google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, September 27th 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

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Sep 27, 2018

Thursday, September 27th 2018 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme:  Golf Fever - it's the Ryder Cup beginning tomorrow, Tiger's back to winning ways, and we have an aptly-timed theme for this Thursday.

1A. *Top selection: TEE SHIRT. You can't wear a t-shirt to play golf on most courses in the UK, they're very sniffy about dress code. You used to not be able to wear sneakers, but now that all the latest golf shoes look like sneakers, it mush be causing must angst and "what is the world coming to?" wailings from the old buffers in the clubhouse.

Nike have recently been dressing Tiger and Rory McIlroy in collarless shirts - I wonder if they'd be tossed off the course? I highly doubt it.



22A. *Preliminary sketch: ROUGH OUTLINE

36A. *Overly defensive stance: BUNKER MENTALITY. Bunkers on golf courses were originally natural depressions in the links that sheep used to scratch out to huddle from the wind whipping in over the dunes.

45A. *Newbie: GREEN RECRUIT

63A. *Stud poker element: HOLE CARD. From whence "ace in the hole".

and the unifier:

54D. What a sequence of single strokes from the start of each starred answer to the next often adds up to: PAR.

So, on a par-4 golf hole, you skew a tee shot into the rough, muscle it out into a bunker, splash a sand wedge onto the green and make the putt. Not a bad par save.

I once played a par 4 when my ball never even touched the grass. I teed it up, drove straight into a bunker, found a greenside bunker with the next shot and chipped straight into the hole without touching the green. Sheer fluke. I bought drinks.

Nice go from Jeffrey, slick work with the stacked 8's and 6's top and bottom and solid themage. Nothing particularly to cringe about in the fill either.

Let's examine further:

Across:

9. Bring pleasure (to): APPEAL

15. Horror film line that usually gets its speaker in trouble: I'LL GO SEE

16. With conviction: FIRMLY

17. Final Yahtzee roll, e.g.: LAST TURN. Took me a moment. The player who rolls "Yahtzee" has the final roll of the game.

18. Defies: FLOUTS. One of those words often mis-replaced, in "flouts" case by "flaunts".

19. Omaha-to-Milwaukee dir.: ENE

20. Epidermal flaw: ZIT

21. Its practice doesn't make it perfect: LAW. Odd clue, I think I must be missing something punny about "perfect" law?

28. Cowboy leggings: CHAPS

30. Quite small: WEE

31. __ culpa: MEA. My bad!

32. Indian noblewoman: RANI

33. Utopia: EDEN

35. Degrees of creativity, briefly: BFA'S. Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees. Two or more of these degrees are BFA's, two or more degree holders are Bachelors of Fine Arts - what would they be - B's.F.A? We should be told.

39. Track calculation: ODDS

40. Very long time: EONS

41. Support for a stroller: CANE

42. Seminarian's subj.: REL. Not nuclear physics? I'm surprised.

43. __ bran: OAT

44. Stun gun brand: TASER

49. Kareem, once: LEW. Lew Alcindor, UCLA basketball legend. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as an LA Laker.

50. Interoffice PC connection: LAN. Local Area Network.

51. Vehicle that really moves?: VAN

54. Canal zone: PANAMA

57. "Lives of the Mayfair Witches" trilogy author: ANNE RICE. I'd not heard of the trilogy, but it didn't take me long to slot her name in. I read her "Interview with a Vampire" and loved it.

60. Video game figure: AVATAR

61. Agonize about: STEW OVER

62. Deal with a bounced email: RE-SEND

Down:

1. Roofing unit: TILE

2. Vigorous spirit: ELAN

3. "Got anything __?": ELSE

4. Mil. three-striper: SGT.

5. High on the Scoville scale: HOT. Chili heat scale. I've got some fresh ghost peppers in the fridge, I chop them wearing latex gloves. They are not to be messed with!

6. Rodeos, e.g.: ISUZUS. Made me pause for a few seconds. It's an SUV from Isuzu.

7. Equip anew: RE-RIG. A couple of "re"-dos today.

8. Back nine opener: TENTH. More golf!

9. Wealthy: AFFLUENT

10. "Ecce homo" speaker: PILATE. "Behold the man".

11. Hunt stealthily: PROWL. Here, Kitty Kitty!


12. Source of lean red meat: EMU.

13. PC key: ALT

14. Fleur in heraldry: LYS. Lys vs. Lis. Let the debate re-begin.

22. Assigns relative value to: RANKS

23. Mayberry kid: OPIE

24. 2018 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Terrell: OWENS. Known simply as "T-O" for a lot of his career.

25. "It's just a scratch": I'M FINE. I remember reading a quote from a claim form submitted to an Australian auto insurance company. "I told the other motorist I was not injured, but on removing my hat I discovered I had fractured my skull". There's stoic for you.

26. Not as messy: NEATER

27. "Nothing to it!": EASY

28. Less refined: CRUDER

29. Deal with: HANDLE

33. Put on quite an act: EMOTE

34. Cubs' digs: DEN

35. Heck of a party: BLAST

36. Swedish tennis great: BORG. Björn. He was fast around the court. I hear he was "Björn To Run".

37. Astern: REARWARD

38. Amazon berry: ACAI

43. Kind of band: ONE-MAN

44. Mine feature: TUNNEL

46. Please mightily: ELATE

47. Be at loggerheads: CLASH

48. Cost: RAN TO

51. Brawny rival: VIVA. I get Brawny from Costco. They do the job for me. I do go through a lot of them, though.

52. Big name in PCs: ACER

53. Bookish sort: NERD

55. Thoroughfare: Abbr.: AVE.

56. "Life Is Good" rapper: NAS. Grammy Award-nominated album in 2013.

58. Farm girl: EWE

59. Dungeons & Dragons bird: ROC. Muscle car: I-ROC. Fast food billionaire: KROC. LA-based music station: K-ROQ.

Rocking or not, here's the grid!

Steve


59 comments:

  1. Have you heard the story of ST. EWOVER.
    Patron of worriers the entire world over?
    He ventured to EDEN,
    Where all's safe for eatin',
    But still worried was it safe, over stew, to STEW OVER?

    Out on the PROWL was "Mugger" MacGee.
    Nabbed by the cops, he was held most FIRMLY!
    He who FLOUTS the LAW,
    Long terms he may draw!
    Can he enter an APPEAL? Don't know, I'LL GO SEE!

    He dug a fallout shelter with his BUNKER MENTALITY,
    To survive any BLAST in his locality.
    He could say, "I'M FINE!"
    At Armageddon's chime --
    But the ODDS of that happening are getting WEE!

    {B+, B, B.}

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jeffrey was the master of Thursday when he re-emerged as a contructing machine after a 40 year hiatus. He is back to his old tricks and as Steve put it, a timely puzzle ready for the latest battle between the US and Europe on the links. Presenting the fill sequentially is what makes this special for me. The picture was enhanced by starting the theme in the unusual 1A and finishing with the final fill. I have no great golf story to share but I did have more than my share of one putt sandies before my back said, no more golf.

    I liked seeing ANNE RICE again so soon after her being absent for a long time and the multi-word fill I'LL GO SEE STEW OVER and I'M FINE my favorites.
    Thanks Steve, and as always JW. I will finish linking the first LAT by Jeffrey from back in September 2012

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  3. Good morning!

    My grid is a mess, but I got 'er done. No, d-o didn't get the theme, even after reading the entire reveal clue. (Steve, are they called "buffers" rather than "duffers" across the pond? That "must angst" [sic] sounds like an elephant affliction.) Thanx for the workout Jeffrey, and for the tour, Steve.

    LAW -- Steve, I think the clue was just a play on the old saw "practice makes perfect."

    PROWL -- That tabby picture looks like our Porter, so named because we were on an M-O-W route in Porter when we found her. She's gonna get some TLC this weekend. Don't tell her that stands for Texas Litter Control.

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  4. Hi Y'all! I really liked this golf theme puzzle from Jeffrey. Thanks. And thanks to Steve for his ELAN & drive to take us to the club house.

    I've never played golf, but I've watched enough on TV to be familiar with terms which were liberally sprinkled throughout this puzzle. We had the "back nine opener" = TENTH (HOLE) where players make the (LAST) TURN. Sometimes they go thru a TUNNEL on the way to hand in their score CARD. A person needs to be AFFLUENT to afford to get good at golf. (My daughter sent a check for her boss's GREENS fees to a club in Arizona which was more dollars than her annual take-home pay.) Pro golfers are world RANKED. On the REGular pro tour they play ONE MAN competition rather than as a team. Lots of CHAPS play in the UK & Ireland. As with anything difficult like golf or musicianship, "Practice makes perfect". That's a LAW, I think. However, practicing LAW never achieves perfection in the endeavor.

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  5. WOW a M-O-W route in Porter? Were you driving a PORTER while drinking a PORTER?

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  6. I think I'm getting on JeffWech's wavelength. FIR, but erased fret OVER, stalk for PROWL, and Elk for EMU. I waited for lou / LEW, Caesar / PILATE and mFA / BFA.

    In my experience, TEE-ROUGH-BUNKER-GREEN-HOLE is NOT often a par. It would only apply to a one-putt on a par 5. Except for the pros, this sequence rarely happens. I see it sometimes on a par 4 for a bogie or two-putt double-bogie. Cute theme, but the unifier (look at me using fancy CW terms) could have been better worded. Hell of a lot of words for such a small nit!

    Steve - the fracture quote is NOTHING! The last time I was in for my colonoscopy I overheard an elderly-sounding lady next door talking to her doc. The doc asked her if she knew why she was there today. She answered that she was there for an autopsy. Talk about tough!

    D-O, thanks for loving your critter enough to fix it. You may remember my favorite Far Side cartoon.

    Thanks for your usual terrific puzzle, Jeffrey. And thanks to Steve for your usual fine explanation. I won't try Jeffrey's inaugural Saturday puzzle, however.

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    Replies
    1. Tee to rough is one. Rough to bunker is two bunker to green is three. Putt in the hole is four. 😎

      Delete
  7. WOW PK! Verrrry clever! Team golf starts tomorrow at 2:00 am EDT, televised on Golf Channel (DirecTV 218). The Ryder Cup is played by the 12 best players from Europe against America's best dozen (in theory). No prize money, just pride.

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  8. Fave constructor. Got this one first pass. Only write-over was REFIT became RERIG quickly in the NE.

    Go USA!

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  9. FIR. Starting in the NE I worked clockwise ending in the NW. Fun puzzle, Jeff. I liked the way the theme progressed. Steve thanks for the great review. I didn't know that about sheep and bunkers.
    Yahtzee is the name of a dice game, but it is also an element of the game, i.e. a five-of-a-kind, where all dice show the same value, which is the highest-scoring combination. It is not necessarily the end of the game or the last roll. You could get it on the first roll or any roll in between. You score each round and the highest overall score wins. The last time you get to roll is your last turn.
    Alan likes this game. Yahtzee and Uno are two games he can play with the rest of the family.
    PK, I like your clever post using so many golf terms. I agree with you that the pun is on the word practice. "However, practicing LAW never achieves perfection in the endeavor."
    The Good Life reminds me of Pura Vida, a common saying and a way of life in Costa Rica.
    Life Is Good
    Fleur-de-lis and fleur-de-lys are both acceptable in English.

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  10. Good Morning:

    This wasn't quite as difficult as the last JW I solved, but it came pretty close. The NE corner had me stymied for way too long because I couldn't get any traction. The entire corner was blank until I FINALLY filled in Affluent and then the dominos fell, one by one. What really irritated me was I had the uent for the longest time and still struggled coming up with the answer. I guess my brain was in snooze mode. Of course, not knowing the Ecce Homo speaker only added to my angst. I also stumbled on MFAs/BFAs, Rates/Ranks, and Stalk/Trail/Prowl. CSO to Owen(s) and noticed the encore appearances of Anne Rice and Acer. The theme was well hidden and the reveal was an Aha moment, albeit sort of anticlimactic, being only three letters long.

    Thanks, Jeffrey W, for another challenging but doable offering and thanks, Steve, for the nifty review. What mysterious recipe do those Ghost peppers enhance? They sound ferociously hot!

    Have a great day.

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  11. Good morning everyone.

    What a thrill to work on a Wechsler construction today. Took lots of grunt work but finally FIR. Didn't know EMUS had red meat. Live and learn.
    SGT - In Navy parlance a 3 striper is a CDR (Commander). A 4 striper is a Captain. But saw that only SGT would fit. We were taught that the SGT's "stripes" were chevrons. Dennis, what say you?
    ROUGH - German rau; L. German ruug. My mother would refer to an unkempt person as a ruge Esau. Quite apt I thought.

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  12. Jinx & YR: thank you for your kind words. I was thinking golf the whole puzzle before the PAR reveal and almost didn't see PAR doing acrosses there. Strange the word golf itself doesn't appear.

    For some reason, I was shocked to learn that Emus are eaten. Of course, they are. One would feed a whole tribe of aborigines.

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  13. Difficult solve, but after you read the write up, you notice that is only the beginning of all the golf references. Very, very, clever. Great job!

    GO USA !!! this weekend.
    I'll be up tonight at 2 AM watching!

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  14. Doc, Right you are. It takes me a couple to get out of the sand and somewhere around three putts after that. When that happens to my BIL he says "I'll take a bogey".

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  15. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jeffrey Wechsler, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Steve, for a fine review.

    Got through the puzzle easier than most Thursdays. Got the theme early and that helped. Really liked the theme. Very clever.

    We just had ANNE RICE, so she was fresh in my mind.

    LEW Alcindor was easy.

    PILATE was easy.

    ISUZUS was not easy. Until I thought about a car. Then it was easy. Oh well.

    OWENS was all perps.

    Have to run. A meeting a church, a meeting at the Scottish Rite, then I head to Pennsylvania for two days.

    See you tomorrow from Edinboro, Pennsylvania. Keggs and Eggs weekend.

    Abejo

    ( )

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  16. Musings
    -RATES instead of RANKS slowed me until I saw the theme on this wonderful puzzle although, like sometimes on the course, I never saw PAR
    -Steve, your tee to bunker to bunker to hole birdie sounds incredible
    -Car model names have been used a lot lately
    -A MEA CULPA from a student is as impressive as it is rare
    -Where ODDS were posted on this famous Omaha racetrack AK-SAR-BEN (Nebraska spelled backwards)
    -Our neighbor’s house has remained unsold for 3 months since the moving VAN left
    -My Dad spent WWII in the PANAMA Canal Zone. He often said, “Not one Nazi ship got through!”
    -One of my many faults is to STEW OVER something that has not yet happened
    -Our Lily PROWLS as if she is a big cat on the Serengeti
    -An EMU made news in my small hometown 3 yrs ago
    -If you look up any NAS lyrics, be prepared to HANDLE CRUDE language and acts

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  17. Hooray for me! I solved a JW Thursday tough-ie! Such clever clues...as always.

    My favorite was Degrees of Creativity. Well, yes they are.

    Also loved It’s practice doesn’t make it perfect though it took me awhile to get the joke. It’s always bothered me that doctors and lawyers only PRACTICE their professions!

    Thanks, Jeffrey, for a Heck of a party!

    Steve, great write up .

    Owen, the first was my favorite.

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  18. Well, I got up late this morning but the extra sleep sure didn't help with this toughie, which felt more like a Saturday than a Thursday to me. Sorry, Jeffrey--the problem was probably partly that I know nothing about golf. I tried and filled in bits here and there before I had to start cheating, but even in the end ISUZUS totally eluded me because I never thought of cars in relation to Rodeos. Guess my knowledge of cars is as poor as my knowledge of golf. I did have one quick chuckle though: got CANE immediately as support for a stroller--knew right away that it wouldn't refer to a child vehicle. Got EMU, but like PK, was startled to think it could be eaten. Well, not my best morning, but I'll try to get up earlier tomorrow and hope for a better Friday. Still enjoyed your write-up, Steve.

    Have a good day, everybody!

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  19. Hola!

    Yippee! A JW on Thursday! It APPEALs to me and I entered his wave length through the NE, went on the PROWL and filled the center, bottom and SW in record time. The NW stymied me for a long while until I realized TEE is a golf term. Oh, right. Then instead of focusing on rodeo as an event I saw that it was a car. Oh, Joe ISUZU. Remember him?

    Thank you, JW and Steve. I know nothing about golf, so thank you for the fine review.

    I'm listening to the Senate hearing with Prof. Ford testifying. Interesting!

    Have a splendid day, everyone!

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  20. I’m really getting to like JW's puzzles! It’s taken a while to get used to some of his sneaky ways, but I was able to FIR in just under 15 minutes. Caught the theme about halfway through and that helped. Favorites included I'M FINE, I'LL GO SEE, and STEW OVER. Nothing grated today.

    Abejo, we drove by the Scottish Rite on Lake St yesterday. Didn’t see you outside. :P Have a good trip!

    I have had Emu; didn’t hate it but it’s not something I think I will have again.

    Steve, if you need to wear gloves to handle them, shouldn’t that be a sign of what they will do to your innards? I don’t share the love for things that, having been bitten by me, bite back! My mother used to eat peppers so hot they made her face turn red and tears pour out of her eyes, and then say, "That was sooo good!" Never understood it and I guess I never will.

    Have a great day, all!

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  21. Got the PAR reveal right away. But it took awhile to see the golf theme. It really helped when I went back to the NW and immediately thought TEE!

    So many clever clues from Jeffrey Wechsler today! Including that TEE and RODEOS/ISUZUS.

    Learning moment that Kareem was once LEW. Never heard of a HOLE CARD, so that had me stuck thinking it was wrong. My last fill to FIR. Yay!

    Steve and Jinx Those IM FINE stories were funny and painful at the same time!

    Once time years ago I was driving in the mountains on a date with a lady friend. We came upon a bicyclist at the side of the road with his bicycle looking quite smashed up. He was covered in blood. I pulled up alongside him and asked if he needed a ride. He said "I'M FINE." He went on to explain he could fix his bike and ride out.

    I started to continue down the road and my lady friend berated me saying we can't leave him there. We went back and loaded his bike and him in the back of my little station wagon. It turned out he was not at all FINE. Women are better at noticing these things!

    Our little city is famous for its red TILE roofing.

    Here are two sets of photos that show the TILEs stretching as far as the eye can see!

    We often get NICE as a misleading clue.

    Once again here is me overlooking NICE

    Notice the red TILE roofing there, too! It is almost a twin of my little city of Santa Barbara!

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  22. From yesterday:
    WikWak, Yellowrocks and others Thanks for trying to explain UTES. I was aware that UTES are members of a tribe. And that it apparently refers to members of the Utah team.

    My question: Did the Utah team get its name from the tribe?

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  23. Hi everybody. I solved the puzzle, mostly OK, but I totally missed the intended concept of the theme. Rats.

    Lucina, yes, an extraordinary morning on TV.

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  24. My thot was that the tee/ rough/ bunker etc all were OVER PAR

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  25. Lucina, I can't lie - I do remember Joe ISUZU.

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  26. I've been glued to the TV for Dr. Ford's testimony too. The rhetoric from some of the pols trying to insure re-election or whatever has been a bit tiresome, but it is all interesting. That this all happened to her before age 16 would make it more traumatic than if she had been a few years older, I think. 13-15 are such awkward years for a girl or boy I think.

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  27. This went rather quickly for me today, but not without work.

    Writeovers...7D REFIT before RERIG11D CRAWL before PROWL, 22D RATES before RANKS. and that was it.

    I had to gasp when those 5 women on the news pooh-poohed the incident....”what 17 year old boy hasn’t done that...”.
    Well, I’d say just about all of them. I would have liked to ask any of them if I could lay my body weight on them while trying to remove their clothing and then cover their mouths with my hand...hardly a “touch”. Geez....and these are what Republican women think? Really? Wow.

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  28. Good afternoon, Steve and friends. Fun puzzle even though all I learned about golf, I learned through doing the crossword puzzles.

    Interesting to have ANNE RICE appear again this week.

    The AÇAI berry is becoming a crossword staple.

    My favorite clue was Vehicle that Really Moves = VAN.

    QOD: Mankind are governed more by their feelings than by reason. ~ Samuel Adams (Sept. 27, 1722 ~ Oct. 2, 1803)

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  29. It was a rough go, until i realized the Theme
    and changed "Wild card" to "Hole card."

    Then I had a tough time trying to squeeze "Fairway" into 22A,
    until I realized Jeffrey was a lousy Golfer...

    Curious, Emu? Red meat? I thought it was a bird?
    Not going to bother as I am sure anything in a crossword has been
    researched for facts first...

    Dennis! You showed up yesterday! Dang it! I owe you a cake!

    Speaking of lousy golfers,
    My left leg is numb from 2 herniated discs,
    same knee has dead bone from getting whacked with a pole. (long story...)
    Left arm cannot be raised over my head due to the joint where the arm connects
    to the shoulder was cracked in half during a fall. (longer story...)

    But hey! I can play golf with my right side!

    So, in trying to get in shape, I played Golf on the Wii game system.
    Fun stuff, but using that pseudo club/remote I sprained everything on the right side...

    Still love (the concept of) Golf, and want to play,
    which led me to this PC game", which is amazingly realistic.

    You can sign up for free at the above link.

    And here is a tutorial if interested...

    I actually played a couple of rounds with our Argyle several years ago.
    The best thing (besides the incredible graphics, & real courses)
    is you can ply with others and converse via text as you go.
    (but get teamspeak for live real time chat with anyone, anywhere in the world. ) (better than a Ham Radio!)

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  30. Cool pzl.
    I had to check a map to fill 19A. Otherwise, this was a chewy but doable challenge from Mr. W.

    Back to watching the Blasey/Kavanaugh senate hearings...

    ~ OMK

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  31. Wow. Very powerful testimony. Doesn't seem like an "evil" person in the least. Sen. Feinstein was overmatched.

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  32. WikWak@12:16

    (apologies in advance if I go TMI...)

    You are not genetically predispositioned to enjoy hot/spicy foods,
    so you will never know the enjoyment that we (or others) have in response
    to this, what seems a painful addiction.

    Some people like Cilantro (I love it!)
    Others think it tastes like soap...

    I love raw broccoli, but when you cook it, to me tastes like soap!
    (& smells even worse!)

    Some people talk of the runners high, the endorphin rush
    you get from exercise.
    (I have no idea what they are talking about...)


    But, for me, it started with Salsa.
    A little my burn, but then my genes compensate and release endorphins
    into my brain resulting in ( well, think orgasm, but not so intense.)
    So, a little more, and more euphoric feeling results.

    Eating hot stuff feels damn good!

    And, curiously,
    only your tongue is involved.
    The rest of your digestive system is immune to Capsicum and
    is not affected by it either thru heat or endorphin release.


    Until...
    It gets to that end of the road, ultimate release point.
    (you know what I mean)
    And there, it REALLY burns, with no endorphins in sight!

    I mean, a really good salsa high can be a pain in the butt later!

    Kind of makes me wish I knew a really good Mexican food joint...

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  33. Yeah,
    Spellchecker didn't like it either...

    I know I've heard it somewhere though...

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  34. Should it be prepositioned?

    dang!
    Spellchecker doesn't like that either...

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  35. I appreciate the really good, hard Jeff Wechsler puzzle and Steve's always scintillating review. I always try "master", but across the top only ELAN, SGT, ALT and LYS didn't turn red when I gave up & went to regular. Actually didn't get many red letters in the rest, though.

    I concur w/ deeper-otto @0612, PK @0737, Yellowrocks @0810 and SwampCat @1139 that practice makes perfect, but not in medicine or law. Medicine wouldn't fit.

    41a - took a minute to get stroller as one who strolls.

    34d - I thought the answer should be DENS. Cubs' in the clue is plural possessive; if singular it would be cub's.

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  36. On second (actually 4th or 5th) thought, I guess there could be more than one cub in a den.

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  37. Watched all nine hours of the hearings today. As Lucina said, interesting.

    Loved the puzzle, which I just finished.

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  38. Picard, University of Utah athletics teams are known as the "Utes" in honor of the American Indian tribe for which the state of Utah is named.
    I sympathize with Alexander in the children's book, Viorst's Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
    My car was shifting gears oddly so it took it to the dealer this morning. Of course in the past 36 hours it had shifted normally and all I asked for was an oil change. The mechanic recommended 4 new tires so I went to my tire dealer. Right after that it was time to pick Alan up from work. On the way home my car wouldn't shift into gear to start up after stopping at a light. I had to be towed back to the dealer. The mechanic's machine showed no problem. I insisted there was and a test drive showed a jerky first gear. Of course, this time it started up. This was a new transmission after the orignal failed in less than four years. They agreed I had a problem and I was given a loaner. This new transmission as still under the warranty by 2000 miles. I was away from home from 9:30 Am until 4:00 PM.
    When I returned home in the the mail I received notice that Alan's petition for a group home was denied because he is too able. Bull----. We will have to appeal.
    Yes, Alexander, it was A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

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  39. Hi All!

    Finally! Finally, I nailed a Thursday! A JW, no less. Thanks JW for a challenge.

    Excellent both in technicals (stacks, etc.) and colour commentary, Steve. Thanks.
    //I miss Splynter's tech-overviews w/ missing letters, etc :-)

    Once I figured out GOLF - I got BUNKER MENTALITY and things filled much faster.

    WOs: I read 10d as" Echo home speaker" and had a mess of ink that was Alexas. @28d: Coarse b/f CRUDER, MFAs b/f BFAS.
    ESPs: LEW, PILATE, BORG
    Fav: Cub's digs ≠ Wrigley
    Runner-up: I'LL GO SEE [aaahaahhhh!]

    {B, A, A}

    IM - I had nearly the same problem in the NE. 13d was going to be ALT or Esc, 14d was L-S (I or Y?), and that was it. Like, you it was PROWL and AFFLUENT that finally unlocked the NE. Worse, 10d was a mess.

    D-O: LOL TLC

    PK - I'm in awe of your Golf "story." Nice.

    CED - PC golf has come a long way. I had one in college (early '90s) called Links or some such. It had a plunk-plash noise when your ball went in the drink and, if you hit a tree, commentary would come on "Looks like he hit a tree, Jim."

    Two works I hate after a CLASH - "I'M FINE." Oh, boy, I'm still in trouble...

    Cheers, -T

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  40. Dear Cornies,

    I started this before the Corner opened today. I have yet to finish today's CW. I may not comment on it today.

    Picard FLN at 12:35 PM
    - - Splynter would approve of the mule tender in her sock feet. The mule skinner with his straw hat and beard reminded me of The Mule Skinner Blues.
    - - I bet the street lights are bright at night. ART is in my eye. I'm beholden.
    - - The co-joined trio was cute.

    Husker Gary FLN at 3:21 PM
    - - I am playing BINGO with my co-residents, but we are not at each other like the "cut throats" were.

    Ðave

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  41. YR, you may want to do an internet search for the year, make and model of your car and "transmission trouble". I was ready to call a local charity that supports kids with disabilities to come tow away my well-worn, crazy-shifting RAV4. Since they were closed, I spent the evening doing the search for my car. Come to find out, my Toyota was made when the EPA forced manufacturers to replace much of the lead used in solder with silver. Turns out that my car was notorious for having cracked solder joints on the electronic control module. Several folks reported sending their ECM to a guy in New York to have the board resoldered. I thought it would be worth $200 including overnight return shipping to make sure the transmission was bad. Lo and behold, two days later the ECM was returned and the car has been shifting like a new car for more than five years.

    Probably isn't what's wrong with yours, but cars (an most other mechanical and electronic things) do tend to have trouble patterns. Dealers will ALWAYS act like it is the first time they have ever heard of the problem, unless there is an existing recall or TSB against the problem.

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  42. When I checked my link, the next Youtube selection was Bill Monroe "Rawhide".
    I had to fan my laptop to keep it from igniting in flames.

    Ðave

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  43. I listened to much of the hearings today. Did anyone but me think the definition for "sexual assault" was somewhat more injurious?

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  44. Very late to comment today, due to the 'circus' that I watched on television. I'll admit that I couldn't finish the NE, missing AAPAL, FIRMLY, FLOUTS, EMU, & PROWL. I had the hardest time filling the S of I'LL GO SEE & ISUZU Rodeo ( which was also a Honda Passport). Not ever having played Yahtzee, LAST TURN was perped but made sense.


    I didn't notice the golf theme. Even though ANNE RICE lived about 3 miles away as the crow flies, she was also perped. No other unknowns besides the rapper, who I will never know nor ever care to know. Kudos to those who finished it today and to Jeffrey. Better than me.

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  45. Oh, and speaking of ROUGH, BUNKER, GREEN, HOLE, & PAR, I have a tee time for 7:46 Saturday at the Tournament Players Club. If I break 100, I'll be lucky. Water in play off the tee on seven holes and over 150 BUNKERS. ROUGH- plenty because it has rained a lot lately.

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  46. Pk. In today's climate...no not at all. To use some crosswordese, a LEER or even an OGLE is grounds for assault. Not saying if I think that is for better or worse, I'm just sayin'. In the same vein of ambiguity, the old saw of "boys will be boys" is longer acceptable.(no. I'm not accepting her experiences as warranted. Just not sure who committed the crime) Ffffffart jokes and the like are longer funny. Even if you are 13 years old. I mourn for the good old days. Teenage antics and the humor associated with them are only acceptable in Hollywood. Yes, I believe that Caddyshack, Animal House and Fast Times at Ridgemont High contributed to Kavanaugh's teenage behavior and yearbook entries. I know I did to mine! But Hollywood is never to blame for glorifying violence and mysongy. Hell, they already said that Bill Cosby's star is not going to be removed.

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  47. Cosby was convicted for long ago actions. The passage of time is no excuse.

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  48. PK (from yesterday) -- still workin' on it. Thanks for remembering, guys.

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  49. Oh, and Dennis, one of the few good portmanations/abbreviations/accronyms since you were here is FLN. It's a good one(lloyd christmas)

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  50. PK:
    I'm not sure what you mean. Would you expand your question.

    My take on today's proceedings is a line from Shakespeare: "Methinks thou dost protest too much."

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  51. First... AveJoe - is that you @10:55? Dennis - You were out b/f I showed up but I LIU your history... Props!
    As for FLN, I was once credited with it (by kjinkc on 1/23/14) but I'm sure I didn't invent it.

    Lucina - you're forcing my hand to chime in....
    A number of folk in the office had the hearing streaming [hand-up: I got HPM's feed]. One could hear ID-10-T* partisan folk arguing about their positions two offices away.
    Me: I found the Dr. quite credible, and Kavanaugh reasonable in his year-book "accolades/conquest" defense [I like beer and Animal House!] but not much else as he berated the process. Too, there's been more uncorroborated accusations that, frankly, we should have investigated b/f Benching him - it wouldn't be the first time a full baseball-team didn't robe-out. JMHO.

    Cheers, -T
    *Technical term - if you see that on your NERD-Squad invoice, be insulted :-)

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  52. Bottom line, IMHO, more witnesses should have been called.

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  53. Should have called them weeks ago. I agree

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  54. I think it would be wise if each of us made a conscious effort to not bring up hotbed topics in our comments. They induce responses and quickly become political. This really isn't the venue to discuss such subject matter.

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