google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, March 13, 2019 Ed Sessa

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Mar 13, 2019

Wednesday, March 13, 2019 Ed Sessa

Theme: Well, there was this guy  .  .  . and this other guy  .  .  .   Or - What's in a name? Famous men's names are linked across and within theme entries, from the generic to the specific.

First the generic:

18 D. Generic guy: TOM.
34 D. Generic guy: DICK.
50 D.  Generic guy: HARRY.
These are generally considered as a collective, referring to any guy you're likely to run into.  So to encounter every TOM, DICK and HARRY separately here made it a little hard to suss.  Of course, these given names could have been clued in a variety of other ways.  But with this theme, it's important to clue them this way, leaving them, in a sense, open ended.

67 A. 18-, 34- __ 50-Down: AND.  To bring them all together

As an aside, the most common names for boys born in 2018 were Jackson,  Liam, Noah, Aiden, Caden, Grayson, Lucas, Mason, Oliver and Elijah.  The old expression might need to be reconsidered, because nowadays, every Tom Dick and Harry is named Jackson, Liam or Noah.

Then the specific:

20 A. After 18-Down, actor/golfer combo: ARNOLD PALMER.  So we get the actor TOM ARNOLD [b 1959] and the golfer ARNOLD PALMER [1929-2016].  Tom's first wife was the now increasingly unhinged Roseanne Barr.  He is currently getting divorced from his fourth wife.  At some point you might just as well quit.  ARNOLD PALMER was, and remains, an icon in the world of golf.  Once, at his Bay Hill golf club, I had lunch with him.  Granted, we were at different tables, at opposite ends of the room, but we were eating together.  Or at least at the same time. His name could also have been clued as a soft drink made by mixing lemonade and iced tea.

37 A. After 34-Down, crime writer/poet combo: FRANCIS SCOTT KEY.  Here we have DICK FRANCIS [1920-2010], a former steeplechase jockey whose novels focus on crime in the world of British horse racing, along with FRANCIS SCOTT KEY [1779-1843] who composed the poem Defense of Fort M'Henry in September, 1814, after witnessing the battle there.  It was soon set to music, and became our unofficial national anthem.  This was made official by an executive order from President Wilson in 1916. There are good reasons why the third verse is never sung.

55. After 50-Down, president/novelist combo: TRUMAN CAPOTE.  This gives us the 33rd President [1945-1933] of the U. S., HARRY TRUMAN [1884-1972] and author TRUMAN CAPOTE [1924-1984.] President Truman implemented the Marshall Plan, benefiting Western Europe after WW II and was involved in establishing NATO.  TRUMAN CAPOTE was a novelist, playwright and actor.  At least 20 of his works have been made into movies.  The best known are probably Breakfast a Tiffany's and the non-fiction murder story In Cold Blood.

Hi Gang.  JazzBumpa here.  As you can probably tell, I had a hard time figuring out how to characterize and deal with this clever and unusual theme.  Proper names, in general, are not top notch fill.  But when they become the theme, it's a whole new ball game.  And Ed has given the idea - quite literally - a new dimension.  So - kudos for that.  Let's see what else we have.

Across:

1. Cascades peak: SHASTA.  A currently inactive [but who knows?] volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Northern CA,  with a max. elevation of 14, 179 ft.

7. Cap'n's aide: BOS'N.   A contraction of boatswain, also known as the chief petty officer.

11. Classic British sports cars: MGs.  The Initials of Morris Garages.  MG is the marque for vehicles marketed as such by its parent company, Shanghai based SAIC Motors.

14. Character builder?: AUTHOR. A writer, in this case of fiction stories, where each character ought to be built of relatable human characteristics. Unless that character is Ramsey Bolton.

15. __ Domini: ANNO.  Latin for "in the year of our Lord," designating the most recent 2019 years of human history.  This idea has its own complicated history which the interested reader may perhaps pursue at one's leisure.

16. Vein contents: ORE.  Mining for minerals

17. Not yet proven: THEORETICAL.  Sometimes the theoretical can yet be proven.  All it takes are extraordinary capability and decades of single-minded devotion.

19. __ drop: MIC.  I have a mental block about pronouncing mic as Mike.  Anyway, the expression refers to a literal or figurative gesture at the end of a speech or performance indicating triumph.

22. Wrestling duo: TAG TEAM.  A two person wrestling team, only one of which is in the ring at any given time.  A replacement can only be made if the one in the ring can physically touch, or TAG, his partner.

25. Innocent: NAIVE.  Due to lack of experience with all the pitfalls, travails and villains one encounters in the real world.

26. Charlottesville sch.: UVA. University of Virginia.

27. Like a cool cat: HEP.  From Wikipedia: Hipster or hepcat, as used in the 1940s, referred to aficionados of jazz, in particular bebop, which became popular in the early 1940s. The hipster adopted the lifestyle of the jazz musician, including some or all of the following: dress, slang, use of cannabis and other drugs, relaxed attitude, sarcastic humor, self-imposed poverty, and relaxed sexual codes.

30. Edible root: BEET.  When it comes to borscht, you can't beet soup!

31. Depended (on): RELIED.



35. Sunlit lobbies: ATRIA.  Entrance areas or central courts of buildings or complexes that are either open roofed or glass covered.  I once had the opportunity to crawl around on one with a glass roof.  And, yes, I am acrophobic.  Good times.

42. Worthy of a standing O: SOCKO.  Stunningly effective or successful.

43. Pay for one's crime: DO TIME.  Go to prison.

44. Suisse peak: ALPE.  Une montagne en Français.

47. Sisters, say: KIN.  It's all relative.

48. Spam holder: TIN.  A metal can containing [presumably] food stuffs.

49. "American Horror Story" actress Paulson: SARAH. Never watched it.


51. Contents of a teacher's key: ANSWERS.

59. TV buying channel: HSNHome Shopping Network

60. Host of a Friars Club event: ROASTMASTER.  Portmanteau of ROAST and MASTER, modeled after "toastmaster, " to designate an MC at a comedy roast, in which a person is honored by being the butt of pointed jokes.

64. One of a comic trio: MOE.  Along with Larry, Curly, and Shemp.  I know - that makes 4.  Sometimes life ain't easy.

65. Invite feedback?: RSVP.  Formal request to respond to an invitation.

66. Nissan sedan: ALTIMA.  A mid-size sedan.

68. Votes for: YEAS.  All opposed say Nay.

69. Oppressive ruler: DESPOT.  A ruler with absolute power.  Power corrupts.

Down:

1. Minded the kids: SAT.  As in baby sat.

2. "What the?!": HUH.  Eh?

3. Pigged out, say: ATE.  Too much.

4. Little pig: SHOAT.  Especially one who was newly weaned.

5. Yankee manager before Girardi: TORRE.  Joe [b 1940] ranks 5th in MLB history with 2326 wins as a manger.  He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2015.

6. __ rock: Queen genre: ARENA.  I did not know this was actually considered a genre of pop music.  Music designed to be played in large spaces before large audiences.

7. Attend to a leaking boat: BAIL.  Scoop water out of the boat with buckets.  Might be a losing battle.

8. How some data is stored: ON CD.  Increasingly less likely these days.

9. Sound made using two fingers: SNAP.  There's more than one way to do it.



10. "The Dark Knight Trilogy" director Christopher: NOLAN. [b 1970]  An English film director, screen writer and producer who holds duel British and American citizenship.

11. Family nickname: MOMMIE.

12. Mourn: GRIEVE.  Emotional distress.

13. It's not for everyone: SECRET.  Keep it under your hat.

21. Canadian brewery: LABATT.  Founded in 1847 by John Kinder Labatt in London, Ont.  Now part of international conglomerate Inbev.

22. Steak metaphor seen on menus: TURF.  Along with SURF.  What wine goes with that?

23. State with conviction: AVER.  Or AVOW.  Always need perps.

24. Charity event: GALA.  A social event with entrtainmnet.

27. Wears: HAS ON.  Is clothed with.

28. "There's more" letters: ETC.  List shortener.

29. Jab to keep them dogies rollin': PROD.  For cattle.



32. Slacks measure: INSEAM.  The seam from the crotch to the bottom of a pant leg, or its length.

33. Prefix with car: ECO.  ECoCAR is a competitive event in which engineering students design and build advanced vehicles with leading edge technologies.

36. "How was __ know?": I TO.  Somebody tell me.

38. Maneuver through moguls: SKI.  This short video shows how to do it.



39. Flier on a string: KITE.



40. Mideast mogul: EMIR. A clecho, and a different sense of the word mogul, here meaning an important or powerful person.

41. Strong desires: YENS.  Urges.  I thought about going to Japan, but didn't have he YEN to travel.

44. Bronchial disorder: ASTHMA. A chronic lung disease that inflames and narrows the airways.

45. "The Far Side" cartoonist Gary: LARSON.  [b.1950]  Seeking to avoid what he termed "the graveyard of mediocre cartoons, he retired at the beginning of 1995 at age 44.


46. Tended to topiary: PRUNED.  Selected trimming away of branches from trees or shrubs.

51. Germane: APT. Appropriate or suitable to the situation.

52. Desert wanderer: NOMAD.  One with no permanent home, traveling from place to place to find fresh areas for livestock grazing.

53. Like many bad jokes: STALE.  Old and used up.

54. Bridge positions: WESTS.  Positions at the bridge table are named for the four main cardinal directions.

56. Bridge position: NOSE.  Another clecho, and another sense of the word bridge.


57. Vena __: major blood line: CAVA.  Either of two veins returning deoxygenated blood to the heart.

58. Sacred symbols on pyramid walls: ASPS.  The depiction of an Egyptian cobra.

61. Reward for waiting: TIP.  Not for Godot, unless he has arrived and is at the table where you are serving.

62. Confessional music genre: EMO.  Similar to punk, but having more complex arrangements, typically dealing with angst and other deep emotions.

63. Maze scurrier: RAT.  In a laboratory.

That wraps it up for another Wednesday. Good puzzle.  I didn't have any nits.  Hope you enjoyed it.

Cool regards!
JzB




56 comments:

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Couldn't sleep, so got up and solved the puzzle online for once. I like paper better, but I might just be stuck in my ways. I did, however, like the TADA at the end. "Erased" joe for TOM and east for NOSE. Never heard of SOCKO.

A famous drop the mic moment was when Obama said "Donald, at least I'll go down as a president."

My favorite generic guy is Joey Bagodonuts. Sound so much more realistic than Joe Blow or John Doe.

CSO to our favorite tippler TIN, and yesterday's constructor Gary Larson.

Thanks to Ed for another fine puzzle. And thanks to JzB for the fun review. I didn't know that "duel citizenship" was a thing. Does he need a special designation like 007?

D4E4H said...

Happy "Hump day" Y'all.

Thank you Mr. Ed Sessa for this Wednesday CW. I had trouble in the NE cell, but was able to find the letters that made words, that allowed me to FIR.

Thank you Jazzbumpa for your excellent review.

Jinx in Norfolk FLN at 7:41 AM
Wrote "D4 - I thought Jethro Tull invented the Aqua Lung, my friend."
You are absolutely correct. Here is video proof.

Ðave

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

This one fell quickly. My only misstep was METHOD/AUTHOR; in retrospect I have no idea why I thought it could be METHOD. This generic guy will accept his CSO. Thanx for the outing, Ed, and for the entrtainmnet, JzB.

SHASTA: Only Cascade peak I know. Used to be a soda brand -- maybe still is.

SOCKO: It's been ages since I've seen that one.

PRUNED: During this off-season I got my yard man to clean the gutters, weed-eat the woodlot, and prune the legustrums.

MOE: When we moved up here to the sticks from Houston, we brought along three litter-mates: Moe, Curly and Shemp. Curly and Shemp didn't make it one year, but Moe is still going strong twelve years later. I call her Slo-Moe.

Taxing day. Gotta run...

OwenKL said...

FIRight, but had a lot of trouble with this puzzle. Took two sessions to complete it (which is why no early l'icks today). A lot of it was my own errors that persisted way too long: MT.HOOD > SHASTA, MATE > BO'S'N, WVU > UVA, CAN > TIN, NO SIN > NAIVE, MOLSON > LABATT, LEEK > BEET, HIP > HEP. I caught the theme early, but errors, blanks, and trying to parse it as a single name kept me from getting S.OTo..t to SCOTT KEY until the very end.

You can get a LABATT beer from Canada
Or a SHASTA soda from California.
BEET juice for borscht
From somewhere up North,
While Evian's for the NAIVE at the ARENA!

When WEST to the BRIDGE table goes,
His specs rest on the bridge of his NOSE.
He draws his cards.
Later he's barred
When delayed by the draw-bridge that rose!

{B, B+.}

Oas said...

Good morning all .
Spring has sprung, streets are wet , cars need washing . Luv it
Thanks for a fun workout Ed Sessa and JB for the review.
Only slowdown was VENA CAVA . Not knowing kept me vacillating between ROOSTMASTER and ROASTMASTER, thinking of chicken FRIERS versus FRIARS .
Happy hump day !

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Any Cornerites play at sudoku.org.uk? I haven't been able to get a puzzle there in about a week, but being on the road it have something to do with the ISP I'm using.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Tough choice this morning; which to do first? Ed Sessa LAT or Zhouqin Burnikel WSJ. Kind of like trying to choose among your kids.
Neat theme but easy enough to execute. Secondary "schtick" of 2 clues with same words: "bridge position', 'mogul'. No problems with the solve, but had one write-over; toast before ROAST MASTER. HARRY helped with that.
TORRE - Joe TORRE is slated to give the commencement address At Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs in May. He will be presented with an honorary degree.

Have a great day.

Big Easy said...

I had a hard time-at first- not knowing either SHOAT, ARENA rock, or NOLAN, but after calling MOMMIE and popping open a LABATT's, it was smooth sailing.
Had to change CAN to TIN and IMAN to EMIR and SCOTT KEY emerged and I 'saw the light' on this puzzle. That allowed ARNOLD & FRANCIS to fall into place and the TOM, DICK, & HARRY plot was solved.
SOCKO and EMO (and SKA) are words that I've only seen in crosswords.
SARAH Paulson was the only other unknown. Never heard the term ARENA rock.

UVA- can you believe that the FBI is now making it a THEORETICAL crime for parents to pay a little extra so that their children can attend the 'elite' universities. What a joke. People don't just 'donate' money to colleges out of the goodness of their hearts. How NAIVE.

JzB- I had dinner one night with John Goodman the same way as your Arnold Palmer lunch date. But I actually did play golf with him. I was waiting in line at a public course to tee for some practice. The group in front of me had teed off and this golf cart cuts across the tee-box in front of me. Stunned, I politely and sarcastically asked "would you two like to join me". The jerk driving the cart said "no, we're discussing business". The chubby guy riding with him politely invited me to play with them. John was a horrible golfer but he actually listened to me when I showed him what he was doing wrong. After 3 or 4 holes I left them behind.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, JazzB and friends. This was a fun puzzle. I got the TOM, DICK AND HARRY, then put together the other theme answers.

Lots of fun clues today. I especially liked Character Builder = AUTHOR, Invite Feedback = RSVP and Reward for Waiting = TIP.

QOD: Science has everything to say about what is possible. Science has nothing to say about what is permissible. ~ Charles Krauthammer (né Irving Charles Krauthammer; Mar. 13, 1950 ~ June 21, 2018)

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

I loved, loved, loved this puzzle. The theme was so fresh and different and I thought the joining of the common, everyday man to the very well-known man was brilliant. My only w/os were East/Nose and Bale/Bail (silly me!). I liked the duos of Yeas/Yens, Eco/EMO, and Kin/Tin (Hi, Andy). CSOs, also to DO and TTP. Also saw an Easter Egg with Kite, another famous Tom. My only unknown was Arena Rock. My favorite C/A was Character builder=Author and any grid that contains Theoretical gets 5 Stars from me.

Bravo, Dr. Ed, this was a true gem of a solve and thanks, JzB, for a witty and complete analysis. "Let's Go Fly A Kite" brightened my day.

Have a great day.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

George, I assume your tongue is firmly planted in your cheek, or you get all your news from MS-NBC. As I'm sure you know, the SCHOOLS didn't get the money. The "fixers" got the money. Proctors correcting SAT answers before submission. Photoshopping dear darling's head on an athlete's body. Paying coaches and ADs to ignore compete lack of qualifications to participate in Division I non-revenue sports like rowing. These are all nonos.

It is still perfectly fine to bribe the college by building a new science building to get your kid admitted.

Today's Dilbert has the boss hinting that they need to find a scientist who will lie for the company. He tells Dilbert not to start with rich ones. Somehow it seems close to home.

CartBoy said...

C.C. at WSJ

Both Ed & C.C. with good puzzles today! ⭐️⭐️

oc4beach said...


Nice, doable Ed Sessa puzzle with enough crunch to qualify as a Wednesday offering. JzB put a lot into explaining the grid.

Only a few erasures today. I wanted FOLDER for Spam Holder, but it didn't fit so I put in CAN before TIN became apparent. I also had SENTRA before ALTIMA, but whoever heard of a NOMSD.

Everything else fell into place and the puzzle was solved in good time. Not a record, but fast enough for a Wednesday.

IM, FYI: Tomorrow (March 14) is National Potato Chip day, so get ready to break out your Gibble's chips and celebrate.

Of course, tomorrow is also National Pi Day (3.14), so all of you mathematicians and number lovers should celebrate with your favorite pie. I personally like peach, cherry, apple, chocolate chip, coconut cream, and Boston Creme Pie (although it isn't really a pie). I call it a Boston Creme Pie/Cake. However, I wouldn't turn down an offer of any kind of pie.

It's getting a little warmer, so maybe spring will get here soon. Enjoy the day.

inanehiker said...

Enjoyed the creative theme and the write-up as well!
Not working today, but heading to a friend's to take her walking after a knee replacement.
It's been raining since last night- so may need to walk at the mall or the Capitol!

Thanks JzB and Ed!

SwampCat said...

This clever theme was too much for me but I loved the challenge. I have KIN on Mt SHASTA so that was a gimme and I owned/ drove an MG a few eons ago. ( it actually owned me. I did whatever it wanted)

I didn’t fall for the other definition of SPAM and felt very smug.

Thanks JzB for the tour.

Anonymous said...

A little bit fun- Arnold Palmer's first name ends with old. His last name starts with pal.

Yellowrocks said...

Jinx, your slam on MSNBC is neither accurate nor fair. They had the full story of the scandal.
Saw it last night

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, Ed Sessa, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.

This puzzle was different. I really liked it once I caught on.

Only three inkblots. Had BALE before BAIL became obvious. Just could not remember which way to spell it. Of course I had TOAST MASTER before ROAST MASTER. I was a member of Toastmasters International for many years. It was a company club "Strowger Toastmasters #3848" It really helped me a lot with public speaking.

SHASTA was easy for 1A. I have been to Mt. Shasta several times while living in California. Not up it, just to it.

Unknowns were LARSON, SARAH, and NOLAN. Perps to the rescue.

We had a lot of rain last night. Most of our snow is now melted. Some big piles left from the plows. Now we deal with the water.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

CrossEyedDave said...

Hmm,

The nose knows...
(I sure didn't...)
Since West was taken, I was sure the other Bridge position
would be East. Perps to the rescue, and the Blog again was a V8 can right between the eyes...

Star Spangled 3rd Verse?
I dunno, Why don't we sing it?

I skipped right over the "Let's go fly a Kite" link
as I was in a rush, but Irish Miss made me go back and look at it again.
Didn't exactly make my day, but, in a curious bit of trivia,
Glynis Johns, who played Mrs Banks,
also played a young airline stewardess in No Highway In The Sky (full movie - check it out...)

ANywho, late for Dogwalking, so no time to find a silly Tom Dick & Harry link...

P.S. will be AWOL till next week, in Florida computerless...

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-A sudden death in the family has given me three sub days in arow
-DICK FRANCIS must be familiar to others but this theme was fun!
-Breakfast At Tiffany’s was definitely not my cup of tea. Mickey Rooney later regretted his very racist role
-I’m subbing in AG today and there are pix of SHOATS on the wall
-Dr. Sessa went with a movie surname of NOLAN and not the first name of a baseball pitcher
-ASTHMA – my brother got that gene and I did not
-Anytime I see a very good fast food counter worked, I tell them to get to a server job where they will get big TIPS
-Time to fire up the welders!

TTP said...



We lost power last night amid the heavy rains. Finally got it back. After adjusting the clocks and timers, it was time for the puzzle, but now I'm running late.

Loved the puzzle and the review. Great job JzB. Especially loved the link for THEORETICAL. Will catch up on all the comments later. Have a great day all.

Big Easy said...

Jinx- I know my boss had to cough up $25,000 extra for his daughter to get into Tulane. His wife had died the previous year when the girl was a freshman at another school and had a 2.5 GPA. The admissions officer told my boss ( now deceased) that Tulane required a 3.0 GPA for transfers and basically told him which Mickey Mouse courses for his daughter to take.

She was admitted and graduated with wonderful grades with a degree from Tulane. How do I know all this. A company check was made as a donation to the college, and I had to help her with the Mickey-Mouse subjects.

Ol' Man Keith said...

For 29D I had POKE before PROD.
I mean, where do you suppose "Cowpoke" comes from?

Anyway, this pleasant pzl from Mr. Sessa was otherwise a clean Ta ~DA!
I liked seeing MOE along with TOM, DICK, AND HARRY.
~ OMK
____________
DR:
A single diagonal on the mirror side.
The anagram potential is limited because of the scarcity of vowels. The best I can come up with is the gratitude of parents for an unexpected child, seen here as ...
"STORK THANKS"!

Spitzboov said...

HG - SHOAT subbing doesn't come along that often. Make the most of it.

I just completed C.C.'s puzzle in today's WSJ. Fairly tough, but really fun to work on. Finally got it all without searches.. Stockholder theme.

Irish Miss said...

oc4beach @ 10:00 ~ Thanks for the FYI but any day that ends in Y is potato chip day in my house, and my favorite pie is Pizza!

Anonymous @ 10:31 ~ Cute observation!

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun Ed and JzB.
I finished with just a few ink blots and saw the name combos, but forgot to go back and see TOM, DICK AND HARRY.
Originally I had Joe instead of Tom, and then when I got Harry, I was misdirected by the comic trio, MOE, clue, into looking for some variation on Moe, Larry and Curly. I was NAIVE,

Hand up for Toast before ROAST. I changed Frances to the male FRANCIS to give Dick not Deck Francis.
ATE does not imply "pigged out" to me. I had OD'd first. Overrate might be a better answer.
This Canadian ran through Molson, Carling and LABATT until the perps fit.

SOCKO was unknown to me, and SHASTA was a guess from the perps.
That NW corner was the last to fall because I also had Stoat instead of SHOAT. Wrong animal. (My first thought was Toe, as in This Little Pig went to Market!). Did the little pig overeat? I smiled to see those clues beside each other.

Enjoy the day.



Jinx in Norfolk said...

YR, you are right. I apologize.

Big Easy - There is a big difference. Cough up money to contribute to a school, and the money is put to lasting good, whether in the endowment fund or to buy that shiny new science building that is all the rage. But from what I understand, these payments were made to crooked INDIVIDUALS and are much to the detriment of the schools (guilt by association), the guilty (donors and recipients who got caught this time), and worst of all, the kiddies who were robbed of the lesson that money can't fix everything. The real shame is that they claim that some of the kids didn't even know what their parents were up to. I hope that's true. And don't forget the kids whose places were taken by the undeserving ones, whether they knew it or not.

Spoiled Child said...

Yellowstuff, drop off! We are tired of your constant holier than thou attitude. Jinx was just commenting on remarks by Big Easy (aka George Simpson) regarding the bribery scandal at so-called respectable schools. Why don’t you call out Big Easy, too. He seems to think the scandal is of no import.

Lucina said...

Thank you, Ed Sessa and JazzB for a witty Wednesday! I always appreciate your erudition, JZB.

I like puzzles that force me to think and also awaken me. This one did both. I very much admired the two name theme which took me a long while to catch. FRANCISSCOTTKEY was my first light bulb moment.

I love DICK FRANCIS' novels and have a full set of them.

Hand up for TOAST before ROAST which gave me HARRY. Oh, those three generic guys! This puzzle surely took a good deal of reflection to create. Kudos again, Ed Sessa!

There is so much to like about this grid it's hard to choose favorites. I think RSVP, TIP and two aspects of bridge cover that.

TORRE is the only Yankee manager I know and Ryan NOLAN, pitcher, I think.

Jinx:
I also learned the full and complete story from MSNBC and it was corroborated from other sources.

Have a great and wonderful day, everyone! I'm going with generic here.

Lucina said...

Jinx@1:08
Thank you for that correction and I agree with all you said; every aspect of that corruption is so wrong.

AnonymousPVX said...


Trevor Noah on The Daily Show had it right....he said that rich people should stick to the traditional way of getting their kids into big buck schools....build a new wing.

This Wednesday puzzle went kind of quickly for an Ed Sessa.... not a complaint.

Zero markovers today.

AnonymousPVX said...



Also JzB.....you forgot Curley Joe and Joe Besser who were also the 3rd Stooge along with Curly Howard and Shemp.

seareeferd said...

A boatswain can be any rank in the navy. Seaman to masterchief. Bosn' is a rate, not a rank.

Ol' Man Keith said...

The college admission rigging scam is outrageous. It is hard to believe so many in "responsible" positions were part of these operations, from the parents themselves to the coaches, test administrators, admissions officers, etc. How did they live with themselves?
Such venality and stupidity! With so many people involved, didn't they know they were bound to be caught? Had they no conscience that alerted them to the damage they were inflicting on more deserving students--and on the kids they were pushing beyond their abilities?
As a retired professor, I am also deeply offended by the harm done to our supposedly honest selection system. Up to now at least, donor parents had to be upfront in giving generously to the schools for which they hoped to gain access.
I hope my campus was not involved, but I see one of our sister schools--UCLA--is on the list.
Who can tell what other schemes are in place, scams that haven't emerged yet?
~ OMK

Bill G said...

I just stumbled across this on YouTube. I really enjoyed this rendition of my father's favorite hymn.

How Great Thou Art

Misty said...

Had to attend an Emeriti Board meeting this morning, so am late getting to the puzzle. Lots of fun although I didn't know LABATT, SOCKO, and a few others. But thank you, Ed, and enjoyed your commentary, JazzB--especially reminding us of the "Fly your kite" song in Mary Poppins. This will be buzzing through my head all day, but hey, it's a cheerful song and who can't use a bit of cheer!

Have a great day, everybody.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Spoiled Child, one of the best things about the Corner is that we correct each other when appropriate. She (and Lucina) did the right thing. I made an easy cheap shot that added nothing to the discussion.

Jayce said...

I loved the heck out of this puzzle. So excellently constructed with such imaginative clues and answers. Fully satisfying.

Hand up for trying MT HOOD before SHASTA and MOLSON before LABATT. Like Abejo, we've been to Mt.Shasta (which is a very pretty mountain) but not up it. We did summit Mt. Lassen, though, which was interesting.

JazzBumpa, your write-up was also excellent. I enjoy reading what you have to say.

Several Stanford buildings are named after people who gave millions of dollars to build them, including the James H. Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and the Gates Computer Science Building. Another excellent way to spend large sums of money for education is to found a scholarship program.

Good wishes to you all.

Ol' Man Keith said...

As to the difference between sneaking payments to private parties willing to break the testing and admissions rules and openly giving large sums to campus building programs and endowment funds, I think there can be little doubt that the former practice is entirely corrupt while the latter benefits a great many more people--present & future students and faculty--and earns the donor's offspring at least a serious look by the admissions office.
I have seen editorials calling for the complete elimination of favoritism for donors and "legacy" admissions. I think this is a case of the pendulum swinging too far in the opposite direction. Surely at least "private" schools should retain some degree of choice when it comes to admitting children of a school's benefactors.
Would there be anything wrong, for instance, in a billionaire creating his own college for the sake of educating his kids first--plus a few thousand other children to be admitted according to certain standards?
I ask this hypothetical in all seriousness. If you would find this okay, where do you draw the line when it comes to the children of major benefactors?

What is beyond question is this scurrilous cheating through payoffs to corrupt officials to get the mental runts of one's precious litter into a particular school. I wonder how many legit students at USC, to pick just one, will be resigning, preferring to get their degrees from an untainted institution?
~ OMK

Anonymous said...

Corruption runs rampant at higher learning institutions and has forever. Professors pushing their own agendas without being held accountable. Bias so overt that my friends' son, who is enrolled in the ROTC, has been encouraged(on days he is required to wear his unifrom) to use the underground walkways to cross campus rather than walk across the quad above ground so he can lessen the chance of confrontation and harrassment. A person whose cannot afford to pay for college and has decided to trade the government his services for an education should not be subject to this behavior. But the other students sit in lecture halls for hours listening to the rantings of a tenured professor belittle anyone in a uniform before setting them loose to go out and spread the word.

The entire NCAA and the colleges take advantage of under privileged athletes by using their talents and likenesses to earn millions and millions of dollars without adequate compensation. Over the next month alone the system will bank millions while the athletes risk their health and future earning potential for the benefit of campus amenities and to subsidize the education of athletes whose sports are a financial drain.

Yellowrocks said...

Jinx, I admire your objectivity. I see that most of us posters agree.

Anonymous said...

Let's not forget the governments role in this. The student loan con game subsidizes even the private institutions keeping tuition at an alarming level. And check out the highest paid public employees in any given state and you will find the state colleges' football and basketball coaches dominate the top spots. Followed by the college Presidents and sport athletic director. Governors and other public employees are way down the list.

Colleges are just money making machines and our youth are bombarded with misinformation telling them that they will not amount to much without their assistance. Horsepucky! Lol. It is a admirable and lucrative alternative to live life as a plumber, electrician or painter. Or a law enforcement officer, firefighter or military personnel.

Roy said...

Une Alpe Suisse n'est pas en France.

Thanks PVX, for pointing out that there were 6 Three Stooges.

Generic guy/generic guy/AND/generic guy solved those three. Using the generic names gave the joined specific names.

The clue referenced the Rawhide theme song.

Spitzboov said...


I assumed the ALPE clue referred to an alp in the French speaking part of Switzerland - in the Lake Geneva region.

Big Easy said...

Jinx & everybody else,

I calls 'em as I sees 'em. I didn't know I would set off a firestorm commenting about college admissions.

As for the MSNBC referral, I don't watch any television news, local or national, but when I want a good laugh, I pour a drink and turn on MSNBC. I don't what planet they are from or where they get their 'facts' but their fake rage is hilarious. Their on-screen personnel really can't believe what they are actually saying and if they do, they need to have an EEG.

Yellowrocks said...

Spitz, that is the way I parsed it. The official languages of Switzerland are Romansh, German, French and Italian. In the French area of Switzerland they are termed Alpes suisses.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Anonymous @4:35 & 4:45 ~

I am sorry you hold such cynical views of our colleges. You don't say where you got your misinformation about what goes on in our classes and lecture halls, but I know of no professors who would think of indoctrinating students. It's just not done. Maybe you found one or two weak faculty specimens, and if so I am heartily sorry that they may have tainted your idea of what a serious liberal* education provides.
I was myself an ROTC cadet as an undergrad--and experienced nothing of the "harassment" you mention. Perhaps your story occurred during an intensely anti-war period in the whole country and not just on campuses?
~ OMK
____________
* BTW "Liberal" in this sense has nothing to do with politics--although it is often misconstrued in this way.

Anonymous said...

The ROTC harrassment happened last semester when my friends' son was jeered to be a "red hatter", while in full uniform(nothing red or political on his body). When was your ROTC experience? 60 years ago?

Anonymous said...

If Yellowstuff stuff parsed it that way, then it MUST be correct. She doesn’t make mistakes.

Ol' Man Keith said...

PS. I remember when the subject of "indoctrination" once came up at a department faculty meeting. Our chair was relaying a message from the chancellor reminding everyone that political biases were not to be permitted to influence our syllabuses or talks with students.
A senior professor laughed & pointed out that someone "should tell the students to quit trying to indoctrinate us!"

Indeed their youth combined with fresh perspectives on various life philosophies often moves students to hold strong progressive views of their own.
~ OMK

Anonymous said...

Well Omk, it's safe to say that we have vastly different opinions and perspectives of the state of our public institutions and never the twain shall meet. And I ain't talkin bout Mark. Good evening to you.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Oh my, it's abuzz at The Corner today....

Thank you Ed for the fun puzzle to wile-away the time at the DMV today [finished it and started C.C.'s WSJ]. I thought the theme clever and it helped me get HARRY in an otherwise hairy corner.

JzB - I just now got to your fine review. I still have many links to check; wanted to post this b/f midnight :-)

WOs: start'd OD'd [Hi C, Eh!] b/f THEORETICAL said no. Tried LeBAaT, LeBATT and finally LABATT
ESPs: SHOAT, NOLAN, SARAH, CAVA
Fav: c/a @TIP had me Waiting, fooled, for a while.
LARSON is a close runner-up: The Far Side* is the best.

{A, B+}

CSOs abound: TOM(s), TIN, and C. Moe.

OMK - Or, for parents with five kids already, reverse it and it becomes sarcastic :-)

Lucina: Yes, NOLAN Ryan was a pitcher for the Mets, Angels, Astros, and Rangers. He's from Alvin (close to here) and the Jr. High is named after him.

I'm sure Eldest received some ++consideration since DW & I received our upper-grad degrees from OU. It wasn't for admissions (she was in top 5%) but to knock out-of-state tuition to in-state equivalent [but I hear they do this for a lot of kids from TX].

The best part of this whole scandal coming out? Now the minority kids can reply to the 'entitled' kids, "Affirmative action? Maybe but mostly my own 3.9 and SAT scores; What about you? MOMMIE's money and fake-rowing pics?" :-)

Cheers, -T
*Pop wrote "Cat Fud" on the kibble-container!

Lemonade714 said...

Wow, my thought today is WHAT A DAY FOR A DAYDREAM as between going to doctors and solving the LAT- Ed Sessa- the NYT- Jeffrey Wechsler and the WSJ- our own C.C., I have not had a moment to comment here.

I loved it all.

Lucina said...

L714:
I hope your doctor visits were only routine and that all is well.

I forgot to note the CSOs. Thanks, Tony, and also for confirming my meager knowledge of sports figures. Certain names receive so much publicity they make a lasting impression.

Wilbur Charles said...

Steve, I loved that piano version of "How Great.."

This finagling of college entrance is ancient. SAT prep vs proctor fixing? The old athletic scholarship trick. OLD!

"Generic" fooled me. I tried DUDE. There's only one SCOTT KEY so the theme revealed itself.

RSVP fooled me for awhile. I also tried ANKH <ASPS .
I had to wait for CS vs SD

WC

Michael said...

Jayce @ 4:03 -- I'll be happy to spend large amounts of money on education ... just as soon as I get one or two of those amounts!