google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 Robert E. Lee Morris

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Apr 27, 2021

Tuesday, April 27, 2021 Robert E. Lee Morris

Poker Face and Aces Up.

6-Down. Doctors rarely make them these days: HOUSE CALLS.  Our family pediatrician made house calls when we were little.  Once my sister was too sick to make the trip to the doctor's so my mom asked the doctor to make a house call.  When the doctor arrived, my sister was hiding under the bed and wouldn't come out.  Mom was not amused.

11-Down. Artillery metaphor for a volatile sort: LOOSE CANNON.

25-Down. First major leaguer to hit 40 homers and steal 40 bases in a season: JOSE CANSECO.  In 1988, Jose Canseco (né José Canseco Capas, Jr.; b. July 2, 1964) became the first member in the 40-40 club.


30-Down. Asian feline breed: SIAMESE CAT.


And the Unifier:

63-Across. Hickok's last hand, it's said ... and what's literally found in four Down puzzle answers: ACES UP.  In each of the 4 theme answers, the word "Aces" is spelled "up".

Legend has it that Wild Bill Hickok (né James Butler Hickok; May 27, 1837 ~ Aug. 2, 1876) was holding a poker hand consisting of the Ace of Spades, the Ace of Clubs, the Eight of Spades and the Eight of Clubs when he was shot and killed.  The term "Aces Up" apparently refers to having 2 pair, with Aces being the higher pair, hence the reason that Aces is spelled "up" in today's puzzle.  [Thanks, Joseph!  I couldn't have fully understood today's theme without your help.]

You would have thought he would have combed his hair before getting his picture taken.

I am placing the grid here today so you can see the Aces.  

Note the nice symmetry of the word "Aces" in the theme answers.  The first word in each phrase ends in "SE" and the next word begins with "CA".

Across:
1. Disappear: PERISH.

7. Pop star Lady __: GAGA.  Lady Gaga (née Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta; b. Mar. 28, 1986) may have gotten her stage name from the Queen song, Radio Ga Ga


11. "__ Miz": LES.  Les Miz is the musical version of Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables.  I read the book years ago (in an English translation).  I have also seen the musical numerous times.  It is a fabulous story.


14. Not against hearing, as a suggestion: OPEN TO.  I am open to an alternative theory on today's theme.

15. Amo, __, amat ...: AMAS.  Today's Latin lesson.

16. Mork's home planet: ORK.  I never undestood the attraction of Mork and Mindy.  It was too crazy for me.  The show ran from the Fall of 1978 through May 1982.


17. Martin of "Mission: Impossible": LANDAU.  Although Martin James Landau (June 20, 1928 ~ July 15, 2017) appeared in numerous movies and television shows, he is probably best known for his role as Rollin Hand, the "Man of a Million Faces", in Mission: Impossible.


18. Excuse designed to elicit sniffles: SOB STORY.


20. Happening soon: IN STORE.

22. PDQ: ASAP.  Pretty Darn Quick and ASoon APossible.  Not to be confused with PDQ Bach, the infamous 21st child of Johann Sebastian Bach.

23. Mexicali's peninsula: BAJA.  Also known as Baja California.

The entire peninsula.

Portion of the peninsula showing Mexicali.

26. Roof overhang: EAVE.  Soffits are under the Eaves.


27. Dole (out): METE.

28. Angsty music genre: EMO.

29. The "A" in RAM: ACCESS.  As in Random Access Memory.

31. The "A" in USNA: Abbr.: ACAD.  As in the United States Naval Academy.


32. USO show audience: GIs.  Did you know that the term GI might have originally stood for Galvanized Iron, which was the material used to make military buckets?  By World War I, the term was expanded to include all things army related, and later became used to describe soldiers.


33. Ball game delayer: RAIN.


34. Mallorca, por ejemplo: ISLA.  Today's Spanish lesson.



36. Make potable, as seawater: DESALT.




38. Not yet visible, as a fingerprint: LATENT.


40. Con's place of confinement: CELL.


41. Robin Cook medical thriller: COMA.  This novel was first published in 1977.  I read it many years ago.  Robin Cook (né Robert Brian Cook; b. May 4, 1940) is a physician and many of his books focus on medical issues.  Coma explores the black market of organ donation.


42. Currently: NOW.

44. Compact Chevy SUV: TRAX.



46. Elon Musk company concerned with travel to Mars: SPACEX.


48. Italian hour: ORA.  Today's Italian lesson.

49. Payment in Monopoly: RENT.


50. LAX landing hrs.: ETAs.  Estimated Time of Arrival has become a crossword staple.  Where did the X come from?

51. Fort full of gold: KNOX.  Fort Knox is Maine's largest historic fort.  This was one of the last places I went with my mother before she died.  The gold is not stored at this fort, however.  You have to go to Kentucky for that fort.


52. "In that case ... ": IF SO.

53. Grime-fighting P&G mascot with folded arms: MR. CLEAN.


55. Evil: FIENDISH.

57. Lowlife, slangily: CREEP-O.


61. Inc. relative: LLC.  As in a Limited Liability Company.

62. Melville novel: OMOO.  Omoo is the sequel to Typee.  Both books make occasional appearances in the crossword puzzles.  Herman Melville (Aug. 1, 1819 ~ Sept. 28, 1891) spent much of his early years as a sailor on merchant ships.  Both Typee and Omoo are based on Melville's experiences in the South Pacific.  Of course, Melville is best known for Moby Dick.  I wonder if anyone other than scholars ever reads these books.


64. "Evil Woman" rock gp.: ELO.


65. Nashville's st.: TENN.


66. Until now: TO DATE.

Down:
1. D.C. pro: POL.

2. Govt. pollution watchdog: EPA.  As in the Environmental Protection Agency.


3. Stimpy's sidekick: REN.  Ren is the sociopathic Chihuahua and Stimpy is the dim-witted Manx cat.


4. Nepal neighbor: INDIA.

5. Comics icon Lee: STAN.  Stan Lee (né Stanley Martin Lieber; Dec. 28, 1922 ~ Nov. 12, 2018) was the primary creative leader of Marvel Comics.  He makes frequent guest appearances in the crossword puzzles.

7. Kitchen appliance: GAS OVEN.  A brief history of the oven.

8. Loves, in Spain: AMORES.  More of today's Spanish lesson.

9. Comedian Kaplan: GABE.  Gabe Kaplan (né Gabriel Weston Kaplan; b. Mar. 31, 1945) is best known for his role as the teacher on the 1970 sit-com Welcome Back, Kotter.  I never watched this show.


10. Donkey: ASS.

12. List of mistakes: ERRATA.  More of today's Latin lesson.

13. Chatted via webcam: SKYPED.  Do people still use Skype?  We use either Zoom or FaceTime.



19. Steamed cantina food: TAMALE.  Hi, Lucina!

21. Implied: TACIT.

23. Plead with: BEG.

24. Surrounded by: AMID.

29. Disappearing Asian sea: ARAL.  Another crossword staple.


35. Lay's chips-in-a-can brand: STAX.


37. Church caretaker: SEXTON.  The Sexton also served as the gravedigger in days of old.

38. Express opposite, trainwise: LOCAL.

39. Bull in a corrida: TORO.  Still more of today's Spanish lesson.

41. Get the hang of it: CATCH ON.

43. Candle material: WAX.


44. Insignificant thing: TRIFLE.

45. Pharmacy follow-up order: REFILL.


47. Individual: PERSON.

51. Weak-__: wimpy: KNEED.

53. Actor with no lines: MIME.


54. West Coast gas brand: ARCO.




56. "i" topper: DOT.  That little dot is formally called a Tittle.




58. That, to Pedro: ESA.  Still more of today's Spanish lesson.

59. Delay, with "off": PUT.

60. Reveal, to a poet: OPE.

That's all folks!


חתולה

Today is my Dad's 91st birthday.  He would appreciate the image below.


54 comments:

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

No problem with this one. Completed it without even a glance at the upward ACES. Hahtoolah, that photo of the Siamese cat would've been appropriate for the CREEPO answer. Thanx for the early week outing, R.E.L.M. and Hahtoolah.

LOOSE CANNON: We often came up with nicknames for the local newscasters. Len Cannon of Channel 11 became LOOSE CANNON. Art Rascon and Melanie Lawson on Channel 13 became Fart 'n Felony.

GIs: I always thought the letters stood for Government Issue.

BAJA: Mexicali isn't denoted on Hahtoolah's map. It's on the border in far northern Mexico, a little south of El Centro, California.

LAX: If Los Angeles were to build a new replacement for LAX, would its airport code be EXLAX?

Anonymous said...

This took me 5:15. Missed the theme until I finished.

Solid puzzle today. Very good for a Tuesday.

Hahtoolah said...

Good Morning, crossword friends. I hope it is bright and sunny where you are.

D-Otto: I added another map so you can see exactly where Mexicali is on the peninsula.

QOD: Success doesn't happen in a vacuum. You're only as good as the people you work with and the people you work for. ~ Casey Kasem (né Kemal Amin Kasem; Apr. 27, 1932 ~ June 15, 2014), American radio personality

Lemonade714 said...

RELM welcome back, it has been a while. I see you like other LAT regular constructors are getting love from David Steinberg at the Universal.

Finding the ACES was fun but I read them as SECA which is inportant to those who are self-employed.

Susan, I have read all of Melville's works and found them interesting as much as scholarly.


Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

This had a bit more crunch than the usual Tuesday, but I think it might have been the cluing rather than the fill. I had no clue about the theme until I filled in the reveal and then it was as plain as could be. I wasn’t really paying attention to the down fill as I’m so used to themers being horizontal entries. Mr. Clean took some time because I read the clue as Crime fighter. I started out with Himalayan for the cat but quickly saw the error. I liked the mini O theme with Open To, Emo, If So, Creepo, Omoo, ELO, Toro, ARCO, and Canseco, and the duos of Amas crossing Amores, Emo/ELO, and the threesomes of Wax/StaxTrax and Esa/EPA/ETA(s). Nice CSOs to Ray O, Anon T, and, I think, Anon PVX, at Ora and Amores cand a home run to Lucina at Isla, Tamale, Esa, and Toro.

Thanks, REL, for a fun solve and thanks, Hatoolah, for a delightful review with lots of dazzling eye candy. Learning moment was Fort Knox, Maine which I had never heard of before. My BIL was born in Fort Kent which I believe is very close to the Canada border. Best wishes to your dad on his 91st Birthday.

Have a great day.

waseeley said...

Thank you Robert for the Tuesday romp and thank you Susan for the delightful and colorful review.

Random musings:

34A We're recommending the "Majorca Files", streaming on Britbox. Two misfit detectives, one English, the other German, expats to Majorca. Great plots and stunning scenery.

38A Detective show mavens know that fingerprints show up under UV light.

3D The cartoonish equivalent of "Beavis and Butthead"? Or maybe Beaver and Eddie Haskell.

6D In the last few month's of my MIL's life she needed to see a doctor (the last time she saw one was when DW's sister was born). We found a Dr. Schwartz, who made house calls. He was a one man band - no receptionis. When you called him he'd answer on his cell phone. He brought in a portable X-ray machine and eventually arranged hospice. A wonderful man.

7D Ceramic kilns are sometimes called "ovens", but they cook at much higher temperatures, e.g. 2300 degrees Fahrenheit!

45D Thanks for the reminder on the refills Susan. I've had one ready at the Pharmacy for a week now damnit!

53D For some reason MIMES never caught on on radio.

Cheers,
Bill

ATLGranny said...

FIR, oh happy day! Hahtoolah, thank you for your richly illustrated review confirming my success today. And thank you, R.E.L.M, for an enjoyable puzzle, not too easy, not too hard.

Unlike DO I had slow spots and WOs including 1A where I put PElISH, thinking lEN rather than REN but also wanting to put vanISH which had even more problems with the perps. Finally an alphabet run brought PERISH to save my FIR. I was slow to see SEXTON and CREEPO and had GenE Kaplan originally. My Sad STORY became a SOB STORY, but little by little it worked out. At least the theme was easy to find after getting the reveal. Yippee!

Hope you all have a happy day today too! And Happy Birthday to your father, Hahtoolah. Becoming 91 is quite an accomplishment!



CanadianEh! said...

Terrific Tuesday. Thanks for the fun, Robert and Hahtoolah (Happy 91st Birthday to your Dad).
I FIRed and saw the theme at the reveal.
Just a few inkblots: the medical Stat changed to the slang ASAP, plural People changed to the singular PERSON, Canadian Ltd changed to American LLC.
BAJA corner was the last to fill - FIEND broke it open (I already had ISH).

Like IM, I noted ELO and EMO (plus SOB STORY), and the X trio.
I learned OMOO long ago doing CWs, but have not seen it lately.
Not Esso today but the American ARCO for our gas tank.

I thought immediately of Lucina with TAMALES.
And I knew WC would not have to wait for perps like I did to fill JOSE CANSECO. How could I have forgotten his one year signing to the TOR Blue Jays in 1998? (He hit 46 homers and stole 29 bases that season.)
I’ll take a CSO at 45D. (Love that bottle label Hahtoolah- although you can’t have prn refills, number must be specified😊).

Wishing you all a great day.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Hahtoolah - Congrats to your Dad on his 91st birthday. I played bridge last night with 2 90+ yr. olds. Mazel tov.

A bit cranky solve today. Didn't care for the PERISH clue and had to to hold off until the perps came into focus. LES was my 1st FILL. The theme was clever. Checked, and yep, I had the 4 ACES going UP. Thought there might be a mini-theme with several ending-in-X words. No errors - FIR.
LOOSE CANNON - For added emphasis, it's LOOSE CANNON rolling around on the deck. This metaphoric expression alludes to cannon mounted on the deck of a sailing ship, which if dislodged during combat or a storm could cause serious damage to both vessel and crew by sliding about. Its figurative use dates from the first half of the 1900s.

Bob Lee said...

A little tough for a Tuesday, but lots of fun.

I especially liked the ACES UP theme (which I didn't spot until I was almost finished, but helped me spell Jose Canseco since I didn't know Trax at first).

My favorite answers were Sob Story and Loose Cannon.

Wilbur Charles said...

I had a Fiat. Trucks would tailgate so close they could read from a newspaper if I was reading one. Ok, so I occasionally solved and drove. I only wrote answers at red-lights

Not "Omoo" but I did read Bartleby, the Scrivener with the phrase. "I would prefer not to"

'Every jot and TITTLE"(of the Law)

Casey Kasem. We've talked about him. I loved his show especially reruns

IM, we(I think lucina is in this group) have to go to 3.25 reading glasses with a reading lamp to boot. I saw 'Crime fighter" too

Himalayan. What are the nationalities? Him Russian, Him Finnish. And the guy in the bed upstairs? Himalayan

Re. HOUSE CALLS. My sister had German measles. The Dr arrived while I was at playing chess.. He must be smart I mused,, 'What should I do?". "Grt rid of all those extra pieces" I did, promptly lost and never really trusted doctors again.

Smooth sailing on this crisp Tuesday xword and the usual sparkling write-up from hahtoolah

WC

C-eh. Yes as soon as I saw JOSE. I think he may hav played for the redsox. Mr Steroid

I shared that bottle gif

TTP said...


Good morning. Thank you, RELM and thank you, Hahtoolah.

Solved in a flash which was a surprise after limited sleep last night.

Opposite of express, trainwise ? LOCAL aka a "Milk Run" for the commuter trains to suburbia in Chicagoland. I wonder if they are known as Milk Runs in other cities with commuter rail ? Does Los Angeles have commuter rail to get to less urban places outside of the city such as, say TOPANGA ?

FLN, Dash T, do you have the Splunk "Keep the SH out of IT" t-shirt ? I'd never seen that RUN DMC video w/ Penn and Teller. Thanks. Aerosmith hit it big in '70s rock but then their star began to fade by the mid 80's. Meanwhile, music genre Rap was becoming more popular, especially to inner city youth, but did not have much of a broader audience. Enter Rick Rubin and the collaboration that brought Aerosmith back to the forefront, and introduced rap to a much wider audience and legitimizing it as a musical genre. Aerosmith, Run-DMC and the Story Behind Their Genre-Bending Hit "Walk This Way".

CandianEh, I nailed CBC yesterday w/o hesitation. I think it's firmly etched in my mind after solving many crosswords with CBC in them. Maybe like NPR for you.

Lucina said...

Hola!

Thank you, Hahtoolah and happy birthday to your Dad!

This puzzle had a decidedly Spanish bent to it! And yes, I found the ACES UP but had no idea that Hickok was in any way related to that. The things we learn doing puzzles!

Like d-otto, I thought G.I. meant General Issue.

How well I remember Martin LANDAU in Mission Impossible. That was a riveting show on TV. I lived in Denver at the time and never missed an episode.

My copy of COMA is still on the shelf. I read it when it first came out.

Mis AMORES, my loves, are mi familia, my family.

Actually the singular of TAMALES is TAMAL.

When I was born the doctor made a HOUSE CALL to deliver me but according to my mother, I was already out when he arrived but she had to pay the $50 anyway.

Very nice, Robert E. Lee Morris. Thank you.

Enjoy the day, everyone! Apparently we had RAIN over night. Amazing!

Lucina said...

WC:
My reading glasses are 250.

Lucina said...

TTP:
California has the BART (Bay Area Rail Train) system which connects L.A. to many inland cities. I have taken it numerous times to go to Lafayette, CA, where my friend Claire formerly resided.

Wilbur Charles said...

Yep, HIE Thee to the $ Store and get 3.25s. A good black ink pen is important too. Handwriting we're stuck with. I admire the occasional pix of Anon-T's xwords.

Yes, a lot of white but the fill is exceptionally neat.

Another xword maven told me that there was a book on how to alter inked letters to the correct letters with minimum of blotch. eg l can become E or F...

WC

Yellowrocks said...

Thanks for the excellent clips and explanations, Susan. Your blogging is so interesting and delightful. Thanks for a fun puzzle, Robert.
I could not sleep at all last night, so I got up and did the puzzle at 4:00 AM. Then I ate breakfast. Now I am sorting my paper work and answering mail and emails. I have gotten a lot done. I suppose I will crash this afternoon.
I come across REN in puzzles frequently, but nowhere else. Not my show.
When someone has a sob story the listener mimes playing a violin.
I wanted CONSECO instead of CANSECO. I have only heard it and not seen it in writing. I think maybe the first vowel is fudged and could be anything, a schwa. But the perp had to be TRAX.
If GI had originally been galvanized iron, by WW II I think most of us thought of it as Government Issue.
Hickhok was killed, reportedly, while holding ACES and 8's now known as the dead man's hand.
Canadian Eh, thanks for your kind understanding yesterday. I least I had the list of medications because I had to administer them. I know I am lucky that both of us are so well cared for.
I liked disappear as perish. Lincoln said, "Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the Earth."
I think of Martin Landau and Barbara Bain when I see "Mission Impossible."

Ron in LA said...

I thought BART stood for Bay Area Rapid Transit..

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Easiest and fastest challenge in a long time. No inkovers so a neat looking filled puzzle. (I perpwaited on sen/POL). My SOBSTORY? No way did I see the clever theme distributed throughout the puzzle. Not only did Wild Bill get himself shot but from the picture he suffered from the heartbreak of "split ends" 🥺

Lucina, you must have paid off Mr. Morris: (AMORES, TAMALE, BAJA, ISLA, TORO, ESA [bet you specifically told him not to use "eso" to try and trick us]). Let's throw in JOSE CONSECO and Latin AMAS too but I dont think CREEPO is español. (h)ORA, almost.

Disappear - PERISH? meh... "Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta", nice Sicilian name, maybe too long, but why Lady GAGA? GABE Kaplan "Mistah Kottah". Those cats always remind me of Peggy Lee singing: "We are SIAMESE, if you please" 😸

GI may have derived from galvanized iron? GI didn't know that!! And a tittle? H2LH? Thought that was a prepubescent term. 🤭

I dont find it exactly misérable but sorry, I never liked "LES Miz"

D'Otto EXLAX..."Where you gotta get the runs to catch yer plane." 😲

Elephant Veteranarian Doctors definitely make house calls. If you R nice to a FIEND they become a "friend"

Plus misérable:

Pepper mate.....DESALT
Hotelier's supply source....INSTORE
Massive Spanish flying fleet...ERRATA
School of Hard ____ KNOX.
How do you ___ ____ with that nonsense!...PUT OPE.
Poorly worked bread dough, weak....KNEED

Until TAMALE....

Becky said...

Picard, FLN, I accidentally replied to your questions from yesterday on yesterday's post. I always go to older posts before I check current remarks, otherwise I would miss a lot.

Becky

Lemonade714 said...

Ron in LA, yes BART is Bay Area Rapit Transit but Lucy made her point.

I loved the jeans/ass cartoon.

My uncle the doctor made house calls and was often driven by my father, so my brothers and would go along. Many adventures with unsuspecting patients. They adored him so it was all fin.

HBD Hahtoola sire, and many more. Jose Canseco was among the first wave of Cuban ballplayers who came to ply in the "big." His STATS

Wilbur Charles said...

Aha. I See JOSE played in Boston in '95,96.

WC

Picard said...

Yellowrocks Hand up wasn't sure if it was CONSECO or CANSECO. The ACES UP theme solved that to FIR!

Hand up amused at AMAS crossing AMORE. I took both Latin and Spanish in school, but don't ask me to say much useful in either! I always have to brush up on Spanish when I cross the border here.

I thought MARTIN LANDAU was Mr Spock's father in Star Trek. Apparently it is someone else who looks just like him (to me). But it turns out Gene Roddenberry wanted MARTIN LANDAU to be Mr Spock, but LANDAU chose Mission Impossible instead. Learning moment!

If you only ever look at one of my links, please don't miss this SPACEX article, video and photo set I did of a launch here!

This was from the home of Danielle who you just saw with her son Charles and the NEWT. They live just past the end of town on a hill with a great view of the Vandenberg AFB launches. We felt like we were tripping on some interesting substance.

Yuman said...

Today the Yuma Sun had a front page story about the United States travel advisory to Mexicali due to the heightened violence between rival drug cartel factions. Sad, as weekend trips to Baja use to be a fun carefree time.
Love learning new words, if I ever get on Jeopardy I’ll know the dot on an “i” is a tittle.

NaomiZ said...

Enjoyable puzzle and review today.

You can get to Topanga Canyon by bus, not rail. BART and Lafayette are in Nor Cal.

Picard said...

From Yesterday (and today)
Becky I always look back at the previous day to see if there were last minute posts. Thank you for validating that the Getty Villa in TOPANGA CANYON is worth visiting! And that you caught FINCHER at the Oscars. And for your appreciation of the hike and Felicia as WONDER WOMAN!

Wilbur Charles Thank you for the shout out. Indeed, learning moment about LOVIE. Had no idea anyone had heard of him. Sorry for being dense, but what were you telling me with the *** bit?

WA SEELEY Glad you appreciated how appropriate it was for Felicia to play WONDER WOMAN!

Chairman Moe I agree she looks more like WONDER WOMAN than the "real" one! Not painted on.

Here is WONDER WOMAN incognito as Felicia more recently (on the left).

Lucina Thanks for the hike comments and question. I actually have detailed notes in case I plan to attempt it again. I already have another friend who wants to do it with me! We started at 10AM and got down at 2:30PM. That includes me getting the group lost for a bit near the beginning. And my friend Nancy scouting up the right side of the dry waterfall while we rested. She brought her friend Dave along and he had no idea what he was getting into! To Nancy, there is no such thing as a difficult hike!

CanadianEh Yes, that indeed was a baby rattlesnake. I walked right past it and Danielle spotted it. Believe it or not, the exact same thing happened a half hour later. Those are two different snakes in the photo set! Snakes rarely bite unless they are provoked. I actually worry much more when I encounter an unleashed dog on the trail.

Misty said...

Fun Tuesday puzzle, Robert--many thanks. And I always enjoy your neat pictures, Hahtoolah, thanks for those too.

So cool to get Lady GAGA, and Martin LANDAU, and Mork's ORK right there at the top of the puzzle. Helpful, because JOSE's name was a complete unknown to me (hey, I'm not great at sports, in case you haven't noticed). And, like Lucina, I enjoyed getting the Spanish BAJA and ISLA.

Congratulations on your Dad's 91st birthday, Susan. My Dad just turned 92 a month ago. It's wonderful to see them in such good shape and such good spirits at that age, isn't it?

Have a great day, everybody.

desper-otto said...

Picard, it was Mark Lenard who played Spock's father.

unclefred said...

Most everyone seems to have zipped through this CW. I enjoyed it, and managed to FIR, but it took me 19 minutes, a few minutes longer than my average Tuesday, so I’d hafta agree with Irish Miss that it was just a bit crunchy for a Tuesday. I’m always astonished to see someone finish a CW....ANY CW.... in 5 or 6 minutes. Amazing!! Anyway, thanx, Robert, for an enjoyable CW, although 1a took a while to suss out. I guess that’s what slowed me down. Thanx also Hahtoolah for the excellent and fun write-up!

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Fun one, thanks, RELM! Great expo, Susan & Happy Birthday to your dad.

Took Hahtoolah's 'splainin' to get the theme. I got the reveal ACES UP and got stuck on that because I had seen some kid on The Chase give Hickok's hand as ACES plus something else & couldn't remember what.

EAVES again? My back soffit is made of plastic. Half of it, the length of my house, is under the EAVES and half of it is dangling. Squirrels have fun running up the "ramp". This makes an awful noise which wakes me up.

My fingerprints are definitely LATENT - no longer have any ridges at all. Noticed this only after seeing a guy on TV say older people's ridges smooth out.

Wonder who had the courage to get those jeans and shirt on that ASS. Can't imagine one docile enough to PUT UP with that and not kick.

Edward Duarte said...

It is TAMAL, not tamale.

To make a tamal plural, one appends an ‘es’.

The error English speakers make here is that when one sees a plural, one drops the ‘s’ to make it singular.
In the case of tamales one would tend to drop the ‘s’ and leave the ‘e’, resulting in a ‘tamale’ ; instead of dropping the ‘es’.

Malodorous Manatee said...

There are some real gems "hidden" in today's write-up and in the comments. Plus miserables, a big falcon' rocket, and the best graphic for a perissodactyl mammal that has yet been used (and there have been many).

Happy B'day to Susan's dad. I second the mazel tov!

Wilbur Charles said...

Picard re. ***. You asked the question "Do you see..?" And *** referred to my footnote referencing lyrics from
This song It's at the 45 sec mark.

Later the pair say "Yes, we dig " Anon-T tells me he loves this song because of the vroom, vroom. And yes, I dig your WONDER of a gal.

WC

Kelly Clark said...


FIW, alas, not knowing Mr. CANSECO and blanking at LLC. Knew it was LL-something, but...I didn't know TRAX either, but the theme helped me out there. Also didn't know about Wild Bill's last hand -- still, I enjoyed the puzzle, and echo the Happy Birthday wishes to Susan's Dad!

Alice said...

Actually, everyone’s comments are more interesting than the puzzle.

AnonymousPVX said...


This Tuesday crossword almost filled itself.

Write-over….LTD/LLC.

What makes one think that Wild Bill didn’t comb it first? Not monthly bath time?

My younger son got his 2nd shot yesterday. He’s got the second shot day of logy-ness today.

Hey!!! CDC says no need for masks outside if no crowds.

Stay safe just the same.

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Back from a nice 18. Our Tuesday morning league has grown from 18 to 24 teams
-A nice, easy puzzle with fairly obscure gimmick. I saw SEC and thought it would be Just a _ _ _
-A site listing the 100 best EMO songs skipped Brenda Lee, et al from the 60’s
-GI – Granddaughter just got a Jeep and I explained how that name came from the army’s General Purpose (GP) vehicle
-When you play Monopoly®, does a property go up for bids no matter who lands on it?
-CRETAN/CREEPO
-The price to climb Mt. Everest from NEPAL is $40,000 and, uh, up.
-SKYPING granddaughter when she was a student in Grenoble, FR amazed me!

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thank you RELM for a mighty fine puzzle that was a bit crunchy in the south.

Hahtoolah - I don't know how you find all those images (or how much time you spend on the expo!). For both, thank you.
//Here's Casey Kasem doing his Shaggy Rogers [Scooby Doo!] voice. He was also in Josie and the PussyCATS and did Robin for animated Batman.

WO: hand-UP for CoNSECO
ESPs: mostly spelling - I knew LANDAU & SIAMESE but, there's a ton of vowels in there.
Fav: SOB STORY
//and I'll tell you mine. The storage co. stopped taking Discover. So, last October I gave them my Amex to true everything up. It was supposed to be the new card on file. Friday, the co. called and said my STUFF [Carlin] was going up for auction ala Storage Wars. BTW, if your interested in how to bid on a locker - the guy told me about Storage Treasures. Have fun!

FLN - Boomer: your Twins are just above my 'Stros (who seem to be chasing the Mendoza Line). :-)

TTP - yes, I have that Splunk tee. The SH is shell (the command-line interface for real computers) and IT is of course Info Tech.
Re: Run DMC. I hated when they did the Aerosmith cover and thought the Boston Boys sold-out. But then I learned the history [video of what your article says]. When I saw Run DMC jam with RUSH [Rock & Roll HoF] my respect for them... Dang!

Crap - work's calling. Play later.
(enjoyed reading y'all!)

Cheers, -T

Lucina said...

Ron, yes about BART. I plead age and memory loss with it.

Jayce said...

Good puzzle, good write-up, good comments from you all.

TTP said...


Dash T, I got it, thanks.

In fact, I used the DOS CLI today to run a SFC/SCANNOW because Windows Update failed while loading the 1.337.45.0 earlier today. I loaded it because of the "severe" threats listed in the update. Son of a gun. it actually found and repaired some corrupt files, and then Update ran fine.

BTW, I installed Cylance on each of the 'puters some months ago based on your recommendation, but I still do periodic scanning using the Windows definitions. Probably redundant (or more precisely unnecessary) in your view, but I figured it won't hurt.

Thanks for the video links, especially the interview with DMC. Cracked me up when he said, "And we didn't know no better. Rick done went and got the Rolling Stones." Too funny !

Remember when Kid Rock sampled Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London" for his All Summer Long song ? The hook fooled me the first time or two I heard it, but loved the story and beat in the song, and Kid Rock owned it and sold it.

Anonymous T said...

TTP - It's not overkill; each piece of software (as long as they peacefully co-exist) does their thing [read: signature based v. behavioral based / Defender|Cylance]. And, yes, I too LOL'd at comparison of Tyler & Jagger. :-)

WC - you had me going for a moment... I thought you link'd Trio [but that was VW's song not Mazda's].

Back to the mines... Learned a lot from yous today.
Cheers, -T

Ol' Man Keith said...

A fine PZL, from Mr. Morris. I wonder whether he is thinking of changing the front part of his name? Mr. Robert E. Lee Morris...?

Great write-up, Hahtoolah, up to your high standards!

Yes, Yellowrocks is right--Wild Bill's last poker hand, with two Aces paired with two eights, is not just called "ACES UP," but is also known as the "Dead Man's Hand."
I'm sure it was helped in this morbid designation that all four cards were Black: the Aces of Spades and Clubs and, likewise, the Eights of Spades and Clubs.
A winning hand for sure, but also a very Grim-looking one.

I wonder if in that split second before he was gunned down...
Did he glance at his hand and think in alarm, "OMG, I got the *#@! Dead Man's Hand!!"
~ OMK
____________
DR:
No diagonals today.

Old Okie said...

Happy Birthday to your dad Hahtoola, he and I share the same birthday, only he is ten years older than me. I hope I live to be 91 and in good health. Not a bad puzzle for a Tuesday, Failed to see the aces up until I finished the puzzle.

Avg Joe said...

Speaking of collaborations, sampling and mashups, I saw a meme on FacePlant the other day that I found very humorous.

I showed a job interview scene.

Interviewer: "Can you perform under pressure?"

Interviewee: "No. But I can sing Bohemian Rhapsody."

Lemonade714 said...

Once again my curiosity was stimulated by a post, this time from our smelly sea creature and I learned the Ungulata, is now recognized as a paraphyletic grouping; that is, it contains some, but not all, descendants of a common ancestor. The common ancestor of the two groups of hoofed mammals alive today was also the ancestor of several groups which don't have hooves at all, notably the Proboscidea (elephants), Sirenia(manatees and dugongs), and Cetacea (whales and dolphins). however, it is sometimes convenient to speak of "ungulates," because both major groups have developed digitigrade locomotion with enlarged claws that form hoofs.
The two major groups of living hoofed mammals are the Artiodactyla , or cloven-hooved mammals; and the Perissodactyla , or odd-toed mammals. The former is by far larger of the two groups, with over a hundred living species, including such familiar animals as sheep, goats, camels, pigs, cows, deer, and antelopes. The Perissodactyla contains only seventeen living species, classified into three living sub-groups: the horses, the rhinoceroses, and the tapirs.

Can you imagine the family get togethers of horses, rhinos, and tapirs?

Lemonade714 said...

Becks, thank you for answering my questions. I am curious by nature and always have questions. I try to not get too personal unless it is by email rather than the blog, but it is all good.
Odd that you and Tony Dow's wife are both from Kansas City and went to Mission schools.

The Oscars seemed weird to me and for some reason I was not surprised that Anthony Hopkins won

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Per Lemony...Mal man pleaae dont change your name to Stinky Sirenia.

I thought Anthony Hopkins performance was superb and he deserved to win but as much as I admire Frances McDormand it wasn't a meaty role and the movie was more like a documentary. IMHO Andra Day (Billie Holiday) should have won, incredible performance (and spot on singing as a bonus)

jfromvt said...

Easy, even for a Tuesday, but a fun puzzle. Thankfully, no circles, which really would have dumbed it down.

jfromvt said...

I rewatched Fargo last night, the night after Frances McDormand won her third Oscar. A great movie, one of my favorites.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Oh and the movie "US vrs Billie Holiday" wasn't even nominated.

"It coulda been a contendah"

Malodorous Manatee said...

I promise...although it does appear to have possibilities and with a little work....

PK said...

Happy Birthday, Old Okie! Hope it was a good day.

Wilbur Charles said...

Easy peasy Wednesday. Enjoy