google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday, May 5, 2021, August Miller

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May 5, 2021

Wednesday, May 5, 2021, August Miller


Theme:  See the reveal 38A, can't come up with anything better.

 17. *Broadcast medium for major U.S. sporting events: NATIONAL TV.

25. *Request at a mom-and-pop store, maybe: CASH PAYMENT.

47. *NASA event: SPACE FLIGHT.

60. *Field trip transport: CHARTER BUS.

 38. Early ... or where the answers to the starred clues' ending words can be found: AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.

Similar to last Wednesday's theme. SCHEDULE can be added after the second word of each theme answer:  TV SCHEDULE, PAYMENT SCHEDULE, FLIGHT SCHEDULE, AND BUS SCHEDULE.

Melissa here. BUS was also part of last Wednesday's theme. Coinkydink.

Across: 

1. Wife of Jupiter: JUNO. Mythology. Juno was a jealous wife. And Jupiter, when he got bored, liked to get into mischief. To hide his mischief from Juno, Jupiter covered the world in clouds, thinking she couldn’t find out what he was really up to. But Juno was very smart, and became suspicious about what might be going on under all those clouds. When she found out about her husband’s misdeeds, Jupiter was in trouble. 

 

5. Element #5: BORON. Essential for healthy bones.

10. Opening on Broadway: ACT I.

14. "I'm thinkin' no": UH UH.

15. First in a line of Russian princes: IVAN I.

16. Pastoral plaints: BAAS. Did ewe get it?

19. PC shortcut key: CTRL.

20. Teacher with a class of one: TUTOR.

21. Adrienne Rich work, e.g.: POEM.

23. Issa of "The Lovebirds": RAE. 2020 film.

24. Gymnast Raisman: ALY. Retired American gymnast, and two-time Olympian.

29. "The Sweetest Taboo" singer: SADE. Also the name of the band. Her full name is Helen Folasade Adu

30. Right direction?: EAST.

31. Developer's unit: ACRE. Too many letters for LOT.

34. Investment option: Abbr.: IRA. Individual Retirement Account.

36. Align, as two signals: SYNC UP.

41. Brazilian port city: SANTOS. In
São Paulo, and home of the  largest beach garden in the world.


 

42. 21st Greek letter: PHI.

43. Butcher's stock: MEAT. I was thinking stock, as in soup.

44. School gps.: PTAS. Parent Teacher Association.

45. Takes advantage of: USES.

51. Seller of Souls: KIA. The capital S was a good clue. Subcompact SUV.

54. Cartoon frame: CEL. Short for celluloid. The last film Disney produced using 100% traditional cel animation was Oliver and Company back in 1988. The plastic and paint degrades over time. Disney has a dedicated facility to keep their original cels at the optimal temperature and humidity while trying to halt their degradation. You can read an in-depth article on Disney’s process of cel storage here.

55. Chanel rival: DIOR. Fashion designers.

56. Laughs loudly: ROARS.

58. Utah ski resort: ALTA.

63. Bigfoot in photos, e.g.: BLUR.


64. Shade thrower: HATER.


65. Novelist
Émile: ZOLA. French. 1840 - 1902. The Strange Death of Émile Zola.

66. Racy message: SEXT. Specifically, racy message delivered by text.

67. Adversary: ENEMY.

68. Fall in line: OBEY.


Down: 

1. Leadership after some coups: JUNTA.

2. DIY moving option: UHAUL.

3. Like some candy bar flavors: NUTTY. Why not just some candy bars?

4. Indiana neighbor: OHIO.

5. TSA checkpoint container: BIN.

6. Fertility lab cells: OVA.

7. Lauren of fashion: RALPH.

8. Victorious: ON TOP.

9. Skin care brand: NIVEA.

10. "The Rookie" network: ABC.

11. Organization that keeps "purr"-ps off the street?: CAT RESCUE. Haha.

12. Arachnophobe's nightmare: TARANTULA.

13. Comic strip landmass with a single palm tree: ISLET.

18. Penguin-hunting swimmer: ORCA.

22. "What baloney!": MY EYE.

26. "Until next time": ADIOS. Spanish for bye.

27. Feudal laborer: SERF.

28. Button-shaped candies: M AND M'S.

29. Airport near Puget Sound, for short: SEATAC. For Seattle-Tacoma.

31. Two-yr. degrees: AA'S. Associate of Arts.

32. Dave honored with a Mark Twain Prize in 2019: CHAPPELLE.

33. Common prom expenditure: RENTAL TUX.

35. African snake: ASP.

36. With 51-Down, skewered Middle Eastern dish: SHISH.

37. Puppy or kitten: PET.

39. Medicated: DOSED.

40. Down in one go: CHUG. Ohhh - I was thinking knocked down.

46. Raison d'__: ETRE.

47. Wound covers: SCABS.

48. Microfilm unit: FICHE.

49. "Mean Girls" star Lindsay: LOHAN.

50. Very hot: IRATE. More misdirection.

51. See 36-Down: KABOB. Tricky, since it's also spelled kebob and kebab.

52. "Yay me!": I RULE.

53. Test for purity: ASSAY. The
testing of a metal or ore to determine its ingredients and quality. 

57. Pastina relative: ORZO.

59. Valuable oil, say: ART. As an oil painting.

61. Sleep letters: REM. Rapid Eye Movement. The dream state of sleep.

62. Have a go at: TRY.



64 comments:

OwenKL said...

FIR, but as is usual for this type of theme, I needed the reveal to suss it after I had completed the puzzle.

"Church of Satan" seems a NUTTY mix-up,
But it makes sense once you SYNC UP.
It's mostly a parody
Of silly stuff they see,
Like for communion, use the Sin-cup!

I dreamt of going on a SPACE FLIGHT,
Of soaring up into the eternal night!
Stars always to be seen,
Each brighter than a dream! --
But now all I see are damn street lights!

(A current brouhaha in Santa Fe is light pollution from new LED street lamps. And SpaceX is launching 60 Starlink satellites today, further distressing astronomers.)

Language can be most berserk!
For example, IVAN "I" is the first.
But on a Broadway run,
ACT "I" is number one.
"I" don't know which "I" think is worst!

{B+, A-.}

OwenKL said...

Oops, didn't realize I did more poems than intended!
{A-, B+, A-.}

TTP said...




Thank you, August Miller, and thank you, Melissa.

Didn't know all of the answers based on the clues alone, but got many of them that way, so I finished AHEAD OF SCHEDULE.

MeNtos before M AND M'S for "Button-shaped candies" and ADIeu before ADIOS.

We have TRY again today, but this time with the clue of "Have a go at". On Saturday the tougher clue for TRY was "Crack", which also means "have an attempt" when at is appended. ie, Have a crack at.

Pastoral plaints: BAAS. Did ewe get it? Cute !

Used a handheld FICHE (microfiche) viewer in the Army from time to time, but the larger desktop units with greater magnification and lighting were much easier to read.

Was 2020 the best year ever ? I'm thinkin' no. UH UH.

Did Soddenlink fix its internet problem ? I'm thinkin' no. UH UH.

desper-otto said...

Good morning!

No problems this morning. Zipped right through to the bottom without noticing the theme or the reveal. Thanx for 'splainin', Melissa Bee. Nice puzzle, August.

Right on, TTP. They're scheduled to make a housecall on Friday. Free, if it's their fault, $60 if it's my equipment. I own the cable modem, so I may be on the hook.

Taxing day...

Anonymous said...

This took 7:39. I didn't see the theme, but I enjoyed the presence of several Thursday or even Friday level words (e.g., Junta, tarantula, Chappelle, etc.).

Is this considered censorship: blur on sext?

Yellowrocks said...

Another AHEAD OF SCHEDULE solve at 3 AM. Last time I couldn't go back to sleep after waking up at 3AM. Last night I was awake until 3:30 AM and up at 7:00. I can never nap during the day. In addition to the crossword I read the morning newspaper online in the predawn hours.
SPACE FLIGHT CSO to Gary.
TUTOR CSO to many of us teachers. I loved tutoring, zeroing in on exactly what the students needed. I had one student from age 7 to 15 and then her 5 years younger brother from age 7 to 15. Fourteen years or more with just that one family. I especially liked to work on test prep, projects and writing papers. Also there was a great need for math help.
Perps and wags for SANTOS, SADE, RAE, ALY and CHAPELLE.
My cable modem has glitches of a few seconds many mornings. If that happens while I am trying to print I have to turn my printer off to reset it. Also, I have to turn the TV off and on again if there is a connectivity glitch.
Our maintenance department here is authorized to set up the service and resolve cable problems at no charge to us. Our CCRC agency has the contract with Optimum, but the residents pay the monthly fees individually. If Optimum needs to be called for systemic problem the agency pays.
I viewed a lot of microfiche for my college papers, both BA and MA. Does the internet make microfiche obsolete?

Wilbur Charles said...

I was thinking coRE and cAS before I realized August wanted real estate development. And my friends daughter just got her associates degree. CHAPPELLE RESCUED me

The epitome of ubiquitous is the PEA Green KIA Soul in SCC

Re. ZOLA Link. We just talked conspiracy yesterday and a book by that name (re. JFK) is on my bedside.

Owen let's grade them all A- only to leave room for those tour de force you regularly create

Anon, their certainly have been BLURRED SEX scenes in cinema

WC

Wilbur Charles said...

Maybe I'll relate my FICHE Story later

ATLGranny said...

FIR today for a wonderful Wednesday. A final proofread caught SEApAC, just in time. I also had a few other WOs: ADIOS was ADIeu (Hi, TTP!), my TUX was RENTed at first, and NUTTY came after I tried Nugat (bad spelling of nougat!).

Another puzzle starting off with J words for 1A and D. I need to brush up on words starting with J since I usually have to skip and come back to solve. Interesting words used (FICHE) and theme needing the reveal. All in all a satisfying puzzle. Thanks, August. New constructor? And thanks to Melissa B for a fine review.

My sympathy for your ongoing trouble with your cable, DO. That is a long time to be without! Hope everyone else is doing well with few frustrations!

ATLGranny said...

PS I especially liked your last poem, OwenKL. A+ from me!

Lucina said...

Hola!

Many thanks, August Miller and Melissa Bee! I like puzzles that take a little time to ponder over. This one was finished with no pondering. Fast.

NIVEA was my late DH's favorite lotion.

CSO to my late cousin RALPH. He died too young.

Just one write over at KABOB/KEBOB. I usually wait but took the chance this time.

Shade thrower confused me but all perps were solid. And it's above ENEMY. How appropriate. Thanks, Melissa, for explaining.

Writing college papers is when I learned about micro FICHE, too, YR.

My next door neighbor has a white KIA soul.

ADIOS for now! Have a lovely day! Enjoy cinco de mayo. Largely observed in the U.S but not much in other countries.

waseeley said...

Thank you August for an UNSCHEDULED delight on a FIRry Wednesday morning. And thank you Melissa for an excellent and informative review. Loved the SADE clip and the links on ZOLA's death, the SANTOS garden, and the Disney CEL preservation process. And what would constructors do with out ZOLA and CELS! All the images, both modern and old were fun too.

Lots of clever cluing, which unfortunately I don't have time to explore. I've got to get our car in the shop, but will stop back later to see what everyone has to say.

Cheers,
Bill

inanehiker said...

Clipped along on this one - minor slow ups like adieu before ADIOS like TTP. I also had CASH PAY ONLY before PAYMENT which not only messed up finishing that section - but ONLY didn't go with SCHEDULE! I also picked the wrong KEBAB - but perps helped to switch to the correct iteration for this puzzle.

I have acquaintance whose job at the state archives was making original documents into microfiches - but before she retired she was scanning documents into a digital archive!

Thanks Melissa and August!
I have book club tonight so snacks/drinks will have a Mexican theme to go along with CincoDeMayo! I would recommend the book "The Other Einstein" by Marie Benedict about Einstein's wife and her contributions in math & physics that he was the one who got most of the credit for!

Husker Gary said...

Musings
-Musk, Bezos and Branson are getting ready to set SPACE FLIGHT schedules for tourists starting at around $200,000. You can be weightless for a few minutes ~60 miles up
-How many TV SCHEDULE options did you have growing up? Mine were 3 and today’s Omaha World Herald lists 60/hr and does not include streaming services.
-Adrienne Rich and Rae Issa are obscure to me but no real difficulty
-Former farmland ACRES next to us now are selling as lots starting at $70,000
-I hope the peeps who planned to make animation CELS for a living have a backup plan
-Institutes offering two-year degrees with good jobs to follow are flourishing around here
-The huge Comstock Silver Lode near Virginia City, NV required this office. I wonder if the Cartwrights ever used it?
-10 yr-old treadmill died. I’m spending $175 to have the new one delivered out here from Omaha, be set up and have the old one hauled away and not TRY to do it myself.
-ADIEU. No, I meant ADIOS.

Malodorous Manatee said...

Thanks August and Melissa. FIR without seeing the theme. Throw shade was a new one for me. I don't think of NUTTY as flavor of candy bars but it sure is for peanut butter so why not?

Irish Miss said...

Good Morning:

Hand up for the Adieu/Adios choice but that was the only w/o. I thought there was just the right amount of crunch for a Wednesday and I really enjoyed a lot of the cluing and fill, my favorite being My Eye! The theme was well hidden and the reveal was a spot-on Aha. It was nice to see the complete Shish Kabob and I also liked Cat and Pet and Hater above Enemy (Hi, Lucina.). I thought the Dave was going to be Sedaris, but that was too short. CSO to HG (Space Flight).

Thanks, August, for a mid-week treat and thanks, Melissa, for the excellent expo. I enjoyed the mini background on Juno and Jupiter. Times haven’t changed much, have they?

Owen, you’re Muse is working overtime!

Dave4, a very belated very Happy Birthday. 🎂🎁🎊🎉🎈

Have a great day.

Spitzboov said...

Good morning everyone.

Seemed a bit gritty for a Wednesday, but eventually got it all. Had adieu before ADIOS. SANTOS sealed it. Wondered about moos or BAAS, but the 'B' seemed more sure-fire. Didn't focus on the theme. No errors; FIR.
ASSAY - Reminded me of a Quantitative Analysis course in Chem. Engr. that I had to take in the '50's. So much of that is electronic and computerized, now.

Thanks, August and Melissa for a good outing.

Mark S said...

No LAT delivery. Could someone who subscribes to LAT, email me a copy of today’s KenKen @mark566@hotmail.com.

Thanks

MarkS

Bob Lee said...

NE was the last to fill for me, as I kept thinking, "What are those candies called that are little buttons on paper strips?" (Which always stick to the paper so you end up eating paper with them).

I finally figured out "M AND M". I always hate those 'and' answers, like the Network 'A AND E'
Those always through me off.

Edward Duarte said...

Feliz Cinco de Mayo

CanadianEh! said...

Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, August and melissa bee.
I FIRed eventually, after I started moving Down instead of Across. I needed the reveal to see the theme.

Some names that required perps (ALY, CHAPPELLE), and some Canadian disadvantage today; but I have learned IRA, ABC, ALTA, SEATAC. We do not have AAS ( they might be comparable to a Certificate perhaps or Diploma from a Community College here).

Hand up for Adieu before ADIOS.
Yes, Owen, I noted IVAN I and ACT I.
It took a moment to parse M AND MS.
SHADE (with that meaning) and SEXT are relatively new words.
I’ll take a CSO at 39D.

Wishing you all a great day.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Our old friend SEATAC is back. Its M n M's I believe (betcha can't eat just one). Didn't think anyone outside of us knew the term "pastina" (little pasta) . My favorite is Acini di Pepe (AH'-chee-nee) "pepper acini" (because they resemble the white seeds inside a cut pepper)... cooked with a beaten egg, Mom's frequent grade school lunch meal. I still whip it up. Didn't know lions always laugh so loudly. The throw shade clue shoulda been saved for Saturday.

Suspected it would be SANTOS not dANTOS but needed the d> for AAd (associates degree)...plus the clue is plural! ...ergo... FIW

Adios, Addio, ADIEU, cognates all meaning goodby..."to God" with varying degrees of "finality"... Addio.."goodby forever" (will never see you again). Which might happen with a severe TARANTULA bite (LIUed..the species of wolf spider named for the city of Taranto, Apulia (TAHR'-an-toh)...cure: a lively tarentella

Bob Lee we used to call those candies "pills"

_____ who Jupiter's wife is?....JUNO
Lights went out so ____ candles....ISLET
Wouldn't stop talking...BORON.
CATnapped after RESCUE......DOSED.
The Parisian waiter recommended ze ____ FICHE.

Sinko the Mayo, I prefer mustard

Anon said...

OK Wednesday puzzle. Too many proper names, however.

Misty said...

Nice Wednesday puzzle, August--many thanks. And I enjoyed seeing your picture of Juno, Melissa, thanks for that too.

My favorite solution was, of course, POEM. And then, how nice to come to the blog and find all of Owen's delightful POEMS. Many thanks for those too. My other favorite item was ISLET for that comic strip landmass with a single palm tree. We must have seen thousands of these in cartoons over the years. My least favorite clue, I have to admit, was "shade thrower" for HATER. Makes almost no sense. But that's a small complaint for an otherwise delightful puzzle.

Have a good day, everybody.

AnonymousPVX said...


This Wednesday grid seemed a bit easier than yesterday’s.

Write-overs…ADIEU/ADIOS, FRAME/FICHE.

HUSKER G….I don’t blame you for paying for the install/takeaway. What are you supposed to do with the old one, haha. I’m doing the same thing with a new dishwasher…easy enough to hook up….I guess…but what about the old one? And if there’s an issue? No way I want to do that, plus it’s every ten years for a new one, not worthwhile to do myself.

Stay safe.

Anonymous T said...

Hi All!

Thanks August for a fun Wednesday puzzle. Thank you mb for an enlightening review.

Houston Chronicle printed 39d as:
39 Medicated40
      Down in one go

Had no idea what that meant and both 39 & 40d were ESPs.

If it wasn't for 32d, I was going for brEAkOF

WO: CASHor...,
ESPs: [see: above], ALY, NIVEA, ALTA, ZOLA. KABOB is always 2/5ths ESP :-)
Fav: Dave CHAPPELLE. I can't link him 'cuz his standup is TV-MA
//so I'll link REM :-) [Orange Crush]

{B, B+, A}

Micro FICHE - haven't seen those since HS (class of '88). YR, I think most everything now has been digitized - Google spent a lot of CASH on that. [interesting article on what happened to that effort].

I was wanting lamb or beef b/f SHISH appeared.

BobLee - I was thinking of Candy dots too!

Cheers, -T

Yellowrocks said...

Inanehiker said, " I would recommend the book "The Other Einstein" by Marie Benedict about Einstein's wife and her contributions in math & physics that he was the one who got most of the credit for!." I have read this book and found it interesting and enlightening.
I LIU to see how true the book is. Some reviewers say the book exaggerates Mrs. Einstein's role. Some say she was a valuable collaborator, as this book says. Some say that it is difficult to say for sure. I lean toward looking on her as a great collaborator.

I am familiar with the expression, THROW SHADE. It is in the news a good bit. At one point Michelle Obama's eyeroll was described as throwing shade. The term has been use to describe the actions of quite a few celebrities.

Government entities and libraries have huge troves of microfilm and microfiche to convert to digital. It will likely take years.

Lucina said...

AA degrees is available at all our community colleges, of course, but our governor just signed a law to allow them a four year degree. This is something that has been sought for years, but politics would not allow it. Now the governor who seems to be currying favor in all directions finally acquiesced on it. We have ten CC colleges so that will expand opportunities for thousands of students.

PK said...

Hi Y'all! Thanks to August Miller & melissa b for a good start to the morning. Had never heard SADE sing. Well, never heard of SADE. Okay music.

Chuckled over finding ENEMY, HATER, IRATE in close proximity and with LOHAN of "Mean girls" thrown in there too.

Hand up for ADieu B4 ADIOS. Also had "zzs" before REM as sleep letters.

DKN: BORON, JUNO, RAE, NIVEA, CHAPPELLE, ORZO, KIA as clued. What baloney = MY EYE didn't sync in my vocabulary.

waseeley said...

Misty @11:42AM we might need a CSO to Melissa on the picture of Jupiter. I took it to depict him enjoying one of his many Earth conquests. Didn't MB say something about men not having changed much since the old days?

waseeley said...

T @11:50AM. The Sun did the same thing with 39 and 40 down. They do it so often I've learn to parse it out. I think it's that old cr/lf problem that surfaced in the transition from Unix to MS-DOS.

Spitzboov said...

Husker and AnonPVX - I did the same for our new Bosch dishwasher. It's hard enough getting rid of an old crapped out TV flat screen and rassling it into the back seat of my car.

Anon -T and others. From WSJ, latest flap is existing computer code can not take Berkshire Hathaway's share price in trading algorithms. Limit is $429,496.7295. Stock is trading at $421,000 and bullish, and B-H won't split shares. More Sturm und Drang. Once again and example of Man working for the computer rather than the computer working for Man. And so it goes.

waseeley said...

YR @12:14pm If Einstein's wife did nothing else, just listening to him and providing and intelligent sounding board for him to bounce ideas off of would have been invaluable. In the process I'm sure she would have made significant contributions to his ideas.

Anonymous T said...

Misty - I hate do do this to the Cornerites but... HATERs gonna hate. [Taylor Swift].
Like PK said, 'throwing shade' is now part of the modern day vernacular. [read: what the kids say]

PK - Bologna == Malarkey == MY EYE :-)

Lucina - CCs have such a stigma. DW, after earning her PhD, decided to only teach at Community Colleges. She grew up dirt-poor and wanted to make sure kids, who others swept aside, had a real chance at education. She now heads the honors college (across a system of 7 CCs), international studies, and teaches English Lit every semester.
I've met some of these kids and they love her.
Youngest will start her college-career at DW's school in the fall b/f moving on to law school. #FreeTwoYears! :-)

Cheers, -T

PK said...

Guys, Years ago I asked the three men who delivered my new washer to take my old one. They said they were allowed by the company to only take it as far as the curb. The scavengers who are active here made it disappear before next morning. Anything on the curb here is fair game. Does that happen in other areas?

Anonymous said...

Fun puzzle and great write-up.

Had trouble with only one clue: 28 down: button shaped candles. FIR but didn't get it straight, or parse M and M's, until I got here.

Have a great day everyone.

JB2

Anonymous T said...

PK - Pop has the Yates Men [Yates is the "street" (more of an alley way) behind him that separates him from Oak Ridge cemetery]. Anything of even limited value, is gone within an hour. So, yes.
//not so much in my neighborhood - put out junk and you get a letter from the HOA within a day!

HG - I don't think DW would let me sell the house to go to space :-(

Cheers, -T

desper-otto said...

Yup, if the item contains salable metal, it'll disappear in short order. No disposal problem in these parts.

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Anon T.. I think you mean baloney 😆

PK: We have a 2 week period to put anything we want to toss by the curb. The town wisely waits for the detritus to get picked over then hauls it away.

Spitz: When DW finally decided to get a flat screen TV a few months ago we had no place to put our 24 y o still functioning 36 inch "2 ton" CRT TV now sitting in the garage next to it's useless entertainment center that cant accommodate a flat screen. Waiting for those dump weeks.

Yellowrocks said...

Bill @ 12:47 she was brilliant and well educated at a time when most women were not educated. I am sure she was far more than a sounding board

NaomiZ said...

I loved the puzzle and the review, and was feeling proud of myself for a quick FIR when I came here and read about Mrs. -T. Now that is real accomplishment!

Ray - O - Sunshine said...

Waz...Jistorians confirm one item that Albert's wife is famous for...

Whenever he gleefully showed her he figured out how to load the dishwasher or use the remote she was the first to ever utter the phrase...

"No kidding EINSTEIN!!!"

🤣

Spitzboov said...

Ray-O- - I once had to get rid of a 36' CRT 2 ton. Needed help of 2 neighbors, a yellow dog and their pick-up.

PK - Re curbside. Once during a bathroom remodeling, we set an old toilet at the curb. It was gone in an hour.

Hungry Mother said...

Good getting back to it after an absence due to a home move. Quite a pleasure to solve instead of putting furniture together.

CrossEyedDave said...

The search for silly xword theme links:

attempt #1

attempt #2

hmm, I may need government assistance...

Ol' Man Keith said...

A fine PZL from Mr. Miller. Beautifully received by Melissa B!

Misty, Lucina & others who were puzzled by "Shade thrower" ~ I came across this recently. Apparently, "Shade" is a very popular term nowadays for "insult" or "abuse."
Not at all strange to younger solvers.
Not that you and I are over-the-hill. Oh, no...
~ OMK
___________
DR:
One diagonal today, on the near side.
Its anagram (11 of 15 letters) is the nickname for one of the many comic Emcees who held forth in the old days (1940s through '60s) of nightly entertainment at the summer resorts in the Catskill mountains of upstate NY and NJ. Reputed to be the training grounds for many a famous Jewish comedian.
I refer of course to a...
"BORSCHT [Belt] HOST"!

CrossEyedDave said...

PK@1:17
Re: community recycling
(My 2 cents worth)

When I was moving from Staten Island to New Jersey,
After the yard sale, I had two old metal kitchen chairs left over,
So I put them at the curb ) knowing they would disappear.
What surprised me was looking out the window to see a half full
City bus, on its route, stop in front of my house, (not a bus stop)
And the driver get out and bring both my chairs aboard his bus!?

TTP said...


My neighbor is a plumber. He replaces so many water heaters the supply company delivers them to his house. He brings the old ones home and sets them out at the end of his driveway. They are usually gone in a couple of hours.

The roving scrappers here are always on the lookout. Many, many years ago my gas clothes dryer quit working. Stop me if you've heard this story before. It was a failed thermistor in the lint chute that's there for safety reasons. The thermistor is there to shut down the heat when the temperature in the exhaust (or drum) is greater than it should be, much like a fuse blows (opens) when there is too much current in an electrical circuit. Prevents dryer fires that are typically caused by clogged exhaust lines. If you ever have a clothes dryer that doesn't produce heat, suspect the thermistor. A $5 part, if that much.

I had the back panel off when I was diagnosing the problem, and the dryer had a lot (I'd say tons, but some nitpicker would comment that it would be impossible to have tons) of lint inside the dryer. I disconnected the dryer gas line and wheeled it from the basement out to the driveway with my dolly, and then went out to the shed in the backyard to get my leaf blower to blow all that lint out.

As I was coming back from the shed with my leaf blower, I had to stop the two guys that were just fixing to lift it into the back of their pickup. Still have that dryer.

CrossEyedDave said...

Another nickels worth:

When the neighbors had a yard sale,
My used charcoal bbq grill disappeared from our porch...

However,

Once in New Jersey,
All recycling must be brought to the town recycling center.
You are not allowed to retrieve anything that somebody else might have left
As it becomes "property of the town."
(& they call it a recycling center?)

To add insult to injury,
This town, (which has a $500 fine for feeding stray kittens)
Has an ordinance that claims anything left on the curb belongs to the town,
And you can be fined for stealing it...

And to think,
Growing up in NYC, I found some of my best stuff on the curb!

waseeley said...

PK @1:17pm As a confirmed pack rat who never throws anything away, I wouldn't know. Best Buy (where we buy all our major appliances) will cart away your old appliance for 25 bucks.

Anonymous T said...

Spitz - I noticed [@2:24] you eschewed the Oxford comma *ducks* :-)

Ray-O: Leave it to another Italian-American to catch my Baloney :-)
I know I'm in tech, I know I can hack most any system, but damn that TV remote!
//And DW just talks to it... Dama-da remot-a never understandsa what I say.

YR - DW is well educated but I (waseeley...) can't bounce my theories off of her. Though I've worked worked-out 1/2 the math, she just says, "You're crazy, now go away." :-)

CED & TTP - LOL curb stories. I wonder how long I'd be out there if DW kick'd me to it(?)

Anyone need/want a 21" CRT monitor? It still runs even though the lights dim when you turn in on.

Cheers, -T

waseeley said...

YR @1:48pm It wasn't my intent to downplay her contribution. We're still left with explaining why she wasn't credited for her input, or perhaps even her primacy. It's not implausible that Albert was simply an MCP, and put his foot down. Or perhaps she threw herself on her sword in the interests of science. Given the patronymic Zeitgeist of the physics hierarchy at the time, it's doubtful that Relativity would ever have been discovered if it involved accepting such a radical notion from a woman. I haven't read the book you refer to - does it shed any light on the question? I hope that you realize that you are engaged in a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent. :-)

Spitzboov said...

-T - - Sorry, I meant ". Hope I didn't mislead anyone. :-)

waseeley said...

T @4:21pm Dw was in the IT world, but in a different nation, speaking "Mainframe". I spent some time in that country, so I could understand her and she she could sob on my shoulders about S0C7's and dumps. OTOH I was into distributed systems, which naturally lend themselves to tangents (as is readily apparent from this one). I eventually learned to look for that glazed face as a signal to change the subject to food or the grandkids, and thus we are still an item after 50 years.

BTW thanks for the link on the Oxford comma. Fascinating stuff!

Bill

unclefred said...

FIR, but in 26. Slow. Nice CW, thanx, AM. Didn’t see the theme till Melissa explained it. Nice write-up, Melissa, thanx.

Spitzboov said...

Re: my 1424. -comma- Technical writing opinions differ. If a pause clarifies the sentence at that point, then a comma should be used. I refer to Earl Bingham's "Pocketbook for Technical and Professional Writers" for these kinds of questions. YMMV

Chairman Moe said...

Puzzling thoughts:

Another FIR but today I was not ON TOP of my game . . . SLIDE/FICHE; SPICY/IRATE; HERA/JUNO; IRATE/I RULE

M AND MS was the last to fill - I, too was thinking MENTOS

I am not a big fan of having the reveal "dead center", but as I've learned whilst creating crossword puzzles, if you have 1 15 letter entry and 4 11 letter entries, the only place the 15 letter will fit is in row 8

Thanks to August Miller and MB for the puzzle/recap

I'm AHEAD OF SCHEDULE with regards to many things; taxes, not so much. Next week is my deadline, as well as most other last minute filers

Question for CC or any of the other constructors here:

We have a second daily crossword puzzle in the AZ Republic newspaper; also a 15x15 and usually un-themed. The longest letter count for any entry is maybe 10. It is usually easier than the LA Times but the cluing is harder/more obscure. The only "title" is: UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE CROSSWORD. No editor or constructor's name shown. Any idea whose this is? I am always looking to expand my base of submissions . . .

Lucina said...

Hola!
I guess all neighborhoods are the same when it comes to disposing of unwanted but still usable furniture. It happens here regularly in the alley. Any furniture or appliance that is left out there will be gone by the next day. I've seen "dumpster divers" inside the bin searching it. Ergo, all documents get shredded instead of being thrown out.

In the next week I have two birthdays approaching so now the shopping for both is finished. My daughter loves garden gnomes so she will have three new ones including a really cute mariachi gnome. As I have said, we are not Mexican but we relish the Mexican culture.

Lucina said...

CMoe:
You might contact the Newspaper itself. I believe there is a separate editor for that section. I look forward to yours if it is accepted. Do let us know!

Garage Garbologist said...


Regarding 'left over, of dumped' items left on the curb ...
My city allows 'trash' of whatever kind, to be left at the curb, only on Garbage Day (Monday, in this case ) or the Sunday prior to the day. In any case, they ae not very strict, they are very easy going.

But I live in a tony neighborhood, and on Monday at 2 am (!) we can hear a parade of pickup trucks driving down the streets and looking for items to pickup. Some of the items are so good, .... slightly used, leather backed designer sofas, etc., ..... that if I did not have some shame, I wish I could have picked it up myself. ( My wife would've killed me.)

But a decade ago, when we lived in a more modest area, I had an old walnut desk,( with two of the drawers broken ). I decided to haul the beautiful walnut desk to the curb and trash it.
Early that day, someone picked it up. Then at 6 pm that evening, an old gentleman rang our doorbell. He was very polite and respectful. He informed me that he had picked up the walnut desk, to repair ... but there were two drawers missing... would we by any chance have those two drawers, even if they were broken, or in bad shape ? He said it would be far too expensive to have those two drawers made specially, and in any case, it probably could not be done.

I looked into his eyes, and realized by his accent that he was an east european immigrant. I really beleieve, immigrants, who have done without for most of their lives, really appreciate the value of goods, and the importance of saving money.

I invited him inside, and found the broken drawers in the basement ( I had forgotten to dump them ) and I gave him a cup of tea, and sent him on his way.
He taught me a valuable lesson, far, far, more important than my cheapo gift.

Finally, although I will not pick up anything at the curb, for free, I have bought thousands of dollars of useless stuff at local garage sales ... which is pretty much the same thing.

Wilbur Charles said...

The FICHE Story. In the rollicking 70s I casually mentioned that I'd thrown a no-hitter in LL. The next thing a crowd heads to the library to check the fiche.

They didn't want to pay because LL rules dictated that an 11 year old pitcher had to pitch the 6th. Oddity. Pitching line read 0 0 9 11.

Librarian not amused..

Anonymous T said...

I can't really sleep say...

For Weird Al fans only... I stumbled across this. (is Leno taking Seinfeld's Comedians in Cars Shtick?)

WC - That's an impressive box score. My claim to fame was against Pawnee Lumber's gang (best team in IL) - made an unassisted 3x play while at Short w/ bases loaded, I did.

Cheers, -T

Anonymous T said...

Forgot to say says...
NaomiZ - Today it was announced that 72 Jack Kent Cooke scholarships were handed out this year.

Five of those kids are in DW's program. Pretty dang cool, eh? -T

NaomiZ said...

Incredible, -T! Congratulations to all of them, and to your amazing DW!