I couldn't have electricity in the house, I wouldn't sleep a wink. All those vapors floating about."

31. "Mr. Robot" TV network: USA. I'll take your word for it, I haven't seen the show

35. Morales of Netflix's "Ozark": ESAI. There's actress Natalie also.

37. Father of octuplets on "The Simpsons": APU. Must be a while since I've seen the show, I didn't realize he had any kids, let alone eight.

38. Not yet up: ABED


"And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day."

Henry V, Act IV sc iii

44. Many a craft beer: ALE

45. Folk singer Axton: HOYT. Thank you, crosses. Not my genre.

46. Scenic highway offerings: VIEWS. There are some fabulous ones in my part of the world, particularly from the Pacific Coast Highway.

48. "Absolutely": YES

49. Hose users: Abbr.: FDS. I had to think about this one for a second - Fire Departments

50. Holm of "The Hobbit": IAN

51. GI address: APO. Army Post Office

56. Cold dish: SALAD

59. Island off Tuscany: ELBA. "Able was I, ere I saw Elba".

60. Whodunit canine: ASTA. "The Thin Man" was the movie.

61. Interspersed with: AMONG

62. Nectar flavor: PEAR

63. User of black lipstick, perhaps: GOTH. There is an unofficial "Bat's Day" for Goths at Disneyland each year. It's quite an odd sight, all these supposedly gloomy folk riding "It's a Small World".


64. Gumption: MOXIE

65. Nursery purchase: SOD

66. "Orinoco Flow" singer: ENYA. Let's have a little New Age backing track.

Down:

1. Cook in hot milk, say: POACH

2. Since: IN THAT. In the causative sense - "I like a Riesling since it pairs well with spicy food"/"I like a Riesling in that it pairs well with spicy food". Food!

3. "Homeland" Emmy winner: CLAIRE DANES. Thank you, crosses.

4. Harmonized, with "in": SYNC

5. Lawn game: BOCCE. Most cultures seem to have a derivative of lawn bowls, be it crown bowls, bocce, boules, pétanque, even curling.

6. Vanilla: BLAH. "Meh" in modern lingo.

7. Drive someone home?: BAT IN A RUN

8. Fan: DEVOTEE

9. Composer Charles: IVES

10. 8-Across holder: JAR. I like the cross-references when the entries themselves cross. I've got a jar in my fridge, it goes into my home-made mayonnaise when I whip up a batch. Yum!

11. Goes overboard (on): OD'S

12. Wedding notice word: NÉE

14. Forensics facility, briefly: CSI LAB. I wanted DNA LAB first, but resisted the urge.

20. Circle dance: HORA

21. Unfeeling: NUMB

25. Masters champ in 2012 and 2014: BUBBA WATSON. A lefty, he hit an incredible hook shot out of the trees onto the 10th green in a playoff with Louis Oosthuizen to secure his first major.

26. "That's clear": I SEE

27. Meter writer: BARD. He of "Henry V" fame, above.

29. Twin Cities daily, familiarly: TRIB. The Star Tribune.

30. Home __: DEPOT

33. Slow-but-steady progress: BABY STEPS

34. Demolish: RAZE

35. Former Skype owner: EBAY. I didn't know that. We use Skype for Business, it saves a ton of money when you have a lot of international conference calling and presentations.

36. Dover fish: SOLE

40. "Dang!": OH FUDGE!

41. Some assents: NODS

42. Video game figure: AVATAR

43. Spanish lad: NIÑO. Now, here's a thing - the letter Ñ in Spanish is a completely different letter, it's not just an accented "N". Which leads the pedant in me to suggest that you should not cross it with a regular "N" as is here - Ian Holmes does not spell his name i-a-eñe.

47. Inconsistent: SPOTTY

50. Boast in a 1987 Michael Jackson hit: I'M BAD

52. Lincoln neighbor: OMAHA. Nebraskans, both.

53. "__ help you?": CAN I

54. Muffin spread: OLEO

55. Sorcerer in fantasy games: MAGE

56. "Grace and Frankie" actor Waterston: SAM. More crossing help. Thanks!

57. Latin trio word: AMO, Amas, Amat

58. Cured salmon: LOX. Lox is salt-cured. The stuff most people call "lox" nowadays is actually "nova" and is a smoke-cure. Whatever the debate, it's Food!

And with a drum roll on the tom-tom and a pic of the grid, and with a very cool explanation of lox, nova, smoked salmon and gravlax, that's all from me!

Steve




71 comments:

TTP said...

Lucina, sorry to read of your fall. Hope you are feeling a bit better.
Misty, hope all goes well for you today.
Haven't seen MJ post for awhile, but I missed some days while traveling and visiting.

Back in the Land of Lincoln, but nowhere near OMAHA.

Only real trouble was at the top. Had elude and prose rather than EVADE and VERSE, but DIJON JAR cleared up that mess. I had to change DNA (too specific for the clue) to CSI and the top center soon fell.

Oh, and may I to CAN I at the bottom left.

Thanks Jeffrey, thanks Steve.

New Ager said...

How nice to see ENYA in today's puzzle, since today is her 57th birthday.

The proper English would be to ask May I Help You, not CAN I Help You.

Hand up for DNA Lab instead of the CSI LAB.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

COLA not SODA messed me up in MinneSODA (hey, that's how they say it!). Yes, I also fell into the MAY/CAN trap. Otherwise, this was a smooth solve, and I even got the theme. Amazing. I'll take that triple CSO. Thanx JW and Steve.

Lucina: Sorry to hear about your fall, broken nose and missed trip. Bummer.

APU: There's been quite an uproar about the APU Kwik-E-Mart character. Personally, I've got more important things to worry about...like what to have for lunch.

Oosthuizen? You do and you'll clean it up yourself.

OwenKL said...

Oops¡ FIWrong¡ HAw > HAh > HAR, didn't know the crosss. And misspelt BOCCa, didn't notice the perp.
The gimmick was super easy to guess, and did help susequent phrases.

Whenever Ella forgot a VERSE
She'd SCAT, 'cause silence would be worse!
But did so well
No one could tell
She did it so she wouldn't curse!

At baseball jargon, our C.C.
Is an out-of-the-ballpark DEVOTEE!
She's our DAME of fun
To BAT IN A RUN,
IN THAT it's parsed with MOXIE!

OLEO and mustard were spread on
BLAH sandwiches, until Grey Poupon
Brought out a line
'Twas made with wine --
But cretins said came from DI-JON!

{A-, A, B+.}

Lemonade714 said...

How nice to see Jeffrey and a Shakespeare quote on Thursday. I thought the theme was very fun and explains why JW creates so many great puzzles. Finding and using BERBER was brilliant.

38 miles west of Omaha and you can visit HG, though this time of year he will be on the golf course. We are under siege here like most of the country with extremely powerful storms. The thunder and lightning are very distracting as I type.

I knew all long downs, but then I guess I have the TV on too many hours. I love Sam Waterston in his new ROLE after all those years as the relentless JACK MCCOY but I also loved him as the marshall on the Netfilx series godless.

Always a pleasure Jeffrey and Steve

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun, fun funny puzzle, Jeffrey! Thanks. And Steve continued the amusements. Good on ya'!

I got the repeat syllables on the first entry and chuckled. I didn't find this hard, but was slower coming than some.

Master's Champ when I already had BU had to be BUBBA WATSON. Didn't know CLAIR DANES, but did know HOYT, IVES, ESAI, SAM & ENYA. Yay, me! Took some thinking tho.

We've been too long without Splynter: HAw, HAa, HAh, HAR. Gotcha!

OH FUDGE = food, not a swear word "Dang". Do not corrupt that which I love but deprive myself thereof.

D4E4H said...

Good Morning Cornerites.

- - I worked the CW without checking for the constructor. I worked feverishly to complete the CW in one sitting. Once complete, (I FIR in 36:12), I checked for a name. Thank you Mr. Jeffrey Wechsler for this traditional Thursday CW.
- - Early on I solved 32A which showed me the 3 letters, 3 times. This helped at 19A, 39A, and 63A. All I had to do was determine which 3 letters repeated. The last to fall was 5A Consumer protection org: BBB. Oh look, 3 letters.

- - Thank you Steve for your excellent review. You wax poetic today. At one point, 10D - you wrote "I've got a jar in my fridge, it goes into my home-made mayonnaise when I whip up a batch. Yum!" Don't the shards of glass hurt when you spread your mayo. "Hold the mayo, I cut my tongue," Then I read more carefully, oh a jar of dijon mustard, poetry once again.

- - We did not read from whence you cometh today. Look out folks there is a mirror diagonal, and possibly tre. Why does the mirror reverse the image only in the horizontal, but not the vertical?

Bill G FLN at 12:40 this early, early AM

- - Of course I've heard of The Big Bang Theory. It's one of my favorite sitcoms. Oh wait a minute, you are writing about the actual theory, how refreshing. Calvin called it the "Horrendous Space Kablooie."
- - I have a problem with this theory. We operate on the premise that the Universe is endless and infinite. If that be true, how did everything in it start 16 billion years ago as a dot which exploded, and is constantly expanding. Wouldn't the universe have to expand into something? If so, what is that, the Preverse?

- - I've been reporting to you the daily status of the Kīlauea Volcano which on May 3rd, my birthday, began the new eruptions at rifts which continue to open and cause devastating problems. Here is yesterday's status.

USGS Status Update of Kīlauea Volcano - May 16, 2018

- - No one seems to be interested, at least not enough to mention it, so this will be my final link. You can always LIU.

Ðave

Jinx in Norfolk said...

There was a lot of FUN FUN FUnny business in today's masterpiece by Jeffrey Wechsler. FIR, but I erased may I (hi TTP), Shoo for SCAT, roe for LOX and Home DEcor for DEPOT.

Favorite was CLAIRE DANES. I have a dirty old man crush on her, and loved the first several seasons of Homeland. What a cast!

Another favorite was MOXIE. I once had a boat by that name. It was a Canadian-built Martin 242, a 24 foot ultralight speedster. My favorite races were the Oxnard to Marina del Rey (around Anacapa Island), followed the next weekend by the annual Marina del Rey to San Diego. I never won either race, but I once won the "fastest down the coast" trophy for combined performance in both races.

Not that I am worthy of giving JW advice, but if I were cluing this puzzle I would have had "overalls item" for NUT before "overalls part" for BIB.

I've never been to ELBA but I have been to Capri, also off Tuscany. One of my favorite spots in the world.

CAN I also add my thanks to Steve for the fine tour today.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

"Another nice puzzle from Jeffrey………" and a great lead-in from Steve. Thank you both.

FIR. Did not know CLAIR DANES but perps wanted it. Liked the theme. Might have had a grid spanner with something like TICK TICK TICKETS (15) clued as "entries to a horologic exposition." Great job with that.
BOCCE - Quite popular in the Utica area for cultural reasons. Utica also sports a 6-sheet curling rink.
Khaki CHINOS - Part of the Navy working uniform for officers and chiefs in the 50's, 60's and beyond.
DIJON - Some 40 odd years ago when our kids were 'tweens, they had occasion to ride in a limo with the top down as part of a cousin's wedding doings. When the limo stopped at a light next to another convertible, my son asked them if they had any Grey Poupon. A very popular commercial at that time.
ÑINO - RE: Steve's point about the tilde and crosses. I don't disagree, but there are some arbitrary rules in CW's. Roman numerals crossing words or phrases ie; WWII crossing India ink; minimum of 3-letter fill; etc.. I get spazzed out by not seeing the umlaut over the u in UBER - über.

D4E4H said...

53D - "_____help you?": - CAN I - May or Can could either be appropriate depending on the circumstance. If I were offering help, "may" fits, but if I were asked to help when my ability was in question, then "can" fits, and the total exchange from me would be, "Can I help you, yes or no," depending on what is being asked of me?

Ðave

Big Easy said...

The NW was a tough start today and it was only after filling CUS-TOM TOM TOM that I realized what was happening in this puzzle. The TV shows (I watch none of them) and names of actors are always tough. IAN, SAM, CLAIRE DANES, USA- 100% perps. I only know ESAI & APU because they always show up in puzzles.

I knew DNA LAB wouldn't work because it was only SODA or COLA for the mixer. CSI was the one that fit.

The term CHI CHI for describing clothing? I guess my knowledge of that field is severely lacking and my wife tells me that every day. I only filled CHI CHI CHINOS from the theme. Juan CHI CHI Rodriguez was a hilarious golfer.

Thank you Steve for the explanation of for my perp-fill on 49A. FDS may non sense after filling OH FUDGE. The women might remember a product of that name-FDS-Feminine Deodorant Spray.

BBB- outlived its usefulness many years ago. There will always be charlatans out there.
I MAY and I TRY finally became ONLY 'to be kind' finished the puzzle today.

Madame Defarge said...

Hello there,

I have worked all the puzzles this week, but haven't had time to visit the corner. Helping with my 95 year-old mother-in-law determine the next step for her health and safety. Lots of appointments and cancellations. Hope everyone is well here--although it seems Lucina has taken a spill. Feel better. I'll bet you are so sore.

I have enjoyed all the puzzles this weeks. Thanks to all our constructors.

Just quickly. I think the problem today with the CHINOS is French pronunciation. It's really "chic." We say "sheek," but the French say "shee." It would need an "e" after the final "c" to be pronounced as we do in English.

Stay well, everyone. Let's cheer the sun wherever we find it. Have a sunny day.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

Zoomed through today’s J. Wex, except for that speed bump at DNA Lab. Home decor preceded Home Depot, too, and seemed to fit. I remember Claire Danes in only one role, that of Beth in Little Women. Learning moment: Berber rugs. I had no idea of their African heritage.

We’ve discussed tom toms in the past. I don’t know when snare drums came into being, but Gene Krupa certainly managed without them. So did Ringo Starr, nearly all the way through the Abbey Road album, for example.

Morning Steve, I’ve read various articles about salmon over the years, and for me the takeaway is that by the time I actually get to a qualified deli I won’t be able to recall which is which. Just another tourist, I guess.

Lucina from yesterday, speedy recovery!

Bill G. from last night - I had forgotten about the Horrendous Space Kablooie! Loves me some Calvin & Hobbes.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Another Jeffrey Wechsler gem and great summation by peripatetic Steve
-Cola sellers at Husker football games simply yell out “MIX!” in the “dry” stadium
-Hardware item I had to buy last night - #14, hex-headed, stainless steel, 1.5” wood screw.
-We used closed captioning so as not to miss any of DAME Maggie’s lines
-I will be AMONG teenagers for only two more days this term
-A GOTH boy complained to me about being teased the day after Columbine. Really?
-Check out this girl named MOXIE
-Boston leads MLB this year with 162 BATTED IN Runs (RBI’s)
-TV’s GOTH CSI LAB expert
-Psycho Bob taking BABY STEPS in What about Bob
-SPOTTY – speaking of my golf game
-Lucina, I hope you heal in a hurry!

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I'm always happy to see a JW offering because I know I'll have a challenging and satisfying solve, although sometimes with a tad of angst. It took me a while to see what Mr. W had up his sleeve but the theme became clear after Chi Chi Chinos and Drabber Berber. I first put Lee in thinking Lee for Liberace or Lee for jeans but Poach scotched that and led to Chi Chi. I originally had Scald but Pics opened up the Poach, which made more sense. I knew Bubba Watson right off the bat and Claire Danes as well, but Mr. Hoyt is an unknown. Relatively easy solve for a Thursday. Nice CSO to HG.

Thanks, Jeffrey W, for a just-right Thursday and thanks, Steve, for your always gracious guidance. I thought of you throughout this entire Food-centric puzzle and offer this tasty, if somewhat unusual menu for your perusal; Bon Appetit!

Pear Salad
Poach(ed) Lox
Sole Dijon
Fudge, Bon Bon(s) Nut(s)
Cola, Ale

Welcome back, TTP and Madame Defarge.

Lucina and Misty, best wishes!

Have a great day.

Anonymous said...

I was hoping Steve would link fellow Brit, Nick Lowe singing Cruel to be Kind in a weird 70s era music video. I would provide ya'll the pleasure but it's too difficult from my iphone. I youtubed it myself and then went down the rabbit hole reading about Nick on his wiki page. Very prolific and who knew he wrote my favorite Elvis song?

Yellowrocks said...

Sussing the thrice repeated syllables helped very much today. Very enjoyable puzzle.
In English chi chi is pronounced shee shee, or sometimes chee chee. The latter would work with chinos.
Modern BERBER CARPETS are usually not as colorful as the traditional ones made in Africa. Wikipedia says, "Modern industrialized Berber carpets are distinguished by a loop pile construction type that gives a similar appearance to the distinct knot of traditionally woven Berber carpets. The modern carpets usually contain small flecks of dark color on lighter shades of background colors resembling a natural undyed version of the traditional carpets. They generally consist of a plain color mix with no pattern, and are relatively cheap and durable."
It is unfortunate that so many viewing spots are now obstructed by "volunteer" trees growing in the middle of them and blocking the view. It is especially disappointing after a two hour trek up a mountainside to find the view obscured.
Oxford dictionary: "But the 'permission' use of can is not in fact incorrect in standard English. The only difference between the two verbs is that one is more polite than the other. In informal contexts it’s perfectly acceptable to use can; in formal situations it would be better to use may."
To me insisting on formal English in informal situations seems pedantic.
It's cool and rainy again today. There will be very little moderate spring weather this year. We will go straight to the 90's. Ugh!

Misty said...

Woohoo! Woohoo! I got a Thursday Jeffrey Wechsler puzzle! Yay! I thought there was no way I could get that middle top area, but at the last minute I wondered if that "drive" to "home" might be a baseball reference and put in "BAT." That got me COLA and SCAT, and even though I couldn't believe the BBB was right, it worked! Woohoo! I love Jeffrey Wechsler puzzles, and getting a Thursday one is a special treat. Also I have my cataract surgery later today, so I'm going to hope that this is a good sign of a good beginning to what will be a difficult day. Many thanks, Jeffrey, and I liked your verses, Steve.

Lucina, am thinking of you and wishing you well for a good recovery.

Many thanks for the good wishes, Irish Miss, and TTP.

Have a good day, everybody.

Lucina said...

Finally, we get a Jeffrey Wechsler grid! I was starting to get withdrawal pangs for a JW.

This was certainly a clever one and I knew most of the names, too: CLAIREDABES, HOYT, ENYA, but not Charles IVES.

What a clever theme! However, I was stuck at CHICHICHINOS with DNALAB and wanted PALE for vanilla. Finally I erased the whole top center, looked up BOCCE and then it blossomed from there. Also, there is a Spanish word, chonis (pants or panties) and I thought perhaps that would fit but no, it did not.

Thank you, Steve, and you are so right about the tilde but unless you are a Spanish speaker it wouldn't matter. Like Sptiz with uber, I cringe every time I see it.

Thank you, again, for all the good wishes. The soreness is increasing and I'm sure it will be that way for a while.

Have a joyful day, everyone!

Lucina said...

Thank you, Misty. I hope your cataract removal goes well.

Lemonade714 said...

Anon 10:03 here is your NICK LOWE LINK .

Rick Papazian said...

This was a hard puzzle. At least the top half, with all those names. Claire Danes? I’m too old to know that one. Thanks to Mr. Wechsler for all those names and fodder for my story, and to Steve for the extra info to put it all in place. (Sorry too salty for me - the lox that is)

A story to sip cola by:


I told Chi Chi to poach them eggs, only he was a devotee of the Bonanza TV show and was buying pics of the cast off EBay.
“Okay, Sam,” he said in sync with the computer and the stove. “Eggs in a pear salad with lox and sole, ugh!”
“You got it – and don’t forget my Dijon Ale Mustard.”
“You’re gonna OD on all this stuff,” he said.
“Oh – fudge, put some fudge aside along with those bon-bons for a client that’s going to meet me here.”

My client, Claire Danes, a dame and a half from Omaha Nebraska needed me to be her avatar in a bocce-playing club. I lived on the island of Elba for a summer and played among the best. I was a little spotty, but could “bat in a run” so to speak.
She walked into Chi Chi’s place, named “Nino’s” after Chi Chi’s three sons. She had a lot of moxie – but walked with baby steps in her high-heels, in that she walked a bit at an angle, like she wasn’t used to them. We both did nods to each other. She sat down, a copy of The Trib perched, evading my attempt to peer down her V-neck sweater. I had other views: her chinos were so tight; you’d need oleo to slip into them.
“So Sam,” she said. “Are you ready to play the game?”
“Yes – can I see that newspaper? You say it has the information?”
“Yes, his name is Ian Hoyt. He plays bocce at a place in town, ‘The Mage’ outside on grass. You’ll pose as a new club member, Ives Apu. You have to get a sample of his blood.”
“Yeah, you said – I have a friend at a CSI lab who’ll match it with every damned DNA sample in their database. You say he’s really a hired gun for a golf player?”
“That’s right, Tom Watson, not to be confused with Bubba Watson. You’ll have to find out what the connection is. Bubba is a dear friend of mine – we are second cousins.”
“Funny, you’re from Omaha and he’s a Floridian.”
“From high school – I practiced mid-western dialect so I could fit in… You have to go in tomorrow morning. He starts playing early.”

I got to the club with my “Mage” polo shirt and my “Ives Apu” name tag. I greeted the players. I had a woman on my side, with a kind of a Goth look, and a guy with a shirt that had BBB emblazoned on the left side and USA on the right side. Ian Hoyt and his team greeted us and we started to play.
Ian was a bit of a bard and he quoted verse to a tom-tom like beat while he pitched bowling balls down the sod.
I was up and I pitched it way off. “I’m bad,” I said. “I usually have custom balls at my place. Better next time.”
I saw my chance as Ian came walked down the lane and I feigned a move away and then towards him – he caught me and I scratched him with my fingernail. Drew blood good. There was a commotion for a moment and then we went back to playing. Meanwhile I opened a tiny jar and deposited the sample.
As it turned out, I didn’t need it. None other than Bubba Watson came out of the hotel that was part of the bocce club and Ian suddenly took off to a sports bag he had brought. He reached in and took out a towel – the towel held something; I could imagine what it was. I raced over and tackled him. The players were shocked and didn’t know who was who.
I wrestled away the towel that contained a Glock 42, 9 MM, and then the Goth saw it must be Ian that was the bad guy and she tackled him. The whole team got involved and we pinned him down.
As it turned out Tom Watson was tired of people confusing him with Bubba and he figured he would rub him out! Crazy world with nuts like that in it. But the bocce players were all smiles.
“Can’t say it was a blah game,” said the Goth.

SwampCat said...

What a triple treat from Jeffrey Wechsler!! I got the theme at CUSTOM TOM TOM but you win...again.. Jeffrey. Too many names for me. I don’t watch much tv except for the news, which is usually a day old anyway.

I did know Bit of Blake for VERSE and Composer IVES.

Somebody explain this beer/ALE thing to me. In CWs they seem to be the same. Are they really? I don’t drink either. No, Big E, not even with crawfish.

HG, I also use closed captioning to understand DAME Maggie.

SwampCat said...

Oops. Hit Publish too soon. Lucinda and Misty, Good thoughts from here for healing and recovery.

Thanks, Jeffrey, for all the fun .

SwampCat said...

Auto correct strikes again! Lucina, I do know how to spell your name, but it took four tries to wratle auto correct into accepting it. We are ruled by machines .

SwampCat said...

I give up. That was “wrassle “. Never try to be funny!

desper-otto said...

Well, I thought it was pretty funny...

Picard said...

It took me way too long to figure out the theme! Fun! CLAIRE DANES totally unknown and hard to figure out. Likewise with MAGE. I was sure that was wrong.

I am sure you know this HOYT Axton song "Joy to the World" mentioned recently.

Here are some VIEWS we saw last month in and around Sedona, Arizona.

Lucina: Hope you are feeling a bit better! What were your plans in Carmel? Will you reschedule to go there soon?

Misty: Hope all goes well today with your right eye. Looking forward to hearing some good news from you!

From yesterday:
CED: Thanks for the SPACEMAN Spiff episode. Glad AnonT and others enjoyed remembering these adventures with Calvin and Hobbes.

Becky said...

Hoyt Axton was never a folk singer. Perhaps he could be known as an alternative country western artist. I recommend him highly. He used to play at The Palomino (when it still existed) here in the valley, and his mother, Maybelle Axton wrote Heartbreak Hotel. I was lucky enough to go to a couple of his rehearsal sessions. Lovely growly voice and really good guitar skills. I'm not sure, but he might have written Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog.

Becky

jfromvt said...

Very creative puzzle. Love themes with play on words, puns, etc......makes for a fun puzzle. And no circles today....yay!

D4E4H said...

SwampCat at 11:22, 25, 30, and whew 32 AM!

- - Is there a geek in the house. The Cat has been Swamped by her "Auto correct!" Is there a "correct" way for her to turn off Auto correct? Dipping the smart phone in the toilet no longer works. That just activates the windshield wiper app.

Ðave

Misty said...

Thank you for the good wishes, Lucina, Swamp Cat, and Picard. You keep my spirits up.

AnonymousPVX said...

Well, this would have gone a lot quicker had I not started with 1D.....SCALD....and I thought I was so smart.

Otherwise, after fixing the NW, everything else fell into place.

billocohoes said...

I only know IVES because my daughter liked to sing his stuff in her opera class, very strange atonal music.

Wish I had gotten to the blog earlier - In keeping with today's theme, everybody sing the next line along with The Crystals from 1963 (and many others)

"I met him on a Monday and my heart stood still..."

https://youtube/R6Z88lInFWo

AnonymousPVX said...

D4E4H....on an Apple product, go to SETTINGS, GENERAL, KEYBOARD....then turn off AUTO-CORRECTION and CHECK SPELLING.

That ought to do it.

PK said...

Picard: enjoyed the Sedona PICS.

I remembered HOYT AXTON from way back when. LIU: His career was active from 1960 - 1999 the year he died. I don't remember seeing him on TV after the 1960's, early '70's. Performers seem to flash and fade with the media tho. I think I remember him mostly because the name is so unusual. I do remember "Joy to the World".

MJ said...

Greetings to all!

For TTP (at 5:08am)--Thanks for the shout out. You are correct, I am no longer posting regularly, but still follow the blog most days. In part, by the time I (usually) get to blog, it seems like there is really not much new to add. Also, for the past year and a half, I have been dealing with issues with my 97-year-old mother. (Hi Madame DeFarge!) It has been extremely time consuming, as she lives a fair distance from us. Thank goodness for music to while away the freeway miles!

Best wishes for healing to Lucina. And Misty, best wishes for your second cataract surgery today. I hope your experience is better than the first last week.

Enjoy the day!

Spitzboov said...

More on über.
Here is a well-known sea chanty Über uns der blaue Himmel
(Above us, the blue sky).
( The group members appear to be from a region NW of Wilhelmshaven - on the coast near the Dutch border.)

Wilbur Charles said...

I have an uncle who's allergic to electricity. AC, radio, TV etc.

Is that Axton HOYT or vv? Oops, Becky just answered that. Heartbreak Hotel is a fabulous song.

Spelling BOCCE was a challenge

Louis had previously scored an Albatross that final round. Hence his bad luck?
Steve, we had PEDANT just the other day
Owen, I agree about the themes value. And while I'm at it, straight W's.

Around Boston, where Candlepin is King(sorry Boomer) one could see BOCCE style bowlers. Good ones. 100+ avg is good.
Lucina, my son took a fall removing our dishwasher. I told him NPR had a study that said Video Games are a natural anesthesia. I'm guessing that's no help in your case.
And.. Misty, I'm do impressed with your Baseball and Golf acumen. Hope your second procedure goes smoothly.

PVX, SCALD was my first thought too

Billicoes, I'm singing it in my head...run, run, run.. do run, run. Added bonus: It got rid of "Sad Movies.." that I strangely woke up with in my head

WC

D4E4H said...

Picard at 12:15 PM
- - I didn't hear Hoyt in the video so I LIU. Oh, he wrote the song.

- - in your travelogue, I kept seeing cars, and wondered if you were attempting to see "Which Kia "Sedona" Model Is Right for Me?" Then I realized they were the foreground of Red Rock in the distance. When something sticks up like that, you can drive a long distance to it from the first sighting. The lady in PIC 2697 has the most beautiful tan I have ever seen. It is truly golden.

Becky at 12:18 PM
- - It is nice to see your name at the start of your post. See Picard above, the song is also popularly known by its opening lyric, "Jeremiah was a bullfrog". I also know Hoyt as a Country singer, and yet here he is singing "500 Miles" (also known as "500 Miles Away from Home" or "Railroaders' Lament"). It is a song made popular in the United States and Europe during the 1960s folk revival. The simple repetitive lyrics offer a lament by a traveler who is far from home, out of money and too ashamed to return.

AnonymousPVX at 12:37 PM
- - Thanks for your help. Swampy, does your logo have a bite out of it? Say, something like that happened in a garden long ago.

Spitzboov at 1:06 PM
- - I stayed for the next group Shanty Chor Carolinensiel - Wo die Nordseewellen trecken an den Strand. Lots of beaütiful scenery.

Wilbür Charles at 1:35 PM
- - Wrote "I have an üncle who's allergic to electricity. AC, radio, TV etc." - Are yoü going to leave üs hanging? Amish?

- - Whew! I thought I would never catch up to the posts.

Ðave

Steve said...

@Irish Miss - thanks for the menu!
@Swamp Cat - all ales are beer, but all beers are not ales, simply put. Lager is also a beer, but it’s not an ale

Lucina said...

Rick Papasian:
Entertaining story as always especially APU IVES!

Picard:
Beautiful pictures of Sedona. I was going with my friend, Kathy, to care for one of our elderly friends who was going to be alone for the next 10 days as her caretaker went to Spain on the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Kathy went on without me. We travel there at least once a year and always have a good time.

SwampCat said...

Ah! Thanks, Steve! That makes sense.

And the clue was carefully, “many a craft beer”. Jeffrey would know.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta- DA!
A delightful pzl today from Mr. Wechsler, the kind that lets you realize you are smarter than you think.
Several of the obscure clues were somehow poised to trigger the right response from my Ol' Walnut.
In other words, I didn't have to "understand" a clue for it to elicit the answer.

The theme answers were true delights in themselves. I think my fave was BONBON BONANZA!

Been bingeing on Netflix Homeland of late (Wow! what a fine series!), so had no prob with CLAIRE DANES. I had to do some rewriting to get BUBBA WATSON, cuz I naturally started him off as BOBBY.
The mid-top sector was the last to fall cuz I was thinking SODA before COLA. I had to grok BBB before the rest could fall into place.

Misty! Glad you could join in the fun before round two of your surgery. Good luck on that later today!

Lucina, you sound like you're in very good spirits despite your airport mishap. Good to read your upbeat postings!


____________
Diagonal Report: Ah, today we have two diags, the center line on each side. Maybe we are back to normal: dare we hope?
(Even if such a "Vanilla" presentation...)
No hidden messages.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Picard, many thanks for the link to Joy to the World, better known around our home as "Jeremiah was a bullfrog" - because my older son, Jeremy, adopted it as his personal anthem.
Jer has long since grown into adulthood, has become a musician himself and an artist, and is with his own family in far-off Arkansas. But every time I hear that HOYT Axton song, I get to revisit that time when our family was young ... and innocently happy.

Spitzboov said...

D4 @ 1306. Re: "Wo die Nordseewellen trecken an den Strand". I'm glad you did. Good stuff. The Shanty Chor sings it in Low German (Plattdüütsch), which is usually how it is sung. My Mother would always sing it during a family get-together while my Dad would play his button accordion.

SwampCat said...

I suppose we all have Joy to the World stories. Mine concerns my then young son who went , briefly, to a religious school. At Christmas time the priest asked who could sing a Christmas Carol. Anybody know Joy to the World? Silly priest! Surely he knew what would happen, or maybe he did.

Anyway, my son belts out a loud tribute to his good friend Jeremiah and his wine. At age seven, he probably didn't know what wine really was, but he knew it was something little boys...and bullfrogs....didn't drink.

I was called to the principals office.

Jayce said...

Excellent puzzle. Love love loved it. Had most of the same experiences with it that many of you had, such as entering SCALD at first.
Toot Toot Tootsie, goodbye.

Jayce said...

A friend and neighbor of ours had a beautiful Weimaraner dog named HOYT. We both grew quite fond of him. After he died, our friend, who has owned many Weimaraners, got another one which he named KAIN. We like him very much also.

Anonymous said...

A great, fun challenge today, thank you, JW. I needed help in a few places but I think I'm getting better at your puzzles. Excellent write-up, Steve. I needed you to explain the theme.

Hand up for dnaLAB/CSILAB and mayI/CANI.

Favorite c/a 33d slow but steady progress/BABY STEPS. That's how things are going with my formerly feral dog at the shelter. He and his brother were found under someone's porch and have to learn about life inside and dealing with humans.

Lucina, sorry about your fall. Healing thoughts coming your way.

Misty, I hope your surgery went well.

Yesterday and today we got some much needed rain. Pollen has been washed out of the air and I was able to work outside today.

Happy Thursday!

Ol' Man Keith said...

I dunno, PK,
HAR is never my first choice for a laugh or "Guffaw."
I mean, I get it, but HAR, as a syllable, always seems locked away in the past. It belongs back in the days of early TV, when we pretended that B&W pix were colorized by putting large lenses filled with three fat horizontal color stripes in front of the screens and watched Milton Berle do his sarcastic "HAR-de-har-har-HAR!"

I tend toward the more "Vanilla" syllables, like "Hah" and (maybe) "Haw" (tho this may smack too much of Lord Haw-Haw).
For lighter laughter, my choices are "Tee" and "Hee."

HAR just seems too unspontaneous and brittle - and to belong decades ago in TV history.

~ OMK

WikWak said...

Just call me late to the party. Busy busy day. Finally got 15 minutes to spare and downloaded today’s effort. Uh, oh—it’s a J Wexler… maybe 15 minutes won’t be enough. Fortunately the FIR finally occurred but I was wondering for a while.

Hand up for wanting SCALD before POACH and DNALAB for CSILAB.

Nice S-O to Husker there.

HOYT Axton remains a favorite singer of mine. His 2 best albums (IMHO) were Pistol Packin' Mama and Spin of the Wheel.

Sending good thoughts to Lucina and Misty today.

billocohes: Da doo ron ron ron, da do ron ron. Ö

Have a great day (what’s left of it) all!

Picard said...

I meant to add that with all of the challenges (especially in the NW) I did FIR. And learning moment about CHINOS. Never heard that before. Where I live CHINO is a nickname Mexicans give to each other if they "look Asian".

PK, D4E4H and Lucina: Thanks for the kind words about my Sedona photos. I have many photos of beautiful VIEWS. I picked those because the clue was "Scenic highway offerings" and these VIEWS were all taken from the highway or from right along side the highway.

PK, D4E4H and OMK: Glad you enjoyed my link to the HOYT Axton song "Joy to the World". The words were meant to be meaningless fill to go with the tune. But those words stuck almost as originally written. (Apparently Jeremiah originally was a "prophet" before he was a bullfrog.) Way cool about your son, OMK.

Lucinia: Inquiring minds are still wondering what you were/are planning to do in Carmel?

Inquiring Minds said...

Picard @ 5:16 pm

Lucina answered your question @ 2:13 pm

CrossEyedDave said...

Sorry,

I got distracted in the middle of the puzzle...

Picard said...

Inquiring Minds: Thanks!

Lucina: Thanks for the answer regarding Carmel. I misunderstood and thought you were talking about going to Sedona!

CED: Oh, wow. I remember that Calvin and Hobbes. That was kind of a nasty one!

D4E4H said...

To my TBBT friends, Stephen Hawkings' wedding present

CrossEyedDave at 6:03 PM

- - I find it interesting that you should present this apocalypse at this time. How ominous.

Ðave

Ol' Man Keith said...

I mentioned above the fake color "lenses" we used to use to colorize B/W television. I came across this sample of one, so thought I should share it - especially for some of the younger Corner members who don't know what lengths we went to to brighten up our viewing.

Here is a Color Screen, of a type that nearly everybody used - at least for a little while.

~ OMK

Anonymous T said...

NUTS! I talked myself into 'APU must'a had a cousin ACU with 8 kids' and left Decor in place... //Ah, that HOYT; Becky's right - not Folk in my book.

Hi All!
Thanks JW for the fun puzzle that was fill-a-little-here fill-a-little-there; you know BABY STEPS. Thanks Steve for the expo; Goth image you described cracked me up. And I love me some Nova (enjoyed the link).

Like BigE and others, it was CUSTOM TOM TOM that let me glom-on. Filling other themer's repeats gave me just enough of a toe-hold to fill around. BERBER was last to fill as I changed Buster(?) to BUBBA.

WOs: bINO b/f NINO, afore mentioned BUster and of course APU b/f screwing myself.
ESPs: Names sans SAM
Fav: ATAN @16a would be if clue'd as Trig.; um, c/a for BARD - I was headed for Poet but waited.

{A,A, B}

IM: Great puzzle-menu :-)
HG - I remembered Jillette's kid was named MOXIE; I forgot her middle name was Crimefighter.

Swamp - Steve beat me to the ALE bit; I'll just add ALEs are made with top-fermenting yeast while lagers yeast are bottom-fermenting. Note: IPA == Indian Pale ALE and has more hops than normal Pilsner-style ALEs.

OMK - HAR HAR; both syllables. I'd have groked it sooner had I not kept reading it "Guffaw symbol." I was thinking "what do they use in comics to symbolize laughter?" It was only after guessing @3d's 1st name as CLAIR did I finally read the clue correctly :-)

Off to read Rick's story!

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Wow Rick, nice. What's your day-job? -T

PK said...

Saying HOYT Axton was a folk singer surprised me too. The guy wore a cowboy hat. That's usually a clue he's country.

Keith, Ha ha good one. I thought maybe HAR HAR was a New York or Jersey accent from Splynter, like Lawn Giland where he lived.

D4E4H said...

Rick Papazian at 11:16 AM
- - “Can’t say it was a blah story,” said the Ðave.

Anonymous T at 8:02 PM
- - 45A - Folk singer Axton: - HOYT - "HOYT; Becky's right - not Folk in my book." She wrote "Perhaps he could be known as an alternative country western artist."

I invite you to my post at 1:57 PM where I wrote to Becky. While I agree with each of you, I thought I made a case for him being a folk singer. Remember how carefully JW creates, and RN edits.

Ðave

Anonymous T said...

OMK - Boy did Eastmon take your money on that filter! Really? That was "color" TV? I bet your radio was in mono and they sold a parabola to reflect sound back at you to make it stereo :-)

D4 - I cede... First, I was confused on which member of Three Dog Night was Hoyt Axton. I went and checked your link (why do your links always go to a Yahoo! search page instead of what you're talking about? - I never know what you meant)...

Anyway, in the "search results," I saw Della and the Dealer. Wait, is that the same as...? So, I clicked it.

I know that song! It was in S1E9 of WKRP. [45m] as was another "You got the knife, I've got the gun. C'mon boy we're going to have a little fun..."
I thought the guest musician was just some up-and-comer... pass the V8.
OK, I'll go with all-American Folks(y) :-)

Picard said Jeremiah "prophet" so blame him...
When I was 10 or so, I thought Aliotta Hanes Jeremiah was called Jeremiah Prophet (I don't know why but I did): Here's two versions of LSD: pictures of the Windy City and a cute cartoon one (that I've posted before) for your listening pleasure.

Misty & Lucina - get whole soon!

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Well, D4, now I'm more egg-faced. I just LIU on Wiki and he wrote for but wasn't in Three Dog Night. I'm way off-base; someone BAT ME IN! Cheers, -T

D4E4H said...

Anonymous T at 11:02 PM

- - (why do your links always go to a Yahoo! search page instead of what you're talking about? - I never know what you meant)...

Here is the URL for the video for "500 Miles." I do not know how the software works. I checked the link and got to the video. Hoyt is singing to me as
I write to you. Did you ever reach the video?

https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=songs+by+hoyt+axton#id=79&vid=ae2c006fae0039479066ab8ab7f55b95&action=view

Was your egg "porched or biled."

Ðave

Anonymous T said...

D4 - What I get when I click your link is THIS. No 500 miles to be found. Perhaps Yahoo! is futzing with stuff. If you see "search" in the URL, it no workie. Try Google.

The Silver Lining inre: POACH'd egg-face? I now know Hoyt Axton.

That's 5. -T OUT!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, thank you, thank you AnonT for the WKRP. Love that episode. And hand way up to say he is NOT a folk singer.

OwenKL said...

I had my first visit with a new doctor today, and it was a nightmare! The doc was probably okay, but the facilities weren't. The walk from front to exam area was more than I could manage, so LW got a wheelchair to roll me in. A narrow wheelchair. I am NOT narrow! It was painful and got progressively worse. My hearing was having a bad day, too, so LW had to be my ears. They scheduled me back in 2 weeks for a rectal exam that couldn't be done while my butt was securely ensconced in that first chair! I would not let them pry me out of it until I had a better place to sit -- preferably back at my car with the reclining seat! Finally, as we were ready to leave, they found a different wheelchair, wider and with removable arms to boot. It took 3 people to pry me out of that mobile iron maiden so I could get to the new chair, but it was actually comfortable! If I'd had that to start with, I wouldn't have been so crotchety and had a more reasonable visit!

Anonymous said...

So...what's so funny bout peace love and understanding?

Elvis said...

So...you stole my song.

Wilbur Charles said...

I'm finally reading post-3:00 pm. About Calvin's picture of the train derailment after going over the"penny" ...

We used to put rocks on the tracks, the original "Big Bang". I was so relieved when only a very large noise ensued.

MTA Station had an imposing sign: Expectoration Forbidden!

This was Boston in the 50s

WC