google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Thursday, April 29, 2021 George Jasper

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Apr 29, 2021

Thursday, April 29, 2021 George Jasper

I reckon' that George Jasper has been ramblin' thru these parts at least since July 10, 2017 (blogged by our beloved Argyle) and today George treats us to a word scramble about Western drifters.
 

Tumbling Tumbleweed
By The Sons of the Pioneers


 We'll start with the reveal ...

58. Drifters in some Western scenes ... and a hint to what's hidden in the three other longest puzzle answers: TUMBLEWEEDS.  And here are the scrambled answers

17. Wrongly-named winner in a 1948 headline: THOMAS DEWEY.  I remember it well - I was 17 months old at the time. And the real winner was HARRY S TRUMAN, and as we all know, the S doesn't stand for anything:
 


28. To the point: SHORT AND SWEET.  For example

Scottish Shortbread

44. Teamwork-inspiring motto: UNITED WE STANDThis timely phrase has been used by countless statesmen and leaders throughout US history.  It originally dates back to AESOP's fable of the The Four Oxen and the Lion.

Across:
1. Yanks' NL counterparts, on scoreboards: NYM.  The New York Mets play in Citi Field:


4. Looks at phone pics, say: SCROLLS.  Technology has appropriated this term from the period dating back to Biblical times.  Its most iconic usage was in the scrolls used to record the PENTATEUCH, the Jewish Old Testament.  But it is much more than that.

11. Stew ingredient: PEA.

14. Remote battery size: AAA.  This is the rest of them ...

15. Pedicure focus: TOENAIL.  Commonly thought of as a purely cosmetic procedure, but they are also an important aspect of healthy foot care.  They even rate their own entry in WebMd.

16. Burning: LIT.

19. MD treating canals: ENTEar Nose and Throat.  A clecho with 35D.

20. Rival of ancient Athens: CORINTH.  The city dates back to the Neolithic era and has been a center of East-West trade since the historical era.  St. Paul taught there, and the city was invaded by the Turks in 1715, an event depicted in Rossini's tragic opera, The Siege of Corinth.  Here's the overture led by Georg Solti (10 min):

21. Remove from its box: UNCASE.  Not exactly common usage.

23. Use a block and tackle on: HOIST. My first ceramic studio was on the back porch on the 3rd story of a big frame house.  I used one of these to haul several tons of clay and supplies up to it:
 
Block and tackle

24. Egg head?: OVI.  Plural of eggs?  I don't get it.  A CSO to someone who does.

27. Bridge positions: EASTS.  Hands up from those who had HANDS first.

31. "That's __-brainer!": A NO

32. "Exodus" novelist: URIS.  This the modern EXODUS of Holocaust survivors to found the modern state of Israel.  But it has obvious parallels to the 2nd Book of the PENTATEUCH (see 4A).

33. Common game piece: DIE.  Plural DICE:
Snake Eyes!

34. Floppy: LIMP.  Remember these?
 
Floppy Disks (8", 5.25", 3.5"

37. Felt under the weather: AILED.

39. Spy in "Spectre" (2015): BOND.  Daniel Craig and co-star Léa Seydoux.


40. "Skylanding" artist: ONO.   Yoko installed this sculpture in Jackson Park, Chicago in 2016 to promote World Peace and US-Japanese relations:
 

41. Record concern: BLOT.

42. Pique condition?: IRE.

48. Plant anew: RESOW.  While this won't work for all vegetables, early spring crops like lettuce, spinach, and radishes can be RESOWN in the Fall.  All of this depends on the vegetable and what US "hardiness zone" you're in. For those interested, I have Word file with an extensive chart of veggies with Spring/Fall planting dates for Maryland (zones 5b-8a) plus lots of other info from Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening.  If you'd like a copy, send me an email to the address in my profile.

49. Fleet VIP: ADM.

50. Cutlass model: CIERA.

53. Stella __: Belgian brew: ARTOIS.  I would have taken you to their website, but under-aged Cornerites would not be admitted. 
 

55. College member: ELECTOR. Nice misdirection.  George is talking about this college, much in the news the past year.

57. Minute: WEEWEE was the clue for SMA (Scots' slang) in the last puzzle I blogged.

61. PC linkup: LAN.  Local Area Network.  Used for PC communications confined to a "local area", e.g. a single building.  They use either ETHERNET (connected via wires) or WIFI (connected via "radio waves").  The former is faster and more reliable, but the latter is much more flexible and easier to set up. 

62. Zagreb's country: CROATIACroatia is just across the Adriatic from Italy:
 


63. Musk of Tesla, e.g.: CEO.  A visionary and one of the richest men in the world.  However IMHO he has far too much unchecked power.  For example the world-wide STARLINK data network he is building using fast moving low-level satellites is ruining the night sky for astronomers; and his plan to "terraform" Mars to make it suitable for colonization is pure science fiction fantasy.  I'd welcome it if he goes on the first trip!

64. Yearbook sect.: SRS.

65. It's usually inadmissible: HEARSAY.

66. Truck weight unit: TON.

Down:
1. "You betcha!": NATCH.  Naturally!

2. Google rival: YAHOO.  The creators of this site were apparently unaware that the term was originally the name of  'the crude, dirty “brutes” of the land of the Houyhnhnms' ('win ims') in Gulliver's Travels, by JONATHAN SWIFT: "The YAHOOS are irrational people and represent the worst side of humanity. By contrast, the wise and gentle Houyhnhnms, their masters, are rational horses and represent humanity at its best."

3. New Zealand natives: MAORISPolynesian settlers to New Zealand in the first half of the 14th Century.

4. Two-time NL home run leader Giancarlo: STANTON.  Formerly known as Mike Stanton, here's Giancarlo in action.


5. Damage, so to speak: COST.

6. On a big streak: RED HOT.

7. Capital __: ONE.

8. Saul's field in "Better Call Saul": LAW.

9. Stead: LIEU.  All those luscious vowels!

10. Cunning: SLYNESS.  The legendary slyness of the fox goes all the way back to several fables of  AESOP (see 22D below).  My favorite treatment of the wily fox is a fairy tale opera by Leoš Janáček about a fox named "Sharp-Ears" in The Cunning Little Vixen.  We saw a CGI enhanced performance of this in Cleveland a few years back and it was absolutely stunning:
 
 
11. "Be my guest!": PLEASE DO.

12. Relatively famous physicist?: EINSTEIN.  Nice misdirection.

13. Bore witness: ATTESTED.

18. Minor accident: MISHAP.

22. Cornfield cry: CAW.  One of them must have dropped her cheese:
 
25. Leapt: VAULTED.

26. Legal memo opener: IN RE.

29. "Fantastic Mr. Fox" author Dahl: ROALD.  A children's story, made into a stop motion animated feature film with an all star cast (George Clooney, Merrill Streep, etc.), directed by Wes Anderson in 2009. 

30. "Ta-da!": DID IT.

34. "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" crooner: LOU RAWLS (December 1, 1933 – January 6, 2006) was an American record producer, singer, composer and actor.  The song was released in 1966 on the album, The Legendary Lou Rawls
 

35. Where peripheral vertigo originates: INNER EAR.  A popular place.  This answer was in the last puzzle I blogged, clued with "Cochlea site".  See also 19A

36. Bastes, as turkey: MOISTENS.

38. Original site of golf's John Deere Classic: IOWAThe John Deere Classic is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour. It is now played annually in July, the week before the British Open, at TPC Deere Run in the Quad Cities community of Silvis, Illinois.
 
39. "No arguing!": BE NICE.

41. Cast a spell on: BEWITCH.

43. IndyCar venue: RACEWAY.

45. In addition: TOO.

46. Silvery food fish: SMELTSA tiny fish which is reportedly good eating:
 

47. Learn about: DETECT.

51. "Not my first __!": RODEO.  Surprisingly this meme allegedly originated in the 1981 bio-pic "Mommie Dearest" about the life of Joan Crawford, starring Faye Dunaway.  The scene actually takes place in a Pepsi-cola board room meeting, where  Crawford has replaced her recently deceased husband.  The Board is trying to  remove Crawford, who is proving difficult, but she stands her ground in a profanity laced rant that ends with "This ain’t my first time at the rodeo!".  This scene is likely fictional, but the meme stuck and later became the basis for a CW song by Vern Godin:
 

52. Burning desire?: ARSON.

54. "Fine with me": SURE.

56. "Star Wars" princess: LEIA.  I think this is the one that started it all: a hologram projected by the Droid R2D2.  As this is a family blog I couldn't use a lot of the newer ones.


59. Extinct emu-like bird: MOA.  The inclusion of this clue must have been intentional, as these birds became extinct within a few hundred years of the arrival of the first MAORI settlers in New Zealand (see 3D above).  Prior to their arrival, the MOA's only natural enemy was the HAASTS EAGLE, shown here attacking a pair of the birds:
 

60. Stout server: BAR.  They really know how to serve it here:
 

Here's the grid:

waseeley

Cheers,
Bill





63 comments:

  1. (Fitzhaproy "Hap" E. Phace is a pen name I put on my raciest poems.)

    Fitzhaproy E. Phace has a lucky cap
    He NATCH ATTESTED kept him from MISHAP.
    When he was DETECTED
    The LAW rejected,
    And any bullets would always miss "Hap"!

    UNITED WE STAND is the unionist's screed.
    That is their tenet, that is their creed!
    It's SHORT AND SWEET
    And hard to beat,
    And keeps on rolling like a TUMBLEWEED!

    {B-, B+.}

    ReplyDelete
  2. OwenKL @3:42am
    {A+,A+} Owen, your poem brought back fond memories of an acquaintance, once removed (I knew his mother), of stellar artists who worked for the Baltimore Sun in the late 20th and early 21st Century. His name was Charles R. Hazard and he drew pen and ink illustrations about the life of the city. When he joined the Sun staff, his colleagues couldn't resist hanging the moniker "Hap" on him, thereafter referring to him as "Hap Hazard". Charles died in 2018 at the age of 70. Here is a portfolio of his illustrations.. His mother Stella, who was a member of my parish, was a world class illustrator, oil painter, and medical illustrator, who died at the age of 104. She was the first woman to hold the position of art editor for the Sun.

    Thanks for the memories!
    Bill

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  3. P.S. "Hap"'s illustrations are best viewed on a full screen monitor (e.g. on a laptop or desktop computer).

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good morning!

    My early morning brain just couldn't parse L_URAWLS -- WAGged an "A" resulting in LAURA WLS -- maybe she was from Chicago? DNF. Hands up if you've ever seen one of those A23 batteries. Didn't think so. Thanx, George and Waseeley. ("OVI" is a prefix (head) indicating eggs.)

    LIMP "floppy" disks: My first computer had three 5-1/4" floppy drives -- one for the operating system, one for the program, and one for data storage -- 300K total. I wrote a primitive word-processing app that dw used to write her thesis.

    YAHOO: Ran into one Monday on a M-o-W route. The YAHOO said, "How dare you wear a mask onto my property!" Can't relate the rest of the conversation, because it got heatedly political.

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  5. Finished in 7:29, despite not seeing the weeds.

    I originally put "behave" instead of "be nice," but "elector" and "stand" cleared the way.

    It's been a long time since I've the name, or the music of, Lou Rawls.

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  6. FIR, but 24 across is a mystery to me as well. WTF?

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  7. 1917? I didn't realize Argyle was that old.

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  8. 24A Egg head? Refers to the prefix "ovi-" which heads up words like oviduct (fallopian tube) and oviposit (to lay an egg).

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  9. Quick and easy puzzle - definitely needed the reveal clue to look for the WEEDS in the other long answers!

    They have that famous picture of Truman in his presidential library in Independence, MO

    Learning moment today was what a "block-and-tackle" is- I thought it was one of those pieces of equipment that football players use in practice(actually called a blocking sled)- bzzt! But HOIST was easily perpable - and thanks Bill for the pic. I've seen those before, but just thought it was a complex pulley system!

    Thanks Bill and George!

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  10. Yes, a nice easy Thursday!

    My favorite clue/answer (and the last to fill): Burning Desire? ARSON

    Also the theme TUMBLEWEEDS. Great use of that!

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  11. Musings
    -George’s puzzle was very engaging and challenging in places
    -Truman’s amazing victory gives every politician who is down in the polls hope
    -Three-letter obscure music artist – ENO/ONO
    -I rewatched Angels and Demons last week. It deals with the college of cardinals acting as ELECTORS after the death of a pope but it gets complicated
    -Judge Judy dismisses HEARSAY evidence in a heartbeat
    -PLEASE ME as in Please, Please Me didn’t cut it
    -LOU RAWLS – I couldn’t let go of LAURA _ _ _ for a long time
    -A few rides on the big roller coasters will get your INNER EAR stirred up
    -FORE!

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  12. In re today's theme and song:

    The Dude abides

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  13. Easy puzzle. I figured anagrams of WEED would be the theme, but I didn't look for them. Bill, interesting expo.
    Bridge positions in crosswords are almost always either EAST or WEST. I wait for one of the first two letters to fill it in.
    I actually say, "Not my first rodeo," sometimes. Many people seemed surprised at this, new to them, expression.
    YOU BETCHA brings to mind Sarah Palin. I was very surprised the first time I heard her drop the dialect and speak in standard English.
    I am going to the podiatrist tomorrow. I need monitoring every two months because I have diabetes, so I have my TOENAILs trimmed there. I can bend my leg to get my foot on my knee, but I can't rotate the foot to the right angle to do it myself. I've given up on nail salons.
    I liked relatively famous physicist/Einstein.
    Only STANTON and IOWA were new to me. Perps to the rescue. IOWA was easily sussed. A perp or two brought everything else to mind.
    My parents were into the news on radio and there was always much discussion of it in our home while I was growing up. Even though I was in grammar school I remember much about WW II from my childhood. I also remember the Dewey/Truman upset, though I was less than two months from being 10. My parents were for Dewey.
    I agree with Tony Express @7:47. IMO the head of words referring to EGG is the prefix OVI, not obscure or a stretch at all. The clue, though, is a pun on egghead and a misdirection.

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  14. Well, the good streak continues: FIR today! (FLN thanks for noticing, TTP) We'll see what tomorrow brings.

    A couple of WOs. HOIST after perps nixed raISe, EASTS after mASTS. ADM took a minute to connect with ships and my ignorance about car models led me to alERA before CIERA. THE TUMBLEWEEDS reveal was clever and helpful for finding the WEEDS. Fun puzzle with interesting words, George. Thanks! Thanks to you too, waseeley, for a fine review. I knew it was your day when you mentioned your ceramic studio!

    Off to PT appointment soon. Hope you all have a wonderful day!

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  15. FLN: My apologies to anyone who was irked by my comment on yesterday's xword. I didn't see the full explication of all uses of "air" against the 3-part theme entries in the blog exposition when I first read it. Either that was ammended later, or I was just down a brain cell or two when I first read it. Probably the latter! I was certainly not trying to steal anyone's thunder; just (attempting to) add to the exposition :) Have a great day, everyone.

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  16. Good morning. Thank you, George Jasper, and thank you, waseeley !

    TUMBLEWEEDS can be a royal pain and hard to deal with ! Get a long poled pitchfork.
    SHORT AND SWEET answers are often preferable to terse answers, especially when the latter are unduly.
    NY Mets - I solved a crossword a week or so ago and the clue was "Met someone" with eleven letters to fill.
    The clue for EINSTEIN was may fav today.
    HOIST - There some amazing videos showing trees being uprooted using the mechanical advantage of block and tackle. Bill, where was your kiln when you had that third floor ceramics shop ?
    8" floppy disks - I loaded and updated many a system using those way back when. In the waning days of the 3.5" diskette, I ordered 10 from the company supply room. They sent me 10 boxes of 10 each.
    Stella ARTOIS - Should always be served in a chalice or tulip goblet. Different beers take different glasses. Stouts, such as Guinness may be served in a BAR but they should be served in a stout glass.
    ATLGranny has been on a RED HOT streak of FIRs.
    Didn't know the song, but guessed LOU RAWLS after a few letters.
    The TPC Deere Run is just a few hours west of me. Would love to play it.
    Bill, do you like cucumber ? If so, you might like smelt.


    Today we had both "MD treating canals" ENT, and "Where peripheral vertigo originates" INNER EAR Plus, Bill mentions cochlea. DW went to the ENT a week ago after having constant droning in her right ear. She said it's like a loud lawnmower running in the yard next door. Anyway, as I understand it, the ENT suspects an infection in the Eustachian tube and put her on a regimen of prednisone, followed by an MRI if req'd. I shouldn't have said, "It's all in your head" as she didn't see any humor in that. At all.


    FLN OAS, Seeds ordered. We haven't tried collecting the Zinnia seeds. We didn't plant any last year, either. A neighbor collected seeds from many of our different Echinacea a couple of years ago but I haven't seen they came up for her. Just fine, I suppose.

    Dash T - "All Summer Long" is the only Kid Rock song I know.

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  17. Good morning everyone.

    A very nice fresh puzzle today. Only (partial) erasure was I had Alero before CIERA. Overlooked the theme today. Liked seeing VAULTED square in the middle of the puzzle. Also liked the triple-nested 8 ltr downs. We had both LIEU and LEIA. Bit of a kiwi flavor with MOA and MAORIS. BZ for a good job.
    SMELTS - There was a bar in Buffalo (Darone's) that we would go to for fried SMELTS. Served with celery and a special sour-cream dip.
    LIT - The Navy uses 'lighted; as the past tense (Both are grammatically acceptable) when describing boiler operations. (Lighted fires under #3 boiler may be a log entry.)

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  18. As previously commented, a fitting Thursday puzzle that was easy in places and challenging in other places. Overall, I, too, thought that the vocabulary that George employed was refreshing (with only a few "old war horses"). Thanks, Bill, for a great recap and for opening with The Sons of the Pioneers. Cool Water and Tumbling Tumbleweeds both hold spots on my top 100 playlist.

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  19. A quick Thursday SHORTANDSWEET...one inkover: unpack/UNCASE, uncase you were wondering....(was Thomas Dewey-eyed once he was realized what happened? 😪)

    The theme? Meh... didn't get it..my brain looked like the quick tumbleweed video provided in the blog.

    OVI? What? It's ovum singular and ova pleural (italian: uovo/uova). I see as DO points out it's egg as the head of a word, a prefix like oviparous..

    Did Elon Musk have a brother Leo? Oh...CEO!

    MOA...RHEA...BIG BIRD...EMU?..."Samantha, BENICE and BEWITCH Gladys Kravitz (Abner!!!)"

    Always ask for a "Stella" when out to dinner in memory of Mom..

    Darn it now I'll have to ____ RESOW.
    Grounded airline slogan. " _____" UNITEDWESTAND.
    Owe, with "be"....INNEREAR.
    Didn't drink lager....AILED.
    Took the SATs....ATTESTED.

    We informed the contractors building the new hospital in Utica who never consulted with us that the 3T MRI that weight about 15,000 lbs should be in a room with an outer wall for easy access and replacement and not deep within the department according to his blueprints. His reponse? "Not my first RODEO"

    Great job WazBilly...

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  20. Good Morning:

    My kind of puzzle: a well-hidden theme with an Aha reveal. The themers were so unrelated that I had absolutely no idea where they were headed. I stumbled on Tap/Bar and Roc/Moa. Liked Ano/Ono and Law/Caw but not Uncase. CSO to Spitz (Adm) and Tin (Croatia). Overall, a smooth solve, but some odd cluing, IMO. Oh, hand up for the Laurel/Lou Rawls mistake.

    Thanks, George, for a Thursday treat and thanks, Bill, for the very interesting and enlightening expo. Your wide-ranging interests and knowledge amazes me.

    Have a great day.

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  21. Terrific Thursday. Thanks for the fun, George and waseeley.
    This was a workout, but with P&P I FIRed (congrats on your streak ATLGranny) and found the theme. But I started looking for Hired Hands as the drifters, but could only find ANDs in 2 of the 3 themers. When I changed my misspelled Rea to MOA, I had a AHA moment and soon could say I DID IT!

    A plethora of sports clues held me up until perps aided. Here's lookin' at ya NYM, IOWA, RACEWAY (I was looking for a City name), STANTON.
    My "Fleet VIP" was a CDR before ADM. Spitzboov got this right I'm sure.
    That was a new clue to me for ONO.
    Hand up for having EINSTEIN clue as favourite.

    I noted LIT and ARSON, and also thought of Live and Let DIE (right above BOND).
    We had a lager, Stella ARTOIS, and "Stout server"=BAR. (I wanted Keg or Tap at first.) Thanks for the lesson on proper glasses, TTP.

    S changed to C for CIERA.
    I thought of Be Quiet before BE NICE fit the spot.
    Even this Canadian knew the ELECTORal college.

    I scratched my head at OVI, but then had the same thought as Tony Express@7:47
    Ray-O- I had the _EO and thought of Leon (no it's Elon, I'm dyslexic today! no offense AnonT) before CEO perped.

    Wishing you all a great day.

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  22. I have only two types of beer glasses. Whatever! Beer is the same in any type of glass. The brand of beer is more important.

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  23. Hola!

    Thursday thrill! FIR with only one white-out at REpot then RESOW. Fast, TOO; only a half cup of coffee.

    Thank you, George Jasper and Bill Wasseely.

    My favorite clues were for ELECTOR and EINSTEIN. Clever! Many of the younger generation like Stella ARTOIS so that one was easy.

    OVI from Latin, ovum, egg

    I, TOO, started by thinking LAURA but then LOU RAWLS emerged. I love his crooning.

    TUMBLEWEEDS is a very western theme and I easily found the WEEDS.

    I often see many older gentlemen getting a pedicure presumably when they have a problem with their TOE NAILS or possibly, unable to bend, reaching them.

    Enjoy a fantastic day, everyone!

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  24. Thanks, George, for all the fresh fill today, and Bill, for the informative review! The few unknowns were solved by perps, and I saw the tumbling TUMBLEWEEDS when clued in by the reveal. These plants were brought to the Americas by accident and are considered a noxious weed, very destructive of our native ecosystems.

    D-O, I'm sorry for your encounter with the YAHOO. I can understand a rebuke for entering unmasked, but for wearing a mask? That guy's no EINSTEIN.

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  25. Bluehen @7:42 AM That statement was reviewed by at least 4 proofreaders not including me and it just went over our heads. Not only wasn't Argyle born then, but neither were any of us or this blog for that matter. I think the bonehead who wrote it meant 2017!

    p.s. The planting chart is on the way ...

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  26. Tony, YR, etc. As "head" is standard CWD argot for "prefix", I can only reply "DOH!". That's what I get for bragging the other day about how much I like meta-clues.

    Bill

    ReplyDelete
  27. Fun Thursday puzzle, many thanks, George. And helpful commentary, Bill, thanks for that too.

    My favorite clue was PIQUE CONDITION for IRE. But, hey, EINSTEIN was more than just 'relatively' famous, wasn't he? I also liked the polite comments, PLEASE DO, and BE NICE. And had to laugh when the western drifters turned out to be TUMBLEWEEDS.

    Have a great day, everybody!

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  28. Desper-otto, so on your volunteer M-O-W route, you get chewed out by someone taking umbrage that you are wearing a mask ? Someone in need that you are helping ? The word ingrate comes to mind.


    Canadian Eh, you're welcome. I don't have each of those styles of glasses, but I have at least one of most of them. I do have a four of the Stella Artois gold rimmed chalices for the ales, two Goose Island stange glasses and two G.I. chalice glasses, a set of eight pilsner glasses (wedding present), various pint glasses, a dozen or so heavy glass mugs and a couple of decorated steins for the fest beers, and one Weizen glass I brought home from Germany. I broke the other one. Same for my Chimay goblets. Have one, broke one.

    It helps when the guy that owns that local beer and wine store gives you some of the promotional giveaways. We also used to ride the commuter rail with a young man that was the merchandising rep for G Heileman Brewing Co. He handed out Old Style and Special Export mugs and other promotional stuff frequently.

    Yellowrocks, I think you may be kidding and must have meant types of beer rather than brand, but even so, glass types do matter. Read this article A Case for Proper Glassware and perhaps do a little taste test ? Anyway, it's the same as having different styles of wine glasses.

    The recipe looks like it's worth trying, too !

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    Replies
    1. All this talk of beer glasses? Pouring beer bruises the bubbles!

      Delete
    2. Beer is meant to be poured to enhance the taste.

      Delete
  29. TTP @ 9:02AM The house was very large (image TARA from GWTW). The back porch had two rooms. The closed in room housed my wheel and some shelves and all importantly the 200 AMP service box that my crazy landlady Dianne let me have installed when we moved in. The kiln was in the outer room, connected through a window via a short 220 AC cable. In the outer corner of the porch I opened one of side half-walls and extended a short piece of plywood as a landing. I bolted a 2x10"x6' oak plank to one of the roof joists, extending out about 3' in the air. The block and tackle was attached to this via a heavy eye bolt. With this scheme I was able to get all of my equipment (kiln, clay, glaze ingredients, etc. up without carrying stuff up 3 flights of steps. The only thing we carried up was an old bath tub I used for mixing clay. When we were humping it up the steps my landlady was having kittens, as the stairs were old and near collapsing. When it was all over my Father, a carpenter, replaced all 3 flights for $150 plus materials. I made pots in that space for a couple of years, before moving to my present home, where we've lived since 1977.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hi All!

    FIW - eNO instead of ONO. Bolded letters in CORINTH was a leap of faith and my last fill.

    Thanks George for the puzzle. Thank you Waseeley for the fine review.
    I'm in Houston (Zone 9a) - I gotta get tomatoes and cukes in early 'cuz come late June it's TOO HOT for the blooms to set; I can get a second (and sometimes third) round in come September.

    Anyone recall size N batteries? I need those for my HP-28s.

    WOs: N/A
    ESPs: see: plethora of names (Ha! C, Eh! used plethora today too :-)).
    Fav: One name that didn't need perps - EINSTEIN. Clue didn't fool this fool.

    FLN - WC- well? I wantta read the firing range story...
    I have a grenade-range one for you:
    Dumbest guy in our unit pulled the pin and threw it - leaving the grenade to fall to his feet. Fortunately, we were on the range and the platform was sloped to drop the live bomb into the protective moat.

    Pop says, "Yip, Yip, YAHOO!" when something goes smoothly. Buda-Bing.
    //I knew of Gulliver's Travels' moronic Yahoos too but didn't understand Swift until DW explained the subversion in it (and in "A Modest Proposal").

    More Swift (and computers!) Endianness - SCROLL down to Etymology.

    I've seen 8" floppies but don't recall using them IRL; 5.25" & 3.5" many a time. Now they've lost more weight.

    HERESY YR! Different beers (like wines) have a different nose; the type of glass accentuates it. Now, if you're drinking Miller Lite, SURE, swig it out of the can :-)

    Enjoyed reading everyone. Back to work.

    Cheers, -T

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    Replies
    1. -T @12:40pm Familiar with Endianness, but had no idea it was appropriated from Swift. Like SCROLLING and the TORAH it's another example of IT adapting old terms to new purposes.

      Delete
  31. My tuppence

    The guides during the Utica West End Brewery tour described the importance of "beer clean" glasses...

    "Beer clean is an industry term describing a glass that is free of any impurities that would give CO2 a place to cling to, ensuring the beer’s best look and taste. The Brewer’s Association Draught Beer Quality Manual (DBQM) defines a beer clean glass as one that: "Forms a proper foam head, allows lacing during consumption, and never shows patches of bubbles stuck to the side of the glass in the liquid beer."...🍻

    DO et al..I understand there are now some states where businesses are refusing service if you are wearing a mask.😳

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  32. Didn't refresh b/f posting say...

    Looks like we're on the same page INRE: beer glassware, TTP. You said it better (NICEr?) than I.

    I don't always pull out the proper stemware when I swill a brew but I do enjoy the epicurean experience when I do. My (CEO) Bro always serves it up right. Show-off :-)

    Ray-O: our office is starting to open back up. Masks are no longer required while on your floor for those who are Vax'd. //um, we're letting non-Vax'd folks in(?).

    C, -T

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    Replies
    1. -T @1:19pm you guys are still using VAX/VMS? Most of us switched to MUMPS years ago. :-)

      Delete

  33. FIR without getting the theme. Good puzzle though by George Jasper and the write-up was topnotch.

    Just a coupla missteps along the way. I had ALERO before CIERA. I wanted SPARTA before CORINTH, but it was too short. Finally I wanted SPEEDWAY before RACEWAY, but it was too long. Perps as usual fixed these errors plus helped with some other unknowns.

    -T: I still have a case of 3.5 inch blank floppies in the basement. Probably about 500 floppies. I have a USB Floppy reader that I have kept because I still have lots of data and pictures on floppies that I haven't downloaded to a portable hard drive. I also have some 8 inch and 5.25 floppies, but nothing to read them with.

    I don't know how many old computers that I have in the basement that are just taking up space. I had a Win 95 computer still hooked up until recently that I only used to play Tetris on, but I needed the space to set up another 3D printer, so I dismantled it and added it to the collection of Commodore, Apple and DOS machines collecting dust. I'd love to have the amount of money in hand that I spent on those machines. Oh well, technology keeps moving along.

    Have a great day everyone.

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  34. Ray-O, you can't prohibit stupid people from opening a business, but you don't have to patronize 'em.

    When it comes to beer, I'm a connoisseur of what's on sale, and enjoy it from a chilled (the colder, the better) 2-1/4" diameter aluminum cylinder.

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  35. Coasted right along with this Thursday gem until I got to the SW where REPOT became RESOD became RESOW and SEN became SRS ....eventually. But in the end FIR in 27. Thanx for a fun Thursday outing, GJ!! And thanx for a terrific write-up, Bill!! Funny you should link “Sons of the Pioneers”. My uncle was in that group!! Thanx too to TE @7:47 for ‘splainin’ OVI, I didn’t get it either. A good day to all!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. unclefred @1:57pm I can't believe it! - We're all 1 VDOS ("Virtual Degree Of Separation") from a Son of the Pioneers. Way cool!

      Delete


  36. Once again I'm amazed and impressed by the beautiful fill offered by the LAT Crossword. PLEASE DO, LOU RAWLS, INNER EAR -- terrific! And the theme entries are great...I'm happy to say that I FIR and didn't get the theme until the reveal. I love when that happens. What I learned today? From Bill's write-up: I had no idea that the S. in Mr. Truman's name didn't stand for anything!

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  37. Mr. Jasper put together a nice Thursday grid.

    Write-overs….MAN/DIE. Should have waited.

    FLN….ANON-T….I wasn’t kidding…. Antica Napoli is the first and only Pizzeria in Charleston to be certified as True Neapolitan Pizza by the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (AVPN).

    It even made the newspaper.

    Only a couple in the entire state. Had the 4 cheese white last week, the Meatlover’s w/extra cheese last night. Geez, they’re good. Only 12” pizzas for now, but that’s perfect for me.

    Stay safe.

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  38. To all you purists, I have so little cupboard space that I have a mere handful of beer glasses and wine glasses. You should have seen all I gave away. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do. Downsizing is not always fancy. I am grateful I have beer and wine, forget about special glasses. It reminds me of "If I'm not near the girl I love, I love the girl that's near." Gratefully accept what you do have. I am happier in my apartment, even without the cupboard space for "fancy"
    David has a huge collection of all types of beer glasses and steins. He and Motoko have a large variety of wine glasses, even a large variety of Christmas wine glasses in a huge house.
    The older I get the less of a purist I become about almost everything. I know what is important to me.

    ReplyDelete
  39. DO @ 6:44 AM Your comment about the A23 battery sent me looking in our box of batteries for the small battery I had seen there. Not the A23, but an N battery we had bought in a package of two in Europe years ago. It said "Best if installed by 2005" or I would offer it to you, Anon-T. Looks like we need to do some Spring cleaning here!

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  40. Puzzling thoughts:

    FIW as I had RESOD/BEDITCH (whatever THAT means!) in 48-across and 41-down; my NATICK

    Thanks Bill for explaining the "theme" which I also missed. George Jasper, clever puzzle

    FLN - OwenKL, thanks for the Jumble reveal. Thanks for the invite to your blog but I am too BOGGED down by blogs to add any others; but I may make a cameo appearance there one day

    See y'all tomorrow; the puzzle was fun to solve and blog

    ReplyDelete
  41. A-23 battery. - - D-O; I think my old 2002 Lincoln Town Car key fob had on of those. Had to replace it once.

    ReplyDelete
  42. I hadn't heard of the A23. LIU, and it's basically eight 1.5V button batteries stacked and wrapped, resulting in a small-footprint 12V battery. Specialty battery. Some remote access fobs use 'em. Learning moment.

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  43. Once again I messed up my post...
    instead of trying to retype it correctly, I was reminded of meeting BUDDY HACKETT in the Eastern Airlines Ionosphere Club at Laguardia back when I was flying all over. He was doing the NYT Sunday puzzle, as was I and when I noticed I went over said hi and we struck up a conversation. I had seen him perform in Miami in 1958 as 10 year old boy at the then new DEAUVILLE HOTEL. His set that night included a wide variety of humore inappropriate for a ten year old. The meeting was right after this PERFORMANCE ON JOHNNY CARSON . He was very pleasant calm man, very unlike his persona while performing.

    I have changed those batteries in fobs, as mentioned. I am watching all of the Daniel Craig Bond movies with Oo, most of which she has not seen. They are fun.


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  44. YR - I hope you know I was just joshin' re: sloshin' the brewskis.

    PVX - I LIU. We have a pie house in Houston APVN certified. When I get back to the office in the city, I will search out a slice.

    I love Buddy Hackett Lem. Thanks for the link.

    Waseeley - LOL Vax'd! I'm afraid the MUMPS infected hierarchical thinkers :-)

    Whoa - Back up there Unclefred... You've gotta have a story or two about your uncle.

    Oc4 - a few years ago Jinx (where'd he go?!?) sent me a 486 motherboard with a BIOS that could natively interpret 5.25" disks (I had a USB translator but it was SLOOOOOW!). Built a whole "media box" out of it to read most every format. BTW, I have a Commodore 64 under my soldering bench :-)

    ATLGranny - I'd have to remember how to use RPN if you sent me your N-battery pack.
    //just kidding; RPN is how dyslexics think :-)

    Cheers, -T

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. -T @4:18 pm. Polish lysdexics right?

      Delete
    2. Anon T @4:18: My dad and his brother (the “Sons” uncle) grew up on a farm in western North Dakota. They had no electricity, and had to cut ice from the frozen Cannonball river and use horses to drag the huge chunks of ice to a huge pit they had dug and lined with straw that served as their refrigerator. They had to get enough ice in there during the winter to last through the entire summer, because the farm had no electricity. When I was old enough I’d travel by train to the farm from Milwaukee where I lived and help with the wheat harvest. That was the 1950’s, and they STILL had no electricity, but now had a refrigerator that ran on propane. I still remember being amazed that it was cold inside that box that had a flame under it!! Lots of stories. The “Sons of the Pioneers”, in addition to being appropriately named, was a large group of men, if I remember there were roughly 20 men. Different men were selected for different songs depending on their voices. That’s all I remember about the group: it was a long time ago. Driving the farm truck when I was twelve or thirteen was the highlight of my farm visits.

      Delete
  45. We have a TRS-80 computer in the attic. What did I say about Spring cleaning?

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  46. Re Jasper he gets a J from Wilbur today because of his artful misdirection and blotch factor. Ex A: "Cast can be current or past tense so seduced and SLOT seemed to fit. But George was referring to a BLOT on one's record .

    Albert was the greatest physicist because of relativity (Yes, we see)

    And, and was not easily written over TOO.

    I quickly realized Sparta would fit. Is there a college football team called "The Corinthians"? Thebans?


    Let's see what ??* has to say

    Stella ARTOIS was on nogo at Winn Dixie. Speaking of...So much for the Wilbur diet. I was in st Pete for my J&J vaccination and stopped at publix. Arrggghhhh!!!
    They had me at 181 then I realized I had my deli purchase in my hand.
    But I was looking for 176 tops

    I'm not done but I'm out of time again

    WC

    * I didn't get far enough to see who's reviewing

    ReplyDelete
  47. Enjoyable puzzle. I especially liked the clue for EINSTEIN.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Cute puzzle,

    at 1st I thought it was funny...

    But then I remembered that Outer Limits episode with
    Eddie Albert (green acres fame) where the tumbleweeds
    Came alive and attacked people!

    Now I'm like, ack! Run for your life!

    Also,
    I think even water tastes better in a wine glass...

    ReplyDelete
  49. I was confused at first when I thought it was WEED that was scrambled. WEEDS made it work. Learning moment about SKYLANDING. Enjoyable, quick solve.

    Are people aware that TUMBLEWEEDS are invasive plants from Russia? They seem so American, but they are not. I am sure I have photos of encounters with them on road trips in the Wild West.

    But I had a STELLA ARTOIS coincidence just now. I was bundling up a huge set of family photos to send off to my niece in New York via thumb drive.

    Here I just found this childhood photo of my brother and me with my mother in the BELGIAN city of Bruges. With a STELLA ARTOIS sign behind us!

    If I had been searching for it, I never would have found it!

    From Yesterday:
    AnonT Good to know you share my face blindness challenge when watching movies! You might want to Google "face blindness" and see if you have this challenge in everyday life, too. It is a spectrum. I am guessing yours, like mine, is moderate. Some people cannot even recognize themselves in a mirror.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I dare some brave composer to not include one sports reference. Has this ever been done?

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  51. FIR, and I got the reveal and the theme. And NO, I didn’t even consider HANDS; waited for CAW to decide between EASTS and WESTS.

    ZAGREB gave me fits! The only time I could really remember seeing any reference to it was in the second Bond movie, FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. Of course, back then it was still in Yugoslavia, so I had to wait for enough perps to finally see into which country it finally fell.

    MAORIS and ROALD were all perps. Wasn’t aware of the Mike switch to GIANCARLO. Whatever….

    NOT MY FIRST RODEO is standard dialog here in Texas, but it is usually THIS AIN’T….

    LOURAWLS finally showed up at the very end of the solve, after I saw that ONO went in 40A. What a VOICE!!!

    Don't need no stinkin' beer glass or mug (unless it's on tap, of course)! There's a reason it comes in bottles and cans!

    Thanks, George and Bill!

    ReplyDelete
  52. You all are invited to stop by when you are in the neighborhood to share a bottle of wine or a six pack of beer, but pot luck on the glasses.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Mr remiss say... {B+, A+}.

    Googling it now Picard.

    LOL pot luck on the glasses YR. Those were DW & my college years when more than two people would visit for dinner [and you get a McDonald's Shrek and you get a Burger King] :-)

    Why would anyone want a 'civilized' glass CED?

    Oh - I keep forgetting. I recall reading y'all talking about scotch three or so weeks ago. I know of a few but what's something really special you'd recommend introducing yourself with? (new neighbor that Covid has kept us from meeting).

    Cheers, -T

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  54. -T: I wasn't in on the Scotch discussion, but a good single malt scotch that I like is Dalwhinnie 15. It's not cheap though. My number two and three single malts are GlenLivet 12 and GlenFiddich 12.

    If you want a blend, Chivas Regal, Johnnie Walker and Dewers are good ones.

    It depends on how much you want to spend.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Thanks Oc4 - I've not heard of Dalwhinnie (is it smooth like The Balvenie 15?). The others you mentioned (Livet & Fiddich (I like 'em!) I've had 'cuz Crash Test Dummies mentioned them (@1:58-ish) :-)

    Thanks & Cheers!, -T

    ReplyDelete

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