google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wedneday October 2, 2019 Jeffrey Wechsler

Gary's Blog Map

Oct 2, 2019

Wedneday October 2, 2019 Jeffrey Wechsler

Theme: Taking Flight.

Jeffrey Wechsler is making a rare (At least it seems rare to me.) mid-week appearance, and so is desper-otto. Without the circles it's doubtful you'd ever find the JET, FIGHTER, GLIDER, or TURBOPROP on upward trajectories in the grid. My newspaper had the circles. My only problem was failing to look at 'em. This puzzle is a normal 15 x 15, but is symmetrical left-to-right only for those of you who care about those things. OK, let's get started...

Across:

1. Barely enough: SCANT. Scantily clad, perhaps.

6. Like a pooch's smooch: WET. It makes me cringe when folks kiss their dog or cat. It can also cost an arm and a leg...or worse. Caution: That article is not breakfast-friendly.

9. "Happy Days" actress Erin: MORAN. She fell on hard times with financial problems and depression, and ultimately succumbed to throat cancer a couple of years ago at age 56.

14. Software writer: CODER. Never considered myself just a coder. I was involved in all aspects of my applications from specifications to design to coding to beta testing and finally release to the production environment.

15. Texter's "As I see it": IMO. In my opinion, or IMHO, in my humble opinion.

16. Defunct defense gp.: SEATO. SouthEast Asia Treaty Organization. It lasted from '54 thru '77.

17. Pear variety: ANJOU. No reason, but it always reminds me of this old-timey actor Adolphe Menjou (Nobody names sons Adolph anymore.)




18. Opening setting of "Madagascar": Zoo.

19. Be carried by the current: DRIFT.

20. Fort Worth sch.: TCU. Texas Christian University.

21. RR stop: STA. Will it be STA or will it be STN? Only the perps know for certain.

23. Giuseppe's god: DIO. Italian.

25. "S" on an invitation: S'IL.Repondez s'il vous plait. French.

26. NFL's Gronk and others: TES. First I learned that his name wasn't T.E. Gronk. In fact it wasn't Gronk at all. It was Gronowski. And his first name was Rob, not something beginning with a T. Further research yielded his position. So TES stands for Tight EndS. Hooray. It'll be forgotten by lunch time.

27. Roller coaster experiences: THRILLS. Don't care for 'em, myself.

29. Previously, to a poet: ERE. Gluey.

30. 1999 Ron Howard satire: ED TV. Not his best work. It only received a 30% Rotten Tomatoes audience score.

32. Easy-to-spot jigsaw pieces: EDGES. Does everybody fill in the border first? I do.

33. Ado: FUSS. It's how we say "I do" here in redneck country [See above].

34. Turn back to zero: RESET. Illegal, if it's your car's odometer.

36. Hundred Acre Wood joey: ROO. Most of what I know about Winnie the Pooh, I learned from doing cws.


37. Egyptian Christians: COPTS. Not to be confused with the Picts who fought the Roman legions in what is now Scotland.

38. Word from Robin preceding headache, homework, and hamstrings, among others: HOLY. "Holy Hemorrhoid, Batman, what a pain!"

40. "Beetle Bailey" dog: OTTO. CSO, he said, taking a deep bow.

42. __ monster: GILA. Pronounced hē-lə -- the only venomous lizard native to North America.


43. Song and dance: ARTS. Fred and Ginger-ish

45. Ramp, and what's found in each set of circles: INCLINED PLANE. The airplane names are found in the inclined circles, doncha see.

50. Con: FOOL. Fool me once...

51. Floor models: DEMOS. Some can be good deals.

52. Putting game: GOLF. Not my game. It's 50/50 whether the ball will land in front of me or behind. I just swing and holler, "Eight!" to cover all eventualities.

54. Iconic lemon: EDSEL. The '50s sedan, not the ironic Friday Lemon.

56. "Live With Kelly and Ryan" network: ABC. I just wait on the perps.

57. Big name in whisky: DEWAR. CSO to IM, I think.


58. Small songbird: TIT. I would've clued this differently. I did not know that a chickadee is technically a tit.

59. Reevaluated favorably: UPRATED. OK, I guess. I doubt that Jeffrey's proud of this one.

62. Corp. tech boss: CIO. My former boss was one. He said it meant Career-Is-Over. He was not 39d, and died young of a heart attack -- his first and only.

63. Action film gun: UZI. Israeli assault weapon.


64. Privately: SUB ROSA. Literally "under the rose" which supposedly has some sort of history regarding secrecy. I remember an old joke involving a subpoena

65. Journalist Curry: ANN. Spent many years with NBC. Not sure what she's doing now.

66. Brief time: SEC. Yeah, that's pretty brief.

67. Taste: TRY.

68. Charles of R&B: RAY. Didn't recognize the name...oh, Charles is his last name. D'oh! I'd been torn between RAY and ROY before the light blinded me.


69. Macaw, for some: PET. Could be a long-term commitment. Macaws can live to be 70 years old.


Down:

1. Disperse: SCATTER. Also the source of "Diaspora," so I've read. Or maybe it's versa vice.

2. Admit having lost: CONCEDE. Some folks just can't admit when they're wrong.

3. Fiddles with: ADJUSTS. In my ute there was a notice in our phone book that if you connected a tape recorder to the phone a "periodic beep would be provided to notify the other party that they were being recorded." I thought this would happen automagically. Figuring it must have something to do with magnetic fields, I put the phone atop my bulk tape eraser and turned it on. I listened for almost a minute before giving it up as a lost cause. No beep was provided. At lunch time my father came home all steamed up. "Where have you been," he accused my mother. "I've been calling every few minutes all morning long!." It took a few days to realize that we were no longer getting phone calls from anybody. The telephone repair guy, who happened to be my uncle, determined that the phone's ringer was defective, but he couldn't figure out why. He replaced the whole phone. Problem solved. A few weeks later he reported to my dad that the permanent magnet in the phone had mysteriously become demagnetized. Tom!

4. Fresh start?: NEO. Also the role played by Keanu Reeves in The Matrix films.


5. Estate manager's suggestion: TRUST. "Trust me," or the document he writes.

6. Potter's specialty: WIZARDRY. Harry Potter.

7. Angsty rock genre: EMO. Not sure I'd recognize it if I heard it.

8. "Ta-ta!": TOODLEOO. I inked this in immediately, figuring I'd soon be reaching for the Wite-Out. Nope.

9. Early PC platform: MS-DOS. I wrote some powerful, itty-bitty programs in C for the MS-DOS platform. Programs with the same capability would suffer severe bloat when Windoze came along.

10. Above, to a bard: OER.

11. Elevate: RAISE UP.

12. Initially: AT FIRST.

13. Qualifier for a minimum price: NOT LESS. I get it, but I don't get it.

22. With 48-Down, Time Lord played by various performers: THE DOCTOR. Who was your favorite? Here's mine.


24. They, in Calais: ILS. French.

28. "Need __ on?": I GO. Yes for a few more c/a's.

31. Jam ingredient?: VEHICLE. My German relatives call a traffic jam a "marmalade."

33. Cinematographer's compilation: FOOTAGE.

35. Temporary usage fee: TOLL. One man's fee is another man's tax.

37. PC key: CTRL. CTRL and ALT are two keys that are used in combination with other keys. CTRL+ALT+[key] yields still other possibilities.

39. __-back: relaxed: LAID. Type B. Guilty, as charged.

41. Solemn bugle solo: TAPS. Lyrics, according to NPR.

42. Early Christian: GNOSTIC. I've heard of the Gnostic Gospels, but didn't know what that meant. Still don't.


44. Kilimanjaro topper: SNOWCAP. The Snows of Kilimanjaro


45. Treat, as table salt: IODIZE. Added to prevent iodine deficiency -- goiter. Remember those pseudo-chocolaty pills we had to take in grade school?

46. At hand: NEARBY.

47. Put in prison: EMBAR. My dictionary says this usage is archaic. I agree.

48. See 22-Down

49. TV pal of Jerry and George: ELAINE. Seinfeld.


50. Womb occupant: FETUS. DW received an email sonogram of her niece's unborn daughter. I thought it was a radar pic of tropical storm Imelda.

53. Weather map feature: FRONT. Why is there no weather tail?

55. Unbridled desire: LUST.

57. June 6, 1944: D-DAY.

60. Water filter brand: PUR.


61. That, in Tijuana: ESA. It could also be ESO, right Lucina?

Whew, made it all the way to the bottom. Now C.C. will magically make the grid appear below. It's been fun. Desper-otto over and out.




41 comments:

  1. At the New York City ZOO
    You can see a kangaROO
    A plumed MACAW
    And in the straw
    Under the haystack is little boy Blue!

    To be a ballplayer A.B.C. had a thirst
    But as a pitcher he was the worst.
    He made the team
    As was his dream.
    The announcer would say, "Initials AT FIRST!"

    GOLF is the Game Of Liars & FOOLS
    Although most abide by the rules
    But Donald Trump
    Thinks that's for chumps,
    And that cheats are useful tools!

    (Note, this is about sportsmanship, and NOT about his politics!)

    {B+, B+, A-.}

    ReplyDelete
  2. FIR, but erased DeO, the INCLINED PLANE "GLIDER" saving me from a FIW.

    I was on a dive trip from Phoenix to San Diego when our bus was stopped in the middle of the night for speeding in GILA Bend, AZ. Our driver and the cop were the only ones awake in the entire city at the time.

    Does JefWech stutter? ED -> EDGES; HOLY COPTS, Batman.

    after filling MSDOS, I thought that "iconic lemon" MUST be Windows 98, but it just wouldn't fit.

    I'm thinking of selling my Apple II on EBay. I'll take NO LESS than two grand.

    So crossword staple Mae West was W.C. Fields' Little Chickadee in the movie. Think Fields and West knew chickadee -> TIT when they wrote the screenplay? With their reputation I'll bet it was an intentional double entendre.

    Thanks to JefWech for the witty Wednesday offering. I liked everything except for DIO x ILS. Got it, but don't like foreign words crossing. And thanks to Do for the near-Boomer funniness review. I think the term for traffic jam should be carmalade instead of marmalade.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am one of the very few people who loved the Edsel when it was introduced. Also giving a clue to my status as an old fart.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I don't usually like cheater block clumps, but in Jeff's terrific grid, they could be Stealth bombers heading up into the wild blue yonder, adding a bit of grid art to the theme. The revealer is wonderfully apt, too.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Cool. Nice to see Paul C. here commenting on JW's latest creation. This I believe is JW's 149th LAT puzzle publication!

    Jeffrey likes his visual themes and the picture of the flying machines climbing toward the sky is great.

    Trust managers are just money managers; hopefully, you have a professional write your trust. I agree that EMBAR is the glue that was needed but not pretty.

    If you want to know more about the GNOTIC GOSPELS here you go. I too like TOM BAKER as the best DR WHO .

    Thank you for a nice CSO, puzzle Jeffrey and D-O.

    ReplyDelete

  6. Good morning. Thank you Jeffrey and thank you Melissa.

    I thought the character was DOCTOR WHO. The H fit in nicely with THRILLS.

    After watching the Ed Sullivan Show this morning, I thought Song and dance at 43A was ACTS.

    Other than having to type over those, it was smooth and I enjoyed the reveal.

    Golf would be easy if it was only a putting game.

    My term for "Qualifier for a minimum price" would be reserve. Learned that at auctions before I was ten years of age. Mom and dad preferred no-reserve auctions.

    OK, I know it was D-O's review. I was just funning him for repeatedly thanking Lemonade on days that I blog.

    D-O, thanks for filling in. I agree about coder. Seems a somewhat condescending term.

    As for encountering GNOSTIC for the first time years ago, I knew the word agnostic, and knew that the prefix "a" can mean opposite, so...

    End of year golf league tournament is supposed to be this afternoon, but it's sopping wet, overcast with periods of rainfall forecast, and much cooler than yesterday. Going to try to get the members to agree to delay it to next week.

    Boomer, I had to watch Sports Center this AM to find out what happened in the gam,e last night. The Brewers were up 3-1 when I fell asleep. Tough way to lose.

    ReplyDelete
  7. No, D-O, DEWAR's is Scotch whisky (note the spelling), not Irish whiskey.

    My uncle had an EDSEL. Like it or not, it was at least odd-looking if not outright ugly.

    ReplyDelete
  8. The former TE's name is Rob Gronkowski (the K was omitted in the review).

    Sub rose & uprated were new to me.

    I'm sure constructing this puzzle was difficult, but it didn't add anything to solving experience. Finished in 11 minutes.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Y'all! Neato theme & design of grid & circles, Jeffrey! Bravo! Glad I had circles for this so I could ascend the grid in good order.

    Great expo, D-OTTO! You OTTO do this more often!

    Last to fill was the NW corner. Only thing I had at there first pass was TRUST and was surprised it didn't turn red. I went on and worked back up that side from the bottom. Didn't help that I was sure it was SMU not TCU.

    Sub-theme: HOLY, DIO, COPTS, GNOSTIC.

    Jinx: I was thinking that now we know why "what's his name" called Mae "My Little Chickadee" but I think he was wrong about "Little".

    I was EMBARrassed to not know EMBAR was a word. Couldn't be right...

    Very rainy here. So far not smelling mold. Knock on wood! Hope I haven't gone "nose blind" to the smell.

    ReplyDelete


  10. billocohoes, I believe D-O was making the CSO reference to Irish Miss in that she prefers Dewar's.

    Bill G, FLN, the Ken Burns Country Music documentary was shown in its entirety last weekend on PBS Prime. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and finally got to see the episodes I had previously missed. IMO, great series, beginning to end.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Good morning everyone.

    Fine intro, D-O. Much appreciated.

    Should have known ILS (not fully awake, I guess.), But got everything else without aid. Thought I would have trouble in the NE but MS-DOS fell and I finally parsed NOT LESS. Got INCLINED PLANE and TURBOPROP right away. Filling in FIGHTER and GLIDER helped with other fill. Noted the cheater blocks but didn't fully focus on them until reading Paul C.'s comment
    One time a ship I was on loaded the US Custom's limit of spirits (a gallon at the time) for each crew member in a Canadian port in bond. Upon returning to Brooklyn, we each received our allowance of tax free liquor. My DEWARS was $!.70 a fifth.

    Had a record temp for the day of 85º here yesterday.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anon: Gronowski/Gronkowski, guilty, as charged. Both look weird to me.

    Billocohoes: ??? I never said "Irish" or "Whiskey." I know not from whence you come.

    ReplyDelete
  13. With the circles the PLANEs were obvious. Wechsler's construction required putting the planes in first and then finding words to fit and keep the puzzle symmetrical. Bravo.

    The only problems I had were the correct spelling of TOODLEOO and Time Lord (never heard of him but now see he is Dr Who, which I only know from some on the commentators writing about a tv show); THE DOCTOR was filled by perps. ESA & ILS I kinda knew but wasn't sure.

    GNOSTICS, HOLY, DIO & COPTS in the same puzzle. An underlying theme?

    Ta-ta or should I write: TOODLEOO.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Fun puzzle, Jeff. My favorite was Potter's specialty=WIZARDRY. Humorous write-up, DO. I saw JET rising right away and looked for things that rise. When I got to FIGHTER, I realized they were all planes taking off. The reveal confirmed it with INCLINED. So clever!
    My favorite science units were magnetism and simple machines (including inclined planes) which provided many for many fun activities. I eschewed many of the activities in the teacher's manuals. I thought some of them were not intellectually honest, even if they did make the point, so I made up my own. I suggested magnetism when I helped a middle schooler whom I tutored with a science fair project. He explained the science of it very well because he was enthusiastic about it. His station was a big hit.
    I read TA TA as TA DA. When I got those 4 O's I realized my mistake.
    The Da Vinci Code has a lot of gnosticism in it. I attended a study group that discussed this book and another which detailed the Church's answer to The Da Vinci Code.
    Lately the news seems to overuse ELEVATE as lifting someone to greater prominence. Maybe showcasing would be an alternate term.
    Owen, sorry to hear of your health setback. On the bright side, I am hoping your extended stay at rehab gives you more time to find a better living environment. I am thinking of you and pulling for you at this tough time. We benefit greatly from your poetry as therapy. I especially liked the last one.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Good Morning:

    Not only is this a rare mid-week appearance by Jeffrey, but it is also a rare type of theme for a JW puzzle. Usually, Jeffrey's offerings have themes centered around word play, devious cluing, punny phrases, etc., not a pretty straightforward grid like today's, with circles, to boot. I was a tad disappointed that it wasn't my preferred JW style, but a change of pace can be refreshing, too. I never heard of Time Lord, so I needed perps to parse The Doctor and perps were also needed for Gnostic and Wizardry, as my Potter was a craftsman, not Harry. I never heard the phrase Inclined Plane so, even though the planes themselves were quite obvious, the reveal took some time to fill in and understand. My two favorite C/As was Song and dance=Arts and Potter's specialty=Wizardry. (I've often referred to JW as the Word Wizard.)
    I wasn't fond of Embar and Uprated but if the pass Rich's muster, they're okay with me.

    Thanks, Jeffrey W, and I look forward to your next byline and thanks, DO, for being today's DH. (Designated Hitter ala Baseball.) I get a chuckle every time you voice your ignorance of sports knowledge. I suppose I do the same about Harry Potter, Star Wars, Stark Trek, TLOTR, etc. Different strokes, eh? Anyway, you did a great job and how coincidental that you got a big CSO and, of course, you gave me one at Dewar. I just had some delivered this week. (billocohoes, Dewar's may be a Scotch whisky, but it's the preferred choice of this Irish Miss.)

    FLN

    Owen, I hope your life becomes less complicated and less stressful, soon. I'm glad you can stay where you are for a while and hope you will soon be settled and content in new surroundings. Your poetry gives us a lot of joy and I'm glad you find some joy and solace in creating it.

    I'm so saddened by those poignant stories of those families so drastically affected by the flu epidemic. It certainly makes you aware of the courage and resiliency of the survivors.

    Alice, I found your comment touching and sincere.

    My sister, Peggy, is presently undergoing surgery to repair a badly broken hip. She fell Monday night but the surgery had to wait until her INR (?) count was lowered. (This has something to do with the Coumadin she takes.) She was in a lot of pain so, hopefully, the surgery will be successful and rehab can begin.

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Musings
    -I saw the diagonal aircraft early and thought they might be “taking off” but was amused to see INCLINED PLANES as I taught simple machines for decades
    -When my class was on the third floor, students had to use INCLINED PLANES with switchback to get to my room
    -Jeffrey’s twisted cluing is always a delight? :-)
    -Will GRONK “unretire” like Jason Witten of the Cowboys did?
    -Trained assassins fire endlessly at hero with UZIS and miss but hero on the run fires back with only a pistol and gets them all
    -The Da Vinci Code had many references to items that lie “’neath the rose”.
    -We want NOT LESS than a certain number for Joann’s mother’s house
    -Real estate question – When did realtors stop saying “price” and started saying “price point”
    -There is a TOLL bridge in south Omaha built in 1950 where the TOLL was supposed to go away decades ago

    ReplyDelete
  17. Agnes, sorry to hear of Peggy's painful fall. I hope her surgery and pain relief occur soon. I believe the INR count for people taking Coumadin is used to assess your blood's ability to clot before you have surgery. For several elective surgeries I was asked to stop using low dose aspirin as a blood thinner for a week before surgery.
    Sub rosa - Wikipedia: Paintings of roses on the ceilings of Roman banquet rooms were also a reminder that things said under the influence of wine (sub vino) should also remain sub rosa.[
    In the Middle Ages a rose suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber similarly pledged all present (those under the rose) to secrecy.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Good morning.

    Thanks, Jeffrey, for some great cluing and fill. I thought this was a DNF for me until I figured out the fill for "ined" in INCLINED PLANE. Tah dah! I moved to FIGHTER and I was off into the wild blue yonder. Very nicely done.

    Thanks, D-O, for subbing and a marvelous write up. I enjoyed it. I, too, like Dewar's whisky. I know IM does. I wonder about Tinbeni. . . .

    YR: Thanks for the very interesting input.

    Be well, everyone.

    Have a very pleasant day today. It looks like an overcast week here, so I'll make my best effort to find some sunshine in other ways.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hola!

    Special greetings to you, desper-otto, and a big thank you for today's commentary! Yes, ESA or ESO. Had 68A been ROY, ESO would have fit. In Spanish the adjectives agree in number and gender with their antecedents.

    I was surprised to see Jeff Wex today. Usually he befuddles us on Thursday or Friday but today's puzzle was relatively easy in comparison. I liked the INCLINEDPLANE theme and saw them all.

    I, too, cringe when people allow their pets to kiss them. Studies show it's not a good idea as their WET snouts contain many germs.

    No THRILLS for me on rollercoasters. I can't abide them.

    Of course, I also thought of Irish Miss at DEWAR and of all you northerners at SNOWCAP. Here we are just entering into our comfortable temperatures and many out of state licenses are seen on the road especially Minnesota.

    We have no TOLL roads in AZ; I've only seen them in a few states, especially California.

    Have a joyful day, everyone! Time to go hang clothes.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Good morning, folks. Thank you, Jeffrey Wechsler, for a fine puzzle. Thank you Desper-Otto and C.C., for a fine review.

    Puzzle was great. Caught the theme after INCLINED PLANE and the circled squares. Very good.

    The theme reminded me that I heard this morning that a B-17 Flying Fortress crashed in Connecticut this morning. Two people killed and some injured. My father flew a B-17 in WW-II over Europe. 35 missions. He was the pilot. So, I heard a lot about that plane as a youth. There are not many left, I am sure.

    Some misdirection with 6D Potter's specialty, WIZARDRY. I was looking at a potter that works with clay, etc. Not Harry Potter. I should think more broadly. Oh well. Live and learn.

    Tried DEO before DIO worked better. Tried ACTS before ARTS worked better.

    SUB ROSA is a new term for me. The explanation made sense in the write-ups.

    TOODLE OO took me a while. Lots of perps.

    Guarded in the rain this morning. Raincoat kept me dry. We are not allowed to use umbrellas.

    See you tomorrow.

    Abejo

    ( )



    ReplyDelete
  21. Good morning, Desper-Otto and friends. Interesting and clever Wednesday puzzle.

    My favorite clue was Jam Ingredient = VEHICLE.

    I learned that Being Carried is not Blown, but DRIFT.

    Winnie the Pooh and his friends were childhood favorites of mine.

    QOD: The difference between what we are doing and what we are capable of doing would solve most of the world’s problems. ~ Mohandas Gandhi (Oct. 2, 1869 ~ Jan. 30, 1948)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Woohoo! A Jeffrey Wechsler Wednesday puzzle with long diagonal circles--and it was doable! Woohoo! Many thanks, Jeffrey. I stared out with WET which gave me TOODLEOO and after getting ZOO instantly got that it was Harry Potter and the answer would be WIZARDRY. Also got MORAN right away, but so sorry to hear about her sad life and ending, desper-otto. The bottom of the puzzle was a bit tougher for me, but I got GOLF, even though I'm not great at sports, and it was fun to see EDSEL. I don't know how I got DEWAR since I've been a Merlot drinker for decades, and can't remember if and when I ever drank whiskey. And once I had JET and GLIDER in place it confirmed the PLANE theme. Only the INCLINED made me laugh--very clever with all those planes going up. So, a real Wednesday delight, thanks again, Jeffrey, and your write-up was great, desper-otto.

    Oh dear, what sad news about your sister Peggy, Irish Miss. I will pray that she will be able to get help with her pain, and that her treatment will go well.

    Loved your poems, Owen.

    Have a great day, everybody.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Spitz @ 9:05 ~ I buy the 1.75 liter size of Dewar's which is $31.99 + 8 % for Gov. Cuomo. My source has the lowest prices on most wine and liquor in this area. The small Mom and Pop-type stores would charge over $40.00 for this size. Plus, delivery is free if your order is over $500.00 which mine is because I also order cases of wine for a neighbor and my sister. (I'm pleased that so many of my Corner friends are aware of my Dewar's imbibing!)

    YR, thanks for your kind thoughts and wishes. The surgery went well and they plan on getting her up later today. I just hope she's not in too much pain.

    Hatoolah, what a timely and meaningful QOD. Today's New York Times puzzle is a tribute to Gandhi, constructed by a fellow Indian.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Misty @ 12:04 ~ Prayers are always appreciated. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  25. PK, I think you are right. Mae had some bodacious chickadees. (My mom liked to affect a Mae West persona, mainly with "why don't you come up and see me sometime". Dad seemed to like it.)

    YR, thanks for the explanation of sub rosa. But apply a little marketing to the expression and you get "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas".

    If Scotch is so great, why can't they afford to age it in NEW barrels? Oh well, what else would Kentucky and Tennessee do with their old barrels without the Scotch industry.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Holy Handmaid! Fun humpday puzzle. A quick study. Correctections for "TCU" I put "SMU" S.Methodist U. Changed "scam" to "fool"

    SOMEONE CALL THE COPTS trying to incorporate the Gnostic Gospels into the NT. Fascinating reading whether you accept them or not.

    Macaws live a long time but...my daughter brought home a tortoise from kindergarten. They are both now 40. But actually have no idea how old the tortoise was when she got it.

    Is it too early for a "Dewars in water?"

    ReplyDelete
  27. I mostly liked this puzzle. More specifically, I liked the execution of the inclined planes but didn't particularly like UPRATED and EMBAR. I realize that sometimes the former unavoidably results in gluey stuff like the latter. I smiled slightly at seeing NEO, DIO, and CIO. And the two "bard" expressions OER and ERE. Oh yes, then there are EMO and IMO.

    Thanks for the entertaining and informative writeup, desper-OTTO.

    Irish Miss, I would like to know exactly the kind of Dewar's you like, because I'd like to try it. But Dewar's makes so many different products, such as various White Labels, Aberfeldy, The Ancestor, The Vintage, etc., I don't know which one to buy. Thanks.

    I recall Tinbeni frequently referring to Pinch.

    Good wishes to you all.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Ray o sunshine, my late husband acquired a turtle of the species Gopherus Agassizii when he was 22 years old. He died four years ago at the age of 81, so "Gophie," as she is called, has been with him and us for over 60 years now. I just fed her her daily serving of lettuce this morning. When I googled her species I learned they can live up to 80 years, so she'll probably survive me. It's a good thing we remembered to put recommendations for her care into our will.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have no idea what species "Tootsie" is but I wouldn't be surprised she (?) outlives us as well. We've threatened our adult children to leave everything to Tootsie

      Delete
  29. Jayce @ 12:55 ~ I drink Dewar's White Label. I'm not a Scotch connoisseur but I've tried other comparable blends such as Johnny Walker Red, Cutty Sark, J and B, etc. IMO, Johnny Walker Red tasted like medicine, J and B was okay, I guess, and Cutty Sark gave me a day-after headache, no matter how little I consumed. True Scotch aficionados, I believe, prefer single malt, but I've been drinking my basic Dewar's for years and have no desire to change. I'm sure Tin could offer a more sophisticated analysis of taste and quality. Good luck finding a satisfactory brand. (My husband drank Chivas but I never cared for its taste.)

    ReplyDelete
  30. Abejo,
    Why on Earth is it against the rules
    for a crossing guard to use an umbrella?

    Re: Whiskey Barrels,

    Re: Inclined PLane,
    reminded me of a tape I was trying to make yesterday.
    Our Fearless leader (wounded) tried to attack a Bf109
    diving out of the sun, resulting in a mid air collision.
    But Slo-Mo replays showed that 2 Spitfires may
    have wounded him first...

    it takes multi-view to see the whole story...

    Oh, yeah, that Fred & Ginger clip sent me down the YouTube Rabbithole...

    ReplyDelete

  31. Anon @ 8:49: The actual crossword entry was sub rosa, not sub rose. And you appear to have left out the word "the" before the words "solving experience" in your post.

    ReplyDelete
  32. CED @ 1453 - re: umbrellas. This is what Colorado DOT says:

    A guard shall not use an umbrella or other gear that would interfere with his ability to use his hands, or to see and hear.

    ReplyDelete
  33. TIT?
    Yes, I know it is a small songbird. I know that now.
    I learned it the hard way. Many years ago, a couple of American friends and I had a very difficult time suppressing our unseemly giggles when the dean of our Warwickshire graduate school invited us for an afternoon tea, and his wife held forth about the wonders of their country garden.
    "Best of all," she assured us, "are my blue tits. If you are ever in the neighborhood, you must come by so I may show you my blue tits. They are a wonder!"
    We were never invited for tea again.

    A fairly tough pzl today. Happy you enjoyed it, Misty! But as with many others, I did not appreciate EMBAR & UPRATED. I know Mr. Wechsler has a rep as a tough creator, but these are the two that kept me from an early finish. I went with 'em at the end but under protest.
    ~ OMK

    ReplyDelete
  34. Yes, the IT Application guy did the full Monte** in the old days.
    Wow, Zoo is funny.
    Actually, TE could have been RETired. I'll bet someone has posted the litany of FB positions Inc FB
    I had such a slice and hit my drives so hard that one windy day the ball was almost going 300 yards but only 50-60 yards to my(Lefty) left. More wind, a little harder and it would have come back to the tee. Slick orange top flights

    No. CSO to Tin. That's Scotch (whiskey). Even after 40+ years sober I remembered that
    My Theory (#999) is that the 55+ layoffs came when cEos realized that they'd worked the underlings to death and were in Jeopardy of having to pay 4x Life insurance policies.

    Oops, gotta go



    ** Or as Birnholz (Post xword 8/4) clued it: "About a Canadian cop from top to bottom". The FULL MOUNTIE

    ReplyDelete
  35. Wow!! I did it!! Finished a JW all by myself. Yeah, its just a Wednesday but what a wonderful Wechsler Wednesday!!!

    Favorite was Jam ingredient for VEHICLE. Fooled me completely but I finally figured it out. Thanks Jeffrey!!! I even saw the INCLINED PLANES. How on earth do you do that!!??

    And thanks for Tight End Gronowski! Love it.

    D-O the walkthrough was fun too!

    Owen, you give us so much pleasure and hope when we have problems. Lean on us now! Today’s offerings were all A’s.


    ReplyDelete
  36. I always loves me a Jeff Wex and today was an excellent example. Without the help TURBOPROP gave me, the SE would have been much tougher. And D-O, I really enjoyed your thesis this morning.

    Randomish thoughts:

    -Hand up for wanting SMU for TCU. At least I knew it was a Christian-owned school.
    -Jinx @ 0639: “carmalade”. Heh heh. I like it!
    -Jinx @ 1243: new barrels... another good one.
    -EMBAR and UPRATED didn’t bother me.
    -Lucina @ 1110: I couldn’t agree with you more. I can’t even abide the THOUGHT of riding in one.
    -Illinois also has a whole mess of tollways that were supposed to become free when they were paid off. All we’ve ever gotten has been more toll roads. The Jane Addams, the Veterans’ Memorial, the Reagan Memorial, and the new IL 390, part of the Elgin-O’Hare Expressway all come to mind.

    Well, if everything works out, I should finish my Dr Who marathon by morning. Have a good evening, all.

    ReplyDelete
  37. WikWak, I agree. EMBAR and UPRATE were acceptable if not preferable.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Owen, you say things most of us would like to say, but we don’t know how!!

    ReplyDelete
  39. My sister lives in the Chicago suburbs. Toll roads everywhere. I guess NYC is just as bad.
    I find no fault with embar and uprate. For me archaic and obsolete words that are still in the dictionary are fair game in crosswords, one or two at a time. These words were easy to infer with just a few perps. They make sense.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Ray o Sunshine, I wish "Tootsie" a long, wonderful life!

    ReplyDelete

For custom-made birthday, anniversary or special occasion puzzles from C.C., please email crosswordc@gmail.com

Her book "Sip & Solve Easy Mini Crosswords" is available on Amazon.

Please click on Comments Section Abbrs for some blog-specific terms.

Please limit your posts to 5 per day and cap each post length at about 20 lines in Preview mode.

No politics, no religion and no personal attacks.