google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, December 10, 2019 David Poole

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Dec 10, 2019

Tuesday, December 10, 2019 David Poole

Double Play.  I'll start today with the unifier, which is very self-explanatory.  

55-Across. Canoeing challenge whose first word can precede the start and whose second word can precede the end of the answers to starred clues: WHITE WATER.

20-Across. *   Fruity adult beverage: WINE COOLER.  We get White Wine and Water Cooler.  A Wine Cooler can be either a special refrigeration unit for storing wine or a carbonated beverage of wine and fruit juice.
White Wine

Wine Cooler


28-Across. *   Black-spotted orange flower: TIGER LILY.  We get White Tiger and Water Lily.

White Tiger

Claude Monet's Water Lilies

38-Across. *   Toy pistols used on stage: CAP GUNS.  We get White Cap and Water Gun.

White Caps on the Ocean

Water Gun, also known as a Squirt Gun.

46-Across. *   Toy car brand: HOT WHEELS.  We get White Hot and Water Wheels.

White HOT!


Water Wheel



Across:
1. Chinese sauce additive: MSG.  As in MonoSodium Glutamate.

4. Olympic swimming star Ledecky: KATIE.  Katie Ledecky (née Kathleen Genevieve Ledecky; b. Mar. 17, 1997), has won 5 Olympic gold medals and 15 world championship gold metals.


9. L.L.Bean competitor: J.CREW.

14. Listening organ: EAR.


15. Stereotypical Pi Day celebrants: NERDS.

16. "Drab" color: OLIVE.


17. Handel's "Messiah" et al.: ORATORIOS.  An Oratorio is similar to an Opera.  Oratorios became popular in the 1600s and 1700s because the Church forbid theatrical performances.  Thus oratorios were musical compositions with an orchestra, a chorus and generally a soloist, but without the costuming and theater props.  Oratorios also tended to focus on religious  topics.

19. Creepy film motel: BATES.



22. Put in the mail: SENT.

23. Cowboys QB Prescott: DAK.  Dak Prescott (né Rayne Dakota Prescott; b. July 29, 1993), was born in Sulphur, Louisiana.  The Cowboys lost to the Bears last week.


24. Well-worn pencils: NUBS.


26. "Keystone" police: KOPS.




33. Prefix with center: EPI-.  As in the Epicenter of an earthquake.


34. __ Valley: Reagan Library site: SIMI.

35. Strand at a ski lodge, say: ICE IN.

37. Pitcher's stat: ERA.  As in Earned Run Average.

41. Prefix with natal: NEO-.  As in Neonatal, which refers to newborn babies.

42. Asian food breadcrumbs: PANKO.  I use Panko breadcrumbs when I cook fish.


44. Novelist Leon: URIS.  Leon Uris (né Leon Marcus Uris; Aug. 3, 1924 ~ June 21, 2003) is probably best known for his 1958 novel Exodus, which is about the creation of the State of Israel.


45. They, to Thierry: ILS.  Today's French lesson.

49. Artist Warhol: ANDY.  Andy Warhol (né Andrew Warhola; Aug. 6, 1928 ~ Feb. 22, 1987) died at age 58 from complications of gall bladder surgery.  In 1968, an assassination attempt was made on his life in which he was seriously wounded.



50. "The Good Earth" mother: OLAN.  The Good Earth is a 1931 novel by Pearl S. Buck (née Pearl Sydenstricker; June 26, 1892 ~ Mar. 6, 1973) about family life in China in the early 20th Century.  It is well worth reading.

51. Some SAT takers: SRs.  As in Seniors in High School.

52. Olympian bigwig: ZEUS.  Oh, as in the Greek god of the sky and thunder, not the Olympic games.

61. Safe places?: WALLS.

63. Talus: ANKLE BONE.



64. Orange Muppet: ERNIE.


65. Not tight enough: LOOSE.

66. ER VIPs: MDs.  Medical Doctors are the VIPs in the Emergency Room, but don't forget about the ER nurses, who also play an important role.

67. Cockamamie: INANE.

68. Beginning: ONSET.

69. Automated spam creator: BOT.



Down:
1. Cat's cry: MEOW.



2. Indian cover-up: SARI.

3. Concert keyboard: GRAND PIANO.


4. Rap on the door: KNOCK.

5. Sleek, in car talk: AERO.

6. 75% of a quartet: TRIO.

7. Pop star: IDOL.

8. Ancient mystic: ESSENE.  The Essenes were a Jewish sect from about 200 to 1 BCE.  They are considered to be the authors of the Dead Sea Scrolls.

9. Position at work: JOB.

10. Enduring work: CLASSIC.

11. Baptism or bris: RITE.

12. Like Olympic years, numerically: EVEN.

13. "Wild" 1800s region: WEST.

"Wild" Mae West

18. Oolong and pekoe: TEAs.


21. 1921 play that introduced the word "robot": R.U.R.  This play appears with some frequency in the crosswords.  It is a 1920 play by Czech writer Karel Čapek (Jan. 9, 1890 ~ Dec. 25, 1938).  R.U.R stands for Rossumovi Univerzáiní Robots (Rossum’s Universal Robots).  The play takes place in a factory that makes organic, artificial people called as Robots.  These Robots, however, were more like human people rather than the current concept of robots.



25. Euphoria: BLISS.  Also the name of a chain of Yoga studios.


26. Stay fresh in the fridge: KEEP.

27. Celeb with her "OWN" network: OPRAH.

28. Andalusian aunt: TIA.  Today's Spanish lesson.  Andalusia is a region of Spain.


29. Little rascal: IMP.

30. Lively baroque dance: GIGUE.



31. Red Square shrine: LENIN'S TOMB.


32. Give in: YIELD.


34. Grouchy look: SCOWL.


36. Prone to prying: NOSY.

39. Often-bookmarked address, briefly: URL.  As in the Uniform Resource Locator.

40. Grafton's "__ for Noose": N IS.  Sue Grafton (Apr. 24, 1940 ~ Dec. 28, 2017) wrote a series of crime novels, each beginning with a letter of the Alphabet.  The first in the series was A is for Alibi.  She wrote all the way through the letter Y (Y is for Yesterday).  Sadly, she died before she could begin what would have been the final book in the series, Z is for Zero.


43. "80's Ladies" country singer: K.T. OSLIN.  I am not familiar with K. T. Olsin (née Kay Toinette Olsin; b. May 15, 1942).


47. "Yee-__!": HAW.



48. Surround, as with a saintly glow: ENHALO.  Yup.  It's a real word.

49. Graceful steed: ARAB.

51. "Ni-i-ice!": SWEET!

52. Cube root of acht: ZWEI.  German math.

53. Merit: EARN.

54. Forearm bone: ULNA.

56. Part of, plotwise: IN ON.

57. Boxing ref's calls: TKOs.  As in Technical Knock Outs.  A crossword staple

58. "Anything __?": ELSE.

59. Opposite of exo-: ENDO-.

60. "Don't play" music staff symbol: REST.


62. Date regularly: SEE.




Here's the Grid:


Geaux Tigers!
Joe Burreaux, LSU Quarterback

QOD:  One must learn to be silent just as one must learn to talk.  ~  Victoria Wolff (Dec. 10, 1903 ~ Sept. 16, 1992), German-born novelist.

49 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIWrong. WAG on the natick of PAN?O + ?.T.OSLIN was totally in left field. Didn't get the theme, either. Thought it would be RED WINE, RED TIGER, REDCAP, RED HOT. (Red Tiger sounded reasonable as a team or product name).

The choir sang an ORATORIO
Of how they loved an Oreo!

The perfect drink with powdered crullers
Are glasses of fruity WINE COOLERS!

TIGER LILIES and dandelions
Make for gardens quite feline.

{A, C, C.}

Oas said...

Good frosty Tuesday to all .
Thanks David Poole and Hahtoolah for the fun.
Only two unknowns were GIGUE and K T OSLIN.
Below zero temps here today .
Warmed up a little when my muppet tokayo showed up .
A couple of hours work today then back to retirement until the next call comes in.
I like to say I get to go to work rather than I have to.
Stay warm or farther south stay cool.
Cheers

Jinx in Norfolk said...

FIW, only getting 2 of 3 personal Naticks. I got PANKO x KT OSLIN and OLAN x KT OSLIN, but missed ORATORIOn x ESnENE. No dope slaps from the answer sheet; I haven't heard of any of them. My safe places have always been banks, but erased that today for WALLS.

After yesterday I wait for NERDS / geeks.

SIMI Valley isn't pronounced like the truck, but like the "called on the carpet" answer from a few days ago - "SEE me."

So ENHALO is a thing. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

Thanks for the puzzle, David. Puzzle me it did. And thanks for the informative tour, Hahtoolah.

Oas said...

The weather here today brings back a memory of something I read sometime in the past. Apparently in the days of cannon warfare the cannon balls were place on something called a brass monkey. In really cold weather the steel would contract and the brass monkey would break and the cannon balls would fall to the ground. Hence the saying “it’s cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey” . I always thought it meant something else.
Cheers

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

Only needed Wite-Out (not water) to change GIGOT to GIGUE. Turns out that GIGOT is a leg of lamb, not a dance. D'oh. Very neat that the theme words all work with White and Water. If I'd read the reveal clue, I probably could've figured that out. Didn't. Thanx, David and Hahtoolah.

Hungry Mother said...

I ignored the theme and used downs to let the themers self-fill. A wag saved me from a Natick with the crossed names. My wife and I spent a lovely 4 months in Andalusia in 2003, totally immersed in Spanish. Our school was a small building right on the beach in El Palo, near Malaga. You can read about it here.

TTP said...



Quick solve.

The only unknowns were ESSENE and GIGUE.

K.T. OSLIN was a gimme. That was her best song, and it had a lot of airplay on the country stations.

Thanks David and Hahtoolah.

BTW, Joe Burrow is from Athens, Ohio, home of Ohio University. No, not THE Ohio State University. Joe was on The Ohio State University Buckeyes squad before becoming disgruntled and bolting for LSU when Dwayne Haskins was projected to become the starter. looks like it worked out for all concerned. It would be neat to see them meet again in the national championship game.

Anonymous said...

Too much emphasis on the two-level theme, and as a result, the fill suffered. So did I.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-?T?SLIN/PAN?O/?LAN took some doing but I got ‘em
-Susan said all I need to say in her always fun write-up

Adele said...

A couple of clues slowed me down a little..but finally got it. I have to say, I don’t really think L.L. Bean and J Crew are competitors...maybe at one time...but their clothing lines are completely different!

inanehiker said...

I enjoyed the double theme words matching both words in the theme reveal - I wonder how long it takes to come up with enough for the grid! I thought of GIGOT and GAVOT before GIGUE like D-Otto but wasn't sure enough about them to write either in - so waited for perps! I think it's GAVOTTE anyway, but many of the foreign words have variations as English words do.

Learning moment - I've heard of PANKO crumbs but didn't know of their Asian origin.
Fun to have a double shout out with INANE and MDS on the lower half of the puzzle!

Thanks Hatoolah and David!

Yellowrocks said...

Very quick puzzle. Only two unfamiliar fill, DAK and KT OLSIN, so I had no Naticks. There always were helpful perps. Several downs were filled before I got to them. I liked the double theme, but didn't need it to solve.
I learned about panko bread crumbs years ago from my Japanese DIL. That was many years before they became popular and universally sold here. I use them frequently. "Panko bread crumbs are a Japanese-style bread crumb made from white bread without the crusts. This results in a lighter, airier bread crumb that absorbs less grease and stays crispier for longer than their traditional counterparts."
On our trip to Israel we visited the Qumran Caves near the Dead Sea where some of the Essenes lived. The Dead Sea scrolls were discovered there and are considered to be part of the Essene's library.
Susan, wonderful links. I adored the little black kitten.
I read The Good Earth twice. The enlightening history of that time period in China which was sad, but fascinating. I felt sorry for hard working responsible wife, O-Lan, whose husband preferred and pampered his concubine, Lotus.
My half Japanese grandson was born in the year of the white tiger.
ENHALO is found in the dictionaries, but I found no sample sentences. It must be rare, even in print.

KenoRunner said...

Not sure about using nee or ne as shorthand for "full name".

Anonymous said...

I liked the theme. Some uncommon proper names,at least to me. Gigus,zwei,crossed by panko and Ktoslin *really*? On a Tuesday.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Natick at the OLAN/OSLIN cross so had one red letter. Otherwise a fun solve with a nifty theme. Liked that the grid was interwoven with longer downs.
Oolong - I've had Oolong TEA. Smokey taste as I recall. I've stopped drinking tea since I think I have an allergy to it now. - gustatory rhinitis.
GIGUE - Knew this from watching the dancing style of my forebears on You Tube. See De GIGUE (You may want to FF to time 0:57 start.)
ZWEI - Two. L. German & Dutch 'twee'.

Nice CSO to Inanehiker.

Yellowrocks said...

In our grocery stories, if you ever shop for packaged bread crumbs you will readily see panko among the choices. If you look up recipes for breaded dishes online, panko is everywhere. So, I think it is fair game for a Tuesday.
Gigue is a little more specialized. I think I know it from historical novels.
Handels' "Messiah" oratorio is performed in full at many venues this time of year. Sometimes the audience is invited to join in the very famous Hallelujah Chorus.
Listen
OAS, interesting about the brass monkey. Last Dec. I think we had a long stretch of zero or near zero temps. Or was it in Jan.? This year is more moderate.

Nee- Wikipedia, "The male equivalent "né" is used to indicate what a man was originally known as before the adoption of different name."
So nee, can be used to indicate what a woman was originally known as before the adoption of a different name, not necessarily her married name.

Abejo said...

Good morning, folks. Thank you, David Poole, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Hahtoolah, for a fine review.

HBD yesterday, Hahtoolah. Hope you celebrated somehow.

Puzzle zipped right along. Caught the theme and all the theme answers.

ZEUS was a little misdirection, but easily got after a couple perps.

PANKO was unknown. Perps. URIS was easy. Some of the best books I read have been authored by him. EXODUS was one of them.

KT OSLIN was easy. GIGUE was not easy. Perps. I knew KOPS was with a K.

J. CREW was unknown. Perps. I knew the BATES motel. Crossword staple.

ORATORIOS Interesting tidbit about the church not allowing theatrical performances. I wonder if Shakespeare avoided that Papal Decree by living in England?

Well, it was 14 degrees this morning as I was Guarding the Crossing. Some of those kids were not dressed real well IMHO.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

( )

Tinbeni said...

D-N-F ... on a Tuesday, Ugh!

Didn't know PANKO ("K" was left blank) so K.T.OLSIN didn't have the "K" ... **it happens.
But "My Perps" got GIGUE.

Hahtoolah, Wonderful, informative write-up. Good Job!

Cheers!

desper-otto said...

YR, from Grammar-Monster:
It is widely believed that a brass monkey is a brass tray used in naval ships during the Napoleonic Wars for the storage of cannonballs (piled up in a pyramid). The theory goes that the tray would contract in cold weather, causing the balls to fall off. This theory is discredited by the US Department of the Navy and the etymologist Michael Quinion and the OED's Ask Oxford website for five main reasons:

The Oxford English Dictionary does not record the term monkey or brass monkey being used in this way.
The purported method of storage of cannonballs (round shot) is simply false. Shot was not stored on deck continuously on the off-chance that the ship might go into battle. Indeed, decks were kept as clear as possible.
Such a method of storage would result in shot rolling around on deck and causing a hazard in high seas. Shot was stored on the gun or spar decks, in shot racks (longitudinal wooden planks with holes bored into them, known as shot garlands in the Royal Navy), into which round shot were inserted for ready use by the gun crew.
Shot was not left exposed to the elements where it could rust. Such rust could lead to the ball not flying true or jamming in the barrel and exploding the gun. Indeed, gunners would attempt to remove as many imperfections as possible from the surfaces of balls.
The physics do not stand up to scrutiny. All of the balls would contract equally, and the contraction of both balls and plate over the range of temperatures involved would not be particularly large. The effect claimed possibly could be reproduced under laboratory conditions with objects engineered to a high precision for this purpose, but it is unlikely it would ever have occurred in real life aboard a warship.

(Thanks to T.W. Hanna for this entry)

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, David Poole and Hahtoolah!

Yea! I saw the theme with its dual accompaniment. Clever!

Luckily I am familiar with PANKO bread crumbs from watching cooking shows and now use them regularly along with a variety of other types. That gave me the K as I've never heard of KTOSLIN. It complements KATIE at the top.

It goes without saying I don't know DAK either. And though I've not seen the movie or read the book, the BATES Hotel is well known. It appears in many CWDs.

Abejo:
An ORATORIO is sung and meant to be performed during the Mass in church; theatrical performances in general are not and have never been forbidden by the Church. Shakespeare was born in Britain so living there was a birthright.

ZEUS helped me with ZWEI and WALLS otherwise I was thinking of SAFE.

When the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered is when I recall reading about and learning of the ESSENES.

GIGUE is totally unknown to me; that could have been a Natick except for perps.

I am a TIA to many nieces and nephews.

ENHALO seems forced but I believe it if research confirms it.

For some reason I like seeing CLASSIC and RITE side by side with ORATORIOS thrown into the mix.

Memories come flooding back of trips to Andalusia, the long lines waiting to view LENIN'S TOMB and visions of beautiful giant WATER LILIES in Mexico. Chapala Lake if memory serves me.

Like YR I, too, have read and enjoyed The Good Earth twice. OLAN is well portrayed as a subservient wife.

Have a peaceful day, everyone! We've had wonderful rain and even a hailstorm yesterday.

Anonymous T said...

Ouch! On a Tuesday?!? [Hi Tinbeni!]

KT OLSLIN / PANKO / OLAN / ZEUS could not perp-out. And, I had tWEI for German '2' and, well, DNF. Oh, FIW at SIMa Valley too.

Thanks David for the puzzle. Thanks Hahtoolah for the fantastic review (loved the Keystone Kops!).

WOs: SENd, SoMa Valley, poP GUNS.
ESPs: ESSENE, GaGUE, DAK
Fav: 4a - a CSO to DW; I suppose KT is phonetically another.

{A, C, A}

YR - thanks for LIU & enlightening us on nee/ne.

D-O / YR / OAS - interesting info on Brass Monkey Balls... Wait, that sounds wrong. :-)

Anyone want to hear 'it's a small world story(ies)?' //If not, skip a bit...
Last night Bro (now lives in Denver) came into town on business.
We took his [now mine] Alfa out for a spin (Finally!)
Then we went to a Rockets game.
Pre-game, however, he wanted to meet up at Hard Rock with an old buddy from work. His buddy lives less than a mile from me in the same neighborhood! (and has 4 kids #Babysitting$ for Youngest)

Not so odd; I mean in a city of 3MM what's the chance, but...

At 1/2time, I met up with my old bossman who has season tix. Apparently he is building a house about 1/2-hour from Bro in Denver. They both do the same Mountain biking race out there!

Ok, not weird yet but...

On the way home, Bro wanted to eat so we stopped. The place was closing down so we sat at the bar. As we were talking, my Bro, ever the magnanimous guy, chatted up the bartender.
Bro asked if he was Hawaiian but I knew he was of Vietnamese decent and said as much.
Bro asked me how I knew and I explained DW's BFF is (of Vietnamese decent) and a dentist (Bro's in the dental industrial-complex racket). I said DW's BFF's husband is too [Vietnamese and a dentist].
BarKEEP stopped us asking, "Wait, Vietnamese husband and wife? Dentists? What's their names?"
I responded with [redacted].
"That's my aunt & uncle!"
Small World.

Oh, and The Rockets lost by 1 in a last second (literally) three-pointer buzzer beater. Sadness. A great game all the way through though.

Cheers, -T

Misty said...

I found this a bit tough for a Tuesday puzzle, although I enjoyed it, even with a couple of errors (never heard of PANKO or K.T. OSLIN). But, still, thanks, David. The beginning was easy with MSG and MEOW and EAR (loved your EAR cartoon, Susan). And it was cool to then have WINE COOLER and GRAND PIANO follow. My German helped me get ZWEI, but I too figured the Olympian was going to be an athlete, and had to laugh when ZEUS filled in. Never, ever heard of GIGUE even though I got it thanks to the across words. And nice to see ANDY Warhol. As soon as I saw all those wonderful pictures and explanations in the commentary, I knew it had to be Susan working them--many thanks, for your great write-ups.

Have a good day, everybody.

Jinx in Norfolk said...

D-O, wouldn't that be a great name for a rock-n-roll band? "Let's give a big Whiskey a Go Go welcome to The Shot Garlands!"

desper-otto said...

Anon-T, a few years back TTP mentioned that some friends of his had moved to my general area. They claimed it was a great place to live and invited him to come down. As it turns out, they had moved to a house just around the corner from us, less than 50 yds away as the crow flies. I can see the house through my office window. TTP's friend has since passed away, and their house was sold. Quinky-Dink.

Yellowrocks said...

DO, color me gullible. Your reasoning makes sense.
I have never seen the oratorio, Messiah, performed at the mass. These days it often performed in a large secular auditorium or in a church at night separate from the mass. Sometimes professionals are hired, especially the lead singers. The chorus is recruited from many neighboring towns. Youtube has many flash mobs singing the Hallelujah Chorus. It is amazing how many people know it well enough to join in. Check it out if you like.

Wilbur Charles said...

Josephus is the go-to source for ESSENES. Until… The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered 70 years ago. Apres ca, heated scholarly debates. One theory is another's conspiracy.*

-T, I saw the end of that game including the irrational offensive foul on Harden.

XW was hopeless on Natick Blvd. Didn't know PANKO nor Ms OSLIN. Fascinating what folks know and don't know. fe., ZEUS, DAK URIS and ESSENES were right in my wheelhouse.

Midweek XWs are like DMV tests: mostly easy but oddities added.

WC

* Here's one link to Prof Eisenman's theories
Here's another Barbara Thiering wiki. Hope none of this is considered "Religion!".

AnonymousPVX said...


This puzzle had some crunch for a Tuesday, but no issues, at least for me.

Wilbur Charles said...

Oh,well. Folks usually skip my links anyhoo

Anonymous T said...

WC - They replayed that 'offensive' foul forwards and backwards on the JumboTron (are they still called that?) inside the arena. To me it looked like a follow-through on Harden's part (with no ill intent) and the defensive player 'flopped.' But that was just one of many miscues in the game; turnovers didn't help the hometown team.

D-O: Ok, your Small World Story narrowly beats mine. Did TTP come down and you ZWEI get to visit?

-T

Ol' Man Keith said...

Great pix, Hahtoolah!

Like Owen and other bright lights, I found the natick at PANKO/KT OSLIN. That "K" was the undoing of many fine minds.
Otherwise, Mr. Poole's pzl was a smooth run.
~ OMK
____________
DR:
Just one diagonal NW to SE.
Its anagram is either the green room (querencia?) for bullfighters -OR- that part of the anatomy a torero most needs to protect as he executes a graceful pass.
I mean the...
"MATADOR'S SEAT"!

jfromvt said...

A run of the mill Tuesday. My only nit is ENHALO, a “real” word that will never be said or written again. Not sure why constructors resort to using fills like that.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

There was a tiny bit of crunch today but the perps were all fair, IMO, so a nice, smooth solve. When I filled in Tiger Lily (Hi, HG's non-Tiger, Kitty), I thought to myself that a two word theme was in the offing, so, the reveal was an Aha, I was right moment! I needed perps for Dak, KT Oslin, and Gigue, but had no w/os. Liked the kissing cousins of Era ~ Ear, URLs ~ Uris, Teas ~ Tia, and the clue with Talus and the related Ulna answer. There were CSOs galore, also: Teas (Abejo and CC), Meow (CED), Andy (Tin), Imp (CED and Jinx), Tia ( Lucina) and a rare double-duty to Inanehiker (Inane and MDs). Enhalo may be a word, but not one I'd use. It was nice to see two of my favorite authors, Mr. Uris and Ms. Grafton. I think I've read Uris's entire body of work and I know I've read Grafton's from A to Y.

Thanks, David, for a Tuesday treat and thanks, Hatoolah, for a truly outstanding review. That New England air must agree with you as you've given us a visually pleasing and intellectually stimulating review. On the light side, I loved the Olive You and the Scowly Owl. All of the theme-related pictures were perfect; loved the magnificent White Tiger. Brava! Also loved the QOD; I know many people who I wish would practice it.

Anon T @ 11:36 ~ I love "small world" stories and your is one of the best I've ever heard, three such coincidences in one night is amazing.

My furnace serviceman was here earlier and was dressed like it was July instead of December: short sleeve tee and no jacket. Ah, youth!

Have a great day.

TTP said...


Dash T, no it didn't work out. Close. My buddy was trying to talk me into moving into the area when I started talking about retiring, and had send me a couple of the real estate magazines and some other listings. But he got cancer and passed. We hadn't talked for a bit, and then he didn't answer my email, and then not my call. D-O actually confirmed it for me.

If things had been different, D-O and I could have been near neighbors !

Small world !

Terry said...

Ah so thanks for the explanation. Always wondered about that idiom.

Terry said...

Well there you go, another interesting explanation layed to rest. Thanks for the update.

Wilbur Charles said...

I finished the last of the TBTimes Sunday inserts. No theme. I want to cast my vote in favor of themes. Saturday themeless is ok.

I've never read any Sue Grafton. And,... after LIU apparently no URIS either although he's very famous- I recognize all those books.

WC

-T , ESPN has a segment on "the spread" and the wacky ways bets are won and lost. I won a bet in '72 when Henry Bibby of UCLA was fetched from the shower to shoot two FTs after time expired. It didn't affect the outcome but gave me a push.

I loved that despicable creep ever after


Wilbur Charles said...

PS, don't mind me. I'm in USF urology awaiting my prostate cancer verdict.
My friend from the VA counsels me to make sure I die of the right disease- eg Vietnam related

I have Boomer's example to follow re. Stiff upper lip etc

WC

Jayce said...

Interesting puzzle, good write-up, and informative commentary. Thank you all.

Yellowrocks said...

Handel led 30 performances of his oratorio, Messiah, almost all of them not in churches. The first performance was in a Dublin music hall. Handel was not Catholic. Wikipedia, "Protestant composers took their stories from the Bible, while Catholic composers looked to the lives of saints, as well as to Biblical topics."
"....both masses and oratorios are religious pieces of music, but a mass follows the format of the liturgy of worship, while an oratorio is performed as religious entertainment." At first many people, among them Christopher Wren, were scandalized at seeing religion in the Messiah presented as entertainment. I have heard the oratorio, "Messiah" in a few churches, but not during mass. Mostly, oratorios are performed in secular venues. It requires a huge orchestra and chorus. Messiah would be far too long to be part of the mass. I love it and play it on CD every Christmas, although it was intended to be Lenten.There are many live performances near here, both professional, amateur, and amateur with paid professional leads.

WC, crossing my fingers for a favorable result.

Lucina said...

Wilbur Charles:
I started reading the first of your links and was exhausted by the third paragraph! I'll clip it to my favorites for later reading. It's interesting but so absorbing.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Great puzzle, David! Great informative expo, Susan!

Had trouble with the SW corner & had to red-letter ZW in the ZUES/ZWEI cross as well as the "K" in PANKO/KT OSLIN cross. Knew of KT OSLIN years ago when she was on TV a lot --forgot her. Read "The Good Earth" as a teenager and was profoundly moved by the story. I knew _LAN but thot it started with "E".

ESP: KATIE (yup, forgot her), ESSENE, JCREW.

Took chorus in college and we sang the Christmas part of "The Messiah" as our concert. Fun! DIfficult. All of us were going around singing in the halls for a month as we memorized our part of the "Hallelujah Chorus" which was to be our semester test. Singing your part alone to piano accompaniment by the director in private was nerve wracking. The different voices come in at different times and sometimes sing different words. The high soprano part is that: HIGH. I got an A- and was shocked. When I was on the farm, Christmas eve was always at my house with my brothers & their families, usually 25 people (one year we had 10 kiddies under 10). The singers in the bunch would gather around my piano and warm up with carols then launch into "The Hallelujah Chorus". Very rousing rendition since all my bros & one Sis-IL have sung for years as semi-pro or pro. Daughters joined in with one playing piano. I did the best I could. No longer. Today my bro let me know they'd gone to a concert of Messiah with a son, DIL & grandkids. The son remembers the years on the farm & got them tickets. Brot back good memories.

Anonymous T said...

Remember when Flash Mobs [Handel's Messiah] were a thing?

W.C. - So, what did the VA tell you?

TTP - thanks for your Small World story - kinda crazy how close everyone is connected if you think about it (six degrees and all that).

And, hey, let's all blame Picard - he started it! with Paul C. and the MIT pix :-)

Cheers, -T

D4E4H said...

Carol and I FIR in 30:09 min.

Good evening Cornerites.

Thank you David Poole for your enjoyable Tuesday CW.

4 A -- KATIE Ledecky was unknown, and yet I pulled her name from some unknown depth.  The clue didn't even indicate the gender.

Thank you Hahtoolah for your excellent review.  Your QOD points out to me the problem that many people have.  They don't know how to be silent.  

Ðave 

CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, David and Hahtoolah.
I'll agree that this CW was a little crunchy for a Tuesday; actually a FIW for me, although I got the theme.
My Natick was the O in OLAN (I had a U) and of course KT Ulsin looked as good as OLSIN,
I had difficulty with the ZWEI and ZEUS cross until the light dawned that we were not talking about the IOC.
But I did know PANKO.

I had Fugue before GIGUE; the latter is livelier I believe.
IM, I noted the TALUS clue and ULNA answer also.
Yes, my nose wrinkled at ENHALO. I must find a way to use that word at Christmas. How about "Baby Jesus' head was ENHALOed in the manger scene."
One grandson is receiving HOT WHEELS Sto and Go for Christmas. Don't tell the little IMP!

PK- loved your Messiah story. I can't imagine singing the part solo for a test.
DH and I just enjoyed a Messiah concert last week.
With 53 million views, this Flashmob Hallelujah Chorus by Chorus Niagara went viral.*
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SXh7JR9oKVE

DH has a knack for Small World meetings. We camped across Canada and he would always come back from a bike ride around the campground with a story of somebody that he met who knew somebody . .who knew somebody he knew!

Good evening all.

*sorry I can't link properly on my iPad.

CanadianEh! said...

WC - best wishes for good news

D4 - good to hear from you and Carol

SwampCat said...

Fun crunchy puzzle! Thanks! Hahtoolah, you are a marvel,

I’m so intrigued by the discussion of Messiah. I just enjoy it where ever I hear it.

Our temperature here dropped 20 degrees in an hour. Who knows what’s coming??

Owen, A A A !

Anonymous T said...

C, Eh's Link.

Funny DR OMK. Sorry I missed it earlier. Speaking of El Toro's (foe's) Seat...

Last night, Bro kept looking down about 20 rows. He said, "See that Bernie Sanders-looking guy?, Two seats behind him have been empty this whole time. After 1/2-time, if they're still empty..."
After 1/2time the seats were still empty. We went down to the third row. The guy next to Bro had that look like "you two don't belong here" and we both looked back with the expression of "yeah, we know, but what of it?"

It was like we were back in grade-school breaking the rules again :-)
Oh, and across the court from us was 50Cent. Dig that!

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Dang it, I kept missing posts!(?)! I guess I scroll by thinking I already read them...
Anywho:

PK - Eldest is a vocal major at OU. I can feel your pain through her stories of solo requirements. Lovely memories on farm, you have with family.
How many of your brood are you? [I'm eldest of 5 - Catholic and yeah...]

D4 - No I don't [know when to shut up] :-)
Cheers! -T

Wilbur Charles said...

-T, Six degrees of Francis Bacon an 18th century empirical philosopher. That's why Kevin Bacon was chosen. SI had a segment on the NFL's Coy Bacon's six degrees

MRI results were good but PSA is up again. Another biopsy to come. At least the neurology MRI ( As was the case with Dizzy Dean) 'They X-Rayed My Head and Found Nothing'

Lucina, take those links with a grain of salt. However, that genre did get me to read the Bible looking for the story behind the story.

WC