google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, March 27, 2019 Norfleet Pruden

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Mar 27, 2019

Wednesday, March 27, 2019 Norfleet Pruden

Theme: On your Marx, get set  .  .  .  Three long answers are common, in-the-language phrases doubling as movie titles.  These movies star a band of brothers.

20 A. Shenanigans: MONKEY BUSINESS.  Mischievous or deceitful behavior.  Also, a 1952 movie staring Carey Grant, Marilyn Monroe and Ginger Rogers.



But more to the point, this 1931 movie featuring the aforementioned siblings.


In either case, you can find the entire movie on Youtube.

37 A. "Nonsense!": HORSE FEATHERS.  An expression of disagreement, disbelief or frustration. Also, another epic on the silver screen, this time from 1932.



53 A. Nabisco product whose package formerly displayed circus cages: ANIMAL CRACKERS.  Small cookies in the shapes of zoo and circus animals, available since 1902.

And, sure enough, yet another movie title, from 1930.


66 A. Surname of the stars of 20-, 37- and 53-Across: MARX.  Groucho [Julius,] Harpo [Arthur,] Zeppo [Herbert] and Chico [Leonard.]  A fifth brother. Gummo [Milton,] never appeared in any of their movies.  [Wikipedia]

Across:

1. Sow chow: SLOP.  Unspecified liquid or semi-liquid kitchen scraps as an alternative to Purina Swine Chow.

5. Sport with clay disks: SKEET.  The disks are propelled in the air as shooting targets.

10. "House Hunters" channel: HGTV.

14. Kind of curriculum: CORE.  A set of common courses required of all students, irrespective of their major.

15. Mural prefix: INTRA-.  Literally "within the walls," referring to sport or other competitions among students of a single institution.

16. Nécessité for a soufflé: OEUF.  French eggs.

17. Food thickener: AGAR. A gelatinous material extracted from red seaweed.

18. Anti-wrinkle option: BOTOX.  A drug prepared from botulism toxin used to treat certain muscular conditions, and to remove facial wrinkles.

19. Hearty bowlful: STEW.  A meal of meat and vegetables cooked together in broth.

23. Wrinkly little dog: PUG.  A small breed with a deeply wrinkled face.  Any irony with 18 A?

24. Gore and Green: ALS.  AL Gore is a Viet Nam war veteran, former Representative in Congress, Senator, Vice President and presidential candidate.  AL Green is a singer and ordained minister who has led a complicated and eventful life.



25. Defunct supermarket chain that once had nearly 16,000 stores: A AND P.  Originally the Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company.  they went out of business in 2015, after 156 years.

27. Lines on a list: ITEMS.

29. Thick slice: SLAB. As bacon, concrete or marble.

32. Break bread: EAT.  Together with other people.  Evidently, the referent is the Last Supper.

33. Adds bubbles to: AERATES.

36. Tropicana Field MLB team: RAYS.  Last year they won 90 games and finished 3rd in the powerful AL East division, behind the Red Sox and Yankees.

40. Cry under a pop fly: MINE.  So that other fielders will back off and avoid a collision.  Except for a weird 2 games series that the Mariners swept from the A's in Japan last week, the regular season starts for the rest of MLB tomorrow.  The Tigers open at Toronto, 3:37 pm local time.

41. Shiraz resident: IRANIAN.   Shiraz is the 5th most populous city in Iran.  It has been a population center since at least 2000 B.C.  This week, torrential rains have lead to devastating flooding and several fatalities.

42. Find a job for: USE.

43. Organic compound: ENOL. More common in crosswords than in chemistry labs, probably.

44. Freeways and parkways: ROADS.  Thoroughfares.

48. Store in a queue for printing: SPOOL.

50. Like some pkgs.: PPD. Post Paid or Pre Paid.  [???]

52. India-born author Santha Rama __: RAU. [1923-2009]  Author of several books.

58. Soon, long ago: ANON. It can be traced back to the 11th century, meaning "in one" indicating "right away."

59. Baby's ailment: COLIC.  Frequent extended episodes of crying in small infants, with no identifiable cause.

60. Oodles: LOTS.  Non-specific large quantity,

61. URL connection: LINK.  Direction to an internet site, not to be confused with a sausage unit.

62. Tiny amount: TRACE.  Non-specific small quantity.

63. Beekeeper played by Peter Fonda: ULEE.

64. Deck quartet: ACES.  A deck of cards has four cards of equal rank, in each of four suits.

65. Underground home of the Ninja Turtles: SEWER.  Never watched them

Down:

1. Shrimp dish: SCAMPI.  Large shrimp sautéed in garlic and butter.

2. Leave a chat room, say: LOG OUT.  Or LOG OFF.  Need perps.

3. Grand Marnier flavor: ORANGE.  A blend of Cognac, essence of bitter orange and sugar.

4. Central __: "Friends" coffee house: PERK.



5. Female oracle: SIBYL. A so-named single prophetess in the 4th and 5th centuries B.C. located somewhere in Anatolia.  After that time SIBYL became a title and there were several found in various locations.

6. Drawer handles: KNOBS.  Suitable for pulling.

7. Words to a traitor: ET TU.  From when Caesar was sectioned.

8. Love god: EROS.  From Greek mythology, the son of Aphrodite, not to be confused with the too-cutesy, cherubic renaissance representations of his Roman counterpart, Cupid.

9. Roll to the runway: TAXI.  The motion of an airplane while on the ground.

10. Biblical prophet: HOSEA.  From the 8th century B.C.  He was often viewed as a prophet of doom.  Hence the expression: "No waya, Hosea!" But his messages often contained a promise of restoration.

11. Comes close to: GETS  NEAR.  Approaches

12. When general U.S. elections are held: TUESDAYS.  In November.

13. Ex-GIs' gp.: VFWVeterans of Foreign Wars.

21. Makes less difficult: EASES.  Alleviates, mitigates, assuages.

22. Catch red-handed: NAB.  This expression goes back to 15th century Scottish law, referring to catching a murderer in the act.

26. Qt. halves: PTS.  Mind your P[int]s and Q[uart]s.

28. Stable mother: MARE.  Horse mom.  Mental and emotional condition may vary.

29. Base runner's ploy: STEAL.  In baseball, attempting to advance a base while the ball is being pitched.  A risky maneuver that can be rewarding.

30. Like tough economic times: LEAN.  Indicating that there is little opportunity to improve the situation by trimming.

31. Wine province near Turin: ASTI.  Purveyor of bubbly spirits.

34. Free __: carte blanche: REIN.  Unfettered freedom of action or expression.  Kind of like what I have here.

35. Jackson 5 hairdo: AFRO.


36. City that aptly rhymes with "casino": RENO.  Casino city.

37. From Latin America: HISPANIC. Relating to country of origin in Spanish-speaking Central, or South America and the Caribbean, regardless of ethnicity.

38. Like a typical therapy session: ONE ON ONE.  A meeting or encounter between two individuals.

39. Capital of Canada?: HARD C.  If you can't say anything nice  .  . .

40. Juilliard subj.: MUS.  The Julliard School is located in the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in Manhattan.  In addition to MUSic, it also offers degree programs in theater and dance.

43. Shade tree: ELM.

45. Colorful ring: AREOLA.  A small, circular colored area.  I'll leave google image searching to the curious.

46. Quick mover: DARTER.

47. English Channel county: SUSSEX.  On the eastern part of the southern coast, along the English Channel, due south from London.

49. Sty chorus: OINKS.  The singing of swine.

50. Haggling focus: PRICE.  Negotiating a deal.

51. Indiana NBA player: PACER.  At 45-29, they are currently third in the Eastern Conference, behind the Raptors and 76ers.

54. Show parts: ACTS.  Acts are further divided into scenes.

55. Handed-down stories: LORE.  Historical knowledge, traditions and stories, generally passed from person to person by word of mouth.

56. Crab's grabber: CLAW.

57. "America's Got Talent" judge Heidi: KLUM.


58. Miss. neighbor: ALAbama.  A southern state located mostly between Georgia and Mississippi.  From my observation, it's mostly forest.

Thus endeth another Wednesday.  Having left my Marx, I will now bid you adieu.

Cool regards!
JzB



54 comments:

  1. This season is good for pollen. Bad for pollen sufferers.

    Apologies for not posting yesterday. I w̶a̶s̶ am in a muzzy state of mind this week with sneezing and painful puffy eyes. OAS, thanks for the comment yesterday! And thank you Tony for the brief {grades} that daily let me know my doggerel is still being read!

    There once was a man whose friends called him ULEE.
    Some said the name fitted him truly.
    He had journeys to take,
    Like his namesake.
    He's Ulysses S. Grant to you and me!

    A minor prophet in the days of LORE,
    HOSEA, of course, is living no more.
    He'd be happy today
    When the ball-field bands play
    "Hose-a can you see..." before the first score!

    {B+, B.}

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thank you Norfleet Pruden for this enjoyable Wednesday CW.

    Thank you Jazzbumpa for your informative review. Groucho Marx could certainly deliver one liners.

    AS I WORKED THE CW:

    25 A - AANDP Why did Kroger install restrooms? Because everyone would go to the A and P.

    50 A - PPD: prepaid, was a Natick with 39 D - the groaner, HARDC. Thumper, Thumper.

    Then there is the Natick of 52 A - RAU, and 45 D - AREOLA.

    4 D - I was thinking just the other day how cute was the name Central PERK, so punny.

    7 D - Words to a traitor: ET TU I thought the clue said words to a "tailor".

    Ðave

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  3. 40A, MINE was the cry under a pop up ? In my day it was I GOT IT and you had to shout it out. Nice puzzle today, found it a lot easier than yesterday. But I'm 3 for 3 this week so all is good.

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  4. Good morning!

    Went sideways in a couple of places with COD and SLIDE, but otherwise this was a race to the bottom. I even picked up on the Marx references before hitting the reveal. Very odd. Never noticed RAU during the solve, thank you perps. Thanx, Norfleet, (Is this a new creator? The name sounds like something out of Nathaniel Hawthorne.) and JzB (No waya, Hosea. Indeed!)

    Taxing day...gotta run.

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  5. Owen, Count me as another fan of your amazing poetic ability. It's one of my morning delights. A great start to each day's comments. Hope you'll be all well soon.

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  6. BTW, Owen. A,A+ today. I'm ready for baseball!

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  7. Good morning. Thank you Norfleet Pruden, and thank you JzB.

    Every once in a while I solve a puzzle that seems to have an almost perfect match of clues and answers. Today's offering felt that way to me.

    Sub 9 solve, but I paused to watch a news bit on the Jussie Smollett case.

    Anyway, my only type over was LOG OUT when LOG Off wouldn't work with the perps.
    Didn't see the clues or answers for COLIC TRACE and SEWER until the write up.
    Seems like I recently read about Groucho Marx.
    Love that Al Green song, and a few others of his.
    JzB's explanation of 21D made me hungry for breakfast. I bought some Bob Evans or Jimmy Dean's patties yesterday.

    On a side note, the NFL rules committee has now made pass interference a reviewable play. The primary motivator for this rule change seems to have stemmed from the egregious "no call" late in last year's playoffs between the Saints and Rams.

    The new change may not ease the pain of the Saints fans, but at least now there will be some recourse and possible correction when the officials miss a PI call.

    ReplyDelete
  8. With MONKEY I surmised that the theme was animals. I needed the reveal to see that they were movies. Loved the theme. Perk was the only fill new to me.
    20A reminded me that my mom use to say, "No more of your monkeyshines." I was surprised just now to read that the word was related to blackface. We innocently never related it to that. I believe that context counts. Some words are pejorative in certain contexts and not in others.
    Shiraz, also known as Syrah, means red wine to me.
    In square dancing we change partners in a square in a specific way. Some men just grab any woman as their next partner. Half the time I dance the lead. I say, "She's mine!" when someone takes my intended partner. We have a man who always takes his sweetie and constantly breaks down the square.
    My BIL was a great skeet fan. He now has heart and lung problems and must be quite sedentary, no more skeet.
    Grand Marnier is wonderful poured over fresh strawberries. Yum,!
    Break bread is very much associated with the Christian Eucharist, but I see it many more times in everyday usage, meaning share a meal together, usually with good fellowship.

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  9. Good morning
    OwenKl - you put a smile on my face again this morning . Good to see you back annd hope you feel better soon.
    Enjoyed the puzzle N P and the review was great J bumpa.
    D O- I was sure it was Cash on Delivery but
    had to write over for PRICE+PACER.
    HARD C didn’t fool me this time . Wait a year and it might get me again like the joke my departed brother in law used on me a couple of times . Every spring we went fishing and on the way to a favorite lake we stopped at a seldom used railway crossing. He’d say “the train must have just gone by”. I’d look around and he’d say “I can still see the tracks”. Lame but it got a chuckle every time . Or “Did you hear Willie Nelson died?” No - “ got run over by a truck” Oh? “He was playing “On The Road Again” He got me with that one only two times.
    Cheers

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  10. FIR, but erased CO-ed for CORE.

    I may be the only Cornerite who likes these "hard C" clues. Maybe I enjoy the pelting from the V8 cans.

    I'm a fan of the AREOLA. I like KNOBS too.

    SPOOL is one of my favorite acronyms - Simultaneous Peripheral Operations On Line. Part of the acronym-in-an-acronym HASP - Houston Automatic SPOOL Program, IIRC.

    OKL, sorry to hear that you've been ill. Get better soon.

    From the I-told-you-so file: Shocking headline from the CBC: "Notable Russian visits Donald Trump at White House". Of course it was The Great Eight and most of the Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals. And the article was in the Sports part of their web site. Another tongue-in-cheek reference in the NYT was well.

    Thanks for the fun puzzle, Norfleet. ALS could have been clued Lou Gehrig's Disease. JzB forgot to cite AL gore as the inventor of the internet, but otherwise wrote a fine review. Thanks.

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  11. Today was easier than yesterday. Go figure. Nice puzzle with clues that made sense for a change. L.A. Times crossword cluing is starting to resemble Frank Longo cluing. A stretch.

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  12. My DIL had a three hour operation Monday evening. The bone around her prosthesis is damaged. The surgeon needed to replace the spike-like prosthesis inserted into her femur with a longer one and also replace the artificial ball joint. She had the damaged bone around the prosthesis "wired" together for support. The surgeon said that if this area is damaged again it cannot be repaired and would result in amputation. Also some muscle pulled off the bone and needed reattaching. Motoko is in a wheelchair already and is in less pain than four months ago because she is getting expert care, which was not given in NYC. She soon will go to rehab.

    On a lighter note, CED, I laughed out loud at your shampoo clip yesterday. Who wants more body? I am trying to lose some of mine.

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  13. Greetings!

    Thanks to Norfleet and Jazzbumpa!

    No problems, but peeped were RAYS, RAU and PERK. Still in rehab. Got no sleep last (this) night. Thanks, Lucy!

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  14. Good morning,mfolks. Thank you, Norfleet Pruden, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.

    Zipped through this quickly. I amazed myself.

    Caught the theme after ANIMAL CRACKERS. I always like the Marx brothers, especially, Groucho.

    My favorite was KLUM, after I came here.

    OEUF was unknown. As was KLUM. As was SIBYL. Perps helped with them all.

    Cruciverb is working again. That is why I am here.

    Had wings last night at the Johnsonburg Elks. They were great.

    I discovered that Pennsylvania now permits supermarkets to sell beer and wine. They never did in the past. You had to get beer from a beer distributor. And wine and liquor from a State Store. Yesterday I discovered that the beer distributor in Johnsonburg closed his doors last fall. So, I bought some at the supermarket. There is a price for progress.

    Well, off to my day. Tons to do here.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ( )

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  15. Musings
    -HAR_ C was the only temporary speed bump
    -We are HGTV junkies
    -I kinda/sorta knew OUEF but wasn’t sure about the vowel order
    -A hilarious 2-minute BOTOX scene
    -Concrete ROAD SLABS were dislodged in our floods by giant SLABS of ice
    -Did HOSEA and SIBYL predict they would be in today’s puzzle?
    -U.S. elections are always on Taco TUESDAYS
    -STEALS that happen not during a pitch
    -Some say the Truckee River that runs through the once divorce capital of RENO is the home to LOTS of tossed wedding rings
    -I haggled on the PRICE of my new truck with a salesman for months and then out of the blue the owners (former students) went “over his head” or “behind his back” and said yes.
    -The Talladega Raceway in ALA. is near the Talladega National Forest
    -Nice job, Jazz!

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  16. Today's USA puzzle by C.C. was fun. However, I do not understand the stated theme. Can someone help?

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  17. Jazz- "No waya Hosea". Good one!

    Can't wrap my head around not being able to buy alcohol in a supermarket.

    Norfleet Pruden is just about the coolest name I've ever heard.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good Morning:

    Other than two w/os, Me Me/Mine and Jays/Rays, (I have a mental block of some stadium names) and the unknown Sibyl, this was smooth sailing. I thought the reveal would be animal related as I never associated the themers with movies.

    Thanks, Norfleet, for a mid-week treat and thanks, JazB, for the wit and wisdom in your expo.

    Owen, I don't comment on your efforts often, but I do read and enjoy your daily musings. Bravo!

    YR, I hope your DIL has a speedy and successful recovery.

    Have a great day.

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  19. Good morning everyone.

    Easy solve today. No searches or erasures were needed. The theme was "in the language like JzB said. Longest pause was with HARD C; parsing it correctly.
    Agree with JzB about ENOL

    Enjoy the day.

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  20. Fermat @ 9:30, look at the last two letters of both words in the long across answers, and then parse the puzzle title by separating the prefix.

    ReplyDelete
  21. Well,

    I am at a loss,
    this puzzle theme does not need any additional silliness from me...

    But,

    I must comment on OEUF,
    (16. Nécessité for a soufflé: )

    Really?

    The puzzle was difficult, yet I managed to muddle thru,
    (My favorite kind of puzzle...)

    However, I would have said ACK! at many clue/answers
    But Oeuf?

    I can only imagine a Frenchman, working on an English Crossword,
    would have said "Oeuf" at many of the (insert your word here) in this puzzle.
    Reminds me of Boiled Eggs and Nuts!
    (see previous Blog posts for reference...)

    Oh, Nuts! I know you are too lazy to backtrack that far...
    Here! (colorized version...)

    On the other hand,
    the puzzle did make me hungry (again.)
    All I could see was things like 1d. Scampi, and 19a. Stew etc...
    Reason being:

    DW's Sister gave us an Omaha Steak package for Xmas,
    all that's left is some (unknown) sausage that was in the freezer.
    With DW (currently in Tokyo on business) I thought I would make this
    mouthwatering video...
    (scroll down for video)
    Except, I used canned beans for fresh,
    and two cans = 2 pounds of beans & not one that the recipe called for.
    and when I went to add the 2 quarts of water, only one quart would fit in the pot.
    And I only simmered it for two hours instead of three.

    Not bad with some beer, but I am suffering from indigestion...
    (probably followed by Gas tomorrow...)

    Anywho, (trying to avoid silliness here...)
    I have a ton of leftovers in the fridge.

    I really thought it would be better the next day, reheated (& Restewed) (if thats a word)
    but looking in the Fridge this morning, I see that the top one third of the
    leftovers is a layer of fat...

    not sure if I can stomach this again...

    Anywho,who,
    The reason for this diatribe?
    This puzzle started my morning off with 1a. Sow chow: SLOP. Unspecified liquid or semi-liquid kitchen scraps as an alternative to Purina Swine Chow.

    Oeuf, I need to lie down...

    ReplyDelete
  22. TTP at 7:46 AM, Thanks for the link to C.C.'s CW. I worked it. I think I found the theme, "retailing." I'll say no more lest you wish to solve.

    Ðave

    ReplyDelete
  23. Well, not the easiest Wednesday puzzle I've ever done, but when I got MARX as the last word I laughed out loud and got the theme with much pleasure. So, thank you, Norfleet. I just happened to make Shrimp SCAMPI for supper last night, so that was a delight to see too. PERK drove me crazy because I still watch 'Friends' several nights a week, and could picture the name of the coffee house on the door or window but couldn't remember the second word. And I enjoyed your witty commentary, JazzB.

    Liked your third poem, Owen.

    Oas, those jokes made me laugh.

    Yellowrocks, hope your daughter-in-law has a good recovery after that difficult surgery.

    And Fermatprime, take good care of youself.

    Have a good day, everybody.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Hey, CED: Why do the French only have one egg for breakfast?


    Because one egg is AN OUEF....

    ReplyDelete
  25. Is there anything more fun than the MARX brothers' movie titles? I laugh just saying them. However, it took a while to associate them. I stared at MERX for a long time until the penny dropped. Oh, MARX. I had AREAOLE instead of AREOLA.

    RAU was another stumble. RAE seemed feasible but then SESSEX did not. Welcome back, ULEE. We haven't seen you in a while.

    Canadian Eh! gets a CSO today.

    Thank you, Norfleet Pruden, for a good Wednesday challenge.

    Thank you, JazzB, for your fine commentary.

    Owen:
    Your poems always inspire awe and I'm sorry you are feeling out of sorts. Please take care of yourself.

    Have a good day, everyone! Hasta la vista!

    ReplyDelete
  26. Good afternoon, JazzB and friends. I had to check my calendar to be sure today was Wednesday and not Monday. This puzzle practically filled in itself. I never even read some of the clues.

    The MARX Brothers movies were before my time, but the names are all familiar to me.

    There was an A&P near my apartment when I was in graduate school. I shopped there and one day the story was having a big party to celebrate the company's 125 birthday. Free food, which for a graduate student, was very welcome.

    It's okay to go to the Y to swim, but you shouldn't go to the A AND P.

    QOD: When I sing, trouble can sit right on my shoulder and I don’t even notice. ~ Sarah Vaughan (née Sarah Lois Vaughan; Mar. 27, 1924 ~ Apr. 3, 1990)

    ReplyDelete
  27. Was this theme an easy guess to the BOTOX crowd? "You Bet Your Life". I guess "A Night At The Opera" was too many letters for a 15X15 puzzle.

    Good morning. Nice midweek puzzle to start my week of solving LA Times puzzles. I was sitting in a car dealer's waiting room for four hours yesterday and noticed a puzzle by C.C. in the WSJ. So it was worked along with reading about five back issues of the paper. Way to go, fearless leader.

    AL Green will be remembered long after Al Gore, Jr.'s name (the inventor of the internet-Hello Jinx) joins the list of forgettable Vice Presidents. He won't be an AL singing "Tired of Being Alone"; plenty of company on that list.

    A&P, soon to be followed by Sears, K-Mart, JC Penney and a multitude of other chains it they don't drastically change. Circuit City, Toys R Us, Payless Shoes, H.H. Gregg, Charlotte Russe--who's next?

    IRANIAN or IRANI; HISPANIC or LATINO or LATINA? Unknowns filled by perps-RAU, PERK, OEUF (agree with CEDave).

    JzB- driving from Dollywood in TN back through TN,AL, & MS one of the grandkids kept saying "trees, trees, trees" for hours.

    Abejo- You can buy any type of booze from just about every store in New Orleans. But the liquor wholesalers in this state have the best legal racket going. No competition; none.

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  28. TINBENI ... at the Library.

    Jazz: Excellent write-up & links.

    Norfleet: Thank you for a FUN Wednesday puzzle. I liked the MARX theme.

    CSO for my "Home-Town" RAYS. Cy Young winner is tomorrows Opening Day Pitcher -v- the Astro's Cy-Young winner.

    (I'll watch the game at Villa Incognito with my "Red-Stripe" Beer, Peanuts and Cracker-Jacks ... at a "reasonable price.")

    Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
  29. Ta ~DA!
    Nicely chewy for a humpday puzz.

    Excellent movie clips, JzB! Thanks for those.
    TCM aired the Cary Grant Monkey Business last year. A good old movie, a real treat.

    Didn't watch Friends much. But that was a funny name for their coffee shoppe.
    I remember Lisa Kudrow did a satiric turn. Didn't she have a silly song, something about her "Stinky Cat" or "Smelly Cat"?
    ~ OMK
    ____________
    DR:
    A single diagonal, flip side.
    It offers us a weird anagram, I really don't know what to make of it, so I'll leave it to others to come up with a story.
    Can YOU provide a narrative concerning the extraordinary bodily fluid known as...
    "VITAL URINE"?!

    ReplyDelete
  30. I liked this puzzle. Like some of you, I didn't even see some of the down clues and answers because they were already filled.

    A five-letter prophet? Nah, I'll just wait and let it fill itself.

    I always forget Shiraz is in Iran. Like Yellowrocks I think of red wine.

    A near Natick for me was the P crossing PPD and PACER. I say "near" because after doing an alphabet run I could see that P was really the only letter that made sense, so it was not completely a blind guess.

    Jinx, I remember HASP now that you mentioned it. By the way, I have learned never to give any credence or informational value to headlines any more; it seems they have become deliberately misleading for the sole purpose of being sensational. Nothing more than click bait. The same with television news: "Tonight at 11 we'll tell you how to avoid getting measles." Nope, they didn't tell us any such thing; all they reported was how serious and contagious measles is and urged everyone to "be" (not "get") vaccinated.

    I remember those State Stores in Pennsylvania.

    I agree with Jerome: "Norfleet Pruden is just about the coolest name I've ever heard."

    Good wishes to you all.

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  31. Jerome and Jayce, I agree that Norfleet Pruden is a cool name. But my favorite is an engineer from Lucent I met in Caracas named Beethoven Casanova. Now THAT'S a NAME!

    Virginia runs all the liquor stores here. Beer and wine from grocery stores, etc. I lived in LA (not Lower Alabama, the other one) when the state okayed liquor sales in grocery stores. Certainly made life easier. Better yet, Pizza Man (a local chain in LA) would deliver beer, wine and liquor, along with decent pizza.

    Texas had weird beer laws. I've seen several states where wet/dry was a county decision, but in Texas it was precinct-by-precinct decision. Odd to drive up a major street with the 7-11s on one side displaying beer signs, but not the stores on the other side.

    YR, I hope Motoko pulls through with all her limbs intact. Serious stuff.

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  32. If there was a Natick I'd think it would be the KLUM/ULEE cross

    JzB got me on "No waya Hosea. ". I'm thinking, nah Hosea was a long time ago.

    Well, I couldn't stop with a mere two minutes of Niles Crane. Talk about rotfl
    I was thinking like Euro for capital of Canada, like hockey puck or herring cake.
    CED, ironically the conversation this morning turned to
    The Great Molasses Flood*
    Re. The Xword...
    No problems. Pretty quick. I used to watch Laurel and Hardy in the mornings before school and was disappointed when 3 Stooges replaced them
    My local theater showed Marx brothers movies in the 70s and a gang of us would attend

    WC

    * They didn't mention the horses that died

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  33. I don't think Bill G has posted recently (unless I missed one); I hope all is well and he's just busy.

    I, too, was taken with Norfleet Pruden's name, so I did a little research and discovered that he had a LA Times puzzle in 2012. He is an attorney in Charlotte, NC and his attorney son makes the fifth generation in that profession.

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  34. Hi Y'all! Great fun puzzle! Norfleet, thanks. Great fun expo, JzB. Cute theme though I never saw a full Marx bros movie -- just clips. Nice start to the day.

    Er, that picture of Heidi looks like she's about to Klum out of her dress. Areola time!

    CED: can't you skim all the fat off the top of that concoction and see what you can eat of the rest? I've had a lot of greasy meals that skimming definitely improved.

    YR: Hope this situation for your DIL heals well & gives her no further trouble.

    My brother had a "blood patch" yesterday in his spinal cord. For his hip replacement weeks ago, they did a spinal anesthetic. The puncture hole was leaking fluid and giving him a headache because he didn't have enough fluid therein. SIL says the "blood patch" seems to be working. No headache this morning, but his back is sore where they invaded his spinal cord. He prefers that to the headache.

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  35. This Wednesday puzzle went quickly.

    Really good clueing today as well.

    Zero markovers.

    Not much to add, have a good rest of day.

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  36. Irish Miss, yes, I've been remiss in posting. I am having a hard time feeling up to it and in a positive frame of mind. My back is getting worse and I find myself moving around the house with a walker and/or cane. Rats.

    Barbara is still coping with bad new regarding her previous cancer diagnosis. It has spread. She has a choice between chemo or immuno-something with possible seriously-bad side effects.

    Talking about and dealing with this kind of stuff easily doesn't come naturally for me. So I tend to retreat inside my shell. I do the puzzles almost all of the time and enjoy reading everybody's comments.

    I'm sorry for the tone of this post. I'll try to do better.

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  37. When I was doing this puzzle, I told my wife that I expected a lot of comments about OEUF.
    EGGS>OEUF
    How does one make un soufflé with only un OEUF? I'd think you'd need des oeuves.

    RAU was unknown; probably will be again next time he appears.

    OMK: Your anagram is what my doctor considers what I filled a cup with this morning.

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  38. Jonx: LOL at your linking AREOLA and KNOBS!
    Anonymous@12:35 : is "ditto" enough?

    Misty: While I appreciate you liking my third poem today, uh, I only had two. (Were you maybe counting the long one over a the Jumble blog?)

    Many thanks always to all the rest of you for your enjoyable comments!

    For OMK:
    Researchers had a lead on the latest bio- vile!
    It was water born from sewers draining to the Nile.
    For a cure they were yearnin',
    They found it in some URINE,
    An antigen was isolated in a VITAL viral vial!

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  39. Bill G:
    I am sorry to hear of your back problems and also Barbara's returning symptoms. Aging is not for sissies! I hope you can each have relief of some kind. Please keep us posted on how you are doing.

    Some of those liquor laws sound really strange! Here in the wild west liquor is readily available and since I'm not a big drinker I've been unaware of all those restrictions.

    I wish we would hear from today's constructor about his name. Norfleet Pruden is absolutely cool!

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  40. Bill G, I'm so sorry to hear of your and Barbara's health challenges. It has to be very discouraging, especially for Barbara, after all she has already gone through. I send sincere, positive thoughts and will keep you both in my heart and prayers.

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  41. Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Norfleet and JzB.
    I completed the CW and got MARX, but didn't get the connection to the ANIMALS. Not familiar with the movies . . Before my time.

    I saw my CSO at 39D. JzB I could interpret your comment several ways: 1) you don't like those hard and soft letter clues but you won't say anything; 2) you can't say anything nice about Canada; 3) Canadians are so polite that when they can't say anything nice, they don't say anything. I'm assuming that you meant #1😃 CED, I can just imagine you trying to fit Loonie into that spot.
    Feel better soon, Owen.
    BillG, thoughts and prayers for you and Barbara. Don't worry about the tone of your post . . Life happens and perhaps we can encourage each other.

    Good evening to you all.

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  42. BillG & Barbara: So sorry about the current problems. Thinking hugs and prayers for you both. Life can be cruel sometimes!

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  43. 5 puzzles in three days. C.C. is just a freak of nature. Congratulations.

    J. Norfleet Pruden, III is a 4th generation North Carolina Attorney who was first published in the LA Times in 2009. He had another publication in 2012. We loved his name back when this 2009 PUZZLE was published. It is remarkable how the posters have changed, and a sad reminder of Argyle not being here anymore. HAHTOOL(AH) and JAZZBUMPA were there. JD and I stopped by. DENNIS we see infrequently. So many stories.

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  44. Bill, I went down the pain rabbit hole with my back but sharing life with the cyber friends here, really helped. We are here.

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  45. Damn, and I forgot Kazie. Memory is fading.

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  46. Who would like my earworm? It's "Animal crackers in my soup."

    Ðave

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  47. Bill G - Sorry to hear of your difficult times. My best to you and Barbara during this trying period and my thoughts and best wishes for a good outcome.

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  48. Hi All!

    What most everyone else said - that was a speed run. Thanks Norfleet for the fun Wednesday puzzle. Thanks for the expo and all those clips JzB (reading the write-up took longer than the puzzle!).

    WO: hand-up with Rae
    ESPs: OEUF, KLUM
    Fav: Clue for SLOP was pretty dern cute.

    {A, A+; B+} //I feel ya', allergies got me too.

    YR - Your DIL is in our thoughts. As are you Fermat, BillG & Barbara.

    Thanks TTP for the heads-up on C.C.'s puzzle (thought I flubbed the NW).

    OMK - your DR fits with A AND P...
    Jinx - you're just being ornery :-)

    Abejo - I was curious so I looked it up. Looks like Oklahoma finally allows sale of wine & >3.2 beer outside of the ABC stores.

    Cheers, -T

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  49. Thanks everybody. This is surely a kind and thoughtful group of people.

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  50. Sorry Owen, I meant the second poem (counted your first comment as your first poem by mistake). I actually liked both poems, thanks for posting them.

    Bill G., my heart goes out to you and Barbara. I will keep you both in my prayers.

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  51. Bill G. and Barbara: I wish I could offer some platitude to you, but having been in your shoes twice with my wife, all I can honestly say is this --

    "The only way out is 'through'" ... the only way out of this medical necessity is to go through with whatever is offered for healing.

    (Guard you energy as well. Napping is necessary and wonderful.)

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  52. Owen ~
    You're in for extra kudos for your URINE-inspired verse!
    ~ OMK

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