google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, November 14, 2018, Ed Sessa

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Nov 14, 2018

Wednesday, November 14, 2018, Ed Sessa

Piece of Cake!

You can find 10 different types of cake in the circles found in this puzzle.  (Yes, this is a dreaded circle puzzle.)  The cakes are placed in pairs with one of the cakes "layered" upon the other cake in the pair.  I don't see a connection between the pairs, other than the fact that they all contain the same number of letters.  Despite the circles, the cakes makes for a sweet theme.

6-Across. Tinker Bell's friend: PAN.  //  Layered upon 15-Across.  Garden tool: HOE.

Tinker Bell's pal is Peter Pan.  Do you think they eats PANCAKES?



Despite living in the South, I had never heard of a HOE Cake.  Apparently, it is made with cornmeal and may also be called a Johnny Cake.  Here's Recipe.




14-Across. Low on funds: SHORT.  //  Layered upon 17-Across:  Manx currency:  POUND.

Here's a recipe for Strawberry SHORTcake.




The Pound is the currency used on the Isle of Man.  Here's a Recipe for POUND Cake.




33-Across. Amaretto flavor: ALMOND.  //  Layered upon 36-Across.  Reef creature:  SPONGE.

ALMOND Cake is not a common type of cake, but it looks good.  Here's a Recipe.



Nothing is better than a good SPONGE Cake.  Here's a Recipe.




41-Across. Word that always brings a smile?: CHEESE.  //  Layered upon V8 veggie:  CARROT.

CHEESEcake is a very different type of cake.  Here's a Recipe



Our wedding cake was a CARROT Cake.  The food editor of our local newspaper was a friend and she made it for us.  Here's a Recipe




66-Across. Coke go-with: RUM.  //  Layered upon 69-Across.  English cuppa: TEA.

RUM Cake remind me of the Christmas Holidays.  Here's a Recipe.



Just go buy a box of TEA Cake!  I'm tired of cooking!  I thought Tea Cakes would be more exciting.  Steve, can you enlighten us on the appeal of these Tea Cakes?


And the "icing" that unifies the theme:

64-Across. With 67-Across, what five pairs of answers in the circles represent: LAYER.

67-Across. See 64-Across: CAKES.

Together these to two clues give us LAYER CAKES.

Let's see what tasty treats are in store for us.

Across:
1. Hee-hawers: ASSES.

9. Part of WTO: TRADE.  As in the World Trade Organization.  The word World also fits into the spaces provided.

16. Four-bagger: HOMER.  Think of baseball.  The bases are loaded and the batter hits a Home run.  Bases don't have to be loaded, but it's fun when they are.

18. Seriously funny shows?: DRAMEDIES.  Portmanteau of Drama and Comedy.

20. Organ near the stomach: SPLEEN.  I'm pretty sure you can live without one.

22. Doldrums: BLAHS.

23. "Boyz n the Hood" actress Long: NIA.  Boyz n the Hood was a 1991 movie.  I never saw the movie, but apparently NIA Long (b. Oct. 30, 1970) was in the cast.


25. __ shadow: EYE.


26. Hive builder: BEE.


29. Entrance: BEWITCH.  Not the door type of entrance.


35. Trivial matter: NON-ISSUE.

37. Foes of the evil Saruman: ENTs.  Think of The Lord of the Rings.  Actually, I try not to think of those creatures.

38. Logical beginning?: ECO-.  As in ECOlogical.

40. Appear: SEEM.

44. Winding Alaskan river with a Hawaiian name: HULA HULA.  A learning moment.  I had never heard of this river.  It is way north!



48. Upper arm muscle: TRICEPS.



49. Yoga chants: OMs.  I take a yoga class twice a week.  We always chant OM at the beginning and ending of the class.

50. Wrigley Field abbr.: CHI.  As in the Chicago Cubs.


52. Roll in the grass: SOD.  Cute clue.

53. Political spin, say: SLANT.

55. Cocoa company: NESTLÉ.  Because Hershey wouldn't fit.

60. Anno Domini alternative: COMMON ERA.  Anno Domini is a Latin term meaning "In the Year of Our Lord."  It presupposes a belief in Christianity, as this calendar begins with the birth of Christ.  Other faith traditions use different calendars.  We are currently in the year 5779 in the Hebrew Calendar, for example.  For consistency with dates, however, the Christian calendar is used throughout most of the world.  Non-Christian, however, prefer the term Common Era.

65. Hippie's wheels: VW BUS.  I initially tried a VW Bug.


68. Roofing stone: SLATE.

70. More than a little heavy: OBESE.

Down:
1. Pharaoh's sacred snakes: ASPS.  These snakes make frequent guest appearances in the puzzles.

2. Look for bargains: SHOP.

3. Heart's companion: SOUL.  As in the phrase Heart and Soul.

4. Sea eagle: ERNE.


5. Martyred bishop of Paris: ST. DENIS.  St. Denis was a 3rd century Bishop of Paris, France.  He was beheaded, and, according to legend, picked up his head and carried it to the location where he wanted to be buried.



6. Advanced deg.: Ph. D.  As in the Doctor of Philosophy degree.  I think I had this answer the last time I did the blog.

7. "You have two choices": A OR B.

8. Writer Zora ___ Hurston: NEALE.  Zora NEALE Hurston (Jan. 7, 1891 ~ Jan. 28, 1960) was an African-American author.  She is best known for her 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God.  I have never read this novel.




9. Oscar-nominated film starring Viola Davis: THE HELP.  Viola Davis (b. Aug. 11, 1965) also stars in the television show, How to Get Away with Murder.


10. Towel holders: RODS.  Because Racks was one letter to many for the spaces provided.

11. Mate, across the Channel: AMI.  Today's French lesson.  The Channel in question is the  English Channel that separates England from France.


12. Ruby of "A Raisin in the Sun": DEE.  Ruby Dee (Oct. 27, 1933 ~ June 11, 2014) was married to actor Ossie Davis.


13. Critical-care ctrs.: ERs.  As in Emergency Rooms.  My first thought was ICU, but the clue indicated the plural.

19. Mesoamerican pyramid builders: MAYAS.  I would probably say Mayan, but ...  Here is the famous pyramid at Chichen Itza.  In 2004, we took my parents to visit this pyramid.  We were able to climb to the top then.  It may be off limits now.


21. Petty peeves: NITS.

24. Take __ from: emulate: A CUE.

26. Study hard: BONE UP.

27. Marx collaborator: ENGELS.  As in Friedrich Engels (Nov. 28, 1820 ~ Aug. 5, 1895) who collaborated with Karl Marx (May 5, 1818 ~ Mar. 14, 1883).  No relation to the Marx Brothers.


28. Buildup of fluid: EDEMA.

29. Actress Helena __ Carter: BONHAM.  Helena BONHAM Carter (b. May 26, 1966) has stared in many films directed by Tim Burton (b. Aug. 25, 1958).


30. Passes the threshold: ENTERS.

31. More like the Magi: WISER.  As in the three WISEmen.

32. "Notorious" screenwriter Ben: HECHT.  I am not familiar with Ben HECHT (Feb. 28, 1894 ~ Apr. 18, 1964).  I think he has made guest appearances in the puzzles, though.


34. Israeli leader Dayan: MOSHE.  MOSHE Dayan (May 20, 1915 ~ Oct. 16, 1981) was my childhood hero.


35. Maker of sweet wafers: NECCO.  I still love NECCO Wafers.  They are called such because they are made by the New England Confectionery Company.  My favorites are the chocolate.


39. Collective possessive: OURS.

42. "Missed it by that much": SO CLOSE.

43. Musical wunderkind Bortnick: ETHAN.  Ethan Jordan Bortnick (b. Dec. 24, 2000) began playing the piano at age 3!


45. Columbia University athlete: LION.


46. Auto parts supplier: ACDELCO.  Thank you perps for giving me the name of this company ~ ACDelco.

51. Like some gases: INERT.  Also known as the Nobel Gases.  The ones that occur naturally are Helium (He), Neon (Ne), Argon (Ar), Krypton (Kr), Xenon (Xe), and Radon (Rn).

53. X-rated stuff: SMUT.

54. Get straight?: TRUE.


56. Automaker founded in Sweden: SAAB.  The company went into bankruptcy in 2011.

57. Tot: TYKE.

58. Jeans choice: LEEs.  Levi would also fit into the spaces provided.

59. Scots Gaelic: ERSE.

60. Rite Aid rival: CVS.  CVS stands for Consumer Value Stores.

61. Midnight mouser: OWL.  Cute clue; cute owl.


62. Degree for a CFO: MBA.  A Chief Financial Officer would likely hold a Master of Business Administration degree.



63. Reddit Q&A session: AMA.  AMA stands for Ask MAnything.

I hope you enjoyed this Dessert for Breakfast!



44 comments:

  1. The wonderful symmetry is the icing on the many cakes of this puzzle. Coincidence again, as the friends of Oo who are also in Chiang Mai now (he too is farang) tell the story of when as a boy he ordered a pound cake ans was sorely disappointed it was not a pound of cake.

    BTW here the year is 2661, though they have adopted the Roman months. I did not know of the river HULA HULA

    We also have a mini-theme of strong successful women of color

    Thank you Dr. Ed and Susan

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  2. Hi All it's been a while since I have commented. I got back doing the puzzles after the busy season with my new Biz in the small engine repair field.....

    OK here we go..... First of all I had to giggle and laugh when I saw the last line that said "OK lets see what tasty treats are in store for us" Then I saw clue #1 Oh boy I rolled on the floor...... OK nuff of Dat ....LOL

    I blew this puzzle big time.... MayaN for MayaS.... TricepT for Triceps.. I was thinking singular for muscle..... Never did get Entrance until I saw the write up.. DUH ME...thinkind of a doorway also.....Never got Smut thinking Blue... Too many empty blocks so the red letters came on and then finished..... BTW THINKIND is a short way I made up for Thinking Kinda something ETC ETC. What ya'll THINK LOL ...

    No circles as always and I don't like the other site too many ads and pop ups so that slows the puzzle down a lot and is annoying .... I wish Nensa would put the circles in ..... I know for a fact they are smart enough to do that.... My father in law was in Mensa....

    Plus Tard from Cajun Country.... Stay warm all cause if it's cold down here it's cold everywhere ~!~!


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  3. Hi Y'all! Despite having no circles, I went back after the reveal and found all the LAYERed CAKEs. Thank you for an interesting new concept, Ed. Engrossing solve.

    Thank you for making my mouth water, Hahtoolah. Great expo! I used to make a lot of cakes "from scratch". I had heard of HOE cake made by poor pioneers who grew more corn than wheat for flour.

    Last to fill: DRAMADIES/MAYAS/BLAH/EYE crosses. Never heard of DRAMADIES. Was trying to think of North American pyramid builders in Illinois? Duh!

    I was stuck on a door until BEWIT perped in and I realized "entrance" needed a CH for a non-door pronunciation.

    Never heard of Saruman so ENT was ESP. Had the last HULA & finally tried a double up for the unknown river.

    Also DNK: HECHT, ETHAN, LION, AMA.

    I've read "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Z. NEALE H. and "THE HELP" then saw the movies. Didn't read or see "A Raisin in the Sun" but knew Ruby DEE.

    I'd like to have back half the money the men in my family spent at ACDELCO, but it took ACD to remember.

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  4. Good morning all.
    Thank you Ed Sessa for a challenging puzzle and Hahtoolah for the review.
    The only real problem was BEWITCH for entrance.
    I’m not on that wave lenght I guess.
    Got the theme after I filled in SAAB , OBESE and TYKE.
    Have a great day

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  5. Good morning!

    The theme actually helped me this morning. I saw the circles, which I then ignored, but the stacked theme answers gave me LAYER CAKES. IMO there's only one type of cake, and it's spelled CHOCOLATE. You can keep the impostors. Still, it was a clever puzzle idea, no NITS here. Thanx, Ed and Hahtoolah.

    OWL: We just re-watched a 2015 Nature about owls that explained why they can fly so silently. They don't tear food apart...just swallow it whole.

    NIA: Nia Long has a recurring role on NCIS Los Angeles. I expect this'll be the last year for that incarnation, perhaps for the whole franchise.

    AC DELCO: Used to be a subsidiary of General Motors, maybe still is.

    COMMON ERA: I prefer BCE/CE to BC/AD.

    Yesterday the Barnacle trumpeted, "Houston gets record snow!" Translation: Somebody saw a snowflake and it's never happened before this early in the year. TV Weathermen were dropping F-bombs -- not the innocent ones, the 6-letter ones -- Freeze. Didn't happen last night, but it was close. Tonight will probably be the real deal. Poor Phil, the philodendron, hasn't been himself in a couple of years. He used to be 8' tall and 12' in diameter. Now he's 3' tall and 6' in diameter. But, this year he's small enough to be coverable, so maybe he'll survive.

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  6. Thumper, thumper, thumper. I wasn't on Ed's bandwidth at all today; in fact he was on UHF and I was on ULF. My only fun today was waiting for VW BU g/s. I had a 1972 (micro)bus as a young man.

    The puzzle brought back memories of many good times in that unreliable and unsafe vehicle.
    Funniest was when I was picking up a date on my Honda 750 at her parent's house. She came out and told me her father wouldn't allow her to ride motorcycles. No problem, I returned in a few minutes with my bed-on-wheels bus. This time her dad said "hell no". (She was an adult but living with mommy and daddy while working her way through college. Our roof, our rules. Yada, yada, yada.) We never did go on that first date.

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  7. "Red Stick" blogger, you aren't the only one who has never heard of a HOE cake and I've always lived in LA. ALMOND cake is another. But did I see the LAYER CAKES? NO. Did I finish the puzzle? NO.

    PK- I'd never heard of DRAMADIES either but it fit.

    Anno Domini- never knew what it meant, just A.D. and B.C. Also never heard of COMMON ERA.
    Reddit- no idea about it, so even with MA in place my WAG for the COMMONER cross was 'S'. COMMONERS & SMA made as much sense to me. BCE/CE or BC/AD nitpicking falls on deaf ears when it comes to geological time.

    But the rest of the puzzle was tough with unknowns filled by perps and WAGs. HULAHULA river, ETHAN Bortnick, THE HELP, NIA Long, Ben HECHT, Helena BONHAM Carter, ENTS, Zora NEALE Hurston.

    VW VAN before BUS took over. All Rite-Aids around here just became either Walgreens or were shut down in the last few months.

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  8. Yummy puzzle this morning! Now I'm hungry! Alas, NECCO wafers are no longer-at the moment-as the company was sold, this past summer. Haven't heard whether the new holding company will sell off assets or re-open. Husband was a HUGE fan of the chalkie treats. I always stuffed a few rolls in his Christmas stocking. ENTRANCE and A CUE were my sticking points-obviously not pronouncing the first word, in its other form. Couldn't get past TAKE___FROM, EMULATE-Kept thinking: Take a page from? A nod? CUE escaped me for the longest time--and yet so simple! D'oh. Forgot ENTS, which is used frequently! Another D'Oh. Shout out to those affected by fires in the West, as we expect more rain and possible snow in the East. So unfair! Wish we could share our weather!

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  9. This was a puzzle to make me smile....and then make me hungry! Although I am more of a pie and cookie fan than a CAKES fan!
    I wanted at first to put FENCES for the Viola Davis Oscar nominated movie- but it was a letter short. I loved the book THE HELP and the movie. She is an wonderful actress!

    We've already had 2 snows here - very early for this area and it's stayed cold enough to last.
    We have been wanting to pave the parking lot for 3 weeks at our church - and after a scorching, dry summer of course it has been raining for 2 weeks and then snowing this past week! We are supposed to have a big event there Dec 1-2 and hoping we get a window for it before that!
    Thanks Hatoolah and Ed!

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  10. I do the puzzle on line, therefore can't see any circles. I got tripped up then in the SE corner as I had 46D as ACDE??O which didn't make any sense to me until the reveal, and the first letter to 64A & 67A were unknown to me. So no "ta-da" for me.

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  11. Good Morning.

    Thanks, Ed, for a bit of a Wednesday challenge. I worked without the circles. I wonder if they would have been useful since I was confounded by other clues. My fave today was Entrance for BEWITCH. I looked and looked. Suddenly I re-parsed En-Trance! Good thing there was a V-8 can nearby!! Of course, that was tomato before CARROT. On the way from Logan to Maine, we drove by the NECCO headquarters in Revere, MA. As a kid, they were some fun candies to share. I hope their demise isn't permanent.

    Hahtoolah, thanks for the tour and the recipes. I do love POUND CAKES for their versatility. I suppose I could say the same for CHEESE CAKES. Yummy start to the day.

    Enjoy this one, sunny or not.

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  12. Musings
    -CAKE was obvious but I needed the reveal for LAYER in Dr. Sessa’s wonderful puzzle. Nice job, Hahtoolah!
    -BEWITCH? Oh, in-ˈtran(t)s and not en-trən(t)s. Loved it!
    -DRAMEDY - M*A*S*H seemed to be more dramatic after Frank left
    -The SOD we laid for MIL last month came in 300 lb rolls. I had to peel them like an onion
    -Hippie neighbor is using his VW BUS as a money pit
    -SHOP profile – Woman actively engaged, husband following with hands in pockets
    -A lesser blogger would say ST DENIS kept his head, but not me
    -A OR B are choices I had to keep making when I had my last eye exam
    -C.C.’s 11/10/18 puzzle used “16. ___ Eyes Were Watching God”
    -The Help is remembered for a PIE not a cake. Ugh!
    -I’ve resolved (month and a half early) to have thicker skin about NIT PICKING on my Saturday blogs
    -Ya gotta’ love this water tower in Revere, MA.
    -A raptor expert brought a cute OWL to our school but warned the kids, “A bird like this can NEVER be your friend!”

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    Replies
    1. MASH was great the first three or four years. Then actors left, and they started taking themselves too seriously. Klinger stopped wearing dresses, Hotlips and Pierce became chummy, no Radar, Trapper John, Frank, Henry. Always felt it is one of the most overrated shows ever in terms of entertainment value (after the exodus of original characters).

      Delete
  13. Good morning everyone.

    Not eating LAYER CAKES since beginning my diet last May 24th. (I've lost 38# so far.). Once the reveal fell, I WAGGED CHEESE and CARROT in the west and with a few perps, it was done.
    CED should be proud. Some CSO.
    Bi-ceps wouldn't fit so I tried TRI-CEPS.
    Only look-up was for BEWITCH. Still don't get the meaning.

    Good puzzle, Ed, and fine intro from Hahtoolah.

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  14. -FWIW, I was watching this miniseries on Netflix and heard the word I have been trying to remember – EPISODIC – “something that is episodic occurs at irregular and infrequent intervals” Collins Dictionary

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  15. Well all this puzzle did was make me hungry for dessert. LOL
    (And I'm going shopping ... maybe I will pick up a few at the Bakery).

    Hand up for learning a new river's name HULA HULA ... I'll probably forget it by noon.

    A week before Thanksgiving Eve ...

    Cheers!

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  16. Good Morning:

    Despite not being a cake lover, I enjoyed this sweet treat a lot. I didn't see the theme until the reveal as I really didn't try to connect the over and under words. I think most of us saw EN trance, not en TRANCE so that definitely needed perps. Unknowns were Hula Hula and Ethan. I liked seeing MBA and PH.D. and Necco and Nestle, adding more sweet treats! CSO to Abejo at Tea. My favorite C/A was Midnight mouser=Owl.

    Thanks, Ed, for a mid-week "treat" and thanks, Hatoolah, for an entertaining and informative summary. I don't bake but I'm sure your many recipes will be appreciated by those who do.

    Boo, it was good to hear from you. Don't be a stranger.

    DO @ 6:57 ~ Your comment about chocolate cake reminded me of a cake my mother used to make that one of my brothers craved. I never ate it but I believe it was very rich and gooey, with walnuts in it. She made everything from scratch and the recipes were never written down.

    There was a slight dusting of snow on my deck this morning, so I guess winter is upon us.

    Have a great day.

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  17. It may have been a "piece of cake", but it was a bit crunchy for me - which is not a good attribute of any cake that I know.

    Just a thought for those who don't see the circles: If you happen to be solving on an Android device (phone or tablet), check out the "Shortyz Crosswords" app, free on Google Play. It downloads puzzles for offline solving (your choice from a selection including the LAT and a bunch of others), offers hints when needed - and, it always shows the circles!

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  18. Wednesday workout. Thanks for the fun, Ed and Hahtoolah.
    It took me a long time to see those LAYER CAKES in the circles but finally the light dawned. Yummy!

    Entrance and True as verbs, not nouns, held me up at first. But "roll in the grass" was noun not verb LOL!
    Hand up for Tomato before CARROT. Madame D, loved your V8 can moment!
    Unknowns included HECHT, LION, NECCO (probably Canadian disadvantage here) and ETHAN.
    HULAHULA was a WAG. Thanks for explaining the unknown AMA.
    Smiled at NIT and NONISSUE clecho.

    Welcome back Boo.
    Congrats on your weight loss, Spitzboov.
    Good day to all of you.

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  19. Jay B thanks for the great heads up tip.

    For me though I use either my iMac or my iPad to solve. So, I guess I'm SOL on this one. Thanks anyway.

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  20. G'day, all.

    I finished the puzzle in about average time for a Wednesday. For some reason the northwest gave me the most trouble, so I started in the northeast and worked clockwise. By the time I got back to the top the perps had helped and I got my V-8 moment.

    I knew AC DELCO from my high school job working in a gas station. COMMON ERA came into use while I was still teaching, so that was a gimme. Midnight mouser = OWL was my favorite. I used to love NECCO wafers!

    If you’re an iPad user, an excellent crossword app is Crosswords Classic, which can be found in the App Store. I have used it for years and find it easy to use. It doesn’t directly import the LA Times puzzle, but Cruciverb (cruciverb.com) will; just go there, download the puzzle and choose "open with Crosswords". Cruciverb keeps a one month library of LAT puzzles.

    Off to see the Duttons, followed by Crystal Gale after dinner. Have a great day, all!

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  21. Great test today, just wish there were no circles.

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  22. Thank you, Ed Sessa and Hahtoolah! What a sweet puzzle!

    Ten LAYER CAKES and I can't enjoy a single one! But this puzzle brought me joy as I was on Ed's wave length and chugged right along to the end. Before NESTLE I had HERSEY. Oh right, HERSHEY. That changed and the theme emerged.

    ACDELCO used to have a catchy commercial that immediately came to mind with the clue.

    Helen BONHAM Carter has evolved wonderfully as an actress. She excelled in The King's Speech and in Cinderella, the only recent movies in which I've seen her.

    Spitz:
    Congratulations on your weight loss!

    Have a cozy, restful day, everyone!

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  23. In a local blog on Halloween candy, comments on NECCO waters ranged from “they’re the best” to “anyone who likes necco wafers is either: 1) a sociopath, 2) a nostalgic octogenarian who trick-or-treated before the advent of candy that tastes good, or 3) both.”
    Ben HECHT wrote over 70 movies (some uncredited) including The Front Page, Scarface, GWTW, winning two Oscars.
    4-6” of snow tomorrow, so I may not get that last mowing in. Couldn’t now anyway, I raked Monday and I’ve never seen so much mud in my back yard in November in the 30 years I’ve lived here.

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  24. Hi, Boo!

    Jinx: too funny about that date. She wasn't adventuresome enough for the likes of you anyway.

    Spitz: congrats on your weight loss. We may have all put on five pounds just thinking about these cakes today.

    I don't know how I missed them, but I never had a NECCO.

    My family's favorite cake was a Hawaiian Spice cake with pineapple both in the cake and 7-minute frosting. I think I got the recipe from a Pillsbury Bake-off cookbook. It was a winner. Otherwise I'm a chocoholic.

    WikWak: are you napping less since dehydrating? I am. Your napping and needing a diuretic gave me a clue so I started the dehydration process and am much more alert. Thanks for sharing.

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  25. en-TRANCE as in put a spell on. ddbmc gave it to me. I had it all perped in once I replaced CHEERS with the cake I don't care for. My wife loves carrot cake though.

    I can't see how circles would have been any help. Nice theme from Ed though. Same, same for Hahtoolah on the write-up.
    When a French Crusader was about to lop off a saracen head he'd shout "Sainte Denis"
    Having driven by many times I thought NECCO was in Charlestown.

    I struggled in the SW because I hastily inked PORN and ADOBE. And... I just couldn't think of CVS and there's one right in town. It technically wouldn't have been out of my way to drive by. Cheating?? Jury, your verdict?

    WC

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  26. I like cake and I liked this puzzle. Saw the CAKES immediately but didn't understand LAYER until reading Hahtoolah's terrific write-up. Of course I put CAKES in at 64a and then wondered what the heck should go in 67a. My theme grokking is sporadic.

    Absolutely one of may favorite clue/answers of all time is Entrance/BEWITCH. Genius!

    I learned what AMA is. My texting shortcut skills are sporadic at best.

    Malfunctions that are EPISODIC are really hard to diagnose.

    I agree with PK about Jinx's non-date and am also glad to see you here again, Boo. Congratulations on your new business.

    Best wishes to you all.

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  27. Spitz @ 9:32 ~ Congrats on the weight loss!

    WikWak @ 11:32 ~ I, too, have used Crosswords Classic for several years and find it very user friendly.

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  28. SPitz! 38lbs! impressive!
    I only ever lost two things, my mind, and my memory...

    This puzzle was no piece of cake, I put it down and picked it up 3 times
    in between chores.

    Bottom center = FIW
    I didn't remember Rum, (happens often with rum.)
    and being a commoner I don't know Latin. So when Commoner(blank) appeared
    I just threw in an "S" and went to the Blog to see what a Reddit "SMA" was???

    Hahtoolah! I thought Jzb was unusually into recipes today...

    I actually got Marx collaborator, because Margaret and Dumont would not fit.

    F.Y.I.

    layer cakes? A specialty of mine!
    I've laid a few of these in my time...

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  29. Well I didn’t get the solve as I inadvertently left a cell open...d’oh.

    I thought this a typical Wednesday puzzle....but there were too many people’s proper names, IMHO.

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  30. LOL. I had to sing the old Paul Winchell jingle to myself to remember how to spell Nestle, "N E S T L E S, Nestle's makes the very best... choc-late!"

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  31. Boo welcome back🛸 Jinx you devil you and good job Spitz.
    Jfromvt is another example of opinion as many I know liked M*A*S*H better with the cast changes

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  32. Oops NECCO was a favorite as a kid. I hadn’t seen them in years and bought some when they reappeared and meh.

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  33. I have crossed the Yukon, but never heard of the HULA HULA! I wonder how many other such Xwd-ripe glories Alaska has kept hidden away?

    Nice photos of CAKEs, Hahtoolah! Yummm.
    I wonder why CARROT cake is the only cake bakeries persist in placing an eponymous image on top?
    Lest we forget?
    Why not a wheel of Gouda atop a CHEESE CAKE?
    Or, for that matter, a Mommy in labor atop a Birthday CAKE?

    Never gave much thought before to ST DENIS. Knew he had sumpin' to do with France, but now I know he was an early example of decapitation. Maybe he is what hooked the country on the practice. This was well before they perfected the guillotine, so you had to hope your headsman was a good shot. His must've been a clean cut, because he was able to continue preaching while carrying his head for miles.
    In Latin or French, I wonder?

    ~ OMK

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  34. Hi All!

    Big Fat FIW. My Alaskan river, crossing three unknown names, ended-up oULAiUnA [looks Hawaiian to me :-)]

    Thanks Dr.Ed for puzzle layered with names but iced with Entrance=BEWITCH. What Jayce said, Genius!

    Thanks Hahtoolah for the image-rich expo and spelling out CVS - I learned something there.

    WOs: Blues b/f BLAHS, biCEP-- [crap! Hi Spitz!] b/f TRICEPt [sic] (Hi! and welcome back BooL)
    ESPs: AMA, DEE, NEALE, and all the correct letters in 32, 34, and 27down
    Fav: [see above]

    {AWOL}

    Black licorice NECCOs are my favorite.

    Enjoyed reading everyone! Back to the salt-mines....

    Cheers, -T

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  35. Canadian Eh! shook me out of my funk to see the wisdom of the"entrance' clue for BEWITCHED.

    Thanks, all, for the weight loss cheers.

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  36. I enjoyed this puzzle and theme a lot! Hand up never heard of HOE CAKE. A bit nasty to have that early in the puzzle, but the rest were all easily recognized. Only one I don't like is CARROT CAKE. Love CARROTs; they are my main snack. But not in a CAKE!

    Loved the misdirection of ENTRANCE/BEWITCH and ROLL IN THE GRASS/SOD!

    I lived in the low-rent district of Cambridge, Mass as a student. The NECCO factory was my neighbor and they were a good neighbor! Wonderful new fragrances each day on my bike ride to school!

    Unknowns: NEALE, HECHT, LION as clued. Thanks, crosses!

    AC DELCO had a big engineering department about a mile from where I am sitting now. One of my grad school friends went to work there. A bunch of them started a spinoff and that DELCO group is gone now.

    Here I also was at Chichen Itza built by the MAYAS.

    I have many other photos of pyramids built by the MAYAS. Perhaps if there is interest I can dig them out.

    I had a good friend in grad school who was one of the MAYAS. MAYAn was his first language.

    Are people familiar with Sam Harris? He transcends the usual categories of religion and politics and does some wonderful in-depth interviews.

    Here are his free podcasts.

    Why do I bring this up? Because he also has an AMA (Ask Me Anything) segment. But only for those of us who donate to support his work.

    If you have not seen BOYZ N THE HOOD I recommend it. The most moving scene I remember is of the young people trying to study and do well in school in the middle of what is essentially a war zone.

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  37. Good morning.

    Thinking of Boomer today on his first day of treatment.

    Thank you Ed Sessa and thank you Hahtoolah.

    "Let them eat cake !"

    Devoured this one in short order. Longest pause, despite not knowing ETHAN, BONHAM and HECHT, was staring at -EWITC- and knowing it had to be BEWITCH, but not registering why... Then the penny dropped... Captivate. That was the last fill.

    B.I.L. worked for a division of NESTLE. Seemed like a great company to work for.

    Welcome back Boo. I was checking out some of you videos a few weeks back. We have that same JA Henckles knife. It's a keeper.

    DW's employer had a recognition event last evening for those celebrating service anniversaries this year. Hers was 15 years. I barely made it there in time. 68 employees were recognized. It was very nice, but didn't get home until late.



    OK, it's probably not morning anymore, unless you are reading from Chiang Mai, but I just noticed that I never posted my comments. Stepped away to get the garbage out to the street and forgot to post.

    Spitzboov, congratulations.

    Husker Gary, glad you found your word.

    Anon T FLN, I know. I intentionally set the YouTube with the Mr Pibb ads to start at 2:26. The first two ads in that video link were boring... What I was yakking about was that Google(YouTube) recently changed the way the related videos parameter (rel) works when you embed a video.

    Have a good evening. Time to catch up on that missed sleep.

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  38. Have any of my posts gone through !??
    Loved the puzzle. Hahtoolah, great expo!!! We must talk!

    Happy day to all.

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  39. I’m not sure why I can’t post. I use my iPhone but it has worked in the past. Ah well.

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  40. Greetings!

    Thanks to Ed and Hahtoolah!

    Fun puzzle!

    A few things perped: ENTS, HULA HULA, ST. DENIS, HECHT, ETHAN, LION, DELCO, SMUT and AMA.

    Hope to see you tomorrow!

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  41. PK @ 12:38: much less napping which is out of my control; voluntary napping continues PRN. :-). Thanks for asking.

    Irish Miss @ 13:52: glad to meet another fan! Who gnu?

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  42. Good evening, folks. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Hahtoolah, for a fine review.

    This puzzle went fine. Picked up the theme after 64 and 67 Across. I got that fairly early because I bounced around quite a bit.

    All the cakes appeared. Worked out. Some I like a lot. Some, such as cheese cake, I do not like.

    DRAMEDIES was a new term for me.

    Spelled ENGELS wrong the first pass.

    Well, I am off to walk the dog. See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ( )

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