google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday December 26, 2018 David Poole

Advertisements

Dec 26, 2018

Wednesday December 26, 2018 David Poole

Theme - It's In The Cards -- You Can Bet On It.  The final letters of the theme answers spell out the names of playing cards that, when taken together, will surely give you the winning hand.  And they are presented in ascending order  - a nice, elegant touch.

17 A. Bullied: BROW BEATEN.  Intimidated, coerced, pressured, terrorized, usually into doing something.  The card rank and hand description explanations will follow.  Vide infra.

23 A. Breakfast fare: FLAPJACK.   Here in the U.S. this is another term for the pancake, and that is the intended sense of the clue.  In the U. K. this terms refers to a tray-baked bar made of rolled oats, butter and brown sugar - which sounds like a pretty good granola bar.

29 A. "12 Years a Slave" director Steve or "Bullitt" star Steve (not the same person): MCQUEEN.  Steven Rodney McQueen [b 1969] is a British film director and screen writer.  Terence Steven McQueen [1930-1980] aka "The King of Cool" was nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Sand Pebbles.  He appeared in several block-buster films, and is probably best know for Bullit.  He lived hard and fast and passed too young at the age of 50.  This pair of QUEENs also gives us a small branch off the main theme.

43 A. Stirring up, as resentment: STOKING.  literally, to STOKE means to add fuel to a fire. So, by extension, the word also means to fire up emotions - especially those that are hot anyway, like resentment or anger.

47 A. Commoners: POPULACE.  A collective noun for the inhabitants of a region or country.  A "commoner" is an ordinary person, without rank or title.  It's a bit of a stretch to see equivalence here.

And the unifier:  54. What's hidden at the ends of 17-, 23-, 29-, 43- and 47-Across--if all are in, say, 38-Across: ROYAL FLUSH.  In poker, hands are ranked in reverse order of the probability of their occurrence. Thus, the least probable holding in any round of play will be the winner.  A STRAIGHT is any hand containing five cards in order, say 3-4-5-6-7, frex.  A higher ranking hand is a FLUSH, in which all of the cards are in the same suit. Next, in ascending order are the full house - three of a kind plus a pair; and four of a kind. Ranking above all of them is the STRAIGHT FLUSH - five cards, not only in order, but also all in the same suit.  Within a suit, cards are ranked by their numbers, with face cards above, and the the ACE highest of all [usually.]  So, a STRAIGHT FLUSH consisting of TEN, JACK, QUEEN, KING, and ACE of any suit, aka a ROYAL FLUSH, is the highest ranking example of the least likely, and therefore most powerful holding.

Plus, we get a nice, centrally-located theme extra -- 38 A. See 54-Across: CLUBS.  These are cards in one of the four suits in which a ROYAL FLUSH might occur; the others being diamonds, hearts and spades.


In each of the major theme clues, the hidden card name has a completely different meaning than it does in the context of the unifier - another nice touch.  So - a really well constructed puzzle.

Hi gang, JazzBumpa here wishing you all a happy Kwanza, Boxing Day and/or feast of St. Steven.  Let's see what other gifts this puzzle offers.

Across:

1. Campus VIP: DEAN.  the head of faculty in a department

5. __ East, Chicago-based pizza chain: GINOS.  Started in 1966 by two taxi drivers.

10. Remove politely, as one's hat: DOFF. Late Middle English contraction of "do off."  Contrast "don," as, frex, gay apparel.

14. Entreat: URGE.  Attempt to convince someone without resorting to actual BROWBEATING.

15. "__ Mio": O SOLE. A Neapolitan song written in 1989 by Giovanni Capurro, Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi, and usually sing in the original Neapolitan language.  The title translates as "My Sunshine."




16. Malevolence: EVIL.

19. Word processor command: SAVE.

20. World Golf Hall of Famer Aoki: ISAO.  [b 1942] He was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2004.

21. Used TurboTax, perhaps: E-FILED.  Submitted your tax return electronically.

27. Actor Mineo: SAL.  Salvatore Mineo, Jr. [1939-1976] was an American singer and actor nominated for Acadamy Awards for best supporting actor in Rebel without a Cause and Exodus.

28. Take to a new planter: REROOT.  Plant in a new pot?  To reroot means to generate a new, identical plant from a stem cutting.  Not the same thing at all.

33. Farewell that is bid: ADIEU.  Buh-bye.

34. Pumps and platforms: SHOES.  Different shoe styles.

36. Sorbonne article: UNE.  I suppose it means "The."

37. Black-plumed pond swimmer: COOT.  Coots are small water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica, the name being the Latin for "coot".  Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water. They are close relatives of the moorhen. [Wikipedia]

39. "__ glad to!": I'D BE. Expressing eager willingness to do something - without being BROW BEATEN.

40. Hung. neighbor: AUS.  Hungary and Austria, two Eastern European Countries.

41. Gives the heave-ho: BOOTS.  Kicks out of something

42. Rebuke: SCOLD.  Harsh verbal criticism - could also involve BROW BEATING.

45. Solid alcohol: STEROL.  A complex organic alcohol, C17H22O, found in plants and animals.  It is the eponym for a class of chemical compounds with related molecular structures.  Cholesterol is one example.

46. Circle segment: ARC.

49. Like Dagwood's wife: BLONDE.


52. Ottawa-based flying gp.: RCAF. Royal Canadian Air Force.

53. Material flaws: RIPS.  Tears and/or holes.

60. "Fantastic Beasts" actor Miller: EZRA.  [b 1992] Portraying Credence Barebone.


61. Twitter troublemaker: TROLL.  One who invades comment sections for the purpose of disrupting conversations and causing general mayhem.  Also found on FaceBook and Blogs.

62. "Off the Court" autobiographer Arthur: ASHE.  Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. [1943-1993] was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam titles.

63. __ and means: WAYS.  The methods and resources at someone's disposal for achieving something.  Also the name of the chief tax writing committee in the U.S. House of Representatives.

64. Gumbo pods: OKRAS.  The edible seed pods of a flowering plant of the mallow family.

65. Cameo stone: ONYX.  A variety of the silicate mineral chalcedony having parallel bands of various colors.

Down:

1. Name: DUB.  Provide an unofficial or nickname to someone or something.  Traces back via late Old English, meaning to make someone a knight, to Old French adober - to provide with armor.

2. Throw wildly, say: ERR.  In baseball, any mishandling of a batted ball by a fielder is considered to be an error.

3. Fourth word in the "Star Wars" intro: AGO.  "A long time  .  .  . "

4. Part of four state names: NEW.  - Hampshire, -Mexico, -Jersey, and -York.

5. Attacks: GOES AT.  A physical or verbal attack.  May involve BROW BEATING or actual BEATING about the head and shoulders.

6. Fashion designer Mizrahi: ISAAC.  [b 1961] An American fashion designer, TV presenter, and eponym for a line of clothing since 1987.

7. Unacceptable: NOT OK.  Incorrect, inappropriate, inadmissible, or simply not good enough.

8. World Cup cry: OLE.  Among Spanish-speaking fans.

9. Grows old: SENESCES.  Not just that, but deteriorates with age.  As old as I am [and to be honest, that's pretty old] I don't believe I have ever encountered this word before, and had to rely completely on perps.

10. Arnaz-Ball production company: DESILU.  Founded by the husband and wife team of Desi and Lucy, best known for the TV shows I Love Lucy, Star Trek and The Untouchables.

11. Racecourse shape: OVAL.

12. Dave Brubeck classic "Take __": FIVE.  In the unusual time signature of 5/4, it was originally released on the 1959 album TIME OUT, which featured other songs in odd or mixed meters, and is the only song on the album written by Paul Desmond.  Two years later, it became a hit, and is the biggest-selling jazz single ever.  According to Desmond, "It was never supposed to be a hit. It was supposed to be a Joe Morello drum solo." Yes, I have played this song -- improvised using the 4th mode of the harmonic minor scale.  Might not have been your choice.   It worked OK.


Pretty aggressive tempo in this live performance

13. Took off: FLED.  Or FLEW.  Needed perp help.

18. Exquisite trinket: BIJOU.  Something small and elegant,  French - from Breton bizou, finger ring, from biz, finger.

22. Web help pgs.: FAQSFrequently Asked QuestionS.

23. Skirmish: FRACAS. A noisy disturbance, brawl or quarrel, from Italian fracassare, to make an uproar.

24. Escorted to the exit: LED OUT. Or SAW OUT, needed even more perps.  Does LED OUT suggest the exit might not be voluntary?

25. Melodic passage: ARIOSO.  A solo instrumental or vocal piece occurring in an opera or oratorio.


From Cantata No, 156 by J.S. Bach

26. Auden, Blake or Coleridge: POET.  Versifiers.

29. Tough crowds: MOBS.  An large, unruly, disorganized crowd, that might be prone to causing trouble, mayhem or violence.

30. "Why I Live at the P.O." author Welty: EUDORA.  Eudora Alice Welty [1909 - 2001] was an American short story writer and novelist who wrote about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Order of the South. [Wikipedia]

31. As a whole: EN BLOC.  Doing something all together, or separately, but at the same time.  More French.

32. Acupuncture tool: NEEDLE.  Acupuncture is a form of alternative medicine in which thin needles are inserted into the body. It is a key component of traditional Chinese medicine. The theories and practices of TCM are not based upon scientific knowledge, and acupuncture is a pseudoscience. [Wikipedia]

34. Tough going: SLOG.  Like a trek, but worse.

35. Crude shelter: HUT.  A small, roughly constructed structure serving as poor-quality lodging.   Alternatively, a place to get pizza.

38. Any one of Bach's Brandenburgs: CONCERTO.  The Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach are a collection of six instrumental works presented by Bach to Christian Ludwig, Margrave of Brandenburg-Schwedt, in 1721. [Wikipedia]  It is unlikely that the Margrave would have had the complement of musicians necessary to perform these works, so they sat unused for a long period.


There's no such thing as too much Bach
39. Most sparsely populated Eur. country: ICELand.  I have a little difficulty considering this remote island nation to actually be a part of Europe.

41. Owl or osprey: BIRD.  Raptors, to be more specific.

42. Odds and ends: STUFF.  This and that.  Things.

44. "Dust in the Wind" band: KANSAS.


Bach did NOT write this in 1977

45. Stone chips: SPALLS.  We also use that word for chips and flakes off of glass or ceramics.  Anyway, potato chips might be less crunchy, but they taste better.

47. Richard who played "The Wiz" in 1978: PRYOR.  [1940-2005] American stand-up comedian, actor, and social critic.

48. City west of Daytona Beach: OCALA.  'Cuz "De Leon Springs" doesn't fit.

49. Make, as beer: BREW.  Via a process of soaking, boiling and fermentation.

50. Oscar winner Minnelli: LIZA. [b 1946]  Judy Garland's daughter.  The oscar is for her performance in the 1972 movie Cabaret.




51. Nashville venue: OPRY.  The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee founded on November 28, 1925, by George D. Hay as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM.

55. Mork's planet: ORK.  Mork was exiled to Earth from ORK, where humor is not permitted.



56. Vientiane language: LAO.  Lao is the language of Laos.  Vientiane is it's capital and largest city.

57. Org. with admirals: USNUnited States Navy.

58. Far from forward: SHY.  Reserved, timid or nervous in the company of other people.

59. Jinx: HEX.  A jinx is a curse or spell cast on someone to cause bad luck.  A Hex is more general, and not necessarily negative, but potentially much more severe.

I had some nits wit the cluing, but overall, a fine puzzle and a fun, rather challenging solve.  Hope you didn't think it was NOT OK.

Cool regards!
JzB





39 comments:

OwenKL said...

DNF/FIW. Had a correct WAG at sTEROL + sPALLS (never heard of either), but incorrect at jeNO'S, 5d + 6d unknown, 20a is crosswordese that I can never remember because it's too close to my own name.

Also didn't get the theme until I gave in and read the reveal, which was stupid of me since it was so obvious, even tho 9d & 38d were longer than the theme entries at 29a & 43a.

1a DEAN, I know the clue is crosswordese, but any time I see it, I still want BMOC (Big Man On Campus).
52a CSAF > RCAF (Confederate States A.F.).
61a TRump > TROLL stayed in for a long time, even tho I knew from the start what it was probably supposed to be.

Should a love letter filled with mush
Ever cause a SHY QUEEN to blush,
She might excuse the knave
For the way he doth behave,
And blame her redding on a ROYAL FLUSH!

Paul Bunyan was famous for his chops.
Applied to be a cook at I-HOPs.
But his rubbery stacks
Of lumberman FLAP JACKS
Were cut to SHOE and BOOT soles called Flap-Flops!

Now it comes time to bid you ADIEU.
At least until the morrow, anew.
We've had a bit of fun,
Now it's time to run --
If your morning paper's wet, it's a dew!

{A-, B+, A.}

Lemonade714 said...

We are finishing up the year with some distinct challenges if this is an indication. SENESCES SPALLS and GINO'S a pizza chain that is only in Chicago - wow!If someone talks about breezing through this puzzle, I will be impressed as this was an (as I think the constructor knew with the internal SLOG reference. EZRA MILLER is apparently a busy young actor but not the star of the referenced movie, and COOT does not jump to mind. Meanwhile, the theme was tight and the presence of so much music for our Trombone wielding JzB was fun. There were more pitfalls but thank you, David Poole, and as always a great write-up Ron.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This one provided some "aha" moments, but didn't require a lot of Wite-Out. ADIEU blew away my SAW OUT, and MCQUEEN nixed IN TOTO. Otherwise, Mrs. Lincoln enjoyed the play. With TR in place, I was thinking of a different "Twitter troublemaker." Nice theme, David. (Which I failed to see.) Unusually esoteric exposition this morning, JzB.

SPALL: Immediately evokes this scene from The Jackal. Warning: R-Rated for language and violence. The "spall" appears at 0:51.

Take Five and Brandenburg Concertos: Both reside in my music server.

USN: I've been rewatching Herman Wouk's War and Remembrance with a much-too-old Robert Mitchum as Captain Victor "Pug" Henry. I believe it was the last of the star-studded blockbuster TV miniseries, twelve episodes in all.

Oas said...

Good morning all .

Thanks David Poole . Enjoyed the puzzle .

It went ok but several write overs.

Thanks Owen for the poetry. And as you , I filled in TRUMP which led to MiAMI .
PRYOR made me rethink and got OCALA and TROLL.
SAWOUT also had to change to LEDOUT when I knew FLAPJACK because of the ROYAL FLUSH.

Thanks JzB for the write up.

Keep safe !

Anonymous said...

I liked the theme but some of the cluing left much to be desired. It's Wednesday.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

DNF this Friday-on-Wednesday puzzle, looking up EUDORA. My first email client was EUDORA back in the DOS days, so I should have remembered it.

When you drive from Daytona Beach to OCALA you drive through Silver Springs. We'll be leaving for that fine city in eleven days.

Our Admirals, the Norfolk hockey team, are part of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) organization.

Thanks for the effort, David. My favorite was Take FIVE, just because it's my favorite jazz tune. I also enjoyed my explicit CSO at 59d. And thanks to JazzB, even though your description of ERR isn't correct. Frequently an infielder will flub a grounder, but can recover and throw out (or tag) a runner. Even if the flub negates an opportunity for a double play or to cut down the lead runner, it isn't scored as an error.

billocohoes said...

Trouble in the West with bUlgaria (which is wrong anyway) instead of AUStria, reroot and coot.

Will be driving by the OCALA exit of I-75 Friday afternoon, heading for Fort Myers Beach.

Have read SENESCEnt but don't recall the verb form.

Learned that GINO'S Pizza is unrelated to the former GINO'S Hamburgers chain named for former Baltimore Colts lineman Gino Marchetti.

Bluehen said...

What a challenge! I got through it correctly, but in about Thursday/Friday-type time. WEES said about the obscure clues, although I was able to eventually remember senescence (I wonder why that word resonates with me?). Thanks for the challenge, David, and thanks for the illuminating expo, JB. JB, I think you will find that O Sole Mio was written in 1898, not 1989.

Interesting theme to this sometimes poker player. I've been playing poker for money for over 50 years, off and on, and never held a royal flush. I did once get dealt four aces in a five card draw game. It was a low stakes, friendly game with a maximum bet of $1.00, so there wasn't a great payoff.

Szekelygulyas tonight. It's a pork and sauerkraut stew from Hungary. I'll serve it over mushroom spaetzle. Yum


One Last Thought: Crushing soft drink cans is soda depressing.


Cya!


desper-otto said...

Bluehen, please say Szekelygulyas three times fast.

O Sole Mio apparently does not translate, "Oh, my sore foot"

TTP said...

Sorry Lemonade. It was pretty much a speed run. The only trouble and type over was the west side. I had SAW OUT rather than LED OUT. Good ole FLAPJACKs straightened me out on that. Didn't know EUDORA, but the perps were solid.

SENESCES - The cause of senility. OK, senescence.
I love the sound of Brubeck's TAKE FIVE.
We were well-shod today with SHOES and BOOTS.

Back to back episodes of "Wanted: Dead or Alive" starring Steve MCQUEEN are on the H&I channel every weekday morning at 6 Central. I think I may have seen every episode by now.

Shoutout to the Sunflower State and her residents here on the corner, PK and inanehiker, at KANSAS.
Shoutout to Jinx at JINX.
Shoutout to our good neighbors to the north at RCAF.

Fried OKRA is favorite of mine. Serve with chicken fried steak, collard greens and black-eyed peas.

JzB, REROOT can also simply mean to replant in another location. One of the easiest plants to reroot is the hosta. Dig it up, cut it in half with your spade, put one half back in the hole and throw the other half in another hole. They're like tribbles. They divide and multiply so easily.

Here's an example of EN BLOC performance of Nirvana's song by Rockin' 1000: Smells Like Teen Spirit

Loved that AISLE B, BACH cartoon, and the link with the music memes !

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-As Desi might say, “Nice ‘splainin’ Jazz!”
-EUDORA, ENBLOC, STEROL AND SPALLS made the east coast interesting. Lots of learning on a humpday
-Internet TROLLS die if they do not get the abuse they so desire
-For some MOBS of soccer fans, getting into a FRACAS seems to be as commons as yelling OLE
- Football players called for targeting (head to head contact as seen here) are ejected and must be LED OUT/FROM from the field to the locker room
-Jinx, my first too
-The New Grand Ole Opry was under water from the Cumberland River when we were there and so we saw the Old one where it started, The Ryman Auditorium in downtown Nashville.

CanadianEh! said...

Wednesday workout. Thanks for the fun, David and JzB.

Happy Boxing Day here. And we had a Canadian connection today with QUE and RCAF. We did have USN for you Americans. Plus AUS and ICEL for the Europeans. Lots of French (UNE, ADIEU, BIJOU, EN BLOC) for those Quebecois.

I smiled broadly when I saw the theme. Very clever (especially with the progression). But no Loo or Lav to go with the ROYAL FLUSH!

Dumps changed to BOOTS. Repots would not fit and I resisted REROOTS.
This Canadian had to wait for perps for GINOS. And we do not call them FLAPJACKs here (but I had never heard the UK meaning either). I smiled to see the "proper" spelling of BLONDE.

SPALLS, COOTS (didn't know that BIRD), and SENESCES needed perps.
I immediately thought of #45 for "Twitter troublemaker" (We were probably EN BLOC on that) but resisted.
FRACAS, MOBS among the POPULACE can sometimes be avoided by avoiding GOing AT, making folks feel BROW BEATEN, and STOKING the fires of discord. There are other WAYS and means.

Wishing you all a good day.

Bluehen said...

DO, I don't speak Hungarian, Magyar or anything like it, but I understand that when pronounced by a Szekely native the dish sounds a lot like "Shaky Goulash". That's what my children started calling it years ago, and that's what it still called in this household today.

OK?

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I agree that some of the cluing and fill required perps, namely: Gino's, En Bloc, Kansas, Spalls, Ezra, and Coot. I needed the reveal to catch the theme, so that was a fun surprise. CSOs galore, including USN (Spitz and DO), Jinx (Jinx), CanadianEh (RCAF), Kansas (PK and Inanehiker, I think), and Ocala to all our Florida denizens and SnowbBirds.

Thanks, David for a fun and enjoyable solve and thanks, JzB, for many learning moments and the pleasant musical interludes. My husband was a serious jazz fan and Brubeck was high on his list. He introduced me to opera, which I love, but jazz isn't my cup of tea. BTW, no one can sing O Sole Mio with the verve and voice to match Luciano Pavarotti, IMVHO.

DO @ 7:19 ~ "The Winds of War" and "War and Remembrance" were two of my favorite books, although I loved everything Herman Wouk wrote. However, as you said, Robert Mitchum was too old for that role and, even worse miscasting was Ali McGraw, as John Houseman's (superb actor) granddaughter. Her stilted, wooden performance really detracted from the film. Another miscast, age-wise, IMO, was Clint Eastwood in "The Bridges of Madison County."

I hope everyone had a joyous Christmas and enjoyed celebrating with family and friends.

Have a great day.

Yellowrocks said...

I hope you all had a merry Christmas. We did. Thanks for the birthday greetings. I had a wonderful birthday. Our family always celebrates it on Christmas night with candles and extra presents for me.
Happy birthday, Lorraine. I was thinking of you.
Crunchy puzzle for a Wed.
Sterol and Ezra were new to me, but not senescence and spalls.
Fun puzzle. Great expo.

Lucina said...

For me, the Atlantic seaboard was a breeze from DOFF to ONXY & OKRAS. EUDORA Welty was on my reading list in American Lit class but all I remember is her name. ENBLOC replaced ENTOTO.

Moving on to the west side, it was a bit of a challenge. I had no idea about GINOS pizza, did know ISAAK and of course, O SOLE Mio so that all helped. Hand up for recalling SENESCEnt but unfamiliar with SENESCES.

BIJOU as a trinket surprised me but I'm always happy to see the names Auden, Blake and Coleridge. Recalling their poetry evokes a smile.

I've mentioned before that my daughter and SIL are HUGE Star War fans so AGO for either of them would have been an instant given.

I could be mistaken (nothing NEW) but this looks like a pangram to me; all the rare consonants, J, Q, Y, and Z are present.

Have a grand day, everyone!

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

O Sole Mio composition date transposed in the commentary... Should be 1898 not 1989… Otherwise standard midweek puzzle.

Lucina said...

Thank you to David Poole and JazzBumpa for an entertaining morning!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Let's give David a big hand for dealing us an ACE of a puzzle! Thank you for a tremendous amount of work on the expo, JzB!

Hand up for BMOC before DEAN. Tried STERno before STEROL. DNK: WEES. But I was proud to know BIJOU. (John & Michelle Phillips of the Mamas & Papas named one of their daughters BIJOU which I thought was such an odd name it stuck in my mind with the meaning.)

My merry merry was long chatty calls from two sons and two of my brothers. Only three days until all my kids & grandkids get together. I found out the gathering is supposed to be a slumber party. I think I'm senescently past slumber party enjoyment. The stuff I'd have to pack to get through the night, I'm too tired to carry in. I sure hate to miss a moment of the party tho.

Tinbeni said...

Jazz: Wonderful write-up. Good Job!

I really enjoyed yesterday's Christmas puzzle and today's ROYAL FLUSH.

Fave today was 61-a, "Twitter troublemaker" TROLL ...
I would say more but that would be political, LOL

Have my Holiday House Guests, Santa and E.B. (Easter Bunny) ... and we are off to see the girls on Clearwater Beach ...
It is tough having to endure 74 degrees and a sunny day.

Oh well ... A "Toast-to_ALL" at Sunset.
Cheers!

Misty said...

Well, after three days of no LA Times deliveries, it was a relief to get a paper this morning, even if a bit late. Apparently our normal delivery person has resigned, and the replacement is either failing or delivering late. So sadly we may have more problems in the days ahead.

But, yay, I got the paper and got to do the puzzle on paper. Lots of fun, David, many thanks--it was especially neat to get the playing card theme at some point. Got AUS for the Hung. neighbor easily, since I come from AUSTRIA. Oddly, I found a number of the names and people sad this morning. Didn't SAL Mineo, a favorite in my youth, have a sad ending, and didn't Arthur ASHE contract a deadly disease at a time when cures were still rare? And poor MORK--can't think of the actor's name--died from suicide, I think. Hope I'm wrong about all of these--it's Christmas season and we should be happy!

And so I wish you all a happy Wednesday and a happy post-holiday season!

CanadianEh! said...

Belated Happy Birthday, YR! Glad you got a special celebration.

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle and enjoyed solving it. Had to change LOON to COOT but managed to fill everything else without change.

For years I thought O SOLE MIO meant "O Lonely Me" and was a sad song. Sometimes I'm a slow learner.

UNE means "a" or "one," not "the."

Interesting about STEROLs. Most men my age have probably heard of Beta-Sitosterol.

My favorite trolls are the ones who lurk under the bridge.

My wife was a died-in-the-wool EUDORA user back in the day.

In the Amish areas of Pennsylvania, you can see the HEX signs painted on the barns.

According to Ali MacGraw, her husband Steve MCQUEEN was a really nasty guy. According to Mackenzie Phillips, her father John Phillips was a really nasty guy. According to many, SAL Mineo was a really nice guy. As was Robin Williams.

Happy day after Christmas.

Abejo said...

Good afternoon, folks. Thank you, David Poole, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.

Took me a long time to catch the theme. My first theme answer was STOKING. Got CLUBS with perps. Finally got ROYAL FLUSH, and then it hit me. The rest became real easy.

OK, GINO'S East is in Chicago. However, I can say I have never been to any of these.

SENESCES was mainly with perps and a wag or two. Steve MCQUEEN helped.

I will have to cook some FLAPJACKs soon. The couple that come down from Wisconsin each year and sell Christmas Trees, gave me a quart of maple syrup from their neighbor in Wisconsin. I will use some of that on some FLAP JACKs.

TROLL as a Twitter troublemaker was a new word for me. I receive Tweets, but I do not send them.

When I used to work in Eastern PA, I saw many HEX signs on barns. I also saw "Chew Mail Pouch tobacco, treat yourself to the best."

So, my oldest daughter and her family were supposed to arrive today for a couple days, from Ohio. She called and said her mother (my ex-wife) was admitted to the hospital yesterday. So, they are postponing the trip until they find the problem. We all hope for the best. She is still a good friend of mine.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi, Gang -

Yep a fingerfehler on those 8's and 9's. To err is not only human, it's what i'm good at!

Never had Szekelygulyas. For new years day we always have a pork loin slow cooked with sour kraut and caraway seeds, which is at least a lean in the same general direction.

Our kids and theirs come to our house for Christmas eve food and gift exchange. We went to my sister's on Christmas day for töltött káposzta. [Stuffed cabbage.] Good times.

Cool regards!


JzB

LACW Addict said...

Did anybody mention that this puzzle is a pangram? I scanned the blog, but did not see that it was mentioned.

If someone did mention it, then I apologize.

Ol' Man Keith said...

OK, Owen & Oas are not alone.
Hands up for TRUMP before TROLL for 61A!

Otherwise this was first choice for fills from start to finish. Mr. Poole's clever pzl was eminently doable.

Misty ~
Our paper is back on its regular early delivery schedule. I hope yours is fixed soon. I rec'd an email from the Times this morning, apologizing for last week's missing papers, but also saying I can access the digital version anytime.
Of course I have been reading the digital too for nearly a year, but it just isn't the same...
` OMK
____________
DR:
A 3-way on the mirror side. The main diagonal offers a curious anagram. It is a salute perhaps to David Copperfield, if not to David himself then perhaps to the Artful Dodger...
a "PICAROON WAIF"!

John Lampkin said...

Jazzbumpa--great choice on the Bach! Authentic instruments, well-recorded and a visual delight.
Thanks for the write-up, congrats to David and best wishes to all for a healthy and happy!

Dudley said...

Hello Puzzlers -

I was hoping I wasn’t the only one to put in Sterno before sterol. I see that PK gave it a try too. Kept that area confused for a bit.

Howdy JzB, hand up for thinking re-root is very different from, say, re-pot.

Wow, Christmas sure went by fast!

Lucina said...

Misty:
Mork was played by Robin Williams, whom JAYCE mentioned, and you are correct about his demise. I really miss him and his inimitable sense of fun but apparently sadness lurked underneath it all.

Lemonade714 said...

John L. thank you for stopping by; best wishes for a healthy, happy year. Not only were the musical pieces selected by JzB excellent but his AISLE B BACH cartoon pun was priceless.

Lemonade714 said...

Sadly Misty you were correct about all the tragic lives of some in today's life.

Misty said...

Thank you, Ol'Man Keith.

And yes, Lucina, Robin Willams apparently had scary health issues at the end, and Arthur Ashe accidentally received HIV from a blood transfusion.I'm sure it was just a coincidence that the three appeared in the same puzzle.

And sorry I forgot to thank you for your commentary this morning, JazzB.

Big Easy said...

I'D BE lying if I said that I knew GINO's East, Terence McQUEEN, ARIOSO, BIJOU (other than a movie house),EZRA Miller, RCAF, or ISAAC Mizrahi.

I'D BE lying if I said that I had ever heard of the words SPALL or SENESCES, really lying.

I'D BE lying if I ever said I had been dealt a TEN, JACK, QUEEN, KING, & ACE in a poker game in any suit, not just CLUBS. Or a STRAIGHT FLUSH, let alone ROYAL.

But the puzzle allowed for enough perps to finish in about TEN minutes. So I bid you nice folks ADIEU, except for the anonymous TROLL. I URGE you to seek professional help.

CrossEyedDave said...

Wag'd thru 99%
all except for Eudora/Une, so FIW...

Dudley @ 3:47
I wanted Sterno B/4 Sterol,
(actually, I wanted Napalm even more...)

Didn't plan on posting, just one of those days
when nothing seems to fit the theme...
This was the best I could find for Royal Flush...

Aand this was a possible runner-up,
but I didn't want to offend Jzb...

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

DNF - I had to look up ISAO; ultimately FIW w/ EiDOnA @30d - INE and STENOL looked fine to me.

Thanks David for this "Thursday" puzzle but I was only holding a pair of FIVEs.

Thanks JzB for the expo choc full of info. Take FIVE is the kind of Jazz I like and KANSAS is good STUFF.

WOs: RUS b/f AUS. GINO's was an educated WAG w/ G--O's in place.
ESPs: O SOLE, BIJOU, SENESCES, SPALLS [S was a guess b/c only consonant b/f a P], EZRA
Fav: TROLL as clued.
Runner-up: Richard PRYOR next to Robin Williams' ORK.

Hand-up for thinking BMOC @1a b/c of the VIP.

Theme was a huge help. I was looking at a sea of white b/f I got the theme from: -OY--F-USH. That filled McQUEEN (only had the M & Q) and confirmed NEEDLE; FLAP JACK, ACE, and CLUBS.

{B+, A-, A}

OMK - Like the circuitous route you took to the DR today :-)

Abejo - sorry to hear about your Ex. That you're still good friends is good all around.

TTP - that's the way to eat OKRA! Loved the Nirvana cover - that many drummers all in sync was wild.

Jinx & HG - I remember EUDORA. My first mail program was command-line program called mail; you'd edit in vi IIRC.

Cheers, -T

Jerome said...

ROYAL FLUSH is what occurs in an English monarch's loo

TTP said...

Abejo, best wishes for your ex.
What a difference a year makes. I'm sure you remember it. From this day in history:

Dec 26, 2017: The snowfall total from a storm that began on Christmas Day reaches 53 inches in Erie, Pa. – the biggest two-day total in state history.


Dash T, check out some of the other videos from Rocking' 1000. As I understand it, the whole thing started as an attempt to get Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters to come to Italy to play. It started with "Learn to Fly." Since then, Rockin' 1000 has done other songs that you can find on YouTube.
https://artistwaves.com/the-legacy-of-the-rockin-1000/

Picard said...

FIW with CLUeS/MOeS! I wondered about both of them! Otherwise I enjoyed the theme, even if I didn't actually know the meaning of ROYAL FLUSH. Learning moment!

Hand up for STERno before unknown STEROL. Learning moment.
Anyone else put EN BANC before EN BLOC?

O SOLE MIO is the same music as the Elvis song Now or Never

JzB thanks for the Terminator cartoon and thanks for the TAKE FIVE recording! I never knew that is what it was called!