google.com, pub-2774194725043577, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 L.A.Times Crossword Corner: Wednesday June 30, 2021 Jeff Stillman

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Jun 30, 2021

Wednesday June 30, 2021 Jeff Stillman


Children's Games
Georges Bizet's Jeux D'Enfants
 
Jeff Stillman is a frequent contributor to the LA Times Crossword and today he plays with some favorite phrases for children's games.  Each themer consists of a pun on games we all played when we were kids. No reveal is needed. 

Bill here to lead you through some childhood memories:

18A. Tanner's favorite kids' game?: HIDE AND SEEK.  Some parents occasionally "tan their children's hides", the traditional method of behavior control. As confirmed believers in the power of positive re-enforcement, we never found the need for it.
28A. Ornithologist's favorite kids' game?: DUCK DUCK GOOSE
45A. Window retailer's favorite kids' game?: BLIND MANS BUFF.  A bit of misdirection here, as  BUFF in this case is apparently an alternate word for the more common BLUFF.  This game been around for a long time, but I don't think it was ever included in the Olympics:
60A. Vermeer and Rembrandt's favorite kids' game?: DOUBLE DUTCH.  However THIS game just might be in the Olympics some day:

 I can't move on without some links to paintings by the painters Jeff plays with in this clue: Rembrandt van Rijn and Johannes ("Jan") Vermeer (my favorite painter).  The Rembrandts are in the National Art Gallery in London, numbering 26 of the over 600 paintings he created.  The Vermeer link has about 35 paintings from all over the world, constituting the entire extant corpus of his works in oil.  I believe the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. has 4 of them.

And the rest of the riffs:

Across:
1. Put away: ATE.

4. Discover with effort: DIG UP.  For example: ARCHEOLOGY.  If you're on the younger side, and you (really!) enjoy manual labor, you just might want to consider a career in this fascinating field.

9. Cloister leader: ABBOT.  Probably the most famous ABBOT was St. Benedict of Nursia ( c. AD 480–550) who founded the Benedictine Order.  He is best known for writing the Rule of St. Benedict, a short book of precepts written in 516 for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.  His rule spread beyond the Benedictine Order and has served as a template for many other Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican monastic communities.
14. Mars, for one: GOD.  The Roman God of War, equivalent to the Greek God ARES.

15. Hwy. through six Eastern state capitals: US ONE.  I checked and it goes through Annapolis, MD.

16. Dora the Explorer's animal-rescuing cousin: DIEGO.  Everything you want to know about Dora Márquez and her cousin Diego:
Diego and Baby Jaguar
17. Phoenix-to-Boise dir.: NNW.

20. "My word!": EGAD.

22. Discriminating sense: TASTE.

23. Nursery item: TREE

24. NBA's Steph Curry, notably: WARRIORWardell Stephen "Steph" Curry II is an American professional basketball player for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association. He plays the point guard position. Many analysts and players have called him the greatest shooter in NBA history. Wikipedia
26. Indy entrant: CAR.

34. "__ en Rose": Edith Piaf song: LA VIE.  Here it is, first in French, and then in English:
Here is a brief documentary of her life and sad ending:
36. Fare-well link: THEE.

37. Naught: NIL.

38. Footnoter's "ditto," briefly: IBID.  Abbreviation for the Latin ibidem ‘in the same place’.

39. Like ballet movements: FLUID.   Comme ça:
41. Lenovo competitor: DELL.

42. "__ want a hula hoop": "The Chipmunk Song": ME I.  And now from the sublime to the ridiculous!
43. Lots of bucks: DEER.  Yeah, we have a herd of them living in our back yard!  Mostly does and fawns though.

44. Sits after microwaving: COOLS.

49. Flight board abbr.: ETAEstimated Time of Arrival

50. Part of HEW: WELFARE.  Formerly Health, Education, and Welfare, now Health and Human Services, part of the government's never ending quest for les mots justes:
53. Bite like a beaver: GNAW.   Woodin' wanna' tangle with that guy!
56. Within the law: LEGIT.  If you're not, ya better LEG IT!

59. Onion exterior: SKIN.  "Onion skin" is more of a description of how thin it is, rather than its origins. 

63. Wall St. debut: IPOInitial Public Offering, in a nutshell:
Or everything you might want to know.

64. Stumping sites: PODIA.  As in plural of PODIUM.

65. Russian villa: DACHA.  I guess they vary in size.  Some of these are more like simple cottages.

66. After-tax amount: NET.

67. Popped up: SKIED.  Got this on perps, but still don't quite get it.  Popped up over a ramp or moguls?  A CSO to MalMan for some clarification.

68. Jewish community orgs.: YMHAS. (or YWHAS)  - Jewish Community Centers intended specifically to meet the needs of young Jewish men or women who are traveling to/from cities.

69. Dr. of rap: DREAnDRE Romelle Young.  Not really a doctor, but he may play one on TV.

Down:
1. Veep who resigned: AGNEW. Well, forced to resign actually.  He was lucky he didn't have to do any time.  I believe I mentioned the last time he SKIED in a puzzle, that I met him at a Student Council meeting.  I promise not to mention it again.

2. South Pacific kingdom: TONGA.  The Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Tonga.
Tonga Coat of Arms

3. British monarch who reigned less than a year in 1936: EDWARD VIII.  And a woman from Baltimore had something to do with it.

4. "That's so obvious!": DUH.

5. "Would you mind?": IS IT OK?

6. French-Swiss film director Jean-Luc: GODARD.  Is an "iconic and influential filmmaker", born in 1930.   Here are 10 of his greatest films.

7. Some, in France: UNES.  Today's French lesson. 

8. Swamp buildup: PEAT. Dried peat is used in Ireland as a source of fuel.

9. Put in: ADD.

10. Casual eatery: BISTRO.

11. Tavern quaff: BEER.

12. Fancy molding: OGEE.  GEE and I thought I knew my moldings.

13. Drag on a joint: TOKE.  I believe this word was derived from Gertrude Stein's buddy Alice B. Toklas.  Be sure to check out her recipe for "Haschich" Fudge.

19. Canoodled: NECKED.  Also known as PARKING.

21. Ancient Celtic priest: DRUID.  Leaders among the Celts, they served much broader functions than just the priesthood.

25. Diamonds, to hoods: ICE.
27. Sensitive subject, to some: AGE.  What is there to be sensitive about, other than the inevitable aches and pains?  No one has figured out how to get any younger.

29. One-eighty: U TURN.  A.K.A. a UIE.

30. X as in Xerxes: CHI.  As in the Greek letter immediately after PHI.  However as Xerxes was actually Persian and his name in Farsi is Khshayarsha, perhaps KAPPA would be more korect.

31. Unique thing: ONE OF A KIND.  In Latin "Sui Generis".  In the digital age things can be easily copied, so to make them "unique" the technocracy has created the "Non-Fungible Token (NFT).  An NFT is unit of data stored on a digital ledger, called a blockchain, that certifies a digital asset to be unique and therefore not interchangeable. NFTs can be used to represent items such as photos, videos, audio, and other types of digital files.  A brand new way to separate people from their money.

32. Plant pot spot: SILL.  Took me a few secs to suss this one.

33. Wings you can't eat: ELLS.

34. Bird's perch: LIMB. Or a wing you CAN eat.

35. Genesis victim: ABELWhy was Abel slain by his brother CAIN?
39. Doe or sow: FEMALE

40. Grazing locale: LEA.  You might find a "Lot of bucks" or a "Doe" here early in the morning or evening.

41. Tips politely: DOFFS.

43. EPA-banned insecticide: DDT.   The Environmental Protection Agency was created in 1970.  But the environmental impact of DDT and other pesticides was brought to public attention earlier than that by the ground-breaking book Silent Spring, written by Rachel Carson in 1962:
44. __-de-sac: CUL.   "DEAD END" in France.  More French.

46. Beginner: NEWBIE.

47. Turn (on), as a light: SWITCH.  You can turn them (off) too.  One of my pet peeves.

48. "You __!": "Yep!": BETCHA.  Sorry, I'm not a gamblin' man.

51. Not as green: RIPER.  According to Rachel Ray, there are some fruits that taste better green.

52. Online reminder: ENOTE.

53. Natl. economic stats: GDPSGross Domestic Product.  Please don't ask me to explain any of this.

54. Cozy corner: NOOK.   Now you can curl up in your cozy nook with your Nook and read the Great American Novel:

I generally prefer paper, but a Nook is lighter and might be advisable for reading Anna Karenina:

55. Auto with a four-ring logo: AUDIAudi AG is a German automobile manufacturer that designs, engineers, produces, markets and distributes luxury vehicles. Audi is a subsidiary of Volkswagen Group and has its roots at Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. Audi vehicles are produced in nine production facilities worldwide. Wikipedia
57. Whirling current: EDDY.  See last Thursday's puzzle.

58. Island east of Manila: GUAMGuam, is an island and unincorporated territory of the United States in the North Pacific Ocean, the largest, most populous, and southernmost of the Mariana Islands. It lies about 5,800 miles (9,300 km) west of San Francisco and 1,600 miles (2,600 km) east of Manila.
61. Bloke: LAD.

62. Partakes of: HAS.

Well I think this LAD HAS finished playing games.  Here's the grid:
 

waseeley

Cheers,
Bill

57 comments:

  1. FIW/FIR. Finished it, but no ta-da. If I were on paper, that would have been it. Online, I searched and changed WIRB (originally WIRE, where I hadn't noticed the perp change) to LIMB without any other help, so still count it as FIRight. LAVIE was completely unknown, and I'm ashamed to admit I couldn't remember exactly how that Chipmunks song went. I hope the expo will explain SKIED.
    As for the theme, I got HIDE AND SEEK without a single perp, and was only slowed down because I only knew it as BLIND MAN'S BLUFF, and don't think I knew a game called DOUBLE DUTCH, but had enough perps by then that it was an easy guess.

    The ABBOT was a real sod.
    He even said there was no GOD!
    But God was kinder,
    A "never-minder",
    But reincarnated him as a dog!

    Once a TANNER thought it neat
    A real Arab prince to SEEK.
    He brought some leather
    When they got together,
    And took a selfie with the HIDE AND sheikh!

    {B, A.}

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Y'all! Fun & fast puzzle, thanks, Jeff. Thanks, Bill, for the additional fun & information.

    Last to fill: NIL & DELL. DNK Lenovo competition. Also I had U.S. ONE & didn't think we'd also have ONE OF A KIND. Solved that from bottom up.

    As a kid, we played BLIND MAN'S BLUFF not BUFF. Doesn't BUFF mean naked? Like "in the buff". We sure weren't playing that.

    DNK: YMHAS, PODIA, GOPARD.

    Love Steph Curry, twice NBA MVP and WARRIORS twice were NBA Champs. Didn't make the playoffs this year. However, Steph's brother Seth was in the Eastern semi-finals but his team Philadelphia '76ers are out now.

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  3. Good morning, all!

    Thanks for the birthday wishes yesterday, and a happy, happy birthday to our fearless leader, C.C.!

    And, no -- Joshua never ended up being taller than me. He is now 16 and seems to have topped out about 1/2 an inch shy of my height. But that's all right, since I'm sure I will shrink as I get older...

    ReplyDelete
  4. Happy Birthday, C.C.!!!! Enjoy the day. I'm sure Boomer will make it a sunny one.

    Barry G, Nice to see you.

    Hope to be back after I get to today's puzzle. Enjoy a sunny day despite the pretty nutty weather.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Good morning!

    Nice to "see" you again, Barry. I didn't wish you a happy birthday yesterday, because I thought you'd gone underground. Happy belated birthday. Also, happy birthdy to our blog mistress.

    Nice puzzle, Jeff. Only needed a single application of Wite-Out to change BrEw to BEER. Here's another hand up for Bluff. Very erudite expo, Waseeley. (We also have a herd of deer who hang out near the birdbath in our back yard. So many of the wooded lots have been cleared this year that they're running out of safe havens.)

    GUAM: I'll take a CSO. Spent the better part of two years there, courtesy of Uncle Sam.

    Chipmunk Song: That was the creation of Ross Bagdasarian under his alias, David Seville. It took the storm by country and brought Liberty Records back from the brink of bankruptcy. That same year he wrote and recorded "The Witch Doctor," another novelty song that made it to No. 1 on some stations. "Ooo-Eee-Ooo-Aah-Aah-Ting-Tang-Walla-Walla-Bing-Bang"

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  6. On the occasion that I solve online I leave a square open. Then when I recheck I'll fill and if Congrats, FIR else I plead to the jury. Jury, what's your verdict on Owen? My verdict on #2 agrees with his

    Fln, lemony, as I said , CBS was a Natick for ME. That's how out of late night TV I am.

    I had some w/o's and some clues, like "popped" for SKIED(Sky'ed as in skied up?) I never saw.

    The authors of some posts get overlaid by ads so thus WC.

    And… A very happy bday to CC The consummate host and marvelous xword constructor

    WC

    I just grok'ed L's point. If I have one of the crosses it's not a Natick.

    ReplyDelete

  7. Sensitive subject to some: AGE. Happy Birthday, C.C. ! I didn't see a note from C.C. at the end of Bill's write-up today wishing C.C. a happy birthday and telling everyone how old she is :>)

    Nice job pinch hitting today, Bill. I enjoyed your review.

    PK, in addition to being naked, a BUFF can also be an aficionado, but like you (and everyone else so far), I always thought the word in the name of the game was BLUFF.

    SKIED - No, not in the sense of having schussed down a hill or cross country. In this case, the past tense of SKY. As in, "The batter popped up (SKIED) the ball and made an easy out". "The golfer skied that approach shot to make sure that the ball landed softly."

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  8. I hope CC's birthday is much better than this puzzle.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Ooo-Eee-Ooo-Aah-Aah! Hand up for being old enough to remember that song. (Hi DO!) And it's an apt expression of my happy FIR today, in spite of never knowing SKIED could have today's meaning. (Thanks TTP) Saved there by the perps. PODIA puzzled me for a while but then saw it was plural. Hand up for wondering why BUFF instead of bluff, but accepted it. Overall an enjoyable puzzle with humor in the theme. Familiar with all the games' names and a former DOUBLE DUTCHer in grade school. Thanks Jeff for the memories. And thanks waseeley for filling in today.

    Thanks Barry G for coming by. Happiest of birthdays to C.C. today! You're greatly appreciated for everything you do for us. Hope everyone has a wonderful day on this Wednesday!

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  10. Happy walla-walla-bing-bang to the birthday folks! But watch out for the 1-eyed, 1-horned flying purple people eater.

    I loved the puzzle theme and breezed through it today. I played all of those games as a kid.

    I was surprised I didn't know YMHAS having grown up in NY City and Long Island and having all my best friends be Jewish. Well, I guess it makes sense to have a Jewish version of the YMCA.

    ReplyDelete
  11. This generally went smoothly - but the cross of LEGAL before LEGIT by the downs coming off of BLUFF instead of BUFF - made the Tennessee section a bit of a conundrum for awhile. WEES about SKIED - but easily filled by perps!

    Happiest of birthdays to CC (and belated wishes to Barry)!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I forgot to add - thanks Bill for all the musical links - thought it might be a JzB blog because of it. I had heard of "La Vie En Rose" the biopic of Edith Piaf, but I didn't know the melody of the song - it made me remember the Audrey Hepburn movie "Sabrina" as it was played on and off through that!

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  13. Good Morning:

    I enjoyed the theme and the solve but I give one demerit each for Buff and Skied. If Buff is an acceptable alternative to Bluff, so be it, but I have never heard Skied used, as clued. I accept and welcome clever misdirection in clues but this is more cruel than clever, IMO, especially in a Wednesday puzzle. End of rant. I liked the Tree/Limb duo and Beer abutting Bistro. We also had a mini-mini critter theme with Duck, Goose, Deer, Gnaw, Skin, and Limb. Just one w/o with Acer before Dell. Nice CSO to Tin at _ _ _.

    Thanks, Jeff, and thanks, Bill for pinch hitting and sending it out of the park. You really outdid yourself today, so much so that a return trip will be necessary to appreciate all the numerous links. I did enjoy Ms. Piaf, Mr. Tchaikovsky, and even the annoying, but lovable, Alvin, not to mention the Double Dutch young ladies. Super job!

    A belated Happy Birthday to Barry G. 🎂🎁🎊🎈It’s hard to believe that Josh is 16. Hope all is well.

    Happy Birthday, dear CC, and best wishes for many, many more! 🎂🎁🎊🎉🎈

    I watched Knives Out last night and really enjoyed it. It got convoluted at times and I had difficulty accepting Daniel Craig’s Southern accent, but the cast was great, especially Christopher Plummer in a minor, but pivotal role. I also enjoyed Jamie Lee Curtis and the quirky Toni Colette.

    I believe we’re due for a much-welcome reprieve from this ghastly heat and humidity. Of course, the trade-off will be rainstorms, possibly severe, but, hopefully, short-lived and tolerable.

    Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Happy B'day, C.C.!

    I learned that BLIND MAN'S BLUFF was originally, and sometimes still, called BLIND MAN's BUFF. . . although isn't that what you're wearing when you pull your neck gaiter up too high?

    Thanks for the wonderful exposition, Bill.

    ReplyDelete
  15. The games were easy fills after a few perps but BUFF for BLUFF was hard to understand. Ditto for SKIED for " Popped up". Both are new to me.

    DUCK DUCK GOOSE- thanks for the video. I'd never heard of that game until a few years ago.
    Frawnch today- UNES, CUL-de-sac, LA VIE en Rose, & Jean-Luc GODARD
    HEW- give it time; it's bankrupting the country

    TOKE- with all the states (but not the feds) decriminalizing marijuana there are a lot of stoned people walking around and DRIVING these days.

    I knew YMHA but what happened to YWCAs? They disappeared. The only YMCA in the NOLA area was bought by a nearby hospital.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Great to see you Barry G. and your updated avatar. Be careful, some boys keep growing until their early 20s. And then again, there are many like me who stop growing at 14. I wish all of our "retirees" would say hello for their birthday and we would know they are ok.

    I am always learning as it turns out BLIND MAN'S BUFF is the original and BLUFF the variant. (speaking of variants, anyone else watching Marvel's new LOKI series?)

    WC, glad you saw my point

    Bill thanks for pulling extra duty and of course, wishing 生日快乐 to our founder and inspiration

    ReplyDelete
  17. Nice playful puzzle.
    The game was originally Blind Man's Buff. Buff here meant push and is related to buffet, not the serve yourself meal laid out on a table, but (buhf-it) to strike against or push repeatedly:
    The wind buffeted the house.
    Wiki agrees with Lemonade and MM:
    Blind man's buff or blind man's bluff is a variant of tag in which the player who is "It" is blindfolded. The traditional name of the game is "blind man's buff", where the word buff is used in its older sense of a small push. The game later also became known as "blind man's bluff"; it is possible that this name is a linguistic corruption." I usually say BUFF.
    I prefer buff because it is original and there is no bluffing in the game.

    I have a friend who will never reveal her age, but it is very easy to piece what I know of her life story together and come within a 2 or 3 years of what her age must be.
    TTP, I agree about skied. You beat me to it. Skied is legit, though informal.
    "SKY, verb (used with object), skied or skyed, sky·ing.
    Informal. to raise, throw, or hit aloft or into the air."

    I wish you a very happy birthday, CC. Thank you for all you do for us.

    ReplyDelete
  18. TTP @7:58 AM DNK that our Wizardess of Words, C.C. was born on today's date. Happy Birthday C.C.!

    Still don't get the POPPED UP to SKIED link?

    When they were little my grandkids used to call the state of undress "naked buck", combining two themes from today's puzzle. I think they reversed what they heard from their father when they were running around the house in their birthday suits.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Musings
    -A few write-overs (esp. BLUFF/BUFF) and I was good on this Natick-free puzzle
    -US 93 will take you from Phoenix to Boise. Food and gas are available about every 100 miles
    -Edith Piaf’s anthem, Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien, is now background for this commercial
    -FARE THEE WELL, FARE THEE WELL, FARE THEE WELL my fairy fay
    -With my horrible H.S. typing skills, I welcomed the advent of ONION SKIN paper
    -My 7-iron usually goes about 160yds but if I SKY it, it can travel a much shorter distance
    -In the BBC series The Crown, Edward comes off very badly
    -There was no PEAT for fuel on the Great Plains
    -Of SILLS and teachers
    -Politely DOFFS – I held a door open for a woman yesterday and immediately wondered if she was offended
    -Nice job, Bill.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Quite an easy humpty humpday puzzle with an obvious theme.

    Inkovers, ego/AGE....eat/ATE (silly English language where the word "put" can be present or past tense 😡).

    Ornithologist's findings in the human chest (a nonsense anatomy game we played) the esophagoose, permitting the Swallow, the vagoose nerve, the Azygoose vein, the Thoracic Duck..The other birds were unfortunately trampled by the Thymoose gland. 🙄

    Waited for LEGIT (not "licit"). I see we have a FLUID DRUID.

    Canoodled is NECKED? (thought it was a bit more advanced than that like ...NOOK 🤭🤗)

    Popped up...SKIED? wha?...Mars, orb?, bar?, nope... today he's a GOD.

    So it's not BLINDMANsBlUFF...How can a sightess person BUFF? (wax a car?) or were they "NECKED" 🙊

    Won the auction cause ____ the highest...IBID
    Peepers...ICE
    Midwest Native American funerary container....UTURN.
    What comes after tick?....ISITOK

    On to the day of THOR...

    Happy birthday CC...AGE is only a number (that keeps getting larger!!)




    ReplyDelete
  21. FIR in 23. W/Os LEGAL:LEGIT and ABLE:ABEL (DOH!!) With others here, I only knew the game as BLUFF not BUFF, and didn’t get SKIED until TTP ‘splained it.overall, a nice fun CW, thanx, JS. And thanx Bill for the outstanding write-up.

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  22. Wonderful Wednesday. Thanks for the fun, Jeff and waseeley.
    I FIRed and got the theme, but I have a mass of inkblots.

    Ales changed to BEER, ten to CHI, Acer to DELL, legal to LEGIT.
    My first wild guess at the theme was to enter Audubon at 28A for the ornithologist. Only the game was needed. DUH!
    Could Farmer in the DELL be an Easter Egg today?

    PK beat me to noting the dupe of US ONE and ONE OF A KIND.
    Hand up for wanting Bluff, and not “getting” SKIED; thanks TTP.

    I noted SILL crossing NIL; BEER and DEER.
    We had more (fake?) IDS today with FLUID, DRUID and IBID.
    Mini- food theme with HAS, ATE, TASTE and even GNAW for the really chewy fare at the BISTRO.

    I don’t think Tinbeni minds today’s ICE; he just dislikes the kind that COOLS his drink.
    We had TOKE, NECKED, NOOK, SKIN and BUFF today. Rich is getting risqué😮😁. Even more so if we ADD in SWITCH. EGAD!

    Good to hear from you BarryG.
    Happy Birthday C.C. 🎈💐🎉🎁🎶
    Wishing you all a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Turning landmark ages 40,50,60.... has never bothered me. I lost dear friends at age 37,48, 58 to cancer and I was thankful to celebrate rather than the alternative of NOT turning the new age. I hoped to see my kids get through college, get married (almost through - one still to be married :)) I figure grandchildren are the cherry on the top!

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  24. Got it done with no LIU's. Had a few stumbles along the way, but was able to eventually correct the errors.

    Had LEGAL before LEGIT, PICARD before GODARD and ORB before GOD. Perps took care of the errors.

    Waseely, not to pick a nit, but US One does not go through Annapolis, MD. It does go through Maryland, but to the west of Annapolis. It traverses SW through Baltimore and College Park before going through Washington, DC.

    Happy birthday C.C.

    Have a great day everyone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oc4 @11:00 AM. That's what I thought at first, and now I do again! :-)

      Delete

  25. Bill, no one would have expected you to know that today is C.C.'s birthday. She often adds a happy birthday wish to the blog post and often notes the person's age. I was just pulling her leg that she didn't add her own.

    Also, pronounce skied with a long i sound and instead of a long e sound. Maybe that will help.


    C.C. has a crossword, "The Last O.g.", over at the USA Today. You can usually find a new crossword by her there every Wednesday and Sunday.

    ReplyDelete

  26. OC4Beach, on your duckduckgo map, I noticed the city nearest, and next to Annapolis ... is Parole.
    Guess thats where the USNA cadets got sent when they were upto their usual antics.
    More likely all the politicians too.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Needed five fewer EDWARDS, I did. FIW with King Ed the 13th (XIII).

    Hi All and Happy Birthday C.C.!

    Thanks Jeff for the puzzle to clear out the hump-day cobwebs. Thanks Waseeley for the link-laden expo.

    WO: DIaGO
    ESPs: LAxIE & GODARD (50 more and you'd have a rocket engineer!) //com'on folks, ADD a 'D' (? - no?, just crickets? I'm sure Oc4 & HG gets it)
    Fav: ONE TOKE Over the Line [BETCHA never saw that comin' - 2:22]

    Never noticed there was no 'L' in BUFF's fill. Thanks for the learnin', YR.

    {A, A+}

    Nice you stopped by The Corner, BarryG. I like the new avatar.

    TTP - thanks for confirming what I thought about SKY'd. At Minute Maid, a ball 'Popped up' to the rafters is in play IFF in fair territory. Skied foul (and hits the roof), it's a dead-ball.

    Waseeley - What the hell is an NFT? [SNL]
    //ask me and I'll tell you, 'another way to launder $$$.'

    IM - Knives Out is hilarious. I enjoyed it too.

    Back to the salt mines. Play later.

    Cheers, -T

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  28. Contrary to TTP, I found this for 'popped up skiing'

    This is particularly noticeable if doing Short Swing Turns, where you have a hard edge set, that can "pop" you up, as you rebound off the ski.

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  29. Those six U.S. One capitals appear to be Boston, Providence, Trenton, Richmond, Raleigh and Columbia. No Annapolis.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Hola!

    Happy birthday, C.C.! I'm so please I decided to log in today and wish you a happy birthday. I have been out of the loop because I'm not home. I'm still waiting for my A/C to be repaired and hopefully that will happen tomorrow morning. In the meantime I am staying with my neighbor and friend, Mark, who has generously allowed me his guest room. Today I went over to water my plants and collected the newspaper.

    Jeff Stillman's puzzles are usually fun and this ONE had games! I played HIDE AND SEEK all summer long when I was growing up. It was a neighborhood favorite. At school we jumped rope though I don't recall DOUBLE DUTCH.

    Growing up after our dad died I am pleased to say that WELFARE saved our lives. We had no other income then my mother occasionally cleaned houses for extra money. It was not an easy time but we survived and I'm happy to say that four of us out of seven went to college but all did well. Life can give you lemons, but the lemonade is possible with hard work and determination.

    Barry, how nice to see you! And it's good to know that Joshua is doing well.

    Bill, yes, it's true that most monasteries and convents base their rules on that of St. Benedict's. Ours was modified but some are very strict and are even discalced (shoeless).

    It's so good to read you all. I hope everyone is doing well. I've missed you and very likely tomorrow I can be back home at my own computer, not a DELL. I just hope my A/C unit can be repaired and not need a replacement. You know what that would mean? $$$$

    Have a joyous day, everyone, especially C.C.!!!!!

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  31. Oops. I see that Mark's logo, poohmark, came up instead of mine. Lucina

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  32. Bit challenging for a Wednesday, but still fun--many thanks, Jeff. And very helpful commentary, Bill, thank you for that too.

    Bit of religion today, with ABBOT and GOD. Enjoyed the misdirection of "nursery item" for TREE, and I got it. AGNEW always depresses me--what a political disaster. SKIED puzzled me, just as it did others.

    Have a good mid-week, everybody.

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  33. How do you pop up on skis?
    Just like when popping, ride with your skis at a shoulder wide stance. Approach the jump with your eyes focused on the edge of the jump with your knees bent and ready to pop. In the air look down at the spot where you are going to land and tilt your skis slightly forwards. Absorb the landing by bending your legs.

    Per Wiki.

    Nice puzzle, great write-up. The Vermeer link is fantastic. Many thanks.

    JB2

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  34. Puzzling thoughts:

    HBTY CC! 🎊🎉 Many happy returns; and in case you aren’t aware, a woman never has to reveal her age in public!!

    FIR with just the one WO as I too started entering BLIND MANS BLUFF

    Enjoyed the puzzle and recap. Thanks Jeff and Bill

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  35. Hello everyone,

    Late to the party, today. Trip to Syracuse for twice yearly Dermotology inspection - stem to stern.
    No new issues so all's right with the world.

    Happy Birthday to C.C. Hoch soll sie leben! (她應該活得很高)

    Easy solve; no issues. FIR.
    BLINDMAN'S BUFF - ……where the word buff is used in its older sense of a small push. The game later also became known as "blind man's bluff"; it is possible that this name is a linguistic corruption.
    BETCHA - Sounds like Minnesotan to me.

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  36. T @11:31 AM We GEDD T, We GEDD it ... Actually GODDARD's thirteenth best film was Apollo 13, but I thought it might be bad luck to mention it.

    The SNL skit was the best explanation of NFT's I've seen. I wonder why it didn't SKY UP on my Google wander?

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  37. Lucina @12:30 PM Should have caught you the minute I heard "Hola!" Thanks for the comment on monasteries. The only order I have had any lengthy exposure to are the Trinitarians, founded in the 9th Century to ransom captive Crusaders. They have gone through at least two reforms over the century, not toward austerity, but rather toward living in the world and serving people and communities.

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  38. This Wednesday grid made me work from the bottom up.

    But no write-overs today.

    I have to ask…why do folks post up questions when a GOOGLE search answers all? I had to look up ‘BLIND MAN’S BUFF’ (after the fill) and found the answer straightaway. The same ones posted by the others who took the time to satisfy their curiosity.

    Hands up, who thinks the past tense of SKY should be SKYED, leaving SKIED as the past of SKI? English ain’t easy.

    In CT where I grew up, there were no YMHAs, they were called JCCs, (Jewish Community Center), but anyone could join.

    And that’s a wrap, see you tomorrow.

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  39. A nice PZL from Mr. Stillman,
    just slightly chewy, but fun throughout.
    I was unfamiliar with DUCK DUCK GOOSE, but the others were more than familiar. BLIND MAN'S BUFF was a game for parties (along with "Pin the Tail on the Donkey").

    I guess SKIED bothered several of us. TTP's explanation is reasonable, but shows how arcane that game-technical usage is. Could certainly have been better clued.

    A good reminder from Yellowrocks of the origin of BUFF. We used to say "Bluff" in my nabe, but I appreciate the originalist approach. Especially when, as she points out, there is no "bluffing" in the game.
    ~ OMK
    ____________
    DR:
    Just one diagonal, on the far side.
    But it delivers a delightful anagram (13 of 15 letters), allowing us to imagine a breakout party--
    a crazy spontaneous celebration--
    following the final barre routine and graduation (Congratulations!) of the 9-and-10 year old members of Mme. Dubonnet's Ballet School chorus.
    (This is when the tweenies all fling their ratty old toe shoes into the dustbin and change Tchaikowski to Cardi B & Bruno Mars [Finesse!!])
    You Go Girls! -- It's time for...

    "TUTUS AMOK!! -- WHEE!!!"

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  40. Can't tell a joke w/o screwing it up say...

    D=500 not 50.

    I'm still sticking with SKY'D for the 'popped up' clue. On skis you'd break something trying that slide & bounce.

    With two Girls who danced in TUTUs, I LOL'd at "ratty old toe shoes"
    //those things are expensive.
    Thanks for the chuckle DUG UP in the Diags, OMK.

    D-O: so the last/final capital implied by 15a is the (USofA) Country's capital and not a state's? I think that's what you're saying...
    //says a 'Merican who sucks at geography until we bomb it :-)

    Cheers, -T

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  41. 31A The deed is done, but will it compile, and if it compiles, will it work, and if it works, will anybody care? Let's see if it appreciates in value.

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  42. AnonPVX - In answer to your question as to why people post answers to some questions - which are easily looked up through the search engines.

    They do so, because they are kind enough to save other people the time from doing the search themselves.

    This way, we all learn at the same time, without wasting extra energy and effort, and that's what these posts are all about. Each one, teach one. or teach many.

    Nobody is obliged to read the posts if they don't want to.




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  43. FIR, and in pretty good time, early this morning.

    ROUTE 1 --- Having spent much of my ute on the East Coast, I knew it well. Guess I’ve driven almost all of it from between Philadelphia and Marathon, FL. Guess I’m going to have to go back and do the rest of it. ♫ “On the Road Again….”♫ --- BUT, it might be getting impossible again…. $$$$$ And my cameras are still mad at me! One of them did get a bit of a workout a couple of weekends ago. And my “Places to Shoot” spreadsheet keeps getting longer! And I keep getting older!

    Found a couple of dictionary entries that sorta said a pop-up or fly ball can be either SKIED or SKYED. Bottom line is that both radio and TV announcers often use the term.

    Belated Happy Birthday, Barry G.

    Happy Birthday, C.C.

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  44. Happy Birthday CC! I wish you the best one ever.
    Barry G, long time no see! I'm on the blog occasionally - when the spirit moves me!

    Can't believe July is just around the corner.
    Stay cool folks!

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  45. Harry..I think what Anon PVX meant was some posters complain about not understanding a clue or answer that they could easily "google" like others do who then provide the explanation in their comments.

    Just reading some current events....

    Once again you gotta love our US of A where if you're rich enough to afford the best lawyers money can buy you can get away with anything..

    To paraphrase: "Money talks, Bill Cosby Walks"

    Donald Rumsfeld (R I P) in 2004 when confronted by a soldier who asked him, "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles?" Shouts of approval and applause arose from the estimated 2,300 soldiers who had assembled to see Rumsfeld....

    His famous answer as defense secretary of the richest country in the world was.."You go to war with the Army you have," Rumsfeld replied, "not the Army you might want or wish to have."

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  46. Happy birthday, C.C.

    I enjoyed this puzzle.

    Wow, OMK, quite a good job making that diagonal!

    Good to see you, Barry G.

    We once successfully played a trick on a colleague by asking him what is the capital of Omaha. It was fun watching him scratch his head until about 15 seconds later he burst into smiles realizing we had just pulled his leg.

    In a recent phone conversation with our son we were talking about wine and he pronounced Bogle as "Boggle." He refused to believe us about the correct pronunciation until we directed him to the Bogle Winery website.

    Good wishes to you all this last day of June.

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  47. I don't know about anyone else, but "Helpful Harry" sure sounds like Vidwan, trying to be coy as I read the sentences.  

    Waseeley, et al, do a google search on "skied the ball" for a reference (and make sure you use the quotes around the phrase). To OMK's point, it is significantly sports specific, with most articles using the phrase in reference to baseball, soccer, tennis and some on football.   I suppose it could be related to the winter sports, but I personally had no hesitation in understanding the meaning of skied in relation to "popped up".    To my dismay in my sports playing days, I've personally skied a few bunts in baseball and fast pitch softball.  

    One of the articles that caught my attention was of the 1961 Donna, Texas high school football team that won the state 2A championship.  Undermanned, outsized and against all odds, this team of primarily Mexican American kids from a small town school in the Rio Grande valley near South Padre Island came together and won the state championship.  They faced racism at every turn as they advanced through the playoffs, being called "bean eaters" and other slurs in the press. They were told publicly in the press that they should be playing futbol instead of football.  

    One of the key plays in the championship game was when the opponent team, punting from their own 14 yard line "skied" the punt.  It went very high, but landed only 3 yards from the original line of scrimmage, landing at their own 17 yard line.  Donna scored a few plays later, and then went on to win the game.  To this day, Donna is the only team from the Rio Grande Valley to have ever won a state championship.

     

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  48. As someone who defended people in criminal prosecutions, it is not money that frees the guilty but laziness, incompetence and impatience by police and prosecutors. Case in point, Bill Cosby was released because the prosecutor "promised" immunity if Cosby answer questions truthfully in the civil depositions. Truth is never as simple as those who have not ever been a witness think. Just recall all the studies which confirm the unreliability of eyewitness testimony. Why did the prosecutor make the promise if he did not expect Cosby to receive immunity? That did not take a $1000.00 per hour to present. Why was O.J. Simpson set free? Because the police did not follow proper procedure and contradicted each other. I never won a case if the case was prepared and presented properly. Overworked and underpaid public defenders may not take the time to analyze what happened nor have the training to know if it was done properly. That is the only advantage of hiring an experienced attorney. And if you were ever to fins yourself accused of a crime you would be happy to have the paid lawyers.

    Vidwan is an interesting man of many names

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  49. -T --- FLN – I’m scheduled to work Friday. However, if you want to come by Saturday, I can be there to give you the tour. It’s no problem at all (and I'll probably have to be there anyway). Just let me know when you want to show up, so that I can be sure to get there before you. Feel free to bring DW with you.

    Before you ask, you can do the museum in under an hour, if you hurry. There is a bunch of stuff to read, a bunch of pictures to study, other stuff (airplanes) to see, and a 17-minute video. Hopefully, you won’t be in a hurry, so I can give you a tour of our hangar (which we’ve kinda cut back on since Covid, but still give to our special visitors. Like Bob Seger said, “Breaking All of the Rules That Would Bend….”)

    However, my tours usually take longer, since I tend to talk too much, just like I tend to write too much here at the Corner.

    BRING YOUR CAMERA! Aviation photography is NOT a crime!!!!!

    Unfortunately, you missed Wings and Wheels on the 19th. We had a great day! In addition to the Tiger Flight (two guys who usually fly in from La Porte for our events), we had five other fixed-wing planes on the ramp. Three of those had flown in, including the raffle plane we gave away just before Covid, and one helicopter had flown in from Pearland. We also had a herd (I think about 17) of Vintage Thunderbirds out on the parking lot for the Wheels. We even got a special dispensation from TSA, Airport Security and Airport Ops to bring the T-Birds out onto the ramp for a photoshoot with some planes and the museum in the background.

    THE CROWD WENT WILD!!!!!

    We have a Facebook page and a website: 1940 Air Terminal Museum.

    If you see a guy with an orange vest and/or orange shirt, and (usually) white shorts, that’s me. If there are two of us, I’m the shorter one.

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  50. AVX, not every poster is skilled in using the internet even to do a proper google search. Many also never read the comments of others so you will see the same information presented more than once. Since we have so many teachers and related backgrounds, it is only normal for them to share what they learn.

    Leo III, after Eisenhower began the interstate highhway system and I-95 began to come together most of us used that rather than US One. On the other hand, I probably have been on US One from Maine to Key West, but never on a single trip

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  51. Just as a minor correction, Roman Catholics (and some Episcopalians) have monastic orders: Franciscans, Cistercians, Basilians, Trappists, and so on.

    Orthodox monks are just that: monks; no 'orders' or other accretions.

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  52. Physicians in the US pay the highest premiums on earth to medical malpractice companies only to have the malpractice attorneys assigned to represent them attempt to relentlessly coerce them to settle even frivolous cases for one reason only...to save the insurance companies money thus keeping their shareholders happy regardless whether the physician is liable or the effect on their reputation

    I hear these stories from colleagues every year.

    In the US legal system enough money decides who the winners are.





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  53. Lemonade714 --- Yeah, I LOVE and HATE the interstates! For most of my time on Route 1, I-95 was just a gleam.

    Of course, here in Houston, the standing joke is that the Gulf Freeway (I-45 running from downtown south to Galveston) STILL isn't finished. It's a bit of an overstatement, but yes, it has probably been under some form of construction ever since whenever.

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  54. It's always been BLIND MAN'S BUFF to me.

    >> Roy

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  55. What an interesting experience this has been here staying with Mark. I have not watched a basketball game since 1993 and what a night to watch! Very exciting.

    Lemonade:
    Fortunately I have never been on trial or had the need to be defended. However, my step-children sued me for supposed withholding of funds. I tried defending myself for a brief time then realized that it was impossible. I hired one lawyer who proved incompetent then another who knew exactly what to do and was successful. You are so right!

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