google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, June 13th 2019 C.C. Burnikel

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Jun 13, 2019

Thursday, June 13th 2019 C.C. Burnikel

Theme: Fore! I mean Four! Four kinds of golf clubs hidden in the theme entries:

16A. Data-entering devices: INPUT TERMINALS. We called 'em data entry terminals back in the day. The putter is the first club we find in the theme. It's interesting that the clubs go from green-to-tee in theme order.

24A. Like bread knives: SAW-EDGED. It's acceptable to use one for carving ham too. We have some odd conventions. The wedge is the next club. I'm not sure the origin of the term, but surreptitiously using your foot to play the ball is known as using a "Texas wedge".

34A. August Wilhelmj's arrangement of a movement from Bach's "Orchestral Suite No. 3": AIR ON THE G STRING. Beloved by producers of commercials everywhere. Here's a nice recording. The iron is the penultimate club.

48A. Part of the Texas/Oklahoma border: RED RIVER. I know this from the college football match between Oklahoma and Texas - it's known as the Red River Rivalry. The final theme club is the driver.


And the reveal:

56A. Layered lunch orders ... or a hint to 16-, 24-, 34- and 48-Across: CLUB SANDWICHES. So we look for clubs sandwiched in the theme entries, which brings me to ...

... RED RIVER mildly breaks the rules, as DRIVER comes at the end of the entry. I'm going to give C.C. a pass on this one and call it an open-faced sandwich. How's that?

Timely theme this one, the U.S.Open championship begins today. I was in Las Vegas last week and put a couple of for-fun bets on Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas at 5/1 and 20/1 respectively.

Across:

1. Story trajectories: ARCS. Here's a classic example:

Episodic television is interesting, especially if there are multiple seasons. A well-written series has one overarching story arc, each season an arc of its own, and each episode a mini-arc.

5. Wild pig: BOAR

9. Pulitzer columnist Maureen: DOWD

13. Winter expense: HEAT

14. Soothing botanical: ALOE

15. Great Lake bordering four states: ERIE. Pop quiz - which four states?*

19. Brouhahas: TO DOS

20. Semi unit: TON

21. Document to protect confidential info: Abbr.: N.D.A. Non-Disclosure Agreement. I've signed a ton of these in my career.

22. "Really?": THAT SO?

26. Sinful habit: VICE

27. Chin-up targets, for short: LATS

29. Brontë heroine: EYRE. Governess Jane. We studied the novel in literature class at school for our matriculation exams. I don't remember a thing about it.

30. Creative writing deg.: M.F.A. Master of Fine Arts.

31. [I'm shocked!]: GASP!

32. Dim sum go-with: TEA. I love the jasmine tea that comes automatically with dim sum. I love the whole experience. I went for dim sum the first time I was in Hong Kong and was disconcerted to find that there were no carts, and the menu was all in Cantonese. Pointing and sign language got the job done.

40. Scheduled to arrive: DUE

41. "Really": TRUE

42. Pigeon sound: COO

43. Prefix meaning "god": THEO- A learning moment, I didn't know this.

46. Einsteinhaus locale: BERN. He was a patent clerk in Switzerland and this became the most productive years of his career. He was so fast and efficient at his day job, it left him plenty of time to ponder his physics and formulate his theories.

47. Zebra's mother: MARE

51. Concert venues: ARENAS

53. "__ the Walrus": I AM

54. Peeples of "Pretty Little Liars": NIA

55. Horse-and-buggy group: AMISH

60. Sicily's tallest mountain: ETNA. I think of it as Sicily's only mountain, but there are a few.

61. Word with fishing or party: LINE

62. Con's room: CELL

63. Many profs: PHD'S

64. Usually choppy expanses: SEAS. The Mediterranean is usually pretty placid. Yachts tend to avoid the South China Sea if at all possible.

65. Guessing game: I SPY

Down:

1. Tuna at sushi bars: AHI. Food! Can come from either bigeye or yellowfin. It's commonly used in Hawai'i for poke. My favorite sushi is toro, specifically o-toro, which comes from the belly of the bluefin.


2. Enterprise enterprise: RENT-A-CAR. Nice clue.

3. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" author: CAPOTE. 

4. Virile dudes: STUDS

5. Night fliers: BATS

6. "Bravo!": OLÉ!

7. Main arteries: AORTAS

8. Do more lawn work: RE-MOW

9. Scout group: DEN

10. Like a bad spray tan: ORANGY. Check out fashion mogul Valentino next to Anne Hathaway. He needs to have a word with himself.


11. Not as tame: WILDER

12. Marquis of note: DE SADE. I'm not sure if I could name another French Marquis. I can recall a few British ones.

17. "You missed it": TOO LATE

18. Suffix with elephant: -INE

22. "Homeland" rating: TV MA. TV, Mature Audience.

23. Old audio system: HI-FI. I remember when I got my first hi-fi, I was hearing things on my records that I'd never heard before.

24. Pearly gates greeter: ST. PETER

25. Sweetie: DEAR

28. Cigar remnants: ASH

31. Serengeti antelope: GNU

32. Word on an "evacuation route" sign: TSUNAMI

33. Sorbonne summer: ÉTÉ. There won't be many students at the Sorbonne, they'll be on summer break.

35. Trash barge emanation: ODOR

36. Boxer's warning: GRR ...

37. "Let me give you a hand": I CAN HELP

38. Screenwriter Ephron: NORA.

“When I buy a new book, I always read the last page first, that way in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side.” 

When Harry Met Sally

39. "Here __ nothing": GOES

43. __ dips: upper-arm workout: TRICEP. Lats and triceps today. I feel guilty, I should go and work out.

44. Toast topic: HEALTH

45. Mountaineer Hillary: EDMUND. He would have been horrified by the commercialization of Everest.

46. Head-hugging brimless cap: BEANIE

47. Blends well: MESHES

49. Seat winners: INS. I was almost Natick'ed with the "N" here. I just couldn't see "INS" and couldn't recall "NIA".

50. Lab containers: VIALS

52. "Now and Then" actress: RICCI. Here's Christina, "then and now":


55. Bowls over: AWES

57. __-relief: BAS

58. Genetic letters: DNA

59. Underhanded: SLY

*Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Ontario is the province to the north.

I'm off to watch some golf, and some Women's World Cup soccer. Here's the grid!

Steve


63 comments:

fermatprime@gmail.com said...

Greetings!

Thanks to C.C. and Steve!

FIR. A few perps: TSUNAMI, TRICEP and RE-MOW.

Have a great day!

D4E4H said...

Good morning Corneriters.

I have been up for over an hour, but I am not awake. I FIW in a whopping 67:39 min.
I revealed the "V" at 26.

I was happy to see the name C.C. Burnikel as the constructor of this Thursday masterpiece. I saw the clubs as I solved.

Thank you Steve for your excellent review.

Ðave

Lemonade714 said...

Always nice to wake up to a C.C. puzzle discussed by Steve. The puzzle coming on the first day of our national gold championship was perfect.Pebble Beach is a course which requires using all of your clubs.
But you missed the mark on the wedge. Ben Hogan popularised the term Texas wedge. It was the name given to shot with a putter when it was used for a short approach shot from off the green over flat bare ground. The foot wedge is what a golfer uses when he kicks his golf ball out of trouble or nudges it into a better position for the next stroke.

I would not be happy to see a sign warning of an impending TSUNAMI. Living one mile from the ocean is great except it is too close if the big storm comes. 10 mile surge.

No time to worry about that; thanks.

Eldridge said...

I've been especially looking forward to the U.S.Open this year because of its location, Pebble Beach.* Its starts today and it has all day coverage thanks to Fox Sports and its many options of channels. So it was extra satisfying to start the day with this golf themed offering from C.C..

The reveal of CLUB SANDWICH was fun and I bet she has had this one in her bag for quite some time. I imagine that she spent an inordinate amount of time trying to work it from tee to green before settling on the next best thing of green to tee. At least the clubs are still in order, albeit reverse order. I'd be curious to hear from her if my assumptions are true. I'm just glad she didnt give up and walk off the course after nine as I have done many, many times. It was an enjoyable puzzle to solve and too great of an idea to give up on. The mulligan approach works for me.

*Looking forward to this locale because I've played Pebble and love seeing the vistas of the Pacific Ocean. I imagine playing a drinking game where you do a shot each time they show the "lone cypress" would keep you well juiced all weekend. When I played Pebble the green fees were 95.00. Would have been 1991 or so and some Japanese firm had just bought the course. I think their economy went into the 20 funk and they sold it soon after. Also played Spyglass and the Del Monte course that trip.

Eldridge said...

*20-year funk.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Didn't see the clubs, failed to read the full reveal clue. Some things never change. My SERRATED blade required a liberal application of Wite-Out. Otherwise, my grid was clean today. I did notice a mini-theme with INS, ORANGY, NDA, VICE, THAT SO? Thanx, C.C. and Steve (I think most people would fail to guess Michigan. Not JzB, of course.)

LaSalle said...

If it's a question about a state bordering a Great Lake, always guess Michigan. It brings to mind this great decal that is on the rear window of every SUV in Michigan next to the decal of the family members and their pets.

A good trivia question would be, what is the name of the "sixth great lake" located near Detroit. Would it help if I told you it had great muskie fishing?

jfromvt said...

Fun puzzle! I am and avid golfer, and also love to watch it on TV. The Masters has become the biggest tournament for most people, but I still like the US Open the best. Nice to see those guys struggle to break par.

Anonymous said...

7:06 to finish today, and didn't see the theme until I came here.
"Air on the G String" was unfamiliar, and I had wanted arf instead of grr.

Yellowrocks said...

CC, great puzzle. I missed the clubs. I was looking for social clubs, not golf. Steve, interesting review.
In a paper I wrote in college I tied the material together with the story arc idea, similar to Steve's diagram. The teacher liked it, but quibbled that the climax should have been the end, so I received an A-. There was a resolution after the climax in my material which fit the diagram perfectly. Having no way to argue with her, I just dropped it.
Winter expense/heat. I paid more for heat this winter than ever before because we had many zero or near zero days in a row. I have electric heat with passive solar. Most of the time the passive solar greatly reduces my electric bill, except for periods of extreme cold and wind like we had last winter.
I never heard of Air on a G String by Bach, but it was easy to wag with a few perps. I am playing it as I type,

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIR, but erased my toast to "wEALTH" when THEO sounded better than TwEO. Steve provided the V8 barrage so I could grok ARCS.

I got RED RIVER without hesitation. Lake Texoma is a wide spot on that waterway, and I have spent a lot of time there. As a result, I am going to a dermatologist today for a skin cancer scan.

The guy arrived at the Pearly Gates and requested entrance. ST PETER looked at his ledger, and told the guy that he had lived an OK life, but nothing that would earn entrance. The guy said "what about that time I stepped in when that biker gang was about to rape that young hitchhiking lady?" ST PETER leafed back and forth through his records, and said "I don't see that here anywhere. When did you do that?" The guy looks at his watch and says "about two minutes ago."

FLN, -T any device that can access the PSTN's SS7 system can spoof calling numbers. It once was just ISDN's PRI service, but under the Equal Access requirements the bar is very low to claim to be a service provider. And they can spoof any number: the number they are calling, the police department, or even the White House. Currently I have a nagging caller supposedly from a company called Safe at Home who calls several times every day. I block the number, but they just call back with a different calling number ID.

Also FLN, when I lived in Texas I started saying "donde esta el bano". I still do it, although I have to explain what it means a little more often in Virginia.

Thanks to CC for another fun, slightly crunchy puzzle. My favorite was AIR ON THE G STRING because I love seeing G SRINGs out in the open AIR. And thanks to Steve for the fun review, especially the "overarching" story line.

Yellowrocks said...

THEO- (God) the root word of THEOLOGY, the study of the nature of God.

Lemonade714 said...

The most common for me to prepare and sign, if necessary is the NCNDA Non-compete, non-disclosure Agreement, no the NDA. These days one accompanies almost every big deal I work on no matter the topic.

Curious conundrum said...

So, do you look at zebras as white with black stripes or black with white stripes?

There is a correct answer based on their DNA and the appearance in the embryo state in the womb of the MARE.

On a unrelated note, would you rather have a horse the size of a duck or a duck the size of a horse?

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

FIR. NIA came from perps. Wondered about BFA or MFA, but finally decided TVMA stood for Mature Audience so that made sense.
Lots of fresh fill and some obscure clues made this a fun challenge. BZ to C. C.

Have a great day.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

CC really got me good today. After filling in the reveal, my eyes immediately landed on Saw Edged, which led to Wedge, aha, I found my first sandwich. (When I lived in Stamford, Ct., a Wedge was a Sub or Hero.) it didn't take long for me to suss out the other clubs, not sandwiches! Great theme and typical perfect execution by CC. I had Serrated before Saw Edged and Arf before Grr. I enjoyed the homophonically-sounding row of Due, True, and Coo trio!

Thanks, CC, for an enjoyable solve and thanks, Steve, for being our Thursday Sherpa with Sir Edmund Hillary tagging along.

Have a great day.

Husker Gary said...

Musings¬
-¬I too wondered about “sandwiching” DRIVER
-I love reading Maureen DOWD even when she is attacking something I believe in
-A royal N.D.A.
--The 145 mile drive from BERN to Heiden, where my grandfather was born, takes over three hours
-Our guide told us that the best tractor mechanic in town was AMISH but he couldn’t use one on his farm
-I finally saw Breakfast At Tiffany’s on Netflix. What a disappointment.
-I’d wager Steve has heard of the Marquis of Queensbury
-My IRON game lately - Here GOES nothing
-Was Hillary Clinton named after Sir EDMNUND?

Lucina said...

Hola!

Not surprisingly I failed to see the CLUBs since I was looking for edible SANDWICHES and golf never entered my mind.

But thank you, C.C. for a fine Thursday workout and thank you, Steve, for elucidating us on the theme.

ARCS was easy for this former teacher and all else just fell into place except TVMA. My creative writing degree was a BFA.

STUDS, GNU, MARE and WILDER suggest an animal mini theme.

Fermatprime:
It's great to see you! I hope you are feeling better.

Have a splendid day, everyone!

Alice said...

D-O, I don't understand the mini-theme, but I'm not a golfer.

Yuman said...

A round of golf at Pebble Beach runs about $700 plus $50 tip if you use a caddy. I think putt putt golf fits my budget. I will enjoy watching it on TV

Jinx in Norfolk said...

Oh give me a break. The Hillary story is half true? Like I was named after Abe Lincoln is half true. Abe was named in 1809, and I was named in the 20th century. It is 100% true that I was named after he was, but it is zero percent true that I was named FOR him. But maybe the half-true was based on "it depends on what the definition of is, is."

SwampCat said...

Loved this delicious offering! Thanks C.C.. Steve, great write up. I must have been on the right wavelength. I found it easier than most,

HG, I also love reading Maureen Dowd, especially when I don’t agree with her. She expresses her arguments so well!

Becky said...

In the pre-PC days of airline/travel agency computing devices I worked from an ICOT terminal. Not sure if this was considered an INPUT TERMINAL though. It was connected to the American Airlines SABRE data center via 56k modems or T1s and had real time availability for all airline seats, schedules and ETAs. It was pre-public internet and we could book a seat, issue ticket and boarding pass at our desk. Pretty impressive for 1986.

Madame Defarge said...

Greetings all,

Thanks, C.C. That was fun, even if I missed the theme. I'm on D-O's page with that. Although, I have to admit I've done better lately. I also tried to use a SERRATED knife. I have now idea what the Star Trek Enterprise was doing so I put in research. BZZT. But the first two letters worked, so I thought I was so clever. Not! Evan worse, I always rent from Enterprise.

I needed Steve to explain the theme. Thanks, Steve. I know the Red River Rivalry from seeing all the homes with "mixed marriage" flags at the doors. I always hope when we are there that I don't get a rental car with OK plates--especially since I'm neutral on the game.

I am pretty certain that sometime in the first quarter of this year I moved to Portland or Seattle without knowing so. It's raining all the time, and the flowers are beautiful!!

Be well.

CanadianEh! said...

Tremendous Thursday. Thanks for the fun, C.C. (golf today not baseball!) and Steve.
I FIRed with a few inkblots and got the theme.

"Do more lawn work" was Resod before REMOW.
My bad spray tan was Streaky (too long) before ORANGY.
Hand up for debating between BFA and MFA. I decided on MFA (more common in CWs) but did not know what TVMA stood for.
GRR took a while because I was thinking of a ref's warning in the boxing ring.

I am more familiar with the RED RIVER of the North which originates between Minnesota and N. Dakota and flows north around Winnipeg, Manitoba to Hudson Bay. The origins of the popular folk song “Red River Valley.” lead to the this northern one.
RedRiverValley

TSUNAMI perped but I don't see it on Evacuation signs around here. No tsunamis on Lake ERIE! I am more familiar with these Emergency Detour Route signs.
EDRs

I was thinking of a PDF (which was not originally designed to be modified) before the unknown to me, NDA, perped. Thanks for the explanation, Steve and Lemon. That makes better sense of the clue.

Here is more info specific to Wilhelmj's 34A, per Wikipedia.
"Air on the G String" is August Wilhelmj's arrangement of the second movement in Johann Sebastian Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068.
The arrangement differs from the original in that the part of the first violins is transposed down so that it can be played entirely on a violin's lowest string, i.e., the G string. It is played by a single violin (instead of by the first violins as a group)."
Here is a lengthy, lively version of Bach's original for youradded listening enjoyment.
Budapest Festival Orchestra

Enjoy the day.

Misty said...

Woohoo! A Thursday C.C. puzzle! Woohoo! I figured it was going to be a toughie but was surprised that I slowly worked my way through it, beginning in the northeast, moving down to the bottom and then up all the way through the top. In the end I had only one letter I couldn't get--the A in TVMA and AIR ON THE G STRING--so I left it blank. But I got everything else, and after thinking about it for a bit, realized that the CLUB had something to do with golf, not food (and I don't know much about sports). Clever and fun puzzle, C.C.--thank you so much.

I got AMISH instantly--hey, I spent my teens in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and saw lots of horses and buggies on the road. Got PHDS, of course, since I have one--though you'd never know it given how poorly I usually do on Friday and Saturday puzzles. I loved getting ST.PETER for the Pearly gates greeter (it even rhymes). And I would never have guessed TSUNAMI if those SANDWICHES hadn't made it clear that the sign was going to have to end in the letter I. And, like others, I had ARF before GRR--but at least I knew right away that boxer was going to be a dog and not a ring fighter. Thanks again, C.C., and you too, Steve, for your always helpful commentary.

Have a great day, everybody.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Very clever and fun puzzle, thanks, C.C.!

Thanks for explaining the theme, etc. Steve! Hand up for not getting the golf connection in spite of watching golf on TV often. I should have eaten breakfast before working the puzzle. I'm smarter when sated.

Hand up for not thinking THEO until perps showed the truth. Should have known.

I couldn't make sense of ORANGY vertically when it perped in. Aha moment when Steve presented it horizontally. I spray-tanned my legs a few days before going to the hospital to have a baby. Terrible mistake. Nurse's aides thought the white/tan blotches were funny.

DNK: TVMA, DOWD, NDA.

LaSalle: thanks for the lake decal site. Somehow it made the geography clearer to me.

Becky said...

Just so you know, the previous Becky is not me. I never worked in the airline industry.

Becky

Tinbeni said...

Perfect theme for the first day of the US OPEN.

Cheers!

Tinbeni said...

Will be watching the US OPEN a lot this weekend.

Lemonade714 said...

That dear Becky 1 (Rebecca) is the problem with not going blue. Anyone can use your name to their advantage or your disadvantage. It was unlikely that it was you since your industry has been long established, but it is nice to see that she (?) inspired you to stop by; you have been quiet.
Also nice to see you Tinbeni. Two of the "expert" picks - Ricky Fowler and Gary Woodland have started well. There are many hours before others tee off, though Phil is 1 under on the course where he won in January of this year.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Becky. I'll think of a new moniker. Maybe Fodor. Or Frommer. No those are men. I might go with SABRE. I became very proficient with the system and was to go-to expert in my office. I worked on others such as Datas, Covia and Pars and felt SABRE was the cream of the crop.

Wait, now I sound arrogant. Back to the drawing board. :)

Lemonade714 said...

I actually taught a class at a local trade school (they don't call them that here) on using SABRE for booking flights etc. It was a fun and user-friendly system but online booking killed that class and my travel agency.

Nothing arrogant about being yourself sabre.

billocohoes said...

I'd think the best known Marquis to Americans would be Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, MARQUIS de Lafayette.

CrossEyedDave said...

While I have been doing the puzzles daily,
I have just been lurking the Blog because serendipity
was not working in my favor. Besides, the Writeups were masterfully
written, and had plenty of visuals that I just could not
improve on...

Kudos to our Blog Writers,

FLN,

I had to bite my tongue at the Lavs/Loo controversy...
but my tongue has since recovered...
Note, the 1st 5 minutes had me intrigued, but if you perchance watch the whole
hour, bring some toilet paper with you...

Which brings me to Steve,
Luv'd Luv'd Luv'd the write up,
but it is a CC puzzle, which means I have to say something...

Wanted Orange before Orangy, but Bronte intervened...

ElephantINE? How crude!
Surely a better clue for this can be found...
even Google resorts to bathroom humor...

But my last fill was TVMA crossing MFA
as my 1st stereo was MONO b/4 HiFi

[yes, it was a battery powered Singer 45 player, (penny on the tone arm, remember?)
to which I added a 3 tube AC powered 2nd channel, combined with a gift of oiled
subwoofers, installed in PA speaker cabinets I found in the garbage. (add old socks, works great!) then added a MAgnetic cartridge & preAmp.]

I did fool around with a home made Bass Booster with plans I found in Popular
Electronics, but I didn't shield it well enough, & started picking up CB calls from TaxiCabs.

Ah Yes, I digress,
I was just trying to point out how I approached this CC puzzle.

TTP said...

Dude @ 12:21, how about just Troll ? BTW, what did you shoot at Pebble Beach ? Never mind, I'm sure it would just be another made up story.


Great puzzle today, C.C.
Excellent write up, Steve.

How about it, Madame Defarge ? Here in the western 'burbs, my golf league got rained out yesterday, and it rained through the night. Good grief.

For those that were looking for sandwiches, so was Homer in this 53 second clip.
Homer and Mr Burns go golfing.

TTP said...

billocohoes, yes ! And to honor him, many many cities and towns across the country were named after him.

CED, funny stuff as always.

They forgot privy for alternate names.

Picard said...

Madame de Farge glad someone else thought of Star Trek with the ENTERPRISE ENTERPRISE clue. Anyone else?

CC was this meant as a mis-direction for me or am I reading too much into this? I had to finish the puzzle before I got the Golf CLUB theme.

Yesterday turned into a big high voltage fest with the KILOVOLT answer. I worked at the MIT High Voltage Research Lab using machines that produced about five thousand KILOVOLTs.

We were researching epoxy insulators to be used on the high voltage DC power lines of the future. This was in the late 70s. Yesterday's discussion also explained why DC is more energy efficient for long distance transmission. I would like to think our research helped make that happen.

I was too poor to take many photos in those days. And I can't find any good photos online except of the outside of our building.

But I found this fascinating Physics Today article that talks about a man named John Trump who ran the lab and built some of the equipment.

It shows a predecessor to our five megavolt machine that was a lot more impressive to look at than the one we used!

SABRE said...

Sorry to upset you TTP. But...

Not made up at all. Why would I make stuff up anyway?

Btw, I shot well over 125. Prolly closer to 150 but I enjoyed it immensely. Spyglass was even worse. Del Monte was closer to 120. Stayed at the Hyatt there with a room on the 12th tee.

Btw 013JUNORDMRY6A=AA would pull up all available flights for today from O'hare to Monterey,Ca starting at 6am only on American Airlies. The = sign should be a "cross of Lorraine" symbol but my keyboard doesn't have one. 02F1* would book 2 first class seats on the flight on line 1 and any connections. 0CARx=LCAR=HE would book a luxury car with Hertz and 0HHLx=HY would book the Hyatt I stayed at.

Anonymous said...

Btw, do me a favor, go ahead and delete all my posts. I was only trying to be topical, funny and inspire conversation.

Anonymous said...

Did anyone else think of a certain president with ORANGY?

Ol' Man Keith said...

Nice steady solving all the way through C.C.'s delightful pzl. My only write-over was RE-MOW (instead of RE-SOW).

Not much to add to the conversation today, as the pzl gave me no issues and the theme CLUBs were easy to spot.
Maybe I would prefer ORANGEY over ORANGY, as the latter seems more appropriate to the Pongo genus of apes. Doesn't it?
Either way, I s'pose it fits our current POTUS. (Ouch. Was that political?)
~ OMK

Lemonade714 said...

Sabre, you know your SABRE. I hope you are not so sensitive to stop posting e=cause of the very tame comments so far. Do you live in California? 120 to 150 on Pebble sounds about right for an average golfer. I have never been to play there, but for me, I used to play better on the few great courses where I had a chance to tee it up. The Blue Monster in Miami was very hard; La Costa was great, especially having a knowledgeable caddy. I played Inverary where Jackie Gleason used to have his tournament. I have played often at Colony West that Jack Nicklaus played when it opened and said it was too hard for average golfers. Then there are Eagle Trace, Carolina Club, Deer Creek, the Old Course at Broken Sound and the ones I played in the Champions tour pro-ams. I never came close to breaking 80 on those courses but I often kept it under triple digits. So far I have been afraid to try to play since my back surgery.


Picard good to see you.

AnonymousPVX said...


This Thursday puzzle has some crunch to it.

The NW was too tough so I ended up in the SE and moved from there....NW last to go.

Markovers...ORANGE/ORANGY....didn’t bite on SERRATED though, left it for crossses.

And on to Friday.

Sabre said...

Being accused of lying and fabrication is hardly tame, especially when it comes from the moderator of this site. I used to get more interaction with the regulars before he called me out for something a couple weeks ago. Cant remember what is was that time so it must not have been too important. Oh well.

I'd rather not aggravate him further because I know he is valuable to the site and much needed by C.C.. Better for me back off than for me to cause him to get fed up. I will miss this place sorely.

P.S. I did catch an error in my car command earlier. All car companies started with a Z. So Hertz would've been ZE, National was ZL and Budget was ZD. It's been 20+ years since I did that job.

Lemonade714 said...

Tom and Tony both are very tongue-in-cheek and also like entertaining- either way, since we do not know your total history because you choose names at random, your future is up to you. I support any attempts at badinage.
I think that is five so we will have to wait until tomorrow when I take control of the airwaves again. Peace out.

Jayce said...

Well, I totally couldn't connect CLUB SANDWICHES with the theme answers; blog to the rescue. Cute.

I think the British TV show Endeavour is a good example of a "well-written series" with its story ARCS.

I have liked Air on the G String ever since I was a small child.

I, too, like reading almost anything Maureen DOWD writes. She has quite a talent with words.

We have had plenty of HEAT here, where the temperature for the past three or four days has been 100 degrees F, getting down to 70 at night. Today is so much cooler! Only 80 degrees. Whew! LW and I joked about how we USED to think 80 was hot.

Doesn't Allison Janney currently play a TV MA?

I loved my first HIFI. The amplifier and speakers were Heathkits that I had a lot of fun building.

That Boxer dog in the Seresto flea collar commercials is sure cute! He doesn't say GRR, though. But that facial expression is priceless. "Oh, Jake!"

I think I'd rather have a duck the size of a horse because we could eat it for weeks.

I remember those SABRE systems. Yes, pretty impressive stuff.

Yeah, I thought of the Star Trek Enterprise at first.

The fruit from one of the trees in our back yard tastes very ORANGY. Oh wait, they ARE oranges.

Good wishes to you all.

OwenKL said...

Behold the Black Dog, the meanest of beasts!
He consumes all my hope, and deems it his feast!
To others he seems to bring joy,
Disguising his true devious ploy.
For it is I, not he, at the end of the leash!

"Depression is just a weakness of will."
The depressed feel that far more than norms will.
My bootstraps don't work,
The dog's chewed them like jerk,
My only hope is a shrink's happy pill.

To share this with others is deeply dreaded.
To seek pity would show my will has been shredded.
Worse, it would spread depression to others,
Causing more hurt to sisters and brothers.
Best keep it to myself where the Black Dog is headed.

For me, Muse Erato brings a form of relief.
Recording her words gives some distance from grief.
I have a purpose, to make people happy.
It shields when the Black Dog gets snappy.
My last hope remaining -- that his visit be brief.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Dear Owen ~
Your words are consoling, for you and for us.
Your talent for verse is clearly a plus.
Thanks for your gifts, so perfect of pitch,
We know it’s not easy. That Black Dog’s a bitch.
~ OMK

Steve said...

@Lemonade - thanks for the "Texas wedge" correction, I'm not sure what I was thinking.

Non-compete documents are meaningless here in California. I signed a NCND when I moved companies last, but the NC part is non-enforceable.

SwampCat said...

Owen, your give us so much pleasure the Black Bitch has to choke on all that happiness. Let us shield you when she gets snappy as your good humor shields us . Thanks for all you do!

Jayce said...

Owen, well said.

Wilbur Charles said...

OMK, I hereby nominate you as Wilburforce's replacement as Owen's pinch-poet

WC

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks C.C. for the sparkly puzzle; thanks Steve for the fine Expo and pointing out the CLUBs. Funny thing about Red River Rivalry: Sooners call it The OU-Texas game while the kids in Austin call it Texas-OU. A little history.

FIW - ARR (was ARF) instead of GRR
WOs: ORANGe, RE-MOe (D'Oh!), foal b/f MARE, EDMoND held up seeing CLUB, wasn't GAS-relief (R-O-L-A-I-D-S)
ESPs: BAS-relief [learning time!], RICCI
Fav: I AM the Walrus

Runner-up: ST. PETER - so many jokes start with him at the Gates [Funny Jinx! - hear the one about a guy getting killed by a falling fridge?]
Sparkle: THAT SO?, ORANGY, RENT-A-CAR

{A, A-, ... Oh, wait this is all 1; A+ } //We're here.
Not so bad yourself OMK!

Travel-agent Becky - your story started with Non-PC and airlines; I thought it was going to be a tale of men behaving badly. Oh, Personal Computer...

Jinx - Thank you for the why on access to SS7; I forgot. //I've run Asterisk systems for non-SPAMing companies.

CED - LOL Google's example sentence!

Nice to see you Picard.

I've never played Pebble Beach but I know it's gorgeous: Twice I've ridden a (pedal) bike from Monterey to Carmel which includes the 17 Mile Drive* [click for the pictures]

Cheers, -T
*BTW, I just learned this - I though the 17miles was from Monterey to Carmel... No wonder we were so tired; Google maps says we rode ~45 miles(!) -- on RENT-A-bikes!

CrossEyedDave said...

There is a virtual reality version of Pebble Beach here:

I hope this link works...

I actually played 9 rounds with Argyle (Santa)
about 7 years ago on this server. It has (only)
the 1st 9 holes of Pebble Beach, but after the 1st 6 holes the view is fantastic!


Be sure to enable Adobe,
you may need to sign up, I am not sure, it has been years...

Once you figure out how to swing at the dang thingie,
be sure to enable "Stroke Play" and have at it...

Have fun.

P.S. the best thing, besides playing with friends,
is that you can play with realism the exact course the Pros are playing.
(adds a whole nother edge to the game...)

:)

P.P.S. to not click on play now, that is the U.S. Open...
Click on the empty left field of the screen and sign in ( or create a sign in)
to access all the different courses available...

OwenKL said...

Keith, Thanks for that wonderful little poem, and Swampcat, Jayce, and Tony for your words of encouragement, and I'm sure many other are thinking kindly of me too.

The zebra story I told many times back when I was doing oral storytelling years ago. Actually very appropriate for the upcoming holiday.

Misty said...

Wow! A long Owen poem followed by a short Ol'Man Keith poem!

You've made my day
with your word play

Many thanks to both of you!

CrossEyedDave said...

P.P.P.S

When putting, be sure to click on the camera icon in the lower left to reverse view.
(very helpful)

Actually, it will probably take you a week to figure
out all the bells and whistles. It is very user active.

You have to compensate for distance with both Club and power,
you have to anticipate the wind effect,
your lie effects things immensely. Sitting in the
rough take a lot more power than on the fairway
for the same distance.

I realize it is not real, but it is just as aggravating,,,
If you want to try this, you must love the game,
& have a lot of free time....

Anonymous T said...

C, Eh! - You must be giddy as all get out. Congrats to the Raptors. Cheers, -T

CanadianEh! said...

What a game! #wethenorth

PK said...

CanadianEh! What a scramble of a game! Unbelievable skills on both teams. I even saw Kawai Leonard smile afterward -- never saw him do that before! Raptors deserved to win, but I hated to see the Warriors injuries.

Do you know who is that Raptor's "Superfan" in the Sikh turban? Tonight he was sitting just behind the Warriors team bench.

Wilbur Charles said...

Misty, I see ERATO has you under her spell too.
Owen , I wonder if your mood swings are explainable by Vedic astrology

I never grok'ed the theme. I'm exactly like D-O in that respect. Not needed of course. I panicked because I thought SANDWICH was SAND WEDGE.

PICARD, I did think of the Enterprise Star Ship. Twice in the last week except I do the Post Magazine xword(Eric Birnbaum). Crunchy this week except I get my clues mixed up.

Re TROLLs: There's just the one.

WC

Unknown said...

Miss Michigan? I think not.....we are the only State touching all five of Our Great Lakes!