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

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Dec 14, 2018

Friday, December 14, 2018, Ed Sessa

Title: Fooey, we do not need them both. Why do we have PH and F both for the /f/ sound? The Greek letter φ (phi) started it. In Classical Greek this was pronounced as an aspirated [pʰ], which the Latins wrote as ph when they borrowed the words from Greek. Later this sound changed into an [f] in both Greek and Latin, and was passed as such into French, and then into English. Once the idea that ph was pronounced [f] was established, it spread to a few other areas, as well. Borrowings from Hebrew and other Semitic languages sometimes use ph, especially since the Hebrew letter פ can be [p] or [f] depending on context. (or depending on Ashkenazi versus Sephardic language) Vietnamese regularly uses ph for [f], because the modern Vietnamese orthography was designed by the French.

Hello everyone; hopefully, you are happy to see the puzzle author, our once again prolific retired Dr. Ed who plays beautifully and amusingly with sounds. In a very consistent theme, where F becomes PH, then PH - F, F - PH, PH - F and finally F - PH to complete the perfectly symmetrical and consistent theme. I loved the reversing of the PH/F F/PH as the puzzle gimmick, but I began looking for the A, also. To make the theme work, Ed had to widen the grid and place his grid-spanning central fill with a cheater square on each side to make this all work. Friday, home of the 16 x 15 grid. Also, it is the home of  IT WORKS. SLAMS ON, DOMESTIC, HOT WIRES, iPOD-MINI,  and UNION MAN. Ed is a pro, so let us appreciate this effort.

19A. Paramount paramour?: ALPHA ROMEO (10). ALFA Romeo automobiles.  Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. I had the hardest time of thinking past Paramount Pictures and the many leading early stars developed there, including Mary Pickford, Marguerite Clark, Pauline Frederick, Douglas Fairbanks, Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, and Wallace Reid.

24A. Greek goddess carrying a pick?: AFRODITE (8). APHrodite, was the ancient Greek goddess associated with love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. She is identified with the planet Venus, which is named after the Roman goddess Venus, with whom she was extensively syncretized.

36A. Program for young readers, and a hint to five puzzle answers: PHUN WITH FONICS (14). A magnificent double-header which was stolen from Fun with Phonics both switched.

51A. Online scammer's tool?: PHISH NET (8). Fishnet will always bring to mind dear Splynter and his ladies. Can you name this lady? Anyway, PHISHING is not nice.

56A. Dispensers of horse pills?: FARMACISTS (10). PHarmacists might not find this amusing, but I do.

Across:

1. O on a stand, say: ISSUE. I am not sure I have the slightest idea what this means; music? My wife? Opposition?

6. "Pokémon: The Series" genre: ANIME. I like it when clues have their accents.

11. Ceremonial exchange: I DOS.

15. "The Nightmare Room" series author: STINE. R.L. who created the GOOSEBUMPS  phenomenon. Here is an INTERVIEW. The man has written an amazing number of BOOKS.

16. Misses without exception: WOMEN. Be careful Dr.Ed, gender is no longer that simple.

17. Dirty work?: PORN. I will not follow that thought up here.

18. Scuba diver's destination: WRECK. If you want to try, you can read THIS.

21. Sandwich title?: EARL.  As with the author of this ARTICLE, I grew up listening to Dusty Dick Summer on WBZ. He is a nice man with whom I have corresponded.  There is one named for 24A.

22. Watches kids: SITS. Interesting how this word developed, as little of the process involves sitting.

23. Sit tight: BIDE. Don't have a cow, but this does seem like an avoidable immediate dupe.

26. Applies with force, as brakes: SLAMS ON. I filled before reading the clue and was trying to think of a Samson reference that would make sense.

29. Jelly bean-munching president: REAGAN.

30. Color gradation: HUE. I didn't know they even went to school.

31. Modest acknowledgment: I TRY. If you do not laugh, at least...

32. Wolverine relative: WEASEL. Wait just one darn minute, you mean THIS is related to THAT? But what about HIM?

35. In the cooler: ON ICE. Not poured over ice, Tin, so this okay. Maybe you keep your chocolate there.

40. Some satellites: MOONS. Defined as a celestial body orbiting another of larger size

41. Back up anew: RESAVE.

42. European wine area: ASTI.

43. Mend, perhaps: SEW.

44. iHeartRADIO fare: OLDIES. All types of music, really.

49. Inventor's cry of success: IT WORKS.! Eureka!

53. Jones of film, familiarly: INDY.

54. Motley: PIED. The motley piper?

55. Real estate unit: ACRE.

59. Bop on the bean: BRAIN.

60. Bulb in a balloon?: IDEA. I like the alliteration, but this was tough. This EXPERIMENT? Or


61. Boffo Moffo performances: ARIAS. A bit misleading use of the rhyme for a wonderful song by

62. "No more for me": I'M SET.

63. Cap'n's mate: BOS'N. Boatswain is back.

64. Stroke in a parlor: MASSE. Billiard, not beauty, nor even massage.


65. Boxing family: BAERS. Maximilian Adelbert Baer (February 11, 1909 – November 21, 1959) was an American boxer who was the World Heavyweight Champion from 14 June 1934 to 13 June 1935. His fights were twice (1933 win over Max Schmeling, 1935 loss to James J. Braddock) rated Fight of the Year by The Ring Magazine. Baer was also a boxing referee and had an occasional role on film or television. He was the brother of heavyweight boxing contender Buddy Baer and father of actor Max Baer Jr.

Down:

1. Start of an oath: I SWEAR. To uphold the Constitution...

2. Attack from above: STRAFE. If you have a plane and a machine gun.

3. __ Nevada: brewery: SIERRA. We went to their brewery in North Carolina in 2016

4. Clear, as a drain: UNCLOG. Long haired wives...

5. Reaction to a mouse: EEK. Scaredy cat wives...

6. Anticipate: AWAIT.

7. "A Walk in the Woods" actor: NOLTE.

8. Rowdy rug rats: IMPS.

9. "I couldn't care less": MEH. A classic Corner word.

10. Facilitate: ENABLE.

11. Early Apple audio player: iPod MINI.

12. Made at home: DOMESTIC. Not imported.

13. Mineral source: ORE.

14. __-Caps: candy: SNO.
Mini Nonpareils

20. Coastal inlet: RIA.

22. Tendon: SINEW. As nouns, the difference between sinew and tendon is that sinew is (anatomy) a cord or tendon of the body while tendon is (anatomy) a tough band of inelastic fibrous tissue that connects a muscle with its bony attachment.

25. Occurs to, with "on": DAWNS.

26. Early antibiotic: SULFA. Sulfonamide is a functional group that is the basis of several groups of drugs, which are called sulphonamides, sulfa drugs or sulpha drugs. The original antibacterial sulfonamides are synthetic antimicrobial agents that contain the sulfonamide group.

27. Fictional flesh-eaters: ORCS. Orcs eat all manner of flesh, including men and horses, and there are frequent hints of cannibalism among Orcs. Grishnákh, leader of the Mordor Orcs, accuses Saruman's Uruks of eating Orc-flesh, which they angrily deny.

28. TV's "Science Guy": NYE.

30. Sly chuckles: HEHS. Heh heh.

33. Buenos __: AIRES.

34. Crock-Pot dish: STEW.

35. First-year law students: ONE LS. Thanks to Mr. Grisham.

36. Nutter Butter Cereal maker: POST.

37. Starts without a key: HOTWIRES.

38. True-blue teamster, say: UNION MAN. I was shop steward when I had my grocery store job.

39. Dumpty-shaped: OVOID. Humpty.


40. English R and B singer Ella __: MAI. She is an unknown for me, but sounds promising.
                                                                       LINK.

43. Overhead stadium equipment: SKYCAM.

45. Greg's sitcom wife: DHARMA. Jenna Elfman has not done much since, but Thomas Gibson had a good run on Criminal Minds.

46. To be safe: IN CASE.

47. More spooky: EERIER.

48. Angioplasty implants: STENTS.

50. Nutritional no.: RDA. Recommended Daily Amount.

51. Greek breads: PITAS.

52. "Steppenwolf" author: HESSE. Herman.

54. Greek letters: PSIS. We started with PHIS, now this Ψ.

56. Little lie: FIB.

57. It may be about nothing: ADO. Muchly.

58. 401(k) relative, briefly: IRAIndividual Retirement Account.

59. Food collector, at times: BIB.  Until I had grandchildren, I was unfamiliar with these high tech bibs. Much neater.












Well, we have come to the end of another visit together. I am having such fun on Fridays, with so many skilled and creative and witty constructors pumping out puzzles. Now with a few more females in the mix and I am set. Thank you Dr. Ed and all who read and write. lemonade out.



55 comments:

OwenKL said...

The EARL of Sandwich was walking one day
When he got an IDEA that he thought would pay!
He saw some sliced bread
And the BRAIN in his head
Said "Smear that with jam, it'll always land one way!"

Delilah was one of those WOMEN in PORN
Who like for their costar's groin to be shorn.
Said, "Samson, we can't play
Till your hair's clipped away."
"No, I'm SLAM-SON, here for the bridge video forum!"

AFRO-DITE was a super-heroine whose hair had a pick.
Her power was speed, she could be super-quick!
But super-UNION MAN
Foiled all her plans,
He assigned her to maid work as a super-DOMESTIC!

{A-, B, B+.}

Hearst said...

1 Across

"O" is Oprah's monthly magazine, the issues of which may be found on a [news]stand.

Unknown said...

Thank you, Hearst, my mind just would not go there. Then again I have not read a magazine in a very long time.

CartBoy said...

Raced through this in under 10 minutes. Now what do I do with the rest of my day, Mr. Sessa?

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Thank you, Hearst. I was over-thinking that O is the symbol for oxygen, and ozone is an isotope of oxygen, and the ozone hole is an issue. As I said, over-thinking. Tried PHIS...should've realized that would violate the theme. Also tried OVATE, but that wasn't working well at all. Is there a difference between OVATE and OVOID? Thanx for the weekday workout, Dr. Ed. Enjoyed your esoteric exposition, Lemonade. (I think you meant Turow rather than Grisham.)

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, Lemonade and friends. This was the easiest Friday puzzle in a long time. I hesitated a bit with AFRODITE, but the PHUN WITH FONICS set me straight.

1-Across stumped me for a moment, but the downs filled in the I_SUE, and I remembered that O was Oprah's somewhat self-titled magazine.

I learned that the Ceremonial Exchange are not Vows but I DOs.

Misses Without Exception = WOMEN is an excellent clue.

When I first started working, I was in the Pharmacology Department of a research institution. We would occasionally get mail sent to our Department, however, it would be addressed: Farm Ecology.

QOD: The right way is not always the popular and easy way. Standing for right when it is unpopular is a true test of moral character. ~ Margaret Chase Smith (née Margaret Madeline Chase; Dec. 14, 1897 ~ May 29, 1995)


John E said...

Hahtoolah, You burst my bubble. I was thinking that maybe I was getting better at crosswords, not that this was an easy one.

Yellowrocks said...

Ed Sessa, great puzzle, interesting fill. Lemonade, fine review. I agree, until the kids are asleep there is no sit in sitting.
22A and 23A have different meanings of sit. Does that matter?
WOMEN was clever, but needed 4 perps.
I liked O on a stand.
Sierra Nevada is a favorite ale.
I thought of Paramount as a movie studio at first.
FIR, my slow downs were just mechanical, writing the fill in the wrong cells and misreading a scribbly ink blob for quite some time. Otherwise no problems. An enjoyable start to the day.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Fun Friday word play is a reward for the mostly straight forward early week puzzles and today's was Phun-filled! My unknowns, as clued, were Stine, Oldies, and Mai. I never heard of I Heart Radio, but I never listen to the radio, not even in the car. I had Spy Cam before Sky Cam; is Spy Cam a thing or am I just confused? Fib and Bib were my ear candy for the day. Favorite combo was Dispensers of horse pills=Farmacists. Naturally, Alpha Romeo shouted out loudly to Anonymous T and Stents brought D4E4H to mind.

Thanks, Dr. Ed, for a most enjoyable solve and thanks, Lemony, for the enlightening and entertaining expo.

Dave, hope you're feeling better and will be back with us soon.

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

I forgot to thank Hearst for the O explanation. I had absolutely no clue whatsoever on that C/A. Of course, it took me years to figure out that Ms. Winfrey's production company, Harpo, was Oprah spelled backwards.

Big Easy said...

I caught the PH-F switch immediately. Just like the SUL-FUR & SUL-PHUR spellings. But Sessa had some wicked clues. 'Misses without exception'- I wanted a good worker and got WOMEN. "Starts without a key"- ACAPELLA became HOT WIRES. "Inventor's cries"- EUREKAS was not to be; IT WORKS.

Ella MAI-Elly MAY Clampett I know of but not her.
NOLTE & STINE were filled by perps. My BRAIN is always confusing the spellings of PITAS with P-E-TAS, but knew PEED wouldn't make it into the paper.

Now that I've give you nice people your Recommended Daily Allowance of my drivel-RDA- it's time to go.

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

With the newly repaired Cruciverb running, I was freed from the truly horrid LAT puzzle interface. Much better.

Needed perps for Ella Mai. The sample clip suggests that she’s another of the modern whiny sounding vocalists we’d be better off without. Splendid theme execution today!

Lemonade714 said...

Unknown at 5:37am was me. No idea why. Tom, of course, you are right, it was Turow who wrote the book. I do not like the term at all, but that is just me.

I can state under oath, I have never read O, the Oprah Magazine . The title is not just O but who cares. Do you wonder what it is like to have so much power, to make unknown authors best-sellers, marginal people like Dr. Philand Dr. Oz rich and famous?

Spy-cam is a very real thing.

John E., don't pay attention to Hatoolah, they are all easy for her. It was not one of my easiest Fridays, but we are talking opinions so everyone is correct.

I agree with O for oxygen and Paramount a picture studio.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thank you, Dr. Ed, you educated me today in several places. Caught on to the theme fairly early. Much PHUN!

Thanks, Lemonade. Nice Try really, I got several chuckles, one since i read 30a as gradUation too.

1a. "O on a stand": thank you. Hearst. That magazine didn't occur to me. I used to be a big Oprah TV program fan, but read only one magazine and didn't get excited about it. Her TV show made her powerful. She got excited about Obama's potential and was the first I know of to introduce him to a wide voting audience. With her continued backing, he went far. So add "king maker" to her credentials. Probably if she ran for president, she'd win, but it is hard to gauge her influence without her show now. I personally thought maybe she gave up the show to run, but that doesn't seem true. She'd probably be great.

"Stroke in a parlour" wasn't about the Clue Game. MASSE I did not know. Also DNK: NOLTE's movie, IPOD MINI, ORCS, MAI, HESSE as clued.

Last to fill: MOONS/MAI cross -- Just after the rest of the block of PHUN/POST/HOT/UNION to IT WORKS. I did get ASTI.

Yellowrocks said...

I have read one issue of O while waiting in the doctor's office because I forgot my Kindle. Not my cuppa tea. The other magazine choices were even poorer. I like both Turow and Grisham novels and I am reading Grisham's latest one, "The Reckoning."
Alan is obsessing about moving to a group home, brought on by our recent meeting, although he has months before it happens. Somehow Alan is connecting it to his May birthday and wants to be living at home then. I am sure he will be allowed to visit. He is so anxious he stayed home from work today and the doctor is ordering a new anxiety medicine. I feel so sorry for him. I hope it doesn't ruin his holiday.
I usually overcome my worry about him with reading. I have this tempting new novel, but I have no time for it. I am throwing myself in Christmas prep for distraction.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Great puzzle today from Ed. Only look-up was HESSE. Loved the theme once I understood where we were going. Pondered over ISSUE at first but decided it was Oprah's product, as Hearst said. Got MASSE from perps.
FARMACISTS - My Dad was one. I always marvelled how he could realize a cow was not well. He would break out the SULFA. mix some powder with water in a quart glass milk bottle, truss up the cow's head with a cattle nose leader, convince her to open her mouth and - - down the hatch. Next day she was well.

Lucina said...

This was PHUN! Thank you, Ed Sessa! Easy, too.

O on a stand caused me a moment's pause then ISSUE emerged. For a while I received free copies of O Magazine and was not impressed except for an occasional interesting interview and the book reviews.

MASSE was completely unknown and I doubted it so thank you, Lemonade, for explaining. Billiards. Ok.

We have IDEA and BRAIN. Neither one fooled me as clued.

TMI on ORCS. I've only ever seen them in CWs.

Thank you, Lemonade, for the scholarly commentary.

Have a grand day, everyone!

TTP said...


Phine Phriday Phun w/ Prophessor Sessa. I'd like to get his autograf on his photograf, or on a copy of this puzzle that was triumfantly philled in relative short order. That wasn't a very good paragraf, was it ?

I loved the clues "Paramount paramour" and "Misses, without exception."

Liked that masse shot Lemonade. My brother worked in the accounting offices of Union Carbide in downtown Chicago in the 70s during the day, and hustled pool at night. He told me he played against Willie Mosconi and got smoked. He said that Willie told him, "You're a good shot maker, but you shoot too fast to be any good."

Hahtoolah said...

John E: Sorry to burst your bubble. And, despite what Lemon said, I do not find all the puzzles easy. On several occasions, I have struggled with the Monday puzzle. The answers in today's puzzle that I didn't immediately get, were filled via the perps, or enough letter so I could suss the answer.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Some Dr. Sessa with a Lemonade chaser. Fun!
-One of my favorite songs has, “The summer's gone, and all the roses falling, It's you, it's you must go and I must BIDE.”
-I had to SLAM ON my brakes to avoid a stop sign runner last night. WHEW/PHEW!
-I TRY – My headstone should read “I did the best I could”
-The Earth’s orbiting MOON is in the news again.
-Many pool halls, uh parlors, have signs saying “No MASSE shots allowed”
-The Japanese bombed and STRAFED Pearl Harbor that day
-SKYCAMS aren’t just in stadia

Haiku Harry said...

Do certain groupies
Of Grateful Dead-like Rock band
Wear PHISHnet stockings?

Phish

Anonymous said...

Hisker. Did you see the other news concerning the MOON that came out this week? Apparently Steph Curry, the basketball star from the Golden State Warriors, agreed with the hosts(fellow NBA players) of a podcast radio interview, that we never landed on the moon. They claimed it was a hoax perpetrated by NASA with help from Stanley Kubrick. NASA had a quick response and, using Twitter, invited Curry to visit NASA on his next road trip to Houston so they could show him all the evidence of the landing. NASA also stated that they were eager to show him the current plans to revisit the moon, this time permanently. After the backlash from fans and media, Curry walked backed the claim and stated he was only joking and actually believes we landed on the moon. Hmmmm.

I dont know how to link the story, but believe me, it really happened. :)

Lemonade714 said...

Anon 11:16AM- LINKING IS EASY. STEPH CURRY

Hearst said...

I wonder if the French version of Oprah's magazine is titled, O, NICE?

Misty said...

Well, this started out as a real toughie for me, getting only EARL, STEW, and SEW on my first run-through. But once I did more of the downs, things began to fill in and I soon had the whole top, and much of the bottom, and more, until I needed only a few cheats to finish up. And so many of the clues and answers were a lot of fun--many thanks, Ed! A great way to finish off the week. Getting AFRODITE gave me an idea about the PH/F issue, and that helped me get things like PHISHNET and FARMACISTS. Clever game-playing and very enjoyable. My only final goof-up was putting BIN for the food collector so I didn't get BAERS. But BIB is funnier, I agree. Anyway, great Friday puzzle, and delightful write-up, Lemonade--thanks for that too.

Have a great weekend coming up, everybody.

Lemonade714 said...

Speaking of chasers, if you want to try something equally fun and entertaining, I suggest you try the December 13 Puzzle Society Puzzle .

I loved it too.

CanadianEh! said...

Phabulous Phriday. Thanks for the phun, Ed and Lemonade.
Phew, I got the theme and marvelled at the symmetry of motion of the PH-F substitutions.
This Canadian smiled at the extra PH to F substitution in SULFA.

But when I arrived here, I discovered I FIWed; my Food collector was a Bin not a BIB and, since I did not recognize the Boxing family, Naers seemed acceptable. (I have heard of Max Baer here previously). I see Misty had the same ISSUE.

Hand up for not understanding ISSUE; thanks Hearst @3:42 (and LOL@11:58). WOMEN also took a while to DAWN.
AH, the pick for AFRODITE is for her hairdo, not for digging.
Hand up for debating between OVOID and Ovate. Perps changed Phishing to PHISHNET.

I saw the CSO to Anon T at 19A. Good catch with STENTS for Dave, Irish Miss.
I'll take a CSO at 56A, although I am retired now. Loved your story about your Dad, Spitzboov. No Cow Pills for his veterinary work; he wisely used a powder.
Hahtoolah, LOL re Farm Ecology!

Wishing you all a good day.
YR, sorry to hear about Alan's resurfacing anxiety and your resulting worry.

Tinbeni said...

Lemon: Nice, informative write-up.

35-a, In the cooler, ON ICE ... Yup, it is where I keep my Red Stripe Beer.

Well It is a rainy day today in Tarpon Springs ... December rain is always welcomed.

Will "Toast-the-Sunset" ... just won't be able to see it.

Cheers!

PK said...

YR: With all Alan's anxiety about the group home, he may get there and never want to come home. I had a little friend who had a tantrum any time it was suggested she go to a group home. Her mother died and she had to go. She had such a good time with all her new friends, she didn't want to go to her aunt's for special days. Hope he calms down soon, you don't need any guilt trips.

Yellowrocks said...

Thanks, PK and Canadian Eh! This anxiety is some of the worst we've seen with physical symptoms. I am trying to keep him out of the hospital. I hope the new medicine works.

Wednesday in the hospital parking lot some idiot was backing up right into me as I was passing behind her. As she inched closer and closer I sounded the horn several times. She finally stopped inches from my car, so tight I couldn't move forward. Instead of just moving back into her parking spot just a tad she pointed to her head to indicate CRAZY and maneuvered her car sideways across two spaces heading the wrong way and yelling, "I got to get home!" Huh?? I then left. Sheesh!

GJ said...

Is it just a coincidence that O Magazine is published by the Hearst Corp. and our commenter @3:42 goes by Hearst? Just wondering.

Picard said...

Got the PHUN theme and enjoyed it! Enjoyed the clever MISSES clue for WOMEN. Slow to figure out the O ON A STAND ISSUE, but I did figure it out. MAI unknown, but crosses got that. But BIn/nAERS seemed just as good as BIB/BAERS. FIW.

Here Bill NYE the SCIENCE GUY receives an award at our Earth Day from our then-State Assemblyman Das Williams who is a friend of mine.

Here I was a DIVER on a WRECK in the Tubbataha Marine Reserve.

Not SCUBA, though.

Here I got to see a different STEPPENWOLF perform one of his classic hits "Born to be Wild"

Lemonade thanks for the learning moment about MASSE. An amazing video of an amazing shot. I wonder how many times he had to shoot that video!

AnonymousPVX said...

YR....at least she saw/heard you and admitted fault.

Also....has Alan had anxiety about other issues in the past, which were then resolved? A gentle reminder of such might help....also, a more gradual intro to the new place might help as well, day visits followed by an overnight stay, etc....just my 2¢, I feel for both of you, but kudos to you for looking forward and planning as opposed to waiting.

Today’s puzzle....a nice theme with no real giveaway cells at all, very nicely done.

And zero markovers today.

From yesterday...my 92 Miata has the cap on the drivers side, the BMW on the passenger. Gas cap locations are set by the home market, in Japan the driver is on the right.

I’ve found that unless there is an arrow on the fuel gauge indicating which side the gas cap is on, it is on the same side of the car that the gas gauge is on the instrument panel. The BMW has the gauge on the left side of the dash with an arrow pointing to the right, the Miata gauge is on the left side of the dash as is the filler. Check it out.

Spitzboov said...

Anon PVX - We have two Ford products; a Lincoln MKS and a Ford Focus. Both gas access doors are on the right. Ford doesn't use caps. The fuel gauges are on the left and there are no arrows.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Ta ~DA!
I'm frankly surprised that I got 'em all. Dr. Sessa's challenging asymmetrical* pzl had me pzl'd for a good while. But then I found that perps were giving me fills I wasn't even expecting.
"Hullo," sez I to myself, "What clue gives me that answer?"
This occurred several times--and thus I found myself with a completed Xwd.
Boom.

Very clever--switching "f"s and "ph"s. It was fun/phun. And Lemonade's brilliant write-up taught me a number of things, for which I am grateful.

HEHS. I have always thought "Heh" looks superior on the page or screen to "Hee Hee." It is hard to write laughter and giggles. But "Heh" and "Heh heh" carry more weight, I think.
~ OMK
___________
DR:
*None--because of the 16-square wide grid.

desper-otto said...

In my Ford F150 the fuel door is on the left and the gas gauge is on the left. No arrow. The fuel door also won't stay closed. I just watched a You-Tube video on how to fix that. Looks like it'd take about an hour to fix. Looks like it's gonna continue flopping in the breeze until I get really sick of it. There's a gas cap behind that door, do there is no safety hazard with the flopping.

Yellowrocks said...

PVX, thanks for caring. When the problem was still logical I pointed out to Alan that he enjoyed his group home visit while I was in the hospital. That sufficed to comfort him at that time. Now the problem is emotional and irrational due to the uncertainty of the situation. We have been doing this dance for 6 months already, with no indication of when, where, how close to home, what kind of place, what the rules will be, etc. etc etc. There's no chance of visiting a home until way down the road. It may take 4 to 6 months longer, who knows? Being in limbo for a year is nerve wracking an unfair. Alan finds it harder to deal with uncertainty than with a known, but not ideal situation. The state bureaucracy is slow as molasses and not at all transparent. They present no blueprint for this, it unfolds slowly month by month with no peek at the upcoming steps and no timeline.
Alan's present anxiety does not yield to logic. PS. The meds seem to be easing it a little. I book our summer vacations in January and February. That, too, is up in the air.

As for the near accident, my problem is the woman admitted no fault. Her tantrum, gestures and goofy sideways, backward turn of her vehicle, when all she needed to do was pull up a tad, means she was blaming me. I'm glad I could not hear most of what she said. I didn't say a word, only looked amazed.

In my old Nissan Sentra the fuel door was on the driver side. My 2014 Sentra has the fuel door on the passenger side. Standard placement would ease traffic flow at the pumps.

Michael said...

“Vietnamese regularly uses ph for [f], because the modern Vietnamese orthography was designed by the French.”


Well, not quite…. The Portuguese Jesuiits were in Vietnam first, and French doesn't seem to prefer /ph/ over /f/.

“The first Vietnamese-Portuguese dictionary was compiled by Gaspar d'Amiral and the first Portuguese-Vietnamese dictionary by Antonio Barboza, both Portuguese missionaries. Neither of these works is now extant, but they formed the basis of the ground-breaking Dictionarium Annamiticum Lusitanum et Latinum by Alexandre de Rhodes (1591-1660), which appeared in 1651. Rhodes, who was French and not Portuguese, depended heavily on the two earlier dictionaries in compiling his work. The Rhodes dictionary was printed in the Roman script (quoc ngu) and contained over 8000 Vietnamese entries with glosses in Portuguese and Latin.” [http://www.cjvlang.com/Dow/Port.html]

Also, “In the first [historical] case, it is a vestige of the spelling in the word's original language (usually Latin or Greek) maintained in modern French, for example, the use of ⟨ph⟩ in words like téléphone, ⟨th⟩ in words like théorème, or ⟨ch⟩ in chaotique.” [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_orthography]

Anonymous said...

Hearst (11:58 AM) - Wouldn't the French version of her magazine be "Eaux, Nice"?

Bill G said...

Hi everybody. Tough puzzle for me but I enjoyed it, especially the clever theme.

OLIO:

Another interesting facts about gas caps. They are almost always on the opposite side from the exhaust pipe.

I have always had a good opinion of Steph Curry. I'm sorry to learn that he sounds like an ignorant conspiracy believer. You'd think his college experiences would give him a better ability to handle garbage like that...

I like Bill Nye but not as much as my old idol, Mr. Wizard.

I used to enjoy Grisham. I think his earlier books are better than the more recent ones.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

FIW by two squares: DHARMi (who? LUI-> oh, a TV show I've never heard of) and the Dude aBoDE instead of BIDE #stupidStupidStupid!

Thanks Dr. Ed for this wonderful puzzle - both in theme and in cluing; sparklers abound.

Thanks for the Expo Lem (and linking the Curry story - I'll read it later #iHateMOONdeniers).

WOs: SINEu [sic], UNION cop [true-blue made me think police]
ESPs: MAI, HEESE, DHARM-, B-ERS
Fav: I'd be lying if I didn't say AL(PH)A ROMEO - caught the theme right there w/ A(F)ROD--- already filled.
Cute c/as: ISSUE, EARL, PORN, WOMEN, BIB, I could go on... lots of fun.

My solve actually started at I DOs and I work'd backwards and down from there.

Re: @45d - Anyone else want Carrol [sic] Brady after the Brady Bunch's Greg yesterday? //she was married to Mike, not Greg

{A, B, B+}

GJ@1:34 - the GhostPoster (Hearst today (gone tomorrow? :-) )) picks a "handle" apropos to what s/he's posting. It's meta-cute.

PVX - No give away cells? - I counted on them! (to back-fill FONICS)

Haiku Harry - PHISH the band, nice!

Hahtoolah, what C, Eh! Said, LOL "Farm Ecology"

IM - Spy CAMs, hidden mics, etc... Start your Christmas shopping at Central Spy :-)

Cheers, -T

Bill G said...

I've never tried a Puzzle Society crossword. The one that showed up when I clicked the link is Crunch Time by Brian Thomas. Is that the one you were suggesting?

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle. Yesterday's WHEELOFFORTUNE is brilliant.

Lemonade 714 said...

I let a friend use my computer and now I cannot sign in at home.

No Bill G. the puzzle I referred to is the December 13 Puzzle Society by Jeffrey Wechsler. The link takes you to today, but on the top right, you see a small cwd icon; that will let you choose all of their puzzles once you click on it

Lemonade714 said...

It is the 4th icon from that looks like a little puzzle. JW wrote "Internal Conflict"

Ol' Man Keith said...

...as was GREG-OR-IAN, Jayce ~
I got a kick outta all of them, though I neglected to come online yesterday to express my appreciation. Apologies.
~ OMK

Jayce said...

Ol' Man Keith, yes, GREG-OR-IAN was excellent also.

OAS said...

YR @12:56 I empathize with you on your parking lot episode. Sometimes these incidents can play out more hilarious than frustrating. A young yuppie woman, once, many years ago saw me go to my car in a crowded parking lot, honked her horn and I cheerfully waved at her and got in and thought no more about it. I was waiting for my wife who was still in the mall. We had had some holiday pics developed and I was entertaining myself looking at them when a knock on my window interrupted my daydreams of warmer places, sandy beaches etc. The young woman motioned for me to roll down my window , which I did and she began giving me the what for, for not vacating the parking spot. I explained I was waiting for my wife , to which she responded with gestures of agitation akin to temper tantrums " Well I was waiting here for at least a a a min minute." I smiled and said I'm sorry and after she stomped off I roared and was still chuckling when my wife showed up.

Picard said...

From Yesterday:
Steve wow, that is way interesting about Winchester Cathedral!

Indeed, Winchester Cathedral beat out "Cherish", "Good Vibrations", "Eleanor Rigby", "Monday, Monday" and "Last Train to Clarksville" in 1967

I own vinyl and CDs of all of the ones that did NOT win that year!

Wilbur Charles and AnonT glad you also thought of TONSils seeing TONSORIAL. Learning moment!

Abejo thank you for the update on your sister Sherry. Please keep us posted.

Picard said...

Misty and CanadianEh glad you also thought BIn/nAERS seemed just as good of an answer. Boxers who died before many of us were born seems a bit obscure to me.

Wilbur Charles said...

When I thought about it I was wondering if there is a magazine named O
I remember going to the VA for my first gout attack. They gave me sulfa* and said "take this until it makes you feel sick".
"The Japanese bombed and STRAFED Pearl Harbor that day". While German spies directed the damage. Alert soldiers detected the signalling** and the spies were arrested and tried. Bluto was right after all

I had a lot of white until the theme appeared. I never even noticed the spelling of "AFRO-DITE(thx CED for explaining the PICK reference)
I agree with Steve re. Grisham. I haven't read him in years, not when I can reread Deighton (and try to find another clue to his embedded JFK assassination theme***)

Re. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Oh, you know Mr S. too, -T? Btw, Curry was just joking

Speaking of Mr S ..phantastic XW Mr S. Same same for L's write-up


* Pronounced exactly the same in Boston as Sulphur
** Given that Enigma had been cracked the detection may have used that source. Which begs the larger question
*** Dropping the name Maria Callas

CanadianEh! said...

Wilbur C - I think it was colchicine that you were given for gout. It is still used but dosed differently. Being sick means that you are reaching toxic levels.

Lucina said...

One reason I try to keep up with celebrity factoids: a few days ago Max BAER, Jr.'s birthday was listed so the name was fresh on my mind. But then, my late DH was a devoted boxing fan and watched many, many old matches. Max BAER was almost a household name here.

DHARMA and Greg was an entertaining sitcom.

I just watched The Dick Van Dyke Show. Talk about entertaining! I laughed almost the entire time.

Anonymous T said...

Lucina - Thank you. I've run out of Dragnets and Barney Millers on the YouTube so went looking for any Dick Van Dyke [25:43 - Rob on a Jury] while I finished working.

Cheers, -T

Lemonade714 said...

JEFFREY WECHSLER's INNER CONFLICT was the link.
Having computer issues.