google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, August 26, 2020 Mike Peluso and Joe Krozel

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Aug 26, 2020

Wednesday, August 26, 2020 Mike Peluso and Joe Krozel

 Theme: Step in time.  Because that's what you do when you dance.



And today, we are all about dancing.  Or dancing about. or something like that.  

Here is the two-part unifier.

24 D. With 31-Down, hoedown activities, and a hint to the circled letters: SQUARE.

31. See 24-Down: DANCES.

For this to make any sort of sense, you'd have to have the circles in your puzzle, highlighting the four clustered letters that form the names of today's dances.

17 A. Building emergency exit: FIRE ESCAPE.  A staircase or other apparatus used for escaping a building on fire.
20 A. Natural skill: TALENT.  Ability.
Not only do you need the circles, you also need to read these letters in a loop: hence REEL, a folk dance of Scottish origin, and also a word that indicates spinning.  We're off to a good start.

19 A. Takes too much for oneself: HOGS.  Keeps or uses something in an unfair or selfish way.
21 A. Ark landing site: Abbr.: MT. ARARAT.  Cf Genesis 6 through 9.
The HORA is a circle dance that originated in the Balkans, and is also found in several other countries.

53 A. "Spring Symphony" composer: SCHUMANN.  Robert [1810-1846] was a German composer pianist and music critic.  This was his first full orchestral work, composed in 1841.
61 A . West Virginia resource: COAL.  From under ground. 
The HULA is Polynesian dance form existing in various styles, with a complicated history.

57. Be released: GO FREE.  
62. They're holstered in old Westerns: LOADED GUNS.  Hence many shot off toes, I would imagine.
The FRUG is a dance craze from the 60's.  I was there, might even have done it [though, to be honest, probably not]  but now can't find anything definitive or helpful, other than it was energetic.

Hi Gang.  JazzBumpa here.  I would have played for some dancing this year, but, alas, those events got cancelled.  While we're on the subject, here is a collection of dance clips featuring granddaughter Amanda.

Now let's step our way through this puzzle and see what else we can discover.  

Across:

1. Half a poverty-to-wealth metaphor: RAGS.  The rest is to riches.

5. Shows affection, dog-style: LICKS.  Happy tonguing.

10. Amt. rarely paid by a car buyer: MSRPManufacturer's Suggester Retail Price.

14. Came down: ALIT.  Landed

15. Puget Sound, e.g.: INLET.  An indentation of a shoreline, usually long and narrow, such as a small bay or arm, that often leads to an enclosed body of salt water, such as a sound, bay, lagoon, or marsh.  Sounds about right.

16. Elevator name: OTIS.  An American company with world wide operations, founded in 1853.

23. P&L part: LOSS.   As opposed to profit

25. Injure badly: MAIM.  Causing permanent damage to a body part.

26. Pay: WAGES.  Fixed regular payments to employees, generally based on an hourly rate.

29. Letters at the end of a proof: QED.  An abbreviation of the Latin words "Quod Erat Demonstrandum" which loosely translated means "that which was to be demonstrated".

32. Fish with a net: TRAWL.

35. German gent: HERR.

36. Stalin-era prisons: GULAGS.  A system of labor camps maintained in the Soviet Union from 1930 to 1955 in which many people died.

38. Green acres: LEA.  A meadow.

39. Some nest egg components: IRASIndividual Retirement Accounts.

40. Only monosyllabic U.S. state: MAINE.  Remember that.

41. Weighty Brit. references: OEDS. Oxford English Dictionaries.   

42. Tease: RIB.  More fun for the ribber than for the ribee.

43. "Ars Poetica" poet: HORACE.  The Art of Poetry is an epistle written in hexameter verse by Horace in CE 19 to the Roman Senator Lucius Calpurnius Piso and his two sons.  It contains about 30 maxims for young poets, but is not a systematic treatise on theory.

44. Craving: URGE.  A strong desire or impulse.

45. Time off: LEAVE.  Authorized absence from duty or employment.

47. From S.F. to Vegas: ESEEast South-East.

48. Aquarium cutie: OTTER.  A playful carnivorous aquatic mammal.

49. Math subj.: CALCulus.  The mathematical study of continuous change.

51. Palm starch: SAGO.  It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas,

64. Forget to include: OMIT.  I left out a comment here.

65. Connoisseur: MAVEN.  An expert or connoisseur.

66. Provide the bank blueprints for, say: ABET.  Encourage or assist someone to commit a crime.

67. Even civil ones aren't friendly: WARS.  Civil here is relating to the state and its citizenry, rather than indicating politeness.  WARS are organized armed conflicts between political entities.

68. Bedding component: SHEET.  a large rectangular piece of cotton or other fabric, used on a bed to cover the mattress and as a layer beneath blankets. 

69. Flu fighters: SERA.  Fluids containing antibodies against a certain disease.

Down:

1. Finn conveyance: RAFT. From The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, an 1885 novel set along the Mississippi River in the anti-bellum American South.

2. Et __: and others: ALIA.  Literal, from Latin.

3. "Atta __!": GIRL.  Exclamation of encouragement and/or recognition of success.

4. Heinz Field NFL team: STEELERS.  Pittsburgh's entry in the National Football League.

5. Grocery shoppers' aids: LISTS.  Memory aids for anyone.

6. Ltd. relative: INC.  Legal definitions for business entities.

7. Refuse to talk, with "up": CLAM.  Act in the manner of a marine bivalve that can tightly close its two-part shell.

8. Didn't give away: KEPT.  Not necessarily HOGGED, but maybe.

9. Iron output: STEAM.  Here, the iron is a household device for removing the wrinkles from clothing, not the metal of the same name.   The steam helps.

10. Angora goat fabric: MOHAIR.  Why doesn't this come from Mos?

11. Severe weather warning: STORM ALERT. Self explanatory.

12. Latvian capital: RIGA. It is set on the Baltic Sea at the mouth of the River Daugava.

13. Sibilant "Hey!": PSST.   [Presumably] subtle manner of getting a person's attention.

18. First chimp in orbit: ENOS.  He was the second chimp launched into space, achieving 2 orbits of the earth on Nov. 29, 1961

22. "Peanuts" word of frustration: RATS.   Often uttered by the often frustrated Charlie Brown. 

26. Pirouette: WHIRL.  Spin. More specifically, an act of spinning on one foot, typically with the raised foot touching the knee of the supporting leg.

27. Elevated dwelling: AERIE.  A large nest of a bird of prey, typically built high in a tree or on a cliff.

28. "Sit, sit": GRAB A CHAIR.  Take a load off.

30. Sports bureau co-founder Al or Walter: ELIAS.  This company, founded in 1913 provides sports statistics to newspapers, magazines, websites, and broadcasters covering MLB, NBA and NHL broadcasts.

33. Golfer's "pitching" club: WEDGE.  A club with a more steeply slanted face than a 9 iron, designed to hit the ball with more loft.

34. Surgical cutter: LASER.  one of many such tools, and one of many such uses.

36. Controversial crop alteration, for short: GMOGenetically Modified Organism.  These are designed at the cellular level to enhance certain properties, such as resistance to certain pests or pesticides.

37. "Golly!": GEE.  Gosh.

41. Too tired to go further: OUT OF GAS.  Too pooped to participate.

43. Big wheel on a ship: HELM.  The device used to steer the craft, not the person operating it.

46. Gymnast's jumps: VAULTS. These are accomplished by leaping or springing while supporting or propelling oneself with one or both hands or with the help of a pole.

48. Prayer opener: O GOD.  . . . . . Amen.

50. Settles: CALMS.  

52. Contract negotiator: AGENT.  one acting in behalf of another person or a group.

53. Flat-bottomed garbage hauler: SCOW.  A particular type of flat bottomed barge

54. Deep sleep: COMA.  A deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened; fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound; lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle; and does not initiate voluntary actions.

55. Builder who lived to be 950: NOAH.  He built a big boat and filled it with animals.  Then the rains came.

56. Central church part: NAVE.  The central part of a church, intended to hold most of the congregation.

58. Cartoonist Goldberg: RUBE.  Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (1883 – 1970), known as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor.  He is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. 

59. The "E" in DOE: Abbr.: ENERgy.

60. Spanish pronoun: ESTA.

63. Actress Wallace of "E.T.": DEE.  She played the mom.

Not exactly a cake walk, but about right for a Wednesday.

Cool regards!
JzB



40 comments:

OwenKL said...

Let's have a SQUARE DANCE, just our crew!
We'll do it online, how bad can we do?
To allemande left and right,
WHIRL your mouse around the site!
When the REEL is over, we'll all say "Whew!"

Wouldn't it be nice, to see a HULA DANCE?
Oh, how I wish some day to have a chance!
I've an URGE to go
Where the trade winds blow,
And there do a hula to make folks look askance!

OwenKL said...

{B+, B.}

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Woke up to rain (already?) and thought I'd better not wait to get the patio cleared and DW's car in the garage (that's where I workout so was going to wait until after trainer and I met today). Anyway...

Thanks Mike and Joe for the tribute to The Corner's YellowRocks. I only recognized HORA & HULA (and of course the nod to Ballet @26d) as dances.

Thanks for the expo JzB - esp. on FRUG(?). Amanda & Youngest share the same passion.

WOs: Put A in for Apse @56d; TRoWL; SeGO
ESPs: SCHUMANN, HORACE|ELIAS, RUBE (Oh! Him!), ESTA
Fav: liked clues for WARS and SERA - nice way to close out the puzzle.

{A, B+}

FLN - Spitz. I opt'd not to drop $800 + gas cans etc. just yet. Maybe I'll ask Santa for one this year.

I'm going to see if I can get another hour or so of shuteye b/f work starts. Play later.

Cheers, -T

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

I NAiVEly thought it'd be APSE (Hi Anon-T.), and WHIRL began life as TWIRL. Otherwise, this was a clean solve. Saw the circles after I'd finished and concluded that they were circle dances. Nope, SQUARE DANCES (Hi YR.) Thanx, Mike, Joe, and JzB.

Still looks like Laura is headed for the Louisiana/Texas border, close to Rita's track of several years ago. That's about 90 miles away. Some schools have canceled; some folks have evacuated from coastal areas. My Thursday M-o-W route has been canceled. We've got plywood for all the windows that we bought for hurricane Ike back in '08. But unless things change drastically, I don't plan to put 'em up.

Hungry Mother said...

Barely remembered the FRUG, but I didn’t like it back in the day. Almost wrote TRolL instead of TRAWL, but remembered some classic trolling in the Keys with rod and REEL and fighting chair. I also used to troll from my kayak; my biggest catch was a 27 inch redfish (red drum).

Wilbur Charles said...

With STE in place I inked STEeel/STEAM. Yes, I didn't see it as 'output'. But I knew where the old geezer parked that ark. Methuselah had him beat by a few years. Must have been the water.

I immediately wrote 'remit' which just didn't cut it. And misspelled SeGO. But a smooth solve overall. And now you know the CSO I was talking about.

I'll do Thursday's later today. I'm usually further along but I've been running up and back to Dunellon. I'm really bummed about my BMW and it's warranty. An electrical fault caused all the windows to go down just before one of those Florida tempests.

Now Endurance doesn't want to honor the warranty. Fine print.

WC

Lemonade714 said...

We have had a few puzzles where the theme was built around a black square, but this shout out to YR was simply fun. I also enjoyed the reminder of one of our national treasures RUBE GOLDBERG . My brothers and I have attempted to recreate some of the machines described in the comics. My mother was most patient with us.

Angora goat fabric: MOHAIR. Why doesn't this come from Mos?. While I enjoyed this shout out to Chairman Moe, I think we all know he just does not have that much hair.

On a serious note, please be safe all who are in the path of Laura.

Thank you, Mike and Joe. JzB, I enjoyed your write-up and the talent of your granddaughter, but even more your pride in her performance

Anonymous said...

6:32 was needed. Never heard of frug, which is fine because I never saw it in the puzzle itself.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

-T @ 0630. Good luck to you and others on that coast in the coming days.

Good solve today. No searches and no wite-out were needed. Nice theme with a special CSO to YR. In similar circled letter grouping in the past, the start letter would coincide with the corner of its location. Today, these all started at 10 o'clock.
HELM is not a big wheel on todays ships. The helm on the Veendam was real small; maybe a foot in diameter. Some steer with a joystick. "Power steering" and other improvements have made this possible.
HERR also means 'Mister", lord, or master.

Yellowrocks said...

Although this was easy, I was one cell off @ 47 A. I had ENE, but obviously Vegas is south of S.F. DUH! The perp was ELIAS. I thought of ELIAN Gonzales, the Cuban boy who was in an international custody fight in 2000.
A big ATTA GIRL to your granddaughter, Jazz. She's very talented.
WC, how awful your BMW was "drowned" and you can't get any satisfaction.
OKL, that's about the size of it. Square dancing is only online now. Whirling, twirling, sashaying without a partner and the other couples is no fun. At least 50% of the square dancing experience is social and tactile. It will be one of the last activities to return. Dancing shoulder to shoulder or in someone's arms with dozens of hand touches will not be safe.
I am doing well. The first ten days after the accident were very painful. I am doing way better now and started to drive on day 11. I just have to be constantly aware of what moves not to take. I have found three acceptable nearby used cars online. The devil is in the timing.
How did mohair get its name? "Mohair, animal-hair fibre obtained from the Angora goat and a significant so-called specialty hair fibre. The word mohair is derived from the Arabic mukhayyar (“goat's hair fabric”), which became mockaire in medieval times." - Britannica

ATLGranny said...

Good Wednesday to all and thanks to Mike and Joe for today's puzzle. Like Desper-otto I thought we were looking at circle dances at first. FRUG was unknown to me, even tho I was a dancing queen in those days (before DH and children). And Wilbur, I too started out assuming it was the metal iron, not my infrequently used appliance.

Thanks, JazzB for your helpful explanations, which also...sigh... pointed out the error of my ways today: EnE and ELIAn. Not noticed in time so FIW. Can I blame my sketchy geographic knowledge?

Thinking of you all in harm's way. And more healing wishes to Abejo and YR. Be safe everyone.

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Major CSO to YR for having a theme of her favorite pastime! Three cheers for Kathy! I saw Reel right away but Hora and Frug were slow to parse because I forgot the revealer was Square Dances. Sometimes I wonder where my brain meanders off to. I needed perps for Elias and Schumann but my only w/o was Troll/Trawl. I learned many fishing-related terms from my husband whose passion was fishing. I liked the duos of QED/OED(s); Clam/Calm, Gee/Dee, and semi-sound alikes, Trawl and Whirl. I also appreciated the low three letter word count.

Thanks, Mike and Joe, for a mid-week treat and thanks, JzB, for a fun, informative summary. I enjoyed the foot-stomping, infectious Step in Time music and dance, especially the irrepressible Dick Van Dyke. I also enjoyed Amanda’s performance; she’s very graceful and talented.

To all those in Laura’s path, stay safe.

Have a great day.

OMaxiN said...

Thought SF to LV was sSE. Shoudda looked at a map.
Thanks Mike and Paul.
JzB ...wow!
MO

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-The day the new vehicles come out the ad reads, “Thousands off MSRP”
-This was the time of year I calculated my P & L from my summer company
-It’s a short hop from teasing to harassment
-My grocery shopping aid is an iPhone so I can “face time” Joann to see if I am getting the right thing. Turns out that Miracle Whip is not a suitable substitute for Cool Whip.
-We have a HEAT ALERT for Thursday and so I told the group I will not join them for a round starting at noon with a forecasted 110F heat index
-My 80-yr-old partner ran OUT OF GAS on the back nine yesterday but slogged on. Not smart
-The first chimp in space was HAM and he even made this magazine cover
-Your golf score depends much more on WEDGE play than the driver
-O GOD...
-Wonderful dance videos, Jazz! Did she inherit that flexibility from her grandfather?

inanehiker said...

Fun theme with all those DANCES in SQUAREs on the puzzle even though none of them are danced in SQUAREs! Although REELs are often danced at square dances! I remember them dancing the FRUG and other similar dances on "Laugh-In". Thought of YR - hope she can get back to square dancing in 2021!
With P & L - I first thought of Power & Light - as that was the utility company when I was growing up - but perps changed that to Profits & LOSS. Perps to the rescue also when STEEL became STEAM from the iron!

Nice morning off - but going to spend it at the dentist- sounds like a blast!

Thanks JzB and Mike & Joe!

Vidwan827 said...

Thank you Joe and Mike for a doable and enjoyable puzzle, and I got the squares. Wow.
Thank you Jazzbumpa for your lovely blog and your granddaughter's dedicated talent video.

I was confused, a little, by Finn conveyance, RAFT, ... I thought of the people in Finland, and I would swear they used a SLED. Do they have that many fjords. And what about Viking ships ?
Also confused by Iron Output ... STEAM. I worked in an Iron Blast Furnace, one summer, and they produced a steel precursor, pig iron, slag and yes, a lot of steam as well. I havent used our household appliance, lately, so it entirely escaped my thoughts.

CSO to YR, Hope you're improving. Sympathies.
Also Abejo, hope you are improving, and managing this unfortunate circumstances. Sympathies.

oc4beach said...


Since I use the Merriam-Webster site, there are no circles so I didn't get the theme. Not a speed run today, but a reasonable amount of time taken to fill in all the clues and then to go back and fix the incorrect ones.

It was an enjoyable puzzle by Mike and Joe, and JzB added the insight needed to understand the puzzle.

My changes were:

SEINE to TRAWL. A SEINE is a particular type of hanging fishing net whereas a TRAWL is a different type of net that is dragged behind a fishing boat.

TETRA to OTTER. I don't recall seeing Otters in an aquarium but maybe at a ZOO. My aquarium was only 20 gallons, so I don't think they would have fit, but I'll bet they would have eaten the TETRAs.

SCHUBERT to SCHUMANN

SIXSHOOTER to LOADED GUNS.

DUVET to SHEET. It seems that everybody has to have fancy bedding these days, hence the DUVET.

I've never paid the MSRP for a car, but I have a friend who paid over the MSRP for a brand new MIATA when they first came out because they were hard to get. He was very happy with it for only a short time until he found that he had bought a lemon. (no offense meant, LEM714)

I hope all who are in the path of Laura stay safe and sound.

Have a great day and please wear your masks.

Shankers said...

Anon @ 8:02 a great time for this puzzle. It was going as fast as a Monday for me until reaching the SW, then just a little sticky. Had kid before rib, trig before calc and sussed maven. Iron output was my favorite clue. Paid no attention at all to the circles. Didn't know that Noah was such a geezer. As my favorite Bible teacher advises not everything needs to be taken literally in scripture, rather sometimes literarily.

Old Okie said...

Another fairly easy puzzle today, I live in Oklahoma, but the only time I ever went to a square dance was in Long Beach California. Back when I was a kid al I heard about was California, how great it was, three years of it and I was back home. TOOO many people out there, bumper to bumper traffic. where I live, I can throw a rock in any direction and it lands on MY property. Best thing, I can still go out in my back yard and PEE .
Wife is not happy about it at all, but she has been married to me for 56 years so she should be used to it.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

This was a challenge...FIR but many missteps and misunderstandings. Thought iron out-put was STEel but that wouldn’t work with NOAH’s MT ARARAT. (btw...why did fish get a pass?). Should know that a crossword scalpel has commonly been replaced with a LASER. Had tetra for OTTER thinkIng of an aquarium as a home for fish: a bowl or glass box full of water. Guess the meaning here was a building. Another inkover: SCHUbert/ MANN. Today it’s ALIA not Ali. Still don’t understand when it’s ESTA or esto.

Did they serve yesterday’s (cold by now) goulash in GULAGS? Was going to give twirl a WHIRL but perp walked it.

Flu SERA, a hot topic. Didn’t know the first space chimp’s name. ENOS is usually “biblically” clued. I’m sure it’s popped up before now. Learning SQUAREDANCES was an annual gym class ritual in HS with reluctant adolescent couples forced together. Calls by the enthusiastic PE teacher and western music on a record player. But we eventually paid attention and had fun.

Not so much fun:

Old balding lion complains he’s losing his______ .... MAINE.

Mr. Ed’s real name ....... HORACE.

Alabama fisherman with a southern______ TRAWL.

Thom McAnn hiree ........ SCHUMANN.

Lost my phone somewhere in the house with ringer turned off.....arrggg

Lemonade714 said...

oc4beach, that is kind of you, but I was not offended. After all, they say when life gives you a lemon, make lemonade!

GULAG INFORMATION includes some disturbing pitures which remind me of the similar sounding STALAG from Nazi Germany.

NaomiZ said...

Today's puzzle was an enjoyable FIR for me, and the theme actually helped in the lower half, where FR__ gave me FRUG, and HU__ gave me HULA, helping me out with COAL and LOADED GUNS. Thanks, Mike and Joe, for the puzzle, and JzB for a great explication.

Jazzbumpa said...

Hi, Gang --

Re: Amanda -- she's actually Gloria's granddaughter, but we play nice and share. All the grands call me Bumpa.

Amanda finished all the requirements for her dance degree in Spring, '19. Then she got a gig on a Disney cruise ship that set sail at the beginning of the year. That got cut short, of course.

She's home now and will finish her other major, kinesiology, in the fall.

Cool regards,
JzB

Misty said...

Delightful Wednesday crossword, Mike and Joe--many thanks! I almost thought I might have gotten the whole thing, but 'twas not to be. But I loved the SQUARE DANCE theme and got all the circles, even though I had never heard of FRUG. And what a pleasure to see Dick Van Dyke doing that crazy "Step in Time" dance again in "Mary Poppins." And as an extra treat to also see Amanda dancing. Many thanks for all that, JazzB.

Put in SCHUBERT before I got SCHUMANN. Had to laugh when that 950 year old builder turned out to be NOAH. But I sadly didn't get TRAWL because I put TROUT--I just saw "Fish" as a noun and not a verb, though I should have wondered why a trout needed a net.

Loved your poem, Owen, many thanks! Did you put in ASKANCE in memory of a puzzle a few days ago?

Stay safe if you are in a STORM ALERT area, and have a good day, everybody.

anonymous said...

Ham did not go into orbit . He went up and came down
in 16 minutes.

Enos was first chimp in orbit.

Wilbur Charles said...

Right after O GOD I got Rickles at the Reagan inaug. Google thinks I like DR but he was funny that night. No PC to worry about in 1981.

Duh, even after jazzb's write-up I just got the (Huck) 'Finn' conveyance. I too thought it pertained to Finnish water transport.

WC

Lucina said...

My post disappeared!

I'll just have to come back another time to repost! Good puzzle! Great commentary!

WikWak said...

Fun! Not sure why, exactly, but I really enjoyed this one. Caught the SO to Yellowrocks right away.

HG, have you tried it the other way ‘round? Cool Whip might not be that bad on a peanut butter and pickle sandwich...

Today is a beautiful day. *

OTTERs are my favorite animals.

That ‘Finn on a raft took me waaay too long to suss. Like Vidwan827, I was thinking Scandinavia, not Missouri.

FIR in average time or maybe just a bit quicker. Thanks to Mike and Joe for the puzzle and especially to Jazz, whose efforts I always greatly enjoy.

*If by ‘beautiful’ you mean 3-digit temperatures.

Ol' Man Keith said...

Thanks, JzB! I enjoyed Amanda's smart, graceful dancing. Disney was getting a bargain. Too bad the cruise was cut short.

This seemed a worthy humpday pzl. Just a little chewy.

I didn't bother checking in on the theme until after I was done. Then it was easy to spot the dances.
~ OMK

Bill G said...

Hi everybody.

I put in a Prairie Home Companion CD in my car while I was running an errand yesterday. I am really enjoying it. I feel bad that Garrison Keillor has fallen from favor. Maybe he deserves it but maybe not. We don't know what really happened since none of us was there. In any case, it's a sad situation.

~ Mind how you go...and wear a mask.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Late to the Dance, once again but at least my desk at the office is almost clear of papers.

So many thoughts triggered by today's FIR 7:02 puzzle:

Does anyone here remember RAGS the Tiger? He was a pal of Crusader Rabbit. Jay Ward of Rocky and Bullwinkle fame was responsible for the characters, and the show, which is credited as being the first made-for-television cartoon show. Of course, as children at the time, who knew?

MT ARARAT is often clued as being in Turkey. This is not well received by many Armenians. Today's puzzle sidestepped the issue by referring to the Ark. Then, later on, NOAH himself dropped by.

It was good to see both the HORA and MAVEN in a puzzle. Todah rabah.

Placing the OTTER in an aquarium seems overly confining to me.

I was helping a friend head down the marijuana home-grow rabbit hole last week. Seems that a lot of folks abhorrence of GMO is completely suspended when they learn about Feminized, Self Germinating and Auto Flowering seeds.

It was unsettling to see STORM ALERT in the puzzle today, of all days. Art reflecting life once again.

desper-otto said...

Malodorous Manatee, I remember Crusader Robot from my ute. There was also a serial titled I Tobor (Tobor, of course is "robot" spelled backwards.) which aired back in the '50s. I preferred those shows to Bishop Fulton J. Sheen which was the only other thing we could receive at the 6:15 PM hour. We only got two channels in those days. The third channel didn't appear until '58 or thereabouts.

LEO III said...

Hi, everyone! FIR today.

I started it this morning and got most of it done, but then I decided I’d better get outside and tackle the loose stuff before the storm hits. My roommate (born and raised in Filthydelphia --- her word, not mine) kept saying that “THEY” are saying that it isn’t going to be as bad in the Houston area as “THEY” had originally predicted. I kept saying “THEY” are in Atlanta and Miami, and “THEY” don’t have any skin in the game! Therefore, I cleaned up the outside and stowed what needed to be stowed in the garage (which I had sorta, kinda just cleaned out so that MY car would fit! It spent exactly ONE night there.) Anyway, I’m as ready as I’m going to be. Lost a couple of arguments about some stuff on the patio, but it should be OK. The BEST part is that about half the stuff that went into the garage for safety will be out on the curb Saturday morning for heavy trash pickup day, rather than returning to its previous location junking up the patio! Ain’t hurricanes fun???

Usually, our biggest problem is the electricity. We can have a power outage with a moderate thunderstorm. A few years ago, the transformer nearest the house was replaced, and everything worked fine. Had a storm recently, and BOOM! The power was out for two or three hours. I am seriously considering getting a generator.

Back to the puzzle. Another reason I quit to work outside was because I had a couple of brain freezes. Luckily, after the break, I was able to easily finish it. As usual, I didn’t know some of the proper names, but perps came to the rescue again.

Which crystal ball did Rich and Mike and Joe use to slip STORMALERT into today’s puzzle???

Thanks for all the good wishes. I just saw on The Weather Channel that they have sent Paul Goodloe down to Galveston, and Jen Carvagno has replaced him here in Houston, which is a very good omen. They would never put HER in any real danger!!!

Jim Cantore is STILL in Lake Charles, though!

Jayce said...

I liked this puzzle, JazzBumpa's write-up, and all your comments.

Malodorous Manatee said...

That wasn't much of a choice, d-o. It reminded me of when I was living near Santa Barbara in the early 70's. There was a single TV station. KEYT. You either got the news on TV from Bill Huddy or listened to the radio. The local newspaper wasn't much. Huddy was supposedly the inspiration for Ron Burgundy.

I just solved CC's USA Today puzzle "Inside Seating". I don't know if it is today's (Wednesday) puzzle or tomorrow's because I regularly confuse my tablet by telling it that it is presently located in various far-reaching parts of the world. In any event, the puzzle was a joy to solve because it tested a broad range of knowledge.

Anonymous T said...

ATLGranny - I was over with WC thinkin' of all the steam produced at the plant. V-8!

Old Okie - DW hangup - I slip behind the garage to water the lawn.

All this "Oh, Huck Finn" made me think of Lil' Rush.

MManatee - thanks for the heads-up on C.C.'s puzzle. Something to do while waiting for the STORM.

LEOIII - LOL purging after finally cleaning up for the Hurricane.
//Pop always said, "Three moves equals one fire." :-)

Looks like Laura turned even more. Just thunderstorms for most of us in Houston. D-O will get it worse than us 'cuz he's on the other side of I-45 but it will still be less than what we expected and peanuts to what's about to hit Lake Charles.

Y'all in Louisiana, stay safe!

Cheers, -T

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Mike and Joe, and JazzB.
Late to the party today because I needed to can some of those tomatoes from my garden. (Salsa will be next week)
I finished this CW in good time, got the SQUARE DANCE theme (and thought of YR), and like inanehiker, realized that "the dances were in squares on the puzzle". Clever!

But hand up for having ENE instead of ESE. At least I am joined by some Americans in being directionally challenged! (And the cross with the unknown to me ELIAS did not help!)
Another hand up for wanting Schubert before SCHUMANN.
Third hand up for thinking of Finn as Finnish and wanting Sled. Oh, Huck Finn!

DH looked at the CW before me and entered WEDGE. "You would have asked me anyway", he said as he handed me the newspaper.

I always see-saw between Sego, Sega and SAGO, but I waited for a perp and got NAVE.

I smiled to see Mt ARARAT and then NOAH . . . plus STORM ALERT (yes, prescient for today), but I was also associating it with Noah' See Genesis 6:11 - "I’m about to flood the earth with water and destroy every living thing that breathes. Everything on earth will die." That's the ultimate storm alert! An O GOD prayer might be appropriate here also.

Stay safe out there.

Abejo said...

Good evening, folks. Thank you, Mike Peluso, for a fine puzzle. Thank you, Jazzbumpa, for a fine review.

Puzzle went easily. Liked it. The theme came through. Good one.

Liked seeing AERIE in the puzzle again.

All good seeing QED again. I like that Latin phrase.

Seeing RUBE Goldberg was great! One of my personal heroes.

Thank you, Vidwan for your good words for me. I still am not feeling well at all. When I can start eating again, I will be happy.

See you tomorrow.

Abejo

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Chairman Moe said...

Lemonade714 @ 7:45 —> thanks for the CSO. I live by the old adage the God created only so many perfect heads, and the rest ... well, I’m glad I don’t need any MOE HAIR to cover mine!

Anonymous T said...

Abejo - I hope you read FLN... I'm wishing you God Speed Brother.

C, Eh! - always love readin' you. Tonight, your last paragraph nailed sub-theme :-)

C. Moe! Does that mean you still have a full head o' MO-HAIR? :-)
//Mine is nearing a young Keanu Reeves [oh, that's such a French (Cajun?) Canadian 1st name :-)]
////anyone else looking forward to the new Bill & Ted?

I waited up for any remnants of Laura. Nothing but normal Houston heat & humidity.
Hoping our Louisiana Cornerites are fairing well.

Cheers, -T